Unpopular opinions

Well, it can do wonders against anybody running Acro or Unburden who's already used their item. Especially since it's a gimmick, so nobody's really prepared for it.
 

antemortem

THE ORIGINAL DAVE
is a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
Socialization Head
Damp should prevent Fire attacks and burns imo
I guess the mechanic behind Damp is justified in that Explosion would need an initial spark, you know? The Pokemon having Damp is immune to the initial spark, so combustion can't occur. As far as Fire-type attacks are concerned, those are presumed to be generated from within a Pokemon, but I think it'd be a neat mechanic to have those attacks at least weakened by Damp.
Mew King said:
It's also useful to punish non-poisons that try to Trick you.
Yeah, but what's going to use Trick on something obviously holding Black Sludge? I can only think of two common things that carry it - Tentacruel and Amoonguss - and only the ladder might find itself being Trick fodder and it would probably be very much worth the sacrifice to lock Amoonguss into something useless.
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Okay...Might as well get a little off topic from what's going on.

Anyways, I don't know if this would count as an unpopular opinion, but I always find the early part of every Pokemon game to be really, really boring. Like you're stuck with low level Pokemon and a ton of storyline dialogue, which kind of just takes up a lot of time :/. Like it gets really boring and I'm just like "Seriously, let me get on with the damn game". And the first few gym Leaders battling gets kind of eh whatever...and I just get really bored of training up my main team early on. I feel like the real fun in the games comes later when your Pokemon are all fully evolved and you're in the later part of the storyline, ready to face the E4 and Champion. The real fun also comes in like post-game and stuff when you can really try to "catch 'em all", battle, and use all the Pokemon you want. When it comes to post game, I just like how you can do a lot more then. Early on, though, it's just plain boring since there's not much you can really do... :/.

Gary2346 posted this earlier but I agree with him imo that Fairy is a stupid typing. It's just an insanely broken typing that resists three of the best offensive types in the game (plus Bug-type) and hits them all super effectively, and is only weak to what have historically been the worst offensive types in the game. Like it's just so stupid to have such an absurd typing. Things like Salamence, Hydreigon, and Goodra wouldn't need to run stuff like Iron Tail and Sludge Bomb to get by if Fairy wasn't a thing. I mean I get the point of it (to nerf Dragon) but it does way more than just nerf three powerful offensive types: it becomes a new powerful type by itself. Well at least it does make Togekiss, Azumarill, and Clefable good in OU so eh.

I also feel really sorry for Electivire and Dusknoir. Both are very bad Pokemon but I think they had a lot of potential to be good...they have really good concepts for battle performance, yet Game Freak screwed them up. They're both so cool as Pokemon and I'm sure a lot of people actually love them as Pokemon...ugh they need stronger moves.
 
Yeah, but what's going to use Trick on something obviously holding Black Sludge? I can only think of two common things that carry it - Tentacruel and Amoonguss - and only the ladder might find itself being Trick fodder and it would probably be very much worth the sacrifice to lock Amoonguss into something useless.
Not to mention that you can just Trick the Black Sludge to another Pokemon afterwards, essentially crippling 1/3 of the opponent's team
 
Seems like a cool thread. I believe I have some unpopular opinions to share.

Out of all Pokemon games, the best is Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness/Pokemon Battle Revolution.

Pokemon XD:
Personally, I really love double battles and that's pretty much the battle format for the whole game. Having shadow Pokemon was also something that I really enjoyed because not only these Pokemon were really cool and powerful, but it added a lot more interest into the game and storyline. The graphics were amazing! (Note: This game came out in 2005). The music was so good! Especially for the epic boss battles. I wish Nintendo continues to make more side Pokemon games like XD Gale of Darkness.

Pokemon Revolution:
As for Pokemon Battle Revolution, I also thought was a great game. PBR is where I started to grow as a competitive battler. For starters, it was literally the first Pokemon game you could just challenge random people over Wi-Fi (Had some problems due to legendary Pokemon destroying everything). Also, it was one of the best places for competitive battling because of the ease of managing certain Pokemon teams. After a few weeks of the release date, I found about many online tournaments for PBR. Going against people in PBR was always fun because of the graphics and the cool announcer. A neat feature was the ability to share trainer cards with people. Basically if you already battled someones team and you would like to use it, you can (If both trainers agree).

Team Galactic is my favorite antagonists.
Team Galactic grunts all have the same hair cut which is something I thought was funny, but still cool. I also really enjoyed the plot/purpose for Team Galactic. The 3 lower tier bosses (Saturn, Mars and Jupiter) were pretty difficult to battle at times, but made the game fun. The best parts of Team Galactic was traveling to Spear Pillar. Once you reach Sky Pillar, you battle some more Galactic members and go up against Cyrus. Cyrus in my opinion is the most bad ass leader of any antagonist group ever. The Dialogue from Cyrus is good as well.
Mt. Coronet
"According to one theory, Mt. Coronet is where the Sinnoh region began. In a newly created world... A world where only time flowed and space expanded.. There should have been no strife. But what became of that world? Because the human spirit is weak and incomplete, strife has appeared... This world is being ruined by it...I find the state of things to be deplorable..."
Celestic Town
"There appears to have been an insignificant struggle here. Everyone should step back and view things from a bigger perspective. Yes, a bigger perspective, one that is on a universal scale. My name is Cyrus. I seek the power to create a new world, a world without strife. However that power seems to be unavailable here... We've met before, yes? It was at Mt. Coronet. If you discover any power derived from the legends of Sinnoh, inform me. For that power is what I need to create my new world."
Team Galactic HQ
  • Before battle
"I see. You must be the Trainer I've been hearing about. The foolhardy one that's trying to stand up to Team Galactic. Although I'd hardly expected to see that the Trainer is a mere child. I'd heard that our Commanders had a rough time with you... I know why you're here, I can sense it in you. It's about Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, correct? You want to save them... I no longer have any need for them. I am finished with them. If your heart aches to save them, go right ahead, I couldn't care less. It will save me the trouble of disposing of them."
"But I must say... You are a remarkable specimen. Those Pokémon have nothing to do with you, do they not? But still you came to rescue them out of pity? Such pitifully useless emotions... It's illogical and irrational. Pity and compassion are products of the weak and lacking human heart. You were compelled to come here by vacuous sentimentality! I will make you regret paying heed to your heart!"

  • After sending out last Pokémon
"My last Pokémon."
  • During battle (last Pokémon with less than half HP)
"I see... I may lose if this pace continues..."
  • Being defeated
"Interesting and quite curious."
  • After being defeated
"I see. You are indeed strong. And the basis of your power is your compassion toward Pokémon. How wasteful... Such emotions are but mere illusions. And, like all illusions, they fade over time until death banishes them forever. That is why I have abandoned all emotions as useless sentimentality. But that doesn't matter. I doubt you will ever understand my position. That said, I recognize that you are strong and courageous to come alone. This is your reward."
"The Master Ball is the ultimate Poké Ball. It will unfailingly catch any Pokémon in the wild. But it is not anything that I require. Unlike you Trainers, I do not make Pokémon my friends or partners. Unlike other Team Galactic members, I don't use Pokémon as tools. Instead, I make the power of Pokémon my own. If you wish to save the Pokémon from the lakes, take the warp panel ahead. I am off to Mt. Coronet. That's correct. Mt. Coronet. Where you and I first met. I will ascend the mountain to its peak and put an end to everything... No. I will bring about a new beginning for everything..."

Spear Pillar
"Now all will end. And everything will begin. With this Red Chain I will pry open the portal to another dimension. I command that you unleash all your power for me... DialgaD/PalkiaP the mythical Pokémon and the master of timeD/spaceP! This will bring about the destruction of all things. With everything gone, there will be no fighting and no strife. Can you feel timeD/spaceP distorting? Only I can choose to stop it. This is the mythical Pokémon that created Sinnoh! DialgaD/PalkiaP the ancient deity of timeD/spaceP! This world cannot be molded into the ultimate world I seek! It's far easier to create an entirely new world than to change this one! A new world in which I am the ruler of all things! I shall become a deity!"
"Oh! DialgaD/PalkiaP... This is... Fantastic! Beautiful! It's the creating of a new galaxy! My new world! ... Wh-what?!"

  • Before battle
"The Red Chain! It crumbled away to nothing?! But why? Why would Mesprit, the Pokémon of Lake Verity, appear by your side? But never mind that! It's all destroyed! My galaxy is gone! I won't allow this... I will capture those three again and craft another Red Chain! But before I even think about that, I'm going to completely crush you!"
  • After sending out last Pokémon
"I admit that you have pushed me to this extreme."
  • During battle (last Pokémon with less than half HP)
"This... this cannot be! It's not possible that I lose!"
  • Being defeated
"I won't admit this! The power spoken of in mythology... I didn't just make it obey me, I made it my own!"
  • After being defeated
"What is truly ultimate to you? What do you consider perfection? The most important thing... What shines the brightest... Telling you is meaningless. But I will not give up. I will become a deity one day... And I will make the ultimate mine..." Source: Bulbapedia
 
ScraftyIsTheBest I do agree that the first few hours of any new Pokemon game are a bit of a slog. There is just too much tutorialising going on, which not only teaches you a lot of stuff you already know but also reminds you of how mechanically similar the games are.
 
Apparently they don't realize that the people they write the tutorials for--people who have never touched a Pokemon game before--are perfectly capable of figuring out the basics themselves, either by walkthrough, having somebody else guide them, watching somebody else play, or picking it up intuitively. And some of the "Trainer Tips" are just plain dumb. The type chart can be a bit complex and intimidating to a new player, especially some of the matchups that aren't immediately obvious or aren't full counters (Fire resists Fairy but deals neutral damage in return). But when your trainer tip is "Press Start to Open the Menu"...um, I'd reckon even somebody who's never touched a video game in their life could pick that up.

I liked the L/R help system they introduced in FRLG. It did feel a bit intrusive at times (the first battle against Blue), but you got to learn everything: controls, lore basics, type matchups, what TMs and HMs were, status conditions, basically everything immediately visible in the game. Something like that pretty much destroys any need for Trainer Tips, since everything you ever need is in the help system.
 
Apparently they don't realize that the people they write the tutorials for--people who have never touched a Pokemon game before--are perfectly capable of figuring out the basics themselves, either by walkthrough, having somebody else guide them, watching somebody else play, or picking it up intuitively. And some of the "Trainer Tips" are just plain dumb. The type chart can be a bit complex and intimidating to a new player, especially some of the matchups that aren't immediately obvious or aren't full counters (Fire resists Fairy but deals neutral damage in return). But when your trainer tip is "Press Start to Open the Menu"...um, I'd reckon even somebody who's never touched a video game in their life could pick that up.

I liked the L/R help system they introduced in FRLG. It did feel a bit intrusive at times (the first battle against Blue), but you got to learn everything: controls, lore basics, type matchups, what TMs and HMs were, status conditions, basically everything immediately visible in the game. Something like that pretty much destroys any need for Trainer Tips, since everything you ever need is in the help system.
MTE. They should replace all of those gay tutorials with a message from Professor Oak that goes like this: ''Oh, I almost forgot. If you're ever stuck on something, press L or R for help.'' Even the tutorial for catching Pokemon. One of the reasons I loved FRLG (I can't really say RBY as I'm only playing Yellow right now on emulators) is that all the tutorials (except the one for catching Pokemon) were completely optional, so if a beginner had any trouble with something they could use the PokeTV or the LR menu whereas advanced players would just see the Old Man throw a Poke Ball and move on with their Poke-lifes.
 
Apparently they don't realize that the people they write the tutorials for--people who have never touched a Pokemon game before--are perfectly capable of figuring out the basics themselves, either by walkthrough, having somebody else guide them, watching somebody else play, or picking it up intuitively. And some of the "Trainer Tips" are just plain dumb. The type chart can be a bit complex and intimidating to a new player, especially some of the matchups that aren't immediately obvious or aren't full counters (Fire resists Fairy but deals neutral damage in return). But when your trainer tip is "Press Start to Open the Menu"...um, I'd reckon even somebody who's never touched a video game in their life could pick that up.

I liked the L/R help system they introduced in FRLG. It did feel a bit intrusive at times (the first battle against Blue), but you got to learn everything: controls, lore basics, type matchups, what TMs and HMs were, status conditions, basically everything immediately visible in the game. Something like that pretty much destroys any need for Trainer Tips, since everything you ever need is in the help system.
I liked that L/R help system, but the only problem is that things slowed down if you accidentally hit those buttons (which I routinely did). I feel like the game should ask you if you ever played a Pokemon game before at the start of the game and offer tutorials if you say you want them.
 
Pokemon shuffle opinion ... Wtf the last event ... Only 20K/50K can get a Mega Lucario but everybody will get a jewel ... Shouldn't it be the opposite ? Everybody gets the mega stone and only the best earns some jewels ... And lol, you can buy items to pump your score ... FreeToPlay or PayToWin !
 
  • Like
Reactions: JES

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
ScraftyIsTheBest :
Early Game Drag: It sounds like you're more in to Pokemon for the battling aspect then the story. If that's the case then I can see where the story would be considered a bothersome part of the game... however I don't see anyway of changing that". I guess if you don't compete in official tournaments you can stick to online Pokemon battling sims like Pokemon Showdown. However if you do compete officially then consider the story just part of the challenge (it only takes a few days to complete the story). Now I could go on how I think they could improve the game to make it more interesting during the story like giving us interesting antagonists to go up against, having the choice of where to go, and allowing for exploration and discovery; though I'm not to sure if that's what you're looking for.
All that said, that does give me an idea for a new kind of Pokemon game, one where the point is to explore. No Gyms, no Pokemon League; like a new region that's being built and its your job to explore it, find new locations, and of course find and catch the native Pokemon that live there. Of course that's going into MMO territory which Pokemon said they'll never do.
Virenoir: As said multiple times, they do need to go back to older Pokemon (or maybe Types as well) and re-evaluate them and giving them things they could use (or maybe even change their typing, Ability, and/or stats).

Tutorials:
I never understood why Game Freak go back and forth on allowing letting you skip tutorials or what tutorials to skip. You'll think by now they'd let you skip all tutorials (you'd have to be asked if you want the tutorial of course for the new players, but for everyone else the option to say no should be there). In addition having a rules book or the Teachy TV which gets added to would further reduce the need for forced tutorials (oops, new player accidentally skipped the tutorial! Oh wait, the NPC just added a page about it in the Rules Book/Teachy TV. Problem averted!). If they do this they could also tell us more then they could (for catching a Pokemon they could tell us about catch rates, different Pokeballs, Critical Captures, etc.) and even provide us with other handy visuals (like FRLG did with a type chart).

As for the sign posts, while having one sign post just saying "press start or B to open the menu" is dumb, I wouldn't be against a single sign post early in the game explaining all the buttons. Sure any player would know the basics upon just playing, but for the new players they may not fully realize certain buttons do certain things (it could also be handy to know if Game Freak decided to use the L/R button or not, something else they go back and forth with). As for other sign posts, I wouldn't mind maybe something more like "adventurer tips" that may tell you something some players wouldn't necessarily do. Like "Chat with the locals, they may give some handy advice of even gifts" (thus the player knows some NPC may give them items) or "Doesn't hurt to check a suspicious rock or a path that leads no where" (hints early on about hidden items). Honestly the signs are the easiest thing to ignore, that said it wouldn't hurt to give them some more personality or maybe have easter eggs like when you'll sometimes find graffiti behind a sign.

Tutorials are needed, there are new players to the game and some of the info they tell them they may not know from just picking it up (like the type chart). That said, allowing us to easily skip the tutorials and be on our way would be bonus convenience for people who have already played the game or previous Pokemon games. Finally giving us something with contains said tutorials we can view at any time would put the final nail in the coffin for forced tutorials.
 
Pokemon shuffle opinion ... Wtf the last event ... Only 20K/50K can get a Mega Lucario but everybody will get a jewel ... Shouldn't it be the opposite ? Everybody gets the mega stone and only the best earns some jewels ... And lol, you can buy items to pump your score ... FreeToPlay or PayToWin !
I pretty much stopped playing that game when it got ridiculous to beat Mega Gengar without having to resort to paying for items. I'm also certain the probabilities of catching the Pokemon are much lower than they are. Pretty much anything less than 20% is equal to 0%. Pretty much forcing you to buy Great Balls.
 
Mega Evolution is silly. The general concept of it and the stupid looking mons you get is a shame on the franchise and is a desperate attempt to compensate for a lack of creative, new pokemon and waiting too long to do remakes.
 
I really don't blame developers from being tutorial-crazy. Just watch a couple of blind Let's Plays and you will be amazed at how many perfectly intelligent people can miss seemingly obvious clues. One that always stands in my mind is this guy who kept using fire spells on a fire monster (which healed it) and was convinced the game was glitching (the monster was fiery but blue, so he thought it was ice-based. Despite being on fire). Most will also avoid talking to NPC's or using the help features, mostly because they forget they even exist, or are so used to filler that they don't investigate. Or are impatient. And again, these aren't dumb people!

Looking from the developers perspective, what's the difference between an easy game and a difficult game? The answer is the a majority of consumers will put down (or never buy) a difficult game, but everyone will finish an easy game. That's why we have SO many tutorials, because from a developing standpoint it's safer to be over-prepared than under. Quality and fun don't fully equate to profit, plenty of great games have bombed in sales (Earthbound! Beyond Good & Evil! T-T)

Although it is funny how there isn't a skip function or (in games where this is possible) an event flag that skips the catch tutorial if you've already caught a pokemon. Even more funny is that while pokemon 101 (catching, status ailments, opening the menu...) is in full excruciating detail, all the topics that absolutely do need a tutorial or a guide to understand (IV's, EV's, breeding mechanics, etc.) are barely referenced, never fully explained, and sometimes never even recognized at all.
 
Last edited:
People also skip the damn things, to the extent that when Gen IV came and Start didn't open the menu anymore, you had people whining about it, not realizing the button had changed. (Thank God HGSS just put the menu on the bottom screen.)

So here's what I would do. Make a mandatory tutorial at the start of a new save file that explains the basics of gameplay, most importantly the controls. This way new players have to pay attention to the most important gameplay component of them all. You have the Professor talking about the lore as usual, yada yada yada. Character selection. After play begins, something like the L/R system kicks in. That contains the type chart, definitions of important terms, how to use items and TMs/HMs, et cetera. You can still use Trainer Tips to point out things like hidden items, mind your type matchups, and don't throw Poke Balls at other people's mons (which is something people still don't always get). We also have the PokeNav or whatever equivalent device GF decides to use. As for the capture tutorial, since you fairly often get Poke Balls (and thus the chance to catch a couple) before the capture tutorial, set a flag to skip it if the player has two or more Pokemon. Simple.

A couple of NPCs would be used to explain more advanced stuff. Somebody could tell you what the badges did, somebody else about the Move Relearner, Move Deleter, etc., somebody else about natures and abilities, and maybe the Daycare staff can explain the basics of breeding mechanics like egg groups and egg moves. The work of explaining EVs can be included in Super Training, and IVs...well, IVs are officially an open secret, so I don't imagine GF would want to announce their presence, even though most of the serious fandom knows about them. But you wouldn't put things like EVs/IVs and breeding into the main help system, because you don't need them to finish the game. They ought to be there for the more curious players, the ones who want to get into the more serious aspects of Pokemon, but for those who just want to get through the story, you shouldn't burden them with a bunch of information and complicated mechanics that they aren't going to need.

Long story short, you can make it so a player doesn't need to make any necessary trips to Bulbapedia, and quite frankly you should. Including these basic and intermediate tips on the game itself makes it better for everybody, allowing the people who need them to take advantage of them and those who don't to keep playing.
 
Gary2346 posted this earlier but I agree with him imo that Fairy is a stupid typing. It's just an insanely broken typing that resists three of the best offensive types in the game (plus Bug-type) and hits them all super effectively, and is only weak to what have historically been the worst offensive types in the game. Like it's just so stupid to have such an absurd typing. Things like Salamence, Hydreigon, and Goodra wouldn't need to run stuff like Iron Tail and Sludge Bomb to get by if Fairy wasn't a thing. I mean I get the point of it (to nerf Dragon) but it does way more than just nerf three powerful offensive types: it becomes a new powerful type by itself. Well at least it does make Togekiss, Azumarill, and Clefable good in OU so eh.
It's like you guys get the point of Fairies, which is evident from the bolded sections, but then your arguments go off the deep end with the italicized part. Shake things up, that was the point of Fairy. Is it really a coincidence that it resists the '3 best attacking types,' while at the same time it's weak to the '2 worst?' Smells like that's exactly what was intended. Nerf the best, buff the worst. Do to this new coverage options are needed, lest those mons get caught unawares. It's not broken because it's changing what's the best. What's the best might not be the best anymore because a new type resists it; conversely, the worst might no longer be the worst. That was kind of the point...
 

Karxrida

Death to the Undying Savage
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
It's like you guys get the point of Fairies, which is evident from the bolded sections, but then your arguments go off the deep end with the italicized part. Shake things up, that was the point of Fairy. Is it really a coincidence that it resists the '3 best attacking types,' while at the same time it's weak to the '2 worst?' Smells like that's exactly what was intended. Nerf the best, buff the worst. Do to this new coverage options are needed, lest those mons get caught unawares. It's not broken because it's changing what's the best. What's the best might not be the best anymore because a new type resists it; conversely, the worst might no longer be the worst. That was kind of the point...
Except by doing so they basically recreated the Dragon problem, except the types you're hitting it with are bad unlike Ice :/
 
Except by doing so they basically recreated the Dragon problem, except the types you're hitting it with are bad unlike Ice :/
Except this is further balanced out by the fact that aside from legendaries and megas - who are supposed to be broken - a ton of fairies are... pretty damn mediocre stats-wise and often movepool-wise. Whereas every dragon-type except Altaria was a monster.
 

Karxrida

Death to the Undying Savage
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
Except this is further balanced out by the fact that aside from legendaries and megas - who are supposed to be broken - a ton of fairies are... pretty damn mediocre stats-wise and often movepool-wise. Whereas every dragon-type except Altaria was a monster.
Dragons were pretty tame until Gen IV, when they got a more powerful Outrage, the Physical/Special split, and Draco Meteor. As far as Fairies are concerned, look at Clefable; it went from whatever tier it was in before (NU? RU?) to OU practically overnight just because of a type change and none of its stats break the 95 mark. The movepool thing isn't really an issue for them either because Fairy has really good neutral coverage. If Game Freak does not keep themselves restrained in the future when deciding BSTs, they just might recreate the problem they were trying to fix.
 
Last edited:
Dragons were pretty tame until Gen IV, when they got a more powerful Outrage, the Physical/Special split, and Draco Meteor. As far as Fairies are concerned, look at Clefable; it went from whatever tier it was in before (NU? RU?) to OU practically overnight just because of a type change and none of its stats break the 95 mark. The movepool thing isn't really an issue for them either because Fairy has really good neutral coverage. If Game Freak does not keep themselves restrained in the future when deciding BSTs, they just might recreate the problem they were trying to fix.
If we're talking metagame wise, are you honestly trying to suggest Clefable is broken or a negative effect on the metagame? (it was actually UU before, btw)
 
Early Game Drag: The early-mid game is actually my most favourite part of Pokemon games. You only have a few Pokemon on your team and you can train them up really quickly since there's more battles to go around for each, so there's no need to grind at all, since your Pokemon will always be around the gym leaders level. I find that once you have more than 4 Pokemon on your team, your Pokemon levelling speed starts coming to a crawl, and you need to start grinding otherwise you'll be left behind by the Gym Leaders, and you'll be horrifically underlevelled by the time you reach the Elite 4. This is all assuming that you've switched off the EXP share of course.

My Personal Unpopular Opinion:

Ok, I'm not sure whether or not this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I've realised over the past couple of years, that being a Pokemon trainer is one of the worst jobs one could try and get into, and that there's far less stressful stuff that one can do in the Pokemon World. Think about it, Pokemon battling is a sport, and like all sports, the chance of one becoming super successful in it and becoming an elite is small, about a 1% chance. Pokemon battling is hella complex, it's not turn based and reliant on typing like the games, it's all real time like the anime. No one is going to have their Pokemon stand there and take a super effective hit, they'll dodge it and and find a way around their disadvantage with some clever strategy and think of ways to use the battlefield to their advantage and stop you from doing the same. You need to be able to figure out ways to win right at that moment when you're under great pressure, and this is why most people would fail.

There's that 1% of trainers, which includes the likes of Ace Trainers, Gym Leaders, Elite 4, the Champion etc, who are so much quicker at thinking up new strategies and counters on the spot, that the average trainer simply cannot keep up with them. Everything you try and do they'll quickly find a way to stop, and then use your own move against you, and blow you away. Pokemon battling is a mental sport, and like other sports, there's that handful of people who are just so much more gifted at it than the rest, that unless you show some signs of being a prodigy when you're in trainer school, you might as well not bother trying to go all the way, because you will be in for a hard slog.

When I was a kid, I always dreamed that if I was ever transported into the Pokemon world, that I would become a trainer and beat the Champion, but now that I've realised that the chance of me becoming Champion, is the same as me becoming as good as Lebron James at basketball, I know that I would be better served going elsewhere. Becoming a Pokemon Researcher sounds fun, I also have a pilots license so I guess I could go and work for Skyla in some capacity lol. I sure as hell ain't becoming a trainer though, screw that.
 
Last edited:

AM

is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
LCPL Champion
Why no love for my baby Clefable :(

Idk if this an unpopular opinion or not, but I think Jessie is one of the best female characters in the anime. She has a good back story that touches upon her true identity and how she ended up a rocket. Plus she's hot too, hehe.

Pikachu is an overrated mascot, cliche and probably already said but w/e. The fact that people have bought into it for 15+ years is amazing. A yellow mouse that shoots electricity out of its cheeks, this is what made someone a millionaire smh.

I don't really like any of the remakes at all, and never actually look forward to them. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I'm older now but you would think that the re-makes would bring some sort of nostalgic feel to the games for the older group of players. I think my biggest gripe is the ease of training and creating teams really. I don't think the younger players here realize how difficult it was to build teams from scratch back in the day.

I'll call this an unpopular opinion for an aspect of the Pokemon franchise I suppose. I guess this is somewhat hypocritical judging from the last point I made and coming from a long time in-game team-builder and breeder but....I don't really care nor am I concerned about people who use hacked Pokemon. It's the 21st century and with all the technology we have and the tools at our disposable I'm not too concerned if someone wants to save themselves the time and effort by just using some programs, just gonna call them that I'm pretty ignorant on the lingo used for hacked pokemon, to make some Pokemon so they can play the game. I know there's a pretty strong community towards in-game breeding and I can respect that as my origins came from that but it's impossible to stop the inevitable, the inevitable being people are going to take the shorter route instead of the longer one. Personally for me it's a lack of interest towards playing in-game along with my personal life so I'm definitely not gonna ever stress over Pokemon who are in reality just coding, regardless if it was legal or hacked.

I agree that Fairy is a busted type in a broad sense, rather not get into the debate of it but play any higher tier like OU and you can see Fairies sitting at the top of the totem pole. However, I do enjoy the Fairy Type and the diversity that they've brought to the table, I guess the unpopular aspect of this statement. Let's be honest here, Game Freak is god awful at balancing because the balancing is based off of their meta-game, not ours. They're basically ok with a meta revolved around centralization and the adaptation and creativity is found amongst the players themselves, not what their meta has to offer up front. These are the same guys that thought Parental Bond M-Kangaskhan was actually a good idea, and supposably because of its constant use of Fake Out, thought Inner Focus M-Gallade was one to....lol? Got off track but annyways I do like the Fairy type and the idea of some Pokemon running certain coverage move to get past them is fine by me.

GSC Lance is a terrible character lol. The guy walks around in a cape acting like he's king of the world with his level 50 dragonites sitting in a room that can hold like 500 people in it...by himself. Grow up dude.
 
Marlon is the. WORST. Gym leader in Pokemon and the net sum of why I thought Gen5's story was terrible.

Marlon: Hey dudes, I'll open this door but I don't think Team Plama's evil you can't trust the media maaaan.
Hugh: They froze. A. Whole. CITY.
Marlon: You don't know that, brah. Jetfuel can't melt steel beams, Hugh.

I know this was supposed to be some kind of teaching moment for Hugh about judging books, but it's still the biggest "what they are saying" vs. "what is actually happening" and why I think story-wise Pokemon needs to go big or go home.

His only saving graces is that sick powerslide on his pre-battle animation.
 

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Karxrida :
Sadly that's just Game Freak trying to sell us the Fairy-type, because it being a new type wasn't enough. *sigh* Anyway, next gen would probably be the best time they release more powerful and useful Poison- and Steel-type moves that have a big distribution. Also more powerful Pokemon of those types would further check Fairy-types. Also if they're serious about the Special nerf then I imagine MoonBlast would be decreased to 90 Power (that or they raise Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt back up to 95). I'd say we wait till next gen before deciding if Fairy-type is the new overpowered type or it was just marketing manipulation.

Daemul :
Even in the games being a Pokemon Trainer doesn't seem that great of an occupation. You just don't know it since you're that 1% trainer who beats the odds and not only become Champion but saves the world along the way (aka a power fantasy). However think about all those trainers you beat along the way, how they probably work hard to raise a few good Pokemon when suddenly this kid out of blue comes at them with 6 highly trained Pokemon. This especially goes for the Ace Trainers, they're suppose to be the best of the best yet have you had any serious problems with the majority of them (the last one that gave me trouble as I remember was one in RSE that had a Milotic, but only because I had a Blaziken and all my other Pokemon weren't really that well trained (and I still won by taking it out with my Wobbuffet using Destiny Bond)).
Speaking of RSE, all this talk reminds me of Vito Winstrate. You battle (and completely sweep through) his family who then build him up as being super strong and maybe even the Champion. So what happened to Vito? He's just a random trainer on Victory Road who, upon being defeated, thinks about going back to his family. You completely crushed his dreams and I had a feeling he had a difficult time battling his way there.
And even for the player, what do they get from all this? The money you win, while it seems a lot, remember is equivalent to yen so it not really that high paying of a job, and you only get money if you win. Worst yet, you have to PAY if you lose! And on top of costs for Poke Balls, Potions, and other Medicine you sort of have to start well off to even begin! And after becoming Champion no one but important NPCs really know so it's not like you're that famous. Unless you become a Gym Leader, Elite Four, Frontier Brain, or League Champion it doesn't seem worth it. Heck, even all those characters seemingly have a secondary job.
So all in all being a Pokemon Trainer actually seems like a minor thing, a hobby, or even a phase. There's many more handy things you can do with a powerful elemental monster than competitive battling.

m00n's blanket :
I like them just fine (used a Vanilluxe on my White team), I think people just freak out about them because to some people it just seems odd they turned an object into a "living" creature (often ignoring the Magnemite, Grimer, and Voltorb family...).
However that's one thing I like about Pokemon, they don't need to just stick with animals to make new and interesting creatures. ;)

AM :
Rocket Fan: Having been in the show as almost as long as Ash, Team Rocket do surprisingly have a lot of backstory despite being portrayed as comedic villains most of the time. There's a reason they have a strong fanbase (and are a popular ship).
Remake Retake: I actually didn't bother with the remakes until ORAS. I felt they didn't really add anything new or not enough to make me feel I needed to get it. ORAS seemed different and to some extent it was though it didn't change as much as I thought it was. However still had a good time with it.

stage7_4 :
Yeah... Marlon is an idiot. Maybe if he was talking about Old Team Plasma who are in Driftveil he'd be in the right, but he's taking about Neo Team Plasma. Seriously, you're a Gym Leader, STOP SWIMMING AND SHOW SOME AWARENESS AND AUTHORITY!
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 2, Guests: 9)

Top