Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield

[queenzelda]

Besides the dex leaking; there's also a leak of what moves will & will not be in the new Sd/Sld gamel. So watch out for that as well. ;3 I can't wait to play both Pokemon games & will be getting my copy day one since I asked for the other one as a Christmas gift. :3

[Karo]

I'll be getting my copy on release too and like honestly when dexit first happened I did consider canceling my pre-order, but I really do like the trainer customization and I think it'll probably still be an enjoyable Pokemon experience, but like in the end with that comes the usual problems we have had with gamefreak in the past.

I'm actually going to post this infographic with the post it based on in a spoiler that way for anyone on the fence can decide whether this is a deal breaker for them or not cause with information comes power:

The current issues

Post the infograph based on
https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comment...so_far_in/
Infograph: https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comment..._an_image/

Like in the list I honestly don't really feel like graphically Pokemon looks bad or really should be trying to emulate the style of other anime games I think it looks like it'll be about the same quality of art style as say Fire Emblem Three Houses, but I noticed as the technology improves people have different standards for good graphics and are far more subjective than ever really.

Edit: Honestly just looking at the list part of me just feels like people expectations for these games are so huge that I think in the end this is kinda what fueling the disappointment wave that emanating from the Dexit parts of the fanbase. Like if this wasn't Pokemon people wouldn't probably be so nit-picky and it wouldn't be held up to the current standard, but in the end I don't think there anything wrong with voicing critique or deciding not to support this game. I just decided for me I'll still enjoy these games with these issues.

[queenzelda]

Idk, I feel like I've been expected to change my mind & not get the game due to the dexit thing, & now the whole new thing about data miners finding the Sun/Moon models in Swd|Sld. I think (& this is just a theory) that Gamefreak finished a 3DS game of Swd|Sld & Nintendo told them last minute that they had to move it all to the Switch. So they TRIED to move it over to the Switch cart but it had way less storage then a 3DS one did & it's why so many pokemon, pokemon moves & some features are missing. Is my thought.

Still, I'm getting both games. Though it maybe lacking, I really want to play through the story more then anything & my favorites are still in the game & what old ones I can't find new ones in the Galar region will do just fine.

[King Atem]

Because of the data mine leak, I've decided to not get Sword or Shield. Enjoy for me though.

[aerodynamik]

ONE MORE DAY WOOT!

Can't wait. It may have it's negative things scattered around the internet, it's still a new game and improvement of "Let's Go Eevee/Pikachu". So therefore, I'm excited. Also, it makes me use my Switch which I bought last year specially for Let's Go and haven't touched since I stopped playing that game after 20 hours. xD

[Moonface]

I wish I could be excited for this, but Game Freak's handling of this game from a PR standpoint has been bad enough to make me feel I won't be able to play this game without heavily judging it for everything it doesn't do that GF claimed it would as a result of Dexit. I'd have preferred they simply said that due to time constraints they weren't putting everyone in, rather than claiming it's for improving something else and then not doing it. Hopefully the next game will actually look like something worthy of being released in the current year on a home console or at the very least contain enough content to actually make up for that. Right now it comes across to me as lacking in both style and substance and unable to achieve its own ambitions of being a true step forward for the series.

[queenzelda]

Your really missing out is all I have to say. I'm glad I didn't give into pere pressure from fellow hard core fans & get it anyway. I'm loving the hell out of Shield.

[aerodynamik]

Your really missing out is all I have to say. I'm glad I didn't give into pere pressure from fellow hard core fans & get it anyway. I'm loving the hell out of Shield.

Could not agree more. 8 hours so far and I’m on Route 5. Great game! Can’t wait to play more.

[wobo]

I’m still keen on getting the game or not. I might just get it anyways for the fun of it. GF needs to do better though.

[Maniakkid25]

I got it thanks to a push from Yuri. Yeah, some of my personal faves are out (LIKE SKARMORY, AGGRON, AND VOLCARONA!), but hey, its Pokemon. It's just a Pokemon game; what more can I really ask for?

[Moonface]

@"ShiraNoSpook" got the game yesterday, and from watching it so far I find the game OK. Some parts look well done, and others look like they needed more time. A big gripe I do have is the depth of field effect the game has though. The tiles on the floor of the industrial revolution themed town look fine when close to the camera, but then take on the appearance of a Wii game when any degree of distance is measured because the depth of field blurs everything in a way that just makes everything look low resolution rather than far away. It's akin to how motion blur can spoil games by making them look worse at speed rather than creating a sense of actual speed.

Model wise, Game Freak nailed it on that front. Not design wise (because that's subjective), but in regards to the artistic style used for them.

Also, the trailers really do this game a huge injustice in terms of the visuals. Every single trailer, even the ones right before launch, have noticeably worse quality than what the game actually has. I still don't find a lot of the game to be visually stunning or really trying to take advantage of the Switch, but the trailers make it out a lot worse than it really is. You can especially notice it in the character models, which even the trailers make out to be rough around the edges when they're actually very crisp.

I will say I hate Hop with a passion though. He has nothing likeable about him and has all the talk of a Gary Oak with none of the personality or bluster to make his words mean anything despite the player always beating him. Even his own mother has zero faith in him, which makes any attempt of his to sound serious fall as flat as the bump he makes in the road to the player. Maybe he'll redeem himself further in, but I doubt he will.

[Mr EliteL]

Seems like this is the most common game currently, which is cool. Don't want to say I want to wait for an inevitable 3rd, updated version release, nor am I going to jump in and buy one as soon as possible. Unless I find my store has a copy during this week's colleague discount. I didn't check on Friday, weekend or today.

Hop is really that bad? I had a feeling he was going to be a kind of character I wouldn't like. Good, I don't have to care for him when I come across him (if and when I get the game, of course).

[Maniakkid25]

I think Bede's way worse than Hop. He's a smug, stuck-up prick who has no redeeming qualities about him. I actually like Hop, ESPECIALLY compared to Bede.

So, I was looking over some of the Galar pokemon, and found a distressing trend: MOST OF THEM SUCK! Seriously, I keep finding pokemom that could be good sweepers if they had more speed, or could be good walls if they didnt have such a weird typing. Corviknight is clearly a replacement for Skarmory, but got a 35 POINT NERF to Def! Toxtricity has an interesting typing and good SpA, but a 4x weakness to ground and speed slower than some WALLS make it less than viable. I must say, though, in this kind of environment, old favorites like Ferrothorn and Hydregion are gonna come back into the OU meta. I foresee a few niches being filled in the OU by some Galar pokemon (Duraludon is looking like a nice fit), but nothing really huge, and this is nothing more than a big win for pokemom that were once strong in the OU meta and then got knocked away by the introduction of other Pokemon (Fairy type really hurt Hydregion).

More importantly, MY GODZILLA TEAM IS GONE NOW! NO MECHA GOJIRA AND NO MOTHRA! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO FOR THAT TEAM NOW?!

[Mr EliteL]

Bede sounds like a character you'll be happy to destroy in battle, though. Probably the only plus that goes for him then.

Think I need to check up on what Pokémon are available then just for a heads up, as I haven't done that yet. Did check only Sword and Shield exclusives before. Thinking and betting some of my favourites probably haven't made it in. Sucks there's no Aggron or Volcarona.

[Maniakkid25]

After much discussion with Yuri, I've changed my opinion on a couple of the new Galar pokemon: Cursola and Galarian Weezing. Cursola has a hidden ability that is, in a word, disgusting: Perish Body. Basically, if Cursola is hit with an attack that touches it, it gets to activate Perish Song for free. Thankfully, it can't learn Mean Look or any moves that force the pokemon to stay out on the field, or else it would be immediately banned to Uber. But, this creates a funnel effect that is pretty sickening: see, phys attackers that don't have, say, Earthquake or something similar will have to switch out at some point, or they die. And if they have any sense, they'll switch to a pokemon that is a special attacker to avoid activating Perish Body. The problem is that Cursola has 130 SpD. And with 145 SpA, it can hit as hard as it takes. This makes Cursola a distressingly good revenge killer and potential check against top tier pokemon like Hydregion, Gardevoir, and other heavy special hitters.

Galarian Weezing is an interesting pokemon, because it's effectiveness is built around a weird typing of Poison/FAIRY. Cue walls against Haxorus and Weavile thanks to a 120 Def. It might not have the hitting power of Cursola, but but it can stall hardcore against pokemon thanks to its weird typing. I dont think Weezing has the potential to make it all the way to OU, but it could be a solid UU pokemon, as long as it has Levitate. We'll see how the meta evolves around this new Dex.

...I STILL WANT MY AGGRON BACK! Rhyperior just ain't the same...

Edit: so, out of curiousity, I decided to check Smogon's discussion board on the meta, and some surprising names popped out from it. Barraskewda, a new Galar pokemon, I had initially discounted, until I learned it got Swift Swim with 123 Atk and 136 Speed. Yeah, that's not terrifying. Galarian Corsola (not Cursola) is coming up as a very strong wall thanks to eviolite doubling its bulk. Corviknight, as it turns out, gets Bulk Up, so Skarmory isn't missed as much anymore. Hawlucha and Gyarados break the meta right now because of Dynamax, and then a name I didn't expect to see popped up: Ditto. See, Ditto can transform into an enemy sweeper, and Dynamax to instantly ruin that opponent's day. So, that was interesting. I'm still perusing the discussion right now, but these guys tend to find things I never even think about. I know I'm really the only person who cares about competitive battling, but it's interesting to see how this meta is developing, and how quickly it is developing. Hell, Aegislash might not get banned to Uber again! That would be insane!