Pokémon Let's Go! - Pikachu and Eevee

[Rapti]

um, it's an ancient Pokemon? The Pokemon with an industrial produced bolt head and a wire tail with modern day insulated wire covering... is from an ancient culture that wrote on stone tablets?

And this is the reason why I would call this pokemon lazy; the design is fine, it's animations make it cute, and if its entry said something like "this pokemon was accidentaly created in a lab in an experiment to something or other" I'd be fine with it

as is it makes no sense

what are you doing with this game Gamefreak?

 

[PsychicAcademic]

As of now though, anything can happen. As they say "research is undergoing" (and probably hinting a relation with Ditto as GO goes), this is probably just the start and we will get more information about it as time goes, giving it more lore or maybe even alternate forme (think Hoopa) or straight evolution (yes, this is controversial, but legends had done it twice already, by SuMn GF had broken many patterns, and my main point was that...). Anything can happen and only GF and time will tell.

I certainly hope that they'll make it justifiable to sit in the same class with the likes of Jirachi, Shaymin, or Victini.
Of course, if they fail at that, this will explain:

Dittonut

 

[TimG57867]

I mean to be honest, there wouldn't be such a massive need to for old Pokemon to get new evolutions with better BSTs and movesets if Game Freak didn't make so many garbage Pokemon in the first place.

And it's not like methods like Exclusive Z moves, Mega Evolutions, and regional variants don't have their own share of flaws.

Z Moves and Mega's are tied to items. For items, Game Freak can arbitrarily choose not to include the item in the initial games for a new generation so you have to wait until they do their limited time distribution or release the next set of games with items that should have been there to begin with. Or worse, an old Pokemon gets these buffs LATER in the gen which makes them incompatible with the old games. Want to use Kommonim Z in SM Battle Tree? Too but. Ultra exclusive. And Mega Evolutions can overshadow the old mon just as much as regular ones. Who gives a flying Hoothoot about Mawile when its Mega exists? Plus these can just get banned from a format on a whim.

As for regionals, those can be just as bad as evolutions as far as overshadowing goes. I don't think I've seen regular Muk, Marowak, or Ninetails be relevant in ages. And Alolan Dugtrio just feel flat on its face. Plus now they have to implement region exclusive forms in regions beyond Alola.

Ability, Movepool, Typing and Stat buffs are the only real way to improve a mon without having it get restricted or overshadowed in some way as that's simply fixing it.

And considering transporation and long distance communication are a thing, pretty much ALL new mechanics for buffing old mons will core lore fridge logic by making you wonder why old regions weren't told of this stuff unless it was just discovered which for most of these is not the case. Fairy typing suddenly coming out of the blue is especially glaring.

If Game Freak REALLY doesn't want to overshadow old stuff with new evolutions so badly, simply take the Porygon Z route and repurpose them. You make a new mon that does its own thing and even buff the old mon with Eviolite. Plus it makes them more fun to use in game. Rather than bench my Magneton, I can train him into a wicked Magnezone!

There's really no perfect solution so there's no reason to just abandon approaches just as people grow to love them imo.

As for National Dex, I feel it's become more moot of an issue now that it's tied to Pokebank. Regional Dex is way more relevant at this time and Game Freak can easily bunch the mons together there.

 

[Worldie]

if Game Freak didn't make so many garbage Pokemon in the first place.

You're being a bit too utopian there: even assuming you were able to make every single pokemon with identical stats, there's always going to be worse Pokemon, and gen 1-2 suffer from having bad Pokemon even more than the games after because the Pokemon competitive was so young + the game was still in its early stages and you would not even know *what* makes a Pokemon good.

Pokemon that in gen 1 were powerhouses and in gen 2 were very strong (see: Exeggutor, Snorlax, Articuno, Marowak, Raikou, etc) just fell awfully once the mechanics started to solidify and power creep started to take place.

In a game with 800+ pokemon, even taking only the full evolved pokemon, we're talking of at least 400+ entryes. There's NO way you'd ever have 400 competitive Pokemon.
In every scenario that allows picking of several characters (see, Mobas, Fighter games like Smash, etc), there's always going to be a bare minimum of "viable" choices, some "niche", and a huge pile of garbage.
If anything, Pokemon has always had a pretty healthy chunk of viable mons (let's pretend CHALK never existed okay) in almost every generation.
This year's VGC is also being surprisingly varied so far, much more than 2016, I'll hope this trend continues.

Also I got lost in randomness, what I actually was pointing at is: it's unrealistic. There's always going to be a large majority of bad/unviable Pokemon, no matter how good the design is.

 

[TimG57867]

You're being a bit too utopian there: even assuming you were able to make every single pokemon with identical stats, there's always going to be worse Pokemon, and gen 1-2 suffer from having bad Pokemon even more than the games after because the Pokemon competitive was so young + the game was still in its early stages and you would not even know *what* makes a Pokemon good.

Pokemon that in gen 1 were powerhouses and in gen 2 were very strong (see: Exeggutor, Snorlax, Articuno, Marowak, Raikou, etc) just fell awfully once the mechanics started to solidify and power creep started to take place.

In a game with 800+ pokemon, even taking only the full evolved pokemon, we're talking of at least 400+ entryes. There's NO way you'd ever have 400 competitive Pokemon.
In every scenario that allows picking of several characters (see, Mobas, Fighter games like Smash, etc), there's always going to be a bare minimum of "viable" choices, some "niche", and a huge pile of garbage.
If anything, Pokemon has always had a pretty healthy chunk of viable mons (let's pretend CHALK never existed okay) in almost every generation.
This year's VGC is also being surprisingly varied so far, much more than 2016, I'll hope this trend continues.

Also I got lost in randomness, what I actually was pointing at is: it's unrealistic. There's always going to be a large majority of bad/unviable Pokemon, no matter how good the design is.

You misunderstand. I know it’s impossible to make to a game where 800+ are good at the same time. I am specifically referring to Pokémon that were just made straight up bad from the get go and serve no purpose.

Yanma. Noespass. Murkrow. Aipom, Mawile etc. These NEVER had a chance of being good even in their inception. And that includes in game. And then you got mons which could be usable if they weren’t seemingly intentionally gimped (looks at Pyroar).

My point is that Game Freak wouldn’t have to go out of their way to make such blatantly awful Pokemon usable later if they didn’t make them so horrible in the first place. I am not saying that I demand they make every Pokémon equally good in every format or respect.

Of course if they wanted them to be horrible (think Unown and Luvdisc) then so be it. Nothing we can do about that.

 

[Worldie]

I am unsure if all those were made "bad by default".
Murkrow was one of the first dark types, Mawile was made as countepart of Sableye with very similar stats (just one happened to have a good ability and moveset, the other didn't).

Sure, every gen has its share of "intentionally trash mons" like the rodent families, but the presence of so many in early gens is a product of them not knowing even *how* to balance and still not building the game with a competitive aspect in mind.

 

[TimG57867]

I am unsure if all those were made "bad by default".
Murkrow was one of the first dark types, Mawile was made as countepart of Sableye with very similar stats (just one happened to have a good ability and moveset, the other didn't).

Sure, every gen has its share of "intentionally trash mons" like the rodent families, but the presence of so many in early gens is a product of them not knowing even *how* to balance and still not building the game with a competitive aspect in mind.

Yeah I can feel that. While you have blatant cases like Beedrill, others are likely victims of misdesign.

Although it makes you wonder why they don’t buff Pokémon to function like they wanted them to more often/quickly. It took 5 Gens for Mantine to finally function like the defensive mon it was meant to be. Lol

 

[Worldie]

Although it makes you wonder why they don’t buff Pokémon to function like they wanted them to more often/quickly. It took 5 Gens for Mantine to finally function like the defensive mon it was meant to be. Lol

Well the fact they *try* is something.

Gen 7 actually significantly impacted a few mons that got pure stat buffs or ability additions (See, Mantine / Pelipper), and obviously some otherwise subpar mons like Arcanine actually become competitively viable during the first VGC year of every gen due to the fact it's played on limited Pokedex.

One also has to keep in mind that the official competitive format is VGC, with BSS singles somewhat also considered, and that has a huge impact on the viability/nonviability of a lot of Pokemon compared to what a standard smogon player would assume (cough cough Incineroar)

 

[TimG57867]

One also has to keep in mind that the official competitive format is VGC, with BSS singles somewhat also considered, and that has a huge impact on the viability/nonviability of a lot of Pokemon compared to what a standard smogon player would assume (cough cough Incineroar)

Yeah this is why ever since the middle of last gen I have been trying to expand my investment in game facilities and official formats because many Pokémon that suffer in Smogon Tiers excel in official formats and in game.

Still just sad though when they crank out that mon with no chance of being good anywhere.

Seriously what were they smoking with Alolan Duggy Lol.

I do wonder how it’ll turn out in Let’s Go as one of the only Steel types available though.

 

[Worldie]

Seriously what were they smoking with Alolan Duggy Lol.

Honestly I don't think they intended A-dugtrio to make bad, just failed to realize that the only thing that makes Dugtrio useful is Arena Trap and without that Dugtrio is just a terrible mon.
Losing speed for some attack in Alolan form doesn't help either when frail mons *need* speed.

If A-dugtrio had kept Arena Trap or got Magnet Pull instead of a... ability that'd make sense on a bulky mon and not a paperthin one, things'd have been potentially different.

 

[TimG57867]

Honestly I don't think they intended A-dugtrio to make bad, just failed to realize that the only thing that makes Dugtrio useful is Arena Trap and without that Dugtrio is just a terrible mon.
Losing speed for some attack in Alolan form doesn't help either when frail mons *need* speed.

If A-dugtrio had kept Arena Trap or got Magnet Pull instead of a... ability that'd make sense on a bulky mon and not a paperthin one, things'd have been potentially different.

Oh they definitely wanted Alolan Dug to be usable. But taking Arena Trap off it was a major misstep.

If they had just left Arena Trap but went ahead with making Alolan Dugtrio slower but stronger the 2 Dugs would both be usable without outclassing each other.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Alolan Duggy isn't actually stronger than Bald Duggy. They moved those 10 points of speed into defense. Because 10 points of defense are totally going to save something with 35 base HP.

 

[Worldie]

oh i thought they moved them to attack... even worse >_>

It's funny cause Tangling Hair on a bulky defensive mon that's hard to 1hko would have probably been a pretty solid ability. Definitely not on a paperthin thing...

 

[Siggu]

Alolan Duggy isn't actually stronger than Bald Duggy. They moved those 10 points of speed into defense. Because 10 points of defense are totally going to save something with 35 base HP.

What are you talking about?

252 Atk Absol-Mega Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dugtrio: 204-241 (96.6 - 114.2%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Absol-Mega Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dugtrio-Alola: 178-210 (84.3 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Now, forgetting about that (horrible) joke of mine and... well, Alolan Dugtrio's ability and stat distribution is a disaster. I wonder what they even wanted to do with it. I mean, Sand Force is neat, but regular Dugtrio also has it, so it's not really a difference.

 

[Worldie]

I mean, Sand Force is neat, but regular Dugtrio also has it, so it's not really a difference.

To be honest A-Dugtrio at least also has a Steel stab to go with Sand Force, Dugtrio itself only has Ground Rock and.... Sucker punch + Tri Attack as offensive moves D:

 

[Kanburi]

50 day countdown

Still undecided on the game myself...

 

[lucariomaster2]

50 day countdown

Still undecided on the game myself...

Not gonna be buying the games myself, but I will say that picture is super cute.

 

[PsychicAcademic]

50 day countdown

Still undecided on the game myself...

BTW, OOT but I had actually been wondering if there's a reference to the glyph as seen in Pikachu's pedestal, either translating to latin alphabet or kana (most likely the latter). I have been seeing these "Pokemon glyphs/kana/rune" in anipoke and this game and wants to find the full set.

 

[Kanburi]

Eevee countdown

 

[lucariomaster2]

Serebii today uploaded some pictures of the Pokemon stat screen and bag UI. And I must admit... they look amazing. While I still wish they would subdivide the "Items" category further, I love the idea of Items being accessible directly from the top menu with medicine, Pokeballs (which finally have their own subcategory again!), etc. having their own directories in a way.

While the stat screen doesn't offer any new information to the player, it's beautifully presented.

 

[Siggu]

While the stat screen doesn't offer any new information to the player, it's beautifully presented.

There's something odd in those screens in regards to the starter, though:

"Came to the Kanto region through some mysterious force"
"Met each other again in Pallet Town"

 

[doipy hooves]

Serebii today uploaded some pictures of the Pokemon stat screen and bag UI. .

Serebii also uploaded the gameplay videos so you can see more story stuff like the first rival and Brock battle. Also some levelups with the bonus stat thing. Pikachu has big gains.

https://serebii.net/letsgopikachueevee/videos.shtml

I think that "mysterious force" met message will be used for Pokemon GO transfer mons in the final version.

level 8 gains

EDIT: Nidoran F learns Double Kick at 9 like the main games, but has Poison Sting before that when it's learned at 13 normally.
There's some kind of "Catch Combo" mechanic that tracks how many of the same Pokemon you catch in a row.

 

[Siggu]

By the way, we got a clarification on how to catch Pokémon while on portable mode. Turns out, you can aim with your joystick and press a button to throw.

However, motion controls can't be disabled, or so it seems.

 

[Worldie]

So I've been watching a bit of gameplay footages and commentary since they finally got provided by TPCI to the people present in UK.

The first main impression is that PLGO is indeed meant to be a mainly PvE oriented game, centered about the story (and a potential postgame).
So for the first time, I heard a positive comment about the removal of the items.

If you think about your standard in-game runs, you've not really used held items. The items that you generally obtain during the storyline are things like Magnet, Charcoal, Berries, occasionally Leftovers or Quick Claw, but that's as far as it gets. Those items essentially provide minor survivability or boost the damage of a single skill type.
All the *actual* competitive items like Life Orb, Choice items, etc, are always locked to a postgame, generally behind battle facilities or similar things, and are really only used either there or in competitive scenario.
In PLGO, not only there's no real competitive scenario (as it got confirmed that it won't even have a Battle Spot, so the only real *PvP* you'd be doing is casually dueling with friends), and there might not be any battle facility, so losing those items doesn't really matter.
Plus, due to the whole Candy system inherited from Go, which do provide "EVs" or their equivalent, you will be essentially running Pokemon that will have the EVs you desire (wild battles do not reward EV, only trainer battles and candyes do), which ultimately can easily equal to having access to those minor ingame items.

Obviously, you can't make a similar discussion for Abilities, as removing them does indeed remove a bit of the "strategy" aspect of the game and simplify in-battle decisions, though, since PLGO is a game aimed at making you play against the AI and "have fun" so to say, it definitely is an annoyance but not as much as a *disaster that makes the game crap* as people really make it look like. Expecially as most of the storyline mons, expecially gen 1 ones, don't actually have impactful non-hidden abilities.

All in all, I somewhat agree with the person, and I think the decision of keeping Natures, IV and EVs while removing Abilities and Items as "compromise" between the core series and Go is acceptable.

(I'd still have kept the abilities, obviously, but i'm not TPCI :P )

By the way, we got a clarification on how to catch Pokémon while on portable mode. Turns out, you can aim with your joystick and press a button to throw.

However, motion controls can't be disabled.

This is a disappointment, but heh. Peace.

“Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! do not require players to use motion controls or physical gestures when in Handheld Mode. Instead, players can use the joystick on the left Joy-Con controller to aim and press the A button to throw a Poké Ball. The simulated throwing motion associated with the Joy-Con controllers or Poké Ball Plus are intended to enhance the gameplay experience, but are not required to play these games.”

Guess I'll just keep the controllers attacked.

 

[Codraroll]

However, motion controls can't be disabled, or so it seems.

Sometimes, I have a feeling that motion controls are the pet project of some Nintendo higher-up who simply refuses to see that it isn't applicable for every situation. Super Mario Odyssey required you to shake the controller a lot. USUM had the extremely crappy wormhole controls that could only be changed in an obscure way. BotW put them in some minigames nobody liked. PLGO seems to require you to use them too, even though a button could have done exactly the same job. It's like they are mandating all first-party games to include motion controls to some degree, even though fans absolutely detest them.