Battle4Charity Round 3

Anyone following the main PMP channel may be aware that Battle4Charity is starting up again. This is a joint project by the PMP directors, designed  to raise money for worthy causes. Child's Play is the affiliated charity this time. I couldn't accept the invitation to participate due to time constraints, but I plan on donating and watching whenever possible. Click here for the site.

Underrated YouTuber: FierceBirdOfFlame

I have only one thing to say. Please check this guy out before he strikes you with RELENTLESS FORCE. 

Video: Enroyalle vs PenguinX - BW UU

Here's a great UU match against a fellow contributing author here at Fal's blog, quackPenguinX. A bit of crucial hax drew the match out, but we both agreed it made the match much more exciting due to the intense turns of sheer prediction that followed. You really get to see Mixed Flygon in all its glory here. Although this team still needs some work (hopefully I'll have that fixed soon), this was still a really fun match.

Underrated YouTuber: chimpact

I was recently tipped off on chimpact, a Smogonite and YouTuber with relatively few subscribers but plenty of quality content. Actual competitive battlers with good commentary can be rare in the YouTube battling community, but chimpact is more than capable at both. Channel here and sample video after the break.

Video: Faladran vs DoomOnYou - BW UU

Here's another UU battle! I ended up swapping Kingdra out for Snorlax to handle special threats better. Check out the video to see it in action.

Video: Faladran vs Escapeartist19 - BW OU

In this video, I start up OU again with a comfortable match. Although OU isn't my personal favorite tier to play, I'll make sure to upload it frequently (since it's the most popular and most competitively relevant).

Pokémon Online vs Nintendo Wi-Fi

I'm sure most will agree that the general quality of Wi-Fi and YouTube battlers is lower than that of Smogon PO players. The usual pattern is for a player to start on Wi-Fi and eventually move fully onto PO battling as they become more experienced. I personally get a lot better matches when playing on the simulator, although I feel the animation of the DS battles is a necessity for increased entertainment factor.

Usually, I use Pokémon Online purely for team testing and Wi-Fi for making videos and "actual" battling. I almost never participate in any serious Smogon tournaments, which is unusual considering my background. Unfortunately, the quality of most of my Wi-Fi matches is quite low, meaning I end up deleting over half of them. To make a comparison, below are two PO logs I have saved, animated using aeo's replayer. The first is a DPP OU match vs my friend BKC. The second is a BW OU battle against fellow Smogon moderator TheFourthChaser.

Faladran vs BKC - DPP OU

Faladran vs TheFourthChaser - BW OU

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These two matches are of much higher quality than almost every Wi-Fi battle I've ever had. Keep in mind that these were just picked from my recent logs; it's fairly common for me to have some solid matches on PO.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Which do you prefer, and why do you feel that way?

Video: Gardevoir Goes to the Convenience Store

WTF is up with Japan. No further comment.

Video: Faladran vs pokeaimMD - DPP OU

Here's a DPP OU match against Joey, or pokeaimMD. The battle overall was played extremely aggressively, and the final result turned out to be really close. This was a fun match in general, especially since DPP OU continues to be my favorite overall tier.

Machinima Pokémon Launch

Machinima Pokémon is the newest channel on the Machinima network, formed in a collaboration with PokéMoshPit. Everything's still under construction for now, but you can visit the channel by clicking here.

EDIT: Apparently it's called ProjectMoshPit now! I'm more confused than ever...

Underrated YouTuber: PenguinX

PengX is a skilled battler who provides solid commentary. He also has a special talent for crafting original and effective team ideas. Despite these advantages, he happens to be extremely under subbed. Check out his channel here along with a sample video after the break.

Video: Faladran vs AtmosphericRay - BW UU

So I finally got back to uploading and had my first BW UU Wi-Fi match. This one turned out pretty close, and I got to showcase some of my favorite sets in the metagame.

Underrated YouTuber: JackieChun

YouTube's a big site. Even the most deserving of content creators can go unnoticed in the vast ocean of online videos. I've always made a personal effort to keep an eye out for underrated producers with potential and support their work. One specific YouTuber that I've been watching since I started is JackieChun. 

 At first glance, his videos seem like those of any other. Some may initially be turned off by the webcam quality of the battles. However, Chun provides excellent and insightful narration - the most important aspect of any competitive gaming commentary. Find his channel here. You may be surprised.

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