#genvii

In this week’s Trainer Class Tuesday, something new. Channeler from the most recent “Miracle Twin” TCG set in Japan. Card illustration by TOKIYA. One of Kanto’s most memorable Trainer Classes, aren’t I right?

Local good boy catches up with his small friend

Never had any expectations about that gacha app but that trailer has sure fueled the hype train.

Back to normal posting, Back to Trainer Class Tuesdays. Coach Trainers (AKA “recolored Ace Trainers”), as represented in the recently released “GG End” set in Japan. Card illustrated by Nagimiso.

Warden Baoba, model from “Pokemon Let’s Go: Pikachu/Eevee”. When I think about things that LGPE did right (not much of this stuff, indeed), Baoba’s design is definitely one of them. I was afraid they’d just use a generic model for him but fortunately, GF did remember that they gave the Warden his one-off overworld sprite back in Generation I and decided to give him a full design for the new Kanto remakes. The design came out as quite memorable and even somewhat reminiscent of his original RGBY sprite (though I guess it’s just my imagination, considering what Gen I overworld sprites look like). Although it’s a pity that they didn’t acknowledge his name, which they established in HGSS. And that they never released a complete artbook for LGPE (like the one for USUM). I’d definitely want to see some concept sketches for characters such as LGPE Baoba, Bill, Jessie & James, Officer Jenny, Mr. Fuji and the like. Picture courtesy of The Models Resource.

This could technically belong to “Trainer Class Tuesday”, but since it’s one of those Trainer Classes with special plot role (such as Kimono Girls or villain team Grunts), I post this picture outside of this segment. Ultra Forest Kartenvoy - a nice, unexpected Trainer Card from the most recent TCG expansion in Japan, “Full Metal Wall”. Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda.

In this week’s Trainer Class Tuesday... Firefighter, a Trainer Class from Alola that was apparently planned as early as in the Generation I beta, ultimately replaced with Psychic (a good change to be honest - we had just enough Water-type specialists like Swimmers and Fishermen). But it’s cool how the class reemerged after so many years, though sure it may just be a pure coincidence. But that’s past anyway. The future is coming and we’re going to learn something about it tomorrow. Probably not much for the start, but I’m excited anyway. This upcoming gen seems much more awaited than the previous one, at least to me.

[FEATURE POST, a bit wordy] Top picture: Game Director from OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire (based on Shigeru Ohmori), in-game model picture. Bottom picture: GAME FREAK Iwao from UltraSun/UltraMoon (based on Kazumasa Iwao, the game’s director), in-game VS portrait. As you probably noticed, all mainline Pokemon games feature Game Freak’s staff appearing in some location of the game. They make various remarks about the game’s features, some of them also battle the player (since BW) and the Game Director typically gives you the Diploma if you complete your Pokedex. But why am I singling out these two? Well, that’s because they are the only staff cameos so far that have their designs modelled after their real-life counterparts, rather than using generic imagery (for example, Morimoto, who battles the player in most games since BW, always uses the design of Veteran Trainer Class). But while they are based on real-life Game Freak developers, they both have traits of certain Trainer Classes (Ohmori wears Pokemaniac costume, while Iwao has a Blackbelt robe). I wonder... what are your opinions about the game authors putting themselves into the game in such straightforward way? Do you like it, or did you prefer the times when their appearances were less overt and more subtle? Nevertheless, I’m wondering how will Game Freak cameos look like in future games... Images courtesy of VG Resources.