there are some pretty interesting themes at play here, especially surrounding lillie, but it’s kind of hindered by being a pokemon game. a modern one, at that.

let me explain: there’s a level of complexity, depth, and detail that game freak just can’t get into, because they have to aim for the pokemon audience. there could’ve been a really interesting look into lusamine’s child… abuse? neglect? and her behavior towards lillie and gladion, and how that compares to how hala treats hau. instead, there’s just a lot of scenarios and backstory that gets glossed over and not given the weight it deserves.

same thing with the gameplay. the z-moves could be a really interesting mechanic, but it ends up trivializing a lot of the standard trainer battles, and makes the optimal plan having 1-2 strong pokemon and using the other 4 to farm potions and stall.

i really quite like the changed up progression system, though, and it allows the captains and kahunas to have more of a presence and a personality. i remember mallow, acerola, and hala more than any of the gym leaders from games prior. there’s also a genuine, useful reward for clearing trials, by allowing for more z-move types.

there’s some genuinely interesting ideas here; some of them are more fleshed out than others, but i can respect game freak for changing up the style (even if it ended up falling a little flatter than i’d like)