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Pokémon Community Thread 4: "Your Portal to What's Hip and Happening in Sinnoh!"

Due to online trading there's really no need to get both anymore. Between XY and ORAS, I'd say ORAS is the meatier game but XY is a better stepping stone into that generation. SM is worth playing if only because of the experience, but since Ultra is coming out so soon, it might be best to wait so you can play the others.

I'm also assuming you meant Black/White, and yes they're still good. BW1 has the better Story Mode, while BW2 has the better post-game stuff.

B/W and B2W2 are worth playing way more than XY or ORAS, tbh. Gen VI had good QoL features with connectivity, but honestly, the Gen was kinda shit outside of that. If you don't wanna play Gen V games because they were made for the DS then I would just wait for USUM (which looks to be a remixed version of SM, but right now it's not clear how different so for now I would say to just stick with getting an Ultra version).

Well I went ahead and bought Y and AS, I've started into Y and I didn't know anything about all the new online stuff that's been introduced. I haven't played a Pokemon game since the original Ruby/Sapphire.

I'm at the 6th gym and I didn't even know Pokemon Bank was a thing until 20 hours into the game /facepalm.

Overall I'm enjoying it, I have some minor quips with it though. One thing I think is really underrated with it though is it's OST, I'm constantly hearing something new and most of it is pretty great. There's a pretty large variety in tracks it seems like.
 
What's a good nature for Marshadow?

As soon as my internet comes back on I'm going to use one of the codes and soft reset for a good nature one.
 
What's a good nature for Marshadow?

As soon as my internet comes back on I'm going to use one of the codes and soft reset for a good nature one.
Jolly definitely. It's like a Mega Weavile that didn't change speed and got boosts in every other stat with better typing, Technician, and a move that steals boosts.

Fun strategy to use with it is Swagger + Spectral Thief or its Z Move, just completely broken.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
Looks like Sinnoh Cap Pikachu is up, I better download that before I forget, will also have to go to, urgh, Game to get my Marshadow code.

By the way does the game does anything special when you get Marshadow or is like the gen 6 event Pokémon + Magearna where they just get handed to you with little fanfare.

Also forgot briefly that Magearna was a gen 7 Pokémon.
 

Articalys

Member
This is probably going to come off as a stupid question but I wanted to ask it anyway: right now what percent of the appeal of the Pokemon games, to the overall playerbase, is solo-focused (story and dex completion) and what percent is multiplayer-focused (competitive battling)? Has it shifted over time?
 

Danielsan

Member
Falling back into a Pokémon shaped hole after the release of Silver on the 3DS. I'm all over the place though. Sort of stopped playing Silver after the 7th gym / radio tower. Decided to fire up White 2 (I own it, but never played it) and currently just before the 7th gym there. Picked up a (genuine) copy of Fire Red online and I've just started my first proper Nuzlocke on Platinum, which I also own but have never played before (I did finish Diamond back when it came out).

I'm probably going to get burned out again real soon, but right now I'm really enjoying the Nuzlocke on Platinum. I'll be curious to see when the first victims will fall. So far so good, except for a level 2 Starly that I could catch but got one hit KO'd by my Turtwig. :/
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
So apparently Oha Suta in a few hours is going to have what Ohmori apparently calls "the fastest news!" on USUM soon...

In the past I recall them revealing some legit stuff, like with Black and White they revealed this one trailer debuting quite a bit of new Pokemon, so might be interesting.

I'm probably going to get burned out again real soon, but right now I'm really enjoying the Nuzlocke on Platinum. I'll be curious to see when the first victims will fall. So far so good, except for a level 2 Starly that I could catch but got one hit KO'd by my Turtwig. :/

The Mars and Jupiter fights are pretty dangerous---Purugly is one of the fastest Pokemon you'll encounter early on and can hit hard when most of your Pokemon and unevolved, and Skuntank has only one weakness to Ground (which isn't too common among early attacks) and a ton of resistances.

I remember they wiped out my teams, but I did the Starter rule where my Starter never permanently died to avoid a Game Over.
 

GoldStarz

Member
This is probably going to come off as a stupid question but I wanted to ask it anyway: right now what percent of the appeal of the Pokemon games, to the overall playerbase, is solo-focused (story and dex completion) and what percent is multiplayer-focused (competitive battling)? Has it shifted over time?

I'm more into story than multiplayer, mostly because I can just use Pokemon Showdown for a multiplayer battle if I want to. Plus the connection at my college is kinda shitty.

I'd probably be more into it if I knew how to use PkHex to battle friends and do group tournaments and shit, but right now I just don't have the incentive.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
So potential new Ultra Sun and Moon news tomorrow, maybe this will be the one where they show off more Alolan forms...watch me be wrong again.

This is probably going to come off as a stupid question but I wanted to ask it anyway: right now what percent of the appeal of the Pokemon games, to the overall playerbase, is solo-focused (story and dex completion) and what percent is multiplayer-focused (competitive battling)? Has it shifted over time?

For me it had always been solo-focused where I just play the main quest and never touch the multiplayer.

For the most part I haven't had any problems, though X and Y was rough as the game was heavily multiplayer focus with the single player element feeling very lackluster.
 
What's with that new trailer for the movie? Ash's English voice sounds better than it has in a long time. Not to say it's amazing but his voice later in the anime sounds way too hammy all the time and the movie is a noticeable improvement.
 
So potential new Ultra Sun and Moon news tomorrow, maybe this will be the one where they show off more Alolan forms...watch me be wrong again.

Wouldn't it be in a few hours since it airs during the morning in Japan? I'll probably just catch the news on twitter anyway since it will be up straight after.

What's with that new trailer for the movie? Ash's English voice sounds better than it has in a long time. Not to say it's amazing but his voice later in the anime sounds way too hammy all the time and the movie is a noticeable improvement.

Yeah I watched it as well and while I never found the TPCi voices to be that bad, it definitely seemed better than the regular anime.

They'll still mess up the soundtrack though, since it's apparently easier for TPCi to just make new music instead of paying royalties for the original.
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
That goofy sprite fusion site seems to have updated in the last few months, now it has up to the Gen IV Pokemon.

I guess once they get to Gen VI they'll need to resort to using the fan sprites though.
 

lupinko

Member
I'm more into story than multiplayer, mostly because I can just use Pokemon Showdown for a multiplayer battle if I want to. Plus the connection at my college is kinda shitty.

I'd probably be more into it if I knew how to use PkHex to battle friends and do group tournaments and shit, but right now I just don't have the incentive.

You could just breed with a 6IV Ditto or RNG legendaries or just use bottle caps to fix IVs you know.
 

GoldStarz

Member
You could just breed with a 6IV Ditto or RNG legendaries or just use bottle caps to fix IVs you know.

Bottles caps needs level 100s which needs high level festival plazas which needs that one high level shop which needs time to recharge so you can only do it once a day AND level 70s which aren't easy to get in the first place

And it's not like 6IV Dittos just fall from the sky.
 

lupinko

Member
Bottles caps needs level 100s which needs high level festival plazas which needs that one high level shop which needs time to recharge so you can only do it once a day AND level 70s which aren't easy to get in the first place

And it's not like 6IV Dittos just fall from the sky.

You can fish for bottle caps and I have 6IV Dittos in spades.

If you want a 6IV Ditto, I will hook you up.
 

Danielsan

Member
The Mars and Jupiter fights are pretty dangerous---Purugly is one of the fastest Pokemon you'll encounter early on and can hit hard when most of your Pokemon and unevolved, and Skuntank has only one weakness to Ground (which isn't too common among early attacks) and a ton of resistances.

I remember they wiped out my teams, but I did the Starter rule where my Starter never permanently died to avoid a Game Over.
You weren't kidding. I managed to get through the Mars battle unscathed, though I did have to use some potions mid-combat on my Turtwig (I'm not doing a no-item run). I just got through the Jupiter fight however and man, that Skuntank is something else. I lost my Staravia, Luxio and my HM slave Bidoof on that fight. Just barely made it out with the rest due to Ponyta being able to outrun his Skuntank and put in the final damage. Everyone was at one hit kill hit points. Scary stuff. Guess I'll have to rebuild my team now. Especially bummed that Luxio got killed.
 

JoeM86

Member
This is probably going to come off as a stupid question but I wanted to ask it anyway: right now what percent of the appeal of the Pokemon games, to the overall playerbase, is solo-focused (story and dex completion) and what percent is multiplayer-focused (competitive battling)? Has it shifted over time?

Contrary to what people believe, the competitive aspect, especially VGC, is just a very small minority.

Events seldom get more than 500 people participating in them. In the VGC2017 circuit, excluding Japan and Korea (due to them having different circuits), the amount of people who participated in official VGC Masters Level Play! Pokémon events was:

19,396


Japan had its championships go through a special Battle Competition but it's hard to gauge how many were from Japan but let's just assume they all were. 5,521 entrants. Assume that for Korea too

So we're looking at 30,000 competitive players for Pokémon to one level or another. Sun & Moon has sold over 15.67 million units, but let's just take that number.

With that, in the official competitive scene, we're looking at 0.2% of players of Pokémon Sun & Moon being competitive players in the official format.

Then we have online competitions seldom have more than 20,000 people compete, and that's with incentives. Though some have reached up to 40,000 before.

Obviously other players play in other formats like solely Battle Spot Singles, or with friends but that is way smaller than players of VGC etc. would have you think. It's not as big as we'd all like. Overall competitive play is probably 1, maybe 2% of players if we're lucky.
 

Danielsan

Member
Wouldn't surprise me really. I've always liked the idea of getting into competitve play, but the reality is that it's a whole lot of spreadsheet / numbers work and it also just seems that it would take a ton of time jut to get a decent competitive team together. If you don't do the numbers work then you'll just get stomped. It's the reason why I don't even touch the online battle function, despite the fact that I'd like some casual online games, because I know I won't stand a chance when I don't breed/synchronize/reset for natures / IVs / EVs eggmoves etc..
 

Articalys

Member
Rather than the expanded versions on top of the same basic framework that Y/C/E/P were, Ultra is really starting to feel more akin to a near overhaul of the entire game, like they had to leave a ton of stuff out the first time around.

...Is it?

It’s feeling more like a Platinum to me- keepin the same basic shape, while tweaking the specifics of the quest (be it gym rosters or the contents of trials) and slightly altering the plot to accommodate the new cover legendary.

Of course, Platinum’s biggest addition was the Battle Frontier, and I’d be gobsmacked if USUM had one of those.
Feeling like my original statement is more validated with the new announcements -- this is far from a "slight" altering of the plot. Changes seem halfway between a third version and a sequel in the same world like BW2 were.
 
Thanks to my new Marshadow, I finally have a complete Living Pokédex
for about a month and a half
! :D

I’ve also got a spare UK Marshadow code going begging if anyone wants it.
 

Danielsan

Member
Thanks to my new Marshadow, I finally have a complete Living Pokédex
for about a month and a half
! :D

I've also got a spare UK Marshadow code going begging if anyone wants it.
If it's still available I'd love one. Wanting to work towards a complete living dex as well. Picked up a few new (old) Pokémon games this month to do so (and hopefully make the processs a bit more fun).
 
Is there some sort of trick to catching abomasnow in X? I spent nearly an hour and he never spawned.

Will he only spawn in clear weather or something.
 
Is there some sort of trick to catching abomasnow in X? I spent nearly an hour and he never spawned.

Will he only spawn in clear weather or something.
1% rarity, so will only show up once every 100 encounters or so (ideally). Honestly when it's an evolution like that I just catch the lower form and level it up later, saves some time.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
VGC 2018 Announced: https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/a-new-video-game-championships-format-for-2018/

It is the normal National Dex format.

Requiring the Alolan Cross says to me that we might have a Legendary hunt in the USUM postgame, similar to ORAS.

More like similar to every remake/third game since...Platinum? Emerald if you count all the event item legendaries. They've all had a ton of extra legendaries over the main games. ORAS is just the most recent, most extreme example.
 

Weebos

Banned
More like similar to every remake/third game since...Platinum? Emerald if you count all the event item legendaries. They've all had a ton of extra legendaries over the main games. ORAS is just the most recent, most extreme example.

In this case I do mean it in the ORAS extreme. I don't think any of the VGC legal Legendaries are available with the Alolan Cross yet.
 
Hate to bump two threads with this, but I figure you folks would be the one to know.

Is it not yet possible to transfer out Gold/Silver pokes into bank yet?
 
Made a thread for the VGC news.

ORAS had the largest legendary hunt in the series by far. I don't know if US/UM will replicate it. We have the stuff with the wormholes, but that was always tied to the Ultra Beasts. Though it's not like they haven't taken liberties before on explaining how legendaries appear in other regions anyway.

I think people may actually be happy if the genies aren't included lol.
 

Busaiku

Member
I will be happy if Ultra Sun has fewer Legendary Pokemon than Alpha Sapphire.
The format was so good this year, don't throw it away.
 
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