Yeah but if youre making a character whos main trait is being helpful to a fault then i feel that should be the center focus of their character have the rival actually accompany you in some side missions to integrate that into the gameplay, have some more scenes that call attention to their superhero complex, or hell just even some people talking about it. As it is (and again i could be completely wrong here) it didnt seem like the rival really..had an idea of what their personality was or how it fits into the storyline, it feels weirdly out of focus despite it being the cause of a few conflicts the gang gets into i remember lida complaining about it but thats about as much focus as it gets.
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Pokémon Legends: Z-A General Discussion
- Thread starter DHR-107
- Start date
Yeah but if youre making a character whos main trait is being helpful to a fault then i feel that should be the center focus of their character have the rival actually accompany you in some side missions to integrate that into the gameplay, have some more scenes that call attention to their superhero complex, or hell just even some people talking about it. As it is (and again i could be completely wrong here) it didnt seem like the rival really..had an idea of what their personality was or how it fits into the storyline, it feels weirdly out of focus despite it being the cause of a few conflicts the gang gets into i remember lida complaining about it but thats about as much focus as it gets.
I think you’re completely overlooking the Rogue Megas element of the story. That whole series of missions stems from Urbain/Taunie, as they were the ones who stepped in and teamed up with Floette six months prior and have been coordinating with Quasartico ever since. Lida and Naveen contribute, of course, but Urbain/Taunie are the ones who formed Team MZ to work toward that effort, and who keep in contact with Vinnie, because they are fully committed to helping the Rogue Megas. Vinnie says as much:
“That’s how your friend Taunie/Urbain there found out about the threat to Lumiose—and what inspired her/him to create this ‘Team MZ,’ as you call it. She/He has put every effort into reaching the upper ranks in order to be in a better position to help us deal with these cases of Rogue Mega Evolution.”
I mentioned in another thread on here that each of the post-rank skip sections of the story are like dedicated “arcs” for each character. Rank E (Canari) is about you and Naveen, Rank D (Ivor) is about you and Emma, Rank C (Corbeau) is about you and Lida, and then Rank B (Jacinthe) is about you and Urbain/Taunie. They’re the driving force in that part of the story because their desire to help the Rogue Mega Pokémon is in direct conflict with Jacinthe’s desire to hold a frivolous tournament.
Them helping random citizens on the side is ultimately just a bit of detailing to suggest how they spend their free time. It’s their version of “Lida goes to dance practice” and “Naveen watches Canari streams.”
I mean, let’s be clear about some things here:
- The Lumiose Safety Group were essentially conspiracy theorists. They were “protesting” based on a false premise. They believed that Quasartico were responsible for bringing the wild Pokémon into the city for some nefarious purpose — “evil deeds,” to use their own words — and refused to believe otherwise. They were misinterpreting the growing number of wild zones as a ploy by Quasartico to bring in more and more wild Pokémon, but in truth, they were a mitigation tactic to keep a problem that was out of Quasartico’s control at bay. We as the audience know that Quasartico were not, in fact, responsible for the migration of wild Pokémon into the city — the cause of that was Ange. The only dubious call that Quasartico made in the process was covering that information up, but that’s because they felt hamstrung by their mission, since they were contracted in the first place to make the city seem desirable to live in so that it wouldn’t keep bleeding residents. And Jett ultimately chooses to resign because she acknowledges that she endangered people by not being more transparent about that.
- No one gets “beat up,” and if it’s that we’re using Pokémon battles as some kind of allegory for violence, the head representative of the Lumiose Safety Group is the one who starts it by challenging Corbeau to a battle. “If you’re going to get in our way, then you’ll have to face my Pokémon!” Those are, in the Pokémon world, what one would call “fightin’ words.” Up until he said that, everyone was just trying to talk.
So he is going all over the city beating the shit out of the people who REALLY want to show you how good the move Protect and how you can Win With Only Status Moves?
I see how he got the tickets to rank A so fast...
realistically this is a fault of the game's framing because it completely drops the 'hey maybe wild zones aren't so great' line after this scene and these people don't appear again outside of the dlc so it just comes off as ???
Honestly I do like though the game is capable of updating text, there is never a point even in post game where they get rid of all the misc NPC dialog that's like "hey this wild zone stuff kind of sucks". In fact I think there might even be some new one scattered around, or it feels that way as I keep stumbling into NPCs I've never spoken to before.
Anyway it's something there's no real solution to barring Pokemon just leaving now that Ange is resolved or the city being forcibly evacuated and turning into a pokemon sanctuary, so it's just a fun bit of friction that'll just be in the worlduntil everyone in lumiose is just smoking their poke-cigarettes goign yeah fuck it why not there's a rayquaza up in the sky now who cares about the houndoom chasing me every time i run down the street
Anyway it's something there's no real solution to barring Pokemon just leaving now that Ange is resolved or the city being forcibly evacuated and turning into a pokemon sanctuary, so it's just a fun bit of friction that'll just be in the world
I imagine that's probably going to be the case if we ever get an update on Lumiose City after this game. While there will still be Pokemon around there's no more Alphas to worry about and I imagine most of the powerful ones will want to go back to the wilds of Kalos to establish their own territory. Once that happens there will be no need for the Wild Zones, at least inside the city, so in a way granting the wish of Ivor and Jacinthe though probably not in the way they imagine it (I can see the Fists of Justice also leaving the city to setup other dojos where human settlement and Pokemon territory interesect; the SBC will very likely still have a branch in Hotel Richissime though Jacinthe may decide to find fresher and more interesting battlegrounds
The redevelopment plan is still ongoing, and ultimately, public opinion on the wild zones is shown to be pretty split. Some people like the idea of living in harmony with Pokémon, some people dislike how the wild zones have encroached upon established infrastructure, and then there’s a whole third faction (the Fist of Justice) who want to do away with wild zones altogether and whose solution is to just train everyone to be strong enough to weather the difficulties of that. I don’t think that’s a problem that would realistically be cleanly resolved any time soon, so I think it’s fine to just show an array of contrasting viewpoints and let those hang in the air.
Obviously for gameplay reasons, there’s not going to be an abolishment of the wild zones, but I think that would be unfeasible for story reasons as well. The Pokémon world generally seems to care a lot about animal welfare, with lots of efforts and initiatives existing to preserve Pokémon habitats, so naturally there’s going to be support for letting the Pokémon that have made Lumiose their home stay. It’s not like those Pokémon could help being attracted by Ange, nor can they really be blamed for the initial phenomenon of settling into places that humans were actively abandoning.
Beyond that, there’s also just the sheer logistics of forcibly removing so many wild Pokémon from these spaces. I guess they could fortify human residences against the wildlife and implement legal hunting quotas? But I think it’s pretty obvious why the game’s not going to go there.
Not to mention that one of the biggest themes of the series as a whole is the mutually beneficial relationship between people and Pokémon. In the same way that Mega Evolution, if left unchecked, can lead to pain, but can also lead to greater mutual heights when stabilized by the bond between Pokémon and Trainer, so too are the wild zones a dynamic phenomenon that comes with struggles, but can theoretically enrich a lot of lives.
All in all, the Kalos games have always been about compromise — finding the point where the X and Y axes meet. The wild zones, for the time being at least, are a realization of that.
I think what's being discussed here is a problem of dramatization: there are tons of theoretically interesting story beats in the game, but they aren't conveyed to the player in an interesting way. Urbain/Taunie saying they're doing something cool on the background isn't a story.
An exemple of how to NOT do that: the Rust Syndicate story arc. They have an interesting setup (your rival getting your group in trouble because they're too tunnel-visioned with their goals) and even the potential for good drama between your rival and Lida (both of them thinks the other is being selfish, but for different reasons) but the game just leaves this plot point completely unresolved (yes, the debt IS paid so it is "resolved" in a practical level, but it's emotionally unsatisfying).
An exemple of how to NOT do that: the Rust Syndicate story arc. They have an interesting setup (your rival getting your group in trouble because they're too tunnel-visioned with their goals) and even the potential for good drama between your rival and Lida (both of them thinks the other is being selfish, but for different reasons) but the game just leaves this plot point completely unresolved (yes, the debt IS paid so it is "resolved" in a practical level, but it's emotionally unsatisfying).
The beatings of "Zeraora is an industry plant" chuds will continue until morale improves
it is and i will die on that hill.
Man, I really wanna know more about the differences between how japanese fans engage with Pokémo compared to everywhere else. Remember those Gen 7 and 8 character popularity polls where Hau and Hop turned out to be fan favorites?
Holy fuck there's a character poll where Hau wins?! PLEASE I need this for my malasadagendaposting NOW
Ok, he doesn't win, but our boy did manage to get into the Top 10 at least!
The really funny part is that Hop is actually the THIRD MOST POPULAR SWSH CHARACTER in Japan
Once again someone else manages to convey my point better than i could..
Heres a drawing of a seal as an award.
Attachments
Sincerely convinced that if/when they do Legends Alola they're guaranteed to make it a sequel like Z-A purely for the sake of making adult Lillie real
I'm not surprised people like Hau. I saw it plenty casually even after Gen 7's hey day. He's a charming boy!
Hop is only a little surprising in the tenant of "annoyed at gameplay" sickos like our forum has. He is otherwise a nice kid who kind of actually focuses on the "inadequacy due to legacy" story in a way Hau didn't; it's easy to see why people would like him. Honestly for as annoyed as I was at him, I still found myself liking him by the time of his final post-game battle, and I can respect the rapid fire battles as a way of showing his attempt to get out of his funk.
I am a bit surprised he got 3rd on that poll, but top 10 is real easy to believe.
Anyway Zeraora is a "cool" designed lighting cat thing so again not very surprising that despite the onslaught of "zero aura" jokes it turns out it does, in fact, have pull on people
Hop is only a little surprising in the tenant of "annoyed at gameplay" sickos like our forum has. He is otherwise a nice kid who kind of actually focuses on the "inadequacy due to legacy" story in a way Hau didn't; it's easy to see why people would like him. Honestly for as annoyed as I was at him, I still found myself liking him by the time of his final post-game battle, and I can respect the rapid fire battles as a way of showing his attempt to get out of his funk.
I am a bit surprised he got 3rd on that poll, but top 10 is real easy to believe.
Anyway Zeraora is a "cool" designed lighting cat thing so again not very surprising that despite the onslaught of "zero aura" jokes it turns out it does, in fact, have pull on people
I wonder if it’ll be 2026 before Philippe deigns to let me fill in the lone Rotom-shaped hole in my Dex 
I thought a lot about what kinds of balls to catch all of the Mythicals in since it’s such a rare opportunity to be able choose that for these particular species, and I was so satisfied when I realized what a good match the Beast Ball was for Zeraora (both are from Gen 7 + you catch Zeraora in another dimension + blue and yellow color schemes + the Ultra Wormhole release animation looks kinda like the Plasma Fist lightning, and on top of all that it’s a guaranteed catch so the low catch rate isn’t a pain) that I felt like I had to put it on my team to flex it. I’ve been using it quite a lot, and my impression of it has grown very rapidly.
Also, I’m a little surprised that Raichu Y is up there but Raichu X isn’t. Similarly, I’m not at all surprised that Mega Feraligatr didn’t make the cut, but I would have thought that Mega Emboar would.
Mega Starmie being #2 is both hilarious, and based
I thought a lot about what kinds of balls to catch all of the Mythicals in since it’s such a rare opportunity to be able choose that for these particular species, and I was so satisfied when I realized what a good match the Beast Ball was for Zeraora (both are from Gen 7 + you catch Zeraora in another dimension + blue and yellow color schemes + the Ultra Wormhole release animation looks kinda like the Plasma Fist lightning, and on top of all that it’s a guaranteed catch so the low catch rate isn’t a pain) that I felt like I had to put it on my team to flex it. I’ve been using it quite a lot, and my impression of it has grown very rapidly.
Also, I’m a little surprised that Raichu Y is up there but Raichu X isn’t. Similarly, I’m not at all surprised that Mega Feraligatr didn’t make the cut, but I would have thought that Mega Emboar would.
Mega Starmie being #2 is both hilarious, and based
Kind of off topic, so sorry if this isn't to be posted here, but I wondered if there's one for SV characters as well. If so, could you post it?
Yeah, all of those were published on the magazine Nintendo Dream, you can find them easily on google
Shows how much of a cultural difference there is i guess.
I've seen similar differences in other games for char popularity with wide difference between asian and western audience results so it doesn't surprise me, but it's always interesting to see those comparisons.
I am stunned you don't have Rotom. Based purely on my data across 15 scansI wonder if it’ll be 2026 before Philippe deigns to let me fill in the lone Rotom-shaped hole in my Dex
Battle Zone
Wild Zone Frigibax (Avalugg)
Special Zone Latias
Wild Zone Rotom
Wild Zone Frigibax (Goodra)
Wild Zone Rotom
Wild Zone Frigibax (Avalugg)
Battle Zone
Special Zone Cobalion
Wild Zone Rotom
Wild Zone Poison
Wild Zone Frigibax (Avalugg)
Battle Zone
Wild Zone Rotom
Special Zone Latios
My assumption was that the game was biased towards Rotom & the frigibax zones (technically it's 2, an Ice zone and a Dragon zone) since they're the new non-legend encounters. After that would be Battle & Special zones, then the "other" wild zones.
I actually kind of really hate the Rotom zones because they're really hard to get all the points in if you roll bad missions. "Catch 3 without being detected" is extremely tough even in an area with cover; i stick my toe out and they can see me and their catch rates arent that high so if you whiff you can alert the whole group. Also swear they saw me from across the map; and if the map is SMALL then now EVERYONE in it knows where you are. I also do not like the "catch 6 species" task; I timed out a zone once because I just could not get the final appliance to spawn.
Do you want me to trade you one. I think I have a bunch in my box.
I also think it's funny how Mega Starmie is the second most popular mega in Japan. Clearly the Tokusatsu influence mixed with being a goofy goober carries much more weight there. Also Charizard being so high on both lists makes sense and yet will infuriate too many people overly online.