Pokémon Thread XXIX: Sword, Shield, and Spoilers

[Aotrs Commander]

Galarian Ponyta doesn't, at least look bad.

(And, I do have a tiny soft spot for Ponyta, since my first exposure to Pokémon at all was the Great Pokéthon episode of the anime...)

If you switch accounts on the Switich you get a fresh save. Thanks to how the accounts work on Switch Pokemon now has, effective, save slots for multiple playthroughs.

I mean if you haven't found good Switch games I'd argue you're not looking, but fair enough

Okay, so... Don't play Zelda games, don't play platformers, don't play shooters, don't play action games, don't play fighting games, definitely don't play multiplayer or sports or racing games; if I can get a game on PC, I'll get it on PC and be able to use mods on it (Stardew Valley), wouldn't buy a game I already have on PC on console anyway; don't have a telly set up to use the consoles I already have (PS2 and Gamecube, which I have set-up exactly ONCE since the dining room telly was stolen several years ago and its slot was replaced by the 3D printer); rarely use my handhelds except when I'm holiday so even IF I stop getting Pokémon games, I am in no immediate danger of actually running out of games to play on DS/3DS/PSP for the two weeks (plus this coming weekend) when I'm away from the PC; I have a massive truck load of JRPGs on console and handhelds I've already not played in years and never finished...

So, like, the Switch thus far has had literally nothing to offer me.



Actually this was 95% true of the GBA, DS and 3DS, of which mostly (or entirely in the specific case of my GBA and my Gamecube (I got it second-hand for about £50)) are around for solely playing Pokémon games - I have a handful on non-Pokémon games for the DS, only one of which I've ever played more than a handful of hours. (Hell, I haven't even OPENED World Ends With You and forgot I even had it for a while...)



(My game library is basically grand strats, old RTS, city-builders, a few military scifi flight sims (e.g TIE Fighter), a few BattleTech games, Dungeon Keeper and spiritual descendants, BG-style isometric RPGs, Bioware RPGsup to DA:O and ME3 (don't get me started...), the Witcher trilogy (W3 also know as "the only sandbox game I never just abanded part-way through bored") and, like, Pokémon. That's pretty much IT.)

[LaZodiac]

Have you considered trying those games as opposed to just blanket not caring about them at all?

Also Mario + Rabbids is the best XCom game to come out in a long time, you'd appreciate it I swear.

[Aotrs Commander]

Have you considered trying those games as opposed to just blanket not caring about them at all?

Are... you really asking me if I have considered spending the (for me, SIGNIFICANT amount of) money to buy a console and then games to try something I already know I don't like on the off-chance I might suddenly change my mind?

I mean, don't let Can Bleakbane Stand More Than Two Episodes Theatre be too ingenuous, I do that because having on (and reporting on/picking fault with) quasi-random anime on Netflix (and I am not the one that pays for Netflix) is better when I'm watching the telly than the umpteeth repeat of Spongebob Squarepants; I'm FAR to tight too be spending money on stuff I'm at least 75% sure I'll like.

I watch the good Master Jim Sterling's entire video output almost religiously and have for years; he thinks the Switch may be his favourite console ever. I have not seen any game he's played (you know, that's actually a proper game he enjoyed and not another lootbox selling "liiiive service") that has made me go "oh, I want to play that," with MAYBE the exception of one or two Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio games, where I went "I ALMOST might play that if it was on PC."

Look, you could make a fair arguement that I don't even truly play games at all in the sense most people do, that I view them as more sort of... a jigsaw puzles to be "solved" as it were; I don't play board games or card games or anything; when the weekly RPG session has to be cancelled because there's not enough people to play the regular RPG and the others have a games night, I politely bow out and tell them I'll see them next week, because they just don't DO anything for me. Best you will get when I am arm-twisted into it is the minimum of polite engagement, I don't enjoy it.

So, like? No?

Also Mario + Rabbids is the best XCom game to come out in a long time, you'd appreciate it I swear.

It has Mario and Rabbids in it, neither of which I am interested in, so the actual of the execution of the game doesn't really matter after that. You can make the best, let's say, curry-flavoured or whiskey-flavoured chocolate in the entire world, but I still won't eat it (or like it if I was forced), because while it might be chocolate, but it's curry or whiskey flavoured chocolate.

[LaZodiac]

Fair point. I've just never seen someone just... completely outright dislike every single sort of game, entirely.

Anyway, I'm excited for Pokemon Sword and Shield. Gonna be getting Sword myself.

[Saambell]

If you cant afford the game, much less the system its on, why are you mad at changes that will never effect you? If you got better games already, why worry about bad games? You have HGSS and BW2 right? Then you have the only pokemon games that matter. They are the peak of the series, everything after have been far worse. So dont worry about some new game on a console you dont have. If you cant afford them, then they were never going to be a thing that could effect you.

Also, auto save has been confirmed to be optional, 18 gyms is only a lore thing, actual gyms unknown, and exp share has only been said to not be an item and we have no clue if its disableable in the same menu as auto save. And while SM/USUM has its flaws, they did balance exp share very well. I had the thing on all the time and i often found myself underleveled by the late game. So after the wonkyness of XY, i have at least some faith they can balance leveling. And i really would rather have XY leveling then Gen 2 leveling. That game is awful for leveling.

[Aotrs Commander]

If you cant afford the game, much less the system its on, why are you mad at changes that will never effect you?

I can afford both, but it is not an expense I would look at unless I'm absolutely certain it's worth it. (Hense why I will be waiting for your guys and girls takes on it for Sword and Shield; point I was making to Zodi was that there is no way I would look at that kind of expense for... Anything else on the Switch - rather like the last three hand-helds, Pokémon main games are LITERALLY the system seller to me, as that's basically the only thing I will use it for.

Fair point. I've just never seen someone just... completely outright dislike every single sort of game, entirely.

I mean, I think it's kind of obvious at this point I AM just that special...! (For whatever definition of "special" you care to substitute...)

Assuming we want to take the broad definition of "game" not the "Bleakbane kind of treats it like a sort of puzzle" thing, it isn't, it would be more correct to say that my tastes are sharply defined to niche generas which are just... Not ones which align with consoles much.

You gotta remember, I did not have a gaming console as a child (my GBA and my PS2 WAS my first gaming console, and I was working and could afford to buy it myself) - I never WANTED one to even ever ask my parents for. (The sort of things I wwanted but couldn't have becase expensive were large sets of LEGO (my misspent youth was basically LEGO, with a side order of Transformers, Action Force and the A-Team (at the same time, the figures were the same size) and Manta Force. (No, no turles, and only a passing interest in Thundercats to the point Sslithe was the sidekick to Doc Terror (having stolen the Thunderclaw) to Max Ray the Centurion). While we had a Spectrum and an ST, neither had much of a hold on me aside from an occasional novelty. And even THEN, the games I played were basically just Dangermouse and the Black Forest Chataeu (on the Spectrum) and Xenon 2 (shoot-em-up), HeroQuest and Atoms on the ST (and maybe, what, half-an-hour of Zynaps or Elinimator - shoot-em ups - before I got bored).

I didn't really get seriously into computer gaming until we got a PC just after I left school at 16 in '96; our first PC we got off my mate's uncle, and it came with Doom and SimCity 2000 on it, and the latter was the only one that saw any real play-time. (Heck, I only played any JRPGs ever because I was A Naughty Boy and played Pokémon Gen 1/2 on emulator while I was at unversity and my mate showed me FF8 and I went "huh, this is just like Pokémon, I can play that." (And with dual combination of JRPGs taking so much time to complete and simply not having easy access to my telly has made me lose a bit of interest in them now.))

Platformers have never held any interest to me (and I suck at them to boot), nor have shooters (I have technically played barely a half-dozen (and only if Mass Effect 1,2 and 3 and Fallout 3 count, the others being half on C&C Renegade and all of Voyager Elite Force, which I only own because it was part of the pack that Star Trek Armada 1 and 2 I got). I don't like Hard, so Dark Souls has no interest, Morrowind, Oblivion and Fallout 3 taught me there's no point in me playing Bethsada games because I get bored of them, so I've never looked at Skyrim; sports and racing and wrestling have never interested me period, so no games there ever had a chance.

Worth noting that I don't even own a controller that would work on my PC (but I have a joystick, which I foolishly replaced to play Squadron 42 with (ahahahahaha, that was so optimisitic), but it really only saw use with me playing TIE Fighter again with once a year or two back.)

And I have zero interest in competative play, like at all; if I want to play a human, I'll play tabletop (when I can), but even then, a game of Maneouvre Group or Accelerate and Attack is all tactical decision making and really, who cares who won, so long as solving the puzzle was interesting? I'm like, anti-competative. (The only time I ever played multiplayer was a brief period of ME3 and only because you HAD to to get the Best Ending and what was basically the first level of lootbox progression for the multiplayer put me off, since I was NEVER going to have spent money on lootboxes, nor was I prepared to grind; at the time, I might have been daft enough to have given them microtransaction money for the new classes and stuff they put out, but not these days!)

Basically, most of the sorts of games I DO play are the ones which function best on a PC where you have a mouse (city-slash-dungeon-builders/4X/grand strategy/decent C&C-style RTS and the occasional flight-sim) and/or just aren't a good fit for consoles, let alone handhelds. (And even if you port 'em acrposs... I can mod Stellaris in PC, I don't believe I can on console.) Aside from, basically, JRPGs. Pokémon being the standout one in that, because, I kinds of really dig Pokémon.

(Worth noting? Only fighting games I ever bought were three Naruto games on PSP and PS2 - because I really dig Naruto¹ - I finished one (novelty) and the last one of which had no dub, which so diappointed me I never put it in again; and the only game I completed on my DS aside from a mainline Pokémon game was the first Naruto RPG. I have the second one, but - again - I kind ran into a grind issue and it got abandoned in favour of More Pokémon.)

Pokémon, y'see, hits that spot of basically being like character generation, noly its a team - I will spend many hours planning the team I'm going to be using next game, and latterly, breeding and EV training said team to be dropped in. That is, almost literally, like, half the fun of Pokémon for me.

All hense why I'm having a really hard time with Sword and Shield - until the annoucement of the Lite, it was on something I'd have to pay full-console money for for an oversized hand-held for which I was only going to play Pokémon on (whichs is really kind of steep investment), I can't port my hard-earned Living Dex over to it, nor breed up anything from the earlier games for it, and now parts of the way I like to play are apparently being decided for me and about half the new Pokémon aren't appealing to me.

I mean, it's Not!England, this should have been GameFreak's easiest sell to me ever, which is really disappointing.



Maybe I'm just old and starting to feel like "you know that thing you liked? Well, its not that thing you liked anymore, its changed and become something that you don't like now, so you've gonna have to give up on it" is happening to all too many things.



This has been your Bleakbane Rambles for the day...



¹Pokémon, Naruto and MLP have been the biggest driving influences on me in the past twenty years, in that chronological order.

[Qwertystop]

The Switch does have a lot of good puzzle games and RPGs, as well, which weren't genres you listed disinterest in. Don't know how many of them exist on PC, admittedly (there's a lot of ports, but I don't know which ones have had PC releases and which ones were just on other consoles which may or may not be reasonably emulatable). But yeah, fair enough, you have very specific tastes in games and a perfectly good computer for most of them.

[deuterio12]

The Switch does have a lot of good puzzle games and RPGs, as well, which weren't genres you listed disinterest in. Don't know how many of them exist on PC, admittedly (there's a lot of ports, but I don't know which ones have had PC releases and which ones were just on other consoles which may or may not be reasonably emulatable). But yeah, fair enough, you have very specific tastes in games and a perfectly good computer for most of them.

For people like me who need to move around quite a bit and spend a lot of times in transports, being able to play Switch ports of PC games is fantastic, since otherwise I just wouldn't have the time to play said games.

Although if you don't move around that much, then the Switch's portability isn't that good of an advantage yeah.

[Bartmanhomer]

Lv. 2 Expert is right. The defensive Pokemon strategy is frustrating and forces you to rage quit.

[Saambell]

Lv. 2 Expert is right. The defensive Pokemon strategy is frustrating and forces you to rage quit.

If you are still playing on Lets Go's ladder, you are fighting a much reduced defence strategy. Imagine them being able to heal half their health in one turn with no draw backs. Or gain a third of their health just by switching out. Or both. Or Chansey removing toxic by switching out while also having doubled defence stats. Or pokemon healing some health every turn, with no build up. Lets Go removing all healing moves besides Rest, removing held items like Eviolite and Leftovers, and removing abilities like Natural Cure and Regenerator drastically reduced how good stall was. But like many things, Stall finds a way. When the explicit win condition is "KO all 6 Pokemon" building a team that makes it so they don't die is very good.

[Bartmanhomer]

If you are still playing on Lets Go's ladder, you are fighting a much-reduced defence strategy. Imagine them being able to heal half their health in one turn with no drawbacks. Or gain a third of their health just by switching out. Or both. Or Chansey removing toxic by switching out while also having doubled defence stats. Or pokemon healing some health every turn, with no build-up. Let's Go removing all healing moves besides Rest, removing held items like Eviolite and Leftovers, and removing abilities like Natural Cure and Regenerator drastically reduced how good stall was. But like many things, Stall finds away. When the explicit win condition is "KO all 6 Pokemon" building a team that makes it so they don't die is very good.

I'm still playing Let's Go ladder on Pokemonshowdown. And for the first time, I rage quit the game because one player used so many rests on Snorlax multiple times and I was getting really angry saying oh that's it I quit. I rarely forfeit but having a defensive Pokemon is a real headache.

[Fable Wright]

I'm still playing Let's Go ladder on Pokemonshowdown. And for the first time, I rage quit the game because one player used so many rests on Snorlax multiple times and I was getting really angry saying oh that's it I quit. I rarely forfeit but having a defensive Pokemon is a real headache.

So put in some checks to bulky Normal walls. There's pokemon designed to handle it; otherwise everyone would use it, and the meta would eventually deteriorate to something like the CHALK meta.

[Bartmanhomer]

So put in some checks to bulky Normal walls. There's pokemon designed to handle it; otherwise everyone would use it, and the meta would eventually deteriorate to something like the CHALK meta.

Well my team I'm currently using is Legendary/Mythical Team. Even my team was unable to stop Snorlax Wall Tactic.

[Fable Wright]

Well my team I'm currently using is Legendary/Mythical Team. Even my team was unable to stop Snorlax Wall Tactic.

Melmetal can take it out with Double Iron Bash. Special attacking legendary and mythical pokemon will be doing absolutely nothing to Snorlax.

[Bartmanhomer]

Melmetal can take it out with Double Iron Bash. Special attacking legendary and mythical pokemon will be doing absolutely nothing to Snorlax.

Well I should have thought this through but oh well. Next time I'm going to think using Melmetal first when I deal with a defensive Snorlax.

[tyckspoon]

Well my team I'm currently using is Legendary/Mythical Team. Even my team was unable to stop Snorlax Wall Tactic.

If it's surviving long enough to use multiple Rests, you're hitting it with the wrong kind of pokemon or the wrong attacks. A Resting Snorlax should be bait for a set-up sweep - bring in something with like Swords Dance and a good physical attack move while it's asleep, take the opportunity for a free buff turn and blow it away or force them to switch out for something that can tank that hit.

[Bartmanhomer]

If it's surviving long enough to use multiple Rests, you're hitting it with the wrong kind of pokemon or the wrong attacks. A Resting Snorlax should be bait for a set-up sweep - bring in something with like Swords Dance and a good physical attack move while it's asleep, take the opportunity for a free buff turn and blow it away or force them to switch out for something that can tank that hit.

I guess I used the wrong type of Pokemon and attacks which was my error to begin with.

[Kantaki]

♪My psychic pony My psychic pony♪

Galar-Ponyta definitely got a spot on my team.

But jeez... Some people seem seriously annoyed the little cutie isn't a Fairy-type.
Sure, for some it's general frustration about SwoSh, but still, why?
It's still a cuddly little murder-horse and who knows what it will turn into.

Well, yeah. It's Galar-Rapidash.
But that tells us nothing.

[Bartmanhomer]

♪My psychic pony My psychic pony♪

Galar-Ponyta definitely got a spot on my team.

But jeez... Some people seem seriously annoyed the little cutie isn't a Fairy-type.
Sure, for some it's general frustration about SwoSh, but still, why?
It's still a cuddly little murder-horse and who knows what it will turn into.

Well, yeah. It's Galar-Rapidash.
But that tells us nothing.

I have no problem for Galar-Ponyta being a psychic type at all.

[Emmerlaus]

I was astonished it was not a Fairy type but I got over it. What I’m disappointed with is it’s abilities. Pastel Veil ?! Why it’s not Healer? Run Away is thematic even if it’s bad... I just hope it lose Run Away as Galarian Rapidash ( and that it gains wings and Flying type)

[Bartmanhomer]

I was astonished it was not a Fairy-type but I got over it. What I’m disappointed with are its abilities. Pastel Veil ?! Why it’s not Healer? Run Away is thematic even if it’s bad... I just hope it loses Run Away as Galarian Rapidash ( and that it gains wings and Flying-type)

Me too. When I found out that Galarian Ponyta was Psychic-type instead of Fairy-type I was like nooooooo......why Game Freak, why did you make Galarian Ponyta a Psychic-type instead of Fairy-type? But I got over it real quick. Maybe there's still hope yet for Galarian Rapidash to be a Fairy/Flying type.

[Saambell]

Healer sounds worse then Pastel Veil. Sure, it heals non poison status, but pastel veil basically is immunity for both the one with it and its ally. And its always on rather then a small chance. I was talking to others, and we think galar ponyta as an attempted counter to Toxipex. Which was a major powerhouse in gen 7s meta.

[boj0]

The really neat thing about Pastel Veil (if I remember reading it correctly) is that a posioned ally that switches in will be cured. Which allows for passive cleric work.

[Bartmanhomer]

Mega Pokemon in Let's Go are so overpowered.

[Emmerlaus]

The really neat thing about Pastel Veil (if I remember reading it correctly) is that a posioned ally that switches in will be cured. Which allows for passive cleric work.

I had far more trouble with Paralysis or Burn but I guess you are right. But then again, I dont play competively... So I should definitly trust others then myself on this one lol!

[Saambell]

Mega Pokemon in Let's Go are so overpowered.

That's probably cause they have Base Stat Totals (BST) 100 points higher then their base form, which places them well above the average BST in Lets Go, as they were more balanced to fight Gen 6 and on Pokémon who have higher average BSTs then Gen 1 Pokémon. And you are fighting them without their abilities. Mega Venusaur has an ability that makes it neutral to Fire and Ice type attacks, making it only weak to flying and psychic. Mega Charizard has an ability that boosts its damage with contact moves by about 30% I believe. Mega Beedrill has an ability that gives its Bug and Poison moves an additional 50% power boost. And Lets Go doesn't even have Mega Scizor or Mega Steelix, as Scyther and Onix dont evolve in that game. Mega Pidgeot has an ability that makes every move auto hit, even moves your opponent uses on you. Yeah, Mega Pokémon are more intended for later generations. Them in Lets Go breaks it a lot.

[Bartmanhomer]

That's probably cause they have Base Stat Totals (BST) 100 points higher then their base form, which places them well above the average BST in Lets Go, as they were more balanced to fight Gen 6 and on Pokémon who have higher average BSTs then Gen 1 Pokémon. And you are fighting them without their abilities. Mega Venusaur has an ability that makes it neutral to Fire and Ice type attacks, making it only weak to flying and psychic. Mega Charizard has an ability that boosts its damage with contact moves by about 30% I believe. Mega Beedrill has an ability that gives its Bug and Poison moves an additional 50% power boost. And Lets Go doesn't even have Mega Scizor or Mega Steelix, as Scyther and Onix dont evolve in that game. Mega Pidgeot has an ability that makes every move auto hit, even moves your opponent uses on you. Yeah, Mega Pokémon are more intended for later generations. Them in Lets Go breaks it a lot.

That because Scyther and Onix are Generation 1 Pokemon.

[Saambell]

That because Scyther and Onix are Generation 1 Pokemon.

Of course, silly me, I forgot that Gen 1 Pokémon don't evolve. What was I thinking.

[Bartmanhomer]

Of course, silly me, I forgot that Gen 1 Pokémon don't evolve. What was I thinking.

Don't worry about it. I just wish there was a Let's Go Pichu Version and of course Pichu is a Generation 2 Pokemon meaning that Scizor and Steelix will be at that version including their Mega forms.

[Saambell]

Don't worry about it. I just wish there was a Let's Go Pichu Version and of course Pichu is a Generation 2 Pokemon meaning that Scizor and Steelix will be at that version including their Mega forms.

I more expect them to do Lets Go Marill and Lets Go Togepi. I expect Lets Go games to be "Pikaclone of Gen + other cute relatively popular semi iconic Mon from said Gen". Though, Gen 3 might be Lets Go Minun and Lets Go Plusle.