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Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October
- Thread starter DHR-107
- Start date
Dusk Lycanroc was legal in VGC, but the ability needed to evolve it was something inheritable. I can see at least LongMeowth being banned.
Honestly though I'm not too too impressed by these. We got another special Pikachu form that can't evolve like the Cosplay Pikachus or Ash Hat Pikachus, an awkward looking Meowth, an Eevee with a slightly different mane, and Charizard gets a form while Venusaur and Blastoise don't (at least be fair guys). Butterfree I don't mind as much as despite being a popular Pokemon because of the anime and Kanto games it hasn't received a buff (or any attempt to make it stronger or special) outside of Quiver Dance for quite a while. That and well, slight bias because Mothra comparisons.
Still though, I could somewhat excuse the Kanto starters presence in Kalos because X and Y were an anniversary game, granted they could've been more subtle with going back to the series roots for additions like with Sinnoh but still. Alola formes being Kanto only I don't mind much either for the whole anniversary thing, and they felt quite natural all things considered and not shoehorned in like a lot of Gen 1 throwbacks. These Gigantamax forms feel about as natural as Classic Sonic in Sonic Forces without any of the nuance the regional forms of Kanto Pokemon had in either Alola or Galar. Granted I find it cool that Pikachu and Eevee can only be obtained through save-file detection (an underutilized mechanic that I actually remember fondly from Nickelodeon licensed games of all things), but still.
I really don't like how much Gamefreak and even other companies like Sonic Team have tried desperately to appeal to whiny people on message boards who complain about minute things like eye color or object-based creatures. Some people blamed social media for giving these people a more vocal platform, but whatever the case is, appealing to these people came at the cost of alienating others who stuck around for longer.
Still though, I could somewhat excuse the Kanto starters presence in Kalos because X and Y were an anniversary game, granted they could've been more subtle with going back to the series roots for additions like with Sinnoh but still. Alola formes being Kanto only I don't mind much either for the whole anniversary thing, and they felt quite natural all things considered and not shoehorned in like a lot of Gen 1 throwbacks. These Gigantamax forms feel about as natural as Classic Sonic in Sonic Forces without any of the nuance the regional forms of Kanto Pokemon had in either Alola or Galar. Granted I find it cool that Pikachu and Eevee can only be obtained through save-file detection (an underutilized mechanic that I actually remember fondly from Nickelodeon licensed games of all things), but still.
I really don't like how much Gamefreak and even other companies like Sonic Team have tried desperately to appeal to whiny people on message boards who complain about minute things like eye color or object-based creatures. Some people blamed social media for giving these people a more vocal platform, but whatever the case is, appealing to these people came at the cost of alienating others who stuck around for longer.
After everything we know (which btw is next to nothing, but enough to see their lack of effort in most regards), I can't believe someone still believes they are doing anything for balance the game. I just refuse to. Dude they are just a bunch of well known Pokémon from Kanto, most of them will probably suck and one of them even has a move that increases the money you get after winning a battle. Dude, toxapex is in the games, in the same games these butterfree and meowth are.
They've been the literal definition of lazyness since SwSh started and after reading comments like this I sincerely believe that they can do ANYTHING they want, and I mean ANYTHING, and it'll interpreted as "a balance work". When the meta revolves around the same 30 Pokémon from where 20 of them are from past generations just call me.
1 month until the release and they havent told shit about the games.
KANTOOOO
I'll be blunt. I'm sick of this. Is G-Max MEOWTH, of all things, a reference to a meme so ancient that it had text written using Unown instead of Impact font?
This is a ridiculous waste of resources. And speaking of those, did any of you notice that the D-Max clouds circle Eevee's right ear instead of floating above it?
That possibly mean that the clouds are tied to each model, and I really hope this is just for G-Max, because if it isn't, we have a D-Max model for every single pokémon in the Galar Dex.
This is absoutely insane!!!
Eevee's G-Max form is kinda disappointing, the side effect is despicable, and frankly, I'm not impressed at Partner Eevee's Base Stats. If it does have the ridiculous moves it had in LGPE, it might be decent. I ain't holding my breath tho. I get the call back, but no, if it's not evolving, it ain't cutting it.
Pikachu is... Not that bad tbh. Sounds like a legit threat. Could've gone with the miscolored belly tho.
Speaking of bellies, Zard's beer gut went Gigantamax. Turns out it was for the best though. Getting Kraid vibes out of it, Metroid vibes are the best vibes.
Not sure I dig the flames though. I'd rather have the actual body parts wreathed in flames instead of them replacing it, but we take those. Could be worse tbh. I'm going to wait for actual stats before I completely dismiss it as garbage because Stealth Rock exists.
It's cool that we still have some unpredictability regarding what Zard it's going to come out of the giant ball. D-Max Zard will probably work like Zard Y and G-Max will... Look cool on the Champ battle.
It's like what we got nowadays, but much, much worse. Fun times.
And last, but not least, our Hero has arrived.
G-Max Butterfree will truly bring the fun we lost with the Game Corner back with endless praying to RNG to be in our favor as we spam its G-Max Move. It also puts it at "parity" with Beedrill, but let's be real, G-Max Butterfree makes it look free. Good thing I play Fire Emblem, RNG can't scare me anymore.
I'll be blunt. I'm sick of this. Is G-Max MEOWTH, of all things, a reference to a meme so ancient that it had text written using Unown instead of Impact font?
This is a ridiculous waste of resources. And speaking of those, did any of you notice that the D-Max clouds circle Eevee's right ear instead of floating above it?
That possibly mean that the clouds are tied to each model, and I really hope this is just for G-Max, because if it isn't, we have a D-Max model for every single pokémon in the Galar Dex.
This is absoutely insane!!!
Eevee's G-Max form is kinda disappointing, the side effect is despicable, and frankly, I'm not impressed at Partner Eevee's Base Stats. If it does have the ridiculous moves it had in LGPE, it might be decent. I ain't holding my breath tho. I get the call back, but no, if it's not evolving, it ain't cutting it.
Pikachu is... Not that bad tbh. Sounds like a legit threat. Could've gone with the miscolored belly tho.
Speaking of bellies, Zard's beer gut went Gigantamax. Turns out it was for the best though. Getting Kraid vibes out of it, Metroid vibes are the best vibes.
Not sure I dig the flames though. I'd rather have the actual body parts wreathed in flames instead of them replacing it, but we take those. Could be worse tbh. I'm going to wait for actual stats before I completely dismiss it as garbage because Stealth Rock exists.
It's cool that we still have some unpredictability regarding what Zard it's going to come out of the giant ball. D-Max Zard will probably work like Zard Y and G-Max will... Look cool on the Champ battle.
It's like what we got nowadays, but much, much worse. Fun times.
And last, but not least, our Hero has arrived.
G-Max Butterfree will truly bring the fun we lost with the Game Corner back with endless praying to RNG to be in our favor as we spam its G-Max Move. It also puts it at "parity" with Beedrill, but let's be real, G-Max Butterfree makes it look free. Good thing I play Fire Emblem, RNG can't scare me anymore.
I'm pretty sure they meant 'balance' as in, Butterfree and Beedrill are counterparts; so if one of them got a super special form then so should the other. Nothing about actual battling prowess.
I look forward to Absolute Unit Blastoise.
I can understand why they showed exclusively Gen 1 Pokemon today. It’s their anniversary and Generation 1 Pokemon are easily the most well known and marketable to the general public. So it makes perfect sense. However it hits at a bad time for some of the more dedicated fanbase who are still on the fence or annoyed with Pokémon’s decisions as of late.
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Yup, that's what I think. Let's also not forget that they're being way more secretive this time around: There could be plenty of non-Kanto Galarian forms and Gigantamaxes that they have chosen to conceal to maintain some sense of surprise, only showing off the most marketable new ones perhaps. I could be being too optimistic, but it's far from an impossibility.
It looks bad no matter how you slice it.
To make things worse, it's a well-known critic that GF panders to Gen 1. Instead of actually celebrating the franchise's birthday with all gens, they doubled down on the pandering.
It's just a bad decision.
Gigantimax Omastar with Dancer when
You are talking as if they had numerous non-I Gen G-Max Mons programmed to be announced later and they just decided to announce I Gen ones today because of the 30th anniversary.
That's probably not happening.
Funny thing is: almost all of Gen 1 original players don't play Pokémon anymore.
Most ppl who enjoy Pokémon today started with DPPl or even BW, due to the Nintendo DS success. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl aren't even recent, they were published in 2006 (2007 in the rest of the world), which means any kid who was... 5? When they played Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, is now 18. The ones who played RGBY are now 25 to 30. There's a LOT of ppl in that group, because Pokémon demographic is crazy, but far less than kids, that's for sure.
Pokémon red and blue were a success even for non-gamers. Millions of ppl who didn't even care about videogames, nor they cared about them later in their lifes, contributed to I gen success. When you acount for the number of ppl who dont even play anymore but say "oooh yes rb, i remember those games... they were great" and the amount of 25 to 30 years old who have the entire franchise collected in their houses, the first group is so massive in comparation that invalidates the other completely.
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
I want to shift the discussion to Gigantamaxing at a mechanical level, because there's an interesting aspect to them that should be discussed more.
So far, it seems with the exception of the unique G-Max Move effects and design changes, Gigantamaxing isn't a whole lot different from regular Dynamaxing. Stat boosts aside from HP have been very loosely implied, but it is currently unclear how those will work, what they'll be, if they even are a thing, etc. Now, here's the key thing about G-Max Moves: Their effects are unique, but not necessarily better.
Let's take a look at Pikachu, for instance. G-Max Volt Crash on its own is a very powerful effect, applying paralysis even to immune Pokemon despite them still not taking damage. But let's consider that this is still Pikachu, a very very frail Pokemon that could definitely be a nuisance with this move and use it to support its team, but if the goal for the user is to get a sweep or late-game clean with Pikachu itself they might be better off sticking with regular ol' Dynamaxing for the extra damage provided by the Electric Terrain standard Max Electric moves summon.
What I'm trying to get at here is that unlike Mega Evolutions or Z-Moves where you slapped on the right item and got a flat-out buff, there is (at least in theory) a genuine opportunity cost to choosing a Pokemon's Gigantamax form. Any Pokemon can Dynamax, including the ones with the GMax forms, so you actually gotta think about which effect is best for your team. Do I run Gigantamax Charizard to assist my team with G-Max Wildfire's passive damage, or do I choose regular Dynamaxed Zard the blow past the foe with Solar Power? Do I give my Corviknight an attacking Defog for 3 turns, or do I take the normal Max Flying speed boost which could help against certain threats? This could also lead to some interesting interactions on the opponent's end, almost like a smaller-scale version of the Mega Charizard X and Y mindgames that applies to several Pokemon.
So far, it seems with the exception of the unique G-Max Move effects and design changes, Gigantamaxing isn't a whole lot different from regular Dynamaxing. Stat boosts aside from HP have been very loosely implied, but it is currently unclear how those will work, what they'll be, if they even are a thing, etc. Now, here's the key thing about G-Max Moves: Their effects are unique, but not necessarily better.
Let's take a look at Pikachu, for instance. G-Max Volt Crash on its own is a very powerful effect, applying paralysis even to immune Pokemon despite them still not taking damage. But let's consider that this is still Pikachu, a very very frail Pokemon that could definitely be a nuisance with this move and use it to support its team, but if the goal for the user is to get a sweep or late-game clean with Pikachu itself they might be better off sticking with regular ol' Dynamaxing for the extra damage provided by the Electric Terrain standard Max Electric moves summon.
What I'm trying to get at here is that unlike Mega Evolutions or Z-Moves where you slapped on the right item and got a flat-out buff, there is (at least in theory) a genuine opportunity cost to choosing a Pokemon's Gigantamax form. Any Pokemon can Dynamax, including the ones with the GMax forms, so you actually gotta think about which effect is best for your team. Do I run Gigantamax Charizard to assist my team with G-Max Wildfire's passive damage, or do I choose regular Dynamaxed Zard the blow past the foe with Solar Power? Do I give my Corviknight an attacking Defog for 3 turns, or do I take the normal Max Flying speed boost which could help against certain threats? This could also lead to some interesting interactions on the opponent's end, almost like a smaller-scale version of the Mega Charizard X and Y mindgames that applies to several Pokemon.
The big question is: can you even do this?
It's still not clear whether a Pokémon capable of Gigantamaxing can even do a regular Dynamax.
For better or for worse, Gen I Pokemon, especially Pikachu, Eevee, the starters, Mew and Mewtwo, and a handful of others made popular by the anime, are mascots, and get, and will continue to get, preferential treatment.
Think of it in the same vein as Disney characters. Mickey Mouse, Goofey or Donald Duck, aren’t the most utilized characters in their film canon, but they have a ton of merchandise based on them, and remain popular with people, because they have a long history and were there form the start.
In terms of marketing to mass appeal and profit, it would make as much sense for GF to give Maractus a Gigantamax form as it would for Disney to introduce a toy line for Brother Bear or Treasure Planet today.
Think of it in the same vein as Disney characters. Mickey Mouse, Goofey or Donald Duck, aren’t the most utilized characters in their film canon, but they have a ton of merchandise based on them, and remain popular with people, because they have a long history and were there form the start.
In terms of marketing to mass appeal and profit, it would make as much sense for GF to give Maractus a Gigantamax form as it would for Disney to introduce a toy line for Brother Bear or Treasure Planet today.
TLDR: It makes them a bit more money so they obviously go for it
Just imagine what could Nintendo themselves do with Pokémon...
Just imagine what could Nintendo themselves do with Pokémon...
Why is it still that you can only infatuate opponents of the opposite sex? Eevee's new move is a cuddle, everyone loves a cuddle. They could have it work on all opponents and be actually sort of useful, but no, 'can't do that, it's gay' 
TFW Mystery Dungeon is more inclusive (?) than the main series.Why is it still that you can only infatuate opponents of the opposite sex? Eevee's new move is a cuddle, everyone loves a cuddle. They could have it work on all opponents and be actually sort of useful, but no, 'can't do that, it's gay'
If we're at this, Cute Charm has had this issue since forever.
Yep, they can. We have see at least Dreadnaw in both his regular D-Max and his previously-revealed G-Max.
To my understanding, G-Max pokemon are rare, and you get them from the raids
We've seen Dynamaxed Drednaw and a Gigantamaxed Drednaw, but those could be two different individuals. I don't think we've seen any evidence that an individual Drednaw capable of Gigantamaxing is able to opt to regular Dynamax instead.
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
I compared the possible mindgames to Mega Charizard X and Y. You can't choose either one on the fly obviously, but it still makes your foe think "which one are they running?"
What does balancing the fact that one counterpart got a special form while the other didn't have anything to do with balancing the game? Beedrill got a mega while Butterfree didn't. It is therefore balanced that Butterfree got a Gigantamax form while Beedrill gets jack squat. If that means that I think Game Freak is properly balancing the game after their years of screwups I believe you need to learn how to properly comprehend what you read.
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