Top 6 Most Annoying Things in Pokemon

[Arnox]

6. Grass Type Takes Half Damage from Lightning Type

wat? That's all I have to say. Just fucking wat?

5. Poison Sting (Move)

This move doesn't do much damage at all on its own, but it doesn't need to, because the fact that it ALSO poisons you 30% of the time is total bullshit, so if the opponent's pokemon is strong enough, it can just fish for a Poisoned status effect and all while dinging your pokemon constantly in the process. And poison, may I remind you, doesn't go away without an item use and even SLOWLY KILLS YOUR POKEMON AS YOU WALK. This is especially fucked in the early game where everyone and their grandma has a Weedle or other annoying little bug pokemon. Hope you like taking constant trips to the Pokemon Center!

4. Critical Hits

You know, I've heard some silly arguments in favor of this. One of the biggest was that it's better for casual play and makes competitive play more interesting. Well, first of all, no, it doesn't, and second of all, even in casual play, it's hella annoying. No, it doesn't feel good when you're in a pitched battle and you suddenly lose just because the opponent lolrolleda20. Critical hits would make a lot more sense if there was simply dedicated to select pokemon that could critical hit often and then for the rest of the the pokemon, not at all, but having it be a chance with EVERY pokemon is freaking stupid and unenjoyable and fucks with competitions. At least the Poisoned status effect is kinda legit for competitive play. Critical hits, however, serve no purpose whatsoever but to infuriate the person on the receiving end of one.

3. Forced Random Encounters

Oh boy, I love running into a Zubat for the LITERAL FIFTIETH TIME. And don't tell me Repel exists. That's 500 bucks a pop, and I got better things to spend my damn money on. And besides, it's also just the fucking thought. They KNEW players would probably get pissed running into this shit all the time since the very first game, but instead of offering some kind of option to turn encounters off, they just throw an item you have to buy at the player and say, "Deal with it." Fuck off, mate. This is shit design.

2. TMs Can be Used Only Once

WHY? And while we're talking about this, why can't I remove HM-taught moves?

Spoiler: But the worst thing of all...

1. Items and Pokemon Not Available Without Trading/Going to Rando IRL Events

But, Arnox, it's so fun! It encourages social interections and-

NO.

What this is is a cynical cash-grab by Nintendo to sell more games, link cables, and Gameboy systems. All the data for the missing pokemon and items are ON THE FUCKING CART. There is no excuse. And so help you if you're playing a Pokemon game that your friends aren't playing for whatever reason. Welp, too bad! I guess you'll just have to hack the game then! :) Oh, whoopsie! Don't have a flash cart... ? Dannnngggg... Guess you'll have to pay for our packagesss...

 

[Houseman]

> And don't tell me Repel exists. That's 500 bucks a pop, and I got better things to spend my damn money on

I have never had a problem with money in any pokemon game.

 

[Gauche]

I play through Blue every few years
NPCs give you a heads up about poison forest and to buy antidotes. First shop of the game has them in stock, unless you blew all your money on child fantasy balls, you've got the cash to spend.
Random encounters were a staple RPG thing. I can see it both ways but they clearly want you to engage with the areas and their pokemon. Imagine going through victory road without them, takes a bit away from the experience.
Red/Blue had limited inventory. If TMs didn't get removed after use you'd be tossing the items to make space. Pretty sure that is how the mechanic stuck around.
Not being able to remove HMs is pretty devastating to a kid who taught their bulb to cut others
Red/Blue have an exploit to catch all 151 pokemon

 

[Arnox]

NPCs give you a heads up about poison forest and to buy antidotes. First shop of the game has them in stock, unless you blew all your money on child fantasy balls, you've got the cash to spend.

Doesn't matter. Still hella annoying.

Imagine going through victory road without them

Ahhhh... Bliss.

Red/Blue had limited inventory.

That's not really a factor though as it doesn't stop someone from never using any of the TMs and just having them sit there.

Red/Blue have an exploit to catch all 151 pokemon

Why don't you play Pokemon Yellow? You can get all starters in that game at least, and it's pretty much just Red/Blue with a different coat of paint.

 

[Gauche]

That's not really a factor though as it doesn't stop someone from never using any of the TMs and just having them sit there.

? - You can't pick up items if your inventory is full. I've gotten to the ship before and had to toss out shit for the ticket. Whats worse is that after it has left port you can't toss out the ticket. Permanent -1 inventory space.

Why don't you play Pokemon Yellow? You can get all starters in that game at least, and it's pretty much just Red/Blue with a different coat of paint.

 

[Arnox]

? - You can't pick up items if your inventory is full. I've gotten to the ship before and had to toss out shit for the ticket. Whats worse is that after it has left port you can't toss out the ticket. Permanent -1 inventory space.

Meh. Who cares what the computer rodent thinks. Shove him in the box if you don't like him, I say. I could even see Red, being the stone-cold badass that he is, doing this shit. lol

 

[Drathnoxis]

I mostly agree, except random encounters should be #1.

6. Grass Type Takes Half Damage from Lightning Type

wat? That's all I have to say. Just fucking wat?

I think the reasoning is that because plants are 'grounded' by their roots, electricity does less damage. Same principle behind ground types taking no damage, really.

Makes more sense than bug taking half damage from fighting.

2. TMs Can be Used Only Once

WHY? And while we're talking about this, why can't I remove HM-taught moves?

If you could forget HM moves you could easily get yourself stuck somewhere, and since you can save anywhere that could be a permanently soft-locked file.

 

[Arnox]

I mostly agree, except random encounters should be #1.I think the reasoning is that because plants are 'grounded' by their roots, electricity does less damage. Same principle behind ground types taking no damage, really.

Makes more sense than bug taking half damage from fighting.
If you could forget HM moves you could easily get yourself stuck somewhere, and since you can save anywhere that could be a permanently soft-locked file.

No, no, no. Ground makes sense. Try asking a tree though how having grounded roots helped it survive lightning strikes. I mean, I'm touching ground right now. Does that mean I now take half damage from lightning bolts?

 

[Battousai]

No, no, no. Ground makes sense. Try asking a tree though how having grounded roots helped it survive lightning strikes. I mean, I'm touching ground right now. Does that mean I now take half damage from lightning bolts?

The human body is a very good conductor since its 70% water, as long as you are wearing rubber soles on your shoes then you sort of take less damage if you are hit by lightning since it won't be able to effectively use you as a conductor to dissipate itself into the ground. However if you are actually touching the ground with your bare feet you become a lightning rod and your body is the conduit through which the electricity passes all the way to the ground and disperses. In that case the damage is just SUPER EFFECTIVE! CRITICAL HIT!

 

[Drathnoxis]

No, no, no. Ground makes sense. Try asking a tree though how having grounded roots helped it survive lightning strikes. I mean, I'm touching ground right now. Does that mean I now take half damage from lightning bolts?

It's still the reasoning used. We've seen it explained that way in the anime too.

You have to consider that they are balancing 15+ different types here. It's fantastic that much of it is as intuitive as it is, but you can't expect perfection.

Another oddity is that Ice does half damage to Water, when you would think it would be super effective.

And if you really want to complain about things that don't make sense in the Pokemon franchise, please go and read the Adventure Manga first.

 

[gaijinkaiju]

1. Items and Pokemon Not Available Without Trading/Going to Rando IRL Events

This is my biggest issue with the pokemon games, especially when it's a time limited event. Its just frustrating skiming pokeDB, finding a pokemon and then realizing I can't get it because event has passed. Version exclusive pokemon (and fossil pokemon) are less annoying, albeit still annoying. I wish they'd go back to three games a generation (despite being an obvious cashgrab) with the third game having the "full" roster.

2. TMs Can be Used Only Once
WHY? And while we're talking about this, why can't I remove HM-taught moves?

can't say i've ever used TM's. Why would you want to remove HM's? Just use an HM slave like everybody else

3. Forced Random Encounters
And don't tell me Repel exists.

Repel exists.
It's also another thing I rarely use. Sure running into low level critters is annoying but clicking "run away" takes no time at all and its free. Also when you can one hit them, its not an issue.

 

[Arnox]

with the third game having the "full" roster.

Actually, even back then, the third game didn't have the full roster. I used to think they did too, but a quick look at Bulbapedia says no.

clicking "run away" takes no time at all and its free.

Yeah, except I have to click that after literally 6-7 seconds of waiting doing absolutely nothing. Every single encounter.

 

[Gauche]

This is my biggest issue with the pokemon games, especially when it's a time limited event. Its just frustrating skiming pokeDB, finding a pokemon and then realizing I can't get it because event has passed. Version exclusive pokemon (and fossil pokemon) are less annoying, albeit still annoying. I wish they'd go back to three games a generation (despite being an obvious cashgrab) with the third game having the "full" roster.

As Arnox said, the third version didn't have them all. Emerald had the Battle Frontier though and the content there took 100+ hours to clear, RNG didn't help. Was basically an expansion dedicated to lvl 100 parties. Battle Factory alone was worth the asking price. Spent an excessive amount of time there.

Aren't pokemon just hex values? Their all on the game cart, can't you just edit them into existence via tools?
Shit like this led to 999 atk Rattata - Victini event-tism thread
Getting Jirachi kinda sucked

 

[Drathnoxis]

can't say i've ever used TM's. Why would you want to remove HM's? Just use an HM slave like everybody else

They definitely aren't necessary during normal play due to Pokemon's extremely low difficulty. The only time I ever used TMs was when I was building a team capable of beating Pokemon Stadium 2 for the purposes of unlocking Dodrio mode when I was working on catching all 251 pokemon.

Yeah, except I have to click that after literally 6-7 seconds of waiting doing absolutely nothing. Every single encounter.

I just timed it in Pokemon Yellow, and it's actually more like 11-12 seconds if you are doing it as quickly as possible.

 

[Arnox]

Aren't pokemon just hex values? Their all on the game cart, can't you just edit them into existence via tools?
Shit like this led to 999 atk Rattata - Victini event-tism thread
Getting Jirachi kinda sucked

Yeah but it's a bit of a pain to have to do that. And if you have a real cart, you can't do it at all.

 

[Battousai]

I am truly amazed about the in depth discussion on the pros and cons of a beginner level RPG that this thread has spawned.

 

[Arnox]

I am truly amazed about the in depth discussion on the pros and cons of a beginner level RPG that this thread has spawned.

Actually, you'd be surprised how complex Pokemon can get. Especially at the tourney level.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I am truly amazed about the in depth discussion on the pros and cons of a beginner level RPG that this thread has spawned.

In depth? You clearly haven't seen much discussion on Pokemon if you think this is in depth. I could link you to 10 000 word articles written on the subject.

 

[Battousai]

Actually, you'd be surprised how complex Pokemon can get. Especially at the tourney level.

Doesn't change the fact it is a beginner level RPG, it's meant for children. The complexity comes from people going mad at min/maxing Pokemon at the competitive level of course.

 

[Gauche]

Yeah but it's a bit of a pain to have to do that. And if you have a real cart, you can't do it at all.

Legit the first result for gba extract save data

 

[Arnox]

Legit the first result for gba extract save data

Huh. Still requires a DS though.

 

[Gauche]

Huh. Still requires a DS though.

We've got the technology

https://shop.insidegadgets.com/product/gbxcart-rw/

 

[Cyberfriend]

2. TMs Can be Used Only Once

WHY? And while we're talking about this, why can't I remove HM-taught moves?

I think in the modern games, tms can be used every time that you want to.

3. Forced Random Encounters

Oh boy, I love running into a Zubat for the LITERAL FIFTIETH TIME. And don't tell me Repel exists. That's 500 bucks a pop, and I got better things to spend my damn money on. And besides, it's also just the fucking thought. They KNEW players would probably get pissed running into this shit all the time since the very first game, but instead of offering some kind of option to turn encounters off, they just throw an item you have to buy at the player and say, "Deal with it." Fuck off, mate. This is shit design.

Its basically, every rpg game in existence. In every pokemon game you have the option to use repel.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I think in the modern games, tms can be used every time that you want to.


Its basically, every rpg game in existence. In every pokemon game you have the option to use repel.

Except the good ones. Eg. Mario RPGs, Earthbound, Persona, etc.

 

[WaluigiFan03]

As a game designer, developer and programner myself, whom has played a wide variety of monster collector JRPGs, there are quite a few things I am certain of.

One of those is that alot of these annoyances go back to Pokemon just having alot of poor game design to its battle system or vagueness to its lore consistency.

With Grass resisting Electric, there is a pseudoscience to that. Wood (from plants like trees) is an insulator. I.e. it does not conduct electricity too well.

With Poison Sting, other monster collectors have much more reliable methods to guarantee and boost burn or poison damage. However, those games are also designed so you have more ways to clear themwith Healer support. Pokemon does not really have that kind of freedom. Abilities like Natural Cure and moves like Heal Bell have pretty awkward distribution and require bigger commitments to use on anything that isn't Chansey, Blissey or Clefable. Heck, part of why Clefable is good in Singles meta is cuz Magic Guard negates any indirect damage including Poison. You also have the infamous Gliscor and its Poison Heal Ability.

The bit about random crits making things "interesting" is also a total crock.
Other monster collectors make ways to use and abuse and have counterplay to crits far more open to the player.
For example, in Yo-Kai Watch 3, there is a Yo-Kai called Righteous Zazel. His Skill makes it so he gets a guaranteed priority crit attack action after switching in. Also there are hold items like Soul Gems that can boost crit damage by an extra 50% percent and the damage formula ignores Defense calculation and Dedense buffs on crit.
Under Pokemon's system, such a thing would be incredibly broken but alot of factors in Yo-Kai Watch 3's system holds it back.
For one, the Skill only works once per battle. You cannot spam it. Second, in official competitive YKW3, teams are limited to a max of 2 S Ranks snd 2 A Ranks per team. Righteous Zazel is an S Rank, so you would only be able to dmhave 2 on a team at max. Thirdly, there is a LOT of counterplay against crit damage in YKW3. Low Ranks like Mochismo and Minochi are pretty bulky and get a DEF and STR buff whenever they are hit by a crit or Rockabelly and Peckpocket being immune to crit multipliers.
Pokemon, on the other hand, does not have much freedom or reliable counterplay to crits. Shell Armor is an Ability that negates crit multipliers but the Pokemon that get it usually prefer to run something else. Cloyster may have massive Defense and Shell Armor, but it is on the more viable side in most places cuz of Skill Link and Shell Smash. Mega Slowbro may get Shell Armor as its only Ability option but Mega Slowbro does not exist as an option at all, currently. Probably the only good thing Game Freak has done with crits is no longer making their rares calced based on Speed stats in RBY so moves like Razor Leaf and Slash could guarantee crit damage with no drawbacks.

Random encounters are just outdated in their traditional design. Plenty of other games have innovated or improved in ways that make them far less of a hassle. For example, the indie game Disc Creatures makes it so you can see a mysterious shadow where the monster is and you can walk around it. If it catches you or you walk into it, THEN the monsters you see are randomized. It also helps that that game has a bit more variety so constantly seeing one monster species is less an issue and the game is designed so you WANT to encounter more of a species when you can anyway.

TMs are also just bad in hindsight. Disc Creatures gives every monster its own pool of moves you always have access to and can switch between before battles whenever you want as long as they are at a high enough level or you unlocked that move.

IRL code events are also handled way better by Yo-Kai Watch games. In the 3DS YKW games, Level-5 made good use of the 3DS' camera functions and QR code reader so you could gets tons of ingame content, special monsters, items, areas, quests, etc. Ironic, since Pokemon bothered to go heavier on QR code functions in Sun and Moon after Yo-Kai Watch 2 outsold Pokemon ORAS in Japan, but you never got much from the feature.