GAMEFREAK, YOU WAIT TILL SIDE MISSION 100 TO GIVE THE EVIOLITE?!?! WHY? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?
Though honestly I can say that about a lot of the side mission awards for Legends: ZA...
AND we continue with the nonsensical Side Mission awards!
I just now got all the Type Power-Up items. You know, Charcoal, Mystic Water, Miracle Seed, etc.. If you've been doing them in order, Mission 102 gives you the last one. Now, no matter what it is, that's still FAR too late into the game to be giving you any of these items, especially when earlier awards has given you more stronger/strategic items like Leftovers (Side Mission 68/around Main Mission 20), Shell Bell (67/20), Life Orb (85/26), Focus Sash (59/20), Weakness Policy (86/30), & Assault Vest (71/24). But still, want to guess which one it is? What Type got its Power-Up item last?
Dragon? No, got the Dragon Fang from 91 (MM31).
Fairy? Ha, nope, you actually get Fairy Feather earlier with 42 (MM15).
Steel? Close, it's the second-to-last awarded from 101 (MM35)
It's the Never-Melt Ice, Side Mission 102 (after a notable point in Main Mission 35). If you thought that the games having Ice-types obtainable early was the end of the Ice-type shafting, GameFreak has once again found another way to show their disdain for the Type. You'd think that the Side Mission for the Never-Melt Ice would have popped up around the time Wild Zone 12 appeared (or, heck, you'd find the Never-Melt Ice somewhere in the Wild Zone). Infact that's where Mission 102 happens, it's a battle with an Ice-type Trainer in Wild Zone 12! So, what was the hold-up? We have so many earlier side missions which gives rather inconsequential awards, they couldn't swap out some of those for ones which gave Type Power-Up items?
Out of curiosity, I decide to look ahead at the awards of future Side Missions to see if there's anything notable after this:
- Light Ball. Really? Note we've been able to capture Pikachu since Wild Zone 3 (and there's a Pichu in Wild Zone 1!); you'd think with Pikachu being the mascot of the franchise they'd want its exclusive power-up item available early enough where you'd even think of using a Pikachu instead of immediately evolving it into a Raichu cause, you know, the Stone Emporium is RIGHT THERE.
- Lucky Egg. Now, I guess this one isn't so bad as honestly leveling-up your Pokemon is pretty easy if you don't mine a bit of a grind, and if anything it could be taken as a suggestion that maybe at this point in the game you should consider completing the Mable Research tasks.
- A 2nd Metal Coat. I guess if you want both a Steelix and Scizor on your team before the end of the game?
- Expert Belt. You'd think you'd get this way earlier, like I always grouped Expert Belt with the Muscle Band and Wise Glasses. Though those also are given wide apart, Wise Glasses is actually given reasonably early in Side Mission 21 during Main Mission 8... but Muscle Band you gotta wait till Side Mission 56/Main Mission 20 for!
Did no one on GF really take a second to think "hey, shouldn't we be giving out these items during the point of the story where the player would likely be using them?". And it's especially notable for THIS GAME where Mega Evolution made its comeback AND you can now Mega Evolve MULTIPLE Pokemon! I'm pretty sure most players probably planned a team of all Mega Pokemon, thus all their Pokemon would be holding their Mega Stones; So you'd want to have the Held Items given out early on during the point where the player may consider using them for a Pokemon that either doesn't have their Mega Stone available or for Pokemon they like that can't Mega Evolve but want on the team anyway. And as I said, a lot of these items are honestly just clutches until you get the strong/strategic held items which you would consider maybe having a Pokemon on your otherwise all Mega team have.
(Actually, I just had a funny thought for Eviolite: what if it gave defensive boosts to Pokemon that have a Mega Evo? Not as much as a 50% increase, but maybe a 1/3rd)
