IMO, Competitive Play has Ruined Pokémon and other modern Pokémon grieving

 

Yes, you read the title right.

Feel free to argue.

I started to care a bit less about Pokemon since the outrage of Ash losing the Kalos League back when XY131 first aired in Japan. This caused to me not buy Pokemon Sun or Moon or even the Ultra versions. Honestly, it's a shame because the Ultra Games actually look appealing as better versions of Sun and Moon. But to be fair I don't have the money to spare to buy it, and I got better things to do than play games.

After Sword and Shield's annoucement that not all Pokemon will be included in the game even within transfers (Personally, I don't mind it. With a monster roster getting bigger and bigger, it's eventual that they'll have to not include all the Pokemon anymore. I mean Digimon never included all Digimon in a single game before because there's no many to choose from). I heard from one of the reasons they are cutting the Pokemon Roster is for competitive. It doesn't stop power creep from seeping through time to time however with them bringing back the scrouges of competitive play.

This changed after the Pokemon Champions announcement. It's a competitive gaming simluator that as Wolfie said "Competitive Pokemon is about to change."

And now since when I started to believe: Competitive Play has ruined Pokemon. More specifically, VGC ruined it.

You can argue it has been a thing from the start with the Pokemon Stadium series. However, I don't even feel that way. I only played Stadium 2 on a N64 emulator and it feels like more of a hard mode for your casual Pokemon Playthroughs that avoids any of the boring old meta human players force you to go through while battling like massive stalling involving Gen 2 OU King Snorlax and RestTalk. It's getting really jarring and making ME want to snooze myself. There's also no safety measures like banning Sleep Moves, evasion and Baton Pass. It's free reign to

I shook it off and moved away from after the Gen 8 Dexit fisaco but Gen 9's meta... this is a mess.

Just look at this Ubers List. You got the usual Box Legendaries, minor legendaries, mythicals and paradoxes. Understandable. They are meant to be oh-so-special powerful beings in universe and yet the olders ones got left behind. Poor Articuno. (It was my first shiny Legendary I hunted.)

And then you see ordinary Pokemon like... Sneasaler, Palafin, Archauldon, Baxcalibur, Espathra...

Understood the factors and movesets on what made said mons broken but while participating in the Bogleech reviews on Pokemon where he reviews the Pokemon designs (sometimes something else if he had a comment to remark about) This is where it beamed me. Some of the Gen 9 Pokemon seemed to be designed with competitive in mind rather than design. That's why Baxcalibur had a pretty plain looking design. And yet thanks to team synergy and raw power, it was banned to Ubers. I could go on with the rest, but that would pile up a lot of examples.

Champions is different. People say it is the Showdown killer but when it was released, it's more of a VGC simulator which lacked most of the Pokemon and items upon launch and more jarringly, the move compabilities that were dropped. Like Incineroar's Knock Off and U-Turn. Gone.

Champions is also the only time I got hope for the Z-A Mega Abilities to be amazing. Some of them can stay mid like LightningRod Sceptile. Alas it turns out some of these abilities are actually a let down at best!

Drampa keeping Berserk? Chandelure Keeping Infiltrator? Crabomiable keeping Iron Fist? Dragonite Keeping Multiscale? Really? I was hoping for pretty exotic useful abilites for at least some of the megas. Not underwhelming abilities for half of the megas. I'm aware it's nothing new that abilities never connect to the lore of their Pokedex entries. Swift Swim Swampert and Tyranitar Keeping Sand Stream came to mind. There's a lot more. I wouldn't dig in more examples.

Mega Skarmory getting STALWART, A doubles exclusive ability broke my heart the most. A lot of people want to get Tough Claws or something.

I would see it getting an Electric immune ability like LightningRod or Volt Absorb as gold is an effective conductor. That would be better than nothing right?

It feels like these abilities are just Gamefreak/Pokemon Works forcing us to use a Mega Slot for certain playstyles. A great example is Mega Hawlucha using Entrainment on a Mon with a OHKO moves so that said OHKO moves will never miss.

It now dawned on me. Competitive Pokemon and VGC is getting highly popular and most of the new megas feel balanced just for VGC and not anything else whatsoever.

I'm not a player of competitive Pokemon. I don't touch Showdown bar a few peeks. I only peeked at the Other Metagames and Pet Mod forums when I have lunch. I don't plan to play competitive Pokemon ever. Even the battle facilities are just challenges. I don't play them anymore. It's because competitive Pokemon is what truly made Pokemon not the way I use to feel it.

Yeah. That's my reason. All if most of the latest Pokemon seems to be balanced around competitive play and the Megas are mostly center around VGC/doubles. That explains the questionable ability choices and the ton of signature abilities and moves almost every mon has since Gen 7.

I worry about the rest of the Mega Abilities not. Whether it'll be balanced just for VGC or end up being viable in Single regardless.

My predictions for the worrisome rest:

Staraptor: Moxie

Scolipede: Battle Armor

Scrafty: Renamed Multiscale or Filter

Eelektross: Levitate

Pyroar: New Ability that Flame Body + Fur Coat

Barbaracle: Tough Claws

Dragagle: Regenerator

Malamar: Super Powered Contrary or Wonder/Magic Room Auto Setting Ability

Zygarde: Renamed Neuroforce

Falinks: New Ability that self-traps and raises defenses by 25% to help stack No Retreats.

Raichu X: Reckless

Raichu Y: Electric Surge

Absol Z: Sharpness

Lucario Z: Mega Launcher

Darkrai: New Ability combining No Guard and Bad Dreams

Golisopod: New ability that raises all stats by one when HP drops below 50%. Only once per battle.

Heatran: Flash Fire

Tastugiri: Let's face it. It's getting a buffed Commander that buff Dodonzo's stats by +3

Zeraora: Tough Claws

Baxcalibur: Thermal Exchange

Magearna: I guess a system seperate from Soul Heart.

Now for one more rant. Mega Garchomp Z (and Z Megas) and Flygon not getting a Mega Meme.

Totally Funny traced over Meme. NOT.

   If this mockery meme keeps up, it will be buried to the ground and tiring.

There are many Pokemon that want Megas BESIDES FLYGON.

Yes I know. Cool Design and 3 stage mon. Yes, I know it still wants its Mega just like Kalos wants its Southern region. However, there many mons that still wishes for Megas that are older or introduced as a same generation as Flygon. I'm talking about the most requested Luxray. (Thanks Zeraora... you thunderstealer) Not just Luxray. What about the 3 stagers older than it? I'm talking mons like Butterfree (Gigantamax isn't a Mega), the Nidos, Beautifly and Dustox (Have to get Mega Beedrill Styled Mega of sheer optimization) and the doomed Stone Evolutions: Sunflora and Delcatty

Poor Sunflora and Delcatty. Thanks to them being stone evolution which never evolve further. It's now Mega or bust. Which sucked for Mega Evolution not being a recurring thing beyond generations.

Z Mega Evolutions shouldn't have existed in the first place. With the initial Z-A megas, I thought they learn their lesson a bit. No second mega for mons already having Megas. Just a fresh new set. And then Mega Dimension happened and the Z Megas, just proof that Mega Evolution is still just a form of favoritism and biases.

I don't call anything a wasted slot, but Mega Garchomp Z is a wasted slot regardless what positives I try to think of. Regular Mega Garchomp looks pretty badass and streamlined grim reaper design. Nothing like a land shark in sand playing the Jaws in the Background before slicing you apart with these blood tipped arm scythes. Mega Chomp Z is a mess. It's just what happens if you ask an amateur designer to design an alternate Mega Garchomp Design. The result is you get Regular Garchomp with random doodads slapped all over its body and make it float like its super saiyan and done. I know it's supposed to reference it aerial capabilities which are never seen in game. But this is not it. This Mega Garchomp Z is a mess. Oh and let's make it event exclusive and just make it pure Dragon. Because Why not. I'm glad mythicals are starting to available within regular events. Let's get the rest available within normal gameplay!

At this point, I don't Flygon to get a Mega Evolution anymore. I would prefer Haxorus over Flygon now. And Mega Haxorus would be better fitting if they wanted a pure Dragon Mega!

The most awkward smile ever.

Flygon is now punted to my least favorite Dragon type now. And unless I get over this mess. It probably won't change anytime soon. I even prefer Druddigon over Flygon.

Sigh. Well, now that's out now... I'm just gonna switch to Digimon and try to get engaged with it.