Hi. I'm Blue Ninjakoopa, otherwise known as BNK, Binky, or simply Blue.
Introduction
My history with Pokemon dates all the way back to 1999 when I got Yellow Version for my birthday. I got into the series however when I got Sapphire Version in 2003 and since then the series is of interest to me. My sister got Ruby Version and we oftentimes traded cartridges until late 2004, when it was finalized that Ruby was mine and Sapphire was hers (which I was more than OK with, since Ruby had better Pokemon imo and the ruby is my birthstone).
Generation IV's new mechanics (the separation of physical and special moves by what kind of move they were rather than their type for example) were necessary landmark changes. However, I dislike the lack of creativity for some of the names, namely Infernape and Monferno; I also thought that some of the designs were lacking (Croagunk, Toxicroak, the Lake guardians to provide some examples). In the game department, the cry of Dialga was a very large disappointment. The sprites were a small improvement in comparison to the previous generation (bar sprites for Kanto region Pokemon + Teddiursa in FireRed & LeafGreen), and the 3D-scale game Battle Revolution was very successful, though it wouldn't have been too hard for them to redesign all of the graphics for the Pokemon (Nidoking looked like it did in the Pokemon Stadium games, for example).
Other notes
I'm from Texas, but I used to say I was "from California" because I thought that "sounded cool."
I bought Blue on the 3DS virtual console in March 2016. I'm currently training my team of Blastoise, Fearow, Machamp, Alakazam, Jolteon, and Nidoking in Victory Road so I don't have to rely on "game over" experience by repeatedly battling (and losing to) the Elite 4. I caught two of the Legendary Birds (Articuno and Moltres), and I plan to catch the third and transfer them all to Pokemon Sun. I also played through Sapphire Version, which had belonged to my sister previously.
Teams (under construction)
These are my "on-hand" teams for each game. Many aren't actually "on-hand", but they are the Pokemon that were on my team when I beat the Elite 4 and Champion.
Former team members - Wave♀ (dropped for Salamence), Cairn♂ (dropped for Aggron and Claydol), Starro (dropped partly for Gorebyss and Claydol), Raphael♂ (dropped in part for Aggron and Salamence)
TV show
I watched the TV show actively from 1999 to early 2004, right before the theme song was changed to This Dream. After that, I infrequently watched the episodes as they would come on on Cartoon Network. The primary reasons I dislike the anime as it is (as it became in the late 00's) are the lack in effort for the voice acting (James sounds like a nasally congested Barney the Dinosaur, the voices of the Pokemon all sound the same and the voice actor portraying them does a very lousy job), removal of trademark themes and tunes, and poor opening songs. One thing that is a step up are the graphics, but that's it.
In general, having taken off my nostalgia goggles, the anime really wasn't anything spectacular. The conclusion of most episodes was always some variant of Pikachu being stolen by Team Rocket and Ash using one of his other Pokemon to pop their hot air balloon. Additionally, the physics weren't accurate to the games, with Ash having defeated several ground-type Pokemon with his Pikachu's electric attacks. This wasn't fixed until the D/P arc. It was also annoying that Ash never evolved many of his Pokemon, but that didn't matter, since any of Ash's under-leveled Pokemon could take on fully-evolved Pokemon owned by expert trainers thanks to plot armor.
Random Thoughts Dump
Here, I'll list trivial things I've realized while looking through my refrigerator or taking a shower that don't really belong on any article. It's a work in progress.
Kangeiko reference in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
I think the availability of Machoke and Meditite/Medicham in Sinnoh Routes 216 and 217 seems to be a reference to "Kangeiko" (I think it means "cold training"), which is when athletes or martial artists train in the cold prevalent in the middle of the winter. It's one of those little things that makes you appreciate these games more. It could also be a coincidence that the Machoke and Medicham are there as convenient options to aid in the fight against Candice's Ice-type Pokemon, but it's fun to think about it in a more intricate context.
Gorebyss and Huntail's Defense
Stats are usually straightforward. Rapidash is a horse. Horses are fast. Rapidash thus has a high speed stat. Stats can also be weird... but there's often logic behind them still. Usually, stats are dictated by a need for balance. This is why Purugly's HP is so low while its speed is so high, even though you wouldn't think of a "fat" Pokemon being fast (it having too much HP wouldn't have differentiated it enough from its counterpart, Skuntank, and would have been hell to deal with in the early part of D/P). Anyway, back to Gorebyss and Huntail. You've probably noticed that they both have base 105 defense. And you might be thinking it's strange, considering their previous evolution, Clamperl, has a SHELL and only has base 80 defense. But there's a reason for this, and it's not balance. Both Gorebyss and Huntail are based on deep-sea fish: the snipe eel and gulper eel, respectively. Deep underwater, there's a lot of pressure, and animals that live there either need sturdy bones/shells or soft, flexible skin to resist said pressure. Gorebyss and Huntail's high defense stats reference their ability to resist deep-sea pressure.
Trapinch's Attack
This one should be more obvious to seasoned players of R/S and fans of the Flygon line. Nintendo is known for having a fascination with antlion larvae, which have appeared in some capacity across multiple franchises. Off the top of my head, there's Priscilla the Peckish from the Mario universe, Snipper from Kirby, and the Sandworm from Wario. Trapinch is one such antlion larvae-based creation, and a lot of people love it. As many of you were, I was puzzled the first time I evolved my Trapinch into Vibrava and noticed its attack had decreased significantly. One might assume an error or glitch, but there's a reference in all of it. And it's a simple one... you see, antlion larvae are notorious predators that create sand pits (hence Sand Tomb being one of Trapinch's earliest known moves) that trap prey (usually ants, hence the name) by making it difficult for the prey to climb out. The trap's effectiveness is achieved thanks to the physics of sand... on an incline, the tiny grains of sand roll off of each other as the prey tries to climb out, and eventually the prey slips into the jaws of the larvae. When antlion larvae grow up, however, they're not nearly as aggressive (if I'm not mistaken, they don't even prey on other animals or aren't really able to), hence the attack drop.
Trainer Team Explanations
I was playing Platinum the other day and fought a cameraman who had two Magneton, a Mr. Mime, and a Machamp, and I thought about how the Pokemon on a trainer's team will often represent in some way their respective trainer's occupation. Cameramen use electric cameras; Magneton is machine-like and an electric-type. When filming, they may use gestures (voiceless, needless to say) to guide someone like a reporter or actor; Mr. Mime is based on mimes, who are known for these kinds of movements. Cameras and other recording equipment are very heavy; Machamp is very strong and can lift such equipment. The reporter similarly used Pokemon relevant to her tasks; her Drifblim referenced the phenomenon of broadcasting news on blimps and being "everywhere at once", and her Luxray referenced her showiness and the moves Luxray learns like Roar and Swagger complement the reporter's use of their voice to effect their audiences (I did not misspell affect there, by the way).
Some are more obvious, such as bikers using Koffing and Weezing in reference to the gas emissions from their bikes and Grimer and Muk to reference the lubricants bikes and other vehicles require, as well as the sludge that occurs as a byproduct of these lubricants burning and mixing with fragments of plastic and iron inside the bike's engine.
Aerodactyl
This is a quick one. Apparently, a species of pterosaur called "Thapunngaka shawi" was discovered in the early 2010s. Aerodactyl predates this creature (rather, it predates its discovery), but I can't help but notice that its jaws strongly resemble Thapunngaka shawi's. That's where the similarities end, however; Thapunngaka shawi lacks a tail and "horns."
Suicune Rant
I wanted to vent my frustration here so that it's somewhere in the ether. I'm not sure I've ever been as disappointed in the Pokemon series as I was with the removal of Bubble Beam and Aurora Beam from Suicune's moveset in Sword and Shield. I know those games were really bad and this is an old wound, but for some reason those attacks felt like they were part of Suicune's DNA, and poof... they were gone. It felt like they removed the giant crystal that crested Suicune's head. When you think of those moves, you think of Suicune. A silly thing to rant over, admittedly, especially since these moves aren't particularly useful, but it's still a vexing decision considering the moves still existed in the game's code and could be learned by other Pokemon. This happened with other attacks and Pokemon too, but I can't think of them right now.
Interesting Aggron Lore
Aggron is based on the pulgasari, a monster from Korean legend that lived on the mountains and consumed iron. Its appearance in the Pokemon games is derived from the iteration of the pulgasari that appeared in the Korean film, Pulgasari. One can observe this in its upright stance, horns on its head, spikes on its shoulders, and metal armor. Parenthetically, Lairon more closely resembles the original quadrupedal pulgasari, but with armor added to reflect its relationship with Aggron. The film which inspired Aggron became extremely popular in Japan (and was developed partly by Japanese producers), possibly due to the immense success of Godzilla, and this is why Aggron looks the way it does. However, the film Pulgasari technically would not exist had it not been for the kidnapping of the film's producer, Shin Sang-ok, by North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. Aggron as we know it would probably look a lot different if it was based purely on the original pulgasari design, or on its appearance in the 1960s Pulgasari film.
Moveset anomalies: Wailord and Self-Destruct
Wailord and its pre-evolution Wailmer are capable of learning the move Self Destruct via tutor in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. As part of my unorganized series on why Pokemon have the stats and learn the moves that they do, I thought I'd give an explanation for this. There are two possible reasons Wailord learns this move... and both are kinda morbid. Reason one is that it could be referencing the phenomenon of exploding whales. Thankfully, whales only explode when they're dead, but it's still kinda gross. When a whale dies, its body decomposes and fills up with gas. Once its skin can no longer contain this gas, it explodes. You may have seen pictures of a whale carcass on the cusp of exploding; the skin on the underside (the "Thanos chin" part) expands like one of those stretchy squeeze toys filled with liquid that you might find in a dollar store. The explosions can be devastating if the whale is beached near a town, as its guts and blubber will rain down on nearby structures. Reason two is that it's a reference to blimps or airships (hot-air balloons in Wailmer's case) and their propensity to explode, due to being filled with flammable air (at least in earlier models). The most infamous example of this happening is the Hindenburg, a blimp that exploded in a disaster that killed tens of people. Hydrogen used to be the gas of choice because it lifted high, but its flammability made it prone to explode and it was replaced; hydrogen is coincidentally one of the elements that makes up water (along with oxygen), and Wailord is a Water-type Pokemon. While it's unlikely that this is the motivation for Wailord having access to Self Destruct, it's a funny coincidence.
Filburt, 
Jackson, 
Goro, 
Dr. Fate, 
Jolteon, 
Murakami
Kludge♂, 
Lana♀, 
Sheepman♂, 
Woody♂, 
Cyril♂, 
Fei Long♂
Foghorn♂, 
Whispy♂, 
Boomboxer♂, 
Irene (Castle)♀, 
Fang♂, 
Everest
Rick♂ (now a Steelix), 
Salvo♂, 
Fievel♂, 
MIMIEN♂
Bill♂, 
Craig♂, 
Hector♂, 
C-19, 
Ariel♀, 
Alpha 5
