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I have to say I was not disappointed. The game begins with you as a young, new trainer in Hoenn. You start at your house and get your first Pokemon. From then on the story unfolds.
The story itself is pretty good, and the Hoenn Region is very interesting to explore and has a lot of cool locations. The main addictive thing about this game though is trying to catch as many of the Pokemon as you can, I never thought it would be quite so addictive but there is something that compells you to catch more and more. I'm 18 so its sort of embaressing to admit to liking this game, as it does have a kiddy slant; but I really did enjoy this game. I've been playing 46 hours so far and I will still be going back to it.
Another thing that increases the lifespan of the game is if you have Pokemon Colluseum and a GBA Link Cable - you can transfer your Pokemon into Colluseum and battle them. It's great to see how they all look in 3D on the Gamecube.
Most of the other aspects of the game are fine, the sound is good and the controls are easy to use. The graphics are 'adequate', however - I think more could have been done using the GBA, as there are games that look better than this one. They are ok though, but the battle scenes aren't that well done, the backgrounds have a sort of scan line effect on them which makes the whole thing look a little poor quality, but the Pokemon themselves and the battle effects are well done.
Overall I like this game, and I don't think you necessarily have to be a fan of the series to like it. I haven't watched Pokemon on TV for about 3-4 years, but I still managed to pick this game up and enjoy it. If you have a GBA, and you think this game might appeal to you, I'd take the chance and pick it up, especially if you can link to another GBA or to Colluseum on the Cube.