Pokémon Corner: Crystal Version

[Harmill]

You can have the elemental fangs (Fire/Ice/Thunder) at once but I don't think you can add Poison Fang at the same time.

Also, I'm not an expert breeder or competitive player.

 

[Tai_MT]

That's too bad, 'cause Poison Fang with the elemental Fangs would be a ton of fun against my friends

 

[Fungii]

Man every time I see this thread title I get a little bit emotional; Pokemon Crystal is probably the only PKMN game I can distinctly remember buying, right down to the store and everything.

Little me was so happy to finally play as a girl, haha. Maybe that's how Gen 2 ended up being my favorite generation?

 

[Korimax]

Hmm seems that I might need to start stalking this thread... 

Game: X

FC: 4957 - 2138 - 2611

Trying to 6 IV breed my perfect Team, I have no idea how that is gonna go, but I am gonna do my best! 

 

[Chaos Avian]

http://serebii.net/index2.shtml

So new Megas (HHNNGGHH YES ALTARIS~ <3 ) as well as new contest stuff. Plus it seems like the Belbum we get via event will be a shiny. Also I don't like Mega Salamence...

 

[Harmill]

I really hope that megas aren't a direct replacement for giving new evolutions to old pokemon. I'm still waiting for a proper Farfetch'd evolution (samurai duck!!!!), and no, I would not be satisfied with a mega evolution for him.

The whole concept of megas....it's just so "Meh" to me. I guess it's just a direction I, personally, don't agree with.

 

[Tai_MT]

I don't really agree with the Megas either.  In practice, they're just "instant win" buttons.  Pokémon changes shape for one turn, uses a single attack with completely destroys pretty much anything that isn't a Mega, and then goes back to their old form.  It's a free kill, essentially.  On top of which, these Mega evolutions don't even count in the Pokedex or do anything else.

Why couldn't they have just gone with permanent fourth evolutions, or permanent second/third level evolutions for these mons in the first place?  What good is the typings on the Megas if they only exist for a single turn?

I dunno, I just don't get it.  I hope they don't stick around, to be honest...  Or their power is severely nerfed at some point to make them more strategic than an instant-win button.

 

[Solo]

w00t Mega Lopunny!

Also... I hope Contests aren't restricted to just Pikachu... that would be really lame.

May and Brendan look really cute and cool (respectively) in their contest outfits.

 

[NPC]

@Tai: To be fair, only a pocket sized amount of megas have increased attack. So only monsters like Gengar, Garchomp, and Lucario are really capable of massive sweeps. Many megas play a different playstyle when evolved, since their typing changes. Think of it like Meloetta's Forme change without waiting a turn.

 

[Tai_MT]

Well, I only ever used the Lucario Mega.  His mega is so absolutely massive in terms of damage that it's an "instant win" button against pretty much everything except other Mega's...

It's one of the reasons I don't really like the Mega form that much.  What I got to experience of it indicated to me that it was broken mechanic that didn't add much strategy.

Also, I really don't like temporary evolutions.  Or even temporary forms.  I'd like things to be reasonably permanent (with perhaps options to change forms back or to different ones) in terms of Pokémon Evolution.

Besides...  What would be better...  Mega evolutions as they are now...  Or making those forms permanent with slightly less stat boosts than a Mega provides?

 

[Harmill]

Mega evolutions generally gain a ton more stats overall than a single evolution does, so they had the potential to help balance some weaker pokémon that never got used. And while some weak pokémon were given mega evolutions, it feels like at least 50% of the chosen pokémon who got mega evolutions didn't even NEED the extra strength compared to others. Garchomp? Gengar? Alakazam? Tyranitar? Blaziken? Gyarados? Heracross? Scizor? Latios/Latias? MEWTWO??? Holy crap, none of these needed mega evolutions in terms of balancing (though I'm not saying that their actual goal was to balance).

While I'm against the concept in general, if they were absolutely going to push for this new mechanic, they could have at least put more thought into WHO would get a mega evolution. Houndoom, Banette, Kangaskhan, Mawile, etc...THOSE were well picked. They were not competitively viable pokémon, so the extra boost gave them some love (especially Kangaskhan, from my understanding, he's broken in his mega form). Still, I would have preferred a straight up new evolution for them instead. They had an evolution "slot" (weren't a Stage 3) available for a normal evolution at least.

Now after complaining so much, I should clarify that I haven't even spent much time with mega evolutions. In other words, I'm speaking more on the general concepts but can't say much to the actual execution. Perhaps someone who's used them a lot could explain what makes them cool? What new depth do they add to the game? NPC said that many megas change their playstyles. In what way? I'm willing to be convinced that my "preconceptions" are flawed. 

 

[Chaos Avian]

If I'm going to be honest, with the amount of Pokemon getting Mega's I'm agreeign with Tai_MT with mega's being a fourth permanent form. Especially since only ONE Pokemon can Mega per party. It could make competitive play more interesting. (But then Smogon rules will probably screw up a lot things... especially with the recent ban of Aegislash. It has no counters? Please.  Gale Wings Talon Flame wrecks it, Malamar makes it his toy, etc, etc. ¬_¬)

But yeah, balance megas more and/ or give more trainers mega Pokemon. Younster Joey will FINALLY have that top percentage~

 

[Tai_MT]

Why would Aegislash ever be banned?  I use it in PvE and while it is pretty powerful most of the time, it's been utterly destroyed several times as well (even by pokemon as many as 20 levels under it).  I even once had a Pokémon five levels under it produce an OHKO on it.  If it's really so powerful to be banned, I must be using it wrong.

 

[Chaos Avian]

I agree entirely, but this is Smogon here. They are utterly stupid for no reason sometimes., and the kicker is that the ban was vote based. They needed a 60% majority vote to pass the ban... they got 63%. Aegislash really can only play one way, and have pretty of counters. It really isn't hard to beat. So now it's going to be in the Uber category where it will get barebacked hardcore. Heck now Charizard X and Y are new suspects for banning... It really is ridiculous, because online most people play by Smogon rules ¬_¬

 

[Ratty524]

I really hope that megas aren't a direct replacement for giving new evolutions to old pokemon. I'm still waiting for a proper Farfetch'd evolution (samurai duck!!!!), and no, I would not be satisfied with a mega evolution for him.

Farfetch'd is supposed to suck. He's based on this kind of Japanese joke involving things that are way too good to be true (Farfecth'd pretty much comes with all of the ingredients to make a duck soup or something, including his leek), so making him powerful would actually defeat his concept.

Why would Aegislash ever be banned?  I use it in PvE and while it is pretty powerful most of the time, it's been utterly destroyed several times as well (even by pokemon as many as 20 levels under it).  I even once had a Pokémon five levels under it produce an OHKO on it.  If it's really so powerful to be banned, I must be using it wrong.

especially with the recent ban of Aegislash. It has no counters? Please.  Gale Wings Talon Flame wrecks it, Malamar makes it his toy, etc, etc. ¬_¬)

Mixed Aegislash says hi. Walling it isn't really an option since any physical wall could easily be shadow-balled or have their defenses ignored with the fighting-type sword move, and special walls fall prey to just about everything else it stands for. Another thing to consider is that the steel type lost an important resistance to Ghost and Dark, which made such types of Pokemon pretty damn powerful in this gen, as now you pretty much have to rely on normal and dark types themselves if you ever have hopes of stopping a ghost-type attack. With Aegislash in particular, it can pretty much get a free stat boost as long as it Sword Dances in its defensive stance. Whatever damage is done is negated by both its ability and Kings Shield, and once it starts to attack... Welp! It's sweeping time!

Another thing, saying a pokemon has "no counters" is an exaggeration. Every pokemon has at least one counter. What matters isn't what that counter is, though, so much as how many. What can you, as a player, do against that certain threat? If the answer is an extremely limited set of options (who even uses Malamar in standard play?), then that Pokemon is actually worth suspecting. While I'm disappointed that Aegis is uber myself, I can actually understand why.

 

[Chaos Avian]

With Aegislash in particular, it can pretty much get a free stat boost as long as it Sword Dances in its defensive stance. Whatever damage is done is negated by both its ability and Kings Shield, and once it starts to attack... Welp! It's sweeping time!

Only if it can set up, Skill Swap locks it into Defense form, Whirlwind/ Roar can get it out. It plays similar to Azumarill. I mean the common arguement for Aegislash's ban was the 720 base stat total. So they add up his base stats from both defense and attack form as his total and saying that those stats alone make him more than eligible for banning.

Plus King's Shield really only hurts physical attackers. And I don't think people run with a physical only party of Pokemon.

 

[Luminous Warrior]

Of course not. Anyone with half a brain would have at least one special attacker.

 

[Tai_MT]

Anyone with half a brain would be running a Fire type in their party to counter steel types.  You know, just sayin'...  The fact that there are so many fire type attacks as well as fire type mons in general...  I have a hard time believing that there are only "a few" counters to an Aegislash.  Especially when mons can learn swapping skills (Roar, Whirlwind), stat nullifying skills (Double Team!  Sand Attack!  Mud Slap!), guaranteed status effects (Will O Wisp!  Thunder Wave!  Yawn!  Sing!), or even harassment skills (Spite!  Curse!).

It seems silly to me to think it has "almost no counters".  Do competitive people forget how many moves there actually are in the game?

 

[Korimax]

Hmm, not sure how I feel about the new megas, on one hand I think some of them are interesting and somewhat unsurprising (Looking at that Mega Salamance whom appears to have no arms). 

But so far I have yet to see the Mega Evolution I really want to see. (Which is a Mega Raichu or a Mega Dusknoir.) However since I really doubt either of those will come to be I guess I'll accept these. (At least I will get a Mega Metagross, and a new shiny to boot.) 

EDIT: Nevermind found his arms, tucked away in his... overalls?

 

[NPC]

Because of Spec. Attack Aegislash. People make the mistake of building the Phys. Sweeper (which is fine, but not as powerful). When Aegislash has got that Shadow Ball and a Shadow Sneak goin' on, that's scary.