The Pokemon Topic

[Spark Of Spirit]

Gen 3's designs were filled with nightmare fuel. They got better afterward, but fuck some of that stuff is pants-shittingly eerie.

Still enjoying SoulSilver, though I keep getting distracted from it. I still haven't quite decided if I'm interested in Black/White or if I'll wait for the next version yet.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Generation 3 definitely had the ugliest designs overall (with a few exceptions here and there), but it also unarguably had the best Pokemon in terms of stats and such. If you've ever explored the multiplayer aspect of Pokemon and raised teams to battle against any of your friends, you'd probably most likely choose a bunch of Pokemon from G3 for practicality purposes. Of course, if you don't care about playing against any of your friends or against any people online, then G3 is definitely the least appealing of Pokemon game generations.

[Daxdiv]

How are the starters in the new game? Do any of them evolve into really useful Pokemon once they reach their final form and learn their proper move-sets with their specific abilities?

From what I've played of the Pokemon games, generation 3 (Ruby and Sapphire) has the best starters, since they all evolve into really good Pokemon with tons of useful abilities and tactics that you can use each of them for.

Also, how are the Pokemon designs in that game? I personally felt that the designs got kind of lazy after generation 2, with some definite interesting and even some really good ones and R&S and D&P, but there were also a lot of designs that looked pretty unappealing to me in those generations. I'm curious to know how interesting most of the Pokemon designs are for B&W.

1. This is how I rank the starters in their final form:

Emboar- Strong attack, and has the most diverse movepool out of the bunch. It's also the only starter that has a dual type, and it's the same Fire/Fighting we had for the last 3 generations. I'd say it's only weakness is how slow it is, and it's hidden ability of Thick Fat is not really all that useful.

Samurott- I say it's the more well balanced of the 3, Has some balance stats, some nice moves to learn. Hidden ability is OK, but considering how the metagame is more OHKO anything, you probably won't see much mileage out of it.

Serperior- Weak move pool, but it has the highest speed, and take a beating as well. Though it's Dream World/Hidden Ability is pretty awesome if you get Leaf Storm on it. It's hidden ability is stat boosting/decreasing moves do the opposite, even if they're self inducing or from a side effect.

Personally, my favorite starter group are the Sinnoh starters, but then again I like turtles, monkeys, and penguins, and their final forms aren't too shabby as well. They all have their unique looks, combinations and strategy. I like how Torterra is based on the World Turtle, Infernape is Son Goku from Journey of the West, and Empoleon was partially based on Poseidon.

2. While this is a subjective question, I will say that I do like how radically different they are from before. I do like most of the designs, and the only ones I can really call lazyness on is the Kami trio group, since they do feel more like palette swaps. Sure there are some that don't stick out to me right now, but I do kind of like how they break away from the mold on how certain monsters look, and that was kind of Ken Sugimori's and Junichi Masuda's intention. In time, the new guys will grow on me. I remember not liking certain monsters when they were leaked, but after a while I started to like them.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Does anyone have any suggestions for any good Pokemon (in terms of overall usefulness, either in combat situations or for other purposes) to look out for in Pokemon Ruby. Being that I am largely unfamiliar with the 3rd generation Pokemon, I'm not sure which are the good ones to keep in my party.

Currently I have a level 40 Blaziken in my party, and he alone is a pretty damn good sweeper but I need to watch out for any Pokemon that have Earthquake when using him, since he's quad-weak against any ground-type attacks. I initially had a Ralts to use as my Psychic Pokemon, and I evolved him into a Kirlia, but then I found an wild Abra in a cave near the 2nd Gym and immediately thought to myself: "Fuck this shitty replacement, I'm getting me an Alakazam right away."

I also have a Linoone who I am only keeping around in my party for its extremely useful pickup ability. My last useful Pokemon is Gyarados, but I haven't taught him all of the useful moves that I want him to have yet, so he's not entirely useful to me just yet, but even so I still keep him around in my party. The other 2 spots on my team are filled with 2 random garbage Pokemon that I just put in there for filler, but I'm willing to catch some new and more useful Pokemon if anyone has any suggestions on which are good ones to have in my team.

[Avaitor]

My friend has offered to give me his old SP and a copy of Gold to play through. Since I destroyed my GBA a few years back, this will be good for me, as now I can play Pokemon and some of my old favorites.

I just need to wait for the right time that he can to lend it to me.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Heh, Gold and Silver were my favorites of the games from the first 3 generations. I like how it adds in quite a few new elements to the Pokemon, like how each of them have their own nature, and how now there are separate stats for regular physical attack/defense and special attack/defense, and there are EVs and IVs for each Pokemon so you'll never have 2 of the same type of Pokemon with the exact same stats. While none of this really means all too much in the single-player, it does get me to appreciate how these games have much deeper mechanics that what I even realized as a kid, though they only really come into play if you have a friend or someone else to play against.

Speaking of multiplayer in Pokemon, has anyone ever seen that video in which Killer Nacho uses a strategy in which he ends up taking out 6 uber-level Pokemon....with just a single Magikarp? That has to be the most hilarious match that I have ever seen, but it must have taken that guy countless tries for him to get his strategy to work right, and he was pretty lucky that his opponent's very first Pokemon had the Rain Dance ability (not the actual move, so in this case it actually lasted throughout the whole battle), which pretty much doubled Magikarp's speed and made it the fastest damn thing in that entire match. I really wish I could get a DS and get Heart Gold or Soul Silver so that I could play some Wi-Fi matches myself.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, those were my favorites, too. I especially liked the day and night aspects, since they made traveling and stragetizing when to play even more fun.

I'll talk more about them when I can finally get Gold back.

[Commode]

Shit, I haven't played Black in a couple of weeks now.  Don't really know why, I made it to Castilia City(I think that's what it's called, the big NYC looking city?), but so far I haven't left it.  Need to get on that.

[Avaitor]

My friend couldn't find Gold or Silver, so he lent me Red instead. Not what I wanted, but hey, it's his game and SP, not mine.

I forgot just how addicting the game is, too. I already had my Squirtle evolve into Wartortle and beat Misty. So much fun.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Heh, Squirtle used to be my favorite of the starters, until I realized just how useful it was to get Bulbasaur, only for when he evolved into Venasaur (leech seed is actually and incredibly overpowered move when you realize how easy it is to abuse it, as not only does it slowly drain the life from whatever Pokemon your fighting, but it also gradually heals any Pokemon that you have out as well).

In terms of creative designs and overall appeal, I find that generation 1 had the best Pokemon in that regard. In terms of practicality and usefulness, though, I have to admit that generation 3 is probably the best of the Pokemon games that I have played, when it comes to that particular aspect.

My only real major annoyance with the Pokemon games is the fact that they have some really useful Pokemon that you can't evolve to their final form unless you trade them. As a kid, I didn't have a GB link, so I could never get myself a Gengar or Alakazam because I had nobody to trade with.

Of course, in my Pokemon Ruby file, I currently have an Alakazam in my party, and in my Pokemon Fire Red file I have a Gengar, as well as a Scizor.

[Avaitor]

I always go with Squirtle myself, just because it's an easy way to beat Brock right away. By the time I get to Misty I already have a strong, well-developed enough Squirtle or Wartortle and set in general to face her. But good point on the Bulbasaur aspect.

Also took down Lt. Surge today. I have a research paper and some homework to work on today, but I'll probably play some more after I get down to some of that.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I always go with Squirtle myself, just because it's an easy way to beat Brock right away. By the time I get to Misty I already have a strong, well-developed enough Squirtle or Wartortle and set in general to face her. But good point on the Bulbasaur aspect.

Well, actually, all of Brock's Pokemon are just as weak against grass type moves as they are against water-based attacks, and Misty's water Pokemon are also weak against grass moves, with Lt. Surge's electric Pokemon being highly ineffective against grass-type Pokemon, so I find that Bulbasaur is actually the best starter in terms of giving you the biggest initial advantage in the game.

Overall, though, it doesn't really matter too much which starter you pick, as each one proves extremely useful at on point or another. Charmander will probably give you the toughest start since he's horrible against the first few gym leaders, but he's meant to be far better when he evolves into Charizard later on in the game, and is probably one of the best/most ideal Pokemon to have in your party to use against the Elite Four with his high speed and attack stats, whereas Venasaur would be less useful against them with his stats, if it weren't for leech seed (which is a pretty damn cheap move when you think about it). Blastoise is also a good pick because he's more well-rounded, with very balanced stats that are between those of Venasaur and Charizard.

[Angus]

Hmm, what skill level is needed for Black and White? Is it suitable for little kids like Kirby Epic Yarn?

[Dr. Insomniac]

Hmm, what skill level is needed for Black and White? Is it suitable for little kids like Kirby Epic Yarn?

Just need to know that having a super effective type doesn't yield the best results anymore.

[Daxdiv]

Hmm, what skill level is needed for Black and White? Is it suitable for little kids like Kirby Epic Yarn?

Just need to know that having a super effective type doesn't yield the best results anymore.

Yeah, they really did beef up the defenses this generation. I tested out a Mandibuzz after one of my friends said it was the best tanks introduced in Generation V. In a way, he was right. I personally think that the bulkiness of Defense was to counterbalance how Generation IV had an overabundance on Sweeping. Hell, I was fucking guilty of having a strategy that was basically "KO my opponent with one Super-Effective and STAB move for maximum damage and aim for the type of attack that matches my opponents weakest defense stat."  Despite my stance on the Snivy line being my least favorite starter in Unova, it does make up for it in the sense that it can take a hit or two before going down.

I guess it also helps that I read somewhere that Junichi Masuda does look at the competitive scene to see what Pokémon, the moves, etc. are overused and then he sees if they can make something to counterbalance that. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's why Stealth Rock was knocked back from TM status to only certain monsters can learn it in the wild. Stealth Rock was a major move in the Gen IV metagame in that everyone had it and it basically weaken your opponents HP depending on how well they can handle a Rock type attack.