2. A few old moves now have "HM" qualities
(No, don't worry, you can still delete them). Basically, select moves such as "Dance" moves (Swords Dance, Dragon Dance, etc), "Punch" moves (Mega Punch, Thunder Punch, etc) and others can be used in the field now.
For example, I saw an old looking pedestal in one of the jungle areas. I was able to use Dragon Dance and it opened up a cave where several evolutionary stones could be found. I found the same thing in a different area, but for Petal Dance instead. Nothing happened, but a message popped up that said "...the Ruins and Find Peace", so I'm assuming it's a multi-part code.
I also came across a huge stone structure in the ruins area. When I used Boomburst, it cracked, and a fossilized pokemon fell out. I'm thinking this means that you can actually get both fossils in one game this time around.
>3. Pokemon Amie is back, and expanded upon
It's pretty much the exact same as before, but with a nice change that really makes it feel like it's actually worth it. When you are friendly enough, (At least, I think that's how it's done. I've had Pokemon do it at 1 heart, and some only at 3+ hearts), you'll start getting little messages from your Pokemon when you're walking around. Happens probably once every 30 mins, if that. For example, I've seen these so far:
>(pokemon) is feeling hungry!
I get this one a lot, basically you just go into Pokemon Amie and feed them a Poke Puff. I think it boosts happiness a little, plus it acts as a vitamin. For example, feed it a Blue Puff and you get some defense EVs
>(pokemon) wants to play!
Same thing as above, but just go pet them or play a mini game. I haven't gotten any rewards from this yet, I think it may be tied to happiness level.
>(pokemon) isn't feeling well!
I haven't really seen any obvious effects so far, but I think it affects happiness if you send them out while they aren't feeling well.
>(pokemon) is feeling confident!
A Pokemon with this gets +1 Attack and +1 Sp. Attack for one time when you send it out. I like this one, but I hope it's disabled in gyms and E4 matches.
>4. There are at least 94 new Pokemon, and several evolutions+ pre-evos for older families (NOT mega evolutions)
Here are a few of the new Pokemon that I've seen:
>Deuxdrop
Grass/Water
Based on a dewdrop on a leaf, it's actually two small dewdrops holding a leaf over their heads. I think it's a middle form, since it doesn't really look finished. I'm guessing the other forms are a single dewdrop, and then three, kinda like Magneton or Dugtrio. Absolute GARBAGE attack, but decent Special Attack + a lot of speed.
>Duddigoyle
Rock
Druddigon's pre-evo. Love this guy. You can get him really early on, and he has a ton of attack. Not sure of the base stat, but at level 16, he has 49 attack. Also, saw my first new move with him - Pebble Tornado (Basically a physical version of Fire Spin)
>Angleam
Water/Electric
Evo of Lanturn. Bulky as hell, looks a lot better then Chinchou and Lanturn for sure. Lanturn's Y-shaped antenna splits into 3 sections, and Angleam has more of an angler fish look. Surprisingly, they made it a physical attacker (Gets spark, wild charge, etc). Has 102 Attack at level 41.
Here's a couple other small details:
>Trainers do appear on the field, and do give commands. They also react when a pokemon faints or gets a crit. The opposing trainer can talk during battle as well, but it's not like a static message in a box, it just appears on the screen (Basically meaning it doesn't interrupt the flow of battle, you don't have to press A to move on)
>The new HP bar is meh, it feels like a change just made for the sake of change. It does do a little rainbow effect when a pokemon mega evolves though, looks kinda neat.
>When fighting a gym leader, item use is tied to difficulty. (Easy = Unlimited for you, none for them) (Normal = Unlimited for you, 2-4 for them) (Hard = None for both).