The Superior Trainer: A Matter of Love?

[Tashiro]

You all know the drill, right? Rival / antagonist doesn't care about Pokémon / sees Pokémon as tools. Protagonist defeats them. Rival / antagonist realizes the "error" of their ways.

Really? Do you love your Pokémon or do you see most of them as useless? Did you, like me, yell in frustration at your gentle reshiram? Do you breed Pokémon with their offspring for better IVs?

You don't need a virtuous heart to win at Pokémon as long as you have cold, steel guts. You need cold, steel guts to toss aside your impish azelf as soon as you get a naïve one. You need cold, steel guts to abandon that feebas that maxed out its Pokéblock potential before it hit max beauty.

How do you REALLY raise your Pokémon? After all, if you lose a battle, you're not allowed to progress. You have to go back and keep at it until the other trainer's Pokémon have fainted. All of them.

I believe that kind-hearted trainers are dying out or bound to lose with the new features of competitive battling. What do you think?

 

[Perriechu]

Wait, so are you basically asking do we raise our Pokemon from a competitive aspect or a casual aspect? |: During the main story it's casual, but once that league is done, those Pokemon are in for a hard time with breeding and such.

 

[Tashiro]

Wait, so are you basically asking do we raise our Pokemon from a competitive aspect or a casual aspect? |: During the main story it's casual, but once that league is done, those Pokemon are in for a hard time with breeding and such.

I'm asking if you've been able to keep the sympathetic, loving view that's presented by the storyline or if you've been corrupted like me by shiny trophies, badges, and win records. It's possible for both to be true, but I find myself not being too kind to my pixels.

 

[Cherrim]

...I love my Pokémon and view them as more than pixels. T_T; Usually if I'm just not making any sort of connection with my Pokémon, I drop it from my team no matter how strong or useful it is. And it's why I continuously use Pokémon that aren't that great.

Technically, yeah, a Pokémon Trainer who only looks at how a Pokémon will benefit their competitive team will almost always wipe the floor with a trainer like me but... that kind of defeats the message the games have always been trying to send to kids. :P

 

[~*!*~Tatsujin Gosuto~*!*~]

Do you love your Pokémon or do you see most of them as useless?
I find most of them to be useless (like Magikarp, Hoppip, shroomish etc.)

Did you, like me, yell in frustration at your gentle reshiram?
My Reshiram is ehh.....Serious Nature

Do you breed Pokémon with their offspring for better IVs?
Nope, I bred to complete my Pokedex


:t354:TG

 

[Chaos Uxie]

Pokemons are tools for me and yeah kind hearted Trainers do,lose so badly

 

[Lostworld]

With limited access to the world of competitive battling, I don't train my teams for that purpose. I love the little pixels and cherish the Pokemon I've transferred over from the game saves on Ruby/Leaf Green. I did a lot of breeding to help complete the Pokedex on Platinum but apart from that, I don't breed for better stats.

 

[GStheHero]

Okay, look. How do I explain this w/o pissing a lot of members off? I love Pokemon. It's something I've grown up with. But at the end of the day, it's just a video game. I don't love a video game. I love my beautiful girlfriend. She's not a video game.

 

[smurf]

most of my pokemon i try to love but there are some i just have to keep in my boxes

 

[Kleinchen]

I'm one of those people that form sentimental attachments VERY easily, so I tend to use Pokemon that are my favorites over Pokemon that are strong. But I have never been big on the competitive battling scene -- I think it's interesting and I know the basics, and I watch a lot of competitive battles on YouTube and such, but ultimately I'd be more interested with having casual battles with my friends. I tend to get very attached to the Pokemon I use in my in-game team, and it's actually a bit hard for me to replace them with other Pokemon when I need to (for example, I really loved my Galvantula and my Audino but I had to replace them so I would have better type coverage in my team.) But I made up for it by using those two most often in the Dream World, so it still feels like I have a connection to them. :) That's why I really liked the Pokewalker in HGSS, I could have my favorites with me all the time! ^^

Obviously you are right in that people who care more about strong Pokemon will definitely totally be dominating those who care more about Pokemon they like. But if strong Pokemon is what makes them happy, then more power to them -- but for me, having my favorites with me is what makes me happy. :) Live and let live.

But I am interested in breeding Pokemon more than battling them, and I will admit that I have released TONS of freshly-hatched Pokemon into the wild because they weren't what I was looking for, for whatever reason. I guess I form attachments to Pokemon that I actually use and battle with rather than baby Pokemon I only have for a few minutes (and I do realize that, in the end, it IS just a game so it's no big deal)

 

[mew_nani]

Do you love your Pokémon or do you see most of them as useless?

I luv them. Without them you wouldn't get anywhere in the game, right? I think of them as my friends.

Did you, like me, yell in frustration at your gentle reshiram?

Oh good lord no. Only an idiot would yell at something called Sephiroth... even if he's just a Reshiram. :D

Do you breed Pokémon with their offspring for better IVs?

IVs? No. Egg moves? Yep. :D Pokedex? Yep. For the fun of it? Sure, why not. XD

 

[deoxys121]

I don't want specific natures. I don't want specific IVs. The only thing I breed for are egg moves, then I trade the eggs into the game I want to play before I have any way of telling what their moves are, and I settle for whatever they end up with and make the best of it. I then keep them in my team throughout the game until I consider myself "done" with the playthrough.

 

[Pokemon Trainer Touko]

Do you love your Pokémon or do you see most of them as useless?
I ♥ my Pokémon <33

Did you, like me, yell in frustration at your gentle Reshiram?
owo;; Why would I yell at my Reshiram

Do you breed Pokémon with their offspring for better IVs?
Nope, I don't IV train my pokés.

 

[mikey]

I usually tend to end up loving the Pokemon I end up using all the time, like my starter xD

 

[poopydude]

In some ways I do love my Pokemon but in others I use them as tools. For Example my Starter is someone i always stick with. I train him (it always must be a male starter don't ask why) to his fullest and surround him with a good core of 3-4 pokemon that i will use later in the game.

There is always the pokemon that i will capture just to get past something and ultimatley release it or toss it into storage and example of this would be getting a mankey to defeat brock in pokemon yellow. after i defeat brock i often release mankey because it has served its purpose and i no longer need it

 

[CptSwaggerPants]

All of my Pokemon are my friends. I have a gentle Rayquaza and I was so happy about his nature, he is an amazing Pokemon. I use the mic on my DS to tell my Pokemon how good of a job they are doing after a battle or to say sorry when they faint. I love them and I am proud of it.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

Do you love your Pokémon or do you see most of them as useless?
I see the ones on my team, as useful minions. The ones I don't use I see as useless.

Did you, like me, yell in frustration at your gentle Reshiram?
No, I just recall sticking it in the box and never touching it.

Now, that Adamant Raikou on the other hand...

Do you breed Pokémon with their offspring for better IVs?
Naturally.

 

[Pyrax]

Do you love your Pokémon or do you see most of them as useless?
I tend to see them as companions, hence why I refer to my team by their nicknames.

Did you, like me, yell in frustration at your gentle Reshiram?
No, but I yell at neutral natured pokémon (especially if they're super rare).

Do you breed Pokémon with their offspring for better IVs?
I only breed for natures and movesets, so no inbreeding for me :p

 

[luke]

I... do know the games are just pixels. And I mock people who get TOO attached to some pixels. But my favorite teams do hold some sentimental value for me. As Lightning said, the teams I don't really mesh with are usually the ones I drop the fastest. I still kick myself to this day for not trading over certain teams and losing them forever. I feel "guilty" for "killing" them. It's kind of sad but I guess that's how it works for monster-raising games.

 

[*Latias]

I only see as more than pixels the ones that I like. lol
Personally I brutally place any pokes that I don't like in the box, and goodbye.
In the end, they're just pixels, but if I have memories related to some of them (I don't know, a very good friend that traded it to me for example, or a very long time spent when I was a child training it), then I care really much.