The Charming Agony of Pokémon Sword and Shield

[@lasercraft32]

"I'll dynamax a thousand pokemon before I let this company die!" - Chairman Rose probably

[@PURPLE_G0J0]

This comment is the funniest thing I’ve read in forever💀

[@lasercraft32]

The thing about Leon is that he ISN'T actually full of himself. The reason he wears the flamboyant outfit and cape is to please his fans. The dude is actually pretty chill.

[@trainerjezza9390]

Plus, whilst the game himself doesn't really do it, the evolutions short focusing on him being unable to beat Eternatus really delves a lot into his character. How he's the strongest trainer in the world, and at his best, he was unable to stop a world-ending threat. He has this crushing expectations on him from across the whole country, and he couldn't fulfill. Really brilliant stuff for his character.

[@Undrave]

The cape is also where all his sponsorships are placed, while the rest of the outfit is the league's champion uniform (you get it too when you beat him). And he's really just looking for a challenge and bored of being unbeatable.

[@analteredone9485]

@lasercraft32 the outfit he gets in the battle tower is CLEAN tho 👀

[@katrinamarsh8691]

I have somebody who started with sword and shield. It’s really nice seeing a video that’s purely supporting them

[@雪者]

That was the game I first started when it was brand new. Glad to see it in a good light

[@ehrenmannvequez]

I started with swsh too

[@alexanderkane7586]

As did I. And it's remained my favorite Pokemon game to date. I even went out of my way to get the DLC for the game(I'm typically not the guy to buy stuff).

[@giboit.]

Something that I think it's important to point out to understand the story is that the dynamax energy wasn't just used for electricity. It had applications in pretty much every filed in the region.That's why many of the companies affiliated to Macrocosmos aren't even energy related. And Rose's plan does makes sense. And it's highly tied to everything you hear and watch during your entire playthrough about the legend of Galar, the characters and specially about Leon. In fact, something that people loves to mention is the whole Leon being the unbeatable champion thing but this is actually a huge plot point.This because Rose was developing his plan based on his (incomplete/inaccurate) knowledge of the legend of Galar (the one that talks about how a hero was the one who stopped the first darkest day). Literally every single town and city is tied to the lore Eternatus and the legend of Galar. With the exception of Ballonlea due to its hidden fairy type town aesthetic and Spikemuth for being the town that doesn't relate to Dynamax. And as I said, a fact that people tend to miss when it comes to his plan is that, while dynamax energy is incredibly useful in many fields, the wishing stars themselves (that are parts of Eternatus scattered through the region 3000 years ago) aren't unlimited. So in order to ensure the future of Galar (by making Eternatus scatter wishing stars once again through the entire region like it did in the past), he needed to recreate the events of the first darkest day. Because of this, he needed two things: to bring back the darkest day (a.k.a Eternatus) and "a hero" to defeat it (and in current times, this would be Leon, the strongest trainer of the Galar region). Which made Leon´s cooperation an absolutely vital part of his plan. As seen through the game, Rose isn't really a bad person. He loves Galar, had a huge role in his development as a metropolis and has a great eye to find talented people that could help with that growth (Oleana, Leon, Bede, etc). But he also has some really strong ideals. And that's why the scene where he expels Bede from the gym challenge for destroying the ancient mural is so important. Because is meant to show that Rose cuts associations with anyone that goes againts the well being of Galar in some way or another. And just like what happened with Bede, he also got dissapointed with Leon's actions. Bede wasn't Rose's adopted son. However Bede wasn't just the challenger endorsed by Rose either. He was pretty much his plan B in case Leon refused to take part in his plan. A challenger with great talent that could potentially beat Leon and become the champion. Even Bede's original type specialty was influenced by taking into account his potential cooperation with the plan. That's why he was a psychic type user. With psychic being obviously one of Eternatus weaknesses. But he lost this plan B as a result of what happened with the mural since he considered Bede as unreliable due to his actions. Although he was unaware of Oleana's petition to Bede and how (unintentionally on Oleana's part), encouraged Bede to go to extremes to help Rose. It's also important to mention that the reunion with Leon in Rose Tower wasn't Rose's first attempt to convince Leon to participate in the plan (but the problem is that as the strongest trainer of galar, he was vital for his plan, so he HAD to take part in it). Quote from Rose: "Leon, we have discussed this a hundred times already. And you still fail to understand what's at stake? You, who are supposed to be our champion". In fact, Oleana's entire ambush to Leon on his way to the dinner with Hop and the player was their last attempt to get Leon's cooperation by his own will. To the point where Oleana makes everything in her power to delay your (and Hop's) arrival to the tower to gain as much time as she could for Rose to convince Leon, even if she herself had to battle againts the player to do it. And even things like the lines in Leon's conversation with Sonia right at the beginning of the game (where she asks him if he's still looking for info about a super strong never before seeing pokemon) and Bede's type specialty have important meanings/foreshadowing. At the end, this last reunion failed (because he only got another "promise to help" from Leon because he still thought it was too dangerous) and this is the moment where Rose got dissapointed with Leon just like he did with Bede. But he still needed him for his plan, specially after the experiments required to awake Eternatus (the explosions you hear through the game each time you get near to hammerlocke and that Leon took care of). Because of this, Eternatus was already fully overloaded for Leon to fight (thanks to the wishing stars used to awake it, but this also made it harder to control, which is why the plan couldn't be delayed) and Rose no longer trusted in Leon's promises to help with the plan. So given the situation he needed to force Leon to cooperate (by awakening Eternatus in a way that Leon couldn't ignore: during the final match of the gym challenge). Quotes from Rose: " I think it's time to bring the darkest day. All for the sake of Galar. But I´m in a bit of a pickle. The energy released by the darkest day it's too much for us to contain." "I'm sorry it's come to this. But it's you who forced my hand, Leon. You refused to listen" "In order to solve the energy issue, we awakened Eternatus but we couldn't control it. The champion still came to aid me, even at the cost of abandoning the match. Indeed, just like a knight in shining armor coming to rescue a princess from a dragon". So, in summary, the experiments caused Eternatus awakening to accelerate and their reunion in Rose Tower was Rose's last attempt to convince him to take part in the plan by his own will since Leon was vital for it. But he refused to take part in such a dangerous plan and this became the moment where he saw Leon just like he saw Bede, but he was still vital for the plan. And because of this, he made sure to force Leon to participate in it by letting Eternatus awakening happen in a way Leon couldn't ignore (during the final match of the gym challenge) and Leon had to participate just like he expected and just like his plan (that was based on the incomplete/inaccurate version of the legend of Galar) intended. By the way, Rose fights Hop and the player because as I said, he's not a bad guy. He was convinced on Leon's ability to take down Eternatus and Leon was indeed pretty strong. He literally weakened Eternatus enough to attempt the capture without using gigantamax (and this is a legendary pokemon that literally required two legendary pokemon to be defeated). The reason he fought against the player and Hop was for stopping them from interfering but he also didn't want two kids getting in the middle of such a dangerous plan even if they were strong as well. But only you, the player, thanks to the fact that you went through the gym challenge, Sonia's research in the places related to the legend and to the discovery of the lost ancient tapestry with the missing part of the legend (that hinted the location of the relics necessary to summon the legendaries that protected Galar), discovered the actual cause of Eternatus defeat 3000 years ago that no one else knew. And with Hop's help you were able to summon the only ones that could actually defeat Eternatus (Zacian and Zamazenta), just like the two kings (ancestors of Swordward and Shieldbert) did in the past and saved the region (while also ensuring the future of Galar with the wishing stars being scattered once again through the region). Sorry for the extremely long comment. I tend to write a lot sometimes.

[@keviaaar]

@@giboit. bro wrote a whole essay in the comments

[@haroldnecmann7040]

@@keviaaar and waste everyone's time

[@Piekashoe]

@@giboit. That's actually a really good explanation. At first I didn't care about the story seeming rushed towards the end and I enjoyed the game for what it was. Eventually it did start to feel a bit weird and forced to me, partially due to commentary on the story like in this video. Your comment puts it in a more nuanced light and makes me want to replay the game again to look for all the clues and hints supporting the buildup of the story :)

[@antonionegron-diaz4091]

my ass is not reading this but you get a like cus you wrote this much 😭✊🏽

[@giboit.]

I actually think that the fact that you can battle the gym leaders in the finals of the gym challenge is extremely cool and makes a lot of sense. Galar is easily the most competitive region when it comes to gym leaders trying to take the title of champion. You can actually see the gym leaders actively trying to take the title. You get to know the gym leaders outside their own gyms and the league cards were also an amazing way to get to know more about this competitive aspect of them and how they all aim to defeat the champion. Something rarely seeing witn gym leaders of previous games. Usually you never see the early game gym leaders after you beat them, but here, every gym leader gets spotlight. Even the early game gym leaders thanks to the fact that they take part in the finala llater on as well. Heck, Milo, Nessa and Kabu even appear after your victory in Motostoke to cheer you on and show your support. In Galar the gym challenge is awesome. It has a great pokemon league system with the minor and major leagues, the gym leaders are widely recognized, famous and respected across the region, there's league cards, gym uniforms, sponsors, the region loves the gym challenge and the gym challenge itself feels huge event that everyone looks forward to see and the gym challengers get fans and can become the champion. This also extends to the gym leaders. Which are allowed to participate in the gym challenge finals precisely because as gym leaders they have the right to face the champion for his title. And it's also very likely that gym challenge also works as some kind of scouting process. Specially considering that characters like Sonia, Milo, Nessa, Piers and Raihan took part in the same gym challenge where Leon became the champion. Very likely getting scouted after a great performance during their gym challenge (Sonia didn't get scouted because she quitted her gym challenge at Opal's gym as implied in her notes about her). This also explain why the other gym challenger npcs (and even Bede and Marnie) tend to specialize in a specific type. To get scouted. In fact, we actually see Opal actively looking for a successor during the story. So this is very likely the case.

[@yukiizura]

This was a nice retrospective! Also 5 years makes me feel old, wow. It's wild to think that for all the controversy the games experienced, Dynamax Adventures have truly stood the test of time and become arguably one of the most popular mechanics in the series. They need to find a way to bring them back (or at least the idea back) in Gen 10!

[@GameFreakSucks]

Dynamax Adventures was just extra raid battles. Nothing special, why do you ppl pay for incomplete garbage with overpriced dlc?!

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Glaze harder😂

[@yukiizura]

@@haroldnecmann7040 Um... what?

[@haroldnecmann7040]

​@yukiizurur drunk, go home old man

[@yukiizura]

@@haroldnecmann7040 Uh... right. Ok my love, go throw your pissbaby temper tantrum for someone who cares, and let the grown folk speak instead xoxo

[@AedraRising]

I'm glad that Sword and Shield seems to be looked at a little more fondly nowadays. They're absolutely very flawed in their main story and some technically details but I still think they feel nicer to play than Scarlet and Violet. That said, I am surprised a little bit about some things you glossed over, like Hop's insecurities of being in his brother's shadow, the massively improved second attempt with the Wild Area that the Isle of Armor brought (like holy crap something other than just flat grassy terrain, there's oceans and caves here finally), and nothing on Restricted Sparring, the battle facility where you're forced to use a monotype team.

[@BubblesChika]

You almost had me but I'm not taking any SV slander. SwSh are fun games to play, but they don't beat the clear quality of life improvement SV brings. Not even close.

[@gsgaming316]

Being a Brit myself and also starting with Red in the late 90s, I honestly agree with you and see the games the way you did, I never camped in my first play through, I loved the story of the 2nd dlc but look back with fond memories of the game. I don’t understand people’s frustrations but am able to look past flaws even with Scarlet and Violet. Thought it was just me

[@gsgaming316]

I did understand people’s frustrations**

[@Chrispy]

i have 3000 hours on sword (thanks switch-up mod) and i can definitively say that these games weren't bad, they are just really shallow. they created some of my favorite mons (dragapult) and paved the way for the best game in my opinion (PLA) to be made on the switch. i just wish galar wasn't super shallow.

[@nicholaskling2425]

The fossils in Galar are based on early paleontologists mixing and matching fossils trying to make new discoveries. I think it’s perfect for an England region

[@giboit.]

I'm going to be honest, in my opinion Leon is easily the most fleshed out champion of any pokemon game. We know literally everything about him. Where he lives, how his room looks, how he started his gym challenge, which trainers where his friends and rivals during that time, who trained him, how he got his signature pokemon, how much time he has been the champion, how he influenced the gym leaders and trainers to improve, how highly they think of him and its pretty fleshed out how much the other gym leaders aim to beat him and which ones are considered in the region to be the closest candidates to the champion title after him (something rarely seen about gym leaders from other regions), his connection with Rose and Professor Magnolia (who raised Sonia), how the people in the region think of him, the kind of aspects that he considers his responsability as a champion, his influence over Hop as his older brother and how much he likes the pokemon battles. He has a key role in the story not only as the final boss and we also know his entire personality overall (including aspects of him like catchphrases, the fact that he tends to get lost easily, etc) and what happened to him after he lost his title. Not to mention that all the twilight wings episodes relate to him. He literally saved the region like 3 times during the game, has meaningful rivalries, Sonia is his childhood friend (and very likely love interest), he trained under mustard (but never took the final trial because of his habit of getting lost) and he also has the dream of turning the galar trainers into the strongest of the world and actively works towards that goal by becoming the new chairman of the pokemon league and founding the galarian star tournament. And he also make sure to tell Hop that he was proud of him and recognized his strength as a trainer in the post game. Honestly, Leon is an awesome champion. His influence in the characters, the region itself and the story is the biggest out all the champions. He felt like he was the most realistic champion, and honestly Galar was the most realistic region. Pokemon battling in Galar is a professional sport, and their events are televised, and professional trainers are celebrities. It's a huge spectacle. And Leon FEELS like a professional athlete who 1.) Loves the game, 2.) Loves to entertain and inspire others, 3.) Wants to inspire and mentor kids to grow up and do great things and 4.) He's covered from head to toe in sponsorships as someone in his status would. Not to mention the fact that he also actively participated to keep his region and the gym challengers he endorsed safe. Finally, the thing that really sold me on Leon was his reaction to losing to you. The Galar gym leader are easily the most competitive trainers in the entire franchise (in a good way). Most trainers/gym leaders are frustrated/upset/sad when they lose to Leon with Nessa shaking her head and tossing her hair out of (understandable) frustration and becoming more strict in her gym to improve as mentioned in her league card, Bea going on long solo training sessions after her defeats with Leon, Gordie not giving interviews until he could deal with his defeats because he cares about his fans and doesn't want to be mean to them or how Raihan takes pictures to not forget the pain of his defeats against Leon. These are natural and understandable reactions to fighting someone extremely strong. Now Leon, who became a trainer at 10, who went undefeated and became the champion in his ever gym challenge, and has been the champion for more than a decade now. What does he do about losing the first time ever? He's devastated at first, pulling down his hat over his face to hide the fact that he wants to cry, but then a smile shows up as he realizes that he's done exactly what he wanted to: he inspired a young trainer to the be best they could be. And then he throws his hat up (the crown hat, literally de-crowning himself) in sincere celebration of your victory and offers a heartfelt congratulations. Showing that despite the fact that he's essentially a hero to the entire region and the sole reason all the other gym leaders train so hard to beat him, he's still humble.

[@Brizzle427]

I can't see a world where nintendo would make a pokemon game with only Japanese voice acting. Its a franchise aimed for kids and that would be extremely jarring and would probably put a lot of new players off, which is like the main aim of each new generation being released so frequently.

[@lucaspintooc]

Dynamax Adventures is the most fun i’ve had in pokémon in a long long time

[@雪者]

This video made me feel better. I actually enjoyed SwSh back when it was new, so thank you for this video. :D

[@tempertenchi]

I like the joke that the player and Hop where so hungry they stormed Rose tower to yell at Leon for being late. I really love these games though lol I recognize the flaws but I enjoyed them so much I dont care much about those flaws. (also side note, absolutely LOVE Bede fr)

[@randomedgygamer2191]

I really enjoyed them. I don’t care what people say, they did many things right

[@GameFreakSucks]

Nope those games were so wrong in so many ways. Dexit, incomplete galar fossils, bad story, lifeless overworld pokemon, half assed wild area, overpriced dlc that fixed nothing, etc all made this game the mess that it is today.

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Many things, such as? Dexit? High quality animations?

[@Sobble_99]

@@haroldnecmann7040 it was better then scarlet and violet

[@haroldnecmann7040]

@@Sobble_99 better hall ways? What better?

[@Sobble_99]

@@haroldnecmann7040 artstyle and gameplay and i hope they improve that instead of empty open world.

[@Moonsong227]

I could write an essay about how my opinion changed from the common bad one to really appreciating these games the more I play them. You summed it up pretty well at the end lol. Sword and shield feel a lot like sun and moon to me in that if games like Platinum and Emerald are jrpg campaigns, sun/moon/swsh are vacations. Depending on where the switch and the next console go, galar won't be a bad place for my transfer pokemon to hang out, eating curry and running wild.

[@not_haks]

Pokemon sword and shield are my favorite pokemon games!

[@amirrbah167]

Then you haven’t played any other Pokémon games

[@not_haks]

​@@amirrbah167 Personally, it's way better than scarlet and violet and all the older pokemon games look outdated

[@haroldnecmann7040]

@@not_haks octopath has the pixilated look does it meant it was outdated too?

[@not_haks]

​@@haroldnecmann7040 In general older pokemon games are pixelated because they are literally old games and the hardware wasn't strong enough while octopath was aiming for that retro style. Also pixeliated doesn't mean outdated but in pokemon's case it does.

[@marinagaleotti]

@amirrbah167 your favorites arent that much better. Emerald and HGSS are ovverated af

[@frankiefilms]

Had fun waiting for this

[@Yffgh5677]

the problem is its just a 3ds game with a wild area, tbh sun and moon look better sometimes w a better story and region

[@JenovahX]

@@Yffgh5677 Still looks better than Scarlet and Violet. Those most of the time look like N64 environments.

[@Undrave]

The thing with Sword and Shield is that they're actually easy to replay. There's tons of variety and you can run through it without the story pulling you away from the main quest too much. I've beaten Shield like 6 or 7 times and I've yet to restarted Violet despite it being ostensibly better in many ways. I think I miss linear Pokémon games. The vast plains of Paldea felt empty and didn't leave much to imaginations.

[@BubblesChika]

It's the opposite for me. I've ever beaten SV many times and never once replayed my Shield copy. I certainly don't miss the linearity of the older games at all. Looping round in circles is very dull

[@AhighBtier-jw7kz]

These were actually my very first Pokemon games, I love them so much, and I’m very biased :)

[@clothieredward]

I like to think that if Leon had a different ace it would be Aegislash. I just think that Aegislash represents the games Sword and Shield very well unlike Charizard. After all, it is literally a sword and a shield which is just such a cool design I must say.

[@Cloudbreacker]

The Fossil-Pokemon are actually a refrence to past archeologists piecing wrongly togehter fossil either accedentily or on purpose to create new species. I was a rather common practice in the past,

[@Accidental.Creation]

I'm so happy more people come around liking Sword and Shield. They're my most played games in the franchise, I just love the region, characters and new Pokémon. But yeah, the plot around the Darkest Day and Chairman Rose could have been so much better. And don't even get me started on the royal brothers in the post game. Hate those guys, haha.

[@amirrbah167]

Bro who is coming around to like this game??? If this is your most played Pokémon game I feel sorry for you

[@Accidental.Creation]

@amirrbah167 LOL, why are you harassing people for liking Sword and Shield? It's totally fine if you don't like them, doesn't mean people who do like them are wrong for doing so. Grow up.

[@amirrbah167]

@@Accidental.Creation Yes they are wrong m, you can have a wrong opinion just say you haven’t played any other Pokémon games

[@marinagaleotti]

@amirrbah167 lil bro cant accept differing opinions. Just because you dont like Swsh doesnt mean everyone has to. This game is already extremely hated, leave alone the people that like it

[@kayla_eevee]

One of the most interesting things I've experienced as someone who loved the first 2 generations but is just coming back to the series for the first time since the early 2000s is being able to experience the discourse from the last 20+ years of the series as a whole instead of getting caught up in the immediate drama surrounding each release. It's led to me having some wildly unpopular opinions (I will die defending Delphox) but I believe it has also allowed me to be far more open to acknowledging the positives of even the most controversial entries in the series. While I don't believe fans should ever be unwilling to criticize the media they love, I think way too many people allow themselves to be so blinded by real or perceived flaws, both major and minor, that they refuse to see any of the good. From what I've seen over the last few months of my catching-up binge, the positives of modern Pokémon _massively_ outweigh the negatives. If it didn't, I don't think there's any chance I would have been pulled back into the fandom quite so quickly or deeply. Then again, maybe I just have terrible taste. I've spent the last day or so defending Joker: Folie à Deux so it's not just Pokémon that I'm used to having unpopular opinions on. Let that influence what you think of my Pokémon takes however you want, I just think liking things is way more fun than not liking things.

[@JeysArcade]

Congratulations on your first 1000 subs! It's an amazing feeling I remember it so well 😁

[@jackcowles441]

I don't think these games get enough credit for being some of the best looking and best running pokemon games!!

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Pokemon snap, pokken?

[@jackcowles441]

@@haroldnecmann7040 yeah those too! i said “some of” because i definitely think new snap is absolutely gorgeous

[@flickyfkosstitcher8547]

Ironically, the French version has Pokemon League split into two brackets, Medalists (challengers whom got 8 badges) and Arena Champions (Gym Leaders' title in said language), and the overall victor of each bracket fight to see who battles Tarak (Leon). As such, you're actually shoe-horned into the latter due to Travis (Bede) having not shown up when the tournament itself started. Yeah you still battle Travis for HIS slot in the leader's bracket but, just like the English version, it's because he wants to prove he's better than you when he finally arrives, as opposed to after defeating his fellow champions first.

[@Catohat52]

Is it wrong that I think that this game looks better then scarlet and violet

[@Hynotama]

In the Wild Area Station (inside the building) there’s two NPCs that give you a perfect IV Pikachu and the other gives you a perfect IV Eevee, both with g-max (can’t evolve), if you have save files from Let’s Go. LGP save file gets you Pikachu and LGE save file gets you the Eevee. They don’t need to be completed, you just need a save file from those games.

[@jordmanbatgod]

I’ve never played either game so I’m just gonna comment on the box legendaries: Zamazenta is awesome. An ancient wolf with a shield for its mane? Crazy cool. Zacian is a blue dog with weird whiskers and a pointy stick. I hate that it’s just… holding a sword in its mouth

[@LiamRockefeller-o5q]

I think a good middle ground for voice acting is to have the language be the native language of the place the region is based on so Galer would have English since it’s based on the UK and Paldea would have Spanish voice acting since it’s based on Spain

[@shinymk6562]

I always wonder how SwSh would have been revived without the dex cut. Also when Masuda said "higher quality animations" I watched a video where the creator said he likely ment that the animations themselves were of a higher visual quality because the games were in HD instead of the 3DS's quality, which is way more blurry, so it requires more effort the make the same simple battle animations look as good as they did on 3DS, which makes a lot of sense. Compare Mean Face 😈 n 3DS and Switch, and if we have 3DS Mean Face at its resolution, it would look terrible. They had to put in more work for a higher quality visual aspect to achieve the same kind of animation, which makes a lot of sense. Also I loved the DLC areas, especially the Isle of Armor which always felt more grand to me than the Crown Tundra in some aspects because of how open it is.

[@shinymk6562]

Although I definitely agree that the Gameplay and Story of the Crown Tundra is far superior. It wasn't just a legendary hunt, (like the Max dens or previous games,) there was story that made you feel like you were chasing down mythical beats! (In the traditional sense of the word, not the in universe sense of "mythical (aka event exclusive) pokemon.")

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Oh no, a liar apologist appeared😢

[@shinymk6562]

@@haroldnecmann7040 What a sellout am I right?

[@haroldnecmann7040]

​@@shinymk6562ur going down with mrbeast

[@yukikid2195]

Hop really is just Hau 2.0.

[@scottphillips7795]

I agree. The two new regis are underwhelming. I will say that the originals resemble golems while these two are orbs. A dragon golem would have been a more interesting design but oh well. Red ball it is.

[@pangorofists]

Pokemon camps was all about the curries. Heals your team in the wild area, plus you have a curry dex. And some ingredients are hard to get and you have to perfect your stirring technique

[@Supersonic-gamer45._]

The game was really good

[@KoigYT]

Dragapult would be a cool Ace if it had a GMax

[@blackfrieza6969]

My Gigantimax Gengar Is Boss Just Like Ash Ketchum's.

[@Trinthegay]

'They can't just code all Pokemon into the game, there's too many!" DO YOU KNOW HOW RICH NINTENDO IS? DO YOU KNOW?

[@pangorofists]

@Trinthegay could be a memory issue. Think about how much ram that would take up. But to a degree its nice. It keeps rhe competitive metagames diverse

[@Trinthegay]

@@pangorofists No it doesn't, literally everyone uses the same teams, the same pokemon, it's not diverse at all. And anyway, you can't argue RAM or storage. The switch is pretty powerful and yet they still managed to make SV buggy.

[@pgrane16]

I don't really understand your point on Hop. Hop is easily the best (if not, one of the best) written rivals in the franchise. To me on par with Nemona of gen 9. I don't get you point that it get's stale and off of a sudden he discovers a new motivation. If you pay attention to his dialogue and team members you can see that it's a spiral of thought were his confidence in himself is being chipped away every time we see him. He constantly changes members of his team, even changing is lifelong partner Wooloo/dubwool, to try to chase his dream of becoming the champion even if he has to sacrifice his friend for it. It's a constant thing, that you see him worried. And it Works because you find him a lot during the adventure. Not that many encounters in general compared to other generations (cof gen 5) but it serves a purpose. After the battle that he loses with Bede, he realises that he has to change something drastically, and slowly he understands that he is not going to achieve his dream, as you are the one who's gonna do it. When he realises this Dubwool comes back to the team, as he Will try again with new confidence, but he knows his goal has changed, and after the postgame stuff and the later battle with the box legendary he fully understands his role and true purpose of helping pokemon (and trainers) so that nobody has to suffer like he did. I don't understand how you managed to see the slow decline of confidence as something rushed that happens all of a sudden. I suppose someone has already told you this, but the fossil has a purpose for being like this. I don't remember the name but in a town in UK years back, a cientist fused fossils together forming weird abominations that are in a museum or a park and you can go and see them. Gamefreak saw that as an opportunity to create these fossils, but I would have liked to see the full recreation of the fossils

[@munchrai6396]

Team Yell acting as the standard roadblocks for the game is pretty infuriating, especially because the map has a lot of circular and forking designs that could've easily been used as a customizable order

[@lacytheespeon517]

Bro, i chose scorbunny, and Leon's inteleon later DEMOLISHED me

[@JustanordinaryLatiaS]

I am trying to get a shiny latias before going for the second gym because i think its funny and i like latias' shiny

[@Rahvith]

Ok but what if instead of getting a ''decent experience underneath the flaws'' we just got a ''decent experience''? I know sounds crazy right? Especially for a company with just about unlimited money... oh well one can dream. 40:53 Nah that's not how it works, there's no reason for Pokemon to do better when people choose to 40:26 ... You claim to understand this, but I don't think you do m8, same as most of the fanbase tho so you're in good company. Also on the topic of you not understanding, Charizard is Leon's ace yes because nostalgia, but also because it's a classic dragon looking mon, fit for a British knight, Dragapult could never.

[@bps2-h4r]

I love sword and shield

[@Wurmze]

Whilst bewear isn’t my least favourite pokemon, I’ve held a grudge against it since post game moon so it’s nice to hear someone else dislikes it 😂

[@capivaralho]

i really hate how the game stops you from battling leon just to push this stupid narrative when they could literally do that AFTER you defeat leon

[@marinagaleotti]

Would have killed the hype of becoming champion

[@wonthangsoop]

Looking back, it was as bad as I thought. But hey, somehow scarlet and violet are even worse. Good job on going 3D gamefreak, lmao.

[@BubblesChika]

Not even, though, buddy. Not even close.

[@AndrewWoodsX9]

Do not praise this boring and unchallenging and ugly game. The new pokemon of this region look horrible.

[@ILoveToast31]

Gen 1 glazer