(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon

DrCoeloCephalo

Banned deucer.
Going through some of my posts on other sites reminded me of something.

Wtf was even that Squirtle biting scene? You never see anything that again in Origins and feels like it was added as a hook to keep people invested. Like I remember in Generations Bryce kicking Plasma grunts and Essentia kicking Mimi, but you don't see stuff like Charamander screaming bloody murder in its first battle anywhere else.
They did tease the death of the Marowak mother moreso than the OG anime but I don't think they ever actually showed it.
 
Here's one for a spin-off: Why does no point or version of the Rescue Team games include a Boss Fight with Alakazam's team? They're famed in universe as very accomplished rescuers, and even among the other famous NPC's that come up, your partner seems to look up to them in particular. Additionally, they have about as much screentime in the main story as the pseudo-antagonist in Gengar, and for several of the Legendary confrontations and the Fugitive section are involved in many of the same conflicts you are.

Everything about them feels set up such that you defeating Groudon when they couldn't is a massive payoff that also ties into your team being (all that is) sent to enlist Rayquaza to stop the Falling Star. Despite this, what should have been a Boss fight with them (being cornered at the top of the otherwise peaceful Mt. Freeze peak) is a brief cutscene scuffle before Ninetales interrupts. Everything feels set up for this to be a battle, between Absol joining (who evens out to 3-on-3 and gives a helpful member for Psychic Alakazam), the lack of any other battle at the climax of the arc, the early set up that Alakazam and co. would be leading the search and were one of the only teams you couldn't shake, and the absolutely immediate emergence of Groudon calling them away despite bringing them in to corroborate the story.

It's especially odd because the series has dabbled in two different solutions to this if they don't want to do a straight battle, whether for difficulty or wanting to keep you "second" to A.C.T. a little longer. Several Legendary battles have your party defeat the opponent, only for them to get up for Round 2 in the cutscene before dialogue resolution, or Grovyle in the sequel being a fight you can win or lose without changing the story progression. I'm led to assume it was a deliberate choice in design for one reason or another, but it feels like a noticeable absence in the events to the point I would have expected the remake to add it there.
 
Here's one for a spin-off: Why does no point or version of the Rescue Team games include a Boss Fight with Alakazam's team? They're famed in universe as very accomplished rescuers, and even among the other famous NPC's that come up, your partner seems to look up to them in particular. Additionally, they have about as much screentime in the main story as the pseudo-antagonist in Gengar, and for several of the Legendary confrontations and the Fugitive section are involved in many of the same conflicts you are.

Everything about them feels set up such that you defeating Groudon when they couldn't is a massive payoff that also ties into your team being (all that is) sent to enlist Rayquaza to stop the Falling Star. Despite this, what should have been a Boss fight with them (being cornered at the top of the otherwise peaceful Mt. Freeze peak) is a brief cutscene scuffle before Ninetales interrupts. Everything feels set up for this to be a battle, between Absol joining (who evens out to 3-on-3 and gives a helpful member for Psychic Alakazam), the lack of any other battle at the climax of the arc, the early set up that Alakazam and co. would be leading the search and were one of the only teams you couldn't shake, and the absolutely immediate emergence of Groudon calling them away despite bringing them in to corroborate the story.

It's especially odd because the series has dabbled in two different solutions to this if they don't want to do a straight battle, whether for difficulty or wanting to keep you "second" to A.C.T. a little longer. Several Legendary battles have your party defeat the opponent, only for them to get up for Round 2 in the cutscene before dialogue resolution, or Grovyle in the sequel being a fight you can win or lose without changing the story progression. I'm led to assume it was a deliberate choice in design for one reason or another, but it feels like a noticeable absence in the events to the point I would have expected the remake to add it there.
We sorta got a fight with Team ACT in DX, but as a cutscence instead of a scripted fight.
I guess a fight was thought up as an addition, but the team decided a cutscene fight would look more intense.
 
We sorta got a fight with Team ACT in DX, but as a cutscence instead of a scripted fight.
I guess a fight was thought up as an addition, but the team decided a cutscene fight would look more intense.
A cutscene fight in this vein existed in the original GBA/DS versions, albeit the Sprite presentation mostly consisted of your PC and Alakazam flying around the room and smacking into each other in a much simpler manner before Ninetales entered. And ultimately it's the lack of gameplay or a conclusion to the bout that makes it feel lacking to me.

The structure of Rescue Team's story dungeons in general give off the vibe that a fight was supposed to play out here.
 
A cutscene fight in this vein existed in the original GBA/DS versions, albeit the Sprite presentation mostly consisted of your PC and Alakazam flying around the room and smacking into each other in a much simpler manner before Ninetales entered. And ultimately it's the lack of gameplay or a conclusion to the bout that makes it feel lacking to me.

The structure of Rescue Team's story dungeons in general give off the vibe that a fight was supposed to play out here.
They probably cut it so it wouldn't be a massive roadblock to kids (or just people in general) trying to beat the game, most late game boss fights in MD are bullshit, and the only boss fights in Rescue Team with more than one enemy outside of the Makuhita Dojo are the fight against Team Meanies in Sinister Woods (Gengar/Ekans lv15 and Ekans lv12) and the optional fight against the Mankey squad in Uproar Forest. Both of which allow you to bring recruits or recruit some in the dungeon itself, and will probably be lower level than you in the case of the Team Meanies fight, and will definitely be lower level than you in the case of the Mankeys.

Given the level curve of the boss fights before and after that point, Team ACT would have likely been around level 40-ish.

At that point in the story it would just you and your partner (and Absol) against Charizard, Tyranitar, and Alakazam; three fully evolved Pokémon against two first forms and an Absol, with a Sandstorm raging in the background thanks to Tyranitar. And if any of the Pokémon on your side faint and you've run out of Reviver Seeds, you lose and have to do the entire dungeon and fight all over again AND MD1 doesn't heal you before boss fights.
 
They probably cut it so it wouldn't be a massive roadblock to kids (or just people in general) trying to beat the game, most late game boss fights in MD are bullshit, and the only boss fights in Rescue Team with more than one enemy outside of the Makuhita Dojo are the fight against Team Meanies in Sinister Woods (Gengar/Ekans lv15 and Ekans lv12) and the optional fight against the Mankey squad in Uproar Forest. Both of which allow you to bring recruits or recruit some in the dungeon itself, and will probably be lower level than you in the case of the Team Meanies fight, and will definitely be lower level than you in the case of the Mankeys.

Given the level curve of the boss fights before and after that point, Team ACT would have likely been around level 40-ish.

At that point in the story it would just you and your partner (and Absol) against Charizard, Tyranitar, and Alakazam; three fully evolved Pokémon against two first forms and an Absol, with a Sandstorm raging in the background thanks to Tyranitar. And if any of the Pokémon on your side faint and you've run out of Reviver Seeds, you lose and have to do the entire dungeon and fight all over again AND MD1 doesn't heal you before boss fights.
Theoretically, they could have made it so the story continues after a loss. I agree that it would be a big issue if winning was required, especially since there would be limited options for replacing the items lost on the first attempt at that point in the story.

*continues having flashbacks of grinding in Spacial Rift for 10 levels*
 
While we are talking about Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team and Team A.C.T., here is something I discovered about them.
As you know, A.C.T. is an initialism for Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyranitar.
In Japanese, they are known instead as チームFLB, which uses the initals of the same Pokémon's Japanese names: Foodin, Lizardon, and Bangiras.

Every other localization of the games uses Team A.C.T., except the French one.
In France, the team is called Équipe A.D.T., after the Pokémon's French names: Alakazam, Dracaufeu, and Tyranocif. (Same order, by the way.)

What confuses me is the German version. In Germany, the team is also called Team ACT.
Except Germany, like France, has its own names for the various Pokémon species. In Germany, Alakazam is known as Simsala, Charizard is known as Glurak, and Tyranitar is known as Despotar. The initials of the Pokémon no longer matches the team's name.

I get ACT is a nifty name for a famed Gold Rank rescue team, but why the German version doesn't use Team SGD instead is beyond me.
 
This dude himself is something that annoys me in Pokémon. I should probably preface this post by clarifying that I do like Leon's personality, but what annoys me moreso is just how he is treated by the franchise in general.
Once, I saw someone say they predicted the twist of Sword and Shield would be that Rose was manipulating the league battles so Leon always won. Can I play that game instead?

Despite this, what should have been a Boss fight with them (being cornered at the top of the otherwise peaceful Mt. Freeze peak) is a brief cutscene scuffle before Ninetales interrupts.
At least that cutscene looks a lot more interesting in the remake. What really bothers me about that part of the plot, though, is that Articuno is the only legendary bird not found on a mountain. Especially since the three mountains are marked on the map in your rescue team base in the original. Once I went through Mt. Freeze to recruit Articuno, only to realise it wasn't there. Chuggaaconroy speculated that they switched the order of Frosty Forest and Mt. Freeze to prevent you from losing Absol permanently while it's a required party member, but in that case, they still could've had Articuno at Mt. Freeze, then Absol joins you and you meet Ninetales at Frosty Forest.
 
Remember how we dunk on Flint for having 2 Fire mons on the coldest region in the franchise?

Meet his partner in crime.


If you don't remember her, Glacia claims to have traveled to Hoenn to further hone her Ice skills and her mons are 2 Glalie, 2 Sealeo and a Walrein.

Now, ceal might find this roster appealing, but Glalie has a flat 80 in every base stat and Sealeo is a NFE mon. This is the 3rd E4 member in Hoenn.

Level differences aside, this might be the most pathetic E4 member EVER. Who greenlit this?
 
Honestly respect for seeing she only had two (2) ice type lines to pull on in Hoenn and decided to stick to her guns on this. She came here to learn more ice types and by god, she's going to learn the ways of Hoenn ice types.
Both of them from the same cave too.

That lady packed up to travel to Hoenn with nothing but a dream and a map with Shoal Cave marked on it.

That explains why she talks some mad disrespect when you face her tho. If I'd make it to E4-Tier folding people up with a Glalie, I'd be even worse. :totodiLUL:
 
I remember when I first got a Glalie in Ruby, I was so fucking disappointed when I realized just how much it sucks. It took me ages to figure out how to even get to the deepest part of Shoal Cave to find it, it looks kinda badass, and an E4 member used it, so it must be good, right? Nope, joke's on me, one of the worst fully evolved Pokemon of all time.

Glalie deserves a standard evolution, especially if Mega Evolution isn't coming back.
 
Glalie deserves a standard evolution, especially if Mega Evolution isn't coming back.
A bunch of Megas should've been straight up evos. Any mon that wasn't a 3rd stage one shouldn't even have gotten one in the first place.

Mawile, Sableye, Glalie and Audino really stand out because of this. Barring lol Huge Power, Mega Mawile would be perfectly ok as a standard evo for Mawile.

Now Mawile is probably stuck as a terrible mon until Megas return. What a boneheaded idea.
 
Beautifly and Poliwrath both got a stat buff in Gen VI. Dustox and Politoed did not and still have not 2 gens later. Having branch evolutions suddenly have different BSTs rubs me the wrong way. I know Politoed is still superior to Poliwrath, and thanks to False Swipe Gaming, I also know that Dustox is in the same boat, but they could have at the very least given then buffs to stats that would've been useless to increase in that case (I'm thinking Attack for both) just to keep them the same
 
If you don't remember her, Glacia claims to have traveled to Hoenn to further hone her Ice skills and her mons are 2 Glalie, 2 Sealeo and a Walrein.

Now, ceal might find this roster appealing, but Glalie has a flat 80 in every base stat and Sealeo is a NFE mon. This is the 3rd E4 member in Hoenn.

Level differences aside, this might be the most pathetic E4 member EVER. Who greenlit this?
Contrast her to Lorelei who shows what a real Ice type E4 member should look like. Not only does she use five unique fully evolved mons (something no other Kanto E4 member does) but her one outlier of Slowbro still makes sense as it utilizes the two secondary types of her other four mons (Water and Psychic) and stitches her team together rather nicely. Then in FRLG her rematch team is still perfectly executed swapping out Slowbro for Piloswine giving her pretty much the only strong all Ice team she could possibly have at that point in the series.

Lorelei might still be one of the best E4 members in the series while RSE Glacia may very well be the worst even still to this day.
 
Beautifly and Poliwrath both got a stat buff in Gen VI. Dustox and Politoed did not and still have not 2 gens later. Having branch evolutions suddenly have different BSTs rubs me the wrong way. I know Politoed is still superior to Poliwrath, and thanks to False Swipe Gaming, I also know that Dustox is in the same boat, but they could have at the very least given then buffs to stats that would've been useless to increase in that case (I'm thinking Attack for both) just to keep them the same
In Dustox's case it's stats and Beautifly's were the same just with Attack and Special Attack swapped with Defense and Special Defense, so Dustox should actually have gotten a 10 point boost to Special Defense to match Beautifly's 10 point boost to Special Attack.
 
In Dustox's case it's stats and Beautifly's were the same just with Attack and Special Attack swapped with Defense and Special Defense, so Dustox should actually have gotten a 10 point boost to Special Defense to match Beautifly's 10 point boost to Special Attack.
I mean, the only difference statistically between Vileplume and Bellossom prior to Gen VI was their Special Attack and Special Defense being swapped. Come X and Y, Vileplume got +10 to special Attack, while Bellosom got +10 to Defense instead of Special Defense. That means if Dustox HAD gotten a stat boost it's not completely certain it would have gotten a boost that mirrored Beautifly.
 
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I mean, the only difference statistically between Vileplume and Bellossom prior to Gen VI was their Special Attack and Special Defense being swapped. Come X and Y, Vileplume got +10 to special Attack, while Bellosom got +10 to Defense instead of Special Defense. That means if Dustox HAD gotten a stat boost it's not completely certain it would have gotten a boost that mirrored Beautifly.
Given in XY someone on the dev team messed up and buffed Woobat instead of Swoobat, I'm not convinced one of those wasn't just an error they let ride.
 

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
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Gotta catch em all was just made up for western audiences for marketing.
Some higher up in Japan no doubt had to approve of them using that at all in the first place.
Not really, or at the very least very loosely. As long as they're not reflecting the franchise in a negative way, most companies will let their marketing team in other countries do what they think is best to advertise it in that country. In addition, "Gotta Catch 'Em All" is similar in concept to "Go Catch Pokemon" that the exact differences between the phrases might not have translated completely or Pokemon Company Japan didn't care about the minute details. As long as it was telling kids to catch Pokemon, the motto did its job.

Due to how the Dex has always been set up, you learn about the monsters BY catching them because apparently the tech is so advanced, it can tell you all about the fantasy biology of a single monster by stuffing them in a gashapon ball.
It's always been a bit unclear how exactly the Dex get its description of the Pokemon. The description can range anywhere between detailing a biological facts, behavior study, local folklore about the Pokemon, and relation to people/how people have used it. The two "best" explanations, at least if we take it at face value it happens quickly:

  1. The player is writing the Dex entry. Maybe upon catching the Pokemon the player either notes how the Pokemon acts or asks people nearby what they know about the Pokemon (they probably write a few notes though we only see the most "interesting" one). It would explain some of the more outlandish Dex entries, kids they quite got a grasp of scope so may exaggerate a Pokemon's capabilities; any such entries would likely be discarded/replaced after the adventure is over (way after the window of time the player is peeking in through) by the Professor in a more formal science paper.

  2. The Professor does have a whole batch of information about each Pokemon but its either missing some information or he wants to organize them in a certain way (mostly what location you would likely encounter that Pokemon and with what other Pokemon). The player is just, more or less, catching the Pokemon to note its location and basic biological facts, the Professor than gathers their notes on that Pokemon now that it has a place in the Dex and sends over some interesting factoid about it for the player to get a better understanding on the creature they just caught. This idea is somewhat supported by recent Dexes; the ones powered by a Rotom seem to be from either the Rotom's POV or someone else due to how some Dex entries are casual in tone. Legends: Arceus Dex entries are all written by Laventon.

Could be one, the other, or even a mixture of both. We could also consider the Dex entries a meta concept, something which just exists for the player's enjoyment rather then being something which strictly exists in-world. If that's the case, you could then say while playing the game the player is getting the data, which later is given to the Professor, and the Dex entry we read is what conclusions the Professor makes from the future studies.

They could make the games far more interactive with alternate career paths to make the experience much more unique, given Pokemon Researchers are such a big deal for learning more about their fantasy biology, but instead they decide to scrap things that allow for that such as Contests and PokeAthlon.
Unfortunately game mechanics & graphic assets are a hurdle when it comes to that. Now to give credit to GF, they have done some interesting things reworking the basic battling system for things like Pokemon Contests and PokeStar Studios. They've also done interesting things with the graphics assets they had on hand such as using the "Walking Sprites" for the Pokeathlon and the battling sprites in Pokemon Musicals. However, at the end of the day, it mostly connects back to the battling system which prime use is, well, Pokemon Battles. And we're now just seeing how the jump to 3D models are impacting on GF's ability to do this. Gen III Contests didn't straw away too far from the battling system so ORAS's Pokemon Contests were fine. However Gen IV's Contests were a tad more complicated by having rounds where the Pokemon was dancing, and while in sprite form, this did not translate well in 3D in BDSP. The models needed like some dancing animations and they obviously did not have time to do any of that. Now imagine the problems they'll have with Pokemon Musicals, especially with giving Pokemon props. Pokeathlon was fine when they were just small overworld sprites, but its hard to overlook a Pokemon doing stuff in a 3D model without the model having an animation reflecting the action being done (jumping, ducking, falling, dodging, etc.). PokeStar Studios should technically be fine, but it requires a lot of additional work as they'll now need to make models for all the special opponents & trainers (and players may not expect to see an animated scripted scene from the movie instead of the comic-like still shots).

Of course, that's not to say Pokemon hasn't made games where you played a different profession; though usually by mostly chucking away the core series battling system. In the Pokemon Ranger series you play what's essentially a park ranger/peace enforcer using a spinning disc that creates calming energy when it loops around a Pokemon, said Pokemon than usually coming along with you to provide help in a certain way. Pokemon Snap you play as a photographer "catching" Pokemon on camera, waiting for the right moment (and maybe using the right item) to take a picture. Pokemon Cafe Mix makes you an owner of a Pokemon Cafe and "make" meals via a matching game.

Complaining the Pokemon games don't really give you other career paths aside from trainer is like complaining in Mario you only do platforming instead of stealth or in Legend of Zelda you only action & adventure instead of raising & leading an army. Yes, that's something those characters could supposedly do, and in some games may have some segments where they do that, but that's not the main focus of the game, a game you bought knowing what you were buying it for.

they play up how Gym Leaders and Elites are supposed to be a big deal but it ultimately fails in practice due to how the AI is dumber than dirt and the "bosses" not being that much stronger from your average NPC or wild encounter.
While many players would like a "Hard Mode" for the main story, at the same time the main story is meant to be winnable by kids as long as they can read. If you want challenge and see where the game's battling mechanics shine then that's in the (usually) post game Battling Facilities (and sometimes bonus bosses). Like, people give DeNA a lot of criticism for BDSP's various issues (some justified, others I feel are more on GF's shoulders), but I'll give them credit for making the main story boss team's Pokemon movesets more intriguing and clever than GF usually did and the post game teams where they really let loose on what a Type Specialist can be capable of (or a Champion).

I actually much prefer pokemon where I can use the pokemon I enjoy (in theory. Rip to anyone who has shitmons as their favorite loool) than constantly having to swap out for every other battle.
You should probably try actually playing these other games then because if that's what you want, you can still do that by being good at the game.
Ive been playing other monster catcher games, but the monster designs certainly makes it hard for me to enjoy a good chunk even if ther mechanics are good.
That one's hard to argue. Ya certainly can't change someone's preferences for monster designs. Only they can choose to do that. I guess I'm just alot less shallow than most, given some of my favorite monsters include Jynx and Mr. Mime.
DrCoeloCephalo, I don't like your tone here. We get it, you like the other monster collecting games more than Pokemon and believe they've done certain things better. That's all well and good, but you can get that point across without being condescending to people who still prefer Pokemon.

Another monster collecting game has mechanics and systems which is more balanced than Pokemon. Alright, good for it; I'm happy for the fans of those games. I still prefer Pokemon. I like the Pokemon designs. I like the turn-based battling system and the various nuances the years have added upon it to make it more complex.

There's nothing "shallow" about that, infact "shallowness" doesn't even factor in at all. I like Pokemon. I want the Pokemon franchise to improve where there are faults be them mechanics or graphics. If I wanted more balanced mechanics or better graphics, I would have gone to a different game. But I don't want to play a different game as, for me, Pokemon fills more/most of the boxes which those those other monster collecting game don't. And if that makes me "shallow", well, I guess I'm certainly on the right forum for it.

Why does every Pokétuber pronounces Whiscash as Wish-cash? There's so "sh" sound in "whisker".
Well, being a Youtuber, they're always wishing for more cash so I say it's more a Freudian slip than purposely saying the name wrong. :psysly: (I kid, I kid)

It goes without saying that it's obvious they're pronouncing the name wrong. That's kind of another reason why I vouch for voice acting in Pokemon. The game itself can tell you how the monster's name is pronounced.
And as a bonus:


I do agree that not being able to grow berries is irksome tho, especially after the previous generation basically went “Why waste time scouring the region for Ethers when they literally grow on trees?”
WHICH at that point GF might as well just sell Ethers in the PokeMart. GF, why do you treat Ethers are these super special items? In all my years of playing Pokemon I've maybe used one or two basic Ethers (like I think I remembered using at least one when in a middle of a cave cause I just didn't want to turn back to go to the Pokemon Center, but don't know what game or context that would have been for).

Infact, I would say GF should just combine Ether & Max Ether into one singular "Ether" item which fully restores the PP of one move (that way Leppa isn't just a Ether you can grow more of, also I'd change Leppa to restoring a fifth of a Move's PP), and then so the same with "Elixir" and "Max Elixir" into a singular "Elixir" which restore the PP of all moves. Like, compared to a Full Restore which they sell in shops, does Ether/Elixir really feel all that broken in comparison?

Why should I pay 18 bucks a year hoping shallow, low tier monsters with no personality are in storage will be available in an ugly game when I can play a better game with all past monsters available and environments that are beautiful in screenshots?
Don't then? :blobshrug:

Pokemon is just very bad at that.
Monster Sanctuary does not treat the player like a dumb baby as Pokemon is known for.
Okay, dude, this is just becoming an obsession. It was funny once or twice, but like you can't go a single post without slamming on Pokemon. You make some insightful comments on how another monster collecting game does things, you don't even need to mention Pokemon is what it's being compared to because that goes without question (you know you're on a Pokemon forum, right?).

And then, for absolutely no reason, you feel the need to make a "jab" at Pokemon.

Like, right here is a Yokai Watch forum, you don't need to be here if you really feel Pokemon isn't up to your standards.

Pokemon has always played up the mascot Pikachu as being a special, rare and strong monster in the many ways they depict it.

The disappointing reality is that while it has low encounter rates or is treated as a special Starter monster, it's an unevolved, weak, low tier monster and they never bother articulating why that has to be the case but instead try to cushion the issue by giving it things like Light Ball and Volt Tackle. They even give it a pumped up stat spread in the main series game Let's Go.
Special and rare? Yes. Strong? Eh. Pikachu gets special treatment because of mascot privileges. Why its rare is a funny story, basically after being designed by Atsuko Nishida, Koji Nishino (a lead programmer of the games and inspiration for Snorlax) thought it was so cute he decided to make it a rare encounter as "he wanted it for himself". Well, turns out this plan "backfired" and made Pikachu more sought after which could be a factor why it was chosen as the mascot (had it been a more common mon placed later in the game it may have been looked over). And that's also it, Pikachu is never really depicted as strong, it's usually depicted as cute. That's why Cosplay Pikachu wears silly little outfits, why it got an entire location to itself in USUM (and a Pokemon obsessed with it in Gen VII which itself became popular), and why we can get Pikachu wearing the various hats Ash have worn throughout the years.

But, as you noted, being the mascot means occasionally GF does try making it stronger. Light Orb and Volt Tackle were early attempts that just stuck around, though nowadays if Pikachu gets a power boost its usually from that gen gimmick: Signature Z-Move, Gigantamax. I would say Let's Go is a special case as, in one version at least, it's the Starter and doesn't evolve so needed a special stat boost much like the Eevee in the other version.

I mean, can you really say that Pikachu's situation is different than Jibanyan?

In Sapphire it was 18% (Illumise being its counterpart, something slightly better than a version exclusive?)

Anyway, I guess thinking about it for me, if I was a shitmon, I’d be hiding as hard as I could too outta fear. And with stronger rare Pokemon, either they were always few in number or were hunted (by Pokeballs) into rarity by many trainers in the past.
Though let's also remember another thing: When you're travelling though a route you'll usually get into a handful of encounters, moreso if you're looking for to encounter Pokemon. And that factor is important, because GF likely takes that into account when thinking about encounter rates. What better way to make a Pokemon memorable than having it seen only once or twice when travelling through the route? 18% is low if you're only going to encounter one Pokemon, but what about if you had 5 encounters? 10? Purposely looked for rare Pokemon so have dozens of encounters? That 18% no longer looks like a "people are gonna easily miss it" to "it's a Pokemon players aren't going to encounter often".

Now that doesn't change whether its a good Pokemon or not, and personally I think after a few gens of sometimes strange encounter rates we should just make all Pokemon encounter equal or just about. But it does give you that urgent rush when seeing it and thinking "if I don't catch this Pokemon NOW it's going to be a bit before I see it again".

Or that their number are already dwindling because of relying too much of quantity to fight back against predators, and not strong enough to stand on their own, and as a result, they dropped like flies. A horrorfying thought is that they could be potentially endangered or worse, close to extinction were it not for kind trainers helping out with breeding.
Or they're trying to find a hook up and don't want to be bothered. Maybe if you want to find a Volbeat so badly you should put on some Illumise pheromone perfume. :blobnom:

Volbeat 1: Hey, how did that scent tracking go?
Volbeat 2: Man, I got Whiscash'd; that sweet scent was just a human wearing perfume.
Volbeat 1: Pfft, I hate when they put up fake profiles.

But that doesn't mean that one guy is wrong.
Doesn't mean they're right either, or at the very least the way they're carrying themselves. Many of their posts contain "jabs" as Pokemon even when its not necessary. There been a few instances where I felt they've been rude to other members simply for preferring Pokemon over another monster collector series (on a Pokemon forum).

I'm assuming if you're on these forums it's because you like Pokemon. If not the games, then maybe another aspect of it like the anime (or animated specials). Maybe you're in it cause you like the TCG. Or you just like the character designs, maybe you have merch and you want to share it. Going back to games, maybe its not the core series you're that into but the various side games Pokemon has. Or, you like the core series because it gives you a chance to play with Pokemon designs you like in a fairly easy-going adventure where, while not difficult, you find fun in composing a team to your liking and customizing your trainer. The games may not be that heavy on exploring but exploring can be done and they put up enough interesting places. And do I even need to mention the music?

I like Pokemon. I don't care about Yokai Watch or the other monster collector games that keep being brought up. I'm glad they're better balanced and prettier than Pokemon, good for them, good for their fans. But its really reading like DrCoeloCephalo is advocating people should abandon Pokemon to play another monster collecting game because of that. And, no. I would have done so already if I wanted to. Anyway of us would have. While I keep saying this is a Pokemon forum, this is also a COMPETETIVE Pokemon forum, we're all VERY aware of Pokemon's shortcomings. But to us the answer isn't abandoning it, because we would have, instead we want and demand it to be better.

Heck, it's only a fact games like ORAS were intentionally designed to have less in them so people would be encouraged to play anything else.
What do you mean by that? Okay, yeah, we complain ORAS is missing the Emerald content, notably the Battle Frontier, but it's not due to lack of content. There is quite a few things to do post game before the only thing left to do is just the Battle Maison.

Wait, are you thinking of the quote where the reason they gave to no longer include the Battle Frontier is because they did research showing most players stopped playing the game after becoming Champion thus an entire Battle Frontier felt like a waste of resources to do? That's not exactly the same as "encouraging them to play anything else". If anything cutting the Battle Frontier was meant TO keep players playing longer via using the time & resources that would have been used to make the Battle Frontier to do other things such as the Delta Episode and the Legendary Hunt.

It also helps that alot of things I follow are either indie games or Japanese media that's more niche in the west, since I get exposed to alot of newer and fresher ideas from that angle.
??? They are? I must be in the wrong (or right?) circles cause Japanese media and high quality indie games are pretty popular from where I'm standing.

Also, aren't a lot of indie games just as much fans of a neglected franchise going "screw it, if they're not making a new title in this game series I like I'll make a spiritual successor myself"? Heck, doesn't even need to be a neglected franchise, just a certain style a popular franchise once had (be it from choice or was just how games were back then) is enough for someone to make a game in that same style.

For example, Disc Creatures is an extremely retro indie monster collector that's cheap, charming, heartwarming and something I highly recommend and it's getting a sequel in Disc Creatures World that's a massive glowup. If I spent all my time whining about Pokemon and taking no action, I wouldn't have known about such a great game.
... So, Disc Creatures look to be a straight up homage to the days of Gen 1 and 2. You know, games which didn't have as much content as current Pokemon games do now and graphics which you could literally count the pixels. Modest content, old graphics... two things which you keep wailing on Pokemon about.

Nothing against Disc Creatures, I'm sure if you played Gen 1 & 2 fully through and still have an itching for that style of game Disc Creatures will fill that itch, but I'm failing to see how Disc Creatures is any "better" than Pokemon Gen 1 & 2 or any future Pokemon games if you don't care about the graphic style. And being its a straight homage there's nothing "new" or innovative about it either.

I guess what I'm saying ultimately here is that it doesn't hurt to try new things. You know, something Pokemon also preaches with the idea it's okay to go out on new journeys and make new friends rather than being stuck in one place.
Pokemon also preaches about going with what you like and that's alright. Also respecting people and their opinion, that's another thing too.

Also, when a new Pokemon game comes out, you are going on a new journey, cause its a new region. Heck, the newest region in the upcoming game is even encouraging playing with friends in a new multiplayer mode where you get to travel around the region with them!

Any other monster collector, they intentionally design the harder to obtain monsters being on the strong side or at least super unique in battle and that's usually justified by those games being way harder, so it's natural your efforts get rewarded with stronger options. Meanwhile, what you use in Pokemon whether it's a trash low tier or decently strong rarer monster is made meaningless by the game being easy enough to mash A to win. Kinda goes against how they put so much importance on catching monsters and improving your life and bonds in the serious business as a Pokemon Trainer if you're better off not doing that.
So what you're saying in other monster collecting games, if they want to "be good", you gotta give up on the weaker monster you may like to train get those "harder to obtain because they're strong" monsters (which would then lean me to thinking that at end game a lot of players teams are probably looking the same) whereas Pokemon will let you keep those early route mons for quite a while in not throughout the whole game cause you may have dared to form a bond with them and made it your favorite (and thus letting players have a wider range of teams they could have beat the game with). Got it. :blobthumbsup:

Back to little things that annoy me, why is Barrage a Normal-type move? It's exclusive to the Grass/Psychic Exeggcute line, always has been, why doesn't it get STAB?
So, I did some looking around, and I think I might know what Barrage's deal is: It's meant to be an alternative to Tackle. Here is how I got to that conclusion:

  1. I noticed Exeggcute learns Barrage at Level 1 (so does Exeggutor but you can't catch them). In Gen I, Exeggcute's next 4 moves are Hypnosis (also Lvl 1), Reflect (Lvl 25), Leech Seed (Lvl 28), and Stun Spore (Lvl 32). For Exeggcute to have Barrage, it would need to be caught below Level 32.

  2. So, where do you get Exeggcute? The Safari Zone! And it's between Levels 24 & 25. This means Exeggcute will only have Barrage, Hypnosis, and Reflect. Barrage is its only attacking move when you first catch it.

  3. Now in Gen I Tackle was 35 Power. Barrage is 15, so if it hit only 2 times it would only be 5 points off, but if it hit 3 or more it would be doing more. So it's a (forced) risk vs reward, Barrage is 85% accurate and even if it hits may do less damage than Tackle, BUT if it hits its likely to hit 3 times thus doing more damage.

As for why they would do this instead of just giving it Tackle or something like Absorb and/or Confusion? Well, crack it to early design thoughts they had for Pokemon at the time they sorta no longer hold themselves to. In Gen I most Pokemon start with a weak Normal-type Physical move like Tackle or Pound cause that's the most basic thing a creature can do. However, while most Pokemon were just on relatively solid being, Exeggcute was SIX fragile eggs/seeds. The thought was probably "they're basic attack would be them tossing themselves at the target one-after-the-other, they'll do less damage because they're soft but we'll make it so if more than half hit they'll do more damage than Tackle". As for how Exeggutor does it, it probably just tries whacking you with its 3 heads. Also I imagine the max hits was 5 due to memory limit for multi-hit moves, though we can imagine its because one Exeggcute is designated with the job of directing where the others throw themselves.

Things stayed roughly the same in Gen II, but things got interesting in Gen III. Gen III introduced the mechanic of "Contact", some Moves made contact with the target, some don't, and this was an important for the just introduced Abilities. With Barrage being a "Tackle" alternative, you'd think it would be a Contact Move. But no, Barrage was considered a Move that doesn't make Contact! So, if the Exeggcute family wasn't directly hitting the opponent with their faces, what were they doing? Solid energy balls? Well, it didn't really matter. Exeggcute's movepool was changed though the change wasn't noticeable until FRLG. This time, Exeggcute caught in the Safari Zone knew the following Moves: Hypnosis (if Level 24), Reflect, Leech Seed, Confusion, & Stun Spore (if Level 25). Yup, Barrage was only accessible as a Move it you used a Move Reminder or hatched it... along with Hypnosis and Uproar! So, yeah, no matter what way you slice it, Barrage become obsolete at this point.

And then Gen VIII it was no longer selectable.

(TBC)
 

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