I haven't had this much fun playing a Pokémon game in a while! Once you go through the first two or so hours of story set up, you're pretty much left on your own. I don't play open world games often, so call me easily pleased, but exploring this world was so addictive that I had to intentionally stop myself so that I could actually progress one of the three storylines. Of the three storylines, Arven's was easily my favorite. It's not the deepest or most fleshed out thing, but if story in a Pokémon game can actually make me feel something, then I think that's a job well done. Battles are the same old thing but now with a new gimmick that'll be tossed out when the next mainline game releases. Playing this solidified that I don't really get much out of Pokémon's combat system anymore, but instead catching Pokémon and filling out the Pokédex. This was the first time I went into a Pokémon game almost spoiler free on what new creatures were added, so discovering something new was genuinely exciting. And finally, yes, this game has an extraordinary number of technical issues and glitches. I'm not excusing Game Freak here, but those tiny glitches kind of enhanced my experience? I'm going to remember that Fidough walking on air. Tinkaton is my new favorite Pokémon and Larry is probably the best character Game Freak has ever created.