# Chapter Select, [[S6E5 - Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]] Transcript This transcription was completed on March 4, 2026 with the application MacWhisper on macOS. This was done automatically, without human input during the transcription process. The transcription used the Parakeet v3 model. My hope is that by offering this transcription – however accurate it may be done by a machine learning/AI – will help you, the listener. I’d love to offer full, proper transcription some day, but that is not feasible at this time. Thank you for listening and reading. I hope you enjoy the show and that this document was helpful. Enjoy. --- Yeah, so yeah, I I'm you know, I'm gonna I'm going down there and w I should be able to get into the Xbox showcase, no problem *00:00* Are they doing a live thing for that? *00:08* I think so. *00:10* Grub I think today talked about all that stuff. *00:11* I want live events back. *00:18* I want awkward people on stage presenting. *00:20* I don't I'm tired of the direct stuff. *00:23* Get weird. *00:28* The only company uh directs is Nintendo. *00:29* Well *00:35* They used to hold their uh the past couple of e years for E3, that's where you would always go for their previews too. *00:36* So if you're if you're in press and you're gonna play games, that's where that would be too. *00:43* But I guess they would hold uh *00:46* the showcase there as well. *00:49* Yeah, like it you know if the Starfield thing would be pre-recorded then too, or if Todd Howard would just come out on stage and talk for forty five minutes. *00:51* Yeah. *01:00* So there's the direct and then there's gonna be the Xbox *01:00* So I think the direct is gonna be pre-recorded, which honestly, like if you're focusing on single game, that's fine. *01:03* Yeah. *01:08* The Xbox game showcase I think is going to uh be *01:09* in person. *01:12* But I need to figure out I need to message my Xbox contacts and just be like, hey, because I I I know that people are starting to send out emails regarding *01:14* that general time frame. *01:24* So I just wanna like April somehow already. *01:25* Yeah, I wanna I wanna get on the ball before um it's too late and they say like, oh we don't have room, blah blah blah blah blah *01:28* So yeah. *01:36* I'm just glad I went to E3 before it died. *01:38* Even if it never comes back. *01:41* Yeah. *01:43* I remember you FaceTiming me from the show floor and there was a big uh rabid donkey cone. *01:43* Yep. *01:50* It was very cool. *01:51* Oh I'm looking at your Twitter cam. *01:52* I was pulling it up just to check some things. *01:56* And I'm like, Kingdom Hearts is terrible. *01:58* And I remember what today is. *02:00* Very good. *02:02* The combat is one of the worst in video games, especially too. *02:06* Oh very good, buddy. *02:10* Before we start, I'm sorry. *02:12* We didn't even talk about this. *02:13* What are your how how are you feeling? *02:14* I I know that you you said that like, you know, Kingdom Hearts 3 was like *02:16* You know, uh the worst ever. *02:20* Um up but but how are you feeling about four? *02:23* Like you when you saw the four announcement. *02:26* I don't think we ever talked about this. *02:27* We never did. *02:29* Um *02:30* I think the humans are interesting. *02:31* It's interesting to see Sora in in a space with other people that don't necessarily look like him or Final Fantasy characters. *02:33* I like the city stuff. *02:40* Like that seems pretty cool. *02:41* Yeah, quadratum. *02:43* Yeah. *02:44* I'm you know, I will be interested. *02:44* And of course I'll play it. *02:47* I definitely ham up the Kingdom Hearts is bad now. *02:48* But I you know, I'm interested. *02:52* Sor being older is cool. *02:54* It's always great when he ages up. *02:56* I still think that I I feel like that that's just the art style right now. *02:59* I still think he's probably gonna be like sixteen, seventeen years old. *03:02* Yeah, maybe *03:05* Yeah, let me see. *03:07* Okay, okay, okay. *03:09* I just like that uh Namura is so uh *03:10* Spurned by Final Fantasy versus 13 this many years later. *03:16* He can't let it die. *03:21* He's like, they're like, no, we're canceling this. *03:23* The idea's not great. *03:25* And he's like, the idea's not great. *03:25* You think this idea's not good? *03:27* I'll put it in my other game. *03:29* It's just can't let it die. *03:31* But it's insane. *03:32* I'm excited about it though. *03:34* It's hype as f<unk>k. *03:35* I'm looking at the crazy autour, like that's like something Kojima would do, I feel like. *03:37* I mean it's it's no it's just it's *03:43* It's textbook Namora. *03:45* Like it's something that you could expect Namora to do, but like even so you're just like, wow, he's actually doing it. *03:47* I it's just it's weird seeing Sora next to a car. *03:53* Like real cars. *03:57* Like I'm looking at this screenshot where he's fighting that big awesome looking artless, but it is just why is Sora next to what looks like like a Nissan Ultima? *03:58* It's when is this when this is gonna come out? *04:09* It'll I don't know thirty-five. *04:14* Yeah, what is this? *04:16* This is not by uh twenty twenty *04:17* five that would be nice but I always feel like these things take forever so well Kingdom Hearts 3 was an anomaly because they had to basically *04:20* Oh this was well not just that, but I feel like game development forever or takes forever now in general. *04:28* So I I this the trailer they released felt like like a proof of concept video or something like that. *04:35* And now they're like, now we'll make the game. *04:39* Didn't people think Star Wars was in it because of the forest? *04:42* Because there's like a there's like a uh a footprint of a ATST. *04:45* Yeah. *04:49* Yeah. *04:49* Yes. *04:50* You've been asleep since you've arrived in this world seven days ago. *04:52* Very king of my like I like his outfit. *04:56* I don't know about the feet. *04:58* Like we could just get shoes back on him, some big big old goofy shoes, please. *05:00* He has shoes on. *05:04* They're just normal shoes. *05:05* He's barefoot in the opening shot. *05:06* He may throw shoes on the thing. *05:08* Okay, okay. *05:11* He's not running barefoot in the streets. *05:12* That'd be pretty wild. *05:14* No man, it's always dope when he pulls out his keyblade. *05:17* It's like I can't get rid of that. *05:20* And the combat, you know, I like the f it's it looks like the flow motion type stuff. *05:22* Yeah, I'm not sure. *05:29* Yeah. *05:34* I hope I hope they make that feel a little bit better um in *05:34* for cause like when you were when you'd run up a wall or like if you would land on something where you're sliding there would be like that kind of abruptness like when when you it's like *05:39* transferring the animation and I just like I hope that they fix that because that was one of the things that like it was like a small thing but it really irked me. *05:50* Like I feel like that they they could have done something, figured something *05:58* One quick thing, and then we should probably get started. *06:07* Um *06:10* What do you think about Final Fantasy 16? *06:12* Because I am coming like that's not that's f that series has never been my thing, but that game looks awesome. *06:15* I am very hyped for that. *06:23* Like I will be playing that game. *06:24* Yeah, so um, you know, I'm one of those people that like with Final Fantasy or like you know most RPGs, I don't need to like be sold on planes *06:26* them. *06:39* Um so when I saw like the stuff that we did that was given for uh Final Fantasy XVI like before like the previews dropped I was like I don't need to see anymore. *06:40* I went to the panel. *06:53* I went to the panel where they showed off the phone stuff and like now I'm like super stoked. *06:54* Like I I am very, very hyped um for it. *06:59* Um I don't uh like the you know the combat, the action combat and stuff is gonna be really cool. *07:02* I I want to know more about the story because I know like you can like tie some pieces together about the story. *07:08* It's like it's hard to ever understand like high fantasy stuff until you're actually like playing it or *07:18* like viewing it sequentially. *07:25* Like if somebody tried to just like explain Lord of the Rings to you like, oh yeah, it's about a wizard and these hobbits and they try to go like, huh? *07:27* What? *07:34* Like you just kinda gotta like see it for yourself, I feel like. *07:34* Yeah. *07:38* And *07:39* And um yeah, I uh I mean yeah the combat looks great. *07:39* I'm I I like how we have like a dog companion, it's cool. *07:44* The summons look sick. *07:50* Like reimagining the summons too is really cool. *07:51* Yeah, it's cool. *07:54* Um I just uh I'm not too worried about the the combat and stuff like that. *07:55* That that stuff *08:01* uh looks really great. *08:01* I'm it's more of the just kind of like the story and the world building and and that stuff like why I should care about these characters. *08:02* That's the stuff that I'm like kind of *08:10* just waiting to uh get a little bit more of. *08:13* Um also I'm not a big fan of like the voice choice for Clive *08:17* I haven't heard it, or I probably have, but I don't remember. *08:25* It's very like d gritty like sounding. *08:28* Um yeah, I don't I'm not a big fan of it. *08:33* Like it's not the the voice act like that the voice acting is bad. *08:35* It's just I don't it's just like not the voice I really expected from the character and I just like *08:39* Not not a not a huge uh fan of that direction and it might, you know, I might uh warm up to it eventually, but um *08:45* That's just kind of like how I feel uh as of right now. *08:55* But no, yeah, I'm I'm super excited for it. *08:58* I pre-ordered the collector's edition for it 'cause Final Fantasy. *09:00* Yeah. *09:05* Um but *09:06* Yeah, I I do uh wish it was coming to Xbox, but it is what it is. *09:08* You know, uh I'm um *09:14* It's not gonna stop. *09:15* Nothing comes to Xbox from Square Enix anymore. *09:16* Which is bizarre. *09:19* Didn't it get Octopath? *09:21* They got Octopath 1. *09:23* They got Octopath 1, but they didn't get Octopath. *09:24* They just announced another game this past week that's also not coming to Xbox. *09:26* I forget what it was. *09:29* Oh, live alive, yeah. *09:30* Like they keep bringing all these games to PlayStation and PC, but not Xbox. *09:33* Yeah. *09:37* know about that which it sucks. *09:39* Um but it is what it is. *09:41* It's weird. *09:47* I hope they don't get acquired or something. *09:47* One second we can't go. *09:49* Oh yeah that's like worse *09:50* Nightmare situation. *09:52* Yeah. *09:53* Hello everybody and welcome to Chapter Select, a seasonal podcast where we bounce back and forth between a series exploring its evolution, design, and legacy. *09:55* For this season, we are covering the Pokemon franchise. *10:03* My name is Max Roberts, and I am joined, as always, by Logan Moore. *10:07* Hi, Logan. *10:10* It's time to go to Trumpetland. *10:11* That was my trumpet. *10:17* Yeah, but you didn't get to experience the real trumpets because we played the fake news remakes in this. *10:18* Yeah, we did. *10:24* We were Alpha and Omega over here. *10:24* That's what I should have called you. *10:26* Should have introduced you as the Alpha. *10:28* Yeah, uh yeah, that that would have been a good idea. *10:29* Alpha Alpha Logan and Omega Max. *10:32* Even though we both played the correct version Sapphire. *10:35* We did. *10:38* I yeah. *10:38* Crowd on Spain. *10:39* So never never played uh *10:40* Never played a Ruby game ever. *10:43* So keep it that way. *10:45* Keep it that way. *10:46* Uh This is um *10:49* This is I I was just gonna chime in and say this was a this is one that I've been looking forward to you playing because obviously I think we've well documented on this season by now that you never this was one of the ones you skipped. *10:50* So I was looking forward to you diving into these. *11:01* And um I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say about these games as we get into this episode. *11:04* Yeah. *11:09* It's we're *11:10* It's always so new and fresh, uh, which is strange, I think, when you talk about Pokemon, just how big it is, someone coming in without a lot of experience with the games. *11:11* It's cool every time it's something's new, and I'm I'm looking forward really actually to everything else this season because ultrasun and ultra moon are very different. *11:21* That'll be a fun one for both of us because we both have never played. *11:31* Yeah. *11:34* And then there's um black and white and black and white too, like a true pair of games. *11:35* That's all new to me. *11:42* So I'm excited. *11:44* I'm looking forward to the rest of uh the season here and talking about Sapphire and Ruby. *11:45* But I did want to say really quick that, you know *11:51* even if you did play Groudon and and Ruby back in the day, you know, we would still love you to support the show by joining Super Chapter Select, which you *11:55* can do by going to super. *12:03* chapter select. *12:04* com. *12:06* Uh for just twenty bucks a year. *12:06* You can sign up, support the show directly, get access to longer shows, uh, exclusive episodes, and *12:08* behind the scenes and supplementary video material we've got our battles going on. *12:16* Our sapphire Ruby battle is done and recorded. *12:21* Logan, he was very upset about *12:25* The last couple of battles. *12:29* And so he's he came in this one hot. *12:30* Really hot. *12:33* He had a lot of pride riding on the line. *12:34* His childhood version was *12:36* Stand over his shoulder saying, you must win. *12:38* I've accepted my place as your rival, Max, and I'm very much leaning into this. *12:41* We're really embracing the the rivalry energy here. *12:46* So are you are you blue to my red? *12:49* I don't feel like I'm a very cool red. *12:52* That's how that's how I view it, because I'm the one who talks smack, so I gotta be the *12:55* I gotta be the one saying smell you later and st and stuff like that. *13:00* You should. *13:04* You should sign off those videos as smell you later. *13:05* But thank you so much to our members that we have now and uh you can check out more over at super. *13:07* chapterselect. *13:13* com. *13:14* Outside of memberships, uh we've also got other special things to talk about with this episode, and that would be in the form of a guest that will be joining us here in just a couple minutes. *13:14* Uh Cameron Hawkins will be joining us to break down. *13:25* Ruby and Sapphire, and in his case, Emerald, which is the one that he happened to play through for our discussion. *13:29* The only trifecta. *13:34* This is true. *13:36* All three versions of a generation *13:38* Only t I think the only time this season we'll be doing that. *13:41* Yeah. *13:44* I think it's the only time where we're going back and not because *13:45* Otherwise we're just sticking to the remakes if there's a remake option. *13:48* So yeah, we'll we'll have Cam's uh take on how Emerald holds up some twenty years later. *13:52* Before we do that though, let's do our typical breakdown of everything related to Pokemon, Ruby, and Sapphire here. *13:58* Per usual, developed by Game Freak. *14:04* It originally released on the Game Boy Advance and later the Nintendo 3DS with the remakes. *14:07* The original release date was March 19th, 2003, for those of us in North America. *14:13* uh for the original versions. *14:18* The remakes launched on November 21st, 2014. *14:20* The original games director was Junichi Masura, and the remix director was Shigeru Amori. *14:24* The producers for the original games were Hiro Yuki Jina, Takahiro Izuhi, and Hiyokisuru, Hiwaki Suru. *14:30* I believe I'm sorry about that. *14:41* The remake's producers were Masuda, once again. *14:42* Uh Shusaki Agami Takaru Atsunomiya. *14:45* That's it. *14:49* That's one right there. *14:51* That's a good name. *14:52* And then Hitoshi Yamagami. *14:53* And then the music for the original game was Go Ichinose. *14:55* Morikazu Eoki and Junichi Masuda. *15:00* On the remakes the composers were Shoto Kagiyama, Manako Adachi, Hideaki Kirota, and Hitmoi Hitmoi Sato, I believe. *15:04* Uh and then the Metacritic, Max, I found this quite fascinating. *15:14* The Metacritic aggregate s aggregate score for both the remakes and the original games was an 82 out of 100. *15:18* Just riding the same wave across time and space. *15:27* Nothing nothing changed over the fifteen year gap between *15:31* Um the original game's coming out and then the remake's coming out, which is kind of interesting to me. *15:36* And also I never really looked at what the uh or I I *15:40* This is like kind of the gen that I never knew what the critical consensus was on it back in the day. *15:45* Because I wasn't reading gaming magazines at the time. *15:53* I knew that like the original red and blue and then gold and silver were um like big deals. *15:56* I mean they were worldwide smash hits, and that's not to say that Pokemon wasn't *16:03* I mean it was definitely less big than I guess it was in the late nineties, early two thousands by this time. *16:07* But um Yeah, I guess I'd never really thought about what these games for how these games were received critically, so it was kind of interesting to go back and *16:11* Scan through some of the original reviews there for the original games at least. *16:20* I only know about 7. *16:24* 8 and too much water. *16:27* Yeah, I mean that's that is the criticism tied to these, but it's also not *16:28* Wrong criticism in a lot of ways. *16:33* And we can talk about that with uh Cam Hawkins. *16:35* Cam, thanks for joining us to talk all about Sapphire and Ruby today. *16:38* Uh yeah, I'm glad to be here. *16:43* I love I love Pokemon, so I'm always willing to to chat about it. *16:45* Alright, let's uh let's kick things off and we'll start with you, Cam. *16:49* Just *16:53* What was your experience like returning to this game? *16:54* How do you feel about this game now? *16:56* And what's your history with this game overall? *16:58* Were you somebody who played it originally on the Game Boy Advance back in the day? *17:01* Or where's this one at in the Pokemon series for you? *17:05* overall. *17:08* Yeah, so I uh played uh Pokemon Ruby growing up. *17:09* Um I vividly remember being upset getting *17:15* Ruby because Sapphire was already sold out because it I I believe I got it around my birthday. *17:18* And while uh Johto and Pokemon Crystal specifically is like my favorite Pokemon game, I think Pokemon *17:24* Ruby, uh, you know, just the Hoenn games in general is the most hours I've put into Pokemon. *17:30* You and you and me. *17:35* That was kind of like the peak of my Pokemon um *17:37* Consumption. *17:43* Uh and uh and I still there are things about Hoenn that I really really really love to this day. *17:44* Um and I played through uh Pokemon Emerald for the first time actually. *17:51* And uh because I was always told like all Pokemon Emerald is basically like it's the Pokemon Crystal of of Hoenn and like it's notably better than uh Ruby and Sapphire. *17:55* And after playing it, I don't know if I agree with that. *18:06* Like, I'm not saying that it's not a great uh like one of the best Pokemon entries because it is. *18:09* But I think a large part of that has to do with Hoenn um being such an interesting region, then like the additional *18:15* uh content slash changes that they made in Emerald compared to Ruby and Sapphire. *18:25* And I will say that I have played the Hohen remakes and I think they're bad. *18:31* I just think they're straight up bad. *18:34* I think that like especially when you compare them to *18:36* Heart Gold and Soul Silver. *18:38* It's been a long time since I played 'em, 'cause I played 'em relatively uh soon after they came out. *18:40* But you know *18:46* one of the most disappointing games I've played in recent memory, for sure. *18:49* Um it just and I I don't know if it's cause *18:53* You know, the Pokemon games are in 3D now, or if it was the changes that they made, but I just don't think Hoenn translated well. *18:57* In a 3D space because it uh focuses a lot on water, which I think is one of the strengths of Hoenn. *19:06* but not in the way you know, not in the uh artistic direction that they went with Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby. *19:15* Um and when I say it's bad, I don't think it's like a bad bad game, but I think it's one of my least favorite Pokemon games, uh, to be s uh to be more uh specific. *19:24* Um *19:33* But uh yeah, so uh that's basically uh my experience. *19:34* Uh again, like I I enjoyed my time with Emerald. *19:40* Um *19:43* But uh I I kind of expected more. *19:44* I had like higher expectations uh going into them. *19:46* And there have been other Pokemon games in the past where like *19:49* I heard like kind of similar praise and I think those expectations were met, but I don't think uh Emerald is one of them. *19:52* I'm gonna I'm gonna jump in here before you, Max, because if I'm right, you've never played these games until now. *20:01* And I know I kind of have a similar story as Cam. *20:07* Yeah, like I said, this is defin by far the *20:09* Uh Pokemon games I have played the most. *20:13* I've never actually played the remakes until now, so I played Alpha Sapphire this time. *20:15* And I agree, a lot of the *20:20* charm of the original games was very much lost in this remake, especially and we'll talk about this more later, but like the music just did not *20:23* Stand up. *20:32* And I know I know the Ruby and Sapphire soundtracks get a lot of like there's a lot of memes with them and oh trumpets, trumpets, and like that's *20:33* what people talk about when they talk about these games. *20:40* But I love those soundtracks. *20:42* I think those original soundtracks are like top-tier Pokemon music. *20:43* So when I got to the final battle with Steven in the remake and there's not the *20:47* trumpets blaring like crazy in the final champion theme. *20:52* I'm like, this sucks. *20:55* I don't like this at all. *20:56* Uh they replaced like so many of the horns in that final champion battle with like keyboards and things like that. *20:58* And I'm like, no, this is not *21:04* It's not the same, it's not there's not the I don't know, there there's something about those games in that era, and I agreed, like Sapphire was the one I played, and I I can't even tell you how many times over. *21:05* I played that game as a cat like probably like eight to ten times. *21:16* I I've probably put over a thousand hours or more into that game alone, let alone Emerald whenever I got that. *21:20* And I I've still never played any version of *21:27* Ruby to this day, which is kind of bizarre. *21:30* But yeah, so we have similar stories in that regard. *21:32* And I I enjoyed the thing I'll say going back to it as *21:35* uh somebody who played the remake by comparison to you Cam is I did get my nostalgia fix from this playthrough. *21:39* And so it's hard for me to look at these games and not still *21:47* Like them like quite a bit. *21:52* Like I had a really good time playing through Alpha Sapphire and there are drawbacks with the remake that I do not love *21:53* And I think the original game's better, but as just a good 30 hour hit of nostalgia playing through the game once through, like it did its job in that regard to me. *21:59* And so this was a *22:08* fun one for me to play through and revisit and was giving a lot of those warm feelings I had as a kid because I I should point this out too. *22:10* This game is really special for me because I bought *22:18* my SP my Game Boy Advance SP in tandem with this game. *22:21* When my parents bought that for me for my birthday, they said what is the one game you won? *22:25* It was like Pokemon Sapphire. *22:29* And so that was what *22:30* Like that was my introduction to like that era because I didn't have a Game Boy Advance prior. *22:32* So that was my original Game Boy Advance game and that's partially why I played it so much. *22:36* Um so I have just general fondness for this era of Pokemon, that game, and I tie a lot of those feelings are tied up together with like my first experience with the SP, the backlit screen, all of that stuff. *22:41* Like *22:52* Oh yeah. *22:53* So so it's like that's like one of my favorite areas of gaming ever. *22:54* And so uh there's a lot of positive feelings tied up in this game. *22:57* So it's hard for me to say too much bad about it. *23:02* Sure. *23:05* But there are definitely some drawbacks that I'll get into. *23:05* Max blind playthrough person. *23:07* What do you think? *23:10* Well, I have some history. *23:12* Some history. *23:13* Not necessarily playing the game, but *23:14* At some point in my youth, I became infatuated with Mudkips. *23:16* There was memory time. *23:22* I heard you like Mudkips. *23:23* There's clips from the anime and stuff. *23:25* And that gave birth to my first email address, mudkip143 at hotmail dot com. *23:28* Uh, you know, you can send email to that. *23:34* That account is *23:36* defunct is all get out, but my original my original email was bulbafan1 at aol. *23:37* com. *23:43* I love it. *23:43* So Pokemon email addresses come strong. *23:44* So I'm I mean I'm still stuck with that username in some ways. *23:47* It's still my PSN. *23:51* I know I can change it, but the names I want aren't available, so it's like what's the point? *23:52* So Mudkip has followed me my entire life. *23:56* or, you know, most of my gaming and adult life. *24:00* And I was always infatuated with like the see-through cartridges, but I just wasn't allowed to play Pokemon at the time. *24:03* I wouldn't actually come back to Pokemon until the next generation on the DS. *24:08* when I was about thirteen years old. *24:13* So I I guess that's kind of like my rough ex experience in general with this generation. *24:15* Now coming into it *24:21* Fresh here on the three DS because I also played Alpha Sapphire because Kyogre's just better in all ways. *24:22* It I wish I played the Game Boy Advance version um mostly because of just the technical performance. *24:31* It just doesn't run well on 3DS, quite frankly. *24:40* It's the same thing with X and Y. *24:43* X and Y is the same thing. *24:44* Did you ever try to turn the 3D on? *24:46* I did. *24:49* It drops dramatically. *24:50* And so I was actually jealous of Cam because when we kind of reached out and pitched doing this episode, he he asked if he could just play Emerald on I think he played it on your pocket or something. *24:52* And as we were playing as I was playing through this, I was like, dang, I kind of wish I did that too. *25:04* Because I have Sapphire, you know, in the in the drawer over there. *25:09* I could have done it. *25:12* Um *25:13* So as a 3D game, I wasn't actually particularly fond of it. *25:15* And it's an in uh It's interesting generation. *25:19* Narratively, we're coming out of *25:24* We we have a new team, rivalry team, and like focus there. *25:27* There's new gyms and a narrative push. *25:31* It's *25:34* There's like a lot of like the world is ending kind of pressure around it, which is a first for Pokemon up to this point, right? *25:35* This became very common in every other installment in the future. *25:43* It just goes from a group trying to kidnap Pokemon to Pokemon that control space-time and the earth and the sea and every i everything in between. *25:47* Yeah. *25:58* So that was an interesting juxtaposition. *25:58* Yeah, and I'll say that like this is one of the key points I want to talk about that is like probably one of the worst things about this generation is that Team Magma and Team Aqua have to be the stupidest team in all of Pokemon. *26:00* Like they're just like there's just like one team. *26:12* We want to drain the water and cover the earth with more land. *26:14* And then it's like that's stupid, because everyone's gonna die. *26:18* We wanna expand the ocean and make more and cover the land. *26:22* That's stupid, because people are gonna die. *26:27* I totally agree. *26:30* I that whole that whole like this is our goal just never really *26:31* made sense in I don't know what the postgame is like in in Emerald or even these base GBA games, but for the remakes they made that Delta episode where there's a Deoxys shows up and you get Mega Rayquaza and all that stuff. *26:37* And that just was like, now an asteroid's gonna crash into Earth and we're all gonna die, so stop it. *26:51* And that just felt almost too extreme alongside the plot of *26:57* You gotta go get all the gym badges and fill out your Pokedex, but also stop evil. *27:02* Can I just say one thing about the Delta episode really quick? *27:07* My favorite thing is that he literally *27:10* Fly into space on the back of a dragon to destroy a meteor that's hurling towards Earth and then five minutes later *27:13* Your parents are like, come on, inside, let's eat dinner. *27:20* And they're like, What a good young boy. *27:23* I'm like, this is so what what is this dichotomy here? *27:25* Like this little 12-year-old kid is blowing up meteors and it's just so *27:28* Mm it's go it's very goofy. *27:34* Yeah, the stakes are too high for what's happening. *27:36* I guess I I don't know. *27:40* It just doesn't take itself seriously. *27:41* Yeah. *27:43* The stakes are silly, but like I think the actual Delta episode in itself is one of the highlights of the remakes. *27:43* Because, you know, uh in *27:50* The original games you had to get Deoxys or Jirachi through Um events. *27:53* Yep. *28:00* And *28:00* at that time you had to go to physical like Pokemon events to get these go chilling at Toys R Us on a specific Saturday or something. *28:01* Exactly to get *28:10* to get these Pokemon, um, and then you'd like interact with like the meteors in um Mozdeep, I think. *28:11* Yeah, I think you're right. *28:19* It's cool. *28:20* Like I I think that it does a good job of like just introducing all that stuff and then also like ways of *28:20* Which a lot of Pokemon games nowadays are, like once you get to the postgame, it's just a *28:26* It's just all uh a legendary catch-a-phon. *28:34* Like you can just like almost all the legendaries are just somewhere that you can catch. *28:37* Yes. *28:41* It's interesting here in the Delta episode, they're also not only giving you a bunch of legendaries, but also *28:42* a bunch of generational starters. *28:48* Like the uh if you go back to Little Root you get um the Totodile or Cyndaquil and if you do other events you'll get *28:50* Gen 4 and Gen 5 starters as well, and I'm sure Bulbasaur and Gen 1's in there too. *28:58* So it was just it's just like here's all the Pokemon you want. *29:03* Which is weird today with the the d the Pokedexes being trimmed down, this was felt more here's everything. *29:08* Yeah, they try to dump everything in your lap at a single time, which is kind of nice. *29:17* I don't know. *29:21* I don't I don't have too much else to say about like *29:25* the characters that are destroyed. *29:27* I did I did appreciate that Rayquaza finally got fleshed out and was like given some actual attention because even in the original games, except for I forget how Emerald is because it's been so long since I played it, but *29:29* In the other games it's just like, oh, I'm gonna go get a mock bike and go to the top of this tower, and oh man, there's a dragon up here, and then that's about the extent of all you know about Rayquaza. *29:41* is that there's just some crazy green dragon at the top of a tower that you biked up. *29:51* Yeah, in Emerald, uh it's basically both *29:55* Uh Kyogre and uh Groudon are like f fighting each other in Pseutopolis and you have to go you have to go to Sky Pillar, which you don't even get to catch him at this point. *30:00* You just have to go up there. *30:11* to catch or to to just interact with Rayquaza and then Rayquaza basically just ascends from the heavens and is like, y'all stop fighting and then *30:13* That's what happens. *30:23* And then and then after that, you go back to Sky Pillar and then you can catch them. *30:24* And you have the Master Ball at I mean *30:29* even before the first encounter. *30:31* So it's just like why couldn't I just caught him catch him in the beginning and it's be like, all right, Rayquaza, here y I like I get it 'cause like the story, you know, you could technically like kill Rayquaza and not catch him, but like *30:33* It's just one of those things like oh now I gotta go all the way up there and then like the the puzzles to get up there while not like strenuous it's they're different and it it's a little bit more difficult. *30:45* And it's just and and I'm just like, I just want why can't I just go back up there again and just throw my master ball at you? *30:56* Like so. *31:02* I want to uh *31:04* I want to bring it back and talk about the world a little bit more. *31:06* Um, specifically in regards to too much water, which I know is like the big meme thing with this game, but no, liter like this is something *31:10* I never understood why that was a thing, because there very much is a lot of water in this game, and this game has been designed with that in mind. *31:19* There are three HMs in this game that are hinge on *31:26* water. *31:30* And so it's a you need them all. *31:31* You need them all. *31:34* The Pokedex is filled with water Pokemon, which I actually like because in some of the later gens there's not enough and I kind of hate that. *31:34* And I like that there's different types of uh water Pokemon that live wander the sea, like I think of Relicanth that you can only get if you're diving further down and stuff like that. *31:42* Like that stuff is cool to me. *31:51* I I think they did a good job of fleshing out like *31:53* Yeah, you can catch this Pokemon with a rod, but you can't get this one unless you go to the very bottom of the ocean and stuff like that. *31:56* I always thought that stuff was really cool. *32:01* Um and even as a k as a kid *32:03* Seeing all of like when I started running around postgame and seeing all the different dive locations that are on the map, like I know I'm sure this is something you didn't *32:06* Maybe notice Max because you just did a B-line playthrough, but there are so many dive locations on this map that you can dive down and discover crazy things. *32:14* Uh I didn't do it with this playthrough, but uh everything with *32:24* Reg I Reg Ice, Reg of Steel, and Regar Rock is super dope. *32:28* Um I used to love that stuff and having to like interpret the *32:33* the braille that they put on the walls and stuff like that. *32:37* There's like a ton of secrets packed in this game, Max, that are really, really cool. *32:40* Yeah. *32:45* I kind of talked about 50 things there, but *32:46* What do what are your guys' thoughts on like the general layout of the game and how water is used and all that sort of stuff? *32:49* What I want to say really quick is that like *32:55* The specifically Flash and Waterfall like T uh HMs could like not be in this game. *32:57* At least for the for the original. *33:03* For the original, like there was two caves that *33:05* I needed to use flash in one being Victory Road, which like come on. *33:09* You don't need to flash the shit. *33:13* Yeah, that was oh, that was brutal. *33:14* In the remix it's a TM. *33:16* Which is even more insane. *33:18* Is it a f I can't remember Yeah. *33:19* In the remakes it is a TM that you get is TM like whatever flash. *33:21* And *33:26* Yeah, and so I like I had an Alakazam on my team and I gave it a flash, you know, in the beginning when it was like an Abra, so I was like, okay, cool. *33:26* And then I removed it because I was just like, I don't need this anymore. *33:35* And then I get to the victory road. *33:41* I'm like, so now I have to pass up one of my *33:42* moves that I actually care about to give it flash because I already had like a Sableye to like Sableye what is like the beetoof of Hoenn because like it no it it can learn rock smash it could learn cut *33:46* I was like, okay, cool, like you are my HM uh Pokemon for the for this team. *33:59* Um and then I had like an aggron for my for strength. *34:04* Um and then I have a wall rain for surf and like dive and uh but yeah with waterfall I only needed waterfall to get to Victory Road. *34:09* Like that is the only time I used it *34:20* It's like this d like y'all could have designed it differently so that this did not need to happen. *34:22* And so um *34:28* Though yeah, those two things like really frustrated me, but the dive stuff, like I wish they that is like the one thing I wish that they carried over *34:30* through all the Pokemon games. *34:39* Like diving underwater and just expl like exploring and like all that stuff was so cool. *34:41* Cause like the water the the water exploration in Hoenn for me is one of the highlights. *34:46* Like I loved *34:51* um exploring and like finding because when I was a kid and I wasn't like as you know I wasn't as smart and stuff like that and I would just come across stuff just by swe surfing around *34:53* And I got to a city, I'm like, oh my god, I'm out of city. *35:05* Like, what's going on? *35:07* You know, like what's going on with this? *35:08* And uh I was like, oh, this is where the next gym badge is, and like it just felt so new and different that you just don't like you *35:09* That is the only generation of Pokemon um that I've I felt that way. *35:17* I felt that way where it's just like just the pure exploration of coming cross *35:22* another like a a a city like that without you know in instead of every other game where it's just like *35:27* Alright, go down the routes and then you find out like and then you just end up going to the next town or the next city and then you do the thing and it it it did have that sense of um *35:35* uniqueness to it. *35:45* And um yeah, I love diving underwater. *35:47* I loved uh the thing I do because you do make a good point about like there being a lot of water Pokemon. *35:49* They don't come up very often is the thing, because there is, but also like if you're surfing, you're running into a tentacle. *35:56* Yeah. *36:03* Or a tentacle. *36:04* You're running into a tentacle or you're running into. *36:05* You know, and it's but then like you see these trainers they got Golden, Sea King, Star You like um Wailemur, Whalord, Crawdon. *36:07* Yeah, like even Whalmer, like I like I remember running into Whalemur and like I I didn't run into a single Whalemur. *36:15* during this playthrough. *36:22* And it's just like it kinda i you know, I wish there was a little bit more uh variety there 'cause you know we told talk about like how there's so many zoobats in caves like while on the fing water there's a lot of tentacles, let me tell you that. *36:23* Yeah. *36:35* It I had one of those cause I needed something that knew could learn waterfall and dive. *36:36* I already had a Pelipper that had surf, but it can't learn waterfall or dive makes sense, it's a bird, but *36:42* So my thing was now I have Pokemon taking up slots on my team, which is taking experience from the XP share, not building up the actual team I want, and to get up to Victory Road and through it, you have to have *36:49* that Pokemon with you. *37:04* So it's just eating up all this experience right toward the end. *37:05* And then as soon as you get to the computer, you get rid of it and burn in your actual team. *37:08* And it was so *37:11* It just felt frustrating. *37:12* It makes me really appreciate the games today where I'm thinking like Legends and Scarlet and Violet, where it's just all an ability on the overworld. *37:13* You don't it doesn't take a move slot. *37:23* you could just go and do anything. *37:25* This game really made me think about like what the purpose of HMs was back in the day and like trying to like like wait, why'd why are we still doing this? *37:26* And it was really only to *37:34* intentionally roadblock the player so that they couldn't advance to a part of the game that the developers didn't want them to advance to ahead of time. *37:36* It was it was like in it's b it's basically just *37:43* purposeful roadblocks. *37:46* Like we don't want you to go to Victory Road. *37:47* So how will we do that? *37:49* Uh we'll lock Rick Victory Road behind a waterfall. *37:50* But then you think about it, it's like you they look you look at previous games, it's like well they could have just locked Victory Road behind *37:53* Badges or whatever. *37:58* Like they do in the Indigo Plateau. *38:00* Like you can't enter the victory road until you flash all eight badges and then you go through there. *38:01* Like why why wouldn't they do that if they want to keep players from *38:06* going through that sort to to reaching those areas uh early. *38:10* So yeah, I I don't know. *38:14* Like some of the decisions in this game don't really *38:16* make too much sense, but Yeah, I was gonna say like this isn't but this isn't also exclusive to Hoenn. *38:19* Uh it is it happens in Johto, it happens in Kanto. *38:26* Um I'm pr it probably happens in Sinnoh too. *38:29* It's just like *38:32* I think this is where it's at its worst cause it requires the most amount of HMs to to do that stuff, which yeah, that that's very frustrating. *38:33* Especially HMs of a single type too. *38:42* Like having three HMs dedicated only to water types is pretty *38:44* crazy because no one wants to put three HM like even if you are carrying a water Pokemon on your team, no one wants to put it three HMs on a single Pokemon that you are like like imagine if you start with a *38:48* m a mud kip or something. *38:58* No one wants to have that be all the only moves they have on their marsh stomp. *39:00* So um Yeah. *39:03* It's just not it is a kind of frustrating throughout the game. *39:05* As far as the world itself, um *39:10* There's a lot of water. *39:13* But a repel fixes the problem of running into too many things on the water and serving and stuff. *39:15* It just takes so much *39:22* I don't know if I at least in the 3DS version, it's fast enough, I suppose, walking around. *39:24* I don't know how fast the surf animation would have been. *39:29* you know, how fast you feel like you're going on the Game Boy, but it didn't feel too bad. *39:32* And I was beelining everything, so it wasn't a lot of meandering or exploring a lot of the ocean, which I know isn't *39:36* wouldn't have been what I did as a kid if I was playing it when I had endless time and wanted to explore. *39:42* So it didn't the too much water to me felt more like just *39:48* the typing and the HMs like we talked about, not necessarily the world. *39:52* I think it was actually cool that the world was basically split in two, where it was the the eastern half is water and islands and *39:57* communities there and then the western half is land and there's a big volcano type thing. *40:05* It was cool and it matches the the legendaries and the team Aqua and Magma. *40:11* Like this world *40:16* fits very well into the narrative and the pokedex. *40:18* It's all very cohesive. *40:22* And I think that's actually a really cool design. *40:23* Instead of just having *40:26* Here's your spooky ghost tower in Lavender Town, and here's your water gym, and it's by some water. *40:28* It's uh this world feels truly designed. *40:34* From the ground up altogether. *40:39* The whole the decks, the story, the world. *40:40* The coolest town is Pacificologue is the one that I think *40:43* is like coolest. *40:47* Really? *40:48* I think it's uh the for tree city. *40:49* Four trees for trees very cool. *40:52* I guess I'm I was I was speaking it specifically in regard to like the water stuff. *40:53* Like how they use the water within the *40:57* within the world. *40:59* Yeah, for sure. *41:00* But yeah, Fort Trey Fortry's really cool and unique too. *41:01* And uh is it Pseudopolis, the one with the eighth gems? *41:03* Yeah, you have to die under like *41:07* It's one of those things like and it honestly like made me because I I, you know, I watched the anime as a kid, but I wasn't like on top of it like every week, you know? *41:08* So I'm like *41:16* I kind of want to like go back and see how Ash got to these towns and like what they look like, how they're like represented in the anime. *41:16* Like, how did he get the Pseutopolis? *41:23* Did he like take a submarine down there? *41:25* Like Yeah *41:26* Well w what happened there? *41:27* Like, you know, how do you get what does Pacific Locktown look like in the actual anime? *41:28* 'Cause it's like on the water. *41:31* Um so uh yeah, I think that there's uh a lot of cool uh stuff there. *41:33* Um *41:40* With uh the the creativity behind the towns. *41:42* Again, like these are the things about Hoenn that I think are the um kind of the most *41:46* That make it stand out from like most of the other um regions for me is just like *41:52* There's just things there that you can only get from Hoenn. *42:00* And I think a big part of that was just because like the team pro the you know the team at uh Game Freak probably s thought of like how Kanto and Johto were like *42:04* While like those are still Johto's still in my favorite region, you know, they wanted to do something very different and like not make you think about like *42:13* uh Kanto and Johto, like this is a brand new fresh experience. *42:22* And it and it does feel like that, like in every way. *42:26* Like when it comes to the visuals, the gameplay. *42:29* you know introducing double battles um the the Pokemon right there's not a whole lot of *42:33* Uh Johto or um Canto Orbit Johto Pokemon that you catch in the wild. *42:40* Um unless tentacles *42:46* Yeah, Tenacool. *42:48* You know the the the the general ones like Ten Tenacool G Geodude uh Zubat Zubat *42:49* Like those are like the big three, but in general, there's uh a a lot of variety. *42:56* And I also think that it also did a good job at um *43:01* re placing important like locations in each town and city, uh *43:06* to make them easily remem remembered. *43:15* Like you know where the daycare is. *43:17* Like you know where um the move deleter is because it's like right next to the Lily Cove supermarket. *43:18* Like there's all these different things that uh that they *43:26* that are relevant for players that they put in uh spots that can be pretty easily remembered. *43:29* Um *43:37* You know, where you don't have to look at the signs in front of the houses every time. *43:38* Uh and uh yeah, I just think that's there is all it is one of the most varied uh regions. *43:42* Um and it's like it's from what *43:49* I can tell there isn't like a whole lot of um it's not really like based off of any sort of like *43:52* you know, country or architecture, like even Johto. *44:00* Like I love Johto, right? *44:03* But it's very feudal Japan inspired um architecture in a lot of locations. *44:04* And *44:10* It's it really does feel like it's just its own thing. *44:11* Um and and and it does and I would say that it does for like Cinno and Unova 2. *44:15* Um, but I just like again just so with the variety of the land versus the water, just like that theme of Ruby and Sapphire, it does it makes it it makes it stand out in a way that I don't think the other two really do. *44:21* I actually I was looking this up because I was curious if this was the first game to Game Freak to leave the inspiration of Japan and start designing their regions around other places around the world. *44:34* It's not, but it is based off this main island of Japan Kushu, and I'm looking at pictures of it. *44:47* And it's basically a giant volcano surrounded by water, which totally mirrors the game, right? *44:55* And so it's cool to see them tapping into *45:01* a different part of Japan because people when you think of Japan, you do think of the temples, that feudal style, the what you saw in um *45:05* in Johto and Kanto. *45:15* And this is a different side of Japan, the the fishing village angle, the volcanoes, the islands. *45:17* Which are huge in that region. *45:24* So it is cool to see different sides of Japan uh come through. *45:26* And I it makes more sense actually knowing that why they designed Ho in that way. *45:31* I wanted to ask about some of the additional stuff that gets thrown into these games. *45:37* Because um obviously this is all present in the remakes, but they tried to throw a lot at the *45:43* I feel like uh Ruby and Sapphire was definitely just two installments where they wanted to hit the broad beats of what worked well in red and blue and gold and silver, but they they tried to introduce a lot of new things in these games and see what would work. *45:50* Like I *46:03* Like I think back to double battles. *46:03* This is where double battles got introduced. *46:05* I'm not sure if you're aware of that, Max. *46:07* No. *46:09* Um makes sense though. *46:09* Yeah, this is where double battles came from. *46:11* Uh I mean, but then we've got stuff like beauty contests, which are just kind of like *46:13* I love the beauty contests. *46:17* I was gonna ask if anybody liked them because it really is just like a subset of like you can tell their thinking on that front was like what's another gym style activity we can throw in this because people clearly love gyms, so *46:19* What can we do? *46:31* And that was what came about. *46:33* I've never liked the beauty contest though. *46:35* I don't think Max liked them either. *46:36* I don't know if Max even participated in a single one. *46:38* Not in this game. *46:41* As a kid, I definitely did in Diamond and Pearl. *46:42* I was definitely into it then, but this time I was like, I don't wanna uh again, I was beelining things, so I was just like, Gimme through, give me through, give me through. *46:44* Yeah, the I I I don't know. *46:53* Some of this stuff it's it's interesting. *46:55* Like I think of the beauty contest and they haven't gone back to that. *46:57* And was Diamond and Pearl the last time they ever did that or was it in black and white as well? *46:59* I don't remember. *47:04* I don't remember. *47:06* I don't think it's been in any I don't think it's been in anything since Diamond and Pearl that I can think of, but I could very much be wrong on that front. *47:06* Yeah, I don't know. *47:13* Um *47:14* You can t uh this game is very interesting just because you can tell they're experimenting and kind of like what you were saying, uh, Cam, like Johto and Kanto are very tied to the hip, both literally, and those games are very much just *47:16* Like gold and silver are very much building off of the architecture of what was done in red and blue. *47:29* And this game is trying to be something completely new. *47:35* And in the process, this really sets the stage for *47:37* Um Diamond and Pearl and Black and White. *47:41* It doesn't feel like they really do another total sort of shift again, at least a drastic one, I feel like, until *47:44* X and Y where they try to throw turn things around a a little bit again. *47:52* There are like some temple Pokemon entries like that where they try to change the *47:56* direction of the series or change how what Pokemon has been up until that point. *48:00* And I really feel like a lot of the stuff that was introduced in this game was then ex a lot of the ideas were then expanded upon in the next two generations that we saw. *48:04* So I in that regard, I think this entry is these two games are very important to the Pokemon series, and I'm not sure if they would have the l long-term success otherwise. *48:13* Um *48:25* But yeah, I don't know. *48:26* What what did you think, Max, about like kind of what did and didn't work in this game? *48:27* Because I one one thing is what what was it you and I were talking the other day and you're like *48:31* This was just thrown in in the remakes, right? *48:35* And I'm like, no, that was in the base game. *48:37* I definitely thought like the beauty contests and *48:40* Berries. *48:43* I thought berries were Oh yeah, you didn't know uh Pokeblocks were a thing. *48:44* And I was like, Pokeblocks, yes, for your melottic. *48:47* Yeah. *48:50* So I thought that was all *48:50* stuff introduced later that then they brought into the remake to, you know, make it on parody with X and Y at the time and and future generations. *48:52* So it was a it was a eye-opening to have Logan say that it really was all introduced here. *49:01* I think it's *49:07* This was a cutoff generation, right? *49:09* This was the uh Game Freak separated Gen 1 and 2 from Gen 3 here. *49:11* There was no trading between 2 and 3. *49:17* This was like the new start essentially. *49:20* And I think that's where you see a lot of this, where we're building the new foundation of Pokemon and we'll build off that. *49:22* And quite *49:29* Frankly, I think it's still the foundation today. *49:30* Maybe not so much, I guess, with Scarlet and Violet. *49:33* Maybe that and Legends being the new structure they're going to be building off of, but *49:36* I haven't played black and white, and we will later this season, but I do know in Diamond and what I've played of X and Y and now this is all from that generation and even a little bit in Sword and Shield to a certain degree. *49:42* It all kind of really started here, and I think Game Freak really wanted to establish solid things to explore and expand upon. *49:56* I looked it up. *50:07* Pokemon Black and White and Black and White 2, they didn't have beauty contests, they had musical, Pokemon Musical. *50:08* But that the idea of having your Pokemon engage in something besides battle *50:15* And what do we see later on in Sword and Shield camping and being able to pet and interact with your Pokemon in a 3D space? *50:20* Cooking the food and eating it with the bad *50:27* uh yeah and I think it's cool that they *50:30* We see this in Johto a little bit, where they're in kind of horrific ways where they're like, we're chopping off slowpoke's tails to cook them and eat them. *50:38* Or we have this Miltank farm. *50:46* That's actually decent because, you know, they're getting milk or whatever. *50:48* But Pokemon live in this world outside of being wild or being in battles. *50:51* And I think this sh *50:57* these ideas, these different mechanics show that Pokemon do interact in the world. *50:59* And that's a theme throughout the games, right? *51:03* Pokemons and humans interacting and living and thriving together. *51:05* the uh machokes, machamps or whatever, they're like part of the mail deliver package delivery service. *51:09* Um it's uh the Latias and Latios fly you around town, I guess. *51:15* It's cool to see the world be fleshed out in that way. *51:20* I want to go back. *51:23* Um, let's talk about we we talked about the story a little bit before, um, mainly in regards to like Team Magma and stuff like and Team Magma and Team *51:25* Aqua and some of the larger through lines with the legendaries and stuff like that. *51:34* I feel like we touched on that stuff adequately. *51:38* But I did want to talk about *51:40* um kind of your character's like introduction to this world because they they do something different which is try to make your dad's a gym leader which is a totally different uh idea and concept that they've never really played around with before *51:43* Uh, which is a cool one. *51:56* And not only that, but um they introduced the I mean, Max mentioned this before we started recording, but Crystal was the first one where you could choose between a *51:57* male or female character, but this one did the thing where whatever character you didn't choose was then your rival by default, which was kind of a cool little uh wrinkle there. *52:06* So you could play through the games multiple times and have different *52:14* different rivals depending on w wh whatever character you didn't select. *52:17* Um so in that guar that regard I guess just what did you guys think about some of those ideas? *52:21* Um Max, I I'll toss this to you first because I know you talked about how you didn't think *52:27* Everything with facing Norman or your dad in the game was uh you just didn't think it was as good of a moment as it could have been, I guess. *52:32* Yeah, I think they squandered that kind of reveal or that kind of really hype battle. *52:42* I think there was real potential there for it to be this *52:48* Holy smokes, I'm fighting my dad now and there's a real chance. *52:51* He's a midway gym leader, so you kinda are getting halfway through the game instead of him being the eighth gym leader or even *52:55* Maybe the champion is a little bit more. *53:01* I think that's smart, I will say. *53:02* And where they put it in the game is like it's before you go anywhere to the west of the uh the west side of the map, which I kind of like. *53:03* You do a sort of loop and you come back *53:10* The east side of your dad. *53:12* Or the east side of your den. *53:14* Yeah, before you go west is what I'm saying. *53:15* Yeah, I just I keep saying yes. *53:17* You get west. *53:20* It's just *53:21* I don't know. *53:23* It didn't feel like it built up the right way. *53:23* You like go, you stop by, and he's like, ah, you gotta go get stronger and come back. *53:26* And then *53:30* My thought was that would be the eighth, you know, that would be the end, right? *53:31* Is I finally am strong enough and it's halfway through. *53:34* So that felt it just didn't feel as exciting as it could have been. *53:37* And then when you win, he's kind of like *53:41* Good job. *53:45* I don't know. *53:46* There just wasn't this dynamic there. *53:46* And then you go off and you're then it's over. *53:48* It never loops really back into that. *53:52* Your dad is still a gym leader, to his wife's chagrin. *53:54* because they can't go see the rocket launch or whatever. *53:58* So I don't know. *54:01* It just it just felt kind of like we need something different, so we'll do it like that. *54:02* It is is more *54:07* You know, in Johto, it's cool where you learn that is it Silver is the rival in that game? *54:08* Is that what Silver is the son of Giovanni? *54:14* Like that, you know, that's something you pick up on *54:17* later in the game. *54:20* And so like that was a cool thing to learn. *54:21* But this just felt like eh, your dad's a gym leader. *54:23* Whatever. *54:25* I think the thing in like sword and shield and Logan I know that you were like, well it's in your face the whole game. *54:26* It wasn't as great. *54:31* But I think the idea of your neighbor *54:32* as the rival, uh his older brother is the undefeated champion. *54:35* And so the whole game it's like he's undefeated, he's really great, helps the community, he loves battling. *54:38* That's who you're gonna fight. *54:44* And I think that that pays off better because you do get there and it's a struggle and you have to fight all of these gym leaders again right before him. *54:46* And they're cool battles in that game. *54:53* And then you fight him after more final silly stuff. *54:55* And that battle is fun. *55:00* And the music really amps that up. *55:01* And it's a big stadium. *55:03* And so the environment in that is different. *55:04* But *55:06* I just feel like this dad battle fell kind of flat where it was just another gym leader and it just so happened to be your dad. *55:06* That's fair. *55:12* That's that's still uh I mean like for sure. *55:13* Like at the time I think that it was it was cool 'cause like not only *55:16* Was it your dad? *55:20* Like this first game where you actually have a dad? *55:21* That's true. *55:25* They they've always did the Disney thing where it's like Um But uh I do think that there is a *55:26* I I I do think there like it's it's funny 'cause it's it's funny because his name's Norman and his like he is normal Pokemon. *55:35* Uh that's that's also really really funny *55:43* Um, you know, people are talking about Larry, the normal guy, but I'm just like, yo, Norman, the normal guy. *55:47* Um, and he has two slackings. *55:53* Like he doesn't even have three *55:56* It's also interesting because like Norman is in the anime is May's dad. *55:58* Yes. *56:05* And like so *56:05* Yeah, yeah, and May and Max's dad. *56:07* So it's kind of weird how like they try and like implement that into the uh the anime as well. *56:09* Um but uh it's uh you know it's cool like and it it doesn't really happen again, so it's not like *56:18* uh they try and do it again in a way in in a way to be like, oh, we're trying this again but better. *56:25* So like it it it may not be great. *56:31* In 2023 or as effective, but at least it's something that like they kind of like stuck their guns with and they haven't like tried to reiterate it. *56:34* Uh *56:42* you know, in in a future region or anything like that. *56:44* I do think that you know, what you're saying, uh 'cause you're all talking about like Hopp and Leon um in Yeah. *56:47* Sword and Shield, like *56:54* That that that is cool. *56:57* Like I I do but I also think that there is some sort of like there is a level of magic to not knowing who the champion is until you get to them. *56:58* Yes. *57:05* Fully agreed. *57:06* And so, like, I mean, because that's what the first game was, right? *57:08* Like the first game, you know, you find out that the champion is your rival. *57:12* Your rival just became the champion, and now you have to take down your rival, and that's like the final fight, right? *57:14* And um *57:20* And I do like and this is something, you know, Johto, like you know that I mean you don't know that Lance is the champion, I don't think, but like *57:22* You can add two plus two together. *57:32* Especially if the later you get into the game. *57:35* Yeah. *57:37* But also like I get that they want to try and change things up. *57:38* Like and it's like, no, we're gonna like *57:42* give you show you who this person is and why they're significant while like with Leon in like Sword and Shield *57:44* People are like, oh, he's the champion, and then and you see him and like that's it. *57:53* But like I think in Johto they actually like show *57:57* Why Lance is the champion. *58:02* Like without seeing him like actually like battle or stuff like that, like you you feel his significance. *58:03* Um then just like him appearing being like, Oh, I'm the champion and then like that's kinda it. *58:10* Well this sets me up well I wanted to ask you about Steven *58:15* I wanted to lead this into us talking about Steven. *58:18* So how do you guys think Steven is handled in this game? *58:20* Because he's one of my favorite champions in the entire Pokemon series. *58:23* I think Steven's awesome. *58:26* And they don't they they're not too heavy-handed with it, which is what I like *58:28* It is very subtle that you just keep kind of running into this guy. *58:31* It's a little more heavy-handed in the remakes, Max, but in the OG games, he just you kind of bump into him a couple times and you don't really know much about him. *58:34* And then you get to the end of the game and he's like, oh yeah, I'm the champ. *58:42* by the way. *58:44* So and and I think that was such a cool reveal when I when I played those games. *58:45* And his team's really g awesome too. *58:48* I like his team. *58:50* Yeah. *58:51* I think yeah, and that's one of the th uh we'll get into that this uh in a sec, but like I think that Steven is the best handled *58:52* champion in the series. *58:59* Like I love Lance. *59:00* Lance is will be my number one boy. *59:01* Uh 'cause I think he's just like for me he's like iconic but I think like when it comes to the story and implementing them into the s in into the narrative I think that they that uh Steve has done *59:03* uh the best. *59:14* Um that being said, in Emerald he is not the champion. *59:16* Yes, which is the worst part. *59:20* Which is which is t which is *59:22* Is a mistake. *59:24* It's a mistake. *59:25* It's one of the great crimes of Emerald. *59:26* Did you know that before you played it, Cam? *59:28* I I feel like I did, but I *59:30* Uh but I d I I I kind of forgot like I kind of forgot until I got to that point. *59:34* I was just like, oh yeah, right. *59:39* I don't think he's the champion in this game, and it's Wallace. *59:40* who is the eighth gym leader in the other like in Ruby Sapphire I I Alpha Sapphire or Omega Ruby too, right? *59:44* Yeah. *59:52* He's the champion. *59:52* Um you can still fight Steve postgame in Emerald, but it's not the same. *59:53* It's not the you know, it's not the same. *59:59* That's surprising. *01:00:01* And Wallace still has a full water team, right? *01:00:02* And he still has a full water team. *01:00:04* Yep. *01:00:06* Yep. *01:00:07* Um, which I mean like I'm not opposed to the the the like the champion having uh like a same type team *01:00:08* So like that doesn't really bother me. *01:00:17* With Lance, especially Gen 2 with Lance, it was a little different because dragons were OP at the time. *01:00:19* Nowadays, not as much. *01:00:24* So having a full dragon team back in Gen 2 was like, oh my god, I'm gonna get my ass handed to me. *01:00:25* Um but yeah having a champion like a full basic type like water, it's like that's a little uh okay. *01:00:31* Like I I think I can handle this actually. *01:00:38* Um yeah, I mean there was some variety to make it a little bit more challenging. *01:00:41* Like they had like, you know, it's like a tentacle, so it's like water poison. *01:00:44* Um *01:00:48* You know, especially because me, like, I pay like m I we didn't talk about it yet. *01:00:49* We didn't talk about the starters we picked, but I I picked Torch I picked Torche. *01:00:53* We're all three in the case. *01:00:58* Okay, okay. *01:01:00* Because Blaziken, in my opinion, is the best final fire evolution in Pokemon. *01:01:01* Like of the starters, like *01:01:06* I like Blaziken I like Blaziken more than Charizard. *01:01:08* I do. *01:01:10* Like, um I and like, you know, I love Cyndaquil. *01:01:11* Like I'll pick Cyndaquil over Torchik. *01:01:15* But I'm gonna pick Blaziken over Typhlosion. *01:01:17* Like that's just like the reality. *01:01:19* One of the things that sucks about uh Hoenn, not a lot of electric types. *01:01:22* So um *01:01:26* That sucked. *01:01:28* Uh you can get like a Manectric and that's about it. *01:01:29* In a magneton? *01:01:34* That's about it. *01:01:36* That's about options. *01:01:37* Good luck. *01:01:38* So yeah, so I had I had an Alakazam with shockwave, and uh that's it. *01:01:39* And I was in like in my Rayquaza, which is level 70. *01:01:44* So like literally all what I did was I just overpowered them with *01:01:47* Rayquaza, because I had a Raquaza. *01:01:50* Um that was like a level 70 something. *01:01:53* But going back to Steven, I do like how they implemented Steven. *01:01:55* Um, I like how uh and I like how they implemented h uh him in um in Emerald as well. *01:01:59* Like he's still like relevant, he's still prevalent in the story. *01:02:06* It's just like when you get towards the real like uh the the su *01:02:09* pseudopolis part of the story. *01:02:13* It's when Wallace comes in and it's just like Whatcha what are you doing here? *01:02:15* Like, you know what I mean? *01:02:20* Um and also what's cool about uh Steven, I you might you guys might have talked about it when you did the Johto episode, but *01:02:21* Um you meet Steven in the post-game of Heart Gold and Soul Silver. *01:02:28* There's somewhere where you run into him and he gives you one of the st he like makes you choose a color and it basically gives you one of the Hoenn starters. *01:02:34* Yeah. *01:02:41* Which uh which was really cool. *01:02:42* I forgot I forgot that that's a thing, but yes, now that you mention it, I remember doing that back in the day. *01:02:43* Yeah, it's just like Steven doesn't like the thing that's cool about Steven is that he doesn't *01:02:48* give the energy of a champion. *01:02:54* He just like some he's like kind of he feels like a normal guy that just kind of a chill dude who's like, yeah, I'm really good at trading Pokemon as well. *01:02:56* Yeah. *01:03:03* Like I I like him more than like I I feel like the two champions that get pit *01:03:04* pit against one another a lot in terms of like whoever the fandoms behind it Steven and Cynthia and there's like a cult of Cynthia where everybody's like, She's the greatest trainer ever. *01:03:08* She's so like *01:03:17* And I'm like, nah, Steven's just like a a chill dude who's also champ. *01:03:19* And like that's why that's why I like him. *01:03:23* He's just uh he's just pretty relaxed in these games. *01:03:25* I mean people people like Cynthia just cause she's notoriously the hardest champion. *01:03:28* Like *01:03:32* Because she has that garchomp that is just, you know, that's very powerful. *01:03:33* Like, um and you know, uh and it's true, like I *01:03:37* I feel like Cynthia is the last champion. *01:03:41* And I haven't played Scarlet and Violet, so you know, I might be wrong about this. *01:03:45* But I feel like like Cynthia is the last champion that actually like *01:03:48* posed a real challenge when when you when you play um when you get to the champion like uh I remember an X and Y like X and Y is easily the easiest Pokemon game like it is it it is *01:03:53* I know like Pokemon's meant for children, like it's directed towards children, but like it it was dumb how easy X and Y was. *01:04:05* I beat the entirety of the Elite Four and Diantha. *01:04:13* With a laparus. *01:04:16* That's it. *01:04:17* I use one Pokemon. *01:04:18* And so like, you know, uh that's been my that's my biggest problem X and Y forward is that the series gets too easy. *01:04:19* And I feel like with *01:04:27* I mean Max, I don't I don't know. *01:04:29* Did this game push back against you with the remakes because I feel like it was a little bit better balanced compared to X and Y, which Cam, you're right, are like baby level simple. *01:04:31* Like you could just *01:04:41* spam the same moves and you're gonna win and yeah like I I really do not do not care for those games because of that reason. *01:04:43* But I I felt like these games were a little bit more difficult but I I still never once *01:04:50* I never had to grind in this game, I guess I should say. *01:04:55* The b it's fine. *01:04:58* I didn't I didn't really feel like I had to grind or anything like that. *01:04:59* I kind of just kept the pace up going, however. *01:05:04* however I needed to. *01:05:07* Um, but I gotta I gotta I gotta say I don't really care for Steven. *01:05:09* He's I think he's too plain. *01:05:13* He's just like, hi, I like rocks. *01:05:16* I'm trying to figure out what's going on in the world. *01:05:18* And then he just shows up at the end like, haha, I'm also the champion. *01:05:20* But he's not really *01:05:24* I don't know. *01:05:26* He just feels he doesn't seem like a guy who's defending his title. *01:05:27* Like, I don't know. *01:05:32* And then he's just around to help. *01:05:33* And in Delta, I actually really didn't like his motivations or anything. *01:05:34* He's kind of *01:05:38* in a way, one of the antagonists feels too strong, but he is a part of the problem in Design. *01:05:40* No, he's not. *01:05:47* stealing things. *01:05:53* Like I don't and she doesn't explain her motives. *01:05:54* The solution is just to I I side with the crazy dragon lady, I guess. *01:05:57* He's just like, we're gonna send it to another dimension and it'll be their problem. *01:06:02* And here's the thing, she doesn't really explain her problem her uh problems until like much later. *01:06:05* Steven was is very staunch about everything. *01:06:13* and like this is the only way to do it. *01:06:16* He actually feels very close-minded in the Delta episode. *01:06:18* Um, as opposed to a world traveler type thing. *01:06:22* And I know he gives, like, he helps give you a latias or latios in the remakes, which is *01:06:24* Not in the base games. *01:06:29* Well, can we just touch on that real quick? *01:06:31* I know this is one thing that Cam did not experience in his playthrough. *01:06:32* That's like one of the *01:06:36* Most jarring stupidest things of the remakes is that they just hang you a latios or latias on a silver platter and say, here you go, and you can mega evolve it and have fun. *01:06:37* It's like and you get that *01:06:46* Four or five gyms in. *01:06:49* I I think you get it right before you go to Fortree City. *01:06:50* It like stops you right there and you have to engage in that. *01:06:53* And it's so *01:06:56* Yeah, that's so it's so it's so bizarre that that is in the game. *01:06:58* Um and I don't like that. *01:07:02* And that's a whole sequence that involves Steven and *01:07:03* Yeah, I just didn't I I just didn't really necessarily care for Steven or his motivations or really fighting him. *01:07:09* Uh and he wasn't all that *01:07:15* difficult either. *01:07:18* Like he seemed pretty easy. *01:07:19* What he's all what is he's rocking. *01:07:20* He's easier in the remake than he is in the original. *01:07:23* In the original. *01:07:26* He's pretty brutal in the original. *01:07:26* In the original, specifically that crat that the cradley. *01:07:28* F that cradley. *01:07:32* Yes. *01:07:33* Um because it's a grass rock type, so it's like *01:07:34* It it it doesn't have many weaknesses. *01:07:37* It doesn't have many weaknesses. *01:07:40* Well that maybe that's more a fruit of it, the remakes just being aimed toward that XY easier audience type thing. *01:07:41* But yeah, I just didn't find him *01:07:48* all that engaging uh when I ran into him or anything. *01:07:50* So I I'm very cool on Steven, but don't you worry, when we play Diamond and Pearl, your boy will be championing Cynthia for sure. *01:07:54* Let me ask one more character question and then we're gonna I want to pivot to a couple other things and the final character I think we need to touch on to some degree is Wally. *01:08:03* Yeah, Wally is the strangest character in this game for me. *01:08:11* Absolutely bizarre. *01:08:14* Like like it's like you're like a ma make a wish *01:08:16* Rivaling this kid. *01:08:19* Like it's so it's so strange how it's approached, like, oh please *01:08:20* Be this boy's rival, teach him how to catch a Pokemon, and then whoop his repeatedly throughout the whole game. *01:08:26* I don't and I don't remember it being this *01:08:32* bizarre like it it really is just it really took this playthrough for it to like hit me like this is odd like yeah she's like presented as a kid who's got like a terminal illness or something *01:08:35* Like they're like cause it cause his uncle or his family or whatever like mentions like, oh, he's been sick and so he's gotta come live with us or he's not well and you got oh you're treating our boy so good. *01:08:47* It's like what is the *01:08:57* What's the end game with this story arc with Wally? *01:08:59* And that's the thing. *01:09:02* There is no end game with this story arc. *01:09:02* It just kind of you beat him the final time and then he just goes away. *01:09:05* And that's about it. *01:09:09* Yeah. *01:09:10* And like May, May isn't really a rival either. *01:09:10* It's like there that's like one thing. *01:09:14* There's really no like especially like I'm not I don't want to make this a Johto episode, but to this day, like I think far and away silver is the best rival in Pokemon. *01:09:15* Like I don't think that there is much *01:09:24* debate about it. *01:09:27* Um I think that Silver's story arc and like how they actually implement gameplay in the storytelling with the Crobat is just like *01:09:29* Bro, w it's insane. *01:09:39* It's so good. *01:09:41* And I think I really think that blue and silver are like the only two good Pokemon rivals, in my opinion. *01:09:42* Like I think after that, it's just like *01:09:49* It's just like all right. *01:09:51* Well I don't want to spoil I don't want to spoil everything for in fact don't say anything about this. *01:09:52* Um because Max does not know and I want this to stay hidden from him. *01:09:57* But everything with N in black and white I think is pretty cool. *01:10:00* Oh, phenomenal. *01:10:03* Not phenomenal. *01:10:04* But like I wouldn't say he's a rival. *01:10:05* Yeah, it's it's a little different. *01:10:08* Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. *01:10:10* No, N is the *01:10:11* Like, okay. *01:10:13* N is the good part of the only good part of black and white, and like he is just even better in the actually phenomenal black and white too. *01:10:15* Like *01:10:25* Because again, not trying to go off a huge tangent, but like black and white is terrible. *01:10:25* Like if anyone thinks that game is good. *01:10:29* I like those games. *01:10:31* It's been a long time since I played them, but I did like those games a lot back in the day. *01:10:32* It's well cause. *01:10:36* I like the I I should say I like those Pokedexes a lot. *01:10:37* Like that is like one of my favorite Pokedexes. *01:10:41* So let me yeah, let me clarify. *01:10:44* The like the tech like the technical stuff of fifth gen is phenomenal. *01:10:47* And like even in black and white one. *01:10:54* Um *01:10:57* They but the thing is is like and I get like I respect Game Freak for doing this. *01:10:58* There was a big uh in case you didn't know Max, there was a big *01:11:04* uh criticism ongoing throughout for like the past two generations that there wasn't enough variety in the Pokemon in the wild Pokemon you could catch. *01:11:07* So in black and white specifically, they decided, all right, every Pokemon in this game is going to be UNOVA. *01:11:16* It's only going to be UNOVA Pokemon. *01:11:24* But the thing is, Unova has the worst Pokemon designs in the history of Pokemon. *01:11:26* So it's just Pokemon. *01:11:33* Ice cream, the gear, it's just like stuff like that. *01:11:36* And then in black and white. *01:11:41* Is this the chandelier one too? *01:11:42* Yes. *01:11:44* Oh no, no, Chandel, no, Chandelier's fourth is Sinnoh. *01:11:45* Don't don't speak about the one. *01:11:48* Yes, no, that is Sinnoh, I'm sorry. *01:11:49* I was I just I was thinking of regularly object-shaped Pokemon. *01:11:50* Because there is so many that there's bound to be some good like and that's what I like. *01:11:56* Is like the sh the overall there is so many new ones. *01:12:01* You're right, but like legitimately, there's maybe five Unova Pokemon that I like. *01:12:04* Like maybe five. *01:12:10* And it's just like *01:12:11* You know, um and so but then black and white too, you know, the thing that makes it so good *01:12:13* Uh is is the story. *01:12:20* Like the story is so good in black and white too. *01:12:22* Um that makes it one of the best Pokemon games. *01:12:25* And they do fix the whole, like, it's not just Unova Pokemon. *01:12:28* It really is phenomenal. *01:12:31* Like, if I wasn't already like doing a podcast with y'all on this, that is like the game I would I want to return to the most is Black and White 2. *01:12:33* Because again, I I didn't like the first one. *01:12:41* And my buddy, who's huge into Pokemon. *01:12:44* Like, he's the one who like lent me his copy of Emerald to play. *01:12:46* He was like. *01:12:49* He's like, I know you didn't like black and white too, but you gotta you gotta give this a shot. *01:12:50* And I did, and it is in my opinion, like arguably top three best Pokemon games. *01:12:55* Like *01:13:02* And yeah. *01:13:03* We're ending this season with them, and I'm really looking forward to them. *01:13:04* Like it's like of the ones coming up, those are the ones I'm looking forward to going back to and revisiting. *01:13:07* Yeah. *01:13:12* Because I just think there's a lot of good stuff there. *01:13:13* Cause I do I do really want to actually try and start making a living decks because I thought about it. *01:13:15* It's like it honestly wouldn't be that hard. *01:13:20* Um outside of like a few legendaries. *01:13:23* Um, because you know, you can get through like most Pokemon games in 20 hours if you know what you're doing. *01:13:25* Um like it took me just under 19 hours to beat Emerald. *01:13:29* Um and like so it wouldn't be that hard, uh, especially in 2023. *01:13:33* Um and like I I would be very look look forward to replaying through um *01:13:38* Uh black and white too specifically. *01:13:46* Um but yeah, anyway, Hoenn. *01:13:48* Wally back to back to Wally. *01:13:51* I was gonna say chime in on Wally real quick, Max. *01:13:53* Bulpa Pedia says Wally is a young sickly boy who lives in Petalberg City. *01:13:56* Despite his illness, his dream is to train Pokemon. *01:14:01* few sentences later. *01:14:04* Is he actually sick? *01:14:05* His illness is never explained, but his symptoms appear to clear up in clean air, suggesting that it is either acute bronchitis or asthma. *01:14:08* So this is a very much like you are helping a sick kid. *01:14:16* Bronchitis is temporary. *01:14:19* Asthma and asthma is not like a it's I mean yeah, it's a per I have asthma. *01:14:22* It's it's a permanent illness, but like *01:14:27* Sure. *01:14:29* You're making him sound like he's a make-a-wish kid. *01:14:30* I Wally, I've in my notes, I wrote is just a big crybaby. *01:14:36* Like you just have a crybaby rival, which he's kind of a downer. *01:14:40* I don't want to say he's a crybaby, it's just like crying. *01:14:44* It's true. *01:14:48* Who are you throughout this entire game? *01:14:50* That's the thing, and like his introduction is bizarre, because doesn't your d isn't your dad the one who's like, hey, I want you to meet this person. *01:14:52* And this is my friend, and this is his nephew Wally. *01:14:58* And will you please hang out with Wally? *01:15:01* Like he really is presented in the game as like *01:15:03* Take pity on this young child and also battle him and whoop his butt like multiple times throughout the game. *01:15:06* It's like this is so odd. *01:15:14* I wasn't a fan of of Wally. *01:15:17* I feel like having the rivals split this way actually kind of robbed it of that rivalry. *01:15:19* I do think some of the subleaders in Team Aqua *01:15:24* uh were better rivals like the one the the beefy dude and stuff like who was the team in Emerald at *01:15:28* It's it's magma and aqua at the same time. *01:15:37* Oh, see that's pretty cool. *01:15:40* Yeah, so basically in the store the story of Emerald is like they each take one of the orbs and you have to go to both locations where *01:15:41* Groudon and Kyogre are and then the orbs react to them and then they go to Pseutopolis and then you go get Rayquaza. *01:15:49* Got it. *01:15:56* Wouldn't that just create too much land and too much water at the same time, which would just result in like *01:15:57* neutrality and then they'd be fine. *01:16:03* I think what happens is I think it's like raining or something. *01:16:07* Like kind of like permanently, but it's like permanently sunshiny or something like that too, or somet I can't remember. *01:16:12* Two days ago. *01:16:24* Like I like zoomed through this game this week 'cause I I know I've been the one holding things up. *01:16:25* And like I'm pretty sure *01:16:30* It was raining. *01:16:32* I feel like it was raining consistently until you resolve that. *01:16:33* Yeah. *01:16:38* Um, so or or something rather like that. *01:16:38* Um, which is one of the th I actually think that this is *01:16:42* The the generation where they introduce the weather moves, right? *01:16:45* There's the sunny day, the cast form is in the game as to kind of play off of that. *01:16:49* Yeah, like um those were those are cool um mechanics specifically and like potentially like competitive that um *01:16:55* Is cool like if it rains, right? *01:17:06* That um if you use thunder, it will hit like there's without a doubt. *01:17:08* And because it normally has like 75-70 accuracy. *01:17:12* Max is learning things about Pokemon today that he didn't have to do that. *01:17:15* Yeah, and if you if it's sunny out, you use sunny day, you can use solar beam immediately. *01:17:21* You don't have to charge up. *01:17:26* Yep. *01:17:27* Very good. *01:17:28* So it's like those kind of effects that are really cool. *01:17:29* Like mid like uh hail is just like, oh, if you're if you're a non-ice type, you *01:17:31* are dealt some damage. *01:17:36* Same same thing with Sandstorm. *01:17:37* Like sure if you're not a ground type, you take some damage. *01:17:39* But like those two moves specifically are uh were really really cool. *01:17:41* Um but uh I'm trying to think about what else we haven't talked about that. *01:17:46* Well there's one thing I wanted to broadly mention that I feel like we haven't touched on, and then uh *01:17:50* We can maybe talk a little bit more about or I want to talk about music and post-game stuff, which we've already done a little bit in regards to the remakes. *01:17:55* Uh one thing I just really wanted to touch on really quickly, because I know we we *01:18:01* Uh speaking about it in regard to black and white made me realize we really haven't done it so far with this gen other than just like the the diversity amongst the Pokedex, but I think one of the strengths of *01:18:05* Gen 3 here and the Hoenn Pokemon is that there are some of the best designs of any of the Pokemon games in this gen. *01:18:16* Like I really like *01:18:23* Um some of my favorite Pokemon of all time are in this gen. *01:18:25* Like I think of Salamence as one of my favorites, which I know is just like a a dragon type, but like I I like I like the three-stage evolution of that and how and how *01:18:28* uh uh you end up getting s uh salamons from Bagon. *01:18:37* Um like I even think like with Norman I I think the his his uh Slight Kings are I think those are an awesome uh type of Pokemon. *01:18:40* And not everything here is *01:18:48* Fantastic. *01:18:51* Um some stuff is as simple as Whale Lord is a giant whale, which is just like okay, but Sharpedo I think is an awesome water type. *01:18:51* Um there's a lot of like really good designs in this game that I thoroughly enjoyed and the remakes when I talk about the designs too, I think about the old sprites in these games, the ones that *01:19:01* Cam, you would have definitely seen in the ones we were robbed of in the remakes because everything since Pokemon's Gone 3D has been saturated and dull, unfortunately. *01:19:12* Um but just what what were you guys' opinions on the Pokemon um at least when it comes to like look and I don't know what cool factor or whatever you want to call it, just the general designs. *01:19:22* I mean the poke I mean the Pokemon designs like for me are a big part of what makes me like love a region in uh most most of the time. *01:19:34* Um and I and again like I do think that Hoenn is like the last generation where like *01:19:43* Like moving forward, I kind of like have felt not not that like every Pokemon game since then has been bad, because that's just not true. *01:19:47* But like when it comes to the uh *01:19:56* the region and the Pokemon designs, they just have kind of gone down over over time, uh, to a certain extent. *01:19:59* Um UNOVA I think is like still the bottom, but like there's still like, you know, um *01:20:08* Gen 6 to Gen 8, like also haven't been great. *01:20:15* Um and I think that like first off, I think that *01:20:19* Trico, Torchik, and Mudkip are all great starters. *01:20:24* Like they're all solid. *01:20:27* Some better than others, but like I don't think any of these starters are bad. *01:20:28* I don't really like Mudkip's evolution line, but I think that just those three as starters *01:20:32* are really cool. *01:20:38* Agreeing. *01:20:39* Yeah. *01:20:40* Uh m one you know, we eventu I I don't know if y'all have your own like top six. *01:20:40* Like if you were to have a Pokemon team of all the Pokemon that exists this this would be your team. *01:20:47* But but uh Flygon is on my top. *01:20:51* I love Flygon. *01:20:55* Flygon is so cool. *01:20:55* Like uh Fly Flygon is like *01:20:57* my flying Pokemon rep like he'd be the Pokemon I'd be flying around whatever region on like I it's so weird cause it's just such a weird evolution line. *01:20:59* It's like Trep Pinch which is like some sane I'd that's like one of my favorite things about *01:21:08* Flygon though. *01:21:13* It's like that evolution line is so crazy. *01:21:14* Yeah, and then Vibrava, and then you get to fucking Flygon. *01:21:17* It's like, what a weird line, but like I love, I really do love Flygon a lot. *01:21:22* That's like that is like *01:21:26* the number one for me like uh when it comes to uh hoen I think the um outside of Groudon I like all of the designs for the legendaries I think groudon is definitely the weakest link there I I really like Jirachi *01:21:27* I really like Deoxys. *01:21:40* Um I think the Regis are really cool and just how Oh yeah. *01:21:42* Yeah the Regis are cool. *01:21:45* Especially how they're implemented into the game, right? *01:21:46* It's kinda like they it it's kinda like their version of the uh Hoenn's version of the unknown, right? *01:21:48* You're trying to like figure out the puzzles. *01:21:52* That combined with the legendary dogs or their version of Moltres Zapdos and Articuno, the legendary birds. *01:21:54* Like they do something different with like that trifecta. *01:22:00* Like they bring back a trifecta of Pokemon, but it's much different. *01:22:03* And then they expand on it later with *01:22:06* Uh Regigus or Regig whatever however it's pronounced. *01:22:08* I like this dex. *01:22:12* This is one of those ones that like as a kid I always saw these Pokemon, you know, just in TV and the cards and like my friends would have them. *01:22:13* So I definitely *01:22:19* was aware of this gen in these designs. *01:22:21* I did look up the the Game Boy Advance decks here on Sayurby and I'm looking at these sprites and they're so beautiful. *01:22:24* It's oh my gosh. *01:22:31* 2D sprites are the *01:22:32* best. *01:22:34* So I do I am kind of bummed. *01:22:34* Again, another reason I probably maybe should have played the Game Boy Advanced version. *01:22:37* It would have looked so good on the pocket too. *01:22:42* Oh it'd be so crisp. *01:22:44* It'd be a crispy little game. *01:22:46* Yeah. *01:22:48* It is I liked like the I remember as a kid seeing the the I guess the Lunatone in the soul rock thinking that was cool, just like the sun moon concept. *01:22:49* Not the games, but the the Pokemon themselves. *01:22:59* There's Absol. *01:23:02* I'm a big Absol fan. *01:23:04* So I you know, I've seen that design here. *01:23:06* Sand Goose. *01:23:08* Yeah, it's it's cool. *01:23:09* And then Jirachi is one of my favorite legendaries, and I have a big I was always thought Deoxys and its multiple forms was pretty cool as a kid, too. *01:23:11* So *01:23:21* This deck's brought a lot of stuff in that I'm I'm fairly fond of, even if I wasn't there to play it all the time. *01:23:21* I will say the no the electric balance there are no electric like we talked about and *01:23:29* Um, Swampert is kind of lame, even though Mudkip is great. *01:23:35* Blaziken's a goat, so not the animal goat, but *01:23:39* It's a good Dex. *01:23:44* It's a good designed Dex, even if it's a little imbalanced. *01:23:45* It's not as rough as some of the stuff we've played so far this season. *01:23:49* Which is I think I think part of the reason I find Gen 4 a letdown. *01:23:52* Don't you dare become merch, my sweet, sweet child. *01:23:58* I I I like there are some standouts in in Diamond and Pearl that I like, but I think just comparatively, like it's like such a dra downgrade from from Owen. *01:24:01* Sinnoh is such a fall-off. *01:24:10* I agree. *01:24:12* And and I I I think they uh I I I again I like *01:24:12* I like black and white, but that's a the whole other conversation too. *01:24:16* I acknowledge that there are some crappy designs in that generation. *01:24:18* We've naturally touched on a lot of other things here. *01:24:21* Um the big one that we need to dedicate some *01:24:24* real time to discuss here for a moment is the music. *01:24:28* I I we've talked about like the meme nature of this soundtrack and how I think that has *01:24:32* Like if anybody is talking about Ruby or Sapphire in 2023, it is more often than not making a joke about the music and the trumpets and heck that's even *01:24:39* Like the little call we're having in here was uh like a joke about Which I didn't know the I didn't know the reference to. *01:24:48* I was just like, I don't know what this means, but okay, sure. *01:24:54* That was the I think when I told Max about these games, I was like, oh Max, we're finally doing it. *01:24:57* It's time for the trumpet games. *01:25:02* Uh and so that was his initial *01:25:05* initial introduction to these games in that regard. *01:25:08* But these these the soundtracks phenomenal. *01:25:11* Like it's one of my favorite Pokemon soundtracks. *01:25:15* Like up there with the original uh red and blue um I *01:25:17* I don't know. *01:25:22* Like the depending depending on the day, I would I really could say that this is my favorite. *01:25:23* Um it just I I think a lot of the Pokemon soundtracks stand toe-to-toe with one another. *01:25:29* Um yeah, I think um I personally like, you know, broken record, but I think Johto's soundtrack is like not just the best Pokemon soundtrack, I think is one of the best soundtracks in video games. *01:25:34* Yeah. *01:25:44* Um and I think that uh but I think that *01:25:45* the soundtrack in Hoenn is great. *01:25:48* Like I I I think that, you know, similarly to most of my other feelings about Pokemon after Hoenn is that like I think that it's the last memorable s Pokemon soundtrack. *01:25:50* Like I don't I don't really think about *01:25:59* Uh like I could not like hum a part of a tune of any other soundtrack after Hoenn. *01:26:02* Like it's just *01:26:10* the f these first three generations, um, they're so like iconic iconic with their music. *01:26:10* I kinda like get the whole like trumpet uh meme about it, but like I never thought that was a bad thing. *01:26:17* Like I don't know, you know. *01:26:23* And I again like I think that the big part of Hoenn which makes it stand out um at the end of the day, and I think you could say this across like *01:26:25* Really any uh facet of the game is that it wanted to differentiate itself from the first two Pokemon games. *01:26:35* Like *01:26:42* There it was a new system. *01:26:42* It was a new you know, they they wanted uh to like be completely new from uh like uh across the board. *01:26:44* um and just like not associate itself with Kanto or Johto. *01:26:51* Um so everything that they did I think was very um *01:26:55* They wanted to be very uh particular on the decisions that they made with how this game was designed from the ground up. *01:27:01* And I don't think the music I think the music, you know, is um a is a part of that and uh and for the better. *01:27:09* Like I think that's one of the *01:27:18* Many of the reasons why I love Hoenn is because of how different it is from Kanto and Johto. *01:27:20* Like I like Hoen more than Kanto simply because like I get Kanto in Johto. *01:27:27* I don't, you know, and I do think that like Johto, you know, after when you play the Johto games, you, you know, outside of like some story stuff, you really don't need to play the original *01:27:33* Like canto games like I mean you can play like Fire Red Leaf Dream, which are great remakes, and like you could arguably play Let's Go, Pikachu, and Eevee if that's how you want to play those games, uh like that generation that's available to you. *01:27:47* Um, but I think that Hoenn like you know uh it has everything it did everything that it needed to do to stand out and I think it's *01:28:00* succeeded and like I think a lot of people a little bit younger than me and l uh Logan's uh and what Max I don't know how old you are on top of my head. *01:28:09* But like um Logan and basically the same age. *01:28:16* Yeah. *01:28:19* Oh okay. *01:28:20* Like that are a little bit younger than us *01:28:20* Um that's like because like for me, like a lot of people my age will agree that like Hoenn is like the best generation of Pokemon. *01:28:23* And you can say part of that is from us growing up with that generation. *01:28:31* You could say part of that is nostalgia. *01:28:34* I do not think that's the case because I think that even Heart Gold Soul Silver when that re-released proved that like no Johto is just that special and that well made. *01:28:36* But like I do think people that are like five, six years behind me in age, which so like early twenties uh or mid twenties like thinks that Hoenn is like the peak of Pokemon. *01:28:45* And I like *01:28:56* I can while I disagree, like I can see why. *01:28:57* Like there's so much that can be presented to argue that idea. *01:29:00* I Cam, when you actually you mentioned it wa it they were burning it to a new system with the Game Boy Advance and it was a new *01:29:07* a new generation not to hit the hit it on the nose too hard, but it it was this new power, new technology. *01:29:16* They had tapped out the Game Boy and Game Boy Color and now had more *01:29:23* Power, more uh better sound chip. *01:29:28* And I actually I went, I was listening to some of the music, and again, I kind of really wish I played the Game Boy Advanced version because it sounds so good. *01:29:31* Yeah, you need to listen to the champion theme at the end and then compare it to the version in Alpha. *01:29:39* It's like dude, it's like nine day. *01:29:43* Like the melody is the same, but it's so different. *01:29:45* I think the battles *01:30:34* Each battle has a really high energy to it. *01:30:36* And I do think part of that is the trumpets. *01:30:38* But each battle feels like exciting. *01:30:40* You're in there. *01:30:42* It's a it's a great theme. *01:30:43* It it um uh what's the guy's name? *01:30:45* Jin uh Jinuchi *01:30:48* Masuda. *01:30:49* Junichi Matsuda. *01:30:50* Yes. *01:30:51* Uh cranking out another banger battle theme. *01:30:52* I wrote down like Wally's final battle has some electric guitar that comes through. *01:30:55* I but I like that. *01:31:00* I thought that was pretty cool. *01:31:01* And the elite f the elite four theme has a really positive upbeat kinda like you're doing it, you're going forward. *01:31:03* So it's *01:31:10* It's a solid soundtrack, and I'm actually I want to go back and listen to the Game Boy Advance one in more detail here with you know higher volume and stuff because *01:31:11* This is good. *01:31:21* It's these are themes that stand out. *01:31:22* I think I'll obviously have a huge bias towards Canto and Sinnoh because those were the games that I did play as a kid. *01:31:24* And so *01:31:31* That's just what I grew up listening to. *01:31:32* But this is strong. *01:31:35* This is solid. *01:31:36* And I again I think probably the Game Boy Advanced version is better all around. *01:31:37* So maybe *01:31:41* I was just gonna say it's crazy that even with a more limited uh hardware that that that soundtrack is is better. *01:31:42* Like they have more at their fingertips with the 3DS version and they they they do a worse job with it. *01:31:49* Yeah. *01:31:54* I I also want to shout out like um and and I still I feel like stronger about it again with with the with Johto but like *01:31:55* Shout out to the surfing theme in this game. *01:32:02* It's so good. *01:32:04* It really does feel like you're i just kind of exploring the open seas. *01:32:05* Um in a way like like I think that the surfing theme for me in Johto is more iconic, but I think that like *01:32:10* the way the like like when I listen to the surfing theme in Hoenn it makes it it like sends the idea that *01:32:16* the you know that that the water is more open and there's more open travel on the waters on the sea than like *01:32:27* than like Johto where you're just kind of like um surfing through smaller uh aspects portions of water. *01:32:35* Um I think that like the surfing theme in Hoenn like fits the theme. *01:32:42* of what uh you're doing in Hoenn um very, very well. *01:32:47* Um and I don't and like the the the biking theme is alright. *01:32:52* Um *01:32:58* It's not my favorite. *01:32:58* Yeah, compared to like compared to Johto, like Johto's biking theme, like I can it it lives in my head like forever for the past twenty years. *01:33:00* It's uh it's a great soundtrack and I think that uh the battle theme is is great and it's still like *01:33:07* I think what was again for that time, what was so good about it is that it fit *01:33:16* It it made itself different enough from like the battle themes of Kanto and Johto while still feeling like the po like the original Pokemon battle theme. *01:33:24* Yeah. *01:33:35* It's strong stuff. *01:33:36* Yeah. *01:33:38* Yeah, and I I think that there's like really um again, just kinda can't say enough that like *01:33:39* this kind of era of Pokemon, like we're unfortunately like never going to get it again and like Pokemon has evolved into something more that like I think that *01:33:48* Again, this is a this is a franchise for children, um, that's aimed at children. *01:34:00* And so they have to *01:34:07* keep that interesting for them at the end of the day. *01:34:10* Um and it's nice that we will always have these games um and hopefully like we'll be able to get *01:34:14* another iteration of these uh of that region, uh whether it be like, you know, while it's not it what everyone would want, like whether it be like let's go or like *01:34:20* like the Legends series which like which would be so cool. *01:34:30* If they if they like did like something like Legends that was you know it wouldn't ha it wouldn't be able to be like *01:34:34* Sure straight up Hoenn, but something in that like vein. *01:34:40* Oh yeah. *01:34:44* Imagine it more water focused. *01:34:45* In Hoen focus? *01:34:47* Yeah. *01:34:48* Yeah. *01:34:48* Yeah. *01:34:49* What if it was that *01:34:49* The primordial story like back when Kyogre and Groudon were first battling it out and Rayquaza. *01:34:50* You could lean into that whole lore that they were making in the Delta episode and stuff. *01:34:57* Yeah, and I mean obviously I would want something like like Johto first, but like because you know I was so jealous of s like people who stand Sinnoh when Arceus was announced, but uh I would love to see like *01:35:02* a better like you know a better iteration of that 'cause l like Legends was was good and like I know that it gets *01:35:15* Really interesting towards the end. *01:35:23* Um, but there were just like some things that just I didn't really vibe with in that game that uh could make *01:35:25* r a really cool story for yeah like like you said like that would be a perfect example of what that stor uh that story could be is like the primordial *01:35:32* uh Kyogre and Groudon and like or like in Johto there could be like stuff with Lugia and Ho uh in the past or s or even Celebi. *01:35:42* I I yeah yeah just we we may not get *01:35:54* A one-for-one of what we've gotten, you know, of what the Hoenn games are now, but I think we can get something similar in the future or something that is inspired by it. *01:35:57* I think, I mean, you're talking a b a lot about the legacy of this game and stuff, which is what we're naturally going to lead to here next. *01:36:10* And kind of like going off of that, like I think to me *01:36:17* What this game's legacy is, is the evolution of the Pokemon series. *01:36:22* Like you talked about Cam about how we'll never get anything like this ever again. *01:36:26* And a lot of that is just because *01:36:31* This was very much an experiment within the series. *01:36:34* Again, they threw a lot at the wall to see what would stick and what they could carry forward. *01:36:37* Like obviously, Pokemon was successful enough at this point that they knew they had a *01:36:42* multi-million dollar franchise on their hands it was not in danger of like going away overnight or anything like that. *01:36:46* But coming off of the Game Boy Color games, it was like, okay, well, what do we *01:36:52* how d where do we take it from here? *01:36:56* And there was a lot of experimentation in this game and there was a lot of ideas of how can we design a different type of map and how can we *01:36:57* introduce new gameplay elements and what what do all these things look like in practice. *01:37:05* And so a lot of this game's legacy to me is just that experimentation and them trying to push the series into its next phase and its next chapter and *01:37:09* Like you were saying, like we're never gonna get anything like that for us, but it's good we still have these games. *01:37:19* Like I fe I'm very happy that I grew up playing this game, I guess. *01:37:24* Like I'm glad this game launched when I was *01:37:30* uh uh nine years old, eight years old when it launched. *01:37:33* Like that's just such a sweet spot for this to come out and to really like again, I I know this is isn't as much your experience, Max, but like we said, like *01:37:38* Exploring every inch of this world, learning that there's three mythical rock, steel, and ice Pokemon in this game, running to a grab a strategy guide while I'm at target with my mom, learning that I need to put *01:37:46* Relicanth first in my party and a whale lord last and then go interact with this wall and then it sets off this chain of events in the game. *01:37:58* Like there's just so many secrets and things tucked away in this game that were really cool to uncover as a kid. *01:38:05* Um *01:38:10* And just everything else we talked about too, like uh going in different directions with the champion and the story and how rivals work. *01:38:11* Like just a lot of things in this game were very different than *01:38:18* before and and and that's what stands out to me going back to it all these years later. *01:38:23* I think as someone coming to this generation in their late twenties, I mean I'm almost 30 for Pete's sake. *01:38:27* It's interesting. *01:38:35* It feels like this was Pokemon trying to step up in maturity and scope. *01:38:36* The story's a bit *01:38:47* darker to a degree. *01:38:49* Not the not a dark, dark way, but like the the evil team is trying to basically destroy the world to a degree. *01:38:50* And I know that actually gets worse in Diamond and Pearl with like manipulating time and *01:38:58* and space and stuff. *01:39:03* So there's this like evil trend of the teams, more than just Team Rocket doing mean things to Pokemon. *01:39:04* But *01:39:11* It was Pokemon growing up, taking advantage of new hardware at the time, both honestly on the Game Boy Advance and the 3DS here with the remake. *01:39:13* This was *01:39:21* The f you know, there was the fire red leaf green remake on Game Boy and then Heart Gold Soul Silver on the DS, and this was the next kind of big remake. *01:39:23* Using the power of the 3DS, leaning into this 3D world. *01:39:32* And while I don't think that panned out necessarily from a technical or even visual design. *01:39:35* It it is interesting that both both iterations of this generation were tapping into new hardware and trying to push the franchise forward in some way. *01:39:41* And you know *01:39:52* I I like it. *01:39:54* It's a good, it's a solid generation and you see actually a lot of the framework that we *01:39:56* have come to know today being fleshed out here. *01:40:02* And that's interesting to me because you think of Pokemon as a big legacy thing with with red and blue and the trading card game and thing just building up from there. *01:40:06* But really *01:40:14* That was almost th thrown away to a degree, not the core mechanics, but we are building something new here. *01:40:16* And I I see that, even if I'm only playing the remake. *01:40:23* um and not what definitely probably is the superior version of the game which would be the Game Boy Advanced ones *01:40:26* So it's cool. *01:40:34* It's cool to see it and finally experience this generation. *01:40:35* And even though I didn't I betrayed myself and did not choose a mud kip. *01:40:38* Which is I I I just have to throw this out there because I didn't. *01:40:42* That's one of the great sins I think you've made so far in this season, which is fine. *01:40:45* But y come on, you're you you've been named Mudkip on all these platforms for so long and you play these games finally and you don't choose a Mudkip. *01:40:50* Like what *01:40:57* Yeah, yeah, you had to see yeah you just had to do it. *01:40:58* And then your water Pokemon in the game was a Pelipper of all things. *01:41:01* I told you I wasn't happy with Pelipper. *01:41:05* I told you I wasn't happy with it. *01:41:07* Oh no you gotta ridicule him, Cam *01:41:09* He screwed it up. *01:41:12* I needed fly and I needed surf and I wanted to minimize how much crap I had in my team. *01:41:14* You had a flag on. *01:41:19* That was a very late acquisition. *01:41:21* Very late. *01:41:24* Cloud, you got a flag on the. *01:41:25* Do we like we should actually talk about that? *01:41:26* Like what team what teams entered the hall of fame for us? *01:41:28* Like what were where were our team our full teams? *01:41:31* We all had Blaziken. *01:41:33* I had a flag on and a pelipper as is being called. *01:41:35* I also had a flag on. *01:41:38* Um what were my other ones? *01:41:40* I had the ice frost lass. *01:41:42* I had a frost lass. *01:41:44* I had a *01:41:46* Gladly, um, the psychic fairy. *01:41:49* I guess I'm gonna go back. *01:41:53* Gardevoir. *01:41:54* Um *01:41:57* What else did you have? *01:41:58* I'm trying to think. *01:42:00* I don't honestly remember. *01:42:01* I think I passively mentioned a lot of mine over the course of the episode. *01:42:02* Blaziken, salaments. *01:42:05* Um Rosarade. *01:42:07* I had a Dusk Noir this time around, which was fun. *01:42:09* Okay. *01:42:13* I had a Glayley *01:42:13* And then uh did I say Roserade? *01:42:15* I had a Roserade. *01:42:18* You said so you said Roserade. *01:42:19* Uh Did you all keep the your legendary? *01:42:21* I didn't I didn't use one. *01:42:24* We've been battling each other and we haven't been using legendaries in our battles, so that's why we weren't rolling. *01:42:26* Yeah, we get to the end of every game and then we duke it out. *01:42:31* But the rule is no legendaries in the battle, so we tend to not trade the legendaries up. *01:42:34* Yeah, so no Kyogre or Rayquaza or I did I did catch all of it. *01:42:38* We caught them, yes, but we didn't use them. *01:42:43* Yeah. *01:42:46* Okay. *01:42:47* Yeah, so I had um *01:42:48* Yeah, I had Blaziken, I had Flygon, I had uh Alakazam, which is also one of my favorite Pokemon. *01:42:50* Um I had Agron. *01:42:58* I had *01:43:01* Um Walrain, and then I had Rakaza. *01:43:03* Oh, my other one was my Lotic that I didn't mention. *01:43:07* Shri. *01:43:10* Shri Shri Shiftree. *01:43:11* Shifter. *01:43:13* That's right. *01:43:14* I had a buddy trade me one from Omega Ruby. *01:43:14* The C die. *01:43:17* I had to call my my buddy over because he has like a bunch like he has like a bunch of DSs and like you know he's a Pokemon Sicko *01:43:19* And I was like, yo, I need you to come over so you can evolve my Kadabra. *01:43:26* So he brought like two Game Boy Advances. *01:43:33* Like I felt like I was ten years old again, you know? *01:43:35* I've I've had two f *01:43:38* three DSs that I've been playing with the whole time and I I'll tread my stuff back and forth and Max like you're cheating Mac you're cheating and like when I got my duck. *01:43:39* It's just an unfair advantage. *01:43:46* So I tapped into that resource this time around and *01:43:47* Like I got myself a dusk noir because I had a say file on X and Y and I was like, Do I have a dust cloth on this? *01:43:51* And I *01:43:58* thumb through my inventory and I did, I was like, there it is. *01:43:58* Okay, I'm trading my dust clops over and I'm gonna trade it back real quick. *01:44:01* So that's that's legit. *01:44:04* Yeah. *01:44:07* As long as you play through the games and do it yourself. *01:44:07* Yeah. *01:44:10* Fair game. *01:44:11* Sure, sure. *01:44:12* All right. *01:44:13* Well, I think that does it for Pokemon Sapphire Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Omega Ruby. *01:44:14* Thank you so much for listening. *01:44:19* If you'd like *01:44:20* To find out more, you can go to chapterselect. *01:44:21* com, check out all our other seasons there. *01:44:23* You can follow the show at Chapter Select. *01:44:26* And a big thank you to our members who support Super Chapter Select. *01:44:27* You can find out more by going to super. *01:44:31* chapterselect. *01:44:33* com. *01:44:35* Then uh you can find Logan on Twitter at Moreman12 and his writing over at comicbook. *01:44:36* com. *01:44:41* You can find myself over at maxfrequency. *01:44:41* net and my other show, the Max Frequency Podcast. *01:44:43* Cam's been on that. *01:44:46* Episode two. *01:44:47* Early early guest on that show. *01:44:48* So you can check that out. *01:44:50* And then you can find Cam on Twitter at Cam Final Mix. *01:44:51* And he does freelance writing all over the place. *01:44:55* He's been on IGN. *01:44:57* Kinda funny. *01:44:58* So you can check out all his work as well. *01:44:59* Thank you all so much for listening and until next time. *01:45:02* Adios. *01:45:05* Chapter Select is a max frequency production. *01:45:06* Chapter Select is supported by you. *01:45:10* You can gain access to longer episodes and bonus content by going to chapterselect. *01:45:12* com forward slash join. *01:45:17* This episode was research, produced, and edited by me, Max Roberts. *01:45:19* Season six is hosted by Logan Moore and myself *01:45:23* Season six is all about Pokemon. *01:45:27* For more on the season, go to chapterselect. *01:45:29* com forward slash season six. *01:45:32* You can follow the show at Chapter Select and check out previous seasons at chapterselect. *01:45:34* com *01:45:39* Yeah, I think that's not a start. *01:45:41* But no, so like I I told uh before you got in here, Logan, I told uh I told um Max that I got started getting into *01:45:43* The TCG started collecting Yeah, slippery slope, slippery slope, but it's because I have friend like a bunch of friends that um that *01:45:51* crack packs and stuff and the FOMO finally got to me. *01:46:00* So I got the new Scarlet and Violet set and I actually pulled the hardest card in the set. *01:46:03* It's a Koridon. *01:46:09* Coridon EX. *01:46:11* How much is that worth? *01:46:12* Um, so it's not the most expensive card, unfortunately, but it is the hardest to pull. *01:46:14* Like fat is factually the hardest card to pull. *01:46:18* I think it's like one in every like 393 packs or something like that. *01:46:20* Jeez. *01:46:25* Yeah. *01:46:25* Is that what you showed a picture of? *01:46:26* Oh, I see. *01:46:28* Yeah. *01:46:29* Yeah. *01:46:29* Yeah. *01:46:30* So this is this is this was the pull. *01:46:30* Um it's like a thirty-five dollar card right now, but the set just came out, so the plu the price might uh *01:46:32* fluctuate over time. *01:46:38* Why is this not I don't know. *01:46:39* There it is. *01:46:41* There you go. *01:46:42* It's a good looking They're yo, they're it's just like the cards are pretty to look at, you know what I mean? *01:46:42* They're really like so this is this was the promo that came because I got the violet box. *01:46:48* Oh nice. *01:46:53* Yeah, like it's a slippery slope. *01:46:54* It's slippery. *01:46:56* I haven't. *01:47:00* I like didn't I like didn't have the money when it came out really and then like *01:47:01* I like just the technical problems, I just turned me off or not. *01:47:05* Um So I don't blame anybody. *01:47:10* No no rush. *01:47:13* Plenty of that. *01:47:15* That's a pretty good one. *01:47:16* And then I'm a big fan of this one too. *01:47:17* It's Arcanine. *01:47:20* Oh, really good one. *01:47:21* Yeah. *01:47:23* It's harasselized. *01:47:24* Yeah, it's like in like *01:47:25* Most this is the only card that's like worth anything like in in reality, but like you know you gotta you gotta sleep the full arts. *01:47:27* You gotta sleep the full arts *01:47:34* Mm-hmm. *01:47:36* And they come with these uh these dope sleeves. *01:47:36* I'm a big fan of these sleeves. *01:47:39* Oh that is that's actually pretty cool. *01:47:40* Yeah. *01:47:42* I didn't know they did that though. *01:47:43* Yeah, so if you well so if you get an ETB, you get *01:47:44* Eight we get nine packs. *01:47:48* Um you get uh some dice for the TCG, um, you get sleeves, and you get uh *01:47:51* You get the the promo card and I think you get like oh like a uh a coin for the TCG as well. *01:48:03* So *01:48:11* So yeah, so um it's not bad because especially once cer certain sets like are gone like are uh stopped being sold for a certain amount of time. *01:48:13* the prices will go down. *01:48:24* Like right now, like there's like four or five sets. *01:48:25* I'm not I'm not planning on going crazy. *01:48:28* I'm just like I want to like buy like one ETB for like each set that isn't ridiculously um *01:48:29* That isn't ridiculously overpriced because normally N T B is like fifty, fifty-five. *01:48:36* Um, but there's like three or there's like three or four sets right now that are like under *01:48:40* Uh like between 35 and 40. *01:48:45* So I'm probably gonna pick those up before they get too expensive or before they like sell out. *01:48:47* Yeah. *01:48:53*