An online Pokemon game where the world is teeming with thousand and thousands of other players... it must be a dream, right? Wrong!
What is PokeMMO?
PokeMMO is an application that uses Pokemon game files to create a multiplayer online experience for anyone who downloads the free program.
The gameplay is mostly the same as what it was from your Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS playthroughs, but modified slightly to improve the online game:
increased move-pools for Pokemon
slight increase in difficulty
change in item mechanics to reflect newer Pokemon generations
and more in-game features you can discover yourself!
As of July 2020, there are four playable Pokemon regions - Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova.
While it is possible to play this game like the original single experience intended, interaction with other players is simple and exciting. You can jump into trading, battles, chat and more simply by clicking on another player's character.
PokeMMO also features the 'Global Trade Link', a marketplace where you can buy and sell both Pokemon and items, including the move-teaching TMs. This trading platform is particularly beneficial for those interested in competitive Pokemon battling, where a Pokemon needs to have or be near it's maximum stats.
The Pokemon
At the beginning of each region, you'll pick one of the three traditional starters from that game. Gameplay will progress as normal, but you may soon stumble across Pokemon you wouldn't in the original cartridge versions... you can catch all starters in PokeMMO!
This is the perfect change for all of us as kids who wanted to beat the Elite 4 with a team of Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur. Or maybe you want a Blaziken with perfect stats - the one you start with will only have middle of the range IVs, but if you want to take one into a competitive battle with you, you'll have to find, buy, or breed one suitable.
You will find that breeding for stronger Pokemon is not as easy as it is in the original games. At the time of writing, breeding requires two compatible Pokemon to be handed to the daycare. This will produce an egg, but you will lose the two Pokemon given to create the egg - breed wisely.
The last point on the Pokemon in this game is the legendaries. Only one legendary is available in each of the four regions - Mewtwo in Kanto, Rayquaza in Hoenn, Arceus in Sinnoh, and Keldeo in Unova. And when I say only one is available, I mean only one - if you are lucky enough to capture one of these infamous beasts, other players will be notified that you hold them, and can challenge you to a battle for the right to own them.
You can't refuse a battle, and if you log out or try to deposit a legendary in the PC, they will return to the wild and can be caught by anyone again. Good luck getting your hands on one!
My experience
I have been lucky enough to share my PokeMMO journey with two friends and this made the game much more engaging.
We frequently battled between the story, have helped each other obtain Pokemon that required trading to evolve, and discussed some game mechanics that made me consider new battling strategies.
I have thoroughly enjoyed replaying the older generations of Pokemon, and implore you to discover the immense online fun that is PokeMMO.
You can find out more about playing and installing the game at https://pokemmo.eu/
Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.
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