I dunno if it's a popular opinion or not but I feel the physical-special split is one of the best things that happened in Pokemon (besides reusable TMs) . I loved both these features that it feels very "unfun" if the games are without them.
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Unpopular opinions
- Thread starter antemortem
- Start date
Here's an unpopular opinion for you guys: Hydreigon should be water/dragon type or it's mega should at least be this.
My case:
Hydreigon, although originally based on a tank, is a hydra. It's in the name 'Hydrei' and it has 3 heads. The Hydra is a mythological beast which is basically a multi headed dragon that lives in the water. The Hydra constellation is even to do with the water-the female water snake! The word Hydro is also a reference to water and the majority of the word is in the pokemon's name! It is harder to argue not for this typing to occur!
My case:
Hydreigon, although originally based on a tank, is a hydra. It's in the name 'Hydrei' and it has 3 heads. The Hydra is a mythological beast which is basically a multi headed dragon that lives in the water. The Hydra constellation is even to do with the water-the female water snake! The word Hydro is also a reference to water and the majority of the word is in the pokemon's name! It is harder to argue not for this typing to occur!
Unfortunately, Hydreigon is inspired by King Ghidorah and has nothing to do with Hydro. The word "drei" there is German for three, which is a rule in the naming of its family (Deino and Zweilous)
I read a page on the internet which says the inspiration for that creature came from an illustration of the Lernaean Hydra in a book about Greek Mythology. I then clicked on the link and found that it said it was " a serpentine water monster"
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"Mary sue" is a character archtype who is always right, can do no wrong, and is generally liked/respected by everyone even though we know nothing about them and our time with those characters they don't really do anything which warrants them being treated highly.
Cynthia seems to knows what's going on in the story but doesn't explain how. Also it feels like she has very little impact when she appears. Sure she gives you stuff you need to progress like HM01 Cut and the SecretPotion for the confused Psyducks, but when it comes to something important like stopping Cyrus she just stands to the side and let you handle things even though she's perfectly capable to do it. And we never really learn anything about her. We know she's Champion (which does explain why she's well respected, she's certainly also powerful), she's into myth and legends, and her grandmother and little sister lives in Celestic Town. But other than that?
Heck, the game even builds up the "mystery" about her like in BW I think Shauntel mentions she did research on Cynthia but didn't find much including her age. Now we don't know the other Champion's ages so why bring up Cynthia's? It feels like they're hinting something about her like is she older than she appears?
Now I don't dislike Cynthia. As I said she does help the player time to time and has a nice enough personality for what she shows of it. But it just feels her priorities are a bit skewed and she seems to go out of her way to keep things about herself mysterious for no apparent reason.
There are many multi-headed dragons in mythology. Japan has the Yamata no Orochi, Slavic mythology has the Zmey Gorynych, and Greek-Roman has another one in Typhon (which is the Hydra's father). Not all of these dragons live in the water, however they all are shown to be antagonistic and must be slewed by a hero at some point.
Also apparently in the interview with Ken Sugimori after abandoning the tank idea they did base it on Yamata no Orochi with giving it 3 heads instead of 8 to be less confusing (as Random Passerby noted, King Ghidorah is also based on the Yamata no Orochi, one movie specifically saying its a juvenile Orochi thus explaining the 3 heads). However I can't find the interview so take this with a grain of salt.
Also I think had it based on the Greek-Roman's Learnaean Hydra it would maybe be Dragon/Poison as the Hydra was more well known for his poisonous blood and breath than living near the water.
I also feel they were maybe trying to go with a "unique" type combination with Hydreigon. As a tank dragon it would have been Dragon/Steel which only a Legendary had as a type. Dragon/Water had been done by Kingdra and Palkia. With it more based on the Yamata no Orochi and other multi-headed dragons being antagonistic the Dark/Dragon was given its type.
People would have used it in Generation I if it wasn't screwed up. See, in Stadium, it was fixed. This combined with how crits were determined made the vast majority of Pokémon able to get a crit 255 out of every 256 attacks.
This is far from an unpopular opinion. That really improved the game.
Okay, can we please stop using the English name when discussing a Pokémon's origin*? Especially for ones made before X and Y when there would be months between game releases in which the English names would be made?
*Of course, there are those who share names, such as Pikachu and a lot of Legendaries (which Game Freak actually has strives for to have universal names for).
While I would say it would be a good idea to check the Japanese name, for Hydreigon it wouldn't have mattered. Hydreigon's Japanese name is Sazandora which comes from "sa/san" (three) and "dora" comes from "gidora" which is the Japanese way of spelling "hydra".
True, but I was just voicing my feelings on this trend.
I don't get why people keep calling Cynthia a Sue when the Champion is kinda supposed to be a paragon of goodness, deserves respect by default because they're the Champion, and is an Ace that the player is supposed to strive to be like. I think people just like to hate on the fact she got a bit more focus and backstory than the others and is probably one of the hardest Champion fights.
she just took does traits up to 11, then they rode on her popularity by using and inside joke from other media and made her reappear in gen5. Its hard not to label either cynthia or the most recent snowflake sue zinnia as mary sue.
Zinnia they tried too hard. Cynthia, well, it felt like she earned it in Gen IV. Then they milked it in Gen V beyond my caring for it.
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I have no problem with her being good person, but some priorities wouldn't hurt. Like Cynthia, I'm glad you think I can take on Cyrus and calm Giratina and understand you're sort of training me so I'll be ready to battle you... but the world is at stake here! Either take down Cyrus while I try to calm Giratina or you calm Giratina while I take down Cyrus. My character is a kid going up against an insane cult leader and an angry Legendary Pokemon, I think this situation would require more than just some parental supervision! Just saying.
Backstory? What backstory? That's my other problem with her, she has a backstory but she won't tell it! Shauntel, a member of the Elite Four, can't find much info on her which tells me there's something up about Cynthia... but it doesn't mean anything if she's just going to act mysterious. She can appear all she wants, I'm fine with that, but could we learn a bit more about her when she does?
Cynthia has Mary Sue traits, she's maybe not a complete Mary Sue but had she not been the Champion these actions would be questionable. We're suppose to take it that she knows what's going on and what to do just because she's the Champion. Other Champions I felt more gave you an answer:
Lance: He's a G-man and it's more you stumbled upon his investigation than him appearing after you knowing what was going on. Also if it wasn't for him you wouldn't discover the entrance to Team Rocket's Mahogany lab (he also took care of one side of the generator and in HGSS did a double battle with you against Ariana and a grunt).
Steven & Wallace: Steven pretty much discovered information as you did and you meet Wallace with Steven so he probably knows from Steven. In Emerald Wallace takes you to Sky Pillar but the entrance caves him preventing him coming inside. In all Hoenn games They both Steven and Wallace decide to let the player handle things as Wallace needs to make sure Sootopolis is alright while Steven checks on the rest of Hoenn so both are being pro-active.
Alder: You can't get more involved than Alder battling N to try and stop him. Of course he loses because N has a Legendary though afterwards he does appear later to arrest Ghetsis along with Cheren.
Iris: She helps the player look for Team Plasma in Castelia City. Later you see her again in Opelucid City before leaving until the end, though she probably told Drayden what was going on.
Diantha: She's pretty much non-existent where the story is concerned. Cynthia is above Diantha in that regard as she's at least involved with what's going on even if she's mostly standing aside.
Zinnia is a complete Mary Sue and its because she doesn't get punished for ANYTHING. At least Cynthia never did anything you would say is bad (yeah she stayed to the side but at least you can confer that in-story had things gone beyond the player's control she can step in), but Zinnia? She almost caused the end of the world twice (telling Aqua/Magma about the Orbs & breaking the Link Cable despite not knowing if her plan would work (which it wouldn't have if it wasn't for the player)), physically attacked people even when she didn't need to, and kept teasing and withholding information she knew the people she was withholding it from needed said information. And yet she never got in trouble, instead we're meant to feel sorry for her when her plan failed.
I actually thought Diantha was the queen of the Mary Sue stereotype.
"I'm a Trainer myself, in my off time."
Getting praise everywhere, billboards, but when it comes to saving the world? Nahhh, too busy being a celebrity~
Yuk, she makes me want to puke.
Zinnia on the other hand, I experienced to be more like a whiny brat. At least the people in-game (like Steven) didn't approve of her behaviour. She really hurt my feels when she beat up my gf/bf. There's also a strong vibe that screams 'fake' about her. Or if I understood Darth Manaphy correctly, I agree that the creators tried way too hard to make her 'special' but ended up turning her character into a cliché because of this goal instead. Too much illogical, chosen one, tragic back-story, almost destroying the world, and just being arrogant and unnecessarily mean going on with her.
Cynthia was just never memorable enough for me. Like Pikachu pointed out, there's no backstory on her, even though she's a champion. I just remembered her as 'strong champion guardian mentor person'. That was it. I didn't mind, but didn't appreciate either. She's the least Mary Sue out of those three in my opinion though, because through her in-game lines you can gather she has actually battled her way to the top. Compare to Diantha, who only has a following because of her status as a 'celebrity', or Zinnia, whose followers are all religious cult folk.
"I'm a Trainer myself, in my off time."
Getting praise everywhere, billboards, but when it comes to saving the world? Nahhh, too busy being a celebrity~
Yuk, she makes me want to puke.
Zinnia on the other hand, I experienced to be more like a whiny brat. At least the people in-game (like Steven) didn't approve of her behaviour. She really hurt my feels when she beat up my gf/bf. There's also a strong vibe that screams 'fake' about her. Or if I understood Darth Manaphy correctly, I agree that the creators tried way too hard to make her 'special' but ended up turning her character into a cliché because of this goal instead. Too much illogical, chosen one, tragic back-story, almost destroying the world, and just being arrogant and unnecessarily mean going on with her.
Cynthia was just never memorable enough for me. Like Pikachu pointed out, there's no backstory on her, even though she's a champion. I just remembered her as 'strong champion guardian mentor person'. That was it. I didn't mind, but didn't appreciate either. She's the least Mary Sue out of those three in my opinion though, because through her in-game lines you can gather she has actually battled her way to the top. Compare to Diantha, who only has a following because of her status as a 'celebrity', or Zinnia, whose followers are all religious cult folk.
Actually, your opinion on Cynthia is my opinion of Diantha. To be honest, she just wasn't...present enough in the story to really leave any sort of lasting impression. It was like "Oh, I'm an actress!" then it was like "Oh! I know Sycamore and Lysandre" then it was like "Oh, I'm also the champion!". Really...like not memorable.
Perhaps I've come to hate her more over several playthroughs. The billboards, Sycamore's praise, Lysandre's praise (and awkward remark), her wannabe 'philosophical' lines now and then. Brrrrr. I'd take Cynthia over that any time.
"You both have lovely names. Oh, and you're both Trainers! Don't your Pokémon look happy?"
:/
"Bonds... They really are important to us all, aren't they? When I'm acting, I think I'm always trying to forge a bond between myself and the character I'm playing. If all I think about is how I'm nothing like a character, then I'll just hate playing it. But if I focus on what I have in common with the character and put myself in her shoes, I might be able to understand her. It's the same for people--or Pokémon."
"Oh, never mind me! I'm just babbling about my own things. Let's have a battle the next we meet, shall we? I'm still looking forward to it!"
o_Ô
"As you must know, I am the Champion, Diantha. Oh, but you are... You're the child I spoke to in Lumiose City and Coumarine City, aren't you?! Then that means that you are also the one that dear Augustine said... Of course! How could I--?! Oh, I must look like such a fool not to recognize you sooner! You and your Pokémon are the ones who stopped Team Flare for us all! It seems wrong of me to say this, but thank you! You saved us all... I can't wait to see what you and your Pokémon are capable now that I know exactly what it is you've done already!"
o益o
"Oh my! I never thought I would meet you here! Honestly, I didn't! Oh, but--silly me--I should at least do these things right… As Champion and as Grand Duchess of the Battle Chateau, I, Diantha, challenge you."
Ò益Ó
!#@$!%@%
There aren't a lot of things that can make me angry. Especially fictional characters are usually just ignored if I don't like them, but Diantha and her species, ... man, that's really my trigger in this regard.
That's exactly why I remember her though... as I've said before, I love how we had barely any info on the champion in XY. I immediately knew Steven was the champion when I played AS (I never did the originals.) etc. But with Diantha it was completely unexpected that she would be the champion to me. That's why I like her, she's not a favorite, but I still like her.
EDIT: Favorite title goes to Steven. :P
I'm not sure how, but before I started seeing other people's opinions and before platinum, I thought Cynthia seemed like she was kind of lost, like she felt insecure. And she decided to look into mythology for answers. Really not sure why I made that connection. Because of that though, I never got the feeling that she had confidence in herself.
Heck, Alder seemed to be more sure of who he was and of right and wrong. He had a weakness (which N kicked after already beating him), but it only seemed to make Alder a more real character. Cynthia... it's like she's trying to appear mysterious but is just as lost as you.
Diantha on the other hand has way too little lime light for an actor. She's just there to increase the player's glory. At least Malva seems a bit loyal to her, even if her intentions are more from being ticked off at the player.
Heck, Alder seemed to be more sure of who he was and of right and wrong. He had a weakness (which N kicked after already beating him), but it only seemed to make Alder a more real character. Cynthia... it's like she's trying to appear mysterious but is just as lost as you.
Diantha on the other hand has way too little lime light for an actor. She's just there to increase the player's glory. At least Malva seems a bit loyal to her, even if her intentions are more from being ticked off at the player.
Now that sounds like an interesting idea. Cynthia seeks life answers from mythology as some do from religion and models her believes accordingly. Mythology is filled with mysterious characters so she too tries to hide personal information (she may also think many would find it odd she uses mythology as her basis for believe (disregarding at one time these mythological tales probably were part of a religion)). I bet she's an Arceist. Probably the whole time during the HGSS event when Arceus was using its power to create one of the Spacetime Dragon she was internally squeeing; like a Christian seeing Jesus healing the sick.
It was the way they did it. The other Champions were either busy with something (Steven, Wallace, Alder) or just un-involved with the final battle (Lance, Iris, Diantha). But Cynthia was right there watching. And it's not like they couldn't have her do something, Giratina is supposedly throwing a hissy fit in the background so she could have said she'll be trying to calm it while we battle Cyrus (and once we're done with Cyrus it'll be revealed Giratina actually wants to battle us). It'll be her doing something instead of wishing she had a bowl of popcorn as she watched us battle.
Well shoot, now I think about it, that's pretty much damning proof "Arceism" is canon. It doesn't rule out the possibility of other poke-gods, but it's a pretty good indicator that legends about Arceus creating stuff are legit.
So how do we justify legendary vs in battle abilities? Cuz honestly I'd just have my Arceus create whatever counter I needed while he stays safe in another space/time stream/phantom zone.
More on topic, is believing in Arceism's truth being canon popular or unpopular opinion? Think I'm now a believer.
Pretty sure GF once said that Arceus being the creator was canon.
I swear this has come up at least five different times in the past year.
EDIT: Of course Bulbapedia has like no sources on that. Regardless, the evidence is pretty overwhelming and lots of lore about Legendaries/Mythicals checks out.
I swear this has come up at least five different times in the past year.
EDIT: Of course Bulbapedia has like no sources on that. Regardless, the evidence is pretty overwhelming and lots of lore about Legendaries/Mythicals checks out.
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I can think of several theories:
1. Pokeball act as limiters. It's why the villain team always seek to capture the Legendary in another way besides a Pokeball.
2. The Legendary has a sense of fair play. In many of the games the Legendary has chosen to battle against the player to test them.
3. The Legendary's power applies to what they can do and not exactly their stats. That or they prefer to preserve their power for when its time to use it, them being naturally strong enough to regular battles.
You'll probably have to look through character quotes for specific mentions of Arceus being the creator. Though I did find something interesting when searching through Cynthia's quotes:
This makes it sound like Cynthia is applying there are multiple Arceus. Could my theory of Arceus a metaphysical being and what we see is just an avatar it created be true? Hmm...
Well, if you take Zinnia's implied statements as canon, every single copy of the game is its own universe and thus has its own creator. When you trade you create an interdimensional rift and so with trading Arceus, you're literally removing the creator of the universe from its creation.