What We Could See in Pokémon ‘Z’…

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Now that Pokémon X&Y have been out for a month, it’s time to start talking about the ‘third game’ of Generation VI. Here are some things that I would personally like to see, as well as a few predictions.

Characters & Story

Comments: Pokémon X&Y gave the main character quite a few friends, and all of them had interesting personalities, but much more focus could’ve been put on other NPCs such as the champion (not giving any spoilers), Lysander, and the last 4 gym leaders. The missions with a certain Pokémon detective were nice, but even they could’ve been more extensive and had more puzzle elements. After Pokémon Black & White, X&Y felt a little underwhelming in the story department and decidedly less epic. Although Team Flare had an interesting goal, the beauty of their plan wasn’t given enough exposure. Their weapon was pretty cool though.

And what about that great cutscene?? A Pokémon war?? I’d love to see that be explored more instead of just told to the player and shown in almost still images.

Prediction: The mysterious AZ will play a much bigger role in the next game and… hopefully… we’ll learn more about the sad past of Kalos. Wish we could play in a non-modern era of the region!

Pokémon

Comments: Many fans were disappointed about the small number of new Pokémon introduced in Generation VI. Whether or not they could or would rectify that in a third game remains to be seen. Personally, I think it was nice to give the limelight to older Pokémon. They really came to life in 3D and reminded me, personally, of why I love the series so much. It was fun to go through the game with a mixed team of old and new friends.

Pokémon “Z” may push this feeling of nostalgia past its welcome, unfortunately. With such a wide variety of Pokémon available in X&Y, it may be hard to make the third game stand out by introducing more catchable ‘mons; especially after the release of Pokémon Bank.

Prediction: New form for the third legendary (sadly a troupe now) and possibly a few others. GameFreak may even patch X&Y to include new Pokémon which debut in the third game…

Mechanics

Comments: Generation VI introduced new battle types, such as Inverse and Sky, but their implementation was lackluster. The third game should really capitalize on these new ways to battle and include them in the plot… not just as optional side events. Maybe a gym leader that forces the player to participate in one of them? That would certainly make players rethink some of their strategies.

One of the most exciting new mechanics of Pokémon X&Y, however, was the addition of trainer customization. FINALLY we get to decide how we look in the game and aren’t playing a generic Japanese (pre-) teen. The system, however, is very limited in its current form and clothing types are repetitive and boring. Hairstyles are also very limited, especially for males. While it was a step forward, it definitely wasn’t the revolution some people (including myself) would have preferred. Especially disappointing for Nintendo fans who may have hoped for some Animal Crossing-esque clothing options. And, seriously Game Freak, why can’t we take off our hat?!

Prediction: New Gym Leader that focuses on Sky Battles or Inverse Battles. Many more hair/clothing options, possibly an added tool to allow players to personalize outfits.

Mini-Games

Comments: Pokémon-Amie was OK. I haven’t used it much because, to be honest, there’s not all that much to do. I hope that they improve the system to include more virtual pet aspects so that you can feel a little more connected with your team. Super Training also didn’t ‘wow’ me and unless I want EV-training, I wouldn’t just play it for fun. The only thing that I really enjoyed, and isn’t technically a “mini-game”, is the Trainer PR Video system. It’s surprisingly customizable and the 10-second limit really makes you think about what you want to put in it.

Prediction: Very few changes to Amie or Super Training, new options coming to PR vids.

Online Functionality

Comments: Wonder Trade is wonderful. I think that is perhaps one of the best new additions to the series and it is genuinely fun to send a random Pokémon to a stranger and see what you get in return. Some trades are more rewarding than others, but that’s part of the fun. Trading and battling is also easier than ever in X&Y and I don’t think I actually have any complaints about the system. It’s just fun. I don’t see Game Freak doing a whole lot to change what they built, because it’s pretty darn good. The Player Search System is a fun little use of the bottom screen and primarily what I use while I’m playing.

Prediction: Online functionality stays the same.

Wrap-up

I liked Pokémon X&Y. A lot. Definitely my favorite games of the series so far and I can’t wait to see how Game Freak improves on them in the third installment. Have any complaints that you’d like addressed in their follow-up? Something you thought was missing in X&Y? Leave a comment! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

NL would also like me to add that his prediction for the third game’s title is “Pokémon Zero” which plays upon both the Z and also 3D coordinates (0,0), the origin point. What do you think?!

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2,799 thoughts on “What We Could See in Pokémon ‘Z’…”

  7. I battled someone online who was obviously competitive. They used the typical speed boost blaziken, shell smash baton pass smeargle, mega mawile, etc. I actually swept the entire team with a non-boosted galvantula. 6-0

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  9. Guess I’ll spend the next hour in this grass safari hunting a shiny gogoat before bed. I would say “wish me luck!” but is it even considered luck at this point? LOL. (Tooting my own horn) – goodnight ya’ll.

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      • b..b..but it got me two noibats, chespin, & tree-thingie. I would say it was luck tbh cause i got the chespin/tree-thing through giveaways. some guy was giving away over 60 chespin eggs/tree things and list the SV’s of them, i pmed him told him to send me both and vwalaha. fortunate i would say – def lucky.

        But it does feel better to find ur own shinies like how ive been doing in the safari. i think im at 18 shinies found in safaris now.

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  15. What I hope to see in the next game is the re-implementation of a Challenge mode, but make it available from the start. If they want to have Gym Leaders be wimps and only have 3 Pokemon, fine, but then allow there to be a Challenge mode for more veteran players where Gym Leaders are actually Gym Leaders.

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  16. I can’t see the 2 episode of Pokemon the orgin 🙁 is anybody else having the same problem or have a solution for it? Need help I really want to see it

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  19. I love Wonder Trade. I got a protean Froakie, Bulletproof Chespin, and Gooey Goomy with 4 perfect IVs. I also got a Japanese Gible that was bred from the Event Garchomp.

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      • I know what you mean. The 3DS internet settings don’t work with my University’s wifi, so I can only play online when I go home every few weeks. I never got anything of value until last weekend when I got all 4 of those haha

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          • Haha nice! I should try that, but I probably won’t have time to play much until the end of the semester. I have an exam every week til Finals :/, and then you know: Finals.

          • I understand. I have a journal, a music test, and a take home bio test this week. Plus an essay to finish up. I have one or two tests after that and then finals… Repeat.

    • How can you tell it was from the Garchomp? I know they’d be Japanese and all but I’m just asking since I don’t know much about that Garchomp.

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  21. I’m not catching any of my party members in the hoenn remakes/sequels. The reason why is because I will be getting my starter from Birch and the rest I will breed (I will trade myself the parents and breed them in Hoenn so they will have my trainer’s ID).

    It’s not traditional, but I can’t help it. That’s not a bad thing right?

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    • However you want to play. It’s your game haha. I just want the Metagross my friend traded me before his mom made him quit playing them….he knew before hand so he wanted me to have it to keep it safe since he knew it was my favorite. that’s why i love metagross so much. and again, that is an odd way to go about getting your pokemon but hey, that’s what makes all this awesome: finding and using different things in these games. keeps it interesting.

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      • Yeah that does make the adventure all more interesting. That’s too bad about your friend, but nice that he gave his metagross to you. The reason why my five other members will be bred is because I want them to have their hidden abilities and three of them are post Gen III pokémon (Zorua, Sewaddle, and Honedge), and they won’t be catchable in Hoenn, and if they are, it’ll be post-game.

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        • Yeah that makes sense then. To have their Hidden Abilities that is. And I’ve moved away from there and found him on facebook a while ago and found out that he even plays the games now so that’s awesome and he said i can keep the Metagross haha. he wouldn’t take away a pokemon like that so that’s awesome. but we shall arrive back to Hoenn soon…back home. It will be a glorious day indeed.

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          • No no that’s totally fine! I love that image you gave me, and I see it clearly. I’ve noticed your profile pic is of a Shiny Metagross. It’s amazing. Do you happen to have a shiny Metagross? That image could become a reality WHEN Hoenn is confirmed.

            My favorite Pokémon is Mawile, and I’m so happy that Mawile got the fairy typing and a Mega. What was once forgotten and feeble, is now forever remembered and over powered. I wanted to use Mawile for a long time in past games, but was hesitant because of its low stats. But all that changed with XY! I finally used my favorite, my star Pokémon, to the best of his (yes he is male) capabilities! Before Megaevolution was announced, I was afraid that if Mawile got an evolution, that evolution would replace Mawile as my favorite Pokémon. However, that didn’t happen, as a matter of fact, something better happened. He got a Megalution, a type of evolution that allows the user to temporarily reach legendary levels in battle. But in the end, IT’S STILL MAWILE!!!

            I wish to travel to the land where my favorite Pokémon made his debut. Yes, he is native to Kalos, but his roots are from Hoenn. Sorry I dragged on so long.

          • When it comes to things like this, the story can never be too long. And about the do I have a shiny Metagross. Yes I do. The one he gave me is shiny and on my team. I don’t know if it can transfer to X and Y because I still don’t know exactly how he got it. He loved his game shark so i’m not sure. But yes I do haha. And I really love Mawile too. I prefer female Mawile honestly but that’s just me. And I am rather happy about her mega as well. And I just love that she got the fairy typing as well. Now if Metagross gets a Mega I think I’ll lose it. Hell, if i work on my drawing skills, I’ll draw that picture of me and my Metagross on the cliff and I’ll be sure to post it here. And maybe, for the hell of it, have the trainer saying “We’re going home, old friend. We’re going home.”

          • Everytime I start a new adventure, I say to myself “I’m on an adventure!”, just as Bilbo Baggins said in The Hobbit, but with an accent. I see why you think of Mawile mostly as a female Pokémon, most people do. It’s because of its voice in the anime and the PokéPark series isn’t it? That and the fact that it’s based on the Futakuchi-onna, a woman in Japanese folklore who was cursed to have a second mouth on the back of her head isn’t it? I think of it as a gender neutral Pokémon because it looks and sounds like it (with the baggy pants, cry, and face). Also, it’s gender ratio is 50/50.

            When fairy was first confirmed on 6/11 (my bro’s birthday), I was one of those people who were afraid that the fairy type would be a girly type. With Sylveon, Jigglypuff, and Gardevoir being girly Pokémon (at least, that’s what lots of people thing, including myself) and the fact that the type was light pink. When Mawile’s type change was rumored, I was afraid GF would make it look very feminine with bright pink all over it’s body! However, later on, when Swirlex was revealed, and Xerneas’ typing was confirmed, I had hope for the new type being gender neutral because those pokémon look gender neutral (honestly, Swirlex really shouldn’t have a gender to begin with…it’s freaking cotton candy!).

            On 8/8 (the day the Biggest Scoop of the Century was announced by Coro Coro), Megaevolutions were announced. That was such a great day for me! I was so happy! Sadly, when I first saw the page, part of Mega Mawile was blocked off. But when I saw two giant Mouth Horns, the first thing I said to myself was “They did it! THEY FINALLY DID IT!” Mawile can now reach the Maximum Power it always dreamed of!

            It’s funny. A month before Megaevolutions were announced, I was thinking of a name for a Mawile evolution. I saw some interesting names on devianart like Mawville and Malevora. I couldn’t think of a name on my own, for my made up Mawile evolution (that my bro drew for me). So I called him Mega Mawile. I’m dead serious! The reason why is because in Digimon, the highest level a digimon can reach is Mega. Normally, a digimon in its first stage (I don’t could baby stages) has to digivolve three times to reach that level. But rarely, a first stage digimon, with enough determination, can skip those three levels (Warp-Digivolve) and immediately jump to Mega. IDK if you’re into Digimon, so everything I just said may be confusing.

            I’ll wrap it up quickly. I would love to see that drawing someday. I would like to show you my bro’s fan-made drawing of Mega Mawile someday. I enjoyed these chats. I look forward to more of them soon. Wanna be friends? My FC is: 5412-9983-7936. I’m going to bed. Thank you and good night!

          • Yeah, it’s mostly because of the Onna really. And I love digimon so I know what you mean haha. And when I have the drawing done (if I can even do it), I’ll make sure to get it here. 3067-4715-5038 ((Sorry I haven’t replied, Disqus fucked up on me again))

          • Sounds good. I like to compare Mawile with Beezlemon. Both were weak and underrated, but became insanely power when they Mega Evolved. I added you. I would have told you earlier, but I faced Disqus’ problems too.

          • yeah, i can see why that would be. and he’s one of my favorites really haha. and i added you too so..yeah haha. and at least mawile is something to be feared again.

          • Mawile was something to be feared before? When was this? In Generation III? I wouldn’t know, I never played R/S/E.

            Thanks for adding me BTW!

          • well, my mawile anyway haha. sure it wasn’t the best, but mine was still pretty good is all. mawile was my signature pokemon that wasn’t a legendary haha (the legendary spot was held by Kyoger of course). huh, those were awesome days.

          • Glad to hear. On a different subject, my bro really wants to use Sableye in the Hoenn Remakes/Sequels. It’s a shame it didn’t get a Megalution even though it’s counterpart did. However, I was lucky enough to get a Sableye w/ Prankster from GTS and bred her w/ a Volbeat so I could get a male Prankster Sableye w/ Moonlight. He’s very happy, and if he supertrains him, I’m sure he will wreck the whole metagame!

          • haha awesome. i hope everything goes well. and sableye may get a mega in Hoenn. nothing says they can’t add more in it.

          • I’m sure they’ll add more Megas. It wouldn’t be fair if Sceptile, Swampert, and Sableye didn’t get them. Hope everything goes well too!

          • yeah. there really should be more. at least it’s all but confirmed that the ones we have are just the intro ones. i can’t wait for Mega Swampert (and Metagross…and Kyoger..yes i want a Mega Kyoger, it would be awesome). And I still want to know what’s with the fifth meteor in the lab? Just have to wait for transfer

          • I also hope there will be Megas for Metagross and Milotic because they are the Hoenn Champions’ star Pokémon. And if Metagross gets one, then so should Salamence (I don’t want another Sableye moment again). I would love to see Megas for the Weather Trio! Imagine seeing them as the mascots! Yes there are three of them, so I wonder how it could be done…three Hoenn remake games maybe?

          • Yeah, I think all the pseudo-legendaries need them haha. And maybe they would just have Mega Groudon and Mega Kyoger as mascots but still have the other in game (I can’t spell its name at all). And hopefully there will be other ones getting Megas and not just all Hoenn (though it would make sense either way. whole new batch, or just ones for Hoenn, both seem fair).

          • Rayquaza was the third mascot. Yes, hopefully, there will be more megas for non Gen III Pokémon as well; Gen V and VI should get them by Gen VII at least! This is my first time waiting for remakes of old gen games to become official. What I want to know is how it’s done. I know the first two games are remaked, but what do they do about the third one? Do they combine it in the remakes like how Suicune (like Crystal) plays a subtle role in HG/SS?

          • I know which it is, just not the spelling; but I’ll be sure to try to remember haha. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they put megas for Gens 5 and 6, maybe not as many, but at least have them there. And I really haven’t played remakes honestly. I just didn’t care for them as much. I think it’s mostly because I didn’t play the first two (though I did get firered and leafgreen haha). Though, considering Gen3 was the first with a real trio of legendaries, I really don’t know if they’ll just make two of if they’ll do one for each. Though, if they really did just to Sapphire and Ruby, that wouldn’t surprise me either. What would surprise me about it would be if they put the Megas on the covers haha. I’d prefer the regulars be on the covers and Megas showed maybe a month or two after in corocoro or something like that.

  23. I think Pokemon Giftig is overdue.
    Sure you can always trade and have the friend you want to give something put a random bidoof in the trade, but its not much of a surprise at that point.

    I mean there has been NPCs that simply give you a Pokemon, without requiring something in return since the beginning. How come that’s not doable between players?

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  25. I really hope they take another look at the type chart.. All they did was nerf Dragons and add a new tough and powerful type. The obvious defensive flaws are still there.

    How they went through having Kyurem on 2 covers and keep making late Ice gyms game after game, but never notice how weak those turn out is beyond me.

    There is no reason why Ice shouldn’t resist something besides itself (while being weak to common offensive types like Fire, Fighting and Rock of all things..and now Steel gaining popularity due to Fairy too!), like Water and Ground.

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    • This is honestly why I hope that the second region of Gen6 is true along with them making the Sound Type (just my favorite fake type is all so just replace with “second new type” if you have to) would be real to make it more balanced too, maybe give ice more power and popular types another weakness. and the ice gyms…that could be fixed with a new type too in a way. and i’ve always loved Steel Types (main reason is Metagross and that reason is in another conversation here).

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      • I’m not expecting any new types anytime soon (srsly they need to fix the type chart, not make it bigger), but the one type I could actually find appropriate and still missing would be a Wind type.

        But the arguments for it are pretty much just as flawed as those for Sound and even Light, although these two feel a tad too plain/vague to me. Especially Sound, because plenty of Pokemon start out with the generic Normal status move Growl, because thats what frankly any monster can do. Sound is one of the very scarce pseudo-types that gives Normal some special damaging moves.
        It also has some retconing issues due to stuff like Noivern and Seismitoad already being fine dual types.

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