29
edits
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
With that in mind, here is a countdown of the most significant changes to the battle system: | With that in mind, here is a countdown of the most significant changes to the battle system: | ||
[[File:Sunny_Day_III.png|left|thumb|300px|Burn.]] | |||
'''5. Weather''' | '''5. Weather''' | ||
Look at the metagame of Generation V and you’ll see that weather is the dominant force of Generation V. Entire teams are built around strategies of utilizing rain, sun, sandstorms and hail. A subpar Pokémon can be turned into a nightmarish attacker or a defensive powerhouse under the right weather conditions. | Look at the metagame of Generation V and you’ll see that weather is the dominant force of Generation V. Entire teams are built around strategies of utilizing rain, sun, sandstorms and hail. A subpar Pokémon can be turned into a nightmarish attacker or a defensive powerhouse under the right weather conditions. | ||
What’s interesting about weather is that it took several generations to become the dominant force it is today. Rain, sun and sandstorm were interesting novelties and welcome boosts for corresponding Pokémon when it was first introduced in Generation II. Generation III brought permanent weather-summoning abilities, but these remained confined to the legendary Uber tier, though Sandstorm-producing Sand Stream leaked out via Tyranitar. Abilities also allowed Pokémon to take better advantage of weather, such as speed-doubling Swift Swim or Chlorophyll. | What’s interesting about weather is that it took several generations to become the dominant force it is today. Rain, sun and sandstorm were interesting novelties and welcome boosts for corresponding Pokémon when it was first introduced in Generation II. Generation III brought permanent weather-summoning abilities, but these remained confined to the legendary Uber tier, though Sandstorm-producing Sand Stream leaked out via Tyranitar. Abilities also allowed Pokémon to take better advantage of weather, such as speed-doubling Swift Swim or Chlorophyll. | ||
Weather finally came full-circle in Generation V with Drizzle and Drought being granted to Politoed and Ninetales, respectively. Now all three major weather conditions could be utilized in standard play, although hail still had its niche too. Now it’s not uncommon to see weather conditions shift several times throughout the course of a battle. | Weather finally came full-circle in Generation V with Drizzle and Drought being granted to Politoed and Ninetales, respectively. Now all three major weather conditions could be utilized in standard play, although hail still had its niche too. Now it’s not uncommon to see weather conditions shift several times throughout the course of a battle. | ||
| Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
Just like weather, Pokémon strategies would be built around items. The Choice Band and Specs helped to beef up attackers while the Choice Scarf gave slower Pokémon a chance to catch up to quicker monsters. Leftovers became the gold standard for Wall and Stall-based strategies. The ice-weakening Yache Berry gives Salamence and Garchomp relief from that dragon-bane Ice Beam. A Pokémon’s usefulness can go in so many directions simply because of item choice. | Just like weather, Pokémon strategies would be built around items. The Choice Band and Specs helped to beef up attackers while the Choice Scarf gave slower Pokémon a chance to catch up to quicker monsters. Leftovers became the gold standard for Wall and Stall-based strategies. The ice-weakening Yache Berry gives Salamence and Garchomp relief from that dragon-bane Ice Beam. A Pokémon’s usefulness can go in so many directions simply because of item choice. | ||
[[File:Crunch_Stad2.png|thumb|250px|Psychic's nightmare.]] | |||
'''2. Dark and Steel''' | '''2. Dark and Steel''' | ||
Let’s face it: Psychic was a broken type in Generation I. They benefitted from the fact that the Special stat counted for both Special Attack and Special Defense plus the fact that since there were so many Poison Pokémon in Kanto, Psychic was super effective against 1/4th of all Pokémon, and then there was its advantage against Fighting on top of that. Ghost, the type that was supposed to counter it, had no useful moves and the only Ghost Pokémon were also half Poison. | Let’s face it: Psychic was a broken type in Generation I. They benefitted from the fact that the Special stat counted for both Special Attack and Special Defense plus the fact that since there were so many Poison Pokémon in Kanto, Psychic was super effective against 1/4th of all Pokémon, and then there was its advantage against Fighting on top of that. Ghost, the type that was supposed to counter it, had no useful moves and the only Ghost Pokémon were also half Poison. | ||
Gold and Silver delivered a one-two punch to Psychic. The introduction of the Dark and Steel types represented the first real balancing of the battle system. Not only did Steel resist Psychic, Dark was outright immune and its attacks were super effective against Psychic. Dark and Steel also gave new life to Bug and Fighting types, which had few advantages against other types in Generation I. Fighting in particular became one of the two most important offensive types in the game: It ties with Ground to deliver super effective moves against five types. | Gold and Silver delivered a one-two punch to Psychic. The introduction of the Dark and Steel types represented the first real balancing of the battle system. Not only did Steel resist Psychic, Dark was outright immune and its attacks were super effective against Psychic. Dark and Steel also gave new life to Bug and Fighting types, which had few advantages against other types in Generation I. Fighting in particular became one of the two most important offensive types in the game: It ties with Ground to deliver super effective moves against five types. | ||
| Line 65: | Line 65: | ||
''The Special Split-'' One would think this would be right up there next to the Physical/Special Split, but this one wasn’t nearly as game changing. It simply came off as something that was a logical fix to make: Attack and Defense dealt in physical fighting, so why should a single stat cover both how hard a Pokémon’s special moves could hit and how much it could take? | ''The Special Split-'' One would think this would be right up there next to the Physical/Special Split, but this one wasn’t nearly as game changing. It simply came off as something that was a logical fix to make: Attack and Defense dealt in physical fighting, so why should a single stat cover both how hard a Pokémon’s special moves could hit and how much it could take? | ||
[[File:Ash_Heracross_Megahorn.png|left|thumb|200px|The moment Bug became dangerous.]] | |||
''Stealth Rock-'' This isn’t so much an innovation to the system but it still qualifies as a game changer. Whether you like what it did to the metagame or not, Stealth Rock undeniably set the foundations for the Generation IV metagame. Entire types found themselves at a disadvantage simply because of a rock weakness. Pokémon with a double-weakness to Rock found themselves quickly exiled from common use. This is probably why Stealth Rock was no longer a TM in Black and White, although it’s returned as a Move Tutor in Black 2 and White 2. | |||
Charizard, you are still dearly missed. | Charizard, you are still dearly missed. | ||