Before we begin, I want to announce a change of plans. Kind of realized my "Mega Evolution Qualification" post will be kind of long and big since we'd be dealing with 315 Pokemon (rough math, but it's still a lot). Thus I would rather get all the new stuff out of the way before I start going into other topics. With that, now that I'm done talking about all the new Pokemon & Mega Evolutions, let's talk about something involving the old non-Mega Evolved Pokemon, something which was actually announced before CoroCoro's batch of news:

Pokemon Bank:

Gen V introduced a new feature to Pokemon which wasn't contained on the cartridge: a website where you can "send" Pokemon to, or at least a dream version of themselves. Yes, I'm talking about the Pokemon Dream World and it was a pretty innovative thing for Pokemon to do. You were able to catch new Pokemon, possibly with a move it normally can't learn and Hidden Ability, find items, grow & harvest Berries, and then send all these things back to your game (and if you've done enough activities you may even level up the sleeping Pokemon). In addition to this you were able to decorate your virtual home by choosing what house you wanted, what furniture and decorations to fill it with, and let's not forget all the Pokemon plushies there was to collect! Now while you can argue with the execution and handling of the Dream World, it was still a pretty inovative thing for Pokemon to do. However, it was also a limited feature as you didn't actually send your Pokemon out of the game (though while they were dreaming you couldn't wake them up and to wake them up you had to go to the Global Link where you could do all the Dream World stuff and wake them up after or it also gave you the option to do so on the Global Link).

Let's quickly talk about space, specifically the Storage System. You can only carry 6 Pokemon with you thus whenever you catch a Pokemon with a full party they're sent to the Storage System on the PC which is located at every Pokemon Center and certain other special places (like the White Treehollow, Black Tower, Battle Subway, World Tournament, and other competitive battling places). now the Storage System can store a lot of Pokemon, each game makes sure you have enough boxes to fit every individual species of Pokemon an then some. Gen V's Storage System had the a maximum of 24 boxes which could old 720 Pokemon. However, some Pokemon don't have just one appearance, now do they? We have Pokemon who have different forms, Pokemon who have gender differences, Shiny Pokemon, and if your a competitive battler you could even have multiple of the same Pokemon yet have different strategies for each of them. While there is enough room for one individual Pokemon each, if you try to get different forms or have multiples of one with different strategies you'll find out that extra room isn't so spacious anymore.

So with Pokemon venturing into the realms of the interwebs and the need for space to put all your extra Pokemon comes a new online feature: the Pokemon Bank. Some of you may remember in Gen III and IV they sort of answered the space problem by releasing games on the home consoles that was pretty much just a storage box: Gen III had the "Pokemon Box Ruby & Sapphire" for the Gamecube which held 1,500 extra Pokemon & Gen IV had the "My Pokemon Ranch" for the Wii which held 1,000 Pokemon. Pokemon Bank is no different, though instead of being on a Nintendo Home Console it's an application for your 3DS that uses the internet to store up to 3,000 Pokemon.

We'll talk about Poke Transfer in a few, because that's where I have a small complaint...

Now before you get excited there is one catch to all this: Pokemon Bank is an ANNUAL (YEARLY) PAID SERVICE. The subscription price for Japan has already been released for Japan at 500 Yen which is $5 to us, so it's not that expensive. In addition to that, there's going to be a 30 day free trial which helps alleviate that complaint I mentioned in my caption (in fact, the 30 day free trial's could possibly be just for that issue). Also there will be the usual Storage System in the game, though one must wonder since they're introducing this feature so early if that means they might not be increasing the amount of boxes we had in Gen V so that we may not have room for every individual species of Pokemon...

But enough of the speculation, let's get to some of the features which Pokemon Bank is boasting about:

Personal Application: Since the Pokemon Bank is an application for your 3DS, you can connect multiple versions to your Pokemon Bank so that those games can withdraw any Pokemon in the bank. To do this all you need to do is insert your cartridge (or you can skip this step if you have the digital version) and access the Pokemon Bank application. Also, if you were to ever lose one of your games, you could still withdraw Pokemon originally from those games you had in the Pokemon Bank to your other games!

This person is either disorderly or has an odd sense of which Pokemon should evolve and which shouldn't...

Moving Many Pokemon Around: With Pokemon Bank you don't need two 3DS's to transfer your own Pokemon to another copy of your game one at a time, sometimes even needing to catch "trade fodder" Pokemon. All you need to do is deposit the Pokemon you want from one game into the Pokemon Bank, switch games, and withdraw all those Pokemon. No trading required! And to make things even easier, Pokemon Bank has many search functions so that you can find a specific Pokemon you're looking for without having to search through many boxes and keeping a sharp eye out for its menu sprite.

Relaxed Ampharos? Brave Magnazone? No wonder why they're deposited out of the game...

Pokemon Bank Final Thoughts & Opinions: I really like this idea, even though I probably won't be using it. The service is cheap and yearly, you're given plenty of room to do pretty much whatever you want (well, except maybe trying to catch every single variation of Spinda), you can easily transfer Pokemon between games without needing a second 3DS, and when you want to search for a specific Pokemon it has search features to help. And though they don't mention it, I guess it goes without saying that if you don't pay you'll be locked out from the Pokemon you had deposited until you payed again. Now I doubt it'll have any of the bonus stuff that "Pokemon Box Ruby & Sapphire" and "My Pokemon Ranch" had with being awarded special Pokemon for getting a certain number of Pokemon, but you're mostly getting this mostly to store Pokemon so it's not that big of a loss. However with the good comes the bad:

Poke Transporter:

When you download the Pokemon Bank application, another application also downloads along with it: Poke Transporter. What's Poke Transporter? Why it's the way you transfer your Gen V Pokemon over to Gen VI games! How it works is that you insert your Black, White, Black 2, and/or White 2 cartridge into your 3DS, open the Poke Transporter application, and it'll transfer Pokemon you select from your Gen V games into a Pokemon Bank box. Now it goes without saying that this is a one-way street, Pokemon removed from your Gen V games cannot be put back so if there is any Pokemon you may want to keep in those games you may want to make sure that when transfer time comes you don't accidentally select it. Once all the Pokemon are moved to a Pokemon Bank box, obviously to move them into your Gen VI game just insert that Gen VI cartridge (step not needed if you have a digital copy) and transfer them over (or you could keep them in their Pokemon Bank box if you want).
HOWEVER not all Pokemon will be able to be transferred over. Pokemon created illegally from devices not authorized by the Pokemon Company will not be able to be transferred over.

Yeah, that pretty explains the main Pokemon you want to transfer over: Legendaries. Legendaries up the wazoo!

Poke Transporter Final Thoughts & Opinions: *sits down and sighs* Okay, if this was just an OPTION to transfer your Pokemon I wouldn't go on the rant I'm about to go on. If you couldn't tell, in order to use Poke Transfer you need to use Pokemon Bank. This presents somethings which not only bug me but some potential problems which recently came up concerning Pokemon's internet interaction with the games.
In previous games, the way to transfer Pokemon was within the game itself: you went to someplace, accessible only post game, and did something either involving a feature of the handheld or needed two handhelds. In Gen IV, you used the GBA slot on the original DS or DS Lite to send Pokemon from your Gen III games to the Pal Park. In Gen V, you needed two DSs so that you can send your Gen IV over to the Poke Transfer. While both methods had their annoyances needing you to play a mini-game to re-catch your Pokemon, both methods still were in-game and just requires the handheld system. Oh, and it was free.
"Really? That's you're problem? It's only 5 dollars! Heck, we're being given a 30 day free trial!". Yes, I know it's only 5 bucks. Yes, I know we're going to have a 30 day free trial which I'll be using to transfer all my Pokemon. While I do have bigger issues I'm going to address, let me give you these scenarios:

1. As I said, I'm probably not going to use the Pokemon Bank. The Storage System in-game has always sufficed me and I'm sure this is also true for many other people. Let's say one day I get a bit nostalgic and start playing my Gen V game, maybe even started a whole new game since any important Pokemon I had on there I transferred over. So I'm playing, and suddenly it happens, I encounter a Shiny Pokemon! Well, obviously I want to transfer over this new Pokemon. But wait! My 30 day free trial is over. Now, if I want to transfer this Shiny Pokemon, I'm going to have to pay 5 bucks for a service I'm not going to even use! Yes, Gen V required you needing another DS though by the time of Black & White's release the 3DS was around the corner so, even if you didn't have friends or a family member with another DS, you knew at some point you were going to get a 3DS since it was only a matter of time before they released the next main series game on it. In the ends, if I ever get a Pokemon I want to transfer over after my 30 day free trial, I'm going to have to pay for a service I don't want or will be using.

2. Also, how long will this 30 day free trial offer last? I'm going to assume as long as they're offering it it'll only start your 30 days when you activate it, but who's to say they'll always have this offer? What if the offer is only available for say a year? Let's imagine that the time has come they have removed the offer and there's this person who just got into Pokemon but decided to play their way up through the main series game. Up to this point they've had no problem transferring the Pokemon they got from one generation to another and now they've caught up, played Gen VI, and want to transfer their Pokemon over. However the free trial is over, and like me they're not going to use Pokemon Bank. They're going to have to pay 5 bucks to transfer Pokemon THEY ALREADY HAVE! Now the example I supplied above, I made a choice to play the old game knowing that my free trial is over thus any Pokemon I got was either going to stay in the Gen V game or I'd have to pay 5 bucks. That was a choice I made. However this late comer probably didn't know that, and now they need to pay 5 bucks to do something that in previous generations was free for THEIR OWN POKEMON. They bought the game, they caught the Pokemon, the Pokemon is theirs and now they're being told "Oh, you want to transfer your Pokemon over huh? Pay me 5 bucks!". Heck, this doesn't even need to be a newcomer, maybe someone was just late buying Gen VI or was waiting for a reason to buy it.
Now, if the 30 day free trial will always exist then this really won't be a problem, however as we saw with the Dream World that's not a certainty we can count on.

Speaking of that, let's talk about a potential problem with having the transfer being a service over the internet instead of something in-game. As you all know, this December the Dream World, at least for the Gen V games, will be no more. They're updating the Global Link and have decided that they're removing the Dream World since they don't want to support an older generation feature. I told you my problems with that, how this was VERY poor planning on their part as they are essentially taking away a feature and advertising point of the Gen V games. Staying on topic, what if when Gen VII comes they decide "okay, time to update Pokemon Bank & Poke Transporter. It'll be easier to maintain it if we remove the Gen V compatibility and focus on Gen VI to Gen VII transfer". At least with Poke Park and Poke Transfer as long as you have the required handhelds you can transfer Pokemon to the next generation at any time (and before you mention it, sure the original DS & DS Lite are no longer in production, how there are so many of them it'll be DECADES before it becomes difficult to find one). However, because the Pokemon Bank is an online feature, they can easily change how it works and either for convenience or a business decision, when Gen VII comes by there's nothing stopping them from removing Gen V compatibility.

Finally, why does the Poke Transfer even require Pokemon Bank? Not to say it shouldn't be connected, if you're using Pokemon Bank then by all means give us the OPTION to transfer our Pokemon into it. However, if we're not using the Pokemon Bank, why not just have the Poke Transporter have the capability of storing a single box of Pokemon? The 3DS HAS MEMORY, it uses SD CARDS! Are you serious telling me you can't program it so that the Poke Transfer, if not connected to the Pokemon Bank, has it so you can only store one box of Pokemon before needing to go to your Gen VI game to fully transfer them?

In the end I don't like this. Being able to transfer YOU OWN POKEMON should be a free thing and at most you're being limited by the hardware. Now, if you're truly only stuck with one 3DS and your free trial is over, you probably won't mind having to pay 5 bucks instead of the spending money to buying another DS system. However that should be an OPTION and not the only choice! And as I pointed out, why do we even NEED them connected? Why can't the Poke Transporter store some Pokemon, the 3DS if full capable of doing that so why are your purposely limiting it (besides to make money, which is a rather sleazy excuse)!

As one final note, I have to wonder how they'll be able to tell a legitimate Pokemon from a "fake" Pokemon? A good "fake" Pokemon is made so that it's technically POSSIBLE to train a Pokemon to be like it, so they can't really use anything that can be physically seen to detect "fake" Pokemon. For example, if they use a "move detector" then they're going to have to make sure to include all the special Pokemon since Gen III that were given moves they can't normally learn. I'm not saying it's impossible to do this because I don't know how the programming works, but at the same time I can also see the potential to mess up and lock out legitimate Pokemon (mostly Event and Dream World Pokemon).

NEW TYPE CHART:

With the introduction of Fairy-type also comes some types getting a new weakness, some types get a new resistance, some types get something new to be "super effective" to, and some types get something which resists (or even is immune to) them. However, that's not all that has changed. A small change has been made making two types now deal neutral damage to a type which once resisted them, and status afflictions may not be working on certain types anymore. But don't take my word for it, take the word of the type chart the official XY website posted:

Click on it to see a bigger version... though now thinking about, I'll just explain the new changes. FIRST THE FAIRY-TYPE!

Fairy-types Are:
Weak To: Poison, Steel
Resistant To: Fighting, Bug, Dark
Immune To: Dragon
Fairy-type Moves Are:
Super Effective To: Fighting, Dragon, Dark
Aren't Very Effective To: Fire, Poison, Steel
Thought/Opinions:
Game Freak has not only given a GIANT middle finger to Dragon-types, but also normal size one to Fighting and Dark (and a small one to Bug):
Fairy > Dragon: It's been said the major and possibly only reason for Fairy-type's creation was because Dragon-types were starting to be overpowered. It's kind of funny how originally that was the purpose of Dragon-types, the original Dragon-type only being restrained to the Dratini Family and the next gen only introduced Kingdra to the fold. However as more gens were added more and more Dragon-types started appearing, including Legendaries (mostly being version mascots for 2 generations straight!). Obviously the original intention for the Dragon-types being purposely overpowered but scarce was no more since they aren't so scarce anymore... but they are still overpowered. So giving them a new weakness was kind of obvious (their only other weakness was to itself and Ice-types), but I wasn't expecting Fairy-types also being IMMUNE to Dragon-types, at most I was expecting them to simply resist it! Imagine, Jigglypuff can take and laugh off a Draco Meteor or an Outrage from Kyurem White or Kyurem Black, respectively!
Look at the current list of Dragon-types right now, there are a few Dragons who only need to slightly adapt. Dialga is part Steel-type so it not only receives neutral damage from Fairy it also now has a reason to use Flash Cannon (unless they come up with a stronger Special Steel-type move). Next is Not Charizard Reshiram who also only receives neutral damage from Fairy. Searching through move pools I find that many Dragon-types with high Attack do learn one or two Steel-type moves (usually Iron Tail, sometimes Iron Head, & if they have wings then sometimes Steel Wing), though not many with high Special Attack learn a Special Steel-type move (also in a twisted sense of humor, the Physical-based Zekrom can learn Flash Cannon but not the Special-based Reshiram. Sadly Reshiram doesn't learn any Physical Steel-types to complete the circle, but neither can Zekrom). Also only a VERY few Dragon-types can learn a Poison-type move that isn't Toxic, but even then it's only Poison Jab. However, let's address the Dragon-type hit the hardest by this reveal: Hydreigon, who's quadruple weak to Fairy and it's other STAB is resisted! And it wasn't even like Game Freak was hiding it, Hydreigon was the poster dragon falling to Sylveon!

Clever Game Freak, hiding a hint in plain sight! Might as well use this as a segue to...

Fairy > Dark: We'll talk about reasoning for these type match-ups later, but I think the reason for Fairy-type being strong against Dark-type is more of a logic reason then a balancing reason. It's funny how Fairy's interaction with other types largely includes Dark and Steel, two types which were introduced to balance out the game way back in the days of Gen II when Psychic-types were overpowered and everywhere. However, unlike the defensive behemoth Steel-types became, Dark-types was more useful being a move type then a Pokemon type. That's not saying there aren't any good Dark-types, but I don't think it's a stretch to say you're more likely Dark-type moves like Crunch, Dark Pulse, and Sucker Punch to Dark-type Pokemon since those are mostly used as auxiliary moves to deal with Psychic- an Ghost-types. The reason for this is because of Dark-type's weakness to Fighting-types, and now a weakness to Fairy-types might even push their presence further back. Honeslty, Dark-types sort of needed a boon than a nerf, but as I said I think this decision was more logic base than balance base.
Looking at the Dark-types, the BIGGEST ones effected by this would be Sableye and Spiritomb. The Pokemon who were once famous for not having a weakness to any types due to their Ghost/Dark-type pairing now have a single weakness to Fairy-types (maybe a Fairy-type immunity Ability is in order for them? The Tynamo family showed us that you type match-up isn't the only way to have no weaknesses). Actually, according to the new type chart, now no type combination will result in a Pokemon with no weaknesses (however plenty with only a single weakness). The Houndour family, Stunky family, Drapion, and Pawniard family only receives neutral damage from Fairy-types, and all but the Houndour family have their other type super effective against Fairy-types. Plus many Dark-types unsurprisingly learn Poison-type moves, like Poison Jab or Sludge Bomb, and sometimes Steel-type moves (mostly Physical). However its not the Deino family which now has a Fairy quadruple weakness, as the Scraggy family (and the newcomer Pangoro) also now has it as well being part Fighting-type.

Hmm, now we only need a Dragon/Fighting to complete the Pokemon who has a Fairy-type quadruple weakness. Speaking of which:

Fairy > Fighting: Didn't see this coming, though being Fairy-types were brought in to help balance the game then maybe we should have. If it's not Dragon-types which were overpowered, it was also a bit of the Fighting-types. Fighting-types usually have very high Attack attacks (what a shock) which are also accompanied by powerful Fighting-type attacks like Close Combat, Superpower, Hammer Arm, and sometimes Jump Kick and Hi Jump Kick. Because of this combo, many Fighting-types are seen as wall breakers simply because they can just overpower it. They're suppose be kept in-check by Psychic- and Flying-types, however both types are frail plus Psychic-types fear common used Dark-type moves while Flying-types are weak to Rock-types thus Stealth Rock. And even if the Pokemon isn't a Fighting-type, a Fighting-type move alone can be rather useful, especially if you're trying to get through an annoying Chansey or Blissey. Like Dragon-types, Fariy-types being strong against Fighting-types is possibly for balancing issues.
Fighting-type Pokemon time: Lucario, Torchic's evolutions, Chimchar's evolutions, Tepig's evolutions, the Croagunk family, and Cobalion receive neutral damage from Fairy-types with the ones which aren't part Fire-types having a STAB that is super effective. Heracross though now suffers with both of its STABs being resisted by Fairy-types. Many Fighting-types learn Poison Jab so they have that at least to fight off the Fairy-types, and some very lucky ones get Bullet Punch to assure they hit first.

To further kick Heracross while it's down, the only offensive move it has that is super effective against Fairy-types is Venoshock, a Special Poison-type move that's not so powerful (unless the opponent is Poisoned) and Heracross's Special Attack is pathetic. While they may not be weak to Fairy-types, it's still not a good day to be a Bug-type.

Fairy > Bug: I have NO idea why Fairy resists Bug. My only reason is a logical reason... BUT that logical reason should also include Grass-types (we'll also be going over types I'm surprised don't have any interaction with Fairy). Balance-wise Bug-types aren't seen that often due to a Rock-type weakness (please nerf Stealth Rock...) and Bug-type moves aren't widespread like how Dark-type moves are (Bug-types have X-Scissor, Megahorn, and Bug Buzz, but those are mainly kept with Bug-type Pokemon with some slashing Pokemon getting X-Scissor and horned Pokemon getting Megahorn. Signal Beam and U-Turn are widely spread but they aren't so powerful and only seen to fill a rare niche here and there). Like Dark-types, I personally think Bug-types needed a boon instead of a nerf.
As for Bug-type Pokemon, Heracross is the only one that's getting a Fairy-type weakness. Yeah, while I'm not surprised there isn't a Dragon/Bug (Vibrava and Flygon were SO close), I am surprised there has never been a Bug/Dark! Closest there would be Drapion who starts out as a Bug/Poison Skorupi, but then drops the Bug-type for a Dark-type (apparently it was more poisonous then bug-like *shrugs*). Anyway, the Weedle family, Venonat family, Spinarak family, Forretress, Scizor, Dustox, Trash Cloak Wormadam, Venipede family, Escavalier, Durant, Genesect, and Skorupi can rely on their other type to do super effective damage against Fairy-types (and, along with the Larvesta family, are resistant to Fairy-type attacks). As for the other Bug-types, well if any of them are used (and survive Stealth Rock) they'll just have to deal with doing neutral damage or switching out since not a lot of them learn Poison- or Steel-type moves.

Look who's dropping of it's Bug-type heritage came back to bite it... or whatever Fairies do...

This post is kind of getting long, but we still have a LOT more to talk about, so I'm going to cut this post here and continue in the next!

We continue looking at the Fairy-type's matchups. We've gone through the Pokemon which Fairy-types had an advantage over, but now we're flipping the table to see what the Fairy-types fear. And the big winners here are Poison- and Steel-types, with Fire-types also winning in its own way:
Poison > Fairy: Most notable change here is Poison being both super effective and resistant to Faerie. Like Dragon- and Fighting-types, this a balance decision and one which Poison-types have been waiting for a LONG time for. For you see, it's not easy being a Poison-type. Before Gen VI, they were only super effective against Grass-types; resisted by itself, Ghost-, Ground-, and Rock-types; and was weak to Ground- and Poison-types. Sure they were resistant to itself, Fighting-, Grass-, and Bug-types; but what mainly hurt it was only being super effective against Grass-types, which are rarely seen due to their huge list of weaknesses, and weakness to Ground-types, aka Earthquake. In addition, there were only a few good Poison-type moves but sadly many of the times there were better choices because, well, Poison is only super effective against the rarely used Grass-types. The most of a Poison-type thing you see used was either a Pokemon which just so happened to be part Poison-type (though make no mistake, they were mainly being used for their other type) or the move Toxic which had a high chance of Badly Poisoning the opponent. If you were a pure Poison-type, things weren't looking up for you. But then came the Fairy type who, while they stood over Dragon-types like a knight in shining armor, had a very bad reaction to them. The Poison-types now have a chance to RISE!
There's no Poison/Steel or Poison/Fire Pokemon to make Fairy-types run away screaming, but as I pointed above a few Pokemon that Fairy-types are strong against are part Poison-type making them neutral to Fairy-type attacks and giving them a STAB to hit them. I've mentioned all of them above, though now I'll pick out a few which stand out. Toxicroak is part Fighting-type and, like many Fighting-types, had the Attack stat to be a wall breaker. Though it doesn't have great speed and right now is only mainly used on Rain Teams due to having the Ability Dry Skin, with Fairy-types possibly causing a re-arranging of what Fighting-types to use it could take a position of being able to break walls AND shoo away Fairy-types. Scolipede right now has a position of being a very fast and laying out Spikes and Toxic Spikes, but that Speed and decent Attack stat could make it just as useful on knocking out Fairy-types. Of course, these are only the Pokemon which are neutral to Fairy-types, what about other Poison-types which can not only do super effective damage but also are resistant to Fairy-types (thus useful for a switch in)? Now you have your obvious candidates like Venusaur, Gengar, Crobat, Tentacruel, and Roserade, but what about pure Poison-types? Let's see... um... err... hmm... well Weezing could see an increase as a physical wall as well as a decent Special Attack. Then there's... there's... okay, maybe this isn't exactly a boon for pure Poison-types but at least they now have another type to hit super effectively and resist if you decide to use them.

Smogon is probably happy their mascot may now have a bigger presence in Little Cup.

Steel > Fairy: The behemoths of defense not only gain another type to resist (though they didn't break even here...), but they also got type to be super effective against! Like Dark-types, Steel-types are here more for logical reasons than balance (however, said same logical reasoning may have resulted a negative thing happening to Steel-types). Like Dark-types, Steel-types were brought in to nerf Psychic-types, but were also introduced as a very defensive type having 11 resistances at the time (and Fairy-type now bumps that number... TO 10! *DUN DUN DUN*). In addition to resisting Psychic-types, at the time they were the only type to resist Dragon-types (and they actually still do since Fairy-type is immune to Dragon-type) plus resisting other types like Dark-, Ghost-, Ice-, Bug-, Rock-types, and even themselves. They did have some common weaknesses like Ground- and Fighting-types plus another to Fire-types but they usually had the Defense and Special Defense to back up their girth. However Steel-types were never an attacking type, only being super effective against Ice- and Rock-types and resisted by Fire-, Electric-, and Water-type (and themselves). But with Fairy-types now being weak to them, maybe we'll start seeing more Steel-types being offensive and/or offensive Steel-type moves.
Like I mentioned with Poison, some Pokemon that are part of the types which Fairy-type is strong against were part Steel-type thus are neutral to Fairy-type attacks. Notable Pokemon include Dialga, Cobalion, Lucario, and Bisharp. Not to mention all the Bug/Steel-types which may not do much with their Bug-type STAB but can still resist Fairy-types and have another STAB to use. Such Pokemon are Scizor, Forretress, Durant, and Genesect. Finally we have the other Steel-types with obvious ones like Registeel, Metagross, Jirachi, Bronzong, Magnezone, Probopass, Empoleon, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn. Oh, let's not forget Heatran who is Fire/Steel so it's the only Pokemon that's quadruple resistant to Fairy-types! And how can I not mention Mawile, who gained said Fairy-type becoming Steel/Fairy so though it's not going to make a dent against other Steel-types with its STABS (including against itself), it still has all its Steel-type resistances meaning it's immune to Poison in addition to Dragon (and may we not forget it's getting a Mega Evolution)! Other then that there isn't really anyone else to mention. I guess I can point out that Klinklang could get some more use with its decent Speed and good Attack (plus its signature moves), but other Steel-types are a bit too slow thus can possibly be worked around.

They couldn't cut out the extra white space?... Oh, um, here's Heatran, he's Fire/Steel, we just got done talking about Steel, so we're now talking about FIRE:

Fire > Fairy: Fire-type is in the same yet opposite position as Bug-type. For some reason, it resists Fairy-type yet is not super effective against it (like how Fairy-type is to Bug-type). And my explanation for it which I'll tell you later is similar to my Bug-type reason... which will further make you wonder why Fairy-types don't resist Grass-types. Being Fire-types are my favorite type I won't reject it, Fire-types are one of the sad few types weak to Rock-types (CURSE YOU STEALTH ROCK!) so any boon is nice, but it just seems randomly thrown in there.
Let's just move on to the Fire-type Pokemon. As above, some Pokemon who are part types weak to Fairy-type instead become neutral to it because they are also part Fire-type. Notable ones are the Fire/Fighting starters (including Blaziken and Infernape), Houndoom, Reshiram, and... oh wait, that's all of them (aside from Houndoom's pre-evolution, Houndour). Okay, how about the Bug/Fire-types that now can say they resist Fairy-types like Volcarona and... Volcarona and its pre-evolution Larvesta was the only one! Don't need to mention Heatran since I did for Steel-types and there's no Fire/Poison Pokemon. Guess I'll talk about how being resistant to Fairy-type will help the defensive Fire-typeHAHAHAHA! Sorry, sorry, it's just that "defensive" and "Fire-types" go together as much as "peanut butter" and "sardines". I think I'm just going to move on, all you need to know is that Fire-types are resistant to Fairy-types.

But... we LIKE peanut butter and sardines! T_T

Well it's getting later were I am, so I'll just continue the type chart conversation tomorrow. So NEXT TIME:

What's the in-game logic of the Fairy-type matchups? Why did Steel-types drop from 11 resistances to 10 despite gaining a new resistance? And how many exceptions of the rules can there be? Found out NEXT TIME!

We continue looking at the Fairy-type's type match-ups by now thinking a bit logically. What do I mean by that? Well every type match-up has to have a reason as to why a certain type is weak, resistant, or immune to another. Fire is weak to Water because water is used to put out fire. Steel resists so many types because it's very hard to damage a sturdy piece of metal without using something to first weaken it. Normal and Ghost are immune to each other because normal represent the living/plain world and ghost represent the dead/supernatural world and both worlds do not co-exist. Now if that last one sounded like a stretch to you, get used to it, because while many type match-ups do have "real world" logic to them, sometimes match-ups are a bit weird and you need to come up with an odd explanation as to why, sometimes having to stretch the suspension of disbelief. Now we know from a game angle that those odd type match-ups are for balance reason, but there still has to be a little bit of logic behind it. So with that all said, let's try to figure out the logical reason's for Fairy-types match-ups:

Fairy > Dragon: In many tales about dragons there is usually only a very few ways to hurt them. One way is by using a dragon's claw or tooth since only a dragon can hurt a dragon. But many times magic is also one way to hurt dragons as they are mythical creature thus susceptible to the same powers which they use. Fairy-type is heavily implied to be a magic-type, thus why Fairy-type was chosen to be the new type since it was made to counter Dragon. As for why Fairy-types are immune to Dragon-types, well, a magic that is powerful enough to injure a dragon is also probably able to block a dragon's attempts to attack. Obviously a fairies magic is stronger than any magic the dragon may know, and faeries are not easily touched creatures so slashing and/or biting them is out of the question. With both dragon's way of attacking nullified, dragons can't touch faeries making Fairy-types immune to Dragon-types.
"But wait, if the reason is because of magic, why not just make the new type 'Magic-type' instead of Fairy-type?". Well, I guess Game Freak felt that "magic" might have been too broad of a word since you can argue that a creature which can spit fire, can attack with their mind, channel electricity, or be a ghost or a dragon can also constitute to being magical. However a "fairy" is a specific kind of creature, ones which are linked to having their own kind of magic which is different from other mythical or supernatural creature's magic.
Fairy > Dark: In addition to being magical, Fairy is also the closest thing we're probably ever going to get to a "Light- or Holy-type". Remember, "Dark" does not mean darkness of the night (Umbreon and Darkrai being exceptions that prove the rule), but rather "dark behavior and attitudes". It's probably easier to understand if you know that in Japan, Dark-type is actually called "Evil-type". Dark-types often fight dirty, cheat, play tricks, and generally don't play by the rules. Because "good triumphs evil", the Fairy-type represent the "good" in this scenario. Thus Fairy-types are able to not only be super effective against Dark-types, but also resist them by not stooping down to their level.
Well, at least not stooping down so much that they're considered cheating. Another interpretation is that in many stories faeries are expert trickster who just love messing with mortals. They're not going to fall for the simple and obvious tricks the Dark-types do, no, they'll not only see said tricks coming (maybe not be able to ignore them, though they'll see them coming thus be prepared to escape) but pull some tricks of their own which are better and unpredictable.
Fairy > Fighting: As I mentioned with the Dragon-types, it's not that easy to touch a fairy. Their mystical beings with strange powers, infact, you probably don't want to touch them because who knows what those strange powers may do. Of course that's not really an option for a Fighting-type who's form of combat rely of hand-to-hand combat or sending out blasts of ki energy. Though unlike dragons who fight like a savage beast when slashing and/or biting thus are easily avoidable, Fighting-types are strategic battlers so they'll at least be able to hit the Fairy-types, it's just that strange powers may not make pure physical force or ki energy be that harmful. And if Psychic-types can overpower a Fighting-type by messing with their minds and making them lose focus, surely unknown magic can do the same by making them feel strange or maybe even by dazzling them (or being their tricks are more refined than Dark-types, Fighting-types more easily fall for Fairy-type tricks).
Fairy > Bug: Fairies are beings of nature as much as they are beings of magic and live in the forest and woods, thus the other common resident of forest and woods, bugs, don't exactly bother them. They live with them and know how they think and act, though they live together peacefully so a fairy would never hurt a bug purposely unless commanded.
Poison > Fairy: Being beings of nature, they are very susceptible to pollution. Alternatively or in addition to, they draw their powers from the forests and woods they live in thus if pollution damages an poisons their home they lose power and become weaker thus are not able to fight back and possibly get so weak they become sick.
Steel > Fairy: An old weakness of faeries is said to be cold iron. Iron apparently is a magic dampener and is poisonous to faeries.
Fire > Fairy: Like with poison, fire destroys the forest and woods which faeries live in and draw power from, thus they become weaker. However, fire is a natural force (there are such things as natural forest fires, usually caused by lightning during a thunderstorm or by heat on hot, dry days) so faeries might lose power from the destruction of their home but they don't become weak or sick.

And that's my explanation to why the Fairy-type match-ups are as they are. Of course, as I wrote this, I also mentioned things which may have fit with other types and make you wonder why they don't have some sort of type match-up with Fairy-types other than neutral both ways? Let's look at those types:

Forces of Nature: Grass, Water, Ground, & Rock: So when I talked about Fairy-type's resistance to Bug-types I said it was because faeries are being of nature thus have lived alongside bugs to know how they act and think. I also mentioned in Poison-type's and Fire-type's advantage over Fairy-types that faeries draw their power from the forest and woods they live in. However, despite this connection with nature they don't have any relation with other forces of nature like Grass, Water, Ground, & Rock. Should they not resist these types like they do with Bug-types and maybe even be strong against them since they draw their power from them? Well, aside Grass-types not needing anymore weakness and things which resist them, I guess the reason that Fairy-types don't have type match-ups with these forces of nature is because, to faeries, they're just the environment. Bugs are sentient (not the same has human sentience, but a form of sentience nonetheless) who move around and are actively trying to live, thus faeries need to adjust to them as not to cause conflict. However plants, while living, aren't sentient and moving around. Water either stays in one spot or is flowing in a direction. The ground and rocks ain't moving anywhere on their own. Why would fairies be resistant or even super effective to something that doesn't move? Do you make sure you're ready to resist a chair or table whenever you walk pass one in case they jump at you? Of course not because they're not going to. Same with the nature forces to faeries. "But this is Pokemon, said forces of nature CAN get up and attack you!". Well let me ask you this, because it's possible that someone can lift up a chair or table and use it as a weapon, does that make you any more resistant to them? No, because it's not the object itself attacking you but someone USING them to attack you. Same with faeries. POKEMON who are the types of the forces of nature are attacking the faeries with attacks of their force of nature, the force of nature is just being used as a weapon. So there, faeries don't resist or are super effective against the forces of nature because they aren't threatened by them.
Supernatural Forces: Ghost & Psychic: With Fairy-types having match-ups with Dark, Fighting, & Bug and being magical, makes you wonder why they don't have match-ups with the two types that are supernatural: Ghost & Psychic? Well I think the reason they and those types are neutral to one another is not because they aren't related but rather they are on equal terms. Starting with Ghost-types, you'd think with all my "magical" and "strange powers" talk that Fairy-types will have some conflict with Ghost-types. Thinking about it, it's not that these types don't match-up, but rather they do so in a neutral way. Let me explain by using the types which Fairy-type does have a match-up with. To Fighting-type, Fairy-types seem to be somewhere between Normal-types (which they are super effective against) and Ghost-types (which are immune to them). A Fighting-type can hit them a Fairy-type as they can do a Normal-type, but Fairy-types are supernatural like Ghost-types that it doesn't really effect them. Switching over to Dark-types, to them Ghost-types are similar to them in the way they fight (using tricks and playing mind games) so they know what to expect from them and go further beyond to win (cheat). However they can't do that with Fairy-types because they are good/much too good tricksters to fall for Dark-type tricks. Yet Ghost-types aren't evil or bad, just mischievous, so using the "good-triumphs-evil" analogy, Ghost-types and Fairy-types come off neutral since there is no evil to be triumphed. Using the "trickster" angle, a Fairy-type might fall for a Ghost-type's trick of mind game because their tricks and mind games involve scaring and startling, not trying to pull one over your opponent like with Dark-types, however Ghost-types still fall for a Fairy-type's trick though probably not as badly as Dark-types since the Fairy-types aren't trying to out-trick them. In the end, while Fairy-types and Ghost-types are similar they are just different enough that they both come off as equals, thus neutral to each other.
But what about Psychic-types? I talked about how the Fairy-types strange powers affect the Fighting-types negatively, why can't that also work for Fairy-types? Well it probably does, it's just that the Psychic-types see it coming (they just can't do anything about it except brace themselves which is where the neutralizing comes from). Using Dark-types once more, a reason why Dark-types are super effective against Psychic-types is because Psychic-types aren't able to read a Dark-types mind because it's filled with so many dark and nasty thoughts they either can't get a read or are terrified to. As for Dark-types being immune to Psychic-types, to be a good cheater you need to have a lot of nerve and willpower so, combined with Psychic-types not wanting to read their thoughts, Psychic-type's can take control of a Dark-type's body. Now the reason why Fairy-types are super effective and resistant to Dark-types is because they are good while Dark-type are evil/Fairy-types are better tricksters. However, like Ghost-types, Psychic-types are not evil and a Fairy-types mind isn't filled with horrible thoughts so the Psychic-type is able to read a Fairy-types mind, however that strange magic is probably too foreign for Psychic-types to understand. So in the end, the reason Fairy-types and Psychic-types are neutral is because both have an advantage over another which neither side can't negate (at least without being another type).

And with that I think we're done with the Fairy-types. We found out their type match-ups, theorizes how it'll change how the game is played, went through why the match-ups the way they were, and looked over types that you'd think would have a non-neutral match-ups. But we're not done yet, as the Fairy-type match-ups aren't the only changes being made to the type chart. Game Freak must have taken a look at the Fairy-type match-ups and saw that Steel-types were coming off pretty good, and then thought that maybe Steel-types were getting a bit TOO good. They decided to look over the Steel-type match-ups and decided that there were two which didn't make sense. However it's getting late for me once again so sadly I have to once again wait till tomorrow to finish our type discussion (hopefully). Seeya then!

I think we can all expect to see Dark/Fairy, Dragon/Fairy typesin this gen, it would be a waste not too although ideas for future gens

So the new fossil evos have been revealed. They both look pretty good, but the non-T-rex one has Freeze Dry, which is an Ice type move that's super effective against Water. Wonder if they'll make more moves that get around the type chart.

Original Steel-type Match-Ups (Gen II - Gen V):
Steel-types Are:
Weak To: Fighting, Fire, Ground
Resistant To: Bug, Dark, Dragon, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Normal, Psychic, Rock, Steel
Immune To: Poison
Steel-type Moves Are:
Super Effective To: Ice, Rock
Aren't Very Effective To: Electric, Fire, Steel, Water

Changes Done:
1. Steel = Ghost: Ghost-type moves now does neutral damage to Steel-types.
2. Steel = Dark: Dark-type moves now does neutral damage to Steel-types.

New Steel-type Match-Ups (Gen VI):
Steel-types Are:
Weak To: Fighting, Fire, Ground
Resistant To: Bug, Dragon, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Psychic, Rock, Steel, Fairy
Immune To: Poison
Steel-type Moves Are:
Super Effective To: Ice, Rock, Fairy
Aren't Very Effective To: Electric, Fire, Steel, Water

Thoughts/Opinions:
Thinking about it, these changes make sense. I mentioned Steel-types have so many resistances because its hard to damage a sturdy piece of metal without weakening it. Bug-type's can't bite, noises, and powders/dusts can't get through. It'll take a while before a savage dragon breaks through wildly attacking. It's too heavy to be blown away at by Flying-types. Grass-types have nothing to grow seeds on or stick powder to where it could react. Ice-types moves are too fragile and shatter upon impact. Normal-types are no better off than the Bug-types with their bites and slashes. Psychic-types have the same problem as Flying-types with it being too heavy to lift. Rock-types, while not as fragile as Ice-types, will still crumble before it makes a dent. Steel-type on Steel-type may make scratches but not break through. And Fairy-types have their magic powers weakened by metal because of lore. But what about Dark- and Ghost-types?
For Dark-types, I'm guessing this change is more for balance than logic. Dark-types got a new weakness and a type that they aren't super effective against. As I said, Dark-types presence wasn't usually a Dark-type Pokemon but rather a Dark-type move due to all the Fighting-types, so this new disadvantage is hurting them a lot. And let's not forget that Ghost-types hit the same types for super effective damage as Dark-types, so Dark-types were already competing to stay in the game. So to make up for this new disadvantage out of nowhere they decided to get rid of Steel-types resistance to Dark-types. Logically, I guess you can say that it doesn't matter if you're made of Steel, you can still be tricked. Following the logic route, Steel-types resistance to Ghost-types has been lifted probably because of a similar logical reason: doesn't matter if you're made of Steel, a Ghost-type can still phase through you. Now you maybe thinking that being Ghost-types are getting the same treatment as Dark-types that it still means Dark-types are getting the short end of the stick. Before we decide that, let's look how'll this might affect some Steel-type Pokemon.
First off, the Beldum family, Jirachi, the Bronzor family, & newcomer Honedge now will be weak to Ghost- and Dark-type attacks. Meanwhile Cobalion, Lucario, & the Pawniard family still resist Dark-types but only by half, and the Pawniard family also still resist Ghost-types but only by half. Notice the Pawniard family here. If you haven't guessed yet, Dark-types are now the only type which resists Ghost-types. Now while this doesn't exactly mean Dark-types are going to become some kind of "Ghostbusters" (Normal-types are still best for that), this does mean Dark-type moves are possibly still in the game such as Crunch and Dark Pulse (maybe also Night Daze, Sucker Punch, Night Slash, and Pursuit). However Ghost-types overall still come out on top. Unfortunately for Dark-types, they still got a new weakness and type which resists them on top of being weak to Fighting- and Bug-types. Meanwhile Fairy-type has nothing to do with Ghost-types so Ghost-types are still relatively playing the same (though may now have to adjust to new faces) AND Ghost-types got another unique boon to them which can only INCREASE their usefulness! And that's not mentioning both Dark- and Ghost-types hit the same types super effectively (Psychic and Ghost) so the possibly only use for Dark-types (Psychicbusters since they're immune to Psychic-types) are a bit hampered.

No longer resisted by Steel, hits Metagross & Jirachi super effectively with its primary STAB, hits Fairy-types super effectively with its other STAB, and can no longer be trapped. I see a sudden surge in Gengar use...

Speaking of that Ghost-type boon, we not only need to discuss that but also discuss boons that other types got!

Special Type Attributes:
Now a few Types already have "special attributes" to them not predictable from the Type Chart (Fire-types can't be burned, Ice-types aren't damaged in Hail, Rock-types receive a Special Defense boost in Sandstorm, etc.), though they make sense if you think about it (most of the time). However more special attributes have been given out, so let's go down the list of Types with these special attributes:

Fire: Cannot be afflicted with the Burned condition.
Comment: Nothing new and makes sense. Fire-types are not only resistant to themselves but many also live in hot places, live volcanoes and deserts so they probably have skin, scales, hair, fur, and/or feathers which has adapted to high temperatures. Heck, many Fire-types have visible flames on their bodies! And since they can't get Burned they don't lose 1/8 of their HP each turn AND have their Attack stat halved, which is very much appreciated by physical Fire-type attackers like Ho-Oh, Blaziken, Infernape, Darmanitan, Victini, and others.

THEY'RE MADE OF MAGMA/LAVA! Do you REALLY think you can Burn them?

Grass: Immune to Leech Seed and "powder" and "spore" moves. (NEW!)
Moves Effected: Leech Seed, Sleep Powder, PoisonPowder, Power Snow, Rage Powder, Spore, Stun Spore, & Cotton Spore
Comment: Now quickly glimpsed at on paper this makes sense... though when you think about it you realize it doesn't. One of the new "special attributes" given, this was probably more meant to boost the usefulness of Grass-types as well as nerf Spore.
Grass-types are a hard type to use as they're tied with Rock-types for having the most weaknesses and have the most types that resist it. Also the types they're super effective against (Water, Ground, Rock) have weakness to types that are more used. Grass-types have a few good move but the only one widely distributed is Energy Ball which only has 80 Power.
However one of the best move in the game is a Grass-type move: Spore. 100% Accuracy and 100% chance of afflicting your opponent with the Sleep condition, Spore is a very useful move to either set-up as your opponent wakes up or attack your defenseless foe when they can't fight back. However Spore is only learned by mushroom Pokemon (Paras family, Shroomish family (though only as a Shroomish), and Foongus family. Of course Smeargle can learn it via Sketch. And of course, every pro moveset for these Pokemon have Spore as one of their moves, it's actually one of the reasons why Smeargle and Breloom are soon in OU and Uber tiers). It's so good that's it's actually too good, it's practically broken. Sleep is one step down from might as well being fainted.
In a recent interview it has been revealed that Game Freak have been paying attention to Pokemon Tournaments and from them they've probably noticed the large use of Spore. They probably decided it's about time to nerf Spore however they actually don't want to change how Spore works, probably due to it's limited distribution. So with the above paragraph explaining the problems with Grass-types, Game Freak though to faint two Pidgey with one Rock Slide and make Grass-types immune to Spore. However they probably realized they couldn't do this without it making look apparent this is the reason why they're doing this so decided to throw in the other "spore" and "powder" moves as well, and Leech Seed just because. Being many of these moves are Grass-types, it would make sense for Grass-types to be immune to them, right?
Well, the problem with that comes in two ways: How the moves work & not all powder moves are Grass-type. Going with the first problem, if you were a plant then I suppose Sleep Powder, Rage Powder, Spore, Stun Spore, & Cotton Spore wouldn't effect you because they don't sleep, don't move, and don't breathe. However Grass-type Pokemon do sleep, do move, and do breathe. Thus there is no reason why these moves shouldn't effect them. Except for Cotton Spore & Rage Powder, I always imagined many of these moves working by the Pokemon inhaling the powder or spores and it causing a chemical reaction which causes described effect. It's the powder/spore that's breathed which causes the conditions, not the powder/spore which landed on the body. Cotton Spore and Rage Powder are exception as the are more external: Cotton Spore clings to the opponent and makes them slower while Rage Powder distracts the opponent to focus on the user. Then we have Powder Snow which is just a cold blast of wind with snow flakes in it, "powder" is just a descriptive word in this case. Finally Leech Seed acts like a weed by draining the energy from the opponent, why would a Grass-type be immune to that?
Moving on to the second problem, even if you argue that Grass-types probably have developed a way to filter the powders/spores, then why are powders/spores from other types also being affected? Unless the Grass-type was part Poison-types, PoisonPowder should still possibly Poison Grass-types since Grass-types are weak to Poison-types thus a chemical reaction from one of their moves shouldn't be the same as a chemical reaction from a Grass-type move. And that still wouldn't explain external moves like Cotton Spore, Rage Powder, Powder Snow, and Leech Seed.
All in all, it doesn't really make sense when you think about. Then again, a lot of things in Pokemon don't and what's been done has been done. With Grass-types now immune to Spore we may see more use from dual-types that are part Grass-type incase someone is worried about Spore and don't want to give their Pokemon a Lum Berry, of course in my mind that results in two Brelooms acting like they're in a boxing match because they can't put the other to sleep.

Left Breloom: What do you mean I'm ACTUALLY going to have to fight my opponent?

(NEXT POST!)

Electric: Cannot be afflicted with the Paralyzed condition. (NEW!)
Comment: Another new addition which makes sense until you think about it. Like with Spore, Game Freak probably noticed the massive use of Thunder Wave, a Paralyze version of Spore. In addition, many moves that Paralyze are Electric-type moves meaning that Paralyze must have something to do with electricity stunning the muscles thus Electric-types shouldn't be effected because they would just absorb the extra electricity. Except where it's not. There are other move which can cause Paralysis and have nothing to do with electricity: Body Slam, Bounce, DragonBreath, Force Palm, Glare, Lick, Secret Power (on plain terrain/in buildings), and Stun Spore. There's also Fling when holding a Light Ball, Freeze Shock, and Tri Attack but in a way all those moves cause Paralysis via electricity (though that doesn't stop it from paralyzing Ground-types). Body Slam, Bounce & Force Palm hit pressure points in the muscles causing them to stiffen up; DragonBreath & Secret Power is magical force; Glare scares the target from moving; Lick presumably grosses/freaks out the target from getting close to the user; and as I explain above, Stun Spore is a chemical reaction from breathing it in. I guess you can come up with the excuse that maybe the Electric-types electricity may ease the paralyzed muscles thus giving them back movement, except that explanation doesn't work for moves like Glare & Lick which are mental not physical. Anyway, not only does Paralysis have a 50% of preventing you from moving but it also gets your Pokemon's Speed in half, and being Electric-types are Pokemon who are usually speedy but have low defenses, this is really helpful.

Congratulations Stunfisk, you now join Rotom Fan Form of having a Type which makes one of Abilities completely useless! Though you still at least has other Abilities to rely on, unlike poor Rotom Fan Form...

Ice:
1. Doesn't take damage from Hail.
2. Cannot be afflicted with the Frozen condition. (NEW!)
Comment: Ice gets the honor of being the the only Type that previously had a special attribute and is now getting another one. The old one it has, taking no damage from hail, makes sense because Ice-types live in cold areas which snow and hail frequently so their skin, scales, hair, fur, and/or feathers have thickened up to not only resist the impact of the hail but also the cold from it. However its new attribute doesn't quite make sense as no amount of thick skin, scales, hair, fur, and/or feathers is going to keep you from being trapped in a block of ice. Actually, they're more likely to REMAIN frozen since they probably adapted so they don't lose body heat so fast (if anything, Fire-types should be immune to being Frozen). Also, unless they increase the chances of Ice-type moves of Freezing, it won't be that useful anyway. Frozen is more broken then Sleep and remember that Sleep is what made Spore broken! Thus most Freezing moves only have a 10% of doing so with no move guaranteeing a Freeze and the only move to have 30% of Freezing is Secret Power and it needs to be done in Snow/Hail... where you'll mostly find Ice-types who are now immune to being Frozen. Actually many players did want Ice-types getting a new special attribute, but it was an increased Defense/Special Defense in Hail like Rock-types get a Special Defense boost in Sandstorm. However, Game Freak had different things in mind, and who knows, maybe there's a reason they wanted a type of Pokemon which would be immune to Frozen...

Just because Regice is made of ice doesn't mean it can't be encased in a BIGGER block of ice.

Poison:
1. Cannot be afflicted by the Poison or Badly Poison conditions.
2. If Toxic Spikes are on its side of the field, it removes them unless it's a Flying-type or has Levitate.
Comment: Sort of makes sense, assuming that all poisons in the Pokemon world are the same kind of poison. Assuming they are, Poison-type's bodies probably built up a resistance to Poison just incase their poison sack breaks and their poison leaks into their system (and then we have some Poison-types who is just made purely out of poisonous material). I don't really understand the Toxic Spikes removal though, the idea is that the Poison-type lands on them and absorbs them into its body so that brings to question exactly what the Toxic Spikes are made of if they can be absorbed by Poison-type Pokemon which have skin/scales (then again, being they're Poison-types thus can touch Toxic Spikes, they could clean them up for their non-Poison-type teammates. How very nice of them). Anyway this is nothing new though Poison-types enjoy not losing HP every turn, and with Fairy-types weak to Poison we could be seeing more Poison-type moves being used.

I think poisoning it will only ADD to its size and power...

Ground:
1. Immune to Thunder Wave.
2. Doesn't take damage in a Sandstorm.
Comment: Both make sense, Ground-types are immune to electricity because they "ground" it and many either live in the ground or in a desert so bits of earth aren't going to effect their toughened skin/scales. Though you may think its odd that it needs to be specifically mentioned that Ground-types are immune to a Move which is of a Type that Ground-types are immune to anyway. However Thunder Wave is a Status Move and Status Moves don't follow the "type immunity" rule for some reason. And its because of this and not taking damage from Sandstorm which makes Ground-types well liked among other things. Sure Ground-types are weak to common types and Flying-types are immune by them, but they usually have nice bulk or high attack which goes very nicely with everyone's favorite Ground-type move: Earthquake. But with Thunder Wave being a common way to Paralyze opponents, Ground-types can safely switch in if you predict someone is about to use Thunder Wave making them waste a turn. And you see them in plenty of Sandstorm teams, especially the ones with Abilities that activate in Sandstorm like Sand Rush, Sand Force, and Sand Veil. Why even the best known Sandstorm summoning Pokemon, Hippowdon, is a pure Ground-type with the Sand Stream Ability! Of course, Ground-types aren't the only Pokemon who claim safety in the sand...

Here's sand in your eyes!

Flying: Immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes.
Comment: A big reason why Flying-types is a useful secondary Type to have (even with Stealth Rock weakness) and makes perfect sense, if you don't touch the ground then hazards which are on the round can't effect you (though Stealth Rock, for some reason, floats in the sky waiting to smash into their opponents...). Now with me mentioning Stealth Rock a lot, you can probably imagine Pokemon who can nullify the Rock-type weakness that Flying-types have the best of all entry hazards (thus far these Pokemon is the Gligar family, Skarmory, and Landorus. Oddly we have no Fighting/Flying-types yet which would also be neutral to Stealth Rock). However even if you're weak (or quadruple weak...) to Stealth Rock you'll at least have the satisfaction in knowing its the only hazard that'll hurt you (for now). And this immunity may also be useful for Flying-types which have Rapid Spin like... only Delibird... which is quadruple weak to Stealth Rock... let's move on.

We laugh in the face of Entry Hazards, HA!

Rock:
1. Doesn't take damage in a Sandstorm.
2. Increases Rock-types Special Defense by 50%.
Comment: Rock-types share many similarities with Ground-types, and not taking damage in Sandstorm is one of them. The only other Pokemon with Sand Stream is Tyranitar who, though is part Dark-type, is primarily a Rock-type (it was even part Ground-type as a Larvitar and Pupitar, though didn't have Sand Stream). However Sandstorm is more closely related to Rock-types because the Rock-types have a second special attribute which also involves Sandstorm: an increase to their Special Defense. Now I don't quite understand why that it (damage immunity is the same reason for Ground-types), maybe all that sand polishes their harden skin/scales making them shiny like a mirror thus able to take Special attacks more easily? Whatever the reason, having Sandstorm whittle down your opponent's non-Rock, Ground, and Steel-types which your Rock-types enjoy no damage and defensive increase is why Sandstorm teams are beloved by the user and hated by the opponent.

I think I can even take a Focus Blast or Aura Sphere in Sandstorm... though to be safe let's not try it.

Ghost: Are immune to Moves or Abilities that prevent fleeing or switching out. (NEW!)
Moves Effected: Mean Look, Spider Web, Block
Abilities Effect: Shadow Tag, Arena Trap, Magnet Pull
Comment: Ghost-types are very hard to catch since they can just phase through any physical "trap" you try putting them in. Of course this argument falls apart with Mean Look being more mental then physical, though with a Ghost-types ability to turn invisible maybe it's the opponent just gazing harshly at it that was preventing it from fleeing while it was still visible. Whatever the case, trapping can be a very dangerous situation to be a very dangerous situation to be in if you're on the receiving end. Unable to leave, your opponent can send in a Pokemon which can do something super effective or you can't do anything super effective against. Trapping is a bit of a rare strategy, but that only mean when it's done it's done usually well. But now that Ghost-types can escape any time they feel like it, having a versatile Ghost-type on the team could come in handy if you were to ever get caught in one of these strategies, especially if done by a Pokemon who has the Shadow Tag Ability. While it might not be a big improvement like doing neutral damage against Steel-types, it's still a handy special attribute to have that might get you or someone else out of a sticky situation.

Then again, maybe it's not the Ghost-types who should be running away...

Steel:
1. Cannot be afflicted by the Poison or Badly Poison conditions.
2. Doesn't take damage in a Sandstorm.
Comment: Can't poison a piece of metal and all a little bit of sand is going to do is scratch the paint. It's kind of funny that both of the Steel-types special attributes are actually ones which it share with other types, one being shared by two other types! However not needing to worry about taking Poison damage nor Sandstorm damage just adds two more reasons by Steel-types are probably the best defensive type. This could be another reason for the popularity of Sandstorm teams, you have three types which can take advantage of the Sandstorm just for being that type alone! Of course Steel-types probably have the least in common with Sandstorm as no pure Steel-type has an Ability involving Sandstorm and the dual Steel-types who do are part Ground- or Rock-type. However there is one more small connection aside from not receiving damage: The Ability Sand Force increased the Power of Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type attacks by 30% in a Sandstorm. However I'm rambling on and we still have a few more things to talk about until the release of X & Y.

NEXT TIME: More people of Kalos! Of Fashion and Team Flare Elites!

LEAK UPDATE! SPOILERS FREE!

Now I mentioned how review copies have been released and Nintendo has put an embargo on the information up to a certain date (and even then there is other embargo information including the Starter's final evolutions). WELL it shouldn't come as a shock that some non-reviewers have either gotten their hands on a copy OR some stores have gotten the physical copies in and somehow they got their copy of the game early. Eitherway, leaks are coming in however many websites have vowed not to put up the unofficial information because of the embargo and in respect for those who want to go into the games blind (aside from the officially released info). So with that said, stick to websites like Serebii and Bulbapedia for your Pokemon news.

If you're that curious about what these new leaks are, Pokebeach has them. Obviously spoilers abound.

Also if I post anything I'll make sure that if they're a big spoiler to warn you about it. However little spoilers like what the outside and inside of the Pokemon Center looks like I'll be posting normally if I decide to post any.

CHARACTERS: Fashionable Ally & Team Flare Scientists!

think it's safe to say with XY being released in a few days that we'll no longer be getting any info on Gym Leaders (or the Elite Four and Champion, but I don't remember ever getting pre-release info on those types of characters anyway). However them, rivals, and the villainous team isn't the only notable characters in the game. There have been plenty of NPCs in the past and XY is no exception. Now usually we don't hear much about these characters pre-release, however one has been released who helps the character with one of the game's highly awaited features: customization!

Diantha

Didn't we already play out the supermodel thing with Elesa... oh, wait, apparently Diantha is a movie star.

Diantha is a beloved movie star in Kalos and helps the player and helps the player with customization in boutique (clothing) and salons (hair). She's said to be a trainer with a lot of potential and shows a lot of interest in other trainers who also have potential. Also she'll trade with you on your adventure, though exactly what Pokemon she trades and what Pokemon she's asking for in return is unknown. Also it looks like the first time you meet her it's in a cafe with the other gendered playable rival (Calem/Serena).

Her name comes from a genus of flower in both English and Japanese (Japanese name is Carnet which comes from "carnation") (same flower too, though the Japanese one is more specific).

While we're talking about customization, here's some info and images that came out for it:

1. To change your clothes you need to go to a Boutique & to change your hair you need to go to a Salon.
2. You not only can change you clothes and hair but also your hat, shoes, and other accessories (multiple bags and headgear (sunglasses & pins) have been shown).
3. Boutiques (and probably Salons) in different towns and cities will offer different styles, so if you don't find what you're looking for in one you might find it somewhere else.
4. As you may have seen from the PSS screenshots, your PSS icon of your face will change to match what your character is wearing.

Some some artwork and comments:

Pokemon X & Y: Furthering the stereotype that a girl is in nirvana when she's cloth shopping. And also the torment other living beings with it, poor Fletchling...

You know this is a fictional world when the store employees give you advice and there's no line for the waiting room.

Doesn't the top choice nullify the bottom two?

Alright, that looks okay if clashes a bit. Can't tell if that's a design on the pants or it's suppose to look crinkled.

Oh... well, I'm not judging, and it's nice to see Game Freak subtly supporting people of different "tastes".

Hey, that top is from one of the clothes we saw the female character wearing in the above drawing. The game hasn't been released yet and ALREADY they're repeating clothing!

What, you try to reference another character but this is the best you can do? I will honestly be disappointed if you don't include the actual clothing of other known characters (there's always DLC, and always people willing to buy new clothes. Team Fortress 2 makes huge amounts of money just selling hats!).

Okay, I know I said I won't judge, but this boy is beginning to look a bit too much like a girl.

Doesn't matter what walk of life you are, EVERYONE loves a T-Rex.

Final Thoughts on Diantha & Customization:
Diantha sounds like an interesting character, don't quite get the fashion though (unless she like Fairy-types in which that case she looks like she has fairy wings) but Pokemon is no stranger to odd fashions. Her offering to trade you Pokemon sort of sounds like how Yancy/Curtis from Black 2 & White 2, right down to being a popular media star. Also sounds like she may battle you sometimes but being the Professor is now throwing down I wouldn't be surprised if at some point all of the important/unique NPCs you meet will be battleable. I also wonder if she'll change outfits when you meet her, I know she isn't a model like Elesa but still she's related to customization so it would be a bit odd for the character that's related to not change their clothing. Also, upon magnifying the image people discovered that Diantha is actually wearing a "Key Stone" on her necklace.

If it wasn't for the Key Stone, you'll probably embarrassingly explain why you're looking at a women's chest without sounding like a perv.

If you're confused what I'm talking about, that giant ring we see around the playable character's left wrist is actually called a "Mega Ring" and its used to activate the Mega Stone your Pokemon is holding (if it can Mega Evolve and is holding the right Mega Stone) via the "Key Stone" it contains.

Look at this bling! You know that probably costs clearing the entire Black Tower WITH an Amulet Coin/Luck Incense!

Oh no! Team Flare is attacking the city!

Everyone ready?!

IT'S MORPHIN... I mean, MEGA EVOLUTION TIME!

MEWTWO! LUCARIO!

OH MY ARCEUS THIS HURTS! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME IT WAS GOING TO HURT THIS BAD?! IS THIS HOW IT FEELS TO EVOLVE?! I'M IN TREMENDOUS PAIN RIGHT NOW!

... Sorry. ANYWAY, if you look carefully at Diantha's artwork you can see she's wearing the Key Stone on her necklace. Now whether this is just for design or she uses Mega Evolutions in her battle remains yet to be answered (with all this talk about having a lot of potential, it's sure sounds like she does). Diantha isn't the only one wearing a Key Stone though, looking through past artwork, you'll also find that Gym Leader Korrina is appropriately wearing a Key Stone too, her's being on her glove:

So will I be able to customize where I can put my Key Stone?

Speaking of fashion, let's discuss that since we're done with Diantha. Now the screenshot giving you the option for "Styling" or "Color" sounds like the Salon, though that makes me wonder whether we'll be able to change the color of our clothes or if clothes come in a determined color. Also I'm only seeing natural hair colors, nothing like blue, green, or pink. It's also nice to see we'll be able to change more then clothes and hair like your bag and hat. I'm seeing multiple layers of shirts so I wonder whether that's one set of clothes or two: an undershirt and a jacket/hoodie. Also the sunglasses can be completely removed and be swapped out with pins or bows (though once again, does this depend on the hat or can you have any headgear on any hat?). In that Soul-like outfit for the girl, are those stockings part of the dress or can you have no stockings/different colors and lengths? For the girl once more, can you wear pants under you dress or stockings under your pants? Are there things like necklaces, ties, bracelets, watches, earings, etc.? And of course, the most important question of them all: Can you go out just in your underwear (I would say naked but then I remembered I'm talking about Pokemon and not Saint Rows. Same logic made me not include asking if there's tattoos)? However each character screen shows a different kind of animation, sort of like the Pokeball Seals in Gen IV's Super Pokemon Contests (you know, the Pokeball's release does a special animation as it sends the Pokemon out. Actually all special Pokeballs naturally have their own special animations). I wonder if this could possibly mean anything, like could we now have "Entrance Animations" for the trainer?
Eitherway it looks like we have plenty of things to customize with even with all these questions. As I said, I hope they have clothing of important characters from other games, though I also understand them not as they want everyone to dress up uniquely and not like Cynthia or Lance. Also I hope they let you choose wild colors for your hair (I'd totally get blue hair), I mean Team Flare's Scientists have multi-colored hair! I'll show you in my next post!

So far we've only seen the grunts of Team Flare, bright reddish-orange haired people wearing equally bright reddish-orange business suit and sunglasses:

They're actually mostly made up of Elite Beat Agent rejects.

However with everyone organization we need some top ranking members. Team Rocket had Executives, Team Aqua & Magma had Admins, Team Galactic has Commanders, Team Plasma had the Sages and Shadow Triad, and now Team Flare reveals their elites: Scientists!

Scientists? Where? Are they behind these questionably dressed ladies in equally questionable poses (though I like their vizors)?

Actually, those ARE the scientists. Their names are Celosia, Mable, Bryony, & Aliana (I'll let you figure out which one is which, though I left you a hint somewhere. Or you can go to Bulbapedia where you can also look up their name origin. Like all the other characters they're named after plants but different plants from their Japanese names. And from what I can tell there doesn't seem to be any reason they have their name specifically). Actually, to be more precise, they are four of the five scientists as they're one more Team Flare Scientist who's separate from the 4 girls:

Xerosic

You'd think the undead would have learned their lesson and try to stay away from fire as much as possible...

Actually Xerosic isn't dead, he just has pale white skin to make his red clothing (especially his goggles) and hair stand out more (FUN FACT: His name is similar to a skin condition called "xerosis cutis" where your skin dries out (say to a pale white?). However officially his names in all languages come from plants).

And that's pretty much all we know about them. We don't know if they're all running Team Flare (they're described as being the "driving force" behind Team Flare), they're all just elites, or if Xerosic is the leader and the others are elites. My guess is that it was sort of like the Rocket Executives in the Johto games: technically all of them are equal in position BUT there is one who's de facto leader. With the Rocket Executives it was Archer, and for Team Flare I'm putting my money on it being Xerosic.

I see a switch puzzle...

Now you're probably thinking what does Team Flare need with scientists, they're just trying to make money. Well it seems like Team Flare has an additional goal: to make the world a more beautiful place!... Yeah, I'm still as much confused as you are. At least we're finding out they have some depth to them, though how far it goes we'll have to wait and see. Finally there is another character who looks to be part of Team Flare, it's a female scientist though she doesn't match the four previous mentioned ones (she's also actually dressed like a scientists (a.k.a. she's wearing a lab coat, a white one even!)):

I actually have a similar phrase: When you're the ones fighting together, my odds of gaining a lot of experience increases exponentially!

Well no final thoughts here as I sort of combined it with the information (there wasn't a lot to work with...). Anyway, seeya next time when we go back to Pokemon since we have some new Evolutions of Fossils and Swords to talk about!

POKEMON: Some More Gen VI Evolutions

While I was being lazy gathering my thoughts on the last batch of new info, several websites and the Pokemon Facebook page released some evolutions, specifically of the Fossil Pokemon and Honedge!

Pokemon: Tyrantrum
Type: Rock/Dragon
Ability: Strong Jaw (NEW! Power of "biting" attacks done by this Pokemon is increased)
Species: Despot Pokemon
Height: 2.5 m/8'02"
Weight: 270 kg/595.2 lbs
Known Moves: Crunch, Dragon Tail, Head Smash
Flavor Text: Tyrantrum is the evolved form of Tyrunt. Nothing could stop this Pokemon 100 million years ago, so it behaved like a king! Its greatest weapon is its gargantuan jaws, which can shred thick metal plates as if they were paper.
Based On: A Tyrannosaurus & a king
Name Origin: "Tyrannosaurus", "Tyrant" & "Tantrum"
Thoughts/Opinions:
... Yes... YES! This thing looks AWESOME! Not that Aurorus looks bad, it's cool in its own way, but just look at this thing, it's a BEAST! It looks like it can tear you in two (which shouldn't be too had since it can shred thick metal plates like paper) and just keep walking on its way as if nothing happened, like a BOSS! Of course, that's all I really have to say about Tyrantrum as, in terms of typing and Ability, nothing has changed. We now know it learns Head Smash which is a powerful STAB move (and while Strong Jaw is okay, if it could get the Rock Head Ability that would make it even better!). The only difference will probably be in stats which we won't know about until the game is released (or rather when the strategy guide is released). It's definitely going to be a physical power house, though my question is on how fast will it be as that might be what either makes or breaks it.

Pokemon: Aurorus
Type: Rock/Ice
Ability: Refrigerate (NEW! This Pokemon's Normal-type moves turn into Ice-type moves)
Species: Tundra Pokemon
Height: 2.7 m/8'10"
Weight: 225 kg/496 lbs
Known Moves: Aurora Beam, Freeze-Dry (NEW!)
Flavor Text: The evolved form of Amaura, Aurorus can blast freezing cold air to damage enemies. It can also blast air to form a wall of ice to protect itself from attacks.
Based On: An Amargasaurus & an aurora
Name Origin: "Aurora" & "Amargasaurus"
Thoughts/Opinions:
FUN FACT: Amaura and Aurorus are the first Pokemon artwork which uses a gradient. And it uses it to great effect, only using it on their frills to pull off an aurora effect. However, much like with Tyrantrum, nothing has changed with it other than stats which we don't know about. However it is starting to look like a Special attacker which sadly means it might not get much used from its Refrigerate Ability as there's really no Special Normal-type attack that's as strong as Ice Beam or Blizzard (maybe Hyper Beam, but no one except Lance uses Hyper Beam). While I do hope at one point I'll be able to test Aurorus for myself, it'll probably be post game as I'll be choosing Tyrunt as my Fossil Pokemon (and unless there's another way of getting a Sail Fossil in the game I might have to get one off the GTS).

Pokemon: Doublade
Type: Steel/Ghost
Ability: No Guard (In Battle: All moves used by the user will hit the opponent and all moves used by the opponent will hit the user)(Outside of Battle: If leading the party, increases encounter rates by 150%)
Species: Sword Pokemon
Height: .8 m/2'7"
Weight: 4.5 kg/9.9 lbs
Known Moves: Sword Dance, Sacred Sword
Flavor Text: What appeared to be a single blade becomes two blades when Honedge evolves into Doublade! The two swords converse telepathically and can carry out complicated attacks together.
Based On: A coat of arms (a shield representing a family's heraldry, sometimes having two swords crossing a shield)
Name Origin: "Double" & "Blade"
Trivia:
1. When entering battle, Doublade will unsheathe both its blades using one of its cloth arms to hold onto the shield while the cloth arm floats independently.
2. Doublade doesn't change in height from Honedge meaning their the same size, however it more than doubles in weight.
3. Doublade (and possibly Honedge) can learn Sacred Sword, a move that was originally a signature move of the Legendary Pokemon called the Swords of Justice (Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, & Keldeo).
Thoughts/Opinions:
Gen I brought us Dugtrio, Magneton, Weezing, Dodrio, & Starmie. Gen III brought us Metagross. Gen IV brought us Magnezone. Gen V brought us Vanilluxe, Klinklang, & Hydreigon. And now Gen VI brings us yet another Pokemon which just looks like they took another one of its species and slapped them together. As you can probably guess from what I said with the above two evolutions, there's nothing more to say about it unless while writing this the strategy guide falls into my lap and I can see its stats (though if that happened then you wouldn't be reading this sentence, now would you?). It's interesting that it learns Sacred Sword being it's a Signature Move though I guess it makes sense it can learn that being it's a, you know, sword. Hmm, let me think of what other sword-related moves could it possibly learn: Cut, Double-Edge, False Swipe, Feint, Fury Swipes, Retaliate, Slash, Protect, Safeguard, Sharpen, Counter, Revenge, Sky Uppercut, Aerial Ace, Air Cutter, Air Slash, Cross Poison, Rock Polish, Fury Cutter, X-Scissor, Leaf Blade, Psycho Cut, Dual Chop, & Night Slash. There's also Secret Sword, but that's even more of a Signature Move which makes me think it won't (plus it's a Special move and I think Honedge & Doublade is going to be a Physical attacker), if anything maybe an Event Honedge or Doublade may get Secret Sword. Also there's the "claw" moves but the list is already pretty big.

Well I think that'll do for now. Next time I'll go over the new Moves and Abilities that has been revealed to us this far.

And here we have our region map.

Berries grow in the wild again, this time on trees.

Numerous old Pokemon available in the early routes

Viola's badge is the Bug Badge.

There is a Snorlax roadblock

There's a skate park.

Everything is turning out awesome definitely getting Tyrantrum

BTW Anyone else having problems with TV.COM haven't been able to see anything past the first page in the forums for the past week