The best thing about New Pokemon Snap is the way the Pokemon interact with each other. We've seen Pokemon in all sorts of situations over the years: the battling systems of the base games, the cute catching and fleeing nature of Pokemon Go and Let's Go, the adventures of the anime, the playful games in PokePark, and the questionable searches that pop up on the second page of Google images when you type in 'Goodra'. We've seen a lot of different Pokemon behaviours, but never anything quite so natural as in New Pokemon Snap. You need to wake up Arbok to see Venusaur jump in the water, you need to lure Leafeon into the bushes to get Swampert to emerge from the swamp, and you need to attract a Yanmega over to get Ariados to shoot its web – and that's all just on one level. The recent Snap update introduces new Pokemon but also brings back some old favourites, and reminds us all that Grookey just wants to be everyone's best mate.
Grookey is the first Pokemon you see in New Pokemon Snap, hanging out with Pichu right at the start of Florio Nature Park. Across the various different ranks – plus the day and night routes – you see Grookey and Pichu teaming up again, eventually bringing both Shaymin and Scorbunny along for the ride too. We also see Grookey and Pichu snuggled up sleeping under the shade of a Torterra on the night route. Once Sylveon joins the park at the highest rank, Grookey immediately becomes its friend, too.
Related: I Can't Believe New Pokemon Snap Still Doesn't Have ShiniesA lot of Pokemon interact with each other in the game, but few do it as frequently – and as friendlily – as Grookey, which is why it's so delightful to see the green drummer back in the latest update. Grookey can be found scurrying alongside the banks and cliffs of the Mightywide River, and as you might have guessed, it has made some friends.
Having gotten pally with fellow Galar starter Scorbunny originally, this time Grookey is running around and getting into monkey business with Sobble, the Water starter who was in the base game, but on a different level all on its lonesome. Wooper, Sobble's friend from the Founja Jungle, is also hanging with Grookey here. And, naturally, all that running about leaves Grookey and the rest all tuckered out, so you'll see them napping with Tropius on the night route, just as Grookey did with Torterra once the Sun set in Florio Nature Park. It's sleepy work, being this friendly, you know.
Grookey also speaks to the genius of New Pokemon Snap. While not an unpopular Pokemon – starters are rarely unpopular in the way of, say, Bruxish – Grookey was my least favourite of the Galar three, and one of my least favourite Grass starters ever. Now, I love it. Of course, I still love Scorbunny – especially after Pokemon Unite proved that Cinderace is the best starter ever – and I have a lot of time for Sobble, so Grookey still might be third in Galar, but its overall ranking in the starter canon has gone up.
By and large, starters don't have a great time in New Pokemon Snap. Kalos has no representation at all, while many of the other starters are shuffled in with all the regular ‘mons. Charizard is down an optional path in a late-game cave, rather than being a leading light in the way the fiery dragon-but-not-actually-a-Dragon is used to. This is another positive though – in the base games, starters have elevated importance. In the wild, they don't, and New Pokemon Snap mimics that.
Grookey wasn't brought back because it was a starter, or because it was a popular character. Greninja, the most popular Pokemon of all time, isn't in the game at all, which puts that theory to bed. Grookey was brought back because they're everyone's mate, and we could all use more Grookey in our lives. Now all that's left is for Grookey to put on its space suit and head for the Moon in the next update, right?
Next: What's Going On With Snorlax's Teeth In New Pokemon Snap?
