Arrival of the Gemini Gym

June 9, 2008 | 3 Comments

Ever since the concept of two-on-two battles were brought into the franchise in the Gameboy Advance era the Doubles Battle has been fully supported part of the competitive battle experience. With the arrival of Diamond and Pearl we even have the ability to conduce WiFi battles in single or double mode. But somehow Double Battles always remained the redheaded stepchild of the competitive battling scene. The “real” battlers are all about singles matches. Read any strategy article or Pokémon move set and it doesn’t even bear mentioning that the advice is for the Singles Battle Environment.

I have long wondered why this is so. I think the reason ultimately boils down to the unpredictability of the doubles environment. When your opponent only has one Pokémon on the field you can make some guesses about it. You can guess what attacks it has and how well it will weather the attack your single Pokémon is about to unleash. You can decide if you need to attack or if you need to switch out your current Pokémon for another on your bench. When there are two Pokémon on the field everything suddenly gets more complicated. Is he going to launch an attack? If so which of my Pokémon is he going after? Or does he have a move that will hit both? Or is he going to do something crazy like boost his partner before his partner attacks me? There are more variables, and a lot of strange moves that are designed to work only in the Doubles environment. It is a whole new world.

The concept behind this gym is to bring the “other half” of Pokémon Battling to Pokefarm. This has long been a private wish of mine. When I was awarded the Forest Gym a few months ago one of the first things I did was ask about the possibility of transforming it into a Doubles Gym. At the time the Pokémon League judges thought that might be a bit too off the beaten path. A challenger working his way through the League needed a few things he could count on in his battles with the Gym Leaders and only facing one Poke at a time was deemed one of them.

Imagine my delight when the concept of “expansion gyms” was brought up in that seedy smoke-filled room we Gym Leaders meet in to plan the fate of the Pokémon League. It was decided that the time had come for a shakeup in the Gym system. It was time for two new Gyms. Buzz was awarded his Bug Gym in the culmination of his long running ambition. And then someone remembered that I had lobbied for a Doubles Forest Gym. That wasn’t the way they wanted to go, but maybe a doubles gym all by itself was a good idea. And so I was awarded what came to be known as the Gemini Gym.

Thus I am thrilled to announce the arrival of the latest new gym to Pokefarm! The Gemini gym is not a formal part of the Pokefarm League, and will live in the Battle Tower alongside the Chrysalis gym. Winners in the gym will receive a badge, but defeating the Gemini Gym will not be required to become a Pokefarm League champion. I also will not have any “types” associated with my gym like Grass is associated with the Forest Gym or Bug is associated with the Chrysalis gym. Gemini is all about doubles battling and it was decided that it doesn’t need any other theme than that. My goal is not to be invincible, but to be a challenge. A challenge that is different from what people have seen in the Gyms so far. So teach your Pokémon Discharge instead of Thunderbolt, or Heat wave instead of Flame Thrower, and enter a new arena. I look forward to seeing you.

(And because many will ask, I am not stepping down as Forest Gym Leader. After all, who better to lead the Doubles Gym than a leader with two gyms?)

The Gemini gym awaits.

Posted by jhamin | Filed Under News 

Metamorphosis Complete

May 31, 2008 | 12 Comments

Image created by Tim Newton ©
Image created by Tom Newtown

Before I go into details I feel I should start at the beginning. When I first bought Pokémon Red, I was hooked by the bug. No it was not the Pokémon bug, but the bugs in the game.

I remember the first time seeing a little Caterpie turn into a Butterfree or a Weedle into a Beedrill and thinking it is not the size of your Pokémon but how you use it. Well ever since that day I wished that Pokémon bugs would get stronger, enter Heracross and who could forget Scyther and Pinsir, among a few others who also made a huge impact! Also bug fans got an upgrade to Scyther and a multi-talented Forretress.

With this love for bug Pokémon something was missing, it was not until the Azalea Gym in the Johto League that I got my dose of an all bug gym. Later on there would be an Elite 4 Member in Sinnoh that would relight that fire that was burning in me for bugs.

By this time I was now the Beacon Gym Leader. I loved this position and loved defending the gym, but something was still missing. I missed my bugs and wanted to do more than just defend a badge and beat my opponents. I got into trying to teach other members how to breed and battle, but there again something was missing. How could I combine all that I love into one event?

Well, I took a new idea and started building it up with details and goals. Then one day the Pokémon League Judge saw fit to make my idea reality. So, I went into building the structure of a new gym; a gym that would challenge members and help them learn.

The concept behind this new gym was to take on new battlers, or caterpillars, and let them challenge the gym. As they progressed the gym would let them, the pupa, build their battle experience and harden their tactics. When everything is said and done, the new battler would emerge from the gym as a Battle Butterfly.

I know that this may sound cheesy, but I like to help people learn and I think that anyone can learn how to battle Pokémon. Battling is a mental game. I believe a lot of members new to battling get themselves psyched out before they even battle. Taking on the League gyms can be very overwhelming. I mean the gym leaders beat people on a daily basis.

So, how can this gym teach new members without breaking their confidence? Well, I will be using two things I love in the world of Pokémon. First off I will have three Bugs and three random Pokémon. Secondly I will only be using Pokémon from the NU and UU Tiers. Any trainer battling in the Chrysalis Gym can use any Pokémon that is not Legendary or Uber; so, any Pokémon from the NU to the OU Tier would be fair game to use.

How can I be sure that I will win battles this way? The goal of this gym is not to dominate my opponents, but to help them get ready to face the League. This gym will simply be a teaching endeavor for the trainers. I have three things to add before I forget, they are the following: the gym will be called the Chrysalis Gym and will award the Chrysalis Badge, I will try to keep changing my team to get different types and strategies in for new tactics, and lastly I ask that you do not be afraid to try.

I have talked to members that thought they stunk at battling, but I have helped many of them with their battling and this gym is here to do just that, help teach, and not to beat you down. Some tactics I would like to show in the gym would be the Rain Dance teams, Sunny Day teams, and weakness coverage. The main goal is to show how some of the NU/UU Pokémon can be used effectively.

So in closing, if you wish to try your hand at battling, want to see if you are ready to take on the League, or just want to beat on an old League Gym Leader, come to the Chrysalis Gym.

Posted by Babael | Filed Under News