#theorymon

[catboybiologist]

Y'all ready for a certified neurodivergent moment?

I had to sit through a thing I absolutely did not need any info from, and typed up a massive outline of the soulsborne pokemon game I just talked about. Massively cringe, yes, but hey it's not just living in my head anymore.

I've had this idea brewing in my head for a while now, pretty much ever since PLA came out (and I found it kinda disappointing tbh). Even though Hoenn has lots of love, it still feels like the most "grand" region in terms of the scale and themes of its lore, so I liked the idea of using it for a legends game that focused on the initial clash of Kyogre and Groudon. I had so many ideas brew in my head, and I guess now I sloppily typed them out.

Obviously this isn't actual game design. This is just me being cringey and detailing my dream pokemon game. At 26 years old. Anyways.

Pokemon Legends: Jirachi

In the times when Hoenn was young, the earth and seas shook. Titans roam the land- powerful individual pokemon that shape their environment to their liking. Humans and pokemon work together to keep them under control, but the earth and sea themselves shake, and Titans only grow more numerous. One day, a human wishes on a shooting star to become a hero and save their land, and something from up there answered.

In this game, Jirachi would be a kind of invisible "questmaster", giving an in-game reason for path markers, quest markers, and points of interest marked in stardust and sparkles. Once the main plot is completed, Jirachi would be able to join your party.

Core combat

The gameplay would be souls-like or Monster Hunter like, but with direct parallels to mainline pokemon mechanics. The six stats would be the same, and the four moves your pokemon can learn would be equivalent to the attack interface of a soulslike game- four trigger buttons. You would take direct control of one "primary" pokemon at a time, and use it as a souls-like character.

HP, Def, and SpDef would be largely the same, with the added benefit that less damage taken means more resistance to trips and staggers.

Atk and SpAtk are also pretty clear cut, scales your damage output per move.

Speed would be analogous to stamina or endurance. Dodging would work as in soulsborne games, and consume stamina. Most pokemon walking, running, attack speed, and dodging speed would be largely equivalent, but high speed pokemon would be able to sustain rapidfire attacking, frequent dodging, and continuous sprinting for longer.

Accuracy would be reworked into lock-on or charge up time- eg, a low accuracy move requires you to stay in one place for a longer amount of time before releasing, to charge up or lock on (imagine how swag ass this would look with focus blast).

PP would correspond to cooldown time. Each move would be infinite use, but have a cool-down after its used. So a move with high accuracy, but low PP, could be used instantly, but not spammed. High PP, weaker moves would then see an increased niche as a "default" light attack that can be spammed.

Attacks could also be ranged, up close, AoE, and have other features that would need to be tweaked and balanced in implementation. They wouldn't one to one map onto their in game counterparts, but this would at least provide a vague guide for how these moves work that builds on players assumed existing knowledge of pokemon games.

Special attributes, like never-miss moves and priority moves, would have features that play into this- eg, priority moves could be spammed with no cooldown, and never-miss moves would be immune to inhibiting effects.

Stat changes could be temporary effects applied to yourself when using the move, like a buffing spell in soulsborne games.

Nonvolatile status effects (paralysis, burn, sleep, etc) would work similar to monster hunter- invisibly accumulating triggers that occur as a side effect to to moves, or in the case of moves that directly trigger status like Spore or Thunder Wave, they would not do direct damage, but instead add massive amounts to the accumulated status trigger.

Field effects (weather, terrain, and special effects like wind, gravity, etc) could be set by regular pokemon moves in small areas, but would also be frequently encountered in the overworld.

Examples: the vibes of potential starter pokemon.

This is all just for the purpose of giving examples of how I envision some of this stuff working. Assume each pokemon would have regional variants that scaled their stats appropriately. This is just to show how different playstyles from the mainline games would translate to this format.

Lucario: example mixed offensive pokemon

Moves like aura sphere could be used with no lock on time, and little to no cooldown, forming the basis of a normal, light, ranged attack.

Moves like Close Combat would have no lock on, but give a temporary debuff and have a long cooldown time before they could be initiated again, making for a quick to use but infrequent heavy attack.

Swords dance and/or nasty plot could be used to provide a temporary buff for a period of time.

Focus blast would take a long time to charge and lock on, making you a sitting duck.

Reuniclus: example tanky pokemon

Light Screen and Barrier could lay down static areas on the ground. When an ally pokemon is located within them, they provide their corresponding defensive buffs. Cooldown for reusing them starts when these floor areas disappear.

Recover could be used to heal, but would have a long cooldown.

Liepard: example technical pokemon

Yawn would inflict direct sleep "buildup", but over time as opposed to instantly.

Fake out would instantly proc a stagger from the enemy, but could only be used in a certain time range upon being sent out.

Moves like taunt and torment function as usual.

The trainer and overworld traversal

Even though the player has direct control over pokemon, the MC is still a trainer, and pokemon are still capture in balls.

The trainer would be on the sidelines, with idle animations ordering the pokemon to do stuff.

Only one "controllable" pokemon could be outside of a pokeball at a time, or all of them could be stowed in pokeballs to directly control the trainer. The trainer can interact with NPCs, gather items, etc.

The trainer would also order "helper" pokemon. One or two "helpers" could be added independent of the party that would follow the trainer around constantly. Each pokemon has a list of field "helper" abilities they're capable of doing, independent of what moves they know. By targeting something that a helper pokemon can interact with in the world, the trainer would order that pokemon to zip out and interact with it. Think Republic commando. This takes the role of HMs and other field moves. For areas that require things like Surf of dive, the helper pokemon would exert a field of influence that essentially allowed the primary pokemon to act normally- eg, a surf helper would cause an area of surging upwards surface chop that lets the primary pokemon walk on water, or a dive helper would create small air bubbles centered around wherever the primary pokemon breathes from.

The trainer can also provide small support in the form of items, but this would be limited to encourage sensible use of stat boosting moves.

Pokemon would still be captured in pokeballs, but after they are fainted by the primary pokemon. Fainted pokemon could either be captured in a pokeball, or "relieved" of unique held items and resources before releasing them.

Pokemon would not gain experience by defeating opponents. Instead, each one would have material requirements to both level up and "customize" them. Like upgrading a weapon in Monster Hunter, every pokemon would have unique material requirements to level up, change nature, upgrade IVs, allocate EVs, or learn and relearn certain moves. This incentivizes a postgame loop, but could be curved to make the main game give you adequate materials to avoid excessive grinding.

The gameplay and story structure

The gameplay loop is basically monster hunter.

There would be a large number of normal-sized pokemon out in the world, that could be easily defeated and either captured and looted. But, frequently, a "Titan" would appear- a large, boss variant of a particular pokemon. Some pokemon can only be captured from their defeated titan forms, even if they appear in their regular forms.

These titan forms would appear semi-randomly, and requests to "quiet" them by defeating them would take the form of quests posted in the hub regions. These quests would then essentially be a monster hunter hunt- going out and fighting a particular titan.

Titan forms could be unique, or vaguely modeled after existing megas.

The world is divided into 8 main regions, and at least one "bonus" region. There would be 4 ocean regions, and 4 land regions. Each region would be seperate, but open to explore within that region (damn you can really see how much I've played MH:W)

Each region would have a drop table of pokemon that could potentially appear as titans.

Each region would also have one, single titan pokemon that gives the region its character. These 9 titans would be new, unique regional variants.

Each region, and by extension, each boss titan, would be directly associated with a different regional effect. So essentially, the boss titan and the field effect of a region would be reflective of its character.

The plot, like monster hunter, would be a gameplay loop of increasingly powerful titans within a region, building to the boss titans of each region. Once the 8 primary titans are defeated, it triggers the endgame main plotline.

The world

As mentioned previously, the bulk of the gameplay loop and storyline would be defeating increasingly more powerful "titan" pokemon, until you encounter a particular individual pokemon that is actively shaping that region and has ultimately caused the other titans along the way to be empowered.

Each region would have a dominant type, several field effects that come and go within certain parts of the area, and a unique boss titan. Each boss titan is about equivalent difficulty, and the player is encouraged to spread their efforts around to proceed through the "tiers" of titans evenly across the world before making it to the boss.

Hubs: Slateport, Lilycove.

Self explanatory, these would be the hub towns. Like in PLA, no other cities would be founded yet. Mt. Pyre would be integrated as part of Lilycove, and important characters and exposition could happen there. It would be an active cathedral. Kyogre and Groudon wouldn't be "known", but vague, amorphous titans of earth, sea, and sky would be referenced.

Land Regions

Meteor Cliffs and the Tranquil Plain

A gentle, grassy plain south of Mt. Chimney gives way to its southern slope. The slope, pockmarked with craters, has not been extensively explored, but is thought to hold deep caverns.

Regional effect: Pyschic Terrain

Regional Titan boss: Metagross (Steel/Pyschic)

Main game route equivalents: Meteor Falls, Rustboro City, Petalburg Woods, Petalburg City, Oldale Town, Littleroot town, 101, 102, 103, 104, 116, 115

Towering Forest

A deep, lush forest, sometimes so dense that you can't see the sky, fed by the crystal clear river cutting through it. The tangle of the canopy shudders under the weight of unseen pokemon above.

Regional effect: Grassy Terrain

Regional Titan boss: Tropius (Grass/Steel)

Main game route equivalents: Fortree city, Safari Zone, 119, 120, 121, 123

Jagged Stones

Deep, rugged canyons hide a basin-like desert, where a raging sandstorm elicits mirage-like visions.

Regional effect: sandstorm

Regional Titan boss: Tyranitar (Rock/Dragon)

Main game route equivalents: Verdanturf town, 117, 111, 112, all desert subregions

Volcanic Slopes

The peaks, caverns, and North slope of Mt. Chimney know no peace from the continuous onslaught of lava.

Regional effect: harsh sunlight

Regional Titan boss: Camerupt (Fire/Ground)

Main game route equivalents: Mt. Chimney, Jagged Pass, Fiery Path, Lavaridge, Fallarbor, 113, 114

Oceanic regions

Thunder Bay

An unrelenting, static haze hovers over the inlets of of Thunder Bay, impeding exploration of its deep subterranean caverns.

Regional effect: electric terrain

Regional Titan boss: Manectric (Electric/Dark)

Main game route equivalents: Mauville, New Mauville (replaced by a cave entrance), Cycling Road, 118, 110, 134, 133

Shifting Floes

A chill falls over the NorthEast seas of Hoenn, a climatic anomaly. Scattered islands and shifting ice platforms are continually coated with a snowstorm.

Regional effect: snowstorm

Regional Titan boss: Froslass (ice/ghost)

Main game region equivalents: Mossdeep, Shoal cave, 124, 125, parts of 126 and 127

Misted islands

A mysterious area of the ocean in which islands seem to shift locations as they phase in and out of sight.

Primary Area effect: Misty Terrain

Regional Titan Boss: Altaria (Dragon/fairy)

Main game route equivalents: Dewford Town, Granite Cave, Southern Island, Mirage Island (location changed), 105, 106, 107, 108, 109

Deep Blue

The open expanse of the ocean, and the islands within it, hold secrets beyond comprehension in their depths and constant storms. It is said that there is as much below as there is above.

Primary Area effect: rain/underwater (same effects as rain)

Regional Titan Boss: Wailord (water)

Main game route equivalents: Sootopolis city, Cave of Origin, Sky Pillar, Ever Grande City, Pacifidlog, Seafloor cavern, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, parts of 126 and 127

Special Area: the Delta Stream

Ripping across Hoenn's skies is an air current known as the Delta Stream, which powerful pokemon use as a causeway between regions and across the world.

Only accessible in the postgame, and with a "helper" pokemon that can fly. This entire region is above the clouds, and the only points that poke up are the peak of Mt. Chimney, Sky Pillar, and an updraft over Mt. Pyre.

Primary area effect: tailwind

Regional Titan Boss: Salamence (Flying/Dragon)

The Endgame Plot: after the titans are quieted

Once every boss has been defeated, the endgame storyline starts. Despite every titan being quieted, the land still quakes, and the seas still swell. The elders of Mt. Pyre urge you to investigate these at their source: the inner lava chamber of Mt. Chimney (subregion of Volcanic Slopes), and the depths of the seafloor (subregion of Deep Blue).

As you can probably guess, this is the introduction to Kyogre and Groudon.

The first fight with each of them uses your own pokemon, and gives you a "false" win- after you "faint" them in a suspiciously easy battle, they each revive into their primal forms, and head to the mountain island that would become Sootopolis. Hear, they battle on a kaiju-like scale. The MC watches the destruction from Mt. Pyre.

For the second time in the game's story, the MC makes a wish: this is beyond me. I wish a savior would come. Jirachi directly unveils itself for the first time to answer the call, touches the MC, and speeds off into the distance. A cutscene follows Jirachi to Sky Pillar (only a raw, uncarved spike of rock at this point), where Rayquaza is seen coiled around the top. Jirachi leads Rayquaza into the upper atmosphere, where it undergoes a primal/mega evolution. It pivots, shooting down towards earth, building speed.

The player takes control of M-Rayquaza as it slams down to earth, staggering Kyogre and Groudon away from each other, and engages in a special fight where they have to defeat both of them.

After this, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza may each be found at Seafloor cavern, Mt. Chimney, and sky pillar respectively, and may be defeated and captured. But its highly implied that they only go along with this willingly, and will freely resume their duties as the lords of the land once the MC passes on.

After the plot is completed, steps and murals start being carved into Sky Pillar, allowing access to the Delta Stream.

The post game would allow for infinitely generating Titans, rematches with previously captured Boss Titans as "enrichment" for them, and general gameplay loop grinding for items to train pokemon.

Yay, okay, no ones gonna read this far but uh. Yeah. That's the general idea I had. Hope it made at least some sense LOL

[pboat]

This big guy (or gal?) is Gnawblin, a water/ghost goblin shark Fakemon that lurks in the deep ocean. Their dex entry states:

"Gnawblin drifts deep in the darkest depths of the ocean, snatching sinking souls out of the murk with its lunging jaws. Their jaws have been recorded extending over 40 ft. Jellicent have occasionally been seen clashing with Gnawblin over territory"

Gnawblin signature move, Soul Bite, is a physical ghost type move that deals 90 damage and cannot miss. In addition to their signature move, Gnawblin learns:

Poltergeist, Shadow Sneak, Liquidation, Waterfall, Aqua Jet, Wave Crash, Flip Turn, Crunch, Jaw lock, Sucker Punch, Psychic fang, Ice Fang, Thunder Fang, Leech Life, Earthquake, Poison Jab, Iron Head, Swords Dance, Will-o-Wisp, Taunt, Destiny Bond, Pain Split

Gnawblin's above average bulk and attack makes it poised to be a tanky pivot. It can come in on resisted attacks, pick them off with priority, and flip turn out. With Taunt, Swords Dance and Stakeout, it can also carve out a niche as a stall breaker. A general tank build is also a viable option, as STAB + Leech Life provides perfect neutral coverage, letting it run whatever it wants in the 4th move slot. Its rock-bottom speed tier makes it an attractive option for Trick Room teams.

Gnawblin's extremely low speed hurts, as it forces it to rely on priority to deal with most situations. Gnawblin's low speed leaves it open to taking a lot of hits, which combined with its lack of reliable recovery means it will often be worn down faster than you'd think. Both of these qualities make it prediction reliant, and quite challenging to use. In the right hands, Gnawblin is a formidable foe, but it's more likely to be a low tier hero than a staple in OU.

Thanks for reading all of that, let me know what you think!

[boiintheback]

(dunno if my models are improving or degrading)

anyway this is a little scrungler i thought up about 3 days ago!

his name is quan-shu, the final treasure of ruin (fountain)

his name comes from Pēnquán (Chinese for fountain) and shù lǎn (Chinese for sloth)

the ability - Fountain of Ruin - lowers the Speed of adjacent Pokémon by 25%

he’s dark/water with 125 hp, 75 attack, 55 defense,135 special attack,125 special defense and 55 speed

speen

[imaginebalancedpokemon]

Hisuian Zoroark

I love this design for Zoroark. They took the edgy fox and made it extra as fuck. It also has a very unique typing. This is less a messing around with its balance as this Pokemon isn’t available in any competitive format, rather this is how I would compliment this Pokemon as a counterpart to my Zoroark Rework. I see this Zoroark as being a less controlled beast waiting to be unleashed or as a silent stalker compared to regular Zoroark’s more fun trickster attitude. So I want Hisuian Zoroark to be designed around slipping in and hitting hard. 

Import

First thing I want to bring up when importing this Pokemon to the main games is the problem of its signature move. The issue is that it has a 30% chance of inflicting Frostbite, which has freeze as its counterpart. A Pokemon with that high of a chance of freezing an opponent would be broken, but incorporating Frostbite into the main series games would also be a bag of worms. Not because the status effect is inherently broken, but because it would be introducing a special burn-like effect to the game, which fundamentally alters the benefits/drawbacks to a physical vs special attacker. The way I’d probably implement it without causing systemic overhauls to the way the game is structured is to increase the base power to 65, make it always drop the target’s Atk and SpA by 1, and double that if they have a status condition. This would move would be great for shutting down one Pokemon in specific around mid to late game. 

Stats

While I gave regular Zoroark extra bulk to allow it to stay in, I’d want to give Hisuian Zoroark extra ATK and SpA while being rather frail. In this case, I’d give it 55 DEF and SpD while raising its ATK to 135 and SpA to 130. It would retain its 110 SPD. The idea here is to make it so that H-Zoruark wants to either use its three immunities to predict a switch or it wants to set up a scenario where it can use its illusion to hide the incoming nuke. The stats here are meant to trade Zoroark’s versatility for raw power. 

Moves

I think Hisuian Zoroark should have extremely powerful STAB attacks as well as powerful coverage moves. Consider that it already would have access to moves like Hyper Voice and Facade, which are more powerful than Base Zoroark’s Dark Pulse and Throat Chop. So, like last time, here’s a list of moves I’d add to Hisuian Zoroark’s movepool. A more thorough explanation for some decisions can be found in the Zoroark post.

Double Edge and Poltergeist

Meant to give Zoroark strong STAB options

Since Ghost and Normal are both strong neutral coverage options, I’d distinguish physical and special Zoroark sets by the SpA sets having wider coverage while physical has better neutral attacks. Especially since there isn’t much in the way of normal or ghost special attacks with a higher base power than 90. 

Punishment

This is a more aggressive punishment for the target having stat boosts than I gave regular Zoroark, but I still want Hisuian Zoroark to be able to act as an offensive disrupter.

Triple Axel

Considering that Hisuian Zoroark already has a chilly theming, I think giving it a strong ice type physical attack wouldn’t be unreasonable. 

Triple Axel would be extremely valuable for physical sets due to ice moves being very good for coverage. Especially since most of the physical attacking moves I’m choosing to give it aren’t from types known for being super effective against a lot of common typings. So Triple Axel is a big maybe. It really depends on how valuable it is compared to the rest of the physical kit. 

Fake Out

A useful normal move, especially in double battles. And it’s STAB this time. 

Psycho Cut

I just think this one fits thematically. It also gives Hisuian Zoroark a way to clap back against Fighting types, which gives it a reason to make the switch in.

Darkest Lariat, False Surrender, or Crunch

These are all similar power dark type physical attacks and its weird that Zoroark doesn’t have them, especially Crunch.

Outrage

Dragon is another good neutral move. It would also compliment the idea of Zoroark offensively struggling against fairy types. This is also why I don’t want to give it physical poison or steel moves. Tho I don’t know how much that matters since Zoroark already has a poison special move and I think giving it Flash Canon wouldn’t be unreasonable.

Close Combat

The reason I didn’t want Close Combat on regular Zoroark was that I felt the move would be too offensive for the Pokemon I wanted to design. But it works for this version of Hisuian Zoroark because I want it to be offensively threatening while being defensively frail.

Explosion

It would be funny. Also a good dick move for the opposing Slowbro to just outspeed and explode on you.

It’s a good offensive tool and a good way for Zoroark to reset momentum if that gets out of its favor. 

Thunder, Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, and Blizzard

These are all strong coverage moves for SpA Zoroark that exchange power for accuracy. The main issues with these moves on Zoroark are that if they miss the KO they’re likely to reveal Zoroark either due to the opponent figuring the moveset is wrong or the opponent’s Pokemon getting in an attack.

It would be pretty funny tho. 

Moonblast 

Moonblast seems thematically appropriate. It also gives SpA Zoroark the ability to threaten Dragon and Dark Types. 

Glare

For spreading paralysis. It’s a funny ability and good for a utility focused Zoroark.

Defog

Same reasoning as regular Zoroark.

Destiny Bond

Same reasoning as regular Zoroark, but I feel like Hisuian Zoroark would be enough of a dick to pull that stunt.

Bounce

Idk I just think it’s funny. :)

Air Slash

More coverage moves for SpA Zoroark

Force Palm

Shadow Sneak

I want to give it a weak priority move. It’s already a fast Pokemon that relies on the idea of “kill before being found out” or “get in a favorable position before being discovered” so I don’t think giving it a ton of priority moves is a great idea, but I do like Shadow Sneak and Sucker Punch on it.

Sneaky Bitch gotta smack you.

Spirit Shackle

While I gave regular Zoroark mean look as its trapping move, I really like Spirit Shackle as a potential move for Hisuian Zoroark.

This move is balanced out by Hisuian Zoroark being very squishy and Spirit Shackle not affecting normal types. 

This move has the potential of being oppressive against fighting types that like to run choice items such as Galarian Zapdos. I’m sure the meta can evolve around this development tho.

It’s also important to note that this move + toxic could be quite powerful since Zoroark’s ghost typing makes it immune to Facade, and it can trap you with a damage over time move. Considering the pokemon’s frailty, this won’t let it become an unmanageable tank, but it’s still worth noting.

Ominous Wind and Hex

Admittedly Hex is more useful, but it deserves some ghost type special STAB moves.

Giving it conditional moves like Hex is interesting since those moves are balanced by them being both conditional and telegraphed, while Zoroark fucks with the telegraph. So there should probably be some testing before actually giving it Hex. It’s probably fine tho.

Flash Canon

Another way to hit fairy types on a special set. Since Sludge Bomb and Flash Canon aren’t particularly high base powers, it’s not like a physical Zoroark set can just slap them on to destroy fairy types. But their existences alone might be a problem. 

I mostly want to replace Sludge Bomb with Flash Canon rather than give it both since Zoroark really doesn’t need both.

Snatch

It’s funny but also kinda useless 

Howl

Another not very useful move but I could see it being okay in some scenarios and I don’t see a problem with giving this to Zoroark

Stealth Rocks

As a counterpart to regular Zoroark being given Spikes 

It also would enable this version of Zoroark to be used as a lead Pokemon, which is important to Zoroark’s versatility. That said, it could also be a bad idea since the point of this version of Hisuian Zoroark is that it sacrifices its ability to act as a support in favor of raw power.

However, making it an anti-lead could be interesting. Especially since it’s currently built as a late game cleaner, running it like this could be a good way to throw the opponent off. But at the same time, giving it Stealth Rocks might give Zoroark too much versatility for its stats and coverage.

One thing I don’t want to give Zoroark is a grass move. The reason for that is it would give Zoroark too much power over Water/Ground types like Gastrodon. I don’t want this Pokemon to potentially bully Happy Slug out of the meta. I’m also iffy about giving Zoroark fairy coverage on its special sets because I don’t know how much that would translate to its physical sets or how much the threat of it running a special or hybrid set would interfere with the idea of physical Zoroark being countered by bulky Fairy types. Honestly, the best option would probably just be to remove Flash Canon and Sludge Bomb given my intentions. The fairy weakness is mostly meant to keep this Pokemon in check. 

Signature Stuff

Same signature item and move as regular Zoroark. For the sake of not forcing anyone to read two things. This includes a signature item and move. The item gives it a x1.3 damage boost while illusion is up while the move is a base 75 dark type special attack that does double damage if illusion is up but it removes the illusion. I don’t think either of these additions get in the way with what Hisuian Zoroark is supposed to be. Both of this stuff is definitely stronger for special Zoroark than physical due to special Zoroark being more about coverage while I imagine physical Zoroark probably would prefer to run a choice item. 

Conclusion

Probably the biggest issue with this Pokemon is that I overtuned it. It has a lot of coverage moves and a flexible position in the game which is backed up by overwhelming power. It’s basically too easy to slot on too many teams and is most likely more effective at its job than intended. Especially since common revenge kill moves don’t work on it due to its typing. First things I’d probably mess with are its coverage options. I think the physical set is relatively balanced since it has high damage but there are drawbacks and counterplay. The special attacks I gave it are what risks tipping it over. Probably swapping out moves like Fire Blast in favor of just Flamethrower would be more balanced since the lower power attacks available would make the player have to chose between power and coverage. Either way, I want this Pokemon to be extremely punishing in exchange for it requiring the player to get into the opponent’s head to best exploit. The other thing I’d potentially do to nerf it is to replace Stealth Rocks with Magic Coat, which would make getting up hazards on a lead Zoroark require running a prediction or using Copycat. I think part of the question includes how much damage is within the realm of reasonability for this Pokemon since the gambit’s probably going to be up the moment it attacks, even if illusion is still active. Also, while this is less versatile than what I gave regular Zoroark, it still more versatile than the average Pokemon by a decent margin, which could be a problem. But yeah, I want this Pokemon to feel like a beast waiting for the right moment to be unleashed, which is why its damage is so high. 

[updateseventually]

Extremely spicy take alert! I think one of the best users of a Tera type is going to be a Pokémon with with levitate

That has a *poison* Tera

You gain resistances to fighting and fairy and your only weakness becomes psychic

It’ll be like Kantonian Weezing but with actually good stats

[crystalelemental]

I had a weird idea and wanted to know if it's good or not. Ok so imagine Mega Hitmontop with Fighting Water typing and Aqua Jet. It's speed decreases, but it's bulk and attack increase and it gets an ability which doubles the power of priority moves and ignores psychic terrain, queenly majesty, etc. Or would a fighting ghost typing with Shadow sneak be better? It already has mach punch, bullet punch, quick attack and intimidate. Thoughts?

Honestly, any situation in which all your attacks are in priority is going to be interesting.  Fighting/Water is always a neat type combo, and I do like the increased power to priority moves.  The one thing I'd dislike is the negation of just priority-blocking abilities.  Why do that when you can instead have Mold Breaker and get past everything?  Except maybe Psychic Terrain, but it probably needs some limitation.

As for the Water or Ghost debate, I would say Ghost.  Ghost/Fighting is a way more solid typing [citation needed], and offensively they cover each other pretty well.  Water and Fighting really don't cover each other too well and need more coverage options.

[cables-and-wires]

r/stunfisk theorymon thursday creators trying to think of something other than recovery on defensive rock and steel types challenge (impossible)

[pboat]

This is Cindile, the Ash Pokemon! This Fire/Dragon type is based on the Horned Lizard, and uses pyroclastic flow to escape danger.

It's dex entry reads:

"Cindile basks in the sun all day to soak up heat. It digs its burrow into the sides of volcanoes. When spooked, it lets loose a blast of scorching hot ash from its eyes. Smoke constantly pours out of the horns on the back of its head. It loves the taste of Durant, and hunts them effortlessly by spewing hot flames."

Its moveset includes the following:

Cinder Jet, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Lava Plume, Eruption, Burn Up, Heat Wave, Will-o-Wisp, Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Tail, Snarl, Thunderbolt, Detect, Solar Beam, Earth Power, Scorching Sands, Haze, Morning Sun, Tearful Look, Weather Ball, Yawn, Sludge Bomb, Clear Smog, Toxic, Amnesia

It's decently bulky on the physical side, and also has a very usable 115 base special attack, which makes it a solid tank. Tools like Will-o-Wisp and Clear Smog keep set-up sweepers from spiraling out of control, while Morning Sun keeps it healthy. Offensive sets can take advantage of coverage options like Thunderbolt and Earth Power. They also appreciate the priority Cinder Jet affords them, though a lack of a meaningfully useful set up option keeps it from standing out. It can also use Haze to both deny set up and abuse Overheat and Draco Meteor, though it may be a bit gimmicky compared to Clear Smog.

In doubles, it can take advantage of sun with Heat Wave and Solar Beam. It can use Snarl to blunt the opponent's special attackers, and use Yawn to force opponents into difficult situations. Generally, Torkoal will be the better choice, but Cindile has so niche use cases.

In both formats, Cindile is held back by its low speed and special defense. Bulky sets get whittled down quickly by special attackers, while offensive sets are stuck relying on Cinder Jet to deal with faster threats. It's not built for OU, but it should find a spot in RU or NU.

That's all I've got to say about Cindile, so let me know what you think! Among other things, I had an ear infection a couple of weeks ago that really threw me off, so I apologize for taking longer than usual. I hope it was worth the wait!

[yourgamecheats]

Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii U Was A 'Failure Forward' Since It Led to the Switch

Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii U Was A ‘Failure Forward’ Since It Led to the Switch

Retired Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime speaking in a lecture at Cornell University discussed his time at Nintendo. ResetEra user Theorymon provided a summary of the lecture.

Reggie was blunt in describing the Wii U as a failure. However, he called it a  “failure forward” because it led to the Nintendo Switch.

The Nintendo Switch has sold over 15 million unitsin North America,…

[pokedecks]

Theorymon TCG #3 - The one with Igor Costa

[imaginebalancedpokemon]

Zoroark

I really love Zoroark, but it’s not very good in PvP due to it being a Pokemon that requires mind games and clean switch-ins to function but to minimal gain. Personally, I think Zoroark should be a high skill high reward OU staple because of its really unique design. I’d want to build it to encourage players to build Zoroark either for damage or disruption and for it to have builds that are meant for different stages of the game. 

Stats

If we were to make minor adjustments, I’d give it a defense and special defense stat of 75, opposed to their current stats of 60. The reason I want to give Zoroark this additional bulk is to enable more disruptive builds and to give it the opportunity to set up. Alongside that, it would help compensate Zoroark’s weakness to u-turn, which could be a thorn on the side of a more disruption oriented Zoroark. 75 is not a lot of bulk, but it would be enough to prevent Zoroark from getting one-shot by common neutral attacks, especially if the player chooses to invest in some defense. 

Moves

To enable both offensive and defensive Zoroark, I’d want to expand its moveset. I’ll start with disruption Zoroark. The idea behind this playstyle is to switch Zoroark in pretending to be one type of Pokemon then quickly inflict some effect that fucks with the opponent’s MO and leaves. For example, Zoroark is a great abuser of Choice Scarf Tricking due to being able to disguise itself as a more passive wall and its illusion not being broken by common tools for wall battles like toxic. I also believe that whether Zoroark is built damage or disruption, it should have a wide option of moves to consider rather than its somewhat narrow selection compared to a lot of OU pokemon. 

I also think that ATK Zoroark should have a lot attacks that can compliment a hybrid between damage and secondary effects, SpA Zoroark can just hit very hard, and a tankier Zoroark should have a lot of potent but interesting utility moves. 

Here’s a list of moves I’d consider giving to Zoroark and a brief explanation as to why and under what conditions. I also want to give Zoroark a signature move, which I’ll go into more detail after the list.

Will-O-Wisp

Honestly surprised that Zoroark doesn’t have this one. It’s thematically a strong fit and this is a widely distributed move.

Thunder Wave

Zoroark should definitely have access to some way to inflict paralysis. I chose Thunder Wave over Glare and Nuzzle because it’s the most standard method of distribution. 

I think Glare would fit the Hisuian Variant thematically, but I don’t think Nuzzle makes a ton of sense for either of them.

Mean Look

Considering that Zoroark’s MO is to bait the opponent by pretending to be another Pokemon, having a trapping move would be a great way to compliment the idea of the opponent not realizing they’ve been fooled until it’s too late. Since Zoroark’s stunt is difficult to pull off effectively, it should be punishing when it does work.

Defog

Defog is a commonly distributed way to get rid of hazards. It’s so common that it will appear even on pokemon where it makes very little thematic sense such as Kartana, Lumineon, Lurantis, Conkeldur, etc. 

I also think that pairing an elusive fox with fog does make some amount of sense as it fits the idea of “smoke and mirrors”

Follow Me

Redirection is a really powerful tool in doubles. If Zoroark were to use Follow Me in a doubles game, it would effectively be sacrificing its disguise or potentially its life to give its partner a free turn. The reason why this would be useful on Zoroark specifically is because Follow Me isn’t a widely distributed move, so it going off unexpectedly or even just the threat of it going off unexpectedly could be quite powerful.

It would definitely belong on tankier Zoroark sets, which the stat boosts in DEF and SPDEF would help enable.

This would give Zoroark the potential to fulfill a similar niche as Togekiss as a pokemon with both Follow Me and Encore.

Ally Switch

It’s a tricksy move that I don’t love using in doubles. Given the correct predictions and set-up, this move could allow Zoroark to maintain its disguise or tank a hit for its partner. 

I think the move ally switch is similar to Zoroark itself in that it’s a neat concept that’s just rarely useful due to being too prediction reliant compared to the potential rewards. Basically, I think Ally Switch itself could benefit from a buff, but I also think it has the potential to synergize decently with Zoroark itself.

Wide Guard

Another useful defensive doubles move. The main reason why I’d give this to Zoroark is to enable it to act as a support in doubles alongside singles.

Parting Shot

Zoroark in particular benefits from swap-out moves, so it would be nice to give it more options than U-Turn. Personally I don’t think Volt Switch and Flip Turn fit thematically enough to justify giving to it, but Parting Shot does make sense, especially since it’s not a common move, so it’s like Zoroark is flipping off the opponent on the way out. Which I personally respect.

Alongside that, because of Zoroark’s speed, using Parting Shot would allow it to decrease the opposing Pokemon’s damage before swapping in an appropriate Pokemon. 

U-Turn would still be potentially useful if the player’s goal is to fake certain pokemon having access to switch-out moves as it’s a very commonly distributed move.

Crafty Shield

I think Crafty Shield should be buffed to protect both the Pokemon and its ally in double battles, otherwise I don’t really see the point in using it over protect.

Doing this would give Zoroark another way to support its ally in doubles. An indirect buff for Crafty Shield Zoroark would be to make the move more widely distributed.

Court Change

While this is a signature move of Cinderace, I don’t understand why it should be. The move has a unique effect and it isn’t so thematically Cinderace specific. Like, I could see it being thematically reasonable on Pokemon like Grimsnarl, Meowth, Gengar, etc. 

This also fits better into a disruption oriented playstyle rather than whatever Cinderace has going for it. 

Reflect Type

Honestly Reflect Type is a niche move at best, but it could be a lot of fun to mess around with. 

Me First

This would be a fun move to attach to a hybrid between a disruption and damage Zoroark build. Zoroark already has access to the move Copycat, which I like using to counter Calyrex Shadow. Giving it Me First would give it some niche purposes like as a potential counter to certain leads. 

I don’t imagine this move being a common Zoroark move, but I do think it belongs in its arsenal.  

Spikes

In order to make Zoroark’s ability as useful as possible, it should be usable as a lead Pokemon. Generally leads want access to entry hazards. 

The reason I chose Spikes was because I can imagine it running around and scattering them.

Spikes wouldn’t be an optimal ability for Zoroark because they require time to set up and Zoroark’s more of a one-and-done type Pokemon. But using them would allow Zoroark to both set up entry hazards while maintaining its illusion, depending on the opponent’s lead.

Toxic Spikes

Similar reasoning to Spikes.

There aren’t that many non-poison type Pokemon that can learn Toxic Spikes, but it feels appropriate here. 

Stealth Rocks

I don’t think Zoroark should have access to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth rocks. Rather, I think it should have access to Spikes, Spikes and Toxic Spikes, or just Stealth rocks.

The actual approach I’m thinking is giving Zoroark Spikes and Toxic Spikes while Hisuian Zoroark gets Stealth Rocks.

Destiny Bond

This has the potential to be very mean because Zoroark could bait a killing neutral attack as a Pokemon without access to Destiny Bond and then die in its place. So much so that I’d definitely want to perform playtesting before giving Zoroark access to this move. The specific reason this could be so bad isn’t necessarily Zoroark doing this, but the player leveraging the threat of Zoroark doing it to make the act of attacking feel coin-flippy. 

So basically, Destiny Bond Zoroark could be a cool idea that enhances Zoroark’s playstyle, or it could be extremely toxic for the meta, I have no idea which is more likely.

Haze

Haze is a standard disruption tool to shut down set-up sweepers. It thematically makes sense on Zoroark for the same reason Defog does. It’s also a move that I believe needs to make more sense gameplay wise than thematically for a Pokemon’s kit.

Fake Out

It’s just a generically nice move to have, especially in doubles and it works with Zoroark’s theming.

Darkest Lariat

This would be a nice STAB move to give ATK Zoroark. It also fits the theme of disruption. 

It would be stronger on Zoroark if it was more widely distributed, atm the list of non-dark type Pokemon with DL is quite small, so a Zoroark using this move would most likely give itself away in the process.

False Surrender

Similar to Darkest Lariat where it could be a nice physical STAB move but due to being a signature move, its low distribution would give Zoroark away unless it was more spread.

Personally, I don’t think this move should be a signature move since Grimsnarl is a really good defensive Pokemon that rarely runs False Surrender (at least in Doubles OU, I don’t know the meta RU singles build for it).

Breaking Swipes

Breaking Swipes isn’t a common move and is normally considered to be bad, but I think if it were buffed to have 70 base power, it could be quite nice in doubles as a damaging support move.

Dire Claw

Another signature move. Basically, it’s a physical variant of tri attack with an increased crit rate. Considering that this buff is focused around giving Zoroark more disruption tools, I think a physical tri attack would be reasonable for it should this move be more distributed.

Poison Jab

An alternative to Dire Claw. I don’t think this would be unreasonable since Zoroark already has Sludge Bomb. Personally, I think it would make more sense for Zoroark to have Poison Jab but not Sludge Bomb. 

Elemental Punches and Fangs

These moves are low power coverage moves that are decently distributed among Pokemon. Giving them to Zoroark wouldn’t be a huge game changer, but they would allow it some extra coverage without necessarily needing to sacrifice its disguise.

Zoroark already has a fire type move in Flamethrower, but it doesn’t have any Electric or Ice attacks (excluding Hidden Power). This would give it super effective coverage against Dragon and Flying, which it previously lacked, alongside less conditional coverage against Ground and Water types (it has Grass Knot, which is conditional on the opponent’s weight). This would give Zoroark better offensive pressure and more Pokemon its builds could fight.

Superpower

It’s a fairly commonly distributed high power fighting type attack. I think giving Zoroark Superpower but not Close Combat would be fair since Superpower has more relevant drawbacks and surprise nuking an opponent should have relevant drawbacks. 

Close Combat is a more spammable ability than Superpower is, so it makes it more difficult to run on a Band or Scarf Zoroark. My main concern with Close Combat Zoroark is that it could potentially render its disguise meaningless if Band/Scarf Zoroark can tear through your team whether you know its coming or not. Band/Scarf Zoroark with Superpower could still function as a late game cleaner or as a fuck you to certain steel or opposing dark types.

X-Scissor

Bug type attacks don’t cover much in the way of offensive pressure due to having more resists than weaknesses. However, X-Scissor is still a widely distributed and decent attack, thus giving it to Zoroark would give it a wider range of potential impostering without breaking anything.

Acrobatics

Considering that this is a very powerful attack, I’m a bit iffy on it, but I want to give Zoroark a decent signature item, so running no item on Zoroark wouldn’t be incentivized.

It’s pretty common for people to run knock-off as a neutral or supereffective attack and Zoroark resists that, so giving it a move that allows it to punish opponents using knock-off against it would be useful, and I believe it would be a healthy addition to its playstyle.

My biggest concern with Acrobatics Zoroark is that it would give it a base 110 attack that’s super effective against fighting types. Given Zoroark’s speed and emphasis on mind games, having it just throw out Acrobatics with little repercussion could be too punishing.

Power Trip

It’s a very powerful move to give to a set-up sweeper, which is a role Zoroark can fulfill already. This would reward Zoroark for using its ability to create as many free turns as possible. 

This isn’t a widely distributed move, but by the time Zoroark would likely use this, it’s unlikely that the disguise is still up.

Air Slash

This would be nice for giving Zoroark an attack that’s super effective against fighting types. It’s a relatively low base power, which would prevent it from nuking counterplay, but it would still be a powerful tool in Zoroark’s kit.

Flash Canon

It’s another decent special attack that I don’t think contradicts Zoroark’s thematics and is widely distributed. Zoroark also already has a special fairy coverage move, so giving it Flash Canon too would allow it more options to compliment its disguises.

Ice Beam and Thunderbolt

It already knows Flamethrower. I’d consider these three attacks to be the special equivalents to elemental punches/bites. 

Base 90 isn’t super crazy, but it does provide coverage, which could be quite potent. That said, none of these three attacks do super effective damage against types that directly threaten dark types. 

I could see Ice Beam becoming a problem in spite of my previous point just due to how common ice weaknesses are compared to electric and fire, and base 90 damage is noteworthy.

I can imagine most of these moves carrying the potential to be quite mean if used correctly, especially if the Zoroark user makes the disguise properly convincing. Zoroark’s threat builds the more roles it can fulfill and the better it can fake being other teammates. The pokemon also synergizes really well with slow swap out Pokemon or moves like Teleport. Therefore, Zoroark needs to be able to perform a wide array of roles decently to be effective, but perhaps less effectively than Pokemon who specialize in those roles. Especially since having this much versatility is powerful even without Zoroark’s ability and because this many options allows for Pokemon to fulfill multiple roles at once. My other concern is that giving Zoroark too many powerful coverage options could quickly become unfair since the opponent first has to decide whether Zoroark is Zoroark and then figure out whether it happens to be carrying powerful moves that delete dark type counters. This is also why Zoroark needs to be frail enough to be reasonably two-shot by neutral attacks and why it shouldn’t have good recovery options. 

Signature Stuff

I think Zoroark should have a signature move and a signature item that both act to encourage keeping up its illusion for as long as possible. So first the signature item. I think the item should give Zoroark a flat damage boost of x1.3 while Zoroark’s illusion is up. I didn’t want to make the damage too insane because surprise factor is meant to be important and I want Choice Items to still be reasonable builds on Zoroark, thus the boost would be a similar amount to a Life Orb. The advantage of this over Life Orb is that it wouldn’t give away the disguise as quickly and it wouldn’t compromise Zoroark’s ability to survive a hit. It would also give a decent incentive to keep Zoroark’s illusion up for as long as possible since increasing damage output is a generically useful attribute unless you’re running specifically a trick scarf set or a damage/utility set.

The other thing I’d give Zoroark is a signature move. It would be a 75 base power dark type special attack that does double damage if Zoroark is disguised but removes the illusion. Functionally with its signature item and factoring in STAB, this attack would have a power of 292.5. The point of this attack would be to act as a mini-explosion and as a reward for the player using Zoroark’s ability correctly. I mainly want something like this in Zoroark’s kit to encourage using its ability. 

Overall

These changes are meant to make Zoroark an extremely powerful but difficult to use Pokemon. I want its gameplay style to reflect its personality and I think this would accomplish that. I’m aiming for a strong OU Pokemon that can be viable in both singles and doubles formats. 

[synaps3s]

what happens if you touch eevee with like 16 different evolutionary stones?

[crystalelemental]

tbh a super fast mega luvdisc sounds like a suicide lead deoxys-s. 97 + 60 = 157, faster than the other two deoxys forms and just 3 points shy of ninjask. with a focus scarf, its guaranteed to get a least a move in, and if it has every status move in the game, it could be a rock setter, toxic spikes set up, will o wisp, etc. itd just always be a risky play though, but the upside is with so many moves, the opponent has no idea what to expect.

Problem is, Mega.  That takes up your mega slot, and means it can’t hold a separate item, unless we start to Mega Rayquaza this (which I don’t think we should; Mega-Rayquaza should be made to hold a stone as well).  The variability is definitely what sells it, though.  “Every status move” is a significant claim, but the drawback is figuring out what to do.  I honestly think that, even with 100 extra base points, it’s just not going to shine anywhere.  It needs something tremendous; either a stupid powerful ability that does a ton rolled into one like Araquanid, or extra base stats piled on even prior to the mega form.

[pboat]

Meet Magonagon, the Iron Beard Pokemon! This Electric/Dragon type - based on Bearded Dragons - roams the arid desert. Their dex entry states:

"Electricity courses through Magonagon’s body in such a way as to make its chin a powerful electromagnet. It uses this to build a spiky beard out of magnetite dust, which it puffs up to scare away predators. If they don’t back off, it launches the electrically charged dust at the enemy, and runs away. It lures in prey with the sweet scent wafting from its tail. The invention of the dousing machine was inspired by watching Magonagon search for magnetic dust."

Magonagon's signature move is Thunder Bomb, where the user launches an electrically charged bundle at the opponent, exploding on contact. Admittedly, this is just an Electric type clone of Liquidation, but it serves as a reliable physical Electric option. Speaking of moves, the rest of Magonagon's moveset includes:

Wild Charge, Volt Switch, Thunder Wave, Dragon Claw, Outrage, Dragon Dance, Breaking Swipe, Dragon Tail, Draco Meteor, Scale Shot, Iron Head, Smart Strike, Gyro Ball, Iron Tail, Metal Burst, Iron Defense, Lunge, Megahorn, Pin Missile, U-turn, Rage Powder, Crunch, Hone Claws, Sucker Punch, Body Press, Counter, Flame Charge, Overheat, Fire Fang, Curse, Shadow Claw, Power Whip, Spiky Shield, Spikes, Acupressure, Body Slam, Double-edge, Roar, Slack Off, Yawn, Poison Jab, Amnesia, Mirror Coat, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Rock Blast, and Stealth Rock.

At first glance, it would look like Magonagon is entirely outclassed by Dracozolt, but while Magonagon doesn't have a broken signature move or impressive stats, it does have some incredible abilities and a wide move pool. Magonagon's access to Magnet Pull lets it fulfill the roll of a trapper, (unless terastalization is in play). With its unique typing and wide coverage options, it can trap bulky threats like Ferrothorn, Corviknight, and Empoleon, and eliminate them.

Choosing Intimidate gives Magonagon deceptively high physical bulk, which lets it make use of the wide range of utility options at its disposal. With Spikes and Stealth Rock, it can become a reliable hazard setter, while Thunder Wave is an option to shut down any fast threats. In doubles, Intimidate gives it a niche already, but Rage Powder and U-Turn makes it a strong supportive partner in battle.

Magonagon can try to fulfill more roles, such as a set-up sweeper with Steelworker and Dragon Dance, or a physical tank with Curse and Slack Off, but it's subpar stats are going to leave it feeling underwhelming in those roles. Magonagon is likely to fall into the lower tiers if was thrown into the current meta. Despite its shortcomings, it can definitely punch above its weight.

Okay, enough yapping, let me know what you think!