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Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown (Read OP before commenting)

TerraTF

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For quite some time on the internet there has been a Pokemon Simulator to conduct Pokemon battles on. The first big one was Shoddy Battle. An early Gen 4 sim when online Pokemon battling became a thing. Next was Pokemon Online. Biggest of the 3 big ones so far. Introduced mid Gen 4 and lived on remained big until mid Gen 5, Pokemon Online was the peak of simulation battles.

Finally our current platform. Pokemon Showdown. Produced in house by Smogon and has the ability to play any Smogon tier, any Nintendo tier, and many more. Now for the Pro's and Con's of Showdown.

Pro's:

  • In browser and app download. Both great ways to access the service.
  • Smogon tiers updated almost automatically. With Showdown being produced in house by Smogon updates to the big tiers of OU, Ubers, UU, and RU are updated almost automatically.
  • Quick team building. Tired of spending 10 hours breeding and training the perfect team? Don't like wasting time on the Battle Maison? Showdown allows you to put in a team in under 10 minutes and get to battling.
  • Ladder. Wanna see how much better you are than other players? Go right ahead. Work your way to the top and take a hold of the number one spot with your team.
  • Interaction. Showdown has many servers in which you could speak with many other people who have the same goal as you. Better yet in battle you can have a conversation with your opponent.
  • Quick replays. Don't have to go through the hassle of connecting to the internet, uploading your video, and typing out your code just for other to see your battle. Just click share replay and copy/paste the link for other to see. Also an infinite backlog of any battles of your that you want to see.
  • Instantaneous battles. (Twinkles)
  • Quick Battles (Gaara)
  • DC with consequences on ladder (Gaara)
  • Further Meta exploration (DCM)
  • Easy to jump into (DCM)
  • People who know what they're doing higher on the ladder. (Glory Blaze)

Con's:
  • No "connection" with your team. You don't need a connection with your team. They are pixels meant to take you to be the very best that no one ever was.
  • Widespread access to the meta. How is this bad you ask? Everyone using a gimmick and claiming it to be original even though its been used before and its bad.
  • "But why can't I use my favorite Pokemon Mewtwo?" Well you can. Just not in OU.
  • Some unsportsmanlike conduct. (JDawgs)
  • Lack of real battle animations. (Twinkles)

For now that's all of the Pro's and Con's I can think of. Agree or disagree? Lemme know if there are any Pro's/Con's I missed.
 
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Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

Pro:
Battles can be found almost instantly.

Con:
No real battle animations (barring sprites) and extremely bland/unappealing graphics.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

Con:
No real battle animations (barring sprites) and extremely bland/unappealing graphics.

Could you explain the con a little more? Every time I battle on Showdown there are battle animations and I don't have any themes on.
The sprites move, but the attack animations and backgrounds are extremely basic, like flash game style basic (although it essentially is a flash game). I much prefer watching the full 3D attack animations and battlefields of the game.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

My personal Pros and Cons~

Pros:
- It's quicker
- You can't DC with no consequences and rob someone of their win

Cons:
- Lack of actual battle animations
- Tiers and banning/clauses
- No connection with the Pokemon
- Awful Lag
- Trolls/Jerks that insult you for no reason
- Makes the game a bit too competitive and less fun in some aspects
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

I really enjoy pokemon showdown. I think it makes competitive battling more accessible for everyone, makes further meta exploration possible and is easy to jump in to. a lot of the cons I'm seeing here aren't really cons. i'm not looking for a "connection" with my pokemon, if I wanted that, I'd get a dog.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

Yeah it's pretty much all pros for me. Quicker than normal battles, easy teambuilding, auto-enforced Smogon rules, actual competitive players as opposed to tons of casuals and noobs (at least once you get high enough on the ladder)
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

a lot of the cons I'm seeing here aren't really cons. i'm not looking for a "connection" with my pokemon, if I wanted that, I'd get a dog.

Kind of how I went to it with the con's. I personally have no con's for Showdown. Just wanted to bring up some random bullshit ones I knew would eventually be brought up.

EDIT: Also gonna update the OP with Pro's and Con's I find valid. Gonna make mention of the first person who recognized it.
 
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Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

IDK if it weren't for random wifi online against an ubers noob using an Arceus, I wouldn't have discovered that, despite remaining in the depths of NU, a Lapras utilizing an Assault Vest has enough bulk to withstand what is quite literally the wrath of god.

Said Lapras, as I would later realize, also has some amazing coverage with freeze dry and hydro pump (it can even hit Rotom W for SE damage.) and has become a pivotal member of my team.

IDK if I would have realized this had I used showdown, but Lapras has continued to impress me in battles to this day and frankly will likely remain a staple in my team for quite a while.

It isn't a perfect pokemon. It's support movepool is pitiful, It has no reliable recovery and honestly Gamefreak really needs to buff the defensive properties of the ice type. But it still continues to be one of the biggest success stories on my team.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

CONS


Opponent said:


What does gg even mean? I always see it and I'm like... "Good golly?"

Anyways, I'd say a pro is that you can try out any strategy with any team in any tier. And a con would be that they still have pre-Gen. 6 menu sprites. I never noticed how horrible the old ones were until they got mixed in with the new ones... The new ones are so much more detailed and crisp.
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

CONS


Opponent said:


What does gg even mean? I always see it and I'm like... "Good golly?"

Anyways, I'd say a pro is that you can try out any strategy with any team in any tier. And a con would be that they still have pre-Gen. 6 menu sprites. I never noticed how horrible the old ones were until they got mixed in with the new ones... The new ones are so much more detailed and crisp.

good game
 
Re: Pro's and Con's of Pokemon Showdown

CONS


Opponent said:


What does gg even mean? I always see it and I'm like... "Good golly?"

Anyways, I'd say a pro is that you can try out any strategy with any team in any tier. And a con would be that they still have pre-Gen. 6 menu sprites. I never noticed how horrible the old ones were until they got mixed in with the new ones... The new ones are so much more detailed and crisp.

good game

Wow, I'm stupid for never realizing that. Well, pretty much every opponent says that to me and I never reply because IDK what it meant. Now that I do, I'll be more polite. ^_^
 
Pro: everything that's legal is available, so I can use something like Defog Lati@s or Knock Off Scrafty in Showdown! that I can't in-game because I don't own the games with those tutors.

Which, in turn, lets players discover new Pokemon and strategies they may never have considered beforehand. Slaking wouldn't be my favorite Pokemon if it weren't for ShoddyBattle.
 
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