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

Pokemon Crystal - BABIEZ!

Hi, guys! Today I'm going to talk about Pokemon....specifically.
I'll be honest, I was kinda hesitant to do so for Pokemon Crystal, mainly because I'm very disappointed in how few new species were introduced in the second generation. As a child, it really didn't bother me, because I was used to seeing Gen. 1 Pokemon running around, and seeing them, along with others was just icing on the cake for me. Now I come back a few years later to play the game and think "I'm going to self-consciously make an effort to put together a team that is strictly made from Pokemon of the second generation."
I'm not saying such a feat is impossible, but it's difficult, mainly because of how spread out the good species are throughout your gameplay, and how...weak - frankly - some of your choices are. You've got great ones like the Bug/Fighting type Heracross and the Flying/Steel Skarmory, but you can't find them toward the beginning of the game, where I normally like to put my team together. Not only that, but they don't evolve. I like Pokemon that evolve, I'm just prejudice like that.
Also, if you want to play the second generation games, Crystal has a better story line, but it features less actual Pokemon, or at least, you can't get them earlier in the game like you can in Gold in Silver (i.e. - my favorite Pokemon, Dragonair, cannot be caught until nearly the end of the game in Crystal, unlike G/S.)
ANYWAY, enough about me complaining; there are still good advances in Pokemon that are featured here!

Say Hi!:
Clipper (Croconaw) ♂ - L21
Venus (Weepinbell) ♂ - L22
Trunks (Phanpy) ♀ - L21
Buss (Magnemite) - L22
Aurora (Growlithe) ♀ - L22
Cora (Golbat) ♀ - L23

Firstly, you'll notice that I now add a gender symbol to the end of my party's names. Back in the first generation, Pokemon didn't have genders. They were just creatures. Like I've mentioned before, the game was simple. As the new generation was introduced, however, the ability to breed your Pokemon came to be. That's right - your Pokemon can be placed in the Pokemon Daycare Center and have BABIES, if they're compatible.
...-chuckles-
In fact, as time went by, the third generation was introduced, and different variations of breeding came about, a sort of cult idea spread for awhile between these two later-named Pokemon:

     

Wailord and Skitty

What I personally find both hilarious and disturbing about this is that these two are compatible for breeding.
Skitty is a normal type, and one of the smallest Pokemon, being a mere 2 feet tall.
Wailord...is obviously water type, and is currently the largest recorded Pokemon there is, ranging at 47 feet.
And these two can make babies...let that sink in for a moment.

Another new aspect that began in the second generation was species variations. What I mean is the introduction of shiny Pokemon and Pokemon infected with 'Pokerus.'
Shiny Pokemon are simply extremely rare Pokemon that you can find in the wild and catch, just like any other Pokemon, only they look slightly different, and sparkle when seen in the wild or cast into battle.
For a visual example, let's take Gyarados, a first generation Water/Flying Pokemon:

This is a Gyarados

This is a shiny Gyarados

This species is actually the only Pokemon that you can catch as a shiny in the wild without looking for it - it is required to either catch or defeat it in order to progress in the Gold/Silver/Crystal game. Otherwise, you go hunting in the wild for it, and pray to God you happen to find one.

The other variation is what's called 'Pokerus,' which basically describes a Pokemon that you find in the wild that is infected with a virus. It even indicates it clearly when you encounter the Pokemon. In fact, it just looks like a status ailment:

This virus is actually quite helpful, though, as it does no harm to your Pokemon. It spread to your party when you catch the wild Pokemon, and allows your party to grow better. The virus does, however, fade with time. It is less popular in the Pokemon world than shiny Pokemon, possibly due to it being even more rare to find in the wild than a shiny Pokemon. (Which is odd, as I've only once encountered an infected Pokemon, but other than Gyarados, I haven't ever seen a shiny Pokemon in the wild.)

Regardless, I think I'm progressing much more quickly in this game, and I hope to be able to talk about what I originally wanted to ages ago. I'm not sure, though, I'll have to find out.
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!

- Cheryl-Buddy

Pokemon Crystal - Against the Elements

FINALLY. Midterm week is OVER.
And after a week of trying to balance my studying with thinking of what to post first, I have experienced hardships that should never be experienced again. These hardships include, but are not at all limited to:
- dropping my SP and freezing the game after a 2-hour period of playing without saving and getting reeeeeeeally pissed off
- putting the still-on game in my bag and forgetting about it for about half an hour as a fire forced me out of my dorm for a bit, also freezing it after a 2-or-so-hour period without saving and nearly giving up on hope
- having the game randomly glitch up after I had just beaten the 3rd gym leader and was unable to exit the gym and was unable to pull up the start menu to save. I'M NOT KIDDING, PEOPLE.
So, the moral of the story? Save your game - a lot. I'm really hoping that this glitch doesn't reappear when I get to the 3rd gym again...

Anyway, welcome to my favorite generation of Pokemon. This, I will admit, is not my favorite game of the three, as it features less Pokemon, I think. Still, it has a more involved storyline, and is the third release of the generation, so I think I'll stick to it.

Say hello to my new team:

Cora (Zubat) ♀ - L11
Venus (Bellsprout) ♂ - L12
Clipper (Totodile) ♂ - L13

As a side note - from here on out, I nickname my Pokemon. It just seemed a bit too bold in the previous generation. Anyway...
Aside from the fact that this generation introduced 100 new Pokemon into the light, lots of changes began to happen. It really blew my mind as a child. Let's call this, for my own personal aspect, the building block generation of Pokemon today. The old Pokemon will forever be the original building block, but it was very simple. There was very little that it had in common with generation 2. With that said, I didn't remember it as much. 

Today I'll talk briefly about one of the new aspects that excited me the most: 2 new elements.

Dark Type

(From Bulbapedia)

I LOVED this type. There were only a select few Pokemon released in this generation to go with this debut type, but I wanted ALL OF THEM, regardless how difficult to me it seemed to catch them at the tender age of less-than-10.

Dark type brought spice into the Pokemon realm. The dark type Pokemon were always the most shadowy-looking, yet in battle, their move set was the most strategic and powerful to me. From the debut, forward, I wanted a Pokemon in my team that if it wasn't Dark, it would at least be able to know dark type moves. Thus, I came to respect Zubat, regardless of how many buggers are still out there in the games.

Steel Type

(From Bulbapedia)

This type, unlike Dark, was one of those that I FEARED. Like, the fear that your afraid of, not the fear that you respect. It took me ages to figure out what took steel type creatures down. It was bad enough having to learn what type of Pokemon to use against a Rock type. Now you have a gym leader who uses Steel as well to worry about. Not only that, but a particular Pokemon I had known just to be an Electric Pokemon (Magnemite) was now part Steel, part Electric.
Even today, now that I've known and have gotten used to Steel, I don't like this one. It's irritable...but great when you have a steel type Pokemon.

Next time I'll be focusing my attention to the Pokemon themselves - they've changed quite a bit, too, my friends. Thanks for reading!

- Cheryl-Buddy

Pokemon Yellow - Let's Skip Ahead to the End

Yeah, so I said in my last blog that I would be doing a philosophy spread for my last topic in Pokemon Yellow.
I didn't lie, and I'm still planning to do it - just wait. I've found what I think it a link in the first two games.
I've finished Pokemon Yellow, as far as what I consider having finished the game.

Meet my Hall of Fame team:

Blastoise - L58

Charizard - L58

Marowak - L60

Venusaur - L60

Pidgeot - L62

Hypno - L63

Yup, switched my Fearow for a Pidgeot. I had forgotten how helpful they were.

Anyway, I'm already starting in the next generation of Pokemon with Pokemon Crystal. From here on out, I'll be playing by the rules - even though you don't get a Pikachu in the second generation, I won't be getting any rare Pokemon to give me the upper hand.
Let me also get out of the way the fact that is is MY FAVORITE GENERATION OF ALL TIME. I'm not joking. I might fangirl a bit in this game. Thank you all for bearing with me, though. It's been fun.
Now then.
Let's turn to the next chapter!

- Cheryl-Buddy

Pokemon Yellow - OMG 8-Bit!

Holy bejezus, it's cold. D:

Say hello again to my team:

Wartortle - L34
Fearow - L34
Venusaur - L34
Marowak - L35
Hypno - L35
Charizard - L36

I was going to freak out inside for a moment if I couldn't find a playlist sharing site that would let me post something up here, because I could easily have a lot of songs to talk about. Thankfully, MixPod had something nice for me. Here you guys go!

Create a playlist at MixPod.com

Thank you, MixPod. Anyway, as you can tell, I'm going to be lightly discussing the musical element of Pokemon Yellow. This could easily  become a complicated subject in my opinion - the music is 8-bit. Why am I mentioning it in a blog post, then? Well, 8-bit was and is the home base of video game music. The first Mario game had it, the first Legend of Zelda game had it, and plenty of other classics had music composed on the silly little chip. Few, however, can comprehend the complexity that goes into its composition, and though I really hate to be borderline judging anyone, few can also truly appreciate what goes into making music with this microprocessor.

Regardless, take a listen to the battle themes above. (For the record, the theme with the artist title 'Unknown' is the Elite 4 Champion Theme.) You'll notice how frantic each of them sound. That was the tactic. Little actually went on in a Pokemon battle during the 90's. If you were to take away the music, the battle would be veeery boring. This frantic music helped wake battle up. In fact, I remember occasionally drifting through tall grass and the wild battle theme startling me - but that was the point.
Not all themes were frantic and fast-paced though. Let me show you Route 11:

My point to make with this theme is what work went into the liveliness of the music. C'mon, it's 8-bit - how can that possibly be lively. Well, with a 8-bit composer's range pallet being so tiny (along with a lot of other aspects in designing a game back then), you really had to think outside of the box and work with what you had. Sounds had to be 'stretched', per say, to make them sound like larger or different sounding 'instruments,' and you'll see that done particularly in this route's theme. And just as a little funfact, 8-bit was also used to make sound effects in video games. You'll notice that they sound very similar to percussion, next time you listen.
Now, take a listen to the remake of this route's theme in the Pokemon remake of FireRed and LeafGreen:

You hear horns, don't you? And drums? Well, that's what you were supposed to hear in the previous video, and you can, to a certain point. But making music dynamic with an 8-bit processor was extremely difficult, and making a theme sound even relatively close to instrumentation was commendable. Next time you're playing the first Pokemon, or any other old school game with 8-bit music, pay closer attention to how the simple broadening of sounds or pitches makes the music come that much more alive.

Give me a little bit of time to get farther into the game so I can talk about my next and last topic in Pokemon Yellow to the fullest - next time we talk about Yellow's philosophy. Don't misjudge me, just wait and see what I have to say.

- Cheryl-Buddy