The recent release of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl games saw the return of Pokémon following the player, but the quality of animations for Pokémon such as Ekans has left some players baffled. BDSP, the long-awaited remake of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl on the Nintendo DS bringing back a fan favorite feature like follower Pokémon could have been a recipe for success. This perceived corner-cutting, however, has left players disappointed in the quality of this long-requested feature's return, and in some cases, amused.
Follower Pokémon started in Pokémon Yellow, in which players' starter Pikachu would follow shortly behind the player, but wouldn't be fully realized until Generation 4's Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Pokémon's Gen 4 had annoying features, but following Pokémon was not one of them. In these games, any Pokémon, not only Pikachu, would follow the player, each with its own sprite on the overworld. Interacting with these following Pokémon could allow the player to have cute interactions with the Pokémon, and could even net the player items that the Pokémon picked up. This feature did a lot to help players feel closer to their Pokémon, and despite the good reception, wouldn't see a return until BDSP.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl has received a positive response at launch, but there are areas where the games could be improved. Although these remakes had been long asked for by fans of the originals, disappointments such as BDSP's National Dex have left some players feeling underwhelmed. The return of follower Pokémon has largely been well received by players who had missed the feature, but its questionable animations for the 3D models following the player have come under scrutiny by some, especially Ekans. A poison-type snake Pokémon, well known for belonging to Pokémon anime mainstay Jessie, it would be expected to see a bit more polish when it comes to animation.
BDSP's Ekans Follows Players Like a Roomba
As shared by UrFriendlySpider-Man on the Pokémon subreddit, rather than slithering along the ground, as players may expect a snake to do, Ekans instead glides across the ground while coiled up. This animation - or lack thereof, more accurately - looks more akin to a hockey puck sliding across ice than a pet snake following a player around. A similar oddity occurs with Milotic, another serpentine Pokémon that remains coiled as it drags behind the player.
Although BDSP fixed numerous mechanics in Pokémon, Ekans' lack of animation is illustrative of how the remakes could benefit from some improvement. Not all players are upset about the animation obviously - some have found the animation of Ekans charming, humorously comparing it to a Roomba, but they should definitely have their own proper animation. Hopefully, Ekans will get a proper following animation in future updates to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, and Game Freak will take a lesson from this for Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Source: Reddit/UrFriendlySpider-Man