Pokemon Games Thread

[Kraid Raid]

Raid, are you only allowed to use Unova Pokémon?

Unfortunately, yes.

My uncle bought Black for my birthday in March and STILL hasn't mailed it...

Sucky deal. It's super fun. They've revamped the experience system so a lower level Pokemon that knocks out a higher level Pokemon gets more experience.

If you need to swap out Zoroark or Krookodile so you don't have two Dark-types, I'd suggest Zoroark, because Krookodile's Ground-type should be pretty useful.

I was thinking about that too. I just don't know who to put in Zoro's place. Earthquake FTW.

Anyway, I'm a bit bothered about having bought HeartGold too late and having missed out all those Wi-fi events... and my situation with Black will probably be similar. I swear I'll buy the next game the week it comes out.

Do it. I bought Black and White within a week of being released, got Victini, got a bunch of C-Gear skins on the Global Link, got the promo Zoroark and Banette, and I've gotten a ton of Pokemon from the Dream World. It's pretty sweet. (I'm thinking about getting HeartGold soon, and another PokeWalker to go with it.)

Peace
Raid

[Naner]

Unfortunately, I can't participate in local events (like the Toys R Us Zoroark one) because of my geographical location. Still, these Wi-fi events have been pretty sweet lately.

And about your team... Why not Chandelure? It seems like a pretty good Pokémon, and I don't think you have any Fire- or Ghost-type in your team.

It's kinda funny knowing some of these creatures' names despite never setting foot in Unova, all thanks to the 3DS's Pokédex 3D.

[Kraid Raid]

So I found out I actually did really shitty in the Autumn Friendly Tournament. Out of 10076 participants, I came in at 9731. Guess I'm no good at competitive battling. Yet.

I've been skulking around Smogon looking up movesets, IVs, natures, etc. for Pokemon I like and even downloaded Pokemon Online, a battle simulator that can emulate Gen II and on. Put together a team for Gen V (Dragonite, Blastoise, Alakazam, Gliscor, Heatran and Croagunk) and had a couple of battles tonight. Didn't do too bad. Lost my first battle by one Poke (1v1), then won the second battle (2v2). Still trying to decide if going through all this garbage in the actual game is worth it. Might just be easier to set the stats I want on PO and battle there. We'll see.

Is anyone here a seriously competitive Pokemon battler? If so, do you have any tips for an up-and-comer? PM me with any advice.

Peace
Raid

[Balkoth]

I haven't sat down with a pokemon game in a long time.
The only swag I have is a rare, gold painted, Pokemon-themed GBA from the Pokemon Center in New York.

I might want to get into competitive battling later though. I'm terrible at strategy games, but I guess they're nothing I can't figure out.

[Naner]

I'd like to be a competitive player, but I just don't have the patience for it. I understand most of the mechanics of the game, so I think I could do well, but I simply can't play the same game for so long. I like enjoying as many different games I can.

[Apothem]

I suppose this news goes here, but really, it's hard to classify: Nintendo has recently announced a new Pokemon game for the DS (no, not the 3DS). Shock and awe! Another entry in what is easily Nintendo's greatest money maker of all time!? Well, not quite. Ladies and gentlemen, I kindly direct you to whatever the hell this can be called. I can think of only one way to describe it: WTF?

For the curious but link-aphobic: Take 16th century Japan, as imagined by Tecmo-Koei, inject a liberal dose of Pokemon and toss in some Final Fantasy Tactics style strategy gameplay for good measure. The result? Something I like to call "Pokemon Warriors" which now that I think about it would make for an awesome game taken literally.

Strictly speaking, it's a mashup, more or less, of Pokemon and Koei's Nobunaga's Ambition series of grand scale strategy games set in the a fore mentioned time period. Koei, of course, is the developer behind the inexplicably popular "Warriors" series of hack'n slash brawlers, including Samurai Warriors based on the same time period, Dynasty Warriors and it's strategy counterpart (in the same vein as Nobunaga's Ambition) Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which are loosely based on the famous novels of the same name but more so on the historical period in Chinese history which inspired said novel, widely known as the Era of the Three Kingdoms between ~180 - ~230 AD, and various licensed properties in the now classic "Warriors" style such as Gundam, Fist of the North Star, and now of all things One Piece. There's pretty much nothing that Koei won't try to milk at this point.

Regardless, combining Pokemon with Koei's...imaginative interpretation of 16th century Japan by way of what appears to be more Samurai Warriors (read: Anime-styled shonen fantasy) than Nobunaga's Ambition (read: Far more accurate, realistic and involved fantasy), despite the game being called Pokemon + Nobunaga's Ambition, is something I simply must play.

I've been a big fan of both Dynasty and Samurai Warriors for years and have dabbled in their respective strategy counterparts and enjoyed them immensely. Seeing Koei's unique characterizations and aesthetics combined with a plethora of Pokemon from across the generations mixed with what looks to be light and almost certainly accessible grid-based strategy gameplay seems poised to provide an experience like no other. Of course, there's no telling whether or not the game will be worth the cartridge it's encoded on, but at the very least Nintendo's trying something genuinely new with the Pokemon franchise and teaming up with one of Japan's most popular developers to do so.

That said, there's no guarantee the game will see the light of day outside of Japan. At first glance the Pokemon moniker alone would seem to solidify a global release, but there have been numerous Pokemon games that have remained Japanese exclusives. Furthermore, Nobunaga's Ambition, one half of and the whole basis for the the crossover, has rarely been sold outside of Japan, and the series has been active for decades. Assuming the title sells well in Japan, which of course it will, it may incentivise Nintendo to seek international release, but given Koei's increasingly lackluster sales of it's Warriors and strategy titles outside of Japan, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see the game remain local. Still, here's hoping it not only sells well but makes it way westward, or in whatever direction your country happens to be from Japan, as I believe few people can honestly say such a game wouldn't be worth a shot. Then maybe, with any luck, Koei will go forward with my Pokemon Warriors idea, allowing us all the opportunity to beat the crap out of those cute and cuddly little critters in increasingly silly and fantastic ways. After all, there's always more room for another Warriors game, right?

[kronoridley]

For some reason this sounds to me like the second best idea for a video game crossover ever! (The absolute best obviously being Prefessor Layton VS Pheonix Wright). This is also the first time I've been genuinely excited for a Pokemon related game in quite some time. Let's just hope it arrives to western shores.....

[Naner]

It's official, folks. Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2.

http://www.pokemon.co.jp/ex/b2w2/?a001=msign



Those Pokémon look like fusions between Reshiram/Zekrom and Kyurem... And I really hope that red and blue in the logos mean Ruby and Sapphire.

EDIT: Just noticed Zekrom is on the black side and Reshiram is on the white side.

[HYRUL3]

Not to be a downer but the red/blue could represent fire/lightning... the elemental types both Legendaries are...

Not sure if I'm excited for this. I'm not sure I want to go back to Unova so soon. I haven't even finished the side quests, like hunting down the important members of Team Plasma after beating the main game. Also, unless its a brand new story in a brand new place (the characters can remain the same), then I don't think I'm interested.

[Naner]

Not to be a downer but the red/blue could represent fire/lightning... the elemental types both Legendaries are...

I know, but the colors really look like gemstones.

Not sure if I'm excited for this. I'm not sure I want to go back to Unova so soon. I haven't even finished the side quests, like hunting down the important members of Team Plasma after beating the main game. Also, unless its a brand new story in a brand new place (the characters can remain the same), then I don't think I'm interested.

I feel like it is the case. N goes go Hoenn, peehaps.

[HYRUL3]

Yeah, absolutely, if they go to Hoenn that'd be a day one purchase for me.

[Kraid Raid]

Too. Many. Websites. Not. Enough. Time.

As usual, I have fallen off the message board for a decent enough length of time to announce my triumphant return. I've recently gotten hooked on the Pokemon Podcast: It's Super Effective and have been hanging around their site for the past however-long. This has given me some interesting insights to these announcements.

Pokemon x Nobunaga's Ambition:

From what I can tell, it's just Mystery Dungeon remade to look like something different and bundled with an obscure Japanese title, possibly to generate interest in the US for it. I have a feeling that if enough clamor is made, it will see the shelves of American game stores and possibly pave the way for the original Nobunaga's Ambition. I could care less either way, the Mystery Dungeon games sucked in my opinion.

Black 2/White 2:

These are "direct sequels" of Pokemon Black and Pokemon White. To me, this implies that 1) you will be the same character; 2) you may or may not start in Unova, but the likelihood is that you will; and 3) that Team Plasma/Ghetsis/N will play a part in the game somehow. Everyone has been clamoring over the colors used for the "2" (Red/Blue) saying that it's an inevitable link to the forthcoming Ruby/Sapphire remakes, but I'm not convinced. As was mentioned before, Reshiram corresponds to red (fire) and Zekrom corresponds to blue (electric). There have also been speculations that the airport in Mistralton City has some hidden purpose (otherwise, why put it in the game?). To anyone who thinks this, I have only one thing to say: Mew Pickup in RBY. I think it's a red herring, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if it turns out otherwise. We shall see.

Peace
Raid

[HYRUL3]

The more rumors I see for PW2/PB2 the more I get excited. I'm hoping I'm not let down, but in any case it's done what every Pokemon announcement ever has done to me: it makes me want to play the current title. I still haven't hunted down the rest of the high-ups from Team Plasma, I still haven't caught all the Legendaries, and I still haven't imported my other Pokemon. My Pokedex is embarassingly empty. That needs to change.

[Naner]

I know how you feel, and I haven't even started playing 5th gen yet...

[fox mulder]

I seriously hope that they are continuing the story because it was the thing that set Black/White from the rest. In a good way.