(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon

[Coronis]

Meanwhile, they'll put Volbeat behind a 1% encounter rate in RSE and as far as I know, they never once explained why they did that.

In Sapphire it was 18% (Illumise being its counterpart, something slightly better than a version exclusive?)

Anyway, I guess thinking about it for me, if I was a shitmon, I’d be hiding as hard as I could too outta fear. And with stronger rare Pokemon, either they were always few in number or were hunted (by Pokeballs) into rarity by many trainers in the past.

 

[Samtendo09]

In Sapphire it was 18% (Illumise being its counterpart, something slightly better than a version exclusive?)

Anyway, I guess thinking about it for me, if I was a shitmon, I’d be hiding as hard as I could too outta fear. And with stronger rare Pokemon, either they were always few in number or were hunted (by Pokeballs) into rarity by many trainers in the past.

Or that their number are already dwindling because of relying too much of quantity to fight back against predators, and not strong enough to stand on their own, and as a result, they dropped like flies. A horrorfying thought is that they could be potentially endangered or worse, close to extinction were it not for kind trainers helping out with breeding.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

Oh yeah, Monster Sanctuary also has a pretty active PVP scene. The devs went out of their way to make the system and UI really polished and every monster is viable to some degree, even the common stuff you get early.
Plus, the game is hard but has difficulty settings to make it harder. Be prepared to git gud.
It's also super chock full of Metroidvania exploration with tons of written out lore but since the game has a skip cutscene button, you're not required to care about the story so you can focus on the gameplay.

Monster Sanctuary does not treat the player like a dumb baby as Pokemon is known for.

Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 Pro is a game I plan to get to eventually. That series has only ever evolved with every entry with its improved fusion system, huge overworld maps and more. Every monster (a total of 712 to my knowledge) is ridable and they all do different things when you ride them. Including giant monsters that are scaled properly. The game also has a feature to increase the rank of any monster you want much like YKW, so low tier common monsters should have an easier time remaining useful long term. You can also apparently make them giant sized and giant monsters have very large stat totals
Not sure about its meta as I don't understand it well enough to vouch one way or another. I DID come across a playlist of some online ladder matches and see a few low Ranks that were giant sized and had their Rank increased. Seems that giant monsters are much more viable in that game, because previously they had a problem of just getting ganged up on by teambuilds using smaller monsters.

 

[Sonikku A]

Yeesh, we really are wailing on Pkmn compared to other monster hunters these days, huh?

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Yeesh, we really are wailing on Pkmn compared to other monster hunters these days, huh?

It's mostly just the one guy.

 

[KalosianPorygon]

It's mostly just the one guy.

But that doesn't mean that one guy is wrong.
I mean, why do we have to wait LGPE for a "skip cutscene" button? Long cutscenes are one of the biggest complains about SMUSUM, you would think the Ultra versions would introduce this function, but nope! Go suffer the slow-paced, dialogue-heavy beginning you already saw!

Also, he mentioned series mascot Pikachu. Why isn't Light Ball compatible with Raichu? And even if the company decides to get rid of Raichu, you would think Pikachu would gain more significant base stat increases than +10 on Defense and Sp. Def.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

Yeesh, we really are wailing on Pkmn compared to other monster hunters these days, huh?

World VGC Champion Wolfey certainly seems to have no issue using Mario Kart and Monopoly of all things to comment on Pokemon's game design on why he thinks random crits are a good mechanic.

Nobody says jack squat about that.

Seems perfectly fair to hold Pokemon to a similar standard of games that actually fall within the same genre.

It's mostly just the one guy.

Not really.

But that doesn't mean that one guy is wrong.

Thank you.

When people have to resort to nothing burger comments instead of actual counterarguments, that's how you know what you're saying is true.

The whole point of this thread is annoyances with Pokemon. There's no rule saying ya can't point out how those annoyances don't exist in games of the same genre.

Heck, it's only a fact games like ORAS were intentionally designed to have less in them so people would be encouraged to play anything else.

 

[Nokocchi]

And even if the company decides to get rid of Raichu

I mean, Raichu got an Alolan form in Gen VII. It doesn't do much to help the position the original Raichu has been in since Gen II introduced the Light Ball, but the fact of the matter is Game Freak acknowledged it's existence by giving a regional form, and not Pikachu(instead being more like a game-based branch evolution available for any Pikachu from Gen VII and earlier much like many other regional forms that came out alongside it and since then)

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

They gave both Pikachu and Raichu Z-Moves in Alola and then they turn around and give Pikachu a Gigantamax form in Galar. Once again, just cushioning the real issue.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to buy that 18 bucks per year scam of a transfer service to get Alolan Raichu in SWSH?

 

[Samtendo09]

They gave both Pikachu and Raichu Z-Moves in Alola and then they turn around and give Pikachu a Gigantamax form in Galar. Once again, just cushioning the real issue.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to buy that 18 bucks per year scam of a transfer service to get Alolan Raichu in SWSH?

That issue on over-focus on Pikachu was due to merchandise reason, since it’s primary mascot of the franchise for a whole reason. Not even Pichu is as lucky lately outside of one member being invited to Smash tournaments, likely because of the intense backlash towards Spiky Ear Pichu, replacing Celebi event-wise in HGSS and being an unnecessary comic relief character in Arceus and the Jewel of Life.

This issue extends to Gen 1 as a whole at times, and can get especially bad and even to the point of insincerity. I get it’s the first, but not everyone is nostalgic with that generation in particular and reattempting to create another Pokémon craze without knowing what made it work in the first place ends up either working by good luck, falling flat, or splitting the fanbase even further.

 

[KalosianPorygon]

I get it’s the first, but not everyone is nostalgic with [Generation I] in particular and reattempting to create another Pokémon craze without knowing what made it work in the first place ends up either working by good luck, falling flat, or splitting the fanbase even further.

That like... every major franchise in the 2010s, I swear. I'm exaggerating and relying on my unreliable memory, but this decade feels like the decade of "Hey 70s/80s/90s kids, remember X? Wanna see us do it again?"

It is frustrating because Pokémon is one of those franchise where every generation has its fans. Lucario, one of the franchise's biggest successes, is a Gen IV critter who was promoted no earlier than Gen III.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

I get it’s the first, but not everyone is nostalgic with that generation in particular

Hats off in mourning to those nostalgic for DPP whose remake got needlessly butchered and got nowhere near the level of treatment HGSS did. It bugs me beyond words that they've shown they can have overworld encounters for The Underground but somehow, that's not allowed on the main map. Meanwhile, they had to remake Yellow again to have a buffed up Pikachu and a riding feature.

That like... every major franchise in the 2010s, I swear. I'm exaggerating and relying on my unreliable memory, but this decade feels like the decade of "Hey 70s/80s/90s kids, remember X? Wanna see us do it again?"

It is frustrating because Pokémon is one of those franchise where every generation has its fans. Lucario, one of the franchise's biggest successes, is a Gen IV critter who was promoted no earlier than Gen III.

I feel like I've pretty much become immune to the nostalgia drug, hence why I've been extremely critical of many things I was passionate about as a kid. Main series Mario, spinoff Mario games, Spyro, Sonic and more have not been spared from my views. Pokemon is no exception to this and I'm especially harsh towards it because I love it so much. Not having to be held back by rose tinted lenses has allowed me to view and enjoy alot more games by my own choice. I have zero nostalgic background with Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei, Monster Hunter, Digimon, Plants VS Zombies and more. Despite that, tons of my time in recent years has allowed me to enjoy those and be more observant of their evolution or pitfalls.

It also helps that alot of things I follow are either indie games or Japanese media that's more niche in the west, since I get exposed to alot of newer and fresher ideas from that angle.

For example, Disc Creatures is an extremely retro indie monster collector that's cheap, charming, heartwarming and something I highly recommend and it's getting a sequel in Disc Creatures World that's a massive glowup. If I spent all my time whining about Pokemon and taking no action, I wouldn't have known about such a great game.

I guess what I'm saying ultimately here is that it doesn't hurt to try new things. You know, something Pokemon also preaches with the idea it's okay to go out on new journeys and make new friends rather than being stuck in one place.

 

[DreamPrince]

I have yet to see a reason behind shitmons that aren't justified in the lore. Especially rare ones.
Take, I dunno, Yanma for example. Why is it so rare, why was it so bad?

I don't know much about other monster collectors, but does Yo-Kai Watch for example have a stable, fun competitive scene?

To be fair in HGSS, Yanmega is a really good Pokémon, so in that sense it’s design to make you work for a prize. But back in GS, it exists just to serve as an obnoxiously hard Pokémon to get complete your Pokédex, or force you to use the Pokegear. Same thing as Porygon, it’s original purpose is an obnoxiously rare Pokémon who isn’t worth the effort of grinding the Game Corner; only exists to serve as a difficult Pokémon for Pokédex completion.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

Now that I think of it, the Pokemon devs said the reason trading is a feature is because they wished the Dragon Quest games they played had one so they could trade rare item drops.

With how bad certain monster encounter rates are, playing with a buddy to increase your luck and then trade the monsters between each other certainly justifies them being hard to get to SOME degree.

However, that doesn't explain the monsters needing to be low tier trash.

 

[Coronis]

Now that I think of it, the Pokemon devs said the reason trading is a feature is because they wished the Dragon Quest games they played had one so they could trade rare item drops.

With how bad certain monster encounter rates are, playing with a buddy to increase your luck and then trade the monsters between each other certainly justifies them being hard to get to SOME degree.

However, that doesn't explain the monsters needing to be low tier trash.

Which they aren’t necessarily, some rare mons are strong some are weak, there’s a decent enough balance. Thats just how it is in regards to all Pokemon really. I don’t mind at all the strength of a Pokemon that is exceedingly rare btw I quite like it, just capturing it feels like a big accomplishment (compared to say a Pidgey) no matter how strong or weak that Pokemon ends up being.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

Which they aren’t necessarily, some rare mons are strong some are weak, there’s a decent enough balance. Thats just how it is in regards to all Pokemon really. I don’t mind at all the strength of a Pokemon that is exceedingly rare btw I quite like it, just capturing it feels like a big accomplishment (compared to say a Pidgey) no matter how strong or weak that Pokemon ends up being.

I prefer the monsters I take the time to hunt be worth my time. As I said earlier, Pokemon puts an emphasis on the concept that rare, hard to train monsters like pseudos have lore to justify that while rare low tiers don't. Not to mention lore such as Team Rocket setting their sights on obtaining rare and strong monsters.
Any other monster collector, they intentionally design the harder to obtain monsters being on the strong side or at least super unique in battle and that's usually justified by those games being way harder, so it's natural your efforts get rewarded with stronger options. Meanwhile, what you use in Pokemon whether it's a trash low tier or decently strong rarer monster is made meaningless by the game being easy enough to mash A to win. Kinda goes against how they put so much importance on catching monsters and improving your life and bonds in the serious business as a Pokemon Trainer if you're better off not doing that.

 

[KalosianPorygon]

Back to little things that annoy me, why is Barrage a Normal-type move? It's exclusive to the Grass/Psychic Exeggcute line, always has been, why doesn't it get STAB?

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

Back to little things that annoy me, why is Barrage a Normal-type move? It's exclusive to the Grass/Psychic Exeggcute line, always has been, why doesn't it get STAB?

Because Gen 1 loved its Normal multi-hit moves.

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

Back to little things that annoy me, why is Barrage a Normal-type move? It's exclusive to the Grass/Psychic Exeggcute line, always has been, why doesn't it get STAB?

Because flinging whatever Barrage chucks at mons is nothing special.

 

[Scorpio]

I think the real question here is why nothing else has gotten it even after eightseven generations. There were a couple of cut Gen 1 Pokémon that could’ve potentially gotten it alongside Exeggcute, though (Helix Chamber predicts Cactus was meant to have it, and I feel it would have probably fit with Omega, being a projectile a MechaGodzilla-like Pokemon could use at lower levels).

 

[Dusk Mage Necrozma]

The way some UBs have the identical Pokedex entry “Although it’s alien to this world and a danger here, it’s apparently a common organism in the world where it normally lives” is boring, but on top of that they aren’t symmetrical with the version exclusives/version dex entries: Buzzwole is a Sun exclusive and has that entry for Sun, while Pheromosa is a Moon exclusive and has that entry for Moon, so far so good… but Xurkitree and Guzzlord, available in both versions, have that entry in Sun while the version pair of Celesteela and Kartana both have that entry in Moon. Sure it’s the same number of that same entry per game but it’s not even. With Pokemon it’s pretty much impossible to make some things like legendary trio type matchups symmetrical but they could have easily made it even here.

 

[KalosianPorygon]

The way some UBs have the identical Pokedex entry “Although it’s alien to this world and a danger here, it’s apparently a common organism in the world where it normally lives” is boring

One small correction here: this repeated entry appears in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, not Sun and Moon.
It's also the only time different Pokémon share a Pokédex entry in the same game(s).

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

The title of "Pokemon Master" is an extremely important element. It's the driving force of the anime and they use the term in the official games too. It seems they allude to that being the role of the Champion but they retconned that. If all it takes is to become Champion, that's certainly nothing to brag over given the game's broken, easy nature despite the fact they try so hard to play up the fact being a Pokemon Trainer at all is a serious, challenging endeavor.

It's never explained what the title means. i.e. its become a meaningless fluff title. If their stories, lore and fantasy biology wasn't so poorly written, I'd be more likely accept an answer like this in their attempt to explain it. This just sounds like a fancy, kinder way of saying "We don't know. You figure it out."

 

[Dusk Mage Necrozma]

In an old gen 1 book (the one where Professor Oak tells you to use a Master Ball on a Fearow or Tentacruel) it says to be a Pokemon Master you have to both become Champion and catch one of each Pokemon. Not sure of the canonocity of that given the aforementioned advice

Edit: checking the Bulbapedia page apparently I misremembered, according to Wikipedia the book says you catch Mewtwo to become a Pokemon Master.

 

[Bakugames]

I thought pokemon master was just like calling someone a tennis/chess/whatever master: it means you're good, that's about it. It's not an official title, those games have rankings with different terms for that, and its extremely subjective.

The retcon was probably done once they realized they'd constantly expand pokemons world with newer games that wouldn't connect to the previous regions (hoenn may still be based in japan, but has very little connection with johto and kanto), thus different leagues and no one would ever be able to do all the existing leagues in one game, but giving just after beating one league would feel weird.

In a way, ash probably has the right idea: a pokemon master is someone who can beat the league in various regions, the equivalent of someone winning multiple years at championships in sports