The interesting part of her saying that Dark types are strong is that they aren't. I mean, ignoring Gen II's lack of options in general, which is it's own thing, the flavor for Dark types is that they're sneaky, underhanded attackers. Bite, Feint Attack, Thief...they trick you and fight dirty to win, which makes having Karen brag about how straightforwardly powerful the type is seem odd.
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Unpopular opinions
- Thread starter antemortem
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I enjoy using mixed attackers more than specialized/minmaxed Pokémon during ingame runs. Pokémon like Charizard, Decidueye, and Swampert can run all the moves they can learn effectively, while Pokémon like Cinderace and Primarina are rather limited to use their optimal moves.
Both are effective ingame, but I prefer to get creative sometimes.
Both are effective ingame, but I prefer to get creative sometimes.
IMO Toxic competitive players are more annoying since they love to shit on people trying out unorthodox sets. I remember someone who called me stupid for running AoA Mega Blastoise because "it should always run Rapid Spin".
I find many of the cross gen evos people don't like try to do something else with the Pokemon, a departure from a theme the previous stage had (or direction the evolution chain was going if it was added onto a 2 stage family): Going through the cross gen evos (also not doing any Regional or Branched as those are meant to be a departure from theme):
Crobat (Liked): There's not a lot to go on from Golbat. The major change between Zu' to Gol' is that it gained eyes and (usable) feet (and I guess a bigger mouth that not takes up most of its body. So they just continued adding body parts, notably a second pair of wings and little hands on its top pair of wings (and more developed eyes). Oh, and for some reason reversing its color scheme, guess it does make it stand out more.
Annihilape (Liked): Design-wise there's little difference between it and Primeape, but of course that was on purpose. Building off Primeape's lore, notably that dark Pokedex entry about it dying if it got too angry... well, it happened, and it became a vengeful Ghost-type! It doesn't need to look that much different, just a gloomier palette, its wrist bands damaged, and hair flowing because its ethereal now.
Magnezone (Liked): First Magneton is three Magnemites magnetically "stuck" together, and Magnezone is now them literally stuck together. It not resembling a flying saucer isn't too out there are the Magneton species always did look a bit alien, or at least sci-fi machine drone being.
Steelix (Liked): Rock snake becomes steel/diamond snake.
Lickilicky (Disliked): Now, it's not that Lickilicky is that big of a departure from Lickitung, BUT it's not a direction people were expecting. It goes from a chameleon with emphasis on its tongue to a rotund bipedal with aristocrat-like body designs. And, while the tongue is still present, the rotund body is the first thing that draws your attention. Now, I don't know what direction I would have gone with a Lickitung evo, but I feel keeping the tongue as the center of attention rather than inflating its bland body would be the starting point.
Rhyperior (Disliked): Before Gen IV the thing with the Rhyhorn family had always been the horn. It's a rock rhino, as a Rhyhorn it charges horn first and when it evolves the horn becomes a drill. It's all about the horn... so obviously Rhyperior focuses on body armor and arm cannons. Yeah, it's horn drill is still there, but while Rhydon you can see being flexible enough to headbutt its horn down onto an opponent (possibly grabbing them before doing so). But Rhyperior looks too bulky to do that, making it horn drill feel just decorative.
Blissey (Liked): For having to work with a REALLY simple design like Chansey, they did the best they could in a logical direction of a nurturing Pokemon become a nurse (possibly inspired by Chansey's role as signature assistant to Nurse Joy in the anime, which just gives it further bonus points).
Tangrowth (Neutral): It's just a bigger Tangela with arms now. While certainly not "ruining" the design or theme, also doesn't really push it forward either. If anything, and in my opinion, it makes it look less interesting. Tangela was just this random bundle of detailed tangled vines with a pair of red shoes. Tangrowth simplifies the vines by having the "visible" ones just hanging threads and the "shoes" becoming stubbed feet attached to black legs; and despite the legs looking part of Tangela's "hidden" body, the arms are vines? So are they its actual arms or just vines its controlling like arms, and why do they have red tips? Yes, I know it's supposed to look like a shaggy caveman, but even on that front I feel it fails. Croconaw looks like a caveman, this just looks like a relative of Cousin Itt but without the funny hat and glasses.
Kingdra (Liked): Just taking the seahorse's relations to dragons to its most logical conclusion.
Mr. Rime (Liked): Granted its an evolution of a Regional Variant, BUT it does start out as a normal Mime Jr. so I'll count it. If anything it being an evolution of a Regional Variant helps it. Had it been an evolution to normal Mr. Mime might have felt a bit jarring for it to go from a mime to a vaudeville tap dancer, but G-Mr. Mime sets up for it nicely and expands the theme of the entire family to being "entertainers" than just mimes & clowns.
Scizor & Kleavor (Liked): I'll let this one be a two-fer. Scyther's key feature is its blade arms, so its evolutions also focus on a weapon-based arm.
Electivire (Liked): Electabuzz is based on an oni (with Elekid just being a smaller, simpler 'Buzz with a funny prong head, which could be seen as horns which kept with the oni theme). While oni are a specific kind of Yokai, their depiction can vary. Thus, while Electivire may take additional design inspirations from apeman cryptids like Sasquatch and the Yeti, there are also hairy oni like the Namahage.
Magmortar (Disliked): Magmar for all intents and purposes is a magma duck. Magmortar is a big-lipped fat guy (already often associated with "ugly" designs). Just, every aspect of Magmar's design that made it cool (haha, temperature joke) they just went wrong with Magmortar. Yes, people made fun of Magmar's head bumps, but it kept it looking like a duck (I know, odd as ducks don't have that kind of head) as well as having a protruding bill (Magby would cement these traits as part of the family). It's fire pattern was simple yet recognizable, and while having normal hands it had a long tail with a flame tip. Magmortar goes all in on the cannon arms that is de-emphasizes everything else. The head is made more simple and the beak is shoved so close it looks like a giant lip you'd seen in old racist cartoons, the fire detailing it made very abstract with a sudden out-of-place inclusion of pink leg joints, and the fire tail is just made with wavy red blob that is supposed to look like fire. How this got approved I don't know.
Porygon2 & Porygon-Z (Liked): Another double, though this time it's two evos one after the other. And makes sense, being its Porygon, the computer program Pokemon. And following the theme, on-going programs need updates & improvements which is what Porygon2 demonstrates (among some other themes like an evolving AI and also technology become smaller & lighter as it progresses). Porygon-Z can be seen as a departure of that set up theme, though I would say that's due to Porygon2 demonstrating it perfectly they wanted to highlight another idea concerning updates: when it goes wrong (and possibly the idea of a rogue AI). And Porygon-Z does just a good job of it as Porygon2 did with Porygon. Whereas 2 is just a smoothed out version of Porygon, Z is 2 but twisted around; it's legs are now arms and its neck is now a horn/antenna resulting in the head just floating unconnected to the body. It's pretty brilliant.
Togekiss (Liked): Honestly the Togepi family is already a strange one. Togepi is an ambiguous creature hatching from an egg which evolves into a fairy. There's really no "rules" that Togekiss had to follow aside being a flying creature, and so it went with that: it became bird-like. And, while hard to explain, it works. If I had to try to put it in words, I would say Togekiss "bookends" the family with its design evolving it further into a flying animal (though still remains amorphous you could say it resembles a stylized spirit or even angel) but its round shape relates to Togepi being a hatchling which wears its egg shell as a protective pajama (and also birds lay eggs, obviously).
Ambipom (Disliked): Well, we were bound to get to one that went against my suggestion. Ambipom is not a departure from Aipom, it's the logical progression: It goes from a monkey with a tail hand to a monkey with TWO tail hands. But maybe that is the issue: Ambipom just didn't change enough. Because aside from the two tail hands, what else changed about it? It got longer? If anything that works against it, Aipom is at least cute cause its small, Ambipom is approaching an uncanny valley that I would compare to "Ugly Sonic". And what does Ambipom do with its two tails that is any different from Aipom? Ambipom feels like a middle stage, one that's designed to be a connection between the simple basic stage and the complex final stage that explains why it needs all those tail hands. Maybe one day Ambipom you'll evolve out of your awkward teenage phase you're stuck in at the moment.
Yanmega (Liked): A common joke with Pokemon who evolution stages are similar to one another is that you can tell them apart because the basic stage has cute eyes and the final stage has angry eyes. While there is body change between Yanma and Yanmega, in the end they're both still giant dragonflies. The difference is that Yanma looks friendly (not sure if cute is exactly the right word in this case) while Yanmega looks like it wakes up everyday choosing violence. And this works, Yanma as a solo Pokemon never had the looks (or the stats) to be a Pokemon you'd have on a serious team; Yanmega does (both appearance and stats).
Honchkrow (Liked): And here's another going against what I suggested, maybe. Before Gen IV many assumed part of Murkrow's design took from witches, such as having a pointy hat and it's tail looking like a broom's bristles (and idea further supported by the anime where Ash & co. encountered a witch-in-training who's Pokemon partner was Murkrow). So you'd think an evolution of Murkrow will go along a witch or magic route. But instead it became a mob boss. Odd at first, but then again, Murkrow's hat could also resemble a gangster's fedora (and a common decoration for fedoras was sticking a feather in its band). Also, its dex entries never really linked it to anything, it was just a mischievous bird that led people astray and liked shiny things. Which, hey, you can twist into saying something gangsters do. All they need is a godfather to get them working as an organization. Also, with Mismagius taking the witch route, they were probably more looking for the open interpretation. All they needed was a good design and, yeah, Honchkrow very much led to a good design.
Mismagius (Liked): It starts as a floating head, so evolves to have a general "body" while also keeping the stereotypical "bedsheet" ghost shape. And while I could go into its origins which don't exactly 1:1 relate to witches (or magic really), I think there focus here was more on the red jewels. The way they're worn by Misdreavus gives her a fancy lady-like vibe, so when it evolves it extends down into a dress; where the witch aesthetic came from maybe wanting to do something more with the hair than just longer. Whatever the case, I think it works out.
Farigiraf (Liked): Getting to the newest evos now where the lines between keeping in theme and departure becomes blurry. Farigiraf straddles that line the closest, and does so with such sheer audacity that, from what I can tell, it won everyone over upon its debut and we learned more about it. A hypothetical Girafarig evo has been discussed for years, most turning the tail head into a fully developed head in some way. To combine the heads together where the tail head now serves as a protective hood for the main head is such an inspired idea as it keeps the general idea of Girafairg but puts a new spin which makes sense for it to be an evo.
Dudunsparce (Likedisliked): I like it. I hate it. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This is dumb and a waste. This is ingenious and worth it. You're hot than you're cold, you're yes than you're no. This is what Dunsparce would want to evolve into. Dunsparce deserved better. I am THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGAAAA@Aa#&%$1!...
... Sorry about that, my left and right side of my brain just had an argument, it was all about my thoughts on Dudunsparce. Dudunsparce... I think defies analysis. It's as if GF asked Dunsparce itself what would it want to evolve into and it said "I dunno, double of me, maybe three?" and went off that. It is the Dunsparce of evolutions. It's Dunsparce but most every trait is doubled; Dunsparce squared! And the cherry on top is that it has a rare form, and the only thing the rare form does is add a third body segmet; doesn't even triple all body traits, just adds a third segment and calls it a day. It's an evolution Dunsparce is proud of, but then again it didn't aspire to much anyway so probably a bad idea to ask it in the first place.
... Okay, I had my fun, here's my serious thoughts. I feel everyone was split when it was first discovered/leaked(?). I was on the disliking side initially, and I'll admit I'm still a bit disappointed (mainly with its lackluster stats and same Abilities), but getting a better look at it and having time to think, I get it. Because, if you look at most fanmade evos, they really want a departure from what Dunsparce is. Dunsparce is based on a rather lowkey Yokai and most fanmades I've seen turns it into a mesoamerica feathered serpent deity; aka the Magikarp treatment. But there was a reason behind Magikarp (and Feebas) doing that; Dunsparce doesn't. Now, Bulbapedia lists a few interesting origins for its design, one being a larger serpent Yokai, so I think a lot of thought did go into Dudunsparce. It felt like a personal challenge GF gave themselves: can they make a good design by not changing Dunsparce much but stretching that definition to its absolute limit? And on that thought, yeah, it's a nice design; but it could have been more.
Gliscor (Liked): Just a bigger, meaner Gligar.
Weavile (Liked): And just a more "royal" Sneasel. Weavile is actually an interesting case as, like many Pokemon, it's sort of a mixture of a few animals and legends attached to it. For Sneasel's case it's a feline-weasel. For Sneasel (and Weavile of course) that weasel inclusion is important because it's based on the kamaitachi yokai. But for Weavile, it leans on the feline in a brilliant way: Egyption worship of felines. It turns the odd feather ear Sneasel had (originally just to reference the kamaitachi being a whirlwind yokai) and turns it into a full headdress resembling Egyption fashion (yes, feathered headdresses are more a Native American thing but they used it as sort of a connecting point; one Gen later we get Braviary so it's all good). Infact, keeping in pattern with doing everything opposite of Weavile, Sneasler more sticks with its kamaitachi origin becoming slender, claws lengthening, and its feather growing longer and ribbon-like. Even if you like Sneasler more than Weavile, still gotta give Weavile it due credit as without it Sneasler wouldn't have anything to be opposite of.
Ursaluna (Neutral): I don't mind Ursaluna for all it's trying to do, but I can understand those who liked Ursaring not liking the execution of the design. Like most of the Hisuian Evos/Forms, its based on something from Ainu culture, and in this case it's a very notable one: Kim-un-kamuy, the divine spirit (kamuy) of bears & mountains. The Ainu practiced bear worship, and the connection between bear and mountains is because the native bear species, Ussuri brown bear, make their dens in excavated burrows (and their connection to peat from some turning old coal mines into dens). So the theme is all their... but, as I said, the execution is the issue. I get representing a mountain is easier with it being a quadruped, but it just looks dirty than like a mountain. And while what they did with the eyebrows is a neat idea (with the circle on its head looks like a moon with clouds in front of it), it also unfortunately makes it look old. They tried for mountain bear god, but to some what they got was dirty old bear that fell forward and can't get up.
Mamoswine (Liked): While probably "neutral" initially, I think overtime it went into Liked territory after seeing it didn't actually change much from the Swinub family. At first it does, changing into a mammoth from a boar, but there's two (possibly three) factors in play: (1) Most obvious is both are/can be "woolly" species, (2) there were giant ancient boar species (or pig-like like the Entelodont, aka the "Hell Pigs"), and possibly (3) the first drawing reconstruction of a mammoth, which looked more like a boar than an elephant because the artist went off just the remains that were discovered (which of course didn't include the trunk as it either rotted away or was eaten by wild animals). Mamoswine may be a slight side-step in design to the Swinub family, but I argue it still keeps within the general theme.
Wyrdeer (Liked): It's an older, wiser Stantler.
Probopass (Disliked): While probably more have gone more "neutral" on it, I feel that's just from getting used to the design rather than the design making some sense over time. Now, to give credit, Probopass looks like what a Moai Statue likely did when it was made, with eyes made of white coral & obsidian and a hat-like structure called a pukao, and parts of it painted red. Note that ones with pukao were likely based on people with higher status, likely chieftains whose hair were tied in topknots the pukao are meant to replicate, so Probopass is a "chief" hence why it has the "mini-noses", they are its subjects. Alls well and good for a pretty neat design... let's ruin it by giving it a mustache for no reason! They could have done a number of things to references its magnetic properties (make the mini-noses out of metal to better explain how its controlling them), but I guess they thought with the mustache it looked a little like Mario, thought it was funny, and decided to keep it. And yes, I know about the Wooly Willy toy, I don't think that was a factor nor does it make anymore sense.
Roserade (Liked): Roselia was always presented as a suave Pokemon, so makes sense it would evolve into a Pokemon which wouldn't look out-of-place at a masquerade party.
Dusknoir (Liked): At first it would feel like Dusknoir is a big departure from Dusclops, but the thing is that Dusclops was a departure from Duskull. The family was never based on a singular ghost or spirit, and if anything Dusknoir goes backwards in development by floating around again. But it does share the main traits with its prevos: a singular big red eye, some sort of face design, and seemingly wearing a cloak/bandages.
Kingambit (Neutral): Our last Pokemon, bet you weren't expecting this jump! Yeah, due to Gen V being a point where they stopped cross gen evos until recently, really no Pokemon species that debut in Gen IV and beyond got a cross evo... except Bisharp this recent gen. Considering their slight Shogi/Chess theme, took them 13 years to complete this evolution line, but better late than never I suppose. Kingambit is an interesting design as, to reference its a leader, part of its design is that it's a throne. I think had they stopped there that would be fine, but then they went an extra odd step: they made it have beetle aesthetics. I sort of get it, it goes with the throne theme and its Signature Move, as well maybe referencing it looking like a Kaman Rider villain, but its prevos didn't have these beetle traits (unless you stretch it with their heads being kabuto helmets) so it sort of comes out of nowhere.
Annihilape (Liked): Design-wise there's little difference between it and Primeape, but of course that was on purpose. Building off Primeape's lore, notably that dark Pokedex entry about it dying if it got too angry... well, it happened, and it became a vengeful Ghost-type! It doesn't need to look that much different, just a gloomier palette, its wrist bands damaged, and hair flowing because its ethereal now.
Magnezone (Liked): First Magneton is three Magnemites magnetically "stuck" together, and Magnezone is now them literally stuck together. It not resembling a flying saucer isn't too out there are the Magneton species always did look a bit alien, or at least sci-fi machine drone being.
Steelix (Liked): Rock snake becomes steel/diamond snake.
Lickilicky (Disliked): Now, it's not that Lickilicky is that big of a departure from Lickitung, BUT it's not a direction people were expecting. It goes from a chameleon with emphasis on its tongue to a rotund bipedal with aristocrat-like body designs. And, while the tongue is still present, the rotund body is the first thing that draws your attention. Now, I don't know what direction I would have gone with a Lickitung evo, but I feel keeping the tongue as the center of attention rather than inflating its bland body would be the starting point.
Rhyperior (Disliked): Before Gen IV the thing with the Rhyhorn family had always been the horn. It's a rock rhino, as a Rhyhorn it charges horn first and when it evolves the horn becomes a drill. It's all about the horn... so obviously Rhyperior focuses on body armor and arm cannons. Yeah, it's horn drill is still there, but while Rhydon you can see being flexible enough to headbutt its horn down onto an opponent (possibly grabbing them before doing so). But Rhyperior looks too bulky to do that, making it horn drill feel just decorative.
Blissey (Liked): For having to work with a REALLY simple design like Chansey, they did the best they could in a logical direction of a nurturing Pokemon become a nurse (possibly inspired by Chansey's role as signature assistant to Nurse Joy in the anime, which just gives it further bonus points).
Tangrowth (Neutral): It's just a bigger Tangela with arms now. While certainly not "ruining" the design or theme, also doesn't really push it forward either. If anything, and in my opinion, it makes it look less interesting. Tangela was just this random bundle of detailed tangled vines with a pair of red shoes. Tangrowth simplifies the vines by having the "visible" ones just hanging threads and the "shoes" becoming stubbed feet attached to black legs; and despite the legs looking part of Tangela's "hidden" body, the arms are vines? So are they its actual arms or just vines its controlling like arms, and why do they have red tips? Yes, I know it's supposed to look like a shaggy caveman, but even on that front I feel it fails. Croconaw looks like a caveman, this just looks like a relative of Cousin Itt but without the funny hat and glasses.
Kingdra (Liked): Just taking the seahorse's relations to dragons to its most logical conclusion.
Mr. Rime (Liked): Granted its an evolution of a Regional Variant, BUT it does start out as a normal Mime Jr. so I'll count it. If anything it being an evolution of a Regional Variant helps it. Had it been an evolution to normal Mr. Mime might have felt a bit jarring for it to go from a mime to a vaudeville tap dancer, but G-Mr. Mime sets up for it nicely and expands the theme of the entire family to being "entertainers" than just mimes & clowns.
Scizor & Kleavor (Liked): I'll let this one be a two-fer. Scyther's key feature is its blade arms, so its evolutions also focus on a weapon-based arm.
Electivire (Liked): Electabuzz is based on an oni (with Elekid just being a smaller, simpler 'Buzz with a funny prong head, which could be seen as horns which kept with the oni theme). While oni are a specific kind of Yokai, their depiction can vary. Thus, while Electivire may take additional design inspirations from apeman cryptids like Sasquatch and the Yeti, there are also hairy oni like the Namahage.
Magmortar (Disliked): Magmar for all intents and purposes is a magma duck. Magmortar is a big-lipped fat guy (already often associated with "ugly" designs). Just, every aspect of Magmar's design that made it cool (haha, temperature joke) they just went wrong with Magmortar. Yes, people made fun of Magmar's head bumps, but it kept it looking like a duck (I know, odd as ducks don't have that kind of head) as well as having a protruding bill (Magby would cement these traits as part of the family). It's fire pattern was simple yet recognizable, and while having normal hands it had a long tail with a flame tip. Magmortar goes all in on the cannon arms that is de-emphasizes everything else. The head is made more simple and the beak is shoved so close it looks like a giant lip you'd seen in old racist cartoons, the fire detailing it made very abstract with a sudden out-of-place inclusion of pink leg joints, and the fire tail is just made with wavy red blob that is supposed to look like fire. How this got approved I don't know.
Porygon2 & Porygon-Z (Liked): Another double, though this time it's two evos one after the other. And makes sense, being its Porygon, the computer program Pokemon. And following the theme, on-going programs need updates & improvements which is what Porygon2 demonstrates (among some other themes like an evolving AI and also technology become smaller & lighter as it progresses). Porygon-Z can be seen as a departure of that set up theme, though I would say that's due to Porygon2 demonstrating it perfectly they wanted to highlight another idea concerning updates: when it goes wrong (and possibly the idea of a rogue AI). And Porygon-Z does just a good job of it as Porygon2 did with Porygon. Whereas 2 is just a smoothed out version of Porygon, Z is 2 but twisted around; it's legs are now arms and its neck is now a horn/antenna resulting in the head just floating unconnected to the body. It's pretty brilliant.
Togekiss (Liked): Honestly the Togepi family is already a strange one. Togepi is an ambiguous creature hatching from an egg which evolves into a fairy. There's really no "rules" that Togekiss had to follow aside being a flying creature, and so it went with that: it became bird-like. And, while hard to explain, it works. If I had to try to put it in words, I would say Togekiss "bookends" the family with its design evolving it further into a flying animal (though still remains amorphous you could say it resembles a stylized spirit or even angel) but its round shape relates to Togepi being a hatchling which wears its egg shell as a protective pajama (and also birds lay eggs, obviously).
Ambipom (Disliked): Well, we were bound to get to one that went against my suggestion. Ambipom is not a departure from Aipom, it's the logical progression: It goes from a monkey with a tail hand to a monkey with TWO tail hands. But maybe that is the issue: Ambipom just didn't change enough. Because aside from the two tail hands, what else changed about it? It got longer? If anything that works against it, Aipom is at least cute cause its small, Ambipom is approaching an uncanny valley that I would compare to "Ugly Sonic". And what does Ambipom do with its two tails that is any different from Aipom? Ambipom feels like a middle stage, one that's designed to be a connection between the simple basic stage and the complex final stage that explains why it needs all those tail hands. Maybe one day Ambipom you'll evolve out of your awkward teenage phase you're stuck in at the moment.
Yanmega (Liked): A common joke with Pokemon who evolution stages are similar to one another is that you can tell them apart because the basic stage has cute eyes and the final stage has angry eyes. While there is body change between Yanma and Yanmega, in the end they're both still giant dragonflies. The difference is that Yanma looks friendly (not sure if cute is exactly the right word in this case) while Yanmega looks like it wakes up everyday choosing violence. And this works, Yanma as a solo Pokemon never had the looks (or the stats) to be a Pokemon you'd have on a serious team; Yanmega does (both appearance and stats).
Honchkrow (Liked): And here's another going against what I suggested, maybe. Before Gen IV many assumed part of Murkrow's design took from witches, such as having a pointy hat and it's tail looking like a broom's bristles (and idea further supported by the anime where Ash & co. encountered a witch-in-training who's Pokemon partner was Murkrow). So you'd think an evolution of Murkrow will go along a witch or magic route. But instead it became a mob boss. Odd at first, but then again, Murkrow's hat could also resemble a gangster's fedora (and a common decoration for fedoras was sticking a feather in its band). Also, its dex entries never really linked it to anything, it was just a mischievous bird that led people astray and liked shiny things. Which, hey, you can twist into saying something gangsters do. All they need is a godfather to get them working as an organization. Also, with Mismagius taking the witch route, they were probably more looking for the open interpretation. All they needed was a good design and, yeah, Honchkrow very much led to a good design.
Mismagius (Liked): It starts as a floating head, so evolves to have a general "body" while also keeping the stereotypical "bedsheet" ghost shape. And while I could go into its origins which don't exactly 1:1 relate to witches (or magic really), I think there focus here was more on the red jewels. The way they're worn by Misdreavus gives her a fancy lady-like vibe, so when it evolves it extends down into a dress; where the witch aesthetic came from maybe wanting to do something more with the hair than just longer. Whatever the case, I think it works out.
Farigiraf (Liked): Getting to the newest evos now where the lines between keeping in theme and departure becomes blurry. Farigiraf straddles that line the closest, and does so with such sheer audacity that, from what I can tell, it won everyone over upon its debut and we learned more about it. A hypothetical Girafarig evo has been discussed for years, most turning the tail head into a fully developed head in some way. To combine the heads together where the tail head now serves as a protective hood for the main head is such an inspired idea as it keeps the general idea of Girafairg but puts a new spin which makes sense for it to be an evo.
Dudunsparce (Lik
... Sorry about that, my left and right side of my brain just had an argument, it was all about my thoughts on Dudunsparce. Dudunsparce... I think defies analysis. It's as if GF asked Dunsparce itself what would it want to evolve into and it said "I dunno, double of me, maybe three?" and went off that. It is the Dunsparce of evolutions. It's Dunsparce but most every trait is doubled; Dunsparce squared! And the cherry on top is that it has a rare form, and the only thing the rare form does is add a third body segmet; doesn't even triple all body traits, just adds a third segment and calls it a day. It's an evolution Dunsparce is proud of, but then again it didn't aspire to much anyway so probably a bad idea to ask it in the first place.
... Okay, I had my fun, here's my serious thoughts. I feel everyone was split when it was first discovered/leaked(?). I was on the disliking side initially, and I'll admit I'm still a bit disappointed (mainly with its lackluster stats and same Abilities), but getting a better look at it and having time to think, I get it. Because, if you look at most fanmade evos, they really want a departure from what Dunsparce is. Dunsparce is based on a rather lowkey Yokai and most fanmades I've seen turns it into a mesoamerica feathered serpent deity; aka the Magikarp treatment. But there was a reason behind Magikarp (and Feebas) doing that; Dunsparce doesn't. Now, Bulbapedia lists a few interesting origins for its design, one being a larger serpent Yokai, so I think a lot of thought did go into Dudunsparce. It felt like a personal challenge GF gave themselves: can they make a good design by not changing Dunsparce much but stretching that definition to its absolute limit? And on that thought, yeah, it's a nice design; but it could have been more.
Gliscor (Liked): Just a bigger, meaner Gligar.
Weavile (Liked): And just a more "royal" Sneasel. Weavile is actually an interesting case as, like many Pokemon, it's sort of a mixture of a few animals and legends attached to it. For Sneasel's case it's a feline-weasel. For Sneasel (and Weavile of course) that weasel inclusion is important because it's based on the kamaitachi yokai. But for Weavile, it leans on the feline in a brilliant way: Egyption worship of felines. It turns the odd feather ear Sneasel had (originally just to reference the kamaitachi being a whirlwind yokai) and turns it into a full headdress resembling Egyption fashion (yes, feathered headdresses are more a Native American thing but they used it as sort of a connecting point; one Gen later we get Braviary so it's all good). Infact, keeping in pattern with doing everything opposite of Weavile, Sneasler more sticks with its kamaitachi origin becoming slender, claws lengthening, and its feather growing longer and ribbon-like. Even if you like Sneasler more than Weavile, still gotta give Weavile it due credit as without it Sneasler wouldn't have anything to be opposite of.
Ursaluna (Neutral): I don't mind Ursaluna for all it's trying to do, but I can understand those who liked Ursaring not liking the execution of the design. Like most of the Hisuian Evos/Forms, its based on something from Ainu culture, and in this case it's a very notable one: Kim-un-kamuy, the divine spirit (kamuy) of bears & mountains. The Ainu practiced bear worship, and the connection between bear and mountains is because the native bear species, Ussuri brown bear, make their dens in excavated burrows (and their connection to peat from some turning old coal mines into dens). So the theme is all their... but, as I said, the execution is the issue. I get representing a mountain is easier with it being a quadruped, but it just looks dirty than like a mountain. And while what they did with the eyebrows is a neat idea (with the circle on its head looks like a moon with clouds in front of it), it also unfortunately makes it look old. They tried for mountain bear god, but to some what they got was dirty old bear that fell forward and can't get up.
Mamoswine (Liked): While probably "neutral" initially, I think overtime it went into Liked territory after seeing it didn't actually change much from the Swinub family. At first it does, changing into a mammoth from a boar, but there's two (possibly three) factors in play: (1) Most obvious is both are/can be "woolly" species, (2) there were giant ancient boar species (or pig-like like the Entelodont, aka the "Hell Pigs"), and possibly (3) the first drawing reconstruction of a mammoth, which looked more like a boar than an elephant because the artist went off just the remains that were discovered (which of course didn't include the trunk as it either rotted away or was eaten by wild animals). Mamoswine may be a slight side-step in design to the Swinub family, but I argue it still keeps within the general theme.
Wyrdeer (Liked): It's an older, wiser Stantler.
Probopass (Disliked): While probably more have gone more "neutral" on it, I feel that's just from getting used to the design rather than the design making some sense over time. Now, to give credit, Probopass looks like what a Moai Statue likely did when it was made, with eyes made of white coral & obsidian and a hat-like structure called a pukao, and parts of it painted red. Note that ones with pukao were likely based on people with higher status, likely chieftains whose hair were tied in topknots the pukao are meant to replicate, so Probopass is a "chief" hence why it has the "mini-noses", they are its subjects. Alls well and good for a pretty neat design... let's ruin it by giving it a mustache for no reason! They could have done a number of things to references its magnetic properties (make the mini-noses out of metal to better explain how its controlling them), but I guess they thought with the mustache it looked a little like Mario, thought it was funny, and decided to keep it. And yes, I know about the Wooly Willy toy, I don't think that was a factor nor does it make anymore sense.
Roserade (Liked): Roselia was always presented as a suave Pokemon, so makes sense it would evolve into a Pokemon which wouldn't look out-of-place at a masquerade party.
Dusknoir (Liked): At first it would feel like Dusknoir is a big departure from Dusclops, but the thing is that Dusclops was a departure from Duskull. The family was never based on a singular ghost or spirit, and if anything Dusknoir goes backwards in development by floating around again. But it does share the main traits with its prevos: a singular big red eye, some sort of face design, and seemingly wearing a cloak/bandages.
Kingambit (Neutral): Our last Pokemon, bet you weren't expecting this jump! Yeah, due to Gen V being a point where they stopped cross gen evos until recently, really no Pokemon species that debut in Gen IV and beyond got a cross evo... except Bisharp this recent gen. Considering their slight Shogi/Chess theme, took them 13 years to complete this evolution line, but better late than never I suppose. Kingambit is an interesting design as, to reference its a leader, part of its design is that it's a throne. I think had they stopped there that would be fine, but then they went an extra odd step: they made it have beetle aesthetics. I sort of get it, it goes with the throne theme and its Signature Move, as well maybe referencing it looking like a Kaman Rider villain, but its prevos didn't have these beetle traits (unless you stretch it with their heads being kabuto helmets) so it sort of comes out of nowhere.
I also think the Dragon Den's Master purposely gave you softball questions because Clair is currently being a jerk and he wants to teach her a lesson. Note what he says:
And keep in mind you can't fail the test, he'll accept any answer and still say you care deeply about your Pokemon. The only difference between failing and passing the test is whether the Dratini you get knows Extreme Speed. So, while in one way he was judging the player, it was also a lesson to Clair to not be selfish and refuse her duties just because she was bested, especially when she herself has a lot to learn.
I imagine the questions Clair has to answer are probably harder and have definite wrong answers (and likely more Dragon-type related):
Master: Ready Clair? First question: Where do Dratini shed their skin?
Clair: Easy! Under a protection of a waterfall.
Master: Second question: How long is Dragonair?
Clair: 4 meters.
Master: Third question: What is Dragonite's top flight speed?
Clair: Approximately 2,505 km/h, fast enough to travel around the entire planet in 16 hours.
Master: Fourth question: Kindgra often accidentally create whirlpools how?
Clair: *Yawns* By yawning.
Master: Hmm... fifth question: How many Dragon-type Pokemon originate from Kanto & Johto?
Clair: We just covered them all, 4.
*SMACK!*
Clair: OW! Have you forgotten how to count old man?
Master: *Hands Clair a magazine article* A newly researched phenomenon from the Kalos region has the ability to turn some Pokemon into Dragon-types, some which originated from here.
Clair: Mega Evolution? Charizard and Ampharos?! HOW was I supposed to know THAT?
Master: As a Dragon Master to-be you should be aware of ANY new development on Dragon-types. Lance gave me this magazine article a week ago after hearing about Mega Evolution from a Champion colleague of his.
Clair: Sorry I'm not as well connected as Mr. Dragon Champion...
Master: WHAT was that?
Clair: I'll do my due diligence and learn all I can of the Dragon-type before my next test, Master. Stupid Kalos, stupid Mega Pokemon, don't even have a Mega Kingdra...
Honestly all the questions & answers could use a bit of a touch up:
- What are Pokemon to you? Friends, Partners, Pets
- What helps you win battles? Strategy, Training, Charm
- What kind of Trainers do you like battling? Willing, Worthy, Easy-Going
- What is important for raising Pokemon? Love, Knowledge, Achievements
- What kind of Pokemon do you want to train? Trusting, Powerful, Devoted
Though in regards to the 3rd and 5th question, even written as simply as they are I feel there is also lost context (and is sort of meant to be an in-world view).
Why would you want to fight "weak" trainers? Well, who decided the trainer was "weak"? In theory, any trainer can be capable of giving you a tough battle, you don't know until you battle them. Judging a trainer of being "strong" or "weak" either requires previous knowledge of them, which means you battled them, or you're judging them by an outside factor such as appearance or age. And one trainer may be "weak" to you is "strong" to someone else and vice versa. As Trainers you're responsibility is to battle other Trainers to strengthen your Pokemon, in both physical body and your bond of friendship, it doesn't matter how you consider the opponent outside of the moment of battle.
Why are "weak" Pokemon important? While a lot of the logic above also applies here, if we're talking in terms of experience a "weak" Pokemon can become a "strong" Pokemon via training. Your Starter ain't going to make a dent against any of the Champion's Pokemon, but by the time you face them that Level 5 shrimp is now a Level 50+ powerhouse with a party of Pokemon who probably also went through a similar transition.
Except Nemona still uses the same team she's been training up since the start. Infact, despite at one point saying she's going to train up dozens of Pokemon, she never changes her party at all. It's disappointing, like what was the team Nemona used to become Champion? Is that still her strongest team? Had she made a stronger team since then? You can't honestly tell me all the Pokemon on the team she trained up against us is her best team.
She can still be a hypocrite but be totally sincere in her thoughts:
- She loves Dark-types because one of the things she sees in them is that they're strong.
- When she loses she says "strong" and "weak" are selfish perceptions. Truly skilled trainers win with their favorites.
She's a Dark-type Trainer who relishes the Type. Remember, in Japan, the Type is called "Evil"-Type. It makes total sense she acts all haughty.
So, I think one of the main problems here is that, generally, we have no clear idea about Karen's personality. Her dialogue for the Johto games are, well, see the conversation we're having. Problem is, for the main games, this is ALL we have for her. We never see her outside of the League and I don't think there's even an NPC which talks about her (and only FRLG had something like the Fame Checker which is a real shame). BUT there is sid games.
First is Stadium 2. From Karen's dialogue in that game, it does seem to portray her as a cocky character who REALLY gets into the battle, showing her true emotions each moment, but than once the battle is over she puts back on her poker face.
She boasts about herself before battle (she even downplays the other three Elite 4 members).
During battle she's critical of her Pokemon's performance, shows anger & annoyance when on the losing end, but cheerfully teases when things are going her way.
And when she wins or the player forfeits she's pretty nonchalant about it. She doesn't act as if she won a battle, she acts as if she knew she was going to win so when she does it's not a big deal.
But if she loses she starts off with a bit of a tantrum, recomposes herself, and than just says to go face the Champion as if she wasn't just about to curse us out a few seconds ago.
Before battle:
"I am Karen. Would you care for a showdown with my Dark-type Pokémon?"
"I am unlike the three you've already met."
One of her lines sending out her next Pokemon:
"<Pokémon>, don't fail me!"
One of her lines recalling her Pokemon:
"You're no good for this!"
Own Pokemon faints:
"Hmm... Is that how you want to play it?"
Own Pokemon lands a critical hit:
"We weren't deliberately aiming for the weak spot."
Commanding her Pokemon to use Swagger:
"<Pokemon>, be proud--Swagger."
Successfully confusing or flinching the player's Pokemon:
"So? Isn't it outstanding?"
After being defeated:
"No! I can't win. How did you become so strong?"
"I will not stray from my chosen path."
"The Champion is looking forward to meeting you."
After winning:
"That's about what I expected."
"Well, that was relatively entertaining."
"Come visit me anytime."
If the battle ended in a draw:
"A draw...? But how...?"
If the player runs from the battle:
"You're going to reappraise matters, aren't you?"
"I am Karen. Would you care for a showdown with my Dark-type Pokémon?"
"I am unlike the three you've already met."
One of her lines sending out her next Pokemon:
"<Pokémon>, don't fail me!"
One of her lines recalling her Pokemon:
"You're no good for this!"
Own Pokemon faints:
"Hmm... Is that how you want to play it?"
Own Pokemon lands a critical hit:
"We weren't deliberately aiming for the weak spot."
Commanding her Pokemon to use Swagger:
"<Pokemon>, be proud--Swagger."
Successfully confusing or flinching the player's Pokemon:
"So? Isn't it outstanding?"
After being defeated:
"No! I can't win. How did you become so strong?"
"I will not stray from my chosen path."
"The Champion is looking forward to meeting you."
After winning:
"That's about what I expected."
"Well, that was relatively entertaining."
"Come visit me anytime."
If the battle ended in a draw:
"A draw...? But how...?"
If the player runs from the battle:
"You're going to reappraise matters, aren't you?"
However, than we come to the most interesting one: Masters EX. While made by a 3rd party, I imagine every piece of dialogue is approved by the Pokemon Company, so it's official.
When interacting with her in the menu interface she does keep her boastful attitude. Her special log-in conversation is where we first get a glimpse of a deeper personality:
- In the morning she mentions she's not a morning person and tells you it's not good to sleep in late (I think implying she thinks you stayed up all night & morning).
- In the afternoon that's when her Pokemon start itching for a battle, and encourages us to eat a healthy meal before battle is key.
- Finally, in the evening, she admires the night and the stars but says it's never good (for a lady) to miss her beauty sleep.
Anyway, now we start getting into the Story/Event dialogue.
Sticking to her Dark-type preference, she has a few interactions with other Dark-type trainers such as Grimsley and Marnie. From what I can get they sound like positive interactions, nothing much else to gleam.
Skipping ahead to her Sync Pair Story:
It starts with her telling you not to let your guard down. After you agree with her, she mentions there's a loose thread on your clothes and pulls it out. She then berates you because you let your guard down:
After agreeing again, she commends you for being adaptable, which is something she & Houndoom can't relate to.
After noticing you not flinching when Houndoom howls and muses on that for a bit, she ends the event with the following:
After agreeing again, she commends you for being adaptable, which is something she & Houndoom can't relate to.
After noticing you not flinching when Houndoom howls and muses on that for a bit, she ends the event with the following:
So Karen believes she's unable to adapt because she lives her life freely. And though she won't stop anyone from doing what they want, she will still tell you what she's thinking such as if someone she trusts (like the player here) is leaving themselves too open for someone malicious to get close and harm them. A small bit of that hypocrisy she's known for, but more context to it shows how it's nothing which conflicts with her ideology.
Finally some random conversations you can have with her in the Pokemon Center. The notable ones:
- Her love for Dark-types started with Umbreon. Going into its attacks, she muses how her tactics must be infuriating for her opponents and loves how Dark Moves outwit and counter.
- She spends most of her time in Kanto battling League challengers and how she and her Dark-types "usually has them in the palm of our hand". Just knowing your opponent's Type isn't enough, got to know and form a strategy with your own Pokemon. She also mentions that people think Dark-types don't play fair just because of their Move's names, but understanding move effects isn't something that's unique to Dark-types.
- Concerning Type Matchups, tells a quick story how she faced a Trainer who insisted on battling with their first Pokemon despite having a disadvantage. First time she won, but next time they won. Type Matchup may be important, "but sometimes victory can be achieved using something more precious than that". She admires trainers who stand by their beliefs; "may be a bit self-centered, but it means they've got the power to do something great".
- And for the the final one I'll quote it as it goes into detail about what she means by weak and strong Pokemon:
Despite the name, it actually took me long enough to realize the intention of Roserade's mask and cape that my previous perceptions stuck around. I interpreted them as leaning into a superhero aesthetic. Combined with its appearance in PMD being alongside Gallade and Rhyperior, this meant that my perception of Roserade as an evolution was also that it dropped its previous concept for its weapon arms (pokedex says whips, but I've internalized as cannons instead due to Rosearde being Special-leaning). Not that I was or am complaining about that. I never much cared for 'flowers are pretty' as a mon concept.
Of course, I also thought for quite a while that Magnezone was a step too far as an evolution as it no longer had an important aspect of the previous entries: their cuteness.
Alright, imma slap my opinions onto this
Crobat: Honestly liking Crobat's design less over time. The first 2 are monstrous...then Crobat reverses color scheme with a tiny mouth with bad teeth. Very bad teeth... Probably gets rejected for its poor dental health. The jaundice doesn't help
Bellossom: Hey, you missed this! Find the tidbit on it initially being darker skinned in dev interesting. Sadly final's safer green skin is meh, but the concept is decent.
PS: it has nothing underneath the skirt!
Annihilape: The best evolution of his anger concept. He's unbound! The personification of being a Grouch! All he needs is a trash can and a song number...
Politoed: ...looks like a preevo somehow. I prefer the SW97 version a lot more. Otherwise, it's the King('s Rock) of Dorks - Kevin
Hitmontop: Even worse than Politoed for looking young. Vastly prefer SW97's more monstrous version. Otherwise he looks like something a twig like me can bully
Slowking: Dignified, with a splash of a funny collar. Wonder if it was based on the anime ep Psyduck got bit on the head...still needs pants...
Magnezone: I like the UFO inspiration, some with flashing magnets. Remedies the "durr, it's only just 3 of them together". Also fixes its depth perception
Steelix: Almost perfect...but the checker teeth are dumb. But that's a minor fault. Though it isn't winning beauty contests with that smile
Blissey: Girl is fluffy and running with it! She's no longer the nurse's assistant, she IS the doctor! Complete with many harmful status moves!
Lickilicky: Suffers from Gen 4 syndrome: blatantly fat, and overdecorated for pattern. It's ugly
Rhyperior: Ok so it's Gen 4 syndrome AND has an ugly color palette. It uglier
Tangrowth: C'mon, bother to draw all vines! The fat boot feet suck
Mr. Rime: He's adorable! Everyone calling this line a pedo needs to apologize
Scizor: Scissors
Kleavor: Rock. Wait, steel beats rock in pokemon-
I like both, though Kleavor's face could be better
Electivire: Better than Elekid (yeah that's right!), though I don't like how neat the stripes are. Should be messier. The red wires are ehhh
Magmortar: Gen 4 syndrome. You hate to see it
Porygon2: Literally metaballs and subdivision, mixed with the dipping bird toy. Nice!
Porygon Z: Shame it came out before Vista. Would've been extremely meta of poor security updates. ***BLUE SCREENS***
Togekiss: I LOST MY ARMS!!!
Ambipom: On one hand, I don't like Aipom to begin with. On the other hand (yes this is intentional), the red tipped fingers in Ambi are really ugly. But I'm biased, so
Yanmega: Proto is better in not being boxy, but final is still cool. Shame it's Bug/Flying
Honchkrow: Funny enough, Gen 2 dev Murkrow WAS meant to have witch influences. Interesting to see they instead turned it into a mafia boss. Though keep it away from tasteless trilby wearing "nice guys", it doesn't deserve that trash. Too boss for that
Mismagius: Built in shade. Perfect for hot- oh wait, it's nocturnal....It's still purty!
Farigiraf: ok, now we need an even taller one...
Dudunsparce: Meh. Imagine if this was its evo instead...
Gliscor: Wings need to be connected to arms
Weavile: Till this day, people debate whether it's a cat or weasel...
Sneasler: It's a cat. Same with Trubbish
Ursulana: It's funny how this made everyone realize that the anime depiction of Ursaring being a rampaging aggressive mon is wrong. It was meant to be more reserved and sleepy, even dopey when eating
That said this design is ugly with how mud caked and fat it is
Mamoswine: Gen 4 syndrome. He's too fat and bald, give me more organic body humps and hair!
Wyrdeer: Kinda feels like a Sawsbuck winter alt instead of evo. Feel they could do more with it
Gallade: Outside blade arms, it feels a bit too basic waist down. The internet got further villified in Gardevoir being feminine sadly
Probopass: God those eyes are ugly. Should've went with the Nigel Thornberry beta one here...
Roserade: Not as bad as Tangrowth, but they should've drawn each rose. But Tuxedo mask vibes work
Dusknoir: Grovyle...how many shippers do we have?
Froslass: Why is it female exclusive? Glalie didn't even benefit from the Sp/Phy split. Ah well, it's nice
Kingambit: He can't walk. Mon became Joe Swanson. At least he looks cool
Bellossom: Hey, you missed this! Find the tidbit on it initially being darker skinned in dev interesting. Sadly final's safer green skin is meh, but the concept is decent.
PS: it has nothing underneath the skirt!
Annihilape: The best evolution of his anger concept. He's unbound! The personification of being a Grouch! All he needs is a trash can and a song number...
Politoed: ...looks like a preevo somehow. I prefer the SW97 version a lot more. Otherwise, it's the King('s Rock) of Dorks - Kevin
Hitmontop: Even worse than Politoed for looking young. Vastly prefer SW97's more monstrous version. Otherwise he looks like something a twig like me can bully
Slowking: Dignified, with a splash of a funny collar. Wonder if it was based on the anime ep Psyduck got bit on the head...still needs pants...
Magnezone: I like the UFO inspiration, some with flashing magnets. Remedies the "durr, it's only just 3 of them together". Also fixes its depth perception
Steelix: Almost perfect...but the checker teeth are dumb. But that's a minor fault. Though it isn't winning beauty contests with that smile
Blissey: Girl is fluffy and running with it! She's no longer the nurse's assistant, she IS the doctor! Complete with many harmful status moves!
Lickilicky: Suffers from Gen 4 syndrome: blatantly fat, and overdecorated for pattern. It's ugly
Rhyperior: Ok so it's Gen 4 syndrome AND has an ugly color palette. It uglier
Tangrowth: C'mon, bother to draw all vines! The fat boot feet suck
Mr. Rime: He's adorable! Everyone calling this line a pedo needs to apologize
Scizor: Scissors
Kleavor: Rock. Wait, steel beats rock in pokemon-
I like both, though Kleavor's face could be better
Electivire: Better than Elekid (yeah that's right!), though I don't like how neat the stripes are. Should be messier. The red wires are ehhh
Magmortar: Gen 4 syndrome. You hate to see it
Porygon2: Literally metaballs and subdivision, mixed with the dipping bird toy. Nice!
Porygon Z: Shame it came out before Vista. Would've been extremely meta of poor security updates. ***BLUE SCREENS***
Togekiss: I LOST MY ARMS!!!
Ambipom: On one hand, I don't like Aipom to begin with. On the other hand (yes this is intentional), the red tipped fingers in Ambi are really ugly. But I'm biased, so
Yanmega: Proto is better in not being boxy, but final is still cool. Shame it's Bug/Flying
Honchkrow: Funny enough, Gen 2 dev Murkrow WAS meant to have witch influences. Interesting to see they instead turned it into a mafia boss. Though keep it away from tasteless trilby wearing "nice guys", it doesn't deserve that trash. Too boss for that
Mismagius: Built in shade. Perfect for hot- oh wait, it's nocturnal....It's still purty!
Farigiraf: ok, now we need an even taller one...
Dudunsparce: Meh. Imagine if this was its evo instead...
Gliscor: Wings need to be connected to arms
Weavile: Till this day, people debate whether it's a cat or weasel...
Sneasler: It's a cat. Same with Trubbish
Ursulana: It's funny how this made everyone realize that the anime depiction of Ursaring being a rampaging aggressive mon is wrong. It was meant to be more reserved and sleepy, even dopey when eating
That said this design is ugly with how mud caked and fat it is
Mamoswine: Gen 4 syndrome. He's too fat and bald, give me more organic body humps and hair!
Wyrdeer: Kinda feels like a Sawsbuck winter alt instead of evo. Feel they could do more with it
Gallade: Outside blade arms, it feels a bit too basic waist down. The internet got further villified in Gardevoir being feminine sadly
Probopass: God those eyes are ugly. Should've went with the Nigel Thornberry beta one here...
Roserade: Not as bad as Tangrowth, but they should've drawn each rose. But Tuxedo mask vibes work
Dusknoir: Grovyle...how many shippers do we have?
Froslass: Why is it female exclusive? Glalie didn't even benefit from the Sp/Phy split. Ah well, it's nice
Kingambit: He can't walk. Mon became Joe Swanson. At least he looks cool
I skipped over branched evolutions as many would have to diverge from the design theme of the family it was added into.
Bellossom: Why are you looking up Bellossom's skirt.
Just kidding. Anyway, Pokedex says its a biped though Bulbapedia notes in the anime it seemingly uses the leaves which makes up its skirt as legs. I'm going to guess we're just not supposed to think about it. Either it does have legs (probably would look like Oddish's) or it just floats (if you want to throw some pseudo-science in how, can just say its skirt leaves pushes air through it giving it lift to move the direction it wants).
Steelix: "Though it isn't winning beauty contests with that smile"
So, in the Sinnoh games Jasmine uses her Steelix, Rusty, in Contests and one of the best Contests its set up for is Beauty. Infact, in BD/SP, her Steelix has the highest Visual Evaluation score for Beauty in the Master Ranks.
Kleavor: "Wait, steel beats rock in pokemon-"
We need a Rock version of Freeze-Dry which is SE against Steel, a Steel version which is SE against Grass,
Togekiss: Oh no, it lost its dinky arms it could barely do anything with for bigger wings which it can do more with (btw it still learns punching moves, not that it would want to).
Honchkrow: "Though keep it away from tasteless trilby wearing "nice guys", it doesn't deserve that trash. Too boss for that"
Let's not lie, Honchkrow would probably have a side hustle as a pimp.
Mismagius: Hides it from moonlight?
Dudunsparce: I like Orthworm fine but it's definitely better as a one off.
As I said, most fanmade Dunsparce evos looked like this.
Weavile & Sneasler: It's both a cat & weasel. Haven't we learned our lesson from the Legendary Beasts?
Froslass: Its female exclusive because the Yuki-onna are all female.
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Suddenly realizes Honchkrow was introduced in the same Gen Lopunny was
Agree for Dunsparce, fan evos of it being a winged dragon is cooler. But like, give the thing an actual evo!
As for Bellossom, Smash Bros Melee's trophies model has it legless. Was looking at mon models that game cuz some are stupidly high poly (Heracross), or flat out CG (Lugia for Movie 2's ref model, Blastoise for a TCG card). It likely is Oddish legs for legit rep, but ghostly floating works too
Bellossom: Why are you looking up Bellossom's skirt.
Just kidding. Anyway, Pokedex says its a biped though Bulbapedia notes in the anime it seemingly uses the leaves which makes up its skirt as legs. I'm going to guess we're just not supposed to think about it. Either it does have legs (probably would look like Oddish's) or it just floats (if you want to throw some pseudo-science in how, can just say its skirt leaves pushes air through it giving it lift to move the direction it wants).
Its skirt leaves are legs, and walks like a spider.
I will put it bluntly: I played since Gen 1, played Stadium, Colloseum and all other spin-offs in my youth. With so many Pokemon, I have never missed one of them. We have so much choice, why restrict ourselves to old Pokemon at all? Furthermore, it is always sweet when a favorite of yours returns (in my case Skarmory)
Although now that I think about it maybe Pokemon fans are to loyal and only have one favorite Mon or something. Obviously for them it is devistating.
For me personally the attacks mattered more than the mons. They are the soul of the mon, the showcase of progression and interesting gimmicks for the Pokemon itself. The mon throughout Level 1 to for example Level 36 stays the same, but what changes constantly? The moves. The stats. This is what gives Mons their feel, alongside obviously objectively seen the balance of the gameplay.
I remember being excited when Heracross learned Megahorn in Gen2. When we finally got decent bug moves with Silver Wind in Gen 3. How much better Fearow was with Drill Peck instead of Wing Attack and all stuff like that.
Now they removed things like Signal Beam. They gave each Mon unlimited coverage and all that snazz. This is what annoys me.
I meant speficially Black and White 2. Also the let's play is exciting thank you for sharing that. I STILL WANT TO KNOW IF HE MANAGES TO GET DROUGHT VULPIX!! Yes I know I used Capslock but that still drives me completly mad. Me and my bro wasted like 10 hours + for one.
My family and me rated each Generation of Pokemon, with 5 and 4 being for favorites and 1 2 and 3 being for a "negative" feeling towards a design.
I admit taste is obviously subjective and we did this I think 3 years ago but here are the results for me personally:
Gen 5 had the worst average followed by Gen 8 for me personally. So I hated 77 of the Mons basically. That is A LOT. And the worst part is some of the Bad 1 were for final evolutions, which tainted my experience even further.
I've noticed Pokemon fans will often develop parasocial relationships with fictional species. See also people phrasing their balance opinions as "it's not fair that ______ (only physical attackers have a status that cripples them, physical Electric-types are stuck with Wild Charge while special ones get Thunderbolt, etc.)" as if these are real living beings that are being treated unjustly as opposed to tools that game developers use to craft a play experience for the players.
Sorry, couldn't not meme
I mean I can understand frustration of a "tool" just sucking many gens. GF HAS been receptive to balance changes at times (See, Tauros, Talonflame and Aegislash)
In parallel with my other post about GSC...
So, someone on Reddit created a "full" version of GSC Kanto that's as big as it was in RBY. If you're unaware, because of the constraints of the technology and the digital memory required to fit two regions into one game, GSC significantly cut corners with Kanto, shrinking and shortening a lot of routes and removing several areas like the Underground Path between routes 7 and 8.
But, comparing the two overworld maps, when it comes specifically to the shortening of routes, I'm forced to conclude that...
Seriously, I can't be alone in thinking that a lot of the shortened routes were overlong and a bit dull. Route 19, for example, is so boring in RBY - it's just a massive expanse of water full of trainers, without any sandbars or decks with Fishermen on them. I much prefer GSC's smaller, to-the-point version, especially since the barrier at Seafoam Islands is removed so that you can pass through in either direction.
Route 1 is virtually unchanged and Route 2 is the most starkly different since Viridian Forest is gone, but for literally all of the others - 3 through 22 - - the difference is so minimal that their essential "character" isn't lost. Their shrinking didn't prevent them from still being full of trainers, and it's not as if you're moving from city to city with nothing in between - they're not brief to navigate for the first time, and still provide things to do thanks to having hidden items and areas that need HMs to be accessed. Cycling Road in particular is pretty much exactly the same as it always was. And the cities themselves are largely unchanged, which to me seems a more important point.
Obviously, Route 23 was excised in its entirety, but you can't ruin what isn't there at all, and I'd say the addition of Route 26 and 27 basically serves the purpose that area did.
Let me make it clear I'm not including the removal of interior areas in this, even though I do think that the removal of the east-west Underground Path is a complete non-issue, and I appreciate Diglett's Cave being far shorter than the bland unending corridor it was in RBY. When I say nothing of importance was lost I'm specifically talking about the overworld.
So, someone on Reddit created a "full" version of GSC Kanto that's as big as it was in RBY. If you're unaware, because of the constraints of the technology and the digital memory required to fit two regions into one game, GSC significantly cut corners with Kanto, shrinking and shortening a lot of routes and removing several areas like the Underground Path between routes 7 and 8.
But, comparing the two overworld maps, when it comes specifically to the shortening of routes, I'm forced to conclude that...
Seriously, I can't be alone in thinking that a lot of the shortened routes were overlong and a bit dull. Route 19, for example, is so boring in RBY - it's just a massive expanse of water full of trainers, without any sandbars or decks with Fishermen on them. I much prefer GSC's smaller, to-the-point version, especially since the barrier at Seafoam Islands is removed so that you can pass through in either direction.
Route 1 is virtually unchanged and Route 2 is the most starkly different since Viridian Forest is gone, but for literally all of the others - 3 through 22 - - the difference is so minimal that their essential "character" isn't lost. Their shrinking didn't prevent them from still being full of trainers, and it's not as if you're moving from city to city with nothing in between - they're not brief to navigate for the first time, and still provide things to do thanks to having hidden items and areas that need HMs to be accessed. Cycling Road in particular is pretty much exactly the same as it always was. And the cities themselves are largely unchanged, which to me seems a more important point.
Obviously, Route 23 was excised in its entirety, but you can't ruin what isn't there at all, and I'd say the addition of Route 26 and 27 basically serves the purpose that area did.
Let me make it clear I'm not including the removal of interior areas in this, even though I do think that the removal of the east-west Underground Path is a complete non-issue, and I appreciate Diglett's Cave being far shorter than the bland unending corridor it was in RBY. When I say nothing of importance was lost I'm specifically talking about the overworld.
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I highly disagree
Zygarde's case in Gen 6 can at least somewhat relate to Kyogre and Groudon in Gen 3 and Palkia and Dialga in Gen 4, but mostly Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem in Gen 5. They each have extended formes of themselves that aren't introduced in their generation, but don't get revealed until later generations.
Zygarde most closely relates to the Unova dragons as we were told during Generation 5 that Reshiram and Zekrom used to be one singular dragon. We know this variant of a Pokemon exists somewhere in the series but to this day have still never seen it. In Zygarde's case, two of Zygarde's dex entries in Gen 6 mention something about a secret power the Pokemon beholds when ecosystems fall in disarray (particularly regarding the interference of population, and the inability for Xerneas/Yveltal to manage it in the moment, not just something going off regarding the weather or a potential cataclysmic event). We end up seeing this secret power by late Gen 6 anime, when Zygarde reluctantly decides it wants to get up, transform, and help humanity, and in Pokemon Sun and Moon, where Ultra Beasts have been known to disrupt its populations for at least a decade, but this time they've done enough to grab Zygarde's attention and have it monitor the Alola region to ensure Ultra Beasts don't create a full-blown ecological disaster. It's also shown in Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, where Zygarde goes from Core to 100% in a quick second just to save Bonnie from getting hit by an attack, then return back to Core lol.
My point is that significant box art-level legendary Pokemon are often never complete by the end of their debut generation, and Zygarde was not the first instance of this. It probably won't be the last either. Some of these transformations may require incredibly rare circumstances to activate too.
Another thing I'd like to mention is just how little room Zygarde truly had for involvement. It seems like most of Zygarde's job is done when Xerneas and Yveltal are awake and active, but Zygarde appears whenever situations go off that are outside Xerneas and Yveltal's control, or something terribly wrong is happening with Xerneas or Yveltal. From my interpretation of Pokemon X and Y, Lysandre's case there was not enough to justify Zygarde's arrival. Xerneas/Yveltal were able to break out on their own, take back most of their energy, and immediately put a massive dent to all of his plans, while you just stood there and watched this until the battle triggered. I'll also point out that if Lysandre were to fire the weapon at full power and create mass genocide, that this may technically be Xerneas's job to reverse all of this, as it's capable of doing so and does hold the responsibility of balancing the natural order. Yveltal's case would've simply not worked after a dex entry read. "When its life comes to an end, it absorbs the life energy of every living thing and turns into a cocoon once more." This either meant Lysandre's plan was gonna get foiled or Lysandre's plan was gonna get foiled. Not only that, Xerneas and Yveltal have consistently proven across all of media, not just the games but the anime and the manga, to be more competent and level-headed than most other legendary box arts. They aren't like Kyogre and Groudon, who want to kill each other on sight every time, or like Palkia and Dialga, who have somehow proven to not be able to consistently rationalize themselves out of messy situations. They've always been able to escape from imprisonment without much help, and when Xerneas and Yveltal fight, they always make amends before Zygarde needs to interfere. Zygarde is bound to be a mysterious legendary Pokemon that lies dormant in caves until something warrants it scouting a region. Personally, I like that. Legendary box arts having their own game is overrated and I think Sun and Moon did more to show Zygarde being legendary than most legendary box arts did with their own game. It's even a lot more tedious to obtain, which is what legendaries have lost over the years.
Zygarde most closely relates to the Unova dragons as we were told during Generation 5 that Reshiram and Zekrom used to be one singular dragon. We know this variant of a Pokemon exists somewhere in the series but to this day have still never seen it. In Zygarde's case, two of Zygarde's dex entries in Gen 6 mention something about a secret power the Pokemon beholds when ecosystems fall in disarray (particularly regarding the interference of population, and the inability for Xerneas/Yveltal to manage it in the moment, not just something going off regarding the weather or a potential cataclysmic event). We end up seeing this secret power by late Gen 6 anime, when Zygarde reluctantly decides it wants to get up, transform, and help humanity, and in Pokemon Sun and Moon, where Ultra Beasts have been known to disrupt its populations for at least a decade, but this time they've done enough to grab Zygarde's attention and have it monitor the Alola region to ensure Ultra Beasts don't create a full-blown ecological disaster. It's also shown in Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, where Zygarde goes from Core to 100% in a quick second just to save Bonnie from getting hit by an attack, then return back to Core lol.
My point is that significant box art-level legendary Pokemon are often never complete by the end of their debut generation, and Zygarde was not the first instance of this. It probably won't be the last either. Some of these transformations may require incredibly rare circumstances to activate too.
Another thing I'd like to mention is just how little room Zygarde truly had for involvement. It seems like most of Zygarde's job is done when Xerneas and Yveltal are awake and active, but Zygarde appears whenever situations go off that are outside Xerneas and Yveltal's control, or something terribly wrong is happening with Xerneas or Yveltal. From my interpretation of Pokemon X and Y, Lysandre's case there was not enough to justify Zygarde's arrival. Xerneas/Yveltal were able to break out on their own, take back most of their energy, and immediately put a massive dent to all of his plans, while you just stood there and watched this until the battle triggered. I'll also point out that if Lysandre were to fire the weapon at full power and create mass genocide, that this may technically be Xerneas's job to reverse all of this, as it's capable of doing so and does hold the responsibility of balancing the natural order. Yveltal's case would've simply not worked after a dex entry read. "When its life comes to an end, it absorbs the life energy of every living thing and turns into a cocoon once more." This either meant Lysandre's plan was gonna get foiled or Lysandre's plan was gonna get foiled. Not only that, Xerneas and Yveltal have consistently proven across all of media, not just the games but the anime and the manga, to be more competent and level-headed than most other legendary box arts. They aren't like Kyogre and Groudon, who want to kill each other on sight every time, or like Palkia and Dialga, who have somehow proven to not be able to consistently rationalize themselves out of messy situations. They've always been able to escape from imprisonment without much help, and when Xerneas and Yveltal fight, they always make amends before Zygarde needs to interfere. Zygarde is bound to be a mysterious legendary Pokemon that lies dormant in caves until something warrants it scouting a region. Personally, I like that. Legendary box arts having their own game is overrated and I think Sun and Moon did more to show Zygarde being legendary than most legendary box arts did with their own game. It's even a lot more tedious to obtain, which is what legendaries have lost over the years.
I was thinking the other day that when you consider what the mascot Pokemon of upper versions typically receive, it's funny that Rayquaza got... nothing in its own game. No new form, no new move, no new ability. It wasn't even available at a different level than it was in Ruby and Sapphire.
Obviously times have moved on, but you couldn't imagine Game Freak doing a hypothetical Pokemon Z where Zygarde was... just catchable a bit earlier, with no other additions.
I was always a bit bummed that Zygarde missed out on its own game, but looking back the anime and the manga did it better than I think the games ever could. When you compare it to the other "third points" of each trio, it can definitely stand alongside them as an equal.
Obviously times have moved on, but you couldn't imagine Game Freak doing a hypothetical Pokemon Z where Zygarde was... just catchable a bit earlier, with no other additions.
I was always a bit bummed that Zygarde missed out on its own game, but looking back the anime and the manga did it better than I think the games ever could. When you compare it to the other "third points" of each trio, it can definitely stand alongside them as an equal.
ORAS more or less fixed this bit by giving Rayquaza it’s own Mega Evolution. That worked too well considering that it don’t need any Mega Stone and instead Dragon’s Ascent, but it still makes sense.
I do think the bigger irony is that Groudon and Kyogre are the one who get the more unique forms, being Primal Reversion. Even if all three of those more-powerful forms were gutted in mainline games since SwSh, their impact aren’t to overlook.
Ah, but remember that Rayquaza was technically the first extra version mascot that started the trend of their being an additional member to the initial versions duo (until said tradition was broken by SwSh as it took the games down the new DLC route). Previously we had Pikachu for Yellow (and Blastoise for Japanese Blue), both treated as Starters though Blastoise was a Starter Final Evo while Yellow is a special version made to reflect the anime hence Pikachu getting special treatment. Gen II's Crystal had Suicune which was a Legendary but not on equal terms with the initial versions' mascots, infact it was the servant to one of them.
Rayquaza was the first extra version mascot to be a Legendary on "even" level with the initial versions' (yes, yes, I know, Rayquaza has 10 more BST than Groudon & Kougra; as if at their high of BST that makes much of a difference). And while it did not get any new boons from being said mascot, what it did get was an extended role in the story. Whereas originally it was just this random dragon hanging out on top of a tower, in Emerald it become plot important as it was the only one that could stop both Groudon & Kyogre from fighting. Compared to Japanese Blue (which was just an update to Red & Green), Yellow (once again a special case, and it didn't really add lore but just gave you (normal stated) Pikachu as a Starter which had some additional interactions) and Crystal (Suicune got to run around a bit longer than it's fellow members but that's really it); that's a pretty significant addition even if it didn't affect gameplay.
Though, as Samtendo09 said, ORAS would fix this by giving it possibly the most powerful Mega Evolution (one that can hold an item and all it had to do was just know a very powerful STAB Move (and in addition to the stat increases also gets an Ability which nullified its Flying weaknesses); so no downside whatsoever).
You know, while I do think GF were thinking of doing a Z Version (or something along those lines, Black 2 & White 2 I think really changed their perspective on extra versions until SwSh essentially retired the idea), I would believe they didn't have any plans on what they would actually do with it. It would be like Platinum? Would they do a BW2? Maybe try to think of something else. Oh, wait, this year is the 20th Anniversary! Um, you know what, scrap Z version, put full development time into the next gen. Just put the new Zygarde form in them as a bonus and pretend that was the plan all along...
They got the unique forms, but I think they made it work from a story perspective. In on way Primal Reversion is sort of a downgrade from Mega Evolution as both immediately transform whereas Mega you get to decide when your Pokemon transforms (though granted this is a rare case and it's not like Groudon & Kyogre wouldn't want to transform first round anyway).
After checking some responses from my Google Form regarding Pokémon’s power creep, I noticed that En Passant showed me their biggest issue regarding power creep called “Special Snowflake Syndrome”, and they make an excellent point on why it nearly singlehandedly made power creep into an issue lately.
They pointed out that the power creep prior to Generation 7 is more subtle due to mostly concerning stats and that each generation have their own overpowered Legendary Pokémon anyways. I’d say Gen 6 and by extension Gen 7 were a notable exception due to Mega Evolution, but that’s an issue that’s already talked about.
What they meant by Special Snowflake Syndrome is the fact that since Generation 7, Game Freak have a compulsion to give a powerful signature Move and / or Ability to the newer Pokémon in hope to make them stand out more. Although it could help them stand out for the casual crowd in theory, GF goes as far as intentionally making the newer Pokémon more powerful than they should be just so they are more inticing to use, making this attempt a lot more damaging in practice.
It’s not like there’s a lack of signature Moves and / or Abilities for older Pokémon, it is just that in most cases, those signatures alone doesn’t instantly make them a lot more viable or instantly broken. In fact, it fluctuates between “niche”, “good but not too much” and even “outright bad”, and serves more as flavor than anything else. It helps that the signatures are designed more sparsely, too, and the older generations already have a share of their own powerhouses in the first place.
It’s when that newer Pokémon’s signatures that are blatantly overpowered without restraint that the situation is becoming overboard, especially evident in the ninth Generation. That said, more optimized / minmaxed stat distribution also played a part, so it’s not like Garganacl would need a signature Move and a signature Ability that badly if it’s stat distribution is already impressive. Same goes for Spectrier not needing ”Special Moxie” (or Nasty Plot) since it’s stat distribution is already pretty powerful, but it does anyways and it, alongside Shadow Rider Calyrex, are ridiculously overpowered even by Legendary standards.
If the Gen 9’s Pokémon signatures aren’t so powerful, not many of the newcomers wouldn’t be OU for long, apart of Annihilape, Espathra and Palafin who would remained banned due to other factors, and Kingambit remaining in OU since Bisharp is already viable, and would Skeledirge and Meowscarada since the former is an offensive Pokémon with Unaware as an Ability which is a powerful role to have, and the latter still having optimized base stat distribution + Protean.
The reason why I felt it’s an unpopular opinion is due to the fact that not many people knows this problem, not until Gen 9 at least.
tl;dr Game Freak’s obsession for signatures (and minmaxing so constantly) is to blame for the power creep in later generations.
They pointed out that the power creep prior to Generation 7 is more subtle due to mostly concerning stats and that each generation have their own overpowered Legendary Pokémon anyways. I’d say Gen 6 and by extension Gen 7 were a notable exception due to Mega Evolution, but that’s an issue that’s already talked about.
What they meant by Special Snowflake Syndrome is the fact that since Generation 7, Game Freak have a compulsion to give a powerful signature Move and / or Ability to the newer Pokémon in hope to make them stand out more. Although it could help them stand out for the casual crowd in theory, GF goes as far as intentionally making the newer Pokémon more powerful than they should be just so they are more inticing to use, making this attempt a lot more damaging in practice.
It’s not like there’s a lack of signature Moves and / or Abilities for older Pokémon, it is just that in most cases, those signatures alone doesn’t instantly make them a lot more viable or instantly broken. In fact, it fluctuates between “niche”, “good but not too much” and even “outright bad”, and serves more as flavor than anything else. It helps that the signatures are designed more sparsely, too, and the older generations already have a share of their own powerhouses in the first place.
It’s when that newer Pokémon’s signatures that are blatantly overpowered without restraint that the situation is becoming overboard, especially evident in the ninth Generation. That said, more optimized / minmaxed stat distribution also played a part, so it’s not like Garganacl would need a signature Move and a signature Ability that badly if it’s stat distribution is already impressive. Same goes for Spectrier not needing ”Special Moxie” (or Nasty Plot) since it’s stat distribution is already pretty powerful, but it does anyways and it, alongside Shadow Rider Calyrex, are ridiculously overpowered even by Legendary standards.
If the Gen 9’s Pokémon signatures aren’t so powerful, not many of the newcomers wouldn’t be OU for long, apart of Annihilape, Espathra and Palafin who would remained banned due to other factors, and Kingambit remaining in OU since Bisharp is already viable, and would Skeledirge and Meowscarada since the former is an offensive Pokémon with Unaware as an Ability which is a powerful role to have, and the latter still having optimized base stat distribution + Protean.
The reason why I felt it’s an unpopular opinion is due to the fact that not many people knows this problem, not until Gen 9 at least.
tl;dr Game Freak’s obsession for signatures (and minmaxing so constantly) is to blame for the power creep in later generations.
Unfortunately, I see the above as a necessary evil to keep a given long-running series going.
Kinda like mobas release progressively more op characters, TCGs release progressively stronger and more busted archetypes (insert meme about yugioh card text lenght), new pokemon (expecially "special" ones like starters and legendaries) need progressively stronger tools to be interesting.
Ultimately, they make these games for money. If the newcomers aren't "strong", people are not likely to use them, which results in less merchandising sold, and potentially boring / stale metas.
Kinda like mobas release progressively more op characters, TCGs release progressively stronger and more busted archetypes (insert meme about yugioh card text lenght), new pokemon (expecially "special" ones like starters and legendaries) need progressively stronger tools to be interesting.
Ultimately, they make these games for money. If the newcomers aren't "strong", people are not likely to use them, which results in less merchandising sold, and potentially boring / stale metas.
That’s more like an ugly lose-lose situation, the more think I about it.
Sure, not introducing strong newcomers can lead to a boring and stale meta, but introducing newcomers that are way too powerful can turn the game into one-sided fights or too fast paced, making it boring and stale, but for a different reason. Power creep will harm the metagame if not checked or balanced carefully, to the point even a rotational band-aid solution won’t help.
Plus, while MOBAs is primarily competitive, the TCG and Pokémon mainline games still have a far larger casual fanabse. And since power creep had gone real bad, even many longtime casual fans started to be very unhappy about it.
And once power creep reaches to the point where it’s all about hyper offense, even with GF’s admittedly good balancing effort for the most part, then the competitive scene might end up losing interest even more than if the metagame became stale due to a lack of viable newcomers.
What’s the harm of trying to make incomparable newcomers without making them overpowered? Oh wait, GF might not have enough time for that either, or to think being “incomparable” isn’t enough, and it shows.
And here to remind that Pokémon isn’t most known for it’s competitive values, but rather for it’s own cute critters, so of course a lot of people buy the merchandises and the games due to the titular cute critters, old and new. So if the competitive scene become less popular, no big deal in the end.
Even then, I feel like GF, or TPCi, or both, became obsessed with the competitive side to an unhealthy amount by making the newcomers “OP for competitive” and then nerf some of them if they really were overboard.
Is it really a necessary evil in the end? Your call, but I seriously doubt that it’s something that would really help a long-running franchise in the long run if they releases newcomers / packs / main games too frequently to the point where balancing is completely thrown out of the window.
One of the reasons why so-called capitalism is such a flawed concept to the point it’s depressing, I know.
Yup, you got it.
Personally, I think the problem is that just the series has overstayed their welcome. There's only so many elements you can make before you are just making copies of each other with a different skin (see, the 3 million bulky waters in that just all do the same job with different stats).
A roster of champions / pokemon / cards will only be able to grow so much until it starts to get in the power creep scenario where every new contestant has to take the place of a old one.
Which also unfortunately just exacerbates the fact that only the top 20-30 of a given entity will really be interesting competitively, and everything else gets kicked down. Smogon gives a great example of this with how nowadays even ZU is probably not enough to give some of the older, weaker mons any sort of viability, and I don't even think a entire new tier would suffice either.
Would be much better if either they'd just let the series die, or actually hard-commit to dexit and REALLY reduce the amount of available mons in a given gen to a manageable number or straight up start allowing only current gen pokemon in a game, kinda like some card games do set rotations.
And even then, you will get the dexit conundrum of angering or not interesting the people who would rather have their favourites, because they never committed to it.
There's no correct solution to this problem, other than a full reboot every generation. Kinda like wha Digimon or SMT do, every entry is their own, not connected to the others.
More like no correct solution at all, I don’t trust the fanbase to agree that a full reboot will be a good thing. The fanbase is so diverse and divided that there’s too many of them complaining about even minor details, to the point that more and more people become alienated with the fandom as a whole.
Making the only Pokémon available on the Dex to appear in the games can also backfire if they don’t have at least some returning faces, as is the case Unova in BW since it means nearly completely abandon previous Pokémon without post-game or transferring, resulting Unova being too isolated for it’s own good.
Frankly, I more or less decided to not be really part of the larger fandom and focus on the smaller Pokémon communities.