Regional Variants are here to stay
Regional Variants are no longer limited to Kanto Pokemon(thank god)
Regional Variants can now result in new evolutions
Weezing has a Poison/Fairy variant based on smokestacks and Proper English Gentlemen
Zigzagoon and Linoone have Dark/Normal variants based on the band KISS
Galaran Linoone can now evolve into Obstagoon, a bipedal Dark/Normal type even more obviously based on KISS
The new Pikachu Clone, Morpeko, is Electric/Dark and based on hamsters and hunger-related mood swings. It has a Form Change to reflect said mood swings
One of the new rivals is a boy named Bede who looks like an old lady
Another is a girl named Marnie who has a punk rocker aesthetic
The new “evil” team, Team Yell, consists entirely of Marnie’s rabid fanbase