[Nintendo] Pokémon Franchise

[Feathers]

Ah yea Ginyu Force, one of the greatest villian teams ever made.

Personally I'm trying to avoid reading all the new info, but I am keeping my eye on the Pokémon for potential new favs. Like you said though P, I'm hard to please. I skipped many gens of Pokémon before Black came around and enchanted me back into Pokémon, but then X turned me away again with all the easy mode. X_X

[Flare]

And we got a couple now pokemon dropped on us.


Wimpod- Bug/Water
Ability: Wimp out: Change out when loses more then half it's hit points


Mudsdale- Ground
Ability: Own Tempo/Stamina (Increase defense when hit by one stage.)


Comfey- Fairy
Ability: Flower Veil/Triage (HP Restoring moves are given higher priority)


Bounsweet- Grass
Ability: Leaf Guard/Oblivious

[Kaijin]

While we're at it...

[youtube]vKosBJ1Uko0[/youtube]
Have a trailer

Also...

Fluffy: Fur Coat + Dry Skin (Halves damage from moves that make contact... but Fire type moves deal twice the normal damage).
Disguise: Free substitute (It negates the damage of the first hit that connects on Mimikkyu).

I get the feeling that just like it happened with the Flabébé line, Comfey shouldn't be a pure Fairy but a Grass/Fairy instead.
My favourite of the batch is Mudsdale hands down: its design is pretty nice, is Ground type (Ground is my favourite type, at the very least I must have one of them in every team of mine) and its ability can make it into one heck of a tank (combine it with Leftovers).
(I somehow get the feeling that we'll get a first stage for this mon sooner than later).

As for the rest I like Wimpod's dual tping as it's actually a pretty good type.

[Feathers]

That "Comfey" is kind of interesting in a humorous and cute way. I could see it fitting nicely as a harpy's forehead decor. I agree Grass/Fairy would make more sense, I thought it was a flower Pokémon at first.

[Jinouga87]

Comfey is literally a lei. It fits in with Hawaiian theme the game has going.

[Kaijin]

It's sort of off topic, but it's still Pokémon related... so here it goes...
_____________________________________________________

I got a copy of Pokémon Blue on 3DS's E-Store (kudos to them to actually re-release Gen I in several languages as I finally was able to purchase it in English and avoid the ever atrocious Spanish translation) and I'm having trouble to actually builidng a team due how "basic" are the movepools in Gen I (even though there are things that are a pleasant surprise to see again... like that 90 accuracy on Blizzard <3)

So far so good I either have on my team or I plan to add the following:

-Starter: It might be the most odd and illogical choice among the three... But I decided to actually take Bulbasaur as my starter... At first it might not seem the best choice... But impressions can be deceiving.

CONS:
-It has more weaknesses than the other two starters (Fire x2, Ice x2, Flying x 2, Psychic x2... and BUG x4 (In Gen I Bug and Poison were super effective against each other))
-The only Poison type move it learns via level up is... Poison Powder (and Toxic via TMs)
-Its strongest STAB via level up is... Razor Leaf (this is a blessing in disguise I'll cover that up in a moment)
-Solar Beam is a liability rather than an asset (weather inducing moves were introduced in Gen II).

PROS:
+There are almost no good replacements for the Bulbasaur line when it comes to Grass types (the only decent one would be the Exeggute line due to how broken Psychic types are in Gen I, but you get it so late in the game and its movepool is so poor and shallow (no decent Psychic type moves via level up) makes you reconsider if it's a good replacement for Bulbo).
+It has access to sleep, poison and paralysis inducing moves which is a blessing for capturing mons.
+It can learn Razor Leaf <3 (While it's not the strongest move around, it's a crit inducing move. In Gen I critical hit ratio was determined by speed: mon's base speed/64, so if your mon has a base speed of 64 or higher a crit is guaranteed and Venusaur's base speed is 80 (the same can be said about Charizard as it learns Slash, but Venusaur gets crit and STAB)).
+It has access to the ever so nasty Leech Seed + Toxic combo (In Gen I Leech Seed and Toxic use the same algorythm to calculate damage, so when used in conjunction instead of taking the same damage every turn the damage taken DOUBLES. Instead of taking 1/16th of the foe's reamaing HP the first will take 1/16, but the next one 1/8th and so on).
+It has the most coverage against Gyms AND Elite 4 as it covers Brock and Misty's gyms completely, it resists Electric types so it can be used against Surge in case of not having a Ground type by that point and covers 60% of Giovanni's gym (everything but the Nidos), as for the E4 it demolishes 80% of Lorelei's team (everything but her Jynx) and 40% of Bruno's (and resists the other 60% of his team).
+It's my favourite Kanto starter since... always... (It's corny but it's a reason).


Bulbasaur is love, Bulbasaur is life

-Flyer: I'm always fond of carrying a Flying type around due to transportation issues (it's easier to have someone to Fly you around at every time than having a Fly slave in a PC box and having to go and add it to the team every time you need it) besides it's nice to have some coverage against those pesky Bug types.
Sadly in Red and Blue neither Charizard nor Dragonite can't learn Fly, so they're out of the equation.
Of the rest of the Flyers the Pidgey line is discarded due to the lack of an early Flying STAB (Gust was normal in Gen I) and the strongest Flying STAB they get is... Wing Attack that is... 35 BP in Gen I...^^U
The best choices are the Spearow line and the Doduo line as they got access to the best Flying STAB of the game (Drill Peck), have high attack and high speed.
I've started training a Spearow that I'll eventually replace by a Doduo since Dodrio is pretty much everything that Fearow is but stronger and faster... A STAB Drill Peck or Hyper Beam from a Dodrio is something to really fear (Hyper Beam was considered a physical move until Gen IV... And did I mention that if Hyper Beam knocks out an opponent in Gen I you don't have to recharge for a turn? Good times ^^).

-Surfer: Pretty much what I've said about having a flyer around at all times can be used here, with the only difference that Surf is actually useful in battle so makes it worthy to keep a Water type mon (or something able to use surf) around at every moment.
For me when we talk about Kanto... there's always a choice that is 100% right: Lapras. Lapras are amazing as they have bulk, excellent coverage (it can learn the ever so dreadful "BoltBeam" combo), has access to parafuison shenanigans and learns Ice Beam via level up... which saves the TM for some other team member (which is nice).
Slowbro and Starmie are solid choices too due to their coverage and their Psychic type as it's (surprisingly) Gyarados (Special Gyarados was a thing in Gen I and really viable to boot), but I'll stick to my Lapras.

-Fire Type: My team will have a glaring weakness to Ice once fully assembled and out of the three super effective choices against Ice, Fire is by the most viable (as there were no decent Fighting type moves in Gen I and every Rock type mon in Gen I was part Ground, making it weak to Ice), besides Fire offers a nice coverage and some interesting tricks.
Since I'm playing Blue my to go choice here is none other than Vulpix and Gen I was the generarion where it probably shone the most (due to having a Special stat rather than both Sp.Att and Sp.Def), also it has access to Fire Spin via level up which is really nice in Gen I (trapping and binding moves in Gen I like Bind, Wrap, Fire Spin will render the opponent unable to do anything for as long the move is active... If a mon has access to a trapping move AND a paralyzing move it can render the opponent completely useless for the entirety of the fight).
The main drawback is that Vulpix doesn't learn Fire Spin until the early lvl 40s but I love Vulpix design... so I don't mind carrying a glass cannon around.

-Ground Type: As I've already mentioned Ground is my favourite type and I always must to have one with me at all times in my team, also Ground offers me coverage against Fire, Poison and Electric types... which it will help me greatly, specially on early game (no water type mon on my team until Lapras).
I'm having some doubts to determine which one should I train though... You can never go wrong with the Nido lines as both Nidoran (Male) and Nidoran (Female) have access to an impressive coverage array via TMs and pretty good stats (Nidoking deals more damage while Nidoqueen is bulkier and has access to better level up moves as Body Slam is better than Thrash hands down)...
...but then theres Sandslash, Sandslash has a really poor level up movepool (and somewhat limited TM coverage, even if it can access to some nice moves like Rock Slide and Swords Dance), but it has an outstanding attack and defense (a physical wall is something to seriously consider) and access to Slash via level up (and guaranteed crits due to its 65 base speed)...

Special Wall: The last spot should be used for something able to withstand special attacks... as it will the best way of dealing with Sabrina (and psychic type mons in general) since Psychic type got no "weaknesses" in Gen I (while it was weak to Ghost and Bug, the most damaging Ghost type move in Gen I was... Night Shade (fixed damaged based on your level) and the most damaging Buge type move was Twineedle that dealt about 50 BP (25 per hit), not to mention that the only Ghost type line was part poison... as most of Kanto bug mons were... rendering them weak to psychic).
My choice for this one is...believe it or not... Clefairy as it has a more than decent special bulk, it can be found early in game (even if it's incredibly rare) and has access to an incredible coverage thanks to TMs (it also can be evolved as soon as you find it since Clefairy's level up movepool in Gen I can be summed up in one word: MEH), making it the perfect Jack of all trades to have around.

And that's pretty much that though... Something I should consider changing? Which Ground type I should be carrying around (Diglett/Dugtrio is not an option, as it's way too frail for my tastes)? Should I consider training a parawrapping Dragonite (it's the most viable way to use a Dragonite in Gen I)?

[Zadocfish]

Looks good, I think. Here's what I beat the E4 with, nothing above lvl 48:

Monty, a Dugtrio
(Slash, Growl, Dig, Sand-Attack) His strength is decent, his Slash is an auto-crit, and Dig is as powerful as Earthquake in Gen 1. He's also faster than just about anything in-game. He did some work.

Mr Beaky, a Dodrio
(Drill Peck, Tri Attack, Fly, Double-Edge) He's fast and hits hard, and also has access to Fly.

Penny, a Venusaur
(Mega Drain, Cut, Growth, Razor Leaf) Razor Leaf is incredible with that crit rate! And she has decent defense, too, and a good self-boosting move.

Comrade, a Clefable
(Flash, Body Slam, Blizzard, Sing) He or she (it's impossible to tell) is bulky, has Sing, and can paralyze with its STAB Body Slam. Having a Blizzard user always helps, too.

Hyper-Cow, a Jolteon
(Double Kick, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave) So fast, so powerful. This one got me past Alakazam pretty easily with Thunder Wave.

Clawboy, a Kingler
(Strength, Crabhammer, Surf, Stomp) He has Strength and Surf, and he's better at using Strength than any other Water-type in the game. Also, Crabhammer hits like a truck even with such a small Special stat.

It was a real ride. Red and Blue hold up marvelously well, item management notwithstanding.

[Jinouga87]

New trailer dropped. The bracelet's power confirmed!

[youtube]3AZHowhxM0U[/youtube]

[Kaijin]

So... No more Mega Evolutions then (Game Freak, you owe us a MEGA FLYGON, just sayin').

Well... Where do I start? Hmmm...

"Alola Forms": Is nice and dandy that they're still keen on finding ways to give some usefulness and spotlight to forgotten Pokémon but...

-Exeggutor: Grass/Dragon? Really? That's something I could expect from Sceptile (that eventually came into fruition in ORAS), Serperior or even Meganium and Tropius (since apparently Dinosaur=Dragon for Game Freak standards)... But Exeggutor... That's nonsensical, absurd and surreal beyond belief. Not to mention that its looks are hideous and creepy for no good reason at all.

-Vulpix line: Unexpected... I know that arctic foxes are a thing... But still, this would be a form I would expect from a northern region like Sinnoh not from a tropical archipelago based on Hawaii.
Lookswise it's a nice design... Shame Steel type will make it cry though.

-Sandshrew line: Dear Gamefreak if you're giving a new form to a Pokémon with SAND on its name at the very least keep its Ground typing for crying out loud (just in case: Let's remember than in Japan they're known as "Sand" and "Sandpan" respectively).
I think this form will ruin the Pokémon, the Sandshrew line had as its main forte an unnaturally high physical defense, but that against a x4 Flare Blitz or x4 Superpower... literally means NOTHING (unless the new form has a Shuckle tier defense).

As for the new Pokémon we have...

-Mudsdale pre evo (no complaints here, glad to know I'll have a future team member for my Sun/Moon run).
-Yungoos evo (with a look that make Bibarel and Watchog appealing in comparision)
-Stereotype bird (France gets a whole region, Spain gets ridiculed by a feathery stereotype... Spain is way more than Flamenco Dancing... Oh well... At least now I know on what I should grind on my runs... Its ability is nice though...)
-Rock/Flying mon (Pretty nice gimmick (it reminds me of Aegislash though), not so nice typing sadly).
-Grass mantis (This should be Grass/Bug... they're based AND named after a mantis... Also Solar Blade looks oddly familiar).


Solar Blade's tutor

What can I say I'm not really thrilled by this new informative batch (and I'm still more interested on the starters' evolutions both looks and typewise... I want to know if Litten line will be viable or screwed beyond repair), but oh well... what can we do...^^U

[Jinouga87]

I'm hyped for Z-Moves as a new gimmick. As for Megas we don't know if they're gone for good yet.

[Kaijin]

I'll doubt we'll see them ever again (which it's actually kinda sad... since there are dozens of Pokémon that need a stat boost (even if it's temporary) and it still pisses me off that we'll never see Mega Flygon because during X/Y's development the artist who was assigned to design it basically said "F*** it! I ain't doing that s***!").
If I had to guess it will remain as Gen 6's gimmick while Z moves (with those auras I'm almost inclined to call them Zenkai Moves) will be Gen 7's and more considering that they can only be used once per battle and you need an item to trigger them.

[Jinouga87]

I'll doubt we'll see them ever again (which it's actually kinda sad... since there are dozens of Pokémon that need a stat boost (even if it's temporary) and it still pisses me off that we'll never see Mega Flygon because during X/Y's development the artist who was assigned to design it basically said "F*** it! I ain't doing that s***!").
If I had to guess it will remain as Gen 6's gimmick while Z moves (with those auras I'm almost inclined to call them Zenkai Moves) will be Gen 7's and more considering that they can only be used once per battle and you need an item to trigger them.

I think the Z-Ring will work with Mega Evolution. We'll just have to wait and see. On another note there's going to be a Z-Ring toy that has some function with the game.

[Perentie]

-Grass mantis (This should be Grass/Bug... they're based AND named after a mantis...

It's actually quite clever though. Look at the first form's name Fomantis. When spoken it sounds like "faux mantis" which means "fake mantis."

Basically they reversed what the animal it is based on is, turning a mantis that mimics a plant into a plant that mimics a mantis.

I'm hyped for Z-Moves as a new gimmick. As for Megas we don't know if they're gone for good yet.

Indeed, its important to keep in mind that the games have never outright removed a pokemon form (aside from minor things like Spiky Eared Pichu) from succeeding generations. Not to mention how much money and merchandise has been put into promoting Megas.

Rather than being removed, at most I can see Megas simply being something you only get access to after the main game.

<><><>

Gotta say while I love how the new forms of Sandslash and Ninetales (one of my favorite pokemon) look, they will need seriously good stats and/or hidden abilities to be useful (either that or Ice and/or those abilities get a major overhaul in this game when it comes to how they work) as they are at present pretty bad type combinations and abilities that don't do much.

Of the new reveals I like Lurantis the most. Here's hoping it gets a good hidden ability or that Leaf Guard has been improved. Could do without it looking like it is wearing pants though... never really liked most of the pokemon that are designed like they have clothes.

Barring Sandslash and Ninetales new forms I still haven't seen any designs that are blow-me-away awesome (though Vikavolt is close and may reach that point once I use it), but there is still plenty of time.

And while its not by any means a favorite, I actually like Alolan Exeggutor's looks more than the original Exeggutor. Its bizarre but in a good way.

[Kaijin]

Look at the first form's name Fomantis.

Yes... I'm looking at Karikiri's name (which it means pseudo mantis as well).
The concept may be clever and all, but they're still based on bugs (orchid mantis) so not having the bug typing feels more like a miss than a hit...

[Kaijin]

Before moving into today's important matters, I think it's pretty much in order to do a little addendum to some point I covered a few days ago... in which despite my good intentions to settle an issue in a positive and informative way, I pretty much ended up ridiculing myself because I didn't bother to cover it entirely...^^U

Yes... I'm looking at Karikiri's name (which it means pseudo mantis as well).
The concept may be clever and all, but they're still based on bugs (orchid mantis) so not having the bug typing feels more like a miss than a hit...

Let's take into consideration that Lurantis' original (aka Japanese) name is : Rarantesu, which literally translates as "Orchid Mantis" (as the actual insect, as the insect it's based off).
So, pretty much it stops being "Faux" and becomes "Vrai", it goes all the way from "faker" to the "real deal", and it would have been a way more clever move for Game Freak if they decided to show us said "process"/"transformation"/"metamorphosis" implemented by granting Lurantis a Bug typing (from Grass (Faker) to Bug/Grass (Full fledged mantis)) rather than what they did with this evolutionary line so far.
_______________________________

Anyway... Let's move into today's matter:

Coro Coro leaked more thngs about Sun and Moon, Source. Including new mons, Alolan forms and the new evil team.

-Introduced the new evil team: Team Skull.
-New Ghost/Ground evolutionary line introduced: Sunabaa and its evolution Shirodesuna, both are based on sand castles (these are those kind of designs that people would hate if they were introduced in other Gen (like Gen V) but will like them since it will be introduced in Gen VII).
-New pure Water type introduced: Yowashi, it's a fish that can change shape and size by adopting another form, the "school form" (pretty clever concept, I wonder if only affects the appearance or its stats get affected by the form change).
-Introduced Bewear's pre evo: Nuikoguma, it shares typing with its evolution and it's a quadruped (it may be silly but I find it worth mentioning since the rest of bear cub mons are bipedal).
-Two new Alolan forms confirmed:

A) Alolan Meowth is now a Dark type pokémon (Actually that's a pretty clever and well expected change, since for years the Meoth line has been getting a Dark typing in quite a few romhacks and fangames (Normal/Dark rather than pure Dark though), so it's nice of Game Freak to actually give them the Dark typing officially).
B) Alolan Marowak is now Ghost/Fire (Incredibly predictable move by Game Freak there as we all knew that it would become Fire type since the Fire type captain had a Marowak as its companion and by both its pokédex entry in almost every game of the series and Gen I events' at Pokémon Tower the Ghost typing pretty much seemed the most logical assumption when it came to the Cubone line... On a related sidenote, Ghost/Fire is quite a bad combination to have).

Well... That's pretty much it for now.

.P.S.: It's nice and dandy that they give new forms and/or time in the spotlight to Gen I pokémon but there are mons in other Gens that could benefit from a Alolan makeover (like for instance the Hoothoot line that could gain a Psychic typing, Masquerain that could retain its previous form Water typing rather than Flying, the Skitty line that could go Fairy mode, the Shinx line that could gain the Dark typing... among a lot of other examples).

[Blake81]

Just gonna be a bit weird and ask this....

Anyone here playing Pokemon GO?

[Kaijin]

Well... It's still a Pokémon game, so it's perfectly in place to ask.

As for the question itself, no I don't since my mobile is on the verge of being considered a fossil. If by some miraculous reason I'm able to get a new mobile I'd consider giving it a go (yes, the pun was intended).

.P.S.: I do have a friend that is completely hooked to it though.

[DogKama]

[youtube]OQDLu8FDZI4[/youtube]


Thought I would post this video. While the leaks aren't 100% confirmed, I figured it'll be nice to at least talk about.

[Perentie]

Actually Dogkama, I'm afraid today's reveals pretty much debunk that list since (among other things) it says that Bewear is a standalone pokemon and now we know it isn't.

<><><>

For the new pokemon revealed today I have to admit that I think the sand castle looks pretty silly/stupid and not the appealing kind of silly/stupid but that's just me. As usual object-based pokemon don't appeal to me much (Aegislash and a few others are exceptions). Seeing it in motion may help but even then there will be that silly little shovel on its head.

I'm a bit indifferent to Bewear's first stage, though at least it isn't as surreal looking as Bewear.

The new fish is pretty interesting, I am curious about the lore behind its forme change (I'm assuming it is making temporary extra bodies, not actually calling in a school, especially since the other fish that make up its body do not look like the original).

<><><>

For the new Alolan forms, I am rather unimpressed with Meowth given the only real difference seems to be color (and perhaps smaller eyes), but I don't dislike it either.

Alolan Marowak is nice, the physical changes are nicely incorporated (a much thinner, lighter body plus that mark on its forehead). I am also glad its lore has nothing to do with the silly belief that its common for Marowak mothers to die/all Cubone wear the skulls of their mothers.

On that note, the Alolan forms are havign quite a nice diversity in the things that have caused them to change. We have adapting to different habitats (Vulpix and Sandshrew lines), utilizing an ideal climate (Exeggutor), adapting to resist predators (Marowak), and human selective breeding (Meowth).

[Jinouga87]

Kirlia, Gothorita, and Meloetta need Aloha forms that make them hula dancers.