Unpopular opinions

[Blue glass]

You know what, here's an idea: make the next Let's Go games based on Sinnoh. The Let's Go games don't need to follow chronological order, if GF wants to continue doing the Let's Go games but also feel Sinnoh remakes wouldn't match the current core series design philosophies why not kill two bird with one stone. Plus unlike Johto where I'm struggling to think which Pokemon would make for a good Starter, I can think of several for Sinnoh though the two that jump out to me are Riolu and Rotom (though they could probably think of other combinations, though I think Riolu is a surefire pick... no, I don't think Bidoof would be in the running).

I would choose Buneary and Riolu. This would be the best solution since it would satisfy GF promise that Let's Go would be a thing going forward and would be a DPP remake but maybe my opinion on these matters shouldn't be heard as I don't care for Let's Go nor DPP remake.

I wouldn't mind a game where once the big problem isn't a villain team but rather something else like a big disaster or social injustice is happening and all non-Pokemon League characters we meet are trying to prevent/solve the issue...

A plot whose only concern is to be the league champion woud be interesting for only one generation. It wasn't compelling in the anime, it would be more boring in the games. The problem isn't with the idea of a bigger plot, it's with the execution.

Lysandre

Again, a okay/ great idea with a poor implemetation. The contrast between a serious leader and the doofuses members of team flare could be used to show how out of touch with reality Lysandre really was, that he chose these idiots and expected them to make a better world instead of them just messing everything up could be done interestingly.

 

[pokemon4eva]

Again, a okay/ great idea with a poor implemetation. The contrast between a serious leader and the doofuses members of team flare could be used to show how out of touch with reality Lysandre really was, that he chose these idiots and expected them to make a better world instead of them just messing everything up could be done interestingly.

They actually did this with Cyrus in Platinum, he is a completely different entity compared to his goofier mooks. And I quote:

"...So you've come. You heard my speech, I take it. Snicker... A big lie, of course. It's true, insofar as my intention is to create a new world. But that world isn't for the likes of Team Galactic. I seek an entirely new world solely for myself. If not, it could never be the complete and perfect world. You've seen my minions of Team Galactic. You yourself must know that they are uniformly useless and incomplete."

 

[Rarycaris]

I think you're conflating FRLG with Let's Go. The only dex roadblock in FRLG is the postgame 60 one (which still sucks).

I think some of them were optional, but FRLG *definitely* had some mandatory blocks. I thought the 50 one was main path, but maybe not -- I'm pretty much certain the 10 Pokemon one functionally is, though, unless you feel like going through Mt Moon completely blind.

 

[Blue glass]

I think some of them were optional, but FRLG *definitely* had some mandatory blocks. I thought the 50 one was main path, but maybe not -- I'm pretty much certain the 10 Pokemon one functionally is, though, unless you feel like going through Mt Moon completely blind.

It still sucks but you need 10 mons for flash in RBY so it's a case of the remakes being true to the original games.

 

[pokemon4eva]

I also hated that 60 owned mons roadblock to aceess postgame, it affected the pacing of my adventure a lot. And then they do it again for Let's Go, except it's now in the main campaign! 50 mons this time, though...

 

[didls]

That was a thing in FRLG? How bad was it :0

Even worse; if your Chansey or Golbat reaches max happiness, the evolution scene will play out every time you level-up, but it will automatically stop each time.

Also, Snubbull and Marill are my picks for Let's Go Johto mascots.

 

[hypno28]

I think some of them were optional, but FRLG *definitely* had some mandatory blocks. I thought the 50 one was main path, but maybe not -- I'm pretty much certain the 10 Pokemon one functionally is, though, unless you feel like going through Mt Moon completely blind.

Mt. Moon doesn't require Flash. It's Rock Tunnel where you need it. There are no requirements you have to meet to continue during the main game, though. There are only requirements you have to meet to get items (the Flash HM being one of them), the most annoying of which being 50 registered 'mons for the Exp. Share.

 

[Yak Attack]

speaking of Gen 2 (referring to a few posts above), I've always thought GSC's level curve was awful. I beat the game with just Typhlosion and Ampharos (and Suicune in Crystal). Then you get to the post game, which is one big training exercise for Gold. In any other game, you'd have some gigantic hurdle to work around, like Ultra Necrozma, Tate & Liza, or Koga (both of which are unpopular opinions but they always screw my runs over if I'm not prepared). In GSC, you can cheese it with 2 Pokemon, and then catch 4 Gravelers in Victory Road so you can spam Full Restores/Max Revives and do a little damage in return.

 

[Sonikku A]

Again, not a fan of "Let's Go" esque remakes, especially for art. Also Togepi would be a terrible starter with its movepool (doesn't learn any attacks until level 16), and it and Marill's stats are way too low for a starter
There's a good reason Pikachu sucked in Yellow. Too sparse a moveset at the start, too frail to last

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Again, not a fan of "Let's Go" esque remakes, especially for art. Also Togepi would be a terrible starter with its movepool (doesn't learn any attacks until level 16), and it and Marill's stats are way too low for a starter
There's a good reason Pikachu sucked in Yellow. Too sparse a moveset at the start, too frail to last

You realize the starters have buffed stats, right? And that they can change movepools in whatever way they want? A ton of Pokemon have moves they can learn in Let's Go PE and nowhere else.

 

[UninspiredLunch]

IF there were to be another Let's Go game, I think they'd keep Pikachu and Eevee for the branding, tbh. That would really be in the spirit of Johto, now that I think about it

 

[Blue glass]

The biggest hurdle to have Marill and Togepi as starters to a Johto Let's Go is both are Fairy-type but even this isn't a dealbreaker.

The brand in Let's Go is the catching mechanics similar to Pokémon Go not Pikachu and Eevee.

 

[doipy hooves]

The biggest hurdle to have Marill and Togepi as starters to a Johto Let's Go is both are Fairy-type but even this isn't a dealbreaker.

The brand in Let's Go is the catching mechanics similar to Pokémon Go not Pikachu and Eevee.

I can't see Togepi being an exclusive starter. The Johto quest already starts off with the mystery of the Mystery Egg, and Togepi is more like a baby than a partner.

 

[Codraroll]

Eh, for some of those (XY and SS especially) I wouldn't describe the villain stories as deep or complex. I'd describe them as trying to be deep and complex and falling flat on their faces. Though I'm with you in wanting to drop the villain plot altogether. Giving each mainline Pokemon game two plots that are almost entirely unrelated to each other (the champion plot and the villain plot) is such a bizarre choice that I'm baffled not only as to why it's continued, but as to why it was done in the first place.

I'm a little late to the discussion, but just to chime in: Legendary teams are included in the game to give you story moments with something at stake (you're infiltrating the enemy's lair, or a building they've taken over) that can be resolved through a string of Pokémon battles. If your rival had been the only antagonist in the game, each of those story moments would go by in a single battle, with no build-up.

Plus, enemy grunts tend to be a good excuse to block routes or caves you're not supposed to enter before a story moment has been cleared.

So yeah, while it makes the games a little samey and the execution isn't always the best good, I can see why they keep using the evil team trope. It's primarily to pad out the story, particularly in the plot-important scenes.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

I'm a little late to the discussion, but just to chime in: Legendary teams are included in the game to give you story moments with something at stake (you're infiltrating the enemy's lair, or a building they've taken over) that can be resolved through a string of Pokémon battles. If your rival had been the only antagonist in the game, each of those story moments would go by in a single battle, with no build-up.

Plus, enemy grunts tend to be a good excuse to block routes or caves you're not supposed to enter before a story moment has been cleared.

So yeah, while it makes the games a little samey and the execution isn't always the best good, I can see why they keep using the evil team trope. It's primarily to pad out the story, particularly in the plot-important scenes.

I suppose. I also realized that in Gen 1, the villain plot and champion plot do actually intersect in a small but cool way, that of course being the reveal of Giovanni as a gym leader. After that, the plots rarely converge in a satisfying way, with the only instances I can think of being N's stated goal of becoming champion in BW and the games' finale, Guzma and his goons being angry at the champion plot's existence (i.e. the island challenge) and I guess Team Yell's relation to Piers and Marnie, but Team Yell isn't really... a thing.

While legendaries aren't necessary for a game's story to work (Giovanni and Blue carry Gen 1 by themselves) they can also exist without an evil team and still make a good story. For example, malevolent legendaries like Groudon, Kyogre, and Eternatus could feasibly awaken by themselves and the climax would be more or less the same. Friendly but depowered legendaries like Nebby could drive a plot without an evil team preventing you from restoring their power. Mysterious legendaries like Zacian and Zamazenta could also drive a plot without an evil team, and they pair well with malevolent legendaries, either by being the same legendary (gotta unravel the mystery to both realize the world is doomed and to figure out how to make it undoomed) or by opposing the malevolent legendary (what Zacian and Zamazenta already do).

 

[Worldie]

Guzma and his goons being angry at the champion plot's existence (i.e. the island challenge) and I guess Team Yell's relation to Piers and Marnie, but Team Yell isn't really... a thing.

I will never stop repeating it, but when looking at gen 7 and 8, people need to stop looking at the two "teams" for the evil team shenenigans.
(I guess this counts as unpopular opinion too?)

You don't look at how Guzma/Skull and Yell/Marnie intersect with the plot, you look at how Lusamine and Rose's gangs do.
And they do in a meaningful manner (Lusamine is using Alola and Z-energy as research base to get the Ultra-Beasts to come to our world so she can follow them with team Skull being her puppets, and we know that Rose is more or less using the Champion as puppet and the Gym Challenge as a cover for his operations of energy gathering to awaken and enslave Eternatus).

 

[DrPumpkinz]

I will never stop repeating it, but when looking at gen 7 and 8, people need to stop looking at the two "teams" for the evil team shenenigans.
(I guess this counts as unpopular opinion too?)

You don't look at how Guzma/Skull and Yell/Marnie intersect with the plot, you look at how Lusamine and Rose's gangs do.
And they do in a meaningful manner (Lusamine is using Alola and Z-energy as research base to get the Ultra-Beasts to come to our world so she can follow them with team Skull being her puppets, and we know that Rose is more or less using the Champion as puppet and the Gym Challenge as a cover for his operations of energy gathering to awaken and enslave Eternatus).

I don't see why those games can't have two teams. In any case, Lusamine doesn't really interact with the champion plot at all. You just kinda put the island challenge on hold to deal with her (compare that to Team Skull, whose main goal is "down with the island challenge"). And Rose's villainy comes right the fuck out of nowhere. It does technically intersect with the champion plot because he interupts the final tournament, but it's far from satisfying.

My issue isn't that villain plots aren't good (some are, some aren't). My issue is that the villain plots are often completely disconnected from the champion plots.

 

[Meriksn]

Pokémon should have ended with Gen 2. The first generation was the original, the second was a true sequel, anything after that was just downhill.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

I think you're conflating FRLG with Let's Go. The only dex roadblock in FRLG is the postgame 60 one (which still sucks).

The postgame roadblock is a good example of something that would frustrate me now (as someone who likes to replay the games fairly quickly with different teams) but which I actually enjoyed a lot as a kid. Or rather: I didn’t know what catching more Pokémon would unlock, so when I was told to fill up my Pokédex some more I was happy to do it and found it fun going back to areas I hadn’t spent much time in.

These days, of course, it’s a bit of a nuisance catching a bunch of extra mons just to get the rest of the Sevii Islands unlocked, but it makes sense from a story perspective that you wouldn’t get given the National Dex without showing some competence and initiative by catching Pokémon for Oak. Besides, 60 Pokémon isn’t really that many. It’s still annoying though and the way they handled Gen 2 evos pre-Nat Dex was baaaad.


Speaking of the Pokédex, I’m not sure if this counts as an unpopular opinion, but I think every Pokédex should work more like in DPPt (especially Platinum). Sinnoh is unique among the regions because every Pokémon in its regional dex can be ‘Seen’ if you explore the region fully, battling every trainer and completing every special encounter (e.g. legendaries, Rotom, the Manaphy book I guess?). In my ideal world there would’ve been a trainer with a Rotom and the lake guardians would have been added to the Dex after the Spear Pillar/Distortion World, but overall I really like the idea that you can get a full catalogue of the species in the region before you start catching ‘em all.

I’m sure many people prefer having a few mysteries you have to find for yourself in the wild, like RSE Chimecho or 30% of the new Pokémon introduced in GSC, but to me it makes sense to reward a player who explores and battles other trainers with knowledge. It also helps to tie the Pokédex quest with the Pokémon League challenge, conceptually. Rowan and a few other NPCs even make reference to this idea, that getting stronger expands your horizons, giving you access to areas with stronger trainers and a wider variety of Pokémon, thus helping to fill up the Pokédex.

 

[pokemon4eva]

Speaking of the Pokédex, I’m not sure if this counts as an unpopular opinion, but I think every Pokédex should work more like in DPPt (especially Platinum). Sinnoh is unique among the regions because every Pokémon in its regional dex can be ‘Seen’ if you explore the region fully, battling every trainer and completing every special encounter (e.g. legendaries, Rotom, the Manaphy book I guess?). In my ideal world there would’ve been a trainer with a Rotom and the lake guardians would have been added to the Dex after the Spear Pillar/Distortion World, but overall I really like the idea that you can get a full catalogue of the species in the region before you start catching ‘em all.

I’m sure many people prefer having a few mysteries you have to find for yourself in the wild, like RSE Chimecho or 30% of the new Pokémon introduced in GSC, but to me it makes sense to reward a player who explores and battles other trainers with knowledge. It also helps to tie the Pokédex quest with the Pokémon League challenge, conceptually. Rowan and a few other NPCs even make reference to this idea, that getting stronger expands your horizons, giving you access to areas with stronger trainers and a wider variety of Pokémon, thus helping to fill up the Pokédex.

Agreed, the Sinnoh dex never bothered me since I like battling every trainer and checking everything (which is how you get the Manaphy entry) so I received the Nat dex and access to the Battle Zone right away.

 

[deluge]

Not an unpopular opinion :P but:
The Sinnoh games are the best; Gen 4 is the best Gen.

It's the generation I remember most fondly and I probably sank more hours in to my copy of Pearl than any other Pokemon game.
It could be "tinted lens" but I recall Sinnoh being both large and dense, and there was quite a lot of optional content (eg. getting Heatran).
We also got a 3rd game (Platinum) and remakes (HG/SS) in that generation, which introduced Rotom formes and gave many Pokemon new moves.

I also had Pokemon Battle Revolution (Wii) and trained Pokemon in Pearl to use online in PBR random battles.
Looking back, I think Gen 4 represented the height of my interest in the series.
A number of Pokemon I like both in terms of design and utility in battle were introduced or "got good" in Gen 4.
Examples are Empoleon, Scizor (Bullet Punch), Garchomp, Hippowdown, Kingdra (Outrage).

 

[Yung Dramps]

Not an unpopular opinion

Then why did you post it here

 

[deluge]

Then why did you post it here

I was being sarcastic (hence the :P)
How am I supposed to know what other people like?

I guess I could do a poll first to find out if the opinion is genuinely unpopular?
Then if it proves to be unpopular enough I can go ahead and post?

But I didn't think we were being that persnickety here since it's all in good fun.
It's my opinion. Whether it's unpopular or not is up to others.

(Edited to be a bit less caustic, but yeah ... unnecessary response Yung Dramps.)
(I clicked your reply in notifications expecting a comment on the post but got a comment on whether I should post.)

 

[didls]

Pokémon should have ended with Gen 2. The first generation was the original, the second was a true sequel, anything after that was just downhill.

I kinda agree, but I don't think the series really started going downhill until ORAS.

People usually complain about XY whenever Gen 6 is brought up, but I have more of a problem with ORAS. ORAS didn't include any elements from Emerald (other than the Delta Episode, which makes no sense IMO). IIRC, ORAS also introduced the concept of a multiverse, which is just complete silliness and a lazy excuse to avoid the contradictions ORAS created by including the Delta Episode and poorly integrating Mega Evolution into the lore of Hoenn.

 

[Pikachu315111]

deluge & Yung Dramps:
Let us not fight, if anything I think we all got our messages mixed.

I think Yung Dramps was mostly kidding, joking around how this is the unpopular opinion thread yet you started with saying your opinion isn't unpopular. Think a wink, nudge, or similar silly face would have helped get the idea across.

That all said, you've actually missed a few pages deluge as liking Gen IV is actually an unpopular opinion. While you liked the maps a lot of people had problems with how many HMs you needed to traverse it, especially Mt. Coronet which had a neat concept (a central hub location you needed to travel through several times to reach new routes and cities) but handled poorly by needing half a team worth of HM users to do it possibly limiting your team choice. There was also how slow the game was with battles and movement speed. Remember a major feature of Platinum was that they doubled the speed of surfing! Would be exciting if they did Sinnoh remakes using all the new advancements they introduced these past few gens... of course that could be exactly why they aren't as they would have to completely redo Mt. Coronet without HMs preventing progress not to mention feeling obligated to mush in that gens gimmick. They've already stated Dynamax was being kept in Galar so hopefully Gen 9 will give Sinnoh remakes a better shot being made, meanwhile GF experiments with the Wild Area to maybe see if they can't just make any route into one (I've been playing Isle of Armor recently and there are times I keep forgetting that I'm technically in a Wild Area).

Battle Revolution I do think is underappreciated. If you think about it it's essentially a Battle Frontier expansion. However what held it back was it being sold for full Wii game price and then being compared to the previous N64 Stadium games which had additional content like mini-games & being able to emulate the game onto a TV screen (though not sure if the emulation would have been possible, but the mini-games certainly would).

Gen IV was a major game changer by being the gen that introduced the Physical-Special split and thus also requiring many well known Pokemon moves being introduced in order to fill in voids that split has caused. It also caused a major change in the meta as Pokemon lost vital moves, gained new ones, or rediscovered old moves it could not take advantage of.

Anyway, how about my own "opinion-I'm-not-sure-is-unpopular-but-there's-no-other-thread-this-fits-in". OINSIUBTNOTTFI for short:

I think the Isle or Armor did the Wild Area concept WAY better than the main game.
As I mentioned above, while playing through Isle of Armor I completely forget at points that I'm playing in what is all a Wild Area. There's multiple environments, additional pathways and caves, buildings that can entered, and more NPCs that can be interacted with. Isle of Armor may be smaller than the mainland's Wild Area but it still puts it to shame for all that it was able to cram in and making exploring it actually fun!