Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October

[Sirya]

So when a Tyranitar gets burned it's not a physical injury but a mental issue?

It's more like a shame, because you've lost your physical attacker.

 

[GG Unit]

Tyranitar is also described as having a body that cannot be harmed by any sort of attack, which literally never has been true or made sense. Pokédex descriptions are a non-argument.

All of this is obviously speculation and I'm not looking to argue something that nobody here can prove, but this new dragon doesn't feel like a fully-evolved monster to me for some reason. That being said, I might be biased since I really do not like its design and hope that it changes into something better upon evolution.

If its unevolved form can OHKO Tyranitar in sand with a special attack, its evolved form might as well be Dialga.

 

[Chanderule]

Well, if they did manipulate IVs and nature then Duraludon might have under 90 base special attack
Anyway, to me it looks like Drampa/Druddigon equivalent, does anybody know what were its other moves

EDIT: whoops, forgot to check sandstorm, at the very worst its 58

 

[Magcargo]

Duraludon seems like it'd be a single stage evolution in the same vein as Turtonator and Drampa moreso than being part of a psuedo-legendary line just strictly based on its hp and weight (there isn't a single psuedo legendary that has less than 80 base HP or weighs under 100 lbs to my knowledge). I could maybe see it being part of a two-stage family, but no more than that. That aside, Duraludon looks pretty sick. Great design, amazing typing, and apparently pretty decent special attack and speed. The only thing that really disappoints me about it is its abilities, which are functionally worthless.

The other two new Pokemon aren't quite as exciting. Rolycoly looks pretty lame to be quite honest, though its nice to see that it apparently has pretty decent speed. Alcremie is adorable and I find it's gigantimaxed form pretty funny.

Don't particularly care about Gigantimaxing, though I am worried that it may skew the balance of Dynamaxing in favor of mons who can Gigantimax.

New characters are hit or miss. Chairman Ross and his secretary seem obvious as the evil team leaders, but unremarkable outside of that. Allister has one of the most interesting gym leader designs so far just because of his mask. Bea looks pretty respectable, but a bit too plain compared to Allister.

 

[Gladio]

Well, if they did manipulate IVs and nature then Duraludon might have under 90 base special attack
Anyway, to me it looks like Drampa/Druddigon equivalent, does anybody know what were its other moves

EDIT: whoops, forgot to check sandstorm, at the very worst its 58

Duraludon's moveset is Do-or-Die (Steel Mind Blown) / Flash Cannon / Dragonbreath / Metal Sound , and it has been shown in its introductory trailer that it also has Metal Claw in its level up moveset (unless they pull an XY Gardevoir and remove it in the actual game).

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Duraludon seems like it'd be a single stage evolution in the same vein as Turtonator and Drampa moreso than being part of a psuedo-legendary line just strictly based on its hp and weight (there isn't a single psuedo legendary that has less than 80 base HP or weighs under 100 lbs to my knowledge).

Friendly reminder to everyone that "pseudo-legendary" is an entirely fan-made term, and that trying to figure out if something is or isn't a pseudo-legendary based on the characteristics of previous pseudos isn't always very helpful, because many of the factors that make a Pokemon a pseudo-legendary or not are largely arbitrary. Prior to Gen 6, you could say "that's not a pseudo because it only has one type" but then Goodra came along and threw a wrench in that idea.

Also, Kommo-o has base 75 HP.

 

[Worldie]

Friendly reminder to everyone that "pseudo-legendary" is an entirely fan-made term, and that trying to figure out if something is or isn't a pseudo-legendary based on the characteristics of previous pseudos isn't always very helpful, because many of the factors that make a Pokemon a pseudo-legendary or not are largely arbitrary. Prior to Gen 6, you could say "that's not a pseudo because it only has one type" but then Goodra came along and threw a wrench in that idea.

Also, Kommo-o has base 75 HP.

While it is a "fanmade" term, Pseudo leges have been a constant of all games, and still keep several common perks, main ones being the 600 BST, slow evolutionary curve, and being 3stages, and it's been a constant of all gens as well.

Now, obviously it's GF so you can make a point for inconsistence, but I think it's safe to expect that we're getting a pseudo lege this gen as well.

Does it *have* to be Duraludon? No, definitely. But I'm confident we'll get to have one.

 

[Chanderule]

Pseudos are something GF makes on purpose given how every Gen had 1 (or 2 in the case of Gen 3) non-legendary Mon with EXACTLY 600
The highest non-legendary non-mythical and non-pseudo total is otherwise 555 I think, if you exclude Slaking

 

[Merritt]

Pseudos are something GF makes on purpose given how every Gen had 1 (or 2 in the case of Gen 3) non-legendary Mon with EXACTLY 600
The highest non-legendary non-mythical and non-pseudo total is otherwise 555 I think, if you exclude Slaking

Even if you exclude the UBs which are not legendary and have 570 BST, the highest non-pseudo/legendary/mythical/mega/UB/Slaking is Archeops with 567.

Also, it's possible Duraludon is the second stage of the pseudo, though it'd surprise me, and the final stage is somewhat less Steel-Gigalith looking.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

So when a Tyranitar gets burned it's not a physical injury but a mental issue?

I imagine Tyranitar can feel pain but its thick hide is hard to actually destroy or damage/break. So even when it's on fire it will feel the pain of the burn but its thick armor won't be fazed by the fire at all. A Close Combat will knock the thing unconscious and cause it to fall over and faint from the pain of the assault but its rock-hard armor will still not see any dents or damages from the repeated punches and kicks. Probably the best way to put it.

Friendly reminder to everyone that "pseudo-legendary" is an entirely fan-made term, and that trying to figure out if something is or isn't a pseudo-legendary based on the characteristics of previous pseudos isn't always very helpful, because many of the factors that make a Pokemon a pseudo-legendary or not are largely arbitrary. Prior to Gen 6, you could say "that's not a pseudo because it only has one type" but then Goodra came along and threw a wrench in that idea.

Also, Kommo-o has base 75 HP.

Pseudo-legendary largely describes a very clear and deliberate pattern of Pokemon that Game Freak has intentionally implemented into the games. We just use a fan name to describe them, because they haven't coined an official term for it yet.

Yeah, some criteria people have tried to use has been arbitrary, but there are several constants all the Pokemon fitting the pseudo-legendary pattern fit that are in fact clear cut criteria Game Freak uses, which are:

- Three-stage evolutionary line
- Slow EXP Group (1,250,000 EXP to reach Level 100)
- Consistent catch rate across all evolutionary stages (Almost always 45)
- Base form has BST of 300, Final form has BST of 600

All other common characteristics pseudos have historically had are generally arbitrary, but in terms of in-game data, all of the pseudo-legendaries that have existed thus far have managed to fit these four particular criteria. If Duraludon is in fact the pseudo, it will most certainly fulfill these four criteria: it will be part of a three-stage family, it will require 1,250,000 EXP to reach Level 100, if it is the final form, it will have a BST of 600 (and the base form will have a BST of 300), and all three evo stages will have the same catch rate (presumably 45).

So while the name "pseudo-legendary" is fan-made, the pattern most certainly is not, and all of the Pokemon that fit the pattern in question fulfill four very deliberate criteria that define the pattern.

Japan's side of the fandom has coined a rather clearer term for the pseudos arguably, and the Japanese Pokemon fans call them the "600 Club", which is a more clearly definable pattern, but yeah.


Anyway, with regards to the discussion on Duraludon. I think it is very possible for Duraludon to be the pseudo-legendary this generation, but we'll need more information to be certain about it, namely the criteria I just talked about (if it's part of a three-stage evo line, that is). The fact that almost all the battles we saw it in had it facing a Tyranitar (a known pseudo-legendary) is definitely a pointer, based on precedent (case in point: Kommo-o, who was always seen in Sun/Moon and USUM trailers facing a Garchomp and/or Salamence). It's not a certainty yet, but it's very much a possibility and it could in fact have very high stats outside of its HP.

In any case though, I'm loving Duraludon. It's like a Mecha-Godzilla (to Tyranitar's Godzilla), and its design is slick, the typing is rad (Dragon/Steel is incredible), with it being a Dragon that can take on Fairy-types well (others being Dragalge and to an extent Goodra, the latter thanks to its godly special bulk and reliable Poison coverage), and if it has a good stat spread and movepool, I think we'll be in for a damn good Dragon to join the army of powerful Dragons.

Of course, it's entirely possible it'll be a single-stage ordinary Dragon like Druddigon, Turtonator, and Drampa, but even then I think it'll still have potential to be a good Pokemon. It'll be even better if it's a pseudo, but we'll see!

 

[Chanderule]

Im just hoping to have at least one non-dragon pseudo this time

 

[Worldie]

Im just hoping to have at least one non-dragon pseudo this time

While normally I would agree with you, this time it'd be a unique-ish typing (that also happens to not be a disgraceful type and one I was waiting for ages) so I can accept the (mini)mechagodzilla if it's the case.

 

[Yung Dramps]

I was gonna post this a while back, but the thread got locked before I could do so. Better late than never, I guess.

If you are aware of the Nexus showdown server (nexus.psim.us), we have recently built a preliminary Sword and Shield metagame. Not only does this "prototype meta" have Dynamaxing programmed in, but we have also so far only used returning Pokemon confirmed for the Galar dex, including Corviknight, who we simulated by estimating its stats from the demo and giving it Skarmory's movepool.

While what we have now will obviously change significantly with more new reveals, this is still a fascinating preview at what the next generation of OU could look like. In these lands, Weavile, Gyarados, Hawlucha and Dugtrio are the new kings, with Roserade, Clefable, Hydreigon, Tyranitar, Gengar, Golisopod, Jolteon, Hippowdon, Quagsire, Diggersby, Corviknight and most recently Kommo-o as the princes and princesses. Most interestingly, however, is how out of the currently confirmed fully evolved Pokemon, most all of them have found some sort of viable niche or role, even if they aren't meta-defining. Slurpuff thrives as a surprisingly threatening Belly Drum sweeper that takes advantage of Webs and occasionally screens to find room to set up and clean. Arcanine is a fearsome all-out attacker, as well as one of the meta's few viable Fire types with Close Combat to circumvent Tyranitar. Pelipper and Ludicolo form a dangerous rain combo that can wash away unprepared teams. Trick Room is an unironically good playstyle now with good setters like Mimikyu, Bronzong and Dusclops and lethal cleaners such as Snorlax, Machamp and Vikavolt. Even the humble Noctowl has found a place as a very niche but potentially powerful Dynamax cleaner on Webs/Screens teams, as well as Charizard, who in spite of the loss of its Mega forms finds a role as a nuke against slower teams under the Sun. Speaking of which, Dynamax has shown itself to be a very promising mechanic. Many have derided it already as a seemingly even more unbalanced version of Z-moves, and admittedly there is some truth to this, for they are certainly more powerful. And yet, despite being outright stronger, we feel they are more balanced and "skill-based" in a way. Unlike the fairly one-note Z-moves, Dynamaxing adds a new layer of strategy: Save my Dynamax for now or later, and what mon should I use it on when the opportunity presents itself? You also can't use set-up or healing moves while the state is active, adding even greater risk and reward. This mechanic making the meta more offensive has also allowed trapping to come back slightly; while Wobbuffet and Wynaut are still too much, Dugtrio has found a place as a strong but not necessarily OP trapper.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-360
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-363
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-365
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-371
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-398
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-568
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-578
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-587
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nexus-gen7swordshield-589

Here are some replays. We also have a WIP spreadsheet courtesy of Ezaphs with all the info on the meta needed, including a Viability Rankings.

So what should you take from this post? Well, if anything from this sticks out in your mind, let it be this: While many changes and additions are surely inbound, may they rest soundly knowing that if the final metagame bears even the most remote resemblance to what we have playtested and experimented with over the past couple of days, it'll without a shred of a doubt be one of the greatest OU generations of all time.

 

[Ironmage]

That's nice, but I've never played OU seriously (I never had a fondness for the main competitive format). How are the lower tiers, or my tier with the most playtime, monotype?

 

[Yung Dramps]

That's nice, but I've never played OU seriously (I never had a fondness for the main competitive format). How are the lower tiers, or my tier with the most playtime, monotype?

Our playerbase isn't really big enough to cobble together a proper UU tier, though if I had to give it a try I'd probably ban everything in B+ or above, do some playtesting and then steadily allow banned things little by little. Similar thing goes for Monotype.

 

[earl]

That's nice, but I've never played OU seriously (I never had a fondness for the main competitive format). How are the lower tiers, or my tier with the most playtime, monotype?

Lower tiers would still form albeit with a lower power level (no tiers would be gone given we still have at least 400 mons or so, if ADV can have a ZU so can SwSh lol), and monotype would have to wait until the full list is revealed for an actual look at the meta there, as it would be with any of the metas, including OU

 

[Worldie]

On positive note, at least for once gen 8 might not have an actual Ubers list that's bigger than OU itself :P

 

[DHR-107]

Not really the place to discuss competitive talk as of yet. You're jumping to a whole lot of conclusions there based on little evidence (and an even smaller Pokemon pool than normal). The Powers That Be will have a competitive forum to talk about that stuff when the time comes.

I for one welcome our giant wedding cake overlord. This has gotten me interested than the Treehouse which left me somewhat deflated. I just wish I'd had some forbearance before they released the damn trailer with no announcement or anything! It looks like the "World" graphics have been improving over each trailer (Pokeballs have shadows, gym leaders with non-default Pokeballs) and the People look really good. Maybe that is where most of the animation time has gone!

 

[Worldie]

Maybe that is where most of the animation time has gone!

Well, if their excuse for the Dexit was really animations, they better do a proper job at them :P

So far the world and environment still looks gorgeous though. I hope the Switch can maintain proper FPS in handheld as well though, as I mostly play that way. I don't want another 5 FPS Battle Tree, no excuse for that :X

 

[Tmi489]

what if duraudon is version exclusive?
TTar is, and dura is stated to constantly fight it, so it would make less sense if it was in the game without TTar.
if that is the case, then 2nd pseudo hype? I feel both would be revealed though so likely not a psuedo

 

[TenshouYoku]

On an unrelated note, I am not too worried about Gigantmaxing Pokemons being too overpowered or would cause the same issues as Megas ruining the meta. These Pokemons are "limited to specific individuals" for a reason, and most likely they won't be allowed for tournament plays. (Unless they will be, and they are breedable and can pass their Gigantmaxing capabilities to their offsprings, in which case it is indeed a potentially serious problem and a massive brainfart in GF's case.)

 

[Pikachu315111]

Page 55

Surprises me to see Kommo-O in the game despite Z-crystals not existing actually. It was one of the pokemon i was 100% sure it'd not make the cut.

Hmm, I wonder if they might actually include all of the non-Legendary/Ultra Beast Gen VII Pokemon since they're the "current" newest so having them all in would make the transition to a restricted dex a bit smoother for those new players who started with Gen VII. It would only be 61 Pokemon (counting the Starters, also didn't count Meltan family since they're obviously in for various reasons). Maybe they could also include Magearna, Marshadow and Zeroara, being Event Pokemon they don't need to make them obtainable unless they want to do a distribution or leave as a bonus for players who got them last gen to use (maybe also Poipole for its special treatment above other Ultra Beasts).

Gigantamax is going to outclass Dynamax so hard that you might as well forget about the whole Dynamax thing months before release.

Yeah, Z-Crystals had the same issue. Though to be fair, since all Max Moves have an effect such as activating a certain weather or terrain those may have some niche uses in competitive (similar to how the elemental Z-Moves had their niches).

This... thing's ability has been explained. It will pick up any Poké Ball (or equivalent) you throw that fails to catch a wild Pokémon as a held item. So unless there's some Knock Off or Bestow thing, it only works once.

If it could learn Fling (which is doubtful) that's one way it could get rid of the item, though honestly wouldn't make the Ability any better. Only use I can see is if they pull the same "limited supply" thing with the Apricorn Poke Balls again where you only get a few. Otherwise it's kind of a pointless Ability as it has no use in battle and it'll save you what, at most 1k by fetching one of the specialty balls you can buy in bulk.

Are we getting version exclusive gyms this generation? Bea (fighting type) had a Sword logo in her intro and Allistar (Ghost) had the shield logo.

Would be a good way to shake up the games imo.

Speaking of which, some math!

If they have 4 Gym Leaders be version exclusive (which means 8 Gym Leaders total), that would be a total of 12 Types leaving 6 Type remaining. Now, what if they also do something similar with the Elite Four, have two of their members be version exclusive? That would cover the remaining 6 Types, meaning we could have a Pokemon League which has specialists for all the Types between both versions!

I'll post detailed thoughts on everything later, but the fact Drednaw gets a Gigantamax form seems to strongly imply it is a one-stager with no evolution.

I sort of got that feeling when I first saw it, it reminded me of Druddigon and Turtonator in that way. Going to also guess Alcremie and Corviknight are also single stage, if any Alcremie having a prevo but it looks alright on its own.

We had Clair and Lance in the past so a gym leader and a league member specializing in the same type is not out of the question.
Also, Juan and Wallace.

Lance and Wallace were Champions however, they're sort of excluded since Champions don't have to be Type Specialists. It just so happened that Lance, Wallace, and Iris were Type Specialists in a gen which had a Gym Leader of the same Type. However a better example you could have given would be Bruno & Chuck in Gen II (and by extension, Sabrina & Will and Janine & Koga). Of course this was Gen II and with them having 16 Gym Leaders and 4 Elite Four members they covered all the Types with some to spare.

> Game Freak BECARIO: ... I know I'm the new guy here but... Why Heatproof? What does that acomplish? If you want it to resist Fire type attacks better, why won't u use Sandstream, which is arguably a greater ability and provides it with a nice SpD boost to tank powerful SpA Fire attacks along with boosting its SpD in every area?

Remember this is the same people that gave Thick Fat to the Seel family, Marill family, Spheal family, and Tepig family (except for Emboar).

Page 56

There's something oddly satisfying about Rolycoly having not legs nor wings but a single wheel as mean of locomotion imho. Here's hoping it evolves into some sort of rocky automaton or a massive Rock engine with wheels.

Also, raise your hand if you thought that Allister was a girl.

I can see Rolycoly becoming a tank-like thing.

I've spent so many years playing Pokemon I can tell whether a character is a girl or feminine boy.

Looks like we get to actually catch event Pokémon this time.

At least the non-Mythical ones.

Also, this guy 100% looks like a Motobug from Sonic. Will be very disappointed if it using Tackle does not result in rings bursting out of your Pokémon.

Or if it faints a crack appears on its back and a Pidgey (or another gen bird) flies out. :P

Also, I just realized something. If Gigantamax Pikachu is really a thing, it will likely be able to hold a Light Ball. Arceus help us.

... Eh, still wouldn't be good. At least it's said to look like it's original Gen I sprite which would be fun to see in 3D:

Think it would get one of Pikachu's Z-Moves? Guessing 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt as I don't think the trainer would be able to throw it up to do Catastropika.

Actually, on a related note, do you think they'll let you transfer up the Cap Pikachu?

I love how happy it looks, lol! SLABS OF COAL FOR EVERYONE! *Everyone flees as blocks of coals hit people like a cannon ball*

With the difference that the Champion is known as such the whole time.

How does that make a difference for Charizard getting a new form being the Champion's ace?

Page 57

That's it. That's the kind of question you, as a player who's going to pay for the product, should be doing to yourself. This, this is the kind of actitude that will make you an excelent member of Game Freak.

Now that they've ripped off Mega Evolution, why would I want a new design for a Pokémon that is going to get a new form no matter what, when they can just re-use -as if this game wasn't about reusing already- a pre-existent one.

Me, personally, can't wait to see a Mega Evolution that i've been playing with since 2013 now that they have the opportunity to give me, at least, an original new design. Keep doing great, and never let anyone put down your attitude.

Is it such a crime to want them to keep designs that we liked? They already got rid of the Mega Evolution mechanic so they have the designs which many people liked just lying around now. Why not re-use them? As I said in my original post, they could just make the forms the Pokemon turn into during Mega Evolution and Gigantamaxing just "super forms" which the Pokemon can access a number of ways.

Problem is... it'll look like they're lazy too if they do recycle Mega-X like that even if it is efficient, as... you know.

At this point it's pick your poison, GF haven't made things easy for themselves with the recent decisions so honestly it's up to each person to decide what the consolation they'll accept. Though no matter what they're going to disappoint a large number of people.

That's typical "anime protagonist standing defiantly strong" pose. It's actually the most basic pose you can draw a character, next to t-posing.

Are we all agree that the president or Liv are bad guys ?

You mean we're not supposed to think that?

Do we have any idea who Raihan is?

Probably childhood rival and the leader of the Team Skull expies we're supposed to think are jerks but turns out they've been trying to expose Chairman Rose and Leon. :P

That said, having him be evil seems like it would be kind of a rehash of Lusamine, so I don't know.

Kid's game.

So, I noticed a detail which I don't think anyone has pointed out yet.

View attachment 184998
Pokemon-specific move particle effects/animations? This was a move shown off in the trailer, and I'm 99% sure it's Play Nice. Alcremie's entry on the website doesn't mention a signature move, and the particles are way too similar to elements of its design to just be a coincidence.

Would be nice, but probably an unmentioned Signature move that recycles the animation of Play Nice.

All things considered, I think there is a fair possibility that Alcremie somehow connects to the Swirlix line, which opens up some exciting potentials for other lines wanting a new evolution.

Would be neat if they revealed it was an alternate evolution of Swirlix. Swirlix goes from cotton candy/fairy floss to being a meringue, so why not just whipped cream evo too? Not sure what they would do to make it evolve into Acremie that would explain why its able to do it now. Maybe has to do with a new Signature Move?

Imagine if Chairman Rose turns out to be the secret leader of Team Rose and their headquarters turn out to be the Rose Stadium.

Oh, wow, didn't make that connection! Rose revealing to be the 8th Gym Leader with a special rose-shaped Gym (curious if he would be Grass- or Fairy-type, or maybe a twist and do Poison-type since Roses have thorns and the Roselia family are part Poison-type (Roserade could be his partner and it has a Gigantamax form)). Pull a Giovanni on us.

Say, wait, didn't RR Giovanni at the end of the RR Episode in USUM say he was going to do evil in another dimension? Maybe Rose was able to rise in power thanks to RR Giovanni!

Page 58

So who else isn't going to buy sword or shield? Everything they've announced is horrible.

Waiting for them to announce that rumored cheaper handheld-only Switch model. But when they do plan on getting Shield, mainly since my cousins are all getting Sword.

Duraludon:

First off, what are you supposed to be? A futuristic castle tower? What's that red cannon on your head, can you fire from it? I'm just saying I think the concept of a Steel/Dragon could have been done more clearly and less blocky.

"Why are you responding to your own post?"

Because after looking around I think I may know a bit more about Duraludon. If we're to compare it to it's apparent rival Tyranitar, who is obviously designed after Godzilla, that could mean Duraludon may be a reference to Mechagodzilla. It's meant to look like the opposite of Tyranitar is sorts of ways.

It's also looking to be a fast special attacker, which would fit with it being an opposite of Tyranitar.

I have other things to say but future posts bring up these points so I'll respond to them then.

However, that's actually a surprisingly small piece of the overall Pokemon revenue, which is 90 billion dollars. That means only about 15% of Pokemon's profit, over 22 years, is from the games. Most of it comes from merchandise. Even Pokemon GO, the most downloaded mobile game of all time, made 3.3 billion dollars. Compare this to the 3.5 billion dollars in sales from the combination of all of gen 5, 6, and 7. The collective effort of a decade by Gamefreak's devs has almost been surpassed by 2 (at the time this was recorded) years' worth of Niantic's work. For the devs, it has to be pretty disappointing, maybe enough to make them lose interest in maintaining the main series games.

...Last September Gamefreak started working on a new game, an RPG centered around defending a town from monsters, called TOWN (working title). Honestly, I think they're more interested in this new project than gen 8. If 85% of Pokemon's sales come from things not related to the main series games and they know dedicated fans will still buy a mediocre game on the Switch, then why bother making it a masterpiece when they can put their heart into something else they like more? I have to wonder how much Gamefreak, and The Pokemon Company as a whole (co-owned by Gamefreak, Nintendo, and some other entity), really care about this new game.

I think this would mainly apply to the veteran GF (Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda, Sugimori Ken, etc.). And if that's the case, maybe they should split development teams into two groups: "The Pokemon Team" and "Additional Project Team". That way those who are tired of working on Pokemon can just be part of the "Additional Project Team" (aka the veteran GF staff) while the staff they trained to take over for them and are still excited to be working on Pokemon can do what they want without the executive meddling I'm sure at least Masuda does. And hopefully they'll be more willing to listen to fans requests and create a more deeper Pokemon experience. Sure, they don't have to, but if they don't have anything to lose then why not go all out and experiment instead of constantly playing it safe?

Page 59

Now to the more uncertain part. There is a fairly common (and sensible, imo) theory that Duraludon might be this region's pseudolegendary.

I don't know, while it has the trappings of a pseudo-legendary it doesn't feel like it's being treated as such. I have my doubts. I mean let's not forget for a while Aggron was being treated as a pair with Tyranitar but it's not a pseudo-legendary.

I dunno if Town the main focus. We had it announced last year, and there was literally nothing until recently. Though I agree that the games are becoming less of a focus. Jwitz points out that the this whole RIP National Pokedex shows a huge problem in Pokemon- There's a lot of merchandise- too much to the point that delaying a game would cause a huge money loss from the other parts of the franchise- hence why Pokemon games can't have a delay. The reason games like Fire Emblem Three Houses and Animal Crossing: New Horizons can afford a delay because they don't push out nearly much merchandise, but Pokemon doesn't have that luxury. And the result is showing: Repetitive, unpolished games is a small cost for the money from the other merchandise.

Indeed, but that's all poor planning on both GameFreak's and Pokemon Company's part. They're the ones who made the end decision to have a new game out each year when there's plenty of other ways to keep the franchise fresh in people's minds (like patches to add in new content, seems to work for games like Overwatch, Warframe, Splatoon, Mario Kart, etc..). Sure, they can't delay games, but they can sure plan when they're going to release games better. At the moment all we know is Sword & Shield at the latest games coming out, they can wait two or three years till the next core series titles and another few years for the next generation and no one would complain. And between then you can release side Pokemon games and put focus on them.

I’d hold out for the translation of てっていこうせん. てってい is almost definitely 徹底, though it could also be start with 鉄 (iron). こうせん can be 光線 (beam), 交戦 (battle), 抗戦 (resistance), among others. Do-or-die would favor 交戦 but the animation definitely looks more like a beam.

According to Serebii the name is meant to be a pun. It can be translated as either "Exhaustion Beam" or "Do Or Die".

Now a English equivalent would be tricky to come up with as it too would need to reference both... AND I think I got it:

All Ore Bust

Going off the "Do Or Die" reference, I combined two similar phrases together here: "All Or Nothing" and "(Goal) Or Bust". But going off the "Exhaustion Beam" reference, that's a combination of things: I made a pun by making "Or" into "Ore" to reference it being a Steel-type move, "Bust" means both "to be tired" and also "to hit hard", so put it together and the phrase could mean the Pokemon is using all of it's Steel-type power in order to deliver a powerful attack which would leave it weakened.

... at least it's better than Baddy Bad.

Game freak has to keep making the games because they need the money to fund their other (largely unsuccessful) projects. As far as I know they don't get any money from other stuff like the TCG or merchandise deals.

GF are the partial owners of the Pokemon Company, at the very least they're paid loyalties while at most Pokemon Company is a place they can access extra funds if needed. If you think the Pokemon franchise as a tree, the Pokemon Company is the trunk of the tree which where merchandise branches off from, but Game Freak are the roots.

All of this is obviously speculation and I'm not looking to argue something that nobody here can prove, but this new dragon doesn't feel like a fully-evolved monster to me for some reason.

Would you say it's like we're looking at the middle stage? Like if you look at Gabite without knowing about Gible or Garchomp, you can certainly think it would probably get a prevo but at the same time looks fully formed... yet for a psuedo-legendary has something missing about it that screams "I have a BST of 600".

CAUGHT UP! Don't really have anything to respond to on Page 60 I haven't already.

BTW, Gamexplain had done a quick look through of the new trailer and pointed some things out I thought would be interesting to mention or corrected things I made mistakes on:

1. Gym Trainers: As it turns out, Gym Trainers you fight doing the Gym's puzzle do dress as the Gym Leaders. There's a scene in one of the trailers of the Water-type Gym which shows that the Trainers in there are now dressed like Nessa unlike the E3 demo, guessing the Gym Trainer models weren't ready or they wanted Nessa to stand out a bit more before dressing everyone up. But that at least confirms that Milo has a Gym puzzle which will have Gym Trainers you need to battle.
2. Another Arm Band: The official site has an image showing the player about to battle Milo, but the player has an additional gold arm band around his arm:

In the trailer we see Gigantamaxing doesn't need another band to use, so what is this gold band for? Also, unless it's another model change, we don't see the player wearing the gold band in the trailers when against Milo or Nessa.

Pre-Palooza: GEEZ, the games aren't going to be out for another 4-5 months yet they're already pouring out the pre-order bonuses.

Dynamax Crystals from ordering the double pack to get a Raid Battle with Larvitar and Jangmo-o early.
12 Quick Balls from downloading the game from the eShop.
A special track suit set by ordering from a certain Japanese or UK store.
Gold Stud Backpack by ordering the game from Amazon in Japan.

The last two in particular stand out and are a bit worrisome. So, if you don't do what is needed to get them via pre-order, does that mean you'll never get these clothing items? If so, would they be available to get later in some way? I was annoyed in Kingdom Hearts 3 how they had 3 exclusive Keyblades depending on how you bought the game and later they let you BUY the other Keyblades. Now honestly the track suit and backpack don't look impressive I would miss not getting it, if indeed you can't get these clothes without the pre-order it could be a slippery slope of releasing actually cool looking clothes but locked behind pre-orders.

 

[TenshouYoku]

Dynamax Crystals from ordering the double pack to get a Raid Battle with Larvitar and Jangmo-o early.
12 Quick Balls from downloading the game from the eShop.
A special track suit set by ordering from a certain Japanese or UK store.
Gold Stud Backpack by ordering the game from Amazon in Japan.

The last two in particular stand out and are a bit worrisome. So, if you don't do what is needed to get them via pre-order, does that mean you'll never get these clothing items? If so, would they be available to get later in some way? I was annoyed in Kingdom Hearts 3 how they had 3 exclusive Keyblades depending on how you bought the game and later they let you BUY the other Keyblades. Now honestly the track suit and backpack don't look impressive I would miss not getting it, if indeed you can't get these clothes without the pre-order it could be a slippery slope of releasing actually cool looking clothes but locked behind pre-orders.

Pre-order bonuses and regional exclusives announced way before the game is on the streets, where you will never be able to get outside of Japan is nothing new for even the Pokémon franchise (those artbooks man, I will kill if I can have my hands on them but they are Japan only and never available elsewhere).
Hong Kong also got the gold Magikarp celebrating Chinese New Year in Hong Kong only and unavailable else where.

 

[Stellar]

Page 55

Hmm, I wonder if they might actually include all of the non-Legendary/Ultra Beast Gen VII Pokemon since they're the "current" newest so having them all in would make the transition to a restricted dex a bit smoother for those new players who started with Gen VII. It would only be 61 Pokemon (counting the Starters, also didn't count Meltan family since they're obviously in for various reasons). Maybe they could also include Magearna, Marshadow and Zeroara, being Event Pokemon they don't need to make them obtainable unless they want to do a distribution or leave as a bonus for players who got them last gen to use (maybe also Poipole for its special treatment above other Ultra Beasts).



Yeah, Z-Crystals had the same issue. Though to be fair, since all Max Moves have an effect such as activating a certain weather or terrain those may have some niche uses in competitive (similar to how the elemental Z-Moves had their niches).



If it could learn Fling (which is doubtful) that's one way it could get rid of the item, though honestly wouldn't make the Ability any better. Only use I can see is if they pull the same "limited supply" thing with the Apricorn Poke Balls again where you only get a few. Otherwise it's kind of a pointless Ability as it has no use in battle and it'll save you what, at most 1k by fetching one of the specialty balls you can buy in bulk.



Speaking of which, some math!

If they have 4 Gym Leaders be version exclusive (which means 8 Gym Leaders total), that would be a total of 12 Types leaving 6 Type remaining. Now, what if they also do something similar with the Elite Four, have two of their members be version exclusive? That would cover the remaining 6 Types, meaning we could have a Pokemon League which has specialists for all the Types between both versions!



I sort of got that feeling when I first saw it, it reminded me of Druddigon and Turtonator in that way. Going to also guess Alcremie and Corviknight are also single stage, if any Alcremie having a prevo but it looks alright on its own.



Lance and Wallace were Champions however, they're sort of excluded since Champions don't have to be Type Specialists. It just so happened that Lance, Wallace, and Iris were Type Specialists in a gen which had a Gym Leader of the same Type. However a better example you could have given would be Bruno & Chuck in Gen II (and by extension, Sabrina & Will and Janine & Koga). Of course this was Gen II and with them having 16 Gym Leaders and 4 Elite Four members they covered all the Types with some to spare.



Remember this is the same people that gave Thick Fat to the Seel family, Marill family, Spheal family, and Tepig family (except for Emboar).

Page 56

I can see Rolycoly becoming a tank-like thing.

I've spent so many years playing Pokemon I can tell whether a character is a girl or feminine boy.

At least the non-Mythical ones.



Or if it faints a crack appears on its back and a Pidgey (or another gen bird) flies out. :P



... Eh, still wouldn't be good. At least it's said to look like it's original Gen I sprite which would be fun to see in 3D:

Think it would get one of Pikachu's Z-Moves? Guessing 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt as I don't think the trainer would be able to throw it up to do Catastropika.

Actually, on a related note, do you think they'll let you transfer up the Cap Pikachu?



I love how happy it looks, lol! SLABS OF COAL FOR EVERYONE! *Everyone flees as blocks of coals hit people like a cannon ball*



How does that make a difference for Charizard getting a new form being the Champion's ace?

Page 57

Is it such a crime to want them to keep designs that we liked? They already got rid of the Mega Evolution mechanic so they have the designs which many people liked just lying around now. Why not re-use them? As I said in my original post, they could just make the forms the Pokemon turn into during Mega Evolution and Gigantamaxing just "super forms" which the Pokemon can access a number of ways.



At this point it's pick your poison, GF haven't made things easy for themselves with the recent decisions so honestly it's up to each person to decide what the consolation they'll accept. Though no matter what they're going to disappoint a large number of people.



That's typical "anime protagonist standing defiantly strong" pose. It's actually the most basic pose you can draw a character, next to t-posing.



You mean we're not supposed to think that?



Probably childhood rival and the leader of the Team Skull expies we're supposed to think are jerks but turns out they've been trying to expose Chairman Rose and Leon. :P



Kid's game.



Would be nice, but probably an unmentioned Signature move that recycles the animation of Play Nice.



Would be neat if they revealed it was an alternate evolution of Swirlix. Swirlix goes from cotton candy/fairy floss to being a meringue, so why not just whipped cream evo too? Not sure what they would do to make it evolve into Acremie that would explain why its able to do it now. Maybe has to do with a new Signature Move?



Oh, wow, didn't make that connection! Rose revealing to be the 8th Gym Leader with a special rose-shaped Gym (curious if he would be Grass- or Fairy-type, or maybe a twist and do Poison-type since Roses have thorns and the Roselia family are part Poison-type (Roserade could be his partner and it has a Gigantamax form)). Pull a Giovanni on us.

Say, wait, didn't RR Giovanni at the end of the RR Episode in USUM say he was going to do evil in another dimension? Maybe Rose was able to rise in power thanks to RR Giovanni!

Page 58

Waiting for them to announce that rumored cheaper handheld-only Switch model. But when they do plan on getting Shield, mainly since my cousins are all getting Sword.



"Why are you responding to your own post?"

Because after looking around I think I may know a bit more about Duraludon. If we're to compare it to it's apparent rival Tyranitar, who is obviously designed after Godzilla, that could mean Duraludon may be a reference to Mechagodzilla. It's meant to look like the opposite of Tyranitar is sorts of ways.

It's also looking to be a fast special attacker, which would fit with it being an opposite of Tyranitar.

I have other things to say but future posts bring up these points so I'll respond to them then.



I think this would mainly apply to the veteran GF (Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda, Sugimori Ken, etc.). And if that's the case, maybe they should split development teams into two groups: "The Pokemon Team" and "Additional Project Team". That way those who are tired of working on Pokemon can just be part of the "Additional Project Team" (aka the veteran GF staff) while the staff they trained to take over for them and are still excited to be working on Pokemon can do what they want without the executive meddling I'm sure at least Masuda does. And hopefully they'll be more willing to listen to fans requests and create a more deeper Pokemon experience. Sure, they don't have to, but if they don't have anything to lose then why not go all out and experiment instead of constantly playing it safe?

Page 59

I don't know, while it has the trappings of a pseudo-legendary it doesn't feel like it's being treated as such. I have my doubts. I mean let's not forget for a while Aggron was being treated as a pair with Tyranitar but it's not a pseudo-legendary.



Indeed, but that's all poor planning on both GameFreak's and Pokemon Company's part. They're the ones who made the end decision to have a new game out each year when there's plenty of other ways to keep the franchise fresh in people's minds (like patches to add in new content, seems to work for games like Overwatch, Warframe, Splatoon, Mario Kart, etc..). Sure, they can't delay games, but they can sure plan when they're going to release games better. At the moment all we know is Sword & Shield at the latest games coming out, they can wait two or three years till the next core series titles and another few years for the next generation and no one would complain. And between then you can release side Pokemon games and put focus on them.



According to Serebii the name is meant to be a pun. It can be translated as either "Exhaustion Beam" or "Do Or Die".

Now a English equivalent would be tricky to come up with as it too would need to reference both... AND I think I got it:

All Ore Bust

Going off the "Do Or Die" reference, I combined two similar phrases together here: "All Or Nothing" and "(Goal) Or Bust". But going off the "Exhaustion Beam" reference, that's a combination of things: I made a pun by making "Or" into "Ore" to reference it being a Steel-type move, "Bust" means both "to be tired" and also "to hit hard", so put it together and the phrase could mean the Pokemon is using all of it's Steel-type power in order to deliver a powerful attack which would leave it weakened.

... at least it's better than Baddy Bad.



GF are the partial owners of the Pokemon Company, at the very least they're paid loyalties while at most Pokemon Company is a place they can access extra funds if needed. If you think the Pokemon franchise as a tree, the Pokemon Company is the trunk of the tree which where merchandise branches off from, but Game Freak are the roots.



Would you say it's like we're looking at the middle stage? Like if you look at Gabite without knowing about Gible or Garchomp, you can certainly think it would probably get a prevo but at the same time looks fully formed... yet for a psuedo-legendary has something missing about it that screams "I have a BST of 600".

CAUGHT UP! Don't really have anything to respond to on Page 60 I haven't already.

BTW, Gamexplain had done a quick look through of the new trailer and pointed some things out I thought would be interesting to mention or corrected things I made mistakes on:

1. Gym Trainers: As it turns out, Gym Trainers you fight doing the Gym's puzzle do dress as the Gym Leaders. There's a scene in one of the trailers of the Water-type Gym which shows that the Trainers in there are now dressed like Nessa unlike the E3 demo, guessing the Gym Trainer models weren't ready or they wanted Nessa to stand out a bit more before dressing everyone up. But that at least confirms that Milo has a Gym puzzle which will have Gym Trainers you need to battle.
2. Another Arm Band: The official site has an image showing the player about to battle Milo, but the player has an additional gold arm band around his arm:

In the trailer we see Gigantamaxing doesn't need another band to use, so what is this gold band for? Also, unless it's another model change, we don't see the player wearing the gold band in the trailers when against Milo or Nessa.

Pre-Palooza: GEEZ, the games aren't going to be out for another 4-5 months yet they're already pouring out the pre-order bonuses.

Dynamax Crystals from ordering the double pack to get a Raid Battle with Larvitar and Jangmo-o early.
12 Quick Balls from downloading the game from the eShop.
A special track suit set by ordering from a certain Japanese or UK store.
Gold Stud Backpack by ordering the game from Amazon in Japan.

The last two in particular stand out and are a bit worrisome. So, if you don't do what is needed to get them via pre-order, does that mean you'll never get these clothing items? If so, would they be available to get later in some way? I was annoyed in Kingdom Hearts 3 how they had 3 exclusive Keyblades depending on how you bought the game and later they let you BUY the other Keyblades. Now honestly the track suit and backpack don't look impressive I would miss not getting it, if indeed you can't get these clothes without the pre-order it could be a slippery slope of releasing actually cool looking clothes but locked behind pre-orders.

The gold band is the "badge" accessory we saw in the E3 demo with Nessa.

 

[Hyper Cutter]

Am I understanding this wrong, or did Gamefreak axe mega evolution only to... make new mega evolutions and call them something else?

Because you can't tell me those things wouldn't have been megas if Corviknight/the cake/the turtle had been Gen VI Pokemon.