Things in Pokémon which really hit you by surprise

Celever

i am town
is a Community Contributor
Another discussion thread. \o/

One of the most common complaints about Pokémon is its linear design and childish story-lines. Where nothing is unexpected, and the player knows what will happen in the story gyms before it does. This thread is talking about not only the stories, but things like reveals of certain Pokémon, which really hit you by surprise, and made you enjoy the game even more because of it (no negativity please ;)).

For me, it would have to be Evice's reveal in Pokémon Colosseum. I legitimately thought that he was just a kind old mayor who was doing what he could to help. It just made that final battle epic, because he was a character you had met before, who ended up being the final boss against all expectations. Unlike Greevil, who everybody saw a mile off.

So, what are your experiences with Pokémon that hit you by surprise?
 
Black/White's system of -NOT- having you fight the champion after the E4, but the leader(s) of the antagonistic team.

This post was going to happen eventually; it's just so damn formula breaking and is a brilliant climax to the story. Honestly the fact that GF decided to tackle the long-asked question of "Is it right to catch and use Pokémon?" and even make a whole plot and game out of it surprised me quite a bit. Didn't think they had the guts.
 
I am surprised reading the Pokedex entries of some Pokemon. Stuff like Yamask being dead people who look at their mask and cry, or Pokemon eating other Pokemon like Pidgey eating Caterpie.

In gen 1 Lavender Town seemed pretty dark for a kids game. Mentioning Pokemon being killed when probably a lot of kids didn't even learn about death yet.

I was surprised when Pokemon Bank finally came out lol
 
When they discovered Diggersby's hidden ability I was pretty surprised. Game Freak making an early route Normal type actually useful outside of being an HM slave? Pretty good thing because Diggersby happened to be one of my favourite Pokémon overall even before they revealed Huge Power, and without it, it would've been the worst early route rodent(well, sans Watchog).

Also, Mega-Diancie. Swampert and Sceptile were kinda expected, but Diancie just, wtf.
 

Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
When in B2W2, you face Ghetsis in a cave or what...
I found him more difficult than the entire E4.
 
This:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Charizard Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Sun: 378-445 (53.6 - 63.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Charizard Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Sun: 309-364 (43.8 - 51.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Charizard Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vaporeon in Sun: 219-258 (47.1 - 55.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Charizard Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Suicune in Sun: 192-227 (47.5 - 56.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
 
Corsola can 2 hit KO Cresselia:

252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Corsola Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 223-264 (50.2 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

I had no idea Corsola was that strong lol.
 
When in B2W2, you face Ghetsis in a cave or what...
I found him more difficult than the entire E4.
I found him much easier in BW2 than BW1. Darzan (my Darmanitan) completely mopped the floor with his Hydreigon using one Hammer Arm.

I think so far the thing that really hit me by surprise is the fact that GF is actually going ahead with remakes for the Hoenn region, as silly as that sounds.
 
When they discovered Diggersby's hidden ability I was pretty surprised. Game Freak making an early route Normal type actually useful outside of being an HM slave? Pretty good thing because Diggersby happened to be one of my favourite Pokémon overall even before they revealed Huge Power, and without it, it would've been the worst early route rodent(well, sans Watchog).

Also, Mega-Diancie. Swampert and Sceptile were kinda expected, but Diancie just, wtf.
Diancie just had to happen,it's mega is probably going to appear in the upcoming movie.
 
Corsola can 2 hit KO Cresselia:

252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Corsola Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 223-264 (50.2 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

I had no idea Corsola was that strong lol.
Sure, if you're using a 150bp STAB move with an ability that boosts it by 50%
But with hustle it only has 64% accuracy, and you're hurting yourself quite a bit with Head Smash; I can't be bothered calculating but Cresselia could possibly ko first, or at least assure mutual destruction
 
M-ewtwo Y's ability. I had heard that its ability was Trace lol.

I found surprising how annoying is Furfrou in-game. That double battle on Parfum Palace is ass.
 
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Its_A_Random

A distant memory
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Unlocking the post-game (Sevii Islands) in FireRed / LeafGreen was really surprising (And annoying to an extent). To those who do not know how, have 60 different species of Pokémon recorded in the Pokédex. It was a major case of "Guide Dang It" and there was literally nothing in the game—not even in the "official strategy guide"—that hinted you to this post-game or how to unlock it. If you did not have internet, you would have no idea unless you knew someone else who unlocked it or found out how in a random magazine like I had to... -.-'

Sure the strategy guide alluded to the possibility of a post-game but no mention of how to get there. The reason why this is surprising is because of the fact that an uneducated player of the games cannot and will not know that it existed, let alone how to unlock it until it happens.
 
For me, it was in X/Y when this happened (refer image)


But really, in all seriousness -- a few got me. Historically, I have always tried to avoid spoilers, guides, etc so as not to have anything ruined. Some that come to mind:

- Pokemon Red/Blue: Completing the pokedex and virtually nothing happened. I remember back to how difficult it was and the pain involved with the old trading cables to finally complete the 'dex and nothing happening was quite disappointing.

- Pokemon Silver/Gold(?): The ice cave towards the end of the game, although being ~14 at the time I found it to be very challenging and actually recall a few friends asking me to complete it on their behalf. It wasn't an impressive feat by any chance however, for the demographics of the game at the time, it was rather surprising.

- Pokemon X/Y: Sap sipper, it surprised me in the sense of that ability on Goodra (whom by this stage of the game was not a pokemon you would be familiar with). Only having venusaur left there was little I could do.
 
After the Japanese release of Black and White, I heard about infinite use TMs. That stunned me and led me to play competitive since I didn't have to worry about TMs anymore.
Steel losing its resists to Ghost and Dark was a major shock.
A happy surprise was just how easy it is to get perfect IVs and Hidden Abilities this Gen.
 
Good question. I guess the rumours of a new type called "fairy" actually becoming true. The climax of BW as well of course, since the formula was so well-entrenched that it came totally unexpectedly.

Oh, and the sheer abundance and weirdness of glitches in RBY. They're still being discovered to this day.
 
Water resisting Ice. When I first played (when I was about seven) I thought that it must have been a glitch, because ice freezes water. It does, but you'd need a lot of ice or time or very cold ice.
 
When I discovered a I think flawless but slightly costly way of always getting the desired IV spread...or so it seems since it worked 3 times in a row...

Well it's not that flawless since it stopped working...

I think that what is surprising is then hatching 3 Magikarps with the same IV spread in a row...
 
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There are several mons such as Slaking and Purugly that look like they should be slow as heck, but are actually really fast.
The speed stat is actually reaction speed, not movement speed. That is why some pokemon who can't move fast have a high speed stat, and ones that can move fast have a low speed stat. Also, the fastest speed at which a pokemon can move doesn't have much relevance in a battle as, chances are, you won't have time to hit max speed.
 

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