Unpopular opinions

Eh, it works for Arceus and its trios (Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf) and other more spiritual legendaries like the genies and tapus, but I don't think it works for most legendaries. As apocalyptic as Groudon and Kyogre's powers are, at the end of the day they're just a dinosaur and a whale that happen to be really strong.
I can't think of Kyogre without thinking of this goofy comic by Smogon member Bummer



From a design standpoint it's fun to make creatures/beings that have absurd powers, but it's also a lot more limiting in the long run.
 
why bother with having to write around such a thing at all?
Unfortunately the short answer is "cause VGC".
As of now, they intend to keep allowing to have all Pokemon (at least, the ones present in a generation) catchable or breedable within that generation in some way, in order to never require someone to own previous games to obtain them.
Which basically means that all legendaries available in a given game need to be also catchable in that game.

And at this point "cause ultrarifts" is a pretty easy to recycle and execute reasoning.
 

Yung Dramps

awesome gaming
Unfortunately the short answer is "cause VGC".
As of now, they intend to keep allowing to have all Pokemon (at least, the ones present in a generation) catchable or breedable within that generation in some way, in order to never require someone to own previous games to obtain them.
Which basically means that all legendaries available in a given game need to be also catchable in that game.

And at this point "cause ultrarifts" is a pretty easy to recycle and execute reasoning.
They could just... uh... not include all the legendaries in every single game anymore? It would be nice if we could go back to each game just having a handful of past legendaries in thematically relevant locations (e.g. if PokeSpain has a Gibraltar equivalent they could chuck some Galar legends in there)
 
They could just... uh... not include all the legendaries in every single game anymore? It would be nice if we could go back to each game just having a handful of past legendaries in thematically relevant locations (e.g. if PokeSpain has a Gibraltar equivalent they could chuck some Galar legends in there)
We have PokeBritain, PokeFrance, and PokeEnglish Channel, but Galar has the Kalos Legendaries in the raid den. I honestly prefer having other region's legendaries (sans the Regis in Sinnoh) as an afterthought since it lets the main region's legendaries get more focus. RIP to any potential Yggdrasil themed minor legendaries in Kalos, we just had to have the Kanto birds.
 
They could just... uh... not include all the legendaries in every single game anymore? It would be nice if we could go back to each game just having a handful of past legendaries in thematically relevant locations (e.g. if PokeSpain has a Gibraltar equivalent they could chuck some Galar legends in there)
Even if they do not include all of them, it's pretty likely they will still include a sizeable chunk of it.

Even just as far as Galar goes, there is 664 pokemon available out of the total of 905, so somewhere around 65% of the entire dex, meaning that even if they were not to include "all" of them, they would still likely include at least 2/3rd of the legendaries available.
Still far too many to come up with a mini ingame story or location for ALL of them.
 

Yung Dramps

awesome gaming
We have PokeBritain, PokeFrance, and PokeEnglish Channel, but Galar has the Kalos Legendaries in the raid den.
Maybe they could've gotten a more substantial quest in either base game or DLC if they didn't feel the need to cram every legendary ever made in one thing!

Even just as far as Galar goes, there is 664 pokemon available out of the total of 905, so somewhere around 65% of the entire dex, meaning that even if they were not to include "all" of them, they would still likely include at least 2/3rd of the legendaries available.
Just don't include so many legendaries lol easy
 
The Ultra Beasts are one of my personal favorite sets of legendaries in Pokemon. A lot people critique the UB’s design wise because their ”weird and non pokemon like” I feel like people who make this criticism misses the entire point of the UB’s. Their supposed to look weird and non-pokemon like because their creature’s from parallel universes vastly different from the main Pokeverse and their supposed be foreign and alien like. Cricitizing the UB’s for being weird is like critizing Pikachu for being yellow it’s just an inherit part of their design. Now weirdness is never an excuse for bad designs weird designs if done badly can be extremely off putting. Fortunately for the UB’s most of their designs are really good. Their fierce, intimidating and look like something foreign and out of this world. To end this off I’m going to give my opinion on every UB and I feel like doing this can help people see the positive aspects of each UB.
Kartana- Fucking awesome, origami is a staple in Japanese culture and I’m very surprised we didn’t get a pokemon based on it sooner however Kartana was more than worth the wait. It’s very sleek and intimidating and every attack it does feels graceful and powerful.
Naganadel- I feel like this is the only Ultra Beast with mostly positive reception from the fandom and it’s for good reason, It’s design looks really cool I loves its purple color scheme and its syringe like stinger is a stroke of design genius.
Poipole- It’s very cute.
Buzzwole- One of the most expressive UB’s despite it not really having a face it’s flexing really show of this mon’s personality. I personally feel like it strikes a good balance of being humanoid and animal a feat with which many pokemon struggle with.
Pheramosa- Combines the feeling of grace and power of Kart and the balance between human and animal of Buzzwole.
Guzzlord- Very solid design but what really elevates this pokemon is it’s Lovecraftian lore. This Pokémon will never stop eating and can destroy entire worlds by eating all of its resources. To add on to this mon’s creep factor the theme for the wormhole you find it in USUM is the Welcome to Alola theme played in reverse.
Blacephalon- Now on to 4 UB’s I have mixed feelings on Blacephalon has a cool concept being a creepy clown but it not having a face severely hinders any potential scare factor this mon may have had. I still don’t mind its design overall the highlight being the detachable head but I feel like it has serious missed potential,
Xurkitree- Being a pokemon based on Christmas tree lights is pretty rad however I feel like this design should have had multicolored lights on it’s wire to more clearly express it’s concept.
Celesteela- Cool design really no complaints here, nothing absolutely mind blowing here but its a solid and well rounded design
Stakataka- I feel like this design has some serious flaws One of which being it’s legs. For some reason I just don’t like Stakatakas legs their very much. Their small and curly and they look there barely holding poor Stakataka up. It’s eyes are also not very appealing. Overall this is probably the only UB I have a negative opinion on.
Overall I feel like the UB‘s get a lot of undeserved hate for being weird when that weirdness is the very reason for producing some of the most creative and out there Pokémon in the entire franchise.
 
Maybe they could've gotten a more substantial quest in either base game or DLC if they didn't feel the need to cram every legendary ever made in one thing!
I don't get this logic. The dump of legendaries is clearly intended to copy-paste as much work as possible between each of them, so all of the legendaries isn't much more work than just one legendary. Imagine if the Max Lair was home to only a single legendary. A whole separate quest would be substantially more work than that.
 
Just don't include so many legendaries lol easy
Not happening, even without considering VGC, the "legendary catching antics" are one of the key postgame elements that keep people playing the game after it's over, and the game already had to remove postgame activities (cough cough facilities) cause people just weren't engaging in them.

In fact, SwSh's legendary catching antics were possibly the best so far since (while imperfect and unfortunately rng based, hopefully they don't repeat that), they were relatively fun, actually offered a new type of postgame facility that resembled a lot the old rental facilities of the past, and even allowed you to do it with friends if you wanted but without forcing you to.

I know we all wish that the answer is "Just Make Better Content 4Head", but I'm quite sure by now we know that gaming industry doesn't work like that, and if you have to dedicate development time to postgame activities and you're already short on time (and GF always is due to the massively strict release schedule), opting for very easy to replicate ones like the legendary catching thing is great.
 
They could just... uh... not include all the legendaries in every single game anymore? It would be nice if we could go back to each game just having a handful of past legendaries in thematically relevant locations (e.g. if PokeSpain has a Gibraltar equivalent they could chuck some Galar legends in there)
Funny thing, not much after you wrote this, Wolfey published a video with a similar proposal (for different reasons)

To be fair, I didn't tecnically think of it, and I also have no expectation or hope whatsoever that GF would do it either, but it would honestly be actually cool is now that "permanent Dexit" was confirmed, GameFreaks would actually make their very first statement about it not a lie, and actually purposely leave out the most centralizing Pokemon from the next games.

It's not that it would really "change" much, different pokes would just take their place, but it would at least be interesting to see how a generation without, say, Lando-T and Incineroar would look like.
 
I would like to second this so strongly
People act like Bug needs to be buffed offensively, but that implies Pokémon don't use Bug moves by choice all the time

The best example is the case of U-turn vs Volt Switch - even though Electric is superficially a better attacking type and Volt Switch comes pretty close to being available to every single Electric-type (it's not fully universal, but there were very few exceptions before the last two Generations), U-turn is such a vastly superior move that it's even preferred by many of the Electric-types that have both, even though Bug ought to be a "bad" type and Electric is what they have STAB on
In a particularly extreme example, Tapu Koko's sample set in current-Gen OU recommends U-turn over Volt Switch despite having Electric STAB, the boost from Electric Surge, maximum Special Attack EVs and a Timid nature, factors that mean that exact set using Volt Switch instead would do just over 2.35 times as much raw damage on a neutral target
This is not an accident - U-turn is still a better move than Volt Switch
When a Pokémon uses Volt Switch, it commits to doing damage and switching out if the opponent doesn't send in a Ground-type but staying in and doing nothing if the opponent sends in a Ground-type (one of the type's expected losing matchups), which is the exact opposite of what most Pokémon want out of a pivoting move
Conversely, U-turn can't be blocked by anything, and it takes a lot for a Pokémon to give that up if it has the option at all

That's the thing: U-turn isn't used primarily for damage or good matchups - it borders on being one of the "safest" moves in the entire game, and it's appreciated and readily utilized by nearly everything that has it, Bug-type or not (and physically offensive or not!)
This matters so much more than people seem to realize - being weak to U-turn is rare, but it also borders on crippling, because Pokémon are afraid to invite U-turn or to be threatened and forced out by the possibility of U-turn
Conversely, being resistant to U-turn may be common, but it is also coveted
People often complain in particular about Fairy being given a resistance to Bug (even in this same thread, people have suggested it was some kind of stock resistance to "pad out" its defensive profile without hurting a more popular type or one that was meant to have minimal implication), but that's another thing that needs to be looked at more closely: Fairy's resistances were openly designed from the ground up to make it "the anti-meta type," with particular focus on the types that were most prominent in Gen V VGC and probably with Gen VI's Dark buff in mind as well
It resists Bug because Bug-type moves are meta, and it's actually considered one of the most relevant and useful resistances Fairy has to offer: it means they don't take excessive damage from it every time something they intend to counter tries to pivot out of them, and they can also switch in safely to resist stray U-turns aimed at other Pokémon

Essentially, Bug is the type that's "allowed" a crazy-strong tool like this only because it is one of the worst in offensive matchups alone - these are not unrelated!
The thing is that Pokémon care about their defensive Bug matchup because of the universal utility of the most relevant Bug move
and you can't simply give a tool like this to just any attacking type without a harsh drawback (like making Volt Switch fail on the Pokémon its users would most want to escape)
Even the more recent Flip Turn on the more "powerful" Water type had extremely careful distribution compared to past pivoting moves and a power decrease to match + also Water Absorb and Storm Drain may be relevant depending on the format (I think Storm Drain is quite common in the official competitive format, VGC, and it also happens to block Flip Turn from anywhere on the field!); conversely, no Bug immunity exists even with any Ability, because it's a major part of the the identity of the type to be "offensively weak but perfectly reliable"

The type chart is a lot more carefully considered than people give it credit for, and it's incredibly rare that I see someone ask to "fix" it and actually agree with their suggestion
The "problem" is when people look at matchups like they exist in a vacuum and every type needs to be perfectly balanced before any moves or Pokémon are made, when moves and Pokémon belong to specific types because of what those types can do for them and what part of those types they represent
"Weak" types on paper are usually the ones with the strongest assets or the strongest Pokémon - moves and Pokémon that rely on having constraining matchups to be kept in check - and there are Pokémon of every type that see in-game and competitive success when they work with the type correctly instead of trying to shape it into something it's not, so obviously this is working!

If you want to buff Bug-types, you should absolutely not do it offensively, because Bug's most defining move and its entire mechanical identity leans heavily on the offensive matchups that it already has and it would be very easy to bring about some pretty stupid consequences if you make it better
On the other hand, Bug is a pretty fine defensive type anyway - when specific weaknesses are patched up by the right secondary type, held item or partner, it is usually more than workable and you can really see the type's distinctive toolkit shine through
A lot of Bug-types' identities come from their moves most of all, many of the best of which are rarely distributed to other types
None of this is stuff you could get just by looking at their matchups on a chart - you need to look at the Pokémon that have the Bug type and what they do, as well as the Pokémon that run Bug-type moves and the Pokémon that match up well against Bug-type moves and how much that is valued, before you can write off the type as flawed or in need of saving
Basically, I don't think you need to "fix" the type; I think a lot of people just look at the type chart in an incomplete way that doesn't reflect how well it's really designed (my unpopular opinion: the type chart, in its current state, is one of the coolest things about the series and is the underlying factor between almost all of the other mechanics and design choices I like the most; I wouldn't change a thing about it), and I wish more people would focus on understanding it before they try to correct it, because uuusually the latter means making it worse
Pretty much it boils down to weak early routes comprising most bugs, and poor distribution of good bug moves. It's like the inverse of Gen 4/5 dragon, where it was high power mons with a really good distribution of a stab move
This is kinda why I buffed the bug mons themselves in my joke hack and made them have more resistences; flavor wise more offense doesn't make much sense, nor help when bug combos can lead to the most fragile defense anyway (bug flying really sucks long term)

To be fair about Lati@s, the Japanese version of the movie starring them outright shows there are multiples of both, the ending shows 2 Latias and 1 Latios in the sky, but 4kids airbrushed out the 2nd Latias to imply that the Latios that was part of the plot of the movie was still alive and everything is all happy in the end with no deaths whatsoever.
Screenshot_20220512-145637_Brave.jpg

Uh no, they did not, the death for Latios is still noted
4Kids might've been screwed in using the older plot, but the Lati mother and babies wasn't censored
 
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Samtendo09

Ability: Light Power
is a Pre-Contributor
Pretty much it boils down to weak early routes comprising most bugs, and poor distribution of good bug moves. It's like the inverse of Gen 4/5 dragon, where it was high power mons with a really good distribution of a stab move
This is kinda why I buffed the bug mons themselves in my joke hack and made them have more resistences; flavor wise more offense doesn't make much sense, nor help when bug combos can lead to the most fragile defense anyway (bug flying really sucks long term)


View attachment 424974
Uh no, they did not, the death for Latios is still noted
4Kids might've been screwed in using the older plot, but the Lati mother and babies wasn't censored
I agree with Hermatite, but one problem; Ice is by far still the most rigid / inflexible type due to GF repeated mistake of a combination of slowness, only one resistance of the type and usually shallow coverage… and too often lategame despite all those “qualities”.

I’d just add two resistances for Ice, remove Rock weakness (hey, Stealth Rock’s already a problem for many) to help slower IceMons to get better, other than that focus on the offense by making decently fast Ice mons with decent coverage, and call it a day.
 
I agree with Hermatite, but one problem; Ice is by far still the most rigid / inflexible type due to GF repeated mistake of a combination of slowness, only one resistance of the type and usually shallow coverage… and too often lategame despite all those “qualities”.

I’d just add two resistances for Ice, remove Rock weakness (hey, Stealth Rock’s already a problem for many) to help slower IceMons to get better, other than that focus on the offense by making decently fast Ice mons with decent coverage, and call it a day.
Make it immune to dragon
Won't matter cuz >they can just learn fire moves, but it'd be funny
Also why not resist Grass, Flying, and Ground?
 

Samtendo09

Ability: Light Power
is a Pre-Contributor
Make it immune to dragon
Won't matter cuz >they can just learn fire moves, but it'd be funny
Also why not resist Grass, Flying, and Ground?
Uuh Fairy already is immune to Dragon so Fairy will still do a better job taking care of Dragon-type overall.

I do think of resistance to Ground and Flying (not Grass) alongside removal of Rock weakness, and that’s all I am gonna say without stepping over the line into wishlisting.
 
If Chunsoft really couldn't include every Pokémon in Gates to Infinity, I would've preferred it if they only included Gen 5 Pokémon. At least they're a complete set.

(Also, what's going on with the lore in GTI? Virizion and Keldeo are treated like any other Pokémon, Kyurem can see the future...)
 
If Chunsoft really couldn't include every Pokémon in Gates to Infinity, I would've preferred it if they only included Gen 5 Pokémon. At least they're a complete set.

(Also, what's going on with the lore in GTI? Virizion and Keldeo are treated like any other Pokémon, Kyurem can see the future...)
I don't don't think there was a technical limitation. Wiiware managed all of Gen 4, and had harsher limitations
But nah, sadly they couldn't cuz >Pikachu

As for lore, honestly I think Chun didn't do too much research for Gen 5s mons. Admittedly neither LOOK that legendary (especially Keldeo, I still hate its design), so that may have contributed to treating them more like reg NPCs initially. I do like the subversion of
None dark types being evil
, and am annoyed Super effectively copied some of its plot and managed to get credit for it, but the gameplay changes really were bad, same with roster
 
I kinda like how OP Zacian is. Unlike Pokemon like Xerneas, Mega Rayquaza, etc, there isn't anything fancy about Zacian's OPness: its just a strong and fast nuke. Its got a set-up move, yeah, but it doesn't really need that to be OP since its base damage, speed, and defensive attributes are all still pretty strong. Its so good, it doesn't even need DMax to contend in DMax metagames.

I do see people talking about how Zacian is a clear example of powercreep, which is not exactly incorrect, but part of me still feels that Kyogre is arguably more OP since its also a OHKO machine, but its damage comes from spread moves and special attacks, which makes it more threatening in a vaccum since it can't be slowed down as easily by a well-timed Protect or Intimidate. This is balanced out a bit better by Kyogre being easier to counter, but the point is that I do not see Zacian to be too far removed from the previous standards set by other Pokemon.

Though, because of powercreep, I am a bit bummed out that Pokemon like the gen 4 and 5 cover legendaries feel so weak nowdays. Dragon Dance was a good addition to the gen 5 legendaries to push up their strength a bit, as was Freeze Dry to Kyurem, but the gen 4 legendaries basically got nothing, so they feel really underpowered compared to other legendaries. I think the OP part about these Pokemon was suppose to be their Dragon-typing, but since Fairy got introduced, it isn't anything too special anymore.
 
Though, because of powercreep, I am a bit bummed out that Pokemon like the gen 4 and 5 cover legendaries feel so weak nowdays. Dragon Dance was a good addition to the gen 5 legendaries to push up their strength a bit, as was Freeze Dry to Kyurem, but the gen 4 legendaries basically got nothing, so they feel really underpowered compared to other legendaries. I think the OP part about these Pokemon was suppose to be their Dragon-typing, but since Fairy got introduced, it isn't anything too special anymore.
Weeeell tecnically they got new forms and i believe their signature moves actually got buffed in arceus, but it's to be seen if these changes make it to SV and even if they would matter in first place.
 
The Ultra Beasts are one of my personal favorite sets of legendaries in Pokemon. A lot people critique the UB’s design wise because their ”weird and non pokemon like” I feel like people who make this criticism misses the entire point of the UB’s. Their supposed to look weird and non-pokemon like because their creature’s from parallel universes vastly different from the main Pokeverse and their supposed be foreign and alien like. Cricitizing the UB’s for being weird is like critizing Pikachu for being yellow it’s just an inherit part of their design. Now weirdness is never an excuse for bad designs weird designs if done badly can be extremely off putting. Fortunately for the UB’s most of their designs are really good. Their fierce, intimidating and look like something foreign and out of this world. To end this off I’m going to give my opinion on every UB and I feel like doing this can help people see the positive aspects of each UB.
Kartana- Fucking awesome, origami is a staple in Japanese culture and I’m very surprised we didn’t get a pokemon based on it sooner however Kartana was more than worth the wait. It’s very sleek and intimidating and every attack it does feels graceful and powerful.
Naganadel- I feel like this is the only Ultra Beast with mostly positive reception from the fandom and it’s for good reason, It’s design looks really cool I loves its purple color scheme and its syringe like stinger is a stroke of design genius.
Poipole- It’s very cute.
Buzzwole- One of the most expressive UB’s despite it not really having a face it’s flexing really show of this mon’s personality. I personally feel like it strikes a good balance of being humanoid and animal a feat with which many pokemon struggle with.
Pheramosa- Combines the feeling of grace and power of Kart and the balance between human and animal of Buzzwole.
Guzzlord- Very solid design but what really elevates this pokemon is it’s Lovecraftian lore. This Pokémon will never stop eating and can destroy entire worlds by eating all of its resources. To add on to this mon’s creep factor the theme for the wormhole you find it in USUM is the Welcome to Alola theme played in reverse.
Blacephalon- Now on to 4 UB’s I have mixed feelings on Blacephalon has a cool concept being a creepy clown but it not having a face severely hinders any potential scare factor this mon may have had. I still don’t mind its design overall the highlight being the detachable head but I feel like it has serious missed potential,
Xurkitree- Being a pokemon based on Christmas tree lights is pretty rad however I feel like this design should have had multicolored lights on it’s wire to more clearly express it’s concept.
Celesteela- Cool design really no complaints here, nothing absolutely mind blowing here but its a solid and well rounded design
Stakataka- I feel like this design has some serious flaws One of which being it’s legs. For some reason I just don’t like Stakatakas legs their very much. Their small and curly and they look there barely holding poor Stakataka up. It’s eyes are also not very appealing. Overall this is probably the only UB I have a negative opinion on.
Overall I feel like the UB‘s get a lot of undeserved hate for being weird when that weirdness is the very reason for producing some of the most creative and out there Pokémon in the entire franchise.
I remember the first time I found Nihilego in Pokemon Sun's storyline, it was a great experience. It was the first time in years a Pokemon game made me feel like there was a mystery to be solved. What is this thing, what type is it, how do I beat it, etc. It made a great impact in my experience with Gen 7 and that might be why I like it more than many people on the Internet seem to. Hell I could even forgive the handholding in Gen 7 simply because the story has a lot of moments and situations that evoke that same feeling of "this is interesting/mysterious".

As for unpopular opinions, I don't think I've ever seen anyone say this, but: I hate the bike theme, as a concept. In general I think Pokemon games have great soundtracks, but the bike theme seems to be a constant flop. The only ones I can remember somewhat fondly are RSE and BW/BW2's bike themes and even then I think they're "fine" as opposed to "good" tracks. I hate that a lot of great tracks are interrupted by the bike theme unless I try my hardest to change my map location as fast as possible, which sometimes isn't even an option, which means I have to pick between slower movement or good background music. Also applies to the Tauros riding theme in Gen 7
 
Pokemon Red / Blue / Yellow are fantastic games that don't get nearly enough credit from most people.

They were on the freaking Game Boy. The norm for that console in terms of platformers was farting out roughly 5 semi-long stages for a platformer (Operation C / Contra and the Castlevania trilogy) and calling it a day. Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins is the only Game Boy game other than RBY I'd call anywhere close to ambitious for the hardware (that I've played). Most Game Boy games were 30-45 minutes long. That was it.

I don't know if there were many other RPGs on the Game Boy, as I was a late 90s kid, well after the system's prime (I got into the series with RSE / FRLG, and am only now firing up some creamed spinach games on the Game Boy). But regardless, it's just mind-blowing how much they fit into a relatively long game by the system's standards.

Yes, Pokemon Red / Blue / Yellow have derpy / occasionally nightmarish sprites. Yes, Pokemon Red / Blue / Yellow have an annoying inventory limit. Yes, Pokemon Red / Blue / Yellow are held together by toothpicks and duct tape. But it still amazes me they were able to cram all 151 Pokemon onto one game, have multiple distinct towns, tons of moves, trainer class sprites, and all of that. Do later games in the series do what Pokemon Red / Blue / Yellow did better? Yeah. I think Gens 3-5 refined the formula (Johto has too many gameplay cracks for me to call it a great game, sorry). But just because later gens did it better doesn't mean the original games should be forgotten by newer gamers. I think this sort of history is important to experience for yourself even if it can feel dated at times.

Now do I think they need to say "HEY GUYS, GEN 1, AMIRITE?" in all the newer games constantly? Definitely not, and I'm glad they've slowly been easing back on it with Pokemon: Detective Pikachu having mons from many different gens and Legends having a balanced feel with the new forms. But the original games, as silly as they are, are fun enough to play today, even when we got Derpzard up in here.
1652831582642.png
 
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Now if only dev didn't take 6 freaking years, and an RPG with better overworld interactivity didn't exist on Gameboy before...



Jokes aside, GF cramming 151 monster designs is very impressive. No other RPG advertised monster designs so much before. And mon inpiration has led to people discovering animals thry never knew before
And Gen 1 as broken as it is at least is playable campaign wise. Gen 2 I can't say
 

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
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Pokemon Red / Blue / Yellow are fantastic games that don't get nearly enough credit from most people.
Hm, I actually most people would give credit to Gen I if asked. It's what started the Pokemon franchise, laying down a foundation of not only gameplay if uses to this day but also was the first major multimedia franchise having games, TCG, and an anime, ALL which are still going on to this day! It deserves its place in the annuals of history, and not just for video games but as a pop culture phenomenon that has yet to run out of steam.

BUT that doesn't change that, nowadays, the games themselves are only notable for how buggy they are. The fact is that if you want the "Kanto experience" there's FRLG, Let's Go, and probably a dozen fanmade remakes which have added in the Category Split & Fairy-type among other innovations. Gen I (and Gen II, essentially the Gameboy era games) have reached a point where museum pieces, to be admired but not played. Like, I wouldn't even suggest it even for the curious, once again FRLG would be my goto with Let's Go if they want a bit of the Yellow experience. I would say the only reason to go back to RBY is if you are either playing or making an interesting mod using the GB graphics.

As for unpopular opinions, I don't think I've ever seen anyone say this, but: I hate the bike theme, as a concept.
Maybe GF should consider doing a dynamic music layer instead of replacing the overworld theme with a unique bike theme; think Mario Sunshine when Mario ride Yoshi, instead of changing the overworld music they add a layer of bongo music and at one point goes silent for a bongo solo. It's not only a neat effect but if they added different layers of instrument depending on where you are they could make riding the bike have a different feeling from one location to another (or at the very least make you curious what each location's theme sounds like with the bike).

Weeeell tecnically they got new forms and i believe their signature moves actually got buffed in arceus, but it's to be seen if these changes make it to SV and even if they would matter in first place.
They also got a slight stat reshuffle.

Dialga:
  • Stats: 20 is taken from Attack and added to Special Defense: 100/100/120/150/120/90//680.
  • Signature Move: Roar of Time's Power is increased to 140 but Accuracy decreased to 75%. But when using Strong Style Roar of Time the Power shoots up to 170 and Accuracy given a slight increase to 85%!
Palkia:
  • Stats: 20 is taken from Attack and added to Speed: 90/100/100/150/120/120//680.
  • Signature Move: Spacial Rend's Power & Accuracy decrease by 10 (80/85%) BUT its Critical Hit Ratio becomes +2. And if you use a Strong Style Spacial Rend its Power becomes 100, Accuracy 95%, and gets a +3 CHR which means it's always going to land a Critical Hit!
Now note that in Legends: Arceus they did lower the normal Power and Accuracy of both Moves. So who knows what they plan on doing with them in the normal games, especially when there's no Strong Style to super buff them.

As for who got off better, I feel Palkia wins overall. The increase to Speed is very much appreciated and Spacial Rend wasn't as nerfed as hard as Roar of Time, Strong Style making it nearly perfect Accuracy plus a guaranteed Critical Hit! Now the added Special Defense isn't lost on Dialga, just still a bit lackluster. Honestly I would have put the 20 into Special Attack to make Dialga at the very least a nuke, Roar of Time's nerfs do not make up for its increased Power. Actually, if they wanted to go defensive with Dialga, why not give it the secondary effect of its defense or evasion increasing (distorting time around itself either weakening moves or making them dissipate), or maybe even healing (rewinding damage done to it)?

Also, as far as we know, their Abilities don't change. Maybe that'll change in Scarlet & Violet and they'll be given new Signature Abilities. And to get them all they have to do is Palkia chop its arms off and Dialga start choking.

The Ultra Beasts are one of my personal favorite sets of legendaries in Pokemon.
The Ultra Beasts are a great idea though sadly we'll probably not really see any new ones (and it still feels too early to even play around with the idea of a Gen VII remake).

They could just... uh... not include all the legendaries in every single game anymore?
Yeah, I myself am kind of getting tired of the "Legendary Hunt" thing they're doing each gen, especially if they're gonna keep to their guns with Dexit. Instead of shotgunning every Legendary into the game, pick a few groups which feel like they could have a place. You can add some more via DLC, but there's no need to include all Legendaries. Heck, maybe even experiment and break up a group, only including one or two of their members; maybe even use that as an excuse to create new Legendaries!

They're not the embodiments of anything. They're just politically aligned.
If you break them down to their very basic concept, Reshiram and Zekrom embody opposites. White & Black, Feminine & Masculine, Organic & Mechanical, Special & Physical, Classical & Modern, etc.. Truth & Ideals were just chosen for thematic and lore purposes, in a way maybe a subtle way to imply a conservative & liberal lean without using those words so not to repel anyone from liking one of them due to political beliefs. They are always fighting each other because its their very nature, they were made to oppose one another because that was how they were created.

Zacian and Zamazenta are harder to pin down what they embody. They are both heroes with one being more offense focused and the other defense focused. Maybe since both were needed to defeat Eternatus they embody the exact opposite of Reshiram & Zekrom: Cooperation (& maybe a little Compromise). One cannot last long always attacking, but one cannot win if they only guard. A person who only looks ahead may lose what they leave behind, but a person focused on keeping what they have will gain little more. A high risk taker will eventually lose if they never stop, but someone who only saves is depriving themselves of happiness. There has to be a balance in the middle, or at least two of these beliefs working together to make a balanced whole.

(I'll stop here for now, maybe I'll take a deeper look back at pages I've missed to see if there's anything I may want to comment on...)
 

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