My thoughts on Nintendo and Pokemon Go

HI :3

As many of you know, I am a big Pokemon fan so it’s quite a disappointment to me that I’m unable to download the new app: Pokemon Go since it’s only available in the US, Australian and New Zealand App stores. However, it’s hard to miss the release of this new game because it’s been widely anticipated for quite some time now. Today, I’d like to discuss my thoughts on Pokemon Go and some of Nintendo’s decisions to join the mobile game industry.

**DISCLAIMER: These are my thoughts and opinions on these topics. They are solely based on what I have read, seen or watched. Feel free to discuss or even dispute them if you want. That way, I can view different perspectives on it.**

(Pokemon, 2016)

First of all, I’d like to state what I think are the main pros and cons of this app for the user. Pokemon Go encourages its users to go outside and travel to different areas to catch new Pokemon and meet new trainers. I think that this is a great way to get some fresh air, exercise and to socialize. Whether it’s a simple nod, starting up a small conversation or becoming friends due to the app, it really is a great way to meet new people since it’s easy to talk to them based on the shared interest of Pokemon. However, I have also seen many memes which talk about going into a forbidden/ restricted area just for the sake of catching Pokemon. While these may be just jokes for now, there could be some real instances of it. I think people still need to be aware of what’s going on in their surroundings and that can be hard if you’re trying to desperately catch a rare Pokemon or participating in a heated battle. This is a simple yet needed safety measure that people should be aware of lest they risk their lives or someone else’s.

To counter my last point, there’s also a new accessory called: Pokemon GO Plus. It’s like a wristband that vibrates when something happens in-game and connects to the device via Bluetooth. I think this is a good way to keep players connected to the game while not constantly looking at it. The bad side? You need to buy it (unlike the app, which itself is free).

Those are the summaries of the game’s pros and cons for me. Another point that I want to talk about is the choosing of factions once the player reaches level 5. So for those of you who aren’t aware, there’s: Team Valor (Red), Team Instinct (Yellow) and Team Mystic (Blue). I’ve watched YouTube videos where people talk about meeting fellow faction members and having fun. For example, one guy and his friend spent 3 hours in town to look for Pokemon and made eye contact with another player. She nodded and said “Blue” and they nodded back and said “Blue”. Then they just high- fived each other and went about their own journeys. It’s simple stories like these which I live for because they’re so ordinary yet it’s fun to experience or listen to. It’s also an example of how the app brings people together. However, I have seen a few stories about (passive aggressive) rivalry between the teams which are also equally fun to read.

A concern I do have for the game is how it affects the phone’s battery. I know that the app needs to be kept running in the background while the player travels so that notifications will be sent about finding Pokemon, etc. However, this could be really draining on the phone’s battery – I know that Apple and Android phones run out of juice pretty quickly so the game actually installed a Battery Saver feature. There’s apparently a certain way the phone has to be kept (upside down so the screen will darken) for it to be effective (8 Things Pokemon Go Doesn’t Tell You, 2016). The thing is, not many people know about this so it may disadvantage them.

Okay, now shifting my focus to Nintendo’s decision- this also counts as my opinions on how the game affects the company. The news is that the app’s release has actually increased the shares of Nintendo (Kim and Yamazaki, 2016). This is considered a good thing especially after the lesser known release of Miitomo back in March. That launch wasn’t as popular as Pokemon Go’s launch so things are working better for Nintendo now. I’m personally looking forward to downloading the game and to any more releases from the company. 

I think that’s enough talk about this today. It feels great to talk about something I’m passionate about and not have to write about just anything. Thank you for reading, you guys are awesome!

~little Purple.Mage

 

References:

• 8 Things Pokemon Go Doesn’t Tell You. (2016). YouTube: IGN.
• Kim, C. and Yamazaki, M. (2016). Nintendo shares soar as new Pokemon mobile game captures hearts. Reuters. [online] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nintendo-stocks-idUSKCN0ZO059 [Accessed 11 Jul. 2016].
• Pokemon, (2016). Pokemon GO. [image] Available at: http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-video-games/pokemon-go/ [Accessed 11 Jul. 2016].

Pokemon update: June 2nd

HI :3

It’s time for another review on the latest update of Pokemon Sun and Moon! If you haven’t seen the video yet, click here to watch it. I also did another review on the May 10 info release and you can check that out here. Once again, please keep in mind that aside from the official info that I re-stated from the video and the official Pokemon site, all the rest are my own thoughts and opinions.

1) Legendaries

Image from: Kotaku.com

Okay so the first thing that we see is new info on the legendaries of both games. The legendary for Sun is Solgaleo and is known as the “beast that devours the sun”. Its type set is Psychic/ Steel which is fitting with its reference to the sun. It has a new signature ability, Full Metal Body which can negate any stat lowering move or ability by other Pokemon in the battlefield. Solgaleo’s signature move is Sunsteel Strike which also negates its target ability while attacking with full force of a meteor.

The legendary for Moon is Lunala and is known as the “beast that calls the moon”. Its type set is Psychic/ Ghost and I think this is the first Pokemon with that specific type match-up meaning it may be hard to counter at first. It’s signature ability is Shadow Shield which lowers the damage it takes when it still has full HP. At the moment, I think that this isn’t a very good ability as it will only work at the beginning of the battle or could even be countered with (Toxic) Spikes if you decide to switch in Lunala later on. Just like Solgaleo, its signature move, Moongeist Beam negates its target’s ability when attacking with a beam of light.

Looking at the current information we have now, I think that Lunala overpowers Solgaleo in combat. On Lunala’s info page, it states that it is “constantly absorbing light and converting it into energy”. Meanwhile, Solgaleo’s page says its body “holds a vast amount of energy, and it shines with light”. I’m not sure if this is a hidden clue that Lunala is stronger than Solgaleo since the former can easily absorb any of the light energy that the latter emits. However, if that doesn’t convince you then their type match-ups should: Lunala is Psychic/ Ghost while Solgaleo is Psychic/ Steel. Ghost type attacks are super effective against Psychic types and Lunala even gets STAB when using Moongeist Beam. Additionally, their abilities cancel each other out so this could be Solgaleo’s only saving point.

2) Graphics

The next thing we see are shots of the playable trainers moving around the region. In all honesty, the graphics of the surroundings and characters just look so much more realistic than it was in ORAS and X/ Y. There are other shots in the entire video which also show how far the graphics have come, such as: closeups of buildings, fields, roads in the city.

3) Characters

Two words: character customization.

We also get officially introduced to the other main NPCs which include: Professor Kukui (I swear they get younger and younger every game), his “mysterious” assistant, Lillie and our rival/ friend, Hau. We haven’t seen any glimpses yet of the new enemy organisation for these games but there have been several rumours connecting the male’s blue/ white striped shirt to that of Team Aqua’s uniform but I don’t think it’s well supported enough since we just had ORAS.

4) Pokedex

This one is where I’m slightly confused. As most of the Pokemon community know, one of the main goals of the game is to complete the Pokedex (this is the reason why the Professor even gives you the starter in the first place). However, in this gen, the Pokedex is only considered complete once Rotom fuses with it. The video also states that it’s a “whole new way for people and Pokemon to communicate”. I’m not entirely sure what this means since it could be another way to raise friendship between trainer and Pokemon just like Pokemon- Amie. But it could just be a way of checking the level of friendship since some Pokemon require certain levels of friendship to evolve (like Buneary and Eevee to Sylveon).

And that concludes it for the June 2nd Info Release! I’m really excited for Pokemon Sun and Moon to come out on November 18, 2016 so don’t forget to mark your calendars, too!

~little Purple.Mage

Pokemon Info release!

HI :3

So this post is different from my other ones. It’s more of my thoughts on the new info and trailer that Pokemon has officially released today, May 10th. I’d just like to put it out there right now that Pokemon is one of my life- long obsessions (major fangirl!!!) so I will be posting more content like this in the future as more info is released. Also, please keep in mind that everything stated here is my own opinion and is based on what I already know about Pokemon and the typical way the games run.

Okay first of all, if you haven’t seen the new trailer yet then you better do so right now:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn25hijDL7c.

(Image from: IGN.com)

For the grass starter, I love that Rowlet is a Grass- Flying type. Grass hybrid starters aren’t that common since it’s usually the fire or water starters that have double types right from the first evolution stage. Thus, choosing Rowlet may give an early advantage by having more STAB opportunities with moves such as Peck or Leafage. I imagine that its signature move, Leafage, is like Razor Leaf but more suited to a Grass- Flying type. I also actually find it quite strange that Rowlet already has a signature move when, as far as I know, these moves are usually introduced when the Pokemon has reached its final evolution stage.

Currently, the only disadvantage I can think of due to picking Rowlet is that it has a weakness to bug and rock types now. Since these are the types that are usually pitted against the player during the early stages of the game, Rowlet may have trouble battling against them.

Moving on to the Fire starter we have the cutest little fur ball: Litten! I absolutely adore this Pokemon just based on the fact that it’s a cat (LOVE THEM) and then I heard that it’s able to shoot fiery furballs which just sold me to it. Just like all other fire starters, one of its first moves is Ember and has the ability Blaze. I’m not exactly sure what it would look like in its final Evolution stage but hopefully something like a tiger. There’s a thing that all fire starters evolve into an animal from the Chinese zodiac so Litten evolving into a tiger may not be a bad idea (also look at those stripes).

There was also a short part in the Japanese commercial of the release where the trainer held Litten up like he was praising it after a battle. I do hope that this graphic makes it to the final game release because yes, even something as seemingly small as being able to praise your Pokemon in that way after a battle makes me incredibly excited!!

Finally, we have the Water starter, Popplio. It looks like a seal Pokemon with a clown nose so maybe this could mean there’s a new performance competition in Sun and Moon. I’m not entirely sure but it would be cool to be able to perform circus tricks with it. In one part of the trailer, Popplio also had an animation where it looked proud after landing a hit which reminded me of Piplup’s attitude (they’re known for being very prideful). So this attitude could be implemented during its Pokemon- Amie animations as well.

Overall, I actually think the starters’ design are decent. Just like all the other starters, they have the typical ability of Overgrow, Blaze and Torrent. Their hidden abilities will be revealed with the game release so we have to wait until November 18, 2016 for that (mark your calendars, trainers!).

The region, Alola, is also based of Hawaii which is very opposite to Pokemon X and Y’s French inspired region. However, there still seems to be character customization and the same 3-D graphics as in X and Y which I’m also really excited for! There also seems to be new features available to trainers aside from the Pokemon Amie and Super Training, however, it could just be the new interface of a gadget similar to the PokeNav.

The official box art of both games also look really fantastic. I’m going to get Sun and my sister is getting Moon so we can still trade over any game specific Pokemon to get the full Dex. As far as I know, the name and type of the legendaries haven’t been released yet but the box art shows a majestic looking lion and a royal bat for Sun and Moon respectively. Perhaps the bat could be a Dark- Fairy or Dark- Psychic type? I’m not sure yet but I’m super excited to find out more!

Alright, those are my thoughts for the May 10th info release. I hope to do similar posts when more information comes out!

Peace out!

~little Purple.Mage