Memories of Hoenn

With the Pokémon of the Hoenn region more or less fully present in Go, as I've discussed in yesterday's post, this brings to mind my memories associated with the region and the Pokémon. It's a wondrous region for the games and the anime alike. I keep saying it has wonder, and it really is true; the games and the anime are inherently special in their own regard as well as for myself. It is through the special things that the wonder is exhibited and becomes a part of my memories.

The original third-generation games, Ruby and Sapphire with the later-appearing Emerald, appeared in vivid color thanks to their presence on the GBA, and had a wild array of new features, all of them big steps. They were also the first Pokémon game series that I could play mostly unassisted - I eschewed the use of guides every step of the way, but still used them only for the occasional aid. Back in the day, though, VGC was only a dream and I had fewer mates to play the games, not to mention another bout of sadness. Fast-forward to 2015 and 2016, VGC had existed for a few years, and they used the remade games of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The former became my workhorse for battles in these endeavors, while both had their own innovations, which I was glad to play. In all of these cases, the archipelagic region of Hoenn served as a refreshing change from the previous continental regions; it's part of the wonder, as are the new features in the games that now we take for granted.

In the anime scene, this region was the first one where Ash received a change of outfit, having gone through three regions with only one outfit, and this became a precedence for further regions. The region's saga is also one that I've thoroughly followed, and I'm fond of many of the moments, including a particularly poignant one involving Ash and Pikachu. Of course, there was also the addition of May and Max, who prove to be quite a character of their own. As well, the feature films or movies were exciting, in particular the sixth one with Jirachi. These are all wonders too.

Much like my memories of Johto, some of the memories I have of Hoenn are colored with sadness, whether from my enjoyment or otherwise. Yet on the whole, it's the wonders that I remember from this region. There were new and surprising things in both the games and the anime that provided amazement in addition to enjoyment; the fascination with these still carry through to the present day. I'd say that's quite a wonder to remember and perhaps keep remembering from Hoenn.

One year ago: LINE Pokémon Stickers