Sakuramei

I initially hadn't, but my parents surprised me with doing so as an early birthday present (my birthday is in July). My main hope was just to get one by the time the additional Kirby content released, but I'm glad I won't have to worry about it during the holiday rush now at least.

I hope you manage to get some! I still like to try and bring my 3DS in hopes of finding some, but I definitely do so less and less often... I honestly miss it a lot. I love StreetPass so much and also was disappointed to see nothing related to it or any kind of Mii related thing for Switch 2 (especially after the Tomodachi Life 2 announcement). Personally, I think they could absolutely have some kind of internal game and then have like... one of those peripherals Pokemon GO/Sleep has or like how the Dreamcast had the VMU and that could be used to gather Streetpass and then connect back to the Switch 2. The fact that Miis still seem to be given the boot and the lack of any kind of similar thing (I adored the StreetPass games so much too) blows my mind. There was a DS game I loved as well called Treasure World that essentially let you find items by finding other DS' and Wifi networks in the world which I super enjoyed.

Really hoping there will be one near us. I was so bummed the Animal Crossing Aquarium collaboration wasn't close at all so I'm really hoping better luck this time.

I mean, they retconned their own plots a bit literally with the Sun/Moon second versions and ORAS' split timeline-- I feel like they could absolutely just have the two areas combined in some way with little explanation.

I've always wanted to be able to visit the Anime-exclusive locations in-game. I loved the Orange Island badges, for example. In general, my dream Pokemon game involves combining all locations-- games (spin-off and mainline) and anime and letting us explore them all to the fullest. I think Pokemon Stadium did a neat thing where your Pokemon's hue changed slightly based off the nicknames. Having more ways Pokemon can be unique is really cool. The Pinkan berry is an obvious ones, but also like how there has been a Pikachu with blue eyes. I definitely think we can see more physical differences, especially now that we have height/weight differences as well in-game.

Praying Mega Audino will be included somehow despite how unlikely that is.

Yeah, the price is a large part of why I'm having to be especially picky despite liking a lot of these a lot. My day 1's are Ribombee (though, I'd love a shiny version-- if only), Lurantis, and Stufful. I'd like to get Rockruff, Togedemaru, Dedenne, and Primarina (and/or Brionne) in the future. I also really love how Minior (Red Core) came out-- I think it looks great, but it's definitely low priority. Some of the other Pokemon that I'm not sure if I'll get or not are Magearna, Nebby Cosmog, and Pallosand. Possibly Alolan Vulpix as well.

I also really miss phones with keyboards. I loved the Dreamcast's VMU and wish that was still a thing. Especially as I loved StreetPass on the 3DS and I feel it could work well with a similar feature for Switch. I also miss MSN Messenger, honestly...

I'm kind of leaning towards Chikorita as I've never used one before, but have always really liked all of Johto's starters (and I've used Totodile in every version of Gold). Ultimately though, it'll probably depend on how the final evolutions look.

I'll list my top six since that seems to be the pattern here so far :P Mega Audino - Having been in the Pokemon Collectors community for so long, even if I mainly lurked, I really wanted to have a Pokemon that I just felt connected to in a sense? And just everything from the pastel colors to the magical girl-esque style and the whole healing thing on top of me just really liking Audino as well called out to me. With Audino itself, I just found it very friend-shaped, but I feel like the colors just come together better with its Mega form. I also love it's like... curly whipped cream tail. Slurpuff - It's a big squishy marshmallow friend and I love them. Alcremie - Can you tell I like dessert themes? :P Specifically, the Ruby Cream with Strawberries is my favorite followed by the "standard" version (Vanilla Cream + Strawberries). I just find it incredibly cute. Tinkaton - Reminds me of if you combined Amy Rose, Chao, and Chibi Usa into one creature and they're all favorites. With Amy and the Chao especially, Sonic is another series really important for me so it was hard not to immediately adore her. Shiny Ribombee - I just find it... so cute and pleasant to look at? It's hard to say exactly why it's a favorite, but it just makes me feel cozy. Dragonair - Despite its simplicity, especially compared to like... everyone else on this list, I've always liked its aesthetic and elegant look. It makes me think of if you like... personified a fountain if that makes sense and I love fountains.