What do you think of the new designs about X and Ys new starters? I know you’re still early in on BW2. I’ve heard some interesting from other about the starter’s evolutions. For example I heard that Chespin is based off of a mole and a knight. That’d make for an interesting type combo (I’m thinking Grass/Steel or Fighting).

It’s sort of too early to tell. The designs look a little bit generic, but that’s how they tend to start off; I’d really need to hear how they evolve.

The whole chestnut thing they seem to have going with Chespin is amusing enough. I’d like to know where you heard this about a mole and a knight? If you look at Chespin’s various names in other languages, it seems like they’re working off a hedgehog, not a mole (reasonably enough, since we already have mole Pokémon but not hedgehog Pokémon) but a knight is certainly possible.

EDIT: I stand corrected: Shaymin. Still, I think we can all agree that nobody cares about Land Shaymin.

Fennekin… well, my biggest worry with Fennekin is that she’s going to be Vulpix. There’s plenty of room in the design for her not to be Vulpix if they choose to take it in another direction, but the fact that she uses what seems to be a Psychic attack in the trailer makes me… uneasy.

People are making all kinds of predictions about Froakie, and saying he’s obviously going to go into Water/Flying because of the white parts on his body that look like fluffy clouds, and while that could potentially be interesting, I think the white is just as likely to represent foam, so… *shrug*

The bottom line, for me, is that people all over the internet are going to be wildly guessing at what these three are going to turn into. By sheer dumb luck, some of them are going to be right, but they don’t know, and neither do I, and I don’t much care to join in.

I don’t want to be a bother, so I’ll try to make it quick: Great balls. I’ve read your articles about how you think Poké Balls work, which I love, but where does Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Net Balls, et cetera, fall under that theory? If the Pokémon chooses to be captured, how can these “better” Poké Balls be better at capture?

I think there might have been a discussion about this in the comments to some other question a few months ago… somewhere. Not sure I remember it all that clearly now. Hmm.

The eventual conclusion was that stronger Pokéballs are more effective because they are more comfortable for the Pokémon inside them. I think that being in a Pokéball is a lot like dreaming; their awareness of the world around them is dimmed and their perception of time goes completely out the window, but they can still hear, and they can ‘wake up’ if they realise something is seriously wrong. Great Balls and Ultra Balls might introduce a mild euphoria into this sensation – a pleasant dream, if you will – so that the Pokémon simply enjoys being inside enough to think twice about a trainer it might otherwise reject. After all, the trainer has gone to the trouble of buying a more expensive Pokéball, or selecting a more appropriate one.

That does still leave a major difficulty, though: dealing with all the specialised types of Pokéball. Some are reasonably easy to explain – I imagine that being in a Lure Ball feels like dreaming of swimming, while perhaps being in a Moon Ball feels like being bathed in moonlight. Others, not so much – some Pokéballs work based on circumstance, like Dusk Balls and Timer Balls, and I have no idea how those would function. The most troublesome is the Luxury Ball, since the name seems to imply that it is extremely comfortable for Pokémon, and makes them more friendly as a result, but has no effect on how easy they are to capture in the first place.

In short, this is my best guess at how they work, but I am painfully aware that some types of Pokéball simply do not appear to fit the model.

I love how you describe Black and White 2s’ protagonist designs. I cannot stand these, and this is the first pokemon game where both the main characters look terrible to me. Do you have a favorite “protagonist” of any of the pokemon games (including X and Y). Mine’s the X and Y girl, as she looks like she actually has a personality other than being ambiguously heroic

Oh, I don’t think I’d go so far as to call them terrible. They look a little bit ridiculous, but I think one of the things you just have to accept about this universe is that anyone even slightly important is going to look ridiculous (to a degree that, broadly speaking, increases through generations). The player characters generally haven’t done that as much, but really, Brendan’s hair… hat… er… whichever it is…

Personally? I’ve always had kind of a soft spot for Ethan (the male GSC/HGSS player character) although I agree with you regarding the new female character; she does has a certain je ne sais quoi.

Have you ever read the Cave of Dragonflies’ theory on history of pokemon training? It seemed to match-up most of what you said on how pokemon’s reasons to train. I know the franchise especially the show and manga tries to show the partnership a mutual beneficiary relationship but I felt its efforts were lopsided depending on which form of entertainment especially the game, but since its gameplay and the show being for kids.

I can’t say I have, but let’s take a look… Go go gadget Google.

You mean this, I imagine?

Hmm.

Yes, I think I would agree with most of that; it makes a great deal of sense. The theory on apricorns is… interesting, put it that way. I never thought to imagine them as a carnivorous plant that consumed Pokémon as an energy source. Apricorns and apricorn trees are normally portrayed as entirely benign; I can acknowledge the possibility that they are extremely dangerous to the unwary, but it’s still difficult to swallow (particularly given that Pineco and Beedrill have been shown not merely living in but outright infesting apricorn trees). It’s a very clever explanation, though.

There are only two other points that I have real trouble accepting.

One is that ‘experience points’ are a real and measurable property of Pokémon distinct from any real world phenomenon; I remain convinced that experience and levels are just abstractions designed to simplify the process of growth and evolution for the purposes of gameplay, and that we’re supposed to imagine Pokémon as getting not stronger exactly but more skillful and more confident. I am likewise convinced that evolution is prompted by emotional and psychological factors in many (most?) species, and closely tied to that increase in confidence and self-awareness.

The other is that humans are in some sense ‘outsiders’ in the Pokémon world, who evolved in our world and were somehow transported there. It’s true that humans are generally treated as being fundamentally different to Pokémon in some sense that’s never quite defined, but I think that the general feeling created by the franchise is that humans and Pokémon are ‘supposed’ to be together, that they developed together (granted, this could be a result of human cultural indoctrination, but honestly I’m not yet willing to rule out the possibility that the Pokémon world is the result of a Judaeo-Christian style creation by Arceus). I don’t think it’s impossible for humans to have evolved in the Pokémon world at all (putting aside the fact that it would be an astonishing coincidence), in spite of their obvious physical defects in comparison to most species of Pokémon; actually, I think that this suggests that the ability to train and command Pokémon came first, followed by superior language ability, upright stance, advanced vision, weaker musculature, and all the other attributes we associate with the evolution of anatomically modern humans.

But that’s just me. The Cave of Dragonflies version does make a lot of sense.

Why do you think on the future of moral/ethics of pokemon? I wonder in Gen 6, they go with extreme human rights as in pokemon are a dangerous menace. Opposite of Team Plasma. BW addressed the former issue (although rather more simplistically and implied notion more people are morally better than one would think) Therefore, I always tried to distinguish games, manga, tv for they treat it differently. Interestingly in BW2, N hoped for a world with no pokeball I thought that was a bit fascinating

Y’know, I really don’t know. It’s anyone’s guess where they’ll go with the next games. (Incidentally, I think this question has been sitting in my ask box since *before* X and Y were announced).

What I always thought would be enormously fun is to have two or more criminal/enemy factions in the world, like Team Aqua and Team Magma in Emerald, who have opposed views on the relationship between humans and Pokémon. Black and White 2 (which I haven’t finished playing yet, so don’t quote me on anything) are doing something like that with Rood and his ex-Team Plasma faction, but the division between ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ is still very clear there. I thought it would be really interesting to have a group dedicated to shifting the balance between humans and Pokémon, like Team Plasma, in the same storyline with a group dedicated to maintaining and exploiting the current order, like Team Rocket – because a leader like N might be your enemy because of circumstance, but no one would hate a leader like Giovanni more than him… so you have a situation that’s like “who’s the bad guy now? Why?”

Pokemon moves are mostly unrealistic with the exception of things like tackle and body slam; however, in some cases there is a basic kind of “physics” to them, at least for the pokemon world. What I’m trying to ask is… are there any attacks you like the concepts of in how they’re performed and by what? Likewise are there any you particularly don’t like? example: I like moonlight, using affiliation with the moon for energy,but I don’t like how surf just conjures a wave out of nothing.

Honestly, I kinda think that trying to explain specific moves is asking for trouble. There’s such a massive variety of attacks, almost all of which are available to many different Pokémon, that you’re bound to get stuff that’s absolutely ludicrous when you stop to think about it. Surf conjuring a wave out of nothing is a bit strange, but really it’s an extension of the way Water moves in general conjure water out of nothing (there’s no way a Squirtle can have enough water inside his own body to sustain a Water Gun for more than a few seconds). And I don’t think anyone knows how Baton Pass is supposed to work.

In general, I like moves that are relatively exclusive, because those are the ones that have a very specific meaning in terms of the nature of a Pokémon’s powers. Signature moves, obviously, but also stuff like Moonlight, as you mentioned, or Morning Sun, which have some nice flavour connotations for the sources of energy a Pokémon uses (Morning Sun, for instance, is a far more exclusive technique than Synthesis and is connected with Pokémon like Espeon, Togetic and Volcarona, suggesting that Pokémon who use it are drawing on sunlight for energy in a far more abstract, ‘magical’ sense than Pokémon who use Synthesis). Aura Sphere is another, which implies a connection with some sort of ‘soul energy’ or whatever you want to call it.

Conversely, it’s the moves that are the most widely available that tend to bug me, because those are the ones that are most likely to belong to Pokémon who have no business using them. Everyone brings up Focus Punch, which is available to a couple of clearly armless Pokémon like Togekiss, but my personal favourite is Aerial Ace. Now, yes, I know Aerial Ace is supposed to be a reference to an old Japanese sword move, the ‘turning swallow cut,’ but 1. it’s a Flying-type attack, 2. the only Pokémon who learn it by levelling are bird Pokémon (and… er… Heracross… for some reason… although Heracross can actually fly), and 3. whether you imagine it requiring flight or not, it carries connotations of extreme speed. Aerial Ace is available to a number of Pokemon who blatantly cannot fly and, in some cases, weigh hundreds of kilograms, including Tyranitar, Ursaring, Tangrowth, Metagross, Nidoqueen (but not Nidoking, so clearly they thought it was particularly appropriate to Nidoqueen for some reason), Slaking (!), Aggron (!!?), Maractus, Groudon, Armaldo, Bouffalant, Stoutland, Registeel (but not Regirock or Regice, so again they must have thought that this was an especially good move for Registeel in particular), Crustle (?), Ferrothorn (?!) and, of all things, Slowbro (but, once again for reasons beyond my comprehension, not Slowking, so someone must have thought at some point “what can we give Slowbro to emphasise the differences between him and Slowking? Oh; I know, AERIAL ACE.”).

I am a fairly new reader, so sorry if you’ve already said something about this, but WHY is that every archeologist in the games (with the exception of Cynthia, she is awesome) a crazed looter. Is there something wrong with their system or collage classes, or what? Cofragius makes it a little better, but not enough.

Oh, it’s not Pokémon’s fault. It’s just what people expect archaeologists to be. Personally I blame Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. There is a wonderful piece of writing that’s been floating around for a few years, purporting to be a letter of rejection for Indiana Jones’ application for tenure at Marshall College.

Yes, here it is: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/back-from-yet-another-globetrotting-adventure-indiana-jones-checks-his-mail-and-discovers-that-his-bid-for-tenure-has-been-denied

It’s always an eye-opener when you have to explain to people what archaeologists actually do. Sensible characters like Cynthia and Lenora are a step in the right direction (although I must say, Cynthia’s outfit would not last long on a dig site).

What is your opinion on the twisted story of Amber, Mewtwo’s soul mate?

Disclaimer: I haven’t actually seen the Birth of Mewtwo, so this is all coming from someone who knows the story at second hand.

(For anyone who doesn’t know the story: Amber was the daughter of Mr. Fuji, the dude who runs the Lavender Town Pokémon shelter and headed up the team of scientists who originally created Mewtwo. Amber had died as a child, and Fuji’s real aim in the project was to clone her; Mewtwo was just a gimmick to convince Giovanni to fund him. Mewtwo’s telepathic abilities allowed him and Ambertwo to converse while they were growing in their pods, and the cloned girl was his only friend. Unfortunately, while Mewtwo’s incredible powers kept him alive while he grew to maturity, Ambertwo died before she became strong enough to leave her pod. Ambertwo encouraged Mewtwo to believe that life is something to be celebrated, but his grief at losing her should probably be taken to be at least partly responsible for his massive existential angst and his rather bleak outlook.)

I don’t think I’d call it ‘twisted;’ I’m not sure what you’re getting at there. Sad, certainly; it reminds me of nothing so much as two sick kids meeting in a hospital ward. I think that the story provides an opportunity to examine the theme of identity that would have been the central idea of Mewtwo Strikes Back if only the battles and the weird self-defeating ‘violence is wrong’ message hadn’t gotten in the way. Poor Ambertwo seems to have all of the original Amber’s memories, so she theoretically has to deal with one of the same questions Mewtwo asks – “Am I Amber, or just Amber’s shadow?” – but her own childish innocence makes it a non-issue for her; although she insists that she’s Amber on the inside, she doesn’t really think the question matters and is happy just to be alive. I think that in the end, after all the chaos and destruction of Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo finally comes to see things the same way.

The last person’s question got me thinking. How would you feel if pokemon included timed hits in its turn-based mechanics, like in the Mario RPG and Paper Mario series. I personally wouldn’t mind if it included the option to turn it off, but I’d imagine a lot of fans might find this uncomfortable. Your thoughts?

In case anyone doesn’t know what this question is talking about, ‘timed hits’ are a system that gives a boost in power to a move if the player manages to tap a button at exactly the right point in the attack animation.

It sort of has the feel of ‘change for the sake of change,’ which I try to avoid if I can. You seem to be starting by asking whether it would make the game worse in any respect, which I think is the wrong way of going about it. Start by asking what it does to improve the game. If the answer is “nothing” or “very little” then trying to tweak it so it doesn’t make the game worse is a waste of time anyway. If the best we can say of a change is that we “wouldn’t mind” then it’s not a change that’s worth making.

As to timed hits in particular… I think the main draw to including a system like this would be that it creates an impression of trainer participation in battles. Your presence and your precise instructions, given as the battle unfolds, are actually allowing your Pokémon to be more effective than it would be if it were fighting on its own.

The downside is that we’re adding an additional dimension to the gameplay which requires completely different skills. It raises the ceiling for the power your Pokémon are able to reach, but makes that ceiling easier for some players to reach than others. At the highest levels of competitive play, it slants the game’s balance towards offensive strategies. At lower levels, it makes things more unpredictable and random, allowing reaction times to influence outcomes at the expense of strategy. You could include an option to turn the system off, true, but then you’ve got to use some kind of difficulty adjustment for the in-game battles to compensate for the fact that Pokémon with timed hits active are going to be hitting significantly harder.

The bottom line, for me, is that the only potential advantages I can see for this are in the way the game ‘feels’ and the way trainers’ relationships with their Pokémon are portrayed. There are better ways of doing exactly the same thing without messing around with the battle system, which won’t run the risk of messing up the game balance. It’s a mechanical change that doesn’t actually improve the game mechanics, so I’d be inclined to stay away from it.

Have you played any RPGs other than Pokemon? If so, could game freak learn any lessons that are relevant to Pokemon by playing these RPGs? Also, would you recommend any of them to Pokemon fans?

Hrm. Well, I’m a big fan of BioWare’s CRPGs; I’ve had a lot of fun with the Baldur’s Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, and Knights of the Old Republic. I’ve also had some experience with Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, and have been spending far too much time lately playing Skyrim. I think these games can potentially provide a lot of nice examples of how to tell a story through the medium of a video game, and how to craft a markedly less linear plot – with the caveat that what Pokémon is trying to do is, in many ways, quite different, in terms of both the overall tone and outlook of the setting, and the inherent requirements of the gameplay mechanics.