Issue #24 Released!

***jumpluff**** · Feb 5th, 2013, 1:14:38 PM

The Smog #24

Hi, everyone! jumpluff here, filling in for Setsuna temporarily to present to you all 2013's first issue of The Smog~ 2012 ended on a powerful note for us, with ToastPlusOne's gorgeous renovation of the index and an end-of-year issue that was absolutely bursting at the seams, but this issue is no disappointment either, with plenty of articles focusing on a variety of different metagames, and, as always, lots of beautiful art! And while 2012 might have been a great year, 2013 is bright with promise too: we're looking at ~~the release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf~~ ~~the release of Fire Emblem: Awakening~~ the advent of a brand new generation (already, Nintendo...?! making me feel my age...) of Pokémon, and all the excitement, discovery, and magic that accompanies it. In fact, we'll be taking this adventure together, what with the worldwide release; uninitiated and clueless, we'll have to rely on each other to figure everything out, and that's awesome. As news and hype trickle in ahead of Pokémon X & Y Versions, we'll be sure to keep you updated, with all kinds of perspectives, speculations, insight, and information on the upcoming generation, as well as the community's activities surrounding it!

This is our first issue trying out our spiffy new Article (and Artists) Approvals subforum, and so far we think it's worked out rather well! We welcome new contributors at The Smog, and if you've got an idea for something you'd like to write or are interested in contributing art to our articles, please stop by and apply at your leisure. It's not hard to make your first contribution, and we're a friendly and helpful team that takes pride in everyone's work.

Also, voting for the annual Smog Awards is now open, so make sure to get your votes in as soon as possible! Remember that you don't have to vote for every single category, so you have no excuse not to!

I really hope you enjoy this issue. We've worked very hard on it, as always, and your constructive feedback means a lot to us, as does your continued readership and support. I hope we can rely on it throughout 2013, and thank you for sticking with us so far! Let's make this a wonderful year together, Smogon~ Try new things, explore parts of the community you've never participated in, make new friends, start new projects, contribute to new places, adopt new ideas, and get ready for X&Y!

***Jellicent**** · Feb 5th, 2013, 2:06:49 PM

I had a ton of fun this issue; always a pleasure to do some Smog GPing :3

Smogon Awards were fun, too. Looking forward to seeing how those turn out ^.^

Also, damn we had some awesome art this issue! You guys never disappoint~

Superpowerdude · Feb 5th, 2013, 2:12:49 PM

A great way to start of the year!

Echoing what jumpluff said if you ever feel like doimg something new try wruting for thesmog. I used to be scared of writing for thesmog but I am glad I finally decided to do it looking back an issue ago. There is honestly nothing intimidating the staff is super nice and with article approvals opening up it should be easier to apply :)

A big thanks to the gp team and html dudes because their work isn't always noticed by readers and they do a lot of work. Especially gping everyones articles at the last week wheb everyone is trying to get their articles in haha.

This was my first time doing a feautered article so I was very excited and my friends who worked on pokemon biology wrote some cool stuff and it was great to work from them.

Excpect more from me guys :P

**RitterCat** · Feb 5th, 2013, 2:49:42 PM

Once again great fun working with everyone, ium and Birkal are cuties

Shame That · Feb 5th, 2013, 3:11:43 PM

Hahah, yes, excellent job guys! ^.^

**Pocket** · Feb 5th, 2013, 3:14:57 PM

I apologize for not being able to complete my article on time. Major props to Pwnemon and Arcticblast, who took up where I fell short in a stride, and made the article a success!

Thank you to Smog Staff for pulling it out in the end as always.

NfskMjmMal · Feb 5th, 2013, 3:20:22 PM

Great job everyone! Glad I was able to contribute. Looking forward to an awesome 2013.

**elcheeso** · Feb 5th, 2013, 3:24:31 PM

Nice work team! Especially the GPers and HTMLers, you all really stepped it up this issue! Now it's time for a dance party! ~(o3o)~

Lady Salamence · Feb 5th, 2013, 3:29:35 PM

Yeah, this issue is the one where I started re-contributing, and it's really enjoyable. 2013 should be a good year, hopefully. This was a nice issue, can't wait for the next one!

edit: dance party ~(o3o)~

Novaray · Feb 5th, 2013, 4:09:33 PM

Great job on the amazing issue! Hope I can start contributing in the next one

Kadew · Feb 5th, 2013, 4:23:03 PM

It was great fun making art to contribute for this, The Smog is awesome and props to all who make it happen, particularly all the other fabulous artists (writers are cool too). I look forward to arting for this for issues to come.

vonFiedler · Feb 5th, 2013, 4:34:46 PM

It was a lot of fun being part of the team this time, and I hope to continue. Thanks for all the great art everyone.

And if anyone liked the Pathfinder article, come hang out in #flamel sometime.

Rodan · Feb 5th, 2013, 5:04:14 PM

...

Redew · Feb 5th, 2013, 5:24:00 PM

school is getting to be a giant time consumer so i didn't get to contribute as much as i would have liked. :( it was fun gping at least something, though! i can't wait to work on the next article! good job everyone!

***Vader**** · Feb 5th, 2013, 5:50:20 PM

dear rodan,

...

astralArchivist · Feb 5th, 2013, 6:43:44 PM

Wow. I can't even avoid edition wars in completely unrelated comms. Classy bit of writing, that paragraph 2, sentence 4.

To the topic at hand, I otherwise enjoyed the issue. You guys have plenty of lurker-readers like me; not really involved in the Pokémon competitive scene but otherwise interested. Keep up the good work.

***jumpluff**** · Feb 5th, 2013, 6:47:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat astralArchivist

Wow. I can't even avoid edition wars in completely unrelated comms. Classy bit of writing, that paragraph 2, sentence 4.

To the topic at hand, I otherwise enjoyed the issue. You guys have plenty of lurker-readers like me; not really involved in the Pokémon competitive scene but otherwise interested. Keep up the good work.

Haha, well, that's gamer culture for you, I guess!

Always interested in hearing from readers like yourself! It's really encouraging to know you're out there. Thanks a lot for saying hi, and I hope you'll keep reading, even if you don't choose to join in around the community~ I'm glad you're still finding things you can enjoy even without participating in the competitive scene! :)

Chou Toshio · Feb 6th, 2013, 12:43:15 AM

loved the "where are they now?" article about RBY. I kinda have raise an eyebrow at Gengar now being there, but is it just because it's not that dominant in RBY? It's definitely no Tauros or Starmie, but just the fact that it's the other OU that made it all 5 generations probably should have served it a spot in the article.

***Jellicent**** · Feb 6th, 2013, 1:26:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Chou Toshio

loved the "where are they now?" article about RBY. I kinda have raise an eyebrow at Gengar now being there, but is it just because it's not that dominant in RBY? It's definitely no Tauros or Starmie, but just the fact that it's the other OU that made it all 5 generations probably should have served it a spot in the article.

Glad you liked it ^.^

And yeah, cutting it down to 10 was tough, but I wanted to get it done in a timely fashion, and it was already looking pretty long. Cloyster's had a really interesting history as well, especially with its recent success. Slowbro and Jynx also would've been fun to include. I plan on doing some more past gens articles, so hopefully I'll find a way to work in some of them~

For now, I'm already getting cracking on the lesser seen RBY Pokemon that hit it big in BW ;)

The Knights of Wario Land · Feb 6th, 2013, 2:16:34 PM

Yet another good read, my personal favorite this time was the "Good game... or was it?" article. I do like this new monthly release schedule, keep up the great work!

**sandshrewz** · Feb 7th, 2013, 5:35:55 AM

Great work to everyone who participated this issue! ^_^ Special thanks to all GPers and artists for working incredibly hard!! Especially jumpluff for pretty much doing most of the GP and HTML by herself~ Also, thank you to all artists to filled up the empty slots :)!

Also, it was great working with SuperJOCKE for the past 3 issues as well :D! I think this issue had a good balance of new and old (gens) articles too.

WOOO Smog Awards!! ~

Poopboi · Feb 16th, 2013, 12:37:39 AM

On the index page of this Smog issue, the date released is stated to be February 5, 2012 instead of 2013.

sandz edit: fixed!!! Thanks ^_^ wow lol this happened last year too :d

Feb 5th, 2013, 1:14:38 PM	#1
*jumpluff とびだせ・どうぶつの森 Super Moderator** Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 5,437 Location: Australia Mentor	Issue #24 Released! The Smog #24 Hi, everyone! jumpluff here, filling in for Setsuna temporarily to present to you all 2013's first issue of The Smog~ 2012 ended on a powerful note for us, with ToastPlusOne's gorgeous renovation of the index and an end-of-year issue that was absolutely bursting at the seams, but this issue is no disappointment either, with plenty of articles focusing on a variety of different metagames, and, as always, lots of beautiful art! And while 2012 might have been a great year, 2013 is bright with promise too: we're looking at ~~the release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf~~ ~~the release of Fire Emblem: Awakening~~ the advent of a brand new generation (already, Nintendo...?! making me feel my age...) of Pokémon, and all the excitement, discovery, and magic that accompanies it. In fact, we'll be taking this adventure together, what with the worldwide release; uninitiated and clueless, we'll have to rely on each other to figure everything out, and that's awesome. As news and hype trickle in ahead of Pokémon X & Y Versions, we'll be sure to keep you updated, with all kinds of perspectives, speculations, insight, and information on the upcoming generation, as well as the community's activities surrounding it! This is our first issue trying out our spiffy new Article (and Artists) Approvals subforum, and so far we think it's worked out rather well! We welcome new contributors at The Smog, and if you've got an idea for something you'd like to write or are interested in contributing art to our articles, please stop by and apply at your leisure. It's not hard to make your first contribution, and we're a friendly and helpful team that takes pride in everyone's work. Also, voting for the annual Smog Awards is now open, so make sure to get your votes in as soon as possible! Remember that you don't have to vote for every single category, so you have no excuse not to! I really hope you enjoy this issue. We've worked very hard on it, as always, and your constructive feedback means a lot to us, as does your continued readership and support. I hope we can rely on it throughout 2013, and thank you for sticking with us so far! Let's make this a wonderful year together, Smogon~ Try new things, explore parts of the community you've never participated in, make new friends, start new projects, contribute to new places, adopt new ideas, and get ready for X&Y! __________________

Feb 5th, 2013, 2:12:49 PM	#3
Superpowerdude #Noivern Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 946 Australia Mentor	A great way to start of the year! Echoing what jumpluff said if you ever feel like doimg something new try wruting for thesmog. I used to be scared of writing for thesmog but I am glad I finally decided to do it looking back an issue ago. There is honestly nothing intimidating the staff is super nice and with article approvals opening up it should be easier to apply :) A big thanks to the gp team and html dudes because their work isn't always noticed by readers and they do a lot of work. Especially gping everyones articles at the last week wheb everyone is trying to get their articles in haha. This was my first time doing a feautered article so I was very excited and my friends who worked on pokemon biology wrote some cool stuff and it was great to work from them. Excpect more from me guys :P __________________ #ratemyteam \| Smog Work\| Rater Of the Week \| RMT \| Dogbirds Join #dogbirds on irc!!!

Feb 5th, 2013, 2:49:42 PM	#4
RitterCat Overlord of all Animals and Paintbrushes Moderator Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 1,842 Queen of iSketch Mentor	Once again great fun working with everyone, ium and Birkal are cuties __________________ GP TEAM \| VM/PM/IRC/TELEGRAM/CARRIER PIGEON FOR A CHECK \| I DO ART TOO

Feb 5th, 2013, 3:14:57 PM	#6
Pocket Talonflame :D Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 7,305 Bergenfield	I apologize for not being able to complete my article on time. Major props to Pwnemon and Arcticblast, who took up where I fell short in a stride, and made the article a success! Thank you to Smog Staff for pulling it out in the end as always. __________________ Dark Horse Project: Conquer the Ladder! \| Word of Wisdom for Trainers \| Smogon Doubles: Let's Make It Official!

Feb 5th, 2013, 3:24:31 PM	#8
elcheeso Moderator Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 508	Nice work team! Especially the GPers and HTMLers, you all really stepped it up this issue! Now it's time for a dance party! ~(o3o)~ __________________ ~What is art, I don't understand~ ~The adorable loondex, and other sprites~

Feb 5th, 2013, 2:06:49 PM	#2
*Jellicent Walk without rhythm and you won't attract the worm Super Moderator** Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 1,714 If you walk without rhythm, ah, you never learn Mentor	I had a ton of fun this issue; always a pleasure to do some Smog GPing :3 Smogon Awards were fun, too. Looking forward to seeing how those turn out ^.^ Also, damn we had some awesome art this issue! You guys never disappoint~ __________________ ^.^

Feb 5th, 2013, 3:11:43 PM	#5
Shame That <Fallacies> TENTACLES <3 Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 292 aus Mentor	Hahah, yes, excellent job guys! ^.^

Feb 5th, 2013, 3:20:22 PM	#7
NfskMjmMal Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 177	Great job everyone! Glad I was able to contribute. Looking forward to an awesome 2013.

Feb 5th, 2013, 3:29:35 PM	#9
Lady Salamence Bye Smogon, it's been fun. Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 2,326 ROFL ROFL ROFL	Yeah, this issue is the one where I started re-contributing, and it's really enjoyable. 2013 should be a good year, hopefully. This was a nice issue, can't wait for the next one! edit: dance party ~(o3o)~ __________________ WW2 Last edited by Lady Salamence; Feb 5th, 2013 at 3:30:26 PM. Reason: dance dance revolution

Feb 5th, 2013, 4:09:33 PM	#10
Novaray .dancin Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 1,160 Mentor	Great job on the amazing issue! Hope I can start contributing in the next one __________________

Feb 5th, 2013, 4:23:03 PM	#11
Kadew Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 161 UT	It was great fun making art to contribute for this, The Smog is awesome and props to all who make it happen, particularly all the other fabulous artists (writers are cool too). I look forward to arting for this for issues to come. __________________ Kadooooooooom, artsplosion.

Feb 5th, 2013, 4:34:46 PM	#12
vonFiedler Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 3,218	It was a lot of fun being part of the team this time, and I hope to continue. Thanks for all the great art everyone. And if anyone liked the Pathfinder article, come hang out in #flamel sometime. __________________ I will always go to sleep, even in a house where I just murdered a couple of cops. - Lightwolf Last edited by vonFiedler; Feb 5th, 2013 at 4:53:07 PM.

Feb 5th, 2013, 5:04:14 PM	#13
Rodan sign up for team canada in #cdn Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4,055 #cdn	... __________________ Last edited by sandshrewz; Feb 5th, 2013 at 5:47:34 PM. Reason: hide :o

Feb 5th, 2013, 5:24:00 PM	#14
Redew This means war. Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 370 <@Redew> jellicent <@Redew> how hammered are you <&Jellicent> i am a hammer	school is getting to be a giant time consumer so i didn't get to contribute as much as i would have liked. :( it was fun gping at least something, though! i can't wait to work on the next article! good job everyone!

Feb 5th, 2013, 5:50:20 PM	#15
*Vader caustic Super Moderator** Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,269 avatar by magistrum	dear rodan, ... __________________ Last edited by Birkal; Feb 5th, 2013 at 9:34:39 PM. Reason: /me rolls eyes

Feb 5th, 2013, 6:43:44 PM	#16
astralArchivist Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 1	Wow. I can't even avoid edition wars in completely unrelated comms. Classy bit of writing, that paragraph 2, sentence 4. To the topic at hand, I otherwise enjoyed the issue. You guys have plenty of lurker-readers like me; not really involved in the Pokémon competitive scene but otherwise interested. Keep up the good work.

Feb 6th, 2013, 12:43:15 AM	#18
Chou Toshio Hmmm... A name for the plan... Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,035 Sea Forest	loved the "where are they now?" article about RBY. I kinda have raise an eyebrow at Gengar now being there, but is it just because it's not that dominant in RBY? It's definitely no Tauros or Starmie, but just the fact that it's the other OU that made it all 5 generations probably should have served it a spot in the article. __________________ "Hmmm... a name for this plan..."

Feb 6th, 2013, 2:16:34 PM	#20
The Knights of Wario Land Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 819 Philadelphia	Yet another good read, my personal favorite this time was the "Good game... or was it?" article. I do like this new monthly release schedule, keep up the great work! __________________ Newark VGC 2011: First round loss Philadelphia VGC 2012: 3-4 74th place Philadelphia VGC 2013: 5-3 29th place Art Thread

Feb 7th, 2013, 5:35:55 AM	#21
sandshrewz 穿山鼠 Moderator Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,515 ASIA Mentor	Great work to everyone who participated this issue! ^_^ Special thanks to all GPers and artists for working incredibly hard!! Especially jumpluff for pretty much doing most of the GP and HTML by herself~ Also, thank you to all artists to filled up the empty slots :)! Also, it was great working with SuperJOCKE for the past 3 issues as well :D! I think this issue had a good balance of new and old (gens) articles too. WOOO Smog Awards!! ~ __________________ Member of the GP Team- VM for a check / stamp! Smogon Sprite Generator \|\| Chinese Translation Project \|\| Art Thread \|\| NU Sun \| NU Rain

Feb 16th, 2013, 12:37:39 AM	#22
Poopboi Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 3	On the index page of this Smog issue, the date released is stated to be February 5, 2012 instead of 2013. sandz edit: fixed!!! Thanks ^_^ wow lol this happened last year too :d Last edited by sandshrewz; Feb 16th, 2013 at 1:33:57 AM.