Ironbound

Ha! What a way to start a morning! I usually prefer mechanical, robotic, non-bionic or alien Pokemon, as I draw a parallel with the projection of rationality, intelligent sentience and the absence of emotional impulses as a motivator of pure thought. I'm also not a very emotive person myself; truth be told, I generally use my understanding of the situation to analyse and simulate the appropriate emotional response, but I myself am very rarely excited by other people and their issues. (In other words, I don't really care a damn.) So I like Pokemon like Magnezone, Starmie, Porygon-Z, Metagross, Genesect, Deoxys, Rotom and so on. It's worth noting that most of favourite Pokemon are Steel or Psychic types, and are unconventional forma of life. I consequently like the abilities Analytic, Download and Technician, since again I identify with those attributes. If you're asking for EVs and IVs, I would not be overstating when I say that I'm a habitual perfectionist who is willing to go to extraordinary means to achieve his targets. I usually do breed and raise Pokémon for perfect, competitive IVs and EVs, such as my prized 30/12/31/30/31/30 Modest Magnezone, which I bred myself in Reborn to have the highest HP Fire IVs possible. (Genderless HP Fire breeding be damned with only one Ditto, but I went ahead anyway.) And so I would therefore expect nothing less than the absolute best in whichever Pokemon I identify as. Excellence is a habit, not a one-time achievement; I therefore aim for the best on whatever my endeavours are.

TIL that Bellossom actually has higher bulk than Vileplume. Not that it makes any difference, since Vileplume has a better defensive typing overall and is the less useless of the two, although both are pretty bottom-of-the-barrel-ish.

And I'm just here, hoping for nothing more than a Mega Magnezone... Although since GF established that there are two alternate realities, one of RSE where there are no megas, and one of ORAS with AZ and megas... Do you think there's a chance that Sun and Moon will not have Mega Pokémon?

The likely Mega Charizard X though...and Kingdra too, possibly. And permanently Multiscale Dragonite.

Tanlogflamr, in honour of Aika.

I'm glad we reached an amicable settlement. To be honest, I'm a dastardly person who views only the competitive worth in Pokemon as a rule, so I tend to favour Vileplume since it is more useful (or to be harsh yet honest, less useless, as both it and Bellossom are really at the bottom of the barrel), but yes, even though both final forms forsake one part of its pre-evolved state, they are both ultimately in natural accord with themselves and their environs. And to be frank, I was tempted to make the Exca-hill pun, but Excadrill is too powerful to be used in that particular expression. I decided to settle for the most pathetic and insignificant mole of the lot.

I know about the rafflesia plants. They're themselves a parasite though, I was given to understand by your earlier statement that they are being victimised as a host, but are themselves a parasitic flower with no leaves or roots. So Vileplume is no sufferer, but actually causing suffering, as you say, to other things. Be that as it may, it is merely doing its natural role, and bybits cheerful expression seems to be as happy with its existence as Bellossom.I agree that I was surprised to know that Bellossom has better defenses than Vileplume statistically (not having ever looked at that thing's stats) but it certainly is less used than Vileplume However I don't wish to make a mountain out of a Diglethill, so I will drop this discussion. It is after all your opinion, and woe betide me if I ever try to dish dirt on someone's prized Pokemon.

I wonder what kind of Pseudo Legendary mons we will have! STEEL ONES! Give another Steel/Dragon!

Is that actually a thing? Vileplume and Oddish look so happy though! (Ofc not gloom, but that's obvious) And Bellossom is weaker and less competitively useful than Vileplume. Biologically, Vileplume is a plant that defends itself from being eaten by having poison in its leaves and system. It's a biological strength, not an infection, I'm pretty sure. Bellossom is weaker because it uncharacteristically lost its natural defenses. It'll just be a tasty snack for a Zebstrika.

Precisely. However, it is still better than not existing, if only to be a morale-booster for those who want to believe that at least one person who happens to see this might learn some tiny thing from it. Like I said, better if a nice thing exists and is ignored, than if it didn't exist at all, if no resources are expended on its maintenance or existence. Cost vs anticipated benefit, really: zero cost to exist for even zero benefit is still viable enough to validate its existence.

I have returned. Here is my suggestion: MEGA MAGNEZONE (see earlier) Right, now here is my other suggestion: MEGA HYDREIGON Oh yes. Huehuehue. We need more pseudo-legend megas anyway. Type: Dragon/Dark (unchanged) Ability: Levitate (Unchanged) HP: 92 Atk: 145 (+40) Def: 100 (+10) SpAtk: 155 (+30) Spdef: 100 (+10) Speed: 108 (+10) The Dark Lord returneth to ravage the field of OU. Hydreigon is a very solid Mon, previously an OU menace due to his respectable 92/90/90 bulk, excellent 105/125 offenses and, most importantly, his unholy massive movepool. Dark Pulse, Crunch, Draco Meteor, Outrage, Earthquake, Fire Blast, Superpower, Head Smash, Tri Attack, U-turn, Flash Cannon, healing in Roost... You name it, Hydreigon had it. That alone made it one of the few Pokemon in OU who could boast to have zero true switch-ins. His only real flaw was a slightly lower-than-standard base 98 speed. But then everything changed when the sissy Fairies attacked. Becoming x4 weak to them, and missing the speed jump, made him plummet to UU. This Mega intends to bring Hydreigon back to OU as the terror he was. Like Scizor's, this Mega Evolution is an updation of an existing model: no changes in kind, only in degree. To that extent, Hydreigon's Speed has been boosted by a small but hugely significant amount to 108. This allows it to outspeed all those base 100s that it couldn't previously, while speed tying with Keldeo and Terrakion. However, it is still outsped by the Lati twins, Mega Metagross and other base 110s, and it doesn't get any moves to boost its speed, so it is not going to rip everything to shreds like Mega Salamence. But it will still be ripping lots of things to shreds with its improved attack and special attack and its aforementioned awesome coverage, along with an actually useful move in Work Up that boosts both offenses by one stage. 145 attack and 155 SpAtk place it statistically on par with other megas, specially other Pseudo-legend megas. It will be a monstrous wallbreaker rather like Mega Gardevoir, but unlike her, this guy isn't a one-trick pony. He can act as an able scout and pivot with U-turn, and can also take hits better with his good, improved bulk. Scary as he is, he is not unbeatable. He still is probe to being outsped by many naturally faster Pokemon, Priority users like Talonflame and Mega Scizor or Scarfers like Landotus-T and Garchomp. His typing also still leaves him very weak to Fairy types, especially fat ones like Clefable and Mega Altaria that can tank a hit and KO back. Hydreigon also suffers from 4MSS, in that he will always be checked by various mons depending on his moves. If he forgoes Fire Blast, Scizor ends him. Lose EQ or Superpower and Heatran and Ferrothorn have an easier time. No Poison Jab or Flash Cannon means Fairies have no major problem. Give up on a STAB move, U-turn or Roost and he will be underpowered or worn down easily. Running Work Up will limit his coverage still further.

Hehehehe. This one made me chuckle. Anyways, I think Mega Latias and Mega Latios ought to have some different abilities to set them apart, from each other and from their base forms. In fact, they're actually weaker than their base forms when equipped with a Soul Dew or even a Life Orb. Mega Latias: Multiscale. Mega Latios: Adaptability. It's broken, yes. Ubers, sure. THAT'S WHERE THEY SHOULD BE. It makes good sense too. Mega Latias gains Multiscale, which halves the impact of the initial hit. This works well with her tanky role, and can also be justified aesthetically due to how Latias's scales help it turn invisible and whatnot. They're magic scales,okay? Latios getting Adaptability is equally good due to his offensive powerhouse role. Him being clever and...well...adaptatable also fits with him being a very Intelligent Psychic type.

I know that it's based off the whole Clefable-Gengar Nexus, but for once I'd like to see Clefable and Gengar have totally different Mega evolutions. Since a Mega is a human-induced reaction, and not a natural thing, it is safe to assume that Clefable's actual hidden potential is something very different than Gengar's. I might draw this sometime in the future. Thanks for the idea, even if it was inadvertent.

As for Hugh's Purrloin/Liepard, it may simply be because the Shadow Triad member has basically owned it for years. Loyalty is a thing. Unless released and expelled, it will continue to obey its owner, even if said owner stole it in the first place. It's more likely than mind control, because disobedience and voluntary escape/breakage of the Pokeball exist and have been shown. And as for the slowpoketails in Gen2 and their remakes, the townsfolk's reaction is justifiable. Even if slowpoke tails regenerate painlessly over time, and even if it is a natural process for slowpokes to lose their tails as a part of their fishing, those specific Slowpokes in that well may be held sacred or otherwise respected by the locals. Cows are edible, but one does feel outraged if a bunch of random Criminals come into one's village and kill their sacred cattle. This is a similar reaction: Those slowpokes are revered as rain-bringers, and the slowpoke well is respected. Team rocket's actions of taking the slowpoke tails is condemned because they are defiling a respected place, not because of the general act itself.

Well, technically Archie and Maxie did not want world domination. They wanted more habitats for Pokemon of the sea, and more placed for people to live on. So they're an environmentalist and a philanthropist gone a little crazy in their passion to do what they think is right for pokekind/humankind. They aren't even really villains, just good hearted idiots who realise the error of their miscalculation when the titans they awaken go bonkers, and ultimately they become your friends to help you and then try and correct their mistake. And for the record, Cyrus did not want world domination... He wanted to erase the world as it was and recreate an entire Universe, one without spirit, with himself as its God. That's way more drastic and megalomaniacal than Plasma and Rocket, who only wanted regional dominion, and is actually crazier even than Lysandre who wanted world destruction but nothing more. Gen7 would have to up the ante a lot more to get crazier still than Cyrus. While it is a good idea to have villains not do anything with the main boxart legends...what will the boxart legends do then?

Let's hope so. And yeah after the Latios and Latias one I don't think any movie really had much of a plot. That one was seriously dark though, with torture and ultimate death of a main Pokemon. As for the SM hype, IMO there should not be this much hype with nothing in it. GF didn't really do it to this extent before; why, they literally just threw out Kyurem-B and Kyurem-W at our faces back when BW2 were leaked. This time, we know nothing, not even the region, and they show us whited-out boxart? Nah, I hope it doesn't deflate into something inane.

TFW one has to master one's own anger when some pseudo-intellectual makes an uneducated, illogical, groundless and subjective sweeping statement that insults an entire line or profession, of which one is also a member. One must dismiss it as the thoughtless babble that it is, but feeling affronted is nevertheless justified.

Oh well, then there may as well be another evil team that wants to take over the world with the help of legendary Pokemon who have the power to blow things up with lazers and fire, and we must stop them as a group of inane, plotless rivals and dumb NPCs. The sad thing is that this supposition is actually likelier...

Yes. Gen6 was enjoyable for the graphics and for the megas and other gameplay changes. Definitely not for the plot or character cast.

Exactly! Gen5 actually had a much more mature set of themes: Pokemon rights, parental abuse, different goals, people not being able to always achieve their original dream, so on and so forth. Let's hope gen7 gives us something similar. I'm wishing at this point, but let's suppose this: Sun and Moon, right? Let's say the evil team is called Team Zodiac? And is based on the stars, and may be doing something to deal with the future? The legends of this game may have abilities to influence the future, not time like Dialga, but rather Fate, destiny, dreams and realities. Much more mature, I suppose, that merely ubergods with powers over physical attributes, and yet not merely mascots with the whole 'truth and ideals' shtick again. So Zodiac or what-have-you is out to try and use this power to influence human fate, based on their ideals of what is necessary. The leader needn't be some megalomaniac who has a grandiose plan to take over the world, but simply a dangerously determined person who thinks what they are doing is logical and justified, and will not stop or chicken out like Archie and Maxie. Your rival, then, could be some friend who thinks that Zodiac is having the right idea, and joins them instead. The friendship is put on hold as you face off in a contest of strength of ambition, and eventually things pan out and you stop Zodiac from meddling with destiny. All theory, of course, but think of Zodiac Admins Orion, Libra, Gemini (a pair of creepy twins) and Taurus, with the leader being Zodiac Boss Ophiuchus? I'm just woolgathering, but what say?

True, we went a little of topic there. Let's bring it back to Sun and Moon. Who will our rival character(s) be and what do you think their type and motivation is? First, we've had Gary. The original douche, who even succeeded in his ambitions to become Champion, if only temporarily. Silver was another douche, but his character evolved over time to be more compassionate and mature. Brendan and May were the first opposite-gender rivals. They're both meh. Wally was great, another evolving character that grew from being meek and sickly to strong and courageous. Dawn/Lucas are again meh. Barry was hilarious, ditzy and overeager. But he had the greatest character development, going from naive and rash to someone who is more knowledgeable and serious in his ambitions and beliefs. Cheren and Bianca represented unique ideals: Bianca had to accept that she wasn't cut out for greatness down the same clichéd Pokemon master route, and became a researcher instead. Cheren was bested by the player and realized also the truth of his abilities, becoming a Gym leader eventually. N was the greatest rival so far, but since he is technically an antagonist/evil team boss and not a rival I will not type out ten paragraphs about him. Gen6 had a bunch of boring rivals. Coconut head and Snorlax were just fillers, the ditzy small girl annoyed me because there was no development whatsoever, and the opposite character, Serena/Calem, are just clones of Brendan or May with slightly more ambition but nothing that amounted to anything. So, what will Gen7 bring?

In Reborn? Well... MWAHAHAHA! BEHOLD! The first squadron of my 200-strong Magnet Army! These are all shinies! I'm proud as collectors are proud, when I view my trophy boxes of perfectly IV-ED and EV-ED mons in Reborn. In general, I view Pokémon more or less like elements in a game, so I like any good Mon that does its job well. Of course, I'm most proud of my Magnezone! In Reborn, I bred over 200 of those magnets to give myself the perfect 30/12/31/30/31/30 HP Fire Magnezone! That's a prized trophy right there, especially since genderless Hidden Power breeding is so difficult with only one Ditto. And it flat out destroyed everything that wasn't faster and had a ground move.

If you count Diamond and Pearl's originals in Japan, it's almost a decade. And yes. Think of the beauty of seeing the Distortion World again...IN GLORIOUS CEL SHADED 3D!

It's not that we must accept a point that we know is incorrect or to which we have counters. It also does not imply that we believe whatever is said to us, nor that we must not use our tools to counteract a statement. It merely means that we should be civil if not polite at the very least in our refusals or corrections. I too am now correcting your point based on my opinion and understanding, but am I doing it roughly? I should hope not. We are more than beasts because we do not settle our differences with fangs and snarls. That's all that the OP meant to say, as far as I understand it. I suppose to put simply, it's just the art of saying 'No', politely, Intelligently and above all whilst keeping an open mind.