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In a month’s time, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! will be launching around the world. To get people hyped up for the game’s release, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have been ramping up the marketing, with the latest updates coming via a recent Eurogamer interview. Both Junichi Masuda (Director, head of game development at Game Freak) and Kensaku Nabana (designer) sat in on the discussion, and we’ll cover some of the essential points below.

One of the most noteworthy topics in the interview is the postgame content, something many Pokémon fans look forward to. This time around, the main source of longevity will be “Master Trainers”. These powerful opponents specialize in a single Pokémon, and besting them will give you their title (i.e. “Psyduck Master”). All 151 Kanto Pokémon will have their own Master Trainer, though the interview doesn’t specify where they’ll be fought.

Besides those trainers, Masuda only alludes to Pokédex completion as a means to expand the journey, not directly answering to a question about brand-new postgame story content.

One of the most contentious points of discussion when it comes to Let’s Go! is also brought up – the difficulty. Masuda once again suggests they built the game around a modern kid audience, noting that they tend to play “games which you play for a short time”, specifically referencing mobile. To counteract this, the game will apparently have a quicker pace and more freedom compared to Pokémon Yellow, on which the games are based.

Masuda also addresses Meltan and confirms that the Pokémon GO “leak” was deliberate, with the goal of giving fans a positive early impression of the little blob.

Finally, when asked directly about whether Pokémon could take a Super Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild approach to shaking up the formula, Masuda replied that he’s “always kind of thinking how to approach the Pokémon series from a different aspect so, in that sense, it’s still on the cards.”

There are plenty of other interesting tidbits in the interview itself so be sure to give it a read over at Eurogamer. Both Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! launch on November 16th.
 

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Written by Tom Brown

Whether it’s an exciting new entry in a series long established or a weird experiment meant only for the dedicated, Tom is eager to report on it. Rest assured, if Nintendo ever announces Elite Beat Agents 2, he’ll be there.