There isn't a single Pokémon region that's perfect, as eac🍌h has its own flaws, but they have been improved on over the years. One of the most recent is the tropical Alola region, the setting for the Generation VII games and the events contained within. Alola, like the many regions that came before it, is home to some new features, some 𓃲great stuff, and some imperfections.
The Alola region has a strong focus on tropical beachy lifestyle, with bits of ancient lore thrown in. Unfortunately, the region finds itself 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:plagued by invasion fr♉om interdimensional beings. It's no big deal, th🎃ough, apparently. Here are some of the other flaws with Alola, and some of its best features.
10 🌟 Needed Im♎provement: Surfing
The Alola region is an island-based one, covering four islands and the Aether Paradise's artificial floating island. As such, there are a t🎉on of beaches, water-based activities, and large spans of ocean betw♛een each of the major areas.
It's strange, then, that there's a notable lack of surfing between the islཧands. The various islands are reached via boat or using Charizard as a ride Pokémon. In the sequels, Mantine was added as a ride Pokémon that can be used to travel between islands, but it's in a mini-game and still isn't a typical surfing mechanic that the games usually contain.
9 Pretty꧅ Great: The Pokémon League ⛄
It was a major diversion from tradition aꦓnd set standards when Sun & Moon didn't have an established Elite Four and Pokémon League. However, throughout the events of the Gen VII games, the player helps to establish and eventually conquer an Elite Four made from scratch.
This gave 👍the Elite Four a great role in the game and added a bit of connection that lacked in some past regions. Also, having to defend your Championship title was a great change from past games, where the player seemingly won the Championship but still had to battle the old Champion if they rechallenged the League.
8 ꦬ Needed Improvement: Never-Ending Tutori🐽al
Over the years, Pokémon games have arguably become easier and more "hand-holding," meaning the characters in-game usher you through everything and eliminate any type of challenge. It frustrates many long-time players, who don't n♍eed a tutorial telling them that Fire is good against Grass.
Sun & Moon ♕and their sequels are arguably the worst cases of this. There are a few places in t😼he game where you're stopped every five stops by a different character telling you where to go or what to do.
7 P✱retty Great: Culture 𒉰
The most obvious vibe in Alola is, of course, the Hawaii-inspired tropical beach lifestyle. However, if one looks closer, there is a ton of other culture evident in various areas that differs from the o🐷bvious overarching style.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Malie City🏅 has a traditional Eastern design, while Po Town looks like the dingy dark streets of an inner-city covered in graffiti. Paniola is inspired by the American West, and Poni𒈔 Island is filled with derelict ancient ruins. There are a lot of great cultural styles at play here, and many of th𒐪em haven't been reused by the games constantly as others have.
6 Needed Improve⛎ment: Linearity
With several round islands and a bunch of different places to explore, one might assum🐟e that Alola is one of the regions that isn't locked into a linear route for the game's story to follow. However, they'd be wrong.
Like many regions before it, Alola is incredibly linear, leading the player through a direct route from the beginning to the end of the game. There's very little reason to revisit areas, and not a lot of room 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:for detours.
5 𒁃 ꦺ Pretty Great: Island Deities
Many games have done a great job of integrating the local Legendaries into the in-game lore of their region. Generation IV and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Generation V are fantastic examples of this. However, Gen VII also does a great job, ⛎incorporating the Island Deities into their own islands and theꦑ overarching story of the game.
Tapus Koko, Fini, Bulu, and Lele are protectors of their islands, thwarting threats like the Ultra Beasts and keeping the inhabitants safe. They have shrines in their honor, a town dedicated to them, and they select the local kahuna. Their designs are based on real Hawaiian deities, as well. They even share a signature move,ꦑ Nature's Madness, and🎶 its upgrade version, the Guardian of Alola Z-Move.
4 Needed Improvement: Size 𒈔 ❀
The lore and stories of Alola may be vast, but the region itself is anything but. Many fans have criticized the Alola region for being rather small, witho♉ut much breathing room. This is reflected in the fact that it ha꧂s fewer towns than any other main series region, with only ten.
The fact thatꦕ the islands can't really be freely traveled between doesn't help this, either. It feels lik𝓰e there are four (and Aether Paradise) small capsules you can exist in, and that's it.
3 ꦰ Pretty Great: Alolan Forms
Before Generation VIII had its currently-cool Galarian Forms, there was the Alola region, with its series-changing Alolan Forms. These regional variants were only given to Generation I Pokémon, but they altered the Pokémon games in a way that had never been seen before.
The introduction of168澳洲幸运5开奖网: these Alolan variants caused an explosion of fan art, Fakemon designs, and potential for the series, w💃hich was then capitalized on with the introduction o𝕴f Galarian forms. It's likely that regional variants will be introduced in future generations, too, given their popularity.
2 Needed Improvement: Constant Invasion 🦩
The residents of each Pokémon region seem to be a bit oblivious to much of what goes on around them. Whether its evil teams doing evil things, catac🃏lysmic for⛄ces of nature, or superweapons threatening to destroy all life, many of the NPCs just carry on about their day like nothing has changed.
In the Alola region, this phenomenon takes form in constant invasion by interdimensional monsters called 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ultra Beasts. Sure, the Legendary Pokémon of the area often repel them, but is virtually nobody interested in the fact that terrifying creatures are coming through wormholes from ano🐬ther dimension?
1 ♍ 🃏 Pretty Great: Liveability
Despite living under the constant threat of interdimensional invasion by horrific creatures of immense power, the has one thing going f💛or it that no other region can compare to: that sweet, sweet tropic𝕴al lifestyle.
꧅Who doesn't want to kick back on a sunny beach without a care in the world? Alola is the perfect place for this, filled with sandy beaches, beautiful resorts, lush vegetation, and crystal clear waters. It's an extremely liveable place, and could be home to a li🍒fe of carefree bliss.