Pokemon Sword & Shield GENERAL DISCUSSION Thread [Spoilers]

[Emboar_Rulez]

With more Regis do you think this could mean the return of Brandon in the anime?

 

[Ignition]

The problem is that they are meant to be extremely rare. Subjecting them to Darwinian Evolution will take away this rarity and make them no different than Pikachu or Eevee.

How is there being Galarian variations making them any less rare? Two sets of Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres is still rare compared to the limitless amount of other Pokémon.

 

[RileyXY1]

How is there being Galarian variations making them any less rare? Two sets of Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres is still rare compared to the limitless amount of other Pokémon.

It means that they are widespread enough to become subject to Darwinian Evolution, making them not special anymore.

 

[Divine Retribution]

These expansions cost half the price of the full games. They better bring a generous amount of content to justify that price tag, and I'm honestly not sure I like the idea of expansions in the first place because that treads the line of P2W a little too much for my tastes. What if a player who doesn't have the DLC battles a player who does? Will the player who owns the DLC be restricted from using DLC-exclusive Pokemon in that battle? If not, they have a distinct advantage over the player who doesn't own the DLC, which is P2W by definition.

 

[Ignition]

It means that they are widespread enough to become subject to Darwinian Evolution, making them not special anymore.

They’re still rarer and stronger compared to most Pokémon though which is the whole point of Legends. There will most likely only be one set of them per save file but I can go get as many Galarian Meowth as I’d want.

 

[anjunajake]

It means that they are widespread enough to become subject to Darwinian Evolution, making them not special anymore.

Let's not attempt to apply real world science to Pokemon. It just doens't apply. If in the Pokemon world, there managed to be a variant of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres that maybe migrated to Galar centuries ago and evolved accordingly then that's just what we have to accept. There doesn't have to be a science around it to back it up. They're legendary Pokemon until Gamfreak decides they're not. And they're still special, if not more so now.

 

[UltimateNinja]

The new Pokedexes could also mean that we have to catch all Pokemon from the Island of Armor to get the EXP-Charm. Makes me wonder what they'll do for the Crown of Tundra Dex.

 

[Dragalge]

These expansions cost half the price of the full games. They better bring a generous amount of content to justify that price tag, and I'm honestly not sure I like the idea of expansions in the first place because that treads the line of P2W a little too much for my tastes. What if a player who doesn't have the DLC battles a player who does? Will the player who owns the DLC be restricted from using DLC-exclusive Pokemon in that battle? If not, they have a distinct advantage over the player who doesn't own the DLC, which is P2W by definition.

The Pokemon will be free. SWSH will be updated to get the Pokemon even if they do not have the DLC.

 

[Ultra Beast Lover]

With more Regis do you think this could mean the return of Brandon in the anime?

I would think so I mean he returned for Regigias

 

[Little Hero]

They better bring a generous amount of content to justify that price tag, and I'm honestly not sure I like the idea of expansions in the first place because that treads the line of P2W a little too much for my tastes. What if a player who doesn't have the DLC battles a player who does? Will the player who owns the DLC be restricted from using DLC-exclusive Pokemon in that battle? If not, they have a distinct advantage over the player who doesn't own the DLC, which is P2W by definition.

It really depends, though...I wouldn't call them P2W but I wouldn't say its fair for everyone, either...its a big mess, really.

The Pokemon will be free. SWSH will be updated to get the Pokemon even if they do not have the DLC.

From what I gather the update is to be able to use/include the Pokemon into the game...but no, the Pokemon are not free. The only Pokemon that seems to be free (baring gifts and whatnot) is the Slowpoke that came with this free update, and whose evolutions are locked behind the DLC. You want the new Pokemon they are adding you'll either have to trade (and to do that you need to pay for Switch Online) or buy the DLC for one of the your games or transfer them using an app (a paid subscription). But no, the Pokemon are not free, no matter how you slice it.

 

[Grey Wind]

These expansions cost half the price of the full games. They better bring a generous amount of content to justify that price tag, and I'm honestly not sure I like the idea of expansions in the first place because that treads the line of P2W a little too much for my tastes. What if a player who doesn't have the DLC battles a player who does? Will the player who owns the DLC be restricted from using DLC-exclusive Pokemon in that battle? If not, they have a distinct advantage over the player who doesn't own the DLC, which is P2W by definition.

They've only shown off a couple of new legendaries and forms so far, I wouldn't really say that gives anyone a distinct advantage. If you can use the new Pokemon in battle then you can most likely trade them too, so it's not a whole lot different than version exclusives.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

These expansions cost half the price of the full games. They better bring a generous amount of content to justify that price tag, and I'm honestly not sure I like the idea of expansions in the first place because that treads the line of P2W a little too much for my tastes. What if a player who doesn't have the DLC battles a player who does? Will the player who owns the DLC be restricted from using DLC-exclusive Pokemon in that battle? If not, they have a distinct advantage over the player who doesn't own the DLC, which is P2W by definition.

I wouldn't say it's any different from any of the other similar things they've done, like version-exclusive legendaries. You could say that if you bought Ultra Sun and going into VGC without Kyogre or Lunala was a disadvantage, or with Ultra Moon going into VGC without access to Groudon or Xerneas. It's a disadvantage compared to players having bought both versions. Sure you could trade for them, but then there are always doubts on legitimacy and you could end up with a crappy nature. 2018 Legends fixed most of that (for players with access to those events), although the cover legendaries Solgaleo and Lunala weren't released for the opposite versions until after the main online VGC competitions were already concluded, with the shiny event, and Stakataka and Blacephalon were never released for the opposite version. For most of these expansion pokémon they can at least breed so you can get more of them, making it easier to trade them in.

Besides all that though, I think it's a fairer deal than starting on a first iteration of the region and putting competitive on there, then releasing another game in the same region like USUM, and forcing players to get that game too because all the competitions will go through the new game while the first iteration gets left behind to collect dust. At least here players with only the first game can still actually participate in competitions in 2021 (assuming there won't be a major new game release by the end of this year), being able to trade most of the expansion pokémon in.

 

[BCVM22]

But no, the Pokemon are not free, no matter how you slice it.

OR... you download the free updates and a local friend can trade you whatever you need, which costs you nothing. So if you’re going to make the case that a relatively small cross-section are going to be shut out for not paying for anything beyond the core game, there’s the alternative.

If the next point is “but very few people have someone local to trade with,” that’s true, but again, the inverse is also true, that it’s a very small cross-section of people who refuse to do one of the following: A. buy the DLC, B. pay for Switch Online, or C. Pay for HOME/Bank.

 

[KingMinun]

This is a great move for the company. I feel like it’s back in the days of Colosseum where we had RSFRLG and then all the Pokemon from Johto made appearances in Colosseum so if you wanted some Johto Pokemon you had to buy colosseum and trade them over or hope someone who had it could. Can’t wait to start seeing some older Pokemon

 

[Little Hero]

OR... you download the free updates and a local friend can trade you whatever you need, which costs you nothing. So if you’re going to make the case that a relatively small cross-section are going to be shut out for not paying for anything beyond the core game, there’s the alternative.

If the next point is “but very few people have someone local to trade with,” that’s true, but again, the inverse is also true, that it’s a very small cross-section of people who refuse to do one of the following: A. buy the DLC, B. pay for Switch Online, or C. Pay for HOME/Bank.

...So, someone has to pay. And if you're lucky, it won't be you. But, yeah, the Pokemon are still not free.

 

[chickenperson]

That's always been the case, though. Even in Gen VII, you could trade for free on the GTS, but that still meant someone had to pay for Bank to transfer Pokemon that could be traded.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

It's been the natural selection of Pokemon for someone to pay to get more Pokemon not found in the base game. Why is this suddenly such a disturbing discovery.

 

[Little Hero]

That's always been the case, though. Even in Gen VII, you could trade for free on the GTS, but that still meant someone had to pay for Bank to transfer Pokemon that could be traded.

True, and someone still had to pay; I don't get where this "the Pokemon are free" is coming from. Like I said, if you're lucky and you don't pay, good for you, but the Pokemon are not being added for free.

It's been the natural selection of Pokemon for someone to pay to get more Pokemon not found in the base game. Why is this suddenly such a disturbing discovery.

Because they're going to be spending more money, its my best guess.

Also, a third version would have been better in the long run...at least for me.

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Because it would imply that they are common enough to be subject to Darwinian Evolution. They wouldn't be special anymore and as result they are stripped of their Legendary status and they would just be normal Pokemon.

If that's how you're defining a legendary then that shipped sailed long ago, i.e. back in gen 3 when Latias' Emerald dex entry mentioned them traveling in small herds. Or even earlier if you include the anime showing a baby Lugia. Heck, the art book for the second movie even referred to the Legendary Birds in said movie as larger and stronger than "regular" versions of the bird trio.

Even if the world population of a given species never goes above say a few individuals, so long as they are reproducing then they are slowly adapting (unless the babies are complete clones), changes just would potentially take longer to occur as fewer individuals means fewer chances for mutations. Plus we know some regional variants happen rather spontaneously (i.e. due to outside influences) rather than through any slow process.

Heck, perhaps the fruit of that strange tree is what turned the bird trio into Galarian forms, much as Slowpoke was altered by what it ate.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Because they're going to be spending more money, its my best guess.

Also, a third version would have been better in the long run...at least for me.

So you were willing to spend $60 more, retreading the same story path with minor differences, wasting more physical/memory space, as opposed to just paying $30 to explore two brand new areas with their own storylines which are directly included into your version?

(And if you are like those who like buying all versions, you'd be perfectly fine spending over $240 instead of $180?)