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Use the Azure Flute already

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The Poke Ball is Mightier Than the Sword

So, I bought Pokemon Sword.  Due to having some open time in my schedule and the game ultimately being a bit short, I’ve already beaten the main story and the postgame episode.  I actually had a lot of fun.  The game may be riddled with problems, not the least of which being the cut of National Dex, but what it gets right it gets so right—heck, some of what it gets wrong manages to feel right, which appeals to my shounen battle anime heart.  I’m not here to spoil, just want to say I’d recommend

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

X Marks...Something

Alright, now that my most recent playthrough of X is done, I wanted to try to compile some of my thoughts about the game.  XY gets a lot of flak so I wanted to evaluate just how much of it felt earned.  Oddly enough, this is my fourth playthrough of X; adding Y that means I’ve gone through Kalos five times now, which might make me look like a hypocrite when I say I’m disappointed in it.  In short, XY is a fine pair of games—as I would argue most if not all Pokemon games really are—but in compari

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Pokemon Movies (No, Not That Kind)

I've been replaying Pokemon White 2 lately, wonderful game.  After beating it I lost a day or so at Pokestar Studios.  I’ve always loved this diversion, and now it’s easier to pick apart why: at the best of times, each movie tests you on/teaches you a specific combo of moves, items, or abilities that show off how deep Pokemon’s battle system can be, and success is rewarded with these charming shorts showing Pokemon in relatively unique settings and situations for the franchise.  It has a very un

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Finally, Right of Law Updates!

After taking a few months trying to focus on Red Joker, I’ve finally completed it!  There’s one more step in the Shooting Star Sonia project, but I’m putting that on hold for the time being, due in no small part to the fact that I really, really want to get Right of Law moving.  And on that note! Section XVI is live!  It’s a little short, mainly because it picks up a couple of loose ends and puts us in position for the next major event, but I’ll do my best to keep the ball rolling and get X

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

BZPower: Spherusden

Still getting used to this new layout and everything…ah, welcome back everyone!  I missed you.  Some of you, at least.  The rest of you know what you did. Kind of a lot happened over the timeskip: my sister got married, I had a sudden-ish move, and I’m between jobs at the moment.  I’ve also been working on my writing, primarily Shooting Star Sonia (3 is almost done!) and a TWEWY fic I’m doing for an event, plus some groundwork for NaNoWriMo and a bit of thought towards Right of Law.  And, I

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Why Catch Any of 'Em

Pokemon Sword and Shield will not let you transfer in Pokemon not found in the games themselves. There are no plans to patch the rest in at any point in the future.   So the time I spent catching 800 of the little buggers really was just a complete waste, even in the eyes of the company that made the darn game. Swell.   Currently accepting recommendations of other monster series.

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Pokemon Direct Thoughts

-Wild Area sounds awesome -Dreadnaw and Corviknight look rad -Wooloo looks cute, the grass types are good designs just not really my thing -The legendaries…like, they for sure look goofy, but that’s not necessarily bad. Neither is going to be my new favorite design. I’m leaning Sword right now. -I hate Dynamax. “Hey, we need an obligatory gimmick for this generation! Let’s just combine Mega Evolution and Z-Moves but make it as bland as possible!” I hate it. And they’re going to force me to

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Pokemon Gold Typhlosion Solo Run

Listen, I love Typhlosion and the Sword and Shield reveal left me feeling underwhelmed, and though I’ll probably end up seeing Detective Pikachu eventually I’d rather not spend money on it because what the what, so…this was the best way to feel like I actually still like Pokemon.   I wanted to see if I could beat Pokemon Gold Version (the 3DS Virtual Console version specifically) only using Typhlosion. I restarted the game, picked Cyndaquil, named him Blaze VI, and never used another Pokemon in

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Pahrak Model ZX

Right of Law Update

Section XV has just been posted!   Sorry this one took so long. I talked about this over on Twitter, but I decided that since I had three ongoing fanfics, it might be better to put all my focus on finishing one of them to give myself a little less to worry about. But now, I’ve completed my Mega Man ZX fic, so here’s a new chapter of Right of Law to prove that it’s not dead!   …Unfortunately…that’s about all it is…   Y’see, while my plans for where Law is headed aren’t entirely set in stone, th

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Real Talk

The Lego Movie 2 made me cry and reexamine my life and is easily on par with the original (and The Lego Batman Movie), but   While I completely understand it wouldn’t be all that practical to put focus on a long-dead theme and the scale would be a huge issue, the fact that it's partially driven by a teenager making his Lego sets/stories as edgy as he possibly can   And they didn't make a single joke about Bionicle??   Missed opportunity

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Pokemon Sword and Shield

.  My thoughts: -As someone who's still salty about how long it took to get anything more than names with Sun and Moon, I'm glad they showed actual footage, the starters, and the region -Graphics/areas look real good -The full direct mentions something about people and Pokemon working together to shape the industries of the region, and that sounds like it could be real interesting -Looking at the Galar region map...this is probably based on a real place, but at a glance it just feels artificiall

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Never Thought I'd Say It

So for reasons I still don’t fully understand…I ended up buying an exercise game. And, honestly, it’s kind of great? It’s like DDR but with punching. So that’s cool.   And like, it’s just a really great fit for the Switch. Rather than rearranging things and getting everything hooked up each day for just 20 minutes, I can use the Switch’s kickstand to do this wherever’s most convenient. And if I need to travel or something, I can just take my Switch with me and not have to miss a day or two.

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

The Ultimate Smash Bros

I just finished unlocking every character, and I know it's not news but man what a roster.   I really, really like World of Light. I get why so many people call it a grind, but as someone who has always only played Smash by himself trying to do most of anything in the games has always seemed a bit grindy, so the presentation of this one is more than enough for me. I opened the way to the true final boss and then went to clear out as much as I could--there are still a handful of tough Spirits l

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

How Do You Measure a Year

As the end of the year approached I felt that dreadful question of "What have I accomplished in 2018?" hanging over my head. Not exactly unusual, but unexpectedly, when I thought a bit more about it I discovered that I've actually done a bit.   When it comes to writing: -Right of Law was started in March and already has 59k words -Red Joker has surpassed the length of its predecessor to reach 118k, with only roughly a third of that being knocked out in late 2017 -I took a Mega Man ZX fic from o

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Opinions on TWEWY Final Remix's New Day

The World Ends With You Final Remix released on Switch earlier this month, and the other day I just finished my trip through its brand-new scenario “A New Day”. Being the first real addition to TWEWY, it’s kind of a big deal, so I wanted to share my thoughts on it. Naturally this post is full of spoilers—you’ve been warned!   For starters, the marketing was very misleading. Saying the new scenario “gets to the heart of the story” when it’s tangential at best is a flat-out lie, and focusing th

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

Immortalized Mantra

I told my sister about my new mantra and she got such a kick out of it that she gave me this shirt as an early Christmas gift     I love it a lot

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

"Mary Sue" is a Meaningless Term

Now that the English dub of Dragon Ball Super is getting into the Tournament of Power arc I can’t help but feel it’s only a matter of time before people renew their complaints about new characters Caulifla and Kale. These two are new Saiyans introduced to serve as opponents in said tournament, and are the first female Super Saiyans shown in the series main canon. (Prior there were a handful of games that offered female Saiyan player avatars who could achieve the form, but that’s it.) They quick

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

14 Years

Man, fourteen whole years on BZPower. As is now tradition, a look back at what I did in the most recent of these years:   -I almost forgot about Slizer Mafia: The Final Refrain. Uh, I think it was alright? Maybe? Not sure it was my best run as a Mafia host, but at least it finally gave real closure to Slizer Mafia’s story.   -While it, ah, hasn’t actually gotten off the ground yet, I did do a bit of work on the concept of the world of Olkir. The Principles of Flame and The Twins of Justice

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

A Massive Change in Roman Numerals

Right of Law, Section IX, is live in the Epics Forum!   This Section introduces several things, some of them big, some of them subtle, some of them things that were alluded to previously but are now begin somewhat expanded on. I want to shift focus for the next few Sections: the characters have won a moment to really sit down and process everything, though even now they're still working to prepare for what comes next, and I want to take advantage of that. The site of the next major conflict is

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

"And I Took the Octopath Less Traveled"

I’ve logged roughly 72 hours on this game, beaten the eight main stories, found all twelve jobs, explored every dungeon, and cleared all sidequests with the exception of two that have unusually tough bosses and one that is the Absolutely Final Test of True Power and Strategy. So I can say with confidence: Octopath Traveler isn’t exactly what I thought it would be, but I’d still say it’s a very good game. (Vague spoilers ahead.)   Leading into this game, what I was expecting was that as the game

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

An Update At Long Last

Right of Law, Section VIII, is now live in the Epics Forum!   Sorry this one took so long. (Octopath Traveler is good.)   Velika’s assault on Bitil’s outpost continues, and his new method of attack proves quite devastating. Zaekura is hard at work on her plan, but even if she can pull it off, there’s still the question of if the others can hold out until it’s ready.   Hopefully Section IX won’t take as long…

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

I Guess I'm Using Twitter Now

Nearly four years ago I joined Twitter so I could enter a giveaway for the 2015 Toa sets. (I didn’t win.) Now I’m thinking maybe I should actually use that account and see if I can better promote my writing or something.   So if you’d like, you can find me @ExoPahrak. I’ll be posting about what I’m writing, when you might be able to expect to read it, and whatever’s distracting me from doing it in a speedy manner.   And on that topic, probably don’t expect much in the near near future because O

Pahrak Model ZX

Pahrak Model ZX

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