A Queston to old pokemon fans coming out of "retirement"

Dragonbums

Indulge in it's whiffy sensation
May 9, 2013
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That's right. Another goddamn Pokemon thread.


Yes, we all know that Pokemon X and Y has come out, and various threads have cropped up just so we can gush about how fun the game is, and brag about our non existent social lives for the next 5 weeks.

One of the things I've seen is that a lot of old Pokemon fans who picked up the game after stopping from G/S/R/B to R/S/E/D/P have said that they are thoroughly enjoying the games again.

Which is awesome, because it's definitely the most revised and refreshed installment of the series. The last one being Generation 5 (although a lot of the Pokemon did raise the power cap which is probably why mega evolutions are a thing now.)


One of the things I want to ask is how do you think of the designs of the recent Pokemon?

I'm not talking about just the newest one. I'm talking about all the new Pokemon that have come out since you stopped playing your last Pokemon version.

I know some of you guys stopped after Red and Blue. (and a few only playing the remakes)

After getting to see these new designs with no outside opinions but your own, do you still think they are as bad(or good) as you initially thought?

Are you overwhelmed by the sheer number and range of them?

Are you underwhelmed?

Do you plan on getting right back into the metagame if you were a competitive sort when you last played?

Does it excite you?

Or are you wholly indifferent?

Of the new Pokemon you have seen since the last game you played- which one has managed to squirm it's way into your favorites?


For me personally, I like monsters in general, and most of my favorites came from Generation 5. At the same time some of my all times favorites came from Generation 4 (least favorite)
My first game was Pokemon Silver.

I kind of know how it feels to be slammed with so many Pokemon. As a kid I completely missed the third generation Pokemon (though I was aware of it's existence.) and I only caught up because I got a copy of Pokemon XD: Gale of darkness which featured predominately generation 3 Pokemon.

However that is simply a gap of 100+ Pokemon. I can only imagine how it felt like for some of you guys that stopped at Silver and are now confronted with 300+ Pokemon at once.


So share your experiences, initial thoughts, etc.

I'm really curious.
 

Foolery

No.
Jun 5, 2013
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Honestly, X and Y is a breath of fresh air. I tried getting into the later Gens of Pokemon. I felt that the series, while good, has been very stale since Silver. Some minor changes, but nothing significant. Also ice cream and garbage Pokemon were ridiculous. I never cared about the number of Pokemon, trying catching 'em all isn't my thing and is kinda boring.
 

Dragonbums

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May 9, 2013
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Dead Century said:
Honestly, X and Y is a breath of fresh air. I tried getting into the later Gens of Pokemon. I felt that the series, while good, has been very stale since Silver. Some minor changes, but nothing significant. Also ice cream and garbage Pokemon were ridiculous. I never cared about the number of Pokemon, trying catching 'em all isn't my thing and is kinda boring.
I agree on the staleness part. One of the reasons generation 4 was the worst for me was because of how...eh it was.

For me, Generation 5 started the build up of very welcome and great additions to the overall formula of the game, while Generation 6 was basically the floodgates coming open.

While I don't care for the "Catch em All" aspect of the game, I do love the amount of Pokemon. So many teams I can create, along with different strategies, themes, etc. to choose from now. It especially showed in the metagame in generation 5. I was surprised quite a bit by some of the unconventional strategies people came up with with various Pokemon.

Of course I'm glad they nerfed Rain weather. That was by far the most broken strategy anyone has ever utilized in game. It was right up there with Dragon Dance Haxorus.
 

Melon Hunter

Chief Procrastinator
May 18, 2009
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It's looking good. Real good. I stopped playing about seven gyms into Black, realising I wasn't really enjoying it. Oddly enough, all the talk of Generation VI has catapulted me back into Black Version! I'm pretty sure I'll finish Black, then get Y version (and maybe then go back to Black/White 2), but yeah, I'm just glad I managed to get back into it! I thought I'd lost interest in Pokemon for good, but I'm glad to report that was just a temporary blip. Really looking forward to picking up Gen VI and seeing what happens!
 

Caiphus

Social Office Corridor
Mar 31, 2010
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My brother will be getting a copy. When he does, I'll try it out before getting one of my own. I tried very hard to get back into it with Black, but I just got horribly bored with the new Pokemon after around 5 hours, and just a bit overwhelmed at the idea of starting the whole process again. And also at the idea of re-learning IVs/EVs and how much of a shit I can reeeeally give about min-maxing. So I don't even think I got my first badge.

And I'm not totally against the idea of new Pokemon. I liked Gold and sort of liked Ruby. I know they're trying to keep it fresh (and sell figures, probably). But eh.

So yeah, I'm cautious, but the hype is decent so it might be different. We'll see. It'd be nice to put 300+ hours into something like I did with Red.
 

Foolery

No.
Jun 5, 2013
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Dragonbums said:
While I don't care for the "Catch em All" aspect of the game, I do love the amount of Pokemon. So many teams I can create, along with different strategies, themes, etc. to choose from now. It especially showed in the metagame in generation 5. I was surprised quite a bit by some of the unconventional strategies people came up with with various Pokemon.

Of course I'm glad they nerfed Rain weather. That was by far the most broken strategy anyone has ever utilized in game. It was right up there with Dragon Dance Haxorus.
Not a big fan of the meta-game, but I enjoy team building. Especially if I choose neverused Pokemon. I always did Rain Weather with Kabutops. What's great about XY, is that it seems to be targeting Gen I and II players. Even the legendaries are Red and Blue.
 

Dragonbums

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May 9, 2013
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Caiphus said:
And also at the idea of re-learning IVs/EVs
I believe that in X and Y they streamlined EV training (not sure about IV though.) so it's much more easier to access and get into than before. I'm not sure it's the only option, but I think now they made it much easier to keep track of. Depending on who you are in terms of competitiveness that can either be good or bad.
I have a feeling some of the elitists over at communities like Smogon are having an enuerism about their little "club" becoming easy to indulge in entry level wise.

(and sell figures, probably). But eh.
They don't sell figurines (well I mean they DO but they aren't as prominent.), but man do they make a killing off of plushies. I'm not even joking when I tell you that even the dumbest/ugliest/niche Pokemon has a plushie. Just to cater to some cult fanbase like the Dunsparce and Stunfisk legions.

So yeah, I'm cautious, but the hype is decent so it might be different. We'll see. It'd be nice to put 300+ hours into something like I did with Red.
Understandable. You are risking putting down $35.00 on a game you may or may not like. Especially if Generation 5 bored you a lot.
I remember I maxed out the hours for Diamond and Pearl. Although I have to wonder if they count sleep mode as hours.
 

IllumInaTIma

Flesh is but a garment!
Feb 6, 2012
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Some are kinda meh, but some of them are just freaking awesome! I just got Tyrunt and he strikes that perfect niche between being cute and cuddly and fucking terrifying. Floette and Fennekin are just adorable! And those are the only examples I can give right now, since the rest of my party is Gen 1.
 

Canadamus Prime

Robot in Disguise
Jun 17, 2009
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I'm not coming out of retirement, I'm staying retired. I don't really care what they've done in Pokemon X and Y, I think the franchise ran it's course ages ago. I thought some of the movies available in Diamond/Perl and even Heart Gold and Soul Silver (the last Pokemon games I've played) were absurd, and the type alignments have become meaningless when I can be battling say a grass-type with a fire-type and still be hit with a move that's super effective against me.
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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I came back for Gen V after having not played since R/B/Y, think I'm going to skip Gen VI; maybe come back for Gen X. I thought Gen V was amazing, and I loved all the mon designs except for maybe the Vanillish line. I think people are overly critical when they put down the mons like Vanillish and Trubbish though, especially Trubbish. You want to rip on Trubbish because he doesn't make sense, then you have to rip on Grimer, Muk, Voltorb, Electrode, Porygon, Ditto, Jinx, and Mr. Mime equally because they're just as "absurd".
Look at that face, how can you be mean to that face? All he wants is a hug.
 

michael87cn

New member
Jan 12, 2011
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I played Pokemon Blue, and then LeafGreen. No others.

I came back to the series because they finally added 3d animated pokemon. And I recently got a 3ds XL, so I was getting bored of my only other game... Mario 3d land.

It's pretty fun, though having only seen the original 150, the Pokemon don't feel like they all fit. It's like someone else drew 25% of them or something. Can't quite put my finger on it.
 

WenisPagon

New member
Mar 16, 2010
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michael87cn said:
I played Pokemon Blue, and then LeafGreen. No others.

I came back to the series because they finally added 3d animated pokemon. And I recently got a 3ds XL, so I was getting bored of my only other game... Mario 3d land.

It's pretty fun, though having only seen the original 150, the Pokemon don't feel like they all fit. It's like someone else drew 25% of them or something. Can't quite put my finger on it.
Your feeling's pretty accurate, as the designers rotate between generations. While certain stylistic qualities are constant there are differences in each gen.
 

wooty

Vi Britannia
Aug 1, 2009
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Not played any Pokemon since the days of Red, Blue and Yellow. My facebook feed is getting flooded with people talking about and raving over it. X & Y might be something I would give a go, but that alone doesn't justify me dropping money on a 3DS. Especially with the PS4 just around the corner.
 

IllumInaTIma

Flesh is but a garment!
Feb 6, 2012
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Ok, what I freaking love about Pokemon is that unlike, for example, Persona 3 and 4, where you are forced to keep getting new Personas, in Pokemon you can keep your initial party for however long you want! And now I'm conflicted! There are so many Pokemon I want to have in my party! Right now, I'm stellar on keeping on Fennekin and Bulbasaur since they are my starters. Also, I just got Steelix, who I FREAKING LOVE, and Tyrunt. They both are awesome! That makes 4. I also got Marowak who beats the shit out of everyone in one hit. And then there's adorable little Floette who I know is going to evolve again and Farfetch'd who is hilarious and annihilates everyone! I WANT THEM ALL AND I CAN'T DECIDE!
 

Hero of Lime

Staaay Fresh!
Jun 3, 2013
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Even though I've been back into Pokemon since Black and White, I did take a huge retirement between Red and Blue, and got Fire Red because I wanted the remake. Black with it's new Pokemon and gameplay additions rocketed me back into liking Pokemon games. I then caught myself up with the third and fourth gen games, which propelled Pokemon from being a series I kinda liked to being my second favorite franchise.

So X and Y aren't my comeback games by any means, but when I played Black for the first time, I remember being overwhelmed during the post game sections where you see Pokemon from all the other gens returning. It felt pretty awesome and intimidating, but it made me very interested in playing the other games. I also really recommend those returning to the series to try the fifth gen games. If Trubbish and Vanilite are the only Pokemon you know from the fifth gen, you'll be amazed at the real effort they put into making so many great Pokemon in that generation, just give it a chance!
 

Dragonbums

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May 9, 2013
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michael87cn said:
I played Pokemon Blue, and then LeafGreen. No others.

I came back to the series because they finally added 3d animated pokemon. And I recently got a 3ds XL, so I was getting bored of my only other game... Mario 3d land.

It's pretty fun, though having only seen the original 150, the Pokemon don't feel like they all fit. It's like someone else drew 25% of them or something. Can't quite put my finger on it.
Each generation tends to have a different "look" so to speak. For instance, Generation 3 reminded me of rainforest critters with how colorful they were, and generation 5 reflected the divide between high tech and nature.

On that note, Ken Sugimori and the other key artists of the first game are still there. Sugimori is now art director and while he only makes a couple of Pokemon designs himself, his main job is to give the go ahead to new Pokemon designs, or to give them the ax and send them back to the drawing board. After they get all the Pokemon, he then redraws all of them in his style.
 

Fractral

Tentacle God
Feb 28, 2012
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IllumInaTIma said:
Ok, what I freaking love about Pokemon is that unlike, for example, Persona 3 and 4, where you are forced to keep getting new Personas, in Pokemon you can keep your initial party for however long you want! And now I'm conflicted! There are so many Pokemon I want to have in my party! Right now, I'm stellar on keeping on Fennekin and Bulbasaur since they are my starters. Also, I just got Steelix, who I FREAKING LOVE, and Tyrunt. They both are awesome! That makes 4. I also got Marowak who beats the shit out of everyone in one hit. And then there's adorable little Floette who I know is going to evolve again and Farfetch'd who is hilarious and annihilates everyone! I WANT THEM ALL AND I CAN'T DECIDE!
It's the only pokemon game so far where I've had a full team by gym 2. There's so much choice! And the pokemon amie means that I'm now rather attached to my team, so I'd feel bad if I dropped any of them.
I'm loving the hell out of it. I'm about 13 hours in, and I've just reached the fairy gym, which will be... interesting, as the only anti-fairy move I have is Venoshock on my Venusaur. I stopped using the exp share and then the difficulty suddenly spiked, so now I'm really having a challenge with the gym battles- which is great! I haven't had so much trouble with a gym leader since my first pokemon game.
 

Dragonbums

Indulge in it's whiffy sensation
May 9, 2013
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Fractral said:
IllumInaTIma said:
Ok, what I freaking love about Pokemon is that unlike, for example, Persona 3 and 4, where you are forced to keep getting new Personas, in Pokemon you can keep your initial party for however long you want! And now I'm conflicted! There are so many Pokemon I want to have in my party! Right now, I'm stellar on keeping on Fennekin and Bulbasaur since they are my starters. Also, I just got Steelix, who I FREAKING LOVE, and Tyrunt. They both are awesome! That makes 4. I also got Marowak who beats the shit out of everyone in one hit. And then there's adorable little Floette who I know is going to evolve again and Farfetch'd who is hilarious and annihilates everyone! I WANT THEM ALL AND I CAN'T DECIDE!
It's the only pokemon game so far where I've had a full team by gym 2. There's so much choice! And the pokemon amie means that I'm now rather attached to my team, so I'd feel bad if I dropped any of them.
I'm loving the hell out of it. I'm about 13 hours in, and I've just reached the fairy gym, which will be... interesting, as the only anti-fairy move I have is Venoshock on my Venusaur. I stopped using the exp share and then the difficulty suddenly spiked, so now I'm really having a challenge with the gym battles- which is great! I haven't had so much trouble with a gym leader since my first pokemon game.
Yeah, they made this game insanely hard. I can now understand why they gave you that Exp. Share so early on (and reverted it's mechanics back to how it used to be in Red and Blue). Fans wanted hard, and Gamefreak delivered. I now just beat the grass gym, yet 90% of my team was on par with the trainers in the gym. Let alone the gym leader himself.

I literally cannot wait for the Elite four.

I hadn't had my assed whooped like that since Ruby and Sapphire. (Never forget the horrors of the Twin battle gym leaders)
 

BQE

Posh Villainess
Jun 17, 2013
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I started back up with White 2, and, my word, I've never been so confused.

Xtransceivers, C-gears, infinite TMs, and all sorts other stuff.

Not even going into the abundance of new pokemon whose types are rather difficult for me identify on sight and even more difficult to determine the super-effective type.

I don't ever remember having this sheer difficulty too, more often than not my team members get one-shotted by dual-types to my dismay.

It's fun though.
 

Dragonbums

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May 9, 2013
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BQE said:
I started back up with White 2, and, my word, I've never been so confused.

Xtransceivers, C-gears, infinite TMs, and all sorts other stuff.

Not even going into the abundance of new pokemon whose types are rather difficult for me identify on sight and even more difficult to determine the super-effective type.

I don't ever remember having this sheer difficulty too, more often than not my team members get one-shotted by dual-types to my dismay.

It's fun though.
That's exactly how I felt when i finally started playing Ruby and Sapphire.

Don't worry though. You'll catch on quick.

As for the difficulty spike, you can thank/blame all the fans that complained about the storyline games being too easy.