An Omastar is STILL For Life
With the, how shall we say, 'fan backlash' to the recent confirmation and reiteration that some Pokémon would not be compatible with the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield for Nintendo Switch it's perhaps timely to check in with Dactylocer, the Omastar that, alongside a few others, we've transferred from game to game, region to region and hardware generation to generation since 2004's Pokémon Fire Red for the Game Boy Advance*.
The Story So Far
We last checked in with Dactylocer back in 2013 in blogpost An Omastar is for life charting one spiral pokémon's journey from Game Boy Advance to Game Cube to Nintendo DS to Wii to a pedometer and even exploration of the Dream World on PC. Unova had been conquered and we were waiting to hear about compatibility with Pokémon X and Y and the chance to take on the Kalos region.
Generation Six
Fortunately, after a little longer wait that anticipated, thanks to the delay in Pokémon Bank and a quick stint on the cloud, Dactylocer arrived in the Kalos region on Pokémon Y . Omastar's adorable little beaked face was prodded and stuffed with treats in Pokémon-Amie. It was on the team that helped to catch a small army of shiny pokémon in horde battles and after nearly 10 years of not being properly EV trained was tooled into a living weapon in Super Training by errr firing balls at giant pokémon balloons. Of course, a Kalos Champion Ribbon was picked up for beating the Elite 4 of this region.
In 2014 it was time for a return tour of a bigger, brighter and badder Hoenn region in Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. Dactylocer took to the skies (with help) to round up a whole host of legendary pokémon (to be boxed away in Bank for the forseeable) and had a second crack at Pokémon Contests earning a highly coveted beauty master ribbon for the trouble.
Generation Seven
Omastar then jetted from one island paradise to another with Pokémon Moon and subsequently Pokémon Ultra Sun. Dactylocer's awful genetics were finally artificially fixed with hyper training by errr giving a man some bottlecaps... Omastar also experimented with a few Z-Moves but didn't get addicted because he's such a good boy. Ribbons aplenty were earned by besting the Alola champion, winning a Battle Royal (or two) and making some progress in the Battle Tree.
Look At My Pokeymans
Here's the current build in all it's glory:
Not too bad considering it was a random helix fossil, (the helix fossil from Mt. Moon) revival on Pokémon Fire Red.
Top Left. Aside from some maxing out with PP Ups and PP Max the moveset hasn't changed since Shell Smash became an option in Black and White. You could argue that Ancient Power is a wasted move slot and I'd agree with you but I like the flavour and the fossil animations. You could make the same argument about Swift Swim as the ability too, it's nice to be able to take advantage of the weather but doesn't make much sense in a Shell Smash set and I should probably ability capsule it to Shell Armour which is less conditional. Surf is on there as Dactylocer combos with a dry skin Toxicroak in double battles. Basic pokeball speaks to humble roots man.
Top Middle. The effort value spread is as bog standard as it can get for this kind of build and was tweaked in super training, berry erasing the older random set.
Top Left. Probably the bit I'm most sentimental about are the ribbons picked up along the way, this is page one of two. I honestly wished I'd been a bit more patient and could have had more to show for it here such as the Gorgeous Royal Ribbon which was just a save-up job. By rights, Omastar should have the Earth Ribbon too but I transferred it over before doing both 100 battle challenges in XD and Colloseum. It was the first to get a leaf crown too, not that that's visible here but I know it should be there.
Bottom Right: I'd have to look it up to check but at one point this summary was somewhat flattened and used to have more specifics in there(?). The modest nature was blind luck.
Bottom Left: Not much to say here really. This is the spread you get!
Middle: Although Omastar had been rocking max individual values in defense, again randomly, thanks to Sun and Moon's hyper training, the Pokémon equivalent of a genome nip and tuck, all are now maxed. Hopefully this will carry over into future games as I've invested quite a bit in farming bottle caps.
Super Soldier Programme
Since then, thanks to the production line facilities of Poké Pelago which allows for batch egg hatching and remote effort value training, Dactylocer is the great father of a veritable army of max IV perfectly EV'd Omastars (including a much sought after shiny) called the Omarmy. The next region won't so much as be travelled to as conquered by a tentacled army with the battle scarred veteran Dactylocer leading the charge... or will it?
#BringBackTheNationalDex
At the time of writing Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are the latest games. During a Pokémon Direct earlier this year the current planned roadmap for the so-called 'mainline' Pokémon games (see image below) was laid out, significantly, this is the first time the main series is moved to home consoles.
You'd think that given our long journey with Dactylocer and many others we've moved from game to game, we'd be up in arms too about the fact that not all Pokémon will be playable in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Although we don't know the final list of those who will be playable in the next titles, we're going to be honest and say that it's unlikely Omastar will make the cut for a number of reasons. Firstly, they probably know about the Omarmy, they are widely feared so protecting the Galar Region makes sense. Secondly, Omastar and Omanyte are hardly the merchandise shifters that the Eeveelutions or the starters are and the weird mechanics with the fossils adds further faffery.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if Omastar did make the cut and the journey could be continued on the big screen but my hopes aren't high.
However, we're not at all annoyed at the decision to not have all Pokémon in the next games. We still remember having to buy two £50 games on another system just to get access to the rest of the second generation pokémon when Collosseum and XD were out, not to mention decades of extremely rare opportunities to get event pokémon, often involving driving to Toys'R'Us car parks of random UK cities. So let's say it's not that we're riled. Just used to it. Having a limited selection will be perhaps a bit cathartic and to be honest in our darkest moments amassing and shifting a living dex, breeding stock, shinies, favourites and spare legendaries from one game to another has become work. We'd probably be more willing to wield the pitch forks however, had Pokémon Home not been announced.
Details are currently thin on the ground but as the below image shows it's going to be the hub between the current generations, Pokémon Let's Go and that awful app. In the first instance we can't wait to finally corral pokémon, especially some nice shinies currently marooned on the Go line side of things although more details about the plans for how Pokémon will be integrated across future games would make it a little less nerve wracking (some are calling Home, Pokémon Prison or Pokémon Jail at the prospect of the journey being one way and no confirmation that they'll all ever get out, if they aren't in Pokémon Sword).
Pokémon Home will be the fourth of the 'Box' type games released in the UK following Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Box for the Gamecube, My Pokémon Ranch on the Wii and Pokémon Bank for the Nintendo 3DS. We're quietly hoping that Home will be more than the plain storage facility of Box and Bank, perhaps with the interactivity of My Pokémon Ranch but with more tools for breeding, training and item consolidation. Wildly ambitious and optimistic? Perhaps but it's this service we're keeping an eye on more than Pokémon Sword and the 'NationalDex' fiasco.
Will Omastar and the Omarmy get to rampage the Galar region and get mad huge in raids or will the Omarmy end up stuck in the Pokémon Phantom Zone? Will they code in recognition for all that fucking work we put into getting a leaf crown? Will we ever beat 100 trainers in the Battle Tower/Tree? What rock types will Sword and Shield bring to the table? We can hardly wait until November.
*We had a lot of comments last time around that transferring Pokémon to recent games has been possible continuously since Pokémon Sapphire and Pokémon Ruby. Yes, we know, We've done both tours of the Hoenn region, however, Omanyte and Omastar weren't available until Pokémon Fire Red and Pokémon Leaf Green although they could be transferred 'back' to Pokémon Sapphire and Pokémon Ruby.
The Story So Far
We last checked in with Dactylocer back in 2013 in blogpost An Omastar is for life charting one spiral pokémon's journey from Game Boy Advance to Game Cube to Nintendo DS to Wii to a pedometer and even exploration of the Dream World on PC. Unova had been conquered and we were waiting to hear about compatibility with Pokémon X and Y and the chance to take on the Kalos region.
Generation Six
Fortunately, after a little longer wait that anticipated, thanks to the delay in Pokémon Bank and a quick stint on the cloud, Dactylocer arrived in the Kalos region on Pokémon Y . Omastar's adorable little beaked face was prodded and stuffed with treats in Pokémon-Amie. It was on the team that helped to catch a small army of shiny pokémon in horde battles and after nearly 10 years of not being properly EV trained was tooled into a living weapon in Super Training by errr firing balls at giant pokémon balloons. Of course, a Kalos Champion Ribbon was picked up for beating the Elite 4 of this region.
 |
| What I'm most excited about the Switch games for is not gimping taking screenshots |
In 2014 it was time for a return tour of a bigger, brighter and badder Hoenn region in Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. Dactylocer took to the skies (with help) to round up a whole host of legendary pokémon (to be boxed away in Bank for the forseeable) and had a second crack at Pokémon Contests earning a highly coveted beauty master ribbon for the trouble.
 |
| The OG Beauty Master |
Generation Seven
Omastar then jetted from one island paradise to another with Pokémon Moon and subsequently Pokémon Ultra Sun. Dactylocer's awful genetics were finally artificially fixed with hyper training by errr giving a man some bottlecaps... Omastar also experimented with a few Z-Moves but didn't get addicted because he's such a good boy. Ribbons aplenty were earned by besting the Alola champion, winning a Battle Royal (or two) and making some progress in the Battle Tree.
 |
| Striking a pose at the Battle Royal |
Look At My Pokeymans
Here's the current build in all it's glory:
Not too bad considering it was a random helix fossil, (the helix fossil from Mt. Moon) revival on Pokémon Fire Red.
Top Left. Aside from some maxing out with PP Ups and PP Max the moveset hasn't changed since Shell Smash became an option in Black and White. You could argue that Ancient Power is a wasted move slot and I'd agree with you but I like the flavour and the fossil animations. You could make the same argument about Swift Swim as the ability too, it's nice to be able to take advantage of the weather but doesn't make much sense in a Shell Smash set and I should probably ability capsule it to Shell Armour which is less conditional. Surf is on there as Dactylocer combos with a dry skin Toxicroak in double battles. Basic pokeball speaks to humble roots man.
Top Middle. The effort value spread is as bog standard as it can get for this kind of build and was tweaked in super training, berry erasing the older random set.
Top Left. Probably the bit I'm most sentimental about are the ribbons picked up along the way, this is page one of two. I honestly wished I'd been a bit more patient and could have had more to show for it here such as the Gorgeous Royal Ribbon which was just a save-up job. By rights, Omastar should have the Earth Ribbon too but I transferred it over before doing both 100 battle challenges in XD and Colloseum. It was the first to get a leaf crown too, not that that's visible here but I know it should be there.
Bottom Right: I'd have to look it up to check but at one point this summary was somewhat flattened and used to have more specifics in there(?). The modest nature was blind luck.
Bottom Left: Not much to say here really. This is the spread you get!
Middle: Although Omastar had been rocking max individual values in defense, again randomly, thanks to Sun and Moon's hyper training, the Pokémon equivalent of a genome nip and tuck, all are now maxed. Hopefully this will carry over into future games as I've invested quite a bit in farming bottle caps.
Super Soldier Programme
Since then, thanks to the production line facilities of Poké Pelago which allows for batch egg hatching and remote effort value training, Dactylocer is the great father of a veritable army of max IV perfectly EV'd Omastars (including a much sought after shiny) called the Omarmy. The next region won't so much as be travelled to as conquered by a tentacled army with the battle scarred veteran Dactylocer leading the charge... or will it?
 |
| The Omarmy Breeding Pools |
At the time of writing Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are the latest games. During a Pokémon Direct earlier this year the current planned roadmap for the so-called 'mainline' Pokémon games (see image below) was laid out, significantly, this is the first time the main series is moved to home consoles.
You'd think that given our long journey with Dactylocer and many others we've moved from game to game, we'd be up in arms too about the fact that not all Pokémon will be playable in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Although we don't know the final list of those who will be playable in the next titles, we're going to be honest and say that it's unlikely Omastar will make the cut for a number of reasons. Firstly, they probably know about the Omarmy, they are widely feared so protecting the Galar Region makes sense. Secondly, Omastar and Omanyte are hardly the merchandise shifters that the Eeveelutions or the starters are and the weird mechanics with the fossils adds further faffery.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if Omastar did make the cut and the journey could be continued on the big screen but my hopes aren't high.
However, we're not at all annoyed at the decision to not have all Pokémon in the next games. We still remember having to buy two £50 games on another system just to get access to the rest of the second generation pokémon when Collosseum and XD were out, not to mention decades of extremely rare opportunities to get event pokémon, often involving driving to Toys'R'Us car parks of random UK cities. So let's say it's not that we're riled. Just used to it. Having a limited selection will be perhaps a bit cathartic and to be honest in our darkest moments amassing and shifting a living dex, breeding stock, shinies, favourites and spare legendaries from one game to another has become work. We'd probably be more willing to wield the pitch forks however, had Pokémon Home not been announced.
Details are currently thin on the ground but as the below image shows it's going to be the hub between the current generations, Pokémon Let's Go and that awful app. In the first instance we can't wait to finally corral pokémon, especially some nice shinies currently marooned on the Go line side of things although more details about the plans for how Pokémon will be integrated across future games would make it a little less nerve wracking (some are calling Home, Pokémon Prison or Pokémon Jail at the prospect of the journey being one way and no confirmation that they'll all ever get out, if they aren't in Pokémon Sword).
Pokémon Home will be the fourth of the 'Box' type games released in the UK following Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Box for the Gamecube, My Pokémon Ranch on the Wii and Pokémon Bank for the Nintendo 3DS. We're quietly hoping that Home will be more than the plain storage facility of Box and Bank, perhaps with the interactivity of My Pokémon Ranch but with more tools for breeding, training and item consolidation. Wildly ambitious and optimistic? Perhaps but it's this service we're keeping an eye on more than Pokémon Sword and the 'NationalDex' fiasco.
Will Omastar and the Omarmy get to rampage the Galar region and get mad huge in raids or will the Omarmy end up stuck in the Pokémon Phantom Zone? Will they code in recognition for all that fucking work we put into getting a leaf crown? Will we ever beat 100 trainers in the Battle Tower/Tree? What rock types will Sword and Shield bring to the table? We can hardly wait until November.
*We had a lot of comments last time around that transferring Pokémon to recent games has been possible continuously since Pokémon Sapphire and Pokémon Ruby. Yes, we know, We've done both tours of the Hoenn region, however, Omanyte and Omastar weren't available until Pokémon Fire Red and Pokémon Leaf Green although they could be transferred 'back' to Pokémon Sapphire and Pokémon Ruby.
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