Thursday, November 20, 2014

Let it begin! (Updated 4:44 PM EST)

ORAS news have begun popping up, so I'll list the important stuff here. Putting a jump just in case people don't want to see that stuff. I'll update this post later today if anything comes up instead of making a new one.

- First, Rayquaza does NOT need a Mega Stone to mega evolve, meaning there's just no reason to stick with the base form at all. Unless there's some fine print we're not aware of, that is. Still, if there's not, this effectively makes this thing the most powerful Pokémon ever. 780 BST AND a held item slot? Whose idea was this?

- The Abandoned Ship is gone, replaced by some sea research building. It's called Sea Mauville, despite not being anywhere near Mauville. What? Either way, it's a shame, the Abandoned Ship was one of the sea routes' rare redeeming features. Maybe that new place is as good, I have no idea.

- Starters from gens 2, 4 and 5 become available throughout the post-game. No hidden abilities, however. Wasted opportunity, Feraligatr and Serperior must be pissed.

- Remember that pointless moment in RSE when Steven appeared when you reached eastern route 118, said some weird things and left? Well it was replaced by a story arc where you go to Southern Island to rescue Lati@s from Team Magma/Aqua. As a reward, you get Lati@s WITH ITS MEGA STONE. Let's read that over, shall we? You get a great legendary Pokémon with its Mega Stone IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FIFTH GYM. What the hell were they thinking?

- The National Pokédex is given to you after beating Wallace, not at the beginning of the post-game as usual. This explains the random Darmanitan from that trainer in Victory Road, among other things.

- No Battle Frontier, but a Battle Resort which contains the Battle Maison, some high-level trainers, move tutors and... another daycare. I guess breeding just got a bit faster, huh? By the way, let's dwell on the implications of all that for a bit. First, move tutors are BP-fueled again. Sure, it's much easier to get BP this gen than in any other, but it's still a big step down from shards. No contest. But also, what's a Battle Maison copypaste doing here? They said trainer customization was in X/Y because it fit Kalos' themes with fashion and whatever bullshit it was. Well, the Battle Maison is equally Kalos-esque, yet THAT came back. So where's trainer customization? I'll tell you the same thing I said back then: they got lazy. This coming from a guy who doesn't care about customization and whether or not it's in the game. I just don't like being lied to.

UPDATE, 4:44 PM EST

- Serebii confirmed Blaziken does NOT get Ice Punch. What the hell. Telling us lies about game balance issues is starting to become a tradition at this point. Remember how Fairy was supposed to be super-effective against Ice and weak to Fighting? Remember how Oblivion Wing was supposed to be Dark? What crap will they make up for Z/XY2?

- Scorched Slab is now a full-fledged dungeon, instead of just some random cave where you found a useless TM. Can the Chamber of Emptiness get a similar treatment in Z/XY2 now? Pretty please? (Along with a name change, it goes without saying.)

- Charizard and Mewtwo have access to both Mega Stones in both games. This was unexpected, I thought they'd be version exclusives forever. Or at least longer than this.

- Serebii hasn't confirmed anything yet (he doesn't want to spoil Episode Delta for anyone until the game's out everywhere), but it appears DEOXYS IS NO LONGER AN EVENT POKÉMON. Once again, we're waiting on credible sources, but this is extremely likely.

- Move tutors are actually super-cheap, even the most expensive ones are 16 BP. Scratch what I said about shards, I didn't expect costs to be so low. Speaking of tutors, they've been rearranged since the demo, and Dark Pulse is no longer in there. Sorry I doubted you, Gamefreak.

21 comments:

  1. Well, getting a legendary just after you got Surf was already in RGBY. That level 50 Zapdos would Thundershock most players to death unless prepared tho.

    And that Mega Rayquaza makes me weep for how suboptimal the Mega Mewtwos were. But come on, who though it was a good idea? Still, normal Rayquaza has a niche: Scarf Ice Beam to get rid of opponent Mega Rayquaza thanks to Air Lock (and Surf for Primal Groudon).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Does Air Lock actually override Delta Stream? Because that'd make no sense. Delta Stream overrides Desolate Land and can't be overriden by it though, so Mega Rayquaza is still better at dealing with Primal Groudon.

      Delete
    2. Hey, don't forget 3 Legendaries before the 4th gym in GSC!

      Delete
    3. Another thing that should be noted is that Lati@s are more powerful than Zapdos and the legendary dogs, and that's before you factor in that you can Mega Evolve Lati@s as soon as you can get it. Combined with the Exp. Share, it just obliterates the games' balance.

      Delete
    4. Air Lock overrides both Primal weathers, so I'd assume it also overrides Delta Stream until proven otherwise, but won't be too surprised if it is not the case.

      Delete
  2. In regards to the Battle Maison. I'd just like to reference a comment I made in another post here saying that remakes just take whatever battling facilities that exist in the games that have already been released in their generation. Although it's still a bit stupid, when you think about it.

    So then, I guess the reference to the Pike Queen in the Battle Resort means nothing, and that the Battle Frontier Brain music will be the theme that play when you fight... whoever leads the Maison.

    Also, it appears you can actually catch Deoxys in OR/AS. No event item needed. So we finally have an event only Pokemon that can be fought and caught without an event item. Well, there's Mew in Ranch, but you have to go through so much bullshit to get it (and it's just a gift, you don't fight it).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That or Scott S. Stalker will be in Z...

      Delete
    2. Or they tease you about Emerald elements after Episode Delta, implying the Battle Frontier will be DLC...

      Delete
    3. That won't happen, but I'd be happy if it did.

      Delete
  3. So free Lati@s. That obvsly doesn't break the game after gym 5. OK Gamefreak. What's your team looking like slow?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My team's looking like "I'm still not buying this game".

      Delete
    2. It's just too disappointing, that it didn't innovate enough? I know I will be buying it myself, as a cartridge battler (those exist), and I actually never played R/S/E- my Pokemon started with DPP and I just never got my hands on a cartridge.

      Delete
    3. But theoretically if you were to buy the game what would you use as your team? What would make good party members?

      Delete
    4. I've never thought about it much. Depends on when each TM becomes available.

      Delete
    5. Hey, "I'm/Still/Not/Buying/This/Game" is my team! Great minds think alike.

      So, are TMs a consideration when making your teams or something?

      Delete
    6. Now that they're infinite use, I have little choice. Same for mega stones, really.

      Delete
    7. So far I'm thinking Blaziken, Skarmory, Latias, Regice, Kyogre, then I guess rayquaza.

      Delete
  4. Ok who thought reintroducing RBY Mewtwo into the game was a good idea? Unless those strings attached come in that's going to be ridiculous, especially with Delta Stream and the new moves and stuff. Hopefully they didn't make the Jade Orb into a soul dew for it or it's going to be even more insane.

    ReplyDelete
  5. According to Serebii's Discovery thread he couldn't get Regigiggas to appear yet a friend had done. The only difference between him and his friend was that his friend had given his pokemon nicknames, so he gave some of his pokemon nicknames and... Regigiggas appeared. He's currently re-testing as he refuses to believe that you NEED to nickname pokemon to get Regigiggas but... if it turns out to be true... wow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've started playing through Omega Ruby, and I am really, really wishing they had expanded the Hoenn Dex. I had forgotten just how many boring/useless/mediocre Pokemon populate this region. It severely limits team options, even though infinite-use TMs and new mega evolutions do give you a little more versatility, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IMO DP had the worst regional Dex of the games, but RSE were almost as bad, and had 200 Pokémon to boot, 50 more than DP.

      6th gen mechanics and movepools should alleviate this, though.

      Delete