BW2 info - A slow day at the office

I think we're almost done here, Serebii claims he's got all the Hidden Hollow Pokémon, which only leaves the Dream World. Smogon's on top of things here, confirming today that Gigalith gets Sand Force, Vanilluxe gets Weak Armor, Scolipede gets Quick Feet and Klinklang gets Clear Body. And that's ALL that's coming out of today. Four abilities on weak Pokémon. All that's left to look forward to is the possibility of finding Gothita or Litwick in the Spooky Manor. No one has met those as of yet, but we're all expecting it, just waiting for the moment where the community will be sent into generalized panic.

BW2 info - Famous Starcraft caster

Things are beginning to slow down!

'Merica.

Need I say more? I'm afraid of kangaroos, I'm moving to Australia!

BW2 info - I eight you

You know the rules, and so do I... so let's get down to business.

BW2 info - No rest on the 7th day

Moar stuff! Moar! MOAR!!!

BW2 info - Six appeal

Still more stuff is being discovered, though it's mostly DW abilities at this point. Make sure to check it out though, there are huge finds in there!

BW2 info - V for Victini

We're still going! New discoveries are still being made, most of them in nooks and crannies you're not expected to have figured out in just two days.

BW2 info - Going forth

We're still getting more info, it's just not stopping! This game looks massive! As usual, check out whatever you may have missed in yesterday's post.

New poll: Releases in other regions

Last poll was about the overabundance of new forms in BW2 (though I guess now we can scratch up Keldeo's Resolution form, since it does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING), and almost all of the 307 voters are split between thinking there's too many (165) and not caring at all (120). 19 thought the amount was just right, and three think there should be more.

Next question: does it affect your anticipation towards a game when it's released in another region first? (Of course Pokémon is the lead offender, but it goes for other games as well.)

BW2 info - The thirde

As usual, remember to check out yesterday's post in its entirety, I kept updating it even after burying it under the marathon post!

How I saved TSG from destruction

Okay, so I'm exaggerating, but we were still headed towards a huge loss of face when some brilliant dumbasses decided to argue about which Pokémon site was better, with mucho "That site sucks, this other one is so much better!"... when many admins from said sites were in the chat. Obviously that was a problem, because they wouldn't want to be associated with TSG in the future. So I took matter into my own hands, and used the perfect technique to derail the discussion - the same "Hi Chugga!" I tried a few days ago with a lot of success. And guess what, the fansite argument stopped. Right. There. Of course, Chugga spam is more annoying, but far less harmful to the community in the long run.

As for the chat itself, it was far worse than it usually is. Maybe it's because we were on the front page of so many sites, but it was bad. Spammers up the wazoo (including bible thumpers!), trolls whose vocabulary was limited to "sex", "virgins" and assorted words, and perhaps the worst, sexual harassers (yes, I just used that term). Whenever poor Ruju would come on camera, she'd be assaulted with obscene comments, and it would not stop until she disappeared... if we were lucky. There were the usual Chugga spammers, of course, but aside from my two bombshells they were surprisingly tame this time around. Maybe they were just too busy gawking at Ruju.

Nonetheless, this was a TSG marathon, and it came with its highlights. Britt's shoutcasting session while Lugia was being caught may well be the single greatest moment in the group's history, with a catchphrase that we'll remember for a while - and that I promise to milk for all it's worth in the future. The weird thing is that Britt sounded a lot like me when I try to catch a legendary in my LP, to the obvious difference that he might've just pretended to know his stuff a little. But that's part of the charm of the whole thing!

Once again, auctions brought in a lot of money. I won't mention them all, especially not the Groudon nickname and the Marill figurine since I already did so a few days ago, but the Terrakion nickname brought in several thousand dollars and ultimately went for over two grand (and I completely missed that, much to my everlasting dismay). I don't think anyone thought that was going to be topped, until the very end of the marathon where a Revolver Oshawott figurine went for over THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS, and ProtonJon himself was in the thick of it until the very end.

In the Pokémon catching department, it didn't look so good early on, especially after a power outage during the first night which saw a substantial loss of progress, but a huge rally in the last few days, and especially the last few hours, caused an epic comeback that caused us to go down to the wire. And just like how we barely succeeded in 2009 by factoring in the fact that the marathon started ten minutes late, we barely succeeded this time by factoring in the minutes lost by the power outage. And trust me, those last few minutes were nerve-racking, with an annoying happiness evolution (Lopunny) that took an aggravating amount of time and a Croagunk that just wouldn't show up on the binoculars of the Great Marsh. Bear managed to find one after a looooong while of looking, traded it away to whoever was playing the other version, then started looking for a Toxicroak while the Croagunk was being leveled up. Ultimately it was the latter that managed to get the elusive overgrown froggy in the nick of time. The good news is that the capital blunder of 2009, which resulted in a mad rush of trading, restarting and leveling a Chikorita to 32, wasn't repeated this time.

So in the end, that's 646 Pokémon caught in 168 hours, as well as over $57000 raised for ACT Today. A successful event across the board, which delayed my opportunity of playing Conquest by a few days, but that I would love to relive anytime. Conquest can wait. Such entertainment can't.

BW2 info - The second day

Just like yesterday, everything's after the jump! And speaking of yesterday, I updated my post a couple times, so if you missed anything you might want to go back and read it.

BW2 info - It begins!

Some lucky people in Japan already got their copies of BW2, and are gracious enough to share info with the rest of the world! You can check Serebii for all the details, but here I'm only going to discuss the major points. Spoilers after the jump!

I found the detonator for the TSG chat

"Hi Chugga!"

Game over.

Tim Buckley still makes no sense

Back when BW1 had its international release, I had a go at him for his bizarre opinion on it, and over a year later things haven't changed in the slightest. This time the subject is none other than Diablo 3, and the IAS nerf that came in patch 1.03. The heart of his complaint is that he claims Blizzard is trying to force players into a certain playstyle, but if you stop and look at the situation you'll see that it makes no sense. BEFORE the patch was when the game tried to pigeonhole you into something, it basically told you to stack up on IAS or die. It was THE affix everyone wanted to stack up on, and anyone with even the slightest notion of game balance can tell you that it's really, really bad. Now that it's less effective, the other good affixes became that much more desirable by proxy, so you have many more affixes you want to look for when farming or buying.

To make a Pokémon analogy, it's like when Smogon bans a Pokémon because you're forced to have it and/or dedicated counters. Remember the Swift Swim embargo? That's the perfect example, most teams were Politoed, Manaphy, three Swift Swimmers (usually the Kingdra + Kabutops + Ludicolo trio) and Ferrothorn, and the rest were super-dedicated counters to that team. This is basically what happened with Diablo 3 just now.

But here's where Buckley's complaints get really bizarre, though: they come from a MONK player. Sure, the IAS nerf affects Monks harshly because they generate Spirit slower, but at the same time the endgame was made substantially easier with the patch, which ultimately ended up with Barbarians and Monks actually being able to play it without being pigeonholed into a purely defensive skillset just to survive a single one of those blasted bees from Act 2. Right now it's the Wizards and Demon Hunters that are QQing like crazy, because the IAS nerf (along with the previously gamebreaking Nether Tentacles being nerfed to oblivion) affected glass cannons much more harshly.

So let's recap: Tim Buckley complains that a patch that vastly opens up many more possibilities both in terms of skills and equipment is pigeonholing him into something. Sure, seems legit.

NintendoCapriSun, what a class act

So they were auctioning Groudon's nickname in the Pokéthon, and NCS showed up out of nowhere and donated $444... to let whoever came in second nickname it. Instant classic right there. Of course, the neverending auction for Rayquaza back in 2008 is something we'll remember forever, but... wow. If I had this much money I could throw away on being a philanthropist, it probably wouldn't occur to me to do it like that.

This comes on the heels of yesterday's mad auction featuring none other than Kevin Pereira, who donated over two grand for a handmade Marill figurine AND STILL LOST. At this rate, reaching the $50000 goal will be done in a flash.

Gen 5 to get DW abilities at last

The other day, I mentioned the genies caught in the Dream Radar would have their Dream World abilities if returned to their regular forms. Today, Serebii updated further, saying that if you're playing on the Dream World with a game of Black 2 or White 2, generation 5 Pokémon would start appearing. Whether it's only in the new areas or the old ones as well is unknown, but Drilbur will appear in the Cool Hole. Yep, they finally managed to make those gen 5 overworld sprites. Good on them. What this means, in a nutshell, is that the usual mid-gen metagame revolution will not only come from move tutors (should there be any), but DW abilities as well. I don't know about you, but I find the prospect exciting!

Beware of false rumors!

If you're reading this you're probably smart enough that I don't need to tell you this, but don't go taking everything you're told about BW2 at face value! Right now some dolts are spreading rumors of new Eeveelutions, when in fact we know there won't be any new species (if only because it'd make no sense to make #650 public before #649, AND they would've marketed the hell out of the fact that there'd be brand new Pokémon). So be very skeptical about everything, and copy my policy of "if it's not on Serebii or Bulbagarden, it's not true"!

Dream Radar genies have Dream World flag

Today, the official Pokémon site revealed that the genies caught through the Dream Radar have their Dream World flag activated. What does this mean? Well, when you revert them to their regular forms using the Reflecting Mirror, said regular forms will have their DW abilities - Defiant for Tornadus and Thundurus, Sheer Force for Landorus. I'm not too hot on Defiant, but Sheer Force Landorus might be interesting. As a bit of trivia, this is going to be the first time in almost two years that a gen 5 Pokémon is going to have access to its DW ability, the only other cases so far being the in-game Musharna and Darmanitan from BW1. Is it a sign that more are on their way? Let's hope so...

The TSG Pokémon marathon is approaching!

The marathon-time front page of the site has been rolled out once again, and this time around we get a few extra gizmos, including a list of the latest Pokémon caught, a graph detailing the progress over time as it pertains to Pokémon caught, as well as a pie chart showing how many Pokémon were caught, and how many are left. No sign of the individual Pokémon list from the 2008 marathon, though. Shame.

June CoroCoro round-up

I think we've all already seen what's in there, so I'll just point out things where I have something to say. First of all, the item that enables the genies' form changes, the Reflecting Mirror, is only obtained once you've already found one of the genies in the Dream Radar, meaning the new forms are completely off-limits for anyone who doesn't have it, just like I expected. That Dream Radar has got to sell somehow, right?

In addition, the genies' new forms have had their abilities revealed, since no, they don't keep their old ones. Tornadus has Regenerator, Thundurus has Volt Absorb, and Landorus has Intimidate. Three solid abilities, but they're still a downgrade from the old ones. The reason why Thundurus and Landorus were so good was the presence of Prankster and Sand Force, so this new form of Thundurus may not follow its big brother in ubers.

Next, we have Kyurem's new forms' acquisition of Turboblaze and Teravolt. All I can say is, it's better than Pressure... too bad it's still stuck with that horrible, horrible typing. I'm eagerly waiting for the stat spreads, though I have a hunch it's just going to be 20 more points in Attack for Black Kyurem, and 20 more points in Special Attack for White Kyurem.

That would still be better than Keldeo's Resolution form, though. LAZIEST FORM CHANGE EVER. I've heard a few people suggest that it symbolizes the evolution of the d'Artagnan character in the Three Musketeers trilogy, but I call BS. They were just lazy.

Black City and White Forest return. Here's to hoping it's handled better this time around, in the first game you had to rush through the game to get there before it was deserted.

Finally, Sing Piplup will be BW2's first Wi-Fi distribution. Prepare for Empoleon's glorious return to OU! NOT.

What's better than beating Cynthia with a level 1 team?

Beating Cynthia with ONE level 1, of course!

My favorite part is DT being deleted in favor of Poisonpowder once it's no longer useful. Very clever.

New poll: alternate form overkill?

Last time, I asked you whether you had favorite types or not, and out of 231 voters, 67 do! That's honestly a bit more than I anticipated, but hey, whatever floats your boat, right?

This week's question: with the genies and Keldeo, is Gamefreak going too far in the sheer quantity of alternate forms being introduced these days? Are they still something special, or has the novelty worn off?

Bulbagarden deserves a medal!

Take a look at this, if you will. Upon reading this, I just wanted to give the fine people of Bulbagarden a standing ovation. It's about time we, as a civilization, stand up and oppose any kind of hate on any minority, be they ethnic or otherwise. As they point out, the venom that's being discharged on LGBTs on a daily basis is an elephant in the room for purely political reasons, but the general idea of hate is something that far transcends the political spectrum. And as long as we chicken out from our duty as a society to accept everyone equally, giving ourselves excuses such as "politics", minorities keep living a nightmare for no valid reason whatsoever. Bravo, folks of Bulbagarden. Well done.

I would also like to remind everyone that the same policy has always applied, and will continue to apply here, whether it's on this blog or my YouTube channel. I don't give a crap about whether you're white, black, Hispanic, Asian, heterosexual, homosexual. Christian, Muslim, atheist or otherwise - if you're willing to respect everyone for what they are, and don't have a warped "truth" to shove down everyone's throats, I will never let anyone take a dump on you for what I might call your "preferences" in a broad sense.

Keldeo to get new form as well (Edit: June 10)

There are no pics as of yet, but Keldeo becomes the fifth legendary Pokémon to get an alternate form in BW2. THAT'S ENOUGH. Just like Thundurus and Landorus, there's absolutely no need for one. I know I'm repeating myself, but remember when having multiple forms was something special? Now half of the gen 5 legendaries have them. Sheesh.

Edit (June 10): Well, CoroCoro gave us a sneak peek at Keldeo's Resolution form, and... well, it's the laziest yet, with Keldeo only having a bigger mane and a longer horn. Boooooooo.

New poll: favorite Pokémon types?

The last poll was about the status of starter Pokémon in your opinion, and once again we prove to be a far cry from the GameFAQs-and-friends crowd. Out of 338 voters, only 98 always keep their starter on their team no matter what. 86 only ditch it when all the choices are bad (ohai gen 5), and 146 don't care about how good they are, they'll ditch it if they have a better idea for a team. Six end up putting them in the PC out of simply not caring for them, and two always do so because they're a hindrance. To be honest, I only put those last two choices so that I could cover the full gamut of answers, but I knew the amount of votes for them would be very limited.

Next question: do you have favorite Pokémon types, or do you rate Pokémon individually regardless of typing?

Nope, this isn't Pokémon. Not at all.

Ever heard of a Facebook game called Monsters Planet? Well, I just found out about it through this thread on the TSG forums. Just look at those pictures, and tell me it doesn't look awfully familiar. Looking through a fansite for this game, I found out some weird things that I wrote about in that thread. Baby Zapdos lol. Is this where we're standing as a species? Are we completely out of ideas? I mean, sheesh, at least Digimon was slightly more subtle in its blatant ripping off of Pokémon. Slightly. This, on the other hand, is utterly shameless.