Pokemon | Scarlet & Violet (2022) + Legends Arceus is king

[Ballad of Caius]

I mean, it's practically a tradition for standard version Pokemon games to not have much of a post-game, versus their re-release.

Not playing devil's advocate, but it's something I've noticed.

 

[Absent]

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SHIELDBERT AND SWORDWARD?! What kind of names are those?!

 

[Ballad of Caius]

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SHIELDBERT AND SWORDWARD?! What kind of names are those?!

They look like Cipher Admins.

 

[Xblade13]

For those who were waiting for stats/movepool to pick a starter:

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These are what they have, neutral nature lvl 50. Not sure if EVs and IVs are a thing but I think it's perfect IVs no EVs.

Rillaboom - Grass

HP - 207
Att - 177
Def - 111
Sp Att - 80
Sp Def - 90
Speed - 105

Moves:
Drum Beat (Grass) - 10 PP. 80 power 100 accuracy. Lowers opponent speed.
Wood Hammer, Superpower, Earthquake, etc.

Cinderace - Fire

HP - 155
Att - 168
Def - 96
Sp Att - 85
Sp Def - 95
Speed - 171

Moves:
Pyro Ball (Fire) - 5 PP, 120 power 90 accuracy. May leave target with a burn.
Gunk Shot, Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, etc.

Intelleon - Water

HP - 145
Att - 105
Def - 86
Sp Att - 177
Sp Def - 85
Speed - 172

Moves:
Snipe Shot (Water) - 15 PP, 80 power 100 accuracy. Ignores enemy moves and abilities that draw in moves (like Follow Me and Storm Drain)
Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Shadow Ball etc.

---

Seems Game Freak listened when everyone complained about the Alola starters all being slow lol. Rillaboom, the slowest of the 3, is scarily fast considering. Especially with a reliable speed nerf attack on opponents and great bulk. The other two are more glass cannons, Intelleon moreso than Cinderace. Cinderace's movepool is amazing though.

 

[Soldier]

I'm glad I already got a Switch for other games too xD I mean I'll still get it but...

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I was hoping for at least 500-600 Pokemon. No new Eeveelutions is surprising and worrying, as it makes me think that theory about not getting any more ever might be true. (The theory was that Eevee would only get types that reflected being Special in early gens, they did all those I'm pretty sure.)

I like a lot of the new Pokemon and the region itself, but man, they couldn't have picked a worse time to cut the Dex.

I'm sorry Game Freak, but as much as you seem to want to make new games, none of them have caught on like Pokemon. Little Town Hero taking so much of the developers was obviously the cause. And it flopped. So either focus only on Pokemon now and give the f*** up, or sell Pokemon rights to someone else so you can 100% focus on new stuff, if Pokemon bores you so much...

Yeah, they honestly should just stick to making more Pokemon games. as I said before, little town hero is dull, The national dex died for this? If they're that bored with it, they should just give it to me!

 

[Zettaflare]

Something else that bothers me is that

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there isnt another group of legendaries alongside the Wolves and Eternatus. Nothing like the legendary birds, beasts, Regis, lake trio, or Tapus.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

I mean, after Ultra Beasts, they pretty much outdit themselves the past gen. Other than that, I imagine they had creative minds dealing with Little Big Hero.

But seriously, Nintendo needs to push GameFreak.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

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SHIELDBERT AND SWORDWARD?! What kind of names are those?!

Yeah, they honestly should just stick to making more Pokemon games. as I said before, little town hero is dull, The national dex died for this? If they're that bored with it, they should just give it to me!

The thing is, it's not making different games that's the problem. If GameFreak wasn't so desperate to release Little Town Hero before Sword & Shield, instead had their "A-Team" working on SwSh while the "B-Team' worked on Town, and learned to manage and program more efficiently, things would be very different.

Just sticking to Pokemon wouldn't fix anything. They're running on fumes and refusing to learn.

 

[Soldier]

The thing is, it's not making different games that's the problem. If GameFreak wasn't so desperate to release Little Town Hero before Sword & Shield, instead had their "A-Team" working on SwSh while the "B-Team' worked on Town, and learned to manage and program more efficiently, things would be very different.

Just sticking to Pokemon wouldn't fix anything. They're running on fumes and refusing to learn.

Well, it's amazing that two nerds can think of a better idea on how to run a company than those in charge of the biggest industry on the planet.

 

[Perkilator]

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SHIELDBERT AND SWORDWARD?! What kind of names are those?!

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Sorry, what? Source? Swordward sounds like a nickname for SQUIDward.

 

[Xblade13]

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Sorry, what? Source? Swordward sounds like a nickname for SQUIDward.

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Sadly all of the tweets from that leaker seem to have disappeared. Or at least are very hard to find. Nintendo cracked down on the leakers. Those names did pop up somewhere though, as post-game episode characters I think.

BTW, Appletun is my fave new Pokemon. Grass/Dragon, slow and super tanky, has access to Curse, Recover, Leech Seed, Dragon Pulse, Recycle, and has an ability that apparently makes restorative berries have double the effect or something. Apple Pie derp dragon here I come, lol.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

To be honest, GameFreak has never been this amazing company. I think the highest GameFreak has hit has been with Platinum, Johto remakes and the Black/White saga.

 

[Face My Fears]

They need to trash everything they did after HeartGold and SoulSilver. Reboot the series in a new Kanto/Johto journey that has the mechanics of HeartGold/SoulSilver, but the graphics of The Witcher 3. Hire some actual writers to expand the world so it will be like Elder Scrolls -- you can choose to face the gyms or do other quests (like deal with or join Team Rocket). If you battle the gyms, their Pokemon will match your average level (or have teams designed to match your level). Have the game completely open world and you are free to do whatever you want. Every month they release a new DLC quest to add depth to the world, with major DLC stories dropping every 6 months. Why couldn't GameFreak do this for its biggest/most anticipated game!?

 

[Absent]

They need to trash everything they did after HeartGold and SoulSilver. Reboot the series in a new Kanto/Johto journey that has the mechanics of HeartGold/SoulSilver, but the graphics of The Witcher 3. Hire some actual writers to expand the world so it will be like Elder Scrolls -- you can choose to face the gyms or do other quests (like deal with or join Team Rocket). If you battle the gyms, their Pokemon will match your average level (or have teams designed to match your level). Have the game completely open world and you are free to do whatever you want. Every month they release a new DLC quest to add depth to the world, with major DLC stories dropping every 6 months. Why couldn't GameFreak do this for its biggest/most anticipated game!?

You lost me there. BW and BW2 are amazing and fun games. They don’t need to scrap anything, not even Let’s Go(and I hate those games) what they need to do is improve UPON what they have, not regress.

 

[Face My Fears]

You lost me there. BW and BW2 are amazing and fun games. They don’t need to scrap anything, not even Let’s Go(and I hate those games) what they need to do is improve UPON what they have, not regress.

My point was that Pokemon games shouldn't be focusing on gimmicks that are there for one generation, then thrown out the next (like Mega Evolution) for a new one (like Gigamax). HeartGold/SoulSilver was the pinnacle of the combat system. The next step was fleshing out the series and seeing what could really be done with it, pushing beyond the norm.

A home console Pokemon game was just SCREAMING for an open world experience where you can choose what you want to do. Location restrictions no longer mattered as HMs were thrown out and they took a step in the right direction with riding Pokemon. It's just horrifying that for the debut home console Pokemon game that people have been dreaming of for years, it seems like a gimmick infested return to form instead of actually growing the series into its true potential.

Which is why I think they should have just trashed every concept they came up with after HeartGold/SoulSilver for Sword/Shield. They had the best gameplay already designed, they just needed to think outside the box and give the fans what they wanted. No one cares about Gigamax.

 

[Absent]

While I agree with the underlying idea, you're giving HGSS too much credit for things it didn't do for combat. Diamond and Pearl are the games you're probably referring to. All HGSS did was clean up the user interface with the menu being more useful.
Also Gen 4 is heavily criticized for its slow combat. Even with animations turned off, battles can drag long for things it shouldn't.
Gen V is proof that GF is capable of improving upon what they've done:

• Quicker combat with dynamic attack animations
• Music for dynamic situations and locations
• The party/bag menu being more cohesive and user friendly
• Multiple SELECT items registered
• Better leveling system that rewards the player
• Dream Abilities with the Dream World(could've been better implemented and handled)
• Habitat List
• PWT
• Asking if you'd like to continue using Repels
• Rewarding the player for completing the Dex

Also IMO the XY user interface, the PSS is the one of the best and most underrated features. Again I agree with your sentiments regarding SwSh but they haven't perfected anything because everything can be improved.

 

[Zettaflare]

The Charizard part at the end got a big laugh out of me

 

[Ballad of Caius]

They need to trash everything they did after HeartGold and SoulSilver. Reboot the series in a new Kanto/Johto journey that has the mechanics of HeartGold/SoulSilver, but the graphics of The Witcher 3. Hire some actual writers to expand the world so it will be like Elder Scrolls -- you can choose to face the gyms or do other quests (like deal with or join Team Rocket). If you battle the gyms, their Pokemon will match your average level (or have teams designed to match your level). Have the game completely open world and you are free to do whatever you want. Every month they release a new DLC quest to add depth to the world, with major DLC stories dropping every 6 months. Why couldn't GameFreak do this for its biggest/most anticipated game!?

This is too ambitious for a studio like GameFreak and you have to come to terms with the idea that the majority of Pokemon consumers are casuals, meaning they have little to no incentive to pull a project like this. That said, that doesn't mean they can't do a better job.

And honestly, this is their first HD mainline game. It doesn't surprise that, again, a studio like GameFreak couldn't deal with SwSh.

 

[Mite]

Here's a Let's Go P/E MewTwo code if you couldn't make it to Best Buy:

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U907-2SLT-MPLK-1AKM

 

[Absent]

These have been trying and dark times for the community as a whole. There has never been something so controversial and dividing as these games. Its been an eyeopening experience.