Pokemon Games and Plot

So, fellow PC members, I have some questions to purpose to you: Do you play Pokemon games for the plot? Have you played Pokemon games simply for the plot? Were you disappointed in XY's story line (or lack thereof), and what was your favourite pokemon game plot? Why?

Tl;dr: Discuss plots relating to the games

For me, it was a tie between just being a pokemon trainer and the plots, but ever since RSE, I've been a big fan of plots of all types. I love diving deep into story line, backstory and everything to do with the worldbuilding process of the pokeverse. Sadly, I have no way to express it simply because I get too wound up in making characters for fanfictions - so then I never really get anything done.

BW and BW2, I find, had the best plots. I found that GF and Nintendo spent a lot of time fleshing out characters, and I kind of wish they went even deeper into that haha. uwu;;;

As for XY, I was a bit upset of how little time they spent on the plot this time around, but I guess that's where fanfiction comes in.

This is going to seem shocking, but I myself have never seriously cared for Pokémon stories that much. Most people play it for the gameplay, since the concept is basically the same deal (get eight badges, stop an evil team from ruling, defeat the Elite Four and become the Champion). There was hardly any real story to any of the pre-DS era games (read: everything prior to DP). Okay, yeah, RSE did have Team Magma/Aqua wanting to awaken Groudon/Kyogre, but there's not really much else and that doesn't come into fruition until late in the game when they get the Blue/Red Orb at Mt. Pyre.

So yeah, I don't really care much for the storylines so much as I do having a different experience when I play through the games, although the (3)DS games have some epic cutscenes (like Kyurem transforming with N's legendary in BW2, and Cyrus with Dialga/Palkia in DP).

The games would certainly be pretty boring without any story elements, but there simply isn't enough to warrant playing them for story itself.


Just because the main target demographic is kids doesn't mean that they have to make the story so scarce. Most kids aren't that dumb.


I actually find stupidity only really settles in once people reach their teens, anyhow. That's when people tend to get a little self-obsessed.

As PumpJack says, a Pokemon game that only shows good battles and such won't
make the game interesting. Having a good story/history and correct events that could mash up to the player's feelings and interest. That's how I play Pokemon game. I have no purpose for just catching these legendaries but understanding the whole story as well.

I really like to play a game with a good story. And Pokémon has done really well in that department in recent years. From the Cyrus's God-Complexed scheme to Team Plasma's 'Pokémon liberation' facade (that actually encourages you to consider Pokémon ethics), to Team Flare's surprisingly dark global cleansing and bought survival.

Some of the characters have been great too. N in particular was amazing, a naive but kind-hearted antagonist who never really seemed like an antagonist, and ended up as a hero. Colress was the perfect ruthless but not necessarily emotionless curious scientist. And AZ... I actually cried... ;_;

So, yeah, I love it when a game has a good story. I play competitively post-game, but until then I love watching how the story unfolds, even if it's occasionally a bit obvious - Lysandre wasn't exactly a difficult bad-guy to spot.

The games don't provide such a thing called plot. It's more or less a direction (become champion, beat the evil guys, get more Pokemon). The main subject of the games is exploration, the player himself has to come up with a story as he plays the game, catches his individual Pokemon team and does all the things the game offers him.

What I mean is, that I consider the plot of the games more or less as a feature, not one of the main parts, because honestly: even the better plots they tried to integrate are awefull (at least for a role playing game). The characters are mostly underdeveloped, the NPCs don't have anything interesting to talk about etc.

The game mechanics on the other hand are really brilliant.

Actually... I find the gen II and gen III games more fun as games than the gen IV and gen V games I've tried. The only reason I push on through the later games is that I want to live the plot and see it unfold myself rather than reading about it or watch a Let's Play. So yes, I do play for plot :3 But I don't think it's the main appal of pokémon, in general.

I like Poke' plot, sometime, but I don't go into a store and pick up a copy of a new Pokemon game with the intent of doing so because of the plot. It's kinda hardwired in me, because I've been with with main games since RBY

That depends, because plots in RPGs can be both very good and very bad things, depending on how well they're done. In a sense, they've done well by not fleshing out the player's story much, nor their personality. The worst thing possible is being forced to play as a character you despise with every fibre of your being :P I don't know if they've added protagonist dialogue in 5th or 6th gen. That said, if they ever are to, it's important to have options, and good ones. Or varied ones, at least.

The lack of character for the player helps with satisfying all, more or less. Sure, someone just defeated their rival, but afterwards they shook hands and complemented each other's battling. Alternatively, someone else could have just demolished their rival's entire team, revelling in the glory of wiping the smug smile off that git's face. Same situation, the imagination does the work. Still, if that same kind of variation can be actually achieved in-game through a selection of dialogue options, with fitting NPC reactions, then it can potentially lead to a far more satisfying experience. Especially now, with X and Y having customisable player models. By all means, Gamefreak can flesh out NPCs all they want. They're their own characters. It's just that there's something very personal about the character you play as in an RPG.

I will say that I wouldn't mind a more expansive RPG experience within Pokémon games. Gens 1 though 4 were all pretty linear, (but good, don't get me wrong) and I feel like it's possible that Pokémon could benefit from something more sandbox-y. Maybe in a different kind of game, it might be a shame to spoil the magic of the more linear generation games. Still, more side-quest things, expansive dialogue, even more character customisation... it could do pretty well. And of course, I'd certainly love it if they brought a game like this to PC. Unfortunately I have no intention of buying a 3DS.

I actually do think that Emerald has a pretty cool plot. Meteorology freak right here. :B But the other games, probably not. Gameplay, soundtrack...there's a lot of other reasons I play the games.

The plot, or story, is just an extra. I play the game for the game's sake, and it's the only series I do that. Other games need a plot to lure me in, Pokemon does not.