Pokémon (Not-So) Griefing Thread - Scarlet and Violet Released with 10 Million Copies in First 3 Days in Buggy States

[The Cum Beast]

No purple hair or British flag?

It is done

Also have my jersey number be "88" of course

She looks the most accurate to Amelia in the battle intro

Nuclear take: Sword and Shield have the best vibe of any mainline Pokémon game. Music, aesthetics, environment, details, feeling, all of it together. Unmatched.
I just wish that the rest of the game was good enough to keep up.

I actually do like the Bri ish countryside feel SwSh has, but like you said despite the game being decent grpahically outside of the wild area, there's just no substance, and the routes look big and impressive on paper, but in reality is even more linear than Alola is.

I'll also talk about my experience replaying SwSh so far

I planned to use Centiskorch, the bug fire type centipede pokemon, but it took me a while to find a sizzlipede since it only has a one percent encounter rate on route 3 which is the earliest you could find it (well technically it has a higher rate with the camp random encounters, but that's even slower). This is kinda like how XY basically hides it's new pokemon away, almost shamefully. (Maybe it's because of the Unova backlash at the time?) It's kinda weird when pokemon games do this, imo the new pokemon should be almost over-represented, like how it was in Hoenn or even SV (ik not everyone likes the new pokemon in SwSh or SV but i still think they should be at the forfront no matter what).

Another thing I have to critique about the grpahics is the generic backgrounds, the 3DS games all had unique background for every location and gym/trial location battle or wild pokemon encounter. Hell, even ignoring any pre switch games, fucking LET'S GO had unique background even for gyms you'd only visit for rematching it's leaders.

Something small I've noticed when battling Hop is that he is hard-coded to NOT attack your pokemon if they're close to fainting, he always uses non-damaging moves like growl every time your mons are at low HP.

Also this reminds me of the Kalos powerplant

About the isle of armor, the interesting thing is that you are meant to go back there a couple of times during the main story to level up incase you're underlevel, so I'll probably do that since in my first playthrough I did IoA after the main story.

Also my current tierlist of the pokemon games + gamecube games

Note that i've only played the switch games once, so my opinions on them could change (besides bdsp lmao). Top and bottom tiers have been pretty static and the ones I've been switching around the most are the middle tiers, B and C. I have not played legends ZA but I'm predicting it to be in C, it will probably be behind XY and probably even SV and maybe even let's go lmao. I've always wanted a city only region and to have one where you can't even enter any of the buildings is very disapointing for me, but who knows it could be a suprise hit (very unlikely though).

Also i just realized that not a single switch game besides LA is ahead of XY, even if XY still had problems of it's own I don't think it's as mid as the majority of the switch games.

 

[Registration]

Currently playing Fate/EXTRA A PSP rpg from 2010.

Kinda weird how a psp game from 10 years ago feels more complete than the pokemon games from today

 

[Grayback]

PSA in case there's anyone out there who doesn't have Legends Arceus but still wants a Hisuian Typhlosion: you can get one via Mystery Gift from now until February 21 (this Saturday).

The password is "EU1C26HEATWAVE."

 

[Fanatical Pragmatist]

Meh, not all pokemon have to have fully optimized stats, and using shitmon is fun for replays

Not all mons need to have stats and movesets optimized for meta-centric competitive play.

But if they made some of the shitmons at least level up well so we could take them through gyms and the E4.

Like, I'm not a competitive player and don't keep up with the meta but FWIA Sceptile isn't a good mon competitively - however, the leaf lizard is still very much viable in late-game Gen 3 Hoenn (7th gym & evil team boss through E4).
Same with Feraligatr in HG. It may have some mediocre stats and a less-than-ideal move pool for a competitive meta where everything has to be top-tier, but man if that blue alligator can't pull its weight in a playthrough.

Gen 2 and Gen 3 are especially bad at this. At least Gen 4 gave Murkrow an evolution that can be accessed mid to late game.

Sounds interesting, what would be it's starting mon and it's evolutions? I could see it being a former human like some of the other mons are said to be.

You could really go several ways with this. Maybe basic stage is a floaty ghost like Shuppet, Misdreavous or Haunter, while it's evolution is a bipedal with skinny legs and Zangoose-like claws.
Alternatively you could go like basic quadrupedal ghost deer -> 1st stage bipedal walking terror -> 2nd stage floating blizzard horror embodying the haunting spirit of hunger and winter storms.

I'm thinking something playing on the like deer-skull depictions of Wendigos, only for Pokemon lore & self referencing you could probably give one of the evolutions a Stantler-looking skull.

Snow Warning and Shadow Tag as possible abilities.
The former playing to the "command of winter" aspect of the lore, the latter playing to the inescapable ghostly predator aspect of the lore.

Wouldn't that be Lycanroc(sp?) It always gave me werewolf vibes.

NGL, I was kind of imagining a brownish Machoke with an Arcanine head.

Crunch
Howl
Moonlight
Close Combat

 

[Valstrax]

I have no words anymore.

I am so sick of seeing "Made with Unity" or Unreal Engine's logo splattered all over current year games. It's bad enough when indie devs use them, the "bigger" guys can't even properly utilize these engines as their games wind up being worse because of it.

This is all I can think of whenever Unity is brought up.

 

[M€￦]

You could really go several ways with this. Maybe basic stage is a floaty ghost like Shuppet, Misdreavous or Haunter, while it's evolution is a bipedal with skinny legs and Zangoose-like claws.
Alternatively you could go like basic quadrupedal ghost deer -> 1st stage bipedal walking terror -> 2nd stage floating blizzard horror embodying the haunting spirit of hunger and winter storms.

I'm thinking something playing on the like deer-skull depictions of Wendigos, only for Pokemon lore & self referencing you could probably give one of the evolutions a Stantler-looking skull.

Snow Warning and Shadow Tag as possible abilities.
The former playing to the "command of winter" aspect of the lore, the latter playing to the inescapable ghostly predator aspect of the lore.

NGL that sounds freaken' awesome. Wendigos also have the lore of imitating people's voices to lure in people who think someone (or a loved one) is in need of help, I could see the Wendigo pokemon using it's imitation powers to lure humans away so it can kill and eat them.

 

[The Ultimate Ramotith]

I have no words anymore.

I am so sick of seeing "Made with Unity" or Unreal Engine's logo splattered all over current year games. It's bad enough when indie devs use them, the "bigger" guys can't even properly utilize these engines as their games wind up being worse because of it.

Please tell me more on how Pokémon games being made on Unity is bad. /sincere confusion/

 

[Level99Manchild]

Not only do I not agree that those two are even that popular, but there are tons of later-gen Pokémon that are hugely popular.

True. There are more popular Pokemon from gen 3 and 4 (Lucario, Gardevoir, Metagross, etc.), but out of gen 4 who really gives a shit about the rest of the Pokemon past Sinnoh? Past gen 4, it's more of a ymmv for Pokemon fans but even with ZA I doubt Zygarde is as popular as older Pokemon (I'm not saying it isn't popular, but its fanbase looks smaller than the rest).

It's a memorable region if nothing else. The fairy place, Wyndon, the town with the castle. Shame about the story and script but you can't have everything.

Is it worse than SV's, which was kind of nonexistent? It takes some effort to be more unlikable than Penny and all of Star (You can't even hate Star like you're supposed to hate Team Rocket and all the other bad guy organizations). Seeing Penny and Nemona get rewarded for doing jack shit or making things worse for everybody else by the gay principal and tranny Geta was insulting (note, I really hated my time with SV).

Problem is, Pokemon is kind of failing at drawing new people in. The newer games are kind of crappy and Scarlet and Violet have made enough people kind of quit Pokemon or look to the older stuff. Plus Ninty is likely gatekeeping Gen 10 behind a $500+ paywall of a console with $70-80 games (not even including DLC!) and keycards, and charging $10 to 'improve' games for the S2. 10% of the games and franchise is going to be what people can care about and afford anymore, so watch it get even worse.

They make money from the TCG and merchandise like the plushies/clothes, but scalpers are now targeting the merch. Some Japanese Pogo youtuber I watched had a hard time trying to get regional exclusive plushies based on her favorite Pokemon because scalpers bought them up (sentret). Scalpers and manchildren are going to contribute to this IP's decline as well. Speaking of TCG, the app's revenue hasn't been stellar since it's release and February 2025. It makes money, but to go from $119m to $37m in a year should tell you something.

Next week's direct has to be the most amazing direct for the IP whether it's showing off Gen 10 or some anime with Ash and Pikachu.

I tried watching Horizons whilst working out, fuck that show is so ass. They had so little faith in it that they had to shoehorn a Pikachu in a hat.

You watch them bring back mega evolution for gen 10.

My gripe with Horizons was how Roy and Lyko just chill and roll with legendary Pokemon Ash struggled to meet with the powers of social justice and DEI diversity. It's dumb how Roy tames a Rayquaza.

 

[The Cum Beast]

Since I'm replaying SwSh rn, this got me thinking about dexit. Despite dexit being pretty bad, it was at least consistently bad, like it didn't favor the 151 kanto pokemon at least. In fact, Kanto actually go hit pretty hard. Here's a image of all cut pokemon prior to the DLCs for reference:

Also Unovan mons got the most reputation in SwSh due to New York being one of the original 13 colonies, a pretty nice historical reference

 

[Son of Big Boss]

"Not all mons need to have stats and movesets optimized for meta-centric competitive play."

I don't want them to be good in competitive necessarily, but when a Pokèmon is completely worthless in both competitive AND in-game, i don't know what's the point.

Like... Your example does not work because Feraligatr is amazing in-game, even if it sucks in competitive.
But shit like Luvdisc, Corsola and Spinda? Ouch.

 

[Computer God Autism]

But shit like Luvdisc, Corsola and Spinda?

They're cute? They fill in niches in the Pokemon ecosystem (back when Pokemon lore actually cared about that)?

 

[JeanRob1]

Cute pokemon > Strategic pokemon. It's a JRPG for babies franchise, the only reason I still play them is because I like having cute pets to fight other ones. Pokemon strategy is for autists.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

Cute pokemon > Strategic pokemon. It's a JRPG for babies franchise, the only reason I still play them is because I like having cute pets to fight other ones. Pokemon strategy is for autists.

A semi-legendary is still OP though.

 

[Archeops]

I've been going through my bulk cards (I need to do some winter/spring cleaning) and GOOD LORD some of 'em have gone from "chuck it back into the booster box" prices to "This should be sleeved and slapped into a binder" prices. And these prices aren't just affecting ultra-rares, some reverse-holos and even regular non-holos are jumping in price.

I think the most jarring incidents for me were...

• Seeing a simple reverse-holo Gengar Sprirt Link from Phantom Forces selling for 13 bucks while the non-holo is selling for two bucks. The GameStop-exclusive version is currently going for 60 bucks near-mint.
• Seeing some reverse-holo Eevees selling for a dollar or more, the highest I've seen so far is one from Undaunted selling 25 bucks (the Call of Legends print sells for around 15 bucks near-mint) and one from Dark Explorers selling for almost 40 bucks (the RC print is around 20 bucks).
• Certain reverse-holo Slowpokes being sold for stupid prices. A reverse-holo Slowpoke from Dark Explorers sells for 25 bucks near-mint and the regular print is around 2-3 bucks.

And from what I've heard now is the time to sell with both Pokémon Day and the 30th Anniversary coming up.

Speaking of TCG, the app's revenue hasn't been stellar since it's release and February 2025. It makes money, but to go from $119m to $37m in a year should tell you something.

Part of that is due to the craptastic pull rates for regular Pokémon ex cards, pack points being divided by set, and the pack points prices for anything more than a holo rare being obscenely high.

If they addressed those in a positive manner then those numbers would go probably go back up to around May 2025's levels.

 

[Catgirl Tyranid]

"Not all mons need to have stats and movesets optimized for meta-centric competitive play."

I don't want them to be good in competitive necessarily, but when a Pokèmon is completely worthless in both competitive AND in-game, i don't know what's the point.

Like... Your example does not work because Feraligatr is amazing in-game, even if it sucks in competitive.
But shit like Luvdisc, Corsola and Spinda? Ouch.

You're going to have some Pokemon that fill a marketing niche even if they aren't great in game and sometimes Pokemon are designed for a specific role that excludes them from being useful elsewhere. Often a Pokemon is filling a role that isn't battle related.

Onix is the prime example, it's terrible, but it's perfect as Brock's ace specifically because it's there to teach you the move scratch or tackle you've been spamming on bugs in Veridian forest isn't going to cut it the rest of the game.

Spinda is a novelty Pokemon in that literally every Spinda you encounter is going to have different spots which is cool. It also serves as Norman's lead to throw Teeter Dance at you making the fight less predictable given that his ace Slaking is a puzzle boss that can be broken with dig or protect.

Luvdisc is another novelty Pokemon. It's a heart. Girls like that kind of thing or something. The point isn't battle, the point is flavor.

I'm not going to defend Corsola since I've never tried to use one.

 

[Grayback]

who really gives a shit about the rest of the Pokemon past Sinnoh?

Going through the list, I can pick out more standout memorable / favorite Pokémon from the older generations in that group (like Gens 5 and 6), but the further into the newer generations I get, the harder it gets to pick standout Pokémon that the whole community agrees on.
But I think that that's partially just a function of time.

The community hasn't had as much time with the Pokémon from newer generations as they've had with the old ones. It takes time for a community consensus on favorites to emerge, or for a Pokémon's favorable reputation to develop. And newer Pokémon are not just behind the older Pokémon on a timeline of establishing themselves—they're having to establish themselves and stand out alongside older Pokémon that have already established themselves in a lot of fans' hearts and minds.
So it seems to me that newer Pokémon will, in general, always seem lesser when compared to the Pokémon that came before—and fans will wonder, "what's wrong with the new designs? They must all suck." And they could suck, that's definitely a possibility. There are a few designs that I think are terrible. But I think that Pokémon fans are too quick to declare new designs as "bad" when, sometimes, you just need to give it a bit.
Even in my own time playing, I've found that my opinions on newly-introduced Pokémon has almost always gotten better over time. There are tons of designs from Gen 5, for example, that I thought at the time looked like dogshit, unserious, retarded, not fitting with the established style of the series, an insult, ruining everything, franchise is doomed, etc. And now I actually like a lot of them.

And then when you look at the issue of time as it relates to individual players, unless they're brand-new to the series, they've already spent a bunch of time with their older favorites from older generations. The larger the pool of total Pokémon is when you introduce a new generation of Pokémon, the more players you're going to have who already had an established favorite that isn't going to get dethroned by the new guys. Which goes to your point that:

(I'm not saying it isn't popular, but its fanbase looks smaller than the rest).

I think that's inevitable, no matter how good a new Pokémon might be. Game Freak could release some absolutely incredible Pokémon designs in Gen 10, but they're still going to have fans saying, "yeah, but Charizard is still my guy," and they won't be moved.
Imagine your own favorite Pokémon. Your top 10. Your top 20. Probably no new design is ever going to dethrone your favorite. He's your guy. But crack your top 10? It's possible. Your top 20? Sure, some good new designs could get in.

But even though I think it's kind of inevitable that newer Pokémon will never seem to quite measure up to the older, already-established ones, I still think that it's important for Game Freak to keep trying with new designs. Maybe some will be a swing and a miss. Maybe some will be instant hits. But I think that a lot of them just need a bit more time for people to appreciate them.


Also, it seems like the anime and the movies have had a big impact on which Pokémon end up being people's favorites. Like, Zoroark was a big part of a movie, wasn't he? But I know absolutely nothing about the anime or the movies after maybe the first two.
So if people think that the anime is in a worse state these days, or if they're not putting out good movies anymore, or if they don't really focus on particular Pokémon that much to make them into standouts and drive interest, then that could have an impact on what people think of the new designs, too.
But I can't speak to any of that.

The point isn't battle, the point is flavor.

This is another important point.
Not every Pokémon can or should be the star of the show. You also need other Pokémon that help fill out an environment / ecosystem and contribute to the feel of the world. If we had only what are thought of as "good designs" in the world, then the world would feel fake, like one of those slow sightseeing theme park rides taking you through a "greatest hits" compilation.

Pokémon that get called "useless" and "dumb" when you take them by themselves play an important role in making the world feel more real. A route that has living coral and small fish and big fish and a crazy eel thing and a little sea cucumber and a big powerhouse guy and some tiny insignificant creature is an actual ocean in your mind. A route without all of that variety is just some blue pixels.

I'm not going to defend Corsola since I've never tried to use one.

Corsola is more of that great environmental flavor.
It's also the first shiny that I ever caught, so it stands out for me. The more different designs you have in each environment, the more chances that different players will have some different experience that lives in their minds forever.

 

[Archeops]

I'm not going to defend Corsola since I've never tried to use one.

Corsola is kind of shit in general, Galarian Corsola is an interesting physical wall (its Defense stat and Special Defense stat sit at a comfortable 100 points) that’s further boosted by Eviolite, the only downside is that it’s a pure Ghost type.

Cursola is garbage in the games but it had a nice semi-rogue combo TCG with Galarian Cursola V, Dracozolt, and varying forms of Energy denial.

Also, from what I’ve heard Galarian Corsola and Cursola are both surprisingly good in Pokémon GO.

 

[Squawking Macaw]

True. There are more popular Pokemon from gen 3 and 4 (Lucario, Gardevoir, Metagross, etc.), but out of gen 4 who really gives a shit about the rest of the Pokemon past Sinnoh?

Greninja was insanely popular from the moment it was revealed. You've also got Sylveon (even without the tranny bullshit which barely existed in 2013), Mimikyu, Corviknight, Snom and Tinkaton. The only generation that doesn't have a definitive fan favorite is 5, but many fully-evolved Unova mons are fondly remembered like Excadrill, Golurk, Scolipede, Chandelure, Haxorus, Hydreigon and Volcarona.

Speaking of favorites, I never posted the final results of the Johto Times' favorite Pokemon poll. Here they are:

I wasn't expecting Sylveon to rank so high above Eevee and I didn't realize Absol was this popular, but besides that these are fairly obvious picks.

 

[Fanatical Pragmatist]

"Not all mons need to have stats and movesets optimized for meta-centric competitive play."

I don't want them to be good in competitive necessarily, but when a Pokèmon is completely worthless in both competitive AND in-game, i don't know what's the point.

Like... Your example does not work because Feraligatr is amazing in-game, even if it sucks in competitive.
But shit like Luvdisc, Corsola and Spinda? Ouch.

My comment was more in agreement than disagreement.

I'm saying Plusle and Castform don't need to be competitive overused tier or whatever, I'm just saying it would be nice if they could hold a candle to Hoenn late game without constant life support.

My point about HG Feraligatr was a more acceptable bar to aim for than multiplayer competitive Tyrannitar and Mega Charizard or whatever.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

Onix is the prime example, it's terrible, but it's perfect as Brock's ace specifically because it's there to teach you the move scratch or tackle you've been spamming on bugs in Veridian forest isn't going to cut it the rest of the game.

Well not with THAT attitude, it won't.

You grind long and hard enough, eventually your Ratatta will eat that Onix and Geodude like spaghetti and meatballs