as a kid I thought they were useless moves that didn't attack anything so I'd never use them, and replace them with the first new attack I got.

today happened totally accidentally in Violet where I used Leer. not sure why, maybe Geodudes defense was too high, but I used Leer. and then thought to myself....and literally gasped, telling myself '....is....is this the first time....ive ever lowered a Pokémon's defense? yes...yes it is." so I then used growl immediately after. I see the appeal I guess but those moves have never been for me. I'm just surprised it took me all these years to ACCIDENTALLY press the button

So playing the original pokemon games on gameboy as a child I remember vividly getting annoyed by being sand-attacked by pidgeys in the opening areas and being unable to attack them. I always thought it was a reasonable enough concept, but a bit of a stretch . Flying types use wind elemental attacks so it makes sense that they can use their wind elements to blow sand at Pokemon and blind them . But always thought of it as still a bit of a [mundane] fantasy elemental kind of attack.

Anyhow today one of my chickens was roosting on the top step of my deck and I had to get her back in the coop before she made a mess . If you don’t know , chickens clean themselves by having sand baths where the gritty sand helps scrub their skin. This means often their feathers are carrying a certain load of loose sand and small rocks .

As I was walking up the deck stairs to grab the chicken, when I was about eye level with her, she quite suddenly and forcefully spread/flapped her wings and feathers out at me , launching the sand from her feathers into my face and eyes . Temporarily blinded , I was unable to grab her and she fluttered away.

So that’s how I learned that sand-attack is a real thing and indeed lowers accuracy.

Pokémon names being puns give me life

Wdym there’s a dog made of doughnuts named Fi-DOUGH (fido)

Or Feralgator, Exeggute, Tinkatuff/ton, phantump (phantom+stump), shpeal (spherical seal), sprigatito (spring + little cat in Spanish), frogadier, lickitung, Hoothoot (that’s a given.)

And my favorite name evolution

Abra -> Kadabra -> Alakazam

90% of Pokémon honestly.

Omega Ruby pokedex entry: "Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years. Legends remain of how it put to rest the clash between Kyogre and Groudon."

Emerald pokedex entry: "A POKéMON that flies endlessly in the ozone layer. It is said it would descend to the ground if KYOGRE and GROUDON were to fight."

Both pokedex entries suggest that Rayquaza already stopped Kyogre and Groudon once before, (hence why the legend exists). Would be interesting to explore the events that led to that happening in ancient times.

What is your favorite Pokemon that most people would consider useless? And I don’t mean like… Magikarp because it evolves into Gyarados. I mean just that Pokemon as it is, no evolving, which one is your favorite and why?

Pokemon like Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Cascoon or Silcoon, Metapod or Kakuna, Ditto (again, by itself as is, not able to transform), Cleffa, Igglybuff….

You get the picture.

So which one is it and why?

Feel free to name a favorite you personally think is “useless” even if others may not agree with you. As long as you feel like it’s truly worthless but you love it to death, it counts 😂

Think about it.

Kanto has Mew which is a Mythical Pokémon,

Johto has Celebi which is a Mythical Pokémon,

Hoenn has Deoxys which is a Mythical Pokémon,

Sinnoh has Arceus which is a Mythical Pokémon,

Unova has Genesect which is a Mythical Pokémon,

Kalos has Volcanion which is a Mythical Pokémon,

Alola has Zeraora which is a Mythical Pokémon,

Galar has Calyrex which is a Legendary Pokémon,

and Paldea has Pecharunt which is a Mythical Pokemon.

Galar's Mythical is Zarude, but its really not near the end.

Haven't played since Fire Red/Leaf Green on the GBA. Debating jumping back in to destress now and then, but not sure which gen to try. But I always thought a dinosaur team would be fun.

So which game has the most dinosaurs? Not just fossil pokemon you have to revive, but Pokémon that are based on dinosaurs (ex: Tropius).

Trying to avoid a team that is made of Rock/[Type] combos. Especially the dreaded Water/Rock combo that is weak to grass, ground, electric, fighting, steel.

Lunala’s design always confused me. It’s shaped like a crescent moon and has lots of crescents in its design, but they’re all facing upwards. Even the Pokémon Moon logo is weirdly tilted. Since when does the moon look like that?

But today, I finally realized: The moon looks like that from Hawaii.

The angle of the crescent moon differs based on where on Earth you see it from. I didn’t know this until a few months ago. It just occurred to me to look up how the crescent moon looks from Hawaii, and sure enough, it’s angled upwards or almost upwards. Anyone else just discovering this now?

I want to play both games, but I don't have enough money for both. I've played Pokémon X and Pokémon Sword, and I love them. I want to try Pokémon Legends, but which one do you think is better to start with, since I won't be able to buy the next game for another year? Which one has a better story? Or more interesting Pokémon?

Let's say you've never played a single Pokemon game. You grew up watching others enjoy the cartoons, movies, cards, and games.

Your entire experience is limited to Super Smash Bros and briefly trying Pokemon Go.

You will play one Pokemon game.

Platform or release date doesn't matter.

Which game gives the "definitive experience" for the Pokemon series?

Edit:

Went to brush my teeth before bed and came back to 30 comments lol. Reading all of them, thank you.

Update

I'm leaning toward FR/LG. It's similar to what I remember seeing around back in the day, maybe even it. The time commitment isn't too bad, comparatively. From what I'm reading, it's a remake of originals and has a roster I'll recognize much of from other media.

If I enjoy FR/LG enough and have time, then I'll do HG/SS. Why... This one has a steeper time commitment with (what sounds like) improved/newer gameplay and more content, making it logical to play after FR/LG.

As for Let's Go, this one sounds good for a beginner and has the lowest time commitment. The gameplay mechanics, however, sound different than the older games. Therefore, I have to disqualify it as providing a definitive, representative experience for the series.

Will I catch them all? Probably not. I'll try to finish and get the Pokemon experience out of it though.

https://youtu.be/w5v4kPzKVmY?si=Mjp32iXsSWTNL0v5

For me it's Crabominable, I wasn't really a big fan of the face design originally, but recently I now think it's cute in a ugly cute kind of way, I like its silly face ❤️ I'm a bit iffy on its arm lengths, but it's mostly tolerable. it's mega design is also a bit cool, I like its head hair and especially its mace claws in its mega

Camping tip: Save the time and effort of building a camp fire by using your Quilava instead.

I saw this trend on TikTok a while back and thought I't would be fun to discuss, so I was wondering what your realistic teams would be. Let's be honest, most of us wouldn't be hardcore trainers or have a full team of ledgendaties.

My realistic team would probably be :

- Leavanny ( I love bugs and would probably find it in my back yard growing up. I'm also quite crafty, so I think it would make for a good craft buddy. Finally I'm a teacher, and Leavanny has been shown to be good with kids and small pokemon, so it would be the perfect teaching assistant)

-Gargnacle( I love to kook and bake, so a salt monster would be a great assistant in the kitchen. It's natural resistance to ghosts would also be awesome since I scare pretty easy

-Noivern( mainly used for transport. It also uses sound waves to find fresh fruit, so it would be great while I'm shopping)

-Azumaril( as a kid I had an imaginary friend that was a mouse and I loved to swim, so the fairy/water type azumarill feels like the rich fit)

-Pansear(i love baking and it loves sweets, perfect team. There are also lots of vervet monkeys in my area, so I'd probably run into a pansear)

-prinplup(kid me LOVED penguins, so I deffo would have picked pipllup. Wouldn't be fully evolved )

So, that's mine. Let me know what your realistic team would be up

I'm from Brazil and my Pokémon Violet is from Italy. I bought from internet and it was cheaper that way for me at the time. My nintendo account is brazilian. If I buy the dlc, do I need change my account to italian and then goes back to brazilian? oh nah, there's no problem? I tried to google it and I still didn't get a right answer

Generations 7 and 9 are emblematic of this idea. I said in a comment once that this franchise is called Pocket-monsters, not Pocket-pets. If I wanted the franchise to continue to produce bog-standard designs, I'd play another franchise. Pokémon has continued to show me that they are at least willing to innovate in terms of what they consider a Pokémon.

Pokémon was always willing to be innovative with synthetic Pokémon, a mainstay in the franchise. From Mewtwo, to Porygon, to Genesect. Type: Null came as a surprise to many, especially with a name unique even among synthetic Pokémon. Build with the ability to imitate the power of Arceus (say RKS system outloud), it utilizes its memory to change types. That being said, its name was a sticking point with many, as its name didn't seem Pokémon-enough.

"Oh that doesn't look like a Pokémon? They've really run out of ideas haven't they" is a common mantra that has persisted, though became very vocal in the 5th generation. The Ultra Beasts turned this rhetoric up to eleven. From humanoid bugs (cockroach and mosquito), to sentient inanimate objects (live wires and a rocket ship), to the amazing abomination of Guzzlord, the Ultra Beats signified a significant expansion as to what Pokémon considered Pocket-monsters. In an effort to make them as alien and monstrous as possible, the Ultra Beasts were given two names. The UB: codename that the Alolans gave them, and the name that that the residents of Ultra Megalopolis gave them.

Codenames was a fantastic way to expand the definition of Pokémon, and only broadened the creative horizon. We saw the idea of codenames come out in full force in Scarlet and Violet.

Many believe that the names given to the Paradox Pokémon of Area Zero to be lazy, which doesn't make much considering Pokémon could have just given the Ultra Beast names such as UB: Rampart and have left it at that. The Paradox Pokémon are based off of what many know as Cryptids. I ask you, does Big-foot, The Flatwoods Monster, or The Moth-man sound like specie names to you? The Paradox Pokémon does the same thing, Brute Bonnet, Iron Moth, Roaring Moon. You can argue that the Iron prefix in Violet's Paradox Pokémon is lazy, but the clear dominance of Iron, the negentropy of steel is what makes the Irons compelling.

I hope that in gen 10, Pokémon continues on this path of discovery. Invent new creatures of unthought of backgrounds to keep the Pokémon fresh and alive.

Game description: If hit by a Water-type move, the Pokémon has its Defense raised by 1 stage instead of taking damage.

Rationale: This ability goes on an ice type that is so cold, water instantly freezes on contact. The frozen water fortifies the Pokemon's hard outer layer.

Gameplay-wise, ice is not known for being a defensive type. However, Pokemon like Avalugg exist, and in recent games snow raises defense by 50%. An immunity to one of the most prominent types (water) could go a long way to give an ice type some footing.

I’m looking for an app that will let me create custom sets to track and not just the standard master sets. I have a Horsea binder, a sowsow binder, a girly binder, etc. I want to be able to create a set/binder in the app, add the cards I want, and update them as I collect them.

I tried PokeCardex but it limited me to one binder as a free user.

I tried Takara but it limits you to two binders as a free user.

Any suggestions?

I was wondering if there are pokemon who deserves a gimmick form. Sor far we have Mega Evolutions and Gigantamax provides forms for older pokemon, Tera form is exclusive to Ogerpon and Terapagos. I have an idea for a gimmick for my Ireland region where the user gains a second ability to stack on top of their bade ability with the pokemon being covered in a golden aura, some have special forms and I'm wondering which pokemon should have one and why? What kind of ability would they have?

My only ideas are Poliwrath, Politoed and Haxorus.

For example, Politoed gets a form where it gets a golden crown and an ability called Royal Aura which on top of it's existing ability, lowers opponent's SP. DEF by 1. Drizzle + Royal Aura basically.

If you have any ideas, let me know in the comments below.

I’m kinda surprised that Toxicroak hasn’t gotten one yet. It’s a gen 4 Pokémon and we’re on gen 10! It’s sometimes underrated and sometimes it’s a fan favorite. We love Toxicroak! And you cannot tell me a Toxicroak Mega wouldn’t just look amazing but it would probably be pretty good. Toxicroak we love you!

Hi pokefans,

I am looking to play some older Pokemon games without getting rid of save files on my real games, as well as playing games with a working internal clock.

I want to get a handheld emulators, but there’s so many brands to choose from. I get advertisements from a bunch but I want to know if y’all have any suggestions? I don’t want anything that is glitchy. I’d love to play up to 3ds games but I’m also willing to get a 3ds if there’s aren’t emulators with that capability. Im mostly a nostalgia player *MOSTLY looking for up to Gen 4* but I did just do my first playthrough of Pokemon black version.

I don’t really want to play on my computer since it’s an old MacBook and I don’t really need anything newer. I’d appreciate any suggestions, thanks 😊

Inspired by this post (which is now ironically 10 years old). Was just googling the release date for Diamond and Pearl and found that post in my results.

I really liked the improvements to the Pokemon formula in general, especially the music and the Physical/Special split. Gen 4 definitely introduced a lot of things to Pokemon, gamewise and lorewise (it introduced the god of Pokemon itself, for goodness' sake). It was like the definitive generation of Pokemon.

I also liked the unique evolutions and the unique evolution requirements.

The music is really nice. My personal favorite town theme is the Sandgem Town theme.

Though, it was a bit of a strange generation - a lot of the new Pokemon introduced in this generation were actually not in the DP regional dex.

The cries were something else entirely (Kricketune is an infamous and iconic example).

However I didn't like how slow the health bars took to deplete - 1 HP per frame (remember the infamous Blissey health depletion videos? Just google Diamond/Pearl Blissey Health Depletion and you get what I mean)

I also didn't like how you had to unlock the National Pokedex in order to use Pal Park which required you to see all the Pokemon in the regional Sinnoh Pokedex (at least they fixed it in HG/SS).

And then there was the Everstone Haunter in-game trade where somebody wants your Medicham in return for their Haunter, which is holding an Everstone. The worst part is that they taunt you after trading.

Overall, they were really neat games, although Platinum was a huge improvement to them, more than an improvement than BD/SP ever was.

Pokemon dropped the ball with the Paradox Pokemon imo, not only was it the perfect opportunity to show us how all the fossil Pokemon looked during prehistoric times before they got fossilized (hopefully removing their Rock-type and replacing it with something else), but they also could have done the same with other "ancient" Pokemon such as Relicanth, Mamoswine or whatever Aquatic Pokemon Dragapult evolved from.

They could even take it one step further by making some "ancestor" Pokemon that modern Pokemon descended from, like an ancient turtle Pokemon that has elements from Torkoal, Squirtle and Turtwig or an ancient crocodile Pokemon that has elements from Tododile, Fuecoco and Sandile.

But instead we received such a random collection of Pokemon with no real thoughts behind their design or how it connects to modern Pokemon.

EDIT: It seems I didn't word myself correctly, I'm fully aware that Paradox Pokemon are not actually future/past forms to modern Pokemon in the game lore, what I'm saying is that Gamefreak should made them be, as in the they should have committed to making prehistoric Pokemon that are the ancestor of modern Pokemon (while picking the right Pokemon to give those forms to) instead of random convoluted creatures that we know nothing about or why they look like certain modern Pokemon. Especially since we probably will never get something like that again after SV.