Now that I've written a blurb about the fuzzy new starters, my mind has meandered to the place that they come from; namely, the new region to debut with Black and White, apparently called Isshu.
A partial picture of one of the cities can be seen here http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Corocoro_BW7.jpg courtesy of the beautiful people at Bulbapedia. As far as I can tell, based on this picture and the gameplay footage (showcasing the game's beautiful new 3-d!), this is the biggest and most detailed city the series has introduced yet. Because of this, I hope, I sincerely hope, that Black and White will introduce an unseen element in the series thus far: a truly metropolitan region.
Now, don't get me wrong, folks. One of my favorite things about the Pokemon games is the way they incorporate the more pastoral setting into their storytelling. The release of HeartGold/SoulSilver proved to me that the older, less developed areas could be alive with depth and realism (as much as could be produced, anyway). But as with all things, change is good, and sometimes the best thing.
If any game in the series proved that, it was Ruby/Sapphire, and their region, Hoenn. Initially met with hostility for being "too different," the games set in the tropical region of Hoenn proved to be the most detailed additions created up to that time. Lest we forget, these were the games that introduced weather effects in the environments, abilities, AND double battles. But more importantly, they expanded the Pokemon World beyond the isolated landmass that houses Kanto and Johto, giving the already sizable world a sense of genuine bigness; a much bigger world than almost any handheld could boast of. Which, in my scholarly opinion, is pretty awesome.
To be fair, the Sinnoh region of Diamond and Pearl was almost there with the more developed landscape. It boasted more towns than any of its predecessors, many of which had no gym, which was a welcome bit of realism (honestly, every town can't have a gym). But most of these towns had the pastoral feel mentioned above, some to the nth degree. One had a Wind Farm. So, I do hope that Isshu will continue the pattern of change that I've come to love from Pokemon games, and take that big leap to creating a more developed, metropolitan region. And considering that it's been reported that the region is "a foreign place that must be traveled to by boat or airplane," I'd say there may be hope yet :)
-The Professor
p.s. If it turns out that the region isn't metropolitan, it won't really matter. The game will still be loads of fun :)
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