Pokemon: Generation V

Seeing as Im a massive PokeNerd, a lot of people wonder what my opinion on the next generation of Pokemon is. First of all, seeing as this is my first Pokemon related post, I gotta start it like this.

There is a group of Pokemon fans that I like to call "Original Purists". These are people who will tell you "All the Pokemon past (insert number here)" or "Nintendo should have stopped at (insert number here)". Usually these people refer to the first 151, but I know some people that opened up into Generation II, and some into Generation III even. But either way, these people don't seem to care for newer Pokemon.

Putting it in a more polite way than I originally typed it, these people seriously piss me off (and yes, that is the censored way of putting my original thought). Why? Simply because,
#1: Most of these people haven't even given the new Pokemon a shot. A lot of them complain becuase they were either A) Unable to keep up, therefore, sad that everyone else left them in the dust B) So convinced that nothing could ever stack up to the originals, they didn't even need to bother.

#2 Pokemon, albeit very loosely, is based on our own Animal Kingdom. Between insects, birds, fish, and other wildlife on our big blue earth, there are countless numbers of animals all over the globe. So wouldn't it be fair to say that #151 seems ridiculously small? I mean, in comparison to the near 500 we have now, I don't believe I could even play Pokemon anymore if they had stuck with the original #151. Thats not to say I want them to delete the first generations, but I think Genereation II-IV (although not a lot of Generation III) were great additions to it. So if Nintendo still has good ideas for new Pokemon, why stop them?

And Im not listing it as an official reason because its my own personal opinion (becuase thats not what this whole blog was built on or anything lol), but I think another reason I get pissed when I hear people say this is simply becuase, and I know it may be blasphemous, but I personally prefer Generation IV Pokemon to the generations before it (although Pidgeotto is still my favorite Pokemon ever). So many cool pokemon like Infernape, Dusknoir, Garchomp, Palkia, Arceus, and so on and so on were introduced in this generation. But people fail to realize this, meerly because for whatever reason, they're all tied up in moaning and complaining about their mear existance.

Anywho, now that that rant is over, it actually provides a decent segway into the topic at hand. Having read what I said, you are probably inclined to believe that I'm excited about this next generation. And if you believe that... then you're aboslutely correct. BUT, before you jump down my throat, keep in mind I did state this one thing: "If Nintendo still has GOOD ideas for new Pokemon, why stop them?"

So in simpler terms, what does that mean? It means, I fully acknowledge that this next generation could suck, and suck horribly. But, I would like to keep an optimistic view on it. Even with the near 500 we have now, I feel like I need more Pokemon, as if I wanna go until their is a new Pokemon for every animal that exists in our world. Now granted, do I want that? No. Even I'll admit there has to be a point where we stop adding new Pokemon, however, I dont believe we've hit it yet. But, how do we make sure this next new batch of Pokemon don't suck? Well I have 2 tips for Nintendo

Tip #1: When picking Pokemon types, focus on the smaller type groups this time.
A bit of trivia. To date, Ghost Pokemon are the smallest type, with only 18 pokemon, where as Water is the most abundant, with 92 Pokemon, meaning it takes up about 19% of the total number of Pokemon. Other types small in number include Ice type, which has only 4 PURE ice types, two of which are from the same evolutionary line, Dark Type, and Fire type. And believe me Nintendo, it was SUPER frustrating playing through Pearl, and having only Rapidash as a fire type option, since I chose to go with the grass starter like I always do. So rather than pumping a lot of attention into Water types, Bug types, and the such, why not add a good handful of the types mentioned above, and a few others like the Steel type and surprisingly low Electric type? Also on that same note, as a personal favor to me, try to create a Flying/Fighting type, for that would make Flying the first and only type to be matched with every other type =)

Tip #2: Cut back on copy Pokemon.
Even I have to admit, not every Pokemon created is an original idea. And a lot of complaints I hear about Generation III pokemon is how a lot of them were simply copies or slight remakes of older Pokemon (i.e. Corphish/Crawdaunt = Krabby/Kingler, Beautifly = Butterfree, ect). And while you did do a good job on originality in Generation IV, don't think that means you can go ahead and recycle old ideas again. I mean, sure there are bound to be simmilarities, I understand that. Much like our Animal Kingdom, many animals are similar after all. But outright rehashes of older Pokemon are just unacceptable. So far, from what you showed us, you don't seem to be having that creativity problem, however, we don't know all the Pokemon you have in store for us, so we don't know how many remakes may or may not lie in waiting.

So there you have it. Thats my personal opinion on the Pokemon themselves. However I do have a few things to comment on Pokemon Black and White themselves.

As far as at the root gameplay, what should you change? Absolutely nothing. Here you have a system that has withstood the test of time, so why change it now? Personally, unlike some others, I was in favor of changing the special/physical move system into being based on individual moves. And I think that was the last bit of core gameplay that you needed to change. I mean, a few add-ons would be nice, like a general challenge system online, simmilar to the one used in Pokemon Battle Revolution, but other than that, keep core gameplay the same.

As far as the visuals go, all I have to say is this: milk the hell out of the new 3D Anyone who played Pokemon Platinum was surely impressed by the amount of 3D put into the distortion world. Now expanding on that, I wanna see you push the 3DS to its very limit, and show off everything this little handheld system can do. And I know you guys can be creative, so get creative, and show off the full might of the 3DS.

And for the rest of the Pokemon world as we head off into Generation V? Well, go ahead and make your Pokemon Rangers and Mystery Dungeons, I probably won't play them. However, I do wanna see another Pokemon Battle Revolution/Pokemon Stadium. Just a few things to improve on might include:
1) Allowing you to use your full team in random online battles
2)Bring back the mini games
3) A more in-depth character customization
4) Bring back the Pokemon Stadium announcer please...

Number three I do believe would apply nicely to Black and White as well. I would love the ablility to chose what my character wears, what color those things are, their hair/eye color, ect. A fully customizeable character would be nice, rather than saying "Oh look, there's my twin!" every time you battle/trade with someone of your character's same gender.

And as for Number four, I know it was a bit of a blast from the past to have the original Pokemon anime narrator be the announcer in this game, but he's so unexciting, and kind of annoying. Every time he does play-by-play, you just wanna scream at him "I know my Pokemon just fainted. Im here actually battling, idiot". But the old announcer was always so excited about everything going on, and made you feel like you were really surrounded by a ton of fans watching you battle. His constantly screaming voice was one thing I loved about the original Pokemon Stadium. I miss the old "HOLY SH*T! ELECTRODE F*CKING EXPLODED!", becuase then you were like "YEAH! MY POLYWHIRL JUST FAINTED! THIS IS AWESOME! Oh wait..."

And of course, the last thing I have to touch upon are console adventure games, like Colleseum and Gale of Darkness. Personally, I don't see a point in releasing another one, especially with the next pokemon games having the potential to be in full 3D themselves, but, if you are going to release another, then go big with it. I cant tell you how sad it was to find that, becuase of the system in place, you were pretty much told what Pokemon you could potentially catch, and when you could catch them. And if you were holding out for one of your favorites and accidentally beat it? Well, you were screwed, becuase most Pokemon, you only had the chance of catching it once. Part of the enjoyment in the Pokemon games is hunting through the different areas to find the different Pokemon. When the only ones you can catch are the shadow ones, and you're pretty much told when you can catch them, a lot of the fun is taken away. And on a personal note, even though it was for a good cause, I still felt like a theif every time I "snagged" someone elses Pokemon. I mean, the main series has always told you not to throw Pokeballs at other people's Pokemon, but now we're encouraging it? I mean, maybe in a game where I played as Team Rocket (HINTHINTHINT), I wouldnt feel so bad, but seeing as Im still the hero, it just doesnt feel right.

So in a nutshell, thats my opinion on Generation V pokemon. You guys wanted it, so you got it. Was it what you wanted to hear? Maybe not. But I guess thats just my nature to be optimistic. And if I offended anyone in the above statements about Original Purists, Im sorry, however, my opinion still stands.

Stay Healthy, Have Fun
Dr. Buck.

EDIT: So I've come to realize that I read a bit of information wrong. Pokemon Black and White are still on DS, not the 3DS. Is it a big mistake? Yeah, and I apologize to my readers. However, I think it only goes to further my point. If you wanna make a big splash with this next generation, and you knew you were making the 3DS anyway, why not just wait and release it on the 3DS and take advantage of all that power? Either way, I apologize about the mis-information, but my above opinions still stand.