Pokémon Black and White

[hupla]

Let's talk about the new king of the bug types shall we?

Here's all the things Denchura has going for it so far.

Compoundeyes ability will give him a more reliable STAB Zap Canon and/or Thunder. I believe Thunder will go up to over 90 accuracy and Zap Canon will go up to 62 accuracy. So he could have an attack that is 225 power with 100% chance to paralyze that hits more often than Hypnosis does. Add in a wide lens for even more accuracy if you want.

His typing is fantastic. He's a bug type that isn't weak to flying attacks and an electric that is not weak to ground. So he will have a fire and a rock weakness. No 4x weaknesses like the former king Scizor and everyones favorite Heracross. And I think his STAB attacks are neutral to everything, correct me if I'm wrong, I only thought quickly on it.

Now, we just hope he has decent speed and a usable sp atk stat.

[hupla]

And now; a dancing slowpoke

[Hyruleansoldier]

Let's talk about the new king of the bug types shall we?

Here's all the things Denchura has going for it so far.

Compoundeyes ability will give him a more reliable STAB Zap Canon and/or Thunder. I believe Thunder will go up to over 90 accuracy and Zap Canon will go up to 62 accuracy. So he could have an attack that is 225 power with 100% chance to paralyze that hits more often than Hypnosis does. Add in a wide lens for even more accuracy if you want.

His typing is fantastic. He's a bug type that isn't weak to flying attacks and an electric that is not weak to ground. So he will have a fire and a rock weakness. No 4x weaknesses like the former king Scizor and everyones favorite Heracross. And I think his STAB attacks are neutral to everything, correct me if I'm wrong, I only thought quickly on it.

Now, we just hope he has decent speed and a usable sp atk stat.

Doubtful about the good stats, but with all the above he should make for a pretty good fighter.  I never fully embraced Heracross, still too many weakness, and overal stats could easily be outdone by others - but it's about more than just stats, of course.  Like you said, with those moves you would get a high attack AND paralysis, that's always win.  Crits are the bane of many a mon - it makes the difference between being able to kill someone in two or three attacks, and thus allowing you to survive, and still getting an attack in next time if your speed is sufficient.  Pokémon fighting system is pretty varied, for an only-4-moves-and-no-items-worth-mentioning kind of deal ^^

[hupla]

http://www.pokexperto.net/index2.php?seccion=nds/blanco_negro/isshu_pokedex

Ze dex

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Poor little fansite couldn't take the strain. "Good old" Serebii copy and pasted all the sprites though.

And I have the incredible urge to start singing the classic Digimon theme.

But I like Digimon, so it's kind of a good thing. And there are some 'Mon which I can't wait to get my paws on. I really hope Washibon is catchable earlier on than his Dex number suggests. Smidgeon's evos are a major disappointment.

There are also some real stinkers in there though. A lot of them look like they fell from the top of the ugly tree, hit every branch and had a seed of ugly sprout right through their faces (I'm looking at you Dangoro and its evos). A fair few feel less organic than previous ones. Hitmonchan had a skirt, sure, but it was more subtle than Nageki and Dageki's full on PJs. And Gear...? Well, I don't want to go there.

And I'm a little thrown by the fact there appears to be only one evolution from a previous generation (an evolved Luvdisc). If you know they're gonna be shit, why bother at all?

[Hyruleansoldier]

Seems to be some more repetitiveness and a bunch of lookalikes, but also a lot of new stuff (besides all the fighting types (or the ones looking like they should be )

I mostly like all the new intruiging double-typing, that'll make it interesting to figure out the best moves to use.  And the candle/chandelier fire/ghost mons are AWESOME.

[The_Human_Cyborg]

Great line-up! I absolutely LOVE the dragon 'mon later in the dex! One question though....why does there HAVE to be a bug type with a cocoon/chrysalis/spawn pit form?

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

So, the starters have their names. Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott. What does everyone think? Shame about Smugleaf not being called Smugleaf, but Snivy is not an awful replacement. Oshawott? Well, despite being the least appealing of the three starters I'd say he got the best name. As for Tepig... Awful. If it had an extra e I'd guess he was named after a warm drink, instead it just sounds like "tepid" - lukewarm. He spouts roaring fire, not a glass of milk that's been left out of the fridge too long. Damn it, Gamefreak.

Also: the region is no longer Isshuu, but Unova for us Westerners. Possibly the coolest region name ever.

[ZeldaMaster]

He just looks a little Digimon-esque to me.

My sentiments exactly. Now that all of the new pokemon have been released and we know what they look like a lot of them have a very digimon-esque appearance and are largely disappointing. I mean an ice-cream pokemon? Come on. The thing is literally two ice cream cones fused together by some weird resin like substance. So I have my skepticism's about this next generation. That being said, there are a few of these new guys that I like and the prospect of the 3DS is very intriguing so I'm likely to still give this new pokemon the old college try. Hopefully it won't disappoint. Only time will tell.

[hisak]

That being said, there are a few of these new guys that I like and the prospect of the 3DS is very intriguing so I'm likely to still give this new pokemon the old college try.

It's not for the 3DS. Wouldn't be surprised if the third iteration has special 3DS features, but for now this gen is plain old DS.

I think I like Snivy better than the fan-made nickname, but the others are iffy.

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

I mean an ice-cream pokemon? Come on. The thing is literally two ice cream cones fused together by some weird resin like substance. So I have my skepticism's about this next generation.

Come now, it's not like Gamefreak haven't done the two things stuck together trick before. Generation 1 had three evolutions of that nature.

Although two of those were three things stuck together, if we're being fussy.

Besides, when there's a Pokemon who is literally a bag of rubbish that evolves into a bigger bag of rubbish, an ice cream Poke doesn't seem so bad. Everyone likes ice cream, right? For truly lazy evolutions though, just take a look at Gear, Biggear and Biggearst.

[ZeldaMaster]

It's not for the 3DS. Wouldn't be surprised if the third iteration has special 3DS features, but for now this gen is plain old DS.

Are you sure about that? Where are you getting your info from? I was under the impression that it is being released for both. That was the news I was reading anyways. 

@EA: Ah yes the proverbial garbage evolving into bigger garbage. How could I forget? 

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Are you sure about that? Where are you getting your info from? I was under the impression that it is being released for both. That was the news I was reading anyways. 

Since the 3DS is backwards compatible with original DS titles, that's probably where that's come from. If Gamefreak produce a Pokemon game that looks like this for the 3DS they'll be laughed out of the industry. This is their last free ride with sprites. Wiggly or not.

[hisak]

Are you sure about that? Where are you getting your info from? I was under the impression that it is being released for both. That was the news I was reading anyways. 

It's already been released in Japan.

[ZeldaMaster]

Right. How could I have forgotten? It appears I was mistaken. It matters not however, we shall see how the wiggly sprites fair this time around.

[hisak]

Release date announced! March 6, 2011.

Final boxarts:

[hisak]

The games are out in North America tomorrow! I've decided that I can wait on a 3DS until they open the eShop, and so I will be getting this during Spring Break (in a few weeks).

Is anyone planning on picking it up tomorrow?

[Hyruleansoldier]

I feel obliged to rub it in that I've been playing Pokémon Black since yesterday.   Europe got a big release 2 days before the Americas what?  Heheh.

Liking it so far.  Can't compare it to HG/SS since I didn't play them - I know I will someday, but I reckon that after B/W I'll be completely over Pokémon for many months.

But since it's ALL new Pokémon for most of the game (and the tedious old gen mon hunt only really starts after beating the E4), I think it's going to be more fun and casual than previous games.

There's been some "story" silliness, plenty of handholding, and pixellated sprites that finally move around some.  Still too early to judge battle effects.

I went with Snivy, of course, I usually pick the first/grass/green mon.

Liking the soundtrack so far.  Meaning I haven't wanted to turn the sound off, which is a good sign.  The first real town also has two musicians who you get to play their instrument so the town theme song gets those instruments into said theme, so that's kinda cool I thought.

ALSO: I got the "LIBERTY PASS" event item from the "Game Mania" store in my city.  How cool is that?  This will allow one to take a boat to the island where VICTINI is, Pokémon 000 (in the Unova Dex - 494 in the (inter)national dex).  His overall stats are legendary-worthy so he'll be good to actually use (fairly) early on.  I wasn't able to play much today but I'll go get some gym badges so I can go claim him soon ^^

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Like HS, I have had an extra 48 hours with the fifth gen (though in my case, I picked White) and as requested am posting some impressions. So far, I am six hours and three badges in with around 30 critters seen and 20 or so owned.

The graphics
It's possible to love and hate them at the same time. One of my biggest gripes with Bowser's Inside Story was the nasty pixelly appearance of the Giga Bowser. 15 years since the series began and Gamefreak are sticking with the sprites, and while it's nice to see a lot more animation and attention to detail, it's all a bit nasty around the edges and blocky, just like Giga Bowser. Next generation, they're really gonna have to stop pulling that trick.

Gotta catch 'em all?
Well, maybe. There's 156 new critters, but as we all know in life the more things change, the more they stay the same. You've got your Grass/Fire/Water starters, a Normal type rodent and bird on your first routes, a forest full of bugs, a bat that rhymes with Zubat, etc. What's wrong with mixing it up a little more? Dark/Psy/Fight starters?

And despite all the new creatures, my team is still a bit on the short side. Only a couple of creatures have really caught my attention.

On the bright side, there are more new Fire types this generation and I could easily fill my team with them. Including Victini, if only I could get my damn DS online...

Danger! Unnecessary obstruction straight ahead
Good. Grief. Gamefreak are having fun breaking up the flow of this game. Remember in Red and Blue when you couldn't get past Viridian City because of the cranky old guy who needed his coffee? White, so far, has been fucking full of these types of moments. Pinwheel Forest blocked by Team Plasma (and none of them want to fight?), Route 4 closed for construction, the exit to Route 5 not available until you've seen the shitty Musicals, then still unavailable because the bridge is up. "Fight the gym leader" is frequently the answer, but I want another 'Mon in my team and all too frequently he's on the next bloody route. (Or she, EA's White Knights is an equal-opportunities recruiter.)

HMs are still present
Fuck off, you stupid, tired, dipshit mechanic. Give me an axe, flippers and flashlight and stop making me have to hit the internet to find the most versatile HM bitch to drag around in my team.

That's coming off a bit rantier than intended. I am enjoying it, but there are still those little niggles that get me down about this series...

[hupla]

Birthday in a week. Getting in then, might kill myself waiting :/