• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Trailers and News Discussion

I'm surprised that it isn't actually Professor Oak, but giving him an Alola cousin works too. It also allows for the jokes about Alola Professor Oak forms to float around. I loved the trailer that dropped last night. All of the footage with the music just makes the games look so intense and powerful. The Japanese trailers definitely have been better than the International ones. I can understand why they'd want to just cut right into the new stuff, but the Japanese trailer containing various footage mixed together with beautiful music really gives them a strong edge.

I'm happy that we already have news for another trailer. Since it will come out around the time CoroCoro officially releases, I imagine that we'll get all of the stuff from CoroCoro, or at least the stuff about Rockruff, and possibly some other goodies and new footage. I want them to keep coming with the news. The first few months after the games were announced had virtually nothing, so I like getting all of this information every couple of weeks. Plus, getting new Pokemon news is always great, it gives me something to look forward to and it makes me happy, which I always need, so bring on the news and trailers.
 
I don't think new Megas will be revealed in Sept.

Z-form is likely to exist.
Even if there are new Megas, they will divert fans' attention from Z things.

And some new-fans will mess Mega with Z-form thing. It's not good for advertising.

So imo if there are new Megas, probably they will be released in November.
There is no such thing as Z form and it is unlikely to ever be in the games. Mega evolutions would be around along with Z moves so we don't need another game mechanic.
 
You don't know for sure there's no Z-forms yet, so we really can't say if they're there or not. Personally I don't want another transformation gimmick when we already have one, but if it turns out to be true, gamefreak gonna do what they do. :I
 
The idea of Z-forms isn't too unbelievable given that we already have Z-Moves, Z-Crystals and even specific Z-Crystals for certain Pokemon. I don't know if I'd want that though. It might feel too strange to have another big transformation form right after Mega Evolution. At least Z-Moves are just extra strong powered up fifth moves for Pokemon, so it isn't at risk of feeling too much like Mega Evolution. But it would really come down to the execution and presentation of such a concept, so that's why I'm not entirely against the idea.
 
Why do they have to have Z in the names though? It is another reminder that we didn't get Z game. Super moves and Super Crystals would have been better to call them.
 
It might feel too strange to have another big transformation form right after Mega Evolution.

Maybe I'm just immune to this feeling due to my time in the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, where we had Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summoning methods all being introduced in one series after the other, and that was on top of the already existing Fusion and Ritual Summons, and that all worked out fine for the most part.

But yes, I personally am quite keen on the idea of having alternative forms, Mega Evoluton, Primal Reversion, Z-Forms and whatever else all coexisting. I mean, this idea was already kind of set up in ORAS - after you've completed a certain portion of the Pokédex, Prof. Birch will muse about the possibility of there being other forms of evolution, like Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion, that have been forgotten about over time.
 
The idea of Z-forms isn't too unbelievable given that we already have Z-Moves, Z-Crystals and even specific Z-Crystals for certain Pokemon. I don't know if I'd want that though. It might feel too strange to have another big transformation form right after Mega Evolution. At least Z-Moves are just extra strong powered up fifth moves for Pokemon, so it isn't at risk of feeling too much like Mega Evolution. But it would really come down to the execution and presentation of such a concept, so that's why I'm not entirely against the idea.
Correction, Z-moves technically aren't your fifth move since it did consume 1 pp from Pikachu's Slam in the Gamescom demo, it's more like the Mega Evolution of your move. I like the idea of Z form since it expand the canon further. Eversince Mega and Primal was dropped, a lot of possibilities opened up for each subsequent generations, we can expect more than just new Pokemon and NPC for each announcement. But I do wonder if Z forme are just another name for Z-move exclusive Pokemon or is there something different (aesthetic, stat changes, ability change, etc.).
 
Maybe I'm just immune to this feeling due to my time in the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, where we had Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summoning methods all being introduced in one series after the other, and that was on top of the already existing Fusion and Ritual Summons, and that all worked out fine for the most part.

But yes, I personally am quite keen on the idea of having alternative forms, Mega Evoluton, Primal Reversion, Z-Forms and whatever else all coexisting. I mean, this idea was already kind of set up in ORAS - after you've completed a certain portion of the Pokédex, Prof. Birch will muse about the possibility of there being other forms of evolution, like Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion, that have been forgotten about over time.

That is a good point about how the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise has had new forms of summoning introduced since the 5D's era and that has worked out pretty much fine. I think it fits a bit better there primarily because of the card game format. There aren't a lot of ways to update the card game without just providing new kinds of monsters. The card game definitely needed some new life with its mechanics by the time they made the third series, which is why Synchro summoning and Riding Duels for the anime were so well received for the most part. Zexal and Arc-V continuing that concept by introducing Xyz and Pendulum summoning worked to help further enhance the game, as well and give each of the spin-off series their own signature form of summoning. It makes more sense to keep providing a new form of summoning method for a card game since it's a more limited form of merchandise compared to a video game. That and I'm probably just more used to seeing Yu-Gi-Oh! create a new summoning method every few years at this point than Pokemon having a special powered up form for each of its main series of games.

If they can have all of the different alternate forms co-existing without feeling like it's too much or they aren't giving some of the other forms more attention, then I would be fine with that.

Correction, Z-moves technically aren't your fifth move since it did consume 1 pp from Pikachu's Slam in the Gamescom demo, it's more like the Mega Evolution of your move. I like the idea of Z form since it expand the canon further. Eversince Mega and Primal was dropped, a lot of possibilities opened up for each subsequent generations, we can expect more than just new Pokemon and NPC for each announcement. But I do wonder if Z forme are just another name for Z-move exclusive Pokemon or is there something different (aesthetic, stat changes, ability change, etc.).

Ah, I wasn't aware of that. My mistake. A Mega Evolution of your move does sound like a fitting way to describe a Z-Move.
 
That is a good point about how the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise has had new forms of summoning introduced since the 5D's era and that has worked out pretty much fine. I think it fits a bit better there primarily because of the card game format. There aren't a lot of ways to update the card game without just providing new kinds of monsters. The card game definitely needed some new life with its mechanics by the time they made the third series

That is a good point, that Yu-Gi-Oh! is a different medium. However, I think that Pokémon can benefit from these additional transformations and power-ups in much the same way. Opening up a range of new strategies to a variety of Pokémon makes the battling system more rich and textured, in my opinion. It makes it harder to anticipate what your opponent might be running, meaning that you have to be more prepared to counter any potential strategies, and it allows players to define their own battling styles more uniquely. As it stands, there do exist a variety of strategies, but Mega Evolutions have become staples. Most people probably run one, which leads to a lot of homogenized combat, since everybody wants to get their Mega Evolution out. Adding in something like Z-Moves (and Z-Forms) would help to diversify that a bit. Maybe you want to run a Mega Evolution, or maybe you want to focus on Z-Moves instead, or maybe you do something with both.

If they can have all of the different alternate forms co-existing without feeling like it's too much or they aren't giving some of the other forms more attention, then I would be fine with that.

I'm not too worried about it becoming messy. I mean, sure, when you list all of these variants out one-by-one, it sounds like a lot, but they can generally be grouped into simpler umbrella categories:
  • Mega Evolutions (which Primal Reversions are basically just a two-off variant of), which power up your Pokémon directly
  • Z-Moves (and presumably Z-Forms), which power up your Pokémon's moves
  • Alola Forms, which are completely new, alternative identities for older Pokémon
It's the same way in Yu-Gi-Oh!, where you could have Pendulum Xyz or Pendulum Synchro or Synchro Tuners or Unions or Geminis and so on, but these numerous permutations can all still be folded down into a concise handful of umbrella categories to keep things streamlined.

As far as giving things too much attention goes, I think it'll work mostly on a generational basis - i.e., Gen VI introduced Mega Evolutions and the Fairy type, Gen VII is introducing Z-Moves and regional variants. Gen VIII will do something; maybe its own thing, or maybe it'll introduce some of each from those existing ideas. But, that aspect is a bit too forward-looking for us to really know right now.
 
Z forms have no evidence or implication of happening. Z moves is confirmed however. Jumping to conclusions such as Z moves does no favors. We have enough alternative forms of pokemon without one more kind of form to add.
 
Z forms have no evidence or implication of happening. Z moves is confirmed however. Jumping to conclusions such as Z moves does no favors. We have enough alternative forms of pokemon without one more kind of form to add.

Flat out stating that there will be no Z-forms is jumping to conclusions. It's speculation dude. You gotta have an open mind about these things. There's no hard evidence but the absence of evidence doesn't mean something can't possibly happen. As for implications we have some nice leads to follow: the movements that Ash makes when he synchs with Greninja being similar to what we've seen of Z-move usage; the innate ties between doing a dance/pose and a Pokemon executing a super move that can be analogous to synching; and the unique Z-moves naturally insinuating that the Z-crystals bring out a special power within a Pokemon. It's not much of a leap at all to guess the Z-crystals are still leading to more bigger things such as new stronger forms.
 
Last edited:
Z forms have no evidence or implication of happening. Z moves is confirmed however. Jumping to conclusions such as Z moves does no favors. We have enough alternative forms of pokemon without one more kind of form to add.

I don't disagree with your view, but GF/TPC have pulled out all the stops this series so far. Not a single one of us saw the Ultra Beasts coming. Z-forms could be the same way.
 
I am really not fond of the idea of Z-forms, it feels much too soon to switch to a new form mechanic when they could be building off of Mega Evolution instead. I mean, I know it's been a few years but that is technically still new, barely explored, and unexplained. We could be learning more about that instead of throwing out a new, similar form-changing mechanic. Alola forms I can live with because it's a different concept from both of them, but Mega Evolution and Z-moves have too much in common to share the responsibility of providing new "more powerful" forms. I guess I can see Ash-Greninja being the shape it takes during a Z-move but not being a literal form because why do we need another kind of Mega Evolution already?

The only way I think I could really forgive it is if... maybe some Z-moves work like Dragon Ascent. Maybe Mega Evolutions and "Z-forms" aren't really separate concepts after all.
 
Well they basically did the mega evolution story back in gen 6. Whether or not they choose to bring mega evolution back is another matter. As for Z forms, they probably be like the anime where if your Z pokemon faints then you lose the battle instantly. That is a bad idea in my opinion. Just give the Z form a high but not too high boost to BST and a move that is powerful but not too OP. Then we don't have to deal with that fainting thing.
 
and unexplained.

Except for the two sets of games that explained Mega Evolution pretty much in full.

because why do we need another kind of Mega Evolution already?

That would be the entire point. The metagame is very Mega-centric right now; so many people use Megas as a centerpiece. It doesn't hurt to add in a similar-but-different-enough alternative strategy to break things up a bit and make things a little less routine.
 
I am still on the fence about Z-forms. I'd rather wait and see if they are real, how they are activated and what the changes are.
 
What if instead of activating Z-forms, the pose shown in the trailer is actually what the player character does when he first receives his Z-ring? Granted, we did see a cutscene of the player receiving the ring following his battle on Melemele Island in one of the past trailers, but what if the player strikes this pose first before that scene? Of course, I could very well be wrong on this
 
Except for the two sets of games that explained Mega Evolution pretty much in full.

Okay, maybe it's just me who feels like the explanation for Mega Evolution could be explored more. XD But I still think it's too soon to diverge away from it instead of building upon it. If the franchise starts relying on what I'm going to call "blip mechanics"- things we only see for a single generation and then done- I think we'll all get really tired of new things by Gen 8.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom