[Green Goblin]

The ONE thing I want from a new Pokemon generation is the ability to be either good or evil. Seriously. Give me the ability to have my OWN Team Rocket knockoff. Let me either save the world, or rule it with an iron fist.

As for game upgrades, I feel one of the best things they did was separating physical/special from types. Being able to use Crunch and actually have it work WELL on a Tyranitar was just a thing of beauty.

Personally, what I'd like this time around would maybe be some alternate status changes. Like a water move the burns you ("Steam Blast", maybe?). Or a Fire move that paralyzes ("3rd degree" or something like that).

And maybe a bit more interesting abilities. I mean, currently they're pretty damn good. I'd like to see them keep that up.

[Moriatti]

Honestly, I'd like to destroy Team Rocket and establish my own gym as the "bad" gym leader.

[Sir Turtlelot]

One of my friends always talks about how he wishes in Red/Blue that you could actually join Team Rocket and take it over.

[Moriatti]

"Nah, kid, you don't really want to join us! We're the bad guys!"

Made me chuckle, so y'know.

Also, why would you want to join Team Rocket? They're the punchline of the already sad "Poor Predictable Rock" society.

[Green Goblin]

Moriatti, on 08 February 2010 - 09:30 PM, said:

"Nah, kid, you don't really want to join us! We're the bad guys!"

Made me chuckle, so y'know.

Also, why would you want to join Team Rocket? They're the punchline of the already sad "Poor Predictable Rock" society.

I'd bring the name Team Rocket up to what it could truly be. No bullshit notions of making the world better like Team Aqua/Magma/Whatever. Just organized crime. No illusions.

[Sir Turtlelot]

Moriatti, on 08 February 2010 - 09:30 PM, said:

"Nah, kid, you don't really want to join us! We're the bad guys!"

Made me chuckle, so y'know.

Also, why would you want to join Team Rocket? They're the punchline of the already sad "Poor Predictable Rock" society.

I'd much rather join Team Rocket than any of the other teams, but that's just me.

[Moriatti]

Galaxy actually made Rocket look tough. I didn't play the third gen games.


I think being able to slap the Rockets into shape would be pretty fun.

[Green Goblin]

Me and a friend of mine were throwing around ideas and this came up. A triple story-arch, revolving around your starting Pokemon and branched out Mass Effect style with choices throughout the game. Have your starters be a Psychic, a Fighter and a Dark.

You pick the Dark, your path is dark. Start up a crime syndicate. Build up your ranks, or crawl up some that are already existing on another team. Dominate and lay waste to your enemies (have them drawn out before you and here the lamentations their women, etc.). You can raise your team well-enough and have access to comforts like TMs and Vitamins at an EXTREME discount (if not, free).

You pick a Psychic, you choose a path of order, not unlike that of Vulcans or the Jedi. Actual focus on proper team building and education on movesets, items, EV and IV training. A way to properly prepare people for tourney-level battles. Sort of a School of hard knocks. The Psychic path would have access to better team-building materials like the EV power items, as well as a better and easier path for proper breeding.

You pick the Fighting, and it's your standard Pokemon fair. Fighting with spirit and heart and friendship is awesome, etc. I know, it's the short end of the stick, but I feel the simplistic tones of the already existing storyline correlates with that sort of feel-good "fight with all your heart" crap that all the inspirational sports movies are about. The Fighting path would be primarily about power-leveling. You'd never run out of trainers to fight and proper experience to gain, no matter what level you reach.

In the game, rather than 1 rival, you'll have 2 and your paths cross a lot. There'd have to be a balance to this, since EV and IV training will clearly have the advantage. So I was thinking something like, if they challenge you on your dark path, they have to fight their way through your minions before getting to you. So by the time they do, there team is a bit broken down from a lack of endurance. And in the Fighting team's case, they'd be more about experience and training, so they'll have a stronger team, level-wise.

The benefits of each team are a way to further improve connecting to the overall Pokemon community. Think of how little Action Replay would matter if there were real legit methods for unlimited TM's, or simpler ways to IV breed. And it's all balanced so that people will like to depend on each other for different things. Need TM's? Talk to a dark-pather. Need a properly bread Pokemon? Talk to a psychic-pather. Need to have one pokemon raised 10 levels? Speak to a fighting-pather.

[DarkJuno]

I just want to be able to walk diagonally first, we can work on other stuff after they get that in the main series.

[Green Goblin]

DarkJuno, on 08 February 2010 - 10:29 PM, said:

I just want to be able to walk diagonally first, we can work on other stuff after they get that in the main series.

They need to be able to measure steps properly for hatching eggs and repels. Walking diagonally makes that......tricky to say the least.

[D~N]

I'm holding out for moves with dual-types. Give me swamp based moves that are poison and water. Make Fire Punch both fire and fighting. This opens up the door to 8x weakness, (or even x16) which could be totally crazy. Obviously this wouldn't be for every single move, then - but at least do something fun and new! I mean, wouldn't you love to hit a Metagross with a fire AND a ground move at the same time for x4 damage? I think this opens the door for endless possibilities.

Of course, these moves would have to be pretty weak to warrant their use as a potential x16 attack. I'm talking about making thinkgs like "bug sting," a 55 power move with poison and bug attributes. x4 against grass, sounds good to me! Give us ice rush, an ice type + dragon type move with 25 power. I think it's pretty sweet to have a weak move with the potential for a x16 against dragons, don't you?

You could go crazy with this: smoke-based attacks can be fire and poison, "evil" moves can be psychic and dark, moves like Steel Wing can get an update, I mean, the possibilities would be endless.

Do these dual-type moves sound good to anyone else?

[DarkJuno]

Green Goblin, on 08 February 2010 - 09:30 PM, said:

They need to be able to measure steps properly for hatching eggs and repels. Walking diagonally makes that......tricky to say the least.

Well, isn't a step just one walk cycle for the character anyway? Surely they can adapt it to that.

[Green Goblin]

The step is designated by the squares on the map.

[DarkJuno]

For now. Seriously though, while I don't expect them to change it for a new DS game, they need to rework that for whatever generation they do on a full fledged new system.

And for the love of Primus, can they finally just use the damn anime voices for Pokemon on console games already? Given how bare bones Battle Revolution is it's utterly ridiculous it doesn't have it.

[Showsni]

Someone made a whole made up 'dex for a fifth gen, here:

Spoiler

That new one looks a little like evolved Lucario, but he doesn't really need an evolution. Maybe evolved Mightyena or Sandslash... Or of course, it might be an entirely new one.

I'd like to see HMs not taking up a moveslot in the 5th genereation. really annoying having to cart around something with Rock Smash, Cut, Waterfall, Rock Climb, Surf, Fly, Strength...

Attached File(s)

•  pokesprites.png (606.14K)
  Number of downloads: 6

This post has been edited by Showsni: 09 February 2010 - 03:07 AM

[Moriatti]

This manip keeps up with the trend of making it so I don't want the new starters.

Seriously though, I think Nintendo should approach Pogeymanz from a different perspective than "MOAR" and actually change the game up, if only just a bit.


Also, I would HATE having the anime voices! I like my Pokemans to be beastial critters who fight for bloodlust and rawr (or yawn in Slowbro and Snorlax's case) I don't want Pikachu announcing it's existance with every waking breath!

I'd rather they have a REALLY good announcer system and a Gym Leader Castle/some type of story for those kind of releases.

Also, the ability to sync my Platinum team with this new generation would be nice.

[Ransom]

Showsni, on 09 February 2010 - 06:06 PM, said:

Someone made a whole made up 'dex for a fifth gen, here:

Spoiler

That new one looks a little like evolved Lucario, but he doesn't really need an evolution. Maybe evolved Mightyena or Sandslash... Or of course, it might be an entirely new one.

I'd like to see HMs not taking up a moveslot in the 5th genereation. really annoying having to cart around something with Rock Smash, Cut, Waterfall, Rock Climb, Surf, Fly, Strength...

This is brilliant! A perfect analysis of the classic and current trend in Pokemon creation both stylistically and technically.

If someone had told me this was real I wouldn't have thought twice.


Also, Your three path Pokemon scheme was brilliant Goblin.

Me and my friends spend way to much time thinking up alternate directions for game sequels and new rpgs.

This post has been edited by RNSM: 09 February 2010 - 09:01 AM

[Raien]

I find it interesting that everyone's answer to changing the Pokemon series is "make the battle/training system more sophisticated". Quite frankly, that's always been Nintendo's direction with Pokemon. In fact, it's the only thing Nintendo's really developed throughout the series.

What I used to value in the early Pokemon games was the adventure/roleplay aspects of the series. I liked feeling that I was in the neo-utopian world of the television show, catching living, breathing animals to fight for sport. But nowadays, I can't identify with that world, even though I'd like to. The pokemon no longer look like animals, so I can't imagine them being a natural part of the environment. The concept of a pokemon's individual personality no longer serves to emotionally connect the trainer to the pokemon, but to provide yet another device to affect statistics.

But you know what I would consider an awesome development for the next Pokemon generation?

Hide the Pokemon's statistics from the player completely.

Trainers in the real world have to directly observe their fighter's ability in battle to understand their individual strengths and weaknesses. It's this degree of observation that helps form a bond between the trainer and fighter. In the Pokemon games, it would be a lot more interesting to determine whether pokemon have, say, poor defence by observing how much damage they take in battle.

Oh wow. If Nintendo did that, I'd be the first in line for their next Pokemon game.

[Showsni]

They already hide a lot of the stats... IVs and EVs remain pretty much hidden and generally left completely cryptic other than remarks about how "trained Pokémon are stronger than wild ones" and this Pokémon is "proud of its power."

Anyway, the new Pokémon and its pre evolution have been revealed. Discuss.

[Raien]

Showsni, on 10 February 2010 - 02:33 PM, said:

They already hide a lot of the stats... IVs and EVs remain pretty much hidden and generally left completely cryptic other than remarks about how "trained Pokémon are stronger than wild ones" and this Pokémon is "proud of its power."

So what? As long as the value of a pokemon is its visible numerical stats (Attack, Defense, etc), and not in its character as a virtual monster, then all the hidden values in the world won't diminish the disconnect between the player and the roleplay. Even the "personality" tag on a pokemon just affects stats. Why? Under what logic does "feisty" affect how a creature develops his attack/defense? Why can't it have a separate use in battle/training, like the way that pokemon don't respond to orders without a certain badge?

[Showsni]

I can't actually think of any RPGs offhand where the stats are totally hidden... Final Fantasy, Tales, Baldur's Gate... Pretty much every RPG will have the stats as a number, even if there's no way Terra knows that she's got 16 hit points left or Drizzt estimates he has 18 Charisma. Pokémon's really just following suit. I'd imagine that all hiding the numbers would really do is annoy the people who want to see them, though. Personally, other than HP, PP and level I never really took any notice of the numbers whilst I was playing Pokémon; they never really bothered me. I just ignored them and got on with the game. It's not until now, years later, that I even realise the Special/Physical divide in R/B/Y... But for serious players, knowing the exact stats of your Pokémon is pretty important; you want to know if it can outspeed neutral nature base 100s or whatever. And running out of PP for a move without realising it could be seriously annoying...

[Moriatti]

More to the point, Pogeymanz has a fairly serious competitive meta-game, and hiding stats would pretty much demolish that market. Which is a shame, as people who used to play the game as a kid are now coming back for nostalgia, and finding a complex and deep meta-game which entices them to stay. (Or, at least, this has been my experience)

Furthermore, the monster's stats pretty much reflect their personality as is, Snorlax is a fat guy who is just buffer than everyone else, Charizard is a whirlwind of destructive power, Pikachu is cute and useless.

Honestly, I'd rather have gameplay balance then immersion when it comes to this game. My main problem is, fans of mans like Raichu and Pinsir are left completely in the dust, as Jolteon and Heracross outclass them in every conceivable respect.


EDIT: Also kudos to whoever said "Werewolf" because that's definitely what that thing looks like.

I'm hoping the rest of the mons get cooler/look more like the original designs, because I've never been a fan of the new aesthetic.

EDIT 2: Also, it looks as though the new game is a Pokemon ranger game, so this may be the only Gen V Pokeman we get to speculate on for a while.

This post has been edited by Moriatti: 10 February 2010 - 11:03 AM

[Steel Samurai]

Hiding the stats on pokemon, of all games, would ruin it. I have never cared about the story in pokemon. (The only RPG which I can say this about, and one of the only games period) I have never cared about being immersed in pokemon. All I care about is levelling my pokemon and beating the crap out of the gym leaders and elite four, then possibly playing against my friends. Taking the stats out would make multiplayer much, much harder to get into, adding even more guesswork to what already has far too many uncertainties for my liking in a turn based combat system. I would rather see it go the other way, laying all the stats out in the open, with the exception of random pokemon encounters and how much, exactly, a move missed by.

[Veteran]

Showsni, on 10 February 2010 - 02:33 PM, said:

They already hide a lot of the stats... IVs and EVs remain pretty much hidden and generally left completely cryptic other than remarks about how "trained Pokémon are stronger than wild ones" and this Pokémon is "proud of its power."

Anyway, the new Pokémon and its pre evolution have been revealed. Discuss.

It does look cool.

http://www.serebii.net/generation5/

According to that it's a pure Dark type. I'm a little disappointed it doesn't have a secondary type, and if it's speed stat is poor then I think it's a waste of a pure Dark.

[Raien]

Showsni, on 10 February 2010 - 03:11 PM, said:

Personally, other than HP, PP and level I never really took any notice of the numbers whilst I was playing Pokémon; they never really bothered me. I just ignored them and got on with the game. It's not until now, years later, that I even realise the Special/Physical divide in R/B/Y... But for serious players, knowing the exact stats of your Pokémon is pretty important; you want to know if it can outspeed neutral nature base 100s or whatever. And running out of PP for a move without realising it could be seriously annoying...

I don't have a problem with stats that are necessary for battling/training (HP, PP, EXP), but the stats that define a pokemon's battle ability (Attack, Defense, etc) only serve to replace our observations of the pokemon with numbers. And with each game, the pokemon's file only continues to add more numbers, destroying any sense that the pokemon is a living creature.

Moriatti, on 10 February 2010 - 03:54 PM, said:

More to the point, Pogeymanz has a fairly serious competitive meta-game, and hiding stats would pretty much demolish that market. Which is a shame, as people who used to play the game as a kid are now coming back for nostalgia, and finding a complex and deep meta-game which entices them to stay. (Or, at least, this has been my experience)

Hiding stats wouldn't kill the meta-game, it would simply change the way that the game is played. Rather than observing the pokemon as a collection of numbers, it observes them as real animals. Thus, the training and the battling takes on a more personal edge for the player.

Quote

Furthermore, the monster's stats pretty much reflect their personality as is, Snorlax is a fat guy who is just buffer than everyone else, Charizard is a whirlwind of destructive power, Pikachu is cute and useless.

Why does that information have to be gathered through emotionally-disconnected numbers? Why can't it be gathered through observation, the way that animals are understood in the real world?

Steel Samurai, on 10 February 2010 - 04:27 PM, said:

Hiding the stats on pokemon, of all games, would ruin it. I have never cared about the story in pokemon.

Don't confuse "roleplay" with "story" or "immersion". I have no interest in story or immersion. What I want to do is roleplay as the "Pokemon Trainer". I want to be Ash in the television series, training monsters and battling them with other people. I don't need intense "realism" and I don't need a story. What I do need, however, is the feeling that I am training monsters, not manipulating bunches of numbers.

Quote

Taking the stats out would make multiplayer much, much harder to get into, adding even more guesswork to what already has far too many uncertainties for my liking in a turn based combat system. I would rather see it go the other way, laying all the stats out in the open, with the exception of random pokemon encounters and how much, exactly, a move missed by.

Hiding the stats would only make the game harder if you tried to play it in the way that it is currently played. Instead of stat/number grinding to the nth degree, you'd have to make your own judgements about whether you think your pokemon is strong enough to face the challenges ahead. Battle strategy becomes more important than strength through numbers.

But I'll agree that some of the randomness in Pokemon battles should be got rid of.

[DarkJuno]

Ha, I knew it was a werewolf. Wonder if it gets into feuds with Shiny Crobats...

Anyway, as far as hiding the stats go, I have to wonder, exactly what percentage of Pokemon players actually play to battle competitively, and how many play for the minimalist story and plot? I'm just curious because it seems to me that while a certain group is loudest and best known (say in anime where the sub only purists are well heard despite being a small minority compared to the dub only watchers) the other group is actually larger and would affect sales more. I'm kidna wondering because if that is the case, I can see that bigger group - and thus the bigger marketshare - not liking the idea of hiding stats at all, and that would be a terrible buisness decision for Nintendo. For better or for worse, they've always had an "If it isn't broekn, why bother" attitude, even if the idea is admittedly at least a little intriguing.

[Raien]

By all means, if Nintendo are continuing to maintain strong sales with their current direction, then they really have no reason to listen to me at all. But if it ever was the case that sales started declining, it's Nintendo's job to listen to the disinterested audience (like me). Maybe Nintendo could find other, better ways to improve the roleplay than my suggestion, but all I know is that I want to be a Pokemon Master!

This post has been edited by Raien: 10 February 2010 - 04:03 PM