History YMMV / PokemonXandY

** It gets hard to find [[spoiler: Xerosic's postgame HeelFaceTurn very sympathetic at all,]] considering that he [[spoiler: possibly broke his word about activating the ultimate weapon earlier in the game, assuming the player picked the right button.]] Sure, he [[spoiler: gets arrested by Looker]], but even then he doesn't seem to regret what he's done. He even says as much.

* NeverLiveItDown: The Lumiose City save glitch. Despite the patch that fixed the glitch was released less than a month after the glitch was discovered, people still brought that up as if the glitch was never fixed.

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Pokémon:
*** The two forms of Meowstic and its previous evolution Espurr were well received for their cute designs and unique gender differences, as well as being ''really'' attractive to cat lovers. Espurr's selling point, however, was its CreepyCute stare, which reached MemeticMutation status. Nintendo even recognized this by using Espurr's eyes in the battle animations for both Mean Look and Baby-Doll Eyes in Generation VII.
*** While its final form Delphox has become quite the BaseBreakingCharacter, Braixen has been met with lovely reception by the fanbase. The fact that it wasn't the [[FranchiseOriginalSin 4th Fire/Fighting type starter]] in a row already gave it better reception than its detested 5th gen predecessor [[TheScrappy Pignite]]. But what really garners it so much appeal is its unique design which likens it to a {{Tsundere}} girl. It's so prominent that you'll often see much fanart online with behaving like a tsundere, even calling people baka, and many people will breed or soft reset their game so that they get the female Fennekin and will choose not to evolve it to its final stage. Its popularity only grew when the anime Serena's Fennekin evolved into a Braixen. Further cemented when Braixen was revealed (to great fanfare and excitement) as a playable character in ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament''.
*** [[PowerupMount Gogoat]] quickly became very popular. So has its pre-evolution, Skiddo, in that it was already a fan-favorite well before it was officially revealed to exist. (Skiddo is [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter pretty cute too, especially the ones you come across that are fast asleep.]])
*** Talonflame for having an amazing design, giving the player early access to a good fire-type, as well as good stats all around combined with a great movepool. It's also a breeder's dream given the fact it can use the Flamebody ability (doubling the hatching speed of eggs) as well as learn Fly (quick access to the Stat Judge) in addition to making room for five eggs in the party at a time. Oh, and did we mention that it's able to smash the Tauros-shit out of everything via a combination of Brave Bird and a new ability, Gale Wings, which gives priority to Flying-type moves?
*** Noivern has also been very well-received for being a badass [[MixAndMatchCritters dragon-bat]] and for having Aerodactyl-like Speed. Its pre-evolution, Noibat, has also won many hearts due to being a RidiculouslyCuteCritter.
*** Surprisingly for an early caught Bug-type, which normally ends up being a CrutchCharacter, Vivillon has also been well-received due to the fact that it has ''eighteen'' regular wing patterns (plus two other patterns that are only obtained from special events). These patterns are determined by what location is registered on your 3DS. Thus, if players want different patterns, they must use the Global Trade Station and trade for them. Some patterns are extremely hard to get a hold of, and they are instantly snatched up. As a result, Vivillon happens to be the most sought after - and most traded - Pokémon on the Global Trade Station. Some of the rarest patterns are the Ocean, Monsoon, Sandstorm, and Jungle, and it isn't uncommon to see people trading ''legendaries'' for them. Even the most well known pattern, Meadow, is difficult to get. [[ButWaitTheresMore Plus]] there's an event where one of the special event patterns is made available when 100 million GTS trades are made. It also helps that it's genuinely potent in the mid-late game, at least if it has Compound Eyes (91%-accurate Hurricane, anyone?). Whatever the ability, it also gets Powder to make anyone trying to use a Fire attack on it [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard blow themselves up instead]].
*** Pancham and its evolution Pangoro also seem to be rather popular, for being [[JapaneseDelinquents banchou]] pandas.
*** Honedge is a BaseBreakingCharacter, as some fans think the design is uninspired and don't like the fact it's based on an object. However, its final evolution, Aegislash, has been well received, due to its impressive signature move "King's Shield" and unique form changing ability.
*** The fandom responded very positively to Inkay and Malamar for their unique Dark/Psychic typing, as well as appearing like something out of an Creator/HPLovecraft story. It helps that Inkay's method of evolution (holding the 3DS upside-down when it reaches at least level 30) is almost identical to a [[UrbanLegendOfZelda rumored secret method of evolving Lickitung]] way back in Generation I. Malamar in particular is very popular [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff with the Brazilian fandom]] due to its Japanese name, ''Karamanero'', which sounds like the term "''Cara maneiro''", meaning "Cool guy". The anime's use of the line helped. [[note]]Inkay became a prominent Team Rocket member, while Malamar became a recurring rare independent Pokémon antagonist[[/note]]
*** Tyrunt and Tyrantrum, the [[DinosaursAreDragons Dragon]]-type ''[[TRexpy Tyrannosaurus rex]]''-like Pokémon. Fans had been clamoring for a Pokémon directly based on ''T. rex'' for ages and tend to take kindly to Dragon-types, so it's no surprise that Tyrantrum was voted [[http://www.dorkly.com/article/57168/toplist-results-the-15-greatest-generation-vi-pokemon/page:5 the second most popular Gen VI Pokémon]] by Dorkly users, only behind BreakoutCharacter Greninja. Some fans lament the fact that the line is one of the most merchandise-barren in the entire Pokémon franchise, with Tyrantrum in particular getting ''no'' official figures or plush until 2019 when [[ThrowTheDogABone it was included in a promotional minifigure set completing the Kalos Pokédex]].
*** Amaura and Aurorus, the other pair of fossil Pokémon. These Ice-type sauropods are well liked for their ability Refrigerate, which transforms Normal-type moves into Ice-type moves, as well as being the sleekest and most graceful-looking fossil Pokémon.
*** Interestingly, the Honedge, Inkay, Tyrunt and Amaura families, along with Pangoro, were all designed by the same person (Hitoshi Ariga, who also worked on the Franchise/MegaMan series as a manga artist.)
*** While Mega Evolution had somewhat of a mixed reception, a large fraction of them became instant fan favorites. While the most obvious ones[[note]]such as Mega Charizard X[[/note]] qualify more as "heavily-publicized popular major characters" than "EnsembleDarkhorse", special mention goes to Mega Ampharos whose fabulous hair achieved MemeticMutation status pretty quickly.
*** [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Goomy, the new pseudo-Legendary, and its evolutions]]. It's gotten to the point where [[http://www.reddit.com/r/ChurchofGoomy/ Goomy has its own Subreddit]].
*** Hawlucha has become a particularly well-received addition on the basis of being a masked wrestler bird Pokémon, having a typing that's both unique and useful, as well as a signature move that is the only dual-typed move in the game (Flying Press, a Fighting-type move that deals Fighting ''and'' Flying-type damage).
*** The new Ghost/Grass Pokémon Pumpkaboo and its evolution Gourgeist both have built up a small, but growing fanbase who adore them for their unique typing, their pumpkin/Halloween designs and their overall usefulness in battling. It also helps that Pumpkaboo comes in different sizes from small to Super Size which in fact determine their stats and how one uses them in battle. This was only furthered when the line was used by [[RootingForTheEmpire Team Rocket]] in the anime.
*** Helioptile and Heliolisk are well liked for their [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter designs]] and the fact that they make good speedy attackers in the game, especially since they have [[LifeDrain Parabolic Charge]]. And they can learn Surf, the latter making them good for taking down those pesky Ground-types.
*** Many older species saw a boost in popularity for gaining the new, powerful Fairy type, most notably the already popular Gardevoir and Mawile, both previously regarded as [[TierInducedScrappy tier-induced scrappies]] but who gained the new type ''and'' impressive Mega Evolutions.
** Humans:
*** Professor Sycamore, for his attractive design (compared to the {{Adorkable}} or official looks of previous male professors), positive demeanor, his more caring attitude towards the player compared to previous professors, him giving the player ''two'' starter Pokémon during the main story (one from Kalos and one from Kanto), and the fact that he is the first professor in the series you can legitimately fight.[[labelnote:Note]]In Generation I, players ''were'' able to battle Professor Oak (with a fully fleshed-out team to boot), but this required the use of either glitches or hacks.[[/labelnote]]
*** The Hex Maniac trainer class was actually introduced in Generation III, but [[CuteWitch their Generation VI redesign]] has quickly become popular among the fandom, already getting more fanart than the Gym Leaders and even most trainer classes, which is saying something. It probably has something to do with her looking like a [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/cf0d8530f3491831249c033101ff4310/tumblr_mvksnrCibM1swsw24o9_1280.jpg fusion]] of Tomoko from ''[[Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular WataMote]]'' and Tharja from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. In particular, the Hex Maniac that sells Moomoo Milk in Dendemille Town has become inexplicably popular, to the point where Hex Maniacs have become somewhat associated with Moomoo Milk (or just milk in general).
*** Malva from the Elite Four mainly since she's also a member of [[spoiler:Team Flare]], something that reminded a lot of fans of [[spoiler:the Elite Four being [[AdaptationalVillainy the main villains]]]] in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' as well as proving [[spoiler:EvilIsSexy]] quite well.
*** Also from the Elite Four, Siebold for his philosophical words about Pokémon and the art of battling.
*** [[HeartwarmingOrphan Emma]], whose [[EndgamePlus story]] made more than one person break down in tears.
*** The Furisode Girls from the Laverre Gym have also gained somewhat of a following, in part because each one has a different sprite.[[note]]There are other non-trainer [=NPC=]s that use those sprites, and you can also battle trainers of the Furisode Girl class at Sushi High Roller and in the Battle Chateau, but fanart of them on sites like pixiv and Danbooru uses the names of the Laverre Gym set for tags.[[/note]]
*** Beauty Nova from the Battle Maison has received a lot of attention for being implied to be [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} the first canon transgender character]] in the franchise. After defeating her, she mentions how she used to be the (all male presenting) Black Belt class, as well as attributing her transformation to "modern medicine." [[note]] In the Japanese version [[/note]]

* AmericansHateTingle: Tierno scored third place on an ''X'' and ''Y'' character popularity poll in Japan. He gets hardly any attention from the Western fanbase. At least, [[TheScrappy not much positive attention.]]

* TheScrappy: [[TheScrappy/{{Pokemon}} Shares a page with the rest of the franchise.]]

* ReplacementScrappy: The new Champion is seen as a step back from previous champions, for doing absolutely nothing to help the player fight Team Flare, having an easy team to beat, and having an easy-to-guess identity since [[spoiler:she's the only unique NPC we see early on who isn't blatantly a member of Team Flare or a Gym Leader besides Alexa]].

* UncannyValley:
** Valerie's eyes, which have no visible pupil and almost no sclera. Although this is meant to make her resemble a fairy to go along with her outfit, many consider her a bit creepy looking. The dollhouse motif of her gym doesn't help matters. Some fans found her eyes [[CreepyCute strangely adorable]] though.
** The Fairy Tale Girls' eyes look similar but unlike Valerie who makes it up with her friendliness and off-tangent behavior they love to outright threaten the player characters with their creepiness for fun. The way they seem distant from reality doesn't help matters. [[OlderThanTheyLook One of them even says she's old enough to be the player's mother]]. Yeesh...
** Mr. Mime takes whatever UncannyValley it had in the other five generations and cranks it up a notch with its new animation. It had the same animation in ''Pokédex 3D Pro'', but [[https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7862816768/h4CEC15DB/ when two Mr. Mime are facing each other]]....*shudders*. The jointed puppet look is very off-putting. If you catch a Mime Jr., give it an Everstone! Although, when it faints, it's pretty funny. It's no wonder why these two ended up with the Fairy-type - they practically ''cultivate'' an uncanny atmosphere.
** The eyes of the NPC partners based on your 3DS friends in the Battle Maison. Instead of large manga-style eyes [[NonStandardCharacterDesign like everyone else,]] they have small BlackBeadEyes. Their dialogue has them talking about the friend you chose in the third person, establishing that these creatures are for some reason [[FridgeHorror impersonating your friends.]] Also.. there's one of you, too!
** Mega Mewtwo Y. It's still recognizable as Mewtwo, but its childlike proportions and large red eyes make it seem slightly ''off'', which might have been [[InvokedTrope intentional]] for a SuperMode of an already CreepyAwesome Pokémon.

** Similar to [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Iris]], [[spoiler:Diantha]], the Champion, is seen by some as this due to falling to PoorPredictableRock, considering half the team are weak against [[ColdIron Steel-type]] [[WeaksauceWeakness attacks]] (though, of all types to attack with, Steel is the least common to have), but four of them are weak against Ice. The difficulty of the Champion, of course, is dependent on how much you use the [[GameBreaker game breakers]] available to you. But, in general, the main flaw in the Champion's team is that most of the team is very slow and almost all have multiple common weaknesses, even if all the Pokémon hit hard. Team ace [[UpToEleven Mega Gardevoir]] however, is commonly agreed to be hard to beat.

** Mr. Mime takes whatever UncannyValley it had in the other five generations and [[UpToEleven cranks it up a notch with its new animation]]. It had the same animation in ''Pokédex 3D Pro'', but [[https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7862816768/h4CEC15DB/ when two Mr. Mime are facing each other]]....*shudders*. The jointed puppet look is very off-putting. If you catch a Mime Jr., give it an Everstone! Although, when it faints, it's pretty funny. It's no wonder why these two ended up with the Fairy-type - they practically ''cultivate'' an uncanny atmosphere.

** AZ slaughtering several soldiers and Pokémon with the ultimate weapon and [[spoiler:using their souls to revive his own dead Pokémon]], and then continuing to use the weapon to [[spoiler:[[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery put them out of his misery]]]], was seen as this in the eyes of the very Pokémon [[spoiler:AZ revived, ironically enough]].

** Charizard was a TierInducedScrappy before and [[ThrowTheDogABone deserved a buff]], and giving it a Mega Evolution was a good way to do so. Its Megas are SO good, in fact, [[http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/xy-ou-viability-ranking-thread-v2.3502428/ Charizard shot up to the top of Smogon's OU tier and its Mega Evolutions are 2 of the most dangerous Pokémon in the game]].[[note]]Note, however, that this is after the banning of several other Mega Evolutions that were proven broken - Blaziken's, Gengar's, Kangaskhan's and Lucario's.[[/note]] Depending on who you ask, it's either [[GoneHorriblyWrong Game Freak caving in to fan demand and making Charizard into a potential]] GameBreaker, [[GoneHorriblyRight a necessary buff that might have worked a little TOO well]], or [[TakeAThirdOption a completely balanced (if a bit over-hyped) addition that makes Charizard relevant again]].

*** While Mega Evolution had somewhat of a mixed reception, a large fraction of them became instant fan favorites. While the most obvious ones[[note]]such as Mega Charizard X[[/note]] qualify more as "heavily-publicized popular major characters" than "EnsembleDarkhorse", special mention goes to Mega Ampharos whose [[RapunzelHair fabulous hair]] achieved MemeticMutation status pretty quickly.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Several Pokémon were hit with this trope, and ended up being used on most teams in multiplayer. However, the most infamous cases (especially early on) were Greninja, Talonflame and Aegislash, who were given the derogatory {{Fan Nickname}}s of "Smogonfrog", "Smogonbird" and "Smogonsword" respectively (after unofficial competitive site ''Website/{{Smogon}}'') for how frequently they were used on competitive teams.[[note]]Smogon would end up [[KickedUpstairs banning Greninja and Aegislash from standard play]] later on, and Talonflame got a massiv {{Nerf}} in Gen VII.[[/note]]

** With the announcement of ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' when many fans were holding out for the expected ''[[UpdatedRerelease Pokémon Z]]'', Zygarde has become a Memetic Loser due to the fact that it won't be the version mascot of its own game. [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1085174-pokemon Here]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1084922-Pokémon are]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1085845-pokemon a]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1086719-pokemon few]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1086100-pokemon examples]]. This treatment is somewhat mitigated by the reveal that its 10% and Complete Forms will be available in ''Sun and Moon''.

** "It's finally time. Follow me to my chambers." ''Seriously'', [[FoeYay Lysandre?]]

** [[HotForStudent Sycamore/Serena]] and [[FoeYay Lysandre/Serena]]. Occasionally, [[OneTrueThreesome both at once]].

* FoeYay: The player and Malva, who seems to LoveToHate you.

** Players are very excited about this being the first game in the series where you can change your character's outfit. There was one part in [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver HeartGold and SoulSilver]] where you change into a Team Rocket outfit. While it was only for a short time, it's still a second outfit.
** This isn't the first time you're able to legitimately get two starter Pokémon in-game without trading. [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Yellow]] lets you obtain Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle at certain points and you start out with a Pikachu. Not to mention in Emerald, if you complete the entire Hoenn dex, you are given a choice between one of the Johto starters. Ditto for [=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=], where you can get choice between one of the Kanto ''and'' one of the Hoenn starters after beating Red.

** This isn't the first Pokémon RPG to make full use of 3D models and have a story line. Both ''Videogame/PokemonColosseum'' games did this.

** Most people don't realize that the majority of the models and animations for the pre-VI Pokémon are reused from Pokédex 3D Pro, a Pokédex app showing off the I-V Pokémon with 3D models and animations.

** Roaming Pokemon are back though thankfully after a certain amount of encounters you get to battle the legendary normally.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: In spite of the BrokenBase, Gen VI has generally avoided the usual complaining that swoops down on the most recent generation since Gen III, largely because of the VideoGame3DLeap everybody has been begging for and the massive Regional Pokedex and several Mega Evolutions PanderingToTheBase.

** Not only does this entry in the main franchise introduce the least new Pokémon ever, it also features the largest regional Pokedex of all the games. As a result, unless you're very familiar with all the Pokémon of the previous generations, chances are you're not going to notice new Pokémon, or at least go "Huh, is this a new one or an old one?".

** Mr. Mime takes whatever UncannyValley it had in the other five generations and [[UpToEleven cranks it up a notch with its new animation]]. It had the same animation in Pokedex 3D Pro, but [[https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7862816768/h4CEC15DB/ when two Mr. Mime are facing each other]]....*shudders*. The jointed puppet look is very off-putting. If you catch a Mime Jr., give it an Everstone! Although, when it faints, it's pretty funny. It's no wonder why these two ended up with the Fairy-type - they practically ''cultivate'' an uncanny atmosphere.

* FashionVictimVillain: [[spoiler:[[https://cdn2.bulbagarden.net/upload/1/13/VSLysandre_2.png Lysandre]]]] looks fine for much of the game...but the final battle comes, and he's inexplicably wearing what can only be described as as an edgy ComicBook/DoctorOctopus cosplay that even the game admits looks stupid. What's more, [[UselessAccessory all those tentacles and the visor don't do anything to help him]].

** The title itself recalls the Cartesian coordinates (which is named after French (the region which Kalos is based on) Mathematician René Descartes), as well as a variety of other mathematical uses. It could also reflect the VideoGame3dLeap, since this generation is the first one with a ''Z''-axis.

** The title itself recalls the Cartesian coordinates (which is named after French (the region which Kalos is based on) Mathematician René Descartes), as well as a variety of other mathematical uses.

** AZ is basically [[spoiler:the immortal ex-king of Kalos who shows up in the middle of the parade and you don't see a trace of him ever again]]. Not one shred of backstory or sideplot to help find out more information on [[spoiler:the ancient war]] or if [[spoiler:his immortality was truly permanent, temporary, or that making amends with his Floette allowed him to die]]. Hell, the entire War backstory doesn't get much focus outside of the [[spoiler: Ultimate Weapon]].

** The Elite Four are still quite tough the first time around, even with the EXP Share. Fast-forward a bit to when you're inevitably planning on an epic rematch...and none of their teams have gotten stronger or added new Pokémon, not even the Champion. For many, it's seen as a huge disappointment. At least [[spoiler: you get to see Malva show her AxCrazy nature through her new pre- and post- battle quotes]].
** Ramos and Olympia, mostly because you can get powerful fully-evolved Fire- and Flying-types by that point and Psychic-types are nerfed a bit too much this gen. In the former case, he comes in-between the conclusion of the Mega Evolution plot and the Team Flare kickoff and he's considered to be pretty easy to take down even without the [[GameBreaker EXP Share]]. The latter for despite being the seventh Gym Leader and the levels of her Pokémon being quite high, her "strongest" Pokémon is a Meowstic, which you'll be familiar with after your rival battles with Calem/Serena, one of which happens right before you enter the Gym. The only differences are Olympia's Meowstic is female and knows Calm Mind, Olympia's signature TM move.
** Korrina can be quite powerful if you battle her the "right" way, but if you use Ghost-type Pokémon against her, well, let's just say it's very easy to [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp]] her.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Many of the features that helped win people over to ''X'' and ''Y'' - 3D graphics, Gen I nostalgia, Pokémon-Amie, improved breeding/training mechanics, and Mega Evolution - are present in the 3DS entries that followed,[[note]]''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'', ''Sun'' and ''Moon'', and ''Ultra Sun'' and ''Ultra Moon'',[[/note]] with the Player Search System and National Dex being seen as the only real losses from Generation VI to VII. Because those games are considered by most fans to be more engaging and feature-laden than ''X'' and ''Y'', the Kalos games tend to be judged more harshly on their own merits, and some fans to consider them to be outdated in the same way that ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' are due to ''Platinum'' and ''HGSS''. Not helping matters is that its characters and story are usually considered to be lacking compared to subsequent games and Generation V.

** A large rivalry with the [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Alola]] games has also quickly sprung up, to the point where it could be considered the ''next'' evolution of the Gen V-Gen VI debate. Some fans of ''XY'' tend to diss ''SM'' as melodramatic and story-obsessed games with constant cutscenes that also removed many little quality-of-life things introduced in the ''XY'', as well as major things such as the National Dex and Super Training, and also having a lower Pokémon diversity than ''XY''. Some fans of ''SM'', on the other hand, decry ''XY'' as being very bare-bones with very little changes to the main gameplay, and state that ''SM'' had a much better story, soundtrack, and characters than ''XY'', with Lillie, Hau, Gladion, Team Skull, and [[spoiler:the Aether Foundation]] being superior to heir counterparts Calem/Serena, Shauna, Trevor, Tierno, and Team Flare. This time, the divide can be considered a bona fide CasualCompetitiveConflict; ''SM'' is on the "casual" side of the spectrum (most of the praise is about the main game), while ''XY'' is instead on the "competitive" side (with fans praising their games' competitive battling aspects).

** Getting perfect matches in Restaurant Le Yeah and Le Wow. They require you to complete a row of double or triple battles in a set amount of terms with none of your Pokémon fainting. Keeping your Pokémon from fainting is easy enough, but good luck finishing them in the required time when [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the A.I. starts spamming Protect.]] Though Taunt makes it easier.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** A few Pokémon, such as Pyroar, have popular designs but poor competitive potential, similar to a number of Gen V {{Mon}}s like Samurott and Golurk. Special mention goes to Aurorus, a [[IncrediblyLamePun cool]] Ice-type jeweled dinosaur who nonetheless has the worst defensive typing in the game.
** Mega Banette is probably one of the worst Mega Evolutions introduced in these games. While it gets the amazing ability [[ActionInitiative Prankster]] and it has the movepool to abuse it, its stat distribution is that of a slow GlassCannon and does ''not'' mix well with the job it was meant to do. The inability to hold items means it cannot use [[HealingFactor Leftovers]] and the only way for it to heal are the undesirable moves Rest (restores to full health and cures StandardStatusEffects but the user is unable to do anything for 2 turns afterward) or Pain Split (combines the target's and user's current HP and divides it evenly between them), meaning ''it's a supporter that needs support to stay alive''. Prankster [[TakingYouWithMe Destiny Bond]] sounds cool in theory, but in practice doesn't really work since any reasonably intelligent opponent won't fall for it and will just PP stall by spamming {{Status Buff}}s or switching out, use a faster Priority attack to kill you before it can activate it, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness or even let their Mon get KO'd on purpose]] if it benefits them.[[labelnote:*]]Trust us, letting something get KO'd to allow another Mon a free switch-in is a legit strategy, especially during the endgame when they can clean up and secure the win.[[/labelnote]] It also faces severe competition from the (marginally) bulkier Sableye who has most of the same options but has a self-healing move that doesn't suck in Recover. Oh, and Prankster doesn't activate for Mega Banette the turn it Mega Evolves, meaning you either have to waste one of its moveslots on Protect to keep it alive or try to find an opportunity that lets you leave a GlassCannon on the field for a whole turn without it getting crippled or OHKO'd. There are plenty of players who believe it would have fared much better as a standard evolution, since it pales so such in comparison to the other Mega Evolutions.
** Mega Kangaskhan was hated by [=VGC2014=] players due to the fact that the best options to deal with her were transfer-only Mons like Terrakion ([[ThatOneRule which were banned for that season]]) and because [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome you were more or less obligated to carry 2-3 answers to her to have a "good" team]].
** Mega Garchomp is considered inferior to normal Garchomp, since it requires specific team support in a Sand inducer to justify using it over a Life Orb-wielding vanilla one, though this also applies to many Pokémon with weather-dependant abilities this gen. The drop in Speed also causes it to lose to a large number of Pokémon it would have beaten otherwise, like Mega Gardevoir or the Mega Charizards.
** Mega Abomasnow in Singles. It's so slow that it can't threaten at all without instantly falling to one of its many weaknesses, and dedicated Trick Room teams (which it was clearly designed for) are significantly harder to pull off in the format. Even if you successfully pull off a Trick Room and get it in, you still have to worry about the 3 types of priority it's weak to (Steel, Fighting, and Flying).

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** Your rival will either be viewed as this or TheWoobie. On the one hand, yes, they have severe issues with losing to you over and over and feel terrible about it. On the other hand, they ''purposefully'' taunt you up until the battle for the Mega Ring about how they are better than you in Pokémon battles ''without ever trying to prove it.'' It comes off as them being cowardly and not wanting to risk actually losing to you early on due to them wanting to appear as the best trainer to their friends. Further evidence for this comes up following the battle for the Mega Bracelet. After they lose, suddenly, they keep challenging you to fight after fight, more than any rival before them, almost like you wounded their pride and now feel a bit desperate to get it back by beating you.
** [[https://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/i-was-so-surprised-to-find-out-he-was-the-bad-guy Multiple]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DN9DW4rrEjY people]] have pointed out that Lysandre is so ObviouslyEvil that various characters' attempts to write him off as a noble but quirky UnclePennybags [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter raise serious questions about their own intelligence and moral standards]].

* EvilIsSexy: The four female Team Flare admins/Scientists. They weren't kidding when they say Kalos is beautiful. [[spoiler:Malva of the Elite Four]] also gets this treatment due to being in the same group.

* FashionVictimVillain: [[spoiler:Lysandre]] looks fine for much of the game...but the final battle comes, and he's inexplicably wearing what can only be described as as an edgy ComicBook/DoctorOctopus cosplay that even the game admits looks stupid. What's more, [[UselessAccessory all those tentacles and the visor don't do anything to help him]].

** In Café le Nah, two men are eating together and tell you there is [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped nothing wrong with that]].

*** Beauty Nova from the Battle Maison has received a lot of attention for being implied to be [[{{Transgender}} the first canon transgender character]] in the franchise. After defeating her, she mentions how she used to be the (all male presenting) Black Belt class, as well as attributing her transformation to "modern medicine." [[note]] In the Japanese version [[/note]]

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: "Route 2" sounds a lot like the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' song, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2me354oxjRI Toby]]".

* LauncherOfAThousandShips

** Pokémon of the Fairy-type are getting this reputation...at least against Dragon-type Pokémon, often getting the title (Pokémon) - The Dragon Slayer! In line with this, the fanbase seems to enjoy depicting otherwise "cute" and fairly unassuming Pokémon beating up intimiating Dragon-types, or said Dragon-types expressing fear towards these Pokémon.

*** The Hex Maniac trainer class has quickly become popular among the fandom, already getting more fanart than the Gym Leaders and even most trainer classes, which is saying something. It probably has something to do with her looking like a [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/cf0d8530f3491831249c033101ff4310/tumblr_mvksnrCibM1swsw24o9_1280.jpg fusion]] of Tomoko from ''[[Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular WataMote]]'' and Tharja from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. In particular, the Hex Maniac that sells Moomoo Milk in Dendemille Town has become inexplicably popular, to the point where Hex Maniacs have become somewhat associated with Moomoo Milk (or just milk in general).