What’s this? Another Pokémon Round Table? Grab you Pokéballs, check your Pokédex and get ready for the latest Round Table. This week we discuss Pokémon Black and White and its impact on the franchise.

Weekly Award – Week 24:

The Poképun Award – The Evolution Solution!

Fitting the theme of the Pokémon series, I am looking for ideas to help this article evolve.

Basically I am asking what you want to see. Whether it be a certain round table theme, another anime review video, or anything that you can put your mind to.

Let me know in the comments bellow.

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Now for the Round Table rules: As usual, each participant is given a series of questions covering various aspects in anime, manga and Japanese culture. Each individual then has to provide their opinion on the said issue. Be warned as answers may contain spoilers. Finally, I rubs evolution stones all over the participants.

Our Participants today are:
• Christmas – Charmander
• Jubilee – Squirtle
• Zero – Bulbasaur
• Kate – Totodile
• Shidohari – Torchic
• Z Shadow X – Mudkip
• Bargain Gamer – Piplup
• Quostin – Chimchar
• Ash Fan Girl Lisa – Turtwig

With the introduction of new Pokémon, who is your favorite from generation 5? Have they surpassed you previous favorite or do they not quite meet the same standard?

• Christmas- I’m not sure what my favorites were, but Bisharp, Volcarona, Hydreigon and Lilligant have proven their worth several times over to me. Except Bisarp. He’s fragile, but he looks cool.
• Jubilee – I would have to say my favorite Pokemon from Gen. 5 is a toss up. It would either be Lilligant, because she is a new Grass type that can tear stuff up, or Escavalier, cause he pelvic thrusts with the best of them. I’m generally pleased with all of the new Pokemon though, and welcome them to the family…except Garbodor…he can stay outside.
• Zero- Galvantula/Joltik, I’m not to utterly crazy about Bug Pokemon, but Electric Pokemon are just utterly fantastic. I normally prefer a fully evolved team, but there is something about Joltik I just wanna leave small and let it ride my head/shoulder. It hasn’t surpassed my top 3 favorite Pokemon, but It completely nudged its way into my Top 5.
• Kate – My overall favorite has to be Mijumaru (or, Oshawott for those who call it that). It doesn’t quite surpass my favorite Pokemon (Bayleef) or some others, but it’s up in the top 10 for me. I would have to go over my list again to tell you where. Get back to me on that.
• Shidohari – I would say I have a couple favorites HRRJB (AKA Archeops) is one of them, I also like Volcarona. Neither are legendaries but are a staple in my team.
• Z Shadow X – I scream you scream we all scream for Vanillite! No not really, I still think generation 1, 2, and 3 are the best. Pokemon FTW!
• Bargain Gamer – My personal favorite from the new gen is Lilligant, as it is the first grass type Pokemon that I’ve actually wanted to use. Unfortunately it cannot surpass the awesomeness that is Hippowdon and/or Empoleon (depending on my mood), but it is very cool nonetheless.
• Quostin- My favorite would probably be Reuniclus.
  Does it pass my previous favorite? Not even close. Shuckle FTW!
• Ash Fan Girl Lisa- My favorite gen 5 Pokemon are Zebstrika and Mincinno. Zebstrika is awesome because it’s an Electric zebra. And I love Minccino because it’s so cute. ^_^ They haven’t surpassed my all time favorite Pokemon though. I’m an old-school Pokemon fan, so I’ll always have Pikachu and Chikorita as my TOP favorites. =3

Which Pokémon do you see is the biggest threat this generation in the games? If you do not play the games competitively which Pokémon do you see as the most intimidating when battling them?

• Christmas- I’m not sure any one thing is the biggest threat. It’s all a matter of having a well balanced team, and not a bunch of pseudo-legends that you expect to ride the wind with. Ice is more common than you think you fools.
• Jubilee – Well, there are quite a few that will significantly change playstyles in my opinion. For one, Politoed and Ninetales with their new abilities seem highly intimidating, just for the fact that Swift Swim/Chlorophyll teams can wreck. Specifically for Gen. 5 Pokemon though, Ferroseed frustrates me. As part Grass type, I can’t Leech Seed it, and as part Steel, I cannot Poison it, which makes it a difficult staller to take down (Especially since I dont carry much fire or fighting). I will fear Chandelure as well once Dream World opens up over here…Shadow Tag just makes it the deadliest Revenge killer. @_@
• Zero- Hydreigon and Archeops, Hydreigon and Archops alone have insane stats, sure everyone can say “Oh just use an ice move, they die to ice”. But a WELL trained Hydreigon and Archeops, with high speed and attack, can crush enemy Pokemon with one move.
• Kate – Mijumaru. Enough said.
• Shidohari – This one is hard, there are alot of very good pokemon in this game. I don’t necessarily say any pokemon is more of a threat in this game, it’s just you have to work harder to beat some types more than others. Though Hydregion the three headed dragon is very very evil when battling it…so I guess that would be the hardest and most intimidating pokemon in the game.
• Z Shadow X – I would say Victini, but I haven’t play the game yet so I really don’t know who’s the biggest threat is. Going by the information I got in wiki, Victini can supposedly boost up your ally in a double battle. So if I ever come across a Victini in a double battle, I better hope for victory.
• Bargain Gamer – Mother. F***ing. Emolga. Seriously though, that thing needs to be hunted to extinction. To arms my brothers! We shall purge the land of the damned rats once and for all!
• Quostin- I say that there are three pokemon with the biggest threat. Mienshao, Reuniclus, and Ferrothorn.
• Ash Fan Girl Lisa- Hmm, the biggest threat this generation, I would say is Terrakion. I’ve battled it in the random matchup mode, and I have to say, that Pokemon is tough to beat. Hydreigon is pretty strong as well.

What is the biggest change you have noticed in the game, has it impacted positively or negatively on the game?

• Christmas- The Battle Subway’s difficulty is a cut above the Battle Tower, and even most of the whole Battle Frontier. It’s great that the challenge is there, but it sucks to get to round six and then get shot down because a random team cleans you up.
• Jubilee – CHATOT BEING BANNED! I dislike it, and it is stupid. The Sturdy Ability is also a significant change imo. It really makes some Pokemon 10x better.
• Zero- The Story, something Pokemon RSE didn’t do well on, and DPPt almost nailed. The story just captured me, the music was incredible and I loved the animation. If they can do ALL THIS for a handheld Pokemon game, I have HIGH hopes for the future of Pokemon.
• Kate – I don’t know. I don’t have the new game, yet. I’ll just go with the triple battle for the heck of it. Triple Battles, giving more commands to Pokemon like no other.
• Shidohari – Biggest change I noticed are actually both the changes in the experience gaining after battling a pokemon with a level higher or lower than your own team members, and the seasons changing the terrain in this game. I think those have impacted positively in this game.
• Z Shadow X – What I notice about the new generation is that they look very mature. Mostly all the older generation looks very childish or kid friendly, but the new generation seems to be more aim at the older kids or more mature in a kind of way. Well, in my opinion.
• Bargain Gamer – TMs! I don’t know who decided to make it so that TMs can be used as many times as you want, but they deserve a medal or something. Plus it makes sense, as the TMs always looked like discs, so why couldn’t you just keep using the same disc over and over? Definitely a plus for me.
• Quostin- The story. It probably the biggest impact since dark and steel was added to the game.
• Ash Fan Girl Lisa- The biggest change I’ve noticed is the fact that wild Pokemon appear way more often than they did before. It seems like they appear every few steps now. I’m fine with this though, as it gives me more opportunities to find rare Pokemon. If it gets too annoying, I can always use a Super Repel. And if you ask me, I’d say this is a positive change.

Have you watched any of the new Black and White anime, if so what are your thoughts?

• Christmas- No full episodes, but I saw this one clip where Team Rocket gets bailed out by a senior member in a truck. Then they fly off with jetpacks. Best scene ever. Iris is voiced by Eileen Stevens though, and she’s pretty awesome.
• Jubilee – Well, I have not watched any of it yet, but from what I have heard from others…why is Team Rocket not their same old selves? D: WHERE IS WOBBUFFET?!?!?!
• Zero- I Did, until, SPOILERS, Jessie and James re-dawned their old white uniforms and brought the goofiness back.
• Kate – I’ve seen all the episodes, so far. I feel that it’s a bit rushed compared to the other generations. Kinda hard without spoiling anything. However, if you’ve seen them, you would understand what I mean. I will say, though, that Pikachu seems less powerful than its suppose to be and Ash’s new rival kinda seems like an almost repeat of the whole thing with Paul. At least they got one thing right from it. Mijumaru equals win.
• Shidohari – I am not much into the pokemon anime. maybe I’ll watch the movies when they come out but I just don’t watch it anymore because as long as Ash Ketchum has been on TV he hasn’t aged a bit. Something is wrong with that 😀
• Z Shadow X – Did I miss the memo? Since when? No I haven’t 🙁
• Bargain Gamer – I haven’t seen the anime, so I can’t really say. I’m really only into the games anymore, so I’ll leave this to the others.
• Quostin- I have. I liked what I saw so far, and kind of happy that Team Rocket is kind of more evil now than earlier seasons… but I heard that changed later in the series…
• Ash Fan Girl Lisa- Yes, I’ve watched the Pokemon Black and White anime. I watch the English dub (dub-fan here). And I actually enjoy the Black and White episodes. To me, these episodes are A LOT more exciting than the D/P episodes were. And I like the new characters, Iris and Cilan. Cilan is cool. Jason Griffith does a good job voicing him, in my opinion. And I think Iris is interesting, because her “goal is a mystery. At this point, we really don’t know why she’s traveling with Ash. =) And speaking of Ash, wow, I can’t believe the writers are saying that he is only 10! There’s no way he could still be 10, after everywhere he’s been and everything he’s done! The writers are definitely contradicting themselves here, lol. Also, in my opinion, Ash’s voice needs to be HIGHER pitched, because Ash is a young boy. Come on, he’s still 10, according to the writers. And in real life, young boys have high voices. Therefore, Ash needs to SOUND like a young boy, just like he did in the old seasons. So…either Sarah needs to make her pitch higher, or they should just bring back Veronica Taylor (the best Ash, in my opinion). End rant. XD

In terms of design or name what is the worst or least creative Pokémon introduced this generation?

• Christmas- Someone else has answered this question for me. Please see the following image. http://www.hejibits.com/comics/video-game-comics/gray-matter/
• Jubilee – Garbodor. You are in my top 5 most disliked. You are not quite as bad as Bronzong, but you aren’t better than Metagross. I hate you all though! 😀
• Zero- Klink, Klank, and Klang… they’re horrible knock off Magnetons, and not all that creative…. they lost Points when their names where not “Klink, Klank, Klunk”
• Kate – I’m disappointed in the legends for Black and White. None of them really impressed me compared to the other four generations. The only ones I like are Reshiram and Keldeo. Also, Foongus. We all know now were the concept of a Pokeball came from.
• Shidohari – ? I guess gigalith is the least appealing of the pokemon in this generation’s gaming as far as design goes. But there are alot of pokemon that they could have designed better.
• Z Shadow X – Vanilluxe, it’s missing the cherry on top!
• Bargain Gamer – Unfezant. I am rolling my eyes so hard right now, you don’t even know. There are a lot of… unconventional names this time around, but this one in particular bothers me if only because it is such a bad pun.
• Quostin- I would say probably 1/2 of them were… I would probably say that garbage pokemon. I don’t even remember it’s name since it’s off my radar.
• Ash Fan Girl Lisa- In terms of design, I’d say the least creative Pokemon this generation is Bouffalant. It’s pretty much Tauros with an afro. WTF? XD

Most importantly. Black or White?

• Christmas- White because it has the cooler legend and Lilligant, but you can get Petilil via in-game trade. Black because you don’t want to look like a racist by picking White.
• Jubilee – White, for the Lilligant…and the other exclusives for it. Although, Black DOES get Black City…although, I like the stones better, not the game.
• Zero- White, ZEKROM FTW
• Kate – Blue.
• Shidohari – Black please. It’s all about the items.
• Z Shadow X – More important, I need money to buy them both!
• Bargain Gamer – In the words of Stephen Colbert, I don’t see color. 😉
• Quostin- White
• Ash Fan Girl Lisa- White version, definitely. Zekrom is the best, because of its Electric/Dragon typing!! 😀

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And so ends our journey today. If you would like to ask a question for a future round table or possibly answer some questions yourself, please leave a comment below or send me a message on the forums right here at 918TheFan.com. Remember to check in next time for more anime goodness.

EagleEyes, out!