Saturday, May 31, 2014

In Swick's Bookbag : The Ruins of Gorlan

I have a love-hate relationship with series. The series that I do love, I love very much and I'm glad that there are multiple books. The series that I don't love or simply haven't read yet... well, they can be a pain because I have to label them all so that they are easier to find for kiddos.

Surprisingly! - just kiddo books. Adults don't seem to mind giving me the title of the second book in the series, or in some cases, the series name. Kids and teens on the other hand just say "I'm looking for Twilight #2 or Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2" .... doesn't matter if that isn't the name of the series... never know the title of the sequel so I'm constantly having to look series order up.... sometimes if it doesn't even have a sequel, they ask about the sequel because EVERY book lately (I'm looking at you YA section) seems to be part of a series.

The Ranger's Apprentice is one of those series that's been popular, long, and one I hadn't read yet. Since I've been putting the numbers on these books recently, I thought it was about time I introduced myself. The series STILL seems to be going on. It began in 2004 and the latest (#12) was published last year. Plus, boys seem to really like it, and I tend to dig guys' reads a lot.


I can't say that I've fallen in love with the series yet, but I am enjoying what I have read so far and already plan to check out the second volume called 'The Burning Bridge.' The Ranger's Apprentice is a medieval fantasy drama centered around Will, an orphan boy, who becomes apprenticed to Ranger Halt (duh, that's where the series name comes from!) and trained in the art of hunting, assassin arts, and espionage. The blurbs that I have read about the other titles suggest that there is a long epic storyline spanning years over Will's life as a Ranger and the lives of his orphan friends and their apprenticeships. I've been looking for a 'Game of Thrones'esque readalike that wasn't quite so complicated to get me in the mood to read high fantasy, and I think that I have found it. There's plenty of action, and all the characters- particularly the main ones : Will, Halt, and Horace are developing nicely.

Reminds me a lot of the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

ULTIMATE SANDWICH

I'm hungry right now, so I'm going to write about the ultimate sandwich. Well, MY ultimate sandwich; I don't know about anybody else... that's not my problem.



CHAPTER ONE :

The ultimate sandwich has to start with the absolute PERFECT bread... which, if you don't know... is a lightly toasted wheat sourdough... crunchy salty tang and tear-your-gums goodness... buttered on both sides to get that perfect golden-brown color to it.

CHAPTER TWO :
Then.... you get out some mayonnaise. Oh yeah, REAL mayonnaise; none of this namby-pamby 'lite mayo' or 'Miracle Whip' - NOPE ! 100% real mayo goodness, and you dip the knife in and spread a thin layer on one side of the sourdough. Just one side though! We don't want to clog up out arteries just yet.

CHAPTER THREE : 

Wash some fresh romaine lettuce. The darker the green, the better. Wash it in cool clear water, and then place a leaf on top of that mayo you just spread. Make sure the lettuce leaf isn't wilted, so that it still has some crisp crunch to it! That's the most important part!

CHAPTER FOUR :

Take a good old beefsteak tomato. Wash it under cool clear water, and then slice into it with a stainless steel knife. Don't take the end. Make sure to take a nice thick slice from in the middle. And cut it in half diagonally so that you don't pull the tomato all out at once on your first bite! It's important to pick a tomato that is fully ripe, but not squishy. We need structure AND favor in order to make this work, okay?

CHAPTER FIVE :

On the other slice of perfect toasted wheat sourdough... you need to spread generous amounts of ripe avocado. Mash it up with a little lime juice with a spoon so that it doesn't brown. One consistant green mushy layer of awesomeness.

CHAPTER SIX :

The main event. You NEED maple smoked bacon strips. Oh yeah! Not the over-salted shit. You wanna be able to taste the maple and the bacon and all that salty-fatty-sweet glory as nature intended it to be. Put it in a skillet and cook it good until it has just barely become crispy. It must NOT be limp, nor can it be burned. It must be perfect Goldilocks bacon... both crunchy and chewy and full of juices. Slap that pig onto the sandwich and close it up.

CHAPTER SEVEN : 

Close your eyes and take a bite of the ultimate sandwich. Oh yeah... classic BLT with a little bit of a California twist to it. Let your tongue glide over all the radical textures and flavors .... crunchy bread, creamy mayo, savory avocado, salty-sweet bacon.... buttery.... bacon-y.... tomato tang.

Ultimate sandwich.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Tanka Tuesday (part 2)

I need to get back in the habit of writing more poetry. 

For those of you unfamiliar, 'tanka' is a form of poetry. Like a haiku, the lines don't have to rhyme but must have a set number of syllables : 5/7/5/7/7

truly i'm a fiend
drawing strength from enemy's
insecurities
i don't need the whole story
i can smell the pain and smile.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

History of Swick's RPG Extravaganza (part 5)


Need a refresher? - here's PART 4
Want to know what the hell I'm talking about? - here's PART 1

Goodness, it's been over a week since I last posted anything, and I was doing so good too! 

Summer Reading Program starts in only a few days, and the youth desk has been busy getting all of their ducks in a row to make it all as smooth and successful as possible. Doing my part has meant covering the desk while the others are away, and it can get hectic being only one people and trying to help so many that I just don't have any energy at the end of the day to do more than watch mindless television, haha. I've finally acquired some energy and time to write. Surprisingly, when the weather is rainy or snowy, people don't come to the library. I thought it would be the exact opposite.


I guess I should continue my RPG story.

RPGs began rapidly changing after the launch of the PS2, and I'm having a difficult time determining exactly what is an RPG and what isn't .... a lot of my favorite genre (platformers) began appear in games with 3D models and RPG elements, but can they truly be considered RPGs? ... as long as they don't follow a set sequence of levels I suppose yes, they can. They started called these games 'action-adventure' or '3D platforming adventure' games, and 'action-RPGs' .... a lot of my gaming went into the series and trilogy games: notably Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper. I am a huge fan of the Ratchet and Clank series. I have purchased and kept every game that came out after the first game, and I am TOTALLY STOKED ABOUT THE UPCOMING RATCHET AND CLANK MOVIE COMING OUT NEXT YEAR! *ahem*



... at this point, my gaming career took a major turn. No longer was I enchanted by the turn-based JRPGs. I liked the design and feel of these 'get up and go' story-driven platformers which in turn caused me to buy lots and lots more. In fact, about 90% of my gaming collection can be considered games like these. A few others of note .... Psychonauts (which is officially my favorite video-game ever) , Crash Twinsanity, and an overlooked game called Whiplash which I had a blast playing.



The closest thing that I came to an actual RPG during this time was Dynasty Warriors 4 : Empires
.... that's not really an RPG in the slightest. Well, I guess technically I am a feudal warlord battling with other feudal warlords  and role-playing politics and military etc. .... but when you talk story-driven, you don't really talk Dynasty Warriors. Hell, I beat the entire game in two hours.


But... it did pave the way for the next bunch of games I would encounter. The character design of Dynasty Warriors greatly inspired me to get into samurai literature and games which led to....


P L E A S E   I N S E R T   D I S C 6
T O    C O N T I N U E







Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Tanka Tuesday (part 1)

I need to get back in the habit of writing more poetry.

For those of you unfamiliar, 'tanka' is a form of poetry. Like a haiku, the lines don't have to rhyme but must have a set number of syllables : 5/7/5/7/7

there's not enough time
to worry about these things
that think they're all that
the things that matter the most
don't need to tell you they are

Monday, May 12, 2014

Read THIS not THAT! - YA Straight Romance

I'm going to be completely honest with you guys.... if it isn't a lesbian romance novel, I don't read romance novels. I blame it partially on my sexuality, and partially on the fact that I find romance rather tedious and boring. I mean, think about it.... 90% of all romance films and books end up one of two ways...

1)  Either the people you think will never get together end up getting together to spite everybody
 
2) There's a one true pairing that the plot of the story is to try to split them up but to no avail because true love conquers all
 
.... I admit that I am guilty of weaving BOTH of these plotlines into my high-school lesbian drama that I write for myself for shits and giggles when I'm bored. 
 
The young adult sections (or YAs) are absolutely littered with awkward hormonal romances for all the awkward hormonal teens going through that time in their life when all they think about is 'how my body is changing' and 'how hot that guy/girl is and I wanna get in their pants' .... it happens to everyone. I understand. I was an awkward hormonal teen at one time too.
 
That doesn't mean that this genre is literature has a pass when it comes to terrible and not terrible. There are good YA romances, and there are terrible YA romances....
 
I'm not going to put LGBT YA fiction in this list; I may do another list for it later. These are mainstream YA straight romances.I'm not going to subdivide theses into 'paranormal romance' and 'historical romance' and shit because honestly, I don't read enough where romance is the main plotline in all of them. There just aren't that many I can recommend and how many I can tell you to steer clear of Actually, there are plenty of those since this is my least favorite genre. Nevermind.
 
It's gonna be a massacre.
 
NOT THESE!
 
 
 
Twilight - Oh, Twilight saga, there are so many things I can point out about this series that are so terrible from the writing style to the characters to just the plot in general. We know what an awful person Bella Swan is, but for our 'terrible romances' list, I'm going to pick on Edward and Jacob a little bit. Edward is a 118 year old pedophile, and Jacob wants to babyfuck Renesmee(?) I don't even know how the fuck to spell her name. Let me explain.... since Edward has turned into a vampire, he's been in permanent teenage form for 100 years, but only his body is perfect. Edward's mind, however, seems to definitely have sharpened into a normal human adult brain as obvious by the many times Bella is caught swooning over how much more knowledgable and mature Edward is compared to her. Okay, that is kind of creepy. Second, he's matured into a creepy stalker.... including climbing through her bedroom window and watching her as she's sleeping to slashing her tires so she can't see Jacob and maintain control over her. .... under normal circumstances, you'd file a restraining order on Edward rather than fuck him but Bella's an idiot. Jacob is a little more respectful of Bella in the first few books, but after Bella's baby bursts forth, all Jacob can think about is how he wants Bella's baby to become his soulmate. He's gonna wait, guys! But he lusts after her and mentions he wants to do the dirty with her when she gets older. Seriously, guys? You think this is romantic? No, this is just creepy. I could post 100 more paragraph about how disgusting the 'romance' in Twilight is...
 
Halo - This is 'Twilight' for the fundamental Christian crowd. Instead of vampires and werewolves, we have humans and angels falling in love. Unfortunately, the plot and the characters are even dumber than Bella Swan. WWOOOOWWW. The book sets itself up like it is going to be an epic battle between God's Angels and Lucifer's Fallen Angels, but in all honesty, this is all just an excuse for Bethany (the super special Mary-Sue angel) and Xavier (the cardboard cutout male lead) to meet at a high society private school and talk about how much they love each other but they aren't going to have sex until they are married because God wouldn't like it if they didn't. Nearly 3/4 of the book is about Bethany creaming her panties over Xavier. Yeah, it is incredible awkward. And besides, why the fuck are angels being sent down from heaven to a wealthy private school in the first place???
 
 
Hush Hush - This is 'Twilight' with fallen angels, demons, and would-be murderers and THE LEAD MALE PUCK ADMITS TO STALKING AND WANTING TO MURDER THE FEMALE LEAD NORA. To which, Nora says "you're so silly; you'd never hurt me!" but the whole time before that Nora is paranoid about Patch hurting her ................. what the fuck is wrong with this author and these people? This is anything but romantic!
 
Article 5 - This is billed as a dystopian. It's not. It's a shitty romance about a whiny dependant little bitch who think more about the hot guy she's with than the rapidly decaying state of the nation where people like her in a few generation's time will be thought of as absolutely nothing. I seriously wanting the male lead to slap this bitch for being so stupid.
 
 
 
READ THESE!
 

 
 
 
Sweep - If you insist on reading the paranormal romance genre, then this series is your best bet. Not only are the main male and female lead NOT stalkers and indiots, but the series actually addresses societal issues including LGBT rights, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and learning to make an identity and choices for yourself instead of blindly following the leaders. It also deals with teen issues .... dating troubles, friend troubles, school troubles.... and for once in a teen book, it gives solid advice while having the characters remain true to their characters and sounding like teenagers. They just don't write them like this one anymore.

The Raging Quiet - A historical romance novel set in the Middle Ages about a girl who ends up falling for the 'town idiot' ... he's not an idiot at all, she discovers. He's merely deaf and no one has ever taken the time to try to talk to or understand him. I didn't read this of my own accord, but was recommended this book by my friend Elyse. I was very surprised by how well it was written, and what issues it addresses regarding tolerance and romance in general.
 
The Future of Us - For those of you into the science-fiction realm but want a little romance, this YA novel is not to be missed. The premise of the book is simple : in the dawn of the internet, two teenagers discover 'Facebook' (which won't be developed for another decade or so) and end up being able to see their own futures. They learn that the things that do now can seriously affect what is happening on the Facebook page. Knowledge like this can be very very dangerous. Although they can see what will happen to them if they decide to get together, will the teens risk it all anyway? This is a surprisingly quick and enjoyable read even for those who don't normally read romances, and it brings up interesting issues with social media.
 

Saturday, May 10, 2014

In Swick's Bookbag : Endangered

I find apes absolutely fascinating, especially their capacity to learn, their societal groups, and the fact that we share approximately 98% percent of our DNA with them. It's amazing to me that such a small percentage changes a living thing so much from one another, and at the same time, they are so remarkably similar that they almost feel human too.
 
When any kind of fictional book about apes comes out (especially if it is marketed towards kids and teens), it immediately goes onto my to-read list. Many of my staff picks for the library are about apes or ape-behavior.
 
The book I have right now .... Endangered by Eliot Schrefer .... is no exception to this.
 
 
 
In fact, it's almost more important because it is a heart-wrenching story about the casualties of war and rebellion that nobody talks about.... the animals. It is a story about a girl who has come from two different worlds to care for an infant bonobo and life with them in a wartime zone in Africa.
 
So. Many. Feels.
 
I'm not sure what it says about me, but as far as horror goes, you can chop up and bloody humans all day and I won't so much as bat an eye, I'm so insensitive to it. The instant you throw in any kind of animal .... apes, dogs, cats .... even insects to a degree! ... and I feel sickened. Thankfully, there isn't a lot of description of the death and turmoil, but the atmosphere is laden with it. It is a very intense book.
 
I'm having a hard time reading parts of this book, but so far it's been beautiful and moving.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

5 "J" Graphic Novels That Should NOT Be Overlooked

At our library, we had an increase in young children interested in comics and superheroes, but at the same time, this was the age you weren't quite ready for them to stumble across 'The Walking Dead'. We decided to separate the graphic novels into two collections- ones that are appropriate for all ages, and ones that are suitable more for older teens and adults (or in colloquial library terms 'jGraphics' and 'YAGraphics'). This has ended up working really well, and parents seem appreciative that we did that. Unfortunately, it also means that a lot of people have mistranslated 'jGraphics' into 'kiddie comics' ... and granted, there are a few of them in there. There are, however, a lot of really intelligent graphic novels in the 'j' category that get overlooked because adults and teens automatically go to the 'YA' section for their 'serious and mature comics.' Today, I plan to debunk the myth that there's nothing 'mature' in the 'j' section. I've selected 5 graphic novels that have been labelled essentially 'E for everyone' that deserve your attention. In no particular order or preference.

1. Hereville, or How Mirka Got Her Sword

"Spunky, strong-willed eleven-year-old Mirka Herschberg isn’t interested in knitting lessons from her stepmother, or how-to-find-a-husband advice from her sister, or you-better-not warnings from her brother. There’s only one thing she does want: to fight dragons! Granted, no dragons have been breathing fire around Hereville, the Orthodox Jewish community where Mirka lives, but that doesn’t stop the plucky girl from honing her skills. She fearlessly stands up to local bullies. She battles a very large, very menacing pig. And she boldly accepts a challenge from a mysterious witch, a challenge that could bring Mirka her heart’s desire: a dragon-slaying sword! All she has to do is find—and outwit—the giant troll who’s got it!" (taken from Goodreads)

Mirka is truly a rare character. She's a female protagonist seemingly bound by traditions, fed up with traditions, wants to follow her own dreams, and doesn't let things get in the way of her succeeding... while at the same time not falling into traditional 'traps' like marrying or 'acting like a lady' or any of that bullshit. You may think that in this day and age that a lot of comics portray strong independent women... but a lot of those 'strong independent women' are highly sexualized thanks to typical 'superhero' anatomy and 'fanservice' ... this Jewish Orthodox girl has none of that; she doesn't need it, the story doesn't need it, and the fact that the story itself is beautiful makes Mirka one of my favorite comic heroines of all time. Feminists may be taken a little aback by the religious aspects in parts of this book, but the graphic novel is a beautiful portrayal of a strong female heroines who has faith. It's not an accomplishment many graphic novelists can boast.

2. Bone


"Three modern cartoon cousins get lost in a pre-technological valley, spending a year there making new friends and out-running dangerous enemies. Their many adventures include crossing the local people in The Great Cow Race, and meeting a giant mountain lion called RockJaw: Master of the Eastern Border. They learn about sacrifice and hardship in The Ghost Circles and finally discover their own true natures in the climatic journey to The Crown of Horns." (taken from Goodreads)

Bone is one of those graphic novel classics that most people have read and while it does have a little bit of fantasy violence in it, I feel like I have to add it to this list because of its sheer popularity with the kids and masterful fantasy storytelling. Although not as deep as some of the other graphic novels on my list, Bone displays a level of high-fantasy and humor that fans of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings will even enjoy.

3. Peanut

"Before you write me off as a delusional psycho, think about what it's like to be thrown into a situation where everyone knows everyone... and no one knows you. Sadie has the perfect plan to snag some friends when she transfers to Plainfield High—pretend to have a peanut allergy. But what happens when you have to hand in that student health form your unsuspecting mom was supposed to fill out? And what if your new friends want to come over and your mom serves them snacks? (Peanut butter sandwich, anyone?) And then there's the bake sale, when your teacher thinks you ate a brownie with peanuts." (taken from Goodreads)

There's a lot of controversy and dislike for this graphic novel, but I think it's rather ingenious on a lot of levels. A lot of the outrage was over how the protagonist fakes her allergy, and people with food allergies didn't think it was funny or kind for it to be the subject of a book, especially when the protagonist seems to 'get away with all the lies' in the end. That's not true at all. They obviously didn't read to the last page or between the lines. To me, this book is less about food allergies and more about how people create illusions of themselves and how the smallest lie can become people's biggest realities in their life.... how people come to seriously believe these lies... and then of course, the chaos that comes out of that. And it's something we all do whether intentionally or unintentionally is the fascinating part.


4. The River

"Surprising, original, and gorgeous, The River is a book about the seasons and the different kinds of experiences and stories that each season brings. Consisting almost entirely of images, The River presents each of the four seasons as its own chapter and story. A few sentences at the start of each chapter set the stage and provide clues for following each story. Beginning in autumn and ending in summer, The River is about our connection to place, as well as about the connections between geography, setting, and the stories we tell. The River
 is also about the flow of time, which flows like the river, and carries us." (taken from Goodreads)

This is a premiere U.S.A. graphic novel by artist Alessandro Sanna in Italy. It is the only graphic novel on this list to have no dialogue in it; the story is told solely through pictures. The River details all of the days and seasons of the Po River- creatures and people and events that interact with it. It's a different kind of story as the protagonist is in fact the river itself which neither moves or talks or really interacts with the reader at all. Most people will look at this as a cute wordless picture book talking about seasons, but those seasoned in the arts this charming graphic novel is so much more. Admittedly, it is one of the few graphic novels that I've had to really take my time with and study the pictures carefully.


5. Cardboard

"When cardboard creatures come magically to life, a boy must save his town from disaster.
Cam's down-and-out father gives him a cardboard box for his birthday and he knows it's the worst present ever. So to make the best of a bad situation, they bend the cardboard into a man-and to their astonishment, it comes magically to life. But the neighborhood bully, Marcus, warps the powerful cardboard into his own evil creations that threaten to destroy them all!" (taken from Goodreads)

Doug TenNapel is one of my favorite comic artists ever, and already renowned for several of his creations- Earthworm Jim, The Neverhood, and graphic novels like Bad Island and Ghostopolis. I could choose any one of his graphic novels to appear on this list, but Cardboard has a lot of heart and perhaps the most meaning for me. It seems absurd at first that the story is fought over something we take so much for granted - cardboard- PAPER essentially. But it's the imagination and the heart that gets put into the cardboard creations that give it its values. It's a story about giving and taking and being grateful for the things that you have in your life NOW and letting go of things you 'had'



Honorary Mentions : Amulet   +  Americus
 Although both of these books are fantastic graphic novels, they didn't make my list for small reasons. 

"After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.
Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves."
(taken from Goodreads)

Amulet is fun, fast, and paced the way that a movie would so it is exciting to read and the world is epic (although the story not as masterfully told as aforementioned 'Bone'. The designs are imaginative and beautiful. However, it lacks a level of depth. The literary archetypes are all too apparent, and none of them used in a refreshing way. Amulet is that series that is fun and well-made, but not taken too seriously.

"Neal Barton just wants to read in peace. Unluckily for him, some local Christian activists are trying to get his favorite fantasy series banned from the Americus public library on grounds of immoral content and heresy. Something has to be done, and it looks like quiet, shy Neal is going to have to do it. With youth services librarian Charlotte Murphy at his back, Neal finds himself leading the charge to defend the mega-bestselling fantasy series that makes his life worth living."
(taken from Goodreads)

Americus, on the other hand, hits all the right and relevant notes, but is too mature for me to add to the 'all-ages' list. The book banning and mentioning of book-burning ... not to mention the Christian activists... make this book too much for younger kids to understand but teens and older readers will appreciate immensely. I can relate to this book a lot because of the original publication of the Harry Potter novels when I was a child and the activism around that time to ban them from public libraries. Thankfully, that didn't happen! But it strongly affected my views on books and publication in general. This is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. 



Tuesday, May 6, 2014

History of Swick's RPG Extravaganza (part 4)

Need a refresher? - here's PART 3
Want to know what the hell I'm talking about? - here's PART 1

I was really excited when the Playstation 2 released; although the original line-up was not exactly what I was hoping for. The first RPG game I had for the console was based on the light-novels and anime Sorcerous Stabber Orphen. The game was Orphen: Scion of Sorcery. It was one of the console's launch titles. It met with mostly mediocre reviews, and frankly other than being the first RPG I had for PS2, it was kind of forgettable. Way too much sitting and talking, and too little actual battle and roleplaying involved.


My definition of role-playing games blur a little here because so much was being added to the genre, especially in the way of famous 'action' RPGs. I moved away from a lot of RPGs during this time and only occasionally bought new one for my PS1, including games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Wild Arms 2


Final Fantasy Tactics was one of those games that I didn't come to fully appreciate until I was a little older. Whenever I purchased it, the tactical aspect of the game was a little beyond me, so the game was in my opinion very hard and frustrating. Once I caught on to how tactics worked, it quickly rose to the top of my 'favorites games of all time' list, and still gets several replays from me every year. I've gone out of my way to purchase all of the sequels to the game too. My favorite part was highly-customizing my soldiers' skills and equipment. I liked to name all of my recruits after friends I had at the time :p

Of course I picked up a copy of Final Fantasy X, the tenth installment in the series, when it came out, and it was well worth the money! They are in the works of making an HD version for the latest consoles PS3 /PS4. And I really look forward to picking up a copy when it is released. This is definitely one of the stronger stories in the series. As annoyed as I was with the 'love conquers all' message that underlies the games, I am more attached to these characters than a lot of the others in the Final Fantasy series. The sequel for it, Final Fantasy X-2, wasn't very impressive in my opinion.


Apart from these, my sister M and I began playing lots of RPG Maker for the PS1 and were enamored with the idea of creating our own video-game. I don't think we ever completed any of the projects that we started on it (which were generally weird amalgamations of different RPG stories we had encountered throughout the years, plus adding our friends and family in as characters because like most kids we want to go on a big adventure, especially involving swords and sorcery) but there were several hours spent planning and designing and testing and having all around fun with it.






Sunday, May 4, 2014

Pokemon Favorites : Battle Time!

A lot of competitive Pokemon fans will argue that people who play with their favorites and not Pokemon who legitimately have good stats are always destined to lose. There is truth to the numbers and game rules... for example, it is HIGHLY DOUBTED a low-level Sewaddle will ever win against a Charizard... but I like to think that the game would be way more fun if people stopped looking at numbers and started playing with their favorites. So that's what I'm doing today. If you've been following my favorites countdowns, you'll know that I picked two runner-ups and one winner from each of the Pokemon generations based on my experiences with them in game. So, I took all of those Pokemon and divided them into teams : Winners, Runner 1s, and Runner 2s .... let's see how they turned out as their own battle teams. This will not include the legendaries that I chose in the beginning of the Pokemon Favorites series. Just the generation posts.

These stats are calculated via the Team Builder on Marriland.com

TEAM WINNERS:

Wigglytuff, Flaaffy, Sharpedo, Stunky, Haxorus, Klefki




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEAM ALPHA RUNNERS:

  

 

Bulbasaur, Heracross, Skitty, Abomasnow, Joltik, Pangoro




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TEAM BETA RUNNERS:


Arcanine, Delibird, Ludicolo, Staraptor, Darmanitan, Malamar





.... so overall, just 'average' teams. But with the right move-set and the right amount of determination, these teams could really rock ;)

Friday, May 2, 2014

Counting Down Pokemon Favorites (GENERATION 6)


This is it, guys. 


Continuing the Pokemon countdown of my favorites from each generation! 
So, I've selection three Pokemon from each; one winner, and two runner-ups. 
This is taking into account my feelings of the Pokemon's design, stats, and my personal experience with them in battle.

I won't include legendaries in the generations; just normal Pokemon.
Legendaries got their own post.


Time to tackle...


Best Pokemon of GENERATION 6

Runner-Ups

PANGORO
the Daunting Pokemon

Generation VI
XAlthough it possesses a violent temperament, it won’t put up with bullying. It uses the leaf in its mouth to sense the movements of its enemies.
YIt charges ahead and bashes its opponents like a berserker, uncaring about any hits it might take. Its arms are mighty enough to snap a telephone pole.

I loved the little panda Pokemon Pancham when it was announced, and when I was able, I caught myself one and named it 'Val' ... Power-Up Punch, Metronome, and Moxie.... Val was the most badass girl Pangoro the Kalos world had ever fucking seen. She helped me punch my way to victory :3

MALAMAR
the Overturning Pokemon


Generation VI
XIt wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any Pokémon, and it forces others to do whatever it wants.
YIt lures prey close with hypnotic motions, then wraps its tentacles around it before finishing it off with digestive fluids.

I was wow'ed when I read up on how you're supposed to evolve Inkay into Malamar. You turn the 3DS upside-down after it levels up (to level 32? maybe?) ... this was ingenious, and if I hadn't have read about it, I never would have guessed it. Sneaky, sneaky, Nintendo and Game Freak. I had a Malamar in my team (his name was 'Tequila' ... because tequila makes you feel a little topsy-turvy... that was my line of thinking...)that conquered the Elite 4 because I was in love with its Psychic/Dark typing. It made it SO USEFUL in battles. Psychic weak against Dark? Nope, not Malamar. Psychic doesn't even work. Bug types get the better of Dark? Nope, not Malamar. Blast 'em with a Psychic move. Fighting? Psychic. Ghost? Dark. No real weaknesses. I just wish it would move a little faster!


---- WINNER! ----


KLEFKI
the Key Ring Pokemon

Generation VI
XThese key collectors threaten any attackers by fiercely jingling their keys at them.
YIt never lets go of a key that it likes, so people give it the keys to vaults and safes as a way to prevent crime.

Like many other Pokemon fans, I scoffed at this Pokemon whenever it was revealed. I thought it was a joke, and I was disappointed in Nintendo and Game Freaks for wasting my time.... and then.... the Pokedex hit all of my kawaii~ buttons, and I fell in love with this Pokemon due to the lore around it. I mean, read that description ' FIERCELY JINGLES KEYS AT ATTACKERS ' HOW ADORABLE IS THAT???? IT IS NOT THREATENING IN THE SLIGHTEST; IT IS JUST RIDICULOUSLY CUTE!

... also, it kills dragons and neutralizes other Fairy. Immune to Poison. It's Steel/Fairy type.