7 More Pokemon to Catch

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Oh look, even more new Pokemon for Pokemon Sun and Moon. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?

knowyourmeme.com

 -Charjabug: the Electric/Bug type that knows Spark and is the evolution of Grubbin. Is Japan boasting its mech mania in making this Pokemon? With its geometric design, I swear this thing looks like a minimalist version of Wormamon or a miniature Transformer. #robotsindisguise

games.mxdwn.com

-Vikavolt: another Electric/Bug type, but this one knows Zap Cannon. I’ll admit this one is a nifty design and reminds me of a stag beetle. Vikavolt is the evolution of Charjabug, disproving my theory of Charjabug being a Transformer. Dangit. 

 

ign.com

-Drampa: the Normal/Dragon type that knows Dragon Breath and the ability Frenzy. Drampa looks like an aquatic version of Falkor from “The Neverending Story” with banana eyebrows which means I definitely want it.

polygon.com

 -Cutiefly: a Bug/Fairy type that knows Fairy Wind. Based on this Pokemon’s design, it looks like it was crafted after a beefly. Who knew a little bug like this could be so cute? I wish the name was a little better, but I think the finished result makes up for it.

eurogamer.net

 -Togedemaru: an Electric/ Steel type with the move Discharge and the ability Lightning Rod. Ladies and gentleman, this Pokemon is the Pikachu of Sun and Moon. It’s small like Dedenne, round like a Spheal, and even sports those chubby cheeks (and chubby classic body) of Pikachu. It has triangles that pop out and is modeled after a hedgehog – an illegal pet in Hawaii.

polygon.com

 -Tapu Koko: an Electric/ Fairy type of Pokemon with the ability Elekimaker. For starters, we have a ton of electric Pokemon so far which is cool. Second, this is the guardian Hala was referring to! This is the guardian of Melemele and it actually looks rather nifty. It appears to know the move Electric Terrain (based on its battle with Slowbro) which enhances electric moves and is owned by Hala. 

gamezone.com

-Bruxish: a Water/Psychic type that knows Psywave and the ability Dazzle (give ‘em the old razzle dazzle). What the Houndoom am I looking at? There’s a flower on its head and it looks like you really don’t want to mess with it because of how crazy it is. Its body appears to be a tropical (albeit fitting), but Lisa Frank fever dream.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on the leaked Pokemon?

Sleeping With the Stars: Anton Yelchin

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

This year is incredibly bizarre so far. No, not for personal reasons, but more so the fact that fantastic celebrities keep dying. So far we’ve lost David Bowie, Muhammad Ali, Doris Roberts, Prince, and so many other people that I’m uncertain how much more our hearts can bear.

Sadly, we’ve lost yet another celebrity: Anton Yelchin. Anton Yelchin is also known as the young Chekov in J.J. Abrams’ rebooted Star Trek movies.

Yelchin was fatally pinned by his car against his brick mailbox pillar and the gate of his home. No one had tampered with the vehicle; officials found the car in the neutral gear. What many believe occurred was that the car rolled down the steep drive way and fatally collided with the young actor. The trauma from the incident led to his demise. His body was found by his friends who were concerned as to why he hadn’t appeared for an 11 pm rehearsal.

Yelchin drove a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee which had been recalled earlier this year due to rollbacks. Fiat Chrysler believes it was the car’s shifter behind the rollback which possibly caused 41 injuries. Fiat Chrysler claims it will aid in Yelchin's investigation.

Yelchin was twenty seven years old and originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. His parents were two iconic professional ice skaters who fled to America as political refugees. During their escape, Yelchin was still a child and raised in Los Angeles. After hitting his head as a kid, Yelchin didn’t want to become an ice skater. Instead he preferred reading, chess, and acting. His first professional role was Augie in A Man is Mostly Water. From there onward, he starred in other movies and series such as From Up on Poppy Hill, Only Lovers Left Alive, Huff, and The Practice. Yelchin just finished starring in the movies Thoroughbred and Star Trek: Beyond.

I’m not sure how many more wondrous people we’ll lose this year, especially one as young and as tragic as Anton Yelchin. Rest in peace, Yelchin – may you go boldly where no man as gone before.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what will you remember Anton Yelchin most for?

Let's Get WICKED

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

This week has been depressing, so I think I might have something to lift everyone’s spirits. You could say this news will make you defy gravity.

Universal has just announced December 20^th, 2019 as the official release date for the “WICKED” movie adaptation. Over a decade ago, Universal claimed it would be converting one of Broadway’s biggest plays into a movie. Years passed with barely any news regarding this adaptation until today.

“WICKED” tells the story before “The Wizard of Oz” and the origins of Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.  It was turned to a Broadway show based on Gregory Maguire’s hit novel “The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”.

“WICKED”’s movie adaptation will be directed by Stephen Daldry and Marc Platt, the producers of this ten year running Broadway play. Stephen Schwartz (the original writer) and Winnie Holzman (the original lyricist) for the musical will be reuniting to bring “WICKED” to the big screen. The movie will draw inspiration from the Broadway play and the novel it was based on.

In the past, Chenoweth had expressed interest in playing Madam Morrible, the Headmistress of Shiz University where the Wicked Witch (Elphaba) and Glinda meet.

Honestly, I hope the original cast reunites for making a long awaited movie. They could also possibly do a mix of the original cast and some of the other casts throughout the years to make this production absolutely wicked.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on a “WICKED” movie?

A Dying Pulse: Orlando Shooting

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

You know, as mysterious as this blog is life is also mysterious. It’s strange how on the same day gay pride parades are held everywhere, the largest mass shooting in America against homosexuals takes place.

Pulse, a gay nightclub was where 50 victims fell to Omar Mateen’s artillery on June 12^th, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Mrteen held people hostage in the bathroom, praised ISIS to the police while making the attack, and was ultimately shot by officials.

Mateen has been noted as a suspicious character from abusing his wife to purchasing guns as a part of his security job at G4 Secure Solutions – one of the world’s biggest private security companies. From 2013- 2014, he was interviewed by the FBI due to his remarks regarding ISIS and suicide bombers. They halted his investigation because they found nothing to keep continuing it.  

However, no sooner this tragedy unraveled another one nearly sparked in Santa Monica, California.  James Howell had informed a police officer that he was going to harm the gay pride parade. This message was tweeted, only for the officer to retract what Howell had said, believing there was a miscommunication.  Howell was still detained for his extensive and harmful collection located in his car when he made that statement. There has been no connection between him and Mateen.

Vigils and ceremonies for the passing innocents have been held throughout the nation. People have been donating blood to those who have suffered an incredible blood loss from the incident. Celebrities and government officials have given their respectful thoughts and prayers to this situation.

The absolute rage I feel about this incident is unfathomable. Even collecting information for this entry is just filling me with even more anger. For the record, I am a heterosexual woman with many bisexual, homosexual, and transgender friends and I stand by them. Frankly, I’m proud of them for their bravery to be themselves in a dark and cruel world. They’re wonderful people. For this to occur as well as the homophobic comments that followed this situation (most notably Trump’s unneeded, unnecessary, unwanted ego stroke) have indefinitely caused my blood to boil.

It feels as though we took three steps forward and two steps back. Three steps forward in allowing homosexuals to marry everywhere, fighting for their rights as well as transgender rights, and generally improving on the LQBT community. Two steps backward in the prejudice still shown to this collective group and now this ungodly shooting. We need to be on the same level.

Always advancing forward and yet, there will always be people like Omar Mateen and James Howell. These people are viruses in our society that must be reprimanded in proper fashion. From these horrific situations, we must find the strength to be there for each other regardless of sexuality. We must accept each other for who we are and what we are. Homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders, and other sexuals are no different from heterosexuals because in the end we’re all humans who want to love who we love without repercussions.

I believe John Lennon said something years ago that still holds true to this day : “all you need is love.” All we need is love and love can come in many forms of acceptance, friendship, strength, and comfort.  I know it’s an incredibly overused phrase to say, but it still rings true. All we need is love to love each other, all we need is strength to lift each other, all we need is acceptance to embrace our fellow brethren and sisters, all we need is friendship to understand each other better, all we need is love. Love is all we need.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on this ungodly massacre?

Holy Hawluchas, More Pokemon News!

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Holy Hawluchas, do we have some Pokémon Sun and Moon news!

For starters, our legendarys are now named. For Pokémon Sun, we have Solgaleo who is a Psychic/Steel typing with the ability Full Metal Steel that negates all Pokémon abilities that may affect its stats. In the trailer, we see that a Salamance’s Intimidate has no effect on this full metal lion. Solgaleo’s most powerful move is Sunsteel Strike which transforms it into a flaming, fiery ball and lunges at its opponent.

For Pokémon Moon, we have Lunala the Psychic/Ghost Pokémon and has the Shadow Shield ability. Shadow Shield will cause Lunala to take less damage from an attack if its HP is full before the attack lands. Lunala’s strongest move is Moongeist Beam which causes the Pokemon to turn into a moon like figure and attack their enemies with a powerful ray.

I’m honestly curious as to what the symbols are that appear on Solgaleo and Lunala heads’ when they attack. I originally thought it was a symbol for ‘Psychic’, but if that’s the case then why are they so different?

My belief regarding Pokémon Sun and Moon’s land was correct wherein I wondered if there would be more islands and if we’d have to travel to them by surfing or boat. In the video, we see four islands with distinct layouts and if you look closely, you can see a few boats near them. In the original trailer, we only saw one island (the second from the left) which now makes me wonder if that will be the island where our adventure begins. I also wonder what the building in the center of the map is at :52; I’m thinking it’s a laboratory, the villains’ headquarters, an island solely reserved for battling, or the Pokémon League.

We also have confirmed character names and roles. Our professor is the young man who greets us on the island from the first trailer. His name is Kukui after a Hawaiian tree and wears glasses, but take note of his dialogue: he says Alola is made up of several islands which could explain why there’s nothing but rare Pokémon. Yes, we will be obtaining new Pokémon in this generation, but it also makes me wonder if the portals will return from ORAS. Those portals were on special islands and contained rare Pokémon

such as Giratina, Suicune, Entei, and many others.

Then there’s Lillie, Kukui’s mysterious assistant who I have a strong feeling will be heavily involved with the plot. After all she does have the word ‘mysterious’ in her character title, which makes me wonder what her role will be other than assistant. She seems to dress differently too; she seems like she came from Lumiose City or Laverre City as opposed to being a Alolan native. She also dislikes Pokemon battles, but loves a good book.

Lastly, there’s Hau, the dark skinned boy we saw from the original trailer who will be our friend and possible rival. He seems to embody the carefree nature that the islands and its natives possess.

At 1:01, we see a bracelet on our trainers that we can choose from. This could probably mean the return of Mega Evolution and the hopeful promise that we’ll get more Mega Evolutions. I’m crossing my fingers for a Mega Evolution Dunsparce and/or a Mega Evolution Shuckle.

The Pokedex is also rather unique in this game. This Pokedex allows you have to have a Skype like conversation with Kukui and can be possessed by a Rotom. Rotom will be obtaining a new form and converse with you through the Pokedex. It’s a nifty little idea and it actually made me wonder why Gamefreak didn’t incorporate it before. After all, Rotom is a Pokémon capable of possessing electronics. Also, does this mean that we’ll automatically have a 6^th slot filled in our Pokémon party due to Rotom’s appearance?

Lastly, there will be a special QR Code function for this game wherein players can register Pokémon from Alola in their Pokedex. If players haven’t caught the Alolan Pokémon yet, they can still scan the code and search for it in its habitat. I hope Nintendo explains this in the future or at least at their June 14^th discussion of Pokémon Sun and Moon because I’m curious as to how it will play into the game.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what are you curious about regarding Pokémon Sun and Moon?

Thank You on Memorial Day

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

What is Memorial Day? Memorial Day is a day off from work, barbeques, mad dashes to the mall to snag those Memorial Day sales, but most importantly, a time to honor those who serve and have served for our nation.

Originally titled ‘Decoration Day’, it was officially declared in General Logan’s General Order No. 11 speech that on the 30^th of every May people would honor those who have fallen in the Civil War. People were to decorate the graves of comrades with flowers, wreaths, and anything of important significance. This proclamation was made on May 5^th, 1868 and May 30^th was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any combat.

On the first ‘Decoration Day’ General Garfield gave a speech at Arlington Cemetery wherein thousands of participants gathered to adorn the graves of over twenty thousand Union and Confederate soldiers.

New York was the first state to officially recognize this holiday in 1873, followed by the other northern states. The South refused to celebrate this day because they had different days for honoring their dead. After World War I, ‘Decoration Day’ changed to honoring all who had passed in any war and not just the Civil War. This holiday was passed through Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 which ensured a three day weekend for Federal holidays – Memorial Day included.

To this day, we honor soldiers and loved ones whose lives were lost in battle and for their sacrifice we cannot thank them enough. We honor them for preserving our lives in our nation, we praise them for their dutiful service until the very end of the line, and we thank them with every fiber of gratitude we have. We wear ribbons and red poppies for them and should we ever see them, dead or alive, we should thank them not only today, but for as long as we live. For they have encountered horrors we could never dream of or experience and should be revered with honor and respect.

Thank you for reading today’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what are you doing for Memorial day? 

Pokemon a Go-Go

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

This week the registry for Pokemon Go Field Test in North America launched.  You can still sign up for it; in doing so, you’ll be testing out Pokemon Go before it is finalized for the public.

So, what do we have so far in regard to Pokemon Go?

Your phone (or the Pokemon Go Plus wristband (not yet available) which will need to be near your phone) will vibrate when a Pokemon is near. Simply toss a Pokeball and the Pokemon is yours – there is no battle. Pokemon battles against trainers appear to be crafted from quick time based events wherein you swipe left or right to attack and defend. This also applies to gym battles which are incredibly different than what we have seen through the years. Gym battles now consist of the player joining one of the three teams (Red, Blue, or Yellow). These teams compete with each other for the Gym’s Prestige aka ownership of the gym. Trainers leave one Pokemon at the gym to guard or fight for said prestige. When a team obtains control of a gym, they can use it to further their trainer levels through battles with the rival teams.

From how it sounds, gym battles aren’t a one and done deal as within the games: you fight the gym leader, you get the badge, next gym. Instead, it appears that the battles will never end not only for ownership of the gym, but for levelling up trainers as well.

Pokemon no longer need to level up either, but your trainer level does. It’s still uncertain as to how levelling up trainers will work, but all we know is that exploring the area and catching Pokemon are key notes in this process. My guess is that it’s determined based on how many steps you take.

Besides, you do find Pokemon eggs that hatch after walking for so long. Players can also encounter Pokeshops and items at art installations, historical locations, and monuments. However, you can also purchase in game items and extra items. Pokeballs weren’t included in this concept, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were especially if you’re nowhere near those sightings. Yet Pokemon Go will be a free to download game in spite of its in game purchases.

Pokemon can evolve in this, but not in the way you’d expect. Since leveling up Pokemon is out of the question, you now have to catch Pokemon of that type until it eventually evolves. Ex.: To evolve Tentacool into Tentcruel, I would need to catch x amount of water type Pokemon until it evolves. When the Pokemon will evolve, it’s not mentioned.

I’m a bit iffy when it comes to Pokemon Go because of its weird transition from the gameplay we’re so familiar with to the phone. We’re not receiving those heart pounding, tedious battles that paid off in the end, the gym battle system seems never ending and confusing, and leveling up/evolving seems strange.

At least we get trainer customization and the ability to catch Pokemon which are cool, but will these factors hold up in the game?

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what are your thoughts about Pokemon Go?