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It's been almost two years. How do you feel about the 69 (+3) Generation VI Pokemon?

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Let's leave Mega Pokemon out of this!

So, I've been a big fan of Pokemon like the entirety of my life, and have generally enjoyed every Generation that has been released, my favorites being Gen III and Gen IV...and yes, I've been around since the Red and Blue days.

Now, I have my issues with Generation VI, but I certainly didn't hate XY or ORAS, putting in roughly 100+ hours between the two and having fun with them. But let's talk about the Pokemon themselves, as that's always been the key feature for me when it comes to new Pokemon games---I'm a sucker for new Pokemon. I get hyped as fuck during the lead-up to new games when CoroCoro is revealing New Pokemon every issue, and there's only a handful of Pokemon I can say that I outright hate. I believe that every Pokemon has its fans, and I'd never want to see a Pokemon permanently dropped from the series---because hey, one day they drop someone else's favorite, the next they could drop mine! Now---I'll be honest, and breaking my own thread rules here, I don't think I'd be destroyed if Mega Pokemon were quietly removed (I don't hate them, per se, they just make things messy and I've only use like one or two because XY/ORAS really didn't implement them well into the main game and I'm not an avid online player), but generally I think Pokemon's biggest advantage over other Mon Series is its stability when it comes to handling its cast, and keeping all of them relevant through each iteration.

Yet while I don't hate them, something about the Generation VI Pokemon still feels distant to me. Usually, I become pretty intimate with the New Pokemon within a year of a new Generation---I'm not a walking PokeDex who can recite their height/weight and stuff like that, but I can easily picture pretty much any of them and know most of their key features and such. But that hasn't happened with Generation VI yet, which I realized the other day in my "Draw Pokemon From Memory Thread", Gen VI Pokemon didn't come as natural to me as the others. Part of the reason I think is that, well, I'm older, and my hobbies have evolved to the point I'm not into Pokemon as I used to be. I used to be on-top of all the going ons, loved watching the television series and always found it relatively charming even in its later years due to its simplicity and status-quo (but Best Wishes pissed me off), and hung out on Pokemon-centered forums, but now...I pretty much just play the new main games, and maybe spin-offs if they catch my eye, like the New Mystery Dungeon, definitely, so my exposure to Pokemon is far less. I guess as a result of this, the Generation VI Pokemon haven't become as memorable to me as their predecessors, which sort of bums me out---growing out of a childhood series is a necessary part of growing up (but as people have told me, 25 is far from 'grown up'), especially as I absolutely enjoyed Generation V's collection of creatures and loved how Game Freak went up-and-beyond, in my opinion, churning out 150+ New Pokemon which I mostly found to be really neat and imaginative, and quickly found new favorites like Palpitoad and Sawk. A lot of my favorite Pokemon happen to come about because I enjoy them in the show, which for its flaws, was the best way to see Pokemon outside of static images and sprites and often gave me a new perspective seeing in them in action---I actually think XY's anime is pretty decent, yet I don't have the time or interest to watch it anymore as there's tons of other media I have on my plate, and I think that's hurt my love for the new Pokemon as well.

So, when Generation VI first was revealed, I was hyped---the Starters were neat looking, Sylveon indicated we'd see new evolutions of older Pokemon, something we came to expect from even Generations, and I thought we'd see a healthy amount of Pokemon. But when the games came out, well---excluding the Megas (which really don't feel the same as the old cross-gen evolutions, despite what Serebii might claim!), we only had a paltry 69 Pokemon (plus three Event Pokemon), and things felt really sparse. Not a lot of the Pokemon clicked with me either, I think the disappointment of so little Pokemon sort of freaked me out---I knew this was going to happen on day, Pokemon loses steam and starts to slow down, and I felt like this was happening. We only had like six Legendaries, three of which were Events, which is something I thought I'd like but I really didn't since the absence of an actual new Legendary Trio like the Birds/Beasts/Golems/Pixies/Musketeers/Genies felt like the ultimate betrayal, the ultimate "shoulder shrug" from Game Freak.

Today, I decided to try and rectify this...going over the Gen VI Pokemon, and try and evaluate my tastes on them...I want to learn to like them! Or realize why I hate them---but I'd like to see everyone else's thoughts as well!

Chespin/Quilladin/Chesnaught - Traditionally, I've been a Grass Starter fan. On average, they've been my favorite Starter Type with Bulbasaur, Treecko, and Turtwig. Chikorita I find to be completely boring, and unlike, like, the whole Internet, I can't stand Snivy and its evolutions (who I picked my first time through Black and White, and was disappointed). Thankfully, this is a cool Grass-starter line, bulky like I tend to like them and getting out of the "reptile" comfort zone. Yeah, I think Chespin is totally digging on the Piplup/Oshawott popularity, but I can't hate such a cute Pokemon. Quilladin is the goofy, akward middle-form which tend to be my favorite of each Starter line, and Chesnaught just looks cool.

Fennekin/Braixen/Delphox- As a child, I was obsessed with foxes---but nowadays, foxes, wolves, etc. are so overused, Pokemon based around them I tend to find dull, and I don't like stereotypical "beautiful" Pokemon which is why I don't like Snivy, so these are easily one of my least favorite Starter lines. I actually like humanoid Pokemon in general, but Braixen especially---I think goes into territory I'm not too thrilled with. Delphox dials it back a bit, but its design is just awkward to me. At least they broke the Fire/Fighting pattern!

Froakie/Frogadier/Greninja- One of my favorite Pokemon of all time was Palpitoad, so I was actually happy to see another cool looking Water-type Frog Pokemon. Come to think of it, Frog Pokemon don't disappoint---if you count Bulbasaur, him, the Poliwag line, and the Croagunk line are awesome as well. And the line didn't disappoint, when I got X it was hard to pick between it and Chesnaught, but I gave Grass another shot. Greninja definitely seems like it was focus-tested...designed to be cool, so to speak, but hey, I legitimately like it, and its Smash incarnation is pretty rad. And as an anime fan, I gotta say I'm happy they're finally letting Ash have a fully evolved Water-starter it seems with him already having a Frogadier...

Bunnelby/Diggersby- Bunnelby is a plain-looking rodent, but unlike the other ones (bar Bibarel) it's a bit unique in that it actually gains a type upon evolution instead of staying dull normal, and becomes the only non-Legendary, non-Mega Ground type. Seriously, the type distribution in Gen VI was fucked up. I actually like Bunnelby a lot because of the XY anime, as I watched a few early episodes, and Clemont's Bunnelby absolutely wrecked shit up. It impressed me, and now I realize how cute it is. Diggersby---eh---I understand what they were going for, and I usually like these funky designs, but it's yet to grow on me.

Fletchling/Fletchinder/Talonflame- Good on Game Freak for doing something different with the Regional Bird by making it part-Fire instead of normal like the others! After the cool and useful Staraptor, I felt like the Pidove line was a really weak follow-up, and I was thrilled to have a great return to form. It's an overall solid design that I think the average person will find to be cool, and I think will have long-lasting popularity.

Scatterbug/Spewpa/Vivillon- Ugh, one step forward, one step back...that's Game Freak! Unova had awesome Bug-type Pokemon with Leavanny and Scolipede, but now we go back to another Bug/Flying butterfly/moth line. Why? Vivillion has a cool gimmick with the patterns, but why not make its game use unique as well? Why not part-Psychic? Anyway, this line outside its gimmick is utterly forgettable I think like fucking Mothim (remember him?), although for some bizarre reason I find Spewpa to be incredibly cute and wish it wasn't the cocoon form of the shitty regional bug.

Litleo/Pyroar- It's a "why did it take them so long to do this animal?" Pokemon, and it's cool to finally have a straight-up lion after two questionable ones...but I don't really care for it that much, and for some reason can't help but see it as Shinx: Fire Version. The kanji element on Pyroar is cool though, as is the gender dimorphism which I miss when it was applied to a large number of Pokemon like in Gen IV, but I just don't care for cat Pokemon really.

Flabebe/Floette/Florges- The first Pokemon that pops to mind when I think of "Fairy", and a good representation I think---a small fairy that hangs out on a flower. Flabebe---is cute as fuck. I love its design. Floette and Florges, on the other hand, are a bit too "girly" for my tastes, but aren't bad by any means. I like this line overall though, used it during my first run-through...but seriously, fuck AZ. Pokemon getting more and more mystical is alright with me, Arceus being the Pokemon God never bugged me, but when you started giving people special powers like AZ, I dunno, that crosses a line.

Skiddo/Gogoat- Biggest let-down finding out the riding gimmick barely factored into XY---but beyond that, solid, yet nothing that special Pokemon. A lot of XY Pokemon seem to fall into this category for me---I almost think I'd rather vigorously hate them than simply find them "okay", because at least there's a specific emotion attached to them for me...

Pancham/Pangoro- Finally, a Panda Pokemon! And it's based on a yankii---I mean, Game Freak did well. I feel like I should like this Pokemon way more than I do, but it's another I'm strangely ambivalent towards. I never used it before, maybe using one will help me warm up to it more.

Furfrou- A Pokemon whose gimmick is the most interesting about it. Dog Pokemon aren't my cup of tea, 'specially a poodle. But it's a good idea thematically for Kalos, I'll give Game Freak that, and having pretty substantial unique designs shows effort. But why not make it, y'know, good?

Espurr/Meowstic- Dumb meme shit. Same thing that put me off Snivy, except I sort of liked Snivy before all that. This Pokemon? Just don't care for it or its "following".

Honedge/Doublade/Aegislash- "IT'S NOT AN ANIMAL!" Seriously, folks? I've been wanting a living sword Pokemon forever, and I think Game Freak delivered. I'm sort of ashamed to like it because I'm too unique to like Pokemon who are super powerful and OU, but hell, I'll say it---this is probably the best Pokemon of Gen VI overall. Stylish, yet simple design, cool type, neat and useful gimmick, fits the 'lore'...just good all around.

Spritzee/Aromatisse- Spritzee, cute. Very cute. After Flabebe, this sold me on Fairy-type Pokemon. Aromatisse...uhhh? I don't get it. I don't wanna come across as being part of the boy's club, but Game Freak felt like it faltered a lot this time whenever they went for really feminine looking Pokemon.

Swirlix/Slurpuff- I feel like Fairy Pokemon being living food sort of makes sense---to the point I wish Vanillite and its evolutions was made part-Fairy as well. Swirlix is cute, and feels really classic to me---like I could picture him in Gen 1 easily, and I like how it easily mixes the normal dog elements with the living cotton candy elements. Slurpuff, like Aromatisse, I think sort of takes a good, simplistic design and adds to much stuff, but it's not as much of a downgrade for me.

Inkay/Malamar- Good Pokemon, like Honedge they've got cool designs and a neat gimmick---I mean, flipping the 3DS to have them evolve is pointless, really, but still a cool idea. Inkay is absolutely adorable, and Malamar is sinister looking without overdoing it and feels legitimately threatening. Very solid showing, and dropping the expected Water for a unique dual-typing was a good idea.

Binacle/Barbacle- Now these Pokemon appeal to me! They're goofy, based off a somewhat obscure animal that most folks won't get at first, and don't look like any other Pokemon (well, multi-headed Pokemon aren't new, but you know what I mean), and one of my favorites. Used them in my initial X playthrough.

Skrelp/Dragalge- I think these Pokemon show that Game Freak shouldn't be afraid to re-use animals, because there's still potential in animals they've used before---here, the seahorse, going a totally different route from Horsea and creating a Pokemon that's rather cool, and Dragon/Poison? Yes, I'll take it. Not one of my favorites, personally, but ones I think are strong designs and I can see why people like them.

Clauncher/Clawitzer- GameFreak were on a role with Water Pokemon this time around, usually Water is filled with throwaway and forgettable Pokemon, but all the Water Pokemon here are very good designs---and incidentally, this is the first time Game Freak really dialed back on the Water Pokemon, even taking in the smaller amount of Pokemon. An animal ripe for Pokemonization---the pistol shrimp---that turns into a Zeon Mobile Suit with an arm-cannon. Game Freak needs to go mecha more, sorry if that bugs the "Pokemon must be organic!" folks, but if this is the result I'll take more.

Helioptile/Heliolisk- Remember when everyone thought this was a Mawile pre-evolution for a few hours upon its reveal? I mean, looking back that seems ridiculous to think, but I definitely thought that at first as well. At least it's not a tease like Alomomola was---fuck that. Anyway, Helioptile is adorable, and a nice Pokemon to choose for the pre-release period as it got people talking. Heliolisk feels really lacking though, and I feel like it looks like a mid-form and there should've been another evolution---but I guess Game Freak was tight on space. There's always Mega Heliolisk I guess.

Tyrunt/Tyrantrum- The biggest "DUH!" Pokemon ever, of course people wanted a T-Rex Pokemon. How'd it turn out? Pretty nice! It would've been interesting to see one of these way back before the dinosaurs had feathers stuff started, and when Game Freak wasn't as elaborate with most of the designs, a more plainer T-Rex, but Tyrantrum is by no means a bad design. The dinosaur-obsessed kid in me would've loved this to death---but my love for dinosaurs isn't what it once was, and a stock dinosaur doesn't excite me as much as it used to.

Amaura/Aurorus- I hate to say this...but when I first saw Amaura, I thought "Neopet"? It's the eyes, and the lack of detail honestly---it's just too cute for its own good, and the color-scheme doesn't help. Aurorus is a step-up, a way better body design, but the eyes still bug me. It's like Beartic---those beady eyes of his totally ruined his design for me! But you know, I've grown to like it a bit, and hey, yeah, it's like that 90's stationary chick drew it, but an ice-type brontosaur (or whatever they're called now) is still a design that strikes me as cool. But oooooooh, that typing though...

Sylveon- Dislike Eevee. Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon are neat, I like Espeon and Umbreon thanks to being the MVPs in Colosseum, but after that "NEW EEVEELUTION!" wasn't my cup of tea. Sylveon interested me though thanks to the new type speculation, and having a bit more of a unique design, but now that the mystery is gone, like Leafeon and Glaceon I really don't care for it. I want my Fighting or Bug Eevee!

Hawlucha- I felt like this was a Pokemon a lot of fans would end up liking, a more "cult" favorite like Wobbuffet sort of, and it seems I was right, as people seem to really love it. Not getting into Pokken was a shame---beyond that, I also think he'd be amazing in Smash Brothers, but my Smash 5 he might not be as relevant as he is now. The show seems to agree with me though because they gave one to Ash and focus on it a lot, and the show does pretty good by it. It doesn't seem to have a ton of merchandise as far as I know, I guess because it's not stereotypically cute. I like the fan theory it's actually just a dude dressed as a Pokemon too---

Dedenne- Don't get why exactly it's a Fairy Pokemon...but, as far as Pikachu clones go, he's my favorite. He's soooooooooooooo cute! This was another Pokemon I wanted in Smash, to replace Pichu. I even had an idea where he had a "Static" gimmick based off Sakurai's own creation, the Plasma Ability in Kirby Super Star.

Continued in the next post...
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
And the rest...

Carbink- One of those single-stage lines that's just there---but bonus points for connecting it to Diancie which makes it stand out a little more. I forgot if this Pokemon is good or not, but honestly I forget about it---even more than other Generation VI Pokemon.

Goomy/Sligoo/Goodra- Same issues as Dragonite for me, cool first two forms, and a goofy looking final form, except now Goodra (and I'm not sure who to blame here, Sugimori or the internet) has a bizarre fetish cult around it I always see brought up. The show really pissed people off by giving Ash one, evolving it quickly, and dumping it off---but we got the much cooler Noibat out of it, so I'm happy. I really wish this Pokemon stayed as the cool slug creature honestly.

Klefki- Don't get the hate. It's not my favorite or anything, but it's a really cute idea for a Fairy-type Pokemon....the hate for it is overblown like for Vanillite and Trubbish. I think part of the hate is because of Gen VI in general...during the leaks on /vp/, the first mention of it was with the first post that mentioned there were only 69 Pokemon, and they reused the Legendary Birds. Seeing the first picture of the Pokemon was forever linked in many minds with "only 69", and the hate continues...

Phantump/Trevenant: Leaked in a Movie XY trailer back during the pre-release era, this Pokemon captured everyone's imaginations as we had different drawings of how it looked, and while we saw a shot of it soon enough, it was even longer before it was officially revealed. It's another Pokemon I wanted forever---an actual tree Pokemon (if you still think Sudowoodo is a tree, please educate yourself), and a haunted one at that. Phantump also has a delightfully creepy backstory. If not for going with Chesnaught as my Grass Pokemon, I would've used him.

Pumpkaboo/Gourgeist: Another Grass/Ghost? In a larger Generation, this would've been cool...but with 69 Pokemon, did we really need 4 Pokemon with the same typing? Beyond that, they're solid designs, but I think Pumpkaboo loses its charm when it evolves. The Size Mechanic is cool, and something now that we're using 3D Models I'd like to see implemented with all Pokemon. Maybe not base stats wise, but it'd be cool if every individual Pokemon came in small, medium, and large sizes.

Bergmite/Avalugg: Just Ice Pokemon, with nothing special about them---but I really like their designs, and ended up using them in X. Avalugg being a living glacier is great, and something that leads to cool fan-art ideas, and Bergmite is cute. It's like Snorunt and Snover, first-form Ice Pokemon I adore.

Noibat/Noivern: Noivern really feels like it was supposed to be related to Swoobat, with design elements making me think of it when we first saw it, and the sound motif, but wasn't. Hmm. Anyway, as the first primary Flying Pokemon, that's sort of neat---even though it's just Flying/Dragon---and has a cool design. I feel like it could've easily been a standlone Pokemon like it was seemingly revealed as, but then came along Noibat. Because of the reveal order, even though Noibat isn't a "Baby Pokemon", he sort of feels like it, like he was designed after Noibat. Noibat's cute though, and its body sort of makes me think of a Ninja Outfit like what Koga wears. Wonder if this was intentional? They're sort of the "Semi-Uber Dragon", although Goodra feels more like it fits that being a three-stage.

Xerneas: A lot of people seemed to like Gen VI's main Legendaries returning to animals again, and Xerneas was pretty great to lead off with as it's a cool, majestic Pokemon. When the new Type rumors started up, I felt pretty confident Xerneas would be part of it. Beyond that, I don't like Legendaries much and don't use them.

Yveltal: While Xerneas is majestic, Yveltal is the Legendary that's bad-ass and what will sell the most copies---no surprise when it did. Charizard, Lugia, Groudon, Zekrom---you usually can tell who will win out on design alone. EXCEPT for Dialga and Palkia---I'm still not sure which is the favorite design there. Yveltal like Xerneas is a neat design, but another Pokemon I have no interest in.

Zygarde: Opinion withheld till we see what's going on with little Z and that big shadowy figure in the Movie Trailer. 0.o This gets me excited! But Zygarde on its own is a nice third member, going for the Rayquaza thing definitely (although no one can live up to ol' Ray!), but its own thing.

Diancie- Hmm, another really "girlish" Pokemon I'm not too keen on. And since I never got around to getting it from the Event, I forgot it also had a Mega Form. Have like no opinion on it---

Hoopa- Okay, this is a cool Pokemon. Base Hoopa is cute. Hoopa Unbound completely removes the simplicity of the Xerneas and Yveltal and goes back to over-the-top Legendaries, but does it in a way that just strikes me as desperate to be awesome, yet actually sort of succeeds because the design is just so edgy it works. Plus its power is really neat being able to open portals and such, and was a nice way to mix story in with gameplay to help new fans get all the classic Legendary Pokemon. I gotta remember to download him...

Volcanion- Who? Oh yeah, this Pokemon...with the Zygarde hype, everyone's forgotten him. Will he be like Meloetta, pushed to the side in a mini-movie and given an event people forget about? Who knows! I can say he has a neat design, and is a Type Combination people said for years was impossible, even though it's a really cool Type Combination. I hope it's not forever stuck uniquely to this Legendary Pokemon. I'll hazard a guess and say it'll probably get a new Forme in the future.



And, that's my opinions. Looking these over, I realize two things...

1). I think most of the New Pokemon have good ideas behind them, but the execution falls short for me, or they don't catch my eye for some reason---I look at, say, Generation V Pokemon, and I feel an emotional response towards them. Most Generation VI Pokemon elicit a "that's a good design", or "that's a bad design", and that's it.

2). There seems to be a large influx of Pokemon that almost seemed tailored to "girls" in design, and not even just among Fairy Pokemon. Pokemon has always had Pokemon designed that seemed like they were trying to appeal more to girls than boys, but it feels like in Generation VI Game Freak pushed this more, and in a way that comes off as a bit stereotypical and unappealing to both genders. Like I said, I don't wanna make Pokemon a boys club---not every Pokemon has to appeal to guys---but some of the really stereotypical girlish Pokemon this time around sort of put me off them. It feels like there's a more notable divide. Actually, on second though, I'm tempted to think they're not even meant to appeal to girls, but is another attempt to appeal to the moe audience---certainly Braixen and Diancie make me think that---

I think a lot of my ambivalence towards the Generation VI Pokemon is simply XY wasn't as great as I wanted it to be, and the Pokemon suffered from that because they were involved with it. I'm hoping the next game brings some new stuff to the table---and gives me a more compelling adventure to learn more about the Generation VI Pokemon during it. But, you know, I had five great Generations of Pokemon, and maybe I've hit the "nostalgia wall" where just the new ones don't strike a chord with me...not even GameFreak's fault, but my own. There's always Yokai Watch I guess....
 

SalvaPot

Member
Let's leave Mega Pokemon out of this!

I think this is the first mistake, Mega pokemon are essentially new evolutions for pokemon that can´t or shouldn´t get one more stage and its designs are a huge part of what made XY felt new.

But all right, focusing on the new pokémon. This generation gave us Hawlucha, Goomy, Diancie, a great set of starters with fun evolutions (And rare great middle stages),

It was a great generation.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
I still want a wolf Pokemon. Everything has been hyenas, and few dog breeds. There are still no wolves or coyotes.

Still a good gen. I got a T-rex which I always wanted.
 

lupinko

Member
Hoopa, regular or Unbounded is fucking awesome, and the movie adds to that. I've seen the movie twice already and may go again because it was legit. Think Pokemon Kaiju film.

Diancie grew on me and Mega Diancie is pretty cool.

Talonflame usurped Staraptor as baddest ass bird but Staraptor still holds the fort.

Sylveon is pretty cool too. Gen 6 gave me official Shiny Jirachi and Shiny Arceus.

Aegislash is one of the best new Pokemon designs too.

I could go on and on.
 

Akai__

Member
I still believe Pokemon X and Y are the weakest Pokemon games out there and there's like only 4-5 Pokemon in those games where I like the designs and that's it. It also happens to have the worst starters ever, in terms of designs. At least in my opinion.

Also, I absolutely don't get why Mega Evolutions are a thing. They should have given Pokemon who never had an evolution a real evolution, instead of bringing Digimon to Pokemon. Glad they are optional, as I'll never use them.
 

Phu

Banned
I feel like VI is a gen I'll end up liking better years down the line.

With gen V, there were quite a few Pokemon that I would label as some of my 'favorites' [Emboar, Eelektross, Lilligant, Scrafty, Jellicent, etc].

With gen IV, I didn't really have any 'favorites' until well after V and I think VI is gonna be like that.
 

Spacejaws

Member
I'm actually for less new pokemon and instead start working existing pokemon into different areas. I.E rather than having a bew normal, brid and bug at the starting area I would love it to get mixed up so a new game might have magby's or teddiursa's. Pokemon that are typically picked up late game (I think Donphan is a contender).

Just straying from the formual is what I want and for what it's worth I think XY is the best game so far for implimenting legacy pokemon alongside new entries. I kinda like bein suprised by a new mon from wild grass filled with old ones.

I also think Silver/Gold had a simliar mash up of new and old and was all the better for it.
 
I don't have the issues with newer pokemon that others do. I'm pretty fond of what they did this time around though. Greninja, Trevenant, Tyrantrum, Pyroar, Aegislash, Pangoro, Sylveon, Xerneas, Yveltal, and their evolution lines are among some of my favorites in the series. I still haven't figured out whether I like mega evolutions. I love the extra layer of strategy when I'm playing online and it certainly adds a bit more utility to older pokemon that might otherwise go unused...but sometimes I think a raise in base stats would have been pretty effective too.
 

higemaru

Member
Really liked Furfrou & Trevenant but I'll be honest, I totally forgot they existed until now and I used them. I don't think it's that they're forgettable necessarily but more that I sort of grew out of Pokemon around the time I picked up X. I don't have the drive to remember all of them anymore.
 

Crayolan

Member
The designs in gen 6 are great. I would like some more pokemon in the dex, but I appreciate that the Kalos's group of mons lacks a lot of filler and when it does put in "the usuals" (route 1 rodent, route 1 bird, pikachu clone) it usually makes them a lot more unique than they've been in previous gens.

Also Aegislash is everything I've ever wanted. The perfect answer to the Ghost/Steel type I've wanted since gen 3.

I'm actually for less new pokemon and instead start working existing pokemon into different areas. I.E rather than having a bew normal, brid and bug at the starting area I would love it to get mixed up so a new game might have magby's or teddiursa's. Pokemon that are typically picked up late game (I think Donphan is a contender).

Just straying from the formual is what I want and for what it's worth I think XY is the best game so far for implimenting legacy pokemon alongside new entries. I kinda like bein suprised by a new mon from wild grass filled with old ones.

I also think Silver/Gold had a simliar mash up of new and old and was all the better for it.

BW2 did this sort of thing. Before the first gym you could catch Riolu, Mareep, and Azurill, and before the second gym you could get Magby, Elekid, Koffing, and Magnemite. The early game selection was crazy diverse compared to any other game.
 
Generation VI is a lot like Generation III: No monsters appeal to me whatsoever.

Well, that's a bit of a lie. I like Chespin. I really like it. But then it evolves, and....ehh. I tried to like Chesnaught and even convinced myself for a while I did, but....no. Just no.

It's too bad. I had high hopes for XY after I was finally able to find 6 unique monsters I could make a team out of in the regional dex in BW. But there's no way I could make a team out of the 70 Pokemon from XY. :/
 

WarAdept

Member
I honestly think the majority of new Pokes from Gen 6 are outstanding, both design wise and ingame/competitively. I'm far more leaning towards the competitive stuff of Pokemon (in which X and Y catered to nearly exclusively), so great games for me.

No dud starters (even if Delphox is a little ugly), cool typings (Draglage, Aegislash, Aurorus), great little animations that really give a lot of the Gen 6 Pokemon life (Heliolisks frill opening, Greninja, all of Honedge stuff), could go on.

And I adore the fact that the Rattata/Pidgey/Caterpie of this generation turned into absolute monsters. (Vivillion less so, but is still exceptional ingame with that Compound Eyes Sleep Powder and Quiver Dance. Lol Gale Wings/Huge Power).
 

Zubz

Banned
It was pretty hit or miss with me. It gave me both my 2nd favorite Pokemon (Hawlucha) and my 4 least favorite (The Aromatisse & Slurpuff lines). Overall, though, I liked it. You have some solid Pokemon in there, like Pangoro, Goodra, and Aegislash. Plus, even if Klefki's design is weak, I love them from using them in battles with friends. The starters were all pretty great, too; this is the first Gen where I've liked all the starters since, well, Gen 1, with Delphox being the GOAT Fire Starter. But in return, the Legendaries all felt forgettable (Zygarde might be redeemed in XZ/YZ, though).

It's like everything balanced each other out in terms of Gen 6 Pokemon. I was disappointed at first, because I spoiled all but 5 of the new Pokemon for myself. I love that feeling I had in Gens II-IV where I'd randomly encounter some Pokemon I'd never heard of prior. But over time, I've come to be fine with the smaller size of this generation. I mean, we're at 720 Pokemon overall, and we got enough Mega Evolutions to balance things out. I got Hawlucha out of this Generation; that's more than I could've asked for.
 

Chase17

Member
Diggersby tho.


I'm pretty pleased with the gen VI designs. I'm not much of a stickler when it comes to this though.
 

Andrefpvs

Member
I agree with Mega Evolutions not counting as new Pokémon, although I understand the arguments from those who do count them as new. To me, they're in-battle form changes. Sure, they're slightly more drastic than the in-battle form changes of other Pokémon, but Mega Charizard is still a Charizard (even down to the Pokédex number). Maybe it comes down to whether you prefer collecting or battling.

I also agree with preferring the Generation V approach. I do get that excitement from encountering an all-new Pokémon. When you have 150+ new Pokémon to catch, even if you know about some before playing, you'll still be surprised by many of the new monsters. With just 69, this won't happen as often. Including Kanto legendaries in the place of new ones was also disappointing. For someone who never really left the series, Gen 1 nostalgia isn't that effective anymore.

However, on the subject of the Generation VI Pokémon, I actually like most of them. I was going through your list, and I immediately remembered what they looked like, and I still think they're pretty cool.

One thing I did notice (and this may be subjective), is that a significant number of Gen VI evolutionary families suffer from the "ugly last stage Pokémon" syndrome (maybe this is accentuated by the lower number of families in this gen). Diggersby, Talonflame, Aromatisse, Gourgeist, Avalugg, to name a few. I feel these look worse than at least one of their pre-evolutions. Diggersby and Aromatisse in particular kind of leave my scratching my head.
 

Busaiku

Member
I like Carbink, Sylveon, Klefki, Espurr, Pumpkaboo, and a few more.
I liked Goodra more early on, but its appearance and mannerisms in the cartoon really killed it for me.

The problem with this gen vs Unova is that I largely prefer the less viable not fully evolved Pokemon.
In Unova, I loved Whimsicott, Cinccino, Lilligant, Gothitelle, Reuniclus, Chandelure, Volcarona, Scrafty, Serperior, among others. Easily the region with the highest number of fully evolved Pokemon that I love.

Kalos has a bunch of good unevolved Pokemon, but I hate most of their evolutions.

Also Diancie is the worst "cute" mythical. Victini, Shaymin, Jirachi, Celebi, and Mew are way better.
And Dedene is the worst electric rodent of the gens after Kanto. Cause it looks like it should be the first form of that worthless fully evolved Pokemon, but it's not.
 
There's a number of Gen VI Pokemon that I really like, and I'm happy with the choices I made for my Kalos team, despite Talonflame being a redundant Fire type.

The Fennekin line is probably my favorite Fire starter line, mostly because I can have a Psychic Pokemon right ouf of the gate, and I do like Delphox's design.
The Fletchling line is a good set of the opening Flying types (though Swellow is the best at that). I do like having part-Fire too.
I chose Gogoat relatively late in the game, but it's a nice Grass type and I've set it up as an Annoyer.
I do love Aegislash as a living sword concept, but this is also the first time I've used a Ghost type on my team.
I needed an Electric type, so I went with Heliolisk. It's nice, and gets the job done.
My sixth Pokemon was Blastoise, a Pokemon that I've wanted to use since its first major appearance in the anime (pressurized water cannons!), plus it got a Mega Evolution, but we're not talking about that here. Other Pokemon worth mentioning include:

Aurorus
Avalugg
Xerneas (not as cool as Kyogre or Dialga)
 

Chase17

Member
One thing I did notice (and this may be subjective), is that a significant number of Gen VI evolutionary families suffer from the "ugly last stage Pokémon" syndrome (maybe this is accentuated by the lower number of families in this gen). Diggersby, Talonflame, Aromatisse, Gourgeist, Avalugg, to name a few. I feel these look worse than at least one of their pre-evolutions. Diggersby and Aromatisse in particular kind of leave my scratching my head.

I find Avalugg hilarious and great. Is he like a coffee table or what?Just the best.
 

FZZ

Banned
Gen V is hilariously underrated and was much better than Gen VI both as a game and for the competitive scene

Although the aggro nature of Gen IV (Garchomp brehs) is also missed I think Gen V had the perfect balance.
 

greg400

Banned
I think Pokémon designs have been going downhill since the 5th gen. Guess it's to be expected now that there's so many.
 

GamerJM

Banned
I like them. They look good.

I still don't like gen 5 Pokemon, though, and no it's not nostalgia. I think my main problem with them came from the fact that B/W1 basically started over and didn't have any Pokemon from other regions. As a result they didn't really feel like they were supplementing the already existing roster of Pokemon very well.

Gens 1 and 2 have my favorite designs still. I'm not a "genwunner," either, since I think gen 1 is easily the worst game, I just like the designs the best. Gen 6 probably has my favorites since 2 though.
 
I think while the number was too small, the new Pokémon to me were good. I liked them a lot better than what Generation 5 had to offer, that's for sure. If you showed me pictures of every Pokémon (in any order), I probably would be able to get Generations 1-4 pretty well but I'd start not being able to name some in Generations 5-6. There's just too many for me to remember and there's no fixing that.
 

KevinCow

Banned
I liked them.

Avalugg is the best and my new favorite Pokemon.

Chespin is the best starter, and Chesnaught is pretty awesome. The middle evolution is silly and weird though.
 

Chase17

Member
I like them. They look good.

I still don't like gen 5 Pokemon, though, and no it's not nostalgia. I think my main problem with them came from the fact that B/W1 basically started over and didn't have any Pokemon from other regions. As a result they didn't really feel like they were supplementing the already existing roster of Pokemon very well.
Don't sleep on my man Garbodor.

250px-569Garbodor.png
 

Busaiku

Member
I do like most Mega designs and Cosplay Pikachu though.
It's a shame the latter is exclusive to Alpha Sapphire and Pokken.
 

Chase17

Member
I think a lot of my ambivalence towards the Generation VI Pokemon is simply XY wasn't as great as I wanted it to be, and the Pokemon suffered from that because they were involved with it. I'm hoping the next game brings some new stuff to the table---and gives me a more compelling adventure to learn more about the Generation VI Pokemon during it. But, you know, I had five great Generations of Pokemon, and maybe I've hit the "nostalgia wall" where just the new ones don't strike a chord with me...not even GameFreak's fault, but my own. There's always Yokai Watch I guess....

OP is playing with fire.

I'd be curious to know what your favorite gen is design wise OP. Sorry if I missed it.
 

Dryk

Member
I really like a lot of the Gen VI designs, which makes it all the more heart-breaking when so many of them are almost usable. Furfrou, Gogoat, Clawitzer, Vivillon and Heliolisk all just fall short. I get that Game Freak want to do the traditional single-player RPG thing of having weak monsters at the beginning replaced with big scary cool guys at the end but there's so many Pokemon now and they all have their fans so it seems like a giant waste.

(Also Skrelp and Dragalgae are leafy sea dragons)
 
OP, I will legit fight you if you insist that Vivillon didn't have distinct gameplay compared to other early bugs. Hurricane, Quiver Dance and Compound Eyes made Vivillon a fucking monster.

Swept so many teams online with that little guy.
 

Chase17

Member
OP, I will legit fight you if you insist that Vivillon didn't have distinct gameplay compared to other early bugs. Hurricane, Quiver Dance and Compound Eyes made Vivillon a fucking monster.

Swept so many teams online with that little guy.

You know it's about to get real when the Quiver Dance goes down.
 

Dryk

Member
OP, I will legit fight you if you insist that Vivillon didn't have distinct gameplay compared to other early bugs. Hurricane, Quiver Dance and Compound Eyes made Vivillon a fucking monster.

Swept so many teams online with that little guy.
Vivillon is predictable as fuck but it definitely has a niche, and it's pretty fun when it works.

Vivillion followed up from the amazing bugs of Unova.
It had no chance.
Especially after Scolipede's amazing buffs
 
I love gen VI designs. Aegislash is easily in my top 5 all time pokemon, probably top 3 even. And there are very few Gen VI designs I dislike, and most I really love. Only thing that holds me back from calling it my favorite gen design wise is the lower number of new pokemon, although if we count megas and primals and the like as well, it honestly might be my favorite.
 
You know it's about to get real when the Quiver Dance goes down.

What made Viv stupid was that if you got a sleep spore in, you had at least one guaranteed quiver dance. If your opponent was a special attacker, you could tank even an attack or two to stack even more dances. After that, the only chance your opponent had is if they had Talonflame or some other priority attacker.
 

Regiruler

Member
The amount of regional pokemon was too bloated, yet the amount of new ones was too few. There didn't feel to be any identity to Kalos.
 
I can't believe Fennekin doesn't evolve to become some majestic 4 legged fox with fire fur or some other beautiful attribute and instead becomes some sort of weird abomination by its final form.
 

NeonZ

Member
The amount of regional pokemon was too bloated, yet the amount of new ones was too few. There didn't feel to be any identity to Kalos.

My view is similar to that one. Kalos' new designs were generally good, but they really didn't have enough presence in the game itself, due to the low number of new Pokemon and high number of regional Pokemon.
 
I don't care a lot for gen VI honestly. I still ended up using 4 of them (one of them a HM slave) in my first playthrough, but the only one I really liked the look of was Tyrantrum and to a lesser extent Talonflame.

Gen V I always thought got undeserved hate and it's nice seeing people finally come around on it. Almost all the early Pokemon aren't good, but once you get a few badges in almost everything starts looking decent. My main issue with gen V was how late so many of the later Pokemon evolve. Before gen V the amount of Pokemon that had an evolution above 40 was really small. Once you got about 6 or 7 badges in most pre-evolve Pokemon you see evolve over 40 and a decent amount above 50.
 
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