What's your favourite Pokémon Region? | Team Talk

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Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are finally here, and trainers young and old are already hard at work exploring the brand new Paldea region, inspired by Mediterranean Spain.

In fact, we’ve been transported to many different locales over the years, with similarities to real places both close to home and far across the sea, but the question is, which was our favourite?

Perhaps you’ll choose Kanto, from the original, Red, Blue and Yellow games, or do you prefer the English-inspired Galar region? Let us know in the comments, or in our Discord.

​by Team PTC

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​@pass_controller

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Kanto – Pokémon Red | LiaM Andrews

I’ve only played three mainline Pokémon titles (four if you count Yellow, but that’s pretty much Red, so I don’t) meaning my choices were rather limited. Out of the three - Red, Moon, and Arceus - I have to go with the original and best, Kanto from Red.

This isn’t just nostalgia talking, Kanto was, and still is, an excellent overworld. Being a Gameboy title, it wasn’t much to look at, but it was brimming with charm and mystery, nonetheless. The first few areas were some of the best, in my opinion. I always enjoyed charging around Viridian Forest, picking fights with Caterpie and trawling the long grass until I finally came across a Pikachu.

I also enjoyed the massive Cycling Road which was packed with trainers all waiting to be taken down a peg or two. The Safari Zone was also cool, mixing up the catching process, and stumbling across Voltorb or Electrode (two of my favourite original Pokémon) in the Power Plant was always fun.

​Basically, Kanto had a bit of everything, and though there were definitely parts that I didn’t like (getting through any of the caves/tunnels was a chore) and I’ve yet to see better in a Pokémon game.

Alola – Pokémon Sun and Moon | James Parry

While I did hugely enjoy exploring the Pokémon take on the UK in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield’s Galar region, it’s Sun and Moon’s Alola that drew me back into the franchise back in 2016.

The Hawaii-esque island paradise proved to not only be a great way to make the game feel exotic and different, but also brought the opportunity to introduce regional variants of existing pokémon, since the location was so remote and you felt like they legitimately could have developed differently.

Case in point is the tribal Alolan Marowak, with a spinning, fiery bone baton making it far more inspiring than its Kanto predecessor. Raichu too had not only a really imaginative look, riding on its tail like a surfboard, but a psychic/electric typing which introduced some really interesting match-ups and made one an instant mainstay in my team.

The structure of the game was a little different as well, with the gyms swapped for outdoor trials, so you avoid a, let’s face it, often contrived series of mini battles crammed into an odd-shaped building and do something a bit more unusual.

Finally, if it’s a holiday destination you’re after, you could do a lot worse than four idyllic islands packed with exciting new and remixed pokémon and a dash of sunny (and moony?) weather. Certainly beats late November in the UK anyway…​

​Sunderland - Pokémon Go! | Chris Brand

As I'm still in the preliminary stages of playing a Pokémon game (lots of planning, talking about it, general prep work, etc.), I've enlisted the help of my dear friend, Jimmy, for this week's topic. Tiny Little Jimmy, as I've decided to call him as a thank you for the assistance, had this to say when I asked him to write a few words about his favourite region in Pokémon Go!
 
"My favourite place I've been to in Pokémon Go! has to be Tokyo or Shinjuku in Japan. The sheer amount of Pokestops is surreal when you first experience it, if you're from an area with not many. The raids will also be full quite often, meaning if there's a legendary or Ultra Beast you really want, you have a much higher chance of being successful."
 
However, Naughty Little Jimmy didn't travel the world to discover these places, he simply spoofed his real-world location, which is not only cheating, but also far more effort than I would be willing to put in, so I think it's only fair that we disregard everything he's ever said.
 
Now that Jimbob Cheatpants has ruined my idea, I've been forced to write about the only thing I know, Sunderland. There's a gym only a stone's throw away from where I live and a good handful of parks within walking distance. If I was looking to recruit a bunch of animals to form an army, something I have considered on and off over the years, then a nearby park would be the first spot I'd check. I'm assuming that's all you need, a place to catch animals and a place to train them.
 
Today you've learned that I live in the best possible area to start a rewarding Pokémon Go! career (if I ever get around to it), but the real lesson is that you should only do me a favour if you've got pretty thick skin.