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    • I was considering doing a smaller post for the Let's GO starters, but when I started looking into them, their most interesting trait (Being obscenely powerful) is actually more due to how borked that game's stat mechanics are, so I won't bother. Generation 8, or Sword and Shield, are set in Galar, a region based on the United Kingdom. It's not the first mainline game to be in HD, but it is the first new generation to not allow the player to use every Pokémon precisely because of that High Definition.    Grookey's main method of attacking enemies is to whack it with a stick. Simple, yet effective. The stick is attached to it's head, in case you're wondering.
      The first three gyms in Galar are, Grass, Water, and Fire. So the starters all perform about equally in the early game. Thwackey has two sticks, so twice the beatings! Speaking of which, the Pokédex states that it can get too into clobbering it's opponent that it doesn't notice when it's knocked them out. The implications of that are a little disturbing, to be honest. If you didn't realise that this starter line has a common theme of drummers, Rillaboom will make it painfully clear. You can't actually tell from the artwork, so here's the model for when it's in battle. I lowkey love the grin on it's face here No idea where it keeps that tree stump, by the way. It can drum on that stump to manipulate roots, and you see that in it's signature attack, "Drum Beating", an 80 power, physical grass attack which always lowers the opponents speed. This is good, because Rillaboom's speed is a bit mediocre.
      Anyway, the Galar starters have the most clear-cut theme between them in the series, they also do a good job of matching the country their region is based off of. Each of the final evolutions represent one of the three aspects of media that the UK is quite well known for. Rillaboom represents music, obviously, but I'm fairly certain that Rillaboom is also referencing the Cadbury's Gorilla. That sounds a bit too specific for a Japanese game to refer to, but one of the Pokémon designers on this game is from the UK, so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he at least suggested the concept, if not outright designed it. Rillaboom is a pretty solid Pokémon for playthroughs. It's worst stat is one it doesn't need, and it's Attack stat is surprisingly high. But it's when you start to bring it into the competitive scene that it really starts to shine. Rillaboom's Hidden Ability is "Grassy Surge", which activates Grassy Terrain whenever Rillaboom enters battle. Combine this with "Grassy Glide" a 70 power Grass move that always goes first on Grassy Terrain, and that mediocre speed stat suddenly doesn't matter anymore.
      This all served to make Rillaboom the best Grass starter in the entire series... for precisely one generation. Oh well... The Gen 8 starters all have Gigantamax forms, by the way. They got them when the DLC dropped, because Charizard was just more important. So yeah, these also have a recurring theme. Where most Pokémon grow massive for Gigantamax, the three starters stay relatively the same size, at least, as far as their bodies are concerned. Instead, something else grows bloody massive. In Rillaboom's case, it gets a whole drum kit!
      It's still not as good as using the normal Dynamax Rillaboom though, because the mechanic is not very well balanced.    Scorbunny is a very clever name. No, that's about it. That's all I've got. It was the most popular starter Pokémon when they were revealed before the game came out. Raboot is not as clever a name as Scorbunny. Cinderace is an even worse name, but it is the final evolution, so there's stuff to talk about. The whole Scorbunny line represents the UK's absolute favourite waste of time, football! You know, if the footballs were set on fire and punted at the other teams face. Actually, it would be better if actual football was like that. Why isn't football like that? Anyway, Cinderace is a weird case of a starter Pokémon having two signature moves. No idea why, but it does, the first one is "Pyro Ball" a 120 power... Wait, 120 POWER!? What the actual hell!? It's also got 90% accuracy! For context, that's stronger then Fire Blast and 5% more accurate! It's not even remotely balanced, and would single handedly cement Cinderace as the best Galar starter in battle, but that ain't all this rabbit has in it's hat.
      It's second signature move is "Court Change". Apart from crowbarring a Tennis reference on a Football based Pokémon, it swaps the side that certain effects (Such as Light Screen or Stealth Rock) are on. So for example, if the opponent uses Stealth Rock, and then you use Court Change, well, now the Stealth Rock is on the opponent's side.
      The Singles meta kinda revolves around entry hazards, so this move is really good there! But wait, there's more! Cinderace has amazing Attack and Speed, and for the extra cherry on top, it has the Hidden Ability, "Libero". This ability is exactly the same as Greninja's "Protean", so Cinderace can change it's type to whatever attack it's using. For the same reason as Greninja, this is an amazing ability. Probably too amazing, actually. Because Cinderace with Libero became incredibly dominant in the competitive scene, so it got nerfed in Scarlet/Violet. Nowadays, Libero only changes Cinderace's type once per switch in. So once you choose a type, you're stuck with that type until you switch Cinderace out.
      This "Once per switch in" nerf also applies to Protean, by the way. So yes, Game Freak literally said "Cinderace is too powerful? Better nerf Greninja!" Greninja these days is nowhere near as useful as it used to be because of that.
      This also meanly nerfed Kecleon, but no-one cares because Kecleon is dreadful in the mainline games. Gigantamax Cinderace has a big massive ball to kick around. Because of Libero, this is one of the rare Pokémon whose Gigantamax form is actually worth using. All of this makes Cinderace easily the best Galar starter, both in standard playthroughs and the competitive scene. It'd be better then Blaziken if it wasn't for the nerf it got in the next generation, but it's still great, despite that.    I don't think I've ever chosen a starter as quickly as I have with Sobble. What can I say? Chameleons are the coolest animal! According to the Pokédex, when Sobble gets scared, it starts crying. This is bad, because it's tears have the chemical punch of 100 onions, so you'll start tearing up too. Drizzile is there, being unnoteworthy. Inteleon's name in German is "Intelleon" Just an amusing thing I noticed. Unlike the other two starters, it's not obvious what the theme is here until the final evolution, but Inteleon is very obviously meant to invoke James Bond. It shoots water out of it's fingers, has a membrane on it's back that can function as a paraglider, and has a second eyelid that helps it see greater distances. Because of this, Inteleon represents the movie industry in the "British media" thing going on this generation. (Yes, I know, James Bond was originally a book thing, but no-one associates that franchise with the books, come on.) It's also my favourite starter Pokémon ever. I mean, it's a chameleon spy that literally fingerbangs it's opponents!
      Yes, it always reminds me of that song from South Park, Inteleon being a James Bond expy only makes that funnier! Inteleon's signature move is "Snipe Shot", an 80 power, Special Water attack that ignores any moves or abilities that redirects attacks to make sure it hits the intended target. What the game never actually tells you is that Snipe Shot has a high critical rate as well. So it's a pretty good move, even in Singles. Unfortunately, despite how much I like it, I have to accept facts and tell you that Inteleon is the big loser of the Galar starters. It's not terrible, but it pales in comparison to the other two. Mostly because it doesn't have a good Hidden Ability. "Sniper" may be thematically fitting, but Inteleon is just way too frail to rely on critical hits. Even ignoring my chameleon bias, this is still the cleverest Gigantamax form in the entire game.
      The only part of Gigantamax Inteleon that gets huge is it's tail, which becomes ridculously long and functions as a makeshift sniper tower. Which is helpful because Inteleon also gets a sniper rifle made out of water. See Blastoise? That's how you have a weapon and not look completely dumb!
      Not worth using over the normal Dynamax form, mind. So that wraps it up. And I honestly think these are the best selection of starters the series has ever had. Absolutely top tier designs, with a clear theme between them, and not a single one I dislike. Cinderace may be my least favourite of the three, but I still like it, and the other two are absolutely amazing!
      Obviously, Inteleon is still the best, even if it sucks in battles!
    • I remember once when I was still at school our Head mistress used to play a classical piece of music each week in assembly and I was one of the few kids who noticed she snuck the Voyager theme in one week.
    • Thanks for the games. Here's a link to this week's stream... - - - - - N-Europe Get Together! 28/03/2024)
    •   Love it. I have such nostalgia for that piece of music. Gives me goosebumps and a rush of memories every time I hear it. 
    • Didn't take long for Take Two to make some cuts from Gearbox This industry needs a massive reset. It's an absolute mess at the moment.
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