EXP. Share – Details, episodes & analysis

WE DO IT ALL. (We think.) From unearthing the apparently controversial sweetie that lies in the depths of Area Zero; to a final confusing encounter with Arven's parents; seeing what our friends in Team Star are up to; and the latest dance craze sweeping Kitakami—started by a twisted little monster called Pecharunt. And, Josh finally watches Thir13en Ghosts. Because we did it, Bug Catchers. We did it all. We shared our experience playing every Pokémon game... at least for now. Thank you for joining us on this nearly five-year journey through countless regions and nine generations. We couldn't have done it without you.

The valiant knight Don Joey and fun-loving guy Esteban Humano enter the Blueberry Academy's Terarium and it's THUNDERDOME! These are some of the toughest fights we've taken on in all our years, even if not all Elite Four members were pulling their weight (and certainly not in terms of the Elite Tests). Also, it's our penultimate episode of the season, so clear the runway for some rants!

Our noble/ignoble adventurers sally forth into unexplored, ambiguously named lands such as the East Province (Area Two), and meet some pretty interesting new characters. Like Clive, who definitely is not Professor Clavell, who is also certainly not Mr. Walksabout. Esteban tries to take over Giacomo's crew and steal his Starmobile, while Don Joey has to kick out some rabble rousers from his noble fellowship. Then, they both are forced to become influencers when confronted with Iono, the famous girlie streamer/Gym Leader.

SALLY FORTH, BUG CATCHERS! Into season six, in Kalos, the noble land of beauty. We shall honor its simple elegance with our own, by having a season with no restrictions, baby! In Vaniville Town, meet Josh & Tanner’s new avatars for Pokémon X/Y—and their wildly successful mothers and supportive fathers (at least monetarily). Then, follow their journey to the first gym, during which they swoon over man and 'mon alike, and give both their (good) first impressions of the region and (bad) impressions of French. Te sentir plus tard!

What is likely our longest season to date has finally drawn to a close, and what did we learn along the way? For one thing, nobody really likes it when you don’t like what is clearly everyone’s favorite Pokémon game for some reason. You learned that some of the side games are some of the most engaging Pokémon experiences out there. Maybe you learned that rereading complex and confusing rules for six weeks doesn’t make for super dynamic audio? Or maybe you learned how to craft a team worthy of taking on Nobunaga, even if it took you 26 in-game years to do it. Thanks for the hard lessons, season five.

King Boo’s immense vassalage is ascending! All praise The God-Emperor KING BOO! His glory be known from the lawless wastelands of his upbringing in the south, where only the transient warriors reside—whose fates shift with the tides of every battle. They cry his name in the midlands, where hopeful champions vie for a shot at an esteemed Perfect Link Pokémon partner. His name is heard as a pleading whisper echoing through the vaunted halls of the Hallowed North, the elysian lands where warlords and Perfect Match warriors battle in beautiful martial praise to the man atop the immense, gleaming throne towering above the newly claimed Valora Kingdom—KING BOO! ALL FALL ON THEIR KNEES AND PRAISE HIS NAME! Josh was there too.

It only took King Boo and Joshua four weeks to finally figure out the game’s key mechanic and begin hunting down Perfect Links across the Ransei region, but please don’t let cancel culture get us for this glaring oversight. King Boo has definitely earned the Largest Army card this week, not that his army of weak-link-warriors can do him much good. But neither Joshua nor King Boo really struggled much this week, so it looks like smooth sailing to Nobunaga.

King Boo: So anyways, I was standing there waiting to use the payphone.

Joshua: Yeah, he was, seriously.

King Boo: And this guy who was on the phone, turns around and tips his hat like this. And who do you think that guy was? Kenshin from Illusio kingdom.

Joshua: The Mighty Gallade man himself, I swear to God, I was there.

King Boo: Of course you were, you were the one who yelled the Psychic Typer's kingdom name.

Joshua: I was like, “ILLUSIO!”

King Boo and Joshua’s bloody conquest of the Ransei region continues this week, as they lay siege to Fortress Fontaine, known for its lovely fountains, which run red with the blood of the slain. That is where two roads diverged and Joshua took the one every walkthrough explicitly insisted you travel by, and that has made all the difference. Seriously, we had totally different experiences this week. What a game.

Welcome to a new interstitial season where the boys will be donning their traditional samurai armor and taking on the Ransei region in some pitched tactical RPG battles. But where to start? How about a deep exploration of the history and conception of Pokémon Conquest which, despite its appearances, is actually a spin-off game of a game mode in the popular hack-and-slash series Samurai Warriors. You’ll meet the new player characters, the proto-Joshua—progenitor to all Joshuas to follow—and King Boo, who is canonically the same King Boo from the Mario games, since everything we’ll come to know and love over the next six weeks has tragically and inevitably died. Rest in Petals.