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Unpopular opinions

I've always harboured a great dislike towards the Poké Radar and never understood why other people liked it - it's irritating to use and the different things you can get with it take so long to pop up.

I never really understood it in the first place. I generally used other methods for shiny Pokemon and I don't know if it has any other purpose. I wouldn't mind seeing it gone.
 
I never really understood it in the first place. I generally used other methods for shiny Pokemon and I don't know if it has any other purpose. I wouldn't mind seeing it gone.

In Platinum, experienced RNG'ers could use it to shiny any spread, or RNG Beldum in a non Poké-Ball.
I also like to use it for item hunting. If you start a Chansey chain it's significantly easier to get Lucky Eggs than, say, random wild encounters. I've used it for Lucky Eggs, Sticks, Thick Clubs and Black Sludge so far in Platinum.
 
In Platinum, experienced RNG'ers could use it to shiny any spread, or RNG Beldum in a non Poké-Ball.
I also like to use it for item hunting. If you start a Chansey chain it's significantly easier to get Lucky Eggs than, say, random wild encounters. I've used it for Lucky Eggs, Sticks, Thick Clubs and Black Sludge so far in Platinum.

Oh, I never knew that. Still wouldn't mind if it left, but I can see how it might bother people.
 
Oh, I never knew that. Still wouldn't mind if it left, but I can see how it might bother people.

It's fun in Platinum since every route has an area sublime for using it.
By comparison, in X and Y there are basically only 2-3 grass patches where you can comfortably use it since they're usually stretched horizontally, broken up or littered with objects. I can never get a chain going for more than 2-3 Pokémon in X Y since most routes don't even have patches that have a 9x9 grid for good radar use.
 
It's fun in Platinum since every route has an area sublime for using it.
By comparison, in X and Y there are basically only 2-3 grass patches where you can comfortably use it since they're usually stratched, broken up or littered with objects. I can never get a chain going for more than 2-3 Pokémon in X Y since most routes don't even have patches that have a 9x9 grid for good radar use.

Wow rip. At least that was a minor thing(?) and doesn't really matter (for me anyway I guess) compared to the much bigger floors Gen 6 had rolling around.
 
In Platinum, experienced RNG'ers could use it to shiny any spread, or RNG Beldum in a non Poké-Ball.
I also like to use it for item hunting. If you start a Chansey chain it's significantly easier to get Lucky Eggs than, say, random wild encounters. I've used it for Lucky Eggs, Sticks, Thick Clubs and Black Sludge so far in Platinum.
Um... What? Why? I think I've found another unpopular opinion: Sticks are worth getting outside of a playthrough.
 
Actually, defensive Pokémon which specialize in one side of the spectrum is a bad idea overall. A Pokémon with titanic Defense but no Special Defense will take a lot of damage from Special moves, and needs a humongous HP stat not to be knocked out flat by attacks from the wrong side of the spectrum (see Chansey/Blissey).

An offensive specialization is very easy to work with. You can choose what moves to use, and thus opt never to use your weakest attacking stat. Movepool and stats can be tweaked to optimalize your good side of the spectrum, and it's feasible to simply pretend the other side isn't there. But a Pokémon can't choose which moves to be hit by, so a defensive deficiency is a major minus which will be exploited. An offensive Pokémon can focus all its effort in its best attacking stat, plus Speed. But if you want to do defense well, you need to focus on both sides of the spectrum, plus maybe HP, which leaves very few stats to be put into other areas. Optimalize all defensive stats, and suddenly you can't do anything back to the opponent (see Shuckle, or again Chansey/Blissey). You need an utterly humongous BST to have stats left over to attack with, or leave a gaping hole in the defenses for the foe to exploit (see Avalugg, Cloyster and arguably Florges). At any rate, your Speed is likely to be lacking, so prepare to take hits before you can do anything.

Game Freak has tried (and failed) to address this problem, by jacking up the base stats of defensive Pokémon to ridiculous levels. Base 170+ offenses are nearly unheard of, but such high defenses are quite widely distributed. The highest non-forme Attack stat is 165 (154 on the special side), but there are six Pokémon with Defense above 180 (yet strangely only five above 150 on the special side). But while the extremely offensively-inclined Pokémon see much use as terrifying wall-breakers or sweepers, extremely defensively-oriented ones are obscure even in lower metagames.

Now that offensively-oriented Pokémon have so many high-power moves, high stats and wide coverage to work with, a good defensive stat is more useless than ever. You can't protect yourself from Critical Hits without using obscure moves or abilities, and when they happen your defensive boosts are ignored. A Pokémon can take hits reasonably well, but then you have to rely on passive damage to hurt the opponent, and a strong super-effective move or crit can take you down quickly in any scenario.

Add to this that a defensive approach is tedious and heal-intensive to use in-game, and you get a bit of a feeling that the game mechanics border on broken. Doing offense well is easy, many Pokémon can do it, it requires little set-up, and it's quick and efficient in-game. Doing defense well requires a very lucky draw in the Base Stat lottery, few Pokémon can pull it off (best example: Ferrothorn), it may require lots of set-up (which may be negated at any moment by phazing or critical hits), and in-game every battle becomes one of attrition that requires you to heal afterwards, burning through healing items or forcing you to backtrack. Gaining Exp. by playing defensive is... less than fun. And Exp. is practically required to progress through the game. What's worse, in a battle environment where defensive play is the best option, every battle becomes a boring stall-fest. Defensive playing doesn't only not work well, it can't work well for the game to be fun. The designers truly painted themselves into a corner with this one.
As someone who uses a lot of defensive 'mons, I disagree, especially outside of the main story. And even then, it's not as bad as you would think. I'm using a freaking Torkoal and she's been slaughtering things.
 
Maybe this opinion is not as unpopular as I think, idk. A lot of people, before ORAS came out, were anticipating a Battle Frontier. But instead, what they got was a Battle Resort that simply hinted at it. Despite all the disappointment, I never thought that having the Battle Maison again was too inferior compared to the Battle Frontier remade.

Battle Frontier vs Battle Resort
  • 7 Frontier symbols vs 5 Maison trophies
  • Symbols for Single only vs Trophies for all Modes (Doubles, Triples, Rotation, Multi)
  • Mix of puzzle- and battle-based challenges vs pure battle-based challenges
  • 7 Facilities vs 1 Facility
In conclusion, for the people who were disappointed by the lack of a Battle Frontier, remember that a lot of it was nostalgia goggles. Several Battle Facilities like the Battle Palace (Pokemon using their own RNG moves) were just plain stupid. The facility most worth-bringing back is arguably the Battle Factory, as the concept rental Pokemon has always been popular (and was around until Gen V).
 
As someone who uses a lot of defensive 'mons, I disagree, especially outside of the main story. And even then, it's not as bad as you would think. I'm using a freaking Torkoal and she's been slaughtering things.

Well, the main story doesn't really need like, great stats or anything, even things like 85 SpA/ATK would see you through it. It's only really Pokemon with 0 offensive presence at all that cause the issue.
 
Maybe this opinion is not as unpopular as I think, idk. A lot of people, before ORAS came out, were anticipating a Battle Frontier. But instead, what they got was a Battle Resort that simply hinted at it. Despite all the disappointment, I never thought that having the Battle Maison again was too inferior compared to the Battle Frontier remade.

Battle Frontier vs Battle Resort
  • 7 Frontier symbols vs 5 Maison trophies
  • Symbols for Single only vs Trophies for all Modes (Doubles, Triples, Rotation, Multi)
  • Mix of puzzle- and battle-based challenges vs pure battle-based challenges
  • 7 Facilities vs 1 Facility
In conclusion, for the people who were disappointed by the lack of a Battle Frontier, remember that a lot of it was nostalgia goggles. Several Battle Facilities like the Battle Palace (Pokemon using their own RNG moves) were just plain stupid. The facility most worth-bringing back is arguably the Battle Factory, as the concept rental Pokemon has always been popular (and was around until Gen V).
I think the BIG problem was that it was literally just a copy and paste from X&Y. It would have been, like, better if it was like the Battle Tower that was in the original games.
 
Unpopular Opinion: I don't think GSC / HGSS Red is as good as everyone makes him out to be. I mean I can understand when people say "it's you from the first game" I just...can't see it. Sure Red is the same Red from RB / FRLG but he's not you. Not really sure how to word it better. His team isn't what most people would have used in the original games but that's just my issue with the whole "it's you from Gen 1" thing. As for Red himself, he isn't as hard as people make him out to be, really. So what if his Pikachu is Level 88 in HGSS? It still takes hits like a wet piece of paper. I mean for an in game team where you can use revives and healing items he defiantly isn't hard given the mostly offensive nature of his Pokemon. I worded this bit very badly.

Basically, I don't think red is what he's made out to be. I don't think he's the greatest character of all time, far from it. He has 0 character. His only dialogue is "................" and it relies on you thinking it's you from the previous game. But it isn't, it's just an NPC representation of you at best.
 
I think the BIG problem was that it was literally just a copy and paste from X&Y. It would have been, like, better if it was like the Battle Tower that was in the original games.
HG/SS had the same problem as they copypasted the Platinum Battle Frontier. Which in my eyes is much worse but it seems like the majority of the fandom disagrees with me, so that might be an unpopular opinion.

As for the Battle Frontier not being in OR/AS... this might have been discussed before, but here is my view on it. Not sure how unpopular it is though. Before OR/AS were released, having the Emerald Battle Frontier was on the second place for what I wanted them to have in terms of Battle Facilities. Take notice at second, I will get back to this. In comparison, them having the Battle Maison from X/Y was third on my list, so it wasn't that bad. As for OR/AS having the Battle Tower again, I just don't really see the point. It would essentially have been the Maison but in a different shape, or not the Maison but the same old tower as in R/S (without the improvements the Maison and Subway has brought such as Normal and Super lines or getting BP after every battle). So I think it was okay that they kept the Maison for OR/AS. But they could still have done much better. Chances are, that if the Frontier had been in OR/AS, it would just have been copypasted to the next 6th gen game (though there wasn't one, so maybe not) like the Platinum Battle Frontier was to HG/SS. So in the end, I think I prefer them having the Maison once more as opposed to potentially ruining the Battle Frontier once more. Apologies if I have a hard time making my point clear.

Regarding the number one on my list for OR/AS Battle Facilities? It's simple. What I really wanted to see them do was something new and innovative in terms of Battle Facilities. Something daring and surprising that we had never seen before. But that didn't happen, and I did honestly not expect it to either. Since FR/LG and HG/SS didn't do anything new and innovative in terms of Battle Facilities, I didn't expect OR/AS to do so either. And they didn't. Battle Facilities is one area where I consider all three remakes to have failed, and I have no hope or expectations that any future remakes will do something special in that area either.
 
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HG/SS had the same problem as they copypasted the Platinum Battle Frontier. Which in my eyes is much worse but it seems like the majority of the fandom disagrees with me, so that might be an unpopular opinion.

As for the Battle Frontier not being in OR/AS... this might have been discussed before, but here is my view on it. Not sure how unpopular it is though. Before OR/AS were released, having the Emerald Battle Frontier was on the second place for what I wanted them to have in terms of Battle Facilities. Take notice at second, I will get back to this. In comparison, them having the Battle Maison from X/Y was third on my list, so it wasn't that bad. As for OR/AS having the Battle Tower again, I just don't really see the point. It would essentially have been the Maison but in a different shape, or not the Maison but the same old tower as in R/S (without the improvements the Maison and Subway has brought such as Normal and Super lines or getting BP after every battle). So I think it was okay that they kept the Maison for OR/AS. But they could still have done much better. Chances are, that if the Frontier had been in OR/AS, it would just have been copypasted to the next 6th gen game (though there wasn't one, so maybe not) like the Platinum Battle Frontier was to HG/SS. So in the end, I think I prefer them having the Maison once more as opposed to potentially ruining the Battle Frontier once more. Apologies if I have a hard time making my point clear.

Regarding the number one on my list for OR/AS Battle Facilities? It's simple. What I really wanted to see them do was something new and innovative in terms of Battle Facilities. Something daring and surprising that we had never seen before. But that didn't happen, and I did honestly not expect it to either. Since FR/LG and HG/SS didn't do anything new and innovative in terms of Battle Facilities, I didn't expect OR/AS to do so either. And they didn't. Battle Facilities is one area where I consider all three remakes to have failed, and I have no hope or expectations that any future remakes will do something special in that area either.
Eh...I was able to look past it because it was an upgrade from the original games (multiple battle facilities over just the tower). I mean I was salty that they kept all the same leaders ESPECIALLY Palmer but I dealt with it.

The problem with the ORAS Battle Maison is that it is a downgrade from Emerald and a side-grade from Ruby and Sapphire (I still like the idea of a tower over a mansion). It would have meant more, like, if there WAS no Battle Tower in the original games or at least if there wasn't already a Battle Frontier in Emerald, but there is, so that's the problem here.
 
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Eh...I was able to look past it because it was an upgrade from the original games (multiple battle facilities over just the tower). I mean I was salty that they kept all the same leaders ESPECIALLY Palmer but I dealt with it.

The problem with the ORAS Battle Maison is that it is a downgrade from Emerald and a side-grade from Ruby and Sapphire (I still like the idea of a tower over a mansion). It would have meant more, like, if there WAS no Battle Tower in the original games or at least if there wasn't already a Battle Frontier in Emerald, but there is, so that's the problem here.
In addition to having more than just the Tower, we also were coming from a game with a whole Frontier (Platinum). I don't think anyone wanted a second, brand new Frontier, so just copying it was perfectly fine, especially if someone skipped Platinum since they already owned Diamond and/or Pearl and were willing to pick up HeartGold and/or SoulSilver. With ORAS, the previous game just had the standard facility and that was more or less the extent of its terrible postgame. Also, it had been over a generation (as well as five years) since the last actual Frontier, though at least B2W2 had the PWT, Black Tower/White Treehollow, and Pokéstar Studios, which made up for it. ORAS was just like, "Here's some legends that haven't been catchable in a while," and called it a day.
 
So here's a PokeTuber with some unpops:

Discuss. Also, his faves are HGSS, which on its own would qualify, since I don't remember the last time I saw a positive word on Johto in this thread. It's been a while.
 
So here's a PokeTuber with some unpops:

Discuss. Also, his faves are HGSS, which on its own would qualify, since I don't remember the last time I saw a positive word on Johto in this thread. It's been a while.
I've heard or read so many people say "I pick Bulbasaur in Kanto" that it's starting to get on my nerves, especially when they think it makes them cool hipsters (it doesn't). Bulbasaur's not as nearly as underrated as people think.


Not really an unpopular opinion so much as it is an observance and peeve of mine.
 
Eh...I was able to look past it because it was an upgrade from the original games (multiple battle facilities over just the tower). I mean I was salty that they kept all the same leaders ESPECIALLY Palmer but I dealt with it.

The problem with the ORAS Battle Maison is that it is a downgrade from Emerald and a side-grade from Ruby and Sapphire (I still like the idea of a tower over a mansion). It would have meant more, like, if there WAS no Battle Tower in the original games or at least if there wasn't already a Battle Frontier in Emerald, but there is, so that's the problem here.
To each their own I guess, I found it to be worse personally (though I have a rather negative bias to most things related to HG/SS in general so that may be a part of it).

That is a good point, and I don't disagree with you completely either. I would probably have preferred to have the Frontier over the Maison but the Maison is good enough for me and I have already played through the majority of the Frontier in Emerald so I don't mind it that much.

So here's a PokeTuber with some unpops:

Discuss. Also, his faves are HGSS, which on its own would qualify, since I don't remember the last time I saw a positive word on Johto in this thread. It's been a while.
Some quick thoughts on all of this. I didn't watch the whole video but checked out all of his opinions.
(numbers in reverse order)
10. Squirtle and Charmander seem to be the more well-liked Kanto starters so I think this is a bit unpopular. Bulbasaur is my personal favorite nowadays even if it wasn't the one I picked the most when I played the Kanto games as Squirtle used to be my favorite back in the day.
9. Hoenn seems to be rather well-liked around the community still, so I don't think this is that unpopular. Or at least, it was before OR/AS. I think it's pretty good too even if it isn't my top favorite as that honor goes to Unova.
8. Several Unova Pokemon still get far too much hate in my eyes, so this is definitely unpopular. I have seen so much hate for them both in this thread and at other places and it makes me sad every time. Especially when people hate all of Gen 5 for one or two Pokemon designs, those kind of people should quit being Pokemon fans. I agree here as I think all Unova Pokemon are awesome. Though that goes for all other regions too, but I'm a tad biased and more defensive when it comes to the Unova Pokemon since they were the ones introduced in my favorite generation.
7. Unsure if this is unpopular, Kanto seems to be either loved or hated by everyone, few people put it in the middle, it seems. I personally agree with him as Kanto is my second least favorite region next to Johto, it just isn't as interesting as Unova, Kalos, Sinnoh or Hoenn to me. That's not to say that I dislike Kanto (as I surely don't) but it is far from my favorite.
6. Unsure about this too. Both B/W and B2/W2 have been hated in the past but nowadays, it seems like they are a bit more liked among the fandom in general compared to what they were in the past. But since neither seems to be the very top favorite in the fandom, I think this is somewhat unpopular at least. My opinion? I can't agree more as B2/W2 (and B/W) are my favorites and I had so much fun playing them.
5. I don't think this is that unpopular, R/B/Y don't get a lot of love these days outside of nostalgia-blind Kanto fans who don't really go to Pokemon forums that much. Personally, I agree, I don't think R/B/Y are the best either. Though I had a lot of fun with them when they were new, but to me, they just can't compare to the newer games. I agree with him on FR/LG too, and I think liking them is definitely unpopular.
4. Not sure since I don't watch the anime, and no opinion of my own since I haven't watched all the openings.
3. This is probably unpopular. One of the main reasons people praise the Johto games are because of its "massive post-game" (which in my eyes is not a good post-game, but we'll get to that), not so much because of the Johto region itself. Face it, Johto doesn't have a good post-game or even a Pokemon League of its own. As for me, Johto is my least favorite region (though I wouldn't go as far as to say that I dislike it) and I think its post-game of Kanto is vastly overhyped and overrated, not really deserving of any praise.
2. THIS IS UNPOPULAR. I am sometimes concerned for the fandom because of all the hate and dislike we are spouting on a game series and a franchise we are supposed to be fans of. Seriously. Whining and complaining about everything and anything has become kind of the main thing we do here in the fandom. It shouldn't be like that. I think people need to actually appreciate what we like about Pokemon much more as opposed to just complain about the bad things. Either that, or some people should quit being Pokemon fans. I know I'm guilty of being a negative idiot at times too, you don't need to tell me that. But anyway, I agree with him.
1. Probably unpopular again since most people seem to have one favorite and one least favorite. But deciding which is the objectively "best" is practically impossible (so that's actually not an opinion, but an objective fact). Personally, my favorite is Generation 5, but I can't say it is the objectively "best" because I know others will disagree with me. Likewise, HG/SS are my least favorite games, but I can't say they are objectively the "worst" for the same reason.

Finally, as for HG/SS being his favorite games... From what I have seen around the fandom and various Pokemon forums, HG/SS generally seem to be very well-liked and are usually at the top spots in polls, so I don't think liking them is unpopular at all. Which might be a reason as for why we don't see a lot of praise for them in this thread. Though, this is just from my perspective. Then I do personally not like them which might affect my view on them, but I don't know. If anyone is of a different opinion regarding liking HG/SS being unpopular or not, feel free to say it.
 
To each their own I guess, I found it to be worse personally (though I have a rather negative bias to most things related to HG/SS in general so that may be a part of it).

That is a good point, and I don't disagree with you completely either. I would probably have preferred to have the Frontier over the Maison but the Maison is good enough for me and I have already played through the majority of the Frontier in Emerald so I don't mind it that much.


Some quick thoughts on all of this. I didn't watch the whole video but checked out all of his opinions.
(numbers in reverse order)
10. Squirtle and Charmander seem to be the more well-liked Kanto starters so I think this is a bit unpopular. Bulbasaur is my personal favorite nowadays even if it wasn't the one I picked the most when I played the Kanto games as Squirtle used to be my favorite back in the day.
9. Hoenn seems to be rather well-liked around the community still, so I don't think this is that unpopular. Or at least, it was before OR/AS. I think it's pretty good too even if it isn't my top favorite as that honor goes to Unova.
8. Several Unova Pokemon still get far too much hate in my eyes, so this is definitely unpopular. I have seen so much hate for them both in this thread and at other places and it makes me sad every time. Especially when people hate all of Gen 5 for one or two Pokemon designs, those kind of people should quit being Pokemon fans. I agree here as I think all Unova Pokemon are awesome. Though that goes for all other regions too, but I'm a tad biased and more defensive when it comes to the Unova Pokemon since they were the ones introduced in my favorite generation.
7. Unsure if this is unpopular, Kanto seems to be either loved or hated by everyone, few people put it in the middle, it seems. I personally agree with him as Kanto is my second least favorite region next to Johto, it just isn't as interesting as Unova, Kalos, Sinnoh or Hoenn to me. That's not to say that I dislike Kanto (as I surely don't) but it is far from my favorite.
6. Unsure about this too. Both B/W and B2/W2 have been hated in the past but nowadays, it seems like they are a bit more liked among the fandom in general compared to what they were in the past. But since neither seems to be the very top favorite in the fandom, I think this is somewhat unpopular at least. My opinion? I can't agree more as B2/W2 (and B/W) are my favorites and I had so much fun playing them.
5. I don't think this is that unpopular, R/B/Y don't get a lot of love these days outside of nostalgia-blind Kanto fans who don't really go to Pokemon forums that much. Personally, I agree, I don't think R/B/Y are the best either. Though I had a lot of fun with them when they were new, but to me, they just can't compare to the newer games. I agree with him on FR/LG too, and I think liking them is definitely unpopular.
4. Not sure since I don't watch the anime, and no opinion of my own since I haven't watched all the openings.
3. This is probably unpopular. One of the main reasons people praise the Johto games are because of its "massive post-game" (which in my eyes is not a good post-game, but we'll get to that), not so much because of the Johto region itself. Face it, Johto doesn't have a good post-game or even a Pokemon League of its own. As for me, Johto is my least favorite region (though I wouldn't go as far as to say that I dislike it) and I think its post-game of Kanto is vastly overhyped and overrated, not really deserving of any praise.
2. THIS IS UNPOPULAR. I am sometimes concerned for the fandom because of all the hate and dislike we are spouting on a game series and a franchise we are supposed to be fans of. Seriously. Whining and complaining about everything and anything has become kind of the main thing we do here in the fandom. It shouldn't be like that. I think people need to actually appreciate what we like about Pokemon much more as opposed to just complain about the bad things. Either that, or some people should quit being Pokemon fans. I know I'm guilty of being a negative idiot at times too, you don't need to tell me that. But anyway, I agree with him.
1. Probably unpopular again since most people seem to have one favorite and one least favorite. But deciding which is the objectively "best" is practically impossible (so that's actually not an opinion, but an objective fact). Personally, my favorite is Generation 5, but I can't say it is the objectively "best" because I know others will disagree with me. Likewise, HG/SS are my least favorite games, but I can't say they are objectively the "worst" for the same reason.

Finally, as for HG/SS being his favorite games... From what I have seen around the fandom and various Pokemon forums, HG/SS generally seem to be very well-liked and are usually at the top spots in polls, so I don't think liking them is unpopular at all. Which might be a reason as for why we don't see a lot of praise for them in this thread. Though, this is just from my perspective. Then I do personally not like them which might affect my view on them, but I don't know. If anyone is of a different opinion regarding liking HG/SS being unpopular or not, feel free to say it.

HGSS comes in at my third favorite game, I actually liked quite a few things about it. I really enjoyed the follower Pokemon and also the pokeathalon was a nice change of pace. I also personally like the selection of Pokemon available and I think it has the hardest gyms of any region. My only complaint is the post game. And let me clarify, the HGSS postgame is eons ahead of pretty much everyone postgame (except maybe platinum and Emerald), it has an entire other region, mt. Silver (which is more of a postgame than most games have anyway), the battle frontier (although a clone), and one of the most, if not the most difficult ingame trainer. The real weakness and the reason I think most people hate it is because even though they have an entire other region, they failed to do anything notable with it. The postgame storyline was too weak; just battle the gyms in any order with no increasing difficulty. It's not what it was that is bad, it's the fact that it's not what it could have been.
 
My only complaint is the post game. And let me clarify, the HGSS postgame is eons ahead of pretty much everyone postgame (except maybe platinum and Emerald), it has an entire other region, mt. Silver (which is more of a postgame than most games have anyway), the battle frontier (although a clone), and one of the most, if not the most difficult ingame trainer. The real weakness and the reason I think most people hate it is because even though they have an entire other region, they failed to do anything notable with it. The postgame storyline was too weak; just battle the gyms in any order with no increasing difficulty. It's not what it was that is bad, it's the fact that it's not what it could have been.

Well, it's a problem it inherited from GSC - that the actual storyline is over halfway through the game. At least they patched up Kanto as much as they could...
 
Well, it's a problem it inherited from GSC - that the actual storyline is over halfway through the game. At least they patched up Kanto as much as they could...

I remember being real mad when GSC came out and they teased Kanto. Then you get there and bah, it was so disappointing. Literally all but two caves were essentially removed (only Diglett Tunnel and Dark Cave remained relatively unscathed) and all Gym Leaders but Blue were weaker than the E4 you faced before, whereas the trainers all used low level Pokémon.
HGSS fixed almost all of those issues.
 
I remember being real mad when GSC came out and they teased Kanto. Then you get there and bah, it was so disappointing. Literally all but two caves were essentially removed (only Diglett Tunnel and Dark Cave remained relatively unscathed) and all Gym Leaders but Blue were weaker than the E4 you faced before, whereas the trainers all used low level Pokémon.
HGSS fixed almost all of those issues.

Well the HGSS Gym Leader's are still pretty easy tbh but it is better.

On the topic of Blue I know this isn't unpopular but why do Gym Leaders have to have (bad) Monotype teams ;;
 
On the topic of Blue I know this isn't unpopular but why do Gym Leaders have to have (bad) Monotype teams ;;

To teach new players about the types and their interactions. That's the short answer. Pokémon has no tutorial section, so it needs to throw you into situations of learning in other ways. A Gym is a good way for players to learn what moves are useful against which Pokémon, as well as showcase some Pokémon of a certain type. Besides, it provides the "bosses" of the game with themed teams in a relatively simple manner. And it's easier for kids to recognise the Gym Leaders as "a master of the ____ Type", rather than "a master of the ____ strategy". As much as I'd like to see Gyms themed around strategies such as weather, status conditions, combo moves and so on, I think it'd alienate new players to a degree.

Interestingly, this is where Kanto could have had great potential in GSC, or at least HGSS. They used the Gym Leaders of the first half of the game to showcase types. Rather than continuing to do so in the second half, they could have been a lot less restrained. The Elite Four presents a very solid test of the player's understanding of the game, so anything after that should have been designed for a higher (or at least more intermediate) level of play. They could have made Kanto's 8 Gym Leaders less conventional. Especially so since you didn't have to adhere to a set order when challenging them. Mixed up the types a little, leaned more heavily on a specific strategy than a specific type, and taught players some more advanced concepts.

Instead, Kanto ended up without a challenge to provide. Players good enough to even get to Kanto would be more than strong enough to beat its Gyms without much effort. Revisiting all the places sure was nice, but you met little resistance anywhere.

They did try with Blue, it seems, to make a Gym Leader who was not committed to a specific type. Too bad he had no trainers studying under him, no puzzle, and no theme, and as such it felt less like a Gym. Still, it was cool to fight Blue again, and I appreciate that Game Freak tried to do something different with the last Gym in the game. If they tried something like a second region again, with all the years of experience they now have, I think the result could be very good.
 
To teach new players about the types and their interactions. That's the short answer. Pokémon has no tutorial section, so it needs to throw you into situations of learning in other ways. A Gym is a good way for players to learn what moves are useful against which Pokémon, as well as showcase some Pokémon of a certain type. Besides, it provides the "bosses" of the game with themed teams in a relatively simple manner. And it's easier for kids to recognise the Gym Leaders as "a master of the ____ Type", rather than "a master of the ____ strategy". As much as I'd like to see Gyms themed around strategies such as weather, status conditions, combo moves and so on, I think it'd alienate new players to a degree.

Interestingly, this is where Kanto could have had great potential in GSC, or at least HGSS. They used the Gym Leaders of the first half of the game to showcase types. Rather than continuing to do so in the second half, they could have been a lot less restrained. The Elite Four presents a very solid test of the player's understanding of the game, so anything after that should have been designed for a higher (or at least more intermediate) level of play. They could have made Kanto's 8 Gym Leaders less conventional. Especially so since you didn't have to adhere to a set order when challenging them. Mixed up the types a little, leaned more heavily on a specific strategy than a specific type, and taught players some more advanced concepts.

Instead, Kanto ended up without a challenge to provide. Players good enough to even get to Kanto would be more than strong enough to beat its Gyms without much effort. Revisiting all the places sure was nice, but you met little resistance anywhere.

They did try with Blue, it seems, to make a Gym Leader who was not committed to a specific type. Too bad he had no trainers studying under him, no puzzle, and no theme, and as such it felt less like a Gym. Still, it was cool to fight Blue again, and I appreciate that Game Freak tried to do something different with the last Gym in the game. If they tried something like a second region again, with all the years of experience they now have, I think the result could be very good.

Yes, I can see how (sadly) it would alienate new players, but in that case...why not make the Elite Four based upon strategies instead of types? Once you have 8 Gym Leaders under your belt I would say you're probably experienced enough by that point. I mean come on, they're meant to be the toughest trainers in the region, yet some can be beaten with a single Pokemon (for example in ORAS I swept the Dark Type E4 with Dustox Bug Buzz, type advantage or no, this "elite" trainer just lost to a common bug). I mean if the Champion does it (for most games) why can't the E4? It's not like the Champion has to have a multi-type team to show their the "leader", it's shown through higher levels, superior movesets and the challenge they're meant to provide, but sadly the whole "monotype" thing looks like it's here to stay.
 
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