u/Animante732

I didn’t care for Duraludon to begin with, so I was hopeful to see its evolution. Then it was revealed and I was disappointed. It’s soooooo ugly, and it doesn’t help that it legitimately looks like a staple remover. But whatever, not like I’ll have to see it that much. Only for it to end up being on practically EVERY competitive team, forcing me to see a Pokemon I already didn’t like over and over again. And the fact that it’s so hard to deal with makes it even more frustrating. The amount of battles I’ve lost because of this stupid bridge is infuriating (LEGITIMATELY WHY DOES IT HAVE 85 SPEED!!?) Taking it down is legitimately so satisfying even if I lose because at least I didn’t have to end the battle looking at this stupid thing. Why does it seem like GameFreak has an obsession with making the absolute ugliest mons the most viable?

I play pretty casually, but I really enjoy exploring the competitive side of the game. I’m not interested in entering tournaments or becoming some top-level player — I just genuinely like building teams, testing ideas, and battling.

Of course winning feels good, but I don’t mind losing if it helps me figure out what works and what doesn’t. Honestly, if I won every game, it would probably get boring anyway.

What confuses me is that a lot of competitive players I’ve talked to seem to criticize that mindset. I’ve been told I need to take team building way more seriously and adhere much more strictly to the meta or I’ll never consistently win (even though I win pretty consistently). One person even asked me, “Do you not care about winning?”

And… I mean, sure, I like winning. I win plenty of games. But I’m not obsessed with it. Isn’t the point of a game to enjoy playing it, even when you lose sometimes?

Do most competitive Pokémon players actually enjoy the game itself, or is the enjoyment mainly tied to winning?