12 Aralık 2013 Perşembe

Pokémon Games/Console Release Similarity

I have already blogged about this topic on Bulbapedia, but that was mostly about new consoles.

So apparently, all the main series Pokémon games roughly coincide with the releases of new consoles or their redegins, within an acceptable 6 or so months of margin of error of course.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/82unpdwx2jlek4j/Release%20Date%20Analysis.docx?dl=0
No, seriously, this has apparently been the case since Red and Green were released around the time of Game Boy Pocket. I was just trying to screw around with the release dates of the major games, I wasn't expecting to find some major Nintendo conspiracy.*

Though I really don't want to wait for 3DSi/2DS XL to get the XZ and YZ, or 3DSi XL/2DSi to get RagingRuby and SereneSapphire.

*Well, okay, it might just be because the redesigns and releases have the same two or one year period differences Pokémon games are, but still. I am going to stick by my conspiracy/original game homage idea.

Edit(05/02/2016): New direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ci09u380ndfwn2b/Release%20Date%20Analysis.docx?dl=0

11 Aralık 2013 Çarşamba

Big Fat Rebuff, Buff, Debuff Proposal

I haven't posted any justifications for them, but you can ask me in the comments. Basically;

1)I increased the power of the moves to 40 BP as the bare minimum(save for multi-hit moves).

2)I increased the power of moves that hit multiple Pokémon to around 100, as Wide Guard has been buffed to be used continuously. I also increased the accuracy stats to reflect that.

3)I increased the power of critical hit moves to match the lower critical hit boost and I increased the ratios of the critical hit boosting items.

4)I increased the power of items and increased the amount of moves that can eliminate and knock off items.

5)I increased the power of coverage moves and common moves that are not used competitively(ex: Ancient Power variants).

6)I increased the priority of some status and utility moves.

7)I increased the effectiveness of terrain moves and ally boosting moves.

8)I changed the abilities that work on specific conditions.

9)I tried to decrease the disproportionate amount of risk and set up conditions certain moves and abilities had.

Edit(08/09/2014): Full list is under the cut. New direct link is:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kvwufo4ytlcerri/big%20fat%20rebuff%20debuff%20thing.doc?dl=0

Edit(05/02/2016): New direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kuclcnwe4tdna7m/big%20fat%20rebuff%20debuff%20thing.doc?dl=0

8 Eylül 2013 Pazar

Riding a Gogoat to Hex Maniacs' Sabbath

Now, we have already discussed in the pre-release period of Pokémon X and Y how the Legendary Pokémon are inspired by the Nordic deities and how the Fairy-type incorporates the Christian beliefs regarding witches and pagan traditions with magical girl tropes like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, but I think there is one more inspiration they took from the Christian beliefs regarding witches.

Gogoat and its pre-evolution Skiddo are new mountable Pokémon in X and Y, along with Rhyhorn. Gogoat is seemingly the go to transportation service for Lumiose City, an expy of Paris,France and the heart of the France-inspired region Kalos:

Looks innocent enough, doesn't it? Now let's look at the classical context of riding goats;




This belief of witches riding on goats originates from the equation of the Christian Satan with Pan from the Greek mythology, and the depiction of Satan as a goat.

The accusation of witches riding on goats have also passed on to the accusations to Freemasons, as such many websites have sections to debunk this accusation.

And most knowledgable Pokémon Fans know that the Skiddo and Gogoat are based off motorcycles:


...not that motorcyclists necessarily dislike associating themselves with devil, thus effectively making Gogoat(and Skiddo) based off both the ancient and modern vehicles associated with the Devil. This is obviously unintentional, but even if it is it is mostly for Rule of Cool and perhaps satire than anything else.

6 Ağustos 2013 Salı

The Themes of Animé Trainer's Teams: Pilot Episode -Barry(Jun)-

Welcome anime people and other living beings. I presume that you remember me often talking about how each trainer's teams represent something, be it in the discussion forums or the episodic riffs of the show. Now I am actually putting a specific and smaller version of it. While I probably won't and most likely can't talk each and every Pokémon in the teams, this will be about how each member are meant to represent a large picture that represents the nature and goals of the characters. And this is an actual thing. More often than not the teams are not just messes put together to showcase the Pokémon in that month or week's merchandise. No, that's late D/P and Best Wishes. In contrast, the teams are actually moderately calculated for the specific archetype and certain puns and offhanded comments, something that is not talked about much(except me and fan fiction writers with intention to keep in with the canon). However, before I try to school you with pretentious nonsense and acts of superiority to keep you in the line, we need to set some ground rules.

1-I will not discuss characters with obvious team themes or teams composed of Pokémon that fill the specific needs of the character which are actually explained in the show. As such, certain characters such as Misty, Gary, Tracey and Virgil probably will not appear as a part of this unless I have something to add. For example, I might do Luke and Shamus if I find something interesting(Shamus) or if I find that fandom don't know their team's structure a lot(Luke).

2-Not every character has specific themes within their teams, and are actually nothing but bunch of stuff that desires to suck off the popularity of the characters themselves to turn into instant classics from unpopular creatures. As such Ash, Cilan and Brock teams will not make into this blogs, unless they have some sort of connection to the teams mentioned and mentioned alongside them. Jessie and James's teams are a mixture of number 1 and 2, as such they will most likely not be a part of this either.

3-Main girls' teams have major themes, but they are not very obvious, and I don't want fanboy complaints right off the bat, so they will be at the later parts of this. That and I will need a bit more time to gather information about them to see if there is anything missing.

4-No characters whose teams do not have a high chance of staying stable during the Best Wishes' run will be discussed now. As such Georgia and Burgundy's teams have to wait until the end of the series. However, even if I discuss or have discussed the current situation their teams elsewhere, they will be discussed as a part of this.

5-No characters whose teams' entire showcase I didn't watch yet will be discussed early. As such none of the Unova league rivals or certain Characters of the Day, Characters of the Arc or Characters of the Two Parter will be in the priority. On the other hand, I will watch their episodes to do these.

6-This blog series will not only include characters who have appeared more the one episode(including cameos). If there are Characters of the Day with interesting but not obvious themes they will be discussed here.

7-This is for characters that have actual teams, as such one Pokémon characters will not be discussed as most of them are created with their Pokémon in the mind anyways. I will discuss them if they have a sort of connection with another character if it is interesting and worth mentioning.

8-There is no set length for the parts. Some will be incredibly short and some will most likely take more than one post(mostly because of the amount of pictures).

9-Requests are accepted and requested. Nonetheless, the game and various manga teams will not be discussed for the time being. Even if I do start to do them as well, I will begin with the main series games as there is some overlooked themes and references regarding the NPCs. They won't probably be in the same style as these, minus some exceptions that can be talked in full length.

10-I will be primarily talking about the Japanese dub(at least for episodes I have access to), so if you are wondering about the absence of anything regarding the English dub(any additions or subtractions in the script), that's why. Of course, if I find time or there's a lot of request, I will probably make additions regarding the English dub, and of course, if you have something related to other dubs handling of the script that somehow relates to this context, I will probably post them here as well, if they are important enough. And of course, you are free to point out translation errors, colour coding errors, trope errors etc.

Now that's over with, we can boogie. To start off, we will begin with one of the most obvious, thus least discussed and overlooked team structures of the all rivals, Barry's. I chose Barry's structure because it was the easiest to do, as he has a low amount of Pokémon and he barely used any of them besides his Empoleon. In short, for a slacker like me to toy with, he is perfect.