Pokemon | Scarlet & Violet (2022) + Legends Arceus is king

[NoWay]

I’d also highly recommend Let’s Go Pikachu/Evoli as a starting point because of the simplified gameplay mechanics. The Let’s Go games are perfect for somebody who isn’t familiar with modern Pokémon games.

The first Pokémon game of my girlfriend was also Let’s Go and it introduced her on an adequate way into the franchise.

 

[Soldier]

Aaah, you guys are amazing! Thank you so much @MATGSY & @Soldier! You guys are basically parroting my co-worker on the titles you've chosen. Arceus sounds particularly wild (and cool). But for some reason, the lists I've come across were all over the place, in terms of those specific recommendations.

I forgot that it was a neighbor's (original Gameboy) version of Red or Blue that was my first brush with the games. But I think I was exposed to the show / cards before that. I feel like grandma over here. Time flies!



Funny enough, I'm familiar with Donphan, because HE WAS IN THAT FIRST MOVIE! (And also in the tie-in prequel manga Toshihiro did that was only ever published in Japan's CoroCoro magazine which I just spent way too much munny on, on account of said Cinderace rabbithole!) (And maybe I'll become familiar with that Pokémon later.)



I love these stories <3

Sun & Moon are oddly nostalgic to me, despite not having played it, because that game just released the year I went to Japan. Me and my partner stopped at the Pokémon store there. Very cute, but I was thrown by an epic black Charizard statue (super cool looking). Anyways, he proposed in Japan, and so it's associated with my magical memories. I feel like I must play it someday! I still want a Popplio.

- - -

Also, to either of you, since we've recommended games that AREN'T Violet / Scarlet, I heard there's a possibility of Nintendo doing something similar to PlayStation with its back catalog if you subscribe to it? So, that would mean a wealth of Poké games would be at our disposal on one machine, yes?

You're very welcome. The black charizard is actually it's shiny coloration. Every mon released has a shiny form that you have a 1/4,096 chance of encountering, and while that number is huge, various methods can make it easier to obtain them. Not every shiny is great because it isn't designed by an actual person, rather an algorithm, but said algorithm actually makes some pretty impressive colors.

Donphan actually is one of my favorite mons (I'm partial to anything elephant related after all). Pretty solid in both attack and defense, with a variety of moves that hit hard and support the team like rapid spin. Plus, in modern games like SV it curls into a tire form and rolls around, such a nice attention to detail. Popplio is a great water starter, pretty solid in stats and has a lot of special defense to tank hits in it's final form. It's also capable of forcing ghosts to sleep with it's ability liquid voice which converts any sound based moves (like sing) into water type moves.

And as for the back catalog, that's something that is still up in the air. Nintendo has released switch online which is a subscription based service that gives you access to a lot of classic nintendo games (like Legend of Zelda, majora's mask or Banjo Kazooie) and it functions similar to virtual console games. On the 3DS they did release Pokemon Red Blue and Yellow and Gold Crystal and Silver via virtual console which has sadly shut down, but it was one of the first steps towards preserving them. I dunno, it's kind of tough to do most of the DS titles simply because of the split screen mechanic, but I still hold out hope to play Heartgold again on modern hardware. But The Pokemon Company itself is a rather fickle machine, and it usually takes a lot to move them into action.

 

[2 quid is good]

Having not purchased a pokemon game since gen 5 (my younger cousin had the 3ds titles and I didn't feel they were particularly great at the time), I'm honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed Scarlet and Violet.

I second everything everyone else said, and I haven't played Legends Arceus, but if it's better than SV, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong, the glitches and bugs, and generally technical issues of SV are terrible, but the story, gameplay loop and side quests were super fun for me. If you can see past that then I would go for it, but I probably wouldn't propose purchasing a switch *just* for one game. (Even though that's basically what I did)

 

[PikaPal]

With the first arc of Pokémon Horizons coming to a close next week, I'll give a few thoughts on the show so far.

• I will miss Ash and Pikachu a lot since they've played a huge part of my childhood but even I can't deny that this may very well be the biggest pile of fresh air the anime has had and I'd dare even say I wouldn't mind if this was the formula for the anime going forward as it's winning me over so far.
• Liko and Roy are great leads and I'm especially enjoying Friede as well. Such a fun character (and he's going to be voiced by Crispin Freeman in the dub so that's twice the fun for me when that starts too).
• The Explorers might just easily be topping Team Rocket for me as favourite villains in the show. Really like Amethio a lot with his more serious and determined personality. Looking forward to seeing more of Sango too and Hamber's kinda interesting as well.
• Animation is most definitely a big improvement. While Journeys had some great animated moments such as the second episode and especially the final part of Ash vs Leon, it was a big downgrade from Sun & Moon's animation feeling utterly flat and stiff. Yusuke Oshida is doing wonders for the animation department as well.
• Already Paldea is getting much better treatment than Galar did in JN with quite a few Pokémon and characters appearing. Kabu finally got to make his anime debut as well which is awesome to see, hopefully the other Galar folks get their chance to appear as well.

Horizons has been quite a great series so far and not only am I looking forward to the dub but also to see how the story unfolds as well.

 

[MATGSY]

With the first arc of Pokémon Horizons coming to a close next week, I'll give a few thoughts on the show so far.

• I will miss Ash and Pikachu a lot since they've played a huge part of my childhood but even I can't deny that this may very well be the biggest pile of fresh air the anime has had and I'd dare even say I wouldn't mind if this was the formula for the anime going forward as it's winning me over so far.

I maintain my stance that Ash should've been retired over 20 years ago, at the end of Johto at the latest. Keeping him around & having him continue to lose every league for the sake of status quo was what killed the series for me.

 

[Sonofjafar]

With the first arc of Pokémon Horizons coming to a close next week, I'll give a few thoughts on the show so far.

• I will miss Ash and Pikachu a lot since they've played a huge part of my childhood but even I can't deny that this may very well be the biggest pile of fresh air the anime has had and I'd dare even say I wouldn't mind if this was the formula for the anime going forward as it's winning me over so far.
• Liko and Roy are great leads and I'm especially enjoying Friede as well. Such a fun character (and he's going to be voiced by Crispin Freeman in the dub so that's twice the fun for me when that starts too).
• The Explorers might just easily be topping Team Rocket for me as favourite villains in the show. Really like Amethio a lot with his more serious and determined personality. Looking forward to seeing more of Sango too and Hamber's kinda interesting as well.
• Animation is most definitely a big improvement. While Journeys had some great animated moments such as the second episode and especially the final part of Ash vs Leon, it was a big downgrade from Sun & Moon's animation feeling utterly flat and stiff. Yusuke Oshida is doing wonders for the animation department as well.
• Already Paldea is getting much better treatment than Galar did in JN with quite a few Pokémon and characters appearing. Kabu finally got to make his anime debut as well which is awesome to see, hopefully the other Galar folks get their chance to appear as well.

Horizons has been quite a great series so far and not only am I looking forward to the dub but also to see how the story unfolds as well.

when it comes to Galar representation, I’m hoping Scottish Pokémon Trainer becomes canon at one point. Doesn’t have to be in Horizons, just somewhere

 

[WaltK]

It's kinda surreal hearing Diane Simmons talk about Pokemon.

 

[Sonofjafar]

Is it just me or does Kieran’s new hair look really stupid?

Spoiler Show

 

[plasmos]

Is it just me or does Kieran’s new hair look really stupid?

Spoiler Show

View attachment 16316

Deff feels like a reference to the 4th toxic chain Pokemon

 

[Sonofjafar]

Deff feels like a reference to the 4th toxic chain Pokemon

Is that one only catchable if you catch all of the loyal three or something?

 

[plasmos]

Is that one only catchable if you catch all of the loyal three or something?

The only known source of information there is apparently is that you must complete the teal mask dlc inorder to further the game in the indigo. But the datamine information doesn’t show anything else regarding this Pokémon but a side mission apparently . But hopefully they explain what this Pokémon is and how if came to be