Appraise My TempleCon - Updated

Episode 42: the answer to life, the universe, and the PokeProblemsPodcast. This week, Tenku No Oni guest hosts with the Wolf Doctor. We (including Miz Sylver) are at TempleCon this weekend! It started on Thursday, and ends Sunday, August 28th. This afternoon, we are running the Get Super Smashed Bros. Doubles Tournament, starting at noon. There are awesome trophies for the winners! Tomorrow, Tenku No Oni is running a Heartstone Last Hero Standing Single Elimination starting at 10 am. (He has the fortitude to get up early!) Miz Sylver is running a D&D 5th Edition adventure Sunday afternoon that she wrote called the Temple of Fire & Ice, starting at 2pm. This is an adventure that uses pre-made characters, so you do not need lots of background to play. Both of these events still (as of writing) have slots available, and they try to squeeze in standby players, so if you are interested you should go. Templecon has day passes available as of this writing, so come on down!

Miz Sylver is appearing at Tacticon Colorado! September 1st through 4th. Friend of the podcast Mayhem's Muse is one of the organizers.

The September Pokemon of the Month is Victini!

The new Pokemon GO update added a new feature to the Pokemon profile menu: between Favorite and Transfer, there is now an Appraise choice! Your team leader will appear and give you a rundown of how your Pokemon stacks up. Your leader will use several code phrases that are based on the Pokemon's IV's. We've talked about IV's before, they are essentially stat bumps that are different between individual specimens of a species of Pokemon. A Pokemon with higher IVs will have higher total stats at a given level and at maximum level. We mentioned IV calculators before, but the new Appraise feature is meant to substitute for external apps by giving you a hint at your Pokemon's IVs. Several websites have tabulated correlation between the phrases said by your team leader and your Pokemon's IVs. We discuss how we feel about this feature, which is "meh"?

Listeners, I just want you know that we will be experiencing technical difficulties in the next few weeks, due to some issues with our hosting. We are working on a new solution to our hosting, but for the next few weeks expect some turmoil! We hope to have an episode up for you next week, but if one doesn't appear, don't send out a search party, we are probably just still figuring things out!

Thanks for listening! If you have any questions or comments, we want to hear from you. Are you attending TempleCon? Have you found the new Appraise feature in Pokemon GO useful? Do you want to host our podcast? Tweet, email, or comment on the blog or Facebook to let us know!



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My Other Ride is a Bahamut - Updated

Episode 41: the fascinating forty-first episode of the PokeProblemsPodcast! This week we learn the meaning of the word "melange"! The Wolf Doctor played the mysteriously appearing demo of Disney Art Academy on 3DS. The game came out for North America in May, but they are pushing it on the Nintendo eShop right now. Did it appear on your homescreen too? We talk about Pokemon Uranium and the game takedown. The Wolf Doctor has watched a lot of gameplay videos, but neither of our heroes has managed to play yet. Speaking of gameplay videos, The Wolf Doctor watched the new Final Fantasy XV new footage gameplay hour, released to sooth the masses angered by the delay of the game until late November. Miz Sylver has been typing in her pre-order info to enter the Carbuncle Surprise sweepstakes, which has all kinds of small prizes including digital goodies as well as big top prizes. Anyway, check out the gameplay video after the podcast if you want to make fun of the character names with us. And speaking of FFXV disappointment, Kingsglaive the Final Fantasy XV Movie is showing in theaters tonight, just not anywhere even kinda near Boston. But you should check if it's playing near you! More news and bits:

• Miz Sylver wants to remind all SMITE players that there are all kinds of events going on online. The Great Games are still going on, but there's also more events going on in honor of Gamescon. All gods are free to play during the Gamescon week (the 16th through the 21st), and the 3 first wins of the day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday gets you a free Enigma Chest!
• Miz Sylver is working at the Boston leg of the Play Nintendo Tour, August 19-21 at the South Shore Plaza. Meet and greet with Luigi & Jibanyan on Saturday, Mario & Pikachu on Sunday from 11 am - 5 pm. Check out an excellent edited video of last weekend at Roosevelt Field’s North Court in Garden City NY by KirbyGCN17 after the podcast and the FFXV gameplay.
• The 2016 Pokémon World Championships are happening in San Francisco this weekend starting August 19th. You can check out live coverage if you can't make it in person! GameStop is hosting events to celebrate, so stop by select GameStop stores to compete against other Pokémon fans in Pokémon Omega Ruby or Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. The first 50 people at each event on Saturday, August 20th from 12:00pm – 3:00pm will receive a set of Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon art cards while supplies last. And also don’t forget to pre-order your copies of Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon. In the Boston area, the Leominster store is hosting one of these events, or if you are one of Miz Sylver's Wisconsin friends (and want to spare her poor mom from having to go get the art cards for her), you can go to the GameStop at 7420 W Holmes Ave in Greenfield, WI or the one at 8118 Mineral Point Rd. in Madison, WI.

Thanks for listening! If you have any questions or comments, we want to hear from you. Are you playing Pokemon Uranium? Are you upset about the delay of FFXV? Does Prompto sound like the name of a Mega Man villain to you? Is your other ride a Bahamut? Tweet, email, or comment on the blog or Facebook to let us know!







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Gen Con Highlights with Green Mario aka Greg Marks - Updated

Episode 40: The full-time fortieth episode of the PokeProblemsPodcast! Tonight we have the return of celebrity DM and Wizards of the Coast Organized Play leader Greg Marks aka Skerrit the Green aka Green Mario. He's here to tell us about Gen Con 2016. He was there as a celebrity DM for D&D Adventurers League. (If you want to follow him on Twitter: Follow @Skerrit7h3green) The D&D Organized Play is run at Gen Con by Baldman Games, and Greg was recruited to run 8 adventures! Our discussion touches on the new game slot schedule, the impressive number of adventures being run at the Con, how he didn't make it to play Pathfinder with the Paizo folks, how he's excited for the Star Trek RPG, cosplay, Gen Con attendance, Robo Rally and so much more. (He also brags about his many podcast guest spots, like on the Down with D&D Podcast...) Greg has a lot of stuff going on right now:

• Greg is celebrating the release of two new books he worked on from Kobold Press, The Book of Lairs and the Tome of Beasts.
• Greg is doing his celebrity DM thing at Dan's Con of the Vale, October 21 - 23 at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel.
• And at Stuffed COWS 15 November 25-27 at the College of DuPage (near Chicago).
• And at Gamehole Con November 4th - 6th, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. Who names these things???
• And at Queen City Conquest Sep 9 - Sep 11, 2016, at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

Green Mario also recommends this Comic about IV's by Maphrox, despite the fact he's not playing! You can use an IV calculator such as this one from Poke Assistant to figure out your Pokemon's IVs in Pokemon GO!

Events!

• This weekend is Boston Comic Con! August 12th - 14th, Seaport World Trade Center. William Shatner is going to be there! Friday is Family Friday with special kid focused events, including a Mini Putt Golf and Bean Bag Toss with Yoshi and Pikachu, happening 12-4 pm. Meet and Greet! Win Prizes!
• There's full game demos of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, today, Friday, from 4-7 pm at select GameStops, including Leominster, MA and Concord, NH. If you make it up to Concord, you can hang out with Matt, one of the New England Nintendo reps!
• TempleCon 16 is happening August 25-28, in Warwick, Rhode Island. Miz Sylver and the Wolf Doctor will be attending and running the Get Super Smashed Bros. Doubles tournament, and Miz Sylver will be DM'ing two D&D events!
• Tacticon Colorado is happening September 1st - 4th at the Hotel Elegante Conference and Event Center, Colorado Springs, CO. Friend of the Podcast Mayhem's Muse organizes the con and invited Miz Sylver to attend as a special guest! Her event schedule will be posted soon!

Thanks for listening! If you have any questions or comments, we want to hear from you. Did you see Green Mario at Gen Con? Are you living it up at Boston Comic Con? Wanna Get Super Smashed Bros. with us at TempleCon? Tweet, email, or comment on the blog or Facebook to let us know!



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Pokemon GO - The First Month! - Updated

Episode 39: The thorough thirty-ninth episode of the PokeProblemsPodcast! We review a few demos and cover some news before talking about the first month mark of Pokemon GO!

Today is the 30th anniversary of Metroid! Miz Sylver ponders the male form of Samus (Mamus?) as she reviews the Metroid Prime: Blast Ball demo. The full game, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, gets released August 19th. You can scan amiibo to get Mech Paint Jobs, Miz Sylver has gotten paint jobs from Samus, Zero Suit Samus, Bowser, Rosalina, Peach, Mario, and Luigi, but of course there may be more. Scanning other amiibo can get you the Skull paint job! Anyway, the demo is available in the eShop on your 3DS!

The Wolf Doctor played the demo of Style Savvy Fashion Forward, which is also being released for the 3DS on August 19th. It's a fashion and styling game, with the main focus on running a boutique. You help the customers find what they want, but you are also responsible for picking the clothes that your boutique carries, and in the full game you get to design your own clothes and model them in fashion shows in Miiverse contests. The Wolf Doctor thought it was a cute, nice game, and pretty OK for any age range. Basically, if this appeals to you at all, try the demo!

Now for some news!

• Good Old Games is doing some classic Disney side-scrollers, Aladdin, Lion King, and Jungle Book. They're all coming to computer platforms!
  
• SMITE is doing special events for the Olympics, the Smite Great Games! There are three events over the next month, each with at least 50 gems as a completion prize!

And now, it's our destiny to talk about Pokemon GO. We're still playing, are you? We talk about the news and controversies, from players demanding (and receiving) refunds, to the Articuno hack, to the three step bug. But we still have hope! (The Wolf Doctor's Snorlax gives her that hope...) With the renewed interest in all things Pokemon, there's more great Pokemon content on the web than ever...





Thanks for listening! If you have any questions or comments, we want to hear from you. Are you still loving Pokemon GO? Do you enjoy cute dress up games like Style Savvy Fashion Forward? Or are you more into having your Metroid Prime Balls Blasted? Tweet, email, or comment on the blog or Facebook to let us know!



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