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[Firestorm]

Aren't you a moderator or something there? :O

Yes. I don't really have anything to do with the custom rulesets they play with though. I'm just help manage the social forum, VGC, and local tournaments. I love the VGC community and have some very good friends from it. Heck, just spent last weekend with friends I met through the site at an out-of-town anime-con to participate in a Pokemon League thingy.

http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3458639

 

[Boogiepop]

They banned Garchomp (which I wasn't really against) because of how he was tearing up the OU scene with little to no trouble, even against people that were prepared. Things started going downhill once they banned Salamence, for reasons that I still don't know to this day.

Then 5th Gen rolled out, and they decided to ban Drizzle Politoed. People asked why Toed and not Tyranitar, for example, and I think the best answer people could come up with was along the lines of "Kingdra is good, Tyranitar is not."

Wasn't the Salamence thing because it was tearing up the OU once it got ahold of outrage or whatever, ala speed boost Blaziken and Excadrill?

And Politoed never got banned as far as I recall, but there was something like a Drizzle/Swift Swim combo ban or something IIRC.

 

[MikeMyers]

Any feedback on my Yellow team, by the way?

Pikachu
~ Quick Attack
~ Sesimic Toss
~ Thunderbolt
~ Thunder Wave

Pikachu sucks, but I always keep my starter. Thunderbolt to attack, Sesimic Toss actually hits Ground types, QA for the quick finisher.

Nidoking
~ Blizzard
~ Rock Slide
~ Earthquake
~ Double Kick

Wanted to try out Nidoking, debating wherever to use this or Tauros. I'd rather use the later, but he comes in late in the game and I already have Nidoking.

Charizard
~ Fly
~ Dig
~ Slash
~ Flamethrower

Dig because the Earthquake TM goes to Nidoking. Critical Hit Slash and Flamethrower should do damage. Since I'm doing this on an actual Gameboy, I'm not going to bother getting him Rock Slide.

Gyarados
~ Surf
~ Ice Beam
~ Thunderbolt
~ Hyper Beam

Hyper Beam doesn't recharge if you knock an oppenent out. Ice Beam for Grass/Flying, Thunderbolt gets other Waters. I'm thinking about maybe using Body Slam over Thunderbolt

Exeggutor
~ Psychic
~ Strength
~ Mega Drain
~ Leech Seed

I've never actually used him before, so I think I'll try him out.

Jolteon
~ Thunder
~ Thunder Wave
~ Pin Missile
~ Double Kick

Pikachu sucks, so I need a real Electric Pokemon on my team. Thunder because Gyarados gets the Thunderbolt TM, Pin Missile for Grass types, and Double Kick for Rock Types. It's going to be funny when I challenge Gary's Jolteon with my Jolteon. If Gyarados gets the Body Slam TM, then I will give Jolteon Thunderbolt...although I'm debating between using this or Zapdos.

 

[Firestorm]

Hidden Power is my number one issue with Smogon sets/the competitive metagame or whatever. It's impossible to control, and it's the point where you pretty much have to get things to work out PERFECT. Ugh.

With people figuring out how the Random Number Generator works it's pretty easy to get actually. All my Pokemon have perfect IVs and although I don't think I have Hidden Power on them, I could have got them with the right Hidden Power too.

And by "I could have got" I mean "I could have asked someone much better than me at breeding / catching Pokemon to get".

 

[Wiseblade]

Hang on, I have 200+ posts in the HGSS thread, but none in the Platinum one.


I don't know who I am anymore.

 

[Professor Beef]

Wasn't the Salamence thing because it was tearing up the OU once it got ahold of outrage or whatever, ala speed boost Blaziken and Excadrill?

Not that I recall, although it has been quite a while. Even with Outrage though, Salamence was still one of the easiest OHKOs you could get. Plus Steel was a common enough typing to switch into an Outrage and start making preps.

And Politoed never got banned as far as I recall, but there was something like a Drizzle/Swift Swim combo ban or something IIRC.

Ah, that's right. Still a stupid decision, considering that Tyranitar is, and always will be, one of the most common hard counters to Rain Dance that there is.

 

[Frost_Ace]

Not that I recall, although it has been quite a while. Even with Outrage though, Salamence was still one of the easiest OHKOs you could get. Plus Steel was a common enough typing to switch into an Outrage and start making preps.

Ah, that's right. Still a stupid decision, considering that Tyranitar is, and always will be, one of the most common hard counters to Rain Dance that there is.

Too bad he's weak to water , and even with the sp.def boost given by the sand, water attacks still hurt a lot; same thing could by said for ninetales.

 

[Professor Beef]

Too bad he's weak to water , and even with the sp.def boost given by the sand, water attacks still hurt a lot; same thing could by said for ninetales.

It's not about his defense boost in the sand though; once he comes in, he completely kills the momentum that the Rain Dance team may or may not have had. He can take water attacks thanks to that damn bulk of his, and hit back a lot harder thanks to STAB Crunch or he can start boosting himself with Dragon Dance. He's the reason why all my Rain sweepers carry Rain Dance as a move.

 

[Wiseblade]

Not that I recall, although it has been quite a while. Even with Outrage though, Salamence was still one of the easiest OHKOs you could get. Plus Steel was a common enough typing to switch into an Outrage and start making preps.

Ah, that's right. Still a stupid decision, considering that Tyranitar is, and always will be, one of the most common hard counters to Rain Dance that there is.

Salamence got banned because it was "too diverse". There wasn't a particular set that was overwhelmingly powerful, but rather that there wasn't anything that countered everything he did all of the time.

Yeah, it sounds stupid to me too.

It's kind of important to remember that this was just after Smogon realised letting Latias into OU was a terrible idea and Dragon hate was at an all time high. Salamence was the most prominent dragon; he didn't stand a chance.

 

[Professor Beef]

Salamence got banned because it was "too diverse". There wasn't a particular set that was overwhelmingly powerful, but rather that there wasn't anything that countered everything he did all of the time.

Yeah, it sounds stupid to me too.

It's kind of important to remember that this was just after Smogon realised letting Latias into OU was a terrible idea and Dragon hate was at an all time high. Salamence was the most prominent dragon; he didn't stand a chance.

Ugh. Just...ugh.

 

[clemenx]

Salamence got banned because it was "too diverse". There wasn't a particular set that was overwhelmingly powerful, but rather that there wasn't anything that countered everything he did all of the time.

Yeah, it sounds stupid to me too.

It's kind of important to remember that this was just after Smogon realised letting Latias into OU was a terrible idea and Dragon hate was at an all time high. Salamence was the most prominent dragon; he didn't stand a chance.

As a fan and user of Specsmence this line of thinking makes me sad.

 

[MikeMyers]

So if Salamance got banned and I'm assuming he went to Uber, doesn't he just become a poor man's Rayquaza then?

 

[Professor Beef]

So if Salamance got banned and I'm assuming he went to Uber, doesn't he just become a poor man's Rayquaza then?

That is exactly the case. Although I guess it means you can technically have two Rayquazas. *shrug*

 

[Wiseblade]

So if Salamance got banned and I'm assuming he went to Uber, doesn't he just become a poor man's Rayquaza then?

Well, he was a touch faster, but yeah.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

My thoughts on Smogon's direction in the past year can best be summed up by the first post of this thread. The very act of exercising so much control over the rules makes the game less fun to me in and of itself, regardless of the end result. It injects too much politics and debate into the process and fosters an attitude of "how can I pull some strings to dispose of this game element that is undesirable to me specifically." It is inherently anti-competitive as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Wiseblade]

My thoughts on Smogon's direction in the past year can best be summed up by the first post of this thread. The very act of exercising so much control over the rules makes the game less fun to me in and of itself, regardless of the end result. It injects too much politics and debate into the process and fosters an attitude of "how can I pull some strings to dispose of this game element that is undesirable to me specifically." It is inherently anti-competitive as far as I'm concerned.

I agree completely. It's the equivalent of if Capcom listened to the rants of morons on forums when balancing Street Fighter IV.

Oh, wait...

 

[Emitan]

I haven't been watching Chuggaa's LP but that's because I think a Pokémon LP is kind of boring. I would know because in high school I tried to make one of Pokémon Blue.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I haven't been watching Chuggaa's LP but that's because I think a Pokémon LP is kind of boring. I would know because in high school I tried to make one of Pokémon Blue.

Video LPs don't work for RPGs at all, as far as I can tell.

 

[ColtraineGF]

For RPGs in particular, I think the challenge format works better - beat the game with some restriction in place, or beat a specially modified version of the game (maybe shorter, increased difficulty).

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

For RPGs in particular, I think the challenge format works better - beat the game with some restriction in place, or beat a specially modified version of the game (maybe shorter, increased difficulty).

The best example of that would be a so-called Nuzlocke run, which has some interesting rules, mostly regarding how you catch a Pokemon. They're good fun, from what I know, and can provide a unique experience every time.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

The best example of that would be a so-called Nuzlocke run, which has some interesting rules, mostly regarding how you catch a Pokemon. They're good fun, from what I know, and can provide a unique experience every time.

I can't imagine how anyone could find Nuzlocke to be fun. Forced grinding is some kind of masochism.

The best alternate play style requires the use of an AR. Team Rocket style: you can only catch Pokemon that are owned by other trainers, and you can only catch the last Pokemon they use (since any capture would force the battle to end and would be too easy otherwise). Even better with codes that let you play in a Team Rocket uniform the whole time.

 

[gosox333]

Never did a Nuzlocke run myself. I probably wouldn't be able to release a Pokemon I spent multiple hours raising, let alone releasing multiple of them. I'd definitely give up before the end.

 

[Boogiepop]

So, out of the in game legendary locations, what's your favorite?

For me, something about finding that little entrance to the Sky Pillar, making all those crazy little bike trips up that giant tower, and finding Rayquaza at the top really struck me well. It just felt like an awesome little secret to me, even moreso than Cerulean Cave or anything else of the sort.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Spear Pillar, N's Castle, and Silver Mountain. The trio of awesomeness.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

So, out of the in game legendary locations, what's your favorite?

For me, something about finding that little entrance to the Sky Pillar, making all those crazy little bike trips up that giant tower, and finding Rayquaza at the top really struck me well. It just felt like an awesome little secret to me, even moreso than Cerulean Cave or anything else of the sort.

I kind of dig the Hall of Origin for no other reason than the creepy remix of the title theme. Too bad it was never actually released.

 

[Wichu]

My thoughts on Smogon's direction in the past year can best be summed up by the first post of this thread. The very act of exercising so much control over the rules makes the game less fun to me in and of itself, regardless of the end result. It injects too much politics and debate into the process and fosters an attitude of "how can I pull some strings to dispose of this game element that is undesirable to me specifically." It is inherently anti-competitive as far as I'm concerned.

I quit when Bidoof got banned. To be fair, he totally deserved it.

 

[Box of Bunnies]

Salamence got banned because it was "too diverse". There wasn't a particular set that was overwhelmingly powerful, but rather that there wasn't anything that countered everything he did all of the time.

Yeah, it sounds stupid to me too.

Because that doesn't at all further the idea that competetive play is little more than a combination of the same six to twelve sets without any individual thought or variety involved.

We need a freestyle revolution.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

I thought the Distortion World was pretty cool, especially how everything was some sort of gravity screw and just how crazy it looked. I imagine walking through that in real life, with Girantina flying around in the shadows would be a bit creepy though.

 

[Wiseblade]

I thought the Distortion World was pretty cool, especially how everything was some sort of gravity screw and just how crazy it looked. I imagine walking through that in real life, with Girantina flying around in the shadows would be a bit creepy though.

It was cool, but there was nothing there.

 

[Ultratech]

The best alternate play style requires the use of an AR. Team Rocket style: you can only catch Pokemon that are owned by other trainers, and you can only catch the last Pokemon they use (since any capture would force the battle to end and would be too easy otherwise). Even better with codes that let you play in a Team Rocket uniform the whole time.

Hmm...I like this idea. May have to try it out soon.
Will make for a very interesting run through HG/SS or whatever game I decide to play next.

 

[OMG Aero]

Video LPs don't work for RPGs at all, as far as I can tell.

Video LPs can work for RPGs but it requires work on the side of the player. Right now I'm following a great LP of Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door and finished watching a Superstar Saga LP last month too.
The way to make it work is you need to heavily edit it, both of those LPs sped up the battles unless it was against a new enemy, a boss fight, showcased a new partner/ability/move or something interesting happened in it and whenever there was backtracking they just edited it out completely and cut to where they wanted to go. That way the viewer is only seeing new content and misses out on the parts of the game that are boring if you aren't playing.

 

[Chet Rippo]

I can't stand watching Let's Play videos. I can't imagine RPG LPs are any better.

 

[Boogiepop]

Anyone mind linking me to a good Gen V RNG guide? I figure it's probably about time I give it a shot and try to figure it all out.

 

[Anth0ny]

I can't stand watching Let's Play videos. I can't imagine RPG LPs are any better.

A lot of Pokemon let's plays are sped up. It helps.

But yeah, I've only ever really watched Sonic let's plays. Not sure what a Pokemon let's play offers... maybe a Nuzlocke run would be fun to watch.

 

[BFA]

Anyone mind linking me to a good Gen V RNG guide? I figure it's probably about time I give it a shot and try to figure it all out.

This guide is outdated (now possible to RNG with DSi/3DS too), but I learned last month using this:

http://learntorng.webs.com/

 

[Wiseblade]

Somtimes I think about making a Fire Emblem 9 LP. I've never played it and I think FE games lend themselves to LP rather well. There's plenty of room for someone to make a unique run through, and tons of tension if you decide not to reset if someone dies. But I think that all solo LPs suck so I'd need to find someone I could play a single-player game with who I wouldn't want to strangle after an hour.

 

[ffdgh]

I've learn to do standard rng with my 3ds a few days ago, but i I can't get shiny and breeding to work.

 

[Frost_Ace]

wait wut? You can standard rng on the 3ds now? Is there a guide for that?

 

[Wichu]

wait wut? You can standard rng on the 3ds now? Is there a guide for that?

It's the exact same as on the DS/Lite. You just need the newest version of PPRNG/RNG Reporter that supports 3DS seeds.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

So I see that the US VGC nationals is taking place from June 29th - July 1st (Fri-Sun). Does anybody have a clue of how the event breaks down over the course of the weekend? I've already scheduled some time off the following week for EVO and am wondering if I could swing VGC as well if I don't have to be there Friday.

 

[Sagitario]

... N's Castle...

The music of that place... SO GOOD!
Too epic for Pokémon (I feel like it belongs to something like Nier... some parts of it definitely fit or have the same music style).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz6_KXQHZ_0

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Thanks man, now you sent me into an N spin.

 

[Gravijah]

has hilda been in the anime yet?

 

[ThatObviousUser]

has hilda been in the anime yet?

Nah. It'll probably just be Belle and maybe Cheren since Hilda was passed for Iris as Ash's female sidekick.

 

[Boney]

Nah. It'll probably just be Belle and maybe Cheren since Hilda was passed for Iris as Ash's female sidekick.

you think they'll pass up on drawing those sweet buttocks?

 

[ThatObviousUser]

you think they'll pass up on drawing those sweet buttocks?

Since the show is aimed at 4 year olds, probably.

 

[Gravijah]

Since the show is aimed at 4 year olds, probably.

so are the games

 

[ThatObviousUser]

so are the games

Games are aimed at a slightly older audience (7 year olds.) Doesn't mean 4 year olds don't play them but it's only really around 7 do you actually crave the games.

 

[Boney]

Games are aimed at a slightly older audience (7 year olds.) Doesn't mean 4 year olds don't play them but it's only really around 7 do you actually crave the games.

at what age do you crave the buttocks

 

[ThatObviousUser]

at what age do you crave the buttocks

You tell me.