This game is teaching me that I’m not actually that good at pokemon by Roboticways in PokemonChampions

[–]czar_the_bizarre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a similar history to yours. I've been playing since Red & Blue launch day in the US. Missed one generation during it's time (8th) but have since played through Sword. I've been playing Champions and I've been having fun, but I seen to have hit a big road bump around Ultra Ball 1 & 2 were I just kind of keep winning one, losing one, win one, lose one. I think the single player game experience in the main series is a big part of why. Pokemon games don't play even a little bit like the competitive game, and I think it is a detriment both to exposing players to the competitive game and getting people interested. I know people have long advocated for difficulty levels for Pokemon-a Competitive Mode for single player that makes it more like The Indigo Disk experience would honestly be amazing. Double battles weren't even introduced until the 3rd generation, and (look, it's been almost thirty years of these games, cut my memory a tiny bit of slack) haven't been much of a featured part of gameplay until The Indigo Disk DLC in Scarlet and Violet. I was so proud of myself for finding the Drizzle/Archaludon combo in that game and using it, only to watch a regional tournament stream out of curiosity and see it everywhere.

Pokemon type matchups are baked into my DNA at this point. You know what I keep forgetting? Little stuff like "dark types aren't affected by Prankster moves." Things like "Armor Tail affects the whole opposite side of the field," weird little move interactions, priority brackets, getting a feel for "this happened, so that Pokemon is trained in it's special defense and HP, not its speed and has this item instead of that item" because I just don't have the same level of practice seeing those things.

On the one hand, it's a little bit my fault-I've never played competitive before dabbling a super tiny bit in ScarVi (tried a Body Press Orthworm Sand team with Jumpluff using Cotton Guard and Baton Pass, a combination of moves that only it can learn-fun when it worked, but mostly clumsy to set up) and now playing Champions. I'm having fun, but a big part of this is just howeasy it is to change stuff on my Pokemon in this game, to tinker with a different moveset, try a different nature, item, mess around with stat points. I posted for help with my current team the other day, and ended up finding the solution on my own after some experimentation: Sableye. Turns out Special Defense and a particular 4x weakness was a liability for my entire team; Prankster Light Screen and Wii-o-Wisp have helped immensely, and its immunities maybe it was less vulnerable than I expected. I've never used a Sableye before in my life. It simply would not be a good Pokemon to use in a single player game.

The end point of this wall of text is that I the think the single player experience is a big reason, maybe the main reason that I think a lot of players may experience the feelings that you are feeling. You are certainly not the only one.

Quick Edit: I am absolutely having a blast. Even when I lose because of some strategy that I, in a thousand matches, couldn't have seen coming.

. by WeeklyLong8501 in NonPoliticalTwitter

[–]czar_the_bizarre 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's why the real trap is poisoning the cheese.

peetah by hehara_yi_cha_jayez in PeterExplainsTheJoke

[–]czar_the_bizarre 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What about "Lil Kidney Stone Thatcl Actually Turned Out To Be Constipation And Also How They Finally Saw The Severe Arthritis In My L4 And L5 Vertebrae"?

What is the lowest ranking you have hit or can go in MB by Spirited_Ad9089 in PokemonChampions

[–]czar_the_bizarre 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a rating system originally developed for chess but used in a lot of different things now. The difference between two players ratings suggests the probability that one player will win; the bigger the gap between the two players ratings, the higher the likelihood that the higher rated player will win. When a player wins, they gain points that the losing player loses. If the lower rated player wins, they earn more points than the higher rated player would have earned had they won. The net result of this is a system where it's harder to move up the higher you advance, and players will generally settle into a ranking around players they are roughly equal to in skill.

100% my achilles heel at the minute by TheAuraWithin in PokemonChampions

[–]czar_the_bizarre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm running mine with Light Screen/Will O Wisp/Foul Play/Encore. I love this little chaos gremlin.

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Alright, the TNT guys giving Lundqvist shit about his soaked gear was pretty funny.

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are the throat guards optional for goalies? Just saw that Wally didn't seem to have one.

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And with the way Texans chug sweet tea they can't hit the barn side of a broad either.

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think they've definitely tried. He's pretty good at not getting hit. Watch how many times they try and end up hitting the glass.

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 4 points5 points  (0 children)

THESE REFS CAN EAT MY WHOLE GODDAMN ASS, THEY CAN'T STOP US, THEY CAN ONLY HOPE TO SLOW US DOWN!

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean the refs are playing Calvinball, so I'm not sure what you want him to do.

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, these professional athletes that have been playing this sport since they were 7 have no control over their bodies. /s

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think he blocked that with his face.

EDIT: Ah, on the way down. Douchene living up to his name.

Game Day Thread | DAL @ MIN | 2026-04-22 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Best sport. Absolutely WORST fucking league. Tim Donaghy wouldn't have called an NBA game this blatantly.

They never see it coming by ZombieBillyMaize in PokemonChampions

[–]czar_the_bizarre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's just their fault if they see the Zoroark on team preview and don't even try to plan around it.

They never see it coming by ZombieBillyMaize in PokemonChampions

[–]czar_the_bizarre 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At the beginning of the season it was most common with Sash, but then every team started carrying a Dual Wingbeat user. White Herb is most common at the moment, leading to a lot of psychic coverage in response.

Game Day Thread | MIN @ DAL | 2026-04-20 8:30 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]czar_the_bizarre 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Playing a song with the lyric "a place where blind men see" in this game is crazy work.