SwSh Dynamax: Thoughts, Feelings, or Concerns

[TheElderKing]

I mean, I never got that feeling from it, but I suppose I'm well in the minority.

I’m fairly neutral to Dynamax, as I am with the rest of the special features in recent games (Megas are slightly favored for the change in appearance and abilities); but if the lore and plot behind the new feature will be important/interesting, or tied with the main plot or the new legendary, it’ll make it more intriguing to me.

 

[Knightwolf09]

"Regular Drednaw and Corviknight can Dynamax, but there are some special members of these species that can Gigantamax.
You can catch Gigantamax Pokémon for your team by participating in Max Raid Battles, but it seems they’re very rare—finding one won’t be easy!"

Well there's some incentive to try out raids

 

[Sakuraa]

So Gigantamax is only among certain Pokemon, but not available each member of the species? That's interesting. I guess this is something that's going to be more rare.

 

[Dieter]

I don't know why Gigantamaxing feels even more like Digivolving than Mega Evos did, but to me it does XD And I don't hate it, and I think the designs we've seen so far are nice, but I'm not necessarily sold on them

I just hope this is GameFreak's way of streamlining all these gimmicks and kind of future-proofing them?

If it is, I hope a new generation will give it a better name though

 

[El_]

Dynamax & Gigantamax are both likely to be a Galar only thing, especially if they are tied to its local legendary like the leaks suggest. That is what I hate about the gimmicks the most, they only last for a Gen, at the cost of smaller features to boot, only to be discarded themselves for the next gimmick.

That, and I really can't get into them at this point. How are people fine with a near 100 ft. wedding cake, but the ice cream cone is the spawn of the devil? Just a new once a Gen popper which will be distributed mainly to Kanto. I want whatever Gen 6 wrought to be brought to a gruesome end.

 

[Esserise]

That, and I really can't get into them at this point. How are people fine with a near 100 ft. wedding cake, but the ice cream cone is the spawn of the devil?

that's pretty sweeping, no? vanillite has always had defenders (i among them), i've certainly seen some mockery thrown giga alcremie's way, and the negative opinions of vanillite and positive opinions of alcremie are not necessarily being espoused by the same people...

 

[SinnohEevee]

If Gigantamax doesn't change type and Ability, it's a let down.

 

[El_]

that's pretty sweeping, no? vanillite has always had defenders (i among them), i've certainly seen some mockery thrown giga alcremie's way, and the negative opinions of vanillite and positive opinions of alcremie are not necessarily being espoused by the same people...

I know that isn't true for everyone, and honestly I'm not even the type to hate on Pokemon design for trivial things. Had the Giga been just an evo, then my main issue is that it's a redux of Slurpuff, but we have reduxes every now and again anyways.

But like I said, it's hard for me to feel anything about Dyna or Giga right now, aside from the need to have it featured. Game Freak removed the gen's last gimmicks, only to replace them with sillier ones that functionally do something similar anyways? I just don't understand the logic of it.

 

[Esserise]

Game Freak removed the gen's last gimmicks, only to replace them with sillier ones that functionally do something similar anyways? I just don't understand the logic of it.

well constantly pigeonholing them as "gimmicks" doesn't really help. a gimmick is something like ash-greninja: a totally pointless marketing stunt with nothing of substance behind it. only reason that fucker is in the game is to incentivize kids to try out the demo because "Wow I can use Ash's froggy too!" Whereas things like megas/z-moves/dynamax are big mechanical endeavors with comparatively a lot more thought put into them that actually deepens the gameplay and drastically alters the shape of the metagame.

besides that, why replace it with something similar? same reasons i keep saying. reworking those older ideas into a form that is potentially more balanced, reworking them into something that better fits the setting, gameplay goals (dynamax makes max raid battles possible and gives people something to collaborate against in the wild area in a way that megas and z-moves would not), and aesthetic goals of this installment as opposed to some other one, and, plainly, yeah - because the average viewer tends to get excited by new things.

 

[Dieter]

But like I said, it's hard for me to feel anything about Dyna or Giga right now, aside from the need to have it featured. Game Freak removed the gen's last gimmicks, only to replace them with sillier ones that functionally do something similar anyways? I just don't understand the logic of it.

I already said it, but I reckon (read 'desperately hope') it's to streamline the more recently introduced game-mechanics. And sure, it's tied to the local lore, but much like Megas and Z-moves, it seems to have to do with light and energy. There's something unifying going on at the least. And aren't they really refining their old 'gimmicks'? It just got a different name, is all

 

[Silktree]

Their primary goal is to sell very large toys to kids.

There's something unifying going on at the least. And aren't they really refining their old 'gimmicks'? It just got a different name, is all

That would only work if every Mega and Z move were reworked, but if that were the case, they wouldn't have said that those features are gone.

 

[blitzle stan]

I'm really not liking the fact that (it seems) you can only get a gigantamax-able Pokémon from max raids. I thought the point of Pokémon was to raise the ones you meet on your adventure and love... Not to ditch the Drednaw you've been using for half the game because you randomly came across one that can do this amazing thing that yours can't. I reeeeally don't like that.

 

[Weiss]

I'm really not liking the fact that (it seems) you can only get a gigantamax-able Pokémon from max raids. I thought the point of Pokémon was to raise the ones you meet on your adventure and love... Not to ditch the Drednaw you've been using for half the game because you randomly came across one that can do this amazing thing that yours can't. I reeeeally don't like that.

Too much pandering to people who play Pokémon Go and have long since stopped or never played the core series.

 

[Cresselia92]

I'm really not liking the fact that (it seems) you can only get a gigantamax-able Pokémon from max raids. I thought the point of Pokémon was to raise the ones you meet on your adventure and love... Not to ditch the Drednaw you've been using for half the game because you randomly came across one that can do this amazing thing that yours can't. I reeeeally don't like that.

I mean, this is kinda what happened with Hidden Grottos in Pokémon B2W2 as well, where you could get “special” Pokémon only in certain areas, with the most useful ones or the ones with the best HAs being relegated to late game / post-game stuff.

It’s more meant as a bonus / treasure hunt thing than anything, and you can always hold off on catching X Pokémon until you reach a point where you can get a special one.

 

[Weiss]

I mean, this is kinda what happened with Hidden Grottos in Pokémon B2W2 as well, where you could get “special” Pokémon only in certain areas, with the most useful ones or the ones with the best HAs being relegated to late game / post-game stuff.

It’s more meant as a bonus / treasure hunt thing than anything, and you can always hold off on catching X Pokémon until you reach a point where you can get a special one.

They could fix it by allowing all pokémon of that type to GMAX once you have caught the original special one.

 

[Cresselia92]

They could fix it by allowing all pokémon of that type to GMAX once you have caught the original special one.

Eeeh… I doubt that’ll happen. After all, you don’t randomly encounter Multiscale Dragonite in the wild after you catch a Multiscale one in some place.

More than that, I hope that the G-Max Pokémon can be bred. In this way, you aren’t totally punished if you get a G-Maxable Pokémon with bad nature/stats.

 

[Weiss]

Eeeh… I doubt that’ll happen. After all, you don’t randomly encounter Multiscale Dragonite in the wild after you catch a Multiscale one in some place.

More than that, I hope that the G-Max Pokémon can be bred. In this way, you aren’t totally punished if you get a G-Maxable Pokémon with bad nature/stats.

What I meant was if you caught the GMax one then if you already had one in your party or obtain it later you could have learned how to GMax it by capturing the other one. Maybe I misunderstand how it works but like you say it seems awfully RNG if there’s no other way to get them.

 

[Esserise]

contrary to its saccharine idealistic navel-gazing, pokémon has always been a series that rewards those who would rather choose to stab their beloved partners in the back and replace them with statistically optimized eugenic horrors

Spoiler

it's precisely why I prefer the White Treehollow over all other Battle facilities, because I can viably use my in-game team there

 

[Knightwolf09]

I imagine G-max pokemon can be bred like any other pokemon, so I imagine not long people will trade G max pokemon for people so they don't have to hunt.

Actually another thought comes to mind, if G Max is dependent on special pokemon within a certain species, what does Dynamax levels still do?

 

[Blockhead Pippi]

I guess Gigantamax forms makes the whole Dynamax feature a little more viable, now that it's finally confirmed. But as other people already said, it's kind of scummy to lock those forms in Max Raids. And in that sense, it feels like a further regression from Mega forms which didn't have that restriction.

Speaking of, I really cannot see Gigantamax as an "improved" or "re-balancing" of Mega Pokemon cause the feature doesn't even extend to Mega forms. If a Lucario could somehow gigantamax into a giant Mega Lucario, then it would be more fair and an actual restructuring of an old feature. But that isn't what is happening. The old Mega forms have essentially been scrapped altogether.

Also...you could still achieve the exact same thing without blowing up the Pokemon 50 times their size. The giant size literally adds nothing of value.