• 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.

Your controversial opinions

X and Y will always hold a special place in my heart as my first Pokemon Games (besides that one time my friend let me play his copy of Black for a bit) and ORAS will always be my favorite. Probably.
 
I have so many thoughts about this. Prepare yourselves.
This will be an outburst and a deserved one, in my opinion, after what GF did to the franchise lately. :)

1. Making EVERY gym battle/leader the same soccer themed stuff in Sword/Shield is THE WORST IDEA EVER. Did I say ever? I feel like words cannot describe what/how I feel about this idea and it's NOT GOOD, to put it VERY MILDLY. I like soccer. I like gyms. I do NOT LIKE everything being the same. UK HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER APART FROM ALL THE SOCCER ALL THE TIME!

2. I dislike how everything is very ultra modern in SW/Sh, everyone wears all those modern sporty clothes. It could have been a steampunk adventure, which fits UK much better in my opinion! They also had to add those pokemon based on environmental hazards and while technically it's not bad, it just reminds me of the real world. I think game devs in general overestimate players' interest in real world politics and being updated on latest events. I mean, such young people exist but they don't play games like Pokemon, they are busy being fake woke on twitter or something and if they did play Pokemon, they would just find the whole franchise 'problematic' or 'animal abuse' or something.

3. I liked absence of gyms in Alola. There, I said it. I really like the wilderness of Alola, the effect of walking an unknown trail. One of the biggest parts of my love for Pokemon is being an explorer - exploring with friends and enemies like some kind of tomb raider. I dislike the idea of gyms being openly placed in a town center - ideally, they must be tucked away somewhere on the routes and be very difficult to traverse (and NOT because of lame puzzles like usual but because of how long they are and what dangerous weather effects there are, etc) So maybe I am not against gyms per se, but I am against them the way they exist now.

On a slightly less controversial note, taking away gym leaders was a wrong move in S/M. If only they just stuck to making nature-inspired gyms but with gym leaders! That would be neat.

4. On a more controversial note again, games need to be longer, darker and to have more story. No more friendly rivals. No more easy to beat grunts. Kid-friendly but not dumbed down, I think they can do it.

5. No more concept of 'early pokemon'. I DON'T WANT to see any new normal/flying in my life ever, thank you. This really limits my choice when I am least motivated to play (in the beginning) and often makes me drop the game. I still don't get why it's needed. Just make them weak so players can easily defeat them but don't limit the choice! Especially glaring in: Diamond/Pearl

6. A very controversial opinion but it needs to be said: no more (or way less) single type pokemon. In my opinion, every pokemon must possess a certain niche in battling and its world and with single types, those niches HAVE ALREADY BEEN FILLED most of the time. In my opinion, we get nothing from a recolor of a pokemon which already exists. Give me weird combinations! Give me unexplored horizons and niches yet to be filled!

7. The most controversial opinion of all: there must be more content about the people in pokemon world. I want it to be a game about people living in close contact with nature and depending on it but still about PEOPLE, not animals. I want to be able to make friends in pokemon world, romance characters and create my own way of life. With pokemon. But not solely for Pokemon.
 
I have so many thoughts about this. Prepare yourselves.
This will be an outburst and a deserved one, in my opinion, after what GF did to the franchise lately. :)

1. Making EVERY gym battle/leader the same soccer themed stuff in Sword/Shield is THE WORST IDEA EVER. Did I say ever? I feel like words cannot describe what/how I feel about this idea and it's NOT GOOD, to put it VERY MILDLY. I like soccer. I like gyms. I do NOT LIKE everything being the same. UK HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER APART FROM ALL THE SOCCER ALL THE TIME!

2. I dislike how everything is very ultra modern in SW/Sh, everyone wears all those modern sporty clothes. It could have been a steampunk adventure, which fits UK much better in my opinion! They also had to add those pokemon based on environmental hazards and while technically it's not bad, it just reminds me of the real world. I think game devs in general overestimate players' interest in real world politics and being updated on latest events. I mean, such young people exist but they don't play games like Pokemon, they are busy being fake woke on twitter or something and if they did play Pokemon, they would just find the whole franchise 'problematic' or 'animal abuse' or something.

3. I liked absence of gyms in Alola. There, I said it. I really like the wilderness of Alola, the effect of walking an unknown trail. One of the biggest parts of my love for Pokemon is being an explorer - exploring with friends and enemies like some kind of tomb raider. I dislike the idea of gyms being openly placed in a town center - ideally, they must be tucked away somewhere on the routes and be very difficult to traverse (and NOT because of lame puzzles like usual but because of how long they are and what dangerous weather effects there are, etc) So maybe I am not against gyms per se, but I am against them the way they exist now.

3. On a slightly less controversial note, taking away gym leaders was a wrong move in S/M. If only they just stuck to making nature-inspired gyms but with gym leaders! That would be neat.

4. On a more controversial note again, games need to be longer, darker and to have more story. No more friendly rivals. No more easy to beat grunts. Kid-friendly but not dumbed down, I think they can do it.

5. No more concept of 'early pokemon'. I DON'T WANT to see any new normal/flying in my life ever, thank you. This really limits my choice when I am least motivated to play (in the beginning) and often makes me drop the game. I still don't get why it's needed. Just make them weak so players can easily defeat them but don't limit the choice! Especially glaring in: Diamond/Pearl

6. A very controversial opinion but it needs to be said: no more (or way less) single type pokemon. In my opinion, every pokemon must possess a certain niche in battling and its world and with single types, those niches HAVE ALREADY BEEN FILLED most of the time. In my opinion, we get nothing from a recolor of a pokemon which already exists. Give me weird combinations! Give me unexplored horizons and niches yet to be filled!

7. The most controversial opinion of all: there must be more content about the people in pokemon world. I want it to be a game about people living in close contact with nature and depending on it but still not about PEOPLE, not animals. I want to be able to make friends in pokemon world, romance characters and create my own way of life. With pokemon. But not solely for Pokemon.
Yes! I agree with pretty much everything you have said about this, while the soccer theme was fine to me, I wanted to see more medieval stuff aside from just structures and tapestries. It could've been really cool to see NPCs wearing suits of armor or heck, they could've given players the ability to wear them.
 
I dislike how everything is very ultra modern in SW/Sh, everyone wears all those modern sporty clothes. It could have been a steampunk adventure, which fits UK much better in my opinion! They also had to add those pokemon based on environmental hazards and while technically it's not bad, it just reminds me of the real world. I think game devs in general overestimate players' interest in real world politics and being updated on latest events.
The art director, James Turner, is a UK native and if I remember correctly wanted to make the game accurately reflect the actual UK and not just fall into British tropes. So that’s probably why things look modern rather than stereotypically British and, besides, Pokémon games always tend to be rather modernized so this isn’t exactly exclusive to SwSh. At the very least we got a somewhat steampunk city out of it, though I do understand if you find that lacking. Cities in SwSh were unfortunately barebones in my opinion.

Also, I don’t really understand your last point. SwSh doesn’t involve real world politics or anything like that.
 
To be fair, Galar's leaders also include a rugby player, a swimmer, and a judo - er - person? As a Brit I was actually very pleased it wasn't a Harry Potter studios tour, though I'll admit it would have been delightfully indulgent to see one of the cast really ham it up (some of Galar's species fit this bill to the point of almost being outright memes - Weezing and Polteageist spring to mind).
 
The art director, James Turner, is a UK native and if I remember correctly wanted to make the game accurately reflect the actual UK and not just fall into British tropes. So that’s probably why things look modern rather than stereotypically British and, besides, Pokémon games always tend to be rather modernized so this isn’t exactly exclusive to SwSh. At the very least we got a somewhat steampunk city out of it, though I do understand if you find that lacking. Cities in SwSh were unfortunately barebones in my opinion.

Also, I don’t really understand your last point. SwSh doesn’t involve real world politics or anything like that.
I am going to explain my last point. Of course, there are no real world politics but the message of 'the earth is dying' is clear there, in my opinion. By the way, I am an environmentally conscious person. But unlike aforementioned twitter people, I don't want every single media I play to reflect real world problems. It's just my opinion, you are free to disagree. :) I just kind of... DON'T want games to be a cautionary tale. This topic is way too serious for such childish virtue signalling anyway. Maybe I am just strange, I don't know. I accept that I may be. And I disagree about games being modernized...have you forgotten the 3000 years old king? :) Absolutely unrealistic machines? Gods? And other obvious signs of fantasy genre? Just becauee it has technology, doesn't mean it's not fantasy. A mix of sci fi and fantasy, some might call it speculative fiction.
 
To be fair, Galar's leaders also include a rugby player, a swimmer, and a judo - er - person?
If you're referring to Bea then she practices "Galar Karate".

In addition you also have a farmer, a model, a theatre owner and a singer/songwriter.
 
2. I dislike how everything is very ultra modern in SW/Sh, everyone wears all those modern sporty clothes. It could have been a steampunk adventure, which fits UK much better in my opinion! They also had to add those pokemon based on environmental hazards and while technically it's not bad, it just reminds me of the real world. I think game devs in general overestimate players' interest in real world politics and being updated on latest events. I mean, such young people exist but they don't play games like Pokemon, they are busy being fake woke on twitter or something and if they did play Pokemon, they would just find the whole franchise 'problematic' or 'animal abuse' or something.
On a slightly less controversial note, taking away gym leaders was a wrong move in S/M. If only they just stuck to making nature-inspired gyms but with gym leaders! That would be neat.
Alola depicts the beginning of a Pokémon League culture in a region, with the Elite Four and the Champion being established before Gyms. Galar, meanwhile, went in the opposite direction, and showed us a Pokémon League that's more developed, organized, and integrated into the region's culture than any previous League. Both are pretty interesting takes, if you ask me.
4. On a more controversial note again, games need to be longer, darker and to have more story. No more friendly rivals. No more easy to beat grunts. Kid-friendly but not dumbed down, I think they can do it.
Hop and Hau are, in my opinion, perfectly great friendly rivals. Being friendly doesn't automatically mean a rival is bad or weak.
 
They also had to add those pokemon based on environmental hazards and while technically it's not bad, it just reminds me of the real world. I think game devs in general overestimate players' interest in real world politics and being updated on latest events. I mean, such young people exist but they don't play games like Pokemon, they are busy being fake woke on twitter or something and if they did play Pokemon, they would just find the whole franchise 'problematic' or 'animal abuse' or something.
I can agree that Pokemon shouldn't have the threat of pollution, but only because it's at odds with the near-utopian lore of the world. Most major issues discussed about today are explained away either through the great power of Pokemon or the kinder, more advanced society. It seems odd that a world where common mice can generate electricity on their own would ever have a problem with a company using fossil fuels to power something.

But I don't think that it's naturally bad to acknowledge a modern issue, political or not, and climate change and pollution are only political in the sense of deciding exactly how we respond to them. Acknowledging the issue (which is all G-Weezing does- it's not exactly giving carbon output metrics) isn't some bizarre taboo only for the highly-political. (who you seem to have made a caricature of in your mind) This stuff gets talked about in elementary/middle school science classes, it's not shocking to think a kid might know and care about the issue.
4. On a more controversial note again, games need to be longer, darker and to have more story. No more friendly rivals. No more easy to beat grunts. Kid-friendly but not dumbed down, I think they can do it.
I am going to explain my last point. Of course, there are no real world politics but the message of 'the earth is dying' is clear there, in my opinion. By the way, I am an environmentally conscious person. But unlike aforementioned twitter people, I don't want every single media I play to reflect real world problems. It's just my opinion, you are free to disagree. :) I just kind of... DON'T want games to be a cautionary tale. This topic is way too serious for such childish virtue signalling anyway. Maybe I am just strange, I don't know. I accept that I may be.
How do you square your belief that the games should be darker with your opinion that mentioning a serious real-world issue is "virtue signaling"?

And I disagree about games being modernized...have you forgotten the 3000 years old king? :) Absolutely unrealistic machines? Gods? And other obvious signs of fantasy genre? Just becauee it has technology, doesn't mean it's not fantasy. A mix of sci fi and fantasy, some might call it speculative fiction.
Since when were "absolutely unrealistic machines" a hallmark of fantasy? And deity-like Pokemon and AZ came later in the franchise- Pokemon started off with concepts like creatures being created through cloning (Mewtwo) or programming (Porygon), and pieces of technology that can shrink creatures (Poke Balls) and store them in PCs. It's added fantasy elements over time, but I'd never say a world so tech-based was more fantasy than modern.
 
And I disagree about games being modernized...have you forgotten the 3000 years old king? :) Absolutely unrealistic machines? Gods? And other obvious signs of fantasy genre? Just becauee it has technology, doesn't mean it's not fantasy. A mix of sci fi and fantasy, some might call it speculative fiction.
I should have probably explained that part about "modernized" better. While, yes, the games do include elements that lean heavily into fantasy or sci-fi, the game's setting and characters are mostly contemporary, kind of like Earthbound. For example, X and Y may have a 3000 year old king as a character, but the game is set in modern-day Pokémon France with modern or (somewhat) advanced technology and mostly modern characters; it's not an adventure through a fictional kingdom with magic and fairies. Similarly, USUM may involve you flying through wormholes to a highly futuristic city, but the bulk of the game takes place in a contemporary Poké-Hawaii rather than the Pokémon equivalent of Cyberpunk 2077.
 
Of course, there are no real world politics but the message of 'the earth is dying' is clear there
That's not a new thing. A lot of pokemon games have had plots centered around environmentalism.
And I disagree about games being modernized...have you forgotten the 3000 years old king? :) Absolutely unrealistic machines? Gods? And other obvious signs of fantasy genre? Just becauee it has technology, doesn't mean it's not fantasy. A mix of sci fi and fantasy, some might call it speculative fiction.
And just because its fantasy/sci-fi doesn't mean its not modern. Modern settings and fantasy trappings are not mutually exclusive.
 
No more concept of 'early pokemon'. I DON'T WANT to see any new normal/flying in my life ever, thank you. This really limits my choice when I am least motivated to play (in the beginning) and often makes me drop the game. I still don't get why it's needed. Just make them weak so players can easily defeat them but don't limit the choice! Especially glaring in: Diamond/Pearl
Yes! Thank you someone else said it. I'm tired of getting new earlymons with ledian tier stats early in the game. The birds are usually good in battle but but I think that everyone fully evolved Pokémon should be at least decent in battle.
 
Alola depicts the beginning of a Pokémon League culture in a region, with the Elite Four and the Champion being established before Gyms. Galar, meanwhile, went in the opposite direction, and showed us a Pokémon League that's more developed, organized, and integrated into the region's culture than any previous League. Both are pretty interesting takes, if you ask me.
If I had a TV Tropes account, I'd propose a trope called Contrasting Sequel Setting, because this comes up in fiction a lot.
it's not an adventure through a fictional kingdom with magic and fairies.
Are you sure about that last part?
 
Pretty sure Pokemon is fictional, even if it has non-fiction aspects.
 
Also, I can't remember who was saying that the SM protagonist should've originally been from Alola, but if this makes you feel any better, it's implied that their mother is. She looks like the other "native Hawaiian" characters.
 
Also, I can't remember who was saying that the SM protagonist should've originally been from Alola, but if this makes you feel any better, it's implied that their mother is. She looks like the other "native Hawaiian" characters.

I'm not sure I'd say it's "implied"; she has darker skin for the sake of ambiguity in relation to the player's own skin tone selection, and as for her clothes, she might just be dressing in the local style.

If anything, I think her dialogue also points to Kantonian origin:

> "Ahhh! Can't you just feel that warmth? The first day spent under Alola's sun! It's so warm and bright here!"

> Mom: "Professor Kukui! Yes, we just arrived yesterday."
> Kukui: "Hey there, mom! I just let myself in. Oh, and call me Kukui, would you? Welcome to Alola!"
> Mom: "Of course. I still remember seeing you battle the Indigo Gym Leaders back in Kanto all those years ago, you know! I've been in love with Alolan Pokémon ever since, so I finally decided to come here myself!"

> Mom: "Just a humble Trainer who was once known as the Scratch Cat Girl."
> Madame Meowth: "Th-this cannot be... The infamous Scratch Cat Girl of Kanto?! Wh-why would you be here in Alola?!"
 
Back
Top Bottom