#always wanted to use a houndoom. i think i used one in platinum? but it didnt stick

[vaugarde]

i'm trying to do these teams based on pokemon you can reasonably get throughout the story, but i'm trying to restrict these teams to only pokemon that show up in that region and do you know how difficult that is in the johto games. woe, houndoom be upon ye

[crystalelemental]

Alright, Platinum update. I have completely lost track of the team, and that's...probably for the best.

Monferno is still around. I'm not like...happy with it, but it's fine. I intend to drop it for Houndoom, who I tend to not get to run because of my general "use stuff new to this game" and Houndour being like...impossible in Gen 2.

Luxio's presence is in question. Adamant with Intimidate was a great roll, but...not feeling it. I dunno, I feel bad! I like never run Luxray, and this was a good excuse, but I'm wishy-washy on the decision.

I got a Timid Budew, but admittedly I don't want to run it, because I got my Leaf Burmy. Wormadam is of...questionable utility, but she did sweep Gardenia. Hidden Power type is Water, which...sure? I don't think it would've been my first pick, but it's not bad. Unrelated, but did you know that Wormadam learns only Bug Bite naturally, can't learn Silver Wind via TM, and thus only has one good Bug move in the post-game tutor that gives Signal Beam? I hate learnsets in Pokemon, these get so, so stupid. If Wormadam falls through, I have a Beautifly and Vespiquen in the back. I'm adamant about running a low tier Bug. I never run them, it's time to change that.

I do have a Kadabra, after...more stress than I feel like admitting to get a decent nature female. I wanted to run this because fun fact: the first ever Pokemon I raised to level 100 was an Alakazam back in Diamond. So I'm feeling a tad nostalgic.

I got a Rash Buizel. Not my ideal nature, but good enough that I'm like hey. That's a good Water type stand-in. I think I'm realizing I have like no respect for Water types in Sinnoh. You need a Surf/Waterfall pal, but I don't really have the attachment to the type. Very possible drop long-term, we'll see what happens. I also got a Shellos. Which I plan to train up with Mira, for the free heals on a slow thing (and the high Def EV yield for a tank). They can fight over who gets in. I thought momentarily about Gyarados, but wasn't feeling it. I also considered Crawdaunt, who actually has better mixed offense than I thought it did, but haven't committed. The Water position is contentious.

I intended to use Glaceon. I'm still pretty invested in the idea, but we'll see. I think Porygon-Z may be dropped? Again, we'll see. I have considered Togekiss, since I hatched Modest (male, sadly, though I feel like this one always hatches Modest), but that's gonna be a lot of work.

I dunno. We'll see what I settle on.

[acreaturecalledgreed]

abba, tell me all about ur pokemon OCs. i don't hear much from other folks that have them (and even mine is just "me but in pokermans world")

vibrates through my skin lets GOOOOOOO

as a kid i always made up a character when i played instead of playing myself (i literally didnt think i *could* play as myself) so even though these days i just play as myself when i play, i have a bundle of ocs that are all based and rooted in characters i came up with when i was like 11

they've been around a Long time, is what im saying

its also worth noting that i played Crystal and Emerald immediately after eachother, b/c Crystal was my first game and i only got a copy when RS were released b/c my friend didnt want their copy anymore; i bought Emerald once i'd played through Crystal three or four times ( HAD to play with each starter once, Needed to, Burning desire, did the same thing for Emerald and Platinum, which is impressive bc back then and even still now, Sinnoh's starters were my least fave. just never warmed up to them. idk why.) sorry for rambling theres just Preamble yaknow

im gonna tell you about Charlemagne! Or, rather, Charlie. No one calls them Charlemagne. He uses rolling pronouns, so you'll see me bouncing around them for her. It's based on the protag I played in Crystal! Which is probably ironic, given that they were in Team Magma but theres. Look it makes sense just trust me. Charlie was born in Kalos, and is Kalosian by heritage, but her family moved to Johto when he was still very young, due to their father's work. This is how she got a totodile as a starter- the common tradition for kids within a reasonable distance of any lab to get their starter from a Professor. He honestly couldn't bring herself to choose one, but when stuck between the three, Todd chose them instead, immediately latching onto her leg and not letting go. Todd means the whole world to Charlie, and there isn't a force or person out there who could take her from him. Charlie is protective as hell over its pokemon. Years and years later when Charlie was 22 or so, they ended up moving on their own to Hoenn for financial reasons; unfortunately, said financial problems did not let up, and Charlie was struggling a lot in finding community and occasionally even housing for a few years.

That's how, eventually, he joined Team Magma in his late 20s. They wouldn't get out until the Team was dissolved, and years later in their "present" timeline, they're 32, on parole, but honestly not doing so bad.

It was in their time with Team Magma that a presumably "dead" egg they'd had with them since Johto hatched (possibly due to the heat that was maintained in the bases?), which is how he got his houndour, eventually houndoom, Pookie.

[ladala99]

Pokemon Presents - Reactions

Well, my predictions were completely wrong, aside from small details like Contests were in the presentation and they showed characters present in Legends: Arceus.

But for my reactions:

Mobile Games I really don't care about these. I might pick Masters back up but I got super burnt out about gacha games a while ago and it still doesn't sound fun to pick anything like that back up. But maybe. I mean, N's my favorite character and he looks stunning in that outfit.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl In order of me remembering: - Following Pokemon - Different outfits for the players - Expanded Underground (although Secret Bases seem less "let's make a pretty room" and more "let's place some objects that unlock stuff") - The Underground seems to be where Platinum Expansion Pokemon are, by the narrator's commentary while Houndoom was onscreen. So general encounters may be identical to Diamond and Pearl - Munchlax in places other than Honey Trees - Contests seem a bit nerfed. The Dance round looks more visually interesting, but the actual gameplay looks simplified. No mention of Dressup round. Appeal round we didn't see enough to tell if it's the same complexity or not. No mention of Poffins - Ball Seals are replaced with Stickers. You still get to customize them for special effects, which is neat. - I like how they call Cynthia "mysterious" as if everyone doesn't already know who she is.

Overall, I'm still unsure what to think of these. My main reservations (always-on Exp Share and whether Pokemon from Unova and later are usable at all) are still unanswered. It also doesn't help that some of my favorite features (Contests and Secret Bases) seem to be simplified. Following Pokemon and Customization are neat, but those don't make this a must-buy.

Legends: Arceus In order of me remembering: - Regional Formes/Evolutions! - Riding Pokemon - are they yours or is it like Alola? They seem to all be Regional Formes from what we've been shown - Doesn't seem to be truly open-world. You have missions in specific places. Maybe you can explore further but there's no nearby healing place until later? - "Galaxy Team" huh? And that guy woman looks a lot like Cyrus. So are we the badguys or did Cyrus just steal the name/iconography of these guys, believing that since he's the descendant of the leader he has the right to do so? Because there's no way they're not related - The weird bloomy lighting I disliked in the first trailer looks more intended now. I still don't like it that much but at least it doesn't look unfinished anymore - Wild Pokemon act differently, require different strategies to catch, and attack you. This is basically what I hoped for! - They're experimenting with how battles work with the strong/agile style thing

Overall, I am more convinced than before that I want this. My only real reservation is that I don't like the lighting/shading, and that's a minor thing. They're really experimenting with the formula, and in this case I welcome it.

HOME Compatibility At the end they mentioned Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends: Arceus would be compatible with HOME with no further explanation. I'm still wondering how compatible, although confirmation that Legends: Arceus will be compatible is very welcome.

Competitive Stays in Sword/Shield

I take it that means Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are not going to be fully compatible with Sword and Shield. Which was almost a given, but it does mean I'll need to get Sword at some point for futureproofing reasons (trade evolutions).

After seeing the Websites:

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: - Dressup round is gone. Contest stats are a thing, though, so Poffins may be in it still. - The Underground section has a screenshot with a Sentret and a Numel. So Pokemon outside of Sinnoh dex confirmed, but only ones that were compatible with the originals so far. - Manaphy's the early adoption bonus for BDSP - Statues are the only decoration mentioned for Secret Bases. While I used to only decorate with Pokemon plush, I like being more creative now so that's a bit of a letdown - Underground (and the Union Room) is online! - Game Corner is replaced by the clothes shop - Like all recent games, you have a few skin/hair/eye color choices for the protagonists. Unknown if you can further tweak them later or if you only have the choices shown. (Given LGPE doesn't let you, I'm guessing no)

Legends: Arceus: - Trading exists in Legends: Arceus. It's a Nintendo Switch Online feature. Does that mean trade evolutions are still trade evolutions? :( - Opposite gender player character is a rival or something - Time of day and weather change Pokemon spawns/behavior - Not truly open-world - you gain access to new areas when your rank increases - Seems completing the Pokedex is the main task, and it involves not only catching but also raising and observing each Pokemon - Pokemon joins Animal Crossing in 'games you wouldn't expect to have a crafting system but now they do' - Early adoption bonus is clothes. So you can change your outfit, even though they haven't shown anything else about that

None of these things changed my opinions from above, but are good clarifications.

[1358456]

Dex Holder Teams and Nicknames

Thanks to some... well... nagging (not really, but let’s say anyways), there have been some changes to some Dex Holders’ Pokemon. ... Well, there’s been A change. But it’s about time I compile and organize it anyways.

Since they’re going to be used in Legacy onwards, everything would be fully evolved, given the time skip. With the exception of those who won’t evolve certain Pokemon.

Red - Venusaur (Saur) - Snorlax (Lax) - Aerodactyl (Aero) - Poliwrath (Poli) - Gyarados (Gyara) - Espeon (Vee)

F*ck the Pikachu, it’s gone. Besides, that’s a full team, right there.

Blue - Blastoise - Ditto (Ditty) - Nidoqueen - Granbull - Jigglypuff - Clefable

As with before, Blue won’t be using nicknames on her Pokemon since the nicknames kind of sound too childish for her. With the exception of Ditty, which... ehn. And Blue calling her Granbull as “Blue” is also weird, and only works in Japanese, since it’d be more called as “Bull”.

And Blue’s Wigglytuff is replaced with Jigglypuff, since the one she had in ORAS is a new one for reasons unknown.

Yellow - ... ?

Gold - Typhlosion (Explotaro) - Ambipom (Aitaro) - Togekiss (Togetaro) - Sudowoodo (Sutaro) - Politoed (Politaro) - Sunflora (Suntaro)

I thought he didn’t have Sunflora anymore, but... meh. Besides, most are only going to be using at most 3 Pokemon anyways.

Silver - Feraligatr - Weavile - Honchkrow - Gyarados - Kingdra - Ursaring

Crystal - Meganium (Megapeon) - Xatu (Tupeon) - Hitmonchan (Chanpeon) - Arcanine (Arcapeon) - Parasect (Parapeon) - Cubone (Cupeon)

Crystal’s sh*t team doesn’t see any change since she won’t be evolving Cubone. Why? This Cubone’s skull has a star-shaped crack. Marowak’s skull would have no such cracks. Stupid star-addict...

Ruby - Swampert (Zuzu) - Milotic (Mimi) - Gardevoir (Ruru) - Castform (Popo) - Mightyena (Nana) - Delcatty (Coco)

Sapphire - Blaziken (Chamo) - Tropius (Tororo) - Aggron (Ronono) - Donphan (Phadodo) - Gallade (Kiruru) - Wailord (Wailulu)

Emerald - Sceptile - Sudowoodo - Snorlax - Dusclops - Mr. Mime - Mantine

... Admittedly, Emerald is only ever going to be using Sceptile and MAYBE Dusclops. The others... meh.

Diamond - Torterra (Ru) - Mamoswile (Mu) - Lickilicky (Li) - Bastiodon (Pu) - Rotom - Steelix (Wa)

The first change! Diamond will no longer be using Munchlax. Not for combat purposes, anyways. He’ll always have it, since that’s his first Pokemon. And I don’t know if he ever gave Rotom a nickname. Given his nickname style, it’s either going to be “Ro”, “To”, or “Mu”. But there’s already a Mu, so... hmm... eh, Ro it is. And for Steelix, Diamond’s nickname scheme is just one syllable from the Pokemon’s first evolution stage. So from Onix, or “Iwaku”, ... I think “Wa” suits Diamond’s style a bit more. Wa the Mega Steelix! ... Mega, since... well, Platinum would gladly get him a Mega Ring.

Pearl - Infernape - Chatot - ... ?

Pearl has a nickname scheme, and more Pokemon, but... er... ?????

Platinum - Empoleon - Lopunny - Rapidash - Glaceon - Altaria - Ninetales-Alola

I’m sort of contemplating on replacing the Ninetales with something cooler. ... Not literally, since... what’s cooler than an Ice type? The overall theme with Platinum’s team is that of a... frozen elegance. She only has two Ice types right now though (but three others can use Ice type moves), and replacing Ninetales with something else removes one Ice type. But... the replacement candidate is Volcarona. ... Hmm...

BUT!!! To appease concerns of bias favoritism, I will not be giving Platinum a Volcarona. So... RELAX!

Black - Emboar (Boar) - Musharna (Musha) - Galvantula (Tula) - Braviary (Brav) - Carracosta (Costa) - Bisharp (Sharp)

... The result of “the nag”. With Reshiram not staying in Black’s team, there’s a blank spot. And to appease the concerns of potential anti-Generation-V shenanigans, I was pressured to give Black a new Pokemon that’s not absolute garbage like the rest of his team. But such Pokemon has to be found in Unova. So... ... Black will now get a Bisharp. ENJOY. ... The new addition is a better Pokemon than all the others...

White - Serperior (Amanda) - Reuniclus (Sally) - Mandibuzz (Barbara) - Alomomola (Nancy) - Stunfisk (Dorothy) - Sawsbuck (Jessica)

I WAS going to overhaul White’s team, but... her nickname scheme, which is just girls’ names that has some sort of pun in Japanese, is... well, pretty hard to accurately simulate. And I’m not going to use MY name in White’s sh*tsack team...

Anyways. So instead of an overhaul, I’m just going to evolve all her stuff.

X - Chesnaught - Charizard - Gengar - Pinsir - Manectric - Kangaskhan

X does nickname his Pokemon, but... I don’t remember. ... Other than “Kanga” and “Lasma”. But for consistency, no nicknames will be used.

Y - Greninja (Kerokero) - Talonflame (Fletchy?) - Sylveon (Veevee) - Salamence (Bobo) - Garchomp (Toto) - Hydreigon (Saza)

Y’s team theme is more of... winged aggression. She’s a SKY TRAINER. She should have stuff that can fly. But for Fletchinder... if it evolves, would it still be called Fletchy? Or would it be called Tally? Hmm...

Sun - Incineroar (En) - Persian-Alola (Dollar) - Wishiwashi (Baht) - Mimikyu (Franc)

The addition of Mimikyu is HUGE. It’s better than the rest of the team put together. I’m curious as to what the rest of his team would be, and what currencies would be used and for what reason (I’m guessing Pound and Mark next?). The reason of such is why I can’t add stuff to his team, and as such, I’ll just wait. As the main focus of the SM arc (...) I’m sure his team will evolve and be filled much faster than the other person. ... Which is why...

Moon - Decidueye - Toxapex - Muk-Alola - Umbreon - Chandelure - Houndoom

Experimental bias in effect. Moon’s team theme? Toxic shadow. Why does she get Umbreon? Because it’s cute, and MOON themed. How does she get it? ... I don’t know. Platinum got her an Eevee, maybe?

Chandelure... Its sadistic tendencies seem to suit Moon. How does she get one? ... Hmm... She went into the Lost Hotel in Kalos for fun... er... research purposes and ran into a Litwick.

Houndoom, because... I always wanted someone to get a Mega Houndoom. So Moon would’ve run into a Houndour somewhere in Sinnoh, and then Platinum gave her a Mega Ring some time later.

And so, with two Poison types, three Dark types, and two Ghost types... Sun would be far more terrified of Moon than ever before. Hehehe...

[crystalelemental]

Alright, post-game League in Platinum time.  Let’s go.

Perrine the Gliscor, level 72 (Careful)

Arianne the Floatzel, level 72 (Rash)

Melanie the Skuntank, level 73 (Naive)

Cadence the Chimecho, level 73 (Modest)

Florence the Cherrim, level 74 (Timid)

Eleanor the Dusknoir, level 75 (Brave)

The only change to moves was giving Cadence Energy Ball, now that we found that TM.

Aaron vs. Gliscor.  Thank god that first Rock Slide hit.  Too bad it somehow didn’t KO.  Yeah, I don’t know either.  But it didn’t, and I’m shitting bricks turn 1.  We got a nice flinch chance, but Speed Boost is going to put us in the ground.  Swords Dance on the Full Restore, thank god I get Double Team, so Aerial Ace bypasses the check.  Only Scizor survived a single attack at that point, hanging on after Earthquake.  Which is fairly expected.

Bertha!  While it’s probably a mistake to send in Cherrim, I decide this is the only time the poor thing ever gets to be useful and go for it anyway.  Whiscash is no big deal, and we get sunlight set on it.  Unfortunately, I do remember the main issue we ran into last time.  Gliscor is a pain.  Fire Fang is a bigger pain.  And just like last time, Solarbeam isn’t a clean OHKO.  Golem comes in, and the sunlight fades, which means I can’t stay around because it definitely has Fire Punch.  I decide to go to Chimecho.  Yes, it might take a bit more than Floatzel, who resists, but on the off chance of something stupid like Explosion, I’d rather Chimecho go down than Floatzel, who is still very needed for later matches.  Golem’s no trouble, but of course Hippowdown knows Yawn.  And decides to spam it relentlessly.  I can’t keep taking chip damage, so after switching around trying to avoid Yawn, I give up and let Cadence get hit.  And now, Rhyperior, who is a huge pain.  Thank god, Megahorn misses my Floatzel.  Thankfully, despite Sand and Sturdy Rock, Surf OHKOs.  No deaths.

And now, the reason I didn’t want to let go of Floatzel.  Flint is a bunch of fairly frail Fire types, and Floatzel has 115 base speed and a Splash Plate.  Houndoom, Infernape, and Rapidash are all OHKO’d by Waterfall in rapid succession.  Magmortar is a higher level, but Surf is a clean OHKO as well.  And Flareon...Yeah, you know how that goes.  So great, a complete sweep of all five of his Pokemon, no damage.  Flint, git gud, please.  There has to be some kind of trick he can pull that I just never see because Floatzel.

And now for this asshole.  Lucian is easily the most obnoxious of the Elite Four, I hate him so much.  Skuntank is going to maybe take two.  It takes down Mr. Mime in one shot, because Night Slash good, but as always, then there’s Bronzong.  I play like a moron and stay in.  Sure enough, Flamethrower wouldn’t 2HKO even if we didn’t have him Calm Mind.  Night Slash also doesn’t crit, so great.  Florence jumps in, ready to Leech Seed.  Unfortunately, it gets up to 3 Calm Minds.  I really don’t have the option of switching at this point.  It uses Psychic, and does more than half her HP.  Maybe I do need to switch then.  Back to Skuntank, who is immune to Psychic.  It’s also in range of Night Slash, so that’s a relief.  I further play like a moron and stay in on Alakazam, knowing about Focus Blast.  Thankfully, we actually get lucky for once and it misses.  Night Slash is a one-shot.  Espeon is a bit scary, but Night Slash continues to devastate.  This is the best Skuntank’s ever done.  Gallade is tough, and I make the call to go Dusknoir.  Right into Stone Edge, which only deals like 60 damage.  Tank master.  Shadow Punch finishes the job in one.  So, despite him usually being the worst part of this run, that...actually wan’t too bad.  We got lucky with the Focus Miss, and despite Bronzong doing what it do, we managed to win without much damage.

Having learned from past mistakes, that Spiritomb does not, in fact, pack Will-o-Wisp and is all-out offensive, so I go in with Skuntank, ready to throw down with something that resists most of its moves.  No Silver Wind bullshit this time, just two Night Slashes and a Poison Jab to win it.  As before, she goes straight to Garchomp.  Like an absolute buffoon, I think I can outspeed it.  Skuntank is dead immediately.  Like an idiot, I think Floatzel’s Ice Beam can one-shot.  I am not dead, but I may as well be.  Roserade’s in, and after weighing somem decisions carefully, I decide that yes, Floatzel has to go down.  Good thing too.  I almost swapped to Dusknoir as it used Shadow Ball.  That would’ve been embarrassing.

Gliscor’s Aerial Ace takes it down, and I get what I wanted.  Milotic is baited.  Florence switches in...hey, did you know that Milotic had Ice Beam?  And that it deals HALF?  So that’s fun.  In a surprise twist, Cynthia got cocky.  I survived and got Leech Seed with only 6 HP, and the next turn she thought Surf would KO.  But I have Sunny Day and a resistance.  So we get that set up, and she deals maybe 12 damage.  Solarbeam annihilates it in response.  Unfortunately, now the hard part begins.

I honestly think Togekiss is her toughest Pokemon.  I get Leech Seed on it.  No way is Florence KOing this thing.  Gliscor comes in, and we’re prepared to Rock Slide cheese.  We actually get a nice flinch.  Twice, even.  Leech Seed damage supplements our actual damage, which wouldn’t have 2HKO, and Gliscor wins it.  Only Lucario remains.  Earthquake is sufficiently strong to take it down.

That...actually went better than I expected it would.  Like a lot better.  We got a bit lucky with Focus Miss, Megahorn miss, two flinches on Togekiss, and Cynthia getting overconfident in Surf taking out my Cherrim.  While there were some luck shenanigans, I say this is earned.

So, the whole game is done once again.  I liked this team a lot.  Dusknoir is hilariously tanky, and having all elemental punches is still my favorite way to play a game.  Gliscor is disgustingly good in this game.  It’s so strong.  So is Floatzel, actually.  Outspeeding all of Flint’s team with ease makes it a really good counter to him and Bertha in one slot.  I really enjoyed getting to run Cherrim.  I don’t know if I’d necessarily do it again, but it really is enjoyable to run these sets that otherwise I wouldn’t touch.  Skuntank was a little bit underwhelming overall, but it can seriously pull its weight.  Definitely a fun team.

With this, I must consider the next game to play.  A part of me wants to try HGSS, but I haven’t been able to focus on those for a while now.  I also considered...Pokemon Y.  But like.  Am I really up for Gen 6?  I don’t know.  We’ll see what I pick up next, but this was a good one to pick up this summer.  Pokemon Platinum is always a good time.