Super Smash Bros.

The Master Ball was made by Silph.co, not Team Rocket.

Team Rocket invaded Silph.co exactly because they wanted the Master Ball.

Wow. Screw Silph Co. Now if I ever play SoulSilver again I'm going to just get all my Pokeballs from that guy who makes them out of apricorns so I don't support Silph Co.

Only 100% organic home-grown Pokeballs the way nature intended it!

I don't think pokéballs are voluntary, otherwise, what is the deal with catch rates?

Also, we all heard about Ash's caterpie: didn't want any part with his shit at first, but acting like stalkery bff with a gay crush the moment it is caught.

But whatever, the games and anime probably contradict each other and themselves on a regular basis.

Also, Smash!Lucario doesn't come out of a ball.

...

A wild Lucario appeared!

Smash!Cario seems to be based off of the one from the movie, hence its ability to speak English.

IIRC, that Lucario was never in a Pokeball.

Well if you go based on the games and manga, when a pokemon is captured they begin to respect the trainer, hence its why they listen to the trainers.

Pokemon have been shown in every iteration of pokemon to be able to break out of the pokeballs at will, meaning they're contained because they respect, and eventually love, their trainer.

Now the Master Ball is an interesting case, as there is usually no fight. However, in many cases pokemon are still catchable without a fight, which still gives respect (for example, quick balls, or dumb luck)

This means that the Master Ball is just an instant catcher, which imparts respect on the pokemon, and doesn't mean it's inescapable while it's containing a pokemon. So using it isn't immoral, other than it being an easy catch.

I thought the pokeball was a mindwiper that resets the pokemon's mind (conveniently explains how recalling sent pokemon cures them of confusion or stat reduction). The pokemon doesn't have any choice but to obey the will of its catcher?

One of the early games implied this. I think it was firered, leafgreen, or emerald.

edited 3rd Jul '15 11:10:11 AM by blkwhtrbbt

If Pokéballs weren't voluntary, there'd be nothing keeping you from catching a fainted Pokémon. You gotta prove you're a worthy trainer by beating them in a fight, and if you've proved yourself they're like "Okay, you seem pretty rad, I'd like you to teach stuff."

Also if Pokéballs aren't voluntary then the world of Pokémon is horrifying. Case in point.

But no, that doesn't work either, because Pokémon can disobey their trainers. They'll sometimes ignore you if they're a higher level than you have badges to accommodate.

edited 3rd Jul '15 11:07:33 AM by Zarek

The implication I always got was that Poke Balls sometimes can't quite contain the power of whatever you try to catch with them. No mind control or anything like that.

edited 3rd Jul '15 11:16:24 AM by Pulse

Officially, that isn't how it works (the Shadow Balls from the Coliseum games act like that though), and I don't recall the games (any of them) ever suggesting that this was how it worked (though I wouldn't be surprised if that was Team Rocket's motivation for raiding Silph Co for the Master Ball). Honestly though, the Pokemon games have a very bad case of Gameplay and Story Segregation regarding how its world works without dipping into Unfortunate Implications or Fridge Horror, especially compared to how the anime (and manga) try their hardest to showcase Trainers interacting with their Pokemon in a more realistic/acceptable manner.^note In general, the games and the anime treat how the Pokeball works differently, mostly with the games just using them as a gameplay mechanic (which is why the "extra-strength" Pokeballs exist).

edited 3rd Jul '15 11:22:58 AM by Customer

Yeah, if it was mind control, the whole "disobedience from traded Pokemon" thing wouldn't work. Not to mention the happiness mechanic.

It seems to be either "they beat me in combat, they must be a sick badass" or "look at all those badges. They must be a sick badass".

edited 3rd Jul '15 11:21:05 AM by Enlong

I honestly couldn't really think of anything good for Greninja and Sheik (it seemed logical to pair them together, as they're both ninjas), and I needed an excuse to include a "Most Likely to End Up in Jail" award.

I'll give them the "Most Devious" superlative instead, since it does sound like something they'd give in high school.

edited 3rd Jul '15 11:44:38 AM by BurntMario

Bill Trinen is going to be competing at EVO 2015 in what is probably the Smash 4 tournament. Should be interesting.

Dude has to make money somehow after he was fired and shrunk.

Reggie must have sent him to get revenge on HungryBox for the World Championships, not knowing that he doesn't play competitive Sm4sh.

Bill is actually pretty good at Sm4sh, as evidenced by some of the pre-release footage. He also was pretty much the original Rosalina player, though apparently he uses Yoshi now.

Watch him suddenly wreck Zero using Zelda.

edited 3rd Jul '15 5:45:59 PM by Elbruno

Played a couple hours of Smash with some college-mates. Mostly got my ass kicked, but it was fun. (Feels really nice to have Lucas back. Will probably feel nicer when I can play him without the oh-so-slight input lag from a wireless GC controller.)

The absolute highlight was a pair of 3v3 team battles, with one team using the "Im a kid" Mii (gunner) and the other using "Im a squid" (brawler). A goddamn riot.

Oh god I'm finally learning how to use Perfect Pivot consistently.

You mean remembering to use it, or the dexterity needed to pull it off? If it's the former, I'm not quite there.

I can't even remember what that was, other than tricky looking and worrying that it'd break my 3DS circle-pad

edited 6th Jul '15 1:29:46 PM by BlitzTrain

What is that thing chatting Roy up?

edited 6th Jul '15 6:04:09 PM by blkwhtrbbt

@Pokeballs: I remember the scene where Ash's Caterpie gets caught always freaked me out a little as a kid.

That poor freak of nature clearly looks like he doesn't want to be caught.

That's the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog.

:P

Or if you mean the one in the last two panels, that would be the Cyborg Ninja from Metal Gear Solid, a.k.a. Gray Fox.

I've only played the first Metal Gear Solid game, so I don't know what role, if any, he plays in the later installments.

edited 6th Jul '15 6:15:24 PM by Lightblade