Any advice is also welcome. Dm me if you want to play together or have a code for your dream island you would be so kind as to share :)
Gen 1 is one of the popular gens right. But those same people that enjoyed gen 1 are all uncs now. Why not cater to them anymore? Every new gen release new strong and cute pokemon for the kids. But the reality is that most (idk the exact ratio) fans are adults now. Adults that have to resolve to nuzlockes, fangames, mmos, rom hacks and the competative scene. Which is good. I wish they cared a bit more about that whole thing because there is so much more they can do with it, but thats a whole convo for another day. So now that the gaming is covered and its just plain good (far from how good it could be though).
Anyway so the missing piece rn is the strory. Anime and Manga and movies and stuff is literally just super plain stories for kids. For the adults there is pretty much nothing. Imagine the manga and anime opportunities if they diverged even a little bit.
Im gonna share some ideas of the top of my head rn that arent too great but u get the idea.
A shounen pokemon anime based on nuzlocke rules, or a seinen in a world where people treat pokemon like cattle (a bit like we treat animals in this world) or use them for war or whatever which would go into more mature themes like ethics. A pokemon journey discovering the power of lore accurate pokemon and how terrifying they could be. i mean the creation trio can literally control space and time. Imagine if Dialga hated someone so much and it punished that person with an endless death loop a bit like Giorno did to Diavolo in JoJos. I mean how sick would that be. Those guys are literal cosmic horrors. And setting the violent stuff aside for a sec even a 12 episode slice of life cozy anime where pokemon are a helping a mother do housechores with a bunch of rotoms, or simply just living together would be super cool too. I mean people would eat that uuuup man.
This might sound a bit excessive, but ive been a massive fan for like a few yrs now (grew up w gen 5/6) and i think there's been plenty of missed opportunities like this. Why cant this franchise grow along with its main audience?
I understand that pokemon has billion BECAUSE they play it sooo safe. They want investors and stuff to do what they sre doing so they have to stay agressively family friendly. But come on man, why do the fans have to outperform the main company every time. Maybe now hat u have BILLIONS maybe take the first step towards divergence, take a risk for once.
I mean when I play some romhacks Im always ready to start tearing up because they are always made from nothing but pure love and passion. The creators dont get paid to make those games, they just do. How nice would be if those people gained even a little bit of money from GF, or even if GF went a step further and started promoting and advertising those games. I think thats better than whatever slop they have been releasing recently.
The competative scene in both Smogon and VGC can attract such a much wider audience if they cared about it and advertised it a bit more. I can guarantee u that if the likes if Magnus Carlsen gave competative a try they would get hooked. Theres a perfect balance between randomness (luck), strategy and mind reading involved that makes this game so appealing. Champions is good and all but it still has a lot of flaws. Releasing that game was genuinely the bare minimum. I mean come on bro Showdown has been doing this for literal decades.
One of the worst parts is that they have experimented with such things and completely succeeded. The gen 6 anime is loved by so many because ash isn't an absolute toddler, and actually acts like a person (also ash-greninja is so beloved by everyone) And even pokemon themselves. Mimikyu is a prime example. Its design tells a story. Covering itself up in a Pikachu rag out of a heartbreaking desire to feel love. If hearing that doesn't make u feel emotions then idk what to tell u. Mimikyu is now a global fan fav mon of many people because of its complex design and its ability to make u FEEL.
All in all, ig im just sick of toddler slop, im sick of corporate greed but I love mons man. Thank you to everyone reading, it truly means a lot as I spent quite some time writing all this. Sorry u had to read allat nonsense, but its been in my head for a while and I needed to get them out somewhere. Feel free to comment, and yeah thats my rant done. Peace.
WEEEE all gotta be honest Ash Ketchum was literally the heart of Pokémon for over 25 years and dropping him right after he finally hit peak status as World Champion feels like a huge missed opportunity. No matter what pokemon does we will never fall in love with a 10-year-old kid from Pallet Town that lost for two litreal decades straight (literally carried like 3 generations ) before finally taking the crown. They didn't even need to write him off—they could have easily kept him as the main guy, made him aim for an even higher power ceiling, and set him off on a fresh, chill journey just exploring hidden corners of the world and taking on legendary-tier trainers.
If pokemon were actually real, I don't think we'd be able to do the same things we do to animals and do it to pokemon. Pokemon are animals but with life threatening abilities that can kill humans easily. There's moves like hyperbeam, self-destruct, moves that can poison you, burn you, electrocute you, paralyze you, drown you, crush you and many many more. And I also find it hard to understand why some people think that Pokeballs are something that can forever connect a pokemon to you when it can't. It's shown that a pokemon can refuse to be your partner and leave you entirely from abuse or manipulation. What do you guys think?
I've been thinking about how differently two people can say “I’m into Pokémon” and mean almost completely different things.
One person may play the mainline games competitively. Another only collects the TCG. Someone else plays GO every day, plays Pocket casually, shiny hunts, watches the anime, collects specific Pokémon, or hasn't touched a mainline game in years.
Yet all of them still identify as Pokémon fans.
What interests me is that Pokémon seems to have reached a point where the franchise isn't necessarily the hobby anymore—it's almost an ecosystem containing a bunch of independent hobbies that happen to share the same creatures and world.
And those hobbies don't always overlap.
Someone can know competitive VGC incredibly well and know almost nothing about the TCG. A serious card player might barely understand Pokémon GO. A lifelong collector might not care about battling at all.
So I'm curious:
Do you think Pokémon still has a central experience that defines being a Pokémon fan?
Or has the franchise become large enough that there really isn't one anymore?
And if there is still a center—what is it?
The Defeated Kanto Theory: The Dark Truth Behind Team Rocket
Most of us grew up believing that Generation 1 of Pokémon is just a wholesome athletic journey of a 10-year-old child, and Team Rocket is merely a cliché group of evil thugs stealing pets. However, when you connect the in-game mechanics and subtle lore details, a mind-blowing political, military, and psychological drama emerges—showcasing a collapsing empire, deep betrayals, and a desperate underground resistance.
The Background: The Regional War and Kanto's Demographics
A few years prior to the events of Gen 1, a devastating war broke out between the heavily industrialized Kanto region and the prosperous Johto region. Kanto suffered a crushing defeat, and nearly all working-age men perished on the front lines (as evidenced by Lt. Surge: "Electric Pokémon saved me during the war!").
As a result, Kanto became a post-traumatic region left in the hands of children (Brock, Misty), pacifist women (Erika), and the elderly (Professor Oak). Kanto's Gym Leaders are largely unfit for combat, leaving the region utterly vulnerable to Johto's quiet annexation.
Team Rocket: A National Resistance, Not a Crime Syndicate
The only strong, mature man left in Kanto’s establishment is Giovanni. Realizing that Kanto faces complete cultural and military erasure, he forms Team Rocket—not as a criminal enterprise, but as a desperate, patriotic underground militia tasked with gathering the funds, power, and technology needed to reclaim Kanto's independence.
The Militia's Black Market Funding Network
To fund a war, you need massive capital. Giovanni built a highly sophisticated economic machine designed to drain money from unsuspecting trainers:
The Safari Zone: The syndicate's secret training ground and cash cow. Trainers pay 500 Poké Dollars to catch rare, powerful species (Scyther, Kangaskhan). This money flows directly into Giovanni’s war chest to fund cloning labs on Cinnabar Island. Furthermore, the strict Safari rules (no battling, only bait and rocks) function as a field test to evaluate a trainer's resourcefulness under pressure, flagging elite recruits for the militia.
The Day Care Scam: The old man south of Cerulean City is a sleeper agent. When trainers leave their powerful Pokémon with him, they aren't resting in a backyard. The syndicate breeds them for optimal genetic traits or ships them straight to the Safari Zone to act as rare "attractions." This perfectly explains why you return as the Champion and your Pokémon only leveled up by 6—it wasn't training; it was fighting for its life in the Safari Zone.
The Celadon Game Corner: The official money laundering front for Team Rocket, situated directly above Giovanni's nerve center. The rare prizes offered (like Porygon, a virtual Pokémon created by syndicate scientists) were engineered to be digital cyber-weapons capable of hacking into Johto's networks and disabling their infrastructure.
A Final Desperate Move: Project Mewtwo and the Master Ball
Kanto knew their time was running out. Giovanni consolidated the region's top scientists (Dr. Fuji and Blaine) on Cinnabar Island to create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction: Mewtwo.
But disaster struck—Mewtwo was too powerful, destroyed the lab, and escaped. Left with no options, Giovanni resorted to extreme emergency measures:
* The Lavender Town Kidnapping: Team Rocket holds Mr. Fuji (who changed his name and became a holy man out of guilt) hostage at the top of the Pokémon Tower. They are trying to extort the original genetic formula to clone a second Mewtwo.
* The Saffron City Martial Law: Kanto's local police force is deeply patriotic and actively colludes with Team Rocket. Officers blockade Saffron City's gates under the absurd excuse of being "thirsty," deliberately enforcing a media blackout to prevent Johto spies or League officials from intervening while Team Rocket invades Silph Co. Their goal: seize the Master Ball prototype—the only device capable of capturing the rogue Mewtwo and securing Kanto's deterrent.
The Mental Wall: Sabrina and the Fighting Dojo
Giovanni’s strongest silent ally is Sabrina. Because her immense psychic powers are constantly exhausted acting as a radar system to intercept Johto espionage, she grants Team Rocket open access to her city. To back up the standard grunts with physical muscle, she and Giovanni maintain the Fighting Dojo right next door—a specialized combat training facility producing a private mercenary force to guard the streets.
Red's Tragedy and Bruno's Betrayal
Kanto's defensive strategy was flawless, but it failed due to a catastrophic lack of coordination. Professor Oak, horrifyingly distrustful of Giovanni's radicalism, developed a parallel initiative: training a new vanguard through exceptional prodigies (Red and Blue) armed with rare starters (Charizard, Blastoise).
Innocent Red, completely oblivious to the shadow war, just wanted to defeat bullies and become the strongest trainer. He storms Silph Co., claims the Master Ball, defeats Sabrina, and dismantles Giovanni at the 8th Gym. Without knowing it, Red destroyed his own homeland's final defensive front.
With Giovanni defeated, he disbands the syndicate in resignation. Kanto is forced to sign a humiliating unconditional surrender, paving the way for Generation 2:
* Lance, a Dragon Master hailing from Johto, becomes the Champion of the unified Indigo League and uses brutal force to stamp out Team Rocket's starving remnants, deploying propaganda that paints them as simple "animal abusers."
* Bruno is Kanto’s ultimate traitor. He is the only original Elite Four member to keep his seat because he pledged fealty to Johto's new regime in exchange for training funding, while the fiercely patriotic Lorelei and Agatha were systematically ousted or "disappeared."
* And Red? Upon realizing the horrific moral and political catastrophe he brought upon his own people, he suffers severe post-traumatic shock. He flees to the frozen peak of Mt. Silver, cutting all ties with the world in a deafening, guilt-ridden silence.
I know you need a hacked 3DS and programs like PKHex.
I haven't done this myself yet but I do intend to eventually so I need to know if the shut down of Pokemon Bank now makes that process impossible?
Even with the shut down can't people get it to work still using volunteer servers and DNS codes like they do with the GTS of the older games?
Surely the fandom will find a way, won't they?
So as I know Johto is known for not having the best anything.
They don't have the best economy it doesn't have any manufacturing and it's just overall weak.
But that'll change today!
So what i would do if I ran Johto.
So if I ran Johto I would start by improving the economy of the region, I would start with the tourism industry I would start by advertising our historic city Ecruteak City and Open up business in Goldenrod making it a business friendly environment for those who want to invest and do business.
Next we'll move on to security.
As we can see Team Rocket has easily captured the radio tower the last time and has easily built an underground hideout in Mahogany Town so will use our newly earned revenue to invest more into our security and safety over the region to reduce crime. We will also deploy police officers in throughout the region to reduce the crime rate.
Next will be the job market.
Many people in the region are unemployed, self employed or there are too little people to sustain an entire region. So we'll be mobilizing more people into the job market as workers, engineers, electricians, doctors, nurses, and many many more. We will also recive workers from abroad to come work at Johto and help boost our economy.
Next we'll move on to the infrastructure.
We'll build roads and pathways throughout the region we'll do cheap road paths for the rural parts of Johto to increase smoother mobility throughout the region.
That's all for now I'm going to add more in the future if I Made any mistakes please be civil about it in the comments.
That's all for today.
Bye.👋
Since we have the year of '26 right now, it means the current year is Raichu's Pokédex number. And I couldn't find a better occasion to share the story of how I became a Raichu fan and how my opinion of it changed over time.
It all started when I was 7 (in 2017 btw). I did not know much about Pokemon back then; only a friend of mine had shown me the first five episodes of the Pokemon anime (Indigo League). And I came to know Pikachu, among some others. And some time later, I learned that Pokemon can evolve. And that Pikachu has an evolution too. And that was how I came to know Raichu for the very first time. I immediately liked it more than its pre-evolution. It has a better design and better colors; it's superior.
I became extremely disappointed to learn that The Pokémon Company is doing everything it can to make us forget that Pikachu has an evolution. Seriously, I can tell I was depressed af. And the very same friend of mine who had introduced me to Pokémon also said that Raichu looks stupid, and that Pikachu is 'cute,' etc. Therefore, I started to believe that I should hate Raichu too, ya know, little kids aren't that sensible. So I did. I became ashamed of my love for the orange mouse, and pretended that Pikachu was better in my opinion as well.
When I was 9 years old, for example, I was at school doing my own business when suddenly another boy said, 'I'm a raichu!', ya know, just roleplaying like kids often do. And what was my reaction? I laughed at him and was like, 'Hahaha, Pikachu is better than you!' We even got into an argument about whether Pikachu or Raichu is better. Looking back, I find it kind of sad; I defended a side that, in my deepest mind, I didn't really support.
But fortunately, when I turned 12, I realized that I'd been stupid all that time. And that loving Raichu is nothing to be ashamed of! I can say that I dug out my love for the Pokémon. I was, and am to this day, still frustrated by how it always gets the shorter end of the stick (fortunately though, it seems to me that it's been going in a good way lately, since Raichu got two megas, Alolan Raichu became available in UNITE and Pawmi broke the chain of Pikaclones not having evolutions, since Pokemon Company wish Pikachu didn't have one either). But still, I'm now a proud Raichu fan, and I'm sure I will be as long as I love Pokemon! :D
Now, what do you guys think of this story? And what do you think of Raichu?
When compared to most JRPGs, the Pokémon main series stands out largely because of its symmetry. While most JRPGs take asymmetrical combat for granted, I think Pokémon’s high level of symmetry gives it a unique value.
In other JRPGs, bosses usually have massive advantages: bloated HP pools that are tens of times higher than yours, multiple actions per turn, and boss-exclusive attacks that the player can never use. On top of that, tactical options like sleep, paralysis, or stat drops are almost always flat-out useless against bosses.
In Pokémon, on the other hand, even the biggest story bosses fight on the exact same playing field as you. Both sides put out the same number of Pokémon, and the opponent's Pokémon don't get artificial HP buffs or arbitrary immunities to status conditions and debuffs just because they belong to an NPC. Whatever strong Pokémon or devastating moves the enemy throws at you, you can catch, raise, and use with the exact same stats and rules. A viable strategy or combo works against the toughest trainers just the same.
This sense of fairness from clear symmetry is why I really like classic Pokémon mechanics. That's also why I'm not a big fan of things like Totem Pokémon or Titan Pokémon in recent games. To me, those mechanics abandon the combat system's unique strength and just turn Pokémon into another standard JRPG boss fight.
What do you all think? Should Pokémon stick to this symmetry, or should it lean into more boss-exclusive, asymmetrical mechanics like other RPGs?
Mewtwo, is the youngest Legendary pokemon, based from lore
sorry. needed to post this
Kanto
Johto
Hoenn
Sinnoh
Unova
Kalos
Alola
Galar
Paldea
(De Facto) new region from Winds and Waves.
Talking with friend over irl pokemon, what one's we'd find just driving by and in jobs. But then i suggested machamp because they'd basically be in every job. Some people might be envious that "they took our job"
So I wonder, aside from the occasional rattata and spearow. What Pokemon would be very problematic in real life?
Hey all, with Bank reaching eos, I'm considering what to move up.
Firstly I'm trying to make sure I don't leave mons behind. I'll of course be checking the daycares. And I think the poke pelago can hold pokemon too? But is there anything else in these games I should be checking to make sure I don't leave a mon behind?
Secondly, what's your transfer strategy? Do you send just dex pokemon up? Your old teams? mystery gifts? What do you leave in the og games?
Im gonna try to make videos of me playing some Pokemon games, do any of you guys have any suggestions on what Pokemon game I could play on my switch for my first video/videos. I may not have the game you suggest but ask anyway. I haven’t made the YouTube channel yet but I’m gonna make it soon. Plz give me any suggestions on what to play.
Hi Im buying a nintendo switch 2, and I don’t know what Pokémon game to buy when I get it. I’ve heard so many negative comments about the new games that come out now I don’t know what to choose someone help.
Was always fascinated by the idea of pokemon evolutions so felt i could try playing the ones that explored this idea more
Been playing HeartGold again for the last two months and have recently discovered the beauty of the fan made servers on GTS, connecting to an android phone I got off of Vinted with non WPA-2 settings, and I’ve just been filling up my Pokédex like no tomorrow. Might as well be getting a weekly wage from this, it’s so beautiful. Any cool stories you guys have to tell from over the years? I wanna connect with the community on this
Just finished my first pokemon game being pokemon violet. Really really cool game seemed very easy, only other game I played was pokemon omega ruby but that was ages ago. Looking for recommendations for my next one. Do NOT say legends z-a I tried it for a couple hours. Might be the worst game I’ve ever played
Edit: I can play any pokemon game on any console btw
As everyone knows by now, Pokémon Bank is about to close. I was wondering if fan-made servers will be created to continue using the application (a bit like what happened with the secret gifts a few years ago).