KANTO - Five days and 30 hours of gameplay later, I have beaten the main storyline for Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! Where did the time go?!

The adventure brought much nostalgia, as I thought many times about when I beat the very similar Pokémon Red game when I was a child. This post is to show you some of the screenshots and videos I took during my journey to become the best trainer in Kanto and what lies ahead in postgame.

NOTE - The videos I am posting from Master Trainer on Twitter are my own images. Master Trainer is a separate Twitter account I use to post all my Pokémon content. Surprise!

Good ol' Professor Oak greets me as the game starts. He gives me the typical rundown like in every other game we've seen him in. What Pokémon are, what my responsibilities are as a trainer, you know the spiel. Because I have the Pikachu version of Pokémon: Let's Go! I am given Pikachu as my first Pokémon. My rival (but really just a friend) whom I named Eli, is given Eevee to start off the game. Eli basically goes through the storyline at the same pace as me and we meet at various parts of the journey.

One of the first evolutions I witnessed in the game was a Pidgey evolving into a Pidgeotto. The evolution aesthetics are really good in this game and are part of the reason I was so drawn to this new version of Pokémon. These video graphics are tenfold from what we used to witness on a Gameboy. Revolutionary, really!

The first TM move I learned in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! is "Zippy Zap," a move taught by a Move Tutor at the Cerulean City Pokécenter. It quickly became one of my favorite moves in the game to use, not just because of its effectiveness but also because of the quick cutscene that comes along with it. Above is a video of me using the move against a trainer on the S.S. Anne. I used it against a Poliwag. I bet you can guess the outcome...

Another cool move I taught Pikachu was "Splishy Splash." This move was taught to her by a Move Tutor in the Celadon City Pokécenter. The move is basically "Surf" but Pikachu adds electricity to the water which can potentially paralyze the opponent when the move is used. The above video shows me using it against a Team Rocket trainer's Raticate.

My last favorite move is "Flare Blitz." It's a move that I originally saw an opponent's Flareon use, but then my Alolan Marowak learned it as well. It is a very powerful fire-type attack that also deals a bit of recoil.

It's also worth noting here that Alolan Marowak quickly became one of my favorite Pokémon to use because of its ability to use ground, electric, and fire-type moves.

Once I reached Fuchsia City, it was time for me to visit the beloved GO Park, which is the location where I can transfer my Pokémon from Pokémon GO to Pokémon: Let's Go! Inside the GO Park (in the video above) is where you can visit your transferred Pokémon and then have the option to capture them so you can use them in the game.

Now, we get into shiny Pokémon hunting. This is one of the cooler/most frustrating aspects of the game. I talked about this a bit in Episode 1 of the Poképod, so if you would rather listen to this topic, click here. My first attempt at a shiny Pokémon was a shiny Growlithe and was able to catch one with relative ease. I caught it at a 38 catch-combo, which took somewhere between 30-45 minutes.

The toughest one, which was the second shiny Pokémon I attempted to catch, was a shiny Magikarp. It took a 56 catch-combo to grab one. I was able to evolve it into a shiny Gyarados, which I was incredibly excited about because I never was able to find one in Pokémon GO.

But then something terrible happened.

Once I caught it, I saved the game and went to bed. The next morning, I woke up and turned on the game and realized the data had never saved so I no longer had the shiny Magikarp! So, extremely distraught over this, I immediately went back to trying to rack up a catch-combo so I could try and catch another one. I got up to a 186 catch-combo, and could not find another one. I ended up giving up on it and plan on going back to catch another one at some point in time. This was one of those moments when you want to throw your console at the wall.

It's also worth noting how insane some of the XP can be when you rack up a high catch- combo. This is the fastest and easiest way to level up the Pokémon in your inventory. In the time that I got a 56 catch-combo with Magikarp's, I managed to level up 6 of my Pokémon from the low 30's into the low-to-mid 40's. Crazy!

For anyone wondering when you get your first keystone and mega stones, I have your answer. You receive them from Blue (Gary Oak) right before you battle the Viridian City Gym. He gives you a keystone along with mega stones for Charizard, Venasaur, and Blastoise.

Once you face the Final Four, you have to battle one last trainer that has beaten the Final Four right before you. Guess who - Eli!

It goes without saying that I beat him handily, because, well, I'm just that good. At this point the storyline ends and you enter your Pokémon into the Pokémon Hall-of-Fame.

The above video are the six Pokémon I used to defeat the Final Four and Eli. I am proud to say I used none of my transferred legendaries to do it!

Though I did beat the main storyline, there is still plenty of gameplay left. Eli already came to me in postgame and said there is a mysterious Pokémon that has appeared in the cave near Cerulean City (Mewtwo) and that we must go find out what it is. There was also a young boy that came up to me to tell me about the Master Trainers that are found spread out through Kanto. And of course, I still have to re-catch a shiny Magikarp *sigh.*

Overall it has been a very fun game so far, though it has been very easy. I should not have expected anything more though since Game Freak did make it clear that the game is intended for the younger generation.

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Thank you for reading and learning about my journey! Is there anything you found really interesting or noteworthy from what you have read? Please, let's talk about it in the comments section of this blog!