Pokémon Games Discussion Thread (Gotta Discuss 'Em All!)

[FoRiZon]

Wait what? Future content?

Spoiler: More starters incoming

Several Legendaries also being hidden according to several leaks and hacks.

Allright Gamefreak what more do you hide this time.

Also the youngster with the Eevee suit is cuuuute.

 

[EngieDiesel]

I didn't expect max raids to be such a gold mine but after doing like three of them, in the first wild area nonetheless, I've already got over 100,000 Pokebucks from the sellable stuff that they dropped. That's not even counting the things I found just laying about in the open or the valuables I traded watts for with the random NPCs hanging around the area. I didn't think money would be so trivial THAT quickly!

Also, I was kinda joking about Galar not being a challenge, but then the game decided to drop a Mudbray and a Stufful on me... again, in the first wild area. The way Pokemon are distributed in these games is just bonkers.

 

[EngieDiesel]

So having looked into it some more, it seems like most if not all of the issues with game crashes and SD card corruption isn't the fault of the game or the cards, but due to people trying to hack their save files and not really knowing what they're doing. Given that I've run across a couple obvious cheaters during max raids already, I guess it's still A Thing That Happens in Pokemon. Oh well.

 

[Tired Tyres]

I've got all eight gym badges now but I'm putting off the final stage in favour of raids and filling out the Dex.

 

[GTV0819]

I've got all eight gym badges now but I'm putting off the final stage in favour of raids and filling out the Dex.

At this point, I suppose you're also going to start challenging the Pokemon League already?

 

[EngieDiesel]

At this point, I suppose you're also going to start challenging the Pokemon League already?

Rushing into the league is probably not a good idea. I couldn't help myself and read up on it, and it seems like it's structured somewhat differently from the old Elite Four setup we're familiar with. And unless I read incorrectly, once you start it you're unable to change your team so you really need to make sure you're ready for the long haul.

 

[GTV0819]

Rushing into the league is probably not a good idea. I couldn't help myself and read up on it, and it seems like it's structured somewhat differently from the old Elite Four setup we're familiar with. And unless I read incorrectly, once you start it you're unable to change your team so you really need to make sure you're ready for the long haul.

Oh crap. Even that, they have to alter it, huh? That's just sad.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Oh crap. Even that, they have to alter it, huh? That's just sad.

Well, from what it looks like they wanted to keep with the theme of Pokemon battles being a big time sporting event, and presumably make it less easy to cheese through like the Elite Four could be in previous games. It doesn't look really difficult, just requiring more planning than before regarding what your team is.

 

[Tired Tyres]

At this point, I suppose you're also going to start challenging the Pokemon League already?

No really any reason to at the moment. Once you have all eight gym badged there are no restrictions on level for Pokémon being caught or obeying commands. There isn't much of a post game to do other than complete the Dex, which I'm working towards anyway.

I do need to improve my team though. I can do four star raids easily enough but every attempt at a five star raid has been met with failure. The AI brings some interesting Pokémon to those battles and when I try to invite players no one shows up. I can get matches for easier raids but not for the five star ones.

 

[EngieDiesel]

I do need to improve my team though. I can do four star raids easily enough but every attempt at a five star raid has been met with failure. The AI brings some interesting Pokémon to those battles and when I try to invite players no one shows up. I can get matches for easier raids but not for the five star ones.

In the absence of a national Dex, I've decided my post-game goal is to have a Pokemon of each type that's capable of handling a 5 star raid. I figure that should be a pretty lengthy undertaking, especially if the game is going to ramp up the shenanigans I'm already seeing at 3 star levels.

Also, it's worth noting that if you're looking for foreign version Pokemon to improve your chances of breeding a shiny, the surprise trade is a great asset. The game even puts a special tag on ones that come from other regions. I've got three from Korea and one from Germany so far.

 

[TetsuKobura]

So what’s the early verdict of Pokemon Sword?

 

[Brend]

So what’s the early verdict of Pokemon Sword?

Those playing it are really enjoying it for the most part.
Problems people talked about are definitely legit but by god its so fun that they sorta fade away.

 

[EngieDiesel]

 

[Tired Tyres]

Well I've managed to beat the two 5 star raids that were blocking me from getting a new set of raids. The first one hurt. Corviknight with hidden ability. It jumped out of the Ultraball I threw at it on the second bounce. It was a hard fight to do in the first place. Being able to escape capture is really terrible game design.

The second one had a Fire/Ghost in it that I didn't recognise. I caught that one.

Now I've got a bunch of 4 and 5 star raids that don't seem to be as difficult to do. Not that I've come across any particularly tough opponents yet.

 

[FoRiZon]

Guys we did it! The boycott was successful! Game Freaks is no more!

 

[MIE1992]

My recent thoughts:

-I bet that Gigantamax Eevee, Pikachu, and Meowth will be made more widely-available in a later title. Something very similar has happened with the Mewnium Z and Snorlium Z from Sun/Moon, and the Blazikenite from X/Y. I also would imagine the Dusk-form Lycanroc from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon will end up being in a similar case when we see the next game that has Rockruff/Lycanroc in its local Pokedex. I personally think this whole approach is best for both the devs and players - it's not a waste of asset development for the devs, and it's not 100% missable by players, usually being made available without events in the next game(s).

-As for Meltan/Melmetal, I'd imagine it'd make a lot of sense for players of Pokemon GO to be capable of obtaining more Meltan via a Mystery Box if/when they transfer specimens to Pokemon HOME when it releases, rather than just transferring to Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. It seems like it'd be a waste of assets to have these two species (plus Gigantamax Melmetal) only for them to have this relatively complex method for getting them. I wonder if Meltan has a method for evolution in Sword/Shield, unlike in Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee? Or, alternatively, if all Melmetal sent from GO to HOME and then Sword/Shield will be capable of Gigantamaxing? My last idea was the most simple: perhaps there'll be a Melmetal event where you get a Melmetal that can Gigantamax.

Also, I had a question. When you want to obtain a Gigantamax-capable version of a species, can you breed its ability to Gigantamax down? Or are Gigantamax-capable specimens only available in raids? I don't necessarily mind if they are - especially with the new breeding mechanics that can pass on moves between two of the same species. I do suppose I'd be curious of how you'd be able to get a specimen with the lowest speed IVs in that case, for Trick Room teams - especially for species that may have a Gigantamax form, but also have a speed stat that benefits from Trick Room, such as for Snorlax, Appletun, Hatterene, Copperajah, or the aforementioned Melmetal.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Also, I had a question. When you want to obtain a Gigantamax-capable version of a species, can you breed its ability to Gigantamax down?

I don't believe so, since Gigantimax Pokemon are meant to be special. That's also why they're largely harder to catch than regular Dynamaxed ones. If you could just create Gigantimaxes whenever you wanted they'd be really trivialized.

But then again I haven't yet obtained a Ditto to try this for myself so I can't be totally sure just yet.

 

[Aphelion]

My impressions so far:

game freak reeeeeaallly need to work on their early game pacing, it seriously damn near turned me off the game this time. It just feels like nothing happens for two hours; I’m just slogging through tutorial dialogue, early route Pokémon, poor character development and a nothing-story. I really thought the game was just bad.

Theeeenn once I passed the fire gym it suddenly opened up into a significantly more enjoyable experience. It felt like I was able to explore the world, find fresh new Pokémon to love, and actually use some semblance of strategy in battle. Night and day difference for me. In fact, I think it took me around 2 hours to beat the fire gym, and I think it’s now taken me another 4 just to arrive at the fifth gym, just because I was actually enjoying the game and taking my time to love my Pokémon. its just a little tiring that every single new generation I have to go through this same slog to get to the fun part. Stuff the National dex; an expert-mode early game where it skips all the tutorials and feeds you a few challenges would be the best thing ever.

after all that though, and now that I’m well into the game, I’m really enjoying it. I am extremely bummed about the apparent lack of post-campaign content, as when I get into these games I rarely want to put them down, but I will deal with that when it comes I suppose. Perhaps I’ll go back and play a generation that I haven’t really played much.

 

[EngieDiesel]

I am extremely bummed about the apparent lack of post-campaign content, as when I get into these games I rarely want to put them down, but I will deal with that when it comes I suppose. Perhaps I’ll go back and play a generation that I haven’t really played much.

To be fair, when people talk post game in Pokemon they pretty much only mean the National Dex. There's still Gigantimaxes and shines to acquire, rewards to be earned from Rotom Rally and the Curry Dex, and likely other more free-form content to do that I haven't yet encountered. It's not all exactly a nice orderly checklist, but it's there.

 

[Aphelion]

To be fair, when people talk post game in Pokemon they pretty much only mean the National Dex. There's still Gigantimaxes and shines to acquire, rewards to be earned from Rotom Rally and the Curry Dex, and likely other more free-form content to do that I haven't yet encountered. It's not all exactly a nice orderly checklist, but it's there.

Yeah I know there is always stuff to do, but there is so rarely any reason to keep pushing my team to level up and get better. I really miss the unova post game where it all opened up to the ultra high level right side of the map to explore, or the gen 1 map opening when you beat the league in gen 2. Just reasons to keep playing and exploring.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Yeah I know there is always stuff to do, but there is so rarely any reason to keep pushing my team to level up and get better. I really miss the unova post game where it all opened up to the ultra high level right side of the map to explore, or the gen 1 map opening when you beat the league in gen 2. Just reasons to keep playing and exploring.

Well, I can't guarantee it but it's not out of line to think they may patch in more things later. I've noticed a couple towns with suspiciously important looking doors that don't open, they could very well be places that lead to some kind of challenge halls later on.

 

[FoRiZon]

This is the best Pokémon.

Praise the Ball Guy!

Even the new magazine comic praise him!


Oh and also awesome thing could happen when camping.

 

[MIE1992]

Another comment I had was that I'm very positive we'll get Sinnoh remakes soon, as I think we only get one remake per system. The Gen I remakes were for the GBA, Gen II for the DS, Gen III for the 3DS, and so I bet that Gen IV will be for the Switch. On a similar note, I could see Palkia/Dialga getting Gigantamax forms, albeit titled something else, much like the Primal Reversions for Kyogre/Groudon.

And if they do get G-Max moves, I could see Palkia's move increasing accuracy of its allies and/or decreasing evasion of its opponents, while Dialga's move could increase speed of its allies while possibly dropping the speed of its opponents.

At any rate, I'm not sure if we'll see a third version for Sword/Shield, nor how it'd manifest. We've seen duo sequels with B2/W2, duo third versions with US/UM, so maybe we'll get a singular third version that's also a sequel? I'm not sure. One thing I like about GameFreak is that they seem to hate being predictable - just when you think you've detected a pattern or trend, they seem to buck it. But at the same time, they have a healthy mix of being conservative in some areas, too. I can't think of any other release methods for these "follow-up versions" that hasn't been tried yet. I don't even know what a third version for Sword/Shield would even be called, haha! It'd likely have something to do with Eternatus. (Speaking of which, I don't even know what I'm looking at when seeing images of both of Eternatus' forms. Is it meant to resemble a leafy sea dragon?)

 

[GTV0819]

Well, I just hope they won't screw up on making that remake if it's true.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Oh and also awesome thing could happen when camping.

That... is unbelievably awesome. And a great reason to use the camp feature more often!

 

[Tired Tyres]

Another comment I had was that I'm very positive we'll get Sinnoh remakes soon, as I think we only get one remake per system. The Gen I remakes were for the GBA, Gen II for the DS, Gen III for the 3DS, and so I bet that Gen IV will be for the Switch. On a similar note, I could see Palkia/Dialga getting Gigantamax forms, albeit titled something else, much like the Primal Reversions for Kyogre/Groudon.

And if they do get G-Max moves, I could see Palkia's move increasing accuracy of its allies and/or decreasing evasion of its opponents, while Dialga's move could increase speed of its allies while possibly dropping the speed of its opponents.

At any rate, I'm not sure if we'll see a third version for Sword/Shield, nor how it'd manifest. We've seen duo sequels with B2/W2, duo third versions with US/UM, so maybe we'll get a singular third version that's also a sequel? I'm not sure. One thing I like about GameFreak is that they seem to hate being predictable - just when you think you've detected a pattern or trend, they seem to buck it. But at the same time, they have a healthy mix of being conservative in some areas, too. I can't think of any other release methods for these "follow-up versions" that hasn't been tried yet. I don't even know what a third version for Sword/Shield would even be called, haha! It'd likely have something to do with Eternatus. (Speaking of which, I don't even know what I'm looking at when seeing images of both of Eternatus' forms. Is it meant to resemble a leafy sea dragon?)

Sinnoh remake? Let me see.... Where's the bottom screen on my Switch? I can't seem to see it.

 

[GTV0819]

Sinnoh remake? Let me see.... Where's the bottom screen on my Switch? I can't seem to see it.

 

[EngieDiesel]

So as it turns out, there's a high chance one of your Pokemon may be counterfeit.

Or rather, the teapot they live in is.

 

[TetsuKobura]

So as it turns out, there's a high chance one of your Pokemon may be counterfeit.

Or rather, the teapot they live in is.

That’s absolutely dank and whoever designed that is a huge and respected troll.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Much nicer since I beat the champ. The wild area gives more Watts in the dens and I can take down 5 star raids reasonably well on my own depending on which set of AI's turn up.