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[Pepper]

Some old Trainer OCs I had an idea for a long time ago. Dusted them off with a fresh coat of paint, but I'm sure they're still room for improvement, lol

Anyway, the girl's name is Pepper and the guy's name is Oni. They work for a pizza joint called Rapidash Pizza, from a made-up region I never got around to fully fleshing out (though the two of them might originally be from Sinnoh. Haven't decided yet). Pepper has a Ponyta (later a Rapidash), and Oni has a Numel (later a Camerupt).

I'd say more about these two, but I figured I'd keep it brief. If anyone has any questions, I'll answer 'em!

It's been discussed before, but I'm curious what the general consensus is on Normal-type Pokemon these days especially. Honestly, I used to be kinda neutral to Normal (there's a joke there somewhere, probably), but over time they've crept into my top... 6? favorite types? Maybe? Can't think of my top five types off the bat, but anyway, I think it's mostly the designs for a lot of them, for me, anyway. Off the top of my head, Bouffalant's one of my favorites, and you gotta love Meowth! Oh, and it'd be remiss of me to not mention Drampa dethroned Shelgon as my favorite Dragon-type... which I only mention because it is, in fact, part Normal. Also it inspired my username, but that's neither here nor there, haha.

Mechanically speaking? Ghost-type immunity is always nice, and only having one weakness, even if it IS Fighting, is also nice, but it's not winning any favors offensively (outside of Inverse Battles, anyway. Remember Inverse Battles? No one remembers Inverse Battles ;_; ) and, well, it doesn't really resist much, either, which is for better or worse, I suppose!

As for flavor, i.e. "What IS Normal-type?", I always kinda saw it as the "Every type AND No type" type. Of course, this is contingent on the Pokemon itself, but the TCG seems to toy with that idea... when Dragon isn't lumped in, anyway! I also remember it being said Normal exists because it was "before Game Freak knew what they were doing", (if they ever figured it out, haha) and I'm inclined to believe that's true at this point, too, lol

Anyway, what do you think? Got any favorites? Any Normal-types you wanna see in the future? Is it silly they do dual-type Normals when it makes little sense sometimes? Well, yes, but... Anyway, DISCUSS.

...No, but seriously, I was curious if anyone still collects them. I heard they doubled in price since the last time I checked, or was it just those Kirby Air Riders ones?

I feel kind of bad some of mine are gathering dust (literally or otherwise), but it's not like a lot of games use ALL of them for anything special. I mean, outside maybe Smash Bros. I don't regret buying the Shovel Knight one; that'd be cool for me to have even if it was just a regular figurine, haha. But yeah, in most cases, if your amiibo isn't from the Mario series or such, it's probably not getting a lot of special use. I got Ness out of obligation to Me Liking Earthbound, but I'm not under any impression it'll work outside of the Smash series, unless Mr. Itoi decides, "Yeah, you know what? Mother 4 and/or Earthbound Remake!!" Which probably won't happen any time soon!

Anyway, I thought of this in the first place because I was recalling the amiibo x One Piece collab. I know One Piece is a giga-popular anime/manga franchise, but think about it: that collaboration made history and it feels like hardly anyone cares. So much untapped potential for amiibo, that's all I'm saying... Or, well, I guess there's only so much "statues unlocking costumes, etc." can do in the first place. But still! Maybe they didn't do it for DBZ because then people would be all "GOKU FOR SMASH!!" harder than they already do, lol

So... Good, bad, or ugly, how's YOUR amiibo journey been, if you have one at all? I have more than I've admitted to having here, but I'm not really "Gotta Catch 'em All!" about it... Or, if at some point I was, not so much these days...

I like how this came out, so I thought I'd share!

This was originally going to be a more full-body-ish drawing, but unfortunately, the rest of it didn't come out as well, so I had to scrap it. Next time, I suppose!

You know, the game that comes out in a couple weeks for Switch, Switch 2, and... phones, I think? Anyway, the 8th of April is the exact date of release.

I'm not super into competitive, but I still have fun with online battles under the right circumstances, so I might try it. Something happened to my previous SD Card which (as far as I know) made me unable to play Pokemon Scarlet (and Legends: Arceus, but yeah) and I found out YEARS LATER Pokemon Home gives you at least one box for free (Paid obviously gives more storage options, among other perks...), so it'd be a waste to not use my beloved Sandstorm team after figuring out that's all it took to recover it. Question is, how many Pokemon will be available at launch? Because it might throw a wrench in my plans if I can't use all six. Most of my other 'mons on Home aren't battle-worthy, lol

(Yeah I know they'll "add more" down the road, but speaking as a customer, I'm not sure if this is just how developers have to do it to ease their workload anymore, or if it's just Game Freak being weird)

So, uh... Anyone else at least curious about the game like I am? I hope there's a single-player mode, too, just to help refresh my battle skills before I try and go online to do everything. But then I saw some of the character designs and they were cool enough to have me invested to learn more about them. Also why haven't they been prominently featured in Western news stuff that's really bizarre to me

Feeling oddly nostalgic for Pearl Version right now, so I thought I'd ask: What do you guys think of Burmy and its evolutions? Or, do they even cross your mind at all?

I used to have a Sandy Cloak Wormadam (it's my favorite) named Ethel. She had Hidden Power (fighting), which I thought was cool even if Wormadam in general have better things to do, lol. I simply had fun having it beat up everything in Snowpoint Temple after I beat the game. I think its other moves were Rock Blast and Earthquake, also Protect? Not like Wormadam can do much else!

I don't have anything against the others (and heck, Mothim's shiny is pretty neat), but I can see how other fans might be all "ANOTHER Bug/Flying?!" about Mothim and be less than impressed with Wormadam. I wish they'd all get stat tweaks, at least, but who knows if they'll ever do that again (they only time they did that for any Pokemon was... Sun and Moon, I think? Power creep sure is rough!)

Anyway, send some fond memories my way! Or... not-so-fond! Whatever you think of these bugs!

By which I mean, I meant to upload this here sooner! Anyway:


(Huh, I guess the site I uploaded to resized it? No complaints, it looks alright!)

I'd like to say more about these characters, but just know I wish you all a happy 2026! It's not so much a "New Year's Resolution" as something I'm always constantly trying to do, but I really wanna try and improve my art, specifically focusing on more original projects (as opposed to fan stuff). I have several stories I wanna tell, ideas I want to see to fruition... but one thing at a time, eh?

Maybe for the next anniversary of this site, I'll do something more PKMN dot net-relevant, but I'm rusty on the lore and/or whoever is even around anymore, eheh. On that note, here's hoping 2026 is a good year for the site, too! I definitely want to post more than I have been!

Anyone got any good plans for the season? I realize it's Christmas Eve at time of post*, but I meant to ask this much sooner. It's just been a busy last few months for me in general, and I'm in the middle of... a coarse throat, whatever's going on! I think it's just a cold, lol

As for me, didn't really set up any plans in advance, so even if I wasn't sick, I doubt I'd do much this year, anyway. For what it's worth, I started a silly parody of A Christmas Carol, but I doubt it'll be done in time for Christmas...

Anyway, I hope December has treated you all well! And, uh, here's to 2026 hopefully being cool, too!

*so I don't seriously expect any replies until after Christmas Day, but hey, not gonna complain if someone responds sooner!

So, since today is apparently the release date for Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver in the US, I figured I'd make a thread celebrating it, and Gen 2 in general! What better way than to share some memories of our experiences with it? I guess we can include Crystal, too, even if it came out later.

What I remember the most is catching my first non-Gyarados shiny-- a purple Drowzee, on Route 35! I evolved it into a Hypno, obviously. They were both my favorite Psychic-types at the time, so it was that much more special to me. Then I goofed up the save file

I also think it was neat you could catch one of the Electrodes during that one part where you're supposed to make them faint to turn off some power generator. I always make sure to nickname that one "ROCKET", because, well, it was being used by Team Rocket. Other than the basic beats of the plot, I don't recall much, but it HAS been years since I played (Not counting their remakes, which as far as I'm concerned were "Most Improved", despite some weird character design choices...) so I may be forgetting some ancient memories I used to hold dear...

Anyway, who else is big on Gen 2 and remembers their Gold and Silver playthrough(s)?

In all fairness, I don't need it to be October for me to draw Shauntal, but anyway, here you go:

Also in all fairness, I've only drawn her a few times before. I wanted to work in her book and pen, but I wasn't up to it, so I hid her hands 
 
At any rate, I threw this together kinda quickly, so pardon if anything's wonky. Otherwise, lemme know what you think!

To whom it matters, it's the first console release of the series in Western territories which actually allows for the use of giant robot shows like Gundam, Getter Robo, and whoever else they shove into any given entry! (wasn't 30 for Steam? I don't count Steam as a "console", per se)

Anyone try the demo? I had a positive-enough impression to get the full game, but then I'm somewhat of a SRW fan myself, lol. I'm somewhere in Chapter 3, enjoying mostly side missions! Not in a hurry to advance the plot, when most of the main plot points don't involve series I like or am able to tolerate... At least, thus far. I wonder how much of what I do actually impacts anything, but I'd like to find out for myself...

More generally speaking, are there any giant robot shows you'd want to see in Super Robot Wars who haven't made it in? Or maybe you want them to handle your favorite(s) better in the next entry? I don't wanna go on another silly list of who I'd want in, but it's a shame Gurren Lagann has only appeared in the Z series and... X, I think? Might be fun to toss in Tank Police, especially after we got Cowboy Bebop, of all things. Other than that, just gimme a main-series debut for Sgt. Frog. I mean, if there's any DLC waves after the first two announced for Y, who knows what we'll get down the line. Personally, I'm wondering why Braiger and The Big O couldn't be in the same package as Jeeg...

[Normal: Stoutland]

Been a while(?) since we had this topic, but it's a go-to topic for a reason, eh? Curious to see what others' tastes are, and if possible, talk about why you like each one! I mean, if you want to.

I'll start by saying, some of my favorites fluctuate for varying reasons, while others will stay the same no matter what. That said:

Normal: Stoutland
I went into Pokemon White relatively blind, and I don't regret it. I had all but boxed my Herdier after a bit, because I didn't realize it evolved into BEST DOG until I saw an Ace Trainer use one in... was it that bell tower? Then I apologized profusely to him and told him he was the Goodest Boy.

Fire: Oricorio
I was waiting a long time for a Fire/Flying that wasn't Moltres or Ho-Oh, and honestly, its gimmick was pretty fun in Gen 7. Surprised I haven't trained one proper in Scarlet yet.

Water: Phione
There are a lot of contenders for "Favorite Pokemon of my Favorite Type", but my go-to is this one because it's cute, and it's easier than going "uh, um, I like too many of them".

Grass: Weepinbell
Not gonna lie, I think it was the old episode "The School of Hard Knocks" where Joe's Weepinbell used Razor Leaf, spinning around and everything, that convinced me it was cool. I don't dislike Victreebel, but I'm pretty indifferent to Bellsprout at this point. Weepinbell's the happy medium, I think. In terms of equal parts cute and cool, Cacnea's a close second.

Electric: Iron Hands
I probably shouldn't like it, but I do. I got the event one as soon as I could. I also lucked out with a holographic Iron Hands card, which I think warmed me up to it even more. I mean, it's robot Hariyama! Plus, its typing is cool.

Ice: Snorunt
Another "cute pick". Between its lore and the sad fate of either evolution, I'd rather keep my adorable visitor ALIVE, thank you very much!

Fighting: Hariyama
Before Gen 3, my fave was Hitmonchan, but since then, well, the rest is history. I can't put into words why I like Hariyama. I'm not exactly a sumo enthusiast (per se, maybe some day that'll change?) so it really just boils down to its design for me.

Poison: Trubbish
I remember cracking up the first time I saw one in-game because a Janitor tossed one out. I KNEW I had to get one after that... Kinda sad it evolved into Garbodor...

Ground: Sandslash
It and Sandshrew were my faves since Gen 1. Currently have a sort of Sandstorm team on Scarlet, and Sand Rush is too cool to NOT make use of (also another reason why Stoutland is cool, haha), so I had a newfound rekindling of it being my favorite. Sandslash in particular has that nice balance between cute and cool. Mostly cool, though.

Flying: Gligar
Such a cool design, though I do miss when it was more purple. I'm... not a big fan of Gliscor's design, nor do I appreciate the Toxic Orb shenanigans. Good thing I can slap Eviolite on Gligar and call it... okay? Been meaning to try it out at some point, but haven't properly since Gen V...

Psychic: Hypno
This is one of those "I dunno, I just like it" picks. Some cool Psychic-types since, don't get me wrong, but I think the shiny Drowzee I raised into a Hypno wayyy back in Pokemon Silver helped push me into liking it more. I usually don't care about optimal stats or whatever, but power creep has not been kind to this 'mon, to the point where I feel it even in-game... I hope it gets a bone tossed its way at some point!

Bug: Durant
For YEARS people were saying "Trapinch is kind of an ant?" and I was like, "No, that's an antLION. WHERE ARE THE ANT POKEMON???" Pokemon White did NOT disappoint. I had fun using the one I had in Triple Battles. I don't think most people anticipated Aerial Ace with a Flying Gem boost. It came in more handy than you'd think!

Rock: Kleavor
I should probably state that, in real life, I fear bugs more than I ought to-- some more than others. If I met this thing in person, I'd probably scream. However, it's an AXE BUG with AXE ARMS and (in my humble opinion) SO MUCH COOLER THAN SCIZOR. I hope future generations are kinder to it.

Ghost: Lampent
Cute and cool. Mostly cute. Its Pokedex entries make me a little sad, though. Nothing against Chandelure, I just don't like it as much. Ghost/Fire is a cool typing, besides.

Dragon: Drampa
Most Dragon-types have a history of being taken too seriously, beasts in competitive, etc., but I don't care about any of that. If it tells you anything, my favorite Dragon was Shelgon for the longest time, because I just don't care for Dragons as a type. Drampa doesn't make it any less my least-favorite type, but it's at least one I like in terms of design, and 135 Sp.ATK is still pretty impressive, even if its other stats aren't. But then, it's so old, it earned a Normal typing by being so frail. That's the only way I can explain it, lol

Dark: Krookodile
This one was fun to use in Gen 7. Makes me wonder why I never used one sooner. Or since. I guess not many of my favorites are Dark-types...

Steel: Skarmory
Dear GAME FREAK, please let me own a Steven Stone Skarmory before I die. Thanks.

Fairy: Florges
Specifically the blue-color one. I like all three of its line, but if we don't count Pokemon which were retconned to be Fairy (in which case I'd say either Jigglypuff or Togekiss), then this one is kind of neat, if a bit less cute than Floette. I liked using Wish in Rotation Battles when I could pull it off.

Okay, text wall over. Thanks for reading me gushing about (some of) my favorite Pokermints. I'm going to rest now. Please discuss your favorites too.

[Poliwrath]

Lucky or not, let's talk shinies! Those you own, those you really want, it's all good!

Had that Korean event Gastrodon lying around and decided to try the Masuda Method to hatch a shiny Poliwag. Lucky me, it worked just the day before St. Patrick's Day! That's right, I'm raising it to be a Poliwrath.

Mind you, this is only the second time I've hatched a shiny Pokemon in my life (Pansear on Pokemon White was the first, also with the Masuda Method), and honestly, I was getting fed up trying to find a shiny Poliwag during the Mass Outbreak event. It didn't help I was looking for a green Poliwag, since all I knew was Poliwrath's shiny was green and didn't realize its prevos were pale blue until I looked them up (which makes Politoed's shiny weird, too). Pokemon hatch at Lv. 1, anyway, and it's more fun for me to raise them from the ground up. Plus, it's in a Heavy Ball. You can't tell me that's not a cool Pokeball.

Anyway, never got the hate for green shinies-- offhand, the only one I recall being even remotely ugly is Dragonite's-- but then green's my favorite color, so I COULD be biased here. I'd share other shiny Pokemon I've gotten in the past, but I feel like I've somehow mentioned shinies I've caught in other topics-- just from Scarlet alone, haha. Don't let that stop you from sharing your own stories here, though!

Anyone else feeling a bit of "Internet fatigue"? I think in my case, it's because my usual Internet-browsing routine has become quite monotonous, and apparently I've lost the ability to think of how to switch things up. Granted, I don't feel it EVERY day, but today it's like, "What am I doing with my (Internet) life?"

Don't get me wrong, I have IRL priorities, but browsing the Web during my downtime shouldn't be a chore. Maybe it's just not as interesting as it used to be? I could go into why that might be, but that might be opening a can of worms. Pardon my nostalgia, but it really does feel like things were better when it was new and we had more to discover. Again, it's probably my fault for not thinking outside the box...

As for "Why I'm Still Here", I wonder that sometimes myself. Not so much "me posting on this forum" as much as the broader sense of still browsing online in general. I guess old habits die hard? I dunno. Probably as simple as "people still make things I like on here, regardless of how often they actually upload".

Anyway, what keeps YOU invested in the Internet?

Now that the dust is so settled it's difficult to get rid of, what did we think of Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna? Oh, and the protagonist you didn't pick, if that person counts.

Personally, I liked what they were trying to do with them. Tierno's my favorite, because he does what I've always wanted to try-- a theme team! I think most people can't get over his design, but he's actually a pretty cool dude. Trevor's okay, but completing my Pokedex was never my primary goal (GASP!), though I respect those who strive for it.

Since Player-Character-Without-Hat is the obvious Battle Rival, that leaves Shauna. I'm not gonna lie, I simply don't like her. Her constant "I WANNA LEARN ABOUT MEGA EVOLUTION!!" in the early game didn't help matters. It was nice of her to give me a free extra Kalos starter in the postgame, but that's about it.

I think about this crew on and off, so I'm curious what others have to say about 'em, if anything.

[expect]

Despite everything, I can't help but be curious. What are your hopes/expectations/etc.? As for me, I expect them to spend some time detailing the new Legends game, and I hope they announce Gen 10, which I expect will be for the Switch 2. I hope either of these games end up being better-than-okay, but that's not what I'm going in expecting. Then again, I liked Scarlet despite everything, so maybe I'm not one to talk... Anything else will probably not interest me a whole lot, but I'm willing to be proven wrong.

If I had to make a wild guess for fun, I'd say we'll get MEGA IMAKUNI?... which lasts all of three minutes before he remembers he isn't a Pokemon and therefore can't Mega Evolve. However, I am not seriously expecting this.

[this is where I'd add a poll but no one's been voting on my own polls besides me, so place your bets the old-fashioned way]

EDIT: I know it's only one day until it drops by now, but I forgot they called it "Pokemon Presents". Edited the title of this topic accordingly, whoops

EDIT2: Honestly kind of underwhelmed by the Presents, now that I've seen it. I guess they're saving Gen 10 for the 30th anniversary, lol.

I mean, if I had to give one positive about Z-A, the new combat system seems sort of interesting, but then I don't see the point in having you dodge attacks in, say, a Trainer Battle. Feels sort of slapped on at that point. The starters are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile, apparently. Took me a minute to realize it was two Johto starters, but I guess they already put Cyndaquil in the first one, so... eh. No complaints about who they picked besides, but I'd take Totodile between the three. I guess I'll just wait and see how I feel when more info drops, because right now, I can live without this game.

EDIT3: Had some time to think about it and, after browsing the official site a little... I'm still on the fence, to be honest. Not in a rush to get it on launch day, but after getting two new games and having other priorities come up, let's just say my wallet's not in a hurry, either.

Also, I should probably clarify: having your Pokemon dodge moves isn't the problem depending on how it's implemented, it's having your player character still have to dodge that seems pretty weird, unless that's not the case anymore. I don't want to get my hopes too high for this game, but considering I haven't been up to much video-game-wise except messing around in Scarlet, maybe Z-A is just what I need... I should still try to 100% Legends: Arceus at some point, but I don't even remember the last thing I did there...

Everything from the trivial to the taxing, let's talk about 'em!

Here's the one on my mind at the moment: Kris and Lyra are treated as separate characters because Kris fans will RIOT if they aren't*. Meanwhile, everyone's just cool with Gold being retconed into "Ethan", and... Silver is still Silver.

*To be fair, they ARE drastically different designs, but I thought that was the point, since there was no girl in the original Gold and Silver. To me, that just makes Gold's name being retconned all the stranger.

I realize this is a relatively minor one, but dang if it doesn't bother me something fierce. I guess it all comes down to merchandising at the end of the day, since for ANY game (not just Pokemon), it's easier to have an "official" name for a character-- even a blank-slate self-insert-- than something more generic. (Apologies in advance to anyone actually named Ethan)

Oh, and for something more lore-related: didn't X and Y play up Mega Evolutions as something which required the Trainer and Pokemon to have a strong bond for it to work, only for every game afterward to retcon it all as putting a strain on the Pokemon? I guess there's no reason it can't be both, but it feels like they backpedaled a bit and, well, demonized it a bit more. Unless they were emphasizing it in a "DBZ Powerup" sort of way? But then, that whole thing with the ancient war and such... I guess I'll reserve my full judgement for when Z-A comes out.

Anyway, which retcons actually work/make sense, and which ones don't work as well, or are just plain silly? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

[Rule of Thumb]

You know, those tunes you just KNOW will make you feel peppy/productive/etc.; when you hear them, you just can't stay bitter for long! Rule of Thumb: if you're chasing a wacky cartoon animal, and said animal plays this theme on a nearby radio, and it causes you to dance/smile/whatever long enough for the animal to escape, it belongs here. (because I have no better way to explain it)

This doubles as both my Vidya Pick and Obnoxiously Weeb Pick, but uh, the opening theme from Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 (whatever it's technically called...) has that effect on me. It has a unique energy even among DBZ-related songs...

...I'lll get back to you about more "normal" tunes which do the same. I wanna say some power metal track or something, but none of the tunes I recall affect me like the above one... yet.

Anyone else feel that musical magic, or am I mildly mad?

Hoping to get some input on this here:



I threw this together rather quickly, when I probably should have been asleep. Still surprised myself at how well it came out, even considering it was meant as a mockup. I'll admit to recycling/resizing some older drawings of mine to get it to work, but again, this is a mockup; I intend to redo this properly.

Other than the scale/anatomy being off at parts (Yellow Jammer shouldn't be THAT short, for example), I know my clothes need work. First order of business when I try again: actually add Green Leader's camouflage. I'm running on horridly wonky sleep, or I'd have done so sooner.

Anything else look off? What's spot-on? Who ARE these characters, anyway?! ...Well, I know the answer to the last one, but those first two, uh... Speak up if you wanna help me out.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Yes, I'm referencing Captain Commando, but I really did try making an original "successful team attack" pose for these five characters of mine. Any advice with that would also be greatly appreciated.

Snorunt's probably my favorite Ice-type Pokemon, and while I don't hate its evolutions, they're all pretty sad fates for it, wouldn't you say? One's frozen solid for the rest of its life (and if you Mega Evolve it, its jaw unhinges. Talk about miserable!) and the other freezes so hard it becomes a ghost.

Anyone else think there should be a warmer outcome for Snorunt? Or maybe I'm missing the point here? At any rate, I only have a few ideas at the moment:

*I was thinking Ice/Fire. I'd say Water/Fire, but I feel as though it needs to keep the Ice-type in some capacity. Maybe its coat gets thicker and it holds a torch or something? Hmm...
*480 would have to be its BST. Glalie already has 80 in each base stat, while Froslass has weaker defenses to prioritize Speed. Maybe something like this?

HP: 80
Attack: 105
Defense: 70
Sp.ATK: 105
Sp.Def: 70
Speed: 50
BST: 480

I would have made either offensive stat a bit higher, but it seemed to be an unspoken rule that Snorunt's evos' offensive stats can't not be even, so I compromised. I guess I still sort of min-max'd a little; poor thing still has Snorunt's speed, whoops! But yeah, I don't see this being top-tier in competitive (but then that was never my goal, lol) Maybe Fur Coat and Slush Rush as its abilities, with Flash Fire as the Hidden one?

*As for its actual design, I'd have to think about that a bit. Wonder how it could look primarily cool while retaining some of Snorunt's cuteness? I'm picturing "Elder of a Snowy Village", myself...

Not sure what to do for its moves. Maybe someone can suggest an optimal moveset and we can branch from there? I'll make up a move or two, if I must! Maybe it evolves knowing a specific move it couldn't learn in previous generations? Those are always fun!

If anyone has any input or suggestions, let me know!

Felt oddly nostalgic for them, mere moments before life priorities, so I'll ask real quick: Who did you pick between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, back in the day? Who would you pick now? Do you like all the stages of these starters, or is there room for improvement? Mind you, I'm not too picky about which game was "back in the day" for you, so long as the choice is there. For example, Red/Blue, FireRed/LeafGreen, and X/Y are permissible, but Yellow and Scarlet/Violet are not.

I tend to go for the Water-type starter in most games, because my fondness for Water as an element predates the Pokemon series, so naturally I went with Squirtle in my Blue version! The exception would have been when I played Y; because I had already picked Froakie, I thought picking Squirtle would have been redundant, so I went with Bulbasaur. No regrets, though-- Mega Venusaur was pretty fun, from what I remember! But yeah, in case it wasn't obvious: under normal circumstances, I would pick Squirtle out of the three, even now.

Also:

Squirtle = Wartortle = Blastoise. I like them all! Mega Blastoise is cool, too.
Indifferent to Charmander, but Charmeleon is neat. Never cared for Charizard much; I guess I like Mega Charizard X over Y, but not so much for either of their designs as much as the novelty of it being part Dragon and also a physical attacker.
I don't dislike any of the Bulbasaur line, but Venusaur has my favorite Mega of the three. I miss when Ivysaur was allowed hind-leg-walking action, though...

Anyway, this took longer to type than I thought. Discuss your Kanto opinions below, if you want! Might add a poll later.

EDIT: Poll added. I voted Squirtle, of course!

In terms of official information, there hasn't been a whole lot to go off of yet, has there? I won't say I've been under a rock on the issue, but I don't have my pulse on it, either.

At any rate, Legends Z-A isn't a priority purchase for me (I'm in the "wait and see" stage at the moment), but I am curious about which new Mega Evolutions will happen. Honestly, though, I've gotten burned out on playing Pokemon Scarlet, so I'd have to be in the right mood for a Pokemon game in general (and, at time of posting, I am not in said mood)

To anyone who's played the first Legends game: What did you like and/or dislike about it? What should be kept for Z-A, and what should be left in the first? And, for those interested, which Mega Evolutions do you most want?

Me? I'd have to dust off my copy of Legends because I never 100%'d it (even though that was the entire point of the game, lol) so I'm not really qualified on what mechanics to keep, ditch, improve, etc. As for Megas, I feel as though Mega Hariyama isn't happening since Iron Hands is a thing, but never say never, I suppose! Otherwise, I just want there to be an alternative to Mega Pinsir, a Bug/Ground-type with Arena Trap. Chances of that happening are low, but I do not like the one we have now. It'd be nice if they brought back Mega Swampert, too. I'm indifferent to Flygon, but the lack of a Mega for it is strange even to me. I've heard rumors as to why that is, but eh.

Anyone else want to weigh in?

[under which circumstances the pirates could claim victory]

Been thinking about this a bit more than I probably should, but it IS October, so no harm in asking, right?

I understand in a straight-forward fight that Team Dracula would most probably win, but it makes me wonder under which circumstances the pirates could claim victory. Keep in mind, the pirates in this scenario aren't magic/cursed/undead or whatever, but they ARE pirates, and there's a billion of 'em. All I've got at the moment is "Load the cannons with garlic!!"

(You can assess this seriously, or you can have fun with it. Mostly asking for research purposes.)

Between "Yawning Arcanine" and "Ear-Scratching Pikachu", I can't take the Grand Prize-winning entries of these TCG art contests seriously. Imagine Game Freak getting so much cool art, limiting it to just two or three of the pics actually making it onto cards while they get to own your efforts even if they never use those pictures ever again, and then the winners are the Pokemon being LAZY and/or TIRED*.

...Oh, right, there's a cash prize, too, isn't there? All the more reason to get judges with better taste than "I love it when Pokemon act like pets (and the background is cool, too)". Or at least give more than one theme to choose from?

*To be fair, wasn't the previous contest "Pokemon in their natural habitat"? I can't remember what the 2024 "theme" was...

Sorry if I'm worked up about it. It's just... as a fan, I'll never understand how these decisions are made, and as someone who draws casually, I'd be hard-pressed to think my own work would be able to hold a candle to the sky-high standards Game Freak don't even hold themselves to. More disappointed in myself for caring so much, honestly.

How about the rest of you? Did any of you try to enter? Do you think the winners earned their victories, or would you have rather seen someone else take home the prize(s)?

I'm skipping the fancy intro, 'cause I've got a headache:



Here are some Earthbound-style sprites of my character, The Cobalt Macaw. I know they need work, so I'm asking what could be fixed.

I have other sprites I'd like to share, but they'll have to wait until I'm feeling better. Keep in mind I'm not very good at pixel-ing from scratch with anything past low-end SNES graphics, and even then there's room for improvement. The dream is to be able to make detailed NES/GBC/SNES-style pixels, but I've a ways to go before I can comfortably say I'm there.

(If you count what I call "Frankenspriting", I haven't done that in years, mainly because I'm trying to improve drawing in general, and stitching together other people's stuff isn't conductive to making it from the ground up. Well, it helped my color sense, somewhat, but observation is the more vital skill there. And, well, actually drawing things!)

EDIT: I've had a breakthrough!!



I was going for something like Chrono Trigger for these two, and borrowed some colors from actual Chrono Trigger sprites to that effect. All said, Hilda (the maid) came out rather nice, but I feel like Dustin (the butler) needs a bit of work. Anyone wanna lend an eye?