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Little things you like about Pokémon
- Thread starter Kurona
- Start date
Or they could simply double down on giving Mega Evolution to popular Pokémon like back then. After all it was the main intention behind the first two batches of Mega Evolution, so I would not be surprised with a history repeat for the potential new ones in Z-A. Preferably for Pokémon that are popular but proven to be already lagging behind in popularity.
Back then I feel like making Mega Evolution a temporary solution when axed to Gen 8 onward is a huge slap in the face for the likes of Mawile, Sableye, Pinsir, Beedrill and more, but with Pokémon Champions now a thing, I won’t have to worry for them for the competitive side at the very least.
While I think Megas were probably the easiest to balance of all of the generational mechanics(both for us and for GF), they also had some very clear issues conceptually(locking out future developments for those lines, spending design work on something with no staying power, limited access during the storyline, etc). While I think GF is somewhat forced to bring back megas for ZA, I don't think those problems are fixable, which does have me concerned.
That said, there's obvious mega targets(the Kalos starter line, Xerneas/Yveltal, a couple prominent Gen VI mons, Flygon) that feel mandatory if you're bringing the games back. I just hope it goes well and they don't take too scattershot an approach. The original games already had a huge number of megas that you could never realistically use, and if they add too many more it's unnecessary bloat that likely takes away space from both other mons and other megas. (Space meaning design/development time, prominence in associated media like anime, conversation space for the fanbase, and literal space on teams).
I still call nonsense on this line of thinking, because we've clearly seen with things like Regional forms, GMax Applin lines Duraludon, and ALLLLLLLLLL of the Pikachu and Eevee shilling that unique support or Generational Gimmicks for a Pokemon line has never conflicted with them continuing to expand on it (Dipplin/Hydrapple, Galarian Slowbro, Archaludon). This is a rule the fanbase invented for Mega Evolution as if Gamefreak wasn't going to retcon it later when they wanted to do more Charizard merchandise vehicles.
And what stopped Megas from having Staying Power besides Gamefreak/TPC deciding they needed a NEWER AND SHINIER mechanic every game instead of expanding on things they already made (one of the most basic causes of feature and scope creep that leads to things like the spaghetti coded mess the games turn into)?
I agree that GameFreak can, at any time if they want, retcon their decision. They love retcons! Maybe Z-A will give us Mega Pikachu!
But you know what hugin means with "locking out future development". It's evolutions. Plain, normal, evolutions. This is the centerpiece of all the discussion around this. Which is not a rule pulled from nothing, it was part of the stated conceit for mega evolution something that was not applied to G-Maxes (as shown by literally 3 unevolved Pokemon getting them, regardless of Duraludon's follow up) or regionals. Contrast with the fan rule of no one other than Kanto Pokemon who didn't get other stuff would get Regional forms, based on actually nothing stated and immediately showed them doing more with it the following generation.
the fact that Pokemon's mainstream ubiquity at the turn of the millennium resulted in absurd Kids WB commercial frames like this that were basically fanfiction
Kids WB's Battle for the Badge promos (where this comes from) also features Slyvester the Cat from Looney Tunes singing the Pokemon anime opening theme
see also: Kevin Conroy as Batman singing the Jigglypuff song
that's it, humanity peaked about 25 years ago, we can all go home
Kids WB's Battle for the Badge promos (where this comes from) also features Slyvester the Cat from Looney Tunes singing the Pokemon anime opening theme
see also: Kevin Conroy as Batman singing the Jigglypuff song
that's it, humanity peaked about 25 years ago, we can all go home
these promos feel like primordial precursors to those teamfourstar/devilartemis parody videos where various characters from other media line up to have witty banter with cell at the cell games arena
Back in Gen 5 in Japan, they did a Gen 5 version of "Can You Name All the Pokemon?" for the TCG and anime ending and with the oncoming release of the new Gen 5 TCG set....
They released a cover to celebrate/advertise
And I think it's very catchy. Here's the original full version as a comparison
They released a cover to celebrate/advertise
And I think it's very catchy. Here's the original full version as a comparison
If it hadn't been for the Teraleak having nothing on the subject I think I would be convinced by now that a new Unova game really was in the works but something very weird happened behind the scenes. This TCG set is also doing an art rare for every single Unova Pokemon which is just mental, not even the Kanto 151 set did that right?
Yeah it was pretty surprising that they're all getting art rares. If they do another of these kind of sets* I wonder if they keep that up, or if it was just an extra marketing push here before heading into the Mega Era 2
I like how when buying clothes in SWSH they actually show you which in-universe company made each individual clothing item. There's a lot of fun urban worldbuilding like this in Galar, maybe I'll write a longer post about it all sometime
I like when they introduced swapping held items on two mobs, not just having give or take. Saved time. Also how now you get premier balls relative to plain purchase, and don't have to buy 10 and then repeat. Well I just like plain anyway for my stuff, not premier, but I live with whatever I guess.
I've been playing a lot of Crystal's Battle Tower recently and one thing I like is that random Kimono Girls will sometimes appear as opponents. It'd be weird if Ecruteak's five were the only ones in the world, like there'd definitely be more than that. In HGSS it kind of feels like they're part of a religious order and so it's more of a specific identity but it's still a bit weird that there aren't others out there.
I like that Pokémon who are famously bad can become good with new gameplay mechanics. For example: Terastallization made Meganium decent in Gen 9.
You're not wrong, but these days are gone :
Die-hard fans like me still use it, but others are like: why would anyone use that thing?
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For a game that I find to have pretty unremarkable characters in general, the professor's AI assistant in SV kind of stands out to me.
I think it's interesting that the robotic creation has more humanity, compassion, and clarity than its creator. Kind of like it's a "memory" or a "shadow" of a version of the professor that perhaps used to exist before they became mad or obsessed.
Not an extremely rare trope in fiction, of course, but one that I do kind of like. Hell, even looking at just Game Freak's works in a vacuum, it's not terribly different from the premise of Pulseman.
I think it's interesting that the robotic creation has more humanity, compassion, and clarity than its creator. Kind of like it's a "memory" or a "shadow" of a version of the professor that perhaps used to exist before they became mad or obsessed.
Not an extremely rare trope in fiction, of course, but one that I do kind of like. Hell, even looking at just Game Freak's works in a vacuum, it's not terribly different from the premise of Pulseman.
I've criticised HGSS for having a shoddily-translated script a few times, but they did include a few nice moments of characterisation I appreciated so to balance it out I thought I'd list some of the exchanges I thought were quite neat:
- Morty reflecting on Eusine's obsession for Suicune and telling the player that if he had to pick a favourite of the three beasts it'd probably be Entei or Raikou.
- Sabrina telling the player she "knew they would come" before a rematch and then admitting that, since she and the player arranged it, it's hardly an impressive premonition.
- Falkner and Janine being paired up in the Celadon Dept Store and Janine later complaining to the player that Falkner needs to stop obsessing over his father and be his own person. Also quite liked the moment where she meets the player outside of the Pokemon League reception building because she's bringing Koga his lunch.
- Chuck wanting to take his wife on a romantic getaway to Tohjo Falls
- The man with the Abra at the Pokemon League being bitter that no-one ever wants to Teleport home any more (this confused me to no end originally, because I first played HeartGold in Japanese and didn't understand him)
- The whole of the sequence where you're dressed as a Rocket grunt and people in Goldenrod City will tell you in no uncertain terms they all think you're scum
- Pretty much all of the interactions with Steven Stone, the man rhapsodises about Steel-types to a degree that's frankly hilarious (it's also funny to me that this is a characterisation which developed pretty much entirely post-RSE - in those games he's enthusiastic about Steel-types but he doesn't passionately monologue about their beauty the way he does in HGSS and ORAS)
"I wonder how many kinds of Pokémon there are in the world? It'd be great to cross seas and trade Pokémon with people far away."
- Man in Lilycove City Pokémon Center
I am unsure if this is foreshadowing the GTS, which would be introduced with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions, but the fact that online multiplayer was likely on Game Freak's radar at the time is neat.
- Man in Lilycove City Pokémon Center
I am unsure if this is foreshadowing the GTS, which would be introduced with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions, but the fact that online multiplayer was likely on Game Freak's radar at the time is neat.
As per tradition, for this weekend's VGC tournament, they're giving out a code with a Pokemon used by a previous tournament winner.
This time they picked Wolfey's Incineroar.
Now, that'd already be hilarious as is (anyone remotely familiar with VGC knows the ... difficult relationship between Wolfey and the cat).
But...
The fucking code. I died. (Who knows, knows. Who doesn't, here's the context from last year)
Nothing, I just love when the big owner company actually embrace dumb memes made by the community.
This time they picked Wolfey's Incineroar.
Now, that'd already be hilarious as is (anyone remotely familiar with VGC knows the ... difficult relationship between Wolfey and the cat).
But...
The fucking code. I died. (Who knows, knows. Who doesn't, here's the context from last year)
Nothing, I just love when the big owner company actually embrace dumb memes made by the community.
I don't really get that from it - just because he says "cross seas", which implies he's actively travelling to do those trades rather than doing it from wherever he is at the time. I think it's just a general allusion to the idea of there being more areas and Pokemon species in the world than we're ever likely to see - there'll pretty much never be a time when anyone can say with certainty we've seen all of them. Blue has a bit of dialogue in FRLG where he basically comes to the conclusion that he'll never capture every Pokemon in the world and says that "maybe there are Pokémon we don't know about somewhere far away".
This reminded me, interestingly for a while Bulbapedia's article on the Dotted Hole in Six Island interpreted the verse written in the deepest room as being a reference to Gen IV - the words "next world" in the final line were hyperlinked to their article on Sinnoh. That's no longer the case and hasn't been for a while, as presumably there was a discussion and it was decided that that interpretation wasn't correct. It's funny though, if you read the "new world" as Hoenn then it does beg the question of what the "next world" means exactly. I always took it to mean "when you trade you expand your horizons and everyone gets stronger by being connected", but I can see why people would read that in different ways.
I know it wasn't technically intended, but I do like how you can get yourself to places you probably shouldn't be in SV by abusing exploits. I immediately went to the area southeast from the school before getting any badges or anything and found myself against a Level 40 Tera Houndstone. My team hadn't even hit 20 yet.
God bless Poké Dolls.
God bless Poké Dolls.
I like how the addition of flight in the DLC gives you access to at least a few places in Paldea where they clearly never intended you to roam.
At least part of the academy building has grossly misaligned collision on its roof and it's funny to just walk around up there.
This is one reason I hope even if they do team/level scaling for Boss battles in future entries, they don't alter area levels for Wild Mons. Weaving around Level 35 stuff because I wanted a Dawn Stone ASAP was pretty fun, and actually having a reason to venture into potential over-leveled areas even adds casual value to the mentioned Pokedolls or other escape utility like "Run Away" and the Smoke Ball item.
Also want to add, I love that the game did away with the Gen 8 "it's too strong to actually try catching it" nonsense for the more sensible Disobedience rework. It's a good compromise to still let you take your chance with overleveled encounters as battle challenges or captures, averts the edge case of "I found a Shiny I can't try to catch," and feels more natural in light of things like Ash's Charizard's infamous stint in the anime.
Personal level, I also relish the chance to do stuff like this because of DQ Monsters Joker: one of my favorite early game endeavors is recruiting the Rank A Gigantes on the first Island (for perspective, the second strongest enemy is a Rank C King Slime that gets its own sub area or takes several levels of Fusing with the Area 1 Basics) that plays into a lot of really strong Synthesis chains. In Pokemon terms, it's like if Route 1 you could encounter and capture a Darmanitan, Gyarados, Glimmora, or similar strength mon (2-Stage and viable to end game) that came with a bunch of Egg Moves for other strong lines (so valuable even if you don't want to use that one unit). I find this a really creative way to add a sort of bonus-challenge that has multiple avenues to reward players who give it a try (or just funny interactions like Territorial Rotbart in Xenoblade)
A bit late to comment on it, but I love the contrast in the boxart of Legends: Arceus and the boxart of Legends: Z-A. Not just in terms of the time setting but overall setting, vibe, and atmosphere.
Arceus: In the light of day, out in the open, untamed wilderness, with Mt. Coronet in the background, the region centerpiece being a big, tall natural mountain to hammer in the atmosphere. A big wildland to explore, meeting, catching, and studying Pokemon throughout.
Z-A: In the dark of night, in the middle of a crowded, civilized metropolis city, with Prism Tower in the background, the region centerpiece being a tall, man-made tower to hammer in the atmosphere. A heavily urbanized city to navigate, running into Trainers (people) throughout and challenging each other to heated battles.
Equal, yet opposite in a way, and it's so cool.