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!
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.
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
