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Little things you like about Pokémon

Hugin said:
My personal theory is that Nemona has a (possibly undiagnosed) physical disability. She's wearing a wrist brace, it's mentioned that she's terrible at throwing pokeballs, and she's regularly seen as being physically exhausted by things that younger chars handle just fine. I doubt it's intentional, but it makes for an interesting background beat for her.
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My read of it was "she throws so many pokeballs [because she's bad at it] that she got carpal tunnel".

I also don't recall her being exhausted by things, I felt like the joke in Area Zero was Penny was the out of shape one exhausted by Nemona's boundless enthusiasm and athleticism, but pokecorpus is kind of a pain to dig through and bulbapedia's down for maintenance.




Also adding to the repetitive stress injury, I kind of wonder if she terastalizes a ton too. A number of animations for terastalizing shows it kind of takes a lto of force and people will grimace about it to hold the ball in place.
 
Yung Dramps said:
Unless you misinterpreted the dialogue this is funny because it's also just blatantly wrong. There are multiple trainers in the game with teams of 5 and 6, being pretty above average in terms of the full team count especially
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It's obvious it's "factually wrong", since duh there's trainers in the ranks above W with 5 or more and usually somewhat capable ones, but the absolute ineptitude of people in the city (even from sidequests) is just... even worse than in the main series.

I liked LA much more on that regard. In that game it *made sense* that you were special for being able to catch/train multiple pokemon, for most people pokemon were just scary wild animals and the simple thought of bonding with one let alone 100 was terrifying.

Much less in this world where pokemon roam freely in the city and all it takes is literally fling a pokeball at one (you don't even have to actually fight them, many just run away!)
 
ScraftyIsTheBest said:
If memory serves right Arceus was actually kind of similar about its own player character too.

The Galaxy Expedition Team, especially the Survey Corps which you join, didn't make it very far before the player was isekai'd into the region, and your comrades comment on how far they've genuinely come in their progress in studying the Hisui region and its Pokemon once you entered the picture.

Both because of your exceptional catching ability (something that's even commented on in Arceus iirc) and because of your ability to forge bonds with your own Pokemon. Something Rei/Akari (the one you don't pick) points out because they still couldn't really become a team with their Pikachu.

So Z-A in that regard is kind of reiterating on that idea. In general, it's implied throughout the series that the player character is exceptional and one of a kind, but both Legends games were rather explicit about it in similar ways.
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My assumption/headcanon was that the PC from PLA is the same as DPPt or similar, and just didn’t have any pokemon with them when arceus took them. They’re naturally better at capturing/battling because it’s normal in their time.

The ZA main character is honestly so bizarre, even for Pokemon. Why are they in lumiose! Why did they go along with any of this!
 
Valoo said:
My assumption/headcanon was that the PC from PLA is the same as DPPt or similar, and just didn’t have any pokemon with them when arceus took them. They’re naturally better at capturing/battling because it’s normal in their time.

The ZA main character is honestly so bizarre, even for Pokemon. Why are they in lumiose! Why did they go along with any of this!
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Genuinely I think they were just here on vacation; some dialog options in sidequests say that and its likely why Taunie just says "you're a tourist right? need a hotel". They're literally a tourist who took no notes, just packed a single bag and headed to Lumiose. and you know what they say when in paris join a battle royale and resolve a mysterious phenomenon
 
A little thing I like about Z-A (some endgame spoilers and new Megas)

They really found a way to have almost every Mega (that’s programmed in, anyway) appear in the game in some capacity, outside of the player’s own choice of use:

Absol, Camerupt, Victreebel, Slowbro, Hawlucha, Beedrill, Banette, Barbaracle, Mawile, Ampharos, Altaria, Froslass, Venusaur, Tyranitar, Starmie, and Dragonite are all Rogue Megas.

Charizard X, Gyarados, Malamar, Manectric, Clefable, Skarmory, Excadrill, Scolipede, Scrafty, Eelektross, Chandelure, Pyroar, Dragalge, Drampa, Falinks, Floette, and one of the Z-A starters you didn’t choose are all major characters’ aces.

Lucario is loaned by AZ to serve as the tutorial Mega once again.

Blastoise, Alakazam, Gengar, Kangaskhan, Aerodactyl, Heracross, Gardevoir, Gallade, Aggron, Garchomp, Pidgeot, Steelix, Pinsir, Salamence, and Metagross all appear during the climax during the gauntlet to get to Prism Tower. (You don’t actually battle Mega Pinsir, but I guess to make up for that we see a whole swarm of them chasing after Grisham and Griselle, and also see next paragraph.)

Pinsir, Houndoom, Medicham, Abomasnow, Sableye, Sharpedo, Glalie, Lopunny, and Audino can all be used by late/post-game Z-A Royale opponents. (As can Tyranitar, Aerodactyl, Pidgeot, and Gallade, who were also accounted for in the previous paragraph.)

And Mega Zygarde gets the big climactic story moment.

Thus the only Megas that don’t really get showcased are:

1. The starter that’s weak to yours (since Urbain/Taunie Mega Evolves the one that has the advantage over yours, though they own both)

2. Chesnaught, Delphox, and Greninja, because Game Freak chose limited-time distribution fuckery instead

3. Charizard Y, for some reason (but who knows, maybe Leon turns up in Hyperspace Lumiose in the DLC because he got lost on the way to the post office and Mega evolves his Charizard at you lol)

At any rate, we’ve come a long way from Megas being barely featured at all in XY, and only slightly more featured in ORAS.
 
CPU said:
It's been a hot minute since I played Legends Arceus but I'm pretty sure the game itself tells you to send out your Pokémon once you've stunned the Noble to get some hits in.
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One thing I've actually noticed from playing Z-A is that the game seems to be hardcoded to punish you for not sending out your Pokemon during Rogue battles and trying to let your Team MZ partner do the lifting. If you don't have a Pokemon out on the field (if it faints and you don't immediately send another one in), the Rogue Mega Pokemon will instantly lock on and come after you at high speed until you send one out, after which it will return to its normal attack patterns.

Obviously the game heavily teaches you to send out your Pokemon to quell the rogue Mega (and letting your AI partner solo the fight doesn't work anyway), but I thought it was interesting that they did this.
 
SwampySwampert said:
One thing I've actually noticed from playing Z-A is that the game seems to be hardcoded to punish you for not sending out your Pokemon during Rogue battles and trying to let your Team MZ partner do the lifting. If you don't have a Pokemon out on the field (if it faints and you don't immediately send another one in), the Rogue Mega Pokemon will instantly lock on and come after you at high speed until you send one out, after which it will return to its normal attack patterns.

Obviously the game heavily teaches you to send out your Pokemon to quell the rogue Mega (and letting your AI partner solo the fight doesn't work anyway), but I thought it was interesting that they did this.
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In addition, your partner will not Mega evolve (at least up to Rank B), which makes things take even longer. Making the game really push you into using your Megas/Plus moves.
 
Shoutouts to Poiple's evolution method. A stone or level trigger would reasonably lead to the question of why the Ultra Recon Squad never discovered it, and in turn why the group tasked with such an important mission was using the base mon. But Dragon Pulse is only available through move relearner, even a level 1 Poiple will have four other moves that overwrite it. Even with natural stimulus from many different worlds, a group that is behind when it comes to Pokemon handling techniques would never encounter Naganadel.
 

This came up on my timeline earlier and I had a nice time listening to it. Really love the way it adds a ton more depth to the original theme, there's so many more layers to it.

Ironmage said:
Shoutouts to Poiple's evolution method. A stone or level trigger would reasonably lead to the question of why the Ultra Recon Squad never discovered it, and in turn why the group tasked with such an important mission was using the base mon. But Dragon Pulse is only available through move relearner, even a level 1 Poiple will have four other moves that overwrite it. Even with natural stimulus from many different worlds, a group that is behind when it comes to Pokemon handling techniques would never encounter Naganadel.
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Weirdly Poipole is one where Pokemon Go's evolution method makes a bit more sense as you have to catch 20 Dragon-types while it's your buddy, which to me implies that it's learning by exposure. Evolving into a Dragon because it already knows a Dragon move is a weirdly circular bit of logic: lots of Pokemon can learn moves of other types, it doesn't mean they then become that type.
 
QuentinQuonce said:
Evolving into a Dragon because it already knows a Dragon move is a weirdly circular bit of logic: lots of Pokemon can learn moves of other types, it doesn't mean they then become that type.
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True, though by the same token, knowing Ancient Power doesn’t cause every Pokémon that can learn it to evolve into some quasi-prehistoric form, but for the Pokémon that it does, they all learn it naturally. There probably is a better way to execute the idea, but at least within the existing logic of the main games, Pokémon that evolve by leveling up with a specific move mostly (all?) already have the potential to know the move without outside influence.
 
I also never got the feeling Naganadel wasn't used by the URS/Megalopolis people. It was just a situation of the URS people just happened to not be using it. Arbitrary, but such is the whim of marketing. These are the same people with a Lunala/Solgaleo on hand but aren't using that either.
There's even concept art of them hanging out with Naganadel
 
Esserise said:
True, though by the same token, knowing Ancient Power doesn’t cause every Pokémon that can learn it to evolve into some quasi-prehistoric form, but for the Pokémon that it does, they all learn it naturally. There probably is a better way to execute the idea, but at least within the existing logic of the main games, Pokémon that evolve by leveling up with a specific move mostly (all?) already have the potential to know the move without outside influence.
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Also a good point. I suppose the "learn at level 1" thing might suggest that it's some sort of inherent, ancestral trait but needs a bit of external prodding to be unlocked... like how Torterra learns Wood Hammer at level 1 and various other similar examples, it's a technique the species naturally has but it's one they've forgotten how to access.

Although of the move-evolvers only Piloswine learns Ancientpower at level 1... so that logic kind of falls down. Maybe you could wank some sort of explanation that the climate of Sinnoh was different and the Yanma and Tangela in that region learned Ancientpower while others didn't but... really I think that one's just a gameplay and story segregation thing that doesn't have much of a resolution. At least with the rest of the move-based evolutions I always took it more as a skill-based thing: like when a Mime Jr or Bonsly learns Mimic it becomes truly proficient in the art of mimicry and thus able to change form. Or Aipom learning Double Hit triggers some sort of synaptic reaction prompting the growth of a second tail. Or when Lickitung learns Rollout it's become sturdy and tough enough to evolve (though is Lickilicky ever described as being particularly inclined towards attacking that way?)

With Poipole though I suppose the same argument works but idk why it feels so out of place to me. Maybe it's just that Dragon Pulse is an odd choice of move - it doesn't learn a single other Dragon move so if it's supposed to be mastering Dragon techniques you think it'd start off with Twister or Dragonbreath or something.
 
Hey so, despite having preordered it and having it on my room since release day I still can't play ZA so I have been avoiding all kinds of Pokemon-related interactions, but I found out about this today and was curious about what people think about it.

I have absolutely no idea about what is the logic behind it, but I find it funny and gives some weird sass to Xerneas of all Pokemon.

Like you are telling me Satan, the embodiment of death and the literal extradimensional being in constant pain will still play with you but the deer is like "wtf are you doing, you brat"
Screenshot_20251029_204552_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
Ironmage said:
Shoutouts to Poiple's evolution method. A stone or level trigger would reasonably lead to the question of why the Ultra Recon Squad never discovered it, and in turn why the group tasked with such an important mission was using the base mon. But Dragon Pulse is only available through move relearner, even a level 1 Poiple will have four other moves that overwrite it. Even with natural stimulus from many different worlds, a group that is behind when it comes to Pokemon handling techniques would never encounter Naganadel.
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Quite aside from every other reason they're never giving us the UBs, that evo method wasn't exactly future-proofed. Gen 7 made the move relearner available at the League, then the very next gen it was available from the first Center.
 
Hugin said:
Quite aside from every other reason they're never giving us the UBs, that evo method wasn't exactly future-proofed. Gen 7 made the move relearner available at the League, then the very next gen it was available from the first Center.
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I think if they really wanted Poipole to be something you can pick up early in a game they'd just move Dragon Pulse to be learned later in the game or require the TM.
As far as "future proofing" goes it's something to not even worry about.



Anyway! Thing in Z-A's post game I like. I guess I'll put it under spoilers
So the Infinite Royal. For all the normal trainers, they all get upgraded ranging from (depending on the trainer and "streak") the late 50s to the mid 60s, with evolved teams, learnsets, etc. The Challenger Ticket bosses also all got upgrades, even some side characters you might not have expected to see again like Yvone or the side quest lady with the flabebes

except

Zach, the first "boss" you fight in the game, who still uses the same team as when you fought him the first time but with +2 levels. No different moves, held items, mastered moves, etc. Just the +2 levels. The Eternal Z Rank. It's great.
 
I mighta said some/most of the new megas appeal to me, cause I like the mons that got them, but just in case I say it now. A lot of them probably seem really random to some people, but their almost exclusively mons I like better than average, avg being something like a plusle or delibird that I don't hate but would be silly mega.
 
If there's sth that I can appreciate about Z-A's story and characters is that it doesn't feel very inmensely tied into prequel baiting as I was fearing. It introduces quite a lot of new faces for Lumiose City that help giving this game its own identity without relying so much into previous titles, like Arceus and its myriad of lookalikes did. I think the only exception to this is Lida.

I dunno if this fits into the Unpopular Opinions thread bc I'm aware plenty of ppl are disappointed to not see more returning faces, or are theorizing how Z-A character could be related to other game character, and such, but for me it was a positive.
 
pokemon4eva said:
If there's sth that I can appreciate about Z-A's story and characters is that it doesn't feel very inmensely tied into prequel baiting as I was fearing. It introduces quite a lot of new faces for Lumiose City that help giving this game its own identity without relying so much into previous titles, like Arceus and its myriad of lookalikes did. I think the only exception to this is Lida.

I dunno if this fits into the Unpopular Opinions thread bc I'm aware plenty of ppl are disappointed to not see more returning faces, or are theorizing how Z-A character could be related to other game character, and such, but for me it was a positive.
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I also like how well they seem to have done with it being a sequel of sorts of to XY and having multiple nods to the older game of course, but not really gatekeeping any part of the experience for people who have played XY. I wasn’t as much concerned about this with Arceus since it was a prequel, but did have a couple reservations coming into this.
 
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