WORD OF THE DAY! 11/12/13! POKÉBLOG X #5 HORDE BATTLES!

horde [hohrd]
noun
1. A large number, mass, crowd, multitude, group, etc.
2. A tribe or group of Asian nomads.
3. Any nomadic group of people or animals.
verb
4. To gather into a large number.

EX.  Let me start by saying... I don't like horde battles.

Ideally, in any rpg, when you start out fighting weaker enemies, moving up the ranks of difficulty, until you can take on more and more difficult challenges with each step forward. In a very simple and typical Dungeons and Dragons adventure you'd expect to see a low level party take on, you might start by fighting a small group of goblins, then usually a bigger monster or two like a couple bugbears, then you fight a boss monster like a young dragon they'd been keeping as a pet. That is the progression you wanna see in an RPG. As an added bonus, you have those players fight not just a bunch but a small horde of goblins. Unlike when they first fought they goblins, they now have the tools to properly take them on and, if they use them properly, can dispose of the great number of foes with ease. They can compare their two experiences with goblins and feel as if they have grown tremendously by realizing how they've gone from struggling with a small group of goblins to dominating a small army of them. In 4th Edition, they specifically created minions to help DMs construct this power trip of an experience.

Pokémon is an RPG too. You're supposed to feel that you're team has grown so that, by the time you're the champ, you can believe it. Ideally, horde battles should be challenging but give you the opportunity to feel powerful. While your Chespin once struggled to knock out a Pidgey at the beginning of your journey, your Quilladin should be able to easily handle a gang of Scraggy by the time you run into them but, instead, that is not the case. Rather than taking out several Pokémon at once, you have to usually take them out one at a time while they get five hits on your Pokémon. Rather than feeling like your knocking them out with your raw power, you're instead slogging through several turns to get the EXP and/or catch the last conscious Pokémon. It doesn't feel rewarding because a) there are not many moves that hit multiple opponents and b) it is a tedious affair if and especially if you wish to catch one of the members of the horde.

In the end, what could've been a satisfying part of the experience comes off a frustratingly mediocre addition that may be the weakest type of battle ever introduce.

Think about how satisfying it would be to be able to target multiple targets like, let's say, a horde of Zubats, with Thunder and wipe them off the screen? Maybe you could get rewarded based on your performance? What do you think?

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/27/13! POKÉBLOG X #3

colleague [kol-eeg]
noun
1. A fellow worker, associate, or member of a staff, department, profession, etc.

EX. Alright, so we've talked a little about my core team of Pokémon and my thoughts on EXP share, now let's talk about the entourage of colleagues, made up of friends, rivals, and hanger-ons, that you meet in X & Y.

Your friends actually give you and your next-door neighbor rival (if you chose the male protagonist, Serena & if you chose the female protagonist, Callum) your starters. Your rival is an extremely ambitious but friendly person with the same ambition as your main character to be a Pokémon Master & the Champion of the Kalos region. Now, let's look at the losers from Vaniville...

Shauna is the bubbliest of your friends in pretty much any Pokémon game and, like you, is looking for a dream to call her own. So far, I haven't discovered much more about her, other than that she really does genuinely find every new experience to be special. On an unrelated note, her hair has some Pokémon-like qualities... That's odd.

Trevor's goal is to catch and catalog of Kalos's Pokémon for Professor Sycamore's research. He is the typical studious nerd of the group that is really serious and focused, but apt to have little anxiety attacks from his lack of social skills. Also, IS HIS HAIR A POKÉMON OR A HELMET!?

And here is Tierno and-- OH C'MON! HIS HAIR IS SO A POKÉMON?! AMIRITE!?-- back to the usual program... Tierno's goal in life is to create the world's greatest team of dancing Pokémon. He is a terrible trainer because he is easily distracted by movement. Also, he has one of the least popular Pokémon of all time on his shirt. As much as I like fat guy characters, since fatties are underrepresented in video games and anime, Tierno is, undoubtedly, kind of a loser.

Soon, we'll talk about some of the adult friends you meet in Kalos who're all, almost inarguably, more interesting and cool than your friends starting out on their journeys. At least, your friends are not the biggest losers in Kalos...

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/21/13! POKÉBLOG X #1

SOURCE: Dorkly.com

Kalos starters [kal-ohs-stahrt-ers]
noun
1. The Pokémon that Professor Sycamore's proteges offers to the protagonist in the 6th Generation of Pokémon games; Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie. Also included, are the Kanto Starters, excluding Pikachu, that Sycamore offers later in the game.

EX. As many of my friends know, I changed my plans on which Kalos Starter I would pick for my first playthrough of Pokémon X. Originally, I planned to get Froakie & Bulbasaur, but, after the reveal of Chespin's final form, Chesnaught, I changed my mind.

CHESPIN FOR LIFE!

I decided I liked Chespin the most and that it still met my plans of mixing it up by not picking the fire starter. Unfortunately, as cool as Greninja is, I decided that I wasn't as big a fan and figured I could figure out another Pokémon to fit my Water type needs (which, you'll see, is not technically the case, fufufu). I plan to eventually rename it Cptn. Carrot after one of my favorite characters from the Terry Pratchett books.

What does that mean for my other choices? Well, since I wasn't going to be picking Bulbasaur as my Kanto starter, I had to pick between Charmander & Squirtle and, as much as I figured I could just use the event Torchic, I really wanted Charizard X! I named my Charmander "Smaug" and I felt a lot of nostalgia for my first starter from way back in the day. I remember my nickname for my Charmander in Yellow was "Chili", oddly enough.

And, while we're here, I'll talk about other core members I captured for my team:

I'm not sure why, but I just really connected with the Ralts I caught and am excited to see it's Mega Gardevoir form. I need to rename it and I'm thinking Sir Lancelot.

Fletchling is pretty great, despite the 4X weakness to Rock, and I think he is my favorite generational bird after Staraptor. I'm going to rename the Talonflame "Hawky" after Sokka's pet hawk in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series.

Steel/Ghost type that is a "love it or hate it" Pokémon? There are two types of people: people that appreciate Honedge's cool design and strategy and people that hate it because it's a living sword... I don't know if I like the latter's opinion cuz I think he is pretty sweet. I will probably rename my Honedge "Conan" after the sword-wielding barbarian.

Last but not least, is the cutest member of my team Amaura, the new Ice/Rock dinosaur. This little cute creature has a neat typing and even neater abilities. I also noticed that your hand freezes if you touch it's ice crystals on its sides in Pokémon Amie-- which is awesome!

And that's the first little bit of info about my experience with the game. Expect more of my opinions and experience later this week.

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/5/13! POKÉLEAKS #1

powder puff [pow-der-puf]
noun
1. A soft pad or ball of fluffy material used for applying cosmetic powder to the skin.

EX. Rather than talk about the lame powder puff evolutions of Spritzee & Swirlix, Aromatisse & Slurpuff, both Fairy types, posted in the image above, I want to talk about a decision I made.

After seeing leaks of the final stages of the starter Pokémon (which I will share after the jump since picking your starter is important), I have decided to only post information that is spoiled officially on X & Y leading up to the release rather than the information being leaked daily since copies hit the streets of Italy & Canada.

Nintendo has taken action against some leakers, powder puff soft action, and it is understandable since they don't want people ruining the simultaneous worldwide release. On that note, I want to share the info on the final stages of the starters (I promise this will be the last leak before the official release) enjoy and warning, spoilers ahead (I will re-release the info when this stuff becomes official):

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/25/13!

self-conscious [self-kon-shus]
adjective

1. Excessively aware of being observed by others.

2. Conscious of oneself or one's own being.

EX. I'm so tired of all the judging and all the shaming and all attempts to make the new starters or their evolution's self-conscious about their coolness, prettiness, cuteness, etc. So what if Braixen looks like she has a stick in its butt and Quilladin looks like it's put on some pounds, they still haven't evolved and they're still going to become someone's, if not a lot of someones', favorite Pokémon of all time.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 2/18-2/24/13!

WEEKLY ROUND-UP PRESENTS

POKÉ-"GIF" VS. POKÉ-"JIF" WEEK!

7. POKÉMONS OF THE WEEK! #316 GULPIN & #317 SWALOT

Who knew that Gulpin & Swalot are Poké-cannibals!?

6. WTF WED! THE NOSTALGIA CRITIC & THE AVGN in THE MYSTERY OF THE YANNICORN!

I was glad to at least find two awesome WTF videos last week-- considering that it seems like the well is sorta dry lately. I may have to go searching a little more out there to find content. Any stuff you guys wanna recommend?

5. WORD OF THE DAY! 2/22/13! Bell Jar.

I thought "Devil in a Bell Jar" was a literary phrase, but maybe I just imagined it... hm...

4. MUSICAL MON! BRAVE SILVER SAYS "IT'S NO USE" TO GO BACK TO SKYRIM!

I've been playing a lot of Skyrim over the last week or so. Or should I say, "so good!"

3. WORD OF THE DAY! 2/18/12! Nymph.

Move aside Fennekin! All eyes are on Sylveon to be a new Pokémon type! Check out this guy's thoughts on the theories.

2. WTF WORD OF THE DAY! 2/24/13! Hot Diggity Dog!

CRUSH. KILL. DESTROY. SWAG. I'm glad to have seen this article pay-off! ^...^

1. MIXED BAG. PS4: MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS!

"I [felt as if I] was rushed along... by a pair of surly Oompa Loompas and out the backdoor without so much as a single ironic rhyme about why I wasn't good enough for the PS4."

WORD OF THE DAY! 2/22/13.

 .gif/gif [gif/jif] 

noun 

1. A set of standards and file format for storage of digital color images and short animations.

2. A file or image stored in this format.

EX. Is .gif pronounced "jif" or "gif"? According to inventors of the format, it is pronounced "jif", but after years of grammar war, the "accepted pronunciation" is "gif". Personally, I think either way is fine, yet I would prefer to say "jif" but end up saying "gif" to not be corrected.

What do you think? Also, which starter do you think is cutest for Pokémon X & Y? Who would you choose without knowing details except they're appearance?

WTF WED! HOARDERS: POKEMON EDITION!

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

HOARDERS: POKEMON EDITION!

Well kiddies, its that time of the week again and I've got an extra twisted bit of painful for you in the form of this f'd up animation from 00mosama00 about the horrors of Pokemon hoarding-- funnily enough I had a thought about this the other day.

Pokemon, originally, expected you to capture 150 Pokemon. As of today, to be a Pokemon Master, you have to capture 649 (with more to come in 9 months). The problem is that, if you actually put the Pokemon world into any sort of reality, trying to capture and own 150 Pokemon is not only difficult but dangerous! Its easy to think of Professor Oak taking care of all your Pokemon you left with him (since you can only carry 6 Pokemon), but let's actually consider the logistical problems that might actually help explain why Ash Ketchum hasn't caught that many Pokemon in the last 15 years or so.

First, let's start off with the fact you can only carry 6 Pokemon. I'm sure you've wished, at some point, that you could carry more. Now, imagine if you will, that you owned 6 dogs and had to care for them/show them attention every day. Now give them super powers and make them somewhere between the intelligence of an animal and a human (more or less in some circumstances). That's a pretty tall order on its own. You'd certainly develop a strong bond with those Pokemon, as you would with pets and friends, and would have difficulty sending them off to a Professor. Even if you could, let's think about the problems with that scenario.

In the Pokemon anime, Ash Ketchum sends most of his Pokemon (those that aren't with him or released) to Professor Oak. Gary, Ash's rival, does the same thing when he is starting out and it can be assumed that most trainers have to send their Pokemon somewhere. But the logistics of Professor Oak, and perhaps some staff, taking care of hundreds of Pokemon is kind of hard to accept. The problem becomes even more difficult when you consider there are supposed to be hundreds, nay thousands (and in fact are millions in our world) of Pokemon trainers that would need a similar service rendered to their Pokemon.

The only other solution is that they have to be stored in the PC, digitally. But it can't be ethical to just leave them in a PC box, in digital form, for months or years on end. Oh wait. *looks at pile of old Pokemon cartridges*

NERD CULTURE SMACKDOWN: NEW POKEMON X & Y VERSIONS ANNOUNCED ON THE 3DS!

NERD CULTURE SMACKDOWN PRESENTS

POKEMON X & Y TRAILER FOR NINTENDO 3DS!

CLICK THE LINK ABOVE FOR THE LOVE OF ARCEUS! Alright, exhale, inhale, and relax- NEW POKEMON! Okay, so I knew there was gonna be a big Pokemon announcement from Nintendo and I figured it was either going to be a Ruby and Sapphire remake for the 3DS (although I'd prefer they skip and just make Emerald cuz its superior) OR it would be about a new generation of Pokemon rather than a new spin-off series. I didn't expect the amount of information we got and, I must admit, I am as excited as I get with each announcement of a new gen of Pokemon. And so, after not doing a Nerd Culture Smackdown in weeks I am going to give you my initial feelings on the trailer and the revealed Pokemon. Heck, this might be what kicks of me doing Pokemon of the Week articles! WARNING: Nerd Culture Smackdown reflects my opinion on the moment I write the article and may not reflect reality.

First up, I wanna say that I will lose my crap if the music if the amazing theme from the trailer is used in the game; one of the most overlooked elements of the Pokemon games is the music and this new iteration of a classic theme pumped me up. Now, that I've got that out of the way, lets talk about the graphics, which you can see in the trailer and the picture above; I'm satisfied to see that they took Pokemon B & W II's graphics up a solid notch and, although the human's heads are as big as their bodies, it is a nice step toward the right direction. The environments look pretty interesting and make me think we're getting a Europe theme (look at the Eiffel-like tower above). The last thing I gotta say is that I hope that the protagonists are customizable this time around.

I also like the use of cell-shading for the Pokemon rather than Polygon-style I had expected. Just look at those pinchable cheeks!

Now let's take a look at the three  starters and the two legendaries:

Our first Pokemon revealed was Chespin, a grass starter (look at the green text and grass sprouting out of his head) and I have mixed feelings about its design: on one hand, we've never had a mammalian grass starter so the design could lead to a really cool evolved form with, since I'm seeing a mole or chipmunk, I'm seeing a Grass-Ground type in its final evolution. But, on the other hand, the design is a little wonky with a lot of little details that just feel sort of random and remind me a little too much of Patrat. I'm optimistic though.

I find Fennekin, the fire starter, to be too easy of a design and in fact, in my opinion, its the least interesting of the three-- I always start with the Fire starter in my first play-through of a generation of Pokemon games but Fennekin is making me hesitate in a way that Tepig never did (I love Tepig!). We've had lots of fox pokemon- between Vulpix, Ninetails, all of the Evee Pokemon and more- and the combination of a fire fox is just, well, boring. Its a cute design, but I wish it wasn't a starter. Then again, its final form could be insanely cool, so we'll have to see...

Believe it or not, Froakie, the water starter, is my favorite design of the three. We've had frog Pokemon, but his design looks fairly intriguing with the bubbles around the neck and on the nose (that's what I assume they are). I don't have a ton more to say about it, but I can foresee some neat stuff for this Pokemon's evolutionary design.

The legendaries look really cool and unique; the Y-legendary (I assume) appears to be some sort of dragon, dark, or flying type bird pokemon combo and the way he has three wings with claws (check out the "tail") makes him look pretty cool and I can see some interesting Pokemon designs are ahead.

Like the X-legendary (I also assume) with these awesome Christmas antlers and long legs that give him this really impressive look; I'm not really sure what type he'll be yet.

And that's all folks. Please leave some comments and argue with my opinions (cuz they're probably wrong!).

Do we get to go to Space? 0.0