future.newyorker
Well-Known Member
Isn't Serperior just based on a snake though? And what is Chesnaught supposed to be based on?
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- Thread starter CrusherTheFeraligatr
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Isn't Serperior just based on a snake though? And what is Chesnaught supposed to be based on?
glacialcat
Well-Known Member
The people who make this argument tend to suggest Serperior is based on Titanoboa (despite the fact Titanoboa grew up to 42 feet long and Serperior's 11 feet is really just 'as big as the biggest anacondas grow') and Chesnaught is a Glyptodont (despite glyptodont being ancient relatives to armadillos, not hedgehogs, and lacking several notable traits of them).
That is a good point about the brown wood owl, it does share traits. Still, I think the tawny-browed owl looks so strikingly similar to Decidueye's facial markings and coloration that it might have played some part in it's inspiration. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Pulsatrix_koeniswaldiana_-Parque_Estadual_da_Serra_da_Cantareira%2C_Sao_Paulo%2C_Brasil-8.jpg/800px-Pulsatrix_koeniswaldiana_-Parque_Estadual_da_Serra_da_Cantareira%2C_Sao_Paulo%2C_Brasil-8.jpg. Of course we'll probably never know for certain the complete story behind it's inspiration.
JVLightningLover
Veteran Trainer
True. And the brown wood-owl came to mind for me, not just because its eyes glow red in the right light, but also because they are known to have similar markings to those of the tawny-browed owl, seen here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown...y_Bird_Sanctuary,_Welimada,_Sri_Lanka_-8a.jpg), and obviously the wood aspect of the name lends to a Grass-Typing. But yes, other than the barn owl inspiration (Rowlet looks exactly like a barn owlet), we may never know the exact mindset behind Decudeye's design.
Legendary Dreams
Well-Known Member
Sorry to bring the subject back to starter trends, but my trend for favorite starters apparently has gone by "Grass, Fire, Water". Note that this only applies when asked generally which is my favorite starter of each generation and doesn't actually reflect which starter I pick for the game proper, I'm the kind of person who prioritizes team composition (no type repeats) over favorites for the in-game. Starters do get the comparison-advantage first (basically I see if there's another Pokemon of my favorite final evolution's type that I favor more, if there isn't, I'll pick that starter. If there is and there's a better fit in another starter, I'll go with the other one instead). I may have least favorites but I don't particularly make choices against them because of that (unless it's for online battles and they're just that bad competitively).
I'm not surprised why the original question went off-track - people like to state the reasons for their favorites and guess what, I'm not bothering to resist the urge of mine to do so as well, so here they are. I generally decide my favorites by their final evolution rather than the basics.
1) Venusaur - I was young back then I just followed the guide (which said Bulbasaur makes life easier). I don't deny there's nostalgia, but it helped I also liked supporting Venusaur as the underdog against the more-popular Charizard and Blastoise back then (well no statistics, but the general consensus felt like that back then and probably still marginally now), even if I have to admit if asked purely from a non-Pokemon general point Venusaur did indeed have least interesting design visually (but favorites don't care).
2) Typhlosion - I didn't like how overly-happy Meganium was compared to all other 5 existing starters then and Feraligatr always felt awkwardly designed in both sprite and art, even if I liked its concept. Meanwhile while Typhlosion wasn't outright vocally disliked (to be fair communication then wasn't great either), it did get comparisons to Charizard in particular and I felt it was an underdog because Gen 2 was pitted against Gen 1 even back then rather than against its own generation.
3) Swampert - I was admittedly out of the game when Ruby & Sapphire was in (and only returned then because of Leafgreen honestly), my entire bias for Swampert was mainly because a Cousin had Ruby back then I was just entirely influenced by his decisions back then that when deja vu happened in Gen 6, I went for Omega Ruby and Swampert. I do feel Blaziken was a rehash of Charizard when it came to hype (because people stopped comparing generations as much as Gen 2 suffered from) and Sceptile was just passable (and it was a Reptile fighting against Venusaur so my own personal bias comparions kicked in).
4) Torterra - This was the only generation I completely skipped out on. I just liked its design to be reminiscent of Venusaur (ironic considering Sceptile's case, but I guess it was simply because of different times). Empoleon gave me the awkward design feeling I got from Feraligatr and while some people didn't like Infernape for the typing-repeat, the sheer lack of fire-types in the region lessened that to the point I didn't really hear that dislike.
5) Emboar - The generation I "returned". OH BOY did the typing-repeat backlash hit hard on this one making Emboar the obvious underdog. It didn't help I was largely absent from the two generations prior exactly so I didn't have that typing-annoyance, but even that generation felt like a reboot of Gen 1, except the Grass & Fire starters switched places. I did pity Oshawott for a while, but eventually the entire line just felt neutral to me, somewhat like Blastoise. Note from this point I already recognized the trends in my favorites, so from Gen 6 on I'm not even sure whether I'm choosing favorites to keep the trend going on or not.
6) Greninja - I said deja vu for Gen 6 when I commented on Gen 3 because I skipped out on X/Y (I just didn't like how bland the story was compared to the entirely of Gen 5). I'm admittedly pretty neutral to all of them, but Greninja purely got the pick for its Hidden Ability which while I felt was "okay" for Kecleon, but great for a starter... I might have been just trying to continue the trend (considering Greninja might be the "most popular" of the three instead of the underdog in Gen 6 due to exposure), but the whole Generation felt so bland that I actually looked at the competitive side of things for this generation.
7) Decidueye - I don't have the competitive data yet and while I don't dislike Incineroar and Primarina for the common reasons people do (it would be refreshing for a non bipedal fire-starter though and the gender-aligned thing has been going around for generations already), purely from the visual design perspective, Decidueye does indeed hold the coolest design for me. While I did compare weaknesses when deciding for in-game purposes, it doesn't actually really affect my favorites (Tyranitar and Volcarona being some my favorites), so Decidueye retained its typings, the design would have still won me over (of course, it changed types and that's a bonus for post-game usage)... the only reason it's not being picked in-game is because I wanted to use Mimikyu more and well, they clash.
My favorites for Pokemon have always been weird - I do like Incineroar's typing and I like Lycanroc/Mightyena (canine Pokemon), so by all logic I should have liked Houndoom... yet I'm neutral to it, mainly because my brain can't seem to process personality for Houndoom as well as it can for the 3 Pokemon I mentioned and as a result it just lost character to me. I even felt its design was "generic" as a result (funny considering Mightyena should have been even moreso).
I'm not surprised why the original question went off-track - people like to state the reasons for their favorites and guess what, I'm not bothering to resist the urge of mine to do so as well, so here they are. I generally decide my favorites by their final evolution rather than the basics.
1) Venusaur - I was young back then I just followed the guide (which said Bulbasaur makes life easier). I don't deny there's nostalgia, but it helped I also liked supporting Venusaur as the underdog against the more-popular Charizard and Blastoise back then (well no statistics, but the general consensus felt like that back then and probably still marginally now), even if I have to admit if asked purely from a non-Pokemon general point Venusaur did indeed have least interesting design visually (but favorites don't care).
2) Typhlosion - I didn't like how overly-happy Meganium was compared to all other 5 existing starters then and Feraligatr always felt awkwardly designed in both sprite and art, even if I liked its concept. Meanwhile while Typhlosion wasn't outright vocally disliked (to be fair communication then wasn't great either), it did get comparisons to Charizard in particular and I felt it was an underdog because Gen 2 was pitted against Gen 1 even back then rather than against its own generation.
3) Swampert - I was admittedly out of the game when Ruby & Sapphire was in (and only returned then because of Leafgreen honestly), my entire bias for Swampert was mainly because a Cousin had Ruby back then I was just entirely influenced by his decisions back then that when deja vu happened in Gen 6, I went for Omega Ruby and Swampert. I do feel Blaziken was a rehash of Charizard when it came to hype (because people stopped comparing generations as much as Gen 2 suffered from) and Sceptile was just passable (and it was a Reptile fighting against Venusaur so my own personal bias comparions kicked in).
4) Torterra - This was the only generation I completely skipped out on. I just liked its design to be reminiscent of Venusaur (ironic considering Sceptile's case, but I guess it was simply because of different times). Empoleon gave me the awkward design feeling I got from Feraligatr and while some people didn't like Infernape for the typing-repeat, the sheer lack of fire-types in the region lessened that to the point I didn't really hear that dislike.
5) Emboar - The generation I "returned". OH BOY did the typing-repeat backlash hit hard on this one making Emboar the obvious underdog. It didn't help I was largely absent from the two generations prior exactly so I didn't have that typing-annoyance, but even that generation felt like a reboot of Gen 1, except the Grass & Fire starters switched places. I did pity Oshawott for a while, but eventually the entire line just felt neutral to me, somewhat like Blastoise. Note from this point I already recognized the trends in my favorites, so from Gen 6 on I'm not even sure whether I'm choosing favorites to keep the trend going on or not.
6) Greninja - I said deja vu for Gen 6 when I commented on Gen 3 because I skipped out on X/Y (I just didn't like how bland the story was compared to the entirely of Gen 5). I'm admittedly pretty neutral to all of them, but Greninja purely got the pick for its Hidden Ability which while I felt was "okay" for Kecleon, but great for a starter... I might have been just trying to continue the trend (considering Greninja might be the "most popular" of the three instead of the underdog in Gen 6 due to exposure), but the whole Generation felt so bland that I actually looked at the competitive side of things for this generation.
7) Decidueye - I don't have the competitive data yet and while I don't dislike Incineroar and Primarina for the common reasons people do (it would be refreshing for a non bipedal fire-starter though and the gender-aligned thing has been going around for generations already), purely from the visual design perspective, Decidueye does indeed hold the coolest design for me. While I did compare weaknesses when deciding for in-game purposes, it doesn't actually really affect my favorites (Tyranitar and Volcarona being some my favorites), so Decidueye retained its typings, the design would have still won me over (of course, it changed types and that's a bonus for post-game usage)... the only reason it's not being picked in-game is because I wanted to use Mimikyu more and well, they clash.
My favorites for Pokemon have always been weird - I do like Incineroar's typing and I like Lycanroc/Mightyena (canine Pokemon), so by all logic I should have liked Houndoom... yet I'm neutral to it, mainly because my brain can't seem to process personality for Houndoom as well as it can for the 3 Pokemon I mentioned and as a result it just lost character to me. I even felt its design was "generic" as a result (funny considering Mightyena should have been even moreso).
kawaiiconcept
TOP OF THE MORNIN'
JVLightningLover
Veteran Trainer
Yes, yes they did. That's called "apophenia" aka the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data, and fandoms thrive on it
Yes, yes they did. That's called "apophenia" aka the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data, and fandoms thrive on it
Probably because it allows for them to predict what the future holds. Another human tendency to always seek to know what it doesn't.
BTW, that owl is the most creepy thing I've seen. If it's not fit of a Ghost-Type, I don't know what is.
JVLightningLover
Veteran Trainer
I know, right? That is definitely a murder owl if I've ever seen one. Decidueye is just filled to the brim with ghostliness when you look into it.
goodpeople25
Well-Known Member
LatiasLover
Pokemon Trainer
Pikachu was technically a stater.
JVLightningLover
Veteran Trainer
Ok, let's see...Ice, Rock, Dragon (sans Megas), Electric (not counting good ole' Sparklesqueak), Bug, and Normal
Dragonite Fan
Well-Known Member
I dont think we will get a Dragon starter outside of mega's. It Resists all three base starter types, making for an extremely unbalanced starter triangle (although they could make the other two fairy and ice as a countermeasure, or make all 3 dragons, but the whole thing just seems needlessly restrictive to me.)
Least to Most likley in my opinion:
6.Normal (Just Don't see it. There has been a growing trend of making mammal based 'mons part normal, but even the more mammalian starters seem to exclude this.)
5. Dragon (See above Drago-Rant)
4. Electric (Maybe it's 'cause of aforementioned Shockycheeks, but I kind of see electric as a 4th separated base starter type. To me Grass/Electric would pretty much be like Grass/Fire.)
3. Ice (Here things start to become far more likely. Ice is very easily thematically pared with Water, and Grass is not much of a stretch [Fire is kind of a different story though] It's worth noting that ice has type interactions with all base Starter types)
2.Rock ( A fair amount of potential design wise with all three types.However, for some strange reason my brain treats Rock somewhat similarly to Electric- As a separated base starter type. I know, it's weird. Maybe it's because Rock also has type interactions with all base Starter types)
1. Bug ( I just really think this type has the most potential for a cool yet plausible design wise )
Again, Just my opinion.
Least to Most likley in my opinion:
6.Normal (Just Don't see it. There has been a growing trend of making mammal based 'mons part normal, but even the more mammalian starters seem to exclude this.)
5. Dragon (See above Drago-Rant)
4. Electric (Maybe it's 'cause of aforementioned Shockycheeks, but I kind of see electric as a 4th separated base starter type. To me Grass/Electric would pretty much be like Grass/Fire.)
3. Ice (Here things start to become far more likely. Ice is very easily thematically pared with Water, and Grass is not much of a stretch [Fire is kind of a different story though] It's worth noting that ice has type interactions with all base Starter types)
2.Rock ( A fair amount of potential design wise with all three types.However, for some strange reason my brain treats Rock somewhat similarly to Electric- As a separated base starter type. I know, it's weird. Maybe it's because Rock also has type interactions with all base Starter types)
1. Bug ( I just really think this type has the most potential for a cool yet plausible design wise )
Again, Just my opinion.
Water bug would be cool, it's rare and stuff (well maybe not in this gen but whatever) fire bug is 4 times weak to rock.
Well, in their defense, there was a pattern until generation 5. And in my opinion, Grass-type starter Pokemon sharing a theme for 4 generations is too much of a coincidence, though, like I said, the trend seems to be broken.
Anyways, I just thought of something. Do the starters have a secret anymore? I thought that they would reveal the secret when they revealed the final evolutions, but that didn't happen. Is the secret that they have signature moves? (That's kind of lame in my opinion)
Nibbles4Ever
1 more day ^^
Unless rowlets final evolution isnt very strong which I highly doudt I will be using it in my sun version, assuming thats my second version. Of course I will be using popplio in my main version.
clbgolden12
Alolan (and soon to be Galarian) trainer
Maybe there's something we still don't know about them?
I hope that's the case. I really wanted them to not give in and officially reveal the starters final evolutions.
Wouldn't count on it. If they do have a secret, it's probably plot-related, rather than gameplay-related.
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