They're Finished!

I have an announcement to make. They are finally finished!

YAAAAAAAAAY!

 
My ridiculous desire to create Hama bead Pokéballs has finally been sated! I'm not gonna lie, these took an awful lot longer than I was expecting. And 26 is an awkward number to arrange into a nice shape.

Ta-dah!

Can you name them all? If not, I'll help. From top left to bottom right we have: Pokéball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Master Ball, Safari Ball, Level Ball, Lure Ball, Moon Ball, Friend Ball, Love Ball, Heavy Ball, Fast Ball, Sport Ball, Premier Ball, Repeat Ball, Timer Ball, Nest Ball, Net Ball, Dive Ball, Luxury Ball, Heal Ball, Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, Cherish Ball, Park Ball and Dream Ball. Phew!

In other news, I've discovered that Nintendo are giving away Keldeo in Game in the UK. Just to spice up Pokémon Black & White before they release Black & White 2. I hope a nearby store to me is doing it...I don't have the time to travel halfway across the country!

Pokémon Conquest is going well - I've got some slightly more intimidating warriors now. We are on our way to taking over the world. Well, I'm less dependent on Jigglypuff now. Baby steps, baby steps.

Now that the pokéballs are done, I'll be able to get back to the drawing. I think I may have lost my ability to even hold a pencil. but we'll see.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: I'm currently watching a ninja anime called Nabari No Ou, which has the goddamn catchiest opening song ever called Crawl (link here). It's also very satisfying to shout "Sha La La" at the top of ones lungs while wailing alone. I watched far too many episodes today while I was finishing the Pokéballs. In my defence, I thought they were going to kill my favourite character!

MOAR TOYS!

As the name suggests, I have MOAR TOYS to show you. Well, not really toys. Part of my ever expanding Pokémon team really. And my gosh are they super cute!

New additions are Emolga and Musharna :)

I now nearly have a full team. Not that I have any choice of who is on my team. You see, the person who I am commissioning to fetch these from the shop in NYC has not a clue about Pokémon and so just picks at random from the many on offer. He has, quite amusingly, started being recognised by the shop staff, and last time had to explain that they weren't for him but for his relative's collection. Seeing as how he seems to have friendly banter with the staff now, I'm considering sending him with a bit of paper with the URL of this blog on. Publicity in the Nintendo shop can only be a good thing right?

Anyway, I feel that now is a perfect time to have an Emolga related rant. When you arrive in Nimbasa City, totally pumped to face Elesa, every single person you talk to is like "You know I've heard that ground type Pokémon are good against electric type" which everyone knows anyway. So, you train up your Sandile and are all super ready to go, when you come up against one of these chuffing things. It's flicking Electric/Flying. I was just like:

Screw you.

Seriously. Not impressed.

Anyways, an update on the Pokéballs. They are mostly done, but it has been about 30 degrees C here the past few days and there is no fliking way I am going near an iron in that temperature. I can barely function as a human being, much less have the dexterity to deal with Hama beads or use an iron without melting. However, the weather is forecast to be rubbish for the next few days so they should be done soon :) Hoorah!

I also have recently acquired Pokémon conquest. Which is fliking awesome. Although, at the moment I'm trying to rule the world with an Eevee and a Jigglypuff. Yeah....I'll get back to you on that one.

I should probably go to bed now...I have been forced into signing up for a 7am training session with Craig the Terrifying PT tomorrow morning. If I survive, I will regale you of the hilarious (as in, you can laugh at me) story of how that happened.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: New Owl City album, The Midsummer Station, came out yesterday! EEEEEEEEEE Fangirl everywhere! In all seriousness it is ridiculously catchy and upbeat. I'm especially loving Embers <3

A Fetch Quest Worthy of Skyrim

It has been over a week since I last posted here, and since then, as the title suggests I have been on a fetch quest of epic proportions in search of the mystic black beads of Hamaland. These magical items are, of course, vital in the progress of my Pokémon journey, as without them I will be unable to progress with my manufacturing of Hama bead Pokéballs and that would just be no fun.

As a result of said fetch quest, I can only conclude that members of a certain department store where I live must now think that I am insane, or at the very least have strange ritualistic OCD tendencies. I say this because for the last week, at about 11am every day I have been walking into their store (always adorned in my work garments) and standing in front of their stock of Hama beads before carefully examining it for approximately three minutes in the hope that they will have restocked since I was last there. Unfortunately, a week has passed and they have not, although I am tempted to continue just to see how long it takes for someone to ask me what the hell I'm doing.

Therefore, I turned to the biggest fetch quest aid of all - the mighty Internet. It answered my call almost immediately, and although I was initially reluctant to pay postage that was more than the cost of the beads, I eventually caved and.....*insert LoZ opening chest music here*

Duh Duh Duh DAAAAAAAA!

Yay! Fetch Quest Completed! LEVEL UP! You may now proceed to complete Pokéball Quest! Huzzah! As you can see, I bought colours other than black, in the hope that I will finally get around to making some sprites too.

In other news, I haven't just been freaking out shop staff, but also doing some more drawing. Behold, Magnemite and Magneton:

For me, these Pokémon will be forever associated with the phrase "Dimensional analysis is your friend!" There is a long and complicated story behind this, but the abbreviated version is that I could only communicate with one of my supervisors this year by the medium of Pokémon doodles with speech bubbles, and "Dimensional analysis is your friend!" was Magnemite's protip.

Now, I feel here that I need to bring up an issue about these two Pokémon. First of all we are going to refer to a fact that appears in Magneton's Pokédex entries across the generations.

It (Magneton) is formed by three Magnemite linked together by a strong magnetic force.

Ok...well, that sort of makes sense. Next a couple of stats:

Magnemite's weight: 6.0kg

Magneton's weight: 60.0kg

Wait, WHAT? What is this witchcraft? Magneton is clearly three Magnemite linked together by some magical electric force (which seems to only be attractive from what I can see). Three times six is EIGHTEEN not sixty. Maybe I'm being exceptionally blonde here (and if I am I'm sure people will correct me) but how on earth is that possible? It also bugs me that Magnemite appears to have its magnets on the other way up to Magneton, but that is just me being pedantic I think.

Anyway, I'm gonna go see if I can spot some meteors now - keep your eyes peeled for further progress in my Hama bead quest.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm Listening To: Small Bump by Ed Sheeran. The most calming song ever. Even if the ending still sideswips me every time.

Art and craft skillz (z for emphasis)

So, today was my day off and I woke up all like "HAMA BEAD ALL THE POKÉBALLS". Because I like to be productive on my days off. And nothing says productive like spending all day doing the arts and crafts that you used to do when you were six. Except obviously now I'm much more skilled than I was when I was six.

Like I said, the plan was to finish up and make all the 26 pokéballs today, so that I could have a complete collection and calm my OCD tendencies. However, this was not to be because I HAVE RUN OUT OF BLACK BEADS. Please bear in mind that I bought a box of ten thousand Hama beads, so I am not best pleased. Damn you Hama, and your cleverly calculated ratios. Now I'm gonna have to go and spend more money.

Anyway, I have successfully created 9/26 and here they are:

My current collection (from the top, left to right): Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Master Ball, Safari Ball, Level Ball, Lure Ball, Friend Ball, Premier Ball

In other news, I've spent a lot of time procrastinating on the Internet recently, to the extent that I decided the other day that it would be a good idea to clean out my facebook likes. This was the first time I've looked at all the accumulated crap that I've liked on facebook, and I was quite surprised by the amount of Pokémon related likes I have. A comprehensive list follows:

- Pokémon (obviously)
-"Hey bro wanna come to the gym?" "Dude, I've got all the badges already!"
- Making it through a patch of grass without getting into a Pokémon battle.
- Sometimes, I just wish I could be a Pokémon trainer. It'd be so much cooler.
- Being emotionally attached to your starter Pokémon.
- If this is another Zubat I'm going to throw my gameboy across the room...  
- Dinosaurs were lies, fed to us to cover up the existence of Pokémon.
- When Ash from Pokémon turns his hat around, you know shit's about to go down.
- "Hello, welcome to the Pokémon Centre" - *rapes A button*
- Always be yourself. Unless you can be Pikachu. Always be Pikachu.


And this is why the Internet is a wonderful wonderful thing. Because it allows us to express all those little things we truly appreciate about the greatest video game series ever, with just a click of a button. Genius!


Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Big in Japan by Martin Solveig. So. Catchy.

Never Too Old For Cuddly Toys

First of all, I believe I owe you an apology Internet. We haven't talked for a long time. I know, it's practically gross negligence but I plead that following points as reasons for my frankly unacceptable behaviour:
1. Sleep - there has been a sad lack of this recently. What with the Olympic Opening ceremony lasting forever and ever, and the fact that all the kool kidz become nocturnal over the summer holidays, I've been "burning the candle at both ends" as my older relatives would say. Spending hours and hours at the airport is surprisingly exhausting.
2. Illness - Goddammit, international students why do you have to bring your international bacteria with you?! (I would make a witty biology-related comment here, but I like to think that I'm above such things).
3. RSI - yeah, so my exam-induced RSI hasn't gone away properly, which makes drawing for long periods of time a problem. :'(

Anyway, on a much more positive note, I recently received some very exciting new toys! YES! From the best shop in the entire world, which has bags that look like this:

LOOK AT THEM. THEY ARE AWESOME!

It's only Bowser and Yoshi! Yup these toys are from the NintendoWorld Store in NYC, and I would just like to reiterate that it is the best shop. In the entire world. Anywhere. If the whole university thing doesn't work out, I'm getting a job at this shop. I don't care if I have to smuggle myself into America in a suitcase. It will happen.

Anyway, this shop has an entire floor devoted to Pokémon. And so now I have these:

Cute!

I know it's unacceptable that my personal Pokémon collection only consists of Pikachu, Zoroark, Shaymin (Ground Forme (I have always wondered why Nintendo have the unnecessary e (...and nested brackets))). But fear not, I'm planning to expand it. After all, they are the cutest things. Love them!

And no, I'm not too old for cuddly toys.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: + by Ed Sheeran has recently become the soundtrack of my life, in that I've been listening to it nigh on non-stop for the last week. It really is one of those albums you can listen to over and over without getting bored. Also, if you haven't seen the video to Lego House you really should because it's great and very clever!

A Sleep-Deprived Starbucks Adventure

So, as I said in my last post, I spent yesterday evening finishing Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood. I didn't initially plan to watch them all, but then the plot grabbed me by the neck and forced me to watch the 12 or so episodes I had left to finish the show. It. Was. AWESOME.

First I was like:

How could you do that to me, plot?

And then I was like:

Eff you plot! You can't just bloody do that!

But then, finally it was just:

This is me hugging the writer. Because I am clearly best represented by Major Armstrong.

And so, the upshot of this was that I was sitting in my room at 1.30am this morning a little shell shocked and wishing that I could shout:

USE GIFS TO EXPRESS ALL THE EMOTIONS!!!

*ahem* Anyway, unfortunately I had an early shift today so when I woke up I was somewhat sleep deprived and very in need of coffee. Luckily, my old friend Starbucks was on hand in the centre of town to help me out. However, in my sleep deprived state, I thought that it would be amusing to do this:

I should not be allowed out in public. Ever.

Oh gods, I've inadvertently turned into one of those douches that gives a fake name in Starbucks. I walked out of the shop and did a double take when I realised what I had just done. However, now I am immune to Starbucks name-related embarrassment and I'm thinking of starting up a collection of cups with odd names on. Hmmmm....this has potential!

Unfortunately, I have been able to do a drawing for today, but I thought I would upload three paintings I did of the Legendary Dogs ages ago.

And by ages I mean I did these when I finished my A-Levels, so over a year ago now. Haven't had time to do any yet this time around, but I'm hoping that will change. Suicine came out much greener than it is in real life, but I have no idea how to fix that on the scanner.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood soundtrack, clearly. Favourite has to be Again by YUI. 

Pokémon Shock!

I've had *so* much coffee today. Seriously, it's caffeine induced invincibility. I walked into work like:

Buzzing!

Anyway thanks to coffee, I had the energy to do another drawing after I got home from work today rather than just vegging out on the sofa, which one is wont to do after a day of arrivals.  So I decided it was time to draw Porygon, and the result in below.s

Glorious, glorious technicolour!

This got me thinking about the only episode of the anime that featured Porygon - Electric Soldier Porygon (apparently this is a mistranslation, and it should be Computer Soldier Porygon but we're going with the commonly used version here). If you don't know, this triggered seizures in kids who watched it and 685 were taken to hospital with a list of illnesses that were later called "Pokémon Shock" (you gotta love the media). The episode was even included in the Guinness World Records Book Gamers Edition in 2004 and 2008 (which I have because I'm cool like that) as having the record for "Most Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures Caused By a Television Show". Part of me wants to watch the episode just to see what all the fuss is about, but unfortunately I'm not quite brave enough to deal with the possible shame of having to explain in hospital that I have Pokémon Shock, and as such I think I'll sit this one out.

Unfortunately for poor Porygon, given that it was in fact Pikachu who set off the flashing lights that caused the seizures, as a result Porygon has not featured in any more of the anime episodes. Porygon2 and Porygon-Z have not made any appearances either, with Porygon2 being the only Gen II pokémon to have not featured in any episode of the TV series. Frankly, I feel sorry for Porygon - it wasn't even its fault (I use its because the species is genderless).

A quick quote from the red/blue Pokédex now:

A Pokémon that consists entirely of programming code. It can move freely through cyberspace.

Consists entirely of programming code eh? Holy moly that means this is one Pokémon that could actually be a real thing (yes CompScis of this world, I am looking at you)! Seriously, if someone made on of these things, it would actually make my life.


And on that note, I'm off to watch copious episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood. I've nearly finished the show and it's getting super-special-awesome!

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Currently topping up my Hatsune Miku dosage by listening to songs composed by Tripshots (whose YouTube channel can be found here). Not only are the songs pretty good but the videos are excellent (see Nebula). This channel also introduced me to a Vocaloid I hadn't come across before - Kaai Yuki. The song of hers on Tripshots' channel is beautifully haunting, and a nice change of pace from the Miku tracks - listen to it here.