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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

1. Well I guess Plusle and Minun will still have to depend on their Double Battle gimmick, or hope for a Mega Evoluti... HAHAHAHAHA!

STOP LAUGHING! We can totally get a Mega Evolution... right?

2 & 3. PURE Fairy? Wow, that's actually big news! I didn't expect a Pokemon to actually replace their Type with Fairy! Well, I kind of expected Togetic and Togekiss to become Fairy/Flying, but didn't think Togepi would also drop it's Normal-type!

4. Well, that probably makes things awkward for Gallade. Actually kind of strange they did that considering Gallade, think they'd let those two remain pure Psychic. I guess maybe they needed to fill a Fairy-type quota.

Edited on 10/09/2013 11:39pm

Actually Gen V as no evolutions/pre-evolutions of older generation Pokemon. Also I didn't look at the list and I'm sad to hear that Sylveon is the only previous generation evolution (they could have had one for Absol and Mawile...).

Anyway, I guess for my final "massive" posts (though I plan on doing a miscellaneous one tomorrow, aka the day before the release) it'll be an interview overview! But what interview? Why an "Iwata Asks" which features Satoru Iwata (president and CEO of Nintendo), Tsunekaz Ishihara (president and CEO of the Pokemon Company), and Junichi Masuda (A founder of Game Freak, serving as its Director of the Board, as well as director and composer for the games) talking about some background info for XY! For those who don't know "Iwata Asks" is sort of an Editorial where Iwata talks with developers of games that are about to be released on a Nintendo system. Well, it's XY's turn and here is some of the info they had to share. Now this "Iwata Asks" is actually based on a "Pokemon Direct" (basically a Pokemon version of the "Nintendo Directs" which are announcement videos for games coming to Nintendo systems) as there was more info than the Pokemon Direct showed. So they decided to expand upon the script of the Pokemon Direct. Anyway, the "Iwata Ask" is HERE if you want to read the entire interview of watch the Pokemon Direct. So let's being:

Simultaneous Worldwide Release-A First for the Series:
1. Doing a worldwide release has been a goal for a really long time though they didn't know if they were going to be able to pull it off.
2. How translation used to work was that the original Japanese games would be made, then an English translation, then into other languages making 7 versions of the game. However with XY, they decided to have all 7 languages be in the game and let the player choose which one to use, so they had to translate the Japanese script into other languages but in the end it resulted in essentially one version of the game.
3. There's a whole team dedicated to naming Pokemon. When making names they needed to make sure not to use one they already did (after so many Pokemon names are starting to become more difficult to make), the name describes the Pokemon (like their physical form), and that they weren't infringing on any rights.
Comments:
I'd also imagine doing a worldwide release is also a bit risky since if there's any problems with the game they won't be able to catch and fix it for the international versions because, well, there's no international versions anymore. However I only see this as a natural evolution of our world and technology on how a process which used to take months with each language taking turns to translate can now happen simultaneously. If there's any series which can pull this off it's probably Pokemon (... and Mario and Legend of Zelda...).
Interesting how the translation both used to work and how they solved the problem by doing something which I thought they were doing! However I also now understand why the names of characters like Gym Leaders are now closer to their Japanese origins than ever before, they wanted to have things being as close to the Japanese script as possible. An understandable reason, this is the first time doing this and they were even nervous they weren't going to be able to do it. Hopefully as they become more experienced they'll let the translation teams start doing their own things with names as it was previously (even though I'm sure 99% of the script easily translates, there are still those cultural differences that may create references or jokes no one outside of Japan may understand).
And of course there's a whole team just dedicated to naming Pokemon, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a whole team dedicated to assigning and distributing types (though if they do they need to add more staff there since I can see some room for improvement, but I digress). While I can't say for sure, I'm going to guess the biggest problem with naming Pokemon is with infringing on rights, aka copyrights. With people having copyrights on all sorts of words, some for dubious reasons like hoping someone uses that name so they can sue them for millions, I'd imagine it would be stressful that a small mess up could cost the company millions. Also with a room full of people each one probably has their own name and if two people really like the name they can come up with I imagine a game of nerves are played and compromises needing to be made. You may hear "Pokemon has its own staff for just naming Pokemon" and make a joke about how "Pokemon naming is serious business"... but the thing is that IT IS.

Pokemon Born Anew:
1. Character modeling was difficult because they needed to put an equal amount of effort into each Pokemon models since every Pokemon has its own group of fans.
2. The names Pokemon X and Y are indeed because of the x-axis and y-axis, saying people think in many different ways that it feels like they exist in different dimensions but if you think of there people who think in the x-axis and the y-axis then at some point they do intersect. The theme of the game is that even though people live in different places, have different cultures, and think differently there is overlap somewhere. With that said, they were still worried about the one letter naming until it was decided it was easy enough to understand and though the pronunciation of the letters are different the shape is the same.
3. Xerneas and Yveltal were modeled so that their silhouette looked like the letters of their version. They thought that if people in Kalos saw these Pokemon they would describe them by the letter that their silhouette is the shape of.
Comments:
Being new hardware andI'm going to guess they couldn't just import and polish the models they used in Pokemon Battle Revolution. The game models take a sort of cel-shaded look which I'm guess it to put some ease onto the hardware rendering them. It's nice to hear that at least in modeling they put effort to make all Pokemon equal and now that they have these models they'll probably work to make sure they can re-use these models in the next generation (polishing them up of course, but still re-use).
Interesting to hear their philosophy on how the x-axis and y-axis relate to people and the used that as the game's theme (another theme of the game is also "beauty", but from what it sounds like that was more of a secondary theme). So I'm taking with that we're going to encounter and interact with loads of characters with vast differences in personalities though having aspects we can identify with giving us 3 dimensional characters... though that won't stop us matching them with a trope and/or stereotype.
Well honestly if I was a person who saw Xerneas or Yveltal my description of them would be "a graceful blue deer with multiple rainbow antlers" and "A BLOOD RED DEATH VULTURE"! But that's just me.

New Battles:
1. Adjusting the game for the new Fairy-type was difficult but it allowed them to review the overall balance from the ground up and it became easier to raise Pokemon, even for the Pokemon Trading Card Game. They didn't want players to find a surefire way to win and taking the fun out the games, which is why Dragon-types were a problem. But though it was hard, they're happy and excited to adjust and add new specs, even refreshing old Pokemon like Jigglypuff by making them Fairy-types.
2. With Horde Battles they tried showing how Pokemon live in nature, in groups. If you pay close attention you can also notice different characteristics.
3. With Sky Battles, you'll have to readjust your team you thought was impregnable since only Flying-types and "Floating-type" Pokemon can battle. They encourage players to try to see if their favorite Pokemon can participate in Sky Battles as they may find out they can.
Comment:
Even with knowing Fairy-types were going to be strong against Dragon-types I can see them having a hard trying to figure out what else it should do and I think they succeeded... even though that random Fire-type being resistant to them makes me scratch my head. But hey, at least Poison-type got something else to be super effective too.
Nice it sounds like they added some slight characteristics to all the Pokemon in a Horde Battle, even if it's just them going through their usual animations at different times.
Now before you get excited that they didn't specifically mention Pokemon with Levitate but rather "Floating-type" Pokemon, I'm sad to say that in Japan the Ability Levitate is actually called "Floating" (I'm guessing the translators didn't catch that). So as far as we know, only Flying-type and Pokemon with the Ability Levitate can participate in Sky Battles. I'm hoping that they do have a list of exceptions, though I'm doubting it despite their encouragement to try many kinds of Pokemon (and I will). FUN FACT: Don't know if I mentioned this, but so far Mega Charizard X is the only Pokemon that isn't a Flying-type or knows Levitate which can participate in Sky Battles. The reason for this is obvious: it Mega Evolves from a Fire/Flying-type. Proving once again that Charizard is so great, it can break the rules and instead of trying to "correct" this loophole abusing, they use it to further advertise it!

Getting Close with Pokemon:
1. "Amie" means "friend" in French.
2. Because Pokemon act differently, the way you interact with certain Pokemon in Pokemon-Amie is dependent on the Pokemon (for example, with Snorlax you got to tap the screen a lot to wake it up). Each Pokemon has their own reactions.
3. Mentioned effects of having a close bond with a Pokemon using Pokemon-Amie include your Pokemon sometimes dodging moves (increased evasion) and hitting your opponent's weak points (increased critical hits).
Comments:
I already told you what "Amie" meant when Pokemon-Amie was first announced.
Nice to hear each Pokemon will have their own ways of being interacted with as well as their own reactions. I'm curious if Natures were also thrown into the mix but I'm not holding my breathe.
Finally I think I already mentioned those two benefits (I'm guessing those are either the first or most noticeable battle bonuses).

Well that's it for now! I'll be back tomorrow with just random information I gathered though never found a place to fit it.

OH YEAH!!!

1. Probably to compete with Heracross. Though unfortunely Bug/Flying-types aren't exactly the strongest of types, being weak to Fire-, Flying-, Electric-, and Ice-type moves and quadruple weak to Rock-type moves (meaning Stealth Rock. Any news that they nerfed that broken move yet?). Honestly I think Pinsir should have become Bug/Fighting, it learns plenty of Figting-type moves like Brick Break and Superpower yet not any Flying-type moves.

2. Why is Mega Gyarados Water/Dark? Because, that's why. I'm guessing they decided it's ferocious attitude is much more part of its character then being a dragon so decided to go with that (same reason why Mega Tyranitar wasn't changed to a Rock/Dragon). Water/Dark isn't a bad typing though, it may have 5 weaknesses but none are quadruple weaknesses and has an immunity. Oddly though, Gyarados doesn't learn Crunch (it learns Bite and a few other Dark-type moves. It also can learn Dark Pulse but Gyarados isn't a Special Attacker), surely probably the only move which it'll want a Dark-type STAB for.

3. So all the Pokemon who are or related to a Pokemon who are classified as the "Fairy Pokemon" are now pure Fairy-types. I see no fault in that logic so let's move on.

We pure Fairy now, a'right?

Anyway, as I said over the course of XY being first revealed to now, the day before its release (sort of, reports are coming from all around that certain locations are getting their digital versions of XY unlocked early... though the U.S. still has to wait till midnight), I've gathered miscellaneous information here and there which I never found a place to put whenever I do my big updates. So now with no more updates, I'll just post all the info here. If I repeat any info I had before I apologize:

1. Gym Trainers have their own battling music. (I don't know what this exactly means. When Mega Kangaskhan was revealed, Junichi Masuda also revealed a piece of music which he said was for Gym Trainers. Now normally "Gym Trainers" refer to those other normal trainers hanging out in the Gym which you either try to sneak pass by, battle for a bit of extra experience, or sometimes need to battle in order to progress to the Gym Leader. Before XY, they just shared their battle theme with the other trainers in the field... which is why people are questioning what Masuda meant by "Gym Trainers". So are thinking he actually means the Gym Leaders and not the trainers, because why would the trainers in the Gym get special music when they're most likely the same guys you'd fight on the routes? Before you ask Gym Leaders are called "Gym Leaders" in the Japanese version so this isn't a translation mistake. Whatever the case may be, expect awesome music eitherway.)

2. The XY soundtrack will be released on iTunes, containing 202 songs. (WOOT! It's always nice when they release the game music soundtracks so that we don't need to rip it from the game files. )

3. France was chosen since one theme they want to focus on is Beauty. "Kalos" even comes the Greek word meaning "beauty". (And now we know this theme goes along with Team Flare and their goals. I can appreciate that, being this is the first 3D main series game, that they want to make it beautiful though at some points it feels like they're stuffing it down our throats.)

4. Horde Battles work like normal battles, you attack one and then every Pokemon in the horde gets to attack. (Don't know if I mentioned that little tibit or not. This is basically where the main challenge from Horde Battles come from as you better hope the Pokemon is either able to take a lot of hits (either being a defensive Pokemon or just being high-leveled) or is packing a multi-hitting move. Of course, since you're for some reason only battling with 1 Pokemon (not trying to match your opponent's numbers...) then there's really no reason or you to unleash Earthquakes, Surfs, and other moves that would normally hit your allies since there are none. If you want to catch one of the Pokemon in the horde though, well, good luck and I hope you have enough Pokemon/recovering items to hold you out.)

5. DLC is not planned but is possible, though Game Freak is reluctant to do it. (Oh you'll do it, we know when you've done research on DLC you probably saw the sales from Team Fortress 2 just selling hats... Joking aside, as long as the games themselves have a nice amount of content and there's no DLC that gives you an unfair advantage like getting an extra Master Ball, I see no problem with DLC. Obviously the most obvious place for DLC is with clothing, they can only design so many before the game is released and will probably have dozen more designs leftover. They could even have promotional DLC like releasing clothing which looks like the clothes the characters from a game that'll soon be released on a Nintendo system (suddenly the image of a female player walking around dressed as Bayonetta game to mind...), or just have clothing of popular Nintendo characters. Of course after that we get into the sticky area of "fairness" as other DLC I'm imagining involves things which all players would want. Imagine DLC that lets you battle Gym Leaders/Elite Four/Champions/Frontier Brains/Rivals/Villain Syndicates/Other NPCS/even possibly main the protagonists! Or how about DLC which unlock some little stories or even areas which give you more items/Pokemon. Now I doubt the DLC will go as crazy as making new Pokemon, but I still see a lot of potential in DLC if handled correctly.)

6. Rideable Pokemon can be lent to you. (An obvious one to guess, though I would still like to know if we could use our own Pokemon if we have that species.)

7. When battling with other players you can select the battle music. (This is a nice feature! The games have so many great pieces of music, especially battling music, that when you're battling with other players you'd rather to have those tunes instead of whatever music they made for player vs. player (and that's if they didn't just have the normal trainer theme). Now whether this can be done over Battle Spot or its only local remains to be seen, but it's still a nice thing to have nonetheless. )

8. Running is now default and to talk you need to press B. While running or walking you can move in 8 directions, however skating gives you free movement. (Wow, and here I thought the button which let you put on and off the Running Shoes in HeartGold & SoulSilver was the best idea they had for running! Actually, I kind of still do. It's nice that we can now travel at maximum speed without having to hold down a button, but now in order to walk we need to do the button holding and walking is the way to sneak around trainers. HeartGold's & SoulSilver's "Running Button" I still think is the best running mechanic as you can switch it on when you just want to get somewhere fast but can turn it off when you want to sneak around trainers or there's a puzzle that involves precision movement. Though if I had a choice to either have running default or walking, I'd choose running. Of course this probably means the end of the Running Shoes... but the birth of the WALKING SHOES! Oh, and by now I think we can say that the skates has replaced the bikes which is sad but in return they allow us to have free movement and able to grind rails)

They see me skatin', they be hatin'.

9. When your HP hits red, an series of alarms sounds off and then let the music continue uninterrupted. (While the "Low HP Music" that Gen V brought us was an interesting take on the low HP sound, there was a problem of it interrupting the music that was currently playing. So instead Game Freak decided that we probably can see our Pokemon having low HP so maybe only a quick alert is needed for those who were looking away would suffice. It's nice to see Game Freak thinks we're able to remember our Pokemon has low HP without needing a constant beeping in our ear. I'll mix the "Low HP" music from Gen V though that's something Youtube/official soundtrack/owning the game can easily fix. )

AND that's it! Just a few quick announcements:

1. The XY Pokemon Global Link is up and running! Though there seems to be a problem as it's not letting me log in. Undecided

2. The Blazikenite Speed Boost Torchic Event is now live!

Fire Starter team, here I come!

3. And finally, for those in the U.S. and who are picking up their game from GameStop, remember that the Shiny Giratina event is still going on so while waiting on line you might as well get those for your Black, White, Black 2, and/or White 2. It's the final event for Gen V.

And with that, XY will be released tomorrow, at the stroke of midnight for players who chose the digital version and whenever the store opens for those who are getting a physical copy (like me). So let's begin another journey through the Pokemon world!

Edited on 10/11/2013 4:17pm

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