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[EAST] PAX Pokemon League 2012: Rivals!
Posts
Hooray! A new challenger! I highly recommend Black and White, I think they're the best iteration since Gold and Silver, honestly. I think you'll enjoy them.
The difference between Black and White is the same as the difference between Red and Blue/Gold and Silver, back in the day. That is, there are a few pokemon that are exclusive to each version, and (as was the case with Gold and Silver) there is a legendary pokemon that is specific to each. There are also some minor differences in some trainers you meet, and, unique to Black and White, there is a city exclusive to each version. White has the White Forest, in which you can capture more types of pokemon, and Black has Black City, which is populated with more trainers to fight.
As for rules, as zerzhul kindly mentioned, you can find the rules at www.paxpokemonleague.net/rules. Most of the banned list is just the really powerful legendaries, but not all legendaries are banned! So check the list.
Believe me, the scarves REALLY stand out. Last year I was able to pick out a gym leader standing in the queue line from the viewing area two floors above. We also hold meetups in the handheld lounge at specified times; we'll be picking the times as the convention draws nearer, and you can catch a lot of us there. But, like Heleor says, the lines to battle leaders at the meetups are usually really long, so you might be forced to wait! But if you catch us wandering around, you'll be able to jump into battle right away. A lot of leaders will be tweeting their locations periodically, so you can try to hunt them down that way, too.
So yeah! Great to have you on board!
Heleor's right, we're not allowed to put up signs, and since we're not an official event or anything it gets pretty hard to spread the word. We're going to try to get meetup times posted on the website as early as possible so people see them, and spread the word through twitter and facebook and whatnot. We've also got another little project that might help... but more on that will be announced... next week!
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
Also yes, scarves are NEON GREEN. I had people easily spotting me, especially from the second floor. Just be considerate to us leaders. Sometimes we need to take off to see parts of the con too, but I was willing to join a line to a panel I wasn't intending so to get a march in, or have people follow me to battle in that line.
For realsyreals, I'm excited to get into this, this year. But I almost want to have my own PPL scarf to display my won badges, though naturally in a different color. The way some of the gym leaders displayed theirs on their scarves just looks cooler. I dunno why though, but if they could get just one large one per leader, then put that on their scarves to display which gym leader they were over the smaller buttons on display, that would just be cool.
I wonder how much one of those button stamper machines go for...
*checks online*
HOLY MOTHER OF PIKACHU!!!! $29.95 FOR A STARTER KIT?!!? Okay, I may be suddenly volunteering to make those for you guys. Except the smallest size of button backs after the starter is 100. Hmmmm...
Yeah, grab a PAX East scarf and pin your badges to that! Lanyard works pretty well too.
Also, a giant badge button probably won't be necessary, since you'll be able to identify us by our costumes.
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
In other news, I finally caught a freaking Dragon type. Note to self: even Dragon types can be KO'd by a Pokemon 20 levels stronger.
*a few minutes later...*
THE FRIG!?!?? I just beat the last gym leader with only two pokemon over his level? HUH?
What dragon did you get?!?
How many Pokemon will be used? Will the battles be 3-on-3 or 6-on-6?
Typically, most leaders will be 6v6, however.
Druddigon. Got him in Dragonspiral tower to boot.
After I named him, I realized I really wanted to name him "DAGRON!", but then when I saw that my character summons him by name in the form of "Go! Rawr!", I felt better.
Currently gone a bit of the way through Victory Road, but I'm trying to get Tornadus before then as well.
The scarfs stand out like a sore thumb. You go through a weird process where you don't see any for awhile, then you're suddenly zerg rushed by a ton of gym leaders. My scarf is also covered with a million different buttons. Any I get--not even Pokemon related--are put on it. The dream is to have one giant button scarf. (Is a cool kid.)
An important distinction: If you see someone walking around with a scarf and 4 black slashes it means they're super cool Elite 4... Which reminds me, I need to get that. Do I need to make those? I don't pay attention to anything apparently.
Also, listen for the sounds of agony and crushed trainer dreams to find me. I'm even planning on skipping hockey practice so I can actually stay for the Champion showcase Sunday night. Should be a grand ole time.
Most.
3 Day Pass: [x] // Travel: [ ] // Time Off: [ ] // Hotel: [x]
Twitter: @amysophie
Gamertag/Steam: Vixen Valentine
Speaking of chargers, it's nice they had those little handheld stations and all that, but they only had one type of charger or something. I can't remember what the issue was, I just remember I was quite lucky I had my personal charger with me. Kind of irritating all the different DS's can't share chargers. Maybe they only had ones for the DSi?
One little note. I'm sure most of the Elite Four are super tactical and great at battling, but getting smashed by just one Pokemon sort of left a bad taste in my mouth. I know they probably uber-train their guys so they actually are good enough that just one can wipe my whole team, but getting attack-spammed by just one 'mon makes for a boring fight, even if you are losing. I'm also sure they don't want to just hand those things out like candy since they give access to the Champion, but I don't know, something about it just didn't feel like real battling.
I bet you could argue it was just my fault for not being good enough to counter whatever it was they were doing, and you'd probably be right. It just felt more like battling on a theoretical level than for real, like if you ran a bunch of simulations. "There are this many ways for you to lose."
But maybe I'm just a sore loser.
Really not sure what sort of feedback you'll take away from that, if any, since it's just me ranting about people who're more powerful than me. I don't know, I guess it's just me wanting to think I could at least put up a fight instead of never having had a chance to begin with. I'm not saying just hand out badges for attempts, but maybe there's some way to not flaunt their power so much. I really have no idea.
Don't worry, we've heard this complaint before. We're trying some different things this year to mix up the balance a bit. We've got a difficult task, because challengers to the PAX Pokemon League come at all different skill levels, and we want the league to be challenging for everyone (including serious business battlers), but not seem crushing or discouraging to anyone. I'm aiming to announce something this weekend that will help with that. Give things a try again this year, hopefully your experience will be different.
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
Also I just checked the covers for black and white (and the differences). I like Black more mostly due to Black City (I'm a city guy) and black is always a cool color. But I was disspointed how much cooler looking the Pokemon on the cover for White is. The Pokemon on the cover for black looks ok but he's got no arms
A word on Black City though. If you have a lot of friends (as in nearby ones) who play, go ahead and jump in. If you don't really have anyone around who can play with you though, you'll find Black City to just be a big empty lot. The whole point of both the exclusive zones is to grow through the Entralink or something, I could never get it to work much the few times I tried. Granted you'll likely be able to grow it up a little at PAX, but when you're typically on your own you may end up envious of the Forest, which I've heard actually has things you can do without being fully developed. My Black City only has a few stumpy buildings right now, not even any people. =/
There's a few available after you beat the storyline, but for almost all of them you have to transfer them over after I think you get the National Dex
One gripe I had about transfers in this one was that you couldn't just self-transfer like in Diamond and Pearl by putting an Advance game in the second slot. Doesn't Nintendo know I have no friends who can trade me? =/
National Dex? What's that?
Check it out here http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/National_Pokédex
I thought that was one of the reasons Black and White felt so fresh. I remember not really liking Pearl, and I've recently gone back into it because I need some pokemon from it (>.>) and while I've identified several other reasons why I think I disliked it (the city design is TERRIBLE, extremely annoying, not intuitive. I end up running into walls constantly, whoever is city planner in Sinnoh needs to be shot) I still think the mix of new and old pokemon was part of the reason. It's overwhelming, and trying to figure out what you can get and what you can't is impossible without an external guide (the subset of old pokemon available is completely arbitrary). With Black and White, you were forced to get acquainted with these new Pokemon... and I know I grew to love them and know them almost as well as the original 150, which is not something that has happened in previous gens.
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
Either way she's gonna be challenging.
You all know PPL '12's theme is Rivals, but this year... you're going to be fighting off your VERY OWN RIVAL!
Check out all the info on Rival Cards!
http://paxpokemonleague.net/2012/01/introducing-rival-cards/
If you have any questions, you can ask them here!
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
As played by our very own @cocowoushi! Let me tell you, I know from experience: Coco's a master battler, and as Leaf? Well, prepare your boots for significant quaking.
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
Oh goodness, well now I'll have to be sure not to disappoint. ;D
As for Gym Leaders having times when they don't accept challengers, do they take off their scarfs when that's so? It seems like it would be an easy way to tell if a Gym Leader is in a battling mood or not.
Exactly. In the past people have just kept them on. I think that's mostly due to the fact that we forget we're wearing them, haha. We're always filled with useful information, and a leader can always let you know if they'll be available later, or where you might find other leaders (we've got the inside scoop!) or whatever. I think we'll make a better effort this year to take off the scarves if we're going to be unavailable for a long period or we have something else to do (panels to go to, or we need to eat), but it's usually a rare occurrence.
Hooray! A repeat challenger! I hope you walk away with more badges this year!
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)
I remember you from last year! You were my first battle, think it was near the Portal 2 booth. I hope to battle you again this time around, even if you aren't a leader.
Propriety is not only a leader, but one of the people organizing it this year!
I'm glad people are getting excited for the Rival system. It's something we're still finalizing the rules on, but we all hope it's enjoyable!
You bet your britches I'm a leader, and I remember you! Mainly because that line was UNBELIEVABLY LONG. (Totally worth it for that aperture science shirt.) I look forward to seeing you again! Looking forward to your challenge!
Going to PAX East? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League! (Check our website for more details)