A video series on the sad
downfall of Pokémon design

Hey there. Welcome to Pokémon WITS, which stands for What Is This Shit? This short series will be taking a look at the downfall of Pokémon as I see it. That's a broad statement, so let me clarify; I'm talking solely about the main series of games here, the REAL Pokémon experience.

Now for those of you who don't know me (and that's probably most of you watching this) I go by the name fAB. I've been a Pokémon fan since the beginning of 1999 when I bought my Red Version. I've sunk thousands of hours into these games. Some might call me obsessive. Incidentally, I'm also an artist, and I've been very influenced and inspired by Pokémon in the past. Sadly, not so much anymore.

But enough about me, let's talk about that downfall. Most people watching this will probably be all 'what do you mean, X and Y just came out and they're awesome!' Well good for them, glad they're still caught up in that Pokémon craze and enjoying themselves. Wish I could say the same.

I think the metal generation of Gold, Silver & Crystal was the peak, and the Pokémon games have been gradually going downhill ever since. That's not to say they've sucked since then, lord no. I'm not one of those people who just decided 'oh, they don't look like Pokamon anymore!!1! its stupid so im not playin the new games'. In fact, even when I honestly expected to hate the Black and White Versions, once I finally sat down and played them I found myself pleasantly surprised. Why did I expect to hate them, you ask? Because I'd already seen all the new 5th gen Pokémon in advance on the Internet and hated many of the designs. However, as I played I came to realize that as long as the games never stray too far from the formula, they'll continue to be fun, because you only need to find six Pokémon you like and you've got a party ready for adventure and competition.

But wait! If that were true, why would I even be making this series? What changed? What went wrong? Well, in my humble opinion, the gradual downhill trend came to a sudden cliff and... fell really far. The 5th generation had some of the worst Pokémon designs ever. I mean some of them were just unforgivably bad. But like I said, there were enough of them I liked that I was able to form a good team with options to spare. As I look at the new 6th gen Pokémon revealed for X and Y though...? I would be VERY hard pressed to put together a decent party of six. Honestly, I can't believe some of the lame designs that got approved for this generation. I don't care how many cool new features the games have to offer; without Pokémon you like, it's a hollow adventure at best.

Of course everyone has their own opinion about what looks good and what doesn't. For me, the 6th generation doesn't, and that has prompted me to create this series highlighting bad design decisions. I feel strongly enough about it that I'm willing to risk guaranteed ridicule and trolling just to have my say. Who am I to judge the professionals? Well, if my background in graphic artistry isn't enough, suffice to say I'm just another fan like the rest of you, which gives me EVERY right to judge before I throw money at another Pokémon installment.

If you're interested in following this artistic exploration on its potentially enlightening and hopefully entertaining route, then welcome aboard and I'll see you in the first episode.