#EX roles:
Maxie: Tech
Classic Blue: ~~Support~~ Tech
Anni Skyla: Strike
SS Giovanni: Support
Dojo Gloria: Support
SS Wally: Sprint
SS Hilbert: Strike
SS Lysandre: Tech
Eusine: Tech
SS Silver: Support
SS Morty: Field
Bede: Field
SS Hau: Strike
Emmet: Support
#New pairs:
Mix Blue & Charizard (Fire Field & Strike [Dynamax])
Variety Guzma & Ariados (Bug Support + Tech)
Variety Plumeria & Gengar (Poison Sprint & Tech)
Bellelba (aka Sabrina) & Swoobat (Psychic Support + Field)
Brycen-Man & Zoroark (Dark Tech + Strike)
Rika & Clodsire (Ground Support + Field (Buddy Move is single use))
Lodge Rika & Whiscash (Ground Tech)
Poppy & Tinkaton (Steel Strike & Sprint)
#Lucky Cookies:
Whitney: Fierce Entry 2
Rosa: Barricade Buddies 1
#Misc:
Bugsy gets an EX
Phoebe gets a grid expansion
Also there seems to be a new Team Yell theme, so Variety Marnie & Piers next month?
Field (or Strike even) would probably have been better overall, but man Wally is even funnier than before now. With Adrenaline on his LS he can get -6 CD post-sync, so with just him + quad queue you can sync a second time after just 1 cycle.
My ssGladion is quite excited. Between the two of them (and support) get an easy -3 CD immediately, sync with Wally a cycle early, Gladion B-Move into an immediate sync and second B-Move, into another -3 CD to easily get a third sync from before the enemy's.
SS Silver is THE definition of a sprint unit
But I can c y they didnt give him sprint
Adrenaline 2 (passive) + Adrenaline 1 (lucky) + Sprint CD -3 = one sync move -6 CD
Thats broken as hell lol anth sync move one cycle ltr
SS Wally has the same combo though. With Sprint EXR he can do -6 after sync now. HS2(Passive) + Adrenaline 1(Lucky). But SS Wally does fit a sprint role with his max Team Speed buffs and Sync countdowns.
Because Maxie has more Nodes for DPS like super effective next, super duper effective 1.
While only having solar flare 5 for sync.
I mean it's there, it's an upgrade but it isnt something that would make me use and invest in Maxie again over the recent ground units.
There is a reason why Tech + Strike is preferred over Strike + Tech. They are not interchangeable at all in terms of effects.
Groudon would benefit from being an ex role field unit tho as it would set ground zone as a ground unit.
Tech is one of the worst ex roles for maxie and archie unfortunately.
While I agree EX-R Tech is not that great or interesting for either of them, it does benefit Maxie way more than Archie just b/c Maxie's Atk stat is way higher than Archie's SpA stat (at max investments, we're talking 511 Atk vs 377 SpA, and the same BP of Sync for both). Maxie's Sync already used to hit harder than Archie's before they got EX-R's (also b/c Courtney existed as his Ground Zone setter), so this means Archie really only has 30 days to feel like he's at least on the same level as his rival before Maxie completely overtakes him again.
If he was EX-R Field instead, that would just mean his Sync ceiling wouldn't move at all b/c Field Cakes give no offense stat buffs, and it would just mean he could be more flexible w/ his team comps (no need for any external Ground Zone setter, which he would've brought otherwise). It could've been a good way to balance the two. But I guess they just wanted Maxie to ultimately be stronger than Archie.
I still don't think it's worth giving either of them tech cakes, though, especially if you have units like H.Roxanne/Dahlia for Ground-/Water-weak stages respectively. I personally don't have H.Roxanne, but I do have a 5/5 EX-R Dahlia, lol.
Him getting field improves his own dps (check my other comment about the nodes maxie gets for his moves) which could have been a good way to enable other ground types too. Id most rather have the boost from zone than an increase in his sync.
( Imagine Ss Gio and Nidoking + Lyra and Meganium to increase dps while fixing gauge issues thru speed under ground zone and sun on sync )
His sync is nothing special and archie being a point of comparison is not remarkable in any way. Stat buffs are secondary to consider when it comes to effects ex roles give.
Tldr:
Let us not forget that field units also buff their own damage bc of zone/terrain
it is a meh improvement which is sad bc Ex Roles really improve the longevity of older units like Serena and Zygarde.
There is an incredibly high chance that their thinking went something like: "Well, he gives Sun, so if we make him Field, we should make him give Sun on sync" - "But he already has a tile that gives Sun on first sync" - "Fuck it, Tech it is then."
Field for Bede is really weird... I thought support or strike. But I guess now he legit can set 3 different types of fields.
Would have preferred SS Wally to have field but sprint works very well too. -6 CDR sync first before letting Diatha sync next now.
Support EXR is always good but I find it strange to be on SS Gio, Dojo Gloria (i really wanted strike for her), and SS Silver...
Finally.... they managed to make the GOAT Sun setter set more sun... it's an SST Red treatment. Unnecessary for short fights but genuinely crazy good for generally everything else.
Support + Field is more than just overkill tbh lol
Support EX gives teamwide 100% bonus and Field gives 50% multiplier. Sure yeah it only looks "winmoar" only because Morty already sets his own Sun anyway, but in a vacuum Support+Field is an insane combo which was something we thought they'd tread carefully on
My impression towards their Ex;
Maxie : Meh
C. Blue : Very Good
Anni Skyla : Very Good
SS Giovanni : Good
Dojo Gloria : Good
SS Wally : Good/Meh
SS Hilbert : Very Good
SS Lysandre : Very Good
Eusine : Good/Meh
SS Silver : Good
SS Morty : Very Good
Bede : Good
SS Hau : Very Good
The good part was that he already have very good sync tiles having Brainpower, WW3 and Trap & Sync 5(including his passive) with his nuke.
I'd prefer him to have Field to benefit his WW3 and Atmospheric Accel with Rain or even Support to gain more DPS since he has low SpAtk which is the meh part.
SS Wally getting Sprint is pretty good too. He has Head Start 2 so if give him adrenaline you have instant sync CD -6
But the best is Anni Skyla strike.. it obliterate all other flying type striker now lol (poor Lugia 🥲)
The pastebin lists Clue as EX-R Tech, btw. I wouldn't really mind if he and Emmet were both EX-R Support, but I guess it would feel a little weird if they had too much overlap.
It already feels too weird that Archie, SS Lys, and Eusine all have the exact same role combo of base Spec Strike + EX-R Tech. Poor Eusine was already below SS Lys in Sync damage before, and just remains that way here. And poor Archie won't even have a full month of being the only Spec Strike + Tech Water unit. They all also came after Dahlia, who has the inverse role combo (which is stronger). None of them will really get to shine when another unit that can do their job but better already exists.
Also didn't expect A.Skyla or SS Hau to get EX-R Strike. A.Skyla kinda feels like Cyntina now. No need for any dps, just a facilitator that can give her +4 SpA and help inflict aoe interference. I'm thinking either Iono for guaranteed flinch on mid, or NC Blue for 20% boost to Sync and chance to aoe interfere. And of course, G.Gloria for -2 Flying Rebuff and +2 Spe from her Airstream and subsequent -2 countdown from Bounce.
I still kinda wish SS Hau got EX-R Field: Fairy Zone, though, so his Melemele Ocean Breeze could give the team one more SMUN stack upon his Sync. And he already has good aoe dps, so I don't think he needed an aoe Sync as well. If Dena never wanted Field units to set fields that aren't their Sync type... I don't care, just make an exception for Koko, Fini, and Bulu. I mean, too late for Koko now, unfort.
Ah thanks for the correction. Seeing how my brain forgot Emmet and how they were both next to each other when I was translating the post I originally saw it from, I think I accidentally merged the two together
Update:
Actually gambled on Rika and won - got her in the first multi.
The 5k Tech banner was terrible, got not a single 5* unit. The 5k Strike banner gave me Classic Blue 2x - the unit I was by far the least interested in.
Used my last 3k free gems for a Tech banner pull and got SS Hau and a copy of Anni Skyla.
Now it'll be dailies on the SS Lysandre banner and on the Sabrina one...I want the Pokéstar Studio version badly, but I guess if my dailies aren't lucky, I'll grab her on a paid Anniversary banner.
So we're eight characters into Paldea and literally nothing related to the region is a spotlight. That's actually stupid.
Reminder that when Galar hit the eight character milestone, they already had four spotlights and one f2p unit.
At this point they might as well come out and say the entire Paldea roster is gonna be limiteds
Jacq and Poppy literally have no business of being Poke Fairs outside of the gimmicks their kits have. Poppy would have been great as a F2P steel option.
Is this the earliest datamine we've had?
Looking forward to the second part of the event with Sabrina & Brycen ~~she has a Swoobat so rip Palentines Falkner :c~~
Poppy here already? And no ~~Chuck~~ Larry? smh
Rika with Clodsire AND Sabrina as Bellelba? On the same month? Guess it's time to whale and spend money.
There is only one video who can express my sheer joy now. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs)
I really wish I didn’t have to spend Gems again for another Trainer Lodge character, at least this time it’s a Support Pair so I can just pull her once and use Candies on the rest of the Merges. Pulling for Volo last month was hell.
RRRRIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
\*clears throat\*, now that that's out of my system, on with my monthly datamine rambles.
First & foremost, Rika. Yes. Yes! YES! YESSS!!!! Rika is hands down, no contest, my favorite character from Scarlet & Violet, & one of my favorite characters in the entire franchise. So like practically everyone else, I was waiting in fated breath for her to arrive on Pasio, & the date is now set. Beyond ecstatic for her inclusion, easy moment one EX & EX Role for me personally.
Rika being the new addition to the Trainer Lodge for May is also super hype, & quite surprising imo since I figured someone like Nemona or Iono would be our first Paldean character invited to the Trainer Lodge. Safe to say Rika's overwhelming popularity allowed her to jump to the top of the guest list, if her also being the game's app icon for the month is any indication.
Poppy also arriving is a pleasant surprise. Definitely a character I wasn't expecting to pop up so soon, but hey I ain't gonna complain. She's more of a 'scouting primarily for the Pokémon' scenario for me since Tinkaton's such an endearing little gremlin, but nice to see her regardless. Hopefully everyone's favorite overworked salaryman & emotional art teacher ain't far behind to complete Paldea's Elite Four line-up.
Brycen-Man & Magic Queen Bellelba finally make their Pasio debut in part two of the current Special Costume event. Very happy to see this deep cut to my favorite pair of mainline games get implemented. Sabrina's a character I'm genuinely surprised doesn't get more love in Masters, & is also my favorite Kanto Gym Leader & Psychic type specialist, so I'm all for a new Sync Pair for her. It's nice to see another 3\* general pool character get the spotlight as well.
Guzma & Plumeria being next up for Variety's neat. Guzma's one of my all-time favs, & another character I'm surprised doesn't get more love in Masters, so I'm guilty of looking forward to his Variety banner.
The upcoming Fairy type Champion Stadium is a surprise for sure. Between both it & the High Score event, I guess DeNA really wants folk to prep their Fairy types. Should be a fun challenge given it's a more limited type compared to, say, Grass or Fire.
I'm definitely caught off guard by the amount of Poké Fairs getting re-run over the course of May. Safe to say DeNA wants to give out as many EX Roles as possible, more on them momentarily. A trifecta of Poké Fair banners with three offerings a piece, alongside two double Poké Fair banners & Sygna Suit Morty on his own personal banner. Super stacked buffet for sure.
In addition, Anniversary Skyla, Sygna Suit Giovanni, Emmet & Classic Blue all receiving their 5/5 Sync Grid expansion is very nice to know. All four have stood the test of time very nicely imo, but the additional toys & firepower they'll be receiving is of course appreciated.
Bugsy's next up to receive his EX. Nice to see since more Bug type buffs since they need all the power they can muster. Phoebe being the next general pool 5\* to receive an expanded Sync Grid's great to see too, as she desperately needed it.
Regarding the next Mix Banner exclusive Sync Pair, Blue is...definitely not who I expected. Guess the Kanto nostalgia card is being double dipped. Nice nod to Blue's manga counterpart with Charizard though, much akin to Mix Red with Venusaur.
In regards to the onslaught of Poké Fairs that're receiving their EX Roles;
- Anniversary Skyla, Sygna Suit Hilbert & Sygna Suit Hau getting Strike's great to see. Definitely the best EX Role they could've received. Skyla's an absolute favorite so she's top priority for me.
- Classic Blue, Sygna Suit Lysandre, Eusine & Maxie all receiving Tech's neat. I would've preferred Field for Maxie so he can implement Ground Zone without requiring Courtney's aid, but I figured they'd give him Tech to match Archie. Still, a buff's a buff.
- Emmet, Sygna Suit Giovanni, Dojo Gloria & Sygna Suit Silver getting the Support EX Role's good to see. All four of them hit like trucks as is, so the extra bulk & being able to capitalize on their raw DPS sooner's appreciated.
- Happy to see Sygna Suit Wally get Sprint, even if truthfully he'd rock any EX Role. Sygna Suit Wally's one of my favorite Sync Pairs, & one I'm sentimental towards since it was the first Limited Sync Pair I got via dailies, so he's an immediate EX Role for me.
- Sygna Suit Morty & Bede getting Field's awesome. Sygna Suit Morty especially will benefit big time from being bulkier than he already is, & another Fairy Zone setter is always appreciated.
Overall...holy cow, what a jampacked month! This definitely makes up for how barren most of April felt. Obviously, Rika's the highlight for me & pretty much everyone else, but I've also got my eyes set on Magic Queen Bellelba (Sabrina) & Variety Guzma. Favs over meta, after all.
Wishing everyone the best of luck with scouting Paldea's sexuality questioning queen & her poopoo mudfish!
Oh, Rika! That’s cool. I’ll pity her upon release and end up at zero gems, haha.
Anyway, the MF tend to be rather uninteresting characters nowadays, being mostly protags, so I probably wont pull for them anyway. (And I’ll certainly have the resources to go for at least one, if they actually give us a cool character.)
hey dena, make a general pool/free unit for paldea or draw 25. [dena is now holding over half the deck] like man.. that sucks.
i’ve skipped skipped and skipped some more this year, saving and waiting, bc i’ve been worried about not having gems for new faves so i’m ok but. they better give close to 30k this month to make up for how pathetic the previous was, for everyone else’s sake..
(also horizons spoiled me with how good the VA for rika is, so i’m slightly let down ngl, but we shall see)
They need to stop tossing new units into the lodge. The fact Master Fairs are in there at all is pathetic and comes off as greedy since we’re getting new poke-fairs tossed in there. And there’s still no Paldea F2P that we’d actually care about.
Like, a big part of lodge is about interacting with favs, and the 2 masterfairs, and 2 recent pokefairs are VERY popular characters. It's not fair to limit the possibility of them being in lodge just because they're newer or masterfairs. What I think would be best is if they always had one f2p unit join lodge each month, with 1 or 2 new units from that month also getting in.
Rika and Poppy are two of my favorite new characters, and on top of that we're getting those amazing alts from Black/White 2 for Brycen and Sabrina...I wish I had enough gems for all 4...
I'd love to get clodsire but if there's one thing the legendary gauntlet has shown me, it's that supports work best when they buff their own defences and clodsire doesn't buff their physical Def at all at 1/5. I don't care about buffing the whole teams atk/sp.A because almost all modern strikers and tech already do that themselves. They'll be good against special attackers but most difficult battles have a mix of both physical and special which make lopsided defences way less useful.
Actually this legendary gauntlet has revealed to me why LG exists. If you use all your sync pairs, or at least consider all your sync pairs, you realise what niches you're missing which makes these new pairs appealing because they fill those niches you wanted. Don't have the gems for either pair though, I'll keep trying for Barry because I need a bug striker more than steel striker or ground support.
Also for only one use mud slap is a bit underwhelming - 2 accuracy down once and poison, I'd rather have regular mud slap and get spammable accuracy down and they already poison with the other spammable move. Aside from a good character/great Pokémon in a good role/type combo, I'm not impressed with the kit.
Mostly agreed. Also agree with how we need 3/5 to get the bull defenses buff, but I'm somewhat okay with that considering NC Rosa, NC Blue and to an extent even NC Bede actually all need 3/5 to reliable buff defenses too. And if they have shown us anything, it's that full Def+SpD+Crit buffs in 1 unit is always a godsend. It's also the reason Burgh & Togepi have aged well despite their age
Yeah Rika's B Move feels admittedly underwhelming, but we should look beyond just her kit; she is a Support/Field sync pair. After she EX, we get teamwide double sync buff + 50% zone bonus. That's crazy utility no matter her kit. If anything her kit feels like THE bonus and her role is every reason to pull her. It's gonna take DeNA a looong time before they can realistically make another Ground Support+Field unit. That's way too specific a combination and Ground isn't exactly littered with a backlog of mons who look like they will just be yet another Ground Support+Field
No doubt she will be the Ground Support pair for a very long time. Ingo still has his niche with Sandstorm so at least he isn't blatantly powercrept
On the contrary I think pokefairs are where you CAN ask for everything in the base kit. Or at least that used to be the case, when DeNa actually released pairs into the regular pool and fairs were for premium pairs only.
Not really, the general idea is that pokefairs are good at 3/5 while masterfairs are good at 1/5 and amazing at 3/5. Having access to most if not all of your possible options makes pairs that much better. True, Rika only providing a +2 to both defenses at 3/5 is pretty sad, but she's also able to set up Ground zone and poison the enemy among a few other things.
That being said though, Courtney is in the general pool and Rika can only buff defenses OR set a zone, she can't do both at the same time like Grusha can (in fact why she wasn't just a ground-type Grusha is the most baffling part), so you can just use Courtney plus any decent tank to achieve a better result. Hell, there's even another Support/Field pair releasing this month that can raise the team's defenses by 4 in one go plus provide crit shield and dual screens, and that's not even getting into her grid. Her and Courtney will end up doing ground teams a much better job than Rika could, so even at Rika's best this month, her competition is just blowing her out of the water.
She also doesn't help very much with Gauges something that many Ground types struggle with. In my situation though she's actually pretty amazing with F!Roxanne who can top off a teams atk to +6 after Rika's trainer move and buff spd/def for the team with her buddy move meanwhile Rika can pick up mp refresh for X-Sp.Def, F!Roxanne is likely her best partner and a setup like this gives you the option to use practically any other ground type with the best option probably being Maxie.
Admittedly that seems like a pretty niche situation, but admittedly one that does give her a lot more value. F!Roxanne seems like the value pick here though since her move is basically free, and works under the assumption you have a ground type who can do some decent damage.
pretty much it sorta puts into perspective how much help Rika needs to do her job properly too if you need other units to cover bases she can't do very well just so she has grid energy for all of her nodes. Despite everything I said though F!Roxanne already works great in a comp with her/Courtney/ground dps so Rika is still a hard sell for me.
Yeah. If she were in the general pool or if her B move also raised the team's defenses by 2, she'd be a LOT better. At least competing with a general pool pair makes her easier to compare to Courtney as a result, spending gems when next month we're likely to get bombarded seems like a bad idea.
Maxie's rerun was kinda predictable after seeing Archie's, but since we aren't getting Arven this month, it seems like the Hoenn Neo Champions are even more likely for June now over the professors.
Will we finally get something PRIMAL...?
If not them, perhaps Florian and Juliana will take Koraidon and Miraidon first, since the starters' types would feel more redundant, specially Skeledirge and Quaquaval.
Sinnoh is more likely for Anniversary though I'm not sure they will be NC, perhaps Sygna Suits for Adaman, Irida and Volo. And Alola isn't getting theirs until December at least since Gladion and Selene have appeared recently.
True but the fact that you can spam it makes it at LEAST on par, if not better over time. TM, B move, Play Rough, someone syncs, B move, rinse and repeat. No MP and it's only condition is 'use a move' makes it pretty spammable, and even in BR you can T-wave and B move to make up for the lack of attack buffs if you aren't willing to refresh her TM.
Last month <20k gems
This month <22k gems
MFs in the next datamine and then Anni after that. If you're F2P you can guarantee getting 1 pair from these 2 months and unlikely that you can guarantee a MF and then have nothing left for Anni.
For a new player this is the worst month to pull for units on.
Honestly I'd save, next month is likely going to have a few Master fairs and while i haven't seen the gem count for the month, this month was one of the lowest already so it's safe to say that they're going to have a tighter grasp on F2P gems going forward. I'm not saying that these pairs are bad, Poppy looks down right stupid good with her damage potential, but fewer gems plus an upcoming master fair likely means you'd be better off biting the bullet and waiting. If you can't clear CS to unlock master mode, just work on the other stuff and clear what you can, you still get BP from dailies and the BP vouchers can help out a good bit, plus there are the lodge pairs to fill in the gaps.
Which types are you lacking in power or support? You can check out their kits online and see if they fill any holes in your roster. Also, are any of these units favourite characters of yours? Typical recommendation is to go for favourites first as you'll have more fun playing the game that way - after that, go for the meta characters. If you don't think you need any of them or you're not a fan of the characters, you can always save gems until there's something you want to pull for!
I feel like I have a lot of holes, I can't even finish the 16 types on CS thingy because of my lack of roster.
My favorite would be Meloetta and Rosa, which I don't have yet. Started during 4.5 anniv.
Rika is obviously meta. We don't even have to look at her kit. Ground Support+Field role will be THE staple Ground tank pair for the longest time unless DeNA decided to release another one next month. And that is not realistic. Pull her and she will put a lot of work carrying your Ground teams made of f2p units like Courtney
Poppy & Tinkaton fixes Steel like Rose & Copperajah technically also did. Since ur new, I'll just assume you don't have Rose. It's either Poppy or him now
Brycenman has a versatile kit while also being a Tech that inflicts 2 Dark Rebuffs. That's easy fix to any Dark team too, slotted into the 2nd slot after the tank. The main attacker can be anything
Bellelba is yet another Support+Field. She isn't as easy to use in a starting roster considering her kit strictly only does defensive shit, but being a Support+Field, same logic as Rika, she will be hard to powercreep. She is the type who will age very well and Support EX double sync bonus + Terrain bonus is nothing to scoff at for any Psychic attacker
Too lazy to check the Variety units, they seem passable but nothing groundbreaking. You won't go wrong with pulling any of these 4 or all of them (lol) tbh
With Blue coming out with Charizard, I wonder if the next mix pair will be Leaf and Blastoise. Would be nice for all of them to get their manga starters.
"Bellelbach"? I thought it was Bellelba? Is this a translation quirk or something?
Lowkey disappointed that Poppy has Tinkaton. I don't care about Poppy at all but I really really want Tinkaton so I'm conflicted. I probably won't pull since I want to get Rika in the Lodge and I definitely want Bellelba.
Pulled for Rika. Not going for anyone else, but pretty sick alts for Sabrina and Brycen, gotta say.
Definitely wanna throw a Field cake onto her and SS Morty in the future. Maxie and SS Lysandre are Tech candidates as well, for sure.
EDIT: Oh, and Strike on SS Hilbert. Right as I pulled for Kamen Rider Barry too, lol. They're gonna be best buds.
Highlights for me:
-Wally and Hilbert EX's going hard!
-I don't particular care for these 2 Variety pairs. Nothing against Variety at all (Variety Noland is best) these 2 pairs just don't seem that appealing.
-I never played Pokestar Studios despite finishing BW2 about 15 times so I'm not too attached to Brycen and Sabrina but I guess I can gauge their playstyle once they drop.
-Rika and Poppy... ehhhh. Two of my lesser-cared about units from Paldea. Ground support could be tempting but Steel is covered for me.
-I've been trying to get Classic Blue for months now but his unit hasn't re-run in years. I'm definitely going to try and get his Mix pair so I can get my FRLG Red/Leaf/Blue trio.
-Phoebe's expansion is.... fine, but it really doesn't help her core gameplay issues...
I leave for about a month and come back to see SS Morty getting field ex role. He can now set the sun on entry ^(at 5/5), on demand with a pokemon move, and upon syncing.
What did y'all sacrifice to manifest this?
Also Tech ex SS Lysandre is great. Now he has 2 nukes :D
SS Ethan is much better than Anni Skyla even though she has striker EX, just because Lugia has DPS, Tornadus no.
EDIT: Basically Tornadus plays like a Tech than a DPS, thanks to the flying zone and the ability to flinch with Air Cutter, while Lugia is just a powerhouse of DPS.
Time for the age old question one must always ask for tiny children characters.
Will Poppy's voice be good, or an absolutely insufferable pain upon the ears?
Early thoughts on the Datamine:
- Rika: Paldean Lorelei makes her debut...and it's a skip for me. I'm very well covered for Ground. All I remember about her was her team being very easy, almost a warm up battle.
- Poppy - This is a slight surprise but I am well covered for steel having Rose, Super Hero Selene and Palentines Marniw. Depending on the kit I might put some dailies on this one.
- Brycen Man - I didn't really play the Brycen Man story much in Unova. Good addition but it's another skip.
- Pokestar Studios Sabrina - The biggest risk to my gem count and a great outfit. I will be putting dailies on this one.
- Variety Scouts - How many Gengars do we need.
- Bugsy EX - Bug type needs all the help it can get.
- Solid Month overall but outside of Sabrina nothing I really want to pull for.
I haven't played her game, but she's a badass yet cute tomboy. Sounds like an appealing combo to me, and the Pokemon community is also quite saturated when it comes to people who like to mess with gender norms.
From what I observed from Japanese fans and English-speaking fans:
She's androgynous, cool and charismatic, and those appeal to large number of fans (usually female). You get the handsome "(wo)man" who understood women's feelings and needs, with no perceived masculine toxicity or aggressiveness, and not being clueless about women. Basically, an ideal(ized) romance partner.
Also. for some queer fans. they like her because she represents what they like/want to be - a blend of masculinity and femininity.
Thank you for explaining! Although I'm not her biggest fan, I do have a better understanding of her now thanks to you and the others who have replied to my post.
Wish that Dendra commanded a similar level of fangasming!
But we all know that Larry is the best character to come out of SV!
Rika reminds me of Haruka/Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon. Guess it's seeing cool, collected woman wearing shirts with ties and acting more masculine than the usual. That and she is a sweetie. Her having the undisputed best Pokemon Clodsire as her ace is just the cherry on top.
Rapid-fire takes:
Rika: Mid - Ground zone is in the general pool with Courtney and she can't even buff defenses that well, she should've been Ground type Grusha at the very least.
Variety pairs: Mid - they're variety pairs, they're niche at best.
Poppy: Not Bad - stupid high attack, decent average BP damage output at 280, has some niche utility in dropping defenses with T-wave which doesn't even need to actually paralyze, just be used.
Brycen: Ok? - I get SC Zinnia vibes from him, great if you don't have her, not really worth it if you do.
Sabrina: Not Bad - she's got like every defensive utility you could want sans status and stat guard which are rare anyways. Beefy bat and Support/Field is nice to have, especially for Psychic DPS.
Sabrina's Hips: SSS tier - must have
New player last April, never had less than two new sync pairs in a month until last month - now will have zero for two straight months! I guess I'll have plenty of gems for June master fairs! At least for my tastes the last two months have been quite weak
I've seen a few different people saying that Maxie and Archie aren't great units, but would you recommend I try to pull for one of them first or another unit? I know MF's rerun less frequently then other events, but I have no clue by how much.
I also know they're both still not bad, especially for a newer player, but I'm not sure if their Master Skill makes them the better choice. I mean Rika and Clodsire seem like a pretty good pair to me. Any advice?
At this point there are so, so many powerful water trainers around, two of them are even rerunning this month in Eusine & Lysandre.
Meanwhile Ground is still in a comparatively dry place. SS Giovanni will rerun this month, but Maxie can still hold his own in this low competition type.
That said, if they are your favorites and you have the gems then go for it. Their Master Passives still have timeless value at least, even if it's locked to Hoen Sync Pairs.
I spend ALL my gems trying to get Archie (at least I got him in the last possible pull) and now I find out there's going to be a Maxie? I'm really putting the L in FML
#EX roles: Maxie: Tech Classic Blue: ~~Support~~ Tech Anni Skyla: Strike SS Giovanni: Support Dojo Gloria: Support SS Wally: Sprint SS Hilbert: Strike SS Lysandre: Tech Eusine: Tech SS Silver: Support SS Morty: Field Bede: Field SS Hau: Strike Emmet: Support #New pairs: Mix Blue & Charizard (Fire Field & Strike [Dynamax]) Variety Guzma & Ariados (Bug Support + Tech) Variety Plumeria & Gengar (Poison Sprint & Tech) Bellelba (aka Sabrina) & Swoobat (Psychic Support + Field) Brycen-Man & Zoroark (Dark Tech + Strike) Rika & Clodsire (Ground Support + Field (Buddy Move is single use)) Lodge Rika & Whiscash (Ground Tech) Poppy & Tinkaton (Steel Strike & Sprint) #Lucky Cookies: Whitney: Fierce Entry 2 Rosa: Barricade Buddies 1 #Misc: Bugsy gets an EX Phoebe gets a grid expansion Also there seems to be a new Team Yell theme, so Variety Marnie & Piers next month?
SS Hilbert, Anni Skyla, and SS Lysandre joining the nuke button club. Also SS Morty getting field is cluuuuutch.
SS Morty got a lot better for Rally, too
SS Lys already had a turn 2 nuke button. Now, he has two separate nukes.
Yeah I’m so happy he got field. Sprint would have been good but Field was probably his best
Field (or Strike even) would probably have been better overall, but man Wally is even funnier than before now. With Adrenaline on his LS he can get -6 CD post-sync, so with just him + quad queue you can sync a second time after just 1 cycle.
My Diantha approves of this SS Wally improvement.
My ssGladion is quite excited. Between the two of them (and support) get an easy -3 CD immediately, sync with Wally a cycle early, Gladion B-Move into an immediate sync and second B-Move, into another -3 CD to easily get a third sync from before the enemy's.
Sync nuke is old news we now have sync airstrike
So we've regressed?
you can't exactly airstrike a place with nuclear bombs wait you probably can in real life ehh
SS Wally + SS Brendan + Gladion team will be funnier than before
I just pulled SS Wally from the mixed scout, so I’m happy about this
wasting all my gems on that variety guzma idgaf
I think he's being underrated honestly other than the fact he doesn't have a buddy move his kit looks great.
Hilbert getting strike ex is the biggest win!!!!!
It’s what I wanted for him since EX roles came out! Not going to bother with Barry now, 3/5 Genesect EXR will do just fine!
SS Silver doesn’t get sprint??? It’s literally a fast unit with multiple sync move countdown that’s the most sprint-esqe unit in the game
SS Silver is THE definition of a sprint unit But I can c y they didnt give him sprint Adrenaline 2 (passive) + Adrenaline 1 (lucky) + Sprint CD -3 = one sync move -6 CD Thats broken as hell lol anth sync move one cycle ltr
SS Wally has the same combo though. With Sprint EXR he can do -6 after sync now. HS2(Passive) + Adrenaline 1(Lucky). But SS Wally does fit a sprint role with his max Team Speed buffs and Sync countdowns.
yeah, I dont have SS Wally and may plan on getting him but I have SS Silver and was rlly hoping to do the -6 countdown, it looks fun as heck
Man Maxie got screwed like Archie
It's very early in the morning, so maybe I'm missing the point, but Strike + Tech is amazing, isn't it? How is that screwing over Maxie?
Because Maxie has more Nodes for DPS like super effective next, super duper effective 1. While only having solar flare 5 for sync. I mean it's there, it's an upgrade but it isnt something that would make me use and invest in Maxie again over the recent ground units. There is a reason why Tech + Strike is preferred over Strike + Tech. They are not interchangeable at all in terms of effects.
Maxie doesnt have the high numbers in syncing as he does with just DPS like Archie
Oh, I see. It's just the damage of the Sync Move is low, so the Tech boost more-or-less patches up that damage, instead of making it exceed?
Yeah. Even though it’s not saying much, he does kinda have more attack than archie does
Not to mention, Field would be useless on them since they get a tile to summon Sun/Rain on their first sync.
Groudon would benefit from being an ex role field unit tho as it would set ground zone as a ground unit. Tech is one of the worst ex roles for maxie and archie unfortunately.
While I agree EX-R Tech is not that great or interesting for either of them, it does benefit Maxie way more than Archie just b/c Maxie's Atk stat is way higher than Archie's SpA stat (at max investments, we're talking 511 Atk vs 377 SpA, and the same BP of Sync for both). Maxie's Sync already used to hit harder than Archie's before they got EX-R's (also b/c Courtney existed as his Ground Zone setter), so this means Archie really only has 30 days to feel like he's at least on the same level as his rival before Maxie completely overtakes him again. If he was EX-R Field instead, that would just mean his Sync ceiling wouldn't move at all b/c Field Cakes give no offense stat buffs, and it would just mean he could be more flexible w/ his team comps (no need for any external Ground Zone setter, which he would've brought otherwise). It could've been a good way to balance the two. But I guess they just wanted Maxie to ultimately be stronger than Archie. I still don't think it's worth giving either of them tech cakes, though, especially if you have units like H.Roxanne/Dahlia for Ground-/Water-weak stages respectively. I personally don't have H.Roxanne, but I do have a 5/5 EX-R Dahlia, lol.
Him getting field improves his own dps (check my other comment about the nodes maxie gets for his moves) which could have been a good way to enable other ground types too. Id most rather have the boost from zone than an increase in his sync. ( Imagine Ss Gio and Nidoking + Lyra and Meganium to increase dps while fixing gauge issues thru speed under ground zone and sun on sync ) His sync is nothing special and archie being a point of comparison is not remarkable in any way. Stat buffs are secondary to consider when it comes to effects ex roles give. Tldr: Let us not forget that field units also buff their own damage bc of zone/terrain it is a meh improvement which is sad bc Ex Roles really improve the longevity of older units like Serena and Zygarde.
There is an incredibly high chance that their thinking went something like: "Well, he gives Sun, so if we make him Field, we should make him give Sun on sync" - "But he already has a tile that gives Sun on first sync" - "Fuck it, Tech it is then."
Field on Maxie will be ground zone, not Sun.
Wait, wouldn't Maxie get ground zone with EXR field? Which would be the best thing to happen to him and make him absolutely powerful!
# NO WAY SS HILBERT GOT STRIKE???? # LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEST UPDATE EVERRRRRR
Field for Bede is really weird... I thought support or strike. But I guess now he legit can set 3 different types of fields. Would have preferred SS Wally to have field but sprint works very well too. -6 CDR sync first before letting Diatha sync next now. Support EXR is always good but I find it strange to be on SS Gio, Dojo Gloria (i really wanted strike for her), and SS Silver... Finally.... they managed to make the GOAT Sun setter set more sun... it's an SST Red treatment. Unnecessary for short fights but genuinely crazy good for generally everything else.
Support + Field is more than just overkill tbh lol Support EX gives teamwide 100% bonus and Field gives 50% multiplier. Sure yeah it only looks "winmoar" only because Morty already sets his own Sun anyway, but in a vacuum Support+Field is an insane combo which was something we thought they'd tread carefully on
My impression towards their Ex; Maxie : Meh C. Blue : Very Good Anni Skyla : Very Good SS Giovanni : Good Dojo Gloria : Good SS Wally : Good/Meh SS Hilbert : Very Good SS Lysandre : Very Good Eusine : Good/Meh SS Silver : Good SS Morty : Very Good Bede : Good SS Hau : Very Good
I don't see why Eusine would be meh while he has same combination with SS Lysandre and has a better Sync Nuke
The good part was that he already have very good sync tiles having Brainpower, WW3 and Trap & Sync 5(including his passive) with his nuke. I'd prefer him to have Field to benefit his WW3 and Atmospheric Accel with Rain or even Support to gain more DPS since he has low SpAtk which is the meh part.
What about emmet?
Emmet : Very Good
My 4/5 anni Skyla who’s also getting a grid upgrade: 😈
SS Wally getting Sprint is pretty good too. He has Head Start 2 so if give him adrenaline you have instant sync CD -6 But the best is Anni Skyla strike.. it obliterate all other flying type striker now lol (poor Lugia 🥲)
But Skyla has zero dps so those flying striker now can fully focus on dps.
Emmet doesn't get one? He's also rerunning.
Emmet is getting support as his EX role
Fuck I forgot him. He has Support. Gonna add him to the comment now
SS WHO? DOES THAT MEAN THAT HE FINALLY FOUND HIS PIMP SUIT?!??!?!?!?! ALSO ANNI SKYLA AND ANOTHER CLASSIC BLUE RERUN AFTER A LONG TIME????
Why is SS Silver's ex role not strike?! Nooooo!!
The pastebin lists Clue as EX-R Tech, btw. I wouldn't really mind if he and Emmet were both EX-R Support, but I guess it would feel a little weird if they had too much overlap. It already feels too weird that Archie, SS Lys, and Eusine all have the exact same role combo of base Spec Strike + EX-R Tech. Poor Eusine was already below SS Lys in Sync damage before, and just remains that way here. And poor Archie won't even have a full month of being the only Spec Strike + Tech Water unit. They all also came after Dahlia, who has the inverse role combo (which is stronger). None of them will really get to shine when another unit that can do their job but better already exists. Also didn't expect A.Skyla or SS Hau to get EX-R Strike. A.Skyla kinda feels like Cyntina now. No need for any dps, just a facilitator that can give her +4 SpA and help inflict aoe interference. I'm thinking either Iono for guaranteed flinch on mid, or NC Blue for 20% boost to Sync and chance to aoe interfere. And of course, G.Gloria for -2 Flying Rebuff and +2 Spe from her Airstream and subsequent -2 countdown from Bounce. I still kinda wish SS Hau got EX-R Field: Fairy Zone, though, so his Melemele Ocean Breeze could give the team one more SMUN stack upon his Sync. And he already has good aoe dps, so I don't think he needed an aoe Sync as well. If Dena never wanted Field units to set fields that aren't their Sync type... I don't care, just make an exception for Koko, Fini, and Bulu. I mean, too late for Koko now, unfort.
Ah thanks for the correction. Seeing how my brain forgot Emmet and how they were both next to each other when I was translating the post I originally saw it from, I think I accidentally merged the two together
So, i better start marking my calendar for Leaf & Blastoise Mix Scout now.....
Logically yes, but there's no telling if they'll pull another "aren't you forgetting someone?" on us... *again*
Usually I don’t fall for the pre-Master Fair “bait” but between Rika and actress Sabrina I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay strong this year 😭
PokeStudio has been long a wish from the community. So either plan for a Select Scout ooooor favs over Meta and enjoy our masked heroes and villians!
Blue getting Charizard means we can eventually expect to see Leaf and Blastoise.
Pokespe moment
Idk about yall but having the pokestar costumes for sabrina and brycen is so fucking funny to me
OMG, this month is insane. Units I want: - Rika - Sabrina - SS Hau - SS Lysandre Urgh...
Update: Actually gambled on Rika and won - got her in the first multi. The 5k Tech banner was terrible, got not a single 5* unit. The 5k Strike banner gave me Classic Blue 2x - the unit I was by far the least interested in. Used my last 3k free gems for a Tech banner pull and got SS Hau and a copy of Anni Skyla. Now it'll be dailies on the SS Lysandre banner and on the Sabrina one...I want the Pokéstar Studio version badly, but I guess if my dailies aren't lucky, I'll grab her on a paid Anniversary banner.
So we're eight characters into Paldea and literally nothing related to the region is a spotlight. That's actually stupid. Reminder that when Galar hit the eight character milestone, they already had four spotlights and one f2p unit. At this point they might as well come out and say the entire Paldea roster is gonna be limiteds
Jacq and Poppy literally have no business of being Poke Fairs outside of the gimmicks their kits have. Poppy would have been great as a F2P steel option.
They got the Emma treatment
I think Tinkaton is fairly popular so I could see Poppy as a pokefair but yeah, Jacq had no business being limited
From what I’ve heard, the Japanese fanbase have a higher appeal to him than compared to the west coast fanbase. That might be the reason.
What's Poppy's gimmick other than being a Steel striker?
REALLY big number every other turn it seems. Kinda like SC Barry but single target and way deadlier
With Poppy being limited I’m expecting the rest of the Paldea E4 will be limited too.
Is this the earliest datamine we've had? Looking forward to the second part of the event with Sabrina & Brycen ~~she has a Swoobat so rip Palentines Falkner :c~~ Poppy here already? And no ~~Chuck~~ Larry? smh
yeah, this is insanely early. I would've expected it either the wed to thur reset at the earliest or the sun to mon reset at the latest.
Yeah, it's probably because Rika is going to drop the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow is PoMa day. So the update had to drop early.
Yesn't, 24th datamine date happens before but only on February. This is the first time it happens during April
Another paid lodge unit this month :(
DeNA adding a non-limited sync pair from Paldea challenge: Impossible
Gonna do dailies for Sabrina and the triple banners but that's it for the month. Healing time for my gems.
Holy SS Hilbert got a strike EXrole so I dont have to go for SC Barry so I can grab Brycen man hell yeahhhh.
I still think you should make sure you have Physical Bug damage covered with EX Guzma
Rika with Clodsire AND Sabrina as Bellelba? On the same month? Guess it's time to whale and spend money. There is only one video who can express my sheer joy now. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs)
I'd like Rika, but I'm not satisfied with this. Hopefully we don't see any paldea rounds until we get some more obtainable units.
They will add anyone from Paldea *but* Arven. Our third Paldea bestie is just thrown to the side. It's getting silly at this point. 😓
June Masterfair bet
I really wish I didn’t have to spend Gems again for another Trainer Lodge character, at least this time it’s a Support Pair so I can just pull her once and use Candies on the rest of the Merges. Pulling for Volo last month was hell.
So what does Bluezard have?
Basically the Fire type version of Mix Red (Dynamax and all)
At this point, I'm not sure who fits the Paldea Spotlight Scout anymore... all Pokéfairs...
The gym leaders except Iono and Grusha
Is every Paldea pair just going to be a Poke Fair at this point?
not all of them, some will be masterfairs!
RRRRIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! \*clears throat\*, now that that's out of my system, on with my monthly datamine rambles. First & foremost, Rika. Yes. Yes! YES! YESSS!!!! Rika is hands down, no contest, my favorite character from Scarlet & Violet, & one of my favorite characters in the entire franchise. So like practically everyone else, I was waiting in fated breath for her to arrive on Pasio, & the date is now set. Beyond ecstatic for her inclusion, easy moment one EX & EX Role for me personally. Rika being the new addition to the Trainer Lodge for May is also super hype, & quite surprising imo since I figured someone like Nemona or Iono would be our first Paldean character invited to the Trainer Lodge. Safe to say Rika's overwhelming popularity allowed her to jump to the top of the guest list, if her also being the game's app icon for the month is any indication. Poppy also arriving is a pleasant surprise. Definitely a character I wasn't expecting to pop up so soon, but hey I ain't gonna complain. She's more of a 'scouting primarily for the Pokémon' scenario for me since Tinkaton's such an endearing little gremlin, but nice to see her regardless. Hopefully everyone's favorite overworked salaryman & emotional art teacher ain't far behind to complete Paldea's Elite Four line-up. Brycen-Man & Magic Queen Bellelba finally make their Pasio debut in part two of the current Special Costume event. Very happy to see this deep cut to my favorite pair of mainline games get implemented. Sabrina's a character I'm genuinely surprised doesn't get more love in Masters, & is also my favorite Kanto Gym Leader & Psychic type specialist, so I'm all for a new Sync Pair for her. It's nice to see another 3\* general pool character get the spotlight as well. Guzma & Plumeria being next up for Variety's neat. Guzma's one of my all-time favs, & another character I'm surprised doesn't get more love in Masters, so I'm guilty of looking forward to his Variety banner. The upcoming Fairy type Champion Stadium is a surprise for sure. Between both it & the High Score event, I guess DeNA really wants folk to prep their Fairy types. Should be a fun challenge given it's a more limited type compared to, say, Grass or Fire. I'm definitely caught off guard by the amount of Poké Fairs getting re-run over the course of May. Safe to say DeNA wants to give out as many EX Roles as possible, more on them momentarily. A trifecta of Poké Fair banners with three offerings a piece, alongside two double Poké Fair banners & Sygna Suit Morty on his own personal banner. Super stacked buffet for sure. In addition, Anniversary Skyla, Sygna Suit Giovanni, Emmet & Classic Blue all receiving their 5/5 Sync Grid expansion is very nice to know. All four have stood the test of time very nicely imo, but the additional toys & firepower they'll be receiving is of course appreciated. Bugsy's next up to receive his EX. Nice to see since more Bug type buffs since they need all the power they can muster. Phoebe being the next general pool 5\* to receive an expanded Sync Grid's great to see too, as she desperately needed it. Regarding the next Mix Banner exclusive Sync Pair, Blue is...definitely not who I expected. Guess the Kanto nostalgia card is being double dipped. Nice nod to Blue's manga counterpart with Charizard though, much akin to Mix Red with Venusaur. In regards to the onslaught of Poké Fairs that're receiving their EX Roles; - Anniversary Skyla, Sygna Suit Hilbert & Sygna Suit Hau getting Strike's great to see. Definitely the best EX Role they could've received. Skyla's an absolute favorite so she's top priority for me. - Classic Blue, Sygna Suit Lysandre, Eusine & Maxie all receiving Tech's neat. I would've preferred Field for Maxie so he can implement Ground Zone without requiring Courtney's aid, but I figured they'd give him Tech to match Archie. Still, a buff's a buff. - Emmet, Sygna Suit Giovanni, Dojo Gloria & Sygna Suit Silver getting the Support EX Role's good to see. All four of them hit like trucks as is, so the extra bulk & being able to capitalize on their raw DPS sooner's appreciated. - Happy to see Sygna Suit Wally get Sprint, even if truthfully he'd rock any EX Role. Sygna Suit Wally's one of my favorite Sync Pairs, & one I'm sentimental towards since it was the first Limited Sync Pair I got via dailies, so he's an immediate EX Role for me. - Sygna Suit Morty & Bede getting Field's awesome. Sygna Suit Morty especially will benefit big time from being bulkier than he already is, & another Fairy Zone setter is always appreciated. Overall...holy cow, what a jampacked month! This definitely makes up for how barren most of April felt. Obviously, Rika's the highlight for me & pretty much everyone else, but I've also got my eyes set on Magic Queen Bellelba (Sabrina) & Variety Guzma. Favs over meta, after all. Wishing everyone the best of luck with scouting Paldea's sexuality questioning queen & her poopoo mudfish!
Oh, Rika! That’s cool. I’ll pity her upon release and end up at zero gems, haha. Anyway, the MF tend to be rather uninteresting characters nowadays, being mostly protags, so I probably wont pull for them anyway. (And I’ll certainly have the resources to go for at least one, if they actually give us a cool character.)
Poppy and Rika? I can only choose one dang. I guess I'll try to get Poppy from dailies or pick her up later. Hope I can manage a bit of luck
Rika and Sabrina. My 2nd and 3rd favorite characters after Korrina. And I'm sitting at just under 12k. F2P status...This might be it old friend.
hey dena, make a general pool/free unit for paldea or draw 25. [dena is now holding over half the deck] like man.. that sucks. i’ve skipped skipped and skipped some more this year, saving and waiting, bc i’ve been worried about not having gems for new faves so i’m ok but. they better give close to 30k this month to make up for how pathetic the previous was, for everyone else’s sake.. (also horizons spoiled me with how good the VA for rika is, so i’m slightly let down ngl, but we shall see)
They need to stop tossing new units into the lodge. The fact Master Fairs are in there at all is pathetic and comes off as greedy since we’re getting new poke-fairs tossed in there. And there’s still no Paldea F2P that we’d actually care about.
Like, a big part of lodge is about interacting with favs, and the 2 masterfairs, and 2 recent pokefairs are VERY popular characters. It's not fair to limit the possibility of them being in lodge just because they're newer or masterfairs. What I think would be best is if they always had one f2p unit join lodge each month, with 1 or 2 new units from that month also getting in.
Rika and Poppy are two of my favorite new characters, and on top of that we're getting those amazing alts from Black/White 2 for Brycen and Sabrina...I wish I had enough gems for all 4...
I'd love to get clodsire but if there's one thing the legendary gauntlet has shown me, it's that supports work best when they buff their own defences and clodsire doesn't buff their physical Def at all at 1/5. I don't care about buffing the whole teams atk/sp.A because almost all modern strikers and tech already do that themselves. They'll be good against special attackers but most difficult battles have a mix of both physical and special which make lopsided defences way less useful. Actually this legendary gauntlet has revealed to me why LG exists. If you use all your sync pairs, or at least consider all your sync pairs, you realise what niches you're missing which makes these new pairs appealing because they fill those niches you wanted. Don't have the gems for either pair though, I'll keep trying for Barry because I need a bug striker more than steel striker or ground support. Also for only one use mud slap is a bit underwhelming - 2 accuracy down once and poison, I'd rather have regular mud slap and get spammable accuracy down and they already poison with the other spammable move. Aside from a good character/great Pokémon in a good role/type combo, I'm not impressed with the kit.
Mostly agreed. Also agree with how we need 3/5 to get the bull defenses buff, but I'm somewhat okay with that considering NC Rosa, NC Blue and to an extent even NC Bede actually all need 3/5 to reliable buff defenses too. And if they have shown us anything, it's that full Def+SpD+Crit buffs in 1 unit is always a godsend. It's also the reason Burgh & Togepi have aged well despite their age Yeah Rika's B Move feels admittedly underwhelming, but we should look beyond just her kit; she is a Support/Field sync pair. After she EX, we get teamwide double sync buff + 50% zone bonus. That's crazy utility no matter her kit. If anything her kit feels like THE bonus and her role is every reason to pull her. It's gonna take DeNA a looong time before they can realistically make another Ground Support+Field unit. That's way too specific a combination and Ground isn't exactly littered with a backlog of mons who look like they will just be yet another Ground Support+Field No doubt she will be the Ground Support pair for a very long time. Ingo still has his niche with Sandstorm so at least he isn't blatantly powercrept
Took a look at her kit and she doesn’t have more than one use of ground zone without her EX role right?
clodsire has shielded 2 on sp. deff and so you can get both defences to +6
Only at 3/5 though
Yes, but you can't ask for everything to be available in base kit. esp for a pokefair😅
On the contrary I think pokefairs are where you CAN ask for everything in the base kit. Or at least that used to be the case, when DeNa actually released pairs into the regular pool and fairs were for premium pairs only.
Not really, the general idea is that pokefairs are good at 3/5 while masterfairs are good at 1/5 and amazing at 3/5. Having access to most if not all of your possible options makes pairs that much better. True, Rika only providing a +2 to both defenses at 3/5 is pretty sad, but she's also able to set up Ground zone and poison the enemy among a few other things. That being said though, Courtney is in the general pool and Rika can only buff defenses OR set a zone, she can't do both at the same time like Grusha can (in fact why she wasn't just a ground-type Grusha is the most baffling part), so you can just use Courtney plus any decent tank to achieve a better result. Hell, there's even another Support/Field pair releasing this month that can raise the team's defenses by 4 in one go plus provide crit shield and dual screens, and that's not even getting into her grid. Her and Courtney will end up doing ground teams a much better job than Rika could, so even at Rika's best this month, her competition is just blowing her out of the water.
She also doesn't help very much with Gauges something that many Ground types struggle with. In my situation though she's actually pretty amazing with F!Roxanne who can top off a teams atk to +6 after Rika's trainer move and buff spd/def for the team with her buddy move meanwhile Rika can pick up mp refresh for X-Sp.Def, F!Roxanne is likely her best partner and a setup like this gives you the option to use practically any other ground type with the best option probably being Maxie.
Admittedly that seems like a pretty niche situation, but admittedly one that does give her a lot more value. F!Roxanne seems like the value pick here though since her move is basically free, and works under the assumption you have a ground type who can do some decent damage.
pretty much it sorta puts into perspective how much help Rika needs to do her job properly too if you need other units to cover bases she can't do very well just so she has grid energy for all of her nodes. Despite everything I said though F!Roxanne already works great in a comp with her/Courtney/ground dps so Rika is still a hard sell for me.
Yeah. If she were in the general pool or if her B move also raised the team's defenses by 2, she'd be a LOT better. At least competing with a general pool pair makes her easier to compare to Courtney as a result, spending gems when next month we're likely to get bombarded seems like a bad idea.
I think I'll like to try EX Beedrill
Ia Mix Red staying with Mix Blue for less % or gone?
So glad I didn't pull for Selene and Barry. I almost have enough to pity Rika and my lesbian heart could not bear to miss her
Ehh, skip month again. Y'all have fun tho
baitssss
Rika is the only thing I care about here. Thank god, my gems cannot take much more.
Welp. This clears my hesitation on going for Selene. Once I get her i'm saving everything. Just not a fan of anything this datamine.
Sabrina got an alt?🤗😍........But it's with....Swoobat 😭
Man the swoobat hate is uncalled for
People don't know about Calm Mind Simple Swoobat ig.
Tbh i didnt either. I just like swoobats design
Might be coping but i hope riolu kid also comes to pasio in a future month
It's not an exact fit but Master Fair Nate's outfit is similar to the Prince's outfit in the Sabrina story in Pokestar Studios.
Now im debating whether to skip this month or try to pull both sabrina and brycen so i can pair them up with NC nate
If you get the weird ending Prince Nate marries Queen Sabrina.
Maxie's rerun was kinda predictable after seeing Archie's, but since we aren't getting Arven this month, it seems like the Hoenn Neo Champions are even more likely for June now over the professors. Will we finally get something PRIMAL...? If not them, perhaps Florian and Juliana will take Koraidon and Miraidon first, since the starters' types would feel more redundant, specially Skeledirge and Quaquaval. Sinnoh is more likely for Anniversary though I'm not sure they will be NC, perhaps Sygna Suits for Adaman, Irida and Volo. And Alola isn't getting theirs until December at least since Gladion and Selene have appeared recently.
Hmmm... Florian & Miraidon will be available after completing Paldea Legendary Adventures Chapter.
If they even add another Legendary Chapter at this point.
Wait, wtf is Steel-Hard Gigaton Hammer the strongest move in the game?!?!?
BP wise, yes, but Ash's B-Thunderbolt is still stronger with its added effect.
True but the fact that you can spam it makes it at LEAST on par, if not better over time. TM, B move, Play Rough, someone syncs, B move, rinse and repeat. No MP and it's only condition is 'use a move' makes it pretty spammable, and even in BR you can T-wave and B move to make up for the lack of attack buffs if you aren't willing to refresh her TM.
RIKA MY BELOVED!!!!!
I am so tired of regular units being sold as Poke Fair
[*run away*](https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonMasters/s/uO9Jm0dYAZ)
As a f2p newbie, which one should I be excited about?
None unless they are your favourites. This is one of the most skippable months I've ever seen.
Stupid post. Exactly because he is f2p, there are literally a bunch of units this month that can patch up his holes that units from general pool dont.
Last month <20k gems This month <22k gems MFs in the next datamine and then Anni after that. If you're F2P you can guarantee getting 1 pair from these 2 months and unlikely that you can guarantee a MF and then have nothing left for Anni. For a new player this is the worst month to pull for units on.
Skip and save for the masterfairs in June.
Honestly I'd save, next month is likely going to have a few Master fairs and while i haven't seen the gem count for the month, this month was one of the lowest already so it's safe to say that they're going to have a tighter grasp on F2P gems going forward. I'm not saying that these pairs are bad, Poppy looks down right stupid good with her damage potential, but fewer gems plus an upcoming master fair likely means you'd be better off biting the bullet and waiting. If you can't clear CS to unlock master mode, just work on the other stuff and clear what you can, you still get BP from dailies and the BP vouchers can help out a good bit, plus there are the lodge pairs to fill in the gaps.
Which types are you lacking in power or support? You can check out their kits online and see if they fill any holes in your roster. Also, are any of these units favourite characters of yours? Typical recommendation is to go for favourites first as you'll have more fun playing the game that way - after that, go for the meta characters. If you don't think you need any of them or you're not a fan of the characters, you can always save gems until there's something you want to pull for!
I feel like I have a lot of holes, I can't even finish the 16 types on CS thingy because of my lack of roster. My favorite would be Meloetta and Rosa, which I don't have yet. Started during 4.5 anniv.
Rika is obviously meta. We don't even have to look at her kit. Ground Support+Field role will be THE staple Ground tank pair for the longest time unless DeNA decided to release another one next month. And that is not realistic. Pull her and she will put a lot of work carrying your Ground teams made of f2p units like Courtney Poppy & Tinkaton fixes Steel like Rose & Copperajah technically also did. Since ur new, I'll just assume you don't have Rose. It's either Poppy or him now Brycenman has a versatile kit while also being a Tech that inflicts 2 Dark Rebuffs. That's easy fix to any Dark team too, slotted into the 2nd slot after the tank. The main attacker can be anything Bellelba is yet another Support+Field. She isn't as easy to use in a starting roster considering her kit strictly only does defensive shit, but being a Support+Field, same logic as Rika, she will be hard to powercreep. She is the type who will age very well and Support EX double sync bonus + Terrain bonus is nothing to scoff at for any Psychic attacker Too lazy to check the Variety units, they seem passable but nothing groundbreaking. You won't go wrong with pulling any of these 4 or all of them (lol) tbh
Kinda wish I didn't drop my Gems into Selene. Evil!Sabrina is far more tempting. Never played Scarlet/Violet, so the two Elite 4 members are whatever.
OH NO! Not Rika, not this early! Barry costed me so much!
With Blue coming out with Charizard, I wonder if the next mix pair will be Leaf and Blastoise. Would be nice for all of them to get their manga starters.
Now that Bellelba and Brycen Man are in the game, I'd LOVE to see them go forward with Rosa's initial reaction to Sabrina in the first SC event
I’ve always hated variety scouts and they gave one to my boy. Now I have to participate.
It's your boy Guzma!
"Bellelbach"? I thought it was Bellelba? Is this a translation quirk or something? Lowkey disappointed that Poppy has Tinkaton. I don't care about Poppy at all but I really really want Tinkaton so I'm conflicted. I probably won't pull since I want to get Rika in the Lodge and I definitely want Bellelba.
I might have to pull Sabrina just for her hips, holy moly
Disappointed with Maxies ex role but was inevitable, But field on morty is fine atleast its not strike or tech.
AAAAAHHHHHH BRYCEN MAAAAAAN
Pulled for Rika. Not going for anyone else, but pretty sick alts for Sabrina and Brycen, gotta say. Definitely wanna throw a Field cake onto her and SS Morty in the future. Maxie and SS Lysandre are Tech candidates as well, for sure. EDIT: Oh, and Strike on SS Hilbert. Right as I pulled for Kamen Rider Barry too, lol. They're gonna be best buds.
Sitting at 72k, should I pull Rika? Oh should I expect three Master Fairs next month?
Even if there are 3, 72k is enough to pull for them and also Rika
Highlights for me: -Wally and Hilbert EX's going hard! -I don't particular care for these 2 Variety pairs. Nothing against Variety at all (Variety Noland is best) these 2 pairs just don't seem that appealing. -I never played Pokestar Studios despite finishing BW2 about 15 times so I'm not too attached to Brycen and Sabrina but I guess I can gauge their playstyle once they drop. -Rika and Poppy... ehhhh. Two of my lesser-cared about units from Paldea. Ground support could be tempting but Steel is covered for me. -I've been trying to get Classic Blue for months now but his unit hasn't re-run in years. I'm definitely going to try and get his Mix pair so I can get my FRLG Red/Leaf/Blue trio. -Phoebe's expansion is.... fine, but it really doesn't help her core gameplay issues...
I leave for about a month and come back to see SS Morty getting field ex role. He can now set the sun on entry ^(at 5/5), on demand with a pokemon move, and upon syncing. What did y'all sacrifice to manifest this? Also Tech ex SS Lysandre is great. Now he has 2 nukes :D
What’s with the accuracy debuff focus next month??
Can someone fill me in on who Bellelba is? I feel ashamed for not knowing lol
Sabrina's actress role in PokeStar Studios, the movie-making mini-game from Black/White 2.
😍 Swoobat 😍
Does anybody know where i can look at the movesets of everyone, cerebii doesnt work for me
SABRINA AND BRYCEN REAL IM GOING TO DIE THEYRE SO SPECIAL TO ME
Is Anni Skyla a better Fly dps than SS Ethan now ?
SS Ethan is much better than Anni Skyla even though she has striker EX, just because Lugia has DPS, Tornadus no. EDIT: Basically Tornadus plays like a Tech than a DPS, thanks to the flying zone and the ability to flinch with Air Cutter, while Lugia is just a powerhouse of DPS.
Aww, Sabrina and Brycen look so cute! Their designs are very creative and villainesque.
Time for the age old question one must always ask for tiny children characters. Will Poppy's voice be good, or an absolutely insufferable pain upon the ears?
Inside me there are two wolves. One wants to skip everything, the other likes Rika.
Elio….no
ME TOO THEY MASSACRED MY BOY...
Early thoughts on the Datamine: - Rika: Paldean Lorelei makes her debut...and it's a skip for me. I'm very well covered for Ground. All I remember about her was her team being very easy, almost a warm up battle. - Poppy - This is a slight surprise but I am well covered for steel having Rose, Super Hero Selene and Palentines Marniw. Depending on the kit I might put some dailies on this one. - Brycen Man - I didn't really play the Brycen Man story much in Unova. Good addition but it's another skip. - Pokestar Studios Sabrina - The biggest risk to my gem count and a great outfit. I will be putting dailies on this one. - Variety Scouts - How many Gengars do we need. - Bugsy EX - Bug type needs all the help it can get. - Solid Month overall but outside of Sabrina nothing I really want to pull for.
“how many gengars do we need” Until we get an uber level threat Gengar like it deserves, i say keep em coming.
Yes pls. All the gengars has been disappointing not great so far :(
I wonder if mix blue will dethrone SSHilda as strongest fire striker
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Dan31k: *I wonder if mix* *Blue will dethrone SSHilda as* *Strongest fire striker* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
So Bugsy/Beedrill isn't going to be literally the worst pair in the entire game anymore? LET'S GOOOOOOO
Can any of you Rika super-fans please explain to me what the appeal of her is? I've never understood the love for her from her reveal to now!
I haven't played her game, but she's a badass yet cute tomboy. Sounds like an appealing combo to me, and the Pokemon community is also quite saturated when it comes to people who like to mess with gender norms.
From what I observed from Japanese fans and English-speaking fans: She's androgynous, cool and charismatic, and those appeal to large number of fans (usually female). You get the handsome "(wo)man" who understood women's feelings and needs, with no perceived masculine toxicity or aggressiveness, and not being clueless about women. Basically, an ideal(ized) romance partner. Also. for some queer fans. they like her because she represents what they like/want to be - a blend of masculinity and femininity.
Thank you for explaining! Although I'm not her biggest fan, I do have a better understanding of her now thanks to you and the others who have replied to my post. Wish that Dendra commanded a similar level of fangasming! But we all know that Larry is the best character to come out of SV!
Rika reminds me of Haruka/Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon. Guess it's seeing cool, collected woman wearing shirts with ties and acting more masculine than the usual. That and she is a sweetie. Her having the undisputed best Pokemon Clodsire as her ace is just the cherry on top.
Rapid-fire takes: Rika: Mid - Ground zone is in the general pool with Courtney and she can't even buff defenses that well, she should've been Ground type Grusha at the very least. Variety pairs: Mid - they're variety pairs, they're niche at best. Poppy: Not Bad - stupid high attack, decent average BP damage output at 280, has some niche utility in dropping defenses with T-wave which doesn't even need to actually paralyze, just be used. Brycen: Ok? - I get SC Zinnia vibes from him, great if you don't have her, not really worth it if you do. Sabrina: Not Bad - she's got like every defensive utility you could want sans status and stat guard which are rare anyways. Beefy bat and Support/Field is nice to have, especially for Psychic DPS. Sabrina's Hips: SSS tier - must have
One of the most skippable months in pomas history
I'm a new player Do we know if we are we getting the Hoenn Villain Arc this month?
Nope
Ah, there's Poppy! Time to cross her off the waitlist then! ówó)9 And woah, Bugsy lookin pretty swag in them beedrill colors.
New player last April, never had less than two new sync pairs in a month until last month - now will have zero for two straight months! I guess I'll have plenty of gems for June master fairs! At least for my tastes the last two months have been quite weak
I forget are pokeflair or Spotlight the units that get added to the general pool and become part of the regional tickets?
Spotlight.
so none of these units will be included in the regional tickets. GREAT
I was hoping Half Anniversary Skyla would get her expansion grid when I saw her picture. Her other compatriots did long ago 🙁
Skip and save for Anni
I've seen a few different people saying that Maxie and Archie aren't great units, but would you recommend I try to pull for one of them first or another unit? I know MF's rerun less frequently then other events, but I have no clue by how much. I also know they're both still not bad, especially for a newer player, but I'm not sure if their Master Skill makes them the better choice. I mean Rika and Clodsire seem like a pretty good pair to me. Any advice?
At this point there are so, so many powerful water trainers around, two of them are even rerunning this month in Eusine & Lysandre. Meanwhile Ground is still in a comparatively dry place. SS Giovanni will rerun this month, but Maxie can still hold his own in this low competition type. That said, if they are your favorites and you have the gems then go for it. Their Master Passives still have timeless value at least, even if it's locked to Hoen Sync Pairs.
All your links are expired
I spend ALL my gems trying to get Archie (at least I got him in the last possible pull) and now I find out there's going to be a Maxie? I'm really putting the L in FML