Pokemon
Ok, so not many of you know that I like Pokemon. That's fine, considering that I usually stay away from video games of all types, mainly because I don't like getting addicted committed to things. It's no biggie, just another facet of my control issues. =P However, I really like Pokemon and this started way back when I was a kid and Pokemon was showing on TV right after piano lessons.
I recently started playing Pokemon FireRed because everyone was playing Pokemon GO and it made me miss Pokemon battling. Yesterday, I managed to beat the Elite Four and Gary on my first try without even - in JW's words - "training seriously", so I have to conclude that I just have an eye for for picking a great attacking team. I guess I have innate talent when it comes to Pokemon training, if nothing else. =P And yes, I go for fast, overpowered, kill-in-one-strike kind of Pokemon. Defensive moves aren't for me, because oftentimes whoever strikes first makes or breaks the battle. Jia Wern couldn't believe that I beat the Elite Four on my first try because it took him multiple tries. Teehee.
My team comprised Zapdos, Vaporeon, Charizard, Fearow, Raichu and Nidoking, in case anyone's curious. =P Zapdos (Electric/Flying) and Vaporeon (Water) were my MVPs. Given the types of Pokemon that the Elite Four use (in FireRed, at least), Electric and Water are your non-negotiables. It also helps that Zapdos is a Flying type which is good against Ghost/Psychic Pokemon, and Vaporeon has Ice Moves which can KO Dragon type Pokemon. It's all about being versatile. Okay, enough nerding out and back to the blogpost. =P
I'm telling you all this to show that I'm not one of those people who don't know what Pokemon is about and are just simply prejudiced against it. Because even though I really like the cartoon and games, I don't like Pokemon GO. My main beef with it is that everyone just becomes even more preoccupied with their phones. I feel like when people are out together, it's impolite and irritating to keep checking your phone and interrupting conversations for the sake of capturing a Pokemon. My second issue with it is that it's lame. You don't use strategy to battle or capture Pokemon. It's essentially all brawn and no brains - walk miles to hatch an egg, or capture even more Pokemon with the swipe of your finger. How is that even engaging? I get that one of the main objectives of this game is to get people out of their houses and exercise more, but seriously, going out and staring at your screen the whole time just doesn't seem to be a better alternative.
I know my opinion doesn't matter, but I'm still pretty confused as to why so many people actually enjoy something that isn't mentally stimulating. So what if you catch all 145 Pokemon? All you really did was walk a million miles, swiped your finger a trillion times and spent loads of money on data. That's IF you actually catch them all. I think you actually have to travel to different countries to get certain species. If you're never going to travel and complete the collection, what's your end goal in this game? I think maybe the masses should try to play the original Pokemon game and see how much better it is. Perhaps that would be the cure. =P
Until then, I'll just have to deal with friends suddenly spacing out in the middle of a conversation to catch a Pokemon. *Sigh*
I recently started playing Pokemon FireRed because everyone was playing Pokemon GO and it made me miss Pokemon battling. Yesterday, I managed to beat the Elite Four and Gary on my first try without even - in JW's words - "training seriously", so I have to conclude that I just have an eye for for picking a great attacking team. I guess I have innate talent when it comes to Pokemon training, if nothing else. =P And yes, I go for fast, overpowered, kill-in-one-strike kind of Pokemon. Defensive moves aren't for me, because oftentimes whoever strikes first makes or breaks the battle. Jia Wern couldn't believe that I beat the Elite Four on my first try because it took him multiple tries. Teehee.
My team comprised Zapdos, Vaporeon, Charizard, Fearow, Raichu and Nidoking, in case anyone's curious. =P Zapdos (Electric/Flying) and Vaporeon (Water) were my MVPs. Given the types of Pokemon that the Elite Four use (in FireRed, at least), Electric and Water are your non-negotiables. It also helps that Zapdos is a Flying type which is good against Ghost/Psychic Pokemon, and Vaporeon has Ice Moves which can KO Dragon type Pokemon. It's all about being versatile. Okay, enough nerding out and back to the blogpost. =P
I'm telling you all this to show that I'm not one of those people who don't know what Pokemon is about and are just simply prejudiced against it. Because even though I really like the cartoon and games, I don't like Pokemon GO. My main beef with it is that everyone just becomes even more preoccupied with their phones. I feel like when people are out together, it's impolite and irritating to keep checking your phone and interrupting conversations for the sake of capturing a Pokemon. My second issue with it is that it's lame. You don't use strategy to battle or capture Pokemon. It's essentially all brawn and no brains - walk miles to hatch an egg, or capture even more Pokemon with the swipe of your finger. How is that even engaging? I get that one of the main objectives of this game is to get people out of their houses and exercise more, but seriously, going out and staring at your screen the whole time just doesn't seem to be a better alternative.
I know my opinion doesn't matter, but I'm still pretty confused as to why so many people actually enjoy something that isn't mentally stimulating. So what if you catch all 145 Pokemon? All you really did was walk a million miles, swiped your finger a trillion times and spent loads of money on data. That's IF you actually catch them all. I think you actually have to travel to different countries to get certain species. If you're never going to travel and complete the collection, what's your end goal in this game? I think maybe the masses should try to play the original Pokemon game and see how much better it is. Perhaps that would be the cure. =P
Until then, I'll just have to deal with friends suddenly spacing out in the middle of a conversation to catch a Pokemon. *Sigh*
Hahahahaha! I play it because it's a fun convo starter and not addicting like an actual Pokemon game. Once I start the real thing, good luck even trying to start a convo, rather than spacing out halfway. Actually, I wouldn't even leave the house. There wouldn't even be dinner! XD
ReplyDeletePokemon Go is interesting enough to keep me occupied while waiting in line or for a friend to arrive but not enough to keep me on the screen for more than 10 minutes (that's already reaaaally stretching it). I think friends who zone out in a convo to catch a pokemon most likely are the same ones who'd zone out when they get a text. Cuz no matter how "interesting", it's rude to suddenly disappear from a convo.
That said, going on Pokemon Crawl together is fun though. The idea is kinda like stamp collection and comparing what you got. And it actually doesn't use your data very much contrary to popular belief, since it's actually running mostly on your GPS. But don't worry, the hype is totally dying because the game itself is pretty lame like you said. If we can actually level up with strategies and battle for reals, then we're talking.
Maybe that's why I never got into stamp collecting. xD I find the original Pokemon game addicting too, and that's why I pretty much disappeared for a week while I was playing it. =P
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