Glitches Get Stitches! (Glitches old and new, and how to fix them)

Hey Trainers!

Today I’ll be going over glitches that have been found so far in Pokémon X and Y, and some cool Pokémon merchandise I recently got!

The first glitch I’d like to talk about, is actually one from the first Pokémon games Red and Blue. This is because there is actually a reoccurrence of the glitch in Pokémon X and Y!

The Games That Started It All!

Back in 1996 when Red and Blue first came out, many found a special Pokémon no Pokedex has ever recorded, a mysterious glitch referred to as Missingno or Missing Number, no. for short. This “Pokémon” took extreme effort to find, requiring you to speak to certain characters and surf on the exact right spot of Cinnabar Island. This glitch, while having the power to multiply your rare candies and Master Ball, could also destroy your save file!

No Rare Candies For You!

When all this was done you could find all sorts of things such as starter Pokémon, Pokémon over level 100, and of course Missingno! Missingno could be found at several different level caps, ranging from 8 to over 100. If caught the summary would reveal it to be a flying type with Peck, Water Gun, and Sky Attack. Not only was he a totally new Pokémon, but after encountering it the sixth item in your bag increased to insane numbers. If you saved your Master Ball you could use Missingno to make hundreds of them and easily fill the Pokedex!

Spamming Rare Candy Since 1996

Unfortunately Missingno also came with negative effects. If caught, Missingno could possibly corrupt your save file and force you to restart the game! Luckily in X and Y Missingno is much less threatening. In a screenshot found by a fellow Pokémon Trainer, it shows Missingno in the shadows of a building entrance in Lumiose 

Missingno Returns!

By now you may have heard that if you save in certain areas of the game, it can corrupt your save file! Like Missingno, this could force you to start your adventure over or break your game cartridge completely! Fortunately, Nintendo has addressed the problem and released an update to fix this issue. If you are unable to update your system, then Nintendo has also released images of where saving would cause this problem.

Save At Your own Risk

Another Glitch that is leaving many Pokémon fans upset, is a software issue that fill up your boxes and can delete Pokémon after Wonder Trading. While at first thought to be hackers, it now is speculated that this is a very rare glitch in the game that when Wonder Trading, you can receive what is being called a “Bad Egg.”

Look Out For Bad Eggs

If you receive an egg through Wonder Trade, know that there is a possibility it is a serious threat to your game file. Reports show that the egg when placed in the PC will multiply, occupying all PC slots. If allowed to fill all the spots, the egg can actually replace Pokémon in the PC with more “Bad Eggs.” This has only been reported by a small amount of players, but is still something to watch out for when Wonder Trading.

Lastly, I recently bought a Play-mat for the Pokémon Trading Card Game from one of my favorite organizations of Pokémon players! This organization is known as The Top Cut, all the members are experience PTCG players and do a lot to support the Pokémon community. They’ve helped organize and create the first Pokémon TCG tournament not licensed by Play Pokémon, Called the Klaczynski Open.

First Independent Tournament!

As of now they are having a sale of Play-mats for 25$ which is pretty cheap considering the quality and size of the mat! I’d like to mention that I’m in no way affiliated with the group, but support their input to the Pokémon community and think helping them out is great, especially if you get an awesome play-mat out of it! Not to mention my mat came with a Pokémon card signed by the group leader Kyle “Pooka” Sucevich himself! So if you’re interested, check out The Top Cut for the mat and all kinds of other Pokémon Information!

Spinda Card Signed by Pooka Himself!

That’s it for today Trainers, To Be continued!

 

Mega Blastoise, and Spooky Swords!

Hey Trainers!

Another Mega Pokémon has been revealed, along with the Aegislash evolution line, from the upcoming X and Y set. So I’ll be giving you guys a quick look at them, and my opinions on their use!

New Cards!

First up is Mega Blastoise, the first water Mega Pokémon! Like his counterpart Mega Venusaur, he has an absurd HP of 220 and has only one attack. Blastoise’s attack Hydro Bombard, deals 120 base damage for a cost of (W)(W)(W), and does 30 damage to two bench Pokémon. The mega turtle also has a Grass weakness, and a heavy three retreat cost.

Mega Cannon Now Included!

 Not only is this a reasonable attack cost, but the bench damage makes it essentially a Darkrai EX, with boosts in both base attack and snipe damage! If put in a Blastoise deck, it could be easily powered up and function similar to Darkrai decks, rearranging the space to function similarly. Hypothetically, Blastoise BCR acts as your energy acceleration rather than dark patch and energy switch. Keldeo is used as your way to switch in and out of the active spot like Darkrai’s Ability Dark Cloak. Finally, you do not require cards like Hypnotoxiclaser and Dark Claw to increase damage output, because Blastoise already deals more damage! However, if space could be made you could still use Hypnotoxiclaser to increase the damage even more.

Which is Better?

Next I’ll be looking at Aegislash!

The King's Sword and Shield

Aegislash is a Metal stage two with 140 HP. It has one attack Buster Swing, costing a hefty (M)(M)(C)(C) and dealing 120 damage ignoring resistance. However, what makes this card special is its Ability! The name of its Ability is the same as in the game, Stance Change. This allows you to place an Aegislash from your hand on top of your active one. This essentially lets you utilize both cards, being able to switch between the two if you have multiple copies in your hand.

Flexible Evolutions

The second print of Aegislash also has 140 HP and the Ability stance change. The ghostly blade has an attack as well, called King’s shield. This attack functions similar to the video game attack and prevents any damage dealt to Aegislash on the following turn. King’s shield has the same cost as Buster Swing, but with the added affect only deals 50 base damage. This move is quite useful, while being hard to set up a stage three Pokémon it would be well worth it, if it weren’t for the fact that King’s Shield can only be used consecutively.

Can't Use King's Shield Two Turns in A Row

Overall, The XY set looks pretty impressive! I’m excited to see all the Kalos Pokémon printed and carried into battle TCG style!

That’s it for today trainers, To be Continued!  

Welcome To The Jungle! (Mega Pokémon EX enter the Fray!)

Hey Trainers!

Major announcements were just leaked on WWW.Pokebeach.com, another website dedicated to news on all things Pokémon! Their scan revealed the first ever Mega Pokémon card! So today I’ll be sharing all the news revealed about the card and my thoughts on the card itself, and how Mega Pokémon cards themselves will affect the game.

Before I go into detail about the new Mega Pokémon, I’d first like to explain how Mega Pokémon will work.

As of now we know that like non EX Pokémon, the basic must be in play a whole turn before it can evolve. Past that the only main difference is that by Mega evolving one of your Pokémon your turn ends. This can be problematic; however once you see the Mega you’ll understand why.

 

Will We Need Mega Pokemon To Get One Of These?

  So without further ado, the first ever Pokémon EX to receive an evolution is everyone’s favorite green mean frenzy planting machine Venusaur EX!

Make One Wrong Move And He'll Kick Your Grass!

 In a previous post I mentioned how Blastoise and Venusaur EX being released was very interesting, seeing how they had just gotten Mega evolutions in Pokémon X and Y. I predicted that we would see an introduction to Mega Pokémon cards, much like Lv X cards in a previous format. If you’d like to know more about Lv X cards click here! http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_LV.X_(TCG)

Popular LV. X Cards

While the scan is blurry and this can not be said for certain, it is believed that unlike Lv X cards, you do not need to have the Pokemon in the active spot to Mega Evolve it.

Mega Venusaur EX has a whopping 230 HP, that’s the highest HP on a Pokémon card I’ve ever seen! The creature is expectedly Grass type, has a weakness to fire and a heavy four-retreat cost. His attack Crisis Vine not only sounds awesome but also has power to back it up. Crisis Vine costs (G)(G)(G)(C) and hits for 120 damage. Now this may seem lackluster, but in addition to the base damage it paralyzes and poisons your opponent!

 

Crisis Vine For The Win!

This can make Venusaur incredibly powerful when combining him with the stadium card Virbank City Gym.

 

Winning Games Since Plasma Storm!

 One Crisis Vine then, will hit for 150 after poison and paralyzes your opponent. This will require them to either use a switching card or rely on abilities like Keldeo EX’s Rush In, or they will simply have to pass knocking out any basic EX car in the format.

So clearly the card while hard to set up, is incredibly powerful and will be a force to be reckoned with as he leads the way for all Mega Pokémon to come!  

That’s it for today trainers, To Be Continued!

 

New Event Legendaries!

Hey Trainers!

Recently some leaked screenshots have been revealed, showing possible new Pokémon! So today I’ll explain why these creatures are most likely real, and my thoughts on them.

    New Pokémon! 

These new Pokémon were revealed to us by a man who claims to have hacked the hardware of the game, came across their codes and managed to spawn them in the actual game. While this may sound sketchy at first, several factors support the images credibility. For starters all Pokémon names are trademarked by Nintendo and will appear in the credits to avoid copyright, also the names of the Pokémon Diancie, Hoppa, and Volcanion all briefly were displayed on www.Serebii.net, a very credible source for Pokémon information. For these reasons I believe these leaks to be real, as well as other information he revealed. However I will save that for a later post.

Serebii Said So!

First up is Diancie, a Rock/Fairy Pokémon that has a strikingly similar appearance to Carbink. 

Just Coincidence? 

The leaker referred to these three Pokémon as event legendaries, however the resemblance is so strong I feel it may actually be an added evolution, or the first evolving legendary!

Can't Wait To Get To The Rock Bottom Of This!

Next is Hoopa, The first ever Ghost/Psychic type Pokémon that like the next Pokémon shown, seems to have a different overall theme compared to the rest of the Kalos Pokémon. It appears to have characteristics of Indian culture, which seems oddly placed in the France like environment. However I’ll explain more on that in just a moment!

Jewelry And Hair Resemble Indian Culture

First I’d like to show you Volcanion, a Pokémon also with a completely original typing of Fire/Water. Volcanion is significantly larger than either Hoopa or Diancie, and is very interesting in design. Like Hoopa he has characteristics of Indian culture, and has distinct features like the large ring on its back.

 

Awesome Design And Type!

A second image of the creature shows the ring separating into two parts and being used as cannons, much like Blastoise. Overall it’s a very cool design, and some have even speculated it will have a second form swapping between red and blue coloring to symbolize its unique typing.

The Ring Isn't Just For Show!

Now regarding the origin of Hoopa and Volcanion. While what I’m about to say has in no way been confirmed, the game itself has plenty of evidence supporting it.

Many players such as myself have found several in game characters talking about other regions, such as the lady who references the hot spring in Hoen, or the man by Geosenge Town who mentions Colress from the Unova region. 

Finally Left The Hot Spring 

Along with this an item can be obtained called the Strange Souvenir, its description stating it is from a region far away from Kalos. While we don’t necessarily know the exact geography of the Pokémon universe, it could merely reference an already known region, however many speculate that is not the case!

Where Did It Come From?

With the train accessible post Elite Four that can take you to Kiloude city, people now wonder if future DLC will come out allowing us to travel to another region this souvenir, and new Pokémon are from! If you ask me it’s a very logical assumption, and I’m extremely excited to see if it’s true. 

 

Our Ticket To A New Region!

That’s it for today trainers, To Be Continued!

    

Exploring the Kalos Region!

Hey Trainers!

Pokémon X and Y have officially been released for a while now, and I’ve had a chance to fully enjoy both. So today I’ll be going over some of my favorite new features, and some tips for your adventure!

First off is Mega Evolution!

This feature without a doubt is the biggest structural change Pokémon has taken in a while, the idea to bring a fully evolved Pokémon to new heights is an awesome concept. As of now there are 28 known Mega Pokémon, if you want to see them all hers a link to serebii.net, an awesome website all about Pokémon!

http://www.serebii.net/xy/megaevolutions.shtml

My Favorite Mega

Brand New Battles!

Another big change introduced with Pokémon X and Y, is new types of battles. We now have Sky and Hoard battles.

Sky battles allow you to have optional battles with other trainers, using Pokémon that can learn fly or have the ability levitate. My Hawlucha However, cannot battle in them despite Knowing Fly. Regardless it allows for fun battles in the unfamiliar territory of the sky!

The Wings are Just for Show

With hoard battles, you will battle any five Pokémon located in the area making for fun and intense training!

EXP. Buffet 

Wonder Trade!

An extra feature that has become fairly popular is wonder trade. This feature lets you trade one of your Pokémon online, for a random creature another player has offered to trade. The process is completely random and allows for some fun turnouts. I even managed to get a shiny Froakie out of it! Understand though that many players will only trade low-level Pokémon in hopes of getting better ones in return.

Not Again...

Overall the game is fantastic, while the story is not necessarily as deep as the Unova games, it introduces lots of fun characters and an intriguingly darker plot than most Pokémon games. There are plenty more features and fun aspects in the game ill be covering later, but for now enjoy your adventure!

That’s it for today trainers,

To Be Continued!

Pink Pokémon Cards!

Hey Trainers! Scans were just released in Japan showcasing four new EX cards from the brand new X and Y sets. So today I’m going to do a quick overview of them, and talk about how they’ll fit in the current Metagame.

NEW CARDS!

The first card to enter the battle is Xerneas, he’s the first ever Fairy type and pink Pokémon card revealed. Despite this achievement, the card fails to make much of an impact. Xerneas has 170 HP, and two attacks. The first attack Breakthrough, costs (F)(C)(C)  dealing 60 base damage and an additional 30 to a bench Pokémon. The second attack has been translated to Blast X and deals 140 damage and cannot be used the following turn for (F)(F)(C)(C).

Did I mention its pink!

The next Legendary EX Yveltal has 170 HP, Dark typing, and two attacks as well. The first of which for (D)(C), deals a base 20 damage, plus an additional 20 for each energy attached Yveltal and the defending Pokémon. The next attack, Cyclone Y, costs (D)(C)(C) and deals a base 90 damage, while requiring you move one energy to a pokemon on your bench. I feel while this card isn’t necessarily great its resistance to fighting makes it useful, fighting usually being the main counter to dark type decks.

Interesting art style compared to other EX's

Aside from legendaries, the TCG is continuing to print EX cards of non-legendary Pokémon. In the new legendary treasures set, we see the first of these in the forms of Chandelure and Excadrill EX. Now with the introduction of Mega evolutions, they have printed Blastoise and Venusaur EX, in what has been hinted as plans to create Mega EX cards. As seen in the revealed picture where arrows point from these cards to cards hidden by a question mark.

What could those question marks be?

Blastoise EX has180 HP, and has two attacks costing (C)(C) and (W)(W)(W) respectively. The first is called Rapid Spin, and deals 30 damage. In addition it requires the player to switch Blastoise with a benched Pokémon, and requires the opponent to do the same. Then Splash Bomb deals 120 damage and requires a coin flip, dealing 30 damage to Blastoise upon flipping tails.

Keldeo/Blastoise's new secret weapon?

 Lastly Venusaur EX also has 180 HP, and two attacks Costing (G)(C)(C) and (G)(G)(C)(C) respectively. The first of the two attacks has been translated to poison powder, and deals 60 base damage, while also poisoning the defending Pokémon. The next Jungle Hammer deals 90 while healing 30 damage from Venusaur EX.

I can't think of a cooler attack name than Jungle Hammer!

 Overall the cards are all different in some way from what we’ve seen in the past, but bring little competitive edge to the table. Xerneas being a new type lacks any current cards to deal extra damage from weakness, and Yveltal seems to be a more complicated Mewtwo EX. Blastoise and Venusaur seem to be very weak when comparing them to other EX’s but this is to be expected if what they are hinting is actually Mega EX cards.

While will have to see the rest of the set to see exactly how useful these cards will be, Its obvious EX’s will continue to have a presence in the game, and more than likely dominate the format.

That’s all for today Trainers, To Be Continued!

TCG Used Transform

Hey trainers!  The Top Cut, an amazing organization dedicated to the Pokémon TCG, just released some shocking information that the Pokémon Company released in Japan. The Text showed how the TCG will be changing drastically with the introduction of the X and Y sets! So today I’m going to go over them and say how I think it will affect the game as a whole, and the current Meta.

Turn One Changes:

            That’s right trainers; the rule of not being able to attack turn one is back! This will drastically change the game in a format where almost all top decks aside from Blastoise/Keldeo, take huge advantage attacking turn one. While before the game used to rely heavily on setting up different Pokémon to then make big moves later, we’ve drifted to a game where everyone utilizes big basic attackers to hit right away. Overall this rule while drastic has been taken very positively and seems to be supported.

Turn One Frost Spear GG!

Turn One Affects On The Meta:

            This change will not only affect how decks function but the use of single cards as well. I believe with this change, Tropical beach will now be more useful then ever. Before while only setup decks could make the most use of giving up your first turn attack, now that its mandatory Tropical Beach becomes your best option. I hate to even think about it but the card will probably again rise in price.

Worth the Price

            As far as individual decks go, Plasma is most affected. Whether its Frost Spearing and opponent turn one, or throwing a Raiden Knuckle to help accelerate your energy, turn one is extremely beneficial to Plasma. I fear any variant of the deck will now be to slow to keep up not being able to attack with anything significant till turn two or three provided whether they go first or second. Along with cards such as Drifblim DRX ,PLB, and Enhanced Hammer playing Plasma seems to be a bigger risk.   

 Pokémon Catcher:

            Since its debut in Emerging Powers fans have debated whether this card is too powerful for the game or not. Being able to promote any Pokémon on the field unlocks countless possibilities within the game and has been staple since its release. Whether you like the card or not to be competitive you pretty much have to run the card, until now perhaps. While I admit my knowledge of the game does not go far back enough to recall a change like this ever being made, so I am not positive how this will happen. However, according to The Top Cuts translation, Catcher will now require a successful coin flip to use.

I'll Catcher the Pokemon that Can't retreat and pass... 

Affects Catcher Will Have On The Meta:

Its too early to see whether in this format running such a high count of an inconsistent card will be popular, although when it was in rotation Pokémon reversal (A card with the same Use) was very popular. Before making that prediction though you have to consider that this Meta Game is very different then back when Reversal was legal. I feel decks like Darkrai/Garbodor, will not only be much better due to being able to play Catcher more often via Junk Hunt, but also because many decks will scrap catcher for more consistent cards and have trouble targeting Garbodor. Players will have to make a tough choice whether the space is worth it, or to give up on Catcher completely. 

Since we still do have some time left before these changes are made. I suggest having as much fun as possible during the upcoming Regional tournaments! Who knows whether you’ll ever be able to attack turn one or use a card like Catcher again, so have fun and make the most of it!

That’s it for today Trainers, To Be Continued!

Real Steel

            Hey trainers! The Pokémon Company has just released a new Pokémon evolution of Honedge named Doublade. Feel free to check it out for yourselves here. https://www.facebook.com/Pokemon Today, I’ll be giving my first impression of it.

            After talking with friends online and off, I can definitely say this reveal was very unexpected. Rumors had led me to believe the reveal today would consist of; Mega Raichu, Helioptile’s evolution, or the final forms of Chespin, Froakie, and Fennekin. However, to my liking we were instead shown Doublade, which just goes to show that Pokémon is very unpredictable and has plenty of surprises left for us!

          
 Doublade:

According to the image above, Doublade is a Steel/Ghost type, and has the ability “No Guard.” For those that don’t know, No Guard is an awesome ability that can be used in and out of battle. Currently, it allows all attacks used by a Pokémon with the ability to never miss including when attacking Foe’s using moves such as; Bounce, Dive, Dig, Fly, Shadow Force, and Sky Drop. While outside of battle the Ability also increases the encounter rate of wild Pokémon, only if the Pokémon is leading the Party.

                                             

The best defense is a good offense!

My first impression of this sharp looking Pokémon is pretty good, despite the fact that people have started to complain about the design. While its structure seems to be its pre-form Honedge, doubled and colored pink, this is not so. The changes are subtle, for example, the sheaths are a new design, as well as the Hilt’s now more jagged edge on one side.

Overall, I’m not too sure whether Doublade will have an evolution or not, it would be interesting if they had a stage two with either a shield, or a larger sword and two arms to represent a two handed weapon. Either way I think Doublade is a great installment to the generation, and fits the theme of France really well. With his typing and Ability, he’s a definite contender for my team, come October 12^th!

That’s it for today trainers, To Be Continued!

            

A Wild Blog Appeared!

               

 Hey everyone, my name is Spencer Trippi, and I’m a longtime fan of everything Pokémon. With all kinds of new reveals, from the new video games X and Y, set to release early October, and the upcoming Trading Card Game season, I can’t think of a better time to start a blog. My goal is to give my thoughts, and get insight from others on all Pokémon related news! So if this interests you, make sure to stock up on Poké Balls and Potions, and follow me!

X and Y Pokémon Revealed!

                In the latest Issue of CoroCoro, several new Pokémon have been revealed! While some people have shown some distaste with a few of them, personally I didn’t find any too upsetting, and am excited to see them in action. Below are the stage one forms of Froakie, Fennekin, and Chespin, which have been given the official U.S. names of; Braixen, Quilladen, Frogadier.

Starter Evolutions: 

               

         

The reveal of these images shocked many, as most were expecting to finally see the stage two forms of Froakie, Chespin, and Fennekin, and were surprised to see that they chose to instead release the stage one images. These actually do tell us a great deal of information however!

Braixen:

For starters, Fennekin’s evolved form Braixen, is now seen standing on two legs, instead of four. This most likely being Nintendo’s way to increase differences between it and Ninetailes, another Fire Fox. While it does a good job in doing so, it also raised questions as to what type the Pokémon would be, many feared the transition to two legs was to insist it would, like many other Fire type starters, gain a fighting type upon evolution. This luckily is not so, along with the new image, learnable moves were also released including; Psychic, Psybeam, and Psyshock, clearly indicating what fans have been hoping for, a secondary Psychic type! Also it has been noted that what seems to be a wooden stick emerging from his tail appears to be a broom. This would further suggest a witchlike persona, and further support the Psychic typing.

Frogadier:

 Next, the evolution of Froakie, Frogadier I believe is a solid concept. It would appear that the more slim body would suggest that its final form will have a more lengthy trim appearance, as opposed to the stout larger appearance many fans, myself included, were hoping for. Still, while its appearance doesn’t change too much, like most stage one’s in the past, it’s the best of the bunch if you ask me.

Quilladin:

Lastly Chespin’s stage one evolution Quilladin, has caused the most discussion, and is why I saved it for last. I personally have no problem with it; while I admit besides a new shape it only has minute changes. I will agree with those who dislike it, that it is my least favorite of the three, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have potential. I know that some of my favorite starters from the last two generations have had very unappealing stage one’s. Prinplup and Pignite both have very little going for them, but end up looking fantastic during their final form. So while it’s easy to judge right now, Pokémon hasn’t let us down yet so don’t be too worried!

                                       

That's it for today trainers, To Be Continued!

**Make sure to tune in next week for more posts!