I wanna start with the positives before I get into all my issues with the game. The combat system is good as it changes up the usual strategies completely, and makes moves like protect and detect more viable moves. Pokemon no longer evolve automatically when they reach the requirements instead u have to actively evolve them which I like. The soundtrack is good with a few really good ones. Finally the switch 2 version has overall solid performance in frame rate.

Okay now onto all my issues with this game. The map is terrible, legit It's the worst map in the entire series. It's not because it's smaller than previous games though, I'm a Yakuza fan and I know from experience that a small open world can be a much better experience because it's usually jam packed with all sorts of activities to do. However the map isn't full of activities. It's full of pokemon centers, cafes which are just pokemon centers that u pay to use to also boost you front pokemon bond with, and clothing stores that were obviously made by spreading out all the clothing u could buy between as many stores as possible to make the map feel more full of options. There's also a regular store for stones, fossils and some mega stones, and place to turn in those dumb colored screws for minor boosts, and another store and battle location that just uses a different currency to collect the remaining mega stones. There's no side activities in this small map, either using catch pokemon or battle trainers. That's it
Even the 3ds games and previous switch games had actual side activities you could do. This leaves nothing to break up the frequent catching and battling in the game.
The map is also poorly designed. IIt's just one big model with flat textures pasted on buildings making all the buildings look the same and blend in. Good luck trying to navigate without the map because u won't due to barely and recognizable land marks or locations.

Another issue I have is due to the stronger focus on mega evolution not only are no variants or evolution introduced, but you're gonna be pressured into just making a team of mega evolution pokemon. Not only does it give them significant power boosts, but they're basically required for Rouge mega evolution battles which are a little more awkward than the arceus bosses to do with the controls since u can't dodge while executing pokemon move commands. In fact lots of side quests require mega evolution pokemon as well and online is dominated by teams of mega pokemon. Shiny hunting is also a joke thanks to exploits in the game which arguably ruins their value the easier they are to acquire. The new mega evolution are mostly good, but the problem is mega evolution is a gimmick and unlikely to return after this game meanwhile the pokemon introduced in arceus can be brought back without much issue and even have in scarlet and violet. Overall this game adds pretty much nothing to future games.

The side quests are kinda trash to. Most are just regular pokemon battles. Some require u to catch certain pokemon, and the worst require you to fight with specific pokemon, so good luck grinding if u don't have the required pokemon up to the needed levels.
The battle areas at night are pretty okay, the cards add some challenges to making out coins and points, and stealthily taking out a trainers pokemon is fun. It's also a good way to grind out cash.

The story is pretty pokemon standard. I didn't really care about most of the characters especially since game freak is too cheap to hire voice actors. One of the characters u have to face is an electric streamer, literally a carbon copy of a gym leader from the previous game. The only legit stand out part was the finale, but that not enough to change my opinion.

This game is one of the more mediocre pokemon games, it can still be fun, but it's not better than Arceus or scarlet and violet. I give the switch 2 version a 6.5 for at least above average, but I will not recommend the inferior switch version or buying the dang dlc until u at least know what is gonna be in it

Posted using PostyBirb