AOTW: Cacophony

Hey guys! Long time! Before we get into it, I owe you guys an explanation for my unscheduled hiatus. The simplest explanation is just three words: “I’ve been busy”. As those of you keeping score at home know, I moved out of my parents house around November last year, and since then, I’ve been largely preoccupied with converting my suburban Chicago apartment into a home (which largely entails cleaning up after company and roommates, but I digress). I’ve also taken up a new day job that, apart from occupying about 30 hours of my week and my entire weekend, leaves me utterly exhausted, which makes finishing off a Friday article difficult. The Redeemers team and I over at Lonely Robot Comics have also been working nonstop on getting issue three out the door in time for C2E2, which I’m proud to say we have accomplished. Finally, apart from my comic book, I’ve had a few other art gigs (including the new PKMNcast convention banner) that have been commanding all of my free time. So that brings us up to present day. I’ve still got a lot on my plate, but I’ve whittled it back to a manageable amount. Also, in an attempt to get my article out on a regular basis again, I’m going to try moving the regular AOTW day to Thursday, so the next article will be out later this week.

But enough about my scheduling conflicts! Let’s talk some pokémon! In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions, a family of monsters was introduced with a focus on sound. This trifecta of tonality appeared on the Hoenn scene and brought with them a one-of-a-kind Ability that renders the user impervious to all attacks of their own specialty! It’s time to get your earplugs ready, because this is Ability of the Week: Cacophony!

Exclusive to the Whismur evolutionary family, Cacophony is a defensive Ability that allows the user to negate all effects of sound-based attacks. Make a last stand against a Perish Song user! Avoid Zubat’s Supersonic with ease! And don’t worry about the defense-lowering Screech and Metal Sound, Cacophony takes care of those, too!

Oh, and by the way. April Fools.

Yeah, Cacophony is impossible to get. With the same effect as Soundproof, Cacophony seems to have been originally intended as a brother Ability, such as the relationship shared by Filter and Solid Rock, or Air Lock and Cloud Nine. According to Bulbapedia, Cacophony is in every copy of Ruby and Sapphire, but no pokémon can actually obtain it. However, there is an Exploud TCG card whose attack (Ambient Noise), when directly translated from its Japanese name, is Cacophony. This leads top pokéscholars to believe that it was indeed Whismur, Loudred, and Exploud who were originally intended to have Cacophony as their signature Ability.

Or they just don’t care, because, honestly, who uses Exploud?

Happy April Fools, folks! With luck, I’ll see you Thursday!

-Wil
www.wheretheresawil.com