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ohthehypocrisy · 2 years ago

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Rampardos for Pokemon Unite!

Season 1

Prev: Torterra - Scrafty - Starmie - Luvdisc - Boltund - Tinkaton

Now, I’m not really a dinosaur kind of guy. I wasn’t one of those kids that loved and revered dinosaurs for what they were and what they could’ve been like. That said, Rampardos fills me with a sense of nostalgia and familiarity when I see it. Maybe because I used one all the time back when I played competitively, using it as the ace for my Trick Room teams. I always loved using it to one-shot everything to win the battle. And even beyond that, it appeals greatly to me as a big lovable dino with a head case of hard headed bravery.

And now, it’s time for me to return the favor to one of my Gen 4 favorites. Let’s bring this ancient creature back from the Cretaceous era and into Pokemon Unite!

In all of the years of Pokemon, an extremely sparse few have ever had a stat totaling more than 150. There are the well known giants such as Mewtwo with its high Sp. Atk, or Blissey with her super high HP. But choice among them is Rampardos, having an Attack stat so high, it is the 4th highest Attack stat of all the pokedex, having only been beaten out by Deoxys Attack introduced in the generation before it.

Granted, the rest of its stats aren’t that great. A modest HP stat of 97 makes it kind of bulky, but its defenses are extremely low. Low Sp. Atk and Speed are also a burden on its ability to use moves, so a lot of what Rampardos can do is rather limited aside from hitting things really hard. Instead, let’s figure out Rampardos’s archetype by process of elimination. As an Attacker, Rampardos lacks the Sp. Atk needed to fire off strong hits, and I don’t think shooting rocks is Rampardos’s style. It doesn’t have the defenses to be an All-Rounder or a Defender, and there’s no way it can be expected to play the role of a Supporter. And so, with nothing else for it, Rampardos has gained the role of a...

Speedster

Basic Attack - Melee/Attack

A stamping stomp romp that deals damage to enemies close by. Can be used while the pokemon is moving, but deals less damage and has reduced range. Powers up the next hit of Headbutt, Zen Headbutt, or Head Smash when used.

The range of the basic attack is above average when standing still. The range of the basic attack while running is below average.

When mashed or held, the basic attack deals damage once every 0.5 seconds.

Each hit powers up Headbutt, Zen Headbutt, and Head Smash by 50%, to a maximum of 300%. Damaging multiple enemies accelerates the boost, 50% for each enemy hit. The boost expires even if the attack misses.

With the role of a Speedster, Rampardos has high expectations for its damage and mobility options. For starters, its basic attack is a wide ranged stomping attack that damages all nearby enemies. And this attack range is far reaching too, which makes Rampardos dangerous to be near. And for good reason, each hit powers up the damage of Headbutt, Zen Headbutt, or Head Smash when that attack is used, and can boost the move’s damage by as much as triple!

Now, of course, Rampardos cannot afford to take many hits, so the basic attack operates more as a risk vs reward, but the risk tapers off if you have allies nearby. One notable effect is that Rampardos can keep stamping the ground even while it's moving, but the range is reduced in exchange. The ability to keep attacking while moving is something all other Speedsters struggle with, including Gengar. While Rampardos loses out on range, each hit does still power up your head attacks, which results in a huge payout should you land that attack.

Now, the attack boost accelerates if you damage multiple enemies with one stomp, but the risk is not worth it. DO NOT engage multiple enemies unless you have sufficient backup that can stun the enemy long enough to get those multiple stomps in. Hitting one enemy 6 times is enough to power up the head attacks to max, but hitting 2 enemies 3 times achieves the same thing in a shorter amount of time, and hitting 3 enemies two times does this as well. The problem is, no opposing player will let that happen if they can help it, and this kind of brashness is a good way to put a giant target on your back.

You’re playing as a Rampardos, that’s already risky enough. Use your head, metaphorically and literally.

Ability: Mold Breaker

When an enemy is hit from this pokemon’s attack, it will not activate that enemy’s ability.

Abilities that activate when the pokemon’s HP reaches a certain threshold are exempt, as they use the HP percentage as a trigger rather than receiving damage.

The Slow Smoke item (and other hindrance inducing battle items that have yet to be made) is not affected by Mold Breaker. Items like Razor Claw, which inflict a movement speed debuff on hit, do bypass abilities with Mold Breaker, however.

For such a straightforward ability, Mold Breaker is one of the most powerful. Rampardos already has a tough time dealing with the stunning options the enemy team has, so putting a stop to their abilities is one way it can smash through unopposed.

The effect is simple. If Rampardos attacks and deals damage to an enemy with an ability that will react to that attack, it simply won’t activate. The easiest example is Espeon’s Magic Bounce or Duraludon’s Heavy Metal. Both abilities grant the pokemon a protection from hindrances one time before going on cooldown. But if Rampardos inflicts a hindrance through one of these moves, the hindrance is overruled by Rampardos’s Mold Breaker. The hindrance protection is still there and will kick in when another enemy damages them with a hindrance inducing attack, but not if it comes from Rampardos.

A short list of all abilities and their interactions (not including pokemon from my own posts); Blissey’s Natural Cure will not cure the pokemon of hindrances inflicted by Rampardos, but it’s cooldown doesn’t activate. Cramorant’s Gulp Missile will not counterattack. Dragapult’s Clear Body doesn’t reduce the duration of debuffs inflicted by Rampardos. Dragonite’s Multiscale will not block damage received but it will not go on cooldown afterwards. Duraludon’s Heavy Metal will not stop the pokemon from being shoved or thrown. Likewise, Espeon’s Magic Bounce will fail to block hindrances. Garchomp’s Rough Skin will not deal counter damage. Gardevoir’s Synchronize will not inflict the same debuff or damage over time effect on Rampardos. Glaceon’s Snow Cloak will not block hindrances and will not make the pokemon invisible. Greedent’s Cheek Pouch will not produce a berry on hit. Machamp’s Guts do not increase attack when hit by a hindrance. Pikachu’s Static will not cause a counter stun to all surrounding enemies. Slowbro’s Oblivious will not store HP and cause the pokemon to receive full damage from Rampardos’s attacks. Sylveon’s Pixilate will not increase it’s Sp. Atk and Sp. Def, but the ability still triggers when it deals damage to Rampardos. Wigglytuff’s Cute Charm will not force Rampardos to approach the pokemon, but will still activate if another pokemon triggers the ability and Rampardos is in range. And lastly, Zeraora’s Volt Absorb do not generate an electric charge and will not boost its Attack.

Now, there are some pokemon I did leave out and whose abilities are in fact affected by Mold Breaker. However, they belong to the unevolved forms of pokemon whose abilities change after evolving. Larvitar’s Guts and Kubfu’s Inner Focus are negated by Mold Breaker, but these pokemon tend to evolve early on during the game, so the interaction is negligible most of the time.

The other abilities I left out seem to be the most notorious ones, such as the various boosting abilities like Torrent and Blaze. The devil is in the details, and Mold Breaker doesn’t stop these abilities from activating because they don’t respond to attacks or damage. Rather, if the pokemon’s HP falls below a certain threshold, they activate, and it doesn’t matter what causes it. Basically, the pokemon’s HP is the activator for these abilities, not necessarily the attacks that reduced the HP to that amount in the first place. So, unfortunately, Cinderace’s Blaze will kick in when you reduce it’s HP down, making it possible to retaliate with extremely quick feet flashes.

All you can do is deal more damage than the ability can handle. The pokemon can’t abuse it’s low HP powered ability if its HP is set to 0 (finger to brain gesture).

At the start of the game, Rampardos will start out as Cranidos. You can choose between Leer and Headbutt as your first move. By Level 3, you will have learned both.

Move 1: Leer

Gives all enemies in range a nasty look, stunning them briefly and reducing their Defense for 4 seconds. 8s cooldown.

Affects all enemies in a fan shape in front of the pokemon. Reduces defenses by 50%.

Leer stuns enemies for 0.5 seconds.

Reducing the defenses of your enemies is a powerful opening play, especially since the Mold Breaker ability prevents the debuff from being reduced or nullified. The range is limited and you only have 4 seconds to take advantage of the debuff, but it’s a great move to lead with against the bulky Defenders or All-Rounders you meet in the middle of the lane.

While 8 seconds of cooldown doesn’t give you much flexibility, it’s a matter of skill in how you use the move. Did you manage to get two or three enemies in one Leer? Good, now go buck wild. Oh, did you miss? Too bad, now you have to wait for the cooldown to come off of its timer before you can try again. Hope you don’t get KO’d in the meantime because of your itchy trigger finger.

Move 2: Headbutt

Charges forward head first, shoving enemies caught in the attack. Dealing damage to an opposing pokemon resets this moves cooldown. 8.5s cooldown.

Cranidos stops dashing at the point of impact. Enemies are shoved a fair distance away and are unable to act while being thrown.

If the enemy is immune to hindrances, the move will still have its cooldown reset if it successfully deals damage.

With reckless abandon, Cranidos charges head first, rudely shoving away any and all enemies along the path. While Headbutt is a simple and straightforward attack, in more ways than one, it does get a massive boost from your basic attack, which drastically increases its potential to KO. Not only that, its stun and shove effect cannot be blocked by abilities thanks to Mold Breaker, which makes it easy to throw the attack around with little repercussion.

Speaking of percussion, Headbutt resets its own cooldown when damaging an enemy from the opposing team, which is very powerful. Since the stun effect cannot be blocked, this means Cranidos can very easily bully an enemy into submission, KO’ing them with little counterplay. Now, it should be noted that Headbutt’s Shove effect is still blocked by protections such as Full Heal or Safeguard, which can give the enemy enough time to retaliate. Moreover, if the enemy you’re bullying has backup, don’t expect to last long, as Headbutt has limited range and you’re likely to be KO’d in return.

Also, this only works against enemy players. Wild Pokemon will not trigger the cooldown reset, so if you somehow mess up your aiming, you’ll have to deal with the long cooldown. Don’t get it wrong, Headbutt is a powerful move to use against your foes, but there’s a reason for that, and that’s because Cranidos has very little survivability when challenged.

I’m going to be saying this a lot, but use your head. Literally and metaphorically.

At Level 4, Leer becomes either Stealth Rock or Ancient Power.

Move 1a: Stealth Rock

Unleash a volley of floating rocks in random directions directly forward. Each individual stone targets an enemy and deals damage, reducing their movement speed and increasing the damage they receive from your next attack. The more hits Stealth Rock deals to an enemy, the greater the movement speed reduction and increased damage they receive. 9.5s cooldown.

At Level 11, Stealth Rock becomes Stealth Rock+.

More rocks are thrown. Extends the duration of movement speed reduction and increased damage.

One hit from Stealth Rock reduces movement speed by 10% and increases damage dealt by 10% for 5 seconds. Subsequent damage adds 10% more to each factor, but the duration of the effect is reset to 5 seconds. The effect caps at 75% reduction. The rocks disappear after dealing damage.

8 rocks are thrown with Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock+ throws 12 rocks and extends the duration of its debuff to 7.5 seconds.

If the debuffs are cleared by effects or by the timer running out and then reapplied, the debuff power starts over at 10%.

Stealth Rock and Stealth Rock+ linger in an area for 6.5 seconds before disappearing. The cooldown starts when the move is used.

Most Speedsters manage by constantly dealing damage while on the move. They don’t really have a penchant for laying traps like Rampardos here, but it does help in covering a large area to take advantage of.

First of all, you’re still a Cranidos when you learn Stealth Rock, or Ancient Power, and you don’t evolve until a little later, but I will be referring to little Cranidos as Rampardos from here on out.

Now, giving up Leer for Stealth Rock is a matter of expanding your influence. While the ability to reduce defense is greatly weakened, Stealth Rock also reduces the movement speed of all affected enemies, making it easier to chase them down. Don’t forget, these debuffs aren’t blocked by abilities thanks to Mold Breaker, which makes it easy when dealing with one trick Attackers like Glaceon. The attack is also difficult to dodge, as each will home in and attack any enemy within range. This activation range is very small, but Stealth Rock throws a lot of little stones that’s impossible to maneuver through.

Against opposing enemies, Stealth Rock is best used to deal with mobile Attackers and Speedsters, as they tend to zip around out of reach and attack when you leave yourself wide open. Stealth Rock casts a wide net not only to slow these jittery enemies down, but also drastically increases the followup damage. If you manage to get a few hits in with your basic attack, the subsequent Headbutt or its upgraded moves will surely One-Hit KO the enemy. It’s also a great plus for your teammates in that it makes these enemies easier to deal with. Stealth Rock increases damage received, not necessarily reducing their defense, meaning that any attack type will deal increased damage and secure the KO reliably.

However, Stealth Rock offers very little protection for Rampardos, as it doesn’t reduce their attack or limit their offense in any other way, making you prone to counterattacks, especially if they have hindrance protection. If you’re fast enough, you don’t have anything to worry about, but if your opponent has even the slightest edge, you might be on the receiving end of the respawn timer.

Move 1b: Ancient Power

Summons a force field of skull fossils to surround you, damaging nearby enemies. When damage is received, a skull fossil disappears in exchange for nullifying the damage. Each skull fossil that disappears in this way boosts the attack power and movement speed of the pokemon. 9.5s cooldown.

At Level 11, Ancient Power becomes Ancient Power+.

Increases the amount of fossils generated and prevents hindrances from affecting the pokemon when blocking damage.

6 Skull Fossils are generated when Ancient Power is used. Ancient Power+ makes 9 fossils.

Before Ancient Power is upgraded, damage is nullified but hindrances aren’t. Blocking damage increases movement speed and attack power by 10% for each Skull Fossil consumed. These boosts last for 5.5 seconds and reset each time the boost increases.

Ancient Power creates a damaging effect around Rampardos that deals small amounts of damage very rapidly. The rate of damage decreases the less fossils you manage to keep.

Ancient Power and Ancient Power+ last for 4.5 seconds before disappearing.

Rather than investing in a projectile option, Ancient Power augments Rampardos’s defensive capabilities by granting it great protection. When used, it summons a force-field of Skull Fossils to surround and protect it (are these fossils its dead relatives? Oooh, don’t wanna think about that).

The field of fossils damages nearby enemies, increasing its offensive capabilities when engaging in melee combat with other pokemon. However, this isn’t the main draw of the move, though it is very handy against Wild Pokemon. The real boon of Ancient Power is the ability to nullify damage completely, in exchange for losing one of these fossils. Losing fossils in this way does reduce the damage you deal to nearby enemies, but in return, it grants Rampardos a small Attack and Movement Speed boost. Not only that, it stacks with each fossil lost to blocked damage, drastically increasing Rampardos’s destructive potential when all fossils are lost.

Ancient Power makes 6 fossils that protect you, resulting in a possible 60% attack and movement speed boost if all fossils are used up. Ancient Power+ makes 9 fossils, bringing up the possible power boost to an insane 90% attack and speed boost. Not only does Ancient Power protect Rampardos, but it also rewards it for being reckless in this way. What’s the counterplay?

Patience. Both attacks only last for 4.5 seconds, so a smart opponent will wait until the fossils disappear before reengaging Rampardos. This is really bad for it, because afterwards Rampardos has to wait 9.5 seconds of cooldown before it can use the move again. And even if it manages to get the boost, it only lasts for about 5 seconds before the boost goes away. Granted, this boost time resets each time a fossil is lost, but it’s a lot less time than you would think, especially given Rampardos’s frailty and lack of protection.

Using Ancient Power to dive into team fights is also not without its risks, as the Ancient Power boost only provides a limited number of protection against hits. In the heat of battle, it’s very easy to lose all of those fossils and then get KO’d before accomplishing anything meaningful. Also, until the move upgrades to Ancient Power+, it doesn’t block hindrances from effecting you, which can make the mid-game a difficult endeavor.

Even so, the move is very useful in handling opposing All-Rounders, Defenders, and Supporters. All-Rounders and Defenders will not want to risk engaging Rampardos if it has Ancient Power fortifying it, and Supporters will have very little counterplay to challenge Rampardos even if it uses up all of its fossils and is vulnerable to damage again.

Now, keep in mind that most of this applies to Cranidos as well, as the little butt head learns all of these moves before evolving. But once it evolves into the mighty Rampardos, its stats gain a huge spike in power, greatly boosting its power level.

At Level 7, Cranidos becomes Rampardos. At the same time, Headbutt becomes either Zen Headbutt or Head Smash.

Move 2a: Zen Headbutt

Harnesses psychic power into your head before charging forward. While charging, you are resistant to hindrances and your defenses increase. Upon impact with an enemy, reduces your cooldown by half and stuns the enemy briefly. 8s cooldown.

At Level 13, Zen Headbutt becomes Zen Headbutt+.

Increases speed and travel distance. Reduces cooldown by 6 seconds on hit with an enemy.

Zen Headbutt and Zen Headbutt+ increase your defense by 60% while charging the move. The extra defense and hindrance resistance carry over when the attack comes out.

It takes a full second for the move to fully charge and attack. You can turn and aim while charging Zen Headbutt, but turning speed is very slow. Aiming before the move comes out is unaffected.

Zen Headbutt stuns enemies for 1 second.

Your cooldown is reduced when you damage an enemy. The damage range is similar to that of an explosion and can stun multiple enemies. However, the cooldown doesn’t reduce any further if you damage multiple enemies.

Eject Button can be used to change Rampardos’s location while charging the move.

Rampardos forfeited a lot of brain power in evolving, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped it from learning the big brain move of Zen Headbutt. Not only is the range greater than Zen Headbutt, but it’s also much stronger and even more unstoppable thanks to the power of harnessing the mind.

The ability to become resistant to hindrances while charging the attack grants Rampardos the ability to break through conventional means of hindrance, allowing it to bypass moves like Mr. Mime’s Confusion or Snorlax’s Yawn, all of which would have stopped the dinosaur in its tracks. The extra defense is a great plus too, though it doesn’t do much considering Rampardos’s frailty.

One downside is that the move doesn’t automatically refresh itself when it deals damage, but the extended travel distance and ability to stun multiple enemies is a fair trade-off. Also, that is a full second of stun dealt on hit, giving you just enough time to get off two basic attacks. If you hit multiple enemies, your next Zen Headbutt will practically triple in damage, and that extra stun basically reduces your cooldown down to 3 seconds instead, basically!

Combined with Stealth Rock or Ancient Power, Rampardos suddenly becomes a formidable Speedster to watch out for. Stealth Rock reduces the enemy’s ability to escape while Ancient Power makes it nearly impossible to counter Rampardos’s aggression before it gets to attack again. And do not forget, Mold Breaker is able to stun enemies regardless of their ability, making the attack much safer for Rampardos.

It should be noted, though, that the attack is easy to dodge. While Rampardos is charging, it takes a full second for it to reach full power before attacking. It’s designated direction is easy to guess as Rampardos faces which way it’s going to run at, and turning is drastically reduced while charging. If Rampardos misses, you’ll have to wait 8 seconds before using Zen Headbutt again, and you might not survive that time if the enemy is really aggressive.

Zen Headbutt+ increases the travel distance and attack speed, the two combined means that Rampardos runs further in the same amount of time as regular Zen Headbutt. It’s great to use when engaging enemies sooner, but the attack might send you further into enemy territory than you intended. The major upside though is the drastically reduced cooldown if you get a hit in, which brings Zen Headbutt+ back to the effectiveness of Headbutt, back when you were a little Cranidos.

This must be what they mean when they say brain over brawn. Use your brain power to beat your enemies to death!

Move 2b: Head Smash

Charges forward head first recklessly, running in a straight line. You are completely immune to hindrances while charging. Any enemy you collide with are picked up and dragged along. Upon collision with a wall, the attack explodes, dealing damage to all enemies caught in the move as well as those nearby. If you reach the maximum distance before the move ends, you will stop charging and be stunned briefly while any enemy you caught will be thrown a short distance. Reduces the cooldown of this move by 2.5 seconds for each enemy on the opposing team you damage with this move. 15s cooldown.

At Level 13, Head Smash becomes Head Smash+.

The attack will keep going until you run into a wall.

Picked up enemies are incapacitated and cannot use moves or items to escape. However, if the enemy has hindrance protection before colliding with the move, they will be damaged but will not be picked up by the attack.

If you fail to hit a wall with Head Smash, Rampardos will be left unable to act for 0.5 seconds while any picked up enemies will be shoved a bit from the stopping point. The cooldown of the move kicks in when the move ends by hitting a wall or failing in this way.

The impact deals damage equal to 4.5x Rampardos’s Attack stat.

In life, there are three things that you absolutely do not want to be hit by; a lawsuit, a hospital bill, and Rampardos’s Head Smash, which incidentally you can get all three if you own a Rampardos, constantly.

With what might possibly be the longest cooldown timer for a move in the game (so far), Rampardos’s Head Smash counts down to an agonizingly long wait time of 15 whole seconds. That’s a quarter of a minute! There’s only 10 of those in a whole match! For such a long wait time, you’d think the move would be worth using, and it is. Instead of a nauseating recoil factor, Rampardos only has to deal with the timer, which is a fantastic trade-off.

Like a bulldozer, when Rampardos uses Head Smash, it picks a direction and prays. It prays that it will pick up an unfortunate victim and carry them off to a brand new world, unless it hits a wall, in which case the only world they’re going to is the Distortion World, because of how hard Head Smash hits. Head Smash doesn’t deal damage until the attack lands on a wall, in which case a massive shock wave is released and deals damage to all in range, including the unfortunate passenger. Not only does Head Smash deal legitimately bonkers damage, it gets its own cooldown reduced for each enemy you picked up. If you’re lucky enough to pick up the entire enemy team, Head Smash’s cooldown is reduced by 12.5 seconds, giving you roughly 2 seconds of wait time until you can use the attack again.

Using this move to deal damage requires using it properly. If you aim in a direction where there is no wall, Rampardos will keep running until it tires out. When this happens, any enemy is thrown weakly and Rampardos stops moving for a bit before it can act again. Missing the wall in this way actually causes you to miss out on the big damage at the end of the move, and chances are you’ll be left alone, all by yourself, with half of the opposing team ready to rip into you. Head Smash+ fixes this by forcing the move to keep running until a wall is found, but it doesn’t increase the damage and any survivors will immediately retaliate. Because of the extra distance you can run, you’ll most likely end up far away from your team, devoid of backup squaring off against a bulky All-Rounder or Defender (the most likely to survive your Head Smash, if they were at full HP).

However, if you’re playing for the team, you’ll just have to accept that it is a great sacrifice that can be made on your part. I mean, Talonflame, another fellow Speedster, literally plows and runs over their enemies for the greater good. Though it should be stated that Talonflame has better escape options than Rampardos, utilizing Fly, Flame Charge, or Brave Bird to either finish the job or make a quick getaway. When Rampardos charges, it’s to deal great damage and KO the enemy in one go, regardless of what comes after.

Rampardos does have a slight advantage, though, and that’s the fact that the move is powered up by your basic attack, just like Zen Headbutt. If you can bring up the damage, you can KO just about anything. And barring hindrance protection, your Mold Breaker ability will grab just about anyone and limits their counterplay.

When you mess with the bull, you get the horns. When you mess with a Rampardos, you get a free ride to the underworld. Watch yourself.

Unite Move: Rampaging Rocker

The pokemon’s movement speed drastically increases and forces the pokemon to run. While running, the pokemon is resistant to hindrances and any enemy the pokemon collides with are damaged and shoved to either side of the pokemon. In addition, any obstacles made by pokemon from either team are destroyed upon collision. The enemy receives increasing damage each time they are attacked again.

Rampardos’s movement speed increases by 2.75x.

Repeated attacks increase the damage dealt by 25%.

The Unite Move lasts for 8.5 seconds.

When the ground starts rumbling and trees and walls are falling, left and right, it’s not a natural disaster that’s causing all of this, it’s Rampardos, pure destruction given form. Rampaging Rocker unleashes the fully fury of the ancient era of dinosaurs, letting Rampardos run wild, destroying everything in sight.

When activated, your movement speed nearly triples, which is already scary enough, but Rampardos then starts charging head first at everything and everyone. Getting hit by Rampardos in this state sends the enemy flying, but it doesn’t hurt that much at first. But then, getting hit a second or third time will result in the damage slowly increasing, and by the fourth hit, half of your HP is already gone, and the fifth hit threatens to take it all away!

Not even putting a wall in front of Rampardos is enough to stop its rampage, as the Unite Move grants it the power to destroy walls and obstacles made by the opposing pokemon. It’ll break the walls made by your teammates too, but more importantly, it just means that literally nothing can stop Rampardos from running through the entire enemy team. (Heracross, whom I made a moveset for, had this same ability with the move Brick Break, so this is an intentional callback)

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Unite Move is backed by Mold Breaker, which prevents pokemon from using their abilities to escape damage dealt by this move. It also stuns and shoves enemies freely, meaning it can be used to knock enemies away from points of interest, such as Regieleki or Rayquaza. In drastic examples, it can be used to knock away enemies defending their home Goal Zone, putting them at major risk of being KO’d while your teammates score a sneaky goal.

The one major downside to this move, as with all of Rampardos’s moves, is that, barring Buddy Barrier, Rampardos has no defensive buffer when using this Unite Move. It is completely possible to get KO’d while attacking or approaching the enemy menacingly, especially given Rampardos’s weak defenses. Granted, this is extremely difficult for the enemy to do, as Rampardos gains a massive movement speed boost while using this Unite Move, and also it is resistant to hindrances, so only an opposing Unite Move can really stop its rampage. Still, the objective for the enemy is to survive and evade until the Unite Move wears off, in which case it becomes safe to engage Rampardos again. Having teammates hold the enemy down with their own hindrances can make this difficult, and opposing Attackers and Speedsters shouldn’t be expected to last very long against this battle plan.

Even so, Rampardos has the edge when engaging in a team fight with this move, as your teammates can cover your weaknesses while you single out the weak and weakened enemies to secure the point. They’re gonna feel that one in the morning.

Holowear

Dinosaurs have no sense of style or fashion, but even Rampardos knows it can’t rock a fancy hat. It would obscure that magnificent dome and would be difficult to take seriously. Rest assured, the clothes are completely holographic, so there’s no danger to bashing its head against a wall and ruining an expensive looking hat.

Firstly, there’s Sporty Style, putting Rampardos in a jersey and body armor and some athletic shorts. No helmet though, as Rampardos doesn’t need one. Then there’s Conductor Style, giving it a scarf, a whistle, a fancy shirt and tie, and a train master’s hat. Matador Style gives Rampardos an exotic looking shirt, a red cape, and one of those fancy hats bull fighters wear. With Demolition Style, Rampardos puts on an orange bright vest, a tool belt, and a pair of safety goggles that rest on its neck. And finally, Delivery Style puts Rampardos in a brown worker’s shirt and shorts and a small cap and a satchel full of packages and presents.

The general idea is that Rampardos will be using these holowear to express itself while running over its enemies, just with more personality.

Strategy

Rampardos’s fight starts at the loading screen, where you can see which pokemon are on the opposing team and what they’re running. Against multiple Attackers, Rampardos has the edge, especially if you employ ambush strategies to stop a team fight before it begins. Opposing Speedsters will be tricky, as they’re more agile than you, but all the same, you can take them out in a couple of hits with the element of surprise. It’s the Defenders and All-Rounders you have to worry about, as being underleveled when you engage them means your attacks aren’t as strong as they could be, and you’ll be on the receiving end of the respawn timer more often than not, unless you step up your EXP farm game.

At the start of the game, farming will be a little difficult, as Headbutt’s cooldown reset effect only works on pokemon from the opposing team, not wild pokemon. You’ll have to work with Leer until you reach Level 4, where it becomes either Stealth Rock or Ancient Power. Stealth Rock is useful against long range Attackers that like to keep their distance with hit and run tactics. It also works well against Speedsters who like to dive in and deal high burst damage before escaping. Stealth Rock sets up a No Trespassing Zone that’s too risky for them to cross, limiting their available range and weakening them greatly if they get caught in the field of floating rocks. Ancient Power, on the other hand, is useful for dealing with melee attackers who employ rapid fire attacks to deal damage, such as Defenders or All-Rounders. It makes it difficult for them to approach you and also rewards you for their aggression, as each hit powers up Rampardos through Ancient Power’s protective effect.

At Level 7, you evolve from Cranidos to Rampardos, and then you’d have to choose between Zen Headbutt or Head Smash. While Head Smash is capable of ludicrous damage, Zen Headbutt is for reserved smashing. It makes team fights a little safer as it boosts your defense while charging and makes you resistant to hindrances, making it very difficult for the enemy to stop. It’s best used when you are rushing into battle as backup, stopping the enemy dead in their tracks with a well placed Zen Headbutt, threatening them with another, and pushing them back. With Head Smash, though, you can crash the party and carry off the offenders, running them over and crashing into a wall to deal great damage. The more you got in one go, the better, as Head Smash will also reduce it’s own cooldown as a reward for smart aiming. Missing with Head Smash is really bad, as it means you failed to get multiple enemies in one charge and you’ll have to deal with the high cooldown afterwards. The attack is to be used smartly, as it can literally make or break a team fight for your side. And it cannot be overstated that both moves are powered up by your basic attack, dealing triple damage with a maximum of 6 hits on any enemy.

The real problem is Rampardos’s lack of bulk. While it’s not the frailest of the Speedsters (it’s actually bulkier than Gengar, Zoroark, and Dodrio stat wise), it doesn’t hold up to repeated stray hits, and it lacks elusive or self-sustaining abilities. Literally it’s whole game plan is to just hit things so hard, they can’t counterattack, because they’ll be in respawn resting off a killer headache. Cranidos and Rampardos are really effective at this too, but the problem is handling multiple enemies in one go. Sure, moves like Head Smash, Stealth Rock, and its basic attack do help a bit in dealing spread damage, the attack is spread too thin and makes Rampardos very vulnerable to counterattacks. Stealth Rock is great at slowing the enemy down and limiting their retreat, unless they choose not to retreat and confront you. Sure, Head Smash hits like a train, but bulkier enemies will survive the attack and will be poised to counterattack, especially if they have backup. Your basic attack will dramatically increase the power of your headbutting attacks, but engaging just one enemy will be risky, and it’s all lost if you get KO’d before you can use the attack.

What Rampardos can do really well is opening up holes in the opposing team’s fortifications. Many pokemon rely on their abilities to shrug off hindrances and damage, but that protection is ignored thanks to the Mold Breaker ability. Espeon and Glaceon rely on their abilities to shake off surprise hits and respond appropriately, but they are defeated by enemies that can apply multiple hindrances in one loadout. Rampardos doesn’t give them that chance and can ruin their day with just one attack, removing them from the fight via blunt force trauma. In other cases, Rampardos can deal such a huge amount of damage, it leaves the entire enemy team weakened, even if it gets KO’d too early. This huge chunk of HP it takes away gives the team just enough of an opening to capitalize and break through.

Playing Rampardos requires dealing big damage not for yourself, but for the team. It requires recognizing problematic opponents and eliminating them from the fight before they can meddle with your teammates. The rest of the opposition can be held off with a well aimed Head Smash or Zen Headbutt, and even after being KO’d, your team is in such a good position they can afford to press on even with 1 less player.

In this sense, Rampardos has earned the title of a Speedster, using its high damage to poke Skull Fossil shaped holes in the enemy’s defenses, reducing their ability to respond to the opposing team’s aggression. Smashing.

And that’s Rampardos for Pokemon Unite! I know I’ve been churning out these posts really fast, but really, I’ve just found myself some extra time on my hands. Don’t expect this to last, but do consider this as an apology for my late uploads early on in the season.

The next post is probably going to be a Defender, one of my personal favorites from Gen 4. Who’s it gonna be? Follow and find out!

#Rampardos #Cranidos #Pokemon Unite

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lady-owl · 3 years ago

Photo

Pokemon : Nurse Joy Pinup V2

Pinup of Nurse Joy for Valentine's Day as a gift for my boyfriend, @h-falcon & as a companion piece to go along with the Mewtwo pinup here https://lady-owl.tumblr.com/post/675477462448275456/mewtwo-invitation-to-intimacy-v2

Just like with the Mewtwo pinup, I started this one of Joy several months ago and figured it would make for a nice VDay illustration to get it out of WIP limbo. And just like with Mewtwo, neither of them had backgrounds planned so most of the week leading up to completing each illustration was me scrambling to add a BG and hoping I'd make it in time. OTL

I'm really proud of how these two illustrations have turned out, both in feeling more confident in replicating the OG Pokemon anime style and in my BG abilities. I think when I have a chance, I'll post some WIPs of the chaos that is my perspective drawings - they're probably more chaotic than they ought to be, but I'm still in the midst of nailing perspective and interior design down. It drives me crazy sometimes but I feel the time it takes is worth it.

I also do not have an obsession with Sakura blossoms. Not at all.

PS: This is V2. I'm sure you know where to find V1. ❤

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another-bloody-multimuse · 4 years ago

Text

True Intentions

So, the latest Pokemon Masters event gave me Feelings, and therefore I had to write something for it.

Needless to say, this contains Pokemon Masters event spoilers, verbal/mental abuse, and one reference to physical child abuse.

And in case the “read more” breaks, this is also tagged as a long post.

N stepped into the cave, his heart thudding. He could see the oh-so familiar cloaked figure in the distance, and he swallowed hard. He was not alone, for which he was very grateful, but companionship was not doing much to assist his nerves.

‘You’re sure about this?’ his companion dubiously asked. In Nate’s opinion, N was making a huge mistake, and it was not yet too late to turn back.

‘Yes. This is the answer I’ve come to. I’m sure,’ N insisted, and Nate held back a sigh. Damn it. ‘...Thank you for coming with me, though.’

‘It’s fine,’ Nate replied. ‘I wouldn’t want you to go and see him alone.’

‘Mmmm,’ N murmured. He knew only too well that Nate had a point. ‘We need to be careful when dealing with a man like… him.’

N had tripped over his words. He was uncertain how to refer to the man they were meeting. “Ghetsis”? “Father”? As much as he wanted to call the man “Father”... it was too soon. Much too soon for that.

‘I’m still a little worried,’ N confessed, after a pregnant pause.

‘Yeah, well no matter what happens, I’m on your side,’ Nate promised.

‘Thank you…’

Any further conversation was cut off, by a sudden interruption.

‘N! You’ve come to see me!’ a voice called out. For a moment, N froze; when they entered, Ghetsis had his back to them. His and Nate’s conversation had been in whispers, and he had assumed Ghetsis had not seen them yet.

He shook himself out of his reverie, his face calm, stoic, as he turned to lock eyes once again with the man he called Father, his abuser.

At least in appearance, Ghetsis had not changed. N sincerely hoped that was the only thing that remained static. Incredibly tall, Ghetsis towered over those he met, and his own son was no exception. He still used a cane. N’s gaze lowered to the gloved hand that held onto it, as his mind helplessly wandered to thoughts of what was hidden beneath the cloak. Was Ghetsis’ health the same? Had it improved? Or perhaps worsened?

That was the most likely scenario; Ghetsis always had a great love of expensive wines, scotches and other such alcoholic drinks, and it had taken its toll on him. Combined with one arm, the nerves permanently damaged by his Hydreigon, Ghetsis was an incredibly unhealthy man.

N lifted his head, staring his father in the eyes. One was still covered, and the other just as vividly scarlet as he remembered. It was difficult for him to maintain eye contact, but he forced himself to push through it.

‘I’ve come to let you know my answer,’ N declared. He had taken a quiet, deep breath in before speaking, to ensure his voice would not wobble, nor crack.

His head had been spinning, ever since Ghetsis initially approached him. Wanting to be a father to him again…

Though in order for him to be a father “again”, he had to have been one before. N knew that, deep down. But it was a thought he tried to keep pushed to the back of his mind.

‘Let’s send out our Pokemon,’ N added, when Ghetsis remained silent, just observing him.

Zekrom and Kyurem were both released from their Pokeballs, two thirds of the Tao Trio coming eye to eye with one another again for the first time in years.

‘Well? What’s your answer?’ Ghetsis demanded. Still so impatient.

‘...I don’t think it’s possible for us to become a true father and son so easily…’ N cautiously replied. His nerves were threatening to spill over, and he grabbed the brim of his cap. Something to focus on, while under his father’s scarlet gaze. ‘But… if you’ve really had a change of heart, and are seriously prepared to face people and Pokemon, then… maybe one day, it will be. That’s why I need you to show me that you have love in your heart -’

Ghetsis, the lower half of his face hidden by his incredibly high collar, clenched his jaw together tightly. How the fuck was he going to do that?

‘- through battle!’

Oh. The former Plasma leader relaxed. That was alright, then.

‘Father!’ The word escaped N’s lips, as he called out to the man before him. Ghetsis’ eyes slid shut.

‘I am grateful you’ve given me this opportunity…’ he started, his voice soft. N’s demeanour changed a little - Ghetsis was accepting what he said? Then maybe, just maybe, he had been telling the truth, after all! If Ghetsis could work on his issues, and treat those around him like human beings, and N himself like one, instead of an extension of Ghetsis, then -

‘Thank you for this chance.’ Ghetsis’ voice pulled N out of his thoughts again. The Plasma leader’s face twisted into a wicked grin, as he leant forward on his cane, a malicious glint in his eye. ‘To capture Zekrom for myself!’

No. No, please, God, no -

‘What?’ N gasped. The words left him winded, as though Ghetsis had struck him with his cane.

And it was a feeling he remembered all too well.

‘Now! Restrain Zekrom!’ Ghetsis commanded, his voice thunderous, as N tried to wrap his head around what was going on.

How could you be so stupid? Of COURSE Ghetsis was going to betray you, it’s what he DOES! the former king mentally chastised. How could he have been taken in so well? How, even now, with years free from Ghetsis’ influence, could he still be so easily manipulated?

As Ghetsis slammed his cane down on the rocky ground, several unfamiliar figures in black and white masks suddenly leapt out, having been waiting for Ghetsis’ signal. More Pokeballs were flung into the air, as more Pokemon were sent out, between N and Ghetsis.

Crackles of electricity zapped around Zekrom, the giant legendary held in place. N had frozen up again, feeling helpless, lost for what to do.

‘Zekrom!’ he cried.

‘It can’t move,’ Ghetsis said, a sinister chuckle coming forth. ‘I took special measures to use Pokemon that can hold it in place.’

N’s hands clenched into tight fists, shaking. How could I be so stupid? The entire thing had been a scam. Not only had Ghetsis prepared his Hydreigon to counter his team, not only had he made sure the Shadow Triad had Pokemon that could take down Zekrom, he had now done the same thing again on Pasio, to ensure he got what he wanted!

And like a fool, I fell for it, N’s mind traitorously whispered.

‘What d’you think you’re doing?!’ Nate angrily snapped. He looked as though, if the Pokemon were not there, he would run at Ghetsis and try to physically attack him.

‘I can’t believe you’d actually do such a thing…’ N’s voice was flat, hollow, belying the deep sense of betrayal that was rooting him on the spot.

‘Of course I would!’ Ghetsis taunted, cackling. In typical Ghetsis style, he seemed to be relishing rubbing salt into the wound. When he spoke again, his voice was a disdainful sneer, not making the slightest effort to mask his contempt for his own child. ‘I only put on that ridiculous act so that I could get my hands on Zekrom! That is all you’re worth to me! As if we could be a true family! Me? With a freak like you?!’

N’s jaw was clamped tightly shut, only barely managing to contain an outburst of pain at Ghetsis’ words. He had heard that insult too many times.

“He’s nothing more than a freak without a human heart!”

“DON’T TALK LIKE A PERSON, YOU FREAK!”

He had lost count of just how many times that word had been wielded like a weapon against him throughout his entire life. Every time he had attempted to talk to his father, particularly about his ability to talk to Pokemon, it had always gone the same way.

And that was no doubt the reason why, as an adult, he was still being called a freak. Because Ghetsis had always refused to believe his claims.

The fight had left N, and he did not bother to counter his father’s harsh words. But Nate was livid.

‘How dare you play with N’s feelings like that?!’ he yelled, launching his Pokeball into the air, Braviary bursting from it. ‘I’m going to help N protect Zekrom!’

With an instruction to attack, and N still paralysed, Nate began to battle the Team Break grunts that had gathered under Ghetsis’ command, and easily took them down. As the last opposing Pokemon fell, Ghetsis’ expression twitched, ever so slightly.

‘...Not bad,’ he conceded. ‘I can feel your anger!’ And it fuelled him.

‘Next is the pair holding down Zekrom!’ Nate declared. The Team Break trainer in question looked concerned as Nate attacked again.

‘That’s enough.’

A new, commanding voice interjected, as yet another Pokemon appeared. The sleek, yet threatening form of Mewtwo landed between Ghetsis and Team Break, and N and Nate, pushing the latter two back. Mewtwo extended one arm, launching a hard blast of psychic power, taking Braviary down. Trying not to panic, Nate recalled his Pokemon before it could hit the ground, as N gawped at the newcomer.

‘Is… is that…?’ His voice trailed off, his eyes wide in horror when he recognised his father’s ally.

‘Stay out of my way,’ Giovanni warned, his voice a low snarl. He looked almost exactly as N remembered. He had not seen anything of Team Rocket himself, not even on the news; Ghetsis had done too good a job when Team Rocket were around, of keeping N secluded and ignorant of the outside world. But the boy had heard things from his sisters, and done his own research since escaping Team Plasma.

This Giovanni did not look too dissimilar to the man he had seen in photos. Perhaps a little older, his face slightly more lined. A few flecks of grey in an otherwise jet black head of hair. But the biggest difference, was the symbol emblazoned on the breast of his jacket. Not a red R, but multicoloured. Reds, yellows, greens and blues, one colour transforming into the other.

Rainbow Rocket Giovanni rolled up a sleeve. In doing so, he revealed not just the fact that his arm was so heavily tattooed that his skin colour could not be seen, but more importantly, the Mega Bracelet enclosed around his wrist.

‘Giovanni?’ N questioned, as the man in question approached, coming to a stop beside Mewtwo. ‘W-What are you doing here?’

The realisation that an already bad situation had just gotten worse caused N’s voice to crack. Which in turn made Ghetsis smirk. N was afraid. Good.

‘I just so happened to meet Ghetsis, while recruiting Team Break members,’ Giovanni explained. The apparently leaderless team had been like a gift for him. Already organised, already with their own Pokemon, all they needed was someone to take them under their wing. Someone to guide them.

And who better than Giovanni?

‘He told me all about his plans. And if he’s able to get his hands on your Zekrom, then that works out perfectly for me.’

In just getting him this far, this Ghetsis had already proven himself to be much more useful than the one he had already met and recruited into Rainbow Rocket. But, Giovanni was a smart man. He knew that the Rainbow Rocket Ghetsis had already tried to manipulate him, and was absolutely prepared for the current Ghetsis to try and do the same. Ghetsis no doubt had his own hidden agenda, but he was certainly not the only one.

‘Yes, so I should thank you for gathering these pawns, and sharing your information with me,’ Ghetsis smirked. ‘I’ll be sure to return the favour. Now, our preparations are complete! I will soon possess a legendary that combines two powers!’

‘No…!’ Nate gasped.

‘The fusion of Kyurem and Zekrom…’ N murmured, the memories of the exact same thing happening before flying through his mind.

‘Watch this moment closely!’ Ghetsis cried out, as he approached the trapped Zekrom, Giovanni keeping close behind him.

‘Zekrom!’ N called.

‘Ghetsis, don’t do it!’ Nate added. He knew too well that there was no way Ghetsis would listen, but without his Pokemon and badly outnumbered, there was not much else he could do.

‘Kyurem! Absorb Zekrom, use Absofusion!’ Ghetsis ordered, an unhinged, determined grin set upon his face.

‘Now’s my chance,’ Giovanni quietly said, watching the scene intently. He snapped his fingers. ‘Do it.’

Mewtwo reappeared, floating in the gap between the two other legendaries, facing Kyurem down.

‘What the -?’ Nate spluttered. N looked similarly taken aback.

‘They stopped them from fusing?’ he questioned, not entirely certain whether he believed what he was seeing.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Ghetsis spat, glowering at Giovanni. He slammed his cane on the ground again. ‘Giovanni!’

‘Well, you see… I too have a plan,’ Giovanni replied. ‘I know how you operate, Ghetsis. Perhaps a little too well, and the way I see it, once you have both of these legendaries under your command, your next move will be to secure more pawns to make use of. And as these Team Break members answer to me, I know that it’d be me you target next.’

Ghetsis remained silent, teeth bared. As Giovanni observed him, he could see that he had been completely right. Granted, it would not have been out of character for Ghetsis to lie, and claim he had nothing of the sort planned, but he surmised Ghetsis would only have done that if he were calmer. And the ex Plasma leader, as he was currently, looked apoplectic with rage.

Ghetsis’ raging, hateful silence was the only answer Giovanni required.

‘So, I intend to take Kyurem and Zekrom before that can happen!’

‘How cunning,’ Ghetsis hissed. ‘But it’s too little, too late.’

More masked members of Team Break appeared, again, on Ghetsis’ cue, standing beside him, as Giovanni’s eyes widened, just for a second.

‘What?’

‘You are not the only one who has a talent for convincing people to join you,’ Ghetsis gloated. ‘I am more than capable of that, too! A faction of Team Break is already under my command!’

Oh, shit. This was not what Giovanni had in mind. He knew exactly what Ghetsis was planning, yet the son of a bitch still out-witted him!

Despite his inner panic, the Rainbow Rocket leader’s expression continued to be a smug grin, as though it was all a game they were playing. He would be damned if he was going to let Ghetsis know that he was rattled.

‘I guess I underestimated you after all,’ he admitted. ‘In that case… Mewtwo, get them!’

‘Rise! We must defeat Giovanni!’ Ghetsis roared.

‘...So they’ve broken their alliance,’ N mused, as more Pokemon were sent out. With the attention mostly taken off Zekrom, N felt he could breathe a little more easily. ‘...I suppose they were never actually allies in the first place…

‘I want to help Zekrom, but there are way too many Pokemon over there…’ Nate fretted.

‘Go, Volcarona!’

Another new voice entered the fray, as a familiar Volcarona appeared over N’s head, striking the Team Break Pokemon. As they were knocked out, N and Nate spun around on their heels to see the former champion, Alder Castillo, striding forward. He was staring directly at Ghetsis, his expression set into a look of grim determination, with a young redhead behind him.

‘Alder! Silver!’ Nate greeted, a wave of relief washing through him to have some backup.

‘I had an unpleasant feeling that something bad would happen,’ Alder stated. The sensation of foreboding had been with him ever since he learnt Ghetsis was back. He knew that N had been ambivalent about forgiving him, and having a proper father and son relationship with the man again. And Alder did not want to completely squash his hopes of that happening. He had been direct with stating that he did not trust Ghetsis, but seeing the look of utter defeat in the young boy’s eyes, Alder had to wonder just what he had missed. That maybe he had not been severe enough. Perhaps he should have explicitly told N not to trust his despicable excuse for a “father”, even for the faintest fraction of a second. ‘I’m glad we made it in time. We took care of the Team Break members at the entrance, but reinforcements are on their way right now! We need to get out of here!’

Silver, the young redhead, was not paying any attention to Alder. Nor was he even paying any attention to Ghetsis. No, his gaze was firmly on Giovanni, and his expression was one of hatred.

‘Oh?’ Giovanni questioned, glancing over. He was uncertain how to react, so he kept the same usual smug demeanour. This boy was not his Silver, but was a Silver. And clearly things had gone the same way between him and his Giovanni, as they had in the Rainbow Rocket leader’s timeline.

‘I have more important things to worry about right now, than him,’ Silver declared, without giving one single fuck about the fact that his voice was loud enough for Giovanni to hear. Not that Giovanni seemed bothered. He was used to it from his own Silver. ‘Come on, hurry up!’

Now freed, N turned back to the rest of the group to see Zekrom land before him.

‘I’m so glad you’re okay…’ he murmured, relief sparkling in his eyes.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ Nate urged.

Sensing that the situation was no longer in their favour, the Team Break grunts who had followed Ghetsis began to retreat, much to his annoyance.

‘Tch… Worthless fools,’ he growled.

‘Now that a former champion has arrived, I suppose I have no choice but to give up on Zekrom,’ Giovanni decided. For now. ‘Kyurem, on the other hand, will be mine.’

‘I warned you before…’ Ghetsis started, his voice dripping with rage, before suddenly ramping up to a scream, ‘NOT TO UNDERESTIMATE ME!’

The cane struck the ground, as Kyurem roared. Alder winced at the noise, but Giovanni seemed unbothered. A snap of his fingers later, and he was gone, along with Mewtwo. Alder glanced back, seeing N approach, and noticed how the boy looked mentally exhausted. It was no surprise, Alder guessed that N must felt like he had been put through the wringer.

Because he had been. He was about to speak up, to try and reach out to N, when Nate interrupted with another insistence that they should leave. He was right, the less time they spent in the cave, the better. Giovanni might have been gone, but there was still Ghetsis to contend with.

N stopped before he reached Alder and Nate. And, without breathing a word, he turned his back, and strode over to his father.

‘...What?’ Ghetsis questioned, a look of annoyed confusion on his face. N refused to clarify, but stayed by his side.

‘What are you doing? Just leave him!’ Silver irritably told N.

‘Yes, what are you doing?’ Ghetsis agreed, clearly as baffled as his son’s friends.

‘...I want to save Kyurem, regardless of whose Pokemon it is. Even if that means I have to help you...’ N finally answered, without looking at any of them. Part of him had to wonder what the hell he was doing, siding up with Ghetsis, after how Ghetsis had betrayed him, insulted him, and openly laughed about it. He told himself that he was not doing this for Ghetsis’ sake, or even his own.

This was for Kyurem.

‘...I won’t call you my father, Ghetsis.’ That was fine with the Plasma leader. His skin always crawled when that word left N’s mouth. Disgusting. N turned and looked at him. ‘But if you co-operate, I’ll help you get out of this!’

‘I see. Very well. That’s convenient for me,’ Ghetsis replied. No “thank you”, but of course not. N had never gotten a “please” or a “thank you” from Ghetsis in his life, and he definitely did not expect that to change now. ‘Let’s take him down, N!’

‘N and Ghetsis, standing side by side…’ Nate muttered. The idea left him unsettled. It was wrong. He brought the Pokeball with his unconscious Braviary in it up to his mouth, whispering to it, as he used a revive. ‘Just a little longer, we need to help N…’

‘Hey!’ Silver called out, as Nate and Braviary took off.

‘It’s too late to stop them. Let’s just make sure that they have a safe escape route,’ Alder told the redhead.

‘The plan is to hold off Mewtwo until he can’t come after you any more, alright?’ N told his father.

‘Yes,’ Ghetsis crisply agreed.

‘Well, why don’t we put it to the test?’ Giovanni questioned, as he was joined by his own Team Break grunts again, now they had recovered from the previous fight. ‘Let’s see what your little father-son team up can do!’

Nate’s Braviary, and the two other legendaries opposing Giovanni started the battle, fighting ferociously against the Rainbow Rocket leader and his underlings. It was not long until it was just the legendaries against each other, and with Mewtwo outnumbered, it was Giovanni’s team that fell.

‘...Hmph, I suppose that does surpass my expectations,’ he reluctantly confessed.

‘After him!’ Ghetsis then commanded.

‘No! You remember what I said earlier, don’t you?! We’re getting out of here!’ N countered.

‘What?’ Ghetsis hissed, angry that N spoke back to him. But he could see that this time, N was not going to be moved. ‘Fine.’

‘Too bad,’ Giovanni said to himself, as the others left. ‘This would have been so much easier had you stayed here...’ He glanced to the cave exit. ‘Go after them.’

‘Hey!’

Giovanni had assumed that it was just him, Mewtwo, and his underlings left. That the others had all left with Ghetsis and N. So he was surprised when he saw himself suddenly face to face with his son.

‘That’s enough. Your plan failed,’ Silver glared. ‘Let them go, or else!’

To Giovanni’s surprise, the Pokemon that Silver released was none other than Ho-Oh.

When did Silver obtain a legendary of his own? Giovanni thought, as Ho-Oh flapped its wings and released a loud cry.

‘...Change of plans,’ Giovanni decided, recalling Mewtwo. ‘We’re leaving.’

His decision confused his underlings, who had been readying themselves for another fight.

‘B-But sir…?’ one hesitantly questioned.

‘The more people you command, the harder it is to control them. I think learning that much is enough for today,’ Giovanni replied. He tilted his head, glancing to the side at Silver. ‘Besides… I’m very pleased by what I’ve seen today.’

Silver pulled a face, and blinked. Was Giovanni complimenting him? For standing up to him? Obtaining Ho-Oh? But once the shock quickly wore off, his expression turned back to angry. He was not going to be taken in, be swayed by Giovanni’s words! This man had no idea who Silver was, if he thought a few pretty words could appease him.

It was probably a lie, anyway.

Silver headed outside the cave again, where the rest of the group - unfortunately, still including Ghetsis - were waiting for him.

‘I think they’ve stopped coming after us now,’ Silver declared, without offering any explanation as to why he had stayed behind. None of them needed to know about him challenging Giovanni. Or what Giovanni had said to him.

‘I see. In that case…’ Alder pointedly looked back at Ghetsis.

‘You want to come after me, now? I can’t allow that to happen,’ he warned. ‘Perhaps we can come to a truce for today. What do you think, N?’

‘...I know that you haven’t changed, at all,’ N said, and Alder was relieved. He had been concerned that siding with Ghetsis to protect him might have caused N to start reconsidering, again. He wanted nothing more than for N to have a father he could be happy with, but as long as his father was Ghetsis, that was just not possible. ‘If you do anything to harm the people or Pokemon here, I will be the first in line to stop you!’

‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ Ghetsis replied, tone thick with sarcasm. Clearly he did not believe N to be a big enough threat to him. ‘Then, farewell.’

‘Wait, Ghetsis!’ Nate then called. Ghetsis paused, not turning back around to face them, but instead peered over his shoulder, to see what Nate wanted. ‘I hate you. I’ll never forget what you did in Unova! But you’re still N’s father! You raised him, and spent all those years together!’

Ghetsis had no idea where Nate was going with his tangent, and neither did N. N’s childhood had been spent cooped up inside one room. A very spacious room, admittedly, but still locked away from the rest of the world, and fed only whatever information Ghetsis deemed worthy of him knowing. As much as N longed for change, he was no longer blind to the horrendous circumstances that stole his childhood.

So why was Nate bringing it up?

‘Are you really going to say you felt nothing when the two of you were fighting side by side?!’ Nate demanded. ‘It’s not too late to change your ways! Please, at least think about it!’

Oh. N braced himself. He was certain that Ghetsis was going to scoff, laugh hysterically at such a ridiculous notion, and he knew it was going to hurt.

‘Nate…’ N began.

‘Ghetsis!’ Nate repeated, when he got no reply. And N’s heart sunk to his stomach, when sure enough, Ghetsis began to chuckle. At last, he turned back properly to face them, and erupted with laughter.

‘You naive fool! Our relationship is nothing more than that between a master and his tools! What happened here changes nothing!’ he barked, before turning his evil scarlet gaze onto N. ‘As long as I can keep using you, I don’t care what you call our relationship! I do whatever I please! I am not your ally, not your friend, and I am certainly not your father!’

In unison, N and Nate both tugged on the brims of their headwear. Nate in embarrassment, and upset for N, and N to try and cover his face. He was attempting to be as expressionless as he could, but the hurt shone in his eyes.

‘How dare you -!’ Silver began, readying to go into a full force rant.

‘Despicable,’ Alder quickly interjected, unwilling to let the youngster draw too much of Ghetsis’ attention. ‘You’re the one without a heart!’

‘If that’s all,’ Ghetsis sneered, their anger and words bouncing off him. With another - but more sardonic - farewell, Ghetsis was whisked away by Kyurem, leaving them free of him at last.

‘I had a bad feeling this might happen,’ Alder sighed. ‘N, my apologies. I think I should have stopped you before you went to help him.’

‘Don’t apologise,’ N said, to Alder and Nate. ‘It was my decision. Please, don’t be sad on my behalf.’

‘...Nate, are you crying again?’ Silver questioned. He looked embarrassed.

‘You truly have a kind heart,’ N gently told Nate, ‘one that resonates with others. You got angry for the people of Unova, you yelled at Ghetsis for me… and now, you’re even crying for me...’

‘I can’t help it! It’s just all so messed up!’ Nate wept. ‘You’re not asking for anything special! You just want a normal relationship with the man you call your father! It’s not asking for much! Why can’t you have that too?!’

‘Nate… It’s okay.’ It was a lie, but a lie told for N’s own sake as well as Nate’s. Right now, he felt like being strong for his friend distracted him from his own pain. ‘I may not have a father, but I have good friends like you.’

‘N…’ Nate sniffled.

‘Yeah, you can survive without a father,’ Silver chimed in, and N nodded in agreement.

I’m blessed to be surrounded by such kind people and Pokemon. That’s enough for me. I suppose… a father figure was just never meant to be.

...But it was nice to hope for it.

#Pokemon Masters #Ghetsis #N Harmonia #Pokemon Alder #Pokemon Silver #ooc #[muse] Ghetsis Harmonia #[muse] Giovanni Ishida #[verse] Rainbow Rocket #[Guest Muse] Alder Castillo #[NPC] Silver #[NPC] Nate #Pokemon Masters spoilers #wew I don't think I've needed that many tags for a while #long post #just in case the read more breaks

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quartings · 4 years ago

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For the first time in over 4 years, I'm not heartbroken at Pokemon.

People are 100% allowed to hate things though- I'm not gonna call anyone "entitled" for being mad about how condescending Gamefreak has been to children recently, or selling SwSh with half the content for 50% more money. But as for my thoughts on the games themselves...

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

The chibi style is a bit much but I don't hate it. I just hope they fix up the lighting a little bit. After all the stress I was having about how'd they'd adapt Sinnoh's grid maps, HMs, and even the DS bottom screen, I'm actually happy to see what is essentially a remaster as opposed to a Gamefreak-mandated remake.

But the most important question remains: Why should I play this instead of Platinum, one of the best Pokemon games ever?

I feel like people don't talk enough about how amazing of a remake Mystery Dungeon DX was- QOL updates, more dungeons, and cross-gen evolutions. Unlike what Gamefreak did with ORAS, Chunsoft took the original games and added more good things without removing other good things.

So I hope ILCA knows how important it is to have the Platinum dex expansion, boss teams, and BATTLE FRONTIER!!

Legends: Arceus

Wow. They finally figured out how to make a Switch game! Between this and Crown Tundra, I have a lot more confidence in how Gen 9 is gonna look and play now- especially since they're not doing annual releases anymore! I'm so glad they're outsourcing remakes to other studios so they can have more time and freedom to make newer, bolder projects! *Cries* I'm so happy we're back to 4-year gens...

I'm gonna paraphrase Shofu and say- the garbage framerate doesn't matter for now, don't worry. We don't even know if Ancient Sinnoh is gonna be Wild Area bland or Expansion Pass pretty!

The starter choice is kinda funky- unless they have snazzy new forms, I'm probably gonna ditch them for a Sinnoh starter the earliest chance I get, sorry. I love them all design-wise, but Cyndaquil is the only one I didn't feel was underpowered when using them in the past.

Most importantly- There's no box art for this game yet- we could very well get a new Arceus form! Especially since Mewtwo, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Zygarde, Necrozma, and most of the Galar Legends have beaten its stat total. And even if it's still regular Arceus on the boxart, it could still have a secret form, like Necrozma, Zacian, and Zamazenta.

It'll also be awesome to see if this is the exact moment we see Regigigas get bound and sealed in Snowpoint temple!

Extra thoughts:

But yeah! I think it could be really cool to get a fully-polished Gen 9 debut game with an expansion pass, have an outsourced Black and White remake, and then a sparkling-clear BW premake or B3W3!

I think the manga arc for Sinnoh remakes will be called Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, but they'll mostly cover Arceus Legends content, be it through flashbacks or time travel.

I wonder if we'll get a big spinoff game to satisfy the late 2022 release slot!

#pokemon #pokemon brilliant diamond and shining pearl #pokemon bdsp #pokemon legends arceus #q speaks #positivity #pokespe #theory

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welcome-to-chao-hub · 4 years ago

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So I’ve...basically copied and pasted this Zeti idea to a few places (a server or two I’m in, DMs on discord or tumblr, etc) and just gonna....do the same here before I go and get distracted by other stuff. ...not gonna lie, I really didn’t look at the wikipedia that much so I’m probably gonna mess everything about this AU up.

First off, we got the backstory of how Eggman even conquered the Deadly Six in the first place since it wasn’t really explained from what I heard.

Eggman finds the Lost Hex and sets out to conquer it

Zeti (where there are a lot more than just six) aren’t happy and Zavok challenges Eggman under the conditions that if Eggman wins, they’ll submit to him and if the Zeti army wins, he has to leave and never come back. Eggman accepts, the Zeti getting cocky because hey how hard can it be to beat a man and his robots?

fight starts with this Zeti army charging and that’s when Eggman pulls out his secret weapon: the conch.

Zik (the blue one) is one of the few people that recognize the item and uses his magic (I think he has magic? Idk im making him have magic) to warp him and the other deadly six out of the area before it’s blown.

The Six are horrified as while they’re stuck in place in this new spot, they now have to watch their people be killed from Eggman’s robot army.

some Zeti did survive, but ran into hiding when they realized the situation they were in; Zavok, being the one that issued the challenge, is the first (and was super reluctant because of how the victory was obtained) of the Deadly Six to kneel to Eggman

As this was the Zeti’s first encounter with the world below (so great first impression there, thanks Eggman), Zavok swore to destroy the planet below, one way or another

Now its not the best, but it explains why they went from 0 to 100 on the revenge shit. As for why they keep coming back...we change the ending of Lost World. Have Sonic still go up against Eggman at the end, but Zavok, being forced to see he’s been bested again, is also forced to see that not everyone below on Earth is like Eggman as Sonic kept sparing his team. And hopefully with the same reluctance as with bowing to Eggman, have his team help Sonic in that final fight.

And since Zavok, Zazz, and Zeena are reoccurring Zeti, they’re just wandering Earth to see what it has to offer ...and people just think they’re evil because of how they look (Zazz wanting to be destructive doesn’t help at all) so they (unintentionally) get paired up with Eggman.

It’s definitely a Mewtwo/Shadow route, but considering that their backstory is pretty much....a blank sheet of paper, might as well have some fun with it.

I do have some ideas (that a friend did help me with in how to make them less one-note characters) and kinda changes their personality. Because....yeah, from what I recall being said about them, they’re just stereotypes.

So for example...

Zomom (the yellow one) is the guy who figured out they could control the robots (because let’s face it, I don’t know what the planet was like before Eggman took over. It was possibly mostly nature based). So you know, make the guy smarter and not just be into food.

Zeena is Zavok’s rival for the leadership position although she tends to let others do the dirty work for her while Zavok does get his hands dirty (I know that Zavok does send others to do the dirty work as well, but he does tend to step in more than Zeena would from time to time). She has ice powers (based on where I heard her fights take place as well as her Speed Battle abilities involve throwing a snowman head) and can’t really handle warmer climates due to this (she gets around it by Zomom fanning her)

Zor (the emo looking one) is mostly depressed in the timeline because hey, the guy just witnessed everyone he knew being shoved into the fridge trope, why wouldn’t he be upset? And since he is a spy or scout according to the wiki, he probably helps with a lot of planning.

Master Zik....ok, I can’t really think of what to change for him, but I would think he would recognize the Conch (maybe being the one to yeet it towards Earth since Zeti do live for thousands of years apparently because there’s no way that humanity or Mobians would’ve appeared on their planet anytime soon. ...also why would you keep something that would hurt your own kind and possibly yourself on the planet?) since he’s the oldest of the group

Zazz is....Zazz. ....He’s pretty much still the same because I doubt I can really think of anything to do to change him?

I know I’m missing Zavok, but I guess he’d be extremely prideful when it comes to his fighting and leadership skills, although I can see him booking it after Zazz to keep him from causing unnecessary chaos. Like

Zazz: Can I have some ketchup packets? Cashier: Sorry, we don’t carry any Zazz: *scoffs* Fine, I’ll be waiting in my car for them. *leaves* Cashier: .....but you guys walked here? Zavok: . . . Please cancel our order- ZAZZ!!! *runs out to stop Zazz from like, hijacking a car or something*

I guess just let me know what you guys think in the comments or just throwing anons at me if that’s more your style while I...go do chores.

#out of chao; ooc

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lxngfxrgxtten · 5 years ago

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hi!! i was wondering, i'm thinking about making a fan region because rareita has inspired me so much!! so i wanted to ask if you had any tips for making a fan region that really feels like it could be canon? i also wanted to know if you're open to interacting with other fan regions

(( hi anon! i just woke up so i’m gonna try not to fuck the answer to this up. it’s awesome that you want to make your own region! i’m glad i can be some sort of inspiration for people, it’s really neat. since you asked, here are my own personal tips for creating what i feel is a believable pokemon region based on reaction to rareita:

study pokemon regions that currently exist and find common factors between them! the most common one? there is always a champion. there is always a league. should your region have a league? most likely! however there are the rare cases where there could be no league! the reason needs to be believable as to why, however. some regions have means of transportation, some don’t, etc. study them carefully and pick out things you think would be good, then put your own spin on them (within reason)!

if you take inspiration from a fan region, DO NOT TAKE what it has already created. this should be a give in, but i’ll throw it here anyways. since you were inspired by rareita, it wouldn’t be cool if you stole ideas from me like The Isle Of Myst or the descendant factor, or taking the buddy call idea from atoma. connections between fan regions can totally exist though! talking to other creators and finding ways to properly connect your region to the rest of the world can be fun! (ex: the box dev of Atoma made by @tenebres-champ and the box dev of Rareita know each other and have connected the pcs!)

be prepared for what you’re about to take on. making a region is no easy feat! it’s a lot of work! if you’re not ready to put in a ton of thought and research? don’t do it. there’s so many small and big things you have to be ready to think of, and there has to be reason behind all of it. you’re not creating an oc that you’ve slapped into the world, you’re creating an entire world. it’s not easy. you have to think about things like culture, region layout, etc.

don’t make too many things that are new, and don’t take too many major leaps. what i mean by this is that designing a region can be tricky, because if you add too many things that aren’t already in pokemon, it no longer becomes a fan region, but more of a fandomless world with pokemon thrown in. my best advice? don’t add new typings, especially. stick with what already exists. adding new typings makes things tricky for other people too, and it doesn’t always work. another thing would be adding huge changes to pokemon’s general story of other reigions. that’s a big no. keep it kinda simple! don’t go crazy with new things, but don’t be afraid not to add anything at all.

when designing pokemon, make sure they actually look like pokemon and make sense. what do i mean by this? pokemon have a very specific style and way of being introduced. you can look at anything just about and go “that’s a pokemon!” they’re really recognizable and make sense in design. study the pokedex (yeah i know, that’s a lot of pokemon) and come up with designs based off that, or rather, inspired and in the same style as that. also read pokedex entries!! they’re so important to creating pokemon, they provide information about the design that gives it depth.

in a similar vein, make your legendary pokemon believable. what i mean by this is making clear sense of it’s power. there are limits you cannot surpass. you cannot just outright try to make something that is more powerful than pokemon like mew, arceus, and mewtwo. everyone likes their pokemon to be horribly strong, and that makes sense! it’s cool as shit! but you have to make sure you’re not trying to make that power all about it.

be prepared to design a fuck ton of characters that all need to have unique personalities, backstories, and roles. as i mentioned before, region making is no small feat. you’ve gotta be prepared to make an entire league (if you have one) with characters that are interesting. you have to decide their teams, etc. make sure you’re ready to tackle that! you can’t use canon characters. don’t try, and don’t directly copy a canon character.

figure out the small shit, because it adds up to the big picture. what language do they speak? are there myths about the place? what’s the lore? what happened there? is there a rich history? etc etc. don’t be afraid to look up some headcanon questions and sit down and give it a lot of good thought.

overall, making a region is a shit ton of work. it’s got so many ins and outs sometimes it makes even MY head spin. as a reminder, i’ve been at this crazy little region for nearly 11 years now (anniversary coming up!!) and i’ve become extremely well versed in pokemon since then. i know a lot of ins and outs of it, and i pay close attention. i do my research, read articles on bulbapedia, etc. rareita is a constant task that i’ve worked on for most of my life, and anyone who wants to “make a region like rareita”, i implore you to make sure you’re actually ready.

as far as the second question goes, i mean this as no harm or anything to anyone, but i will not interact with all fan regions. just like i’m allowed to be selective with muses themselves, i will also be selective with fan regions. after making my own for so long, i won’t deny i’ve become a bit picky. hopefully this all helps, good luck, mate. ))

#🍲|| Unknown Faces ( Anons. )#🍲|| Here Comes The Nerd! ( OOC. )#🍲|| Delibird Delivery! ( Asks. )#okay to reblog

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cutiecrates · 5 years ago

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September 2019 Lucky Treat!

Well here we are guys, finally! As it turns out, I was supposed to get this on my birthday (the 15th) and it came, but at the time I was taking a nap because I was gone most of the day and I felt really tired when I got home. So they showed up around 6pm but nobody answered the door, and since I had to sign for it they left.

This isn’t the first time this has happened, I somehow miss foreign packages I need to sign for <_< my mom and I argue over this every time, and as I expected it didn’t come the next day. I wasted 2-3 hours stalking the front door and not leaving the room at all for anything. So yesterday morning we picked it up, but it just wasn’t a good day to try to post this.

It’s also the reason why my next review hasn’t been posted but you can expect to see that later today. So for now, let’s focus on this!

As a reminder I won’t be reviewing these items due to them being sent for free. I’ll just be showing them and giving my opinions.

(Note the Kawaii Box I’m supposed to review in the background...)

Okay, so as you can see this is exactly how it arrived. I initially assumed it would be one large box, so I was actually relieved to see it consisted of 2 medium-sized boxes. Both were light weight and easy to carry.

Japan Haul, for anyone unfamiliar with the name or new to the blog is the online store belonging to the branding that makes Tokyo Treat, YumeTwins, NMNL. You can find a lot of the box items, as well as some unique items on there, which is why I try to recommend you check it out if you’re ever interested in the items from those boxes. There wasn’t any special papers or anything in the box, but each of them had an “order summery sheet“ and a sheet of protective Styrofoam on the bottom.

Before I begin I wanted to mention that usually there’s a “value“ depicted in the information or picture for the Lucky Treat, but this one didn’t have it. On each box it says their values were 1000yen, so combined I think that might be $200.00? I don’t know much about foreign currency so don’t quote me on it.

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Mew Plushie & Vulpix Plushie

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am OBSESSED with Vulpix/Rokon- it was the reason I just had to have this box, and it hasn’t left my side since I opened the one it was inside. It was true love from the day we met; I have various Vulpix items, including a smaller plush from a KFC promotion when I was a kid, a couple toy items, stickers, coloring book pages, and several TCG cards in both English and Japanese~

About a year or so back they were featuring Vulpix (normal and Alola) in Japanese merch. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, but that was probably when I wanted it the most.

The plush is pretty big (although I know in comparison to the Mew it doesn’t look it), it’s the perfect lap size~ It’s also very soft, with fluffy material for the hair and tails that is a combination of rose swirls and tufts. The tails are one solid piece with lines between them to give them the feel of individual pieces, but the curled portions are separated. I love love love love love it~

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So as you can tell, Vulpix isn’t the only plush we got in this months box :3 in fact we got a handful more to go- including this really big Mew Plush. Currently this is the second biggest Pokemon Plush I own, it’s a few inches taller than the piplup I won at the fair a few years back, but smaller than the Meowth I got when I was a kid.

This plush is made from the same fabric as the vulpix but lacks the fluffy hair accents. The sewn details are perfect, it’s feet are properly stuffed and a little floppy, while its super-long tail is sewn to the back, so I assume it would dangle if I cut the strings. He’s great for hugs.

Flaaffy Plushie & Mini Eeevee Plushie

We got 2 more Pokemon plushies, including this very small Flaaffy plush~ It’s like the Vulpix in which it has normal plush fabric, and slightly softer fabric for the wool on its neck and head. It’s stitching and details are great, it’s a really good quality plushie.

According to its tag it’s part of a Pokemon Fit line. I never heard of it so I don’t really know what it contains- but I think it’s adorable how out of the 4 Pokemon it’s normally the biggest, and here it’s the smallest. It fits in the palm perfectly.

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Our final Pokemon plushie is an adorable, fluffy Eevee. I really like Eeevee and its eeveelutions, and I really liked playing Let’s Go Eeevee! so this was a lovely surprise; now if only I had some items to make it match mine~

It’s well made and very cute and sweet looking, and according to the tag this came out last year- probably for Let’s Go Eeevee :P It’s a big bigger than Flaaffy, but still fits in the palm nicely. I can’t decide if I like its fluffy neck fur or huge tail more~

Kopiyo Friends Cushion

This is our last plush-based item in the box, an adorable cushion themed after an adorable birdie. From Kopiyo Friends there was a variety of various birds you could get in this set, but for Lucky Treat it was this specific... parakeet? It looks like the ones I used to have when I was little, so I’ve been calling it that.

It’s a good size for a pillow (head, lap, legs, etc) and it’s stuffed enough to feel marshmallowy squishy, and it stretches a little bit. It was very comfortable, and it makes for a nice secondary pillow you can cuddle with.

Solgaleo Figure & Mewtwo Mug

If you guys couldn’t tell this box was almost entirely Pokemon oriented :3 and to go with our plushies, we have a Solgaleo figurine from the latest handheld Pokemon games (until sword and shield comes out anyway). It’s from the Moncolle-EX collection of Pokemon figures... and that’s pretty much all I can say other than it’s paint quality is great. I’m not sure about the figure quality itself because I won’t be removing it from the packaging. I might give it to my friend, who bought this version of the game.

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Now this next item goes with the Mew I got, and I think they were both made to celebrate the upgraded/updated Mewtwo Strikes Back movie. I know my picture quality of this sucks, but I was kind of on a time crunch at this point... and by that I mean, I had cats going crazy in the background trying to get in my way and play with the boxes <_<

The mug has a very detailed, mood-setting picture for the movie. I have to admit it’s not really my style (CUTIEcrates probably says it all right?), but I do like it as a Pokemon fan and I’ll find a use for it.

Gengar Mask & Pokemon Memo

Now this is an item perfect for this time of the year, as well as when I clean or when the allergies hit (where was it during summer when I needed it?!). I did have one mask from a really old DokiDoki, but I have no clue where that went.

I love Gengar (at this rate it’s easier just to say every Pokemon in this box are ones I like, nearly), so this is a cute, funny little item. It’s a nice, padded mask with two layers of filtered-like fabric over the part covering your nose and/or mouth. I’m not really sure if they serve a purpose (maybe filtering dust or scent or something?) but they have a nice clean smell.

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We can’t forget the stationery items now :3 and to go with all of our Pokemon goodness we have a notepad with 4 sets of 8 different designed papers! They easily tear apart and come from the Pokemon World Market series, featuring the various Pokemon from various regions hanging out and having fun.

Pokemon World Market Re-Ment & Colorful Ramune Blind Bag

I’m assuming the Pokemon World Market is a current series/collection :3 because next we have an adorable re-ment set. I miss getting re-ments in the boxes, so this was very exciting. Like the notepad, these were based on various regions foods, Pokemon, and activities. Such as the one I got, the Kanto region, having a bike, a Poke Flute, and a Pokemon Doll. Each one also includes a map of the specific region.

If you were curious, here are what the others had:

2. Squirtle Watering can, toy, milk, manju/dorayaki?

3. Torchic, Rice cracker, Pokeblock storage, and what looks like an envelope and ticket.

4. Piplup, helmet, shovel, what looks like chocolate, and Poffins.

5. A Pokedoll, a ferris wheel toy, and ice cream.

6. Pokedoll, food, skates, and the girl trainers hat.

7. A book or magazine with Snorlax, a toucan measuring piece(?), a bowl or fruit in a box, and an Alola Exeggutor pen with base.

Now compared to the others, mine feels pretty simple. But the detail on each piece is amazing; I could look at re-ments all day~ I really wish I could display mine, but I just don’t have a safe place or any room for them at the time. As much as I think a re-ment subscription box would be fun, I’m kinda glad they don’t have one of those :P I’d be in trouble.

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Now, this is a Tokyo Treat special box, of course there has to be a couple food items~ and first up is a Pokemon, Wobbuffet bling bag candy tin, which features 6 different designs that feature Wobbuffet interacting with various Pokemon. They’re all so cute!

But lookie lookie, did you notice which one I got~? The special mystery one :D I’m not sure if that was intentional or not, but I thought it was a fun additional surprise.

There are 3 flavors of candy, including a blue ramune/soda, yellow... I think lemon (but it could be banana? It doesn’t taste like it though), and a pinkish-red one that I couldn’t identify. It might be cola, because it tastes like a nasty cola Japanese candy DIY I tried a couple years back- one of the only cola flavors I didn’t like. But the candies are pretty good, even that weird might be cola one.

Pokemon Nori Chips & Dragonball Super Candies

Given the few Non-Pokemon items in the box, I was surprised to see this Dragonball themed candy. These come in a tin-like piece similar to old-style Japanese fruity hard candy. I’ve seen them several times but never had them before- and let me tell you, it’s a picnic trying to open these! You’ll definitely want a pen or scissors or a cornered object or something, nails are not recommended though. But maybe mine are just wimpy. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about them spilling.

Anyway, these are just cute orange spherical candies with a simple orange-ish flavoring to them. It’s not overly sweet or tangy, so it’s good if you like a mild candy.

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To kick up the snacks, we also have some curry-flavored Nori Chips/Seaweed. They come in this adorable Pokemon tin featuring Pikachu and some other impressive pokemon, and the inside is lined by pleated paper. The tin is 71.0 calories.

The seaweed/nori is thin, but in 2 layers, with curry flavored powder/substance between them. If you don’t like the taste of curry or seaweed you probably won’t like these, but if you do then you will. I actually really like eating seaweed as a snack, and curry is pretty yummy so I really like them x3 they’re not spicy, but it seems to pick up heat the more you eat of them. They’re also very crunchy.

Pokemon Tote

We also have some fun apparel, including a Pokemon Tote by the brand Outdoor Products, which has been in business since 1973 apparently. It includes a rainbow variety of colorful Pokemon from a few different generations making a variety of poses. I think there’s 2 per Pokemon. The bag also features a velcro strap to hold it shut, and it’s a medium-big size, so it would come in handy for a lot of stuff.

Pokemon Mini Bath Towel

To go with the Pokemon World Market collection, we also have this adorable and colorful mini-bath towel featuring all the different regions Pokemon having a fun time playing and checking things out at their respective hangouts x3

Despite the name, this thing couldn’t be fit into a single picture without losing a lot of detail, so I had to settle for this. It’s very soft fabric, I’m very eager to begin using it because it’ll go great with that set of Pokemon wash clothes I got a few months back.

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Okay guys, that will be it for now! What did you think, was this Lucky Treat good? I really wish the other subscribers could have won this too because it was very fun and exciting- I still can’t believe i won it!

However, I did notice an item is missing. There was also supposed to be a pair of Pokemon Socks that I didn’t find in either box. I checked multiple times, and I couldn’t find anything to say the item was removed from the box, so I don’t know what happened. I messaged them about it, but because this was entirely free, I don’t actually mind the mistake. It happens... of course, if it had been my Vulpix then heads would roll.

Just kidding :P Anyway, I’ll keep you guys updated on that. Until later, remember to hug a Pokemon!

#tokyotreat #luckytreat #pokemon plush #pokemon merchandise

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sage-nebula · 6 years ago

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Misty!

First impression:

I was eight years old so I literally do not remember specifics, haha. I do know that I liked her a lot, though, to the point where I named Red “Misty” in either my Red Version or Blue Version playthrough. (I know that would make things confusing given Misty is a character in the game, but child!me didn’t care as much.)

Impression now:

I love her and I’m so proud of the progress she’s made.

Favorite moment:

HMMMM, it’s hard to say because there are so many. The scene where she jumps into the ocean during a storm and saves Ash’s life during The Power of One comes to mind. The scene where she lets Togetic go because even though she doesn’t want to say goodbye, she knows this is what’s best for Togetic comes to mind. The scene where she tames and bonds with Gyarados despite her trauma comes to mind. The scene where she mega evolves her blue sweetheart in her renovated Gym comes to mind as well. There are so many great Misty moments; that’s what makes it enjoyable to be a fan of her character!

Idea for a story:

Maybe showing just how she trained her sisters to be able to handle the Gym in her absence, or a fic where she becomes the water master of the Kanto Elite Four at some point in the future.

Unpopular opinion:

This is a petty one, but I don’t care, it needs to be said: Misty would not have long hair when she grows up. Honestly, seriously, canonically, she wouldn’t. We see older!Misty in the Johto games, and her hair is still short. We see older!Misty in promotional artworks, and her hair is still short. We see adult!Misty in the unused trailer for Mewtwo Strikes Back and her hair is STILL SHORT. Long hair is a pain in the ass to deal with, especially when wet. Misty spends all her time in the pool. There’s no reason why she’d grow her hair out and have to deal with that mess, especially when every single piece of canonical evidence we have for what Misty looks like when she’s older shows her with short hair.

And also?

I also feels like it completely undermines a major part of Misty’s character arc, which is her overcoming the feeling of being in her sisters’ shadow and truly realizing that she really is sensational the way she is. Fanart of Misty with long, flowing locks makes her look like an orange-haired carbon copy of her sisters. It gives off the impression that Misty can’t be beautiful unless she styles her hair and fashions her wardrobe to look like Daisy, Lily, and Violet. And that’s complete nonsense. Misty used to say that she was the fourth Sensational Sister with such outrage and anger because deep down, she feared and felt that she wasn’t. Her temper dialed down as her confidence in herself grew, and by the time she leaves the main party---and especially once she saves the Cerulean Gym---she’s come to realize that she truly is sensational the way she is, and her sisters (or Daisy at least) begin to realize that as well. Misty doesn’t need long hair to be beautiful, and everything we see of her in canon---including, again, a trailer showing that anime!Misty ALSO has short hair as an adult---promotes the idea that she wouldn’t grow out her hair to match her older sisters. This is the Misty hill I choose to die on.

(inb4 “people can draw what they want!!!!!” --- Yeah, they can, and you’ll notice that I’ve not sent this to a single artist, but rather I’m talking about it on my own blog, untagged in the sitewide tags. People can draw what they want, but it’s been a pet peeve of mine for over a decade now and, just as people can draw what they want, I can say what I want. You’re just going to have to deal with it, friend.)

Favorite relationship:

This is probably going to sound cliché, but her relationship with Ash. I love so many things about this relationship and I’m really glad that it’s the one that I got to grow up with.

To begin with, I love that even though there is mutual romantic attraction between them (in the Japanese version as well, don’t let the haters fool you, they lie on purpose because they figure people won’t check), that’s not the core of their relationship. The attraction they share developed naturally, over time. They started off as traveling companions / friends / and even rivals of a sort first, and as they got to know one another, that attraction started developing. And it showed in subtle ways. It was little things like how they immediately reached for each other and held hands when Brock suggested they do so in a foggy forest, leaving Brock to fend for himself. It was Ash waking up after the shipwreck to see both Misty and Brock passed out on the beach, and panicking as he went to Misty’s side before he was just like “hey Brock.” It was Misty physically assaulting Ritchie in front of an entire stadium of people (and broadcasted on national television) because she thought that he did something to make Ash not turn up for his match. These moments aren’t inherently romantic, but they do show how much the two came to care for one another over time. And as if that wasn’t enough? We have Ash seeing Misty surrounded by shoujo bubbles and sparkles when he sees her in her yukata in “The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak”; we have Misty getting huffy and jealous when Ash shows attraction or interest in other girls (“The School of Hard Knocks”; The Power of One); we have Ash being so distracted by Misty being interested in another guy (Danny) that he falls off a mountain and nearly dies, and then later dejectedly asks “what about me?” when Misty rushes to great Danny instead of him. We had evidence that they did have romantic attraction for each other, but those moments were in the background of their relationship. They were best friends first, romantic interests in second.

And the thing is, they were best friends. They competed with each other at times (and Misty was always shown to be on equal footing with Ash; that wasn’t a new development for SM!), but they also supported and helped each other. They’re both snarky and sassy as all hell (especially in the OS, when Ash was at his sassiest), and they snark together, too. They’ve got similarities and differences that complement each other and make them an interesting and dynamic duo to watch. Despite what people think, they only really fought regularly in their early days (and even then, their fights were rarely so serious as to actually hurt each other’s feelings; since they have similar snarky mouths, they didn’t take most of it to heart). Most of their relationship was spent getting along and having friendly bants.

Anyway, Misty’s relationship with Ash helped both of them grow as trainers and people. Misty helped show Ash the ropes since she had more experience than he did, and Ash opened Misty’s eyes up to the different possibilities the world had to offer. Their relationship is one that’s beneficial to both of them, on every level, and I really like that.

Favorite headcanon:

That she becomes the water master of the Kanto Elite Four someday, probably. She achieves her dream at last. ♥

#character ask meme #yoshi12370

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smashingatsonicspeed · 7 years ago

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Returning Franchise/Groups Thoughts

Before I start talking potential newcomers (Though I will at least touch on it a little here) it’s time I give my thoughts on what could happen with each of the series that were in Smash 4 and if anything changes in representation. I’ve said before that I don’t expect too many cuts so most of this is mainly that franchises are keeping where they are but I’ll still try to make a special note with each one

Mario

I don’t really expect anyone in the Mario series to get cut. They’ve pretty much nailed the representation for the most part with the original characters they’ve gotten. Maybe Dr. Mario has a shot at being demoted to alt, but depending just how much ported over the roster ends up. He might stay anyway.

I also suspect that unless Captain Toad (Or any variation of Toad) is a Newcomer in this Smash. We won’t be getting any more Mario characters. No offense to supporters of Waluigi, Paper Mario, or Daisy. But I don’t think it’s time for them.

Yoshi

Yoshi’s probably going to remain solo. The only candidates that could feasibly be a 2nd Yoshi rep is the Baby Mario Bros. and Kamek. Neither of which I think are that popular really

Wario

I also think Wario’s going to remain solo. There’s going to be some hope for Ashley thanks to Warioware Gold. But realistically I think the only chance Wario gets a 2nd rep is if they decide to cheat the system a little and count Waluigi as a Wario rep.

Donkey Kong

Obviously both DK and Diddy will return. And this is also one of the franchises I suspect will just have to get a rep in this game. Whether it be King K. Rool, Dixie Kong, or even both

Retro (That is Mr. Game & Watch, Duck Hunt, and ROB)

I assume all 3 retro characters will return. With a good chance the Ice Climbers take their long awaited return assuming 8 Player Smash doesn’t cause trouble with them. As for any new retros, who knows. They seem to pop up one each new game. So maybe Takamaru will get to join this time around or something. But who knows what Sakurai will have in mind here

Zelda

Everyone from the previous game should return here. Only questions is if Shiek will return to being a transformation or not. Link is obviously going to be BOTW styled but will that mean any moveset changes? We won’t know until we see actual footage of Link. Zelda will probably also be BOTW styled. Though Ganondorf didn’t have his Gerudo form in BOTW. So either they stay with his Smash 4/Twilight Princess design, make a What If BOTW styled Ganondorf, or even make him in Hyrule Warriors style. As for any new characters, I think by now any chances of a character that isn’t some alternate version of the trio isn’t going to get playable. Those hoping for any of the guardians will probably get the same disappointment that those people hoping for Skill Kid, Midna, or Impa got.

Metroid

Samus and Zero Suit Samus will obviously return. Though like Shiek the question is if they remain separate characters. But of course what is always going to be a big topic discussion is if anyone’s joining. Obviously Ridley’s going to be debated once again. But I think a dark horse (no pun intended) could be Dark Samus given Metroid Prime 4 is coming. Dark Samus would definitely be much better received then Dark Pit was. Even if Dark Samus turned out to be somewhat cloned from Samus. It’d at least be something. Even if it’s not the big bone that Ridley would be.

Kid Icarus

I don’t think they’ll be adding more. Much like Dr. Mario, maybe Dark Pit gets demoted to Alt. But as much as I’d like that there’s an equal chance they’ll keep him around anyway. I suppose another question would be about Palutena’s Custom Moves. We don’t know if Custom Moves will return. Given the DLC characters were not given any, that may be a sign they’re on their way out. And if Palutena’s stuck with her default Smash 4 moveset? That’ll suck for Palutena players, because some of her actual good moves are hidden in those.

Fire Emblem

Ah yes the franchise almost everybody complains about their representation. I think for the most part everyone in the previous game will return. Yes even Lucina, Roy, and Corrin. If Dr. Mario and Dark Pit get demoted maybe Lucina does too but I just don’t know. Lucia’s actually kinda popular. And they bothered to bring back Roy from Melee so I don’t know why they’d leave him out again. And I feel Corrin’s a bit of an early bird. He/she would of probably been a newcomer for this game, but instead he got into Smash earlier then we thought he/she would. I think that because I suspect everybody comes back, we may get no more additional Fire Emblem characters this time just to give it a break. Maybe the next Fire Emblem’s protagonist gets in through DLC but otherwise I don’t expect any new Fire Emblem characters from the get go.

Kirby

All Kirby Characters should return being Sakurai’s pride and joy. Don’t know if it’ll get a 4th character or if it’s even necessary to have one, but if they do. It’s probably Bandana Waddle Dee

Punch-Out!!

Little Mac will likely remain solo. Don’t see them suddenly adding another. That is unless… Mike Tyson enters the ring O: (Nah, I’m kidding. Though it would be hilarious)

Star Fox

This one’s going to be a little difficult to figure out. I think both Fox and Falco are safe. But the question is if Wolf will finally make his come back after missing out on Smash 4. Star Fox Zero didn’t do as well as some hoped, so there’s ground for maybe Star Fox remaining where it is. That said maybe they’d save Wolf for DLC to have that hype return like Mewtwo and Lucas was for many. Any other choices likely already missed their chance. Including Krystal.

Pokemon

Pokemon is the franchise that has historically had the most cuts within Smash. So this is incredibly hard to predict. The Pokemon company has been said to be actually a little difficult for Sakurai to deal with. For now I think everyone that was in Smash 4 should return. With the likeliest newcomer being Decidueye to complete the fire-grass-water trio that has left a hole ever since Pokemon Trainer being cut down to just Charizard. Possibly a Gen 8 newcomer for DLC.

Earthbound

Ness and Lucas should be here to stay. Don’t think there need to be any additions from here on out

F-Zero

Captain Falcon without any new games still will remain the only F-Zero character. And that’s just fine.

Animal Crossing

I think Villager stays solo. Though a small chance that maybe Tom Nook, Isabelle, or even Mr. Restti comes into the picture.

Pikmin

If there was any chance Pikmin was going to grow beyond Olimar. It’s too late as Alph is simply an alt. So other then maybe other Pikmin characters also being Alts. Olimar will be solo. Though the real question is how many Pikmin will he have this time. He could have only three at a time in Smash 4. But up to 6 in Brawl

Wii Fit

If there’s any chance at all that for the first time a new series is cut for a reason other then 3rd party issues (Metal Gear) and technical problems (Ice Climbers) then Wii Fit would probably be first on the chopping block. But I doubt they cut her out as much as some will probably be clamoring for it.

Xenoblade

I highly expect Shulk to make it back. And a good chance he’s joined in with Rex from Xenoblade 2. Shulk will likely be the Marth of the Xenoblade franchise I feel.

Miis

I think they are more likely to return in some way. Though admittedly custom moves at least leaves them a little bit in Limbo. But I just don’t see why they’d cut them. The Miis allowed for those who are young (or young at heart) to include real-life characters, impossible ones, or extremely unlikely ones to at least kinda satisfy them. It’d be kind of disappointed to go to this game without that option to create your fighter. Even if Custom Moves is largely removed, I hope the Mii Fighters still return and maybe they’re the only characters with Custom Moves. Even if that comes into conflict with Palutena.

3rd Parties

Now this is the interesting part. I think Sonic, Megaman, and Bayonetta are absolutely safe. All 3 of them have had significant releases or upcoming releases on the Switch. Plus they’d all risk alienating the fanbase should either of them be dropped because they were all included by fan demand of some sort. I think Pac-Man and Ryu are in the middle in they probably will return. I think even if Namco isn’t helping out as much as they did with the last one Pac-Man may stay anyway and if they get Megaman might as well get Ryu again too but they have some degree of doubt compared to the 3 I already mentioned. Cloud’s probably the most likely 3rd Party to leave only because I heard Square can be stingy (I mean we did only get two songs for Final Fantasy. Which is kinda ridiculous). But given that Square isn’t at odds with Nintendo right now and the Switch is selling well. I don’t see why Square wouldn’t love the free promotion for Cloud whether or not the FF7 Remake comes to the Switch. While the risk is always there, I think we’re slightly more likely to actually keep everyone along only because 3rd Parties have gotten huge. Heck, I wouldn’t even be surprised if by the time development has finished and all the DLC released. We have 10 or more 3rd Party characters playable. As for likely newcomers? I think the most likely BASE GAME 3rd party is probably Rayman. While Crash Bandicoot might be a strong DLC candidate.

And that’s all for now, if there’s something that’s announced that leaves some evaluation I may do another post like this. Probably at least a post based on this when the base game’s roster has been revealed when we know who’s returned for the base game and who didn’t. Coming next I will start covering potential newcomers and/or veterans that weren’t in Smash 4 in posts of their own soon enough.

#Super Smash Bros.#Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch #super smash bros. switch #Smash Veterans

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innuendostudios · 7 years ago

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Smash Favorite Polls

Over the summer I did a series of Twitter polls asking people who their favorite players of different characters were. Not the best, their favorites. This is a thing I did out of pure curiosity, because I sometimes think of what my answers would be and wonder how abnormal my preferences are. (Turns out they are, but not always where I expected.)

Some people have asked if I could do a post discussing the results, so here’s that.

Caveat: This is not hard science. These polls did not have significant sample sizes, and the self-selected population “Ian’s Twitter Followers” isn’t likely to represent the whole Smash community. (I have a statistically high number of SJW HBox fans, because that’s part of my brand.)

Criteria: I ran polls on half the tier list starting with Marth (#3) and ending with with Mario (#15). I didn’t bother with anyone below that because there aren’t many truly low-tier mains to choose between, and, well, I can’t say I’m that curious who the three favorite Roy players are. I skipped Fox and Falco because fuck space animals. I also threw in a few extra questions I was curious about, which we’ll get to.

Anyhoo, here are the results.

Marth

Winner: Mew2King Total Votes: 82 Correct Answer: PPMD Write-Ins: Ken Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/870316744925208577

I was very surprised by the lack of love for PewPewU in this one. PPMD had been inactive for almost two years at the time of the poll and still wildly outperformed PewPewU. I can’t really blame folks, as I like PewPewU a lot but would still pick both PPMD and M2K before him. I wonder if PewPewU, being the perennial 9th place finisher, is also the perennial second-favorite Marth; he might do better in a runoff vote where he would get points for being a second favorite. As it stands, you only get points for being first, and he’s not many peoples’ fave.

Sheik

Winner: Plup Total Votes: 50 Correct Answer: Kirbykaze Write-Ins: Amsah Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/870756094435622913

Plup took first, but another strong showing for M2K. I figured if we were asking for favorite players, not best players, that we’d see greater preference for flashiness, but M2K’s defensive, optimized play keeps performing well. Then again, it’s my theory that M2K is the beating heart of the Melee scene, so maybe personality trumps play style. (The write in for Amsah was from me; he’ll always be #1 in my heart but there wasn’t room for him in the poll.)

Jigglypuff

Winner: Hungrybox Total Votes: 95 Correct Answer: Hungrybox Write-Ins: Zasa, Tekk, s0ft Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/871189445038546945

HBox took first place, and “I’m a jerk who hates Puff” took second, with Prince Abu and 4% tying for third with only 9% each. If you like Puff at all, there’s no reason you wouldn’t like HBox the most, and I’m frankly surprised “Hates Puff” didn’t win by a landslide. My followers are good like that. Notably, one of the highest voter turnouts of the whole endeavor, which will become a theme.

Peach

Winner: Armada Total Votes: 59 Correct Answer: Armada Write-Ins: Freeze Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/872079889326886914

In my heart of hearts, the correct answer is Milktea, but far more for admiring the person than for her play style. (There aren’t many surviving videos of Milktea in her prime, so I’m not even familiar with her style.) Of the people who actually made the poll, there wasn’t really a contest. (I think the write-in “Freeze” is a “freeze peach” joke. Right? I’m right, aren’t I?)

Ice Climbers

Winner: Wobbles Total Votes: 105 Correct Answer: Wobbles Write-Ins: Drunksloth Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/872870056581111809

Between this and the Jigglypuff poll, I notice that the characters who are “ruining Smash“ tend to get the highest voter turnout, and the players most associated with that character won both polls. Fly Amanita’s rep for being the “only cool IC” didn’t rescue him from fourth place, getting outranked by noted pariah Nintendude, who nearly tied with fan favorite ChuDat. Not sure if my followers are just weirdos or if the idea that Chu is beloved and ICs are otherwise despised is somewhat distorted.

Captain Falcon

Winner: S2J Total Votes: 61 Correct Answer: Jeapie Write-Ins: Isai, Hax, Scar Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/872870056581111809

One of the tighter races, S2J only barely edging out Wizzrobe. (So, again, a solid performance from a player who’s supposedly making the game not fun.) Jeapie getting only 6% is a goddamn travesty. Thought n0ne would do better here, he’s supposed to be the fan favorite. Anyway, West Coast wins out over 20GX, but not by much.

Mid-Tier Mains (Pikachu vs. Yoshi)

Winner: aMSa Total Votes: 69 (nice) Correct Answer: Axe Write-Ins: Leffen’s MewTwo Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/873306882550763521

There aren’t enough noteworthy Pikachu or Yoshi mains to make either poll worth doing, so I just pitted aMSa and Axe against each other. I’m punching my chad for Axe, but I feel like death about it. This is a poll where the only correct move is not to play. For write-ins, people tried to vote Abate and A Rookie, but I’m disqualifying them because they appear in the Luigi and Mario polls later on. Should technically disqualify Leffen as well, but there wasn’t room for him in the Pocket Low-Tier poll downthread so I'm letting him hang out here.

Samus

Winner: Plup Total Votes: 55 Correct Answer: ESAM Write-Ins: none (not n0ne, just... no write-ins) Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/873674261701033984

Plup wins again! First person to win two polls. Duck and Hugs dead-even at 2nd with 27% each. ESAM comes in last because people have no souls. Some debate in the comments about whether or not Samus is fun to watch. (Someone says she isn’t, but they are wrong.)

Luigi

Winner: Abate Total Votes: 39 Correct Answer: Eddy Mexico Write-Ins: Ka-master, Luigikid Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/874040581311352833

Only put two players on this poll, since I knew one or the other would win. Maybe I’m just being contrarian by stumping for Eddy Mexico over Abate, as both are excellent players and I root for either one easily. Abate only one by a small margin, anyway, so seems people are about as split as I am. Starting to see a drop-off in voter turnout as we get lower in the tier list.

Ganon

Winner: Bizarro Flame Total Votes: 38 Correct Answer: Bizarro Flame Write-Ins: n0ne, Lythero Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/874672698194046978

This, at least, makes sense to me. Bizz won in a landslide. I mean, that’s how I would vote as well, though I wish Kage had made a stronger showing in second. Eikelmann manages the only 0% of all the polls. Someone in the comments argued that n0ne’s Ganon secondary is arguably the best Ganon, period, calling him “a more toned down version of everything bizz wants to do.” I don’t really disagree, though it seemed like cheating throw secondaries in against mains. That said, Kage still consistently beats n0ne in Ganon dittos, so n0ne having the best play style is still theoretical.

Mario

Winner: Scorpion Master Total Votes: 60 Correct Answer: A Rookie Write-Ins: none (again, not n0ne, even though his Mario is very good) Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/875146202827849728

The only appearance of Mango in this entire endeavor and he beats out A Rookie. I expected better of you people.

Pocket Low-Tiers

Winner: Plup Total Votes: 57 Correct Answer: Axe Write-Ins: Westballz, Leffen Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/875834490404392960

OK, I’m sorry, but this is nonsense. Plup decided to main Luigi at CEO Dreamland in April (probably as a joke) and took 5th place, above PewPewU, Axe, Duck, The Moon, n0ne, and MacD. The highest ranking actual Luigi main was in 25th. And that’s impressive, I’m not denying that. But did anyone even know he had a Luigi before that? And already you like his Luigi more than Axe’s Young Link, Hungrybox’s Ness, and n0ne’s Ganon? Are you serious with this shit? I wanna re-run this poll when Plup’s Luigi isn’t The New Hotness and see how he stacks up, because this is silly. I mean, have you seen Axe’s Young Link??? Have you seen HBox’s Ness??? People wrote in Westballz’ Donkey Kong and even that makes more sense. Anyway, hooray, Plup wins three polls and is clearly the hands-down fan favorite who isn’t Mango. You’re all on notice.

Main You Miss The Most

Winner: Hax Total Votes: 63 Correct Answer: Hax Write-Ins: Plup’s Samus (disqualified) Link to Poll: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/876440529021566976

Hax’s Captain Falcon is the right answer here, though the few random times he’s brought out the Falcon in tournament have not gone well for him. I think, at this point, people just wanna see Hax play anyone. Mango’s Jigglypuff outperformed Shroomed’s Dr. Mario, which... again... what is wrong with people?

#super smash bros #super smash bros melee #esports #data #writings

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kyleesie · 8 years ago

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A Year in Review: Movies I Watched in 2016

Those of you who know me well know that I watch A LOT of movies. As a kid, going to the theatre was a family past-time, and my parents were my number one movie-watching buddies. To this day, it remains one of my favorite ways to escape reality and share time, experiences, and thoughts with those I care about most.

I started collecting ticket stubs when I was young, but it was an inconsistent endeavor and I’m pretty sure I’ve thrown all of them out by now. Only in the past couple of years have I become more strict about collecting. Now that I buy most of my tickets online, I still make sure to get them printed at the theatre when I arrive. For me, each ticket, each movie, was a memory of what I saw, who I was with, what I felt, what I thought, and what I did all throughout that day. It became a diary of sorts - that centered my life around the stories and worlds that I wanted to live in or tell myself.

It only recently occurred to me to keep an actual list of all the movies I’ve seen in one full year. I started doing so back in 2015, but like my ticket collecting, it was a half-hearted hobby, and I logged only the titles of the films I saw. So, in 2016, I set out to create a more detailed account and began tracking the theatres I attended, the date, the time, and who I saw it with. I later tacked on my own critic and enjoyment ratings, because, ya know, everyone has an opinion and I wanted to remember mine.

Anyway, pardon the self-indulgent writing, but without further ado, here’s the list, in chronological order, of all the new films I’ve watched in theatres from January to December in 2016:

The Hateful Eight: 70 mm Roadshow The Revenant The Danish Girl Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Deadpool Zootopia 10 Cloverfield Lane The Witch Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice The Jungle Book Captain America: Civil War X-Men: Apocalypse WarCraft Finding Dory The Purge: Election Year Ghostbusters Start Trek Beyond Suicide Squad The Secret Life of Pets Jason Bourne Kubo and The Two Strings Don't Breathe Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Boo! A Madea Halloween Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back Doctor Strange Arrival Moana Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Rogue One: A Star Wars Story La La Land Collateral Beauty Assassin's Creed

And here’s a breakdown of all the films, prioritized in order from best to worst in their respective categories:

BEST 5 MOVIES (must watch, they were awe-inspiring and revelational) La La Land Moana Arrival Don’t Breathe Kubo and The Two Strings

WORST 5 MOVIES (don’t bother, my brain was either shut off or died at some point) Suicide Squad Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ghostbusters Assassin’s Creed X-Men: Apocalypse

HONORABLE MENTIONS (perfect or not, I kinda just really like them, so...) The Revenant Captain America: Civil War Zootopia Collateral Beauty Rogue One: A Star Wars Story The Hateful Eight: 70 mm Roadshow 10 Cloverfield Lane Deadpool

BEST MOVIE OF 2016: La La Land WORST MOVIE OF 2016: X-Men: Apocalypse MISSED MOVIES (I really wanted to watch them, but didn’t get to) Nocturnal Animals Moonlight The Handmaiden Fences The Huntsman: Winter’s War Looking back on the year, I’ve come to realize that although I’ve become decidedly disillusioned by superhero movies and most animated films (namely Pixar’s films - sorrynotsorry), they will, most of the time, be well-produced and well-told stories, with enjoyable characters, and overall satisfying experiences. Regardless, that alone does not make them outstanding pieces of cinema. Superhero movies have become the blockbuster, tent-pole films of our generation, and while I’m glad Marvel has figured out a way to make them popular and profitable (with the exception of Fox’s X-Men franchise and DC, who both REALLY still need to get their shit together - still holding out hope fro Wonder Woman tho...), they’ve also now raised the bar for themselves. Nothing short of a genre-breaking/redefining superhero movie will stand out in the massive and masterfully crafted cinematic universe that they’ve created. Video game movies though, apparently, still have a lot to learn (PLEASE don’t fuck up the Tomb Raider reboot!) As far as animation goes, Pixar, for me at least, seems to be suffering the same stigma - all their movies are amazing and super well-made, but not really memorable. With that in mind, it’s ironic to me that the villain in my favorite film of theirs, The Incredibles, foreshadowed their current fate when he said: “When everyone’s super... NO ONE will be...” In contrast, although Disney’s movies aren’t exactly perfectly produced, it at least appears that they’re taking risks in the messages and themes of the stories they’re telling. They’re pushing and poking boundaries with cultural representation and social subject matter. Granted, their handling of such topics is still somewhat clunky and controversial, but I appreciate that their voice is evolving and adjusting to the modern world and diversity of people around it. Now that I think about it, it is that clarity, freshness, and uniqueness of voice that is probably the greatest common factor shared among my top 5 moves of the year. Whether it’s through style, themes, message, character, or literal language and vocals (or lack there of), each film expresses its story with a voice so clear that it rings out, distinct above the din of drama, and echoes still, strong as ever, inside my heart and mind.

Also, as I mentioend before, movies are one of my favorite ways to spend time with those I love while enjoying something I'm passionate about. So here's a short list of my friends and loved ones who've accompanied me the most on these cinematic adventures: TOP 5 MOVIE BUDDIES Sean (33 times) Raad (11 times) David (7 times) Stacey (7 times) Daniel (6 times) I don't know if I could ever thank Sean enough for basically watching every single movie with me this past year! The one film we didn't see together he still showed up to the theatre afterwards to wish me a happy birthday. THANK YOU, my Sean and stars! XOXO

#Kybral #Kyle Cabral #artists on tumblr #writing #movies #film #critic #2016

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royalxiii · 8 years ago

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My Personal Top 10 Games of 2016

I know a lot people had a bad 2016, but for us gamers, it was a pretty good year (if you don’t mind all the delays that is)! So why not make a good old top 10 list? It’s always fun!

I’m also gonna have my personal “out of 10″ score for each game’s gameplay AND story, since both are equally important to me. As well as a mini-ish review and why it’s placed where it is. Without further ado, here we go!

*Contains Spoilers*

*Keep in mind I haven’t played every game, nor do I have a Xbone or Gaming PC.*

10) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)

Gameplay: 8/10 | Story: 9/10

Twilight Princess is one of those “love it, or hate it” Zelda games. For me, even though I’m aware of it’s faults, I love Twilight Princess. Even more so without the motion controls. I love Wolf Link (even though I wish there was more reasons to use him), Midna, Zant, the darker and creepy atmosphere, I love it all! So why is it at number ten? Well, I personally don’t believe ports and enhanced versions should be on a “top 10 games of the year” list (they should be for new games only). But I haven’t finished a lot of games I got this year, and I was missing two slots. So here you go!

9) Gravity Rush - Remastered - (PS4)

Gameplay: 9.5/10 | Story: 9/10

Like TP above, Gravity Rush is lower on the list only because it’s a port/HD version of a old game. I really loved Gravity Rush back on the Vita, but I was quite confused at the story. But once I replayed it on PS4, knowing what I knew, it was easier to follow (even though you really don’t figure much out by the end). Gameplay feels so, SO, much better on the PS4! I love the Vita, but playing GR on it cramped my hands so much. It feels just right on the PS4 controller. Playing through this again makes me even more excited for Gravity Rush 2 this month!

8) Pokken Tournament (Wii U)

Gameplay: 9/10 | Story: 3/10

At last, a actual new game! Pokken is such a oddity, but goddamn I love this game. I’m pretty horrible at fighting games, especially ones that aren’t “Smash Bros.” style. But I had fun playing this, and when I had friends over, they loved it too! There’s not much of a story, which wasn’t surprising, but the Shadow Mewtwo segment was interesting enough to keep me playing. Still haven’t beaten the bastard (last battle) though. I hope to see this ported or get a sequel on the NS!

7) Ratchet & Clank -2016- (PS4)

Gameplay: 9.5/10 | Story: 5/10

Ah, Ratchet & Clank! One of the handful of games on my “Must Buy Day-One” list for every new installment. The series has been a bit on the shaky side after A Crack in Time, both in gameplay and in story. But this game (at least gameplay-wise) is a real return to form! Unfortunately, since this is a game based off a movie (based off a game), there’s pretty much no story since you’re suppose to watch it’s movie counterpart (which isn’t great). But it’s still a fun time! And there’s a in-game cheat to turn bolts into rupees, which is fucking fantastic.

6) Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero (PS4, Vita, Wii U, X1, PC)

Gameplay: 9/10 | Story: 8.5/10

Oh Shantae, you were so close to becoming a 2017 game, good for you for staying in 2016 :3 This is game is beautiful! The animation is so good and lovely! And it’s as fun as any Shantae game before it (I do miss using Risky’s gear though)! My only complaint is the slide segment that’s used twice. For me, they ruin the pacing and they drag on for a little to long both times. Other than that, I really loved it and I can’t wait for the Risky Boots DLC! Also the music is fantastic XD

5) Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice - (3DS)

Gameplay: 9/10 | Story: 10/10

I love the Ace Attorney series, warts and all. That being said, I didn’t like the last game, Dual Destinies. Although I liked a lot of new characters from it (and it’s DLC Case), I never felt so out of sync with out to proceed in the Court Cases. By the end I just wanted it to be over. But with Spirit of Justice, it was like the game was reading my mind or vise versa. I was so in-tune with the cases and only messed up a handful of times! And the story is wonderful and heartbreaking, as this series is known to be. I really can’t wait to see the future for Wright and his friends :D

4) Final Fantasy XV (PS4 and X1)

Gameplay: 9.5/10 | Story: 8/10

People are gonna hate me for this, luckily this blog ain’t popular enough for a huge backlash. FFXV is game I, much like a lot of people, have been waiting for since it was first revealed as Final Fantasy Verses XIII back in 2006. So obviously, there are high, and I mean high, expectations for a game ten years in the making. For the most part, it does succeed, at least with gameplay. Unfortunately, the story is lacking. Not in plot, mind you, but in cutscenes. I know cutscenes are the bane of some people’s existence, but to them I say “fuck you, why the hell are you play a JRPG in the first place then?!” Cutscenes don’t only add personality to the main characters and depth to the story, but also to show other character’s within the story and why we should care or hate them. I know FFXV will be getting a update with new cutscenes later, but for now it’s sort of bare bones for me, and I don’t want to feel like that for this game. I see so much good in it, so it’s only natural I want to love and care for everything in it, right?

3) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4)

Gameplay: 9/10 | Story: 9.8/10

What a way to end Nate’s story, I fucking love this game! It’s so beautiful, the writing is great, the characters are great, and that fucking epilogue makes me want a Uncharted featuring Nate’s daughter. With Sam acting as her Sully. I know it wont happen, but I can dream can’t I? The gameplay is mostly the same, but it’s still fun. I love being able to almost always complete areas in stealth mode. Much like most games on here, I can’t wait for it’s story DLC :3

2) Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)

Gameplay: 10/10 | Story: 9/10

This may seem very, VERY, odd that Kirby beat both FFXV and Uncharted 4 for me. But I have to give the number two spot to this game because, well, I just had so much fun playing it! Once I got it, I barley ever put it down. It was 100% fun from beginning to end. Hell, I was actually completing it as I was playing it! Granted, I haven’t picked it back up since I completed it. But I’m already feeling the urge to replay it as I type this, and that’s the sign of a good game. Story-wise, it’s sort of what you’d expect from Kirby, but it’s still fun and entertaining. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I just wish it had post-game levels or something to that effect.

1) Pokemon: Sun & Moon (3DS)

Gameplay: 9.8/10 | Story: 10\10

Given that my blog is mostly Kingdom Hearts and Pokemon, and all the news updates, drawings, a report of my gameplay for both games, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Even though I have some problems with it, this game is fucking fantastic! There’s a lot of upgrades to how things work that needed working on for a loooong time. From small things like your PC no longer has the useless “Withdraw and Deposit” options, to big things like no HMs! And recovering from the somewhat bland story in XY, the story and characters in SM is really fun and interesting! Hell, there were times where I was actually laughing out loud! I don’t think a Pokemon game has ever done that before! This game is just a real treat from beginning to end! As far as nitpicks and things that just piss me off from the oversight, well it defiantly has it’s fair share. But this is mostly at the Trainer Customization and some movepools for the New and Alolan Form Pokemon. In any case, even after beaten both Sun and Moon, I can hardly wait to get another copy to play my Popplio Team :D

Honorable Mentions

(AKA Games I’m Loving but Haven’t Finished)

World of Final Fantasy (PS4 and Vita)

I honestly didn’t think I’d like this game, but it does grow on you! I stopped playing because I want to wait for the Sora Summon DLC (coming out this month!) Plus Pokemon came out soon after. What makes this game great is that, unlike other non-Pokemon monster-catching games, the monster-catching part isn’t almost 100% completely random. Like Tales of Symphonia 2, Ni no Kuni, and Yo-Kai Watch to name a few. The story is kinda interesting as long as you get used to to voice acting, which isn’t bad but the dialog is kinda awkward and Tama’s the-the is so annoying. In any case, I can’t wait to get back and beat it!

Watch_Dogs 2 (PS4, X1, PC)

I got this game for Christmas, and started it after beating FFXV and Shantae. So far I’ve been loving it! So far it’s much better then the original Watch_Dogs in graphics, gameplay, and story (granted, I’m still basically in the beginning. Doing a lot of side-quest). As of now this is the game I’m currently playing in till Gravity Rush 2, which will then be taken over by Kh2.8.

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