>>37988922In addition, when over long periods the poor decisions of leading designers i.e Sugimori tend to alienate even alert players from the type of game and flair prevailing in their own day, there is always a tendency to swing over to hitherto untried, and superficially plausible innovations, if only as a release from past depression. When moreover we remember that the worst the existing generation may be, the less narrowly novel alternatives are likely to be examined, it cannot surprise us that Greninja found its strongest support in Sugimori’s misrule. The complexity and muddledness of Greninja thus understood, not as a spontaneous product of serious reflection and wisdom, but as a more or less automatic reaction, loses much of its respectability as a Pokémon. For although we may allow for the compelling force of misery and frustration, the acceptance of Greninja as the role model for future Pokémon designs, even as an automatic reaction, demands a considerable amount of intellectual goodwill and complacency.