Little things you like about Pokémon

Suspicious Derivative

Suspicious Derivative

In the lead-up to the release of Sun/Moon, I have been playing some older games a little again. Doing so made me realize some things I like about them that I had forgotten. The most notable example is FR/LG, so I'll start with them.

I really like the graphical style in FR/LG. These games offer my favorite presentation of Kanto, I prefer it over what it looks like in R/B/Y, G/S/C and HG/SS. The graphics and designs are just so colorful and vibrant which I really like.

I also like the Pokedex layout in FR/LG. The idea of ordering Pokemon by habitat was great, and the small images associated to each type of habitat look so cool. Plus, it has auto-sorted lists of Pokemon by height, weight and in alphabetical order which is awesome.

The last thing I like about FR/LG (for now) is simple. The Sevii Islands. They are just so great. They were just the post-game Kanto needed, filled with strong trainers, strong wild Pokemon, some new wild Pokemon and a small bit of a story too. I also like how they have actual names for all areas instead of naming them "Route X" like in most other areas in the games.

Moving on, some other things I like. First is a very personal thing which I like but I don't think anyone will be able to relate to. But I'll post it anyway. One thing I liked when I played the 5th Gen games was that I started to play each of them in a different season. I started playing Black in March (Autumn), White in September (Spring), Black 2 in October (Summer) and White 2 in December (Winter). I didn't even plan this, it just happened. A minor detail which made me very happy when I realized it.

Finally, one thing I got to re-experience recently which I totally loved. Playing Pokemon together with another person in real life. I remember playing together with friends when I was younger, and it was a bit different compared to playing alone. Sadly, I lost contact with these friends and some of them also lost interest in Pokemon, so it kind of stopped happening. A little while ago, I got to re-experience this as I got to play together with an acquaintance of mine whom I hadn't met in a while and before this, I didn't know she liked Pokemon or owned any games. We didn't even battle or trade, just played our games alongside each other, talking about various things that happened or existed in the games or things that were just generally related to Pokemon. More importantly, she had a new game, just like me, she was playing X while I was playing Omega Ruby. In comparison, most other people I know who claim to be Pokemon fans only have GO and games from Gen 1-2, which isn't the same. In total, it was really fun and it is something I feel that I have been missing for a while in my life now. I hope I will be able to experience it again in the future.
 
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Mrs. Mime

Mrs. Mime

Ever since Sun and Moon news started coming out, something in my head clicked and I became determined to NOT look at any news, trailers, anything concerning the games. I still won't now, and I won't until after I complete Moon for the first time. I suppose I just wanted to recreate the feeling I had playing pokemon platinum (my first game) for the first time: not knowing what ANYTHING was, and being completely surprised by just about every pokemon, location, etc.

Now on to the thing I appreciate: shortly after I made that goal for myself I realized that just about any pokemon-related site would be infested with Sun and Moon news. That also meant I wouldn't be able to go on to Smogon, but I decided to check anyway. And to my surprise, all Gen 7 news was contained in a sub-forum! I suppose my main point is that I respect Smogon for trying to contain news and not spreading it around. I don't know if this is standard procedure for each gen, but I'm happy about it nonetheless.
 
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Johta

Johta

Here's something so small to the point of being silly that I just l o v e : walking sound effects; literally a sucker for those. Like when you're walking on seashore, on sand or crossing over a bridge ( ORAS ). Needlessly to say, Sun and Moon had me absolutely ecstatic in that regard with those sound effects being applied everywhere. I legit boot up the demo just so I can hear my avatar footsteps... I know how awfully creepy that sounds.
 
Mova

Mova

Corrin Walking sound effects intrigued me as well. Didn't they first appear in Platinum or HGSS? I thought they debuted in one of those Gen 4 games.
 
Pikachu315111

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Corrin said:
Here's something so small to the point of being silly that I just l o v e : walking sound effects; literally a sucker for those. Like when you're walking on seashore, on sand or crossing over a bridge ( ORAS ). Needlessly to say, Sun and Moon had me absolutely ecstatic in that regard with those sound effects being applied everywhere. I legit boot up the demo just so I can hear my avatar footsteps... I know how awfully creepy that sounds.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was surprised to hear my character's footsteps change when going from the wooden floor to the glass floor. Nice attention to detail. I also like how this attention to detail is also extending to just background items. I was surprised to see a fire extinguisher, golf clubs, miscellaneous trophies, and many other little details. You can't interact with most of them, many are just aesthetic, but it's a nice little world building. Particularity the police station has a lot of little details.
 
Johta

Johta

Pikachu315111 said:
Yeah, I was surprised to hear my character's footsteps change when going from the wooden floor to the glass floor. Nice attention to detail. I also like how this attention to detail is also extending to just background items. I was surprised to see a fire extinguisher, golf clubs, miscellaneous trophies, and many other little details. You can't interact with most of them, many are just aesthetic, but it's a nice little world building. Particularity the police station has a lot of little details.
Click to expand...
I've always wondered where the hell all cops went when shit hit the fan in XY... or really in any other pokemon game for that matter. In Alola, at least, we'll know exactly where they'll be sitting their asses all day long while we're busy doing their job and saving the world from whatever attempts to destroy it this time around.

Add that to my list.
 
Kurona

Kurona

Mrs. Mime said:
Ever since Sun and Moon news started coming out, something in my head clicked and I became determined to NOT look at any news, trailers, anything concerning the games. I still won't now, and I won't until after I complete Moon for the first time. I suppose I just wanted to recreate the feeling I had playing pokemon platinum (my first game) for the first time: not knowing what ANYTHING was, and being completely surprised by just about every pokemon, location, etc.

Now on to the thing I appreciate: shortly after I made that goal for myself I realized that just about any pokemon-related site would be infested with Sun and Moon news. That also meant I wouldn't be able to go on to Smogon, but I decided to check anyway. And to my surprise, all Gen 7 news was contained in a sub-forum! I suppose my main point is that I respect Smogon for trying to contain news and not spreading it around. I don't know if this is standard procedure for each gen, but I'm happy about it nonetheless.
Click to expand...
It is in fact standard procedure for each game - the same thing happened in the lead-up to not just XY but ORAS.
 
Pikachu315111

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Kurona said:
It is in fact standard procedure for each game - the same thing happened in the lead-up to not just XY but ORAS.
Click to expand...
Which is very appreciated. Some may think Smogon is strict but the mods just run a tight ship so things don't end up in chaos. After years of hearing about Smogon being "snobs" I was reluctant to join but when I decided to give joining a shot I found out quickly that they were just normal Pokemon fans who took the competitive scene with thought and seriousness. Not "serious business" seriousness but reasonable seriousness that's trying to make it so the games competitive scene is both enjoyable but fair. Like everyone gets on Smogon for having tiers (and admittedly I sort of did too, insert Karen's quote), but after hanging out here I now understand the purpose of the tiers. They're not telling you what Pokemon to use or not to use, it's trying to make a format where the Pokemon placed into that tier can shine without having to worry about a Pokemon from a higher tier who can do the job better taking its spot.

But back on topic, some other little non-spoiler things from the demo I like (though I'll put it into spoiler tags anyway):

messing with your trainer. Have them spin around? In a few seconds they actually start doing a pirouette! Have them run and stop in quick succession? At some point they'll loose their footing and almost trip.

And while not exactly messing with your trainer, I do like how when using Tauros Ride you don't immediately stop when you hit a wall/object/person. It goes on for a bit before stopping, giving you time to fix yourself. Also I like how quickly Tauros Ride turns, I was afraid it'll be rank controls unless going forward but I have a blast just ramming through town and narrowly dodging/turning.

Oh, and I also like how people and Pokemon actually turn toward your character when you walk near/into them instead of waiting for you to talk to them. Thinking about it, it's a feature I haven't seen in many modern games!
 
The Squash

The Squash

Corrin said:
Here's something so small to the point of being silly that I just l o v e : walking sound effects; literally a sucker for those. Like when you're walking on seashore, on sand or crossing over a bridge ( ORAS ). Needlessly to say, Sun and Moon had me absolutely ecstatic in that regard with those sound effects being applied everywhere.
Click to expand...
The Sun and Moon demo has had a similar effect on me. Before I would play through games with almost no regard for the music, but after listening to the demo's music I became hooked, it's just so good! Now I'm also looking forward to the music in Sun and Moon. Who knows, maybe I'll even go back to past games to listen to their music.
 
Pikachu315111

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
The Squash said:
The Sun and Moon demo has had a similar effect on me. Before I would play through games with almost no regard for the music, but after listening to the demo's music I became hooked, it's just so good! Now I'm also looking forward to the music in Sun and Moon. Who knows, maybe I'll even go back to past games to listen to their music.
Click to expand...
ORAS Soundtrack
XY Soundtrack
BW2 Soundtrack
BW Soundtrack
HGSS Soundtrack
DPP Soundtrack
FRLG Soundtrack

One for each generation (two for Unova since BW2 remixed a lot of BW's themes).
 
jordanthejq12

jordanthejq12

For only having two Pokemon, Tate and Liza in ORAS actually do a great job of covering their weaknesses.

Solrock and Lunatone are vulnerable to spread moves of two types: Ground and Water. They both have Levitate, so no Earthquake--er, Bulldoze spam. You do have Surf by this point, so why not just use that? Because Solrock has Sunny Day and Lunatone has Light Screen and Calm Mind. What's more, most of your common Surf users are covered. Swampert? Have fun eating a Solar Beam. Pelipper? Yeah, not gonna like a STAB Rock Slide from Solrock (an improvement over RSE, where it had Flamethrower instead). Tentacruel? Um...

The stupid AI tends to hold it back, though, but it's actually a well-designed pair, and one that's actually improved from the originals. If you don't do something like lead Swampert to force the turn-one Solar Beam, you're gonna have a bad time.
 
Mova

Mova

Plot twist: When Sun and Moon get an Honest Game Trailer, the end of the trailer will refer to that installment as "Yo-kai Watch," just like the previous references to Digimon and Monster Rancher at the end of Gens 1 and 4. Seems that they need the Sugimori artwork first, though.

Speaking of which, I appreciate that Pokémon doesn't have an official ranking system (SABCDE, not tiers) like Yo-kai Watch and many other MonColle games. Stats don't dictate power level, after all. Interestingly, some of the weaker Legendaries are still considered Legendary, rather than being referred to as Rare.
 
Suspicious Derivative

Suspicious Derivative

One last post before the release of Sun/Moon and five days of torture. Seven small things I like.

I like how in Castelia City, you sometimes run into a "real" person from the ones that run along the big streets. A neat little detail.

I love the outlook in Aspertia City. Every time I'm in Aspertia, I always go there just to take a look at the scenery even if I have seen it hundreds of times before. There's something about standing there and watching Unova that's just so releaxing and peaceful that I can't get enough of.

The Strange House in B2/W2. That places is creepy and weird and bizarre and I love it. One of the better places in the series to accomplish that, if you ask me.

Black Tower and White Treehollow. Those areas were really unique and well done. A fusion between regular battles and battle facilities. They offered fantastic training spots, not just to level 100 but for lower levels too. They weren't all easy either as you had limited chances of healing and couldn't use regular items. The Medals you could get from them made me stay there even longer, and it was tons of fun. Plus, Black Tower has one of my favorite soundtracks in the series.

The roller skates in X/Y. They are like the perfect middle ground between running and the bike, sometimes you just want to go a short distance without using the bike, and running might feel a bit slow, so the roller skates will do the job. They are also great if you want to travel fast in an area without having to listen to the bike music. However, I can completely understand why some people don't like them, and if they should return in a future installment, they should be made optional.

I like the situations where you team up with trainers in the games. The stat trainers in D/P/P, then Hugh, Bianca and Cheren in B2/W2. It enhanced the gameplay in a cool way, focusing on working together with others which is one thing the Pokemon games really is about. Seeing two wild Pokemon at once and having double battles against trainers was also awesome.

And one final thing for now... Dream World. I liked how you could obtain Pokemon (with Hidden Abilities) and items you couldn't get in the games otherwise. It ended up being more fun than I ever thought it would be, it felt like a spiritual successor to Secret Bases from Gen 3/4. I honestly miss it now that it doesn't exist anymore, and it is a shame there wasn't anything similar for Gen 6. Hoping it will return in some way in the future.
 
SwampySwampert

SwampySwampert

Suspicious Derivative said:
I like the situations where you team up with trainers in the games. The stat trainers in D/P/P, then Hugh, Bianca and Cheren in B2/W2. It enhanced the gameplay in a cool way, focusing on working together with others which is one thing the Pokemon games really is about. Seeing two wild Pokemon at once and having double battles against trainers was also awesome.
Click to expand...
It's all fun and games until they OHKO a shiny.

EDIT: Hasn't happened to me but I've seen stories on this subforum.
 
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Magnus0

Magnus0

I really like how specifially your pokemon can react in pokemon HG and SS. For example, if you take a slugma to Chuck's gym and talk to it while standing in the water, it'll get mad at you for making it walk in the water. That's so cool, considering that Chuck's gym is the only place in the game where you can walk in the water at all, as far as I can tell.
 
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