Gah. Don't even ask.

We're a week behind on the letters, so we've got quite a few for you this week. Sit back, clench your teeth against the pain, and try to enjoy it.


>Psssttt, Spike,
>
>   Where can I get my cards graded,one of my friends wants his dark
>charizard graded, and I want my charizard,venusaur,and blastoise
>graded.
>
>From Cool Kid 1


What the... Why do people come to me with stuff like this? First it was rules questions, now it's "Where can I get my cards graded?" Do I look like a freakin' mall directory to you? These questions should be directed to the appropriate person, whoever that is...


>Subject:Pojo.com
>
>I want to be a volunteer


How nice. The Red Cross is always looking for people like you.


>Subject:Please Answer this...
>
>Hi Spike how r u?
>I have a serious question to ask. Is the Pojosama a living person or is
>it just a mascot for the site? Well thanx and keep up the good work.
>
>~~~The Unknown~~~
>
>P.S. Vulpix is the cutest no matter what anybody says!


The Pojosama is actually an evil entity from another dimension. He comes to my bedside at night and whispers dark secrets into my ears, making me serve him. THE DAY OF RECKONING IS COMING!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

No, I'm not serious... I'm just trying to get you people to stop asking me who the Pojosama is. Enough already!


>In your most recent I Get Letters, you said that Clefable can evolve
>into Gyarados if you Metronome Rocket Magikarp's Rapid Evolution.  Correct
>me if I'm wrong, but Clefable copies the attack, right?  Magikarp's attack
>says place Gyarados on Magikarp.  Clefable isn't Magikarp, so wouldn't the
>evolution fail?  I know it can work with Ditto, but I just want to make
>sure what's right.


I believe a recent ruling establishes once and for all (despite the best efforts of certain persons to bend the rules to the contrary) that Clefairy/Clefable copy the attack, including replacing the name of the original Pokemon with Clefairy/Clefable. So "Chansey does 80 damage to itself" becomes "Clefable does 80 damage to itself." I presume that Rapid Evolution would be treated the same way. But again... I'M NOT QUALIFIED TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS!!


>Subject:(no subject)
>
>why is mulligan mewtwo illegal?


It's illegal because it's one of the cheapest decks ever made, and at the time it was created it was also one of the hardest decks to beat. Of course, since then, the game has changed dramatically. Energy Removal and faster decks mean that Mulligan Mewtwo doesn't really have a chance in the current environment, even if it were legal to play.


>Subject:(no subject)
>
>Hi, Spike and Vulpix. I have a serious question for your both.
>Yesterday, I went to my local comic and card store to buy boosters for my new
>Arcanine and Ninetales deck. When I walked up to the counter, the boosters only cost
>$2.00. Not the $4.00 like I was expecting. Theme decks were $7.99. Has
>something happened to the economy that I should be aware of? My Arbok
>thinks that the new Voodoo action figures they are selling has something to do
>with all of this? Plus, the lady at the counter was nice to me! She's
>normally a............., well, never mind what she is, but she's always as mean
>as heck. Have they been taken over by zombies or something?


Please... pleasepleaseplease.... tell me where you found boosters this cheap. I'll never shop anyplace else as long as I live. In answer to your question, I really don't know what happened. I'd start drinking bottled water, though.

Oh, look. Here we have a letter from a certain individual whom we all know and love. This human being (and I use the term loosely) apparently took offense at the ease with which I and a number of others sliced apart his condemnations of several of the best cards in the game (TCG Strategies, 6/2, "Cards that do not belong in Psychic decks"). What did he have to say?


>Subject:From Justin
>
> Alright, look here, you little prick. I didn't post an article just to get a billion responses from >disgruntled players. They're my opinions. If you want to waste your deck space and have fun losing, >then go right ahead. Did I say you couldn't USE them in your deck? No. Think about that next time >you're dissing superior players! I can't beleive that you say my deck sucks!Try looking at my deck >reports, dipsh*t. Nearly all of them are listed as "must-reads". How often do you see those, huh? I >laugh in the face of your pathetic deck, if you even have one. Why don't you just go toss your "Cinder >Deck" in the fireplace where it really belongs?The only good deck mechanics on Pojo's site are >KittyFox, Dr. Crash, and Chipmunk (and maybe El Ravager). Why don't you just stop cluttering Pojo's >site; we need more real deck mechanics that can actually fix decks instead of make them worse than they >were. If it wasn't for crack-heads like you, I wouldn't get so many e-mails from !
people asking me to fix >their de

Hehe. Justin, you're a real laugh riot. The idea that you are a superior player is purely hilarious. And the reason your deck reports are listed as must reads is probably because they're so long and detailed, not because of any skill on your part in either deckbuilding or playing. I've read them, and it's obvious to me that most of your opponents are, through no fault of their own, not the greatest players the world has ever seen. If you'll notice, your most recent report (the one with Japanese cards, which aren't legal) didn't get any such herald.

But if you want, we can see who's the better player. I challenge you to a match on #pojo, to be played via Apprentice. Best of seven games. I'll use my most recent version of Cinder (posted in this update.) You can use your most recent posted version of Goldenpsy007 (the one in the 5/17 killer deck report, I believe.) This way we will each know what cards are in the other person's deck and neither one of us will have the opportunity to metagame the other. Some might say that your Dark Golduck and SER would give you an advantage. I don't know. In any event, I'll offer you this challenge. Do you accept? Write me a letter confirming acceptance or denial, and I'll post it up here.


>Subject:justins deck
>
>How can you say justin makes good psychic decks!?
>It's plain horrible


If you're referring to the guy above... then I never said that. =)


>Subject:Hey I gotta tell u somethin...
>
>Uh... I saw your reply to Justin Smith's strategy about Stall and stuff. I didn't really get it at all. Snorlax >still sux even if he does have a PKMN Power. Justin was right about all that crap he said. Is there a Pojo >form you can sign for people you hate on Pojo or somethin? E-mail me back alright. PS:Snorlax still sux. >Chansey forever.


Justin might have been right about Snorlax. And, purely within the context of stall decks, he might have been right about a couple other things as well. But that doesn't change the thrust of my article.


>Subject:URGENT DITTO QUESTION!!!
>
> Ditto- we all know his power, but just to clarify things.
>
>Transform - if ditto is your active poke, treat it as if it were the defending pokemon, including type, HP, >weakness, resistance etc. except ditto can't evolve, ALWAYS HAS THIS POKEMON POWER, and you >may treat energy attached to ditto as energy of any type. (so if I play an energy from my hand, I can >make it any energy, including dce, potion, or... FULL HEAL!!!) ditto is not a copy of the defending >pokemon while he's asleep, confused, etc.
>
>This could -- if it's not cheating -- make ditto probably the best poke yet. (with the exception of a few >cards)
>
> e-mail reply quickly (please) because i have a tourney coming up soon and want to know if ditto >should be put in my deck.


Energy of any type only refers to color. You can't treat energy attached to Ditto as any of the other funky types of energies.


>Subject:i get letters too!
>
>wow! the sky is blue! lalala and vulpix is not!
>my bad. i'm bored! i only e-mailed you cuz spike is practicly my screen
>name.
>well actually itz spikez08@cs.com . well spike you might like fire
>pokemon
>but i like water pokemon!!!!!!!!!!!! squirtle! blatoise! so if any1
>ever
>e-mails me IM THE SPIKE THAT HAS A PLACE CALLED "SQUIRTLE'S SIDE"  just
>like
>"vulpix's corner"! well i have to go....... walls to scream at, beds to
>jump
>on, sister to annoy, you know..... the daily stuff.


"The sky is blue! And Vulpix is not!" That's deep...


>Subject:Letter Of Concern
>
>Gday pojo people, hopefully this letter can be posted somewhere.
>Pojo.com is
>not only a great site, but provides great information for overseas
>Pokemon
>fans (Australia included), however I have recently become disturbed in
>one
>area- the new ladder system for online play.
>Don't get me wrong, I think there is a place for on-line play and
>tournaments, and this is not a letter bagging the new system or
>demanding it
>to stop. This is just constructive critisicm.
>1) I think there are a few things that have become obvious, it is now
>virtually impossible to test out new original and fun decks, as all
>anyone
>seems to want to play is a ladder match, and all I have ever faced are
>archetypes. Playing online used to be a good way to test your new
>decks, but
>now they simply get flogged by the constant use of archetypes.
>2) I am currently at 1 win and 9 losses, and I am proud of it as I try
>many
>different decks. However one problem I have faced is that as soon as I
>ask
>for a game, people ask me for my ranking. I am way down around the
>80's, and
>seeing as though the new format is a ladder system, not many people
>wish to
>play me, the only people worth battling are those high in the rankings,
>and
>they do not want to play you if you are a low ranking for risk of
>dropping
>down.
>3) A lot of rudeness seems to have creeped in as well. For example (I
>won't
>name names) I played a ladder match recently, it lasted for around 30
>minutes, and I narrowly lost with 1 prize left due to decking. It was a
>really good game, however it was spoilt at the end. As soon as it was
>finished, I stated "I'm decked, good game" and "well played" only for
>the
>opponent to state "Report the loss!!" and nothing else. One thing I
>enjoy is
>common courtesy and a friendly chat after a good game, however cases
>like
>the one above have been happening frequently to me, people immediately
>demanding a report with no nice sentiments and then quickly
>disconnecting to
>go on and play another game. On a positive note, I have noticed that
>>some of
>the pojo staff and higher ranked players have acceppted challenges from
>myself, and have always been friendly and happy to help. This should
>set a
>good example for the other players.
>Some people may call me a whining aussie, but hopefully this letter can
>be
>featured somewhere on the site, and maybe it will reach some players.
>Cheers.


Preach on, muh brothah. I withdrew from the ladder recently myself due to similar experiences.

And that's all. There are still a few letters, but we can't hope to cover them all this week.

SPIKE'S RANDOM THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

It's been almost a year since I started playing this game. In that time, so many things have changed. Mr. Mime, once God, is now little more than bait for any of the many BBPs and colorless Pokemon running around. Movie Promo Mewtwo has set the world on its ear (A good Mewtwo? Heaven forbid!) and Team Rocket introduced us to some of the most annoying Pokemon ever.

The point is, this game has changed so much. It will continue to change. And that's good... just so long as we keep in mind that it's all in fun.

On a related note, I hate Treachery. I really, really hate Treachery. That's for you Magic fans and for the people who didn't feel the above thought was sufficiently random.

-Spike
spike@pojo.com


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