Beyond the Ghost Trial

This week, August has moved beyond the curtained door into the afterlife after seeking his ghosts and defeating them in battle.

Well, or something like that.

The Ghost Trial had me finding and photographing spooky ghosts doing spooky ghosty things in the haunted mall/beach.  Ultimately, my opponent was the Ghost/Fairy Mimikyu and its buddy Haunter.  Mimikyu has a unique ability in "Disguise".  This allows it to avoid the first direct hit of a match.  It would have been great to know this before I wasted by Z-move "Inferno Overdrive" on it.

I came away with the victory in the end, largely because Beak Blast has the ability to cause burn against pokemon that cause direct physical damage.

The next supporting character I would be introduced to would be none other than Grimsley, the Dark type Elite Four from Pokemon Black and White version.  Grimsley showed up out of nowhere (seriously, even the other characters were commenting on how weird he was standing there in his kimono on the beach) to give me the ride pager for Sharpedo (which would allow me to break through rocks whilst surfing).

I battled Plumeria again.  Since our last match, her Salandit had evolved into Salazzle.  It was level 35, so my own Sassy Sally must be close to evolution, herself!  Team Skull left, but not before stealing a poor little kid's Yungoos.

I decided to help because I am the fighter for love and justice known as Sailor August.  No, I didn't decide to help because the plot called for it.

Turns out that Team Skull lives in a walled off slum that they call Po Town.  There is garbage and graffiti all over...plus it is constantly raining.  There is no power for their pokemon center.  I would probably get pretty grumpy having to live there too.

I think I get Team Skull.  I mean, it wasn't until recently that I really understood the plans or the motivations of the other villainous gangs from previous games, but I do get Team Skull.  They're underprivileged and they just want some respect.

One gang member told me that she dropped out of her trial and that she didn't like how I was coming by and bragging about it and throwing it in her face.  I understand this as a motivation for them to want to assemble and cause a little something to get back at the privileged kids.  I understand that.

On the other hand, it wasn't until recently that I understood the motivation behind Team Aqua:  "return the world to the way that it once was and rightly should be."

Considering the dark forces that have recently taken control of the US government, a good ole reset of the entire species might be for the best.

We're probably going to get one whether we like it or not.

Current Squad:


Brionne/Pako Pako/lvl 33
Electabuzz/Buzz/lvl 33
Salandit/Sassy Sally/lvl 32
Oricorio/Ori-Chan/lvl 33
Tsareena/Bouncee/lvl 33
Sylveon/Star Fighter/lvl 34

On Rotation:
Crabrawler, Toucannon, Mareanie

Pokedex: 177 caught

Why I Love Pokemon

...gonna have to table the Gen 2 vs. Gen 3 discussion for the time being.  This is for many reasons.

First of all, given recent developments in my home country of America we have to address the elephant in the room, or rather, the "ambulatory hate-filled cheese puff with bad hair" in the white house.  Yes, this is going to be one of those posts.

Even if we ignore all of his bigotry and racism, his disregard of policy and politics, even if we ignore his rejection of the ideals outlined at the Geneva Convention and basic human decency, future president Donald Trump (still makes me vomit a little) is, without hyperbole,  an enemy to every person in the world.  This is because he has promised to destroy it.

Donald Trump has pledged to dissolve the EPA, to prioritize coal, and to ignore the statements outlined in the Paris Agreement.  If the United States backs out of the Paris Agreement, global climate change is going to be accelerated (and if you don't believe it's real, go back to school, motherfucker).  He has mentioned fracking tycoon (an arguably less fun game than Rollercoaster Tycoon) Harold Hamm (fuck that guy) as a likely Minister of Energy.  He has brought up Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani, Ben Carson (that creationist fuck) for his cabinet.  It's like he's actually assembling the Secret Society of Supervillians.

What does this have to do with my Pokemon blog?

It is my belief that you can't appreciate Pokemon without caring for the environment to some extent.  The reason I love to play Pokemon so much is to explore a world of such variety in terms of the lifeforms that exist.  When you hear about a new pokemon game, what gets you most excited?  For nine out of ten people, their answer is "all the interesting new pokemon".  There are countless hundreds of fan-made pokemon designs.  There are scores of fan-made pokemon hacks with their own world and creatures.

How could you not see the parallels to our own world, which is so wonderful and teeming with variety?

I love playing Pokemon because it helps me remember to appreciate real world animals and plants and fungi.  There are so many wonderfully weird and cute and vicious creatures and plants.  There is so much beauty to be found all around you.  Even plants as common as an oak tree are important to so many creatures.    Even creatures as creepy as a spider; I love them all.  There's something beautiful and ruthless to the creepy fuckers.

I try to impress upon my biology students that life is weird and a little gross, but always awesome.  The Horned Toad shoots blood out of its eyes to scare off predators.  Isn't that totally gross and kind of awesome?!  Male Platypus are venomous; it's so rare to have such a trait in a mammal!  Komodo Dragons exist!  Actual dragons, 9 foot long lizards.  How is that not the coolest god-damned thing?  There are gliding snakes, flying squirrels.  The Pangolin!  Do you like the pokemon "sandslash"?  Wish it was real?  Well it is...and it's almost extinct.

It's easy to forget that a world full of life and wonderful things exist, especially whilst we sit here in our comfortable rooms with a mug of coffee and a pumpkin-scented candle--or perhaps in some popular (but not too popular, amiright?) coffeehouse furiously blogging and tweeting glib sarcasms.  It's easy to forget how great the world is.

So when people tell me that this upcoming abortion of a presidency won't be that bad, I remember the ones that are really going to suffer: the animals and the plants and all the beauty of the world.

I hope you like your fucking tax breaks, you Philistines.