Sweet Serenity
Advocate of Truth
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- Castelia City
- Seen May 25, 2024
I never said everything was about competitive. I also never said that I was a "pro" or EV/IV critics are "lazy casuals" that lack understanding. Simply put, not everybody plays Pokémon the same way, or enjoy Pokémon for the same reasons. Personally, I love playing competitive Pokémon, believe it is extremely underrated, and that more people should try it rather than completely disregard it based on the myth that it is "too much of a grind." As a result, when you say that a game such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a game that doesn't even have a system that grants Pokémon their own individuality, makes the game "better" for teambuilding, I simply disagree. Pokémon Legends: Arceus does not have a competitive scene at all, as it is a game made strictly for casual players, which is why that system works (somewhat). The system simply wouldn't work in a mainline game with a competitive scene because it removes Pokémon individuality, strategy, and makes them more broken as opposed to "stronger." In fact, you can argue that it makes them broken in a casual sense as well. In addition, my point isn't all about EVs and IVs either. Pokémon Legends: Arceus also removed Pokémon abilities too, which is absurd and isn't good for competitive, as it removes Pokémon individuality and strategy even further.
The problem with this argument is that I don't consider EV training and IV breeding to be a "boring repetitive grind." Instead, I consider it to be a rewarding effort that pays off, as it shows me I'm playing the game with a purpose more than just finishing the story. To me, that's what makes Pokémon fun. For example, in the mainline games, after breeding for good IVs and EV training properly, I know that I would be rewarded with strong Pokémon that could help me increase my chances of winning battles when I battle other players. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, I don't even have the option to do that, meaning that it serves no real purpose to collect items to make the strongest Pokémon when I finish the game without doing so. Ultimately, this makes Pokémon Legends: Arceus essentially a game based on catching 25 Bidoofs and Starly in a wasteland, which is much more boring and less rewarding than training up a Pokémon that can, say, get you to Master Rank level. Thus, I would say that pointless grinding that serves no purpose is bad, which would ultimately happen if this system was placed in a mainline Pokémon game. In addition, if you have a perfect IV Ditto with a Destiny Knot and vitamins to spare, EV training becomes even less of a "grind."
Being able to understand how a Pokémon would excel in competitive takes plenty skill. However, you used a Pokémon that practically anybody can understand how to train it as an example, as Gengar can only function as a special sweeper with its stats. Yet, Pokémon such as Incineroar and Landorus, two Pokémon often regarded as some of the best all-time battlers in competitive Pokémon, aren't so simple, as they can be trained in various ways, which can ultimately determine the outcome of a battle. I am also aware that my point applies to EVs, but it also applies to IVs as well because it determines a Pokémon's potential. If those are removed, along with abilities, and replaced with a system that can max all stats, then, as previously stated, Pokémon would lose all individuality and the game would become even more broken and therefore pointless.
It's not "imperfect" IVs that exist, but rather different IVs that exist. Different IVs exist to add individuality to different Pokémon and what those differences mean to players depends on their goals. If they want to win competitive battles, then they are more likely to go for Pokémon with the best IVs. If they want to play the game casually and simply finish the story, they are unlikely to care about IVs. Simply put, I believe that casual players that don't care for IVs should just ignore them rather than advocate for a change in the system, especially for a system that would ruin the competitive scene for players just to satisfy the casual players. In addition, different IV spreads can also impact the outcome of a game as well. For example, you might need to breed a Pokémon with 0 or extremely low Speed IVs to excel in Trick Room. For example, consider the Pokémon in your avatar.
If all IVs were perfect or didn't exist, Honchkrow wouldn't be used at all because its stats make it really difficult to use. A 71 base Speed is too fast for Trick Room under normal circumstances, but if you breed one with 0 Speed IVs, combined with Honchkrow's ability to land critical hits easily, it can be really good on a Trick Room team as a sweeper. In addition, you might need to breed a special attacker with low Attack IVs to minimize confusion damage. The current system gives many Pokémon their own individual chance to shine. Another example would be that 30 Speed IVs might be better than 31 in certain circumstances. For instance, during a mirror match, the chances are great a Pokémon with a pivot move such as Volt Switch or U-Turn would be able to use its move last to do some damage and pivot out last to ensure that the next Pokémon switches in safely, but would still be fast enough to move very close to how it normally can against other Pokémon with its full 252 Speed EV spread.
Something that the current system has not prevented from happening, at all.
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I understand that players tend to copy what they consider to be the best in competitive Pokémon, especially in the VGC tournaments, but my point was that removing the system would only make the matter even worse than it already is. In addition, albeit many of those teams are very similar to each other, I'm willing to bet that many of those teams have completely different IV and EV spreads that can ultimately determine a winner. If you remove that system, then the most skilled player on these lists that knows damage calculation and how IVs/EVs work in accordance with such is unlikely to win as often as he or she should, as the game becomes much more luck based at this point, which is bad for competitive Pokémon. At that point, like I said, literally anybody could win in this situation. That makes the competitive aspect worse.
The premise of Pokémon itself is to be the best trainer. That's why the storyline of every mainline game involves you becoming the Pokémon League champion. EV spreads do represent training, as they are (mainly) earned from battling and experience. IVs pretty much does represent potential because it is based on the limits of a Pokémon's capabilities. I agree that the goal should be to win as much as possible, but my point is the system that Pokémon Legends: Arceus uses won't help players reach that goal compared to the current system. Luck truly only plays a part when critical hits are involved, when effects from moves such as freezing, paralysis, burn, etc. occur, or when moves miss. When everybody is maxing their stats with a lack of IVs and abilities, Pokémon won't function differently anymore, which would make the game even more luck based and simply broken. That's just simply not good for the health of a mainline game with a competitive scene.
You missed the entire part of my post here. On the contrary, I actually feel the exact opposite. I don't think there are enough competitive players and I love the fact that Game Freak is making it even easier for more people to get into it. I also never said that this was a negative thing. If anything, I'm saying it's a great thing. However, my point when I brought it up was that because Game Freak is making it much easier for people to get into competitive Pokémon with these changes, casual players can no longer make the argument that preparing for competitive is a "long grind" anymore. For instance, you literally don't have to level up your Pokémon to 100 to Hyper Train them anymore; they can be Hyper Trained at level 50, which you're very likely to reach even before post-game. If you choose to Hyper Train, then you don't have to worry about breeding for IVs. You no longer have to grind in the battle facilities for BP to purchase competitive held items anymore, as you can now buy them with your regular money now early on.
You don't even have to EV train Pokémon the hard way anymore, as vitamins and similar items can get the job done without even having to battle. Thus, I just simply find it silly when players call preparing for competitive a "long boring grind" when Game Freak literally made it so easy and accessible for everybody. I also rarely put in "heavy work" when playing Pokémon. For years, I've always just bred Pokémon with good IVs and EV trained them with vitamins before transferring them over to the next game at level 1 after freshly hatching from eggs, skipping the EV training process in the new game for all except my starter. However, because Pokémon Scarlet and Violet does not have Pokémon HOME compatibility, I actually had to play the game the "hard way" this time, but even then, it wasn't "heavy work" because this is perhaps the best generation for EV training. You can choose which Pokémon you want to battle, as you're no longer forced into battles anymore, and while the EV spreads won't be perfect as you progress, EV-reducing berries are scattered all over the map.
When you use them as you're progressing, you can make your EV spreads exactly how you want to make them. All three of my Pokémon teams in Violet are already fully EV trained and I haven't even beat the game yet and it didn't even feel like I was grinding. It just felt natural. As for hacking, I understand that players do it, but why hack your game and risk having your Nintendo Switch being banned when preparing for competitive is ridiculously easy and simple now? I mean, if a player desperately feels the need to hack that bad despite things being easier and love competitive Pokémon so much, then they're just better off battling on Pokémon Showdown and not risk their Switch essentially becoming a brick. Anyways, as I said, we don't need to prevent an overpopulation in the competitive scene; we need a bigger population and Game Freak set the groundwork for it.
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