(Little) Things that annoy you in Pokémon

Perhaps, but the problem lies within data structures.

You could trade both ways with Gen I and Gen II because their data structures were literally the same (Gen I has some fields that are never used, and Gen II uses those for its new information knowing Gen I makes no changes to them).

Say, if you traded a Pokemon from Gen VII to Gen VI and then back into Gen VII... what if that Pokemon had Hyper Trained stats? They could be lost inbetween the process because Gen VI has no such a thing.
i wonder if it would have been possible to store the data on the gen 7 side?? like, you trade a pokemon into gen 6 and the gen 7 game retains the hyper training information along with like, some sort of identifier related to that pokemon and then if it gets transferred back it re-adds the hyper training stats. of course, this requires it to go back to the same save file so it isn't perfect, but it's a possible solution i guess
 
Rotom-Dex is a pain to read.
In general, in Alola you have little-no-freedom to explore because you have that Rotom that annoys you. I think that this feature (=Rotomdex) is really unneded, and I would have preferred more focus on adding more areas to the map; in ORAS the Pokenav was useful to catch better pokemons without relying on luck only, so it made sense.

In gen 1 you could, at least, choose a non-linear route at some extent. In gen 1.
 
The problem with giving players freedom to go wherever they like makes balancing the difficulty a nightmare (looking at you, Johto). The level curve gets whacked all over the place and that's not to mention that games increasingly focused on plot each generation. If they allow freedom, players will sequence break accidentally, resulting in the storyline being a mess.

All of this doesn't relate to Gens 1 and 2 which barely has any plot outside of Team Rocket events.
 
The problem with giving players freedom to go wherever they like makes balancing the difficulty a nightmare (looking at you, Johto). The level curve gets whacked all over the place and that's not to mention that games increasingly focused on plot each generation. If they allow freedom, players will sequence break accidentally, resulting in the storyline being a mess.

All of this doesn't relate to Gens 1 and 2 which barely has any plot outside of Team Rocket events.
I guess an easy way to fix that would be to have scaling gym leaders. Have them scale at the amount of badges you own rather than in a set order. I guess another way that resolves plot issues would be have islands like in SM but allow players to explore at their own pace (and not having a guy blocking the road because his Stoutland is looking for items). There's surely a way that good level designers would allow for exploration, balance, and story simultaneously.
 
In the anime Gym Leaders adapt their pokemon to the level of the incoming challenger (depending on the number of the badges), so it shouldn't be that difficult to do the same in-game.
The league could work like this depending on the current levels of your pokemon in order to prevent players from overleveling. The artificial intelligence should be dynamic.

The level curve can be a mess, but not with that Exp Share, which has been utterly broken since ORAS.
What I am asking for is a more little freedom, not the Moon.
 
In the anime Gym Leaders adapt their pokemon to the level of the incoming challenger (depending on the number of the badges), so it shouldn't be that difficult to do the same in-game.
The league could work like this depending on the current levels of your pokemon in order to prevent players from overleveling. The artificial intelligence should be dynamic.

The level curve can be a mess, but not with that Exp Share, which has been utterly broken since ORAS.
What I am asking for is a more little freedom, not the Moon.
Yup, I'd imagine a simple switch/if-like statement in the code before the battle begins would be able to handle that. If I'm not mistaken, I think the games even have a bunch of "flags" that basically tells the game what events you've already completed in a savefile & unlocks/locks content accordingly ( e.g Beating the Elite 4 respawns all Legendaries in ORAS if their "caught" flag hasn't been marked yet ). So that should definitely be possible & actually not that hard to code for the people who work with whatever engine GF uses... I think.

Anyways... at the same time that I LOVE the Stoutland Ride, I HATE its item finder mechanic. Like, in ORAS you'd just have to put the Downsing Machine on and it would automatically tell you whenever an item was nearby. Now, with Stoutland you have to keep pressing the B button, meaning the only way to not miss a hidden item is to ride ALL OVER Alola pressing B, which also just so happens to make Stoutland move even slower than the frame-rates in double battles.
 
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In the anime Gym Leaders adapt their pokemon to the level of the incoming challenger (depending on the number of the badges), so it shouldn't be that difficult to do the same in-game.
The league could work like this depending on the current levels of your pokemon in order to prevent players from overleveling. The artificial intelligence should be dynamic.

The level curve can be a mess, but not with that Exp Share, which has been utterly broken since ORAS.
What I am asking for is a more little freedom, not the Moon.
The only problem I see, is that you cannot just change the code for only the gym leaders. You would have to include all of the wild Pokémon and other Trainers as well, because it wouldn't be 'free exploring' if the level cap would hinder you anyway. Personally, I think that would be too much unnecessary work that I would rather see put into something useful. I guess I'm just of the opinion that a bit of linearity is not bad and actually works with the kind of game Pokémon currently is. If Pokémon was a BOTW kind of game, I would totally agree with what everyone just said, but it isn't. Therefore, I just don't see how changing a few levels would solve all of the problems of free exploring. I think it would need a complete overhaul and why would Gamefreak take such a risk when their current model has been successful for so long?
 
The only problem I see, is that you cannot just change the code for only the gym leaders. You would have to include all of the wild Pokémon and other Trainers as well, because it wouldn't be 'free exploring' if the level cap would hinder you anyway.
They'd just have to change things in a global scope. For example, "if (n of badges obtained >= to X), then ( do stuff like increasing all wild pokemon level by 5 & change X pokemon from Y Trainers to Z )". Trust me, this kind of stuff isn't hard at all to code. Extensive, yes, but not hard. The only real reason pokemon doesn't have this kind of thing is because Game Freak doesn't want it to be a open world game, not because they can't do it, which is fine too because as you said: why fix what isn't broken, right?
 
The only problem I see, is that you cannot just change the code for only the gym leaders. You would have to include all of the wild Pokémon and other Trainers as well, because it wouldn't be 'free exploring' if the level cap would hinder you anyway. Personally, I think that would be too much unnecessary work that I would rather see put into something useful. I guess I'm just of the opinion that a bit of linearity is not bad and actually works with the kind of game Pokémon currently is. If Pokémon was a BOTW kind of game, I would totally agree with what everyone just said, but it isn't. Therefore, I just don't see how changing a few levels would solve all of the problems of free exploring. I think it would need a complete overhaul and why would Gamefreak take such a risk when their current model has been successful for so long?
Totally agree with all this. Also, making things too ‘sandbox-y’ would force GF to restrict what Pokémon, items, etc. are available within the non-linear zone, to avoid giving players access to too many powerful options early on.

A linear story with a few optional routes and dungeons strikes the right balance, for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love having more freedom in other games, but as Hydrachomp said, it’s hard to make it work in a Pokémon game, without making it almost unrecognisable as such.
 

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
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I don't see a problem with a "free roam" game. Why? Because they'll design the region with that in mind. Yeah, this doesn't work for previous Pokemon games settings because the region was designed to be experienced by a certain path through the region. But a region meant to be "free roam" would be designed that all the major Cities/Towns are accessible.

"Wouldn't that completely ruin the sense of adventure if you went to all the Cities and Towns before getting to the game's story?"

No, because though they'll have the Cities/Towns all accessible they can still block off routes/forests/caves/etc. that would unlock as you progress. While for general locations this could be simply getting the right Badge/Crystal/Symbol/McGuffin to use the HM/Poke Ride/or show to the guard. These locked off locations could either be side locations or be new shortcuts, but they're main purpose is to provide new areas to catch Pokemon and maybe have story bits, be them part of the main story or side stories. In addition, you can layer the unlockable locations so that as you get access to more HM/Poke Rides/explorer items you can explore deeper into areas where more mysteries are to be found and, more importantly, higher leveled trainers and wild Pokemon. And they can make the progression area specific. Like (using HMs in this example) there could be a forest where you'd first need Cut, but then to go deeper you'd need Rock Smash, than Strength, than Surf, than Rock Climb. But then somewhere else there's an island you'd first need Surf, to go deeper you'd need Rock Climb, than Strength, than Cut, and Strength. And so on and so forth, each area's terrain being made so you'd need a different order of HMs/Poke Rides/explorer items to get through.

Also it goes without saying if they do this they'd need to make sure what you need to do to explore deeper into an area doesn't hamper the player's team. Not an issue with Poke Rides or explorer items (aka HM items which players been asking GF to make), though is something to keep in mind with HMs. The easiest solution there (aside letting the player carry around some extra Pokemon), would be having services like PokeRides you can call on or getting the explorer item that does the same function.

"But what about the story progression?"

For the story that could be determined by the amount of Badge/Crystal/Symbol/McGuffin you got (or just hidden flags that check off as you do them). For the Pokemon League this would mean making multiple team sets. Though honestly all that means is that each Gym Leader would need eight different teams, the only group with multiple members is the Elite Four who since Gen V you could battle in any order yet they don't change their team if you beat a previous Elite Four (that said they should probably increase their levels each time you beat the Pokemon League).

As for the villain team story or whatever they're having in its place, that could just be left as is. Easiest thing to do there would just have that gen's assisting tool (PokeGear, PokeNav, Poketch, C-Gear, Holo Caster) have a radio/TV function and when it's time for story progression the function has an alarm that goes off and you hear a report of something happening at a certain town or location, which is your cue to go there (at this point any progression is put on halt so you can't just go get another Badge or do side quests). As you progress maybe you'll get to know certain characters (the Pokemon League, International Police, a spy, maybe accidentally befriending a grunt or signing up for the villain team's schedule planner) who will give you a call or message that something is going on someplace. Now you don't have to change the levels of the Grunts or Admins. Now maybe they can include moments where you can pick to battle a certain admin over another and later battle the admins you skipped over, thus they'll have different levels/Pokemon than, but that would just be if they wanted to do something neat like that.

"But wouldn't there be a risk of your Pokemon's levels getting too high?"

This is probably the major problem and would require the most extreme change: level caps. You know how high level traded Pokemon wouldn't listen to you if you didn't have the right amount of Badges? Same idea, except here it means the Pokemon can't level up until you get the next Badge. It'll still earn experience, but until you get the next Badge that experience won't be added (sort of like how in the Colosseum games Shadow Pokemon didn't get to level up from their experience points until they've been purified). Also they could have the trainers you battled refresh and/or add new trainers to battle with higher level Pokemon (not to mention the trainers you'll now have access to in the unlocked areas you can now get to). This might also encourage players to maybe train up more than just their core group of six Pokemon if they go on a training binge after each Badge and battling as many trainers and higher level wild Pokemon as they can. They can try out a new Pokemon they caught or maybe train up an ace-in-a-hole for the next Gym Leader they plan on battling. This could also be used to create interesting boss battles as you could have the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, Champion, Rivals, and villain team Admins & Boss use Pokemon who level is above the cap thus you'd have to play smarter to beat them (though maybe have a fail safe if the player loses to them, like have difficulty levels they can toggle in the Options or, if they continue playing after losing, have the boss's Pokemon level drop to the cap max).
 

Deleted User 400951

Banned deucer.
I don't see a problem with a "free roam" game. Why? Because they'll design the region with that in mind. Yeah, this doesn't work for previous Pokemon games settings because the region was designed to be experienced by a certain path through the region. But a region meant to be "free roam" would be designed that all the major Cities/Towns are accessible.

"Wouldn't that completely ruin the sense of adventure if you went to all the Cities and Towns before getting to the game's story?"

No, because though they'll have the Cities/Towns all accessible they can still block off routes/forests/caves/etc. that would unlock as you progress. While for general locations this could be simply getting the right Badge/Crystal/Symbol/McGuffin to use the HM/Poke Ride/or show to the guard. These locked off locations could either be side locations or be new shortcuts, but they're main purpose is to provide new areas to catch Pokemon and maybe have story bits, be them part of the main story or side stories. In addition, you can layer the unlockable locations so that as you get access to more HM/Poke Rides/explorer items you can explore deeper into areas where more mysteries are to be found and, more importantly, higher leveled trainers and wild Pokemon. And they can make the progression area specific. Like (using HMs in this example) there could be a forest where you'd first need Cut, but then to go deeper you'd need Rock Smash, than Strength, than Surf, than Rock Climb. But then somewhere else there's an island you'd first need Surf, to go deeper you'd need Rock Climb, than Strength, than Cut, and Strength. And so on and so forth, each area's terrain being made so you'd need a different order of HMs/Poke Rides/explorer items to get through.

Also it goes without saying if they do this they'd need to make sure what you need to do to explore deeper into an area doesn't hamper the player's team. Not an issue with Poke Rides or explorer items (aka HM items which players been asking GF to make), though is something to keep in mind with HMs. The easiest solution there (aside letting the player carry around some extra Pokemon), would be having services like PokeRides you can call on or getting the explorer item that does the same function.

"But what about the story progression?"

For the story that could be determined by the amount of Badge/Crystal/Symbol/McGuffin you got (or just hidden flags that check off as you do them). For the Pokemon League this would mean making multiple team sets. Though honestly all that means is that each Gym Leader would need eight different teams, the only group with multiple members is the Elite Four who since Gen V you could battle in any order yet they don't change their team if you beat a previous Elite Four (that said they should probably increase their levels each time you beat the Pokemon League).

As for the villain team story or whatever they're having in its place, that could just be left as is. Easiest thing to do there would just have that gen's assisting tool (PokeGear, PokeNav, Poketch, C-Gear, Holo Caster) have a radio/TV function and when it's time for story progression the function has an alarm that goes off and you hear a report of something happening at a certain town or location, which is your cue to go there (at this point any progression is put on halt so you can't just go get another Badge or do side quests). As you progress maybe you'll get to know certain characters (the Pokemon League, International Police, a spy, maybe accidentally befriending a grunt or signing up for the villain team's schedule planner) who will give you a call or message that something is going on someplace. Now you don't have to change the levels of the Grunts or Admins. Now maybe they can include moments where you can pick to battle a certain admin over another and later battle the admins you skipped over, thus they'll have different levels/Pokemon than, but that would just be if they wanted to do something neat like that.

"But wouldn't there be a risk of your Pokemon's levels getting too high?"

This is probably the major problem and would require the most extreme change: level caps. You know how high level traded Pokemon wouldn't listen to you if you didn't have the right amount of Badges? Same idea, except here it means the Pokemon can't level up until you get the next Badge. It'll still earn experience, but until you get the next Badge that experience won't be added (sort of like how in the Colosseum games Shadow Pokemon didn't get to level up from their experience points until they've been purified). Also they could have the trainers you battled refresh and/or add new trainers to battle with higher level Pokemon (not to mention the trainers you'll now have access to in the unlocked areas you can now get to). This might also encourage players to maybe train up more than just their core group of six Pokemon if they go on a training binge after each Badge and battling as many trainers and higher level wild Pokemon as they can. They can try out a new Pokemon they caught or maybe train up an ace-in-a-hole for the next Gym Leader they plan on battling. This could also be used to create interesting boss battles as you could have the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, Champion, Rivals, and villain team Admins & Boss use Pokemon who level is above the cap thus you'd have to play smarter to beat them (though maybe have a fail safe if the player loses to them, like have difficulty levels they can toggle in the Options or, if they continue playing after losing, have the boss's Pokemon level drop to the cap max).
Yeah, the problem is designing the region with that in mind. I'm pretty certain they had that in Johto. Without areas leveling up after you beat gyms and shit, the level curve is going to be legit dumb.
Level caps? please no. Please please please no. I'd hate that. Makes the game much harder than it should be imo.
 

Pikachu315111

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Yeah, the problem is designing the region with that in mind.
Yeah, might take GF two or three years to make a Pokemon game like that. A Pokemon game with a game release break between two or three years, what a ridiculous idea.

I'm pretty certain they had that in Johto.
No, Johto had a set story path. All Pokemon games had a set story path.

Without areas leveling up after you beat gyms and shit, the level curve is going to be legit dumb.
I addressed that. When you get the Badge you'll either get access or an item to access new areas which will have higher level wild Pokemon and trainers in them. In addition trainers you've already battle will sometimes refresh with stronger teams and new trainers may be added to places.

Level caps? please no. Please please please no. I'd hate that. Makes the game much harder than it should be imo.
I don't think they'll be any harder. You may have to use type advantage more often, maybe even set up by inflicting status ailments or using status moves, or even using the Battle Power items more. But honestly Pokemon hasn't been difficult even when you were under leveled.

But, as I said, for people weary of trainers made too strong, they can options in the menu which adjusts an opponent's Pokemon's level. Normally it would be at the cap (putting you on even footing), Hard slightly over the level cap (you'd need to use strateg to beat them, but still shouldn't be that difficult), and Easy will have it just below the cap so you could get a level advantage if you're having trouble.

Though that said, the level caps will be generous. So generous perhaps you wouldn't even notice them. I'm thinking:

No Badges = Level 15
1 Badge = Level 20
2 Badges = Level 30
3 Badges = Level 35
4 Badges = Level 40
5 Badges = Level 50
6 Badges = Level 55
7 Badges = Level 60
8 Badges = Level 70
Champion = No more caps

This pretty much lines up with how current Pokemon League level curves are now, actually it's more generous.
 
I'm not sure if this belongs here or in Pokemon designs thread, but

The heart-shaped tail of the female Pikachu bugs the hell out of me.
To be fair, Game Freak generally is pretty good when portraying sexual dimorphism in Pokemon. It usually flows with the designs, even if sometimes it doesn't make the greatest of evolutionary sense, and just seems to exist beacuse they can. However, I think Game Freak just wanted to do something special for their mascot in Gen 2 when introducing genders. If you come from the perspective that it only exists as a PR gimmick and not beacuse they thought it actually made sense, I can kind of get over it.
 
Minor correction, but the aesthetic gender differences for Pikachu and other Gen 4 and earlier Pokemon started in Gen 4. It only bothers me that they didn't continue doing them past that, with a few exceptions (aka Meowstic, etc.), although I understand why they probably didn't (twice the 3D models for everyone!).
 
I agree that linear routes are necessary for difficulty but the road blocks are getting worse and worse. That bitch on the Stoutland is just hogging the entire roadway because she needs all the fucking space to herself to sniff out items. That is the most insulting excuse I have ever seen. There's no humor to it like the footprints, there's no Pokemon to catch like with Snorlax or Sudowoodo; even the Sunyshore roadblock is plausible cause construction in real life can block out roads.

I hate the Stoutland roadblock so much.
 

Merritt

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I really prefer it when the roadblocks are something that makes sense to disappear based on your actions, not something completely random and disconnected. Generally I'm fine with HM gates for this reason, even more so because it makes it feel more like you're harnessing power to overcome the region itself. For example, let's look at Kanto's roadblocks.

Old Man - no connection to your actions whatsoever, is lying in the middle of the road not letting people pass because he didn't have his coffee. Utterly infuriating. grandpabetterbeloaded/10
Viridian Gym - it makes sense later why it suddenly opens up, but until then it seems random and disconnected. The hell do you mean the gym leader's gone? 2/10, 6/10 with hindsight
Badge Check Gate - no shit sherlock. 10/10
I guess Diglett Cave cut trees? - reasonable, it's right at the edge of a forest, HM gate you overcome at a time that makes sense. 9/10
Go Fight Brock dude - makes sure that you're capable enough to proceed into dangerous areas I guess? You know exactly what you need to do to get by once you're stopped. 8/10
Mt Moon ledges (?) - no backtracking, but town map spoils that once you've got surf you'll be able to get back (you can get back earlier of course although there's not much reason to) literalroadblock/10
Police - strange logically that it's talking to Bill that moves this guy, also makes him look incompetent when the thief is right there. 2/10
Cut Trees - you now know that you can use the move from beating up Misty, now go find the HM dumbass. HMgate/10
Saffron Guards - Clearly they're related somehow to Weedle Old Man since they're just as goddamn cranky without their coffee. Oh sorry, their tea. I mean yes there's the underground path right there, but still. Yes your solution makes sense but the problem itself is annoying and nonsensical as hell. whohiredtheseguys/10
Vermilion Gym Cut Tree - ok so the gym and literally everywhere else you try to go has these goddamn trees blocking you (except tub-o-lard to the east), you gotta get cut soon right? 6/10
Snorlax: the Lardening - somewhere between funny and sad, considering that the 1k lbs mon is lying on what looks like a pier, but still, no clue at that point how to get it moved. I'll cover thoughts on the solution in the sequel. deferred judgement

On a related note, I do like it when a roadblock is re-encountered. Not like "Oh the dancing men moved from down in the south to the north to block you again" or "Stoutland girl moved a block east!" (yes im a little salty about her) but something along the lines of Snorlax here. It's a moment of realization that no, Snorlax didn't just get up and go home while you stumbled around rock tunnel, if you want it to move you'll probably have to do something about it. Also the Saffron Guards I guess but all that does is confirm that every single guard is an asshole, not just a couple.

Pokemon Tower Ghosts - a little annoying that Marowak only blocks you at the very last set of stairs, but not a bad obstacle. when solution appears you know instantly where to go to deal with the dead mom. 8/10
SNORLAX 2: LARDBALL BOOGALOO - ah damn there's two of the bastards? Kinda the same as before, but now I'll talk about the solution. The PokeFlute is fantastic, and really helps tie in the rocket plot, along with being a handy ingame item. The fact that Snorlax fights you makes it all the better, making this by far one of my favorite roadblocks, since you can vent any frustrations you have on one of the two and still catch the other. 9.5/10
Saffron Rocket Grunts - ok, it makes sense why the rocket grunts would be blocking parts of the city. I wish there was some better indication of causing the silph co one to move though. 5/10
Ocean (?) - ocean. ocean/10, go grab surf and beat koga nerd

Honestly most of Kanto's roadblocks aren't that bad, with enough of them that it doesn't become a mess with levels like Johto ends up between badges 5-7 due to a lack of Mt Mortar area roadblock, and only a couple infuriating ones which honestly never feel like too much of a push in one specific direction, usually because they weren't really where you were planning to go anyways. This is helped by the relative freedom from badges that you have, most of the roadblocks aren't tied to badges at all, and how open most of the region feels.
 
I really prefer it when the roadblocks are something that makes sense to disappear based on your actions, not something completely random and disconnected. Generally I'm fine with HM gates for this reason, even more so because it makes it feel more like you're harnessing power to overcome the region itself. For example, let's look at Kanto's roadblocks.

Old Man - no connection to your actions whatsoever, is lying in the middle of the road not letting people pass because he didn't have his coffee. Utterly infuriating. grandpabetterbeloaded/10
Viridian Gym - it makes sense later why it suddenly opens up, but until then it seems random and disconnected. The hell do you mean the gym leader's gone? 2/10, 6/10 with hindsight
Badge Check Gate - no shit sherlock. 10/10
I guess Diglett Cave cut trees? - reasonable, it's right at the edge of a forest, HM gate you overcome at a time that makes sense. 9/10
Go Fight Brock dude - makes sure that you're capable enough to proceed into dangerous areas I guess? You know exactly what you need to do to get by once you're stopped. 8/10
Mt Moon ledges (?) - no backtracking, but town map spoils that once you've got surf you'll be able to get back (you can get back earlier of course although there's not much reason to) literalroadblock/10
Police - strange logically that it's talking to Bill that moves this guy, also makes him look incompetent when the thief is right there. 2/10
Cut Trees - you now know that you can use the move from beating up Misty, now go find the HM dumbass. HMgate/10
Saffron Guards - Clearly they're related somehow to Weedle Old Man since they're just as goddamn cranky without their coffee. Oh sorry, their tea. I mean yes there's the underground path right there, but still. Yes your solution makes sense but the problem itself is annoying and nonsensical as hell. whohiredtheseguys/10
Vermilion Gym Cut Tree - ok so the gym and literally everywhere else you try to go has these goddamn trees blocking you (except tub-o-lard to the east), you gotta get cut soon right? 6/10
Snorlax: the Lardening - somewhere between funny and sad, considering that the 1k lbs mon is lying on what looks like a pier, but still, no clue at that point how to get it moved. I'll cover thoughts on the solution in the sequel. deferred judgement

On a related note, I do like it when a roadblock is re-encountered. Not like "Oh the dancing men moved from down in the south to the north to block you again" or "Stoutland girl moved a block east!" (yes im a little salty about her) but something along the lines of Snorlax here. It's a moment of realization that no, Snorlax didn't just get up and go home while you stumbled around rock tunnel, if you want it to move you'll probably have to do something about it. Also the Saffron Guards I guess but all that does is confirm that every single guard is an asshole, not just a couple.

Pokemon Tower Ghosts - a little annoying that Marowak only blocks you at the very last set of stairs, but not a bad obstacle. when solution appears you know instantly where to go to deal with the dead mom. 8/10
SNORLAX 2: LARDBALL BOOGALOO - ah damn there's two of the bastards? Kinda the same as before, but now I'll talk about the solution. The PokeFlute is fantastic, and really helps tie in the rocket plot, along with being a handy ingame item. The fact that Snorlax fights you makes it all the better, making this by far one of my favorite roadblocks, since you can vent any frustrations you have on one of the two and still catch the other. 9.5/10
Saffron Rocket Grunts - ok, it makes sense why the rocket grunts would be blocking parts of the city. I wish there was some better indication of causing the silph co one to move though. 5/10
Ocean (?) - ocean. ocean/10, go grab surf and beat koga nerd

Honestly most of Kanto's roadblocks aren't that bad, with enough of them that it doesn't become a mess with levels like Johto ends up between badges 5-7 due to a lack of Mt Mortar area roadblock, and only a couple infuriating ones which honestly never feel like too much of a push in one specific direction, usually because they weren't really where you were planning to go anyways. This is helped by the relative freedom from badges that you have, most of the roadblocks aren't tied to badges at all, and how open most of the region feels.
Snorlax is the only thing I'm okay with being roadblocked by.
 
Sun and moon has some really stupid roadblocks outside of the stoutland one.

For example, on the route where you get Mudsdale as a pokeride pokemon, there is one of those colored trial gates. If you beat Vikavolt some guard opens the gate, (read: gets rid of it entirely) you walk like three steps and then Hapu I believe explains that you have to use Mudsdale to cross rugged terrain.

So then what's the point of the entire gate roadblock. You can't get across the rugged terrain without Mudsdale anyway. The roadblock doesn't even need to be there because there's a natural roadblock right after it, not to mention that the gate is a much worse excuse for a roadblock that the rugged terrain.

And why do the trial roadblocks not have some kind of door? Like, does the staff of the island challange get rid of the gates entirely when anyone needs to pass, only to rebuild them when a challanger needs to be stopped? That makes no sense. Am I missing something here?
 

Deleted User 400951

Banned deucer.
This has been discussed heavily at length in the USUM Spoilers thread (isn't that supposed to get locked or something now DHR-107 ), but I seriously hate the pandering over Gen 1. Yes, I get the other gens get appearances too but bringing back Team Rocket? This is way too much lmao. Like, look at how many references gens 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 got/are getting. I bet it's not even half of Gen 1 references. GF needs to understand that not everyone here started with Gen 1 and that there's more to nostalgia than it. Can GF just please move on from Gen 1?
 
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This has been discussed heavily at length in the USUM Spoilers thread (isn't that supposed to get locked or something now DHR-107 ), but I seriously hate the pandering over Gen 1. Yes, I get the other gens get appearances too but bringing back Team Rocket? This is way too much lmao. Like, look at how many references gens 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 got/are getting. I bet it's not even half of Gen 1 references. GF needs to understand that not everyone here started with Gen 1 and that there's more to nostalgia than it. Can GF just please move on from Gen 1?
The rest of the gens had cameos in Sun and Moon (IE: they appear in the Battle Tree and that's it; Grimsley and Colress in particular just showed up and gave you a single thing then just ran off), but Gen 1 has fucking NUGGET BRIDGE in addition to the cameos. Mind you that Kanto Pokemon that you can't get whatsoever without PokeBank appear here in the pre-game. Kanto formes for stuff like Rattata I do get (albeit they should've been Tourists or something). But Pidgey and Ekans? Its kind of cool, but it doesn't feel like it should be there to be honest with you.

The Rainbow Rocket thing should've just been a sort of Delta Episode or even a downloadable sidequest though. Unless they somehow manage to it more than nostalgia pandering.
 
This has been discussed heavily at length in the USUM Spoilers thread (isn't that supposed to get locked or something now DHR-107 ), but I seriously hate the pandering over Gen 1. Yes, I get the other gens get appearances too but bringing back Team Rocket? This is way too much lmao. Like, look at how many references gens 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 got/are getting. I bet it's not even half of Gen 1 references. GF needs to understand that not everyone here started with Gen 1 and that there's more to nostalgia than it. Can GF just please move on from Gen 1?
At the same time I feel kinda bothered that the fanbase is acting like they're chronically allergic to fanservice. Yeah things from generations besides one need more attention, but Team Rocket returning is not something I think justifies being angry about. Team Rocket was awesome, as they are the most realistic Pokemon villain team. They've done pretty brutal things throughout the several canons Pokemon has developed over the years.

So yeah, other gens should be getting attention. But I don't really like how people just instinctively hate generation one fanservice.

The Rainbow Rocket thing should've just been a sort of Delta Episode or even a downloadable sidequest though. Unless they somehow manage to it more than nostalgia pandering.
Nah, Delta Episode was blegh. You fly somewhere, talk to somebody, fly somewhere, talk to somebody, fly somewhere, battle somebody, catch something/defeat some boss. Chances are that Rainbow Rocket will be a post game ordeal, though.
 
And why do the trial roadblocks not have some kind of door? Like, does the staff of the island challange get rid of the gates entirely when anyone needs to pass, only to rebuild them when a challanger needs to be stopped? That makes no sense. Am I missing something here?
I think they probably have gates in them (or fold up like a lot of dog/baby gates do) in-universe, and are just removed entirely in-game so they're not in your character's way.
 

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