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Speaking of regional variants being handled awkwardly in SwSh...
Preface/maybe unpopular opinion?
I really dislike the partial updates to the menu icons in the Switch games so far/the way some Pokémon were scaled up and others weren't. While the updated ones might look a bit nicer individually (or at least clearer and more detailed), I find that they clash horribly when you see any NFE Pokémon side by side with the new icons, since only fully evolved Pokémon received updates.
I would strongly prefer if they stuck with one art style, even if it was the 3DS one and that meant not getting any updated icons - and honestly, you can't even really argue "but the 3DS icons would look so much worse on the Switch" personally, I actually really like most of the 3DS icons anyway because half of the problem is that they're still using some of them and only updating a select few, so clearly they don't care about avoiding that...
But anyway, on to the more notable little thing that annoys me: how this applies to regional variants.
While it was generally a more arbitrary assortment in Let's Go, Sword and Shield established a pretty simple rule for these: all fully evolved Pokémon (except Celebi and Jirachi for some reason?) got updated menu icons, and all NFE Pokémon used the same graphics as the 3DS games.
But... for some unfathomable reason... all of the returning Alola forms use their original menu icons - even if their Kantonian forms received new sprites.
This is already really baffling and awkward - and it's even more bizarre because these same Pokémon have already appeared in Let's Go with exactly the same problem, so it can't even be that it's gone unnoticed. They're just... okay with them looking like this? seriously who decided to update the icons this way I do not understand
However, it gets weirder...
In Galar, since the regional variants are new anyway, all of them obviously have new icons, and these were tailored to the Switch. But... they're super inconsistent about how to handle Pokémon with regional evolutions - are they fully evolved or not?
Mr. Mime is fully evolved in both forms.
Corsola and Linoone are NFE in both forms.
To be fair, Mr. Mime did already get an update in LGPE, so it makes sense that it would have an update - but then why couldn't the same be done for the others? This mechanic was inconsistent enough already...
But wait! There's more! Here's my favorite.
Look at Kantonian Farfetch'd, which is obviously NFE because Sirfetch'd.
Look at the Galarian Farfetch'd line, which is... apparently two fully evolved Pokémon.
Speaking of regional variants being handled awkwardly in SwSh...
Preface/maybe unpopular opinion?
I really dislike the partial updates to the menu icons in the Switch games so far/the way some Pokémon were scaled up and others weren't. While the updated ones might look a bit nicer individually (or at least clearer and more detailed), I find that they clash horribly when you see any NFE Pokémon side by side with the new icons, since only fully evolved Pokémon received updates.
I would strongly prefer if they stuck with one art style, even if it was the 3DS one and that meant not getting any updated icons - and honestly, you can't even really argue "but the 3DS icons would look so much worse on the Switch" personally, I actually really like most of the 3DS icons anyway because half of the problem is that they're still using some of them and only updating a select few, so clearly they don't care about avoiding that...
But anyway, on to the more notable little thing that annoys me: how this applies to regional variants.
While it was generally a more arbitrary assortment in Let's Go, Sword and Shield established a pretty simple rule for these: all fully evolved Pokémon (except Celebi and Jirachi for some reason?) got updated menu icons, and all NFE Pokémon used the same graphics as the 3DS games.
But... for some unfathomable reason... all of the returning Alola forms use their original menu icons - even if their Kantonian forms received new sprites.
This is already really baffling and awkward - and it's even more bizarre because these same Pokémon have already appeared in Let's Go with exactly the same problem, so it can't even be that it's gone unnoticed. They're just... okay with them looking like this? seriously who decided to update the icons this way I do not understand
However, it gets weirder...
In Galar, since the regional variants are new anyway, all of them obviously have new icons, and these were tailored to the Switch. But... they're super inconsistent about how to handle Pokémon with regional evolutions - are they fully evolved or not?
Mr. Mime is fully evolved in both forms.
Corsola and Linoone are NFE in both forms.
To be fair, Mr. Mime did already get an update in LGPE, so it makes sense that it would have an update - but then why couldn't the same be done for the others? This mechanic was inconsistent enough already...
But wait! There's more! Here's my favorite.
Look at Kantonian Farfetch'd, which is obviously NFE because Sirfetch'd.
Look at the Galarian Farfetch'd line, which is... apparently two fully evolved Pokémon.
I'm very certain most of this is to convey a size difference between mons. I wouldn't say a full size sprite means being fully evoed, as some middle-stage and lc mons have them. (most of them being reused from LGPE) the only weird one I would say are the alolan forms as you mention, and how Linoone didn't get a new one.
Edit: also, is it just me, or do the big sprites for Raichu and Persain look ugly?
Speaking of regional variants being handled awkwardly in SwSh...
Preface/maybe unpopular opinion?
I really dislike the partial updates to the menu icons in the Switch games so far/the way some Pokémon were scaled up and others weren't. While the updated ones might look a bit nicer individually (or at least clearer and more detailed), I find that they clash horribly when you see any NFE Pokémon side by side with the new icons, since only fully evolved Pokémon received updates.
I would strongly prefer if they stuck with one art style, even if it was the 3DS one and that meant not getting any updated icons - and honestly, you can't even really argue "but the 3DS icons would look so much worse on the Switch" personally, I actually really like most of the 3DS icons anyway because half of the problem is that they're still using some of them and only updating a select few, so clearly they don't care about avoiding that...
But anyway, on to the more notable little thing that annoys me: how this applies to regional variants.
While it was generally a more arbitrary assortment in Let's Go, Sword and Shield established a pretty simple rule for these: all fully evolved Pokémon (except Celebi and Jirachi for some reason?) got updated menu icons, and all NFE Pokémon used the same graphics as the 3DS games.
But... for some unfathomable reason... all of the returning Alola forms use their original menu icons - even if their Kantonian forms received new sprites.
This is already really baffling and awkward - and it's even more bizarre because these same Pokémon have already appeared in Let's Go with exactly the same problem, so it can't even be that it's gone unnoticed. They're just... okay with them looking like this? seriously who decided to update the icons this way I do not understand
However, it gets weirder...
In Galar, since the regional variants are new anyway, all of them obviously have new icons, and these were tailored to the Switch. But... they're super inconsistent about how to handle Pokémon with regional evolutions - are they fully evolved or not?
Mr. Mime is fully evolved in both forms.
Corsola and Linoone are NFE in both forms.
To be fair, Mr. Mime did already get an update in LGPE, so it makes sense that it would have an update - but then why couldn't the same be done for the others? This mechanic was inconsistent enough already...
But wait! There's more! Here's my favorite.
Look at Kantonian Farfetch'd, which is obviously NFE because Sirfetch'd.
Look at the Galarian Farfetch'd line, which is... apparently two fully evolved Pokémon.
Yes absolutely agree. We have a bunch of inconsistencies and it just looks bad.
You mentioned how Let's Go was kind of arbitrary (& it really is: https://www.spriters-resource.com/nintendo_switch/pokemonletsgopikachueevee/sheet/110762/ , a bunc hof FE pokemon got no updates, some NFE did but others didnt, what even happened here) I want to point out how some of the alolan forms did get updated alongside their normal forms! Golem & Exeggutor. So there's eventually going to be a point where those pokemon are back in the game with updated icons from Let's Go but they'll be along side the nonsense of Ninetales having one but Alolan Ninetales not.
I'm very certain most of this is to convey a size difference between mons. I wouldn't say a full size sprite means being fully evoed, as some middle-stage and lc mons have them. (most of them being reused from LGPE) the only weird one I would say are the alolan forms as you mention, and how Linoone didn't get a new one.
Edit: also, is it just me, or do the big sprites for Raichu and Persain look ugly?
Galarian Farfetch'd, Galarian Mr. Mime and Type: Null actually are the only NFE Pokémon with upscaled icons that didn't already have them in LGPE (Rhydon is one example that already had an update) - in Type: Null's case, that's presumably because it's such a small change from Silvally anyway, and the two Galarian forms in question are addressed above. Other than them, it really is just a clean split... and it's definitely not for size accuracy! That's another reason I dislike them so much, to be honest: they really don't have any sort of coherent scale because evolution stage and size have no real correlation to one another. Here's the first full sheet I could find if you're interested to see them all together!
Edit about below: Oh, good catch! I didn't know about that one - that's interesting!
I personally like the bigger menu sprites for fully evolved mons- if they can iron out the inconsistent regional form sizes and give some larger NFEs bigger icons (like they did with Wailmer and Rhydon) it could look really nice. I also think the pixies aren’t sized up due to being small? Same thing happened to togedemaru.
Remember a while ago when I talked about how defending animations were lacking and could be improved, and then later did the same with multihit moves? Let's do that again, but with all the moves.
It's a pretty cold take to say that attack animations often aren't great. People point to things like Double Kick just being hops, or Dubwool kicking when using Headbutt. Many solutions to this problem have been proposed, but the one I consider most feasible is to expand on the system they already have. Most Pokemon have two move animations: one mostly designed for physical attacks, and one mostly designed for special attacks. Each move will then call for a specific animation from the Pokemon, with the category of the move not necessarily corresponding to the animation called. At least, that's what is seems like at first glance. There actually appears to be more than two categories, as a select few Pokemon animations beyond those two. For example, Charizard has a claw swipe, a roar, and a tail swing.
It's possible that these expanded animations are more common than I think, as pkparaiso's animated model collection is incomplete, and pokestadium seems to have been taken down. Nonetheless, it presents a seemingly clear solution: just add more types of animation.
But how many animation types should there be? There are a lot of Pokemon, so being overly specific with animations would lead to an unrealistic workload.
The number I came up with is 30, but it's important to remember that this is just the number of animation types, not necessarily the number of animations per Pokemon. If a Pokemon has an animation that would fit multiple animation types, it will use that animation multiple times. You'll see what I mean as we go along.
Tackle
The Pokemon lunges forward. Moves that would use this animation include Quick Attack and Flare Blitz. Rolling moves like Gyro Ball and Rollout would use this at the start of the animation before transitioning to a generic ball.
Fly
Tackle
Take Down
Double-Edge
Quick Attack
Waterfall
Sky Attack
Flame Wheel
Rollout
Spark
Extreme Speed
Astonish
Covet
Volt Tackle
Gyro Ball
U-turn
Last Resort
Flare Blitz
Dragon Rush
Brave Bird
Giga Impact
Aqua Jet
Flame Charge
Retaliate
Final Gambit
Wind Charge
Bolt Strike
Phantom Force
Hold Back
First Impression
High Horsepower
Lunge
Accelrock
Liquidation
Sunsteel Strike
Behemoth Bash
Aura Wheel
Thrash
The Pokemon attacks erratically. Used in moves like Play Rough and Outrage.
Thrash
Counter
Struggle
Flail
Reversal
Outrage
Beat Up
Uproar
Facade
Superpower
Revenge
Knock Off
Endeavor
Close Combat
Payback
Assurance
Struggle Bug
Play Rough
Throat Chop
Power Trip
Brutal Swing
Spirit Break
Punch
The Pokemon attacks with a single punch. Quadrupeds might attack with their forefoot, while avian Pokemon might use a talon. This animation is used in moves like Fire Punch and Wood Hammer.
Mega Punch
Fire Punch
Ice Punch
Thunder Punch
Strength
Crabhammer
Thief
Mach Punch
Bone Rush
Dynamic Punch
Rock Smash
Fake Out
Focus Punch
Arm Thrust
Meteor Mash
Shadow Punch
Hammer Arm
Feint
Sucker Punch
Force Palm
Drain Punch
Vacuum Wave
Bullet Punch
Wood Hammer
Power-Up Punch
Plasma Fists
Kick
The Pokemon attacks with a single kick. Avian Pokemon might reuse the Punch animation, while quadrupeds might reuse the Punch or use their hind legs. This animation is used in moves like Mega Kick and Pyro Ball (if used by something other than Cinderace).
Stomp
Double Kick
Mega Kick
Low Kick
High Jump Kick
Triple Kick
Blaze Kick
Low Sweep
Trop Kick
Pyro Ball
Tail
The Pokemon attacks with a swing of its tail. Pokemon without tails might pantomime a tail swipe. This is used in moves like Iron Tail and Breaking Swipe.
Iron Tail
Poison Tail
Aqua Tail
Dragon Tail
Tail Slap
Breaking Swipe
Bite
The Pokemon attacks with a bite. This is used in moves like Super Fang and Leech Life.
Bite
Leech Life
Super Fang
Crunch
Poison Fang
Thunder Fang
Ice Fang
Fire Fang
Bug Bite
Psychic Fangs
Jaw Lock
Fishious Rend
Snap Trap
Headbutt
The Pokemon delivers a headbutt. May use the same animation as Tackle or Bite. This is used in moves like Iron Head and Zen Headbutt.
Headbutt
Skull Bash
Zen Headbutt
Iron Head
Head Smash
V-Create
Wing
The Pokemon attacks with its wings. Pokemon without wings will likely use Punch or Slash. This is used in moves like Wing Attack and Steel Wing. There are so few wing moves that a good argument could be made for cutting this category.
Wing Attack
Steel Wing
idk maybe Aerial Ace?
Whip
The Pokemon whips the opponent. Unless the Pokemon has a designated whipping appendage, this will likely use the same animation as something like Tail or Punch. This is used in moves like Power Whip and Double Hit.
Pound
Slam
Vine Whip
Frenzy Plant
Power Whip
Double Hit
Fire Lash
Slash
The Pokemon slashes at the opponent. May use the same animation as Punch or Wing. Used in moves like Brick Break and Air Slash.
Scratch
Cut
Fury Swipes
Slash
False Swipe
Fury Cutter
Metal Claw
Brick Break
Crush Claw
Air Cutter
Aerial Ace (if not Wing)
Dragon Claw
Leaf Blade
Night Slash
Air Slash
Shadow Claw
Psycho Cut
Acrobatics
Sacred Sword
Razor Shell
Secret Sword
Solar Blade
Multi-Attack
Behemoth Blade
Stab
The Pokemon stabs the opponent. May overlap with Punch on humanoid Pokemon, and will likely overlap with Bite or Headbutt on avian Pokemon. Used in moves like Megahorn and Drill Peck.
The Pokemon slashes in a cross pattern. Will likely overlap with Bite on Pokemon with mandibles. Used in moves like X-Scissor and Guillotine.
Vise Grip
Guillotine
Fury Swipes
Cross Chop
X-Scissor
Cross Poison
Dual Chop
Gear Grind
Launch
The Pokemon launches a projectile. Used in moves like Ice Beam and Rock Blast.
Acid
Ember
Flamethrower
Water Gun
Hydro Pump
Ice Beam
Psybeam
Bubble Beam
Aurora Beam
Hyper Beam
Solar Beam (if not Drop)
String Shot
Thunder Wave
Smokescreen
Sludge
Fire Blast
Tri Attack
Sludge Bomb
Octazooka
Zap Cannon
Shadow Ball
Hydro Cannon
Bullet Seed
Icicle Spear
Mud Shot
Rock Blast
Water Pulse
Brine
Aura Sphere
Dark Pulse (if not Burst)
Seed Bomb (if not Throw)
Dragon Pulse
Focus Blast
Energy Ball
Ice Shard
Flash Cannon
Rock Wrecker
Gunk Shot
Charge Beam
Venoshock
Electro Ball
Soak
Acid Spray
Simple Beam
Clear Smog
Scald
Heal Pulse
Incinerate
Volt Switch
Electroweb
Blue Flare
Sticky Web
Electrify
Moonblast
Venom Drench
Spirit Shackle
Prismatic Laser
Moongeist Beam
Photon Geyser
Dynamax Cannon
Snipe Shot
Tar Shot
Dragon Darts
Apple Acid
Strange Steam
Steel Beam
Throw
The Pokemon throws a projectile. May overlap with Punch. Used in moves like Fling and Spikes.
Pay Day
Sand Attack
Rock Throw
Mud-Slap
Spikes
Present
Fling
Toxic Spikes
Seed Bomb (if not Launch)
Stealth Rock
Smack Down
Water Shuriken
Pollen Puff
Anchor Shot
Burst
The Pokemon lets out a burst of energy. Used in moves like Discharge and Earthquake.
Earthquake
Self-Destruct
Explosion
Sandstorm
Eruption
Blast Burn
Overheat
Metal Sound
Water Spout
Shock Wave
Metal Burst
Dark Pulse (if not Launch)
Bug Buzz
Defog
Discharge
Lava Plume
Sludge Wave
Inferno
Night Daze
Freeze Shock
Ice Burn
Parabolic Charge
Petal Blizzard
Grassy Terrain
Misty Terrain
Boomburst
Eerie Impulse
Magnetic Flux
Electric Terrain (interesting that this is way later in the move index)
Dazzling Gleam
Psychic Terrain
Burn Up
Clanging Scales
Shell Trap
Overdrive
Rise
The Pokemon causes an attack to erupt from the ground. May overlap with Burst or Throw. Used in moves like Stone Edge and Grass Knot.
Fire Spin
Fissure (if not Drop)
Whirlpool
Earth Power
Stone Edge
Grass Knot
Water Pledge
Fire Pledge
Grass Pledge
Infestation
Drop
The Pokemon causes an attack to fall from above. May overlap with all sorts of things. Used in moves like Rock Slide and Thunderbolt.
Solar Beam (if not Launch)
Thundershock
Thunderbolt
Thunder
Fissure (if not Rise)
Rock Slide
Hail
Weather Ball
Rock Tomb
Gravity
Avalanche
Draco Meteor
Icicle Crash
Fusion Flare
Fusion Bolt
Grav Apple
Eternabeam
Mouth
The Pokemon fires a projectile from its mouth. Will likely overlap with Launch. Used in moves like Hyper Voice and Dragon Breath.
The Pokemon uses a mysterious power. This is an incredibly broad animation that is used in a ton of moves like Psychic, Ancient Power, and most status moves.
Swords Dance
Disable
Absorb
Mega Drain
Petal Dance
Toxic
Confusion
Psychic
Hypnosis
Agility
Teleport
Mimic
Double Team
Minimize
Confuse Ray
Light Screen
Reflect
Metronome
Dream Eater
Transform
Acid Armor
Substitute
Mind Reader
Curse (Ghost)
Destiny Bond
Detect
Lock-On
Giga Drain
Rain Dance
Mirror Coat
Psych Up
Ancient Power
Will-O-Wisp
Nature Power
Trick
Role Play
Magic Coat
Recycle
Skill Swap
Imprison
Feather Dance
Teeter Dance
Cosmic Power
Extrasensory
Dragon Dance
Psycho Shift
Power Trick
Copycat
Power Swap
Guard Swap
Rock Polish
Switcheroo
Trick Room
Hone Claws
Wide Guard
Guard Split
Power Split
Wonder Room
Psyshock
Autotomize
Magic Room
Quiver Dance
Entrainment
Stored Power
Quick Guard
Ally Switch
Hex
Reflect Type
Psystrike
Phantom Force
Trick-or-Treat
Forest's Curse
Topsy-Turvy
Flower Shield
Fairy Lock
Mystical Fire
Strength Sap
Speed Swap
Purify
Instruct
Aurora Veil
No Retreat
Court Change
Clangorous Soul
Drum Beating
Herald
(Also imagine Roserade's one-armed point)
The Pokemon summons an attack to be sent at the opponent. Used in moves like Surf and Hurricane.
Gust
Whirlwind
Surf
Blizzard
Razor Leaf
Swift
Powder Snow
Icy Wind
Sweet Scent
Twister
Heat Wave
Sand Tomb
Sheer Cold
Muddy Water
Magical Leaf
Tailwind
Power Gem
Leaf Storm
Attack Order
Leaf Tornado
Hurricane
Glaciate
Freeze-Dry
Fairy Wind
Leafage
Spin
The Pokemon spins on a vertical axis. Used in moves like Rapid Spin and Darkest Lariat. A very rare animation, but very important because spinning looks really dumb otherwise.
Rapid Spin
Coil
Darkest Lariat
Double Iron Bash
Grab
The Pokemon makes a grabbing motion. Used in moves like Wrap and Seismic Toss.
The Pokemon charges energy. Used in moves like Bulk Up and Solar Beam.
Growth
Solar Beam
Focus Energy
Sky Attack
Curse (non-Ghost)
Stockpile
Focus Punch (if not Calm)
Charge
Bulk Up
Shell Smash
Shift Gear
Work Up
Freeze Shock
Ice Burn
Solar Blade
Laser Focus
Gear Up
Calm
The Pokemon calms itself. Used in moves like Calm Mind and Synthesis.
Recover
Soft-Boiled
Rest
Morning Sun
Synthesis
Moonlight
Sunny Day
Future Sight
Swallow
Focus Punch (if not Boost)
Wish
Ingrain
Slack Off
Aromatherapy
Calm Mind
Doom Desire
Roost
Healing Wish
Aqua Ring
Stuff Cheeks
Defend
The Pokemon defends itself. May overlap with Mystic. Used in moves like Protect and Iron Defense.
Harden
Withdraw
Defense Curl
Protect
Endure
Safeguard
Iron Defense
Defend Order
Cotton Guard
Mat Block
Crafty Shield
King's Shield
Spiky Shield
Baneful Bunker
Shell Trap
Obstruct
Mean
The Pokemon makes a mean or angry face. Used in moves like Taunt and Mean Look. This could probably be reused from things like Amie or Camp.
Leer
Night Shade
Glare
Spite
Scary Face
Swagger
Mean Look
Torment
Memento
Taunt
Grudge
Block
Nasty Plot
Shadow Sneak
Foul Play
Spectral Thief
Nice
The Pokemon does something nice or cute. Used in moves like Charm and Helping Hand. This can also probably be reused from things like Amie or Camp.
Tail Whip
Sweet Kiss
Charm
Attract
Heal Bell
Baton Pass
Encore
Flatter
Follow Me
Helping Hand
Tickle
Covet
After You
Draining Kiss
Play Nice
Happy Hour
Celebrate
Hold Hands
Nuzzle
Teatime
Decorate
Release
The Pokemon releases something into the air. May overlap with Burst. Used in moves like Stun Spore and Haze.
The Pokemon moves up or down. These animations will likely be found together. Used in moves like Body Slam and Dig.
Fly
Body Slam (maybe)
Dig
High Jump Kick
Splash
Dive
Bounce
Magnet Rise
Heavy Slam (maybe)
Heat Crash (maybe)
Flying Press
Body Press (maybe)
Body Slam
Dig
Dive
Bounce
Heavy Slam
Heat Crash
Flying Press
Body Press
Amnesia, Baby-Doll Eyes, and Tearful Look- Pokemon would just stand there
Pain Split- Damage animation for both
Belly Drum- No idea what movement the Pokemon would do
Fake Tears- One "sad" move isn't enough
Bulldoze and Stomping Tantrum- Two "stomp" moves isn't enough, also they look fine enough with just little hops
Zing Zap- What exactly is Zing Zap? It's described as an electric blast crashing down on the opponent like Thunder, but it makes contact somehow?
Of course, some of these moves might be better off with no Pokemon animation, and these animations would be overwritten by signature move animations. I also compiled this list over the course of several days, so if a move sounds like it would be a better fit for another animation, it's possible that animation didn't exist at the time.
Seeing all those listed out I don't think you necessarily need that many variations even with overlap. Like I really can't see many instances where someone's Special animation cannot do double/triple/quadruple duty on some of these things; it would be interesting if they did dig down to minutia like this but I can see why they wouldn't in most instances.
But if we did want to expand them....Maybe something like....10 base line animations every Pokemon should have.
I can probably try listing them out later but I was thinking just something simple like a "weak/medium/strong" variant might go a long way. Keeps "animation cost" down but inserts more variety over all.If a pokemon just physically cannot do them they can cut them down as needed. Then from there they can add a couple more "special case" animations to represent some special thing about the Pokemon or if they know they'll get a lot of a certain type of move. For example, I don't see them ever adding a Spin animation to every Pokemon, it's too niche; but if a Pokemon happens to get a bunch of them from the get go? Go ahead and make a special one.
Gotta say, al ot of these attacking(/boosting) animations are nicer than I ever gave credit or noticed, though. It's always kind of hard to notice sometimes, since there's attack FX and camera zooms going but some of these are pretty expressive. Sure Golbat's attack animation is uhhhhhhhh lacking, but on the whole! I enjoy the sheer weight being flung around on Goodra's tail strike and whips, for example.
Seeing all those listed out I don't think you necessarily need that many variations even with overlap. Like I really can't see many instances where someone's Special animation cannot do double/triple/quadruple duty on some of these things; it would be interesting if they did dig down to minutia like this but I can see why they wouldn't in most instances.
But if we did want to expand them....Maybe something like....10 base line animations every Pokemon should have.
I can probably try listing them out later but I was thinking just something simple like a "weak/medium/strong" variant might go a long way. Keeps "animation cost" down but inserts more variety over all.If a pokemon just physically cannot do them they can cut them down as needed. Then from there they can add a couple more "special case" animations to represent some special thing about the Pokemon or if they know they'll get a lot of a certain type of move. For example, I don't see them ever adding a Spin animation to every Pokemon, it's too niche; but if a Pokemon happens to get a bunch of them from the get go? Go ahead and make a special one.
Gotta say, al ot of these attacking(/boosting) animations are nicer than I ever gave credit or noticed, though. It's always kind of hard to notice sometimes, since there's attack FX and camera zooms going but some of these are pretty expressive. Sure Golbat's attack animation is uhhhhhhhh lacking, but on the whole! I enjoy the sheer weight being flung around on Goodra's tail strike and whips, for example.
Yeah, you could definitely get less granular and still have a satisfactory system, though I firmly believe the spin animation is necessary. Gen 6 Gyro Ball was atrocious, and Darkest Lariat is almost as bad.
And yeah, Goodra is super satisfying to watch. It's so jiggly! As for Golbat, it's better for all of us that it doesn't bite all the way. I looked up what Golbat looks like with its mouth closed.
Interesting as I've always thought that all Pokémon had 3 animations one for special, physical and status move.
Even 10 variations per critter would be too much because all Pokémon have to have animations for all the moves so the game doesn't crash if for some reason the mon uses a move it isn't supposed to during a battle. Four or five really distinct animations for each Pokémon is really good, maybe more for starters, legendaries and mythicals.
Looking at DrPumpkinz list, first I congratulate on the work you did as this had to take a lot of time (maybe you can redefine this into a Flying Press article). That said, as R_N said, the amount of detail you went into I don't feel is quite as needed. Like if I were to simplify your list it would be as such:
Now, how can I justify shrinking all these diverse movements into 6 categories? Simple, because you forgot a few things that can also be done to deliver a different meaning onto the animation: camera placement, model positioning, and animation effects.
Let's take all the movements I placed into Rushing Forward:
Tackle: Right now that can be left as is, you see the Pokemon run forward and slamming themselves against the opponent. Thrash: Now the movement animation can be the same... but instead change the camera placement. Instead of it being in 3rd person have it be in 1st person of the targeted Pokemon. Add on a few animation effects onto the attacking Pokemon and when the move "hits" have it switch to a close-up shot of the target doing its taken damage animation. While if the camera hadn't changed placement it'll look the same as a Tackle, because the camera was placed in more dynamic angles it makes the hit look much more harder. Tail: This one is tricky as, in my mind, the camera is going to have to move while the animation is in motion. Basically, while the Pokemon is doing the basic Tackle animation, have the model swing around so the "hit" frame will be on its back (and hopefully tail). While this is being done, to hide you're just turning the model around, the camera should pan from the attacker over to the target. This will give the illusion of a sweeping motion, like you're following the tail sweeping at the target. Maybe also add in a "sweeping" blur line effect to the hit frame to emphasize it. Bite: Go first person but this time zoom in onto the attacking's Pokeon face. As it's moving forward add in the "biting jaw effect" and what other effect that move calls for. And just as the jaws come down switch the camera so it's now first person of the attacking Pokemon as you see the jaws close and the target go into its hit animation. Headbutt: Similar to Tail but instead of a sweeping camera pan the camera moves behind the attacking Pokemon as the model is tilted a bit forward to look like it's more attacking with its head. Whip: Take the Tail animation but apply the camera trick used for Bite but instead of jaws its something like harkens to whipping appendages. Spin: Thrash animation but also making the attacking Pokemon's model spin but with blur lines and other animation effects to try and hide that.
So over in the "thought would be good, actually dissapointing" thread we've kept coming back to the issue of evolution levels and weakness that we've no doubt complained about here constantly but there's another flavor to this that sucks just as bad: weak pokemon that take forever to evolve and have terrible movesets
We'll put aside Cosmog & Cosmoem for this because they're more there purely for flavor and by design aren't meant to be used normally, so the runner up in the "but WHY" category is Dreepy.
Dreepy is the weakest stage 1 pseudo in the series. Everything else has 300 BST, Dreepy has 270 though they did at least make sure to give it 60 attack and 82 speed but for some insane reason it had 4 level up moves (Infestation, Bite, Astonish, Quick Attack) and a TM/TR list that's Thunder Wave and an assortment of normal and status moves that every pokemon gets. All this on a Pokemon that evolves at level 50.
"Well you get it when it evolves anyway" is a reason I expect to see floated but I want to point out that there's not a lot of pokemon that do this. Jangmo-o was found at such a high level that 2 levels later it's already a Kommo-o. And it has an actual move pool! And Hakamo-o is a level 35 evolution regardless. If you realyl wanted to you could totally breed one of these or find it earlier in the wild in future games and be abotu as set as you would other pseudos bar deino (who at least has a movepool!)
For an earlier gen example, there's Tynamo. Tynamo gets 4 moves (Charge Beam, Spark, Tackle, Thunder Wave) and nothing else and its stats are similarly Bad. And it evolves at level 39! That's annoyingly high to carry a "magikarp" type pokemon, though in the one (1) game it's available normally it is at least at level 28; 11 levels of babying at midgame isn't the worst thing in theory but at the same time....level 39 though.
It says a lot that it wasnt in XY normally, ORAS was in mirage islands and Eelektross was the island scan pokemon.
Why design a pokemon like this? IT just seems needlessly limiting and not that interesting flavor-wise. Magikarp & Abra worked because they were early game Pokemon that you had to baby for about 10-15 levels but inexchange you got total powerhouses to use for the rest of the game. And because it was earlier in the game, those 10-15 levels go by much quicker than a similar number of levels later in the game. Meanwhile Pokemon like Dreepy may as well not exist; theyre either going to be shoved at the end of the game and evolve a few levels later or you're only going to get them by breeding because putting them earlier in the game makes them even more useless than early game noibat and rufflet
Speaking of Tynamo, why is the electric eel family pure Electric with Levitate? The obvious answer is "they wanted to make a pure Electric with Levitate because it would have no weaknesses and that's cool I guess" but that leads to the reverse question: why is the pure Electric with Leviate an eel? You couldn't have made it some other animal that doesn't have an association with another type?
Speaking of Tynamo, why is the electric eel family pure Electric with Levitate? The obvious answer is "they wanted to make a pure Electric with Levitate because it would have no weaknesses and that's cool I guess" but that leads to the reverse question: why is the pure Electric with Leviate an eel? You couldn't have made it some other animal that doesn't have an association with another type?
Well, eels are associated with electricity so they have the Electric type covered.
Now, with what I assume you talk is the lack of a Water type, we already know that many Gen V Pokémon (Stunfisk and the Frillish line, for instance) got their typings changed during development to make the type distributions more even. Maybe the Tynamo line is one of them.
Speaking of Tynamo, why is the electric eel family pure Electric with Levitate? The obvious answer is "they wanted to make a pure Electric with Levitate because it would have no weaknesses and that's cool I guess" but that leads to the reverse question: why is the pure Electric with Leviate an eel? You couldn't have made it some other animal that doesn't have an association with another type?
Sometimes they just like the idea of taking a creature associated with a type and going in a different direction with it.
Let's not forget that gen 4 gave us a hippo that was pure ground type. And a land shark.
I mean it probably went like:
-we want a levitating electric pokemon
-how about an electric eel? Then they probably point out the puns they can make with japanese word for numb & the japanese word for electric eel
-maybe also liked how they oscillate
-what if instead of swimming in water, it swam through the air
-somethingsomething electromagnetism! So it lives in a cave instead of water
I can see some actual logic behind it. Tynamo's line COULD have been part water type, sure, but it doesn't feel weird at all for it to be pure electric. As opposed to Florges, where everything about its design & concept point to something taht should be fairy/grass, but isn't.
Speaking of Tynamo, why is the electric eel family pure Electric with Levitate? The obvious answer is "they wanted to make a pure Electric with Levitate because it would have no weaknesses and that's cool I guess" but that leads to the reverse question: why is the pure Electric with Leviate an eel? You couldn't have made it some other animal that doesn't have an association with another type?
I remember when discussing Latias and Latios for the year of Legendary Pokémon, they stated that the reason they got levitate is because it would not make much sense for a floating Pokémon not to have levitate. Hence why Tynamo line have levitate. Of course, when they creates some contradictions like how Lunala and Beedrill don’t have levitate despite floating. That kind of thinking may also explain why Pokemon with levitate lack other kinds of abilities.
Well, eels are associated with electricity so they have the Electric type covered.
Now, with what I assume you talk is the lack of a Water type, we already know that many Gen V Pokémon (Stunfisk and the Frillish line, for instance) got their typings changed during development to make the type distributions more even. Maybe the Tynamo line is one of them.
I guess that would make sense. They already had an electric eel design, and then retroactively gave it no weaknesses because "that's cool I guess." Though compared to Stunfisk and Frillish, it makes much less sense (I'm assuming their original typings were Water/Electric and Water/Poison). Ground/Electric isn't just a cool type combo, but it makes some sense for a flatfish, since they spend most of their time covered in sand on the ocean floor (Water/Ground would still make more sense, but it's not as cool). And while jellyfish are venomous, they also somewhat resemble spirits (they're translucent, have no brain, and just kinda float around) so Ghost makes sense too. Tynamo doesn't have that. If it was indeed originally Water, then it was changed for no other reason than "no weakness would be cool".
Sometimes they just like the idea of taking a creature associated with a type and going in a different direction with it.
Let's not forget that gen 4 gave us a hippo that was pure ground type. And a land shark.
I mean it probably went like:
-we want a levitating electric pokemon
-how about an electric eel? Then they probably point out the puns they can make with japanese word for numb & the japanese word for electric eel
-maybe also liked how they oscillate
-what if instead of swimming in water, it swam through the air
-somethingsomething electromagnetism! So it lives in a cave instead of water
I can see some actual logic behind it. Tynamo's line COULD have been part water type, sure, but it doesn't feel weird at all for it to be pure electric. As opposed to Florges, where everything about its design & concept point to something taht should be fairy/grass, but isn't.
Hippopotas and Hippowdon go all in on the desert hippo idea, with some of Hippopotas's dex entries even describing it as doing hippo-things in a sandy context (shutting its nostrils to keep sand out and "sweating" sand to protect from germs). Meanwhile, Eelektross has the same problem as Clobbopus and Grapploct, in that the dex says it lives in the ocean and only comes onto land for food. Also, while hippos aren't nearly as associated with water in people's minds as eels. As for the Gible line, they don't really resemble sharks, instead just looking like theropods with shark fins. Also the land shark was already a thing. As a side note, the Gible family apparently comes from an extremely tropical region. Gible's Pearl entry says it lives in caves with geothermal heat because it originally lived in the tropics, while its Ultra Moon entry says that its original home was even hotter than Alola to the point that keeping one as a pet will cost you a fortune in heating bills. That's right, freaking Hawaii is too cold for this thing.
The Flabebe line (and Comfey) partly gets a pass in my book because technically they're just fairies that like flowers as opposed to actually being part flower, sort of like how Dhelmise and the Farfetch'd family aren't part Steel or Grass. Though I do call bullshit on Florges specifically. Holding a flower is one thing, but having a bouquet mane and giant leaves on your tail is something else.
I remember when discussing Latias and Latios for the year of Legendary Pokémon, they stated that the reason they got levitate is because it would not make much sense for a floating Pokémon not to have levitate. Hence why Tynamo line have levitate. Of course, when they creates some contradictions like how Lunala and Beedrill don’t have levitate despite floating. That kind of thinking may also explain why Pokemon with levitate lack other kinds of abilities.
Seeing as how the majority of Levitate mons are from gens 3 or 4, "floating must have Levitate" seems like a philosophy Game Freak adopted when they started designing new mons for Gen 3 and kept it until they realized "oh wait this philosophy is dumb and restrictive" sometime after they designed Cryogonal.
I guess that would make sense. They already had an electric eel design, and then retroactively gave it no weaknesses because "that's cool I guess." Though compared to Stunfisk and Frillish, it makes much less sense (I'm assuming their original typings were Water/Electric and Water/Poison). Ground/Electric isn't just a cool type combo, but it makes some sense for a flatfish, since they spend most of their time covered in sand on the ocean floor (Water/Ground would still make more sense, but it's not as cool). And while jellyfish are venomous, they also somewhat resemble spirits (they're translucent, have no brain, and just kinda float around) so Ghost makes sense too. Tynamo doesn't have that. If it was indeed originally Water, then it was changed for no other reason than "no weakness would be cool".
Hippopotas and Hippowdon go all in on the desert hippo idea, with some of Hippopotas's dex entries even describing it as doing hippo-things in a sandy context (shutting its nostrils to keep sand out and "sweating" sand to protect from germs). Meanwhile, Eelektross has the same problem as Clobbopus and Grapploct, in that the dex says it lives in the ocean and only comes onto land for food. Also, while hippos aren't nearly as associated with water in people's minds as eels.
Maybe it's just me but when I hear abotu hippos its always in the context of them being in the rivers and wanting to kill you (in the river) so up to Hippopotas I always figured it'd be water type.
Eelektross' entry mentioning the ocean passed me by entirely, though. Tynamo & Eelektrik don't mention it at all and Eelektross doesnt even learn water moves beyond Rain Dance & Aqua Tail. Go figure, that is weird, especially since Tynamo & Eelektrike are only ever found on land, not even "floating" over water like Golbat & Solrock/Lunatone will.
Maybe it's just me but when I hear abotu hippos its always in the context of them being in the rivers and wanting to kill you (in the river) so up to Hippopotas I always figured it'd be water type.
Eelektross' entry mentioning the ocean passed me by entirely, though. Tynamo & Eelektrik don't mention it at all and Eelektross doesnt even learn water moves beyond Rain Dance & Aqua Tail. Go figure, that is weird, especially since Tynamo & Eelektrike are only ever found on land, not even "floating" over water like Golbat & Solrock/Lunatone will.
I suppose so. I guess what I was getting as was that "living in rivers" is maybe the third thing you think of when hippos are mentioned after "hefty chonk" and "really fucking dangerous" while for electric eels, "incapable of breathing out of water" is usually the second thing you think of after "has awesome electric powers".
That said, thinking about it more, I don't think this point properly nails down why Hippopotas works while Tynamo doesn't. If Game Freak made a desert-dwelling Pokemon based on an overtly aquatic animal like a fish (Gible doesn't count), and had it swim through the sand like a Molduga, I don't think I would have any problems. Deserts are strongly associated with a lack of water, so it would make total sense for a desert-dwelling fish to not be Water-type even though it looks like a fish.
On the other hand, electricity doesn't have many immediate negative associations, and the few there are (rubber, plastic) don't have strong associations with existing Pokemon types. It also isn't associated with any natural habitat, and is instead just an ability trait, which explains why there are only three kinds of pure Electric type:
Mammals that aren't naturally associated with any other type (most of them)
Weird machine things that don't like Steel types (Voltorb, Electrode, and Xurkitree)
Sea creatures that don't really have a reason not to also be Water (Tynamo, Eelektrik, Eelektross, Pincurchin)
I guess what irks me about the Tynamo family that doesn't bother me as much Pincurchin is that while Pincurchin's lack of a Water type seems like a weird arbitrary decision, Tynamo's lack of a Water type reads more as Game Freak trying to force what they thought was a cool gimmick (wow no weaknesses that's so wacky and interesting) onto a design where it didn't belong. A pure Electric with Levitate could have been a cool UFO, or a basilisk lizard who skates around in the air, or an elephant whose ears are those powerful magnetic disks. Something whose real-world counterpart isn't already heavily associated with a type. Oh, and make sure to actually mention that it floats with electromagnetism in the Pokedex.
I guess ultimately it just comes down to preference. Eelektross' line just never bugged me as something that should have been part water.
That said I was curious if they ever said anything about the line and turns out yes! This is from teh same series of interviews (http://lavacutcontent.com/ken-sugimori-nintendo-dream/ )that brought up Stunfisk & Frillish's changed typings but...
Sugimori: “This one was designed by Mr Ohmura — he had an idea that making an eel into a monster would look really powerful, and that idea became a Pokemon. Ohmura said that he once caught a humongous eel in a nearby river and that it was disgusting, but that experience is what inspired his idea for this evolutionary line. The eel he caught actually inspired Eelektrik, who best represents that feeling of strong but disgusting. Then Tynamo was conceived of because we wanted the evolutionary line to reflect how an actual eel physically matures in the real world.”
Sadly it's just about the inspiration. Does explain why Eelektross is so monstrous though; it'd fit right at home with gen 1's kaiju.
I am also shocked there was nothing about orders given, I thought for sure they'd at least comment on "we wanted a levitating electric type". For example, Ferrothorn mentions wanting a specific dual typing...
“These two were created during the latter half of development, after an order came in for a dual-type Grass and Steel Pokemon.
or basculin made to have a standard fish, and got an extra form for more fish flavor.
“After realizing we didn’t have a relatively standard Water type Pokemon, we designed a fish that could eat you. Basculin is based on a bass, because New York is place where you can go bass fishing. We made two forms because we felt there was a shortage of fish Pokemon in the Pokedex.”
There's no reason it can't be based on both. While it's true that its general anatomy more closely resembles a lamprey, it seems foolish to think that the Electric Pokemon that looks sort of like an eel doesn't take any inspiration from electric eels (interestingly, electric eels aren't actually eels).
There's no reason it can't be based on both. While it's true that its general anatomy more closely resembles a lamprey, it seems foolish to think that the Electric Pokemon that looks sort of like an eel doesn't take any inspiration from electric eels (interestingly, electric eels aren't actually eels).
I mean, there's almost certainly an electric eel inspiration there too. Can't speak for all cultures but it's pretty well-known for its electricity-generating abilities.
A little something that came up in the discussion about early-game Alola, that I think I'd like to revisit: Exploration in the early-game. The Pokémon games tend to be really iffy in this regard.
You know the scene: A new Pokémon game is out! There's a whole new region to explore! So as soon as the dialogue scenes are over and you're allowed to go free, you set off in any random direction to thoroughly search through the exciting new locations. You enter every house, you talk to every NPC, backtrack to jump over every ledge and look behind every fence. Not a stone is to be left unturned!
And you know the result too: At best, you've found four Potions, a Great Ball, an Antidote and some items with no use other than being sold for money. And you've heard a ton of explanation of how core concepts of Pokémon work, such as status conditions, abilities, or evolution. But if you've played the games before - or even if you haven't - your quest for exploration really hasn't rewarded you much. The items you find are cheap consumables you can pick up at any Poké Mart. The explanations will be given to you again when they become relevant. After spending half an hour running around town, it really doesn't feel like it was worth it, does it?
The designers really under-utilize the excitement players feel at the beginning of the game. They set players free and give them an environment to explore, but there's nothing worth exploring for. It takes a good while until there's a path detour with a TM, or some NPC will gift you an item with an in-battle function, or a side area will contain some Pokémon you haven't found earlier. For instance, if you run around all of Wedgehurst and talk to everybody, you will have found a Potion, a Rare Candy, a Poké Doll and a Revive. Not much to be excited for, is it? Iki Town contains squat all until you've beaten Hala. Aquacorde Town gives you a Potion for your endeavours.
There could be a little something here, just as a bonus to the players who try to make the most of their game experience. They invest quite a bit of time checking out the place, and the rewards tend to be nada. It wouldn't have to be big. For instance, the type-boosting items Charcoal, Mystic Water and Miracle Seed hidden around the place. Or a TM with some small utility against the first Gym.
Strangely enough, Pokémon has got this somewhat right before, in the early days. In RBY, you can zip straight through Viridian City without noticing the access to Route 22, where you can pick up the Nidos (and Mankey in Yellow and the remakes), they are otherwise not available until Safari Zone (or post-Brock in the remakes). There's also an optional Rival battle. Likewise, Route 29 (Johto's Route 1) gives you access to the lower bit of Route 46, where Jigglypuff and Geodude (and Phanpy in Crystal) can be found, otherwise they aren't available until way later in the game. But from RSE onwards, it seems like these optional areas in the beginning have been cut out. Even the massive Jubilife City in Gen IV doesn't have much more to find than a Quick Claw and the Old Rod, and that place takes a large amount of time to explore. Even the Wild Area has surprisingly little worthwhile in it considering its size, and in half of it you can't even catch any Pokémon until later.
So yeah, I think there is something here that should be done better. A small side area with a couple of useful items (not inexpensive consumables) or extra Pokémon to find, available as a reward for exploring early on. As is, I just feel that my excitement has been wasted every time I take my time in the early-game, which is made even worse considering how long it now tends to take before the early-game lets you do anything. Hand-holding is bad enough, but when you can't even do anything meaningful other than proceeding to the next scene once you are let go, it gets pretty annoying.
Mr. Mime is fully evolved in both forms.
Corsola and Linoone are NFE in both forms.
