Fanboys Anonymous

Which video games am I playing right now? What games have I already finished recently that I never gave my opinions on?

Welcome back to another edition of NOW CONSUMING—a segment here at Fanboys Anonymous that allows me to recap what I've been missing out on talking about.

As previously mentioned, I've not only not had the time to dedicate myself much to this brand for a while, but I've also been lacking the support from the audience. If you're a fan of this type of content, I need to know through either Patreon donations, YouTube channel memberships, or at the very least, clicks and shares and comments. If the engagement or monetary incentive isn't there, my attention has to be focused elsewhere.

Video games have never been my personal forte even from the start of this site. In previous eras, Fanboys Anonymous had much more gaming content from others who were more qualified to talk about that and were more active in that space. I've always been more of the movie guy. However, I do dabble in games from time to time, and it's been a long while since I've documented anything in this category. Frankly, I have quite a bit to follow up on.

So without further ado, just like I did with theatre performances and television shows, I present to you this microdose "quick fix" collection of thoughts to recap where I'm at in the fandom of video games as of April 2026.

Nintendo Switch 1

The last thing that I remember mentioning on this site that I was playing was Pokemon Legends ZA. I finished that game and gave my thoughts on it with this review. Since then, I've not picked it up a single time—not even to start the DLC that I paid for. After seeing some clips of the DLC, it looked boring and more like a monotonous chore than something I would actually have fun with. At some point, I'll give it a try, but I haven't been motivated in MONTHS.

I still have a few other games I've never finished, like Mario Odyssey, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Moving Out, and It Takes Two. Those are all games I play with my wife. The latter of them is one I just don't really like all that much, the more that we play it. But overall, we simply enjoyed Overcooked way more than the others, so for a good year plus, that was our go-to game to play for a bit on a Friday or Saturday night. We haven't touched any of those games in a little while, but that's predominantly because we started to get into some of the Lego games.

DC Lego Super-Villains was our first outing. We picked that up, along with Marvel 1 and 2 at a major discount and figured we'd probably enjoy the villain one the best. For anyone curious, my wife's preference of characters was very much Raven over everyone else, though she did grow to like playing as Joker, too. My created character was dubbed "Dr. F.U." because I couldn't think of anything else at the moment and that made my wife chuckle, so mission accomplished. Overall, my favorite character to use was the Lex Luthor in the Superman suit, by far. Before I unlocked that, I was swapping between Livewire, Zatanna, Superman, Booster Gold, and a few others. I experimented a lot more than she did, partially because I wanted a very specific moveset (I liked Livewire's big jump blast, the ability to fly, and the ranged attacks) and because I wanted to test out all these characters that I have a much deeper connection to than she does.

We beat that game and moved on to the first Marvel one, which we're probably about halfway through. That one hasn't been quite as fun, and I would say that's partially since it's older and the mechanics aren't quite as tuned, but also because we haven't found any characters we really like playing as best. My favorite has mostly been Jean Grey. She tends to like Iron Man or Hulk.

But we stopped playing that once we bought a PlayStation 5, which we had been saving up for...

PlayStation 5

Marvel's Spider-Man was fucking phenomenal, so much so that I already also beat the Miles Morales game and I'm 30% or so through Spider-Man 2. These are easily some of the best games I've ever played in my entire life. I'm a little peeved that I don't have my web blossom attack from the first game in the other two, since I liked that so much, but for the most part, everything just keeps upgrading. The suit variety is amazing. Web swinging is so fluid and natural and fun that I could just do that for long stretches and enjoy myself. The stories are fantastic, too. I love how much they very clearly did their research and are true fans of the franchise with all of their Easter eggs and their ability to throw in references both big and small. There's dramatic weight to the stories, but never losing the trademark Spider-Man sense of humor, either. Doctor Octopus being slowly built up over the course of the story was great, as has been the story of Harry Osborn along the way. Making Tinkerer a young girl who is friends with Miles wasn't something I saw coming, but I think it works in its own way. Maybe I would have just used one of the female versions of Beetle for that role instead of Tinkerer, though. Those big dudes are consistently tough for me, but maaaaan were Hammerhead's warehouses just the worst!

I could go on and on about those games and dive into the specifics, like how my favorite suit to use for Peter in Spider-Man 2 is the black/red/white version of the advanced suit (which may actually be my favorite Spider-Man suit of all time in ANY media, if I'm being honest) or how it's balanced so well from my own personal tastes in being able to let me free roam with a variety of missions while also having a legitimately interesting story mode. Something that I wanted to highlight that I don't think many people would talk about is how at age 38, having not played many games for a long while, I think the puzzles in this game are a benefit to my own mental health. Growing up in the late 80s and throughout the 90s meant that I was able to troubleshoot a lot of brain development through NES, SNES, N64, and PlayStation differences with how games forced me to have to think my way through problems. It feels like things are too easy for kids these days, so I didn't want to skip any of the puzzles, and even when I got frustrated with the few that tripped me up for a minute or so, I'm better off for having the patience to go through them and figure it out. It reminded me of the past.

For anyone curious, my wife played and beat Resident Evil 2 and is playing Assassin's Creed Shadows, which she adores. As an observer, RE2 seemed very short, but she liked it and that's what is most important. It's not my thing. AC Shadows is a beautiful game. Possibly the best graphics I've ever seen, personally. I'm not much of a gamer, so you can probably find examples which are better, but for my money, this is pretty gorgeous. She's not much of a stealth person, but she loves the game despite that. On top of the core gameplay, she's a big fan of how you get to learn about the culture and the history, that you get to pet the animals, and of course, the scenery. 

On the Horizon

I'm still working my way through Spider-Man 2. By the time I'm done with that, 007: First Light will be out, which I've already pre-ordered. If you've followed this site for a while, you know I'm a massive James Bond fan, absolutely starved for content, so I'm excited for that. Whenever Wolverine and more Marvel follow-ups come out, I'll be sure to get those, too.

I don't have plans to get a Nintendo Switch 2, largely due to the price, but if that becomes an option, I'm sure I'll get Pokemon Winds & Waves. Frankly, I don't like any of the starters, which are the only things we've seen so far, so I'm not thrilled about it, but it'll be hard not to have a new Pokemon generation out and not feel like I should save up the money to get it. Hell, if I live to be 40 in this crazy world, don't I want to know what Gen 10 is like?

What games are you playing right now? Any thoughts on the ones I've mentioned here? Do you have any suggestions of games you think I'd enjoy based on this? Drop a comment below!

I'm late to the game with my thoughts on Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but better late than never, right?

Truth to be told, there are three major reasons why this review is coming out so late, if I'm being fully transparent:

1) I was out of the country for the first couple weeks the game was out, so I didn't get around to playing it until the latter end of October anyway. All that initial response juice was already gone.

2) My attention has been away from Fanboys Anonymous for 2025 due to having to prioritize other jobs. This is why there hasn't been much content at all for the site this year. I always want to do more, and I have so many more ideas that just sit on the back burner.

3) I haven't exactly been motivated to write up anything about this after playing it. In fact, most of this list is going to be predominantly complaining.

The TL;DR coming out of that third point is that overall, while this is a fun enough game for something to do, I was finding myself writing far too many cons and not enough pros. I also found myself perfectly okay with putting the game down for days at a time, instead of feeling that itch to hop back on as soon as I could.

Look. Nothing will beat the original Generation 1 experience of playing Pokemon for the first time with Red, Blue, and Yellow for me. Not even the enthusiasm and wonder of Gold and Silver, which was in many ways a better game, can quite capture that magic.

But I had a TON of fun revisiting that region for Let's Go, and I felt my first real rush of the old school childhood whimsy with Pokemon Legends Arceus. While Scarlet and Violet had to match that had their pros and cons all of their own (in some ways, improving on what I liked about PLA, and in other ways, going in a different direction I wasn't fond of) I graded that with a bit of a curve, as it wasn't the true follow-up in Legends fashion. Z-A, on the other hand, wasn't going to get the same grace.

Unfortunately, my general assessment of Z-A is that there are VERY FEW improvements compared to PLA for my personal tastes, and more than its fair share of downgrades.

Biggest Con: Lumiose City is a Claustrophobic & Boring Location / Lack of Free-Roam

Easily my biggest complaint about this game, and the overall reason I've been let down by it, is the environment.

From the very first bits of news I had heard about it being one big city, I instantly thought "I hope that doesn't mean everything looks the same, everything is cramped, and there's no diversity."

Lo and behold, that's exactly what we got.

I hate that this is a city that looks almost exactly the same on every street. They're nearly identical throughout the entire map, and it makes it so I not only have no idea where I am and can't recall anything distinct enough for a location, but that I'm visually bored.

In PLA, I would mark sections of the map to explore another time. Venturing out past where they kind of wanted you to be meant that I would find myself panicking because the Alpha Snorlax or Alpha Rapidash or Alpha Alakazam in the first region was suddenly around me and I was severely under-leveled. The same for Scarlet and Violet, where I glitched myself to that platform I wasn't supposed to reach and could explore anywhere and it felt like I came across unique areas that were memorable.

For instance, when I came across that flying Gyarados in PLA, that was one of those magic moments for me. And it felt like every region was HUGE. I was just exploring and coming across a random creek with a Bibarel or the wooded area with the Scyther and Kleavor. Scarlet and Violet went a little overboard in that enough of the spots looked similar that it was hard to keep track of where I was specifically if I had gotten all the items and whatnot without consulting a guide, but it was still more fun to just explore.

There is no exploring here in ZA. That's partially because they lock everything behind invisible barriers (especially at the start of the game, where it was INCREDIBLY INFURIATING to be stopped in my tracks and told that I arbitrarily couldn't go somewhere because I needed to progress the story)

It's an interesting enough concept to change the landscape as you progress with the game, but adding some more of the bland scaffolding doesn't do the trick. Nor am I happy you got rid of my best spot to farm mega shards once I beat the story.

The rooftops are annoying. Having no means of flying or climbing or anything that makes traversing the environment easier, even after the main missions are over, is just a pain. I don't like having to get to the top of something and looking around for 10 minutes because the only way up is some arbitrary corner of some building 4 streets away that is my only access point ever to that rooftop. It just makes it a hassle and not fun when you have to either remember the differences between buildings that look identical and streets that look identical as well as specific little tiny rooftop mechanics.

Wild zones aren't making up for it. You just plopped a few static Pokemon into a corner of a street. Most of it doesn't make any sense to begin with. Also, fuck those Pyroar. 

Con: Stop Trapping Me to Death / Catching Mechanics

Because everything is so cramped, this made the whole "attack the player" health bar element of this game annoying, too.

I enjoyed running around Hisui and feeling like I was in danger from time to time.

Catching Pokemon by sneaking up on them, or throwing some Feather Balls, Wing Balls, or Jet Balls (three things missing from this game that I would've liked to see return, but you can't really have that when this game is so focused on keeping you in tight spots)—that stuff was fun before.

But I liked it better when I could throw a ball or toss out a Pokemon and start a more locked-in battle, particularly in an environment where I can actually move around.

What I don't like in ZA is that the lock-on mechanics are a bit finicky, and when I'm in an alleyway, there's no room for me to do anything but to immediately get spotted by a Pokemon and then take a bunch of damage. Effectively, to catch damn near anything in this game, I had to just barrel through, attack like crazy with some move that did residual damage to everything else that was attacking me as well, and then hope that I didn't mess up locking onto the wrong thing.

But in particular, there is too much going on at any given moment. How am I supposed to take in the entire environment, every Pokemon in an area, the HP bar of all those Pokemon including my own AND myself, the moves being set up, my moves that I need to execute, and somehow be dodging in a way that is a step ahead and in this tight environment to try to move in a way that my Pokemon also moves out of the way of another attack and I don't get caught where MY attacks just don't land because they're too far away or not facing the right direction or whatever? And when your Pokemon decides to just walk to another spot before doing the attack, or has to take 3 seconds to do its cry when you send it out, that is incredibly frustrating.

Battling wasn't fun in this game like it was in PLA, which I'm going to need them to basically go back to. This idea of my movements being in sync with where my Pokemon move as the means to dodge is just not great.

It's a step up in some ways from the auto battle stuff in Scarlet and Violet, but it's a step down from PLA, for sure.

Pro: More Value to Certain Moves Than Ever

For a short while, I found myself saying "Oh wow, I never use something like Growl, ever, but it kind of seems useful to do that before a Pokemon can notice you, and you can immediately get an advantage in the battle."

I say a short while, because I then found myself in scenarios where I needed to just power through anyway, so it became more advantageous to still just have powerful attacking moves for the most part, and that went out the window pretty quickly.

But hey, for the first time in a long time, I was using Leer and Nuzzle and Amnesia, which is kind of neat. 

Pro: Fainting Pokemon Can Be Caught

One of the big positives to the catch system this time around, though, is that you can knock something out and still get an opportunity to catch it, instead of it just disappearing immediately.

More often than not, that was my strategy with a lot of Pokemon.

Con: Give Me More Pokemon to Pick from at the Start! / Better Moves

Holy shit, I did not want to use Bunnelby. Why did you give me NO OTHER OPTIONS to use Rock Smash than that stupid thing? 

On top of that, I picked Totodile, and that movepool was atrocious for far, far too long. 

Con: Character Customization

It was annoying having to go searching through tons of shops and tons of menus to see the different options and to see that most of them weren't something I was super fond of. If I liked something, but didn't have enough money, I also found it very annoying to have to try to remember which of the 20 shops had that pair of shoes or whatever. This could've been made so much more efficient.

For that matter, those are your only options for haircuts? They weren't great, and I think they could've used another 10 options or so. I liked the hair options better in PLA for sure. Scarlet and Violet was terrible with that, so at least in this, I can wear a suit like I try to, instead of the awful orange and purple uniform options from SV. 

Con: Cafes are Dumb

Why do all the cafe drinks do the same thing, it seems? What's the purpose? Why should I pay for more expensive ones? And why are there tons of these cafes around if they all just sell the same things and we have a fast travel that makes it so I don't need to only go to a specific one to get a specific thing or that I don't have access to the previous ones?

I've never liked these extra mechanics of taking photos in the games or playing with your Pokemon. I hated the whole sandwich thing in Scarlet and Violet, for instance. Some people love that, but that's not me.

Con: The Story

I think I've gotten to the point where I barely even engage in the story with Pokemon games, to be honest. I liked the overall concept of PLA, but Scarlet and Violet was just too much dialogue and I didn't like the characters. ZA was basically the same situation. I couldn't even tell you the name of the 2 friends outside of Taunie, because I just skipped everything they said after a while. Everyone yaps too much and it isn't even good dialogue to justify it.

I miss Team Rocket and having better villains. Quasartico and whatnot were so meh.

Pro: Saved Pokeballs / Pokemon Centers / Picking Up Items

Whoever decided to put that guy outside the Poke Centers that gives you the balls you dropped, I love you for that. That was a great touch.

Also, I liked how you could easily just slide into one of these centers, kind of like in Scarlet and Violet, and that you could purchase things there, too. Having separate shops and centers is just obsolete.

Somewhat related, I like the mechanics of just walking over the glowing items and not having to press the A button to interact with them. I like the abundance of them, too, which helped a lot with money management. 

Con: Night and Day Loading Screens

Yo. Stop pausing my game and giving me the battle zone activated or deactivated notifications all the time. That goes especially true for when you just despawned something I was catching or reset the battlefield and now, I'm caught in the line of fire of some Pokemon that weren't there before.

Con: The Grind

As I'm writing this, I'm at the point in the game that the Infinite Z-A Royale has been unlocked. You mean to tell me I'm going to have to get 50,000 points for EACH MATCH of that?

That's just an artificial way to force me into stretching out the amount of time I play the game by doing mindless battle after battle in the same areas that never change. This is probably going to be something I abandon instead of finishing, as I don't know if I want to put that many hours into just repeat battles that offer me nothing else but another battle and a reset to do it all over again 20+ more times.

Con: Why Can't I Run?

There should not be any moments of this game where I'm forced to walk at a snail's pace, and yet, there are several. How are those beneficial? Having to walk super slowly to follow something or whatever was just infuriating. 

Pro: Changing Moves / Box System

This was the most efficient way to just go into a menu and change a Pokemon's moves. I appreciated that so much, and the ability for the TM menu to show me that lineup rather than for me to have to open up a TM individually and see what can learn it and such.

Go with this box system and all going forward. This was the best it's ever been. 

Mostly a Pro: Alphas are Back

I like Alpha Pokemon. The idea behind it is pretty great just by itself about how certain Pokemon are just bigger, stronger, meaner, etc. I'm glad they didn't forego that. But with the diversity and location problems, this left much to be wanted.

In the future, Alphas should be in almost any game, I think. Just give me a wider variety of them and in locations that are different and bigger so I can feel like I'm actually going out in the wild and catching things that aren't spawning directly in front of me or just hanging out on a tiny street.

Speed Round

This is already a long and rambly post (apologies for how messy it is, but I'm just not motivated to polish it up better). So let's just toss out some other pros and cons in a quicker fashion bullet point list:

• Why did I skip half the letters in the alphabet?
• For the most part, I'm not a big fan of mega evolutions. The gimmicks like the Z-Moves and the Dynamax and Terrastalized Form and whatnot just don't really strike me as super interesting. Some of these designs, in particular, are just not good. That's all you could think of for Starmie? What's up with Dragonite? Froslass looks more like a Gigantamax form than a Mega Evolution.
• Yes, the graphics could be better. There really isn't any excuse for it. I played this on a Switch 1, but I don't see any real difference with the Switch 2. They should be better than this. 

For Anyone Who is Curious...

If you want to know what my core team was for the majority of the game, my Feraligatr held down the fort predominantly with a Lucario. Talonflame was my #3, I would say. Gardevoir was around for most of it, but I found it not doing super well and would replace it from time to time. Krookodile and Venusaur rounded out the team once I got those. Some of my other things I would swap in from time to time were a Dragonite, a Dedene, and a variety of others. I was really disappointed that I didn't get the opportunity to use Hawlucha or Aegislash for the first time in a playthrough, but you gave me access to them at too late of a time for them to be worthwhile. Instead, you wanted me to suffer with that damn Bunnelby forever. I won't forgive you for that. 

What do you think are the best and worst parts of Pokemon Legends ZA?Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

As an impromptu bonus random video, let's use the Ultimate Favorite Pokemon Picker and go down each generation, each type, and other categories to settle on Tony's ultimate favorite of all time!

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

Welcome to a special crossover between Fanboys Anonymous and my professional wrestling website, Smark Out Moment! This is the first edition of POKÉMON: WHAT IF, where I take the rules of the Pokémon franchise and apply it to other characters in other media.

To celebrate Pokémon Day, this time around, the question is "What if there were Pokémon trainers in the world of professional wrestling?" Which WWE Superstars would be the top Pokémon trainers that would be gym leaders, the Elite 4 and the champion of the different WWE eras?

Make sure to subscribe on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the video below or this post, share this edition with your friends, and smark out with us!

Charles Xavier's extremely gifted students recently made a triumphant return to the world of animated television. Now is also the perfect time for gamers to once again be reminded of what the X-Men bring to the table.

Disney+'s X-Men '97 series has reinvigorated the widespread love for Charles Xavier's new-age family of genetically gifted heroes. Crafted as a direct sequel to the beloved 1992 animated series, the 2024 series picks up exactly where the original left off. Presenting new challenges for Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Rogue, Jubilee, Gambit, Storm, and a whole host of mutants both familiar and brand new, X-Men '97's first season has wrapped up and fans are already clamoring for more.

In the '90s, the cartoon's massive success resulted in the X-Men being featured in a host of video games of varying genres. After a long layoff from X-Men-branded video games, the latest series provides the perfect opportunity for new creators to step up to the plate and create the next slate of memorable interactive experiences starring the students of the Xavier Institute. Season 1 of X-Men '97 even includes a fun video game-themed mini-episode starring Jubilee and Sunspot. With the world's most famous mutants being early veterans of the video game medium, the question remains what would be the best style of game to re-introduce their unique brand of characters and storytelling to a new generation of gamers?

Much like Nathan "Cable" Summers would, sometimes it's best to look to the past in an effort to best shape the future.

In that spirit, it may be best to look at the 1992 X-Men Arcade game produced by Konami. A wonderful example of a side-scrolling Beat 'Em Up, this game precedes the 1992 Saban cartoon series, actually being based on a failed 1989 cartoon pilot called "Pryde of the X-Men." Still, in tandem with the success of the 1992 show, the arcade game helped turn the X-Men into one of the most lucrative and recognizable properties of the 1990s.

Beat 'Em Ups have seen a resurgence of sorts in recent years with games such as Streets of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. A game in the vein of capturing the magic of the 1992 arcade product while updating graphics, including the cast of the Disney+ series, and adding in unique story elements or power-ups that can vary depending on the combination of heroes selected by the player would be a strong way to keep the game fresh and allow for replayability.

For example, a team of players who choose Jubilee and Sunspot could receive a boost to the gauge which controls their mutant abilities and give way to special combo finishing moves specifically programmed for certain partnerships. Adversely, pairing such as Cyclops and Wolverine could trigger mini-games where players would compete with one another for the higher score on any given level with the "winner" receiving a boost going into the next stage. Paired with voiceover work from the stars of the actual cartoon, this would go a long way in creating an immersive experience.

Another bonus about creating such a game in today's environment is the opportunity to afford players a quick multiplayer experience that they wouldn't have to stink hundreds of hours into to complete. The modern landscape is filled with many Souls-like experiences that can sometimes take upwards of 50 hours to fully play through. Still, for those who may want a longer experience, downloadable content would allow for an expansion of stories and gameplay while also opening the door for cameo characters seen in X-Men '97, such as Captain America or Spider-Man, to make appearances as well.

It's been 13 years since the last X-Men standalone game release. 2011's X-Men: Destiny had unique ideas with the concept of allowing players to create their own mutant and pick a side in the plight for mutant acceptance but the single-player experience received largely middle-of-the-road reviews.

The drop in quality of the video games and movie releases for everyone's favorite mutants has resulted in there not being as much of a desire to take on the role of X-Men in interactive experiences outside of those tying members into the larger Marvel outings such as Marvel's Midnight Suns and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. Yes, Insomniac is creating a Wolverine game for the PlayStation 5 but that is a game focusing solely on Logan, as opposed to the team at large.

Hopefully, that will change in the near future, because when X-Men games are done right, they have the ability to produce legendary results.

Truly, there may be no better time than right now for a development team to strike and attempt to create a fresh X-Men experience off the back of the new cartoon with a vibrant aesthetic, pick-up-and-play controls, and an engaging story simple enough for new fans to understand but engaging enough to keep long-time fans coming back for more.

Until such a day comes, gamers can get their fill of superhero action by playing Spider-Man 2 on the PlayStation 5 or the aforementioned Marvel's Midnight Suns on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments about how you would like to see the X-Men return in a new video game dedicated to their unique brand of teamwork as the fight for equality rages on.

After watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie the other day, I'm already excited to see a potential sequel down the line. Given the success of Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel, as well as Pokemon: Detective Pikachu—while they're far from Oscar-caliber films—I think the video game movie code is finally starting to be cracked and I would like this to continue.

Much like with Sonic, after walking away from the first movie, I immediately started thinking about sequel ideas. What should happen in a second and potentially third movie to round up a trilogy? What would I do if brought onto the writing team?

Welcome to another edition of FANBOYS FOLLOW-UP—a segment where I take a film or TV show and expand on where I'd like to see the story go from there.

I did a round of this for Sonic the Hedgehog. Some of those ideas for #2 and #3 were actually dead on, while others were nowhere near close to what they decided to do. So before we get any information on potential storylines for a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I'd like to toss out my pitches.

Note: I'd like to preface my pitches with the knowledge that I'm nowhere near as versed in Mario lore as I am other things that I apply to my Blueprint Project. Ask me about the most minor characters in Batman, Spider-Man and such, and I can bore you with great detail. But when it comes to Mario, most of my core fandom was established in the NES and SNES days. I played my fair share of Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, Mario Party and so on, but I from Super Mario Sunshine onward, I'm not as well-versed. As far as film and television media, I watched the cartoon with Captain Lou Albano back in the day as a kid (and even did a FanTracks of that, as well as the Morton Jankel Cut of Super Mario Bros) but I am by no means the foremost authoritarian expert on the franchise.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2

Clearly, based on the end credits scene, we need to focus on Yoshi. That was going to be the case no matter what. You can't go two of these films without Yoshi being a prominent character. C'mon.

But Yoshi in and of himself is not able to sustain a film. We obviously need more plot than "Hey! Yoshi!"

Our core cast has to return (ie, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad and Bowser; ideally with at least a cameo from Donkey Kong, but I wouldn't be opposed to him taking a back seat in favor of his own film). After all, we do need some time to focus on Yoshi, so DK could get in the way of that.

I also think we need to bring Daisy into the mix here. Let's bump up that female representation and give Luigi his girlfriend.

Yoshi's Island should be explored here, and may be the best location that is in danger of an attack. By who? Well, I think you could go in a number of directions, but in my ideal scenario, to keep it simpler, we keep Bowser the primary antagonist, but add two more to the mix.

Sequels sometimes work best if you keep everything the same from before, but just tweak it. Other times, you need to add more on top of it to freshen up the dynamic and up the ante. And I think the easiest way to do that is to introduce Wario and Waluigi.

Since the events of the first film, Mario and Luigi are super popular. Brooklyn loves them. The Mushroom Kingdom loves them. They're in a total opposite situation from the first movie. And all of this love and support has led to Wario and Waluigi becoming jealous and wanting revenge.

They come across the shrunken Bowser and decide to forge an alliance. When they let him out and hit him, he obviously regrows to his normal size and the trio are ready to take down The Super Mario Bros and friends.

We've already done the star, but I'm sure there are other McGuffins in Yoshi's Island we can get into for that element of the plot.

Obviously, at the end of the movie, all is well, and the heroes triumph. But I'd also set up a third film where things can get even more expansive.

Other things we need to see in this movie:

1. Chain Chomp
2. A bit where Luigi's in a haunted mansion and he does the little back-and-forth with a Boo, where he looks at it and it doesn't move, and when he turns his back, it starts coming after him
3. A Goomba gets squashed
4. Birdo
5. Thwomp
6. Buzzy Beetle
7. Hammer Bro / Boomerang Bro / Sledge Brother
   
8. Lakitu
9. Big Bertha 
10. Blargg
11. Chargin' Chuck
12. Wiggler
13. Reznor
14. Monty Mole
    
15. That damn Angry Sun that divebombs you, and the pyramid sand world vibe in general. Toss in Pokey and other characters like that.
16. Maybe Wart can cameo and some other characters like Mouser, even if it's a dream Mario is having (like the game itself)
17. Bowser's castle and ship in more detail
18. Maybe we can get some references to Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Dr. Mario and other extracurricular activities (pitch: Wario and Waluigi are complaining that they're getting endorsements EVERYWHERE these days, and Mario is even a doctor now? What the?! He doesn't even have a degree!)
    

At the end of this story, tease the audience with either Rosalina or Bowser Jr...or both.

Donkey Kong Country Movie

In the meantime from this movie, we should absolutely get a spin-off focusing entirely on the Donkey Kong franchise. Considering the popularity of the title, I'd say to just go with calling it Donkey Kong Country or Donkey Kong: The Movie or something along those lines.

Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad should cameo in this (or, at least Mario), but shouldn't be more than just in a scene or two. This is DK's time to shine.

I wasn't a fan of Fred Armisen's voice for Cranky Kong whatsoever. He's extremely talented, but I just didn't think that voice fit that character. Regardless, Cranky is an absolute must for a major supporting character.

Diddy Kong is the primary sidekick, though. Dixie Kong is a must, too. And if I remember correctly, Chunky Kong was there in the film, right? Or was that Kiddy Kong? I've never liked either of them, but I do think there's room for a lot of other Kong cameos. We also need to see more Funky Kong as maybe the Q to DK's James Bond (that's a sentence I didn't think I'd ever write) and maybe Candy Kong as the love interest, but not as a HUGE part of the story. I don't think fans would be outraged if she was kept to a damsel in distress or something. It's not like we have to carve out a big section of the movie to fit Tiny Kong or Lanky Kong. Who even likes them?

This plot is straightforward and very similar to Mario's first film, but without the heavy lifting of needing to explain the world as much. King K. Rool and his minions invade the island, screw up the banana supply, try to take over, and it is up to Donkey Kong and his misfit friends to save the day.

You need to start with King K. Rool and the Kremlings rather than go straight into the Tiki Tak Tribe or the villains from Tropical Freeze. Those can be potential sequels for a second and third film, if you aren't making your own creation.

Gauntlet outline this. Go through the first few games and write down every villain you come across; every unlockable; every side character and environment. Let's see Donkey Kong on Rambi at the very least, if not also Expresso and Enguarde and others. Those are my top three favorites, but Squawks would be easy to implement, Winky is up there and I think with a big animated world, you can at least show quick cameos of Rattly, Squitter, Ellie and so on.

You need the minecarts. That's basically your Mario Kart chase sequence of the film.

Dumb Drum and Gnawty and Necky and such would need to pop up as villains. They could get a good "scary scene" out of those Rockkroc guys.

Aquatic Ambience and other tracks would be amazing with a full orchestra performing a suite medley.

If you're feeling really ambitious, throw in a cameo to set up a Banjo-Kazooie spin-off, but that isn't necessary (especially not for this first film).

The Super Mario Bros. Movie 3

Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings would be too much to cram into the second film, and there wouldn't be enough time to explain how Bowser gets free from captivity and has Bowser Jr without a time jump, which should only happen between the second and third films.

I could see this going in one of two ways, or a possible merger if you can find a way to incorporate both stories in one. Frankly, I'm not well-versed enough in the source material to pull that off right now with my initial thoughts. I'd have to do more research. But I bet playing Super Mario Galaxy and a few other games one time would be sufficient.

The long and short of this is that we have our Mario/Peach, Luigi/Daisy, Toad/Yoshi (as in, comedic foils, not romantic interests) squad, and they can explore the galaxy. Rosalina can be involved as the plot-sparking character who explains all of what is going on and prompts them to go into outer space, where they face villains like Tatanga.

But I do think you need Bowser Jr. in there, and I'd argue the Koopalings should be in there, too. The same for Boom Boom, who doesn't get any love, and can be a sacrificial lamb.

From my perspective, those are the big villains you need to hit on for a three-film story: Bowser, Wario and Waluigi, Tatanga, and Bowser Jr and the Koopalings, with some cameos from smaller villains like Wart and obviously, the regular enemies you come across in the games. With a little more research and some production guidelines as far as which toys were selling the most, what test audiences had to say about the first film and what Nintendo's input would be (if they wanted to make a brand new character or something), I think it would be rather easy to map out these extra films.

And if you're listening, Illumination / Nintendo, and you want me to do that, you know how to reach me via the contact page and plenty other methods! 

Let's save talking about doing the Super Smash Bros film in Avengers style with setting up Legend of Zelda and Kirby movies and such for another post.

How would you rank every Pokémon that has ever been created on a tier list scale?

This post features not only every Pokémon from every generation and all the games, but every regional variant, all the different forms, and special Pokémon from Kanto's original 151 through the latest games of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.

Any time a new Pokémon is announced to the public, it will be added to this list. At any random time, this could be updated, as well, to reflect changes in opinions over time—such as growing a greater appreciation for something after using it in a game's playthrough or a meme exploding in popularity that boosts its value.

This ranking is entirely based on personal opinions of pure favoritism. This is not a battle simulator or anything of the sort. While battling does factor into the ranking, it is a combination of strength, design, personality and more.

Without further ado, let's celebrate Pokemon Day 2023 with my personal rankings for all of the Pokémon to have ever existed so far!

What are your Pokémon rankings?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

One of the main ways I first got into the James Bond franchise was through the GoldenEye 007 video game for N64. Not only is GoldenEye my favorite Bond film, but the game itself is one of my top 5 favorite games of all time.

This is why you see posts on this site asking why Jack Wade and other characters aren't in the game, and why I have a backlog of content I still haven't had a chance to put out yet where I try to pitch how Rare could have made a GoldenEye-style video game about all the other 007 films.

I bought the Nintendo 64 specifically for this game back in 1998 or so. My bachelor party even involved playing this game. Needless to say, after so many years of waiting impatiently for a remaster to come to a future console (and the remake doesn't count), to finally see that it was coming to Nintendo Switch had me doing mental cartwheels.

That is...until I loaded up the game and saw that it was completely unplayable with these controls.

I'm not talking "it'll take me some time to get used to using a different style controller" confusion. I'm talking "who the hell mapped out these buttons this way and why can't I fix it no matter how hard I try?" levels of frustration.

So frustrating, in fact, that I gave up.

No online multiplayer, like I had assumed. No upgraded graphics. No possible combination of remapped buttons felt the slightest bit comfortable to even go after the first few guards in Dam, after years of being able to essentially play it blindly because it was muscle memory.

And after spending all this money to upgrade my Nintendo Online account subscription for the Expansion Pack, I couldn't even pay more money to buy a N64 Switch controller because the online Nintendo Store was perpetually sold out!

I resigned myself to disappointment, turned off the game on my fourth attempt at "coming back to it another day to see if I can get the hang of it" and figured that was it. I even considered trying to get a refund for the subscription upgrade.

Thankfully, I have a wife who cares enough that she was looking into trying to find more of the N64 style controllers and did some research of alternatives, eventually coming across the Retro Fighters Brawler64 controller.

It had great reviews and a lot of testimonials from people saying it was just as good, if not better than buying the official Nintendo 64 Switch controller, and she bugged me to take a chance to pick one up. Specifically, I ordered the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Bluetooth NSO Edition controller as I'm now used to wireless controllers and didn't want to be stuck in a position where I had to crank my neck up and sit closer to my television.

I had my doubts, but let me tell you: this makes a world of difference.

The moment I picked it up, I could tell the adjustment time between what I was used to with the N64 controller and this would be minimal. Obviously, there is some unfamiliarity in comparison to the way I used to grip the other style controller and had grown accustomed to the sensitivity of the buttons from my N64. But I went from not being able to functionally MOVE in this game with the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons to beating all the way up to Statue (on Agent) within a few minutes.

Spending the extra money on top of the subscription just to buy a controller that can allow me to play the game irks me, along with how Nintendo should have definitely at least tried to upgrade the graphics a bit better (widescreen can't even happen in the pause menu or the mission select screen??) and DEFINITELY should have online multiplayer functionality. But finally, after so many years, I'm able to play arguably my favorite game of all time once more without having to go through the annoyance of trying to hook my N64 up to a modern HDTV with God knows what types of cables and distortion.

And that is entirely due to this Retro Fighters Brawler64 controller saving the day.

So if you're on the fence about picking up this game again, and you're struggling with the controls making it feel entirely unplayable and too frustrating, and you can't find an N64 controller, do yourself a massive favor and pick up one of these Retro Fighters ones and thank me (or more so, my wife) later.

What do you think of GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo Switch?
Have you tried the Xbox version?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

I've been waiting to write up a review of Pokemon Violet until after I had reached a point where I felt like I had the full game behind me, so I could properly evaluate it.

You don't want to read an intro for this—especially after seeing how long this post goes on for.

So without further ado, here are my pros and cons of Pokemon Violet and some comparisons to Legends: Arceus.

What did I like? What did I hate? What can be improved on and what is the best it has ever been?

Let's dive into it! 

MAJOR Pro: Free Roam

We can explore!!!!!! Finally, they gave us a game that can be almost wholly played in whatever fashion we want to.

Naturally, there are some blocks in the way. You obviously can't face the Elite 4 without beating all the gyms and such. Some obstacles are built-in with the travel itself, wherein you can't really get to a location that requires you to swim or climb until you've eaten the Titan Pokemon that can give you access to that power. But those are to be expected, and they're a perfectly acceptable countermeasure put in place to make sure players don't progress too far too fast.

But by and large, you can go where you want—particularly if you abuse the glitches that will place you in another spot—and you can choose the order of missions in whatever way you want.

Naturally, I found myself exploring like crazy and not bothering to do anything, so within no time, I had my level 15-20 team going up against level 50 Pokemon out of my league. It was difficult, which made it interesting.

Then, since my team was leveling up fast, I was wiping the floor with the competition, and it became easier to do other challenges that I was apparently supposed to do first. Whoops!

For anyone's curiosity, this is the order of the main challenges that I ended up doing:

1. Cortondo Gym - Bug
2. Quaking Earth Titan
3. Team Star Dark Crew
4. Artazon Gym - Grass
5. Cascarrafa Gym - Water
6. Stony Cliff Titan
7. Medali Gym - Normal
8. Open Sky Titan
9. False Dragon Titan 
10. Team Star Fairy Crew
11. Glaseado Gym - Ice
12. Montenevera Gym - Ghost
13. Lurking Steel Titan
14. Levincia Gym - Electric
15. Alfornada Gym - Psychic
16. Team Star Fighting Crew
17. Team Star Poison Crew
18. Team Star Fire Crew
19. History Class (for the location markers of the shrines)
20. Collecting the Remaining Stakes and Catching the 4 Legendaries
21. Academy Ace Tournament
22. Getting my Backup Miraidon
23. Unlocking 6-Star Raids

None of them were difficult until I got to the 6-star raids. Those have been hard. The rest were all extremely easy, as I had a level 40 Flamigo by the time I did the second thing on this list, and used that to wreck nearly every type of challenge out there. Who knew that dumb flamingo would be my ace?

Con: A Lack of Level Scaling

That first part of the game, where I was exploring into different areas that had massively higher level Pokemon than what I was equipped for, was way more interesting than the opposite. Once I was in my 40s for my team, and I had to backtrack to Titans and gyms and such that were a much lower level, it was too easy.

Ideally, there should be some sort of level-scaling for the challenges.

The wild Pokemon would be too difficult to implement this, but why not have the gym leaders all have different teams based on how many badges you've already collected? And the same for the Team Star members and the level that the Titan Pokemon are?

MAJOR Pro: A Specialist of Every Type

Since the very first generation, I've wondered why there wasn't a gym leader of every type. It just made sense to me that you'd have to prove you're a master of all the types to be eligible for the Elite 4 challenge, rather than 8 random types with the rest just not having any representation.

This time around, we finally got an equivalent to this by having the Team Star battles cover the rest of the types that weren't covered in the gyms.

It's about time!

Con: More Character Customization

I really can't change my character's outfit beyond just some dumb hats and such? Let me deck myself out with a full-on white suit like I'm The Man with the Golden Gun, like I was able to do in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

There aren't even a whole lot of hair options.

For that matter, I'd like more variety in trainers. Same hiker woman all the time if they aren't just another student. And why are there elderly students and such?

Pro: What's in the Box?

Being able to click on Boxes in the menu and switch Pokemon was the easiest it has ever been. This improvement was so much more functional and a quality of life upgrade that it beats every other game before it, including Legends: Arceus, wherein you needed to go back to the tent base and talk to someone to have access to your boxes—or go to the specific person in the village for that.

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of just having this available at my beck and call.

Con: Buying Food

Up until the point that I started doing the 6-star tera raids and finishing out my Pokedex wherein I needed to get eggs, the entire picnic mechanic was a complete waste for me.

I didn't want to spend the time to set it up at a spot that it let me, I didn't see any real benefit to doing much of the stuff you can do in the picnic, and the worst part of it all was that I hated the process of these power-ups.

First and foremost, why are there like 6 shops per location with all different types of combinations, and the only way for me to know what I'm going to get is to visit EACH ONE OF THEM and compare EACH INDIVIDUAL ITEM?

If I wanted something with Egg Power, Water Encounter and Dragon Catch, for instance, I have no idea where I can find that, or if I can find it. I'd have to go consult an online guide, which you shouldn't have to do.

I don't like having to make the sandwiches and buy separate ingredients. It just isn't for me. Some people will play entire games like that. My wife loves Cooking Mama, for instance. But I want to play Pokemon, not do more work than I'm even willing to put into my own lunch in real life.

Why is there no way of knowing what current power-up you have, and no measure if knowing when the time is up?

I do like how much easier it is to get 10+ eggs when you do that power up and just set up a picnic, but this whole process could have been made a lot better than what it was, too.

Mixed Bag: The Story

I like that the school is used as a framework for everything. That works well for a lot of plot devices.

Team Star is particularly lame, though. I wanted to skip past almost all the dialogue in this as it was, but the whole story revolving around the losers being picked on and creating their own gang and all these cringy lines were unbearable.

Whatever happened to rivals in these games being jerks who you wanted to beat, and not just your brand new friends and people who spend most of their story apologizing?

Arven was cringy, too. Let's just say every bit of dialogue was cringy and write that off. But at least his reasoning for looking for the herbs was decent.

The time travel stuff is hit and miss. The game doesn't do enough to make me feel like I'm playing something in the future.

Con: Paradox Pokemon

Regional variants are better, particularly since they have actual names. All this "Iron ____" stuff is awful, and I don't like how they aren't even directly evolutions of Pokemon they clearly are. It comes off more like a Mega Evolution than an entirely separate thing, and I don't think any of the designs are good enough to justify it.

Some are decent looking, like Iron Moth and Iron Thorns. But why couldn't Great Tusk and/or Iron Treads just be a third evolution to Donphan?

Con: Terastal Phenomenon / Terastallized Pokemon

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't like these one-shot gimmicks they've been doing in this series.

Mega Evolution is dumb, overall. Those should be third evolution stages, regional variants, or not exist at all, and it is still the best of the bunch.

Z-Moves are ridiculous. Dynamax and Gigantamax is super lame.

The whole tera type thing isn't doing it for me. I NEVER use it in battle, and I hate when I come across something in the wild and I don't know what type it is, or how much longer it takes to beat it just because you need to go through that stall period where it doesn't fully take it down in one shot.

This gimmick isn't going to continue going forward, for sure, and that makes it even more annoying, knowing that it won't even stick around and it'll just be replaced by something else the next generation.

Also, your symbols suck. Why does Ground look almost exactly the same as Poison? And why is Psychic an eyeball for all these generations and still the thing above a Pokemon's head, but the type symbol used for that is closer to a mix of Normal and Fairy, while Dark is an eye, instead of the moon thing? Dumb.

Instead of wasting time trying to come up with a similar, but slightly different gimmick for each generation, why not focus your efforts on fixing the things that are problematic with each game, like the graphics and the lack of the full National Dex?

Con: Still No More Eeveelutions?

C'mooooon. You've had 1000 Pokemon, and you keep making some of the same stupid things like these generic birds and fish. Make an Eevee evolution of every type. Even if you introduce ONE of them per game, that would be something.

Guaranteed, you're sitting on a lot of money with this, too. People love these Eevee types.

Mixed Bag: Treasures of Ruin

Even though collecting them was hard because of the map, I liked the stakes being how you unlocked the 4 shrines for the legendaries.

I just wish the legendary Pokemon themselves were anything noteworthy.

Wo-Chien, Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu and Chi-Yu are not only all names that I'm never going to remember because they don't register to me as any recognizable words (ie, Squirtle = squirt turtle), they don't even really look like Pokemon to me. Chien-Pao, maybe. But even that's a bit of a stretch. They all seem like they'd belong better to another series.

I like legendaries that are more akin to Mewtwo/legendary birds, Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza, etc, and less of the Reshiram/Zekrom, Glastrier/Spectrier, Dialga/Palkia types.

Pro: Trainers Don't Automatically Battle You

I like that you have to engage with the trainers to battle them, rather than being forced to try to avoid their faces.

Con: Which Trainers Did I Fight??

I have no idea how many trainers I haven't fought yet, because there's no way of putting them on the map or anything to remember. When I see that I haven't beaten enough for the challenge for that area, I then have to look at some website that maps out each trainer's location and manually go to each one to see if I've fought them.

MAJOR Con: Travel Mechanics and Map

One of my absolute biggest complaints about this game is how TERRIBLE the map is and the whole gameplay of maneuvering around the region as a whole.

I really like how you've got the same Pokemon to ride and do all the HM stuff. That's a huge bonus, even more so than needing to switch between Wyrdeer and Basclegion. But the climbing system is glitchy and I hate how the gliding is nowhere near as easy, fun or fast as flying with Braviary in Legends: Arceus.

Even more of a problem, though, is how the map functions.

You zoom out, look at an area, hover over it, zoom in, and it doesn't zoom into that area???? How counter-intuitive is that?

The waypoints system was INFINITELY better in Legends: Arceus, wherein you could place some markers at any random location and identify that there was a purpose behind it. I used it to map Alpha Pokemon or noteworthy spots with items, or areas I wanted to explore later.

Pro: Auto Battle

This was a fun little addition to the system. I liked being able to gather items quicker than individual battles, and it could help sometimes with gaining XP, too.

It's a shame they go so quickly back into their ball when you walk at even a moderate pace, though.

I also wish you could send out more than one Pokemon in the overworld like you can in the Team Star stuff, and that it wasn't so damn glitchy in those Team Star missions.

Speaking of which...

Con: The Ridiculous Lag

In particular, if you're in the water, this is PAINFULLY slow. But the frame rate even while walking or just looking at Pokemon in the background was ridiculous.

Con: Stop Bumping Into Me!!!!

I hate it when Pokemon pop up and keep starting battles. Let me save the game or MOVE somewhere, bro. You're spawning out of nowhere.

Why is there no repel?

MAJOR Con: Lock-on Target System to Aim for a Specific Pokemon is Wack

Legends: Arceus has such a better system for catching Pokemon. Not only is it more fun to just throw the ball yourself and not have to engage in a battle, but that you can choose to battle if you WANT to, the actual aiming is infinitely better.

How is the lock-on mechanic in this game so fundamentally flawed that it might as well not even exist?

Con: The Way the Pokemon Appear in the Wild

Everything is too goddamn small. It makes it impossible to even see some of the Pokemon, not only to avoid running into them, but also to TRY to find them. Sinistea, for instance is so tiny that you're better off farming chips by just sending your Pokemon out in auto battles and hoping for the best.

Also, it's impossible to spot a shiny unless it is super blatantly obvious. I've only come across one that I'm aware of, but I have no idea if I've passed by shinies that are too similar in color or anything.

That's if they even pop up at all in general. Most of the time, I check the map, see that there are supposed to be a few things around, and nothing at all is showing up unless I look in the opposite direction and turn back around, or run in circles.

Con: TM Selection

Most of the TMs are trash, like the terrain ones. It's almost all setup moves and not enough powerful damaging attacks.

I'd get excited to see a TM in the wild, only to find that it's yet another Agility, Fling, Substitute, Swift, Encore, etc. Where was Thunder Fang when I needed it, or how I didn't have a single decent Water move for like half the game?

Con: Classes

Nope. These are dumb and take forever. Even the fact that you have to keep loading the front entrance and going through all those menus is too long of a process. Just ask me all the questions and let me take the finals without having to begin and end classes and such.

Mixed Bag: Gimmighoul

I expected something cooler for the 1000th Pokemon. Having it be that you have to collect 1000 coins just gives me vibes that Pokemon is more drawing attention to how much money they make on this franchise than trying to celebrate it being a special milestone.

Ideally, I think it would have been cool to see a Kanto variant of sorts in this spot. Maybe since there's a Pikachu Clone in every game, this could have been a legendary version of that? Or maybe just something ultimately cooler that doesn't have to tie back to Generation 1?

Gholdengo looks weird. It's like a Kraft mac and cheese noodle mixed with Silver Surfer.

Other Miscellaneous Notes

• I've used more Repeat Balls and Quick Balls in this than any other game or any other ball.
  
• Is Larry an Elite 4 member just because you wanted to reference the abundance of Normal/Flying Pokemon, or because you couldn't think of another character? I'm assuming the former.
• I'm still curious why Scarlet has oranges for its logo. Shouldn't that be Pokemon Orange, then?
• That first lighthouse is a lifesaver for hatching eggs.
• I like the whole idea of crafting more TMs, but for simplicity's sake, I liked it better when you could just use them infinitely.
  

My Elite 4 Pokemon

My starter was Fuecoco, so Skeledirge was on my team from the start.

Flamigo got on my team super early, and I said to my wife "Look at this dumb flamingo. What a lame design and name. They really couldn't be bothered to think of anything better than a generic flamingo and the name is just taking the N out? Stupid." and then, as a joke, I put it on my team. But before I knew it, it was WRECKING things, and it ended up being the one I used the most during this playthrough.

I had never used a Skiddo before in a playthrough, so once I caught one of those cute little guys, it became a fixture of my team from before the first gym. Gogoat was an ace in the Elite 4.

Bellibolt, Clodsire and Veluza rounded out the team. Those 3 spots were revolving, for the most part. Tinkatink lasted a while on my team before I replaced Tinkaton with Bellibolt. Garchomp was always kept on standby, as was Garganacl. I had used a Pawmi for a while at the start, but it quickly got outclassed.

Obviously, there were some others I used along the way just to try them out, like Smoliv, Tarountula, Wiglett, Corviknight, and even a Hoppip was one of my mains at the start until I had gotten Skiddo.

But ultimately, the Elite 4 were taken down by Skeledirge, Flamigo, Gogoat, Bellibolt, Clodsire and Veluza.

Thoughts on All the New Pokemon in Generation IX

Let's speed round this.

• Sprigatito / Floragato / Meowscarada = I didn't pick you for a reason. Bland. Generic. Not interesting in the slightest.
• Fuecoco / Crocalor / Skeledirge = I love the dopey gator. Crocalor is ugly as hell, though. Skeledirge is cool, but I could do without all the singing.
• Quaxly / Quaxwell / Quaquaval = Dumb.
• Lechonk / Oinkologne = Perfectly fine generic early mammal.
• Tarountula / Spidops = Meh. It's okay.
• Nymble / Lokix = Nymble is annoying. It keeps bumping into me. Lokix is fine. It's so far the only shiny I have. I keep thinking its a Steel or Fighting type, though.
• Pawmi / Pawmo / Pawmot = Cute. Super tiny. But Pawmo and Pawmot are lazy designs.
• Tandemaus / Maushold = Adorable. What a weird concept.
• Fidough / Dachsbun = There are too many dogs in this generation and this one doesn't stand out.
• Smoliv / Dolliv / Arboliva = Smoliv is the best of these three, for sure.
• Squawkabilly = Lame. We have enough Normal/Flying generic birds. Chatot would've been fine in this place and you could have designed something new.
  
• Nacli / Naclstack / Garganacl = Nacli is adorable. The other two are okay. Pure Rock type is weak, though, so it isn't very useful like if it were Ground.
  
• Charcadet / Armarouge / Ceruledge = Cool. A little too overdesigned, but I like them in general.
  
• Tadbulb / Bellibolt = Tadbulb is goddamn amazing of a name and adorable. Bellibolt is a chunky boy and I love it.
• Wattrel / Kilowattrel = Pretty decent. A little bland looking, but I dig it.
• Maschiff / Mabosstiff = Too many dogs. This isn't special.
• Shroodle / Grafaiai = Neat, but I'll never use it.
• Bramblin / Brambleghast = Very cool. I love that they did a tumbleweed and made it a Grass/Ghost. That's perfect.
• Toedscool / Toedscruel = Super weird. This should be a regional variant and not an entirely different species.
  
• Klawf = It's okay.
• Capsakid / Scovillain = We finally got a pepper, but it had to be this ugly design?
• Rellor / Rabsca = Bug and Psychic? Not Bug and Ground? What's up with that shit...literally?
  
• Flittle / Espathra = Flittle is supposed to be a chick?? Whatever.
  
• Tinkatink / Tinkatuff / Tinkaton = Ehhhhh I could see a ton of people having this as their favorite Pokemon ever. I liked Tinkatink for a bit, but I moved on.
  
• Wiglettt / Wugtrio = Why is this not a regional Diglett?
  
• Finizen / Palafin = Finally a dolphin. Palafin is dumb.
  
• Varoom / Revavroom = Ehhhhhh I don't know.
  
• Cyclizar = I don't like that this isn't a pre-evolution to the legendaries in proper form. But it's kind of neat.
  
• Orthworm = Ugly and dumb. That face looks like it is a design from another game.
  
• Glimmet / Glimmora = What is this thing?
  
• Greavard / Houndstone = I've been wanting a Rock/Ghost tombstone Pokemon. Why is this not part Rock type? I like it a lot, though.
  
• Flamigo = Instead of the amigo route with Fighting/Flying, I would have gone with FLAMEigo and made this a Fire type. Horribly dumb generic design, but it has a special place in my heart now for being my top guy for this playthrough.
  
• Cetoddle / Cetitan = Ugly. They could have had better narwhal designs.
  
• Veluza = I like it, but I can't help but to think Water/Psychic doesn't fit it. It looks more Steel type. And it seems like it should be stronger than what I keep coming across.
  
• Dondozo = I kind of like this big dope.
  
• Tatsugiri = Cute. Stop offing yourself with memento.
  
• Annihilape = Bad ass!!! Taking the idea of Primeape getting so angry it dies off and turning it into a Fighting/Ghost type is awesome, and the name is so sweet.
  
• Clodsire = What a dopey looking good boy. I love it.
  
• Farigiraf = Every Pokemon should have its full three-stage evolution. Doing this with Girafarig isn't exactly the design I would have gone with, but I appreciate the name, at least.
  
• Dudunsparce = Screw you. This thing is dumb.
  
• Kingambit = Very cool looking.
  
• Great Tusk = Dumb name. Why isn't this a true evolution of Donphan? Decent design, albeit I'm still left wanting.
  
• Scream Tail = Dumb name. What's wrong with this Jigglypuff?
  
• Brute Bonnet = Dumb name. I don't even like Amoongus as is. Awful design.
  
• Flutter Mane = Dumb name. The design is barely even there, too. It just looks like Misdreavus.
  
• Slither Wing = Dumb name. Why is it part Fighting type?
  
• Sandy Shocks = Dumb name. Dumb design.
  
• Iron Treads = Dumb name. Again, why isn't this a true evolution of Donphan? And why is it not right next to Great Tusk in the dex? I like the design, though.
  
• Iron Bundle = Dumb name. Why is this not Steel type? Ice/Steel or Water/Steel? I love Delibird, but this shouldn't exist.
  
• Iron Hands = Dumb name. It's just a different colored Hariyama. Also, IRON hands. Fighting/Steel instead of Fighting/Electric. C'mon.
  
• Iron Jugulis = Dumb name. I love Hydreigon, but they didn't try with this design. It should have become more of a tank.
  
• Iron Moth = Dumb name. Cool design, though. Not sure why its Fire/Poison instead of Bug/Steel or Fire/Steel.
  
• Iron Thorns = Dumb name. Should just be a regional variant. Obviously, this should be Steel/Electric or Rock/Steel or something, not Rock/Electric.
  
• Frigibax / Arctibax / Baxcalibur = One of the lamer pseudo-legendaries. I'm not a fan of the design.
  
• Gimmighoul / Gholdengo = Interesting concept, but not what I would have gone with for #1000. As stated, Gholdengo looks like a noodle from Kraft macaroni and cheese.
  
• Wo-Chien / Chien-Pao / Ting-Lu / Chi-Yu = I'd be fine with these not even being in the game and just having the shrines be something else. I don't like any of the designs, names or anything.
  
• Roaring Moon = Dumb name.
• Iron Valiant = Dumb name.
  
• Koraidon = Cool.
• Miraidon = Very cool. I dig this a lot, I like the typing, and I chose to start with Violet primarily because of it.
  

What do you think are the best and worst parts of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

I haven't been using Pokemon Home for too long, but after getting back into Pokemon Go a few months ago and realizing I was getting rid of Pokemon I would like to trade to actual games in the future, but having no space for them, I eventually opted to pay for the annual premium plan subscription. Since then, I've been heavily sending Pokemon from Go and trying to make use of the GTS and Wonder Trade systems to get as close to a full Pokedex as I possibly can.

In the process, I've noticed some things that I really wish were on the app, but aren't. Some of them are for convenience while others are just tools and sorting options I think would be incredibly useful and should have been the standard to begin with.

Without further ado, here are 10 improvements I think should be made to Pokemon Home.

#1. Multi-Trade for the GTS

More than anything on this list, this is what I'd want (even though the rest aren't in any ranked order). The way it is now, you can select 3 Pokemon to specifically request a trade for (ie, I will trade this Rotom for this particular type of Rayquaza). My idea would be that you can toss out more of a grab bag type of thing like Wonder Trade, but that you have specifics you're looking for in return.

The best way to explain it is to just spell it out with an example of the mathematical formula it would operate on, in a sense.

"I will deposit these x# Pokemon. Anyone can take them if they're looking for them, so long as they offer me any of the following in exchange."

For example, I could put 50 Pidgey in there of varying levels and such, and I can say that I'm requesting all the legendaries. I doubt anyone would want to take any of those offers, but if anyone does decide that they will upload, say, "one of the Pokemon in my deposit box is a Zapdos and one of the Pokemon I'm looking for in return is a Pidgey", then Pokemon Home would send an alert to both of us saying an eligible trade has been found and ask if we would like to confirm it. Only one of us needs to confirm, ideally, so you're not stuck with someone who is playing around and locking up trades by not confirming it. Maybe it just automatically does the trade for you like Wonder Trade because hey pal, you set up those parameters and they were met.

For all I know, someone out there has the Guzzlord that I need and they're willing to trade for 10 different Pokemon that I have, including the Duraludon that I have sitting in GTS right now, but I happen to have that listed as "I'll trade Duraludon for Buzzwole". I'd take the Guzzlord trade, since I need that, too, but I happen to have "I'll trade Dusknoir for Guzzlord" instead, so it's just never going to happen. But if I could say "I'll trade any of these for any of these," it might.

#2. Don't Have the Form? GTS Says You Don't Have the Pokemon

Ever since I got a Furfou and a Vivillon in Pokemon Home, I've had this issue where I'm searching for a Pokemon I need in the GTS with the "include people searching for Pokemon you don't have" function off, but I'll see tons of examples of people requesting Heart Trim form Furfrou or a particular Vivillon pattern.

If I had them, they should obviously show up. But just because I have a Furfrou of any form, it shows all the form options. There aren't any mechanics within Pokemon Home to change the forms, so it's just flat out wrong that I "have the Pokemon" available.

This means when I search for a Pokemon in the GTS, I inevitably have to scroll past the Furfrou and Vivillon requests. Even if I had that specific one, I wouldn't know they were looking for it, because I'd have to click on each individual one to check to see what form they were looking for.

That's maddening. If you don't have the form, it should be treated as if you don't have that particular Pokemon at all and not show up as a trade option.

#3. Stop Allowing Impossible Requests

If it doesn't really exist, people shouldn't have the option to request it. I don't understand this idea some people have where they'll put a shiny legendary or something in the GTS and request something impossible like a level 1 shiny Cinderace. All that does is clog up the system.

Apparently, people do it to "flex" that they have that Pokemon. If you're one of those people, you're a jackass. Nobody's looking up your trainer ID so they can send you praise and be jealous. You're not getting laid because of it or a pay raise at work. If that's really a means for you to feel better about yourself, it's very sad and you should reassess some of your life choices. This is a silly children's game of collecting fake cartoon monsters. It's supposed to be fun, not something you attach your self-esteem to.

#4. Trading Mythical Pokemon Should Be Allowed

Simply put, if someone wants to trade me their Mew for my Caterpie, they should be able to.

I wouldn't, but there are people out there who would. More importantly, there are people who might have a million Meltan and want to give that to someone else in exchange for a Jirachi. Like me. I've got enough Meltan and I can always get more with Pokemon Go, so how about I give one of those to some kid somewhere who has a Victini they want to get rid of so I'm not just missing that one?

#5. Sort Pokemon by Quantity

Why are you not able to sort by the number of each particular Pokemon you have? That would make it infinitely easier to toss Pokemon into the Wonder Trade or GTS.

If I have 30 Drowzee, I want to get rid of them in the Wonder Trade before I'd put my last Hypno. As it stands, I have to sort by dex number and scroll down and manually look to see which ones look like they have more than a few. That takes a longer time than I'd like, as I'd love to be able to just sort by quantity ascending and descending. That way, the top of the list shows I have 20 Spearow? I'll toss some in there. It shows I only have 1 Jynx? Now I know not to click on that one.

#6. More Than 10 on Wonder Trade

This one is pretty self-explanatory. I'd love to be able to toss more than 10 Pokemon into the Wonder Trade system to speed up the process.

Make it practically infinite. At least make it 20 or 50, or 100.

Imagine the rush some people would feel if they wanted to gamble, take all their Pokemon in one shot and Wonder Trade them to see what they get. That could make for some fun YouTube video content where people do that.

#7. Free Trade Room Classes and Groups

There should be different groups of the free trade room that give you rules you have to follow.

Obviously, there should be a "completely random and anything goes" room like there is now. But there should also be rooms like "only legendary" where you literally can't participate in the trade process unless you select a legendary Pokemon.

Only mythical. Only Kanto (as well as any other generation, or game). Only shiny. Only level 100. Only for each type. So on and so forth.

That way, you know that if you go into the room that is Only Water Type, you toss out your Magikarp and you might get a Kyogre, but you're definitely not getting a Spinarak.

#8. Web Browser / Desktop Functionality

Using the app or the Nintendo Switch is nowhere near as convenient as a desktop client version would be. I'd love to be able to just log in via Firefox or a downloadable computer program and do this all with my keyboard and mouse. I'm one of those people who uses their computer pretty much 24/7 and is much more adept at that style of organization than to be using my phone and having to look at that smaller screen for a while. It wears my fingers out more to swipe on my screen than it does to use a mouse, too. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to be able to use Pokemon Home on their laptop or whatever.

#9. A Chat Function

Self-explanatory.

#10. Set a Locked Pokemon in Your Room Instead of Randomized

Every time you swipe away from the Your Room screen, a new Pokemon generates as the little character that will pop up. While I don't personally care, I'm sure some people would like to be able to choose a permanent "buddy" or something that will always be there.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE IDEAS?
DROP YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

Welcome to the first-ever Fanboys Anonymous MOCK DRAFT of Pokémon! Hosts Tony Mango, Robert DeFelice and Callum Wiggins will pick between the original 151 Pokémon found in Generation 1 (Red, Blue, Yellow and Green), ranging from Bulbasaur through Mew.

First, we will set the "I choose you" order and then go in snake-style for our picks. All choices are based on the final evolutionary form, so if you choose Charizard, you get Charmander and Charmeleon as well, unless you opt not to take them.

Once all the Kanto region has been explored and every Pokémon has been assigned to a trainer, we will choose our team of six to battle it out with on Pokémon Showdown to determine who is the very best like no one ever was.

That battle will take place as a special edition of Bonus Features on the Fanboys Anonymous Patreon, so be sure to join there to see who wins the battles and to help keep this website and channel going with your monetary support.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!