Oh, gods, Hoenn.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire have landed!! by eatpraylove on 2014-11-21 20:19:00 UTC Reply

~~My wallet is ready and so is my body~~ Rejoice, fellow Pokémon fans! Today our favorite region reveals its long-overdue upgrade to America! I'd say "No spoilers", but we all know how RSE ended.

So, initial thoughts? What starter did you pick? Is there, in fact, too much water in Hoenn? Found anything cool yet? How soon should I get this game?

Random, unrelated Pokemon question. by Huinesoron on 2014-11-27 07:34:00 UTC Reply

In which game is it possible to get and resurrect the most different fossils (without trading)? And is it possible to do this early enough to make a fossil-oriented team (ignoring the fact that this is an objectively terrible idea, I know that part ^_^)?

hS

Platinum post-National Dex. Maybe. (nm) by eatpraylove on 2014-11-27 14:03:00 UTC Reply

That's what I was afraid of. by Huinesoron on 2014-11-27 14:18:00 UTC Reply

That's the one where you go digging around underground, right? The main problem is that, well, you only get the National Dex after finishing the main game. I guess I could do an initial Archosaur Run through (only use Pokemon based on archosaurs, ie, crocodiles, dinosaurs, and birds... though depending on how restrictive that comes out, I might extend it to 'all reptiles + birds), and then build a Fossil Team to re-beat the Elite Four... hrm. Not as fossilly as I was hoping, though.

Really, what the game needs is the ability to re-play the gym challenge with access to post-game Pokemon. That'd be fun.

hS

Which turns out to be a pretty short list. by Huinesoron on 2014-11-27 20:50:00 UTC Reply

Well, sort of. 'Reptiles + birds' gives a total of 48 evolution lines, and a fair few of those are non-evolving legendaries - I count 9 legendaries on my list, which obviously makes building a team with them unlikely. There's also some... really useless stuff on there. Wonder-team of Chatot, Delibird, Farfetch'd, Seviper, Kecleon and Skarmory, anyone?

Yeah, 22 of the 48 are birds (and a couple of others are Flying, including my all-time favourite, please-don't-expose-me-to-Ice Tropius). It's... doable, I think, but what the team will look like, particularly early in the game, I dread to think.

(In Platinum? Chock full of Starly. ;))

hS

You like Tropius, too?! by Iximaz on 2014-11-28 12:18:00 UTC Reply

:D

Silliness aside, since it seems like there are quite a few Pokémon-playing Boarders, we could probably dig around and find fossils and stuff for you. I'm getting close to finishing my Platinum Nuzlocke- only nine deaths and I'm heading to Spear Pillar next- and once I ~~wipe~~ win, I'll go fossil hunting and see what I can find!

And of course I like Tropius. by Huinesoron on 2014-11-28 17:02:00 UTC Reply

It's a gigantic dinosaur with ridiculous helicopter wings and a crippling weakness - what's not to like?

WAIT.

WAIT.

How many sauropod Pokemon are there these days? Tropius... Dialga... Aurorus... Meganium... okay, that's four, so throw in the prevolutions for Aurorus and Meganium, and you have six. Team Sauropod, go!

Bet you could do Team Therapod, too - and maybe even Team Ceratopsian, I can think of three (Aggron, Rhydon, and Bastiodon) off the top of my head.

... I think there may be a picture in this. Because even though it's (probably?) completely impossible in the games, it's a hilariously awesome thought.

hS, combining dinosaurs and Pokemon far more than is healthy

Nothing says you couldn't put together a team after a run. by Iximaz on 2014-11-29 10:59:00 UTC Reply

I mean, my ideal team would be Venusaur, Vaporeon, Luxray, Lucario, Flygon, and Arcanine.

Shame none of them are flying banana tree dinosaurs, but as much as I love Tropius, I still love the Bulbasaur line more.

...dammit, now I'm gonna have to do a monotype Grass run. Tropius is third gen, so Hoenn away! ~~Yes I know there's no Bulbasaur shut up~~

Sorry, got OT there. So, Team Sauropod? A quick Google search only pulls up those three... If you wanted to be really generic you could go Team Dinosaur, which would at least open up a lot more options...

Nah; thanks, though. by Huinesoron on 2014-11-28 13:05:00 UTC Reply

I discovered that, bizarrely, most of the fossils available in Platinum aren't archosaurs anyway; I think there were three arthropods in there for some reason, because when you think 'extinct and fossilised', you naturally think 'invertebrates'.

Instead, I've gone for Team Reptilia+Birds (since they should be in it anyway). Which, uh... well, in the early game...

Let me put it like this: if I hadn't run into a Psyduck in that cave north of Jubilife, I'd be heading off to the first gym with my starting Turtwig - and three Starly.

(Why Turtwig? Because I used Piplup last time, having considered 'the monkey which is on fire' to be pretty stupid looking)

There must be some other reptiles in Sinnoh, right? Like, at least one or two? [Checks] Okay, I can pick up an Onix in Oreburgh... that's something, at least. After that... oh, stars, it's going to be a long trip.

hS, master of Starly (apparently)

Wooop! by Cassie on 2014-11-22 11:35:00 UTC Reply

Gota wait till payday s I can actually buy the game, but I am excited to get it. :D
*Much B'AWWWWWWIIIIIING due to lack of a 3DS* by SkarmorySilver on 2014-11-22 04:42:00 UTC Reply

I don't have the time or the money for any of the requisite material, sadly. The 'too much water' thing made some pretty good rounds on Tumblr, though, fun times!

I would've picked Treecko, personally. As tempted as I am to pick Torchic, I feel like that wouldn't be fair to the competitive circles. XD
Well, I picked Treecko the first time I ever played PokÃ©mon. by Iximaz on 2014-11-22 02:09:00 UTC Reply

But this time I decided to go with Mudkip. Quincey is the most adorable, badass bro of a (semi?) blind Nuzlocke.

I'm still disappointed they took away trainer customization, but so far the graphics are gorgeous ~~but oh god I don't wanna go surfing for long periods of time kill me~~.

Get it! It's awesome.

Okay, I beat the game last night. Have a review! by Iximaz on 2014-11-24 23:55:00 UTC Reply

The story: Considering I'm a bit biased towards the RSE story, I was very pleased at how faithful they stayed to the originals. 4/5, because they lost the opportunity to really do some fleshing out.

The surfing: Got quite a lot of it removed, or at least wild Water Pokémon aren't as likely to jump you. 5/5, much better this time.

The Gyms: Despite my Nuzlockeing of Alpha Sapphire, I never had to grind, never had a single death and didn't break a sweat. No, not even fighting Norman. No, not even fighting the Murdertwins. The levels, Pokémon, and AI all got walloped by the nerfbat so hard I was almost relieved to be scrambling to fight the E4. 2/5, need more difficulty.

The E4: I didn't have any problem until I hit Drake, and that's mostly because I never got my hands on a decent Ice TM. Still, even Steven nearly took out my highest level 'mon, a level 66 Swampert with Earthquake. 4/5, the first was easily beaten by my Dustox and the second two barely hit me.

The postgame: I've only just gotten into this part, but the story kept me rivited and while I wish it was better fleshed out, I still thought it was excellent. There were some nice callbacks to X/Y and it got a bit more into how Mega Evolution works. I'm looking forward to collecting the Mega Stones. 4/5, like in the main story, the plot could be more detailed.

The graphics: While the 3D was gorgeous, the framerate started to lag with bigger 'mons and major cutscenes. Still, there was a bit of an improvement over X/Y. 4/5, because it's hard to take the villains seriously when they look like chibis and the fact that I couldn't use 3D in big battles. Also the lack of character customization was a disappointment.

Overall, I'm going to say 4/5 because while there were some very nice things going for this game, there were some things I think they could have done to make it much better. Definitely a must-have for fellow Pokémon fans.

Mudkip user here! by son_of_heaven176 on 2014-11-22 00:45:00 UTC Reply

And did you catch the subtle throwback at the very beginning of the game? I literally LOLed when I saw it.

Nonstalgia took a punch to the gut. I loved it. (nm) by Iximaz on 2014-11-22 16:45:00 UTC Reply
I don't have the game yet :( (nm) by eatpraylove on 2014-11-22 14:06:00 UTC Reply

Oh, gods, Hoenn. by Huinesoron on 2014-11-21 21:03:00 UTC Reply

Region of the rollercoaster start - wandering around with my little on-fire bird, I discovered the joy of learning that there's a really-quite-useful Water-type hanging around nearby... and the horror of realising that there's a really-useful-when-it-evolves Psychic-type nearby, too... with a low catch rate. Yep, it's the region of Half An Hour Hunting Ralts.

That's in the original, of course. Won't catch me playing recently-released games - that's money, and money costs, uh, money. But I'd be interested to hear if Team Torchic-Wingull-Ralts is still a contender for The Way To Play.

(Why Torchic, you ask? Uh, did you miss the DOGA flashpatch? Srsly.)

hS

:D by Cassie on 2014-11-22 11:38:00 UTC Reply

I'm generally a sucker for the Fire-types too, it has to be said, and a Ralts evolution will always find its way onto my team - though I'm not too fond of Wingull.

26 and Pokemon is still a guilty pleasure I hide from my mum. XD

My mom plays PokÃ©mon! by Iximaz on 2014-11-23 16:37:00 UTC Reply

She's beaten the E4 and completed the Sinnoh Dex. So no guilty pleasure here! :D

~~But then again I'm a huge Brony and have nothing to be ashamed of~~
28, and not in my parents' house anymore. by doctorlit on 2014-11-23 13:19:00 UTC Reply

And still a guilty pleasure I hide from my parents. >_>