I liek Squirtles

Isn't his name Moneybags or something? I'm pretty sure I remember him from a Gameboy game. He's pretty minor, but I liked him. When I saw him while my brother was playing Skylanders, I pointed it out. My brother didn't really care.

I've only ever played it on the GameCube.

It's $6. I got it cracked though, not hard to find.

Yeah, they're expensive. :/

I see. I don't remember Sparx or Cynder, but I totally remember the banker. he was the best ever. And yeah, it seems to be totally different. I'm not sure whether I count it.

Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly is... just, the best.

Oh, I see. That's accurate, of course-- I tried to use an old concept, and I was already so tired of it by the time NaNoWriMo started, I just changed it on the first day.

Oh. I think independent Infinity things are eleven? I'm not really sure, I don't play either game.

It's still in the Spyro franchise, though, right? I didn't think Spyro had any games that didn't revolve around him in the past, so this is sort of an anomaly, but regular Spyro games are really fun, and seeing as there have been four (?) Skylanders games in the past few years and no plain Spyro ones, things don't look good for just Spyro.

You should try them! They're really fun, they used to be my favourite.

Yeah, that's me.

Oh, I see. Why didn't you do that for NaNoWriMo,again?

...Really? I recall the Giant Skylanders being super expensive, but maybe not?

Which is the most recent one, again? I always thought the whole Skylanders thing was somewhat unfortunate, because I really liked Spyro just how it was. It's an interesting turn, but it makes me feel like conventional Spyro will never happen again.

Oh, right. Have you come close to making any kind of decision, yet?

Giants, I think. So they're like Amiibos? Or Disney Infinity things?

Oh, it looks like I did have your code and saw you online anyway lol. Thanks for helping me out!

Okay, well I didn't have that registered lol so we'll probably still need to arrange something...

You were still listed as a provisional friend on my game when I checked earlier today, unless I have your FC wrong? The one I have is 0001-4430-1443.

Gonna have to reschedule, somehin popped up

I was just coming on to tell you the same thing (maybe closer to 30 for me), also on my phone

Oh, that's unfortunate. I hope you can finish up your novel! It's fun to write even when it isn't November.

...Yeah, I have no idea how Skylanders works. My brother has it, but I've never played it.

I can do 5:00 your time, sound good?

You're welcome.

Hey, I registered your friend code. Think you could do a favor and add me back, and that we could set up a time to be online simultaneously? I'm chasing an ORAS medal that requires that lol

That's the gist of it, although there will also necessarily be some moving parts -- you just plan for how the Contests generally go.

Yes. Also, it counts not only the conditioning for the actual Contest type, but also the conditioning for the contests's neutral types (although, iirc, that only counts half as much). For example, a Pokémon entering a Beautiful Contest can earn points for its Beauty, Coolness and Cuteness scores. It's still generally better to aim to max the condition for the type you're intending to compete on, this is just good to know a) in case you have some leftover Pokéblocks that you are definitely not going to use for anything else and b) so you'll know what's going on if some Pokémon can win the first round over yours even when yours has max conditioning on that Contest's type (this doesn't usually happen, but there's a specific instance in which it may -- I don't want to spoil it but you'll know it when you see it).

It's a little hard to explain... Well, the thing about it is, each of the Contests has their set of trainers that show up regularly, and so, the moves that these trainers use tend to kind of dictate how these contests run. For example, in Tough Master Rank, almost all the regular trainers try to go last and do something from there (there's one that uses Spite to ruin everyone's appeals, and another one who's always trying to Endure+Reversal...). So, it'd be ideal to have a Pokémon that can take advantage of the usual rhythm of these Contests -- that has the right move to use at the right time, so to say.

It's still possible to win Master Rank without thinking about all that, although you'll be winning more easily and consistently if you do.

I'm not sure how well I can explain this; it's more something you start noticing when/if you play Contests a lot.

Avoid any moves that don't go well with the crowd. Ideally, try to have at least one move that doesn't excite or disgust the crowd.

In the end, what really makes a contest moveset shine or not is whether it can deal with situations typical of the specific Contest type it's competing in. Still, it's quite challenging to figure out how to accomplish that. (I still haven't thought of a way to break Tough Contests. It's a wonder I've managed to win even a single round of Master Rank with that Donphan set...)

It's okay! School is slightly better, and I'm ungrounded! Oh, and NaNoWriMo is, like, two-hundred words for being done. But I'm ungrounded and talking to friends again, so the expected drama bullshit has ensued. It's all right, though, I'm used to it!

How has yours been?