Pokemon Black & White and the failure of imagination
We've been putting a lot of time into Pokemon Black and White. One of the best new(ish) features of the game is that now it is easier than ever to play online. All of the online bits from before are bundled in the new games almost to the point of inundation. Not all of the online functionality is up and running yet but there's still lots to do with the Global trade service the doesn't really work GTS negotiate, random WFC battle match-ups and the Wi-Fi battle subway. Problem is that most players seem to be lacking in imagination and if you spend the slightest bit of time online you'll end up seeing a lot of the same pokemon over and over again. For example, expect to battle endless Hydregion and Volcarono.
Not only does this make the game very boring but now that there's more pokemon than ever it would be nice to see some teams that were mixing it up a bit. Yeah sure, picking the pokemon with better than average base stats lets you win easier but we could all be pricks and use the same four. That wouldn't be boring at all.
Having spent some time with the community, unfortunately IRL too, I know they aren't a very imaginative lot so here's some top team suggestions to make online play a little bit more interesting for everyone.
TEAM NAME: Battletoads
Suggested Members: Seismitoad, Toxicroak, Politoed and possibly one of the earlier evolutions holding eviolite.
Flavour text: You were probably too young to remember battle toads. It was tough.
TEAM NAME: Performing Artsholes
Suggested Members: All those performance arty types, possibly a singing jigglypuff or jynx for that operatic vibe.
Flavour text: ART ATTACK! Cut funding to this!
TEAM NAME: Street Fighters
Suggested Members:Throh or Sawk depending on which kind of boring and generic Ken/Ryu you like best. E-hariyama, Mazanggief and Himonsim.
Flavour text: Fuck. Psychic Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuun!
TEAM NAME: Flower Power/ They're all the same and rubbish
Suggested Members: All those pathetic grass types. Grass and poison optional if you want to mix it up a bit.
Flavour text: You can call me flower if you want to! Slightly reworking the same old sprites since Gen 2! Green (and yellow and red) and mean!
TEAM NAME: Toon Squad
Suggested Members Possibly chatot bit too much of a stretch? Grumpig? A pikachu with speed ev'd?
Flavour text: That's All Folks!
That's all we've got time for folks but don't forget the heroes in a half shell either. And please for the love of god try to make life a little bit more exciting. We can all level up Hydregion don't cha know?
Not only does this make the game very boring but now that there's more pokemon than ever it would be nice to see some teams that were mixing it up a bit. Yeah sure, picking the pokemon with better than average base stats lets you win easier but we could all be pricks and use the same four. That wouldn't be boring at all. Having spent some time with the community, unfortunately IRL too, I know they aren't a very imaginative lot so here's some top team suggestions to make online play a little bit more interesting for everyone.
TEAM NAME: Battletoads
Suggested Members: Seismitoad, Toxicroak, Politoed and possibly one of the earlier evolutions holding eviolite.Flavour text: You were probably too young to remember battle toads. It was tough.
TEAM NAME: Performing Artsholes
Suggested Members: All those performance arty types, possibly a singing jigglypuff or jynx for that operatic vibe.Flavour text: ART ATTACK! Cut funding to this!
TEAM NAME: Street Fighters
Suggested Members:Throh or Sawk depending on which kind of boring and generic Ken/Ryu you like best. E-hariyama, Mazanggief and Himonsim.Flavour text: Fuck. Psychic Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuun!
TEAM NAME: Flower Power/ They're all the same and rubbish
Suggested Members: All those pathetic grass types. Grass and poison optional if you want to mix it up a bit.Flavour text: You can call me flower if you want to! Slightly reworking the same old sprites since Gen 2! Green (and yellow and red) and mean!
TEAM NAME: Toon Squad
Suggested Members Possibly chatot bit too much of a stretch? Grumpig? A pikachu with speed ev'd?Flavour text: That's All Folks!
That's all we've got time for folks but don't forget the heroes in a half shell either. And please for the love of god try to make life a little bit more exciting. We can all level up Hydregion don't cha know?
I recommend you read this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sirlin.net/articles/playing-to-win-part-1.html
In fact I recommend that to everyone playing any game.
There is nothing wrong with choosing the powerful pokemon.
Sure but my experience is that 50% of "power" players don't have the good grace to lose, opting to quit out when they're on the ropes.
ReplyDeleteAnother problem with pokemon is that the player base generally lacks the intelligence to evolve the arms race instead waiting until counter strategies have been widely published.
The problem is the people playing competitively over wifi are knowledgeable enough to build a competitive team (thanks primarily to Smogon making their analyses freely available) but too stubborn to use a simulator because they think skipping the tedium of breeding for optimal stats is cheating.
ReplyDeleteAs such they're also too stubborn to accept a hard-fought loss - it's all about the k/d so they pull the plug rather than admit defeat.
Thank you Tom. Someone seems to get our complaint.
ReplyDelete