Unpopular opinions

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

Rides were a good solution, but then I've seen people complaining that they didn't care about these mons because they weren't their mons.

So we're probably getting HMs in some way again.

If we do, the absolute ideal solution imo would be having move deleters in every Pokécenter like SwSh (But give the reminder some cost lmao. Money works)

Besides that, a slight buff to the moves themselves would be important. Nothing too drastic tho. (Like Rock Smash having guaranteed defense drops.)

Portable PC also deals with the hassle either way.

Honestly, there are several ways this can play out, the question is whether or not we'll like the solution they pick. Definitely not as much of a problem as it was in Gen 4 tho.

 

[Chadlad50]

Looking over it there's never a generation in which I pick the water starter. Maybe Samurott but that's all

 

[Chadlad50]

My poor Gatr! ;(

It doesn't help I already don't care about Water starters in general, then Feraligatr kinda just looks a little goofy to me. I can understand why someone would like Feraligatr or think it's cool though. It's definitely a Pokemon I could potentially grow to like in the future. Croconaw not so much

But I mean, my favorite water type is Dracovish, so is my opinion really valuable?

 

[Pikachu315111]

Hide

View attachment 368648

So can someone translate?

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

So can someone translate?

She yells out the move names, then says Sandshrew's name on the 3rd panel.

Iirc. There is an arrow pointing to it on the 4th. No idea what it says tho.

 

[Sonikku A]

Crobat's design is shockingly kinda meh outside quad wings
The color is a sudden invert, and while Zubat and Golbat have their own creepy qualities to stand out (Zubat feet tendrils and blindness, Golbat's tongue and oversized jaw for a body), Crobat has none. Also it started the color eye trend that Gen 3 further capitalized that some people dislike. The mouth (especially for its Stadium model) also sucks
This all sucks cuz the Zubat line REALLY needed an evo, and Crobat performs decently. But the design is meh

 

[Chadlad50]

I'd love Crobat a lot more if the mouth didn't make me squirm with how weird it looks

I'd like a lot more Pokemon if I wasn't picky

 

[Wukong]

Crobat's design is shockingly kinda meh outside quad wings
The color is a sudden invert, and while Zubat and Golbat have their own creepy qualities to stand out (Zubat feet tendrils and blindness, Golbat's tongue and oversized jaw for a body), Crobat has none. Also it started the color eye trend that Gen 3 further capitalized that some people dislike. The mouth (especially for its Stadium model) also sucks
This all sucks cuz the Zubat line REALLY needed an evo, and Crobat performs decently. But the design is meh

This is probably better suited for the "little things that annoy me" thread, but my problem with Crobat is that it seems like a sloppy flier. My go-to Pokémon for Fly has to be a lot smoother at flying than how Crobat looks. Compare below to Staraptor who seems much more capable of the task.

 

[Hugin]

This is probably better suited for the "little things that annoy me" thread, but my problem with Crobat is that it seems like a sloppy flier. My go-to Pokémon for Fly has to be a lot smoother at flying than how Crobat looks. Compare below to Staraptor who seems much more capable of the task.

That's kind of reasonable for bats, though. They're incredibly proficient fliers, but they really don't look like it. Their wings move a LOT to get anything done, and that means they get a lot done. Look up vids of hunting bats or bats flying through obstacle courses, they look like they're barely staying in the air while pulling Tony Hawk tricks.

 

[Sonikku A]

That's kind of reasonable for bats, though. They're incredibly proficient fliers, but they really don't look like it. Their wings move a LOT to get anything done, and that means they get a lot done. Look up vids of hunting bats or bats flying through obstacle courses, they look like they're barely staying in the air while pulling Tony Hawk tricks.

Note; Ducks have to fly at 40+ mph cuz their bodies are too fat to sustain themselves otherwise
Pigeons can fly 70-90mph horizontally, which is technically faster than Falcons flying without diving

Never underestimate squat or ungainly fliers!

But legit, Crobat should've emphasized on it's wing spikes and foot claws and fangs for design. It's only overrated cuz of its stats

 

[Pikachu315111]

That's kind of reasonable for bats, though. They're incredibly proficient fliers, but they really don't look like it. Their wings move a LOT to get anything done, and that means they get a lot done. Look up vids of hunting bats or bats flying through obstacle courses, they look like they're barely staying in the air while pulling Tony Hawk tricks.

 

[The Mind Electric]

Saving a lot of data is annoying, but the people who list it as one of gen 4's major problems are massively overreacting. It's not that bad, though I do obviously prefer faster saving.

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

Saving a lot of data is annoying, but the people who list it as one of gen 4's major problems are massively overreacting. It's not that bad, though I do obviously prefer faster saving.

It really boils down to one extra minute while you're saving.

No one really got pressed over it unless their battery was low, but like the infamous Wild Area trees, it's symbolic of the engine issues Gen 4 had.

First thing I'm doing in BDSP is saving and seeing how long it takes compared to the original tho.

Come to think of it... Do we even have a comparison between save times across all the main series games?

 

[Sonikku A]

Technically
Gen 1/2 saves are blazing fast....but GF purposefully made a delay for "dramatic effect". It's stuuuuuuuuupid, though hacks can remove it easily
Gen 3-5 the save system is legit slow though. I don't think decomp for 3 even fixed that, so RIP

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

You know, I've been thinking about Mega Evolution as of late. I think it's the best of the super mode mechanics we've had so far, and if there was any of them I'd keep, it's Megas. It's the only one with substance behind it as it gives Pokemon new stat spreads, new abilities, and even new typings and it added a lot to many Pokemon and was fun in competitive battles.

But that's beside the point: one of the criticisms about its execution was how much it breaks in-game. You can liberally use it and the mons effectively trivialize the game once you Mega Evolve them.

Then I've been thinking...but I think there's one easy way they could fix Mega Evolution if they ever put it back in to control how OP it is in-game. Heck, it could've been done back in Gen 6 itself.

And the biggest way to regulate Mega Evolution imo...would be to connect it to Pokemon Amie.

It was right there from the start. Mega Evolutions are a cool mechanic, but I also really love Pokemon Amie. It's such a cute feature, and it's adorable to play with your Pokemon and forge a bond with them. Feed them, interact with them, vice versa. And in doing so, the game also has mechanics of affection and enjoyment, especially the former which emphasizes how much the Pokemon loves you. It helps really push the notion of making your Pokemon your friends, so much so that through little things like this you forge a stronger bond with the mon, and it shows in battle where they can do stuff like crit or heal poison or endure a hit because they love you. It's so neat.

And that would be the perfect way to regulate Mega Evolution as a mechanic. How? Because one of the key thins about Mega Evolution in lore is that they make it very clear that it can only be achieved through a strong bond between Trainer and Pokemon. That is one of the big things both the games and the anime have tried to push, and the SM dex entries even talk about how painful Mega Evolution can be for many mons. I believe the Gen 7 dex entries are meant to emphasize what would happen to a Pokemon if it Mega Evolves but lacks a strong bond with a Trainer, and so much so that if they don't, then they're in pain and will go wild, but with a strong bond they are in total control of that power. The XY anime even emphasized this with how Korrina's Lucario went wild and was very evidently in pain when Mega Evolved at first.

So I think a good way to regulate Mega Evolution's effectiveness in-game would be to really tie that into Pokemon Amie as a requirement for it to be fully effective in battle. To tie in to what would happen if a Pokemon Mega Evolves in the absence of a strong bond, make it so that if the mon doesn't have enough affection points from Amie, then it can Mega Evolve, but it would go berserk basically. Completely disobeying you and using moves at random, without you being able to command it. Not only using moves at random, but have a high chance to frequently hurt itself until it faints. Many SM/USUM dex entries even talk about how some Mega Evolved Pokemon can't even hear the commands of their own Trainer, or are in so much pain they act wildly. Make that happen in-game, basically! And maybe as Affection points go up through Amie, that happens less and less. And once you've achieved maximum affection with the mon, then you've mastered the ability to use Mega Evolution with the mon. If you have max Affection with the mon, then the mon even when Mega Evolved will then listen to you without fail, and you can fully utilize the mechanic.

Attaching Mega Evolution to Amie and its related derivatives would be an excellent way to not only regulate its effectiveness in-game, but it's incredibly beneficial for both features. It adds a layer of substance to the Mega Evolution mechanic, ties it into its canonical lore effectively, and also further incentivizes the use of the Pokemon Amie feature by encouraging players to use it as a means to master Mega Evolution and achieve the bond with the Pokemon and put in the work and effort they need to fully effectively utilize Mega Evolution. Sure, you have the Key Stone now, but that doesn't mean you've mastered the bond with your Pokemon just yet. So use Amie and work on developing the bond with your Pokemon and in doing so, your ability to control the mon when Mega Evolved strengthens with it.

I think this would be an excellent way to improve the Mega Evolution mechanic. Of course, I don't think the fools at Game Freak even realize this is a possible thing they could do, but if there's one way to improve Mega Evolution, this is almost certainly one that would work imo.

 

[Pikachu315111]

I think there's one easy way they could fix Mega Evolution if they ever put it back in to control how OP it is in-game. Heck, it could've been done back in Gen 6 itself.

And the biggest way to regulate Mega Evolution imo...would be to connect it to Pokemon Amie.

I don't think that would have fixed anything.

It doesn't address the main criticism of Mega Evolutions is that is made some Pokemon so OP, usually ones which were already popular & powerful, that the meta became centralized around them leaving many other Megas behind.

Heck, limiting access to high Affection would only affect the main game (which is already easy enough to beat without Mega Evos). Players would just pick one or two Pokemon to be their designated Mega. In XY that would likely be the Kanto Starter with the other being the Lucario you're just given (a third would be the Blaziken Giveaway if you got that when it was active). In ORAS it would be the Hoenn Starter, Latios/Latias, and a third being the Shiny Beldum Giveaway. Even if they made it so you could get Mega Stones early on instead of late/post game, unless a player has a specific Mega they want to use, most players would stick to those... infact most did because of that.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

It's very dumb that there are two separate metrics by which the game measures the bond between a Pokemon and its trainer, and yet the super mechanic that in-universe is described as drawing from the bond between a Pokemon and its trainer completely ignores both metrics.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

doesn't address the main criticism of Mega Evolutions is that is made some Pokemon so OP, usually ones which were already popular & powerful, that the meta became centralized around them leaving many other Megas behind.

That's kind of more an issue on the competitive side of things. I was more addressing in-game use, of which there are multiple things that can (and should) be done about it. The competitive side of things is another can of worms that is something everyone had to deal with eons ago when Megas were all the rage. Granted the advantage of Dynamax in that regard is that Dmax was easier to just snap from the meta (Z-Moves hypothetically would've been insta-bannable too but no one did that in the end).

Heck, limiting access to high Affection would only affect the main game (which is already easy enough to beat without Mega Evos). Players would just pick one or two Pokemon to be their designated Mega. In XY that would likely be the Kanto Starter with the other being the Lucario you're just given (a third would be the Blaziken Giveaway if you got that when it was active). In ORAS it would be the Hoenn Starter, Latios/Latias, and a third being the Shiny Beldum Giveaway. Even if they made it so you could get Mega Stones early on instead of late/post game, unless a player has a specific Mega they want to use, most players would stick to those... infact most did because of that.

The Gen 6 games were inherently very easy yeah but I was more addressing how to keep it from being completely and utterly demonizing for an in-game use in the hypothetical scenario that it be used in-game. To bring up another super mode mechanic, Dynamax is by itself better in-game than Z-Moves or Megas because its use is severely limited in-game to Gym/League battles and it's in rather scripted battles and your opponent can use it too.

Ideally you can, and should, only use one or two available Megas in-game on a team, but I was addressing how to potentially make the mechanic less overpowering in-game for a story playthrough. XY and ORAS are a case where especially with the former it's not very hard to begin with and that's more an issue of inherent game difficulty or game design. The issue of available Megas is on Game Freak because of their decision to only give it to specific Pokemon and make certain ones literal gifts but that's another issue entirely.

Even if you use a fairly meh one like Abomasnow or Ampharos the mechanic is still fairly broken for in-game as is, which is what I was aiming to address.

My point ultimately was that there is a way to make the mechanic more rewarding to use for an in-game story run by making you put in the work, effectively improving its implementation if it's to be used instead of being a cheap ticket to win the game. I think the mechanic is cool but I was saying that it had a way to add substance to it when a feature that addresses its in-universe lore (bond between Trainer and Pokemon) while not just being handed to you in such a way that Megas become a free win ticket.

The whole competitive stuff and the fact that certain mons became too OP is another situation entirely that would need to be addressed very differently because competitive is a different beast from in-game

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

And the biggest way to regulate Mega Evolution imo...would be to connect it to Pokemon Amie.

You want the most busted super mechanic tied with one of the most busted mechanics in the franchise?

Surely nothing can go wrong there.

Also, as one that doesn't particularly care about Amie, Camp, Contests and other similarly cute things, that'd pretty much guarantee I'd either pkhex or not use Megas ever.

 

[mertyville]

I don't know why, but I am really liking the idea of a potential Let's Go Johto game. It's kinda weird since I don't care enough about Go and Let's Go to play it myself, but there are some small things that do make it kinda appealing like the ride Pokemon and Shiny Hunting (which is weird coming from me since I don't shiny hunt).
Sadly I can't exactly grasp what that "potential" actually is.

Maybe I like the idea playing a Pokemon game without caring about EVs.

 

[Chadlad50]

The main reason I can't get into LGPE is because of the silly catching mechanic so if a potential Let's Go Johto has that mechanic I don't think I'd be able to get into it, even if I want to try a Johto game

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

I think the main concern I'd have about a potential Let's Go Johto is the issue of the potential exclusion of cross-gen evolutions to the new mons. The OG Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee excluded all of the cross-generation evolutions that were introduced in Johto and Sinnoh (ie Kingdra, Electivire, Magmortar, Rhyperior, etc.) and while that was a shame, it wasn't totally bad since some of the mons like Seadra, Magmar, and Rhydon are okay enough to usable in battle even without them. Johto doesn't have the same luxury as so many of its mons are incredibly mediocre in battle. When you look at all the cross-gen evos to Johto mons that have happened since, you have Ambipom, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Weavile, Togekiss, Yanmega, Gliscor, Mamoswine, Porygon-Z, Cursola, and Wyrdeer. That's a ton of mons that have evolutions who could potentially be excluded, and if you count Kanto mons Sirfetch'd will almost certainly be excluded too if the others are and we all know Farfetch'd on its own is garbage. The difference is that unlike some of the Kanto Pokemon, the likes of Aipom, Misdreavus, Murkrow, Sneasel, Togetic, Yanma, Gligar, Piloswine, Corsola, and Stantler are all very mediocre, if not outright bad on their own without their evolutions. Point being, that's a sizable number of Johto mons who are mediocre to bad and absolutely need their evolved forms to be viable in battle. It would really ruin the playability of the game if players were forced to end up with very aggressively mediocre mons on a playthrough.

While I enjoy GSC and HGSS I do feel they are hampered by having only a select few mons be viable, and the fact that many Johto mons suck in battle without their cross-gen evos means if those are excluded that would severely hurt the game's playability when only a select few mons would actually be usable in-game in a hypothetical Let's Go if said evos were excluded from the mix.

 

[mertyville]

I think the main concern I'd have about a potential Let's Go Johto is the issue of the potential exclusion of cross-gen evolutions to the new mons. The OG Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee excluded all of the cross-generation evolutions that were introduced in Johto and Sinnoh (ie Kingdra, Electivire, Magmortar, Rhyperior, etc.) and while that was a shame, it wasn't totally bad since some of the mons like Seadra, Magmar, and Rhydon are okay enough to usable in battle even without them. Johto doesn't have the same luxury as so many of its mons are incredibly mediocre in battle. When you look at all the cross-gen evos to Johto mons that have happened since, you have Ambipom, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Weavile, Togekiss, Yanmega, Gliscor, Mamoswine, Porygon-Z, Cursola, and Wyrdeer. That's a ton of mons that have evolutions who could potentially be excluded, and if you count Kanto mons Sirfetch'd will almost certainly be excluded too if the others are and we all know Farfetch'd on its own is garbage. The difference is that unlike some of the Kanto Pokemon, the likes of Aipom, Misdreavus, Murkrow, Sneasel, Togetic, Yanma, Gligar, Piloswine, Corsola, and Stantler are all very mediocre, if not outright bad on their own without their evolutions. Point being, that's a sizable number of Johto mons who are mediocre to bad and absolutely need their evolved forms to be viable in battle. It would really ruin the playability of the game if players were forced to end up with very aggressively mediocre mons on a playthrough.

While I enjoy GSC and HGSS I do feel they are hampered by having only a select few mons be viable, and the fact that many Johto mons suck in battle without their cross-gen evos means if those are excluded that would severely hurt the game's playability when only a select few mons would actually be usable in-game in a hypothetical Let's Go if said evos were excluded from the mix.

I feel some of these cross evolution issues can be solves just like how Game Freak solved stuff like Teleport and Sunless Solar Beam, just give the stats of the fully evolved version or an alternative stat spread to the Gen 2 Pokemon. It's not like these games will be competible with mainline games so they can technically get away with temporary retconning stats.
But I think something like Gligar, Sneasel, Standler, Murkrow, and Togetic will be fine even without evolutions or a stat buff.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

I think modern Pokémon games aren't really bad but they're not really what I want to play.

I've probably said it before but it's honestly pretty hard to admit that I'm getting older and I'm more or less set in my ways now. In case you don't know I'm part of the age group who started with the DS era (Gen 4-5) and there were many things about those games in particular that I really valued and formed a fairly concrete idea of what Pokémon "is" to me. And frankly, those games had me hooked and I sunk countless hours into them, and I even watched the DP anime a lot back then (in case Dawn being my pfp wasn't evidence enough, she's one of the most formative characters of my childhood from one of my most formative pieces of media).

But since then the games since XY have started to take the series in a different direction and are trying to do other things. And in the end, there's nothing wrong with that but that stuff isn't really what I want to pick up a Pokémon game for. It's sad that a series is reinventing itself and replacing what I find interesting with what I don't necessarily but I guess such is life. Many other franchises have been doing the same too

I honestly started falling out of Pokémon gradually starting from XY. X and Y were pretty fun and were really great looking for the first mainline 3D entry and I still enjoyed it. But I blazed through it pretty fast and afterwards I was like "Wait, that's it?". I really couldn't be as attached to it like I could the games before it. I still sunk many hours into it afterwards because of Pokémon Amie and its three minigames, which I found utterly adorable, and because of the Super Training minigame, which I found cute. Also the Friend Safari was fun, and XY really does have some of the best multiplayer features in the series. Still, my interest in it wasn't as strong as past games. ORAS ended up being the same song and dance. Finished it quickly, felt a bit empty afterwards. I didn't totally fall out at this point and was still watching the anime (which was honestly a fun watch) and was into the competitive scene, even though the power creep was slowly burning me out. Ironically Gen 7 ended up diminishing my interest even further. Maybe it's partially because I was getting into other things now but I played through Sun once and even though I appreciated the increase in difficulty and the story was great I just put the game down and didn't touch it again afterwards. Ultra Sun took me nearly a whole year to complete because I took several breaks between because I was honestly struggling to force myself to get through it. I had no interest in the anime at that point and was barely into the competitive scene itself. I straight up skipped out on LGPE. At that point I was frankly wondering if I had simply outgrown the franchise, and I was like "Yeah, I guess I've just outgrown this series ".

Yet in a weird way, and this ties into yet another unpopular (and contrarian) take I have, Gen 8 is ironically the most fun I've had with Pokémon in a long time. More specifically, I find Sword and Shield's DLC got me hooked into Pokémon in a way that I haven't been in ages. And I frankly don't know why. The base game beforehand was the same song and dance with Gen 6, except I got through the story, played a little more, then I put it down and went on to FE Three Houses which I spent months being super into, never touching my copy of Shield for months to come. And yet, I decided to purchase the DLC out of curiosity and somehow, it got me hooked again. Especially when the Crown Tundra half came out. I haven't had so much fun since, and I've replayed my copy of Shield multiple times with the DLC attached and I've really enjoyed it. Maybe because it actually has repeatable and fun post-game activities in DLC with rematchable rivals/Mustard/Peony and Dynamax Adventures and Restricted Sparring and the Star Tournament and whatnot. Maybe because the Crown Tundra and Isle of Armor felt so much more alive than the main Wild Area (which is honestly pretty boring) and brought back the joy of exploration that other recent games lacked. I'm not sure. I know the game is heavily flawed and lacks polish but especially after the DLC I still ended up enjoying it. A lot, even. I don't even care anymore that the EXP All mechanic is mandatory or that the game makes it easy to over level, I had fun with it outside of that anyway. Frankly it's merely less tedious anyway and not less difficult (My recent playthroughs of Sapphire and Platinum confirmed my suspicions that older games are still easy, just much more grind demanding).

I suppose in a way there's a good reason why I'm looking forward to Legends: Arceus so much. It's *so* different from every mainline Pokémon game before it that it's more likely to register in my brain as something new and interesting and not just as "That thing I love but just off a little bit". It has Pokémon attached to its name, but it's a brand new and refreshing experience. I'm also looking forward to BDSP because it'll reignite the feelings of joy I had for DP in my younger days despite sticking to the formula of old.

But I also think the Red and Green formula is becoming increasingly primitive and outdated compared to what other RPGs can do now. It's starting to show that that formula is not only unsustainable, it's actively holding the series back from true growth. Especially with the advance of technology that GF has no choice but to roll with, using that formula is actively making Pokémon fall behind compared to modern day RPGs. So I'm glad to see Legends: Arceus is trying something new, even if I expect some hiccups along the way, I do hope it leads to Game Freak trying new formulas for Pokémon games because it cannot be what it used to be anymore without some major overhauls. It's long overdue but even if Legends doesn't come out perfect, the effort to reinvent the wheel to something that allows Pokémon to truly adapt to modern games and be up to par instead of staying in the Game Boy days is truly commendable. I guess that's yet another reason I'm looking forward to Legends. Combined with BDSP not really butchering the classic Sinnoh experience I think I'll end up seeing Gen 8 as one of my favorite generations, ironically enough, especially since I strangely ended up enjoying SwSh after the DLC and really enjoyed Galar in the grand scheme of things despite how much of a mess that game is (it's clear they took a bunch of different ideas and slapped them together at times).

Loooots of rambling but had a lot of thoughts in regards to the stuff I said.

 

[Siggu]

I know i kind of sound like a broken record, but while I do agree it's nice to see Game Freak experimenting with Pokémon, my experiences with popular open-world games tell me that nothing good can come out of what they are trying to do with Legends.