The introduction of Larry into the Pokemon franchise means we're one step closer to seeing this become a reality.
Give us the feature-length animation of Larry working his office job, Game Freak.
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Give us the feature-length animation of Larry working his office job, Game Freak.
To be honest, "mundane pokemon stuff" is something i surprisingly crave when it comes to this franchise.
One of the things I appreciated the most of moving to 3d openworld-ish games in SwSh/LA/SV has been seeing more "day to day life" in pokemon cities, more ways to see how those "magic animals" work in this fictional universe. Until SwSh large majority of "non battle pokemon appearances" in the games was just pokemon sprites / models standing and looking at something.
LA expecially had some refreshing small questlines where you would see people gradually introducing pokemon to their life and helping their day to day life. It was very charming. I need more of those.
One of the things I appreciated the most of moving to 3d openworld-ish games in SwSh/LA/SV has been seeing more "day to day life" in pokemon cities, more ways to see how those "magic animals" work in this fictional universe. Until SwSh large majority of "non battle pokemon appearances" in the games was just pokemon sprites / models standing and looking at something.
LA expecially had some refreshing small questlines where you would see people gradually introducing pokemon to their life and helping their day to day life. It was very charming. I need more of those.
Idk if posting this is strictly allowed (but it's nearly two decades old so hardly a hot topic)
Prior to the release of DP one of the more notorious fake designs floating around the Internet was this image of three new starters: a Psychic-type rhino, a Fighting-type infant kangaroo, and a Dark-type cat.
Ordinarily you can spot a fakemon a mile off because most artists don't bother to imitate Pokemon's official style, but these looked so plausibly real even if a moment's consideration made you realise a Dark-Fighting-Psychic starter trio was vanishingly unlikely. I love these little guys and think about them all the time. Part of me wishes a future game could have made them real (not necessarily as starters - I imagine them more as an early-game trio akin to the elemental monkeys in BW1). And they're miles cuter than some real designs we ended up with (looking at you, Purrloin).
Prior to the release of DP one of the more notorious fake designs floating around the Internet was this image of three new starters: a Psychic-type rhino, a Fighting-type infant kangaroo, and a Dark-type cat.
Ordinarily you can spot a fakemon a mile off because most artists don't bother to imitate Pokemon's official style, but these looked so plausibly real even if a moment's consideration made you realise a Dark-Fighting-Psychic starter trio was vanishingly unlikely. I love these little guys and think about them all the time. Part of me wishes a future game could have made them real (not necessarily as starters - I imagine them more as an early-game trio akin to the elemental monkeys in BW1). And they're miles cuter than some real designs we ended up with (looking at you, Purrloin).
If my signature didn't tip you off I am one of 4 hardcore Emma fans on the planet so when I found out about this being added during Indigo Disk's release period I was absolutely ecstatic. Any confirmation I can get that this wonderful little character hasn't been forgotten is priceless. it's also the entire foundation of my copium that Z-A will be an XY sequel where we'll see adult Emma
Are you aware she is a sync pair in Pokemon Masters? (With Crobat, not Espurr, though). She's not currently available (except by pure luck in the mix scout, which is a paid in-game currency only slot machine), but if you save up 36.6k gems you could guarantee getting her next time she's in a free-to-play banner. Or maybe you can just look up videos on YouTube and be satisfied. :P
I have signatures turned off so if there's something in there about Emma in Masters already then excuse the unnecessary post. :)
I am fully aware of this! The fact she got a battle theme is so peak....
While looking up items for the hardest items to get thread, I was looking through the Relic Items. As a reminder those are the 6 items you can find in the Abyssal Ruins in BW1/2 and sell for $$$$$.
They get carried forward, with descriptions (even to this day they have updated ones internally) and icons, but you've yet to be able to obtain them past those games...except the Relic Gold.
For whatever reason, you could obtain Relic Gold specifically in ORAS & Gen 7. ORAS you could obtain it through the Global Link Delibird giveaway as a held item (Then you could trade it to XY, I guess); Gen 7 released it through the Pokemon Scrap campaign.
It just tickles me. Only this one specific item and only through events. It's also the only one that had sell data applied to it seemingly, so it was something specifically singled out for this purpose.
They get carried forward, with descriptions (even to this day they have updated ones internally) and icons, but you've yet to be able to obtain them past those games...except the Relic Gold.
For whatever reason, you could obtain Relic Gold specifically in ORAS & Gen 7. ORAS you could obtain it through the Global Link Delibird giveaway as a held item (Then you could trade it to XY, I guess); Gen 7 released it through the Pokemon Scrap campaign.
It just tickles me. Only this one specific item and only through events. It's also the only one that had sell data applied to it seemingly, so it was something specifically singled out for this purpose.
This account very often bangs
Both versions of Persian got revamped too.
There's this video about Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon with a section about the appeal of Pokemon that more than touches on this. You're not alone in appreciating the mundane stuff in the Pokemon world - it's a central pillar of the setting's charm. It's a utopia that's not terribly different, just life in a first world country but better and with funny little elemental critters roaming around. For a lot of people, perhaps even a majority, the fantasy isn't being a Pokemon trainer but having a Pokemon as your companion in day-to-day life, whether it be playing fetch with Growlithe or gardening with the help of Grass and Water types.
The relevant video is entitled "Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon is Clearly Peak Pokemon". Check it out, it's pretty good!
Thinking about it, Volo is the only mayor villain who didn't give up or was somehow unable to continue their plan by the end of the game (I guess you could count Platinum Cyrus too, as while he is on the Distorsion World, he is last seen claiming he will archieve his goal). It's kind of refreshing, trough I guess you could argue he's not as direct of a threat as the evil team leaders.
Also, I remembered how there was some data about Megas in a LA datamine- I wonder if they intended to bring them back even sooner. They would not have been away for any single gen if they had done so.
Also, I remembered how there was some data about Megas in a LA datamine- I wonder if they intended to bring them back even sooner. They would not have been away for any single gen if they had done so.
I'd argue he did basically give up, considering he just walks away beyond admitting what he did and giving us a final hint.
His end speech felt more like an ironic call forward; that it was meant to be something he was going to pass through his descendants but Cynthia didn't do that Cyrus did.
I assume the stubs from that were probably just leftovers they didn't adequately scrub like they did with SWSH & BDSP, since it's not like anything in L:A really indicates they were ever on the table. Perhaps they were from an earlier fork of SWSH, for example.
I feel like I’m in the middle of an admittedly very welcome “positivity streak” over the past week and a half or so, so because I don’t want to go to bed yet or do anything else productive, let’s take a moment to acknowledge some positives about the Nintendo Switch Pokémon games, something that for the longest time I loved to hate.
The focus of this post takes me to what I’ve gone on record saying is (one of) my least favorite regions in the series. That claim honestly isn’t Galar’s fault, though- if anything, it feels more like a Diamond & Pearl or an X & Y situation where the appeal of the region goes up significantly should the region receive a true definitive version, something that only one of those two examples ever got while it was the current generation. In other words, my strong dislike of Sword & Shield has honestly clouded me to how appealing Galar actually seems should I be willing to look past my personal biases.
Credit where credit is due- as rushed as these Switch era Pokémon games have felt (and been), you can’t deny that when the environmental work for these regions works, it works really well. The presumably newer, younger workers at the mercy of Game Freak and The Pokémon Company’s corporate greed are absolutely not to blame for some of these games’ problems, because the ones doing all of the grunt work seem to be putting their heart and soul into their craft, and in a day and age where AAA gaming looks more bleak than it has in a long, long time, their effort definitely shows. Galar alone has some of the best texture work in the core series in the actual environments- a shame the same can’t be said about the reused Pokémon models- and the different locales seem to be full of interesting references to British culture that I either A. never noticed and still might gloss over, or B. took for granted because I was naive and didn’t want to take my nostalgia glasses off.
Going into the 2020s with Galar’s DLC, BDSP, Hisui, and Paldea (that’s a lot of games), some of these positive notes were lost over time, but new ones arrived in their place. The actually new Pokémon models have been mentioned before, but the human characters started gaining a lot more personality during this time, and even the Paldea region has a few decently looking locations if you know where to find them. I know it might seem counterintuitive to mention human characters in a post about graphics design, but the connecting factor here is that these characters’ designs manage to fit the context of their games’ stories really well. Think how the Galar Gym Leaders rep their type’s Gym uniform to fit the region’s themes, or how the Paldea “friend group” manages to feel distinct from each other not just in each story route but in their physical designs as well. Details like these are very easy for older Pokémon fans like me (assuming you’d count me in my early 20s as old) to take for granted, but… honestly, looking at these components of game design helps me to appreciate the Switch era and especially Galar a lot more, even if it’s still far from my personal favorite regions on a gameplay enjoyment level.
The focus of this post takes me to what I’ve gone on record saying is (one of) my least favorite regions in the series. That claim honestly isn’t Galar’s fault, though- if anything, it feels more like a Diamond & Pearl or an X & Y situation where the appeal of the region goes up significantly should the region receive a true definitive version, something that only one of those two examples ever got while it was the current generation. In other words, my strong dislike of Sword & Shield has honestly clouded me to how appealing Galar actually seems should I be willing to look past my personal biases.
Credit where credit is due- as rushed as these Switch era Pokémon games have felt (and been), you can’t deny that when the environmental work for these regions works, it works really well. The presumably newer, younger workers at the mercy of Game Freak and The Pokémon Company’s corporate greed are absolutely not to blame for some of these games’ problems, because the ones doing all of the grunt work seem to be putting their heart and soul into their craft, and in a day and age where AAA gaming looks more bleak than it has in a long, long time, their effort definitely shows. Galar alone has some of the best texture work in the core series in the actual environments- a shame the same can’t be said about the reused Pokémon models- and the different locales seem to be full of interesting references to British culture that I either A. never noticed and still might gloss over, or B. took for granted because I was naive and didn’t want to take my nostalgia glasses off.
Going into the 2020s with Galar’s DLC, BDSP, Hisui, and Paldea (that’s a lot of games), some of these positive notes were lost over time, but new ones arrived in their place. The actually new Pokémon models have been mentioned before, but the human characters started gaining a lot more personality during this time, and even the Paldea region has a few decently looking locations if you know where to find them. I know it might seem counterintuitive to mention human characters in a post about graphics design, but the connecting factor here is that these characters’ designs manage to fit the context of their games’ stories really well. Think how the Galar Gym Leaders rep their type’s Gym uniform to fit the region’s themes, or how the Paldea “friend group” manages to feel distinct from each other not just in each story route but in their physical designs as well. Details like these are very easy for older Pokémon fans like me (assuming you’d count me in my early 20s as old) to take for granted, but… honestly, looking at these components of game design helps me to appreciate the Switch era and especially Galar a lot more, even if it’s still far from my personal favorite regions on a gameplay enjoyment level.
this post reminded me that you occasionally see random npcs using the starter lines in sinnoh, which i always thought was p neat.
(also ties into something else that i appreciate about those games, in that you can see (if not catch...) the entire sinnoh pokedex before the postgame. it's not quite pla levels of being able to finish the dex without trading, but it's p cool!)
(also ties into something else that i appreciate about those games, in that you can see (if not catch...) the entire sinnoh pokedex before the postgame. it's not quite pla levels of being able to finish the dex without trading, but it's p cool!)
I don't know, what I understood from his final lines in the game was that he wasn't surrendering and that he would even try to travel in time (he said something like 'No matter if it takes months, years, centuries' or something like that). Of course, he could've meant something like what you said about his descendants, but we don't have any evidence about him being Cynthia's ancestor apart from his physical appearence, which only suggests some familiar bond (Cynthia could even be descendant to other ancient Sinnohites who moved to other region e.g., those who left Cogita behind).
I expect Volo to show up again in a random place we don't expect him to be, having travelled in time with whichever method (Celebi, some rare energy like time-space dimensional drifts, Ultrawormwholes, etc.) and I wouldn't be surprised if that happened to be in Gen 10 or PLZA, to be honest.
Megas have been in every game code ever since XY, even if they don't happen to show up in-game. That is because part of the code is recycled in every game IIRC, so I don't think they ever planned to put megas in PLA; they were intended to be in SwSh at some point during development, though, as seen in this old leak from its beta, but they ultimately were scrapped in order to make Dynamax the main focus of the game.
I 100% agree and think it's so strange that they didn't make either of these a series staple. I get that it's cool for the current generation's starters to be rare and special, but when only one or two other trainers in the entire game have one (barring Gens 1 and 4) it makes it feel like they're catastrophically endangered, to the point where maybe they shouldn't be gifts for newbie trainers? It also leaves a really frustrating gap right at the start of your Pokedex!
Speaking of which, the ability to see every mon through trainer battles and overworld encounters was an inspired design choice in DPPt. With the right distribution of mons and trainers, you can encourage exploration and provide a mechanism for hinting at super-rare Pokemon without the player needing to randomly encounter them in the wild, while also making random trainer battles feel like research rather than just busywork or exp grinding.
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I know it's old news but I try to catch up with Horizons slowly because of how it's dubbed on my country (my family wants to see it with me with also helps so I don't bingewatch everything). The experience in general is much better than the anime was for me in so many years (the more plot heavy focus is really appreciated and NO obvious FILLER, sorry Ash fans) but specially the openings! Why are they, particularly the last one, so good and catchy?
I wasn't a big fan of the main trio going to Naranja academy, as I thought they wpuld not be able to replicate the SV storylines and the original stuff is more intriguing anyways. But seeing it can be a sort of sequel to the events of the game sounds fantastic to me!
If you had told me when SV releases that it would have a wonderful story and cast, followed by a large dex and a proper new anime that i would want to watch I wouldn't have believed you at all. I really picjed a good time to get back into the franchise, thanks LA.
I wasn't a big fan of the main trio going to Naranja academy, as I thought they wpuld not be able to replicate the SV storylines and the original stuff is more intriguing anyways. But seeing it can be a sort of sequel to the events of the game sounds fantastic to me!
If you had told me when SV releases that it would have a wonderful story and cast, followed by a large dex and a proper new anime that i would want to watch I wouldn't have believed you at all. I really picjed a good time to get back into the franchise, thanks LA.
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How Terastallization symbols (and symbolism) are around all the Paldea region and the game.
Let's start with the fact Tera is said to have a huge link to Paldea's soil (not to mention the theory about Paldea itself being an ancient, giant Terapagos) and, most importantly, Tera's symbol is a 6-tip star, which, without going through what it might reference in terms of IRL things, ressembles several other things in-game: it looks like a turtle (Terapagos); like literally a star (hinting at its space origin, given how it is implied to have come in a meteor that would've impacted on Paldea 2 million years ago); like a compass (which matchs the exploration theme of the game, the Treasure Hunt and stuff, and happens to be the official symbol of the Paldean Pokémon League & E4, as well as Naranja/Uva Academy's shape as seen from above); and, of course, a flower (Glimmora's 6 petals and dex entry clearly references this symbol and phenomenon too, respectively). Some even pointed out it also has some similarity to the Ultimate Weapon (as both are inspired by flowers as well) and we shouldn't forget that, while obvious, it is heavily featured on Terapagos' shell as well as Tera Orbs themselves.
Not only all of this, but look at the special effects/VFX that can be seen during Terastallization activation: from Terapagos' cry every time a Tera is triggered to the 6-tip stars (looking just exactly as the Tera symbol) which appear whenever Tera Blast or Tera Starstorm are used. Brightness seems to be really related to Tera, as it represents a treasure that glows. It is hinted by Geeta several times and we all know she was the main responsable for the Tera Orbs distribution (not invention though) and we can see Tera Crystals glowing with some stars like the Tera symbol. What's more interesting is, whenever you go to the Area Zero, there's some bright particles around everywhere which also remind us that place is the origin of Tera.
Because of all of this, I'd say this mechanic is really well implemented in-game in terms of art, and I'd also like to add that attention to detail in SV is way more interesting than it seems at a first glance. Even if the lore around this mechanic is still hidden and unexplored, I like it and I'd say, more of this, GameFreak.
EXTRA thing:
Now it's time for some weird stuff (just in case this hadn't sounded like a crackpot theory already!). What if Tera symbol also made a reference to quasars*? Think about it: quasars are quasi stellar objects which constitute a disc around a giant black hole (in fact there's some statues that may reference this in Artazon). The Area Zero (the hole at the center of both Tera's symbol and Paldea, provided the Tera symbol also referenced Paldea) is quite a black hole, at least, metaphorically: at the end of the day, no one had successfully escaped from it once they were inside of it, except for the Area Zero Expedition Team from 200 years ago and the most recent researchers after Heath. But everyone felt an otherwordly desire to reach its depths, like if the black hole pulled them; not even the professor was able to escape the infinite curiosity that ultimately led them to their demise...
*That logotype can be seen in the Pokémon Legends: Z-A reveal trailer from February.
Let's start with the fact Tera is said to have a huge link to Paldea's soil (not to mention the theory about Paldea itself being an ancient, giant Terapagos) and, most importantly, Tera's symbol is a 6-tip star, which
Not only all of this, but look at the special effects/VFX that can be seen during Terastallization activation: from Terapagos' cry every time a Tera is triggered to the 6-tip stars (looking just exactly as the Tera symbol) which appear whenever Tera Blast or Tera Starstorm are used. Brightness seems to be really related to Tera, as it represents a treasure that glows. It is hinted by Geeta several times and we all know she was the main responsable for the Tera Orbs distribution (not invention though) and we can see Tera Crystals glowing with some stars like the Tera symbol. What's more interesting is, whenever you go to the Area Zero, there's some bright particles around everywhere which also remind us that place is the origin of Tera.
Because of all of this, I'd say this mechanic is really well implemented in-game in terms of art, and I'd also like to add that attention to detail in SV is way more interesting than it seems at a first glance. Even if the lore around this mechanic is still hidden and unexplored, I like it and I'd say, more of this, GameFreak.
EXTRA thing:
Now it's time for some weird stuff (just in case this hadn't sounded like a crackpot theory already!). What if Tera symbol also made a reference to quasars*? Think about it: quasars are quasi stellar objects which constitute a disc around a giant black hole (in fact there's some statues that may reference this in Artazon). The Area Zero (the hole at the center of both Tera's symbol and Paldea, provided the Tera symbol also referenced Paldea) is quite a black hole, at least, metaphorically: at the end of the day, no one had successfully escaped from it once they were inside of it, except for the Area Zero Expedition Team from 200 years ago and the most recent researchers after Heath. But everyone felt an otherwordly desire to reach its depths, like if the black hole pulled them; not even the professor was able to escape the infinite curiosity that ultimately led them to their demise...
*That logotype can be seen in the Pokémon Legends: Z-A reveal trailer from February.
I do have some little things that I like, specifically from PLA (Pokemon Legends Arceus).
1. I really like the indicators when you attempt to catch a mon. I like how the ball wiggles in the air if it’s not a guaranteed catch, and I like how it does a small bounce if it’s guaranteed.
2. I like how the ride mons get a bit muddy when they move through the bogs in the Crimson Mirelands. It just makes the game slightly more realistic and lifelike.
3. BEING ABLE TO SELECT MULTIPLE MONS TO RELEASE. Absolutely wonderful feature. I’m sure this is universally liked by everyone who played PLA.
1. I really like the indicators when you attempt to catch a mon. I like how the ball wiggles in the air if it’s not a guaranteed catch, and I like how it does a small bounce if it’s guaranteed.
2. I like how the ride mons get a bit muddy when they move through the bogs in the Crimson Mirelands. It just makes the game slightly more realistic and lifelike.
3. BEING ABLE TO SELECT MULTIPLE MONS TO RELEASE. Absolutely wonderful feature. I’m sure this is universally liked by everyone who played PLA.
I can't believe we're potentially facing a scenario where all the pre-SV release coping about the crater's connections to Kalos may actually end up being vindicated
After finally having my brother play LA, I was reminded of how I really appreciate the way it plays with the player's expectations. Someone who has played the Sinnoh games will probably not think the Professor ancestor may be more of an antagonistic force than the Cyrus one, and may be jumpscared by the Cynthia lookalike being the first trainer battle. Yet they are not really in your face like other references in the series, and can be easily missed for newer players without really making their experiences worse (my brother has not played DPPt, and my ex partner had not played most Pokemon games yet both love it) as the story still has its own twists, trough I was spoiled about Volo so Beni was the one that surprised me. And after spending hours in battle factories and contests for my take on a Ribbon Master, the gameplay is just so fresh even when only watching it-there are so many little changes that I love. While obviously a flawed game that needed more polish, I just can't help but love it. After SV the story may not feel that amazing, but it holds up better than I remember. ZA will have a hard time living up to it on my eyes.
Somehow unrelated, his reactions to fighting Kleavor and Ursaluna are exactly the reason why cross-gen evos coming back is so great: they can be very exciting, specially when they throw a new type into the mix. (GF save Wyrdeer from evolution hell I beg you)
Somehow unrelated, his reactions to fighting Kleavor and Ursaluna are exactly the reason why cross-gen evos coming back is so great: they can be very exciting, specially when they throw a new type into the mix. (GF save Wyrdeer from evolution hell I beg you)
Gardenia (Masters EX)
Pokémon Center
- Random conversation
I think it must have been a Grass-type Pokémon!
'Cause, y'know, I can believe what I want, right?"
- If spoken to again
If it really was a Grass-type Pokémon that created the world, I think that deity definitely liked rain.
I mean, it must have, right? I think it also really loved rich soil, full of nutrients."
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The best part is how she's technically not wrong.