Pokémon X and Y

[tegan]

So here's a really great article about Pokémon. It covers ground from maturity to strategic complexity to deliberate aesthetics. This exploration of competitive-level strategy in particular is pretty great:

 

The Pokemon video game’s multiplayer metagame works in a similar way. The initial rock-paper-scissors elemental weakness concept (fire beats grass, grass beats water, water beats fire) becomes the foundation for a much more complicated rock-paper-scissors game that’s based on social prediction rather than memorization. In competitive play it’s assumed that both players have already memorized their Pokemon’s weaknesses and potential threats. At that point the game becomes mostly about predicting your opponent’s next action based on their previous action. And your options really boil down to three potential actions: Attack, switch, or predict a switch.

If you think that your Pokemon has the upper hand and ALSO that your opponent incorrectly thinks their Pokemon has the upper hand then the best option is to attack. But if you think you don’t have the upper hand, then it’s best to switch to a Pokemon that counters your opponent. And if you think your opponent is going to switch to a counter, then you need to predict the switch and use a set-up move, a move that punishes switching, or a move that would do more damage to the incoming counter. There’s also a fourth scenario to consider: If your opponent thinks you’re going to switch to a counter, and is going to try to anticipate a switch, you can throw them off by NOT switching. It all becomes a hectic mind game of pre-empting your opponent’s next move.

So even though you have four moves to pick from, those four moves essentially represent four different courses of action you expect your opponent to take, and getting inside their head is the hard part. You can use things like their previous performance in the battle, general skill level, or information from previous battles to predict their next move – or, conversely, you can use the same information to subvert your rival’s expectations about your playing style. It’s really fun, especially if you have a natural love for analyzing behavioral patterns.

[TheLastBaron]

If someone wants to see what competitive Pokemon is like I'd recommend MtGXerxes's videos on YouTube. He's a cool guy and I used to watch his stuff all the time when I was really into the competitive scene during Gen IV

[tegan]

Huge news drop today from a leaked issue of Corocoro:

 

Second-stage evolutions for the new starters (DAT FROAKIE EVO). They're all pure types, but it's implied by their movepool that they might become Grass/Ground, Fire/Psychic, and Water/Flying by stage 3:

 

 

The previously-revealed Mega Mewtwo is exclusive to Pokémon Y. Exclusive to Pokémon X is a second, Psychic/Fighting Mega Mewtwo.

 

 

 

Mega Garchomp! Mega Garchomp!

 

 

 

A few brand new Pokémon. The Normal dog can have its appearance customized. The cats are the same species but different genders. Movepool is determined by gender, with females being more aggressive and males being a support role. The new fossils are a Rock/Dragon T-rex (fuck yeah) with a new ability that improves biting moves and a Rock/Ice Diplodocus (umm...) with a new ability that changes Normal-type moves to Ice-type and increases their power.

 

 

 

And the type chart's been updated. Fairy does 1/2x damage against Fire, Poison, and Steel; and 2x damage against Fighting, Dragon, and Dark. Fighting, Bug, and Dark do 1/2x damage against it; and Poison and Steel do 2x damage. Fairy is completely immune to Dragon. Steel's resistances have been updated now, too. It's gained a resistance to Fairy, but no longer resists Dark or Ghost. They haven't changed type interactions like that since generation 1.

 

[tberton]

I really hope Chespin's final evolutions isn't Grass/Ground. That's such a boring combination. But I like it's design so much.

[Henroid]

I really hope Chespin's final evolutions isn't Grass/Ground. That's such a boring combination. But I like it's design so much.

I think they're putting an effort into making the starter pokemon break their stereotypes / traditions. Fenniken is supposedly Fire / Psychic as opposed to Fire / Fighting, and Froagie or whatever it's called is going to be Water / Fighting possibly. I think Chespin is rumored to be Grass / Dark. If I remember right, the secondary types on all those still form a loop of what works against what.

[JonCole]

I think they're putting an effort into making the starter pokemon break their stereotypes / traditions. Fenniken is supposedly Fire / Psychic as opposed to Fire / Fighting, and Froagie or whatever it's called is going to be Water / Fighting possibly. I think Chespin is rumored to be Grass / Dark. If I remember right, the secondary types on all those still form a loop of what works against what.

 

That sounds right, that would make it so every starter is vulnerable to one of the types of the others. That said, Grass/Dark is well worn with the easily procured Gen III's Shiftry and Cacturne, while the other two class combinations have only been used before in Legendary Pokemon making them a little more novel. I'll probably end up picking one of those two, I imagine.

[tegan]

Zen Mode Darmanitan and Poliwrath have both done those type combinations.

 

The Dark/Psychic/Fighting thing is still only a rumour so far, and has kinda been an ongoing one with every generation. I'm not really sure if I can see it ever happening, since the Dark starter would wind up having not just resistance but complete immunity to some of the Psychic starter's best moves.

[Dewar]

Wow, I just pick the one that I like the look of (or that my friends don't pick if others are playing.) I never go into Pokemon with this much analysis. If I make it through the first time and am still interested in playing, that's when I start breaking out the spread sheets.

[JonCole]

Ah, forgot about Poliwrath, you're right. Though I must say I've never considered using it because it's Fighting moveset is kinda crappy, not a big fan of Submission (which you'd need to use a Move Tutor to get) or the fighting TMs like Focus Blast or Low Kick. I might give it more thought if they added Cross Chop, Force Palm, Jump Kick, Sky Uppercut, or some high accuracy STAB to the moveset either by Move Tutor or Egg Moves.

 

That said, I might give this Water/Fighting guy if he does have something a little more Fighting-forward in its moveset. It's a fairly decent type combo, as far as resistance coverage is concerned.

[tegan]

New footage! The customization options seem surprisingly extensive.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3qQPNO9D8rw

[tegan]

One more thing that popped up:

 

Ghost types are no longer affected by moves that prevent fleeing such as Mean Look. Grass Pokémon can't be seeded or affected by moves such as Sleep Powder or Stun Spore. Electric types can no longer be Paralyzed

 

This is kind of a huge thing, competetively.

[Dewar]

Interesting, and a change for the better I think. It will make throwing pokemon of the same type as the enemy into a fight a little less useful. It always felt like a cop out to me.

[Tanukitsune]

I don't know if this has been said before, but I find it hilarious that the game series that beat Digimon is now blatantly ripping them off with the mega evolutions...

 

I still think it's looking amazing though... When I finally get bored of dressing my Animal Crossing character up I can play dress up with my Pokémon Trainer! HUZZAH!

[tegan]

Now that Ghosts can't be locked in, I'll bet we get a roaming Ghost legendary. That seems like the kind of asshole move that Game Freak would pull. Wonder if Shadow Tag or Arena Trap will still work.

[JonCole]

 

 

So stoked.

[tegan]

Oh yeah! I guess I forgot to mention here that Tyrunt and Amaura's evolutions, Tyrantrum and Auroros, were unveiled. I seriously expected Auroros to have at least some visual hook to make it cooler than Tyrantrum, but no. It's totally one-sided. Tyrantrum gets the better typing and might be the most badass Fossil Pokémon ever.

 

[JonCole]

I like Auroros. 

 

I generally tend to end up with a nice balance of cool and badass looking dudes in my team by the end. Auroros gives me a real Lapras/Meganium vibe, which I can get behind. Though, 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Steel is the pits. 

[tegan]

I like Auroros (outside of its terrible typing), but look at the competition. It's not even like last generation where the awesome Archaeopteryx Pokémon compensated by having the most terrible ability in the game.

 

 

So I think my brain is trying to get its Pokémon fix pretty bad right now. In the last few days I've been doing various things in HeartGold, Black, and Black 2. Mostly HeartGold. I beat the Elite Four, got the eight Kanto gym badges, and finally decided to take a solid evening to catch the roaming beasts. On top of that, you know those medals in Black and White 2 that you get for mono-type Elite Four runs? And the one for beating them with a single Pokémon? I finally got a start on those by taking a Dialga and plowing through. I hated having to use my Elixirs and Full Restores, but really, when else am I going to use them?

[JonCole]

I've been playing the post-game Black content myself, really jonesing. I can't believe how bad the team was that I beat this game with, I must have just squeaked by.

[tegan]

I'm so glad Black and White 2 had much better variety available right from the start. My first Hall of Fame team was Samurott, Arcanine, Lucario, Magnezone, Leavanny, and Swoobat. I had most of them before I even hit the third town!

[JonCole]

I'm really sad that I didn't get more into those games, but BW2 just wasn't my cup of tea at the time (I feel like I need to be in a particular mood for a 100+ hour Pokemon deep dive). I theoretically have respect for the design of Black and White presenting all of the new Pokemon up front and opening up the National Dex post-game, but that team you had was bonkers. Arcanine is easily my favorite Pokemon and I haven't been able to use him very often in recent generations. I'm glad to hear that X/Y seem to be taking a mixed approach by going as far as offering past starters. 

[tegan]

Oh man, so today's big reveal on the Pokémon Facebook page was that Honedge evolves into two Honedges. It's Dugtrio/Magneton/Klinklang all over again and it's hilarious.

 

[tberton]

I like that depending on how you look at Doublade, its either an X or a Y.

[tegan]

Oh, by the way: today is the fifteenth anniversary of the North American release of Pokémon Red and Blue. Pokémon is almost old enough to drive.

[Justin Leego]

Well, today I got a StreetPass hit from someone supposedly playing Pokémon X.

I was their first StreetPass and second plaza visitor.

HMMMMM.