Pokemon Emerald - OMG WHAT?

*~~//SPOILER ALERT...I THINK?\\~~*
I'm not sure what I'm about to say will be considered spoiling the plot, but it may be. Just warning you.

After a nice, hard nap in my extremely warm room (thank you, 8 floors below me for blasting your heater), I am at extreme lack of desire to play Pokemon, so I shall give a little status report.

Here's my current team:
Bruja (Taillow) ♀ - L17
Topaz (Aron) ♂ - L17
Twiggy (Nuzleaf) ♀ - L18
Kenny (Combusken) ♂ - L18
Captain (Ralts) ♂ - L18

I've come to quickly find out two things in the game after having only played through the first two gyms just recently:
1. I tend to try and put my team together as close to the beginning of the game as I can. Who wouldn't, though? Well, some people might if they saw the type of Pokemon I add to my team so early in the game. My Ralts and Nuzleaf were once so small in level, my Nuzleaf having not evolved yet from a Seedot, and these two were my only counterparts aside from my then Torchic. So basically, I had two virtually incapable-of-fighting-back Pokemon who hid behind a Torchic for a good portion of the beginning of the game. This cost me VAST amounts of time in leveling them up to where they got actually decent attacks. It's been worth it so far - my team's now unstoppable, albeit it's still not complete, but I'm happy with it right now.
2. I have come to find that after having only played Pokemon Sapphire for a looooong time and having lost my copy of Pokemon Emerald back in my childhood early in the game, playing it again has left me slightly off. Emerald is a lot different than Ruby or Sapphire, I'm realizing. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in a way to where I am slightly unsure of what is happening. This might not end well...but I have faith!
I can do this! (ugh)

I'm really not sure how to begin what I want to say.
After having played for a bit in the Game Boy and Game Boy Color era, my mind was blown once again since childhood, playing this for the first time. There's just so much different about it! You Pokemon are now such complex beings at this point!

Here are just some added features that I can think of off the top of my head:

Nature - your Pokemon is now given a personality of sorts. The Blaziken above has a sassy nature, which will automatically mess around with both its stats and preferences. What I mean by preferences is now there are these little things called PokeBlox, that you will feed to your Pokemon to make them grow in different ways, which I will cover in my next blog. There are, however, natures that don't affect your Pokemon at all, but they are few. Docile, Serious, Quirky, and Bashful natures in a Pokemon will not affect your stats or preference in any way. But hey, that's no fun!

Abilities - As above, you'll notice that Blaziken has the ability Blaze. This is one of 77 that were introduced in the third generation, and every Pokemon had one. They did all sorts of things during battle, from preventing accuracy loss to preventing 1-hit knock outs to raising stats during weather conditions to even copying the abilities of others. Of course certain Pokemon have reservation for certain abilities, but it's surprising which ones you discover in the heat of battle when you use Sand Attack on your opponent and nothing happens to their accuracy.

Happiness - This standard will continue to grow in importance throughout the generations up to the fifth and most recent one. Escalating from the second generation, however, making your Pokemon happy has more depth to it, as the game introduces the Soothe Bell and the Luxury Ball.
I personally find these two items a bit on the cheating side, but they work well in the event that you want to up your Pokemon's happiness quickly.

There are more, but they'll be in the next blog I have.
...Now that I have the game on, though...I might as well play it some more.
See you next time!

- Cheryl-Buddy

Pokemon Crystal - After the Credits

*~~//SPOILER ALERT\\~~*

The following blog post will expose plot segments for the game Pokemon Crystal Version. Don't want, don't read. You've been warned.

Yup, I've beaten Pokemon Crystal, fair and square.
Heeeeere's my Hall of Fame Team:

Venus (Victreebell) ♂ - L46

Buzz (Magneton) - L47

Cora (Crobat) ♀ - L48

Clipper (Feraligatr) ♂ - L48

Aurora (Arcanine) ♀ - L50

Trunks (Donphan) ♀ - L52

I'll be honest, I was kinda surprised I was able to beat Lance with my team in such a current state. Regardless, Champion title was handed over, but the game wasn't over. Oh no, sir, there is more to be had.

Though I didn't actually play through this next part, for the sake of my personally intended schedule, there is more to do after the credits, per say. After you beat the Elite 4 and become the Johto Champion, you are given a ticket to go for a little ride on a cruise ship. Of course you have trainers to beat and whatnot, but after the ride, your character finds his or herself in...Kanto! Though graphics are altered a bit, it looks pretty much the same as it did in the first generation. Now you're able to travel Kanto and take on its gyms, allowing you access to having 16 gym badges by the end of it all. When I was old enough to get my thoughts about me long enough to actually get to Kanto in the game, this greatly excited me. Especially one extra aspect.

As you have plowed through the Pokemon League, you are also given access to a place called Mt. Silver.
Mt. Silver, I must confess, is a bitch to climb, but the climb is actually not the best of it. Once you climb to the top of Mt. Silver, you are led onto an icy cliff. After walking the thin platform of this cliff, you see someone - someone that if you speak to, you are plunged into the most difficult battle yet. No words are spoken between you or your opponent. You fight this guy:

Do you recognize him? You should. This is Red, your character in Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow.
I must confess, in all the years that I've played Pokemon, I have yet to beat Red in Mt. Silver. It makes me very ashamed, though I still plan to accomplish it, one of these days.
Any others who have not yet experienced the power that is Red in the second generation beware. His team is fierce and HIGH in level. He is not an easy opponent to defeat.

Well, now that Crystal is done, I'm on to Pokemon Emerald. I think I'll make this generation a bit more interesting, though.
I'm going to attempt to play both Pokemon Emerald and Pokemon FireRed, for reasons that you'll soon find out. One of these days I'll remember that I'm just a college student and actually get a life. Until then, however, see you next time! Thanks for reading!

Pokemon Crystal - Pokemon Abuse

(This apparently didn't get uploaded when I thought. Sorry...)
So...
What do you do when you find out an organization is using animals not as animals, but as tools to do dirty work, in a manner you would find a bit appalling?
That's easy - you call PETA.

Okay, well what do you do, then, when the same thing is happening to Pokemon in Kanto and in Johto?
That's also easy - you BEAT THEIR ASSES.

I meant to do this little segment back when I was playing Pokemon Yellow, but it occurred to me later that Team Rocket, your main antagonist, is in both Pokemon Yellow and in Pokemon Crystal.

Meet the team:
Aurora (Growlithe) ♀ - L36
Trunks (Donphan) ♀ - L36
Buzz (Magneton) - L37
Venus (Weepinbell) ♂ - L37
Clipper (Feraligatr) ♂ - L37
Cora (Crobat) ♂ - L38

There's not a lot to say about Team Rocket. They're an organization that started back in the first generation and used Pokemon to capture and strike fear into the hearts of other trainers. Sometimes, more frequently in the anime, they would steal people's Pokemon, or force them to bring the pain to other Pokemon.
After disbanding from having been obliterated by the power of a certain Trainer named Red (yourself, a generation back), they finally make a comeback in this new generation with the same motives.

As stated above, you can't just call PETA when something like this is happening in the world of Pokemon.
Pokemon aren't necessarily animals. After having thought about this for a moment, this interested me. Pokemon are beings, 'Pocket Monsters', if literally translated from Japanese text. Once caught, they are under your control. These Pokemon under reign of Team Rocket don't know that what they're doing is wrong. Their  masters are simply giving orders and, like any other Pokemon from a better-hearted trainer, they obey these orders.
It saddens me...
Especially when you get the same filth from your rival in this generation.
Meet Silver:

This little snot actually becomes a decent trainer as time through the game progresses, but at the beginning, his motives are to become the best Pokemon Trainer ever. How? Why, by stealing rare or strong Pokemon and calling all the others 'weak' or 'useless.'
One reason I love this generation of Pokemon is not that I see Pokemon getting mistreated, used, or hurt through the plot, but because of what a down-to-earth aspect on what the world gives us this generation portrays. You won't find a rival this dark in any other generation of the Pokemon games to date, I can promise you that. Nor will I ever consider any other rival to be my favorite. I love Silver because of what a role he discreetly plays in Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. He eventually becomes a very caring individual who raises his Pokemon right and allows them to develop as Pokemon should. Still, it's a bit enlightening...

To kind of break character for a moment, I apologize again for the late post. I had this made earlier, and thought it was up already.

Thank you anyway for reading, and I'll see you next time!

- Cheryl-Buddy