AX Report Part 1: Cosplay!

Sorry I'm so late with this! I've been working really hard since I got back from LA (after I took a mini vacation of course!) I'm finally back with reports of all the cool Pokémon adventures I had at Anime Expo 2010. I met a lot of really cool people, picked up some great new merchandise, gave out a ton of flyers and MUDKIPS stamps, connected with a ton of PokéWalkers, and even got to download a shiny Mudkip and Magikarp from one of the vendor booths (more on that later!) I figured I'd start with the best part: the cosplay!

I was really impressed with some of the costumes I saw! Unfortunately I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked, because I was working the entire time. T_T Anyway, click the cut to see the rest of the photos.

Porygon VS Meowth: FIGHT!

I'm back from AX and things are finally settling down again. Oh how I have missed the PokéCenter! I have lots and lots of AX stuff to update about, but first, an epic Pokémon battle!

(My friends were having a "The Letter P" themed birthday party, so I went as a Porygon, and Rain went as a Pokémon trainer. I actually won a prize for one of the best "P" costumes. xD btw, sorry my kitchen is such a mess; I'm the only one here who cleans it, and I was gone for a week. :/)

Biker Rain wants to fight!


The foe's MEOWTH used Fury Swipes!


PORYGON used Tri-Attack!


Critical hit! The foe's MEOWTH fainted! PORYGON wins! PORYGON gained 375 exp and a cookie.

Who eats...what?

I'm working on a big new feature here at the Lavender Town PokéCenter, so please bear with me while most of the other regular updates get neglected. :p Until then, please enjoy this Pokémon Pinball screenshot of Gengar getting pwned in the face.

While you're here, check out this guide to unlocking secret wallpapers for your Pokémon boxes in DPP and HGSS.

New Pokémon & Ochazuke Contest Winner!

We have a winner of the Pokémon Ochazuke contest! Congrats to Ruth from Pennsylvania!

In other news, lots of new Black & White Pokémon have been released! Am I the only one who sees the close similarity between Chiramii and the Neopets petpet Faellie?

Not like it actually matters or anything. It's just a stupid fluffy mouse.

Big News!

Yes, that's right, I finally completed my National Pokédex! Sort of. I have every single Pokémon except for Manaphy, Arceus, and Celebi. But the game doesn't count event-only Pokémon for the actual achievement. (They still show up in the Pokédex, but it's considered "complete" when you have all of the non-event ones.)

And it only took me 12 years! I feel pretty good with that extra gold star on my Trainer Case, but I won't feel like it's _really_ complete until I get those last three. Of course, Black and White comes out in a few months, rendering all of my efforts completely pointless. Oh well.

Yay. Now where's my sack of pirate gold?

Victory Magikarp!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately! I've been pretty swamped at work preparing for Anime Expo! It's gonna be great fun though, so I hope to see some of you there! Rest assured I have some great things in store for Lavender Town that will be up very soon. :)

In the meantime, check out what happened while I was hunting for Pokémon on my Pokéwalker.

Pathetic.

Koffing's Great Adventure

Went to the local dive bar with my boyfriend last night, and I asked him to babysit Toxxik, my Koffing who was on my Pokéwalker. We were standing outside, and he went to check the number of steps and accidentally dropped it.

It hit the ground on its side and started rolling down the sidewalk, off the curb and into a puddle of water! Of course I was chasing after it as soon as I realized that the black object spinning across the cement was MY POKéMON, and was able to grab it the second it hit the water.

I shook it off and dried it on my shirt, then pressed the button, praying it still worked. Well, it not only still works fine, but Toxxik had a big heart bubble and found 50 Watts! Apparently he enjoyed his little adventure—or maybe it was an escape attempt and he was just trying to throw me off the track. "Umm, I love you Ariel! Here's 50 watts! ^_^;"

Link of the Week: Black and White updates

I'm sure most of you have already seen this, but for posterity's sake, here are all the Pokémon from Black & White that have been released to the public.

My verdict? The legendaries are *awesome*, and I honestly think that Tsutaja is one of the coolest grass starters they've ever released. Either way, how can you hate that adorable baby otter?

As for Zorua and Zoroark, I'm kinda lukewarm. Zorua is really cute, but Zoroack's incredibly thin upper arms bother me. Unlike most members of the creature anime fan sector, I am *not* obsessed with foxes, so meh.

Pokédex Update

After spending the greater part of 2 days fishing for a Relicanth that was holding a DeepSeaScale, I am now only 7 Pokémon away from a complete National Pokédex! The only Pokémon I'm missing are...

• Huntail
  
• Gorebyss
  
• Salamence
  
• Walrein
  
• Celebi
  
• Manaphy
  
• Arceus
  

Now that I have both DeepSeaTooth and DeepSeaScale, Huntail and Gorebyss will be obtained as soon as I initiate a trading session with my boyfriend (I already have two Clamperls), and Shelgon and Sealeo are only 6-7 levels away from evolution. The only Pokémon I won't be able to easily get are Celebi, Manaphy and Arceus. I traded for a Phione while ago, but we all know they never evolve. :/ Anyone up for some trades? I have almost all the other Pokémon (or can breed them), and I'm totally willing to do trade/trade back just to get those last three in my 'dex.

Top 5 Tuesday: Abilities!

Abilities are great. They added some really dynamic stuff to the game and made you rethink all your earlier strategies. (I'm sure I'm not the only one who encountered a Chinchou and stood aghast as my Thunderbolt was immediately thwarted.) You can exploit them to great gains in double battles: try pairing up a Gyarados who knows Surf (or another all-field water move) with a Quagsire with Water Absorb. Quagsire's Earthquake won't hit the Flying-type Gyarados, and Gyarados can Surf to its heart's content, healing Quagsire in the process. You could also pair up a Rotom with Quagsire; Rotom will levitate above any ground moves, and Quagsire will be immune to any all-field electric attacks like Discharge. (Did I mention I love Quagsire?)

Here's a list of the top 5 best Pokémon abilities. I don't want to get into any stupid arguments about how your Vileplume is going to kick my ass with its suck-tastic Chlorophyll, so let's just call these my top 5 favorite abilities.

#5. Mold Breaker
Mold Breaker disables any opponent's ability that hinders the user's attacks. Which is a lot of them. Unfortunately the only three Pokémon that can have this ability are not all that useful otherwise, so this is only a great ability in theory.

#4. Liquid Ooze
Instead of describing it, I will use this short comic to portray why Liquid Ooze is awesome.


#3. Shadow Tag
I would say “as well as Arena Trap”, but Arena Trap doesn't work if the opponent is Flying-type or has Levitate (so forget trying to use Dugtrio against Cresselia, Latios and Latias!) Shadow Tag is the perfect thing to use against fleeing Pokémon, who are normally so infuriating that 9 times out of 10 I just waste my Master Ball on them*. As if we needed another reason to love Wobuffet!

*Guilty of that in Soul Silver with Entei. I had seriously thrown like 200 Ultra Balls at him already!

#2. Trace
The best way to use a Pokémon with Trace is to put it up against an opponent whose own ability prevents or reverses hits of their own type (a Ninetales with Flash Fire, or a Loudred with Soundproof, etc). Use Gardevoir against a Wooper with Water Absorb, sit back and enjoy the shower.

#1. Pick Up
Step 1. Catch 5 Zigzagoons.
Step 2. Put them in your party with one strong Pokémon.
Step 3. Profit!

Link of the Week: Spiky-Eared Pichu ramen!

While we're on the subject of Pokémon food, check out these 7-11 Pokémon goodies based on the recent movie featuring Spikey-Eared Pichu.

Whenever I see stuff like that, it makes me wish I lived in Japan! If only I could walk into the corner convenience store and pick up all kinds of awesome Pokémon stuff...

Do You Ochazuke?

Do you know what ochazuke is? It's a common Japanese "leftovers" dish made from rice and random Japanese stuff (nori, umeboshi, etc) with tea (o-cha) poured over it. It's a cheap, quick and easy meal, made even quicker and easier by the advent of instant ochazuke packets. In this case, instant ochazuke packets with Piplup faces in them.

That's right, it's Pokémon ochazuke! Each package contains 4 packets of instant ochazuke (2 Pikachu, 2 Piplup) and a random sticker with 80 kinds to collect (I got a decidedly lame Pokéball).

So, what exactly differentiates the Pikachu and Piplup versions? It's these little...things with their faces on them! I'm actually not sure what they are made of. They don't really taste like anything.

Let's try it! I've made my own ochazuke before, but I've never used the instant packets. I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Almost ready, just need to add tea. I used Lupicia's Fukamushi Sencha "Matsuri", a pretty standard Japanese green tea.

Looks totally delicious, right?

Actually, yeah, it is. It's surprisingly hearty and filling, and who can resist eating things with adorable baby penguins on them?

As a big fan of both eating effigies of cute characters AND fast, cheap meals where the only other needed ingredients are rice and possibly heat, I give Pokémon ochazuke 9 poffins out of a possible 10 poffins. It loses 1 point for giving me a crappy sticker.

New contest! Want to win your very own brand new package of Pokémon ochazuke? All you have to do is sign up for the Lavender Town PokéNews mailing list*! Just be sure to include your address and you will be automatically entered in the drawing. The winner will be randomly chosen from all users who have provided their address on June 18th. I'll even throw in some tea as well!

*Please only sign up if you actually want to receive the email newsletter!

Top 5 Tuesday: Pokémon Pick-up Lines

#5. Is that a Gyarados in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

#4. Wanna see my Ho-Oh face?

#3. I've got my PokéWalker on. Let's see how many Watts we can rack up.

#2. Do you Spit Up or Swallow?

#1. TRIO TRIO TRIO

A wild Oddish appeared!

Use Stun Spore, now!

I found an Oddish in my kitchen! Apparently it had been hiding there for quite awhile. When I noticed it, it ran outside. I managed to snap a photo before it scampered away.

Link of the Week: XE's review of the first episode of Pokémon

If you aren't familiar with XE, it's one of my all-time favorite blog/article sites. It's run by a guy named Matt who writes reviews of pretty much anything he likes, which is largely 80s cartoons, toys, and discontinued sodas. He's also a pretty big PokéFan, and here is X-Entertainment's review of the first episode of Pokémon.

There are other Pokémon articles if you search the site, and discussions on Pokémon can often be found in the blog comments. If you dig deep enough, maybe you'll even find out who has a Pokémon tattoo. :p

Top 5 Tuesday: Best Pokémon Finds on Etsy

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Etsy is an online community where users create shops to sell handmade (or vintage, but the focus is on handmade) items. Because anyone can open up a shop and sell pretty much anything as long as it bears some markings of being handmade, you have to wade through a looooot of crap before you find something good. So, I've done all the work for you. You can thank me later.

#5. Drifloon Hat
by Irenescrochet

I've always wanted my head to look like a Drifloon was sitting on it! Bonus points for having cotton balls on top of it.

#4. Mudkip Plushie
by abitingwit

So cute, and it's a Mudkip! Your very own Mudkip to cuddle all night long. I love that the seller made sure to note what nature it is.

#3. Pokémon Monopoly Journal
by heavensentcrafts

Considering that Pokémon Monopoly is valued at $90 or so over on amazon.com, cutting it up to make a $15 journal maaaay have not been the best idea, but this is still totally cute, and a unique idea for "upcycling" board games that have lost enough parts to be useless.

(I still have my copy of Pokémon Monopoly somewhere. Pretty sure it's near-mint; I didn't even swallow any of the pieces!)

#2. Needlefelt Flaaffy
by zinkyufox

I'm not sure what needlefelt is exactly, but omg, could this be any sweeter?? It even comes delivered in an egg! I wonder if you have to carry it around for 5,000 steps before you can open it.

#1. Slowbro T-Shirt
by LargeHotCoffee

From the seller's description: "Evolves from Slowpoke after getting its tail caught in discarded six-pack rings that occasionally wash up on shore. It frequently drinks a beverage made from fermented berries that often causes confusion. It can use the 'Madden' ability which raises its attack power sharply."

They have other awesome original Pokémon stuff at their shop, sanshee.com. I want one of the Team Rocket shirts!

Don't be afraid to support independent artists! You never know whose work is going to become explosively popular, and then you can say you own one of their "early" pieces. :p

Link of the Week: Pokémon Gijinka Project

Some of you may find this objectionable. Some of you may hate me after this post. Some of you may never have thought that Articuno x Manectric were a slashable pair.

Welcome to the Gijinka PokéDex. Oh, didn't you know? Gijinka means "turning something that isn't human into a human form by some unspecified means." Some of the art is straight up anthro/furry, but some are just humans with subtle characteristics of a Pokémon—these are usually the best ones.

Yes, it's on DeviantArt. Yes, it's mostly terrible. Yes, at least 90% of it is an expression of the artist's desire to do their Pokémon. (Especially now that two new fox-like creatures have been revealed. Yeesh.) But some of it—just some—is really, really fantastic, creative, inspiring, clever, and witty.

Browse around and post links to the best ones! Here's one of my favorites: PKMN No.109 Koffing by Klimene. (See what I mean? Subtle characteristics. Because you just know that sexy, mysterious guy you always see smoking outside sculpture class is really a Koffing.)

Cool, Refreshing Drinks

Fresh Water, Soda Pop, Lemonade...what is it about these items that we love so much? They are cheaper than their equivalent potions, raise your Pokémon's happiness, and come in cute little bottles. But they are a tad more mysterious than their friendly exterior betrays.

I dunno what it is, I just know I <3 it.

When Gold & Silver first came out, I bought the Japanese versions. The vending machine drinks in Japanese are おいしいみず (Fresh Water, translates to "Delicious Water"), サイコソーダ (Soda Pop, translates to "Awesome Soda"—the bottle depicted is the common Japanese soda Ramune, also known as Blue Soda), and ミックスオレ (Lemonade, transliterates as "Mix Ore"). I remember being totally confused as to just what the hell "Mix Ore" was. Say "ore" out loud, and it sounds like "Olé!" I was fairly sure that "Mix Olé!" wasn't a kind of drink, but you never know with Japan. It wasn't until 8 years later that I was working for a Japanese tea company and saw those same kana (オレ) on a package of "Thé au Lait". Turns out that "O-Re" is the Japanese transliteration of the French phrase "with milk". So, Mix Ore is actually Mix au Lait, a mixed fruit-flavored milk soft drink. Milk-based soft drinks are relatively common vending machine products in good old Nippon.

Now, the main complaint with the vending machine items is it takes forever to buy them. You have to scroll through unnecessary textual representations of sound effects, celebrate upon obtaining it, and put it away in your bag. And then you get one (1) can. Repeat x times. All to save a few PokéDollars.

It was my boyfriend who discovered the little store atop Mt. Moon in HGSS (only open during the daytime) that sells drinks in an adjustable quantity. This after I asserted, over and over again, that there was NO way to buy more than one at a time, and yes, you'll just have to sit there mashing the A button for 20 minutes. Damn. The student has become the master. I humbly relinquish my gym badges and Pokémon bedsheets to...hey, wait a minute. He wouldn't have even KNOWN to go up to the top of Mt. Moon if I hadn't told him about it. Ergo, I still wear the PokéPants in this relationship.

Do you have Pikachu in a can?

Oh yeah, and at the Pokémon Center in Tokyo, you can buy actual cans of Pokémon soda and mix au lait (along with bottled water and tea, which is a key item in FRLG.) WANT!

Top 5 Tuesday: Pokémon that give you nightmares

Look, we've all had dreams about Pokémon. Usually they are fun, happy dreams, where you get to have real Pokémon battles and snuggle with your Jigglypuff, but sometimes the dreams go a little...bad. Here are the top 5 Pokémon that I have had actual nightmares about.

#5. Pikachu

Moving on...

#4. Exploud

My boyfriend and I were playing doubles in the Battle Tower, and this freak of nature was our final opponent. We won by the slightest margin, but the sight of it really unnerved us (he had never even seen one before.) That night, I had an awkward, sweaty nightmare about facing an Exploud and it just kept screaming...and screaming...and screaming.

#3. Cacturne

It's an evil scarecrow that is also a cactus. When my boyfriend first saw a Cacturne he simply said, "I don't like that one." I found out later that he'd had recurring nightmares about a scarecrow as a child, and Cacturne reminded him of that.

As a side note, does anyone else get the feeling that Cacturne kinda doesn't fit in as a Pokémon? If I saw it out of context, I'd assume it was from some other franchise (like...I dunno, Final Fantasy. Or Digimon.)

#2. Bulbasaur

Technically Bulbasaur wasn't the source of the nightmare, but I had a terrible dream once where it was the Pokémon Holocaust, and the Jews in this case were...that's right, Grass-types. In the dream, the Gestapo were at my door, and I was desperately trying to hide my Bulbasaur. :( It didn't end pleasantly.

#1. Huntail

This actually qualifies as one of the worst dreams I've ever had. It started out beautifully—I got a lovely little white fish as a prize from an ice cream store, and took it home in a jar, admiring it all the way. When I got home, I went to put it in my fish tank, not realising that there was a Huntail in the tank already. It immediately darted for the little white fish, swallowing it. I grabbed the Huntail out of the tank and threw it on the counter to try and save the little white fish, but I was too late. I woke up in tears.

How to Catch a Pokémon: Redux

I redrew this old comic so I can use it on a promo postcard. Still not sure about the font weight. I'll keep tinkering before sending it to print. But great news—I'm going to Anime Expo in July! Hope to see some cool PokéFans there! WE CAN LINK UP OUR POKéWALKERS!

Link of the Week: Super Effective

You're probably familiar with VG Cats comics; Super Effective is by the same artist. It's an ongoing comic following the plot of Gen1, and it is pee-inducingly hilarious. It's full of great nostalgia, wacky facial expressions, and all the stuff you loved/hated/wished you could do in RBY.

I love you, Wailord.

Q: Which Pokémon is the largest in all existence, is vital for catching four legendaries, is huggable, adorable, probably wouldn't eat you, and has a menu sprite that looks like a piece of nigiri?


A: IT'S WAILORD!

Wailord rules. Forget Ponyta, Wailord would probably let me and all my friends ride on his back, ferrying me across Hoenn in search of pirate treasure. I could even build a little tent inside his mouth, and he'd keep me safe as we dive underwater and explore the bottom of the sea...together.

I want a giant Wailord snuggle plushie.

Wailord is an unsung hero, only achieving recognition for his ability to breed with Skitty, but think about it—you couldn't get Regirock, Regice and Registeel (and therefore, couldn't get Regigigas) without a Wailord in your party.

I love you, Wailord. Even if no one else does.

Top 5 Tuesday: Whoniverse Villains That Could Totally be Pokémon

Here's where I REALLY show my geek hand. Pokémon and Doctor Who are two of my biggest guiltless pleasures, and they have a lot in common: obviously, Poké Balls use Time Lord technology, and I know I'm not the only one who nicknamed their Dialga "Doctor". Here are the top 5 Whoniverse (Doctor Who and Torchwood) villains/monsters that could kick Charizard's ass.

#5. Daleks

Type: Steel/Dark
Species: EXTERMINATE
Ability: Intimidate
Move Set: Metal Sound, Hyper Beam, Imprison, Iron Defense
PokéDex entry: Daleks have only one goal: exterminate everything that is not a Dalek. They have occasionally been domesticated.

#4. Cybermen

Type: Steel/Electric
Species: Upgrade
Ability: Download
Move Set: Flash Cannon, Magnet Bomb, Attack Order, Iron Head
PokéDex entry: Part human but devoid of all emotion due to an inhibitor signal. Disabling this signal may cause regression into humanity.

#3. 456

Type: Poison
Species: Addict
Ability: Stench
Move Set: Leech Life, Supersonic, Gastro Acid, Poison Gas
PokéDex entry: 456 uses soundwaves to communicate with its allies and control its foes. It sprays a sickening acid.

#2. Weeping Angels

Type: Rock/Psychic
Species: Statue
Ability: Rock Head
Move Set: AncientPower, Mind Reader, Protect, Glare
PokéDex entry: The Weeping Angels appear as statues when observed and only come to life when your back is turned. Blinking during encounters is not recommended.

#1. Adipose

Type: Normal
Species: Diet
Ability: Gluttony, Thick Fat
Move Set: Cute Charm, Stockpile, Spit Up, Swallow
PokéDex entry: Adipose is born from the fatty parts of lazy, overweight Earthlings. Its squishy-soft exterior charms foes into letting their guard down.

I hate that guy.

Link of the Week: Pokémon, What Happened To You?

I'm not the only funny Pokémon writer/artist out there (shocking, I know), so I plan to bring you at least one of my favorite Pokémon links per week. Feel free to submit stuff! This one comes via my friend Joe.

Hilarious, nostalgic, and even a little bit touching—Alex Day's Pokémon, What Happened To You?



Even though I totally love the new generations (and my Umbreon <3), this video brings back some great memories.

Pokémon Pinball RS = Love

While we're on the subject of pinball, I just got a copy of Pokémon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire and I'm already super hooked! I've even caught most of the legendaries already (all except Rayquaza and Registeel, who is probably off sulking because I made fun of him the other day.) My favorite aspects so far:

• Latios & Latias ball savers, and the Spoink ball launcher!
  
• Pichu crawling up to save your ball when you get the permanent Pikachu bounce-backs, and then sadly wandering away when you lose it
  
• Totodile climbing down a rope from offscreen to place an egg in the nest
  
• Spoink hatching from the egg and hobbling awkwardly around the screen
  
• the Spheal bonus stage where you have to use your ball to push Spheals up a slide because they are too fat to climb it by themselves.
  
  
  
  GAH
  
  
• ...and all-around stellar graphics that are a *huge* step up from the actual RS games
  

The best part is, there are plenty of used copies on eBay and amazon for around 5 bucks, so you have no excuse to not play!

My Legendary Pokémon Pinball High Score

I can't reminisce about Pokémon without fondly remembering the many hours I spent playing Pokémon Pinball for Game Boy Color. I still pick it up from time to time, and it's just as fun as it ever was.

:)

But that's not important. What is important is my utterly freakin' epic high score.

THAT IS 81,532,998,600 POINTS, SON

The game has a save feature, and this saved game went on for over 6 months. I didn't tally it, but I'm pretty sure I got at least 50 extra balls. I never did complete the game's PokéDex (even though it was technically possible to get all of them in just the one game—even Mew), but who cares? I got 81,532,998,600 points.

I've never been great at action video games. I suck at Smash Bros. I run into gophers all the time in Mario Kart. Duck Hunt...forget it. In fact, 99% of my video game experiences before the age of 12 involved me mashing buttons for a few minutes, losing, then hurling the controller to the floor before tearfully declaring, "I hate this!" and walking away with the bitter taste of shame on my palate. Even though it didn't happen until I was well past the age for it to actually matter, getting this epic high score helped heal a lot of that old hurt.

(By the way, if someone feels like emailing me with evidence that they got a much higher score than mine, just be aware that you are going to ruin a fairly large chunk of my life.)

Pokémon Sighting!

Who's that Poké—omfg, it's Shaymin

I made this a couple years ago, when I first started playing Pokémon Diamond. Shaymin is a legendary hedgehog Pokémon who lives in flower patches and curls up in them to resemble a flower.

In other words, the cutest damn thing on the planet. That is, until they made that weird alternate form that looks like a cranky puppy.