Nave
Well-Known Member
Although Pokemon Legends: Arceus does not have a PvP format, it has shaken up battling in a big way, and some of these changes may be preserved in Gen 9.
The most obvious change is how Speed affects turn order. A Pokémon can actually use multiple moves before the opponent does. This allows strategic maneuvering such as healing in the middle, going all out attack, or boosting and then attacking. There are also Agile and Strong Styles: Agile Style raises the Pokémon's action speed, allowing it to move multiple times, but sacrifice power; Strong Style sacrifices action speed, but increases power and effects such as HP recovery and chance of secondary effect. However, since SwSh remains the main metagame of Gen 8, these changes seem unlikely to be kept moving forward. The classic turn based game will almost certainly remain.
The new weather and status conditions, however, may be here to stay.
Hail has been replaced by Snow, which does not deal damage every turn. Instead, the speed of Ice types are boosted, and Pokémon are more likely to develop Frostbite and be affected by Drowsy (more on that later). Rain no longer boosts the power of water moves, but it still weakens Fire moves; whereas Sun no longer boosts the power of fire moves, but still weakens Water moves. In Strong Sunlight, the speed of Grass types is boosted. Fog has returned, lowering the accuracy of all moves, except those that always hit. Pulse moves have been changed to always hit, raising their value in Fog.
Gone are Freeze and Sleep, which are replaced by Frostbite and Drowsy respectively. Frostbite works similarly to Burn, but instead of halving Attack, it halves Special Attack. In Snow, Pokémon are more likely to be affected by Frostbite, but Ice types are immune to it. Moves like Flame Wheel and Flare Blitz can remove Frostbite, much like they could Freeze. Drowsy, on the other hand, works similarly to Confusion, except you don't hurt yourself when you fail to move. Drowsy Pokémon also take more damage from attacks. During Snow, Drowsy Pokémon are more likely to miss their moves.
Personally, I prefer Frostbite to Freeze, but Sleep to Drowsy. Freeze is the most annoying hax ever, and it makes sense for there to be a status condition that is like Burn, but halving Special Attack instead of Attack. Sleep is such a classic status condition though, and using Rest to become Drowsy just isn't the same--it's also counterintuitive because you take more damage after healing. Sleep and Freeze were too similar though, so I hope the change from Freeze to Frostbite stays.
I like Snow more than Hail. Not dealing chip damage every turn differentiates it from Sandstorm (ironically, Sandstorm is not in this game). I also like its interaction with Drowsy and Frostbite--especially the latter, because that emphasizes Ice types immunity to it. Fog is kind of annoying, but I like how it raises the value of moves that never hit. I suspect that Snow and Strong Sunlight raising the action speed of Ice types and Grass types respectively is to make up for the removal of Abilities like Slush Rush and Chlorophyll, so I don't think that will be kept moving forward when Abilities are back in the game.
Another huge change is how entry hazards have been removed. Instead, moves like Stealth Rock and Spikes do damage, and then deal chip damage on subsequent turns. Although I don't mind this in Legends Arceus, I personally hate the idea of this being true moving forward. Entry hazards are such a big part of the meta.
What changes do you like and want to keep? What things do you want to revert back to tradition?
The most obvious change is how Speed affects turn order. A Pokémon can actually use multiple moves before the opponent does. This allows strategic maneuvering such as healing in the middle, going all out attack, or boosting and then attacking. There are also Agile and Strong Styles: Agile Style raises the Pokémon's action speed, allowing it to move multiple times, but sacrifice power; Strong Style sacrifices action speed, but increases power and effects such as HP recovery and chance of secondary effect. However, since SwSh remains the main metagame of Gen 8, these changes seem unlikely to be kept moving forward. The classic turn based game will almost certainly remain.
The new weather and status conditions, however, may be here to stay.
Hail has been replaced by Snow, which does not deal damage every turn. Instead, the speed of Ice types are boosted, and Pokémon are more likely to develop Frostbite and be affected by Drowsy (more on that later). Rain no longer boosts the power of water moves, but it still weakens Fire moves; whereas Sun no longer boosts the power of fire moves, but still weakens Water moves. In Strong Sunlight, the speed of Grass types is boosted. Fog has returned, lowering the accuracy of all moves, except those that always hit. Pulse moves have been changed to always hit, raising their value in Fog.
Gone are Freeze and Sleep, which are replaced by Frostbite and Drowsy respectively. Frostbite works similarly to Burn, but instead of halving Attack, it halves Special Attack. In Snow, Pokémon are more likely to be affected by Frostbite, but Ice types are immune to it. Moves like Flame Wheel and Flare Blitz can remove Frostbite, much like they could Freeze. Drowsy, on the other hand, works similarly to Confusion, except you don't hurt yourself when you fail to move. Drowsy Pokémon also take more damage from attacks. During Snow, Drowsy Pokémon are more likely to miss their moves.
Personally, I prefer Frostbite to Freeze, but Sleep to Drowsy. Freeze is the most annoying hax ever, and it makes sense for there to be a status condition that is like Burn, but halving Special Attack instead of Attack. Sleep is such a classic status condition though, and using Rest to become Drowsy just isn't the same--it's also counterintuitive because you take more damage after healing. Sleep and Freeze were too similar though, so I hope the change from Freeze to Frostbite stays.
I like Snow more than Hail. Not dealing chip damage every turn differentiates it from Sandstorm (ironically, Sandstorm is not in this game). I also like its interaction with Drowsy and Frostbite--especially the latter, because that emphasizes Ice types immunity to it. Fog is kind of annoying, but I like how it raises the value of moves that never hit. I suspect that Snow and Strong Sunlight raising the action speed of Ice types and Grass types respectively is to make up for the removal of Abilities like Slush Rush and Chlorophyll, so I don't think that will be kept moving forward when Abilities are back in the game.
Another huge change is how entry hazards have been removed. Instead, moves like Stealth Rock and Spikes do damage, and then deal chip damage on subsequent turns. Although I don't mind this in Legends Arceus, I personally hate the idea of this being true moving forward. Entry hazards are such a big part of the meta.
What changes do you like and want to keep? What things do you want to revert back to tradition?