My online webname is Gwen Waverider, Gwen as in Gweneviere from Arthurian Myth, Waverider as in a surfer, ie a websurfer. I love writing! I sat on the school paper in highschool and even performed one of my poems onstage at the Shubert Theater in New Haven.
I have been playing pokemon since the original red and blue, the games I currently have are Blue (broken, it won't save games anymore), Gold and Silver (these have a Celebi and Mew on each, I was very sad when I couldn't transfer them to the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald generation. I have sapphire and I have emerald. I have leaf green as well, and my biggest prize and the subject of this site, Pokemon Diamond.
This site is devoted to tips, tricks, and general information for the players just beginning to play their first pokemon game.
In middle and highschool I attended a daycamp where, despite the displeasure of the camp councilors, many children brought in their pokemon cards and games. Alas, unless your name was literally branded to your gameboy and cartraiges, odds were, the children often lost their games. I was especially good at playing pokemon, and I loved trading tricks, codes and strategies with the other children.
When I became a Junior councilor at that same camp, unofficially I took it upon myself to try and regulate how the children there took care of their pokemon games and memorabilia. I also began to notice that some of the younger children, in first, second or third grades did poorly with their games because they had just begun learning how to read. And because they hadn't yet gained a grasp on strategy or what was considered a fair trade.
Because of that, I saw a lot of younger children get beaten unfairly at pokemon, and being tricked out of rare pokemon because they did not know when they were getting a good trade.
I am a devoted pokemon collector and hobbyist. To see a new generation of players, or really any elementary schooler, having their fun ruined by older children only interested in improving their games, I was very sadly disappointed.
When breeding was introduced in silver and gold, I did my best to duplicate rare pokemon and trade them fairly to the children interested in increasing their collection. I also troubleshooted their strategies to explain why the older children always beat them. I believed that this was only fair, and I still do.
This site is meant for first time players, for those who get great enjoyment out of playing pokemon, for those who are interested in finding out what all the fuss is about, and for parents, teachers and camp councilors who are attempting to make sense of all the pokemon furor.
For older children and younger children, I've attempted to explain ettiquete and how to keep yourself from being swindled in trades, as well as how to convince people to trade with you over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.
Pokemon is going global, and now savy trainers can trade with people as far away as Japan, France, Italy, Mexico, Germany. If it is a populated country with electricity and internet access, you can trade from it. I encourage parents of children with pokemon diamond and pearl to encourage their children to find out more about the countries they recieve pokemon from, it is an incredible opportunity for a learning experience.
What finally prompted me to turn my passion into a magazine is this, today I went to a Nintendo Event giving away darkrai at the local toys r' us. I had many extra pokemon, some rare and others with sweet bonuses, that I did not need. I held up my game and called out. "I'm trading starter pokemon infected with pokerus to anyone who wants one!"
The response that I got was very excited, and sure enough, the players who reacted first were the younger players in first, second or third grade. The same age range I had troubleshooted for in Highschool.
I decided that I would finally put my encyclopedic knowledge of pokemon canon into a format that was friendly for children, parents, teachers, and any first time pokemon player who is having difficulty with a generation of games more difficult and engaging than any pokemon game before this one!
With pokemon platinum slated for release in Japan, and spoilers pouring out all over, those who think that pokemon is dead are in for a pleasant surprise!
Viva la pokemon!
Gwen
Serebii.net has discovered the release date for Pokemon Ranch, and how to obtain mew and phione with it.
See How to Obtain
History
Anything that I mention as multimedia, somewhere in the text, are going to go on the Fun Stuff page, including a list of Japanese pokemon themes and music for the curious.
I'm also going to start something new, every note that I leave on the main page will have a Japanese word and its meaning in it. Sometimes more than one.
We'll start with some of the pokemon elements.
Fire - Hi
Water - Mizu
Grass - Kusa
Lightning - Raikou (Yes, the Legendary pokemon gets his name here)
I've found some spoilers for the next pokemon movie. It will feature Giratina and Shaymin as the star Legendaries.
The movie will be released in Japan in July, and trailers, clips and the themesong will be linked into the site from youtube.
Information is under "Fun Stuff."
Flower - Hana
Ghost - Yuurei
Steel - Hagane
Dark - Kuroi