The Dragon-type reign of terror is (mostly) over. Fairies are immune to all Dragon attacks, which completely changes competitive play. The new type also gives previously forgotten Pokemon like Mawile a new lease on life.
Mawile not only gets a new type (Fairy/Steel), but a Mega Evolution as well -- the new mechanic that gives certain Pokemon powerful new forms. All the sudden, Mawile is an intriguing defensive Pokemon, with an ability in Huge Power that raises its attack to terrifying levels. Absol and Kangashkan benefit as well, but Mawile is the poster-mon for how Mega Evolutions can benefit previously forgotten Pokemon.
Pokemon X is a staggering graphical improvement from the previous games in the series. Every one of its 700 or more Pokemon are fully-animated, and many of the attacks are extremely stylish. The new graphics make it genuinely hard to go back to Pokemon Black 2/White 2, which only came out last year.
At long last, Pokemon's infamous hidden stats can be tracked via the new Super Training feature. They are visualized with the help of a radar chart, which offers a glimpse of how the training is progressing. It's not precise, but it eliminates much of the guesswork that once made EV training such a pain.
Another great improvement is the ability to train up EVs via quick 3D goal shooting. In the past, EV training meant finding a certain Pokemon and killing it over and over again. Super Training removes all of that hassle, and it doesn't cost a dime in-game.
For those Pokemon with outdated EV spreads, Reset Bags are amazing. A few punches with completely wipe their EV points, making them pretty much good as new. When the Pokemon Transporter arrives, all those old Pokemon from Ruby/Sapphire are going to have a lot more value.
PR Videos are a dangerously addictive way to publicize your trainer via 12 second clips. Using a surprisingly powerful editor, you can insert different backgrounds, effects, and music to create a nifty little video featuring your trainer and a top Pokemon. Then when you'rer done, you can share it online with a random teenager in South Korea.
Wonder Trades are a wonderful little game of roulette. Put in a monster, and you will get a completely random Pokemon in return. Sure, you might get a boring Oddish, but you never know when someone might toss in a rare or well-trained monster for the heck of it...
Connect to the internet in Pokemon X/Y and a huge number of faces will begin scrolling by. It's overwhelming at first, but you'll quickly make friends with a host of random strangers as they challenge you to battles, give you boosts, and offer trades. It's completely seamless too -- in essence the Pokemon MMO we've always wanted.
It's finally possible to enter the name of the Pokemon you want when depositing a monster in the system. No more having to ask for loaners just so you can see them in the GTS menu. That's all that really needs to be said.
Pokemon Black and White had random online battles, but not in full 6v6 variants. In Pokemon X/Y, it's finally possible to challenge passersby in the Player Search System to a full battle. It took two full generations to get to this point, but better late than never.
And hey, we can finally choose the music as well. Pokemon X offers ten tracks to choose from when entering a battle against another player. So now you can pick sweet gym leader music for your playground grudge match.
Pokemon Amie makes it possible to pet and play with your monsters, adding to the illusion that they are real creatures. It adds to the game itself as well, since certain Pokemon need high Affection to evolve. Sometimes though it's just fun to sit back and play a game of Berry Picker with your favorite Pokemon.
Hawlucha might not be the most powerful Pokemon, but its design is an all-time great. It's a bird that resembles a Mexican luchadore, and has a signature move in Flying Press to match. This thing really needs a Mega Evolution when Pokemon Z rolls around.
The more friend codes you enter, the more opportunities you get to find rare Pokemon like Chlorophyll Ivysaur. Previously, these alternate Pokemon were only really available via uploading your monsters into a browser game and hoping for the best. It's not necessarily easier, but it is more convenient, not to mention a novel way to find new monsters.
Hardcore fans will appreciate the large number of tweaks to the overall balance. Among other things, Steel is no longer quite as dominant defensively, auto-weather effects end after a certain number of turns, and grass-types can switch into sleep moves like spore. The vasty majority of fans may not notice them, but they add up, especially for the competitive game.
Pokemon X brings some very interesting changes to the traditional type chart. Probably the biggest is that Steel no longer resists Dark-type and Ghost-type attacks, which ought to impact its defensive dominance. Skarmory and Jirachi are definitely sweating.
Also interesting is that certain types are now immune to status effects. Grass-types resist Spore, granting a useful immunity to the most irritating sleep move in the game, and all Electric-types appear to be entirely immune to being Paralyzed. With status effects continuing to play a solid role in the competitive game, it's nice to have a few more ways to avoid them.
As with everything else in Pokemon, avatar customization can quickly become an obsessive way of life in Pokemon X/Y. There are multiple boutiques with rotating outfits, unlockable styles, and plenty of other ways to differentiate your character. You may save a lot of money with the new EV training improvements, but you're probably going to end up blowing it all on clothes.
It only took six generations, but Snorlax is finally up from his nap. A fan put together this little sequence of sprites from the past several games, which show the loooong process of waking up the famously sleepy Pokemon. All together now: Awww.
.....reference...from ign!
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