New Gameplay Features/Mechanics Discussion Thread

[Inconspicuosaurus]

Ah, well you see my friend, Teddiursa is packing EQ and Rock Slide to take out the Hordes, similar to what I'm assuming is Razor Leaf/EQ on Tropius, but it also has Pick Up for item farming (some extra PP Ups, Rare Candies, Leftovers, and Heart Scales never hurt) and Covet for item theft in case you ever spot a DexNav Mon holding onto something tasty (Life Orb Absol, I'm looking at you). Besides, I don't really even bother carrying a Flier in ORAS. I just Soar, even if it isn't the fastest means of travel. I like to feel the wind on my face!

Ah, I see. I'm talking about X, and using hordes for EV training. In this instance, the Sweet Scenter is not the one killing the hordes. That's usually either the Pokemon I'm training, or my Surf+Parabolic Charge Heliolisk that I use for passing Pokerus before quickly putting back in the PC.

 

[JVLightningLover]

Ah, I see. I'm talking about X, and using hordes for EV training. In this instance, the Sweet Scenter is not the one killing the hordes. That's usually either the Pokemon I'm training, or my Surf+Parabolic Charge Heliolisk that I use for passing Pokerus before quickly putting back in the PC.

Oh, I'm Horde Training, too, which is way easier in ORAS, because there are Routes and areas where the only Horde(s) available give EV's in a particular stat (Route 104 is all Speed, Rusturf Tunnel is all HP, etc.), as opposed to XY where you may still end up with a Horde you don't need (except for Defense in Terminus Cave in X). Also, Sweet Scent works in the field in both Rain and Sand in ORAS. But yeah, I consolidate my Horde summoner and Horde slayer into one adorable package, giving me 5 free slots to fill up with my EV Trainees

 

[Inconspicuosaurus]

Oh, I'm Horde Training, too, which is way easier in ORAS, because there are Routes and areas where the only Horde(s) available give EV's in a particular stat (Route 104 is all Speed, Rusturf Tunnel is all HP, etc.), as opposed to XY where you may still end up with a Horde you don't need (except for Defense in Terminus Cave in X). Also, Sweet Scent works in the field in both Rain and Sand in ORAS. But yeah, I consolidate my Horde summoner and Horde slayer into one adorable package, giving me 5 free slots to fill up with my EV Trainees

I would do the same, but I keep my EV training to X for two reasons: I can't be bothered to grind BP for Power items on two games (/trade them every time I want to use them). And secondly I have the Shiny Charm on X, so all those hordes = extra boosted chances for shinies.

But yes, those QoL changes are all very useful, and I very much hope they keep them in SM. I also hope the day-care has a decent egg-hatching area. I like ORAS's circular route, but it annoys me that they put the deep sand there for seemingly no reason other than to slow down egg-hatching. If that is your goal, why make the route in the first place??

 

[Creyk]

Speaking of, they literally NEED to keep horde battles in the game. It's the best thing they came up with recently, it makes EV training so much easier.

 

[Inconspicuosaurus]

Speaking of, they literally NEED to keep horde battles in the game. It's the best thing they came up with recently, it makes EV training so much easier.

Definitely. It's funny how they introduced a mechanic for the sole purpose of EV training in the same gen, yet it turns out this initially unrelated mechanic is way more efficient. XD I say initially, because, as JV mentioned above, in ORAS they clearly realised what they were being used for and made sure there were areas where you could find only hordes for specific stats.

 

[JVLightningLover]

Definitely. It's funny how they introduced a mechanic for the sole purpose of EV training in the same gen, yet it turns out this initially unrelated mechanic is way more efficient. XD I say initially, because, as JV mentioned above, in ORAS they clearly realised what they were being used for and made sure there were areas where you could find only hordes for specific stats.

Yep, though I still use Super Training to help round out specific EV's once the Horde Training is done (i.e. values like 212, 68, etc.)

 

[DarkerShining]

I'm also among those hoping that the bottlecaps will be unlimited, but that getting them might not be easy. Battle Point prizes, Pick-Up are two of the possible ways I've considered that they might be obtained, so I see that I'm not the only one with that theory. I really just want to know more about this and other game mechanics in general.

Also, I'm hoping these games have good EV training spots like in OR/AS and that they have good places for leveling up, like in X/Y, to go along with all of this.

 

[Victreebong]

@ JVLightningLover

Most evolution items are farmable in Gen VI, but things like Dubious Disc, Reaper Cloth are not. ORAS made it easier because Razor Claws/Fangs are easy to find on Mirage Spots. But none of that compares to Join Ave. That just gave oodles of items with the right vendors. Not even Secret Base friends give you evolutionary hold items.

As far as Hordes, they wouldn't take that out. They started with 2v2 in Gen III all the way through Gen V, then we started to get 5 at a time in Kalos. By Gen VIII, I predict 1v20 will be the new 1v5. Completely EV train you're Pokémon in three battles. No excuses!

 

[Wryteous]

Along with the inclusion of the real time stat monitors in battle. I wonder if they will also have symbols or notes to indicate effects such as Automize's weight reduction or the status of an Air Balloon. I think that would be neat

 

[Victreebong]

Along with the inclusion of the real time stat monitors in battle. I wonder if they will also have symbols or notes to indicate effects such as Automize's weight reduction or the status of an Air Balloon. I think that would be neat

That's why I love Final Fantasy mechanics so much. You can tell when a character or enemy is under statii, because if they're blind they have the dark-glasses speech bubble, or dark cloud around their head. My favorite of all those is the Zombie status because it makes things look stinky!

So if a Pokémon gets Disables, it should have the little squiggles, or if it's cursed then it should have a big pin coming out the side of it. They did this to some degree with the main statii like Sleep and Burn. Let's take it further.

 

[goodpeople25]

That's why I love Final Fantasy mechanics so much. You can tell when a character or enemy is under statii, because if they're blind they have the dark-glasses speech bubble, or dark cloud around their head. My favorite of all those is the Zombie status because it makes things look stinky!

So if a Pokémon gets Disables, it should have the little squiggles, or if it's cursed then it should have a big pin coming out the side of it. They did this to some degree with the main statii like Sleep and Burn. Let's take it further.

I guess less visual representation is the tradeoff for getting your status effects to actually work on enemies? (Just as a general statement in regards to final fantasy of course I know there's exceptions, Stop and/or slow in at least some versions of IV for instance)

But yeah that's another mechanic that's in FF (or at least the ones i play) that I think is quite interesting in regards to Pokemon, I keep finding more.

 

[Algalon]

I would really like an updated PSS or something new, the current one, while a massive improvements on what we had before, is, frankly, embarassing for 2016, to do anything takes SO LONG and it is very non-user-friendly

first of all I hope we get a better queuing system than just battle spot, I hope we get something that matches us up in 6v6 singles and not only 4v4 doubles or 3v3 singles, and also I want filters for passers-by to maybe search for ppl who have ''lets battle'' or ''lets trade'' (or maybe by region) and not just a line full of ''nice to meet you'' I don't wanna see that and PLS PLS remove OFFLINE ppl from my bottom screen and LET US GIVE OOUT FRIEND REQUESTS! and pls revamp the whole friend code system, it's so annoying and needlessly complicated

most of all just guve us a queue for 6v6 battles, it's annoying to look for ppl to battle!!!

and please make it faster

 

[Wryteous]

Replying to quote in apporpriate thread.

http://www.pokemon-sunmoon.com/media/uploads/aug_1_assets/ride-770x562.png

Notice how the Poke Ball has a slot that allows it to seemingly connect to the device? Odds are that all you have to do is dial up the Mon you want and send them out. I'm sure there will be some restrictions (it is directly mentioned that Mudsdale is not allowed on many paved roads), but Pokeride will likely be service you can call on at will. We even see a Tauros on a paved road in one of the trailers, walking away from Hala, implying that it will be allowed in towns and outside of Routes in general.

If that's the way the pokeride feature goes in terms of simplicity- I really like it!
While it may just be for the sake of this particular feature- the ability to call upon and required pokeride pokemon whilst having a team of six technically means the 6 per trainer rule has been broken.... I wonder if they have done away with certain PC box rules or limitations?

 

[JVLightningLover]

Replying to quote in apporpriate thread.
If that's the way the pokeride feature goes in terms of simplicity- I really like it!
While it may just be for the sake of this particular feature- the ability to call upon and required pokeride pokemon whilst having a team of six technically means the 6 per trainer rule has been broken.... I wonder if they have done away with certain PC box rules or limitations?

The site specifically mentions that Ride Pokemon don't actually join your team. You can't battle with them or train them in any way. In other words, no, I don't think they've away with the 6 per team limit, and I'd respond on the PC front, but we haven't seen the PC yet (though that's not uncommon. We hardly ever see the PC layout pre-launch.) Sorry if that bursts your bubble

 

[Wryteous]

The site specifically mentions that Ride Pokemon don't actually join your team. You can't battle with them or train them in any way. In other words, no, I don't think they've away with the 6 per team limit, and I'd respond on the PC front, but we haven't seen the PC yet (though that's not uncommon. We hardly ever see the PC layout pre-launch.) Sorry if that bursts your bubble

Yeah it does a little... hahah. Any PC screenshots would be nice but.
Interested to see how many boxes we will get- the number is getting pretty high

 

[Wulava]

While it may just be for the sake of this particular feature- the ability to call upon and required pokeride pokemon whilst having a team of six technically means the 6 per trainer rule has been broken.... I wonder if they have done away with certain PC box rules or limitations?

From the Treehouse Demo

 

[JVLightningLover]

Yeah it does a little... hahah. Any PC screenshots would be nice but.
Interested to see how many boxes we will get- the number is getting pretty high

I'd say about 30. They typically leave enough spaces for a living Dex and then some, so that should cover it. But don't hold your breath. Pe-XY, most of the "PC" focus went to Pokemon Bank, which we still need an info dump about (it's supposed to get a SuMo and VC update.)

 

[HoennMaster]

Replying to quote in apporpriate thread.
If that's the way the pokeride feature goes in terms of simplicity- I really like it!
While it may just be for the sake of this particular feature- the ability to call upon and required pokeride pokemon whilst having a team of six technically means the 6 per trainer rule has been broken.... I wonder if they have done away with certain PC box rules or limitations?

Latios and Latias in ORAS didn't change anything. These likely won't either.

 

[Wryteous]

Latios and Latias in ORAS didn't change anything. These likely won't either.

You're right, I didn't stop to consider Latias/Latios being on call. What really made me second guess the standard rules were that these pokemon seemed to be called upon by choice- but as you put it that makes it no different from the Eon Flute

I'd say about 30. They typically leave enough spaces for a living Dex and then some, so that should cover it. But don't hold your breath. Pe-XY, most of the "PC" focus went to Pokemon Bank, which we still need an info dump about (it's supposed to get a SuMo and VC update.)

That sounds about right. I got curious and actually looked up the box limits of previous generations, and was surprised by the numbers at the very end
Currently we have 31 boxes I believe in Gen 6- but I think you're still correct about it remaining at that ~30 box limit. Here are the stats:

Gen(Total Species) / PC capacity(#boxes) / Additional spaces beyond 'Living Dex'
Gen I (151) / 240(12) / 89
Gen II (251) / 280(14) / 29
Gen III (386) / 420(14) / 34
Gen IV (493) / 540(18) / 47
Gen V (649) / 720(24) / 71
Gen VI (721) / 930(31) / 209

Gen 6's whopping 209 free spaces beyond a living pokedex is actually pretty curious. The new species introduced were also fewest on record too. Which makes me think that Generation 6 and 7 now with Sun and Moon may have both been planned with the Pokebank in mind from the start- as there is more than enough room for another generation of~130 Pokemon before the "spare space capacity" goes lower than previous generations since 1 and 2[*]. Perhaps it was simply easier to create a Pokebank ready for Gen 7 from the beginning with access to 31 game boxes to make the software more compliant and remove any problems for Gen 7's arrival later on.

With that in mind, I really do think the limit will remain at 30/31 boxes for the first time in a Pokemon generation. The Pokebank itself is always another piece of software that can be guaranteed to sell if people find their Pokemon collection cramped.


[*] exceptions to Gen 1 and 2- but the boxes and data structure was pretty different, only 20 pokemon to a box instead of 30- and the total numbers for storage actually changed between Japanese and Western releases slightly. From Gen 3 onwards- it appears the data and storage has remained relatively identical

 

[Wulava]

Gen 6's whopping 209 free spaces beyond a living pokedex is actually pretty curious.

I don't really think it's about "software compliance" or being "PokeBank-ready".

Keep in mind that Gen 6 is already on the 3DS, where cartridge space is a lot more available.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if Gen 7 gives us 40 boxes (space for 1,200 Pokemon).