Pokemon Let's Go Eevee: The game I never knew I needed

I'll admit it: I bought that game solely to get that lovely fluffy Gigantamax Eevee in Sword&Shield. I certainly didn't expect to enjoy it one bit — let alone to absolutely adore it. That game blew away all my negative preconceptions in the sweetest way, and I'm more than happy to eat humble pie. Also: from now on, I vow to never again take part in heated internet debates about yet unreleased games, be said debates positive or negative.

Unlike Yellow, which didn't allow Pikachu to shine as a starter, LGE is the perfect vehicle for Eevee. In true Yellow fashion, that brand-new starter version of Eevee cannot evolve; but that small annoyance is more than compensated by the existence of eight amazing Partner Moves with a BP of 90 — one for each of the types Eevee can evolve into. Not only that, but Eevee's stats were boosted especially for LGE, with a base stat total of 435 instead of 325. All in all, Partner Eevee so is ridiculously overpowered that I really wonder why Let's Go Pikachu is the most popular half of the pair. Of course, I'm being purely rhetorical here, because I know why just as well as the next Pokefan; but gosh, players should really give Let's Go Eevee a try and revel in the sheer badassness of little Eevee. Cherry on the cake, Partner Eevee is absurdly adorable, with its cute little cries and lovely fur a shade lighter than regular Eevee's.

Of course, I cannot help but mention 'Mon catching — i.e. the feature that revolted me before the game's release — and eat yet another giant slice of that humble pie by admitting that it's much, much funnier than I expected it to be. After fumbling in the early stages, I found my catching groove and was soon trapped in the most delicious grinding and farming trance, sending my freshest catch to Professor Oak and reaping Candies like it was going out of fashion. I swear, my little Eeveeta gobbled so much Candies that she was probably diabetic by the end of my run! I really dig the clarity of that new system, which I'd dub 'EV Training for Pokénoobs'. I routinely manage to max up my One and Onlies' EV in my runs; however, I always do so in the blindest way, just punching every creature that crosses my path into oblivion. This time around, I was able to see exactly which Mons were tied to which stats through the obtention of Candies; and I shamelessly used that knowledge to patch up Eeveeta's weaknesses during the early stages.

This was a perfectly wholesome game, full of lovely details and moments — from Pokemon private jokes for the faithful to Eevee itself, which is the cutest and dinkiest thing this side of Skitty. LGE offers the best quality of life improvements while still boasting a very retro, 8-bit quality that I totally didn't expect to find. I got flashbacks of my Game Boy days all through my run, which was the most wondrous and unexpected thing ever — heck, even the GBA remakes didn't make me feel that way! I really got that sweet, vibrant feeling of discovery, which was part and parcel of my first videogaming experiences yet got fainter and fainter over the years. As far as I was concerned, Gen VIII Kanto might as well be a new region — because that's how roaming it made me feel.

For the first time in years, I kinda didn't want my run to end when I was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Yup: I love that game indeed, more than I ever though I would — which begs the logical question: should I also buy Let's go Pikachu? Somehow, I don't really want to — more like really don't want to. Not only do I prefer the Let's Go Eevee version exclusives, but I don't even need a second copy for trading purposes given that breeding is absent from Let's Go. Also, I don't quite fancy Pikachu enough to want to cruise with him yet again in Kanto. Let's just stick to little Eevee, shall we? (Edit: I finally bought Let's Go Pikachu.) See you soon for more Let's Go goodness, dear fellow gamers!