Only the Japanese site's screenshot happens to include the increased HP number: https://www.pokemon.co.jp/ex/sword_shield/system/190605_01.html
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Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October
- Thread starter DHR-107
- Start date
Thanks, I missed that, adding it now!
Also, since Dynamaxing seems to really be a 50% increase to HP, I did a fun calc for Incineroar in VGC (so assume doubles with this calc!)
-1 252+ Atk Primal Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 212 Def Incineroar: 126-150 (41.5 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (61.41% chance to 3HKO after accuracy)
Damn, what a chunky ass Tiger! Would be especially intersting if Dynamax only boosts HP (I imagine its gonna have stronger attacks and other buffed stats tho, but who knows), it'd be surpsing to see a really defensive mechanic!
It makes sense that they wouldn't adjust the base stat, since that would require rearranging the data structure to allow HP stats higher than 255.
Every effect to date that changes max HP conserves damage (rather than conserving current hp, like e.g. Fire Emblem does). It's obviously pretty useless if Dynamax doesn't keep this trend when initiated, but that makes it likely you're in for a hard time after three turns if you've taken some hits. I have no idea whether it'll be kind enough to let you survive at 1hp, or just flat out KO you when you have 130 damage transferred to 100hp.
The part of me that's always looking for weird interactions is disappointed by 50% being the value, since the extra HP is just enough to always take something out of torrent/blaze/overgrow/swarm. And the fact that I can't use the HP increase for final gambit.
Every effect to date that changes max HP conserves damage (rather than conserving current hp, like e.g. Fire Emblem does). It's obviously pretty useless if Dynamax doesn't keep this trend when initiated, but that makes it likely you're in for a hard time after three turns if you've taken some hits. I have no idea whether it'll be kind enough to let you survive at 1hp, or just flat out KO you when you have 130 damage transferred to 100hp.
The part of me that's always looking for weird interactions is disappointed by 50% being the value, since the extra HP is just enough to always take something out of torrent/blaze/overgrow/swarm. And the fact that I can't use the HP increase for final gambit.
I don't see things like this as bad.
Having some decision making required on what to Dynamax and the gain/losses of doing so is healthy for the game. We already see that (some) status moves are flat out defaulted to a "Max Guard" for example, which discourages the use of defensive pokemon. Increase in HP also means higher vulnerability to % based dots thus for example having Toxic / Toxic Spikes could become a huge part of dealing with Dynamax.
A decision based on losing access to the ability / specific moves in order to gain a massive stat boost or more powerful attacks feels healthy to me. Annoying in some cases sure (mainly during storyline I guess), but otherwise, it's good for the game, rather than making you just slap the Dynamax on the highest BP Pokemon you have.
On the topic of Dynamax, does anyone else feel like they're building up to the inevitable fight where you catch the mascot legend to be a Dynamax battle? Like your raid allies could be people like Hop and Sonia, and since you can catch Pokemon in a Dynamax battle it makes sense.
Deleted User 465389
Banned deucer.
maybe the choice helmet
Would probably be the most obvious plot twist of the series most likely :P
Though, having to fight a "corrupted dynamaxed legendary" to free it from whatever corrupted it, sort of mimicking the fights against Necrozma in USUM, that's actually something realistic.
I'm effectively trying to come at it from the other angle: what cool tech is there that would cause you to want to run something other than just your best attacker, or activating at another time than immediately. For the low-health abilities, it could have incentivized delaying a couple turns to get to low HP before 'Maxing, using those turns to set up or whatever. I know that ultimately, this is more likely to be the change that puts Kyurem-Black in Ubers instead of the one that puts Leavanny on the map, but I would have liked to dream.
I think a more obvious plot twist would be Leon being a fraud, or the Lusamine/Aether plot twist.
Not sure if it's been mentioned, or if it's obvious/dumb, but I'm getting strong football (soccer for the Yanks) vibes from the starters, Scorbunny at least (score-bunny, I know, I know, 'scorch' for fire).
Could just be all the stadiums clouding my judgement, but I don't think it's too far fetched. It's England's national game, after all (even if they suck at it).
Also the water type 'soccer bubble', though I've no idea what Grookey is in this, and Sobble's description seems to hint at it being based on a spy like in that rumour more than anything sports-related
Could just be all the stadiums clouding my judgement, but I don't think it's too far fetched. It's England's national game, after all (even if they suck at it).
Also the water type 'soccer bubble', though I've no idea what Grookey is in this, and Sobble's description seems to hint at it being based on a spy like in that rumour more than anything sports-related
You would think they would generate the Pokemon specifically for the footage, so they should be either random IVs are pre-set IVs but 0 EVs in theory.Corviknight
Corviknight is a lot more shakey because of the high levels. Hard to tell if its a fresh caught late game mon or if its been raised for a while. Also, I wasn't able to effectively venn diagram this one either.
HP with max IVs and 0 EVs: 91-93
HP with max IVs and max EVs: 59-62 (So worst case scenario, it has an HP stat a bit lower than Skarmory's, neat!)
HP with 0 IVs and 0 EVs: 106-109
Interestingly, Assuming 93 base HP with 31 IVs and 0 EVs hits the same HP shown in the the level 45 and level 60 pictures, but a 62 base HP with Max IVs and EVs hits 153 HP at level 45 (1 over the HP shown) but 200 HP at level 60, which is the HP shown in that picture. Same if you assume a 109 Base HP with 0 IVs and EVs.
Not sure if any of that means anything, but that's about all i've noticed after spending a bit of time going over all that.
Unfortunately that gets thrown out of the window with the Level 50 screenshot, as base 93 HP with 31 IVs and 0 EVs hits 168, not 166.
It does seem to be the most likely value but this inconsistency makes it difficult to guess...
Umm... have there been note on how we actually encounter Max Raid bosses? So far, I only recall the battle mechanics inside and how weather may affect its availability, but it isn't even confirmed where we can encounter these things and how will it occur, is it? (like a dimensional rift or something?)
Admittedly, this is much about lore talks, so I'm sorry if I may be breaking the current discussions....
Anyway, minor things too. With Switch's 'net subscription being a thing, there's this one little thing I like. Milotic is available without trading (Unless they decided that it shouldn't happen and edited the spawn rate to exclude it in the final game). Admittedly this still means best Milotic (sadly along some useful egg moves like Hypnosis) may only be obtainable by evolving bred Feebas (with trade evo.), but at least there's a little less headache when I want to try finishing the dex by myself. And yes, she's gorgeous and fitting several dex mentions, the wild preexisting encounter certainly do very well in this game.
And while we are on that, I wonder if the bike we have is Rotom-hackable, Rotom being integral part in the bike itself. There it seems like the player floats on bike with 4 flotation balls besides the bike tires.
And it actually surprises me that despite being cute bunny Scorbunny is beaten in popularity, even in Japan (although by lower margin than overseas) to Sobble. I had been thinking that Sobble has been more in line with Froakie like Scorbunny is to Fennekin (which took the popularity by landslide until Greninja happened), but the personalities they bring may indeed make changes.
Admittedly, this is much about lore talks, so I'm sorry if I may be breaking the current discussions....
Anyway, minor things too. With Switch's 'net subscription being a thing, there's this one little thing I like. Milotic is available without trading (Unless they decided that it shouldn't happen and edited the spawn rate to exclude it in the final game). Admittedly this still means best Milotic (sadly along some useful egg moves like Hypnosis) may only be obtainable by evolving bred Feebas (with trade evo.), but at least there's a little less headache when I want to try finishing the dex by myself. And yes, she's gorgeous and fitting several dex mentions, the wild preexisting encounter certainly do very well in this game.
And it actually surprises me that despite being cute bunny Scorbunny is beaten in popularity, even in Japan (although by lower margin than overseas) to Sobble. I had been thinking that Sobble has been more in line with Froakie like Scorbunny is to Fennekin (which took the popularity by landslide until Greninja happened), but the personalities they bring may indeed make changes.
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If you noticed, the charachters look for and run to one of those red beams and a raid battle with Gyarados starts.
Does look like those are the "raid spots".
Obviously whenever those are randomly spawned or fixed places is all to guess.
One of the info pages say that it's specifically Rotom which enhances our bike to ride on water / go faster, so yes, the bike is indeed Rotom-hacked.And while we are on that, I wonder if the bike we have is Rotom-hackable, Rotom being integral part in the bike itself. There it seems like the player floats on bike with 4 flotation balls besides the bike tires.
I must have missed that part. As of now they haven't said anything about what are those raid portal things are. I suppose we will have to wait for deeper lores....
And hmm, I was wondering if the enhancements are built in the bike or Rotom's magical power out of thin air, and if it is the former then how will it justify us having to be roadblocked before getting to certain upgrades.... nevermind, sorry, I might be overthinking it too much.
Ah, yeah. Did forget to mention that one. I think for now the assumed range for it's Base HP should be 62 - 106 since per the level 45 and 60 screenshots it seems unlikely to go below 62, but per the level 50 it seems unlikely to go above 106.
Someone mentioned that 85 Base HP seems very likely too, which is pretty much in the middle area of that stat range, which would be neat if Corviknight is supposedly more offensive than defensive like some people think it may be. Hopefully it won't be stuck with Steel Wing as an offensive steel move though.
EDIT: Oh right, my thoughts. Corviknight is awesome and I will probably be using one in-game for sure. Wooloo is adorable and relateable. I would prefer Dynamax to not be usable in Wi-Fi, but that looks like that wish ain't coming true so I'm just hoping Megas and Z-Moves get the boot. Dynamax at least doesn't seem like it'll be as "build-around this thing" as Megas are at least, so maybe that'll help.
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We must not ignore the first trailer, where we saw a random battle with a wild pikachu. There was not a "!" mark before that wild encounter.
May have been done that way intentionally though.
I think it'd be something similar to Temporary HP points mechanic from BotW or D&D games. These are used first if the target takes damage and disappear if some points remains after the temporary effect ends.
Yes, it's plausible since they hid the overworld wild pokémon in that trailer too. Gee, I think I can't trust gamefreak anymore. That dirty cheater lol.
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Doesn't really need to be intentionally hiding.
I mean, it likely is in order to reveal features slowly, but could have simply not have been ready to be shown to the public.
Either ways, I linked the twitter from the official Pokemon Twitter account a few pages ago, the "main" mechanic is same as Let's Go, with those "!" allowing to trigger random battles as well. There might be something about those, obviously, like you could use lures like in Let's Go to spawn rarer Pokemon, so I wouldn't discount that those random encounters might be important.
Cresselia~~
Junichi Masuda likes this!!
I'm thinking that, if Dynamax boosts every stat by 150% (since we can see that Dynamax boosted Grookey's HP by roughly 150%), then it will mainly benefit glass canon Pokemon, or other offensive Pokemon. (Competitvely speaking)
Because it boosts their already high attack, they can KO a lot more POkemon in 3 turns.
It will also boost their defenses to just enough for surviving a few hits.
However, it probably will not benefit defensive Pokemon as much, since a defensive can do less in 3 turns.
Unless, the bulky Pokemon is a supporter/ disruptive Pokemon.
Or if said defensive Pokemon has minimize.
Am I thinking correctly?
Because it boosts their already high attack, they can KO a lot more POkemon in 3 turns.
It will also boost their defenses to just enough for surviving a few hits.
However, it probably will not benefit defensive Pokemon as much, since a defensive can do less in 3 turns.
Unless, the bulky Pokemon is a supporter/ disruptive Pokemon.
Or if said defensive Pokemon has minimize.
Am I thinking correctly?
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Deleted User 465389
Banned deucer.
looks like giga impact, or maybe brave bird
DYNAMAX:
Dynamaxing: So I think we can safely say no one was expecting this to be the next gimmick (unless you read a certain leak I think is worth discussing later...). While many of us thought the next gimmick would be super Abilities after having super forms and super Moves, GF decided they weren't quiet down with the previous two so combined them together by having our Pokemon grow humongous. I have mixed feelings about this new gimmick.
Initially I don't really like it. I think it's kind of silly. It's like GF liked the idea of the Totem Pokemon being bigger & getting a power boost and took it to 11. Also it pretty much guarantees Mega Evolutions are going to be kept on the sidelines for now. Oh, and Z-Moves, because as predicted they're now yestergen news; make room for them on the bleachers Mega Evolution. Speaking of which, they don't only grow in size but we have yet another set of super moves unique to Dynamaxing. Was that really necessary? At least we can use Z-Moves whenever we want, but from what I understand we can only use Dynamaxing in certain locations. I'd rather they focused on making new normal Moves. Also we have yet ANOTHER band in order to use Dynamax. Now when they replaced the Mega Band/Ring with the Z-Ring in Gen VII that was alright because it wasn't needed to Mega Evolve Pokemon, we just needed the Key Stone. But to use Z-Moves we need a Z-Ring so how are we going to use Z-Moves in Sword & Shield (unless they're removing Z-Moves which I doubt)? And did Dynamaxing need a band anyway? Since it makes the Poke Ball grow wouldn't it make more sense for it being a glove if it had to be a piece of clothing? It would fit better with the sports theme too.
But upon further thought I realized something: Dynamaxing may be a one gen gimmick. Think about it, Galar was designed around the knowledge that they can make Pokemon grow huge. And since this is only a Galar thing, next gen they can leave it behind with the excuse the next region isn't built for huge Pokemon and doesn't have the phenomenon there (unlike Mega Evolutiosn and Z-Moves which there's really nothing preventing them being taken elsewhere). So while Dynamaxing is taking the place of Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves, at the same time it should be seen as a region feature much like Pokemon Contests, the Pokeathlon, Pokemon Musicals, and PokeStar Studios (and how much do you want to bet that Battle Royals joined this list?). So in that regard, I like it! It's a unique feature of the game I don't have to worry the implications of on the franchise as it's not leaving Galar. It's not going to be another mechanic to bloat an already overstuffed battling system in desperate need of a re-design. Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves may be shoved aside but they don't have to worry about Dynamaxing being a mechanic they need to compete with for potential future attention. And at the very least we'll probably get a few funny memes from this (mainly giant small Pokemon (Joltik, Flabebe, Cutiefly, etc.) or giant giant Pokemon (Wailord, Alolan Exeggutor, Celesteela, etc.)).
(Pikachu: Oh, so Raichu thinks it could be the one to first showcase the new gimmick does it?)
Gym Battles: So this explains that logo we've been seeing, the three swirls around the Poke Ball represent the three red clouds that appears over a Dynamaxed Pokemon's head (and since Dynamax ends in 3 turns, I'm going to assume the red clouds vanish one by one to signify this). Oh yeah, something I didn't mention above, it only lasts 3 turns, but that's a point I've been saving to discuss here.
So the Gym Master "leak" looked to have been a mistake, they're still called Gym Leaders (unless there's something we don't know). And the reason the Gyms are Stadiums is so we can have Dynamax battles in them. Alright, makes sense, it's the new battling gimmick that can only happen in certain locations so why not have one being Gym Battles. However, since Dynamax only last three turns, this kind of feels like a gimmick that's going to be all spectacle but little substance. Both you and the Gym Leader are going to Dynamax your Pokemon at the same time, they're going to hit each other back & forth, then Dynamax wears off and it's a normal battle again. And since you can only Dynamax one Pokemon per battle it's not like you're going to do this for each Pokemon unless they have a round system we don't know about so each of the Gym Leader's Pokemon can Dynamax (though I doubt that's the case). Despite the giant size and super moves it still sounds like it's going to be an average battle where the winner is probably going to be the one with Type advantage (aka the player).
Also, are their going to be any requirements to challenge the Gyms? Like are their going to be some battles beforehand we need to do? Will be challenging the Gym be part of story progression thus we'll have to wait till the story says it's time to challenge the Gym?
Thought despite all this negativity I am glad to see Gyms back and in a big way. No, I don't mean the Dynamax gimmick, I mean they're in a stadium with large crowd of people watching and it's apparently a televised event (streamed by Rotom possessed camera drones!). This sort of started in Let's Go with all the Gyms having stands on the side with people sitting and watching, but that was just a proof of concept. This is the full implementation and it's glorious!
(Say my name, SAY MY NAME!)
Max Raid Battles: Important thing to note: You do not need other players to participate in Max Raid Battles! If you don't have other people to play with you'll be provided three "support Trainers". Being this was my only complaint about the Max Raid Battles, I guess I don't have anything to complain about it anymore!
In addition there's someplace that says once you beat a Max Raid Pokemon that species of Pokemon will start appearing in the Wilds, which I guess also partially explains my question about The Wilds having stronger Pokemon walking around. From the start there's just basic Pokemon but as you progress you get access to stronger Max Raid Battles and by beating them stronger Pokemon appear in The Wilds to catch normally. That's a pretty neat way of keeping things scaled and to get the player involved and wanting to do Max Raid Battles so they have more Pokemon walking around. Kudos GF!
My question on how does the wild Dynamaxed Pokemon get split into four when you catch it work, but I guess there's just some questions that were never meant to be answered...
(Attack On Dynamexed Pokemon)
Hillside Mural: Finally let's go back to another old mystery, the hillside mural. So I'm guessing this is depicting an instance of Dynamaxing, maybe. Let's take another look:
Knowing what we do now, something that catches my eye is that the giant doesn't have three clouds over its head. In fact, it's spewing out a cloud which is firing three thunderbolts. I wonder if the Dynamax phenomenon isn't caused by a Legendary Pokemon which this mural is depicting. The Pokemon has the ability to grow big via the smoke it breathes. With the lightning and antenna-shaped tail I'm also going to guess the smoke turns into thunderclouds. The thunderclouds then disperse back into nature, the Dynamax energy also becoming part of nature and occasionally enough builds up in certain areas to cause Max Raid Battles and people were also able to start collecting it. And thus why the number of turns your Dynamax Pokemon has is represented by red clouds. At least that's my theory right now. A GAAAAAM- *brick'd*
CHARACTERS:
Main Characters: Finally they released the stock art of the player character! So weird they waited until now to do so. Just wanted to say that, nothing else to really say (though I'm just now noticing the female playable character is wearing green plaid socks, maybe her being Scottish isn't too far off).
(*Something in unintelligiblegibberish Scottish*)
Hop: Let's start with whom argueably could be considered the second most important character or a second protagonist: the rival. And I know we're all thinking it so let me just say this: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH A FRIENDLY RIVAL. My personaly issue with friendly rivals, aside their overuse, also stems of them being buddy-buddy with you even though you're the new kid. This was the issue with Gen 6 and 7... and sadly is looking to be the same with Hop for Gen 8. While I don't recall them ever saying the player is new to Galar, what the site has to say about Hop does seem to indicate that both of you just met even though you're neighbors. Of course friendliness isn't the only thing a rival has going for them (well, except in XY), if they have their own story that can help build up their character. And Hop certainly does being he's the younger brother of the Champion and wants to be the Champion one day. Sure, not the most original or unique story, but could mean he'll be at least more competitive then previous rivals and possibly give us more of a challenge. And just because he's friendly doesn't mean he can't have another negative personality trait, being he's the Champion's brother and the family looks wealthy he could be a bit prideful or think he's superior to you and others when it comes to Pokemon battling. But without any more info this is all I have to say about him. Though let us remember they keep on saying he's just one of our rivals so even if he's just like the XY friends or Hau we may have another filling a role more closer to a jerk rival (or quirky like Green was in Let's Go).
(You want to be Champion, huh? Just ask Barry, Cheren, and Hau how well that turned out for them)
Professor Magnolia: The region Professor is a woman this time around, the second one if you don't count Burnet. She studies the Dynamax phenomenon which is a pretty fair subject to study considering it makes Pokemon grow to be 60 feet tall (wait, this is the UK, I mean 20 meters tall). Because of this she'll probably be the one giving us the ability to use Dynamaxing, maybe even on request of the Champion to help us and his younger brother Hop get started on your journey. Only other thing I have to say is her Corviknight cane looks pretty snazzy.
("Sycamore may research Megas and Kukui research Z-Moves,
but my research can literally crush both of theirs in one step")
Sonia: There was predictions this gen would have two Professors and while not right it's not far off. Sonia is the granddaughter and assistant of Professor Magnolia, making her more like the rival in Gen 4/Bianca in B2W2/Lillie in Gen 7. However there seems to be some mysteries about her. First Magnolia has given her an assignment to do that we don't know about. In addition we learn she's childhood friends with the Champion, could this mean they were rivals at some point? Another thing that catches my eye is something only in her official stock art: she's wearing something around her wrist but it doesn't look like the Dynamax Band or any other band we've seen in the past. Is there yet another mechanic we don't know about relating to what Magnolia has her studying or is it a Dynamax Band that just looks different (Hop has a blue Rotom Phone so it's perfectly possible). But if that's true, does that mean we'll be able to battle Sonia? She may be a character to keep an eye on.
(Though maybe not as close as I'm sure certain artists probably have already...
*gives a sigh and checks* scratch the "probably", man they work quick...)
Milo: Let's get this out of the way, his head doesn't match his body, but I think that's just because he lacks a nose. In fact I would even say his face doesn't match the typical Pokemon art style, it's like his face is from the Sun & Moon anime but body is still X & Y anime. I'm not even sure what Milo is supposed to be, his hat makes me think he's like a farmboy but he has a body of a muscular athlete (I guess he could be both). He's a kind guy and enjoys battling, so typical of an early Gym Leader.
However we are told a bit more about his Gym and battling style. We are told the Gym do have other trainers so could be we do have some battles to do before taking on the Gym Leader. Also he specializes in "endurance matches" with Grass-type Pokemon. I don't think it's a new kind of battling style but, parroting GameXplain, could mean he relies on defensive strategies instead of offense. What this could mean is that all the Gym Leaders may focus on certain stats in addition to a certain type to add a little additional layer many have been asking for. Eldegoss does seem like a defensive Pokemon too, and with its new Ability and most likely access to Cotton Guard & Leech Seed you could be worn down fast if not prepared. That said, Grass and endurance sadly don't mix so well, but that could be intentional to get players use to the Dynamax battles early on.
(See kids, this is why you should always eat your greens)
Leon: And finally the Champion himself. And sorry Hop, but I don't trust Leon one bit. Not saying he's like a member or leader of a villain team, but he sort of has a feeling they're setting him up to some kind of dark reveal. They say he never has been defeated, he has sponsors covering the back of his cape, lives in a mansion, wears a cape similar to that of a king's, and the bottom of his cap's rim looks like a crown. He just screams "I'm secretly a fraud and been rigging battles". Another reason to make me think that is Hop looking up to him, finding out his brother is a fraud would be a major twist that'll affect Hop's personality and viewpoints. Of course, if they did this it would make the story feel this is Hop's story and not the players, but then again B2W2 was Hugh's story and Gen 7 was Lillie's story so its par for the course.[/hide]
(And even if he isn't a fraud I still want to crush him under my heel.
Seriously, not just a king's cape but having it covered in sponsors...)
THERE! Finally caught up with the Direct news... now I have nearly 10 pages to respond to plus some additional things I'd like to discuss. I better get right on that.
Dynamaxing: So I think we can safely say no one was expecting this to be the next gimmick (unless you read a certain leak I think is worth discussing later...). While many of us thought the next gimmick would be super Abilities after having super forms and super Moves, GF decided they weren't quiet down with the previous two so combined them together by having our Pokemon grow humongous. I have mixed feelings about this new gimmick.
Initially I don't really like it. I think it's kind of silly. It's like GF liked the idea of the Totem Pokemon being bigger & getting a power boost and took it to 11. Also it pretty much guarantees Mega Evolutions are going to be kept on the sidelines for now. Oh, and Z-Moves, because as predicted they're now yestergen news; make room for them on the bleachers Mega Evolution. Speaking of which, they don't only grow in size but we have yet another set of super moves unique to Dynamaxing. Was that really necessary? At least we can use Z-Moves whenever we want, but from what I understand we can only use Dynamaxing in certain locations. I'd rather they focused on making new normal Moves. Also we have yet ANOTHER band in order to use Dynamax. Now when they replaced the Mega Band/Ring with the Z-Ring in Gen VII that was alright because it wasn't needed to Mega Evolve Pokemon, we just needed the Key Stone. But to use Z-Moves we need a Z-Ring so how are we going to use Z-Moves in Sword & Shield (unless they're removing Z-Moves which I doubt)? And did Dynamaxing need a band anyway? Since it makes the Poke Ball grow wouldn't it make more sense for it being a glove if it had to be a piece of clothing? It would fit better with the sports theme too.
But upon further thought I realized something: Dynamaxing may be a one gen gimmick. Think about it, Galar was designed around the knowledge that they can make Pokemon grow huge. And since this is only a Galar thing, next gen they can leave it behind with the excuse the next region isn't built for huge Pokemon and doesn't have the phenomenon there (unlike Mega Evolutiosn and Z-Moves which there's really nothing preventing them being taken elsewhere). So while Dynamaxing is taking the place of Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves, at the same time it should be seen as a region feature much like Pokemon Contests, the Pokeathlon, Pokemon Musicals, and PokeStar Studios (and how much do you want to bet that Battle Royals joined this list?). So in that regard, I like it! It's a unique feature of the game I don't have to worry the implications of on the franchise as it's not leaving Galar. It's not going to be another mechanic to bloat an already overstuffed battling system in desperate need of a re-design. Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves may be shoved aside but they don't have to worry about Dynamaxing being a mechanic they need to compete with for potential future attention. And at the very least we'll probably get a few funny memes from this (mainly giant small Pokemon (Joltik, Flabebe, Cutiefly, etc.) or giant giant Pokemon (Wailord, Alolan Exeggutor, Celesteela, etc.)).
(Pikachu: Oh, so Raichu thinks it could be the one to first showcase the new gimmick does it?)
Gym Battles: So this explains that logo we've been seeing, the three swirls around the Poke Ball represent the three red clouds that appears over a Dynamaxed Pokemon's head (and since Dynamax ends in 3 turns, I'm going to assume the red clouds vanish one by one to signify this). Oh yeah, something I didn't mention above, it only lasts 3 turns, but that's a point I've been saving to discuss here.
So the Gym Master "leak" looked to have been a mistake, they're still called Gym Leaders (unless there's something we don't know). And the reason the Gyms are Stadiums is so we can have Dynamax battles in them. Alright, makes sense, it's the new battling gimmick that can only happen in certain locations so why not have one being Gym Battles. However, since Dynamax only last three turns, this kind of feels like a gimmick that's going to be all spectacle but little substance. Both you and the Gym Leader are going to Dynamax your Pokemon at the same time, they're going to hit each other back & forth, then Dynamax wears off and it's a normal battle again. And since you can only Dynamax one Pokemon per battle it's not like you're going to do this for each Pokemon unless they have a round system we don't know about so each of the Gym Leader's Pokemon can Dynamax (though I doubt that's the case). Despite the giant size and super moves it still sounds like it's going to be an average battle where the winner is probably going to be the one with Type advantage (aka the player).
Also, are their going to be any requirements to challenge the Gyms? Like are their going to be some battles beforehand we need to do? Will be challenging the Gym be part of story progression thus we'll have to wait till the story says it's time to challenge the Gym?
Thought despite all this negativity I am glad to see Gyms back and in a big way. No, I don't mean the Dynamax gimmick, I mean they're in a stadium with large crowd of people watching and it's apparently a televised event (streamed by Rotom possessed camera drones!). This sort of started in Let's Go with all the Gyms having stands on the side with people sitting and watching, but that was just a proof of concept. This is the full implementation and it's glorious!
(Say my name, SAY MY NAME!)
Max Raid Battles: Important thing to note: You do not need other players to participate in Max Raid Battles! If you don't have other people to play with you'll be provided three "support Trainers". Being this was my only complaint about the Max Raid Battles, I guess I don't have anything to complain about it anymore!
In addition there's someplace that says once you beat a Max Raid Pokemon that species of Pokemon will start appearing in the Wilds, which I guess also partially explains my question about The Wilds having stronger Pokemon walking around. From the start there's just basic Pokemon but as you progress you get access to stronger Max Raid Battles and by beating them stronger Pokemon appear in The Wilds to catch normally. That's a pretty neat way of keeping things scaled and to get the player involved and wanting to do Max Raid Battles so they have more Pokemon walking around. Kudos GF!
My question on how does the wild Dynamaxed Pokemon get split into four when you catch it work, but I guess there's just some questions that were never meant to be answered...
(Attack On Dynamexed Pokemon)
Hillside Mural: Finally let's go back to another old mystery, the hillside mural. So I'm guessing this is depicting an instance of Dynamaxing, maybe. Let's take another look:
Knowing what we do now, something that catches my eye is that the giant doesn't have three clouds over its head. In fact, it's spewing out a cloud which is firing three thunderbolts. I wonder if the Dynamax phenomenon isn't caused by a Legendary Pokemon which this mural is depicting. The Pokemon has the ability to grow big via the smoke it breathes. With the lightning and antenna-shaped tail I'm also going to guess the smoke turns into thunderclouds. The thunderclouds then disperse back into nature, the Dynamax energy also becoming part of nature and occasionally enough builds up in certain areas to cause Max Raid Battles and people were also able to start collecting it. And thus why the number of turns your Dynamax Pokemon has is represented by red clouds. At least that's my theory right now. A GAAAAAM- *brick'd*
CHARACTERS:
Main Characters: Finally they released the stock art of the player character! So weird they waited until now to do so. Just wanted to say that, nothing else to really say (though I'm just now noticing the female playable character is wearing green plaid socks, maybe her being Scottish isn't too far off).
(*Something in unintelligible
Hop: Let's start with whom argueably could be considered the second most important character or a second protagonist: the rival. And I know we're all thinking it so let me just say this: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH A FRIENDLY RIVAL. My personaly issue with friendly rivals, aside their overuse, also stems of them being buddy-buddy with you even though you're the new kid. This was the issue with Gen 6 and 7... and sadly is looking to be the same with Hop for Gen 8. While I don't recall them ever saying the player is new to Galar, what the site has to say about Hop does seem to indicate that both of you just met even though you're neighbors. Of course friendliness isn't the only thing a rival has going for them (well, except in XY), if they have their own story that can help build up their character. And Hop certainly does being he's the younger brother of the Champion and wants to be the Champion one day. Sure, not the most original or unique story, but could mean he'll be at least more competitive then previous rivals and possibly give us more of a challenge. And just because he's friendly doesn't mean he can't have another negative personality trait, being he's the Champion's brother and the family looks wealthy he could be a bit prideful or think he's superior to you and others when it comes to Pokemon battling. But without any more info this is all I have to say about him. Though let us remember they keep on saying he's just one of our rivals so even if he's just like the XY friends or Hau we may have another filling a role more closer to a jerk rival (or quirky like Green was in Let's Go).
(You want to be Champion, huh? Just ask Barry, Cheren, and Hau how well that turned out for them)
Professor Magnolia: The region Professor is a woman this time around, the second one if you don't count Burnet. She studies the Dynamax phenomenon which is a pretty fair subject to study considering it makes Pokemon grow to be 60 feet tall (wait, this is the UK, I mean 20 meters tall). Because of this she'll probably be the one giving us the ability to use Dynamaxing, maybe even on request of the Champion to help us and his younger brother Hop get started on your journey. Only other thing I have to say is her Corviknight cane looks pretty snazzy.
("Sycamore may research Megas and Kukui research Z-Moves,
but my research can literally crush both of theirs in one step")
Sonia: There was predictions this gen would have two Professors and while not right it's not far off. Sonia is the granddaughter and assistant of Professor Magnolia, making her more like the rival in Gen 4/Bianca in B2W2/Lillie in Gen 7. However there seems to be some mysteries about her. First Magnolia has given her an assignment to do that we don't know about. In addition we learn she's childhood friends with the Champion, could this mean they were rivals at some point? Another thing that catches my eye is something only in her official stock art: she's wearing something around her wrist but it doesn't look like the Dynamax Band or any other band we've seen in the past. Is there yet another mechanic we don't know about relating to what Magnolia has her studying or is it a Dynamax Band that just looks different (Hop has a blue Rotom Phone so it's perfectly possible). But if that's true, does that mean we'll be able to battle Sonia? She may be a character to keep an eye on.
(Though maybe not as close as I'm sure certain artists probably have already...
*gives a sigh and checks* scratch the "probably", man they work quick...)
Milo: Let's get this out of the way, his head doesn't match his body, but I think that's just because he lacks a nose. In fact I would even say his face doesn't match the typical Pokemon art style, it's like his face is from the Sun & Moon anime but body is still X & Y anime. I'm not even sure what Milo is supposed to be, his hat makes me think he's like a farmboy but he has a body of a muscular athlete (I guess he could be both). He's a kind guy and enjoys battling, so typical of an early Gym Leader.
However we are told a bit more about his Gym and battling style. We are told the Gym do have other trainers so could be we do have some battles to do before taking on the Gym Leader. Also he specializes in "endurance matches" with Grass-type Pokemon. I don't think it's a new kind of battling style but, parroting GameXplain, could mean he relies on defensive strategies instead of offense. What this could mean is that all the Gym Leaders may focus on certain stats in addition to a certain type to add a little additional layer many have been asking for. Eldegoss does seem like a defensive Pokemon too, and with its new Ability and most likely access to Cotton Guard & Leech Seed you could be worn down fast if not prepared. That said, Grass and endurance sadly don't mix so well, but that could be intentional to get players use to the Dynamax battles early on.
(See kids, this is why you should always eat your greens)
Leon: And finally the Champion himself. And sorry Hop, but I don't trust Leon one bit. Not saying he's like a member or leader of a villain team, but he sort of has a feeling they're setting him up to some kind of dark reveal. They say he never has been defeated, he has sponsors covering the back of his cape, lives in a mansion, wears a cape similar to that of a king's, and the bottom of his cap's rim looks like a crown. He just screams "I'm secretly a fraud and been rigging battles". Another reason to make me think that is Hop looking up to him, finding out his brother is a fraud would be a major twist that'll affect Hop's personality and viewpoints. Of course, if they did this it would make the story feel this is Hop's story and not the players, but then again B2W2 was Hugh's story and Gen 7 was Lillie's story so its par for the course.[/hide]
(And even if he isn't a fraud I still want to crush him under my heel.
Seriously, not just a king's cape but having it covered in sponsors...)
THERE! Finally caught up with the Direct news... now I have nearly 10 pages to respond to plus some additional things I'd like to discuss. I better get right on that.