Pokémon video games (3DS era)

Just a singular game.

This article is about the Pokémon games on the 3DS, for the article on the games released on the Gameboy all the way to the DS, see here and for the Switch games, see here.

With the release of the Nintendo 3DS in 2010, it was no surprise that Pokémon games would come with it. However, Game Freak would no longer name these new additions to the franchise after colours and materials (with the exception of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire which are remakes of the original Ruby and Sapphire).

X and Y

Pokémon X and Pokémon Y are the first (and last) Pokémon games to be titled after letters of the alphabet. Released in 2013, these were the first Pokémon games to be made on the new 3D hardware. X and Y were the start of the Sixth Generation of Pokémon games and are the first and last games that take place in the Kalos region — since the region was based on France and nobody wants to visit France.

The game also adds a brand new type of mechanic; Mega Evolution. Now you can evolve your Pokémon a fourth, third or second time (depending on the Pokémon) for just one battle! Pretty much pointless but the cool factor of Mega evolved Pokémon is raised to 100.

Plot: the plot of the games are like all the other Pokémon games. The player gets given a starter Pokémon and a Pokédex, then is tasked to travel around the region to "catch em all".

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Remakes of the original Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire games, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, spelt with two words unlike the previous remakes; FireRed, LeafGreen, HeartGold and SoulSilver. This is because with the new modern hardware built into the 3DS, game developers were able to add in an extra space due to the more gigabytes of storage space that just wasn't there on the previous hand-held consoles.

Despite the naming convention being changed, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are still remakes of the original games they are based on. Not much is different besides from the fact that the Hoenn region is now 3D and not the old 2D from top down view. The game also includes Mega Evolution, since it needed something to market the old starter Pokémon again to the old players.

Plot: the plot of the games are like all the other Pokémon games. The player gets given a starter Pokémon and a Pokédex, then is tasked to travel around the region to "catch em all".

Sun and Moon

Sun and Moon are the first games of the Seventh Generation of Pokémon games. Like X and Y, the new generation of Pokémon introduces a new battle mechanic. Instead of another evolution, Pokémon now have a fifth move called Z-Moves. It is called this in referrence to the third scrapped Gen 7 game, Pokémon Z, which was to be what Platinum was to Diamond and Pearl. Like Mega Evolution, Z-Moves can only be used in battle and when said battle is over, the Pokémon return to normal.

After moving away from colours and minerals, and starting to do letters, Game Freak couldn't come up with a title for the new games. An employee was sent out into the wild to search for one. After six days and eight nights, he could not come up with one. About to commit suicide (as per Japanese regulations for failing), he looked up into the sky and saw both the sun and the moon — it was one of those days when you could see both. It then struck him, and the sun was arrested for assault. While in the ER, he called up his bosses and pitched the idea of Pokémon Sun and Moon. He was then laughed at, before being called a genius.

Plot: the plot of the games are like all the other Pokémon games. The player gets given a starter Pokémon and a Pokédex, then is tasked to travel around the region to "catch em all".

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

The second time there has been a sequel of a previous Pokémon game, with the first being Black 2 and White 2. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon take place a few years after the events of Sun and Moon but are also remakes at the same time, despite the coming out directly after the old games.

Not much is different about these games. Z-Moves are still here, the Pokédex is a bit bigger, same plot (mostly). Is it a better game? Sure. Is it any good? It's Pokémon, so yes.

Like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the games titles have a space between the words, still taking full advantage of the extra character space in the systems internal alphabet storage system which is better than the actual in game Pokémon PC storage system.

Plot: the plot of the games are like all the other Pokémon games. The player gets given a starter Pokémon and a Pokédex, then is tasked to travel around the region to "catch em all".