In New York news, the New York Giants are going to the superbowl!  Sweet!!!  Let’s Go Big Blue!  Also, we got our first snow of 2012 this weekend.  I hate snow.  But it did inspire me to look at some funny snow creature photos, and here’s one that I know you guys will appreciate!

K.K. Slider Snowman!

Check it out!  It’s K.K. Slider of Animal Crossing fame!  He’s made of snow, but he’s still authentic with his guitar and signature black eyebrows.  I’m loving it!  (Wanna see the rest of the random snow creatures I was looking at?  Check them out here, it’s pretty cool!)

Now for some Pokémon related news.  A new trailer has surfaced for the new Pokémon + Nobunaga crossover game, due to release in Japan… sometime.  Not sure when.  Obviously long before we will get our hands on it.  So here’s the trailer.  I have no idea what they are saying, but it looks EPIC AND I WANTS IT!

Finally, just wanted to let you all know that the last of the North American passwords for Pokémon Rumble Blast are now available.  They unlock the original Legendary Birds – Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres for your game.  Be sure to catch em all!  Visit serebii.net for the password list.

I’ll keep scouring the web for news and updates for you.  If you see anything that I might have missed (particularly anything about Animal Crossing!) please be sure to comment or email me and let me know!  Thanks!

However, there are a couple of Wii titles that I’m looking forward to, and they actually ARE coming out soon!  Namely:

PokéPark 2 – Release Date: 2/12/12

This game promises to be a vast improvement over the original title in this Pokémon spin-off series.  Not only will we be able to play as Pikachu, but the Unova starters also play a major role in this game!  There will be battles in addition to the regular mini games, and of course more adorable areas to explore!  I can’t wait to start playing and sharing my photos with you all.  :)

Mario Party 9 – Release Date: 3/11/12

The newest Mario Party game looks like it’s going to be awesome!  The creators re-vamped the gameplay and added a ton of new mini games to enjoy.  I like how they added Boss Battles to the game, and how you travel around the board with your competitors.  I think it will make for an interesting twist on the original formula.  Can’t wait!

So these Wii titles will have to tide me over until some new 3DS games are finally released.  Be assured that when we do finally get some more info on AC3DS, I’ll be all over it!  I’ll post as much info as I can find.  As of now the only update on the release date for AC3DS is GameStop’s list, which currently says May 2nd.  However, you might remember my old GameStop list said Jan 2nd for AC3DS, and that didn’t happen.  So I don’t think GameStop knows what they are talking about lol!  But I’ll keep looking.  Until then…  toodles!

Hello my friends!  I am so sorry that I went on an unannounced hiatus during the holidays.  I know it’s not a big deal, but I had fully intended to post some cute holiday-oriented photos and had planned to like… wish you all a happy holiday and such.  So I apologize for not doing that.  I’m sure if you look through the blog archives you can find some holiday goodies from years past.

Anyway, so what have I been doing all this time?  Well DUH – when I’m not working, I’m GAMING!  Basically I’ve been too busy being a nerd to fulfill my nerdly duties of writing this blog!  Here’s what I’ve been working on lately:

• Harvest Moon:  Tale of Two Towns - I’m at the end of Summer, Year 2.  Desperately trying to find an in-game husband, attempting to build up my farms, improve my lifestock, and all sorts of farmy stuff.  It’s super fun, but it’s a pretty girly game so it’s not for everyone.  But if you are playing this game, give me your friend code so we can take advantage of the WIFI capabilities!
• Pokémon Emerald - My amazingly awesome friend Vella sent me a copy of the elusive Emerald GBA game, which I hadn’t been able to find in any GameStop in the Tri-State area.  Luckily, she found one in California, and sent it to me for Christmas!  (YOU ROCK!!!  Thank you!)  I’ve never played this particular title before, so for me its like, OMG NEW GAME!!  I’m only up to the third gym, and it’s so fun to start from scratch!
• Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap - I always attempt to play Zelda games, but usually I end up getting stuck and/or frustrated with a particular part and eventually abandoning the game.  Thankfully, this game isn’t QUITE as difficult.  (Not to mention I downloaded a walkthrough guide for my new Kindle Fire which I consult when needed!)  The art style is very cute and it’s one of my favorite 3DS Ambassador games!
• Swapnote - This is a free 3DS game/app that I really love.  If you are on my 3DS friend list, then you already know how much I enjoy drawing up notes and sending them to my friends.  I think it’s so cute!  I can attach photos, sound bytes and draw my own sketches… It’s just a lot of fun.  I’m into this kind of crap.  :)
• Pushmo - My new obsession.  I honestly just downloaded this game  from the 3DS eShop yesterday and I’m already addicted to it.  Part of me is worried that all my other games listed above will be put on the back burner until I completely beat this puzzle game.  (I am going to try to not let that happen!)  Pushmo really takes advantage of the 3D environment, it’s really cute and allows you to design your own puzzles too.  Plus you can save your designs to a QR code and share it with friends, and you can download other people’s creations too!  Yay!!

In other news…  

Now that the holiday rush is over, there aren’t too many big name games coming out right now.  Most popular is probably Kid Icarus: Uprising.  Honestly I have no interest in this game; it’s just not my thing.  But I did get a lot more interested when I saw that gamers in Japan will be getting a cool 3DS stand as part of a bundle when you buy the game!  Check it out here.

Now for some Pokémon stuff!  I don’t know when this was officially made available but there is now a free Toy Pokémon Collection Guide for Pokémon Rumble Blast that is free to download here.  It’s no walkthrough but it does serve as a checklist and tells you where/how you can obtain the Pokémon you might be missing.  Couldn’t hurt to check it out!

In addition, I’d just like to mention that I picked up a Pokémon TGC pack and I’m thinking about trying to get into the trading card version of the game now.  It’s a lot more complicated than I thought!  Does anyone have any good resources for learning how to play the TCG?  Figured I’d ask…

Now, before I go, there are two Nintendo events that are kind of happening now/coming up soon.  First is the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses tour.  I would LOVE to go to this concert, but there are none in the NY area scheduled.  So JDubz and I are considering our options and wondering if we’d like to travel to see the symphony.  Any suggestions?  View the Concert Schedule here!

The second event is the Pokémon Video Game Spring Regional Championships.  This event isn’t going to be held at as many places as the event last year, so if I go I will have to travel to Philly.  Which I am more than happy to do!  I have to start building up my team and making some travel arrangements!  If only the symphony was going to be in PA around that same time, that would have been perfect.  Ohhh well.

OK hopefully that was enough Nintendo goodness to make up for my disappearance for a little while.  And now… VENTURE FORTH!

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,100 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

So far the game I’ve been focusing on is “Legend of Zelda:  The Minish Cap.”  It’s such an in-depth game, and I was especially interested in it because I’d already downloaded the Four Swords multiplayer version of this game.  Having the full single player game as well makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!  :P  It’s so cute when Link shrinks down to Picori size – I only wish they’d made this game a 3D Classic instead of a Virtual Console game!  But that’s ok, it’s still fun.

My second favorite title that was released in this batch is “Super Mario Land 3:  Yoshi’s Island.”  I had this game for SNES a million years ago, and now I finally have a reason to get rid of my old Yoshi’s Island cartridge!  The art style of this game is really adorable and who doesn’t love playing a game with a crying, diaper-wearing Baby Mario?

If you are a 3DS Ambassador and haven’t downloaded these games yet… what are you waiting for?

Pokédex Completion Photolog!

As you may have noticed from my previous blog, I’ve been working hard to complete my Pokédex in HeartGold.  I am proud to announce that it is now official:

I HAVE ALL 493 POKéMON!!!

Here is a series of photos I took to commemorate all the excitement:

A Shiny in my Pokédex

With less than a month to go until the release of Pokémon Black and White, I made it my mission to complete my HeartGold Pokédex.  This was no easy task and I’ve been working on it for a few weeks now, trading Pokémon from my Diamond and Platinum games to HeartGold.  And now I can finally say that I’m ALMOST done.

A [somewhat] thrilling thing happened yesterday.  I have been battling my pokémon at Mt. Silver because it’s the most convenient location with high-level pokémon opponents.  Since a lot of the pokémon I needed were high evolutions of ones I already had, this seemed like the best place.  I was busy battling Donphan after Donphan, leveling up a Nincada (with an empty party slot so I could get a bonus Shedinja at level 20).  Suddenly a Ponyta appeared!  But this was no ordinary Ponyta!

It’s shameful to admit that I’d never seen a shiny pokémon in the “wild” before.  Sure, I have a few shinies that were traded to me from friends or from the GTS, but that’s not the same as the exciting moment when you see the sparkly swirl around your opponent and notice that the coloring is a bit off!  I was so excited, and threw out a quick ball to catch my Shiny Ponyta without a hitch!

In fact, I was so thrilled that I almost forgot to run back to the Pokémon Center and deposit this Shiny Ponyta in my storage boxes.  (Imagine if I wasted the opportunity to get a Shedinja by forgetting to leave that space open in my party!  lol)

Anyway, so that was very exciting for me.  Suuuure, some of you might have been chaining-masters in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum…  but I never had any luck at finding shinies that way.  This was my first wild shiny and I am very proud of it!  Now I need to evolve it to a shiny Rapidash for extra butt-kicking-ness!  :D

Arceus and the Sinjoh Ruins

Arceus is probably the most versatile Legendary Pokémon, since it can become ANY type if it holds the corresponding plate for that type.  Arceus is also known as “The Original One,” as it is said that it created Sinnoh, and possibly the entirePokémon universe, along with the lake guardians and dragon trio. Arceus can only be found in the wild legitimately with the Azure Flute, which has not yet been distributed officially and can currently only be obtained by cheating. However, Arceus itself was once distributed at Toys “R” Us stores in the United States and Puerto Rico from November 7 to November 15, 2009.

I was lucky enough to receive this Event Arceus last year from Vella.  (ありがとうごさいます!)  It’s Level 100!  If that wasn’t special enough, this Event Arceus has SPECIAL POWERS when you transfer it to HG/SS.  This weekend I was able to see firsthand just what Arceus is capable of.

If you have an Event Arceus, you must take it to the Ruins of Alph in Johto.  Walk up to the Research building with Arceus and a man will come bursting out!

This unnamed man will be VERY excited that you have an Arceus.  He will beg that you accompany him down into the Ruins of Alph.

Once you’re in the Ruins, this man will be busy staring at the wall… I’m guessing he’s supposed to be reading the Unown hieroglyphics.  It doesn’t matter, because after a few seconds you and Arceus will suddenly appear in a strange, empty temple!

At first you can’t do anything in this temple, so walk outside.  You will appear to be on some very high, snowy mountaintop area.  A scruffy-looking mountain man will be waiting out in the snow, and ask you to join him in a nearby cabin.

Don’t worry, it’s a SAFE cabin.  Inside you’ll find the mountain man, an old man with an Abra who can teleport you back to the Ruins of Alph, a computer to free up your party of all Pokémon except Arceus (this is required for the event) and a familiar face!

If you’ve ever played Diamond, Pearl or Platinum, you’ll recognize Cynthia as your ally when battling against Team Rocket, as well as the Champion of the Pokémon League in those games!  Cynthia explains that settlers came from Sinnoh to Johto and named this specific area the Sinjoh Ruins.  Apparently it reminded the Sinnoh-ians(? lol) of their home land and named it thusly.  Anyway, Cynthia senses Arceus’ great power immediately, and asks that you come with her to the “Mystri Stage.”

Cynthia starts talking about Arceus having the ability to create life out of nothing.  Then she explains that the different symbols on the Mystri Stage represent different Pokémon.  Arceus is represented by the circle in the middle of the stage, while the patterns in the three corners of the triangle represent Dialga, Palkia and Giratina!  All you have to do from here is step on the pattern that you wish to ‘create.’  I would HIGHLY recommend choosing Giratina, because Arceus will create it with a Griseous Orb as a held item.  This is the only way to get the Griseous Orb in HG/SS, and that orb is the only way to switch Giratina between it’s Altered Forme and Origin Forme.  The choice is yours, but you only get to create ONE of these legends with this special Event Arceus, so choose wisely!

When your selection is made, a bunch of Unown will come swirling in out of nowhere, and a really cool animated cut-scene will begin.  I should have switched my camera to video mode, but it all happened so fast!  Here’s some photos I managed to snap during the cinematic:

Sorry the pics are kinda messed up and you can see the reflection of my camera lol!  Basically what happens is Arceus is shown with the Mystri Stage pattern over various different landscapes.  Then Arceus disappears and the Earth is seen.  Suddenly the Earth turns into an Egg – and then the Egg begins to hatch!

The hatching Egg will then fall from the sky and into your party!  You don’t have to run around or wait for the Egg to hatch, when you finally get to view your Pokémon, you will see the Legendary Pokémon you had selected – only it’s a baby at Level 1!  (Aww!)

After the cut-scene is over, Cynthia will be astonished – you both just witnessed Arceus creating life!  Then you will be whisked away from the dreamlike Sinjoh Ruins and appear back with the weird guy in the Ruins of Alph.  He’ll say, “You disappeared before my eyes!” and you explain to him that the power of Arceus and the Unowns brought you to the Sinjoh Ruins.

I don’t know if I was just lucky, but as soon as I was exiting the Ruins of Alph, Cameron the Photographer stopped me!  What perfect timing – now I was able to get a photo of myself, Arceus and the new baby Giratina in the Ruins of Alph!

Hooooooray!!!  xD  If you need to borrow my Event Arceus, we can work something out.  I will only trade this Arceus will friends that I TRUST – cuz it’s the only one I’ve got!  It’s my bebe!!  lol

First of all, last week I received an early Christmas present from Nintendo.  It was my Club Nintendo Platinum Status reward!  The 2011 rewards for Club Nintendo were either a Desk Calendar (Gold Status – I got a very similar one last year) or a Super Mario 8-Bit Pin Set (Platinum Status).  Obviously I had to go for the exclusive Pin Set, and it has finally arrived!  Here are the photos I took – sorry for the glare in the pictures!  It has a plastic casing around it and I didn’t want to take it off.

Platinum Pin Set

Here you can see most of the pins.  They are really cute!  I was going to pin them onto my Super Mario duffel bag but I think I’m just going to keep it in this display case thing.  Why?  Cuz look at the other side!

Super Mario!

The backside of each row of pins comes together to create a large 8-bit Super Mario graphic!  It’s just too cool.  Maybe it’ll be rare and collectible someday.  I’m keeping it in the case lol!

So if that wasn’t enough to make you jealous (unless you already got this same Platinum reward hehe) I have a unique, one-of-a-kind goodie to gloat about!  My awesome boyfriend JDubz MADE me a Pokémon out of perler beads!

Stunfisk!

Is that not the coolest?  Stunfisk rules!  And now I have a Stunfisk of my own!  I’m  working on making him a present too… I don’t know if it’s gonna be as cool as this though.  I put in a request for a Team Plasma emblem made out of perler beads too.  I’ll post all future projects for you to see!  :)

Jealous yet?  If you have a 3DS, I have some news that will make you feel better.  (If you don’t have a 3DS, this might make you wish you had one!)  The full list of 3DS Ambassador games has FINALLY been released, with rumors that the games will be made available to us this Friday, 12/16!  Fingers crossed!  Here’s the list of games that will be FREE for all Ambassadors:

• F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
• Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island
• Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
• Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
• Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong
• Metroid Fusion
• Wario Land 4
• WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames

I’m pretty psyched for Yoshi’s Island, Minish Cap, Kirby, Mario Kart and Wario Land!  But with all the amazing games that I have right now, like Harvest Moon and Mario Kart 7, when will I have time to play these?

By the way, here’s something that almost every Nintendo fan can enjoy.  Club Nintendo recently had a big design overhaul.  So log on to Club Nintendo today and see the new rewards and stuff!  Enjoy!

Shaymin in HeartGold

For the past couple of days I didn’t have work so I used my time productively – to catch up on some Pokémon gaming!  I finally beat Pokémon XD and Grand Master Greevil!  What’s cool about XD is that after you beat the game, you can transfer Pokémon from XD to a GBA game (if you have all the necessary hardware).  So I was able to transfer Lugia, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno and a really cool Elekid named Zaprong that I received in a trade during the game.  It knows Ice Punch, Fire Punch and Thunder Punch!  Cool! 

Since I was in the ‘trading with myself’ mood, I figured I would transfer some of my Legendaries from Platinum to HG.  (I love having two DS’s!  Even though my DS Lite has a broken hinge that’s ready to break off.)  One Pokémon I was excited to transfer was Shaymin, since there’s a special way to get the Gracidea in HG.  For those who don’t know, the Gracidea is a key item that is used to change Shaymin between Land and Sky Formes.

Last year there was a WFC Event that distributed Shaymin, and if you brought that Shaymin to Floaroma Town, you got a Gracidea.  But you can’t trade key items between DS games.  So how do you get one in HG/SS?  Take that same Event Shaymin to the Flower Shop in Goldenrod City!

Here you can see Shaymin in Land Forme.  As soon as I walked in, the store clerk came running over and offered to give Shaymin a flower.

She gave me a Gracidea!  Immediately I opened my Key Items pocket and used the Gracidea on Shaymin to turn it into Sky Forme!

Hooray!  Now I can change Shaymin back and forth as I please!  In case you’re wondering, the Gracidea can’t be used at night or when Shaymin is frozen.  And if you put a Shaymin in Sky Forme into your storage boxes, it will revert to Land Forme.  But you can always switch it back! 

I also traded over another notable Pokémon from Platinum but that story is even longer so I’ll save it for tomorrow!  lol XD