Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
And even if you play around it (say, play on an emulator with an Action Replay code to unlock the Key before starting a new game) you find out it's poorly done even without considering the Key mess. It was just one more mon per major trainer and teeny little more grinding.
You guys want a harder difficulty option, but Game Freak is neither willing or actually capable of making one. It's not worth bothering. Just tinker with the game's already existing options to increase difficulty in a fun way...
And even if you play around it (say, play on an emulator with an Action Replay code to unlock the Key before starting a new game) you find out it's poorly done even without considering the Key mess. It was just one more mon per major trainer and teeny little more grinding.
You want a harder difficulty option, but Game Freak is neither willing or actually capable of making one. It's not worth bothering.
Interesting, is that so? I've been interested in doing a hard mode run because of the hype, and I'm lucky enough to own both games and two systems, but I've never tried it. How so is it poorly done (in terms of difficulty) if you don't mind me asking?
Interesting, is that so? I was considering doing a hard mode run because I'm lucky enough to own both the games and two systems, but I've never tried it. Why is it poorly done (in terms of difficulty) if you don't mind me asking?
Basically most major trainers add one more Pokémon, some of their moves are replaced with a stronger moves (e.g. Iris's Aggron has Head Smash instead of Rock Slide) and their teams are 3-4 levels higher than in Normal.
The difficulty change is small at best. Not enough to call it a "Challenge".
I'm not talking about expecting difficulty more like those of the Drayano ROM Hacks, but it was still disappointing.
I'd say, with complete confidence, that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are more of a Challenge Mode to Sun and Moon than this.
The added mon also were usually a mon that could cover for one of their weaknesses, for example, Mantine to cover against Grass.
And let's be real, look at those Wailord differences. It's straight up silly to treat them as pretty much the same team. Marlon's non-Challenge mode is a joke.
Interesting, is that so? I was considering doing a hard mode run because I'm lucky enough to own both the games and two systems, but I've never tried it. How so is it poorly done (in terms of difficulty) if you don't mind me asking?
In my opinion, it's not poorly done at all. There is a surprising amount of thought put into the challenge mode gym fights, it's just that the challenge mode, and especially the easy mode, are incredibly poorly implemented. To give you an example of what the challenge mode might change, let's look at Roxie.
Apart from having slightly higher levels and using an extra Pokemon, Roxie also makes use of held items and her Pokemon have updated movesets. Koffing has a much more threatening STAB move and Whirlipede can now get out of control with rollout. I think Grimer is a particularly good option here as well, as it has mud-slap to check the Magnemite line which would otherwise totally wall Roxie.
Some of the late game fights go all out with items. Look at Shauntal's challenge mode team.
That scarf Chandelure is infamous for being such a big surprise the first time you encounter it. Drifblim uses a common competitive strategy with flying gem acrobatics. What's interesting to note is that Shauntal's Drifblim doesn't have unburden on her normal mode team, so the designers actively chose to chance its ability to unburden specifically for challenge mode. It demonstrates that GF does know what they are doing in terms of boss design, sometimes anyway.
Challenge mode does much more than just adding levels. I think the fact that trainers use items now is enough to make a difference in and of itself to be honest. I would really like to see this in future games. Just let us pick the challenge mode option from the start please.
My unpopular opinion is that Blaziken and Swampert aren't the coolest Hoenn starters. I always thought Sceptile was coolest, but no one really gave him any attention. I mean, Blaziken and Swampert are good, but I feel like people only like them because they're powerful and not because they actually like them. Sceptile is actually a really good special attacker and revenge killer, plus a great SubSeed user in Gen III. But for whatever reason, nobody uses it, and Sceptile and its evolution should get more love. Who agrees with me?
My unpopular opinion is that Blaziken and Swampert aren't the coolest Hoenn starters. I always thought Sceptile was coolest, but no one really gave him any attention. I mean, Blaziken and Swampert are good, but I feel like people only like them because they're powerful and not because they actually like them. Sceptile is actually a really good special attacker and revenge killer, plus a great SubSeed user in Gen III. But for whatever reason, nobody uses it, and Sceptile and its evolution should get more love. Who agrees with me?
My unpopular opinion is that Blaziken and Swampert aren't the coolest Hoenn starters. I always thought Sceptile was coolest, but no one really gave him any attention. I mean, Blaziken and Swampert are good, but I feel like people only like them because they're powerful and not because they actually like them. Sceptile is actually a really good special attacker and revenge killer, plus a great SubSeed user in Gen III. But for whatever reason, nobody uses it, and Sceptile and its evolution should get more love. Who agrees with me?
My unpopular opinion is that Blaziken and Swampert aren't the coolest Hoenn starters. I always thought Sceptile was coolest, but no one really gave him any attention. I mean, Blaziken and Swampert are good, but I feel like people only like them because they're powerful and not because they actually like them. Sceptile is actually a really good special attacker and revenge killer, plus a great SubSeed user in Gen III. But for whatever reason, nobody uses it, and Sceptile and its evolution should get more love. Who agrees with me?
Even though the "favourite starter" discussion is pretty dry and overdone, this does bring up something that I was thinking about the other day.
I think that the Grass-Type is actually the most boring type for in-game runs.
Think about any Grass-Type Pokémon. What's its in-game progression? Normal-Type move (e.g. Tackle), Grass-Type move (e.g. Razor Leaf), Status moves (the powders, Leech Seed), and then just slightly stronger variants of the aforementioned repeated over and over again. Grass-Type Pokémon have infamously bad coverage even when TMs are included -- before Movexit most special Grass-Type Pokémon used a Hidden Power in competitive -- and their level-up learnsets very rarely have moves that aren't STAB or Normal-Type. Of course, dual STAB Grass-Type Pokémon slightly diversify things, but even then it seems like having the Grass-Type attached to a Pokémon means it has less coverage than its other typing would usually get most of the time.
It doesn't help that so many Grass-Type Pokémon just have Chlorophyll for their ability. SunnyBeam is the end-goal moveset for such a large portion of Grass-Type Pokémon that it can't be ignored. And besides that, the Grass-Type is legitimately just one of the worst typings in the game. It has lots of weaknesses to common Pokémon you find in-game, since Poison-Type is usually used by enemy teams and Bug- and Flying-Type Pokémon are everywhere early on where you're supposed to depend on your starter, and the Grass-Type becomes a really bad choice to start the game with. There's a reason why it's often considered a bit of a hard mode in itself.
Here's a level-up moveset for a Grass-Type Pokémon.
Who do you think has this moveset? As a hint, I did choose a Pokémon with some distinguishable features among Grass-Type Pokémon in its moveset. If you still can't guess, I think it drives the point home more.
It's Cottonee. The only way you can tell is its 2 (two!) Fairy-Type moves, and its 2 unviable "cotton" moves. Everything else could be from any Grass-Type Pokémon.
It's something that's extremely easy to miss or gloss over, but I think this is arguably the biggest reason why it feels like Grass-Type starters are generally the least popular. There are exceptions (or only really Turtwig and Rowlet, perhaps also Grookey) but notice that Turtwig and Rowlet both combine their Grass-Type with an interesting other type that's rarely found on Grass-Type Pokémon, and Grookey is probably more popular because its competition with the Gen VIII starters is worse.
Anyway, going back to the above post, I think the Hoenn starters are often considered the second-most popular starter trio in the series only behind KANTOOOOOOO, so even if it seems Sceptile is less popular than Blaziken or Swampert (which I'm not totally sure is true but hey) it doesn't mean it's not loved. Setting the three of them in an arbitrary competition with each other is pointless.
kinda ugly tho :/
I've always beem impartial to the whole "3d models ruined typhlosion" because, while yeah it does look bad without the fire and it was a dumb decision to take it off, it does make me question on how good of a design it is when it only has fire to make it look cool.
Sure, every pokemon with fire on it would look worse without their fire ignited, but quite a few would still look pretty decent. Some would even still remain pretty good (thinking stuff like infernape). Typhlosion looks awful, and it makes me think it really is just a dumb badger whos only appeal is that its on fire
Also, on a different note, I feel like Hoenn having a lot of water didn't make it bad. If anything, I felt like exploring this region was just as fun as Alola and more original than Johto, though I do happen to like the Johto games for different reasons. I do admit that Diving got kind of annoying, but it made the world feel more vast. The Pokemon introduced in Gen III were pretty awesome, too.
On the subect of Pokemon design, I prefer the designs of most newer Gens to older ones, since they kind of got more creative with the designs. Some designs were kind of just comebacks of older ones, but I think they're still really cool. However, I think we can all agree that the Legends and Myths in every game are really cool, not just specific Gens.
I found Kalos very fun. For one, Shiny Hunting was an easier thing to do. Some think that Shinies have lost their value, but older Gens didn't have "Shiny Hunting;" they just had Soft Resetting. To me, that's a boring concept. Masuda Breeding, Chain Fishing, Poke Radar, Hidden Pokémon, SOS Battles, and Max Raids are fun. The fact that they take less time means more people can have Shinies, and that's cool. The feeling of getting a Shiny is amazing, but endlessly resetting gets boring. Shiny Hunting is actually fun nowadays, and beyond that, it's easier to get GOOD Shinies. In older gens, it was much harder to tell if your Pokemon is even good, and Egg Moves, IVs, HAs, and other such things were too hard to legitimately get on a Shiny.
On the subect of Pokemon design, I prefer the designs of most newer Gens to older ones, since they kind of got more creative with the designs. Some designs were kind of just comebacks of older ones, but I think they're still really cool. However, I think we can all agree that the Legends and Myths in every game are really cool, not just specific Gens.
I can definetly agree with you on the point of the newer designs being better. Look at gen 1. We have 2 purple blobs that look the same and have boring names, just a few magnets put together, a cat, weird duck looking thing (?). Those are crap designs, and you can't defend them. Pokemon designs needed time to grow, so nowadays, they are much better. gens 1-4 weren't very adventuerous, because they were in the original era, so not much time. They were simple, but not all bad. Now, we have more complicated designs, and overall better designs. No arguing.
Even though the "favourite starter" discussion is pretty dry and overdone, this does bring up something that I was thinking about the other day.
I think that the Grass-Type is actually the most boring type for in-game runs.
Think about any Grass-Type Pokémon. What's its in-game progression? Normal-Type move (e.g. Tackle), Grass-Type move (e.g. Razor Leaf), Status moves (the powders, Leech Seed), and then just slightly stronger variants of the aforementioned repeated over and over again. Grass-Type Pokémon have infamously bad coverage even when TMs are included -- before Movexit most special Grass-Type Pokémon used a Hidden Power in competitive -- and their level-up learnsets very rarely have moves that aren't STAB or Normal-Type. Of course, dual STAB Grass-Type Pokémon slightly diversify things, but even then it seems like having the Grass-Type attached to a Pokémon means it has less coverage than its other typing would usually get most of the time.
It doesn't help that so many Grass-Type Pokémon just have Chlorophyll for their ability. SunnyBeam is the end-goal moveset for such a large portion of Grass-Type Pokémon that it can't be ignored. And besides that, the Grass-Type is legitimately just one of the worst typings in the game. It has lots of weaknesses to common Pokémon you find in-game, since Poison-Type is usually used by enemy teams and Bug- and Flying-Type Pokémon are everywhere early on where you're supposed to depend on your starter, and the Grass-Type becomes a really bad choice to start the game with. There's a reason why it's often considered a bit of a hard mode in itself.
Here's a level-up moveset for a Grass-Type Pokémon.
Who do you think has this moveset? As a hint, I did choose a Pokémon with some distinguishable features among Grass-Type Pokémon in its moveset. If you still can't guess, I think it drives the point home more.
It's Cottonee. The only way you can tell is its 2 (two!) Fairy-Type moves, and its 2 unviable "cotton" moves. Everything else could be from any Grass-Type Pokémon.
It's something that's extremely easy to miss or gloss over, but I think this is arguably the biggest reason why it feels like Grass-Type starters are generally the least popular. There are exceptions (or only really Turtwig and Rowlet, perhaps also Grookey) but notice that Turtwig and Rowlet both combine their Grass-Type with an interesting other type that's rarely found on Grass-Type Pokémon, and Grookey is probably more popular because its competition with the Gen VIII starters is worse.
Anyway, going back to the above post, I think the Hoenn starters are often considered the second-most popular starter trio in the series only behind KANTOOOOOOO, so even if it seems Sceptile is less popular than Blaziken or Swampert (which I'm not totally sure is true but hey) it doesn't mean it's not loved. Setting the three of them in an arbitrary competition with each other is pointless.
I would argue that the fun in using grass types is finding a way to make them work. The viability of the grass type also depends heavily on the game you're playing. In Sinnoh, all the types that grass has a good matchup against are represented by a gym leader or E4 member, and fire types are notoriously rare. Compare that to Johto where grass doesn't have a single good matchup.
I also think that GF has been getting better at designing grass types since gen 5. Unova in particular has a lot of variety in grass types.
Serperior - fast and bulky setup sweeper
Simisage - fast mixed sweeper
Leavanny - swords dance sweeper but a bug type (which is nice for the E4)
Whimsicott - purely support
Lilligant - special setup sweeper
Maractus - uhh....
Ferrothorn - defensive juggernaut
Sawsbuck - fast and physical with good coverage
Amoongus - mixed tank
As for starters, I would really like to see a fast grass/rock type starter. Grass and rock complement each other so well, but the only grass/rock type we have is Cradily, who doesn't exactly make the dual STAB shine.
I would argue that the fun in using grass types is finding a way to make them work. The viability of the grass type also depends heavily on the game you're playing. In Sinnoh, all the types that grass has a good matchup against are represented by a gym leader or E4 member, and fire types are notoriously rare. Compare that to Johto where grass doesn't have a single good matchup.
I also think that GF has been getting better at designing grass types since gen 5. Unova in particular has a lot of variety in grass types.
Serperior - fast and bulky setup sweeper
Simisage - fast mixed sweeper
Leavanny - swords dance sweeper but a bug type (which is nice for the E4)
Whimsicott - purely support
Lilligant - special setup sweeper
Maractus - uhh....
Ferrothorn - defensive juggernaut
Sawsbuck - fast and physical with good coverage
Amoongus - mixed tank
As for starters, I would really like to see a fast grass/rock type starter. Grass and rock complement each other so well, but the only grass/rock type we have is Cradily, who doesn't exactly make the dual STAB shine.
While I agree with you on paper, I think for in-game play these distinctions matter much less. Physical and special are really distinct in competitive play where opponents are EV-trained, but in-game the difference between using Seed Bomb and Energy Ball is barely noticeable. Similarly, Whimsicott being a good support Pokémon is cool in competitive doubles, but in-game you still just use SunnyBeam, just as you also do on Maractus and Lilligant. Amoongus and Ferrothorn are, however, fun defensive options, and I do think Sawsbuck is an exception to the rule with its Normal-Type STAB, Jump Kick, and Megahorn. It’s a fun Choice Band user if you go out of your way to get one from the Battle Subway, which is pretty unique for a Grass-Type Pokémon. But notice how all of these are dual-typed; the 3 mono-grass mons all end up using SunnyBeam, while Serperior doesn’t have access to it so it’s stuck with worse moves like Leaf Storm (without access to Contrary) and Simisage is still using Seed Bomb at the end.
Basically I agree with you with regards to competitive, but in-game not so much. Lilligant is by all accounts a Bellossom in-game.
While I agree with you on paper, I think for in-game play these distinctions matter much less. Physical and special are really distinct in competitive play where opponents are EV-trained, but in-game the difference between using Seed Bomb and Energy Ball is barely noticeable. Similarly, Whimsicott being a good support Pokémon is cool in competitive doubles, but in-game you still just use SunnyBeam, just as you also do on Maractus and Lilligant. Amoongus and Ferrothorn are, however, fun defensive options, and I do think Sawsbuck is an exception to the rule with its Normal-Type STAB, Jump Kick, and Megahorn. It’s a fun Choice Band user if you go out of your way to get one from the Battle Subway, which is pretty unique for a Grass-Type Pokémon.
Basically I agree with you with regards to competitive, but in-game not so much. Lilligant is by all accounts a Bellossom in-game.
Hard disagree on Lilligant. It gets quiver dance before level 30, so it can sweep pretty much every fight in the game regardless of whether they resist grass or not. It also gets petal dance, which is just as powerful as solar beam but without the need for sun. For that reason, own tempo is better than chlorophyl.
What's the issue with sunnybeam anyway? I think it's more fun than just spamming attacks, and it can be very powerful. I do agree that gen 1 and 2 over-rely on chlorophyl, which makes the common grass types in those games feel very samy, but that's mostly because there weren't that many different ability options back then. Gen 3 actually puts an interesting twist on the weather abuser concept by not just making chlorophyl sweepers, but also a swift swim and sand veil abusers. Cradily also stands out as an interesting mon, and Sceptile has a unique statline and good coverage in ORAS. I don't know, I just don't really see the 'grass types are boring' thing outside of gen 1 and 2.
Grass is designed as a "Support/Disrupt" type, but when *everyone* gets *everything* the point really is a bit moot.
Think about it this way. If you look at in-game performance, which pure Grass-types stand out? The ones that do something different.
Chikorita in GSC gets Reflect and that helps a lot against Miltank. It also gets Body Slam naturally. You don't get Sleep Powder for cheesing or even Stun Spore.
Treecko in RSE is ridiculously fast and actually gets decent STAB later in the game just in time to slice up the Water segment.
Lilligant gets Quiver Dance and is a legit sweeper.
Grookey gets legit coverage (but no Seed Bomb. Weeeeird.) and solid stats.
Meanwhile, you look at that endless garden of unremarkable junk that either got no stats or are just status spreaders like Sunflora, Oddish, Bellsprout...
Also, a lot of them are Grass/Poison with the same role of status spreader of which only Roserade sticks out a bit in-game due to actually having Speed but it's as miserable as using Victreebel because it also gets its STABs resisted constantly and having to pick between status or coverage.
The anime isn't really new to presenting a mon with an opposite personality of what you expect. We got Ash's Chikorita (easy guys, I'm not going to remind you-know-what), who despite being the 'femenine choice' for Johto starter, she had tough and violent tendencies, especially compared with the shy Cyndaquil and jolly Totodile. There's also this little Teddiursa whose cutesyness is just a facade.
(why would a grass type eat hot dogs, how could Misty fell so easily for this smh...)
There's also this evil Togepi from a random DP episode, with PSYCHIC AND FLAMETHROWER of all things!
Grass is designed as a "Support/Disrupt" type, but when *everyone* gets *everything* the point really is a bit moot.
Think about it this way. If you look at in-game performance, which pure Grass-types stand out? The ones that do something different.
Chikorita in GSC gets Reflect and that helps a lot against Miltank. It also gets Body Slam naturally. You don't get Sleep Powder for cheesing or even Stun Spore.
Treecko in RSE is ridiculously fast and actually gets decent STAB later in the game just in time to slice up the Water segment.
Lilligant gets Quiver Dance and is a legit sweeper.
Grookey gets legit coverage (but no Seed Bomb. Weeeeird.) and solid stats.
Meanwhile, you look at that endless garden of unremarkable junk that either got no stats or are just status spreaders like Sunflora, Oddish, Bellsprout...
Also, a lot of them are Grass/Poison with the same role of status spreader of which only Roserade sticks out a bit in-game due to actually having Speed but it's as miserable as using Victreebel because it also gets its STABs resisted constantly and having to pick between status or coverage.
Hard disagree on Bellsprout and Oddish. Both can hit pretty hard while learning Sleep Powder and other status moves naturally - Bellsprout in particular swept Bugsy's team for me very recently while underleveled (L15), albeit I needed two Potions and used an X-Accuracy to make Sleep Powder never miss, but it's still pretty cool. In the future games. Come Gen 3, they can both use the Chlorophyll + Sunnybeam combo to ravage teams and Growth gets much better post-Gen 5 due to it now boosting both offenses - forgot if Oddish gets it, but Bellsprout does.
I can't defend/explain GF's odd penchant for leaving important trainers' Pokémon with only three moves (sudden thought: a way to regulate the AI's move selection perhaps?), but the lack of a Fairy move on Mimikyu is at least partially due to Fairy having one non-signature physical move (and one that may be a bit too overbearing at the point you fight Allister, especially with its Disguise). The only options it has for any Fairy attacks are Play Rough, Draining Kiss, and Dazzling Gleam (having it use its weaker offensive stat probably would have been okay but oh well).
kinda ugly tho :/
I've always beem impartial to the whole "3d models ruined typhlosion" because, while yeah it does look bad without the fire and it was a dumb decision to take it off, it does make me question on how good of a design it is when it only has fire to make it look cool.
Sure, every pokemon with fire on it would look worse without their fire ignited, but quite a few would still look pretty decent. Some would even still remain pretty good (thinking stuff like infernape). Typhlosion looks awful, and it makes me think it really is just a dumb badger whos only appeal is that its on fire
You see, it was the best decision to have no fairy move, because of the kids who play. I've already said this before, because a kid with his dark type Obstagoon is gonna get a curveball thrown at him, when the pure ghosty guy hits him with something super effective called fairy? It's a fairly early on gym, and little Timmy who doesn't know anything is going to get obliterated if those movesets where different. I know a good percentage are over 18, but pokemon is trying to appeal to kids currently. Perhaps if it was a later gym, they would have a fairy move, but Pokemon wants little Timmy to have a mild adventure for his first time, even though it might be annoying to us. The flaw, is that they think that everyone is a newbie, and not veterans like us, so they only add stuff for newbies, never catering to the say like 70% of the people who buy their games who already played one before. It seems good at first, but is really flawed.
Tl;DR: They try to cater to younger and newer audiences, but they ignore everyone else's experience to do that.
kinda ugly tho :/
I've always beem impartial to the whole "3d models ruined typhlosion" because, while yeah it does look bad without the fire and it was a dumb decision to take it off, it does make me question on how good of a design it is when it only has fire to make it look cool.
Sure, every pokemon with fire on it would look worse without their fire ignited, but quite a few would still look pretty decent. Some would even still remain pretty good (thinking stuff like infernape). Typhlosion looks awful, and it makes me think it really is just a dumb badger whos only appeal is that its on fire
Couldn't agree more, but for the wrong reasons. Typhlosion has nothing going on. The only thing unique about the guy is his fire, which is underwhelming. Look at half of his body, just nothing there! He has a lot of negative space, and at least with Zard, he had a few wings, and some little juts. Typhlosion? NOTHING. Just a tiny pint of fire and NOTHIGN ELSE. there's only black, rubbery skin. Nothing going on. That's why I hate these earlier designs, because they weren't adventureous or cool at all really. Just a few colors, some fire, and a mouth and eyes. It has no substance, otehr some some crappy fire. The monke has some cool armor, some cool eye markings, and a bit of fire. Typhlosion? NOTHING.
Edit: Sorry, large amounts of negative space in a pokemon kinda drives me insane.
Typhlosion honestly works better when it's on all fours instead of standing up. Perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of it (and one Game Freak does not portray enough of) is that it's the only Fire starter so far that has been functionally capable of moving on all fours (and for the most part, it's a quadruped, not a biped). Like this:
It looks neater in action because that backside not only has the firepads but it looks like it's wearing a cape, which is pretty cool.
Another showcase example of Typhlosion on all fours and in action, it looks pretty decent when it's not standing up.
Honestly I would much prefer if the 3D model made Typhlosion pose on all fours (like Quilava does) and looks more battle aggressive because its design works much better in a quadruped pose than a biped one. Its design is a bit basic but it's also a very expressive Pokemon especially in battle and it can change from looking friendly to looking like it's battle-ready and raging which is where its strength lies, especially in terms of pose and facial expression.
Also, it has the absolute most GOATed cry of all Gen 1-2 Pokemon ever, I mean this is absolutely godly:
Overall though Typhlosion should've really had its model have it post in a quadruped, battle ready stance because while its design is a bit basic, it's a very expressive Pokemon and it looks way cooler when it's on all fours and in a battle stance with its fire on. Expression and personality is really where Typhlosion shines, and they should delve more into that. Quilava and Cyndaquil on the other hand still have some of my favorite designs though: Cyndaquil is ADORABLE and I love it so much, Quilava's expression looks quiet, yet cool and confident and it's pretty cool on that merit alone.
But yeah, the Johto starters as a whole had rather simplistic designs as a whole which is why they tend to get shafted quite a bit, that is in addition to their battle capabilities being rather basic for their types collectively speaking. They definitely don't stand out that much compared to the other starters which is kind of unfortunate.
I dont think that simple = bad, a design can be simple but highly effective. I like incineroar, which is by all means a pretty simple design. A stylized anthro tiger with a fire belt, seems pretty basic. But what really shines is both the personality and how they used the simplicity for their favor
The stripes immitating a 4 pack, the fire belt that gives a nice touch to the heel aesthetic, the mask-like markings on the face, and the taunting personality, down to the idle animation, are all part of what makes incineroar a really good design for me (its also why I tend to dislike when people redesign it just to make it quadrupedal. You're making it lose the whole charm! The design does not work as well when incin is Just A Tiger).
I feel like typhlosion just needed a more interessing concept. Focus more on the volcano part, make the fire actually volcano-like, or give it something that ties to the traditional japanese aesthetic of johto. Fireworks maybe? An explosive and cool show would fit typhlosion really well. But it doesn't have anything, it trully is just a badger on fire.
I do agree that, if it had a bit more personality, it'd be better though. I feel like of all fire starters to put on four legs, typhlosion really should have been the one. give it an explosive personality to match the explosive fire it has or something lol
