Top 5 Fire Type Pokemon

Fire type, one of the most iconic typings of all of pokemon. All the rough and tough kids would choose fire type starters because what's more bad ass than fire? The most valuable pokemon card of all time is of course a classic fire type- Charizard. You can't go wrong when it comes to this heavily offensive type. With a strong arsenal of attack and special attack, you just have to watch out for any rock, ground, or water type pokemon to stop your attacking machine.

With such great pokemon to choose from, how do you separate the creme from the crop? Who are the best of the best in the fire typing? That's what we set out to discover today; the top 5 fire type pokemon.

#5

CHANDELURE

And so the generation 5 fighting machine strikes again. With one of the most INSANE special attack stats of all time and a crazy cool typing to back it up, Chandelure is the prime special attacker on almost any persons gen 5 team. Also can we talk about how freaking awesome Chandelure looks? Coolest. Design. Ever.

#4

GROUDON

We can't even turn our backs for two seconds without Omega Ruby Alpha Saphire rearing it's head once again. With much awaited joys to come with Primal Groudon (let's hope for a return from Primal Dialga at some point) we can't quite say Groudon sits here for sure, as I'm sure primal life will give him an ever higher stat boost or something. However, what puts Groudon here today is his good defenses. Fire type pokemon don't really have the best defenses, so we gotta have someone to back us up. Thanks for Groudon. 

#3

TALONFLAME

One of the fastest members of the fire-type family, Talonflame has a secure location in almost any Kalos trainer's hall of fame repertoire. Probably one of the coolest generic bird pokemon of the recent generations, what Talonflame lacks in competitive power he gains in his egg-rearing abilities. Anyone who's every tried to breed pokemon for competitive without a doubt uses Talonflame as the surrogate mother. With flame body, which halves the amount of steps needed to hatch an egg, fly, and the center of Lumiose City, Talonflame is the one-stop egg master. He may not be a fighting machine, but he's got the dirty work of competitive battling down pat.

#2

BLAZIKEN

Seriously Hoenn can you leave us alone for 5 minutes please? What Blaziken? What about Blaziken? He's cool yeah I guess..... huh..... MEGA! Oh my gosh really? Hoenn you gotta get out of here. No seriously leave. No I was just kidding, sorry. You were saying? Uhuh.... yeah.....

REMAKES HOLY SHIT!!!!!

#1

CHARIZARD

I think almost everyone was anticipating this one. Charizard is one strong beast, he's got all sorts of competitive possibilities as well as amazing typing opportunities with Mega X. He's a classic and for a reason. No amount of nostalgia can stop the fact that Charizard has been and always will be a great pokemon. 

Pokemon Contests

From very humble beginnings, Pokemon Contests have come far in their time. From their conception in Hoenn all the way to the brand new 3D Contests coming in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, contests are always a very fun side-quest sort of task in the games.

My very first contest memories are from the anime. With coordinators like May (who just happened to have almost all my favorite Pokemon on her team at the time, probably not a coincidence) how could I not love contests? They were the perfect mix of girly and full of pokemon. I wanted almost nothing more in life than to show off my pokemon in a contest setting, or at least use them to make a lot of sparkles; sparkles are the best.

Hearthome City Contest Hall


So I was very surprised and VERY happy to find that once I found my way to Hearthome City in Pokemon Diamond, I could become a coordinator myself! So I set out to be the very best like no one ever was and never ever even leave Hearthome City. Of course my younger self was just horrible at making poffins and using strategic tactics to win the contests, so I never made it past the Master Rank.

Much to my young dismay, Contests were put on the backburner in pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver to make room for the pokeathelon. If anything the pokeathelon probably had more fun minigames, but I still craved for the Super Contests of my pokemon debut.

Cue OMEGA RUBY ALPHA SAPHIRE CONTESTS.

Now we have the promise of something new, something amazing, something so cute and so contest filled we can't say no! With the brand new revamped contests who knows what they'll add to the scene?! 

Will we still be able to dress up our pokemon like Super Contests?
Will the performance portion still contain strategic tendencies?
Will they take a hint and stay as FAR AWAY FROM ANYTHING RESEMBLING POKEMON SOIREE??

My predictions for the new contests are they'll keep the basic format of the acting competition and add a few preliminary rounds to add to the suspense. Hopefully they'll put some effort into these games as in the recent generations they haven't put as much focus or effort into the extra side-quest games. I long for the days of the Generation 4 side questing games. *Sigh*

Only time will tell, but gosh there is so much potential and promise to the new contests I can barley contain my excitement. Heaven knows I will spend almost all my time doing contests when ORAS comes around.

November 21st can't come sooner.

Source: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Contest
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Super_Contest

Spoopy.

It's a week until October, and you know what that means.

ITS SPOOPY TIME.

So what's the best way to celebrate this impending doom and seasonal joy? Why of course it is simply to give ode to the spoopiest, scariest, and most halloweenie pokemon in the world.

SPOOPY THE BELLSPROUT

Well, not a whole lot is to be said about Spoopy other than he has the BEST NAME EVER so instead I guess we'll just talk about Bellsprout.

Bellsprout is a pretty good beginning pokemon, usually available at the start of game. In particular Heart Gold and Soul Silver have a good quantity of bellsprout at the start of their games, too much bellsprout at the start of the game, so god damn much bellsprout at the start of the game. As long as you keep up with your evolution of your bellsprout he's not gonna be too much of a hindrance. Of course having a flying type gym at the start is kinda a pain, at the end of the day you've got a pretty nice attacker on your team. 

I personally think that Bellsprout and his line of evolution is often in the shadows. He doesn't get as much press as he deserves, in fact the only press Victreebell really gets is in the anime as James' special pokemen. As someone who favors quick and strong attackers, I wouldn't really ever use a Victreebell, but he could be used for breaking walls in competitive. Either special or attacking walls, you get to choose. This versatility can be helpful. However, there are plenty of better grass/poison pokemon for the choosing out there. All in all Bellsprout is a sub-par pokemon and not really worth the leaf stone use.

Poor guy, he's cute and precious, but not really all that special.

Maybe that could be changed with a MEGA VICTREEBELL?????

Mega Victreebell would be such a good idea. Boost his attack and speed, give him a brand new awesome ability and suddenly we might actually have a useful pokemon. Potentially we should give him a brand new specialty move, or at least add a move to its repertoire that recognizes his HUGE GAPING MOUTH.  Something along the lines of CONSUMPTION or so would just be amazing. It would have to be a normal or even ghost type move (how about spiritomb getting this too?). It would deal physical damage and maybe a chance of paralysis? Imagine the possibilities. 

Can't We All Just Love Happiny?

There is no greater love in this world than what I have for baby pokemon. From Bonsley to Whnaut I always ask myself "Why not" when it comes to raising these darling bubbie bloob babies. Although all baby pokemon are equal in the eyes of statistics, there is an obvious favoritism that any one fan may have. We all have a favorite baby pokemon, stated or not, but I think we can all agree.

It's totally not Mime Junior.

Woah no I am just kidding, but in reality I think most people tend to favor Togepi due to the relations to both the anime and the original few games. Togepi was the original baby pokemon, and the one who started the trend. With each generation there is usually a few opportunities to encounter and raise baby pokemon. From Wynaut in Gen 3 to a whole hoard of babies available in Gen 4, there's practically no chance that a pokemon fan can go without encountering one of these darling dames.

My very first encounter with a baby pokemon was in my first game itself, Pokemon Diamond and my Happiny. I distinctly remember the anticipation and excitement as to what my egg acquired from that one fat guy in Hearthome City could contain. I waited patiently for my egg to hatch, and BAM I GOT HAPPINY. At the time I had no idea what Happiny was, how to get it to evolve, but all I knew was that I was going to make this baby a CONTEST QUEEN. So I went to work, cooking up a poffin storm and getting this bae all of the cute and strong ribbons I could. Eventually my 3rd-grade skill cap was reached and I had to move on with my regular adventure as the difficulty of the contests outreached my abilities. As previously stated, I had no idea how to evolve Happiny so this baby was quickly replaced on my team with a Quagsire from the safari zone, but she'll always hold a special place in my heart.

It is almost impossible not to form an emotional bond with your first baby pokemon. Raised from an egg to a sufficient member of your team, or your heart, we all have a favorite. Baby pokemon are amazing, and even though not very strong, they have a purpose beyond battle, and that is a connection to the game.

Source- http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/

I am trash.

(This blog post is following the theme of scientific and psychological connotations in every day life. I'll get back to pokemon soon.)

I seem to have but the most odd luck when being seated in my classes. I am either in the front and formost location, or in the dark seedy underbelly of the classroom. Both locations have pros and cons, but I usually tend to prefer the dark seedy underbelly of the classroom as I can observe others while often not being observed myself. There is a great deal of comfort to be found in witnessing the humanity of others, and no greater class to do so than in advanced pre-calculus. Witnessing those who make their emotions very readable finally understand a difficult concept, or seeing as friends gossip under their breath during class, is a task that only someone of grand social isolation can understand. This isolation can be brought upon by simple mentality, or in my case, the worst, seediest, darkest, and underbelliest of all the seats in the room.

I have found myself assigned to the very corner seat, furthest from the chalkboard and closest to the door, and by extension, uncomfortably close to the trash can. As each and every day passes I slowly find myself beginning to grow an emotional attachment to my next door neighbor, the trash can, as any students near me are either several desks away or never see my face as I only can see their backs. With this void in social interaction I have no choice but to fill it with an over-personified trash can. My darling rubbish-receptacle seems to grow closer and closer to me as the days progress. I can only wonder if it is my desk growing closer to him, or him venturing closer to me. Our emotional bondage has grown so much the proximity seems to be a mutual endeavor. I wonder if one day, perhaps my friend will simply be sitting in my desk, or he and I will become one forever in a fusion of both space and identity. It is about time he achieved sentient existence, even if co-dependent. 

I imagine what life as a trash can would be like, and I can only look forward to the day in which me and my darling beloved fuse together in the holy ritual of too-close-for-comfort. I will become one with all of trash-kind and forever be able to realize that I am over-evaluating this situation in an extremely existential manner. But as most things are, there really wasn't a way to avoid it.

If Pokemon Were Real- Mienshao

Mienshao

"It wields the fur on its arm like a whip. Its arm attacks come with such rapidity that they cannot even be seen."

-Pokemon Black

Mienshao, a majestic and beautiful fighting champion. With an elegant appearance, Mienshao could easily pose as a normal or even fairy type Pokemon, but fighting is where Mienshao belongs. 

According to its Pokemon Black Pokedex entry, Mienshao can attack faster than can be perceived by the human eye. Wicked fast, if you may. No matter how wicked fast something is, now a days with the help of technology almost anything can be observed at a higher number of frames per second (fps) than ever imagined. From slow motion popcorn popping to assistance in scientific research to observe the thought to be un-observable, it seems the human eye is missing a lot of information with its measly maximum of 1000fps. This means that anything moving in and out of our field of view faster than 6 hundreths of a second is in-perceivable. This visual field for the average human is about 140 degrees. Presuming we're in hand-to-hand combat with our Mienshao and its 2 feet or less away from us. By using some math we can estimate we can see a width of 4.8 feet for anything 2 feet in front of  us. So for an object to enter and exit our field of view and be imperceptible to our eye it must be moving at 80 feet per second or 54.5 miles per hour.

54.5 miles per hour doesn't really sound that impressive at all. Most people travel about that speed on a daily basis, if not faster. However, presuming that Mienshao puts about half of its weight (78.3 lbs) into a punch and the punches start from a resting position, we can calculate the force of Mienshao's punches, which would be about 7211 newtons. It takes about 4000 newtons to break a human bone, so after a few punches from Mienshao there's no doubt you would be knocked out, and probably dead if you take a hit to the head. Although Mienshao isn't considered much of a heavy hitter, it sure can pack a punch.




sources:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/7199031187
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Mienshao_(Pok%C3%A9mon)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_field
http://math.about.com/library/blcirclecalculator.htm
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1AFAB_enUS502US514&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=80+feet+per+second+to+miles+per+hour
http://www.smartconversion.com/unit_calculation/Force_calculator.aspx
http://www.livescience.com/6040-brute-force-humans-punch.html

Super Versus 9/14/14

Today we have our returning champion, Espeon, versus a brand new competitor.

KINGDRA

Dragon/Water

Swift Swim (Sniper)

Pros- It's even atk/def/spA/spD allows for a versatile list of set options

Cons- It is difficult to obtain in casual gameplay

Kingdra is an amazing and well-rounded pokemon. Its well-rounded stats are great for casual gamers but in competitive battling it is often flushed out in preference for pokemon with more specialized stats. However if you're participating in UU it can be a great trump card in its unpredictability. Add his tiny number of weaknesses, you've got a pretty sturdy pokemon on your hands. 

For my Kingdra's set, I'll be using a critdra. Giving this baby 64HP, 252spA, and 192Spe and a modest nature will let us attack powerfully and quickly with some added defenses for resilience. The important part of the critdra set is its amazing sniper ability, letting critical attacks do 2.25x damage. This plus a scope lens and focus energy is gonna be a great setup. Of course with any crit set there is the unpredictability, but what's life but one big gamble anyways? We'll finish things off with a modest nature and filling the rest of his move slots with draco meteor, hydro pump, and agility if we want to set up a sweep.

Let's see how Kingdra holds his ground against our champ, Espeon! 

So with our first turn I set up Espeon with a light screen and Kingdra with a focus energy.

As I was unhappy with Kingdra being slower I did an agility while Espeon got up her reflect.

Next turn was a doozey. With a critcal draco meteor darling Kingdra one-hit Espeon who had just about as good of defenses as it gets.


But the real question still poses, who is our winner?
Do we even need to question it? ITS TOTALLY KINGDRA

Just with an overall better move pool, stats, and holy hell that crit rate and power is AMAZING there isn't much you can go wrong with when it goes to Kingdra. Super powerful and well-rounded stats and nice type defensing for casual gameplay and amazing movepool and potetial for a critdra in competitive, not to mention one of the most majestic designs of any pokemon ever (with the expection of milotic) Kindgra really is quite the king.

Sources:

http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/e/ef/Molly_Hale_Kingdra.png/200px-Molly_Hale_Kingdra.png

http://pldh.net/dex/sprites/kingdra

http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/kingdra

Mega Sharpedo and Camerupt

With Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire right on the horizon we are receiving more and more exciting news as each and every day passes, and I could not be more excited about Mega Sharpedo and Camerupt. Seriously, this is awesome.

As with any new mega Pokémon there are a lot of new possibilities in the casual and competitive gameplay field. As for Mega Camerupt, the addition of sheer force and stat increases in all but speed makes Camerupt a formidable tank on the battle field. This in coordination with STAB attacks and a life orb or maybe even a choice band will create crazy attack power that will challenge even some of the best tanks.

Some of my fondest memories of Camerupt are from the Pokémon Ranger series and the very first game from it, the original Pokémon Ranger. Although the game had it's good share of flaws and was by no means perfect, my young 3rd grade self loved it, especially the Go-Rock Quads. I thought they were probably the coolest people ever and when they made cameos in the later games as the neutral guys; I was so happy.

In particular I loved Tiffany because girl power. The mini boss with her Camerupt was one of the fonder moments of the game. I'd like to see the other members of the Go-Rock Quad get megas for their specialty Pokémon too (mega scizor anyone?).

With all Mega Camerupt has going for it, what could ever go wrong? Perhaps how ABSOLUTLY RIDICULOUS IT LOOKS. There is little to nothing intimidating about this walking hunk of rock. It is a cone with cute little stumpy legs and I LOVE IT. I want 20 of them, but jeez I sure hope they make this friend available to catch in the wild. I will be thoroughly upset if that isn't the case.

What is cooler than a shark? Nothing. Mega shark. Awesome. With a boost to all stats and the ability strong jaws Sharpedo isn't as competitive-fit as Camerupt, but will still be a very great well-rounded attacker in casual gameplay as well as potential competitive usage.

Back onto the subject of Pokemon Ranger, holy HELL I hate Sharpedo. In Pokémon Ranger Shadows of Almia there was no greater torture than the SHARPEDO SEGMENT.

As a young'in I spent so much of my time just trying WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT to get past this aggravating excuse for a difficult segment. I mean it sure left an impact on me, but after that moment in my life I could never see Sharpedo the same.

However Sharpedo holds another special place in my heart from a spin-off game as well. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Sky/Darkness has to be my favorite game of all time just for plot reasons. It has a plot that no game has ever touched my heart on such a level since. After a recent re-analysis of the game I realize that the plot, music, and art is really the only mechanic this game has going for it, but none the less I cannot get over how amazing Sharpedo Bluffs look in the game. (Spoiler) The addition of living there after you complete your apprenticeship at the guild is just so awesome, the joy cannot be contained.

There is a lot of potential with these brand new megas and I can't wait until the Team Magma and Team Aqua boss battles so I can crush these darlings into the ground!



Sources: 

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Camerupt_(Pok%C3%A9mon)
http://nintendonerdblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/pokemon-oras-mega-gallade-mega-sharpedo-and-mega-camerupt/http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/323.shtmlhttp://www.serebii.net/abilitydex/sheerforce.shtmlhttp://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Go-Rock_Quadshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRzV8AmhgeA
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sharpedo

http://frentebatalla.com/imagenes/ranger2/artworkshistoria/005.png
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3f3VhFPL3ok/hqdefault.jpg



If Pokemon Were Real... 9/9/14

As a person with an unhealthy quantity of wandering thought, I often ponder, "What if Pokemon actually existed?" Sadly this concept is very far-fetched, and perhaps for a good reason,  but why wouldn't we want Pokemon to be real? Well, that's exactly what I set out to discover: why we might not quite really want to walk among Pokemon. We'll start today with our very first (randomly selected) subject....

WHISMUR

The Whisper Pokemon

2'00"
39.5 lbs

"Its cries equal a jet plane in volume. It inhales through its ear canals. Because of this system, it can cry continually without having to catch its breath."

-Pokemon Emerald 

"Usually, its cries are like quiet murmurs. If frightened, it shrieks at the same volume as a jet plane."

-Pokemon Diamond/Pearl

What a baby! Look at this cutey patootie! How could you not want to have your own pet whismur; a cutie purple-y babycake with baby-like qualities? These baby-like qualities might be for the best because, as most might speculate, Whismur cries. Not your average cry, oh no, Whismur has a very special ability within its vocal chords; volume.

Its pokedex entry often states that it can cry as loud as a jet plane. But exactly how loud is a jet plane? To understand volume we must have a base unit of measurement, the most common choice being decibels. Decibels (dB) are used to measure the intensity of a sound. Starting at 0dB, the sound of the most barely audible sound, things move up exponentially from there. 10dB, about the volume of breathing, is 10 times louder than 0dB, and 20dB, the volume of a whisper, is 100 times louder than 0dB. An average conversation is about 60dB, 10,000 times louder than a whisper. So how loud exactly is a jet plane engine using this scale? 150dB is the approximate volume of a jet plane engine. That's 10,000,000,000,000, ten trillion times louder than a whisper. Something that loud will cause the eardrum to instantly rupture.

As unpleasant as eardrum rupture sounds (pun intended), what does the rupturing of eardrums pertain to? Often when people rupture their eardrums they don't even notice at first. The most common cause of a ruptured eardrum is actually from cleaning with q-tips and accidentally pressuring the eardrum too much. Even if caused by aggressive cotton-swabbing or a close encounter with a friendly jet, the symptoms are not fun. These symptoms include sharp ear pains, a discharge from the ear, ear noise/buzzing, weakness, dizziness, ear infections, or in the worst case, partial or full hearing loss. As awful as this sound, a ruptured eardrum will often heal itself within about 3 months. Not the worst, but still pretty uncomfortable while lasts.

Whismur aren't the most deadly or powerful of Pokemon. In fact it's so cute you wouldn't think it could even hurt a fly, but it sure can deafen one. 

What. A. Cutie.

Sources:
research: http://www.webmd.com/ http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm  http://science.howstuffworks.com/question124.htm  http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Whismur_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

pictures: http://pldh.net/dex/sprites/whismur (c) The Pokemon Company 

Super Versus 9/4/14

Before we begin today, let's start by covering what the Super Versus segment of this blog will be.
I will randomly pick 2 Pokemon and using various methods I will decide, out of the two, which is the better Pokemon.

Out of sheer favoritism, I must pick Altaria to be our starting champion. Of course not much of a champion considering nothings has occurred for him to overcome, but in my heart Altaria will always be the winner.

ALTARIA

Dragon/Flying

Natural Cure (Cloud Nine)

Pros- Amazing Special Defense

Cons- Sub-par move pool and massive 4x ice weakness

Sadly, my darling Altaria can talk the talk but can't walk the walk. Before the amazing announcement of his mega evolution, Altaria's crippling 4x ice weakness doesn't bring a lot to the competitive battling table. The best use for Altaria, which isn't very luxurious, is a dragon dance set. I'm giving this darling fluffy dragon bird max EVs in speed and attack, and putting the rest into defense for maximum swag. Besides the obvious move of dragon dance also make sure to toss in roost, dragon claw, and lastly, earthquake as a wild card to mess up those pesky ice types. Let this baby get his sloppy claws all over a life orb and adamant nature and we're pickled as peaches. 

Moving on to our randomly selected competitor......

ESPEON

Psychic

Synchronize (Magic Bounce) 

Pros- Great speed and attack for support or stealth rocks

Cons- A lot of room for error in its best battling sets

So my old favorite strikes again. As Espeon used to be my favorite pokemon, this will be an interesting showdown indeed. Espeon is a cult classic in the sense of you really can't overlook how ADORABLE all of the evolutions of eevee are. Not to mention how amazing having a typing wild card handed to you free of charge in all the main series games via eevee. Need a water type? Eevee. Need a good attacker? Eevee. Need the cutest damn pokemon on earth? Eevee, Although Espeon is obviously dwarfed by his brother, Vaporeon, he's still got the goods. For this battle I'll be decking him out  with maxed HP and speed EV's (the rest into special attack), magic bounce for ability, giving him psychic, toxic, light screen and reflect, and letting his timid paws mess around with some light clay. 

So now for the battle...

UggleBuggle vrs Lady Killer

Turn 1+2) I set up both babies with their respective reflect and light screen for Espeon and dual dragon dance for Altaria. 

Turn 3) Altaria had reign over speed and knocked Espeon down to about half health with a STAB dragon claw, but Espeon managed to get a nice toxic up. 

Turn 4) With a swift blow to the ego, Altaria took down Espeon with the STAB dragon claw and that was that.

If I were really using Espeon for competitive I would have swapped toxic for baton pass and perhaps psychic for yawn. Obviously the offensive pokemon will win a battle against a non-offensive pokemon, but at the end of the day Espeon did his job by setting up the light screen and reflect and normally, getting the heck out of dodge.

Now for the real question, who is the winner?

ESPEON

Despite my obvious favoritism towards Altaria, Espeon is over all a much more versatile pokemon in both casual gameplay and competitive usage. Altaria's movepool and typing is such a crippling factor that outside of casual gameplay, he's not of much use in the present (but that mega evolution will turn the tables). If you really need a dragon type, there are so many better options. For now, get friendly with your eevees and get yourself an Espeon.

Whatever you want, cheeky bastard. 

Sources: 

Altaria and Espeon Sprites: http://pldh.net/ ( (c) The Pokemon Company)
Research: http://www.smogon.com/   http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page
Pokemon Randomizer: http://randompokemon.com/

Pokemon battle Simulator: http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/

Pokemon amie espeon: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/pokemon-amie-thread.3490772/page-3