Summary
Starter towns in eachPokemongame share a great many similarities. Traditionally, they have between three and five buildings, are surrounded by conveniently low-level Pokemon, and tend to be devoid of the services essential to civilization (such as a Poké Mart or Pokemon Center). Although they can never be too exciting, some starter towns undeniably outshine others in terms of appeal.
Despite their typical backwater charm (motivating trainers to kick-start their adventure outside the town limits), they are essential stepping stones in anyPokemonstory. They help the player form their initialimpressions of the regionand can provide the nostalgia of coming home after the journey ends.
This starter town’s name suits it well, given that the place is so small and is so in the middle of nowhere that there isn’t even a road out. Its layout is as basic as it gets, with three houses, a sign, and nothing much else.
Littleroot’s slogan describes it as a place that can’t be shaded, and that’s exactly how the town comes across: colorless and bland. It would make any kid wish that they were still living in Johto. Still, with the settlement’s small size,Alpha Sapphire & Omega Rubyplayers should have few attachments holding them back from making a swift exit.
It’s possible that the design forDiamond & Pearl’s Twinleaf was half-drawn and then mirrored, as the town has a symmetrical layout. Nothing that might inspire a young Pokemon trainer’s brain is in sight; not even the usual research laband its associated professorcan be found there.
Even the cut of the border trees is perfectly square and comes across like some kind of verdant prison. Still, there is a somewhat scenic body of water to the south. To the north, the road (the only one out of town) leads to civilization proper, Sandgem, and a scenic lakefront.
Although players don’t begin in Iki Town, it is where they receive their starter Pokemon.Sun & Moon’s first town at least breaks with the formulaic tradition of emerging into a wider world from a cul-de-sac. Instead, the player is tasked with making their way from the Hau’oli outskirts to Iki.
The little slice of Route 1 doesn’t have much going on besides being an intersection. Iki Town itself has some larger significance, being the residence of Melemele Island’s kahuna, also the grandfather of the player’s rival and the rival himself.
With the benefit of having gone 3D,Pokemon X & Ymanaged to convey a more beautiful starting area than all the games before, especially since the player’s home (and the region in general) ismodeled after French designs. Perhaps because it is so densely packed with visual treats, Vaniville doesn’t contain much besides the three houses.
However, the town has a flower flourish in each home, and there is one especially cool feature right outside the player’s home: a rideable Rhyhorn. Besides that, there isn’t much to do in Vaniville, and it is quickly left behind to make way for greater Kalos.
True, Nuvema is boxed off with only one exit to the north, and there aren’t many exciting things about the town. However,Black & White’s Nuvema wins some novelty points for being positioned over the sea on stilts. The town’s quaint “good neighbor” aesthetics also help make it more memorable.
While Nuvema isn’t the most distinct starter town in thePokemonworld, it more than makes up for it in terms of its place in the story. Both the player’s rivals hail from Nuvema and their hometown is the battleground for their post-game matches, giving the player a reason to make the trip back home.
Cabo Poco is not huge, but its well-designed layout and assets help sell the cliffside town and the region in general as amore expansive and open world. Rather than a dead end, the town feels more like a settlement in seclusion.
Best of all, this starting area comes with a beach, although naturally, most of it is used as a Pokemon arena. Despite the open world feel, the usual friendly neighbors, the lab (located a little further north on Poco Path in a lighthouse), and the one science enthusiast all help to tie it into the traditional starter area experience.
For long-time fans of thePokemonseries, it may be difficult to disconnect the rest ofPokemon Gold & Silverfrom its starter town, but New Bark still has its merits regardless of nostalgia or its connection toone of the most beloved entriesin the franchise.
The houses and buildings are scattered around naturally. The world map wraps around itself and more or less converges on New Bark Town near the end, so long as the player has all the skills loaded in that they learned on their journey.
Nostalgia may well keep this town high on the list of starter towns for manyPokemonfans (that is if Nintendo had ever stopped portraying it in sequels and remakes). However, Pallet Town, the first-ever place Pokemaniacs got to see inRed & Blue, has a few charms besides novelty and the fact that it gets a facelift every once in a while.
The symbolic act of stumbling upon home after a long and challenging journey is a milestone in video game storytelling. It allows players to experience something akin toThe Hero’s Journey, as described by Joseph Cambell, in which a hero masters an unknown world and returns to their home, changed, a greater person than they were before. By the time the player has their volcano badge, they have grown just as much, if not more than, their Pokemon.
It may be one of the smallest starter towns, but this little lane is doing a lot of heavy lifting considering its size. With a masterful recreation of the British countryside alone (thatched roofs and all), Postwick lays down an all-important sense of history in players' minds, making it easy to commit to memory and feelings of nostalgia.
Generic fields in all directions just wouldn’t cut it in a game (essentially) set in a utopian version of the United Kingdom; onlyrolling hills and cottage-core designswould do. With such an immediately distinct personality that still prompts trainers to reach out to the broader world, it’s hard for fans to forget Postwick.
It may simply be the novelty of being able to start the game in a city with all its amenities, but Aspertia City, the player’s Unova hometown inPokemon Black & White 2seems to have it all: a natural, snaking layout that inclines visitors to a hilltop vista (from which the player can get a beautiful view of the whole region), a Pokemon Center and Poké Mart, and even a gym.
There are plenty of reasons to want to return to Aspertia, from its hidden items and convenient services to its changing, seasonal views of the region’s fields, lakes, and mountains. The balance of urban and natural makes Aspertia a great vantage from which to aspire to bethe greatest Pokemon trainer of them all, at least in Unova.
