Little things you like about Pokémon

[Pikachu315111]

Really this whole conversation just making me think hey maybe MeleMele should've had a bunch of little kids with starters roaming around.

Or at least in the Trainer School, heck in USUM the Teacher you battle to "pass", Emily, is switched to using the Starter yours is weak to.

My Starter Canon:
As green_typhlosion stated, "Starter" can be a misnomer. While certainly a "Starter" for the player, the protags in the manga and now starting with Hop in the games they already had a Pokemon partner. However, also stated, the trio of Pokemon the Professor (or whoever) gives out in the games are "special" in a way that they seem to have been specifically picked for their ease to use by trainers, probably to help with field research. Only way to find Starters in the Wild is via a special method which you can question is canon or not (like why do we need to us this special device to lure out these Pokemon, shouldn't we be able to encounter them if they still are in the area even if its a rare encounter?). We can go back-and-forth about exactly how the Starters are bred in a way only the Professor has access to them (if there a secret breeding ground somewhere? Does he just request nearby breeders), but that's my take on it.

BTW Nanu's Starter line-up was meant to be a joke, cause he's lazy. :P

 

[Chadlad50]

I feel bad for that kid. Alolan Meowth starts out cute...then it evolves, and probably eats a bee in the process

 

[Pikachu315111]

I feel bad for that kid. Alolan Meowth starts out cute...then it evolves, and probably eats a bee in the process

Alolan Meowth may be cute...

• Ultra Sun Dex: It's impulsive, selfish, and fickle. It's very popular with some Trainers who like giving it the attention it needs.
• Let's Go Dex: Highly intelligent and prideful, it's famously difficult to handle–but that's also a reason for its popularity.
• Sword: It's accustomed to luxury because it used to live with Alolan royalty. As a result, it's very picky about food.

Sound like a real Starter choice for a young kid.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Today I'd like to speak of something I like about Johto, more specifically the legendary beasts.

Firstly, here's their original battle them from Crystal.

This was the first time legendaries had their own unique battle theme, but this one is just brilliant. Makes the most of the Game Boy's limited sound capacity and yet manages to create such a great yet layered piece of music: it was exceptional for a Game Boy soundtrack. The theme itself is amazing, starting off with an intense start-up and the theme itself is just amazingly intense befitting three majestic beasts.

But what I really like is what HGSS did. It gave each beast its own unique remix of the original theme.

Raikou:

Entei:

Suicune:

Instead of all three of them sharing the exact same theme, they each have a unique variation of the theme, and the differences all suit the individual beasts effectively: Suicune's is more water-y and flows like water, Raikou's is more loud, rock-based, and thunderous, and Entei's is slower, as if a volcano were slowly erupting.

It's fun that they made three different remixes for each member of the trio, something that they never have done again since.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Something I just noticed: the dark part of flame on Charmander's tail is isn't the usual nesting doll effect you often see in cartoon fire.

Y'know, that. No, it's actually the silhouette of Charmander's physical tail, the part that's made of flesh and not fire.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Today I'd like to speak of something I like about Johto, more specifically the legendary beasts.

Firstly, here's their original battle them from Crystal.

This was the first time legendaries had their own unique battle theme, but this one is just brilliant. Makes the most of the Game Boy's limited sound capacity and yet manages to create such a great yet layered piece of music: it was exceptional for a Game Boy soundtrack. The theme itself is amazing, starting off with an intense start-up and the theme itself is just amazingly intense befitting three majestic beasts.

But what I really like is what HGSS did. It gave each beast its own unique remix of the original theme.

Raikou:

Entei:

Suicune:

Instead of all three of them sharing the exact same theme, they each have a unique variation of the theme, and the differences all suit the individual beasts effectively: Suicune's is more water-y and flows like water, Raikou's is more loud, rock-based, and thunderous, and Entei's is slower, as if a volcano were slowly erupting.

It's fun that they made three different remixes for each member of the trio, something that they never have done again since.

They actually did do it again for Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem - it's not as easy to hear, but Reshiram's theme has a slight fire sound while Zekrom's has a crackling sort of sound. Kyurem's has an extra bass line. Unfortunately someone involved in the development of ORAS messed up and used Zekrom's theme for all three of them. I think the correct themes are used in USUM though.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

It's fun that they made three different remixes for each member of the trio, something that they never have done again since.

They actually did do it again for Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem - it's not as easy to hear, but Reshiram's theme has a slight fire sound while Zekrom's has a crackling sort of sound. Kyurem's has an extra bass line. Unfortunately someone involved in the development of ORAS messed up and used Zekrom's theme for all three of them. I think the correct themes are used in USUM though.

There's yet another situation where they did something similar, and that is with the themes for the weather trio in OR/AS. There are two different themes with some differences (both based on the original theme from R/S/E). Primal Groudon/Kyogre has one variation of the theme, Rayquaza has another. There are some GBA sounds that can be heard in the theme for the Primals, which might be a reference to how Primal Reversion is about going back to the past, so the theme uses sounds from the original Hoenn games as a reference to that. In comparison, the Rayquaza theme uses nothing but modern sound effects, which is probably a reference to Mega Evolution being something new in Gen 6. And Mega Rayquaza being completely new in OR/AS, for that matter.

Either way, I am also a big fan of how some legendary themes use the same melody and overall structure, but with major or minor differences. It is really cool.

On a similar note, I really like how Pokémon often uses music in the games to create different effects and atmospheres. Music is a powerful element in video games (as well as in other forms of entertainment) which can be used to great effect. Pokémon has done that at many different occasions and I really like that. Some other good examples are the various examples of dynamic music in Gen 5, or the use of different themes when going through the Elite Four in Gen 1.

Continuing on the topic of music, I might as well post one of my favorite themes from the side-games. I think this theme is very underrated. The Colosseum Credits. This theme is really epic, it also incorporates some themes which could be heard at previous points in the game. Notably the Mt. Battle theme but with a more epic variation, as well as the Relic Forest theme.

I love it. When it comes to credit themes in Pokémon games, Colosseum and B/W are tied as my favorites. From the games I have played, at least.

 

[Wukong]

In HGSS I like when you dress up as Team Rocket to try to infiltrate the Radio Tower. It was short lived but running around Johto in that outfit with my Crobat flying behind me was a clean look. It felt cool to feel like one of the bad guys for just a little bit.

That one trainer at the end of Nugget bridge in Kanto always inspired that feeling in me. After defeating him, he says something like "If you'd join Team Rocket, you'd be a top Executive". Which always got me thinking.

 

[The Mind Electric]

In HGSS I like when you dress up as Team Rocket to try to infiltrate the Radio Tower. It was short lived but running around Johto in that outfit with my Crobat flying behind me was a clean look. It felt cool to feel like one of the bad guys for just a little bit.

That one trainer at the end of Nugget bridge in Kanto always inspired that feeling in me. After defeating him, he says something like "If you'd join Team Rocket, you'd be a top Executive". Which always got me thinking.

Shout-out to Silver outing you immediately. Dickhead.

 

[Low-Key]

That one trainer at the end of Nugget bridge in Kanto always inspired that feeling in me. After defeating him, he says something like "If you'd join Team Rocket, you'd be a top Executive". Which always got me thinking.

I still hate how you can't become a Team Rocket member, like imagine if there was a plot twist where you actually joined Team Rocket and actually become a top executive. That's definitely something for the annoying thread though.

 

[Wukong]

I still hate how you can't become a Team Rocket member, like imagine if there was a plot twist where you actually joined Team Rocket and actually become a top executive. That's definitely something for the annoying thread though.

GF doesn't have the balls let's be honest. The closest they came to moral ambiguity was BW. And even then they had to kind of reel it in at the end by saying N was manipulated by Ghetsis rather than acting on his own volition.

 

[Pikachu315111]

That one trainer at the end of Nugget bridge in Kanto always inspired that feeling in me. After defeating him, he says something like "If you'd join Team Rocket, you'd be a top Executive". Which always got me thinking.

Honestly I think there's a prime opportunity which GF doesn't want to take with a series of games where you play as a someone who joins the villain team. Now, since the reason GF wouldn't touch this subject is because they don't want the player to play the bad guy, I'd imagine instead of creating your own trainer it'll instead be a character they would create that has an established personality, backstory, and reasons for joining the villain team. That way it's not only easier to write it so the character would be an antihero but also more control over how the story plays out (aka having the core series playing out in the background and the player no where near it). It would a game more focused on seeing the inner workings of the villain teams, what typical missions are for grunts, and how things change within it as they get closer to their goals/it starts crumbling apart.

Why yes, I had put much thought into this and created my own pitches. Won't post them as it's a bit wishlisty, though anyone interested I'm glad to share via PM.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Honestly I think there's a prime opportunity which GF doesn't want to take with a series of games where you play as a someone who joins the villain team. Now, since the reason GF wouldn't touch this subject is because they don't want the player to play the bad guy, I'd imagine instead of creating your own trainer it'll instead be a character they would create that has an established personality, backstory, and reasons for joining the villain team. That way it's not only easier to write it so the character would be an antihero but also more control over how the story plays out (aka having the core series playing out in the background and the player no where near it). It would a game more focused on seeing the inner workings of the villain teams, what typical missions are for grunts, and how things change within it as they get closer to their goals/it starts crumbling apart.

That just sounds like a Colosseum prequel, honestly. Wes checks all of those boxes minus the part where he's still a member of the villainous team. The gameplay wouldn't even really need to change all that much, since stealing Pokemon was already a central mechanic.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

GF doesn't have the balls let's be honest. The closest they came to moral ambiguity was BW. And even then they had to kind of reel it in at the end by saying N was manipulated by Ghetsis rather than acting on his own volition.

Side note, but I'd say the whole N situation in BW1 is actually a little more complicated than "he was manipulated by Ghetsis". It's true Ghetsis manipulated him to an extent, but he also still acted on his own volition to a degree. He truly believed in the path he chose and his heart was truly inspired in that regard. Alder even tells him that he knew that N's heart was truly inspired, and that's why the legendary dragon chose him as its ally, and he adamantly pursued truth/ideals because he wanted to fight for what he genuinely believed in.

N's schtick is that even despite Ghetsis's manipulation he truly believed in the path of separating people and Pokemon and thought that was the outcome that was best for both, as he genuinely loves Pokemon and has a talent for communing with them. He's innocent to the core, but was also very adamant in his beliefs and refused to accept the idea that there was a morally grey area when it came to people and Pokemon. Or at least, he seemed to. You can see in his final scene that he tells you that when he first met the player he was surprised that their Pokemon genuinely liked them and wanted to be with them, which was the first time he felt that he had to question his own views. And as he journeyed, he met more and more people and Pokemon who were friends and partners and helped each other out which further put his beliefs into question.

So despite him being partially manipulated by Ghetsis, much of what he did over the course of BW1 was also partially his own intention as well. Not out of malice, as N has no evil in him, but out of his own beliefs. I think there's a theme behind his character even at the end with what he believed in: he's adamant on the path that truth and ideals are black and white, and there is only one right way to do things and one wrong way. That's why he is so adamant on the path of separating people and Pokemon: it's the belief he's formed, and he still wants to assert it as a black-and-white view. And yet, as he goes on, he sees things that show that maybe it's not so black and white. He reveals at the end that the reason he asks the player to awaken the other dragon and challenge him is an ultimate challenge of beliefs: it was to confirm the extent of his beliefs in a hero-to-hero battle, in which the hero prevails, showing him the other side of truth or ideals, and that it's not so black and white in the end, but in fact shades of gray.

You can basically see it in N's dialogue towards the end of the story:

"I want to talk to you about something. It's about when I first met you in Accumula Town. I was shocked when I heard what your Pokémon was saying. I was shocked because that Pokémon said it liked you. It said it wanted to be with you. I couldn't understand it. I couldn't believe there were Pokémon that liked people. Because, up until that moment, I'd never known a Pokémon like that. The longer my journey continued, the more unsure I became. All I kept meeting were Pokémon and people who communicated with one another and helped one another. That was why I needed to confirm my beliefs by battling with you. I wanted to confront you hero-to-hero. I needed that more than anything. There's no way a person like me, someone who understands only Pokémon— No, actually… I didn't understand them, either. No way could I measure up to you, when you had met so many Pokémon and were surrounded by friends… The Champion has forgiven me, and… What I should do now is something I'll have to decide for myself."

Or even in Alder and N's conversation just before his farewell:

Alder: "N... I'm sure you have much to think about. I know you were not pursuing ideals/the truth because of Ghetsis's manipulation, but because your heart was truly inspired. That is why you were able to meet the legendary Pokémon!"
N: "But…I have no right to be the hero!"
Alder: "Is that so? What you and the legendary Pokémon are going to do from now on... That's important, wouldn't you say?"
N: "Acting like you understand… Up till now, we've been fighting each other over our beliefs! Yet, despite that… Why?!"
Alder: "N, even if we don't understand each other, that's not a reason to reject each other. There are two sides to any argument. Is there one point of view that has all the answers? Give it some thought."

So in a sense, even if Ghetsis did manipulate N, mainly because N is just so innocent to the core, he still had his own motives to do what he did throughout BW1. I think his character is mainly about him learning that truth and ideals are in many ways, shades of gray, open to ambiguity of right and wrong, rather than black and white. (heh, it fits the titles of the game quite nicely).

 

[Sonikku A]

Hal's involvement to the Pokemon franchise is disgustingly underrated
From helping with GS dev to have faster compression (it technically wasted space though...), to modeling Pokemon Gen 1-3 for Stadium-XD, to making The Ranger spinoffs, and even have their work and model formats as basis for other devs (GC Sysdolphin graphics format which many Pokemon GC games used, Animations in OG Mystery Dungeon being based off of Stadium for a few mons)
I like that GF let HAL run their course. Shame after Gen 4 they just....relied on Creatures Inc

 

[Hugin]

In HGSS I like when you dress up as Team Rocket to try to infiltrate the Radio Tower. It was short lived but running around Johto in that outfit with my Crobat flying behind me was a clean look. It felt cool to feel like one of the bad guys for just a little bit.

That one trainer at the end of Nugget bridge in Kanto always inspired that feeling in me. After defeating him, he says something like "If you'd join Team Rocket, you'd be a top Executive". Which always got me thinking.

I did a Sapphire Nuzlocke once where I used Gameshark codes to be able to catch trainer pokes and RP'd as the first Rocket member to take on Hoenn. It was a blast. This series really has a lot of variety of playstyles if you want it to.

 

[Pikachu315111]

That just sounds like a Colosseum prequel, honestly. Wes checks all of those boxes minus the part where he's still a member of the villainous team. The gameplay wouldn't even really need to change all that much, since stealing Pokemon was already a central mechanic.

Eh, sorta but not quite. As you said, in the first Colosseum you play Wes who just got away from Snagem. The type of game I'm thinking of, I would call them the Syndicate series, is more akin to Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, at least in mission assignment and downtown at the base.

As for story, I won't go into too much detail but though the Rocket one is semi-straight forward the others I made the playable characters more complex.

Quick Summary

Rocket: As I said, play this one straight. Jett is a teen from the streets of Johto with his partner, a Houndour. Start of the game Jett chases down some punks who stole Houndour's Pokeball which attracts the attention of a Team Rocket recruiter. Offering good pay & food, a comfortable bed, and a cause to belong to (though skeptical about that one), he joins. The story takes him all over Kanto & Johto doing missions, climbing up the ranks, and indeed forming bonds with other members. First part roughly takes place before & during the events of Gen I and, as you can imagine, halfway through the game things take an interesting twist.

Advance (Magma & Aqua): Two environmental scientist interns, Shaun (boy with a Trapinch) and Raine (girl with a Horsea) are working with a team on a weather mapping project... than the lab explodes. Shaun and Raine escape unscathed but they find their mentor dead (but at different times). While grieving, Maxie comes up to Shaun while Archie come up to Raine. They explain who they & their teams are, says the other team caused the explosion while they were trying to stop them, and that they needed help from the lab and their mapping project. Wanting vengeance and persuaded by the leaders, Shaun joins Magma and Raine joins Aqua. As you imagine, a major part of the game would be figuring out what happened on the day the lab exploded and who is responsible.

Galactic: A teenage girl wakes up in a cabin on Route 217 without any memory, only having a Bronzor in her possession. While exploring the cabin, a squad of Team Galactic grunts suddenly rush in with unconscious members. Sneaking around, she discovers that she can astral project into people's minds and uses it to heal and awaken the unconscious Galactic grunts. She soon gets caught and brought back to the Galactic HQ, meeting with Cyrus who theorizes she must have looked into the eyes of Uxie who erased her memories but now let's her explore the minds of others. Given the name Eris, she is recruited with the promise they'll try to get he memories back, using her powers to help further their plans.

Plasma: Gray is a teenage boy who lost his parents at a young age when a Darmanitan rampaged through his hometown and burned down his house. This gave him a hatred toward Pokemon, thinking they're monsters that shouldn't be around humans (annoyingly his town is peaceful with people and Pokemon living & working together). One day Team Plasma visits his town and gives their speech about separating people and Pokemon. Intrigued, he goes to their recruitment booth and talks with the Sage there, Rood. Though they disagree about views on Pokemon, Rood feels their goals align and convince Gray to join. However, Gray has a secret: before the Darmanitan incident, Gray befriended and helped a Keldeo and, as thanks, the Swords of Justive gifted him with the ability to summon nearby Pokemon to help him. This secret is of course discovered rather quickly and Gray is assigned onto a special task force, even given a sword as a status symbol... but later would prove to be a powerful tool as the Swords of Justice of would come to him once more and empower his sword. Gray now reluctantly must figure out what the Swords of Justice want of him, discover Team Plasma's true goals, and figure out his feelings and relation to Pokemon. And this is of course just part 1...

Flare: Elita is a teenage girl with a Shiny Eternal Flower Flabebe (a present from her late father). Her family was once rich & powerful but her father's business partners betrayed him when he got ill and stole his business and their fortune. On the grand opening of Lysandre's Cafe she sneaks in feeling she deserves to be their to represent her family who invested money into Lysandre Labs. She gets caught and is brought to Lysandre who remember her father and, after hearing her viewpoint on people (she believes people by nature are selfish and those who aren't suffer; her father was kind which his selfish business partners took advantage of), recruits her to join Team Flare (she just so happens to have a little over 5 million Pokedollars tucked away, and upon learning about Team Flare and their goal decides its worth it to join them). Of course, as the game goes on, she meets many people and starts to rethink Flare's plans while also getting tangled up in strange situations such as Xerosic's "power suit" experiments, finding a tall old man said to be the key to Flare's plans, and these Defenders of Kalos she's tasked to spy on and joins up with undercover.

Ultra (Aether Foundation, Skull, & Ultra Recon Squad): Siblings Lei (older sister with a Bounsweet) and Lua (younger brother with a Cubone) couldn't be more opposite. Lei is an accomplished former Island Champion, pride of her family, who just got an internship with the Aether Foundation. Meanwhile Lua just failed his Island Challenge much to his parents disappointment, making him resent Alola's traditions. After getting into an argument with his parents, Lua decides to run away when he helps some Team Skull members escape and invite him to join them. Meanwhile, Lei starts making up the ranks in the Aether Foundation but the higher she goes the deeper she gets embroiled into the darker side of the Aether Foundation. As both adapt and try to get through their challenges, things really start to escalate when Lillie makes her escape with Nebby and the next round of the Island Challenge starts up.
Oh, and BTW, while all that is happening in alternate dimensions a pair of Ultra Spacian fraternal twins, Chrysoph (boy) & Sophyte (girl) have been assigned to the Ultra Recon Squad and given missions to go to Alola in order to return escape Ultra Beasts back to their home world. They end up running into Looker and Anabel at points as they try figuring out what is creating the Ultra Wormholes.

Macro (Macro Cosmos & Yell): Howl, a boy from the street & his Nickit, are looking to join the Champion Cup and, failing to get a sponsorship from his local Stadium and few businesses, tries applying for one with Macro Cosmos. Meanwhile, Rose has learned the Spikemuth Gym Trainers, under the "guise" of Team Yell, are planning to cause trouble in this years Champion Cup and make plans to stop them without drawing any attention. Howl takes the test to get the sponsorship but, due to his unruly attitude, is rejected. However this catches the eye of Rose (he was observing the tests) who asks to meet with Howl. Rose tells Howl, though he can't be part of the Champion Cup, he has a much more important task for him: to go undercover as a member of Team Yell for Macro Cosmos (oh, and collect Wishing Stars when he could), offered payment and a guaranteed sponsorship next Champion Cup which Howl accepts.
... And this is really all I have for Macro right now, will probably think more on it when we start Gen 9 (hence no more new additions to Gen 8, even though I think we're probably done with Gen 8 now).

 

[mertyville]

The Tweaking Glitch existing kinda made me like Diamond a little more since I never experienced certain events on cardridge and now can use Darkrai in PBR.
I replayed that game like 5 times without any feeling of enjoyment just to get some specific items, but finding out about these hidden pathways recalling schoolyard rumors or learning about stuff like Missingno kinda gave me a nostalgic feel I appreciate.

Kinda sad that's all the positives I can give the early gen 4 games that don't boil down to "at least this feature didn't get removed by Game Freak".

 

[Sonikku A]

Eh, sorta but not quite. As you said, in the first Colosseum you play Wes who just got away from Snagem. The type of game I'm thinking of, I would call them the Syndicate series, is more akin to Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, at least in mission assignment and downtown at the base.

As for story, I won't go into too much detail but though the Rocket one is semi-straight forward the others I made the playable characters more complex.

Quick Summary

Rocket: As I said, play this one straight. Jett is a teen from the streets of Johto with his partner, a Houndour. Start of the game Jett chases down some punks who stole Houndour's Pokeball which attracts the attention of a Team Rocket recruiter. Offering good pay & food, a comfortable bed, and a cause to belong to (though skeptical about that one), he joins. The story takes him all over Kanto & Johto doing missions, climbing up the ranks, and indeed forming bonds with other members. First part roughly takes place before & during the events of Gen I and, as you can imagine, halfway through the game things take an interesting twist.

Advance (Magma & Aqua): Two environmental scientist interns, Shaun (boy with a Trapinch) and Raine (girl with a Horsea) are working with a team on a weather mapping project... than the lab explodes. Shaun and Raine escape unscathed but they find their mentor dead (but at different times). While grieving, Maxie comes up to Shaun while Archie come up to Raine. They explain who they & their teams are, says the other team caused the explosion while they were trying to stop them, and that they needed help from the lab and their mapping project. Wanting vengeance and persuaded by the leaders, Shaun joins Magma and Raine joins Aqua. As you imagine, a major part of the game would be figuring out what happened on the day the lab exploded and who is responsible.

Galactic: A teenage girl wakes up in a cabin on Route 217 without any memory, only having a Bronzor in her possession. While exploring the cabin, a squad of Team Galactic grunts suddenly rush in with unconscious members. Sneaking around, she discovers that she can astral project into people's minds and uses it to heal and awaken the unconscious Galactic grunts. She soon gets caught and brought back to the Galactic HQ, meeting with Cyrus who theorizes she must have looked into the eyes of Uxie who erased her memories but now let's her explore the minds of others. Given the name Eris, she is recruited with the promise they'll try to get he memories back, using her powers to help further their plans.

Plasma: Gray is a teenage boy who lost his parents at a young age when a Darmanitan rampaged through his hometown and burned down his house. This gave him a hatred toward Pokemon, thinking they're monsters that shouldn't be around humans (annoyingly his town is peaceful with people and Pokemon living & working together). One day Team Plasma visits his town and gives their speech about separating people and Pokemon. Intrigued, he goes to their recruitment booth and talks with the Sage there, Rood. Though they disagree about views on Pokemon, Rood feels their goals align and convince Gray to join. However, Gray has a secret: before the Darmanitan incident, Gray befriended and helped a Keldeo and, as thanks, the Swords of Justive gifted him with the ability to summon nearby Pokemon to help him. This secret is of course discovered rather quickly and Gray is assigned onto a special task force, even given a sword as a status symbol... but later would prove to be a powerful tool as the Swords of Justice of would come to him once more and empower his sword. Gray now reluctantly must figure out what the Swords of Justice want of him, discover Team Plasma's true goals, and figure out his feelings and relation to Pokemon. And this is of course just part 1...

Flare: Elita is a teenage girl with a Shiny Eternal Flower Flabebe (a present from her late father). Her family was once rich & powerful but her father's business partners betrayed him when he got ill and stole his business and their fortune. On the grand opening of Lysandre's Cafe she sneaks in feeling she deserves to be their to represent her family who invested money into Lysandre Labs. She gets caught and is brought to Lysandre who remember her father and, after hearing her viewpoint on people (she believes people by nature are selfish and those who aren't suffer; her father was kind which his selfish business partners took advantage of), recruits her to join Team Flare (she just so happens to have a little over 5 million Pokedollars tucked away, and upon learning about Team Flare and their goal decides its worth it to join them). Of course, as the game goes on, she meets many people and starts to rethink Flare's plans while also getting tangled up in strange situations such as Xerosic's "power suit" experiments, finding a tall old man said to be the key to Flare's plans, and these Defenders of Kalos she's tasked to spy on and joins up with undercover.

Ultra (Aether Foundation, Skull, & Ultra Recon Squad): Siblings Lei (older sister with a Bounsweet) and Lua (younger brother with a Cubone) couldn't be more opposite. Lei is an accomplished former Island Champion, pride of her family, who just got an internship with the Aether Foundation. Meanwhile Lua just failed his Island Challenge much to his parents disappointment, making him resent Alola's traditions. After getting into an argument with his parents, Lua decides to run away when he helps some Team Skull members escape and invite him to join them. Meanwhile, Lei starts making up the ranks in the Aether Foundation but the higher she goes the deeper she gets embroiled into the darker side of the Aether Foundation. As both adapt and try to get through their challenges, things really start to escalate when Lillie makes her escape with Nebby and the next round of the Island Challenge starts up.
Oh, and BTW, while all that is happening in alternate dimensions a pair of Ultra Spacian fraternal twins, Chrysoph (boy) & Sophyte (girl) have been assigned to the Ultra Recon Squad and given missions to go to Alola in order to return escape Ultra Beasts back to their home world. They end up running into Looker and Anabel at points as they try figuring out what is creating the Ultra Wormholes.

Macro (Macro Cosmos & Yell): Howl, a boy from the street & his Nickit, are looking to join the Champion Cup and, failing to get a sponsorship from his local Stadium and few businesses, tries applying for one with Macro Cosmos. Meanwhile, Rose has learned the Spikemuth Gym Trainers, under the "guise" of Team Yell, are planning to cause trouble in this years Champion Cup and make plans to stop them without drawing any attention. Howl takes the test to get the sponsorship but, due to his unruly attitude, is rejected. However this catches the eye of Rose (he was observing the tests) who asks to meet with Howl. Rose tells Howl, though he can't be part of the Champion Cup, he has a much more important task for him: to go undercover as a member of Team Yell for Macro Cosmos (oh, and collect Wishing Stars when he could), offered payment and a guaranteed sponsorship next Champion Cup which Howl accepts.
... And this is really all I have for Macro right now, will probably think more on it when we start Gen 9 (hence no more new additions to Gen 8, even though I think we're probably done with Gen 8 now).

Buddy just dropped 50% of his fanfiction
Not that it's bad though. This is automatically a lot better than what Colosseum Half-did

 

[Pikachu315111]

Buddy just dropped 50% of his fanfiction

Nah, this is like the synopsis of a story you'd read on the back of the book. Like I hinted at a batch of plot stuff and and thought of many of the twists that would happen which would be pretty spoilerific.

If I was any good at writing stories (don't quite know how to write a character speaking in a middle of a paragraph without making it into a script) wouldn't mind maybe turning them into fanfics, along with the PokeStar Studio films and the other ideas I got jotted down in the Notepad file I have.

 

[Pikachu315111]

So, newest TCG from Japan expands upon the "Single/Rapid Strike" concept by introducing "Fusion Strike" with Mew being the representative of the style. From what I see of the cards, Fusion Strike Pokemon are Pokemon who all have a gimmick (usually form changing) to them. Interesting idea and a way to expand the "Strike" concept so that more Pokemon who wouldn't usually be put under either "Single" or "Rapid" could have their own special style to have effects based around. And then there's Deoxys:

Why be one style when you can be ALL of them!

I'm going to assume if they ever did Deoxys' forms they'll each focus on a specific style. Attack easily would be Single Strike (focus on hitting big with one attack), though you can make an argument which way the other two would go. You'd think Speed would be a shoe-in for Rapid, but Speed was an additional form that was later introduced not unlike Fusion Strike is.

 

[DrumstickGaming]

Neat thing I found out about SWSH from TV Tropes:

I know it's par for the course for Pokemon character names to have puns or hidden meanings, but that's a cool touch.

 

[Chadlad50]

Neat thing I found out about SWSH from TV Tropes:
View attachment 372817
I know it's par for the course for Pokemon character names to have puns or hidden meanings, but that's a cool touch.

Those are some pretty cool hidden meanings, but Allister doesn't come off as "hateful" to me. He can barely even talk.

Also I think it's very funny how Milo's is "vegetable."

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

Nikui is the kind of word you say for someone you hold a grudge with. Kinda Ghost type there.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Here's a random thing I thought about recently. I really like how the major/cover legendaries of each generation often have a different role in their stories/games/regions compared to the main legendaries of other generations. Some are neutral towards each other, others are close allies, while others are enemies. The role for the third legendary (when there is one) also varies.

Let’s take a look at how it has been throughout the Generations.

Mewtwo was the only major legendary of Gen 1, so it doesn't really have a relation to any other major legendaries because there were none to have a relation to. That said, it does have a bit of a connection to Mew since Mewtwo was cloned from Mew. There’s not much about this in the games apart from it being mentioned, but other media goes a bit deeper with it. Most notably the first movie, where Mewtwo and Mew end up fighting each other. In Pokémon Adventures, Mewtwo and Red are also fighting against Giovanni and Deoxys in the FR/LG chapter, though that doesn’t really count towards this since Deoxys is from Gen 3.

Lugia and Ho-Oh are mostly neutral to each other. They have never fought against each other in any Pokémon media as far as I know. In the distant past, they used to rest on top of the Brass and Tin/Bell Towers. But after the Brass Tower burned down, Lugia went to the Whirl Islands instead. They are also a duo without a master, but each of them are the master of a lower trio. Lugia is the master of the legendary birds while Ho-Oh is the master of the legendary beasts.

Groudon and Kyogre on the other hand, are in conflict with each other. Groudon wants to expand the land, while Kyogre wants to expand the sea. They fought in the past, and in the present as well. In the games, this happened in Emerald. It also happened in Pokémon Adventures. In both instances, Rayquaza had to be summoned in order to stop them from fighting.

Unlike the above, Dialga and Palkia are not enemies, but have a more neutral relation to each other. They are not in opposition, they exist together in harmony. Time and Space needs to coexist, and so does these two dragons. If they fight, it is completely unnatural, like when Cyrus forced them to battle against each other in Pokémon Adventures. Meanwhile, Giratina represents antimatter and resides in the Distortion World, which is where it was banished to for its violence. It is mostly neutral towards the other two in the games. This does not appear to be the case in the anime though. From what I have understood, all three fought with each other there? Though it seems like they also fought together against Arceus. I haven’t seen those movies so I don’t know how they were handled there.

Reshiram and Zekrom are opposites as they represent truth and ideals, respectively. They were originally one dragon, working with the twin heroes to create Unova. But the twin heroes pursued different things and the dragon split in two, each of the dragons joining one hero. They battled afterwards, but the battle became a tie as the dragons were equally strong. In the games, the player gets one dragon while N gets the other, and they get to battle each other again towards the end of B/W. Kyurem is simply the remains of the original dragon, being able to fuse with one of the others. The original dragon is never seen, sadly.

Xerneas and Yveltal are also in conflict as they are representing life and death, respectively. While this isn’t touched upon in the games all that much, it is explained deeper in Pokémon Adventures (as well as in the anime, I believe?). In Pokémon Adventures, Xerneas and Yveltal are in a never-ending conflict. When Xerneas gives life, Yveltal steals life. And so it goes on for all eternity. The only one who can stop them and create order is Zygarde. And that's exactly what it ends up doing.

Solgaleo and Lunala are basically allies (mates?), both being final evolutions of Cosmog. They coexist in harmony. Necrozma is the enemy here as it wants to steal their light (and light in general), by absorbing them to change form, and ultimately to regain its true form as Ultra Necrozma. Solgaleo/Lunala fought with the four Tapu to defeat Necrozma in the past, and Necrozma was banished from Alola afterwards.

Zacian and Zamazenta are close allies, having fought together against Eternatus in the past. In the games, they team up once again, alongside the player and Hop as well, in order to defeat Eternatus once more.

Apologies if I got anything wrong here, this post became somewhat rushed because I didn’t want to spend an eternity on it and I didn’t do as much research as I could have. A lot of this is also based on my memories from the games and manga, as well as the anime to an extent.

Either way, I really like how the roles of the major legendaries varies throughout the generations.