Unpopular opinions

Wrave said:
Eon Flute is one of the best key items in the game, next to the bike. Eliminates fly completely, has an in game use other than traveling and the music while flying is absolutely amazing and relaxing.
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Sometimes I could do without the animation and time it takes to fly somewhere. Prefer using Fly for that reason.


Anyway, for this post my unpopular opinion is that the Pokemon franchise isn't being marketed to its fullest capabilities.

Specifically with the anime, yes it's targeted at kids but that doesn't mean the writing has to be awful. The Manaphy film was bad but really has there been a decent one after the Darkrai movie? If youre placing your product on a large scale platform you damn well should make sure it's display is quality. I feel a lot of laziness emanating from their writing department. I'm not asking for Pixar-depth & complexity but they could at least do Dreamworks.
 
Gabe said:
The Manaphy film was bad but really has there been a decent one after the Darkrai movie?
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I'd vouch for the Keldeo movie or Zoroark.

That said, my big problem is that the anime's laziness pushes one of my biggest peeve buttons. The reason it's kept simple, that Ash isn't ever going to win a league or develop at all as a character is because it's for kids and they want to keep it easy to follow for kids.

I just hate that mentality (conscious or not) because it's damaging two-fold: older fans don't have anything to go back to or enjoy when they get older and aren't entertained by the brand alone, while it's kind of insulting to think that something lazy and simple is either all kids deserve or all kids can handle. Look at shows like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, heck, even Digimon or TMNT (which are also merchandise driven shows). All of them are perfectly kid friendly, but they're not averse to character development, over arching continuity, or mature (not explicit, just more refined) writing.

It's not even a case of lacking competence persay, but the structure and plots of the anime clearly indicate they're neither trying nor even the slightest bit inclined to try something beyond the formulaic cliches the core of the anime has become.
 
You seem to ignore show conception format, you have to compare Pokémon more to shows like GI Joe in the West or if anything the PreCure master race, those shows you are mentioning are coming from a second Renaissance of animation and where scheduled and formated to work in such way, also discount TMNT wich is a comic and as such already has his universe and different continuities to work with TV adaptations.

With that said let's go back to the 2 big monsters of marketing being the all American writing with Japanese animation for a global marketing strategy that the decades old GI Joe cartoon has(I'm even tempted to call it an Anime for its production values and studios involved at this point) GI Joe thorough 4 decades has used a 21 minutes comercial format for its several incarnations and toy lines with several degrees of animation while also being one of the few that dodged the dark ages of Hanna Barbera cartoons in the West due to its Anime production value, each of its incarnations featured arcs and conclusions before their reboot until the events that lead us to a prequel and even continuations during the 80s-90s shift.

PreCure is an eternally reboot series that includes movies for each if it's seasons, it's made by Toei animation A team, to put it in perspective even the biggest Shonen only hope for a B team as A Is pretty much for movies and PreCure. PreCure is the biggest marketing monster Bandai has, it competes with Sanrio for Christ sake in the quantity of toys sales of all of its lines.

PreCure is an Anime aimed at girls that uses the magical girl formula in an almost super sentai sense making it really heartfelt and action packed, with a huge animation and scene direction budget that leaves almost every other Anime in the floor in the animation jump quality, often referred as Sakuga for the animation fanatics making it really fucking good to watch.

Pokémon should be compared to its peers not to Western shows, at least not until we see how the Sanrio of US experiment turns out, also you gotta remember Pokémon aggressive marketing and events come from store collabs and full scale events in Japan with a freaking dedicated time slot to Pokémon related stuff that as some might recall is shared in prime time with other anime's and often borrows their time slot for dual episodes or specials that always get good ranking if I must say so.

Seriously don't try to compare Gravity Falls or Steven Universe seasonal format and scheduling to the eternal time slot monsters of Japan or to GI Joe monster marketing experience being the closest western comparable thing.
 
Norne said:
You seem to ignore show conception format, you have to compare Pokémon more to shows like GI Joe in the West or if anything the PreCure master race, those shows you are mentioning are coming from a second Renaissance of animation and where scheduled and formated to work in such way, also discount TMNT wich is a comic and as such already has his universe and different continuities to work with TV adaptations.

With that said let's go back to the 2 big monsters of marketing being the all American writing with Japanese animation for a global marketing strategy that the decades old GI Joe cartoon has(I'm even tempted to call it an Anime for its production values and studios involved at this point) GI Joe thorough 4 decades has used a 21 minutes comercial format for its several incarnations and toy lines with several degrees of animation while also being one of the few that dodged the dark ages of Hanna Barbera cartoons in the West due to its Anime production value, each of its incarnations featured arcs and conclusions before their reboot until the events that lead us to a prequel and even continuations during the 80s-90s shift.

PreCure is an eternally reboot series that includes movies for each if it's seasons, it's made by Toei animation A team, to put it in perspective even the biggest Shonen only hope for a B team as A Is pretty much for movies and PreCure. PreCure is the biggest marketing monster Bandai has, it competes with Sanrio for Christ sake in the quantity of toys sales of all of its lines.

PreCure is an Anime aimed at girls that uses the magical girl formula in an almost super sentai sense making it really heartfelt and action packed, with a huge animation and scene direction budget that leaves almost every other Anime in the floor in the animation jump quality, often referred as Sakuga for the animation fanatics making it really fucking good to watch.

Pokémon should be compared to its peers not to Western shows, at least not until we see how the Sanrio of US experiment turns out, also you gotta remember Pokémon aggressive marketing and events come from store collabs and full scale events in Japan with a freaking dedicated time slot to Pokémon related stuff that as some might recall is shared in prime time with other anime's and often borrows their time slot for dual episodes or specials that always get good ranking if I must say so.

Seriously don't try to compare Gravity Falls or Steven Universe seasonal format and scheduling to the eternal time slot monsters of Japan or to GI Joe monster marketing experience being the closest western comparable thing.
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I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say here; but I think it's basically "can't be compared because marketing"?
Well... he also brought up TMNT and Digimon which as he said, are marketing shows. I'd also bring up Transformers: Animated and Transformers: Prime as rather big examples of incredible storytelling for a kid's show, especially when the original cartoon was so incredibly blatant about it's advertising (seriously, watch this. It's beautiful how much they don't give a shit.)
It's not easy to make a marketing show have some sort of competent storytelling, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. Especially with how big Pokémon is, they can easily give it a shot.
 
Proof that the anime team can do something really good if they just dropped Ash: The Mega Evolution Specials. Alain is such a neat character (in comparison to Ash). Sure, he is the edgy "I'm doing my job... oh fine, you can come, kid." way, which is pretty cliché, but even with the pacing of the Specials, it feels much higher quality than anything the anime has produced since about Advanced Battle (you could argue the DPP series was decent enough too).

Not saying they should drop the anime as they have it, but if they did a second running series focusing on more mature topics/themes with a proper continuity, they'd get a lot more fans. Keep Ash and his crew, but have a second series going.
 
Kurona said:
Unpopular opinion; Alain's kind of meh. He doesn't really have much character and he's just another way to advertise Mega Charizard X.
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Nah, I agree that he doesn't really have much character. But he still feels a lot more mature and capable than Ash, which was my point of bringing him up :P
 
Kurona said:
I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say here; but I think it's basically "can't be compared because marketing"?
Well... he also brought up TMNT and Digimon which as he said, are marketing shows. I'd also bring up Transformers: Animated and Transformers: Prime as rather big examples of incredible storytelling for a kid's show, especially when the original cartoon was so incredibly blatant about it's advertising (seriously, watch this. It's beautiful how much they don't give a shit.)
It's not easy to make a marketing show have some sort of competent storytelling, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. Especially with how big Pokémon is, they can easily give it a shot.
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Transformers is the exact same scenario as GI Joe, I just picked GI Joe for being the oldest entry of both.

And yes you can't really compare them given their time slot and marketing tactics, the 21 minutes ad on TV time really varies wich n countries and it's exposition is extremely important.

Pokémon is fine for its intended market, to the point where the japanese audience loves team rocket almost as much as Mexico loves James.

Pokémon has really improved from the dark ages that where DP(nice Story telling more reused scenes than freaking He-Man) and Unova recycled scenes and PotD episodes as of XY and XYZ, we just need to see XYZ wrap up to judge this saga completely.
 
Here's something that is rarely, if ever, said: I kinda like Rotation Battles. The difference between how Singles and Rotation works, especially switching (which is a major part I love about Singles) is very interesting. Prediction and risk management is such a huge part. It changes switching from being like raising a shield to block to parrying and attacking in the same motion.
It is a shame it is ignored by many. Hell, I've only had ONE Rotation Battle against another human being and that was within the last six months and that was because some random individual challenged me on the PSS. I just wish it was on Showdown.
Also, it is funny to see the AI try it as they suuuuuuuuck at it. You know how the AI loves to spam Protect every other turn (may Arceus have mercy on you if they have Protect and Wish. Have fun PP stalling!)? It loves to rotate every turn, even if it doesn't give them an advantage and it is often in the same direction every time. Hell, I once saw it switch from Ho-Oh to a White Kyurem the turn my Excadrill (who was out from the beginning) used Rock Slide. Nice and easy OKHO.
 
Gen 4 is arguably the strongest installment after Gen 1 and receives too much unnecessary hate.

  • It had the most balanced meta
  • It had the strongest plot (Platinum) as well as legendaries who simultaneously did something and weren't huge idiots (Kyogre/Groudon)
  • introduced many moves and mons still dominant today such as Stealth rock, Garchomp, Bullet punch Scizor, Manaphy, Aura sphere, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Roost
  • It doesn't rely on Gen 1 nostalgia
  • Had the best champion in the series
 
Gabe said:
Gen 4 is arguably the strongest installment after Gen 1 and receives too much unnecessary hate.

  • It had the most balanced meta
  • It had the strongest plot (Platinum) as well as legendaries who simultaneously did something and weren't huge idiots (Kyogre/Groudon)
  • introduced many moves and mons still dominant today such as Stealth rock, Garchomp, Bullet punch Scizor, Manaphy, Aura sphere, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Roost
  • It doesn't rely on Gen 1 nostalgia
  • Had the best champion in the series
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It had the slowest gameplay and the worst regional dex at its introduction, even in its 3rd version installment several parts of the game still felt like bullshit.

PVP wise it was a bloody mess unless you played by a playerbase induced format or always relied on suicide leads.
 
I really like the idea of Megas just being a permanent thing. I can't forsee how it will end, like will they just stop making Megas when a new mechanic comes out? I don't know. But I think it is nice.
 
Ik its kinda copping out to use the exact one that's the example in the OP, but my two favorite Pokémon games are both in gen 4. I started out with the gen 4 games when I was around thirteen (yeah I started out late) and think that all of the flack that they get is blown way out of proportion from what it should be. I mean sure you can bash on it for the slow saving times and the insane number of glitches in DP, and you can bash on the slow pace/slow animations, but then I think about how fun it is to use these glitches such as tweaking and I think that GAME FREAK were just trying to show off the updated hardwear of the nintendo DS by making the animations take the cake. I also like the slow pace as it means that I don't get agitated at the game rushing me into everything and giving me time to admire the thought that they have put into the games and to enjoy the experience of working my way around this utterly massive region. Also HGSS (not BW or BW2) is without a doubt the best Pokémon game in my eyes in terms of execution because there is simply so much to do and because it takes everything that made gen 2 amazing and improved on it while also making that emotional connection you have with your partners that much stronger due to your party leader following you like a traditional JRPG has with its party, and it makes both [x]lokes and regular playthroughs feel that much more personal when you mess up and have a mon die or faint.

Also, as much as the entire internet seems to disagree for some reason, Pokemon XY is f*cking awful in terms of singleplayer and is definitely also the weakest game generation from a competitive standpoint. Like, it's the only time I've legitimately not been bothered to play through the second version because you get absolutely no satisfaction from playing through and beating it, and I think that everything barring the soundtrack and that cave with the camera behind the player character is just poorly executed when compared to other games in the series. The models are a neat gimmick, but the series is definitely better suited to using sprites (I would have praised this game much more if it used an adapted version of the BW art style) and the models just completely derp out at times and just look weird (see: all ghosts, any cases of steam/flames/particles on a Pokemon's design etc.). I was just plain disappointed at the games.

Finally I don't think Stunfisk is derpy, and it definitely has one of my favorite designs out of any Pokemon.
 
I am actually wondering it is would make sense for more megas to come out. Weren't they created by Xerneas and Yveltal? Would be wierd if we jumped from like 50 megas to like 100, I feel.
I think Game Freak would have to come up with a similar mechanic that works a bit different than Mega Evolution if they intend to give another 50 pokemon a new form.
 
mertyville said:
I am actually wondering it is would make sense for more megas to come out. Weren't they created by Xerneas and Yveltal? Would be wierd if we jumped from like 50 megas to like 100, I feel.
I think Game Freak would have to come up with a similar mechanic that works a bit different than Mega Evolution if they intend to give another 50 pokemon a new form.
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So far Mega Evolutions have two origins based on region. In Kalos it was from the Ultimate Weapon being fired and the radiation from it being absorbed by nature and Pokemon. In Hoenn it has to do with Infinity Energy, the energy that Groudon and Kyogre use to Primal Revert. Now apparently the radiation that the Ultimate Weapon is also a form of Infinity Energy. So pretty much as long as at some point the region plays around with Infinity Energy they'll have Mega Evolutions.
 
I like to use the alternate universe theory to explain the megas thing. It uses real multiverse theory (two universes were created, one where the ultimate weapon was fired and one where it wasn't fired) and I don't think its a far stretch to say that it would have had a global impact on the presence of mega stones much like the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs and other megafauna did on life as a whole. Infinity energy is now a staple factor in the Pokemon universe, so they probably wouldn't just drop it for the sake of finding another explanation for a "not actually mega evolving" mechanic.
 
I think Mega Evolutions should stop, but only after they make Megas for the rest of the starters.
And, of course, they'd make Megas for every starter after.
 
Gabe said:
Gen 4 is arguably the strongest installment after Gen 1 and receives too much unnecessary hate.

  • It had the most balanced meta
  • It had the strongest plot (Platinum) as well as legendaries who simultaneously did something and weren't huge idiots (Kyogre/Groudon)
  • introduced many moves and mons still dominant today such as Stealth rock, Garchomp, Bullet punch Scizor, Manaphy, Aura sphere, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Roost
  • It doesn't rely on Gen 1 nostalgia
  • Had the best champion in the series
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Yes!
Norne said:
It had the slowest gameplay and the worst regional dex at its introduction, even in its 3rd version installment several parts of the game still felt like bullshit.

PVP wise it was a bloody mess unless you played by a playerbase induced format or always relied on suicide leads.
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It isn't the slowest game, Gen 1 had the slowest games + LGFR
PVP isn't bloody at all! We also had the underground secret bases!
 
Gen IV were the worst games from a technical standpoint; D/P were so slow and buggy, it was a complete mess. Need I remind you of how slow surfing was in D/P? None of us would've been able to stand RSE if we had to surf in those games at that speed. What about glitches? Need I remind you of the tweaking glitch, acid rain glitch, etc. D/P were some of the glitchiest games in the series beyond RBY, especially the Japanese versions.

As a region, Sinnoh could've been designed better as well. The regional dex in D/P was awful and very imbalanced when it came to typing and distribution of Pokemon; it's not good design when your Fire-type Elite 4 specialist only has two fire types on his team, or when all the good Pokemon are all starters+early route mons. HM dependency was also terribad in Sinnoh, and the region geography itself felt very awkward at times.

Whether or not the story, setting, Pokemon, and all that stuff are considered worst in the series is purely subjective, but you can't really argue against Gen IV's shortcomings from a technical standpoint. Platinum might have helped fix a few bugs, and spruced the speed a bit, but there were still several problems with Platinum as well.

As far as competitive is concerned, let me remind you that Gen IV is the birthplace of Garchomp. If you told a competitive player in Gen IV that Garchomp wasn't broken, they'd slap you into a new generation.
 
The_Emperor said:
It isn't the slowest game, Gen 1 had the slowest games + LGFR
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Sorry, I love Platinum with all my heart; but I have to stop you there - FRLG were a thousand times faster than anything Gen 4 gave us. The battles were smooth and as well-handled as the rest of Gen 3 and once you got the running shoes the overworld felt really enjoyable and quick to go through. I love me some Sinnoh but we have to accept it's flaws too.
 
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