Support NeoGAF

[Busaiku]

I wonder if Sun and Ash will ever be brought up in future games.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I know what you mean, but the same thing applies for basically all player characters that weren't Ash's companions. At least it did before Generations. TPC only started using the protagonists in merchandise in Gen 5.

For the record, and I'm sure you realize this, Kris appears throughout the anime. In fact, her last appearance is in the DP series only some 80 episodes before Lyra is introduced. Problem is that the anime's naming of Gen 2 characters is a bit inconsistent to say the least, so "Marina" can't be applied next to "Hibiki". I almost wonder if "Hibiki" itself would be used if the character appeared in merchandise. We may actually learn soon enough, given the GS VC release, a Gold/Ethan figure sounds plausible.

By the way, Leaf actually appeared in a badge set a few months ago, but she isn't named.

you're referring to the Raikou special right? doesn't technically it have the rival Silver except older and owns a chikorita?

why is she called leaf anyway? I get "red" is the "default", but wouldn't "fire" be nice too

 

[Dark Orchid]

you're referring to the Raikou special right? doesn't technically it have the rival Silver except older and owns a chikorita?

Different Silver and different episode. Rival Silver appears in the OP to the Raikou special with a Nidoking, old Silver is another character who has been chasing Moltres for years and eventually catches up with Ritchie's help.

I feel like Leaf was chosen to show that she's not exactly the same as the unused character in Gen 1 and Green/Blue in Special. It's also a nice nod to when she was added to the series (and conveniently avoids also having to have her name changed internationally like Blue).

 

[Mr-Joker]

So the Pokémon of the Week on Serebii is Zygarde...eh I will pass on reading that as I don't have time to waste on loser who don't have their own game.

It's a complicated situation honestly. Please keep in mind I've only seen like half of the episodes that have been released at this time (although I have been reading summaries). The biggest flaw of the anime is that it has a HUUUUUUUUUGE pacing problem and I mean, like, astoundingly bad. The was they've been handling stuff like the trials more 'plot' heavy episodes is that they pile them all together one after another. Then you have giant stretched that are nothing but filler. The filler eps are actually pretty good because the show's new style allows for a lot of exaggerated expression which help liven the cast (who are also pretty well-characterized), but because there's such a huge mass of them in a row and because the kids are pretty static compared to previous entries (the vast majority of episode take place in Hau'oli City) it feels like they're not really getting anywhere.To give a really bad recent example of this, the past three episodes that aired in Japan were essentially the Water, Fire, and Grass trials and Ash is going to be battling Olivia the next episode.

There's also the fact that there's honestly not much going on plot-wise. Normally the earlier parts of the anime is pretty much focused exclusively on the character's goal which is fine and it helps characterize them but I don't really feel that any of the characters except for Ash and Lillie really have goals. Ash wants to do the trials and face all the Kahunas, but the rules have basically been changed so that Ash only actually has to do one of the trials and it seems like that's how it's going to play out since Lana did the Water Trial (there also aren't Trial Captains anymore since I didn't mention that) and Kiawe did the Fire trial before the series started (the fire trial stand-in episode was him catching A!Marowak), which I feel diminishes the investment since Ash isn't really overcoming all the challenges a player would to reach his goal. Lillie's goal is a lot more simpler, she wants to recover from a traumatic childhood incident (which probably will factor in the main plot down the road) that left her mentally unable to touch Pokemon with freaking out. The problem here is that unlike past goal, she can do this at any place and anytime so she doesn't actually need to move around or overcome any physically measurable challenge like previous characters would with a contest or gym.

In all honesty, I do feel that PokeAni probably would've been better off with a straight up adaptation since it does feel like whenever they try to do their own original story with a game that already has a story in place it just doesn't compare favorably (which is weird because you'd think it would be easier to make a story for an anime that can play loose and fast with its rules versus a game which has to adhere to the RPG elements in place).

Couldn't have said it better myself, I stopped watching it after Ash caught Rockruff and I checked info from time to time and it just doesn't quite have the same feeling as past seasons where Ash is on adventure.

I saw some YT vids about people making their own evil teams and shit. I want to make one, but I honestly forget how the evil teams are like in the games. In Sun and Moon do they still predominately use rodents and poison types?

Yes they do.

why is she called leaf anyway? I get "red" is the "default", but wouldn't "fire" be nice too

Because if she was called Green then it would be confusing who people are referring to due to Pokémon Special and Pokémon Adventure name change up of Blue and Green.

 

[Cloggerdude]

Finally finished up Pokemon White yesterday. I really wish that I hadn't skipped this generation when it came out, because I honestly think it might be my favorite. I understand why people liked the move to 3D, but the graphics in this game just have a certain charm to them. As I said before, I enjoyed playing through this game WAY more than Sun.

Now that I've beaten the Elite4, is it worth completing any of the post-game content? I don't care so much about catching the legendaries, as I have copies of pretty much all of those. I mainly just want to make sure I get all of the story before switching over to BW2.

Also, someone had mentioned that I should use a different trainer name for BW2. What's the reason for that?

 

[ash_ag]

you're referring to the Raikou special right? doesn't technically it have the rival Silver except older and owns a chikorita?

why is she called leaf anyway? I get "red" is the "default", but wouldn't "fire" be nice too

Yep, she's introduced in the Raikou special, but she also has a few cameo appearances in the DP series, at which point she's implied to be a coordinator. Given the appearance of both "Marina" and Lyra in the same series, it would be pretty bizarre if they were meant to be the same character. "Silver" (no relation to that old character from Side Stories that is also named Silver) appears in the opening of the Raikou special, but he is never named.

Because if she was called Green then it would be confusing who people are referring to due to Pokémon Special and Pokémon Adventure name change up of Blue and Green.

Actually, it has nothing to do with that. There's unused data for her as an NPC in FRLG, and the character's default name is Leaf. It's just a random placeholder name (rival Blue is called "Terry" in the same context), but that's the reason why Bulbapedia popularized the name "Leaf". Regardless of the years-long Green/Blue confusion, I'd be very surprised if Game Freak's intended name for her isn't actually Green (Blue in Japanese).

 

[Serpens007]

Finally finished up Pokemon White yesterday. I really wish that I hadn't skipped this generation when it came out, because I honestly think it might be my favorite. I understand why people liked the move to 3D, but the graphics in this game just have a certain charm to them. As I said before, I enjoyed playing through this game WAY more than Sun.

Now that I've beaten the Elite4, is it worth completing any of the post-game content? I don't care so much about catching the legendaries, as I have copies of pretty much all of those. I mainly just want to make sure I get all of the story before switching over to BW2.

Also, someone had mentioned that I should use a different trainer name for BW2. What's the reason for that?

Gen V sprites are beautiful. The way they move just has that certain "something" that makes me look at them an never get tired of them

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Gen V sprites are beautiful. The way they move just has that certain "something" that makes me look at them an never get tired of them

I know I'm in the minority on this, I've literally never met anyone else who agrees with me, but I hate the Gen V sprites. They are why I skipped Gen V even when I was coming hot off of HG/Pt.

To me, they look jittery and spastic. They seem to squish and squash arbitrarily and prioritize the illusion of motion over any sort of plausible kinetics. Many of their animation loops seem really short, so they just make the same cyclical movements over and over which for some reason makes me anxious. Like the boomerang feature on Instagram right now: short, repeated movements seem really unnatural and uncanny to me and make my skin crawl.

There is apparently something wrong with my brain. I would have played Black and White if I could halt the animations. The static sprite art is the best ever.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Finally finished up Pokemon White yesterday. I really wish that I hadn't skipped this generation when it came out, because I honestly think it might be my favorite. I understand why people liked the move to 3D, but the graphics in this game just have a certain charm to them. As I said before, I enjoyed playing through this game WAY more than Sun.

Better late than never and at least you did get to experience one of the greatest generation.

And yeah the older game graphics had a certain charm to them that hasn't quite been recaptured in the 3D game but gen 7 did come close in some areas.

Now that I've beaten the Elite4, is it worth completing any of the post-game content? I don't care so much about catching the legendaries, as I have copies of pretty much all of those. I mainly just want to make sure I get all of the story before switching over to BW2.

There are some TM that are hidden in the new area and there is a Looker mission that gives more in depth behind Team Plasma, plus you can battle against the greatest champion ever to grace the series...Cynthia.

Also, someone had mentioned that I should use a different trainer name for BW2. What's the reason for that?

I don't do that but the reason why most people say that is because Black and White 2 is a sequel with a new main character and if you do the memory link with Black and White the character you played as will be mentioned by name.

Actually, it has nothing to do with that. There's unused data for her as an NPC in FRLG, and the character's default name is Leaf. It's just a random placeholder name (rival Blue is called "Terry" in the same context), but that's the reason why Bulbapedia popularized the name "Leaf". Regardless of the years-long Green/Blue confusion, I'd be very surprised if Game Freak's intended name for her isn't actually Green (Blue in Japanese).

Hmm interesting, I didn't know that.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Gen V sprites are beautiful. The way they move just has that certain "something" that makes me look at them an never get tired of them

ehh depends on which pokemon

the gear line works, for instance, but something like Eelektross? nope

I know I'm in the minority on this, I've literally never met anyone else who agrees with me, but I hate the Gen V sprites. They are why I skipped Gen V even when I was coming hot off of HG/Pt.

To me, they look jittery and spastic. They seem to squish and squash arbitrarily and prioritize the illusion of motion over any sort of plausible kinetics. Many of their animation loops seem really short, so they just make the same cyclical movements over and over which for some reason makes me anxious. Like the boomerang feature on Instagram right now: short, repeated movements seem really unnatural and uncanny to me and make my skin crawl.

There is apparently something wrong with my brain. I would have played Black and White if I could halt the animations. The static sprite art is the best ever.

some works some don't

Eelektross for instance is terrible because it's just sprite tweening.

 

[Shadow Broker]

I saw some YT vids about people making their own evil teams and shit. I want to make one, but I honestly forget how the evil teams are like in the games. In Sun and Moon do they still predominately use rodents and poison types?

Yes they do but also has stuff like Drowzee, Poochyena, and other shit like that I can't remember.

After I give it some thought I'll post my evil team here to see if we can get a discussion going on it.



Edit: Your username messed up my entire thought process.

 

[Cloggerdude]

Better late than never and at least you did get to experience one of the greatest generation.

And yeah the older game graphics had a certain charm to them that hasn't quite been recaptured in the 3D game but gen 7 did come close in some areas.

I'm kind of wondering if maybe I just wasn't in a good place when I played Gen 7 or something. I find it odd that I disliked it so much, especially with how much I enjoyed Gen 6. I think I will give it some time and then replay it. I'll definitely be giving Ultra a try.

I don't do that but the reason why most people say that is because Black and White 2 is a sequel with a new main character and if you do the memory link with Black and White the character you played as will be mentioned by name.

Ahhh, that makes sense. I've given my character the same name in every game since Red, so I'll probably just keep the tradition alive, even if it might be a bit confusing.

Speaking of the memory link function: If I have finished the main story, everything should be unlocked for the memory link in BW2, right?

 

[brinstar]

Finally finished up Pokemon White yesterday. I really wish that I hadn't skipped this generation when it came out, because I honestly think it might be my favorite. I understand why people liked the move to 3D, but the graphics in this game just have a certain charm to them. As I said before, I enjoyed playing through this game WAY more than Sun.

Now that I've beaten the Elite4, is it worth completing any of the post-game content? I don't care so much about catching the legendaries, as I have copies of pretty much all of those. I mainly just want to make sure I get all of the story before switching over to BW2.

There's finishing up the rest of the Unova region, finding the seven sages and then rebattling the E4. The E4 rematch is the "real" one with a traditonal champion battle at the end.

Also, someone had mentioned that I should use a different trainer name for BW2. What's the reason for that?

As Joker said, if you do the memory link with BW1 your trainer from that game will be mentioned quite often, so it helps prevent confusion.

 

[Shadow Broker]

Note: Keep in mind that the player character in each of the Pokémon games is the exception and not the rule. So things like fossil Pokémon really would be extremely rare and legendaries would be rarer.



My evil Pokémon Team

Team Ultra

- Fire type users / Fighting type users / Electric Type users

Goals

- Steal and exploit Pokémon while searching for rarer Pokémon like fossil Pokémon to bring back, raise and/or sell.

- Create a layer command structure that allows communication upwards and downwards but limits Grunts and Team leaders knowledge of the operation to only that related to their group. Meaning a Ultra grunt will only know the 3 other grunts in his/her team and his/her team leader, team leader will only know the members of the grunts of his/her team plus the other team leaders of his/her squad and the identity of the squad leader which is his squad leader. You get the point right? After squad comes the platoon leader and after the platoon leaders comes the Admins and after comes the Admins comes the Leader of team Ultra which would be me. The higher up you go the more you know but those on the bottom of the shit pole knows the least.

- Keep operations low key

- Use gyms and casinos as fronts to hide in plain sight, additional cash flow, and process our illegal money.

- Legendary Pokémon research with the goals on capturing legendary Pokémon

- Most importantly STOP OTHER EVIL TEAMS FROM DESTROYING THE FUCKING WORLD!!! That would be bad for our operations


As you can see my team would operate alot like Team Rocket except we wouldn't target to take over grave yards or corporations. We wouldn't be good guys either. Everything Team Ultra does would be for its own self interest and expanding our influence.

My Team Ultra Pokémon Team

Jolteon - Eevee Starter Pokémon

Zapdos - legendary research showed results

Volcarona - Favorite Fire type

Arcanine - Why not? Good underrated Pokémon

Mega Lucario - It'll be dumb for the leader to not have a Mega. A physical Mega Lucario build was the first competitive Pokémon I've ever bread and I still have him!!!

Poliwrath - I'll make a build one day that will work damnit!!!!

 

[Grexeno]

Note: Keep in mind that the player character in each of the Pokémon games is the exception and not the rule. So things like fossil Pokémon really would be extremely rare and legendaries would be rarer.



My evil Pokémon Team

Team Ultra

- Fire type users / Fighting type users / Electric Type users

Goals

- Steal and exploit Pokémon while searching for rarer Pokémon like fossil Pokémon to bring back, raise and/or sell.

- Create a layer command structure that allows communication upwards and downwards but limits Grunts and Team leaders knowledge of the operation to only that related to their group. Meaning a Ultra grunt will only know the 3 other grunts in his/her team and his/her team leader, team leader will only know the members of the grunts of his/her team plus the other team leaders of his/her squad and the identity of the squad leader which is his squad leader. You get the point right? After squad comes the platoon leader and after the platoon leaders comes the Admins and after comes the Admins comes the Leader of team Ultra which would be me. The higher up you go the more you know but those on the bottom of the shit pole knows the least.

- Keep operations low key

- Use gyms and casinos as fronts to hide in plain sight, additional cash flow, and process our illegal money.

- Legendary Pokémon research with the goals on capturing legendary Pokémon

- Most importantly STOP OTHER EVIL TEAMS FROM DESTROYING THE FUCKING WORLD!!! That would be bad for our operations


As you can see my team would operate alot like Team Rocket except we wouldn't target to take over grave yards or corporations. We wouldn't be good guys either. Everything Team Ultra does would be for its own self interest and expanding our influence.

My Team Ultra Pokémon Team

Jolteon - Eevee Starter Pokémon

Zapdos - legendary research showed results

Volcarona - Favorite Fire type

Arcanine - Why not? Good underrated Pokémon

Mega Lucario - It'll be dumb for the leader to not have a Mega. A physical Mega Lucario build was the first competitive Pokémon I've ever bread and I still have him!!!

Poliwrath - I'll make a build one day that will work damnit!!!!

This sounds a lot like Passione from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5.

 

[Sandfox]

I've been trying to SOS chain for a shiny Grubbin and my luck has been so bad...

 

[Shadow Broker]

This sounds a lot like Passione from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5.

Lol... I've seen the name of the anime before but never seen it or know what it looks like. Here I thought I was being somewhat original.

 

[Mr-Joker]

I have been playing Pokémon Diamond for years and I have always restarted with the same team and it never once occurred to me that I had Pokémon from gen 1-4 on my team, with two getting gen 4 evolution.

I didn't planned it that way when I originally created the team but it's nice when it creates a mixture of Pokémon across the generation.

I'm kind of wondering if maybe I just wasn't in a good place when I played Gen 7 or something. I find it odd that I disliked it so much, especially with how much I enjoyed Gen 6. I think I will give it some time and then replay it. I'll definitely be giving Ultra a try.

Well for me I felt that X and Y was a major step backward from gen 5. As for example in Black and White 2 every trainers got an intro animation that added a lot of charm and made them feel alive.

X and Y however regressed hard on this as trainer in the over world were static, which felt jarring in 3D and rather than having a 3D model they had instead a still 2D image.

Sun and Moon fixed this by giving trainers animation in the over world, like tossing a Pokéball in the air plus unlike gen 6 they had 3D model along with an intro animation this was the level of progression that I was expecting from X and Y but never got.

Ahhh, that makes sense. I've given my character the same name in every game since Red, so I'll probably just keep the tradition alive, even if it might be a bit confusing.

I have done the same and it didn't get that confusing, though I tend to alter the story slightly in my head.

Speaking of the memory link function: If I have finished the main story, everything should be unlocked for the memory link in BW2, right?

Yes once you have finished the main story in Black and White everything will be unlocked for the Memory link.

I've been trying to SOS chain for a shiny Grubbin and my luck has been so bad...

Urgh, I am not looking forward to having to SOS to capture Mareanie when I replay Pokémon Sun as I would be after a female, adamant nature with the ability Merciless.

I haven't planned out my Team for Ultra Sun and Moon but hopefully none of them would required being part of an SOS chain...also hoping that they rid of the whole "not being able to catch Pokémon till you defeat the totem Pokémon" as I hated that shit in Sun and Moon.

Though I am not expecting them to improve on the whole Island Trial concept in Ultra Sun and Moon.

 

[Sandfox]

I'm still looking for this thing.

 

[Not75Drops]

Wrong post never mind

 

[papertoonz]

they are making rowlet backpack plush now

it looks so cute

 

[Busaiku]

Since he has Litten, I don't think Rowlet will evolve.

 

[Shadow Broker]

Since he has Litten, I don't think Rowlet will evolve.

They won't let the coolest looking gen 7 starter not be represented in the anime. The only way I see Rowlet not evolving is if Rockruff has some third form it evolves into that's not going to be released untill Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

 

[Puruzi]

Decidueye looks like a dork

 

[Shadow Broker]

Decidueye looks like a dork

Compared to the other starters though?

It all comes down to taste, marketing power, and which can generate the most profit.

 

[Puruzi]

Compared to the other starters though?

Primarina is beautiful

 

[brinstar]

I feel like I should like Decidueye more than I do but for some reason it just doesn't do it for me. And I'm usually the guy who always picks grass

 

[Shadow Broker]

Primarina is beautiful

I know better then to have this arguement!



I said Decidueye looks "cooler" compared to the other two not he/she was more beautiful.

I feel like I should like Decidueye more than I do but for some reason it just doesn't do it for me. And I'm usually the guy who always picks grass

It was the base stats for me. Up until the demo leaked (data mine) I was on Gaf saying "all I need is for him to have a high base speed and a good att or spc att. You know, the glass cannon sort like Greninja. Then the leaks (data mine) happened and all 3 starters were dead to me. Before the leaks I had big plans to breed and raise a competitive Decidueye.

It was so bad that I have a living dex and none of the starters in it aren't from me. I released my Rowlet/Litten/Popplio first chance I got. (Three play throughs)

 

[GoldStarz]

Primarina is beautiful

Primarina is the worst of the three and all three are generally unpleasant to look at. It's lucky it's singing voice is good or else everyone else would send it packing.

 

[Shadow Broker]

Primarina is the worst of the three and all three are generally unpleasant to look at. It's lucky it's singing voice is good or else everyone else would send it packing.

Goddamn! LMAO.. After reading your post the Mortal Kombat II voice went through my mind and it said Finish Him!

 

[brinstar]

It was the base stats for me. Up until the demo leaked (data mine) I was on Gaf saying "all I need is for him to have a high base speed and a good att or spc att. You know, the glass cannon sort like Greninja. Then the leaks (data mine) happened and all 3 starters were dead to me. Before the leaks I had big plans to breed and raise a competitive Decidueye.

It was so bad that I have a living dex and none of the starters in it aren't from me. I released my Rowlet/Litten/Popplio first chance I got. (Three play throughs)

Yeah I think it bugs me that it's slow too... honestly all 3 Gen 7 starters are kind of eh for me and I'm usually the guy who loves like every Pokemon. It's to the point where I might do my first team without a starter in US/UM.

 

[Puruzi]

I know better then to have this arguement!



I said Decidueye looks "cooler" compared to the other two not he/she was more beautiful.

Decidueye is still a dork

Primarina is the worst of the three and all three are generally unpleasant to look at. It's lucky it's singing voice is good or else everyone else would send it packing.

You're wrong tho

 

[Sandfox]

Finally got my Grubbin after well over 1000 chains. Next I'm going to breed a shiny starter, but I'm not sure which.

 

[Shadow Broker]

Finally got my Grubbin after well over 1000 chains. Next I'm going to breed a shiny starter, but I'm not sure which.

Curious question

Why chain for a shiny instead of trying to breed for one?

You can't control the nature of a wild shiny. Is it because of the excitement of finding one? I really am curious because once I'm done with this play through and unlock the IV feature at the PC I'm going to try and breed myself a couple of Shinies.

Also, congrats!

 

[Macka]

All of the Sun/Moon starters look terrible imo.

Hard to decide which set is worse between Alola & Unova.

Awesome in what sense though? Nothing will have drastically changed and gen 2 pretty much acted as a sequel for Kanto when the player get the ability to travel there, though I just wish that it was a little more fleshed out.

Awesome in every sense. I think Kanto is one of the best regions even today, and in full 3D it would feel almost brand new tbh. The perspective would really change the feel of everything imo, while still being remaining somewhat familiar. Having it set 20 years later also gives them the liberty to change certain things, or expand on areas. There could be new cities that have sprung up to the north. There would be new buildings and developments everywhere. Plus it would obviously be an all-new story as well. Gen 2 didn't really change Kanto at all (aside from aging a few Gym Leaders and removing access to certain things), so I don't see what you're getting at there.

Ideally they'd heavily expand on the Sevii Islands too.

 

[Oswen]

What I really loved from Gen I & II regions back in the day was that, even if simple in design, they had a very nice "metroidvania" feeling and made the game feel more like a RPG.

Discovering the Diglett Tunnel which brought you back to the first section of the game, unlocking Saffron city etc.
The region would eventually fold on itself, opening shortcuts and opening inaccessible areas, creating a nice sense of discovery and satisfaction.
We sadly lost most of it in newer games.

Hoenn and Sinnoh have some of it but still not on the same magnitude, the latter especially had a nice concept with the whole "Mt Coronet dividing the region" but it wasn't that great in the end.

Unova and Kalos are probably the biggest offenders in this regard, both regions are just big, boring circles which is a shame.
Alola was better with the multiple islands idea but everything ended up feeling a bit small sadly.

That's probably my only complaint about "new generations", exploration and sense of discovery went down the drain which is a shame considering that a more RPG structure would work great with the (awesome) addition of the Pokè Ride which resolved one of the biggest hassle of the serie (Party slots wasted on HM slaves).

I really hope that future generations, being on more than capable hardware, would bring some of that metroidvania structure back or maybe even go the opposite way and become a true open world, creating zones and segments that, (even if optional) are still big, fun and worth to explore.

 

[Boss Doggie]

What I really loved from Gen I & II regions back in the day was that, even if simple in design, they had a very nice "metroidvania" feeling and made the game feel more like a RPG.

Discovering the Diglett Tunnel which brought you back to the first section of the game, unlocking Saffron city etc.
The region would eventually fold on itself, opening shortcuts and opening inaccessible areas, creating a nice sense of discovery and satisfaction.
We sadly lost most of it in newer games.

Hoenn and Sinnoh have some of it but still not on the same magnitude, the latter especially had a nice concept with the whole "Mt Coronet dividing the region" but it wasn't that great in the end.

Unova and Kalos are probably the biggest offenders in this regard, both regions are just big, boring circles which is a shame.
Alola was better with the multiple islands idea but everything ended up feeling a bit small sadly.

That's probably my only complaint about "new generations", exploration and sense of discovery went down the drain which is a shame considering that a more RPG structure would work great with the (awesome) addition of the Pokè Ride which resolved one of the biggest hassle of the serie (Party slots wasted on HM slaves).

I really hope that future generations, being on more than capable hardware, would bring some of that metroidvania structure back or maybe even go the opposite way and become a true open world, creating zones and segments that, (even if optional) are still big, fun and worth to explore.

Ehh that still sounds linear.

 

[JoeM86]

Gen 1 and 2 were linear. Linear but having you backtrack is still linear.

 

[WPS]

Gen 1 and 2 were linear. Linear but having you backtrack is still linear.

They weren't incredibly non linear, but they definitely weren't linear. You had a choice between Saffron and Fuchsia, you had different routes to Fuchsia, you had a choice between olivine and mahogany, and the return to kanto was unguided to a fault. Even in many towns you had a choice between dealing with the plot or dealing with the gym first, and you could often at least explore a little of the next route or town before being railroaded into the current plot point.

A lot of things about the games are exaggerated by nostalgia, but the change in linearity is not one of them.

 

[Oswen]

Ehh that still sounds linear.

I never said that linearity is the problem.
Having the game start from A and finish at C with a certain boss order in the middle is fine, especially for the main target audience of the games.

It's mostly about how a region is built.
I personally think that unlocking shortcuts, backtrack to discover you can now enter that inaccessible cave, open optional routes etc makes for a more interesting setting, especially in a RPG.
Older games were simple and limited but at least had a feel of it while more modern regions became much more straightforward.

It's more of a personal reflection, I think that exploration and discovery should not become secondary in a franchise like Pokémon where the main point is finding and catching creatures living in their vibrant world.

 

[GoldStarz]

They weren't incredibly non linear, but they definitely weren't linear. You had a choice between Saffron and Fuchsia, you had different routes to Fuchsia, you had a choice between olivine and mahogany, and the return to kanto was unguided to a fault. Even in many towns you had a choice between dealing with the plot or dealing with the gym first, and you could often at least explore a little of the next route or town before being railroaded into the current plot point.

A lot of things about the games are exaggerated by nostalgia, but the change in linearity is not one of them.

I mean, it's true that the game lets you face the Olivine and Fuschia gyms in the order you like, but you're still actively driven to one of the options by the game, the game has an intended order, just because they didn't enforce it, I wouldn't call it non-linear.

 

[Shadow Broker]

I mean, it's true that the game lets you face the Olivine and Fuschia gyms in the order you like, but you're still actively driven to one of the options by the game, the game has an intended order, just because they didn't enforce it, I wouldn't call it non-linear.

What you described makes it the most nonlinear Pokémon games I've ever played. Sabrina, recently I made a mad dash to the Safari Zone first chance I got for a Dratini. Once I got it I took on Sabrina. My team was in the 30s and her team was around the 50s. When I saw that I got extremely excited because my first thought was "I shouldn't be here just yet." No other Pokémon game from what I've seen allows that and I wish there was more of that. I need to replay the original gen 2 to see if you could do anything like that.

 

[GoldStarz]

What you described makes it the most nonlinear Pokémon games I've ever played. Sabrina, recently I made a mad dash to the Safari Zone first chance I got for a Dratini. Once I got it I took on Sabrina. My team was in the 30s and her team was around the 50s. When I saw that I got extremely excited because my first thought was "I shouldn't be here just yet." No other Pokémon game from what I've seen allows that and I wish there was more of that. I need to replay the original gen 2 to see if you could do anything like that.

Just because it's the most nonlinear doesn't mean it IS nonlinear. You anecdote also brings up another point against the idea of Pokemon being nonlinear in that even between the two "nonlinear" gyms, the leveling curve does not adjust, so one is more powerful than the other, further enforcing players to go the route that the game wants you to. I'm positive the only reason that the order wasn't set in the games was because the developers didn't feel like it was necessary to enforce players to go in the 'right' order any more than the game already did.

 

[Shadow Broker]

Just because it's the most nonlinear doesn't mean it IS nonlinear. You anecdote also brings up another point against the idea of Pokemon being nonlinear in that even between the two "nonlinear" gyms, the leveling curve does not adjust, so one is more powerful than the other, further enforcing players to go the route that the game wants you to. I'm positive the only reason that the order wasn't set in the games was because the developers didn't feel like it was necessary to enforce players to go in the 'right' order any more than the game already did.

Not arguing how linear the games are because they are. I was just stating how your explanation showed how the originals were the most nonlinear Pokémon games I played.

Honestly I disagree with your opinion. Instead of using Snorlax or cutable trees or drunk guys blocking the rode just let the player wonder into a area with random battle where the wild Pokémon and Pokémon trainers are 20 or so level higher than the player. That should be enough the sway the player into going the "right" route and give the hard headed ones the freedom to get wasted just so they can say it's not linear.

I already know it's not happening. It's just a thought I had.

 

[OfficerRaichu15]

Well Just beat Lance in Heartgold!!!
Team was:
Feraligator Level 50
Hydro Cannon
Waterfall
Crunch
Avalanche

Ambipom Level 48
Thunder
Double Hit
Shadow Claw
Nasty Plot

Arcanine Level 47
Flamethrower
Bite
Fire Blast
Extreme speed

Crobat Level 47
Shadow Ball
Fly
Wing Attack
Mean Look

Heracross Level 47
Brick Break
Close Combat
Earthquake
Strength

Dragonair Level 43
Surf
Dragon Rush
Dragon Pulse
Extreme Speed

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Prolly fake but there were posted on /vp/:

A nice imitation of the new style but feel off. Earlier a picture of a supposed Genesect Organic Form was posted, whose head can be seen on the sign so, real or fake, from the same source. The picture above looks far more realistic than the Sugi Art:

 

[Shadow Broker]

Real or fake (most likely fake) I like the idea of Organic Genesect. Maybe make him breed able and non legendary until you take him to a lab. Lol..

 

[Not75Drops]

So this is interesting. Is Ash's Rockruff potentially evolving into a third form? Apparently Rockruff is going to evolve "soon" and this is part of the preview for the next episode.

https://twitter.com/JoeMerrick/status/893057358552854528

Both Lycanroc forms have been shown pretty recently in the anime so it be weird for Rockruff to evolve into one of them. Ohmori is supposed to be on that Poke-whatever it's called now this week and new US/UM merchandise will be out within the next few days as well. Not to mention that Lycanroc placeholder on the Global Link.

Though it could be nothing and they're just trolling everyone.

 

[doop_]

Remember those green rays from the back ground art.

And the tagline on the website says a new light is about to shine on alola.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I never said that linearity is the problem.
Having the game start from A and finish at C with a certain boss order in the middle is fine, especially for the main target audience of the games.

It's mostly about how a region is built.
I personally think that unlocking shortcuts, backtrack to discover you can now enter that inaccessible cave, open optional routes etc makes for a more interesting setting, especially in a RPG.
Older games were simple and limited but at least had a feel of it while more modern regions became much more straightforward.

It's more of a personal reflection, I think that exploration and discovery should not become secondary in a franchise like Pokémon where the main point is finding and catching creatures living in their vibrant world.

Oh then yes I agree, but that's mostly Gen VII's problem since even V lets you explore.