Pokémon Let's Go

About

Pokémon Let's Go refers to two entries in the Pokémon series of video games, Pokémon Let's Go: Pikachu and Pokémon Let's Go: Eevee. The games mark a change from the traditional style of the core games, doing away with some of the subtle aspects of raising Pokémon and incorporating mechanics from Pokémon GO, ostensibly to bridge the gap between GO players and fans of the core series.

History

On May 29th, 2018, Nintendo revealed the trailer for upcoming Pokémon games for the Nintendo Switch called Pokémon Let's Go: Pikachu and Pokémon Let's Go: Eevee to be released November 16th, 2018. The games take place in the Kanto region and feature the original 151 Pokémon. The games are similar to those in the core series, but with some additions that will make it more accessible to younger players. For example, players are able to see wild Pokémon on a map and choose their encounters. The games also have co-op capability that will allow two players to play and battle at once and feature cross compatibility with Pokémon GO, allowing players to transfer Pokémon caught in GO to the games. Additionally, the game will be compatible with a controller called the PokéBall Plus, which players can pretend to toss at the screen to catch a wild Pokémon in the game. The caught Pokémon will then be "in" the ball, and can then be taken outside to incorporate some additional features.

Reception

The game was released to positive reviews, receiving a score of 81/100 on Metacritic^[1] the day of release. Many critics praised the game's balance between simplicity for new players and challenge in the post-game content for series veterans, while also lauding the game's play into nostalgia with a much more colorful and hi-definition version of the Kanto region. Other critics were disappointed by the game's low difficulty. Some were down on the new method of catching Pokémon. As opposed to the traditional method of battling a Pokémon until it's weak, in Let's Go players, use the Switch's joy-cons to mimic "tossing" a Pokéball, which was sometimes a frustrating mechanic.^[2]

Online Presence

Pikachu and Eevee Haircuts

Pikachu and Eevee Haircuts refer to jokes made about a feature in Pokémon: Let's Go! games which allows players to give the mascots of the respective games, Pikachu and Eevee, different hair styles. Social media users joked about the designs, particularly the bangs style on each Pokémon.

On July 12th, 2018, Nintendo released a trailer for the Pokémon Let's Go! games. The trailer showed some features of the upcoming games, including the inclusion of familiar characters from the anime series. The trailer also demonstrated how characters could select haircut styles for their chosen starter Pokémon (shown below).

After the trailer's release, social media users immediately joked about the haircut feature. Twitter user @SNatent joked that Officer Jenny would take the Pokémon away from you if you gave them bangs, gaining over 970 retweets and 3,100 likes (shown below, left). User @ConnieKuroi joked about Eevee with bangs, gaining over 130 retweets and 800 likes (shown below, right).

Meltan

Meltan is a Steel-type Mythical Pokémon. The character has the body of a "Ditto" Pokémon with the a hexagonal head that resembles a hex nut. The character garnered attention due to its mysterious roll-out in Pokemon GO, and was later announced to be included in Pokémon: Let's Go.

On September 21st, Twitter user @Chrales tweeted a series of code from the augmented reality game Pokémon GO, which originally named the character "Kecleon" (shown below, left). Later that day, they tweeted, "new kecleon icons," which showed images of the character that would become "Meltan." The tweet received more than 500 retweets and 1,700 likes in four days.

On October 24, 2018, a new video was posted to the official Pokemon Youtube channel (shown below, left), showcasing the evolved form of Meltan after several of the creatures merged, named Melmetal. The first Mythical Pokemon known to evolve and also a Steel-type, it was originally foreshadowed in a previous trailer for Pokemon Let's Go, where its shadow could be seen near the end. However, it was here that it was officially shown. Further details were revealed such as its unique Steel-type move "Double Iron Bash" and how it could be obtained.

After its reveal, many noted the creature's larger and bulkier form, compared to Meltan's smaller and more malleable form, sometimes using the term "absolute unit" to describe it.

Search Interest

External References