Pokemon Black & White Championships: The (Aspiring) Winner's Guide
Another year, another Pokemon Video Game World Championship.
Another year, another Pokemon Video Game World Championship. 2011 puts the focus on Nintendo DSs new Pokemon Black and White versions; specifically the one-hundred and fifty two newbies added to the mon ranks in its now fifth generation. Thats right, old-school fans, not even Charizard (the arsonists nightmare) has a glance at this years US and European nationals. Countries outside of Japan have barely had four months (or an in-game year if, like me, youve been unable to peel yourself from your DS) to acquaint themselves with their new fighting team. Orchestrating a fail-safe strategy takes the brains of an Alakazam (thats a 5,000 IQ thatd put Stephen Hawking to shame), the cunning of a Sneasel and the subtle deception of a Ditto. Or, for those of you still living in the real world, a few handy lessons from the champions themselves. So, here it is, an introduction to just some of the vogue pokemon which trounced their way through the UK Nationals on 4th June: securing their diligent masters a hotspot in this years World Championships in San Diego, California this August! IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? NO, ITS AGH! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!
Ladies and Gentleman, meet the most popular pokemon at this years competitions: the nightmarish Hydreigon. As a dual Dark/Dragon type, hes literally in a class of his own, with a well-rounded stats spread putting him on par with other titans such as Dragonite, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross and even the land-shark Garchomp. With brutal special and physical attack stats and a varied and versatile moveset, hes many aspiring champions first port of call. Any prospective user should aim for all-out attack on both special and physical fronts, with moves such as Outrage, Draco Meteor, Stone Edge, Crunch or Flamethrower. And dont get hit by fighting types. He really hates that.
WHO YA GONNA CALL?
Of the shady ghost-type crowd, two rose proudly over all others in the fifth generation. Flame-spewing Chandelure has a special attack stat thats through the roof, giving him access to the sort of flames which would make our old friend Charizard sweat. Flamethrower is almost a must, though Heat-Wave also works particularly well (especially against multiple targets). Jellicent possesses an impressive HP and Special-Defence spread, as well as access to many incapacitating moves such as Will-o-Wisp and Confuse Ray and healing moves such as Recover and Pain-Split. With ability Cursed Body he can also disable a foes favourite attack, an added bonus for trainers who love to annoy. He also owns the most impressive mutton chops in video game history. WHOS THAT POKEMON?
First of the Black and White generation to be publicly revealed (and star of his own film), Zoroark is guilty of being the single most fun pokemon to use. My personal favourite of the crowd by a red manes length. The premise is simple, send him out into battle and his Illusion ability allows him to mimic the last pokemon in your party. Being the Dark type, Zoroark is totally immune to Psychic attacks and is highly resilient to Ghosts and other Dark types. Making him imitate either a Fighting type or a Ghost can really screw with an opponents plans and with amazing speed and killer special-attack, this wily fox can swiftly take down an unsuspecting foe. And the look on their face will be priceless, rest assured. The trick never gets old. THUNDERBOLTS AND LIGHTNING, VERY, VERY FRIGHTENING
These guys pack a heck of a punch and this years contenders knew it well. Of the UKs three champions and three runner-ups, FOUR trainers used either Tornadus or Thundurus (one actually used both). And rightly so. Tornadus is unique in being the only pure Flying type of the grand 547 pokemon and Thundurus is one of the few electric types blessed with an immunity to ground types, thanks to its secondary flying type. A popular move used by both was Tailwind, a manoeuvre which ups the speed for your whole team for four whole turns: incredibly useful in the competitive environment. Both also possess the ability Prankster, allowing them an extra speed boost if their next move is a stat-affecting one. These guys offer excellent opening support as well as a blistering punch if caught in a bind. ALL FOR ONE AND ONE ABOVE ALL
Terrakion is one of the three Musketeer inspired legendary pokemon and the brute of the trio. When hit by a dark-type attack, his Justified ability boosts his attack stat and, being the tank he is, that pushes Terrakion into the realms of an unstoppable juggernaut. His siblings, Cobalion and Virizion possess the same ability, but with lower attack stats they arent nearly as efficient at using it. With access to attacks such as Close Combat, Earthquake and Stone Edge, Terrakion is a force to be reckoned with when switched into, say, the dark attacks of a brutal Hydreigon or sneaky Zoroark. These are just examples of the most effectively used championship pokemon, but there were many others. Whether it be the fungal Amoonguss and his attack-drawing Rage Powder, steely dark-type Bisharp and his priority-hit Sucker Punch or punk Scrafty and his knock-em-out, get stronger every time Moxie ability, the new pokemon of Black and White are by no means push-overs. Variety is the spice of life, they say. If youre new to competitive battling, Pokemon Black Version or Pokemon White Version for the Nintendo DS could be an excellent place to start experimenting. Mix, match and try out tactics on your unsuspecting mates. Who knows, maybe your strategies will be the posted about at next years championships. Wax on, Wax off, would-be masters.