losing Guts for arguably the best ability of the game on Hitmontop is a downgrade?loses Guts for Keen Eye (
), Limber (
) or Intimidate (
)
You may be underestimating how good Moxie is and how it's integral part of what makes Salamence good in singles (it uses Intimidate in doubles anyway)loses Sheer Force for Overcoat (
) then Moxie (
)
What would thick fat do on a pokemon that *already* resists ice and fire do exactly?loses Thick Fat for Reckless
You may be both overrating how good Hustle is and underrating how pokemon defining Defiant is.loses Hustle for Defiant
I would say that though negatively received by some online, the x but edgier design (for megas and in other media) has a very large fanbase who will love exactly that. Especially in Pokemon’s key demographic.(Didn't know if this was more appropiate here or in the ZA thread since it's so negative. Long rant incoming)
I have yet to play ZA mind you. Despite it being on my self since literal release day, health, academic and even work issues have stopped me from playing it. Amusingly that means that even a month later, and despite knowing *who* they are, I have not seen most Megas.
Today someone made the very "kind" decision of spoiling Zeraora to me regardless with this meme. At a first glance, I assumed it was true.
However the more I look into it...the more I disagree. First of all, this is not actually a new palette of colors, it's the same 3 ones as base Zeraora, just distributed in a different way. Of course, this does make a good visual difference...for like, a shiny or an OC.
I have defended to the death the officially revealed base game Megas. I think they are good, even Dragonite. I can't say the same for Zeraora.
Mega Charizard X works, even of all its industry plant glory, because of various factors. First of all, it's obviously a completely colour change. Orange is done, there are red eyes, the most predominant ones are black and obviously blue. There are face changes, even if they are only flames and differenr horns, apart from more striking red eyes. There are also obvious body changes: "feathered" wings, spikes, even in XY (can't believe I'm saying it) the model is quute different and with less belly, even if it isn't as drastic as with Zard Y. The contrast between black and a simple plain color makes it even easier to pick up on these changes. Of course, it has the Dragon type and turns it into a physical attacker.
Now, Zeraora. There *are* changes. They just seem rather random. The legs stop being fluffly for some reason, but they at least take advantage of the zig zag pattern...even trough is still looks way worse. The rest of the changes? Excluding the yellow top of its head, they are quite literally adding spikes to it. It's literally the meme about making Megas by adding spikes. Like, genuinely amazed at that.
It really doesn't seem like they are doing anything new with the design. So yeah, tecnically they are doing the same as Zard X but with a worse execution, without another different Mega to contrast it with, and without doing nothing new with the concept of Zeraora.
This wouldn't be an issue...if I didn't find the very concept of Zeraora to be so plain and boring. Or if it wasn't a Mythical. I have said before how I consider it to genuinely be the "less Mythical-esque" of all Mythicals. I know that can be argued since people consider Zarude to be so common worse in that regard, but in my eyes a Mythical Pokemon should have something special in either lore or design, or even in gameplay. Zeraora looks like the most generic furry possible, it's a plain Electric type, doesn't have an interesting movepool or statline, doesn't have any kind of lore in-game behind it even related to its movie (yes, I consider rip-off Tarzan simian to be better in that regard because it's something). It being created for said movie is somehow even worse since it feels like such a generic Pokemon even on it. Really seems like they wanted to finish Gen 7 with a non-UB mon but it's even more insulting such a good part of the dex finishes with such a random-looking mon.
Imagine for a moment that Raichu was only getting one of its Megas. X or Y, you can choose. Even on a vaccum, any of them changes more than Zeraora physically despite keeping the pure Electric typing. We can joke about Y being Mega Pikachu and X asking so badly for Fighting type, but they are still doing something different with Raichu. Zeraora isn't. And that's just baffling to me. When it was leaked, I was interested because a Mega could redeem Zeraora for me. But they didn't. And the worst part is that it doesn't even seem lazy in my eyes. It just seems like someone is so confident in base Zeraora they tried their best to make the Mega change the least possible. My question is, why even bother giving it a Mega to start with then? If it was like, Volcanion, I could understand feeling "forced" to pair it with Hoopa and Diancie. But Zeraora had nothing to do with Kalos. Someone decided it needed a Mega, and then did this. I have tried so hard- looking st the trailer (thinking hey, perhaps it looks good in-game and is the contrast between Sugimori artwork and the shitty 3D render, but nope), at the official description, at the leaked staline. There is nor a single interesting thing about it.
I'm honestly glad it didn't make it into Horizons as the Teraleak said, even if I feel really dissapointed in the yellow Lucario. I genuinely think it's the lamest Mega so far in the franchise, and while I could joke about it fitting the lamest Mythical, this has happened so many years later it doesn't make sense to double down on that aspect, not does it feel an intentional joke like with Dudunsparce.
View attachment 787772View attachment 787777
Pokemon that get a worse ability when they evolve:
loses Adaptability for Cute Charm
loses Guts for Shed Skin (
) then Unnerve (
)
loses Sheer Force for Overcoat (
) then Moxie (
)
loses Levitate for Pressure
loses Adaptability
loses Sheer Force for Levitate (Arena Trap wouldn't be allowed anyways)
loses Guts for Keen Eye (
), Limber (
) or Intimidate (
)
loses Inner Focus for Pressure
->
and
->
are obviously intended and many pokemon like
->
technically get a worse ability in one slot but would never use either of them
Honorable mentions (both abilities would be usable if the fully evolved pokemon had them):
loses Hustle for Defiant
loses Hustle for Levitate
loses Thick Fat for Reckless
There's probably a bunch more I missed
Heck the Eeveelutions just straight up don't even have a second ability, I think they're one of the few if not only mons to do lose an ability slot completely. Which shocks me because out of all the Gen 1 mons, they feel like prime choices for new abilitiesloses Adaptability
Theer's quite a few Pokemon that don't have a second (or third, in this case; they do have hidden abilities at least) but Eevee -> Eeveelution does stand out a bit more since Adaptability was added to it in Gen 4 and does feel like something that would facilitate all of them getting an extra in that same generation but...no.Heck the Eeveelutions just straight up don't even have a second ability, I think they're one of the few if not only mons to do so. Which shocks me because out of all the Gen 1 mons, they feel like prime choices for new abilities
Not enough Pokes have the Simple ability and the ones that do fucking suck
It's frustrating because it reads so gooood
just imagine... a half decent poke with simple
Not enough Pokes have the Simple ability and the ones that do fucking suck
It's frustrating because it reads so gooood
just imagine... a half decent poke with simple
View attachment 789875
Be the change you want to see in the world
For what's worth it, it's been a not-so-uncommon tech for SV raids.View attachment 789875
Be the change you want to see in the world
Somehow this perfectly explains why it’s not immune to Water type moves via Water Compaction.As a person who works with various types of dirt, I want to point out that Water Compaction only being given to two Pokémon made out of beach sand is BS.
While soils do become more dense when water is added, there is a bell curve to the water/density relationship, so at some point adding more water actively lowers density. Also, said bell curve doesn't even go that high when it comes to water percentage – I think the highest optimal density I've seen was at around 18-20% water content in a sample. Beach sand in particular is awful at retaining water compared to other soil types and does not become much harder when wet. The specific tests I do most often either become super easy or much much harder because pure sand that's been heavily soaked will not stick together as a singular solid. I've actually messed up a test because a compacted sand sample with about 10% water content just fell out of a ring mold. Sand castles only really function because they're being crafted by humans with know how, have structural support (whether by the ground they're sticking to or things like plastic toys), and are allowed to dry.
If anything, Sandygast and Palossand should instantly be KO'd by any remotely pressurized water source and washed away. A garden hose is a legitimate threat to them.
Geo engineering HYPE!As a person who works with various types of dirt, I want to point out that Water Compaction only being given to two Pokémon made out of beach sand is BS.
As with a lot of aspects of the type chart, I'd be down for significantly increased alternate interactions between Ground/Rock and Water/Grass. The baseline is fine, but there's plenty of options to dig into that if GF wanted to pull in some odd/unique situations for abilities and moves.While soils do become more dense when water is added, there is a bell curve to the water/density relationship, so at some point adding more water actively lowers density. Also, said bell curve doesn't even go that high when it comes to water percentage – I think the highest optimal density I've seen was at around 18-20% water content in a sample. Beach sand in particular is awful at retaining water compared to other soil types and does not become much harder when wet. The specific tests I do most often either become super easy or much much harder because pure sand that's been heavily soaked will not stick together as a singular solid. I've actually messed up a test because a compacted sand sample with about 10% water content just fell out of a ring mold. Sand castles only really function because they're being crafted by humans with know how, have structural support (whether by the ground they're sticking to or things like plastic toys), and are allowed to dry.
If anything, Sandygast and Palossand should instantly be KO'd by any remotely pressurized water source and washed away. A garden hose is a legitimate threat to them.
Glad you found it interesting! You might be also be interested in what I have to say in this follow-up post.Somehow this perfectly explains why it’s not immune to Water type moves via Water Compaction.
I’m not sure if that’s clever game design or if the stars align, but either way this was really fascinating to just read through
That's funny, because there are some Chinese idioms that treat water as a death sentence for clay objects:Glad you found it interesting! You might be also be interested in what I have to say in this follow-up post.
If any Ground-type Pokémon should have Water Compaction, it should probably be something made of raw clay. I had prep a clay sample yesterday and it's almost always a bitch to do so. Sample prep involves stuffing the dirt through a sieve (so rocks and stuff can be picked out; I've also found nails a few times) and clay has a tendency to clump together and stick to the sieve when pushing it through, especially when wet. I normally save the moisture content test for after sample prep is done, but I was asked to check immediately due to that specific sample needing a bunch of different tests done. It had ~30-35% water content – I cannot remember the specific number but it was within that range.
It is impossible stress enough how 30% is a lot of water for a sample. Admittedly, this might not strictly be indicative of the entire thing. I do the MC test with about 100 grams taken from the sample (which was like 50lbs maybe?), said sample was taken from a hole that went down 4 feet (so water content could vary based on which dirt I grabbed), and more tests are needed to basically double check this. Regardless, I could feel that all the clay was super wet and no water was coming out. Clay, or at least most clay I've worked with, retains water very well. While the clay was still soft and able to be broken up by hand, applying pressure with a hammer to push it through the sieve wasn't completely effective. Though I did it anyway since I needed periodic breaks from hand wringing the sample lol. I had to spend the majority of my shift working on this prep that I couldn't finish, and yes clay can take literal hours to prep. Ended up throwing it all in the oven to dry over the weekend and hopefully make my job easier on Monday.
So what I'm saying in a roundabout way is that if a clay Pokémon had Water Compaction I would totally buy it.
The difference between clay as compared to other soils and clay as compared to other construction materials, I guess. I'm no expert though, my geophysics project dealt with the Water/Rock matchup (earthquakes from fracking) rather then Water/Ground.That's funny, because there are some Chinese idioms that treat water as a death sentence for clay objects:
泥牛入海
ni2 niu2 ru4 hai3
lit. a clay ox enters the sea (idiom); fig. to disappear with no hope of returning
When I went to look that up I found a second one:
泥菩薩過江自身難保
ni2 pu2 sa4 guo4 jiang1 zi4 shen1 nan2 bao3
• like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, can't guarantee his own safety
• unable to save oneself, let alone others
I guess GameFreak is under the same impression, since this is Claydol's pokedex entry in Ultra Sun, a game in which it sure didn't get water compaction as an alternate or hidden ability:
"If it gets wet, its body melts. When rain starts to fall, it wraps its whole body up with its psychic powers to protect itself."
Huh, neat that they've updated the Japanese card dex, back when I found out about it a few years ago it only went back to Black & White.So both the English & Japanese websites have a card dex. The English dex only contains cards from when the TCG was handed over to TPC/Nintendo, meaning that while I think there might be a few exceptions here & there it has every card starting from Ruby & Sapphire EX aka the first set of the 3rd gen. And obviously, no Japanese-only cards. Understandable!
But the Japanese card dex? I would figure it would have everything; we know they have the high quality scans of the older cards since they reference them in future-set reprints or Pokemon Pocket (& maybe art books?) but they only go to Diamond & Pearl-on. That's such a shame! They don't even go as far back as the English side does.
Guess it's a good thing fan sites exist to catalog everything.
It is very very likely I am missing information since I am only a lab tech and not a certified geologist. I'm mostly speaking from my own experience with the tests I've done and what I've learned from the actual experts teaching me.That's funny, because there are some Chinese idioms that treat water as a death sentence for clay objects:
泥牛入海
ni2 niu2 ru4 hai3
lit. a clay ox enters the sea (idiom); fig. to disappear with no hope of returning
When I went to look that up I found a second one:
泥菩薩過江自身難保
ni2 pu2 sa4 guo4 jiang1 zi4 shen1 nan2 bao3
• like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, can't guarantee his own safety
• unable to save oneself, let alone others
I guess GameFreak is under the same impression, since this is Claydol's pokedex entry in Ultra Sun, a game in which it sure didn't get water compaction as an alternate or hidden ability:
"If it gets wet, its body melts. When rain starts to fall, it wraps its whole body up with its psychic powers to protect itself."