I can pretty much agree with what's already been said here already.
Storyline: Absolutely great. Probably one of the most memorable one out of all the Pokemon games.
Characters: I'll have to disagree here when I say I think both of the main characters look pretty cool. Simple, but cool. Yes, Cheren was dull, but I think it played out well, and was meant to be like that. And N has to be the coolest antagonist in the entire franchise. Beats Gary any day, and is more active in the storyline than the other rivals.
As for the gym leaders, I love how they're more involved in the story. It just makes the game feel more anime-like.
Gyms: As I said, the gym leaders were a bit more dynamic, but as stated by others, the choice of Pokemon was just... I also enjoyed how all the gyms looked different, as opposed to the same bland building in all the previous games.
Pokemon: This made me very skeptical of the game before it was even released. Yes, some of them grew on me. Samurott looked repulsive before, but he's turned into my favorite water starter. As for about 70% of the pokemon, I really don't understand how they let this happen. Seriously, wtf is this?
But more importantly, what ARE these?:
Really? You tried making a new Machoke....with a clown nose?
I thought Emobird looked bad, but he grew on me. Gaibird has yet to do so.
>
Excuse me, but even the useless Pokemon of the first gen are more attractive than these. Hell, a DUNSPARCE is more attractive.
I was also disappointed by the fact that the fire starter was once again, a Fire/Fighting type. But I'll get over it. What I won't get over, however, are the terrible stats on some of the Pokemon. I don't play a lot of metagame, but I can see a lot of Trick Room users in the near future.
Don't get me wrong though, this game had some VERY amazing Pokemon: Reshiram/Zekrom, Briavary, Zoroark (even with its frail defenses), Victini, ect.
Scenery: This. This is what compensates for the terrible Pokemon in this game. Absolutely stunning. Even the small things, such as the highway in the desert with cars passing, and let's not forget the wonderful cities, make this game worth while.
Overall, I agree that this game is good. There was a lot of potential here, and there's plenty of room to fix the things that are bothering most of us (besides the Pokemon, of course. The damage has been done)
So now on to more important things: can we get a Patrat emoticon? :bidoof: