Pokemon Toys Were Never This Hardcore When I Was Coming Up, Part 2

Well, in the time since I posted the last Pokemon Rumble entry here, I have been able to download the full version of the game. It's so great being able to play the game without it shutting off on me. And like the demo, it is very fun.

I can actually keep the Pokemon I get, and I can advance through the ranks, from Normal Mode (using only the first generation of Pokemon), Advanced Mode (which added the fourth gen Pokemon into the mix), and EX Mode (which includes all the Pokemon in the game, at super-high levels).

I was even able to get my favorite Pokemon, Dratini late in Normal Mode. :D




With this same Dratini, I was able to beat the Normal Mode S Rank Battle Royale. That's right, Dratini defeated Mewtwo, something that you will NEVER see in the main games.


Dratini stands above the rest.

I also give this game props for making Flareon very much usable (then again, nearly every Pokemon in the game is). There are only four stats: Attack, Defense, Speed, and HP. With no seperation of the Physical and Special sides in this game, Flareon can finally shine like a bright flame.


This is also the only game where you can get away with Hyper Beam on a Pokemon.

Like in the Mystery Dungeon games, in order to get a Pokemon, you have to beat it up. Occasionally, you'll get a critical hit (seen as a blue "explosion" around the victim), and it will either be knocked out but appear as a downed toy that you can pick up, or it will become "wobbly" if the hit wasn't strong enough to defeat it. While wobbly, you have a limited amount of time to defeated it before it recovers, and you lose your/a chance to "befriend" it.

Weaker Pokemon with an ability that gives them a high critical hit ratio (such as Scrappy or Gutsy) are ideal, especially if you come across a rare Pokemon. Spam your attack, and if its health gets too low with no wobbling, run away and wait for its health to regenerate a bit, and then try again. Works for me. :)

Infernape takes down some Pokemon on the Windy Prairie stage.

Of course, as fun as this game is, there are some flaws. The biggest of which is the just god-awful method of learning moves in this game.

This game uses a lottery of sorts, where you put money you get the move; you don't know which move you'll get until after you put the money in. As you advance through the ranks, the lottery adds more moves, but gets more expensive; in Normal Mode Rank C, it's only a mere 200 coins; by the time you reach EX Mode, you'll be shelling out a whoping 6000 coins for a move!

It's all about luck, too. You're as likely to get a useless attack like Leer or Protect as you are with getting a semi-useful attack like Strength or Secret/Hidden Power, and as you are with the really good attacks like Ice Beam, Thunder, and Flamethrower. You have to have patience, and a while a lot of money.

Though this Dratini got REALLY lucky. :D

I mean, why couldn't they just give a list of moves, each with their own price? That would have been much better.

Another gripe is the fact that in order to get certain Pokemon, you have to release certain combinations of other Pokemon. Here, when you release Pokemon, they leave money and possibly a ticket for another Pokemon. There are some Pokemon that you only see in the Battle Royale (and Pokemon are unrecruitable there), so you have to release different kinds of Pokemon in order to get them. There's a list for it somewhere. However, some of the Pokemon you have to let go are rare Pokemon that you don't often come across, so you have to ask yourself: Will the new Pokemon be worth it?

You can also shell out a certain amount of Pokemon to recruit a random Pokemon in that Rank. Like with the moves, you won't know which Pokemon you'll get until after you pay them, and you're very likely to get a Pokemon that you already have. Plus, the random recruiting is far more expensive than the move lottery is. Why couldn't they just give us a list of Pokemon, each with their own price? ...It could work with the moves, why not the Pokemon as well?

Flaws aside, this game is also multiplayer, so if you have friends or family, get them together and have some fun beating up hordes of Pokemon. Of course, you all share the same Wonder Keys, so make sure that your partners don't suck too bad.


This will be quite the team, eh?

But yeah. This game is very fun. The demo gave me a taste, and I was able to indulge in the main course. I'm sure that I'll be playing this for the rest of the year, and maybe for a good part of January (at least until Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars comes out).

I Wanna Take You For a Ride

I know I'm about a decade late on this, but I've finally started to play that [in]famous game Marvel vs. Capcom 2. I don't own the game, though. My sister's boyfriend does, on his PS3.

It started back in August, where he and my sisters called me out to the living room to try the game out. Even though I sucked at it, I kinda got hooked to it. Since then, I've been looking a lot into Capcom's Vs. games (ESPECIALLY the now upcoming for the West Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, which also got me interested in Tatsunoko Production), as well as Capcom's own library of games. A shame that they haven;t really been part of my gaming life beforehand, though. That's right, my gaming history does not include any of the Megaman games, Street Fighter II, or anything else. I wish it did, though.

(But it does include Viewtiful Joe, which I borrowed from a friend a few years ago but never finished, and Okami, which is in my opinion the best game ever made. Both games were actually developed by Clover, but Capcom owned the studio and published the games.)

But anyway, back to MvC2. I went several months without playing the game afterwards, until last week (or the week before last), where it came over here once again. Using my "training" in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure on the PSX (which Capcom also made), I was able to fare a bit better. Though I found out that the shoulder buttons are not double punches like they are in JJBA; in MvC2, they are the Assist buttons, and also forces a tag out for the opponent. Therefore, I failed at trying to pull off the Super moves.

After learning the actual buttons, I was able to do a LOT better. Hell, the third time I ever played, which was early this week, I actually won a decent amount of matches against my sister's bf (even tying him at one point). He couldn't believe how fast I was learning this game.

My team, by the way, has come to be Hayato, Megaman, and Morrigan. The slot for my last character was open to several people until early this week; the contenders being Morrigan, B.B. Hood (who was my initial third character back in August), and Tron Bonne (used alot during my second time playing the game). In the end, Morrigan won out, but I still like B.B. Hood. There's something about playing as a batshit insane Little Red Riding Hood look-a-like with a machine gun and several explosives hidden in her basket and under her dress that appeals to me.

Using my new team, I was able to go through the Arcade mode (on Easy, though; I'm still a beginner). Last time I tried (on my second playing), I only made it as far as stage 5 before I gave up. This time, I made it to and beat Abyss, though it took me three tries to do so (but the third time, I soloed him with Megaman).

Considering that I want to get Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars when it comes out here, this game makes some good training for me to get used to how the Capcom Vs. series works. Though, TvC isn't as fast-paced as MvC2, it's still help to learn how to pull off specials and supers, and using tag outs and partner assists effectively. ...Though I HATE trying to pull off the moves that use the Half-Circle motions, and HATE even more the moves that go something like [Weak Punch, Weak Punch, Back, Middle Punch, High Punch]. The latter, I had trouble in JJBA, and I have trouble in MvC2. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually, though.

On another note, I actually like MvC2's music. Most people hate it because it doesn't fit or it's just annoying. Being somewhat of a jazz buff, I've come to enjoy it. Mainly the tracks on the Clock Tower stage, the Factory stage, the River stage, the Airship stage, the Cave stage, the Swamp stage, and the Abyss stage. I wish i had an iPod, so I could listen to these songs (among many others from other games) while I'm on the go.

I even like the infamous Character Select Screen music. You know, the one that goes, "I Wanna Take Your For a Ride~". That's where this entry's title came from. This song is the main reason why most people hate the music in this game, and I can see why, at least. The singer repeats the same words over and over again, never ending for as long as you're on that screen. I can see how this would annoy most people, but oddly enough, I find it kinda catchy. Though, I mainly play it to annoy my sisters, who also hate the song.

But yeah. I like this game, and while I've become better, I'm nowhere near good at it. I don't know if I'll be able to match the experts at this game (who had about 10 years to perfect themselves), but I'll be damned if I don't have fun trying.

When I'm finally able to get a PS3, this will be one of the first games that I download on there.

Let The Words Flow

Okay, so I fancy myself as a writer. Not a journalist, mind you, but a fiction writer. Yep, I have so many ideas flowing around in my head that it'd be a waste for me to... well, let them go to waste.

I have three "main" ideas that I'd really like to work on:

1. A superhero-themed story, but one that's rather short. Not much of a long-term commitment, and it'd be great to get my feet wet.
2. Another superhero story, but one with the group of 5 more like the Teen Titans in their abilities and such. It has more of a supernatural and later occultic theme to it. More of a commitment than the first story, but shouldn't last too long.
3. My "main" story, which is a sci-fi/action story with a bit of a space theme. Lots of characters, three major story arcs, and a long-time commitment. This is the story that I'm currently working the most on, actually, so if I decide to do this one (which I most likely will), I'll use the first two as practice to get myself accustomed to my own style.

...Actually, while I said "writer", I actually meant that I'd like to portray these stories through graphic novels, preferably in the manga style (yes, that means that I could be headed down the "dreaded" path of OEL manga that many "true" manga fans despise). In my mind, I already picture these stories with an anime art style.

The problem with the graphic novel path is that I can't draw as well as I'd like to. Which is quite a shame, since practicing my drawing was one of my New Year's Resolutions (well, at least I was able to make some decent progress with Resolution #2). Of course, I could always get someone else to do the art for me, while I handle the plot and initial character designs (while they could also polish those designs).

Video games have been a passion for me since I was a little kid, so one field that I think I could put these stories (mainly story #3, though) out there would be through video games. Hell, in my mind, the main concept behind my third story would work GREAT with the DS's touch screen controls and the Wii Remote's pointer. The problem is that, I hear that most game developers are not looking to hire writers unless they're big-name and/or can also program/design the game between working on the plot. ...I currently don't have any experience in game development, though it's one field that I may go into in the future. Perhaps the training that I'm currently undergoing to work in IT could help... Not only that, but even if I were hired solely as a writer, I wouldn't even be able to pitch my own ideas until I have a decent amount of experience (probably after at least 5 years); until then, I'd be having to write and flesh out someone else's ideas and plot. Though I guess it'd be fun to work with someone else and their ideas, and help influence my own stories...

Next could be through a TV show, preferably through anime-style animation. Of course, that would be pretty hard to break into right away, probably harder than the video game industry. Animation costs money, let alone anime-style animation. Starting out, I'm not going to have anywhere near the money needed to get my projects off of the ground. So, I'd have to pitch to other companies, but if they DO accept my pitches, I fear that they'd make so many changes to the story that, in the end, it might as well not be the same series that I conceived. If that happens to my first or second stories, I'd *try* to go with the flow, but if it happens to my third series, I'd be VERY pissed and might even discontinue the project and start over again somewhere else (actually, I'd probably do the same with all three of them).

Hmm... So, it seems that, if I want to best control over my stories right away, the graphic novel path is the best way to go.

...Well, that's at least a few years away. I'm going to focus on my schooling right now, and see where the field of IT takes me. Of course, in the meantime, I'll be practicing, training, plotting, and fleshing out my writing and drawing over the 1-2 years that I'm in school.

Pokemon Toys Were Never This Hardcore When I Was Coming Up

Pokemon Rumble came out this past Monday. Pokemon Rumble is a WiiWare beat-'em-up where you control your own Pokemon against hordes and hordes of Pokemon. I knew about this game, but with no money, I would have to pass it up for the time being until I get the 1500 Wii Points needed to buy it.

...Then I found out that Nintendo, for the first time ever, put up a free demo on the Wii Shop Channel.

I plugged in my Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector (cheap little thing), and went and downloaded the demo.

And I must say, it's pretty fun.

The game uses the same Pokemon models that were used in My Pokemon Ranch. Though this time, they try to lampshade it by saying that they're toys. ...Well, I'm more willing to accept that than those chibified monsters being my actual Pokemon on the Ranch.

Being the demo, there are some things that you have to watch out for. For one thing, you can't "befriend" (this game's capturing, or recruiting) a Pokemon with a Power level of over 100; otherwise, once you finish the stage, the demo ends. This is made even more annoying by the fact that you don't see their power levels until you befriend them; though if you DO find one, you can always quit the stage, which gets rid of all of the Pokemon and money you're acquired during that run. Also, once you play on each of the six stages at least once, the demo ends.

The level 100 thing is especially jarring. After you finish the level, the gate to the Battle Royale (which you need at least one Pokemon with a Power Level of at least 100 to get into) opens, but right after that, the demo ends. Couldn't have Nintendo placed the end of demo at the end of the Battle Royale instead, or would that make the demo a bit too long?

Of course, you also can't save, so no matter what great Pokemon you obtain (well, as great a Pokemon can get under Level 100 in this game), no matter how much money you pick up, all of it will be gone once you end the demo.

With all this said, I'm having fun with this game (the demo, at least). The game uses Pokemon from only the 1st and 4th generations, so many favorites may be left out (Flygon and Sneasel, in my case), but despite this, there's still an abundance of Pokemon to find and recruit. Each of them have their own moves, and they can hold two moves at once (each one assigned to the 1 or 2 Buttons on the Wiimote held sideways).

The Pokemon, being toys, don't grow, and therefore cannot evolve, though, with no 3rd gen, quite a few evolution lines have been broken, the most obvious of which is the Budew line. So, you have to keep finding stronger Pokemon than the ones you had before it if you want, say, a stronger Rattata (your "starter" here).

This is the second Pokemon game series that blends in a real-time mix (the first was Mystery Dungeon), and one must wonder how would this game be if it were a full Wii game, with the Pokemon models looking like the actual Pokemon and with the 2nd and 3rd generations mixed in, as well as Wi-Fi capabilities (as flawed as the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is). Sure, it'll lose the toy appeal, but I'm sure that game would be nothing short of epic.

Until then, I'm going to keep playing with these toys. And await the day where I can put down the 1500 Wii Points for the full version.

Two Souls Become One... And Then Two Again

Yeah, so the divorce rate in this country is 50%... It may have gotten a bit higher since I last checked. I don't know how it is in other countries, but that's how it is here in the States. Why is it so high? Is it because people are rushing into what used to be a sacred ceremony? Is it because they found out that they weren't compatible after all? Not ready for the rigors of marriage? Got bored with seeing the same man/woman every day and went to find someone else? ...Or is it a combination of all of those? Most likely.

With so many marriages failing, I could at least take solace in the fact that my parents have been married for over 20 years.

However, the Divorce Storm has now hit close to home.

...No, it's not my parents who are divorcing, thank God.

It's my older brother and his wife.

I don't know how all of this started, because that's their business. All I know is that one day a few weeks ago, my brother posted on his Facebook saying that he was getting a divorce. Now, I'm not going to post everything that's been happening, since it's not in my place. I will say that right now, it seems to be a case of he said/she said. However, things HAVE gotten worse since that first Facebook message.

Worse yet, they have two kids--well, one is his, the youngest is both of their's--and I'm not looking forward to the effect(s) that it's going to have on the youngest one. He said that she's already trying to keep him from seeing him...

Very tragic. They had such a beautiful ceremony, and I was sure that they would make it; 'til death do they part. Looks like I was wrong, sadly...

With this going on, as well as the aforementioned rise in divorce, I wonder what my marriage will be like. I DO plan to get married (the plan was by the time I'm 25, and while I still have time, it looks like that may be pushed back some), but that's a step that I only want to make once--marriages are expensive, after all, and being married multiple times cheapens the specialness of all subsequent marriages. I'll try my hardest to make my marriage work. Divorce is not anything that I personally would want to go through.

...Speaking of multiple marriages, my aunt... Oh boy... I love her, but I can count on both my hands how many times she's been married. XD She's currently engaged to a man again, but unlike the other "marriages", this one is actually going to have a formal ceremony (which means that her other marriages were pretty much "Vegas-style" ceremonies). She's over 50, so I hope that this one isthe one that will work out.

Red and White

The other day, while on my second ever playthrough of Pokemon: Fire Red, I reached the Power Plant. Most of you may remember this place as the breeding ground of several Electric-type Pokemon, as well as where you find Zapdos. I, however, remember this place for a different reason.

I come across a dropped Pokeball. Conditioning through this game has taught me that it's an item. But when I go and pick it up, it's not an item at all! It's a damn Electrode!

...Now, of course, I knew that these items were fake beforehand. After all, as I said, this is my second playthrough of Fire Red, and I HAVE played Blue and Yellow many a year ago as well.

But just stop and think about it for a sec... Put yourself in the game's world, and replace your avatar trainer with yourself and see through his/her eyes.

How the FUCK do you confuse an Electrode for a Pokeball? I can sort of understand Voltorb, but Electrode?


The Pokeball, when enlarged, fits in your hand.


The other is a 3-foot-11 insane abomination ready to blow your face off at any second.

If not the size, then how about the fact that their colors are reversed? A regular Pokeball is red on the top and white on the bottom. Electrode is white on the top and red on the bottom. Nevermind the fact that Electrode doesn't have a button at its center. This doesn't make sense.

...Then again, a lot of things don't make sense in the world of Pokemon. A world where 10-year-old kids can leave home on a Pokemon journey all by themselves, where there are an infinite amount of Officer Jennys and Nurse Joys (what's going on in their families), where criminals use Pokemon instead of weapons (most of the time), where entire evil organizations can be taken down by a single 10-year-old kid, and where Doduo and Dodrio, earthbound Pokemon, are immune to Earthquake and other Ground-type moves only because they're part Flying for some reason.

Maybe it's better not to think too seriously about stuff like this.

Still No Cuties: Daily Cutie Cancelled?

I'm sure that you've noticed by now that the Daily Cutie series still hasn't resumed. Sorry, but with money being rarer around here these days, I just can't get the necessary funds to replace my laptop's AC adapter.

Not only that, but I'm now back in school. Which means that, even when I get a new AC adapter, I may not have time to post about the girls that I find cute like I could before.

Therefore, I'm going to cancel the Daily Cutie series for now.

...But that doesn't mean that I'll stop posting about cuties completely. I'll make the occasional post about any girl that I find cute.


Including more of Mikako, of course!

Just... Nowhere near as frequent as with the Daily Cutie series.

No Phione Allowed

Flareon's not the only Pokemon that gets screwed over by Game Freak and/or Nintendo. Nope, turns out that fourth generation newcomer Phione also gets the short end of Game Freak's stick.

How does Phione get screwed? Well... How about it being banned from the in-game Battle Tower/Frontier? Yep, it's among the handful of Pokemon that cannot participate in those battles. Pokemon like Mewtwo, Lugia, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Kyogre, and Rayquaza; all of them powerhouses of the highest degree (they're all banned in Standard competitive play). Phione? It has the exact same base stats as Glalie. That's right, 80 across the board.

Why would they ban that? There's no reason, especially when "not-quite-Legendary" Pokemon are allowed (Dragonite, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross, and fucking Garchomp), as well as other Pokemon with higher average stats.

But it doesn't stop there! Official Nintendo tournaments have also taken to banning the little guy. Take a look at the rules for the upcoming 2010 Pokemon Video Game World Championships. Phione is banned, but participants are allowed to use uber Pokemon (just two of them, though). Even Latios and Latias holding Soul Dew can be used here! This makes no sense at all.

Maybe it has to do with it being guilty by association: The only way to get Phione in the games is to breed Manaphy with a Ditto (thus, making Manaphy the only Legendary so far that can breed). However, Manaphy offspring will not create more Manaphy; instead, you get Phione, a powered-down Manaphy with 20 less points in each of its stats. Perhaps it's Legendary lineage is why Phione has also been hit with Game Freak's ban stick. (Manaphy is also banned in the Battle Tower/Frontier, along with Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and Shaymin.)

In competitive gaming, Phione is looked down upon because of it's average stats, and the fact that there are more Water-types that perform better than it (for instance, Starmie and Swampert). However, since Manaphy is banned in Standard play, Phione may be the only choice for people wanting a pure Water with the Hydration ability (the other option is Dewgong, who is Water/Ice). Or... They just skip it over completely.

But I like Phione. It's grown to be my favorite Water-type. I have one on my Doubles Rain Dance team on Pokemon Battle Revolution (and, I suppose on Diamond as well). It works well in the rights hands. ...And it's funny that I say that, because this same team also has a Parasect on it, and it does pretty well too, despite it being, well, not too good overall.

...Soon, when I have free time, I'm going to take Phione's team to the world through Battle Revolution or Diamond. I'll show them the true power of a watered-down Manaphy...

Dreams Cruel Dreams

Last night, I has another weird dream. I don't remember everything that happened in it, so I'll just skip to the key points.

Me and my ex-girlfriend, who I guess I reconciled with, went to find a room so that we could... you know... bump uglies. ...Well, one we found the room and started getting in the act, we were interrupted; some guy busted in and said that aliens were landing nearby (!). The window was nearby and I looked out, and sure enough, extraterrestrial ships had touched down onto the planet. I said that we would come down soon, and after he left, we continued to *try to* make love.

Unfortunately, we kept being interrupted, and at one point, I finally got up and locked the door (why didn't I do that in the first place?). So, I get back on top of my [ex]girlfriend, and went on with the act, thinking that we could finally be alone. But no... I look towards the door, and see a little girl looking in (!!) through a small opening at the bottom of the door (Where'd that even come from?). Now, there's no way I'm going to sex up someone in front of a little kid, so I get up (again), and see what she wants. (By the way, both my [ex]girlfriend and I were still clothed.) I think she said that she wanted to get her toy, which was in this room (I guess we stole someone else's room, or like us, she just found an empty room to play in before hand). I got her her toy, and told her to leave, but she didn't. In addition, the door to the room had somehow transformed into some kind of linen fabric or something. At this point, my [ex]gf gave up, and that's all I remember.

My dreams always make it a habit of stopping me from getting too physical with any girl. I wonder why. Either way, it's annoying. Why can't I enjoy the company of a cute girl in my own dream world?


...But it's not all bad. Last week, I had a dream where I was hanging out with one of my friends from high school. She was rather cute, too, and I did have a bit of a crush on her. Well, in this dream... I somehow ended up licking her soles and toes (O.O). She looked disgusted, but in a playful way because she was also laughing. Don't ask me how it got to that point, because I don't remember. Even worse, I was doing this in a public park, though I don't recall seeing anyone else in the dream.

...Hello, Brain? If you're not going to let me have sex in my dreams, can you at least let me "play" with the feet of those girls more often? kthxbai

Dreams More Dreams

You know, here's something I forgot to mention in the last entry. If there's one type of dreams I hate, it's the ones were I obtain something, and display a remarkable and/or desirable skill, I'm of course led to believe that it's real... until I wake up, and find myself without.

For instance, whenever there a certain game I really want due for release very soon (like say, Super Smash Bros. Brawl), I would often dream that I did get the game. I would go to play it, and have fun, and then wake up. It was the same when I was looking for a Wii (you know how hard those things are to find, especially now with the coming price cut); I obtained a Wii, except that I didn't actually have one. What a tease, especially since it took me 6 months to finally get a Wii! Also, when I finally got a new power cord for my SNES, I found myself unable to find half of the SNES games that I had. So, guess what happened when I went to sleep. ...Somehow, I would find or obtain those games, and then some, but then wake up and find myself with only the 8 SNES games I currently have.

It's not just games or anything else I'm looking forward to getting.

In some recent dreams, I found myself with the ability to draw very well. So much so that I was even drawing a comic. But when I woke up... That was all gone. Remember, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to practice my drawing skills. ...Sadly, like many other resolutions, that one seems to have fallen through. Well, there's still three months left in the year. I still have time...

There's also dreams I've had long ago, where I had some kind of supernatural ability. I don't think I need to tell how those turned out. Though, some DID inspire me for my stories and projects...

Yep. Dreams are a weird thing. Weird, and a bit cruel.

Well, at least I can take delight in the fact that I rarely have nightmares.