Social Social Thread - Please Read Last Post

[ZaneHitsurugi]

Speaking of age, I found out that I have more grey hairs than last I checked.

God, I'm not even 25.

Genetics.

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

Honestly the main reason I want to get Pokemon Sword and Shield so far is them being innovative and listening to feedback from the fans, such as making the Wild Areas as a way for the game to be a Wide Open Sandbox. Like the Wide Areas is like a mix of The Great Plateau from Breath of the Wild and Gaur Plains/Bionis Leg from Xenoblade and I love that.

 

[BlueMonk]

Honestly the main reason I want to get Pokemon Sword and Shield so far is them being innovative and listening to feedback from the fans, such as making the Wild Areas as a way for the game to be a Wide Open Sandbox. Like the Wide Areas is like a mix of The Great Plateau from Breath of the Wild and Gaur Plains/Bionis Leg from Xenoblade and I love that.

I'm a little doubtful of the open world areas tbh, it looked like there was a lot of nothing.

 

[Aurane]

Corviknight would be a better pick. We need more B E R D S

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

Here's a copypaste something I wrote before USUM came out if you want an explanation.

Spoiler: A Case for Tierno

Discussions dealing with who the best rival character in the Pokémon series is can be heated, without a doubt. However, as a whole, the rival characters introduced in Pokémon X and Y generally rank toward the very bottom of the list. Occasionally Serena/Calem will rank a bit higher, but Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno are generally considered the three worst rival characters in the series, with a notable amount of vitriol going toward Tierno specifically. However, I believe that Tierno in particular gets a lot more hate than he deserves, and that as a character, he is among the more interesting in the franchise.

Before getting into a defense, one must first know why Tierno is disliked. I'm sure many may know already, and likely share the opinion, considering how common it is, but for the sake of a complete argument the more common reasons will be listed. Many players (at least internationally) seem to prefer rivals with a bit more arrogance or outright rudeness or abrasiveness, such as Blue or Silver (and to a lesser extent Hugh and Gladion). There is a notable camp that have come to loathe the more friendly rivals on concept alone. In addition, another sure-fire way for a rival to gain the ire of many is to have them lack battle prowess. Considering Tierno is a laid-back friendly guy who isn't a strong battler, it's easy to see why he failed to go over well with much of the fanbase. Add in the fact that many see him as a way to tick a few check boxes for the "funny fat friend" trope, and Tierno really gets hit with a lot of opposition.

With all of that said, my views on what makes a good rival character in Pokémon differ greatly from what the majority seems to favor. In my opinion, being a strong battler is a bonus, not a requirement, for being a good rival character. A good rival character should be driven toward a particular goal and work toward it, and over the course of the story, go through some form of growth. A rival shouldn't be too static if they're getting such a lofty billing.

Granted, I know my opinion doesn't work for everyone, and I respect the fact that some people view the need for being a competent battler as more important. Others, still, believe antagonism is a key aspect to a good rival, and that's fine too. I just happen to disagree that those qualities automatically qualify a character as a good rival.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let's discuss Tierno himself. When you meet him in Aquacorde Town, you immediately see that he's very laid-back and friendly, insisting on giving the player a nickname despite just having met them. Of note, Tierno himself delivers the player their starter Pokémon. You eventually find out that his goal is unorthodox for a rival, to say the least. He doesn't want to be champion, or complete the Pokédex, or see the world...he wants to create a Pokémon dance troupe. To add to his list of quirks, he is the only one of the quintet to not start with a Kalosian Pokémon. While the player, Serena or Calem, and Shauna take the three Kalos starters, and Trevor starts with Flabébé (a three stage first form that shows off the new Fairy type), Tierno starts out with a Corphish, a Hoennese Pokémon that only evolves once. This Corphish, however, knows Swords Dance, showing that despite being new to training Pokémon, Tierno keeps his goal in mind first and foremost.

Tierno has another aspect of his personality that shines through quite a bit during the course of X and Y's story: Tierno is pretty darn humble, and is fully aware of his limits, despite how boisterous he may seem at first glance. This first comes to light at Sycamore's Lab after the Professor gave them each some words of encouragement.

"The best Trainer... If being the best Trainer had more to do with dancing, then I might have a chance."

This is the first instance in which Tierno shows his self-awareness over his lack of battle prowess. He recognizes that he isn't a strong trainer, and doesn't even consider his dancing skills to be at their peak yet (note his word choice, "might"). However, he still sees being a top dancer as being within the realm of realism, showing that while he doesn't have delusions of grandeur, he also doesn't lack the drive to see his goals through to the end.

Before his battle on Route 5, he mentions that he and Corphish don't win often because,

"Even during Pokémon battles, I'm always checkin' out their moves! And then my feet just starting moving, too! I can't even help it, y'know? Like with Swords Dance! I love it! I guess that's why I can never win…"

Not only does this once again showcase Tierno's self-awareness, but also another important aspect of his character: his degree of passion for what he loves. To him, his Pokémon and their movements in battle are infectious. He loves dancing to such a degree that seeing his Pokémon dance across the battlefield overwhelms him to the point of dancing himself. Honestly, I think it's refreshing to see a semi-major character be passionate about something that ISN'T Pokémon battles, Contests, Pokédex completion, or in general anything that the player will inevitably be better at. It's not as though the player will become a better dancer at any point in the game. You'll see just as much of the world, if not more, as Shauna. You'll be a much better battler than Serena. You'll inevitably have a more complete Pokédex than Trevor. Tierno's goal is the only one that the player cannot usurp and invalidate (well, unless you go to Unova and participate in Pokémon Musicals, anyway).

You face Tierno once again on Route 7. His only Pokémon is still his Corphish with Swords Dance and Vicegrip. After the player's inevitable win, he says this,

"Win or lose--either way, you gotta smile! If your Pokémon see you getting down in the dumps, they might be less confident."

At first this may seem like just a random piece of advice to promote good sportsmanship, but it actually says a lot about Tierno's character. Up until this point, Tierno has been nothing but honest with himself. He doesn't try to pretend to be something he's not. As such, we can assume that he's the type to practice what he preaches. From this we can see that Tierno is prone to hiding his emotions if it means he won't get others down. Tierno is all about making people happy through dance, so he feels it is best to keep his sadness over his lack of battle potential to himself. This comes back a bit later in the game.

The next time the player meets Tierno is in Reflection Cave, where he gives the player the TM for Flash. He mentions that he relies on Flash all the time, as it lets him avoid battles. This once again shows that Tierno is fully aware of his shortcomings as a battler.

The next big moment for Tierno comes when the player enters the Tower of Mastery. When it comes time to decide who should take the Mega Ring, Tierno quickly declines, saying that it'd be out of his league since battling isn't his strong suit. When it comes down to the player and Serena/Calem, he questions why they'd "fight for something, even though [they're] friends." Yeah, the writing here is pretty hamfisted, but it does give some insight into Tierno, or at least confirmation of what was suspected before. Tierno dislikes confrontation. This would explain why he isn't good at battling, avoids wild Pokémon, and prefers to bring joy to people through dancing. He's pacifistic by nature.

At this point Tierno sees a dip in importance as the Flare arc is starting to come to a head and the player almost finishes collecting badges. However, after the culmination of the Flare arc, you find out that during the crisis, Tierno had been by Geosenge Town on Route 10 helping out Pokémon, while leaving the battling of Team Flare to Sina and Dexio.

The final interaction the player has with Tierno during the main story is on Route 19, on the bridge. He explains that he had an epiphany during the Flare crisis. Had the player not been there, he would be dead. All of Kaloswould be dead. Tierno had been calling the player a friend and even calling them by a nickname, and now he realizes that he and the player come from completely different worlds, and that he doesn't know them as well as he thought. Tierno is then inspired. He begins training and now challenges the player to a battle. Gone are the days when Tierno had a single Corphish. Now he has a fully evolved Crawdaunt, alongside Talonflame and Roserade, giving him a well balanced team with a Grass, Fire, and Water type. As well, it's notable that none of his Pokémon know Flash, showing that he has grown past the need for avoiding battles. Still, though, Tierno is still a relative novice at battling when compared to the player, and after the fight, says,

"It's weird, but… I don't get that down when I lose to you."

This goes back to what he said earlier about maintaining a smile in the face of defeat. As well, the wording confirms that when losing to others, Tierno does get down, but never shows it. And yet, here he voluntarily challenges the player to a battle, likely knowing fully well that he'd lose. He later explains that battling the player was meant to show gratitude, and maybe to get to know them a little bit better.

Much of the criticism that I see of Tierno points to the fact that he's a bad character because he sucks at battling. However, that's the entire point of his character. He doesn't usually engage in battles because he isn't good at them, and losing tends to get him down. He'd much rather dance and make himself and others happy than risk his insecurities souring the mood for others. And at the end, he starts to realize that he's different, but that that's okay. Not everyone can be a great Trainer like the player when it comes to battles. He no longer needs to feel insecure. He's simply cut from a different cloth. And over the course of training his team, he likely lost his fair share of battles...but he persevered. He now had three fully evolved Pokémon and a good type spread among them. In an attempt to learn more about the player, he also learned more about himself, no longer allowing his fear of losing to get in the way.

It's for these reasons I feel Tierno is sorely underrated as a character. Is he a good battler? Of course not. But he doesn't have to be. He grows and changes throughout the story, which is more than certain other rivals can even say. Battling strength alone shouldn't determine the worthiness of a character. Heck, characters like Lillie and Looker are well liked despite not engaging in battle at all. In my opinion, some people are too literal or otherwise strict in their definition of a good rival, and the hate toward Tierno is evident of this. The world shouldn't just exist as a playground for the player, but be inhabited by varied people with varied goals. Being a poor battler is a crucial part of Tierno's development throughout X and Y. And hey, he starts with a Corphish. That's pretty neat.

TL;DR - Tierno has a small, but notable, arc during X and Y. He's humble and passionate, and puts on a happy face to mask his insecurities that stem from his poor battling skills. After an epiphany he realizes that he shouldn't be insecure about it, as someone will always be better. He then re-focuses on dancing. He's not a good battler, but that doesn't mean he isn't a good character. End of TL;DR

Also the fact that they didn't bring him back for Sun and Moon and instead opted for the non-entities that are Sina and Dexio is a decision I'll never understand. Alola has a Pokémon whose gimmick REVOLVES around dancing, and it's not like Tierno didn't run errands for Sycamore anyway. Game Freak should totally bring Tierno back in USUM with an Oricorio.

On the topic of Oricorio, I have to say that pokemon fing sucks. Not even able to use attacks of its own type

 

[Deleted member]

Ok, I came back from Endgame...

...What else could I say that hasn't been shared already?

It was fantastic.

 

[Noipoi]

Ok, I came back from Endgame...

...What else could I say that hasn't been shared already?

It was fantastic.

I knew you would like it

It was inevitable

 

[Hydreigonfan01]

Ok, I came back from Endgame...

...What else could I say that hasn't been shared already?

It was fantastic.

Wait, you only just saw it? How did you avoid spoilers for a month?

 

[TheMightyP]

I knew you would like it

It was inevitable

And I...

I am [REDACTED]

 

[Roguewolf]

Wait, you only just saw it? How did you avoid spoilers for a month?

Pure skill and whenever someone said hey have you seen endgame yet Cabrera would put his hands on his ears and scream I'm not listening 20 times

 

[Deleted member]

Wait, you only just saw it? How did you avoid spoilers for a month?

I didn't.
I got spoiled months ago since my health and real life problems denied me from seeing it.


But now I did and I loved it.

I knew you would like it

It was inevitable

Basically.

 

[Captain Shwampy]

I cant wait to find out catching dynamax pokemon in raid battles have first come first serve situation

So in the moment 4 random people online come across a shiny dynamax mon its going to be just bad vibes all around

 

[Noipoi]

I cant wait to find out catching dynamax pokemon in raid battles have first come first serve situation

So in the moment 4 random people online come across a shiny dynamax mon its going to be just bad vibes all around

Encounter Shiny Dynamax
Get it weakened so someone can catch it
Disconnect

 

[Opossum]

Time flies you know.

Meanwhile on the other hand Godzilla (2014) is 5 years old and Kong: Skull Island already 2 years old.

Speaking of Frozen. Given I had thought the first movie was okay at best but overrated I'm gonna wait to see the second film on NetFlix.

It won't be on Netflix though. Any Disney films from like, Captain Marvel onward is gonna be Disney + exclusive.

 

[Aurane]

Genetics.

Try again.

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

 

[Zinith]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

*Zinith is in chat*

 

[Roguewolf]

Well wolf odonnell
Dry bones
And joker/ryuiji
Mario
King k rool

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

Ooohoh
Yosuke, Yusuke and Akechi. They are my baby boys

 

[Idon]

Ooohoh
Yosuke, Yusuke and Akechi. They are my baby boys

You... clearly have a type.

 

[Iridium]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

Ryu Hayabusa, Cloud and somebody else.

 

[Aurane]

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

Oh, who to say, who to say...

 

[Deleted member]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

>F4
>Jet Jaguar
>Coco Bandicoot
>N.Trance
>Gambit
>Doctor Doom
>Moguera
>She-Hulk
>Godzilla
>Mermaid Man
>Barnacle Boy
>Sandy
>Plankton
>K.Rool
>Samus
>Mona
>Crocomire
>Mysterio
>Music Meister
>Hal Jordan
>Gwenpool
>Eight (Dragon Quest)
>Yangus (Dragon Quest)
>Mach Rider
>Vector The Crocodile
>Metal Sonic
>Darkrai
>Zoroark

 

[Zinith]

Also give me my Kaiju Kecleon for Pokemon Sword/Shield

 

[ColietheGoalie]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

Godzilla. I firmly planted my flag in that pop culture soil long ago.

 

[Roguewolf]

I just really want the shinx Luxio luxray line in sword and sheild as thats my favorite line of pokemon but that sword/sheild trailer looks really good I think my favorite new pokemon was the raven knight bird guy he looks cool also the bitey tortoise also also sobble squad for life

 

[Wademan94]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

Several characters I can think of are Shantae, Cynthia, Shulk, Toph, Peter Venkman, Spiderverse Miles Morales, Blaze the Cat, Deadpool, Green Arrow, Raven from Teen Titans, Emmet Brickowski, Elle (The Last of Us), and surprisingly enough MCU Nebula.

 

[Roguewolf]

Oh I didn't even see media I'm not going to go there cause that might be too long a list but the two really important ones are daredevil and spiderman

 

[Wademan94]

Add Fawful and Doctor Strange to my list as well.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

I'll limit myself to video game characters for this question.

Despite playing a multitude of games of many different genres, playing as Professor Layton is the still most empowering player character to me. I guess I kind of see Layton as a role model, he's reserved and polite, yet also dignified and confident. As someone who really values being level headed and polite, it's really nice to see a character still champion these aspects while still being just as heroic as any other video game protagonist. He really touched a chord with me, and is one of the reasons I'd like to see him be included into smash bros.

 

[Deleted member]

Gotta say, I'll probably just back from the bets I'm in currently here as most of the people I made the bets with are kinda gone from the site and kinda got very busy with my new job to finish a few of them. So I'll leave it to doing the games that I was involved with doing (Fates and the Bubsy series) at my leisure. I also think the current state is kinda not good for me to be worrying about given that I have IRL stuff to do and most of the time I just play other things nowadays.

I'll probably stop coming here eventually after the cycle ends as well so the account thing is kinda meaningless as well.

 

[Erureido]

Now that I'm finally home from work, I can finally type my thoughts on the Pokemon Direct:

The new Pokemon look decent so far, but Corviknight definitely takes the cake. WOW! It has such a wicked cool design for a raven Pokemon! I already found a Galar Pokemon I'm hooked to, and I can honestly say this one is definitely going on my team as my Flying-type Pokemon unless a cooler one is revealed down the line (having an amazing typing of Steel/Flying is also an amazing, added bonus!). I think this Pokemon even has a very strong potential to be my new favorite Flying-type Pokemon!

As for the others, Wooloo looks very cute and fits the UK/Scottish setting perfectly. Gossifleur and Eldegoss have some decent designs for Grass-types, though I prefer the pre-evolution more for its vibrant colors. Drednaw looks okay.

I like both of the legendary mascots. Both look majestic and cool! In fact, this is the first generation where I equally like both of the mascot legendaries! Of the two, I'm choosing Sword just because I prefer the blue aesthetic on Zacian more (since blue is my favorite color).

It's great to see we finally have some level of true open-world exploration in Pokemon with the Wild Area. Though I didn't play the Let's Go games since I'm just not a fan of the Go catching gimmick, one thing I liked about those games was already seeing a Pokemon in the wild and having the opportunity to run up to it and catch it from there. The Wild Area seems to adapt this idea, only it feels more immersive with not too many Pokemon crowding one area. Being able to change the camera angle at will in this area is also a cool feature.

The Attack on Titan fan in me immediately made me think of Titans when I saw the Dynamax feature (and fittingly enough, we already have memes that highlight this). That aside, I can't say if this new gimmick feature truly wowed me compared to Mega Evolutions and Z-moves. Seeing Pokemon turn giant to receive powered-up moves feels a bit bland when I've been exposed to many giant Pokemon over the course of the video games' lifespan, but I like how this feature is arguably looking to be more balanced so far in that any Pokemon can access Dynamax and the feature can only be used on one Pokemon in your team for just three turns once per battle.

The Max Raid battles look like an interesting co-op mode. I wonder how will the four players decide which of the four will be the one to use the Dynamax feature though. Voice chat seems like the best approach to this, but not everyone may have the Nintendo Switch Online app, so if someone decided to use Dynamax on their own without some outside communication... it could mess up some strategies in battle and leave your allies feeling salty.

They are continuing the Rotom Pokedex it seems, only this time, the Pokedex is a smartphone. Fitting for the modern times. Pretty cool how it can let your bike be used as an HM for Surf. I guess this means we can expect the Rotom Pokedex to be the HM/Pokeride this generation. Maybe we will be able to upgrade the Rotom Pokedex to do more HM-like features the more badges we similar to how badges in the past gave you more access to other HMs? That's how I can see this feature being treated this generation, and I think it could work well for future games (imagine the Sinnoh remakes on the Switch ditching HMs and using the Rotom Pokedex feature as HM replacements: I can totally see a bike getting a Rock Climb feature or even a snow travel feature that will make it easier to traverse the snowy routes).

And now for the characters:

Leon looks awesome! Fantastic design for a champion! Seems like a really likable guy too based on the description we were given about him. Kinda surprising they revealed he was the champion this early though. Could this be because there will be a BW situation where we won't fight him at the end of the story because someone will already beat you to defeating him by the time you face him? That's what I initially thought, but after hearing some theories about how he could actually be the leader of this generation's villainous team, I think that sounds like a very interesting idea too!

(On a side note regarding Leon, did anyone notice that the stadium he was first shown in looked a lot like the stadium that appears in the London-inspired city on the Galar map? Looks like this may very well be where we will fight him and thus also supports the theory that city could also be the final location we will visit in the story).

Hop is an odd name, but he seems okay so far. Nice to see we have a rival who is related to the champion!

Great to see we have our second female professor! I get Queen Elizabeth vibes when I see Professor Magnolia too, a nice twist of sorts considering a lot of fan speculation prior to today pointed to the champion being inspired by her). Sonia looks cute. Pretty interested in learning more about her past with Leon.

Milo has an odd design with the face of a young kid and the body of a bodybuilder, but I think it's because the way his eyes are drawn are similar to Sophocles and Lana from S/M, the two characters that I felt highlighted Gamefreak's attempts of changing up how they draw eyes for some of the human characters but not giving them conventional anime eyes. He seems like a jolly fun fellow though. Can't wait to see his dialogue.

Great Direct overall! Looking forward to November 15!

 

[Deleted member]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

Just gonna go with one and say Handsome Jack, probably one of the best video game villains in recent memory and one of the few saving graces of Borderlands 2s otherwise okay writing.

 

[Wario Bros.]

Wow, I totally forgot the original SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom released back in 2003.

Time sure flies, man.

 

[SnakeFighter64]

I just sang the entirety of All-Star by Smashmouth by the campfire with my drunk ass mother. What is life.

 

[Idon]

Well, now that chat has slowed down, I have a completely random question for everyone. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

What are y’alls favorite character/characters in media?

My favorite is Morgana (of course) while Shantae and King K. Rool are close seconds.

Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid.

Never in a videogame have I had a character grow throughout their entire games from a hero to a villain that both was believable, sympathetic, and entirely thralling. Despite being a total extremist later on, you can clearly see drastic moments in his life that would lead to him holding the worldview he had.

 

[ZephyrZ]

So you know how Z-moves and Megas were tied lore wise to their region's legendary trios?

Anyone remember this hill art from the first trailer? Wasn't it inspired by hill art of a giant?

I'll bet the Pokemon depicted here is this game's Necrozma type deal and that it's the source of the power used for Dynamaxing. My theory is that it attacked Galar in ancient times, but was defeated by sword doggo and shield doggo, releasing a bunch if energy into Galar. Something like that.

 

[Captain Shwampy]

>witch
>puzzle
>short brown hair

yea im thinkin shes in bros

 

[TheCJBrine]

So you know how Z-moves and Megas were tied lore wise to their region's legendary trios?

Anyone remember this hill art from the first trailer? Wasn't it inspired by hill art of a giant?

I'll bet the Pokemon depicted here is this game's Necrozma type deal and that it's the source of the power used for Dynamaxing. My theory is that it attacked Galar in ancient times, but was defeated by sword doggo and shield doggo, releasing a bunch if energy into Galar. Something like that.

Could this be the third legendary that the leak mentioned?

 

[Wademan94]

Wow, I totally forgot the original SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom released back in 2003.

Time sure flies, man.

Hopefully this time they’ll be able to get Clancy Brown in for Mr. Krabs.

Could this be the third legendary that the leak mentioned?

I think the legendaries trailer teased something bigger at the end with the wolves taking a defensive stance.