Pokemon needs a Complete Overhaul

[Kong Wen]

Meta question: Should we have a general Pokerymans discussion thread separate from this one, or should I just rename this one to be more generic? Or, should we have separate Pokerymans threads for each series/subseries/group/family of entries?

[The Shoemaker]

Meta question: Should we have a general Pokerymans discussion thread separate from this one, or should I just rename this one to be more generic? Or, should we have separate Pokerymans threads for each series/subseries/group/family of entries?

Probably a generic thread separate from this one.

[SkyPikachu]

What exactly does a Mega Evolution do? Apart from look pretty? Also is there a limit to how many times you can mega evolve the pokemon? I am aware you need some Mega Evolution item that you hold then the pokemon must also hold an item?

[SkyPikachu]

Meta question: Should we have a general Pokerymans discussion thread separate from this one, or should I just rename this one to be more generic? Or, should we have separate Pokerymans threads for each series/subseries/group/family of entries?

Probably a generic thread separate from this one.

New POKEMANZ THREAD!

[Jordan]

Pokemon X/Y blew it completely in terms of plot. Most Pokemon games are light on plot, but they did a much better job with it in the 5th generation (Black/White, Black2/White2). In Pokemon X/Y, they had a bunch of crappy, one-dimensional characters (except Lysandre) and what felt like a rushed climax.

The 5th gen games did a much better job. There was some actual character development over the course of the game. Additionally, the villainous team seemed to have a constant presence in the story. In fact, the climax in Black/White actually took place right at the elite 4, which I thought was awesome. N's motivations also made more sense to me. By contrast, Team Flare dabbles with themes of eugenics, overpopulation and resource scarcity but they don't really develop any of those themes too well.

Even though I'm a huge fan of Pokemon, I actually honestly agree with everything mentioned by the OP. I would love the ability to put Pokemon to work on farms or to have other things to do with them outside of battles. That idea reminds me of the Rune Factory games. I also agree that some things need to be sped up as well. The games have improved somewhat in this regard, but they still feel slow. I personally play with max text speed and no animations. Even with all of that, the games still feel like they should be faster.

[The Shoemaker]

Pokemon X/Y blew it completely in terms of plot. Most Pokemon games are light on plot, but they did a much better job with it in the 5th generation (Black/White, Black2/White2). In Pokemon X/Y, they had a bunch of crappy, one-dimensional characters (except Lysandre) and what felt like a rushed climax.

The 5th gen games did a much better job. There was some actual character development over the course of the game. Additionally, the villainous team seemed to have a constant presence in the story. In fact, the climax in Black/White actually took place right at the elite 4, which I thought was awesome. N's motivations also made more sense to me. By contrast, Team Flare dabbles with themes of eugenics, overpopulation and resource scarcity but they don't really develop any of those themes too well.

Even though I'm a huge fan of Pokemon, I actually honestly agree with everything mentioned by the OP. I would love the ability to put Pokemon to work on farms or to have other things to do with them outside of battles. That idea reminds me of the Rune Factory games. I also agree that some things need to be sped up as well. The games have improved somewhat in this regard, but they still feel slow. I personally play with max text speed and no animations. Even with all of that, the games still feel like they should be faster.

Well I'm glad someone feels the same way I do! With each new game I feel like they're inching towards the ideas I've proposed, but that's the problem; inching. Each game feels like a small upgrade when they should be blowing us away with new features.

I kind of wanted to play 5th gen now and see how the story was done there because everyone keeps talking about those games as the one's with the best story.

[Jordan]

I think Gamefreak's success is part of the problem. They don't really see a need to change much because, from a business perspective, whatever they're doing is clearly working. They are practically drowning in money at this point. I do think they are moving in a good direction but, as you've said, they are "inching." If they continue throwing out a game every 1-2 years, I don't think they will improve much though.