Pokemon Black & White, aka Gen 5. Coming to Japan in Fall 2010.

[Random Pizzaman]

That silhouette reminded me immediately of this digimon from a while back

And based on the silhouette it might look like this as well.

 

[Ellie]

If this really is a proper 5th Gen RPG as the latest image seems to suggest, I really hope it's not changed too much. I know a lot of the non-competitive players always suggest major changes and don't want what's basically the same game every time with minor additions... But I just hope they don't change any of the battling aspects if this is the case.

I don't think they'll change too much. RS was the only generation that really changed a LOT of aspects of the battling system, and a lot of fans got pissed when that happened because that made trading between past gens impossible. Especially considering the fact that if 5th gen is on the DS, it will be directly compatible with 4th gen, I really don't think they'd change enough to make trading impossible. Plus, personally I can't think of any major changes that would really make sense. 4th gen's splitting of the moves made sense and allowed for backwards compatibility, but I really can't think of other changes that would do the same.

 

[deluge]

Well, this is supposed to be an "inventive rebirth of the series" so I look forward to the changes.
I think the battle system could do with a bit more dynamism.
I consider a system in which a given outcome is always forced by the sequence of moves to be a bit boring.

For example, I like the fact that moves are imperfectly accurate, give variable damage, have random secondary effects or may crit.
It adds a bit of unpredictability since they same sequence of moves may result in multiple continuations.

The game has much fewer choices per turn than chess so randomness is a way to create more possible outcomes from few choices.
TicTacToe's few choices and predictablilty means that your fate can be sealed with certainty real quickly...boring.
At least in Pokemon you can still hope for misses or crits depending on the situation thus you have a reason to stay in the match.

I honestly could imagine Nintendo adding more 'interactive' aspects to the battle in a system similar to paper mario.
Hardcore competitive battlers would probably hate such a change but it might make the games more fun to play for the general population.

 

[Aminar]

That would be terrible, on the grounds it would kill competitive Pokemon, even their own VGC stuff.

I do hope they don't mess with the core gameplay. That is perfect. Tweaking the balance and the system as well as adding more variety would be a good idea though.

 

[Mario With Lasers]

Source? If this is true, I would be more open to the possibility of it appearing as more than a silhouette in CoroCoro. I was pretty dubious of it previously due to the big deal about it appearing on Sunday and the whole 'ratings ploy'. Two weeks is a long time, given that it'll be out in CoroCoro.

Yaminokame from Serebiiforums said so in this post. She didn't give any sources, though.

 

[Fleursily34]

With the up-to-date work which is in the midst of developing you are proud of number of sales 1,715 ten thousand or more (above domestic 5,800,000 this) in the entire world, it is the schedule which is born progressively play whose or more is new so far 'as a complete new work after [poketsutomonsutadaiyamondo] pearl' empty 4 years, including new [pokemon], in entirely and changes, please expect future release.

When I was 10 I never would have imagined this franchise coming together and building itself integrally from the outside in. Can we attribute these insightful developments and numbers with Shoddy Battle players ; P

 

[Chou Toshio]

I don't think they'll change too much. RS was the only generation that really changed a LOT of aspects of the battling system, and a lot of fans got pissed when that happened because that made trading between past gens impossible. Especially considering the fact that if 5th gen is on the DS, it will be directly compatible with 4th gen, I really don't think they'd change enough to make trading impossible. Plus, personally I can't think of any major changes that would really make sense. 4th gen's splitting of the moves made sense and allowed for backwards compatibility, but I really can't think of other changes that would do the same.

The biggest indicator is all the events GF has done. They have done so much marketing and PR via the release of event pokemon, I can't imagine them creating a whole new system non-compatible with those events. The outrage would be more ridiculous than Garchomp's.

 

[deluge]

I don't think it would kill competitive pokemon, you'd just need a little twitch as well to come out on top.
I do agree that it would make simulators like shoddybattle a lot harder to write though!

They mentioned in the past about wanting to include more action elements in the games that's why I brought this up.
However, it does not necessarily mean changes to the battle system, it could mean more side quests like Pokeathlon.

It's hard for me to think of extensions to the current mechanics that are as logical (and seem as long overdue) as DP's physical/special split.

One thought relates to abilties: from none, to one, to a choice of one out of at most two at birth.
Since abilities are basically 'moves that pokemon automatically do in certain situations' (eg. if 'statused' then do 'meditate') I could imagine them fleshing this concept out even further.
The ability-set for species could be further expanded (choice of 2-5), pokemon could acquire/change abilities after birth or (more unlikely) possess more than one at a time.

 

[Staraptor Call]

I think the new changes Junichi Masuda mentioned are in terms of plot. Traditionally, the Pokemon games have had predictable, linear plots with little character development. But Platinum and HGSS have made some changes to that by developing the characters of Cyrus, Silver, and Giovanni. I expect the Gen V games to go even further in terms of character development. They might also deviate from the traditional Pokemon plot the way Colosseum and XD did.

 

[blasphemy1]

^^New story elements would be a good thing, never even thought about it. Pokemon's gameplay is near perfection, honestly, but the story is pretty rubbish. Adding choices that influence the plot would be a cool addition, even though they've never done that in the past.

And if they muck up the gameplay by adding weird mid-turn actions, I probably won't be interested (though I seriously doubt they will).

 

[lordkira]

while it would be fantastic for the creators to add more complexity to the gen 5's plot, I would rather have a wide range of side quests (daily/weekly events and etc that are repeatable) to the game. It would seem to hold too much of the MMORPG elements, but if possible that's what I would really favor over everything else (except for the obvious 3d battles as well as more pokemons :D)

 

[Aura Guardian]

EDIT: @ Blasphemy1
... Pick your path? That seems ... outlandish, but believable. What if, in Emerald, I had decided to use Rayquaza to rule Hoenn? What if I had sided with Team Galactic? What if I used Ho-Oh to destroy the world? What if I joined with Aqua to drown the world? I wonder if they will try it. However, I think the fad is over, mostly. I doubt they will try it, but I won't rule it out in my mind.

 

[Platyp]

How about different career options then? Y'know, you could become a Master Trainer, but they could include a whole separate deal with becoming a Coordinator, or even a Ranger...

That's another way to define picking your path. Each of those could have its own separate story elements.

 

[Gymdude]

As farfetched as it may seem, I’ve always imagined the series coming to a point where they ‘fuse’, and to me, the silhouette reminds me of combination of lucario (or maybe ninetales) and some frog-like pokemon like toxicroak or golduck (especially the feet). This might explain the “is this really pokemon”. And yeah, it seems a lot like DBZ, but considering that there’s already what looks to be some ridiculous hair and the inclusion of “Z” in the movie title, you never know.

 

[cantab]

I'm really hoping for a good plot.

Also, it was mentioned before, but I'll say it again - the idea that a Pokemon can know unlimited moves, but only take 4 into battle. It doesn't change competitive battling directly, but it allows you to more easily change your movesets around. For example you could very easily try Dragon Claw instead of Outrage on your DDMence.

Though a variant on the idea came to my mind, that would change the battle system:

A Pokemon can know any number of moves. Each move has a 'practiced' value, which determines its effectiveness - a fully practiced move has maximum effectiveness, while a move that's not practiced at all is extremely weak. (For damaging moves it's the damage output, for stat boosting moves the amount of boost, for status probably the accuracy). The values work such that four moves may be fully practiced.

This allows flexibility and broad movesets - but there is a tradeoff. Running more moves means that some of them will be less than fully effective. So things like DD/DM/Outrage/Fire Blast/Brick Break/Earthquake/Dragon Claw/Roost Salamence won't be up to much, because all those moves will be way below full effectiveness. On the other hand Pokemon that really suffer from 4-moveslot-syndrome may get helped out.

I think this would really add a new dimension to the metagame. Movesets become a lot more complicated, since for anything more than 4 usable moves, you have to worry about how to divide up your practice. For example, if for Agility the practice determines the speed boost, then instead of just maxing it, you might figure out what you want to outspeed after the boost and run just enough practice to do so, freeing some up for an extra attack for coverage.

 

[lordkira]

I'm really hoping for a good plot.

Also, it was mentioned before, but I'll say it again - the idea that a Pokemon can know unlimited moves, but only take 4 into battle. It doesn't change competitive battling directly, but it allows you to more easily change your movesets around. For example you could very easily try Dragon Claw instead of Outrage on your DDMence.

Though a variant on the idea came to my mind, that would change the battle system:

A Pokemon can know any number of moves. Each move has a 'practiced' value, which determines its effectiveness - a fully practiced move has maximum effectiveness, while a move that's not practiced at all is extremely weak. (For damaging moves it's the damage output, for stat boosting moves the amount of boost, for status probably the accuracy). The values work such that four moves may be fully practiced.

This allows flexibility and broad movesets - but there is a tradeoff. Running more moves means that some of them will be less than fully effective. So things like DD/DM/Outrage/Fire Blast/Brick Break/Earthquake/Dragon Claw/Roost Salamence won't be up to much, because all those moves will be way below full effectiveness. On the other hand Pokemon that really suffer from 4-moveslot-syndrome may get helped out.

I think this would really add a new dimension to the metagame. Movesets become a lot more complicated, since for anything more than 4 usable moves, you have to worry about how to divide up your practice. For example, if for Agility the practice determines the speed boost, then instead of just maxing it, you might figure out what you want to outspeed after the boost and run just enough practice to do so, freeing some up for an extra attack for coverage.

Yeah, this is slomething Ive said few pages back. However, the creators did say that (i forgot who in which page in this thread posted it here) the 6 pokemon in a party with 4 moveslots is the magic number that is part of their successful ingredient that made the franchise successful. Personally, I dont think its going to happen, which is makes me sad but meh i do understand where hes coming from.

oh and sorry about the lack of usage in apostrophes, for some reason, it keeps going to the control+f option whenever i press the key. Not that it is the only grammatical errors i have in my posts lol.

 

[Platyp]

@cantab: That's actually a really neat idea, but it would make training even more of a bitch. Now you have to EV your Pokemon as well as its moves.

I thought maybe a neat addition would be the inclusion of a Stamina stat. This stat would not be EV-able, but it would use IVs. Each attack used would consume a certain amount of Stamina, and when Stamina is too low, the Pokemon must rest every other turn. If a Pokemon is pushed too hard, it faints. A manual rest option would also be available to recover Stamina, and Stamina would be gained every turn a Pokemon is in its Poke Ball during a battle.

This would be a relatively easy way to balance moves that are currently overpowered.

 

[blasphemy1]

EDIT: @ Blasphemy1
... Pick your path? That seems ... outlandish, but believable. What if, in Emerald, I had decided to use Rayquaza to rule Hoenn? What if I had sided with Team Galactic? What if I used Ho-Oh to destroy the world? What if I joined with Aqua to drown the world? I wonder if they will try it. However, I think the fad is over, mostly. I doubt they will try it, but I won't rule it out in my mind.

That's really not what I meant. The good guys will always win in childrens' games. I was thinking more along the lines of Mass Effect, where you choose certain actions and can complete things in your own way.

Pokemon doesn't have enough "side missions." I'd like to see mysteries that need to be solved, and you go through the mission and gain experience, then earn some reward at the end, but not in the same vein as Buck's Stark Mountain quest.

In my opinion, the IV system is broken. No other top-notch RPG has such a huge element of luck involved. In Emerald version, they introduced additional mechanics that influence the battle, like abilities. Synchronize, 50% of the time, will influence the next wild pokemon's nature to be the same as the lead synchronizer. Something similar should be done with IVs. Not necessarily with wild pokemon, but maybe something similar to EVs, where you work to earn them. I RNG abuse for pokemon, but even after all the hard work, it annoys me that I even have to do such odd things (like waiting to start my game and flipping my journal, wtf). Being able to influence IVs would attract casual players to Wifi, as well as increase the skill involved with battles.

 

[PeteDHeat]

I think this is a completely new pokemon with no ties to the older ones. Reason I say that is because its supposed to be one of the main pokemon in this upcoming movie. Kind of like Lucario was. by the way it looks I wanna guess Fight/Fire or (if everybody's prayers are answered) Fight/Dark. I think the last option is very belieable seeing all of this Twilight/New Moon, vampire/werewolf frenzy. So if Fight/Dark I think a Werewolf is a good guess.

 

[Nyoodles]

In my opinion, the IV system is broken. No other top-notch RPG has such a huge element of luck involved. In Emerald version, they introduced additional mechanics that influence the battle, like abilities. Synchronize, 50% of the time, will influence the next wild pokemon's nature to be the same as the lead synchronizer. Something similar should be done with IVs. Not necessarily with wild pokemon, but maybe something similar to EVs, where you work to earn them. I RNG abuse for pokemon, but even after all the hard work, it annoys me that I even have to do such odd things (like waiting to start my game and flipping my journal, wtf). Being able to influence IVs would attract casual players to Wifi, as well as increase the skill involved with battles.

totally agree with you. in HGSS, aren't you able to influence which IV's which get passed down via breeding? i think gamefreak is on our side regarding this issue, so hopefully gen 5's game will allow the player to affect IV's even more.

 

[Agosta44]

About the whole "you'll be thinking is this really pokemon?", could it be referring to variations between Pokemon (like NEP), or possibly being able to customize appearance (badges, hates, scarfs, etc)?

 

[blasphemy1]

totally agree with you. in HGSS, aren't you able to influence which IV's which get passed down via breeding? i think gamefreak is on our side regarding this issue, so hopefully gen 5's game will allow the player to affect IV's even more.

Yes, the power items allow you to pass down the respective IV to the baby. It's definitely a step in the right direction. Another "nod" to the competitive side is the blue/red text denoting stats -/+, respectively, based on nature.

 

[Seiryu1169]

I've honestly never understood why IVs haven't been crossed out from the games yet.

I mean, the pokémon games are all about raising your pets with love and respect, and winning challenges through effort, aren't they? The anime specifically tries to get through the message of effort being more important than natural talent all the time.

So how the hell does breeding over and over until you get a suitable specimen work in favour of their message? Because there's no way you can use a pokémon with 0 IVs across the board competitively.

In my opinion, they should make up another mechanic to increase pokemon customization (that moveset EV is a really nice idea), and get rid of IVs forever. It not only adds a ridiculously annoying luck element to catching pokémon, but it also goes against the very philosophy they try to spread.

 

[ANinyMouse]

I've honestly never understood why IVs haven't been crossed out from the games yet.

I mean, the pokémon games are all about raising your pets with love and respect, and winning challenges through effort, aren't they? The anime specifically tries to get through the message of effort being more important than natural talent all the time.

So how the hell does breeding over and over until you get a suitable specimen work in favour of their message? Because there's no way you can use a pokémon with 0 IVs across the board competitively.

In my opinion, they should make up another mechanic to increase pokemon customization (that moveset EV is a really nice idea), and get rid of IVs forever. It not only adds a ridiculously annoying luck element to catching pokémon, but it also goes against the very philosophy they try to spread.

You sold me on it, Seiryu.

 

[Mario With Lasers]

Yeah, this is slomething Ive said few pages back. However, the creators did say that (i forgot who in which page in this thread posted it here) the 6 pokemon in a party with 4 moveslots is the magic number that is part of their successful ingredient that made the franchise successful. Personally, I dont think its going to happen, which is makes me sad but meh i do understand where hes coming from.

Almost. They said they didn't change it because they thought it was the best one by then. It's not their "magic, perfect" number, it's just what they think is the best one. Until now, at least.