Rare Article: Why You Should be Afraid, Very Afraid of Keldeo

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I'm Keldeo, and I'm here to destroy you.Let's get it out of the way right here. We all know that Keldeo looks like a My Little Pony. Under that cutesy guise, however, is an extremely formidable Pokémon that can rip right through you if you're not careful. Let's take a closer look at Keldeo.

Just looking at base stats, Keldeo doesn't look that spectacular. Sure, it's Sp. Attack is quite high, but it's frail as well. But hold your effeminate horse warriors, folks.
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Rare Article: 3 Moves You Should Consider

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Smiley face Back in the B.T. era of PKMNcast (I split our history up by "B.T." and "A.T," which stand for "Before Travis" and "Ano Travini," respectively,) SBJ wrote one of this site's most popular articles, Pokémon You Should Consider. I've set out to write a similar spiel but with the focus changed to underrated moves, being one without any genuinely unique ideas of my own. I suppose in that way I'm like the Avatar of PKMNcast.

BOOM. TAKE THAT, JAMES CAMERON! Just kidding, J.C. Please give me your money and your weird undersea exploratory vessels.

With that out of the way, let's look at some underrated moves, shall we?
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Rare Announcement: Travis' RU Spectacular!

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There's been a specific tier of competitive play that has taken my free time by storm. That tier is the Rarely Used (RU) tier. Inside RU are a bunch of the Pokémon that I enjoy but aren't quite "good" enough to be played in normal competitive outlets. 

Because of this, I decided that I wanted to host an RU tournament. And you're all invited! Here's how you get in on it:

1. Send me (@thetravisw) a message on twitter saying that you are interested. I'll reply to confirm your spot. Registration ends July 27th. Don't have a twitter account? Get into the 21st century and make one.

2. Make an RU (single battle) team on Pokemon Showdown (www.pokemonshowdown.com.) I know some of you aren't big fans of battle simulators, but there are a few reasons why I'm doing it this way. First, it's easier to record your matches so that I can post the final matches on the site. Second, I want this tournament to happen soon, and I don't want to have people not participate because they don't have time to make a team on the cartridge. To figure out what Pokemon are allowed in RU, see http://www.smogon.com/bw/tiers/ru as well as http://www.smogon.com/bw/banlist/. It's not my fault if you hate Smogon.

3. Check pkmncast.com on the 28th, as I'll have made a bracket for you all to check to see who your opponent is. You'll receive more instructions as to what to do when you win/lose and rules for battling.

4. Have fun!

Time for all of you to start bucking up on your RU strategy! Tangrowth FTW!

Rare Article: A Few Tips For Filling Your Gallery In Pokémon Conquest

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Hey guys, Kenny here again with a Rare Article! Yup, our very own Travis was nice enough to let me write one of these so a big thank you goes out to him! Anyway, I've been playing Pokémon Conquest a whole lot recently. For those of you who don't know, I'm one of those people who LOVES collecting things in games. So, knowing that, it's no surprise that I love filling up my Gallery. The Gallery, for those who don't know, is this game's version of the Pokédex. There is also, however, a portion for all of the warriors that have been a part of your army as well! I like to call that part the "Peopledex". Filling up your Gallery is a lot of fun, but it sure can be tough work. I'm here today to try and give you all some tips that will help you fill out your Gallery faster!
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Rare Article: Thoughts on Pokémon Conquest

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I've been playing an unhealthy amount of Pokémon Conquest. Since I'm sure there are many of you out there who have not yet decided whether or not to splurge some of that hard earned cash on yet another Pokémon side game whose cartridge you will undoubtedly lose (R.I.P. my copy of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time,) I thought it would be helpful for me to espouse some of my opinions on Pokémon Conquest. Here are those.
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Rare Article: Oh, the Memories...

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I'm busy this week, so a new Rare Article isn't going to go up. HOWEVER! I didn't want to leave you empty handed, so I concocted a little scheme. Way before I was actually a PKMNcastmember, I was a gigantic fan of ISE. I wanted to be on the podcast really badly! I emailed SBJ with a sample of what I could do if I wrote for the site. Because it stunk, it didn't get me on the website, but I thought it would be silly and entertaining for you folks to read my first attempt (of many) at being a PKMNcastmenber. So here it goes! (Disclaimer: This was written before Black and White were released. Also, the views of the past version of myself do not necessarily reflect the views of the present version of myself or those of PKMNcast. Apparently I hated legendaries or something.)
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Rare Article: 3 Things Newer Competitive Players Miss

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Beginning to understand competitive battling mechanics is, actually, pretty easy. It's fully mastering competitive strategy that gets very, very tough. I am by no means an expert (that last clause is pronounced "please don't make me feel sad by yelling at me if I get something wrong,) but here are three things that I've learned during my time playing Pokémon competitively that weren't very obvious at first.
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Rare Article: 3 Fun Pokémon Things to Do With Pokéfriends!

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There are times when you don't want to battle. You and your friend Stan have battled so much that it isn't fun anymore, because you know exactly what will happen. The same thing happens every. Single. Time. But you like Stan! Stan's a cool dude! You can't give up on Stan just because the battles have become a little stale! Here are some things you and Stan can do to shake things up a bit.
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Rare Article: 3 Things Pokémon Online Can't Prepare You For in Real Tournaments

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The "Pokémon Online" is a great tool to practice for Pokémon tournaments. I use it all of the time to prepare for nationals this year. However, it isn't a perfect replica of what you are going to see when the VGCs, or any other tournament, rolls around. Here are three things that Pokémon Online can't quite prepare you for.
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