malamar hate train

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mysticmarshtomp said:
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should i worry? should i be afraid? of course not. malamar holds all the power of a small clump of dirt and is twice as unappealing. i am not worried. i am not afraid. and i will continue to fight back against the oppressive system of "this arbitrary mon is actually the best thing ever" humor with every fiber, every last strand of my heart, my soul, and my being. big malamar can try to stop my "slander", but will not ever succeed no matter how hard they try.
 
ok so mega malamar doesn't suck ngl it's pretty solid but i have an agenda of my own to maintain

i have appointed myself the conducter of this hate train and i will not stop until all of smogoff become passengers
 
chroma_2903 said:
ok so mega malamar doesn't suck ngl it's pretty solid but i have an agenda of my own to maintain

i have appointed myself the conducter of this hate train and i will not stop until all of smogoff become passengers
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Personally I was tolerating the forced meme to give it a chance, but after all that planted buildup, I have to say I don't see what's so different about Mega Malamar's "amplified" powers according to the website and its personality feels as artificial as its marketing.

https://legends.pokemon.com/en-us/story-world/pokemon/mega-malamar

Its Enhanced Psychic Power Can Take Over Someone’s Personality

Malamar’s brain has become enlarged as a result of Mega Evolution. Greatly enhanced psychic power overflows from its body, emitting a bright glow. This vividly colored light further amplifies the Pokémon’s hypnotic abilities, allowing it to freely overwrite the personalities or even memories of others—a terrifying power that can make someone seem like an entirely different person.
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I thought Malamar could already "take over someone's personality" when its X dex entry claims it "wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any Pokémon", among other dex entries listed below. This new lore just seems like it's making base Malamar less capable rather than making Mega Malamar really sound like an upgrade if that makes sense. If anything Malamar's weak point seems to be its lack of subtlety which the mega doesn't seem to address, or rather doubled down on it considering this whole marketing campaign.

X dex entry: It wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any Pokémon, and it forces others to do whatever it wants.
Shield dex entry: It's said that Malamar's hypnotic powers played a role in certain history-changing events.
Scarlet dex entry: Its hypnotic powers are dangerously strong. Anyone who falls under Malamar’s control loses their memories surrounding the event.
Violet dex entry: It flashes the luminescent spots on its body to hypnotize its opponents, gaining total control over them.

Highly Intelligent, with a Clever and Haughty Personality

Its glowing, undulating tendrils are able to pick up on the feelings of those around it. It prefers battling with efficiency, using its powerful intellect to analyze the situation with levelheadedness as it fights. Mega Malamar views others—even Pokémon Trainers—as its pawns. If it disagrees with an order given to it by a Trainer, it will sometimes respond by hypnotizing them, making this an incredibly difficult Pokémon to interact with.
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The other blurb tells us that Malamar is smart and can read minds like most other psychics I guess, and also it's a loose cannon that can turn on you.

My problem with this is that it doesn't really tell us anything about what Malamar does. We are simply told to believe that Malamar is so intelligent and can even pick up on people's feelings, but we are not shown how Malamar thinks or uses this information in its thought process to solve problems and/or manipulate people. As far as we know, Malamar's intellect and analytical skills could have nothing to do with its body happening to have hypnotic lights that it can instantly control people with. If Mega Malamar's brain was the size of a peanut with the exact same body and powers, then it would still be just as dangerous, if not more so with no sense of morality or reasoning keeping its chaos controlled.

Mega Malamar is the type of "smart" character that is purely defined by claimed feats, probably written out by Malamar itself. Imagine a story with an OC who is able to invent a cure for cancer or any given disease but with no details behind it. That character could claim to be the smartest character in that universe for doing so, but all in all it's more of a plot device rather than a character who actually has to think through their actions. That's Mega Malamar. (I also kind of mostly took this recalled metaphor from a description of a different character that I read about a few years ago but I think it fits here.)

If any more informed Malamar enthusiasts want to chime in then feel free, but to me the hype did not deliver.
 
chroma_2903 said:
should i worry? should i be afraid? of course not. malamar holds all the power of a small clump of dirt and is twice as unappealing. i am not worried. i am not afraid. and i will continue to fight back against the oppressive system of "this arbitrary mon is actually the best thing ever" humor with every fiber, every last strand of my heart, my soul, and my being. big malamar can try to stop my "slander", but will not ever succeed no matter how hard they try.
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doipy hooves said:
Personally I was tolerating the forced meme to give it a chance, but after all that planted buildup, I have to say I don't see what's so different about Mega Malamar's "amplified" powers according to the website and its personality feels as artificial as its marketing.

https://legends.pokemon.com/en-us/story-world/pokemon/mega-malamar


I thought Malamar could already "take over someone's personality" when its X dex entry claims it "wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any Pokémon", among other dex entries listed below. This new lore just seems like it's making base Malamar less capable rather than making Mega Malamar really sound like an upgrade if that makes sense. If anything Malamar's weak point seems to be its lack of subtlety which the mega doesn't seem to address, or rather doubled down on it considering this whole marketing campaign.

X dex entry: It wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any Pokémon, and it forces others to do whatever it wants.
Shield dex entry: It's said that Malamar's hypnotic powers played a role in certain history-changing events.
Scarlet dex entry: Its hypnotic powers are dangerously strong. Anyone who falls under Malamar’s control loses their memories surrounding the event.
Violet dex entry: It flashes the luminescent spots on its body to hypnotize its opponents, gaining total control over them.


The other blurb tells us that Malamar is smart and can read minds like most other psychics I guess, and also it's a loose cannon that can turn on you.

My problem with this is that it doesn't really tell us anything about what Malamar does. We are simply told to believe that Malamar is so intelligent and can even pick up on people's feelings, but we are not shown how Malamar thinks or uses this information in its thought process to solve problems and/or manipulate people. As far as we know, Malamar's intellect and analytical skills could have nothing to do with its body happening to have hypnotic lights that it can instantly control people with. If Mega Malamar's brain was the size of a peanut with the exact same body and powers, then it would still be just as dangerous, if not more so with no sense of morality or reasoning keeping its chaos controlled.

Mega Malamar is the type of "smart" character that is purely defined by claimed feats, probably written out by Malamar itself. Imagine a story with an OC who is able to invent a cure for cancer or any given disease but with no details behind it. That character could claim to be the smartest character in that universe for doing so, but all in all it's more of a plot device rather than a character who actually has to think through their actions. That's Mega Malamar. (I also kind of mostly took this recalled metaphor from a description of a different character that I read about a few years ago but I think it fits here.)

If any more informed Malamar enthusiasts want to chime in then feel free, but to me the hype did not deliver.
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these are all pretty good points that i agree with completely. i mostly like its design and it'll probably be at least kinda mechanically interesting but i agree the lore is very lacking

meanwhile the CHAD INKAY has solid lore and an amazing design as well, malamar simply cannot compare
 
I don't have strong feelings for or against malamar really, but it is hard for me to draw when I tried to draw it so decided I can share that. Won't insert link or the image of my malamar art tho >:3
 
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