Pokemon Game Discussion 2.0

[JAGzilla]

Attention all Pokemon fans! I need some advice. I'm getting my younger brother and sister a Switch for Christmas. We've never had a Nintendo console, so my knowledge of its franchises is pretty much non-existent. Which Switch Pokemon games, if any, are both good starting points for beginners and just generally good?

[UltramanGoji]

Attention all Pokemon fans! I need some advice. I'm getting my younger brother and sister a Switch for Christmas. We've never had a Nintendo console, so my knowledge of its franchises is pretty much non-existent. Which Switch Pokemon games, if any, are both good starting points for beginners and just generally good?

You really don't have many options for Switch Pokemon games. Just Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee and Sword/Shield. Of the two (four?) choices, I'd go with the latter.

[Smuggers]

I really hope the next games are better because despite the console jump these games ended up being what I was afraid they'd be, the latest in a long line of disappointments that's started after 2013. If the next games are exactly the same deal then I'll probably just mess around with the new Pokémon on Showdown or something.

In fact, despite the generational jump and sacrifices that were made, some aspects of the game are the worst they've ever been. The postgame especially seems like some kind of psyop to drive people insane, I have no idea how you're meant to find the Pokémon you want in Max Raids without abusing date-changing exploits. It's genuinely either unfinished or intentionally grindy beyond any sense of reason.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I really hope the next games are better because despite the console jump these games ended up being what I was afraid they'd be, the latest in a long line of disappointments that's started after 2013. If the next games are exactly the same deal then I'll probably just mess around with the new Pokémon on Showdown or something.

In fact, despite the generational jump and sacrifices that were made, some aspects of the game are the worst they've ever been. The postgame especially seems like some kind of psyop to drive people insane, I have no idea how you're meant to find the Pokémon you want in Max Raids without abusing date-changing exploits. It's genuinely either unfinished or intentionally grindy beyond any sense of reason.

I got the impression it was intended as a "check back everyday" to see what you can catch, and meant to segue the game into a "30 mins a day" that works well over a long period.

[Smuggers]

I got the impression it was intended as a "check back everyday" to see what you can catch, and meant to segue the game into a "30 mins a day" that works well over a long period.

That'd make sense were it not for just how damn low the likelyhood of finding certain Pokémon is. When the only way to get a certain Pokémon with a Hidden Ability is to hope that one of two specific raid dens is active with a purple beam, then hope that the Pokémon with a 5% chance to appear is there, *then* hope that it happened to roll its Hidden Ability... You'll get bored of checking in every day long before that happens. Even if you try to spam Wishing Pieces you could potentially be spending upwards of 30,000 Watts per purple beam, it just doesn't check out. A friend of mine was looking for a Gigantamax Grimmsnarl by using the date changing exploit, by the time one actually showed up the date on their Switch was almost at the end of March. They dragged it out waaaay too much and it's totally at ends with their philosophy of making everything accessible and not a huge time sink. It's frustrating because this is the flagship endgame activity and it could've easily been tweaked with the addition of more Wishing Pieces that do more specific things so players can have more control over what's showing up in their game but it seems like they were satisfied with the bare minimum. This is also without taking into account that the actual gameplay of Max Raids is a bit of a snoozefest and the game actively punishes you for joining up with other players by giving everyone shitty catch rates. Speaking of online, I really wish they'd go back to the PSS used in X and Y, they got online interaction so right on their first try and the newest iteration is, again, the worst it's ever been.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I agree with what was said above^^^

That being said, what happened today was pretty cool. Instead of getting a third version to shell out another 60$ for, we are getting 30$ dlc. Some of the new stuff looks pretty neat, and my boy slowpoke gets a new form.

Additionally, 200 old Pokémon will be patched back into the game, free, separate from the purchase.

All in all a big win for everyone I suppose.

Added in 3 days 5 hours 40 minutes 56 seconds:
Does anyone have a spare Gmax Snorlax? Or Darumaka? I have spare Gmax Pokémon.

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

Got a Switch in January and finally got to play through Pokemon Shield with quarantine. Compared to the last gen I played (Gen 5), I thought that this game was much easier than previous titles. Before the first gym, I already had grass, water, electric, dark, and psychic types on my team. Never before have I seen the first areas of the game give you so much ammunition to work with. My team for the Pokemon League was as follows:

1. Duraludon: Flash Cannon, Thunder, Draco Meteor, Reflect
2. Centiskorch: Coil, Fire Lash, Leech Life, Crunch
3. Lapras: Blizzard, Surf, Life Dew, Body Slam
4. Grimmsnarl: Spirit Break, Foul Play, Brick Break, Light Screen
5. Dusknoir: Shadow Ball, Psychic, Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Punch
6. Excadrill: Earthquake, Rock Slide, Rapid Spin, Swords Dance

Felt it was a fairly balanced team with a lot of coverage in moveset and immunities. A bit on the slow side when it came to actually playing against people online. My favorite Pokemon out of the bunch is Duraludon, which I love because of the typing and the Mechagodzilla comparisons. Nowadays I am playing Max Raids with my friends and preparing for a tournament we are going to do together in a few weeks. Have some ideas of Pokemon I am considering to change up my roster a little bit:

1. Milotic (Ice Beam, Scald, Recover, Iron Tail): Think it could be a good replacement for Lapras with more speed and offense. Can take hits and less weaknesses.

2. Haxorus (Poison Jab, Outrage, Dragon Dance, Close Combat): Was on my team until replaced by Grimmsnarl and Dusknoir. Always wanted to use one. Could go into the place of Grimmsnarl or Dusknoir.

3. Dracovish (Fishious Rend, Crunch, Psychic Fangs, Outrage): Heard about this Pokemon's Strong Jaw ability and Fishious Rend. Seems like this Pokemon could overwhelm Pokemon with the power of its moves. Could replace Lapras, Grimmsnarl, or Dusknoir.

4. Rhyperior (Stone Edge, Earthquake, Megahorn, Fire Punch): Never used one before and I haven't used a Rhydon since I was a kid. I have hesitated to use Rock-Ground types because of their weaknesses, but always have been curious. Maybe to swap out Excadrill.

5. Charizard/Chandelure: Maybe get a mon that is a special attacker. I like Centiskorch, but have been wondering how other fire pokemon might fit.

What are your guys' thoughts on these Pokemon? Are there any Pokemon in Sword and Shield that you highly recommend? Always interested in trying out different team combinations. I think the only Pokemon I would always like to have in the squad is Duraludon.

[HedorahIsBestGirl]

4. Rhyperior (Stone Edge, Earthquake, Megahorn, Fire Punch): Never used one before and I haven't used a Rhydon since I was a kid. I have hesitated to use Rock-Ground types because of their weaknesses, but always have been curious. Maybe to swap out Excadrill.

5. Charizard/Chandelure: Maybe get a mon that is a special attacker. I like Centiskorch, but have been wondering how other fire pokemon might fit.

What are your guys' thoughts on these Pokemon? Are there any Pokemon in Sword and Shield that you highly recommend? Always interested in trying out different team combinations. I think the only Pokemon I would always like to have in the squad is Duraludon.

Duraludon is excellent. He was on my main team, too. However, I eventually replaced him with Dragapult, who's now my most powerful Pokemon in Sword. I can say without a doubt that Dragapult is the best pseudo-legendary since Metagross. His Attack and Speed stats are out of this world. I have him outfitted with a Choice Band, and I one-shot damn near everything in the game with either Dragon Darts or Phantom Force. I can say without any doubt he's my favorite Gen 8 Pokemon. 11/10, would strongly recommend.

Interesting you bring up replacing Centiskorch with Chandelure, because that's exactly what I did. I used a Centiskorch for the whole game, then got my hands on a really good Chancelure in the post-game and it's miles better. My Chandelure's Overheat one-shots anything that's weak to Fire, and takes out at least 2/3 HP of anything that isn't resistant. Centiskorch is cool, but nothing competes with Chandelure's top-notch Special Attack (especially if you have a Modest Chandelure like me). I also have a Charizard, as he's my all-time favorite Pokemon but, if I'm being fully honest, Chandelure is better. Both are better than Centiskorch, though.

I wouldn't recommend Rhyperior. 4x Grass and Water weakness is too much of a hinderance. Plus, he's also weak to Fighting, Ground, Ice and Steel, and pretty much every team in existence has a Pokemon that can annihilate him. You're better off with Excadrill. If you're looking for another solid Ground Pokemon, I'd recommend Mudsdale. I used one in both Moon and Sword and he has yet to let me down.

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

Pretty interesting we were both thinking of Chandelure. That stat distribution seems too tempting for me! Have a couple Dargupults from raids but I have not really played around with it much yet. Maybe I will look into the Mudsdale. Sometimes with Excadrill, I get annoyed with its fire weakness and how it is not the bulkiest; however, once I put a Swords Dance on him, he hits like a truck.

[gottatalktothefake]

Finally played SwSh and it made me want to die. The amount of cut corners that someone like me (who is very unobservant of details) can notice easily is mind boggling. There is a "city" that is just a hallway, no buildings to enter, just a hallway and a gym. It's fucking ridiculous. And the other legendries do the vast majority of the work for you with the final boss.

The lack of care, polish and effort put into this is astounding, and that is on top of all the national dex nonsense. I think I'm actually ready to drop the franchise after three straight generations of disappointment.

[Demon Lord Gira]

Finally played SwSh and it made me want to die. The amount of cut corners that someone like me (who is very unobservant of details) can notice easily is mind boggling. There is a "city" that is just a hallway, no buildings to enter, just a hallway and a gym. It's fucking ridiculous. And the other legendries do the vast majority of the work for you with the final boss.

The lack of care, polish and effort put into this is astounding, and that is on top of all the national dex nonsense. I think I'm actually ready to drop the franchise after three straight generations of disappointment.

The city your thinking of was specifically designed to be homage to the old 2D beam em up levels, and as such it works very well, with the Team Yell grunts hopping out of windows and cartwheeling like madmen to fight you all the way to the gym leader. Plus it also helps show how Spikemuth literally is a run down piece of shit compared to the rest of Galar. As for the Eternatus fight, it's there for the spectacle and not to be a hard fight, considering the backlash the Ultra Necrozma fight in USUM got for being way too fucking hard for a kids game (Nevermind it actually IS possible to lose that fight if it lands some crit Max Flares on the steel doggos. It's unlikely, but I have had that happen to me and actually lose the fight as a result.)

But yes, SwSh are very clearly rush jobs resulting from GF having no idea how to properly do a console game, and just further pains of not knowing how to effectively do 3D gaming with very strict schedules because merchandise driven IP. It also doesn't help that the GF higher ups are as traditional and conservative game developers as you can get, worship the ground that Red and Green were built off as sacred, and deliberately use as small development teams as possible "for that indie game development feel" and because they cannot communicate well with a large game development team. The real reason for the nat Dex cut is so they could have more time to fully impliment all the stuff they wanted because that was getting in the way of fully fleshed out games in the 3DS era... and it still wasn't enough because again, GF are legitimate cavemen when it comes to not just 3D game design, but also console gaming (and before anyone asks, no, the prior console pokemon games like Stadium and Colosseum were not made by GF. SwSh (and LPGE technically) were the first home console games GF made for Pokemon).

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

I am not to familiar with the Pokemon games between Black and White and Sword and Shield. Is there a dramatic difference between the gameplay and graphics of say X and Y/Sun and Moon and Sword and Shield? I have not had the impression that it would be dramatically different and the graphics don't really impress me compared to other Switch titles I've played (Mario Odyssey, Smash Bros).

As for the National Dex, although I like most of the Pokemon they have included, I think the lack of all Pokemon like in other games is apparent. The worst I've seen is with Slowpoke evolutions, which is bs. Why would we have King's Rock and Slowpoke in the game but we can't get a Slowking? I find it ridiculous.

[Demon Lord Gira]

I am not to familiar with the Pokemon games between Black and White and Sword and Shield. Is there a dramatic difference between the gameplay and graphics of say X and Y/Sun and Moon and Sword and Shield? I have not had the impression that it would be dramatically different and the graphics don't really impress me compared to other Switch titles I've played (Mario Odyssey, Smash Bros).

As for the National Dex, although I like most of the Pokemon they have included, I think the lack of all Pokemon like in other games is apparent. The worst I've seen is with Slowpoke evolutions, which is bs. Why would we have King's Rock and Slowpoke in the game but we can't get a Slowking? I find it ridiculous.

https://www.serebii.net/swordshield/exp ... ning.shtml

Slowbro and Slowking ARE in the game... you just have to transfer them through Home, and the reason why you cannot naturally evolve the Slowpoke you have currently is because it's a Galarian Slowpoke, which evolves into Galarian Slowbro/Galarian Slowking, which are not yet coded into the game.

In terms of graphics, not really. The big main gameplay difference is the Wild Area being a free roaming camera, which feels more like something that was requested to be added in last minute due to how different it is from the rest of the game. Besides, Pokemon has never been about looking amazing on any system it's on, rather it's always been archaic and very primitive in terms of graphic fidelity regardless of the system.

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

Ahh gotcha. Looking at the link looks like they will be added into the game with the expansion pass along with the legendary birds. I did hear that the birds are getting new forms though too.

[Demon Lord Gira]

Ahh gotcha. Looking at the link looks like they will be added into the game with the expansion pass along with the legendary birds. I did hear that the birds are getting new forms though too.

Yes, the Kanto Birds will be getting new forms in the winter DLC. The national dex mons added in the expansion can actually be transferred right now because the patch that introduced the DLC passes is 100% free, so you can either transfer those old mons in through Home, or trade with someone who already has them.

[LSD Jellyfish]

https://www.serebii.net/swordshield/exp ... ning.shtml

Slowbro and Slowking ARE in the game... you just have to transfer them through Home, and the reason why you cannot naturally evolve the Slowpoke you have currently is because it's a Galarian Slowpoke, which evolves into Galarian Slowbro/Galarian Slowking, which are not yet coded into the game.

In terms of graphics, not really. The big main gameplay difference is the Wild Area being a free roaming camera, which feels more like something that was requested to be added in last minute due to how different it is from the rest of the game. Besides, Pokemon has never been about looking amazing on any system it's on, rather it's always been archaic and very primitive in terms of graphic fidelity regardless of the system.

The Wild Area does feel a tad tacked on, but I've gradually gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it. I'm excited for the DLC because I'm curious what they will do with something where most of the development is put into the wild areas they are developing. I hope there's a few dungeons within the new wild areas and that they are substantial.

I tried transferring my Slowing to Shield and couldn't for some reason. It's not hacked or anything, you/I might be wrong though. I'm really excited to see Slowking's Galarian form as the slowpoke line is one of my all time favorite lines!

Btw has anyone here seen/played Pokemon Clover?

[Spirit Ghidorah 2010]

I'm just glad I get my goddamn Kingdra and Garchomp in this expansion

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

I'm just glad I get my goddamn Kingdra and Garchomp in this expansion

Agreed. I am definitely excited to run Kingdra. Never ran one before and I have fond memories of struggling against Juan's Kingdra in Pokemon Emerald. That mon was dirty and I have always wondered how good it would be with Dragon Dance.

[BlankAccount]

So capturing monsters in Ultra Seven inspired Pokemon.

[_JNavs_]

Was going to get a switch with the most recent Poke game back in April, but apparently it seems like Switches became non-existent post-January.