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SPOILERS! Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon In-Game Discussion
- Thread starter DHR-107
- Start date
Oops, had posted this in the wrong thread!
Since I fell behind my daily reports and we're just freely discussing things, might as well just mention some stuff I found interesting/amusing the last few days:
Waifu/Slave Rotom Dex: So for a few hours I accidentally turned Rotom Dex into either a waifu or slave, depending on your view. At some point Rotom Dex asked if instead of the Roto-nickname if it could call me "Master". I agreed without thinking and, yeah, Rotom Dex's dialogue doesn't quite sound right when it's constantly referring to the player as its "Master". Thankfully after a few hours it just wanted to go back to using my name.
No Smashing Mallow: While they've slightly redone all the trials, I just couldn't help notice that they removed the part of Mallow's trial where you helped her mix the ingredients. :P
Ditto Five: So, after years of the fandom joking about it, USUM finally confirms it: Ditto can indeed transform into people. Now they can't really speak like a human... though that doesn't stop the police officer you're helping find the "Ditto Five" to go off on a paranoia theory of what if the Ditto could... while unsettling focusing on his partner who was temporarily replaced by one of the Ditto Five... and when you talk to him only talks about how great Ditto are.
BTW, who else caught all members of the Ditto Five and naming them after the trainer classes (or just Olivia) they had turned into? :P
Kantonian Gym: So, the Gym wasn't what I was expecting it to be. It was pretty funny with what they did... especially since I can't help imagine how annoyed my character would be being from Kanto and the "good luck" signature in his room possibly being from Lt. Surge.
Gym Guide: Take the Kantonain Gym Challenge, beat the Gym and you'll be considered a true Kantonain!
Me: ... I'm from Kanto. Vermilion City, Kanto.
Gym Trainer: We didn't know what the pails were about so we filled them with ice and drinks!
Me: ... they're suppose to hide switches to unlock electric barriers preventing you walking up to the Gym Leader.
(All trainers are using different type Pokemon)
Me: And you're all suppose to specialize in one type...
Gym Leader: You won! Here's a replica of the Surge Badge.
Me: ... It's the Thunder Badge...
Team Building: You know, I didn't think building my team would be hard when I picked Popplio to be my Starter, but if you want a balanced team with each Pokemon having a different type it's surprisingly is (at least for me). For one thing didn't realize how many Water-types the game lets you capture early on, also picking a Fire-type was more complicated though that may have been more me and getting unlucky with IVs.
As of right now (going into Sophocles trial) my team is: Primarina, Dusk Lycanroc, Lurantis, Salazzle, Shelgon, & Metang (yes, I'm raising two pseudo-legendaries, my team is already overleveled so I thought what's the harm).
Since I fell behind my daily reports and we're just freely discussing things, might as well just mention some stuff I found interesting/amusing the last few days:
Waifu/Slave Rotom Dex: So for a few hours I accidentally turned Rotom Dex into either a waifu or slave, depending on your view. At some point Rotom Dex asked if instead of the Roto-nickname if it could call me "Master". I agreed without thinking and, yeah, Rotom Dex's dialogue doesn't quite sound right when it's constantly referring to the player as its "Master". Thankfully after a few hours it just wanted to go back to using my name.
No Smashing Mallow: While they've slightly redone all the trials, I just couldn't help notice that they removed the part of Mallow's trial where you helped her mix the ingredients. :P
Ditto Five: So, after years of the fandom joking about it, USUM finally confirms it: Ditto can indeed transform into people. Now they can't really speak like a human... though that doesn't stop the police officer you're helping find the "Ditto Five" to go off on a paranoia theory of what if the Ditto could... while unsettling focusing on his partner who was temporarily replaced by one of the Ditto Five... and when you talk to him only talks about how great Ditto are.
BTW, who else caught all members of the Ditto Five and naming them after the trainer classes (or just Olivia) they had turned into? :P
Kantonian Gym: So, the Gym wasn't what I was expecting it to be. It was pretty funny with what they did... especially since I can't help imagine how annoyed my character would be being from Kanto and the "good luck" signature in his room possibly being from Lt. Surge.
Gym Guide: Take the Kantonain Gym Challenge, beat the Gym and you'll be considered a true Kantonain!
Me: ... I'm from Kanto. Vermilion City, Kanto.
Gym Trainer: We didn't know what the pails were about so we filled them with ice and drinks!
Me: ... they're suppose to hide switches to unlock electric barriers preventing you walking up to the Gym Leader.
(All trainers are using different type Pokemon)
Me: And you're all suppose to specialize in one type...
Gym Leader: You won! Here's a replica of the Surge Badge.
Me: ... It's the Thunder Badge...
Team Building: You know, I didn't think building my team would be hard when I picked Popplio to be my Starter, but if you want a balanced team with each Pokemon having a different type it's surprisingly is (at least for me). For one thing didn't realize how many Water-types the game lets you capture early on, also picking a Fire-type was more complicated though that may have been more me and getting unlucky with IVs.
As of right now (going into Sophocles trial) my team is: Primarina, Dusk Lycanroc, Lurantis, Salazzle, Shelgon, & Metang (yes, I'm raising two pseudo-legendaries, my team is already overleveled so I thought what's the harm).
Then there's the other strong Alolan trainers like Hau, Hala, Olivia, Acerola, Kahili, Hapu, Sophocles, Molayne, Guzma, Plumeria, and the other Captains and Island Challenge Champions. Granted Alola has strong trainers from other regions which consider Alola home like Gladion, Nanu, and Ryuki but then again the same goes for other regions.
So there's no problem with Kukui's line... it's just generic. Like, okay, so Alolan trainers are strong, though in that vain EVERY region has strong trainers. Having strong trainers is nothing unique, at least to advertise yourself by. And I get why from Kukui's perspective this is important, Alola is probably considered by the majority of the world as just a vacation spot/tourist trap so finally setting up a League shows Alola is more than just that.
But from the player perspective it's just such a generic motivation we've seen countless times. Not that I can't think on how to make it interesting, maybe tie it in with wanting to show the world the power of Z-Moves? Course that's more putting the focus on Z-Moves than the Alola region.
Considering how long it took them to get a league going, along with Kukui's insistence and seemingly long-term planning of it, one gets the feeling that alola trainers weren't seen as strong in some parts of the world.
Speaking of Z Moves, does it seem like the AI is more conservative in using them? For some reason the rando flying z move trainer refused to use hers on me, and Olivia did nothing but spam Bite against my Arbok. Didn't even see Rock Tomb once, much less continental crush.
The psychic z move trainer waited like 3 turns before pulling out z-light screen. Hala used his but I specifically baited it out.
It's not like the AI wasn't playing smart before then either. Olivia's Lilleep caused me a lot of trouble with its moveset before I remmebred it was weak to fighting and got a crit in.
Speaking of Z Moves, does it seem like the AI is more conservative in using them? For some reason the rando flying z move trainer refused to use hers on me, and Olivia did nothing but spam Bite against my Arbok. Didn't even see Rock Tomb once, much less continental crush.
The psychic z move trainer waited like 3 turns before pulling out z-light screen. Hala used his but I specifically baited it out.
It's not like the AI wasn't playing smart before then either. Olivia's Lilleep caused me a lot of trouble with its moveset before I remmebred it was weak to fighting and got a crit in.
Talking about AI, I realized yesterday of another tiny but neat detail on Route 8, with the Preescholer that challenges you with a Kangaskhan.
I was wondering why on earth it was trying to use Fake Out after the first turn, but the following cutscene made me notice that was the point, that he had no idea how to use a powerful pokemon. A take that to those who think they are invincible online just because they are using a random set of legendaries/mythicals?
I was wondering why on earth it was trying to use Fake Out after the first turn, but the following cutscene made me notice that was the point, that he had no idea how to use a powerful pokemon. A take that to those who think they are invincible online just because they are using a random set of legendaries/mythicals?
He was also using Facade presumably without one of the orbs, though the high BP of that move kind of made it easy to overlook
I think it's more of an issue no one caring than no one thinking Alola had strong trainers (or any trainers for that matter). Honestly, unless your region has joined the National Dex initiative, you might as well not exist in the eyes of the regions who have. Granted this gets confusing with the remakes, though that's just one of the retcons that there are more regions part of the National Dex.
To most of the world, Alola was that tropical vacation spot. At most they'd know the young trainers on the island go through an island challenge when they become 11, mirroring a trainer going on a Pokemon journey. But since tourists are not allowed to participate in the Island Challenge it's more of a "FUN FACT" than something to keep in mind about Alola's culture for trainers traveling their.
Trainers with Z-Moves always use them on me... granted I spend one turn having my Lycanroc using Happy Hour and then another turn switching out to the Pokemon I'm currently leveling up so they have plenty of time.
I think the Kangaskhan also knew Fling, but since it wasn't holding an item it failed. I immediately got what they were doing though.
I think trying to apply national dex to canon is a bit much, but yes. Tourist spot, not as strong, it all gets lumped into the not taken seriously umbrella.
Also yeah Fling, forgot it had fling. In that case the strategy his brother uses is probably: Fake Out -> Burn/Toxic Orb activates -> Fling orb to inflict status -> Facade
Jokes on him though, literally no one uses Fling ever.
Also yeah Fling, forgot it had fling. In that case the strategy his brother uses is probably: Fake Out -> Burn/Toxic Orb activates -> Fling orb to inflict status -> Facade
Jokes on him though, literally no one uses Fling ever.
Oh I get that it's generic. Like I said I just find it funny that he's saying this to someone who is not Alolan and currently Champion of Alola. Also where was it said that Nanu was from another region? And where did it say Ryuki considered Alola to be home? From what I know, Ryuki's just here to spread his name.
As for the AI, I felt they were firing off Z-Moves much more than normal SM. Every trainer that said they had one against me used it.
I
Love
That everyone thought the maile gym thing would be this cool affair and instead it's a tourist trap trying to imitate a gym. The dialog here is great. They don't even know what the trash cans are for so they just use them to cool the fresh waters. Half of them don't even use kanto pokemon. It's staffed almsot entirely by beauties.
Authenticity!
It's the best joke.
Love
That everyone thought the maile gym thing would be this cool affair and instead it's a tourist trap trying to imitate a gym. The dialog here is great. They don't even know what the trash cans are for so they just use them to cool the fresh waters. Half of them don't even use kanto pokemon. It's staffed almsot entirely by beauties.
Authenticity!
It's the best joke.
Finished mostly everything, played through without EXP Share or in-battle items. Thoughts on a few things:
Totems
The Totem fights were my favorite addition to Gen 7, and I’m really happy to see how much they refined them. Unlike SM, which had notable failures like Vikavolt and Kommo-o, every Totem fight in USUM is at least capable of providing a challenge, though obviously your particular team may find some easy. I also really like how much the helper mons utilize support moves this time around – Tailwind, Light Screen, Torment (in tandem with the Totem’s Protect-like move), and Stealth Rock are all utilized throughout the USUM Totem fights. I also really liked that the Totem Marowak uses a Thick Club, as it finally lets item-negation be useful in at least one place in-game.
The new Ribombee Totem ended up being a lot better than expected, too. One pitfall of the way the other Totems are designed is that once you understand how their summoning mechanics work (they only summon the more advanced helper if under 2/3 of their health), there’s no real reason to ever have them summon the advanced helper. But not only is the Blissey helper potentially easier to deal with here (Taunt-bait), Ribombee’s propensity for Quiver Dancing means you want to take it out ASAP, and as such it’s much harder to avoid getting Ribombee under that HP threshold on turn 1 if you don’t want to be overwhelmed. So I thought that made for a nice shake-up.
Kahunas
While I loved how the Kahunas were integrated into the story in SM, I thought besides Hala they were pretty weak once you actually had to fight them. USUM didn’t fix this as much as I’d hoped they would. Olivia is a marked improvement over her SM version – the fossils are both a nice thematic touch and do a good job of countering a lot of Rock’s weaknesses, as well as just being much more dangerous than her previous do-nothing walls, Nosepass and Boldore. But Nanu is effectively identical, and Hapu is arguably worse. Golurk is cool, but a slow Pokemon that dissuades none of Ground’s weaknesses isn’t helpful. Compared to how much effort they put into revamping the Totem fights, the Kahunas were very underwhelming.
Totems
The Totem fights were my favorite addition to Gen 7, and I’m really happy to see how much they refined them. Unlike SM, which had notable failures like Vikavolt and Kommo-o, every Totem fight in USUM is at least capable of providing a challenge, though obviously your particular team may find some easy. I also really like how much the helper mons utilize support moves this time around – Tailwind, Light Screen, Torment (in tandem with the Totem’s Protect-like move), and Stealth Rock are all utilized throughout the USUM Totem fights. I also really liked that the Totem Marowak uses a Thick Club, as it finally lets item-negation be useful in at least one place in-game.
The new Ribombee Totem ended up being a lot better than expected, too. One pitfall of the way the other Totems are designed is that once you understand how their summoning mechanics work (they only summon the more advanced helper if under 2/3 of their health), there’s no real reason to ever have them summon the advanced helper. But not only is the Blissey helper potentially easier to deal with here (Taunt-bait), Ribombee’s propensity for Quiver Dancing means you want to take it out ASAP, and as such it’s much harder to avoid getting Ribombee under that HP threshold on turn 1 if you don’t want to be overwhelmed. So I thought that made for a nice shake-up.
Kahunas
While I loved how the Kahunas were integrated into the story in SM, I thought besides Hala they were pretty weak once you actually had to fight them. USUM didn’t fix this as much as I’d hoped they would. Olivia is a marked improvement over her SM version – the fossils are both a nice thematic touch and do a good job of countering a lot of Rock’s weaknesses, as well as just being much more dangerous than her previous do-nothing walls, Nosepass and Boldore. But Nanu is effectively identical, and Hapu is arguably worse. Golurk is cool, but a slow Pokemon that dissuades none of Ground’s weaknesses isn’t helpful. Compared to how much effort they put into revamping the Totem fights, the Kahunas were very underwhelming.
Main Story
As far as the plot goes, I think it’s worse than the original. I do like how Lusamine isn’t comatose after the main story and actually has to reckon with her actions, but it really didn’t sit well with me how what should have been a pivotal moment – Lillie confronting Lusamine – was done off-screen (at the end of RR, Lillie mentions that she and her mom talked things over). I also don’t like how they mostly removed the human element of SM’s climax – sure, there was all sorts of extra-dimensional bullshit going on too, but the core conflict there was between Lillie and Lusamine. I just don’t care about Necrozma at all.
And man, that Ultra Necrozma fight. The only positive thing I can say about is that it’s the first Legendary fight that was actually a challenge, but the implementation is horrendous and feels like something you’d see in a poorly-designed romhack. To start, what the fuck at that level jump. Level 49 Kommo-o, Level 50 Dusk Mane Necrozma, then Level 60 Ultra Necrozma? On top of its base stats and aura boost, this thing’s stats are beyond absurd. That kind of ridiculous stat imbalance works in a typical turn-based RPG, but in Pokemon where it’s 1v1, it very easily leads to complete team sweeps with the player having no real option to retaliate.
It continues to get worse – Photon Geyser targets defense with this Necrozma's IVs and ignores Sturdy, while Dragon Pulse hits special defense, so it hits hard on both ends of the spectrum, while having very broad neutral coverage from Dragon Pulse. And it’s not like it even needs to have this omnipresent coverage to be difficult – even resisted hits from this thing on the stronger defense are painful, and it takes a ton of hits to KO regardless. When it comes down to it, outside of a few niche options, I don’t really see a good way to deal with this thing outside of Toxic, and Focus Sash if needed. Of course, Toxic demolishes the last two Totem fights as well, but at least there I have the choice not to use it, whereas here, I don’t really feel like I have a choice with most team set-ups. And that’s the direct opposite of what makes Pokemon fun to me – having an incredible breadth of options to take on challenges with.
Rainbow Rocket
Lastly, the Rainbow Rocket section. I enjoyed it overall, but man, would it have killed them to consolidate a few of these 1 Pokemon Grunts? Having as many Grunts as they did made it drag on, but at least you got to fight the various team bosses throughout the takeover to break up the monotony. And those were certainly a treat – I always liked how in BW, N used Reshiram/Zekrom alongside the rest of his team, so it was great to see that concept taken to the extreme, which made for a nice challenge. I also found the memorization puzzle where you get interrupted by Grunts amusing, though the joke was on them - I'd already forgotten the rest of the sequence before they even fought me!
As far as the plot goes, I think it’s worse than the original. I do like how Lusamine isn’t comatose after the main story and actually has to reckon with her actions, but it really didn’t sit well with me how what should have been a pivotal moment – Lillie confronting Lusamine – was done off-screen (at the end of RR, Lillie mentions that she and her mom talked things over). I also don’t like how they mostly removed the human element of SM’s climax – sure, there was all sorts of extra-dimensional bullshit going on too, but the core conflict there was between Lillie and Lusamine. I just don’t care about Necrozma at all.
And man, that Ultra Necrozma fight. The only positive thing I can say about is that it’s the first Legendary fight that was actually a challenge, but the implementation is horrendous and feels like something you’d see in a poorly-designed romhack. To start, what the fuck at that level jump. Level 49 Kommo-o, Level 50 Dusk Mane Necrozma, then Level 60 Ultra Necrozma? On top of its base stats and aura boost, this thing’s stats are beyond absurd. That kind of ridiculous stat imbalance works in a typical turn-based RPG, but in Pokemon where it’s 1v1, it very easily leads to complete team sweeps with the player having no real option to retaliate.
It continues to get worse – Photon Geyser targets defense with this Necrozma's IVs and ignores Sturdy, while Dragon Pulse hits special defense, so it hits hard on both ends of the spectrum, while having very broad neutral coverage from Dragon Pulse. And it’s not like it even needs to have this omnipresent coverage to be difficult – even resisted hits from this thing on the stronger defense are painful, and it takes a ton of hits to KO regardless. When it comes down to it, outside of a few niche options, I don’t really see a good way to deal with this thing outside of Toxic, and Focus Sash if needed. Of course, Toxic demolishes the last two Totem fights as well, but at least there I have the choice not to use it, whereas here, I don’t really feel like I have a choice with most team set-ups. And that’s the direct opposite of what makes Pokemon fun to me – having an incredible breadth of options to take on challenges with.
Rainbow Rocket
Lastly, the Rainbow Rocket section. I enjoyed it overall, but man, would it have killed them to consolidate a few of these 1 Pokemon Grunts? Having as many Grunts as they did made it drag on, but at least you got to fight the various team bosses throughout the takeover to break up the monotony. And those were certainly a treat – I always liked how in BW, N used Reshiram/Zekrom alongside the rest of his team, so it was great to see that concept taken to the extreme, which made for a nice challenge. I also found the memorization puzzle where you get interrupted by Grunts amusing, though the joke was on them - I'd already forgotten the rest of the sequence before they even fought me!
When it comes to Lusamine, I'm personally more annoyed, since SM, that nobody ever mentions how Nihilego looks like Lillie. Like that was a huge theory a lot of us had when Nihilego was first revealed, and nothing was done with it. It was all just a red herring.
I found the Ultra Necrozma fight to be rather balanced, even with the large level jump. It was very final boss-like, the build up was excellent, the intensity was good, and sure Photon Geyser hurt like a damn truck. But it was all a 6v1 fight that the series has rarely gotten right. The fight's only really insane when you purposely limit yourself or you just have bad RNG. There are many ways to wear U.Necrozma down like if your team is all max affection and gets that RNG free Endure effect. Sure, it could feel cheap, but when you're facing something as big as this, sometimes it's okay to look over it. At the end, it's still a 6v1 fight, you automatically have the advantage. You just have to strategize a bit more, especially when there's no Master Ball shortcut option. I've always disliked that MBall shortcut, so I'm glad U.Necrozma is like this.
I'll agree the 1 mon Grunts were, while very funny dialogue-wise, rather boring and tiresome. It was made even easier when you realize 1 mon teams get absolutely destroyed because hey we have a 1 per battle move that almost always KOs.
I found the Ultra Necrozma fight to be rather balanced, even with the large level jump. It was very final boss-like, the build up was excellent, the intensity was good, and sure Photon Geyser hurt like a damn truck. But it was all a 6v1 fight that the series has rarely gotten right. The fight's only really insane when you purposely limit yourself or you just have bad RNG. There are many ways to wear U.Necrozma down like if your team is all max affection and gets that RNG free Endure effect. Sure, it could feel cheap, but when you're facing something as big as this, sometimes it's okay to look over it. At the end, it's still a 6v1 fight, you automatically have the advantage. You just have to strategize a bit more, especially when there's no Master Ball shortcut option. I've always disliked that MBall shortcut, so I'm glad U.Necrozma is like this.
I'll agree the 1 mon Grunts were, while very funny dialogue-wise, rather boring and tiresome. It was made even easier when you realize 1 mon teams get absolutely destroyed because hey we have a 1 per battle move that almost always KOs.
Pyukumuku Guilt: So, the game actually tried making you feel guilty for chucking Pyukumuku. After doing it one time, next time the bellhop notes one sad Pyukumuku on the beach. A nearby Swimmer will tell you that someone chucked its mate into the sea.
Camera pans on player. You monster.
You find the mate (BTW, the sad Pyukumuku is named Pyukumeo and the lost one is called Pyukuliet, subtle) and there's a touching reunion scene. It makes you think should you really be chucking Pokemon like footballs, after all isn't that something Team Skull would do?... And then a Youngster walks by, sees the Pyukumuku, and oddly only chucks Pyukuliet into the sea (kid, you need to do that for all of them to get that 20k).
Camera pans on player. You monster.
You find the mate (BTW, the sad Pyukumuku is named Pyukumeo and the lost one is called Pyukuliet, subtle) and there's a touching reunion scene. It makes you think should you really be chucking Pokemon like footballs, after all isn't that something Team Skull would do?... And then a Youngster walks by, sees the Pyukumuku, and oddly only chucks Pyukuliet into the sea (kid, you need to do that for all of them to get that 20k).
I love all the mini side quests. It makes the game / world real, and it's why it's one of my favourite game for the moment
I both like and dislike the concept of that boss fight.
USUM was all about the idea that you need "creative ways to deal with bosses / totems rather than just bruteforce with Z moves". Which the fight totally requires to.
however, for this specific one, the implementation is meh. You are *required* to cheese it unless you purposely overleveled.
If you are playing the game as I did, with 100% ingame caught team, so suboptimal natures, likely trash IVs, not exactly best movesets, you get to a mon that is 10ish levels higher than your team, with probably 200+ BST more than your best mon, and on top of it, +1 to all stats, and near perfect coverage.
Sash/Sturdy Toxic, Sash Topsy Turvy, bait things with Zoroark (all things probably intentionally provided early in the game on top of available on Poni at level 40+ just before the Dragon trial) surely are creative but... feel very cheap.
I'd give it the "good idea, bad implementation" vote.
If you are playing the game as I did, with 100% ingame caught team, so suboptimal natures, likely trash IVs, not exactly best movesets, you get to a mon that is 10ish levels higher than your team, with probably 200+ BST more than your best mon, and on top of it, +1 to all stats, and near perfect coverage.
Sash/Sturdy Toxic, Sash Topsy Turvy, bait things with Zoroark (all things probably intentionally provided early in the game on top of available on Poni at level 40+ just before the Dragon trial) surely are creative but... feel very cheap.
I'd give it the "good idea, bad implementation" vote.
This is where that supposed "twice the content compared to SM" thing went to. It wasn't "a longer story" but "more things to do".
Talking about sidequests, the one involving the five Ditto is... kind of unsettling - fine, the people they impersonated happen to arrive just after you defeat each Ditto, but...
I just beat the League and found it a lot easier than in Sun/Moon; this could however be because I had the EXP share on for the latter half of the game. Incidentally, this is because I found the Totem battles so much harder. Every totem ally actually has a strategic moveset, most of which I was not prepared for. I feel only a twinge of shame in saying that I cheesed the last 4 trials with Toxic Salazzle.
There's a Veteran next to the Tapu Village Pokemon that uses a Rough Skin Gabite. Perhaps the first minor NPC outside of Battle Facilities to use a Pokemon with a Hidden Ability.
And he gives you Choice Specs for beating him, which is pretty nice.
EDIT: Aaaand the first trainer I battle after him has a Rough Skin Gible, making the Veteran look much less special. But at least minor trainers are now willing to use Hidden Abilities.
And he gives you Choice Specs for beating him, which is pretty nice.
EDIT: Aaaand the first trainer I battle after him has a Rough Skin Gible, making the Veteran look much less special. But at least minor trainers are now willing to use Hidden Abilities.
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Just like in Sun, in Ultra Sun I beat the totem Lurantis the very same way. My Torracat had Fire Fang alredy, so I just spammed it on Lurantis; its ally used Sunny Day and this made my fire move deal even more damage to it. She used Synthesis once but died in three hits.
I heard people had problems with this totem since SM first came out and I found it weird that its strategy didnt change a bit, at all.
It's pretty variant on your pokemon. I had a few answers (Fire Fang lycanroc, Bug Bite charjabug, Acid Arbok) but none were clear-cut and that stupid kecleon was confusing some and using ancient power on others and Lycanroc couldn't really stand to Lurantis who was juuust buff enough to survive so I had a rougher time though not as much as Araquanid & Marowak.
Or Togedemaru, for that matter. 30% chance to flinch my hide. Bite me, game, then cause me to flinch.
The Totem Togedemaru battle is annoying turned into art. Two moves with a 30% to flinch, Bounce with a 30% chance of paralyzing, Skarmory's Tailwind and Stealth Rock, Dedenne's Charm, Discharge (another 30% chance of paralyzing) and Super Fang... and, by the way, Togedemaru's +2 to Defense when the vast majority of super-effective moves available are physical.
... on the other hand, I found Totem Mimikyu to be significantly easier than in SM. After just one Intimidate, Mimikyu has a rather low damage output and Banette is slow and frail so it can be taken out quickly. I could even go for two Screches with Arbok, as well as Z-Tailwind and a critical Aerial Ace from Rufflet for extra cheese. Although, the fact Mimikyu is at a lower level than the rest of the area could have something to do with it... (I lost to the Veteran at Tapu Village and decided to catch up some levels... ended up 5 levels above Mimikyu, which I totally did not see coming)
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Yeah, a lot of the NPC trainers now run HAs, especially if they're using the Gible family. Really nice to see.
Togedemaru took me two tries because I dunno if they did something to USUM, but I am missing a hell of a lot more than in SM. And everything that can flinch/status me will. Mimikyu still beat me too cuz my team was severely unbalanced. Definitely the two hardest trials imo for where we are in the game.
So I just finished the main story. Mostly hits the same notes as Sun and Moon, but the changes they did add were rather interesting. (Especially the credits sequence, some of these had me laughing/heartfelt)
The only battle I struggled with was Totem Kommo-o, mainly because I didn't have much useful Pokemon to use against it, and fuck that Noivern summon. Seriously. Luckily though, Rotom asspulled the Z-Move Rotom Power with my Decidueye and allowed me to win the battle. Felt like they were handing me a bone there, sheesh.
E4 was mainly Claydol shits on Steels, Octillery surprisingly sweeps Kahili, Houndoom mainly wiped the floor with Acerola, and Olivia was a mix of mons to clean her up. The champion was a fun closure, but easy for me.
One thing I felt when watching the credits though, especially the dancing sequence with the totems, why DIDN'T they make Tsareena a totem? She seems like the perfect candidate for one, being a QUEEN of fruits. But whatever.
My team and thoughts on each of them:
(Note that my Houndoom and Claydol were obtained far earlier than usual via trading)
Decidueye: Its movepool is good enough for in-game use. Mine was Jolly too, which was nice. As I mentioned before saved my ass in the Kommo-o Totem.
Houndoom: 2HKO'ed Lurantis because I was dumb enough to forget putting Firium Z on it. Strong attacker that evolves early, and that STAB combination is oh so beautiful. I feel the pain of those who have to wait until the third island to get it though.
Claydol: The typing is pretty good for Alola, handling Poisons like its nothing, and its bulky too. Not the strongest mon, but its power was quite good for in-game purposes.
Arbok: Crunch and the utility of Intimidate + Glare carried me through its use. Mainly it would've been better if I had taught it special Posion moves, but fuck no I'm not going to do that with something with as shit a Special Attack stat as Arbok lol. Really would've liked to get its good moves earlier.
Hariyama: Bulky, strong, great coverage. Fake Out is fantastic utility. My MVP of sorts, but low leveled in the end.
Octillery: Like Arbok a lot of its great moves come out later, but its still quite strong and the coverage is quite useful. (Charge Beam in particular is great on it)
Will post my thoughts on the post-game when I finish them!
The only battle I struggled with was Totem Kommo-o, mainly because I didn't have much useful Pokemon to use against it, and fuck that Noivern summon. Seriously. Luckily though, Rotom asspulled the Z-Move Rotom Power with my Decidueye and allowed me to win the battle. Felt like they were handing me a bone there, sheesh.
E4 was mainly Claydol shits on Steels, Octillery surprisingly sweeps Kahili, Houndoom mainly wiped the floor with Acerola, and Olivia was a mix of mons to clean her up. The champion was a fun closure, but easy for me.
One thing I felt when watching the credits though, especially the dancing sequence with the totems, why DIDN'T they make Tsareena a totem? She seems like the perfect candidate for one, being a QUEEN of fruits. But whatever.
My team and thoughts on each of them:
(Note that my Houndoom and Claydol were obtained far earlier than usual via trading)
Decidueye: Its movepool is good enough for in-game use. Mine was Jolly too, which was nice. As I mentioned before saved my ass in the Kommo-o Totem.
Houndoom: 2HKO'ed Lurantis because I was dumb enough to forget putting Firium Z on it. Strong attacker that evolves early, and that STAB combination is oh so beautiful. I feel the pain of those who have to wait until the third island to get it though.
Claydol: The typing is pretty good for Alola, handling Poisons like its nothing, and its bulky too. Not the strongest mon, but its power was quite good for in-game purposes.
Arbok: Crunch and the utility of Intimidate + Glare carried me through its use. Mainly it would've been better if I had taught it special Posion moves, but fuck no I'm not going to do that with something with as shit a Special Attack stat as Arbok lol. Really would've liked to get its good moves earlier.
Hariyama: Bulky, strong, great coverage. Fake Out is fantastic utility. My MVP of sorts, but low leveled in the end.
Octillery: Like Arbok a lot of its great moves come out later, but its still quite strong and the coverage is quite useful. (Charge Beam in particular is great on it)
Will post my thoughts on the post-game when I finish them!