Pokemon Sword & Shield GENERAL DISCUSSION Thread [Spoilers]

[Dragalge]

Well, there wasn’t a Fairy type one or a Dark type one created either. They must not have done it because Bede & Marnie specialize in those types (though I still don’t get why since they covered all of the gym leaders’s types).

Personally, while I’m a little annoyed that the gym challengers are basically just reskinned NPCs in-game, I still love this concept since it adds a new layer to the gym challenge concept. We’ve been seeing these characters in the background all through the gyms, so it’s nice to finally battle them & now I kind of want to know more about them.

They're still the same generic NPCs as before. I'm sure we got so called apprentices of gym leaders from previous trainers before SWSH. Nothing revolutionary!

 

[Mr.Munchlax]

They're still the same generic NPCs as before. I'm sure we got so called apprentices of gym leaders from previous trainers before SWSH. Nothing revolutionary!

True, but at least they put a fun spin on the concept since you’ve been seeing them in the background all throughout the gym challenge (they even showed up during the opening ceremony since I remember Cher walking by during the cutscene when you first enter the battlefield in Motostoke Stadium).

Plus, Pia’s the only one I can see being an apprentice based on her dialogue, the others sound like they have their own personal stories to them.

 

[Lord Godwin]

Well, there wasn’t a Fairy type one or a Dark type one created either. They must not have done it because Bede & Marnie specialize in those types (though I still don’t get why since they covered all of the gym leaders’s types).

Personally, while I’m a little annoyed that the gym challengers are basically just reskinned NPCs in-game, I still love this concept since it adds a new layer to the gym challenge concept. We’ve been seeing these characters in the background all through the gyms, so it’s nice to finally battle them & now I kind of want to know more about them.

The only thing I wish is that they got more of an emphasis in the first tournament (after earning 8 badges) since their teams could’ve been used to promote some of the other Gigantamax pokémon. For example, Yue could’ve had Gigantamax Snorlax, Polairs could’ve had Gigantamax Orbretle, Icla could’ve had Gigantamax Toxtricity, Corvin could’ve had Gigantamax Pikachu, Dune could’ve had Gigantamax Sandaconda, & Vega could’ve had Gigantamax Kingler

Or Toxtricity.
I noticed The fighting challenger mentiones Kanto which is intersting.

I was wondering if all The NPC using Dynamax and Gigantomax Pokemon have maximized Dynamax Level so their HP Doubles?

Did anyone create A list of Pokemon BST
impacted by Abilities (like Swift Swim, Light Armie, Huge Power), Form Change (e.g. Cherrim at sunshine, Totem Aura etc).

Basically how much is an 1 or 2 stage increase and how we should count it? Ja it some % value?

 

[Ophie]

Well, there wasn’t a Fairy type one or a Dark type one created either. They must not have done it because Bede & Marnie specialize in those types (though I still don’t get why since they covered all of the gym leaders’s types).

Personally, while I’m a little annoyed that the gym challengers are basically just reskinned NPCs in-game, I still love this concept since it adds a new layer to the gym challenge concept. We’ve been seeing these characters in the background all through the gyms, so it’s nice to finally battle them & now I kind of want to know more about them.

The NPCs were also given different clothes, which is not an insignificant thing from a programming perspective, as the trainer models were most likely designed with their original clothes in mind. Honestly, until I saw that thumbnail, I hadn't even noticed they were palette-swapped versions of existing trainer types.

Looks like the Challenge Cup is the only way to get the Toxic Orb and the Flame Orb though, both of which are listed as Very Rare.

Basically how much is an 1 or 2 stage increase and how we should count it? Ja it some % value?

They're not tied to base stats, but the actual numerical in-game value. Each stage increase is equal to 50% of that number rounded down. (That means that number is doubled when at 2 stages, doubled-and-a-half at 3 stages, tripled at 4 stages, tripled-and-a-half at 5 stages, and quadrupled at 6 stages.)

For instance, at Level 50, Espeon's highest possible Special Attack is 200, and its highest possible Special Defense is 161. If a perfect Espeon uses Calm Mind, its Special Attack and Special Defense go up by one stage, making them 300 and 241 (because half of 161, rounded down, is 80). If it uses it again, it increases to 400 and 321.

 

[Bus]

Trying to create a team to face my friend with when we both meet up for a wedding next weekend, but I can't think of a full team. Neither of us have ever done competitive pokemon raising or anything (but this gen made it easy) so I still don't know entirely what i want to run. Anyone up for advice given the pokemon I've got planned to use so far?

Pokemon EV/IV maxed so far
Orbeetle SpeD/Def (Weakness Policy + was thinking of having her out first to raise speed then Baton Pass)
Dracovish Attck/Spd (Fishious Rend + Strong Jaw + Choice Band)
Darmanitan Attck/Spd (Zen Mode + Focus Slash)
Dragapault Spd/Attck (Infiltrator + Life Orb)

And then I've got Appletun, Hatterene, Cursola, Polteageist, Duraladon, Coalossal, and Goodra (with Gooey ability) all maxed out in their 'specialties' so to speak for EV and IVs.

I just caught an Eevee with Adaptability, so I was thinking of training an Espeon with Magic Bounce next. I just don't know if I should have a more cohesive team or if I should be making sure to cover my bases or what.

EDIT: Just remembered I also have a maxed out Runergrigus specialized in Def/Spd with a little leftover in Attack and holding an Assault vest to boost the Special Defense.

 

[shoz999]

Just realized this but I don't think the sleep animations are in SwSh.

 

[Ophie]

@Bus - A heads-up, but Adaptability is one of Eevee's regular Abilities. You want one with Anticipation if you want to use Magic Bounce Espeon.

 

[Bus]

@Bus - A heads-up, but Adaptability is one of Eevee's regular Abilities. You want one with Anticipation if you want to use Magic Bounce Espeon.

I learned that about 5 minutes ago when I checked my box and found that it had Syncronize instead lol. Oh well.

Testing out Orbeetle with Agility while holding a Weakness Policy before Baton Passing to Dracovish. So far its dominating. I think those two are definitely in for my team. I just don't know who else to really commit to lol.

 

[Mr.Munchlax]

Personally, there’s not a single Gen 8 pokémon I hate in terms of design. As someone who loves weird, goofy, cartoony, & gimmicky pokémon, this Gen honestly feels like a perfect fit for me and each one them look great or unique to me. At most, there are only a couple that I mildly like & there’s really only a handful that I’m absolutely in love with. I even like Galarian Mr. Mime (even though it’s so much creepier than the original) because its design has an uncanny charm to it.

However, if you ask me based on my experiences with them in the games, I can easily think of three that I hate with a passion:

• I hate Skwovet & Greedent because of the berry trees. After shaking hundreds of trees in the wild area to get specific berries for battles & curry, I can’t tell you how annoying it is to have these squirrels take either some or all of the berries I picked.
• While I love its derpy design, & how its eyes stare into your soul, I HATE Cramorant since it’s actually one of the hardest in-game pokémon to beat for me. The first wild Cramorant I fought nearly took out my entire team, while Hop’s Cramorant KO’d two of my pokémon & paralyzed one of them during my battle at Stow-On-Side.

 

[Emboar_Rulez]

Is it possible to get the pokedex data of Zamazenta anywhere in Pokémon sword?

 

[Ophie]

A few more results of my experimentation (should I make a separate topic for this where it's compiled on one place?):

Yesterday, I was attempting to give a newly-hatched Pokémon the Pokérus by running from wild encounters, but I was unsuccessful at it for hours. I discovered a second condition I overlooked: To spread the Pokérus by running from wild encounters, you must bring out a Pokémon with the Pokérus in its infectious stage. I don't know if it has to be in the initial slot or if you can switch in to a Pokémon with an infectious Pokérus, however.

Cursola's Perish Body takes effect even if the contact move knocks it out. This may actually be an easier application of Perish Body than to let it take a hit and switch in to something that can trap it, since when Cursola is knocked out, you have to immediately replace it with something--might as well do it with a Pokémon with Arena Trap or Shadow Tag. (Or Magnet Pull once Meltan is made available.) That is, Cursola's role on a team is to sacrifice itself to ensure taking out an opponent's Pokémon that might otherwise give a lot of trouble. Cursola's low Defense suggests switching it in when you expect your opponent will use a contact move. Excadrill, Gyarados, Arctovish, Corviknight, Mimikyu, Zacian, and Zamazenta all rely on contact moves to some degree, making them potential victims of Perish Body. Which brings me to my next point...

Max Moves and G-Max Moves do not make contact, even if the moves they're based on do. It's a situational thing, but there are a lot of moves, Abilities, and other factors that differ depending on if you use a contact move or not, and this can be one potential way to get out of a sticky situation, such as if the opposing Pokémon is wearing a Rocky Helmet, has Iron Barbs and/or has used King's Shield. This also means that Pokémon with Tough Claws do not get the 30% damage increase from Max Moves; depending on the moves, a Pokémon with Tough Claws might less damage when Dynamaxed. (There are currently no Gigantamax Pokémon with Tough Claws, at least under normal circumstances.)

 

[MotostokeOnTrent]

The more I think back to my run-through experience, the more it becomes acutely obvious where the polish was applied and where it was de-prioritised, presumably due to time pressures. Contrast:

- Beautiful battle scenes
- Excellent music
- Unique Gym Leader Dynamax animations
- Trainer album cards
- Distinct overworld behaviours for different species

With:

- No generic train or taxi animation
- No London Eye ride
- The end credits
- The lack of water beautification (no reeds, lilies etc.)

It's abundantly obvious that the issue was never 'laziness', far too much quality time has been spent on some really flavourful animations and the like. However, if you play the end credits music backwards, you can hear Masuda screaming for another years' worth of development time. I think there's real potential for a theoretical third version to look amazing.

 

[Orphalesion]

The more I think back to my run-through experience, the more it becomes acutely obvious where the polish was applied and where it was de-prioritised, presumably due to time pressures.
It's abundantly obvious that the issue was never 'laziness', far too much quality time has been spent on some really flavourful animations and the like. However, if you play the end credits music backwards, you can hear Masuda screaming for another years' worth of development time. I think there's real potential for a theoretical third version to look amazing.

I agree with a lot of the people that say that this game should have been delayed. There just seems a lot that was not quite finished.

Like...two things I find *really* suspicious are

1) that factory on Route 3. Sonia just points at it and tells you about it, there is a path leading to it (only blocked by a very filmy string fence). It just seems like that was supposed to be a location, but they couldn't finish it in time
2)The fossil lady just standing around route 6 with her defosilization machine, instead of being in a laboratory. That just seems really sloppy and like they had to put her there because her proper location was cut from the finished release.

I'm also wondering whether something about the story was cut or retooled to accomodate cuts. Since both the plot and most sub-plots kinda just stop by the time you beat Opal. "Congratulations Sonia, you're the professor now!" "Congratulations Bede, you get abducted by Opal!"

 

[MotostokeOnTrent]

I agree with a lot of the people that say that this game should have been delayed. There just seems a lot that was not quite finished.

Like...two things I find *really* suspicious are

1) that factory on Route 3. Sonia just points at it and tells you about it, there is a path leading to it (only blocked by a very filmy string fence). It just seems like that was supposed to be a location, but they couldn't finish it in time

Nnnng, yes! I don't necessarily disagree with the prioritisation (the polish seems to have gone into the League challenge and Gym Leaders, which all feels more fleshed out than ever before and is great considering it's the core progression structure), but the gaps are just stark.

 

[Dragalge]

I agree with a lot of the people that say that this game should have been delayed. There just seems a lot that was not quite finished.

Like...two things I find *really* suspicious are

1) that factory on Route 3. Sonia just points at it and tells you about it, there is a path leading to it (only blocked by a very filmy string fence). It just seems like that was supposed to be a location, but they couldn't finish it in time
2)The fossil lady just standing around route 6 with her defosilization machine, instead of being in a laboratory. That just seems really sloppy and like they had to put her there because her proper location was cut from the finished release.

I'm also wondering whether something about the story was cut or retooled to accomodate cuts. Since both the plot and most sub-plots kinda just stop by the time you beat Opal. "Congratulations Sonia, you're the professor now!" "Congratulations Bede, you get abducted by Opal!"

Yeah the power plant thing was just odd and just ties into my issue of how there weren’t any filler locations to explore. Past games had this like Unova’s routes 17 & 18 and Alola’s Kala’e Bay. You get none of that in Galar.

 

[Lord Godwin]

Looking at New Pokemon and their stat distrubition Sorward and Shielbert should either have Sirfetch'd and Runerigus as their Access or they could have given them G-Max Kingler and Sandaconda respectively (which no one uses).

 

[Ultra Beast Lover]

Did that spring do anything? The one that was said to heal Zamazenta/Zacian? I feel like that might've been an important story beat.

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Did that spring do anything? The one that was said to heal Zamazenta/Zacian? I feel like that might've been an important story beat.

Perhaps they intended it at some point to do more, but in practice it's just there to look nice and give a bit more lore. That it's noted only pokemon really use the bath is another nod as well to how the heroes of the past were two pokemon.

 

[Bguy7]

2)The fossil lady just standing around route 6 with her defosilization machine, instead of being in a laboratory. That just seems really sloppy and like they had to put her there because her proper location was cut from the finished release.

I don't know about that one. I feel like the point was that that scientist was extremely sloppy and unprofessional, hence why she's set up shop in the middle of a route and looks all dirty. While there are certainly things that could have used more effort, I think that was done on purpose.

 

[Weavy]

Just realized this but I don't think the sleep animations are in SwSh.

Do you mean the ones from Amie/Refresh? If so, they're still there, I've seen mine and some family member's Pokemon sleeping on quite a few occasions in Camp.

Is it possible to get the pokedex data of Zamazenta anywhere in Pokémon sword?

You have to trade for it. Zamazenta can be seen in Sword, but you can't catch it, as it's a Shield exclusive.

I agree with a lot of the people that say that this game should have been delayed. There just seems a lot that was not quite finished.

Like...two things I find *really* suspicious are

1) that factory on Route 3. Sonia just points at it and tells you about it, there is a path leading to it (only blocked by a very filmy string fence). It just seems like that was supposed to be a location, but they couldn't finish it in time
2)The fossil lady just standing around route 6 with her defosilization machine, instead of being in a laboratory. That just seems really sloppy and like they had to put her there because her proper location was cut from the finished release.

I'm also wondering whether something about the story was cut or retooled to accomodate cuts. Since both the plot and most sub-plots kinda just stop by the time you beat Opal. "Congratulations Sonia, you're the professor now!" "Congratulations Bede, you get abducted by Opal!"

There's so much more I could mention, but stuff like this makes really want to see an expansion/sequel to Sword/Shield. So many things are left unexplained or have lost potential, so I hope something comes out to fix this.