Pokemon Spotlight: Grass starters

 

Aaa Spring is in the air, birds are in the air, bugs are buzzing and trees are (oh dear god) pollinating ugh. (I hate allergy season.) Anyways, speaking of getting in the mood of spring, it brings me to a brand new spotlight! I think given the blooming of flowers it’s only appropriate to cover Pokemon’s Grass starters.

There are over 95 different grass type Pokemon in the games, and a majority of them share dual typing. While it’s not as big of a category as some of the other types there is something that grass has consistently brought to the table – a starter. While a water type is more useful, and a fire type is almost always more powerful, the grass type to me has always represented balance. Often not as strong as a Charizard nor as swift as a Greninja, but tough enough to take a hit from the former and survive to do its own damage.

So as I did in Starting birds, let me break down each type then rank them.

Bulbasaur Family: one of the original three of Gen 1 and often times one of the most overlooked of the three starters, it doesn’t grow cannons on the back like Blastoise, nor does it turn into a “dragon” like Charizard. However it is one of the most consistent; balance is the name of the game when it comes to this starters. As I have mentioned before, it was Ash’s Bulbasaur I really fell in love with, along with the fact it helped stick up for weaker Pokemon and refused to change when others did. For me however its poison typing was a bit of a setback for the Pokemon, due to its weakness to the highly over-powered psychic type. The years however have been very kind to this Pokemon – with the introduction of fairy typing in gen 6 plus a new mega evolution this little one’s future is looking very bright.

Chikorita Family: I have a confession to make. While technically Bulbasaur was my first grass starter, since I chose Yellow as my first Pokemon game I didn’t really choose to play him (I collected him, not played him). So it wouldn’t be until Gen 2 that I would make my very first starter choice, and again influenced by the show I picked Chikorita which even I admit is one of the hardest starters to run in Gen 2.  While I will admit right now I don’t believe I ever completed Gen 2 with Chikorita, I did run her for more than half of Johto. When you struggle so much in the early gyms, you grow fond of your starter. However despite all of this…I do admit Chikorita is one of the more forgettable starters. Like I said before, the gyms in this game actually work against this Pokemon. Bird, bug, normal, ghost, fighting, steel, ice and dragon….none of these gyms would this starter or its moveset have an advantage in. Sorry Chikorita…

Treecko Family: I honestly do not have too much experience with this particular family. Gen 3 was the generation I went with fire…but I will get to that maybe one day. This is not a bad family though, and the generation has more balanced gyms so there are opportunities to really shine. Like Chikorita, Treecko is a solid grass type,  with solid grass moves. There just isn’t much that makes this starter stand out in my opinion. I had really stopped watching the show by this point so it is all personal experience and I am afraid I just don’t have it with Treecko. Hey at least he has a mega form.

Turtwig family: I have a special fondness for this family. I love turtles and this one was the very first that was a totally uninfluenced decision. Turtwig is the first dual type since Kanto, picking up the the ground typing in its final evolution Torterra. Having the ground typing can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is it makes getting through Gen 4 easy; I love multiple typing and Pokemon that can learn a variety of moves. However, it now becomes four times weak to ice types, making it not as successful in the competitive world. Still Turtwig is adorable and one of my favorite designs and I played him though not only Pearl but Platinum as well, bonding me pretty tightly to this little guy. I wait long for the day that Torterra can mega evolve!

Snivy Family: Poor Snivy, it’s not its fault that Gen 5 was the generation I drifted away from Nintendo and Pokemon. I did eventually return, and when I did Snivy was my choice.  Snivy is another grass starter that I think is destined to be forgotten. Like Chikorita and Treecko it is another solid grass type. I always love Snivy’s final snake-like design; there are really not enough snake Pokemon in the game. The sad fact of the matter is that Snivy’s move pool is limited, and with pure typing there is just not much other than design going for it. I fear as we move further and further into Pokemon this family will grow to be forgotten like the other solid grass types.

Chespin family: Chespin is what happens to chipmunks when they eat too many acorns and they become one. That being said, I think poor Chespin like the rest of Gen 6 starters did not have the chance to shine in game. The reason I say this is before we even get to gym two we get to pick another starter, this time from Gen 1. On top of that, these Gen 1 starters have mega evolutions. Gen 6 starters were overshadowed in their own game, with so many old school Pokemon that I didn’t really give this one a chance. Also I want to note with Chespin that this is the fourth generation to include fighting as part of the dual typing.

Ok so that is the 6 starters, so where would I rank them from worst to best….

Snivy: I love Snivy’s design, but this starter has little going in its favor; it’s not as fast as Treecko’s family nor as defensive as Chikorita’s family. Its move pool is fairly shallow as well leaving little chance to really let this well-designed Pokemon shine.

Chikorita: another pure-blooded grass type, at least unlike Snivy its move pool is slightly deeper, and it’s the more defensive then Snivy. Still I find this starter just as forgettable as Snivy and nothing really makes her stand out to me. Its own generation fights against her as there are no gyms that really allow her to shine until the second half of Gen 2.

Chespin: Poor adorable Chespin, it could not even shine in its own game because a second starter was added. While I am generally in favor of dual typing, Chespin’s dual typing just makes it so weak to flying and psychic. While I am sure it has its pluses since almost every starter that got fighting typing did well, I just never really got to use it…sorry Chespin one day maybe.

Turtwig: I love this cute adorable starter, you guys know I love this little guy. While it rocks through Gen 4, I cannot and should not ignore the fact it’s four times weak to ice. While its move set should make up for this fact, the sad fact is that a good chunk of ice users will likely out-speed Turtwig’s final evolution before it could do any damage. However Turtwig does have access to a wide range of moves making it a diverse fighter, and unlike the later three Pokemon at least its own game Turtwig can shine in.

Treecko: While a pure-blooded grass type, Treecko has one thing the last four do not have – mega evolution. while I can honestly say I have never played this grass Pokemon, I do however acknowledge that this grass type may be the best of the three pure grass Pokemon. Like Turtwig, it does have access to a diverse move pool, however unlike Turtwig it can mega evolve, although for the life of me I cannot explain why it becomes part dragon….really now it is also 4 times weak to ice. Still the mega evolution adds a nice boost in stats.

Bulbasaur: Before mega evolution and fairy typing Bulbasaur might have been lower on the list, however now I say it’s the number one of all the grass starters. Now it has the stats, the moves and the mega evolution to take this grass starter all the way, of course game freak has also had 20 years to perfect Bulbasaur.

Well what’s your opinion? who is your favorite grass starter?

 

 

 

pokemon spotlight: starting birds

The pokemon world is vast, with many many different pokemon to pick from, from strong to weak, many battles to a world that you as the player must save. We all start off our journeys small however, When you turn on that pokemon game for the first time, you are given a choice of thee starters, always fire, water, and grass. Then you are sent on your journey with a pokedex and balls to build your team up. It never fails though your first few grassy patches on your own you will encounter one of three guanteed types. a normal pokemon, a bug type and a bird. for the latter two you will likely out level there usefullness as you progress but the world is large and a reliable flyer will likely stay at your side for a long while. With this Spotlight instead of talking about one starting bird, i decided to do all of them, from pidgey to fletchling and all that fall in between. I have two rules that allow this flyer on this list, one it must start off as a bird, no bugs that evolve into flying. Two you must be able to catch them before you arrive at your first gym.

So who quailifies, i think most of you know, From gen 1, you have pidgey and spearow. From gen 2 we add in hoothoot, (pidgey and spearow appear again here. In gen 3 we add tallow and wingul to the mix. Gen 4 is starly, gen 5 we have pidove, and finally in gen 6 we have fletchling. I am going to try and not make this article two big but before we get to the ranks, maybe we should take a little stroll down discription lane first.

Pidgey’s family: Pidgey is probably the most famous out of all the birds on the list, well known to fans of the anime and gamers alike. Pidgey is the only bird in this group of starter birds that not only gets two evolutions (pidgeotto at 18 and pidgot at 36) but it also gets a mega evolution. That is high praise in deed, from both fans and the pokemon company to give one of the first bird types that most players run into a mega. The train doesn’t stop there either for pidgey, no this birds fan base grew even more when earlier this year Twitch played pokemon. A whole lore built around the game and Pidgey became so much more to people. it became bird jesus…the protector of the helix. I tell you out of all the starter birds here…pidgey’s fame beats all of them.

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Spearow: poor forgotten and neglected Spearow. This bird was released the same generation in the same areas as Pidgey, but this guy is often neglected and forgotten for one of two reasons. One likly reason, gen one is oozing with birds and it just gets worse after. two Pidgey has two evolutions Spearow just has the one fearow. dispite all this, fearow is a really decent flyer who learns one of my favorite flying moves drill peck. This is a ferce bird type that deserves just as much love as pidgey. Sadly though…i think pidgey got a better agent.

Hoothoot: I honestly don’t have much to say about this guy, all my playthoughs in gen 2 i rocked spearow all the way though. I really can’t think of single time i really played with this guy. i will say this though, i really like owls so i have always been a big fan of the design. Its kind of sad though that this is the only instance of owls in the game. I have used this bird to breed with snorlax though, Noctowl learns zen headbutt, one of my favorite psychic moves, breeding it with a snorlax (holding a full incense) you will get a little munchlax born that knows this move. It is a difficult process but to me makes this starter bird worth having around.

Wingull: Oh wingull so cute…so damn annoying. Its only when playing oras did i remeber how annoying this bird is, and how much fun it is to electrocute the crap out of it when i run into it. Most starting birds have it rough with electric, ice and rock out to get them, but add water to the mix, wingull can’t even look at an electric pokemon with out fainting. Do not even get me started on Pelipper, I just have never been a big fan of its evolution. Sure its nice the game gives you a water type, especially since the first gym you come across is a rock type, but no.

Taillow: this is another generation 3 starting bird and honestly the better of the two. Taillow has a little more durbility then wingull ever had, but i am afraid unlike wingull if it wasn’t for ruby and sapphire rerelease this might fall into to the forgotten bird catigory. like wingull and hoothoot this little one only has a single evolution. I honestly forgot this pokemon existed until i was trying to complete my dex in Y, that is really sad, because taillow was also featured in the anime as on of ash’s pokemon. the problem here i think is its move pool is very shallow and the first three gyms where starting birds can really shine. Hoenn is just not a good place for starter birds with shallow move pools and gyms that don’t really take advantage of thes starting critters, gen 3’s starter birds just get obscured. so while design wise taillow is one of my favorites, it never really makes into a party.

 Starly: in gen 2 and gen 2 the starting bird types have ranged from not choosen because there were better and more familer options there, to competly useless and forgetable. When Pearl and diamond rolled around i think many pokemon fans were looking for a change in this trend, and what we got was starly. For me at least this little bird impressed the heck out of me, staying on my team though the elite four (five). This was the first starter bird in a long while that had pretty unexpected natually learned moves. I mean it learns close combat, then it has a pretty nice arrary of teachable moves as well. Plus this little guy is tough, i played though gen 4 twice, and both times i had a starly at my side. This one is one of the few starter birds you can take to the elite four and know they will be right there till the end. This is the only one on this list, i want to have a mega evolution to.

Pidove: this derpy thing, I can’t blame its design, honestly unova is more of a city scape, and supposdily designed around good old NYC. You can’t go a block in nyc without running into a pigion, so to have one in the game espeically in gen 5 must have been a no brainer to the designers or unova. My complaint with this isn’t pidoves design even though i really hate the male design, but thats ok i primarily go female anyways. My complaint with this guy, is more to the fact given how awesome starly was in gen 4 pidove is kind of a let down. no where near as strong as its predecessors i think pidove is doomed that as the years drag on to be forgotten like little taillow and hoothoot. Unlike hoenn though, unova has a few more bird types later game, so if you havn’t ditched by then you likely will by the end of game. its design is great its just if your a player like me who has been there for every generation, to see how stater birds can excel then the following generation we return to mediocrity. poor little pidove.

Fletchling: Well we have seen it all with starting birds, from gods, to forgetable and everything in between, but until gen 6 we hadn’t seen a starting bird quite like this one. Until fletchling all starting birds were normal flying with wingull being the only exception, now we have this one that as it evolves gains fire typing. None of these birds had been featured in a story. this all changed with the latest entry into the pokemon universe. the game starts off with as i would call it a smart ass little fletchling waking up out character, and when the game closes out we see probably the same smart ass fletchling flying away, talk about a good agent, (must be using pidgys). For a starting bird fletchling is probably the most useful bird on this list, not only does it gain a fire typing, it gets flame body, making talonflame the perfect pokemon mother(or father) to what ever pokemon you might be trying to hatch. Example pick up five eggs from the breeder, fly to Luminous city to bike around in a circle, until the five hatch, (hatching faster due to flame body) then taking flying to the next city to check on your new babies potential, just to start the process over again.

So now you have met, or reintroduced yourselves to the starter birds how would i rank them.

1 Fletchling, for its ability to help with breeding and its decent combat skills.

2 Starly, decent move pool, access to fighting and some of flyings best move sets.

3 Spearow: Fogotten by many, but not by me. a decent all around bird with the potential to take you end game

4 Pidgey: while a star in its own right with being dubbed Bird Jesus and getting a mega stone. compared to the others pidgy is just average bird.

5 Hoothoot: learns some intresting moves, but overshadowed in its own game by two birds from the previous generation. great for breeding move zen headbutt into other pokemon

6 Pidove: doomed to be forgottened, just an average bird with nothing really special going for it besides having two forms based on gender.

7 Taillow: Forgotten warrior of hoenn, and taillow was in the anime. Just an average starting bird with nothing to really make her stand out

8 Qingull: falls way to easily in battle, while it might be able to beat fletchling in a fight due to typing, in the end wingulls frailitys just makes it the worst of the starting birds.

What do you guys think, am i being fair. How would you rank these guys an why? Anyways until next time.

Oh and on operation hoenn christmas day, this week i am going to start breeding turtwigs to send over, who will you choose/

Pokemon Spotlight: Zigzagoon

Pokemon is nothing if not consistent, we know over the years when we start up any game, that a few things will always happen. We will always get a starter pokemon, we will always have a mom that we leave behind who supports us, And the first catching areas we will always find a bug pokemon, a bird pokemon and one normal swiss army knives pokemon. From ratatta, to bunnelby and all in between. there have been good ones, terrifying one (looks at patrat and shudders). For me my favorite starter normal is really zigzagoon, i squeed that’s right i squeed when i started X a year ago and found this little guy in the beginning areas. My original one way back when when sapphire was still new was named bandit, future ones were names lil’theif and current one is named ziggy.

So what makes this little guy so special, Honestly like most beginning level normal’s you will out grow this little guy by gym four or five, but for be its that ability pickup that makes him so unique. When you start the game you can find you run though pokedollers really quickly. Zigzagoon picks up random potions, pokeballs, status heals, even berries as you travel along. Most of these items are very useful, and sometimes even life saving if your going though a forests or a cave. Early game before you get the full heals and full restores these extra little status saves are quite useful. Your little pickpocket turns out to be a real butt saver.

Zigzagoon  and Its evoluton linoone  can also be very useful learning four different hm moves, so if you need someone to carry the hm burden for your team this is a good choice learning, cut, strength, surf and rock smash. The can also use non hm but field moves like dig and rock climb. Also like most normal pokemon they are swiss army knives learning a veriaty of different type move sets, so if you decide to actually work with one longer then gym five i have a feeling you will be rewarded. however nither i nor  smogon recommend this guy outside your own game, its not built for competitive just to get you though the beginning of the game.

While its likely you will eventually outgrow the zigzagoon linoone family by the time you hit gym five, you cannot deny what this little guy does for you early game and should be recognized for that.

Omega Ruby: Final reactions and thoughts.

I have been enjoying the post game a lot, but have decided not to go into details about the final game because i want to leave some surprises left for you guys. so let me go over some of this.

Pros

-hoenn is beautifully redone.

-flying on latios/latias is a dream come true, always one of my favorite features in final fantasy was free flying, to see it here is amazing. Its a new feature i really really want to stay

-the little omages: when you talk to random npcs, they will sometimes mention other regions, kalos, unova, johoto shinnoh and kanto. it makes the game feel more global. Its a little thing but it helps.

-finding non hoenn pokemon from later games in hoenn. I cannot tell you how surprised i was to find Deino of all creature hiding at meteor falls.

-return of contests. i know i have ralled against the contests in the past, but its a nice break from all the battling you do. I didn’t really focus much here on it, but i have sapphire in the wing, i plan on doing contests more.

-secret bases. this is another element i plan on focusing more on the other game but i am very please to have this back again.

-bigger post game. thank you this was the one thing that really hurt x-y the post game was so small. hoenns is much bigger with contests the battle zone coming soon and the delta episode, it just pays off the player

Cons:

-Regis’ and the lake trio are still a pain in the ass to catch.

-sneaking, while i liked this element i found points in the game this just did not work for me. I am still working on what happened here but until i figure out why this didn’t work i will not be a fan.

-missing elements: there are some elements that players of the orginal games really missed whether it was the bathing grannies or the running the ash off the leaves, those few little tweaks broke some hearts.

-Camera angles we are still dealing with is not perfect yet.

– customization. i understand that kalos was Paris and fashion and hoenn doesn’t have that elements.  Often these games are made very close to each other so its possible the customization wasn’t added in because it was never part of the original game.

-the change in pc option order, Organize boxes was always the third one down this game the changed it to the first spot. after years of being the same spot they move it!! Are they trying to drive me crazy.

Anyways i hope you guys have enjoyed hoenn as much as i am. I will later once i really get sapphire going will post up my base.

My New Top 10 pokemon

Every player of pokmon has a group of stand by pokemon, ones that have always relied on, or have come to rely on as the years past, for some its a matter of how they do in battle outside the game, for others its that old friend they can always rely on in the game. For others such as me there are just ones that no matter what comes our way we admire them, we use them, we  love them. That’s right little peices of computer programing we spent so much time with that we feel even artficually if we cheer loud enough for them we know that pokemon as weird as it sounds will come though for us in a pinch. For players such as me who has been playing the series as long as i have, i have found creatures i have come to rely on.

How they got to my team each one has its own story, whether i fell in love with there looks, or relablity or just as i was working with them i fell in love with the shear deterimation it some times take to raise one up right. to some are harders then others to put on this list and after much struggle i narrowed it down to 10 Pokemon who will always find a home somewhere on my team. (and in some cases my bed if i can find there stuffed forms)

10: Scizor: Somehow this guy always finds his way on my teams. its no secret that i like bugs i always have ever since i was a little kid, so finding a praying mantis pokemon like Scyther was a real score. In generation 2 it evolved into Scizor and with that often found a place on my team. Its a tough bug and has proven itself at my side over and over again. I know it will always be there an now with a new mega evolution i know it will continue to have my back.

9: Greninja: When X and Y initially came out i was on team Chespin being someone who almost always picks grass starters it seemed only natural for me to continue down this path. To say i was disappointed in little Chespin is an understatement. fortunately for me i decided to play both versions of the game, and the second go around i got to know froakie. Boy did this froggie ever make an impression on me. i named my first one Kitt after a bullfrog i had had in my youth. I have since gone on to breed a competitive one that knows the annoying to go up against but super fun when its on your side ability protean. It being a frog doesn’t hurt its case either, for me this is the stand out starter of and X-Y and you better believe when i play smash its also one of my go to characters.

8: Chandelure: To say i am not a big user of ghost (or fighting) types is an understatment. It in most cases is because i never really take the time to get to know them the case with most fighters there is never a design i really like. For me I have always thought myself as someone who likes to go against the crowd as well so i tend to for this reason stay away from popular and over used pokemon such as gengar. i am not really sure what it was about litwig that i really liked. For some reason it apealed to me and to be honest i wasn’t really that disappointed. In most generations Fire types are often few and far between so when you find one you stick with it, and when you find a good one you are rewarded. I have used this guy a couple of times now both in game and casual compitition and i have yet to be disappointed. A lot of generation 5 pokemon are overlooked for no good reason and Chandelure is very much a hidden gem.

7: Espeon and Umbreon:  I always seem to cheat a bit when it comes to these two. I like most eeveelutions but for me these two are hands down my favorite. When it comes to battling however it is almost always my espeon that is by my side, back in the day it was one of the best Psychic pokemon out there, and even today a lot of other blogs and players still use this guy in competitions.  I use it because it really is still to this day one of my favorite psychic pokemon, and it doesn’t hurt it reminds me of a cat. So if I use Espeon all the time, why does it share the number seven spot with Umbreon.  For me Umbreon is more of an emotional attachment. Some of you know and can see in my icon a black cat, that’s my buddy blizzard, and for some reason when i see Umbreon i think of him. I can’t help it, and blue i have always loved its design even its shiny as rare as that is to find. So for me i cannot separate these two, you can’t have light with out darkness, nor darkness without light after all.

6: Inkay: Inkay is different then the others i have featured on this list so far. Its not really on here because of its battling skills or its ever so weird type combination, no its on here because i am completely and utterly in love with its design. I am a huge fan of squids and octopus’s so when i met Inkay in the wilds of X I fell head over heals in love with this thing. While i am not as impressed with its evolution malamar, the way it evolves is kind of fun for me too. No Inkay is one of the few pokemon who earn a spot on this list because I just think its adorable.

5: Bulbasaur: As I have stated in the past my first pokemon game was yellow, making pikachu my first pokemon, but for me my first love is really bulbasaur. This little guy without really knowing it would set the stage for my starter choices for years to come, with me almost all the time picking a grass type starter with a small hiccup here and there, but i get ahead of myself. I just love this guy and to be honest when i got to pick again in Y I followed my heart not my head and picked it again. I think i had forgotten how much i loved this little guy until i saw him again. To be honest i think still even today bulbasaur is to often ignored for its more flashy turtle with the cannons or dragon but not really a dragon brethren.  He has been there since the beginning and I am happy to award my old friend with a place on my list.

4: Torchic: remember that hiccup I just mentioned, yeah Torchic is that hiccup. How could i resist such a cute little pokemon, i mean really. Torchic would mark the first and pretty much only occasion i would wonder away from the grass starter (for the first round of play) line. This little guy has never disappointed me, with a great move pool and lets be honest so few fires to pick from in gen 3 this was my best option and never one i was disappointed in. In every game i have had this guy in, it has come though for me, sure we have lost a few times to friends but i always had a good time. Lets be honest here Blaziken Torchic final evolution just keeps getting better as the years pass, and with ORAS around the corner i look forward to kicking ass and taking names once again with my little orange chicklet by my side.

3:  Crobat: Crobat didn’t even make the list last time, because honestly i forgot it, years away from the game i had forgotten my history with this little bat. it wasn’t until X-Y did i get a reminder of why i like this creature so much. Since i mentioned it recently in another post i will try to keep it brief. Crobat has speed, and some power behind it. more importantly its a bat, and as you guys have gotten by now i was a weird little girl who like creatures most girls did not, and one of those things were bats. So of course Zubat once again falls into the catagory of weird creatures i should like but i do so there. Crobat has earned its time in the sun and a place on my list, with a promise to never forget it again.

2: Lapras: this one should come as a surprise to no one who has read my blogs before, i just love this pokemon. Lapras has been at my side since the beginning and in almost every single generation i have depended on her to get me though the end of the game and the elite four. Lapras only drops to number 2 on my list because the years have not been kind to my old friend. while in game she always helps me, in the world of competitive she just has to many flaws to ignore. I am just starting to break into this world, and i would love to have my old friend at my side, but to use her would be a mistake, so i am forced to sideline her with the hopes that one day maybe with a mega Lapras will rise again.

So who did it, who unseated the once mighty contender for my heart.

1: Joltik: Yup that’s right this adorable tiny bug pokemon has unseated lapras from the number one spot. How the heck did that happen you might be wondering. after all me and lapras have had a decade with one another and this little upstart just showed up about four years ago. Well here is how it happened, as it probably quite clear to you all by now i love bugs and other weird little things, So when i met joltik about a year ago i fell instantly heads over heels in love with this thing. However unlike the ultra cute inkay, Joltik quickly set about proving its worth in my team. Its Evolution galvantula is touch and its excellent in the world of competitive. no one knows what to make of this little eletric tick, and the fact i think the generation five is so unpopular makes this little guys a bit of a surprise when the meet it. Joltik just fits all my needs for eletric, bug, grass and what ever else i need in one adorable package. In the short time i have known this little bug it has proven itself over and over in game and in the competitive field. That is why joltik has earned a number one spot on my list.

Thank you for endulging me, and i should note, even though no generation 4 Pokemon made my list doesn’t mean i hate the generation, i just simply just don’t have any stand outs from that generation i continually go back to…yet. Also note Legends are not on this list because they already got there own special list.

What are your top ten, write yours in the comments down below.

Pokemon Spotlight Part 1: Zubat family.

Welcome to my new series. its hard to make a top 10 list sometimes because you leave out so many other special Pokemon, and lets face facts at 700+ pokemon there is a lot of positives and negatives to each family. since there are alot of pokemon to cover i may not get to all of them, and now there are some top lists that are way past overdue. I just wanna try this for a bit and see how it goes.

“Zubat zubat, zubat, zubat, zubat everywhere this is dumb” Anyone who has ever ventured 20 inches in a cave in pokemon is fermiler with this bat. One of the most common pokemon in the game since gen one. In gen two Zubat became a force to be recconded with, as its third evolution crobat was finally revealed. So why is zubat the first one of my pokemon spotlight series. Well the reasons very but honestly my friend and I just traded stuffed critters and i got my beloved stuffed zubat who is happily sitting on my desk watching me type.

my adventures with zubat didn’t really start off until gen 2, in gen one i mostly ignored the little off looking bat. with a new evolution of crobat, it was no longer a matter of simpling leveling up the creature, it was about making it like you. to get there you need to actually spend some time with it. by trying to make it happy i grew to love and appreciate the strike power and speed. however with the mountain of other pokemon out there it was easy to forget what this little bat was capable of. XY one again showed me the power that is inside of a zubat.

Approaching a level cap i knew i would have to soon bench one of my big pokemon so they didn’t overlevel and stop listening to me. I swapped out my fletchling for a zubat i had just caught, and this little think became a solid rock on my team though the elite four. Gen 6 is a blessing for this little bat because one finally its poison typing becomes useful, with addition of fairy pokemon Poison in my mind become relevant. I wish however it got more of a power boost because outside of the game it still can become irrelevant, which is too bad.

Golbat, Zubats middle form i think is safe to say at this point in its evolution its going though those awkward teenage years. its head is a little over-sized and so is its upper wings, its tail bits are shorting a bit giving it feet and in a lot of photos its tongue is hanging out (at least its not lickylicky bad). Golbat has it rough for its teen years. there are a lot of awkward mid evolution out there before the final stage which in most cases look the pokemon either look more powerful or more intimidating.

 

In zubats good fortuine crobat makes it look tougher. It swaps colors moving its blue to the inner flap of the wings and purple becomes its primary body color. On top of that those akward feet are now replaced with an additional set of wings. I say this makes it looks like crobats specialty will be speed, which it is. According to one poll that i saw crobat is among the top 100 fastest pokemon.  Speed can win battles and that makes Crobat a powerful strike fighter that if used correctly could cause some discomfort against an opposing pokemon.

 

Little zubat has come a long way, from the kanto to kalos. its seen ever region out there and should get a little more respect. I woke up this morning to learning that beedrill and pidgot got a mega evolution, were is crobats? it is well past time that this little bat get the love it so despertly wants out there and give it the mega it needs and deserves.

 

 

 

So what pokemon do you think i should feature next time? What is your favorite zubat moment.

 

Hoenn Confirmed: Predictions

Hoenn is coming and so is changes to our favorite gen 3 game. As shown in this weeks E3 and cora cora leaks the remaining gen 3 starters are getting a mega evolution as well as good old Sableye. What else does game freak have in store for us?

Well if you will indulge me i am going to make my first ever prediction blog of what i feel is going to come in this new (old) set of games.

1: We will see another group of starters also get a mega, either gen 2’s or gen 4’s some where towards the end of the game, likely after the elite four is beaten.

2: secret bases will make a return with the wifi feature enabled so you can rate your friends bases

3: Besides starters we will see at least 20 different new mega evolution’s and they will not be exclusive to gen 3’s pokemon. Some Pokemon that i predict will see megas will be, Metagross, Flygon, Gallade,  Rosade, Bellosom, Gliscor, (one of if not all of the bird trio or the dog trio) Mightyena, Slaking and Luxray.

4 We will see some of gen fives pokèmon get some love too.

5 we will see delta Emerald and her is why. Unlike past generations, Ruby Sapphire and Emerald all had distinctively different story lines. Combining it like they have in the past could ruin the integrity of the past games, so i think they will in this case release the third one.

6: the beauty contests will also go wifi so you can compete with friends.

7: the past mistake will be fixed, meaning day and night will return for gen 3 re-release, while absent in the original gen 3 Gamefreak has a great track record in listing to its fan and make sure what made fans unhappy with gen 3 will be fixed when its ready to go in November.

8: The game is going to be as pretty as x-y is

So those are my predictions what are some of yours. Do you Agree with mine, Do you have some of yours, let me know in comments down below.

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 .

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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