It was a short stay in PokéPark 2.  While the game was completely adorable, unfortunately it’s time to go.  Don’t worry Pikachu – I’ll always have your save file!

I’ve decided to trade in PokéPark 2 towards the purchase of Kid Icarus: Uprising at GameStop.  But don’t get me wrong, PokéPark 2 was a lot of fun!  The mini games were great (albeit repetitive) and the new battling aspect was a lot of fun.  I’ve got a ton of photos [memories!] that I’ve got posted on Flickr.  Feel free to look through them and comment!  🙂

Here are some of my favorite photos from the game:

Sometimes you had to befriend Pokémon by doing them favors, like carrying Ferroseed to a place he needed to go.  But mostly you had to either battle or chase the Pokémon to become friends, and honestly that does get kinda boring after a while.

I would definitely say that Wish Park was the coolest part about this game.  You’d go to this weird trippy area where all the Pokémon are possessed.  Each area of Wish Park had it’s own theme, and this Pagoda one was my favorite. 

Here’s another view of that area of Wish Park.  Here you can see Flareon all possessed and upset.  Wah!

This photo represents the only reason that I’m slightly hesitant to get rid of my game.  Hidden throughout the PokéPark are these shrines that have depictions of legendary Pokémon on them.  If you befriend the right amount of Pokémon, these legendaries come out of their shrines, and you can battle and become friends with them!  I’m pretty sure you can potentially become friends with Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, Zekrom and Reshiram.  But the qualifications to get them to appear is a pain in the butt and I’d never have finished it before Kid Icarus comes out.  So alas, I don’t have any cool photos of Pikachu with Reshiram.  But I can always rent this game and finish it up at a later date!

So that’s my overview of PokéPark 2.  All in all, it’s a great game for Poké-fanatics.  For hardcore gamers it’s not a great choice, as there’s not much action or challenge involved.  But it’s also a perfect game for kids.

In other Poké-News, today is the last day to register for the 2012 International Challenge, which is a WIFI Tournament hosted through the Pokémon Global Union.  The actual tournament starts tomorrow and runs until the 26th of March.  On the 27th, the PGL site is going down as they prepare for whatever changes and updates will need to happen when Pokémon Black & White 2 debut in Japan this coming June.  (I’m totally buying a Japanese copy of that new game when it comes out!)

If that’s not exciting enough, I also have a real-life tournament coming up this Saturday!  JDubz and I are going to attend an event called Pokémon Battle Through the Generations, which is being held at a local games store.  They are hosting a tournament where you can bring ANY of your old Pokémon games, all the way back through Red & Blue.  If there is an opponent who also has the game (and a connector cable!) you can battle and win money!  I don’t know what kind of turnout to expect, but I will of course document the event and share all the fun with you guys!  🙂