3/12/18

Spring break is over. This makes me sad. :(

Oh well. Now that I am back to school, the focus of speedruns will be TY and Crash, with the exception of this upcoming weekend........OCTATHLON!!! I'm nervous, especially given what happened last year, but I think I can do it! 1545 teams were announced, and I'm on green this year (GO GREEN!). Crash 3 runs will be a focus for a bit, and once I'm happy with a Crash 3 time I'll jump onto Crash 2. All in all, we're in for an interesting few months I think! Keeping it short this week, however there is one more piece of business to attend to.....

TOP TEN HYPE!!!

For this pastebin, I decided to go with loz's suggestion of top ten pokemon characters (you guys seem to love pokemon). For clarification, I'm only considering human characters, and only videogame characters (The reason being I don't know much of the anime). Side series characters count, but humans turned into pokemon do not (R.I.P PMD on this list). Finally, I will be going into spoilers of most main series games including S/M and US/UM, so be aware.

10. Trevor (X/Y)

Out of the group of friends in Pokemon X and Y, I found myself liking Trevor the most, likely because I saw myself in him. Being a little quiet and very intellectual, Trevor was the more sane one compared to the (in my opinion) unlikable Tierno. I don't really remember what it was that made me truly love Trevor though, which is why he's down here at 10

9. Lillie (S/M, US/UM)

I admit that I might have recency bias in making this list, however Lillie was quite a character. What I liked about her was her story arc, and how she changes. Being the only one on this list who is not even a pokemon trainer, it's quite an interesting character role in a pokemon game. I may be wrong, but I feel like Lillie is the first main character in a pokemon game who is not a trainer. Yet, it's Lillie's changes throughout the game. How she goes from despising pokemon battles and being unable to defend herself to going on her own quest in Kanto come the end of Sun/Moon, all the while protecting Nebby the entire time. It's a great story arc, and I love it!

8. Hau (S/M, US/UM)

Hau seems to be a polarizing character, with some loving him and others hating him. Personally, I enjoy how oblivious he ends up being most of the time, and perfectly encapsulates the stereotypical pacific islander - laid back, relaxed, and without a care in the world. He loves going on his adventure, and is never disappointed when losing a battle. He's a good friend to have during our Alola journey.

7. Barry (D/P/Pt.)

With Diamond being my first pokemon game, I will always love Gen. IV. One of my favorite things regarding Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum was the rival in those games. Called Barry by default, Barry is an extremely immature kid who acts younger than his age at 10 years old. The fact that he is allowed to go on this journey at all is shocking, as he is literally the first character in a pokemon game to attempt to run through grass without a single pokemon to protect him in Platinum, and in D/P he coerces you into walking with him through the tall grass without a pokemon. Despite his childishness though, throughout the game he ultimately matures quite a lot, understanding the world around him. His character arc shows a kid go from naive and young to quite mature, and as such he will always be one of my favorite pokemon rivals.

6. Lysandre (X/Y)

When I played X and Y for the first time, I admit I was quite naive. Despite this being the ccase, it came as no surprise when Lysandre was revealed as Team Flare's leader. What did come as a shock was his goal - complete and utter genocide. Lysandre may very well be the most psychotic leader of any villainous pokemon team. Yet it is this craziness that made me enjoy him as a character.

5. Red (Many)

I think everyone expected Red on this list, but some may find it surprising that he is only at number 5 for me. First, there's Red in R/B/Y, who I believe is underwhelming. Completely silent (Which ends up being his trademark), he added nothing in Gen I. Then, G/S/C come out and Red is the final boss. While I was not playing pokemon when these games came out, I know how much HYPE this generated. Since then, Red has been known as the toughest trainer to fight in multiple pokemon games, notably G/S/C and HG/SS, where his pokemon have a high level cap of fucking 88! That's insanity!!! He would be higher, if it wasn't for one thing.....his aforementioned trademark. Without saying anything, Red as a character does not really add much to the story, and as such he fails to get any higher on this list.

4. Prof. Kukui (S/M, US/UM)

Prof. Kukui, unlike most of the other pokemon professors, is extremely integral to the story, which is why he is the only pokemon professor on my list (Sorry Oak!) While Kukui does not have mucch of a personal story arc, he helps the main character, Hau, and Lillie as they mature on the journey through Alola. His persona of the Masked Royal is funny, and he always managed to put a smile on my face.

3. Wally (R/S/E, OM/AS)

Now we get to the top 3, and boy all three of these characters are awesome. First up, we have Wally, the rival we didn't know we had until it was too late. When we first meet Wally, he is asking our father for help catching his first pokemon. We then get a unique spin on the catching tutorial as we teach Wally how to catch a pokemon, despite ourselves being new pokemon trainers. Later on, we find out Wally has begun creating a team, and wants to battle a gym (I forget which one though). We battle him (He is weak) and he finally gives in and does not battle the gym. I remember playing the games originally and finding Wally alright. Then my heart went sour. WALLY RUNS AWAY! I was confused and shocked. I had no idea what was going on, and thought that was the end of Wally. That is, until I found my way down Victory Road. And who shall we happen upon but Wally. This time, Wally is serious. He is no longer weak, and is a great matchup to us. Even when you beat him, he is thankful for allowing him to strengthen, to grow as a character. All in all, Wally represented what can be done with hard work.

2. Lusamine (S/M, US/UM)

I swear, this is the last Gen. VII Character!Lusamine is a strange character, in that she is two very different people in S/M and US/UM, but both are great. First - S/M: Lusamine was a kind character.....until she completely lost her fucking mind that is. Playing through Sun and Moon and discovering the true purpose of the Aether Foundation shocked me beyond belief. Seeing her complete disregard for her children is appalling, and her want for complete world domination is unnerving. The fact that she even ends up combining herself with a Nihilego only increases how crazy she is. In US/UM, I expected a similar plot twist, except here her motivations for wanting to go through the wormhole is completely different. Here she's not trying to rule the world....she's trying to save it! As she knows that Necrozma is coming, she vows to try to catch the beast so it does not wreck havoc on the planet. Lillie and Gladion both don't want her to risk her life, as she is their mother, however she refuses to listen to reason. She is promptly beaten, and we (as the main character) step in to help. While as a gamer I prefer the character of psychotic Lusamine over heroic Lusamine, both end up being surprising in their respective games, and for that, Lusamine is my favorite Gen. VII character

1. N (B/W, B2/W2)

Is this a surprise? It really shouldn't be. While I always say that Gen. V is one of my least favorite generations, time and time again I praise the Gen. V Story. Throughout this list, I have talked about story arcs, but nobody has quite the arc as N. Doing a complete about face and ending up going against Team Plasma, N is the definition of a character change. I will always remember the off putting scene of N riding a ferris wheel with us, as it is quite unsettling. Plus, seeing N's castle at the end of the game is unbelievable, as that truly lets you realize just how brainwashed he had become. He basically was born into a cult, entraanced by it, and over the course of Black and White, he comes to grips with what the cult's goals are and how they were just using him, so what does he do? He runs away....only to come back guns ablazing in Black 2 and White 2. While he fails to truly save the day, it was awe inspiring, as there had been no mention of N whatsoever in B2/W2. N is quite a character, and easily the best character in any pokemon game.

So there you have it! This being said, I will list of some honorable mentions. These are other characters I loved, but just didn't quite make it onto the list. These characters are in no particular order:

-Blue
-Archie
-Maxie
-Serena/Calem
-Ghetsis
-Brendan/May
-Gladion
-Kuzco
-Zinzolin (just because of his name tbh)