User blog:Shockstorm/Pokemon News - 03-08-14

Here's the weekly Pokémon Wiki's News Blog. Ellis99 requested that I fill in for him this week.

Unforunately there's no Pokémon ORAS news, but there are multiple events for Pokémon X & Y players.

Monday

 * Pokémon World Championships

The World Championships will be held on August 16 and 17. Those who attend will be able to download a special Aegislash (level 50, knows Wide Guard, King's Shield, Shadow Ball, and Flash Cannon, holds a Sitrus Berry)

Thursday

 * New X & Y Battle Competition

Registration begins for the Super Speed Double Battle competition, and the registration deadline ends August 8th. The competition is from August 8th to the 10th. Some major changes from previous competitions are:
 * 1) Players not being able to see their opponent's Pokémon
 * 2) Players select 3 of their 4 Pokémon
 * 3) 20 second time limit to choose moves

A Nintendo official revealed on Twitter that the upcoming Super Smash Bros 3DS (to be released in October) will include a stage based on N's Castle, and Reshiram, Zekrom, and Milotic will sometimes appear in the background.
 * New Super Smash Bros 3DS Pokémon Stage

Friday
From August 13th to September 17th in North America, Heracross and Pinsir will be available to be downloaded, with Pokémon X players receiving Heracross, and Y users receiving Pinsir. Also, from August 18th to 31st, players can download serial codes at Gamestop stores to get the Heracronite (X version)/Pinsirite (Y version) mega stones. It's not known yet if this event will be available in other regions besides North America.
 * Mega Heracross and Pinsir Events

Both Pokémon have Adamant natures and random abilities, and are at level 50. Heracross has Bullet Seed, Pin Missile, Close Combat, and Megahorn. Pinsir has X-Scissor, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Return.

Game Review
Pokémon XD is a Generation III game for the Nintendo GameCube. It's essentially a sequel to the original Pokémon Colosseum game. Like the original game, all battles with trainers are Double Battles. There are some chances to fight wild Pokémon, but most of the Pokémon that can be obtained are captured from trainers (the "Shadow Pokémon"). After capturing Shadow Pokémon, the player can purify them and use them to battle. Purification is much easier than in the original game due to some changes.
 * Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

The story is a bit more mature and darker than typical Pokémon games. It's pretty engaging, and feels more serious and interesting than just fighting Team Rocket grunts. The graphics and sound are also quite good - better than most Pokémon games, if not all of them. However, the beginning of the game is pretty dialogue-heavy and doesn't give you many choices in Pokémon to choose from.

There's quite a bit of replay value, as there's a 100-battle challenge, all the Generation III TMs, battle simulations, and the ability to trade between this game and the Generation III GBA games. Overall, it's worth playing if you enjoyed Generation III and have a GameCube or a Wii that has backwards compatibility.

Changes from traditional Pokémon games

 * You get Eevee as a starter Pokémon, and can evolve it into Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Espeon, or Umbreon early in the game
 * Wild Pokémon exist, but aren't as common. Instead, most Pokémon are gained by capturing Shadow Pokémon from other trainers
 * Unlike the original Pokémon Colosseum, the Pokémon obtained in this game (excluding wild Pokémon) have unique and rare moves that often can't otherwise be learned in any other games
 * Trading between this game and Generation III GBA games is only available after beating the game

Positives

 * Lots of strategy involved, but not too difficult or frustrating
 * Shadow Pokémon can never be truly missed, since another trainer will get the Shadow Pokémon if you knock them out, and you can then capture them from that trainer
 * Some rare Pokémon available in XD that can't be easily obtained in other Generation III games are: Lugia, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile
 * Set in the unique region of Orre - has a Wild West/desert theme

Negatives

 * Battles can take a while as you can't turn off battle animations
 * Breeding isn't possible in this game
 * If you want to EV train, it's somewhat tedious and difficult. It's also very time-consuming to get good natures/IVs

Videos
Example of a battle in XD (against a boss; warning: spoilers). Battle starts at 0:44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OceVXB3laxg