James Batchelor

Do not sleep on this one. I promise you'll love it

I never got into breeding, shiny hunting and all that. I just focus on beating the league in each gen and filling out my dex as much as possible along the way :)

Agreed. Feels like there's a lot less grind in newer generations.

I LIKE seeing which Pokemon are in the grass, rather than being bombarded by the same monster over and over again.

I LIKE the battle screen making it clear which move is which type, and which will be super effective.

It's lovely going back, but I'm so glad we moved ahead

2/2

As much as FireRed feels like coming home (although I do miss the Gen 1 graphics), it makes me appreciate all the advances Pokemon has made since.

It might be shameful to admit it, but I LIKE having ExpShare from the start so my Pokemon level up relatively evenly

1/2

Writers of Essex: Turning your nerdery into non-fiction - The Society of Authors Join Writers of Essex online for a talk with James Batchelor about all things non-fiction writing!

Any aspiring writers keen to try writing non-fiction? I'm doing a talk next Saturday for a Society of Authors event run by the Writers of Essex, all about my lessons learned turning nerdery into books. It's online, it's free, and it's easy to sign up here: share.google/mUz2Ijmwjlli...

Halfway through Disney 100: The Sound of Magic and genuinely not sure who is loving this more: the kids, or me and the wife.

I demand this be released as an album! It's been amazing.

I heard that from a few folks who finished. Know that your sacrifice spared people like me from suffering the same fate. Thank you. Now go replay Arceus as your reward

I think i gave up after the fifth main quest. Just wasnt what I wanted from a Pokémon game

End of Week To Do List: Have You...

🐸 Wishlisted Froggy Hates Snow?
🪏 Dug into the demo?
👉️ Wishlisted Psychofinger?
📝 Signed up for the playtest?
🔍️ Wishlisted Curse of Resthaven?

No? Better get on it then!

Same. I want this catching, and ideally the species-specific Pokédex research tasks back. Z-A was not what I wanted from the next Legends ☹️

This scene implies a return of Legends: Arceus' no-battle-required catching. If that's the case, this could end up being my perfect Pokemon game!

Already looking forward to Pokemon Winds and Waves.

Finally playing Violet last year really warmed me to open world Pokemon, and this looks like the region will be much more vibrant and alive.

Also, Pombon will maintain my 30-year streak of always choosing the Fire starter!

Same. Would have been one of the greatest trollings of all time

I reckon that counts but they've brought back the Gen 1 starters before (e.g. X/Y) so hoping for something different

What do you want to see from Gen 10? I asked the biggest Pokémon fans I know Voice acting, more dynamic battles, and the return of proper ruins are just some hopes for the 10th generation of Pokémon.

Pokémon Day - and the likely reveal of Gen 10 - is here. Here's what the biggest Pokémon fans in games media - including @apzonerunner.com, @stormscribe.bsky.social, @jamesbatchelor.bsky.social, @grapedosmil.bsky.social, and @jordanmiddler.bsky.social - want to see later today:

*Not 100% sure what this will be. If the rumours of a multi-region game are true, there'll be a bit of Kanto. If not, maybe the return of Team Rocket, or the legendaries (Mewtwo, Mew and the birds). Maybe old gym leaders are back as a side challenge, e.g. Battle Frontier

Pokémon Presents Predictions

1. Something Gen1-centric* is core to Gen10
2. Gen1 OST on Nintendo Music (maybe Let's Go version)
3. Hey You Pikachu on NSO's N64 app (req. Switch phone app for voice)
4. DetectivePikachu 2 teaser
5. Another new mobile game
6. Shoutout for my book?

Oh, and... not sure if I've mentioned this but... I wrote a book about the History of the Pokémon games for @WhiteOwlBooks. Apologies for not letting you all know - must have slipped my mind!

www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-History-...

#Pokemon30 #Pokemon30thAnniversary #Pokemonday2026

Happy Pokémon Day! And happy 30th anniversary to Pokémon

Thank you for all the memories - past, present, and future.

#Pokemon30 #Pokemon30thAnniversary #Pokemonday2026

a man in a military uniform is holding a clipboard and a light bulb . ALT: a man in a military uniform is holding a clipboard and a light bulb .

RIP and my everlasting respect to Rob Grant, co-creator of the first sitcom I ever fully fell in love with. It was clear from his solo Red Dwarf novel Backwards how much humour he brought to the show, for which we Dwarfers will forever be grateful

Urgh. The company already lost so many amazing people (and me). Awful to see such incredible teams shrinking

I may not finish every Pokémon journey, but I will never tire of starting them

#pokemon #Pokemon30thAnniversary #pokemon30

I didn't know until writing my book that they never did a global simultaneous release until Gen 6 in 2013!

Agreed. Been lining that up for an anniversary playthrough - even before they announced FireRed

Yeah, very intrigued by that one. The Stadium games feel clunky to go back to, so hoping this is a much-needed revival

😱You take that back!!

(No, I get it. The fact that the new anime still had to have a Pikachu front and centre, and the number of sort-of-but-not-Pikachus being added with each generation)

I get that it's not a pure remake compared to FR/LG or HG/SS, but if you want a quick fix of that Kanto goodness with some modern touches, it's great. It was the first Pokemon game my daughter played and now she's hooked on the series

I can only imagine (I'm happy to hide away from the real people and just wander the world catching 'mon for myself)

Oooh, interesting. Are you including Terasterlising in that? (I could never get on with that myself, but I loved the rest of Gen 9)