I’m glad to say this is the first post in the newer section of the blog, the Distorted Gaming Cell, where I’ll talk about my videogame stuff. Mostly Pokémon and Hearthstone, though.

I want to thank my boy Tigo and the r/Stunfisk crew for giving me ideas and helping me write this text. You guys are cool.

Now that Pokémon Sun&Moon are out worldwide, I figured out I should write this post as a final goodbye to X/Y and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, the games that made the sixth Pokémon generation.

Mechanics / Changes:

Pokémon X/Y brought important changes to the series with the new Fairy-type and the introduction of Mega Evolutions. Those changes were as revolutionary as the introduction of the Steel and Dark-types in Pokémon Gold/Silver (2nd Generation), Abilities in Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire (3rd Generation) and the Physical/Special category split on the moves in Pokémon Diamond Pearl (4th Generation).

Fairy-type and matchup changes

Fairy-type was introduced as an answer to how powerful Dragon-types were in the competitive scene, akin to how Dark and Steel-types were introduced as balance countermeasures against Psychic-type. With Fairy-type being immune to Dragons and resisting both Dark and Fighting-types — two of the best offensive types in the game — some Pokémon stopped wrecking havoc in the competitive scene, thus making it healthier.

The best defensive type in the game got nerfed. In the former generations, Steel-types resisted Ghost and Dark-types, which they no longer do. This caused some dents on most bulky Steel-type Pokémon such as Heatran, Scizor and Ferrothorn, but the most affected Pokémon within this change were, without a doubt, Metagross, Jirachi and Bronzong.

On a side note, Aegislash would be even more busted if this change didn’t happen.

Mega Evolution

The Mega Evolution (as seen in the image below) was a brand new mechanic where some fully-evolved Pokémon could evolve further beyond and become more powerful (unless you choose to mega evolve an Audino).

To achieve Mega Evolution, all you need to do is give a Mega Stone to its correspondent Pokémon and it will get a +100 Base Stat boost. The Mega Stone is stuck within the Pokémon, so it can’t be removed by Knock Off, which will be the next thing we’ll talk about.

Knock Off and Defog

Knock Off and Defog were moves that got huge buffs in generation VI, with the former having its Base Power increased from 20 to 65, with its damage being further increased by 50% if the target is holding an item and the later being now able to clear Entry Hazards such as Stealth Rock — arguably the most important move in the Smogon Singles metagame.

These moves saw little use beforehand, with Knock Off being relegated as a bad move NPCs used in-game and Defog being completely forgettable outside of its use as a symbol of everything that was wrong with Gen. IV by its critics. In Gen. VI, they became staples of competitive play.

New Features:

Every new Pokémon game brings its share of new features to the table, and though their quality and relevance varies, most of them help make the games feel unique. Let’s take a look at the features Gen. VI brought to us:

Walking diagonally, sitting in chairs and roller skates

Generation VI was the first to let the players walk diagonally and sit on chairs. It was also the first generation to use another way of “fast movement” other than the bicycle, in the form of roller skates. As much as this sounds minimal, the added movement options help give a feeling of freedom and control we lacked until then, and it was really cool to be able to perform tricks with the roller skates.

More ways to get Pokémon

Appealing to both competitive and non-competitive players, generation VI brought us four ways to get easier competitive Pokémon, shinies or just complete the Pokédex.

Wonder Trade allows the player to trade one Pokémon away to another random player around the world while we receive one too. While it may be boring to get five Zigzagoons in a row, there were many times one could receive shiny Pokémon or one with good IVs, especially in community-driven events such as WTW: Wonder Trade Wednesday.

Horde Battles were fun in-game as random encounters along your journey as a Pokémon trainer, but they were also neat tools to gather shinies (I even got myself a nice green Oddish once!) and EV train your Pokémon.

Friend Safari was introduced as Pokémon X/Y only feature that allowed you to get some specific Pokémon your Pokédex lacked or if you’re more of a competitive player, Pokémon in the Friend Safari came with better IVs and sometimes their Hidden Ability. On top of this, the odds of getting a shiny in the Safari are higher and of course, it could be used to make friends!

Breeding. As seen in the image above, breeding was huge for both competitive battlers and shiny hunters, as it got completely revamped and made easier to breed battle ready Pokémon with the changes made to Destiny Knot and Everstone. The Masuda Method — the one where you breed two Pokémon from different nationalities, originally introduced in Gen. IV — also got a buff on the chance of hatching a shiny Pokémon.

Plot & Flavor:

Enough talking about the new features, mechanic changes and all that. Let’s talk about the game’s backbone, which is the plot and the flavorful stuff.

Pokémon X/Y Plot

Pokémon X/Y plot wasn’t good in my opinion. I don’t even know what to say, but let’s start with a question: what’s the purpose for Xerneas/Yveltal on the game’s plot? What does “using Xerneas/Yveltal power to achieve immortality/destroy everything” have to do with a world full of beauty?

Also, what the hell is with Team Flare?

“Their goal is to create a “beautiful and better” world while making money, eliminating everyone who does not follow their standards.” Source: Bulbapedia.

What are they, fashion nazis? I could totally see Lysandre having a mustache, making some kind of dab as a Flare Greeting and making speeches, looking like this:

Team Flare’s plan sounds as stupid as the “land > sea so I’ll show you with violence and stuff!” we had with (Omega) Ruby/(Alpha) Sapphire. I’ll even quote Cracticus from r/Stunfisk:

I don’t think anyone liked the X / Y plot. It was shallow, tried to be deep but was mostly confusing.

Delta Episode

The Delta Episode in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, however, was kind of cool. It was short and a bit nonsensical with the multi-dimensional shit trying to justify something, but I actually liked the lore about the Draconic people, Mega Rayquaza and the Meteor Falls. Chasing Zinnia around Hoenn made no sense just for that purpose, though: it seemed forced and was done in a boring way.

Soaring

Speaking of dragons, we got the Eon Flute in Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire, a key item that allowed the player to soar in the sky with the help of either Mega Latios or Mega Latias. While soaring, one could fly to any Route or Town we visited in the game or Mirage Spots — brand new places such as islands and caves with specific wild Pokémon you may or may not find in normal areas, along with TMs and other items — and in some instances, if certain conditions are met, Mirage Spots allow you to battle legendary Pokémon. The best part of soaring, however, was the tricks Mega Lati@s would perform if you pressed either R or L buttons.

NPCs and minor lore / subplot

Now that we’re done talking about the plot, NPCs are what make the game feel alive. Pokémon has had its fair share of memorable NPCs, such as the old man blocking you way because he threw a tantrum for not having his coffee, or Youngster Joey, whose Rattata is top percentage.

I’ve picked some NPCs I found cool, funny or had interesting moments in both Pokémon X / Y and Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire:

In Pokémon X / Y there’s an old man, depressed because of the death of his wife. He asks if the player can lend him a cute Pokémon with level 5 or under to keep him company for the time being. After defeating the Elite 4, if the player returns to the house it will find that the old man has passed away and left behind a Poké Ball containing the Pokémon lent to him, coupled with a letter thanking the player for their kindness in his last moment. Attached to the letter, there is a Comet Shard as a token of gratitude.

On the second floor of the Fighting Dojo’s building, a Hex Maniac will appear, say “No, you’re not the one,” and then float away. This has been intriguing some players, who started to call her “Ghost Girl”. In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the player can talk to a Hex Maniac in the first floor of Mt. Pyre — lair of some Ghost-type Pokémon — who says the exact same words.

There’s a house in Rustboro City (Pokémon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire) where the player can find an Ace Trainer who gives the player a Float Stone, explaining it will have the effect of lowering its holder’s weight. After revisiting the building, the player will see that the Ace Trainer has turned into a Hiker, who tells he has put on a lot of weight for an unkown reason.

In Mauville Hills, there are three NPCs I find really interesting: one is a man who said his dream was to own a house, but that dream turned into a nightmare called mortgage. The other is a Collector who is late to pay his rent, saying he’s being harassed by a loan shark who’s threatening to expel the Collector from the house if he does not pay — these two NPCs take a big dose of realism, or real life problems. Last but not least, our favorite NPC from Mauville Hills is the Powerless Man (whose story can be read in the documents of Sea Mauville, or here), who will fuse with the old guys to transform into Mr. Bonding, who proceeds to give the player the Hatching O-Power.

Talking about the Sea Mauville, even though it’s not an NPC, its lore is actually pretty interesting and can be seen here.

In the Battle Maison of Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire there’s a girl who tells the player our little Wally is now a big boy, and I’ll quote: “Have you heard a rumor about the battle-maniac prince with green hair? I heard he’s very good-looking and my friend tried to get his attention. But he’s very into battles, and all he talked about was something like base stats, type matchups and so on.”, while there’s also another girl who says he’s up really early in the morning or late at night running around trying to hatch the eggs he bred — I’m so proud Wally is officially a Smogonite.

Still in the Battle Maison, there’s a gentleman who gives a huge slap to everyone who praises Karen’s quote: “It’s the one thing to enjoy leisurely battles, but real battles can be a severe trial. Truly strong Trainers sometimes must be prepared to choose Pokémon that can win rather than their favorite Pokémon.”

The TV Shows (not to be confused with the PokéNav television shows)

Even as a minor flavor part of the game, I like the TV Shows in Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire a lot, as they not only have random filler shows, some actually contain a lot of information about items, abilities and moves — which are introduced in a funny and short way. There are many shows, but here are the ones I enjoy most:

“The Ability Warrior: Poké Ranger”, a comic show about a Poké Ranger who has the Steadfast ability and uses it to fights the Ability-Villains;

The “I-See News” with James Movesworth (I can’t love this pun enough), who talks about how useful some moves can be both in battle and in the everyday life;

The “What’s That” talkshow about items, presented by a Lady and Watchy, the grumpy Watchog;

“Trouble Talk Time”, with Roman, a cool guy who, and I’ll quote, “helps all y’all troubled teens with your traumas”;

And of course my favorite one, in the “Best of Sinnoh TV” there’s “The Diary of a Poké Romantic”, which is a drama about a girl who fell in love with a Gym Leader.

OSTs

The OSTs in Pokémon are historically great, and in the series’ sixth generation aren’t an exception. Lumiose seems to be the most memorable track to the people I talked to, maybe because it’s where people hatched the eggs received at the Daycare, which is the reason I find Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire’s Battle Maison OST to be memorable. Honestly I can’t say much about OSTs because I usually don’t pay attention to those unless they’re really good, so I have to say Wally’s and the Legendary Pokémon battle themes to be my favorite ones.

Player Customization

Pokémon X/Y introduced the Player Customization — which is coming back now in Pokémon Sun / Moon — as a fun way to buy fashion items and get quite some combinations that will make your character look unique. Player customization allowed you to customize your online icon, overworld model, and even your character´s full-sized battle model, which is a really interesting touch since Kalos is based on France, the capital of fashion. This way, every character had a way to look beautiful, cute or cool!

Pokémon Contests and Secret Bases

Speaking of beauty, cute and cool, the next thing we’ll talk about are two things that make Hoenn feel different: Contests and Secret Bases. While Sinnoh also has both features, Hoenn makes these feel unique, as they contain a charm of originality.

Contests saw a major upgrade: now when a Pokémon gets maximum appealing from the crowd it will perform a “special skill”, which will be based on the category of the competition, or will be the Pokémon’s Mega Evolution if it is holding a Mega Stone. The player is also given the special Cosplay Pikachu, which is a multi-form female Pikachu who can dress differently for each category — Cool, Beauty, Tough, Cute and Smart, which has been renamed to Clever — each dress giving a new move to Pikachu.

As for Secret Bases, aside getting more options to decorate one’s Secret Base, they got an easier way to be shared with the world, now through connecting to the internet or via QR code. The players can also call friends to join their Secret Base, thus creating unofficial Gyms open for anyone. This led to the creation of “Blissey Bases”, which are a type of Secret Bases where the players can find Level 100 Blisseys and battle them in order to get the maximum amount of Exp. Points to level up their Pokémon.

Competitive Play

What would Pokémon be without Smogon and VGC? Pokémon centers around battles, and spicing them up with competitiveness just makes it better!

Mega Kangaskhan and Talonflame

Some Pokémon can be constant threats when it comes to battles, to the point where it’s practically a necessity to account for them when building a team by having some way to counter them. This is true to Mega Kangaskhan (in Double Battles) and Talonflame (in Single battles), as the former is banned by the rules of Smogon thanks to her ability Parental Bond, which functions not only as a Choice Band, but also breaks Focus Sashes, gives +2 Attack when using Power-up Punch and its most powerful use being the combination with Seismic Toss to deal 200 true damage. The later has the powerful ability Gale Wings, which grants priority to every Flying-type moves it uses, such as Brave Bird, Acrobatics, Roost and Tailwind, while having a decent 81 base Attack stat and access to other good moves like Flare Blitz and Will-o-Wisp.

Both have a huge influence in the metagame they’re part of, however they still have counters and a way to play around them, since Kangaskhan tends to deal single-target only damage and her priority moves being countered by Quick Guard, while Talonflame has checks and switch-ins such as Rotom-Wash, Landorus-Therian and some other Rock-type Pokémon.

The Pachirisu Miracle

Sejun Park won VGC’14 with Pachirisu being a member of his team. Built as a redirector support, Pachirisu was carefully chosen because it had a unique combination of moves in Follow Me / Nuzzle / Super Fang, this last move only became avaliable as a Tutor Move in 2015 with the release of Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.

It’s worth to say that the Pokémon pool in 2014 was smaller than in 2015, so it’s one of the biggest reasons why it was used.

CHALK / Big Six

CHALK and Big Six were the bread and butter archetype for VGC’15 and VGC’16 respectively. Everyone at the high-end tournaments were either playing the archetype or something that countered it, so that shows how strong those archetypes were.

CHALK stands for Cresselia / Heatran / Amoonguss / Landorus-Therian / (Mega) Kangaskhan. These five Pokémon, along with another of the players choice — usually Thundurus, Aegislash or Sylveon — were usually strong enough to deal with most of the metagame as long as the player made smart moves. Landorus, Heatran and Kangaskhan functioned as huge damage dealers, while Cresselia and Amoonguss filled a more defensive role as support or redirector.

Sometimes a few of those Pokémon were swapped, for example switching Heatran with Volcarona or Entei or Mega Kangaskhan with Mega Gardevoir.

Big Six was the VGC’16 version of CHALK, consisting of Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Salamence, Primal Groudon, Xerneas, Smeargle and Talonflame. Megas were used along with Primal Groudon and Xerneas as the offensive core while getting support from Smeargle’s Dark Void and Talonflame’s Tail Wind.

Some of these Pokémon were swapped, usually Mega Salamence, for another support Pokémon such as Raichu, Bronzong or even Thundurus.

The good, the bad and the quickbanned

In all honesty, the title is kind of a lie since only two of the pokemon I will be talking about have actually been quickbanned.

The two Pokémon I was reffering to are an old duo from Gen. IV Ubers, now in Mega form: Salamence and Rayquaza. Mega Salamence was in OU when Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire were still being datamined, but went straight to Ubers with the game’s release, while Mega Rayquaza lasted eight days in Uber before it was banned to its very own tier, created just for it: Anything Goes — the ruleless tier.

Under the Smogon ruleset, Mega Rayquaza is confined to AG, however its draconic brother Mega Salamenced thrived in Ubers, achieving a S viability ranking, not to mention powerful it was and how much usage it saw in VGC’15 and VGC’16.

Aegislash, while hated by many, had its own good points, yet those good points lived long enough to turn into toxic aspects. Its iconic move, King’s Shield, was unhealthy in a way that promoted a predicting game where the Aegislash owner would almost always end up in a comfortable position. It also had many movesets — such as Swords Dance, Substitute + Toxic or Weakness Policy Mixed — making it hard to predict and enforcing a 50/50 metagame, which was incredibly unhealthy.

Greninja was banned with a 80% majority, making it the second starter Pokémon to be banned from OU. Greninja was not only overversatile with many mixed movesets, it also dished out a lot of damage, having STAB on every move thanks to Protean. Having such a wide movepool, it was hard to counter it as it could be running X move that would either be countered or not, thus enforcing a 50/50 metagame.

It’s also worth noting that Greninja has always been a top tier threat in the XY metagame, but it had its checks. However, with the release of Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire and its Move Tutors, it got access to Gunk Shot or Low Kick which would obliterate its former checks like Exodia does on a normal day.

Mega Sableye was the last Pokémon to be banned in ORAS OU, after a two-times Suspect Process and one day before Pokémon Sun/Moon release — which honestly was the only reason I decided to include it here. Mega Sableye was the face of the stall archetype, having strong 50 HP / 125 Defense / 125 Special Defense stats, coupled with the anti-stall ability Magic Bounce. This, allied with the fact that it had a good defensive utility movepool with Knock Off, Taunt, Will-o-Wisp while being immune to Rapid Spin made the Stall vs Stall game a lot slower and thus unhealthy and boring.

Closing words

After getting through four aspects of what generation VI was, what do you think? Do you think it was better or worse than previous generations? Are there features you want to see in future games? Did you like the metagame now or then?

I actually liked this generation a lot! The Megas made some forgotten Pokémon — such as Mawile, Beedrill and Camerupt — rise in popularity. I’d love to see more minor flavor things like the TV Shows and the Sea Mauville lore and I’m in for more intriguing NPCs. As for the metagame, VGC’15 became my favorite along with VGC’13.

Closing this post, I’d like to say that Gen. VI was a huge step to the Pokémon franchise when it comes to originality and innovation.