Pokémon: Gotta Catch 'Em All!

r/pokemon4.5M subscribers195 active
[Weekly Questions Thread] 27 May 2024Questions thread - Active

Have any questions about Pokémon that you'd like answered?

If they're about the value of a piece of merchandise you own or found, please ask them in the Monthly Value Questions thread!

Otherwise, continue on!


Other Weekly/Monthly Threads
  • Merch Megathread - Want to show off a photo of your collection or a piece of Pokémon merchandise you recently bought? Head over to the Merchandise Monday thread, posted each Monday but open seven days a week!
  • Value Questions Thread - Have questions about a piece of merchandise you own or found? Or perhaps you're knowledgeable about Pokémon product values and wouldn't mind helping some people out? Check out the Value Questions Thread!
  • Code Giveaway Megathread - Have some extra codes lying around and looking to share the wealth? Try posting them on the Code Giveaway Megathread!
  • Battle Request Thread - Looking for trainers to battle? Try the Battle Request thread!
  • Hype Thread! - Catch a new shiny? Finish your Living Dex? Head on over to the Hype Thread to share your joy! We even award special flairs for certain achievements!
  • RAGE THREAD! - Game mechanic changes got you down? Did your plans to catch a shiny blow up in your face? Head over to the RAGE THREAD to vent a bit! CAPS LOCK ENCOURAGED!

If you're asking or answering questions about the new games or recent anime episodes which contain spoilers, please be sure to include spoiler tags around them using the format:

>!Spoiler goes here.!<

Text wrapped in >! and !< is hidden until the reader clicks or taps it. For example, the line above would become the following:

Unsure what is considered a spoiler? Please refer to Rule 13 and our Spoilers Guide!

Otherwise, if you have non-value questions about the anime, the games, the manga, or anything else Pokémon related, feel free to ask here -- no matter how silly your questions might seem!

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Serebii

Bulbapedia

Smogon

Also remember to check the /r/pokemon FAQ and our related subreddits list.


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Pinnedby PokeUpdateBotModeratorScience is amazing!
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What did you assume was true about Pokemon before realizing you were completely wrong?Discussion

Inspired by a recent post where someone assumed “it appeared to be caught!” meant the Pokemon belonged to another trainer and ended up just battling the mon after.

For me, it was that Pokerus meant my Pokemon had a fatal illness and I needed to release them in order for it not to spread.

Do you think all fossil pokemon are rock type because of the fossilization process or because all pokemon used to be rock types when they were alive?Discussion

I can honestly see both sides of this, in evolution organisms tend to be more similar the further back in time you go so them all being the same type makes sense

However it is awfully convenient that literally every single fossil pokemon we've gotten happens to be a rock type but that does make me wonder what fossil pokemon were like before they fossilized

Quick question: which pokemon deserved an evolution that didn't/had an evolution but didn't get the design they deservedDiscussion

Alright I need all trainers, artist, researchers, whatever to get in on this one. I've been looking at pokemon for years, I barely understand the card game and have only been able to play a few of the video games but pokemon designs have always been an intrest of mine. There are a few that I really dislike (cough cough Eiscue cough cough) while others I adore and can see nothing wrong with them.

I wanna know who else anyone has some design beef with. Any favorites that deserve another evolution or a redesign?

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Need to know what game is good for a starter to PokemonDiscussion

Wondering what Pokemon game is easiest to understand and traverse for a beginner? I have a friend who I want to get them into Pokemon, I don't want them to get upset over anything super difficult so I wanna find the right game for them.

Any and all suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated

by HiroZebracustomise me! :647:
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Milotic is officially considered the most beautiful Pokemon but I disagreeDiscussion

I personally think Dragonair is the most beautiful Pokemon. I love how simple yet elegant its design is. While I do consider Milotic pretty, it's just a little too showy with too much going on to really be considered the most beautiful Pokemon in the world. What is a Pokemon that you consider to be more beautiful than Milotic?

Which game on Switch for my daughter?Discussion

My daughter is in to Pokémon. She is 6 and plays the battle academy version of the game and has a few extra decks.

She has mentioned wanting a Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch, but I have no idea which version is closest to the card game... Pokémon was a little after my time so I'm a little lost 😊🙏 Any advice?

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What Pokemon looked better in Colosseum/XD/Battle Revolution than modern games?Discussion

Here are some that I came up with. Sound off in the comments with which ones you all think looked better in the GameCube and Wii Pokemon games!

Meditite: in Colosseum, XD, and Battle Revolution, Meditite is cross legged and is in a meditation pose. Now it stands on its feet. ITS NAME IS MEDITITE! It should be meditating!!!

Hitmontop: I know some people like it swaying back and forth and I know its based on a fighting/dance move I forget the name of. But Hitmontop's design just doesn't look good on its feet.

Most flying types: They have fixed this a bit and put some of them back on their feet. But Lugia, Moltres, Swellow, Articuno, Flygon, Salamence, and others look better on their feet. Zapdos, Pidgeotto, Pidgeot, and some others do look better in the air though.

Using repel to faster encounter the wanted pokemon.Discussion

I wanted to find an Electabuzz at the power plant in Firered, but with an ecounter rate of 5% it was a bit tedious to find.

Given that it could be encountered at levels between 30 and 35, that gave me an idea. So I used repel and put a lvl 30 Snorlax first in my party.

After that I noticed I encountered less pokemon in general, but when I encountered on it was an above lvl 30 magneton. It took only around 6 Repel and 5 encounters before I met an Electabuzz.

I think it saved me time, because of the big reduction of encounters which I had to run from.

Hope this can help someone else too.

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What occupations would make a good dragon type gym leader please helpDiscussion

Reddit community, seeking your insight! What profession would suit a dragon-type gym leader? Let's brainstorm together and create an iconic trainer. Your ideas will shape a formidable opponent. Excited to see the diverse concepts you'll contribute! Let's make this gym leader legendary! I want to make a dragon type gym leader, and a gym leader for every type based on me but I have no idea where to start with dragon type.

I’ve been playing Pokémon wrong my whole lifeDiscussion

I have been playing pokémon ever since I was 6 starting with Yellow. I have owned a game for every generation. I have played many online MMORPGs, played many trivia (I was #1 in Pokemon Trivia in my state at one time). It wasn’t until I was about 20 I realized I had been playing wrong.

Whenever you’re catching a pokémon and it breaks out, one of the possible messages is, “It appeared to be caught!” I had always interpreted the message as the Pokemon appears to of already been caught by another trainer [therefore I cannot catch it]. I have killed and ran away from so many wild and legendary pokemon because of this. I learned after having a random pokemon conversation with a friend.

I had to get this off of my chest for closure and hope you enjoy the laugh.

Regular Sun and Moon Vs the Ultra games, which is a better playthrough?Discussion

Never played Gen 7 and I am trying to get every ribbon on a pokemon and made it up to Gen 7. Which is a more pleasant play through? I’m leaning towards the ultra games for if I end up wanting to do the rainbow rocket or ultra worm hole stuff. But if the base games are more enjoyable to get through it will start with those. I know Gen 7 is infamous for its hand holding and cutscenes, so is one better than the other?

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Ideas for eeveelutions that we don’t haveDiscussion

Arachneon - Bug?

Bactereon - poison?

Champeon - fighting?

Cloudeon - Flying?

Specteon - Ghost?

Gravleon- Ground?

Mounteon - rock?

Draceon - dragon?

Alumineon - Steel?

I want pokemon to actually do this because it’s just 8 evolutions and we all get the same ones. We haven’t had another eeveelution since gen 6 which was way over a decade now and I think that the next gen should introduce two or more unless in ZA they release some more.

What do you lot think about this?

What is the general consensus on ORAS? Discussion

Gen 3 is my favorite generation, I've beaten RSE countless times each. When ORAS came out there was a lot of hate towards it from people who played the original games, so I never got it.

What does the community think about it now years later? I love everything about the OG Hoenn region, even the Contests that everyone hates! But I'm afraid they mightve butchered my boy and took out too many features and babyproofed it like the later generations. Am I wrong?

What are some good changes it made? What are some bad ones? I want to finally try it but I don't want my fondness for the region dulled by a bad remake.

It would be interesting if some legendary Pokémon were caught by NPCsDiscussion

Imagine going to the island cave in Hoenn, only to find it’s already open, and no Regice is to be found. Fast forward to the Elite Four and Glacia, instead of a Sealeo, has the Regice.

I just think there’s some unexplored potential to make the Pokémon world feel more lived in and dynamic, like you the player got there too late.

by DatBoi_BPSandstorm squad :473::448::348::330::376::248:
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What are some shinies you would want changed?Discussion

Hi, currently I am making a project where I change most of the shinies that are widely considered bland, boring or confusing to have more meaning or consistency. Are there any Pokémon you believe are in dire need of a "fixed" or changed shiny? For example, I have changed the Gible line's shiny to match their beta sprite colours, as its original was dull.

Did Misty being the longest lasting female companion of the anime help her with any development over the other female leads?Discussion

Misty was a main character for 275 episodes, which means she was on the show for roughly double the amount of time of all the other female companions. That's nearly 300 episodes of screentime (if you count all her cameos after Johto then it does come up to almost 300).

And yet despite all that "extra time" on the show, it doesn't really feel like she got any more development or focus than most of the other female leads. With a character as long lasting as this, you'd think Misty would be the most developed character of the show, and while in some ways she is, in many ways her role on the show was lacking.

It feels like a lot of her run was just kinda wasted with her holding togepi in her arms in most eps while Ash did everything in the episode. Sure Misty got her time to shine, but it was always just 1 episode after every 30+ episodes and then in the rest of the eps she just joined Brock in the sidelines. Most of her pokemon were really underused and barely have any battles or development. I remember back when Misty was originally leaving the series after Johto, many people felt like her character was "unfinished" because of how stagnant her role was in the anime for years.

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Who wants Swablu as Hat?Misc

Would you like having a Swablu as your hat? According to its Ruby, B2 and W2, X, OR,BDSP entries, it always sits on people's head like a hat. Would you like Swablu as your hat?

Besides it's also practically a cleanliness freak by nature too. It might keep you clean as well.

Getting Previously Late-game Pokemon Earlier in Newer GamesDiscussion

Remember how Johto is infamous for having a lot of new Pokemon locked in late game?

Then Gen 3 came and we get Pokemon like Slugma and Skarmory earlier and Sinnoh gave us Murkrow/Misdreavus much earlier in Eterna Forest (despite having annoying catch rates).

Which availability changes in newer games did you really enjoy or appreciate? Or, which ones did not work quite as well because of bad catch rates, poor matchups against earlier game teams or annoyingly high evolution levels/rare methods (cough late game Unova pokemon with high evolution levels like Rufflet)

My thoughts:

  • I really enjoyed how Johto played around with Kanto Pokemon availability - Scyther/Pinsir in the bug catching contest was really cool. Early Ghost types with Gastly was unheard of and getting a Magmar in the Burnt Tower felt like an achievement.
  • Getting Slowpoke early in Azalea Town was also nice to have as an early Psychic type option but felt the high evolution level was a bit awakward for a slow Pokemon that switches the stronger offensive stat when evolving. Also good luck getting King's Rock early.

  • Hoenn introducing Slugma/Skarmory earlier was really neat, even if Slugma is bad (at least you can actually use in a playthrough instead of a post game collection Pokemon). Marill being more available was neat, since it was hilariously rare without swarms in Johto.

  • Sinnoh is infamous for bad Fire type distribution - it was interesting to get Ponyta super early but felt it was a slog to evolve as it's usability diminished as it desperately wanted to evolve at level 40. On the other hand, Platinum adding Houndour early was neat since it was Kanto only in Gen 2. Getting an earlier Gible in Platinum was also appreciated.

  • Shoutout to B2W2 for having a stationary Mandibuzz/Braviary in the desert since their prevos are too late. Early Elekid/Magby/Magnemite was also interesting.

  • Kalos has great Pokemon variety in general. Early Rhyhorn, Hippopotas, Bagon and Kangaskhan before Gym 2 was interesting.

  • I also appreciate Alola giving us the earliest Ice types, although Delibird isn't the most useful, you can also find Smoochum, which can be frail but it's something.

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Is it just me, or does generation 6 music is super melancholic?Discussion

Well, of course all generations of pokemon have sad and/or melancholic songs - as for me, some that I can recall from the first six gens:

Gen I - Lavender Town

Gen II - Lavender Town, Viridian Forest, Pokemon Flute

Gen III - Route 113, Mt. Pyre

Gen IV - Pokemon League, Canalave, Snowpoint

Gen V - Unwavering Emotions, Dragonspiral Tower, Route 10, Farewell, Opelucid City (White)

But when I go over Gen VI music, I find too many:

Professor Sycamore's Theme, Route 15, Anistar City, An Eternal Poison(also AZ theme), Snowbelle City, The Sun Shines Down

And not only they are sad, the tone feel much more depressing and melancholic as compared to the other mentioned here. Is it just me or anyone else felt gen 6 specifically music is significantly more melancholic than other gens? I'm not talking about nostalgic-melancholic but just pure sadness and depress.

Pokemon Illuminati Discussion

A female customer at the restaurant I work at just told my coworker that Pokemon is from the devil and the illuminati created Pokemon Go to track us on GPS. Little does she know her location is probably on in the iPhone she's using at her table.

Hail Garatina I guess

Plot point about Pokémon 2000 that some fans ask. Discussion

Some fans ask why Lawrence III just left Ash and the group with Moltres and Zapdos and went to chase Articuno. Why did he let them out of the cage?

Well, Lawrence was being overconfident. He didn't think the kids would actually break through the cage putting their own lives in danger with Moltres and Zapdos on the loose. To him they just looked like confused tourists.

Just a little interesting plot point.

My girlfriend is really into Pokemon. How do I go about learning about it?Discussion

Hey everyone! My girlfriend is really into Pokemon, and I want to learn about it to surprise her. I don’t own any game, although I can borrow hers, and I have little knowledge about everything. How should I go about learning about Pokemon? Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

So guys what game should i get nextDiscussion

So i recently started playing pokemon legends arceus, because i bought a switch and i love it. Now im already thinking on what pokemon game to buy next. Ive looked into lets go eevee/pikachu but i dont like that. So the question is which of the 2 should i get: sword/shield or scarlet violet? Let me know

Old "Haunted Pokemon Game" series on YouTube?Discussion

Hey guys, I don't really know how reddit works so sorry if this is in the wrong spot or whatever.

I just had a flashback of watching a bunch of old videos as a teen on YouTube back in the day (probably 12 years ago or more) from a creator that said they had a haunted game of pokemon. It was shot POV/found footage style, the creator insisted that the game was trying to kill him. Does any of this ring a bell?

It scared the pants off me at the time, even if it sounds like it doesn't make sense now haha.

I tried googling it and searching on youtube but couldnt seem to find it.

A strange wave of unsourced nostalgia got me to het some pokemon games and a switch. What to expect? Discussion

Ive never played a pokemon game before, except maybe like, an hour visiting someone elses house before. But for some reason i went into a bit of a rabit hole watching videos online and such, and it made me really want to play pokemon, but like, specifically the older stuff with the 2.5 d style world and 8 bit like graphics, so i ended up getting a switch, and pokemon sword and shield, and pokemon like, pearl diamond or whatever that one was. (I especially got the pearl and diamond because it has torterra my favourite pokemon from a pokemon book i got as a kid and my short time with a small collection)

They should be getting here soon enough and im excited to play, what kind of stuff should i expect and what not?