(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon

Pikachu315111

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Yeaaah, the lack of Ethers in shops is really weird and it always shocks people when they realise in my experiences. It's such a basic thing you'd think it'd be available; it's not exactly some godly form of recovery like Sacred Ash, it... it just restores some PP.
Max Elixirs? Sure, okay; restoring all your PP of all your moves in one turn I can kinda see why you'd want to limit how many you can get. But Ethers?
Ah, but is Max Elixir any more OP than Full Restores? If anything they're less significant because going through the game I rarely found myself in a situation where I thought "I'm running low on PP on all my moves, better use a Max Elixir... instead of the dozens of Leppa Berries I have". I'm always healing up, sometimes during battle which is where Full Restores really shine. I say have the Ethers appear at the same time the Potions do: Ether with Potions, Max Ether with Super Potions, Elixir with Hyper Potions, Max Elixir with Full Restores. Also, to make Ether useful they're going to have to do two or three things: (1.) They'd have to up the amount of battles and/or distance the Pokemon Centers and other resting areas so you might get to a point where you'd want to use Ethers (if you do the place in one fell swoop and not constantly run back t the Pokemon Center/resting area). (2.) Make Leppa Berries only restore 1 PP (though to compensate I would give it an in-battle effect like fully restoring a move's PP if that move hits 0 PP). (3.) Maybe giving us a post game battle dungeon which limits the item we can use so careful use of Ethers and Potions are part of the puzzle.

Speaking of Sacred Ash, it's also kind of useless (mainly you can only get one, and in Gen III they changed it so only fainted Pokemon would be fully restored instead of fully healing all Pokemon. Also usually post game). I think that needs some improvement, and maybe ways to get more.
 
Thank goodness Leppa Berries are ridiculously easy to farm in Sun and Moon... but PP-restoration items shouldn't be "too awesome to use" in later generations.

I have the same feeling about PP Up. It's not even purchaseable with BP, unlike other Vitamins, which does not make sense as you'd want to use them on competitive Pokemon.
After having a more or less infinite supply of PP Up last gen it feels weird going back to having them rare again. On that note, I wish they'd bring back the Mileage Club to help with getting Rare Candies and PP Ups.
 
Can you get multiple PP Up/Max from the receptionist after 10/40 wins or is that just a one time thing? Eitherway should be available with the other vitamins, buyable with Pokedollars or Battle Points.
One per day per broken streak.

Actual daily means are the Hau'oli Lottery and the lottery stands in the Festival Plaza.
 
Something weird I've noticed with SuMo is that you can pretty much build a well-rounded team on the first island. I don't know, I felt like I found every guy I wanted before I fought the kahuna. In other games, I didn't have a 6 Pokémon team until after the 8th gym. It's just a weird thing I've noticed in the game. I loved it, but yeah. Anyone else realize this? Sorry for ranting
 

Codraroll

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Something weird I've noticed with SuMo is that you can pretty much build a well-rounded team on the first island. I don't know, I felt like I found every guy I wanted before I fought the kahuna. In other games, I didn't have a 6 Pokémon team until after the 8th gym. It's just a weird thing I've noticed in the game. I loved it, but yeah. Anyone else realize this? Sorry for ranting
Is that annoying to you?

For me, I think the problem is the exact opposite: The last island offers virtually no Pokémon to "top off" a team. Unless you're really fond of Granbull or Gastrodon, or really want a Kommo-o, it mostly gives you Pokémon you've already met repeatedly. Sure, there's the gift Aerodactyl, and the never-ending tedium of Dhelmise, but I was carrying five Pokémon all the way up to Poni Island, and I never met anything I considered worth catching at that point of the game. Eventually, I backtracked to Mount Hokulani to get a Cleffa instead.
 
Is that annoying to you?

For me, I think the problem is the exact opposite: The last island offers virtually no Pokémon to "top off" a team. Unless you're really fond of Granbull or Gastrodon, or really want a Kommo-o, it mostly gives you Pokémon you've already met repeatedly. Sure, there's the gift Aerodactyl, and the never-ending tedium of Dhelmise, but I was carrying five Pokémon all the way up to Poni Island, and I never met anything I considered worth catching at that point of the game. Eventually, I backtracked to Mount Hokulani to get a Cleffa instead.
I mean, that was just my experience, but, if you start with Rowlet, you can get Totodile and Growlithe right off the bat, Crabrawler, Snorlax, Salamence, Magnemite, and several other guys that are viable late game
 

Codraroll

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I mean, that was just my experience, but, if you start with Rowlet, you can get Totodile and Growlithe right off the bat, Crabrawler, Snorlax, Salamence, Magnemite, and several other guys that are viable late game
Know what? When initially reading this, my reaction was "So what? All the better!". But then I realized that it is annoying.

It is so easy to find good and viable Pokémon on MeleMele Island that you can feasibly fill a team with them. In addition to those you mentioned, you can also find Abra, Gastly, Pichu, Machop, and through Island Scan also Cyndaquil, Litwick, and Deino. And probably many other feasible ones. It's not hard to fill your team with Pokémon from the first island alone.

But this means that the rest of the islands have arguably worse Pokémon to offer than the ones you find in the early-game. As you go through the game, you have little incentive to pick up new team members and try out more of the Pokémon in the region. With Kadabra and Magneton on your side, you won't exactly jump at the chance to pick up Ariados at Ula'ula Meadow or Togedemaru at Blush Mountain. When the game serves all the best stuff at the beginning, it allows you to find a good team early on, but everything after it becomes underwhelming by comparison. This is exacerbated further by the oft-mentioned tendency to repeat the encounters you go tired of on Route 2 all the way through the end of the Island Challenge. I mean, if you make the choice not to catch Yungoos on Route 1, you probably won't change your mind when encountering Gumshoos again in Ancient Poni Path. Which, if my research is correct, is the nineteenth area in the game where you can find the Yungoos family (out of 22 total in Sun, 21 in Moon).

So yeah. It is annoying that Sun and Moon gives you so many good Pokémon early on. Great if you already wanted to use those Pokémon in a planned play-through, but an "organic" play-through will be a little hampered when you realize the best Pokémon in the game were the ones you left behind on the game's first island.
 
Know what? When initially reading this, my reaction was "So what? All the better!". But then I realized that it is annoying.

It is so easy to find good and viable Pokémon on MeleMele Island that you can feasibly fill a team with them. In addition to those you mentioned, you can also find Abra, Gastly, Pichu, Machop, and through Island Scan also Cyndaquil, Litwick, and Deino. And probably many other feasible ones. It's not hard to fill your team with Pokémon from the first island alone.

But this means that the rest of the islands have arguably worse Pokémon to offer than the ones you find in the early-game. As you go through the game, you have little incentive to pick up new team members and try out more of the Pokémon in the region. With Kadabra and Magneton on your side, you won't exactly jump at the chance to pick up Ariados at Ula'ula Meadow or Togedemaru at Blush Mountain. When the game serves all the best stuff at the beginning, it allows you to find a good team early on, but everything after it becomes underwhelming by comparison. This is exacerbated further by the oft-mentioned tendency to repeat the encounters you go tired of on Route 2 all the way through the end of the Island Challenge. I mean, if you make the choice not to catch Yungoos on Route 1, you probably won't change your mind when encountering Gumshoos again in Ancient Poni Path. Which, if my research is correct, is the nineteenth area in the game where you can find the Yungoos family (out of 22 total in Sun, 21 in Moon).

So yeah. It is annoying that Sun and Moon gives you so many good Pokémon early on. Great if you already wanted to use those Pokémon in a planned play-through, but an "organic" play-through will be a little hampered when you realize the best Pokémon in the game were the ones you left behind on the game's first island.
Thank you! Finally someone put my exact thoughts perfectly explained in words!!! Don't get me wrong, loved the games. Hated this little thing
 
Something I wish they would do is revamp abilities some. There's a bunch that have either extremely niche uses or redundant with other abilities. Going down the list, I would remove:

Big Pecks
Damp
Early Bird
Flower Veil
Grass Pelt
Heatproof (or make it an immunity)
Heavy Metal
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Keen Eye
Light Metal
Liquid Ooze (unless they add draining moves to non-legendaries that aren't resisted by poison)
Plus and Minus

I'm sure they'll never add a 4th ability for Pokémon but I'd to see them make some changes to current ones.
 
So yeah. It is annoying that Sun and Moon gives you so many good Pokémon early on. Great if you already wanted to use those Pokémon in a planned play-through, but an "organic" play-through will be a little hampered when you realize the best Pokémon in the game were the ones you left behind on the game's first island.
No, that's not what is annoying. There's nothing bad in giving a wide range of good Pokemon early on. What IS bad is that the wide range of good Pokemon practically disappears after Melemele.
 
Something I wish they would do is revamp abilities some. There's a bunch that have either extremely niche uses or redundant with other abilities. Going down the list, I would remove:

Big Pecks
Damp
Early Bird
Flower Veil
Grass Pelt
Heatproof (or make it an immunity)
Heavy Metal
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Keen Eye
Light Metal
Liquid Ooze (unless they add draining moves to non-legendaries that aren't resisted by poison)
Plus and Minus

I'm sure they'll never add a 4th ability for Pokémon but I'd to see them make some changes to current ones.
Also iirc Justified is the only one of the "Do Thing when hit by X type of move" family of abilities that doesn't simultaneously provide an immunity to that type, and it really should.
 

Pikachu315111

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Well let's look through each island's Pokedex and list out the Pokemon you can get, not counting repeats (and assuming you don't go back to a previous island):

Melemele: Starters, Pikipek, Yungoos, Rattata, Caterpie, Ledyba, Spinarak, Pikachu, Grubbin, Bonsly, Happiny, Munchlax, Slowpoke, Wingull, Abra, Meowth, Magnemite, Grimer, Growlithe, Drowzee, Makuhita, Smeargle, Crabrawler, Gastly, Drifblim, Misdreavus, Zubat, Diglett, Rufflet, Vullaby, Mankey, Delibird, Oricorio, Cutiefly, Petilil, Cottonee, Psyduck, Machop, Roggenrola, Carbink, Sableye, Rockruff, Spinda, Shellder, Bagon, (via Island Scan: Totodile, Deino, Horsea, Klink, Chikorita, Litwick, Cyndaquil)

Okay, not bad. Actually quite packed as said. You can form a pretty solid team with this. There's even a "replacement" or the Starter types you didn't pick so you can have Grass, Fire, & Water on your team (not counting the Island Scan which can give you one of the Johto Starters, not to mention Deino, Klink, and Litwick). Then we come to some powerful or useful ones like Munchlax, Abra, Magnemite, Makuhita/Machop, Gastly, Zubat, Diglett, Rufflet/Orcicorio, Cutiefly, and Rockruff to name a few that jump out at me. So if you try to catch as many Pokemon you can find before moving to the next area you can form a pretty solid team from island one. The Pokemon Colosseum games didn't even offer such a wide variety throughout its whole game!

Akala: Lillipup, Eevee, Mudbray, Jigglypuff, Tauros, Miltank, Surskit, Dewpider, Fomantis, Morelull, Paras, Poliwag, Goldeen, Magikarp, Barboach, Tentacool, Finneon, Wishiwashi, Luvdisc, Corsola, Mareanie, Feebas, Alolmomola, Fletchling, Salandit, Cubone, Kangaskhan, Magby, Stufful, Bounsweet, Comfey, Pinsir, Oranguru, Passimian, Goomy, Castform, Wimpod, Staryu, Sandygast, Cranidos, Shieldon, Archen, Tirtouga, Phantump, Nosepass, Pyukumuku, Chinchou (via Island Scan: Spheal, Luxio, Honedge, Venipede, Bellsprout, Marill, Gothita)

Alright, if you don't have a full team leaving Melemele you should after Akala. We've got some more Grass, Fire, & Water in case the ones one Melemele weren't doing it for you (especially for Grass and Water, you may want to consider replacing the one you have if it's not the Starter). We also got Eevee in case you really needed a certain type covered. Of course we have even more of the advertised new Pokemon so you gotta try those out. There's even a lot of Pokemon who have a gimmick or have a battling role giving them some purpose. All in all, Akala is essentially the finishing touches island.

Ula'ula: Trubbish, Skarmory, Ditto, Clefairy, Minior, Beldum, Pancham, Komala, Torkoal, Turtonator, Togedemaru, Electabuzz, Geodude, Sandile, Trapinch, Gible, Klefki, Mimikyu, Bruxish, Drampa, Absol, Snorunt, Sneasel, Sandshrew, Vulpix, Vanillite, (via Island Scan: Swinub, Duosion, Roselia, Staravia, Vigoroth, Axew, Rhyhorn), Zygarde (10%, though you'd probably be able to get to 50% before the Pokemon League)

Now, there's some good Pokemon here, but the question is if it's too late? Like the only reason I can see you replacing a team member is if you specifically wanted one of these Pokemon (or an Ice-type). But by now you probably have a strong team so would you want to start over with a Skarmory or grind with the Beldum? Heck, for some I would say you're a little bit too late like with the Fire- and Electric-types. Not even the Island Scan Pokemon are that great. And really, Ditto? So pretty much just a specialty island, you only replace a Pokemon if you find a Pokemon here you REALLY want to use (probably Mimikyu or Minior). Oh, and you also can get Zygarde 10% if you roll like that.

Poni: Wailmer, Dhelmise, Aerodactyl, Exeggcute, Gastrodon, Lapras, Granbull, Sharpedo, Murkrow, Jangmo-o, Dratini, Solgaleo, Lunala (via Island Scan: Serperior, Samurott, Emboar)

... yeah, unless you wanted to train up a Jangmo-o (or Dratini) now all these are just dex filler (though that free Aerodactyl is nice, and of course the Mascot Legendary if you just want to get through the League with little problem). Since Poni Island was the last island maybe they could have added more of the Pokemon without an evolution family (that's worth wild. Dhelmise, here, really?) or some with maybe a competitive use like a good wall (I guess Gastrodon is like that, but I'm thinking along the lines of Ferrothorn or Bronzong).

Post Game: Island Deities, Ultra Beasts
Melemele: Necrozma
Akala: Porygon
Ula'ula: Cosmog
Aether Paradise: Type: Null
Poni: Emolga, Scyther, Riolu (via Island Scan: Conkeldurr, Togekiss, Leavanny, Eelektross)

Aside from the Legendaries, Island Deities, Ultra Beasts, and Type: Null why keep any of those other post game? Like Porygon could have been fun to use (if you had a way to evolve it) and Scyther & Riolu might have been able to make some players choose to replace a Pokemon in their part for.

Hmm, you know, after looking through this I got a new idea for a playthrough challenge: Island Native Challenge. You can only use the Pokemon native to that island, so each time you get to a new island you need to box all your old mons and start over (after using one to catch the "starter" for that island, of course).
 

Karxrida

Death to the Undying Savage
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Know what? When initially reading this, my reaction was "So what? All the better!". But then I realized that it is annoying.

It is so easy to find good and viable Pokémon on MeleMele Island that you can feasibly fill a team with them. In addition to those you mentioned, you can also find Abra, Gastly, Pichu, Machop, and through Island Scan also Cyndaquil, Litwick, and Deino. And probably many other feasible ones. It's not hard to fill your team with Pokémon from the first island alone.

But this means that the rest of the islands have arguably worse Pokémon to offer than the ones you find in the early-game. As you go through the game, you have little incentive to pick up new team members and try out more of the Pokémon in the region. With Kadabra and Magneton on your side, you won't exactly jump at the chance to pick up Ariados at Ula'ula Meadow or Togedemaru at Blush Mountain. When the game serves all the best stuff at the beginning, it allows you to find a good team early on, but everything after it becomes underwhelming by comparison. This is exacerbated further by the oft-mentioned tendency to repeat the encounters you go tired of on Route 2 all the way through the end of the Island Challenge. I mean, if you make the choice not to catch Yungoos on Route 1, you probably won't change your mind when encountering Gumshoos again in Ancient Poni Path. Which, if my research is correct, is the nineteenth area in the game where you can find the Yungoos family (out of 22 total in Sun, 21 in Moon).

So yeah. It is annoying that Sun and Moon gives you so many good Pokémon early on. Great if you already wanted to use those Pokémon in a planned play-through, but an "organic" play-through will be a little hampered when you realize the best Pokémon in the game were the ones you left behind on the game's first island.
I captured my entire team bar Wishiwashi (the only new Pokémon I used bar Rowlet and Grimer-A) from the first island; hell, I had everyone before the first trial was started. Also, guess who got dumped for Lunala at the end and was used the least?

Barely seeing any new Pokémon in the wild since I used Repels everywhere didn't help, but still.
 

Codraroll

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For the record, the second island Has tsareena and mudbray line, two massive game breakers when paired with magneton, especially the trade tsareena.
Still, that's barely a third into the game. Sun and Moon blow their fireworks early, and don't follow up on the last two islands.
 

Pikachu315111

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Something I wish they would do is revamp abilities some. There's a bunch that have either extremely niche uses or redundant with other abilities. Going down the list, I would remove:

Big Pecks
Damp
Early Bird
Flower Veil
Grass Pelt
Heatproof (or make it an immunity)
Heavy Metal
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Keen Eye
Light Metal
Liquid Ooze (unless they add draining moves to non-legendaries that aren't resisted by poison)
Plus and Minus

I'm sure they'll never add a 4th ability for Pokémon but I'd to see them make some changes to current ones.
Eh, not remove, simply change/add. These Pokemon have those Abilities for a reason, they match that Pokemon's traits and maybe personality. So instead of removing/replacing them, why not just expand what that Ability can also do in context of what it is. I could would give my ideas how they could improve those Abilities (and others) but it would go into wishlisting.

As for adding a 4th Ability, well I have another idea: Why not have Egg/Breedable Abilities? To me its the only logical way to extend what Ability a Pokemon can have without completely turning the current system (2 natural Abilities, 1 Hidden) on its head. Teaching and tutoring wouldn't work as Abilities are suppose to be a natural trait of a Pokemon, but that would mean breeding an Ability onto a Pokemon as they would be created with that Ability a part of it if we were to take this into the thought of genetics. And it would add further options (and probably frustrations) when breeding if there's also a wanted Egg Move: Breed a Arcanine with a Close Combat Infernape to get a Close Combat Growlithe OR breed it with a Speed Boost Blaziken to be a Speed Boost Growlithe (then thinking about it, you could then probably chain breed the Growlithe with the other mon to get a Speed Boost + Close Combat Growlithe so not the best example, but I think you get my point).
 

Codraroll

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I think they need to do something with Abilities in a generation or two at any rate. In Gen III, most Pokémon had two ability slots, and they were filled up so quickly that come Gen V, they had to expand with a third. And they filled all three slots for most Pokémon quite promptly.

Gen VI gave out plenty of new abilities, but most of them were put on new Pokémon, seeing as most old ones had all three slots full already. And then that exact same thing happened again in Gen VII. New Pokémon get the new abilities, old Pokémon largely keep the three abilities they have had since Gen V.

What's worse is that new abilities turn more and more into gimmicks, as they are created for one specific Pokémon or evolutionary family. This creates a more rigid system, where the abilities of yestergen can't be put on new Pokémon since they are tailored for something else, and old Pokémon are destined to keep the abilities they were granted back in 2010. If Game Freak doesn't want to lose the tradition of giving pre-existing Pokémon more abilities, a reform to the entire system has to come eventually. I guess Mega Evolution provides a very nifty, if partial, fix, but alas, they decided not to continue down that path.
 
One thing I'll give the games that could be both a blessing to some and a curse to others is that everything seems easier from a competitive team building stand point. Poké Pelago makes EV training literally a waiting game, eggs hatch at super-sonic speed, and most guys that you'll wanna use in a team are pretty easy to get barring legendaries from previous gens
 
I think they need to do something with Abilities in a generation or two at any rate. In Gen III, most Pokémon had two ability slots, and they were filled up so quickly that come Gen V, they had to expand with a third. And they filled all three slots for most Pokémon quite promptly.

Gen VI gave out plenty of new abilities, but most of them were put on new Pokémon, seeing as most old ones had all three slots full already. And then that exact same thing happened again in Gen VII. New Pokémon get the new abilities, old Pokémon largely keep the three abilities they have had since Gen V.

What's worse is that new abilities turn more and more into gimmicks, as they are created for one specific Pokémon or evolutionary family. This creates a more rigid system, where the abilities of yestergen can't be put on new Pokémon since they are tailored for something else, and old Pokémon are destined to keep the abilities they were granted back in 2010. If Game Freak doesn't want to lose the tradition of giving pre-existing Pokémon more abilities, a reform to the entire system has to come eventually. I guess Mega Evolution provides a very nifty, if partial, fix, but alas, they decided not to continue down that path.
I'm willing to bet the act of changing some of the existing Pokémon's abilities drastically (Gengar getting Shadow Tag probably the most obvious) might have been testing the waters in preparation for something like that in the future.
 

Pikachu315111

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I think they need to do something with Abilities in a generation or two at any rate. In Gen III, most Pokémon had two ability slots, and they were filled up so quickly that come Gen V, they had to expand with a third. And they filled all three slots for most Pokémon quite promptly.

Gen VI gave out plenty of new abilities, but most of them were put on new Pokémon, seeing as most old ones had all three slots full already. And then that exact same thing happened again in Gen VII. New Pokémon get the new abilities, old Pokémon largely keep the three abilities they have had since Gen V.

What's worse is that new abilities turn more and more into gimmicks, as they are created for one specific Pokémon or evolutionary family. This creates a more rigid system, where the abilities of yestergen can't be put on new Pokémon since they are tailored for something else, and old Pokémon are destined to keep the abilities they were granted back in 2010. If Game Freak doesn't want to lose the tradition of giving pre-existing Pokémon more abilities, a reform to the entire system has to come eventually. I guess Mega Evolution provides a very nifty, if partial, fix, but alas, they decided not to continue down that path.
Oh sweet Arceus, that'll be the gimmick of Gen VIII! SUPER ABILITIES!
 
It is funny, because I have thought about the same thing. Gen 6 gave us Mega Evolution, Gen 7 gave us Z-moves which are pretty much "Mega Moves". So what's next? Will we get "Mega" Abilities next generation? I don't know, it could happen. But at the same time, Abilities are a bit more complicated and might be harder to grasp for children compared to evolution or moves.
 

Pikachu315111

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Holy heck, I think you may be right. Super evolutions via held items, super moves via held items... abilities are obviously the next in line. Changed via held item. After a minute of unskippable Pokémon frolic animation.
Hmm, that doesn't really sound like something an Ability would do. At most maybe a Pokemon would have an aura around them to show that they have a super Ability.

As for how they would work, I can see it two ways:

1. All Abilities will be given a boosted/additional effect which is only unlocked if the Pokemon is holding a certain "Ability Stone".

2. The "Ability Stone" will changes a Pokemon's Ability (of course there would be rules which Pokemon can get what Super Ability). Some Pokemon will get signature "Ability Stones".

Or I could also see a combination of the two ideas.
 
Hmm, that doesn't really sound like something an Ability would do. At most maybe a Pokemon would have an aura around them to show that they have a super Ability.

As for how they would work, I can see it two ways:

1. All Abilities will be given a boosted/additional effect which is only unlocked if the Pokemon is holding a certain "Ability Stone".

2. The "Ability Stone" will changes a Pokemon's Ability (of course there would be rules which Pokemon can get what Super Ability). Some Pokemon will get signature "Ability Stones".

Or I could also see a combination of the two ideas.
I could see this happening with items improving abilities. Intimidate also lowering special attack. Immunities working similar to Defiant (Clear Body Metagross gets +1 attack if Lando-T switches in, Water Absorb gives +1 special attack if hit by a water move, etc), Huge Power also effecting special attack because why the hell not, and so on.
 

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