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Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October
- Thread starter DHR-107
- Start date
I personally couldn't care less about the Sharpedo. I'm far more annoyed by the raid dens that are very far away in the water and that it takes several seconds to reach them... which, in result, means I don't even bother going there, which means I may have encountered the Sharpedo only once or twice.
I do this and they instantly turn and get me every time
i've tried jukes, wide turns, small turns, zigzags, 9 times out of 10 they get me.
It sucks
Just delay your Rotom boost until it’s nearly right upon you. Whatever its initial heading, the Sharpedo will either fall behind or fail to make the turn as you zoom right past it. Works every time. Don’t overthink it.
IMO the only truly annoying thing was the two simultaneous Wild Area events that made the actual Isle of Armor raids a rare occurrence until we entered July. I wanted to catch Sheer Force Tauros, not fight the umpteenth iteration of G-Max Copperajah or one of the extra 1M Zeraora beyond the goalpost.
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Maybe the idea behind it is that the reason the Sharpedo spawned was because it spotted the player from under the water thus already on the chase.
So there's two sets of levels based on if you visit before & after the Darkest Day.
The levels before the Darkest Day is interesting as, if you want to do it as soon as possible, you'll actually have to progress through the game a few times and come back.
- To start, Avery's and Klara's first battle has their Pokemon at Level 10/12, not that much but unless you want a tough battle as Antihaxxer experiences you may be better off at least getting signed up for the Champion Cup.
- Next is the battle with Mustard who "jumps" to 13. If you had trouble with Avery/Klara you're likely going to struggle here, but once again by the time you get signed for the Champion Cup you should be at proper level.
- I'm not sure what levels Mustard's Slowpokes are at during the First Trial, but the second battle with Avery/Klara has their Pokemon now at 18/19. This is around the same level as Milo's Pokemon. So Avery/Kalra will either be good practice before facing Milo or Milo will be good practice before facing Avery/Klara. That said it does seem kind of odd you'll learn about Gigantamax from the Isle of Armor before the main game reveals it.
- Third battle with Avery/Klara has their Pokemon at 23/24/25, which puts their levels after Nessa but before Kabu. This also means you'll have Kubfu by the time you battle Kabu... though not for long.
- Next is the Tower of Two Fists and you're told that Kubfu should be at Level 30. This places it right after Kabu but before Bea/Allister. So by the fourth Gym you should have Urshifu. I'm not sure how I feel about that, it's not even half way into the game but you'll already have a Legendary with a BST of... of... what is Urshifu's BST? *Takes a look* 550?! Urshifu only has a BST of 550, I was expecting at least 580 or 600! That's only 20 points above the Starter's Final Evos which you're likely be at or close by by the fourth Gym. Huh, okay, I guess nevermind, having Urshifu isn't as OP as I thought (then again they have a pretty high Attack, decent Speed, and a Siganture Move that always crits... eh, how about we just settle and say its on par with XY's Lucario gift).
- And after this Mustard's final battle levels are... 73/74/75... I'm going to guess either Bulbapedia doesn't have the levels of final Mustard before the Darkest Day or you aren't expected to defeat Mustard until post game. Honey also has her Pokemon at high levels as well as Avery/Klara rematch. Very odd to pretty much have the player drop going to the Isle of Armor half way through to only return post game.
Not to mention, unless you're close to them or it's dark out, if one of them is an active den you may not know as it's hard to see the red beam unless you get close enough. And since you have to complete all active dens before a new batch activate it can be annoying to find that remaining den if it turns out to be one of them.
LAST TIME! I arrive to the Isle of Armor where I get accidentally confused as a new student for the "Master Dojo". I destroy defeat a new rival, a psychic named Avery, who, not wanting to be upstaged as top student, says I'm not dojo material as its where Champion Leon trained. Well, being I'm not Champion, that means I should definitely check it out. On the way I get asked to look for 150 Alolan Digletts scattered around the island and I upgrade my bike with a new white color and blue trail effect. But enough getting sidetracked, onto the dojo!
Arriving to the Master Dojo I see Avery talking with a woman telling her the "new student" decided not to join much to her disappointment. Then I show up. Avery is shocked while the woman, who introduces herself as Honey the matron of the Master Dojo, welcomes me to the Master Dojo family. Avery, who needs to learn not to think allowed, says if Honey finds out he told me to go away he'll be in big trouble so steps in and says I must have changed my mind and welcomes me. Honey invites me into the dojo, though Avery then quickly gives me a warning if I overstep him that he has highly potent psychic powers. Just before entering the dojo the camera pans up to reveal a certain gray bear cub was watching me the entire time, but when I look up its gone.
In the dojo Honey introduces me to all the other students. Hyde, the son of Honey and Mustard, also comes over to Honey's surprise. He says I'm not in his database of students and welcomes me by giving me the Exp. Charm, telling me not to open it as it contains a device he invented; as he walks away Honey explains he's good with machines but shy around people. Finally I'm introduced to Honey's husband and the master of the dojo: an elderly man named Master Mustard (huh, I guess Honey must be in into GDILFs, then again they have a son so Master Mustard must still have it going on. At least Honey looks older than a female Ace Trainer...). Mustard greets me with a "cheesy" pun which the game is kind enough to let me respond back with, Mustard liking my sense of humor. A tradition of the dojo is the new student having a battle with Mustard, his Pokemon being above Level 60 but my Pokemon are still Level 100 so I win. All the other students are shocked I defeated Mustard, especially Avery, though Mustard is happy to have such a strong student and declares with me the dojo is now at full capacity, amusingly musing under his breath that he knows I wasn't the original student they were expecting.
I'm given my dojo uniform and Mustard tells us all we're now to do three trials and the top student will be given the dojo's "sacred armor". But before Mustard can tell us what the first trial is, Avery interrupts saying he hasn't received his dojo uniform yet. Mustard apologizes to Avery and gives him a uniform... which is then swiped by not-so-slow Galarian Slowpoke. They run off and Mustard tells is the first trial: catch-up to the three Galarian Slowpoke he trained and defeat them, cheekily adding to also retrieve Avery's dojo uniform. Every change from shocked to stern as they all run out after the Galarian Slowpoke. Once I get control of my character again I'm asked if I would like to change back to my clothes before switching which I do, nothing against the dojo uniform but I don't do man bun. Before chasing after the Galarian Slowpoke myself I go to the room on the right where Hyde is working on his newest invention, the Cram-o-matic which he just needs 500 Watts to get working that I give over. I haven't really used the Cram-o-matic as I don't really have anything I want from it, maybe later I'll try getting the rare Poke Balls you can only get from it (though I am sad that they brought back Apricorns only to then use them as fodder instead of having an Apricorn Poke Ball Maker). Also in the room is Mustard, sitting on the couch and playing Pokemon Quest (cute, I guess Quest is like the Minecraft of the Pokemon World).
The G-Slowpoke leads everyone to the Soothing Wetlands. Before continuing I just wanted to comment I like how they do have the other students placed about and written something different for each to say, whether it's helpful advice or them making an observation/comment/opinion on the current situation. As someone who takes time to talk with the NPCs whenever I can, I appreciate all the dialogue they written up (almost after every cutscene they have something new to say) and just having them present during the first two trials when they could have them be absent and say they were looking for the objective elsewhere that was out of sight. Back to the story, the G-Slowpoke are faster but my bike is faster (or rather they have a predictable route so rode the opposite direction into them) and knocked them all out, each time receiving Avery's dojo clothing. We all go back to the Master Dojo where I'm announced the winner, but since I knocked out all of them that would mean everyone would fail so Mustard said any student that at least caught up to a G-Slowpoke passes the trial. However, to still award me for being the one to knock out the G-Slowpoke, Honey brings out a Bulbasaur and Squirtle and tells me to pick one. Since for HOME I picked the Bulbasaur I just now need a Squirtle to complete my Kanto Starter collection. Honey tells me there's something special about the Squirtle, that when it evolves into Blastoise it'll be able to Gigantamax. Behind my back Honey tells Bulbasaur she'll take care of it and assure it it'll never lose to Squirtle (which is technically true since I won't battle her using the Squirtle).
Going to cut it here for now. Maybe I'll post more tonight, but I already typed a few paragraphs and don't want to overload anyone with too much reading. NEXT TIME! The second trial starts as Mustard gets hungry for soup, I complain some more about being given a rare mineral, and maybe even get into the third trial and talk about the the new rivals.
Arriving to the Master Dojo I see Avery talking with a woman telling her the "new student" decided not to join much to her disappointment. Then I show up. Avery is shocked while the woman, who introduces herself as Honey the matron of the Master Dojo, welcomes me to the Master Dojo family. Avery, who needs to learn not to think allowed, says if Honey finds out he told me to go away he'll be in big trouble so steps in and says I must have changed my mind and welcomes me. Honey invites me into the dojo, though Avery then quickly gives me a warning if I overstep him that he has highly potent psychic powers. Just before entering the dojo the camera pans up to reveal a certain gray bear cub was watching me the entire time, but when I look up its gone.
In the dojo Honey introduces me to all the other students. Hyde, the son of Honey and Mustard, also comes over to Honey's surprise. He says I'm not in his database of students and welcomes me by giving me the Exp. Charm, telling me not to open it as it contains a device he invented; as he walks away Honey explains he's good with machines but shy around people. Finally I'm introduced to Honey's husband and the master of the dojo: an elderly man named Master Mustard (huh, I guess Honey must be in into GDILFs, then again they have a son so Master Mustard must still have it going on. At least Honey looks older than a female Ace Trainer...). Mustard greets me with a "cheesy" pun which the game is kind enough to let me respond back with, Mustard liking my sense of humor. A tradition of the dojo is the new student having a battle with Mustard, his Pokemon being above Level 60 but my Pokemon are still Level 100 so I win. All the other students are shocked I defeated Mustard, especially Avery, though Mustard is happy to have such a strong student and declares with me the dojo is now at full capacity, amusingly musing under his breath that he knows I wasn't the original student they were expecting.
I'm given my dojo uniform and Mustard tells us all we're now to do three trials and the top student will be given the dojo's "sacred armor". But before Mustard can tell us what the first trial is, Avery interrupts saying he hasn't received his dojo uniform yet. Mustard apologizes to Avery and gives him a uniform... which is then swiped by not-so-slow Galarian Slowpoke. They run off and Mustard tells is the first trial: catch-up to the three Galarian Slowpoke he trained and defeat them, cheekily adding to also retrieve Avery's dojo uniform. Every change from shocked to stern as they all run out after the Galarian Slowpoke. Once I get control of my character again I'm asked if I would like to change back to my clothes before switching which I do, nothing against the dojo uniform but I don't do man bun. Before chasing after the Galarian Slowpoke myself I go to the room on the right where Hyde is working on his newest invention, the Cram-o-matic which he just needs 500 Watts to get working that I give over. I haven't really used the Cram-o-matic as I don't really have anything I want from it, maybe later I'll try getting the rare Poke Balls you can only get from it (though I am sad that they brought back Apricorns only to then use them as fodder instead of having an Apricorn Poke Ball Maker). Also in the room is Mustard, sitting on the couch and playing Pokemon Quest (cute, I guess Quest is like the Minecraft of the Pokemon World).
The G-Slowpoke leads everyone to the Soothing Wetlands. Before continuing I just wanted to comment I like how they do have the other students placed about and written something different for each to say, whether it's helpful advice or them making an observation/comment/opinion on the current situation. As someone who takes time to talk with the NPCs whenever I can, I appreciate all the dialogue they written up (almost after every cutscene they have something new to say) and just having them present during the first two trials when they could have them be absent and say they were looking for the objective elsewhere that was out of sight. Back to the story, the G-Slowpoke are faster but my bike is faster (or rather they have a predictable route so rode the opposite direction into them) and knocked them all out, each time receiving Avery's dojo clothing. We all go back to the Master Dojo where I'm announced the winner, but since I knocked out all of them that would mean everyone would fail so Mustard said any student that at least caught up to a G-Slowpoke passes the trial. However, to still award me for being the one to knock out the G-Slowpoke, Honey brings out a Bulbasaur and Squirtle and tells me to pick one. Since for HOME I picked the Bulbasaur I just now need a Squirtle to complete my Kanto Starter collection. Honey tells me there's something special about the Squirtle, that when it evolves into Blastoise it'll be able to Gigantamax. Behind my back Honey tells Bulbasaur she'll take care of it and assure it it'll never lose to Squirtle (which is technically true since I won't battle her using the Squirtle).
Going to cut it here for now. Maybe I'll post more tonight, but I already typed a few paragraphs and don't want to overload anyone with too much reading. NEXT TIME! The second trial starts as Mustard gets hungry for soup, I complain some more about being given a rare mineral, and maybe even get into the third trial and talk about the the new rivals.
I want to try to get Kubfu before the start of Champion Cup, but damn third battle with the rival is tough ! Psychic terrain is up ... All his team are very fast (Ponyta, Kadabra, Swoobat, and Slowbro with his new ability). I really need a good dark type, I lost twice !
Current team : Magnemite lvl 25 / G-Slowpoke lvl 19 (He's useless except for Yawn) / Drizzle lvl 23
Edit : Is it possible to have a G-Slowbro before the Water Bike ?
Current team : Magnemite lvl 25 / G-Slowpoke lvl 19 (He's useless except for Yawn) / Drizzle lvl 23
Edit : Is it possible to have a G-Slowbro before the Water Bike ?
That battle (as well as Avery/Klara rematch and Hop's miniquest for what matter) can only be accessed in postgame, that's why it lacks a low level entry.
Yeah I think the "ideal path" for the dlc is something like this:
-Reach Wild Area
-Trial 1 & 2
-Go do Milo & Nessa
-Trial 3
-You have a Kubfu now, go handle Kabu & go to Hammerlocke for the first time
-Return to the island and handle the Tower [effective end of dlc]
-Finish the game
-Finish the post game
-Return to the island and finish the content
You can do everything up to the tower at any time (& lord knows experience is not in short supply....) but are specifically locked from doing the G-Max Urshifu quest until beating the post game. But the way the levels up to the Tower of Water/Darkness work it feels like this is how its "meant" to be.
It's kind of making me think that Crown Tundra's main campaign will be design with around mid-game in mind, with the idea being that in a normal playthrough you would intertwine the Island of Armor through the first part of the game, "finish" it, then you intertwine Crown Tundra for the rest of the game, then circle back for postgame.
-Reach Wild Area
-Trial 1 & 2
-Go do Milo & Nessa
-Trial 3
-You have a Kubfu now, go handle Kabu & go to Hammerlocke for the first time
-Return to the island and handle the Tower [effective end of dlc]
-Finish the game
-Finish the post game
-Return to the island and finish the content
You can do everything up to the tower at any time (& lord knows experience is not in short supply....) but are specifically locked from doing the G-Max Urshifu quest until beating the post game. But the way the levels up to the Tower of Water/Darkness work it feels like this is how its "meant" to be.
It's kind of making me think that Crown Tundra's main campaign will be design with around mid-game in mind, with the idea being that in a normal playthrough you would intertwine the Island of Armor through the first part of the game, "finish" it, then you intertwine Crown Tundra for the rest of the game, then circle back for postgame.
Prooooobably won't have anything on Pokémon, but a nintendo stream is a nintendo stream so linking this just in case.
... well, like, y'know. Was kinda similar. Sorta.
Nope, the girl who weaves the Galarica Twigs into the Galarica Cuff is out on the island in the Workout Sea just before you enter the Stepping-Stone Sea. It has two cliff walls on eitherside of it and the middle strip spawns Rotom in its appliance forms of all things (it's also where some Alolan Digletts are so if you did that side quest you've been to it).
In addition to getting the Gigantamax Bulbasaur/Squirtle (BTW, cute thing that was pointed out to me, in the living room of the dojo you see three colored Pokemon beds: green, blue, and orange; a nice subtle hint that the dojo is likely where Leon got his Charizard and why there's no Charmander choice), Honey gives me five Armorite Ore and points out a student that's a move tutor with new moves he created. I'll go deeper into my thoughts on the ore later on, but right now I'd like to quickly mention my thoughts on the new moves. First, I like they're creating news moves and some of them are great additions. I also find it interesting that apparently you can just "make up" a move, I always thought it was something that some ruling force enforced. Reason I thought this goes into my next question: why can't I create my own moves then? What did this random dojo student do that lets him create new moves? I have a TON of ideas for new moves and not all of them are broken! Well, I guess until then I'll just enjoy the news moves offered to us:
Second Trial! Master Mustard gets a hankering for mushroom soup, but he doesn't just want any mushrooms. He sends us all out to look for Max Mushrooms, normally not a difficult challenge but a recent swarm of Greedent ate all the Max Mushrooms in the nearby forest where the Max Mushrooms normally grow. As all the other students run out, Master Mustard stops me and tells me where I'm likely to find Max Mushrooms since I'm new to the island, not because of any favoritism or anything.
I follow Mustard's directions, passing all the other students in the forest (one notable one thinking about bringing back Foongus and hoping Mustard doesn't notice, lol). This is also when you first encounter Digging Ma and Digging Pa, the parents of the Digging Brothers in the normal Wild Area next to the Daycare. Digging Ma offers to dig you up more Amorite Ore but if her shovel breaks than she keeps all the Ore she digs up (um, why? Like I would get if she kept like half of them, but why does she keep all of them. And being its random if her shovel breaks kind of makes her only useful getting a few Ore as you don't want her to dig cause she might break her shovel and keep all the Ore). Digging Pa offers to dig up Watts in exchange for seven Ore (and soon this service is going to come VERY handy. Though what are Watts exactly if you can also dig them up? Also I don't get why they ask you between every dig if you want to keep going. Unlike Digging Ma, there's no penalty if Digging Pa is no longer able to dig. It feels like a beginner trap and a waste of time after that).
I enter the cave Digging Pa is in front of and find three cluster of Max Mushrooms. But just before I can pick them Avery comes running in, saying the Max Mushrooms are his as he sense them far away with his psychic powers. I'm given the option to say their mine or give it to him, and I choose to give it to him. I'm the main protagonist, I'm sure I'll find more Max Mushrooms somewhere. But Avery thinks I'm just mocking him and so second rival battle begins. And then it ends just as the first did cause Level 100s. Still ever stubborn and prideful, Avery tells me to keep the mushrooms as he'll find his own batch.
I bring the mushrooms back to the dojo where I'm the only one to have found Max Mushrooms thus the only one to pass. But before they use my mushrooms to make the soup, Avery runs in saying he found his own batch or mushrooms. He begs Honey to grant his only request of using his mushrooms in the soup, wanting to share his effort with everyone. Honey notes this isn't the first time he made a request and likely won't be the last, but her and Mustard are glad Avery worked as hard as he did so agree, saying he also passed the trial. We eat the Max Soup and Mustard tells me that if a Pokemon eats the soup is a species that can Gigantamax it'll gain the ability to do so (and awesome addition I'm glad they put in; another neat thing they don't tell you is that it works in reverse). I'm disappointed they didn't let me choose my Starter to allow it to become it's newly Gigantamax form but I guess that's why they let you keep your three Max Mushrooms.
Cutting it short here. Next is the Third Trial along with some more thoughts and issues I have with the Isle of Armor.
First, just want to mention I'm liking the support their giving to Terrain which they dedicated six moves to:
Grassy Glide (Grass): I think is the best one as it becomes increased priority in Grassy Terrain, and with 70 Power that's nothing to sneeze at (since it also gets a 50% power boost from Grassy Terrain). And even outside Grassy Terrain I think might be an okay option for Physical attackers that don't get Leaf Blade, Seed Bomb, Horn Leech, or a Signature Move like Drum Beating or Trop Kick.
Expanding Force (Psychic): Probably the next best as it gets an additional 50% Power (80 to 120, and then the Psychic Terrain boosts gives it another making it 120 to 180!) and hits both opponents in Psychic Terrain. However outside of Psychic Terrain it falls short of other stronger Special Psychic moves so is more situational.
Rising Voltage (Electric): I feel gets shorter end of the stick. Like getting its Power doubled is not bad (70 to 140, and Electric Terrain boost to 210!), but that's all it gets putting it sort of on the same boat of Expanding Force being situational thus player may want to stick with the more higher power Thunderbolt or Thunder. I also wished they did a Physical move instead of a Special, Electric needs more better Physical moves (plus the two Pokemon who get Electric Surge, Tapu Koko and Pincurchin, are Physical attackers).
Misty Explosion (Fairy): ... Don't know how I feel. Well, first, another Type I wished they just made a reliable Physical move for since Fairy need it even more than Electric. Second, were Fairy Types looking for a (weaker) Self-Destruct/Explosion expy? I feel they made this move for just Galarian Weezing. And looking at the Pokemon who learn it, I don't feel a lot of them would even use it because why use it when they could use Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam for lesser damage but don't have to knock themselves out (and damage their partner). The Misty Terrain additional effect is just a 50% Power increase (100 to 150, then 225 from the terrain power boost) and nothing else. At the very least they should have made it so your allies didn't get hurt while Misty Terrain is active.
Steel Roller (Steel): Very nice to have a Terrain removal move, especially if they're giving it so much support now (yet we still don't have a weather removing move...). Also nice it does a lot of damage; some may say it's a shame it only does so when Terrain is active but I see it just more as a bonus on top of the wanted effect.
Terrain Pulse (Normal): Like, it's a move I think should exist, a Terrain version of Weather Ball, but not like this. It should be introduced alongside a Terrain version of Castform *someone is about to bring up Galarian Stunfisk* THAT can actually use it too *someone sits back down*. Heck, Weather Ball itself is still considered niche and I can't see Terrain Pulse being considered any different. Also this takes away Normal possibly getting a new utility move to give Grass, Psychic, Electric, and Fairy a situational second move when they *points above* already got a move they'd rather use in their terrain (well, maybe not Fairy but don't think they would really use this either... mainly because no Fairy-type got this move as it has REALLY limited distribution...).
Wow, Terrain sure got a lot of support, I wonder what Weather got!... Oh, um, why not just look at what the other Types got:
Scale Shot (Dragon): Not my first choice of Type to get a multi-strike move, especially since no Skill Link users get it. With Dragon Claw and Outrage available I don't think this will get much use. Personally I think Dragon should have gotten a biting move cause it's something a dragon would do and we have a few Strong Jaw Dragon-types.
Meteor Beam (Rock): Ooh, a Special Rock-type move! Sounds rather situational but for a Special Attacker looking for a Rock-type move could maybe be worth it especially with that first turn Special Attack increase. So who gets it... barely anyone who would want to use it (and notably Pokemon who are space themed). Good job GF...
Skitter Smack (Bug): I guess it's alright. Nothing spectacular but Bugs are weak to Fire and Flying which are primarily Special. Think should have been 80 Power or 100% Accuracy, get they don't want to step on X-Scissor (though maybe alternatively give X-Scissor an additional effect, like it sounds like it would be a Slash/Leaf Blade expy, and make Skitter Smack both 80 Power & 100% Accurate).
Burning Jealousy (Fire): Sounds too situational (and has poor distribution). You're not going to have people choose this over good ol' Will-O-Wisp.
Lash Out (Dark): I think better than Burning Jealousy though not by much. I don't know how much more stat debuffs happen compared to stat buffs, but it does have better distribution. I think it's passable if the Dark-type doesn't get Crunch.
Poltergeist (Ghost): YES! Now this is a move that Ghost-types wanted! Competitively of course, where almost all Pokemon are carrying an item. Distribution not so great but there are a few Physical Ghost-types who would be more than happy to start their new found possession.
Corrosive Gas (Poison): Item control is a very nice thing to have. Wish it was a Knock Off copy so wasn't susceptible to Taunt but at least doesn't require the user to not have or lose their held item.
Coaching (Fighting): So Bulk Up but also increases allies Attack & Defense. Alright, though considering this is the Fighting-type I was kind of expecting something more flashy, especially since you're learning this move in a dojo that's run by a former Fighting-type specialist Champion.
Flip Turn (Water): Water-type U-Turn, both wow and yikes! I can see this defineitly having an effect on the meta... if it wasn't for the distribution being so lacking. I'm sure there's a few Pokemon who get it that this is a major boon to, but until GF let the floodgates open and allow more Water-types and other aquatic Pokemon to get it the waves it would make aren't as big as you'd think they would be, yet.
Triple Axel (Ice): Hmm, while Triple Kick isn't the most impressive Fighting-type move, making it into an Ice-type on the other hand is an interesting idea. Icicle Crush would still probably be the preferred Physical Ice move, but for Pokemon who don't get it this is a nice alternative. Also I'm seeing some choices I wouldn't expect to get it since they aren't Ice-types like Lopunny, Gallade, Cinccino, and Tsareena. And then there's the ones who get it I don't understand because they don't have feet: Milotic, Froslass, Primarina, and Frosmoth.
Dual Wingbeat (Flying): *Sigh* Close to what we wanted GF, but you just had to include the "wing" didn't you? Now there are a few Physical Flying-types who are going to like having this move, but poor Gyarados is once again going to have to sit this one out while still waiting to maybe receive Acrobatics or Aerial Ace.
Scorching Sands (Rock): It's kind of sad that Ground-types got the better burning move than Fire. But, yeah, Ground-type Scald and its distribution isn't so bad. Special Ground-types have been waiting for their Earthquake equivalent, and while this may not be it it'll certainly fill the void with something just as menacing to the opponent.
Grassy Glide (Grass): I think is the best one as it becomes increased priority in Grassy Terrain, and with 70 Power that's nothing to sneeze at (since it also gets a 50% power boost from Grassy Terrain). And even outside Grassy Terrain I think might be an okay option for Physical attackers that don't get Leaf Blade, Seed Bomb, Horn Leech, or a Signature Move like Drum Beating or Trop Kick.
Expanding Force (Psychic): Probably the next best as it gets an additional 50% Power (80 to 120, and then the Psychic Terrain boosts gives it another making it 120 to 180!) and hits both opponents in Psychic Terrain. However outside of Psychic Terrain it falls short of other stronger Special Psychic moves so is more situational.
Rising Voltage (Electric): I feel gets shorter end of the stick. Like getting its Power doubled is not bad (70 to 140, and Electric Terrain boost to 210!), but that's all it gets putting it sort of on the same boat of Expanding Force being situational thus player may want to stick with the more higher power Thunderbolt or Thunder. I also wished they did a Physical move instead of a Special, Electric needs more better Physical moves (plus the two Pokemon who get Electric Surge, Tapu Koko and Pincurchin, are Physical attackers).
Misty Explosion (Fairy): ... Don't know how I feel. Well, first, another Type I wished they just made a reliable Physical move for since Fairy need it even more than Electric. Second, were Fairy Types looking for a (weaker) Self-Destruct/Explosion expy? I feel they made this move for just Galarian Weezing. And looking at the Pokemon who learn it, I don't feel a lot of them would even use it because why use it when they could use Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam for lesser damage but don't have to knock themselves out (and damage their partner). The Misty Terrain additional effect is just a 50% Power increase (100 to 150, then 225 from the terrain power boost) and nothing else. At the very least they should have made it so your allies didn't get hurt while Misty Terrain is active.
Steel Roller (Steel): Very nice to have a Terrain removal move, especially if they're giving it so much support now (yet we still don't have a weather removing move...). Also nice it does a lot of damage; some may say it's a shame it only does so when Terrain is active but I see it just more as a bonus on top of the wanted effect.
Terrain Pulse (Normal): Like, it's a move I think should exist, a Terrain version of Weather Ball, but not like this. It should be introduced alongside a Terrain version of Castform *someone is about to bring up Galarian Stunfisk* THAT can actually use it too *someone sits back down*. Heck, Weather Ball itself is still considered niche and I can't see Terrain Pulse being considered any different. Also this takes away Normal possibly getting a new utility move to give Grass, Psychic, Electric, and Fairy a situational second move when they *points above* already got a move they'd rather use in their terrain (well, maybe not Fairy but don't think they would really use this either... mainly because no Fairy-type got this move as it has REALLY limited distribution...).
Wow, Terrain sure got a lot of support, I wonder what Weather got!... Oh, um, why not just look at what the other Types got:
Scale Shot (Dragon): Not my first choice of Type to get a multi-strike move, especially since no Skill Link users get it. With Dragon Claw and Outrage available I don't think this will get much use. Personally I think Dragon should have gotten a biting move cause it's something a dragon would do and we have a few Strong Jaw Dragon-types.
Meteor Beam (Rock): Ooh, a Special Rock-type move! Sounds rather situational but for a Special Attacker looking for a Rock-type move could maybe be worth it especially with that first turn Special Attack increase. So who gets it... barely anyone who would want to use it (and notably Pokemon who are space themed). Good job GF...
Skitter Smack (Bug): I guess it's alright. Nothing spectacular but Bugs are weak to Fire and Flying which are primarily Special. Think should have been 80 Power or 100% Accuracy, get they don't want to step on X-Scissor (though maybe alternatively give X-Scissor an additional effect, like it sounds like it would be a Slash/Leaf Blade expy, and make Skitter Smack both 80 Power & 100% Accurate).
Burning Jealousy (Fire): Sounds too situational (and has poor distribution). You're not going to have people choose this over good ol' Will-O-Wisp.
Lash Out (Dark): I think better than Burning Jealousy though not by much. I don't know how much more stat debuffs happen compared to stat buffs, but it does have better distribution. I think it's passable if the Dark-type doesn't get Crunch.
Poltergeist (Ghost): YES! Now this is a move that Ghost-types wanted! Competitively of course, where almost all Pokemon are carrying an item. Distribution not so great but there are a few Physical Ghost-types who would be more than happy to start their new found possession.
Corrosive Gas (Poison): Item control is a very nice thing to have. Wish it was a Knock Off copy so wasn't susceptible to Taunt but at least doesn't require the user to not have or lose their held item.
Coaching (Fighting): So Bulk Up but also increases allies Attack & Defense. Alright, though considering this is the Fighting-type I was kind of expecting something more flashy, especially since you're learning this move in a dojo that's run by a former Fighting-type specialist Champion.
Flip Turn (Water): Water-type U-Turn, both wow and yikes! I can see this defineitly having an effect on the meta... if it wasn't for the distribution being so lacking. I'm sure there's a few Pokemon who get it that this is a major boon to, but until GF let the floodgates open and allow more Water-types and other aquatic Pokemon to get it the waves it would make aren't as big as you'd think they would be, yet.
Triple Axel (Ice): Hmm, while Triple Kick isn't the most impressive Fighting-type move, making it into an Ice-type on the other hand is an interesting idea. Icicle Crush would still probably be the preferred Physical Ice move, but for Pokemon who don't get it this is a nice alternative. Also I'm seeing some choices I wouldn't expect to get it since they aren't Ice-types like Lopunny, Gallade, Cinccino, and Tsareena. And then there's the ones who get it I don't understand because they don't have feet: Milotic, Froslass, Primarina, and Frosmoth.
Dual Wingbeat (Flying): *Sigh* Close to what we wanted GF, but you just had to include the "wing" didn't you? Now there are a few Physical Flying-types who are going to like having this move, but poor Gyarados is once again going to have to sit this one out while still waiting to maybe receive Acrobatics or Aerial Ace.
Scorching Sands (Rock): It's kind of sad that Ground-types got the better burning move than Fire. But, yeah, Ground-type Scald and its distribution isn't so bad. Special Ground-types have been waiting for their Earthquake equivalent, and while this may not be it it'll certainly fill the void with something just as menacing to the opponent.
Second Trial! Master Mustard gets a hankering for mushroom soup, but he doesn't just want any mushrooms. He sends us all out to look for Max Mushrooms, normally not a difficult challenge but a recent swarm of Greedent ate all the Max Mushrooms in the nearby forest where the Max Mushrooms normally grow. As all the other students run out, Master Mustard stops me and tells me where I'm likely to find Max Mushrooms since I'm new to the island, not because of any favoritism or anything.
I follow Mustard's directions, passing all the other students in the forest (one notable one thinking about bringing back Foongus and hoping Mustard doesn't notice, lol). This is also when you first encounter Digging Ma and Digging Pa, the parents of the Digging Brothers in the normal Wild Area next to the Daycare. Digging Ma offers to dig you up more Amorite Ore but if her shovel breaks than she keeps all the Ore she digs up (um, why? Like I would get if she kept like half of them, but why does she keep all of them. And being its random if her shovel breaks kind of makes her only useful getting a few Ore as you don't want her to dig cause she might break her shovel and keep all the Ore). Digging Pa offers to dig up Watts in exchange for seven Ore (and soon this service is going to come VERY handy. Though what are Watts exactly if you can also dig them up? Also I don't get why they ask you between every dig if you want to keep going. Unlike Digging Ma, there's no penalty if Digging Pa is no longer able to dig. It feels like a beginner trap and a waste of time after that).
I enter the cave Digging Pa is in front of and find three cluster of Max Mushrooms. But just before I can pick them Avery comes running in, saying the Max Mushrooms are his as he sense them far away with his psychic powers. I'm given the option to say their mine or give it to him, and I choose to give it to him. I'm the main protagonist, I'm sure I'll find more Max Mushrooms somewhere. But Avery thinks I'm just mocking him and so second rival battle begins. And then it ends just as the first did cause Level 100s. Still ever stubborn and prideful, Avery tells me to keep the mushrooms as he'll find his own batch.
I bring the mushrooms back to the dojo where I'm the only one to have found Max Mushrooms thus the only one to pass. But before they use my mushrooms to make the soup, Avery runs in saying he found his own batch or mushrooms. He begs Honey to grant his only request of using his mushrooms in the soup, wanting to share his effort with everyone. Honey notes this isn't the first time he made a request and likely won't be the last, but her and Mustard are glad Avery worked as hard as he did so agree, saying he also passed the trial. We eat the Max Soup and Mustard tells me that if a Pokemon eats the soup is a species that can Gigantamax it'll gain the ability to do so (and awesome addition I'm glad they put in; another neat thing they don't tell you is that it works in reverse). I'm disappointed they didn't let me choose my Starter to allow it to become it's newly Gigantamax form but I guess that's why they let you keep your three Max Mushrooms.
Cutting it short here. Next is the Third Trial along with some more thoughts and issues I have with the Isle of Armor.
Just a little correction: Terrains got nerfed to 30% power boost, and Misty terrain doesn't actually boost fairy type damage :P
You more or less got your move opinions correctly, though there are a couple notable users of Dual Wingbeat (Scyther loves it), and Lash Out has significant utiliy in VGC over regular dark stabs since due to Dynamax being a thing, stat debuffs are very common. Bisharp and Obstagoon are notable abusers of this move.
I've also actually seen legitimate usage of Prankster Coaching Riolu, as hilarious as it seems
For what it's worth, I think these two specifically are mainly intended for VGC, not Smogon singles! (I mean, most of them are, but especially these two!)
Notably, Dynamax applies any stat boosts it imposes to both the user and its ally, meaning Burning Jealousy can reliably burn two Pokémon at once, and it applies stat reductions to both the target and its ally (not to mention that Intimidate and Speed-lowering moves are everywhere), meaning Lash Out can get the boost easily, especially a) right when it's needed the most (against an opposing Dynamax) or b) right when your opponent expects to be mitigating your damage. Stat drops are actually a fair bit more common in doubles than singles, because switching out to clear them is less prevalent, you can debuff something and attack it in the same turn, and there are many ways to debuff both opponents at once.
There are also a ton of highly specific and threatening Pokémon that abuse stat boosts and are punished effectively by a burn (Justified + Beat Up and Weakness Policy both being very common) and highly specific threatening Pokémon that can take advantage of Lash Out with their allies (Weakness Policy + Lash Out Tyranitar can be set off with an ally's Bulldoze).
I think that's why you're having a harder time seeing use for them from a singles-oriented mindset - most of these factors just aren't as applicable to an environment like OU!
Didn't know about the Terrain nerf. Also odd Misty Terrain doesn't boost its Type. So, knowing that:
Grassy Glide goes from 70 Power to 91 Power + increased priority.
Expanding Force goes from 80 to 156 Power + hits both opponents in a double battle.
Rising Voltage goes from 70 to 182 Power.
Misty Explosion goes from 100 to 150 Power + hits all Pokemon in a double battle.
So I still think my assessments are right. GG is the best, EF is also good but more situational, RV is more situational that I think the normal Thunderbolt or Thunder would more likely be picked over it, and Misty Explosion I don't see why anyone would pick over Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam which don't knock the user out.
Never said Dual Wingbeat was bad, infact I think all Physical Flying-types that get it would likely use it. Just disappointed that, since they added the "wing" requirement, yet again Gyarados is denied a Physical Flying-type move. At this point they might as well change Gyarados into a Water/Dark like its Mega as it learn some decent Dark-type moves (including the new one). Heck, maybe do what they were originally planning and make it Water/Dragon as Dragon-types have long since lost their Gen I exclusivity.
Ooh, if/when they bring back Bibarel they should partner up as it's Simple ability will give it +2 Attack & +2 Defense!
I did think that these moves probably were indeed made with Dynamax Max Moves in mind... but then I thought "but that's only for this generation". Yes, right now these moves are very handy as stat nerfs & boosts are constantly happening, but what about when we go to the next gen? Unless they implement an exact Max Move replacement the abundance of stat nerfs & boosts this gen has is going to be gone and the Pokemon using these moves are back to having to rely on the opponent on just so happening using a move or having an Ability which activates BJ and LO's effect.
With bellies full of Max Soup, Master Mustard asks me to see him privately in the living room. There Avery has also been asked to speak with Mustard as he reveals to us it's time for the FINAL LAST ULTIMATE THIRD TRIAL!... What's that? Well, it's just a battle between me and Avery, though it's taking place on the Dojo's court where there's a power spot so we can Dynamax our Pokemon (so, what would have happened if I was the only one to pass the Second Trial?). Avery is now determined more than ever but isn't so sure about battling me. He rushes ahead to "inspect" the court and Mustard tells me to follow when ready.
On the court I meet with Avery followed by Mustard, Honey, and a few of the other students. And the battle starts and the real reason why Avery ran out into the court is revealed: he was setting up a Psychic Terrain pre-battle! That's right, Avery cheated... with something he could have also done by using an Indeedee with its Hidden Ability (Sword's rival for the Isle of Armor DLC, Klara, sets up two layers of Toxic Spikes which does feel more like cheating). BTW I keep brushing aside how I keep winning these battles with Level 100s but never went into detail how: Cinderace with Pyro Ball. Phew, sorry for the long explanation, but thought you may like to know. Infact I didn't even bother Dynamaxing against Avery and, even though his Galarian Slowbro had a Water-type move and moved first (and thus set up rain weakening my Fire-type moves while increasing power of his Water-type moves), Cinderace STILL won but did need to use TWO Pyro Balls (though the second one was a Critical Hit, to be honest I don't think Cinderace would have won otherwise, lol). But yes, I defeated Avery for the third time and Avery admits I the better trainer. He says I can tell Mustard that he cheated but I said it's all good. Avery is surprised and asks why as Mustard comes in explaining because I was kind and that's why me and my Pokemon won (which to be fair isn't completely wrong, I have high friendship with Cinderace which does make Critical Hits happen more often... usually when I'm trying to catch a Pokemon but this time it was good timing). Though in hindsight it's kind of strange Mustard is alright with Avery/Klara cheating considering what Mustard's rare League Card reveals about him. Anyway, Mustard lets Avery off easy with just having to take care of the dojo's Pokemon for a month.
And that's pretty much it for your Isle of Armor rival. Yup, after this they do vanish from the dojo but you can find them again in the desert area secretly training, they'll give you their rare League Card and appear back in the dojo to re-battle anytime you like (they will also now appear in Max Raid battles and NPC partners with their Galarian Slowbro). So, having also watched a Sword let's play of the Isle of Armor DLC so I saw how Klara is swapped in for Avery, what do I think of the rivals? Well first some surface stuff. I like they went out of their way to make version exclusive rivals, both have unique designs and I also appreciate they both got their own Encounter and Battle theme. Both also were given plenty of personality and expressive, especially compared to the usually emotionless player character. And they have some depth to their character and backstory that does explain their behavior and motivations told via their League Cards. To go into more detail:
NEXT TIME! I receive the Secret Armor-that's-totally-not-Kubfu and start working towards evolving it (not that it's a Pokemon, who told you that?) as well as some other post game tasks.
On the court I meet with Avery followed by Mustard, Honey, and a few of the other students. And the battle starts and the real reason why Avery ran out into the court is revealed: he was setting up a Psychic Terrain pre-battle! That's right, Avery cheated... with something he could have also done by using an Indeedee with its Hidden Ability (Sword's rival for the Isle of Armor DLC, Klara, sets up two layers of Toxic Spikes which does feel more like cheating). BTW I keep brushing aside how I keep winning these battles with Level 100s but never went into detail how: Cinderace with Pyro Ball. Phew, sorry for the long explanation, but thought you may like to know. Infact I didn't even bother Dynamaxing against Avery and, even though his Galarian Slowbro had a Water-type move and moved first (and thus set up rain weakening my Fire-type moves while increasing power of his Water-type moves), Cinderace STILL won but did need to use TWO Pyro Balls (though the second one was a Critical Hit, to be honest I don't think Cinderace would have won otherwise, lol). But yes, I defeated Avery for the third time and Avery admits I the better trainer. He says I can tell Mustard that he cheated but I said it's all good. Avery is surprised and asks why as Mustard comes in explaining because I was kind and that's why me and my Pokemon won (which to be fair isn't completely wrong, I have high friendship with Cinderace which does make Critical Hits happen more often... usually when I'm trying to catch a Pokemon but this time it was good timing). Though in hindsight it's kind of strange Mustard is alright with Avery/Klara cheating considering what Mustard's rare League Card reveals about him. Anyway, Mustard lets Avery off easy with just having to take care of the dojo's Pokemon for a month.
And that's pretty much it for your Isle of Armor rival. Yup, after this they do vanish from the dojo but you can find them again in the desert area secretly training, they'll give you their rare League Card and appear back in the dojo to re-battle anytime you like (they will also now appear in Max Raid battles and NPC partners with their Galarian Slowbro). So, having also watched a Sword let's play of the Isle of Armor DLC so I saw how Klara is swapped in for Avery, what do I think of the rivals? Well first some surface stuff. I like they went out of their way to make version exclusive rivals, both have unique designs and I also appreciate they both got their own Encounter and Battle theme. Both also were given plenty of personality and expressive, especially compared to the usually emotionless player character. And they have some depth to their character and backstory that does explain their behavior and motivations told via their League Cards. To go into more detail:
- Avery: Call me bias, but I actually feel Avery is the stronger Rival in terms of his role in the story. Coming from a family of Psychic-type Gym Leaders, though Avery has powerful telekinesis he lacks other psychic powers like teleportation and telepathy, his family labeling him as a disappointment. Well, that certainly explains things, especially giving a harsher-in-hindsight feeling every time he says "Avery Teleport" in the story. But it gets deeper, as his rare League Card actually reveals Avery WAS a Gym Leader... and every time someone defeated him he levitated them probably out of the Gym which got him status revoked. Oops, but this makes me wonder how strong are his family telekinetic powers? Avery can not only lift up people (which makes me wonder if he ever tried lifting himself, who needs teleportation when you can fly?) but he's having six Pokeballs float around his hat at all times showing no signs of stress. Unless his family can do that too, while he may not have other psychic powers, looks like all his psychic abilities went to making his telekinesis super powerful. Anyway, yeah, this all checks out why Avery is very prideful, he has an inferiority complex thanks to his family, and takes the players mere presence as an offense. Avery's main quirk is using Psychic-type moves in his sentence to describe his feelings and actions, once again him over compensating for not having other psychic powers aside telekinesis. To add a bit more to the tragedy he is a good trainer and hard worker, he was able to become a Gym Leader and was the top student of the dojo, it's just that he had attitude problems which I don't think are fully resolved as he still acts a bit antagonistic toward the player especially if you deny having a battle with him post game. But I guess that's why he's at the Master Dojo.
- Klara: Ah yes, when both Avery and Klara were revealed many Shield players were upset we weren't getting the newest waifu. Before going into my opinions about Klara let's cover her backstory: Klara is an underground popstar that was popular for her live concerts but when she sold he debut album she only sold eight copies. Looking for a way to boost her popularity she decided to join the Poison-type Gym as she felt the Type matched her image... and their was less competition. And there in lies the problem Klara has, she's lazy. Two days into her Gym training and she quits because it was tougher than she thought it was going to be. The only reason she joined the Master Dojo is because Master Mustard was kind and thus she felt it would help her become stronger without putting in too much work. And it seemed to have worked, at least until the player came into the picture. However this is where I feel the narrative falls apart. For Avery, after reading his League Cards, it makes sense he would be directly antagonistic and act like you'd think a rival would. But Klara? If anything, since her League Card mentions she likes being doted upon, you'd think she would be more trying to manipulate the player at the beginning after seeing how strong they were. Then after the second battle where you deny her getting your mushroom clusters she acts more volatile towards you and wanting to prove she's better. Also I wished they tried to give her a connection to Galarain Slowpoke like they did with Avery, there is a subtle one with both being lazy. Being more positive, I do find her personality funny and not that annoying since they're quick to reveal the "cracks"; and she by far has the best surprise reaction.
NEXT TIME! I receive the Secret Armor-that's-totally-not-Kubfu and start working towards evolving it (not that it's a Pokemon, who told you that?) as well as some other post game tasks.
To be fair, while Burning Jealousy was clearly designed with doubles / Dynamax in mind, I haven't really seen it used in VGC so far (prolly the mediocre distribution, lack of viable fire types outside of cinderace arcanine and torkoal, and whynotjustheatwave doesnt help).
However, stat debuffs, expecially Snarl, Intimidate and Bulldoze, are very common and always will be, so Lash Out will likely remain as viable / good option.
Steel Roller is instead a questionmark, because right now the consensus is "just use it if you have either a spare move slot, or is your main dynamaxer", as otherwise you might be sitting on a unusable move for a big chunk of the time.
I’ve seen Torkoal use it, though that is the only Pokemon in VGC I’ve seen use it so far. Don’t forget Chandelure and Incineroar.
Incin already has a huge 4mss syndrome unfortunately and it's unlikely to see that used (Lash out on other hand...)
(also surprisingly i forgot to mention him)
The "problem" is that it's a 70 BP special move, which means it gets 25% reduction in power, and of the 4 viable fire types, 3 are phisical atkers that'd give up a moveslot just for a possibility to burn...
Feels a bit unrealistic sadly.
Edit: there's a couple extra interesting non-fire pokemon getting this, mostly ghosts and prankster uses, but again... 4mss is a thing :\
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So for winning in the FINAL. LAST. ULTIMATE. THIRD TRIAL we return into the dojo so I can be given the Secret Armor. Oh, and BTW... I LIED! The "Secret Armor" turns out to be Kubfu! It's presented in a cute cutscene where it's sent out, did some weak punches toward Mustard, Mustard tells us what it is, we approach it, it hides behind Mustard, Mustard tells us its shy and hopes we can get it to open up, it approaches us, and finally it accepts to go with us and we catch it. And if you didn't get the Nature you want you have to WATCH THE ENTIRE CUTSCENE AGAIN (I also hope you saved right after the Rival battle!). But no, seriously GF how did you get it right letting us save before choosing Squirtle or Bulbasaur but then get it wrong by not letting us save between the Kubfu cutscene & claiming it?! Anyway, after a few resets, I got a good Nature for it and Mustard tells me to become more friendly with it. Now he sends out a batch of students to go to locations around the Isle that'll help max its friendship, BUT I still have some Curry to make for my Curry Dex and Alolan Diglett to hunt, so I do all that instead. By the time I visit the locations it says Kubfu was friendly with me and to see Mustard; proof that a way into a bear's heart is with food. But if we were just going to be given four locations that'll max Kubfu's friendship than why bother with the requirement if that has nothing to do with how it evolves?
But let's back up a moment as two other things happen before maxing out Kubfu's friendship. First, in order to better do that even more, Mustard gives me permission to walk around the Isle of Armor with the Pokemon that's in the front of my party. Yes, WALKING POKEMON ARE BACK (years after discovering that Sun & Moon had given all Pokemon walking & running models)! Sadly though it's only on the Isle of Armor, but hey at least they're doing something with it. The second thing that happens is Honey asks us to collect Watts for her in order to improve the dojo. Apparently, this ambiguous currency I get thousands of for free from dens, is a booming business and it's said "those who holds the most watts holds the the key to success". Okay, why? What are Watts that they're suddenly so highly valued? And why does Mustard and the other students have a hard time collecting them? Not only do you just need to touch a den to get Watts, but you can also participate in bike races, knock out Pokemon with rainbow auras, and there's this guy that literally digs up thousands of Watts for Armorite Ore. And with all the Watts I give her, she doesn't have a measly 500 to give to her son to activate the Cram-O-Matic? I get four times that amount from an active den!
Anyway, with me and Kubfu now best buds I go to Mustard and he tells me it's now time to evolve Kubfu. He takes me out to the swamp and points out the Towers of Two Fists and I can only pick one. Looking at my team composition I already have a Water-type in Drednaw, meanwhile I've been having problems with Psychic- and Ghost-types Max Raids as I have no Pokemon effective against them. So, I bid adieu to the Tower of Waters (is that proper English?)...
I think if I sit Kubfu down to watch this whole video it'll evolve into Single Strike Urshifu without me having to climb the tower.
I climb up to the Tower of DARKNESS and get told Kubfu should be Level 70. It was already in the high 60s so topped it off with some Exp. Candy (luckily they gave us 50 large ones before the DLC was released, not that they're hard to get from raids anyway). Also, before you enter the Tower you have to remove every Pokemon in your party aside from Kubfu. I'm guessing they did this because they wanted Kubfu walking behind you while you went up the Tower and they couldn't program it so that, while in the Tower, it was placed in your first slot and you couldn't choose your other Pokemon (that or they were lazy... they were lazy). With Kubfu as my only Pokemon I go inside and and, oh boy, did you think we were done with the Kingdom Hearts references? Oh no, what the trainers in the Tower of DARKNESS say sound like they all came straight from a Xehanort's mouth:
"Walking only a path of light will not help broaden your perspective... you must learn to use both the light and the DARK. Let me show you how!"
"Those strong in the DARKNESS are also strong in the light... I have traveled the path of DARKNESS and perfected my strength in the light! Behold!"
"We are all but lost travelers, feeling our way through the DARKNESS around us... the results of battles are hidden in DARKNESS until the battles are completed. This is the beauty of battling!"
"Wind that carries a ship out to sea is wind that stalls a ship returning to port... what shines light on one path can also be what keeps another in DARKNESS. Let us see if you can find your own path onward!"
"A stream too clear is avoided by fish Pokemon... We all need some DARKNESS in ourselves. Let me be the one to teach you the final lesson on the essence of DARKNESS!"
Might as well change my character's hair color to white and eye color to yellow... wait is that possible *checks Serebii* Yes, that is indeed possible.
Anyway got past the warm-up trainers because Fighting is super effective against Dark and, surprise surprise, Master Mustard is on the final floor. He's our final opponent and now he's REALLY pumped for battle as he throws off his jacket and hat revealing his true battling form! One more surprise as he then sends out his own Kubfu! Now, I could have won this battle using Aerial Ace, but I'm going through the Tower of DARKNESS to learn the Single Strike style so I go all out with a Close Combat... which only takes Mustard's Kubfu down to 25% health and he knocks me out with an Aerial Ace. Okay, so I need to rethink my strategy a bit. I'm not using Aerial Ace, my pride is on the line now, so instead I give Kubfu a Coba Berry so that it can withstand one Aerial Ace and I knock Mustard's Kubfu out with a two Close Combat! And after a cute celebration scene Kubfu reads the Scroll of DARKNESS and evolves into a Single Strike Style Urshifu! I also recieve Master Mustard's normal League Card, though I'll save my opinion on him for the last part as we enter the "post game" of the Isle of Armor.
NEXT TIME! A surprise visit to the dojo takes us on a journey to power-up Urshifu even more, I help Honey upgrade the Dojo, and final thoughts.
But let's back up a moment as two other things happen before maxing out Kubfu's friendship. First, in order to better do that even more, Mustard gives me permission to walk around the Isle of Armor with the Pokemon that's in the front of my party. Yes, WALKING POKEMON ARE BACK (years after discovering that Sun & Moon had given all Pokemon walking & running models)! Sadly though it's only on the Isle of Armor, but hey at least they're doing something with it. The second thing that happens is Honey asks us to collect Watts for her in order to improve the dojo. Apparently, this ambiguous currency I get thousands of for free from dens, is a booming business and it's said "those who holds the most watts holds the the key to success". Okay, why? What are Watts that they're suddenly so highly valued? And why does Mustard and the other students have a hard time collecting them? Not only do you just need to touch a den to get Watts, but you can also participate in bike races, knock out Pokemon with rainbow auras, and there's this guy that literally digs up thousands of Watts for Armorite Ore. And with all the Watts I give her, she doesn't have a measly 500 to give to her son to activate the Cram-O-Matic? I get four times that amount from an active den!
Anyway, with me and Kubfu now best buds I go to Mustard and he tells me it's now time to evolve Kubfu. He takes me out to the swamp and points out the Towers of Two Fists and I can only pick one. Looking at my team composition I already have a Water-type in Drednaw, meanwhile I've been having problems with Psychic- and Ghost-types Max Raids as I have no Pokemon effective against them. So, I bid adieu to the Tower of Waters (is that proper English?)...
I climb up to the Tower of DARKNESS and get told Kubfu should be Level 70. It was already in the high 60s so topped it off with some Exp. Candy (luckily they gave us 50 large ones before the DLC was released, not that they're hard to get from raids anyway). Also, before you enter the Tower you have to remove every Pokemon in your party aside from Kubfu. I'm guessing they did this because they wanted Kubfu walking behind you while you went up the Tower and they couldn't program it so that, while in the Tower, it was placed in your first slot and you couldn't choose your other Pokemon (that or they were lazy... they were lazy). With Kubfu as my only Pokemon I go inside and and, oh boy, did you think we were done with the Kingdom Hearts references? Oh no, what the trainers in the Tower of DARKNESS say sound like they all came straight from a Xehanort's mouth:
"Walking only a path of light will not help broaden your perspective... you must learn to use both the light and the DARK. Let me show you how!"
"Those strong in the DARKNESS are also strong in the light... I have traveled the path of DARKNESS and perfected my strength in the light! Behold!"
"We are all but lost travelers, feeling our way through the DARKNESS around us... the results of battles are hidden in DARKNESS until the battles are completed. This is the beauty of battling!"
"Wind that carries a ship out to sea is wind that stalls a ship returning to port... what shines light on one path can also be what keeps another in DARKNESS. Let us see if you can find your own path onward!"
"A stream too clear is avoided by fish Pokemon... We all need some DARKNESS in ourselves. Let me be the one to teach you the final lesson on the essence of DARKNESS!"
Might as well change my character's hair color to white and eye color to yellow... wait is that possible *checks Serebii* Yes, that is indeed possible.
Anyway got past the warm-up trainers because Fighting is super effective against Dark and, surprise surprise, Master Mustard is on the final floor. He's our final opponent and now he's REALLY pumped for battle as he throws off his jacket and hat revealing his true battling form! One more surprise as he then sends out his own Kubfu! Now, I could have won this battle using Aerial Ace, but I'm going through the Tower of DARKNESS to learn the Single Strike style so I go all out with a Close Combat... which only takes Mustard's Kubfu down to 25% health and he knocks me out with an Aerial Ace. Okay, so I need to rethink my strategy a bit. I'm not using Aerial Ace, my pride is on the line now, so instead I give Kubfu a Coba Berry so that it can withstand one Aerial Ace and I knock Mustard's Kubfu out with a two Close Combat! And after a cute celebration scene Kubfu reads the Scroll of DARKNESS and evolves into a Single Strike Style Urshifu! I also recieve Master Mustard's normal League Card, though I'll save my opinion on him for the last part as we enter the "post game" of the Isle of Armor.
NEXT TIME! A surprise visit to the dojo takes us on a journey to power-up Urshifu even more, I help Honey upgrade the Dojo, and final thoughts.
For those wanting more specifics, was announced February that Nintendo was moving several of its offices into either the same office or nearby the Nintendo office in Tokyo. GameFreak was one of these studios.
While I don't think the move itself would have an impact, I'm going to assume they probably made sure all sensitive equipment was safely shipped and any important data was backed up, them being closer to the Nintendo Offices may indeed have an impact. For one thing, if they ever run into programming hiccups, getting a handful of programmers to come on over is just as easy as knocking on a neighbors door. But if this would effect the story and content quality is a different story, I don't know. Asking for more programmers is one thing as it's an actual physical limitation which GF has struggled with before, but in the eyes of all those involved they may not see an issue with GF's writing because, well, the games still make plenty of money and push merchandise. Maybe having more programmers on call could help GF actual "show don't tell" which was a problem with SwSh thus be able to tell more interesting stories without scaling back... though that said if they call for additional programmer one too many times that may make Nintendo suspicious if they can handle the IP or if it gotten too big for them so I can also just as easily see GF not doing this and the move is more just so Nintendo show investors their one combined company and tour them around all their offices.
It means that the staff will definitely be working in a new building
One of the conjectures is that Monolith's developers could be able to actually help out GameFreaks.
As far as I've read, they have already provided support to other 1st party titles like Animal Crossing and BotW, so it's not to exclude they might also end up aiding up GameFreaks.
Obviously... it is all speculation, but the possibility of less hiccups due to inexperience in the quality of the next release is something I very well welcome.
I remember reading a rumor saying that because of SwSh’s reception, Nintendo stepped in and mandated that GF work with another studio for the next console games.
However, keep in mind that this is a rumor, and consider that SwSh is a success revenue wise, there’s an extremely good chance this is false.
However, keep in mind that this is a rumor, and consider that SwSh is a success revenue wise, there’s an extremely good chance this is false.
While SwSh has done better financially than most mainline Pokémon games, I wouldn't have too much trouble believing this if there's proof because bad image is still bad image. For all the money they made it's not hard to imagine that there's a lot more money they could have made from people who may have been heavily put off from an array of bad reception -- Pokémon hasn't had a 'controversy' this big for a long long time and the exposure of it between news sites picking it up and negative reviews mentioning it and the sheer volume of people still going on about it is to the extent that it likely put off a lot of sales.
You could argue that it may not be that much sales at the end of the day to merit some sort of massive overhaul or upheaval, but the thing is in the case of this controversy is that the big thing was Pokémon not being in the game -- ie, they just needed to add a lot more models; something that's not too terribly hard to outsource to another company. I imagine the potential sales boost, regaining of reputation and marketing they could get from 'every Pokémon is back in this one' would supersede money spent on getting another company or two to pitch in on animation manpower.