(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon

[Wormadam Sandy Cloak]

I hate how in Gold and Silver you can only make 1 Apriball a day. I’m glad they changed it to any amount (or is it up to 9) in Crystal/HGSS.

I also hate how Wattson is the only Gym Leader in (O)R(A)S to not have a Hoenn Pokemon as his ace. They finally gave him Manectric in E but then Juan has Kingdra.

 

[hypno28]

Also I think it's kind of unfair for only Pikachu to have its anime cry and none of the other Pokemon. I can see why it would be hard to implement that for all of the Pokemon (a lot of voice-over data and voice recording from VAs would have to be done for that), but it's rather jarring for one Pokemon to say its name in game but everyone else having distinctive noises as cries because of the inconsistency. Especially if you intend on evolving Pikachu into Raichu.

Replacing the cries with 'mons saying their own names (what the actual hell with this being a thing, anyway?) is #1 on the list of things that would make me never consider buying a game in the franchise again.

 

[stage7_4]

I hate how in Gold and Silver you can only make 1 Apriball a day. I’m glad they changed it to any amount (or is it up to 9) in Crystal/HGSS.

Nope, in all versions Kurt can only make one Apricorn ball per day. Whoops, read that wrong. He can make multiple balls of one apricorn color per day in C/HG/SS. So you can hand him 5 blue apricorns for 5 Lure balls, but not 1 blue and 1 pink for a lure and love ball.

It doesn't make too much sense as the apricorn balls are nice but none of them are really gamebreakers above pokeballs you can buy in bulk (quick, dusk, timer, repeat, and net just to name a few). So Gamefreak's stingyness about distributing them seems mostly motivated by the fact that players really like how they look rather than competitive balance.

Seriously, go on the GTS and there's practically a stock market for trading competitive pokemon in apricorn balls. It can get nearly as bad as shiny pokemon.

 

[Xen]

Nope, in all versions Kurt can only make one Apricorn ball per day.

Nah Kurt can make multiple Apricorn balls per day in Crystal and HGSS; it’s only G/S that’s one ball per day.

But anyway, piggybacking on Apricorns, it really annoys me that there is literally only one copy of each Apricorn ball in Sun/Moon. Matching balls doesn’t really bother me that much, but only having one ball each felt like a huge ripoff to me, especially when some balls (such as the Friend Ball) would’ve been really nice to have in bulk. I hope Apricorn balls are buyable in USUM.

 

[Norne]

Yep, some stuff like the heavy ball or the friend ball have unique animations that look really nice.

Some folks think that a Pokémon should match the ball to look good, example being Tapu Lele in a Loveball, however the match of Tapu Lele and timer ball effect is amazing given that timer ball has a delay 3 phase effect that goes on white black and red after it pops.

I honestly prefer the effect to match the Pokémon instead of the Pokémon matching the color of the ball.

On ball effectiveness, Dusk and Quick Balls are just insane, it's really hard to justify buying other types except repeat and timerballs, sometimes nest wich have a similar endgame result to repeat and apparently the same effect as Level.

Net, Lure and dive ball are mostly used for their color/animation despite being quite good for their niches, Lure is kinda infamous for being associated with starters in Gen 5 making a Pokémon breed in those look questionable, it isn't as bad as heavy ball Metagross or Beast Ball gift Pokémon though.

Loveball is an interesting concept but just like moon it is way too niche and only useful for their color/effect.

 

[mertyville]

I don't understand why Game Freak doesn't add a device after finishing the main story that increases your catch-rate, exp-increase etc permanently rather than forcing us to use stuff like O-Powers or break the game by adding the overpowered EXP-Share early on.
You know how annoying it is starting the game and breed Pokemon, catch optimal Legendaries (with correct nature, Hidden Power, correct ball), grind them, grind for Points to buy competitive items or tutor moves?

I know people are thinking that it would decrease replay value, but I am still resetting Lele and USUM is about to come out with much more feature to likely make catching legendaries easier (though still a pain).

also could GF stop taking the relevant tutor moves out of the early gen games and "force" us to buy the new ones?

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

Replacing the cries with 'mons saying their own names (what the actual hell with this being a thing, anyway?) is #1 on the list of things that would make me never consider buying a game in the franchise again.

Agreed. It's bad enough FIGS translations have NPC Pokémon say their names instead of cries. Makes encounters with Legendaries much lamer.

 

[Tazonite]

Going back on the earlier convo, I feel like Gen 5 at least had entralink mini games, join avenue, pokestar studios, etc, cause gen five was good about that

Plus there's always somewhere to battle gain XP that isn't just the elite four. You get trainers with Lv 70 pokemon in the post game and rematchable characters of importance. That's something the newer games don't have as battle options.

 

[Norne]

Going back on the earlier convo, I feel like Gen 5 at least had entralink mini games, join avenue, pokestar studios, etc, cause gen five was good about that

Plus there's always somewhere to battle gain XP that isn't just the elite four. You get trainers with Lv 70 pokemon in the post game and rematchable characters of importance. That's something the newer games don't have as battle options.

Gen5 had a queastionable Exp system that paid well if you tried new pokemon but was hard to balance for postgame, it made for some good content midway though.

Gen5 is the postgame generation. Gen2 is barebones and at best a bunch of walking tiles, facilities happened in other eperiences and only platinum can compete with gen5 time sink design.

Lets hope that the new games learn from gen5.

Also im amazed that people forget the unity tower was a thing, it was neat to see the amount of folks you connected with, a building that grew as you traded and battled, it was a nice concept that no one talks about.

 

[stage7_4]

Well hold up because everyone's singing the praises of Gen 5 but everyone's examples are just from Black 2/White 2.

And don't get me wrong, when it comes to post-game content and side games I feel B2/W2 is top tier in that regard, rivaled maybe only by HeartGold/SoulSilver. White Tree Hollow/Black City Tower, Pokestar studios, revamped Entralink, Join Avenue, the spiritual return of the Battle Arena in the PWT, tracking down N's pokemon and the ruined Plasma castle, and more, all welcome additions.

But Black and White? Well while about a sixth of the map opens up post-game there isn't really all that much to do there. It's three more towns but they just feel a bit lifeless and devoid of purpose now that the game is over. And I already outlined what Black and White brought to the table as far as side games, so what else is there? Tracking down the Sages?

So I don't really know how Gen 5 is the post-game generation when only one half of that actually committed to a solid post-game experience.

Regarding Unity Tower, I think Gen 5 being cut off so soon (both by Gen 6 and the end of internet support of DS hardware) gutted a lot of Gen 5's neater features. Unity Tower, the Dream World, and Entralink are super cool but their time was so brief it's hard to see the impression they made now.

Also seriously, hands up everyone, how many people actually used Entralink in Black/White? Where you could enter another person's game as an NPC? How many ACTUALLY did this?

 

[Xen]

Also seriously, hands up everyone, how many people actually used Entralink in Black/White? Where you could enter another person's game as an NPC? How many ACTUALLY did this?

“Raises hand”

I think most people have forgotten about them at this point since the Entralink missions were local wireless only (and a royal pain to set up), but the Entralink had Pass Powers before O-Powers became the cool thing in Gen VI.

 

[Norne]

Well hold up because everyone's singing the praises of Gen 5 but everyone's examples are just from Black 2/White 2.

And don't get me wrong, when it comes to post-game content and side games I feel B2/W2 is top tier in that regard, rivaled maybe only by HeartGold/SoulSilver. White Tree Hollow/Black City Tower, Pokestar studios, revamped Entralink, Join Avenue, the spiritual return of the Battle Arena in the PWT, tracking down N's pokemon and the ruined Plasma castle, and more, all welcome additions.

But Black and White? Well while about a sixth of the map opens up post-game there isn't really all that much to do there. It's three more towns but they just feel a bit lifeless and devoid of purpose now that the game is over. And I already outlined what Black and White brought to the table as far as side games, so what else is there? Tracking down the Sages?

So I don't really know how Gen 5 is the post-game generation when only one half of that actually committed to a solid post-game experience.

Regarding Unity Tower, I think Gen 5 being cut off so soon (both by Gen 6 and the end of internet support of DS hardware) gutted a lot of Gen 5's neater features. Unity Tower, the Dream World, and Entralink are super cool but their time was so brief it's hard to see the impression they made now.

Also seriously, hands up everyone, how many people actually used Entralink in Black/White? Where you could enter another person's game as an NPC? How many ACTUALLY did this?

Nope HGSS were actually trash in content you can blame GSC for that and the rather lazy port still holds up other than the rematches, Platinum had more stuff.

Johtho games win in tiles to walk but lose in content to PT, I did love Pokeathlon though, king of all minigames by far.

Gen5 is where post game activities are.

 

[stage7_4]

“Raises hand”

I think most people have forgotten about them at this point since the Entralink missions were local wireless only (and a royal pain to set up), but the Entralink had Pass Powers before O-Powers became the cool thing in Gen VI.

Wait, the missions were in B2/W2 and you could even play those solo if you wanted to (I did it all the time to grind for shards). I'm talking about the original Entralink where you crossed the bridge into another game pack to act as a weird co-op game. Did you really do that?

If so, well kudos because I never had the siblings for it (sister was in her "pokemon is dumb" phase until ORAS came out).

Norne I know you think HG/SS are overhyped and I'm not going to knock that, as I've got a bias for my favorite game (and on my last replay it literally handed me a shiny adamant Sandshrew to play with after the first gym, so I think it loves me back). And I don't deny that Platinum has a very good post-game too.

But I'm still not seeing how you can defend Gen 5 specifically Black and White by using arguments for Gen 4 games? How does Platinum validate Gen 5?

I still stand that B2/W2 had an awesome post-game, but B/W had a pretty weak one considering. So I can't say that "Gen 5 overall had awesome postgames" when Gen 4 as a whole did a lot better.

I can maybe accept that you think B2/W2 had the best post game out of the whole series, but B/W is holding the Gen 5 post-game crown down.

 

[Norne]

Missquoted.

BW as far as it goes had a decent exp curve for postgame and extra areas reminiscent of the battle area with even higher exp curve.

BW is pretty much the only game without a Daimao land syndrome before the changes to exp share in both its last mile and postgame and that is a feat considering we are talking about gamefreak.

 

[Xen]

Wait, the missions were in B2/W2 and you could even play those solo if you wanted to (I did it all the time to grind for shards). I'm talking about the original Entralink where you crossed the bridge into another game pack to act as a weird co-op game. Did you really do that?

Yep. I remember borrowing my brother’s game and using it to activate the double-exp Pass Power in my own game. Setting them up was tedious, but it went a long way in leveling Pokémon up to 100 with the Gen V exp system back then (which B/W pretty much required since Pokémon levels wouldn’t scale down to 50 for 6 vs 6 battles).

Anyway it’s true that B/W’s post-game content is sorely lacking, but that’s more of an issue with the games in general than just Gen V. The post-game content for all first pair games of each generation are all pretty skimpy, because Game Freak intentionality holds out content for the sister versions and remakes (which honestly grinds my gears, but I guess it does sell).

 

[Rarycaris]

BW is pretty much the only game without a Daimao land syndrome

What do you mean? Google didn’t turn anything up.

 

[Norne]

What do you mean? Google didn’t turn anything up.

Daimao is a localization of Demon king, Pokemon is a game whose climax reeks of the trope.

You progress into a land of the Demon king, aka the league where you fight a variety of demonic spiders or EXP bags, In older games pokemon with selfdestruct or faster than average aka golbat could force fights that can block the player given a sense of difficulty.

After traversing the Demon King territory you go into a Gauntlet of bosses and then the demon king, bonus point for being the heavenly knights.

Its an rpg trope, Pokemon is guilty of Party sacrifice to traverse the land with hm slaves, demonic spiders, exp exhaustion wich is terrible in johto and sinnoh games given the lenght of the last stretch of the game vs the exp that can be aqcuired and then you face a level spike of 10-15 units in between the last leveling areas.

If you play enough jrpgs you see this elements,thank the gods HP isnt exponential in pokemon to fake difficulty, that often makes jrpgs a drag.

 

[Karxrida]

Daimao is a localization of Demon king, Pokemon is a game whose climax reeks of the trope.

You progress into a land of the Demon king, aka the league where you fight a variety of demonic spiders or EXP bags, In older games pokemon with selfdestruct or faster than average aka golbat could force fights that can block the player given a sense of difficulty.

After traversing the Demon King territory you go into a Gauntlet of bosses and then the demon king, bonus point for being the heavenly knights.

Its an rpg trope, Pokemon is guilty of Party sacrifice to traverse the land with hm slaves, demonic spiders, exp exhaustion wich is terrible in johto and sinnoh games given the lenght of the last stretch of the game vs the exp that can be aqcuired and then you face a level spike of 10-15 units in between the last leveling areas.

If you play enough jrpgs you see this elements,thank the gods HP isnt exponential in pokemon to fake difficulty, that often makes jrpgs a drag.

I'm having major difficulty trying to parse and pinpoint whatever you're trying to say. Are you just saying it's Fake Difficulty?

If so, why didn't you just say that instead of throwing out the name of some random (and probably obscure-ish) game?

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Also seriously, hands up everyone, how many people actually used Entralink in Black/White? Where you could enter another person's game as an NPC? How many ACTUALLY did this?

I did.

I'm not sure how many players did them but for nerds like myself who buy both games from all pairs and 2 consoles so we can do everything on our own and complete everything in the games (as long as it is fun), they were something that had to be done. You should never assume that just because you didn't bother with a certain feature in a game, doesn't mean that nobody did. I can assure you that there will always be someone out there who has tried a feature in a game as long as it is available. I also remember that someone on Serebii wrote a guide on how to abuse the Entralink missions to get the best possible Pass Powers back in the B/W days, which means I am far from the only one who tried them. So yeah.

Anyway, I liked the Entralink Missions in B/W. They were enjoyable in their own unique way. Not quite as fun as Pokestar Studios, Musicals or Funfest Missions but still a very good minigame. It would probably have been even more fun if I had done them together with another person but it worked this way too.

As for the current discussion regarding post-game content, if we are going to be really cynical and critical, all first pairs in the series are lacking in post-game compared to third versions/remakes. Let's take a look at what they had:

R/B had Cerulean Cave, nothing more.
G/S had a second region to explore, but there was nothing to actually do there. No story or motivation to go through it apart from getting the Gym badges which didn't do anything in the end. The levels for both trainers and wild Pokemon alike were also too low and they never progressed enough.
R/S had Contests, the Battle Tower and some small new areas to explore, but it wasn't much. Better than R/B at least.
D/P had quite a large post-game area to explore, Contests, the Underground and the Battle Tower.
B/W also had quite a large post-game area, Musicals, Entralink Missions, Battle Subway and Dream World before it got taken down (RIP).
X/Y had one city to explore, Looker Missions, Battle Maison and then a bunch of minor things.
S/M had a part of Poni Island to explore, Battle Tree, various post-game stories and then minor things here too.

All of them of course also have the Pokedex which is self-explanatory.

Personally, I think DP and BW are the best first pairs in terms of post-game. They both had large post-game areas to explore and quite a lot of things to do too. And I don't want to be cynical or critical so I'd say that I actually really liked both of their post-games a lot, they set a new standard for first pairs in terms of post-game and content.

Third versions and sequels have always had more to do than first pairs (except Yellow, but it's an exception in most cases), first pairs having little to do during the post-game compared to follow-ups is nothing new since it has pretty much always been that way. I guess it is the fact that X/Y and S/M took a step back compared to D/P and B/W that makes people complain more about this nowadays.

Remakes are a different story, I personally find all three to be rather lacking in terms of post-game and content but in different ways. Though at least FR/LG and OR/AS have some things to do but they still had a long way to go compared to the epicness of B2/W2 and Platinum. I find HG/SS to be severely lacking in post-game and content, but I guess that's just me.

 

[ToadBrigade]

I did.
Remakes are a different story, I personally find all three to be rather lacking in terms of post-game and content but in different ways. Though at least FR/LG and OR/AS have some things to do but they still had a long way to go compared to the epicness of B2/W2 and Platinum. I find HG/SS to be severely lacking in post-game and content, but I guess that's just me.

I may be remembering too fondly but weren't the Sevii Islands in FR/LG somewhat expansive? There were plenty of new areas to explore with secrets to discover along with the extra Team Rocket storyline. Not much in terms of end game battling aside from the Battle Tower but I felt they had the best post game area to explore aside from B2W2 (not including Battle Frontiers themselves).

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

I may be remembering too fondly but weren't the Sevii Islands in FR/LG somewhat expansive? There were plenty of new areas to explore with secrets to discover along with the extra Team Rocket storyline. Not much in terms of end game battling aside from the Battle Tower but I felt they had the best post game area to explore aside from B2W2 (not including Battle Frontiers themselves).

Yes. I wanted to say something about them in my last post but decided to keep things short (and I didn't have much time). The Sevii Islands is one of the best things with FR/LG if you ask me, and one of the best things they did to improve upon R/B/Y. I think FR/LG are the first games in the series with a large post-game area to explore that wasn't lackluster in any way. I really loved the Sevii Islands, exploring them was so much fun! Though, the thing that drags down FR/LG a bit for me is their lack of a real Battle facility, all they have is the Trainer Tower which is just weird and doesn't have a lot of lasting appeal. Anyway, I agree that FR/LG are among the top when it comes to games with good post-games in terms of area, the others being D/P/P, B/W and B2/W2.

Guess I should have been more clear in my last post. Anyway, what I really wanted to say was that FR/LG and OR/AS both have a bit of content but both are lacking in some areas. FR/LG has a lot of new post-game areas to explore, but not much else to do and no real Battle facilites. OR/AS on the other hand have considerably more to actually do as well as real Battle facilities, but not that much in terms of new areas to explore.

 

[stage7_4]

I'm having major difficulty trying to parse and pinpoint whatever you're trying to say. Are you just saying it's Fake Difficulty?

If so, why didn't you just say that instead of throwing out the name of some random (and probably obscure-ish) game?

Yeah I have to agree here.

I'm not saying that everyone has to go around dropping links to TvTropes, but it does help us understand what you're saying. Even after your explanation I still have no idea what a Daimao or Demon King is as a trope.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suspicious Derivative Yeah I know setting up a "did anybody actually use this" is just setting myself up for failure to find the few that did, but can you really say that this feature was used by the majority of the Pokemon audience outside of Japan?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I also don't get why everyone is dismissive of HG/SS having a post-game, but let's break it down a bit:

1. Forget about GSC. Yes, Kanto in those games was awfully stripped down but HG/SS did a lot to revive it. All the gyms had puzzles and trainers again, the routes had more trainers to grind off of, and even your rival got a bit more story development with the 2 on 2 with Lance and Clair. Even the Safari Zone returned, just not in Kanto anymore. While not everything was fixed (it lacks a good grinding spot still, which sucks without a VS seeker function). So I don't think HG/SS's Kanto is nearly as empty as people say it is, yet people still criticized HG/SS for sins of the father?

2. The Battle Frontier. Yeah, remember that whole extra area added around Cianwood City? I know that it's technically not post-game as you can go up to the gates as soon as you arrive in Cianwood, but a lot of people just don't include it as a post-game area. I think part of the reason is because it's a transplant from Platinum, so everyone gives kudos to that game and ignores it in this one, which is a little unfair.

3. Mt. Silver and Red. The Johto games are the only ones I've seen to really embody the "post-game superboss" trope. Sure a lot of others have had post-game challenge fights, but most seemed within the bell curve of the game's expected difficulty. Red however was a challenge so far removed from the game that he created a sense of a post-game goal: to collect 8 more badges and get strong enough to defeat Red. Even Mt. Silver itself was a post-game challenge area, a big mountain with rough (aka HM intensive) terrain. Maybe Mt. Silver is not as big as the Survival Area in D/P/Pt, but honestly I preferred it's brevity over that game.

Now to address the criticism, Red's levels being so high are both benefit and detriment. Sure it did give a goal, but you had to know Red existed in order to think of it like that (and the game never tells you directly). And being the current strongest trainer ever (level-wise) in a game with trouble getting past level 60 sours the effect.

4. The last of the Safari Zones. This feature is contentious but I always liked the Safari Zones as they were the one area devoted more to the "catch" part of catch 'em all than the battling part. Sure sometimes they were more frustrating than fun (Chansey... just Chansey) but by the time this game came they had reached a happy compromise. Being able to customize your own Safari Zone to hunt for specific pokemon was pretty cool, almost like a mini-Zoo tycoon. And this was it's last swan song before being cut. While I know some didn't mourn it's loss, and for relevant reasons too, I sure did.

[also yes technically you could do it before post-game but most of the good features opened up post-game]

5. All the non-post game fun. These don't really count as they're not post-game but they're so fun they deserve a mention. Pokeathalon is the best mini-game hub across the whole series and I will take everybody on who contests that. The fact that you can start playing it from the time you arrive and use your own pokemon team to compete just highlights the inclusiveness HG/SS had.

Walking with pokemon is one of the best useless features, having little to no gameplay value but a heck of a lot in immersion. I really helped make me connect more with my pokemon team, see them as more than just some 1's and 0's but as partners, even if it was just pretend. One criticism I have of this series is that they sometimes feel like the pokemon and human worlds seem divided a little, like the pokemon world is really only in the battle screen and humans on the overworld, a criticism Gamefreak has only recently started to address more as technology improved. Walking with pokemon helped bridge that.

Also I never liked slots and love math puzzles so Voltorb Flip was nothing but a win there.

I can get preferring other games, everyone has their favorite and I get that. But outright dismissing it's merits seems unfair.

 

[Norne]

Yeah I have to agree here.

I'm not saying that everyone has to go around dropping links to TvTropes, but it does help us understand what you're saying. Even after your explanation I still have no idea what a Daimao or Demon King is as a trope.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suspicious Derivative Yeah I know setting up a "did anybody actually use this" is just setting myself up for failure to find the few that did, but can you really say that this feature was used by the majority of the Pokemon audience outside of Japan?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I also don't get why everyone is dismissive of HG/SS having a post-game, but let's break it down a bit:

1. Forget about GSC. Yes, Kanto in those games was awfully stripped down but HG/SS did a lot to revive it. All the gyms had puzzles and trainers again, the routes had more trainers to grind off of, and even your rival got a bit more story development with the 2 on 2 with Lance and Clair. Even the Safari Zone returned, just not in Kanto anymore. While not everything was fixed (it lacks a good grinding spot still, which sucks without a VS seeker function). So I don't think HG/SS's Kanto is nearly as empty as people say it is, yet people still criticized HG/SS for sins of the father?

2. The Battle Frontier. Yeah, remember that whole extra area added around Cianwood City? I know that it's technically not post-game as you can go up to the gates as soon as you arrive in Cianwood, but a lot of people just don't include it as a post-game area. I think part of the reason is because it's a transplant from Platinum, so everyone gives kudos to that game and ignores it in this one, which is a little unfair.

3. Mt. Silver and Red. The Johto games are the only ones I've seen to really embody the "post-game superboss" trope. Sure a lot of others have had post-game challenge fights, but most seemed within the bell curve of the game's expected difficulty. Red however was a challenge so far removed from the game that he created a sense of a post-game goal: to collect 8 more badges and get strong enough to defeat Red. Even Mt. Silver itself was a post-game challenge area, a big mountain with rough (aka HM intensive) terrain. Maybe Mt. Silver is not as big as the Survival Area in D/P/Pt, but honestly I preferred it's brevity over that game.

Now to address the criticism, Red's levels being so high are both benefit and detriment. Sure it did give a goal, but you had to know Red existed in order to think of it like that (and the game never tells you directly). And being the current strongest trainer ever (level-wise) in a game with trouble getting past level 60 sours the effect.

4. The last of the Safari Zones. This feature is contentious but I always liked the Safari Zones as they were the one area devoted more to the "catch" part of catch 'em all than the battling part. Sure sometimes they were more frustrating than fun (Chansey... just Chansey) but by the time this game came they had reached a happy compromise. Being able to customize your own Safari Zone to hunt for specific pokemon was pretty cool, almost like a mini-Zoo tycoon. And this was it's last swan song before being cut. While I know some didn't mourn it's loss, and for relevant reasons too, I sure did.

[also yes technically you could do it before post-game but most of the good features opened up post-game]

5. All the non-post game fun. These don't really count as they're not post-game but they're so fun they deserve a mention. Pokeathalon is the best mini-game hub across the whole series and I will take everybody on who contests that. The fact that you can start playing it from the time you arrive and use your own pokemon team to compete just highlights the inclusiveness HG/SS had.

Walking with pokemon is one of the best useless features, having little to no gameplay value but a heck of a lot in immersion. I really helped make me connect more with my pokemon team, see them as more than just some 1's and 0's but as partners, even if it was just pretend. One criticism I have of this series is that they sometimes feel like the pokemon and human worlds seem divided a little, like the pokemon world is really only in the battle screen and humans on the overworld, a criticism Gamefreak has only recently started to address more as technology improved. Walking with pokemon helped bridge that.

Also I never liked slots and love math puzzles so Voltorb Flip was nothing but a win there.

I can get preferring other games, everyone has their favorite and I get that. But outright dismissing it's merits seems unfair.

My 2 cents here.

2 same as sevii islands, its nice content though, one of the few saving graces of HGSS is the expanded areas that made you feel it was still content instead of more walking tiles.

3 Please dont bring pushover Red to the discussion I still remember sweepin this guy with a freaking lv 50 Donphan in crystal, seriously. Esmerald did the super boss aspect better with steven by opening a previous area and hiding it postgame. Fuck it Seasonal teams fro B2W2 are the epitome of a superboss. We have to remember that superbosses by definition are optional sidebossesthat are unlocked after certain conditions are meet. Red has always been underwhelming on almost all fronts.

5 Pokeathlon is indeed the best sidequest we have ever gotten.

 

[pika pal]

Oh boy, we've got a lot of stuff on the table now. I've got some comments on a few topics in the past few pages, albeit not quite the same ones.

- Egg Hatching: So this is a different issue from what most have, but my question is "why is walking still the primary way to hatch eggs?" This goes deeper for me than the lack of low maintenance hatching in some gens, but it also obligates the game to be on. I tend to not carry my game cartridges with me, so I don't swap games often. The fact is that if I want to hatch my eggs, I can't do so while playing something else on my 3DS. Implementing some option to have eggs simply hatch over time would be an acceptable solution to me. Maybe assign one box in your PC as a "Nursery" and Pokemon Eggs stored in it simply hatch in there as real time passes. Keeps the PC limit on the mind for numbers, and lets me simply fill up the box and then play Superstar Saga or Mystery Dungeon for a few hours until they hatch. And if they're breedjects, they're immediately in the PC to trade off. If people want to actively hatch eggs the option would be there and likely faster, but others like myself might just want it as a back burner project while working on other things like SR-ing captures, cleaning up story and items, or even just playing different games.

- Post Games: The reason I don't think as highly of HG/SS's post game now as I did at release is a simple reason: all the content in the world has little meaning to me if it's tedious to for entry and enjoyment. the low level curve has been slammed about Johto time and again, but it is a major problem when two major sources of end-game content, the Superboss and the Battle Frontier, require you to train your Pokemon hard if you want to compete (Red for sheer levels, the Frontier for the number of battle capable Pokemon you need). The reason people praise this type of content in Platinum or in B2W2 is because those games provide sufficient means to level up, whether early or late level, with things like the Battleground, Vs. Seeker, Audino hunting, and the Black Tower/White Treehollow. There's a reason my most played facility in Gen 4 was the Battle Factory: the rental system creates a much less time consuming barrier to entry for relatively similar rewards.

 

[Siggu]

Why does Synchronize not work when getting Pokemon as Mystery Gifts? It makes no sense at all.

- Egg Hatching: So this is a different issue from what most have, but my question is "why is walking still the primary way to hatch eggs?" This goes deeper for me than the lack of low maintenance hatching in some gens, but it also obligates the game to be on. I tend to not carry my game cartridges with me, so I don't swap games often. The fact is that if I want to hatch my eggs, I can't do so while playing something else on my 3DS. Implementing some option to have eggs simply hatch over time would be an acceptable solution to me. Maybe assign one box in your PC as a "Nursery" and Pokemon Eggs stored in it simply hatch in there as real time passes. Keeps the PC limit on the mind for numbers, and lets me simply fill up the box and then play Superstar Saga or Mystery Dungeon for a few hours until they hatch. And if they're breedjects, they're immediately in the PC to trade off. If people want to actively hatch eggs the option would be there and likely faster, but others like myself might just want it as a back burner project while working on other things like SR-ing captures, cleaning up story and items, or even just playing different games.

Well, Poke Pelago could have been the solution, but the process is very slow and you still have to walk to get the Eggs, and said Eggs don't hatch until you enter Poke Pelago again.

This can be improved in so many ways.