Pokémon Let's Go! - Pikachu and Eevee

[Worldie]

Warning: I'm back at ranting at how GF/TPCI has no clue what their playerbase actually wants

Source: Interview
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...-gos-difficulty-meltans-reveal-and-the-future

So you mentioned not wanting Kanto to be scary, and I know you've talked about Pokémon, and Let's Go in particular, being accessible to new players - are there still puzzles and challenges, things like Strength puzzles in caves, or have you moved away from that entirely now?

Junichi Masuda: So when we tried to think about how kids these days generally play games, what came to mind was mobile games really. Games which you play for a short time, and perhaps you'll be moving between various games pretty quickly, so if it was a game that kind of takes about two hours to get into, we thought that perhaps people might get a bit bored and then decide to move on to a different game. So back in the day, even playing in the virtual console version of the original Pikachu version, it might take you know thirty hours, forty hours to kind of complete, or progress significantly in the game. And in this age with so many games to choose from, we thought that we'd rather make something that was easier to progress through, and kind of tailor that playstyle to how we think that the playstyle has evolved over the years and how children are playing games now.

Okay Matsuda, but mobile games kids play now don't cost SIXTY BUCKS. If you are making a game that should sell for the full AAA price, it should have absolutely nothing to do with "Play a bit and then move to something else"

What would you say to those players who are crying out for a bit more of a challenge, maybe adult players who've been playing for these 20 years or who got into it a bit later? Should they wait for next year's RPG instead?
Kensaku Nabana: And also the postgame content as well, in particular the master trainiers - so these are trainers who are kind of the ultimate trainers of a specific Pokémon, so you will challenge them. So you will challenge them, and then get their title for that Pokémon, so you become the master of that Pokémon if you manage to beat them in battle.

Junichi Masuda: So for me, my favourite Pokémon is Psyduck, so I'd be training my Psyduck amazingly and then would challenge the Psyduck Master, and then gain the Psyduck Master title, and that's something you can put a lot of effort and a lot of time into, if I really wanted to create a challenge for myself - and these Master Trainers exist for all of the 151 Pokémon in the game, so you know, if you want to collect all of the titles then that's something you can really challenge yourself with.

I don't know what sort of challenge "adult, veterans" play in Japan, but I am quite confident that none of the veterans remotely care of being "Psyduck masters", let alone "Caterpie masters", and really just saying that there's no postgame or that you put the Master Trainers to give some time to kill would have been a better outcome. Expecially as, like some people mentioned, having to find & face 151 of those turns pretty quickly into a chore after you've faced the "challenging" ones with fully evolved pokes.

Does that cover all of the postgame content or is there more? Is there any story-based content after the main questline?

Junichi Masuda: So you know this is obviously based on the Yellow version, so in addition to the Master Trainers in the postgame there's always the challenge of completing the Pokédex, and not just the in-game contents, but we'd like players to also challenge themselves with meeting up with friends and just trading Pokémon from both versions to compelte that Pokédex.

Again, filling the Pokedex has become more of a chore than fun (expecially due to occasional complicated methods of evolutions and legendary version specifics) and lot of people actually don't have friends nearby to pick up missing pokes. Have they ever realized that the scarce availability of some mons is one of the reasons for which genning has become so popular, I wonder sometimes.

Sure - and I know you haven't talked much about this yet but is there any possibiltiy that there would be a National Pokédex beyond the 151 from Kanto? Or any plans to add Pokémon from other generations?
Junichi Masuda: So not right now - we'll kind of, or what we're looking forward to most right now is how the game is received. We'll see it's reception amongst all the players, and really we just... so right now players should become the trainer, throw their Pokéballs, and achieve that dream that everyone should be having including myself - you know it's everyone's dream to become a Pokémon trainer, and you know, take up your Pokéballs and get going.

Looking at point above, throwing pokeballs / capturing has become the least appealing chore of Pokemon games, and while I do welcome the new pokeball changing mechanics for this one time, it doesn't change that having to "grind" the same mons for candies and IVs over and over isn't our idea of "becoming a Pokemon trainer"





Ok, now that I'm done ranting, rest of the interview doesn't say much more or reveal anything that we didn't know.
- Confirms that there's no eggs or breeding (which seems toghether with held items absence was one of the factor that influenced the absence of cross gen evos/preevos)
- Confirms that you can have as many Meltan (in both Go and PLGO) as you please
- Gladly confirms that they're looking for ways that replace HMs and are a bit more interesting than PokePassage (i feel the PLGO approach of Pikachu/Eevee doing the job is a acceptable start)
- They realize that the breeding chore isn't liked by players (you can notice this by how many times he references "Pokemon is hatching eggs" in the interview)



Final judgement: Matsuda or whoever writes what he needs to say in his interviews still has no clue.

 

[Codraroll]

There are a couple of "gems" in that interview:

Junichi Masude:So for me, my favourite Pokémon is Psyduck, so I'd be training my Psyduck amazingly and then would challenge the Psyduck Master, and then gain the Psyduck Master title, and that's something you can put a lot of effort and a lot of time into, if I really wanted to create a challenge for myself - and these Master Trainers exist for all of the 151 Pokémon in the game, so you know, if you want to collect all of the titles then that's something you can really challenge yourself with.

The way I take this is that you have to challenge the "Master Trainers" using the same Pokémon as they do. Who has the best Pikachu? Who has the best Blastoise? Who has the best Psyduck? Why is it fun to battle using Pokémon whose STAB is doomed to be ineffective in most cases? And why make the only postgame challenge in such a way that it completely disregards the concepts of team synergy and match-ups? Have fun optimizing each of the 151 Pokémon to fight themselves in one-on-one battles. Team building, what's that? Is that a house somewhere?

What would you say to those players who are crying out for a bit more of a challenge, maybe adult players who've been playing for these 20 years or who got into it a bit later? Should they wait for next year's RPG instead?

Junichi Masuda: So you know to those kinds of fans we'd mention the 'catch combo' mechanic, whereby you catch the same Pokémon multiple times in a row and get various rewards and benefits for that.

I don't know what I find more disconcerting: the fact that, quote, "catch[ing] the same Pokémon multiple times in a row" is their idea of a fun post-game challenge, or the fact that they seem to think it is what made players stick to this series for 20 years. It's like observing a tailor go through a haystack in search for his needle, and concluding that tailors must really like hay, and that haystacks are supposed to be a vital part of making clothes.

Junichi Masuda:So you know maybe - if everyone enjoys playing these games [laughs] - but you know more than that, I know that a lot of people and fans have spent a lot of time hatching eggs, they've hatched... a lot of eggs, but we want them to kind of discover new ways to enjoy Pokémon games, you know I'd be really sad to think that for them, Pokémon is hatching eggs, so with this one we're trying to show them a different side of the game.

Here it is again. "The fans spend a lot of time hatching eggs, they are really missing out on something." Never asking why all those eggs are hatched, or whether the fans think hatching them is actually fun, or whether they actually are unaware of those other parts of the game.

Taken together, these statements at least make it look like they plan to make perfect-IV Pokémon obtainable through mass capture. Effectively the same as egg hatching, just with more engagement (throwing Poké Balls instead of walking in circles), yet ultimately plagued with the same problem: that you have to sift through another haystack every time you need a new needle, and that the postgame metaphorically consists of embroidery contests.

 

[Kanburi]

What would you say to those players who are crying out for a bit more of a challenge, maybe adult players who've been playing for these 20 years or who got into it a bit later? Should they wait for next year's RPG instead?

Junichi Masuda: So you know to those kinds of fans we'd mention the 'catch combo' mechanic, whereby you catch the same Pokémon multiple times in a row and get various rewards and benefits for that.

I obviously cannot speak for everyone, but this is the wrong direction I want to see the game go. I personally want the games to be more challenging in certain ways, but these aren't challenges, these are chores. There are very fine lines between challenges and quests, and quests and chores. Totem Pokemon and Battle Facilities are challenges, ORAS post-game and the 7 Mysteries in USUM are quests, but these catch combos, Mantine Surf, and the 151 Master Trainers are chores. Things you just mindlessly do like grinding and chaining.

I get it, if we don't like it, we don't have to do them. I personally did Mantine Surf like twice outside of the mandatory tutorial and that was it. But it's disappointing to see so many resources being dumped into unnecessary garbage like this. Does it maybe appeal to children? Probably, but don't ignore the generation that grew up with Pokemon from the very beginning.

That, and tying it in with Pokemon Go is a mistake IMO, and I hope this is a one-off thing that they'll never attempt again.

 

[Worldie]

Does it maybe appeal to children? Probably, but don't ignore the generation that grew up with Pokemon from the very beginning.

Honestly this is the biggest concern I have.

I generally "justify" lot of PLGO issues with it being a game mostly designed for kids / complete newcomers.
...But I actually question the fact that even kids would find fun grinding (or even see a *reason* to) pokemon over and over for the perfect IVs and facing the almightly Caterpie master.

(Random related: if Codraroll thought on "masters" is right and you have to face them with same Pokemon, I cannot wait for the Metapod and Kakuna masters, my will of fighting *hardens* very fast)

 

[Karxrida]

https://www.theverge.com/platform/a.../pokemon-lets-go-nintendo-switch-pikachu-evee

Pokémon: Let’s Go is a ‘starting point for the next 20 years of Pokémon’

 

[Zowayix]

 

[Theorymon]

Yo real talk though if Masuda is asking people to go away from hatching eggs, I’d love that for gen 8. I’m so sick of breeding lol, just lemme build and test my teams in peace!

 

[WolfWing]

@ 17:14: The Spanish site, Vandal, elaborates on this further and states that there are 151 Master Trainers, one for each of the original Pokémon. Each of these will focus on the species of Pokémon so you have to defeat them all. So if you find the Squirtle Master Trainer, you will defeat him and gain the title


Poggers, actual postgame? 6 magikarp guy is this you finally getting things done?

....So wait, ALL 151? I think what they mean would be all non-legendary pokemon (Unless.....)

 

[Theorymon]

....So wait, ALL 151? I think what they mean would be all non-legendary pokemon (Unless.....)

Fighting an ingame team with 6 Mewtwos sounds like my jam. If only because I’ll beat em with my owb multi Mewtwo team :p

 

[hypno28]

https://www.theverge.com/platform/a.../pokemon-lets-go-nintendo-switch-pikachu-evee

Masuda is a monster.

 

[WolfWing]

Fighting an ingame team with 6 Mewtwos sounds like my jam. If only because I’ll beat em with my owb multi Mewtwo team :p

I mean yeah it would be cool but makes me feel like my own MewTwo is less special... also how would they even get multiple MewTwo if technically only one exists? Same goes for the other legendaries.

Also, if you have to fight them with a team of your own how would you even get 6 of each legendary? Or even scratch that, how would you even get 6 mythicals? (aka Mew)

P.S. Since it says 151 trainers, does that mean there is no Meltan Trainer?

 

[Kanburi]

Is it even confirmed that the Master Trainers will have 6 of each Pokemon? If anything they should just be like the Eevee trainers in SM/USUM. I have no interest in fighting 151 trainers totalling 906 Pokemon just for the title of __________ Master.

That said, if I do eventually get the game, I wouldn't mind the titles Muk Master and Jynx Master.

 

[Codraroll]

Is it even confirmed that the Master Trainers will have 6 of each Pokemon? If anything they should just be like the Eevee trainers in SM/USUM. I have no interest in fighting 151 trainers totalling 906 Pokemon just for the title of __________ Master.

This is one of those times it's a little annoying that the plural of Pokémon is Pokémon. Have a look at the Masuda quote again:

So for me, my favourite Pokémon is Psyduck, so I'd be training my Psyduck amazingly and then would challenge the Psyduck Master, and then gain the Psyduck Master title

One Psyduck, two Psyduck, all the Psyduck? Who knows.

 

[Noel Lopunny]

This is one of those times it's a little annoying that the plural of Pokémon is Pokémon. Have a look at the Masuda quote again:



One Psyduck, two Psyduck, all the Psyduck? Who knows.

I'm gonna bet it's one of each because a 1v1 would make sense in context. Otherwise it would make this chore even MORE of a chore if you had to go up against a team entirely of lets say ditto with your own ditto.

Either way, as a post game challenge thing to do, it just feels a bit underwhelming to be honest. Which really encapsulates my feelings towards this entire game during the whole ride up to this point.

 

[Worldie]

I feel the "least choreful" way to implement the Masters would be via Totem-like fights (which aren't so far from Go's raids after all). Otherwise yeh, it just feels like *another* chore, might as well go hatch eggs.

 

[Kanburi]

At the very least I hope they Master Trainers are all in one big facility sorted by type in rooms with a PC so you don't have to keep running back and forth if you want to take them on all in one go.

 

[Worldie]

At the very least I hope they Master Trainers are all in one big facility sorted by type in rooms with a PC so you don't have to keep running back and forth if you want to take them on all in one go.

Sadly the wording quite clearly implies they'll be scattered around the game world :x

 

[DrPumpkinz]

So for me, my favourite Pokémon is Psyduck, so I'd be training my Psyduck amazingly and then would challenge the Psyduck Master, and then gain the Psyduck Master title

It sounds to me that they don't intend for everyone to fight all 151 trainers. Rather, they intend for people to only do their favorites.

Doesn't make it any less of a b**** for completionists.

 

[Worldie]

It sounds to me that they don't intend for everyone to fight all 151 trainers. Rather, they intend for people to only do their favorites.

Doesn't make it any less of a b**** for completionists.

I would be quite worried if there's anyone around whose favourite pokemon is say, Metapod or Kakuna, and since by the wording of the interview there is supposed to be a Master for every Pokemon, that'd imply it was still meant to be a completionist objective.

 

[Theorymon]

I would be quite worried if there's anyone around whose favourite pokemon is say, Metapod or Kakuna, and since by the wording of the interview there is supposed to be a Master for every Pokemon, that'd imply it was still meant to be a completionist objective.

If the internet has taught me anything, it’s that not only is every Pokemon someone’s favorite pokemon, it’s also their fetish. I don’t blame gamefreak for bot walking through that mine field lol

Then again it makes the kanto only mons + meltan even stranger

 

[Kanburi]

New trailer:

Master Trainers confirmed to have one Pokemon:

That, and no held items allowed. Probably obvious, but they'll likely have perfect IVs, EVs, and optimized movesets.

 

[TheMantyke]

Lapras has been given Solar Beam again!? It was only obtainable through Gen 1 TMs before on it, neat to see it again. That said, we've had things that rely on past gen Move tutors before like Lysandre's Iron Head Gyarados so I guess nothing can be said for certain until we have movepool data.

 

[Worldie]

"They use unexpected attacks" - So the "advantage" they have is that they have tutored moves while we potentially don't.

That, and no held items allowed. Probably obvious, but they'll likely have perfect IVs, EVs, and optimized movesets.

Quite sure this means "No active items" , like potions and stuff, as there's already no held items to begin with.

....I was really expecting something remotely more fun...

Can't wait for the Ditto and Magikarp specialists.... :|

#disappointment

 

[Siggu]

Can't wait for the Ditto and Magikarp specialists.... :|

The Struggle is real.

No, seriously.

 

[Marty]

This seems like an unreasonable buff, even if it is Candy boosts or whatever is going on here. Giving the equivalent of 32 base stat points to any one stat sounds busted.

this Charizard

regular Charizard