• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Things that grind your gears!

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
It's not. Or else it'd be nearly impossible to do it

Which reminds me this nice/great throws in a row are the worst missions.
Thank Arceus.

Yea those are bad. I end up breaking the stupid chain.
 

Auraninja

Eh, ragazzo!
Do you know what grinds my gears?
This entire thread was made on my birthday, and none of you guys wished me a happy birthday throughout this entire thread.

Granted it's nowhere near my birthday, but I find the whole act inexcusable.

As for something related to Pokemon, I wish there were trainers who utilized the Normal, Flying, Electric, Steel, Bug, and Ground jerseys.
They did add Poison and Psychic in the IoA for Klara and Avery though, which I do appreciate.
 

Weavy

I come and go suddenly
It's funny because TPC is pushing the competitive scene so hard, yet when you look at the ranked battle statistics, you'll find it struggles to get past 500k players, for games have sold almost 18 million. If you ask me, it's a bit of proof the competitive players are the minority compared to the casuals. It's why I always say they should make an effort to please both crowds, but it's obvious that they don't these days, which is a bit saddening.

I'm not saying don't do competitive stuff, because QOL in any areas is always good and they're making little steps; breeding good Pokemon can be very rewarding for some. But give the casuals something to do too, a battle facility or two just doesn't cut it as post game material.
 

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
It's funny because TPC is pushing the competitive scene so hard, yet when you look at the ranked battle statistics, you'll find it struggles to get past 500k players, for games have sold almost 18 million. If you ask me, it's a bit of proof the competitive players are the minority compared to the casuals. It's why I always say they should make an effort to please both crowds, but it's obvious that they don't these days, which is a bit saddening.

I'm not saying don't do competitive stuff, because QOL in any areas is always good and they're making little steps; breeding good Pokemon can be very rewarding for some. But give the casuals something to do too, a battle facility or two just doesn't cut it as post game material.
Exactly. It makes no sense to have it be so limited. Maybe have some caves to explore. Heck, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum got it right, by letting people search for treasure. And no, having an NPC doing it doesn't count. It's not nearly as fun and people get no sense of accomplishment from it.
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
About how much the games sold vs people who battle online, it's important to remember some people buy both versions while some are more focused on getting shinies and stuff.

But yeah, I do agree there should be something more endearing besides competitive related stuff
 

shoz999

Back when Tigers used to smoke.
It's funny because TPC is pushing the competitive scene so hard, yet when you look at the ranked battle statistics, you'll find it struggles to get past 500k players, for games have sold almost 18 million. If you ask me, it's a bit of proof the competitive players are the minority compared to the casuals. It's why I always say they should make an effort to please both crowds, but it's obvious that they don't these days, which is a bit saddening.

I'm not saying don't do competitive stuff, because QOL in any areas is always good and they're making little steps; breeding good Pokemon can be very rewarding for some. But give the casuals something to do too, a battle facility or two just doesn't cut it as post game material.
They've always been the minority. I remember a Nintendolife Poll asking Pokemon fans how much they wanted to see the turn-based battle system changed drastically to something more real-time. Guess how many Pokemon fans wanted a real-time battle system over turn-based? The majority of them, I assume them being casuals, said yes. They wanted something new and fresh. That's when it hit me that Pokemon can never revolutionize again unless it changes it's core system, the battle system, drastically in the same way that Breath of the Wild traded in dungeon exploration for open world.

There was however a good chunk of fans that said no, even explaining how afraid they were of such a drastic change as it meant many aspects of the norm from moves to abilities would get an overhaul or perhaps even completely removed that it could quickly push something like Smogon as a relic of the past. They were the minority, a vocal group but still the minority. Can you guess who were these fans that said no? Competitive fans. Stuff like this makes you wonder if Competitive Pokemon is actually holding Pokemon back. Personally though, I always come to the same conclusion. It's not holding it back but it's pretty clear nowadays that prioritizing Competitive Pokemon over the Pokemon Campaign is holding the series back. Honestly though, I do like many of the new additions and changes GameFreak made for Competitive Pokemon and I hope they continue it but the campaign should always comes first. That's where your kids and grandkids are going to have the best memories of Pokemon of course.
 

RedJirachi

Veteran member
I hate the stupid excellent curveball mission in Pokemon Go for Mew and Celebi. It's hard enough throwing a regular excellent throw.

Been stuck on this stupid thing forever.
Is it ironic that I already completed the three excellent curveball throws for Jirachi?
 

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
Is it ironic that I already completed the three excellent curveball throws for Jirachi?
Downright lucky. Since those throws are harder to make now.
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
I'd say the current research makes it slightly easier to pull off given we get good targets like Wailmer and Arbok.

===================

For annoying things on Go:

- Missions that require "get x of different species"
- Limited time researches. How I hate those. I like doing things my own pace.
 

Ophie

Salingerian Phony
Don't you guys miss the days when Pokemon fans stumbled upon a secret in the Pokemon games, like the Regi Brothers or the Giratina Cave, and would create a ton of threads around those secrets? I miss those days. Sword & Shield can't drum up that same conversation because it's so focused on trying to improve competitive play over exploration. It's not just the main series Pokemon games but spin-offs too. I remember people drumming up conversations over the surprises that Pokemon Colosseum or Mystery Dungeon could offer. Feels like those days are over too now. Or maybe this is a sign that a new main series Pokemon game is on the horizon? How Pokemon fans feel like they've experienced everything a generation has to offer because it's late in that game's cycle? Just a hunch.

Either way, this is probably part of the reason why I find Serebii forums to be so boring these days, no offense. Not much catches my interest these days because the games just aren't drumming up conversation like they used to outside of controversy anyways. Doesn't take a genius to tell that others feel the same way when looking at how slow the Gen 8 threads have been in the months. Sometimes I feel like I've been seeing the same topics repeating over and over again, sometimes just the same topic but slightly altered. Especially in the anime section where they just talk non-stop about Ash's future, versus battles, and Pokegirls. It feels like it's the same recycled conversations over and over again. Kind of surprising if you think about it actually. That many people getting frantic over a children's anime. It's probably just a Pokemon fatigue or something as to why I find the forums boring as of recent. I don't know. What about you guys? Fatigue or is the Pokemon series just not capturing your attention like it used to? Well whatever it is, that's alright. Stuff like this comes and goes, the series will pull you back in eventually and if it doesn't, there's always other stuff to enjoy.

To be fair, this is more a byproduct of living in the late 2010s to early 2020s than previous decades. There isn't much "stumble-upon" as there used to because this now all happens either upon release or even ahead of release from leakers and data-miners. They're the ones who are finding all the stuff and getting the attention for these discoveries ahead of other people. You can see this happening with other series too. Sonic Mania, for instance, was accidentally made available on some online stores a few days ahead of release, but this was quickly shut off. However, SEGA couldn't stop the people who already got it, who proceeded to turn the game inside out and discover all of its secrets before it was even out.

You were here on the weeks and months leading up to Pokémon Sword & Shield. You might remember there being at least a few individuals eagerly waiting for leaks and asking when they'll show up. That's the modern-day equivalent to that feeling of stumble-upon and discovery you spoke of.

In other words, what you're seeing now can only happen up to the release of a game. The only remnants where this sort of post-release discovery is still being made are low-profile games without leakers or dedicated data-miners (like most indie games), games about exploration in which people looking to be pleasantly surprised will avoid discussions of it online until they've seen all they want to see (like Super Mario Odyssey), and games with an audience old enough that they come from before there were data-miners (like pinball, whose manufacturing is made by few enough people that a leaker will be quickly identified and condemned--which is an interesting case in that while most seem to not know about data-mining, most who do oppose such efforts as they feel it "destroys the feeling of wonder from discovery").

Well said. It's been so focused on competitive aspects, that it leaves other parts of the games in the dust, like what you mentioned.

I also miss the mystery and exploration of those games. The whole they're trying to make games that go with gamers short attention spans (the whole mobile gaming market) - para-phrasing here, feels like such an excuse to me. It feels in a way, like some kind of burn out on their end.

Going from some of the lack luster ness in Sword and Shield and the lack of worthwhile rewards in competitive. There's just no real draw for casual battles to jump in, imo.

They're not entirely wrong however--gamers today are less likely to dedicate themselves to one single game. But this isn't specific to Pokémon. However, they're blaming it on the mobile market, but I would say it's because of the digital markets on all platforms, especially Steam. It's so easy to make a game and put it on there that on every major digital market, even the non-mobile ones (Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Arcade, Steam, Good Old Games), new games show up every single day. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, however, and I find it a good thing that small developers who otherwise can't get a game out so easily can now do it (Undertale is perhaps the best example, since Toby Fox, at the time of its release, had no means or knew anyone who could distribute the game physically.)

The quality varies a lot, but you can bet at least one quality title will show up at least once per week.

Certainly, with me, before the eShop came out, I had maybe 12 games for a particular Nintendo system at most before the next system would come out. After the eShop, my library's increased to 35 to 50 games per system. The Switch is the first system I got at a time I could earn enough money to support myself; consequently, three years in and my library is already almost 40 games.

I still strive for 100% completion where I can pull it off (still attempting it for Paper Mario: The Origami King--this is VERY difficult), but I've been eavesdropping in to discussions about Super Mario 3-D All-Stars, and I'll tell you this: A lot fewer people, proportionally, are attempting 100% completion with these games than when they were new, and I have been online since Super Mario 64 had come out. Players today are more interested in getting to the next game to play.

As for the competitive scene, I feel it's always in the minority. I'd like to see how the Casual Battle numbers go, since I think people are more likely to try throwing their Legendary Pokémon at people and seeing how they go. (And for that reason, I think Crown Tundra will be coming out alongside a new version of Pokémon Sword and Shield with Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra bundled in--a LOT of people love their Legendary Pokémon, and they'd cherish being able to use them again.) Pokémon X and Y was a previous attempt at focusing on the competitive aspect of Pokémon at the cost of the story, but on the other hand, I felt Kalos was a lot more interesting to look at than Galar and had much better designed routes.

I don't. I vaguely remember how the Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum game section used to be when I first joined here: seeing the same question about the Azure Flute or Giratina's whereabouts or any other similar query asked dozens of times every couple of pages was more frustrating than interesting. I do sort of miss the sense of wonderment whenever new games were announced, however. It isn't the same these days because we get spoon-fed a lot of information via Pokemon Directs, but back in the Gen IV days we had to rely on CoroCoro and demo footage from the games, which I preferred.

And, as I mentioned above, data-miners and leakers, some of whom are observant enough to figure out practically an entire Pokémon game. Led to a lot of false prophets though.

This proliferation of data-miners and leakers for Pokémon Sword and Shield, though, is in large part due to being very, very tight on information leading up to its release.
 

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
I used to use Legendary Pokemon while battling against others, but I don't do so in competitive. It feels unbalanced to do so.

That said, people really don't like it when others use the slow poison method while battling :p. Had someone rage quit by the looks of it during a battle.

I'm not a fan of people continously recovering, using minimize and other similar moves. Find that to be more annoying. Same with using sleep moves. Saw that issue against NPC's in Let's Go. Their moves seemed to be far more accurate at times than what my own Pokemon were using.

Maybe, but there are some deeper games out there like what you mentioned, so it's sad to see companies following the shallow game play route :(.
 

Ophie

Salingerian Phony
I used to use Legendary Pokemon while battling against others, but I don't do so in competitive. It feels unbalanced to do so.

That said, people really don't like it when others use the slow poison method while battling :p. Had someone rage quit by the looks of it during a battle.

I'm not a fan of people continously recovering, using minimize and other similar moves. Find that to be more annoying. Same with using sleep moves. Saw that issue against NPC's in Let's Go. Their moves seemed to be far more accurate at times than what my own Pokemon were using.

Maybe, but there are some deeper games out there like what you mentioned, so it's sad to see companies following the shallow game play route :(.

To stay profitable, you sometimes have to make games in a way other than how you'd like. Suda51 knows this quite well. His company, Grasshopper Manufacture, makes licensed games to pay for his own passion projects--aside from Lollipop Chainsaw, none of those passion projects have really sold that well.

Bear in mind that "competitive" is exactly that: a mindset in which you want to engage in fair, friendly competition. My days playing Pokémon Battle Revolution has demonstrated that most people aren't interested in fairness or friendliness when it comes to Pokémon battles. They want to unleash the big powerful Pokémon on unwitting people. But I think that leads to my next point:

Pokémon games have children as their primary audience. Most children are not mature enough to understand fair competition and don't really see online opponents as other people (or at least "other people" in the same sense adults do). Pokémon games are a way for little kids to feel powerful and in control. It's a means of escapism. They're games where they can see big, powerful creatures who can stomp all over not-as-powerful creatures and then own them and make them do whatever the kids want them to do. And when online play is available, some of them itch at the chance to unleash them upon other people. I would fight these teams full of Legendary Pokémon on Pokémon Battle Revolution and defeat them without using Legendary Pokémon myself, and I'd put them up on YouTube to demonstrate that it can be done. Though I had plenty of comments from people who got the confidence to try it out themselves knowing they're not as invincible as they look, I also had my fair share of people accusing me of cheating because they couldn't believe it's possible.

The core of it is that games that appeal well to kids are games where they can control things at their whim. This is, of course, the main thing behind Minecraft, for instance.
 

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
Sure, but having bad rewards, imo, isn't going to help with driving people to said competition. We went from reward Pokemon at times to 50 battle points per battle. It's not worth the work and the effort for some people, given how long it can take to breed a good team.

Good points.
 

RedJirachi

Veteran member
I have persistently gotten problems with a weak connection while battling other trainers and this always costs me the win. This makes me rage, how do I fix it?
 

Ophie

Salingerian Phony
Sure, but having bad rewards, imo, isn't going to help with driving people to said competition. We went from reward Pokemon at times to 50 battle points per battle. It's not worth the work and the effort for some people, given how long it can take to breed a good team.

Good points.

Even exclusive clothing can get people to compete in them. There are some people I know who just play the one battle each time a new Ball Guy shirt becomes available, though frankly, they'll have to do better than that. Plenty of other games allow a HUGE amount of clothing customization for your player character. I don't think it's beyond Game Freak's capacity to do that, but from what I can see regarding clothing options in Kalos and in Alola, they're too concerned with keeping to the region's theme (fashion for Kalos, tropical wear for Alola, cold weather wear for Galar) to branch out further.

I have persistently gotten problems with a weak connection while battling other trainers and this always costs me the win. This makes me rage, how do I fix it?

Check your Switch's Internet speed. You can find that out through:

System Settings > Internet > Test Connection

Though it varies depending on the circumstances and your ISP, your Download Speed and Upload Speed should both be at least 1.0 Mbps to maintain a steady connection. Unstable connections can happen at much faster speeds, but anything below 1.0 means it's very likely you'll cut out frequently.

If you have any other Switch games that go online, check to see if you get disconnected from them. If you don't have another online game on the Switch, install Ninjala (it's free) and try one battle. The connection strength can be seen on the upper-left corner before each match, and since this game is pretty intensive in terms of communication, see if you ever get disconnected from the match.

Nd5XV4b.png


You'll see above that my connection strength is 159, which is good. If you see a number below 40, that's a sign of a weak connection.
 
Last edited:

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
Even exclusive clothing can get people to compete in them. There are some people I know who just play the one battle each time a new Ball Guy shirt becomes available, though frankly, they'll have to do better than that. Ninjala has a HUGE amount of really nice themed clothing, from traditional Japanese clothing to street wear to sportswear. I don't think it's beyond Game Freak's capacity to do that, but from what I can see regarding clothing options in Kalos and in Alola, they're too concerned with keeping to the region's theme (fashion for Kalos, tropical wear for Alola, cold weather wear for Galar) to branch out further.
Speaking of exclusive clothes, I am super annoyed that my local Walmart didn’t even participate with the track suit through Pokémon Pass promotion that was only available at Walmart. Not only did I waste gas going to the store, I also took up so much unnecessary space on my iPad only to be told, “We’re not taking part of the promotion,” when I asked where the QR Code was located because the directions in the stupid app said to look for a special display which wasn’t even in the store! I seriously hate Pokémon Pass and it is literally a worthless excuse of an app that takes up too much space and the only event it ever had was the Shiny Box Art Legendary event! And on a related note, I hate how the US has only had one actual Star Dynamax Crystal event being the pair of codes that you got if you bought the special Sword and Shield box that had both games. The Copperajah was cancelled at the last minute without any warning which really made me upset because again I deleted the Netflix and Disney+ apps from my iPad just so I could use a Pass to do the event only to waste gas and time for literally nothing again!
 

LucarioIsMegaEvolving

A single misplaced step
Sure, but having bad rewards, imo, isn't going to help with driving people to said competition. We went from reward Pokemon at times to 50 battle points per battle. It's not worth the work and the effort for some people, given how long it can take to breed a good team.
I think Game Freak should make it easier to make competitively viable teams, or to make your team competitively viable. I feel like they're working towards this, with stuff like the bottle caps and nature vitamins in Sword/Shield, but the whole EV/IV system being completely dictated by chance just makes it not worth the effort for me. I should mention that I've never tried to breed a competitive team due to feeling discouraged by this, so I could be incorrect in saying that Game Freak's making it easier.
 

Kansas_Rocks!

Awesomeness Trainer
but the whole EV/IV system being completely dictated by chance just makes it not worth the effort for me

I don't understand where you're coming from with this. EVs are not chance at all. You can control them completely. IVs are chance, but the ease of access of bottle caps makes that point moot, especially since Hidden Power isn't important anymore.
 

Reinhardt

You! Me! Rivals! Yes?
Max Raid battles in general. I can never find anyone to join me, the timer always runs down to zero with no other players being found, so I always have to do them alone, and the game always pairs me up with the absolute worst NPCs for that particular raid. I just can't do five-star Max Raids at all, they're just too difficult to do alone. The Isle of Armour is especially annoying for this, because I've been trying to gather Max Mushrooms so I can Gigantamax a few of my Pokemon, but even after doing the customary three Max Raids required for the mushrooms to spawn, there have been a few times where no mushrooms have appeared, so it feels like I've put in a lot of time and energy for no reward.
 

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
Now that I think about it, I also never got my León Uniform even though I preordered the Pass for both games. I did what you are supposed to do and go to Mystery Gift and select Receive Gift from Online and nothing comes up!
 
Top