What's Different

On this page we're going to highlight some of the key differences that separate this game from the originals.

The Theme
The first three locations in this game take place on a tropical island, the home of the player character. This section of the game is designed to be bright and goofy like the old games.

However, when the player leaves the home island, the game will take a much darker, more serious, and adult twist. Decision the player makes will have serious consequences in all facets of the game. The player will engage in espionage and come accross things such as a black market pokémon trade, and the player will have to choose how to handle those situations.

World Differences

 * You will see Pokémon in their natural habitat, flying around above, wandering forests, and swimming in the water.
 * The player will make decisions that have global effects (seem more Dynamic Decision Making).
 * Random events that enhance the player experience and also increase the value of a second play-through.
 * Sometimes the little things that are unique specifically to a player's game can make big changes.
 * For example: Losing a battle to a certain major trainer may make an old man pity you and direct you to a secret area with a Pokémon that wouldn't be obtainable in any other way.

Differences in Pokémon Care

 * Introducing Pokéroids.
 * Players can give their Pokémon these stimulants that increase their stats by a lot but they are illegal, and there is an exponential increase in the chance that each use will make it easier for the Pokémon League catch and tag these Pokémon.
 * Tagged Pokémon can participate in any battle outside of the Pokémon League, but are indefinitely banned for battles within it (Gym Battles, Elite Four Tournament, Elite Four)
 * Some trainers and NPCs will treat you differently if you have multiple tagged Pokémon.

Pokémon League Gyms

 * Pokémon gyms are no longer physical buildings within a city, that you must travel to and defeat.
 * Pokémon gyms may or may not be situated within a city, and often are found in the outdoors among the terrain that their Pokémon thrive in.

Pokémon League Tournament and the Elite Four

 * In order to gain the priviledge to face the Elite Four, the player must compete in, and win, the Pokémon League Tournament.
 * The Tournament is a 16 trainer single elimination tournament (think, Indigo Plateau from the first season of Pokémon TV show)
 * If the player wins the tournament, beats the elite four, topples the champion, and becomes the new champion, then the player will be called back every once and awhile to fight a new contender for the champion position.
 * ​If the player wins, they keep the champion title. If the player loses, the contender takes the champion title and the player must go through the tournament again.

​Battle Frontier
The Battle Frontier has also been reimagined.
 * After the player defeats the champion, the battle frontier is unlocked.
 * The battle frontier is spread across numerous islands (ties into the story line!) and the masters can be found in deep in the environments of these islands.