Little things you like about Pokémon

Hidden Abilities were introduced in Gen V.
Nothing significant. It's just a third ability slot.

Compare that to the Steel and Dark types, breeding and the Special split (Gen II), EVs and IVs and an overhaul of almost everything else (Gen III), Physical and Special attack split (Gen IV), the Fairy type and Mega Evolutions (Gen VI) and Z-Moves (Gen VII).

Juniper specialises in the origin of Pokémon; so she breaks the pattern by being the only Professor to have specialisation relevant to lore and story rather than mechanics. That said, her fellow Gen 5 Professor Fennel focuses on the Dream World.
Though I guess that with Gen V being lore-focused, being a lore-focused Professor fits.
 
Nothing significant. It's just a third ability slot.
It was at the time though, since the hidden ability was only available through the dream world. And largely the hidden ability is seen as the ability you want for 75% of the pokemon that have them. Then every game after Black and White did something to subvert that.

Similar sentiments can be made for other generational discoveries.

Gen2 Professor Elm: Pokemon hatch from eggs?!
Gen3-present: No duh professor.

Gen6 Professor Sycamore: Go out and find this extremely rare Mega Evolution!
Gen7 Battle Tree Ladies: Get your megastones here! 64 BP a piece!

But I guess I can see your point that it lacks a certain sense of grandeur in comparison. Seems like Gen 5 had several competing elements that it wanted to become series main-stays (the Dreamworld, Triple & Rotation battles, all new pokemon only) but all of them were cut out eventually.
 
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Codraroll

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I must confess... for all my complaints of unoriginality in the first half of the Unova dex, the design conceptual thinking of Gen V keeps growing on me. They did a lot of things in the evolution department with Gen V that they haven't really done before or since, or at least not to the same extent. It's as if they went back to previous generations and asked themselves "What worked before? What should we do again? How can we expand on those ideas instead of inventing something new for the sake of inventing something new?"

First of all, the two flavours of regional bugs. Both a little late to evolve, both decently powerful. And neither of them were moths or butterflies. After four generations of bugs being fully evolved by level 20, or just hopeless failures competitively, it was refreshing to see some that could actually hold their own for at least the first half of the adventure (and a fair bit longer, with Hidden Abilities).

Lillipup in general is an undeappreciated Pokémon. It is an early Normal-type with an evolutionary curve not like an early rodent, but like a starter (evolves at levels 16 and 32). It is only available in the early-game, and not shoved down our throats later on like certain other early-route Normal-types (here's looking at Hoenn, Sinnoh, and especially Alola). But it can hold its own throughout the entire game, with a wide movepool and useful stats and abilities. It's as if the designers added a fourth starter Pokémon. Sinnoh kind of did that too with Shinx, but Luxray was held back by a more single-tracked and less powerful movepool.

Gigalith and Conkeldurr might be thinly veiled imitations of Golem and Machamp, but I appreciate that they reach their final forms via straight-up, no-items, no-fuzz trading.

The three elemental monkeys can generally be regarded as six buckets of crud, but at least they gave new purpose to the "traditional" evolution stones, with some help from Eelektrik. The Fire and Thunder Stones had not interacted with any new Pokémon after Gen I, while two Gen III designs utilized the Water and Leaf Stones (Lombre and Nuzleaf). Nice to see more Pokémon evolving using the stones specifically designed to evolve Pokémon.

Solosis, Gothita, Vanillite, and Klink are mid-game Pokémon that evolve twice. But their amazing little trick is how late the first form is obtained, but you still get to use all three stages through the adventure. They reach their second stage some ten levels after their maximum encounter level, and their final stage 10-12 levels after that. Contrast earlier mid-game three-stage-types like Gastly and Poliwag, which evolved pretty much immediately after capture, and then again via some more labourious mehod such as evolution stones or trading. Also, Vanillite is an actual mid-game Ice-type that evolves twice, with a decent BST and focus on Sp.Atk. It's the only regular Ice-type that makes an actual effort to be useable an interesting in-game.

Axew is a really powerful Dragon-type found in an optional side dungeon. Great concept! Being a non-pseudo-legendary Dragon-type is also pretty cool.

The Litwick family also brings back an evolution stone, this time the Dusk Stone from Gen IV. Other than that, there's also Munna bringing back the Moon Stone (unused since Gen III, Skitty), Cottonee/Petilil give purpose to the Sun Stone (unused since Gen II, Bellossom/Sunflora), and Minccino utilizes the Shiny Stone (introduced in Gen IV). Gen V made sure to remember and re-use all the evolution stones, after Game Freak made a habit of introducing new ones in Gen IV rather than re-using the existing ones.

Pawniard, Rufflet and Vullaby prove that two-stage evolutions can arrive late in the game and still be evolved via level-up, without it happening immediately after capture (shout-out to Bergmite, which can't be found in the wild below its evolutionary level). Late-game Pokémon need not be locked into trade, evolutionary stones, obscure items, or locations. Level-up evolution works even if it happens only once and late in the game. Whether or not they were successful or useable in-game with this concept, I don't know (didn't use them myself), but at least they made the attempt. They are introduced late in the game and evolve via level-up, but they follow the level curve and the base form may be used for a few levels before evolving. Other games solve the issue by putting late-game introductions way below the level curve (Larvitar, Bagon, Jangmo-o), or refrain from introducing new Pokémon that can evolve by level-up late in the game at all (Poni Island except Jangmo-o, Victory Road in general). This method does, however, mean that Bisharp, Braviary and Mandibuzz will always be very late-game Pokémon in future games, barring exceptional underlevelled encounters like in BW2. There's no catching, say, a Rufflet around Gym 4 and have it evolve by Gym 6.

Deino and Larvesta, while not particularly good in-game Pokémon, take the "late bloomer" concept to its logical extreme, not reaching their final forms until around level 60. Still, they hold on to plain and simple level-up evolution; instead of obscure, late-game items (shout-out to Sneasel), or requiring you to trade.



And in general, Gen V contains a lot of what I like to call ATEFs. Atypical, Three-stage Evolution Families. Pokémon that evolve twice, that are not starters, early-game bugs/birds or pseudo-legendaries. Gen IV had a single ATEF in the Shinx family. Gen VI had two; Flabébé's and Honedge's families. Gen VII also has two; Bounsweet and Cosmog (and the latter is debatable as it's unlike any other evolutionary family). But Gen V? 13. That's more than Gen III, IV, VI and VII put together. Although in fariness, Gen IV created 10 cross-gen ATEFs by introducing third members to previous-gen families. But still, ATEFs are a rarity nowadays, so to look back to Gen V and see the huge number of "atypical" three-stage lines is kind of impressive.

So yeah, Gen V had a lot of good ideas conceptually. By contrast, I don't think gens VI and VII were as creative, they felt more restricted in their Pokémon design and selection. They had some good ideas, of course, but Gen V did a lot of things way better than the 3DS generations of Pokémon did.
 
I think some of the supposedly unoriginal designs may have been intentional. Blitzle, for example, definitely shares a common ancestor with Ponyta; Timburr probably does with Machop. I don't know whether Game Freak actually had that in mind when making these species, but it stands as a good in-world explanation regardless. The idea that the whole regional 'dex is derivative also seems to be overblown among people online; it's only a small portion of it that seems to be, and tons of other species are very original. People let a couple of objectionable color their view of what's probably the best generation of 'mons.

Edit: Part of the problem is that even though many designs aren't derivative, they closely share other attributes (like the trade evolutions of Boldore and Gurdurr as mentioned) or in-game roles (like Woobat and Zubat, which design-wise aren't alike at all). Letting that be the basis for your whole opinion of those species is a failure on fans' parts, but it's also unfortunate in some of these cases that GF didn't take more care to avoid the too-coincidental similarities.
 
I think some of the supposedly unoriginal designs may have been intentional. Blitzle, for example, definitely shares a common ancestor with Ponyta; Timburr probably does with Machop. I don't know whether Game Freak actually had that in mind when making these species, but it stands as a good in-world explanation regardless. The idea that the whole regional 'dex is derivative also seems to be overblown among people online; it's only a small portion of it that seems to be, and tons of other species are very original. People let a couple of objectionable color their view of what's probably the best generation of 'mons.
They don't really have to be related. Convergent evolution most likely exists in the Pokemon world, after all.

Superficially unoriginal designs can still be justified. (e.g. Tegus are very similar to monitor lizards, but they actually have little in common)
 
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Pawniard, Rufflet and Vullaby prove that two-stage evolutions can arrive late in the game and still be evolved via level-up, without it happening immediately after capture (shout-out to Bergmite, which can't be found in the wild below its evolutionary level). Late-game Pokémon need not be locked into trade, evolutionary stones, obscure items, or locations. Level-up evolution works even if it happens only once and late in the game. Whether or not they were successful or useable in-game with this concept, I don't know (didn't use them myself), but at least they made the attempt. They are introduced late in the game and evolve via level-up, but they follow the level curve and the base form may be used for a few levels before evolving. Other games solve the issue by putting late-game introductions way below the level curve (Larvitar, Bagon, Jangmo-o), or refrain from introducing new Pokémon that can evolve by level-up late in the game at all (Poni Island except Jangmo-o, Victory Road in general). This method does, however, mean that Bisharp, Braviary and Mandibuzz will always be very late-game Pokémon in future games, barring exceptional underlevelled encounters like in BW2. There's no catching, say, a Rufflet around Gym 4 and have it evolve by Gym 6.

Deino and Larvesta, while not particularly good in-game Pokémon, take the "late bloomer" concept to its logical extreme, not reaching their final forms until around level 60. Still, they hold on to plain and simple level-up evolution; instead of obscure, late-game items (shout-out to Sneasel), or requiring you to trade.
The only problem with this then is that it affects the way the Pokémon can be used in later games. Like in S/M they put Rufflet in an early game, level 9-12 area. Which is an absolute fucking mistake because it means you then have to hold onto it for a good 45 ish levels in order to evolve it, so it kind of loses all interest later. Pokémon like these work well in the Unova setup but struggle to find a good home in other games.
 
The only problem with this then is that it affects the way the Pokémon can be used in later games. Like in S/M they put Rufflet in an early game, level 9-12 area. Which is an absolute fucking mistake because it means you then have to hold onto it for a good 45 ish levels in order to evolve it, so it kind of loses all interest later. Pokémon like these work well in the Unova setup but struggle to find a good home in other games.
I don't see why this should be a problem. Rufflet could have easily been put somewhere on poni or ula ula and then rufflets current spot could have been replaced by say starly or pidgey.

If they just keep pokemon that are designed to come late-game, in the... Well, late game, then I don't see a problem. Or am I just missing something here?
 
I don't see why this should be a problem. Rufflet could have easily been put somewhere on poni or ula ula and then rufflets current spot could have been replaced by say starly or pidgey.

If they just keep pokemon that are designed to come late-game, in the... Well, late game, then I don't see a problem. Or am I just missing something here?
But the problem is that, in SM, Rufflet is found in Melemele, a very long way to go until evolving into Braviary. Same with Vullaby.

It's pretty much as if Larvesta were available in Route 3.
 
If they just keep pokemon that are designed to come late-game, in the... Well, late game, then I don't see a problem. Or am I just missing something here?
It's because they evolve like late game Pokemon, but they come so early. So you're stuck with the baby form even when your starter is fully evolved. So these Pokemon only work in late game areas and fail anywhere else.

Basically a mini version of Crabrawler's problem. Or Ponyta's problem in the Sinnoh games.

This could be solved by just changing the evolution criteria, but that seems to be Gamefreak's one constant "never mess with" issue. Odd thing to be stingy about honestly. Gamefreak can be strange about certain balancing mechanics, seems they love to preserve the weirdest artifacts.
 
Yeah...I've always seen the level at which something evolves as sort of an average for that species. (Totally beside the point here, but the complaints about things like Lance's Dragonite having evolved "early" have always been dumb as hell.) There's no way some variation wouldn't be found within the species, based on a number of factors, and it would make sense for that "average" to shift based on major differences in climate (like Ponyta in Sinnoh vs. Kanto). (Of course, GF would probably fail to emphasize this and make it feel really arbitrary if they did make changes.) They could easily come up with a plausible explanation for, say, Rufflet evolving earlier in Alola; it's certainly less of a change for a species than the regional variants, and could easily happen without any actual genetic change even being necessary.
 

Pikachu315111

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I can appreciate the fact that Dugtrio in PMD acknowledges that they're not a single pokemon and always refer to itself as a "we" or "us". Pretty sure Magnezone & Magneton does that too.
Going by the in-battle phrases (which was only done in the original Mystery Dungeon games):

Exeggcute does this.

Exeggutor and Dodrio sorta does this, they repeats/responds to themselve which is meant to be their heads talking to each other. Metagross mentions that its merged though still uses singular pronouns.

Pokemon who should do this but don't are Weezing, Metang, Doduo,

Finally Magneton doesn't refer to itself in any way.
 
Going by the in-battle phrases (which was only done in the original Mystery Dungeon games):

Pokemon who should do this but don't are Weezing, Metang, Doduo,

Finally Magneton doesn't refer to itself in any way.
I digged the pokedex a lil bit and found this:

DPP's Doduo Pokedex Entry: "The brains in its two heads appear to communicate emotions to each other with telepathic power."
Alpha Sapphire's: "Doduo's two heads contain completely identical brains. A scientific study reported that on rare occasions, there will be examples of this Pokémon possessing different sets of brains."

Meanwhile, this is Dodrio's Dex Entry for FireRed: "An odd species that is rarely found. The three heads respectively represent joy, sadness, and anger."

Dodrio's dex page implies each head has its own, distinct, personality and thus a different perception of self. Conversely, Doduo's implies the exact opposite where one head is exactly the same as the other so they don't think of themselves as different individuals. It doesn't really justify it since Red Rescue Team came out years before DPP & AS but I'll take what I can get. It is not that big a deal anyways ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As for Metang ( and also according to the Pokedex) not only its body, but its brains are fused together too so in a sense they're a single individual, so this one isn't really strange to me.

Finally, I had NO idea Weezing was meant to be twinned Koffin. I always just figured it was a Koffin with cancer lol. TIL
 

Pikachu315111

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Something I just realized:

In Sun & Moon, after Lillie stands up to her mother in Ultra Space, Lusamine then counters her speech (about how people and Pokemon are alive and aren't "owned" or to be discarded once you're bored of them) by saying she's acting no different then a trainer would, capturing dozens of Pokemon which they swap out and replace when they find one more interesting to use. Now had this been any other generation this would be a solid comeback, but Sun & Moon soften that blow by the existence of the Poke Pelago, a place where your PC Pokemon can eat treats, grow berries, go on treasure hunts, train, and relax in hot springs.

And who runs Poke Pelago? Mohn, Lusamine's husband. Lusamine's otherwise critical comeback had been thwarted by none other than her significant other whose disappearance cause her to develop this outlook. Combined with her children working against her, Lusamine's insane plans and beliefs had been countered by her own family. Bravo GF, that's some cohesive planning right there.
 

Deleted User 400951

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In Platinum (and Diamond/Pearl too I guess), I loved Cyrus. For a character in Pokemon, he was so dark (I'm biased, I've always loved dark novels like Oliver Twist) and cool. He had strong, idealistic desires that were far deeper than the other villainous leaders. I remember his speech, how he would turn back on them all. This is far deeper stuff than Giovanni, Magma/Aqua, Ghetsis and most certainly the awful (imo at least) Lysandre (Lusamine... I'd say they're equal). For a kid's game, his willingness to go and betray his goons all in the name of restarting the world to rid it of imperfection, all while being the lonely mechanical genius made me love Cyrus and Team Galactic. Also, the Galactic theme was just AWESOME. IMO one of the best battle themes in the series, on par with BW2's rival theme, almost.
 

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i think it's cool how in sun and moon, tourists use the non alolan forms of stuff like ninetales and sandslash. very fitting and useful for dex entries

also when alolan golem is sent out, it drops to the ground abnormally quickly. this is also really cool because it references its density (and magnetism).

finally i just want to point out how much mega gyarados's design is salvaged by its whiskers


look at that. look at how long they are. that's so cool man
 
So, I recently brought my Platinum cartridge back to life in the mad quest to get a legit, Calm Defog Mantine to transfer to S/M, and the sudden transition to the distant past made me realise how much I love all the small, quality-of-life changes that GF added during the years for us Competitive Breeders and the likes, starting from the Everstone affecting the males as well, the 100% Nature passing, the faster hatching methods, the HA male passing, to the death of the Daycares, the Heart Scales buff and the glorious Destiny Knot buff. Hatching eggs in Platinum felt so utterly slow and painful, thanks Arceus we have Gold Bottle Caps now to fix those horrid IVs so that we just have to get the right Nature+obvious Defog to get the job done.
Having Defog in the TM/HM pouch felt strangely good, though.
 
I think Guzma's been mentioned generally in this thread, but I like how Guzma's "second best" thing (well, more third best, every trophy in their old room is bronze, bar one second place, so his best achievement is coming a measly second place) foreshadows that he isn't the Big Bad of the game. A really neat touch in my opinion.
IIRC there are no hints that he used to live in that house until the post-game, so it's not exactly foreshadowing.

Still a neat detail, that he's second even at being villainous.
 
I might be in the minority on this, but I'm really angry with how Primal Kyogre got shafted compared to Primal Groudon.

Firstly, Origin Pulse is 10 Base Power weaker than Precipice Blades. This doesn't matter much in the end since Origin Pulse is still much stronger than Precipice Blades due to the Rain boost, but it still makes the move feel much less special in comparison. Secondly, Primal Groudon got an additional Fire typing, while primal Kyogre ended up staying mono Water-type. This was really disappointing since this just made primal Kyogre feel more or less the same to its normal form while Primal Groudon feels completely different from regular Groudon. The developers could have made Kyogre Water / Dark to complement Archie's main Pokemon Sharpedo, like Primal Groudon does to Camerupt and it disappoints me they chose not too.

EDIT: Wrong thread
 
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I might be in the minority on this, but I'm really angry with how Primal Kyogre got shafted compared to Primal Groudon.

Firstly, Origin Pulse is 10 Base Power weaker than Precipice Blades. This doesn't matter much in the end since Origin Pulse is still much stronger than Precipice Blades due to the Rain boost, but it still makes the move feel much less special in comparison. Secondly, Primal Groudon got an additional Fire typing, while primal Kyogre ended up staying mono Water-type. This was really disappointing since this just made primal Kyogre feel more or less the same to its normal form while Primal Groudon feels completely different from regular Groudon. The developers could have made Kyogre Water / Dark to complement Archie's main Pokemon Sharpedo, like Primal Groudon does to Camerupt and it disappoints me they chose not too.
Somehow I think you meant to post this in this thread instead.

As for giving Primal Groudon the fire typing, it's hard to justify not giving it to him when the magma within his body overflows. I'm guessing it's just a coincidence that it got the same typing as Camerupt (think ground, plate movement, volcano, lava) rather than it being intentional.
 
There are so many tiny things I like in Sun and Moon that it makes the game feel so mixed with my many problems with it. The one push access to Poke Balls. The new battle UI in general (with information about stat increases/decreases, information about abilities, being able to see how long status/weather will last, etc.). Defending my title.Being able to add a 'mon to your party instead of going straight to the box. Improved PC. Seriously, I could go on for hours about how much I love the new PC. Six Battle Boxes that can share 'mons between themselves and no longer having to deal with the outdated "Deposit" and "Withdrawal" options. Lots of things I wish where in the games before.
 

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