X and Y: Meet the Starters

As I mentioned before, one of the main factors that motivated me to dust off this old Pokéblog was the not-too-distant arrival of Pokémons X and Y. New main Pokémon entries have always been a Big Deal for me, and this time is no exception. In fact, this is probably the most excited I've been for a new Pokémon since the original Gold and Silver, since I've been itching to play Pokémon on my precious 3DS. Capturing new Pokémon and exploring new regions, all in glorious stereoscopic 3D?

Yes please.

After a new Pokémon game is announced, I generally try to go media-dark when it comes to the new Pokémon themselves. I ignore the incoming scans and teases that pop up on forums and gaming sites, showing glimpses of the new creatures we'll be meeting on our quest. Personally, I'd rather save the surprise for the game. There's nothing quite like the anticipation of the first time you see a new Pokémon evolve. I fondly remember leaning over my friend's shoulders in grade seven, watching in wonder, not knowing what to expect, as his Wartortle evolved into... into...

...holy shit, that's awesome!

Of course, the opposite can happen, such as when I played Pearl for the first time. I had taken my adorable Buneary with me everywhere I went, not knowing what magnificent creature it would evolve into, or even if it would evolve at all. After a few hours, I was told that Buneary was evolving! I excitedly sat up and watched as he evolved into... into...

What. The hell. Is that.

But yeah, I generally try to avoid peeking ahead and seeing what Pokémon I'm destined to meet. The one exception to this rule, however, is the basic forms of the new starting Pokémon.

The announcement of a new Pokémon game traditionally means we get a first peek at the new starters. Since they're usually the first new Pokémon introduced, it's pretty much impossible not to look at them, and judge the quality of the upcoming generation on those (usually) adorable little guys.

With the announcement of X and Y earlier this month, were were introduced to our new 6th generation starters: the fire-fox Fennekin, the bearded frog Froakie, and the chipmunk-with-a-hat Chespin.

Let's get a closer look, shall we?

First up is Fennekin, the requisite fire starter. As you can see, it has a simple, straightforward design, reminiscent of the Pokémon from the first generation. I have a feeling that this Pokémon will be the most popular of the three, but to be honest it kind of bores me personally. If I had to guess, I'd assume that its evolutions all look like this, but a bit more streamlined and proportioned. Think Ponyta evolving into Rapidash, or Trecko evolving into Sceptile.

Essentially, Fennekin to me represents the safe, albeit boring choice. I imagine trainers who go for Fennekin are all destined to be accountants or office workers, people who never really took a risk in life, but don't regret their decisions for a moment. Either that, or people might be picking Fennekin because they're drawn to its elegant nature, in which case they're probably furries (not that I'm judging). If you think I'm joking or being unfair with my furry comment, type Fennekin into Google Images with the safe search filter turned off. But don't do it while at work.

Next up is Froakie, who appears to be a bearded frog. Yikes.

To be honest, this guy can go either way, depending on how the "beard" is incorporated into future evolutions. If it's more of a wispy cloud that surrounds him, then great. This guy could actually become awesome, like some ghostly alligator or something. If it really is just a beard, though, then it will probably end up being terrible. I'm no expert on designing Pokémon, but I'm pretty sure that putting beards on amphibians is always a bad idea.

Okay, with this one exception.

I know I criticized Fennekin as being a bit too safe, but at the same time I'm not sure if I have the stones to take a risk with Froakie. I had speculated before that Oshawott, the ugliest of the Black and White starters, could end up being a sound investment if it grew into some bad-ass polar bear. I was so wrong. So I'll probably give Froakie a pass too, unless I'm feeling particularly daring in October.

Finally, we have Chespin. If we're strictly looking at the starters (and ignoring for the moment what they could possibly evolve into), then this little guy is by far my favourite. I mean, look at him! He's got a little hat on or something, and a big smile and beady eyes, and just.... awww...

I'm a bit more in the dark when I look at him, in terms of what he could evolve into. Chipmunk becomes squirrel becomes... marmot? Grass cap becomes tree tophat? Like Froakie, this guy can go either way, but I'm slightly more comfortable taking a risk with him, giving his solid design. The odds are high that I'll be KO'ing wild Pokémon with Chespin come October.

This is weird, guys. In my entire history as a Pokétrainer, I've never started with green.

When Nintendo revealed the Black and White starters in 2010, I wrote that there seemed to be a general decline in the quality of starters from generation to generation. I don't think that the generation 6 starters follow this trend (I'd put them up with Generation 3, maybe), although a lot depends on what they become. We'll see in a few months.

Source: http://turtle-arts.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d5qvnhn

In terms of my progress catching the Pokémon that are currently available, I'm making very good progress. I've been steadily fighting Gym Leaders to level up and evolve many of my Pokémon. Since my last entry I've managed to evolve:

Murmel into an Exploud
E Honda into Hariyama
Dhalsim into Medicham
Meg into Sharpedo
Mer-Max into Wailord
Fergie into Camerupt
Hamton into Grumpig
Kavin into Alteria
Bidoof into Bibarel
Dafuq into Kricketune
and Sharuum into a Luxio and then a Luxry

In addition to that, I've been occasionally participating in the Pokéathelon, earning me several evolutionary stones. With these stones, I've evolved Bland into a Victreebel, Megavolt into a Raichu, and Snorunt into a Frosslass.

Finally, I've hatched several eggs. Some of these are multiple copies of various starters (Charmander and Mudkip). My intention is to trade them on the Global Trading Network for their equivalent starters once I collect a fair amount of them. Other eggs I've hatched, however, are the baby Pokémon, in particular:

A female Pichu named Machu
A female Igglybuff named Puff
and a male Cleffa named Affleck

This puts me well over halfway towards my goal. I'm starting to run out of Pokémon to level up, so it won't be long now before I move to Ruby!

Pokémon Count at 126:44 hours of gameplay: Seen 375, caught 275
Professor Oak says: If you Headbutt a tree, sometimes a Pokémon might fall out!

It's been a while, Totodile

Two and a half years ago...
The wind atop Mt. Silver bit deep into my bones, but I hardly noticed the chill. My blood coursed hot and strong that night, as my battle with the mysterious trainer known only as Red drove on into the early hours. I had fought him once before, yet had known only bitter defeat.

He had beaten me. But he had not broken me.

Since my last defeat, I had trained harder than before. I had fought Gym Leaders from across the regions Johto and Kanto, adapting and honing with each new victory. I had studied my silent foe, learning his strengths, as well as his weaknesses.

My Pokémon were strong. And they were brave. And they were hungry.

The battle with Red was not an easy one. The white snow of Mt. Silver took on a crimson hue as our Pokémon exchanged blow after blow. The earth trembled when Red's Snorlax was felled by a well-placed low kick, delivered by my faithful Electivire, Electro. Where Snorlax fell, a new canyon was born.

It is said that on that day, people looked to the skies above Mt. Silver, saw the fury of lightning dancing overhead, and knew that the gods were angry. They would have despaired had they known the truth: at that moment, Red's Pikachu had entered the battle. He looked to Moloch, my Nidoking and general-in-arms, and ended him with one whispered word.

That word was "no."

Moloch fell. Ulysses fell. Ryuk stumbled. Before Pikachu could end him as he did the others, the Dusknoir laid a curse upon the yellow beast. Ryuk was lost, but he took the foul demon with him.

In the end, Red was left with one Pokémon: the dreaded Charizard. Though the creature fought valiantly, no matter how valiantly one fights, one cannot escape its nature. Charizard is Fire type. My Feraligatr was Water type. It could only end one way.

When the smoke cleared, Red was kneeling in the red snow, looking down at his slain companions. I approached, limping slightly, though invigorated by my victory. I stood above him. Slowly, he turned his face towards me...

...yet all I could see were my own features staring back at me.

I stumbled. Was this to be my future? A life of perfection and mastery, but also one of solitude? Would battle and training be all I know? My victory evaporated before my eyes. On shaking legs, I turned, and I ran.

Present Day

Hi. Okay.

I know, I know. It's been, what? Two and a half years since my last post? You don't need to say anything. You're disappointed in me. I can understand that.

Things were going so well, too. Last time you heard from me, I caught a Zapdos, legendary thunder bird. And then, nothing. Not even a short update saying I'm still alive. That's not fair to you. I'm sorry.

My last post may have been in July of 2010, but I didn't stop then. Honest. Throughout the summer, I worked hard, evolving my team and catching new Pokémon, primarily through the Pokéwalker. I even caught a Latias named Knuckles thanks to the Enigma Stone Wi-Fi event. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to blog about these milestones, mainly because it was family vacation season and I was constantly out of the city.

The summer culminated in one of my biggest achievements: the defeat of trainer Red. As mentioned above, it was a hard battle, but I emerged victorious.

But something happened after that. I lost a lot of momentum. Having gone a month or so without publicly documenting my progress, coupled with the lack of drive that followed Red's defeat, many of my achievements felt more trivial from then on. I continued my progress, but at a much slower pace, catching only a few Pokémon a month. Finally, on March of 2011, most likely because of the arrival of the 3DS, I put down Soul Silver and didn't pick it back up again.

A lot's happened in the few years since. In summer of 2011, I quit my retail job so that I could tackle writing full time. It's been slow going, but I've had a few comic scripts published, and even wrote a short film that's being shown later this month (for more on my writing, check out my other blog). Still, all this time I've looked at "Gots Ta Catch 'Em All" with some shame at giving up. But it was more of a casual shame, one that I didn't really have the motivation to do anything about.

Until now.

Three days ago, Nintendo announced that Pokémon X and Y, the sixth generation of the series, would be released worldwide for the 3DS later this year. As I watched the Nintendo Direct feed, something within me started to awaken. A flame that had gone out two years previously began to reignite.

I fired up my old SoulSilver game, where all my old friends waited. Tokek the Feraligatr. Moloch the Nidoking. Electro. Ulysses. Ryuk.

"Hey guys," I mumbled sheepishly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

They were silent.

"Look, I know I let you guys down. But do you think... maybe... we could try again?"

"Nidoking!" replied Moloch happily. And off we went.

So yeah, I'm going to make another try at all this. I know the going's going to get tough. But hopefully by the time Pokémon X and Y are released in October, I'll be well on my way to catching all 493...

... wait. There are 649 now!?

God DAMNIT.