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

[Tired Tyres]

Yes. Feels old yet? 4 Generations of Pokémon in a decade.

Pokémon Black & White is like the GTSport or FM5 of Mons Games. How the game received back then to now is the perfect example of Vindicated by History.

I liked Black/White when they came out. I always play through new games with only new gen Pokémon and the lack of previous Pokémon worked beautifully for me. What I didn't like was half the map not being used at all. It looked like they had to release what they had to meet a deadline rather than finish the game they'd designed.

 

[Liquid]

Gen V was great but I have always, always, always hated the animated sprites and sssslllloooowwwww battle animations.

Gen V with Gen IV sprites and battle animations would have been brilliant. Bring back PWT...

 

[FoRiZon]

I liked Black/White when they came out. I always play through new games with only new gen Pokémon and the lack of previous Pokémon worked beautifully for me. What I didn't like was half the map not being used at all. It looked like they had to release what they had to meet a deadline rather than finish the game they'd designed.

I think the most popular concensus is that the best game in the series is Diamond & Pearl, best story in the series is Black & White. And I kinda shared the sentiment somewhat partly because I stopped paid attention to Pokémon since DP era though my interest on the series rebuilds on the latter years of XY (thanks to anime partly, ugh) but unfortunately I didn't actually play those games after DP, more of the fans of fanarts kind of stuff.

And when SwSh comes out the nostalgia especially towards BW is just like adding a fuel to the fire.

And besides that, check out this twitter profile. Pure comedy, I checked it almost everyday.

 

[EngieDiesel]

So just freshly announced, the Sword/Shield expansion pass: https://swordshield.pokemon.com/en-us/expansionpass/announcement/



Features revealed so far:

* Two new areas: The Isle of Armor (styled after a martial arts dojo) and the Crown Tundra (a rather bleak looking mountain area)
* More Pokemon, both new and old: new legendaries and regional forms, plus some more older Pokemon returning. Plus, your starter Pokemon will get a Gigantamax form
* More storyline content, including the guy who trained Leon and Poison and Psychic-type gym leaders
* Ridiculous amount of new clothing (if you care about such things), a co-op play feature that will feature past legendary Pokemon(!), new tutor moves, more vs. battle rules, and likely more stuff they'll reveal later on

Armor will be available by June, Crown by November. Both can be pre-ordered now in a bundle for $29.99, which will also net you a couple of Pikachu and Eevee themed battle uniforms to use immediately.

Also, go to Wedgehurst Station after you update your game. You can get a free Galarian Slowpoke, even if you haven't bought the expansion yet.

 

[FoRiZon]

So just freshly announced, the Sword/Shield expansion pass: https://swordshield.pokemon.com/en-us/expansionpass/announcement/



Features revealed so far:

* Two new areas: The Isle of Armor (styled after a martial arts dojo) and the Crown Tundra (a rather bleak looking mountain area)
* More Pokemon, both new and old: new legendaries and regional forms, plus some more older Pokemon returning. Plus, your starter Pokemon will get a Gigantamax form
* More storyline content, including the guy who trained Leon and Poison and Psychic-type gym leaders
* Ridiculous amount of new clothing (if you care about such things), a co-op play feature that will feature past legendary Pokemon(!), new tutor moves, more vs. battle rules, and likely more stuff they'll reveal later on

Armor will be available by June, Crown by November. Both can be pre-ordered now in a bundle for $29.99, which will also net you a couple of Pikachu and Eevee themed battle uniforms to use immediately.

Also, go to Wedgehurst Station after you update your game. You can get a free Galarian Slowpoke, even if you haven't bought the expansion yet.

So much for Gamefreak statement about the DLC.

Atleast they didn't try to release it into the >60 dollars sequel like previous generations. Glad they try the DLC model. 30 dollars for both of expansions is....well I hope its cheaper considering the base game backslash.

 

[EngieDiesel]

So much for Gamefreak statement about the DLC.

Atleast they didn't try to release it into the >60 dollars sequel like previous generations. Glad they try the DLC model. 30 dollars for both of expansions is....well I hope its cheaper considering the base game backslash.

Eh, $15 per expansion is quite reasonable in my opinion, given the amount of content they've already announced and that there will likely be more revealed as the release dates get closer.

As for the "backlash", that died out pretty fast after the game was actually released, much like every time people on the Internet start screaming "worst game ever" some six months before any game's launch.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Eh, $15 per expansion is quite reasonable in my opinion, given the amount of content they've already announced and that there will likely be more revealed as the release dates get closer.

As for the "backlash", that died out pretty fast after the game was actually released, much like every time people on the Internet start screaming "worst game ever" some six months before any game's launch.

We don't know how much gameplay is in the two new areas to know if is "quite reasonable" or not at this point. I doubt they'd release anything too small but you never know. Still if this means no more third games and an extra year of development for the next game then I can't see it being a bad thing.

 

[EngieDiesel]

We don't know how much gameplay is in the two new areas to know if is "quite reasonable" or not at this point. I doubt they'd release anything too small but you never know. Still if this means no more third games and an extra year of development for the next game then I can't see it being a bad thing.

Both expansions are set to have a storyline with them, and if they're at least as long as the post-game quest in the base game then it should be a decent length. Plus each one has its own Wild Area and apparently the co-op mode in Crown involves exploring the Max Raid dens, so I'm pretty sure they'll be more substantial than the current trend of "item pack with a couple missions for gated unlocking" that most AAA games are doing these days.

 

[FoRiZon]

Eh, $15 per expansion is quite reasonable in my opinion, given the amount of content they've already announced and that there will likely be more revealed as the release dates get closer.

As for the "backlash", that died out pretty fast after the game was actually released, much like every time people on the Internet start screaming "worst game ever" some six months before any game's launch.

I knew I should stop paying attention to r/Pokemon subreddit.

Still I felt that 10 dollars each and 20 dollars for both is the most suitable price imho.

On the side note 60 dollars price tag on a base game isn't Gamefreak doing but mandatory from Nintendo for both cartridge and EShop because of "cartridge tax" BS. I still remember Capcoms old Resident Evil games being more expensive on switch than any other platform because of this.

 

[FoRiZon]

Remember this comic back when SwSh launched?

Source

Well turns out there's continuation thanks to the expansion pass:

 

[EngieDiesel]

Y'know, say what you will, but being able to (eventually) get version exclusive or trade evolved Pokemon by catching them in Max Raids is a wonderful thing. Having both of those goofy apple dragons to play with is really quite satisfying, and I don't even use Dragon types that much aside from Flygon.

 

[FoRiZon]

Food network just released a Pokemon special cooking episode.

It is actually pretty blessed and good actually. Featuring Sobble and such.

 

[EngieDiesel]

So, if you still haven't seen the Direct about the expansion pass yet...

Spoiler: BIRBS

Galarian Zapdos is a frickin' Chocobo. You can't convince me otherwise.

 

[Tired Tyres]

It's not yellow... Okay you're right.

Anyway I'm seeing Fire/Dark, Electric/Fighting and therefore Ice/Psychic

 

[mwoodski]

I'm just glad Marill is back.

I honestly don't really like any of the new Pokemon.

 

[GTV0819]

I honestly don't really like any of the new Pokemon.

Me too. They just look comical nowadays. However, there are still some very few exceptions.

 

[mwoodski]

Me too. They just look comical nowadays. However, there are still some very few exceptions.

It's funny, because my brother has played every version of the games since their inception. I went Yellow > Silver > Sun, so I missed everything inbetween.

When I tell him about the ones that I DO like in this game, it turns out that they're all older ones I've just never seen, like Maractus.

 

[GTV0819]

It's funny, because my brother has played every version of the games since their inception. I went Yellow > Silver > Sun, so I missed everything inbetween.

When I tell him about the ones that I DO like in this game, it turns out that they're all older ones I've just never seen, like Maractus.

I see. Me, I played much of Gen 3 with the Ruby and its remake, Omega Ruby, as well as Leaf Green. I also played Gen 4 with the Diamond and Soul Silver versions using my DS Lite. However, after the cartridge got lost, I wasn't able to play Gen 5 and Gen 6 versions anymore. So I didn't become too familiar with them. Until now, aside from the Hoenn remake and short play of Gen 7, I haven't really devoted myself to playing them.

Oh, and that Maractus. I think this is actually the first time I've heard of it.

 

[FoRiZon]

With this sales numbers, GameFrick will DEFINITELY be no more!!! That'll teach em!

 

[EngieDiesel]

Getting back into Shield after putting it aside for about three months, I've learned a few things:

1. The escape chance in Max Raid battles has apparently been lowered dramatically. I've only had one get away, and that was when I intentionally used a Nest Ball to test whether or not they had made it a guaranteed catch. On the other hand I accidentally used a regular Pokeball on a 5-star Gigantamax Charizard and it took with no problems, so there ya go.

2. It also seems like the more shiny Pokemon there are in a Max Raid, the higher the chance the Pokemon you catch will be shiny, though it doesn't show this until after you catch it and check it in your boxes. This means I finally got my first shiny of this generation (a Gigalith), but also this leads into:

3. Since you can import older DLC-appearing Pokemon early using Pokemon Home, I've seen a floodtide of dubious shinies that were probably hacked up in Sun/Moon. I'm presuming this since most of the ones I've seen have been Gen 7, and it's also caused some, ah, interesting spoilers on what's going to be officially available when Isle of Armor is released. Also, so many shiny Mewtwos who do you think you're fooling come on now.

On the plus side though, as folks breed their legitimate-or-otherwise imports, Surprise Trades are starting to get a lot more interesting. Still plenty of trash, but the treasures are more exciting when you finally get one worth keeping!

 

[TripleA5]

The promoted GMAX are usually much easier to catch. Currently it's Charizard, Duraludon, Copperajah and Garbodor that are promoted until tomorrow.

Also, the Gigalith wasn't shiny in the battle until you checked it in the box? I've never heard of that before since can see if the Max Raid Pokemon is shiny as soon as the battle begins. Still, Gigalith is a sweet shiny to find.

 

[EngieDiesel]

The promoted GMAX are usually much easier to catch. Currently it's Charizard, Duraludon, Copperajah and Garbodor that are promoted until tomorrow.

Hmm, that still seems like a flip from previously though. I distinctly remember giving up on catching a G-Max Snorlax because even the 3-star ones were breaking free almost immediately.

I should also note that non G-Max 5 stars haven't been breaking loose either, and they certainly did that at the most annoying times in the past.

Also, the Gigalith wasn't shiny in the battle until you checked it in the box? I've never heard of that before since can see if the Max Raid Pokemon is shiny as soon as the battle begins. Still, Gigalith is a sweet shiny to find.

No, it was the normal red color when we fought it and on the naming screen. It wasn't until I went to put it in the proper box that I noticed the sparkle icon and realized what I actually had. I dunno if the presence of two completely-totally-legit-I'm-sure square shiny Mewtwos (yes really) had anything to do with it. A shiny's a shiny though, so I'm not gonna complain even if pure Rock types are a bit situational.

 

[EngieDiesel]

With the first DLC dropping in a couple days, IGN confirmed a few things:

-DLC areas will scale to your party's level, both trainers and wild Pokemon, even if they're all at level 100. So you (probably) won't be able to just steamroll over everything in an hour.

-The island is one giant open wild area that can be explored as soon as you arrive, and can be accessed as soon as you hit the first wild area in the main game, so no need to finish the main story first before going there.

-The main storyline involves doing different trials that are apparently similar to the minigames in Sun and Moon, so the content isn't just all "go here, fight that guy".

-I don't know what this is but I'll just presume it's the strongest legendary Pokemon ever:

 

[Liquid]

Auto exp for Pokemon in your camps in PMD DX is so horrible. It makes not only training any Pokemon other than 4-6 decent rotational Pokemon absolutely worthless but also once you have surpassed the E difficulty, let's say, all subsequent quests at that difficulty also completely pointless.

Why do Es and Ds and Cs still pop up when you'll never have the chance to actually have the challenge of retraining three different and new low-level Pokemon into formidable rescuers?

I have a level 81 Beedrill that I've never touched and the legendary birds are all in the 70s having never been used either. Way less fun. I mean, a game that holds your hand is fine and I understand the demos that enjoy that but at least give us the option to turn it off.

 

[Frank McGank]

I’ve been curious for a while if the English-language games all use imperial units in the pokedex/NPC conversations, or is it just the US/UK/Can titles? The English translations are done by Nintendo of America, right? So are the say Australian or Singaporean games just imports of the US translations with the imperial units, or are they actually converted back to metric?

 

[EngieDiesel]

Reminder that you can pick up a free shiny Zeraora through Pokemon Home from now until the 6th. You'll need to transfer a Pokemon from one of your games to Home (if you haven't been using it already), and use the mobile app to pick it up from the surprise gift section. Also, since just about everyone is using them in whatever max raids they can right now, the odds of catching shinies through raids are better than ever. I snagged three just in the space of the two hours I played this morning.

Auto exp for Pokemon in your camps in PMD DX is so horrible. It makes not only training any Pokemon other than 4-6 decent rotational Pokemon absolutely worthless but also once you have surpassed the E difficulty, let's say, all subsequent quests at that difficulty also completely pointless.

Yeah, that kinda made me lose interest in playing too much more. The only reason to pull them out of the camps now is to level up their moves, and without the need for general leveling that's just an annoying treadmill. It also kinda torpedos the post-story game, since there's no need to spend time raising certain types for specialist expedition groups.

 

[Liquid]

The only reason to pull them out of the camps now is to level up their moves, and without the need for general leveling that's just an annoying treadmill.

Even then, the move reminder is free.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Reminder that you can pick up a free shiny Zeraora through Pokemon Home from now until the 6th. You'll need to transfer a Pokemon from one of your games to Home (if you haven't been using it already), and use the mobile app to pick it up from the surprise gift section. Also, since just about everyone is using them in whatever max raids they can right now, the odds of catching shinies through raids are better than ever. I snagged three just in the space of the two hours I played this morning.


Yeah, that kinda made me lose interest in playing too much more. The only reason to pull them out of the camps now is to level up their moves, and without the need for general leveling that's just an annoying treadmill. It also kinda torpedos the post-story game, since there's no need to spend time raising certain types for specialist expedition groups.

Thanks for reminding me. Just got it and it's shiny.

 

[EngieDiesel]

The Crown Tundra DLC is imminent, and few key points have been compiled by various sites (mostly about Dynamax Adventures):

-The main story revolves around joining an exploration team and pursuing big brain itself, Calyrex. The area map is said to be a fair amount larger than the Isle of Armor.

-Like in older games, the three legendary birds will scatter across the map after you first encounter them, so you have to chase them down.

-The Galarian Star Tournament (double battles against AI trainers) requires you to finish the main storyline to enter since it features all the league trainers.

-A major part of the Dynamax Adventure challenge is that you are using randomly selected rental Pokemon, with the option to switch out to the Pokemon you caught after each battle if you win (though only one person can do this per battle). If you get to the end you can choose only one Pokemon out of the ones you've used/caught to keep, though the legendary at the end is (apparently) a guaranteed catch if you make it that far.

-But, Dynamax Adventures won't allow you to farm legendary Pokemon each can only be caught once by a player. On top of that some are exclusive to each version. Like with raids, if you partner up with a host from a different version you can catch the legendaries from that version. "More or less every past legendary" is said to be available to catch.


Also, if you haven't yet, use these codes for a bunch of hat-wearing Pikachus (because hats):

P1KACHUGET
1CH00SEY0U
P1KAADVANCE
V0LTTACKLEP1KA
P1KABESTW1SH
KAL0SP1KA

 

[Tired Tyres]

Guess what.

https://diamondpearl.pokemon.com/en-us/

And.

https://legends.pokemon.com/en-us/