Why I (Eventually) Decided to Buy X and Y

After a lot of thought, I decided to advance to the 6th generation and buy X and Y. This decision definitely took a long time, but why? In case you couldn't tell, I'm kind of obsessed with Pokémon. Then why would this be a hard decision to make?

From the beginning of this year, Pokémon revealed quite a bit of information leading up to the release. Most of X and Y's content was either a hit or miss for me. While I wasn't initially a fan of the legendary mascots, that didn't bother me. Besides, there are plenty of other Pokémon to catch. As more Pokémon were revealed, I started to get worried.

As the first Steel/Ghost type, Honedge was a huge disappointment for me. Its design lacked creativity. It's a floating sword that can unsheathe itself. Really? That's what qualifies as a Pokémon!? The worst part was that Game Freak thought the design was so good, Honedge deserved to be revealed before the game's launch. That's like using Muk to promote Red and Blue. You think anyone would have bought Red and Blue if their first impression was Muk? Many of the designs like Clauncher and Skrelp fell flat for me. I wasn't inspired by a good portion of the revealed Pokémon, which hasn't happened for me before.

From the people that brought you living sludge and floating ice cream cones...

They're changes in the battle system that I at first viewed as unwelcome. Horde battle is just outright stupid! Why would Game Freak even care about trainers who catch strong Pokémon to quickly advance through the game? So yeah, fighting five weak Pokémon instead of one strong one will force you to grind more. Talk about frustrating. Black and White reduced the amount of grind time you needed. Way to go backwards! I pretty much ran from any horde battle I encountered. And then there's Sky Battles where only Flying Pokémon can participate. What's the big deal? Is this mode so ground-breaking that you had to reveal it during E3? Granted, I haven't gotten this far in game, but the concept seems frivolous.

Great Psyduck, now you're giving ME a headache!

What have they done to you!?

Probably the would-be final straw was Mega Evolution. If you thought I was angry when I made my Mega Evolution post back in August, then you best prepare yourself for Primeape rage! Seriously, a part of me dies every time I find out about a new Mega Evolution. Half of them look like they went through the same horrific genetic splicing as Mewtwo. Apparently, Alakazam can heighten his skills with 5 spoons and Santa Claus' beard. Gardevoir can stand to lose a few pounds. And 10 points to anyone who can explain what the heck is going on with Heracross. The recent announcement that only one Mega Evolution is allowed on a team is a relief, but I still stand by that it's still as a gimmicky mechanic that makes the game needlessly complicated.

Obviously, I had a fair share of good reasons to buy these games. For one thing, while there are only 70 new Pokémon, some of the designs were spot on. I don't know why, but something about a cotton candy Pokémon seems so cool. Maybe it's the way Swirlix sticks his tongue out that makes it cute. I honestly can't wait to evolve it to Slurpuff. Maybe when they give it a Mega Evolution, it'll turn into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Trevenant, Goomy and Pyroar are pretty cool to name a few. While I wish there were more, there were definitely some well designed Pokémon in the bunch. Just like any generation, it takes time to get used to the new Pokémon. 

It's so fluffy!...and quite possibly sticky.

When I first watched the opening cutscene, I knew that no previous Pokémon game could compare in respect to presentation. The 3D battles and animations puts X and Y ahead of even Colosseum and XD. My heart melted when I first encountered a 3D Pidgey in the wild. The towns are bustling with life and traveling from route to route is a seamless transition. X and Y overhauled the Pokémon battle cries. Pikachu literally says its name when it jumps out of the Pokéball! And of course, the music is amazing. Within the first few minutes, I was humming to Santalune City's tune! But I wouldn't expect anything less from Mr. Masuda, his work is phenomenal. Take a listen: 

The biggest push for me was that a good number of my friends planned on playing.  I apologize to those who had to listen to my endless complaints these past couple of months. It's been a humbling experience to listen to reasons why other trainers decided to buy the next installments, and I thank you for dealing with my stubbornness. I got caught up in all the battle mechanics and game changes that I lost sight of what Pokémon truly is. Pokémon is a shared experience with friends. No matter how competitive or casual you are, Pokémon is about connecting with people and having fun. So far, X and Y continues that shared experience the franchise is known for, and as long as it stays that way, it's worth the investment. Well done Game Freak. You got me in for another generation. 

Welcome back to the world of Pokémon!

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 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?