Gotta Catch 'Em All! - Pokémon Thread

The Mighty Mollusk

Scream all you like, 'cause we're all mad here
Citizen
Only a handful really felt broken (looking at you especially, Rayquaza and Gengar). Some, like Garchomp, are even downgrades.
 

Caldwin

Eorzean Idiot
Citizen
I really only ever play single player. Even then I would typically grind until everything was overleveled. So OP never really even bothered me.
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
They're having another Tera Raid Event for Walking Wake and Iron Leaves. It goes from today until February 27.

You can also get a Championship Jumpluff with the code:
EU1C25SUNNYDAY


And with Pokemon Day less than a week away, I'm going to post a Pokemon Megatheory. The recent Teraleak had a few key details revealed that really put things together for me, and I'm writing this all down. Just to see if I'm right ahead of any reveals for Legend Z-A. Fair warning, as I will be talking a little about the Teraleak. Including one reveal about Legends Z-A, which you might not want to spoil yourself for. You've been warned.
It all comes down to this leaked story:
reddit.com/r/PokeLeaks/comments/1g2gp8u/leaked_og_arceus_lore/
leaked-og-arceus-lore-v0-c5hgbnnyyfud1.jpeg

This story mentioned that Arceus was born from a Cosmic Egg and the pieces of his shell turned into Giants and attacked him.

Now, this is clearly a reference to Pangu, from Chinese Mythology. But, the Shell Giants part is unique.

In Legends Arceus, there's a message on one of Arceus's Elemental Plates (specifically the Flame Plate) that says that "The power of defeated giants infuses this plate". So, I think this is still an ongoing plot point. Gamefreak is still using these leaked "myths" as a outline for their world-building. They're just being REALLY subtle about it.

I think Gamefreak has been SLOWLY giving us these Shell Giants over the last 5 Generations.

I think the Gimmick “Source” Pokemon are basically all pieces of Arceus that are attacking him and and his creation in order to re-join with him. The “Source” Pokemon ARE the “Shell Giants” mentioned in this leaked myth.

All of the "Source" Pokemon have "crystalline" features...like a Cosmic Eggshell would have. Necrozma, Eternatus, and Terapagos all share obvious crystal-like features in common. Even Deoxys has a crystal at it's core, and is a "space virus", and viruses like the bacteriophage have a crystal-like "head" and properties.

And all these gimmicks have some tie to using Crystals to in order to power your Pokemon. Mega Stones. Z Crystals. Dynamax Wishing Stars. Tera Orbs.

All the "Source" Pokemon come from outside the Pokemon World. Either from outer space, or from other dimensions. They're invasive species trying to get a foothold into this world. Almost all of them crashed into the earth and formed some sort of crater. Deoxys TRIED to crash into the earth in it's meteor (or it succeeded landing on Birth Island in Fire Red/Leaf Green). Necrozma landed in the Farthest Hollow or Mount Lanakila depending on if it's SM or USUM. Eternatus got into this world through the Max Lair in the Crown Tundra. Terapagos formed the Great Crater of Paldea.

And in each Generation since Gen 6, the "infection" caused by these "Source" Pokemon spreads a little bit more. In Gen 6, only a handful of Pokemon could even use Mega Evolution. In Gen 7, ALL Pokemon could use Z-Moves, but it caused no physical changes. In Gen 8, ALL Pokemon could use Dynamax, but only a handful could use Gigantamax, which changed their physical appearance. And in Gen 9, ALL Pokemon can use Tera, and ALL the Pokemon are changed in a fundamental way, changing their elemental type.

So, in theory, whatever the Gen 10 gimmick turns out to be should give ALL the Pokemon a radical new appearance in some way. Which...is unlikely given budgets, but it would fit the pattern.

We've also seen other crystals around the various Regions get larger as each Generation goes on. In Gen 6, we saw the Anistar City Sundial, but that was a pretty localized phenomenon. In Gen 7...there isn't really a lot, but the Tapu's do start handing out "Sparkling Stones" and Z-Crystals become more relevant. Gen 8 saw the Max Raid Dens pop up all around the region. And in Gen 9, these crystal like structures are even larger as Tera Raid Dens.

So, again, in theory, Gen 10 should give us "Gimmick Dens" that look like crystals that are even larger than the Tera Raid Den crystals we saw all around Paldea.

There's also the Giant Trees, which seem to be playing a part in all of this. Though, I'm not sure how. I think the Giant Trees are actually a way to "protect" or "purify" the Region from invasion and infection from these "Shell Giant" invaders? I think it ties into how certain trees are seen as "sacred" and have spiritual "purifying" properties in Shintoism. The Giant Trees are most likely some sort of defense against foreign invaders.

In Gen 6, Coumarine's Grass Gym is one Giant Tree. In ORAS, they also added a special Tree with Az's Floette's Eternal Flowers on it to the entrance to Sootopolis City's Cave of Origin. Gen 7 has Poni Island's Battle Tree. Gen 8 has the Dyna Tree in the Crown Tundra. Gen 9 has the Crystal Tree in the Area Zero Underdepths. Again, in each successive Generation, the Trees seem to become more and more "infected" by the Region's "gimmick". Possibly showing that whatever "purifying" power these Giant Trees have is being overwhelmed by the invasive power these "source" Pokemon are bringing in with them?

So, again, in theory, Gen 10 should have another Giant Tree, which will likely be completely consumed by whatever the "Gimmick" for that Generation is.


So, to put this all together, I think these "Source" Pokemon are actually the "Shell Giants" from that leaked Gamefreak creation myth. And I think all these "Shell Giants" are trying to re-join with Arceus. I think they're trying to put Arceus BACK into the Cosmic Shell he was birthed from, so they can all be a part of him again. They want to return to what they used to be. So, they're trying to infuse the world with their powers in order to consume this world and Arceus along with it. Which may be why Legends Arceus happens in the first place. Arceus summoned a strong trainer from the "future" or a alternate dimension in order to make the world stronger in the past in order to protect it from invasions from outside this world in the future.

The "Shell Giants" aren’t as “creative” as Arceus. The "Shell Giants" can only modify existing Pokemon not create new ones of their own. Arceus is all about creating NEW life. The "Shell Giants" are making more powerful forms of things that already exist…possibly so they can destroy each other and reduce the amount of variety. The "Shell Giants" probably want Arceus to return to the Egg. Wants to bring Arceus back to the womb so they can all be ONE again. The "Shell Giants" are invasive species that don’t belong in this environment. Which means ALL the gimmicks are “evil”. They all start out already defeated by Arceus, which is why they’re all “broken” and need to regain their powers in the games they get introduced in.

Yes, even cute little Terapagos is probably actually a alien invader trying to un-make creation by re-joining with Pokemon God. Terapagos is probably the most successful of these "invaders" so far. Because, there's EVERY chance that the explosion that created the Great Crater of Paldea is also what originally damaged the Treasures of Ruin. The Treasures of Ruin were likely similar to the Tapus of Alola originally. But, they got damaged somehow in the past. So, chances are, Terapagos and the creation of the Great Crater is what damaged the Treasures and is why they all appear "broken" in the present day. And in a way, they still almost fulfill their roles as "Guardians" of the Region, by sealing themselves around the Great Crater where Terapagos lays sleeping.

This also may explain why Legends Arceus didn't give us a new form for Arceus, despite him being the title Legendary. Even though we got Primal Dialga and Palkia. Gamefreak might be waiting to complete this "Shell Giants" storyarc, and give Arceus a Crystal Armor form or something. Gen 10 may give us a new Arceus form, based on him resolving his differences with the "Shell Giants". I do think there's going to be a reconciliation between these groups. Because at the end of the day, these "Shell Giants" don't seem necessarily evil. They're just...clingy.

There actually HAS been an overarching story for these last few Geneartions. Invading Pokemon have gotten stronger and more successful in inbedding themselves into the Regions. Alien Energies have changed more and more Pokemon in greater and more fundamental ways. More Crystals have been showing up around the region, and growing in size, changing the very land. The Giant Trees that protect the land have begun to fail, not being able to keep up with the strength of these Invasive Species. It’s just that it’s happened so slowly and gradually that most people haven’t really been able to notice it. If this had all happened over the course of a single game, people would definitely be noticing this. But, because this is taking place over multiple games over the course of the last 10 years, it’s harder to notice.

And to put the icing on the cake...everything I've said about the "Source" Pokemon, also applies to Kyurem. Kyurem is covered in ice CRYSTALS. Kyurem came from outer space and crash landed, creating the Giant Chasm. There's the White Treehollow for the Giant Tree. Gen 5 is when the Comet Shards and Elemental Gems were introduced for our "crystals" found around the region. Kyurem even has a unique "gimmick" in the form of Absofusion using the DNA Splicers, even if only he can use it on himself. But, even that makes sense if he's the LEAST effective and "first" of these invaders. So, yes, I think the Original Dragon/Komplete Kyurem will turn out to be one of these "Shell Giants", as well. If and when we get new Unova games, I think Absofusion and the DNA Splicers could play a bigger part in the games then they did before. Kyurem (or maybe Giratina) is actually where this whole storyarc started. And chances are, revealing the Original Dragon will signal this story coming full circle towards the end.

So, I think Gen 10 is actually going to be where a lot of this possible background lore could come to a head. Gen 10 could also be said to be Gen X. Or Gen "Cross" in Japanese. I think Gen X could be a “Cross”-Over of all these Gimmicks in a single game. I think ALL the Gimmicks from the last few games will probably be usable in Gen 10. And all this lore will become a lot more clear and brought to the forefront. We might be in for a "Kirby Lore" level reveal in the very near future.

…Or I could be overthinking all this. That’s very possible as well. But, I just have a hunch that all this seemingly background lore that’s been simmering behind the scenes is eventually going to start to boil fairly soon.

So, I’m going to make a prediction. I think for Legends Z-A, Lumiose City’s Prism Tower will be built where one of the Giant Trees used to be. I think building the Prism Tower is going to be what sets off Zygarde in the game and might be what causes it to be “corrupted” with Mega Evolution. Humans destroyed one of the things protecting them from Invaders, and they didn’t even realize it. We’ll see if I’m even close or if the Pokemon Day trailer even hints at anything like that.

Also, have a updated "Arceus Summoning Circle" I made based around this theory:
PM01.jpg

PM02.jpg

PM03.jpg
 
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ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
All four episodes of Pokemon Concierge are up on youtube officially for free for a limited time! It's a really cute series, give it a watch if you've never seen it before.
The videos are below:
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
And a few more animations right before Pokemon Day tomorrow!

First the big one. The Postman Dragonite:

And 3 Mon Poke shorts, which I've missed before:

None of these have English subtitles. But, you can use a combination of auto-translate and context to get most of it.
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
It's Pokemon Day! Time for the Pokemon Presents!
(Skip to 7:40 for the actual mainline game coverage...or 13:30 if you just want to get to the big Legends Z-A news)

New episodes of Pokemon Concierge are coming in September! I'm looking forward to it. It's a really charming little side-series. Arcanine is so fluffy!

Shiny Super-Ancient Legends are coming to Pokemon Masters EX. These trailers always look so cool. So stylish.

Darkrai and Cresselia are coming to Pokemon Sleep. Again, Pokemon always does cool trailers for these things. Even though, I personally have no interest in Pokemon Sleep.

Pokemon Unite. Suicune in a kimono has real "cat in a sweater" energy.

Pokemon TCG Pocket. This music is FAR too ominous for just opening packs of digital trading cards.



And now we start the actual mainline stuff!

Oh, they're giving away Rotom Phone cases in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. SBookCover in Scarlet, and VBookCover in Violet. Why are these version exclusive? Why not just give us both? Gamefreak is weird, sometimes.

Mass Outbreaks with higher shiny chances are always nice, though. I really don't care about the "Mightiest Mark" Pokemon, though.

Okay, this trailer is looking pretty cool. Got a lot of past-generation love going on. And it's...another mobile game?! REALLY?! *SIGH* Well, at least it seems to have cross-play with consoles. Pokemon Champions! A Stadium-like game, where you can use multiple Gimmicks! Mega Evolution vs Tera! Probably Z Moves and Dynamax too! I'm sure some people are excited for this. I'm going to wait and see how good the single-player experience turns out to be first. I doubt this is going to be a Colosseum-level experience. We don't even get a release date, though. So, it's probably not going to be this year.

Oh...we're getting news about...languages! How...exciting! (Do they have NOTHING BETTER to talk about?) Latin American Spanish will now be available...in future games. Eventually. Scintillating...really. I'm glad we took time out of this one-a-year presentation to talk about this. (This announcement could have been an e-mail) . Heh. 10 Languages just in time for Gen 10...I have a feeling that was on purpose.



Legends Z-A! Finally! 13 mintues into this 19 minute presentation!

We have our Starters! Chikorita, Totodile, and Tepig! Weird that they decided to use 2 from Gen 2, but hey, if it gives us a more useful evolution for Chikorita so be it. Hmm...Gen 2, Gen 5, and Gen 2...252...could the Legend Z-A Pokedex have 252 Pokemon in it, this time around? If that's the reason these 3 were chosen, I swear...

I do still hope they do something for the original Kalos starters. Give them new final evos or Mega Evos or something, at least.

You can SIT at the cafes! The epic return of sitting! But will the roller skates make a return?

Huh. Looks like your partner pokemon can auto-attack without going into full-battle maybe? Interesting. I wonder if that's actually what we're seeing or if they just didn't show us the User Interface for the trailer.

Parkour! In Pokemon! It'll probably be pretty limited, but still kind of neat! Also, you can jump around like Spider-Man!

And yes, Virginia...there IS Mega Evolution! Looks like all the old Mega Evolutions are indeed returning, as far as I can tell.

AZ! Who...looks smaller than normal? Is this an alternate-reality AZ? Or is this just someone else who was "babysitting" Eternal Flower Floette while they were apart?

And there's Zygarde Dog...looking at the Lumiose City Prism Tower...ominously. Yeah, I think Zygarde has a bone to pick with humanity.

So, this actually IS in the future! Cool! I'm all for it!

Oh, no AZ isn't short, it was just a weird shot in the trailer. And it IS AZ. He's still unnervingly tall. And is right and natural. He went from wandering the Earth to running a hotel. Times change, I guess.

Quasartico Inc...that's a name you can trust! No way they turn out to be secretly evil! That logo looks pretty familiar, too. But, I can't quite put my finger on it.

Oh...they're doing a more real-time battle system. That's going to be interesting to try out. Hopefully, it feels good.

We see what looks like a detective's office. And given XY's postgame, I have to wonder if we'll be meeting a older version of Emma who's taken over for Looker?

Could Jett be related to Colress? The swirly blonde hair is giving me the same vibe.

Oh...I see a Zygarde Cell. I guess we're going to be collecting those little guys all over the city...again. Oof, that's going to be a long sidequest.

Late 2025! So, this year! Curious that they didn't just say mid-November like Pokemon games usually release. I'm guessing it's still getting all the bugs worked out.

And they tease something called a "Promotion Match". I'm guessing that's how you gain "ranks" in this game? Their version of Gym Challenges, given this is all set in one big city?

Looking good so far! I'm looking forward to this game!

It is a little interesting that they don't mention anything at all about the Switch 2. No alternate version or upgraded features mentioned. I suppose they might not be allowed to, until Nintendo actually fully announces it. But, it's just interesting that Legends Z-A will probably release on the original Switch well into the Switch 2's launch window.
 
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Dekafox

Fabulously Foxy Dragon
Citizen
Looks like the main new thing in Z-A is that moving around to dodge moves during normal battles.
Wonder if we eventually end up with a Pokemon Souls-like in a future Legends....
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
I doubt Pokemon will ever go FULL Dark Souls on us. This is still a franchise aimed at children, after all. You can't make it too hard, or else you'll end up with crying kids and complaining parents.

I am intrigued by this new battle system they're trying out. It's going to kind of depend on how well it's implemented. It's a interesting step to take. It does make me a little nervous, given Gamefreak's spotty track record this past generation, but I'm just hoping I grow to like it.

Also, have a map from the Pokemon website:
full-look-at-the-map-of-lumiose-city-in-pok%C3%A9mon-legends-z-a-v0-28o4y6xv0ple1.jpeg


You might notice that there's Blue, Red, Pink, Yellow, and Green sections of the city. Which lines up pretty well with both old Pokemon generations colors and the alternate colors for Flabebe. Not perfectly, but somewhat.
 
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ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
I'm sorry about that. I kind of wish they'd make those legendaries a permanent part of the raid rotation, instead of a limited time thing.
 

Echowarrior

Well-known member
Citizen
I'm sorry about that. I kind of wish they'd make those legendaries a permanent part of the raid rotation, instead of a limited time thing.
Oh, no, not the Tera Raid. I have Walking Wake and Iron Leaves. I was referring to the Jumpluff code. I've been distracted all week due to work and assorted other bits of crazy, and when I went to input the code this afternoon, it simply didn't work.
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
OH...I just had a interesting thought about the "Promotion Matches" they teased in the Legends Z-A trailer.
What if they're basically following up on this:

reddit.com/r/PokemonScarletViolet/comments/1hn1pbx/who_did_geeta_send/
dx1zbt887a9e1.jpg

zr2xgdi87a9e1.png


What if these "Promotion Matches" are basically Z-A's version of The Pokemon World Tournament from B2/W2?
 


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