Current Events > What's filling the Pokedex like in the newer games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Do the games even ask this of you anymore?
Is there even a point to filling the Pokedex considering they don't put every Pokemon in the new games and half of the obtainable ones are sold back to you?

Pokemon Arceus' gameplay is about catching heaps of the same Pokemon, that game at least has to make catching them all worth your while right?

You get the Shiny Charm which increases the chance of encountering shiny Pokmon. So if you don't care about that don't bother.

I don't think you can even catch them all in the newer games yet?

It's like collecting stamps but not as exciting.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Pokemon Arceus' gameplay is about catching heaps of the same Pokemon, that game at least has to make catching them all worth your while right?

No.

thronedfire2 posted...

I don't think you can even catch them all in the newer games yet?

Yeah, not every Pokmon is available in the newer games. They only require you to catch the ones they make available in the base game.

Okay what about Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The last games before they started cutting.
Was it even possible to catch everything or had it devolved into hours of trading and transferring from previous gens?

At what point did the Pokedex go from challenging to completely unreasonable or not worth the effort?
Not accounting for event legendaries which were dumb from the start.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Okay what about Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The last games before they started cutting.
Was it even possible to catch everything or had it devolved into hours of trading and transferring from previous gens?

At what point did the Pokedex go from challenging to completely unreasonable or not worth the effort?
Not accounting for event legendaries which were dumb from the start.

Gen 1

I think with the newer games they decided to just make Pokemon Home so that you can put them all in one place since they stopped giving you all the pokemon in every game a long time ago. Gameplay has gotten considerably easier in many games including catching them.

dameon_reaper posted...

Gameplay has gotten considerably easier in many games including catching them.

And just when you thought they were all easy, they threw a curveball with that Giratina battle.

SkittyOnWailord posted...

And just when you thought they were all easy, they threw a curveball with that Giratina battle.

That was still easy.

BloodMoon7 posted...

That was still easy.

It took me about 3 tries to beat it. That's hard by videogame standards these days. :p

Just did the first Pokdex from Scarlet/Violet

other than the version exclusives (which I just used the Reddit trade board for) you can pretty much catch everything without having to level up or evolve. Even the trade evolutions were mostly available through raids as catches. Only 400 to do too.

Completing a game's regional Pokedex is easier than ever before, but completing the National Pokedex in Home and acquiring every single Pokemon ever is extremely difficult. Even without including event-only mythicals, there are still some Pokemon who can't be obtained in any of the Switch games and need to be transferred from the 3DS or Go, though I'm guessing that all of them will be finally obtainable in the upcoming Legends Z-A.

If filling the dex was a fun part of the game to you, it still is if you go for it. The idea is to fill out the whole dex, even if you've caught those pokemon before in older games. Pokemon Home doesn't open up for like 6 months anyway, so you can make it a goal to finish before things open. Then you get the shiny charm, so there's a tangible payoff. Home also keeps track of how many games you've caught each Pokemon in.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Is there even a point to filling the Pokedex considering they don't put every Pokemon in the new games and half of the obtainable ones are sold back to you?

Eh, they don't really sell them back to you, since you can just trade for them or transfer them in for free without needing to buy the DLC. With Pokemon DLC, you're basically mainly paying for the new areas and story.

I have a pile of gen 4 games and I'm wondering how much of the Pokedex I can complete between them.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

At what point did the Pokedex go from challenging to completely unreasonable or not worth the effort?

prob gen 1. they made it impossible to complete the pokedex unless you had a friend with the opposite version, and one of you was okay with restarting a few times to get the starters covered....or if you had two gameboys and copies of each version.
so kids with no friends whose parents could barely afford the first gameboy had no chance of ever completing the pokedex.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

I have a pile of gen 4 games and I'm wondering how much of the Pokedex I can complete between them.

Hoenn mons will be a pain in the ass to find. The rest of the dex wouldn't be that difficult. It's always hardest to find mons a generation back because they don't fill up the game with mons you already saw two years ago. Johto mons are rare in Gen 3. Hoenn in Gen 4. So on and so on.

TheHoldSteady posted...

Hoenn mons will be a pain in the ass to find. The rest of the dex wouldn't be that difficult. It's always hardest to find mons a generation back because they don't fill up the game with mons you already saw two years ago. Johto mons are rare in Gen 3. Hoenn in Gen 4. So on and so on.

I have a copy of Sapphire that still works. Pal Park could speed things up.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

I have a pile of gen 4 games and I'm wondering how much of the Pokedex I can complete between them.

Aside from the Regis (because they require gen 3 transfers or an event) and event-only mythicals, I'm pretty sure you can obtain every Pokemon from gen 1-4 if you have all 5 of the gen 4 games. However, the methods for some of them might be annoying (PokeRadar, Honey/Headbutt trees, the Johto Safari Zone's time gates, etc.) and some of them might require doing multiple playthroughs like the gift Kanto/Hoenn starters in HG/SS. Having any gen 3 games to Pal Park Hoenn Pokemon from would be a huge help.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Okay what about Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The last games before they started cutting.
Was it even possible to catch everything or had it devolved into hours of trading and transferring from previous gens?

At what point did the Pokedex go from challenging to completely unreasonable or not worth the effort?
Not accounting for event legendaries which were dumb from the start.

Online trivialized obtaining most of the Pokemon. At least in XY, you could deposit a random mon on the GTS, then wait. Virtually no actual gameplay necessary.

Whether it's "worth it" is highly polarizing. Recent generations have had little post-game activities to utilize the Pokemon for.

Do they at least simplify a lot of the evolutions in the newer games?
A question from someone who's currently trading Porygon twice for a Porygon-Z. And also bracing to climb Mt Coronet for a Magnezone. And taking two Eevees to train by the elemental rocks.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Do they at least simplify a lot of the evolutions in the newer games?

Ahahahahahaha... no. Most Pokemon still evolve with basic methods (level-up, stone, happiness, etc.) but the "unique" evolution methods just get more and more convoluted as the generations go on. You have Pokemon that evolve when they land 3 critical hits in the same battle, Pokemon that evolve only after they've used a certain move a certain number of times without healing, Pokemon that evolve when they do a certain amount of damage to themselves with recoil moves without fainting, even a Pokemon that requires you to physically turn your 3DS/Switch upside down when it levels up to evolve it. And none of those are even the most convoluted evolution method.

Those are some really obtuse evolution methods but I like them more than trade evos at least.

They usually add one or two wacky evolutions per gen. But they occasionally simplify old ones. Youi can use an ice stone or leaf stone for glaceon or leafeon now.

mistymermaid posted...

Online trivialized obtaining most of the Pokemon. At least in XY, you could deposit a random mon on the GTS, then wait. Virtually no actual gameplay necessary.

This is how I got my legendaries and trade evolutions in Alpha Sapphire. Farm hordes with Sweet Scent to get shinies, then put them on the GTS.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Okay what about Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The last games before they started cutting.
Was it even possible to catch everything or had it devolved into hours of trading and transferring from previous gens?

At what point did the Pokedex go from challenging to completely unreasonable or not worth the effort?
Not accounting for event legendaries which were dumb from the start.

If I recall correctly, they were the first games that didn't make you collect each and every Pokmon ever to get the Shiny Charm. You only had to collect the ones in the local dex and not the national.

Despite needing to catch every pokemon multiple times, PLA is the only game where I've ever fully completed the Dex and got the shiny charm.

Tyranthraxus posted...

Despite needing to catch every pokemon multiple times, PLA is the only game where I've ever fully completed the Dex and got the shiny charm.

Platinum, to me, is the peak of the series from a person who enjoyed the collecting Pokemon aspect of Pokemon. (I hate battling lol)

I've not enjoyed a single Pokemon game since. (At least enough to beat one)

ViewtifulJoe posted...

they don't put every Pokemon in the new games and half of the obtainable ones are sold back to you?

They're not "sold" back to you. You can get the Pokemon added post-launch via free title update, you only pay for the new areas and story content.

Error1355 posted...

Platinum, to me, is the peak of the series from a person who enjoyed the collecting Pokemon aspect of Pokemon. (I hate battling lol)

I've not enjoyed a single Pokemon game since.

If you haven't played PLA yet then you should. Battles are largely skippable and you can catch most Pokemon without even getting into a fight by just throwing a ball at them as you run past them. It's also based on the Platinum region to boot.

Tyranthraxus posted...

If you haven't played PLA yet then you should. Battles are largely skippable and you can catch most Pokemon without even getting into a fight by just throwing a ball at them as you run past them. It's also based on the Platinum region to boot.

I own the game but it was in the era where I still auto-preordered Pokemon games and then never played them, or if I did play them it was 5 or so hours before I fell off.

Maybe I'll actually give it a try.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Do the games even ask this of you anymore?
Is there even a point to filling the Pokedex considering they don't put every Pokemon in the new games and half of the obtainable ones are sold back to you?

Pokemon Arceus' gameplay is about catching heaps of the same Pokemon, that game at least has to make catching them all worth your while right?

Catching them all has literally never been worth your while, all the way back to Gen 1. It was LESS worth your while then. At least now you get a shiny charm instead of literally nothing but a piece of digital paper.

Basically to catch everything you needed to do so on the handheld games before the eshop closed along with Pokemon Bank. Then you're expected to transfer them to Pokemon Home for safekeeping until current gen Pokemon games allow for those Pokemon to be available in said games. You can keep them in Home for free, but can't access all of them without paying a monthly sub for I think $3.

Currently you only can collect all the Pokemon in the Switch games and GO and transfer them to Home. We're getting scammed big time by GF, but hey we all love Pokemon so who cares lol

I've gone from about 120 to about 200. Had lots of legendaries and trade evos sitting in PC boxes, awaiting this day.

Is there a good immediate way to grind for levels in HGSS? E4 works but you have to commit to a 5 battle gauntlet. I know there's trainer refights but that takes messing with the clock.
Mt Silver isn't perfect but it's been working for really low level evos but some of the wild encounters are duds in terms of EXP.

Hoenn sound is kind of funny.
I'm guessing Zigzagoon just overhears it on the radio and goes "Oh shit that's the RSE music, that's my cue!"

Look up where the Gym leaders will be. Each day of the week has like 2 that you can challenge and rematch.

Up to 260-something.
The main thing I'm concerned about right now is Pokemon from Ruby. It says Mawile, Seedot and Zangoose are in the game, but I'm at the mercy of daily swarms and the safari zone.
The most trouble I've actually had so far is trying to find Surskit in Sapphire. It's probably in a gen 4 game anyway.

I think those are the few pokemon you still technically need third gen games for, even though you can catch them natively.

https://www.serebii.net/diamondpearl/gbapokemon.shtml

Although maybe they're in the safari zone. I know that I personally transferred them.

Btw, after finishing the national dex in gen 4, a playthough of Black or White (one) is a ton of fun. You just "caught em all," and now you have a whole new region with the largest dex. It's exciting to explore the grass in each new area, because you know the pokemon will be stuff you don't have yet.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

The most trouble I've actually had so far is trying to find Surskit in Sapphire. It's probably in a gen 4 game anyway.

You can find Surskit by surfing on Route 229 (a post-game area) in Platinum, and it's very common there.

https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/location/283.shtml#platinum

DarkChozoGhost posted...

I think those are the few pokemon you still technically need third gen games for, even though you can catch them natively.

https://www.serebii.net/diamondpearl/gbapokemon.shtml

Although maybe they're in the safari zone. I know that I personally transferred them.

Mawile and Sableye can be caught in HG/SS through a postgame swarm on Route 9 (Sableye in HG and Mawile in SS) and Seedot can be found on Headbutt trees in Viridian Forest as well. The other gen 3 Pokemon mentioned there can also be found in the Johto Safari Zone, but they're locked behind that area's annoying time gates, so they're better off being transferred from a gen 3 game or caught in D/P/Pt with the slot 2 insert method.

When it comes purely to "completing the Pokedex," I actually prefer the more recent games, since it's entirely possible to do without jumping through insane hoops. Ever since Gen 1, up until Sword/Shield, it has never been possible to complete the Pokedex without having, at some point, taken part in some silly, over the top event, such as going to GameStop to get a certain Pokemon, or what have you. The fact the Switch games actually specifically define the Pokedex to things you can entirely achieve in-game is nice, from a completion point of view. Yes, the limited Pokedex creates new issues, but when it comes strictly to completing the Pokedex, it's easier and more rewarding than ever.

DarkChozoGhost posted...

Btw, after finishing the national dex in gen 4, a playthough of Black or White (one) is a ton of fun. You just "caught em all," and now you have a whole new region with the largest dex. It's exciting to explore the grass in each new area, because you know the pokemon will be stuff you don't have yet.

I actually replayed White 1 for the first time last year and I really liked, it's still the most recent game I've played. I didn't dislike it the way a lot of people hated gen 5, I was just moving toward other interests at the time.

I have a really high opinion of it now. Ferrothorn is probably the most fun Pokemon to use. The QoL changes are insane in that game too.
Still disappointed that after months of searching it's been impossible to find White 2 at a good price.

Error1355 posted...

Platinum, to me, is the peak of the series from a person who enjoyed the collecting Pokemon aspect of Pokemon. (I hate battling lol)

I've not enjoyed a single Pokemon game since. (At least enough to beat one)

I have also burned out of pokemon ages ago. The only single newer one that I legit enjoyed because of how different it was from the norm was pokemon legends arceus. Really glad my brother randomly bought me that as a christmas gift.

StealThisSheen posted...

When it comes purely to "completing the Pokedex," I actually prefer the more recent games, since it's entirely possible to do without jumping through insane hoops. Ever since Gen 1, up until Sword/Shield, it has never been possible to complete the Pokedex without having, at some point, taken part in some silly, over the top event, such as going to GameStop to get a certain Pokemon, or what have you. The fact the Switch games actually specifically define the Pokedex to things you can entirely achieve in-game is nice, from a completion point of view. Yes, the limited Pokedex creates new issues, but when it comes strictly to completing the Pokedex, it's easier and more rewarding than ever.

Agreed. I do like that the games now have a really good reward (the shiny charm) for completing the realistically-doable Regional Pokedex, and the National Pokedex is still there in Home for the really dedicated players to try and complete if they so desire. I had the Nat Dex complete in Home up through S/V's base game, but I didn't buy the DLC and haven't bothered to try and trade for the new legendary Pokemon added.

About 310. Zangoose, Seedot and Mawile found. These were three I was concerned about so that's great.
Currently passing one day at a time and collecting swarm Pokemon until 30 days pass and Solrock spawns in.

Not a fan of this waiting on the Safari Zone to develop mechanic.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Not a fan of this waiting on the Safari Zone to develop mechanic.

Yep, the Johto Safari Zone is total bullshit in that regard. I don't know if there's any way to bypass the days other than waiting in real time If you know one and are using it, let me know so I can use it the next time I play HG/SS.

Calwings posted...

Yep, the Johto Safari Zone is total bullshit in that regard. I don't know if there's any way to bypass the days other than waiting in real time If you know one and are using it, let me know so I can use it the next time I play HG/SS.

Change the time to 23:59. Open game. Wait until 00:01 (one minute after midnight). Save. Do that over and over until the Safari has advanced as far as you wanted.

SkittyOnWailord posted...

Change the time to 23:59. Open game. Wait until 00:01 (one minute after midnight). Save. Do that over and over until the Safari has advanced as far as you wanted.

Pretty sure that doesn't work. If your clock is changed at all, all time events are reset, and won't advance for 24 hours. And even then you'll have to wait until after midnight for things to advance

Arceus is the only pokemon game I bothered to that, because you can just catch them all, that game doesn't get enough credit for that.