New Year Issue '07/08
Happy New Year !
I have completed the main mode of Pokemon Battle Revolution and it is OK, not great, but it is worth it if only for the Pikachu and Electivire and Magmortar (incidentally, the codes don't work on my Wii, but I think I just entered them in wrong). I will have a review of it, and a few more tips, which I will add to the Battle Revolution page. It also has lots of replayability value, especially if you have a decent pass to battle with.
News
Pokemon is still going strong, but nothing very new is happening at the moment, so we can't really give you that much news.
My team is almost ready (they are mostly pokemon that you will see all the time in Pokemon Battle Revolution Wi-Fi battling like Dialga and Garchomp, so if you have a proper team, you will probably win), I am Poketopia Champion Scar, if you have the extrordinary luck to battle me, you will be able to see my shiny Victreebel (my team isn't entirely rubbish).
I want to make a pokemon gym soon, so if you have finished your copy of D&P, you will be able to challenge some of my pokemon and maybe Ghostscare7's as well when he gets a DS on his bday on march 1st!!!, which will actually be quite soon. A dragon gym will definitely feature in the eight (or maybe more) gyms.
The site is going to undertake a
Massive !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
revamp very soon, because, to be honest, it isn't looking great at the moment.
Pokemon Snap is out, I will give you an in-depth review when I get it. The Official Nintendo Magazine gave it 85%. I might be tempted to give it just a little more than that !
A screenshot of the game. Check out a video by clicking on the picture.
The poke-fiction section
From now on, a tiny bit of a little story will be revealed to you. Since this issue is mainly based around Battle Revolution, for about the next 18 issues maybe it will be a slightly fiction-ified tale of how easy it was to complete the main mode of the game, but also about how it isn't as bad as everyone says it is (if you like the sound of it and you have one of the DS games, it is entirely worth it).
The journey to become a champion - the tale of the Trainer Scar...
Introduction
Poketopia is basically a non-stop rollercoaster-ride of colosseum battles, and it is also a pokemon theme park. Scar is a trainer from Sinnoh, and has a very strong team which have proved themselves worthy in the many battles in the reigon. However, he was looking for a challenge, and so, shortly after beating the Elite 4 and battling hard in the Battle Tower, he found himself in a helicopter heading towards Poketopia. 'Not like your normal theme park,' the leaflet had said, 'come and enjoy an action holiday in our theme park and all of your skills are sure to improve.' That had certainly been the case. Ready to battle ? Then go catch 'em all !
Chapter I
" Wow !" Scar gasped as he glimpsed the magnificent towers of Poketopia from the helicopter which was soaring rapidly through the midnight sky which was illuminated by millions of twinkling stars. A shooting star raced alongside them, and it effervesced and shone. It wove an intricate dance towards the center of Poketopia and then expanded; decelerated and tumbled silently to the ground. Scar could just make out a purple figure standing dangerously close to the meteorite. He wanted to call out, his mind urged the figure away from the red hot globe of rock, but instead he remained silent. He was beggining to feel nervous about the whole trip. Would he have to risk his life standing under a blazing shooting star ? He looked down solemnly and he considered it all. Suddenly, he felt a surge of pain near his ankle and he immediately rolled up his trouser-leg to check. " Whoah !" he whispered in amazement. A shard of the meteorite had embedded itself in his leg. He quickly pulled it out, then winced with pain. Cautiously, he examined it, then put it in his bag for safe-keeping. After all, a shard of a shooting star is very valuable, and if he didn't sell it to the poke-mart, he was sure that certain people in Hoenn would be willing to exchange for it, but for now, he decided that it would be a good luck charm. He'd definitely need it for the master round that he'd heard of.
Scar was heading towards his first challenge : Gateway colosseum. In that place he would be able to earn something called a rental pass and then he would be one step of the way to becoming the Poketopia champion. Becoming the champ would take a long and gruelling journey, but it would be worth it, as he could be the King, something that would be a little harder to do in Sinnoh !
Finally, he arrived at his destination : the reception desk, where he met a friendly and helpful assistant, Anna. "Hi !" she said in a clear, welcoming tone, something that he wasn't used to in the competitive atmosphere of Sinnoh, then she showed him a battle pass; and gave him the opportunity to make his own, and customise it. He handed in his trainer card, which Anna promised to retun after his visit. He gave her the six pokemon which he wished to be on his team, and then left with his new pass, to play his first battle...
To Be Continued...
POTW
this week... Shuckle ! 
Shuckle is a very defensive pokemon and with the highest defence and special defence in the game, it is not to be messed with ! It will usually use a toxi-stalling stratergy, sometimes with Wrap to add steel support and to make the damage each turn higher.
Moveset - Long-Lasting Tortoise
Item: Bright Powder/Leftovers/Chesto Berry
Ability: Sturdy - this is the only one which is useful, really
Protect/Earthquake
Wrap
Rest
Double Team
EVs:
252 Defence
252 Special Defence
This is a good moveset, you use Toxic first, then Wrap, Double Team after that. Then comes the top two. Protect is the one that I would use, but it is down to personal preference. Earthquake isn't needed as much because of Wrap, which provides three functions : damage, damage each turn, and a way of trapping the opponent. You could also replace Wrap with Earthquake, but I wouldn't really do that if I were you. As for items, Bright Powder is to support Double Team, Leftovers is to restore health each turn, will work best with protect, and is my favourite, and Chesto is for Chesto-Rest.
Moveset - Power Trick Sweeper
Item: Salac Berry
Ability - the same as the last moveset
Substitute
Power Trick
Earthquake
Stone Edge
This is a very risky stratergy, and it is not focused on offensive moves at all. Baton Pass lots of speed and lots of attack on to it, otherwise it won't work at all. First substitute down to very low HP, and activate the salac berry. Then, use Power Trick. Hopefully, your last Subs should have stayed there, because of Shuckle's great defences, so use Power Trick and Shuckle will do the swap. The extra speed should outrun a few pokemon, so keep your fingers crossed, and then attack with the attacking moves. Your subs might still be there, so that will provide some protection, but the extra attack (now defence) should see you through any physical threats.
MOTW
This week... Ice Shard
Physical Move
Base Power 40
Accuracy 100
Always strikes first
2 Hearts in contests - Beauty type
PP 30
Hits 1 target
Ice Shard is a very useful move, which can be used effectively by pokemon such as Mamoswine and Abomasnow, which are very slow, but with Ice Shard, can get a suprise hit, which is very useul, especially on Dragon types, which are usually 4x weak to it.
Pokemon Battle Revolution: Review
Score: 75%
I would give it this score not because it isn't a good game, but because it wasn't as good as it could have been.
The colosseums were OK, but maybe there could have been more, and at least a little space for you to wander around in, and some non-colosseum trainers to battle. That could have made it so much better.
I liked the ability to buy gear for your trainer, but there aren't options to change the facial appearance of your character, like on the Mii channel. I also found the amount of stuff you could buy was good, but it was a bit overwhelming, and buying specific stuff was quite hard as well.
Graphics were very, very good, but sometimes, they looked a bit blocky, and the supporters/fans in the stands were just cardboard cutouts, which was a bit disappointing.
Wi-Fi was good, but 4-player battles would have been welcome, and maybe a DS Wi-Fi battling mode.
On the whole, though, I don't think that it deserved the reviews that it got, and it is quite a good buy for pokemon fans, and people with D&P especially.
That just about wraps up the New Year issue, so happy New Year, and remember to make two New Year's resolutions: Carry on being a fan of pokemon, and carry on being a fan of this site.