Starting Off on the Right Foot

Sixteen. Only 16 days till Sun and Moon. We're almost there, guys. I've already decided my version (Sun, cause sun kitty), but there's still an important decision to make. I usually wait until the final evolutions have been revealed, and that happened officially last week. So, one question remains: Who will my starter be?


Decidueye, Incineroar, and Primarina say aloha! ... I mean "alola."

Let's start with Decidueye -- which is by far the hardest name to pronounce for a starter. Grass/Ghost isn't a unique type thanks to Trevenant and Gourgeist, but its design is a unique interpretation. Not gonna lie, I'm really digging the archer theme. Although, it's a bit weird that Rowlet and Dartrix didn't have much of this theme present. I guess they can throw their feathers like darts? Eh, missed the mark for me. Anyways, Decidueye's hoodie gives it a Robin Hood-esque feel, but I wasn't a fan of the drawstrings -- it looks like a middle school emo kid when it uses them.


Rowlet, Dartrix, and Decidueye.

Hands down, though, Spirit Shackle's the coolest  of the starter signature moves. An attack that works like Shadow Tag? Yes please! I hope Decidueye has the base stats to handle competitive play -- this move would be so helpful!



The spirit's shackle you!


Next up, we got Incineroar. Name sounds like a spicy cinnamon bun. I'd imagine an "Incineroar" would be a cinnamon roll from Cinnabon with jalapeños on top -- a true gimmick. And likewise, Incineroar's design feels like a gimmick. Sure, there are evolutions like Dragonair to Dragonite that don't make sense, but I feel Incineroar's way too far of a stretch from Litten and Torracat. It's a total shame -- Torracat's design looked so promising!


Litten, Torracat, and Incineroar.

And before you ask, it's not a Fire/Fighting-Type. Game Freak must have realized they accidentally created another Fire/Fighting starter and changed its type to appease people. It worked ... almost. But yeah, this Fire/Dark-Type even has a signature move that screams fighting! The transition from two normal-looking cats to a macho wrestling cat-man hybrid doesn't make me a fan of Incineroar. 

Twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Finally, we got Primarina. Primarina was the opposite of Incineroar for me. Unlike Torracat, I wasn't a fan of Brionne because of how gendered it was. Brionne seems to be based on a female Japanese pop star -- which is odd considering starter Pokémon have a 75:25 male-to-female gender ratio. Primarina's design carries this gendered look over as well. Pokémon like Machamp and Gardevoir haven't bothered me in the past, but it's weird a starter would look more like one gender over another. That being said, I applaud Primarina's line for being consistent throughout. Popplio was actually my first choice, and it's cool to see the theme of being a performer translated in its evolutions. Granted, the type of performer changes, but I could imagine a Primarina putting on a show with Popplios and Brionnes backing it up. Take note, Misty.


Popplio, Brionne, and Primarina.

Water/Fairy's an effective type, but Primarina's signature move is meh. Wouldn't healing your opponent's burn with an attack help them? Unless if it doubles the damage, but that doesn't seem to be the case.


This came up when I searched "Sparkling Aria." Will this heal burns?

So, for my decision. Drum roll please ...

Yep, two! (Sorry, Incineroar). This is the first time I decided to go with two starters in my playthrough. I feel both Decidueye and Primarina bring a unique flavor to the game, and I'm excited to try them out. Hopefully, 16 days will be enough to learn how to say Decidueye. Is there emphasis on the "I" or "eye"?

Setting Sails for Gen 7

Alright, so we all pretty much know the big news. Earlier this year, Pokémon announced Sun and Moon for the 3DS. New generation on the 20th anniversary -- it's going to be big. Now, we know who the starters are:

Who will you choose?

 It was a pretty fun day at the office talking about who we'd pick. Even non-Pokémon fans weighed in! I got texts from friends, Twitter was in a frenzy -- it was definitely a sunny day. But you know what I'm pumped for? Grab a box of tissues and watch this:

YES! Pokémon tugged at the heartstrings with their Super Bowl ad, but even that pales in comparison to this. If they were trying to make me bawl like a baby, mission accomplished. A story about connecting with new friends and strengthen relationships is one that truly resonates with me. Three years back, I ended up buying X and Y because I knew friends were going to play it. Yeah, I went on for months about how they were "ruining Pokémon", but you know what? That's ridiculous! At its core, Pokémon is about connecting with a community.

Since X and Y, I've met new Pokémon fans, and I know these two versions will introduce me to plenty more. Like the boy who moved to Hawaii, I hope to share this journey together. Can't wait to say aloha to Sun and Moon!

It's a whole new world we live in.

  

Yes, I Play a Children's Card Game (In Video Game Form)



It's finally out!

After school, my friends and I would take our Pokémon binders up to my treehouse and marvel at our collection. Mainly buying packs to look at the pretty pictures, we hadn’t the faintest idea how to actually play the Pokémon Trading Card game. Usually we’d put down cards and yell out attacks without any regard to energy costs, evolutions, or prize cards. For years, I’d continue to buy packs just to look at the pretty pictures until Pokémon released TCG Online back in the Black and White era. Realizing how much fun the actual game was, I quickly gathered my stockpile of old cards to build decks. Needless to say, there aren’t many players that stick to the old base set. The best place to get my old-school fix was with the Gameboy Pokémon TCG game, but was more elusive than Mew thanks to its rarity and unusually high price. That is, until now thanks to its release on the 3DS Virtual Console this past week.

Pikachu, the Science Pokémon.

The story of the Pokémon TCG game is pretty simple. You’re a card player sent on a journey to collect the 8 medals from club leaders to challenge the 4 grandmasters and eventually defeat your rival to inherit the legendary cards and become the champion. Wait…isn’t this basically the same story as Red and Blue? At least there’s no evil team trying to steal people’s cards, but Imakuni’s creepy enough to be considered evil in my opinion. And what the heck is up with the Science Club? Every other club is based on a Pokémon type, but I can’t wrap my head around why they would have a science-themed club. Don’t tell me they plan to release a new Science-Type Pokémon.

Navigating the menus takes some getting used to.

The Pokémon TCG game serves as a decent intro for the card game. At the beginning, Sam the lab assistant plays a practice duel with you. The practice duel goes through the basic steps of how to win, but since I played the card game before I just breezed through it. One thing I noticed was that the tutorial wasn’t as thorough as I’d expect. For instance, the practice duel doesn’t go into details about special conditions like paralysis and poison. There are some guides outside the practice duel that you can read in-game, but who wants to do that! The practice duel is mainly handy to familiarize yourself with the interface. The Gameboy can’t fit the entire play area onscreen, so it’s somewhat harrowing to navigate through menus without some practice.

Like my adventure in Pokémon Red, I started my journey by picking Bulbasaur…or in this case the Bulbasaur and Friends deck. Fun fact, this deck contained Venusaur, my all-time favorite card. I mentioned it on a past post but I have a Base Set Venusaur in real life that I got from the same friend I use to have treehouse battles with. Originally, the idea was to get Venusaur out as quickly as possible and abuse Energy Trans to switch Grass energies around. Unfortunately, evolution wasn’t the solution as setting up took way too much time. I’d find myself on the receiving end of Blastoise’s Rain Dance infused shenanigans before I could even evolve to Ivysaur. I’d have to adopt a new deck, and that meant abandoning Venusaur.

It's not me, it's you. Sorry buddy.

 

You can't escape my Special Punch!

A while back, I remember reading about a “Haymaker” deck and thought about building one for myself. Basically, Haymaker decks consist of big basic Pokémon like Scyther, Electabuzz and Hitmonchan. While it might seem like an odd combination with no real type synergy, a Haymaker deck is quite devastating thanks to its quick setup time. Pokémon in a Haymaker deck feature strong attacks with very little energy cost, so Hitmonchan can start hitting right off the bat for 20 damage. While that might not sound as impressive as Charizard’s Fire Spin for 100, keep in mind it takes a minimum of 2 turns if you got all the right cards in hand. By the time your first Charizard is ready to go, Hitmonchan knocked out 3 other Pokémon and you now trail significantly behind in the prize card count. Because of their aggressive playstyle, Haymaker decks pretty much shut down every other strategy. The early metagame of the TCG was dominated by big basics, which is kind of a reflection of today’s metagame with cards like Mewtwo-EX. While there are better cards and new rules to help counter big basics, the early metagame certainly wasn’t balanced. Pretty much every Pokémon was Hitmonchan’s punching bag. And to think, back in the day I had every card needed to make a formidable Haymaker deck in real life!



You're lucky you have a good theme, jerk!

After cutting the competition with Scyther, clobbering my way to the top with Hitmonchan, and (insert dumb electric pun) with Electabuzz, I managed to beat the 4 Grandmasters when SURPRISE SURPRISE, my rival Ronald already beat them and I have to defeat him to inherit the legendary cards. I used to think Gary was a jerk, but this guy takes it to a whole new level. Seriously dude we’re playing a children’s card game, no need for the smack talk. I kicked his sorry butt anyways thanks in part to his wide array of Normal-Types that are extremely weak to Hitmonchan. After about 10 hours of my weekend, I claim the overhyped legendary cards for myself and my journey is over.

Looking back, Pokémon TCG felt a little too easy. Granted, a Haymaker deck really is overpowered, but I just didn’t feel satisfied with my victory. With Virtual Console titles on the 3DS, a lack of multiplayer features means you’re stuck challenging the same computers so there’s not much variety in battles. Still, it was a joy to visit this blast from the past. I gained an appreciation for the fun, albeit broken, origin of the Pokémon TCG.

A Smashing Surprise

My doctor warned me about taking in too much info about the next Smash Brothers game. Not one to heed advice from a medical professional, I watched the Smash Bros Direct anyways. A heart attack, trip to the hospital and transplant later, I'm back and fully recovered. While there was a good amount of general information revealed, Pokémon received generous attention and it all started with this cleverly teased picture.

Presents for all the good Pokémon fanboys and girls

 

In addition to the usual Pokeball item, Master Balls were introduced. Master Balls contain legendary Pokémon such as Arceus, Palkia and Xerneas. They might have a limitation similar to Assist Trophies where only one legendary Pokémon can be out at a time, but there hasn't been any word on
that yet.



Go Gogoat, Go!

Many Pokémon were recently revealed as Pokeball items. Out of the newly revealed ones, Gogoat is my favorite. As the goat that goes, Gogoat lets you ride on it as it rams into opponents. I was the guy who spammed Wario's bike, so this will be quite fun to exploit. Returning Pokémon like Snorlax, Entei and Metagross don't change from past iterations.



Imagine Shadow Lugia as a stage hazard

Besides the already revealed Prism Tower stage for the 3DS, the Wii U is treated to the Kalos Pokémon League as an exclusive stage. While it looks drop-dead gorgeous, I'm disappointed. I know X and Y are the most recent games, but where's the love for 5th gen!? I've always wanted to fight at N's Castle. Or what about Tin Tower from HGSS or Citadark Island from Pokémon XD? In my opinion, too much emphasis is placed on 6th gen in the new Smash.

 Now, let's look at what everyone cares about: the characters. First, Lucario's Final Smash was revealed to be Mega Lucario. Makes sense. While Mega Evolved, Lucario's Aura is always at maximum strength. Lucario's Aura abilities also got a significant buff.


Watch the power of Aura!

You got to be quicker than that, Mac.

Character transformations were confirmed not to make an appearance. Zelda/Sheik are now separated as Zelda and Sheik. This means that Pokémon Trainer, one of my mains from Brawl, won't be coming back. It's only fitting that Charizard, the Pokémon I least used, will be returning without a trainer to boss it around. At least he won't have the tire out mechanic. The reveal trailer showcased some new moves including a stronger aerial attack. Mega Charizard X is also confirmed as his Final Smash. It's unknown yet, but hopefully Charizard Y will also be included.

Mega Charizard X is ready to battle!

And now, the biggest surprise and the last shock that triggered my heart attack.

Meowth, that's right! Greninja, the final evolution of Froakie, is a playable character. I'm still in disbelief. A while back, I made a list of likely Pokémon to be included as playable characters like Mewtwo, Zoroark and Blaziken. But never did I imagine that Greninja would be chosen. Greninja is one of my absolute favorite Pokémon and the main reason I picked Froakie, so I obviously welcome Greninja with open arms. It does make it difficult to decide whether I should play as Greninja or Little Mac my first match. Decisions, decisions...

The trailer showcases Greninja using swift water attacks like Water Shuriken and unorthodox moves like Substitute. What Greninja's addition means though is that the chance of Mewtwo returning became slimmer. Pokémon most likely won't overpass the Super Mario series in character representation, so I wouldn't expect more than 5 playable Pokémon. We already have 4 and I suspect Jigglypuff will be taking the 5th slot. Both Jigglypuff and Mewtwo are viable with their new techniques in 6th gen, but Jigglypuff has more history with Smash. I could be wrong, but my hunch says Mewtwo isn't coming back.

The Smash Bros Direct brought a ton of news for Pokémon fans. While I hope more emphasis will be placed on previous generations, the inclusion of new items and Greninja blew me away. Pokémon is going strong in the next Smash Bros!

A Run on the Pokébank

Back before X and Y hit stores, Game Freak gave details about Pokémon Bank, an application on the 3DS that allows trainers to store over 1,000 creatures in online boxes. In addition, Pokémon Bank comes with PokéTransporter, which allows trainers to transfer Pokémon from 5th generation up. The original release date was December 27th. It is now January 17th, and Pokémon Bank still isn't available.

So what happened? Initially, the original release date was postponed due to server crashes the Nintendo eShop suffered with so many new users logging in with their 3DS's and Wii U's they got for Christmas. Those lucky enough in Japan could download Pokémon Bank, but it was quickly taken down before the rest of the world had access. Since then, the eShop has been fixed but Pokémon Bank still remains unreleased, without even a new release date given at the time of writing. I usually wouldn't complain about a delayed launch; it's natural in the video game industry. But the Pokémon Company has put itself at odds with its fanbase for a lack of clear communication.

Does that mean no Pokémon Bank?

 Much of Pokémon's communication through Facebook and Twitter is about anything but Pokémon Bank. There are updates on the released Heart Gold/Soul Silver soundtrack, the Mewtwo special airing on Cartoon Network, and even fun caption contests, but nothing about Pokémon Bank. The most information we've received is a cryptic tweet stating "more information will be announced in the future." I understand that the people managing the social media accounts might have just as much information as we do, but couldn't someone higher up cue them in so they can stop giving vague answers?

A tweet sent out by Nintendo on January 10th. There hasn't been an update since then (at the time of writing).

The greatest cause of frustration is the fact that those who already downloaded Pokémon Bank can still use its services. It's an obvious unfair advantage when some trainers can bring Pokémon unavailable in X and Y. Sure, you might get lucky and trade for a Totodile you can breed, but good luck facing Arceus and Lugia when you don't have your own. The video below shows exactly how Pokémon Bank works. Props to SqishyRina for the video.

The fact that Pokémon Bank still works for those who download it means there's not a functionality issue. At the moment, it takes some time to connect to servers, so I'll give Pokémon the benefit of the doubt and assume that's what they're working on. But if that's what they are doing, why don't they just say it?! My biggest fear is that the delay of Pokémon Bank's launch is meant to wait out the free initial trial period originally promised and start charging the annual $5 fee. Of course, that would be one of the most notorious moves in the video game industry, so it's highly doubtful. But fans are getting impatient, and rightfully so.

Whenever Pokémon posts anything on social media, they're met with angry fans clamoring for news on Pokémon Bank. Who can blame them? Nintendo and the Pokémon company have fell silent about addressing this issue and further alienates its fans with vague responses. Meanwhile, Pokémon still promotes everything else under the sun and trainers are receiving an unfair advantage online. It's understandable that Pokémon Bank is delayed, but fans are hanging on empty promises when a company fails to address issues head on.

Pretty much how I feel right now

Bringing New Variables in Battles with X and Y

With the introduction of Fairy-type Pokémon, the type-chart saw its first overhaul since Gold and Silver. But how will this affect Pokémon battles in the futures? Not much about this new type was known until the type-chart's official confirmation through Coro Coro Magazine.

New type-chart for X and Y. Props to Pokémon XY News for the chart.

Here's a summary of the changes. Fairy is super effective against Fighting, Dark and Dragon Pokémon. Fairy is not very effective against Fire, Poison and Steel Pokémon. Fairy is weak to Poison and Steel-type moves. Fairy is resistant against Fighting, Bug and Dark-type moves. And Fairy is IMMUNE to Dragon-type moves. Talk about a hard counter! Game Freak also sneaked in a slight nerf for Steel-types. Steel Pokémon no longer resist Dark and Ghost-type attacks.

It's obvious that Fairy-type Pokémon will play a key role in shaping the metagame. Sylveon's ribbons slaps Dragonite right in the face. And to think, I made that prediction about Xerneas being one of the best competitive Pokémon in jest. Fairy-type's lucky immunity to Dragon-type moves prevent Draco Meteor and Outrage spam.

I'd hate to see Iris encounter a Flabébé

Imagine Gardevoir switching in on Salamence's Outrage. Your Trace activates, throwing his Intimidate right back at him. Salamence will probably switch out, giving you ample time to set up a Calm Mind and possibly sweep.

Besides their ruthless thirst for dragon blood, Fairy-types also have it in for Dark and Fighting-types. Their resistance allows them to switch in on powerful moves and immediately threaten tough Pokémon out. Hydreigon and Scrafty now sport a nasty 4x weakness after a generation of favorable typing. STAB options for strong Pokémon like Scrafty and Heracross are severely limited.

It's hard out here for a pimp

Fairy's only weakness to Poison and Steel-type moves makes it a strong defensive type, especially since Poison and Steel moves are quite uncommon. While people might predict that Poison-type moves would be on the rise, I will have to disagree on this. Besides Fairy, Poison only hits Grass-types for super effective coverage. But why would you use a Poison move to knock out a Grass-type? You have Ice, Fire, Flying, Bug...you get the point! There are better options. Furthermore, many types resist Poison, including Steel which is actually immune to it. Defensively, Poison gets a boost which is great for Pokémon like Weezing.

Now only if it could do something about that horrendous cough...

Steel's loss of resistance might not seem like much, but it does cause problems for some Pokémon. The haunted sword Honedge now has to contend with two weaknesses in Ghost and Dark-type moves. Being as smart as a supercomputer gives Metagross a hard time. Everyone's coming up to it asking for help with taxes, quantum physics and damage calculations. Now it has to worry about things that go bump in the night. Metagross's Steel/Psychic type now becomes a hinderence. Tyranitar, Absol and Pangoro now can rely on their STAB moves to take on the four-brained behemoth.

It's not all bad for Steel-types though. The resistance to Fairy-type attacks and their super effective coverage against them will be what shapes the metagame. In 4th gen, a concept called "4 Drag, 2 Mag" was introduced. Basically, the only thing that stood in a Dragon's way were Steel-types. So Magneton and Magnezone were used to trap and knock them out. This concept can easily make a comeback to counter Fairy-types as well, but with a few modifications. Heatran's Steel/Fire type gives him a 4x resistance to Fairy. Plus, he can finally find a use for Flash Cannon to immediately threaten any Fairy-types out. Heatran's Fire-type moves can burn up most Steels and either Hidden Power Ice or Dragon Pulse can take on opposing Dragons. I wouldn't be surprised if Heatran's usage skyrocketed. Scizor also finds itself in a similar situation. Bullet Punch from Scizor is already a strong move, but the additional super effective coverage is icing on the cake. If you feel the opponent will switch out, simply use U-turn to maintain momentum.

The updated type chart for X and Y creates an interesting shift in the game. This post barely scratches the surface of what to expect in future battles, and rightfully so. What happens if Fairy moves have wide distribution like Flamethrower and Thunderbolt? What new tools can Dragons use to help outmaneuver these pixies of doom? Will the recent setback for Dark and Fighting-types lead to a reemergence of Psychic and Normal-types? Will Dunsparce get an evolution (or God forbid mega evolution) so grand that not even Arceus can stand up to it? Only the future will tell...or you can have Xatu use Future Sight. Whatever.

These trainers are way ahead of their time

The Ultimate Showdown on a Global Scale!

Last weekend, I fought in 70 matches while competing in Pokémon's online tournament, the Global Showdown. Global Showdown was my first online tournament and the last for Black and White 2. With school and moving out of my apartment, I didn't have much time to prepare a team. So I got some old Pokémon, changed a few movesets, and threw this together:

Sheik, Waluigi, Dhalia, Raymond, Bolin and Macho Man "Mewtwo" Savage are ready for battle!

So I know what you're thinking. "Smiles is using a Mewtwo!? Isn't that cheating?" Actually, no. The Global Showdown allows for any Pokémon to be used (except oddly enough Chatot). If I wanted to stand a fighting chance against Kyogre, Arceus, Kyurem, and opposing Mewtwos, I had to pack a Mewtwo of my own. You might also notice that some of my Pokémon come straight from my VGC team. Like I said, I didn't have much time between school and moving out, so I quickly threw them in. They actually performed pretty well.

 The first day of battling went well. I had a few wins here, a few losses there. It was definitely a learning experience fighting against Uber legendaries, but I got the hang of it. My first win against a full legendary team was a huge confidence booster, and I owe my thanks to Sableye.

 

For the most part, I was able to use strategy to get out of tough situations. My most memorable battles however come from Lady Luck. Sometimes, a dose of good ol' fashioned hax is all you need to get out of a sticky situation. I, however, did rely on Lady Luck more than I'd like to admit.

                                  

Lady Luck can be a cruel mistress. Just as easily as she'll flinch your opponent, she'll flinch you right back! This is one of the reasons why I hate the Wishmaker Pokémon Jirachi. I just wish I didn't have to deal with it.

                             

The worst thing that can happen during an online tournament is that your WiFi stops working. The second day of the tournament, my WiFi stopped working. I went insane! I was having so much fun and didn't want to stop competing. I decided to scour the area and bum WiFi wherever I could find it. My search led me to Big Bite, the greasiest place in town. Let's just say their slice of pizza has enough grease to create Muk. I bought the healthiest thing I could find and sat there for five hours playing Pokémon. It was glorious. 

A grilled cheese sandwich with tomato was the healthiest thing available.

Like before, I had my fair share of wins and losses. But that day, I felt that it was easier to pull off  my strategies. It was like the Big Bite grease was a good luck charm or something. Originally, my Volbeat was more of a gimmick that Baton Passed his Tailglow boost to Mewtwo for a clean sweep. Obviously, there's so many things that could go wrong with this, but I was surprised how often I pulled it off. Especially when I faced a full team of legendaries.

Probably my most memorable match was against a really bulky Lugia. I barely scratched it with a Super Effective Ice Beam! It planned to outstall me until I would struggle myself to death. However, a few good hits on Kyogre gave me the advantage as far as health is concerned. So what did I do? I planned to outstall the clock! It was a bloody war of attrition as his Lugia kept on using Substitue, Protect and Roost. Luckily, he gave in when we had 8 minutes left. Still, this was my most difficult match yet. I had to fight him and the urge to use the restroom! This battle took over 40 turns, so I suggest you make some popcorn if you want to watch the match below.

I had a blast competing in my first online tournament. Sure, I had a few disconnects (looking at you Rocky from Texas!), but for the most part I enjoyed the competition. It was great to see all the creative teams and movesets from trainers around the world. And to top it all off, I ended up with a 1547 rating! Basically, that means I won more than I lost. My biggest regret is that I didn't compete in online tournaments sooner. Hopefully X and Y continues the tradition of hosting fun tournaments.

Feel free to watch some of my other battles on YouTube

The Wildlife of the Kalos Region (X and Y update)

Recently, four new Pokémon, among other things, were revealed for X and Y. 

A normal day in Kalos, the region of Pokémon X and Y.

The first of these is Helioptile, the Normal/Electric type lizard. I'm not really sure how it's a normal-type. Granted, Altaria is a Dragon-type despite not having any remotely draconic features.

My opinion on Helioptile is ambivalent. I don't love or hate it, Helioptile is just ok. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to catch it. One thing that's interesting about Helioptile is its move Parabolic Charge. Parabolic Charge attacks the opponent and heals the user half the damage they dealt out. Essentially, it's an electric Giga Drain. Hopefully, more Electric-types can learn this move. I can see this being beneficial with bulky Electric-types like Lanturn and the Rotom appliances.

"Parabolic Charge" functions as an electric Giga Drain

Next is Fletching, your Pidgey/Hoothoot/Taillow/Starly/Pidove of this generation. I'm biased when it comes to the standard Normal/Flying birds. Pidgey and Starly will always have a place in my heart, so there's no love for Fletching from me. It's not all bad though, in fact I would recommend catching this bird if you so choose. Fletching can learn Flame Charge, which is handy to get past Steel-types. I just won't be going out of my way to catch it. What am I saying? I probably wouldn't have to! These things will be swarming the first route!

 Yes, your prayers have been answered. You can catch a panda in Pokémon! Actually, you could catch a Spinda since Ruby and Sapphire...you can now catch a panda that you'll actually like! Pancham is a fighting type who means business. While Teddiursa stands there and licks its palms, Pancham has no problem picking a fight with anyone who makes fun of its small stature. Bear Pokémon for the most part are always cool (sorry Spinda). Snorlax, Ursaring and Beartic are among my favorites and have that cool factor that I know Pancham's final evolution will have. Pancham alone is legit; it's a good mix of cute, tough and playful.

What you say about my leaf?! I'll knock you into next Tuesday!

Finally, there's this big guy. At first, it looks like a standard grass goat. The details about Gogoat though are interesting to say the least. Let's start with his name. REAL creative there. I can just imagine what that meeting sounded like. "Alright, so this goat allows you to go places when you ride on it. Let's call it Gogoat!" That's like naming Pikachu "Shockmouse" because it's a mouse and it can shock you.

That brings me to my next point. Earlier I said you could ride on this and the picture at the beginning of this post shows the trainer riding a Gogoat. So yes, you can ride it. Forget bikes, I'm on a goat! Just imagine strolling down the city, all the ladies checking out your swag as you ride on a Gogoat. That alone is pretty cool, and I hope more Pokémon have this "ride" feature. Can you imagine riding into town on a Zapdos? That would be pretty beast!

They see me rollin', they hatin'. Patrollin' tryna catch me ridin' dirty.

A major part of what makes Pokémon great are the actual Pokémon. When X and Y were first announced, the starters and legendary mascots didn't pique my interest. I originally couldn't commit to X and Y, but these newly revealed Pokémon made me reevaluate my initial impression. It's the Pokémon that make these games worth playing, and X and Y seem to be on the right track. I mean, you can catch pandas and ride goats! What's not to love?

Majin Mew

Earlier today, Nintendo announced a new Pokémon...or rather a new form of an old Pokémon.

If the first thing you thought of was this, you're not alone.

What took me by surprise was the original leaked scans a few days back. This past Wednesday, supposed magazine scans showed the new Mewtwo form (which I affectionately call Majin Mew) alongside Ash and Co. in a poster for the new Pokémon movie. I admit, I was skeptical. Nintendo already announced they planned on revealing a new Pokémon on Saturday, so it was quite possible that this was a fake to trick people. My conviction was further backed up by another movie poster which featured the same characters, poses and backgrounds. The only difference was that Mewtwo was in his normal form. Even after the leaked images were posted to Serebii, I was still a skeptic. Yes, I am currently eating my own words and it burns more than the wasabi Lickitung ate in Pokémon Stadium.

Before this, Unown and Pichu were the only Pokémon to have forms introduced in a future generation after their debut. And even then, those are purely aesthetic. Pokémon that actually change shape and abilities like Deoxys and Landorus all have new forms introduced in their respective generations. Sure, evolutions and pre-evolutions are created after a Pokémon's initial debut, but these are entirely new Pokémon altogether.

For an exclamation mark, Unown isn't very excited

Didn't see this coming did you?

I should know by now that relying on past precedents to predict the future of Pokémon is just as effective as using Splash in battle. When Ruby and Sapphire were first released, we were primed to think that it would be immediately followed by Emerald. After all, Yellow immediately followed Red and Blue and Crystal immediately followed Gold and Silver. Instead, Nintendo threw a curve ball and gave us Firered and Leafgreen.  

Fast forward to fourth gen. Ok, so we think we know the system now. The first two versions are released followed by the past gen remakes and then the third version. Wrong! Platinum shortly followed Diamond and Pearl and fourth gen wraps up with Heartgold and Soulsilver.

Don't hold your breath

And now we go to fifth gen. Pokémon fans are still just as oblivious as Slowpokes. Not only do we get a two-version direct sequel instead of a third version, we completely skip over the heavily hyped Ruby and
Sapphire remakes and go straight to Gen VI. I said it once and I'll say it again, you can't predict Pokémon's future by its past! Sure, while the basic premise, core gameplay and starter types haven't changed, it's clear that Pokémon doesn't fall into a set pattern.



So what do I think about Majin Mew? While I'm not the biggest fan, I'm excited that X and Y are taking risks. Pokémon X and Y defy how we think Pokémon should be. For the first time, we are treated to a fully 3D Pokémon game that plays like the main series handhelds, the starters and mascot legendaries were known day one, and Eevee gets a new evolution whose type is ambiguous. Majin Mew will be controversial to older fans who love Mewtwo. But despite the risk, changes are necessary to keep a series like Pokémon fresh and thriving after all these years. If you haven't already, watch Majin Mew in action. If it's any consolation, at least it shows how awesome battles will be in X and Y.