Unpopular opinions

[Pikachu315111]

Speaking about Platinum... I was really disappointed with no Kalos sequel.
However, I think it might actually be better for Pokemon without a Kalos sequel. Maybe because they found that sequels do not really milk that much.
Also, for the 20th anniversary which should be big, if they release a sequel, everyone would think they are milking their old stuff again.
I agree that they should give something completely new for the 20th anniversary.
And if there was one year before the 20th, then maybe Sun Moon wouldn't be so hyped.

If this was the case than GF:

1. Realized too late that sequels didn't sell well but had already finished with XY. XY are games which had left plenty of things open seemingly on the intent they'd be answered or expanded upon in a sequel. But if they decided that since remakes/sequels don't sell well so decided to can the one for XY they're leaving Kalos unfinished. This decision is something you keep in mind for the next gen not just decide to do in a middle of one.

2. They have terrible timing if they didn't allot themselves enough time to release an XY sequel just before the 20th anniversary which is when they plan on releasing a new gen.

 

[jordanthejq12]

The thing is, sequels may not sell as well, but Kalos was a region dearly in need of some sort of wrap-up, especially given the Zygarde formes. Plus, I was actually looking forward to Xerneas and Yveltal in the same game.

 

[Codraroll]

Another aspect to note is that sequels and follow-ups don't require the same development resouces as the base games. 90 % of the game is copied content from the base games, the rest consists of a few new areas and changed Pokémon/trainer data. They're set in an already-created region, using an already-created graphics engine and already-created code base, with an already-created story taking place in already-created locations. They allow Game Freak to reuse a lot of their content with some slight tweaks, and sell it as a completely new game at full price. Comparatively, they take very little time to develop and thus cost very little money. Distribution is probably the biggest expense for those games, but that's virtually guaranteed to be covered by the sales price (otherwise, the price is set too low by definition), so it's very easy for them to turn a profit.

That's one of the reasons why I still can't fathom why we didn't get a Kalos follow-up. It wouldn't have taken much time nor money to make, it'd almost be guaranteed to be profitable, and there was a nice gap in the game release schedule between ORAS and SuMo it could have filled.

 

[LightningLord2]

What if I told you that Sun/Moon can possibly follow up on the plot on XY? It might be set in a different region, but there could be a connected plot still. Remember Gold/Silver?

 

[Lady Vader]

What if I told you that Sun/Moon can possibly follow up on the plot on XY? It might be set in a different region, but there could be a connected plot still. Remember Gold/Silver?

We've all said that about fifty million times in the Sun and Moon thread, which most of us have been on.

 

[jordanthejq12]

i wouldnt mind dlc content in pokemon games

Pokken could definitely use a couple of character packs, certainly.

 

[sneaky.]

I'm not a fan of breeding pokemon. I built a few pokemon (fully ev trained, 6 IV's, egg moves) and it was pretty satisfying looking at the finished product but it just got tedious and I couldn't be bothered doing it anymore.

 

[Darth Manaphy]

I'm not a fan of breeding pokemon. I built a few pokemon (fully ev trained, 6 IV's, egg moves) and it was pretty satisfying looking at the finished product but it just got tedious and I couldn't be bothered doing it anymore.

I'm of the opposite taste. I enjoy all that meticulous planning and kind of tedious work it takes to make Pokemon even if I never really use them in battle (and considering that my list right now contains Tropius and Pikachu as recent ones they probably never will). I generally allow myself to become distracted while breeding so it never really bothers me as much as anyone else.

 

[thdhted]

I'm of the opposite taste. I enjoy all that meticulous planning and kind of tedious work it takes to make Pokemon even if I never really use them in battle (and considering that my list right now contains Tropius and Pikachu as recent ones they probably never will). I generally allow myself to become distracted while breeding so it never really bothers me as much as anyone else.

Same here. One of my current projects is a Nasty Plot Drought Ninetales. It'll never see any really serious battles, but I plan on distributing some to friends, and over Wonder Trade, simply because I enjoy getting a successfully bred project, and feel like sharing. I generally have several projects going on at once(aside from the Ninetales, I'm also working on an Iron Fist Infernape, and a Shiny Sheer Force Feraligatr), and sometimes it gets a bit tedious, but I overall enjoy it. The only thing I heavily dislike is Hidden Power breeding, which I refuse to do simply because it's a massive crapshoot.

 

[Codraroll]

I'm in the camp that maintains that the breeding mechanics and IV system is kind of bogus. Even if you know exactly what to do, and execute every step flawlessly, whether or not your spent time will pay off is essentially a matter of rolling dice.

Yes, there is skill involved. You have to understand the mechanics and utilize little-known tricks (nowhere in the games is the Destiny Knot trick even alluded to, for instance). But ultimately, the luck element inherent means that you have to spend unnecessary time waiting for random numbers to roll in your favour.

And what's the bi-result of breeding? Dozens if not hundreds of sub-optimal Pokémon you have to perma-box or release. Intentionally or not, Game Freak has set up a system where the only legal road to top-level competitive battling involves eugenics on an industrial scale.

 

[sneaky.]

I'm in the camp that maintains that the breeding mechanics and IV system is kind of bogus. Even if you know exactly what to do, and execute every step flawlessly, whether or not your spent time will pay off is essentially a matter of rolling dice.

Yes, there is skill involved. You have to understand the mechanics and utilize little-known tricks (nowhere in the games is the Destiny Knot trick even alluded to, for instance). But ultimately, the luck element inherent means that you have to spend unnecessary time waiting for random numbers to roll in your favour.

And what's the bi-result of breeding? Dozens if not hundreds of sub-optimal Pokémon you have to perma-box or release. Intentionally or not, Game Freak has set up a system where the only legal road to top-level competitive battling involves eugenics on an industrial scale.

I agree with this completely. The main reason I stopped breeding is because of the tediousness of getting IV's. EV training is soooo chill and easy compared to getting IV's. I know gamefreak really likes the idea of making every pokemon unique in some way but most pokemon are identical in competitive battles anyway. Casual players probably don't think much about IV's too. Sorry to the people who spent hours getting that perfect pokemon but I honestly think that IV's are unnecessary and shouldn't exist. At lvl100, 31 IV's equal a whole 31 points into a stat. That is a drastic amount and a pokemon without perfect iv's (in speed especially) aren't worth taking to competitive battles. For something so crucial to have, perfect IV's are pretty hard to obtain.

If IV's were removed outright, it would relive so much stress and save people so much time. It'll also allow newer players to step into the already complex world of competitive pokemon a lot easier.

 

[Darth Manaphy]

Same here. One of my current projects is a Nasty Plot Drought Ninetales. It'll never see any really serious battles, but I plan on distributing some to friends, and over Wonder Trade, simply because I enjoy getting a successfully bred project, and feel like sharing. I generally have several projects going on at once(aside from the Ninetales, I'm also working on an Iron Fist Infernape, and a Shiny Sheer Force Feraligatr), and sometimes it gets a bit tedious, but I overall enjoy it. The only thing I heavily dislike is Hidden Power breeding, which I refuse to do simply because it's a massive crapshoot.

I agree. Hidden Power breeding is the worst because then you also can't just rely on the IV Judge too. I only bred for Hidden Power twice recently. One was for that Pikachu (because honestly I didn't care about a suboptimal defense because it wouldn't be taking any hits anyways) and Tangrowth which I got super lucky with early on in my HP Fire breeding search.

I'm in the camp that maintains that the breeding mechanics and IV system is kind of bogus. Even if you know exactly what to do, and execute every step flawlessly, whether or not your spent time will pay off is essentially a matter of rolling dice.

Yes, there is skill involved. You have to understand the mechanics and utilize little-known tricks (nowhere in the games is the Destiny Knot trick even alluded to, for instance). But ultimately, the luck element inherent means that you have to spend unnecessary time waiting for random numbers to roll in your favour.

And what's the bi-result of breeding? Dozens if not hundreds of sub-optimal Pokémon you have to perma-box or release. Intentionally or not, Game Freak has set up a system where the only legal road to top-level competitive battling involves eugenics on an industrial scale.

There is one thing you can do with those sub-optimal Pokemon now: Wonder Trade. I admit I'm a bit addicted to it but there is some thrill in seeing what you get - especially if it ends up being a shiny or legendary (which always seems to happen by the end of my breeding jags).

I do wish we had a bit more control over it without losing whatever control we already have. Something like being more likely to pass down the gender if you're breeding with a Ditto would have saved me time and energy. Maybe revamping Hidden Power too so we could just select what type it will be upon teaching it to a Pokemon so that way we don't have to breed for Hidden Power IVs.

 

[Lady Vader]

Okay, I am really, really, really, REALLY sick of all the whining about breeding. I really am. Game Freak keeps making breeding easier and easier yet all most of you can do is complain. You don't like the current breeding mechanics? Guess what, it will likely get easier next generation. You want to go back to the days of Gen V when you couldn't pass Hidden Abilities with male+Ditto? Or when the father couldn't pass egg moves? Or how about back before Black 2 and White 2 made natures guaranteed with the Everstone instead of 50%? Or even better, how about to the days before HeartGold and SoulSilver when the Everstone only worked if held by the mother? Or how about we go back to the days before Emerald when the only thing breeding did for competitive players was egg moves and saving TMs?

Game Freak has made competitive Pokémon easier and easier to get into since Emerald, with improved breeding mechanics, infinite TMs, horde training, and constantly improving the Wi-Fi features. We now can actually breed the kind of Pokémon we use on simulators. Those who don't want to hack or use glitches don't have to anymore. Do you know the joy I felt when I bred and trained my first 5 IV Gengar back in November 2013? I didn't need any external device to create something I had on Showdown and I was thrilled. I was so happy. And I'm happy each and every time I hatch those eggs, waiting to see my latest team member and having them imprint on me like they were a Psyduckling.

Also, there is nothing left to say on this subject. We've said every single combination of thoughts between this thread and the Little Things That Annoy You thread. This topic has become a feedback loop. Nothing constructive or different has been said in ages. This is the exact conversation we had a few weeks ago and that was the exact conversation we had a few weeks before that!

Can IVs be annoying? Yes. Can IVs be tedious? Yes. But so is the conversation. Let's just move on.

Sorry for the outburst, but I just feel like this needs to be said.

 

[Kurona]

Okay, I am really, really, really, REALLY sick of all the whining about breeding. I really am. Game Freak keeps making breeding easier and easier yet all most of you can do is complain. You don't like the current breeding mechanics? Guess what, it will likely get easier next generation. You want to go back to the days of Gen V when you couldn't pass Hidden Abilities with male+Ditto? Or when the father couldn't pass egg moves? Or how about back before Black 2 and White 2 made natures guaranteed with the Everstone instead of 50%? Or even better, how about to the days before HeartGold and SoulSilver when the Everstone only worked if held by the mother? Or how about we go back to the days before Emerald when the only thing breeding did for competitive players was egg moves and saving TMs?

Game Freak has made competitive Pokémon easier and easier to get into since Emerald, with improved breeding mechanics, infinite TMs, horde training, and constantly improving the Wi-Fi features. We now can actually breed the kind of Pokémon we use on simulators. Those who don't want to hack or use glitches don't have to anymore. Do you know the joy I felt when I bred and trained my first 5 IV Gengar back in November 2013? I didn't need any external device to create something I had on Showdown and I was thrilled. I was so happy. And I'm happy each and every time I hatch those eggs, waiting to see my latest team member and having them imprint on me like they were a Psyduckling.

Also, there is nothing left to say on this subject. We've said every single combination of thoughts between this thread and the Little Things That Annoy You thread. This topic has become a feedback loop. Nothing constructive or different has been said in ages. This is the exact conversation we had a few weeks ago and that was the exact conversation we had a few weeks before that!

Can IVs be annoying? Yes. Can IVs be tedious? Yes. But so is the conversation. Let's just move on.

Sorry for the outburst, but I just feel like this needs to be said.

I mean the person bringing it up was new here and probably didn't trawl through 120 pages so as far as they knew it was new conversation, there's no need to blow up about it

 

[Darth Manaphy]

I actually do want to take time to express how much I HATE Hidden Power though because I don't think THAT has enough hate in this thread. It's a bitch ass move to get right if you were actually breeding in game. I'm glad that they standardized the power because that's another thing that made breeding harder. Hidden Power is like a move that was only for simulators or hackers because it required such perfect Pokemon that it wasn't worth doing. If it wasn't for various people on this site giving out free Dittos of the correct stats I would have NEVER been able to breed for Hidden Power. I always try to avoid Hidden Power as a move on my Pokemon because it would always be so much more work.

 

[Codraroll]

I think that Hidden Power really was intended to be one of those quirky moves with a fun little gimmick, and it's almost unfortunate that it turned out to have a competitive merit. Originally, it was a bit of a "lottery" move, you could get practically anything out of it both as far as type and power were concerned. Then somebody got the brilliant idea to exploit the system behind the semi-random power and type of Hidden Power to make it a competitive move, and that's where everything went south. Suddenly, tweaking the mechanics to achieve the desired type and maximum power of Hidden Power became the norm. People expected to be able to "pick" a Hidden Power type at will, and always have the highest base power, and began complaining how difficult it was. Really, the move was never intended for that. You might as well complain about how difficult it is to manipulate the RNG to always get Boomburst when using Metronome.

I don't like how Hidden Power turned out, is all I'm saying. Randomness was always its intention, but due to circumstances it became a competitively viable and even crucial move for some Pokémon, which led to its randomness being a hindrance rather than a feature.

 

[Pikachu315111]

As Vader_the_White said, Breeding isn't that bad and GF had made it easier to do everything. However the main problem with it is a much more problem rooted in the franchise which everyone has noted: IVs. I've said it before and say it again, I think there should be a way to increase a Pokemon's IVs. Like have there be someone you go to who for a lot of money can increase one of your Pokemon's IVs by 1 once per day. That way if you got a good Pokemon from breeding but it's just a few IVs away from being perfect instead of trying again you can just go to this guy for a few days and fix it right up. Also it'll mean getting a Legendary & Shiny meaning something/much easier for not needing to reset over and over again.

And as Darth Manaphy brought up, another problem is with Hidden Power. If you want a certain Hidden Power that's another hours of breeding right there. After reading Codraroll's post I think they should either do one or two things with Hidden Power:

Pick Your Type: Just let us pick the type. Not only would this get rid of needless breeding rejects but also let us pick it to be a Normal & Fairy type. And if they still want IV to affect it somehow, how about it affects something not battle effecting like what animation does it do.
Always Random: Going off with that Codraroll said about it suppose to be a fun gimmick, Have it do a different type every time you attack. Like you can still have IVs determine what type it's likely to do most of the time, but it won't always be the same type.
Or Both: How about it's normally random but you can do something that'll lock it into one type for the next battle? That way ingame you have this fun move whose type you'll never know when you use it (probably want to up the Power for this instance) but then in the meta you can lock it (lowering its Power) so it has some use there.

I get they wanted something else that worked off IVs, but sadly Hidden Power didn't turned out as they hoped: from an intended fun gimmick to a "totes serious business" in the meta.

 

[Lady Vader]

I mean the person bringing it up was new here and probably didn't trawl through 120 pages so as far as they knew it was new conversation, there's no need to blow up about it

It's more aimed at the people who continue the conversation who have read it before.

 

[BandannaWaddleDoo]

I was never really interested in Pokemon Go. The trailers were nice, but that's about it.

 

[stage7_4]

I actually like Mr. Mime, and other than the fingers I'm not that bothered by the design at all.

Well, Mime Jr. is way more appealing let's be honest, but nothing too wrong with regular 'ol Mr. Mime.

Although it could be just in my nature to root for the underdog, since there are zero clowns not portrayed as creepy or ironic these days ever since Ronald McDonald got replaced by... this... thing

scarier than any clown ever was

Don't you guys know?

In this world...

It's kill or be killed!

 

[HelenTheHero]

View attachment 60479
I actually like Mr. Mime, and other than the fingers I'm not that bothered by the design at all.
View attachment 60480
Well, Mime Jr. is way more appealing let's be honest, but nothing too wrong with regular 'ol Mr. Mime.

Although it could be just in my nature to root for the underdog, since there are zero clowns not portrayed as creepy or ironic these days ever since Ronald McDonald got replaced by... this... thing

scarier than any clown ever was

View attachment 60478
Don't you guys know?
View attachment 60477
In this world...

It's kill or be killed!

I've always thought they changed it to the happy meal box to try to make them looks like Minions so they could get more money...

Hide

 

[Lady Vader]

I've been replaying X and I really don't know why so many people dislike Generation VI. True, X and Y aren't perfect and the post game sucks, but I still have a great deal of fun playing through the game. Hell, I'm having far more fun in this playthrough of X than I did when I first played through Y (though I think that might have to do with the fact I had no idea what I was going to do for my competitive team).

 

[Darth Manaphy]

Actually, Vader's statement made me realize my OWN sort of unpopular opinion.

People complain about the balance in Gold and Silver because you beat the Elite Four with everyone in the 40s and a wide open postgame with shitty wild Pokemon levels. I actually thought the idea of having more than 8 gyms was actually a great idea and increasing trainer battles more and more was just dandy as well. I knew the actual game of X&Y felt longer than other games but I felt there were EXTREMELY long stretches where there really weren't any gym battles made the game feel like it was dragging on. It would have made things a bit more interesting if there were a few more gyms in there just so that way you have something you can mark your progress with. I feel like maybe 10-12 gyms so they can expand the story and make the whole region seem even larger without locking like half of it behind a guy saying "No! Postgame only!" would make things a little bit better in my opinion. Imagine playing a game where the Elite Four consists of 4 members with 5 Pokemon in their 70s or even their 80s at the end of the regular game because the whole game raises you up to be prepared for it. This wouldn't necessarily be a Pokemon with a greater and greater difficulty curve. It would be a Pokemon story that just LASTS longer than a standard Pokemon game.

Also, imagine also playing through Victory Road and finding like wild Tyranitars because the wild Pokemon are in their 50s now.

 

[Preved Medved]

Also, imagine also playing through Victory Road and finding like wild Tyranitars because the wild Pokemon are in their 50s now.

Finding a good Johto pokemon in Johto would be a nice change of pace

 

[Karxrida]

Mareep and Heracross (HG/SS only) are pretty good for in-game runs.