Hyping Up the PokeMans

I wanted to avoid being interested in Pokemon X/Y or as some might know it as, the sixth generation of Pokemon. I played a lot of generation four and loved it, but I might have burned myself out on it before generation five came around. I honestly could not get into generation five. I still don’t necessarily like it, even though, having played more of it, there are a lot of features I DO like and hope they carry over, but plenty I would change or change back for major improvements. That said, I figured with the game only a couple months away and my pre-order hesitantly put in, let me list the top ten reasons why I think the next generation will be the best and most innovative since generation two.

Mega Evolutions, Fairy-Type, Super Training, Trainer Customization, Horde Battles, Mega Mewtwo

10. Sky-Battles

 - The basic concept is that this is a battle that takes place in the air and only flying Pokemon (and I’m assuming those with levitate) can participate. This is an interesting idea and one I’ve always wondered why it has never happened or why we never get to have random encounters while using FLY in game. Surely, we’d encounter a Fearow or something on the way back to Pallet Town and get to fight it and its gang of Spearow like Ash did in the cartoon. Regardless, this is a unique idea. Still have to wonder why non-water Pokemon (and especially FIRE POKEMON) are allowed to fight while we’re on the ocean though.

9. Wonder Trading

 - This would rank higher if more of it was explained, but due to a lack of explanation as to how this works, I’m keeping it low because it sounds like a cool idea, but implemented poorly, it could just be a waste. Wonder Trading, for those who don’t know, is going to be a new trading system where you put your Pokemon up for a trade and you just get some random fucker back. Now, immediately, I assume you’re all thinking the same thing I did, “What about those jerks who put up low level garbage or hax pokemon?” To that end I say, Nintendo and Gamefreak have been working on this for a while and I’m sure they have a system to reduce that issue. All I can say is that I’m hoping more people are mature about it and just use this system the way they are intending us to, and not to simply troll people. But I know that’s asking for a bit much.

8. PANGORO

 - I really wanted to rank Pangoro higher because I’m really psyched that we’re not only getting a new pokemon that looks like a Panda, but he also looks like a complete badass when fully evolved. Not to mention I like the idea of a fighting/dark type as I love me both fighting and dark types (though not as much as my beloved steel types). I’m really hoping this isn’t like Rampardos where the preview images make it out to be a total bad ass and it ends up playing like garbage when the game finally comes out. Regardless, I’m going to catch me one of these bad boys and love it to death.

7. Mounts

 - There’s always been one thing I’ve wondered about the Pokemon games since the beginning. Actually, a lot of things. For example, what do people eat as a meat product? Where are any of the bathrooms? What non-Pokemon related jobs are there in this world? Why can my Charmander still be used in a battle when I am currently diving? Where do ghost Pokemon come from? And, of course, why can’t I ride my Rapidash, Arcanine, or other mountable Pokemon down the street instead of a fucking bike. Well, it looks like this time we’ll get to experience that first hand. Unfortunately, it looks like it might be limited to a couple Pokemon at most, but it’s a start. Someday I’ll get to ride my Arcanine… all night long.

6. Horde Battles

 - This is another one of those things that we still don’t have much information on. But according to what we DO know, this is a battle type that will let players fight up to fight Pokemon at once. This doesn’t explain if we get to use all five as well or what. But I like the idea as it could be an interesting way to level up Pokemon quickly. It could be a unique way to find more rare-Pokemon. There’s a lot of potential ideas coming up here. Plus, it could make battles that would otherwise be easy much more difficult, which I felt was the biggest issue with generation five being too damn easy and constantly holding your hand (removing poison damage outside of battle). I can also see this being something annoying if it happens too frequently or without warning to someone who is ill prepared or just got out of a bad scrape to begin with. If it’s anything like the wild double battles I’ve seen in previous generations, it’ll be limited to certain areas or when traveling with another trainer, which I guess is a start.

5. Mega Evolutions

 - Many will argue this should go higher. But, like many things already mentioned, the information on the “Mega Evolutions” is incredibly limited and we’re not sure what all will happen when in use. There are a few things we do know (or have some idea of anyway). For starters, it looks like it might require the use of a certain item to activate. Secondly, and this might be a mistranslation, but these “mega forms” are temporary and only for battle. I’m hoping that second part isn’t true because I really like the looks of Lucario, Ampharos, Blaziken and a few others and I’d rather just keep them like that all the time if possible. Plus, it is uncertain how big a boost these will be (but you can imagine that if it really is a hassle to use them that it’ll be worth it). Once more information is released, I can only imagine that this will actually become a bigger deal. But I will admit that I like it and I like the designs we’re seeing from it. I can’t wait to actually try this out for myself.

4. Mega Mewtwo!!!

 - I was really tempted to make this number one, but with Mega Evolutions not in the top three, I guess I had to keep him down here instead. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he has the best design in the entire line up of “Mega Forms” but I’ve always loved Mewtwo and I cannot wait to see what kind of monster he’ll be once the mega form is unleashed. That said, while we’re still on the subject of “Mega” pokemon, I just want to say I think the name for them is really stupid. Why not something like “Awakened,” “Unleashed,” “Limit Break,” or just anything else. Just throwing “Mega” to the front of their name is really dumb.

3. Trainer Customization

 - If I learned anything from playing the Saints Row IV Inauguration Station, it is that I have a problem with loving character customization options. I literally could spend a whole day just making characters and have fun. I did that a lot for D&D. Hell, I played a small bit of Sims 3 with an ex-girlfriend and the only fun part was just making the characters with her. Regardless, the next Pokemon games will give a much GREATER degree of player customization and it’ll be great to finally be able to play as something other than a white girl (or dude) in a generally non-white location (like the earlier games and their basis in Japan. I only hope many NPCs will have some pallet, clothing, and style swaps as well for a lot of variety.

2. SUPER TRAINING

 - Another dumb sounding name, but probably the feature of the game I’ll abuse the most unless character customization has a boob-size adjuster as well. Super Training is a collection of mini-games which will allow you to boost up “Effort Values” of Pokemon without the bother of normal EV training. There has not been a confirmation on whether you can only boost with this so much or if you can just substitute normal EV training for this. Either way, this is still a good alternative to raising up speed EVs than having to fight another 100 fucking zubat.

1. FAIRY TYPE

 - You might be asking, of all the game changing features being added, why is fairy-type’s introduction being hyped up so much here? Well, let me tell you, I remember back when Dark and Steel were introduced and they weren’t that big of a deal due to a lack of Pokemon being those types and a lack of good moves being either dark or steel. It wasn’t until the glorious generation IV when these two types started becoming the major powerhouses of today (with some notable exceptions prior to IV). And while I can’t expect the fairy type to enter the metagame with a big boom, I imagine their impact on the metagame and the balance of power among the various pokemon on the various tiers will be significant and I am very much looking forward to this shaking up Pokemon as we know it. This is what I wanted last generation and didn’t get it. It’s about damn time we got a new type to have fun with here.

Yep, over a year ago, I was done with Pokemon and when generation six was announced, only showing a handful of screen shots that showed nothing new other than the 3D models and design, I was admittedly upset with it all. I was bitter about how generation five was for me and how I couldn’t enjoy the good aspects without wading through all the stupid shit that was the really boring story. But with all these new aspects being added to generation six, I think things will be much better than it was before. Having not played a lot Pokemon since dropping generation five, I don’t have to worry as much about being burned out on the experience. I can focus on learning an all new metagame for competitive level play. I can enjoy old favorites like Mewtwo, Blaziken, Lucario, and more getting some new abilities and upgrades. Overall, I’m actually hype for the next generation of Pokemon. It took a while to get here, but I’m glad that there’s enough going on to make me change my mind.

… now if only Nintendo would change their mind on a fucking MMO. Then we’d be in business.