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Pokemon Black Review

By Jack Snell

If you’re on the outside looking in, the Pokemon series probably looks like the same game marketed with minor changes over and over for 15 years, each time to fresh brood of gullible children in a money spinning attempt. It’s not a fair or correct assumption, but I can understand the thought.

Pokemon reinvents itself to a greater or lesser extent every three years or so, but half-steps like Platinum and remakes like HeartGold muddy the distinction between generations. And where Silver and Gold’s astonishing sprawl of new features more than justified their existence (and their re-release last year), Diamond and Pearl’s more timid adjustments to the formula were less defensible.

It’s about time for a spring-clean, and Pokemon Black and White are exactly that. Game Freak has abandoned the guaranteed brand recognition of Pikachu and his 500-odd friends for an entirely new cast of 156 quirky, endearing, and occasionally disturbing monsters. It’s difficult to overstate how unexpectedly brave this is for a heavyweight Japanese series; imagine Capcom releasing a new Street Fighter without Ryu and Ken. It signals an eagerness to break with the past, a new spirit of regeneration.

Over the course of 70 hours, Pokemon Black and White has surprised me over and over again. The last time I could say that about a Pokemon game, I was still carrying around a Charizard-adorned pencil case.

Here’s the first surprise: it looks brilliant. Evidently Game Freak has finally hired some new graphic designers. Pokemon’s monster design has always been exceptional, but otherwise the graphics were rarely better than tolerable.

The new Pokemon designs however uninspired particularly compared to the original 151, do grow on you, I for example have developed some new favourites, in Hydreigon, Tepig, Chandelure, Sandile, Tepig etc. Some of the Pokédex descriptions are wonderfully weird.

Now the battles come alive with entertaining monster animations, the cities are constructed of distinctive 3D buildings, and towns are connected by towering bridges that stretch over sparkling water and reveal distant skyline vistas. The sprites are bright and crisp, long grass sways in the wind, and the world’s weather changes along with the seasons once every real-time month. Fittingly for what might be the DS’ last heavyweight titles, they’re among the best-looking on the platform.

And the second surprise: you don’t always know what’s next. Yes, you know that you’ll make the familiar pilgrimage from town to town, collecting gym badges and eventually facing the Elite Four, but it’s all about those new Pokemon.

Wander into the grass in a new area and you genuinely have no idea what you’re about to meet. When a Pokemon evolves, you’re excited about what it might become. New moves make you raise an eyebrow and read the description. It all feels new again, and it makes such a difference. There’s not a Pidgey or Rattata in sight.

This sense of reinvigoration extends across the whole of Black and White. Game Freak is as willing to re-evaluate and throw out its out-dated traditions as its bloated cast. The biggest change is the distribution of experience points: monsters now get a far bigger share of EXP when they defeat foes stronger than themselves. This not only evens out the process of building a strong, balanced team, it makes over-levelling impossible. Grinding – what little there was of it – has been completely eliminated.
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Pokemon Starters

By Jack Snell

Every journey has a beginning. A point of reference one can use when measuring how far the hero has come during the course of their adventure. For Sir Arthur, his beginning was pulling a sword from a stone. For Link it was heeding the call for help of a young princess Zelda. For Ash … it was choosing a Poke Ball

Decisions, Decisions…

Everyone Remembers Their First Love

For me it was choosing Charmander in Pokemon Red <3 Still my favourite starter of all time. To the untrained eye, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander from the original games were just blobs of pixels accompanied by an indecipherable MIDI screech. But to me, and countless others, they were so much more.3

To me, this little, orange/red lizard was my very first (but definitely not last) Pokemon friend. The first monster I would ever train, travel with, bond with, and watch evolve before my eyes. He was my constant companion during my introduction to the world of Pokemon and, more importantly, during my perilous and probably-best-forgotten middle school days. While I would go on to have new starters that I also cared for in future installments, nothing would ever quite measure up to my first Pokemon love.

Charizard, I choose you!

The Ties That Bind

For myself and any other gamer who set out from Mom’s house to become the Pokemon League Champion, our starter was an integral part of the experience. This is because, in Pokemon, your starter is your constant companion. It’s the only monster in your party who is with you from the moment you first leave your small town and step out into the wild grass where untold mystery and adventure awaits. It’s the one who you watch grow from barely being able to take down a Pidgey or Bidoof to completely destroying anyone foolish enough to stand in your way.

The only way to punish a pesky Bidoof is by making it your HM slave

Also, in the beginning of the games, you literally rely on your starter of choice for survival, at least until you catch more Pokemon. But even after more Pokemon are available and a starter can theoretically be put out to pasture, your starter is the one you’ve learned to count on and trust, so most trainers choose to keep it as the most powerful member of their team throughout the course of the game, even when other Pokemon with better stats become available.

A starter is also significant in that it’s the one who you chose. The one you looked at and decided was the best pick for you, whether it was because it was cute or badass looking, or you just adore fire types, like myself. Whatever the reason, you chose that one, and that alone makes it special. And whether one of the original trio was your first or one of the newer ones was, the bond between a serious Pokemon trainer and their first starter is an indelible one.
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The New Catching Rates Of The Pokemon 5th Generation

By TokoyamiTheDark

In the video games, catching Pokemon is probably the most important thing to do, along with raising them. In the good old times, there was a mathematical formula which determined if the Pokemon was caught or not. This formula is quite complicated, and goes like this :

CatchValue = ((( 3 * Max HP – 2 * HP ) * (Catch Rate * Ball Modifier ) / (3 * Max HP) ) * Status Modifier

If the results of this formula was 255 or above, then capture was 100% guaranteed. To help increase the number result, you could give a status ailment to the wild Pokemon to make things more easier. If catching fails, then a random number is generated instead of the given result. Quite easy to do and understand…

However, things in Pokemon Black and White has changed, and very few people are aware of this. Once upon a time I was catching weak Pokemon on the 1st Route in Black and White using a trusty Scyther and its False Swipe move, which reduces the opponent’s HP to 1 if it was going to be KOed. For 30 Pokemon, 2 broke free (not even a shaking), 1 escaped after 1 shake, and 3 after 3 shakes, while using different balls. Even the strongest ones were failing on lv.2 Patrats sometimes. And the funny thing is, their HP were not full, they were in the red section, sometimes at 1 HP! But … why? Because the Catch formula has been CHANGED. The one seen above was REMOVED from Black and White, being replaced with this one :

Catch = 1048560 / v(v(16711680 / CatchValue)) = (220 – 24) / v(v((224 – 216) / CatchValue))

How does it works? Well, the formula had changed a lot and is not the same anymore. It works totally differently than the previous one. Now, a random number is generated for each ball shaking. If it goes above 255, then capture fails, which was the exact opposite of the previous formula. If it is below, then the game will continue generating a random number for each shaking, until the Pokemon is caught (or until you run out of balls). The random number determinated depends on how many Pokemon you have caught, and also if you’re fighting in dark grass.
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Pokemon Technical Machines And Hidden Machines

By JC

TMs and HMs. They stand for Technical Machines and Hidden Machines. Anyone who has played a Pokemon game has experience with them. TMs and HMs are undoubtedly useful, but not all of them, and while TMs are completely optional, a player must utilize HMs to advance the story. Throughout all the Pokemon games, there have been a combined 11 Hidden Machines: Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength, Flash, Whirlpool, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Dive, Defog, and Rock Climb. The current Pokemon Black and White series contain 6 HMs: Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength, Waterfall, and Dive.

In my experience, most of these HMs are a nuisance because they are mediocre at best, take up an attack slot, and are unable to be forgotten until further into the story. This results in having a 6th Pokemon that knows a bunch of HM moves, more commonly known as a “HM slave.” I find that only 3 out of 11 are actually any good. These are Fly, Surf, and Waterfall. Fly is a decent attack, but the instant transportation it provides is invaluable. Surf is my favorite HM. I don’t know what the general consensus is, but it’s by far my favorite and most useful HM. It lets you roam the seas, and it’s a great attack as well. I haven’t used Waterfall much, but it looks just as promising as Surf.

I wish Flash was not a HM, but I understand why it was. Flash was basically needed for one cave in Pokemon Red and Blue, and I don’t remember how many times it was needed for the other games. You didn’t have to use it for the cave, but it sure made it easier; especially since in Pokemon Red and Blue the cave was pitch black. Since TMs were one time use only, GameFreak made it impossible for a player to make a Pokemon learn it and accidently replace it. In Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Flash is no longer a HM, but Defog replaces it and has a similar function.
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Pokemon Hoenn, Third Gym

By Anonymous

You just beat Brawly in Dewford Town, now we have to head all the way to Mauville City. Mr. Briney will take you to Slateport City if you go and talk to him. In Slapteport City you will see a lot of merchants and what not. You will also run into a museum on marine related things like boats and submarines. You will have a bit of a walk to do to get to Mauville City when your done running around in Slateport City. Mauville City has a lot of things, it has the box shop and the game corner for starters. The daycare is also nearby. Once your finished walking around you can head on over to the gym. This gym is sat up matching the element of the gym, electric type. You will have to fight several trainers, they will mainly have Plusle and Minun, Electrike, and Voltorb. Just the regular electric type Pokemon you will encounter.

Watson is the gym leader, he is a jolly old man. I suggest you bring some Paralyze Heals or some Cheri Berries which cure paralyzed Pokemon. When the battle starts Watson will send out a Voltroc at level twenty. Don’t let it use Rollout too many times, it also knows Self destruct so be prepared for anything. It also knows Shock Wave which is an alright electric attack, it can do some damage. If you manage to take out the Voltrob Watson will send out a Magneton. Magneton is the evolved form of Magnemite. Be ready for a powerful battle, this Magneton knows Thunder Wave that can paralyze your Pokemon, look out for that attack. It also knows Supersonic which can confuse your Pokemon. It is pretty tough to attack if your Pokemon is paralyzed and confused. It also knows Sonic Boom which does about twenty damage or so.
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Pokemon Held Items

By Anonymous

In Pokemon battling, there is a lot that can determine the outcome of the battle. One of these is the Pokemon held item. A held item is merely an item being held by the Pokemon. An item can be consumed by the Pokemon or used and can in some cases, determine the outcome of the battle. An item can range from a berry all the way to something like a choice item. A choice item is very powerful and can really determine the outcome of the battle. A choice item sharply increases on stat of a Pokemon but there is a catch, only one move can be used this entire time unless you return the Pokemon and send it out, meaning the choice item will reset. If another Pokemon disables this moves, then the Pokemon holding the choice item will have to use the move Struggle, which isn’t really a move as it is just the Pokemon Struggling, which will cause recoil.

The Choice Scarf sharply increases the Pokemon’s speed stat. The Choice Specs sharply increase the Pokemon’s special attack. The Choice Band sharply increases the Pokemon’s attack stat. A Pokemon can also hold an item that can be used to help train it. The Power Anklet, for example, if hold by a Pokemon and trained can make the Pokemon’s speed stat raise when it levels up.
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Pokemon Battle Revolution Review

By Anyonymous

Many nineties kids consider themselves blessed to have a video game console as grand as the Nintendo 64 thriving in their era. Many others agree as well that the Nintendo 64 outlived its generation, giving us games like Super Mario 64, Zelda the Ocarina of Time, and Pokemon Stadiums one and two. It’s understandable why many gaming fans would be excited for Pokemon Battle Revolution’s release, being Stadiums’ sequel. With a two generation of consoles upgrade, there was more than a fair bit of anticipation. Too bad it was such a bust in the end.

Compare the ign.com ratings for said games: Pokemon Stadium clocked in with an 8.2, Pokemon Stadium 2 checked in with a 7.5 (expected for a direct sequel), and Pokemon Battle Revolution, after a six year wait, came up at an even five. Foremost, referring to a certain magazine article on video game ratings, the system works in such a way that eights are good games, sevens are tolerable or good babysitting tools, and everything below is complete trash. Perhaps I’m confused, but I’m fairly certain that a five is less than a seven, making Pokemon Battle Revolution, well, trash. I entirely agree. The game, even with the use of my own team, was nothing more than battle after battle after battle with no real sense of accomplishment, no appeal. Essentially, all the “coliseums” were just the en-route tedious trainer battles the player could find on the hand held, just with more animations, an irritating narrator, and no reward. Regardless of how many battles were fought, the game would reward the player with nothing more than another battle. Of course they tried to spice it up a bit, what with the gimmicks at the different areas. For instance, one coliseum had a rule where only Pokemon at or below level five were eligible. While it wasn’t a tackle-growl-leer routine, as TM and egg moves are fine, it was more than a bit unexciting; either the Pokemon are too weak to do any damage, or they have a move that one-hit KO’s all twenty of the opponents health. There were other gimmicks too, but my reaction was the same with each: “Well, this is crap.”

This game ended up being one of the most tedious, irritating, boring game I’ve played. What’s more, I finished it for the mystery gifts Magmortar and Electrivire, which were far from worth it, I’ll tell you. Now, the argument may be made that the original Pokemon Stadiums were tedious too, being a number of trainer battles also lacking experience. The difference I feel, though, is the polish, a Nintendo trademark. Playing the game would actually amount to secrets and bonuses, giving the player a drive to continue. Moreover, mini games and additional modes covered for players when they either finished the game or reached a point of needing something more. Though simple, the mini games were probably a maker in the first two Stadium games, and are notably missing in Pokemon Battle Revolution. Oh? What’s that? You can customize your character instead? Oh, jolly day! Now I can unlock that hat and go listen to the announcer in another battle! Sorry, that sounds great but I have a busy day of banging my head against the wall planned.
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The C-Gear – Miscellaneous Aspects

By Matt

In addition to the C-Gear’s three primary functions, there are many other parts of the C-Gear when it’s turned on. For example, the top-left corner tells the time, as set by the DS system settings. The top-right corner measures battery life and the strength of a connection, which can be either internet or IR, based on the activity that you are doing. What you see in the middle may look like a whole bunch of tiles, but it can be changed to fit one’s own interests.

To customize your C-Gear, tap the wrench near the bottom of the screen. This allows you to tap any tile without having a function. Each tap you make changes its appearance to either Online, IR, Wireless, a green tile, or a blank space. You can cycle through these until you are pleased, and go on to edit another tile. Depending on the C-Gear skin you can get from the Pokemon Global Link site, you may want to limit your tile usage so the background can show. The only other way it can show is if you turn the C-Gear off, which disables all wireless functions.

To make the best use of my C-Gear background, which is currently a Pikachu, I’ve limited the three functions to one tile each, since Pikachu occupies most of the screen. Remember, you can’t edit the place where the time goes, or the buttons at the bottom. That colorful circle at the bottom-left represents the passerby survey, which is automatic. Once you complete surveys by going to Passerby Analytics in Castelia City, you can take a survey to ask people questions as they pass by. Basic questions, like a player’s version or gender, make the passerby survey unique, since no one has to stop and answer questions. While looking at the survey results, you can see how many people you’ve passed by and their answers. The long bar next to the circle is the Tag Log, which fills up one light every time you see a new person who has also turned C-Gear on. When you tap it, you can see everyone within your range, even if they’ve left. You can see their time spent playing, how many people they’ve passed by, and even their location in-game. Their color and sprite are determined by their settings in the DS and on the trainer card, respectively. A person near you represents a lit-up light in the C-Gear, while a person that has gone out of range will be dim. This resets every time you restart the game, but not the amount of people you meet.
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Pokemon Global Link – Game Sync

By Matt

The C-Gear features a section that says Online, which leads to Game Sync. When Pokemon Black and White came out, people were confused about what Game Sync would do. After connecting to Wi-Fi, there would be an error, because the Pokemon Global Link site was not finished yet. The earthquake in Japan caused even more difficulties, since the site said it had to reserve resources in order to run the site smoothly.

Finally, the site opened two weeks off of schedule, but it was still a milestone by opening up a huge site internationally, expanding the Pokemon franchise once again. Now that Game Sync worked, those with a Pokemon Trainer’s Club account could sign in and use their Game Sync ID to link between game and site. To get the Game Sync ID, you would have to connect to Wi-Fi after selecting Game Sync Settings in the main menu of your game.

Game Sync allows you to connect with the Global Link and update your accomplishments whenever you sync. The most basic change is in your profile, where time spent is updated, as well as people you’ve traded with that have made accounts. The Global Battle Union, or GBU, is also updated with your ranks in random matchups. Game Sync is most popular for connecting game and Dream World, which allows you to send berries to your game, and find Pokemon with different Abilities, both of which can be found by accessing the Entralink once you have used it. Every once in a while, the Global Link will announce an update or event, which one must use Game Sync in order to get it.
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Pokemon Abilities Beyond Battle

By Anonymous

As many long-time Pokemon handheld game players know, Pokemon have been able to affect the world beyond battle in ways beyond just hidden and technical machine moves. Abilities are, as one may have assumed from the title, an often-overlooked method of handling the progression of the game. The effects range from increasing the number of wild Pokemon encounters to making the player a better fisher.

The most commonly known effect of Pokemon abilities outside of battle is the impact on wild Pokemon encounters. However, although many players are aware the abilities exist, not quite so many know what exactly the abilities are. Foremost, abilities that increase the chances of wild Pokemon encounters include Arena Trap, Illuminate, No Guard, and Swarm. While I personally can’t see why a person would want to encounter more wild Pokemon beyond wild Pokemon swarms, there are a number of ways to do so, as one can see. A few Pokemon with these powers include the Diglett family’s Arena Trap, the Machop line’s No Guard, and the Scyther duo”s Swarm. There are, on the flip side, also abilities that decrease wild encounters, which I have to say I far prefer. The abilities Quick Feet, Stench, White Smoke, Sand Veil, and Snow cloak all decrease wild encounters, though note that the latter two only apply in relevant weather conditions. Pokemon who can ward off wild ones include, take notice here, the Teddiursa and Poochyena lines’ Quick Feet, Torkoal’s White Smoke, Sandshrew and Gible families’ Sand Veil, as well as Diglett’s and Dugtrio’s surprisingly, and Swinub, Piloswine, Mamoswine, and Glaceon’s Snow Cloak. The last abilities that will increase wild Pokemon encounters, Sticky Hold and Suction Cups, are a bit more particular in usage than even Sand Veil and Snow Cloak’they will increase your chances of a successful fishing trip. While fishing isn’t exactly my cup of tea, there are surely those out there who would like to remember those two abilities. While I’ve already mentioned a number of abilities and potential Pokemon, this is but the tip of the iceberg for Pokemon’s capabilities when leading the party.
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