Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
 

No thread yet? Let me fix that.

I think most of you have heard the Pokémon gen 9 games announcement by now and seen the starters.

Are you hyped? Looks promising to me. The grass cat will definitely be my starter.

The starters definetly look interesting, I can't wait to see their fully evolved forms. I wonder who the cat will involve into, hopefully something like a Leopard since we already got a Tiger with Incineroar.

You missed out, that time when the 90s pokemania /pokemon fad died was amazing to be a pkmn fan, al the Pokemon stuff you could ever dream of was worth pennies so you could buy tons of awesome stuff for literally nothing, friends would give you stuff for free because they didn't want it. The fandom was mostly dead with only hardcore fans and aspies in it. Gen3 came out and it got a bunch of fresh new fans into the franchise but it was still mostly seen as a dead brand despite selling very well and it was. Great time to be a fan. Gen4/5 were still fun times to be fans but not as before, the downward spiral strated with Gen6 and Pkmn Go when casuals got back into Pokemon.

bland Cookie Cutter game

Yeah, gen 4 and 5 should've really been 1 gen. Gen 4 felt like a rehash of Gen3 and gen4 was more innovative but looked like Gen4.

Gen6 was barebones and rode on it being 3D, Gen7 had the islands ideas which was cool but it felt short and rushed, it should've been one gen instead of two.

We now have the same with gem8 being a barebones pokemon game, a spin off that has an open world and now finally a new gen with the open world that was played with those two games. Basically unfinished ideas instead of waiting for the real gen to come out.

It would make sense if it evolved into an Iberian Lynx.

9 gens of Pokemon and I still remember when Gold/Silver or Hoenn were new. We'll be at nearly 1000 pokemon at the end of this gen.

Too bad Gamefreak keeps rushing these gens out every 3 years. Pokemon has been annualized for so long there's new games or remakes pretty much every year.

Gen 2 was massive at the time. Looking back, it didn't age that well, though. The leveling curve is a bit lousy.

I didn't even notice gen 3 when it came out tbh. By the time I was in 7th grade pretty much no one talked about pokemon at school anymore. It's as if we had all collectively forgotten about its existence.

I remember waking up earlier one Saturday morning around 2004 or 2005 to watch the latest TMNT 2K3 episode and catching an episode of Pokemon Advance before TMNT. I was wondering who the hell May and Max were and where was that Misty girl lol

Because I totally had a lot of cash and freedom to buy stuff like that when I was 12...

Also, if my interest in Pokémon had gone dormant at the time why would I be buying that stuff? The only Pokemon product I spend money on are the games. And after gen 2 I wasn't really interested. I got back to the series with ORAS.

It's weird to think how many younger kids grew up with DP onward and weren't even born when Pokemon started. Over at twitter most Pokemon fans there grew up with DP or BW as their first gens, since they're only in their early 20's. It's surreal to think all these people are literally half my age.

Pretty much everyone I know born between 1989 and 1992 outgrew the Pokémon franchise after Gold, Silver and Crystal. Some of them just even stopped after the 1st gen. They just couldn't accept the fact there was now more than 151 Pokémon.

The first two gens are very interconnected and I believe the anime series kept the same main cast of characters in its first 5 years or so. With gen 3 the franchise made a lot of changes and a lot of people just weren't prepared to at the time to deal with them, I guess. In addition to now entering their teenage years, it's no wonder most of the people who grew up with the first two pokemon generations outgrew it and moved on to other fads.

I believe the first two gens are still the highest selling Pokémon games? And the first couple of Pokémon movies aired in cinemas all over the world. I remember everyone knowing the songs from the Pokémon CD 2 Be a Master when I was a kid. Pokemon did remain a very popular and profitable series after 2002, but it was no longer that world stopping phenomenon it was in the previous years. It stopped being THE big thing and just became another big fish in a large ocean.

That being said, a few people I've talked to who grew up with gens 3 and 4 told me that Pokémon wa sjust as big when they were kids as it was when I was a kid. Perhaps I just didn't notice it when I was a teenager since I was no longer immersed into the franchise nor did anyone around my age talk about it in school anymore.

Can't hate on it, know absolutely nothing about it, but I still remember when this stuff was new and I'm shocked it's still around. Even more so that it became literally the biggest thing there ever was.

Again, not knocking it, it's just weird since absolutely no one at the time expected that would ever be the case. It was just supposed to be another trendy thing like virtual pets and Beanie Babies that kids would go nuts over Today and forget all about by Tomorrow. Pretty wild how it all turned out.

That's completely understandable. I've noticed people born before 1989 tend to have a difficult time grasping the success of Pokémon or seeing the appeal of it. My brother was born in 1983. He did play Pokémon Red back in 1998 or so. He says he must have been the only 15 year old kid in the country playing it at the time. He only played the game because he read very favourable reviews of it and there was A LOT of hype in magazines about this mysterious Pocket Monsters game that was selling like hot cakes in Japan.

...but he didn't care about anything else in the franchise. Whether or was the anime series, the card game or the movies. Because it was clearly aimed at really young kids. And after he finished Red, he never played another Pokémon game again? Why? "I just have a feeling they're all basically the same thing" was his answer.

This is also why a lot of people outgrow pokemon once they enter their teenage years. As good and fun as the games might be, the franchise overall is clearly marketed and aimed at kids. You play as a 10 year old protagonist who can even defeat adults old enough to be your grandparents jn pokemon battles alll over the world. And even defeat dangerous criminals... by beating them in Pokémon battles. So it's no wonder a lot of people over the age of 12 can't sustain disbelief when it comes to this franchise.

I mean if you play any other JRPG Pokemon is basically based on that. I think RPG's weren't as big in the west in the 80's and 90's and Final Fantasy was still kind of niche until FF7 came out on PS1.

Yes, of course. Pokémon is probably the best introductory RPG for younger gamers. It was my first ever RPG, in fact.

You're probably right. The SNES had some critically acclaimed RPGs though. But more people were probably playing Super Mario World, Street Fighter 2, A Link to the Past and Mortal Kombat on it than FF3(6), Earthbound, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. That being said, I'm sure the SNES helped introduce a lot of Europeans and Americans to JRPGs.

But yes, with PS1 and the high-selling FF7, JRPGs became the coolest genre ever among gamers in the West.

Even though I was born in the 80's I was right about in the cut-off point to get into Pokemon. I think I was 12 years old when Red/Blue came out in the U.S., so I was in the inebwteen phrase of being a kid and then turning into a teen, so it just at the right time.

BTW, this is a little off topic, but I might as well ask it here:

Does anyone actually nickname their own Pokémon? I've never done that it my entire life, nor do I remember anyone back in the day doing it either. And back then, most kids took their Game Boy to school to play Pokémon. And we all crunched over and watched each other play. Which is kind of crazy considering Game Boys didn't good lighting compared to more modern handheld systems. Someone's shadow would basically make you unable to see anything on the screen
:lol:

New trailer!

That Professor guy is pretty cool.

Looks like a hardboiled ex-detective that lost his wife, and never solved the murder. :P

Aren't they all pretty much the same game? Just different trainers and updated Pokemon?

Pretty much, yeah.

The core mechanics of the series have been the same since the very first game. With improvements over time due to technological evolution obviously.

Gen 3 added contests as something else to do besides battling random trainers and gym leaders, but they disappeared after gen 4 or 5 games for some reason.

Anyway, it's hard to explain to someone who hasn't played Pokémon what makes a game more enjoyable than other.

For example I love Omega Ruby, but Y felt a little off to me, even if it was a fine game overall and still the same usual Pokémon game.

Got the game recently.

I ahd seen some people complain about glitches and such but I don't think I've seen any. A bit of a framerate slowdown at times sure, but that's common on the Switch tbh.

The game seems fine. I'm still early in it. Haven't challenged my 1st gym yet. Still trying to get used to the 3D aspect of it.

Hope you got Violet instead of sh*tty Scarlet.

Literally what is the difference?

Only the dopest Professor in all of Pokemon. 8)

Oh, that sexy cavewoman type professor everyone's been talking about.

I think, Gordon Freechad is cooler than a cavewoman.

I chose Violet over Scarlet, but I don't remember why. Probably some Pokemon or whatever.

That aside, with the Pokemon games, for me anyway, it depends on the story and gameplay. I played the first gen games (Red/Blue/Green...Yellow to an extent, but that was based a little bit closer to the anime) and they were fun. Your character trying to become the best trainer to complete the Professor's Pokedex and coming across an evil organization that exploited, or possibly killed Pokemon (Slowpoke tail anyone?) for money and whatever and your thwarting their plans. You defeated them, took out the boss which caused the organization to disband, you fight against the Elite 4, the end. Gen 2, three years later, you have a new trainer from a new region (based on the Kansai region of Japan from my memory and I liked it a lot), Red from the Red/Green/Blue games kinda vanished and the Rocket Gang were back trying to find their boss. You could play in the Kanto region and the newer region and that’s the Gold/Silver games. At the end, you do fight against Sakaki/Giovanni again and defeat him and the Rocket Gang is officially disbanded. You then have that bonus fight on Mt. Silver against Red, which was kind of epic, since he’d vanished or whatever. Gold/Silver was a fun sequel.

After that, I was lukewarm with the games. I couldn't get into Gen 3 (Ruby/Sapphire) or Gen 4 (Diamond/Pearl). The remakes of Gold/Silver (Heart Gold/Soul Silver) brought me back in. I still say Sakaki killed himself at the end...but hey, it's just a theory. That got us into Gen 5 with Black/Black 2/White/White 2. Those games brought me back into the series because of the story and the protagonist(s) of the games being older. I pre-ordered Black (in Japan), and enjoyed it a lot and then pre-ordered Black 2, which was a direct sequel to it.

Next Gen, X/Y....meh. That was...not very memorable and I was pulled out again interest wise. I finished it, but...eh.

Next Gen, didn't get since I lost my 3DS when going back to Japan...but I don't think it would've held my interest. Sword/Shield either, getting down to it.

Still wish I could remember what made me pre-order Violet. lol

Out of the Gens I've played, though, Gen 2 and 5 are my favorites. Going back, I liked that you could go back and play the Kanto region stuff. Using the Shinkansen to go back and forth between the regions was awesome and it's even more fun while playing the games and using the Shinkansen while RIDING on the Shinkansen. lol

As mentioned, the gaming mechanics are usually pretty similar...might have a new gimmick here or there, but for me personally, if I don't find the story interesting or if the antagonists don't have some kind of interesting motivations as to why they are acting the way they are, I can't fully get into the games. I think that was my issue with Pokemon X. I think the evil organization wanted people to dress cool or some nonsense.

A lot of people have been saying that the game feels entirely different on the Switch 2. As in, it runs very smoothly and isn't glitchy anymore.

The sales figures for all mainline Pokémon games as of today:

https://i.redd.it/d7l2v42j1v4g1.png

Scarlet/Violet and Sword/Shield being in the top below Red and Blue and above Gold and Silver is rather surprising.

I guess the Switch sales numbers also explain that in part, but then again everyone back then had a Game Boy and the DS nearly came close to PS2 numbers yet Black and White games also fall behind them...

Anyway gens 8 and 9 look suspiciously close to gen I but as you go down the list you then notice Yellow at a whooping 14M copies old which really skyrockets Gen I's numbers.

In the case of the G1/G2 numbers, do they include the 3DS re-releases?

I'm surprised how well S/V sold, normally the second entry in a same console sells less but I guess Sw/Sh also came out early in the Switch's life and before the pandemic that drove sales to insane levels. It doesn't deserve to beat the original games in sales.

Gen 3 being almost the last mainline game goes to show that it was one of the besst gens, when the game was nearly dead, only true fans.


No, they don't reveal digital sales I believe that list is from wikipedia which only states the numbers they release officially. And the Gen1 games didn't get more sales when they launched digitally,neither did the re-releases of say the Mario and Zelda series, etc on Virtual Console.

Virtual console? No idea... but those came out in 2017 already, so I can't imagine them making that much of a difference. Plus it was near the end of the system's lifetime and while popular, it was never a huge phenomenon like the Game Boy or the original DS was. It also didn't sell more units than the GBA did. So I can't imagine the re-releases of Gen I-II games on the 3DS Virtual Console being more than a drop in the ocean in the total numbers.

Black and White sales numbers are a little sad. They're arguably the best Pokémon games but I know they were rather divisive among fans back when they came out. Nowadays Pokémon fans would kill to have games a good as the Gen V ones. :lol:

Platinum, Emerald and Crystal being the lowest selling games make sense. They were the "third versions" of their gens, and even back then people didn't like the idea of re-buying a whole game again for a few additions. But it's a shame because Platinum and Emerald are excellent games, much better than the original D/P and Ruby/Sapphire. Crystal was fun too.

Nowadays with DLC expansions you don't need to do "third versions" anymore. In retrospect it's amazing how Gamefreak/Nintendo got away with getting people to buy the same exact game 2-3 times over and over just for the different pokemon in each. It really was a brilliant way to drive up sales.

Yeah honestly the fact there still are Pokémon who can only evolve through trade in 2025 even though trading Pokémon is easier than ever these days, is pretty stupid.

It took me playing BDSP 3 years ago to finally get Alakazam, Machamp and Golem :lol: I never took my Game Boy to school as a kid neither did I have a link cable so I never got to experience the final evolutions of those 3 until a few years ago.

I've seen people claim they buy both versions always because they like owning both. I've only done that with Black and White, tbh. Instead of replaying Black 1 all over again I just decided to buy White 1 instead.

In 2025, there being 2 slightly different versions of both mainline games of the same generation is quite frankly absurd. Yet Nintendo/Gamefreak get away with it lol

Also looking at that chart I'm surprised all the "remakes" didn't do better. FR/LG, HGSS and Omega Ruby/Sapphire all sold relatively well but given they were the remakes of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn you'd think they would have sold better than they did. FR/LG especially given it came out way back in 2004 when Kanto nostalgia would be at its first highest point in the Gen 3 era.

Also the Ruby/Sapphire remakes outselling both FR/LG AND HGSS is a real shock. HGSS was like a dream game remaking the Johto games, yet the Hoenn remakes did better.

It is quite surprising BDSP and even ORAS outsold HGSS. I always read Pokémon fans praising the HGSS games as being peak Pokémon. Personally, I think they're fine but not better than ORAS. Thing is, Johto lives off nostalgia pretty much. It's a flawed region with a rather underwhelming Pokédex. And the best Johto mons can only be obtained late in the game when you're in Kanto already... which makes zero sense. And Johto itself is not much of a full fledged region but more like Kanto extended.

People also say Kanto and Gen I live off nostalgia and that RBY have very flawed mechanics such as psychics being OP... and they're not wrong. But at least Gen I does not have the unbalanced level curve the Gen II games do.

ORAS are the perfect Pokémon remakes for me. They also have a huge Pokédex. Fun fact: ORAS are the reason we never got a Pokémon Z a decade ago or so. ORAS took the developers a long time to finish and quite frankly, it shows. So much content in that game.

Both the Johto games and the anime kind of suffered from the "sophmore slump" where they relied too much on Kanto and didn't have their own identity. I like most of the Johto pokemon themselves though, but the games were fine, and the anime portion is known to get bogged down with a lot of repetitive filler eps for the first time, it's why people felt Ash's story was going nowhere at the time. Granted all the sagas later do have similar issues, but the writers manage to include more development for the cast and companions and better battles, even if the formula stayed the same.

Also the initial pokemon fad largely died down around 2001/early 2002, when we were in the middle of the Johto era. At least in the U.S., I don't know how it was in Europe.

It was pretty much the same here. Like I said before, by the end of 6th grade, Pokémon's initial fad was over among my generation. I didn't notice it at first due to summer vacation, but once 7th grade began no one was talking about Pokémon anymore. Yu-Gi-Oh was quite popular in the 2nd half of 6th grade but it was short lived. In 7th grade, Beyblade was popular for a while and then in 8th grade, Magic the Gathering became popular.