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Post your searing hot takes

...okay? I didn't make it for you.

I made it for Sparky, the person who made the takes I responded to, to fairly and thoroughly consider their argument, and for anyone else who happens to appreciate in-depth analysis. I also underlined the key takeaways so you can skim it if you want, and then look at the deeper analysis if you were surprised at any argument and wanted to learn more.

Now you're twice posting about how much stuff you're not reading. This isn't a good look for you. If you don't want to read a post, fine, no skin off my back. But taking up air to post about it, as if we should care, just makes you look lazy and entitled.
not reading allat
 
what we really need is b&w remastered, ive been literally feenin for this ever since bdsp came out
"what we really need is an unnecessary rethread of the 15 year old ds game, ive literally been feenin for this ever since Turboslop Supreme came out"

Someone please explain to me why the amount of people with this take is so distressingly high. I thought Unovaheads liked the sprites???
 
"what we really need is an unnecessary rethread of the 15 year old ds game, ive literally been feenin for this ever since Turboslop Supreme came out"

Someone please explain to me why the amount of people with this take is so distressingly high. I thought Unovaheads liked the sprites???
idk maybe cause the game was good or something who knows
 
idk maybe cause the game was good or something who knows
The game is good, yes, which is why it doesn't seem like a particularly productive use of development resources that could be put towards exciting new experiences on doing the same thing again. It's not even a game that could really benefit from a graphical spit-and-shine like, say, Dead Space: Like I said, I thought BW's visual appeal was fundamentally tied to being a sprite-based DS game. I'm all for a brand new game set in Unova - I'm sure there's plenty of ways you could expand on the region further and re-interpret its Pokemon and worldbuilding in a new design space. I've thought of quite a few fun ideas myself! Thing is, all of these ideas hinge on not having to be tethered to the shell of a game that released in the Obama administration.

Let me put it this way: Is there a reason a BW1 remake is "needed" that wouldn't be satisfied by a straight port of the original duology to NSO accompanied by a Legends game or BW3 or whatever?
 
The game is good, yes, which is why it doesn't seem like a particularly productive use of development resources that could be put towards exciting new experiences on doing the same thing again. It's not even a game that could really benefit from a graphical spit-and-shine like, say, Dead Space: Like I said, I thought BW's visual appeal was fundamentally tied to being a sprite-based DS game. I'm all for a brand new game set in Unova - I'm sure there's plenty of ways you could expand on the region further and re-interpret its Pokemon and worldbuilding in a new design space. I've thought of quite a few fun ideas myself! Thing is, all of these ideas hinge on not having to be tethered to the shell of a game that released in the Obama administration.

Let me put it this way: Is there a reason a BW1 remake is "needed" that wouldn't be satisfied by a straight port of the original duology to NSO accompanied by a Legends game or BW3 or whatever?
It's so fucked up that the Obama administration is now being used as a benchmark for things being old.
 
The game is good, yes, which is why it doesn't seem like a particularly productive use of development resources that could be put towards exciting new experiences on doing the same thing again. It's not even a game that could really benefit from a graphical spit-and-shine like, say, Dead Space: Like I said, I thought BW's visual appeal was fundamentally tied to being a sprite-based DS game. I'm all for a brand new game set in Unova - I'm sure there's plenty of ways you could expand on the region further and re-interpret its Pokemon and worldbuilding in a new design space. I've thought of quite a few fun ideas myself! Thing is, all of these ideas hinge on not having to be tethered to the shell of a game that released in the Obama administration.

Let me put it this way: Is there a reason a BW1 remake is "needed" that wouldn't be satisfied by a straight port of the original duology to NSO accompanied by a Legends game or BW3 or whatever?
i just said remaster cause that seems way more likely than an actual b&w 3 or legends, i mean i'd def prefer that but a remaster is prob gonna happen first since lets go oras and bdsp exist, as for a port that'd be nice but like that still doesn't satisify the need of wanting more unova games, also why are you making it out that the game being old means it shouldn't get a remaster if anything that means it should get a remaster more, like when d&p released the ps3 wasn't even out yet
 
I just don't like most of gen 9 mons

I can't even explain why, I just think they look weirdly corporate, like they're made from plastic and I don't like the color schemes

I used to like the scarlet paradox mons but now I just feel like they're pokemon but dinosaur for the most part

I like Tinkaton, the starters, Lokix, Finizen + Palafin, Ogerpon, the box legends and that's kinda it. The rest I just find okay to forgettable. I dislike Baxcalibur very much, I find him to be very generic and I think he's the most boring pseudo legend
I feel like it's not even a huge hot take to say baxcalibur is the worst pseudo-legend. The concept is cool, but execution wise it kinda falls flat with the big ice scales seeming more like undersized butterfly wings and a head that's just kinda got an ice beard? which is cool but I was under the impression that bax had ice spikes on its forehead which would have made the design at least in contention for "not the worst pseudo" but I went to look it up since I haven't actually looked at the guy in a while and he is really boring.

I actually fw most of the grass types introduced this gen (arboliva excluded). Brambleghast is a pretty cool albeit somewhat uninteresting take on the "haunted plants" thing seen a few times (even though its only real competition are the trevenant and gourgeist lines which... they're fine ig). Sinistcha is pretty cute and Hydrapple is up there in terms of dragon types I like (top 3 definitely). Meowscarada isn't my favorite starter, that spot goes to skeledirge, but the starter lines aren't exactly the weakest link in terms of gen 9 designs.
 
i think dragonite, hydreigon, kommo-o, and goodra have cases for being worse than bax. i still probably put bax at worst, but for any of those four, i'd get it. dragonite and hydrei for being played out (dragonite less so but it's more awkward in several ways to compensate), and kommo-o and goodra for struggling to communicate why they're interesting emphatically enough. bax has weaknesses, but i don't think these two are among them
 
honestly, I think Goodra should have been a Dragon/Poison type. it being mono-Dragon just feels... kinda boring.

still not really sure how Hydreigon would be considered "played out" though.
 
Maybe its just that no psuedo's are bad. I like baxcalibur, the only two I could see being worse are goodra and kommo-o. And I like both of them quite a bit.

But unfortunately, something has to be last, and baxcalibur is probably the easiest to put there.
 
I disagree with these takes because these ideas are different and can coexist. You can say some Pokemon are bad, and still agree they have fans and have things that make them likable. You can disagree with the first and agree with the second. (Coincidentally, this is what I believe.) All you need to believe for this is that:

1) Pokemon can have negative traits in addition to positive traits,
2) The negative can outweigh the positive, and
3) Popularity is different from quality (people can like things that are bad).
Sorry that it took a second to respond, large messages like that take some time for me to process. Thank you for including the 3 points at the top it really did help me understand. I agree that pokemon can have negative traits, but those can be subjective. I think that Kleavor's design is lacking and could've been handled better, I see that as a negative trait in that pokemon, someone else may not think that. Using Kleavor again, I do love its color pallet, I think the colors go well together, but I definitely think the poor design out weights that. I have seen many of Cacturne fans, while I think the pokemon is on the poorer side.
I personally am not one to hate any pokemon, I think no pokemon is 'bad', but that is what I think. It all comes down to opinions, and you do seem to understand that from what I gathered. I did read your full post and I hope it doesn't seem like I didn't. I am terrible at arguments and such so hope what I wrote makes sense, but basically, I do agree with you, pokemon can be bad, but it is subjective, and up to every person themselves. :)
 
i think dragonite, hydreigon, kommo-o, and goodra have cases for being worse than bax. i still probably put bax at worst, but for any of those four, i'd get it. dragonite and hydrei for being played out (dragonite less so but it's more awkward in several ways to compensate), and kommo-o and goodra for struggling to communicate why they're interesting emphatically enough. bax has weaknesses, but i don't think these two are among them
hop off hydreigon he's my second favorite
 
honestly, I think Goodra should have been a Dragon/Poison type. it being mono-Dragon just feels... kinda boring.

still not really sure how Hydreigon would be considered "played out" though.

hydreigon's primary traits are

1) it is a dark type, which matters because it destroys things
2) it is evil, which matters because it destroys things
3) it treats things near it as enemies, which matters because it destroys them
4) it is very strong, which matters because it destroys things
5) it is draconic, so it is very strong, which matters because it can destroy things
6) it has three heads, which give it 3x as many orfices with which to destroy things

like we get it. ok. it is the strong and evil guy that destroys things.

spongebob-plankton.gif


it does a good job at embodying that, props where due, it is cool, and i think it is a good pokemon (agreeing with prior poster who implied all pseudos are pretty ok) but it is pretty basic and formula concept-wise, i have seen guys like this before in pokemon and in other media, it's very derivative from gyarados, even if has different (albeit more conventional) design

hydrei's wings are a nice touch though. like those

you'll notice i kinda wrote off that it's a hydra and didn't give it many creativity points for that. that's because it's only a hydra in a very shallow way, the heads are just differently shaped arms in practice, there is no cognition there or anything

in the end it's not exactly breaking new ground on what pokemon can be and represent
 
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ok my whole pseudos opinions. just going by generation bc i hate ranking things

dragonite: gen 1 syndrome of being the most straightforward no notes design path one can take with a concept. its a cute dragon and nothing else. not only does pokemon offer more interesting designs, but in general a Cute Dragon is something you can find anywhere else, no reason to feel attached to the pokemon in specific

ttar: ill be honest guys im just annoyed it has a pupa mid stage and it doesnt evolve into some weird bug hybrid thing. the actual design is very whatever. big green awesome lizard is also another design i can see anywhere so i feel nothing unique abt ttar that i dont feel about every other iteration of that design

salamance: STOP MAKING PUPAS AND MAKING THEM EVOLVE INTO LAME AS FUCK DRAGONS. WHERE IS MY BUG. anyway same shit generic dragon etc. mence does get extra points for having wings based on devilman though. i love devilman

metagross: ok this one is cute. i like the idea of a super computer built from fusing a bunch of smaller computers that are beldum and metang, and the spider esque body is very unique. i wish it felt a bit more robotic and the color is a bit meh but thats nitpicky

garchomp: beta design outsold. a design so obviously lost in what it wants to do because they made a sand shark dragon in the region with no sand anywhere so they just threw whatever the hell at it. its a jet now but we just kinda put two jet engines on its head and hoped youd kinda figure it out yourself. took until gen 8 to see that thing actually fly and when it does it looks like a bug because they didnt even make the jet engine heads do anything other than be decoration. also they took away its whimsy and made it too cool

hydreigon: zweilous is cute but hydreigon loses me. hydras are fun but idk, kinda does nothing w it. i wish they were tanks still that shit would have been soooo funny.

goodra: i hate this fucking thing for what it did to sliggoo. i hate its stupid anime marketing eyes i hate that it has no silly shell or silly mouth or anything. explode

kommo-o: funny. play those scales dragon boy. a bit of a mess design wise but i think it was a really fun exploration of a dragon fighting type

dragapult: this thing rules. it throws its babies as missiles. it looks like an extinct amphibian. what else can i say

baxcalibur: i love you old era gojira suits i love how awkward and silly u look. i love u bax i love u concavenator.
 
i give mence a lot of points i don't give other dragons because i view it as the codifier for the dragon type

before mence, it was in an awkward position, with dratini line + kingdra not having a lot of conceptual cohesion. i think it worked for those gens, because dragons were so rare that their prestige and rarity was the unifying cord, but this type identity was unsustainable for future gens, because more dragons would be introduced (see how mythicals used to have this appeal and are now falling off the face of the earth)

when i think "what is a dragon-type. what does that mean. what are dragon-types like" post gen2, it's mence. like he embodies it so flawlessly to me. he's the archetype, the benchmark, that sets the base for future guys to differ from, for the entire type. that's a very valuable role imo.

i'm more old head than some so maybe you all disagree with this point of view with the new dragons coming out, much zanier guys that are more dramatic departures from mence's mold. but even if still, i think he set the tone for 4 generations of dragons, at least

other notes:
garchomp: beta design outsold. a design so obviously lost in what it wants to do because they made a sand shark dragon in the region with no sand anywhere so they just threw whatever the hell at it. its a jet now but we just kinda put two jet engines on its head and hoped youd kinda figure it out yourself
i agree this situation is very funny. i don't think its as detractive for garchomp as other guys but like yeah lol
hydreigon: zweilous is cute but hydreigon loses me. hydras are fun but idk, kinda does nothing w it. i wish they were tanks still that shit would have been soooo funny.
big agree
goodra: i hate this fucking thing for what it did to sliggoo. i hate its stupid anime marketing eyes i hate that it has no silly shell or silly mouth or anything. explode kommo-o: funny. play those scales dragon boy. a bit of a mess design wise but i think it was a really fun exploration of a dragon fighting type
these are lenses i'm less familiar with but like i'm pretty sympathetic

dragonite: gen 1 syndrome of being the most straightforward no notes design path one can take with a concept. its a cute dragon and nothing else. not only does pokemon offer more interesting designs, but in general a Cute Dragon is something you can find anywhere else, no reason to feel attached to the pokemon in specific
if one would go to bat for dragonite they might mention its elemental associations and intra-media usages

i'm not super invested in such a take though
 
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i give mence a lot of points i don't give other dragons because i view it as the codifier for the dragon type
I think this is a fair take, im just also someone thinks that dragon is already such a powerful benchmark already. everyone knows about the platonic ideal of a dragon, which is either a western draco or an eastern long. So pokemon like dragonite or salamence aren't really bringing in anything new to the table because thats already the bare minimum of a dragon design. I am more interested in taking this base and either retooling it or going "other things are dragons too".

i think its just like how i feel about ponyta. it is the bare minimum of a fire design because it is just taking a thing and putting it on fire. it doesnt really play with folklore or mythology and what the fire means. it is just a pony/horse on fire. contrast it to something like chi yu, which also plays with the animal on fire motif but incorporates it into its design and lore and has a complete design concept because of it
 
hydreigon's primary traits are

1) it is a dark type, which matters because it destroys things
2) it is evil, which matters because it destroys things
3) it treats things near it as enemies, which matters because it destroys them
4) it is very strong, which matters because it destroys things
5) it is draconic, so it is very strong, which matters because it can destroy things
6) it has three heads, which give it 3x as many orfices with which to destroy things

like we get it. ok. it is the strong and evil guy that destroys things.
if you dumb everything down like this you can make this same analysis about a majority of pokemon and their primary traits
 
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