Is GameFreak... *sigh* running out of ideas?

[Zylas]

I think we all know it's come to this. Pokemon began as imitations of cute lil' animals and cool, ferocious monsters; we all loved it the first few generations. There was a water tortoise here, and a fire lizard there. It had been all relative to what we see in life today as animate creatures. But now what is Pokemon?

Yes, technically the description of Pokemon is "Pocket Monsters," and it will probably always meet those criteria. Its a creature jumping out of a ball. How hard could it get? But would some agree that it has strayed from what us, the fans, always had described as, a "Pokemon"? Now, sitting at the 5th generation of Pokemon, we're getting trash bags, candlewicks and ice cream cones. None can disagree, Pokemon has definitely warped from what it once was. Heck, I even just saw a Pokemon supposedly going to be released in X and Y that was a sword. A sword! And it unsheathes itself when it enters battle! But is it absurd? Maybe, just maybe, hanging on to this newfangled inanimate object Pokes thing might be the only way to keep the love for Pokemon alive. Some of you may just feel like this:

Spoiler:

Due to this, people from across the planet (except for Japan of course. Japan will always play Pokemon) are dropping Pokemon for its new "customs." They think Pokemon has grown into a strange and terrible game. Is this true? Are these customs simply new and original ideas, or is it that... GameFreak is running out of them? I think its time we all faced this topic like Machomps. We tried to avoid the fact that our favorite game series might be coming to a dead end; I know I did.

So in the end, you must ponder on these questions: Would you prefer Pokemon as what it originally was? Will you ever become a person to abandon Pokemon for how "absurd" it became? And finally, is Pokemon actually coming to a hopeless conclusion?

 

[alisaie]

It always bother me when people say this, because the first generation wasn't completely with animals either. A pile of sludge? Something that looks like a Pokeball? Magnets? Rocks? And that is the first generation: the generation so many people love and adore and look back on and say these are Pokemon. The second generation only has a tree, but at the same time it also has the alphabet as 26 variations of a Pokemon (later 28 with the ! and ?). The next two generations also have Pokemon that would be inanimate in our world.

I think the sword is creative. That is actually disposes a part of its both because it fights. I think the fifth generation, for the most part, was creative. I'd imagine that if the fifth generation and the first generation had swapped, people would complain that 'oh they're making magnets as Pokemon now' and so forth.

Remember that while us older audiences are fussing about Pokemon becoming old, stale, and introducing more absurd things, newer audiences for Pokemon are getting introduced to their first generation. As long as that keeps up, Pokemon won't be heading towards a dead end any time soon. I don't believe I will be abandoning Pokemon again anytime soon. Only time will tell. But unlike last time, I don't believe that it will be sure to the Pokemon themselves as I have learned my lesson that I just need to give them a chance and I'll like them more than my initial thoughts.

 

[Zylas]

Well, I don't necessarily believe that Pokemon didn't always have inanimate objects sooner, it's just that it's been more common nowadays. I don't find myself as one to dislike Pokemon either; I simply incur what I have seen as the other side of people's opinions about Pokemon to create a greater discussion. Hey, my sister was one to ditch Pokemon because she thought it was stupid now. All it is is that you find yourself under the criteria that Pokemon is still a creative game. Nothing more. I just think that if someone were in GameFreaks position, designing the Pokemon their selves, I'd think they couldn't help but feel idea-mushed because of all the used up concepts.

 

[Oshamaru]

First off, I want to say that I actually like the ice cream cone. It's actually snow on icicles, it didn't escape from a radioactive ice cream factory lol.

And I can't say much, because I wasn't born when Red and Blue came out. I started with Gen III.
Every generation has its batch of inanimate object Pokémon, some good, some bad. Like Peaches said, that includes the first generation. Inanimate object Pokémon have always existed, so people shouldn't treat them as a first. I didn't like the sword at first, but it grew on me. The unsheathing part is really cool, and that makes it unique.

I have to admit that when I saw some of the fifth generation while it was revealed every month, I was thinking "What's happening?", but then everything went okay, and the fifth generation turned out to be a lovable one (I do dislike some Pokémon though), and the sixth generation is going in the same direction.

Pokémon is still great, and by no means is getting stranger (because the concept IS a bit strange when you first hear about it) or terrible.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Not this type of thread again. -_-

Inanimate objects have been part of Pokemon's history since the first generation. Rock types, Steel types, and Ghost types heavily rely on inanimate objects for their designs, which is why there's very few of them compared to the rest of the types, who are based off of plants and animals, which are uncommon for the three types' design origin. I blame Gen 2's lack of Pokemon based on inanimated objects for creating such a mentality for these type of players, because it was considered to be the best in the series, and the fad soon faded in the U.S. once that gen ended.

 

[Kyrul]

Uh..... I can defiantly tell you that the series is not dying in the US anytime soon. If anything it's getting more popular. All my old friends are starting to get into it again too. And objects have been in Pokemon forever. Does voltorb. magnemite and porygon ring a bell? The new guys probably just don't 'feel' like pokemon because they aren't the ones you grew up to know.

 

[Snowdrop]

They will never run out of ideas to base Pokemon off of. There are countless myths, animals and objects associated with myths, animals extinct and alive, all kinds of inanimate objects that a creative mind can turn into a Pokemon. Shoot, they could even create a Pokemon based on sayings, philosophies, or abstract concepts. No limit to creativity. Any given thing can have many, many ways to design it into a Pokemon. A good example could be the general turtle, there being Squirtle's line, Torkoal, Turtwig's line, and I think there's another I'm forgetting. Any one thing can be assigned an element to design it around.

As for the whole "designs are getting worse" debate... it's all based on opinion. Someone out there will LOVE any given Pokemon, while someone else will LOATHE the same one. It's a matter of taste. And not all people judge by design. Delcatty and Skitty are two of my three favorites because I beat Pokemon Mystery Dungeon with them, so I feel a closeness with them. I personally agree with a lot of people: I don't like the ice cream cone and I really hate the trash bags. The sword is, like, half awesome but half ugly at the same time... I kinda like it. But you CAN base a Pokemon off of either of those things and pull it off; it's just whoever designed these particular Pokemon didn't make the designs appealing (to me!). But I'm a person that doesn't like inanimate objects as Pokemon pretty much anytime. But some people really dig that. Ah, I probably sound like I'm babbling about now...

But I seriously don't think Pokemon is dying in the US... didn't BW hit, like, record sales when it was released? I remember hearing a twenty-year-old guy on the bus getting all excited because they "finally made a Fire/Dragon Pokemon!" The gameplay is addicting and it seems places all across the globe aren't tiring of it. If anything is going to be Pokemon's downfall, I think it will be the repetitive gameplay and I still don't think that's happening anytime soon. As for myself, I'll probably be a Pokemon fan until Pokemon ceases to exist. :P

 

[ナギ]

i have to agree with what those above posted; i don't think Pokémon's popularity will drop at ALL. my own first Pokémon generation was RSE as well; and to this day, that region and its Pokémon remain my favourites. you may say they have 'run out of ideas', and that the old gens were so much better, but i wonder if that indeed doesn't just have to do with simple nostalgia.

simply put, i think it's just opinion based. i personally liked all of the Pokémon people label as 'uncreative', or at least didn't dislike them. especially the sword i thought was inventive, and i know for a fact most of my friends absolutely loved gen V's Candle/Chandelier Pokémon.
on the other hand, there's plenty of gen II Pokémon i find incredibly unimaginative, so it balances out perfectly.

 

[Arlo]

No - GF isn't running out of ideas - you're running out of child-like wonder.

The games haven't changed that much. YOU'VE changed.

And a note:

I think we all know it's come to this

we all loved it the first few generations

But would some agree that it has strayed from what us, the fans, always had described as, a "Pokemon"?

None can disagree

people from across the planet

We tried to avoid the fact that our favorite game series might be coming to a dead end

You're a single individual. Your opinions are YOURS. Stop trying to push them onto everyone else.

YOU'VE changed and now YOU can't appreciate pokemon the way that YOU used to when YOU were a wide-eyed child.

That's YOUR problem.

 

[lmcde22]

No - GF isn't running out of ideas - you're running out of child-like wonder.

The games haven't changed that much. YOU'VE changed.

THANKYOU! Finally someone with a bit of common sense. THe games are still just as great as they were. I still got excited when i first turned on Pokemon Black for the first time. And i am still anticipating Pokemon X and Y. I feel sorry for the people who are starting to lose that sense of wonder because it is one of the greatest feelings ever. You might be getting depressed about the future of Pokemon but i believe that no matter what happens, i will enjoy it.

Quick note: Honedge is cool as. Definately gonna spam that thing. I mean if a Steel-Ghost combo doesnt excite you, nothing will.

 

[ClumzyTrainR13]

Hey man, I'm sorry if there was a misconception, but I'm just as much a pokemon fan as they next guy. I'm simply trying to spark conversation, because I had thought it was a legitimate topic. I'm simply on this site to talk pokemon. I'd hate to start an argument, but I'd rather discuss any topic with an open mind no matter how much I disagreed, rather than attack the person posing the notion. Once again, I anticipate Pokemon just like everyone else. There are still those Pokes I love. Getting in a good conversation about this topic was my only goal, not to hate on Pokemon. And for you to attack what I'm trying to say simply isn't what a forum is about. So in the end, please lighty disagree with me instead of hate upon my own concepts and viewpoints.

EDIT: Sorry this is Zylas, I accidentally logged into my old prof.

 

[Spinosaurus]

See if you said they've been running out of ideas in terms of game design (since gen 3, after all) I'd have agreed with you.

But not only is saying they're running out of ideas subjective...no, it's wrong actually. It's also been beaten to the ground many times.

Then again what was I expecting. It's always about the Pokemon, not the game design.

 

[ClumzyTrainR13]

Thank you, Spinosaurus. This is what I'm trying to say. You simply gave your opinion on the matter, rather than getting angry at a topic. Personally, I love the way pokemon is now; I even consider myself as that new gen, and plan on playing Pokemon continuously in the future. I didn't mean to incur that I didn't agree with the path Pokemon was going, and I apologize if that's what it sounded like I meant.

 

[Captain Gizmo]

I don't think Game Freak is running out of ideas. We also gotta add to the fact where the Pokemon are related. Like Hoenn had a lot of tropical Pokemon since Hoenn is a tropical place. Unova had a lot of city-wise Pokemon since it's based off New York. Of Course not every single Pokemon will be welcomed to the eyes of everyone, it's just a matter of opinion. Like people complaining they are making Pokemon out of objects, but they also had that in Gen I. I think it's more for nostalgia that people are bashing the newer Pokemon just because it's not Gen I.

tl;dr
They're not running out of ideas, different Pokemon pleases different persons.

 

[Arlo]

Sorry - you seem to have misinterpreted me. I wasn't nor am I angry. I was simply trying to drive my point home - to phrase it in such a way that it would be something of a verbal two-by-four across the forehead.

This is an old, OLD, tired, worn out topic. There's no conversation to be had here. You can go on /vp/ pretty much any time and find yet another poster moaning on about how GF's out of ideas and Unova pokemon suck and trash bag this and ice cream cone that, and it's just tedious and dull and pointless.

And actually, I probably would've let that go, since it is such an old and tired topic, but then there was all that "we" and "us" business.

Here's a tip - if you want to post your opinion, stick with the first person. Say "I believe...." rather than "we believe...." Why? Because when you say "we," you're including the reader, and if the reader doesn't hold that opinion, then you're instantly wrong. If it's your own opinion and only your own opinion and you never make believe that it's anything but your own opinion, then other people might disagree, but you can never actually be wrong.

Sorry if you took that as "hate" - that wasn't my intent.

As a more positive, though trite, suggestion - instead of looking at the games and focusing on the things you don't like, try looking at them and focusing on the things you do like. It'll make your life much more enjoyable.

 

[ClumzyTrainR13]

I apologize. The references to "we" were simply used for emphasis. I didn't mean to imply that at all. In fact, I'm a fan of ice cream cone pokemon. I was just trying to be open-minded to what I know some people think.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Like most people here said, GameFreak isn't running out of ideas. There are many animals, myths and concepts that have yet to be made into Pokémon. A sword Pokémon wasn't heard of, until Honedge was introduced, for instance.

 

[T!M]

You're a single individual. Your opinions are YOURS. Stop trying to push them onto everyone else.

YOU'VE changed and now YOU can't appreciate pokemon the way that YOU used to when YOU were a wide-eyed child.

That's YOUR problem.

Sorry - you seem to have misinterpreted me. I wasn't nor am I angry. I was simply trying to drive my point home - to phrase it in such a way that it would be something of a verbal two-by-four across the forehead.

This is an old, OLD, tired, worn out topic. There's no conversation to be had here. You can go on /vp/ pretty much any time and find yet another poster moaning on about how GF's out of ideas and Unova pokemon suck and trash bag this and ice cream cone that, and it's just tedious and dull and pointless.

And actually, I probably would've let that go, since it is such an old and tired topic, but then there was all that "we" and "us" business.

Here's a tip - if you want to post your opinion, stick with the first person. Say "I believe...." rather than "we believe...." Why? Because when you say "we," you're including the reader, and if the reader doesn't hold that opinion, then you're instantly wrong. If it's your own opinion and only your own opinion and you never make believe that it's anything but your own opinion, then other people might disagree, but you can never actually be wrong.

Sorry if you took that as "hate" - that wasn't my intent.

As a more positive, though trite, suggestion - instead of looking at the games and focusing on the things you don't like, try looking at them and focusing on the things you do like. It'll make your life much more enjoyable.

^This guy.

Has his stuff together.

_____

My personal opinion is that the sword, among other new Pokémon are very unique, and that's what I believe gamers should be looking for. Something new. Not the same thing over and over again.

So I welcome X and Y, with whatever you consider "absurd" Pokémon, with open arms.

 

[ClumzyTrainR13]

Take note, these are not my opinions, just what others believe. I love Pokemon today. "Absurd" isn't at all what I think. But whatever. I understand now that this subject is tiring, old, and useless. So let it die in the fiery flames of those who despise open-mindedness to new Pokemon, for their opinions do not deserve open-mindedness itself! Nuff' said. I guess this is what I meant in my own heart of hearts :)

 

[FSNW5yiFrXVXqv]

While I do find it ridiculous at times (Lawnmowers and Washing Machines, lol, even though they've never shown those appliances anywhere prior), I do understand that every bit of it is original, especially after reading their pokedex entries. Not all of us could think of 100+ completely new and original species in less than a year. Heck, it'd be tougher if you even considered what to include and what not in the following generation... or even those from other games/series, such as Digimon, Monster Rancher, and Shin Megami Tensei.

The game, generally, is still like the old ones, if not much better. We still receive all that traditional Pokemon experience, and all that competitive battling -- that's all that matters. We're still playing pokemon. Odd monsters? I've seen worse. This isn't the first RPG i've played, after all.

If there're Pokemon we don't like, then that's only a minority out of 600+ others. You could always opt not to use this pokemon and that. No biggie.

At most, all I could say against new pokemon that I don't like is...

Spoiler:

"That Pokemon's really fugly, I would never use it!"

*shiny Garbodor appears*

"Well...OK, maybe once"

Besides, I'd think that a team of "ugly" pokemon would be hilarious to use. At least we could still play pokemon with spits and giggles.