I can't defend/explain GF's odd penchant for leaving important trainers' Pokémon with only three moves (sudden thought: a way to regulate the AI's move selection perhaps?), but the lack of a Fairy move on Mimikyu is at least partially due to Fairy having one non-signature physical move (and one that may be a bit too overbearing at the point you fight Allister, especially with its Disguise). The only options it has for any Fairy attacks are Play Rough, Draining Kiss, and Dazzling Gleam (having it use its weaker offensive stat probably would have been okay but oh well).
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Unpopular opinions
- Thread starter antemortem
- Start date
Hot take: Maybe why they do that is to give the gym more of a ghost gym? Perhaps, they just add a bunch of ghost moves to make it more centralized, and not have a younger player with his Galarian-Linoone get a curveball thrown at him because of a play rough. You have to think from GF's point of view to understand they're thinking. It may seem just to be a useless dumming down, but it helps those kids from throwing out the game because the dumb pikachu hit them with a super effective move when he was a ghost type. Deep down, GF actually has a reason for their nonsense. This is why I couldn't disagree with you ever more. ( Kinda playing devil's advocate, but I have a reason for doing so.)
Edit: The same reason we cant get all this super hard stuff in the post-game is because GF understands that the majority of people who play their games are kids. So, they want them to keep playing, so they throw in a bunch of easier stuff to keep their brains engaged and never to feel really roadblocked. They won't add a hard mode, because we are the minority of a the people who buy their games. Why spend money to appeal to teh minority? At a company's standpoint, it's a useless feature to add. They are cold hearted, but cunning.
Edit 2: I met a younger kid, maybe 8, lets call him David. David grew up with X and Y. He was always engaged because he could get past everything, and every time it gave him a lot of dopamine. He brought everything pokemon, plushies, beds, wallpapers, etc. This is what GF wants. They want to get kids to spend all this money on all these things from their products. They want this kid to be engaged in the games, get the new games, buy everything they have, and in the end, use him to make money. Once he is dis-intrested, they made more money David's spending than they spent on the products they were selling him. They want more Davids, so they make it to appeal to davids, by making it easier for younger kids. Once tehy are a teen, they move on, but they still made a lot of money from when he was a fan. It's a un-ethical cycle, but a effecient one.
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Are kids still the majority of players? I've never seen actual stats and it's not an assumption I'm willing to make.
Googled it, and you are right. I guess my post kinda just got instantly disproved. I think that they do perhaps maybe kind of trying to appeal to these kids? I cant fully trust the reddit post that said that most people who play are over 18, put salvaging my idea, maybe they are trying to grapple in these kids and turn them into these die hard gamer fans like (maybe perhaps kinda not) people who commit their lives to pokemon(?) . Maybe they already know that most people are over 18 and becoming big critics, so they want to push them away? I try to defend GF and get instantly yeeted. Maybe Gf doesn't have that much cunning? ( I just pulled all of this form under the table, so i think it's horrible)
Edit: Nah, they know that they're audience are adults, and have been trying to nostolgia trip all of their origninal buyers back in. I feel really dumb now.
Edit 2: yay reddit post
Edit 3: " Online demographics polls like these are really not that trustworthy because what 7 year old is doing an online demographics poll on twitter or reddit? "
Checked it, and the info was right. They proved it right with links, (to real interviews) so I can trust it.
Edit 4: Oh crap, dramps was right. This isnt really real info, and it was poll based. On reddit.
lol
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Online demographics polls like these are really not that trustworthy because what 7 year old is doing an online demographics poll on twitter or reddit?
On the other hand... Look at that KANTOOOOOO pandering to appeal to those RBY Gen 1 OGs.
Game Freak repeatedly tries to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to difficulty.
Too easy, and people like us get bored. Too hard (Hi Platinum) and apparently, the kids throw the game out to go back to their mobile games. That is *high-key* insulting to newer generation kids btw, but apparently, people raised on GOAT Platinum's era were built different.
If only there was a way to have a different difficulty setting to make things easier or harder in the game...
Partly. I believe I watched that episode of the anime (not sure though), but the main thing I can remember from it is how Dragonite was portrayed as a complete mystery, not so much regarding Dragonite itself.
Thanks for the very detailed information! Iris's Dragonite is interesting, I read a bit about it on Bulbapedia yesterday. I guess it showcases something I like with the anime: how they can put a completely different and unexpected spin on certain Pokémon, breaking stereotypes for their species. Something that is unfortunately very hard to do (right) in the games.
Also, my unpopular(?) opinion regarding difficulty and the age of the fanbase: It doesn't matter whether the majority of players are adults or kids, the target audience for Pokémon is still kids (as it has always been), and the kids should never be ignored or considered less important in favor of the adults. Also, just because we old players find the newer games easy doesn't mean the same goes for the younger players of today. I have talked about this before, using an example I have seen in real life. Difficulty settings that are 100% optional would be a good option to make everyone satisfied (but since we are Pokémon fans, we will of course complain about them anyway if they should exist, am I right?). But asking for difficulty settings in the games is hardly an unpopular opinion. It feels like this is another of those discussions that gets brought up every once in a great while without ever reaching a conclusion, but I guess that's because we players are not in the position to fix this issue.
Pretty much. It's the one quick and easy solution to at least attempt to please everyone.
Sure, some people will complain regardless, but there will always be complaints. What matters is evaluating whether or not they're justified.
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But asking for difficulty settings in the games is hardly an unpopular opinion. It feels like this is another of those discussions that gets brought up every once in a great while without ever reaching a conclusion, but I guess that's because we players are not in the position to fix this issue.
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Difficulty options is not a unpopular opinion, ( Like SD said) and I think we, as a fanbase, should stop whining because GF isn't going to put it in. Incredible try-hard die-hard fans aren't going to get that put in, because it would only truly benefit them, not the kids, which it is aimed at. Most of those people THAT are adults, probably are being nostolgia baited, so we are kinda the minority. Why spend resources that would only appeal to a minority, when you could spend it on the appeals the majority and the target? ( Kids & and Adults coming back for nostolgia) doesn't really make sense to do it for us, unless it takes a dramatic turn in the people who play, then they might(?) but probably won't. It's a dumb topic to spar about, because difficulty options or things that appeal die-hard fans aren't going to added. ( maybe probably not at all perhaps)
Edit: Oh, maybe I am wrong on this one, for the 7th time. If it would please everyone like Volt said, then my logic is fundamentally flawed. Maybe I shouldn't side with Gf anymore...
Edit 2: Good point, Good point, maybe I shouldn't give up on Gf. Thanks for addressing me Clever ( Clev or clever?) . That could be a reason for not implementing it, maybe giving my post any tiny bit of evidence (?) And i forgot what I was going to say.
Edit 3: Celver. It's Celver. Not clever. I'm really sorry dude.
Edit 6: How do I fix my quotes like Celever?
Edit 4: Wait, it was Celever? I feel... I'm just sorry for my stupid brain.
But asking for difficulty settings in the games is hardly an unpopular opinion. It feels like this is another of those discussions that gets brought up every once in a great while without ever reaching a conclusion, but I guess that's because we players are not in the position to fix this issue.
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Difficulty options is not a unpopular opinion, ( Like SD said) and I think we, as a fanbase, should stop whining because GF isn't going to put it in. Incredible try-hard die-hard fans aren't going to get that put in, because it would only truly benefit them, not the kids, which it is aimed at. Most of those people THAT are adults, probably are being nostolgia baited, so we are kinda the minority. Why spend resources that would only appeal to a minority, when you could spend it on the appeals the majority and the target? ( Kids & and Adults coming back for nostolgia) doesn't really make sense to do it for us, unless it takes a dramatic turn in the people who play, then they might(?) but probably won't. It's a dumb topic to spar about, because difficulty options or things that appeal die-hard fans aren't going to added. ( maybe probably not at all perhaps)
Edit: Oh, maybe I am wrong on this one, for the 7th time. If it would please everyone like Volt said, then my logic is fundamentally flawed. Maybe I shouldn't side with Gf anymore...
Edit 2: Good point, Good point, maybe I shouldn't give up on Gf. Thanks for addressing me Clever ( Clev or clever?) . That could be a reason for not implementing it, maybe giving my post any tiny bit of evidence (?) And i forgot what I was going to say.
Edit 3: Celver. It's Celver. Not clever. I'm really sorry dude.
Edit 6: How do I fix my quotes like Celever?
Edit 4: Wait, it was Celever? I feel... I'm just sorry for my stupid brain.
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Difficulty setting were in B2W2. They just implemented them so horrendously badly that no one was able to use them without 2 DSes and both B2 and W2.
It’s plausible that the “poor reception to the difficulty settings” means GF thinks fans don’t care if they’re included or not, but if that’s true it shows how clueless GF is. People took issue with the implementation but were a big fan of the idea, and the difficulty modes were hyped up pre-release by everyone.
They also included an easy mode in this instance for young kids!
And even if you play around it (say, play on an emulator with an Action Replay code to unlock the Key before starting a new game) you find out it's poorly done even without considering the Key mess. It was just one more mon per major trainer and teeny little more grinding.
You guys want a harder difficulty option, but Game Freak is neither willing or actually capable of making one. It's not worth bothering. Just tinker with the game's already existing options to increase difficulty in a fun way...
Interesting, is that so? I've been interested in doing a hard mode run because of the hype, and I'm lucky enough to own both games and two systems, but I've never tried it. How so is it poorly done (in terms of difficulty) if you don't mind me asking?
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Basically most major trainers add one more Pokémon, some of their moves are replaced with a stronger moves (e.g. Iris's Aggron has Head Smash instead of Rock Slide) and their teams are 3-4 levels higher than in Normal.
The difficulty change is small at best. Not enough to call it a "Challenge".
I'm not talking about expecting difficulty more like those of the Drayano ROM Hacks, but it was still disappointing.
I'd say, with complete confidence, that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are more of a Challenge Mode to Sun and Moon than this.
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Not really, some teams had more than just an extra mon, they also had alternate movesets.
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Marlon#Challenge_Mode
The added mon also were usually a mon that could cover for one of their weaknesses, for example, Mantine to cover against Grass.
And let's be real, look at those Wailord differences. It's straight up silly to treat them as pretty much the same team. Marlon's non-Challenge mode is a joke.
In my opinion, it's not poorly done at all. There is a surprising amount of thought put into the challenge mode gym fights, it's just that the challenge mode, and especially the easy mode, are incredibly poorly implemented. To give you an example of what the challenge mode might change, let's look at Roxie.
Apart from having slightly higher levels and using an extra Pokemon, Roxie also makes use of held items and her Pokemon have updated movesets. Koffing has a much more threatening STAB move and Whirlipede can now get out of control with rollout. I think Grimer is a particularly good option here as well, as it has mud-slap to check the Magnemite line which would otherwise totally wall Roxie.
Some of the late game fights go all out with items. Look at Shauntal's challenge mode team.
That scarf Chandelure is infamous for being such a big surprise the first time you encounter it. Drifblim uses a common competitive strategy with flying gem acrobatics. What's interesting to note is that Shauntal's Drifblim doesn't have unburden on her normal mode team, so the designers actively chose to chance its ability to unburden specifically for challenge mode. It demonstrates that GF does know what they are doing in terms of boss design, sometimes anyway.
Challenge mode does much more than just adding levels. I think the fact that trainers use items now is enough to make a difference in and of itself to be honest. I would really like to see this in future games. Just let us pick the challenge mode option from the start please.
My unpopular opinion is that Blaziken and Swampert aren't the coolest Hoenn starters. I always thought Sceptile was coolest, but no one really gave him any attention. I mean, Blaziken and Swampert are good, but I feel like people only like them because they're powerful and not because they actually like them. Sceptile is actually a really good special attacker and revenge killer, plus a great SubSeed user in Gen III. But for whatever reason, nobody uses it, and Sceptile and its evolution should get more love. Who agrees with me?
Being cool is not the same as being good.
True, but I still feel like Sceptile should get more use
I think Grovyle is cooler than Sceptile.
But I digress, the Hoenn trio is good. Top 2 tbh.
Even though the "favourite starter" discussion is pretty dry and overdone, this does bring up something that I was thinking about the other day.
I think that the Grass-Type is actually the most boring type for in-game runs.
Think about any Grass-Type Pokémon. What's its in-game progression? Normal-Type move (e.g. Tackle), Grass-Type move (e.g. Razor Leaf), Status moves (the powders, Leech Seed), and then just slightly stronger variants of the aforementioned repeated over and over again. Grass-Type Pokémon have infamously bad coverage even when TMs are included -- before Movexit most special Grass-Type Pokémon used a Hidden Power in competitive -- and their level-up learnsets very rarely have moves that aren't STAB or Normal-Type. Of course, dual STAB Grass-Type Pokémon slightly diversify things, but even then it seems like having the Grass-Type attached to a Pokémon means it has less coverage than its other typing would usually get most of the time.
It doesn't help that so many Grass-Type Pokémon just have Chlorophyll for their ability. SunnyBeam is the end-goal moveset for such a large portion of Grass-Type Pokémon that it can't be ignored. And besides that, the Grass-Type is legitimately just one of the worst typings in the game. It has lots of weaknesses to common Pokémon you find in-game, since Poison-Type is usually used by enemy teams and Bug- and Flying-Type Pokémon are everywhere early on where you're supposed to depend on your starter, and the Grass-Type becomes a really bad choice to start the game with. There's a reason why it's often considered a bit of a hard mode in itself.
Here's a level-up moveset for a Grass-Type Pokémon.
1 - Absorb
1 - Helping Hand
3 - Fairy Wind
6 - Stun Spore
12 - Mega Drain
15 - Razor Leaf
18 - Growth
21 - Poison Powder
24 - Giga Drain
27 - Charm
30 - Leech Seed
33 - Cotton Spore
36 - Energy Ball
39 - Sunny Day
42 - Endeavor
45 - Cotton Guard
48 - Solar Beam
Who do you think has this moveset? As a hint, I did choose a Pokémon with some distinguishable features among Grass-Type Pokémon in its moveset. If you still can't guess, I think it drives the point home more.
1 - Helping Hand
3 - Fairy Wind
6 - Stun Spore
12 - Mega Drain
15 - Razor Leaf
18 - Growth
21 - Poison Powder
24 - Giga Drain
27 - Charm
30 - Leech Seed
33 - Cotton Spore
36 - Energy Ball
39 - Sunny Day
42 - Endeavor
45 - Cotton Guard
48 - Solar Beam
Who do you think has this moveset? As a hint, I did choose a Pokémon with some distinguishable features among Grass-Type Pokémon in its moveset. If you still can't guess, I think it drives the point home more.
It's Cottonee. The only way you can tell is its 2 (two!) Fairy-Type moves, and its 2 unviable "cotton" moves. Everything else could be from any Grass-Type Pokémon.
It's something that's extremely easy to miss or gloss over, but I think this is arguably the biggest reason why it feels like Grass-Type starters are generally the least popular. There are exceptions (or only really Turtwig and Rowlet, perhaps also Grookey) but notice that Turtwig and Rowlet both combine their Grass-Type with an interesting other type that's rarely found on Grass-Type Pokémon, and Grookey is probably more popular because its competition with the Gen VIII starters is worse.
Anyway, going back to the above post, I think the Hoenn starters are often considered the second-most popular starter trio in the series only behind KANTOOOOOOO, so even if it seems Sceptile is less popular than Blaziken or Swampert (which I'm not totally sure is true but hey) it doesn't mean it's not loved. Setting the three of them in an arbitrary competition with each other is pointless.
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kinda ugly tho :/
I've always beem impartial to the whole "3d models ruined typhlosion" because, while yeah it does look bad without the fire and it was a dumb decision to take it off, it does make me question on how good of a design it is when it only has fire to make it look cool.
Sure, every pokemon with fire on it would look worse without their fire ignited, but quite a few would still look pretty decent. Some would even still remain pretty good (thinking stuff like infernape). Typhlosion looks awful, and it makes me think it really is just a dumb badger whos only appeal is that its on fire
Also, on a different note, I feel like Hoenn having a lot of water didn't make it bad. If anything, I felt like exploring this region was just as fun as Alola and more original than Johto, though I do happen to like the Johto games for different reasons. I do admit that Diving got kind of annoying, but it made the world feel more vast. The Pokemon introduced in Gen III were pretty awesome, too.
On the subect of Pokemon design, I prefer the designs of most newer Gens to older ones, since they kind of got more creative with the designs. Some designs were kind of just comebacks of older ones, but I think they're still really cool. However, I think we can all agree that the Legends and Myths in every game are really cool, not just specific Gens.
I found Kalos very fun. For one, Shiny Hunting was an easier thing to do. Some think that Shinies have lost their value, but older Gens didn't have "Shiny Hunting;" they just had Soft Resetting. To me, that's a boring concept. Masuda Breeding, Chain Fishing, Poke Radar, Hidden Pokémon, SOS Battles, and Max Raids are fun. The fact that they take less time means more people can have Shinies, and that's cool. The feeling of getting a Shiny is amazing, but endlessly resetting gets boring. Shiny Hunting is actually fun nowadays, and beyond that, it's easier to get GOOD Shinies. In older gens, it was much harder to tell if your Pokemon is even good, and Egg Moves, IVs, HAs, and other such things were too hard to legitimately get on a Shiny.
On the subect of Pokemon design, I prefer the designs of most newer Gens to older ones, since they kind of got more creative with the designs. Some designs were kind of just comebacks of older ones, but I think they're still really cool. However, I think we can all agree that the Legends and Myths in every game are really cool, not just specific Gens.
I found Kalos very fun. For one, Shiny Hunting was an easier thing to do. Some think that Shinies have lost their value, but older Gens didn't have "Shiny Hunting;" they just had Soft Resetting. To me, that's a boring concept. Masuda Breeding, Chain Fishing, Poke Radar, Hidden Pokémon, SOS Battles, and Max Raids are fun. The fact that they take less time means more people can have Shinies, and that's cool. The feeling of getting a Shiny is amazing, but endlessly resetting gets boring. Shiny Hunting is actually fun nowadays, and beyond that, it's easier to get GOOD Shinies. In older gens, it was much harder to tell if your Pokemon is even good, and Egg Moves, IVs, HAs, and other such things were too hard to legitimately get on a Shiny.
I can definetly agree with you on the point of the newer designs being better. Look at gen 1. We have 2 purple blobs that look the same and have boring names, just a few magnets put together, a cat, weird duck looking thing (?). Those are crap designs, and you can't defend them. Pokemon designs needed time to grow, so nowadays, they are much better. gens 1-4 weren't very adventuerous, because they were in the original era, so not much time. They were simple, but not all bad. Now, we have more complicated designs, and overall better designs. No arguing.
I would argue that the fun in using grass types is finding a way to make them work. The viability of the grass type also depends heavily on the game you're playing. In Sinnoh, all the types that grass has a good matchup against are represented by a gym leader or E4 member, and fire types are notoriously rare. Compare that to Johto where grass doesn't have a single good matchup.
I also think that GF has been getting better at designing grass types since gen 5. Unova in particular has a lot of variety in grass types.
Serperior - fast and bulky setup sweeper
Simisage - fast mixed sweeper
Leavanny - swords dance sweeper but a bug type (which is nice for the E4)
Whimsicott - purely support
Lilligant - special setup sweeper
Maractus - uhh....
Ferrothorn - defensive juggernaut
Sawsbuck - fast and physical with good coverage
Amoongus - mixed tank
As for starters, I would really like to see a fast grass/rock type starter. Grass and rock complement each other so well, but the only grass/rock type we have is Cradily, who doesn't exactly make the dual STAB shine.
While I agree with you on paper, I think for in-game play these distinctions matter much less. Physical and special are really distinct in competitive play where opponents are EV-trained, but in-game the difference between using Seed Bomb and Energy Ball is barely noticeable. Similarly, Whimsicott being a good support Pokémon is cool in competitive doubles, but in-game you still just use SunnyBeam, just as you also do on Maractus and Lilligant. Amoongus and Ferrothorn are, however, fun defensive options, and I do think Sawsbuck is an exception to the rule with its Normal-Type STAB, Jump Kick, and Megahorn. It’s a fun Choice Band user if you go out of your way to get one from the Battle Subway, which is pretty unique for a Grass-Type Pokémon. But notice how all of these are dual-typed; the 3 mono-grass mons all end up using SunnyBeam, while Serperior doesn’t have access to it so it’s stuck with worse moves like Leaf Storm (without access to Contrary) and Simisage is still using Seed Bomb at the end.
Basically I agree with you with regards to competitive, but in-game not so much. Lilligant is by all accounts a Bellossom in-game.