I'm REALLY not a fan of Pokemon games. Even the ones that people say are really good, I rarely think are all that great. When I started this game I was really not expecting to enjoy it. This is easily one of the most disliked Pokemon games for being kind of the start of Pokemon's downfall so I was really worried because I'm already not super into these games, however to my surprise I thought it was pretty good.

The usual issues with these games that I find are still present. The battle system is basic and it's upsetting that it hasn't changed much in the main series besides Legends Arkoos and that's easily the biggest problem to me. These games are very boring especially at the start and they really esculate all that much until the endgame. This game just might be the worst case of it. I already knew about how easy this game would be so I decided to do a blind nuzlocke instead and the difficulty was still an issue. Most fights just boil down to swapping to whichever Pokemon had the effective move then executing it. I played the game in very small bursts over the course of a few weeks so it never got stale but if I had been any faster it easily would have been an issue.

Another common complaint is the story. Normally I don't think it's fair to call a Pokemon game's plot bad since they're all basically the exact same, however I can see where these complaints come from. The story had a lot of potential. I think Lysandre was actually a really cool villain but he's bogged down by being related to Team Flare who is easily the lamest evil Pokemon team. AZ was also a character I thought could have been really interesting if they gave him more time but they don't until the very end of the game. The main complaint I hear about the plot is the 4 rivals being too friendly. That's not the issue. The issue is that they're underdeveloped.The genderswap rival had some characterization but nothing super interesting or compelling. The other 3 each representing a different element of Pokemon games from filling out the Pokedex or just appreciating the Pokemon themselves. I think if fleshed out these could have been really cool characters but of course they aren't. Thankfully I think the future gens fix this even if they don't focus on more important aspects (such as making the games good.) To put it plainly, Gen 6 had A LOT of potential in its story that they just didn't go through with.

My favorite thing about this game besides the new Pokemon added has the be the region itself. At first I wasn't really enjoying it. Standard grass route and the first forest is copy paste Viridian forest from Gen 1. I was willing to ignore this though because at the time I assumed it was just them riding off the fact that the game was 3D so making the routes look super unique wouldn't be a priority. I was SO wrong. Kalos just might be the prettiest region in a Pokemon game. The early routes start off generic but they soon turned into sights that I was genuinely left me in awe. (My favorite is definitely the Pokemon League because its just this fucking massive castle where the camera starts to pan out as you approach it.)

The Pokemon designs are really good here. Gen 6 definitely went for a quality over quantity and it definitely shows. Greninja, Pangoro, Malamar, Tyrantrum, Sylveon, Hawlucha, Goodra, and Noivern are my favorites. I also love the Mega designs. My opinion of Sceptile who is my favorite Pokemon would be much lower if not for his Mega.

I no longer have high expectations for Pokemon and I don't see myself playing any of the future games, however Pokemon X and Y nail the aspects of Pokemon that I care about. The Pokemon, region and music are amazing and while I do agree that it has its flaws I don't think its fair to act like this game is the only Pokemon game that has them. This game is cozy. That's why I like it. Not my favorite Pokemon game but they definitely had way worse ones.

This was my first pokemon game. So, I am bias and I do love this game. PRAISE THE EXP SHARE! Gone are the days of grinding now this game is strictly pick-up and play as progression in the game no longer becomes a chore. Also, I adored the mode wherein you could feed and pet your Pokémon to improve your friendship with them, which in turn allowed them to battle more effectively. MEGA EVOLUTIONS ARE DA BOMB. I can write a whole bullet list. I won't. So I will say, The story makes no sense (but Team Flare are cool), the gameplay loop is perfect, and Kalos is an excellent setting. Also, the after story was enjoyable.

Pokemon X&Y is often considered one of the worst pokemon titles, and I honeslty can't see myself hating on it as much as other.

Yes, they are not perfect games and a potential pokemon Z would have fixed a LOT of issues.
But honestly I can justify a lot of the choices they went for: this game came out as a response to the fifth generations, that even if today is considered on of the best in the series, at the time wasn't financially successful, since most of the past fans where turned off by most of the bolder choices Black&White presented.

In a way, the decisions behind X&Y are not different to what other series did when they crumbled financially: Street fighter 4 was designed as a way to appeal to the "golden age" of SF after third strike went on its own hardcore direction; Fire emblem tried to capitalize on the nostalgia for the first game with the Shadow dragons remakes on DS and even with Awakening after the series was selling almost zero copies....

And similarly, the sixth generation focused more on the nostalgia for past titles: the new pokedex of Kalos is shorter, in favor 0f bringing back every past mons with new stunning 3D models instead of the spriteworks of past titles; you get your starters only to receive the Kanto trio after the first gym, alongside their NEW COOL MEGA FORMS; you even get plent of references to Kanto to say to older fans that "pokemon is back to its routes": the sleeping snorlax blocking the route, a cave literally called after Zubats, popular past mons like Lucario or Lapras given for free, and even a cave where Mewtwo resides.... today the appeal to Kant can feel saturated, but at the time it was apparaised adn accepted as a response to past games.

X&Y didn't just stopped to "just fanservice": the game was full of new gimmicks that while not incredibly developed, felt experiemntal and new: Horde encounters, Sky battles, the introduction of a literal new type after decades, character customization, and new ways to interact with the overworld... and this without even metioning mega evolutions, an incredible way to resurrect more underrated pokemon in the roster like Mawile, Medicham, Houndoom, Pinsir or Manectric. And the ability to find new encounters in every route was honestly pretty cool.

THe issue is that all of this new mechanics... weren't really mashed together well: Megas are cool but you can only obtain most of them in the almost non-existing post game (meaning that I made a team with Absol only to be able to try its new form after I beat Diantha), the game gives you a mega lucario and a mega charizard for free after the third gym, meaning that the game becaomes incredibly easy even if you nuzlock it, and most of the more creative mechanics are not implemented well and result more like a novelty that a fun experience.

Not to mention that the game is filled with mkre nauseating and slow pacing, due to the less interesting story that is shoved into your mouth, the least interesting rivals and villains, and the overall just inenteresting set pieces... only exception being AZ and the story of the giant Kalos war.

Overall it is still a decent time, I can respect a lot of the things X&Y does.... but really we needed a Pokemon Z. I can't get why the holy deer, the bird of death and the funny green snake are either just there to be used as battery or just chilling in a cave (seriously, Mewtwo gets a cool cutscene but not Zygarde?)

Upon reaching the 3DS era of Pokemon, I feel like I am close to reaching the end goal of the past generation Pokemon games that I haven't played at all, and I have been enjoying the ride through this franchise. But now as I entered the first half of gen 6, my thoughts on X and Y are mixed.

This game back then was when I was in the phase of not caring about Pokemon at all in high school, zoomer moment. But I did admit that the jump to 3D looked amazing for a handheld back then, which the models in future games are reused from X and Y.

In terms of what I thought the game really excelled with, was the Pokemon designs as I think these look really nice to me, even if I think other generations have better designs. Yeah sure, you have some stinkers like Klefki, Barbaracle, and Diggersby, but most of the new mons are unique and incredible to look at like Aegislash, Malamar, Dragalge, and Goodra whom I used later on in the team as it's my favourite dragon type in the franchise. And speaking of which, we got a brand new type added in this game being the Fairy type which would become another mainstay. It seems to be that when Pokemon adds a new type, they end up being overpowered, and that's what the Fairy type is in this game...and the next...and the next...and the next. A lot of old Pokemon were converted to pure fairy type or half fairy like Jigglypuff, Whimsicott, Clefairy, Gardevoir, but most of the new mons are also fairy type, with the mascot being a brand new Eeveelution, Sylveon. Just a shame that there are only 72 new mons this time, the lowest any game has gone being a max total of 721 mons at that time.

What I didn't expect from this game, was that the region of Kalos had some underrated music in several areas like the battles against the gym leaders, Team Flare, champion, and the legendaries, Victory Road, Lumiose City, Snowbelle City, and even Santalune City. Plus, the region itself having a huge design basis from France was stunning with what the designs of each area and town looked like, with Lumiose City being the biggest area in the game; having 3 sections you can head through plus a gym you fight at later on. This area is mainly the hub of Kalos and has a lot of areas and shops interconnected with it, with routes divulging in every direction. Cannot wait to explore this in Legends Z-A coming out.

Now the negatives...I really did not find the story to be engaging. Now the story formula is the same as usual, you get the picture already, but now they make you have 4 friends that journey with you. You got your neighbouring rival Serena or Calem, Shauna, the dex fanatic Trevor and the worst character Tierno. The story really wants you to like these characters but they come across as boring and annoying especially with the last two. Team Flare felt like a weak villain organisation, wanting to rule the world after firing a weapon some king made 3000 years and be the only ones left to live...yeah great plan. And do not get me started on the post game, holy hell this is so lame. You have a 2 hour long mission with Looker in Lumiose, and you can get the new mega stones, plus 2 returning legendaries and that's it. SO WEAK!!!

One new thing added in this generation was the birth of the 'gimmicks' seen nowadays in Pokemon, with the first one being Mega Evolutions. Megas are essentially new forms specific Pokemon can take in battle that grant them a huge boost in their stats and sometimes can even change their typing like Mega Gyarados for instance. While these were really cool, these immediately made the game a cakewalk since your attack stats would go stupidly high with these. And that brings me to my next point...this game was very easy to overlevel in.
They changed the exp share feature from being a held item into a key item this time, like in modern games, but they made this incredibly busted as you can easily go over levelled if not careful. You can turn it off and be like classic Pokemon, but I didn't and wanted to switch Pokemon if I felt too high levelled.

Overall, X and Y are not bad, but they aren't good either. While I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Kalos and loved seeing the pretty areas of the game, the low amount of new Pokemon was rather disappointing for me, the story was extremely dull and lame, and the exp share made the game way too easy at times. But the megas were a really cool addition, and I'm honestly surprised to see them return again. Here's hoping they nerf them then. X and Y are pretty low in terms of wanting to play them again, but they are fun if you just don't focus on the story and want a shorter Pokemon game on the side.