astralydia
zzz
With the recent HOME TM / TR movepool updates National Dex has once again been put into strife about what its actual meaning is. There have been numerous complaints over the months about transfer only Z-moves being compatible with SS moves (such as Clangorous Soulblaze + Clangorous Soul) as well as questioning the identity of the metagame and what it stands for. The current plan right now for me is botched and has not been thought out properly: the aim is to add in TM / TR content but not release Hidden Abilities for SS mons and make a confusion as to what unreleased content actually is. As there is no way to currently obtain TM / TR movepools in HOME, I would consider these moves unreleased despite National Dex already making a leap with Megas and Z moves, however, I do believe that there is a justification for this. Thus, I suggest three options moving forward:
1) National Dex becomes HOME but with no extra modifications.
There has been a lot of commentary on why this should be the format for National Dex as it makes no contradictions with other elements in SS. From what I can tell this is the easiest solution to come to: it includes the National Dex and no extra things around the edges to make the metagame a bit more spiced up. However, I do not think that this should be the solution going forward - not only does it unreasonably detract former mechanics that were not broken for their respective generation, but I also believe that it infringes on the idea of having an expanded Pokedex for a metagame as it removes part of the freedom that National Dex has for its metagame. One thing we do not also know is if Mega Evolutions and Z moves are going to be returning at a future date - this would arguably introduce an issue that other metagames have been suffering from by SS and that is the shorter release schedule. Having a more stable metagame that can help accomodate for potential changes in the metagame is ideal, as it would allow for a more structured metagame development and make council decisions easier to make, without strife from the community.
2) National Dex becomes HOME, but adds Mega Evolutions and Z moves (as mechanics that were once obtainable but no longer exist in SS, however still get representation)
Pre TM / TR release, this was the current path and I feel that this is the path that I would continue to go down if I were the Tier Leader. Mega Evolutions and Z moves have a place as mechanics that expand the possibilities of the teambuilder and the overall experience of playing National Dex: this solution arguably gives the easiest gate of entry for players from previous generations which liked the style of SM and wished for a metagame that would satisfy this gap. The main issues with going down this path are that a degree of subjectivity is still pushed onto this style of tier (i.e what counts as 'unreleased' content and what counts as discarded content: an example of this is the Berserk Gene discussion, but since this item is non-transferrable, and Z moves / Mega Stones exist in the code of SS, it provides a justification against this statement), and that the metagame ends up effectively being an 'SM part 2', as blunder would put it. As this path is the current one, this would provide the least turbulence in the short term but could also collide with content being released in SS. However, I think there are also problems with releasing everything unreleased in SS too:
3) National Dex releases all unreleased content from Generation 3-8, such as TM / TR movepools and Hidden Abilities (Libero Cinderace, Grassy Surge Rillaboom, Sniper Inteleon).
This would be the edit I would make to the current proposed change - TM / TR movepools are unobtainable in HOME and thus if this were to be true to the nature of an unrestricted National Dex metagame then not only should TM / TR data be released but Hidden Abilities should also be released as both of them are likely to be obtainable in a later date. The main advantages of this are that it creates a similar metagame to Dream World OU: disadvantages lie in that some content may stay unreleased (notable examples include Shadow Tag Chandelure and Floette-Eternal). Another issue with adding TM / TR movepools are that some of these Pokemon may stay unreleased and also lack level up movepools, indicating that the content in these are potentially unfinished. The nail in the coffin for this could also be that Unown is shown to have a 'Nope!' movepool in the code for SS.
Some footer notes to also consider are where moves deleted from SS also lie - I would argue that deleted moves from SS should be legal in National Dex as they are legitimately obtainable in Pokemon HOME but also cause subjectivity issues from SS mons that would love to get the move but are unable to due to the lack of it being in the game. Should Floette-Eternal be legal despite never being officially released even in its lifetime of existence in XY and SM?
Overall I feel like there should be some change in the way that National Dex is formed so that pointless arguments can be put to rest over what the metagame is defined as. Countless rants have been had from professional players about the metagame so I'm writing this to open up that potential discussion over what National Dex should really be.
1) National Dex becomes HOME but with no extra modifications.
There has been a lot of commentary on why this should be the format for National Dex as it makes no contradictions with other elements in SS. From what I can tell this is the easiest solution to come to: it includes the National Dex and no extra things around the edges to make the metagame a bit more spiced up. However, I do not think that this should be the solution going forward - not only does it unreasonably detract former mechanics that were not broken for their respective generation, but I also believe that it infringes on the idea of having an expanded Pokedex for a metagame as it removes part of the freedom that National Dex has for its metagame. One thing we do not also know is if Mega Evolutions and Z moves are going to be returning at a future date - this would arguably introduce an issue that other metagames have been suffering from by SS and that is the shorter release schedule. Having a more stable metagame that can help accomodate for potential changes in the metagame is ideal, as it would allow for a more structured metagame development and make council decisions easier to make, without strife from the community.
2) National Dex becomes HOME, but adds Mega Evolutions and Z moves (as mechanics that were once obtainable but no longer exist in SS, however still get representation)
Pre TM / TR release, this was the current path and I feel that this is the path that I would continue to go down if I were the Tier Leader. Mega Evolutions and Z moves have a place as mechanics that expand the possibilities of the teambuilder and the overall experience of playing National Dex: this solution arguably gives the easiest gate of entry for players from previous generations which liked the style of SM and wished for a metagame that would satisfy this gap. The main issues with going down this path are that a degree of subjectivity is still pushed onto this style of tier (i.e what counts as 'unreleased' content and what counts as discarded content: an example of this is the Berserk Gene discussion, but since this item is non-transferrable, and Z moves / Mega Stones exist in the code of SS, it provides a justification against this statement), and that the metagame ends up effectively being an 'SM part 2', as blunder would put it. As this path is the current one, this would provide the least turbulence in the short term but could also collide with content being released in SS. However, I think there are also problems with releasing everything unreleased in SS too:
3) National Dex releases all unreleased content from Generation 3-8, such as TM / TR movepools and Hidden Abilities (Libero Cinderace, Grassy Surge Rillaboom, Sniper Inteleon).
This would be the edit I would make to the current proposed change - TM / TR movepools are unobtainable in HOME and thus if this were to be true to the nature of an unrestricted National Dex metagame then not only should TM / TR data be released but Hidden Abilities should also be released as both of them are likely to be obtainable in a later date. The main advantages of this are that it creates a similar metagame to Dream World OU: disadvantages lie in that some content may stay unreleased (notable examples include Shadow Tag Chandelure and Floette-Eternal). Another issue with adding TM / TR movepools are that some of these Pokemon may stay unreleased and also lack level up movepools, indicating that the content in these are potentially unfinished. The nail in the coffin for this could also be that Unown is shown to have a 'Nope!' movepool in the code for SS.
Some footer notes to also consider are where moves deleted from SS also lie - I would argue that deleted moves from SS should be legal in National Dex as they are legitimately obtainable in Pokemon HOME but also cause subjectivity issues from SS mons that would love to get the move but are unable to due to the lack of it being in the game. Should Floette-Eternal be legal despite never being officially released even in its lifetime of existence in XY and SM?
Overall I feel like there should be some change in the way that National Dex is formed so that pointless arguments can be put to rest over what the metagame is defined as. Countless rants have been had from professional players about the metagame so I'm writing this to open up that potential discussion over what National Dex should really be.