Fun Video games to play over break, 3/10!

Pokémon is something that you’ve certainly all heard of, if not played. You might have seen a Pokémon toy here or there, seen some meme references, or even watched the show as a kid. Whatever the case, we are here to encourage you to play the Pokémon games. Whether it’s your first time or your 100th rerun, the huge variety of Pokémon in the game ensure that you will always have a unique and fun experience.  

The Pokémon games are generally single player adventure games, although there are multiplayer aspects  in player versus player battles and trading. All the main Pokémon games, starting with the first one in 1996, have followed a similar structure. You begin with a choice between 3 starter Pokémon. Then you adventure around the world, catching new wild Pokémon while battling other Pokémon trainers to strengthen your party. As your Pokémon gain more experience they will learn new moves and evolve into stronger Pokémon. You can test your team against Pokémon Gym leaders, who will be progressively stronger and eventually lead you to the final battle against the Champion, whose title is yours to claim if you win.

You can play Pokémon on a variety of machines, as there have been Pokémon games for nearly every single Nintendo console. Even if you lack a Nintendo machine, you can play Pokémon on your computer as well. Through emulators, or Pokémon Revolutions Online, you can still get the full experience of a Pokémon game for free. The Pokémon series is perfect for those who are social distancing because of the overwhelming amount of open-world single player content. There are so many ways to play—you can spend hours defeating wild Pokémon and other trainers to make your team the strongest. You can try to explore and “catch-em all.” You can also just build your team around aesthetics: Pokémon you think look cool, cute, or scary.

Aside from the Pokémon adventure games, there are still a variety of other Pokémon games to be played. I’m sure you all remember the Pokémon Go craze that swept through the world a few years ago, and we know that several people already play the competitive game Pokémon Showdown quite a bit. If you’re feeling old school, you could even take out some Pokémon cards if you have them.