probably the best word to describe this game setting is "bold"

i mean...you arent a upstarting trainer but an ex-criminal! you already have two mons who are implied to have been with you for some time! you dont steal pokemon, you snatch em away from other trainers! alot of the npcs you meet are outlaws! so yeah pretty bold compared to the mainline series..or what im used to at least

the gameplay has been changed, in that it's always double battles. they pretty much throw you out there without holding your hand, which is interesting in some aspects, but caused me to stumble on a few areas (didnt know you could "pick a starter", didnt know timeflutes effects etc).

i have to give props to the designs/score as well. the designs is pretty bonkers (in a memorable way) and the different battle themes are dang solid.

i also have to highlight all the pokemon animations. decattys haughty walk, all the fish pokemon rising up like they're dead when fainting, jigglypuff turning flat, some examples that really stuck with me and just shows the amount of effort that went into making every pokemons animation unique. it's awsome, really.

the game has some frustrations tho. while the animations are cool theyre pretty drawn out and can make battles feel slow. this added with the pre-exp share all era makes grinding a pain the ass. having shadow pokemon appear during important battles also causes the action to come to a screeching halt, due to having me focus on catching the pokemon rather than beating the opponent. these frustrations , combined with how you can only save at designated spots, is what caused me to lose interest in the post game stuff.

all in all, a really cool take on what pokemon can be like, but due to gameplay decisions i dont really vibe with, a game im not interested in exploring more than once.