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Pokemon: A Mage’s Tale Episode 5: Fighting Outside the Canon

When we last left our heroes…

“What was that?” Ash asks as he studies the rainbow colored “water” dripping from him.

“I don’t know…” Dawn wheezes, exhausted from casting the spell. “I just pictured us being at home, and me in the yard, listening to Brock finding another show for Happini as the ending to ‘Inspiration Station’ played…and the part with the ahs was the first part of the song I remembered.”

“A most interesting choice of song for your first spell, Rainbow Shower.” Raina giggles. “But, I think you may have chosen too strong of a spell for your skill…”

“No wonder I feel so tired…” Dawn complains. “It’s like I ran a mile in gym class multiple times!”

Raina then hears what sounds like the whinnying of a horse. “Oh no…not here…”

Ash looks out the window and gasps–he sees what looks like a snake with a horse’s head and mane headed in their direction! “What is that?” he gasps.

Brock draws his blade and walks outside, only pausing to take his harp case from the closet at the entrance. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t look friendly!”

Episode 5: Fighting Outside the Canon

Ash, Dawn, and Raina dash outside, where they find Brock staring down the creature. It unleashes a whinny-like roar, but Brock is unfazed by the noise. “A serpent horse…” Raina gasps. “No one has ever battled one and lived to tell about it!”

“Well, I’m going to try and be the first!” Brock snaps back before calling “Icy wind, take flight through the stars! Snow Firefly!” With that, he begins a rendition of a song Dawn recognizes as Zelda’s Lullaby, creating small fairy-like creatures in the stream of light blue energy.

“Where’s Happini?” Ash asks in a panic.

“I have her for the time being…” Dawn replies, showing Happini, who is crying profusely, to Ash.

“It’s gonna be okay…” Ash tries to assure Happini but the rumbling of the serpent horse trying to swat away the icy fairies and the harpist conjuring them with rocks suggests otherwise.

“The best way to attack a serpent horse at to attack from a long range, be this through a weapon or magic.” Raina suggests as the serpent horse smacks a hoof on the ground, prompting Brock to roll out of the way of the resulting avalanche of rocks and find a safe place to perform more Song Magic.

“Then I’m going to give Brock some help!” Ash runs over to a small knoll and waits for Brock to join him there. Once his friend is safe, he takes his bow and readies an arrow. “Wings of flame, bring dawn to a dark sky! Flame Tail!” With that, the arrow flies towards the serpent horse, into flames while in the air. The monster roars in pain, but the flames fizzle out a few seconds later.

Ash is shocked. “Did it not work?”

“No, you wounded it a little…” Brock starts as the sepent horse writhes in pain from the arrow embedded in its coils. Suddenly, the serpent horse picks up the arrow in its mouth and bites it in half!

“You were saying?” Dawn sighs over Happini’s squalling.

“You have a sword too, you know!” Ash is just as frustrated.

“Okay, let’s see how this will do…” Brock draws his blade and aims it at the serpent horse as it lumbers closer and closer to the hill. “Spirits of the colorborn, sing in tune with my call…Harmony Blade!” At this, a rainbow beam flies from the sword, making the serpent horse rear back in pain.

Dawn sets Happini on the ground. “I’m going to give your daddy some help fighting that monster, okay?” Happini smiles through her tears–maybe there’s hope for her caretakers after all!

Brock motions for Ash and Dawn to join him on the knoll. “Okay…I’m going to stun this guy again with Harmony Blade, then you two attack while it’s stunned–maybe if three attacks hit at the same time, it’ll weaken it a little.”

“Got it!” Dawn replies.

“Although…where are we supposed to hit it if we don’t know where its weak spot is?” Ash shudders as the serpent horse demolishes an abandoned house.

“Would you happen to know, Raina?” Dawn asks.

“Every creature has its own weak point.” Raina explains. “As for what the serpent horse’s is, that is one of the few I do not know.”

Ash grumbles as he readies an arrow. “Let’s try the same place I hit before!”

“Spirits of the colorborn, sing in tune with my call…Harmony Blade!” At this, a rainbow beam flies from Brock’s sword, making the serpent horse rear back in pain again as the beam impacts the creature’s stomach in an explosion of color.

“Wings of flame, bring dawn to a dark sky! Flame Tail!” The serpent horse roars again as Ash’s arrow lands a little to the left of his previous shot.

“Earth, fire, wind and water, create a rainbow with your power…Prism Halo!” Dawn commands as she sends a shining disc flying into the serpent horse’s head. The colorful ring has no effect, however.

After several hours attacking the serpent horse, the group begins to tire. “It’s no use…” Ash sighs as his Flame Tail fizzles out without the serpent horse batting an eye.

“We’ve tried everything we know that defeats a serpent horse in the canon….” Brock agrees.

“Maybe not…” Dawn interjects, a wry smile crossing her face.

“You mean…you’re actually going to try Song Magic?” Ash gasps.

“You can’t! Not at your skill level!” Raina protests. “You’ll tire yourself to the point of exhaustion!”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take if it means saving my friends!” Dawn assures Raina as she stares down the serpent horse…

Pokemon: A Mage’s Tale Episode 5 preview

o^-^o: Don’t close that browser! Here’s what’s coming up this week on “Pokemon: A Mage’s Tale”…

BEGIN PREVIEW

“It’s no use…” Ash sighs as his Flame Tail fizzles out without the serpent horse batting an eye.

“We’ve tried everything we know that defeats a serpent horse in the canon….” Brock agrees.

“Maybe not…” Dawn interjects, a wry smile crossing her face.

“You mean…you’re actually going to try Song Magic?” Ash gasps.

“You can’t! Not at your skill level!” Raina protests. “You’ll tire yourself to the point of exhaustion!”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take if it means saving my friends!” Dawn assures Raina as she stares down the serpent horse…

END PREVIEW

o^-^o: So will Dawn successfully sing a spell, if at all? Stop in tomorrow and see!

The Next Zelda: February Recap

February 19, 2010 by SparklingBlue Uncategorized No Comments

While taking a break from a Wii session, I saw earthbounding had a new video…

February Recap

What we learn:

–Iwata has been dropping hints about AAA title’s releases. He confirmed that Super Mario Galaxy 2 will release this year, and New Zelda Wii will be shown this year at E3. However, he did not mention New Zelda Wii’s release day.

–On the other hand, Nintendo of Europe’s Nintendo Channel reports that New Zelda Wii will come this year–even if the hint dropped was only shown for a split second.

–The video caused quite a bit of controversy, enough to merit an interview with the host to clarify what he had said. In that interview, the host said that if his statements were incorrect, Nintendo would have said something, which did not happen. It turns out that the host did base his claim on Iwata’s announcement last year.

–Since Nintendo didn’t correct the host’s statements, this means either A. New Zelda Wii really will come this year, or B. Nintendo’s Japan branch ignored the claim.

–That said, the odds of New Zelda Wii do not look good when you consider Nintendo’s launch schedule for this year: Mario and Samus are both coming to the US and Japan this year, but Link is not to be seen. The fact that the 2010 date is temporary and it is not on the US half of the schedule further complicates the matter. If New Zelda Wii does come this year, it will likely just be in Japan and not the US.

–In an interview with Famitsu, Aonuma reiterated that New Zelda Wii will be at E3, and also added other info: He wants it playable at E3, the team is working to get it in our hands this year, the game is pretty far along in development and the final version is in sight, and confirmed that Wii Motion Plus will play a big role (including Link’s sword).

–Link’s attacks will not be patterned (eg. he will not use the attack most similar to your movement), but fully recreate your movement and direction in real time. This means combat will likely be an evolved form of the Wii Sports Resort swordfighting minigame, and allow one on one swordplay. The way you fight may also be used as a puzzle at some point in the game, and would make finding weak spots a more complex affair.

–In another interview, Aonuma said that some fan’s theories were correct. Specifically, he confirmed that the Master Sword girl theory is likely correct. There is a chance that the girl is the Queen of the Fairies from Wind Waker, but this is unlikely given this information.

–Supposed New Zelda Wii pictures were leaked a few days ago, but it turns out they were fake.

–The Fab Four for Nintendo’s E3 conference are Mario, Samus, a Vitality Sensor app, and Link, IGN reports. Link’s appearance could be anything from a trailer, to a canned speech from Reggie and co., to possibly a demo.

–Last month, Nintendo boosted R&D by 22% The reason for this boost could be New Zelda Wii or a number of other reasons (New Console, New Zelda Wii, or Vitality Sensor cost are three possible explanations)

–Miyamoto has gone on record as saying New Console is in fact in the works. Supposedly, Ubisoft said that New Console would appear at GDC 2010–so does Ubisoft have a hand in New Console? Ubisoft isn’t the only one to claim this, an anonymous source has as well

–It is not known whether New Console is the Wii’s or the DS’ successor, but we will find out at Nintendo’s media summit this year.

–Nintendo is planning a worldwide summit this month, and in this summit, they will be announcing something huge. Since Mario and Samus have already been announced and confirmed, the huge surprise is either New Zelda Wii, New Console, or some other AAA title. We’ll find out on the 24th, when the summit takes place.

Stay tuned for more info as I find it.

Happy gaming,
SparklingBlue

The Next Zelda: Breaking News

On my online rambles today, I saw earthbounding had new information…

Breaking News

What we learn:

–Preorders for New Zelda Wii are already underway on the heels of Iwata saying the game will come this year
–Nintendo is staying mum on the exact day, but Reggie has told Joystiq that the game will not be released until it is “perfect”.
–However, Aonuma is the one that told Reggie to give this answer–so did Nintendo jump the gun?
–It is possible that New Zelda Wii could release this year, but the odds are slim when you account for delays (Every AAA title has had them in some form or another, Twilight Princess included).
–A more realistic date appears to be Q1 2011–we would have to get lucky for it to appear this year
–Reggie has confirmed the Wii will still be here–Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid guarantee big sales (New Zelda Wii wasn’t mentioned)
–The rumor of Netflix being supported on New Console has been debunked, as has the rumor of New Handheld having motion controls (bummer) The possibility for those two things is still there, however.
–On the handheld front, given Spirit Tracks’ sales, Nintendo is feeling a little hesitant about future handheld titles. Aonuma has said he is solely focused on New Zelda Wii–so is Toon Link finished? … Continue Reading

Newswire On Vacation

The Newswire will be on vacation this weekend, and will resume on July 6.

From one American to the rest of our American fans: Happy Independence Day. To all our other readers, enjoy the weekend.

Until then, happy gaming,
SparklingBlue

Ask SB: What Determines SB’s Pick?

As you’ve read my daily newswires (and the stories within), no doubt you’ve seen some of them marked with “SB’s pick!” and wondered how I decide which stories to mark as such.

The short answer: “SB’s pick!” means that I found this story/video interesting, cool, funny, and/or weird, and so I really, really want you to read it!

The long answer: Stories marked as a pick mean one of many things:

–The story is interesting and contains well researched information, or comes from an influential figure in the gaming world.
–The story has interesting info about what happened behind the scenes of your favorite game, how a console was made, what goes into planning a gaming con or show, how a console or periphreal works, or a similar topic.
–The story/video is a look into what happened at an event, or the things we do because we love gaming
–The story is a discussion about one of the gaming world’s issues and what you need to know about it.
–The story showcases one of the stranger pieces of merchandise a game has spawned, or a cool item someone has made that is gaming related.

So in short, I pick the interesting stories that make the gaming community what it is, and hope they make your dose of news more than just release dates, screens, scans, and rumors.

Untill next time, happy gaming,
SparklingBlue

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