I liked Arceus' original pronunciation better, the fact that GAME FREAK changed it proves they're a bunch of dirty English-appeasers
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(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon
- Thread starter BriarRose
- Start date
The reason this isn't a part of their culture is most likely because the Pokemon world is their universe and the creatures follow their rules of biology. A major selling point of the games is that, for each new species you encounter, there may be a dozen more you still haven't seen.
They don't want anyone to potentially know about any new species before they're ready to deliver, so an art contest would upset that law.
And then on top of that; there's the time it takes to find a place for each new Mon, calculating stat spread(s), movepool, EV yield, and a bunch of other things that you couldn't really trust the fanbase to deliver on a fair level.
I plainly disagree. They can decide everything that affects gameplay (as CAPCOM does with its SF/MM contests), and frankly no one gives a damn about not knowing what mons exist /etc, they just don't have to announce until days before release, or use the mon as an event release a la Hoopa. There really isn't a good reason for it imo, it's just Nintendo and fam being out of touch with the fanbase and its potential, as per usual.
That's fine if you don't buy into the whole "Who's that Pokemon?" thing, but it's still a vital rule to the Pokemon lore that people plainly don't know about brand new Pokemon until they have an adventure and "discover" them. I don't think they should be seen as less than involved just because they want to tell their own story with their own creatures.
I don't really see this as a problem when it's just one or two Pokémon out of an entirely new region. I really have no idea how in any way knowing what could potentially be a few Pokémon out of a new, say, 120-strong dex would be a negative. It just makes us more excited for the game and interests more people - back when Lego's Bionicle was still going strong people got to design models for the various minor characters and wildlife of the universe. It didn't put anyone off of it, it didn't ruin any of the hype for Lego's own creations or new stuff, it just made us feel more connected and the universe much more varied.
Except we don't know if they're going to be doing that anymore. This generation introduced roughly 60 new Pokemon, albeit almost double that number if one counts the various Mega Evolutions and even more with those that benefited from gaining or being retyped as Fairy, (and I wouldn't be surprised if even more Megas show up alongside the various forms of Zygarde) so Game Freak may continue to introduce less brand new Pokemon per generation while using the preceding 700+ Pokemon to fill out an expansive regional dex.
Still, as interesting as it may sound, I imagine all designs would have to get at least a once-over from Ken Sugimori, which may ultimately make it all but unrecognizable from the original. And I somehow doubt many of us here would be entirely happy with how such a Pokemon would be created: here we tend to focus on making one to fill a niche in OU while Game Freak would go with just making it look cool regardless if its stats, ability, and/or move pool would make it usable. (like Pyroar)
If by its original pronunciation you mean "R-see-us" than yes, I agree. That's what I've always called it. "Ark-ee-us" doesn't quite flow as good and also to me when a "c" is next to an "e" I always pronounCE it as a "s". I'm sure there are exCEptions, it's English afterall, but I think that's the general rule. If they wanted us to pronounce it like "ark-ee-us" they should have spelt it with a "k". Arkeus, hmm, on second thought that doesn't look quite right, also it more make of a boat ark instead of an arch... which in that case they should have spelled it "Archeus". Say, that doesn't look and sound so bad.
FUN FACT: Dirty English-appeasers is more apt than you think. ;) The reason it was decided to be pronounced "ark-ee-us" over "r-see-us" or "r-say-us" is because the first two syllables combine sounds like the British English equivalent to the American English slang for one's behind.
The Official CAP:
While I agree the "who's that Pokemon" point is moot since it would just be one of the publicly known Pokemon, Yveltal's point about them needing to appropriately balance the Pokemon's stats, decide its movepool and Abilities, and touch up its art would be a bit more of a hassle than it may be worth (and that's in addition to my point about proving legitimacy of the person who submitted the Pokemon did in fact create that Pokemon). But still I feel like we're all ignoring the other ways to get players involved on the creation side on both a small and grand scale (while also having GF keep most of the control thus them perfectly willing to do it). Here's some of my ideas:
1. Names. I don't think I would be wrong to say that coming up with a name is probably one of the last things done. And since its one of the last things done, why not let some of the naming be a fan participation thing? Think about it, how cool would it have been if during Gen V they let us name the Starters? Smugleaf could have become Snivy's official name! And it doesn't just have to be Pokemon, we could be given a chance to name Moves, Abilities, Mechanics, Locations, Characters and anything else that needs a name or title! While it's a small part to give something a name, it still creates a certain connection as you know the name wasn't made by some GF staff sitting around the office deciding which name sounded the most marketable but by you and/or players like you.
Of course there would be some restrictions. As I imagine it they'd first ask for name suggestions, GF decides on the ones they liked (so there is still some "this sounds marketable"; but that may be a necessary evil), and put the candidates up to vote.
2. Limited Design Choice. Imagine these scenarios. They just announced for the new gen they want to make a new eeveelution or two and they're letting the fans pick which Type it/they will be! Or they give us a list of extinct animals and ask us which ones we'd like to see being revived as the next Fossil Pokemon! Now we're only deciding one aspect of the design (and its most likely they have a prototype of what all the candidates would become so they're not making the Pokemon completely from scratch once the choice has been made) but still it gives the fans a chance to actually decide, in a limited scope, what Pokemon they want to see. And this could be applied to almost anything like asking us what kind of canine, feline, bird, rodent (pikaclone?), bug, mythical creature we'd like to see. Maybe letting us choose the Starter's secondary type. How about a chance to assign Abilities and Moves to certain Pokemon. And of course asking for what Pokemon we think deserves an evolution/pre-evolution/alternate form/Mega Evolution.
And like above this just doesn't have to be for Pokemon. Maybe we can decide what the Gym/Elite Four types will be. Given several concepts for characters and we pick the one we like. Maybe pick the theme/gimmick/goal of the villain team. How about deciding the design theme of a certain location (like we can pick whether this city would look, say, steampunk or cyberpunk). They could let us decide out of a few choices what new Moves and Abilities we want (like they're going to introduce a Special Rock-type move and they let us decide whether it'll be a copy of Energy Ball, Aura Sphere, or Hyper Beam. Or for Abilities do we want a Speed, Defense, Special Defense, or Accuracy version of Intimidate).
3. Official CAP. While they can't accept individual designs, what if they allowed for a community made Pokemon? From conception to design to stating, they let the community work to create one Pokemon "from scratch" (with limitations obviously). They first have us suggest and/or vote on a design basis for the Pokemon (most likely an animal/mythical creature), than ask for the type, than provide designs to be voted on to become the official appearance (after a touch up), than ask to vote on a per-determined base stat spread (we probably won't see any official numbers, just keep it vague with bars like they do with the official Pokedex on the Pokemon site), than ask to vote on selected Abilities, than vote on certain moves we'd like to see it get in someway (though GF will probably create most of its movepool), and finally name it. Pretty much the closest thing we'll come to an official version of CAP. And once again even if none of the choices you picked gets selected, just it being made/parts selected by the Pokemon community would give it a special feeling. Now it would probably just be a random Pokemon found in the wild (or at most an extra Legendary), doubt they'll let us do this for the Starters and mascot Legendaries, but still it would be a Pokemon you can use in the game made by the fans which may include you.
Of course there would be some restrictions. As I imagine it they'd first ask for name suggestions, GF decides on the ones they liked (so there is still some "this sounds marketable"; but that may be a necessary evil), and put the candidates up to vote.
2. Limited Design Choice. Imagine these scenarios. They just announced for the new gen they want to make a new eeveelution or two and they're letting the fans pick which Type it/they will be! Or they give us a list of extinct animals and ask us which ones we'd like to see being revived as the next Fossil Pokemon! Now we're only deciding one aspect of the design (and its most likely they have a prototype of what all the candidates would become so they're not making the Pokemon completely from scratch once the choice has been made) but still it gives the fans a chance to actually decide, in a limited scope, what Pokemon they want to see. And this could be applied to almost anything like asking us what kind of canine, feline, bird, rodent (pikaclone?), bug, mythical creature we'd like to see. Maybe letting us choose the Starter's secondary type. How about a chance to assign Abilities and Moves to certain Pokemon. And of course asking for what Pokemon we think deserves an evolution/pre-evolution/alternate form/Mega Evolution.
And like above this just doesn't have to be for Pokemon. Maybe we can decide what the Gym/Elite Four types will be. Given several concepts for characters and we pick the one we like. Maybe pick the theme/gimmick/goal of the villain team. How about deciding the design theme of a certain location (like we can pick whether this city would look, say, steampunk or cyberpunk). They could let us decide out of a few choices what new Moves and Abilities we want (like they're going to introduce a Special Rock-type move and they let us decide whether it'll be a copy of Energy Ball, Aura Sphere, or Hyper Beam. Or for Abilities do we want a Speed, Defense, Special Defense, or Accuracy version of Intimidate).
3. Official CAP. While they can't accept individual designs, what if they allowed for a community made Pokemon? From conception to design to stating, they let the community work to create one Pokemon "from scratch" (with limitations obviously). They first have us suggest and/or vote on a design basis for the Pokemon (most likely an animal/mythical creature), than ask for the type, than provide designs to be voted on to become the official appearance (after a touch up), than ask to vote on a per-determined base stat spread (we probably won't see any official numbers, just keep it vague with bars like they do with the official Pokedex on the Pokemon site), than ask to vote on selected Abilities, than vote on certain moves we'd like to see it get in someway (though GF will probably create most of its movepool), and finally name it. Pretty much the closest thing we'll come to an official version of CAP. And once again even if none of the choices you picked gets selected, just it being made/parts selected by the Pokemon community would give it a special feeling. Now it would probably just be a random Pokemon found in the wild (or at most an extra Legendary), doubt they'll let us do this for the Starters and mascot Legendaries, but still it would be a Pokemon you can use in the game made by the fans which may include you.
But you gotta remember one thing about the fan creations for Bionicle is that for the most part they were at most restricted to a background character. Yes Krakua talking to Vacama in a vision helped guide his actions and Tahtorak had some major involvement here and there and in side stories, but still they had very little impact on the story and for every one of them we have tons of Rahi and Dark Hunters who at most are given small roles and cameos and at worst only exist in the guide books which requested for those creations. They never really influenced the story and, most importantly, were never sold as sets.
However a fan created Pokemon would be treated just a equally to an officially created Pokemon. Merchandise of that Pokemon will be made and sold. And because of that GF and/or th Pokemon Company would require a lot of control over the creation of the Pokemon. The suggestions I made above is the closest I think we can get to that with Pokemon as, though having our own Pokemon creation would make us feel closer to the franchise, sadly business is still business and if they see something as a risk to making a profit they're less likely to do it which is what I imagine the case would be for a Pokemon a fan creates. But a tightly controlled community project on the other hand...
Their tendency to have actual setups for unlocking event Pokemon and then just ignore them and hand them out directly was the weirdest goddamn thing in Gen IV.
Or that lockbox that could be transferred between generations and I don't think they ever released (and only contained a garbage TM anyway).
Thing is, aside from Pikachu (and pikaclones), Starters, Legendaries and the occasional Lucario/Zoroark status mon... how many Pokémon can you really say are major? When was the last time you saw big merchandise or focus of any kind on Paras or Girafarig or Drifblim? I mean, every Pokémon tends to get it's own Anime episode (aside from Porygons; fucking seizure episode) and then most get merchandise... but really, if your defence is that it's going to be in the foreground, I really don't see that argument. Krakua's a hell of a lot more significant to Bionicle than Sawsbuck ever will be to Pokémon. There's a ton of obscure or lesser-known Pokémon; the only reason this would be any different is because a fan designed it... and honestly I don't see the problem in that. Why is there this resistance to an honestly cool idea? Who in the general public aside from those with this natural built-in "NO DON'T DO ANYTHING NEW" hubris would actually have a problem with two or three of the dex being designed by fans? I don't wanna go on about this to the extent it takes up the thread, but... jeez, sorry, I'm failing to see a significant negative here. Especially when Pokémon is a series where customization is key (which 'mon you want on the team, what moves, genders, items, EVs, recently trainer customization...), if anything this is surely a no-brainer. Hell in terms of business that sort of thing just attracts a ton more players. It's getting more fans involved, hence more fans interested, hence more potential customers. Since it's a very new thing - something the franchise has been lacking in the past 12 or so years aside from Megas and Fairies - it'd grab the attention of so many newcomers with the right media support, especially with something as big as Pokémon. Just look at the reactions to Pokémon Go; are you really telling me that the same audience that goes mad for "Pokémon IRL" wouldn't go absolutely mad for "Create your own Pokémon!"?? That's just fuckin' cool
Well, yeah, but... I guess? We also don't know if they're ever going to do Megas or Evolutions again. We don't know a lot of things; for all we know they could just be taking a break from large dexes (for very good reason) before moving onto a bigger dex. Hell one of the bigger criticisms of the new gen was the small new pool of 'mon so Game Freak could be taking that into account - I mean, fuck, even if it was two or three fan 'mon out of 60... I don't think I'd mind that much? They're not exactly overtaking the official creations, they're not overshadowing them... it'd be about as special to the dex as Zoroark was to Unova's.
Um... I kind of lost you at this point? Smogon would be mad because a fan-created Pokémon was made with casual play in mind and not competitive...? I mean, isn't that how 90% of Pokémon are designed anyway? Isn't Smogon all about interpreting what we get about a Pokémon and working with it? Isn't Smogon such a tiny, tiny part of the fanbase that any sort of whining that a Pokémon wasn't created with competitive in mind go completely unheard aside from a few youtube videos going "lol"? I'm sorry; maybe I read it wrong, but... eh?
I have a Word Document of ideas of Pokemon (Word Document because I had too much for a normal Notepad document). I'd LOVE for them to do a "Create your own Pokemon", I'd submit ALL the ideas. But I'm just looking at it from GF and the Pokemon Company's standpoint. I provided more than enough problems why they would ignore it (along with ideas they could do with little risk). Also here's another point, they would only pick a handful of Pokemon which means only a handful of winners. The winners will have a connection with the franchise now, but all those who didn't? They'll feel just as connected with the games as they did before. They'll think its cool these handful of people (or just one) got chosen and may try out the Pokemon they made, but as for them having a personal increased connection with the game? A community created Pokemon (with multiple steps of creation) would at least have numbers on its side as though you're only one vote if at least one of the choices you picked wins you will have a slight increased connection. Also not sure how much more buyers it'll attract. Certainly will attract more people but, as I said, only a few will win and maybe many of those who entered would think "Oh, my idea didn't get picked? Whatever, guess I won't be buying the game".
And Pokemon has a choice to merchandise Sawsbuck, Paris, or any other often ignored Pokemon if they wanted to. The original Bionicle could't really do that with Krakua or Tahtorak (though with them now rebooting the franchise who knows; but they would probably redesign the characters thus justifying it). Krakua has story importance but to the Bionicle brand that doesn't mean anything while if the Pokemon decides to make a Sawsbuck plush, figurine, keyring, or TCG card they could probably make a few bucks off it.
If its a choice between what could likely happen and what's possibly won't happen, I'd rather support what's likely to happen.
Just saying a fan-made Pokemon may not quite live up to what we'd necessarily like. Design-wise it'll be loved or loathed by the general community no matter what for everyone's own reasons. (just ask Vanillite and Trubbish for example) While I can't say for sure, I'm very certain Eevee's popularity is such that it's likely we may see at least another new Eeveelution every other generation, possibly until it covers all the types.
But I'm just going to drop this so we can all get back to talking about our little complaints in the game.
When they feel like it?
Oh, and I have some other complaints I can think of, which go all the way back the 1st and 2nd Generation.
They could've and should've made Leafeon in Gen 1, who would evolve with the Leaf Stone. They missed another opportunity in Gen II with the Sun Stone.
They also missed the chance to make a Normal type evolution, who could've evolved via the Moon Stone.
And in Gen 4, they could've made a Ghost type evolution via the Dusk Stone.
And I can't believe they didn't make a baby form for Kangaskhan in Gen II! You know what? Maybe that was for the best! IV Breeding Pokémon with baby forms is enough of a pain in the ass to probably not be worth it, even if seeing a freshly hatched Kangaskhan with a baby is disturbing!!!
Finally, they could've done more with the Yanma line. Those who know anything about dragonfly life cycles knows that they live through an aquatic nymph phase.
So Yanma's first stage would be a Water/Bug type, while Yanma would have 70-100 HP, 80-100 in Defences, and 100 in SpA and Speed. They could've also made a pre-evolution in addition to Yanmega. And not making Yanmega a Dragon type is shameful. Mega Yanmega had better be a Bug/Dragon type, or I'm writing a strongly worded letter to Game Freak (or just never using the thing, unless I get beaten by one, in which case it is so strong, the typing doesn't matter!)!
Oh, and before anyone complains about another unnecessary Baby Pokémon, what if Yanma's baby form were able to learn Hydro Pump or Surf?
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I was about to point out Spinarak... but then I searched and found out Bulbapedia lied.
IT LIED TO US!
Well, now we do know about them, and we want them, preferably legally, but by whatever measures are necessary. :P
I keep forgetting to pronounce it like Ark-e-us. :p
Wait... Spinarak was...er wasn't a fan design?
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Leafeon makes sense, still weird they didn't use the Leaf Stone.
Espeon and Umbreon could've used the Sun and Moon Stones respectively.
Only reasons I can think for not doing it, is each generation Eevee gets a new evolution, it showcases a new evolution that gen introduced.
Gen 1: Stones
Gen 2: Friendship, Day/Night Cycle
Gen 3: Noting
Gen 4: Locations
Gen 5: Nothing
Gen 6: Pokemon Amie
Gen 2 being unique and showcasing two features
1. I guess they didn't want to overdo it with the Eeveelutions so they didn't do Leaf so they were a different elemental trio from the Starters (and also sort of follow the classical Fire, Ice, and Lightning trio as best they could). And as Millky95 said in future gens they wanted to show off different mechanics for evolution methods (for Gen II it was day and night and Gen IV was location).
2. Guess they didn't want it to look odd for only the Gen I Kangaskhan to have the baby in the pouch? It's pretty much part of Kangaskhan's identity, no matter how odd for a newly hatched Kangaskhan to have a baby in its pouch.
3. Kind of odd it's the antlion Pokemon that became part Dragon-type (then again Flygon also lost its Bug-typing so it isn't Bug/Dragon) and not the dragonfly. As for a pre-evolution for Yamna, sure I guess? But Yanma is already pretty weak.
So, I saw something about how weird Pokémon sizes are and decided to compare my height to that of my main team. While looking up the heights (and being amused that half my team are the same height*), I noticed something: there is only one listed height for Rotom. This wouldn't be a problem if the things that Rotom possesses weren't dramatically different sizes and most are larger than 1' (0.3m). Then I noticed that the only dramatically different forms that actually have heights in the Pokédex are Megas, Legendaries and Pumpkaboo. This just seems wrong.
*Mega Scizor, Goodra and Gliscor are all 6' 7'' (2.0m).
*Mega Scizor, Goodra and Gliscor are all 6' 7'' (2.0m).
Scolipede is the winner at 8' 2'' (2.5m)
On top of that Charizard, who's always depicted as being nearly 8 feet/2.5 meters tall in the anime, is only about a size of an average adult at 5 feet/1.7 meters.
And as mentioned a few Pokemon's height are skewed since they sometimes used their length instead of their height. This is particularly noticeable on the serpent and aquatic Pokemon. Here's some notable ones: Wailord, Rayquaza, Steelix, Kyogre, Giratina, Gyarados, Milotic, Zygarde, Dragonair, Arbok, Serperior, Thundurus Therian Forme, Seviper, Scolipede, Eelektross, Ekans, Yanmega, Goreybss, Furret, Dratini, Huntail. Pokemon who are quadruped can be either measure by their height or length. And finally Yveltal, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Mantine(?), and Crobat do seem to go by wingspan.
Maybe they should add alternate sizes like "Length" and "Wingspan" for the Pokemon those apply for?
Smaller Than Charizard: Landorus Therian & Incarnate Forme, Barbaracle, Tornadus Therian & Incarnate Forme, Thundurus Incarnate Forme, Genesect, Trevenant, Noivern, Metagross, Volcarona, Chesnaught
Same Size: Golduck, Victreebel, Swalot
Bigger Than Charizard: Dratini, Furret, Crobat, Scizor, Sharpedo, Sawsbuck, Venusaur, Ekans, Mewtwo, Slowking, Wailmer, Mega Glalie, Jellicent
Same Size: Golduck, Victreebel, Swalot
Bigger Than Charizard: Dratini, Furret, Crobat, Scizor, Sharpedo, Sawsbuck, Venusaur, Ekans, Mewtwo, Slowking, Wailmer, Mega Glalie, Jellicent
And as mentioned a few Pokemon's height are skewed since they sometimes used their length instead of their height. This is particularly noticeable on the serpent and aquatic Pokemon. Here's some notable ones: Wailord, Rayquaza, Steelix, Kyogre, Giratina, Gyarados, Milotic, Zygarde, Dragonair, Arbok, Serperior, Thundurus Therian Forme, Seviper, Scolipede, Eelektross, Ekans, Yanmega, Goreybss, Furret, Dratini, Huntail. Pokemon who are quadruped can be either measure by their height or length. And finally Yveltal, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Mantine(?), and Crobat do seem to go by wingspan.
Maybe they should add alternate sizes like "Length" and "Wingspan" for the Pokemon those apply for?
I think it's just an arbitrary number, although really that in itself is annoying
You know those city description signs that you see in every city? Well in ORAS, when you start your adventure in Littleroot, you get an awesome camera angle of the town when you talk to the sign. Same thing happens in Oldale (the next town just north, aka the most useless town in Hoenn). The sign does the same thing when you talk to it in Petalburg. You'd expect similar experiences to happen with signs in future cities except...none of them do that awesome camera thing after Petalburg.
Seriously, wtf Game Freak.
Seriously, wtf Game Freak.
You say this like Pacifidlog Town doesn't exist... That town itself annoys me.