Ah I loved Arcanine too, definitely in my top 5. In fact I'll expand on the "my favourite pokemon" discussion and list my "pokemon dream team".
1) Charizard 2) Onix (what's a Steelix? :P) 2) Gyarados 4) Arcanine 5) Kadabra (I don't like the design of Alakazam) 6) Pikachu (Okay, he's just too cute to leave out... or evolve.)
Clearly, it's just Pokemon I like, and nothing to do with powergaming, where presumably, it'd be a no-brainer to evolve everyone to their top tier forms.
Edit: A few honourable mentions that narrowly missed out:
7) Rhyhorn/Rhydon (I like both forms equally) 8) Flareon 9) Blastoise (Like Charizard, I like the cute first stage and the badass third stage, not so much the intermediate.) 10) Mewtwo. (I don't like legendaries in general, but he is pretty awesome.)
@Heindrich If I went with my favorite pokemon for powergaming: 1. I would not have picked Absol. 2. I would have become indecisive and unable to pick anyone. 3. I would finally give up on trying and say Garchomp... Or just go back to Absol.
There are no words of awesome that can describe Absol efficiently, especially once it mega-evolves and gets wings!
On my latest run with Alpha Sapphire, I've made it a theme to name all my pokemon after characters I've created for my stories. Absol is one of the few that perfectly embodies one of my protagonists--the yin-yang dual-natured thing, considered a harbinger of destruction, usually avoided by most of humankind, but really, he's just a misunderstood pokemon who just gets blamed for all kinds of bad stuff that wasn't even his fault. I was entirely too excited to catch one and name it after my main character.
I guess that answers the earlier question, do I still play the Pokemon games. I played through generation four and five, although those two would be my least favorites of the bunch. I loved second and third, those two are on my top favorite generations. But then after the sub-par Pokemon Pearl and Black (didn't bother with Black 2 ), Pokemon X just blew me away and I got sucked back in.
Gen 4 was one of my favorites! Especially Platinum version!
Platinum was good. The other two were just okay. And I had Pearl.
I had some really nice pokemon on my file though, and now it won't work anymore... ;_; I had a Blissey, a Gyrados, a Torterra, a Rapidash, an Alakazam, a Luxray... Friends that I'll never see again.
emerald was my favourite gen, and absol was my favourite from that gen, after I saw him, I was like I MUST HAVE HIM, although it wasn't until 4th gen where dark finally had some attack type moves, he still did good with sword dance and slash in gen 3
Start of turn 2 @Wubble used Waterfall! The foe's Laggron lost 29% of its health!
The foe's Laggron used Roar! Pointed stones dug into @Nimran! @Nimran was dragged out!
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 3 @Nimran used Nasty Plot! @Nimran's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
The foe's Laggron used Scald! It's super effective! @Nimran lost 194 HP! (66% of its health)
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 4 @Nimran used Hidden Power! It's super effective! The foe's Laggron lost 83% of its health! The foe's Laggron fainted! @Nimran is hurt by its Life Orb! @Nimran fainted!
Start of turn 5 The foe's Elecsprint has Mega Evolved into Mega Manectric! The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Heindrich! @Heindrich's Attack fell! The foe's Elecsprint used Overheat! It's super effective! @Heindrich lost 334 HP! (97% of its health) @Heindrich fainted! The foe's Elecsprint's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Start of turn 6 The foe's Elecsprint used Volt Switch! It's super effective! @Elminster lost 114 HP! (31% of its health) Stazis called Elecsprint back! Stazis sent out Majaspic! (Serperior)
@Elminster used Rapid Spin! The foe's Majaspic lost 4% of its health! @Elminster blew away Stealth Rock!
@Elminster restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 7 FinneousPJ called @Elminster back! FinneousPJ sent out @Tresset! (Jirachi)
The foe's Majaspic used Leaf Storm! It's not very effective... A critical hit! @Tresset lost 120 HP! (35% of its health) The foe's Majaspic's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
Start of turn 8 @Tresset used Iron Head! The foe's Majaspic lost 39% of its health!
The foe's Majaspic used Hidden Power! It's super effective! @Tresset lost 190 HP! (55% of its health)
Start of turn 9 Stazis called Majaspic back! Stazis sent out Elecsprint! (Mega Manectric)
The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Tresset! @Tresset's Attack fell! @Tresset used Iron Head! It's not very effective... The foe's Elecsprint lost 17% of its health!
Those !! are my favourites, thinking about switching out the others. And with some time training a dragon only team (they appear so weak though, and getting their evo. at ~50 )
Start of turn 2 @Wubble used Waterfall! The foe's Laggron lost 29% of its health!
The foe's Laggron used Roar! Pointed stones dug into @Nimran! @Nimran was dragged out!
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 3 @Nimran used Nasty Plot! @Nimran's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
The foe's Laggron used Scald! It's super effective! @Nimran lost 194 HP! (66% of its health)
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 4 @Nimran used Hidden Power! It's super effective! The foe's Laggron lost 83% of its health! The foe's Laggron fainted! @Nimran is hurt by its Life Orb! @Nimran fainted!
Start of turn 5 The foe's Elecsprint has Mega Evolved into Mega Manectric! The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Heindrich! @Heindrich's Attack fell! The foe's Elecsprint used Overheat! It's super effective! @Heindrich lost 334 HP! (97% of its health) @Heindrich fainted! The foe's Elecsprint's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Start of turn 6 The foe's Elecsprint used Volt Switch! It's super effective! @Elminster lost 114 HP! (31% of its health) Stazis called Elecsprint back! Stazis sent out Majaspic! (Serperior)
@Elminster used Rapid Spin! The foe's Majaspic lost 4% of its health! @Elminster blew away Stealth Rock!
@Elminster restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 7 FinneousPJ called @Elminster back! FinneousPJ sent out @Tresset! (Jirachi)
The foe's Majaspic used Leaf Storm! It's not very effective... A critical hit! @Tresset lost 120 HP! (35% of its health) The foe's Majaspic's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
Start of turn 8 @Tresset used Iron Head! The foe's Majaspic lost 39% of its health!
The foe's Majaspic used Hidden Power! It's super effective! @Tresset lost 190 HP! (55% of its health)
Start of turn 9 Stazis called Majaspic back! Stazis sent out Elecsprint! (Mega Manectric)
The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Tresset! @Tresset's Attack fell! @Tresset used Iron Head! It's not very effective... The foe's Elecsprint lost 17% of its health!
Start of turn 2 @Wubble used Waterfall! The foe's Laggron lost 29% of its health!
The foe's Laggron used Roar! Pointed stones dug into @Nimran! @Nimran was dragged out!
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 3 @Nimran used Nasty Plot! @Nimran's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
The foe's Laggron used Scald! It's super effective! @Nimran lost 194 HP! (66% of its health)
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 4 @Nimran used Hidden Power! It's super effective! The foe's Laggron lost 83% of its health! The foe's Laggron fainted! @Nimran is hurt by its Life Orb! @Nimran fainted!
Start of turn 5 The foe's Elecsprint has Mega Evolved into Mega Manectric! The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Heindrich! @Heindrich's Attack fell! The foe's Elecsprint used Overheat! It's super effective! @Heindrich lost 334 HP! (97% of its health) @Heindrich fainted! The foe's Elecsprint's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Start of turn 6 The foe's Elecsprint used Volt Switch! It's super effective! @Elminster lost 114 HP! (31% of its health) Stazis called Elecsprint back! Stazis sent out Majaspic! (Serperior)
@Elminster used Rapid Spin! The foe's Majaspic lost 4% of its health! @Elminster blew away Stealth Rock!
@Elminster restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 7 FinneousPJ called @Elminster back! FinneousPJ sent out @Tresset! (Jirachi)
The foe's Majaspic used Leaf Storm! It's not very effective... A critical hit! @Tresset lost 120 HP! (35% of its health) The foe's Majaspic's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
Start of turn 8 @Tresset used Iron Head! The foe's Majaspic lost 39% of its health!
The foe's Majaspic used Hidden Power! It's super effective! @Tresset lost 190 HP! (55% of its health)
Start of turn 9 Stazis called Majaspic back! Stazis sent out Elecsprint! (Mega Manectric)
The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Tresset! @Tresset's Attack fell! @Tresset used Iron Head! It's not very effective... The foe's Elecsprint lost 17% of its health!
Sorry, but I have to admit I don't really like Absol. At all. GASP!
My most favorite Pokemon, as Tresset may know, is good ol' *INDECISIVE*. Some Pokemon I really like would be Noivern [Thanks to AlbinoWyvern, I have a shiny one named "Wyvern"~], Sableye [Thanks to Albino, I have a shiny one named "The Grinch"~], Gengar [Thanks to Albi, I have a battle-ready one named "Rick Gastly"~] and Articuno [Thanks to... well, you get the point]!
Also, here are some random older doodles, since I'm currently at school and unable to draw:
APOLLO JUSTICE ARTICUNO!
A drawing for one of AlbinoWyvern's Pokemon Showdown teams!
So I once was told that Zoroark and Ninetails were based on the same mythical creature... How does that work?
@Tresset I have no idea about Zoroark, but Ninetails is based off a mythic creature called Kitsune, which in turn is derivative of Chinese "fox-demons". Instead of Orcs and Elves, the Far East has it's own set of fantasy creatures, and include wolf, serpent and fox demons/spirits. That said Ninetails' link to a Kitsune is mostly just visual, since it's a fire pokemon, not some sort of shape-shifting trickster or seducer of men.
I actually know a little bit about some far east myths... (playing games made in the area, like pokemon, helps) Like how I recall hearing that Ho-oh was a Chinese version of a phoenix and Moltres was a Japanese version of one or some such. Gen 4 mythology and legendary pokemon were heavily based on the Shinto origin stories I think. Gen 5 was all about the Yin-Yang thing. I think Torterra was also based on a mythical creature from over there. Rayquaza and Gyarados are obviously Chinese Dragons. Absol was apparently based on some mythical Chinese creature. They base pokemon design on a wide variety of things. It is interesting to learn about the various myths and legends of the world. Bulbapedia often has a brief section about the various possible origins of a pokemon's name and design. Very interesting stuff.
Comments
I like Jirachi, but the text that appears when it uses Doom Desire is kinda odd and I don't know what it means...
"Jirachi chose Doom Desire as its destiny!"
...
Huh? It sounds cool, but what does that actually mean? I get the feeling something was lost in translation...
1) Charizard
2) Onix (what's a Steelix? :P)
2) Gyarados
4) Arcanine
5) Kadabra (I don't like the design of Alakazam)
6) Pikachu (Okay, he's just too cute to leave out... or evolve.)
Clearly, it's just Pokemon I like, and nothing to do with powergaming, where presumably, it'd be a no-brainer to evolve everyone to their top tier forms.
Edit:
A few honourable mentions that narrowly missed out:
7) Rhyhorn/Rhydon (I like both forms equally)
8) Flareon
9) Blastoise (Like Charizard, I like the cute first stage and the badass third stage, not so much the intermediate.)
10) Mewtwo. (I don't like legendaries in general, but he is pretty awesome.)
1. I would not have picked Absol.
2. I would have become indecisive and unable to pick anyone.
3. I would finally give up on trying and say Garchomp... Or just go back to Absol.
On my latest run with Alpha Sapphire, I've made it a theme to name all my pokemon after characters I've created for my stories. Absol is one of the few that perfectly embodies one of my protagonists--the yin-yang dual-natured thing, considered a harbinger of destruction, usually avoided by most of humankind, but really, he's just a misunderstood pokemon who just gets blamed for all kinds of bad stuff that wasn't even his fault. I was entirely too excited to catch one and name it after my main character.
I guess that answers the earlier question, do I still play the Pokemon games. I played through generation four and five, although those two would be my least favorites of the bunch. I loved second and third, those two are on my top favorite generations. But then after the sub-par Pokemon Pearl and Black (didn't bother with Black 2
I had some really nice pokemon on my file though, and now it won't work anymore... ;_; I had a Blissey, a Gyrados, a Torterra, a Rapidash, an Alakazam, a Luxray... Friends that I'll never see again.
*sigh*
@wubble the Gyarados
@Tresset the Jirachi
@Nimran the Houndoom
@Nonnahswriter the Espeon
@Elminster the Blastoise
@Heindrich the Steelix
This is to demonstrate PO to those who don't yet know its brilliance.
Battle between Stazis and FinneousPJ started!
Tier: ORAS OU
Mode: Singles
Rule: Rated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle
Rule: Self-KO Clause
Variation: +52, -38
Your team: Gyarados / Jirachi / Houndoom / Espeon / Blastoise / Steelix
Opponent's team: Swampert / Manectric / Hawlucha / Serperior / Starmie / Yanmega
Stazis sent out Laggron! (Swampert)
FinneousPJ sent out @Wubble! (Gyarados)
@Wubble intimidates the foe's Laggron!
The foe's Laggron's Attack fell!
Start of turn 1
@Wubble used Substitute!
@Wubble made a substitute!
The foe's Laggron used Stealth Rock!
Pointed stones float in the air around FinneousPJ's team!
@Wubble restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 2
@Wubble used Waterfall!
The foe's Laggron lost 29% of its health!
The foe's Laggron used Roar!
Pointed stones dug into @Nimran!
@Nimran was dragged out!
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 3
@Nimran used Nasty Plot!
@Nimran's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
The foe's Laggron used Scald!
It's super effective!
@Nimran lost 194 HP! (66% of its health)
The foe's Laggron restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 4
@Nimran used Hidden Power!
It's super effective!
The foe's Laggron lost 83% of its health!
The foe's Laggron fainted!
@Nimran is hurt by its Life Orb!
@Nimran fainted!
Stazis sent out Elecsprint! (Manectric)
FinneousPJ sent out @Heindrich! (Steelix)
Pointed stones dug into @Heindrich!
Start of turn 5
The foe's Elecsprint has Mega Evolved into Mega Manectric!
The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Heindrich!
@Heindrich's Attack fell!
The foe's Elecsprint used Overheat!
It's super effective!
@Heindrich lost 334 HP! (97% of its health)
@Heindrich fainted!
The foe's Elecsprint's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
FinneousPJ sent out @Elminster! (Blastoise)
Pointed stones dug into @Elminster!
Start of turn 6
The foe's Elecsprint used Volt Switch!
It's super effective!
@Elminster lost 114 HP! (31% of its health)
Stazis called Elecsprint back!
Stazis sent out Majaspic! (Serperior)
@Elminster used Rapid Spin!
The foe's Majaspic lost 4% of its health!
@Elminster blew away Stealth Rock!
@Elminster restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 7
FinneousPJ called @Elminster back!
FinneousPJ sent out @Tresset! (Jirachi)
The foe's Majaspic used Leaf Storm!
It's not very effective...
A critical hit!
@Tresset lost 120 HP! (35% of its health)
The foe's Majaspic's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
Start of turn 8
@Tresset used Iron Head!
The foe's Majaspic lost 39% of its health!
The foe's Majaspic used Hidden Power!
It's super effective!
@Tresset lost 190 HP! (55% of its health)
Start of turn 9
Stazis called Majaspic back!
Stazis sent out Elecsprint! (Mega Manectric)
The foe's Elecsprint intimidates @Tresset!
@Tresset's Attack fell!
@Tresset used Iron Head!
It's not very effective...
The foe's Elecsprint lost 17% of its health!
Start of turn 10
FinneousPJ called @Tresset back!
FinneousPJ sent out @Nonnahswriter!
The foe's Elecsprint used Thunderbolt!
@Nonnahswriter lost 175 HP! (52% of its health)
Start of turn 11
The foe's Elecsprint used Thunderbolt!
@Nonnahswriter lost 158 HP! (47% of its health)
@Nonnahswriter fainted!
FinneousPJ sent out @Tresset! (Jirachi)
Start of turn 12
@Tresset used Fire Punch!
A critical hit!
The foe's Elecsprint lost 49% of its health!
The foe's Elecsprint was burned!
The foe's Elecsprint used Thunderbolt!
@Tresset lost 31 HP! (9% of its health)
@Tresset fainted!
The foe's Elecsprint was hurt by its burn!
FinneousPJ sent out @Elminster! (Blastoise)
Start of turn 13
The foe's Elecsprint used Thunderbolt!
It's super effective!
@Elminster lost 225 HP! (62% of its health)
@Elminster fainted!
The foe's Elecsprint was hurt by its burn!
FinneousPJ sent out @Wubble! (Gyarados)
@Wubble intimidates the foe's Elecsprint!
The foe's Elecsprint's Attack fell!
Start of turn 14
The foe's Elecsprint used Thunderbolt!
It's super effective!
@Wubble lost 287 HP! (81% of its health)
@Wubble fainted!
Stazis won the battle!
Stazis: gg
FinneousPJ: gg
My team:
Gardevoir !!
Delphox !!
Charizard
Roserade !!
Gyarados
Those !! are my favourites, thinking about switching out the others.
And with some time training a dragon only team (they appear so weak though, and getting their evo. at ~50 )
I guess I'll download Showdown tonight. Are you on there?
Translation: I need a new agent.
My most favorite Pokemon, as Tresset may know, is good ol' *INDECISIVE*. Some Pokemon I really like would be Noivern [Thanks to AlbinoWyvern, I have a shiny one named "Wyvern"~], Sableye [Thanks to Albino, I have a shiny one named "The Grinch"~], Gengar [Thanks to Albi, I have a battle-ready one named "Rick Gastly"~] and Articuno [Thanks to... well, you get the point]!
Also, here are some random older doodles, since I'm currently at school and unable to draw:
APOLLO JUSTICE ARTICUNO!
A drawing for one of AlbinoWyvern's Pokemon Showdown teams!
And to close, DJ Sableye:
So I once was told that Zoroark and Ninetails were based on the same mythical creature... How does that work?
I have no idea about Zoroark, but Ninetails is based off a mythic creature called Kitsune, which in turn is derivative of Chinese "fox-demons". Instead of Orcs and Elves, the Far East has it's own set of fantasy creatures, and include wolf, serpent and fox demons/spirits. That said Ninetails' link to a Kitsune is mostly just visual, since it's a fire pokemon, not some sort of shape-shifting trickster or seducer of men.
I actually know a little bit about some far east myths... (playing games made in the area, like pokemon, helps) Like how I recall hearing that Ho-oh was a Chinese version of a phoenix and Moltres was a Japanese version of one or some such. Gen 4 mythology and legendary pokemon were heavily based on the Shinto origin stories I think. Gen 5 was all about the Yin-Yang thing. I think Torterra was also based on a mythical creature from over there. Rayquaza and Gyarados are obviously Chinese Dragons. Absol was apparently based on some mythical Chinese creature. They base pokemon design on a wide variety of things. It is interesting to learn about the various myths and legends of the world. Bulbapedia often has a brief section about the various possible origins of a pokemon's name and design. Very interesting stuff.