Eevee Cropped

The release of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! is drawing ever nearer, and more information surrounding the new games is starting to be unveiled. Today, various online personalities and influencers were invited to play two hours of the new games, and the first details (which talk about things such as held items and IVs) are now starting to be shared online.

These new pieces of information come from Serebii, with the site's webmaster Joe Merrick explaining his two hours with the game in a blog post. One of the most interesting facts from his time with the game shows that certain core series mechanics such as physical and special type moves, and IVs and EVs (hidden stats which indicate a Pokémon's individual attributes such as attack and defence power), are still present in this new release, - although EVs, in particular, were slightly tricky to fully understand.

First, mechanically, the battles work pretty much exactly the same as previous main series Pokémon games with the physical and special split remaining intact. IVs fully appear to be within the game but with limited time with the early part of the game it is impossible to completely determine if the IV spreads are identical to how they were in the games since Ruby & Sapphire.

At present it's hard to say what the situation is with EVs. After some battles, an additional +1 appears in one stat such as Speed or Attack, but this +1 is also added with the candy obtained from transferring Pokémon.

Elsewhere, Serebii confirms that held items are not in the game, with "no option to make a Pokémon hold an item" being present in the game's menus. Abilities - such as Mold Breaker and Wonder Guard - have also been dropped from the games, taking away that element of battle. Presumably, this is to create a simpler route of entry for new players who will already have lots to think about elsewhere.

Other core mechanics such as comboing Pokémon out in the field when capturing are also still present, although this is not yet fully understood. Players appear to earn more experience from catching Pokémon rather than battling, with bonuses being given "if it's a new Pokémon, quality of capture and so forth". Teaming up with a second player locally also gives you an experience-earning boost.

Interestingly, Serebii states that "the trainer battles also end with Poké Balls being given in order to continue capture", and has also confirmed that the entry requirements for Gyms - like the Pewter City's requirement to have a grass or water type Pokémon on your team - are only required for entry; battles do not require these Pokémon to be used. Naturally, this takes away any fears that Gym battles would be made easier, and instead acts as an additional side quest-style component for an extra challenge.

So there we have it; lots of new concrete information on how the new Pokémon titles will play out. Has this helped to ease any of your concerns, or were you perhaps already sold on the titles to begin with? Feel free to share your thoughts with us below.

[source serebii.net]