The Friend Zone: Pokémon Edition - with 0kamii

My Favorite Starter Pokémon

   <

Back in 2002, when Ruby and Sapphire were first released, I'd watched my brother and his friends play pokémon for years. And since my parents finally decided I was old enough to play video games on my own, Pokémon Sapphire was my first official Pokémon game. As such, I was faced with the same grueling decision every young trainer has: my starters. I remember that my brother and his friend chose Treecko and Torchic, so by default I was guilted into choosing Mudkip. I don't regret that decision at all. Mudkip was an absolutely beast, even more so once it evolved into Swampert. And with the introduction of Mega Swampert, my friends quake in fear when they see that flash of Mega evolution because they know exactly what's coming their way. However, four years later, everything changed. With the release of Diamond and Pearl came my true love, Piplup. I love penguins, more than I care to admit. So when I saw the Penguin Pokémon for the first time, I was smitten. I chose it without a second thought, and we've been conquering the Pokémon world together ever since. But poor poor Swampert got benched, and now he only ever sees glory on my multi-weather Gen 3 recreationals team. However, Swampert is virtually the definition of an old flame. Swampert, we had something special once, but I've met the starter with which I want to spend my life. So, let's just stay friends.

My Favorite Gym Leader

 <

So, yeah. I think my love of Dragon-Types is well-documented, as seen by the fact that I made an entire post about them: (http://pokemonforever.com/Thread-DISCUSSION-All-Our-Favorite-Dragon-Pok%C3%A9mon). However, for the longest time, Clair of Blackthorn City was the only Dragon-Type gym leader there was, which made me feel obligated to love her above all else. And then Gen 5 came out and I set foot into Opelucid City for the first time. There something about the industrial feel of a Dragon-Type trainer that added a flavorful take onto a classic spin. Instead of acting all mystic and exalted, Drayden treated his status as a legendary Dragon-Type trainer seriously, but he brought it into a modern, metropolitan environment that gave him an aura of genius that still impresses me every time I battle him in the Unova games. He was like Darth Vader, a practitioner of old traditions, but he wasn't afraid to bring it into the modern world and educate others on its value. Not only that, but his title is, "The Spartan Mayor." I'm not Greek, but parts of my family are, and I think that's one of the coolest titles I've ever heard. So Drayden definitely grabbed the title of my favorite gym leader. He's wise, progressive, badass, and one hell of a battler. That's never an easy fight for me. Oh Clair, we had a good run, but let's just stay friends.

My Favorite Bug-Type

<

Here's an interesting take on the "Friend Zone" theme I'm going for. My love of Gen 4 is fairly apparent I think, so it should come as no surprise that my favorite Bug-Type originally came from Gen 4. Yanmega looked cool, had awesome status, was a killer in the Battle Castle, and paired well with major Earthquake users like Garchomp. What wasn't to like? Other than not being Bug/Dragon-Type. Well, nothing. I loved Yanmega dearly until Gen 5, that's when I saw Scolipede for the first time. I'm a huge geek when it comes to prehistoric life, and the Carboniferous period is among my favorite times to study. In case it wasn't obvious, Scolipede is based on the arthropleura. A 3 meter (~9ft) arthropod that thrived in the hot, humid climate of the Carboniferous period. So when I found out that Nintendo made a pokémon based on my favorite Carboniferous arthropod, I couldn't resist its gravity. Yanmega slipped into obscurity in my mind, and my love affair with Scolipede only grew after I started Shiny hunting and hatched a Shiny Venipede with its Hidden Ability after 1,060 eggs. I named him Arthros, and I still use him to kick butt to this day. This was also a time when I was drifting away from pokémon, and Scolipede was so awesome to me it single-handedly brought me back into it. Scolipede, for that, I'll love you forever. Yanmega, I will always remember the good times, but let's just stay friends.

Well, that's all for today. Again, I'm thrilled to be back and bring you guys regular content. I think I'm going to increase the quantity of my posts to three a week as opposed to two. I still have a bunch of posts I want to make, and I can't wait to get started on all of them. Just to make things intereting though, I'm curious to see what some of my comrades on the site think of old pokémon they used to love. So let's ask: @LittleFoxS, @ScottyThunder, @RetroTyphlosion, @Skyla, and how about @stephenWITNESS too?

What are some pokémon you used to love, but don't really use anymore?

Thanks for reading everyone. I look forward to all the weird and wondrous discussions we're bound to have! I'll read you all soon, and battle onwards friends!

- 0kamii