Hey there. I’ve been reading your blog, and noticed your rant on the HM system. Something that always bugged me is that HMs seem to be extremely basic techniques for Pokemon. That’s not the problem, though; what bothers me is that you have to teach your Pokemon how to do it. For example, why on earth do you need to teach a Gallade how to cut? Or your Drifblim to fly? Or your Vaporeon to swim and dive? Waterfall’s at least excusable, but still. Just wanted your input on the subject.

When did I do a rant on the HM system?

I mean, I’m sure I must have; someone’s probably asked me about it before, only… I don’t remember what I said…

…oh dear…

Er… anyway. I’ve seen a lot of people handle this by saying that the knowledge conferred by an HM is not just about how to use the skill in question, but how to use it in a way that is useful to humans. Teaching a Pokémon Surf, for instance, does not equate to teaching it how to swim – most Water-types, obviously, already know how to do that. It’s teaching a Pokémon how to swim with a human-sized passenger (not necessarily a trivial thing). I’ve actually seen it suggested that the technique Dive creates and maintains a bubble of air to allow a trainer to breathe while accompanying a Pokémon on an underwater excursion. Similarly, flying unencumbered is an entirely different proposition to flying with a 12-year-old kid hanging off you, hacking away at a rigid, immobile tree requires a rather different kind of cutting action to slicing through an opponent’s flesh, and shifting a massive boulder may require not just raw strength but a precise application of force to a single point.

It’s not a perfect rationalisation, but I think it works.

Okay, i know what you’re like, so i know your answer to begin with. But i was hoping you could explain WHY everyone is so negative to the idea of “light” type. I mean, it’s not asif it’s too similar to a type already and everyone saying it might ‘break’ the type chat more seem to be basing that on no logic whatsoever. The only other time they added more types (dark and steel) as to fix the thpe chart (abit)

Do you mean ‘negative’ or ‘skeptical’? Those are two very different things, and there are people going both ways.

I’m not sure I can answer why people might be negative about it, because personally I’m not. I might have said before that, if I were going to add a new type, I’d go with Light or Holy, although I don’t think the game needs it. If they are going to add a new type, that’s fine by me. I can only pray that it does a better job of creating balance than Steel did.

I’m skeptical that this is what they’re doing because I simply don’t think we have sufficient evidence to conclude something like that. I’ve seen people’s arguments that Ninfia and Xerneas are Light-types, and they do not convince me. I still think Ninfia is a Bug-type, and I have no clue what Xerneas is, but really, that means little. How many people picked Palkia as a Water-type before Diamond and Pearl were released? How many people were convinced Reshiram was going to be a Light-type?

Of course, I don’t think we have sufficient evidence to conclude that they’re not adding Light as an element either. Since we’re all going to find out sooner or later, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. I am the very soul of apathy on this matter.

Would you ever consider of making a top 5 favorite Pokemon generations in the future as Gen V is at an end?

What, like… order them from best to worst? I don’t know; I sort of think they all had good points and bad points. Actually I’ve always thought that, for each generation, you can pick out one or two things that it did better than any of the others.

Five had the best storytelling (well, so far, anyway), with a plot that finally tackled an issue that has made people uneasy about the Pokémon franchise from day one.

Four made the most beneficial mechanical changes, which (in my view) essentially completed the battle system, most notably the reclassification of physical and special attacks, but also the addition of a glut of new items, moves and abilities. Most (but, I hasten to add, not all) of what Five has added to that has been largely superfluous or gimmicky.

Three, I think, had the best music (personal taste, of course, but still) and the best-written Pokédex (seriously, it did; look up the entries some time and compare them – this is the only generation where the writers have put serious thought into giving us new information about old Pokémon).

Two, in my opinion, did very well with that vague thing called ‘atmosphere,’ which consists of many small things and is, of course, impossible to define, but a couple of contributing factors which I think worked very well are the way Two did legendary Pokémon (my full thoughts on the matter can be found here), the related fact that the games have a more detailed plot than Red and Blue without developing the ‘apocalypse complex’ of the next two generations, and the numerous callbacks to the first generation, particularly through the use of the Kanto areas (something Black 2 and White 2 have picked up on and continued).

And One… well, One was, let’s be honest with ourselves here, kind of a mess but it had that sort of glitchy charm to it, didn’t it? Besides, that was what started it all, and none of the rest would be here without it, and surely that has to count for something.

The thought occurs that I haven’t actually answered your question, but hopefully this will have given you some amusement.

How do you think the Cloud Nine ability works? I mean, only 3 evolution families get it and I’m not entirely sure why a Lickitung would block the effects of rain or what have you.

Well, I have a policy that I don’t try to explain individual moves or abilities on specific Pokémon unless they seem to be important parts of the Pokémon’s design, on the grounds that it’s just asking for trouble. I think Cloud Nine is one of those powers that we just have to chalk up to “magic.”

But what kind of magic?

It’s interesting that it’s so exclusive – prior to the introduction of the Dream World, Cloud Nine was the signature ability of Psyduck and Golduck; the only other Pokémon who could block weather effects was Rayquaza, through his Air Lock power. Cloud Nine appears to create an area of calm, neutral weather around the Pokémon using it; it makes a sort of intuitive sense that Altaria would have a power like this because 1) she’s a cloud Pokémon, and 2) a lot of her other characteristics and powers are related to calmness and serenity. Golduck’s other ability is Damp, another ability related to enforcing calmness and shutting down chaotic powers, and Cloud Nine could explain Golduck’s famous strength as a swimmer (Sapphire version claims that even the stormiest of seas do not hinder him). As for Lickilicky… I’m afraid I’m honestly not sure. Lickitung and Lickilicky don’t have any other notable powers related to either calmness or weather. I’ve always thought they were silly Pokémon anyway, so I’m not hugely bothered by that, but it does bug me, because normally when Game Freak give a rare move or ability to a Pokémon they have a clear reason in mind… I just can’t figure out what it is.

One of the biggest annoyances in the Pokemon games is being forced to teach a member of your party an HM move to progress, or get extra goodies, thus giving birth to the infamous HM slave. How I’d fix this is just allow HM field abilities to be used by pokemon who can learn them, as long as you have the HM and the gym badge that allows its use, with having to actually teach them the move to be completely optional. But if given the chance how would you fix it? (if different than my method)

Hell yes.

I could go into a long and detailed rant about why I don’t like the HM system, but since you agree with me anyway, I’ll spare you.

You’re quite right that the simplest answer would be to make the various field abilities into inherent characteristics of the Pokémon requiring no special training, a la Pokémon Ranger. I have floated one other method in the past – I was trying to kill two birds with one stone and also make the Unown useful in the game, so I suggested the introduction of special tablets that could ‘seal’ sequences of Unown and then produce supernatural effects in keeping with the sequence used – so a tablet reading SWIM, for instance, would allow you to cross water. Basically, you gain these abilities by capturing a large number of different Unown, something the games have always encouraged you to do but never adequately rewarded.

I could go on, but I have an entry on this subject planned for the… well, I don’t want to say ‘near’ future because that’s tempting fate, but… yes.

I think when they get to a really high number of Pokemon, perhaps after Pokemon X and Y, they might move to a new time period, maybe in the past or future, where many current Pokemon either don’t exist yet, or have become extinct depending on the time, then release a new Gen, kind of like starting from scratch. What do you think about the idea?

Do I think they’ll do it, or would I like it if they did?

If there’s one thing I know about Game Freak, it’s that they like to stick with what they know will work. I doubt they would abandon their setting lightly. Not to say that it’s impossible; they seem to have been very consciously trying to confound our expectations during the last generation or two (and, of course, in a spin-off game anything goes), but I think it’s unlikely.

Anyway, I’m biased, naturally; I’m a history guy, so I would very much like to see a Pokémon game set in the past. I have always felt that Pokémon is a game about discovery and exploration, and the fifth generation, particularly the second pair of games, seem at times to be going out of their way to imply that there’s really not that much left to discover. Setting a game in the past would get away from all that. I also think it could be a great deal of fun to work around all the modern conveniences we’re used to from the newer games. Fewer Pokémon Centres in the past – maybe you have to help set them up? No PC storage system – carrier Pidgey? Most Pokéballs are going to be made from Apricorns – gotta find a time and place to cultivate them and create more effective strains. Medicine? Probably going to rely a lot on herbs and berries. There’s a lot you could do with a game like that.

so someone already asked if there was a pokemon from the kanto region that you denied the right to exist and you said no or not really my question what is the worst kanto pokemon not one that doesn’t deserve to exist just one that strikes you as lame

For the benefit of other readers, this is in reference to this question:
http://pokemaniacal.tumblr.com/post/37543714121/im-probably-a-generic-question-asker-seeing-as-my

I should probably clarify what I said on that topic, since I am a little worried you have gotten the wrong idea. I don’t think the Kanto Pokémon are in any sense superior to those of later generations. I certainly don’t think that all of them are well designed. Indeed, I think several of them are in many ways quite poor. However, for a variety of reasons, I don’t think you can necessarily judge them according to the same standard as the later additions, which makes them very difficult for me to deal with.

Anyway, since you asked…

I have an exceedingly low opinion of Krabby and Kingler. So, these Pokémon are crabs? Great; what do they do? "Crab things.“ Um… anything else? "No. Why would they need to do anything else?” Sandshrew and Sandslash, likewise, have always struck me as rather bland. I suppose I would be remiss if I did not bring up Fearow, Pidgeot and their associated spawn, because although they have the advantage of being the first in the interminable lineage of generic bird Pokémon and therefore have a better claim to legitimacy than any of the rest, they’re still simply not that interesting when you compare them to the likes of Dodrio and Farfetch’d. Raticate is perhaps worth consideration as possibly the only Pokémon in existence with absolutely no supernatural powers whatsoever; he’s just a really big rat.

The other annoying thing Red and Blue did was take some of the most obscure Pokémon in the game, the species you could only get one of, or only a few with great difficulty, and decide that they would be, absolutely without question, not worth it. Farfetch’d is one (also a cool design cursed to have no useful skills at all), Lickitung another, Porygon probably the worst of all.

I could go on, but I’ve probably pissed off enough people already.

If gamefreak put you in charge of making the next game outside of the “Pokemon __ version” Gym-Badge seeking titles… what kind of game would you make?

People ask me this periodically. I always wonder what sort of answer they’re expecting. I mean, you do realise you’re talking to a guy who will spend three days writing a 2000-word essay on what Pokémon gender actually means? Asking me “how would you do the next Pokémon game?” is liable to produce a small book.

I have been meaning to do this, though. For quite some time, in fact. I keep coming across other things that I want to do first but, damnit, enough! It’s next on my list! Just as soon as I finish narrating my journey through White 2. I suppose with the oncoming release of X and Y, the topic is rather apropos, if nothing else.

When you speak of team types? What are some useful strategics?

When did I…?

Look, honestly, if you want strategic advice, the best suggestion I can give you is DON’T ASK ME. There are, like, a zillion people on the internet who are much better at that sort of thing than I am.

What other pokemon items do you think about? I mean to list EVERY item you can give to a pokemon and how it actually works might be signing your death wish, but are any that you have a good idea for, or some that you hate to think about? My favorite is how the silk scarf apparently makes normal attack stronger

Eh. I think about Pokéballs because they’re so unmissably integral to how the setting works. How Pokéballs function has massive implications for the way Pokémon interact with humans, so I can’t really avoid the damn things. Other items, not so much.

I think a lot of those type-boosting items are probably viewed as either confidence boosters of some sort (the scarf, the Hard Stone, maybe the Charcoal), as directly increasing the potency of attacks in some way (the Poison Barb, possibly the Magnet) or as being actually magical – it’s a common belief, for instance, that the body parts of magical creatures are magical as well, and Dragon Pokémon are ridiculously magical, so one of their fangs could very well have some sort of talismanic properties; we’re probably supposed to imagine something similar regarding the Mystic Water pendant.

I suppose some of the others might have special properties because they’re made of materials unavailable in the real world, for instance, the glass in Choice Specs is made from the ground-up core of a Starmie and bends the light in such a way as to reveal the points of a Pokémon’s body most vulnerable to magical attacks, or a Choice Scarf is made from… I don’t know, like, an Alakazam’s moustache hair or something.

The sixteen Plates, which determine Arceus’ nature and powers, are probably important, but goodness knows how they work. In… *ahem*… that movie… Arceus is able to use all of the Plates he possesses at once, changing his type at will in order to block incoming attacks. I think the way we’re supposed to see it is that Arceus, in his natural state, belongs to all types, but is in a weakened and diminished form without the Plates, which contain a portion of his ‘essence’ and can be used as a source of power either by him or by any other Pokémon.

So, yeah. The answer is that for most items I don’t have a clue; don’t even ask about evolution stones (and don’t say ‘radiation’ because that isn’t an answer; that’s just more questions).