{"id":105981,"date":"2019-12-21T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-21T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/12\/best_of_2019_a_pokemon_retrospective_generation_7_-_2016_to_2019"},"modified":"2019-12-21T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-21T14:00:00","slug":"best-of-2019-a-pokemon-retrospective-generation-7-2016-to-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/12\/21\/best-of-2019-a-pokemon-retrospective-generation-7-2016-to-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Of 2019: A Pok\u00e9mon Retrospective: Generation 7 – 2016 To 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Pokemon\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

From now until the end of 2019 we’ll be celebrating the coming year by looking back and republishing some of our finest features from the past twelve months, in addition to our regular output. This article first appeared on the site back in February before Generation 8 arrived with Pok\u00e9mon Sword and Shield<\/a><\/strong>. Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n

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Three years ago<\/a>, as we approached the reveal of Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s seventh generation and its 20th anniversary, we looked back on all previous six generations of Pok\u00e9mon. Now, three years later, as we approach the end of the seventh generation and the inevitable reveal of the next generation, it\u2019s time to look back over the last three years of Pok\u00e9mon \u2013 and what a time it has been!<\/p>\n

Before we begin, you might want to check out our previous retrospectives here:<\/em><\/p>\n

The Build-Up<\/h3>\n

It all started with the reveal of Magearna, the first known Generation VII Pok\u00e9mon, in February 2016 to tie in with the movie, Volcanion & The Mechanical Marvel<\/strong>. When that came, the ball started rolling and later that month, on the 20th anniversary of Pok\u00e9mon itself, a Pok\u00e9mon Direct revealed Pok\u00e9mon Sun & Moon<\/a><\/strong> in title only. Then, just two and a half months later, we got our first look at Alola and the new Pok\u00e9mon that inhabited it. From there, information was released routinely every couple of weeks and, when Pok\u00e9mon GO<\/a><\/strong> was released in June of 2016, the hype began again as Pok\u00e9mon hit the mainstream.<\/p>\n

9 months after the reveal, Pok\u00e9mon Sun & Moon were released worldwide and the seventh generation began in earnest!<\/p>\n

The Main Series<\/h3>\n
\"Pokemon\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

Generation 7 was unique in that it didn\u2019t have a single year gap on the main series; every single year has presented us with a main series title.<\/p>\n

The first \u2013 released on November 18th 2016 in Japan, Australia and North America and November 23rd 2016 in Europe \u2013 was Pok\u00e9mon Sun & Moon. Pok\u00e9mon Sun & Moon acted as a soft reboot of the franchise by throwing out a lot of what we thought were general conventions in a Pok\u00e9mon game. Like Generation 6, it was a full-3D outing with the battles being generally similar in appearance, but the overworld was massively changed with the look being far more conventional and anime-styled. Set in the tropical Alola region, players travelled across the four islands completing Island ‘Trials’, small tasks on each island that culminate in a battle with a Totem Pok\u00e9mon \u2013 essentially a boss Pok\u00e9mon which gets a stat boost. This added a new dimension to how the stories went with Pok\u00e9mon games, making it less about the gyms and helped make the region feel like a character in its own right.<\/p>\n

Story-wise, Sun & Moon presented the most in-depth plot to hit a Pok\u00e9mon game, to its merit or detriment depending, on who you speak to. In this game, while exploring the region, you help a girl called Lillie and a mysterious Pok\u00e9mon she has nicknamed as Nebby. You learn of Team Skull, a group of thugs who failed the Island Trial Challenge, and the Aether Foundation, a group who set out to protect Pok\u00e9mon, but things go awry when the head of the Aether Foundation discovers mysterious Pok\u00e9mon from other universes known as Ultra Beasts, and Lilly and Nebby are dragged further into this devious plot.<\/p>\n