Little things you like about Pokémon

[Sonikku A]

Reminder that localizations (well, none bootleg ones) do not operate in a vacuum
4kids would have to get approval from Nintendo America/Nintendo Japan/Pokemon Company AND also get approval for FCC standards. It wasn't exclusively them either (Saban, Nelvana, DiC, Studiopolis, Cloverway, etc), it's just digital editing got more accessible after late 90s, one of the first being from Funimation for the 1995 Dragon ball dub

Similarly there's the issue of music copyright cuz TV Tokyo even now is a b-, so music would be replaced generally to not lose profits, runtime being 20-21 min instead of OG 22-23 so something needs to be cut or sped up. Localization edits like food is strictly to maximize on global audiences, archaic/potentially xenophobic as it is, though requested from the Japan franchise holders themselves

You are right for lack of materials/context, so early edits can get contradicted later (ex. Brock's dead mom), or worse, dubbers get earlier work and use that (See, Latios movie), even though Japan has a later more refined one. Stuff generally was translated/localized on an immediate ep by ep basis, as to maintain a regular schedule, while stuff would take roughly half a year to 1 year to negotiate licensing with the head franchise owners. Contracts need to be renewed yearly, which is why in 2005 4kids stopped for Pokemon; TCPi wanted more control, and 4Kids wasn't making much anymore to sustain themselves with how many dubs were under their belt

Unfortunately the internet just thinks dubs do willy nilly no supervision, then act anal and fling misinfo cuz it's easy to, ignoring that they broadcast on a public none cable network, or is used for base in other country dubs. Most dubbing companies didn't have a strong hand in home media releases either (the exception is Funimation) and thus didn't make separate uncut dubs, so most died if they didn't have a popular hit work, or just focus on other endeavors (Nelvana already being an animation company, vs ADV being dead). 4kids is the most known due to One Piece's outrage and lasting till 2012 on public TV. Even though Funimation started similarly in heavily censoring content

With streaming you'd think these practices no longer matter, but they still happen. Just not as severe

 

[Worldie]

Unfortunately the internet just thinks dubs do willy nilly no supervision, then act anal and fling misinfo cuz it's easy to, ignoring that they broadcast on a public none cable network, or is used for base in other country dubs.

To be fair, that's just internet in a nutshell.
Always assume that <insert company or entity> operates in a vacuum and that there aren't other bigger ruling at work as well as agreements amongst companies / countries / whatnot.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

This is the greatest finish line I've ever seen.

 

[Rapti]

Reminder that localizations (well, none bootleg ones) do not operate in a vacuum
4kids would have to get approval from Nintendo America/Nintendo Japan/Pokemon Company AND also get approval for FCC standards. It wasn't exclusively them either (Saban, Nelvana, DiC, Studiopolis, Cloverway, etc), it's just digital editing got more accessible after late 90s, one of the first being from Funimation for the 1995 Dragon ball dub

As some who has seen the atrocious official spanish translation I'm gonna question that anyone who gave this any sort of approval consulted any international standards and wasn't, in fact, operating in a vacuum
( "nos importa un pito" means "we care very little" to spaniards, but to many latin americans it means "we don't give a fuck)"

 

[R_N]

The easy answer is there's probably varying levels of oversight and approval.
Nothing operates in a vaccuum, but there's going to be significantly different levels of care between the eyes that go across it ranging from "yeah whatever its fine [doesnt even read it]" to "if pikachu's ears are even a centimeter off we're going to end you". And those levels are going to get more out of whack the further from the "main markets" you go.

Wouldn't surprise me if the anime, the early days in particular, just had a lot of people nodding along at various things (but paying closer attention to others), either because they just assumed the other knew better, different eras of oversight, company culture, etc etc.

 

[Coronis]

As some who has seen the atrocious official spanish translation I'm gonna question that anyone who gave this any sort of approval consulted any international standards and wasn't, in fact, operating in a vacuum
( "nos importa un pito" means "we care very little" to spaniards, but to many latin americans it means "we don't give a fuck)"

Didn’t check out the links and definitely not familiar with the spanish language or anything….but many phrases have different meanings in certain places/cultures even with those who share the same language, no? (e.g I’m Australian and a lot of things we say on the norm are considered offensive in America for example, and vice versa)

Idk just feels kinda unreasonable to expect translators to be catering for every possible way to take a phrase. Just me though.

 

[Sonikku A]

Spain Spanish translations were always complained about for Nintendo, so eh
*glances at Scarlet Violet*

 

[Jungle cruiser]

As a native spanish speaker it does become a little weird reading all those weird phrases that I don't understand or have ever heard of, tho for their credit it does kinda fit for what's essentially pokemon spain. Still would be neat to have at the very least a neutral spanish translation, but oh well.

 

[Narmy]

For as flawed as gen 6 is i really dig the fantasy vibe its region and pokemon have
The starters a paladin, a ninja, a mage
The mythicals Hoopa the wish granting genie and Diance the magical princess
The whole fairy type and etc.

It really makes it all feel like a fairytale/D&D session which is also evident in some of the regions design and characters (albiet most gym leaders don't really fit it)

Valerie, Olympia, and their gyms are some of the most memorable to me for really selling it and being downright stunning. Same can be said for Laverre City, Reflection Cave, and Winding Woods just to name a few.

I just wish it leaned more into it as the main region aethsetic since it's not mixed with the french elements all too well.
Some does, some don't oh well.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Regieleki, Regidrago, and Enamorous being made is amazing to me since it means preexisting legendary/legendary adjacent groups can receive new members well past their introduction. While Enamorous was somewhat predicted due to the Forces of Nature's Therian Forms being based off of the 4 Gods, nobody would have guess it would be introduced in a 8th gen game based on Meji era Sinnoh. They even got counterparts in the Treasures of Ruin in Scarlet and Violet. It makes me wonder what other groups will receive new members in future games/DLC. While I've seen fanmade Paradox Pokemon that are based on Mega Evolutions, I'm wondering if we might see Paradoxes based on Gigantmax forms.

To an extent, even the Beasts and Musketeers got new "members" with Walking Wake & Iron Leaves
Even if their situation's context is a bit different than the 2 new regi or Enamorus.

Also the Legendary Birds got Regional Forms who might as well be new members. Though this idea had inspired me to create my own "new member" to certain Legendary groups as a fun thought experiment. Would like to post some possibilities, but that'll definitely get into wishlisting. I'll say at the very least I have thought of some additional possibilities, and if I can think of some certainly the monster creating team can.

View attachment 523910

I don't know why someone at Game Freak decided to give each variation of Tauros a slightly different weight but keep the height the same, but I think it's very funny that they did.

Plus Aqua breed is described as being more fatty to help it float, seems likely that would affect its weight, meanwhile Battle has more denser muscles compared to the Normal type variant while Blaze almost looks the leanest of the bunch but is no less weaker for it. It’s pretty interesting way to differentiate the four further.

Some additional thoughts:

• Since Blaze could accommodate raw muscle power with using fire, it likely replaces some muscle space with what's needed to use fire like a "fire bladder" filled with flammable gas, thus ending up overall lighter.
• In addition to the fat deposits, Aqua would also likely develop strong muscles in its legs (and tail) to help it swim. It may also develop bigger lungs and heart to deal with the extra physical stress needed to handle swimming for a species of its size which originally didn't adapt to swimming. If anything, it developed buoyant fat not as the reason why it can swim but rather as a way to keep it above the water cause all the extra mass it gained to be able to swim weighed it down too much.

I still sometimes wonder what prompted the Rice Ball rewrite, like if that was 4Kids thinking kids wouldn't recognize the food or some weird kid show rules about how other cultures could be depicted on Kids TV in the US in the 90's or something (I've heard of weirder things), primarily because of the inconsistency. Like if it had been "Donuts" in random eating scenes and Rice Balls when they were at the clearly-Japanese festivals or such I wouldn't raise an eyebrow.

That said this was a funny bit that came out of it.

Don't forget the bonus video where he actually makes onigiri.

View attachment 525901

This is the greatest finish line I've ever seen.

Don't you mean "coolest"?

I just wish it leaned more into it as the main region aethsetic since it's not mixed with the french elements all too well.

Probably hoping all the French words they through around, especially for the Route names, would make up for any lacking French details.

 

[Rapti]

Speaking of Olympia, I thoroughly enjoy the fact that psychic powers are not only known to be something that pokemon can do, but that people use them
my only hope is that we eventually get a psychic protagonist who gets an animation where they make their pokeballs levitate just for kicks

 

[Pikachu315111]

Speaking of Olympia, I thoroughly enjoy the fact that psychic powers are not only known to be something that pokemon can do, but that people use them
my only hope is that we eventually get a psychic protagonist who gets an animation where they make their pokeballs levitate just for kicks

Well we've known that since Gen I with Sabrina (and some of the sprites for the Psychic Trainer Class shows them using telekinesis on their Poke Balls).

As for ever having a protag with Psychic powers, hm, probably not. At least in the main games, the protag is meant to be the typical setup of a normal kid setting out into the world and going on a grand adventure. I guess there's always side games where, if they can think of anything, they could potentially explore this idea. But I think for the most part its just world building, showing off there are some people with fantastic powers (though even the strongest human psychic doesn't measure up to a Psychic Pokemon) for the player to encounter and possibly serve as a challenge to defeat.

 

[Rapti]

Didn’t check out the links and definitely not familiar with the spanish language or anything….but many phrases have different meanings in certain places/cultures even with those who share the same language, no? (e.g I’m Australian and a lot of things we say on the norm are considered offensive in America for example, and vice versa)

Idk just feels kinda unreasonable to expect translators to be catering for every possible way to take a phrase. Just me though.

"hey guys let's not check if them funny word tosser is seen in other countries, it's not as if we have internet access or are marketing our game to children and risk quite the ruckus if we accidentally put offensive language in our game"
"What could pawsibly go wrong?"

 

[Pikachu315111]

"hey guys let's not check if them funny word tosser is seen in other countries, it's not as if we have internet access or are marketing our game to children and risk quite the ruckus if we accidentally put offensive language in our game"
"What could pawsibly go wrong?"

"Hey, the obscure phrase 'hot to trot' doesn't have any suggestive connotations, right? You don't think so? Good, I'm going to put it in this kids game then, no need to double-check even when we do the remake"

 

[Worldie]

"Hey, the obscure phrase 'hot to trot' doesn't have any suggestive connotations, right? You don't think so? Good, I'm going to put it in this kids game then, no need to double-check even when we do the remake"

Akshually I wouldn't be surprised if that is on purpose. Expecially before politicallycorrect shenenigans started in last years, it wasn't exactly uncommon to sneak sexual references in kids games, and pokemon is no exception (I am somewhat confident there were already other ones exposed, but I am on phone and too lazy to find them. As well as stuff like, the clear writing in a library about how humans used to marry pokemon which got censored in english)

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

With Enamorus joining the competitive scene, I like how its Hidden Ability, just like with Landorus, ends up encouraging it to use its weaker offensive stat, even though it boasts high offensive stats on both sides just like Landorus does. And in the antithetical manner too: within the sub-duo among the four Forces of Nature, Landorus is more of a physical attacker naturally but with Sheer Force it ends up being a Special Attacker, Enamorus is more of a special attacker naturally but with Contrary it ends up being a Physical Attacker.

All thanks to the abilities working better with their movepools on their weaker offensive stat but allowing them to become even more of a threat with their inferior offensive stat that is still very good (115) but using their ability to use it in a deadly way. Landorus has always been known to use Sheer Force and using Life Orb, using Sheer Force's negation of Life Orb recoil to create an extreme power boost with zero drawback, in tandem with its moves like Earth Power, Focus Blast, and Psychic to become a powerhouse special wallbreaker and nuke. Meanwhile Enamorus thanks to Contrary can use the well known Contrary+Superpower combo to hit hard with Superpower and boost its Attack and physical Defense by spamming Superpower, hitting harder and harder with each Superpower becoming a Bulk Up+120 BP move at the same time and then hitting things hard with STAB Play Rough and being a physical sweeper+wallbreaker, and a Fairy-type one at that no less.

I like how both of them have that little quirk going for them with their stats and hidden abilities, thanks to their movepools, where they can ironically work with their less powerful offensive stat to pull off a uniquely deadly strategy as a wallbreaker with it.

 

[Worldie]

To be fair, Enamorous in VGC having Contrary makes it change the board even if it's a special attacker.
Icy Winds (and Snarl) is suddently not something you want to click lightly.

 

[Scorpio]

Akshually I wouldn't be surprised if that is on purpose. Expecially before politicallycorrect shenenigans started in last years, it wasn't exactly uncommon to sneak sexual references in kids games, and pokemon is no exception (I am somewhat confident there were already other ones exposed, but I am on phone and too lazy to find them. As well as stuff like, the clear writing in a library about how humans used to marry pokemon which got censored in english)

Akchkhqkchk*horrendous coughing fit followed by spitting out a big glob of phlegm*tually it’s not always just the developers

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Akchkhqkchk*horrendous coughing fit followed by spitting out a big glob of phlegm*tually it’s not always just the developers

Omg when did we mix records

 

[Enoyna]

After all, teleport in the current "battle usable" form was never "legitimately" in Slowking's learnset.
[...]
I may of course be wrong, but i don't think at GF they thought "hey people use this illegal transfer move from let's go on smogon, let's make a replacement for it"

I'm not sure I get what you're saying. How's that illegal? Slowpoke (and Slowbro) learns Teleport by TM in RBY. Slowking could use this move already in GSC.

 

[Worldie]

I'm not sure I get what you're saying. How's that illegal? Slowpoke (and Slowbro) learns Teleport by TM in RBY. Slowking could use this move already in GSC.

VGC has never allowed transfer moves since gen 6.
Thus slow twins have never legally learned teleport in official competitive pokemon, as RBY and GSC mons were never transferable to gen 3+ games.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Akshually I wouldn't be surprised if that is on purpose. Expecially before politicallycorrect shenenigans started in last years, it wasn't exactly uncommon to sneak sexual references in kids games, and pokemon is no exception (I am somewhat confident there were already other ones exposed, but I am on phone and too lazy to find them. As well as stuff like, the clear writing in a library about how humans used to marry pokemon which got censored in english)

Eh, I think it's more they just didn't know at some point the phrase had been used as a euphemism for sex. The phrase on it's own just means someone is eager to get started with something, but with it using the word "hot" the euphemism definition likely came shortly after. Still, it's an obscure phrase no matter how you look at it. It was only used because the line the girl says after the first two is "Chill at my papa's spot"; they were just looking for words which rhyme with "spot". Honestly the line which gets me is "cool cat not". "Cool cat". Um, little girl, were you transported here from the 40s? Was this supposed to be the original motto of the Seashore House (according to Bulbapedia it has a different motto on the sign, but that motto was added in ORAS).

it’s not always just the developers

At this point it's expected for players to be demented and abuse any feature where they get to type in something.

 

[Karxrida]

At this point it's expected for players to be demented and abuse any feature where they get to type in something.

I think the funniest part here is that Poké Dollars are based on yen, so she's only asking for like ten bucks if going off of 2003 exchange rates. (Yen is worth a bit less now fwiw.)

 

[QuentinQuonce]

So I mentioned in a couple of other threads that I think Gen II made an astronomical amount of quality-of-life changes from Gen I, which gets forgotten now in part because people don't always remember that Gen I didn't have these things or in part because we take a lot of the improvements it made as standard in modern games, and I stand by that statement (this isn't calling anyone out btw, it's just been playing on my mind so I thought I'd write a bit about it).

So, some of the QoL changes that come to mind are:


Being able to use HMs from the overworld. Having played Gen II first, when I eventually played Red by god did this feel cumbersome. It's genuinely so unintuitive that I can't interact with a boulder or a tree or the shoreline! Such a little change but honestly such a good one.

Breeding. Some might call this a whole new feature rather than a strict quality of life change, but the QoL part specifically comes in under the fact that you're actually able to have more than one of certain species without trading. In RBY, for any species that's a gift or an in-game trade... well, that's all you get. Did your Lapras have crap DVs? Did you teach your Hitmonlee the wrong moves? Do you regret evolving your Ivysaur? Tough luck. Being able to produce another version of a Pokemon and start over is a huge boon and something that gives the games immense replay value. Even before we get into all the other advancements breeding brought to the series like egg moves.

Separate bag pockets. Actually just improving the bag all round. Who enjoys scrolling through a massive list to find the one item you need? Not me! The separate pockets not only make it easier to find what you need but also give you infinitely more space. One of my least favourite aspects about playing RBY is having to juggle TMs and key items: oops, I left the Silph Scope in the PC, gotta backtrack. Ooh nice, just picked up the TM for Solarbeam... well, I'd better use it straight away because now my bag's full I can't collect the key for Cinnabar Gym. 20 slots is nowhere near enough for balls, healing items, TMs, key items, and

Going off the last point: registering items. Such a time saver. Who enjoys scrolling through a massive list to find the one item you need? Not me! Wait, I think I said that already. But being able to press one button and use the item you need is a huge improvement, and again one I'm surprised took even this long to be implemented.

Move descriptions. Yeah, did you know in Gen I you can't check what any of the moves actually do? You either need to already know or just guess and trust your luck. I'm honestly dumbfounded this wasn't ever a thing until Gen II because it seems so unforgivably basic. When my friend who'd only ever played Yellow played White a few years ago she kept turning to me and saying "my [species] is trying to learn [move]... what does that do?" and I had to show her that you actually could read the description for each one.

Giving opponents PP. Yeah, this is one of those other things that people are frequently surprised by - in Gen I, opponents had unlimited PP! This could make battles incredibly difficult, and in some cases downright miserable. Not a change many people were probably crying out for, but a nice one nonetheless.

Making money farmable. In Gen I there were very few regenerating items (maybe none? I'm honestly not sure) and no rematchable NPCs other than the Elite Four. This basically meant that your only way to get more cash was to repeatedly fight the E4 over and over. Not particularly exciting or quick. Gen II obviously fixed this by providing rematches with various NPCs and by making certain items reappear.

Improving the Storage System (slightly). Pokemon now have sprites on the menu screen and though it's still slow and cumbersome to change boxes, you can move Pokemon between them fairly swiftly. It genuinely took me a while to make use of the latter feature as I wasn't initially aware it even existed but it's so useful once you've got the hang of it.

The move deleter. Yeah, this guy's great. Bulbapedia seems to be of the opinion that this guy's sole purpose for existing is to allow people to trade their Gen I species back to RBY sans Gen II moves - and while yes, that is helpful, sometimes you just want to delete Whirlpool from your Feraligatr. Or delete something crappy like Sand-Attack. This is another one of those enormously helpful things that when you think about it should absolutely have been there from the start. In Gen I the only way to remove a HM is by sneakily erasing it via the Daycare. Which obviously doesn't work if your Pokemon is at a level where it's not going to learn any new moves, so if you taught your level 79 Starmie Flash then, uh... sorry, you're screwed.

Giving names to NPCs. This is admittedly the minor-est of all the minor changes, but I loved it. It makes the game world seem so much more fleshed-out and lived in when the people you're meeting and battling actually have names other than "Lass" and "Camper".


There might even be more than this but those are the ones that spring to mind. Gen II has its flaws, no-one can deny this (least of all me) but the sheer amount of upgrades it made from Gen I are massive, and provide those games with infinitely more replay value than the first generation ever had.

 

[Magcargo]

I really like that all that needed to be done to make Whiscash semi usable was giving it entry hazards. Whiscash's statspread is really bland and mediocre, limiting it in prior generations. It previously couldn't go for an offensive role because its offensive stats were too low. While its defensive stats aren't great either, its high HP stat + investment & its good typing could possibly let it salvage a niche in earlier generations. Unfortunately, Whiscash's lack of reliable recovery and lack of real utility moves made it a poor Pokemon at fulfilling such as niche.

However, the simple addition of entry hazards to its movepool has allowed Whiscash to finally carve out a niche after generations of being trash. What's really awesome is that Whiscach is leveraging all of its unique traits that previously went overlooked to become a good entry hazard setter. Oblivious is normally a mostly mediocre to useless ability, but on a dedicated entry hazard setter, it is extremely powerful due to blocking Taunt, which is common counter play to setting up hazards. Whiscache's solid bulk and typing also lets it setup multiple layers of entry hazards effectively too. Entry Hazards act as the nice adhesive that makes its previously aimless kit finally make sense & fulfill a unique niche that only it can do (iirc there aren't any other dedicated entry hazard setters that can block Taunt).