Generic General Pokemon Discussion

Haven't we had new dog Pokémon for the last few generations now, though? I could have sworn there was.

We've had Stoutland and the terrible poodle one. I just think it'd be funny seeing different breeds (or 'forms') of the same dog Pokés.

Alolan Growlithe is a pug. Code it, Game Freak.

Pugging hell!

Pugs are the second most ugly breed of dog, only beaten by bulldogs for top spot. Thanks for the nightmare fuel balla!

I completely get why people think that, but I think their stupid flat faces add to their charm.  They do have problems with breathing, though.  I wouldn't want to buy a new pug, as it encourages the breeding of further disadvantaged dogs.

Still though.

Nightmares for Athrun:

 

So gormless.

I'm opposed to the existence of pugs but they are cute little idiots.

Okay, I'll amend my previous statement slightly: adult pugs are the second ugliest breed of dog. I will admit they can be rather cute as pups.

Playing through Gold has made me realise that the more modern Pokémon games have what I've dubbed 'move diarrhoea'. You raise your 'mon a couple of levels and it earns a new move. That makes it tough to decide on a moveset, to me. In Gold it might be eight levels before you get a new move and that's... probably too much, but it at least feels like you've earned it instead of being given them like sweets.

Where do you stand on this crucial issue?

I'm probably biased as I used to frequent the competitive scene (got bored and haven't played much gen 7 meta though) but I find the move pools are one of the reasons the series stands above its "kid games" moniker. The sheer variety of moves, abilites, and Pokemon allows the games to be played at a far more strategic level than basically any other monster taming game on the market.

It's not really noticable in-game because the story mode is so easy the player won't ever be pushed to tap into even a fraction of the depth the game offers, but that variety is part of the reason the game has the strategic depth it has.

Look at a Pokemon like, say, Tyranitar. Between its egg moves, TM pool, and level-up moves, it can run a large number of strategic sets. You could breed a Larvitar to have Dragon Dance, allowing it to be a set-up sweeper. You could run low-accuracy high-power moves like Stone Edge, throw a Choice Band on it, and aim to one shot everything in its path as a tank. You can even use its surprisingly large Special Move pool from TMs to create a Special T-tar (gimmicky as hell and never used competitively, but the fact is you can do that, and you might even get a few kills with it due to surprise factor). There are far more combinations available to it as well.

That's just one Pokemon. Most Pokemon in the OU and UU tiers have similar levels of flexibility and variety (I'm still very fond of a Rest/Sleep Talk/Curse/Body Slam Snorlax I used a lot in gen 5, when he went off he won entire games). But none of this would exist if the movepools were as limited as they were in the older days, the days when GameFreak wasn't really catering to the strategic potential of the game.


That all said my competitive experience probably helps avoid the issue you have Zero, I know from the outset what I'm going to do with a Mon, and every new move takes less than a second for me to decide if it's worth adding or throwing in the bin.

I still feel like I've earned the good moves when they come along. A lot of movepools are padded out by moves that raise/lower one stat. one stage, inflict normal poison, do forty damage etc. And I have to admit, I like the variety available. I'm no competitive player, but having monsters that can learn all sorts of moves is fun.

On the other hand, I'd like to see something being done about power creep.
Gen. 1: strongest Pokémon EVAR.
Gen. 2: two Pokémon just as strong.
Gen. 3: two Pokémon even stronger, due to the weather they summon.
Gen. 4: LITERALLY GOD.
Gen. 5: a much-appreciated break.
Gen. 6: A MEGA STRONGER THAN GOD.

There's no real way to combat it without not allowing transfers between gen. 8 and gen. 7, and that'd have the long-term fans (especially competitive battlers) up in arms. But I do think it's getting a bit stupid now.

I'm most of the way through Ultra Moon now and I would like to rearrange my ranking of the Gen Seven starters to the following:

Popplio > Litten > Rowlet

No apologies - having randomly chosen Popplio as my starter, I am now a confirmed Popplio person. It's hypercute and hasn't changed into a bloke at any stage of its evolutionary cycle. Even its second evolution is sweet and a sensible step between its initial and final forms. And that's something I'd like to talk about.

We often talk about the initial and final forms of starter Pokémon but I don't remember much chat about second forms. Do you have a favourite second form of a starter Pokémon? Let's talk 'em up right now.

As for middle evolutions, you can probably guess that from my current, and indeed former, avatar.  Before Dartrix, most of them suffered from 'edgy teenager' syndrome.  Quilava and Dewott are other exceptions.

Most middle  evolutions end up being the awkward ugly duckling of the line, but I've always loved Wartortle.  Those wing-ears, that tail that looks oh so fluffy, and that determined expression.  It's cute and cool all in one package!

Father Christmas' type revealed!

Learns some Fairy moves, I expect.

Some of you may be aware that a set of beta Gold/Silver Pokémon have leaked.

Key points to take away:

• Aipom and Mantine originally had much better designs. Porygon2... was a balloon lion.
  
• There was going to be a ghost panda Pokémon. A FLIPPING GHOST PANDA!
  
• Slowpoke's tail was a Pokémon in its own right. I'm still waiting for that metamorphosis to be explained, Game Freak.
  
• Pinsir and, crucially, Farfetch'd are still waiting for their promised evolutions. Then there's Ditto...
  
• The whole 'Jynx looks kinda racist' thing? Beta-Bellossom would have blown it out of the water.

Find your own favourites!

Ooh, exciting! I love this kind of stuff. In similar news, there was a Satoshi Tajiri biographical manga released recently in Japan, which apparently shows some never-before-seen G1 designs. Naturally I tracked down a copy as soon as I heard, so I'm looking forward to seeing those.

I'm very keen on unannounced Pokémon designs, much though they often make me sad about what might have been.

I just returned from seeing the latest Pocket Monsters movie! I've been counting down to the date since seeing posters when I first arrived in Japan all those months ago. I'd not seen a Pokemon film in the actual cinema for probably more than 15 years.



The animation was gorgeous, there was some fun action and the little moments of silly visual comedy were amusing. Satoshi is just one of an ensemble cast, and actually comes across as cool and likeable. The plot is kind of just some stuff that happens, with Zeraora just sort of there. It was a nice little story about different relationships between people and Pokemon, which I guess was the point.

It started with a big advert for Lets Go, which actually does look nice even when blown up onto a cinema screen, and it ended with a little teaser for the next movie which is . . .

Spoiler:

 

some kind of remake/ revisiting of Mewtwo Strikes Back.

There was also a tiny snippet of an interview with the director of the Detective Pikachu film, which was cool.