I think there’s a theory floating around somewhere that the other Pokémon with scrapped Gen 1 prevos (Zubat, Vulpix, and Goldeen) had stats similar to Ponyta’s initially, and the stats they had now were the stats of said prevos prior to them getting nixed. Which of course raises the question of why Ponyta was the sole exception.
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If so, it could have just been a very late cut in development and didn't have a chance (or otherwise wasnt a priority) to rework the stats.
Or they just figured it appeared late enough in the game (exclusively in Pokémon mansion in RB) that it made sense for it to be a little stronger.
Ponyta didn’t learn its second move until level 30, so it seems likely that they’d be thinking of it as a lategame pre-evo, maybe with stats to match.
Ponyta didn’t learn its second move until level 30, so it seems likely that they’d be thinking of it as a lategame pre-evo, maybe with stats to match.
One little thing that I just noticed after all these years that I think is pretty cool is that when you're in your party screen, your Pokemon will sort of bob up and down if they aren't fainted, I've been playing Pokemon since I was 6 and I don't think I ever truly noticed that this was a thing that happened; I know I've seen it but it never stood out to me. I just noticed and thought that it was a neat little detail.
Also when the health is low (eg. red) they will bob at a slower peace.
One of my favorite parts about X and Y was that you had the option to start the game with up to 3 starters if you include the gift Torchic. I feel like playing with multiple starters is one of those fun things players want to do but can't do unless they trade with a friend and restart. Personally I went with Chespin and Charmander, while my brother went with Froakie, Bulbasaur and Torchic, and looking back, I really appreciate it and kinda hope they can do it again. I guess they did that with DLC if you play from the start and then go to the isle of armor to get Bulbasaur or Squirtle, but it's a bit of a stretch because most players played the DLC after finishing the game.
I haven't played over 200 hours in game since xy and oras, but I've managed to log in at least 215 hours for Sword and I think the quality of life changes are a huge part of that. I remember spending hours trying to breed a perfect shiny, while also being slightly unhappy about wild shinies because the IV's would usually be far from perfect, but Gen 8 completely changed that. The fact I can turn any shiny pokemon into a perfect pokemon with ideal natures, perfect IV's, egg moves, and eventually hidden abilities is just really really cool imo. The Gen 8 games have been pretty controversial, but I think overall they were pretty cool and quality of life changes give me a bit more hope about future games.
The rest of this post is kind of a gen 3 and 4 appreciation post, so apologies in advance if it's too much.
Gens 3 and 4 hold a special place in my heart because I feel like they gave us everything we could ask for, and then more, all with astounding quality. The main series games were all difficult (for a non-competitive player at least), every starter was great, and they added the battle frontier. The anime did pretty well too. For Gen 3, the Battle Frontier provided some cool fights, like Charizard vs. Articuno, and then giving us another opportunity to see Ash's Bulbasaur and Squirtle in action again. As for Gen 4, I think it gave us one of the, if not the greatest battle in the entire anime in Ash vs. Paul. I still get goosebumps while rewatching the last bits of Infernape vs. Electivire, and I know the battle with Tobias after was rather lame, but I still think that win for Infernape just felt satisfying as hell.
As for the "and then more with astounding quality," I'm mainly referring to the side series games. It wasn't just that we had a lot of new side games, but that those side games were all really really good. I'll list the more popular ones below:
destroying my bottom screen making use of the stylus and the bottom touch screen for the Nintendo DS. Last but not least, the Mystery Dungeon games are big fan favorites that gave us a new way to play, and did so while providing pretty good story and some heartache that made us love some pokemon even more. These games not only gave us new ways to play pokemon, but they were really challenging too and I think as players, these games are a solid collection of what we want to see in a game. Unfortunately the side series games have taken a fall since Gen 5, but I'm still happy to have gotten the above games, and seeing as how the first mystery dungeon games received a remake, I'm curious to know what else might get one. It might be an empty expectation, but surprises are always nice, so I'll just accept whatever we're fortunate to get.
It's hard to believe it's coming close to its 25th anniversary, but I'm genuinely happy Pokemon exists and I love it with all my heart.
I haven't played over 200 hours in game since xy and oras, but I've managed to log in at least 215 hours for Sword and I think the quality of life changes are a huge part of that. I remember spending hours trying to breed a perfect shiny, while also being slightly unhappy about wild shinies because the IV's would usually be far from perfect, but Gen 8 completely changed that. The fact I can turn any shiny pokemon into a perfect pokemon with ideal natures, perfect IV's, egg moves, and eventually hidden abilities is just really really cool imo. The Gen 8 games have been pretty controversial, but I think overall they were pretty cool and quality of life changes give me a bit more hope about future games.
The rest of this post is kind of a gen 3 and 4 appreciation post, so apologies in advance if it's too much.
Gens 3 and 4 hold a special place in my heart because I feel like they gave us everything we could ask for, and then more, all with astounding quality. The main series games were all difficult (for a non-competitive player at least), every starter was great, and they added the battle frontier. The anime did pretty well too. For Gen 3, the Battle Frontier provided some cool fights, like Charizard vs. Articuno, and then giving us another opportunity to see Ash's Bulbasaur and Squirtle in action again. As for Gen 4, I think it gave us one of the, if not the greatest battle in the entire anime in Ash vs. Paul. I still get goosebumps while rewatching the last bits of Infernape vs. Electivire, and I know the battle with Tobias after was rather lame, but I still think that win for Infernape just felt satisfying as hell.
As for the "and then more with astounding quality," I'm mainly referring to the side series games. It wasn't just that we had a lot of new side games, but that those side games were all really really good. I'll list the more popular ones below:
- Pokemon Colosseum
- Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Pokemon Ranger
- Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
- Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs
- Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red & Blue Rescue Team
- Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness & the Sky
It's hard to believe it's coming close to its 25th anniversary, but I'm genuinely happy Pokemon exists and I love it with all my heart.
p0ip0le
it's a billion lions
SM had totodile, chikorita, and cyndaquil on melemele, and serperior, emboar, and samurott on poni island; USUM had bulbasaur, charmander, and squirtle on melemele, combusken, grovyle, and marshtomp on akala, prinplup, monferno, and grotle on heahea, and chesnaught, greninja, and delphox on poni, all found using island scan and having some egg move
and on the topic of island scan: i like it. its a nice touch and lets ppl get pokemon they otherwise wouldn't be able to without trading, so i hope they do something similar in the next few gens
Mine was Fennekin, Torchic, and Charmander. *Feels people staring at me* Look I always pick the Fire Starter for each new generation so by tradition I picked Fennekin, Torchic really didn't have a choice aside not getting it and wasn't going to do that, and finally Charizard is my favorite Pokemon so... yeah. Still beat the Champion.
As for getting more Starters during the game, I'm both for though also a bit against. On one hand it was cool having three Starters in my XY adventure and just sweeping through the game with my Triple Fiery, but on the other hand I didn't really use any other Pokemon though feel I needed. Aside from Quacklin' the Farfetch'd I had as my flyer (and also knew Leaf Blade for pesky Water-types), I just kept swapping out my other two spots with the newest strongest Pokemon I got for somewhat Type coverage, when it came to the League I brought in a Bisharp I also got from a trade and a Trevenant I got on Route 20. In addition multiple Starters kind of makes that gen's Starter feels a bit less special, this is supposed to be its time to shine (at least during the main game) but Fennekin had to share screen time with Torchic that had Speed Boost and my soon-to-be-favorite Pokemon Charmander (and there really was't any Pokemon Delphox could take care of that Charizard couldn't (would could also Mega Evolve into MCY, which had Drought and Solar Beam)).
If we were to ever get another Starter during the main game, I would prefer it being late game (at least later half if not later third) so the new Starter has a chance to shine.
Arguably, Gen 5 also kinda had two starters thanks to the monkeys.
p0ip0le
it's a billion lions
i wouldnt call it a starter so much as honorary starter. its definitely a good idea from GF though, esp since the other earlygame mons tend to be... lacking at that point (and holy hell you have to grind so much for the FIRST GYM jfc)
a similar thing was how starters were done in gen4, where turtwig and piplup already had a type advantage over roark, and chimchar evolved earlier than them to get the fighting advantage
I like the idea with the monkeys... even if they only existed to serve as a tutorial to Type Match-ups. Sadly the Monkeys don't really keep up even after you evolve them (though I did like they let you catch all of them in Pinwheel Forest).
To me I just want a nice variety of Types available early on, which include Grass, Fire, and Water. They don't need to have a theme to them or be given away as a gift. Just make a Grass, Water, and Fire com mon and then place them on early routes so, if I want them, I can add them to my team.
I always saw Lillipup as being the "fourth starter" of Unova. It is found very early on, evolves at the same time as most starters (level 16 and 32), and stays useful until the end of the game if you choose to keep it. Shinx is in a similar position in Gen IV, even having an "elemental type" like the starters.
As a writer of the in-game tier list for BW1 I will say the monkeys are actually incredibly underrated. They have a reason to be disliked because they’re forced on you, admittedly.
Pansear just outright sucks but the other two get by okay until level 22, albeit with STAB as their good only move more or less (though Work Up can help against Bide Patrat).
After they evolve, all three monkeys are actually very good. Simisear, while the weakest with Flame Burst still gets by on raw stats. Simisage while resisted a good bit still has 80 BP STAB.
Simipour is actually in my opinion the best water in Black and White, better than Samurott. While Oshawott comes earlier, Simipour is there during a lot of the Dewott period and outclasses it both stats wise and power wise with Scald until Cold Storage, and even then Dewott doesn’t have the nuclear Scald Simipour does. By the time you get Samurott / starter evos all three monkeys have great coverage to abuse with Work Up. They do turn into Work Up addicts at the League due to comparatively lacking power though.
While Pansage and Pansear are not the best options of their types, they are serviceable (especially after the latter evolves) though I wouldn’t recommend Pansear to anyone early on. Panpour is a legitimately great mon and lets you even box Snivy with no remorse.
Shame they were all nerfed in the sequels (have to get in rustling grass, Water Stone is after Clay sans Subway grinding).
3-stage first/second-route solid-all-around pokemon that grows with you isn't uncommon. Pidgey in gen 1 (and...well, gen 2. Gen 6, too...), Starly in gen 4, Lillipup in gen 5, Pikipek in gen 7, Rookidee in gen 8.
Lillipup breaks the mold by not being a bird, with the 3-stage regional bird being saved until a few routes after (though Grubbin could have an argument made for it). And Pidgey is putting in overtime.
Gen 3's the real odd-man out. Wingull, Zigzagoon and Poochyena are all 2-stage pokemon, wurmple is the early game bug archetype. Route 102 (the third route you visit) does have the Seedot/Lotad line but that's not...as applicable as even Grubbin is; nor is the very rare Ralts line (which goes for a different stat archetype anyway).
And there's no Pidgey to pick up the slack either.
e: Wait I straight up forgot Fletchling
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Plague von Karma
Banned deucer.
Mints are long and far one of the best additions to Pokemon in history. No longer is a Pokemon bound to the natures it comes with, while not taking away from the realism aspect. ExtremeSpeed Entei and Ash-Greninja now have access to alternate natures, and Gen 3 Pokemon aren't bound by RNG at all anymore. It's actually huge for the XD moves since now the broken RNG hurting the IV and Nature combinations is no longer a problem. It's so good.
I thought Ash Gren was IV-locked, not nature-locked.
Plague von Karma
Banned deucer.
It can only be Hardy, last I checked?
EDIT: Nope, I'm stupid and posting at 5 AM.
Fire and Grass are fascinating defensive types. They're polar opposites both of each other and what you would expect of them just by looking at the numbers.
Fire has more resistances than any other type besides Steel. And yet the few weaknesses it has (Water, Ground, and especially Rock) are so crippling that Fire is often seen as a poor defensive type.
Meanwhile, Grass is tied with Rock for having the most weaknesses of any type. However, the resistances it has (Electric, Water, and Ground and Grass but that doesn't really matter) are so valuable that Grass is often seen as a great defensive type.
Fire has more resistances than any other type besides Steel. And yet the few weaknesses it has (Water, Ground, and especially Rock) are so crippling that Fire is often seen as a poor defensive type.
Meanwhile, Grass is tied with Rock for having the most weaknesses of any type. However, the resistances it has (Electric, Water, and Ground and Grass but that doesn't really matter) are so valuable that Grass is often seen as a great defensive type.
That's why we need a Fire Grass Pokemon ! Only weak to Rock, Poison, Flying moves, that's interesting !
Don't forget they have a resistance to Fairy, Steel, Electric, & Grass (x0.25).
They're also immune to both Burn and Spore/Powder moves. And if they use a Fire-type move they're essentially immune to Freeze.
Looking at their STABs moves they're only fully resisted by Dragon-type & Fire-types.
They're definitely a strange cookie.
Yes, but most of those Pokémon fall into the archetype of "regional bird", which usually comes with a rather restricted movepool and mediocre stats. Shinx and Lillipup are more versatile and with stats more in line with the actual starters.
One could argue that Nidoran (Gen I) is another example of these "pseudo-starters", as they can also be found very early on and evolve twice, but their growth rate isn't as precisely attuned to that of the starters. Their shtick seems to be more like "disk one nukes", with great potential to boom early if you pour a lot of single-use items such as evolution stones and TMs into them, but which fall behind the curve towards the end of the game.
Probably one of the coolest things I like about Gens 4, 5, and 8 in particular is how many notable Trainers have dialogue in the midst of the battle. Like when they send out their last Pokemon, their Pokemon is at a low health point, etc. It really makes rival battles and Gym Battles in particular just feel more lively and involved. Gen 4 started out pretty basic with it, with just when they're at their last Pokemon, and same with Gen 5 (also most notable Trainers saying something when their Pokemon takes their first hit), but Gen 8 takes it a step further as Gym Leaders and rivals now also have dialogue for stuff like critical hits, super effective hits, Dynamax/unleashing the G-Max move, and vice versa, in addition to taking hits and such. I just like that little bits of dialogue that happens in these gens in particular, as it adds a bit of life to major battles like Rival battles, Gym battles, and even battles in the League+Champion, and is just really neat in general, like it feels like both you and the opponent are determined to win. I'm kind of sad that this was taken out of Gens 6-7 (not sure why they didn't have this in those gens, but alas).
It was really neat with the Gym Leaders and Dynamax, but Piers' in-battle dialogue in particular was my favorite and it showcased how even without Dynamax, it was like each of his Pokemon was a star of the show, and how he was talking about how each of his Pokemon had a specific strategy in mind, and he showed off each and every one of his Pokemon.
Also another thing I absolutely love about BW1/2 and Sword and Shield is the dynamic Gym Battle music. Their respective Gym Battle themes are pretty catchy, but I really like how the theme changes when the Gym Leader sends out their last Pokemon, as it just adds a whole new layer of hype to the Gym Battles, especially when you're on the verge of victory. Gen 5's theme was very, very good and made you feel like you could do anything, and while Gen 8's isn't quite as catchy, it definitely adds a layer of excitement and life to the finale with the crowd's cheering as the Dynamax showdown begins (I practically always save my Dynamax for this). I also like how SwSh adds even more dynamic music to the battle, as it changes when the Gym Leader is about to send out their next Pokemon, and there's a different mix if your Pokemon faints and you need to send something out next. It's such a neat thing about the Gym Battles in these particular generations.
It was really neat with the Gym Leaders and Dynamax, but Piers' in-battle dialogue in particular was my favorite and it showcased how even without Dynamax, it was like each of his Pokemon was a star of the show, and how he was talking about how each of his Pokemon had a specific strategy in mind, and he showed off each and every one of his Pokemon.
Also another thing I absolutely love about BW1/2 and Sword and Shield is the dynamic Gym Battle music. Their respective Gym Battle themes are pretty catchy, but I really like how the theme changes when the Gym Leader sends out their last Pokemon, as it just adds a whole new layer of hype to the Gym Battles, especially when you're on the verge of victory. Gen 5's theme was very, very good and made you feel like you could do anything, and while Gen 8's isn't quite as catchy, it definitely adds a layer of excitement and life to the finale with the crowd's cheering as the Dynamax showdown begins (I practically always save my Dynamax for this). I also like how SwSh adds even more dynamic music to the battle, as it changes when the Gym Leader is about to send out their next Pokemon, and there's a different mix if your Pokemon faints and you need to send something out next. It's such a neat thing about the Gym Battles in these particular generations.
Yeah it was nice seeing they bring back dialogue in Gen 8. They even have different animations for trainers who Dynamax, for example Olena is quite smug when she says she is about to Dynamax, only to lose her cool as she throws the ball. My only problem with it Gen 8 is that certain trainers like Hop and Leon give too much dialogue, like how Hop constantly praises for knowing type advantages throughout his battles.