Pokémon has come a long way since its humble beginnings. What began as an out of nowhere success story that managed to sweep not only Japan, but the world, has become a juggernaut that even Nintendo couldn’t predict. The series continues to grow strong decades later with very few actual changes along the way. Since Generation I, Pokémon has seldom strayed the course. Spin-offs have released, of course, but never so substantial where anyone clamors for anything but the expected. That all changed with the release of Go, however. As Generation I did the century prior, Go revitalized a series that was already strong.
Naturally, Game Freak decided to capitalize on the series’ newfound fervor. Blending the franchise’s two biggest moneymakers together, Game Freak developed Let’s Go — the perfect blend of the main series and the new phone based side series. In many respects, Let’s Go is built on a certain familiarity rooted in every essence of the series, but it is not so derivative where there isn’t a degree of mystery to it. Playing Let’s Go, you’ll often finding yourself wishing yoꦚu knew key details beforehand. Game Freak pushed the idea of it as a remake, but it is truly so much more.
25 No Pro𓃲 Controller Support
What you play with contributes quite a bit to how much you will inevitabl🌱y enjoy a game. A good controller can make an eജxperience whereas a bad once can keep you from fully appreciating a game at its best. The best case scenario is a game being designed around a single controller, offering the optimal control scheme.
Although Let’s Go is built around the Pokeball controller, it does have Joy-Con support. Sadly, it lacks Pro Controller support, arguably Nintendo’s comfiest controller. Logic dicꦉtates that this is due to the game’s reliance on gyro throwing, but handheld removes that entirely — there’s no reason the Pro Controller shouldn’t be supported.
24 🔜 Eevee And Pikachu Can’t Evolve 🌊
When Game Freak revealed that the two main starters would be Eevee and Pikachu, fans were naturally most inclined to pick the form🐬er. Not only had Eevee never been a starter before (at least not one trainers could pick,) Eevee has access to three evolut✱ions on Kanto whereas Pikachu only has one.
In a twist of fate that honestly should not have surprised by anybody, but still did, Eevee and Pikachu cannot evolve over the course of t🐈he game. Your starter will stay in their pre-evolved form for the entirety of the game. That sadly means no Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, or Raichu for you.
23 ꦯ You Can Catch Duplicates Of Your Staౠrter
Despite the inability to actually evolve your starters, Game Freak decided not to overlook this problem as they did in Yellow. Rather than forcing trainers to miss four entries in their Poked🌳ex, Eevee and Pikachu can bothꩵ be caught in the wild, ensuring that trainers can get their evolved forms by other means.
This marks one of Eevee's few capturable appearances.
This is especially useful for Eevee who, despite being one Pokℱémon, evolves into a potential thr🅷ee. That means trainers would need a minimum of three Eevees just to get all of their evolved forms. Naturally, with Eevee being unable to evolve, this means trainers would need to be able to find Eevee in the wild.
22 ⭕ Eevee And Pikachu Have New Moves
Further showing that Game Freak does indeed know t🍌heir audience well enouඣgh to understand that most fans likely would not be okay with Pikachu and Eevee staying in their base forms for the entire game, Game Freak decided to implement new moves for both Eevee and Pikachu.
Rather than simply letting them suffer with their base move pools, both Pokémon are now quite a bit stronger with moves that help cover their Type weaknesses and advantages qꦅuite a bit more. This way, Pikachu and Eevee can stay relevant from start to finish. Bizarrely, o🦂ne is actually better than the other.
21 Eevee‘s Are Much Better 🤡
Despite both Pokémon being introduced on more or les🐲s an even playing field, Eevee utterly outclasses Pikachu in just about every regard. Pikachu has the moves you’d expect like Surf, at least allowing the electric mouse to do some real damage against Ground and Rock Types, but not much else.
Pikachu's got nothing on Eevee.
Eevee, on the other hand, has access to moves from across Gen I’s entire move pool. Eevee🐓 could realistically be built to cover any and all weaknesses. Considering Eevee is a Normal Type Pokémon, too, it’s not as if it HAS many weaknesses. Here’s hoping you𓆉 picked Let’s Go Eevee.
20 💫 You Need To Catch A Minimum Of 50 Pokémon To Beat The 𒆙Game
Games in the series typically only have one goal: collect all eight badges to challenge the Elite Four. Although each game has its own overarching story that ends up eating up sometime sooner or later, trainers are more or less given the freedom to proceed how they please. Why would Let’s Go be any different?
Naturally, Let’s Go actually does handle this fairly differently. Rather than simply progressing the story and playing as you please, trainers need to catch a minimum of fifty Pokémon before the game’s end otherwise they won’t be able to challenge every Gym Lead💙er and thus get all eight badges. Better get catching!
19 🎉 Your Starter Can Withstand Fainting
Affection has been a core mechanic of the series since Generation II. Starting with Gold’s adventure in Johto, Pokémon could begin to develop feelings for their trainers- familial ones, specifically. How happy your Pokémon was would be directly tied to concepts like evolution. Let’s Go keeps this train going.
The power of love is a wonderful thing.
Should Eevee and Pikachu especially like their trainer, they’ll have the chance to withstand fainting. Pikachu and Eevee’s love for you can allow them to endure a mortal blow. In that sense, it’s actually incredibly beneficial to use them often. It could ܫnet you a win in a tight moment.
18 ꦆ No Wild Battles 𝓀
Pokémon has one of the clearest defined gameplay loops in the entire medꩵium of gaming. You walk around, you get into battles, you fight Pokémon, and you either catch them or faint them. It’s a simple loop that makes good use of traditional JRPG mechanics with a hint of team building to guide trainers.
Come Let’s Go, however, and the entire battling angle is out. While there are still random encounters, battles will only ever take place with other trainers. You will not be able to battle wild Pokémon, only catch them. This is a carryover from Go itself and it’s… not for everyone. Be warned if you’re st🧜ill on the fence.
17 Catching Awards More EXP Than B🦹attꦫling
No means of battling in the wild means Pokémon naturally cannot gain experience as quickly as they once did. As Game Freak is not incompetent, they implemented a system🐼 to ensure that Pokémon would be gaining experience nonetheless: catching. When you catch a Pokémon, your Pokémon on hand gain EXP.
You'll never have to battle again.
It’s a fair trade-off and one that gives Let’s Go a bit of a more defined identity of its own, but the experience you get is also far higher than if you were battling in any other game. There is basically no need to grind in Let’s Go because catching nets you so much experience. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on how hard𝕴 you🤡 want the game to be.
16 The P🦹okeball Controller Adds Quite A Lot
The Pokeball controller isn’t just for show- it is a legitimate addition to the Let’s Go experience. If you aren’t 🐲playing the game without the Pokeball in hand, you honestly aren’t playing the game as it was intended. As we’ve established, a controller adds a lot to an experience, and the Pokeball goes above an🎶d beyond.
Not only is it ergonomically designed to match the game’s inherent control scheme —fitting in one hand— the Pokeball lights up🦹 to match your Pokémon’s color scheme and also em🔴its the sound of each Pokémon in your Pokedex. It is as immersive as a controller could be, improving the flow of the game considerably.