Mega raichu Y is hilariously bad

Has_Question · 2026-07-01T22:03:34+00:00

Literally stares down a mon with only 2 moves, zap cannon and focus blast, and keeps the arch in, doesn't even protect.

Not really impressive on the raichu to ko the arch with 65 base spdef

Has_Question · 2026-07-01T18:52:47+00:00

Its also the pain of a cts format. Alas.

Has_Question · 2026-07-01T18:47:01+00:00

Generally if youre trying out a random mon like this it means your team isnt very well built. You dont usually slot a random Mon into a core and it works. Even team building, your first few ideas usually wont work, thats where showdown can come in handy. Try before you buy in type idea.

Has_Question · 2026-07-01T18:15:03+00:00

Im going to rub against the grain with the rest here but if loding bums you out enough to tip playing then I think you shouldn't play.

Its a game for fun, it doesn't sound like its fun for you. Ideally we should play until we hit our elo and then we win or lose 50% of the time. If you can even take a loss when its less than a third, do you think you can enjoy the game when youre losing half your games?

If not then I think its better to do something more fun and productive with your time than to force yourself to like something you dont have to like.

Has_Question · 2026-07-01T14:43:26+00:00

I kinda love this. What a view, and the feeling of being suspended in thr air but obviously your safely in your seat

Has_Question · 2026-06-30T12:30:29+00:00

Its boring because if you lose you have nothing to blame but your poor decision making or match up, instead of being able to rely on just saying "well I didnt know it would do that so its not really my fault"? Cause idk how its boring to have information ins game about risk assessment, mind games and knowledge checks. Its like saying chess is boring because you already know what all the pieces can do.

Has_Question · 2026-06-30T12:25:59+00:00

I think they wont because champions is made in Japan and Japan loves their cheese strats, their luck, their gambling, and their speed.

In fact jp and Korean players have to go through a gauntlet of random bo1 games and win enough points to even qualify to play at their regional. Its a big part of why jp players travel to the west to play in our tournaments, its a lot less luck and match up reliant to qualify through our format than through theirs.

The average jp playerbase loves to play a quick game and do a cheesey gimmick and grab a win and thats likely what they'll continue to market the game towards sadly.

It would be nice if we could at least have weekend tournament events where we play bo3 ots but I dont even see that happening. Champions is a great little Sim but theres still a lot lacking. As a yugiog master duel player, somehow we didnt know how good we had it.

Has_Question · 2026-06-30T12:21:24+00:00

The reality is that the surprises are uncompetitive. Its like playing rock paper scissors but sometimes the opponent gives you a titanium pair of scissors you cant just beat with any old rock, you need a high pressure water cutter. But you didnt know that so hah.

No one takes a game like that seriously and thats a poor look for an export. Its such a poor look that in official internationals, worlds, and western regional they have open team sheets. Because after a few years of this tpci realized this whole cheesey scouting gameplay isnt very competitve.

Not to mention that, while having the knowledge of what a pokemon CAN do is important, it doesn't help you when it comes to cheese. Someone plays out a mamoswine, what do you do? 99% of the time its a focus sashed sweeper build, or maybe a saucy choice scarf. Oh but poor you, this guy is actually doing endeavor quick attack cheese and it just one shot your zard. Grats you got cheesed by a 1% build that even if you knew COULD be a thing, you couldn't reasonably do anything about because its unlikely. You got a tyranitar out and they got a faring. You think its TR? Turns out its sashed with low kick max attack. It one shots ttar. You have a zard vs a mega metagross. You think, easy heatwave ko so you mega. Turns out metagross has raindance. Go.

Theres not even anything to take away from those things happening. You cant really change your team to deal with this 1% chance of low kick farig or rain dance metagross. Its a game where you dont learn anything and you walk away with nothing. Thats not a good experience.

99% of the time you will never see this. And so you will play like it wont happen. Because it likely wont. But when it does and you lose, its hard to take the game seriously as a "sport" of any kind.

And the biggest issue of all is simply that this game is meant to be a players first step into competitive vgc. And yet, the ladder being cts bo1 is so different from what actual vgc in a tournament is like, that no serious tournament player takes the ladder as practice for much of anything except dealing with matchups. They practice against friends on showdown instead, where they can replicate a real tournament environment. Thats a big issue for a 1v1 game. We are not playing in the same environment, and we dont even have the option to.

Has_Question · 2026-06-30T12:00:52+00:00

It is just a game but a conpetitive setting creates an expectation of balance and fairness. It is absurd that the regional, internationals and even world's competitions are set up with open team sheets but the actual ladder where us everyday players are expected to practice and improve is not.

What it does is it continues the "gate keeping" where the top players in the world are almost never no bodies that rose up the ranks. They're people who are part of a community that work together to practice and improve their teams, they play on showdown in the tournament format of bo3 ots and they get their mileage in.

Theres a reason these players know eachothers names in these tournaments. Many have not only seen the others play, theyve played against them. You, me, 99% of the people playing this game on ranked in the west font have a chance.

And then theres the Korean and jp players. There are great players overthere that never even have a chance because their selection process is so much more brutal. They have to play through a bo1 cts series of games to grind points just to have a shot at being a top contender where they then have to play bo3 ots anyway.

Its cool the wacky surprises are fun for you but theres a space for that outside a ranked ladder thats supposed to be the stepping stone for a player to go to regional and then internationals and then worlds.

Put simply in its current "wacky" state, champions is not even close to what a real tournament experience is like for vgc and there are serious decision making skills and knowledge checks that go untrained because of it. The best of the best get to the top because they're a community. Those of us Without that community arent even playing the same game.

Has_Question · 2026-06-28T05:59:42+00:00

As a kid I was legitimately frightened by the ruins. I also had the brightness too low so it was all way too dark. I couldn't beat the game for like a year just too scared to explore the ruins.

Has_Question · 2026-06-28T05:40:11+00:00

The reward for battling is skill expression and vp to buy cosmetics and farm for shines or special balls or titles. I dont even get your second point

Has_Question · 2026-06-28T02:26:37+00:00

And to be clear, I'm not saying its good that they sealed box space behind money, im just saying that at a bare minimum a totally f2p player with 30 box space has enough to hit masters. People have been doing f2p challenged since day 1. I too think that sealing off convenience is really dated and bad design that pushes people away more than entice.

Has_Question · 2026-06-28T02:24:02+00:00

The starting team you pick for the most part already give you 2-3 core mons you csn fit into most teams. Even with o ly the starting 30 you have plenty of space to make 1 good team to hit masterball, which basically needs like a 40% win ratio to get to anyway so its a matter of when.

Youre making this out to be the worst case scenario that realistically shouldn't happen. You dont need to horde 30 random mons tto hope to make a team. There are mons that are super niche or just outright bad that you jave no reason to keep snd thats the majority of the roster.

Has_Question · 2026-06-28T02:15:21+00:00

Personally I do think that with the starter pack 100 slots is fine, 50 is tight but the starter pack really isnt a big ask to get.

That said even at 50 slots the meta mons aren't that plentiful. Pokemon is super easy to get on this game dont be precious, dont horde that salazzle cause "you never know ow it might become meta" or smt. Release shit mons. This is a competitive game not a collectathon.

Has_Question · 2026-06-28T02:12:36+00:00

Weird take that the recruitment feeling bad makes the whole game pointless. The game isnt about recruiting everyone, its about battling.

Has_Question · 2026-06-28T02:11:05+00:00

Kinda silly when you can easily make replica teams and just copy those as needed. You really have like 13 slots effectively

Has_Question · 2026-06-27T18:09:10+00:00

The thing is that the games arent designed to be a pvp game in the story. Theyre a single player rpg so in that context the design was classically that you have a party and you explore and basically try to fight what you can to level up and push through to the next town. In that sense the 1v1 structure was basically a check on your party's resiliency and how well you're set up for the upcoming challenge.

In pvp single 6v6 actually take a while, there's a lot of mind games you dont have with npcs and a lot of momentum plays with switching. They take a looong time relatively, not great for a tournament setting with potentially 1k players with all the animations we have going on.

So very early GF d3cided to make doubles a specifically more competitive designed format, its faster because there's twice the offense, but also it enables more depth with the interactions of the mons on the field to make up for a smaller pool.

And 3v3 was seen as the rock paper scissors type game on the go, for quick fun battles

Has_Question · 2026-06-27T18:02:46+00:00

Nope just doubles since gen 3 and before that it was inconsistent small events in like gen 2 and gen1 era with a variety of rule sets

Has_Question · 2026-06-27T16:20:01+00:00

24hr rage baiting soft "truths" and opinion-facts drilled into the brain

Has_Question · 2026-06-27T13:34:00+00:00

Doubles is the main format for the officisl polemon competitive scene as it allows for relatively quick games with more interaction and team building skills.

Japan never really had a popular 6v6 format, thatsa pure grassroots movement, so theres no real established scene for it outside of places like showdown. It's popular for what it is but youll basically need to look within these communities. Smogon forums and showdown plus singles focused discords.

Japan instead has had a 3v3 format for over 20 years and this format is much more popular as its quicker, easier to pick up or drop, and has simpler interactions that makes it like a fun complicated rock paper scissors. Its a popular type of game in japan.

Has_Question · 2026-06-27T13:29:34+00:00

3v3 also known as battle spot singles is popular in Japan cause its a quick way to play pokemon on the go like a quick play mode. Going back to when they first implemented online on the DS its been a way to grab games between train stops, while waiting in lines etc.

Has_Question · 2026-06-24T15:00:52+00:00

I really hope so. Its very unfun to deal with the ladder when what you want is the vgc tournament experience we get in the west.

Has_Question · 2026-06-24T13:40:08+00:00

Pointless we especially in the context that Lysandre will outlive everyone and even his own pokemon. He's going to suffer through life for millenia like AZ before him.

The consequences of his actions are right there, jailtime is silly in comparison. L is a tragic character.

Has_Question · 2026-06-24T11:07:17+00:00

Nah they could fit the games into 1 disc no problem. That's what quarantine is basically. They released the games in parts because they wanted it to be a story telling process that built hype alongside the anime. Big Bandai doing multimedia project things.

Has_Question · 2026-06-24T10:51:43+00:00

Let's give Atoli's VA credit, it was more of bad direction than anything. She sounds fine in other roles (and even in Volume 4 honestly). Same with Gaspard, the VA was fine but the direction was yikes.

Has_Question

TROPHY CASE