Pokemon Gen 6, X & Y announced; worldwide release in October

[Skyblade]

Apparently, Thunderbolt also got nerfed from 95 to 90. I will assume the same goes for all the other 100-95 moves like Ice Beam and Flamethrower.

While it's not a lot, it's still enough to make difference and I actually kinda like this change. The slight nerf of the 95 and 120 moves make them a bit more balanced compared to the other alternatives, meaning a possibility to see more varied fire/ice/thunder moves in competitive pokemon matches.

I don't think it's enough of a nerf to make most of the other alternatives viable, but we'll see.

I'm also worried about how it will change growth and progression in the single player game. Pokémon generally start with weaker moves and learn stronger ones as they level (and Pokémon and TMs acquired later are similarly more powerful). If things get balanced to make everything competitively viable, that entire growth curve, which has served the series very well, goes out the window.

Also, regarding the smogon tiers: even outside of pokemon showdown, they are good to use as a base when building a team. Even if you can't get the stats as high, the smogon tiers help you figure out what stats to aim for to accomplish certain things. I've actually always prefered to come up with my own builds rather than trying to make smogon copies, but knowing how much HP/Sp Def to give *insert pokemon* in order for it to survive a Draco Meteor from a max Sp Attack *insert pokemon* and stuff like that is always helpful.

But I am wondering just how useful that information will be when you're not facing a "max Sp Attack *insert pokemon*". I mean, who is going to get even close to that on the legendaries or event Pokémon? And how many people are going to have the patience to get those on the Pokémon that can be bred, knowing how long it can take?

I think some of the most popular Pokémon transferred are going to be max IV Dittos, just for breeding. Along with possible Synchronize Pokémon for Nature farming.

And the tier system itself will probably not get screwed over completely either, since even if perfect IV's can't be achieved, the base stats and the most effective roles of pokemons won't actually change. Even if your Gengar has an average IV of 17, it will still be better as a special sweeper than 28 IV Mismagius.

IVs are only a portion of it. How many different Pokémon breakdowns suggest "Hidden Power Grass" or something similar, dependent on having a HP70 IV spread? How many require egg moves (or worse, chain breeding) to learn the moves? How many Pokémon setups do they have that you can't even get (like, for example, Blaziken, who was only ever available with Speed Boost in Japan until the XY starter event, yet has that ability in every Smogon breakdown).

And, sure, maybe Smogon does base their systems on an online simulator. But I think a lot of their followers and fans look forward to be able to use the systems and setups in their actual games. And I think losing that ability is going to hurt them somewhat.

Edit: you can apparently only mega evolve once in a battle. So no mega-only teams. Good.

In that case, I think I'm going to have to say I was wrong about losing the Mega Evolution when you switch out. The right counter can pretty much force a switch, and if you lost the Mega form and couldn't get it back in that battle, it would make certain Pokémon worthless. I mean, imagine you setup a Physical, Psychic/Fighting moveset, with proper EVs, for your Mewtwo, anticipating the Mega-Evolution, and then lost it. Mewtwo is then worthless to you, as without the Physical boost (and STAB), those moves are junk with normal Mewtwo's stats.

They might still restrict that, but it would make Mega-Evolution very risky.


EDIT: In other news, I am mildly curious to see how the anime handles Mega-Evolution. How overpowered/overused will it be? Ash probably won't use it much, since there isn't going to be one for Pikachu (and his Pikachu is apparently the strongest Pokémon in the world), but the other trainers probably will, right?

Also, if you think Mega-Alakazam is bad, wait until you see Mega-Heracross. Assuming those pics are accurate. Those are a lot of leaked screenshots of a lot of Mega-Pokémon.