Poke-Types: Rock

INTRODUCTION

With 47 species, the Rock-type is certainly not as abundant as Water-types in the Pokemon world. But, it's also not the most scarce either. Perhaps originally made popular by Brock on the TV show way back in the '90s, the Rock-type has more going for it than what meets the eye.



Most Rock-types tend to have high Attack and Defense stats, with poor Speed and Special stats. In the first few generations, many of the Rock Pokemon also had the dual type of Ground, which made them more vulnerable to types like Grass and Water. Most of the time, Rock-types tend to either be superb physical walls or physical attacking beasts. Who doesn't like beasts?

GENERAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

STRENGTHS

We begin with the obvious: fantastic attacking ability. Nearly all Rock-types have a base Attack stat of over 100, with some being upwards of 140. These things are POWERFUL. Add a STAB bonus onto their attacks and they can instantly rip holes through most teams.

Defense is another priority. Rock-types can take hits with the best of them, with much higher than average Defense stats. This makes them great at walling physical attackers and especially useful in warding off annoying Normal and Flying attackers.

He will mess you up. Unless your team uses Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel, is fully evolved, uses special attacks, or is good.

Rock offers some advantages when it comes to having a type advantage over an opponent. Rock is super-effective against Fire, Flying, Bug, and Ice. While this is only four types, Flying is an extremely popular type choice especially in competitive battles. Also note Rock's ability to trump many "go-to" Pokemon like the Kanto legendary birds, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Victini, Reshiram, and Charizard.

Cullination Comics Update

POKE-FOCUS #25: TOGEKISS

Really lives up to being the "Jubilee Pokemon"

Introduction

Togekiss is Togetic's new evolution from 4th-generation. It represents a major jump in stats, which allow the Jubilee Pokemon to fulfill the various roles its pre-evolution could not. Serene Grace is absolutely ridiculous on Togekiss; it has many ways of abusing the ability. It also has many other tricks up its sleeve, making it quite fun to battle with this Pokemon.

With the introduction of Togekiss in Gen IV, the Togepi family went instantly from a complete joke to a serious threat.

Capture/Training

Egg to birdy thing. Now it makes a little sense.

Many times, Togepi is simply given to you in the form of a gift, usually as an egg. In HeartGold and Soulsilver, you must carry the egg around with you after receiving it from Mr. Pokemon just outside of Cherrygrove City. In Pokemon Platinum version, you also can receive Togepi through an egg given to you, as well as at rare times in the Trophy Garden as a wild Pokemon.

 

However, there's a possible alternative available: import a Togepi from Pokemon XD. The main advantage of this is that this Togepi will have the awesome Tri Attack. Getting multiple of these Togepi is somewhat troublesome, though. Also, due to some weird glitch, Togepi actually switches ability once transferred and evolved, which means if you want Serene Grace Tri Attack Togekiss, you're going to have to live with Hustle Togepi for a bit, if that's okay with you.

Evolve Togepi via friendship to Togetic as soon as possible. Togekiss learns none of Togetic's moves, so make sure Togetic knows whatever moves you want it to know before using the Shiny Stone. Possible benchmarks include Encore at Lv. 19, Wish at Lv. 28, and Baton Pass at Lv. 42.

Poke-Types: Water

Welcome to Poke-Types!

In this short series, we will be taking a closer look at the 17 types gracing the Pokemon world since 1995 (including the two that were late to the party).

We will be taking a look into attacks, legendaries, history, strong trainers, evolution through the generations, strengths and weaknesses, and other important features, including some of our favorites over the years!

If you're a Pokemon fan, you are in for a treat!

We begin with Pokemon's most abundant type: Water


INTRODUCTION

The most abundant type in over 15 years of Pokemon games is the Water-type. With powerful entries from the beginning like Blastoise and Gyarados, the Water-type was very quickly established as a dominant type (in numbers at least).

Water-types are so abundant that they literally do come in all shapes, sizes, and creatures. From water dragons to starfish to sand crabs, Water is without a doubt the most developed (and perhaps overdeveloped) of all the types.

Generally speaking, Water-types tend to be bulky and defensive rather than speedy sweepers. One of the only exceptions to this that comes to mind is Starmie. For the most part, Water-types are similar to Blastoise and Lapras: huge defensive and HP stats with not a lot of Speed and mediocre attacking stats.

THIS WEEK IN CULLINATION (9/24-10/01)

GREETINGS FROM CULLINATION!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! The weekend may be over, but we have a fresh new week of updates, articles, comics, and videos for you!

The past two weeks have been erratic here at Cullination. Two weeks ago we were hacked and lost a lot of data and were set behind. This past week, we have been playing catch up - especially on Youtube. At last, we are finally all caught up!

What does that mean for you? Well, let's begin with a recap of the week and we'll work up to that.

The main feature on the blog this past week was our coverage of the Kanto starters in three consecutive Poke-Focus articles. We've gotten some great reception on it so far and based on your recommendations, we will be doing another week like this coming up in the near future. Not this week, though!

Anyone else wondering why Charizard isn't in the middle?

In the Video Game and Comic Book of the Week section, Batman: Year One was chosen for the comic, and Pokemon Red and Blue were the games chosen. Remember the good old days when Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow was the only thing you wanted to do? It still is? We feel ya on that one.

POKE-FOCUS #24: CHARIZARD

Introduction

Probably one of only a few Pokemon who do not need an introduction to begin with, but we're going to give him one anyway. Charizard is the Fire/Flying starter of the Kanto region, and the uncontested winner of any popularity contest.

Charizard is the face of Pokemon, behind only Pikachu perhaps, and rightfully so. His power is immense, and his usefulness is nearly unmatched across all of the regions. The only other Fire/Flying Pokemon considered worthy to stand with Charizard are legendaries such as Moltres and Ho-Oh. He is that good.

But at the same time, he is overrated. Perhaps only slightly, but overrated nonetheless. He can be defeated, but it is no small task.

Charizard was even popular enough to become a playable character in Super Smash Bros.

Why Rock Smash? Why?!?

Let's take a look at why and how Charizard has become one of the most famous Pokemon in history.

Capture/Training

Like the other two Kanto starters, Charizard is only obtainable through evolution and trading. In FireRed, LeafGreen, Red, Blue, and Yellow, Charmander can be obtained from Professor Oak at the onset of the game at Level 5. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Charmander can be chosen as a gift from Professor Oak after obtaining 16 gym badges.

Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at Level 16, at which point it is still just a pure Fire-type. At Level 36, Charmeleon evolves into Charizard and gains the Flying-type, which in turn removes his weakness to Ground-types (while adding Electric as a new vulnerability).

Cullination Comics Update

Video Game and Comic Book of the Week!

VIDEO GAME OF THE WEEK

POKEMON RED AND BLUE

To continue with the first generation starter pokemon in Poke-Focus, which you can find by clicking the links at the bottom of this article, I thought that Red and Blue should be the video game of the week!

I don't want to battle with you,
I just want to eat you,
because you look like an ice cream cone.

If you are someone that claims to be a "gamer" you played these games...and you loved them!  These are the games that started it all.  If you ask any "90's kid" they will tell you the same thing.  That same thing is that these are the best RPG games of all time and that the first generation Pokemon are the best!  I mean, have you looked at the recent new Pokemon?  What exactly is a Dwebble any way?

These games are certainly where it's at!  Even today I still go back to playing these classic games and I still have as much fun playing them as I did when I was a kid.

POKE-FOCUS #23: VENUSAUR

Introduction

All things start somewhere, and when it comes to Pokemon, it all starts with #1, Bulbasaur. Or, as far as competitive Pokemon goes, it all starts with #3, Venusaur. How does it fare competitively? It has a great list of attacks, can hit from either side of the attack spectrum, and stands up to enemies fairly well. Venusaur might not be the most powerful starter or the most powerful Pokemon ever, but it fares quite well and does not disappoint as the first of all Pokemon. And to all of those who have thought for years that Venusaur was awful, you're in for an intellectual, factual spanking.

Capture/Training

The only way to get a Bulbasaur is to get it as a starter from Professor Oak, or after beating all 16 Gym Leaders in HeartGold and SoulSilver. Soft-resetting to get a good nature or to get a female one is fine.

The standard evolutionary path of Bulbasaur is Ivysaur at level 16 and Venusaur at level 32. Delaying Ivysaur's evolution for 7 levels to learn Synthesis 6 levels earlier is a fair proposition. Also, Bulbasaur is the only member of the line who can learn Seed Bomb, although a stronger physical option does exist. Keep that in mind and an Everstone in your pack.

Here's a picture of Venusaur having a snack.

Mmm, slop!

Statistics

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS REVIEW

Like many desirable things in life, it's not the size, it's what you do with it that counts. After so many years in development, we all expected the new Zelda to be an absolute monster of a game. Sure enough, Nintendo proudly proclaims on the back of the box that Twilight Princess is "the biggest Zelda adventure of all time".

Sure, it's a massive game. A behemoth. Even if you rush through it and never get stuck, it's easily four to five times the size of most mainstream games currently topping the charts, and comes as a bit of a shock to the system as a result. Every time you think you're 'nearly finished', a whole new portion of the game reveals itself, but does so in such a way that you never feel exhausted or overwhelmed by the task at hand. Chances are, you'll have had such a great time that you'll only ever be grateful to Nintendo for not only packing in so much gameplay, but making it so consistent all the way through.

 

But Twilight Princess isn't simply consistent. Consistency can get boring if you're just slogging through doing the same thing over and over - no matter how good that piece of entertainment is. The real delight about the latest addition to the Zelda series is how skilfully the game's been broken down into delicious chunks - like discreet episodes that unfold, embellish the storyline, increase your abilities and keep twisting the gameplay into new shapes that make the progression exciting and enticing. There's always an incentive to keep going. There are always new things to discover.

On so many levels that matter Twilight Princess is an absolute masterpiece. No wonder it took so long to make. In terms of where it fits into the Zelda lineage, we're very much back in Ocarina of Time territory, and, for many, Twilight Princess will represent a spiritual sequel that's completely faithful to what fans expect from the series. In many ways, its determination to stay true to the legacy of the past holds it back to a degree, but we'll come back to that.

POKE-FOCUS #22: BLASTOISE

This week, we will be taking a closer look at the final evolved forms of the Kanto starters.

In our own ranking, Charizard made the cut for the best out of all three, but what are the fine details? We're going to be breaking down each Pokemon's movepool and overall strengths and weaknesses in order to get a more accurate view on the three Pokemon that essentially started it all (suck it, Pikachu).

Up first, Blastoise!

Introduction

 

Blastoise is the final evolved form of cute little Squirtle.  Erroneously called the "Shellfish Pokemon," Blastoise shares his exact Poke-distinction with Kabutops, ironically, though the two look nothing alike.

Blastoise's design seems to be comprised of a strange but workable combination between a tortoise and a tank. It doesn't get much cooler than a tortoise tank with TWO cannons. Say what you want, but Blastoise is freaking cool.

He is the Kanto region's lone single-typed starter, being pure Water. As such, Blastoise also has the fewest amount of weaknesses (Grass and Electric). While mostly known for his defensive abilities on both ends of the spectrum, Blastoise also has a fairly diverse movepool along with decent attack stats, and the ability to truly unleash the potential of his ability.

Top Ten Video Game Songs Of All Time!

If you're like us, you surely have uttered this phrase many times throughout your gaming career: "The soundtrack is so good!" Though some games make you wish there were no soundtrack or any music at all, there will always be some music that makes a game just a little bit more memorable (or a lot). 

We've been there, and done that. That's why we are going to count down the top ten video game music of all time!  Click on the link underneath each name to listen to it.  Enjoy!

10. GERUDO VALLEY (LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME)

GERUDO VALLEY

 

 

THIS WEEK IN CULLINATION (9/16-9/23)

GREETINGS FROM CULLINATION!

Last week was a torturous one for us, as we were hit wth a hacker issue. A lot of the content throughout our sites were wiped clean, and we have been scrambling through most of the week to get it back to what it was. Thankfully, Shawn and I have worked diligently to get most of our sites back up and running. Things look a little different around here, but we're still the same old Cullination you've come to know and love (or hate).

However, this process is not complete. If you cannot find what you are looking for or are having difficulties navigating our sites because of the changes, please let us know using the Support tab (which is definitely still working!).

POKE-FOCUS #21: LUGIA

 

Introduction

Lugia is the star legendary of Silver, including SoulSilver. Perhaps its most defining features are a fairly unique typing and access to one of the coolest moves ever, Aeroblast. It is also probably the best defensive Pokemon ever (except Shuckle, of course), with such ridiculously high defensive stats that it is near impossible to take it down.

Capture/Training

A change has been made to the Lugia quest in SoulSilver. First, it now requires the help of the Kimono Girls, whom you fight after getting the eighth badge. Second, it is no longer an optional quest; for some reason or another, Lugia must be fought down in Whirl Islands.

Ditch the bitches man, ditch the bitches!

 

It will be at Level 45, ready to take all the hits you can throw at it and Aeroblast your team to shreds... well, until it runs out of PP for that move, that is.  Don't even bother soft-resetting for a good nature.

A Closer Look at the Wii U

Finally, some freaking details!

After withholding information for what seems like an uncanny yet still unnecessary amount of time, Nintendo held a press conference yesterday (3 actually; one for Europe, Japan, and the United States) revealing nearly all of the details we have been waiting for regarding the Wii U. Excited? We are! Here is some of the info that nerds, geeks, and Nintendo fans alike will salivate over for the next two months!

First and foremost, Nintendo announced that the Wii U will be launching in the U.S. on November 18th, 2012, which is just in time for it to sell out by Black Friday. Thinking about waiting until December and getting a last minute Christmas gift steal of a deal? Forget it. If there are any left in stock by December 1st, consider it a gift from the Mario/Pokemon/Zelda/Metroid Gods.

Similar to what the Xbox 360 and PS3 did at their launch, Nintendo is releasing the Wii U in two separate packages, which have different colored consoles and a HUGE gap in memory space. The first is the Basic package, which includes a white Wii U with 8GB of memory space. The Deluxe package, however, comes with a black colored console and 32GB of memory, plus a few seemingly meaningless accessories, and a free game (don't worry, it's not a good one). Of course, both packages include the crazy looking iPad-like controller and all of its features (which we will get into a little bit later).

PS2 Getting the Axe at GameStop...Finally

This is what I mean when I say, "I'm going shopping."

 

The only decade-old platform that still has a sizable presence at GameStop locations around the country is about to see that designation stripped away. The gaming retail giant has announced that it will be removing PS2 shelf space to make room for the impending launch of Nintendo’s Wii successor, the Wii U. Locations in the nation’s heartland might not be subject to the overhaul, but populated areas along the coasts are definitely about to get the PS2 axe. And if you ask us, it's taken too damn long!

The announcement came from the company’s SVP of store operations Mike Dzura in a recent interview with The Verge. Dzura noted that areas like the Midwest take a bit longer to catch on to the latest technology. If you live in New York City or Los Angeles, though, expect to start seeing those PS2 shelves disappear in the next few weeks.

Sony’s legacy console is of course the longest-reigning system from the previous console generation. The Gamecube and Xbox fell out of production several years before the PS2. There is a huge meltdown of logic there, however, seeing as many of Gamecube and Xbox games, such as Super Smash Bros Melee and Halo respectively, were infinitely more popular than the entirety of the PS2 collection. Despite this, it is actually still possible to buy a new PS2 from local retailers, but mass production of the console was finally stopped after the price point became more mass market-friendly.

It makes sense to kill the console’s presence in a national retail chain which acts as a primary distributor for the latest game titles. Interestingly though, many of its locations have already scrapped shelf space from other systems to make room for revamped tablet sections, showcasing Android and iPad devices and their game-playing capabilities, which sadly is a money-making decision.

That's not to say that GameStop isn't a business and is wrong for trying to make a profit, but it is indeed moving outside of the principles it was founded on in order to keep up with the current revolutionization of technology. And, with game consoles ultimate suffering compared to the financial success they've seen in the past, such an approach makes a lot of fiscal sense. In fact, in some GameStop stores, this section is larger than the Wii section.

Go the hell away already, it's been 10 motherf***ing years!!!

Alas, when the very first brand new console in six years hits the market, consumer excitement and sheer, intense interest will dictate that the Wii U get a lot of focus in these stores. With an actual date for the Wii U's release, the PS2 will go out quietly. We'll miss you dearly. Or not. Yeah, probably not (my girlfriend will though).

Cullination Comics Update

HERE ARE SIX NEW COMICS THAT WERE ALL SENT IN BY YOU, THE FANS!  THERE ARE MORE THAN THIS, SO IF YOUR COMIC IS NOT HERE, YOUR COMIC MAY BE FEATURED NEXT WEEK!  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT SENT THESE IN!  KEEP SENDING THEM AND WE'LL KEEP POSTING THEM!  FOR ALL CULLINATION COMICS....  CLICK HERE

Video Game and Comic Book of the Week

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOE!

This article is dedicated to the CEO of Cullination Joe!  It's his birthday (if you didn't read the top).  Without him I would not be writing this article and YOU wouldn't be reading it.  Happy Birthday, buddy.

BUT, that's not all.  This article is also dedicated to the terrible event on 9/11.  11 years ago, tragedy struck this nation.  May we never forget.  God Bless America.

VIDEO GAME OF THE WEEK

STARFOX 64

In 1997 Nintendo released a classic game for the legendary Nintendo 64.  StarFox 64 was a game never released before.  It did, however, follow the same elements that many other '64 games had, which was being in 3D.  This game though, was a little different.  It was a 3D scrolling shooting game with tons of awesomeness!  

This game instantly became a fan favorite.  It was another great game released with the "clever" 64 mark at the end of it.

This game was so good that they re-released it recently for the Nintendo 3DS.  If you have never played StarFox 64....Do it!  Do it right now!  Why are you still reading this?!?!  GO PLAY IT!!!  Ummm...sorry for my out burst...Now continue reading, please. 

If you like Fox McCloud, then maybe you'll like a soon to be released YouTube video Cullination has in store.  Something along the lines of 1 on 1.  *Hint Hint*

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH

Green Lantern is another classic tale in the Green Lantern comic book universe.  It is also a great place to start reading about Green Lantern if you haven't read about these Green obsessed people yet.

This story follows the "destruction" of Hal Jordan as he tries to overcome Parallax.  The story also covers about sixty years of history in the Green Lantern community.  It features other Lanterns like Guy Gardner, and John Stewart (among others).

I loved reading this story, and it was a very good story to start with if you want to read some Green Lantern.  I highly recommend it.

Cullination Comics

WELCOME TO CULLINATION COMICS!  THE NEW (MEME BASE) SECTION OF CULLINAITON.  INCLUDED HERE ARE JUST THREE SHORT COMICS.  FROM THIS MOMENT ON, WE WILL BE ACCEPTING COMIC STRIPS CREATED BY YOU!  THIS SERIES IS PRETTY MUCH A FAN CREATED SERIES.  YOU MAY USE ONE OF OUR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND MEMES, CREATE YOUR OWN CHARACTER, OR USE AN ALREADY EXISTING MEME.  JUST BE ORIGINAL!  THIS SERIES IS IN THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS!  ENJOY!

WELL THERE ARE THE FIRST THREE EDITIONS OF CULLINATION COMICS!  THIS SECTION WILL EXPAND BY THE CULLINATION STAFF AND BY OUR FANS!  REMEMBER TO MAKE YOUR OWN COMICS AND SEND THEM TO SHAWN@CULLINATION.NET.

WE ARE...CULLINATION!