All Wii Features

Pokemusings, week 50 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Jun 19, 2008

Welcome to a historic, momentous, and jubilant occasion: the 50th issue of Pokemusings! It's hard to believe that we've been talking to you about Pokemon for 50 weeks! It's been a fantastic ride and we're so thrilled that you joined us for the journey. To celebrate this occasion, we're going to take a look back at how Diamond/Pearl has changed since its release, hold a spectacular giveaway, and make a very important announcement. Let's get ...

Pokemusings, week 49 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Jun 12, 2008

Nintendo of America just finished up its first big giveaway (Darkrai with Toys R Us) and is quickly springing another one on us (Deoxys at GameStop)! One of our excellent forumites spread the word that Deoxys will be distributed at participating GameStop stores on the weekends of July 20 and 27.

After the Darkrai giveaway, we were surprised to learn that people did not take advantage of soft resetting to get an optimum Darkrai. ...

Pokemusings, week 48 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Jun 5, 2008

Hopefully, many of you walked away with a brand new Darkrai last weekend. If you did, we'd love to hear about the nature and IVs of your new Pokemon. Now that one legendary giveaway is out of the way (for Japan and America anyway), let's start preparing for the next awesome giveaway: Shaymin! This adorable Grass Pokemon look harmless, but it packs a mighty punch. However, to get the most out of Shaymin, you'll have to put a lot of work ...

Pokemusings, week 47 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

May 29, 2008

Before we get to this week's Pokemusings, we wanted to remind our American readers that Darkrai is being distributed at participating Toys 'R Us stores this weekend. Be sure to snag this rare and excellent Pokemon if you can! Getting back to business, last week we looked at three moves that use unusual formulas to calculate the damage they inflict. These types of moves can be extremely effective in the right hands. ...

Pokemusings, week 46 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

May 22, 2008

Most Pokemon moves follow an involved but easy to understand formula. You have your base power, you have your same-type attack-bonus (STAB), you have your enemy's super-effective weakness, and so on. There are a few moves that don't follow the standard formulae, but instead follow a rather unusual set of rules to calculate damage. This week's Pokemusings takes a look at some of these moves: Grass Knot, Punishment and Trump Card. If you don't ...

Pokemusings, week 45 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

May 15, 2008

Bulbapedia, and a slew of other news outlets, recently reported that the June issue of CoroCoro magazine has leaked information on Pokemon Platinum. This title is purported to be the final game in the current Pokemon generation, capping off a triumvirate started by Diamond and Pearl. There are lots of interesting rumors on this upcoming game, so take a look at several of them and give your our take in this special platinum edition of ...

Pokemusings, week 44 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

May 8, 2008

Way back in October, we went over some techniques for two-on-two battles. We can't stress the enormous difference between singles' and doubles' strategy. They truly require different mindsets, strategies, and moves. Whether you're playing two on two with a friend in Diamond/Pearl or playing against the AI in Pokemon Battle Revolution, doubles battles can be pretty challenging and lots of fun. This week, we're going over some moves that ...

Pokemusings, week 43 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

May 1, 2008

Like any worldwide phenomenon, the Pokemon franchise has its fair share of products that are completely unrelated to its core. As proud owners of Plusle and Minun salt-and-pepper shakers, as well as a Pokemon ramen bowl, we've bought into Pokemon consumerism, quite literally. In addition to everyday knickknacks, there are a slew of Pokemon devices that we'll never get the chance to own. This week's Pokemusings looks at some of these Pokemon ...

Pokemusings, week 42 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Apr 24, 2008

There's a ton going on in the Pokemon world! The US Darkrai event has been announced, Pokemon Ranch is out in Japan and inching towards a worldwide release, and the new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games are out! The last part got us thinking about some of our favorite Pokemon spin-off games. While the mainline RPGs and the console "colosseum" titles have been coming out on a regular basis, Nintendo has thrown some interesting ...

Top 7... Cutesy Characters We Want to Beat the Crap Out of (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Apr 21, 2008

Admit it - you’ve thought about choking quite a few videogame characters to death. Whether it’s an annoying sidekick or a particularly tough boss, there’s no denying that the urge to bust somebody in the mush hasn’t seized you. There are a lot of deserving punks we could put into this article - but the most aggravating offenses come from the cutest characters. Those fluffy types just there to make a game more ...

Pokemusings, week 41 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Apr 17, 2008

There are some Pokemon that are just a pain in the butt to catch - legendaries, Pokemon that run around the map, honey tree Pokemon, etc. Thankfully, as the Pokemon games have progressed, many of these Pokemon are much easier to catch in Diamond/Pearl than they were in the forerunners. Still, it makes us reminisce about the good old days. We had our fair share of frustrations back then, but it all seems a bit funny now. This week's ...

Pokemusings, week 40 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Apr 10, 2008

We have tons of respect for the artists and designers that have worked on all the Pokemon games over the years. Coming up with new and exciting Pokemon is not easy, but the designers have managed to keep things fresh with most of the 493 critters they've concocted. That said, there are a number of Pokemon that are just boring, banal, and redundant. This week's Pokemusings focuses on Pokemon that leave you with a profound sense of ...

Pokemusings, week 39 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Apr 3, 2008

As some of you know, we were lucky enough to be in Orlando for WrestleMania XXIV. We were there as THQ's guests, as the company unveiled Smackdown vs Raw 2009. Since we had access to several WWE Superstars and Divas, we thought it would be a good time to get their opinions on some pressing Pokemon issues. This week's Pokemusings is about our WrestleMania/Pokemon adventure with Matt Hardy, CM Punk, Carlito, Ashley Massaro, and ...

Pokemusings, week 38 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Mar 27, 2008

In last week's issue of Pokemusings, we went over some great defensive-oriented Pokemon. Some made great defenders due to their stats (Blissey, Skarmory), while others stood strong because of their unique typing (Ludicolo, Spiritomb). Hopefully one or more of these Pokemon have caught your eye and you've picked your stalwart defender. Now we're going to show you some ways to use it! This week, we're going over strategies that are ...

Pokemusings, week 37: (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Mar 20, 2008

Most of the gamers in our Pokemon general discussion forums favor offensive Pokemon. It's easy to understand why - beating the tar out of something with a wide variety of offensive maneuvers is just plain fun. Furthermore, the story modes in the numerous Pokemon titles give you no reason to use defensive strategies. Seasoned competitive players know how useful defensive Pokemon can be. If you're just starting out with competitive battling or ...

Pokemusings, week 36 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Mar 13, 2008

The Underground is one of the most ambitious features in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. As a local-wireless multiplayer feature, it's... quirky, at best. Okay, we're lying. We think it's pretty boring and stupid as a multiplayer game. That said, it's an invaluable resource for Pokemon training, breeding, and trading. There are tons of valuable and useful items to be found in the Underground. Here's why you should spend at least an hour a week digging for treasures in the Underground. ...

Pokemusings: Week 35 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Mar 6, 2008

Lots of people in our Pokemon general discussion forums submit teams to be rated by their peers. In last week's Pokemusings contest, we asked you what your favorite hold items were for battling. Too many times we've seen people use some horrid hold items. Things like Mystic Water, Twisted Spoon, Charcoal and Arceus plates are almost always the wrong item to use in competitive battles. Any item that boosts one type of move should not be used in ...

Pokemusings, week 34 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Feb 28, 2008

The latest Pokemon movie, The Rise of Darkrai, made its American debut this past week. It was definitely one of the better Pokemon movies, but it also had its fair share of contrived elements and general stupidity. That said, we learned a lot from watching The Rise of Darkrai. Here are some lessons and random thoughts that came to us as we watched the movie.Ash Ketchum is still stupidIn his "dream" fight with Darkrai, Ash makes the bold and ...

Pokemusings, week 33 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Feb 21, 2008

Pokemon fans in North America are in for a special treat this weekend. On Sunday February 24, The Cartoon Network will be showing the latest Pokemon movie: The Rise of Darkrai. It definitely looks like one of the cooler Pokemon movies and shouldn't be one of the sucky ones. More importantly, the movie's release should mean that North American players should be able to get their hands on a Darkrai soon! In this issue of ...

Pokemusings, week 32 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Feb 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Yes, it's the time of the year again - the overly commercialized holiday where people get gouged for flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and more. Despite any protestations we might have against this holiday (you should love your loved ones every day!), we thought it would be a good time take a look at some great Pokemon couples. We're not talking about obvious ones like Latios and Latias. We're going to spend this ...