Blog Archives

My Plan For The Pokémon 20th Anniversary – Jyger Plays FireRed

So, a while back, I asked people what they thought I should do for the 20th anniversary of Pokémon, I got a lot of suggestions on here and on social media, and after a bit of deliberation, I’ve decided that I’m going to do a Let’s Play of Pokémon FireRed. Specifically, the patched version that N. Harmonik brought to my attention that introduces the physical/special split and apparently also unlocks the National Dex right away. As for my plans for the fanfic, if I have time this year to do it after everything else I’m currently doing, then yes, I’ll try to get it done.

For now, though, regarding said LP, I have already begun a test playthrough of the game on my own time. While I’m doing that, though, I’d once again like some feedback from you, the audience. Specifically, I would like to know which Pokémon you would like to see me choose as my starter, and if you have an idea for a nickname for it. Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that everyone reading this knows about the Kanto Starter Pokémon, but if you need a quick refresher on what they can do in this particular version of the game, here’s a quick rundown of each one. Keep in mind, this is before Hidden Abilities and the Fairy-type were discovered, and several different kinds of attacks existed.

Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon

Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon

Bulbasaur is probably my favourite of the Kanto starters, and is the one I chose the first time I ever played Pokémon Red. As such, it’s the sentimental pick for me. As a Grass/Poison-type, Bulbasaur is strong against Rock, Ground, and Water-type Pokémon, is resistant to Electric, Grass, Water, and Fighting-type attacks, and cannot be inflicted with poison, so it works well against several of the Gym Leaders in Kanto. However, it is weak to Flying, Fire, Psychic, and Ice-type attacks, and will do little damage to those types of Pokémon with Grass-type attacks, as well as Bug, Dragon, Steel, Poison, or Grass-types. Stat wise, Bulbasaur is pretty well-rounded, but specializes mostly in Special Attack and Special Defense. Its Ability is Overgrow, which increases the power of Grass-type moves when it has 1/3 or less of its HP left, evolves into Ivysaur at Level 16, and into Venusaur at Level 32, making it the easiest of the Kanto starters to get to its fully evolved form. Bulbasaur also learns status infliction moves like Sleep Powder, which can put opponents to sleep, but has low accuracy. However, it can also learn Sweet Scent, which lowers the opponent’s evasion and make up for that poor accuracy. Its most powerful attack, though, is Solar Beam, a blast of solar energy that’s heated over 3700°C, but requires time to charge depending on the weather.

Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon

Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon

Charmander is likely the more famous of the Kanto starters, mostly due to the exposure it and its fully evolved form have gotten over the years. As a Fire-type, Charmander is strong against Grass, Ice, Steel, and Bug-type Pokémon, will take reduced damage from those types of attacks, as well as Fire-type attacks, and cannot be inflicted with burn. However, it is weak to Ground, Rock, and Water-type attacks, and its Fire-type attacks won’t do much against Rock, Fire, Water, or Dragon-types. Stat wise, Charmander specializes in Speed and its offensive stats, while its defenses are a bit lacking. Its Ability is Blaze, which makes Fire-type moves more powerful when it has 1/3 or less of its HP left, evolves into Charmeleon at Level 16, and Charizard at Level 36. Upon evolving into Charizard, it becomes a Fire/Flying-type (despite its draconic appearance), gaining immunity from Ground-type attacks, resistance to Fighting-types, and increased resistance and damage-dealing capability to Bug and Grass-types, but will lose its resistance to Ice-type attacks, take even more damage from Rock-type attacks, and gain a new weakness to Electric-type attacks. To combat its numerous weaknesses, however, the Charmander line can learn a number of different types of moves, like Metal Claw, Brick Break, Dig, and Dragon Claw. Charmander’s greatest attack, however, is Flamethrower. As a Charizard, Flamethrower can apparently melt boulders according to the Pokédex, meaning it must burn at a heat of over 1200°C. As such, it’s less powerful than Solar Beam, but doesn’t require charge time and is fairly accurate, so it’s ultimately the more reliable attack in comparison.

Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon

Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon

Squirtle is more often than not the crowd favourite of most Pokémon fans when it comes to the Kanto starters, and its fully evolved form once outlasted Venusaur and Charizard in a Death Battle. As a Water-type, Squirtle is strong against Rock, Ground, and Fire-type Pokémon, is resistant to Steel, Water, Fire, and Ice-type attacks, making it a great choice against the first two Gym Leaders in Kanto. However, it is weak to Grass and Electric-type attacks, and will do reduced damage to them and to Dragon-types, so the next two Gym Leaders afterward will be tricky. Stat wise, Squirtle focuses primarily on both Physical Defense and Special Defense, but is a bit slow, as you would likely expect a turtle would be. Its Ability is Torrent, which ups the damage for Water-type moves when it has 1/3 or less of its HP left. It evolves into Wartortle at Level 16, and Blastoise at Level 36. Squirtle can also learn Rapid Spin, which can remove the effects of moves like Leech Seed, Fire Spin, or Spikes, and can learn a number of different defensive moves like Withdraw and Protect. However, none of that compares to the Squirtle line’s ultimate attack, Hydro Pump. As a Blastoise, Hydro Pump is fired from the twin cannons hidden in its shell, which gives it the destructive power of approximately 90,000 PSI. However, while Hydro Pump does the same amount of damage as Solar Beam without the need to charge up, there IS a trade-off: It’s a bit inaccurate, which could leave Squirtle wide open for attack, so use at your own risk.

And that’s all there is to cover for the three in this game. Lemme know what you guys think I should do, and hopefully, I will see you all back here next month for the start of my Let’s Play of Pokémon FireRed. Ja né!

N. Harmonik’s Blind Reaction To Death Battle: Pokémon vs Digimon (And I’m There Too, lol)

So, I was at N. Harmonik’s place today, so I thought I’d record her blind reaction to the newest Death Battle, Pokémon vs Digimon. First, the analysis…

…And now the fight itself.

…So, with that out of the way, I said in the video that I “did the math” to determine if Mewtwo could beat WarGreymon or not. Strap yourselves in, guys, this is gonna be a long one…lol

If we’re doing this battle by the logic of monsters and their trainers, then we’d have to use Red’s Mewtwo here. In Pokémon Origins Episode 4, Red’s Charizard beat Mewtwo after Mega Evolving, and this was after Mewtwo had used Recover to regain a lot of its health from fighting the rest of Red’s team. Also, comparing base stats, it’s clear that Mewtwo is still slightly superior to Mega Charizard X when at the same level, so for the latter to beat the former even after using Recover, he must’ve been higher than Level 70, the level that Mewtwo is at when you encounter it at Cerulean Cave. But even if he wasn’t then, we know for a fact he became so later. In HeartGold/SoulSilver, Red’s Charizard ranks in at Level 84, and considering that Red had his strongest team with him there and Mewtwo wasn’t on it, clearly his whole team at that point were stronger than Mewtwo at the time. And lastly, if we went by Pokémon mechanics, since WarGreymon wears armour made of Chrome Digizoid, Mewtwo’s Psychic attacks would likely do less damage as it would be akin to him attacking a Steel-type Pokémon.

NOW, with all of that said, Mega Charizard X actually did put up an excellent fight, despite a clear difference in the two’s power levels. The reason for that, though, is Red. Once that element of the fight was taken out of the equation, Charizard was left wide open as we saw. And, with that in mind, we have to look at Red and Tai and compare the two. Red may have been the better tactician, but he’s not used to getting into fights himself. Tai and Matt fought all the time, whereas Red and Blue occasionally got up in each other’s face, maybe even shoved each other a bit, but never an all-out brawl. Also, while Red was fit enough to travel Kanto and make his way to the heart of Mt. Silver, Tai’s dealt with comparable traveling situations while traversing a large portion of the Digital World, which is supposedly the same size as Earth.

*sighs hard* Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. Hope you enjoyed, and lemme know if you’d like to continue to see our blind reactions to stuff like Death Battle. Also, feel free to check out the music from the Death Battle below. Ja né!

Next Time On Death Battle!

Time for the ultimate childhood clash: Pokémon vs Digimon!

As you know, Mega Charizard X vs WarGreymon was a Death Battle I wanted to see in the future, and based on this trailer, it looks like we may see just that in the end. Combined with the fact that Red and Tai are involved in this battle, meaning that they have access to all Trainer/Tamer influence (additional training, strategy, etc.), and this could get crazy. In fact, the battle itself may only be where things START to get crazy, since part of me totally expects the fan reactions to be something akin to those for Goku vs Superman, no matter who wins this battle.

Anyway, be sure to check the battle out when it’s released next week. And, if you wanna see what happened the last time Charizard entered a Death Battle, check out the Pokémon Battle Royale…

Also, if you wanna see when Pokémon and Digimon battled before on ScrewAttack, check out the One Minute Melee between Lucario and Renamon.

Lastly, be sure to check out Todd Haberkorn, Xander Mobus, and Nathan Sharp. Ja né!

700th Blog Post! + Jyger’s Favourite 5 – Memories of Five of My Most Viewed Articles

Hey guys! It’s the 700th blog post!!!

So, after 700 posts on this blog, I’ve naturally assembled a lot of memories over the years. And, for some reason, several articles I’ve done on here seem to get way more views than others, still getting viewed even to this day. In fact, I wanna show you something. Here’re the ten most frequent search engine terms to lead people to my blog…

…and here are some of the highest viewed articles on my blog.

So, given some of the obvious preferences for some of these posts by my fans, I thought I’d go ahead and look back on five of them, my memories of them, and if my overall thoughts and feelings on the topics of each one still hold up. So, let’s start off with probably the most infamous article on my blog…

#1 - "…Is Elesa Really THAT Hot???" from Feb. 4th, 2012

#1 – “…Is Elesa Really THAT Hot???” from Feb. 4th, 2012

Oh my God, this frigging article. XD I honest to God go back and forth in my mind on a regular basis if I ever should’ve opened my big mouth and asked people why there was so much hentai out there of this character from Pokémon Black and White. And, because I posted an article with the words Elesa and hentai in them, naturally, it led to a lot of people coming to my site specifically to look for it. It got to the point where, two years later, I finally snapped and decided to post another article discussing it, figuring I’d either quell it for good or get a shit-ton of views for it. Given that it’s the internet…I really shouldn’t have been surprised as to which ended up happening, and I don’t even think I need to tell you which one it was. Still, speaking of Pokémon articles where I go back and forth on if I should’ve ever brought it up…

#2 - "Ash’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon" from Feb. 10th, 2013

#2 – “Ash’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon” from Feb. 10th, 2013

I am shocked, absolutely SHOCKED, that I didn’t get death threats from fans, considering how many people argued my point of not having Charizard on the team. Like, you’d think I’d killed their pet and made them watch as I did it. lol But yeah, looking back on this article, I will say that… … …yeah, Charizard probably should be on there. In fact, I’m actually planning on doing a revised version of the list in the near future, as soon as a certain rumoured Pokémon becomes part of Ash’s roster. Still, what was it that changed my mind? Well, surprisingly enough, it was when Charizard rejoined the team near the end of Best Wishes. Yeah, the arc that turned me off to the anime, because it nonetheless managed to redeem Charizard for what I thought was an absolutely astonishingly pathetic last showing beforehand. Still, expect to see Infernape and a few other of Ash’s better Pokémon on a list of honourable mentions when the revised list comes out.

#3 - "What's A Paladin Rant" from June 10th, 2012

#3 – “What’s A Paladin Rant” from June 10th, 2012

I can only imagine what it must be like for Noah Antwiler, who must STILL to this day get people asking him what a Paladin is, when even I’m still getting people checking out that article of mine discussing the matter. But I do get why. It’s just one of the dumbest things you’ll ever hear someone say in a video game, when you factor in everything that everyone in-game knows at this point. Seriously, roll my vid again.

Oh, and because I like tooting my own horn, I’d like to once again point out that I was the first to use homjakilla’s song in that video. lol But yeah, one of the stupidest fucking lines in a video game EVER… … …BUT, at least it led to probably the most badass line Spoony’s ever said.

…There was an idea. The idea was that, because N. Harmonik had done so much for me, proofreading damned near every article I’ve ever written, and a lot of my stories, that she should have her own article on the blog. So, basically, this was a late Christmas present to her. Plus, while I personally was not that big a fan of Oggy and the Cockroaches, I nonetheless saw the potential it had as a show and how many people liked it that I thought it deserved some additional exposure. As such, I had Aibo (I call her Aibo because it means partner) do not one but two articles about the show. And because her articles have gotten so many views by you all, I’ve decided to go ahead and give her some space here to say thank you. 🙂

I thank all of you for reading these two articles I created, whether or not you’re OatC fans! Oh and please check out my fics: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/632668/

#5 – “Zelda Chronology: Ghirahim is just CREEPY!” from Jan. 27th, 2012

Lastly, an article that was part of my short-lived Zelda Chronology series. As one of the articles from my first year as a blogger, I suppose it makes sense that it’d also be one of my highest viewed, and considering the subject matter…yeah, not shocked it’s this one that gets all the attention. I still maintain that Ghirahim’s oddity as a character is what makes him so memorable, though, and am glad to see him return for games like Hyrule Warriors. And really, no one should be shocked that I connected him to Lady Gaga when you consider that he’s a demon from Hell and is going to kill us all. XD Unfortunately, because of YouTube copyright laws, the video in the article had to be taken down, and will never be posted on there again… … … …The good news is, I decided to post it elsewhere. ^_^

And that’s my 700th article, everybody. Thanks for reading along, and be sure to continue to do so as we venture into the future of more escapist fiction and absurd reality. And lastly, I just wanna thank everybody that has gotten me to this point. Of course, N. Harmonik, my wonderful proofreader who has appeared in some of my vlogs. DorkynProudofit, who did the Man of Steel vlogs with me. PinkRangerWannabe, who co-wrote ‘Lewis Lovhaug Is Not Your Slave’. Morgan Meryl, who did the logo for this blog years ago. Emmybomber, who suggested I talk about moms in comics. And I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot more, but lastly, I wanna cover a lot of people who have inspired me in different ways throughout my various endeavors over the years: Scott Snyder, Lewis Lovhaug (AKA Linkara), Emile Rosales-Birou (AKA Chuggaaconroy), Gail Simone, Charles Sonnenburg (AKA SF Debris), Rosen Rose of the Poison Ivy League, Doug Walker (AKA The Nostalgia Critic), Diane Darcy (AKA helenawaynehuntress), Paul Heyman (no, seriously, lol), G. Willow Wilson, and Justin Carmical (AKA the late great JewWario). Thank you all for being the people you are, as it helped me to be who I am. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Death Battles I Want To See (FEEDBACK REQUESTED)

So, as many people probably know, I’m a big fan of the show Death Battle, wherein two characters (usually fictional with few exceptions) are set against each other in a fight to the death. Of course, because some characters involved do not kill usually (Batman and Superman, for example), these fights are actually ‘simulations’ with all personality traits intact but that. Also, the fights take said characters from when they were at their peak ability, so that the hosts of the show can analyse the best of their weapons, armour, and skills. This is why Goku was unable to defeat Superman, as the whole point behind Goku’s character is that he will always have limits he has to break, whereas Superman has no limits other than how much solar energy he’s taken in at any given time, with a proven maximum potential of infinity.

However, despite the fact that the show has been around for five years and 54 episodes (not including mini-analyses, the spin-off shows Desk of Death Battle and One Minute Melee, or other such specials), there nonetheless are plenty of potential Death Battles that myself and many other fans have thought of and wanted to see in the future. So, I thought I’d go ahead and list five Death Battles I’d like to see, and as usual, if you can think of any I haven’t listed, feel free to add them in the comments. So, let’s start off with probably my most requested…

#1 – King Mickey from Kingdom Hearts vs Yoda from Star Wars

The battle of the master swordsmen who, while lacking size, nonetheless are incredibly powerful and skilled. Really, this fight would more or less come down to one major point: Which is stronger, King Mickey’s magic or Yoda’s mastery of The Force? Because I suspect they’re equally matched in swordplay, and while it can usually cut through most anything else, I doubt the Lightsaber could just as easily slice through a Keyblade. Either way, though, this would likely be a fast and furious battle with lots of insane acrobatics.

#2 – Mega Charizard X from Pokémon vs WarGreymon from Digimon

Pokémon vs Digimon. It has to happen at some point or another, and I feel these two are the best choices. With that said, there’s a couple of points that could work in either mon’s favour. Using Digimon logic, as Mega Charizard X is part Dragon-type, WarGreymon’s Dramon Killer claws should be highly effective on it. On the flip side, though, using Pokémon logic, because WarGreymon is covered in metal armour, Mega Charizard X’s Fire-type attacks should work well against it.

#3 - Dumplin from TFS Plays Dragonball Xenoverse vs Nazo from Nazo Unleashed

#3 – Dumplin from Team Four Star Plays Dragonball Xenoverse vs Nazo from Nazo Unleashed

Battle of the fan characters! And yes, I know Nazo’s design is based on a potential transformation of Sonic’s from the Sonic X pilot, but the fan community has since made him into something completely different. Really, this would pretty much by design be more of a joke battle, but an epic one nonetheless. Plus, I just really wanna see Team Four Star’s Demon God of Love step into Death Battle. lol

#4 – Team RWBY Battle Royale

Yes, I know we just had one of the cast of RWBY duke it out in a Death Battle, but honestly, I think I’d like to see these four in a battle not unlike the Ninja Turtles’ 4-Way. Mind you, something tells me we MIGHT be seeing something akin to this in the new season, but I doubt very much it’d be a fight to the death, for obvious reasons. However, with that said, there’s one other Battle Royale I’d love to see someday…

#5 – All Winners Battle Royale

Again, probably would have to be a joke battle that doesn’t involve any real analysis, because otherwise, it would take FOREVER to decide a winner. But yeah, I would love to see every single Death Battle winner step into the ring to determine who would win one final Death Battle. And Superman wouldn’t even necessarily win for being the strongest, since he’d be facing opponents like Spawn, who could hurt him very easily. In fact…ah, screw it. lol

#5.5 – Spawn vs Superman

Yes, Superman’s powers make him a near-unkillable being who really shouldn’t be in one-on-one match-ups with no prep time involved like Death Battles…usually. However, Spawn is a different story. His powers range from the magical to the demonic, and Superman lacks any kind of protection against magic-based attacks and weapons. So really, it comes down to a simple question: Is it possible for Superman to gather enough solar energy to cancel out Spawn, or are Spawn’s abilities simply the best possible offense to the Man of Steel?

Anyway, those are five…well, technically SIX Death Battles I’d like to see. Got any I didn’t post? Add them in the comments section, and who knows? Maybe Ben and Chad will see this and add them as future Death Battles. Ja né!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…*sighs* Okay, I’ll do it. IT’S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEE!!! XD

The Final Roster For Super Smash Bros. For The 3DS

So, because a few people in Japan have gotten the game a couple of days early and streamed footage on Twitch, we now have visual confirmation on the full roster for Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS. Now, keep in mind that they’ve allegedly already gone through and unlocked everyone, but that there’s always the possibility that Nintendo might decide to release additional fighters later on via downloadable content, so if your favourite fighter isn’t present, don’t freak out just yet, they may get added later. With that said, here are your Smash Bros. for Super Smash Bros for the-…Y’know what, I still hate that name, so I’m just gonna call it Super Smash Bros. 4.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Rosalina & Luma, Bowser Jr., Wario, Mr. Game & Watch, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Link, Zelda, Sheik, Ganondorf, Toon Link, Samus, Zero Suit Samus, Pit, Palutena, Marth, Ike, Robin, Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, Little Mac, Fox, Falco, Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario, Jigglypuff, Greninja, Duck Hunt Dog, R.O.B., Ness, Captain Falcon, Villager, Olimar, Wii Fit Trainer, Dr. Mario, Dark Pit, Lucina, Shulk, Pac-Man, Mega Man, Sonic, and Mii Fighter.

What do you think of the roster? Are there any fighters you’d like for Nintendo to add later? Comment below, and we’ll see how things turn out with Super Smash Bros. 4 comes out. Ja né!

New Pokémon and Mega Evolution Revealed + Leaked Copies of X & Y

So, there’s been a few new Pokémon unveiled, so let’s take a look at ’em!

Doublade, the Sword Pokémon

Doublade is the evolved form of Honedge, and was actually shown off a little while ago, but I was waiting for more new Pokémon to appear. It follows the tradition set by Pokémon like Magnemite, wherein its evolved form is actually multiples of itself, which I’m actually fine with, seeing as how Doublade can dual wield with itself. lol Also, much bigger news concerning it, Doublade can learn Sacred Sword, a Fighting-type move that was once only known by the four Unova Legendary Pokémon, the Swords of Justice.

Slurpuff, the Meringue Pokémon

Slurpuff is the evolved form of Swirlix, and…

Aromatisse, the Fragrance Pokémon

Aromatisse is the evolved form of Spritzee. Both are Fairy-type, and both are version exclusives (Slurpuff to X, Aromatisse to Y), and both look WEIRD. They aren’t bad designs, mind you, just weird. Still, their Fairy-type will give them a huge edge against a lot of Dragons…though not the next new Pokémon on this list. 🙂

Mega Charizard X, the Flame Pokémon

Yep, they did it again: Mega Charizard X, which made its début as Red‘s Pokémon in Pokémon Origins. And yes, Charizard fans may rejoice, Mega Charizard X is a Fire/Dragon-type! Also, it has the Ability Tough Claws, which increases the damage done by physical attacks. I’m actually noticing a theme with the version exclusive Mega Evolutions: The X Mega Evolutions are more focused on physical attacks, and the Y Mega Evolutions are more focused on special attacks. And with both Charizard and Mewtwo having two separate Mega Evolutions, one has to wonder if more Pokémon will have version exclusive Mega Evolutions. Heck, maybe they all will. It would certainly give more reason to get one version over the other, or to grab both so you can get access to both forms.

So, that’s all the new Pokémon officially unveiled. That said, it HAS come to my attention that some copies of Pokémon X & Y have been leaked early. In the interest of fair play with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, I will NOT be referring to any information leaked early on this blog. If something is officially revealed by either of those two, or information is given out on Bulbapedia or Serebii.net, I will discuss those, but NOTHING ELSE. What I WILL say is that, if certain rumours I’ve heard about the final evolutions of Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie are true, then they have made me VERY happy. ^_^

Anyway, lemme know in the comments section below what you think of these new Pokémon, if you think more Pokémon will be getting version exclusive Mega Evolutions, and what you thought of Pokémon Origins. Ja né!

Three Classic Pokémon Get New Mega Evolutions – It’s Evaluating Time!

Yep, you heard me, three new Mega Evolutions! Let’s check ’em out in this trailer!

…Why was it shooting water from its mouth when it has three cannons?…Anyway! First of all, called it. Knew they would be giving at least Charizard a Mega Evolution, and now it seems they’ve given them to all three of the Kanto Starter Pokémon, which will be made available at some point during game-play, not sure when. So let’s take a look at these new Mega Evolutions, which means…

It’s Possibly Ambiguously Gay Evaluating Time! XD

Well, I might as well go by index number, so let’s start with Mega Venusaur.

Mega Venusaur

Mega Venusaur grows from 6’07” to 7’10”, and goes from 220.5 pounds to 342.8 pounds. It remains a Grass/Poison-type, but its type changes to Thick Fat. This reduces damage from Fire and Ice-type attacks, which are two of its major weaknesses. It still needs to watch out for Psychic and Flying-types, but hey, that’s still two weaknesses down. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

Mega Charizard

Mega Charizard’s weight goes from 199.5 pounds to 221.6 pounds. It doesn’t change type, meaning it’s still Fire/Flying…which is weird, since it looks more like a Dragon now than it ever did. However, its ability DOES change to Drought. Drought started off as being Groudon‘s signature ability, but since then, Vulpix and Ninetails received it as their Hidden Abilities. It summons permanent sunlight to the field until such point as another weather condition replaces it. This makes Charizard’s Fire-type attacks all the more potent, and even gives it some cover from Water-type attacks, so I guess I can forgive it not changing type…for now.

Mega Blastoise

Mega Blastoise goes from weighing 188.5 pounds to 222.9 pounds. Like its fellow Starters, it doesn’t change type, despite having that new gigantic steel cannon on its back. It gains a brand new ability called Mega Launcher, which I hear is supposed to increase the power of Pulse moves, like Water Pulse and Dark Pulse…Kinda weird, seeing as how it doesn’t learn Dark Pulse (yet), but I would imagine this means more Pulse moves are gonna be included in Pokémon X & Y.

“Charge! D.N.A., Burst Mode!”

The last thing I wanna talk about is the Mega Ring. Basically, it’s a device that holds something called a Key Stone. When a Trainer‘s bond to their Pokémon is strong enough, they can activate the Mega Ring’s Key Stone to react to the Pokémon’s Mega Stone, causing them to Mega Evolve…So, apparently, we’re not even gonna try to pretend like this isn’t Digimon anymore. lol In all seriousness, though, this raises some questions. Is this a man-made device? And if so, how is this any different from the experiments done by Team Plasma? Does that make Genesect a Mega Pokémon by definition? Or perhaps this isn’t technology, but rather some form of magic. If that’s the case, where does it come from? How does it work? And how do Calem and Serena obtain them?

What do you think about Mega Evolution? Lemme know in the comments, and hopefully, we’ll be getting some answers soon. Ja né!

Mega Evolution In Pokémon & Who I Think Should Get Them

So, the biggest piece of news regarding Pokémon X & Y as of late HAS to be the reveal of Mega Evolution. If you haven’t been paying attention as of late…well, remember that image we saw of Mewtwo‘s new form? Yeah. Apparently Mewtwo and several other Pokémon have the ability to use what are referred to as Mega Stones to Mega Evolve in battle. This new form of evolution is only temporary (I believe it wears off right after the battle, not sure) and grants new abilities, stats, and types to the Pokémon. Besides Mewtwo, the others that have been confirmed to have a Mega Evolution form are Blaziken, Lucario, Ampharos, Mawile (THANK GOD, and both its normal form and Mega form are now Steel/Fairy), Absol, and Kangaskhan (well actually, it’s more like the kid grows enough to get out of the pouch and help Mommy fight, effectively giving Kangaskhan two attacks). I’ve noticed that a pattern exists with these Pokémon, in that they’re all unable to evolve otherwise since they were either fully evolved or could never evolve in the first place, and all of them were introduced in Generation III or lower, with the exception of Lucario who was announced long before Pokémon Diamond and Pearl came out.

All of these Mega Evolutions look and sound great, and even people who don’t like the idea of Mega Evolution are glad that they’re implementing something new to the mechanics of Pokémon. So I was thinking, who else should get Mega Evolutions? Because they’ve already hinted that there are still a bunch more to come. So, here’s what I got for my list of Pokémon I’d like to see get Mega Evolutions.

Quagsire

Man, the original Water/Ground-type kinda got left in the dust a bit, huh? Other than having Water Absorb, it doesn’t really have much going for it that you can’t get out of the others, best examples probably being Swampert or Seismitoad *ducks Ice Punch from Poliwhirl*. So here’s what I had in mind: What if, upon Mega Evolving, it got Sap Sipper? Seriously, all of a sudden, Quagsire would be able to absorb attacks from the one thing that would normally have 4x advantage over it, the one thing that actually is super effective against it, and actually increase its Physical Attack from said attacks. You’d be horrified of what was unleashed upon you.

Slaking

Because we’ve already made Chuggaaconroy happy by making to out of six of his Emerald team Mega, why not shoot for three? XD Okay, seriously, here’s why: As I’ve made mention to before, while Slaking has Legendary level stats, it only attacks once, then loafs around for a turn before it can attack again. By Mega Evolving, it could shake free of that ability, or maybe gain a new Ability that lets it attack two turns in a row before loafing for a turn. Because two is fine with those kind of stats, honestly.

…No, seriously. Imagine if these two had the ability to Mega Evolve together and become a badass while keeping their cuteness? Think about it, they’re basically designed to work as a team in the first place. With their powers combined into one Pokémon, Plusle and Minun could be near unstoppable. And yeah, I know this is basically DNA Digivolving, but let’s be honest, Mega Evolution is already Digivolving, we might as well go the whole ten miles with this. lol Other duos could get ’em too, like Illumise/Volbeat, Seviper/Zangoose, Electivire/Magmortar, and so on, but I’d hold back a generation before going all out with the various Jogress Evolutions.

Farfetch’d

Yeah, if you’ll recall, I mentioned before how this poor bird drew the short end of the leak with Game Freak. I don’t know what Farfetch’d did to deserve being left behind, while the other four must-trade-for Pokémon from the original games (Mr. Mime, Jynx, and Lickitung) all got new forms and ways to be useful in the new generations, but I think six generations is long enough to get left out of all the fun. Besides, two other Pokémon on my 10 Pokémon That Got The Shaft list are getting evolutions.

I honestly cannot imagine them doing Mega Evolution and not giving one to Charizard. It’ll be either X & Y or whatever the heck Generation VII is, but it WILL happen. And of course, it would have to become Fire/Dragon upon Mega Evolving. There’s just no way to avoid it. To be honest, I think all three Kanto Starters should get one, but of all three, I think Charizard is the most likely to actually happen. And speaking of Pokémon that could become Dragon-type after Mega Evolving…

Little known fact, Gyarados was originally supposed to be Water/Dragon in the old games. The reason they didn’t do it is because the only Dragon-type attack then was Dragon Rage, which did a set amount of damage, and the Water-type would make the Ice-type damage Gyarados would receive be just neutral damage. That means it wouldn’t have any exploitable weakness, and in the old games, that would make Gyarados far too big a destructive force. But we’ve gone beyond that, and there really is no reason to deny Gyarados any longer.

…Hear me out, people. While I personally feel that the other Mega Evolutions should follow the pattern it has been on thus far, I think giving one to Pikachu would be a good idea. Why? Well, for starters, it hasn’t had much new to work with since Volt Tackle, and it shows when the newest move Ash’s Pikachu learned is Electro Ball. Speaking of which, you know how Ash’s Pikachu refuses to evolve because he wants to stay as he is? Well, Mega Evolution is only temporary. That’s the loophole. That’s how you finally get something new and AWESOME outta Pikachu.

So, there’s some Pokémon I’d like to see get Mega Evolutions in the future. What would you like to see get a Mega Evolution? Leave a comment below, and we’ll see who gets their wish in X & Y. Ja né!

Ash’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon

So Ash has been the main protagonist of the Pokémon anime for a LONG time. Personally, I feel he’s been around for TOO long, but that’s my own opinion. Nonetheless, Ash has gathered quite the assortment of Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova. But a question that a lot of people have asked is “Which ones are his best?” Well, I don’t claim to know the answer to that. There’s just too many variables to consider, not to mention a large contingent of pissed off fans who would yell at me if I didn’t include certain old-school Pokémon of his. However, one question I have considered a lot is “If Ash were to assemble a team of six Pokémon for a full battle, which should he choose?” This I DO feel comfortable in answering, as these aren’t necessarily his strongest single battlers, but rather the ones that would have the best coverage in speed, strength, longevity, and type coverage. So here it is, my own personal opinion on Ash’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon  I’ll make my own cases for them and, as always, you’re free to make your own call on the matter at the end.

Ash's Pikachu

Pikachu

Yeah, this one IS kind of obvious. While Pikachu‘s overall staying power isn’t exactly the best, his ability to get in, hit hard, and get out has been a centrepiece of Ash’s battle strategy for years now. Plus, Pikachu has learned a number of tricks to make up for his shortcomings, like the mid-air spin dodge and counter-shield, as well as a number of combination and improvised attacks, like the Volt Tail and Electro Iron Tail, both moves taking his massive electrical power and using them to boost the already substantial power of his Iron Tail. His most notable accomplishments are his wins over Lt. Surge’s Raichu, Roxie’s Garbodor, Wattson’s whole team, Drake’s Dragonite, and Brendan’s Regice, and his tie against Tobias’ Latios.

Infernape

Infernape

And I can already hear the fan boys weep that Infernape is on here instead of Charizard. I’m sorry, but Charizard’s x4 weakness to Rock type moves, his lack of team-work skills, and his last appearance featuring him losing to a Dusclops that frigging Bulbasaur was able to take down later makes him unreliable in a full battle. But, I suppose I should give Charizard honourable mention as one of Ash’s top Pokémon. And it’s also worth noting that in a 1-on-1 battle between Infernape and Charizard, Charizard would likely win since he’s immune to Dig, has resistance to Fire and Fighting type moves, and his Flying type moves are supper-effective on Fighting-types. I just feel that, in a 6-on-6 environment, Ash would have better choices for both Fire and Flying. As for Infernape, it’s a strong, fast, and evasive fighter that, like Pikachu, can get in and do some major damage before going down. It’s also mastered the counter-shield, and possesses a variation of Blaze unique to itself that sends its power through the roof. This used to make it unreliable as it also pushed it into a berserker-type rage, but it’s since overcome that. Its most notable accomplishments are its victories over Roark’s Onix, Fantina’s Drifblim, Candice’s Abomasnow, Volkner’s Luxray, and Paul’s Electivire.

PalpitoadSON OF A BITCH!!!

Palpitoad
SON OF A BITCH!!!

This pick might seem odd, given my previously stated issues with Palpitoad, but I had to be fair here. Also, I will admit this was probably one of the tougher decisions, given Ash’s roster of Water-types. Now I eliminated most by their biggest flaws: Squirtle is too slow and doesn’t have much staying power, Totodile’s too much of a goof off, Corphish hasn’t evolved and thus hasn’t grown enough to make his more defensive strategy work, Buizel’s best assets are already covered in my picks thus far, and Oshawott is kind of clumsy. This left me down to two choices: Palpitoad and Kingler. What ultimately made me decide to go with Palpitoad is that he possesses something none of Ash’s other Water-types have: Immunity to electricity. Plus, he has more bulk to him than Corphish and can hit just as hard as any of the other Water-types. In addition to all of that, Palpitoad is a single evolution away from being fully evolved. If he becomes a Seismitoad, he would be one of Ash’s best, hands down. Palpitoad unfortunately doesn’t have very many notable victories as of yet, other than defeating Burgundy and Virgil in the Club Battle tournament, but he was a key player in Ash’s battles against Elesa, Roxie, and Stephan.

Sceptile

Sceptile

Yeah I know, Sceptile is another fully evolved Pokémon that focuses on speed and power, but I felt the need to pick a Grass type, and I ultimately found that Sceptile was the best, though I will say that all of Ash’s Grass-types are pretty awesome in their own ways. His moves are sort of straightforward and predictable, but his never-say-die attitude pushes him past such short-comings. His most notable achievements are his victories over Brawly’s Hariyama, Norman’s Slaking, Winona’s Altaria, Katie’s Walrein, Spencer’s Claydol, and possibly greatest of all, Tobias’ Darkrai.

Gliscor

Gliscor

Again, Ash has a lot of Flying types, all of which are fully evolved and are among his fastest and strongest Pokémon of all. The reason why I chose Gliscor, despite the fact that I try not to double up on types and I already have a Ground-type on here, PLUS Gliscor has a x4 weakness to Ice, is actually kind of simple: Most of Ash’s other Flying-types have pretty straightforward and easy to predict move-sets. The only ones that don’t are Charizard, which I already said I’m not picking, Noctowl, who admittedly is pretty awesome and can use Psychic-type attacks, and Gliscor. Ultimately, I went with Gliscor because it’s immune to electricity, has a VERY varied move-pool, and has the best physical defence of my picks thus far. It also knows how to use Giga Impact and NOT be stuck frozen for a turn by using its tail to bounce upon impact and get some distance, thus eliminating the move’s fatal flaw. Its most notable accomplishments are its victories over Byron’s Bastiodon and Paul’s Drapion, AKA Paul’s motha frakkin’ mower.

So that leaves us with one final Pokémon. Now while all of these are good options, I chose not to go with Krookodile, Donphan, or Gible because I didn’t want three Ground-types on the team. I didn’t want to double up on any other types either, so that left me with some of the more unique of Ash’s roster. Having looked over them, their abilities, move-pools, statistics, achievements, what they can do that their team-mates cannot, and then using Marriland’s Team Builder to double-check most of these facts, I’ve ultimately decided that the 6th member of the best team Ash could put together at this time is…

Snorlax

Snorlax

Easily the biggest, bulkiest, and admittedly slowest of Ash’s Pokémon, he’s in many ways the opposite of most of Ash’s roster. Immune to Ghost-type moves, possessing massive health, physical attack, and special defence, he can and has blocked against most opponents. He’s SO blubbery, in fact, that most attacks actually deflect right off of him. He’s mastered the art of Pokémon Sumo, and Ash has even figured out how to use his rotund body to use an impressive rolling dodge, thus potentially eliminating his biggest weakness: His lack of speed. His most notable accomplishments are winning the Sumo Conference, defeating Clair’s Kingdra, Gary’s Arcanine and Nidoqueen, Harrison’s Hypno and Steelix, and Greta’s entire Fighting-type team.

So those are my choices for Ash’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon. Leave your comments below to let me know what you would choose as a team, and I will see y’all later. Ja né!