Pokémon is EVIL?!: POKéMON GO!

DEMONIC, SATANIC, AND JUST PLAIN EVIL...Or not...
A little background about myself might be in order here: so let's start with the fact that I was raised in Alabama, caught right in the Bible Belt, by a non-denominational mother, and a southern baptist father. That said, my childhood was dominated by...anything  but the popular "garbage" of my generation. May I, just, list a few things that might have been considered evil, and I'll even agree to some extent on some notions. This list is in no way a complete list of the restrictions on my childhood, just some of the most notable!

Legend of Zelda: main character associates with fairies and uses magic. Sure, you can argue that fairies are representative of supernatural spirits, they lead people astray from the truth of God or whatever, but...it's a bloody child's video game! I mean, Disney was okay, but not Zelda. Come now.

Dragonball Z: Frankly, as a child I couldn't find anything wrong with Dragonball, and as an adult I've gone back and watched it, and I see my father's opposition keypoints, but they're based in ignorance. The key problems being characters with the title "demon" and the later introduced character "Mr. Satan," or "Hercule." Let me be clear, I understand my father's opposition to all things "demonic" but it's ridiculous when it comes down to other cultures' entertainment. Most anime assign the keyterm "demon" to powerful fighters and spirits, because that's what they're called. Plus, Piccolo, the first Demon King (the one my father saw and took issue with) isn't even a demon, heck, he's just a foreign creature that everyone called a demon (hmm...sounds familiar.) I wasn't praying to a statue of the Demon King Piccolo, heck, I was cheering for someone to kick his tail. Which happened, the Demon King was defeated, and his son overcame his father's evil and became a hero. If anything the story might be seen as having some semblance to the story of Christ, Goku being this Christ figure who promises everyone, even his greatest enemies, a second chance. Well, except for the Demon King, who...died. Fitting, I suppose.

Yu-Gi-Oh: Oh yeah, there's one I can actually stand behind. I really REALLY enjoyed that card game. Still do. I can recognize the evil seen in it too, the game is about summoning demons to destroy your opposition. For the most part, as long as you assume the interpretation that all things unnatural and magical are demons. So yeah, I can't necessarily disagree, but at the same time I argue that, again, it originates from a difference of culture and a simple desire for entertainment. No one is worshipping the Dark Magician as a savior of the universe, just playing him to win the game. The concept of "sacrificing" to summon more powerful creatures or to cast more powerful spells is akin in game logic to sacrificing a pawn to the enemy to setup a powerful gambit in chess.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: This one's different. Everything above I've been able to pin on Japanese culture and legitimacy due to different beliefs...but then you have American cartoons, such as Johnny Bravo, Ed Edd 'n' Eddy, and Cat-Dog. The best I can figure, my father took issue with these due to his opposition toward Johnny's womanizing, and just the sheer stupidity present in the other two. Which isn't unfounded, but, again, it's a children's cartoon. There's not a lot of deep philosophical thought in them, except at the end of a handful of episodes where it's like "Oh, and this is the moral objecting Johnny learned about womanizing," and then no further improvement on character. So yeah, okay, take issue with it, make sure it doesn't rot the mind, but forbid it as a sleight against God?

Pokémon: Here's the big one, for whatever reason. I suppose it's because it was just so easy to pick apart and it was the first BIG one. I mean, Dragonball was big, but it was a different kind of big. Pokémon was a video game, a card game and a tv series. In truth, I had minimal experience with the card game and video game. I was only really exposed to the anime for the longest time. Even that I had limited exposure to, and why? I honestly don't know except that someone in a church somewhere said "Hmm...Pokémon...Pokeymon...Pok-eymon...demon." That broke it, then came the logic: "Pokémon stands for Pocket Monster, monster is synonymous with demon." Yes...well it's also synonymous with rascal, does that mean everytime I was called a rascal I was secretly being called a demon? What about when we call dogs and cats little monsters, are they also demons? The idea that Pokémon are demons is probably the largest stretch in anything else I was forbidden from viewing.

I guess there is some sort of foundation for these things. What are they though? Is it that Ash is abnormally resilient, so he have demonic powers? I would argue that Ash was resilient because it was a children's cartoon, like Tom and Jerry, and you can't show him get killed by the first bolt of lightning that hits him. Maybe because Pokémon trainers are empathic with their Pokémon? Surely that shows some intervention of dark powers! Well...no. Pokémon trainers don't "understand" their Pokémon. It's not like communing with beasts, the evil power of witchcraft. It's like when I "understand" that my dog wants to play, or that my cat caught another mole and left it on the back porch as a gift. I don't have to speak to the spirit of the animal to know why she's meowing frantically and leading me around the house, I just have to be familiar with the my pets, which is what Pokémon trainers are, familiar. No...Pokémon aren't "familiars," stop it.

On the other hand, what would the series be without a bit of supernatural content? There is definitely a gym leader who "has psychic power" and another (maybe the same, I don't recall perfectly) who is "possessed by a ghost" and yes, that totally happens, and I'll agree that it's "satanic" or whatever. But let's glance at something real quick. The idea that these things happen isn't evil. I mean, the story of "Legion" speaks of the demonic possession of a man in the bible. These events in Pokémon aren't portrayed as good, glorious things that we should be excited about. In fact, our protagonist overcomes the psychic powers of his adversaries, and the possession of ghosts, through his own strength, determination, and trust in his comrades. Yeah sure, he didn't do it through "God" but...it's a children's cartoon, that's not Veggie-Tales, so yeah, no Divine Intervention.

There's also the ever present issue of "Evilution" in Pokémon, and yes, Pokémon does present "Evolution" in the very first game. But evolution in Pokémon, is actually metamorphosis. But, Pokémon also presents "the theory of evolution" as a scientific theory. No, that's not the "Man came from monkeys" theory, though I consent that Pokémon has that too, sort of, but instead it presents a series of bird Pokémon from different regions who have different traits based on where they're found. This is sort of the origin of "The Origin of Species" as written by Darwin, in that he studied birds from across a series of islands and found that they all came from the same root, but had adapted to their locations. Although I will concede that Pokémon does go directly against most ideologies by introducing the idea of both a "great creator" and a "root of all cellular life," the Pokémon mythos is a bit broken. They also expressly state in every instance that this is only how some scientists have perceived these Pokémon (Mew "may" be the first Pokémon and the origin of Pokémon, Arceus "may" be the God-like creator of the Pokéverse). Yeah, that's bending space a lot, again though, fictional universe, at no point does the Pokémon universe claim to be ours. Well...until Pokémon Go, and even then, it's just one more mythos out of thousands, like the one where ancient Egyptian Gods looked like Transformers and lived amongst humanity.

Anyways...
To the point that Pokémon is evil and is being used to corrupt our children, no, it's not. If anything Pokémon, and other RPG style games directed at children, help to do more than just entertain. Games in general have benefits to the function of the brain, benefits that I didn't go to college to study, but can recognize in my day to day life nonetheless. Of course these benefits also differ from person to person.

Due to Pokémon, I know the importance of organization, because I had to teach myself how important organization was, or I'd get rid of some pretty good catches. Sure, you learn this in school or from parental lecturing, but it sticks so much better when you don't realize you're learning it. Similarly Pokémon forces mathematical skills and logical reasoning on children. My level 20 Bellsprout doesn't stand a chance against a level 18 Charmeleon, but my level 17 Staryu can probably put up a good fight, only because of type advantages; at the same time, my level 30 Ivysaur will probably still wreck that level 18 Charmeleon, despite his elemental weakness, due to his excessive level.

Puzzle solving is required throughout the game, a necessity to revisit old information to better yourself, optimization to save time and space while getting the job done to the best of your abilities, all of these, lessons I learned from Pokémon. There's also intrinsic moral values I suppose, but I choose not to draw my moral values from the kid who says "even if my Pikachu isn't stronger than your Onix, even if I'm at a terrible disadvantage, I can still power through and win!" I'm more of the opinion that if Pikachu isn't a good match, maybe I should cut my losses and go catch a Mankey, there'll be time to improve my Pikachu later.

What was I saying? Oh yeah, Pokémon rocks, and is in no way satanic! At least, in as far as the Holy Bible isn't considered satanic. And, no, that's not me calling Pokémon the equivalent to the Holy Bible. It's me pointing out that evil existing doesn't make the content evil, the very presence of evil is the only reason for good to exist.

Is that it for my rant today? Yeah, I think so. I love my parents and I wouldn't be where I am without them, and frankly having these things cut from my childhood just adds value to them and my conversation, so I'm not mad. I'm just saying, these are the things I've witnessed, and my opinion on them. I can't blame anyone for what they believe or how they show it. Well, I mean, on common ground terms. But that's a debate not intended for this blog! As a side note:

Oh my gosh! I'm level 13 and I have a 1000+ Flareon! Yay!

#PokémonGo

Just Tear up your Deck: KINGDOM HEARTS: CoM

STRUGGLING
I didn't think I would have as much trouble with naming game-breaking abilities that I've used in the past, but apparently I haven't exploited as much in games as I thought. At the very least I don't remember it, or didn't realize how great it was. Either way, here's the idea we're still focusing on, sometimes games have one or two things intentionally included, that break the game. They're not necessarily intended to break the game (as is the case here) but ultimately they have the potential to.

So far we've covered clothes, the Hero of Kvatch's 100% Chameleon armor, and Spiderman's alternate costumes in Spiderman 64 (2000). Today, we'll actually tackle a weapon, sort of.

TITLE: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories


Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite game series of all time, and I'm really bummed out that I haven't beaten Coded, RE: Chain of Memories, or 358/2 Days, and even more so that I haven't played Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance, but Chain of Memories is part of the original three, and I kicked the crap out of it backwards and forwards. (Literally sort of, since beating the game unlocks the Rebirth mode where you play as Riku.)

So, what are we covering here? Cards. In Chain of Memories, Sora's memories have been turned into cards that he must call on to utilize his abilities. Different Keyblade cards allow him to attack with different Keyblades (the graphic doesn't change, just the damage and effects, if I recall correctly), spell cards allow him to cast various magic abilities, and items allow him to restore his deck on some level or another. So what's so game breaking about this? Nothing in itself, the cards are handed out in a balanced enough fashion to where you don't just get a full deck of 9s (the most powerful cards in the game aside from 0s, which are situational), and the bad guys always have the ability to counter-play (such as using 0s), but there's one card combination I ran from beginning to end. Omnislash.

The game allows you to have certain characters join you in battle. Friend cards drop throughout fights to allow you to summon Donald, Goofy, and of course some situational world characters (Aladdin and Jack are some examples). But summon cards also make a return, with a summon exclusive to Chain of Memories, Cloud. Cloud was a miniboss in the first game, serving as your first real challenge in the Olympus Colosseum, you later face him again and he utilizes the sheer might of the Omnislash against you. Don't worry, you get a bit of revenge in Chain of Memories, because chaining three Cloud cards together (called a Sleight) allows you to perform the Omnislash technique. The best part is, this ability doesn't require you to expend any level ups on additional sleights, and its powerful enough to where if you manage to pick up several Clouds, you'll never need other abilities.

This isn't necessarily a "solve all" for every single battle in the game, but boss fights are often cut short by three sky dropped whacks from the buster sword. Utilizing mega-ethers and a large collection of Clouds will allow Sora to waltz right through basically every major fight in the game, and it's not even a secret card. There are some cards that require rare key cards to obtain, but not Cloud. Seriously, best. Summon. Ever. Never underestimate the power of a big sword.

Now, of course you can be countered with 0s, and it's honestly hard to get a whole lot of Cloud cards, but it's not impossible. In fact, the best method to do this is to complete the game only to the point that you unlock Olympus Colosseum, then repeat the previous floors over and over, buying card packs from moogle shops and actively seeking Cloud cards in the scenery. Just like that, you'll be good to go.

There's a down side of course, you CAN'T afford to get a lot of Sleights or a ton of HP, because summon cards are expensive. You basically have to spend all of your level ups increasing your maximum card point capacity. What levels you have left you definitely need to invest in HP instead of Sleights, because you'll need that HP for the time you have to spend standing still trying to recycle your deck.

There are other potentially broken mechanics that can be used, and sometimes a simple deck full of 0s and 9s is all you need, but if you want to just go ham, Cloud is your man.