Twitch Plays Pokémon (TPP) is a series of social experiments that started in February 2014 in which commands representing buttons on an original Nintendo 3DS (up, down, left, right, A, B, X, Y, L, R, start) and touchscreen coordinates are entered into a chat on Twitch, and then translated into a game of Pokémon via an IRC bot. In short, thousands of people are fighting over a controller. Throughout its life, Twitch Plays Pokémon has spawned hilarious characters, memorable moments, a World Record, and even a few religions.
Twitch Plays Pokémon X, the ninth run of the series, is the first not run by the mysterious "Streamer," instead by the user Twitch_Plays_3DS using an actual Nintendo 3DS system and Pokemon X cartridge on the TwitchPlaysPokemon channel. Set in the Kalos region, the run is sure to feature plenty of adventure, battles, fashion, and Wi-Fi shenanigans.
The run began on July 27, 2014 and was completed on August 1, with three days of postgame content afterward.
See also here
for the archived progress of the game, here for the archived status of the run, or here for live updates, which have been archived here. There is also a recap page, found here.
Tropes found in Twitch Plays Pokémon X include:
- Anti-Frustration Features: Many are introduced as part of the game itself. But one is the disabling of the Wonder Trade feature, which could be used to Wonder Trade the Mob's Pokemon at random. It is, however, still possible to trade with people who pop up on the passerby list.
- Later on it was revealed that Twitch_plays_3ds had also blocked normal releases, which caused a lot more controversy.
- Art Evolution: It's the first Pokemon Game to be in fully modeled 3D.
- Ascended Fanboy: Several TPP fans have traded Pokemon with the stream.
- Audience Participation: When Wi-Fi was on, players around the world were looking for d in order to trade Pokemon, challenge him in a battle, or give him O-Powers.
- Book Ends: The game starts with d waking up, checking the mirror, and talking to his mother. During the last minutes of the run, he does the same things in reverse order.
- But Thou Must!: Due to poor team management, the Mob was forced to go to the PC and make room for or get a Surf user.
- Camera Screw: Lumiose City and some other places with moving camera angles makes maneuvering difficult to do, especially doors.
- Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Pokémon X takes place in the Kalos region, which is based on real-world France. As such, it's only fitting that the Mob has a habit of unintentionally forfeiting a good percentage of the Wi-Fi battles they play.
- Crapsaccharine World: Lumiose City. No one is denying that it's a beautiful city with lots of justification to its title as the City of Lights, and it is a pretty trendy place to be. But some interpret that it puts too much emphasis on the trendiness of the citizens, and d was constantly rejected by many of the shop owners because he was either too poorly dressed or he didn't have enough to purchase something.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Every online battle. Well, at least at the beginning.
- Determinator: You thought the lack of a 3DS emulator was enough to keep TPP from finishing all the main series games? You thought wrong.
- Difficulty Spike: The game was a lot easier than the previous games and the Mob mostly swept through it. And than they reached the Elite Four and proceeded to get their asses kicked hard.
- Disc-One Nuke: O-Powers enabled D to defeat Viola on his first try.
- Everybody Lives: Second run with no releases, though there was a lot of trading away Pokémon but general consensus is that doesn't count as them being dead.
- History Repeats: Just like Hijinks the Machop, Chespin was swiftly boxed and forgotten about—though it did get to evolve, at least.
- Interface Screw: Sometimes the HUD will fail to capture a screenshot of the Pokemon's status, resulting in showing other things on the bottom screen, like the item inventory.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: Averted once again, this time by simply disabling B inputs during the evolution screen.
- Revolving Door Band: At first it looked like anyone would be subject to be replaced at any time, not because of the PC, but because of trades with real people who can find Lil' d. This allowed d to have 2 Omanyte and a Shiny Beldum before the first badge. At one point it almost gave him a hacked Diancie or other Pokemon already at Level 100. However, Wi-Fi was then turned off until the post-game, preventing any further trades, though normal PC shenanigans have done just fine to spice things up.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: d tried to evolve Pikachu with the Thunder Stone he found, but gave it to his other Pokemon instead. Pikachu was deposited soon after, making the whole thing pointless. And then he tossed the Thunder Stone on Day 5.
