Gen III Review

Pokèmon Ruby/ Sapphire and Emerald or known more as gen III is probably one of the most misunderstood of the generations. The first one to depart form the familiarity of the previous two and decided to explore a whole new world. Fan could argue either way but here is my take.

*Just a note: I only played Sapphire and Emerald in this generation. I picked Sapphire because well its my birthstone and i like blue.

They took a chance, a lot of players from the previous generations were starting to age out of the game, so pokèmon had to take a chance and try to get new players. By almost essentially starting over with Ruby and Sapphire they allowed new players to come into the game, and not feel lost. This generation implemented lots of changes and removed a few changes as well so let me get right into it.

Likes:

Hoenn: there is just so much to this region, oceans to explore, volcanoes run around. i can’t tell you how much fun i had playing in the ash covered leaves, i would run around in there just for fun some days. This region is beautiful and the enhanced capabilities of the advanced the graphics really helped showcase how pretty Pokèmon could be.

Dive: Yes this is an Hm move i really enjoyed and made sense to have it in game. Ruby Sapphire and Emerald are all about the battle of water and land. Dive gave players for the first time a chance to explore the underwater world of Pokèmon, its a move i really appropriated having and was a little sadden to see it removed in other gens. when it returned in Black and White it seemed more of an after thought then anything else. Dive’s power is essentially the same in mind as dive or fly. it takes the critter to safety for one turn then hits the following turn.

Villains: The battle between elements here is done very well, you essentially picking sides with the color you picked. it was nice to see a villain’s with a motivation besides money, and power, even if it is sort of a stupid reason.

Legendary: I am a big fan of almost all the legendaries in this game, (Except the regi’s) I really can’t say much about groudon only because i played sapphire, and emerald. but the others Kyogre, Rayquaza.

New Pokèmon: There are A Lot of good pokèmon in this game, some won’t make my top list but doesn’t mean i didn’t like them. in a way i think it was smart to make new and old players alike to start from scratch here, it really gives players a chance to get to know each one of these new guys, before going back to old favorites. there can be such a thing as too many choices some times and i think this game allowed players to slowly get to know and love the new guys…maybe as much if not more there old favorites.

Abilities: this is the first time abilities comes into play in this game, like the generation before which added held items, this one includes abilities. This makes a lot of sense for the first time taking ghost pokèmon that had been vulnerable to ground moves finally getting an ability to levitate.  abilities is something that was sorely needed and i glad was added.

Starting over: In  a lot of ways this was a starting over point or even the first time that people played pokèmon. While it always has been easy for the game to bring in new players, i think the fact that we are starting off in a new region, with new pokèmon gives players new to the franchise a chance to ease into the game who at this point had about 370 different creatures in it. Yes with Gen three we would eventually see a remake of green and red to appease the older fans and ruby and sapphire was to bring in newer fans. Also starting over gives players a fair chance to get to know the new guys.

Berries: I like the planting and growing of berries, i don’t know why i just do.

Dislikes.

Contest: i really dislike the contests dressing up your pokèmon making them food to make them pretty all of it seemed like a pointless waste of time to me. give me back my slot machines!

back sliding: Yes i did notice the loss of the day night system and the week day events. While i was happy to see the loss day specific events the lost of day and night made little sense and would return in gen VI.

Internal battery: Ok this is more of a hardware issue. this is the only game where i have to replace the batteries in the actual game! Granted its loss only really effects berries which really cant travel over to other gens, still i don’t want to have to take apart my game just to go back and play it. Especially if the repair requires super glue. i am terrified of the stuff, won’t touch it.

Two bikes: I am soooo glad this was only here because it was overly complicated to keep track of which bike did what, why and ug.

Secret Bases: While maybe now a cool idea with more and more player interaction all over the world, i found little reason to have this in this game. I think in this case its a good idea…wrong gen to implement it in. But imagine how fun it would be to have this now with the capabilities of X-Y and global links!

No link to the past: while i understand the upgrade to the games jumping from system to system was necessary doesn’t make it any less disheartening to loose your older pokèmon for ever when you jumped to this game. i think this is also something Nintendo and game freak have acknowledge because fans were pissed off about this. However in all future games there has been a way to bring your critters over to the next generation. Currently waiting in black and black 2 is my kyogre waiting for be transported into his new home in X-Y.

My Top 6 favorites and least favorites.

i will be cheating here a bit because there are so many guys i like in this game. so bere that in mind. We will start with this dislike group.

6: spinda: This isn’t bad i just completly forgot it was there up until recently. not a great sign.

5:Feebas: if you spent as much time catching this jerk as i did, you would hate it too.

4: Volbet and illumois: i just don’t understand, Why.

3Plusal and minum: No! No game no! Bad game. There was a good chance to give us goof electric pokèmon in this game, instead you gave us this? Why, why unleash these two upon the world?

2: Ludicolo: Words cannot even express the trouble this one gave my in pokèmon XD. I still loathe it as a result.

1The Regis. These three jerks, not a single one of them was easy to catch, i would have them down to 1 hp and paralyzed with there stats reduced to nothing and they still would not go into the freaking pokèball!! Dusk balls were not around yet so it was up to my timer balls, which honestly after 40+ turns would be about as effective as a master ball but nooooo. Recently while playing Black 2 i discovered i would once again get the privilege of catching them again. i refused they had been ported from sapphire and emerald i will not put myself though that unless absolutely necessary. Freaking pain in the ass pokèmon.

Fumes a little bit…

Ok now we got the guys who pissed me off to no end lets move on to the likes.

6: Torchic Family: This one changed a lot of me, first fire starter i have ever picked. To this day a choice i do not regret. This family is super powerful to this day and is super popular. I would dare say it is second behind charizard to most Pokèmon fans in terms of starters, and rightly deserved its mega evolution. (not pictured because its not part of gen III)

5: Gardevoir: Thanks To pokèmon X-Y i got reminded how good this pokèmon was…Is.

4: Metagross: This guy you get end of game and takes a while to level, but it is powerful and worth your time. I think now with the passing of time some people have forgotten this powerhouse, but i never have. He now waits for the transporter to rejoin me, and who knows maybe somewhere down the line he will see a mega form as well…i can think of nothing else that deserves it more.

3: Sharpedo and Wailord: i just can’t separate these two: Sharpedo water dark and a tough water Pokèmon to have on your team.  Then there is the Hm Knowing Wailord who can learn all water moves and strength just makes it too valuable not to have on your team. It was always hard to choose between them then, and still is today, so they can share number three.

2: All Dragons in this game: i know i know this is cheating but it is true, there isn’t a dragon they added this generation i did not come to like or adore. i used them all and to be honest would use them all again in a heart beat.

1:Kyogre: This is it, this is the water pokèmon who unseated Lapras for me. Its ability drizzle made it rain, allowing it to use thunder and not miss, and that’s not all. Like all legends it has an impressive move pool,  it is also so damn pretty. Years ago a friend of mine got me this guy as a stuffed critter, to this day i adore it. honestly if it wasn’t for lugia’s song it might be number one on my legends list too because i just like this guys so much.

All In All Gen III had its flaws, but certainly does not deserve the hatred it has received, yes it left a lot in the past, but you can also look at it this way. This was the start of Pokèmon’s march towards better quality games, games that not only relies on the catching them all aspect but helped develop in depth worlds were players could get lost in. In a way Kyogre my top pick for power and beauty seems appropriate because that is what Pokèmon marched to with the advanced generation. Beauty and power.

With all the hints dropped in X-Y one can only hope that Ruby and my birthstone sapphire will soon see a remake, because i can only imagine what they can do next .

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Pokèmon Gen II

Gen II, Still one of the most popular Generations Amongst Pokèmon fans, including myself. This is an Easy Generation to like as well. in A Lot of ways gold Silver and Chrystal set the stage for what modern now represents. This got a brilliantly done remastering several years ago with Soul Silver and Heart goal, still i can’t say this generation was flawless either. Also good or bad started some things that can honestly be a bane for players to still with today.  So lets take a look at Gold and Silver.

Likes:

-Use of Previous gen Pokèmon: Honestly this is something that is not always seen, in ruby sapphire, pearl diamond and black white. Players were often time restricted to only the new pokèmon with maybe a small handful of older more familiar pokèmon to choose from. Gen II does a great job of balancing old with new. In fact i remember fondly how much my Geodude a pokèmon i used very little in yellow cam though for me in this generation.

-Pokèmon Genders: This led for me at least a couple of situations when i would bring Pokèmon in particular a blastoise from gen 1 that i had named SeaBreeze with a female symbol on it. only to discover it was a boy.

-Breeding: Speaking of Genders, with the invention of genders came the all important Breeding which finally took one shot pokèmon with multiple evolutions (eevee) and made it possible to finally collect all of the evolutions.

-New Evolutions: This Gen was the first one to give us new Evolutions and babies to previous gen Pokèmon. While most babies are are um useless in battle, i have to admit they are kind of cute. Also the Evolutions based on Pokèmon Moods sort of took the concept that Yellow had introduced with Pikachu and took it a step foward. it rewards players i believe with there hard work with the Pokèmon.

-bank of Mom: this is a feature that i believe should be returned. i love having a little money on the side especially when i really really need it.

-New Types: The introduction of Dark helped balance out what was an uber powerful type Psychic finally giving Alakazam and Mewtwo a run for their money. While Steel wasn’t as impressive and wouldn’t become truly useful to X-Y this type was also introduced here giving Scyther and onix a much needed upgrade.

-Day, night: This game actually synced up with real world time making it possible to evolve or catch Pokemon at certain times of the day.

Post game: These is no denying out of all the generations Gen II has the best post game out of all the other generations. You can continue your journey over to kanto and challenge another 8 gym leaders. This often gave players a chance to test drive new Pokèmon. Also instead of challenging the elite four again you can take on red with his army of super strong Pokèmon. No other Generation has come close to this post game and this is the reason why most people love this generation.

Dislikes:

Week time: While day,night was an awesome addition, Day of the week was not. i still remember waiting until Friday morning to catch my beloved lapras. This is a system i must say for the most part has not continued outside that generation

Traveling legendaries: As stated in previous posts, i absolutely hate chasing down legendary Pokèmon and it all started here with the three beasts. At least the three were worth the time i put into finding them. There was no quick ball yet so this required a lot of time and a lot of strategy and only one master ball to help you out.

The Starters: Out of all six generations that have come out, this one honestly has the worst set of starters, Non stand out as special and to me often over shadowed by newer (and older) generations.

Useless HM: This gen introduced Whirlpool to the delightful mix of HM’s and to be honest it was about as useful as cut is.

Post game: What this cant be a like and dislike! Wait wait, before you hit me hear me out. After raising your team high enough to take on the Elite four, to be honest all i wanted to do was to keep on raising them. the Kanto Gym leaders were so weak in comparison the game sort of forced you to try out new pokèmon so you didn’t dominate the Kanto Gym leaders. I would have loved to see them present some sort of challenge for you.

Team Rockets Return: To be honest i forget they were in this generation. They really didn’t have much of an impact on the way the game was played and i felt they were just sort of phoned in.

Apricorns: While the predecessor to the berry and different kinds of Pokèballs, Apricorns were difficult to get, tedious to make into balls and to be honest i never found them that useful.

Now onto the best and worst of this generation:

I will change things up and start with the worst.

6: Gen II Starters: The word i used above was forgettable. There is nothing really special about these three that make them stand out. They were not by a long shot a bad pokèmon, they just pale in comparison to the other Starters.

5: Aipom: Big secret about me, i hate all the monkey pokèmon, i just have never found one whose design i liked and this one sadly falls in that category.

4: Dunsparce: i don’t really use Pokèmon that don’t evolve, i also don’t use ones that are just dex filler. This one is useless and a dex filler.

3: Delibird: Another Dex Filler, but at least Dunsparce can attack, Delibird only knows present which can hurt your opponent or help it…really?

2: Smoochum: The baby form to my nemesis jynx, there for i hate this one too!

1Unown: 26 useless waste of spaces. OK maybe that is a bit harsh but they are not that strong, and i spent a while ins silver trying to catch them all only to realize i only needed one..grrr.

The Best

6: Entei, Suicune and Raikou: As much as they were a pain in the ass to catch, i did like these three and still do. they good all around and some of the top of there types.

5: Lugia: Hands down one of the best legendaries of that game my favorite legendary of all time. Its just power in a pretty package and i look forward to the day i can double battle with Lugia and Yvetal.

4:Ampharos: Electric was few and far between in Gold and Silver, and unlike future gens which gave us novelty electric types, gold and silver gave us one really powerful one. Hint for players using it for the first time…never stop this guy from evolving!

3: Mantine: Beautiful and cute, and always runner up to Lapras in my book. While Doubly weak to electric, it had a good hp and move pool. This is a little guy i have also grown to appreciate again in X-Y.

2: Espeon and Umbreon: These two were almost number 1, beaten out by a bug, my love for them holds no bounds probably still the best of the Eeveelutions: Little tip out their, Espeon can now learn fairy moves…take that Sylveon!

1: Scizor: I love this guy, Scyther was always a favorite of mine and this evolution took him and ramped him up. He has been in many teams since gen II and will likely be in more in years to come.

So What do you guys think? have you played Gen II? What are some of your favorite, and least favorite things about this generation?

Pokèmon Gen I

I didn’t forget about you guys i promise, i got a little bored after finishing x so i have been working on Y. Yes i know I am a pokèadict. the next top 6 list are on hold because to be honest in the past i have never used ghost types or fighting types if i could avoid it, so i am taking a little to work with some ghost types to give you the best i can give you in the mean time i figured i talked a little about each generation. i have been playing Pokèmon since yellow and have played ever generation, and some of the non core games. Well why gen II is by far my favorite. but every series has its good points and bad points, and like everything older ones get tinted with some rose colored glasses making us remember the good things and forgetting the bad things. there are six gens, for the record i will be counting remakes in with their original gens, because other then updating graphics, moves or some times types it is generally the same game. the story remains the same as do the pokèmon that are part of that gen…unless the family gets an addition. With out further adu i start with the original, which is my third favorite gen. don’t worry i won’t be to hard

Generation one: This started it all, and to be fair it can be difficult to judge it by the standards of today, although it doesn’t mean one shouldn’t. this game at time had some dark moments but also some light hearted ones, it treats all players the same no matter what level. I should say imminently these games have not aged as beautifully as one might hope, the graphics pale in comparison to the modern ds and even recently released pokèmon X-Y. The music sets the standard of what we here today, almost every basic musical tone, the evolution theme, the healing theme the capture theme have for the most part in tone remain the same with some modern updates to the tract. I am big into the musical scores of a video game, but i can go onto a tanget here so let me get down to basics. my likes and dislikes.

likes:

I love how the game does and continues to treat each player as if they are playing for the first time. yes after 6 generations this can be annoying, but at the same time this game make it easy for new players to pick up the game and feel like they can get on the same level as a season player.

Trading and version exclusive. Honestly to my knowledge this is one of the first video games out their to actively encourage you to play with or against your friends. Each version you picked red, blue or even in my case yellow had little pokèmon that one could find only in their versions. For the first time Video games became more social.

the Third rehash game. The series has always been good to release a third version of the game, in later series it would be dedicated to the often time third legendary in the game. Gen I saw the opportunity to capitalize on the success of a certain yellow mouse that had taken the world by storm. This usually comes with some updates to the previous generations, including bug fixes which as most of we know red and blue were loaded with them. Sometimes they come with story line updates as well as we have seen with both yellow and black and white 2 in later generations. Pokèmon yellow decided to follow a little bit the story line of what we had seen in the anime. honestly it isn’t much of an impact, but for someone like me it would be the anime that would eventually draw me into the game, so having it their to acknowledge that played into getting new players like me.

The update: Gen I was the first and deservingly so to get an update to its game format. By the time gen III had made it out there was a new system in play the game boy advance that could not trade with the older game boy games, thus sentencing the pokèmon in gen I and gen II to die. I know that sounds a bit dramatic but it is the truth, i have a level 100 pikachu and zapdos on those games that will never be played again, creatures we spent a lot of time energy and yes love into raising will stay there. Ever since then though every version has had a way to trade up to the next gen of systems. There are pokemon waiting in black 2 for the pokèmon transporter that i have had since my sapphire and leaf green days.

The Dislikes:

I know it is difficult here because a lot of people including myself look at this gen with what i refer to as nostalga glasses, you remember what you love but tend to forget what you hated about it. this one more then anything gets glossed over for it, but i will compare it to today’s modern ones as well.

The safari zone, not a fan of it. you spend all freaking game catching things one way then have to throw rocks and food at a pokèmon and hope that they go into the fairly weak safari ball.

The graphics in this game have aged terribly, i have looked at gen I Game Boy and the sprites and the grapics are just not good, to make life more difficult there is actually a gym where having graphics are important, koga’s gym. i remember i had to look at a walk though to figure out where to walk because it was so hard to see. This did improve with the update and it became clearer to see.

Post game content, there really isn’t much to do after you catch mewtwo, and because even competive side was so limited to the game systems of there time there just wasn’t much to do.  The Ability to import you critters into Pokèmon Stadium on the n64 did improve this last one a bit.

Flash: This move out of all the Hm’s in all the generation’s this one is the bane of my game playing and one i am glad that lost is place as and hm after gen III. in the game there is normally one…maybe two caves you really need this move in, and in gen I there was no move deleter so you were stuck with this move that could not be forgotten. I should come down on all HM’s but their have been some that are or still are useful today. (fly and surf) Flash and i will give cut this title are just so damn useless.

Now onto the pokèmon. I am not going to go too in depth here because i have in posts past. I am going to try to stick with ones i loved then, and i still like today. I just want to say this, it will be a top and bottom 6 list, and the top list is very difficult for me. i will start with the favorites then end with the least favorites.

6: Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbsaur, The original Starters for this game hold a very special place in most everyone hearts. Without these three most players didn’t get very far.

5:Pikachu: The other original starter, This one brought so much gen I, including many of its fans. Like him or hate him, without Pikachu this game might not be still around.

4: Team Eevee: This family has seen new members over the years, but first there was one eevee, no breeding and one choice. Depending on your pick you could balance your team well.

3: The bird Trio: These three were great, they stayed put and waited for you to come catch them. Now you have to chase them all over the place to catch them, this was back when Catching was a little easier. Articuo, Moltres, Zapdos, while no longer considered uber these three you still should not mess around with. (and yes i want to see a mega for them too)

2: Mewtwo: first time on one of my lists, but even i have to acknowledge what a powerhouse this guy was…still is. The first post game guy, first over powered guy, first one with a movie and a good one too. While i don’t use him much now a days back when i was playing gen I and Gen II he was a fixture on my team.

1: Lapras: I think by now you know my love for this guy knows no bounds. Given to you in gen I, no gimmicks to it this critter has saved my butt over and over again over the years.

the bottom rung: these are guys that i never used or have come to hate.

6: Porygon: Nothing like teaching kids to play the slots at a young age. i spent hours there trying to save up for this thing, and its pretty damn useless.

5: Electrobuzz and Magmar: I am not a big fan of human shapped pokèmon and these two are no exception. To be honest this is also one family that really hasn’t improved much with future family additions either. I am just not a fan of these two and probably never will be.

4: The Poison type: This poor typing was a victim of Gen I’s powering system, Poison was very, very weak to the games over powered Psychic’s and strong against nothing really. As a result up until X and Y I saw very little reason to ever use a Pokèmon with Poison in its typing. Kind of a shame too because I ignored them for so many years.

3: Eggscute: Nope Still not a fan…it is eggs people! EGGS! Tell me again why people were so upset about the ice Cream cone pokèmon?

2: Mr.Mime: this one another human shaped one, just annoys me, and confused me. Even with the gender updates then Gen I got with the remake, this one is still capable of being a boy or a girl. It’s name is MR. mime. See the Mister in it!!. Yes i know something likely got lost in translation, but at this point Game freak has got to realize its name and just make it a boy already! Either that drop the Mr and just call it Mime.

1: Jynx: MAY YOU BURN WITH THE DEATH OF A THOUSAND EMBERS!! Ahem. Sorry to this day this pokèmon still calls up loads of anger. I have never and will never like this guy, and you better believe i will wonder trade its butt out of my system the second i have dex credit for it.

Ahem…Ok i am really not that psychotic jynx just bring it out of me. Gen I Was the Start of Pokèmon Journey for many of us, while by today’s standards the story is pretty basic, it still brought us to new world, it changed the way many of use play games. Because of this gen many people entered the handheld market, which i am still a proud member of.  While not being flawless, its still a game that many have good memories of.

My top 6 favorite dark Pokèmon

Dark type has been a favorite type of mine since its introduction in gen 2. Picking just 6 proved difficult some times, but this one i found relatively easy. Again no legendaries allowed.

6:      Sharpedo: Sharpedo had to share the number three spot on my top 6 favorite water, but not here. Sharpedo is one of those dark horse pokèmon that are not used often but can be a powerful force to be not be ignored. i have said it before that gen III has some great candidates in every category and its pokèmon like sharpedo that make me look forward to a re-release of gen III’s Ruby and Sapphire.

5:   Malamar: Pokèmon has always been know to have known to make weird combos, Inkay is defiantly up thier with weird combos and weird evolutions. This Psychic/dark type is just a weird but a powerful little guy, i named mine bloop when i spotted it because it reminded me of the Bloober from Mario. Lets get this straight Dark was created to balance out the uber powerful Psychic types, Dark became weak to fighting, and psychic is strong against it. However both suck against bugs. This guy also learns some flying moves like peck making it a pretty decent critter. Besides evolving upside down this weird combo slide easily into my top 6.

4:      Houndoom Family: I think when most people think Dark Pokèmon this is the first guy that comes to mind. Houndoom is one of the original dark types that was introduced in gen II. He was known for his speed making him a great strike fighter. This guy hasn’t changed much, but did get a mega Evolution. Not the look people were hoping for but still anything to make this guy just a little more fierce is cool by me. Honestly it has never frighten me it had a great coloration, not the best defense in the world still i was happy to see it again.

3:        Hydreigon: This guy is another one that has been on my lists before, in fact was number one on the dragon list. He is also a dark type and a powerful at that. I won’t go on long  about this guy because he has been on the list. I said it before and i will say it again, you do not spend 64 levels with anything in this game without becoming attached to it.

2:    Tyranitar: This Powerful Pokèmon has long been a favorite of mine.
This was the high level evolver in Gen II and spends its first two levels as a ground/rock Pokemon. It is at 55 when it evolves to his final evolution the great and powerful tyranitar. This Rock/Dark type learns rock, ground and darks best moves naturally, plus with tms, can pick up ice, fire, dragon and eletrics best moves, making him a powerful and unpredictable beast. I just picked up a new larvitar today and look forward to making it as big and powerful as in years past…and to make life even better for fans of this guy guess who has a mega.

1: Umbreon: This guys has been on lists before as well, and as you have seen i am a huge eevee fan. Umbreon and Espeon are hands down my favorite of the family. Umbreon is a pure dark and all heart. It helps that both Umbreon and sibling evolve by affection towards you and time of day. It like all Eevee’s learns the stand by moves, shadow ball and bite. While not as powerful as my number two, i have been though a lot with this guy and its hard not acknowledge this Eevee with a dark type with a heart.

So what do you think? do you agree? disagree? is Their someone you missed. Next time Dark and Psychic’s nemesis Bug.

My Top 6 Favorite Flying Pokèmon

Flying is one of the more unique types in the game, its one of the few types that only has one pure type…that is right only one pure flying pokèmon. This type has mixed with just about every type out there. So there is another rule with this one besides no legendary here. It must be a bird of some kind.

6:  Pidgy family: this one almost didn’t make the list, but for a lot of players including myself this is one of your first wild catches. Honestly as much slack as this family gets, its not a terrible first family.  Considering over the years i have seen a lot worse starting  flyers. *Cough Cough pidove*. Excuse me. Pokèmon x has given me a chance to once again look at this first family of bird pokèmon on the skills it now learns are impressive. While still not my first pick for a flyer there is still no denying that that family is still a contender in the flying arena.

5:    Talonflame family:  This one the first Pokèmon on my lists from X-Y, and its deserving of the spot. You pick this guy up around the same time as you pick up pidgy. Fletchling is a adorable and its one of those pokèmon that to me doesn’t have a bad looking evolution, the middle one looks like a blue jay to me. My little Fe (what i named it) was a great team member and probably would have stayed with me to the end if i didn’t re-fall in love with Crobat. If you pick up this game pick yourself up a fletchling you won’t be disappointed by this little fire bird.

4:             Togekiss family: this Family first introduced to players before Gold and silver had even hit our shores, it was a normal type with one one evolution. In gen IV (Pearl and Diamond, heart gold Soul Silver) this Family gained a third more powerful evolution making it a real contender in competitive battle. Now with this current gen this family is once again undergoing a change, this time its type. That’s right this family is now a fairy type, while i current don’t have at a Togepi in the current game, i look forward to seeing what this little guy can do now.

3:   Aerodactyl: Let me start by saying, i hate his mega form, it just doesn’t do it for me. that being said i have always really liked Aerodactyl. For a flyer with a rock typing with it, this guy has always been really fast. Its a powerful ancient flyer that if raised right could put a serious cramp in everyone style. its one Ancient fossil that deserves its resurrection.

2:  Fearow Family: I really didn’t pay much attention to this bird in the first gen. However the second gen i managed to pick up this guy pretty early in the game. Spearow stayed at my side all the way until the end of the game. i never realized how tough and powerful this guy was until that gen. With a powerful learned move drill peck, which at the time i only though zapdos knew. While not as pretty as some of the other birds on my list, it should not be ignored.

1:             Staraptor family: Hands Down the best of the starting bird pokèmon you get, Gen Four has some great pokèmon in it, from previous entry Luxray to Staraptor a lot of truly greats were added too our dexs. Not only does this one has the standard moves most normal birds learn, what it learns naturally like close combat and Brave bird this is one tough bird and a dare say one of the greats. I have become a huge fan of this guy and its family and its hands down the top bird of flying types.

My Top 6 Favorite Electric Pokèmon

Electric types, honestly this for many is the earliest type we are introduced to, in the form of Pikachu. However like Fire pokèmon there are not that many elecrtic types. only 1-3 added each game series. It makes this category as small as Fire. Still when you find them in each game they often become important to the team, for their help capturing new pokèmon, or there natural move sets that can make these guys a serious threat to water and flying pokèmon in the game. Sadly there are also quite a few toss away electrics out there as well. So in my opinion who are the best of the best in the field of electric that is not a legendary (Sorry Zappy)

 

6:             Joltik: I fell instantly in love with this little guy when i first saw him…yes i know there is a far better electric in that game, do i care no. Look how adorable Joltik is. Its evolved form Galvantula is nice looking too but not as charmingly cute as its unevolved form. did i eventually have to swap it out for a more powerful pokèmon, yes, did i enjoy having it on my team while it was their absolutly. Would i take the time now with the way things are currently laid out in x to get to know it better, Absolutely. Just can’t help but love that face.

5:                  Zebstrika: after 6 generations of pokèmon there are still only three families of horse Pokèmon, Ponyta, Keldeo (this is a special event guy who i have never caught myself) and blitzle. This makes Horse’s one of the rarer animal types in the game. One thing you can always depend on with the horses is that they are fast, which is usually a standby thing for electric anyways.  You Pick up this family pretty early in gen five and they do a decent job. I love the looks of this guy and would haven’t kept it all game long but sadly as the case with ponyta, their are just better faster stronger guys out there. Sorry buddy.

4: Jolteon: This one should not be a surprise to anyone at this point concidering how big of an eevee fan I am. Jolteon is one of the three original Evolutions. Before Bite became darkm Jolteon was the only eevee to learn any moves that could challenge mewtwo. It learn the fairly weak now pin missile a bug move. It also naturally learns Double kick, giving this Eevee a leg up on ground types that are looking to wreck its world.  I would say honestly jolteon maybe my 3rd favorite eevee member behind umbreon and Espeon, This classic is still hard to ignore in the field of combat.

 

3: Ampharos Family: To explain this one i have to take you back to Gen II.  Just starting out on my second game Journey all i had in my team was Chikorita, Sentret geodude and spearow, with a whole lot of game ahead of me. If i wanted to beat this game…heck even the first gym i needed an electric pokèmon and i needed one quick. Then a met mareep, this electric cotton ball sheep. between it and Geodude most of gym leaders fell to out combo. Type for handling this pokèmon, never stop it from evolving to ampharos, it learns thunder punch right off the bat.  I have never forgotten the help this guy gave me that game, and was quite pleased to get a chance to raise a new one in black 2. This is a one of the good electrics and is well deserving of its mega evolution…even if it looks goofy.

 

2:    Luxray: Gen Four was full of great pokèmon, especially early game Pokèmon. This family is no exception, especially if you spend some time with this guy at the breeders. You can have a great Shinx that knows right from the egg, Ice, Fire and thunder fang as well as crunch, now you have a little electric bad ass on your team that will not take nothing from anyone. On top of that if you get one with intimidate you drop your opponent defense as well. This guy is a dream for any electric lovers out their, easy to raise tough as nails, get it early, cute as a button and its pretty much a lion! So why isn’t this guy my number one?

 

1: Pikachu: Because with out pikachu there would be no other lists, i would have never played the game. i probably never known what Pokèmon was. This little electric mouse has changed my world and for the better part of 16 years for me. As most of you know Pokèmon Yellow was my very first game, making Pikachu my very first pokèmon. though the years have gone by i was surprised when making this list on how quick it was for me to put him on it. On top of that how much i missed him. To confess though I did not really realize how much i missed him until i started playing x and when i entered the not viridian “but it sure looks and feels like it” forest. The Npc hinted at a Pikachu so i hunted for one, i must have spent a half hour in there just looking for one, and then i found him. Now i only name Pokèmon in the game i intend to use, so i named him Bolt and i had him with me for quite a while. I am impressed now about his new moves and the new ones he can now learn.  I guess you never forget your first one, and for me Its pikachu.

 

Pokèmon X Final thoughts and ramblings.

Well With the defeat of the elite four behind me and my wonderful team of six taking a rest so I can take other types and attempt to catch them all in the game. I thought i would take this moment to now go over some of my thoughts about the game.

    Pokèmon:  I was absolutely over joyed about the number of older pokèmon available in this game. I still remember how happy i was to step in that grass patch for the first time and see pidgy of all creatures. After playing for as long as i have, and as old as i have gotten its nice to see some faces i know what to do with. That being said this did come with a trade off. There are not as many New Pokèmon to be seen, i think at last check only about 70. For someone who has taken to some pokèmon in  every generation it makes it hard for me to use new ones when there are more old school options then new ones. Also with the inclusion of Mega Evolution, it to me even seems like the game is also favoring the older gens too. Still the New pokèmon they added were not useless, and each one added their own little twitch. From Inkay to Fletchling and everything in between i think for the most part the new critters were interesting, and enjoyable to use, and now that the story part is over for me i plan on taking more of these new guys out for a spin to see what they are capable of.

Mega Evolution: I have used it, and i have seen what others have said about mega evolution, but i want to weigh in on this. Honestly i feel mega evolution is a bit of a cop out. yes its cool to see charizard and mewtwo take on new forms, but to give pokèmon like poor pinsar who for years needed another evolution a mega…a temp evolution is sort of taking the easy way out. Creating an evolution for him that has no real permanent effects on the creature. To me this seems like a guy thing…you know growing up that guys always needed a little boost to their toys because normal versions were not good enough. What is the word i am looking for mega…gimmick. Mega evolution feels very gimmicky to me, yes it changes the looks and increases the pokèmon’s strength and attack but in the end it is all very temporary. I think my biggest disappointment is this, if your going to have a mega Evolution that give a mega attack to go with it, but to have the same four moves as always to me was the nail in this gimmicks coffin.

Villains: I have gone over team flare in extent in previous posts, so i will not waste to much more time here. To me i was disappointed by Flare, compared to Plasma the gen before these guys were quite lame. beautification is not a valid reason to want to destroy the world, sorry. For once could the police actually help? really i haven’t seen any real active police officers in the game since team rocket, what did they all retire too?

Getting around: I must say i love the new addition of Roller blades, they are so much fun to play with, and the ability to do tricks on them just so much fun. I think i roller bladed the whole game i only used the bike a few times. This is a fun updated new feature to the game. There is also the addition of riding Pokèmon, which i must admit was a little deceptive when it was initially introduced though clips. I thought initially you could ride one of your own critters, but it turns out this is not the case at all. To be honest riding around on the Pokèmon the game provided was not all that much fun, and kind of slow.

Story: Well the story is geared to a younger audience, i really wish they would pull what you see what some modern kids films do and have story lines that younger and older players could enjoy. Honestly it gets to a point i just stop reading the story because it to be kind of boring. The part with the giant and his missing pokèmon i actually like that but again, i wasn’t that committed to story other wise.

New Type: I honestly don’t mind the fact they added Fairy to the game, or changed the typing of so many other Pokèmon out their. Lets face facts there are still way to many normal types out their, and anything that takes a few normals out is great news. Fairy also shakes things up a bit from the now stale type matching. It brings two ignored types and make them finally useful and its really nice to be able to go back and look at both Poison and Steel types and see them in a new light.

Mini Games: I actually grew quite fond of both Pokèmon Aime and the super training, to me it was a throw back to the old stadium days. In ways this gave me a chance to interact with my pokèmon for the first time in a long while in non combat settings. On top of that, the time you took making your pokèmon like you more paid off in game. i actually had an Eevee who was paralyzed cure itself because it loved me so much, and Lapras survived a hit that should have killed it for the same reason. This encourages players to actually use this feature and to be honest it is a mini game i will give ago, can’t tell you how many contests i have ignored over the years because i just don’t feel like dressing up my pokèmon in a hat.

Customzation: I liked the fact we can finally alter are avatar, but like most things there is need for growth here. for instance i wear glasses in real life, my little avatar has perfect 20/20 (Damn it). I also want to see more area appropriate outfits available for your character. Like if you are in an area covered and snow and ice, the outfit shop should not be carrying tank tops! I was cold just looking at my poor avatar. All and all this feature isn’t perfect but its nice to finally have and look forward to seeing it grow.

Overall: I liked X-Y it was a nice upgrade to game play. It went smoothly and quickly. I must say i sort of missed the the level grinding, and i found the Exp Share made leveling just a tad to easy. By the time i hit my second gym my team was already 7-10 levels above the gym leaders. Making a good chunk of my battles, to my advantage. It also made my team almost a hazard when catching new pokèmon, because they would often one show kill the guy we were facing, making the need for quick balls very needed. I find myself currently going back to these areas with Honedge with his false swipe to pick up the critters we missed in the game.

How would i stack X-Y up to the other gens…well i find this question to be unfair at this point. Graphically wise, X-y are light years ahead of the others. Story wise, i found Blacks story line to be great, but i still think Gold and silver are the best because you can venture into Johto and Kanto. The music since Black has greatly improved and frankly on occasion i would turn the tv or music down to listen to the game. Would i recommend this game, absolutely, are they are things i would tweak, of course but nobody or no game is perfect. That is what keeps games coming out though, always trying to improve upon the others.  If you have not picked up your copy or X-Y what are you waiting for.

Gen III: Ok Lets now address something else this game brought up , There are a Lot of hints in this game about a Hoenn, quite a few NPC talked about it, either pokèmon, or game play aspects from gen III. Ok Gen Three was not perfect, not my a long shot but it was still and enjoyable series and introduce one of my favorite HM moves Dive. I absolutely flipped when i saw dive return in black i was so happy. It has been Nintendo’s pattern the last few years which each new generation of handhelds they re release an older generation. With the gba, Fire Red and Leaf Green Was released, the updated versions of Red and blue, with some features from yellow. (Still waiting for a re-release of yellow!) With the DS game Soul Silver and Heart Gold. So to me it will be natural with the 3ds the newest handheld that Gen three gets and update and maybe they will fix some of those issues. i would love to see to See Sapphire and Ruby come back, and you better believe i will be one of the first in line to buy Sapphire. Some of my favorite dragons game out of this gen, and berries.

So what are all of your thoughts on X-Y? Are you excited about the prospect of a Sapphire and Ruby returning to the 3ds?

Yes i know i have more top 6’s to do but i think next month i will switch gears a bit an focus on another game series, i haven’t decided which one yet. Let me know what you think of this or any other blog i have done in the comments down below, or in the contact form included.

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My top 6 Favorite Dragon Pokèmon.

Creating a top 6 now with new pokèmon out their is hard, since there are already some in the new generation that stand out to me, but what i have  come to enjoy about this game is there is such a good balance of old with new i get to explore old favorites for the first time again, or for the first time ever get to know an old pokèmon i have never used in the past.  Better yet it gives me a chance to consciously make a choice to try something new. From Poison on those lists will be influenced by the current game, as i am typing this alterations to my list have occurred and once i have the basics done, i might be going back and changing guys out.

Like Always legendary will not be allowed in this category, and i know there are a lot of dragon types out their. I also want to state where i currently in x-y i have not run into or playing with any new gen dragons so they will not be on the list yet.

 

6:      Flygon Family:  I was pretty happy to see this almost forgotten dragon back in X-Y, gen three was just loaded with dragon pokèmon, and i have three of them on this list, so i am a fan of them. This one had an interesting design and honestly looks more bug like then dragon, i think its a serious play of the term dragonfly. This little guy starts off as a rock ground mouth then grows up into a ground dragon that learns fly. Woot, this protects it from electric types that the dragon species can be vulnerable to with flying type with it. its move set is nice but limited compaired to some of the others. I am still a big fan of this guy and would happily put it on my team any day.

5:                  Dragonite Family: Before their was a Garchomp, or salamence, before Rayquaza was even a thought there was Dragoinite, This is the first family of dragon’s in pokèmon, yes i know charizard and Gyarados look like dragons, but they have never been true dragon types (And mega does not count because is a temp boost in power!) If i remember correctly Dratini was in the safari zone, you either had to fish or surf for it and it had like a 5% show up rate. IT was a tough guy to find but paid off in the end. This one also marks the first of the high level leveling finishing up at 55, seems like nothing now with Hydreigon finishing up at 65! I have to acknowledge this family, and while it looks a little goofy it is still the first family of dragons.

4:                 Garchomp: This is a recent addition to my list knocking kingdra off,  This is a critter then in the past i have never used, or by the time i found it i already had my pick for a dragon type. This gen I ran into its baby form pretty early game standard wise, right before the 5th gym. Its typing with ground was and still is a needed type in my current party. What I love more is it evolves soooo much faster then some other members of the family. (I am looking at you Hydreigon!) So you can have a tough useable dragon by the time your in your 50’s. I will be interested in seeing how this guy continues to fair, we still have to go though the elite four together and one more gym but so far i am impressed.

 

3:     Altaria: Design wise this one is my favorite of all the dragons, she is just so pretty and the little clouds wrapped around her are wings i just see he i thing of serenity. To bad for me like most dragons she can also be a vicious power house! It learns dragon and flying best moves naturally, and has a nice set of moves it can learn naturally making her unpredictable and powerful. While i am not over the moon about her per-evolution it certainly gives off the cute innocent look well enough to not know you maybe in a world of trouble very soon.  Beautiful and deadly…a nice combo if i don’t say so myself

 

2:                        Salamence: For the longest time this was my top favorite dragon, and still my favorite of the gen three gang, and it was its dex entry as bagon that initally  caught my attention, that it dreams of being able to fly. Wow big drams for such a little guy, even more impressive when it evolves at 50 it naturally learns fly. It is very impressive to me when any Pokèmon naturally learn an HM move. Not only that it does again have a good natural move selection, and a teachable move selection, and he is tough as well. I named the first one i ever caught Sky Dreamer and its still with me after all these years. This is a good dragon that one should not mess with.

 

1:                   Hydreigon: You cannot spend 64 levels with any Pokèmon without getting a little attached. I first met Deino in Pokèmon black, near the end of the game. I knew before the game ended i had Black 2 waiting in the wings, i decided to to breed Deino with a ditto and teach it a fire move to help out and ship it over to black 2 at the start of my game journey there. The little guy grew and started to learn some interesting moves, that coupled with its typing made this guy a valuable member of my team. This guy is a Dark Dragon, still makes it an open target for the fairies and ice types of the world. If i had any gripes about this guy it would be it takes forever to hit its final level. It doesn’t even hit its first evolution until 50, so your stuck with the weaker deino for quite a while, but stick with it because yes this guy pays off in the end, and train him right he might even put up a serious fight against your ice types and faeries.

 

So their you have it my top 6 favorite dragons, and yes this is one of my favorite types in the game.

let me know what you think in the comments down below.

Pokèmon x reaction though gyms 5 and 6

This is why i buy walkthoughs, i apparently walked right by a free Lapras, i very quickly back track and pick up my by far hands down favorite pokèmon. To my even greater joy its a girl lapras, who i name Sea Venture. Sea Venture bumps Blastoise out of the team, i am sorry hun you maybe going mega, but you just can’t match the bond i have with my Lapras.

Now back to the desert where i run into Gibile Trapinch and Dugtrio, Something weird happens though. Dugtrio has in the past always been a favorite, but i wasn’t all that excited to see it. Maybe because i have run into so many old favorites so far, and i really want to try new old pokèmon. other then Lapras at this point my team is built on pokèmon i haven’t gotten a chance to use before. I finally leave Fe behind now,  for Gibile. i have never used this dragon and i have  used trapinch in the past. i named Gibile Salrama…i don’t know why i just put letters together and that is what i came up with. i then head to the power plant remembering that previous gens is packed with electric pokèmon. Not full of electric pokèmon, instead filled with team flare. (ug, useless motive ppl…i demand team plasma again.)  i put flare out, turn on the power and head back to Lumiose city.

Random Tangent: Let me stop here for a second and address the bug going around. My game was not effected, but be aware there is a bug out their. i would honestly if you run into this bug return your game immediately for a new one.  The day i picked up my guide someone in front of me was returning the game for the very reason.

With the power back on its time to explore the city more, and i find more cafè’s …um joy. I learn pretty quickly that my up coming gym is going to be an electric gym…oh crap. Ok Sea Venture and Doplar (crobat) take a break in the box, while my newly caught dugtrio and Trapinch join my team temporarily to get though the gym. Dugtrio like always comes though in a pinch, but do does lucaio (Kain) and newly joined team member Salrama. Inkay (Bloop) is also with me growing up with Chip.

Random Tangent: I named Inkay bloop because it reminded me of the mario squid, which according to my friend is actually called bloober, but up until he told me yesterday i thought it was blooper. This thing by far has the weirdest way to evolve ever! you 3ds has to be upside down the the critter has to be at level 30.

Anyways my little Squad does the job and dugtrio and trapinch return to the box for Dopler and Sea Venture. After having another trainer battle and bloop evolving i realize even though its typing is interesting, it is just not doing the damage i would hope for. I return her to the box and retrieve my Gardevior, (Merlin) for the next stage of my journey. i teach Merlin and Sea Venture thunder bolt the prize for beating Gym 5. I always teach Lapras Thunderbolt…sort of my little surprise for water pokèmon. returning Merlin to my team turns out to be a smart move on my part with magical leaf we make quick work of the Quagsire’s in the way. I run into this generations newest dragon pokèmon goomy, and a little sadden by its dex entry. The weakest Dragon pokèmon, Really game that isn’t all that nice.

I then move on to gym 6, which is a fairy gym, To be honest I was a little intimidated by this gym, seeing how this is a brand new type i don’t really have a handle on the type strength and weaknesses. I do know enough to leave Salrama safely in a box to protect it bringing blaziken with me instead.  Doplar takes a staring role in eliminating the foes in my path, this makes the Forth gym she has been with me with, The rock, Fighting, Grass and now Fairy gym. I think Little Doplar has earned herself a spot in my elite four team. Blaziken also makes a strong showing in this gym, not surprising for my favorite starter.

 

For those keeping track the team i am working with at this moment is…

Doplar (Crobat)

Blaziken

Sea Venture (Lapras)

Merlin (Gardevoir)

Kain (Lucario)

Salrama (Gabite)

Sidelined:

Bolt: (pikachu)

Power (Blastoise)

Bloop (Malamar)

Slice (honedge)

Fe (Talonflame)

Chip (Chesnaught)

Slam (Snorlax)

Yeah i do notice that a my current team is all older pokèmon, but i would argue three are ones i have never used, or havn’t used in years, Lucario, and Gabite i have never used. Gardevoir and Crobat i have not used in years. Lapras and Blazikin are the only two ones i have consistantly used over the years and frankly if Lapras has a mega evolution blaze might go too.

walk though and gym 3 and 4 reaction

Well after the long hall to get to the 2nd gym, gyms 2, 3 and 4 are rather close to each other, which is nice. i now have a small group of pokèmon i seem to be rotating though which is a first for me. i usually pick 6 and stick with them for a while, but i have grown attach again to my zubat, and honedge. Gym three was a fighting gym, and its in this town do we get the secrets of mega evolution. they will talk at length about the stone and how there is only one ring to be given out, leaving you with a rival battle. Since my warturtle is now a blastoise this isn’t much of an issue for me, between blastoise and zubat we make quick work of the team.

Oh before i get to far ahead of myself there is a cave you have to get though, this one is a reflection cave, you will fine lots of psychics here including a personal favorite if unuseable little guy woobat (What can i say i like bats) Unfortanlty there is mr mime in here to….for the love of. i got swarmed twice by mime jrs. i think i cried a little inside. this is all good though because the next gym is a fighting gym and if you are not using a psychic or bird yet you might want to pick one up. For me i have Doplar, Fe and Merlin with me. (Golbat, Karlia and fletchinder) these three make quick work of this gym. in fact dopler almost soloed the whole gym leader battle. Blastoise (Power) Chesnaught (Chip) and Combuskin just sort of hung out and got xp, sadly combuskin did not make it to blazikin quite yet.

After the gym battle you are allowed to finally pick up the ring of power, to mega evolve and you are also given lucario. Now this is sort of a big deal for me, i have had lucarios in the past but because i have always had little use for fighting i generally place it into a box. but X-Y is a new chance to get to know old pokèmon all over again (This part of the reason snorlax has been sidelined a bit) I actually choose to box combuskin and keep lucario in the team, i want to see what all the buzz is about with this guy.

Now onto the the sea, you are given surf which i promply teach blastoise and oooo my god the surfing icon actually now changes to the pokèmon your surfing on!! a hem, i realize quickly this is not a good place for fe to be retreat and retrieve bolt my pikachu. We turn into torros miltank and slobro. (Crap miltank is still one tough cow.) after miltank levels two members of my team i manage to get her into a ball.  there is also a field you can ride skiddo around, much faster and a little bit more fun the ryhon. this actually reminds me of running around moria in lord of the rings online.

On to the next town, not sure but without the walkthough i need to know what gym i am up against, and now that i have a set of pokèmon i am rotating though i really not all that anxious to add more to my list. Still i should note i had a bunch of evolutions at once Karlia (Merlin) finished evolving into gardevior, and fe finished evolving into Talonflame. I am beginning to remember though why gardevior never sticks around with me, but i am willing to give it a few more levels before ditching it completely.

I picked up the new walkthough this afternoon, it is a nice hard cover but i am disappointed to not see a dex in it. that is what i was truly looking for. i am someone who will hover over her dex and study each pokèmon until i find the right fits for me. My favorite walk thoughs were though vs’s who interjected a little humor into each entry, sadly they are no longer around.  I will say this the walk though does clue me in on how some of the mini games work which is what i really needed help with.

Anyways the next gym is grass, i quickly box Power and Chip seeing how they will not help me at all in this gym. i withdraw Fe and and Combuskin. Dopler already has learned fly so as always is a menace to this gym. since electric and grass are sort of meh together Bolt stays on and Lucario named Kain gets to show off its stuff once more. I must say though going though the gym battling trainers i am a little frighten about how much and how many of these guys i remember, some i remember because of some past trauma they have inflicted on my teams.  Others because they have been difficult to defeats, others because i have used them. Still it comes in handy but i have to think at what cost does my pokèmon knowledge come, what have i forgotten as a result…wait do i know you people?  During the trainer clear out Doplar hit her final evolution of crobat. comments about the gym, while rope climbing seems like a fun idea, the whole idea of sliding down the rope just seems painful to me. i have had rope burn on my hands before, it sucks and seeing my avatar sliding down the rope in the grass gym made me cringe. hmm lets see the gym leader uses jumpluff, gogoat, whats the final finishing pokèmon for the gym leader. weepinbell. Really? look i like that family too but i can give you a mini list of better grass types. oh well combuskin have fun.  with the gym conquered funny hair contacts me and starts rambling about filth, yup that’s what i thought bad guys always have weird hair in this game. anyways that’s it for now. i have some studying to do now that i have my walk though, and some decisions to start making my elite four team, what will end up on the final team will though who come threw for me in tough battles and i am sure those are to come, with team flare around i am sure life is about to get harder.