Yeah, Butterfree is a godsend vs. Brock. I remember failing against Brock several times in a row no matter what I did, but finally I got Butterfree and it roflstomped both Geodude and Onix in two moves each. That Butterfree felt awesome to use early-game, it was easily the most powerful 'mon on my team, and it beat everythingI thought you could use Butterfree because it has special attacks, and Brock's Pokemon are weak specially.
One thing I've noticed is that the game introduces you to activities aside from battling such as contests, and NPCs that have goals in these activities. My problem with this is that these activities don't actually result in progression in the game like battling does. For example, the Sinnoh games and anime suggest that people follow two routes - training and battling with Pokemon, or having them perform in contests. The thing is, winning contests doesn't get you anywhere in the story and you're forced to do lots of battles before you can even do contests. Even completing the Pokedex doesn't reward the player as much as it should, and as a result, most people just concentrate on battling in game and don't bother with the other activities. You're almost forced down the path of a trainer because the story focuses so heavily on it.Yeah, Butterfree is a godsend vs. Brock. I remember failing against Brock several times in a row no matter what I did, but finally I got Butterfree and it roflstomped both Geodude and Onix in two moves each. That Butterfree felt awesome to use early-game, it was easily the most powerful 'mon on my team, and it beat everything
Anyway, new unpopular opinion, and this might be dropping a torch here: I think the main series Pokémon games focus too much on battling, and that several of the games' problems can be traced back to this.
First and maybe foremost, the story: The way the games are currently set up, the story needs to be written in such a way that it can only be resolved via Pokémon battles. Okay, becoming a Pokémon Master is a crucial goal of the games, and as such I don't feel that the Pokémon League is a bad way to solve that creative problem. I mean, you become a master by beating the previous master trainers, that's how it works in many types of sports.
However, problems do arise when you try to make storylines beyond becoming a Pokémon master. The player has do something else than travelling from town to town battling Gym Leaders and eventually the Elite Four. But what is there to do, outside this battle-related quest? Why, battle somebody else, of course. Battling is such a core concept of the games that every aspect of the journey needs to involve it. Everything you do to progress can basically be put in one of three categories:
1) Travelling
2) Battling random trainers
3) Battling meaningful trainers
Now, this arguably is the entire premise of the games, working just as intended. You travel from place to place, battling other Pokémon trainers along the way, and that's how you get stronger so you can beat the next trainer in the Pokémon League (which allows you to travel further). However, after a while you realize that the secondary storylines are also made to fit into this template. For instance, you have a rival, working towards the same goal as you. He/She wants to be a Pokémon master too. How do you interact with him/her? Why, battling, of course. And nothing else, apart from text-filled cutscenes. That was what made many people dislike the Kalos rival group: The story gave each of your friends a separate trait, such as Tierno liking dancing, but the traits could only be addressed in text because you had no other way of interaction. I mean, how can Tierno be shown to like Pokémon and dancing, when the only overlap between the two is the various dance moves available? The only way his dancing trait could be displayed was through a battle, just like any other battle in-game, with his Pokémon using a few exotic moves, and that's it. That doesn't evoke an image of a dancer travelling with Pokémon, but a Pokémon trainer with a penchant for a certain group of moves. The turn-based battle mechanic doesn't work at all trying to tell a story. Your rivals' personalities can thus only be conveyed through dialogue, which doesn't work that well in a game with such constraints on the amount of text.
The worst symptom of the "plot problem", though, is the repeated use of the "evil team" trope. As I said, the games require a storyline that needs to be resolved through battle. A Big Bad Trainer is a very tempting solution to this requirement. Defeat the trainer (just like any other trainer), save the world, story done. To help prepare the player's team for the Big Bad Battle, you need loads of small battles beforehand, which is solved by giving the Big Bad Trainer lots of little trainer minions. And so the story is written around this, inevitably resulting in the same tired trope over and over and over again. Gang of evil baddies, threatening to do bad things, a ploy which is foiled by consecutive Pokémon battles. Admittedly, this overuse of the same story has more reasons than just the game being built around battling, but it's not helped by it either.
Secondly, in the current mindset of things, the Pokémon themselves have no purposes but battling. There are so many cute/cool/badass Pokémon out there with very little battle presence, which makes them just short of useless in the games. Some might work as HM slaves, but if they don't have the right movepool, they're useless for that too. Players will find very little reward in dragging around 'mons such as Illumise, Unown or Delcatty. Even if they're your absolute favourite Pokémon, they will do you no good in the game whatsoever. In a similar vein, beyond battling there is nothing distinguishable between Pokémon like Garchomp, Starmie, Heatran or Tyranitar. As long as your Pokémon can beat opponents, it doesn't matter how, or what other attributes it has. People might criticize Smogon (or the very concept of competitive battling) for reducing Pokémon to nothing but numbers, but their usefulness in-game is determined by the exact same standards (although "outclassing" isn't an issue in-game). If a Pokémon is a good battler, it is good for all purposes as far as the game is concerned. The games only judge viability by battling skills. Only rarely will you find NPCs or mechanics which reference other aspects of Pokémon, such as footprints, height/weight or just the Pokémon being of a specific type or gender. These aspects never have any sort of effect on the story itself.
Thirdly, solutions do exist and are actually somewhat implemented into the games. Actually, there are quite big exceptions to the paragraph above, which really could have helped mitigate the problems with the story and the mechanics.
1) HMs, however much we love to hate them, give many Pokémon a purpose outside of battle. With HMs, you need help from your Pokémon to overcome various obstacles, access certain items or make shortcuts. Alas, the concept is far too narrow and I think integrating it so closely with battles was a mistake. Having HMs actually be moves, which compete for moveslots with the rest of the Pokémon's battling movepool, is just annoying. I like the idea - making your Pokémon do things in the overworld - but the implementation has been flawed since Gen. I, and the only things GameFreak have done to fix it, is making it possible to forget HM moves via Move Deleter.
2)The games have featured a myriad of secondary mechanics, some of which really distinguish many Pokémon and make the worthless ones useful, but they're usually confined to mini-games like the Pokéthlon or Pokémon Contests. I believe these could have been utilized in the main story to a much bigger degree, instead of separating them completely. Pokémon-Amie makes some useful changes to some Pokémon, but alas, they're all battling-related.
3) Field moves and abilities have been a thing since Emerald, but their scope has been far too narrow. They make some Pokémon very good hatching companions, or fishing companions, or useful for hunting items, giving them a use outside of battle. That is the sort of traits every Pokémon should have. In a similar vein, in ORAS you have Sharpedo being a much faster Surfing Pokémon than usual, completely regardless of its ability, moves or stats. I give my standing ovations to this idea, and really wish for the concept to be expanded. It's exactly the sort of mechanics a Pokémon need to stand out if it can't do battle. As shown in the Anime, a big part of a Pokémon journey is dependent on your Pokémon's advantages and disadvantages in various situations. Imagine how much more useful Volbeat would be if it automatically illuminated caves without the need for Flash, or if Swinub could help you walk faster in deep snow. You wouldn't have to give every Pokémon a unique trait, just a little something to justify bringing them with you. And of course, it goes without saying that this should not go on accord with their battling skills. You shouldn't have to choose between field effects or battle-worthy moves/abilities. Sharpedo swiftly swimming without necessarily having Swift Swim is a great example.
All in all, there is so much more to Pokémon than battling, but I believe the games reflect this poorly. Everything but battling is usually shoved aside for side "quests" or one-off gimmicks. These aspects could and should have a closer integration with the main gameplay and story, in my opinion.
And then look at what ORAS gave us, do contests for a mega stone also go collect a lot of flags for another one, no freaking thanks, when they force a game element with something that is actually useful it's where it starts to suck.One thing I've noticed is that the game introduces you to activities aside from battling such as contests, and NPCs that have goals in these activities. My problem with this is that these activities don't actually result in progression in the game like battling does. For example, the Sinnoh games and anime suggest that people follow two routes - training and battling with Pokemon, or having them perform in contests. The thing is, winning contests doesn't get you anywhere in the story and you're forced to do lots of battles before you can even do contests. Even completing the Pokedex doesn't reward the player as much as it should, and as a result, most people just concentrate on battling in game and don't bother with the other activities. You're almost forced down the path of a trainer because the story focuses so heavily on it.
I feel like the only way they could make that work is if they did an 'unbeatable boss' type thing where their Pokemon are level 80 and you've just got your first gym badge. It might end up being even cheaper than just a road block though, since you'd lose some of your money in the process, and you know there'll be a confused kid somewhere grinding their Pokemon up to level 80 in order to beat them.Okay, here is one that hasn't been listed: when someone blocks you from being able to move, or blocking a path, and you should be able to do something about it.
I'm not talking about something silly, like that guy who was studying a new Pokémon's footprints (or so he thought), after all, who are you to stand in the way of science? I'm talking more about cases where the villains block a path, such as in XY, when a squad is keeping the native Pokémon on that route, so their life forces can be drained to power the Ultimate Weapon. My solution: to battle them, and if they still don't move, well, I believe that I had a Charizard that could burn the general vicinity they were standing in, if they refused to move.
I know it's supposed to be a kid's game, but being so...helpless, is rather insulting.
Or that huge swarm of Crustle in the way blocking you from going to Nimbasa City until you get three badges.Okay, here is one that hasn't been listed: when someone blocks you from being able to move, or blocking a path, and you should be able to do something about it.
I'm not talking about something silly, like that guy who was studying a new Pokémon's footprints (or so he thought), after all, who are you to stand in the way of science? I'm talking more about cases where the villains block a path, such as in XY, when a squad is keeping the native Pokémon on that route, so their life forces can be drained to power the Ultimate Weapon. My solution: to battle them, and if they still don't move, well, I believe that I had a Charizard that could burn the general vicinity they were standing in, if they refused to move.
I know it's supposed to be a kid's game, but being so...helpless, is rather insulting.
They could give a hint, like when your Pokémon are being healed: "oh, your Pokémon are nowhere near strong enough to beat his. I'd suggest traveling around the region to get stronger".I feel like the only way they could make that work is if they did an 'unbeatable boss' type thing where their Pokemon are level 80 and you've just got your first gym badge. It might end up being even cheaper, than just a road block though, since you'd lose some of your money in the process, and you know there'll be a confused kid somewhere grinding their Pokemon up to level 80 in order to beat them.
You should still be able to battle them. If you get beaten, because they are at a higher level, I guess so be it. Or there could be a nature observer, who tells you to be patient. The dialogue could lead to badges, and when he finds out you don't have 3 badges, he'll suggest earning said badge to pass the time. "I'm sure by the time you've earned that third badge, that swarm of Crustle will have gone on their merry way!"Or that huge swarm of Crustle in the way blocking you from going to Nimbasa City until you get three badges.
Or a better example is inside the power plant. We could have just walked up to one of the scientists at the core, but there's a random grunt blocking the way who refuses to move so your character just decides to take the long way around. Um, no, how about I use my Delphox to use its Psychic power to pin the guy to the wall and to directly to the head villain. I'm not going to hurt the guy that badly, just knock them aside (heck if your Pokemon has a sleep inducing move this conundrum is even more baffling). Lance had his Dragonite use HYPER BEAM (though it looked more like a tackle) on a TR grunt. Or hey, how about going the path of least resistance? I had a Charizard at that point, why couldn't I just hop on my Charizard's back and fly over to the head villain (which would have also worked in the Pokeball Factory instead of riding on the conveyor belts)? This isn't a Gym where solving the puzzle proves I'm worthy of challenging the Gym Leader, I'm trying to stop an evil syndicate from stealing the region's power!Okay, here is one that hasn't been listed: when someone blocks you from being able to move, or blocking a path, and you should be able to do something about it.
I'm not talking about something silly, like that guy who was studying a new Pokémon's footprints (or so he thought), after all, who are you to stand in the way of science? I'm talking more about cases where the villains block a path, such as in XY, when a squad is keeping the native Pokémon on that route, so their life forces can be drained to power the Ultimate Weapon. My solution: to battle them, and if they still don't move, well, I believe that I had a Charizard that could burn the general vicinity they were standing in, if they refused to move.
I know it's supposed to be a kid's game, but being so...helpless, is rather insulting.
Funny you should talk about sleep inducing moves...Or a better example is inside the power plant. We could have just walked up to one of the scientists at the core, but there's a random grunt blocking the way who refuses to move so your character just decides to take the long way around. Um, no, how about I use my Delphox to use its Psychic power to pin the guy to the wall and to directly to the head villain. I'm not going to hurt the guy that badly, just knock them aside (heck if your Pokemon has a sleep inducing move this conundrum is even more baffling). Lance had his Dragonite use HYPER BEAM (though it looked more like a tackle) on a TR grunt. Or hey, how about going the path of least resistance? I had a Charizard at that point, why couldn't I just hop on my Charizard's back and fly over to the head villain (which would have also worked in the Pokeball Factory instead of riding on the conveyor belts)? This isn't a Gym where solving the puzzle proves I'm worthy of challenging the Gym Leader, I'm trying to stop an evil syndicate from stealing the region's power!
I guess having the guy be stronger would prevent you from doing any of that... but if that was the case why is the guy just standing there? He's part of the evil team and you're trying to stop them, why wouldn't he curbstomp you and anyone else who tries to intervene? Also it'll look pretty insulting for a grunt to have high leveled Pokemon and the big boss to have Pokemon lower in level to them. Also what happens if you found a way to beat them?
But then again we make fun of the "roadblocks" for a reason, they make absolutely no sense since we have elemental monsters of various capabilities at our beck and call. A need a specific HM to Cut a puny tree? How about my Fire-type burns it to ash? Someone is blocking my path? How about I talk with them about it and come to a compromise? Like the guy studying the "new" Pokemon's footprint, how about I be REALLY careful to make sure I don't step on any of the footprints?
Yeah, if we could do that the game would be so realistic. Which would probably lead to the discussion of a pokémon MMO with intense graphics and real-life physics with logical solutions to the Snorlaxes that block the way. Or maybe this would push GameFreak to make the moves have really realistic effects (Snivy uses Vine Whip to raise a Pidgey on air and smashes it to a tree = more damage than Tackle, Aerodactyl uses Sky Drop to kill the opposing pokémon because that's what would happen if that poor foe doesn't levitate or doesn't have wings). I think this would turn our beloved franchise into a completely different one. This is why I want the little stupid things to stay, and this is the unpopular opinion. I mean, who wouldn't want to destroy that grunt, push the Psyducks away, jump on the Crustles to get past them and all?Or a better example is inside the power plant. We could have just walked up to one of the scientists at the core, but there's a random grunt blocking the way who refuses to move so your character just decides to take the long way around. Um, no, how about I use my Delphox to use its Psychic power to pin the guy to the wall and to directly to the head villain. I'm not going to hurt the guy that badly, just knock them aside (heck if your Pokemon has a sleep inducing move this conundrum is even more baffling).
But then again we make fun of the "roadblocks" for a reason, they make absolutely no sense since we have elemental monsters of various capabilities at our beck and call. A need a specific HM to Cut a puny tree? How about my Fire-type burns it to ash? Someone is blocking my path? How about I talk with them about it and come to a compromise? Like the guy studying the "new" Pokemon's footprint, how about I be REALLY careful to make sure I don't step on any of the footprints?
The Unpopular Opinion thread is where everybody is entitled to there opinion regardless of how anybody else feels about it. Hence the title. We don't have to agree, and by title definition probably won't, but we do have to be considerate.Yeah, if we could do that the game would be so realistic. Which would probably lead to the discussion of a pokémon MMO with intense graphics and real-life physics with logical solutions to the Snorlaxes that block the way. Or maybe this would push GameFreak to make the moves have really realistic effects (Snivy uses Vine Whip to raise a Pidgey on air and smashes it to a tree = more damage than Tackle, Aerodactyl uses Sky Drop to kill the opposing pokémon because that's what would happen if that poor foe doesn't levitate or doesn't have wings). I think this would turn our beloved franchise into a completely different one. This is why I want the little stupid things to stay, and this is the unpopular opinion. I mean, who wouldn't want to destroy that grunt, push the Psyducks away, jump on the Crustles to get past them and all?Now give me a special snowflake badge, please.
In generation 4 there are Psyduck which block the way to Celestic Town. You have to get medicine from Cynthia in order to move them.You mean... this thread? If your talking about the Psyduck that block some path I forgot, I am intrigued.
Reminds me of practically EVERYTHING in Gen V. Instead of using HM barriers to force you to get the HM to progress, they force you to wait for some BS thing like that dance-off in BW2 preventing you from entering the Black City/White Forest too soon practically saying they're doing it to prevent you to leave.In generation 4 there are Psyduck which block the way to Celestic Town. You have to get medicine from Cynthia in order to move them.
I think that not explaining everything is actually one of the appealing things about Pokemon. Hell, we've got a full mysteries and conspiracies thread about it. Random roadblocks only add to this IMO.
Or that stupid "we're trying to see how many people this thing can hold" thing on the Tubelike Bridge.Reminds me of practically EVERYTHING in Gen V. Instead of using HM barriers to force you to get the HM to progress, they force you to wait for some BS thing like that dance-off in BW2 preventing you from entering the Black City/White Forest too soon practically saying they're doing it to prevent you to leave.
I concur. I like how there are actually logical barriers (such as really heavy rocks) that block you from passing.I much prefer HM barriers since theoretically there's a real reason behind it and it would still "exist" after you are capable of passing it. Like my personal favorite was having to use Dive to go to Sootopolis since it was such a natural prevention that it just made sense. In fact, as soon as you finish the Team X Base, the game opened up widely and allowed you to explore the ocean without having any of that BS that prevent you from going to other routes. That just made it feel so much better and larger and without that frustrating thing of not being able to pass.
I agree that the forced or plot-check roadblocks were annoying, but replaying Platinum has reminded me that HM roadblocks can get out of hand very VERY fast.Reminds me of practically EVERYTHING in Gen V. Instead of using HM barriers to force you to get the HM to progress, they force you to wait for some BS thing like that dance-off in BW2 preventing you from entering the Black City/White Forest too soon practically saying they're doing it to prevent you to leave.
I much prefer HM barriers since theoretically there's a real reason behind it and it would still "exist" after you are capable of passing it. Like my personal favorite was having to use Dive to go to Sootopolis since it was such a natural prevention that it just made sense. In fact, as soon as you finish the Team X Base, the game opened up widely and allowed you to explore the ocean without having any of that BS that prevent you from going to other routes. That just made it feel so much better and larger and without that frustrating thing of not being able to pass.