- I always appreciate kind messages and appreciation of my hacks. Thanks again for your message!
- I will be rearranging the rarity of Pokémon within their homes (Stufful and Mareanie, etc will be much easier to obtain), I will likely be adding in Island Scan pokemon to regular encounter tables, unless it comes out that they have a special flag in their pkx file.
- I will not be adding Z-Crystals to the Wild Hold Item list, for the reasons you've mentioned. I still am not sure what I'm doing with Mega Evolution this time.
- The ability to EV train enemy pokemon could make the difficulty much harder than RR/SS if I used the same level curve. However, I'll instead be leveraging this ability to attain a similar difficulty to RR/SS without having to throw Legendary Pokémon, Choice Scarves, and 5+ overleveled opponents at the player. The difficulty level will be similar, but the challenge will feel more organic.
- Beast Balls are available in a shop at p3000 each.
- Since the new Move Relearner opens every single move a Pokémon can learn, move legality isn't a red flag anymore. As such, I can adjust learnsets almost as I see fit.
- Bottle Caps and Golden Bottle Caps will be available in the wild as Hold Items, and I will be adding them to the Pickup list.
- It is currently not possible to script in new battles, unfortunately. I wish I could allow you to battle Colress and Grimsley at those moments, in addition to adding every Trial Captain + Guzma + Out-of-region Trainer to the Champion Challenger list, but alas it is impossible with current tools.
Ah, it's nice to hear you'll be fixing some of the encounter rates throughout the game! One thing I like to do during the postgame of Pokémon titles is go back and catch all the Pokémon, but Sun and Moon made this process especially tedious due to some of the newer ones having things like 1% encounter rates.
I expected it to be that way with Z-Crystals. It makes sense, though. When it comes down to Mega Evolution, wouldn't the player be unable to utilize them until post-game, due to the lack of a Key Stone? If this is the case, I think it'd be nice to have them in the Wild Hold Item list so they're easier to access later on, instead of having to waste a ton of BPs. Speaking of Mega Evolution, will they still be utilized by trainers, even if the player doesn't have access to it? I actually think it'd be a nice way to add some extra strength to battles if Mega Evolution is exclusive to the opponent for most of the game.
It's nice to know that the difficulty level will still be similar. I have to admit, I actually really enjoy how explosive the EXP gain is in RR/SS, as it makes it feel like there's been actual, substantial growth between each boss battle. However, as long as the difficulty is still similar, I guess it's not a problem. The fact that EV invested Pokémon can stand up to Legendaries in difficulty does give me a lot of hope! The thing I love the most about your hacks is just how difficult they can become. Overall, I'm pretty sure Rutile Ruby and Star Sapphire are the hardest Pokémon games to date (while still remaining fair), trumping even those of Drayano's.
With Legendary Pokémon, will there be any legendaries at all, or are they all getting shafted? I'm mainly asking as there's actually a couple characters where Legendaries might fit in, such as Anabel with Raikou, Entei and Latios (actually, I think she might use these in the Battle Tree, too). It's also implied, at least within Pokémon Origins, that Red and Blue caught the Legendary Bird Trio + Mewtwo. And... there's also Lusamine, maybe. I'd like to avoid spoilers for the teams, so it's all a surprise, but a simple yes/no to this question would be nice~
It's good to know that Bottle Caps will actually be accessible now. This'll make getting competitively viable Pokémon a breeze! I'm curious if there's any current ideas on how to make leveling easier, though, given that it's fairly obnoxious in Sun and Moon. I'm guessing this'll involve the post-game Battle Buffet, although even then I'm not sure how fast that'd be given the fact that Triple Battles don't exist.
It's really unfortunate that scripts can't be edited. At the very least, would it be possible to improve some of the existing battles with special trainers? For example, Red, Blue and Anabel don't use their actual themes when you're fighting their full teams.
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On an unrelated note (but also highly related), I just started a new playthrough of Rutile Ruby. Despite Sun and Moon being such great Pokémon games, it's really refreshing to go back to such fantastic difficulty levels.
One thing I really noticed in this new playthrough is just how well designed even early route trainers are. For example, on the route right before Petalburg City, a Bug Catcher can be fought that uses a Metapod and Paras. I found it really cool how Metapod opened up with String Shot to slow down the opponent, which then allowed Paras to set up Leech Seed and Sleep Powder.
Once I really thought about this, I realized another thing I absolutely love about RR/SS, and that's how
every single trainer is extensively thought-out and handcrafted. Even when people have commented on specific trainers, you're always able to give your thought process behind them. For example, the early Rich Boy with the Zigzagoon utilizing stat changing moves and the Ace Trainer that uses Baton Pass. being used as a wake-up call. It really sets your hardmods apart from others.
All in all, I'm super excited for your Sun and Moon mods!
