I won't say this game doesn't have flaws, because all games do, but dang, this is probably my favorite Pokemon game. The plot's kind of a badly paced mess that tries to do too many things at once and it's kind of handholdy, but even so, the flavor of the region is extremely good. There's little rewards for exploring everywhere, whether they be items or little vignettes that let you learn more about the region and characters.

Despite the pacing being an issue, the characters and their arcs really make the game shine. All the trial captains are pretty fun and interesting, and the main cast is pretty great. Lillie's story is absolutely fantastic, and the villains are great. Team Skull is the best evil team not because of any competence, but because of their incompetence... aside from Plumeria and Guzma, who are extremely good.

On the gameplay end of things, the Pokemon added in this gen are a very strong batch, with some like Mimikyu and Golisopod becoming some of my all-time favorites. The regional forms were a fantastic concept to introduce to the series from both a flavor and gameplay standpoint, and I'm really happy to see they seem to be carrying those forward. Also, the Ultra Beasts were an excellent concept, somehow managing to be completely alien in comparison to the rest of the series despite feeling like they fit in regardless. All in all, I absolutely love these games, and uh. Well. It's kind of interesting to see an instance where the first two games are better than the "third version" games...