Un-Needed Aspects of Pokémon

[Celever]

What do you guys think is un-needed in Pokémon? Remember folks, this is in-game only. Don't say "but it is competitive!" Let's pretend like we're all casual here...

Natures/EVs/IVs/Characteristics
So this is just so awfully unneeded for in-game runs it's not even funny. Nobody has kept catching Pidgey on Route 1 until they get an Adamant one, no one just running through a game normally will ever keep count of their EVs and they hardly check their IVs either. Besides, natures only affect 10% of your stat, and both EVs and IVs affect them rather minimally as well. They do have one purpose, which is the more you battle with a Pokémon the more EVs they rack up thus making them appear stronger the farther in your journey you get. However, the change is so subtle most people wouldn't notice it.

Arceus Plates
Seriously Game Freak, why didn't you just make Arceus react to BlackGlasses etc.?

Spelling Correction in Gen 6
This is minor, but it probably wasn't worth the time and effort to change "Faint Attack" into "Feint Attack".

So what do you think you would be better off running through a game without? Or just something completely unnecessary which neither helps nor hinders your journey. Please do NOT mention specific Pokémon (you can do moves and abilities if you want though) because some people like gimmicks and shitmons. Mainly me. Anyway, enjoy!

 

[Age of Kings]

I'm all for legitimate criticisms but lately it seems like a lot of threads in this forum are "let's bitch about the Pokemon games". I am no stranger to criticizing Gamefreak or Nintendo, but c'mon guys, I prefer talking about what I like instead of what I hate.

Natures/EVs/IVs/Characteristics
So this is just so awfully unneeded for in-game runs it's not even funny. Nobody has kept catching Pidgey on Route 1 until they get an Adamant one, no one just running through a game normally will ever keep count of their EVs and they hardly check their IVs either. Besides, natures only affect 10% of your stat, and both EVs and IVs affect them rather minimally as well. They do have one purpose, which is the more you battle with a Pokémon the more EVs they rack up thus making them appear stronger the farther in your journey you get. However, the change is so subtle most people wouldn't notice it.

Regardless of whether you personally are a competitive player, Pokemon appeals to all kinds of players. Not just kids and casual players, but there is a competitive element to the game. I would still not be playing Pokemon if these elements were lacking.

Sans IVs which is RNG based, all of those things are analogous to mastery or skill points and enchanting or runes in other games. Pokemon is not the only game where the element of min/maxing exists (10% is a lot, EVs and IVs also have a huge effect), the only reason people cry about them in this fandom is because most other games that incorporate those elements are team games that actually hold you accountable or single-player games that are entirely PvE. If you don't optimize yourself properly, you will either not get invites to groups or get chewed out verbally, and rightfully so as you are not pulling your weight on a team.

In Pokemon, you just blame your opponent and evil competitive players for your own fault. If you don't play against other people or only against other casual players, then why is it a problem for you? If you are obligating yourself to optimize your Pokemon, then it's your choice but don't go blaming others. EVs and IVs are not unneeded elements, they enhance the game and give you the element of customization and choice.

 

[Celever]

Well it's much harder to come up with topics for things you like in Pokemon than it is for things you dislike. The games are too similar every game so new releases don't give you enough to talk about. Anyway...

About the rest of your post... I'm not sure what point you were trying to make? When your are doing a run in-game thhings like EVs do not matter in the slightest. That was my point. I even said at the start of my post that this is ourely in-game and not for online battles or competitive, so I really don't get your point...

 

[Age of Kings]

Well it's much harder to come up with topics for things you like in Pokemon than it is for things you dislike. The games are too similar every game so new releases don't give you enough to talk about. Anyway...

You're on a Pokemon fansite of all things trying to argue this.... have you tried Serebii forums or Bulbagarden? They are not geared towards competitive play but people on those sites find plenty to talk about somehow. This is the casual subforum of Smogon and while it may not be XY discussion, it's fairly active.

About the rest of your post... I'm not sure what point you were trying to make? When your are doing a run in-game thhings like EVs do not matter in the slightest. That was my point. I even said at the start of my post that this is ourely in-game and not for online battles or competitive, so I really don't get your point...

Because they're not unneeded elements and you can't suddenly get rid of that element of gameplay just because it's not useful for in-game runs. You can't entirely divorce such a large part of the game from gameplay and it would open a huge can of worms from a programming perspective. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, because you can simply ignore all of that stuff if it is not applicable to you. I don't spend all day breeding flawless Pokemon or grinding horde battles to beat Gym Leader Wulfric either, but that doesn't mean I think they are unneeded.

 

[Hulavuta]

I'm not sure if it was this way or not, but I was always under the impression that Game Freak never meant for any of these things (EVs, IVs, Natures) to be discovered. That way, you get everything pretty much at "random" so that almost all Pokemon would have different stats, creating the effect that every Pokemon is unique. From a casual point of view, these things never made play worse because most casuals were never even aware they existed. It was just a cool behind-the-scenes thing that made the world more diverse.

Ironically, this is actually the biggest gripe that competitive players have with the game, that it is too time-consuming to get perfect Pokemon. Pretty much the biggest appeal of simulators is allowing you to bypass all of that stuff...but you said not to mention competitive so whatever.

As for the last point...like you said they were pretty minor and so...not really a positive or negative, it is just...there.

As for the Arceus Plates, I guess you have a bit of a point but this makes more sense in regards to the lore, and again, it makes so minor of a difference I don't see the point in having an opinion about it either way.

 

[Age of Kings]

With all due respect Hula, I think the gripe these competitive players have is the means of obtaining flawless competitive Pokemon, not the existence of such mechanics. The last two irl grassroots tournaments I went to featured people along the lines of "EV training ruins the game!" and the obligatory "Smogon players are too tryhard". With EVs/IVs/nature, you can make your Pokemon survive specific moves, play with speed brackets, or run a special Salamence over a physical one, of the most practical applications. This is why they are so important to the game because you can customize Pokemon as you wish as opposed to having Pokemon with fixed stats, and you cannot divorce all of that from the rest of the game. You can, however, ignore them if you prefer playing that way.

Sorry for going off topic but I wanted to clarify that point.

 

[spiresquire]

So, yeah, under that logic IVs and EVs would not be needed in game. But I do believe natures have their place in-game, provided that you know what nature boosts which stats. I can't stress how many kills my Cinccino missed all because he was Timid. Game Freak seems to want to make Natures easier to understand for casual players without really forcing them to care about them, what with the whole colored stats and whatnot. Also, in most games, they make at least one NPC discuss Natures openly and by name, so it's not like they're trying to obscure them like EVs/IVs.

On a separate note, I want to mention the Flutes in R/S/E up to Gen V. Y'know, those things you get from that creepy soot collector on Route 113 that almost look like bongs.

The Blue Flute was excellent. Blue makes sure that you'll never want to buy an Awakening again. The rest are either "meh" or downright awful. Black is probably the next best, acting like a Cleanse Tag that you don't need to hold. I guess if you're a cheapstake and don't want to shell out money for Repels, this'd be for you. The main problem with it is that it's the hardest one to get, needing 1000 steps on that Spinda Route. No thanks. The white one increases the encounter rate. I can't think of a reason why anybody would want to do that to themselves, but if that's someone's thing, it's useful I guess. Just be prepared to take another 1000 steps. The red and yellow ones are flat out garbage, healing Infatuation and Confusion respectively. Why waste a turn using this when you could easily switch is beyond me, and unlike the Blue Flute's status, neither Red's or Yellow's have any over world effect.

Fortunately enough, the best flute happens to be the easiest one to obtain. Needing only 250 steps, one can easily grab this thing on their first visit to Route 113 and never have a reason to go back. Unless you want that Skarmory, of course. Or I guess if you hoard Spinda patterns, but that already seems like a lost cause. In HGSS, the flutes make a return, scattered in mostly out-of-the-way places that most can't access until the flutes are sorely outdone by other items, even in Blue's case. Gen V has them make a cameo at best, having been stripped of their uses and downgraded from "glass" flutes to "toy" flutes that can only be sold for a high price, but there's already plenty of items to accomplish this. And in X/Y, they've apparently been removed entirely. Oh well. :B

 

[GoldenSandslash15]

EVENT LEGENDARIES - WTF, Game Freak? I want to complete my Pokédex!

Dream World Abilities - So what if I missed the Nintendo Events because I didn't get into Gen 5 until later after everyone else? I want a Magic Bounce Espeon and an Imposter Ditto too! Just make them available through normal gameplay!

Regional Pokédex vs National Pokédex - Why not just make every Pokémon obtainable in one game? Like with GSC having all of the RBY Pokémon.

Roaming Pokémon - Ugh. It'll take forever just to find one. Especially in FRLG, where the glitch prevents them from ever being encountered again after the first time.

Bill's PC (pre-RSE) - I filled up a box, so I can't catch any more Pokémon. WHAT!?

Protect/Detect/other similar moves - Does nothing except waste a turn pointlessly (in-game. Competitively, obviously, these are quite good moves).

Feebas and Milotic (pre-BW) - So I have to randomly get six squares and only those and it's very frustrating to deal with. WHY!? Oh, and PokéBlocks/Poffins necessary to evolve it. Guess I'll never get that Pokédex completion, because I never do Contests because this is BORING.

Combee and Vespiquen - REALLY!? Seven out of eight are useless? Ugh. And even the ones that aren't useless end up being useless until Level 21 anyways.

The Name Rater - Not a bad idea, but stupidly implemented. If my friend trades me a Pokémon named "penis" or something, I want to be able to change that.

Nickname Censorship - On the other hand, if I want to name something "penis", a censorship system should not stop me from doing so.

Game Corner (pre-HGSS) - This took forever to actually do anything worthwhile with. HGSS gets a pass due to how much fun Voltorb Flip was, though.

GTS - Make reasonable demands, people.

Pokémon Bank - I have to PAY to transfer my Pokémon from previous games now!?

 

[Kingpoleon]

EVENT LEGENDARIES - WTF, Game Freak? I want to complete my Pokédex!

Dream World Abilities - So what if I missed the Nintendo Events because I didn't get into Gen 5 until later after everyone else? I want a Magic Bounce Espeon and an Imposter Ditto too! Just make them available through normal gameplay!

Regional Pokédex vs National Pokédex - Why not just make every Pokémon obtainable in one game? Like with GSC having all of the RBY Pokémon.

Roaming Pokémon - Ugh. It'll take forever just to find one. Especially in FRLG, where the glitch prevents them from ever being encountered again after the first time.

Bill's PC (pre-RSE) - I filled up a box, so I can't catch any more Pokémon. WHAT!?
Bill just had bad designs and good proteges

Protect/Detect/other similar moves - Does nothing except waste a turn pointlessly (in-game. Competitively, obviously, these are quite good moves). So not really that pointless

Feebas and Milotic (pre-BW) - So I have to randomly get six squares and only those and it's very frustrating to deal with. WHY!? Oh, and PokéBlocks/Poffins necessary to evolve it. Guess I'll never get that Pokédex completion, because I never do Contests because this is BORING.
Trying to appeal to girls.

Combee and Vespiquen - REALLY!? Seven out of eight are useless? Ugh. And even the ones that aren't useless end up being useless until Level 21 anyways.

The Name Rater - Not a bad idea, but stupidly implemented. If my friend trades me a Pokémon named "penis" or something, I want to be able to change that.

Nickname Censorship - On the other hand, if I want to name something "penis", a censorship system should not stop me from doing so. It is to stop children from seeing something inappropriate on the GTS


Game Corner (pre-HGSS) - This took forever to actually do anything worthwhile with. HGSS gets a pass due to how much fun Voltorb Flip was, though.

GTS - Make reasonable demands, people. Not GF's fault; just people being people.

Pokémon Bank - I have to PAY to transfer my Pokémon from previous games now!? They do need money(but I agree, bad idea).

Replies in BOLD. Also, nice to see you on Smogon!
Back OT: Unown. I mean, what's it's point besides learning the alphabet?!?!?!?

 

[noobcubed]

Pointless but harmless things:

Pokewalker: Did anyone ever use this thing? I'm not sure exactly what it does to this day.

Easy mode from White 2: Seriously? Can anybody else think of even one other game where completing the game allows you to unlock an easier difficulty level? That makes so little sense.

Contests: I never cared enough about these to decipher the mechanics of Pokemon contests, and you can't really do so just by playing them, you have to go online and find out how jamming moves work etc (I believe that a good game should be able to be played without ever having to look stuff up). But they don't affect anything in the rest of the game, so whatever.

Voltorb Flip: Grinding here takes forever. It would be fine if the game didn't involve so much guesswork, if you could solve every board through logic and reasoning alone without having to trust to luck. But the fact that you have to constantly take risks prevents you by force from reaching the higher levels were the grinding happens at a sensible pace.

Harder to ignore:

EVs, IVs etc: But fortunately simulators exist, and I'm pleased that GameFreak is trying to make competitive battling more accessible to cartridge players by, for example, having that breeding tutorial in X and Y. Ideally a player could become good at the Pokemon metagame just by playing in-game and using their brains, but that isn't going to happen (it's ultimately up to the playerbase, not GameFreak, to decide what is competitively effective, so GameFreak themselves can do little to push a newbie in the right direction). Also, Cynthia having perfect IVs is some serious bullshit.

Pokemon Amie: A personal bugbear, and I know it's a kids' game, but seriously, go buy Nintendogs. Goes down here because it has actual influence on the main game, rather than being something you can do if you want.

 

[GoldenSandslash15]

Voltorb Flip: Grinding here takes forever. It would be fine if the game didn't involve so much guesswork, if you could solve every board through logic and reasoning alone without having to trust to luck. But the fact that you have to constantly take risks prevents you by force from reaching the higher levels were the grinding happens at a sensible pace.

Voltorb Flip actually requires guesswork very rarely. Most of the time, you can solve it off of just logic alone.

 

[spiresquire]

Also, the only real use the Pokewalker has is to snag a few decent items and maybe level up a Pokemon if you plan on going somewhere without your system. There are a fair few rare things you can snatch from it though, like Choice Items and Rare Candies. You can get a Kangaskhan before you even face Falkner, which is pretty sweet if you ask me. But, the Pokewalker is a fairly forgettable, and if you're like most gamers, you probably don't do the amount of moving needed to get stuff like Feebas or Spiritomb from it. It is a pedometer, after all.

Anyone else feel as though Heal Balls are useless 90% of the time? Shouldn't need too much explaining, but usually when you catch something, it's shipped to the PC because you already happen to have six on you. It's pretty good when you start out, but afterwards it just becomes a girly Poke Ball.

 

[Mulan15262]

EVENT LEGENDARIES - WTF, Game Freak? I want to complete my Pokédex! I agree.

Dream World Abilities - So what if I missed the Nintendo Events because I didn't get into Gen 5 until later after everyone else? I want a Magic Bounce Espeon and an Imposter Ditto too! Just make them available through normal gameplay! You can still get a HA male Eevee in BW2, which can be bred to produce HA Female Eevee in XY.

Regional Pokédex vs National Pokédex - Why not just make every Pokémon obtainable in one game? Like with GSC having all of the RBY Pokémon. The regional pokedex is a good idea, in my opinion, so long as they make you able to complete the National Dex in one game (regional dex for all pokemon except post-game ones).

Roaming Pokémon - Ugh. It'll take forever just to find one. Especially in FRLG, where the glitch prevents them from ever being encountered again after the first time. Roaming pokemon aren't very hard to find, they don't take very long either (at least, they don't when you do not deal with the glitch).

Bill's PC (pre-RSE) - I filled up a box, so I can't catch any more Pokémon. WHAT!? This was a glitch (or oversight, or whatever) that got fixed.

Protect/Detect/other similar moves - Does nothing except waste a turn pointlessly (in-game. Competitively, obviously, these are quite good moves). They do serve a purpose, you can PP stall some foes, and restore HP if you have a leftovers/black sludge, or a HP-restoring ability that is active.

Feebas and Milotic (pre-BW) - So I have to randomly get six squares and only those and it's very frustrating to deal with. WHY!? Oh, and PokéBlocks/Poffins necessary to evolve it. Guess I'll never get that Pokédex completion, because I never do Contests because this is BORING. I guess I won't complete the pokedex because I do not live in Japan, nor can I travel there, so I can't get some event legendaries. I also do not have anyone to trade with. You would just miss one pokemon.

Combee and Vespiquen - REALLY!? Seven out of eight are useless? Ugh. And even the ones that aren't useless end up being useless until Level 21 anyways.

The Name Rater - Not a bad idea, but stupidly implemented. If my friend trades me a Pokémon named "penis" or something, I want to be able to change that.

Nickname Censorship - On the other hand, if I want to name something "penis", a censorship system should not stop me from doing so. This way, you won't have to deal with inappropriate nicknames from your friend, so your name rater rant is unneeded.

Game Corner (pre-HGSS) - This took forever to actually do anything worthwhile with. HGSS gets a pass due to how much fun Voltorb Flip was, though.

GTS - Make reasonable demands, people. Make your own demands. That way, you will get things. I put my own trade requests up on GTS, so I do not get annoyed by the flood of people making unrealistic requests.

Pokémon Bank - I have to PAY to transfer my Pokémon from previous games now!? This way, you can still transfer pokemon for years to come, even when the 3DS is an archaic fossil as frequently used as the Apple 1 is today.

Pointless but harmless things:

Pokewalker: Did anyone ever use this thing? I'm not sure exactly what it does to this day. It can give you items and level up your pokemon, and even get you some pokemon.

Easy mode from White 2: Seriously? Can anybody else think of even one other game where completing the game allows you to unlock an easier difficulty level? That makes so little sense. I don't even see the point of an easy mode, anyways. The game is so easy that making an easy mode harder than the current game wouldn't seem too out of place.

Contests: I never cared enough about these to decipher the mechanics of Pokemon contests, and you can't really do so just by playing them, you have to go online and find out how jamming moves work etc (I believe that a good game should be able to be played without ever having to look stuff up). But they don't affect anything in the rest of the game, so whatever. I agree.

Voltorb Flip: Grinding here takes forever. It would be fine if the game didn't involve so much guesswork, if you could solve every board through logic and reasoning alone without having to trust to luck. But the fact that you have to constantly take risks prevents you by force from reaching the higher levels were the grinding happens at a sensible pace. Voltorb Flip actually has logic in it, but you can use luck instead of skill if you want.

Harder to ignore:

EVs, IVs etc: But fortunately simulators exist, and I'm pleased that GameFreak is trying to make competitive battling more accessible to cartridge players by, for example, having that breeding tutorial in X and Y. Ideally a player could become good at the Pokemon metagame just by playing in-game and using their brains, but that isn't going to happen (it's ultimately up to the playerbase, not GameFreak, to decide what is competitively effective, so GameFreak themselves can do little to push a newbie in the right direction). Also, Cynthia having perfect IVs is some serious bullshit. EVs and natures allow you to customize your pokemon so that competitive pokemon has more variety. IVs make the game seem better to the casual players, with the changes to breeding allowing competitive players to not have to worry about breeding for good IVs as much.

Pokemon Amie: A personal bugbear, and I know it's a kids' game, but seriously, go buy Nintendogs. Goes down here because it has actual influence on the main game, rather than being something you can do if you want. I found that the game is just like it was before if you skip pokemon amie, it just would become easier with pokemon amie. Due to this, I view pokemon amie as a minor flaw, nothing more than a waste of the developer's time.

Comments put in bold.

 

[aVocado]

Pointless but harmless things:

Pokewalker: Did anyone ever use this thing? I'm not sure exactly what it does to this day.

Pokewalker was a pretty awesome little addition really, and it costed absolutely nothing and was completely free. It's basically a small tamagotchi-like thing where you transfer your Pokemon from your main (HG/SS) game, and each step you make with the Pokewalker gives it EXP points. Similar to putting a Pokemon in your daycare, except that Pokemon is in your pocket and you have to walk to level it up. It's pretty nice.

I actually miss the Pokewalker and wish they did more with it for the future games, but eh.

 

[User 86934]

Having to run around to hatch eggs, can't we have something similar to Pokemon XD's Purify Chamber for Pokemon eggs instead?

 

[Crimzonlogic]

My big thing would be HMs that can't be unlearned without the move deleter. I just want to learn strength to get that one item over there and then be done with it. :(

Having to run around to hatch eggs, can't we have something similar to Pokemon XD's Purify Chamber for Pokemon eggs instead?

Neat idea! I've thought about making eggs NOT count as party members, but things in the bag or something. When they hatch, you can just send them to the PC like caught wild pokemon.

Anyone else feel as though Heal Balls are useless 90% of the time? Shouldn't need too much explaining, but usually when you catch something, it's shipped to the PC because you already happen to have six on you. It's pretty good when you start out, but afterwards it just becomes a girly Poke Ball.

I feel that most of the pokeballs are pretty useless. I do like certain "useless" balls for how they look, though. Premier ball has always been a favorite of mine.

 

[Hrothgar]

Nobody has kept catching Pidgey on Route 1 until they get an Adamant one, no one just running through a game normally will ever keep count of their EVs and they hardly check their IVs.

um...I do that, actually

Anyway,

Not being able to nickname traded or transferred pokemon is beyond pointless and stupid.

Not being able to relearn egg moves is beyond pointless and stupid.

The entire HM system is beyond pointless and stupid.

Allowing people to request untradeable pokemon on the GTS is beyond pointless and stupid.

 

[aVocado]

Not being able to relearn egg moves is beyond pointless and stupid.

That's actually fixed in XY. You can relearn egg moves now.

 

[ouchalargerock]

What do you guys think is un-needed in Pokémon? Remember folks, this is in-game only. Don't say "but it is competitive!" Let's pretend like we're all casual here...

Natures/EVs/IVs/Characteristics
So this is just so awfully unneeded for in-game runs it's not even funny. Nobody has kept catching Pidgey on Route 1 until they get an Adamant one, no one just running through a game normally will ever keep count of their EVs and they hardly check their IVs either. Besides, natures only affect 10% of your stat, and both EVs and IVs affect them rather minimally as well. They do have one purpose, which is the more you battle with a Pokémon the more EVs they rack up thus making them appear stronger the farther in your journey you get. However, the change is so subtle most people wouldn't notice it.
But it makes your Pokemon different from all he rest. Competing with my friends and having a Blaziken that was stronger was really cool.

Arceus Plates
Seriously Game Freak, why didn't you just make Arceus react to BlackGlasses etc.?
Probably to make a Legendary more Legendary. I thought it was pretty cool that. I had to search for ancient tablets to change something that I had to drive to GameStop to get rather than make it change using glasses .-.

Spelling Correction in Gen 6
This is minor, but it probably wasn't worth the time and effort to change "Faint Attack" into "Feint Attack".
More French?

So what do you think you would be better off running through a game without? Or just something completely unnecessary which neither helps nor hinders your journey. Please do NOT mention specific Pokémon (you can do moves and abilities if you want though) because some people like gimmicks and shitmons. Mainly me. Anyway, enjoy!

Pokewalker was a pretty awesome little addition really, and it costed absolutely nothing and was completely free. It's basically a small tamagotchi-like thing where you transfer your Pokemon from your main (HG/SS) game, and each step you make with the Pokewalker gives it EXP points. Similar to putting a Pokemon in your daycare, except that Pokemon is in your pocket and you have to walk to level it up. It's pretty nice.

I actually miss the Pokewalker and wish they did more with it for the future games, but eh.

I agree so much ;-;

um...I do that, actually

Anyway,

Not being able to nickname traded or transferred pokemon is beyond pointless and stupid.
I know why they do it, but I agree with you.

Not being able to relearn egg moves is beyond pointless and stupid.
#Kalos

The entire HM system is beyond pointless and stupid.
The game is meant to be linear. I suppose it would be cool if it wasn't but whatever.

Allowing people to request untradeable pokemon on the GTS is beyond pointless and stupid.
People requesting untradable. Pokémon on the GTS is beyond pointless and stupid.

Comments in bold.

 

[Hrothgar]

It's not even about linearality, it's that the HM system forces you to either waste much needed moveslots or much needed team spots for a slave or two. Oh and you have to go to a friggin move deleter to overwrite them...sweet cream on a vanilla sundae, that is just the dumbest thing ever. Well, next to the nickname restriction, that is.

 

[Petrico94]

Natures and EVs are the best part of competitive pokemon. If everyone was just their base stats and you have no chance to work around those who didn't invest in speed. It sucks in the games especially if you don't care or have to throw away a legendary because their nature isn't helpful or worse turns out harmful to what you wanted to build but on Showdown you see their real value, 80 base speed has a chance to outspeed base 100 for putting effort into their training. However I will agree IVs are total bullshit, what do you mean my Cubone isn't top percentage?

 

[noobcubed]

Here's something I would really like GameFreak to do: just allow players to use custom-built teams over Wi-Fi without having to train them in-game. It would save the GameShark paranoia at the VGCs simply by making it legal as long as it has a legal moveset etc.

 

[spiresquire]

I read somewhere that Pokewalker was pretty good as a pedometer itself. :D But, I think it did raise the cost of HGSS by at least ten bucks in comparison to other games. I hope I can get my hands on another, because I certainly enjoyed using it.

Also, mail. As in the trade mail. Why send someone a choppy message when you could
a) Tell a person the message in real life
b) Communicate over the now widespread game wi-fi functions
or
c) Give them something actually useful.

Sure, it was kind of cute in Gen II, but overall, it's fairly useless. Cute, but useless. And of course the whole No-Mail-in-the-PC bit was sort of annoying if you overlooked it. I'm not sure if they lifted the message restriction in X/Y, nor am I sure if they even still have Mail in those games. If the messages could be customized (with blacklisted words, of course) , it'd probably be a lot more fun to send them, but I don't see how that'd happen anytime soon.

 

[Impergator]

Natures and EVs are the best part of competitive pokemon. If everyone was just their base stats and you have no chance to work around those who didn't invest in speed. It sucks in the games especially if you don't care or have to throw away a legendary because their nature isn't helpful or worse turns out harmful to what you wanted to build but on Showdown you see their real value, 80 base speed has a chance to outspeed base 100 for putting effort into their training. However I will agree IVs are total bullshit, what do you mean my Cubone isn't top percentage?

Here's something I would really like GameFreak to do: just allow players to use custom-built teams over Wi-Fi without having to train them in-game. It would save the GameShark paranoia at the VGCs simply by making it legal as long as it has a legal moveset etc.

Simulators and the culture of competitive Pokémon were given birth through the fan community. The success of the video games and establishment of this secondary target audience were not to be expected. Besides, we blatantly broke the horizon through PRNG manipulation already, which makes nearly everything of competitive value pathetically easy to obtain in comparison to all the effort needed to be invested without this knowledge.

It's not even about linearality, it's that the HM system forces you to either waste much needed moveslots or much needed team spots for a slave or two. Oh and you have to go to a friggin move deleter to overwrite them...sweet cream on a vanilla sundae, that is just the dumbest thing ever. Well, next to the nickname restriction, that is.

Point taken. The inability to delete them yourself is just an attempt of making the mechanic foolproof, much to the dismay of the reasonably clever player. What enrages me however is that many branches of the franchise, such as the television series, simply disregard that.

Also, the only real use the Pokewalker has is to snag a few decent items and maybe level up a Pokemon if you plan on going somewhere without your system. There are a fair few rare things you can snatch from it though, like Choice Items and Rare Candies. You can get a Kangaskhan before you even face Falkner, which is pretty sweet if you ask me. But, the Pokewalker is a fairly forgettable, and if you're like most gamers, you probably don't do the amount of moving needed to get stuff like Feebas or Spiritomb from it. It is a pedometer, after all.

Anyone else feel as though Heal Balls are useless 90% of the time? Shouldn't need too much explaining, but usually when you catch something, it's shipped to the PC because you already happen to have six on you. It's pretty good when you start out, but afterwards it just becomes a girly Poke Ball.

The Pokéwalker is a novelty implemented to allow access to the broader selection of content that has been added since Generation II. It actually is a nice progression compared to the management of that in Generation III.

Just because something appears useless doesn't automatically prohibit it from existence. A smartphone for example is only a telephone crammed together with other devices to suggest versatility.
(Point taken.)

Voltorb Flip actually requires guesswork very rarely. Most of the time, you can solve it off of just logic alone.

Time is probably a relevant factor here, it requires too much mental exercise to practice it in a common manner of grinding, at least in comparison to it's predecessors.

EVENT LEGENDARIES - WTF, Game Freak? I want to complete my Pokédex!
That is why later generations consider a majority of them no longer necessary for that task.
Dream World Abilities - So what if I missed the Nintendo Events because I didn't get into Gen 5 until later after everyone else? I want a Magic Bounce Espeon and an Imposter Ditto too! Just make them available through normal gameplay!
Have you tried the Friend Safari yet?
Roaming Pokémon - Ugh. It'll take forever just to find one. Especially in FRLG, where the glitch prevents them from ever being encountered again after the first time.
The glitch you speak of only prevents another encounter after they used Roar to flee. Not to mention the data reading mess that results in them being "genetically" inferior.
Bill's PC (pre-RSE) - I filled up a box, so I can't catch any more Pokémon. WHAT!?
Point taken. But it's true to the suggested peculiarity of computer science, at least.
Protect/Detect/other similar moves - Does nothing except waste a turn pointlessly (in-game. Competitively, obviously, these are quite good moves).
Dodging is also an act of battle.
Feebas and Milotic (pre-BW) - So I have to randomly get six squares and only those and it's very frustrating to deal with. WHY!? Oh, and PokéBlocks/Poffins necessary to evolve it. Guess I'll never get that Pokédex completion, because I never do Contests because this is BORING.
Have another reason to bother with these.
Combee and Vespiquen - REALLY!? Seven out of eight are useless? Ugh. And even the ones that aren't useless end up being useless until Level 21 anyways.
Deino, Vullaby, Larvesta, Rufflet... by the time they would evolve the decision has already been made.
The Name Rater - Not a bad idea, but stupidly implemented. If my friend trades me a Pokémon named "penis" or something, I want to be able to change that.
Point taken.
Nickname Censorship - On the other hand, if I want to name something "penis", a censorship system should not stop me from doing so.
Especially people in the age group i assume you are in would complain about the limit to their freedom of opinion. The GTS filter in Generation V was a try, but ultimately i'll take that as well.
GTS - Make reasonable demands, people.
Bonus points for acknowledging people as the problem.
Pokémon Bank - I have to PAY to transfer my Pokémon from previous games now!?
Indeed. Payment for cloud storage is unheard of.

Easy mode from White 2: Seriously? Can anybody else think of even one other game where completing the game allows you to unlock an easier difficulty level? That makes so little sense.


Voltorb Flip: Grinding here takes forever. It would be fine if the game didn't involve so much guesswork, if you could solve every board through logic and reasoning alone without having to trust to luck. But the fact that you have to constantly take risks prevents you by force from reaching the higher levels were the grinding happens at a sensible pace.

The keys are supposed to be shared with other players. Ghetsis' Hydreigon is still fearsome for many young adventurers, even at Level 52.

I ponder to this day if there was elaborate pedagogical thought behind Voltorb Flip.

Natures/EVs/IVs/Characteristics
So this is just so awfully unneeded for in-game runs it's not even funny. Nobody has kept catching Pidgey on Route 1 until they get an Adamant one, no one just running through a game normally will ever keep count of their EVs and they hardly check their IVs either. Besides, natures only affect 10% of your stat, and both EVs and IVs affect them rather minimally as well. They do have one purpose, which is the more you battle with a Pokémon the more EVs they rack up thus making them appear stronger the farther in your journey you get. However, the change is so subtle most people wouldn't notice it.

Generations I-II handled that more friendly. I suppose the change from III onwards was because the developers were already aware people would treat them like skill points/trees.


Personally speaking, i consider the integration into mainstream culture something un-needed about Pokémon. Credit and reward where it is due, but all this makes me look like an uncultivated moron. I want my reclusive throne in an exclusive inside circle, damn it!

 

[GoldenSandslash15]

I read somewhere that Pokewalker was pretty good as a pedometer itself. :D But, I think it did raise the cost of HGSS by at least ten bucks in comparison to other games. I hope I can get my hands on another, because I certainly enjoyed using it.

Also, mail. As in the trade mail. Why send someone a choppy message when you could
a) Tell a person the message in real life
b) Communicate over the now widespread game wi-fi functions
or
c) Give them something actually useful.

Sure, it was kind of cute in Gen III, but overall, it's fairly useless. Cute, but useless. And of course the whole No-Mail-in-the-PC bit was sort of annoying if you overlooked it. I'm not sure if they lifted the message restriction in X/Y, nor am I sure if they even still have Mail in those games. If the messages could be customized (with blacklisted words, of course) , it'd probably be a lot more fun to send them, but I don't see how that'd happen anytime soon.

There is no mail in Gen 6.