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Riding Pokemon - the end for HMs?

[PokeCommunity.com] Riding Pokemon - the end for HMs?

From the official website. It seems like you have a special pokeball in a device which can be used to summon the various poke ride pokemon. It also clearly states that they won't join you in battle which makes it sound like you carry them around and so they had to clarify that they won't battle.

I think the main device has a touch screen that is used to select the pokemon and then the pokeball can be popped out of the device and the pokemon will be released.
 
If rocks can be taken out, oceans can be crossed and Pokemon can be used to move from point A to Point B, then it is looking like this is what will be replacing HMs. The only real restrictions for transport are large boulders (strength), smashable rocks (rock smash), and water (surf). Since all of these were shown in that trailer to be passed by Pokemon, it makes having HMs seem even more pointless.
 
Great idea, awful execution. Why would you ever want to ride a Charizard when you could call for a hot-air Drifblim ride?

Now aside from my desire to go on a hot-air Drifblim ride, I'm not getting my hopes too high on this just yet. Every gen, people wish for the removal of HMs. And while it's certainly a possibility, this just screams "XY Pokémon-riding" with its limited Pokémon to choose from; Rhyhorn could break rocks and Mamoswine could plow through snow. This could very well be the same--I just hope the controls are better this time around.

Similarly, when I think of things like HM removal, I think about stuff like gen 5 introducing the concept of rocks that, once pushed into holes, remain there forever. I would rather HMs remain but they are "streamlined" in a similar manner, as opposed to having HMs removed in favor of riding some Pokémon but I'm still going to have to do the Strength puzzle each and every time because it resets--yeah the HMs are removed but it takes more time overall, and is therefore more frustrating. So if this Pokémon-riding does turn out to be our new "HM method," I hope it doesn't result in that kind of repetitiveness.
 
As someone said, these pokemon cannot battle. I am not sure that was the best idea, but it works. So of the HM moves are pretty useful in battle.

To me, it sounds like the Eon Flute. Didn't have to have Latis in your party, but they could still fly you around.

I do like the idea of being able to utilize more than 6 pokemon at a time. Even if a number of them can't battle. But I really hope we have more of a choice. I would rather ride a Braviary or something than a Charizard. Maybe we will have a few choices per ability.
 
Nah said:
I would hope that this means no more HMs. What I really wanna know though is how many different Pokemon can we ride, and how freely? I remember that in one of the past reveals there was a screenshot of one of the player characters riding a Stoutland. Just riding it though, it didn't seem to be taking any sort of HM-related action. So are we able to choose from multiple Pokemon to use for a Poke Ride action (like, you can choose between say Charizard and Dragonite to Fly on)? Can a single Pokemon be used for more than one purpose?

please for the love of arceus let me ride Zekrom
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Well you can surf on, at least, Lapras and Sharpedo, so unless it's dependent on the situation or activity, the answer is yes, you apparently can.

I really want to be able to ride my own Pokemon, but I'm not holding my breath. Information so far seems to suggest you just call on super helpful Pokemon, Eon Flute style. Also not feeling like just-for-fun riding will happen. As much as I'd love to be able to use a Pokemon (preferably with the option of using my own) as a viable replacement to the bike, I just can't see it.

Rivvon said:
Great idea, awful execution. Why would you ever want to ride a Charizard when you could call for a hot-air Drifblim ride?
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I'm guessing this is a joke, but see Lapras and Sharpedo both being surfed on.

Rivvon said:
Now aside from my desire to go on a hot-air Drifblim ride, I'm not getting my hopes too high on this just yet. Every gen, people wish for the removal of HMs. And while it's certainly a possibility, this just screams "XY Pokémon-riding" with its limited Pokémon to choose from; Rhyhorn could break rocks and Mamoswine could plow through snow. This could very well be the same--I just hope the controls are better this time around.
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Have you seen how it is described? You can call them at any time (confirmed), and their purpose is described to be pretty much identical to HMs. So I can call a Lapras whenever I want to surf, and you think surf is staying? I can call a Tauros whenever I need to break a rock, but rock smash is staying? This doesn't make sense to me.

Rivvon said:
Similarly, when I think of things like HM removal, I think about stuff like gen 5 introducing the concept of rocks that, once pushed into holes, remain there forever. I would rather HMs remain but they are "streamlined" in a similar manner, as opposed to having HMs removed in favor of riding some Pokémon but I'm still going to have to do the Strength puzzle each and every time because it resets--yeah the HMs are removed but it takes more time overall, and is therefore more frustrating. So if this Pokémon-riding does turn out to be our new "HM method," I hope it doesn't result in that kind of repetitiveness.
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Why are we assuming things like this will happen? Why do you assume that because X feature is happening, Y randomly made up feature will come with it for no reason? This makes zero sense. Yes, it happened in a previous game as part of a completely unrelated feature.
 
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Please! I have always hated HM's. Most of them are terrible in battle (except for maybe Fly and Surf) and they take up space in your moves. And then, most annoyingly of all, you can't delete the moves and have to go to the Move Deleter.

However, as cool as it would be to loan a Charizard whenever I wanted, I would still prefer to have my own Pokemon help me travel.

I mean, what is the point of HM's anyway? Can't we assume that our Flying pokemon already know how to fly and that our Water pokemon can already swim? I know the HM's help you progress further into the game, but it really is stupid when you think about it...
 
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Caaethil said:
I'm guessing this is a joke, but see Lapras and Sharpedo both being surfed on.
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Of course it's a joke. But at the same time, part of Pokémon's appeal is using Pokémon that you like, even when it comes to HM's. But I guess if someone's abhorrence of HMs is strong enough, they won't really care which Pokémon are used in place of the HMs. But let's be real here: there are a lot more fun, unique fliers out there they could have used! Gimme a Golurk Rocket Service, or a Hawlucha Suplex Station! Or a Drifblim Hot Air Balloon-----------

Have you seen how it is described? You can call them at any time (confirmed), and their purpose is described to be pretty much identical to HMs. So I can call a Lapras whenever I want to surf, and you think surf is staying? I can call a Tauros whenever I need to break a rock, but rock smash is staying? This doesn't make sense to me.
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What I think is interesting about this is just how it could possibly work. I'll admit, I didn't notice the official site had said these Pokémon can be "called anytime," but that just makes things more weird. I mean, you're not just calling Tauros to break a rock--you're riding it. In past games, I never had to mount my Pokémon to execute an HM unless it was Surf or Fly. "Go Salamence! Use--wait, no. Let me just get on your back for a sec... Don't give me that look! I want you to use--no, not Fly! Rock Smash! Alright, thanks. Lemme just step off, aaaaand back into the Poké Ball you go!" (This is a joke, too, by the way.) Unless things such as breakable rocks have all been congregated into one area so there's a reason to bother to get on top of Tauros, the way it's currently described really seems closer to how Rhydon could break rocks because there happened to be rocks on the only path you could ride it.

And you yourself seem to think this "call me anytime" wording will have its limitations. Limitations similar to... well, using HMs:
I really want to be able to ride my own Pokemon, but I'm not holding my breath. Information so far seems to suggest you just call on super helpful Pokemon, Eon Flute style. Also not feeling like just-for-fun riding will happen. As much as I'd love to be able to use a Pokemon (preferably with the option of using my own) as a viable replacement to the bike, I just can't see it.
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So, yeah. Why bother mounting Tauros if you only need it to break one rock? Seems way more similar to XY's riding method to me. The only difference is maybe Soaring (or just Fly) and Surf have been grouped in with it.

Although, a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle off-topic: it would be super slick if Lapras was used for like, regular, calm waters, and Sharpedo was used for going from island-to-island. Yeah, you get on a boat once, but having the option to ride Sharpedo after a point would be cool, too. That's the only reason I can imagine for Surfing to get two usable Pokémon, unless each "service" has multiple Pokémon for you to choose from. Also, can I point out it's a shame that we use Tauros for Rock Smashing but not Surfing? Come on, why would you not use Tauros for Surf? Again, great idea, awful execution (do I really need to point out this is a joke, too...?).

Why are we assuming things like this will happen? Why do you assume that because X feature is happening, Y randomly made up feature will come with it for no reason? This makes zero sense. Yes, it happened in a previous game as part of a completely unrelated feature.
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I'm sorry but I have absolutely no idea what you mean by this. I didn't assume anything--just thought through all the possible outcomes. Then you claim I mention a "randomly made up feature," then go on to admit that it happened in a previous game... But then claim it's completely unrelated when in reality it was in regards to Strength, an HM move, which is completely related to this topic... And then you just sort of end your thought. Regardless, I hope my above explanation can help you understand what I meant better. If not, all I can offer is this:

Soar is more inconvenient than Fly. Sure, you don't need a Pokémon with Fly on your team any more, but Fly is instantaneous. Soar is not. You can even encounter wild Pokémon when using Soar! People want HMs gone because they seem inconvenient. But in order to make Pokémon riding truly replace HMs, they will need to be in some way similar to XY's handling of the system, which was, without a doubt, inconvenient, with its slow speed and respawning of obstacles--something they've moderately fixed up in the past (see: gen 5's introduction of Strength rocks not respawning). Even small things, such as the unskippable animation of mounting your Tauros each time you want to break a rock, can add up to feel like big inconveniences. Much like HMs.

There definitely needs to be more details on how this system is handled before anyone can go around with certainty on what this means for not just the future of HMs, but the player convenience of exploring through Alola.
 
I don't know if they'd give up HMs that easily... They've almost always been a huge part of usual gameplay.
Or perhaps, you can only call on them once in a set amount of time, or only in certain areas.
 
Purpzie said:
I don't know if they'd give up HMs that easily... They've almost always been a huge part of usual gameplay.
Or perhaps, you can only call on them once in a set amount of time, or only in certain areas.
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That could be a possible handicap to these riding Pokemon, only being able to use them in certain areas. We won't know for sure until either release or something.
 
So if anyone can use them anytime, how does that work? Does everyone have a portable Global-Use PC? Is the rotom eating pokemon and spitting them out as needed?
I am kinda excited though :)
 
CUTIEFLY!!! said:
So if anyone can use them anytime, how does that work? Does everyone have a portable Global-Use PC? Is the rotom eating pokemon and spitting them out as needed?
I am kinda excited though :)
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That's an interesting idea; it's not the most sought-after feature, but some people have wanted an access-anywhere PC system for a while now. In addition to that, what if there was an extra box where you place these "service Pokémon" and you can call them from within the portable PC? Then again, if Pokémon could be accessed from the PC at anytime, HMs wouldn't even really need to be removed, because you don't need to carry around an HM Pokémon with you. Maybe this could be their way of meeting in the middle?
 
I would have really liked to be able to see gear on my Pokemon in battle that indicated they were service mons, come to think of it. Just the thought of a saddle on an Entei firing off a Sacred Fire gets me excited. But I get it, that would be a lot of 3D models to reconfigure.
 
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