Pokémon Y journal - entry five

The payoff for the Team Flare storyline was a long time coming, but it was absolutely spectacular. It does tread into darker territory that is on par with the plans of Team Plasma in Black and White, and when the actual backstory that is tied to the villain team’s plans is delivered, it is magnificent in both scope and presentation. I just really wish the game had allowed me to be entranced with it longer. I think the sixth generation games would have greatly benefitted from having gradually expanded the role of Team Flare and their intentions instead of having them simply pop up from time to time. The grunts and admins never really feel as though they’ve developed any further as characters, though Lysander’s visible rage was a nice touch, thanks to the 3D character models.

From here on out, I expect Pokémon Y to be more or less a straight shot to the finish line. I don’t imagine the last gym, Victory Road, or the Elite Four will be particularly easy (and that’s just the way I’d like things to be), but I also don't expect there will be too many extra distractions until the postgame. I am excited to visit the sixth generation equivalent of the Safari Zone, and I’m very much hoping that I run into a shiny Pokémon or two – I understand that the chances of running into shiny Pokémon has been improved for X and Y, and I already know quite a few people who have encountered shiny Aipoms, Spoinks, and Croagunks. Outside of the scripted red Gyarados from Soul Silver and the postgame reward Garchomp in Black 2, I’ve never come across a shiny Pokémon, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Now that I’ve caught Yvetal, I have a second Flying Pokémon in my ranks, and have decided he will more than likely replace Talonflame as I prep my team for the Elite Four challenge. I still plan to catch a Noivern, and if I decide that I like his move set and stats better than Yveltal, I may perform one last swap of my lineup. But as it currently stands, I have both a Sylveon and an Aurorus in my party, whose Fairy and Ice moves seem plenty reliable in countering any Dragon Pokémon I might encounter before the main game’s finale. Adding Noivern to the lineup seems like it might be a bit overkill.