what aspects do you look for/enjoy in pokemon games?

when you play new pokemon games (or hey even revisiting old ones) what aspects do you seek in the game that you enjoy? words are hard i'm probably making this sound complicated. but anyway i value replayability and a diverse regional dex. nice aesthetics and quality of life features are good, too. i really appreciate when the pokedex is nice too? like the best dex imo was oras. it was nice seeing each pokemon sprite displayed so you could easily tell what you were missing and what you still hadn't seen yet, plus the dexnav is a great extension of that. the usum dex was nice too. like when the dex is actually fun to look at and navigate, it motivates me to work on completing it. and i love when new games give me so many options for my team that i genuinely have a hard time choosing. i've spent hours in the beginning of games before because i kept finding interesting pokemon or ones that i already knew i liked and i just couldn't get myself to leave the area lol. basically i really love the collecting aspect of the series. it's always been one of my favorite things.

anyway...your turn :)

I look for 5 things:
QOL features such as the HM system in Pokémon Unbound ( it's a GBA ROM hack, highly, highly, highly recommend, really good game. )

A balance between story and battles

A harder game

All Pokémon in the game, but I couldn't care less about the legendaries ( except for all the Water type legendaries, except Phione and Manaphy ).

Everything else that Pokémon Unbound has ( darker story, difficulty mode, etc. )

Large pool of Pokémon to catch and use, slightly darker story (similar to bw), several shiny boosting mechanics (masuda method, pokeradar, dynamax adventures etc), and cute clothing/accessories. I really wish these things could be in all games. My favorite region, Unova, could've been so cool with the sprite-based clothing if the system had come out earlier.

AquaNinja99 said:

I look for 4 things:
QOL features such as the HM system in Pokémon Unbound ( it's a GBA ROM hack, highly, highly, highly recommend, really good game. )

A balance between story and battles

A harder game

Everything else Pokémon Unbound has

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Really seems like you enjoy the game!! Maybe I'll check that one out sometime

Sheep said:

Large pool of Pokémon to catch and use, slightly darker story (similar to bw), several shiny boosting mechanics (masuda method, pokeradar, dynamax adventures etc), and cute clothing/accessories. I really wish these things could be in all games. My favorite region, Unova, could've been so cool with the sprite-based clothing if the system had come out earlier.



Really seems like you enjoy the game!! Maybe I'll check that one out sometime

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Yeah, I really love it. If there was Generation 8 Pokémon, it would have been my all time favorite Pokémon game, but Sapphire and Fire Red is always up there. I'm also enjoying Pokémon Uranium also, just don't know where to grind for the last gym..

I like coming up with different parties while restricting the playthrough to only using six species in total. So, getting access to a lot of different Pokemon right from the beginning is nice because it allows me to focus more on building the team up. If access is limited I may end up with a very small team. If I then run into another party member later on it means I have to grind them up first before I can use them.

I also like it when the game can be beat without grinding in general. If my party is underleveled then I should still be able to push through with some strategizing. The first couple generations did this pretty well. Never games, however, focus more on balancing the games around you having Pokemon on about the same level as your opponents, they even gave them better moves and a better AI which makes beating them underleveled somewhat of a pain.

If there's HMs I like it when they are limited to a max of 6. They should be very diverse, as well. That way I can distribute them among the team members, making every one of them not only useful in battle but also during exploration. 1 HM move per member also feels just enough. If there's one thing I don't like about gen 3 it's the amount of HMs...

I'm not opposed to story, but I like the exploration aspects a lot more. Going around the region at my own pace, finding random places to explore. I don't need a fully open world. Just some random optional caves or diving spots or the likes suffice.

-Challenging but coherent and fair difficulty (no BS like trainers with OP teams in the early game, trainers having legendaries without a plot reason, or any nonsensical advantages)

-Great Pokémon availabilty across all gens. I don't care if I a game doesn't have every existing Pokémon, but at least I want a good variety to choose from.

-Moves/abilities/stats rebalancing fixes that help making weaker Pokémon more viable and/or nerfing broken ones.

-Modern QoL features such as free move relearner, infinite TM, easier access to Hidden Abilities, etc.

-Interesting characters and story is a plus, but honestly if I'm really liking the gameplay I can play even through the most terrible plot.

-No HMs is also a plus.

Corveone said:

No HMs is also a plus.

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this is another huge thing I forgot to mention in my post too. ever since HMs were removed, the main series games have been so much better, and I'm so happy not needing to reserve a slot for am HM slave anymore 👍 same goes for infinite use TMs

I really enjoy the collecting aspect of the games. I've always tried to complete the pokedex outside of whatever story stuff is going on.

I also find the training and grinding really calming for some reason. I can just zone out training and have either music going or a video on the side. My post game for a pokemon series, regardless if there is an actual post game, is going through and training all of my pokemon whether they'll evolve or not so that they're all high level.

Team building and team growth. Generally means if I capture a pokemon it's staying. I don't like collecting because I probably won't watch everything grow.

No HMs is nice for sure, I like a more open world concept. How hand holding the new games have been really ruining the games for me and is why I don't really play Gen 6-8.

fir3princ3ss said:

I really enjoy the collecting aspect of the games. I've always tried to complete the pokedex outside of whatever story stuff is going on.

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this is what i liked about DPPt. i'd be satisfied if we could at least complete all the encounters in the Regional Dex at the very least like those did. i like not having a bunch of "?????" lined up in my Dex after beating the main storyline.

1. how easy is it to shiny hunt in these games?
2. does the pokemon game have a fun post-game?

those are my top two concerns. everything else i can more or less deal with.

Exploration and charm (artistic choices, music, sprites, ect)