Pokémon Presents - Pokémon Day 2025 - Pokemon ZA Info & Pokemon Champions Announced

R_N said:
More seriously I'm unsure how much we should really pay attention to the description of "melting steel". It is a particular phrasing, but these kind of descriptions tend to exaggerate especially for megas and sometimes it's more general purpose rather than mechanical. Especially since it pairs that with melting concrete. Like how Dragalge's poison can melt tankers & boat hulls. The point might just be to underline "wow the poison is like REALLY strong now!!"




Remember when people thought Blood Moon Ursaluna would be steel type
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Just wanted to preface that I’m not laughing at you (referring to my post reaction), I’m laughing at the Ursaluna bit, because I don’t see anything Steel in that design at all. I do think it’s more likely than not that Mega Victreebel doesn’t get something for Steel-Types, though, at least not in Legends ZA. I don’t see Sunny Day Weather Ball being carried over so maybe this would be “replaced”…? I don’t know, this Mega is weird, folks. This could be designed any number of ways.
 
bdt2002 said:
Just wanted to preface that I’m not laughing at you (referring to my post reaction), I’m laughing at the Ursaluna bit, because I don’t see anything Steel in that design at all. I do think it’s more likely than not that Mega Victreebel doesn’t get something for Steel-Types, though, at least not in Legends ZA. I don’t see Sunny Day Weather Ball being carried over so maybe this would be “replaced”…? I don’t know, this Mega is weird, folks. This could be designed any number of ways.
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it was because we had a dex entry that said its mud was as hard as iron, but no type data.

bonus points for centro, as always, stating this fan theory with full confidence as fact
 
Watch out, here comes a rant!


To be honest even after a bit I still dont get what they were trying to do with M-Dragonite design wise, if it was supposed to to reference dragonair then i dont think they did a good job with it.
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The mega doesnt have anything connecting them together I guess you can argue the wings but dragonairs wings look nothing like M-Dragonites and the crystal orb feels weirdly slapped on to the tail the body shape hasnt changed and there isnt anything refrencing the blue serpentine look that made people like dragonair, was that really the best they can do with that concept like
"What if dragonite looked more kike dragonair"?

I dunno, am i missing something here???
 
tentaghost said:
The mega doesnt have anything connecting them together I guess you can argue the wings but dragonairs wings look nothing like M-Dragonites and the crystal orb feels weirdly slapped on to the tail the body shape hasnt changed and there isnt anything refrencing the blue serpentine look that made people like dragonair, was that really the best they can do with that concept like
"What if dragonite looked more kike dragonair"?

I dunno, am i missing something here???
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It's literally just the head wings, the small horn, and the orbs on the longer tail.

No, really, that's it. They're as obvious as they get.
 
I feel like when people usually say they want Dragonite to look more like Dragonair, they’re picturing a sort of branch evo type of thing where you more-or-less dispense with Dragonite’s design altogether and make some elegant blue serpentine alternative.

Problem is, I doubt that GF had any interest in dispensing with Dragonite’s design altogether, in part because I suspect they simply don’t have the issue with the aesthetic clash that some fans do, and in part because that’s just not the kind of thing that Megas tend to do anyway. So if anything, I think Mega Dragonite is more about bringing a couple of Dragonair elements and making them more Dragonite-esque, rather than the other way around. It gets the feathers/wings on its head, but because Dragonite has always been more of a cutesy/dopey Pokémon, the wings are big and fluffy. It gets a mystical orb on its tail, but Dragonite’s tail has always been large and thick compared the Dragonair’s slender form, so the orb is one large feature instead of two small accents.

Personally I think Mega Dragonite is overall actually more on the subtle side compared to most Megas, and I like that. I think it’s nice to have some Megas that are less “let’s pump up the detail and edge factor of the original x10.”
 
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I love both Mega Dragonite and Victreebel, but I am confused on why these two are their first foot forward with the new Megas. Kanto is popular with the general public, obviously, but neither of these Megas really lean into the cool factor that defined Megas for a lot of people. Without going into the leaked line-up, I feel like it would have made more sense to lean into one as a goofier, less serious Mega to reveal (probably Victreebel, since it had a whole trailer and all) and then reveal a more conventionally cool/badass one to get people back on board.

But ultimately I’m not a corporate head at TPC, so this doesn’t actually matter to me. What I care about is that these two are Silly Guys and I really like them both, and I’m feeling super optimistic about the direction of the new Megas.
 
Just A Seaking said:
I love both Mega Dragonite and Victreebel, but I am confused on why these two are their first foot forward with the new Megas. Kanto is popular with the general public, obviously, but neither of these Megas really lean into the cool factor that defined Megas for a lot of people. Without going into the leaked line-up, I feel like it would have made more sense to lean into one as a goofier, less serious Mega to reveal (probably Victreebel, since it had a whole trailer and all) and then reveal a more conventionally cool/badass one to get people back on board.

But ultimately I’m not a corporate head at TPC, so this doesn’t actually matter to me. What I care about is that these two are Silly Guys and I really like them both, and I’m feeling super optimistic about the direction of the new Megas.
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I'm guessing Dragonite lead the charge because it's Dragonite. People like Dragonite and it is immediately recognizable and it's strong and is one of those Pokemon who hasn't gotten anything (visually). You look at it and immediately get to remember what megas are all about instead of taking the ones we have for granted.

After that that honestly I feel they no longer care. Generation differences, cool factor, whatever, I don't think it matters as much to them because they already have their foot in the door. It's new megas, they'll appeal to someone. It's not like when they introduced the concept where they needed to really push all the aesthetics at once and the kind of Pokemon that can get it.
Then just chose Victreebel next because they had a snuff film found footage gimmick and by god the guy at TPC who is in love with this aesthetic is going to get his dues and "horrifying poison spewing bag" works even if it's also a goofus.
 
See my main problem with M-Dragonite is t ike the segin itself is less the concept and more the execution where regardless of what was the general idea gamefreak had when designing it I dont think they pulled it off well which is why i ask "was this really the best you can do"?

That being said though the design itself is just okay its similar to dundunsparce for me in terms of "nice in concept iffy in execution".


(M-victreebel is also kind of an "eh" design to me though i like the fact that if you turn its face upside down it looks like homer simpson)
 
I haven’t stated my opinions on mega victreebel beyond its resemblance to a boss fight in shadow the hedgehog, so I should probably do so.

As silly and humorous as mega victreebel is, it at least tries to make severe changes and isn’t merely the original mon with features of its pre evolution poorly added in (why do its head wings face forward with it faces left?), its a bold design and certainly stands out, even if its a joke mega like mega slowbro.
 
tentaghost said:
That being said though the design itself is just okay its similar to dundunsparce for me in terms of "nice in concept iffy in execution"
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Maybe this is my Johto bias showing a little bit but I think Dudunsparce is unironically brilliant game design. The fans had all these wacky, out-there ideas for what a Dunsparce evolution could look like for such a long time just for Game Freak to quite literally do the absolute bare minimum. The entire point of the Pokémon is that it’s redundant. I love it.
 
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tentaghost said:
Watch out, here comes a rant!


To be honest even after a bit I still dont get what they were trying to do with M-Dragonite design wise, if it was supposed to to reference dragonair then i dont think they did a good job with it.View attachment 765901View attachment 765902

The mega doesnt have anything connecting them together I guess you can argue the wings but dragonairs wings look nothing like M-Dragonites and the crystal orb feels weirdly slapped on to the tail the body shape hasnt changed and there isnt anything refrencing the blue serpentine look that made people like dragonair, was that really the best they can do with that concept like
"What if dragonite looked more kike dragonair"?

I dunno, am i missing something here???
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Too many people just look at the still of the art and not tell what it looks like mid flight. the Alola anime had several episodes of Dragonair flying so we get plenty of shots like 1755912370661.png 1755912400963.png and even as far back as first/2nd gen we get
ec22s98h9gef1.gif


Plus, its an "evolution" on Dragonair's wings as Dragonair's is an evolution on Dratini's.
 
Bakugames said:
im not a shooter for dragonite but esserise is right, the mega feels exactly what people wanted short of just making a new design for dnite. like did you guys also want it to be blue and on ozempic or something
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Yes.

Or at least, if it's supposed to reference Dragonaire, I do. "Blue and serpentine" are the first two words I think of when I think of that mon. If they went in a completely different direction for MDnite, I'd be judging that design on it's own merits. But head wings and a ball on the tail are not the distinguishing features of Dragonaire to me.
 
Hugin said:
Or at least, if it's supposed to reference Dragonaire, I do. "Blue and serpentine" are the first two words I think of when I think of that mon. If they went in a completely different direction for MDnite, I'd be judging that design on it's own merits. But head wings and a ball on the tail are not the distinguishing features of Dragonaire to me.
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that sounds extremely boring and also kinda silly. the head wings and orbs are pretty important to dragonair because theyre literally the only things making it any different from dratini in the first place. in fact blue and serpentine is more of a dratini thing because thats where you start the line, dragonairs main feature is the head wings and ball, just like venusaurs most important trait is the tree, and not the green frog body, because the green frog body has been there forever and theres no way to make a callback to it with just that

also that design would just kinda suck dogshit:
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neither of these concepts do anything other than look like the most underwhelming fan design of "WHAT IF DRAGONITE MADE SENSE!!!!", theyre not goofy, not funny and not even elegant because dnite has a funny little goofass face and stubby legs. and they remove the only good part of the line that is dnite being a fat dragon
 
Personally I like Mega Victreebel more than Mega Dragonite. I get what they were going for with Dragonite, with it getting more Dragonair-like elements. I don't quite get why they were going for this tho. It doesn't really feel like there's anything in Dragonite's identity that resonates with the idea of going back to Dragonair. I know its a thing some fans have asked for some time but to me that always kinda came across as wanting it bc they don't like Dragonite's design moreso than wanting it because it'd make sense for the mon. so while I understand the concept, it doesn't really feel like it has any in-world reason to look like Dragonair

Mega Victreebel meanwhile feels like it amplifies what's already there with its base form. Base produces acid in its body so the mega produces so much acid that it needs to force itself shut to not overflow. Base Victreebel has a sweet aroma so the mega vaguely resembles a perfume bottle and has a huge leaf it uses to fan the smell around. The entire Bellsprout line looks really stupid so Mega Victreebel looks ten times stupider

I don't dislike Mega Dragonite or anything but imo Mega Victreebel does a much better job at feeling like a cohesive next step in its evolutionary line
 
Dunsparce becoming some kind of badass dragon would essentially just be making it Magikarp 4.0, which just feels really uninspired to me compared to finding a way to accentuate its inherent silliness.

AquaticPanic said:
so while I understand the concept, it doesn't really feel like it has any in-world reason to look like Dragonair
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It’s a minor thing, certainly not to the extent of spikes and pointy chins, but I do think that between Tyranitar, Mewtwo Y, and Aerodactyl, there is at least a bit of a precedent for “the Mega incorporating elements of some previous state” being part of the optional grammar for Mega Evolution designs.
 
This is probably a weird take when I like Mega Victreebel and get why so many people like it, but I feel like should be getting more hate than it's getting. I know there's only so much you can do with Victreebel and I get why it's not getting as much as much hate as Mega Dragonite, but making a "super form" of a Pokemon be a sack feels like it should be getting more backlash than it's getting. It's supposed to look like it's super powerful, not like a bag of loot! :P
 
CTNC said:
This is probably a weird take when I like Mega Victreebel and get why so many people like it, but I feel like should be getting more hate than it's getting. I know there's only so much you can do with Victreebel and I get why it's not getting as much as much hate as Mega Dragonite, but making a "super form" of a Pokemon be a sack feels like it should be getting more backlash than it's getting. It's supposed to look like it's super powerful, not like a bag of loot! :P
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Honestly, same. I knew its description from leaks so when it became obvious it was gonna be officially revealed I was kinda dreading it, expecting some mix of "it looks way too stupid and silly for a mega evolution" and "ugh, more kanto". Obviously there's been some of that but in general I've been pleasantly surprised by how positive the general reaction has been

Lack of expectations definitely played a role here. Dragonite's been one of the most requested and theorized new Megas for over a decade so there were plenty of people to be let down by the official result whereas Victreebel has always been on the lower rung for Kanto mon popularity, James superfans notwithstanding
 
Oh, shoot, I just realized something! Completely forgot to mention this earlier in the week and it’s already Friday/Saturday (depending on your time zone). Seeing specific people get excited for extremely specific things they care about’s always been one my favorite parts of being a Pokémon fan, but thinking about this reminded me of some reports I overheard coming from the Legends ZA demo. I’ll just cut to the chase on what I read online because it’s the Internet and it’s obviously true, right?

I’ve seen at least two separate people (which is enough for me) claim that there are obstacles in the overworld that require certain Pokémon and moves to clear, and I’m not talking about stuff like HMs or the usual ride Pokémon (though I do like those too). We’re talking about obstacles that, depending on the scenario, may be required for the story or optional and can’t just be broken by a Pichu or whatever else like you could find wild Pokemon and items with in Hisui.

To most of you this probably doesn’t mean that much, but take a look at who’s posting this again. Have you made the connection yet? Hey, I’ve been conflicted since quite literally Day 1 on if I even want to graze this game after the sheer whiplash I got from the Kalos announcement. I’ve gotten over that since then, we definitely needed another Kalos game I will admit… but I have to say… if this game’s going to be using “Field Moves” similar to how these games did it, after how much Legends: Arceus felt like a love letter to the DS era of spin-offs… I won’t lie, that is actually kind of tempting.
 
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