"I just finished Pokémon Scarlet and I'm actually surprised."

So when the game came out, I was seriously pressing X to doubt about the story being as good as BW. That's what I was reading online and i was just like, yeah ok, SURE.And honestly, the story was kinda... I mean it was okay. I was not at all invested in the story with Nemona as it felt extremely typical. As I played through the Starfall Street story, I found myself going from "Man these dweebs look stupid" to "oh my god this is a commentary on the zero tolerance policy in most schools where no one cares if someone is bullied, but when someone stands up and hits their bully back, then the victims get punished". While I'm still not particular to Penny as a character, I understood her and Team Star's plight entirely. I was beginning to see them not as an objective to complete, but as characters I actually grew to care about.And then we have arven. Holy shit Arven. This boy, who was completely unremarkable when I first saw pictures of him, completely grabbed me by the heartstrings and was like "Oh hey, I know I basically told you to fuck off when I first met you, but we are going for a motherfucking ride". Obviously, once i found out what he was seeking with the Herba Mystica, I was like "OH MY GOD WE NEED TO FIND THEM ALL RIGHT AWAY". I am 25 years old and was crying actual tears after we defeated the final titan. The story managed to weave an amazing chemistry between Arven, the player, and Koraidon. I was genuinely laughing when Arven was jealous that you shared the sandwhich with Koraidon. And can we also love how he started with telling us to shove off, and ended with him deciding to go back to the single most traumatic place he visited simply because he didn't want his friend to go to a dangerous place alone. Love that character development.And then it just kept going! So we get to Area Zero right, and I'm just amazed at the dialogue between these characters. Here is where I would love to highlight Nemona; her unending optimism and excitement really kept the team going. I'm 100% certain that Arven and Penny would have said FUCK THIS SHIT IM OUT after the second research lab. I was about to do that because, despite the fact I was breezing through the game at this point, Area Zero was actually a little challenging. And I also loved the dialogue between everyone, like how Penny and Arven were arguing at the beginning, but then the next convo was a contest of who had the best "friend origin story" with the player. Sorry Nemona and Penny, Arven did not deserve to be cut off he had the best story. Irregardless ,reading that convo I was laughing. It was adorable.Sada. Oh my gooooood, Sada. I was not expecting that twist. And I also was not expecting to struggle with the final battle. No joke, the last final battle I struggled with was Ghetsis. Like that last segment of the game was a fucking whirlwind and I loved. Holy shit. I was just not expecting to finish a pokémon games story and feel... just feel satisfied. Like if we compare it to SWSH, with that kinda out of no where "twist" ending that barely made sense, this twist was so much more satisfying and in a sense horrifying.I do wish that the story carried that same hook throughout all facets of the story, but if we were to cut the game into fourths of story(Gym Challenge, Starfall, Titan, and Area Zero), 50% is better than nothing. But honestly? I think a reason that Titan and Area Zero stuck out was because Arven is genuinely a really well written character with fantastic motivations. I cannot praise the characterization of Arven enough he is SO refreshing to have as an ally with actually really good character development.Nemona could... basically be chalked up to "I'm stupid strong, so I'mma take on the gym challenge again and since im so strong im bored" and Penny can be summed up with "THIS SITUATION IS OUT OF HAND AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP IT SO YOU STOP IT". I really kinda wish we got to see like... something else from these two characters. Like I kinda wish Nemona's story intertwined with Penny's a bit, considering she's the student counsel president now. I know that Clavell needed to see what the hell was going on, but i feel like Nemona partaking in the team starfall stuff would be both enlightening for her as a student council president, would give team star a bone to pick considering how Giacomo was treated and lost his position, and would also feed into Nemona's desperate need for a challenge.Anyways i'm rambling at this point. Very impressed by the story. i really hope that they continue this drive forward with stories like this and characters like Arven. via /r/pokemon https://ift.tt/CIV9eHK