Pokémon (Not-So) Griefing Thread - Scarlet and Violet Released with 10 Million Copies in First 3 Days in Buggy States

[Kurohige]

It's true.
I was waiting my whole life for a flamingo.

God, it's such a mediocre design. It just looks like a stupid question mark and we already have one of those.

It's the mediocrity that sells me on Flamigo; the utter state of Game Freak when it comes to designing mons, nowadays. Even if it would've been a Dodrio rehash, we needed "Flamigos" as an evolution.

 

[Squawking Macaw]

At least Chatot turned out alright, parrots are cool.

View attachment 7663039

They're really hit and miss with birds.

Personally I don't like Chatot because it looks nothing like a real parrot. I get that the head is a quaver because it mimics sound, but otherwise it's a bunch of circles that vaguely look like a bird. Squawkabilly in comparison actually looks like a parrot. It's even got two backwards-facing toes like real parrots do.

I don't think it's birds, I just think designs post-Gen V have degraded across the board. Compare other Gen 4 birds like Empoleon, Staraptor and Honchkrow to what came after; Gen 6 only had Talonflame and Hawlucha (laughably), Gen 7 had Decidueye's design infamously breaking with Rowlett/Dartrix, nevermind Toucannon. Can't speak to 8 and 9, though Corviknight seems decently well recieved.

I wouldn't blame this specific thing on the newer gens. Many bird (and horse) Pokemon are guilty of being just cartoon versions of a real animal. You've got such creative Pokemon as literally just a sparrow (Pidgey), literally just a swallow (Taillow & Swellow), literally just an owl (Noctowl), literally just a pigeon (Pidove), and literally just a swan (Swanna).

Gen 6 also had Spritzee, which is based off of the fact that plague masks resemble bird beaks, but its evolution doesn't even try to look like a bird. Also, Decidueye's design has a good idea behind it, a ghost owl archer based off of an extinct long-legged owl, but it's too humanoid.

It's the mediocrity that sells me on Flamigo; the utter state of Game Freak when it comes to designing mons, nowadays. Even if it would've been a Dodrio rehash, we needed "Flamigos" as an evolution.

The worst thing about Flamigo is that there was a better flamingo Pokemon planned for Kalos that was scrapped.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

The worst thing about Flamigo is that there was a better flamingo Pokemon planned for Kalos that was scrapped.

Beta Flamigo vs Chad Kalos flamingo

Seriously it's night and day how much this one is better than what people got in gen9 just from the looks alone

 

[30+GameOvers]

I've been playing other games, but I'm slowly getting back to getting my HeartGold romhack playthru set up. Since I don't have a bajillion BPs in Gen 4, I am now playing thru Battle Frontier, later I'm going to do some breeding and Pal Park transfers.

I have to say, I am not as familiar with Battle Frontier in Gen 4 as much as the one in Gen 3, but I am really coming around to it. Battle Arcade keeps things interesting but I can see that getting a gold medal might be a nightmare due to all the RNG. Battle Castle, on the other hand, is all about long term planning and resource management, which is a fantastic spin on the formula and could be a small game in and of itself. Makes me wish Gen 5 had a proper Battle Frontier, I can only imagine how a facility like this would work with the massive powercreep that generation brought.

 

[Kier Starmer]

What are people's predictions for the direct tomorrow?

 

[Anonitolia]

What are people's predictions for the direct tomorrow?

Very odd, for once.

They're hyping this one up way more than any other. I think I made a 4chan post on the topic recently, so I'll copy-paste some of that here:

I’m honestly half and half, but since gen 10 being revealed isn’t very popular, let me be devil’s advocate:

This Presents is getting an enormous amount of unusual hype. It was announced extremely early in advance, has an entire pre-show dedicated to it, and comes in the middle of an insanely dry period for news.

Most notably, its date is a reverse of Pokémon Day’s: instead of being on 2/27, it’s on 7/22, which I think has some significance given Gamefreak’s schizophrenic bending of the rules lately. They’re trying really hard to be subversive towards their traditions, so I can absolutely see them mostly focusing on Z-A and then dropping a Scarlet/Violet-tier teaser for gen 10.

Basically, I think things will play out as follows:
>Tomorrow’s Presents is mostly focused on Mobileslop with one big push for Z-A. This push for Z-A will kick off multiple months of smaller marketing reveals up until release.
>The Presents will end with some cryptic or very small reveal of gen 10, probably not going any further than starters + titles.
>This reveal will be followed up on next Pokémon Day, where there will be a whole official reveal trailer and lots of attention given to both gen 10 and the 30th anniversary,
>which will be heavily focused on through constant news updates until gen 10 releases.

I think this clicks most with what Gamefreak is going for. Hyping up this specific Presents so much just for Z-A makes little sense, so I think they’re trying to recapture normie attention spans for a long time yet. They’re going to draw them in with Z-A news and hook them in with gen 10, then keep feeding that goldfish memory with hit after hit regarding the brand so that they have a constant spotlight during the 30th anniversary and boost advertising + revenue during what will probably be a very profitable period.

TL;DR: I think they’ll be secretive about gen 10 until 2/27/26, but reveal it at this Presents to try and keep people interested in the brand.

I really am half and half on this. I do think they're trying to rope people back into the brand through an inordinate amount of hype after nearly 2 years of dead silence, but I'm not sure they'll go as far as revealing gen 10. I know they'll reveal something decently "big," they have to at this point if they want Z-A to do anything sales-wise, but it's just a matter of how "big".

In terms of actual predictions, I guess I'll throw my hat in the ring the normal way too:

• Mobileslop in a quick 5-minute section. They know people are getting tired of this; it's why they're spreading out a fair amount of the mobile-related announcements in the week or so leading up to the Presents now, and sped through the Pokémon Day mobile stuff in no time. You just know that shit like the Mega UNITE licenses and Sleep's second anniversary would have taken up nearly half the runtime of a 2021 or 2022 Presents.
• Some more info on Champions. Probably not a definitive release date, but most likely a basic overview of the game's function and some kind of release window. Probably during the 30th.
• Possibly some World Championship shilling alongside MEGA Era TCG stuff in another small section. I think the latter will get more attention than the former, given that they probably need to clarify the whole "it's not a Scarlet/Violet set, it's totally new era" thing, and its relevance to Z-A.
• Lots of Z-A basics. Some new megas/regionals (whatever they're going for), basic plot structure, more information on a general play session, some story characters. Given Emma's stealth reveal and the Looker/Sonia arm in the cover, I imagine those two might hog the limelight here alongside the Royale thing and ATB system. Probably nothing to do with the starters unless it's key to some unrevealed system or the normal evolution line, given how GF held off on officially revealing the LA final evolutions until almost a week after the games had been out.
  • Maybe some AZ focus because of the aforementioned date-flipping. I know this seems schizophrenic, but hear me out: revealing more about Z-A on 2/27, then more about AZ on 7/22 would be really funny.
• [EVERYTHING BEYOND THIS POINT IS WILD SPECULATION BASED ON MY OWN 5D CHESS MULTIVERSAL CONSPIRACY THINKING]
• Gen 10 reveal with the starters, titles, and maybe region. Release window.
  • Possible inclusion of Megas, shilled as an anniversary thing. I can't help but agree with this thread (that I can't archive for some reason) on the matter, especially given the current situation of the brand and how much good will they can quickly and cheaply regain by just re-adding Megas, but there's no way they'll be 100% on keeping them around because that'd essentially mean admitting failure to appeal for the past ten straight years, which I don't think anyone in charge of the brand has the balls to do.
  • If the Teraleak hit them hard enough, they might end up revealing a new gimmick (or at least hinting at it). If they really are going to do some kind of region-hopping adventure, I can't imagine them being too shy about it.
• Gen 5 remake or sidegame vaguely hinted at to tie in with Black Bolt/White Flare. The TCG is a giant part of the brand now, and they just did an enormous set focusing on the region. They're probably going to vaguely hint at Unova, at least a little bit, since I really do think they're trying to use this Presents to sucker in normies... who would definitely listen up if they mentioned something about a new Unova game. Even just an extended tribute might get people in the mood, and it would get people thinking about Z-A too since "oh hey Tepig's a starter in that game".
  • If I wanted to be really bold I'd suggest a Gates to Infinity remake, but that's just wishful thinking so I won't. It deserves one so bad though. God I really hope it gets something that isn't utter dogwater at some point. Even fan-made. I'll take it at this point. I am desperate
• New non-mobile spin-off meant to partly take a bite out of Palworld's turf, shilled as a 30th anniversary special. Focuses around building up a region of your own, either through some kind of editor or a plotline, including a base and the need to defend it from wild invaders.
  • This will probably not happen. I just desperately want it to happen. Please, Gamefreak. Use your insane lawsuit and obsession with the competition to make it happen. Please. I am begging

A lot of this is schizophrenic wish-fulfillment, as you can see, but I am admittedly at a loss for what else to say. It's a Presents. It's a Presents after an extremely long news drought, during a time when the Pokémon brand is thrashing about like an autistic toddler trying to find its footing on a Twister mat, while they're actively going out of their way to subvert expectations for the sake of surprise. Anything I predict will either be way off-base or so on-point that there's little point in writing it out, methinks.

 

[Kier Starmer]

I am pretty much with you, actually. We know GF takes dates seriously, and 22/7 or 7/22 is clearly picked as Nintendo's direct is the following week, and the Pokémon stuff has its slot.

I think we will get a Champions drop after VGC worlds, so Sept.

Gen 10 will be announced tomorrow because 6 months in the press cycle makes sense for a feb release. I think also the S/V updates tie in with this as its a test for the engine and code they're using for 10 and they wanted to see if it worked. It's safe to say it did as S/V are running much better now.

I think we are getting a R/B remaster for the 30th using the B team, who have to of remade Gen 5, which I think is going to either get released very shortly or shadow dropped.

You may ask why shadow dropping B/W, and that is because how much they have been hyping up B/W, but also TPC has been experimenting with shadow dropping more lately to great results. Remaking B/W is also not intense and can be done with a small team.

If not this they are going to shadow drop R/B and Emerald as a standalone to play on the console. This is to please traditional until 2026 but also balance out any poor sales for ZA as it is it's own game.

 

[Squawking Macaw]

I have to say, I am not as familiar with Battle Frontier in Gen 4 as much as the one in Gen 3, but I am really coming around to it. Battle Arcade keeps things interesting but I can see that getting a gold medal might be a nightmare due to all the RNG. Battle Castle, on the other hand, is all about long term planning and resource management, which is a fantastic spin on the formula and could be a small game in and of itself.

The battle facilities are my favorite part of the postgame and the Battle Arcade and Castle are my favorites. I'm usually pretty good at getting the events I want in the Arcade, and the Castle adds a layer of strategy, it kinda reminds me of a roguelike challenge.

The Battle Factory can go die in a fire, though.

Gen 5 remake or sidegame vaguely hinted at to tie in with Black Bolt/White Flare.

Now that you mention it, if Legends Arceus didn't count as a remake, then neither does ZA. They may still announce a remake tomorrow. Or remaster, given that's what BDSP is.

Gates to Infinity remake

schizophrenic wish-fulfillment

Yep.

It desperately needs one, but IF we're getting any Mystery Dungeon at all (and that if gets bigger every passing year), it's gonna be an Explorers remake. Personally, I'd love to get an original PMD game, the last one came out a decade ago.

 

[30+GameOvers]

The Battle Factory can go die in a fire, though.

No, Battle Palace in Emerald can go die in a fire. Quite literally no skill required, only RNG and it is usually not in your favor. I once had a perfect competitive party die to one single Dodrio not because they couldn't handle it, but because the dumbasses chose not to attack it and lost in an embarrassing 72 turn battle. That was the last time I took that battle facility seriously, I used save states and an emulator to get my gold since then and even then I had to do a ridiculous number of retries. Never again!

Battle Factory in Emerald was awful simply because the movesets are plain ass. Funnily enough, they're much better if you play Emerald with a physical/special split romhack(I used Revelation Emerald), not sure if they improved the movesets in Gen 4 since last time I played Battle Factory there was around 2010/2011.

What are people's predictions for the direct tomorrow?

Absolutely nothing, Gamefreak is a lost cause and so is Pokemon. That "AAA" RPG title they're working on will be no better than Little Town Hero and most other non-Pokemon games they worked on. I have no clue why people are giving it any benefit of the doubt.

 

[Squawking Macaw]

No, Battle Palace in Emerald can go die in a fire. Quite literally no skill required, only RNG and it is usually not in your favor. I once had a perfect competitive party die to one single Dodrio not because they couldn't handle it, but because the dumbasses chose not to attack it and lost in an embarrassing 72 turn battle. That was the last time I took that battle facility seriously, I used save states and an emulator to get my gold since then and even then I had to do a ridiculous number of retries. Never again!

Battle Factory in Emerald was awful simply because the movesets are plain ass. Funnily enough, they're much better if you play Emerald with a physical/special split romhack(I used Revelation Emerald), not sure if they improved the movesets in Gen 4 since last time I played Battle Factory there was around 2010/2011.

I haven't played gen 3 so I never had to deal with that, but having to win 40 consecutive battles where you can't control your Pokemon sounds like hell.
I hate the Battle Factory because it's the most RNG reliant in gen 4. In theory, the more you swap the stronger your Pokemon choices will be next round, in practice the "stronger Pokemon" is a Bibarel or a Kricketune or some other mediocre mon. And no, the sets are not better, because when I get something like a Garchomp it's a shitty special set or the one with Dragon Rush as its only STAB. Also, whenever I get a good streak I always seem to be walled by a Regi, it's suprisingly hard to get something that breaks through a Regi's bulk when you're at the mercy of rentals.

 

[30+GameOvers]

I haven't played gen 3 so I never had to deal with that, but having to win 40 consecutive battles where you can't control your Pokemon sounds like hell.
I hate the Battle Factory because it's the most RNG reliant in gen 4. In theory, the more you swap the stronger your Pokemon choices will be next round, in practice the "stronger Pokemon" is a Bibarel or a Kricketune or some other mediocre mon. And no, the sets are not better, because when I get something like a Garchomp it's a shitty special set or the one with Dragon Rush as its only STAB. Also, whenever I get a good streak I always seem to be walled by a Regi, it's suprisingly hard to get something that breaks through a Regi's bulk when you're at the mercy of rentals.

Yeah, same problem as in Emerald then.
I've been doing Battle Hall now since it's nice and easy, I have this hacked Gyarados from way back that's got all the ribbons, Volt Tackle and most importantly Volt Absorb. That's right, the biggest weakness is now gone and I only have to worry about the moderately dangerous Rock type attacks. This thing is a beast and I am going to enjoy breaking the game with it.

My game did freeze up when I won after a while. This never happened to me before, so I dunno if it's my cart or the DS, both are really old. Googling didn't bring up anything so I assume there isn't an annoying glitch where Battle Frontier battles have a random chance to hang your game. Kind of depressing, it means that either my console or my cart are starting to die off, I had this happen to me before but that was on a flashcart due to the SD card getting loose. Didn't get far into Battle Hall challenge but it's still annoying I will have to try again.
Speaking of which, what's the meta here for getting as much BP as possible as quickly as possible? I remember for Emerald it was to either get lucky with The Pike or be boring and speedrun Battle Tower.

 

[Squawking Macaw]

Speaking of which, what's the meta here for getting as much BP as possible as quickly as possible? I remember for Emerald it was to either get lucky with The Pike or be boring and speedrun Battle Tower.

I'd say it's either the Battle Tower or the Castle, they both give the same amount of BP so it's whichever one you prefer. The only facility in gen 4 that gives more BP per battle is the Factory, but well, it's the Factory.

 

[Computer God Autism]

If I wanted to be really bold I'd suggest a Gates to Infinity remake,

Not before an Explorer's remaster.

 

[The Ultimate Ramotith]

I think there's something about 3D models that made them rethink their designs, and it stinks. It's like they wanted the mons to be easier to model, and animate, so they toned down some of the crazier stuff.

There was an interview abou that:

https://lewtwo.net/index.php/CGWorld_Vol._296_Interview_with_Creatures

 

[Grayback]

Gen 10 reveal with the starters, titles, and maybe region. Release window.

I don't recall the precise timing of how past generations were introduced, but this strikes me as too early.
If they started announcing stuff about Gen 10 now, it seems like it would take the wind out of the sails of Legends ZA. There are plenty of people who will just skip Legends ZA if they hear that a new, "proper" game is also going to be coming out soon.

If the Teraleak hit them hard enough, they might end up revealing a new gimmick (or at least hinting at it).

I hope that they don't introduce a new battle gimmick just for the sake of throwing in something new. The battle mechanics are in a pretty good state, where they just need tweaks, not an overhaul. Terastallization is well-balanced and was well-received by the VGC people. Let them just stick with that as the battle gimmick for a while.

I get that they have to always put new stuff into the games in order to keep people interested and get them to buy the newest thing, but I hope that whatever they add to Gen 10 that could be called a "gimmick" is out-of-battle stuff. Something related to exploration, or customization, or whatever. Don't just throw in the next dynamax or Z-move thing compulsively and fuck up battling.

Gen 5 remake or sidegame vaguely hinted at to tie in with Black Bolt/White Flare.

It would make some sense to go along with the card set, but I wonder if they would really release more remake games before the next Gen 10 mainline games.
I hope that they do, though. Even though I'm an escaped mental patient who didn't like the original Gen 5 games, I would like a chance with the remakes to get to actually like them and see what everybody else sees.

Any predictions for what the remakes will be called, assuming that they stick with the convention of [adjective or thing + original name]?
I tried to come up with some a while ago, but it's weirdly hard to find two things that match the colors but also go together well.
I liked Midnight Black / Heavenly White (heavenly in the sense of the sky, since all of the towns had names based on the names of clouds, and I guess midnight is a sky... appearance... thing...)
Watch them announce that the remake games are actually going to be called Black Bolt / White Flare as well, just to fuck with us.

 

[Squawking Macaw]

Not before an Explorer's remaster.

How about an original PMD game? Remember the last time we got one?

I remember. I remember being FURIOUS that I had to wait until next year to play a game everyone else had.

Any predictions for what the remakes will be called, assuming that they stick with the convention of [adjective or thing + original name]?

Blaze Black and Volt White

Jokes aside, even the names got more boring. HGSS and ORAS were opposite but complementary, Heart and Soul, Alpha and Omega. Maybe FRLG's names were boring as well, but they were the first remakes so the convention wasn't established yet.

Meanwhile Brilliant and Shining are synonyms, their names might as well be Sparkly Gem #1 and Sparkly Gem #2 (I know pearls aren't gems but I don't know what else to call them). What's next, Radiant Platinum?

 

[Anonitolia]

The Presents pre-show is live.

They couldn’t even be bothered to do more than slap some glasses on a normal pikachu model doing its battle idle animation for the DJ

I guess the music in the background isn’t half bad though

EDIT: there was like one good remix and it’s gone now, this isn’t even working as good background noise
also it’s nothing but KANTOOOOOO but that shouldn’t be too surprising at this point
at least they gave the DJ a few more animations

 

[Computer God Autism]

How about an original PMD game?

It wouldn't be good.

 

[Anonitolia]

Alright, the actual Presents is live now. The standard liveblogging shall ensue!

Not sure if I'll be able to make it through the whole thing due to other obligations but I'll try my best.

Spoiler: spoilered for your convenience

Going in chronological order:

• Opening with Chris Brown from TPCi. Starting with 2025 World Championships shilling. Seems like just a normal ad, talking about the cards they'll get for competing and the games they're going to show off.
  • Paradise Resort card artwork got revealed
• Immediately got pulled away. Here's what I think I missed:
• Concierge Season 2
• Aardman details.
  • Some new animated series for 2027 called "Pokémon Tales: Sirfetch'd and Pichu"?
  • It doesn't look like stop-motion, it's too smooth. It looks like CGI trying to imitate the Aardman style. What a shame
  • Seems to be set in Galar.
• Mega Evolution set got some cards shown off in a nice trailer, but I'm pretty sure literally all of these were already revealed prior
  • Releasing September 26th
• Shovelware spinoff "Pokemon Friends," literally mobile-game tier but the only gameplay I saw was on the Switch 2
• M O B I L E S L O P
  • Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Eternatus reminder
  • Master Sex Carmine and Sinistcha
  • Pokémon Sleep reminder, three legendary beasts
  • Cafe Remix Lapras something
  • UNITE Latios/Latias reminder
• Scarlet and Violet
  • Tera Raid reminder
  • They're giving away a jumpsuit outfit? wtf man why isn't this obtainable in-game by normal means
• Champions info.
  • Team recruitment WORKS LIKE UNITE, LMAO
  • Brief gameplay reveal
  • Planned to release 2026. No further mentions
  • Came after being told we'd get news for mainline games...
• Z-A news.
  • Starts with the pink sparkle around an Absol, it's probably the wild Mega thing
    • Yeah it's the wild mega thing. It's just SV Titans but with wild Megas.
  • New characters, one with dreads one with a weird ponytail thing? Neither look very French
    • Former is an aspiring fashion designer, latter is an aspiring dancer
  • New person with blue dyed hair, looks like a Flare admin
    • Called Mable. She handles "research," which seems to just be a Battle Pass with every reward being a new TM.
  • Some Royale bosses shown.
    • One called Corbeau, boss of the "rust Syndicate" who knows Team MZ somehow
  • Emma, bingo
    • Detective. Sidequests involving helping her solve mysteries
  • Confirmation of Mega Dragonite... looking like Khu's leak. Oh god
    • It looks pretty bad. They gave it huge wings on its head but they don't fucking do anything. It still uses the tiny ones on its back
  • Wild Megas are probably real
  • Joining "Team MZ" who protects Lumiose apparently. Fucking Khu probably got another source. great
    • not helped by all the emphasis on wild Pokémon that match the other Pokémon in his leak
  • Basic gameplay overview, bingo. No real new information save for the return of character customization
  • Ralts with Gardevoirite as a pre-purchase bonus
  • That's it lmao

 

[30+GameOvers]

I am expecting nothing and will probably still come away disappointed