(it’s gonna be a small post this time)
this thing
i do not like it
i do not like it
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(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon
- Thread starter BriarRose
- Start date
I mean, the move it's using is closer to endeavor than pain split anyway.
No, if it was closer to Endeavor than it would say "put damage counters on the opposing Pokemon until the amount of HP they have left equal to the amount of HP Misdreavus has left".
Though if that was to be more accurate to Pain Split, it would say "add up both Misdreavus and the opposing Pokemon's remaining HP and divide it by two (round down if necessary). Than put damage counters on Misdreavus and the opposing Pokemon until they have the same amount of HP as the quotient (if the quotient is equal to or above one of the Pokemon's HP then no damage counters are needed)". Thinking about it, considering this Misdreavus only has 50 HP, that effect would have been a WAY better option than what they did give it.
my favorite pokemon, mesdrobus
Hey, instead of a snarky response, I have a new annoyance: Partner Pikachu & Eevee's stats (and Raichu's & Eeveelution's).
In Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, GF realized having Pikachu and Eevee as your Starter that never evolves was a major problem as their stats (and movepool) weren't so great. For the movepool they introduced the special Tutor moves only the Partner Pokemon could learn so that fixed that, but when it came to stats they had to do a little a more digging into the code and actually increase the base stats of the Partner version of Pikachu & Eevee:
Pikachu: 35/55/40/50/50/90//320 > 45/80/50/75/60/120//430
Eevee: 55/55/50/45/65/55//325 > 65/75/70/65/85/75//435
Now overall these stat increases aren't major, they still pretty much need the special tutors moves and the effects they have to make them truly worthwhile, and they're serviceable enough to make Pikachu & Eevee usable. So, what's my problem with them?
It's only the Partner Pikachu & Eevee that has them and the change wasn't made permanent.
GF, Pikachu is your mascot and Eevee you seem to be wanting to push in secondary mascot position. You went out of your way to GIVE THEM BETTER STATS that makes them usable... and yet you go back to their pathetic old stats?! Partner Pikachu & Eevee's stats should be their new stats! Infact, I'd argue they should give Pikachu's Defense 5 more points so that both can have a BST of 435.
"And I think that BST of 435 (and 430) is why they didn't change, seems too high for a basic stage Pokemon"
Does it:
Pokemon with BST of 430: Gligar, Sneasel
Pokemon with BST of 435: Misdreavus, Tangela
Now, granted, all of these are Pokemon who started out as standalones so that's why they were originally designed with higher stats... but that didn't prevent GF from giving them an evolution later meaning they don't see the "higher" BST that big of an issue.
Not only that, if they increased Pikachu & Eevee's BST, than they could also increase their evolutions. BUT before we get to that, how about a side issue that, while the Eeveelutions BST are 525... Raichu's BST is 485. Yeah, even if you disagree with everything else I say in this post, surely you agree Raichu could at least have its BST be equal to the Eeveelutions. Going off Partner Pikachu's stats as a base, I think 525 BST Raichu would look something like this: 65/100/60/90/80/130//525 (& Alolan Raichu changed to 65/90/55/100/85/130//525).
However, I don't think there would be much of an issue against raising their BST to 555. Why 555? Because 555 is the highest BST a com mon has which also doesn't have a negative Ability (Archeops BST is 567 but Defeatist keeps it "balanced") or is a Mega Evo. The com mon with BST 555 is also a 2nd stage stone evolution like Raichu and most of the Eeveelutions: Arcanine. If Arcanine can have a BST of 555, why not Raichu and the Eeveelutions? Once again, if Pikachu is the mascot and they're making Eevee a second mascot, why should not only they get a bigger stat increase (equal to basic stage Pokemon who started as standalones but got evos later) but their evolutions to the highest BST another stone evo com mon has? My suggestion:
In Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, GF realized having Pikachu and Eevee as your Starter that never evolves was a major problem as their stats (and movepool) weren't so great. For the movepool they introduced the special Tutor moves only the Partner Pokemon could learn so that fixed that, but when it came to stats they had to do a little a more digging into the code and actually increase the base stats of the Partner version of Pikachu & Eevee:
Pikachu: 35/55/40/50/50/90//320 > 45/80/50/75/60/120//430
Eevee: 55/55/50/45/65/55//325 > 65/75/70/65/85/75//435
Now overall these stat increases aren't major, they still pretty much need the special tutors moves and the effects they have to make them truly worthwhile, and they're serviceable enough to make Pikachu & Eevee usable. So, what's my problem with them?
It's only the Partner Pikachu & Eevee that has them and the change wasn't made permanent.
GF, Pikachu is your mascot and Eevee you seem to be wanting to push in secondary mascot position. You went out of your way to GIVE THEM BETTER STATS that makes them usable... and yet you go back to their pathetic old stats?! Partner Pikachu & Eevee's stats should be their new stats! Infact, I'd argue they should give Pikachu's Defense 5 more points so that both can have a BST of 435.
"And I think that BST of 435 (and 430) is why they didn't change, seems too high for a basic stage Pokemon"
Does it:
Pokemon with BST of 430: Gligar, Sneasel
Pokemon with BST of 435: Misdreavus, Tangela
Now, granted, all of these are Pokemon who started out as standalones so that's why they were originally designed with higher stats... but that didn't prevent GF from giving them an evolution later meaning they don't see the "higher" BST that big of an issue.
Not only that, if they increased Pikachu & Eevee's BST, than they could also increase their evolutions. BUT before we get to that, how about a side issue that, while the Eeveelutions BST are 525... Raichu's BST is 485. Yeah, even if you disagree with everything else I say in this post, surely you agree Raichu could at least have its BST be equal to the Eeveelutions. Going off Partner Pikachu's stats as a base, I think 525 BST Raichu would look something like this: 65/100/60/90/80/130//525 (& Alolan Raichu changed to 65/90/55/100/85/130//525).
However, I don't think there would be much of an issue against raising their BST to 555. Why 555? Because 555 is the highest BST a com mon has which also doesn't have a negative Ability (Archeops BST is 567 but Defeatist keeps it "balanced") or is a Mega Evo. The com mon with BST 555 is also a 2nd stage stone evolution like Raichu and most of the Eeveelutions: Arcanine. If Arcanine can have a BST of 555, why not Raichu and the Eeveelutions? Once again, if Pikachu is the mascot and they're making Eevee a second mascot, why should not only they get a bigger stat increase (equal to basic stage Pokemon who started as standalones but got evos later) but their evolutions to the highest BST another stone evo com mon has? My suggestion:
- Raichu: 75/110/80/90/70/130//555 (Alolan Raichu: 75/90/70/110/80/130//555)
* (If you notice, I decided to make normal Raichu more Physical focused while letting Alolan Raichu remain Special focused, felt it helped make them both feel a bit more different from one another than Alolan Raichu simply being the better Raichu. Granted I think they'd also need to give normal Raichu more Physical moves to really emphasize it... and maybe even change it into an Electric/Fighting-type) - Eeveelutions: 130/110/100/75/75/65//555
* Originally I wanted to keep the lowest stat to being 60, BUT Partner Eevee's HP is 65. Aside from Shedinja which is a special case there is no Pokemon who's HP gets lower upon evolving. However there are a few Pokemon who's HP doesn't change upon evolving (Scyther/Scizor, Shroomish/Breloom, Dartrix/Decidueye, Mareanie/Toxapex, Type: Null/Silvally, Hattrem/Hatterene; might be some others I missed) so figured I could keep the lowest stat at 65, raise the two second lowest stats to 75, and gave the last 5 points to the 95 so it was a well rounded 100.
I don't think raising eevee stats is necessary (but if they keep making you only be able to get pichu early on, please raise pikachus stats. Pichu is garbage that takes ages (if youre not friendship grinding) to evolve into a pretty bad pokemon, and god knows when the stones are going to be avaliable to you) though I agree raichu's bst is pathetic for a stone evolution.
You sure you want Partner Pikachu stats with a Light Ball?
Speaking of which, remember all these Hat Pikachu events in SwSh? The ones that are pretty much worthless because you're pretty much just getting a Pikachu with a different model?
Why didn't they get Partner Pika stats?
So you know how people often complain about the gliding animations of things like Xatu and Skarmory, where they just kinda t-pose in the air?
Mandibuzz is one of the few Pokemon where that would actually make sense and instead it uses a flapping animation. Vultures are famous for using updrafts to soar without flapping, since it lets them stay in the air for long periods of time without expending a ton of energy.
Mandibuzz is one of the few Pokemon where that would actually make sense and instead it uses a flapping animation. Vultures are famous for using updrafts to soar without flapping, since it lets them stay in the air for long periods of time without expending a ton of energy.
Pikachu is really a case where it needs about 3 different changes in order to be good, and GF keeps making versions of it with one change that are mutually exclusive with all other changes and then are surprised* when it still sucks. They gave it Volt Tackle to go physical, but that's breeding-exclusive and incompatible with ESpeed or Icicle Crash, which are incompatible with each other. It gets Light Ball, but can't use it in any versions where it has viable stats(LC Pichu, Raichu, LGPE). It gets a bunch of Z-moves, but then can't use Light Ball. Put together all their fixes, it'd be a viable pokemon, but the way the mechanics work, the best you can do is "well, if you focus on this one thing, MAYBE you can make a workable meme out of it."
*shockedpikachu.jpg
*shockedpikachu.jpg
Now that you mention it, to add more fuel to the fire, they seemed to realize this in Gen VII so both SM and USUM provide a move tutor for Volt Tackle.
Only for Sword/Shield to drop it altogether and the only method to obtain it without breeding a Pichu is through events (the hat variations, or the Gigantamax Pikachu Wild Area event in May 2020)
I'm pretty sure the reason they made those tutors was because Pikachu's special Z crystal needed Volt Tackle to work. This is evidenced by the tutor only becoming available after recieving the Z crystal. That Z crystal didn't exist in Gen 8, so the tutor was no longer needed.
What I really hate about this is not only have they been unsuccessfully trying to make pikachu good since gen 2, but they've always been trying the same thing. It's always just trying to do damage off a base 55 attack. When the other pikaclones are successful, they're basically always in a doubles support role, which makes intuitive sense given common access to Lightningrod and that speed is their best stat. Pikachu even has a pretty good support movepool of its own (Fake Out, Nuzzle, screens, Endeavor, Helping Hand,...), but there never seems to be any attempt to focus on that aspect. They'd just rather make a worse Electivire over and over again.
I earnestly dont think' they're trying to make PIkachu a "viable" pokemon and then getting surprised when it's not. They just keep giving it more toys because its fun marketing for your mascot to have a bunch of "useful" flavor to it even if ultimately you do just want to evolve it.
Even the light ball is just a gimmick. It's a very rare item, need to use the hold item slot, and focuses on the offensive stats to make it a glass cannon. It's in the same tier of items as the Stick and Lucky Punch just more directly useful because it's the mascot.
The Cosplay Pikachus were intended for contests and marketability, the moves were just there for flavor.
The Cap Pikachu were entirely for marketing, they didn't even get weird moves.
The G-Max Pikachu (& Volt Tackle, the z-moves for that matter) were likely done for anime first, but also other marketing. Fat Pikachu is very cute, the fact the g-max move is actually pretty useful was more coincidental than wanting it super useful
The exceptoin, of course, being the partner versions. Except those had a different purpose in mind: they're stuck to the game and you always have them and that game really really wanted you to use them. THey couldn't evolve so they needed an increased statline and a suite of OP moves otherwise its the Yellow Version debacle all over again.
If they really, truly, wanted to make Pikachu super good and viable they would just...do that again, and say whatever to Raichu.
Even the light ball is just a gimmick. It's a very rare item, need to use the hold item slot, and focuses on the offensive stats to make it a glass cannon. It's in the same tier of items as the Stick and Lucky Punch just more directly useful because it's the mascot.
The Cosplay Pikachus were intended for contests and marketability, the moves were just there for flavor.
The Cap Pikachu were entirely for marketing, they didn't even get weird moves.
The G-Max Pikachu (& Volt Tackle, the z-moves for that matter) were likely done for anime first, but also other marketing. Fat Pikachu is very cute, the fact the g-max move is actually pretty useful was more coincidental than wanting it super useful
The exceptoin, of course, being the partner versions. Except those had a different purpose in mind: they're stuck to the game and you always have them and that game really really wanted you to use them. THey couldn't evolve so they needed an increased statline and a suite of OP moves otherwise its the Yellow Version debacle all over again.
If they really, truly, wanted to make Pikachu super good and viable they would just...do that again, and say whatever to Raichu.
Another likely explanation for G-Max Pikachu is also to tie-in with Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee since it and Eevee's G-Max were originally only obtainable if you had a LGPE save file on your Switch. One of the main purposes of Let's Go's was to transition GO players into main series players so in addition to making it easier to transfer Pokemon from GO into SwSh they added the GMaxes for Pikachu & Eevee as extra enticement (and maybe even get a few more sales of Let's Go for those who were on the fence of buying it).
I know im the only person in the world who gives 2 shits about contest strategies but let me tell you contest pikachu is broken in 4/5 contest categories. That girl just does it all (except clever because tbh the clever moves you get have no jamming and pretty meh side effects [if any at all] even with pikachu phd. You'll rely on the "partner" types of clever to get stuff done and will have a hard time manipulating the judge appeal)
Grotle can't learn Rock Tomb. Why can Grotle not learn Rock Tomb. Piplup can learn Rock Tomb. Monferno can learn Rock Tomb. But Grotle, the one with the closest connection to the Rock typing, can't learn Rock Tomb. Why can Grotle not learn Rock Tomb. On a related note, each of the three starters has a different stage that they can first learn Rock Tomb : Piplup at stage 1, Chimchar at stage 2 and Turtwig, which evolves into the very closely related Ground type, at stage 3. For some reason.
To be honest, at this point, I'm more surprised when Grotle can learn something.
Apparently in Home data Mega Jynx was planned but scrapped. Shame, a true evo would've been better, but at least a Mega would be something
Another similar situation that I find almost just as irritating is with Banette and Dusclops imo. It always bothered me that Dusclops got an evolution in Gen 4, yet Banette did not. I was happy when Banette got a Mega Evolution in Gen 6, which unlike the above, allows Banette to compensate as it now has an "evolved form" in a sense to make up for it not having a Dusknoir like Dusclops. Granted unfortunately Megas left Sword and Shield, which is why this is partially irritating to me: while Dusknoir will always be there when Dusclops is there, there's no guarantee that Mega Banette will exist in the same game as Banette. Still, it's rather unequal treatment for Pokemon who are counterparts, and it always irked me quite a lot that Banette and Dusclops got unequal treatment in that regard.
(granted BDSP has a slight hope that Megas might be in, even though that's not confirmed, but I do hope they are in, and if so, that means Banette when it returns in BDSP will have its Mega, which means it won't have to be uneven with Dusknoir again).
I continue to think they keep avoiding Jynx on purpose because....it's Jynx. They'll keep her around but would probably rather not put direct spot light.
Meanwhile I very agree with Banette, a pokemon I like a lot. It's very frustrating that mega banette wasn't just, like...an evolution. While it's definitely "banette...but more!" I think it would work with very few tweaks to its design as just a straight up evolution.
Again I would argue that Jynx isn't in a trio with Electabuzz and Magmar. If anything she had more in common with Mr. Mime. This was particularly obvious in Gen 1 when there was a massive difference in BST (340 vs 395); plus Jynx is dual-typed.