So I'm confused with the brevity of the explanation Niantic gave for us here. With weather having less of an effect, does that mean it will be like the old days where only the typically common Pokemon would spawn? Without weather having an effect, we were previously just always finding Hoppip and Marill and Nidoran or whatever 5/2k of the day decided to show up.
I think the point is that weather will still affect spawns, but to a lesser degree. If you've been to areas where a certain Pokémon just dominates a particular biome (for example, Cacnea in Sunny), that's what they're trying to address. It can get utterly ridiculous with weather when a majority of the spawns are just one Pokémon.
Nests changing is... kind of a cool concept. I don't understand what they mean- will more species be nesting now? Will we have Snorlax nests? Or do they mean nests will bring in like... 2 Pokemon instead? It's a Snubbull and Clefairy nest! I don't get it.
We don't know much about this, but newer nesting species have been introduced to the pool in recent weeks (for example, Sableye. It could not nest before, but now it does). I presume there will be more overlap in nests (so maybe Snubbull and Clefairy, as you said), or nests won't just be the majority of a particular species. Since they added that there will be more variety in a nest, a nest can possibly contain 40% Sableye, but the rest is varied. Let's see how they handle that.
As for the CP change, I think what they're going for is for Blissey to last not as long but for it to still do some more damage. I also wonder if this change is to compensate for the Rhyperior problem. Rhydon obviously needs reforming unless we want it to be stronger than Rhyperior with the 9% nerf. 3800 is too high for even a pseudo legendary. I don't know how Garchomp would be handled either. 9% is too much. Were Dragonite and Tyranitar nerfed? By how much? I've actually kinda always wanted to know.
In parts:
1) The purpose they outright state is for Pokémon to actually defend rather than wear the clock out. The only Pokémon who can realistically do this is Blissey (and to a lesser degree, Chansey), and they want to eliminate this in lieu of Blissey and co. just doing more damage during the time they're on the field. This is obviously a nerf to stalling tactics, but it is a way to address it.
2) There is no Rhyperior problem. Rhyperior's massive stats are a result of the CP formula directly benefitting it far more than many, many Pokémon, and the same goes for Garchomp. This rebalance will directly nerf them going with their wording. That said:
Niantic has established (so far) that the only way they will gut a Pokémon directly is if it receives more than 4K CP upon application of the formula. It does not matter if it's a mascot legend or not. It just has to reach 4000 CP. Everything else is untouched. So, for example:
- Lugia is the only 670 / 680 BST Mon that isn't affected by the nerf. It's incredibly defensive, so its poor Attack stat never propels it above 4K. Everyone else that has this BST reaches 4K and is affected.
- Slaking, Groudon, and Kyogre all get to 4000 CP post-nerf, and they are not further nerfed. Their stats are so gargantuan that they get that high, but Niantic has never gone below (or above) a 9% nerf.
Dragonite was buffed with the formula change in November of 2016, and Tyranitar has never witnessed a change to its original CP. Since Niantic's goal is to directly make everyone more in line with each other, it is presumed that all of the pseudos + Rhyperior will exhibit a nerf. How significant it is remains to be seen. In addition, whether they'll revert the 9% nerf to the species it's been applied to, or apply it to other Pokémon, or even adjust the nerf itself, is also of note.
My hopes for Gen 4:
- No more regionals. Stop it plz. I'm predicting Carnivine and Chatot to fall into the regional trap, though.
- Have some way to make Pokemon like Magnemite or Electabuzz, and other rarer Pokemon that evolve in Gen 4, to be temporarily more accessible
- Introduce a few new moves. Aura Sphere as a Fighting type Frenzy Plant would be pretty sick. Fairy Wind as a fast move for Togekiss would be nice. Unfortunately, every offensive Fairy type move that isn't signature or status is a charge move in here. It only leaves Fairy Wind left, which Gardevoir cannot learn. Neither can Clefable.
- Minor hopes include Sky Attack Togekiss and for Magmar and Electabuzz's movepools to be upgraded when they evolve to something more viable. Porygon-Z with Tackle is a far cry, but that'd be cool.
