AOTW: Stench

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Ugh… Things are getting mighty rancid-smelling ‘round the Pokémon Podcast Incidentally, if have trouble scrolling through this article, try plugging your mouse into USB port 2.HQ nowadays. I for one put far too much sweet basil in my spaghetti sauce tonight. Tytan went on a garlic-eating binge. Steve took Sarah and Kidd to Taco Bell and all hell broke loose after the fact. But the worst… nobody told (lactose intolerant) Travis that that wasn’t a soy milk milkshake. Women and children fled in terror, grown men wept openly, and the Ninja Turtles were forced to evacuate the sewers. All in all, you guys might want to do your best Psycho Mantis impressions and strap on a gas mask good and tight, because this is Ability of the Week: Stench!

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AOTW: Arena Trap

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It’s that time again! And sadly, no, not time for the Wheel of Morality. (Ten points to Gryffindor if you understood that reference. Jeeze, I’m old.) No, it’s time for us to examine yet another Ability of the Week! Are you someone who is afraid of closed areas? Someone who doesn’t like being stuck, unable to escape? Then this article isn’t for you. Everybody else… we now have our targets. This is Ability of the Week: Arena Trap!

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AOTW: Super Luck

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It’s that time again, trainer-faces! Welcome back to Ability of the Week! God knows my favorite Abilities are the ones that allow you to stack as much damage as humanly possible, so I’m pretty excited about this week’s pick. Are you feeling like your team is lacking when it comes to critical hit frequency? Well folks, I’m here to tell you that with the right passive pokémon power, we’ll have your roster hitting weak points for massive damage in no time!

….What? No Photoshopped picture of Bill Ritch trying to fight off Kingler? Huh, thought we had that ready for a cutaway gag. Oh well.

This is Ability of the Week: Super Luck!

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AOTW: Plus and Minus

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It’s interesting writing this article sometimes. Generation three is, by necessity, an important set of games to Ability of the Week, being the games that introduced the titular mechanic. Of course, many of us who are readers of this site and listeners of this podcast never played generation three. As such, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that most of you have never heard of this week’s passive powers, because up until now, you could only find them on generation three’s Not-Pikachus, Plusle and Minun. (Look at me, I’m coining a phrase for the generation Pikachu knock-offs!) This is Ability of the Week: Plus AND Minus!

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AOTW: Klutz

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Gilligan. Urkel. Bulk and Skull. Comic foils, or the spiritual precursors to our Ability of the Week? …Well, clearly comic foils, but hey, don’t we all love Gilligan, Urkel, and Bulk and Skull? This week we’re examining an unusual Ability that evokes all of these icons on televised shenanigannery. Prepare for the pratfalls, people. This is Ability of the Week: Klutz!

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AOTW: Skill Link

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Thank you for calling Ability of the Week. The editor is currently away from the site, attending Chicago Comic Con, but please leave a message and enjoy the previously written article. Have a nice day.

Double Slap. Fury Swipes. Arm Thrust. What do these moves have in common? Bulbapedia classifies these attacks into a category called “Swipe Moves”, or else “Multi-Hit Moves”. These are those attacks that deal a little bit of damage per hit, but generally hit anywhere from two to five times per turn. Sure, a base damage of 25 doesn’t seem like much, but if you land that elusive fifth hit, your Tail Slap has just dished out 125 damage to your opponent. It’s a classic risk/reward scenario. Well today, we’re taking out the “risk” half, and just keeping the creamy “reward” center. This is Ability of the Week: Skill Link!

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AOTW: Serene Grace

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Ladies, gentlemen, year two of PKMNCast has commenced, and with it, Ability of the Week #30. Let’s settle in. My favorite way to play Pokémon is rather juvenile, I’ll be the first to admit. I love stacking damage like a fiend, and there’s nothing better than scoring a one-hit knockout. But, my own personal preferences aside, there is definitely a case to be made for inflicting status ailments and doing it often. Well… maybe there’s a way that we can have both, and you know what they say about “where there’s a Wil!” This is Ability of the Week: Serene Grace!

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AOTW: Healer

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Ugh, folks, I’m sorry, I know this article is late. I spent the entirety of last week helping my girlfriend move from one side of the country to the other, and if you’ve never tried that… trust me. It’s an exhausting process. I also thought that I had prewritten enough articles that I was covered, but apparently not, so I apologize. Still pretty spent from the whole ordeal, I could use a boost… (I swear, I don’t plan for things in my personal life to sync up with the chosen Ability like this, but) this is Ability of the Week: Healer!
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AOTW: Hustle

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A few weeks ago, Travis and I co-anchored episode 47 of It’s Super Effective, in which we reviewed SBJ’s pokémon line up for the VGC’s. Taking the reins of the podcast was sprung on us at the last second, so it was a little unnerving for both of us, but fun. We did hit one significant snag, though, and I’m embarrassed to say that it involved an Ability. I learn a lot about passive pokémon powers writing this article every week, but until I write the thing, I remain woefully ignorant of many of them. Well, I’m gonna remedy my own obtuseness, at least for this particular Ability, today! This is Ability of the Week: Hustle!

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