Unpopular opinions

[Esserise]

The entire story from what I've seen is just. Bad? Not just the ending. Like I know Pokémon has never been super strong or focused on narrative, but SWSH feels like it actively hides most of the plot from you until you're randomly thrust into action due to incredibly contrived reasons.

Depends on who you ask, I guess. Like, personally I agree with the common critique that everything after the Semifinals up to the battle against Eternatus feels rushed and contrived, but I think the majority of the story is on-par for a main series Pokémon game, which is to say, it’s fine. I think there’s some neat thematic work going on, and I like the characters. It’s nothing exceptional, but it’s serviceable for what it is. I didn’t feel like it “hid the plot” in any way that stuck out to me as unusual.

But then, I’m the guy whose favorite villain team in the series is Team Flare, so I’m not exactly with the grain.

 

[KalosianPorygon]

SwSh also has performance issues that makes the Wild Area annoyingly laggy, also the Y-Comm is agreed to be even worse than the Festival Plaza, itself an unpopular replacement for the PSS.
And I'm pretty sure the games also has at least one game-breaking bug that was never fixed.
---
Here's my unpopular opinion of the day: the Berry Pots are a really awesome Key Item that should have appeared in more games and have zero business being only in HGSS, and the removal of the mechanic of growing Berries is one of GF's dumbest decisions ever.
Oh yeah, and the ugly Wild Area tree you see in memes? I thought SwSh's ugliest trees were the Berry trees that house Greedent and Cherubi.

#MakeBerryFarmingConvenientAgain

 

[pika pal]

Oh yeah, and the ugly Wild Area tree you see in memes? I thought SwSh's ugliest trees were the Berry trees that house Greedent and Cherubi.

#MakeBerryFarmingConvenientAgain

Fitting because Greedent is one of the ugliest Pokemon designs I have ever looked at. Like there are Pokemon that are more aesthetically unappealing (whether by design or unintentional), but this thing fills me with the most annoyance/revulsion to look at of the entire National Dex somehow.

 

[Worldie]

Fitting because Greedent is one of the ugliest Pokemon designs I have ever looked at. Like there are Pokemon that are more aesthetically unappealing (whether by design or unintentional), but this thing fills me with the most annoyance/revulsion to look at of the entire National Dex somehow.

Does this look like the face of mercy to you?

(Yes that was so cursed I took a image of it ages ago and keep it as reminder of how cursed it was)

 

[woodgoldtwo]

Does this look like the face of mercy to you?
View attachment 567442

(Yes that was so cursed I took a image of it ages ago and keep it as reminder of how cursed it was)

What is cursed about this image?

 

[pika pal]

Does this look like the face of mercy to you?
View attachment 567442

(Yes that was so cursed I took a image of it ages ago and keep it as reminder of how cursed it was)

Oh good, it's big enough that I can kick it specifically in the face now.

 

[Sonikku A]

Breaking News: pika pal broke their TV

 

[Worldie]

What is cursed about this image?

Something about the giant squirrel about to eat you for breakfast while smiling

 

[KalosianPorygon]

Fitting because Greedent is one of the ugliest Pokemon designs I have ever looked at. Like there are Pokemon that are more aesthetically unappealing (whether by design or unintentional), but this thing fills me with the most annoyance/revulsion to look at of the entire National Dex somehow.

shows cursed pic

You hate Greedent because it's ugly.
I hate Greedent because it ate all my Berries.
We are not the same!

 

[woodgoldtwo]

Greedent is also a menace in randbats that hits deceptively hard after a swords dance and can be difficult to take down due to sitrus berry + cheek pouch

 

[Worldie]

You hate Greedent because it's ugly.
I hate Greedent because it ate all my Berries.
We are not the same!

I think after Ogre Oustin, Greedent has accumulated a fair share of haters

 

[pika pal]

You hate Greedent because it's ugly.
I hate Greedent because it ate all my Berries.
We are not the same!

I can hate the Squirrel for multiple reasons, believe me. Ogre Oustin promoted it from being punched to being punted

 

[Sonikku A]

Greedent is ugly, but the Doubles strats are cool

But it's still ugly

 

[khlaylav]

Greedent just after murdering an opposing Pokémon and seeing another victim sent out for the slaughter:

Family guy: heh heh heh heh heh heh an then another heh he heh he #shorts #familyguy - YouTube

 

[Coronis]

Does this look like the face of mercy to you?
View attachment 567442

(Yes that was so cursed I took a image of it ages ago and keep it as reminder of how cursed it was)

 

[Castersvarog]

Does this look like the face of mercy to you?
View attachment 567442

(Yes that was so cursed I took a image of it ages ago and keep it as reminder of how cursed it was)

Hey Lois, I’m a Pokémon now. Hehehehehehe

 

[Magcargo]

So the in Japan, there was a version of Pokemon Stadium that is different than the one we got in the USA, which didn't feature all 151 one Pokemon. This game also has a slightly different OST than the game we got in the US. I gotta say, I actually like this game's version of the RBY soundtrack much more than its sequel, as the instrumentation and soundfont feel closer to the gameboy games. Really love the Champion and Gym Leader themes in particular.

 

[Axiemeister]

is it unpopular that i think gamefreak should be more into retcons than it is? if a shiny pokémon wasn't popular just change it! if a level requirement for evolution doesn't make sense anymore just change it! if nobody has a valid reasoning for why nidorina and nidoqueen aren't allowed to breed just change it!!

when they finally realised incenses and location-based evolutions were not their best ideas it was a good start but we could use more

 

[DrPumpkinz]

if nobody has a valid reasoning for why nidorina and nidoqueen aren't allowed to breed just change it!!

That's just part of their lore. Like it's been written canon since Gen 1, when breeding wasn't an in-game mechanic.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

I sorta understand the appeal of generically learnable moves, but I tend to think movepools were more interesting back when having good coverage (or even good STAB) was more unusual. Idk sometimes it feels like what a lot of people really want is a 90/100 "[type] Slam" and "[type] Beam" for every type and to me that's extremely boring

 

[Axiemeister]

That's just part of their lore. Like it's been written canon since Gen 1, when breeding wasn't an in-game mechanic.

i know this, but that's exactly my point - it doesn't add anything to the in-game, and the lore is...? there isn't really an actual built lore about this other than word of god, so it could be retconned.

then again i acknowledge it's a minor detail that most people don't remember one way or the other, axing incenses was an actual mechanic retcon

 

[QuentinQuonce]

is it unpopular that i think gamefreak should be more into retcons than it is? if a shiny pokémon wasn't popular just change it! if a level requirement for evolution doesn't make sense anymore just change it! if nobody has a valid reasoning for why nidorina and nidoqueen aren't allowed to breed just change it!!

when they finally realised incenses and location-based evolutions were not their best ideas it was a good start but we could use more

To add onto this: abilities. They routinely change up the mechanics of moves that didn't really need it (Wish, Feint, Surf, et al) and I'd like to see more inter-generational ability changes, even when they aren't massively needed. They've done a bit of this recently with the likes of Gallade and Empoleon but it's so rare when it happens. Give Snorlax Poison Heal and Salamence Aerilate as their new HAs! Give Sableye Wonder Skin instead of Keen Eye! Give Hitmontop Speed Boost instead of Steadfast! Idk! Go nuts!

I sorta understand the appeal of generically learnable moves, but I tend to think movepools were more interesting back when having good coverage (or even good STAB) was more unusual. Idk sometimes it feels like what a lot of people really want is a 90/100 "[type] Slam" and "[type] Beam" for every type and to me that's extremely boring

Yeah, having played a lot of the older games in the last couple of years, feeling this a lot. Everything atm seems to get powerful moves, and usually at really early levels. It's one of the things that made ORAS incredibly unsatisfying for me - everything had much wider movepools than in RS and the difference was incredibly noticeable. I felt like I was steamrollering over everything. The range of TMs available doesn't help either: I mean, before the third badge you're already able to purchase Venoshock, Facade, Bulldoze, Charge Beam, Dragon Tail, Aerial Ace, and Low Sweep. I don't like that I have to deliberately not use TMs to maintain a semblance of challenge: part of the challenge of the older games, particularly the first three gens, is deciding what the best investment of that single good TM you have is.

Sneasel is a classic example of something that generally gets quite good, interesting options, just rarely its own STAB. I've just bred one in Crystal and it has a much more competent moveset than I remember - Shadow Ball, Metal Claw, Iron Tail, Dynamicpunch, Slash, Strength, (and obviously Hidden Power to round it off). It even gets Surf if you're absolutely desperate to do a fully special moveset with Ice Beam/Punch and Faint Attack.

It operates differently pre- and post-Gen IV - and obviously generally for the better later on - but I like that there are a lot of Pokemon like this in the first two or three generations which need a bit more thought to their movesets than just, as CE said "90/100 "[type] Slam"+"[type] Beam"+coverage 1+coverage 2.

 

[khlaylav]

This might be unpopular, but I actually like Drayden's main STAB move being Dragon Tail. Is it optimized? Absolutely not. Could you argue that giving his mons a more reliable STAB move should happen at the last (or seventh) fight? Sure. But giving a Dragon Dancing Outrage Haxorus to an AI is just asking for absolutely stupid levels of difficulty, and especially considering the champion fight in Black and White 2 features a full on Dragon Dancing Haxorus, I can appreciate the restraint in the prior match. Plus, it means you have to deal with pivoting, and that introduces a new element to the gym fight because you really can't set up on anyone.

 

[Samtendo09]

To add onto this: abilities. They routinely change up the mechanics of moves that didn't really need it (Wish, Feint, Surf, et al) and I'd like to see more inter-generational ability changes, even when they aren't massively needed. They've done a bit of this recently with the likes of Gallade and Empoleon but it's so rare when it happens. Give Snorlax Poison Heal and Salamence Aerilate as their new HAs! Give Sableye Wonder Skin instead of Keen Eye! Give Hitmontop Speed Boost instead of Steadfast! Idk! Go nuts!



Yeah, having played a lot of the older games in the last couple of years, feeling this a lot. Everything atm seems to get powerful moves, and usually at really early levels. It's one of the things that made ORAS incredibly unsatisfying for me - everything had much wider movepools than in RS and the difference was incredibly noticeable. I felt like I was steamrollering over everything. The range of TMs available doesn't help either: I mean, before the third badge you're already able to purchase Venoshock, Facade, Bulldoze, Charge Beam, Dragon Tail, Aerial Ace, and Low Sweep. I don't like that I have to deliberately not use TMs to maintain a semblance of challenge: part of the challenge of the older games, particularly the first three gens, is deciding what the best investment of that single good TM you have is.

Sneasel is a classic example of something that generally gets quite good, interesting options, just rarely its own STAB. I've just bred one in Crystal and it has a much more competent moveset than I remember - Shadow Ball, Metal Claw, Iron Tail, Dynamicpunch, Slash, Strength, (and obviously Hidden Power to round it off). It even gets Surf if you're absolutely desperate to do a fully special moveset with Ice Beam/Punch and Faint Attack.

It operates differently pre- and post-Gen IV - and obviously generally for the better later on - but I like that there are a lot of Pokemon like this in the first two or three generations which need a bit more thought to their movesets than just, as CE said "90/100 "[type] Slam"+"[type] Beam"+coverage 1+coverage 2.

There’s the fact that the in-game opponents doesn’t take advantage of such wider learnset than before, making the Trainer bosses outdated the moment you even face them, so it’s no wonder they keep getting streamrolled. If they were using the expended or permanent TMs for coverage or powerful moves at the time, it will encourage the player to do the same.

I’m not sure if striping down learnset would be the best move, as we run risk into similar issues to RBY if not done carefully. I do agree that we do not need widely available 90 BP special move for every type, and we definitely do not need a widely distributed Close Combat or widely powerful / potent move, and doesn’t need earlier obtention 70 BP moves that would be too powerful at the time of obtention.

 

[Worldie]

To add onto this: abilities. They routinely change up the mechanics of moves that didn't really need it (Wish, Feint, Surf, et al) and I'd like to see more inter-generational ability changes, even when they aren't massively needed. They've done a bit of this recently with the likes of Gallade and Empoleon but it's so rare when it happens. Give Snorlax Poison Heal and Salamence Aerilate as their new HAs! Give Sableye Wonder Skin instead of Keen Eye! Give Hitmontop Speed Boost instead of Steadfast! Idk! Go nuts!

I think before gen 7 they weren't really considering actually changing abilities.

Gen 7 is when they started seriously looking into competitive balance, most of the moveset, stat and ability changes have been done with competitive in mind rather than just "in game fun" perspective.

I think it's not so much a case of them "not being willing to retcon" but rather them only recently realizing that they need to do more than "just add new pokemon and gimmicks" to spice up competitive metagame to get it become a real e-sport.

Gen 9 has also been the first time they've shown they are willing to tamper with movesets as well. While yes, outside of smogon, transfer moves have never been allowed, outside of moves strictly not appearing as tutors/TMs at all in a given generation, they used to be more or less consistent with returning ones: if you could learn move X in the previous generation, and it returns as TM (or equivalent), you were still able to learn it the next generation. Gen 9 has shifted, where even moves that were in gen 8 (like Scald) or were actually introduced in gen 8 (like Grassy Glide) have seen a shift in distribution / power in order to spice up or alter the competitive scenario.
Considering this has mostly been received positively by the VGC players, I'd expect the trend to continue.