(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon

[Roseguardin]

Some things that have bothered me:

Buffs to Knock off The Base power buff is fine, but I feel that the 1.5 boost in power when Knocking off an item really is too much, especially since the penalties of losing an item already are so huge.

Imbalances in the game between physical and special attackers Physical attackers in Pokemon suffer from noticable restrictions that special attackers barely have to worry about. Most physical attacks are noticably weaker then their special couterparts and usually when they are strong, they suffer from major penalties such as Stat drops and recoil, wheras the only penalties most special attackers suffer from is imperfect accuracy. Additionally, Physical attackers are almost completely crippled by Burn and Intimidate, moves that special attackers almost never have to worry about.

For the first one: Dark as a type has always been limited in a way that the other types haven't really been limited: it doesn't have a single, really strong, spammable attack. You could argue Rock and Steel falls into this boat as we've all had Stone Edge fail us when we really needed it to not fail and Iron Head is piss weak but at least Stone Edge has power and Steel was always intended to be defensive. The strongest non signature move Dark has is Crunch (especially now that Sucker Punch has been weakened). Dark types also have the consequence that their new spammable move weakens if it's used against a target that doesn't immediately die to it (it's totally possible for Krookodile to lose to Necrozma, for instance, if it doesn't have a boosting item and only has Knock Off as a Dark-type move). Not to mention that Mega Evos and Z-Move users will not feel the added effect and most Z-moves in particular can heavily punish Dark-type users trying to take advantage of their opponent's weakness (scenario: Latias takes 70-80% from a Scarf Krook Knock Off, reveals Dragonium Z and kills with a Z-boosted Draco Meteor). Fire, Water and Grass have options across the board, Fighting has something for even trash mons and we don't even need to start with Dragon. Now, other conditions I can say have heavily benefited Knock Off include the removal of Steel's resistance to Dark, which seemed a little unnecessary and harmed mons like Jirachi. But this is not a viability ranking thread. I think Knock Off is fine as it is and Dark as a type has heavily benefited from changes over the past 2 gens.


Physical attacker penalties: I agree with this, but physical attackers do have their own boons. There's only one special attack, for instance, that is boosted by Tough Claws. There is no special equivalent of Return or Frustration, which has served as a coverage option for barren-movepool mons (Gen 4 Azu anyone?) and as a STAB option for the type-change-ability mons like M-Glalie/M-Salamence/Golem-Alola. There is (at last) special equivalents to Defiant and Moxie (Competitive and Soul-Heart) but both are incredibly limited. Finally, while physical boosting moves are not diverse, they are well distributed (how many mons can learn Swords Dance or Bulk Up via TM?) Calm Mind remedies this but Nasty Plot is thinly spread and Quiver Dance equally so. Special attackers do need some kind of curbing but they also miss out on cool buffs the physical side has.

 

[OrangeGuru]

Some things that have bothered me:

Imbalances in the game between physical and special attackers Physical attackers in Pokemon suffer from noticable restrictions that special attackers barely have to worry about. Most physical attacks are noticably weaker then their special couterparts and usually when they are strong, they suffer from major penalties such as Stat drops and recoil, wheras the only penalties most special attackers suffer from is imperfect accuracy. Additionally, Physical attackers are almost completely crippled by Burn and Intimidate, moves that special attackers almost never have to worry about.

I definitely agree about the physical/special attacker imbalances. I had never thought about it, but special attackers have it better competitively. There is really no ability to lower SpA like intimidate, most types have a strong and accurate attack (i.e thunderbolt, flamethrower, ice beam, etc.), and the only passive damage is status (unlike physical attackers that have to deal with Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, and items like Rocky Helmet)

 

[Codraroll]

Another thing to note about the Dark type's moves: They can be dastardly strong under the right conditions. Punishment, Foul Play, Payback, Knock Off... they all get their power boosted under certain conditions. Even Bite and Crunch have the possibility to disrupt or weaken the foe, leaving him open for a killing blow the next turn. The Dark Pokémon aren't all about letting loose massive blasts of energy like many other types, but when the conditions favour them, they can be really savage.

 

[pika pal]

It's an odd case for the imbalance, as Special attackers are both weaker for things they lack (some ability equivalents staple "generic" moves and widespread boosting options) as much as they are stronger (other abilities like Intimidate and "safer" high power moves). I think the big issue is that some Pokemon have already made a place for themselves under the handicaps, even if the spectrum as a whole might be biased. While perhaps on the whole it would be more fair to give a Base 100 Special option for Normal or 120 Poison type moves, there are some stand out cases that would probably skew the dichotomy the other way rather than properly balance it, like Gardevoir or Gengar.

 

[Detective Barricade]

Another thing to note about the Dark type's moves: They can be dastardly strong under the right conditions. Punishment, Foul Play, Payback, Knock Off... they all get their power boosted under certain conditions. Even Bite and Crunch have the possibility to disrupt or weaken the foe, leaving him open for a killing blow the next turn. The Dark Pokémon aren't all about letting loose massive blasts of energy like many other types, but when the conditions favour them, they can be really savage.

It's in the Dark type's nature for their moves to be decidedly evil when the condition is right. (it's even in their Japanese name) Even some of their descriptions note this, like how Faint Attack has the user draw close to the enemy and throw a sucker punch when their guard is down to hit without fail. I'm honestly surprised it took this long for a Dark type move that ignores the opponent's stat changes, albeit currently as Incineroar's signature move. (but then, who wouldn't want to see the heel pull such a sneaky move on the face?)

 

[Rapti]

As for another point, it is hard for me to buy the MC and Hau being younger than teenagers at least. Considering Team Skull are supposed to be delinquents from troubled homes/lives, almost like a "what if" for everyone who does what you do and doesn't get far enough, I'd expect the grunts at least are close to you in age. It also makes Plumeria's attitude seem a bit more out of place, as I usually picture the "older sibling confronting bully" to be very slightly older than the supposed bully, since the idea is the latter pick on smaller people because they're afraid of a "fair" conflict. For Plumeria to likely be at least 7-8 years older than the player makes her seem more like the grunt's mother/parental figure than the "big sister" angle they talk about.

Plumeria is not "the older sibling confronting bully", she's a higher ranked gang member wich is called "big sister" cause it's japanese cultural thing, like how japanese mafiosos call their bosses "father"

 

[Random Passerby]

I don't remember whether it was a new feature in SM or since XY but having to press A to enter a building is so tedious and annoying as we do not have to do that for the first 6 generations. Even now sometimes I will have the character walk to the door and wondering why I can't go in because I forgot to press A.

 

[Taistelu]

I don't remember whether it was a new feature in SM or since XY but having to press A to enter a building is so tedious and annoying as we do not have to do that for the first 6 generations. Even now sometimes I will have the character walk to the door and wondering why I can't go in because I forgot to press A.

SM, and yeah, it is really quite jarring to have to press A after all this time. I do have a question though: what's the point of implementing such a feature? I can't think off a single reason off the top of my head, it's just a really strange addition.

 

[Kurona]

I've gotten used to it by now, but it is pretty annoying and one wonders why it's not automatic like in previous games. It doesn't seem like it'd take up more data or anything; were they worried that movement no longer being restricted to a grid would result in a loss of control?

 

[pika pal]

I just kind of wish it was a thing you could make voluntary. I've admittedly walked through a door unintentionally once or twice, but not so often that I think this mandatory check fixes anything.

 

[Siggu]

I don't really mind this new behavior. It felt so natural to me that I didn't really notice.

The one change that I noticed and it's annoying is that extra A button press you now need when healing your Pokemon in the Pokemon Center.

 

[Magnus0]

SM, and yeah, it is really quite jarring to have to press A after all this time. I do have a question though: what's the point of implementing such a feature? I can't think off a single reason off the top of my head, it's just a really strange addition.

You know the stairs in gen 3? That might be the reason.

It's still completely out of place to 'fix' it four generations later though, if those annoying stairs where the reason in the first place.

 

[Kurona]

You know the stairs in gen 3? That might be the reason.

It's still completely out of place to 'fix' it four generations later though, if those annoying stairs where the reason in the first place.

I'm not entirely sure I know what you're referring to...

 

[Kanburi]

I've accidentally walked through doors too many times to appreciate this feature, only to find it annoying to have to press A every time I want to go in/out of buildings.

 

[ToadBrigade]

I'm not entirely sure I know what you're referring to...

Basically in the early generations if you held a direction to go up stairs you'd continue travelling in that direction after exiting... straight into the stairs again. Really annoying when you're on auto pilot. I thinks the whole issue of having to press A to enter a door was somewhat due to technical aspects kind of like how turn back cut scenes fade to black rather than just turning the player around.

 

[Codraroll]

Basically in the early generations if you held a direction to go up stairs you'd continue travelling in that direction after exiting... straight into the stairs again. Really annoying when you're on auto pilot. I thinks the whole issue of having to press A to enter a door was somewhat due to technical aspects kind of like how turn back cut scenes fade to black rather than just turning the player around.

Those stairs were only in a couple of buildings, though... if I remember correctly.

Also, I don't know whether to post it in the Mysteries thread or here, but... what is the Move Deleter doing in Alola? Unless you specifically want your Pokémon to carry fewer than four moves, there's no use for him - all moves can be overwritten on the fly now. Worse still, why is he in the first town you get to, while the Move Reminder is tucked away at the end of the game? One would think the latter would be far more useful in a casual playthrough, while the former is only ever useful for wacky Battle Tree strategies.

 

[Detective Barricade]

Those stairs were only in a couple of buildings, though... if I remember correctly.

Also, I don't know whether to post it in the Mysteries thread or here, but... what is the Move Deleter doing in Alola? Unless you specifically want your Pokémon to carry fewer than four moves, there's no use for him - all moves can be overwritten on the fly now. Worse still, why is he in the first town you get to, while the Move Reminder is tucked away at the end of the game? One would think the latter would be far more useful in a casual playthrough, while the former is only ever useful for wacky Battle Tree strategies.

Well, since the Move Reminder can make your Pokemon remember moves they've not yet learned in their level up pool, I suppose they didn't want players to have too early access to some of the most powerful moves their Pokemon are going to learn. (but then they troll Alolan Marowak by having Shadow Bone be learned the level before Cubone can evolve, rather than making it learned as soon as it evolves) No idea about the Move Deleter, though.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Those stairs were only in a couple of buildings, though... if I remember correctly.

Also, I don't know whether to post it in the Mysteries thread or here, but... what is the Move Deleter doing in Alola? Unless you specifically want your Pokémon to carry fewer than four moves, there's no use for him - all moves can be overwritten on the fly now. Worse still, why is he in the first town you get to, while the Move Reminder is tucked away at the end of the game? One would think the latter would be far more useful in a casual playthrough, while the former is only ever useful for wacky Battle Tree strategies.

Well I found someone who said it was useful for chaining Ditto by having their their first encounter Pokemon know only one useless move. But yeah, maybe they should just combine the Move Reminder and Move Deleter in one person.

As for where to place the Move Relearner, I wouldn't put them that early, maybe around the time you're fully evolving all your Pokemon when you'd also be getting/wanting the strongest moves. Might break the game if it was available too early. Any handy utility moves which makes capturing easier should be made available in other ways.

 

[Kurona]

Those stairs were only in a couple of buildings, though... if I remember correctly.

Also, I don't know whether to post it in the Mysteries thread or here, but... what is the Move Deleter doing in Alola? Unless you specifically want your Pokémon to carry fewer than four moves, there's no use for him - all moves can be overwritten on the fly now. Worse still, why is he in the first town you get to, while the Move Reminder is tucked away at the end of the game? One would think the latter would be far more useful in a casual playthrough, while the former is only ever useful for wacky Battle Tree strategies.

It kinda makes sense if someone wants to use a strategy which requires a Pokémon to have less than four moves, so it covers that I guess. Nothing super important, but it's kind of a eh-why-not deal.

 

[Xen]

Fiddling around with the Gen IV frontier and examining old Pokemon movepools reminded me of this hilarious but annoying oversight:

Nosepass and Probopass supposedly gained Head Smash in HGSS as an egg move......except no Pokemon that can breed with Nosepass/Probopass can learn the move in Gen IV. So instead of rectifying the issue in Gen V, Game freak wrote the move out of Nosepass's egg movepool instead.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Fiddling around with the Gen IV frontier and examining old Pokemon movepools reminded me of this hilarious but annoying oversight:

Nosepass and Probopass supposedly gained Head Smash in HGSS as an egg move......except no Pokemon that can breed with Nosepass/Probopass can learn the move in Gen IV. So instead of rectifying the issue in Gen V, Game freak wrote the move out of Nosepass's egg movepool instead.

And just to be extra cruel, though Gen V didn't have any Mineral Group Pokemon learn Head Smash, in Gen VI they had Aegislash and Gen VII they retroactively gave it to Sudowoodo. Yup, at any time they apparently could have given it to Sudowoodo (looking at the Mineral Egg group they could have also given it to Onix/Steelix and maybe Beldum/Metang/Metagross, if we want to be conservative with who gets it and not give it to the Rock/Steel types that aren't just a head or prefer other methods of attacking than headbutting).

 

[cityscapes]

what is up with the festival plaza missions? like i like the ideas and concept and stuff but the really dumb part is that you have to run around everywhere to talk to all the people. my finger is tired from holding down the b button man.

 

[Brytmonlee]

One thing that really annoys me is how long Sun and Moon take to load up on an older 3DS. That, and how long it takes to get into the GTS, plus the time it takes for evolution to happen. So while I am happy that all I need is two games and one system in order to get trade evolutions, the amount of time to cycle between the two is a little ridiculous, as while I was doing this to complete my Pokedex in Moon, I got sniped twice, with the second one being one that was really crucial. I also wish I could put up custom messages to tell people to not trade, but that probably would not help. I have done this for four generations now, ever since the GTS has been a thing, but for Sun and Moon it takes twice the time it has taken the others and it is the first time I really have been sniped.

 

[Taistelu]

One thing that really annoys me is how long Sun and Moon take to load up on an older 3DS.

Still using the old model 3DS and I don't feel that load up time is as much of an issue as people make it out to be. Mabye it's just me but I only find the old 3DS struggles with Sun and Moon in double battles with weather (the lag is actually noticeable and semi unbearable). My bigger issue comes from that, I've clicked all my moves now can I not wait 5 seconds just to see the animations and then wait another 5 seconds to see my menu again all for one turn? It is quite infuriating at times.

 

[Brytmonlee]

Still using the old model 3DS and I don't feel that load up time is as much of an issue as people make it out to be. .

Oh I don't mind, it was just that I was doing something that was a little time sensitive and the longer load time was making itself really noticeable at the time. Normally it is not really an issue for me.