459 replies to this topic

[The Satellite]

Just set foot on the fourth island, after some heavy story dosage. I'm actually liking the game's story, though I find the primary antagonist to be kind of bland. Maybe that'll improve by the end, because the story's not done. One minor thought though...

 

Spoiler

I'm disappointed Team Skull wasn't the surprise good guys all along; or, well, not so much "good guys" as "we're against the actual bad guys by going through some questionable methods." One day, the villainous Team will be the true heroes...

 

Although I'm not convinced Aether Foundation is evil, just its higher-ups.

 

Anyway, team is finally fully-evolved.

 

Owliver (Decidueye) - Level 39
Tubby (Hariyama) - Level 38
Walter (Slowbro) - Level 40
Sherbet (Muk) - Level 39
Rory (Arcanine) - Level 40
Rena (Ninetales) - Level 39

[Cukeman]

I was super-excited about bringing Pokemon from RBY to SM, but at this point in the game it seems like I've seen almost all the Kanto Pokemon in Alola already :/

 

EDIT: Walter? Is that a Bonanza reference?

Edited by Cukeman, 10 December 2016 - 04:26 AM.

[KEM64]

Anyway, as far as the game itself, I have some likes and dislikes. The beginning was way too scripted. I don't mind the story cutscenes but I got pretty sick of being told exactly where to go for the first opening segment without being able to do a single thing else. Even after you finally get sent on your path, I still find myself a little annoyed at the really crappy artificial roadblocks everywhere. Yes, these have always existed in Pokemon, but most of the time they were at least clever or actually helpful, whereas in this game it just feels like stifling exploration. I'm sure the same was true of X/Y, but I honestly don't remember a lot about that game, other than "oh there's a power outage, go somewhere else." I just wish it would stop cutscening me into events and just let me go to them at my leisure.

 

"What's that? You want to go past me? I'm busy looking for hidden items on my Stoutland. Come back later."- The Stoutland Rider who blocks the east exit of the town you arrive in when you get to the 2nd island.

Great roadblock, huh?

 

Progress: Completed the 3 trials on the 2nd Island, headed for the Grand Trial.

 

Team: Only changes since last post are....

 

-Snorlax has been replaced with Barboach (Needed a Water and Ground type to deal with Fire and Electric types).

-Makuhita evolved into Hariyama.

-Trumbeak evolved into Toucannon.

-Magnemite evolved into Magneton.

 

Team Levels are 26-31.

 

2nd Trial (The water one) wasn't too bad thanks to Dartrix. 3rd trial was funny....

 

Spoiler

2nd Dance: O.K., let's see which Alolan Marowak does different this time....What the?! Where did that Hiker come from?!

 

However, the Totem Pokemon of that trial was a pain (Has Toxic and Fire Attacks. It's allies also have poison attacks). Only beat it because Growlithe came through.

 

4th Trial's task was facepalm-inducing (Basically a fetch quest), but the Totem Pokemon wasn't too bad.

 

I do like Poke Pelego (never have to worry about running out of Poke Beans again! Plus having the ability to upgrade the isles in it gives me a good reason to catch Pokemon....which makes the "calling for help" mechanic much more annoying because it prevents you from catching Pokemon as long as there's 2 Wild Pokemon in the battle).

Edited by KEM64, 10 December 2016 - 03:40 PM.

[The Satellite]

The calling for help is very much a pain, especially when they always call at the worst moments. "Alright, ready to throw pokeball— DAMN IT NO DON'T SUMMON." That's incredibly stupid, I'd like to be able to at least try to catch a Pokemon after it summoned allies.

 

Walter? Is that a Bonanza reference?

 

Actually it's a reference to a character in a book I'm writing (was hoping to talk about that later but oops early spoiler). Basically, there's a minor character named Walter who's a bit slow on the uptake, and I'd just written him before catching the Slowpoke, so I was like "Okay, Walter it is."

[Orithan]

For anyone who hates SOS encounters: Status the pokemon - They can't call for help when given a major status aliment (eg Paralysis). Failing that, try to keep the pokemon above 50% HP before going in for the KO as they will be less likely to call for help then. That said, I am glad that the SOS mechanic requires you to actually plan ahead instead of going in with all guns blazing. I don't fully agree with it's execution, but at least it makes things more challenging.

Edited by Orithan, 10 December 2016 - 06:15 PM.

[Cukeman]

 

 

Actually it's a reference to a character in a book I'm writing (was hoping to talk about that later but oops early spoiler). Basically, there's a minor character named Walter who's a bit slow on the uptake, and I'd just written him before catching the Slowpoke, so I was like "Okay, Walter it is."

 

Cool. There's an episode of Bonanza where Walter is the name of an old tired dog, who just lies on the floor and does nothing

Edited by Cukeman, 10 December 2016 - 09:06 PM.

[The Satellite]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I've caught Solgaleo. I'm very near the end of the game now, then the postgame will be what's left. And yeah, this has been quite a top tier ride so far. Honestly, I think the only flaws with it are the heavy tutorialing in the beginning and a lot of railroading throughout, but the story is good, the adventure feeling is good, the battles are challenging, it's... almost the new Pokemon game I wanted. Taking out the railroading would have made it entirely what I wanted.

 

Current levels:

 

Owliver (Decidueye) - Level 49
Tubby (Hariyama) - Level 49
Walter (Slowbro) - Level 49
Sherbet (Muk) - Level 47
Rory (Arcanine) - Level 49
Rena (Ninetales) - Level 49

 

I also found and caught my first ever shiny other than the scripted Gyarados: An Alolan Dugtrio. He is now named "He-Men."

[thepsynergist]

Took a break to play Mario Maker.  I've made a bunch of levels.  I came back to this game and finally got all the Ultra Beasts.  Guzzlord scares me.  It has 233 Base HP.  He still dies really easy though...

[Cukeman]

I enjoyed the main part of the game, but cripes the ending/credits sequence drags on forever and ever 

Edited by Cukeman, 13 December 2016 - 01:00 AM.

[Adem]

Wow. The regional variants of Sandshrew and Vulpix are actually the cutest things I've ever seen. And Ninetails looks so elegant!

 

My Pokédex is at 210, now. That's 70%. In addition, I'm on the verge of evolving another three Pokémon. I'm really enjoying the way this game helps foster the desire to catch more Pokémon! With the use of percentages, Pokédex breakdown, and Poké Pelago, it seems a lot more manageable to complete the Pokédex. It's really satisfying, as well. Haha.

 

Spoiler

I really hope that a National Dex comes along with the update of Pokémon Bank. I was really looking forward to trying to complete the National Dex, as it's something I've never actually taken the time to do. I got kiiiiinda close in XY but that was just because I transferred all of my Pokémon over and it sorta happened on its own. We've had a National Dex for so many generations now, why get rid of it? Guess we'll see what happens! Fingers crossed.

[Russ]

Spoiler

It's been confirmed that National Dex is going to happen along with the Pokemon Bank update. The bank is also getting it's own dex.

[Cukeman]

Regional variants have an odd aspect to battles in single-player mode, when the prompt says "NPC is going to send out a ____" you might be wrong about what type it is.

[The Satellite]

Alright. I completed the game. Defeated the final obstacle and claimed victory while watching a lengthy credits sequence and ending that actually made me feel somewhat emotional. Granted, X/Y's did too, but I think it's only because I sympathize with the love for Floette.

 

Brief discussion on final obstacle

Well, okay, I think the Elite Four/Champion got name-dropped earlier, but I'm covering it up anyway!

 

There's a part of me who thinks it's a bit cheap to just reuse the Kahunas as the Elite Four, other than the aversion with Kahili, which was nice; I was starting to think she was just a thrown-in character with no purpose that may or may not have ended up getting some expansion in a third title. Yes, I haven't yet abandoned that notion just yet, even though we've gone two generations without a third entry so far. Gen V was also the only one besides II to not have a remake... unless you count Black 2/White 2?

 

I do kind of look at the Kahunas as the Elite Four though and wonder... are the islands getting new Kahunas? Or are these guys somehow having to split their lives between being Kahuna and Elite Four? I mean, I suppose you as the Champion are doing quite well... Also, having Kukui as the Champion... not unexpected, but still a nice change. I find his "Woo!" exclamations to be annoying, but he's otherwise one of the best professors just for overall presence. And a challenge, since I went in slightly underleveled; I had to reset once, but got the best of him the second time.

 

Lillie come back.

 

Anyway, team's levels before and after the challenge:

 

Owliver (Decidueye) - Level 50, 51
Tubby (Hariyama) - Level 49, 51
Walter (Slowbro) - Level 49, 51
Sherbet (Muk) - Level 48 (oops)
Rory (Arcanine) - Level 51, 52
Rena (Ninetales) - Level 51, 54

 

In the end... Well, there's some postgame to play through first. Part of me also wants to revisit the first two generations, especially since it's been so long since I've played the first one. I can safely say that this is at least third place for me; it soars beyond X/Y and B/W, which were straightforward games with little soul and going through the motions, X/Y more so. I haven't played the Gen III or IV games, so no placement there. I think if anything, the only reason it might not be able to surpass the Kanto games for me is Kanto's sheer exploration ability; I don't get too invested in the mechanics so outdated mechanics don't bug me.

 

But still, yeah, great games. Needed more freedom. Hell, I think with an extra bit of freedom, they might at least be my second-favorite. But despite the railroading and lengthy story elements, it was a fun game that actually, finally did something different, and even gave me a story I cared about. And actually challenged me a little too. Well done, GameFreak.

 

Ending spoilers

Now when is sequel/pseudo-remake of Gen I when we return to Kanto and reunite with Lillie?

[Cukeman]

Oh man you missed Gen. 3? I went straight from Red to Sapphire. Experiencing that much change in the series on such an impressive handheld (when the GBA/SP was still new and all) was so mind-blowing! Wish you could have had that experience.

 

My champ team was Magnezone (I relied so heavily on him 'cause so few Pokemon you commonly encounter can touch his steely defense, and his lightning/steel strikes are widely effective), Kadabra (okay for some fast kills, but gets KO'd too easily himself), Snorlax (mostly just utilitarian for captures [Yawn, Work Up, Hold Back], but with Giga Power still a strong attacker), Incineroar (not great on defense or versatility, but pretty alright at times), Hydreigon (incredibly hard to raise with its slow speed and only moderate attacks), and Decidueye (much stronger and more versatile than I expected).

[thepsynergist]

Hard not to notice, but it still should be mentioned.  Poison got buffed by a lot.  1/8 max hp in damage?  It's not worse off than burn now, as it does crazy passive damage.  I like Poison Gas on Salazzle over Toxic because of this, especially in doubles, as it hits both Pokemon.  Toxic hits with 1/16 first, then gets more powerful, so Toxic isn't really worth using in the short run.

 

I wonder how Poison cutting defense and doing 1/16 damage, similar to how burn cuts attack would do in the meta, versus how it is now...?