Pikachu315111
Ranting & Raving!
BW's Failing:
While I like Black & White's story, it does have failings. They didn't really put the right kind of grunts forward because if you go out of your way to talk with them you'll find they're a mixed batch. Yeah we have the jerks who say they want to help Pokemon before they start kicking a Munna, but then there are ones like in N's Castle who had bonded with the Pokemon they were given and is torn about having to release it even though that's Team Plasma's goal. In BW2 you see even the more evil Neo Team Plasma still have members dedicated to freeing Pokemon. There's a doctor on the Plasma Frigate who, despite working for Team Plasma, will heal your Pokemon. Why? Because though he wants you to be stopped he just can't stand by and let a Pokemon remained injured, even if its ones being used to stop them. Actually BW2 probably did a bit better showing the various grunts by having that sort of civil war between the two Plasma teams. One of the moments there that stick out is the Old Plasma member trying to get his friend to quit Neo Plasma but gets turned down and beaten up for his troubles. THOSE are the type of Plasma grunt interactions they should have put forward, not the "We're for Pokemon right! NOW GIVE ME THE DREAM SMOKE YOU PINK BLOB" *start kicking the Munna*.
As for the actual issue of the "Pokemon Cockfighting", yeah they really didn't fully answer that. At most I remember is Iris saying if Pokemon didn't like us they can just walk away... which never really sat right with me. In my own headcanon I always thought Pokemon fought because they were seeking to gain more power for both themselves and for the species as a whole. And the fastest way to gain power is by forming strong bonds with a human (which one gen later is told exist since that's the exact energy Mega Evolution uses), hence why trained Pokemon are stronger then wild Pokemon. And let's face it, a Pokemon doesn't really get hurt from battling (or at least not battling competitively like its usually doing). Despite all the injuries a Pokemon takes it just needs a good rest and it's back at full strength. A human would take days, weeks, or even months to heal the kind of fighting Pokemon get into it. Pokemon are mythical creatures seeing power and thus were made to be able to do whatever it takes to gain that power. Saying we're making Pokemon fight against their will is like saying we make dogs guard their owners against their will.
And yeah, Cheren needed some more work as it felt like the writers were stuck between wanting to make him stuck up but at the same time wanting to make him friendly. Either go all the way of making him egotistic or choose a different personality if you wanted him to be more friendly, trying to combine the two don't work. Though I did like where the character led him to, eventually making him a rookie Gym Leader.
Black & White was GameFreak's first attempt to put a plot into Pokemon so sadly there were going to be road bumps. Story in games have to balance out letting the player have control but also getting out what they want to say. I would say Pokemon have a hard time with that since they like characters waxing poetically WHICH DOESN'T WORK. Have the characters say what needs to be said and move on, no one wants to sit around and here a dozen characters spout out their philosophies for several minutes. Real people don't do that. If you want them to share their thoughts and ideas, have it be extra content the players seeks out on the side. And no, I'm not saying don't give characters personality, there's way to sum up a person's personality without having them need to "explain" it. I felt Alder was pretty good with that, I got who he was and never felt scenes with him dragged on too long (maybe ones that also had Cheren in it, but Alder by himself showed he was a content and laid back character without him taking a few minutes to explicitly say it).
While I like Black & White's story, it does have failings. They didn't really put the right kind of grunts forward because if you go out of your way to talk with them you'll find they're a mixed batch. Yeah we have the jerks who say they want to help Pokemon before they start kicking a Munna, but then there are ones like in N's Castle who had bonded with the Pokemon they were given and is torn about having to release it even though that's Team Plasma's goal. In BW2 you see even the more evil Neo Team Plasma still have members dedicated to freeing Pokemon. There's a doctor on the Plasma Frigate who, despite working for Team Plasma, will heal your Pokemon. Why? Because though he wants you to be stopped he just can't stand by and let a Pokemon remained injured, even if its ones being used to stop them. Actually BW2 probably did a bit better showing the various grunts by having that sort of civil war between the two Plasma teams. One of the moments there that stick out is the Old Plasma member trying to get his friend to quit Neo Plasma but gets turned down and beaten up for his troubles. THOSE are the type of Plasma grunt interactions they should have put forward, not the "We're for Pokemon right! NOW GIVE ME THE DREAM SMOKE YOU PINK BLOB" *start kicking the Munna*.
As for the actual issue of the "Pokemon Cockfighting", yeah they really didn't fully answer that. At most I remember is Iris saying if Pokemon didn't like us they can just walk away... which never really sat right with me. In my own headcanon I always thought Pokemon fought because they were seeking to gain more power for both themselves and for the species as a whole. And the fastest way to gain power is by forming strong bonds with a human (which one gen later is told exist since that's the exact energy Mega Evolution uses), hence why trained Pokemon are stronger then wild Pokemon. And let's face it, a Pokemon doesn't really get hurt from battling (or at least not battling competitively like its usually doing). Despite all the injuries a Pokemon takes it just needs a good rest and it's back at full strength. A human would take days, weeks, or even months to heal the kind of fighting Pokemon get into it. Pokemon are mythical creatures seeing power and thus were made to be able to do whatever it takes to gain that power. Saying we're making Pokemon fight against their will is like saying we make dogs guard their owners against their will.
And yeah, Cheren needed some more work as it felt like the writers were stuck between wanting to make him stuck up but at the same time wanting to make him friendly. Either go all the way of making him egotistic or choose a different personality if you wanted him to be more friendly, trying to combine the two don't work. Though I did like where the character led him to, eventually making him a rookie Gym Leader.
Black & White was GameFreak's first attempt to put a plot into Pokemon so sadly there were going to be road bumps. Story in games have to balance out letting the player have control but also getting out what they want to say. I would say Pokemon have a hard time with that since they like characters waxing poetically WHICH DOESN'T WORK. Have the characters say what needs to be said and move on, no one wants to sit around and here a dozen characters spout out their philosophies for several minutes. Real people don't do that. If you want them to share their thoughts and ideas, have it be extra content the players seeks out on the side. And no, I'm not saying don't give characters personality, there's way to sum up a person's personality without having them need to "explain" it. I felt Alder was pretty good with that, I got who he was and never felt scenes with him dragged on too long (maybe ones that also had Cheren in it, but Alder by himself showed he was a content and laid back character without him taking a few minutes to explicitly say it).