Finally finished it. It's a bit of a long read.
So anyway, here's my Pokémon X and Y Retrospective.
Background: I first played Pokémon Y the week after it came out (I didn't preorder and it was sold out lol rip me) back in 2013. I enjoyed it, sure, but I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as other games in the franchise. Admittedly, part of it may have been franchise fatigue. But I definitely had a few more tangible issues with X and Y as well. Well, this past year I got around to watching the XY and XYZ seasons of the Pokémon anime since lots of people were saying it was the best the anime had been in a long while. I hadn't watched it since the Battle Frontier, so it was a nice change of pace. Eventually I figured I'd give Y a try again after transferring all of my Pokémon to Moon, but for one reason or another I put it off (Shadows of Valentia being the major one, haha). The other day I just said screw it and started it. For completion purposes, I decided to play up to and including the Looker Bureau post game segment. With that, I was off. Kalos 2: Electric Boogaloo.
Team: The team I went with this time was different from my first go-around, save for one Pokémon that remained. The first time, I used Greninja, Talonflame, Klefki, Trevenant, Gogoat, and Lucario. I knew from that start that, with one exception, I'd want a brand new team for my journey through Kalos.
For this playthrough, I once again started with Froakie. I wanted to keep at least that consistent. Plus, Greninja is far and away the best Kalos starter, followed at a distance by Chesnaught, haha. My Champion Team consisted of Greninja, Venusaur. Diggersby, Florges, Sigilyph, and Heatmor, an even mix of Kalosian and non-Kalosian Pokémon. All of them were great (Heatmor a bit less so...dammit Heatmor, I love you, but why must loving you be suffering...), and Sigilyph and, most surprisingly, Diggersby quickly rose through to becoming favorites, with Sigilyph even dethroning Beheeyem as my favorite Psychic Pokémon.
No but seriously. Diggersby tho. He gets a special shoutout. I always thought the guy was just a meme, a stereotypical run of the mill trashmon. The guy was my MVP. He hit like a truck and took physical hits (that weren't Fighting, Water, or Grass) like there was no tomorrow. Return, Earthquake, Hammer Arm, and Super Fang were his end-game moves. That and looking at it now, mine was a simple Pickup one that was -Speed instead of a Huge Power one, so considering mine was suboptimal, I can scarcely imagine an optimal one. Diggersby tho, indeed. He's now in my top three Ground types alongside Marowak and Mudsdale, and high up on my list of Normal types.
Mechanics: The shift to 3D was well done on Game Freak's part. The roller blading was fun, though maintaining consistent high speed was annoyingly difficult. The Fairy type was a brilliant addition to the game and also helped make some of the Poison types that I love more viable. I liked that HMs weren't nearly as mandatory this time around. Off the top of my head the only ones you NEEDED were Surf and Strength for Victory Road, and those are among the easier HMs to fit on your team for the story anyway. Fly isn't necessary but is helpful around the Geosenge/Lumiose/Anistar set of quests dealing with the Flare arc. Thank you, boxed Farfetch'd. I love the level pacing in these games. I love HeartGold as much as the next person, but Johto was the epitome of "how not to make a difficulty curve," with Black's post game spike right behind it. Some say the EXP Share makes it too easy, but I love that my entire team was at the mid-seventies after the post game with zero grinding. I also loved Sky Battles but thought they were really underutilized. They should have been a multiplayer option. Mega Evolution was also one of my favorite new mechanics since it breathed life into older Pokémon.
Region: One thing I always liked about X and Y was Kalos itself. Lumiose City, Aquacorde Town, and Anistar City rank highly on my favorite towns and cities list when considering the whole series. Shalour City also has awesome music and atmosphere. Aesthetically, the region is amazing. Except the Badlands. **** the Badlands and their winds that stop you from outrunning Arena Trap Dugtrio and Trapinch. The Pokédex was top notch simply for the sheer variety available in game.
Characters: This is the section where I had mixed opinions going into my second playthrough, and also where my opinions stayed mixed. However, while mixed, my opinions are different than when I went into my second playthrough. Note, however, that I won't be discussing the two major characters who appear only in the post game until later on, in the post game section. X and Y, for better or for worse, doesn't have many notable characters compared to, say, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, or Alola, so this shouldn't take too long.
I'll start with Professor Sycamore, as he is the first character the player is introduced to in the game. Even before starting my second playthrough, Professor Augustine Sycamore (I love that he actually has a first name, though I believe Juniper does as well, though that may have just been a non-game thing) was always a character I liked. I love that you actually get to battle him, which seemingly set a trend considering you can battle Kukui in Sun and Moon. It's also a nice callback to the removed fight against Oak in the original games. He's charming, suave, actually pretty funny at times, and all in all an enjoyable guy. He also continued the "attractive professor instead of some old guy (Oak and Rowan) or bumbling dad (Elm and Birch)" trend that Juniper started and Kukui furthered, so that was funny. As well, he's quite the dreamer, as noted when you see the note he had left in the past to his future self.
Some of his actions with Lysandre are poorly done, but I am fully of the opinion that that is to Lysandre's detriment, and not Sycamore's. I'll explain further when I get to Team Flare.
Next I'll go over Sina and Dexio since they're his assistants. What's that? You don't know who these two are? If you said that, don't worry, because I also forgot who they were until they showed up again in Moon. These two seemed...wholly unnecessary, honestly. There wasn't one thing they did that, say, Shauna, Trevor, or Tierno could have done on Sycamore's behalf. And I guess they were superheroes at one point? That whole Defenders of Kalos thing was never explained and seemed more like a Big Lipped Alligator moment, or at the very least something that got lost in translation during localization.
Next I'll cover the rivals. Note that since I played as the male player, Serena was the main rival and not Calem.
I always thought Serena was a good character, and far and away the best of the Kalosian rivals. And honestly, she's kind of a tragic character. Her parents were both incredibly skilled Pokémon trainers known throughout Kalos. Granted, the player is also the child of a famous person, but instead the child of an acclaimed Rhyhorn Racer. Anyway, Serena actually goes through quite a bit of growth throughout the storyline. For the purpose of my playthrough, she started with a Chespin, as I started with a Froakie. The rest of her team consisted of a Meowstic, an Absol, a Vaporeon, and an Altaria, plus a Clefable in her post game battle.
Serena's arc deals with her coming to terms with her shortcomings. She gets frustrated that the player always seems to top her at every turn, likely oblivious to the fact that it's likely because she warns you about battling her beforehand, giving you time to prepare. Snark aside, it's legitimately kind of sad to see how sad she gets after losing. It's inferred that she sets impossibly high standards for herself due to her parents being strong trainers, and as a result may harbor an inferiority complex. A lot can be taken from the fact that her ace Pokémon is Absol, as that's the Pokémon that becomes capable of Mega Evolution in the battle against Serena in Kiloude City. Absol is a Pokémon that was thought to bring about disasters due to trying to warn people about them. Similarly, Serena is often called a poor rival due to being weak, when really the player is just too overpowered from Exp Share. Tierno mentions that she was training with the Mega Evolution Guru to become capable of Mega Evolution, showing once again that she can do amazing things when her mind is set to it.
Man, remember when being capable of Mega Evolution actually meant something? In X and Y only the player, Serena, Diantha, Korrina, and Lysandre are even capable of Mega Evolving their Pokémon. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire then allowed it for Brendan, May, Wally, Steven, Maxie, Archie, Lisia, Zinnia, and the Elite Four during rematches, but over all it still followed the Hero/Rival(s)/Villain/Champion format, save for Zinnia who was plot important, Lisia who used it to showcase Mega Evolution in Contests, and the rematches with the Champions. Then Alola comes along and kindergarteners are brandishing Mega Gengar in the Battle Tree and geriatric janitors are knocking you out with Mega Kangaskhan in the Battle Royale Dome.
Anyway, that aside, Serena eventually comes to terms with who she is and decides to no longer let losing get her down. She realizes her own strengths and weaknesses, and opts to hone her strengths as opposed to being dragged downward by her shortcomings. Over all, she has a solid character arc and was an enjoyable character all around.
Now we get into the more controversial rivals. I'll start with Trevor. Trevor's goal at the start of the game is to complete the Pokédex. A noble goal, and one shared by rival Brendan/May in Hoenn. Trevor, despite being considered a poor rival, actually has a nice character moment in the Frost Cavern where he helps save an Abomasnow from Team Flare, who plan to use it for their plans. Seeing the normally passive Trevor fight off Team Flare alongside the player head-on shows quite a bit of growth from the usually meek and mousy boy from earlier on. Trevor's team also does a nice job of showcasing his goal of Pokédex completion: all three of his Pokémon are rare ones. Raichu evolves from Pikachu, which are notoriously elusive in the Santalune Forest. He has an Aerodactyl, which can only be found by reviving it from an Old Amber, making them incredibly rare. Finally, his ace is his starter, Florges. While it may not seem obvious at first, as Flabébé is not a rare Pokémon, Trevor's was an Orange Flower Flabébé, one of the rarest of the five major types (Orange and White are far less common than Red, Yellow, and Blue). Yes, Trevor is a pushover in battle, but to judge him as a character in this regard isn't fair: his goal was never to set out to be a great trainer. His team, on the other hand, does demonstrate his goal of finding rare Pokémon to complete the Pokédex. With that, Trevor gets a thumbs up from me.
Next is Tierno. Tierno is, sadly, among the least liked rivals to ever appear in the games among the playerbase...at least, the international playerbase. Apparently Tierno is well liked in Japan, to the point that they made him one of Ash's major rivals in the anime to capitalize on it. Who'd've thought? Tierno's goal in the story is...unorthodox, at least, by rival standards. His goal isn't to be a great trainer, become a contest star, complete the Pokédex, or meet a legendary Pokémon...Tierno just wants to form a troupe of dancing Pokémon. Tierno is actually the guy you get your starter from, having delivered them to Aquacorde Town on behalf of Sycamore (further showing why Sina and Dexio aren't needed in the slightest, by the way), and at this point already has his starter Pokemon. His starter? Of all things, Corphish. If nothing else he gets points for originality. You, Serena, and Shauna divvy up the Kalos starter trio, Trevor gets Flabébé, the first in a three stage line that shows off the new Fairy type...and Tierno gets Corphish, a two stage Hoenn Pokémon, because that makes sense.
Tierno tells you right from the get go that he isn't good at battling. Most fans treat this as a point against him due to the nature of the game being battle oriented, but personally I think it's a nice change of pace, as it showcases that there's more to the Pokémon World than just battles. When you first fight Tierno, he only has his Corphish, which knows Vicegrip and Swords Dance, to fit in with the dancing theme. Additionally, in Glittering Cave, he gives the player the TM for Flash. He mentions that he uses it all the time, as it keeps wild Pokémon at bay. This showcases once again that Tierno avoids battling when possible. It just doesn't fit into what his goals in life are.
However, during the fight against Team Flare in Geosenge Town, something changes in Tierno. While he and Trevor were freeing Pokémon being leeched off by the stones, he had an epiphany. Had the player not intervened when Team Flare attempted to set off the Ultimate Weapon, he'd be dead. His friends would be dead. All of Kalos would have been dead. And he realizes at this point that he really DOESN'T know the player as well as he previously thought, despite giving them a nickname at the start of the game. And he gets inspired. He wants to battle the player, because he knows the player loves to battle and he feels that that will be the best way to truly get to know them, and to thank them for saving Kalos.
His team, upon facing him again, consists of his evolved Crawdaunt, a Talonflame with Swords Dance, and a Roserade with Petal Dance. Despite only having three Pokémon, his team is quite balanced, having a Water/Fire/Grass core all with secondary types that don't overlap. And considering it is implied he put this team together relatively late in the game, perhaps he doesn't give himself enough credit when it comes to training. Tierno is actually one of my favorite characters in X and Y because of his arc. It's a genuinely interesting little arc and yet he gets a ton of hate because he's kind of an awful battler...when that's intended and not at all his goal. I'll gladly join the #TiernoDefenseSquad honestly, and it was a shame that he didn't show up in Alola to gush about Oricorio and its Revelation Dance when Sina and Dexio showed up for the Zygarde stuff. Oh well, let's hope they fix that in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
Finally, Shauna...and honestly, I'll be frank. Shauna is, in my opinion, the worst of the Kalos rivals by a lengthy margin. She just seems wholly unnecessary, and unlike Sina and Dexio, she shows up far too often for this to reasonably be the case. The issue is that she doesn't offer much of anything to the cast. She isn't a good battler, but at the same time she doesn't really have a tangible goal like Serena, Trevor, and Tierno do. She just had a vague "I want to make lots of memories" shtick that lacked any sort of substance and was generic as all get out. The only thing of worth she does in the story is when she uses Clemont's Puzzle Solving Device in the Team Flare HQ, only to immediately break it after one use. Deus Ex Fillerfriend. She just seems tacked on to complete the TV Tropes Five Man Band (the player as the Hero, Serena as the Lancer, Trevor as the Smart Guy, and Tierno as the Big Guy) by her being The Chick, but she lacks so much depth and anything of value to the friend group that she comes off more as The Load, especially during the Flare break-in where she was more of a liability than any sort of asset to the player and Serena.
Next I will talk about the Gym Leaders...boy howdy.
As a whole, the Gym Leaders sucked this time around. Korrina, Clemont, and Wulfric were the only ones who I thought were the least bit compelling. Korrina due to her being important to the Mega Evolution storyline, Clemont with his humorous interactions with Bonny and actually impacting the story with the above mentioned invention he gave Shauna, and Wulfric since the first time you see him is when you see him taking care of abandoned Pokémon in the Pokémon Village.
You never even see Viola, Ramos, Valerie, or Olympia outside their gym or the Battle Castle place, while Grant only shows up outside his gym to tell you to go to his gym. Compared to Sinnoh and ESPECIALLY Unova where Gym Leaders felt like influential figures in their cities outside their gyms, these were huge steps back to the likes of Generation I. Ramos, Grant, Olympia, and Korrina had neat Gym gimmicks (Gymmicks?) at least, but at the same time the badge names got worse...we literally got the Bug, Fairy, and Psychic badges.
AZ is also a character I enjoyed. He adds quite a bit to the series lore and was indirectly responsible for creating Deoxys, of all things. Plus the ending with Floette was one of the most emotional scenes in the core series, memes be damned.
Diantha was pretty good as a Champion. Her theme song and design are great (she was based off of Audrey Hepburn, so that's a plus) and she has a solid theme. You also can't tell me that she and Sycamore don't have a thing. They definitely have a thing. Like Sycamore, though, her actions with Lydandre make her seem worse than she really is, IMO, as like I said before, I find that much more of a flaw with Lysandre than anyone else, not Diantha or Sycamore.
Now...Team Flare. After my first play through I thought Team Flare was the single worst evil team in the series. After a second go-around, sadly my opinion hasn't changed.
First, let me say that the scientists aside from Xerosic were essentially non-entities. They had no character to them unlike other evil team admins and were all completely interchangable, with only hair color differentiating them. Remembering their names for this write up was a struggle. Alianna, Bryony, Celosia, and Mable, for those who were wondering. Xerosic was honestly pretty memorable, though most of it deals with the post game, so I'll talk about him later alongside Looker and Emma.
Then we have their leader, Lysandre. I like what Game Freak...TRIED to do with Lysandre, but the execution was poor. What they tried to do was have a Steve Jobs-like public figure with sinister intentions but a good public image, what with him being a tech celebrity of sorts who has good publicity. And I get that Team Flare itself was supposed to be analogous to the real life super rich who are also doomsday preppers, as they're using their tremendous funds to ensure their own future.
But Lysandre's goals and ambitions just didn't make sense. He wanted literally everything dead, including Team Flare. He wanted the world to be beautiful again, but he wouldn't be able to see it since he'd be dead. He holds these insidious beliefs, including wanting to sacrifice his own Pokémon...and yet his Gyarados still bonds with him enough to Mega Evolve. Not to mention subtlety isn't his forte. It brings this video to mind.
Lysandre has the same issue as Jedah does in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. In-universe there isn't anything inherently evil about him, but as an audience they make their true intentions so incredibly obvious that it makes other characters look dumb by proxy. Any genre savvy person would recognize that Lysandre's speech at the cafe sounded genocidal as hell.
I give them props for the not so subtle implication that Lysandre died though. Ballsy. Also why did I face the Flare Grunt with only a single Swalot at least three times?
Postgame: I love the Looker Bureau postgame segment. Looker is honestly my favorite Pokémon character. He's great, and his interactions with Emma and Xerosic were amazing here. He's a genuinely good guy who, though bumbling, tries to uphold justice, and goes as far as letting a complete stranger live in his office, all to get a young girl safely off the streets. His conversation with Xerosic about Emma shows how he puts others before himself, allowing Xerosic to have dinner with him and Emma before arresting him. He's just a great guy. Also going all throughout Lumiose was fun from a gameplay perspective.
Over all, I enjoyed Y a lot more than I did initially, and though it definitely still has its issues, I can say that my opinion of it has changed for the better after a second go around. The credits music is also beautiful. All in all, Diggersby tho.
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