- Joined
- Jan 22, 2014
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- #61
The Galactic Commanders don't strike me as much better... they're all just clueless subordinates who don't know the real plan. They're no better than the grunts. What do any of them have to gain by following Cyrus other than "muh vague new world"?[...]
It's a matter of perspective, where we can agree to disagree. Whereas you may see them all in an interchangeable light, I still think the Scientists aren't as memorable as the others.
Purugly and Skuntank only stand out because they're really strong for that early point in the game. I suppose that's a matter of structure - all of the early Team Flare appearances in XY don't involve the admins. My guess is that GF wanted a more gradual escalation, but who knows. Obviously if Aliana came along at the Glittering Cave with a Lv17 Druddigon, she'd be more memorable.
Archer's Houndoom is hilariously crap. Oh no, it's packing Bite. (And Mable literally uses a Houndoom herself!)
This is an interesting point, and I think it contributes to why I find them lacking. Relatively speaking, where you fight (in relation to the Pokemon available to you, the Generation, the likely level you're at, items you have, etc.) Saturn, Jupiter, Archer, Ariana, etc. is a part of what makes their teams memorable (to me). XY didn't have that same relativity, or structure as you say; by the time you get to the Scientists, they're using 1-2 Pokemon while you have Mega Evolution(s), limitless TMs, access to 200+ Pokemon (with most likely a full party), Amie bonuses, Super Training, and such. I don't think Game Freak factored all that in when regarding their difficulty, so dealing with them (for me) was the same as easily knocking aside the grunt right before-there was no substance and the interaction quickly ended. I didn't have that same experience with the others.
I don't know why one would arbitrarily disqualify the Power Plant/Poké Ball Factory/Frost Cavern missions from not being "missions"; they all contribute directly toward Team Flare's intention, while also riffing on either XY's theme about give and take or their theme about hidden potential.
Interestingly, I didn't discredit the Power Plant and Poké Ball Factory as non-missions. I specifically stated the venture to Frost Cavern as questionable, because I didn't find catching Pokemon as something of an operation. You can literally do that anywhere, unopposed (which they apparently did off-screen).