Biggest changes since Gen 4?

[phinamthi]

Haven't looked at anything Pokemon related for years. Last time I've played was probably when Black/White came out, but I rushed through the story so I don't remember much.

How have the games changed these days? The competitive scene? New mechanics?

 

[Simply Dunsparce]

They removed poison damage while walking altogether. Not too noticeable a change, but an interesting one at that.

 

[Palamon]

Well, Mega Evolution for one thing. New battle styles, such as Triple, Rotation, Inverse and Battle Royal in later generations. HMs have been removed from the games completely since Generation 7. There's also now regional variants that are in Generation 7, but only of Kanto Pokemon. As for minor changes: you can now pass down Pokeballs and natures through breeding through various methods. Grass-type Pokemon can no longer be hit by Spore moves, Steel types are no longer resistant towards Dark and Ghost type moves, and there's been a new type introduced called the Fairy type, which is Immune to Dragon, weak to Steel, Poison and takes neutral damage to Bug, Fighting, and Dark. Oh, and some Pokemon have gotten base stat increases, which is pretty minor, at best. The Experience Share has also been made a Key Item, instead of a Hold Item, as of Pokemon X/Y. Wild Pokemon also give EXP after you've caught them as well, starting with X/Y.

That's all I can think of, though.

 

[Sydian]

alolan dugtrio exists now. it's pretty spectacular.

 

[KommissarLT]

Unlimited TM usage. Before then you had to CHOOSE which Pokemon to teach each move, especially if there was only one TM in the whole game. Sure there were the Department Store TMs you could practically buy an infinite amount of but that was about it. Now that TMs can be used an infinite amount of times, you can have your whole team know that said TM move. Want a team of Pokemon that can all use Earthquake? Now you can. Ice Beam? No problem. Aerial Ace? You bet.

 

[Raicheot]

I think reusable TM's, exp for catching pokemon and no more HM moves were some of the better changes to pokemon.

 

[PKMN Trainer Jorvyn]

Reusable TMs are the best.

Also critical hits only do 1.5 times damage instead of 2 from Gen VI onward.

 

[Adam Levine]

The introduction of a new type, Fairy. Also less limited moving in the overworld.

 

[colours]

I think the bigger change to me is that Pokemon games have been getting increasingly plot-focused ever since Gen 4. Interestingly (at least, in my perspective), Gen 4 seems to be that sweet spot as far as plot is concerned, not necessarily shoving any one character down your throat (aside from Barry but I mean... it's Barry), but at the same time, making it very clear that Team Galactic is menacing and pretty much needs to be stopped at all costs.

As the generations go by though, characters that you've interacted with throughout your journey feel more "fleshed out", and I mean this for better or worse. Gen 5 is a pretty good example of the better end of this with Cheren and Bianca, and you even get to see their progression in B2W2 which is nice. However, the super-friendly rivalish friends in XY were deeply unpopular for generally being pretty cringeworthy characters in all honesty, and are moreso on the other end of the spectrum here.

So the tl;dr is essentially that Pokemon is becoming more of a standard JRPG these days compared to what it was in the past. Whether that's for better or worse is pretty much up to the individual. For me personally, I don't mind too much, but for other people it can understandably be a bit bothersome since it makes playing the games feel a lot more sluggish and slower-paced than what it once was.

 

[Sorvete]

Moving battle sprites is a big change right