Akui

Nuff said. Thanks. How about Pickup? Has anyone tried it?

Hi guys, long time no see. I've recently come back to Reborn (again) and started over as usual. And as usual, one of my first acquisitions was an early Pickup Pokémon. You know, discarded Ice cream much? While team building, however, I've come across some interesting info on Bulbapedia. Does that work in Reborn? If so, does it interact with the seeds some gym leaders use? (I'm looking at you, T.). Does the Pokémon use the seed immediately, terrain permitting? For that matter, how does this interact with Recycle? Can a Pokémon rack up the seed bonus multiple times?

Just for the record, two questions? 1. Why did you choose a girl for your avatar? I mean, Titania is a certifiable buttkicker, but you know... G.I.R.L. (guy in real life). 2. Why, for the love of all that is cuddly and fluffy in the world, would you Capitalise Every First Letter In The Post? I almost popped my eyes out of their sockets trying to figure out if there was some some sort of hidden message in there, trying most popular ciphers included.

I cooked up a cheesy Greninja set a while ago, with trolling the AI in mind: Night Slash Shadow Sneak Gunk Shot Spikes EV in Hp and Spd, with a berry (or, preferably, leftovers) for recovery. The idea was to make the most out of potential immunities changing the type can afford him, trying more to counter enemys coverage of the current type than to flat out nuke him with STAB. The cheese here was that you can usually predict what coverage move the AI will hit you with and jump type accordingly. This set would function as a lead to set up a few layers of spikes and reliably.

'Sup gang! It's been a while since I've had some time to play Reborn. Lately I've decided to return to playing and, uh... I've discovered that I've lost my saves. Now, that wouldn't be that much of a hassle (I intended to start over, after all), but there's one thing that I wanted transferred over: the EV bangles (power brace and the likes). Some kind soul out there help me out on this? I'm next online around 3:00-4:00AM GMT. I'll be sure to pay back with a shiny or something once I get my feet on the ground.

Ah Lance, the unfulfilled dream from my GSC days. I've got to tell you, @Chase, if it were at all possible, I'd do whatever to enable playing someone like that. Also note that he WAS a gym leader in Johto league - far more orthodox than Reborn's when it comes to rules. If I were to point out a precedent for a scoundrel-ish protagonist, I'd look no further. Funny you'd mention Mosswater Factory, by the way. Indeed, that would be the first time you'd have the opportunity to go sideways. Perhaps not by battle items (like I said, those would first become reliably available around 7th street), but perhaps by setting traps for grunts you'd face? Indeed, I've always had more of a problem facing Aster and Eclipse than Julia and I'd love to give them a handicap if at all possible. As for the reason the characters do what they do, I see no conflict there. The character's motivations aren't explicitly stated, aside from the fact that they intend to take on the League. The protagonist could be in it for the glory (like any other pokemon protagonist), or perhaps to get stronger, or just to sate their own ego. I could easily associate the latter with taking victory whatever the cost. Also note that after Grandview the thing between the protagonist and Meteor could very well be called personal. He could be taking on the league simply to make a bigger target of himself in order to lure them out. Also remember one thing: I stressed out that playing dirty would be entirely a matter of preference. You could abstain from doing so in league matches, be it for fairness' sake or out of personal respect for the people you're facing. Besides, for the most part the gym leaders are already in your debt. I believe that they'd let the character get away with much more than having an ace in the hole when facing them. And finally, your point to treat the whole posse as the protagonist is entirely valid. In fact, this would make going renegade easier to get away with - you wouldn't be considered the most representative of the lot and you would likely hear some of your exploits attributed to others, but you'd be something of an ensemble darkhorse or even a token evil teammate - not the one in the limelight, but the one who gets the job done. Let's face it - if you've chosen to play dirty, you weren't doing it for glory anyway. And i did *not* suggest anyone would be taking advice from you - they'd want you to test them. The train of thought being "if I am able to face someone who plays dirty, I'll have no problems facing the honest ones". @FairFamily touched an interesting case. I've mentioned a few posts earlier that certain events *could* go another way if you were properly prepared (or paranoid, as it were). Perhaps you wouldn't need Amaria to save you in Mosswater if you could protect yourself with an item. Or you'd protect her instead, considering Solaris admittedly caught you by surprise earlier. You probably wouldn't be able to save Kiki anyway, however - the items I posted can't really fully block an attack, just soften it, and Garchomp is ground-typed, so tasing it is out of the question. Why not use these to avoid battles? The answer is threefold. For one thing, the items that could reasonably do so (the taser and the sleep powder) could be potentially dangerous to humans - and I while I can fathom the character being a bit ruthless, he's no killer. For another, the character is a pokemon trainer first and foremost. I think it comes with the profession to try and solve everything with battling - even if they would be a bit unorthodox at it. The final reason is a bit meta - pokemon develop by battling, as approximated by EXP. Avoiding battle means giving up on that as well - and that's something both the player and the character isn't likely to do. As for Ame cracking down on the protagonist: the only reason for her to do so would be if they would cheat in gym battles and get reported. Some leaders wouldn't, because they're in debt with the character one way or another. Shade's not the talkative type. The rest are pretty far from Reborn and have much more pressing concerns than someone playing dirty in battles against them. Note as well that while not nice, using these technically would be using your environment, not unlike leaders setting up fields in their gyms to their advantage - not something you could rule out as cheating. She could get at the player indirectly, however: refusing to give tips before gym leaders or warning them about your dirty ways. Finally remember, there's an easy way to cut cheating attempts short: Embargo/IsolateGenerator. Yeah, the names. I admit, that is my weakest suit. If someone would come up with better ones, I'd really appreciate it

Wow. I've gotta say, I didn't expect the topic on a simple new mechanic to evolve into a discussion on the moral reasons behind the protagonist Allow me to throw in a thought or two of my own. First, I must say I disagree with @Chase. True, as they are right now, the protagonist ends up a monolith in people's eyes - and I do NOT want to change that. Still, I believe that if the character would end up becoming that way regardless of the way they deliver. Take Mass Effect for example. You can play Shepard as a Paragon (true hero personified), embodying the qualities you mentioned above... or you can play Renegade, screwing people over left, right and center - and yet save the galaxy none the less. Here's the deal: while a true hero inspires good by being something most people are not and therefore showing that there is another way, an anti-hero can do the same by showing that even they - imperfect as they are - can make a difference. At first they would just regard you as just another scoundrel, the likes of which Reborn sees by the dozen. But then you start showing results, thwarting Meteors and saving people despite being an apparent bastard. The first reaction of the public is sure to be apprehensive, but the further down the line you go, the more they start appreciating what you do. In the end, you'd be the one they're afraid to be: the person to do what it takes for common good. In the end, while a "heroic" hero would be met with gratitude, he'd also stand for people doing nothing and letting themselves be saved. An anti-hero, on the other hand, would emphasize taking things in your own hands and fighting for what is right with what you have. In game terms, this would mean that people would warm up to you far slower than they would otherwise and they surely would regard you differently in the endgame. Instead of people thanking you, you'd get them being glad with themselves having achieved it and with upstarts wanting to follow in your footsteps to make a world a better place and asking you to test them. Would that be bad? I don't think so. With that in mind, I wouldn't consider including a choice of killing someone at all. Regardless of whether they are a hero or a scoundrel (or anything in between), the protagonist shuold inspire. Murdering someone (regardless of the reason) is never inspirational. Sure, it might be necessary, but if anything, I'd rather show the character doing whatever it takes to avoid having to make that choice in the first place. Even if they have to get their hands dirty in the process.

@Busti Ever tried lighting even a small campfire with just a box of matches? If not, let me tell you: it's far easier said than done in the best conditions. Now try it while there are two deadly beasts duking it out nearby. Not that I'd be against doing so, mind you, though with more "flashy" implements. @Chase Like I said earlier, the choice of whether to play dirty or not would be up to the player alone. One could abstain from it entirely, one would only use them against pokes of people who have it coming, and another could just go full cheater on the league, Meteors and everyone in between. That's the beauty of it: it's utterly unnecessary to win battles (assuming you play your cards right). Just something you can do if you're feeling spiteful or the game's proven too frustrating to play by the rules.

@Zander It's exactly as you said. For one thing, a trainer's first priority would be his own safety, so he'd likely have the pokemon take the shot for him. For another, pokemon attacks ARE and WILL BE more powerful than anything a human can muster. The point of these items would not be to avoid a battle altogether or to win it outright. A Taser that could knock a person out cold would just slow down a pokemon (as reflected by the paralysis status). If you read the description for Thunder Wave, you'll notice that it's the weakest jolt a pokemon can muster in a battle. And I gauge it on the same level as a taser, a weapon that's potentially (if not intentionally) lethal. Instead, the items would offer disruption in order to make a battle easier. @Chase I actually included one such underhanded tactic in the very first post: to use a DirtBucket to disable Julia's Electric Terrain. She certainly wouldn't be happy about it, but technically it would *not* be cheating, like ordering your zigzagoon to use Mud Sport and doing the same. It would be using your environment, not unlike her building a special terrain into her gym to give her the advantage. So... yeah. You COULD use them, even in league battles and I don't think this should defeat the purpose of the battle itself. It would be in other aspects (like opponents learning from that and using these themselves) that the cost would be paid later. As for making the choice of disposing of major villains... Allow me to say this. My idea was supposed to give the character a choice: be pure good (as you currently are)... or be a bit of a scoundrel, if a good-intentioned one. Lawful good vs chaotic good, if you prefer. The option to KILL an opponent (no matter his crimes) pushes the choice bit too far in the good-evil axis for my taste.

@Zander Allow me to clarify. The items would be used by selecting them from the in-battle ITEMS menu, like potions or x-attack. With that in mind, the situation you described looks as follows: your team's getting steamrolled by that dastardly Chatot, so you decide to take matters in your own hands, pull out a taser and paralyze the chatot. Since it's YOU who's attacking, not your pokemon, confusion is not an issue. The next turn your Nidoking attacks and easily outspeeds it. But then, of course, Taka berates you for playing dirty after the match, so you start wondering if it was worth it. That's the point @Chase I see your point, but consider this: my idea is not about allowing you to attack your foes directly. Despite going at each other at full force, pokemon are sturdy enough to take a beating from each other and survive. That is far less true for humans, as Kiki found out the hard way. What I mean is: I intended to give the player an option to fight dirty and ruthlessly. Attacking foes directly carries the risk of killing them (accidentally or not), leading to murder. I think that is and should remain off-limits.

@Alistair You've hit the mark perfectly. You can use the items or not - nothing forces you to do it, and indeed, other characters would do their best to discourage you from using them. What I hope to achieve is to give players a choice. A choice between being a true hero, muscling through all the pitfalls the antagonists throw at them with heroic willpower and power of friendship alone - or a grizzled anti-hero, doing whatever it takes and risking becoming no better than the people they fight to save Reborn (click on the links to expand your POV a little bit ). Errata: after a bit of consideration, i devised this little devil to add to the list: IsolateGenerator - Embargo The item to ban all items. And the go-to for anyone unwilling to see their pokemon tased/mud-covered/pierced by caltrops (ouch)

@Alistair Hell yes, it's brutal. That's the whole point of it all You see, as they are now, our little protag has no choice *but* to play by the rules against people who have little regard for them. Introducing these would present the player with an interesting moral choice: is it fair to break the rules to achieve your goals. Indeed, I'd implicitly warn the player about that while giving access to the goodies. On another note, as apalled as you seem by the idea, think about how other characters would react to your underhanded tactics. Your battles would be easier, but your contacts with the people that would become your friends... not so much. And finally, using these in battle at first *would* make the game considerably easier, true. That said, people learn. If you use weapons to defeat them at first or witness you doing so beforehand, they might grab some for themselves the next time around. Or simply get some way to prevent you from doing so - like I said, Embargo shuts these down completely. @Zander No, these would be used strictly in-battle. Maybe with an event or two going differently if you have something to defend yourself with, but that's it. @Zane0144Final Fantasy was one of my bigger inspirations for this thread and I wanted to replicate the battle item system from there somewhat. They expand the repertoire of your team, though they're less effective at it than teaching the moves to characters themselves. Over there, however, using items isn't considered underhanded, since unlike in Pokemon there are no rules to how a battle should pan out set by the powers that be. @Commander Indeed, I planned the sole vendor of these to be hanging around 7th street, to stress out that these are NOT legal in competitive battling and are pretty underhanded even outside them. As for the chance to fail: as I noted, the use of the items would relfect using a move in its entirety. That means that Sleep Powder can miss, a Taser won't affect a ground-type, an Infiltrator Noivern or a simple Hyper Voice will ignore item-created Reflect EDIT: Light Screen etc. And for terrain creation... no. Just... no. Mate, this is just a bucket. You're not hauling a full cistern of water to create a pool so that you can fight on water's surface. And cutting fire/electric damage in half as well as shutting down certain fields is in an of itself very powerful. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here

Sup guys. Lately I've been doing a little bit of thinking about our silent protagonist(s). Sure, we can't read them speaking their mind, but our actions speak louder than words on their behalf. And yet... Over the course of the game, the characters is the object of attacks by quite a few ruthless trainers - and I mean not by being challenged to a trainer battle, but rather by being the target of a pokemon's attack, which hurt just as bad as they look, as some of them learn the hard way. That had me thinking. I mean, pokemon can hit people, right? WHY CAN'T THEY HIT BACK? So, after a bit of cosideration (both game-balance and mechanics wise), and after scrapping a few ideas as unrealistic to implement (yes Titania, I am envious of you waving that Aegislash around ) I came up with this: NEW BATTLE ITEMS As most people know, the battle items pocket houses mostly vendor junk, with all those x-stats just not worth wasting a turn to be used. Sure, there's Dire Hit (and whomever never had fun with a super luck/scope lens/dh honchkrow should really try it), but it's just one item. What I suggest are items that could be semi-reliably obtained in-universe and used in battles to take out some of our long pent-up frustration on the enemy personally. Or just plain ruin his day, as it may. I divided the items I'd like to introduce into two groups: those which *should* not pose overwhelming problems to be implemented (basically being normal pokemon moves in item form), as well as those I don't really expect seeing in the game like... ever, since it would take quite a bit of work to get it done. Still, it's just an idea, so I'm posting those just the same. Before I move on to the list, a disclaimer. Yes, I *know*, that these changes would shake up the game's balance quite a bit, essentially lowering the worth of having item-reproducable attacks on mons. It should be duly noted, however that a) potions don't make recovery moves obsolete, b ) none of the effects would be game-breaking in and of itself. Besides, I intended the items (assuming it would be possible in the first place) to take effect in the lowest possible priority tier, IE usually last before passive effects kick in. This would soften the impact of the items and (hopefully) allow them to carve a niche for themselves without crowding out attacks. And finally, their existence would finally make Embargo worthwhile. So without further ado, let's get creative. SIMPLE ITEMS These would work by replicating a pokemon attack in battle once (as above, with reduced priority, if possible). That way, it would take no sprite creation, just playing around with existing animations and/or mechanics. Also, they wouldn't require any stats to use, aside from maybe accuracy. From game point of view, they would be ways to utilise certain status effects without having access to pokemon to use them, at the cost of lowered priority, though with advantage of ignoring taunt. TEMPLATE: Item name - attack it mimics (and a little comment, if needed) PoisonPowder - Poison powder (duh) SleepPowder - Sleep Powder Taser - Thunder Wave StrangeWhistle - Supersonic (self-explanatory, basic status inducers) Caltrops - Spikes ThrowingNet - Sticky Web (can't think of a better name... any suggestions?) (basic entry hazards, easy to avoid or disable, if you know what you're doing) ShieldGenerator - Reflect ShellGenerator - Light Screen WardGenerator - Safeguard FogPellet - Mist (we've all been here, I believe - cool moves, useful, but how do I slap them onto my team?) AirPurifier - Haze (ok, I admit - like no others, this item would screw over setup sweepers *royally*... but think of it this way - with reduced priority, you can launch at least one fully-boosted attack, right?) AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST Bucket The last entry needs a little comment. Everyone who won against Julia (which is like... everyone on this forum?) knows, how much of an advantage she gets from her electric terrain. Of course, it can be shut down... but it takes either taking a specific starter (namely Mudkip), or hoping that either on opal bridge or in north peridot you'll run into a zigzagoon (50-50 tops). Besides, she has like, a tiled floor there. Where the heck do the pokes come up with all that mud? And then it dawned upon me, a quote I heard a long time ago. "Land is where you are safe. So... carry land with you" Followed by the fell sounds of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRcj6CAhe7s (click if you dare). So... yeah. Imagine this tune starting to play once you use your trusty bucket to splatter mud all across her pretty... shiny floor. Anyways, the way that would work is like this: outside of battle, you can use it at certain locations (ponds, planters and sandboxes come to mind), to receive a WaterBucket, DirtBucket or a SandBucket, respectively, which could be used to replicate Water Sport, Mud Sport or Sand Attack, respectively. Of course you could pick up other, more hazardous substances into it, but that's a matter for another post. Just as my ideas for more "creative" items. So, whaddya think, forum?

Wow, that would sure be nice