Weekly Wrap Up 1/8-1/14

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Weekly Wrap Up is our end of the week digest of smaller news stories that are just as important, but didn’t get a dedicated post! If you’d like to get real time updates about what’s mentioned here you can follow our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. Here’s what you missed from January 8th to January 14th!

This Week’s Big Stories

CoroCoro Reveals Ultra-Cool New Outfits for Ash & Co

Nintendo Switch Mini-Direct

Detective Pikachu Releasing Worldwide in March

Pokémon GO Community Day, Kyogre Now Available

Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon

  • The second Global Mission in Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon is underway and has already been completed! This Global Mission had players win at the Battle Agency, with the goal of reaching 100,000 wins by January 22nd. Since the mission is already successful be sure to head to the Festival Plaza to guarantee your 2,000 FC, or 4,000 FC if you have your Global Link account linked
  • Details for the January 2018 International Challenge Battle Competition have been announced! This is a Double Battle competition with the usual VGC rules, where players can receive 50 Battle Points for participating, and earn CP towards qualifying for the World Championships. During the competition all Pokémon will be raised to Level 50. Registration runs from January 18th, 2018 to January 25th, 2018, while the battles will commence from January 26th through the 28th

Pokémon Crystal

  • Pre-loading for the re-release of Pokémon Crystal is now available through the eShop across all regions

Special Edition Pikachu New Nintendo 2DS XL

P-Sports

  • P-Sports ~Aim To Be A Pokémon Battle Master~ is coming to Japanese audiences through Abema TV! This brand new show focuses on Pokémon Battles and features hosts such as popular Japanese Youtuber, Hajime Syacho and Hiroshi, a previous co-host of Pokémon Sunday and Pokémon Smash. The show will have trainer compete in an Elite Four fashion against the four hosts to become the P-Sports Champion. You can check out the trailer for the first episode, which will air on January 24th at 8:00pm JST

Pokémon Shuffle

  • Version 1.5 is now available to download, and includes several new features to the mobile app:
    • The Trainer Rank system will give different rewards based on the number of Pokémon that you have captured. With a total of 30 ranks, these rewards include Raise Max Levels, Mega Speedups, and Mega Stones.
    • A new cycle of checkin gifts is now available: Hearts + 5, Moves +5, Exp. Booster S, Hearts + 5, Skill Booster S, Mega Start, Hearts + 5, Disruption Delay, Exp. Booster M, Raise Max Level, Hearts + 5, Exp. Booster L, Time + 10, Hearts + 10, 1 Jewel
    • You are now able to use the ingame Jewel currency to unlock batches of stages you haven’t completed yet. This will allow players to continue on with the game and not get stuck on a single stage
  • Upon login players will get their monthly gifts distributed to them
  • The new Minior stage, and the Latios Escalation Battle stage are both available until January 23rd, 2018
  • The Dialga, Palkia, Zekrom & White Kyurem stages have begun repeat runs until January 16th, 2018

Check out the official Pokémon merchandise that was either revealed, leaked, or is now available for purchase this week:

Supporters

Nick F

Smearg

Foil Island

Conglome NERD

alcremie sundae

Radiant Blutle

Zachery

Dragoniteo

Austin John Plays

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702 thoughts on “Weekly Wrap Up 1/8-1/14”

    • Gullp is close to feeling ‘Pokemon-y’, because it’s simple enough and even has the Gen V angry eyes. The proportions aren’t the exact same as a real gull, and first stage bird Pokemon tend to be a bit closer to their basis. That said, it can still use a bit of work to look less like a real animal, maybe play with colours and add unnatural accents or add extra fluff and texture. Or even mix in aspects of other birds, because it’s kind of hard to clock exactly what Pidgey which helps it feel like a fictional monster.

      Alkatross’ skull on the wing is unnatural. It looks like a tattoo. It also kinda falls into a ‘it just got bigger’ rut that a few birds are guilty of. But IMO, it’s not that great of a transition stage because it doesn’t set up much for Storkarnage. It still has very short and stubby legs, and its beak becomes less straight before straightening out again. Trumbeak set up Toucannon by showing that its beak could bend. I think going for another seabird with a straight beak would be a better basis, or just make it a blend between gull and stork. There’s also the issue that Storkarnage loses all hints of being a gull. Pidgeot is just a bigger stork, Noctowl remains an owl, Swellow is still a super obvious swallow, Staraptor retains traits of a starling whilst taking on raptor traits, and whilst Unfezant, Talonflame and Toucannon drastically change species, you can see hints of the first stage (heart shaped areas on the whole Unfezant line, the Talonflame line’s red area becoming bigger and bigger, and Toucannon’s beak acting as a different tool/weapon in all stages). It also just doesn’t totally feel like a Dark-type, it needs to look more mischievous or intimidating.

      Storkarnage looks more like a metalhead than a villain, and its presence is very non-threatening. It feels like something that acts scary but isn’t, or an unruly looking punk. Try to add more jags to add a hardness to the design, make the legs feel more threatening with sharper talons, dark patterns, etc, anything to somehow, make it feel intimidating for the sake of its theme and typing. I really don’t think that a stork (a seabird) is a good foil for a land mustelid because it feels like the hero vs villain theme was thrown onto two different Pokemon. Especially since they have a different amount of evo stages despite being counterparts. The hero vs villain theme would be better if it was a raptor that fed on small mammals because Polecante can be portrayed as a hero saving the young, sidekick-based Polemask, whilst the bird and its prevo (based on a villain’s goons). Seabird vs polecat just feels… Odd. It just feels like you threw opposing themes on unrelated lines to make them counterparts.

      The whole conflict of good vs evil was already done in Alola with ‘thief vs detective’ (Ratticate vs Gumshoos) and in that case it worked better because the lines were perfectly parallel to each other and the interrelationship made sense thanks to its real life basis.

      If Polecante and Storkarnage aren’t meant to be counterparts, I’m sorry for misreading it but a heroic ‘rodent’ and villainous bird just feels like its an attempt at that theme but it doesn’t really work.

      Reply

      • *Pidgeot also isn’t a bigger stork, disregard that part. It’s not particularly well written because I submitted it without editing so my thoughts kinda trailed and mixed.

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      • Thanks for going into details, I needed that. The skull is supposed to look like a tatoo, tho I don’t want it to feel unnatural. I’ll have to work on Storkarnage’s design some more, like you said it should be scary. And I think you forgot that Storks are raptors that feed on small mammals (as well as amphibians, fish and small birds). They are supposed to be counterparts and I’m not sure if changing that could work. Maybe I could work on making Gullp look like a goon.

        Reply

        • Storks can feed on small mammals, but they’re far more known for hunting prey that are amphibious or aquatic due to being water birds regardless of what they eat. You have to remember that your audience isn’t all knowing so you have to make some things obvious.

          Storks are also often disregarded as raptors because they utilise their beaks for the kill, which also means the focus of it as a threat should be its beak, which can be an issue because we just had Toucannon based entirely on its beak.

          Stork vs polecat has nowhere near the same impact as mongoose vs rat or mongoose vs snake, cat vs dog, or stereotypical birds of prey vs small mammals, which doesn’t bode well when the designs are meant to be opposites.

          If they’re going to be counterparts, make them have an equal number of evo stages. Even if the bird is statistically stronger it works better thematically.

          Reply

          • Tbh I don’t think making them the same ammount of stages would work. I get that would work better for the counterpart thing, but it wouldn’t work for these mons, or at least for how I see them.
            I think that what I should do here is make them less counterparts and more just enemies. That may sound dumb, but I think it could work better than forcing them to fit counterpart requierments.

  5. You know what I just realised? (and not using this as proof for remakes or anything)

    RGBY are the only Pokemon games which you can’t play with the physical/special split (because their remakes preceded the split). And along with Johto, Kanto is the only region that we haven’t seen in 3D (not including Sinnoh and Unova which unlike those two regions are bound to get remakes regardless).

    I’d love a retraux RGBY remix where they take aspects of future games but incorporate them into the classic colourless 8-Bit, or a 3D Kanto remake utilising newer/completely new mechanics and including Johto Pokemon naturally found in Kanto in the Dex. I’d prefer a Sinnoh remake or new game first tho :p

    Reply

  6. How to make a cohesive Fakemon

    > Does the theme/character you assigned it match well with its basis, or reflects its basis?

    > You don’t have to throw a million themes on one Pokemon, especially if they don’t work well. A wire-like Electric worm might be a cool idea, and a Mongolian deathworm evo for that can work because it’s common for stories of the MDW to include it being able to release electricity. But a paladin-based Electric/Dragon wire deathworm with wings? Far too much, stop immediately.

    > If you’ve made a good Fakemon and want to assign it a certain type, don’t go out of the way to change it so much or give it an unjustified type. These can and will lead to the design becoming weaker, looking busy, or make people judge your quality of work if you’re just going to throw a type on something because you think it’s cool. GameFreak gets flack for that. You will as well.

    > If you’re making a type combo/stat spread/lore first before making the design, if it isn’t working out, you might just want to abandon the design and start afresh or change the stat/type/lore.

    > If you’re forcing a design and it doesn’t work, kill it or change it. As you should’ve guessed by now, forcing things is a deadly sin for Fakemon designers because it’ll reflect badly on the design. And because you don’t have a time limit because you’re not an employed member of a game development team, there’s no point in forcing or rushing a bad design.

    Reply

  8. I got Tekken 7 a few hours ago, and while it’s not done completely downloading (My PS4 says it’ll take another 6 or so hours), what I have played of it when it became ready to use is great

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  13. Whelp now I’m pissed. For the last month or so I’ve been trying to change my availability at work so I can try and put more time into my other job which is freelance video editing and is what I want to make a career out of of. I put it in twice and both times were denied. I talked to my manager and he said it was because our GM is being weird about scheduling so I should talk to him. I talked to my GM and he was really chill about it and told me to put it in again and it’d be taken care of. Once again it’s been denied………So now I have to go back talk to him yet again to make sure he actually does something about this. I’m not taking no for an answer and the fact that it seems like I’m being taken for a ride now is really staring to piss me off big time. If I don’t get a straight answer form them I’m gonna explode! End of rant……….

    Reply

  18. Question to American people: does this stereotype of very fat people on scooters in Walmart actually exist? Or do you see such people like only once in five years?

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    • It’s very bland and has too much open space. Considering how small your FOV is, it will be very easy to get lost. Compact the town down to a smaller size and add a bigger variety of landscape. Add in some small hills and some visual flair like flowers and trees

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  22. So we have a rumor that there will be another Direct this week. Interestingly, this comes from a person who’s leaked Fire Emblem-related information in the past yet he can not confirm whether or not this theoretical Direct would be for Fire Emblem specifically. Don’t take this too seriously right now, but all I can say is not to be too surprised if they spring a Direct announcement on us tomorrow or Tuesday. You should have mountains of salt ready for this rumor.
    https://mobile.twitter.com/theprinceofiris/status/952578375826182144

    Reply

    • Wouldn’t be surprised if there was a FE direct very soon.This next week actually makes a bit of sense given that after every mini direct a larger normal typically is not too far behind. The longest we’ve waited after a mini one is about 20 days and the shortest we’ve waited is the day immediately after.So one this week would make sense. Unfortunately I can’t say I’m crazy interested in FE. I don’t dislike the series, but I’ve never really been able to give it much of a chance so I can’t say I’m too excited about a direct that only has info on it.

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  23. So I’m prepping for a school assignment right now, and one of the options for this assignment is writing about the role of music in your life and some sort of anecdote about that. Naturally, I won’t be choosing this option because I purely listen to game OSTs and would prefer not to be heavily judged for listening to what’s considered by many on the outside to be an incoherent mess of robot beeps and lasers.

    So that got me thinking; if you had one shot and ONE shot only to convince people that game music can be a respectable art, which track would you choose? I’m split, so I’ll respond in a few minutes, but I’m interested to see where people go with this one. Remember, the goal is to convince whoever’s listening that it’s a respectable substitute for popular music, or whatever other kind of music.

    Reply

      • I follow, but I don’t mean that. I feel that a certain sentiment exists outside video game fans that game music is all robot beeps and laser sounds, or a loop of a thirty second jingle or something like that. My point is to prove that listening to game music is just like listening to popular music, and just as respectable, because it’s got a negative connotation (let’s be honest).

        Reply

    • For my personal answer, let me preface with this: no matter how hard you try, you can never force somebody to fully understand the emotions and the experience that a specific piece conveys to you. Although it’s thought of an weird, people who listen to regular music, people who listen to play or movie soundtracks, and people who listen to game OSTs all listen for the same reason– because that piece carries an emotion or an experience for them. For regular music, that happens to be because that music helped you through a time of your life, or simply because the music has a pleasurable or desired feeling for the situation. But for video games, however, that experience is relayed through the game itself. I remember the moment in the game the track played– and the emotions I felt at that moment in the game are what stick with me for the track.

      So regardless of what you listen to, it’s all for the same reason– the emotion or experience it carries.

      Now that I’ve said this is going to be ineffective, I think this piece from Xenoblade 2 does a fantastic job of portraying game music as art: Uraya Day.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpwK15RNBLI
      Like I’ve said, it’s only as good as the experience it carries, whether it be through memory or through the sound itself. And for this one, it perfectly fits a journey through a glowing swamp inside a giant whale (it’s the one on the boxart).

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a73f2ebead6d6807d3aa6b9499f5f54525cc65c74b2f0ad357370c114bac0349.jpg

      Reply

    • Listen I know it’s becoming a joke that I gush about Hollowknight every time I open my mouth but I need to hand it to Hollowknight. Now you got me stuck between two tracks but since one of them I just heard the other day, and one of them is a track I’ve been listening to since I first heard it on loop, I’m going to go with City of Tears because I have more to say
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdymSWWQ5G4

      Now I’m not a music critic, all of my knowledge of music theory comes from Sideways on Youtube. But I will try my best to explain my feelings on this piece and sound pretentious af will doing so.

      Transitions between areas in Hollowknight usually have the music from your previous area fade out the further you walk away from it as the colors transition to the pallet of the next. This allows that area to introduce itself while it has your full attention.

      So as you enter City of Tears, the music starts up slowly with an underlying series of notes that imply a soft almost playful atmosphere countered by strings that play a melancholy melody. You are told musically that this place isn’t the wild caverns you fought through before, but a safer space. Yet within that, it is still the peak of a civilization that has been lost.
      The underlying notes compliment the sound of constant rain and as you dive deeper becomes more ominous when greeted with deadly foes before coming back to peacefulness.
      Instruments change depending on what part of the city you are in proving a new feel for that section.
      But where this all culminates is when you approach the founding holding a statue of the Hollowknight
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e399138a6eb3793cd7c0f0c2f9d96276c6420bd74a5ab7983013430938a9b855.png
      A soft voice enters the main melody heightening this moment. This is a significant story moment as you are suddenly made more aware of your purpose being called back to this land.

      The track is beautiful and provides so much of the atmosphere. When I heard it, it was sealed for me that it would be one of my favorite games.

      Reply

  24. Im just going to assume that if you don’t have Hollowknight on your top 10 best games of 2017 list, then you haven’t played it. As I’m watching stuff on it after getting the game’s true ending, I’m discovering stuff I completely missed and it makes me really want to dive back in and continue playing. Maybe I will once I start Persona 5 and finish Axiom Verge.

    I love this game so damn much

    Reply

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