Pokemon General

[Galeigh 308]

So about that sword and shield. Which is your favorite starter and why is it Grookey?

[Jane 100]

#grookeygang

I thought maybe I'd finally left pokemon behind a little bit recently - I enjoyed aspects of Sun, but not like the older games... partly I felt frustrated because it has so many cutscenes and feels like it spoonfed you plot too much at times instead of just adventuring (I can't actually remember how far I got... maybe I beat the Elite Four but didn't do any of the stuff after that). So I was ready to feel a bit underwhelmed when the Nintendo Direct rolled around.

But omg... visually, it looks like everything I wanted from a pokemon game as a kid (albeit a relatively old kid). So pretty! Running around beautifully-rendered 3D towns and scenery with pokies jumping out at you! I loved the attention to detail and random things like the chalk hill art. I'll definitely be excited to play even just for the aesthetic. It took me a little time to warm up to the new starters, but I have to say that despite not being a huge fan of monkeys, I do like grookey (and grass pokemon generally) so I'll probably choose him.

[Nick 38]

The moment I saw him, I knew I was picking Sobble as my starter in Sword/Shield.

 

But I think this is the first time I really liked all three starters in a while.

[Rulkster 47]

I'm gonna agree with Nick on this, granted I've taken the water starter every generation so far so don't think I'll change that now.

 

I'm curious about all the other new pokemon coming but the game looks amazing and can't wait to sink my teeth into it! 

[Galeigh 308]

In a lockstin and Noggin video they theorized what the evolutions would be like and he made a really strong case that grookey is going to be the "feminine" starter this time. Now everytime I see fanart of some bigass buff gorrila for the final evo I just go "nope, not even close"

[Lucy 108]

I'm normally grass green for LIFE, but it's taking me a bit of time to warm up to Grookey. :x They're cute, I don't hate them, but I think I like the other 2 starters better. Will Sword/Shield be the Pokemon game that breaks the pattern?

[Deszae 88]

Whoo, my home topic. I love me some pokemon even though Gamefream has been boring me with their formula. Romhacks and fangames are still as fun as always!

As for Sw/Sh starters, I'm eyeing Scorbunny. I like sobble alot, but so does the rest of the internet, lol. And I'm neutral on Grookey and GK is picking that one anyway.

[Nick 38]

I've seen some people wondering if Grookey could end up having a music theme as he evolves. Groove + Monkey = Grookey.  Thought it seemed like he was using that little stick like a drumstick.

[Galeigh 308]

Yeah, like a punk rock themed evolution. Heard that too. Kinda hope it happens. 

[webhead 519]

I'm really loving the Scorbunny design right now but Grookey is a definite contender.

[Woofie 7]

Team SOBBLE

 

Tbh I'm not that fond of any of the starters, but Sobble is probably going to be some cool massive lizard in its final form, it's definitely going to end up the best.

[webhead 519]

Yeah I could see him going from scared looking thing to giant ravenous dinosaur thing by the end.

 

Spoiler

OMG hi Woofie 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

I'm kind split on Sword/Shield tbh. I have Pokemon from as far as back the GBA games on my 3DS versions (got'em all except for a handful of Event Legendaries and I'm still working on Sun/Moon) but this is the first time that I didn't want to move them over to keep the collection going, especially because they charge for the Pokemon Bank and Online now. Also watching the Sun/Moon anime has actually done more for me connecting with the region and the new Pokemon than rushing through a 40 hour game like I normally do has

 

Might wait on Sword/Shield for the anime to get going a bit and get into it a bit more.

 

(Team Scorbunny even if it's Fire/Fighting)

[webhead 519]

1 hour ago, DeJaPon said:

(Team Scorbunny even if it's Fire/Fighting)

 

 

Just get it when everyone else does so we can all do it together.

[Galeigh 308]

If Scorbunny ends up fire/fighting there will be a tooooon of vitriol lobbed at it and gamefreak. People are legit sick of that combo. 

[Rulkster 47]

I wouldn't say legit sick of it but defiantly tired of the pair. I get why they used it a lot since fire fighting makes sense for speedy mons.

[Nick 38]

Apparently there's some sort of Pokemon Press Conference today, and then the Sword and Shield Direct next week.

[webhead 519]

Definitely looking forward to the sword and shield direct.

[Galeigh 308]

So, the pokemon Direct happened today. 

 

Kaiju battles are apparently a thing in pokemon now. 

[webhead 519]

 

 

Posting the direct for anyone that didn't watch.  Looks like Pokemon might be in the overworld now like in Let's Go?  I hope so that would be such a massive QoL improvement.

 

Pretty sure I'm getting sword because I want a pokemon with a sword and not a giant shield.

[Shade Aurion 54]

I prefer strong doggo to knife doggo but I'll probs grab the double pack TBH. And start with Sobble

[Jane 100]

It looks really cool!
 

thoughts below:

* The bit with the English pokie designer/art director was interesting but awkward because he'd clearly been directed not to speak too fast, so you could hear him straining to speak about twice as slowly as he usually would.  

* Wooloo The fluffy grass type is cool, too.

* Taxi cab raven thing!
* The kaijuu pokemon dynamax thing is weird but I'll roll with it. It's hard not to like a godzilla-sized Raichu, Clefable or that stuffed mascot red panda thing.
* Some of the NPCs look weird... like the huge guy with a kid's face. And the Champion looks like when the Harry Potter books describe wizards trying to dress like muggles and they end up wearing a really bizarre combo of unrelated clothing items.

* Still loving what the world and environment looks like. I know everyone's been comparing the clock tower in the city footage to Big Ben, but its chunky shape reminds me as much of Edinburgh's Balmoral clock tower tbh.

[Shade Aurion 54]

It's so overdue too. I'm so bored with Pokemon now I've resorted to IV/EV training various pokemon to max level in between shiny farming. 

I even farmed for a shiny Smeargle so I could teach it false swipe, recover, recycle and aerial Ace and trained to max as my shiny farmer. 

I need a new game badly lol

[Deszae 88]

I'm still looking forward to the game despite its controversies. Also corviknight is awesome and so is the electrocorg.

[Shade Aurion 54]

On 6/16/2019 at 6:15 PM, Deszae said:

I'm still looking forward to the game despite its controversies. Also corviknight is awesome and so is the electrocorg.

Yeah I'm loving the designs. I still think it's dumb they're limiting the number of pokemon. Mainly because they're choosing to do so now, for the first main console release where they are vastly less limited in terms of space and graphics. They could literally patch the rest in later or make them free optional dlc. The models are just the same as USUM but with alterations and at a much higher resolution. Frankly it seems more like they're just omitting them to meet the launch deadline. They should just patch the national dex in later like they did for X and Y ?

[webhead 519]

You know why it bothers me?  The animations don't look any better than they do on the 3DS.  Where is all this animation work they're talking about doing?  I watched the trailer and it's the same lame shit they've been doing for 20 years.  Lol.  That's what they're so worried about?  They finally do a console game and THAT is what we get?

[Shade Aurion 54]

Exactly and frankly, that is fine but they need to stop acting like what they're doing is ground-breaking. It's another eD pokemon game. The only thing ground-breaking is their audacity to omit any Pokemon in a game about "catching them all" lol Any Pokemon left out is potentially someone's favourite. Just increase the res on the existing models and it looks fine and boom, there is the national dex. You can increase Citra's resolution up to 4k and the models smooth out perfectly. There's literally no good excuse not to add things in later. They just fucked around on Let's Go for too long which frankly shouldn't be too much of a stress fest considering its the 3rd remake of the same generation game. Guess we'll see how it is but they better do better than this:

[Vic Boss 612]

They actually stopped using the tagline "Gotta catch'em all" years ago because they didn't want to turn people off when they found out there's hundreds of Pokemon and you're probably never getting close to "catching'em all"

[Shade Aurion 54]

3 hours ago, Death Rider Mox said:

They actually stopped using the tagline "Gotta catch'em all" years ago because they didn't want to turn people off when they found out there's hundreds of Pokemon and you're probably never getting close to "catching'em all"

It's literally the official english slogan. They tried to retire it and it persisted so it was officially brought back along with the website in 2013 - https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Gotta_catch_'em_all!
 

For Nintendo to act shocked that people expect that now that they have less limitations across the board.. well, this sums it up perfectly

 

[Deimos 100]

Since I moved to Seattle I started playing Pokemon Go a lot. 

 

I'm interested in adding more friends to send gifts to, especially overseas ones since the eggs can get a lot of distance in a single trade.

 

9758 8941 6985 - My trainer code 

 

[Shade Aurion 54]

So, I finally bought a Switch. I had one but it became my partners so now I have my own and my pre-order set for Sword.

[Galeigh 308]

Saw the leak of Grookeys final evo. 

 

Definitely still part of the Grookey gang. 

[Shade Aurion 54]

From what i've seen, I don't like any of the starters. Grooky is probably the best final evo. They others.. wtf
And that poor fox thing is going straight into the hentai blender

[Eizan 126]

I'll be playing Shield and will have a team of 6 Cramorant. 

[Nick 38]

Some of the stuff that's been coming out about the games lately (from some streams and stuff like that) is annoying/disappointing to hear. I'm hoping the games will still be good, at least.

[Vic Boss 612]

I'ma sit this one out (acks gonna watch the anime so not totally) until either a) Third version or b) Confirmation that there is no third version

[webhead 519]

1 hour ago, Death Rider Mox said:

I'ma sit this one out (acks gonna watch the anime so not totally) until either a) Third version or b) Confirmation that there is no third version

 

I'm leaning towards this tbh.

[dr. b 492]

I've never played a Pokemon game before, but I've got Sword pre-ordered. It's mainly for the kiddo, but I'll probably play it a bit too. Might be fun.

[Shade Aurion 54]

10 hours ago, webhead said:

 

I'm leaning towards this tbh.

Ah yes, can't wait for that Pokemon Crossbow release

[Vic Boss 612]

Pokemon Gun

 

Pokemon Axe

 

Pokemon Fist

 

Pokemon Pen

[Eizan 126]

Well Sun and Moon technically never got a middle game...though they did get Ultra Sun and Moon. 

[webhead 519]

Maybe Ultra Sword will actually have the entire Pokedex.

 

What bothers me the most is that they said they had to cut it because of all the animations and stuff but the animations still look exactly the same with the useless shitty what I'd basically call shaking effects.  Why did they have to cut them?

[Shade Aurion 54]

2 hours ago, Eizan said:

Well Sun and Moon technically never got a middle game...though they did get Ultra Sun and Moon. 

They were arguably sequels within the same generation similar to Black 2/White 2.
Its been a long while since we've had a third game. Frankly I doubt we will especially since this is the first console release.

 

1 hour ago, webhead said:

Maybe Ultra Sword will actually have the entire Pokedex.

 

What bothers me the most is that they said they had to cut it because of all the animations and stuff but the animations still look exactly the same with the useless shitty what I'd basically call shaking effects.  Why did they have to cut them?

It's been pretty solidly proven that the models are the same just with higher resolution textures. The animations are exactly the same bar pokemon's heads/eyes following the trainer. There was a big hissy fit about it on twitter. One side being all "Look at this shit, it's exactly the same right down to the 3D model framework. Lazy." and the other side being all "How dare you!" In fact, I might as well have a rant about it.

---

Personally I agree that it's both the same and lazy. This is the first console release ffs. What they couldn't get out at launch they could simply patch in later to coincide with the release of Pokemon Home on Switch (Basically Pokebank for Switch for those that don't know) But no.. No national dex (A big fuck you to tournament/pro players) and really just half-assed excuses. I mean i'm sure they're working hard on it. It not being ready at launch isn't what is lazy. To be honest, I think it would be good to keep the focus on the new region and pokemon for awhile, but their lack of valid reasoning for patching it in later is what I consider lazy. They no longer have "handheld hardware limitations" as an excuse. Pretty sure mega evolutions got the axe too. Frankly, I don't like generational gimmicks at all. I think it's counter-productive to add a gameplay improvement and then remove it and add something else next generation. That doesn't keep things fresh so much as it prevents game mechanic refinement and progression. Like Dynamax forms are all well and good but what about next-gen? Are they gonna be gone too? Probably. I'd be fine with Dynamax forms and mega-evolutions being a held item alternate form (well, non-giant versions of Dynamax) or something but just cutting stuff is dumb when the whole point is MORE! To "catch em all" I really do consider these sorts of choices to be regressive at best. I doubt everyone will agree with me on this but it bothers me

Why don't I have my stupid pokephone working as an interactive VS Tracker with an inbuilt poketch/pokenav with pokeapps on it which has super training/refresh/habitat/pelago features built-in? Instead  they just cut shit out or make it different which is fine but then cut it later too after improving it. Why make the effort to refine a tried and true formula to just needlessly trim out features and mechanics? I dunno, its just dumb. That's my biggest gripe with Game Freak as developers.

That said, I pick up Sword in 2 days so i'll try and ignore my grievances for awhile and focus on the positives

[Vic Boss 612]

I saw people say things on the internet (so it must be true) that Game Freak's passion project that the A development team is on is Little Town Hero, and the B Team is on Pokemon Sword and Shield just treating it like a job.

 

I'm generally fine with things like Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves and generation-specific traits or features not being in the game, and maybe even region-specific forms, but every version or generation should come with eventual access to all Pokemon and/or backwards compatibility with the previous generation somehow.

 

Tbh I bet they were taught this by Sun/Moon. Sun/Moon didn't have the National Dex, you couldn't trade with X/Y even though it was the same platform and you had to pay for the Pokebank instead. They'll probs make you pay for DLC Pokemon packs the same way you do fighting game characters, or a National Dex or something.

[Shade Aurion 54]

I'm sad that you're probably totally right with that. Still, you know damn right that you want that habitat feature from B2/W2 back!

[Revolver 27]

Little Town Hero was pretty poorly received overall too. This should be a huge release and I feel there is no enthusiasm behind it.

[Shade Aurion 54]

Welp.. https://www.gamebyte.com/pokemon-sword-and-shield-have-catch-restrictions-people-are-mad/

[Rulkster 47]

Honestly that's not as big as a deal people are making it out to be.

 

If you wanna catch those higher level mons go do the gym and progress to get the reward. 

[webhead 519]

I can't even remember a time where I caught a way higher level than me Pokemon.  I've always kind of liked grinding but also doing all the trainer battles has always pretty much ensured you'd be leveled high enough most of the time.

 

Still seems like a stupid decision though.  If you want to do it, why not?  I don't even get what reasoning there'd be for that.   It just seems dumb.

[Nick 38]

So anyone who's gotten one of the games... how is it?