Rare Article: Anniversary Spectacular!
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Sing it with me! "Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes! How do you measure a year in life?"
Wait, what? You're telling me this isn't the anniversary of the musical Rent? Crap. Let's start over.
It's been a year of PKMNCast. I figure that some other editors will celebrate this year in the podcast, so I thought that I would look at the best of the website itself over the year by presenting an article under each ongoing column on the site that is, at least in my opinion, the best. Bonus points if you can catch all the references that I make with the subtitles I put in quotes.
Chapter 1: MOTW, Or: "Show me your moves!"
We'll start with the original "...Of the Week" segment, Aaron's "Move of the Week" column. Aaron is a fantastic writer, and I have to give him mad props for essentially pioneering the structure that many of us use in our OTW columns. The article I will point to as the best in this column is Aaron's analysis of Rage Powder. (Click here to view.) What makes this article great is its ability to not only describe the move in question but also show an in depth analysis on how it can be used on an example team.
Chapter 2: Breeding 911, Or: Do They Send an Ambulence for a Pokemon Breeding Emergency?
Sure, it's only been around for a little while, but Breeding 911 is Kenny's brilliant article wherein Kenny answers all of your breeding questions. Here is my favorite. This particular article is about IVs, mostly. Kenny presents the information in a way that is not only helpful, but also entertaining.
Chapter 3: Pokefact, Or: "Archeology is the Search for Fact, not Truth."
I've always thought that Sarah's Pokefact articles have occupied an interesting space on the website. There is a sense of whimsy that sets it apart. My favorite is this one where Sarah points out some details in the designs of a few Pokemon that can give you a different perspective on them. I will never look at Diglett the same way.
Chapter 4: Rare Article, Or: As Opposed to Medium Rare
The reason I decided to take over Steve's spot behind the Rare Article chair is simply how much I loved Steve's articles. For those unaware, Rare Article is a column that I write that acts as a sort of variety article, so you can be surprised at what you get every time. Once Steve became too busy maintaining the site itself, I picked up where he left off. The article I want to show you folks is one that Steve did a while back, entitled 4 Pokemon You Should Consider. The beauty of this article is in the simplicity of its concept and the brilliance in its execution. Steve always roots for the Pokeunderdog, and this is no exception.
Chapter 5: Ability of the Week, Or: "You Know What They Call Pressure in France? Pression With Cheese."
Wil's Ability of the Week column is always helpful to me in particular. Abilities are a bit of a blind spot for me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It's nice to have someone as fun and intelligeble as Wil to teach me about a Pokemon ability every week. And a comic book reference here or there is cool too. The one I'm picking out as the best is this one on Hustle. I think it exemplifies a lot of our mantra here at PKMNCast, because only a few weeks earlier Wil and I didn't know what this one was, but we learned along with you. What I've always loved about this community is that none of our fans or staff judge each other based on Pokemon knowledge. We're here to have fun and get better. Did I mention that this article is really well written? Yeah, it is. Check it out.
Chapter 6: Pokemon of the Week, Or: Barry White's Got Nothing on David
Ever since my esteemed colleague David took over Pokemon of the Week and made it into a proper column, it has truly flourished. David's sense of humor is awesome, and his Pokemon knowledge is always enlightening. My favorite is this one on Blastoise. David succeeds on blending top level competitive strategy with humor in a way that is both entertaining and informative. Keep it up, David!
Chapter 7: Concept Corner, Or: "What is the Most Resilient Parasite? An Idea Concept"
Jay is a genius. While some articles from the rest of us are just OK, Jay's are brilliant. Jay's sharp analysis of the concepts within Pokemon were always endlessly fascinating. My favorite was Jay's look at the design concepts behind the Unova region. Jay delves into the etymology of the region's name, the physicality of its regions, and the whipping of a little boy named Timmy. You will have to read it to understand that last one.
Chapter 8: Featured Team, Or: Your Stuff! Our Site!
Picking a favorite Featured Team wouldn't make sense, because it is made up of your content, not ours. That said, I want to give a huge shoutout to Tytan, who posts Featured Team every week. Tytan is a huge help to us, and is an exceedingly fun, generous, and Pokeskilled person, and I'm glad he's part of our team.
Chapter 9: TCG Box, Or: "I'm So Excited, and I Just Can't Hide it."
You've been asking for it, and now Vinnie and Kidd are bringing it. The Pokemon TCG is finally going to be represented in a column on pkmncast.com. I'll be honest, I know as little as you all do about what these two will bring, but I know it will be something awesome.
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Before I finish this, I would like to ask you to post in the comments what your favorite article on the site is, and post a link to it so others can enjoy!
