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

Back to crap on Pokemon again.

Just kidding, this game actually looks pretty interesting. I’m honestly surprised they’re planning or already showing off the next games so soon after Arceus dropped. Really makes that game seem much less important in the grand scheme of things and severely limits things like DLC potential for that game.

The new region looks really cool visually. Not graphically because that’s still garbage as always, but the lighting and art style of the new region look really interesting. Reminds me of Spain the most, so I’m hoping we get a Spanish-inspired open world area to explore.

Not sure what the gameplay and story are going to be like so I hope it’s not just the typical going around and beating up the elite 4 affair that we get thrown at us year after year.

I’ve had a dream for a Pokémon game for a while, an open world map with a sort of Pokemon Grand Prix going on in the region involving the Pokédex, battling, and contests/showcases going on in each city. So you have to demonstrate your well-roundedness to become the winner of that region’s Grand Prix and become a Pokemon Master, that sort of thing.

Anyways, the new trainers look like Boy Scouts and I want to punch the starters in their collective faces and obliterate them, but other than that it’s an interesting new start for Pokemon.
 
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Game Freak has confirmed HOME Compatibility and Hisuian Zoroark.

I assume it'll be like Sword and Shield where regional forms from past games are obtained either by HOME or NPC Trades.

They did add the note of "only able to receive Pokémon obtainable in Scarlett and Violet" so looks like we still can't have all the Pokémon again despite using the same Models just upscaled, which even though it's expected at this point is still disappointing (especially when you consider every Gen 1 to 4, Gen 8 and most Gen 5, 6 and 7 models have been on the Switch)
 
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Shiny Hunting is so easy in this game, I Shiny Hunted my entire in-game team. First time I've just been able to get my in-game team Shiny.

Shiny Hisuian Samurott looks so cool though.
 
Arceus and Darkrai events confirmed in BDSP thatll be available in the latest update

  • For Darkrai, you just need to Mystery Gift from March 31st to April 30th, the date of the New Moons
  • For Arceus, you need a completed Pokédex save file of Legends: Arceus, then the Azure Flute spawns in your house
While I'm glad we're doing the Azure Flute after being denied from it in D/P/Pt. The fact you have to already obtain Arceus in LA just to get Arceus in BDSP feels extremely redundant
 
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Excited for the Pokémon HOME update? Well it's getting very convoluted now: https://www.serebii.net/pokemonhome/transfer.shtml

Pokémon transferred to BDSP and Arceus will have their movesets wiped. Pokemon from BDSP and Arceus to SwSh will also have their movesets wiped. and the Pokémon will have individual move data for those games

There is a bit of confusion if whether or not the old moveset returns when transferring back to HOME. Seems confirmed for BDSP/Arceus back to SwSh but not sure if forwards.

As for Pokéballs. Arceus Poké balls are stored in HOME but don't get attached to them if you want to transfer, they'll become Strange Balls when transferred to another game and that resets their original ball back to the Poke Ball completely.

Because of the Duplication glitch in BDSP, you can only transfer 1 of each Legendary or Mythical from BDSP to HOME

I don't know how TPC did it, but they made Pokémon more convoluted than when they still had all the Pokémon and move in every game which was one of the reasons people keep defending why they got cut in the first place.
 
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I forgot about the thread to be honest :P.

So far looks alright. There's no actual details yet on what these features will do so it's a wait and see kind of thing, it's hard to get excited or criticise but I am intrigued by it

I do love the 2 new Legendaries. I think they both look really cool, however it makes it really hard for me to decide which version to choose because I choose based on the Legendary
 
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A lot of folks have been pointing out that the two games seem to be very heavily leaning on the themes of past and future, to the point where the two professors' names are plays on the Spanish words for such, so now it's got me wondering if there's going to be any divergence in the storyline between Scarlet and Violet. Obviously certain key events would have to be the same to tie them both together, but I could see them doing a number of different things to make each version feel more distinct from each other storywise.
 
I find it interesting that it might be the case because Black and White used Past vs Future for its Truth vs Ideal grander theme with Opelucid City and more so in B2/W2 with Route 4. So they're now retreading already used material but more direct.

Which was the case with several of the Hisuian Pokémon in Arceus. Zoroark was already based on a Kitsune Fox just the Hisuian counterpart is more obvious, same with Qwilfish with the Landmine.
 
Yippee. Pokemon Scarlet has downloaded on my Switch.
Only four more days until we get to ride around on our goofy motorcycle lizards and probably blunder into situations that we're horrendously ill-equipped to deal with!

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I really am curious how the whole Terastalizing thing is going to play out in practice. The way its described it sounds like there's an actual reason to catch multiple of the same species now, since each individual Pokemon can have a different Tera type.
 
Only four more days until we get to ride around on our goofy motorcycle lizards and probably blunder into situations that we're horrendously ill-equipped to deal with!

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I really am curious how the whole Terastalizing thing is going to play out in practice. The way its described it sounds like there's an actual reason to catch multiple of the same species now, since each individual Pokemon can have a different Tera type.
So just mega hidden power?
 
So just mega hidden power?
No, it's not just a move that has its own type, it actually changes the Pokemon's type entirely when it's activated and any move they use that matches their Tera type while it's active gets boosted in power. So if you have a Pikachu with a Fairy Tera type, when you pop it off then it effectively becomes a Fairy-type while it's active. I can see it being useful for adding a lot more utility to Pokemon who can learn powerful off-type moves, or just making their movesets less one-dimensional in general.

And apparently if their Tera type matches their original type then that type of move gets a massive boost, so finding a Flying type with a Flying Tera type would be a pretty heavy hitter, for example. If anything it sounds like the Z-moves in Sun/Moon, but much better thought out and not heavily gimmicked towards specific Pokemon that they wanted to make a new design for.

Edit: Also they improved the camping mechanic too, the food you make can have secondary effects like causing certain types of Pokemon to appear more frequently in the wild or improving your catch rate, and sometimes you can get eggs from your Pokemon when they're playing together if they're of compatible egg groups. This can also happen when your friends' Pokemon are joining your campsite.
 
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Only four more days until we get to ride around on our goofy motorcycle lizards and probably blunder into situations that we're horrendously ill-equipped to deal with!

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I really am curious how the whole Terastalizing thing is going to play out in practice. The way its described it sounds like there's an actual reason to catch multiple of the same species now, since each individual Pokemon can have a different Tera type.
Its confirmed there are Crystal Shards you can find in stuff like Raids and 50 of a certain Shard type will allow you to change it

I'm more likely to skip this Gen, been reading all the leaks and if the one about HOME transfers still forgetting movesets beyond BDSP and Arceus, I don't see myself continuing with the franchise as the sole reason I was putting up with all these mediocre Switch games as because it was updating my Pokémon collection but all that pretty gets restricted to the point you might as well just catch a new Pokémon. So I'd only play a future Pokémon game if it's good to stand out on its own which to me, none of the Switch Pokémon games have been, and going through all the leaks, while this game does seem a little better, still not worth paying for as a standalone game to me (I wouldn't have brought BD or Arceus if I knew transfer Pokémon move reset was going to be a thing)

Of course there is a possibility this leak is false as unlike other leaks it came from only one source and its possible this restriction if true could only apply to BDSP and Arceus which I'm finger crossing hope so. Therefore, I'm waiting on my final judgment until the Pokémon HOME update to see if I'll actually buy the game or not
 
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I, for one, do plan to get Scarlet - but I gotta get a Switch first, haha!

As for my actual team, I can't say I'm a fan of trying to plan my team down to the specifics. I think the only thing I'll actually plan for is which starter I'll pick, which will be Fuecoco in this case. Then, sometime down the line, I'll likely get a grass and water-type sometime down the line to have all three of those types in my team. I'm wondering, though, if I'll make my team entirely Paldean species and/or forms, or potentially a combination of old and new species/forms. I'm also unsure if I'll be using any legendaries or Paradox forms, though they look real cool from what I've seen, and I profoundly doubt that Salamence's Paradox form looks like its mega-evolution by sheer coincidence - especially since it's exclusive to Scarlet, the game that focuses on the past. And I also wonder why so many of Violet's Paradox forms look so artificial, like with the pixilated eyes? I'm almost positive the story will tell us, seeing how Miraidon has very similar design elements.

I also wonder how Terrastallizing may play into the story? Every major battle mechanic, starting with X/Y, had at least some relevance to the plot/lore of the region, rather than being simply "there," especially Z-Moves and Dynamaxing.

I think it'll be fun!
 
So without spoiling anything, I couldn't resist looking at the full Pokedex list and I have to say there's a very good mix of returning Pokemon in there, and a lot of the newer and regional form Pokemon look pretty interesting too.

Also, they obviously learned a lesson and made sure Pawmi isn't another useless Pikachu clone like everyone was expecting. So good on them for that.
 
I've been playing this all day. The new Pokémon scarlet game is so much fun. This is how to make an open world game.
 
Seems like type altering is a rather important strategy this time around, not just with Terastalizing but in general. One of the dirty tricks I came up with early on is having my Buizel change an opponent's type to water with Soak, then switch to an Electric type and give them the business. More often than not it's worked quite well, and I'm pretty sure there are other moves that can mess around with opponent Pokemon in the same manner too.

Terastalizing is actually pretty interesting too in the way its implemented. The fact that a Pokemon's type gets changed while it's active but still gets the move bonuses of its original types means you can make some really nasty surprises if you know what their moveset allows, presuming you go out of your way to find a Tera off-type.

Also, I like that they get silly crystal hats too. Nothing says "I am the agent of your doom" quite like wearing a giant sparkly candelabra on your head.
 
I've spent two days playing multi hours each time.

I've only got one badge. I've spent my time catching Pokémon for the Dex. It is such a shame about Dexit, the national Dex would have given this game near infinite game play. This is my personal favourite Pokémon game.
 
I've spent two days playing multi hours each time.

I've only got one badge. I've spent my time catching Pokémon for the Dex. It is such a shame about Dexit, the national Dex would have given this game near infinite game play. This is my personal favourite Pokémon game.
Beyond the 400 in the game's Pokedex, there's about 120 more that are flagged as transferrable (meaning they'll probably be flying around in surprise trades the day after Home functionality is enabled), and at least a few of them are confirmed to be available through special event Tera raids in the coming months. If they do rounds of DLC for this game then still more will be added along with a few more stealth patched in, so there's still likely a lot left to obtain in the future.

And let's be honest: upgrading the textures, adjusting the movesets and rebalancing stats of about 1,100 Pokemon is a massive undertaking. I figure a good number of them need to be redone from the ground up as they have moves that were obsoleted two or three generations back.
 
And let's be honest: upgrading the textures, adjusting the movesets and rebalancing stats of about 1,100 Pokemon is a massive undertaking. I figure a good number of them need to be redone from the ground up as they have moves that were obsoleted two or three generations back.
Pokemon you only get by transfer in games without dexit often got no adjustments to movesets or balancing because they aren't legal for competitive play anyway. With only a few exceptions like Typhlosion getting Burn Up in Sun/Moon. It was all copy pasted anyway

Only thing really here is the texture which I don't think is good enough to still excuse cutting Pokemon down, especially when all we got is like a Wii game in the visual department and the textures are very simplistic at that.
 
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Got about 8-9 hours in Violet. So far I do like. Kinda nice not having a linear story line like previous games. Like I can go to whatever gym I want when I want. Also the Titans and team star are a nice change of pace.
 
I've spent two days playing multi hours each time.

I've only got one badge. I've spent my time catching Pokémon for the Dex. It is such a shame about Dexit, the national Dex would have given this game near infinite game play. This is my personal favourite Pokémon game.
I'm in the same boat. Ive been playing for a good while already and barely even touched getting any sort of badges. I did go after the Grass Type Leader to the east, and got one of the Titans so far, but I think im about 15 hours in already. I end up just exploring endlessly and catching everything a long the way.
 
It really is interesting how the game encourages you to use all those Pokemon you catch simply by dramatically slowing down your ability to level them compared to earlier games. Five gym badges later I'm only allowed to get them up to level 45, and actually getting them there without burning a small mountain of XP Candies is quite the commitment. Even sending them off into rampages with auto battling doesn't make it any faster because the XP yield is a lot less than if you take on battles manually. I don't mind though, it makes me feel like I'm actually training them now, rather than just dragging their stats up to a usable state. I really do like that they kept the Legends mechanic of being able to change up a Pokemon's moveset while in the field too, that's been helping quite a bit in ensuring nobody ends up being a boat anchor.

Also, I discovered earlier that in the town with the Water type gym, you can buy Guy-Manuel's Daft Punk helmet for your character to wear. They don't even try to disguise what it is (other than calling it the "Cool Helmet"), which is pretty amusing.
 
7 gym badges only raises the bar to level 55. Then a 100 on the 8th.
Which I'm perfectly okay with, since it means you can't just win by over leveling a single team and brute forcing your way through gym battles. The way that progression is gated in this game really does make sense for an open world environment without discouraging from just wandering off to go explore and have fun.
 
I Was kinda expecting not to like this game very much, especially considering the large internet backlash its created. I do have to say, I think its at least partially justified. The game pretty much continuously runs at sub 20fps, theres constant dramatic aliasing all over the screen, frequent visual bugs and pretty bad pop in pretty much 100% of the time. I think people should expect more from a full price Switch game created for one of the most financially lucrative video game series of all time.

However, Pokemon has litterally never been about visual fidelity, its about training and catching cute critters and so far, this game is really doing it for me. I thought Auto-battling would take fun away from the experience but it does exactly the opposite, allowing me to watch my little guys running around the open world after me creating havoc and levelling up is actually way more fun than running through tall grass and spamming the same move over and over again. It also has the added benefit of making the actual trainer battles more engaging because I've only had to do about 1/10th of the battles that I normally would have at this stage of the game.

Overall I really think theyre onto something here with the formula they've created. I just wish more time had gone into this one, I kinda thought they wouldve learned their lesson after sword and shield. Ultimately I just think game freak was a great gameboy/ds/3ds developer, but their technical team just doesn't know how to pull it together for a full fat console release. Oh well, I'm still having a blast.
 
For every person that's been complaining about bad framerates and visual glitches there's been just as many who've been saying they're not having those problems (albeit not nearly as loudly). I'm starting to wonder if it's a case of heavily used pre-pandemic Switches struggling under the weight of a game that's pushing the hardware more than most first party games do. Certainly most people who would have upgraded to newer ones after a couple years either couldn't justify the cost of replacing something that still works and isn't a necessity for living, or just couldn't actually get ahold of one because of supply issues. I wish there was a reliable way to find out data that most PC games harvest telemetry on like system age, usage hours, etc that would give a more clear picture of how much of it is hardware vs. software.

The only time I've really noticed framerates start to get choppy and pop-in getting noticeable is after I'd put in about 10 hours and done a lot of wandering through different areas. After I closed the game out entirely and restarted it the problems went away entirely so that seemed more like the Switch filling up its memory, but I've seen many other games start to act weird if left in suspend mode for long amounts of time so it could be that too.
 
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