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It's hard to believe that Pokémon X and Y is almost here. I mean, there's less than
a month to go yet Game Freak is still surprising us with new Pokémon, new systems, and a better
idea of what X and Y will be like. And with the release of the latest trailer, you just
knew that we'd have to put the old Analysis Machine back to work once again.
Perhaps the biggest reveal that came out of all this new information is X and Y's Type
Chart, as revealed on Pokemonxy.com. Now type-charts are nothing new, as they've long been used
to show which types of Pokemon each type is effective and not effective against. But this
time, we finally get to see how the new Fairy type fits into the mix. It looks like Fairy
type moves will be super effective against Fighting, Dragon, and Dark types while being
ineffective against Fire, Poison, and Steel types. Fairies will also be able to resist
Fighting, Bug, and Dark type moves and are completely immune to Dragon type attacks.
However, it is weak to Poison and Steel type moves.
It's all pretty interesting and actually ties in to one of the revelations of the new trailer:
the first evolutions of the Kalos starters. Chespin evolves into Quilladin, Fennekin becomes
Braixen, and Froakie evolves into Frogadier. The designs all look good, but we still don't
know what their final evolutions secondary type might be. However, we think their designs,
names, and even the new Type chart may hold the clue.
Take Quilladin for instance. The name seems to be a portmanteau of Quill and Paladin.
Of course, Quill because he's covered in them, but the second-half, Paladin refers to a knight,
who of course wear steel armor. And though we haven't seen him use any Steel type moves,
we have to wonder if his final evolution might be a Grass/Steel type to fit the theme.
Then there's Frogadier, which looks to be a portmanteau of Frog and Brigadier. Brigadier
usually refers to a high-ranking military leader and, in this case, seems to indicate
Frogadier is a fighter or rather an eventual Water/Fighting type. And as an interesting
bit of trivia, brigadiers were also a noncommissioned rank in Napoleon's army, and Napoleon, as
you might recall from history class, was a French military leader. And the new Kalos
region is based on France itself. Interesting Finally, there's Braixen. Ever since we first
saw Fennekin use Psychic moves, we wondered if his final evolution would be a Fire/Psychic
type. Braixen reinforces that idea even more with its use of a stick that's reminiscent
of a wand when it uses Psyshock. Unfortunately, its name doesn't give us any more clues as
it's a portmanteau of Braise, or a way of cooking, and ***. Interestingly, Vixe n
is also a way of referring to a female fox. However, remember how we said he uses his
stick like a wand? That doesn't seem very much like a Psychic, does it? Well what if
Fennekin's final evolution isn't Fire/Psychic but Fire/Fairy? It would fit perfectly into
the new type chart. After all, Fennekin's Fire beats Chespin. Chespin's Grass beats
Froakie. And Froakie's Water beats Fennekin. But add in the potential secondary types and
Froakie's Fighting beats Chespin's Steel while Chespin's Steel beats Fennekin's Fairy and
Fennekin's Fairy beats Froakie's Fighting. It makes sense.
Now if Fennekin's secondary type was Psychic instead, this balance wouldn't be possible
since it would be four times as effective against Chespin. And Chespin would only be
able to resist Psychic, and wouldn't actually be super effective against Fennekin's final
form." It's all conjecture in the end, but we think we have a pretty good case that this
is how the Kalos Starters' final evolutions will turn out.
But that's not the only information that the new Type Chart revealed, as it also shows
which types are immune to certain status effects. And while some of them are old, they're still
worth pointing out. For example, Fire types cannot be afflicted with the Burn status while
Electric types can't be paralyzed. Other immunities and special abilities include
the fact that Grass types are immune to Leech Seed and powder or spore moves. Ice types
cannot be Frozen and aren't damaged during the Hail condition. Poison types are immune
to Poisoning conditions, and they can even nullify Toxic Spikes unless they are also
a Flying type or have the Levitate ability. In fact, flying types can't be affected by
regular Spikes either. As always, Ground types are immune to Thunder
Wave and take no damage from Sandstorms. Rock types are also immune to the Sandstorms, but
they also get a Special Defense increase. Steel types are immune to Sandstorms as well
as Poisons. Ghost types are also now not affected by moves that prevent fleeing from battle.
Okay, enough about all these Types and their special conditions. It's making my head spin.
Let's talk about all the new Pokémon revealed in the trailer instead. First up are our two
new Fossil Pokémon: Tyrunt and Amaura. Tyrunt is restored from the Jaw Fossil and is a Rock/Dragon
Pokémon. He has the ability Strong Jaw which powers up biting attacks. Also, it's hard
to believe that it took this long for us to get a T-Rex Pokémon! Amaura, on the other
hand, is restored from the Sail Fossil. It's a Rock/Ice Pokémon with the ability Refrigerate.
This new ability turns Normal type moves into Ice types.
Next up is Furfrou, who turns out to be our mysterious Pokémon from the last trailer.
This poodle-like Pokémon is actually one you can customize with different looks. These
looks can be changed through grooming, and there seems to be quite a number of different
styles to choose from. Nintendo has shown off three already, but more will become available
the more you groom it. However, if you stop grooming it for a few days, its fur will return
to normal. Furfrou is a Normal type Pokémon with the
ability Fur Coat. This halves all damage taken from physical attacks. It also can learn the
new Fairy type move called Baby-Doll Eyes. This always allows the user to go first and
will lower the opponents Attack stat. The new trailer also shows off how different
gendered Pokémon will take on different forms. In the case of Meowstic, this also affects
which moves it can actually learn. The females are better at attacking while the males are
better at support moves. It's a Psychic Pokémon that can have either the ability Keen Eye,
which prevents accuracy loss, or Infiltrator, which allows the Pokémon to ignore its opponents'
barriers like Reflect or Safeguard. It also has a move called Miracle Eye which allows
future moves to hit regardless of evasion. Impressively, it will also allow Psychic attacks
to even hurt Dark types. Pyroar, the evolution of Litleo, also has
different male and female forms though this doesn't seem to affect anything other than
their appearance. Funny enough is that they take on the gender differences of real lions.
Like Litleo, Pyroar is a Fire/Normal type and have the ability Rivalry or Unnerve.
Rivalry allows moves to be slightly more powerful if the attack is against the same gender,
but slightly less powerful if it's against the opposite gender. Unnerve may make the
opponent unable to eat its held Berry. It can also learn Echoed Voice, a move that grows
in power when it's used every turn. Interestingly, if multiple Pokemon use it during Double or
Triple battles, it'll keep growing in power. Then there are the two new Mega Evolutions.
First up is Mega Garchomp which gains the Sand Force ability. This grants it immunity
in a Sandstorm and powers up Rock, Ground, and Steel type moves. The second Mega Evolution
is actually another kind of Mega Mewtwo. Mega Mewtwo X is exclusive to Pokémon X. It becomes
a Pychic/Fighting type while its Attack stat grows immensely.
The Mega Mewtwo we've seen up until now is officially Mega Mewtwo Y and is exclusive
to Pokémon Y. Their Mega Stones are known as Mewtwonite X and Mewtwonite Y so it seems
we were right about the naming convention of the Mega Stones.
In addition to the new Pokémon, we learned a bit more about the trainers you'll be fighting.
Specifically, the leaders of Team Flare who are a group of five scientists. Celosia is
the purple-haired one, Aliana in orange, Bryony in green, Mable in blue, and the lone man
is named Xerosic, and he appears to be the one in charge. Now interestingly, the female
scienetis appear to all be named after flowers of the same name, except for Mable, which
could be a variation on maple. As for Xerosic, it appears to be based on Xerosis, which is
the the medical term for dry skin. Now we have no idea if these names actually mean
anything--could they be a hint at something story related?
At any rate, it seems their goal is to change the world, but we still have no idea how they'll
accomplish this. When we first met the Team Flare grunts several trailers ago, we never
would have guessed they were led by scientists. This means that their goals could still somehow
tie in to our theories of genetic manipulation. There's not much more to say about them other
than the fact that each leader is wearing some form of futuristic eyewear. Maybe they
use them to scan the genetic code of Pokemon? Or maybe it's just an unusual style choice
We also learned of another new character, Diantha. She's a famous movie star and Pokémon
Trainer with plenty of potential. It seems like at various points during the game you
can both battle and trade with her. But does the fact that she's a movie star mean we could
see the return of Pokéstar Studios from Black and White 2?
The new trailer also gave us our first good look at the Trainer customization, and it's
even deeper than we imagined. There are two types of stores: Boutiques and Salons. Boutiques
allow you to change not only your clothes, but hats, shoes, and accessories as well.
You can mix and match as you like or choose some of the preset styles available. Salons
allow you to change your hair style and color. Each city will also have its own unique set
of clothes and styles for you to choose from. But we wonder, will it be possible to customize
your clothes beyond just picking the style? Can you adjust the color of everything or
even make your own Pokémon T-shirts like the one Tierno wears? And will some of the
classic outfits of past trainers be available in the game? These would all be amazing additions,
but we'll have to wait to see. These styles also tie in to the new PR Video
Studio which allows you to make a ten second film that can feature you and your Pokémon.
You can choose expressions, poses, background music, and camera angles amongst even more
options. Or you can choose one of the presets to make one quickly. These videos can be shared
over the PSS for anyone to see. All these videos can be shared on the Pokémon
Global Link as well. The Global Link will have a mobile version for smartphones now.
You can also look over your results from Rating Battles or even check out the world ranking
for each of the battle formats. There are five formats to choose from: Single Battle,
Double Battle, Triple Battle, Rotation Battles, and Special Battle.
Special Battles are brand new and have their rules changed every three months. The first
one available will be a Single Battle where only Pokémon that debuted in X and Y can
be used. This season will begin in late December of this year. We suspected as much, but this
confirms that all the previous battle types will appear in X and Y. We even get a look
at how they'll look in the game thanks to the trailer.
Okay, we're almost done here, but there is still one more thing worth pointing out. In
one of the new screenshots released, we get a good look at the Fossil Lab. What's interesting
is that this person is behind a counter like this is a regular thing instead of being hidden
away somewhat like in past games. The new Pokémon PC is nearby as well. Does this mean
the Fossil Lab has some other kind of function as well? Maybe you have to come here to restore
Mega Stones. They are supposed to be ancient after all.
And with that we've uncovered all we could in the newest Pokémon trailer. But of course
if we missed anything, please let us know in the comments. Thanks for watching and be
sure to keep an eye on GameXplain for more on Pokémon and more things gaming. You can
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