Pokémon Presents - Pokémon Day 2025 - Pokemon ZA Info & Pokemon Champions Announced

[R_N]

I would say the #1 complaint I hear about Pokemon is stuff unrelated to the battle system. Certainly in the last, oh, 6 gosh maybe 9 years it's certainly been based around performance and visuals.

Even before then, the complaint I usually heard was pertaining to speed which does get brought up relative to the turn based stuff but most of it is just "the messages dont need to take this long" and "there do not need to be THIS MANY MESSAGES". But also is absolutely not the only thing about these games that are slow, especially in the modern era. Looking at you agonizingly slow camera pans and lingering text boxes.

Anyway I am aware there's plenty of people who hate the turn based combat, but it's also something I can easily far more envision is a probably more online-focused complaint.





Also they keep referring to stuff like SV as the "core gameplay" experience vs Legends (& I think Let's Go) so it would be odd to immediately introduce a spin off that will become the giant awkward inbetween prop for their biggest event of the year and then cast aside the core gameplay in the next core series game.

 

[tentaghost]

Pokémon’s main critique that has plagued it for a good while is that its battle system is quite stale and lacks innovation. But they need to keep it that way because of VGC. So they bring in Champions to keep that part alive whilst allowing the main series to reconfigure its battle system. I don’t think that’s a huge leap to make for people.

Id argue thats less because of the battle system itself being bad and more because...

1. The battle system is not well optimized with its over-reliance on text boxes for things players can already pick up on. (Seriously what was the point of the hit X times text? even back then that made no sense...)

2. The games dont really ask much from the player with it only really asking you to know type match ups to breeze through the games easily.

The last point I feel is especially bad for the games because yeah they're for kids but thats even more reason why you should challenge them more; teach them the basics first then challenge their knowledge. The games have gotten better with this but there is still the issue of the games not really doing a good job inticing people to do anything PvP related beyond maybe a few casual matches with friends.

 

[Frostbiyt]

2. The games dont really ask much from the player with it only really asking you to know type match ups to breeze through the games easily.

The last point I feel is especially bad for the games because yeah they're for kids but thats even more reason why you should challenge them more; teach them the basics first then challenge their knowledge. The games have gotten better with this but there is still the issue of the games not really doing a good job inticing people to do anything PvP related beyond maybe a few casual matches with friends.

Agreed, competitive singles may as well be a different game from in-game battles.

 

[Perriechu]

I'll stop you right here.

Where exactly have you read children complain about the combat system? The only people who "complain" about it are the VGC players. (Reasonably, but that's beside the point).

The VGC players are still a pretty small minority of the actual playerbase (and the "serious" vgc players even smaller).

I'll believe you when I read complaints about children or parents about pokemon gameplay being weird. Not when redditor #1523123 says he rather have a different combat system.

Hence yes, it's a huge stretch to think that it'll be different because 1% of the playerbase who, as sales prove, doesn't count, thinks it should.
Because if it was up to reddit, smogon and the other 3 people who complain, then gen 8 and 9 would have sold 0 copies.

Where did I say children? What are you even talking about?

I’m talking about one of the main critiques I see from various people from all experiences with the franchise is that the battle system could do with a fresh outlook.

So yes. My point still stands. I don’t think it’s mental gymnastics to think that Champions is coming along so that they can start being more innovative with the main series.

 

[Lontra Assassina]

For the people wondering why Pokémon has all those text boxes during combat: it's because of Dragon Quest.

It's quite literally Dragon Quest.

Games of this lineage always use descriptions to convey what's happening in combat since they tend to use a first-person view.

 

[Karxrida]

The text boxes aren't even the issues so much as the random pauses and overall speed being too slow.

I played the DQIII remake from last year and combat was quite fast.

 

[tentaghost]

For the people wondering why Pokémon has all those text boxes during combat: it's because of Dragon Quest.

It's quite literally Dragon Quest.

Games of this lineage always use descriptions to convey what's happening in combat since they tend to use a first-person view.

Thats mostly for old rpgs though and id figured THAT was mainly because they were trying to be like DnD and you couldnt really rely too much on visuals due to the limited space.

I Just dont see the need for a text box telling a player something that they can already figure out for themselves because that few seconds of the game telling you if a move is super effective or what the weather is adds up over time and just makes it mind numbing to playthrough.

 

[CynicalGiant]

I Just dont see the need for a text box telling a player something that they can already figure out for themselves because that few seconds of the game telling you if a move is super effective or what the weather is adds up over time and just makes it mind numbing to playthrough.

yeah as an example in scarlet/violet, klawf is annoying to use because anger shell proccing is like a solid 15 seconds of sitting thru each individual stat getting the boost animation, overlay for the ability, and text blurb.

 

[Perriechu]

I've been playing Clair Obscur and the way their abilities proc would be something useful for GameFreak to implement, it's a bit quick so anyone younger might need a bit more like.. obviousness about it, but there's definitely ways that turn-based combat can still flow well even with what Pokémon has to showcase.

 

[Kitsunine]

Anyone who thinks the battle system for the mainline games is dramatically changing doesn’t understand how important it is to The Pokemon Company to keep the games as accessible as possible for an unusually young audience. They really want to keep the “I learned to read playing Pokemon” audience and that’s just not happening with a reflex-heavy ABS.

All you have to do is track the remakes of Kanto to see it. Even with the battle system that some people complain is tired or boring, those games are made easier every time we revisit them. We went from ‘Charmander starters have Butterfree against Brock” to “Charmander gets Steel Claw and can grab a Mankey” to “You’re not allowed to enter this gym without a grass type, go grab an Oddish.”

 

[Perriechu]

Anyone who thinks the battle system for the mainline games is dramatically changing doesn’t understand how important it is to The Pokemon Company to keep the games as accessible as possible for an unusually young audience. They really want to keep the “I learned to read playing Pokemon” audience and that’s just not happening with a reflex-heavy ABS.

All you have to do is track the remakes of Kanto to see it. Even with the battle system that some people complain is tired or boring, those games are made easier every time we revisit them. We went from ‘Charmander starters have Butterfree against Brock” to “Charmander gets Steel Claw and can grab a Mankey” to “You’re not allowed to enter this gym without a grass type, go grab an Oddish.”

You could argue that turning competitive into a f2p app for smart devices & the Switch itself is improving accessibility.

 

[Bakugames]

why are we bringing up children at all here. theyre not a public that is known for having heavy criticisms of things and even when they do their input is not super useful because theyre kids who are trying to explain issues with game design without the vocabulary or previous knowledge or anything. when a kid doesnt like something their average feedback is to stop playing and say it was bad

 

[Eriorguez]

I find it weird how people act like the issue with an accessible JRPG is that it is a JRPG.

Then again, the most vocal critic of that gameplay I know is a LoL player, so lol, lmao (and Unite is a thing).

The thing is, the speed issue was already solved as far back as the original Stadium. The Genius Sonority games felt jarring next to them.

Step by step, we are already getting 4x/0.25x specific indicators, just like we got them for multiple boost levels. Now, less weirdness with Shell Smash and the like, more QoL functionallity.

 

[RocketSurgery]

why are we bringing up children at all here. theyre not a public that is known for having heavy criticisms of things and even when they do their input is not super useful because theyre kids who are trying to explain issues with game design without the vocabulary or previous knowledge or anything. when a kid doesnt like something their average feedback is to stop playing and say it was bad

...because they are the main target demographic for the series and designing the games to be playable by young kids is going to be important to the developers, even if the demographic cannot articulate what they don't like about games with real-time battle systems?

 

[Sulfurian]

Anyone who thinks the battle system for the mainline games is dramatically changing doesn’t understand how important it is to The Pokemon Company to keep the games as accessible as possible for an unusually young audience. They really want to keep the “I learned to read playing Pokemon” audience and that’s just not happening with a reflex-heavy ABS.

All you have to do is track the remakes of Kanto to see it. Even with the battle system that some people complain is tired or boring, those games are made easier every time we revisit them. We went from ‘Charmander starters have Butterfree against Brock” to “Charmander gets Steel Claw and can grab a Mankey” to “You’re not allowed to enter this gym without a grass type, go grab an Oddish.”

But for those reasons the accessibility for competitive has been brought down so much for the reasons you listed above.

 

[Sulfurian]

Predicting Raichu Y takes inspiration from charizard Y and gains electric terrain as its ability, no speed increase but a massive increase in special attack and slightly into special defense, maybe a tiny bit in physical attacks. Iron pokemon about to go crazy if that's the case. Raichu X I just see with levitate going by description of it, so unlike charizard X able to amplify its physical attacks it just buffs survivability, which will sacrifice some offensive power if it tries to buff its defenses, but even a small increase in physical attacks massively help with volt tackles.

 

[Magcargo]

Most kids from what I've seen don't even play the main series games. They either play the card game or watch the anime, and maybe play some of the phone games like Unite and Go because they are on mobile. The merchandise side of Pokemon is also huge draw in most stores from what I've seen. This seems to be how the wider, causal fanbase interacts with the Pokemon IP as a whole. I see this in my friend groups, and I also saw this trend in Japan as well when traveling around a few cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, etc. and visiting the stores. Most people there were playing Pokemon go if they were doing anything Pokemon related there. I feel this trend is a bit universal - where most people interact with the brand via its other branches like mobile games, TCG, or anime and not the main series games - since it seems to be the case in India, Japan, and the US from what I've seen.

All this is to say that I think Gamefreak could radically change the core Pokemon gameplay, and I do not think it will affect their wider money making machine.

 

[Sulfurian]

Most kids from what I've seen don't even play the main series games. They either play the card game or watch the anime, and maybe play some of the phone games like Unite and Go because they are on mobile. The merchandise side of Pokemon is also huge draw in most stores from what I've seen. This seems to be how the wider, causal fanbase interacts with the Pokemon IP as a whole. I see this in my friend groups, and I also saw this trend in Japan as well when traveling around a few cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, etc. and visiting the stores. Most people there were playinI Pokemon go if they were doing anything Pokemon related there.

All this is to say that I think Gamefreak could radically change the core Pokemon gameplay, and I do not think it will affect their wider money making machine.

Yeah I collect cards and its crazy that these card shops never take advantage of the video games. You could do something actually cool like host video game tournaments for a pack or booster box. But nah, bring trade nights to trick kids that don't know any better or card tournaments hosted by official Pokemon. Its a shame that the casual fan base kinda scoffs at the video games considering how deep the evs/ivs/egg moves/damage rolls/abilities have gone over the years. But that was also always a double-edged sword too.

 

[Bakugames]

...because they are the main target demographic for the series and designing the games to be playable by young kids is going to be important to the developers, even if the demographic cannot articulate what they don't like about games with real-time battle systems?

i know that the series is for kids, my take was not that the series isnt designed for kids, it was about the conversation of what /criticisms/ are being talked about and how that relates to kids, but the thing is kids arent making those criticisms at all in the first place, its grown ass adults. devs for young kid games just have the kids play through it and write down their difficulty points/struggles, which Then helps them articulate their problems with the adult.

 

[Perriechu]

Serebii was given the opportunity to play PLZA at the Paris event TPCi held;

- Multiple opponents can once again be taken on in battle, but from the clip it seems that whilst Serebii was commanding his Pokemon against one Houndour, the other Houndour was actively attacking the character
- You can use "scenery" to help with cover
- Day / Night isn't real time
- He didn't encounter a shiny, but does know someone who did, they weren't able to say if the sparkle noise is back, but they said we would be "very happy"
- He finds that battle are more complex due to the timings and live-nature of it.
- "Plus" moves use the mega gauge and are applicable to all Pokémon, Mega evolved Pokémon will always have plus moves
- Abilities confirmed not in
- Evolution is similar to PLA
- Game runs well on Switch 2 (As this was the edition he played)

EDIT: I watched through the IGN one as well as there is a bit more.. substance to certain aspects.

The game makes use of the verticality well. Switching Pokémon midway in battle has your Pokémon come out on move cooldowns. They encountered "slime" blocking their way that a water type was able to wash away. She found the Mega Victreebell rogue battle much harder than the tutorial Absol (obviously) but she said it was a lot harder than expected, even with help from an NPC

Mega Evolution is NOT exclusive to 1 Pokémon in Rogue battles, you can mega evolve multiple Pokemon at different times as long as the mega power gauge is full and you have the stone. They didn't have the ability to battle against trainers with mega Pokemon yet, so that's not instant.

 

[Lontra Assassina]

Also, according to The Verge, trainer customization doesn't have any gender restrictions, including skirts and dresses!

https://www.theverge.com/games/784264/pokemon-legends-z-a-hands-on-fashion-nintendo-switch-2

 

[bdt2002]

- He didn't encounter a shiny, but does know someone who did, they weren't able to say if the sparkle noise is back, but they said we would be "very happy"

I’d be ticked if I found a Shiny like that and wasn’t allowed to keep it. Not like it matters with the transferring restrictions anyway. That feels like a dumb thing to be told “Hey, you’re not allowed to tell people about this”- maybe they’re trying to leave it up to suspense or something, “buy the game and you’ll see!” kind of thing, but, like… no? If I were in charge I would just come out and say whether or not the sparkling effect is back. This is such a stupid thing for them to try and keep a secret.

They encountered "slime" blocking their way that a water type was able to wash away.

These brats. They’re really going to try and win me over with Ranger-style field moves like I’m some important member of the community, aren’t they? Let’s be honest, that’s basically what this is. And I’m all for it. My bias might be showing but this is how field moves were meant to be implemented. You know, come to think of it, someone on the Legends development team for Game Freak must really like those games because Legends Arceus also took a lot of cues from Ranger… huh.

Also, according to The Verge, trainer customization doesn't have any gender restrictions, including skirts and dresses!

https://www.theverge.com/games/784264/pokemon-legends-z-a-hands-on-fashion-nintendo-switch-2

(We got cross-dressing in Pokémon before GTA 6)

My favorite part about this isn’t even the customization. My favorite part is watching older people crash out over non-conforming gender politics in video games designed for children. Like, bro, do you not have better things to focus on? I can personally guarantee you at least one person online is going to complain about this. I will not be that person- in fact, I’d argue this is only a good thing no matter what you believe in because the disparity between boys clothes and girls clothes in X & Y was frankly absurd. I almost always play as the male protagonist and even at the ripe age of 11 years old I thought this was a problem.

 

[Esserise]

I’d be ticked if I found a Shiny like that and wasn’t allowed to keep it. Not like it matters with the transferring restrictions anyway. That feels like a dumb thing to be told “Hey, you’re not allowed to tell people about this”- maybe they’re trying to leave it up to suspense or something, “buy the game and you’ll see!” kind of thing, but, like… no? If I were in charge I would just come out and say whether or not the sparkling effect is back. This is such a stupid thing for them to try and keep a secret.

The exact statement Serebii’s site is “Alas, I was unable to find a Shiny Pokémon in it but have a third-hand account of it. Unfortunately I can’t confirm first hand if there are sparkles or sound but word is that we may be very happy.”

That reads to me more as him being unable to say due to a lack of verified information (and thus not wanting to make a claim in full confidence) rather than because of TPC mandate.

 

[Sulfurian]

I’d be ticked if I found a Shiny like that and wasn’t allowed to keep it. Not like it matters with the transferring restrictions anyway. That feels like a dumb thing to be told “Hey, you’re not allowed to tell people about this”- maybe they’re trying to leave it up to suspense or something, “buy the game and you’ll see!” kind of thing, but, like… no? If I were in charge I would just come out and say whether or not the sparkling effect is back. This is such a stupid thing for them to try and keep a secret.


These brats. They’re really going to try and win me over with Ranger-style field moves like I’m some important member of the community, aren’t they? Let’s be honest, that’s basically what this is. And I’m all for it. My bias might be showing but this is how field moves were meant to be implemented. You know, come to think of it, someone on the Legends development team for Game Freak must really like those games because Legends Arceus also took a lot of cues from Ranger… huh.


(We got cross-dressing in Pokémon before GTA 6)

My favorite part about this isn’t even the customization. My favorite part is watching older people crash out over non-conforming gender politics in video games designed for children. Like, bro, do you not have better things to focus on? I can personally guarantee you at least one person online is going to complain about this. I will not be that person- in fact, I’d argue this is only a good thing no matter what you believe in because the disparity between boys clothes and girls clothes in X & Y was frankly absurd. I almost always play as the male protagonist and even at the ripe age of 11 years old I thought this was a problem.

I can kinda see where they are coming from, it doesn't hurt me but from their perspective this seems like brainwashing children at a young age, or making parents have to do a little extra to keep their political ideals in tact. “But Pokémon said I could wear a dress” just opens a can of worms. It’s nice to see change implemented but I can see how others feel it’s invasive.

 

[Perriechu]

I can kinda see where they are coming from, it doesn't hurt me but from their perspective this seems like brainwashing children at a young age, or making parents have to do a little extra to keep their political ideals in tact. “But Pokémon said I could wear a dress” just opens a can of worms. It’s nice to see change implemented but I can see how others feel it’s invasive.