Line #16 YMMV/PokemonInsurgence


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2	** Was Damian's step-mom refusing to let him venture off on a Pokémon journey [[spoiler:because she was afraid Damian would follow in his biological mother's footsteps and join a cult? Or perhaps, because Damian's mother was Audrey from the Abyssal Cult, she was afraid Damian would instantly become a target if he left the town and tried to make a name for himself?]] ... or, is she [[WickedStepmother just a bitch?]]
3	** The trainers on Victory Road. While at first glance they're simply assholes who belittle the player in their dialogue, one can also interpret them as having grown arrogant (since the lack of an eighth gym leader in Torren has left them without having to deal with any new trainers for a long time) or bitter (possibly having previously lost to the highly challenging Elite Four).
4	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://youtu.be/P-XYyCPtqjY Audrey's battle theme]], which opens up with the sounds of thunder and storm warning sirens (both fitting for the [[TheGreatFlood Kyogre-centric]] cult she leads) before diving straight into a suitably epic techno number.
5	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Damian. Some players are annoyed by him and his tendency to hold the IdiotBall at the worst times, while others are fond of him and wish the writers had done more with him.
6	* DifficultySpike: While the game starts out pretty standard fare, it's obvious the pacing of the story and gym battles have been slowed down (likely to provide a real challenge even at high levels) and the difficulty has been ramped up. Compare the first gym battle which, although in the mid 20's instead of low 10's, is still pretty straightforward to the second gym battle, [[spoiler:in which the leader uses a Mega Beedrill!]] By the third gym battle, the difficulty feels more like what would be appropriate to the late story/7th gym battle point in a normal Pokémon game. [[spoiler:By the 6th gym, the leaders have started casually using legendary Pokémon, something that typically isn't seen until after the Elite Four in normal games!]]
7	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: One book in the Utira Library is titled "Guide to Giving Your Pokémon a Better Home" by "[[BlatantLies Definitely Not a Team Rocket Member]]".
8	* GoddamnedBats: The Trainers of the Selene Gym. Their Pokémon are fully evolved Psychic and Ghost types that average around level 60, but still only have no more than two Pokémon each. However, each trainer can realistically knock out or seriously damage one or two members of your team, forcing you to heal, and worse, because of special rules, every trainer in this gym barely gives any experience points, making every fight feel like a waste of time. [[spoiler:Luckily, there's a secret passage that allows you to skip every trainer and head straight for the Gym Leader, Diana.]]
9	* HilariousInHindsight:
10	** This game allows you to capture Delta Pokémon, which was inspired by the Delta Species line in Pokémon TCG, which gave a majority of Pokémon different typings. On August 1st 2016, ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' introduced Alolan Pokémon that uses a similar concept, such as making the Fire-type Vulpix an Ice-type.
11	** This game introduced the concept of doing away with the ScrappyMechanic of an HM Slave by making moves like Surf and Flash into items, and allow many alternate moves to work like Strength and Rock Smash. Again, come ''Pokémon Sun/Moon'', the official game has finally done away for the need for [=HMs=] by instead providing free Ride Pokémon that don't take a slot in the player's party.
12	** Delta Snorlax is shown to have vegetation growing on it. ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' would go on to introduce Gigantamax Snorlax, which ''also'' has vegetation growing on it.
13	** One of the new Mega Evolutions seen in this game is Mega Eevee, which was unique at the time by being a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve while still being able to evolve further. Then came [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Scarlet and Violet]] retroactively having Mega Bisharp and Mega Girafarig make Mega Eevee less unique in this regard.
14	* IKnewIt: While not surprising, many fans had already guessed the [[spoiler:player character had some sort of relation to the lost First Augur. Although not everyone knew what ''kind'' of relationship they would have, since during beta it was never mentioned that the First Augur even had a son/daughter.]]
15	* MemeticMutation: "I'm the antihero, Persephone. The Chaotic Good character." [[labelnote:Explanation]]A widely mocked line from Jaern midway through the game, often used to highlight the game's {{Narm}} filled writing.[[/labelnote]]
16	* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: The AudibleSharpness noise that plays whenever you land a 4x super-effective hit on an opponent.
17	* {{Narm}}:
18	** Both the Dark and Traditional storylines get accused of this; the attempt at being DarkerAndEdgier sometimes descended into 'Edgelord' territory at some points, to the point the developer eventually ''added the option of a LighterAndSofter mode''. However, for those who like the Dark storyline, Traditional can seem forcefully silly and nonsensical in comparison, with some claiming it makes less sense.
19	** Some lines of dialogue are also so self-aware to the point they become this, like Jaern referring to himself as a "Chaotic Good" character, and Persephone referring to things as outright being "edgy". Another instance happens when Audrey literally calls the protagonist a "special snowflake".
20	** Another thing is that the cults in-game refer to themselves as cults, which is something real life religious groups, even if they're classified as such, ''would never do.'' Though admittedly the original meaning of the word in polytheistic Rome was simply "devotion to a particular god".
21	* NightmareFuel: At the beginning of the game, the player is imprisoned by the Cult Of Darkrai, where their memories are being eaten by Gengar. Then when you escape, Persephone sacrifices one of her members to summon Darkrai.
22	** Then there's what happens to [[spoiler:Malde after he gets injected with the Pokerus. He turns into a horrific half-human half-Deoxys being, and proceeds to abduct and infect Damian with the same condition.]]
23	* StrawmanHasAPoint: When [[spoiler:Jaern]] points out that while The First Augur ''did'' break up several cults, he also showed mercy and spared punishment to any members who begged for his forgiveness. As a result, [[PacifismBackfire those former cult members learned nothing from their mistakes and would eventually just join another cult]], thus really making no progress (while there were ''less'' cults, every remaining cult would have a swell in membership).
24	* ThatOneBoss: Unsurprisingly given the [[NintendoHard game's difficulty]], there are several fights in the game that can really give you a hard time if you're not prepared.
25	** Mega Beedrill [[spoiler:in the second gym battle]], it has a ludicrous amount of speed and attack power as well as having a great spread of moves, making it a GlassCannon that can very realistically sweep your party with little effort. And this is when you don't have access to Mega Evolution yet.[[note]]It won't Mega Evolve on Easy Mode, though, and has a Life Orb instead.[[/note]]
26	** Orion, the first gym leader, is extremely difficult since his sunlight-themed team has moves that you probably won't have until much later in the game. His Vulpix has Flamethrower and Energy Ball, two 90 power attacks that most people won't have access to unless they have some gym badges first.
27	*** Fortunately, two of his Pokémon, Larvesta and Fletchinder, have a double-weakness to Rock... of course, you won't know that until you actually fight him.
28	** Nora, in her Metchi Town battle, who has five bulky Pokémon, including a ''level 28 Celebi''. It has base 100 stats across the board while most Pokémon are still unevolved, which can really hurt your team if you don't have anything for it.[[note]]Especially on Hard Mode.[[/note]]
29	** The [[spoiler:Taen]] battle at the peak of the Dragon Ruins is difficult for the reason that it is a tag-team battle, with [[spoiler:Nora]] joining you vs. 2 of [[spoiler:Taen's]] Pokémon at a time. [[spoiler:Nora uses only three Pokémon, however, and they are not very good matchups against Taen's lineup. Worse, once Nora's Pokémon have fainted, you may not send out a second of your own to take their place. It's not uncommon to find yourself taking Taen's Pokémon on 1 vs. 2 for a significant portion of the battle. And that is not even mentioning Taen's team, which includes several pseudo-legendaries, White Kyurem, Armored Zekrom, and a Mega Typhlosion, whose ability raises its already gargantuan special attack whenever it knocks one of your Pokémon out. Have fun.]]
30	** The climactic battle against [[spoiler: Nyx]] is [[spoiler: an inverse battle, meaning that all type matchups are reversed.]] You are given no hint of this until immediately before the battle. If you didn't bring a properly prepared team, you could be in big trouble.
31	** The Elite Four battles in this game are considered one of the hardest in any game ever. Their teams revolve around competitive strategies rather than types and all their Pokémon are at the same level as your highest-level Pokémon.
32	** The Champion, [[spoiler:Reukra]], especially during your final battle with him. [[spoiler:He leads with an Armored Tyranitar that has Sand Stream, meaning its defenses will go up by 25 percent, so special Fighting type moves wouldn't be able to KO it easily. He has a good number of Deltas and legendaries as well as a Mega Flygon that can run through your team if you're not prepared. Worst of all is his Armored Delta Volcarona. It has the Dark/Poison typing making it only weak to Ground; but it also has the ability Levitate to avoid its only weakness. And like the Elite Four, his team is at the same level as your highest level Pokémon.]]
33	* ThatOneSidequest: Two of the post-game side quests (the Snowball sidequest and collecting Zygarde's Cores and Cells). Both of them spread across multiple cities and in places where you won't either normally access to or extremely hard to navigate (most notably the Snowballs are tucked away in rocks in Victory Road - Frost and No Man's Land). Collecting them all can easily take hours in one go and if you missed even one, you do not have access to the prize. Even with a guide, you can still easily miss one and essentially have to start over.
34	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The game has loads of characters, so naturally a few interesting ones have been pushed to the wayside. Damian is just one example -- he has little to no role in the story aside from "rival who carries the IdiotBall", and he disappears from the plot entirely between [[spoiler:Audrey's defeat at Maelstrom 9]] and the postgame, with little to no exploration about how he feels about [[spoiler:his mother being a cult leader or his Deoxys infection]].
35	* UnfortunateCharacterDesign:
36	** [[https://wiki.p-insurgence.com/images/archive/0/08/20170817020329%21105_1.png Mega Marowak]]'s old design. Marowak combined with the spirit of their deceased mother, gaining the Ghost sub-type as it wields a mighty hammer/scythe... except the placement of the weapon, plus the fact that only the head of said weapon has a ghostly glow (thus making it look disconnected from the rest of the weapon), instead makes it looks like there's a giant bone protrusion eerily floating in front of Mega Marowak's crotch for some reason. This may be why Mega Marowak was given a [[https://wiki.p-insurgence.com/images/0/08/105_1.png redesign for the next update]].
37	** [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/247525879113187329/952007303190683718/874.png Delta Lucario]]'s gem is placed a bit too close to its crotch for comfort. Making matters worse is that it's a very bright red[[note]]Canine penises are a bright red, to the point where "red rocket" is a slang term in the furry community for canine penises[[/note]].
38	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: [[spoiler:Nyx]] is presented as a WellIntentionedExtremist who only did what she did [[spoiler:in order to give her people a better life]], but considering that she [[spoiler:ended up both directly and indirectly responsible for ''every bad thing that happens in the game'' (she's the reason the Infernal Cult was founded, eventually leading to more cults popping up and everything else that happened afterwards)]], some players found it hard to sympathize with her.
39	* TheUntwist: The revelation that [[spoiler:Jaern, the Second Augur,]] is a bad guy can be this to some. Players can become suspicious from [[spoiler:his talk of taking up the mantle of Augur, but also searching for the First one and his overall slightly stilted speech in the beginning of the game]].
40	* TheWoobie:
41	** Delta Pokémon are portrayed as this, as they are described as outcasts from other Pokémon, usually have a hard time getting used to their new typings, and cannot breed due to the genetic modifications making them sterile (although they ''can'' breed with Delta Ditto). Delta Sunkern's Pokédex entry says it's been outright shunned, Delta Budew has to hide in a dark library as its modifications have caused its eyes to become too sensitive to stand being in the sun, and as for the Delta Starters, although Prof. Sylvan agrees to keep one to study it, she says if the player and Damien don't take the other two, she'll just release them into the wild, despite knowing full well they'll probably die outside captivity.
42	** The Selene City Gym Leader Diana. After [[spoiler: her boyfriend Calreath disappears during the takedown of the Infernal Cult and is never found, and her partner Legendary Cresselia being captured and threatened by her sister Persephone, and her sister is left stranded in the Dream World]], the events cause her to re-evaluate her life, and she decides to [[spoiler: give the player Calreath's Manaphy to take care of, retires from being a Gym Leader, and releases all her other Pokémon to become one of Professor Sylvan's assistants]]. It's hard not to want to give her a hug after all that.
43	** Damian. He messes up and gets taken hostage by cultists who threaten to kill him, Nora goes off at him after hearing the prophecy, then he gets [[spoiler:abducted by Malde and turned into another half-Deoxys being, and ''then'' he discovers that Audrey is his mother... seconds before Kyogre seemingly kills her.]]

Context YMMV / PokemonInsurgence