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Little things you like about Pokémon

Codraroll said:
Generations V, VI, and VII all came and went without new cross-generation evolutions, and some of us feared they would never come back. Instead, new Pokémon seemed to be designed to be "perfect" right out of the box, as it were, or at least have a viable battling niche. Once an evolution family was designed, it was stamped, shipped, and never again altered.
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I was just thinking about this yesterday actually. I believe it to be Gen 5’s influence of BW being a 'soft reboot' and much of the Pokémon in its dex being Gen 1’s Pokémon reimagined in a sense. This obviously included no cross-gen evos, despite the few Pokémon that people claim were intended to be/could be evolutions just based on design (Alomomola, Bouffalant and Emolga come to mind for those categories).

Game Freak being Game Freak probably just never seriously thought about the whole cross evo thing again until Gen 8 when they experimented with the regional evos, and due to the warm reception some received (namely thinking of Obstagoon here) decided to move back to the concept for previous Pokémon and not just regional forms… but idk, I can never figure those guys out I’m just spitballing.
 
ZB7 said:
I was just thinking about this yesterday actually. I believe it to be Gen 5’s influence of BW being a 'soft reboot' and much of the Pokémon in its dex being Gen 1’s Pokémon reimagined in a sense. This obviously included no cross-gen evos, despite the few Pokémon that people claim were intended to be/could be evolutions just based on design (Alomomola, Bouffalant and Emolga come to mind for those categories).

Game Freak being Game Freak probably just never seriously thought about the whole cross evo thing again until Gen 8 when they experimented with the regional evos, and due to the warm reception some received (namely thinking of Obstagoon here) decided to move back to the concept for previous Pokémon and not just regional forms… but idk, I can never figure those guys out I’m just spitballing.
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I don't think there was enough time between the release of SwSh and the design freeze of PLA for Obstagoon to influence the decision to create Wyrdeer or Ursaluna; given how integral those Pokémon are to the mechanics of the game, they must have been designed quite early. Personally, I suspect some designer just had the idea to try conventional cross-generation evolutions again, and management agreed to give it a try.
 
It is nice to see them again. I think it was to their benefit to do them ("them" in this case including the "regoinal evolution"s too) in smaller batches + introducing new pokemon with each game, too.

Granted it would be nicer if they didn't arbitrarily cut off from using them in subsequent games. There just really wasn't a reason to not, at the very least, include the Peat Block and Black Augurite in base SV (& less reason not to include them in Teal Mask*). & while the "styles" arent in the game there's no reason they couldn't just retcon the method to just be "use move 20 times" or what have you. It doesn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm that the next time we see Girafarig or Bisharp or Duraludon and so on in a "normal" new game (so not a Let's Go or BDSP situation) they'll be able to evolve for the secret arbitrary reason of "oh well they aren't in Paldea so the moves dont make them evolve anymore" or "only Paldea has groups of Bisharp/Pawniard that have the Leaders' Crest)" or whatever. Assuming they even acknowledge it


*I do think they'll be there in Indigo Disk, but you also won't be able to get there until beating the entire game + teal mask, so...still kind of a bummer....
 
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Speaking of cross generation evolutions: I really like Dudunsparce. I think it’s a fun evolution by virtue of it obviously being barely an evolution at all. Some people were excited for Dunsparce to grow really strong and big, so much so that I’ve seen people argue Drampa should’ve been its evolution (I like Drampa, but I don’t think I agreed with this before Dudunsparce came). For it to simply grow in size and gain another body part is very funny to me, especially when you realize the inherent absurdity of there being a three-segment form as well, showing that the designers knew what they were doing. It also has really cool moves like Boomburst, and its signature Hyper Drill.

I think that overall, Dudunsparce just appeals to me because it gave me a reason to care about it; again, the inherent absurdity of the two different forms shows me that even though the design may look lazy, there was actual thought behind it despite how simple of a change it is from Dunsparce, and I love it for that.
 
ZB7 said:
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Speaking of cross generation evolutions: I really like Dudunsparce. I think it’s a fun evolution by virtue of it obviously being barely an evolution at all. Some people were excited for Dunsparce to grow really strong and big, so much so that I’ve seen people argue Drampa should’ve been its evolution (I like Drampa, but I don’t think I agreed with this before Dudunsparce came). For it to simply grow in size and gain another body part is very funny to me, especially when you realize the inherent absurdity of there being a three-segment form as well, showing that the designers knew what they were doing. It also has really cool moves like Boomburst, and its signature Hyper Drill.

I think that overall, Dudunsparce just appeals to me because it gave me a reason to care about it; again, the inherent absurdity of the two different forms shows me that even though the design may look lazy, there was actual thought behind it despite how simple of a change it is from Dunsparce, and I love it for that.
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Agreed! Initially I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a more substantial change, but the subversion of expectations feels deliberately comedic in the best way (and honestly I feed on the rage of Pokemon fans who hate Dudunsparce)
 
ZB7 said:
View attachment 558874
Speaking of cross generation evolutions: I really like Dudunsparce. I think it’s a fun evolution by virtue of it obviously being barely an evolution at all. Some people were excited for Dunsparce to grow really strong and big, so much so that I’ve seen people argue Drampa should’ve been its evolution (I like Drampa, but I don’t think I agreed with this before Dudunsparce came). For it to simply grow in size and gain another body part is very funny to me, especially when you realize the inherent absurdity of there being a three-segment form as well, showing that the designers knew what they were doing. It also has really cool moves like Boomburst, and its signature Hyper Drill.

I think that overall, Dudunsparce just appeals to me because it gave me a reason to care about it; again, the inherent absurdity of the two different forms shows me that even though the design may look lazy, there was actual thought behind it despite how simple of a change it is from Dunsparce, and I love it for that.
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It doesn’t actually just get one more body segment, it gets one more of everything
  • One more chin spike
  • An extra part of the tail
  • An extra pair of wings
  • It’s eyes are partially opened which adds another line to the them
It’s just dunsparce but more in every single way, including It’s base stats
 
Something dumb I just learned about the Dive Ball:

If used underwater, the Dive Ball has a 3.5× catch rate modifier; otherwise, it has a 1× modifier. Since there are no underwater areas in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, it will always have a 1× modifier in those games. In Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Phenac Stadium is considered an underwater area, so the Dive Ball has a 3.5× catch rate modifier there.
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In Colosseum, this doesn't affect anything in normal gameplay, since no Shadow Pokemon are available for capture in that location (I'm assuming the Card e Room is considered part of Phenac Stadium, though?) but in XD this means you've got a boosted capture rate for the four Pokemon able to be snagged there: Spearow, Grimer, Seel, and Lunatone.

...assuming you can get a Dive Ball during the main story, of course. Oh, wait. You can't.
 
Magcargo said:
I like the new Tutor moves distribution. It feels like Gamefreak somewhat cared about balance in how they distributed some of these moves. Take Knock Off for instance. It mostly got handed to Pokemon that needed the move this gen, like Tyranitar and Weavile instead of being given to OP Pokemon like Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, and Mightyena. Furthermore, Gamefreak, actually took the move away from some Pokemon like Kingambit, Landorus-T, and Toxapex, which was a bold move, but one that I appreciate for the sake of balance. Although I feel they went a bit hard on nerfing Toxapex.
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I can hear people liking this change, actually.
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QuentinQuonce said:
I honestly have no skin in the game re the Fire starters=Chinese Zodiac theory but I will just say it's amusing to see people fight so hard against it when it's just not ever going to die. I've seen arguments recently that Skeledirge represents either the snake (because crocodiles are lizards, much as Typhlosion represents the rat simply because it's a rodent) or the ox (because male crocodiles are called bulls). Both entirely valid takes as far as I'm concerned and there's nothing to outright prove them wrong. At this stage it's not going away, just embrace it and let people join the dots how they like.
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Fuecoco is a horse.
ZB7 said:
Speaking of cross generation evolutions: I really like Dudunsparce. I think it’s a fun evolution by virtue of it obviously being barely an evolution at all. Some people were excited for Dunsparce to grow really strong and big, so much so that I’ve seen people argue Drampa should’ve been its evolution (I like Drampa, but I don’t think I agreed with this before Dudunsparce came). For it to simply grow in size and gain another body part is very funny to me, especially when you realize the inherent absurdity of there being a three-segment form as well, showing that the designers knew what they were doing. It also has really cool moves like Boomburst, and its signature Hyper Drill.

I think that overall, Dudunsparce just appeals to me because it gave me a reason to care about it; again, the inherent absurdity of the two different forms shows me that even though the design may look lazy, there was actual thought behind it despite how simple of a change it is from Dunsparce, and I love it for that.
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:dunsparce: Honestly, after seeing so many Dragon- or Flying-type evolutions that generally look super epic, I'm glad the official Dunsparce evolution is still a fat "uncool" cryptid snake. :dudunsparce:
 
Playing Pokemon Blue atm and I like how the older games are sometimes quite random with their NPC sprites, like how at the badge check gates in Kanto most of the guards look like policemen but two of them are swimmers instead, or how in GSC the Goldenrod Radio Tower and the badge check gates are blocked off by blackbelts and the Underground Tunnel between Vermilion and Cerulean is blocked off by a fat man on either end instead of policemen like you'd expect.
 
QuentinQuonce said:
Playing Pokemon Blue atm and I like how the older games are sometimes quite random with their NPC sprites, like how at the badge check gates in Kanto most of the guards look like policemen but two of them are swimmers instead, or how in GSC the Goldenrod Radio Tower and the badge check gates are blocked off by blackbelts and the Underground Tunnel between Vermilion and Cerulean is blocked off by a fat man on either end instead of policemen like you'd expect.
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I really loved those Fat Guy overworld sprites.
 
A Quick One: So a modern (or rather a 1989-2023) "We Didn't Start The Fire" was made by Fall Out Boy a couple of months ago. I recall in the past a few attempts to do a modern "We Didn't Start The Fire" though they didn't stick, though this one seems to be catching on (Billy Joel gave it his approval). Why am I mentioning it? Well because Pokemon is in it, duh! Infact Pokemon gets namedropped in the first verse.

Having listened to it and looked at the lyrics, can't help but feel Pokemon is carrying quiet a bit of representation weight here, and not just for the Pokemon franchise. Note there is one other video game mentioned: Metroid. Not sure why he went with Metroid (well, aside for the rhyme), sure it recently got a surge or popularity but if I were to go with another 1989+ game character I'd gone with Sonic who is more iconic (also it's been pointed out that Metroid's first game was in 1986, oops). However, aside from Metroid, not only is there no other video game mentioned, but no other anime either.

"Well, the song has to have mass appeal, it's going to mostly be historic & pop culture references; he can't fill it with too much nerdy stuff". I agree, I'm not saying he should add in a whole bunch of video game and anime references. Though with the absence of super influential early anime such as "Sailor Moon" and "Dragon Ball Z", or just the word "Anime", I feel that the mentioning of Pokemon is shouldering the full weight of representing Japanese media influence on modern American & Global culture. On paper it's certainly not a bad pick; Pokemon's reputation alone justifies its inclusion, and being a multimedia franchise which covers (Japanese produced) video games, anime (Pokemon also being one of the early ones), even manga and TCGs, you theoretically get those also covered with just one word.

That all said, if that was the intent, I think it may be a bit too subtle. Yes, when you really think about it like I did above you get anime and video game representation... BUT when the mass general audience here's "Pokemon" all they are going to think about is Pikachu, Ash, and maybe a swarm of other colorful creatures you collect in balls. But maybe I'm thinking too much into it, maybe the mentioning of Pokemon is just for the Pokemon franchise itself and Fall Out Boy decided that "Anime" and any other reference to video games (aside from Metroid; thinking about it could have also mentioned the "XBox") was maybe too niche.
 
I was just existing in my natural state of endless thought when something came to me:

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I really like how to me, Terastalization feels like less of a marketing gimmick than the previous gimmicks. It’s admittedly still a gimmick, but the gameplay-story integration is much better than the previous ones if you ask me. While I do think the way nearly everyone uses Tera is predictable, there are obviously some who stick out (shoutout Hassel for Tera Dragon Glaive Rush, that will seriously blow up anything that ain’t a fairy) and make it enjoyable overall. It may still not be the best gimmick in most people’s eyes, I generally see opinion of it to only be higher than Dynamax which isn’t exactly a high bar.

This could change, the Indigo Disk is shining a big spotlight on the mechanic after all; I have heard rumors of possible Tera forms but I can’t verify them. But I don’t mind as of now because I’ve found it’s intertwining with the games overarching narrative to be fun so far.
 
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Today is October 12th. It has been exactly 10 years since X/Y were released worldwide. Happy anniversary!

These were the first main series games in full 3D, and the first to be released for the 3DS. They brought us 72 new Pokémon as well as a bunch of new features like Mega Evolution, the Fairy-type, PSS, Pokémon-Amie, Friend Safari and more. I am a huge fan of X/Y, they are among my favorite games in the whole series. I know they aren't very popular in the fandom nowadays, but I wanted to make a positive post to celebrate their anniversary. I made a post with everything I like about these games in the past and I didn't want to repeat it all again. Instead, I decided to share some of my favorite memories from when I played X/Y.

:xy/sylveon:
The first is when I tried to evolve an Eevee into Sylveon for the first time. This was during my playthrough of X, it happened just a few days after the games had been released. With the Fairy-type being added to the series, I had decided to use one on my team just to see how it worked. I settled for Sylveon. But back in the early X/Y days, the details for how to get a Sylveon were a bit unclear. You needed an Eevee with a Fairy-type move, then you also had to do something with it in Pokémon-Amie, then level it up. The first part was easy to solve. Catching a wild Eevee at level 19 meant it always knew Baby-Doll Eyes, so I did that. The third part would also be easy. But what about the second part? I had to play with Eevee in Pokémon-Amie, and do... something. What exactly?

I searched and found a Youtube video which said that you had to max out all three categories (affection, fullness, and enjoyment), then it would evolve. So I started doing that. Then I read a comment on the video, where a user said that they had managed to evolve their Eevee by leveling it up directly after it had gotten a huge boost of hearts in Pokémon-Amie. Since that seemed to be the easier option, I decided to give it a try. I trained my Eevee until it was about to level up, then I played with it in Pokémon-Amie again until it got a burst of hearts. After that, I immediately let it gain a level… and it evolved into Sylveon! That made me really happy. I made my newly evolved Sylveon a member of my team on X, it accompanied me on the rest of my journey.

:xy/fletchling:
Another memory from my playthrough of X. In Anistar City, I met an old man who asked if I had a Pokémon at level 5 or below which he could borrow to keep him company. I had no idea what this was about, and I didn't want to risk losing a Pokémon if it should turn out to be something bad. But I was very curious and I really wanted to give it a try just to see what would happen. So I went back to Route 2 and caught the first Pokémon I ran into, which was a Fletchling. I gave it to the old man and left him. I continued playing the game and eventually beat the Champion. At some point afterwards, I went back to the old man... only to find out that he had passed away. He had left a letter along with the Fletchling in its Poké Ball. It was a very emotional and touching moment. To make sure I would never forget about it, I decided to nickname the Fletchling Memory and keep it with me. I trained it into a Talonflame, and I still have it on my game.

Those are my two best memories from X/Y. What are yours?
(If you have nothing positive to share, please don't post at all.)

On another note, today is also the 11th anniversary for the European release of B2/W2. Happy anniversary to those great games as well!
 
I still remember where I was when the coro coro revealing Mega Gengar leaked. I was pretty stoked.

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I really enjoyed XY because I finally felt free to play through with an in-game team where I didn't have to worry about using the one and only dusk stone in the game to evolve a Pokemon. I've said it before, but I don't look back fondly on Diamond and Pearl because I ended up with an in-game team that was basically placeholders for mons I needed to breed to be worth using TMs and evo items on. (I'm skipping BW/BW2 because I only rented those, so I don't remember them as well). My in-game team, :greninja: :gengar-mega: :hawlucha: :aegislash: :klefki: :goodra: turned out to overlap with half of Ash's team, so it's not like it was particularly unique or anything, but it had a Klefki on it, which wasn't the most popular Pokemon of the generation, and I have a fondness for Klefki because of it. :P
 
I think the Chikorita line is one of the most misunderstood starter line in the franchise, and no matter how many people hate it, I think the little plant dinosaur is what made me absolutely love Pokemon as a kid. Once a favorite, always a favorite. Lots of people overlook it and it would've been so easy for GF to overlook it too, but the fact that it's coming back in just a few months with the second half of the DLC, and official pokemon merch never makes me regret loving the line. I wish I could personally meet Ken Sugimori one day just to thank him for making it. It's stupid, yeah. One of the "weakest" starters inhabiting Johto that often finds itself a punching bag, but for all those reasons it makes me like it more. Chikorita was always there for me at my lowest and I don't want it to be ever forgotten how much I love it.
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RocketSurgery said:
I still remember where I was when the coro coro revealing Mega Gengar leaked. I was pretty stoked.
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XY were the first games where I really started paying attention to the online news / leak circuit. I remember the big PokéBeach leak from around that time that revealed stuff like the Fairy type, dual-type moves, Sky Battles, Professor Patrice (guess that got changed along the way), a handful of new Pokémon details, Gym types, and the Starters’ evolution types.

I also remember much later when the game first broke street date. The guy who got the game was posting pictures to his Instagram or something, and people were really antsy for him to fully evolve his Starter (which was Chespin, IIRC).

But mainly I still remember the night when the issue of Corocoro that first revealed Mega Evolution to the world leaked. It’d been hyped up by the previous issue as the “scoop of the century,” and it really did feel like a massive game-changer. I also remember people saying it was too similar to Digimon.

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Yeah I remember Greninja and hawlucha leaking, and everyone HATING gren and insisting it had to be fake lol.

The game release was fun because there was no datamine so people had to figure stuff out for themselves. No one knew how to evolve Sliggoo for ages. I also helped out with the serebii discovery stuff so that was a fun experience
 
Valoo said:
Yeah I remember Greninja and hawlucha leaking, and everyone HATING gren and insisting it had to be fake lol.

The game release was fun because there was no datamine so people had to figure stuff out for themselves. No one knew how to evolve Sliggoo for ages. I also helped out with the serebii discovery stuff so that was a fun experience
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people swearing up & down that absolutely nothing about greninja was similar to frogadier and i remain baffled by the sheer denial people had
 
areazero said:
I think the Chikorita line is one of the most misunderstood starter line in the franchise, and no matter how many people hate it, I think the little plant dinosaur is what made me absolutely love Pokemon as a kid. Once a favorite, always a favorite. Lots of people overlook it and it would've been so easy for GF to overlook it too, but the fact that it's coming back in just a few months with the second half of the DLC, and official pokemon merch never makes me regret loving the line. I wish I could personally meet Ken Sugimori one day just to thank him for making it. It's stupid, yeah. One of the "weakest" starters inhabiting Johto that often finds itself a punching bag, but for all those reasons it makes me like it more. Chikorita was always there for me at my lowest and I don't want it to be ever forgotten how much I love it.
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Its my least favourite starter of Johto - but I still have quite a soft spot for it. Chikorita is cute af, and honestly I really really love Bayleef’s design. I think I preferred Chikorita’s initial colouring in G/S not the Crystal one (unsure if it was intentional or not), I just don’t think the green suits it as well, it minimizes the leaf and buds.

Meganium is my least favourite of the line, I’m not sure if I have a concrete reason. Probably a combination of things - the green colour, the flower design, the antennae.
 
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