Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee! revealed, out on November 16th worldwide

30 May 201830 May 2018 Lite_Agent Game Freak, Pokémon GO, Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu! / Eevee!, The Pokémon Company

Today, many months after The Pokémon Company’s announcement at E3 2018, the mysterious Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch were finally revealed today during a press conference in Japan. It’s called Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee!, and it will be released on November 16th worldwide (no delay in Europe this time).

Without further ado, here’s the debut trailer for the game:

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee! is being developed by Game Freak, the same developers that have worked on all the previous mainline Pokémon games until now.

It’s based on Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition, and offers a complete reimagining of the classic Pokémon games. It makes use of the unique capabilities of the Nintendo Switch, and does feature the same Pokémon-catching mechanic as Pokémon GO.

Like pretty much all other mainline Pokémon games, there’s two versions to choose from. The differences between the two are as follows:

Starter Pokémon: depending on the version you choose, your first Pokémon will be either Pikachu or Eevee.
some Pokémon will only appear in a given version, or more frequently in one than in the other (the standard for Pokémon versions)

Pikachu / Eevee accompany you wherever you go, hanging on your should or riding on your head. Of course, they also take part in battles!

The game was designed to be extremely accessible, allowing even nowcomers to enjoy it. Of course, they didn’t forget old time fans, as it will also offer “enough depth” to keep them on their toes.

The biggest change compared to previous mainline Pokémon is about how you capture Pokémon. You no longer battle them out to weaken them, before throwing a Poké Ball… in fact, there’s no longer battles against wild Pokémon anymore. Instead, you simply throw a Poké Ball at them like in Pokémon GO (though you can also use a button instead of motion controls).

Another big new feature introduced in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee! is 2 player co-op. You can share a pair of Joy-Con controller and play with a friend at the same time. You can throw Poké Balls together in order to increase your chances of catching them, or take part in battles together.

Pokémon: Let’s Go! Pikachu / Evee can be played using the Poké Ball Plus: a Poké Ball-shaped controller that can be used instead of a regular Joy-Con. It allows you to throw Poké Balls in-game with a flick of your wrist. The Poké Ball Plus also lights up with various colours, vibrates (you can actually feel the Pokémon moving inside the Poké Ball), and even plays sounds (you can hear the Pokémon’s cry after a successful capture).

What’s more, the device allows you to take one of your Pokémon for a stroll in the real world. It looks like you will be able to earn various rewards when you bring them back into the game, but we don’t have any other details about that particular feature. The Poké Ball Plus can even be used as a Pokémon GO Plus in Pokémon GO! More details will be available in a separate post, coming shortly!

Finally, The Pokémon Company mentions a “deep connection” between Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee!. More details will be provided at a later date, but we already know one thing about that particular aspect of the game: you will be able to transfer Pokémon from the Kanto region from Pokémon GO to Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee!.

Finally, here’s various pictures for the game: