Why The Pokémon Anime And I Are STILL Divorced (WARNING – ANGRY RANT AND SPOILERS AHEAD WITH NO PROOFREADING)

So, I was gonna say something about a lot of what I’m going to talk about here a while ago. However, because my proofreader, N. Harmonik, doesn’t like spoilers and refuses to watch subtitled episodes of shows that have an official English dub, I opted not to. But now, because of something else that’s come up that’s related to it, which I will also address, I’ve decided to just go ahead and get my thoughts out for everyone to hear, and just not have it be proofread. I suppose I could’ve found someone else to tag in for this one article, but I opted not to on the grounds that it might be kinda funny to just let this go through as is. So, enjoy reading my rant without a grammar and spelling filter, and feel free to point out all the ways I messed up later. ^_^

Anyway, you’ll recall that three years ago, almost to the DAY, I announced that I came to the realization that I hated the Pokémon anime and I was officially divorcing it. Now, here’s the thing: While I don’t actively watch it anymore, I AM aware of some of the stuff that happens on the show, and I DID watch a few of the new episodes, particularly the Kalos League Conference. In fact, I will go so far as to admit that I decided, if Ash had beaten Alain and won the Kalos League, regardless of what happened afterward, I would go back and rewatch everything I missed from when I stopped watching the show. I was very entertained by the Kalos League. And, as an aside, I really like the Japanese theme, XY&Z. I thought it was great… … …and then they fucked up. Which, let’s be honest, isn’t that just the story of this show for the past several years?

So, obviously, the big way they fucked up was that Ash lost in the finals. Now, my thinking of why Ash should’ve won was because, as far as I can tell, there are no more Gyms in Sun & Moon, so this was pretty much his last chance to win a League Conference. Also, this would be a great year to do it. It’s the 20th Anniversary of the original games, and the 19th Anniversary of the anime, meaning we could see a big change going into the 20th Anniversary of the show to shake things up. In addition, looking at what happened in hindsight, from a narrative perspective, it would make far more sense for Ash to win and then find himself facing off against Team Flare. But, to be frank, that’s not the reason a lot of people wanted to see him win. They wanted to see him win because they were tired of 19 years of Ash LOSING. And what happened? He lost again.

Now, with all of that said, when everyone else was reacting in sheer rage and anger, I have to admit to feeling a degree of desire to troll these people. Why? Because they were saying stuff like “The anime is officially dead” and “Gary was right all along, Ash really IS a loser”, and so on. And I began to laugh my fat ass off, because these people are only JUST NOW reaching the same conclusions I did three years ago. The anime has been dead for a LONG time now, people. It only continues to exist as a means to advertise the games, and even then, it does a piss-poor job of it a lot of the time. And frankly, people are pissed about this loss, but I gotta level with you all: This is NOT the worst thing the anime has ever done. It FEELS like it because of the timing and just how long this has gone on, but it’s not. Alain beating Ash? I don’t agree with it, but they were close enough matched that I could see it happening, and I do actually care a smidgen about Alain as a character. Now, compare to Tobias, who had no real story or personality to speak of and existed specifically for the sole purpose of making sure Ash lost. In fact, not only did Tobias beat Ash, he then went on to defeat his last opponent in the finals with even less difficulty, meaning Ash surely would’ve won the Sinnoh League Conference had Tobias never shown up. So no, comparatively, Ash losing to Alain in a REALLY close, hard-fought match that pushed both to give their best is not even close to being as bad as what happened with Tobias. Also, as a side note, when it comes to the whole Gary thing, if Ash really IS a loser, Ash actually surpassed Gary YEARS ago, so what does that make him?

So, I guess what I’m saying is that the Kalos League Conference didn’t piss me off so much as it left me disappointed, because it was good and it could’ve been great. And I will admit that everything that happened with Team Flare afterward was pretty dire and gripping, even if you knew going in that Team Flare was going to lose. That said, it comes off as kind of dumb that Lysandre can take on both of the Kalos League finalists 2-on-1. It’s like, why didn’t HE enter the tournament in that case? But no, I wasn’t pissed off by that… … …No, I was pissed off by what happened today in the anime.

Before I get into that, though, I wanna explain my idea of what they could’ve done for Sun & Moon. My idea was, to shake up the status quo a bit, to have Pikachu get sick before Ash is about to go to Alola. It’s not life threatening or anything like that, and he will recover, but Ash will need to postpone his trip if he wants to stay with his buddy while he recovers. However, Pikachu insists that Ash go and that he’ll catch up to him as soon as he can, and until then, Greninja is volunteering to go with Ash to Alola. So Ash goes, and then, after a few Trials, he manages to obtain a Z-Ring with the Electrium Z inserted. Then Pikachu recovers, rejoins the team, and has his brand new Z-Move to boot.

Now, spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen today’s episode, that is most definitely not going to happen. Why? Because Greninja, who I consider to be the best Water-type Pokémon that Ash has ever had on his team, who possesses one of the best win-loss records of any Pokémon Ash has ever had, who has a special transformation technique exclusive to itself that makes the bond between it and Ash into a whole new kind of power, and who will likely go down in history as one of the all-time best main character Pokémon of the entire anime, was RELEASED. And what’s astounding to me is that this is a move where the writers should’ve known going in that this was going to piss people off, because they’ve done it before and it’s almost ALWAYS resulted in a negative reaction from the fans, but they did it anyway because they’re FOOLS.

So, let’s get some arguments for this decision out of the way, because I know some people are gonna debate this. First off, Ash is not getting Greninja back, and if he is, it’ll only be a short-term thing. Name a single time he’s ever released (not put in training, not sent to Professor Oak’s, but RELEASED) a Pokémon that he then got back full-time. The answer is ZERO. Speaking of, I probably SHOULD be pissed that Goodra went back to the wetlands, but I knew going into the Kalos League Conference that Goodra was only back short-term, so it doesn’t really bother me as much. It’s still dumb, but whatever. Secondly, I know the reason he left was to protect Kalos. It’s still stupid. How come? Because its best technique in combat was its ability to become Ash-Greninja, and it CANNOT DO THAT ALONE. And third, with Ash going to Alola with just Pikachu, simply leaving Greninja at Professor Oak’s would make zero sense, so they had to come up with a reason why Greninja physically could not come. I reply to such argument as follows: Not only is it still a stupid reason because of stuff I just said, but it’s also inserted for the SPECIFIC INTENTION OF MAKING ASH WEAKER, when all we’ve wanted for 19 years was for Ash to finally WIN!

And now I gotta address where we’re going with the anime: Sun & Moon. A DRASTIC change to the anime style. Not a BAD one, I wanna make that clear, but a pretty drastic one. No more Gyms as far as I can tell, meaning no League to challenge, meaning this will make for a very different season. Ash going to SCHOOL, of all things. And, one positive I can give, Ash getting a Z-Ring. Honestly, I like that, since it was odd to me that Ash missed out on gaining a Mega Ring, especially he had a few different Pokémon who could Mega Evolve, one of which had JUST RETURNED TO HIS TEAM PREVIOUSLY.

Now, there are people bashing on the premise and the art style and just how different the Sun & Moon arc looks. I wanna make something clear: None of those things bothers me all that much. A new art style? Hey, it helps give this season its own identity and furthers to distinguish it from the past few seasons. Same thing with the new premise. Hell, I don’t even mind the school setting all that much. Sure, it seems like an odd thing to go with for the long-term when we’ve already seen the main characters going to schools as part of short-term story arcs, but it could world. Think of the potential world-building this could do by focusing on that. None of that bothers me. What bothers me, and what ultimately breaks this deal with me, is that the main protagonist is STILL ASH FUCKING KETCHUM! And what’s worse, not only is he now going back to school after 19 years of losing, but now, with the new art style, he actually looks YOUNGER. So now, all these factors I just praised as being a help to this series now instead hinder it, all because of Ash’s presence as the main character. For fuck’s sake, writers, you didn’t even have to outright get rid of him, either! You could’ve instead have him brought on as a teacher (or teacher’s aide), and have him bestow some wisdom on young Trainers getting started with their new lives. You could’ve had him reflect on his life and his decisions throughout the anime while teaching these kids. You could’ve even justified his continued losses by having him explain that, even after losing the League Conferences over and over, it still helped to hone him as a person and a Trainer, and have him even realize that he’s now exactly the type of person these kids can relate to. Give us some Goddamn character development! You realize that Ash is still basically the exact same little twit he’s been for YEARS now?!

It’s at this point I have to address the simple truth of the matter: This show only exists because it has the Pokémon name attached to it. If this was any other property, I guarantee this show would not last 19 years. It’s just not possible. And to everyone just now getting pissed off, I say this to you all: You are several years late to the party, but you are welcome nonetheless, because something has got to be done about this show. At this point, there is only one way to salvage Ash as a character, and that is to reboot him back to square one. Everything we’ve seen of him up until this point? Never happened. He’s a brand new character and doesn’t have any of the baggage of his previous journeys. This way, you can build him back up to where he can eventually achieve what he originally set out to do: To be the best like no one ever was. But unless enough people actually start voicing this opinions and explaining how and why the show needs to improve, nothing is ever going to change. Ash will continue to be the main protagonist, and will continue to be a Goddamn loser.

And you wanna know what the saddest part of all of this is? When Ash lost the Kalos League, I asked myself “Why do I still care? Why am I STILL ranting about this fucking show? Why am I not just 100% apathetic towards it?” Well, the answer is simple: Because I want to watch a GOOD Pokémon show. I see what this show has done in the past, is doing in the present, and could do in the future, and I see how much potential it has. This show could be so much better and still work as an ad for the games with even the SLIGHTEST bit of effort. But that’s not what we get. For years, it is consistently not what we get. When this show started, it had something the games at the time were lacking: Real story. Characters we care a lot about. Back then, the games didn’t really have the best stories. Now, however, we’ve clearly hit the switch. The games now have better story and writing, whereas the anime, for all intents and purposes, is still in the same position it’s been in for years. And no matter what you have to say about that position, my opinion remains that it could be better, and it honestly feels somedays like the writers of this show have gone out of their way to ensure it doesn’t.

Anyway, that’s my thoughts on the product as of now. What do you all think of this, though? Lemme know in the comments below, and hey, remember that the main anime is not the only Pokémon related story out there. You don’t HAVE to watch it. In fact, I think if everyone stopped watching it, watched the specials like Origins and Generations, played the games more, read the manga more, etc., it might even help move things along. Ja né!

Jyger and N. Harmonik’s Blind Reaction To Pokémon Generations Episodes 1 & 2

Well, N. Harmonik and I were having our weekly hang out yesterday, and wouldn’t you know it? Episodes 1 & 2 of Pokémon Generations came out! So, if you haven’t watched them already, do so here…

…and now, our blind reactions to the first two episodes of this show. ^_^

…Say…We’ve now reached 899 blog entries on this site, haven’t we? As such, next time will be our 900th, and… … …Meh, what the hell. Next time, Jyger’s Favourite 5 episodes of my new favourite cartoon, Steven Universe. Ja né!

Pokémon Questionnaire – What Are Your Favourite 6 Pokémon From Each Generation?

So, I’ve been playing Pokkén Tournament with N. Harmonik over at her place, which you can see here…

…and honest to God, Pokémon have never looked this good EVER in any other game. Maybe Smash Bros, but that’s it. But as I watch not only the Pokémon fighting, but the ones in the backgrounds of the arenas, I can’t help but notice how some have left so many great memories and positive thoughts for me. I think what really hit me was just how many from Pokémon Black and White are among some of my all-time favourites. Mind you, that could be because it had the most new Pokémon of any game since the original Red and Blue versions, since they’d decided to only have brand new ones in the main game. Still, it left me wondering, what would I consider to be some of my favourites from every generation?

So, I decided to make this questionnaire, so that everyone can list their six favourite Pokémon from every generation. I went with six because, that way, people can’t simply choose all the starters or all the members of a single family, and so that they can use their old teams to help decide, since some people, like N. Harmonik, choose to only use Pokémon that debuted within said generations for their teams (with the exception of old ones with new evolutions). Also, I’m listing these by Generation instead of Region because otherwise, most people’s Johto lists would be inhabited by evolutions that didn’t come until Generation IV. Lastly, I’m gonna be excluding Mega Evolutions, since they’d probably take up the majority of spots from lists for Kalos, but I will likely bring them up when talking about individuals from past Generations. With that said, let’s start with the original Generation, and my favourite Pokémon among the original 150.

Generation I

My Favourites: Bulbasaur, Charizard, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Snorlax, Zapdos

Yeah, I know, not exactly blowing anyone’s minds that Poliwhirl’s on here. In fact, likely none of these are big surprises, and I probably don’t have to explain a single one. But looking back, I can’t help but think of how these six, in a lot of ways, helped shape how the Pokémon world would grow from then on. Every new entry in the main series would have an Electric-type rodent of some kind, a trio of Starters to choose from that were Grass, Fire, and Water-types, and at least one trio of Legendary Pokémon (with the exception of Generation VI, which seems to reuse Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres). There would also be mass numbers of Water-type Pokémon with varying shapes, sizes, abilities, secondary types, and even branching evolutions through the generations, many of whom took varying cues from Poliwhirl and its family. And…yeah, I’ve lost count of how many times in the history of these games that we’ve seen Snorlax sleeping around and blocking our path. lol My point is, in many ways, these six are the originators of trends we’ve seen in these games for 20 years now, and in many ways are still able to hang with those that have come since, either through new evolutions, Mega Evolutions, attacks, abilities, stat changes, or just their natural badassery. Oh, and don’t think that just because it isn’t on here that I hate or dislike Squirtle and its family. I love it too, but there just wasn’t room on this list. Call it the unofficial #7 here.

Generation II

My Favourites: Typhlosion, Crobat, Espeon, Umbreon, Heracross, Donphan

Despite the fact that a lot of Pokémon from Johto wouldn’t become truly great until Generation IV, where they got new evolutions, there are still plenty from those games that I have fond memories of. Typhlosion’s pretty easy to justify: Take Charizard, remove its secondary type, and give it a few tricks the former couldn’t do. The result is Typhlosion, and I think it’s a really solid choice from Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Crobat is basically the secret weapon that isn’t quite so secret, as most in the know are well aware of its incredible Speed, but just how many have overlooked it because of how common its initial form, Zubat, is? The answer is A LOT. Umbreon was always one of my favourite Eeveelutions, although it hasn’t aged well, but it’s hard not to put Espeon right up there with it. Heracross is a beast, always has been, always will be. And then there’s Donphan. I loved Donphan before I even knew its name. Just that first appearance in Pokémon The First Movie had me going “What is THAT?! That’s so awesome! It’s like an elephant that turns into a mad wheel or something!” And I don’t think I saw Pikachu’s Summer Vacation when I first I saw the movie, so that was the first time it really hit me that there was gonna be another Pokémon game. I mean, yeah, we had Togepi show up, but I thought that was just gonna be a special event Pokémon like Mew. Speaking of Mew, though, if I remember Generation II for one thing in particular, it would be how this was the point where the previously untouchable Psychic-types were becoming a little more touchable, and they only became more-so as time went on.

Generation III

My Favourites: Sceptile, Blaziken, Swampert, Breloom, Mawile, Lairon

Yeah, surprisingly, not as many big favourites from this Generation as most others. I say ‘surprisingly’, despite this being the Generation that lost a fair share of long-time players, because I actually was not one of those people. I stuck around, and I really liked Generation III. If I can think of one word to best describe it, it’d be, for a lack of a better term, advancement. We had the introduction of Abilities, Pokémon Contests, the Battle Frontier, and a bunch of other stuff. But anyway, the favourites I have from this Generation list still stand out to me. All three starters were pretty solid in their own ways, and I’d like to point out that I liked Swampert and its family before it was cool. Mind you, poor Sceptile was one of the few Pokémon that would be victimized by the physical/special split next Generation, and Blaziken, while cool, started a trend where, for three Generations, we had Fire/Fighting-type starters, and we got sick of it pretty hard. Mawile and Lairon were pretty much immediate favourites from the moment I saw them, just for how cool they looked, but it admittedly took a bit to realize how awesome Breloom was. When I figured it out, though, I felt like smacking myself. Breloom and Blaziken were also the start of what I consider the second Genesis of Fighting-types, though it wouldn’t be complete until what came next…

Generation IV

My Favourites: Infernape, Roserade, Ambipom, Lucario, Togekiss, Glaceon

If Generation III is the start of the major advancement of Pokémon, then Generation IV was when said advancement was perfected. Lots of older Pokémon got brand new and much needed Evolutions. Stuff like the Contests were expanded upon. WiFi was utilized for trading and battling. But to me, the two biggest advancements can be seen in the favourites I chose here. The first is the physical and special split, where instead of being determined by type, whether an attack was physical or special was determined by the move itself and whether there was physical contact with the opponent. This was something that was needed from the START, from the very first games, and we finally had it here. The other major change was that, partially due to the split, and because of a few new attacks and abilities, and new Pokémon like Infernape and Lucario, Fighting-type Pokémon and attacks suddenly became a LOT more usable. In Gen 1, Fighting-types were not all that useful, especially since Psychic-types were so powerful. Generation II introduced Dark and Steel-types, which were weak to Fighting, and Gen 3 brought Pokémon like Blaziken and Breloom to shake up the Fighting-type. This, however, was the major turning point. And I know I’ve told this story before, but one of my favourite Pokémon from all of my playthroughs of the games is a female Lucario I named Tex, after the character from Red vs Blue, because of just how badass she is. Oh yeah, and Roserade is one of my favourite Grass/Poison-types of all time, and I think it’s only topped by Bulbasaur and its family in my eyes. And when you consider how many of those there are, that says a lot.

Generation V

My Favourites: Samurott, Excadrill, Sawk, Cottonee, Emolga, Chandelure

Again, like I said before, I was surprised to find just how many Pokémon from this Generation have left such great impressions on me. When I see Generation V Pokémon in Pokkén Tournament, I smile. A lot. Hell, the six Pokémon on this list are the members of my original team in Pokémon Black, and I still have plenty of other favourites beyond them, including Braviary, Haxorus, Volcarona, Pansage, and more. And it didn’t really hit me until Team Four Star mentioned it during their Nuzlocke Playthrough of LeafGreen just how ballsy a move Black and White, and Generation V in general, were. Black and White had all brand new Pokémon for the main story, and you couldn’t get anything else until after beating it for the first time. There was no third version, but two direct sequels, the first since Gold, Silver, and Crystal. And the games weren’t made for a brand new system, as you could get them for the Nintendo DS, but did have advantages presented for those that played them on the DSi. But yeah, Samurott is a great mixed attacker, Excadrill is insanely broken as shit, Sawk is a pretty good physical attacker and inheritor to Hitmonlee’s legacy, Cottonee is stupid good despite the fact that Prankster’s less favourable among Trainers nowadays, Emolga is adorable as shit and the first Electric/Flying-type since Zapdos, and Chandelure? Well, Chandelure has the highest Special Attack of all non-Legendary and non-Mega Evolved Fire-type Pokémon, and is a pretty handy Ghost-type, too. Mine had a Nature that was beneficial to Special Attack. Can you see where this is going? So yeah, having it be playable in Pokkén is kind of a treat for me, even if it is bizarre as shit to see in a major fighting game. ^_^

Generation VI

My Favourites: Chespin, Greninja, Talonflame, Vivillon, Tyrantrum, Sylveon

Despite the fact that X & Y feature the least amount of new Pokémon for any new Generation, there’re still plenty of good ones. And, of course, the thing that most people will ultimately remember Generation VI for is Mega Evolution, but like I said, I’m not including Mega Evolutions in this list, so brand new Pokémon for Generation VI only. That said, plenty here that I like a lot. Chespin is just too fucking adorable, not to mention tough enough to beat the Bug-type Gym Leader 2-on-1 with ease. Greninja seems to be a favourite among many, managing to make it as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Talonflame breaks the tradition of the Pidgeot in that it is the first time we saw the super-common Flying-type evolve into something other than a Normal/Flying-type, and is pretty sweet. Vivillon doesn’t really do much that Butterfree couldn’t, but I like the different designs for it, and it’s still pretty solid despite having a type combination that we’ve seen a lot. Tyrantrum is badass and the first instance of a Fossil Pokémon based on a T-Rex, and I don’t know why it took so long to get it. And Sylveon is, in a lot of ways, outright broken due to the effects Pokémon get for the high levels of Affection that are required to get it, and is a brand new type that massively changes up the competitive battle scene.

So, those are my favourite Pokémon from each Generation. What are yours, though? Feel free to let me know (although you don’t have to go quite as in-depth as I did, lol) in the comments below. Also, lemme know which Pokémon you’d like to see either as DLC for Pokkén Tournament or in a sequel to the game. Ja né!

My Best Team of Six Pokémon, One From Each Region

Y’know, when I write articles, generally speaking, I have no idea what the overall reaction to it will be, or how many views it’ll get. I am currently looking at my overall views on this blog, and at this exact moment, one of the top most viewed articles that I’ve written is Ash’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon, where I had the audacity to exclude Charizard. lol Seriously, to this day, I still get comments telling me that I should’ve added Charizard to the list. Well, if it makes anyone feel any better, the list is now somewhat out of date, because Ash has caught more Pokémon and the ones he already had have learned new moves and techniques. With that said, I really didn’t try to knock Charizard that much, despite how dumbfounded I was and continue to be to this day that he lost to a frigging Dusclops that even Bulbasaur, an unevolved Pokémon, was able to take down. But, for those that are huge fans of Charizard that were a bit miffed at me for excluding him, I apologize for any hurt feelings. It was just me giving my opinion.

But then I noticed some people leaving comments as to what their own teams would be. And then I thought about it and what I would make for my own team, if I had access to every Pokémon I’d ever caught throughout my years of playing Pokémon. And you’ll forgive me if my overall recollection of the various Pokémon I’ve caught throughout my LONG career is a little off, but I’ve been playing since the Red and Blue Versions. Also, I’m gonna try and limit this a bit to keep things interesting…

1. Only one per region. Granted, Pokémon that were introduced in past generations have made returns, but I’m only counting the one where they were first introduced, so this list will consist of one from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos.
2. NO LEGENDARIES. PERIOD.
3. One Starter Pokémon from the main series only.
4. Types can only be repeated on the team once, so, for example, no more than two Grass types.

Anyway, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s start off with…

Swampert

Two words: Mega Swampert. Even before I saw what it could do, I knew that Mega Swampert was gonna be amazing. Of course, Swampert on his own without Mega Evolution is still pretty badass. He can tank hits pretty well, he can bring the pain himself, and he’s only got a single weakness that, while common, isn’t 100% certain to come up or bring him down. The only problem is that he’s slow as all heck, so I gotta make sure that anything that can outrun him doesn’t also have the ability to put that much of a dent in him.

Cottonee

This was a tough call, because my favourite Pokémon from the Unova Region is actually Emolga. However, I had to go with Cottonee for overall usefulness and just how much he pisses opponents off. To answer your question, yes, he has Prankster. And yes, I pretty much abused the frak outta that with moves like Leech Seed, Substitute, and Toxic. And yes, I know the SubSeed strategy has limits, but if you’re facing someone that isn’t prepared for that, the sheer anger and frustration that they feel when they see it coming is just worth the risk, because then they start making mistakes. With that said, I really need to move him up to my later games, because I haven’t had a chance to utilize Cottonee since they became part Fairy-type.

Lucario, ‘Tex’

Why’d I name her Tex? Well…

Need I say anything more? 😛 Point being, like her namesake, Tex is a badass. A mixed attacker, she could just as easily take opponents down with pulse moves as she could in close quarters combat. And like my Cottonee, I REALLY need to bring her up to my later games, because if she was that much of an asskicking machine before, I can’t help but wonder what she’d be like after Mega Evolving. ^_^

Talonflame

Of all the basic Flying-type Pokémon to appear early on in a region, I think Kalos has the best one yet, simply by virtue of not being another Normal/Flying-type when she’s fully evolved. Of course, as I brought up in that OTHER article I did, because Talonflame is also a Fire/Flying-type, I need to always make sure to keep her as far away from Rock-types as possible, but if necessary, hit them as hard and as fast as I can with Steel Wing. Luckily, if there’s one thing Talonflame knows how to do exceedingly well, it’s hit hard and fast. Also, just from personal experience, while it’s not the best move out there, Me First is a great way to annoy the crap outta people. Plus, just the name Talonflame sounds so awesome. lol

Gengar

Gengar continues to be one of the coolest and creepiest frakking Pokémon EVER. And for those that are bothered by that, for the love of God, do not Mega Evolve yours like I did mine, she is frigging terrifying. XD Anyway, I tend to wanna open with Toxic while using Gengar, then unloading with either Hex or Venoshock. And just for those pesky Dark-types, Dazzling Gleam makes for a good fourth slot. Also handy in case you’re ever stared down by a pair of Dragons, which admittedly happens a lot less nowadays than it used to.

Politoed

You know me, gotta be representin’ the Poli family. ^_^ And yeah, I know, the overall usefulness of Drizzle isn’t exactly what it used to be, but honestly, that might actually work out for the best here. After all, what if Politoed starts some rain and then Talonflame comes out and gets her Fire-type attacks nerfed as a result? Plus, for that short time that the rain is on, Politoed and Swampert could level the opposition, Politoed with his Special Attacks, Swampert with his Physical Attacks. And granted, Politoed probably wouldn’t last long on the field, but I always know I can trust him to start battles off on my terms.

Anyway, that’s all for my list, but what about yours? Show me your team of six from the different regions in the comments section below. Ja né!

My Pokémon Team In Pokémon X Upon First Completion (Plus Two Extras I Trained With A LOT)

So, it’s been a while since I talked Pokémon, and I thought that, having JUST finished Pokémon X today (I took a hiatus, leave me alone), I thought I’d talk a little bit about what my team consisted of, some of my favourite moments training with them, and a couple of Pokémon I caught along the way that I also did a lot of work with. So, let’s start with…

Pinhead the Chesnaught

Easily one of my favourite Pokémon of the Kalos Region, Pinhead was Lv. 72 on completion and holding a Miracle Seed, with the moves Wood Hammer, Rollout, Pin Missile, and Hammer Arm. My first Pokémon for this game, its always held its own against a number of tough foes, and thanks to moves like Rollout and Pin Missile, it can use its strength to power through opponents with type advantages. Despite type issues, Pinhead was able to defeat Viola on its own with ease as a Chespin, helped me plough through many a Team Flare member, was instrumental in defeating Elite Four members Wikstrom and Siebold, and toppled AZ’s Golurk. It wasn’t ALWAYS able to overcome its multiple weaknesses, but it always went down swinging with everything it had, proving itself as the muscle of my team.

Talonflame

Probably one of the most awesome early-to-find Flying-type Pokémon of recent years, Talonflame was Lv. 70 and holding a King’s Rock, with the moves Brave Bird, Fire Blast, Attract, and Steel Wing. Talonflame is an AMAZING Pokémon, though I wish mine had Gale Wings instead of Flame Body for its ability (though that DID make breeding Pokémon a LOT quicker). Talonflame naturally saw a lot of aerial combat in Sky Battles, as one of the only two Pokémon I used regularly that could enter them (though sadly, that meant it lost more than its fair amount due to being out-numbered and overwhelmed), and played a big part in defeating Korrina, Ramos, Wulfric, and Wikstrom.

Sylveon

A constant bringer of joy and victory, Sylveon was Lv. 74 and holding a Pixie Plate, with the moves Moonblast, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swift, and Calm Mind. I almost feel bad for using Sylveon, because it’s ridiculously cheap. Not because it has amazing stats or attacks, though they are respectable in my opinion, but because the high affection required to evolve it from Eevee makes it able to get critical hits easier, take damage better, even dodge from time to time. And the fact that is has Cute Charm, meaning opponents that attack it physically to get around its high Special Defense might get infatuated, means it has even more going for it. Sylveon has beaten some of my toughest opponents, namely defeating Lysandre’s Mega Gyarados, taking Drasna of the Elite Four’s team single-handed, helping against Diantha, and while it wasn’t the most type effective member of my team against Gym Leaders, it was almost always on my team for back-up against some of the strongest ones.

Raichu

One of my earliest catches, and quite frankly one of the last Pokémon I expected to be using in this game, Raichu was Lv. 69 and holding an Expert Belt, with the moves Thunder, Thunder Wave, Brick Break, and Return. I was insanely lucky when I caught Raichu back when it was a Pikachu, in that it had a Light Ball and was a pretty tough battler. When it had a child Pichu, I was planning to raise said Pichu with Volt Tackle into its parent’s replacement, but I just found that Raichu was still super strong, even with the lack of the power it got from the Light Ball. It was on my team for nearly every major encounter I had, doing extremely well against Grant, Korrina, Olympia, Wulfric, and Siebold with its Electric and Fighting-type attacks.

Michelangelo the Blastoise

The Pokémon I received from Professor Sycamore, Michelangelo was Lv. 70 and holding the Blastoisinite, with the moves Surf, Dig, Ice Beam, and Protect. I chose Michelangelo as my gift Pokémon from the Professor by logic of choosing a Chespin as my starter and receiving a Torchic as a Mystery Gift. Was definitely a worthwhile choice, though I will admit to never really taking advantage of its Mega form’s Mega Launcher. Still, was always a heck of a tank against strong opponents, especially after Mega Evolving, was my Surfer for pretty much the whole game, and pretty much totaled Malva’s whole team by itself.

Gengar

A pretty sneaky yet powerful Pokémon, Gengar was Lv. 71 and holding the Gengarite, with the moves Hex, Venoshock, Dazzling Gleam, and Toxic. Gengar was easily one of the most useful members of my team after being able to Mega Evolve, though its natural Ability, Levitate, made it an awesome Double Battle partner for my Tyrantrum. Gengar pretty much dominated foes like Valerie and Olympia, before defeating the ace of Diantha’s team, Mega Gardevoir, thus earning my position as the Champion.

Tyrantrum

The mother f’ing t-rex, Tyrantrum is Lv. 68 and holding a Rocky Helmet, with the moves Head Smash, Dragon Claw, Crunch, and Earthquake. Despite the new Fairy-types being a major problem for it, Tyrantrum was always a MAJOR powerhouse on my team, wrecking opponents like Clemont and Lysandre. However, because of its typing and lack of speed, it sadly had to sit out of my League Challenge team, though it still remains in rotation on my team for the foreseeable future.

Vivillon

A Pokémon that I’m sure many would recommend against, but I had a lot of luck with, Vivillon is Lv. 55 and holding a Sky Plate, with the moves Bug Buzz, Hurricane, Stun Spore, and Draining Kiss. And yes, as its appearance suggests, it IS a Polar Form Vivillon. It was on my team for a LONG time, helping to bring down opponents like Korrina, Ramos, and Olympia. Sadly, after that, it didn’t spend a lot of time on my team, and by the time I reached the Pokémon League, it was horrible under-leveled, so it sat out the League Challenge. Still, I have every intention to raise Vivillon back up to reach the others.

And that’s my team, all 8 of them. Leave your comments below, what you think of my team, what your own teams were when you first completed the games, and what you thought of Pokémon X & Y overall. Ja né!

Related articles

• Pokémon X Review (wordpress.com)
• POKEMON X SOLD BETTER THAN POKEMON Y IN 2013 (mynintendonews.com)
• Pokémon X and Y sales cross 3 million as 3DS outsells all other gaming systems in 2013 (venturebeat.com)
• SUGGESTIONS?! : CREATING MY POKEMON X/Y DREAM TEAM! (wordpress.com)

No Further Pokémon X Journey Posts

…So yeah, I’ve decided to quit it with the Pokémon X Journey posts. I’ll still be doing my Twitter posts on some of the stuff I do, specifically the new PokéDex entries, but as far as the mock journal entries I was doing on here, those are done. There’s a few reasons why, but I’ll try to simplify them as best I can.

1. It made playing Pokémon feel like a chore, and that’s NEVER a good thing.
2. Too time-consuming. Took away from actually PLAYING the game and doing other stuff, like blog on other topics, chat with my friends, write my Birds of Prey fanfic, etc.
3. My proofreader hasn’t been reading them since I’m ahead of her in the game, and offering her spoilers is like offering your head to a shark. lol

Anyway, I’ll still be giving a review of the game once I’ve completed it. Until then, it’s back to my usual blogging on here…which reminds me, tomorrow’s Wednesday, isn’t it? Which means it’ll be time to talk about…

Ja né!

Related articles

• Pokemon X and Y new legendary Zygarde examined (product-reviews.net)
• Pokemon X and Y full Pokedex list for all regions (product-reviews.net)
• Pokemon X and Y Pikachu location with Thunder Stone (product-reviews.net)
• Pokémon Cards and Band Members – What More Could You Want? (sanssheriffmusic.com)
• My 6 Favourite New Pokémon Revealed Thus Far (jygersrant.wordpress.com)
• First Impression: Pokémon Y AM I DOING THIS (sutobeya.wordpress.com)
• Pokemon X & Y Sell More Than 4 Million Units Worldwide In First Two Days (mynintendonews.com)
• Pokémon X & Y is… erotic? (gamesjotter.wordpress.com)
• Win a Pokemon prize package including a Nintendo 3DS XL and Pokémon X or Pokémon Y game (dailyrecord.co.uk)
• Perverts Are Making Pokémon X/Y All Salacious (kotaku.com)

My Pokémon X Journey: Day 2, Part 1 (WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD)

Cutting this in half due to sheer length. lol

Calem on Route 22

It was early on the second day, before sunrise. Having some trouble sleeping, I decided to withdraw Vivillon, Pikachu, and Torchic from my PC and head back to Route 22 to try and catch some of the Pokémon I’d missed. I managed to capture a Litleo and a Bidoof before having to go back to town since I’d run out of Poké Balls. Along the way, I began to see the results of my training on my Pokémon, specifically Vivillon. I’d spent so much time on him specifically, trying to get him to evolve into what he is now, that his strength was much higher than the others. Still, I felt the need to get the rest of the team up to his level. After all, one should never depend on a single Pokémon to save them ALL THE TIME. Still, these were thoughts better dwelled upon in the morning, so I went back to bed.

Calem meeting Alexa

After getting up to officially start my day, I found myself face-to-face with Viola’s older sister, Alexa. She seemed interested in my skills, and thus handed me the new model for the Exp. Share, which gave every Pokémon not in battle 50% of the experience the one actually involved received. Combined with my training regiment, my team was now becoming MUCH stronger, though I suspected there was a bigger reason for it. Either way, though, I made my way to Route 4, also known as Parterre Way, and managed to catch a Budew, Ralts, Ledyba, and Flabébé. After battling a few more Trainers, and learning some new tricks on my roller blades, I ran into two of Professor Sycamore’s assistants. They gave me the TM 27, which I used to teach Fletchling the move Return, and told me how to get to the Professor’s lab.

Calem in Lumiose City

Following the assistants, I found myself in the most gorgeous city I’d ever seen: Lumiose City. Granted, I couldn’t explore much of it due to some sort of power outages, and seemingly every other store was a café, but it was still so grand. There was even a salon, where I was able to get my hair tinted orange, and a building that recorded a 10 second video for Trainers who might meet me online. Once all of that was taken care of, though, I made my way to Professor Augustine Sycamore’s lab…A fairly LARGE lab, to be honest. As I understand it, most Pokémon Professors tend to enjoy smaller labs in quainter towns. I guess Sycamore must really love the city life, and upon meeting him, he certainly seemed flamboyant enough to fit right in here. He admitted that he was only planning to enlist the other four for this mission, but upon hearing I was moving to Kalos with my mother (likely due to her fame as a Rhyhorn rider), he decided the best way to get me adjusted was to have me travel the region and see as many new sights and Pokémon as I could.

Soon enough, I was joined by Serena and Shauna. They stood watch as Sycamore challenged me to a battle, to test my skills. I was rather surprised to find that the Professor’s team consisted of Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander, three Pokémon that, while part of the Kalos Regional PokéDex, were more commonly seen in Kanto. Still, even with his vastly superior knowledge of Pokémon, his team wasn’t nearly as experienced as mine was quickly becoming, and I was able to defeat him, with Torchic gaining enough experience to evolve into Combusken. After this, he offered the three of us one of the Kanto Pokémon. My gut was telling me Charmander, but since I already had a Fire-type, and Pinhead was pulling his weight as my Grass-type, I decided to go with Squirtle, the Water-type. I named him Michelangelo. He was carrying a strange stone, very similar to the one Combusken had. It was at this point, as Tierno and Trevor finally caught up with us, that Professor Sycamore told us that he wanted us to discover the secrets of something called ‘Mega Evolution’, something I’d never heard of, but was apparently tied to these stones.

Meeting Professor Sycamore

After we learned this, the group had a small pow-wow of sorts, and it was at this point I really started to understand and appreciate what made each of them so different. Tierno just wanted to dance and have fun with Pokémon, all the while growing closer to them. Trevor was intent on completing the PokéDex, thus completing his commitment to the Professor and achieving a great collection. Shauna desired to create lots of memories with Pokémon, memories that would last their whole lives. And Serena was committed to growing strong with her Pokémon and mastering Mega Evolution. Each had their own unique goals, and aside from their love of Pokémon, they couldn’t be any more different…and yet, they were all close friends, standing by each other and supporting one another…and me. I couldn’t help but feel closer to them as a result, and I wondered if that was why Professor Sycamore chose them.

Either way, I decided it might be best to follow up on the Professor’s suggestion and head toward Camphrier Town. As I was leaving the lab, though, I met a man named Lysandre, who apparently built the Holocaster, the device Trainers used to communicate over long distances…and yet, something about him rubbed me the wrong way. After speaking with him for a bit, Serena asked me to come with her to a nearby café, and it was there that I began to learn more about the man. Lysandre was there, speaking with a world famous movie star named Diantha, asking if she would prefer to stay beautiful like she was in her first film and keep making movies like that forever, but Diantha, like myself, seemed a bit disturbed by such a suggestion. After they left, Serena had an interesting proposition for me: She wanted to be my rival, so we could grow stronger together. How could I turn down such an offer?

Calem and Serena meet Diantha

Making my way to Route 5, or the Versant Road as it’s called, I found myself face-to-face with a Lucario. It seemed…interested in me. Soon enough, its trainer, a Gym Leader named Korrina, skated by, and suggested that Lucario seemed to like something about my Aura, a spiritual energy believed to be the essence of every living creature. Lucario are able to sense Aura, as well as practically weaponise their own, so I felt special that this Lucario seemed to like mine. After they left, I wound up battling a pair of twins, Faith and Joy, and their Pokémon, Plusle and Minun. It wasn’t a hard battle, and I found myself enjoying the style of Double Battles, after which, both Fletchling and Pinhead evolved. Fletchling evolved into Fletchinder, a Fire/Flying-type with wings that would burn you if you touched it without permission, and Pinhead went from being a Chespin to a Quilladin, becoming far stronger as a result. However, just as I was feeling good about that, and liking the idea of battling multiple Pokémon at once, I wandered into some tall grass, where I was confronted by a horde of five Scraggy! I only had time to call out a single Pokémon at a time, making this a 5-on-1 handicap battle! But, as luck would have it, Squirtle had learned Bubble, which hit multiple targets at once. Using this attack, I picked off three of my targets, before I was forced to switch to Fletchinder. Fletchinder took down the fourth Scraggy, leaving the leader open to be captured.

Having somehow survived that last encounter, I was feeling VERY lucky, and managed to keep that luck going, catching an Abra, Gulpin, Pancham, and Furfrou. After this, though, I took a look at my team, and noticed something bad: My team consisted of a Grass-type, a Fire/Flying-type, a Water-type, a Fire/Fighting-type, a Bug/Flying-type, and an Electric-type. Even though they were strong, too many types and their weaknesses were overlapping. I knew I’d have to start rotating Pokémon from here on out. It might slow training down a bit, but it was the only way to make sure my team was varied enough to compete with multiple sorts of opponents. As such, I made it a regular practise to return to the nearest Pokémon Centre often to switch team members in and out.

Trevor, Tierno, and Calem on Route 5

Returning to Route 5, I ran into Tierno and Trevor again, and found myself battling Tierno and his partner, a Corphish. It wasn’t too much of a challenge compared to other battles I’d had recently, but he held his own well. Afterwards, I battled a few roller bladers up the hill, and when it was over, Squirtle had grown strong enough to evolve into Wartortle. With that accomplishment saved in my PokéDex, I made my way to Camphrier Town, once famous for the long-neglected manor home of a noble family, where I had planned to end my day…Little did I know what lay ahead for me, and what was left for me in the day…

Part 2 of Day 2 will be written in the morning. Right now, it’s late, and I’m tired. I’ll write Part 2 when I get up, and hopefully Part 3 won’t be nearly as long. Ja né!

Related articles

• The Evolution of Pokémon (randomhavok.com)
• Pokemon X and Y Review (pixelpenreview.com)
• Pokemon geeks forever (techi.com)
• Pokemon X & Y Introduces Serial Codes To Download Special Pokemon And Items (mynintendonews.com)
• Pokémon X and Y – Released! (wheelerhighanimeclub.wordpress.com)
• Pokémon X and Y (wheelerhighanimeclub.wordpress.com)
• Community Review: Pokemon X And Pokemon Y (kotaku.com.au)
• Press Start: Playing Pokemon X and Y as an adult is an interesting experience (o.canada.com)
• Pokemon X & Y Live-Action Trailer (games.com)
• Review: The Best and Worst of POKÉMON X and Y (houseofgeekery.com)

New Fossil Pokémon Evolutions + Additional Details Regarding Pokémon X & Y

Well, looks like the new Fossil Pokémon have had their evolved forms unveiled, so let’s take a look at ’em!

Tyrantrum

Tyrantrum is the evolved form of Tyrunt, and holy crap, does it look AWESOME! :O It looks like if Greymon was a Pokémon. I half-expect it to fire Nova Blast in my face. That said, it probably will be able to learn Fire Fang, considering its Ability powers up biting moves, and hey, it needs something to deal with those pesky Fairy-types (Tyrantrum is Rock/Dragon-type, remember).

Aurorus

Aurorus is the evolved form of Amaura. Like its pre-evolved form, this Rock/Ice-type can turn Normal-type attacks into Ice-type attacks. Also, it can apparently learn a move called Freeze Dry, an Ice-type move which can freeze opponents, AND has the added effect of somehow doing super-effective damage to Water-types.

There have been a couple of other details released about Pokémon X & Y, though I cannot be 100% certain as to the validity of these, so take ’em with a grain of salt. First off, apparently none of the new Pokémon found in the Kalos Region can Mega Evolve, at least not in X & Y. That makes sense, and frankly, I’m rather glad they’re focusing on the older Pokémon with Mega Evolution. Also, there are rumours that Pokémon will still gain experience from battle even if the opponent is caught, which is rather different, and that there may be a place to change clothes in every Pokémon Centre in Kalos. Again, can’t confirm these, but it would certainly change things up, especially the part regarding experience.

Anyway, lemme know what you think below, we’ll see what gets revealed next. Ja né!

Related articles

• September Corocoro, One More Month: Pkmn X&y (solarblade.wordpress.com)
• Pokemon X and Y – New Pokemon Revealed: Fossil Evolutions + New Gameplay (reecewhiskey.wordpress.com)
• Pokémon X & Y – Amura’s moves detailed, Pokémon will gain XP (vg247.com)
• Pokemon X and Y director discusses the games’ strategic depth and Mega Evolutions (polygon.com)
• Mega Evolution (meowinpokemons.wordpress.com)
• Pokémon X & Y trailer shows evolved forms of starters Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie (vg247.com)
• ‘Pokémon X’ and ‘Y’ TV commercial – watch video (digitalspy.co.uk)
• The World Of Pokemon X & Y Is Coming To Pokemon TCG Fans Around The Globe (mynintendonews.com)
• Pokemon X/Y: WHY?! Director Masuda himself answers! (gamesradar.com)
• Pokemon X and Y 27 days left… (theangryshelgon.wordpress.com)