Beyond the Ball

Tandemaus has evolved into Maushold! Or at least we're pretty sure it did. And by "it" we mean four separate beings operating as one whole Pokemon. Perfectly natural. That's right, it's Family Night at Beyond the Ball and we won't let no stinkin' Pokedex entries tell us how to define love! Follow along with the entries below:

Family of Four

Scarlet: The two little ones just appeared one day. The group might be a family of related Pokémon, but nobody knows for sure.

Violet: The larger pair protects the little ones during battles. When facing strong opponents, the whole group will join the fight.

Family of Three

Scarlet: They build huge nests with many rooms that are used for different purposes, such as eating and sleeping.

Violet: The little one just appeared one day. They all live together like a family, but the relationship between the three is still unclear.

BTB: The two mice had kid(s) and they're definitely 100% a family. They build a mean, roomy nest and slay together to stay together.

Cover design by Kwesi Phillips

Music by Junichi Masuda and Go Ichinose

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It was Will's birthday this week so we were not able to record this week! We should be back on schedule for a new episode on the 9th. Your continued patience and support is super duper appreciated!

We got a fresh Pokemon in this rodent-sized episode as we talk about confirmed, wedded gay rats, Tandemaus! Are they just mice or is their something deeper to their connection? Follow along with the entries below:

Scarlet: Exhibiting great teamwork, they use their incisors to cut pieces out of any material that might be useful for a nest, then make off with them.

Violet: The pair sticks together no matter what. They split any food they find exactly in half and then eat it together.

BTB: It's two mice! They love each very much and work together to do accomplish presumably incredible mouse feats.

Cover design by Kwesi Phillips

Music by Junichi Masuda and Go Ichinose

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Oddish's journey comes to an end as we discuss Bellossom this episode! Put away the gas mask and start ringing the sunshine bells! Follow along with the entries below:

Gold: BELLOSSOM gather at times and appear to dance. They say that the dance is a ritual to summon the sun.

Silver: Plentiful in the tropics. When it dances, its petals rub together and make a pleasant ringing sound.

Crystal: When these dance together, their petals rub against each other, making pretty, relaxing sounds.

Ruby: When BELLOSSOM gets exposed to plenty of sunlight, the leaves ringing its body begin to spin around. This POKéMON’s dancing is renowned in the southern lands.

Sapphire: A BELLOSSOM grows flowers more beautifully if it has evolved from a smelly GLOOM - the stinkier the better. At night, this POKéMON closes its petals and goes to sleep.

Emerald: Its flower petals deepen in color through exposure to sunlight. When cloudy weather persists, it does a dance that is thought to be a ritual for summoning the sun.

Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum: When the heavy rainfall season ends, it is drawn out by warm sunlight to dance in the open.

Photodex: Bellossom usually hide in vegetation, but when something puts them in a happy mood, they come out of hiding to dance with their friends.

BTB: These happy little flower folks seem to enjoy dancing and worship the mighty sun. They probably don't smell bad.

Cover design by Kwesi Phillips

Music by Junichi Masuda and Go Ichinose

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We're on to Vileplume and it's bigger, floppier and perhaps no longer stinky. It's also definitely some combination of toxic, poisonous, and/or allergenic. Also Will says "rapscallion" twice in this episode! Follow along with the entries below:

Red & Blue: The larger its petals, the more toxic pollen it contains. Its big head is heavy and hard to hold up.

Yellow: Flaps its broad flower petals to scatter its poisonous pollen. The flapping sound is very loud.

Gold: It has the world’s largest petals. With every step, the petals shake out heavy clouds of toxic pollen.

Silver: The bud bursts into bloom with a bang. It then starts scattering allergenic, poisonous pollen.

Crystal: By shaking its big petals, it scatters toxic pollen into the air, turning the air yellow.

Ruby: VILEPLUME’s toxic pollen triggers atrocious allergy attacks. That’s why it is advisable never to approach any attractive flowers in a jungle, however pretty they may be.

Sapphire: VILEPLUME has the world’s largest petals. They are used to attract prey that are then doused with toxic spores. Once the prey are immobilized, this POKéMON catches and devours them.

FireRed: Its petals are the largest in the world. It fiendishly scatters allergy-causing pollen from its petals.

Emerald: In seasons when it produces more pollen, the air around a VILEPLUME turns yellow with the powder as it walks. The pollen is highly toxic and causes paralysis.

Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum: Its petals are the largest in the world. As it walks, it scatters extremely allergenic pollen.

BTB: Its record-breaking petals are fiendishly flapping a flood of finely-poisoned pollen so it can eat you. Yikes!

Cover design by Kwesi Phillips

Music by Junichi Masuda and Go Ichinose

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We're back on schedule this week to finally talk about Oddish's evolved form, Gloom! It's time to quantify some stinky! Follow along with the entries below:

Red & Blue: The fluid that oozes from its mouth isn’t drool. It is a nectar that is used to attract prey.

Yellow: Smells incredibly foul! However, around 1 out of 1,000 people enjoy sniffing its nose-bending stink.

Gold: What appears to be drool is actually sweet honey. It is very sticky and clings stubbornly if touched.

Silver: It secretes a sticky, drool-like honey. Although sweet, it smells too repulsive to get very close.

Crystal: The smell from its drool-like syrup and the pollen on its petals is so bad, it may make opponents faint.

Ruby: GLOOM releases a foul fragrance from the pistil of its flower. When faced with danger, the stench worsens. If this POKéMON is feeling calm and secure, it does not release its usual stinky aroma.

Sapphire: From its mouth GLOOM drips honey that smells absolutely horrible. Apparently, it loves the horrid stench. It sniffs the noxious fumes and then drools even more of its honey.

FireRed: Its pistils exude an incredibly foul odor. The horrid stench can cause fainting at a distance of 1.25 miles.

Emerald: A horribly noxious honey drools from its mouth. One whiff of the honey can result in memory loss. Some fans are said to enjoy this overwhelming stink, however.

Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum: The honey it drools from its mouth smells so atrocious, it can curl noses more than a mile away.

BTB: It smells so bad that you can't hold the knowledge of its stink in your mind. Gloom can dig it though.

Cover design by Kwesi Phillips

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What if a plant could walk? What if a plant could scream? The answer, of course, is Oddish! Get ready to learn a lot about a little guy. Also Braden's been Pokemon Sleeping and having a surprisingly decent time. Follow along with the entries below:

Red & Blue: During the day, it keeps its face buried in the ground. At night, it wanders around sowing its seeds.

Yellow: It may be mistaken for a clump of weeds. If you try to yank it out of the ground, it shrieks horribly.

Gold: Awakened by moonlight, it roams actively at night. In the day, it stays quietly underground.

Silver: If exposed to moonlight, it starts to move. It roams far and wide at night to scatter its seeds.

Crystal: During the day, it stays in the cold underground to avoid the sun. It grows by bathing in moonlight.

Ruby: During the daytime, ODDISH buries itself in soil to absorb nutrients from the ground using its entire body. The more fertile the soil, the glossier its leaves become.

Sapphire: ODDISH searches for fertile, nutrient-rich soil, then plants itself. During the daytime, while it is planted, this POKéMON’s feet are thought to change shape and become similar to the roots of trees.

FireRed: Its scientific name is “Oddium Wanderus.” At night, it is said to walk nearly 1,000 feet on its two roots.

Emerald: This POKéMON grows by absorbing moonlight. During the daytime, it buries itself in the ground, leaving only its leaves exposed to avoid detection by its enemies.

Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum: It often plants its root feet in the ground during the day and sows seeds as it walks about at night.

BTB: It runs around at night screaming and spewing seeds. Bucks plant convention by hating the sun.

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We got an extra-long whopper of an episode this week as we discuss Sharpedo. Get ready for absurd destructive capabilities, gross mischaracterizations, unsettling revelations, and more! Also baseball? And more Zelda obviously. Follow along with the entries below:

Ruby: Nicknamed “the bully of the sea,” SHARPEDO is widely feared. Its cruel fangs grow back immediately if they snap off. Just one of these POKéMON can thoroughly tear apart a supertanker.

Sapphire: SHARPEDO can swim at speeds of up to 75 mph by jetting seawater out of its backside. This POKéMON’s drawback is its inability to swim long distances.

FireRed & LeafGreen: The ruffian of the seas, it has fangs that crunch through iron. It swims by jetting water from its rear.

Emerald: The vicious and sly gangster of the sea. Its skin is specially textured to minimize drag in water. Its speed tops out at over 75 miles per hour.

Diamond, Pearl, Platinum: Its fangs rip through sheet iron. It swims at 75 mph and is known as “The Bully of the Sea.”

HeartGold & SoulSilver: It can swim at speeds of 75 mph by jetting seawater through its body. It is the bandit of the sea.

Sun: It pursues its prey at speeds of 75 mph and finishes them off with fangs that can crush iron. It is known as the bully of the sea.

Moon: It has a sad history. In the past, its dorsal fin was a treasured foodstuff, so this Pokémon became a victim of overfishing.

Ultra Sun: People believe that carrying one of its discarded fangs will prevent mishaps at sea, so the fangs are made into accessories.

Ultra Moon: It drinks in seawater and jets it from its rear to propel itself. It’s very sensitive to the scent of blood.

Sword: As soon as it catches the scent of prey, Sharpedo will jet seawater from its backside, hurtling toward the target to attack at 75 mph.

Shield: This Pokémon is known as the Bully of the Sea. Any ship entering the waters Sharpedo calls home will be attacked—no exceptions.

BTB: Known to pleasant individuals as the Cheetah of the Sea, Sharpedo is on a quest to obliterate all shipping lanes.

Mega Sharpedo

Sun: The spines sprouting from its head are transformed fangs. If they’re injured or broken off, the spines will regenerate countless times.

Moon: As a consequence of Mega Evolution, its combative instincts exploded. The yellow marks it bears are scars from a long history of battles.

Ultra Sun: The yellow patterns it bears are old scars. The energy from Mega Evolution runs through them, causing it sharp pain and suffering.

Ultra Moon: The moment it charges into its opponent, sharp spikes pop out of Sharpedo’s head, leaving its opponent with deep wounds.

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Ya'll hear about piranha? This one's like a piranha but if they ate boats. Also Braden finally started playing Breath of the Wild so get ready for some 6-years-late takes! Follow along with the entries below:

Ruby: CARVANHA’s strongly developed jaws and its sharply pointed fangs pack the destructive power to rip out boat hulls. Many boats have been attacked and sunk by this POKéMON.

Sapphire: If anything invades CARVANHA’s territory, it will swarm and tear at the intruder with its pointed fangs. On its own, however, this POKéMON turns suddenly timid.

FireRed & LeafGreen: It lives in massive rivers that course through jungles. It swarms prey that enter its territory.

Emerald: CARVANHA attack ships in swarms, making them sink. Although it is said to be a very vicious POKéMON, it timidly flees as soon as it finds itself alone.

Diamond, Pearl, Platinum: They swarm any foe that invades their territory. Their sharp fangs can tear out boat hulls.

HeartGold & SoulSilver: They form packs to attack boats and rip out their hulls to sink them. They live in rivers in the jungle.

Sun: Each school has its own territory. Any intruders are mercilessly attacked with fangs bared.

Moon: If they scent the faintest trace of blood, they rush to attack en masse. When alone, they’re rather cowardly.

Ultra Sun: They’re such cowards that they won’t hunt alone. When five or so of them get together, they suddenly turn ferocious!

Ultra Moon: With its sturdy jaws and fangs, it can easily chomp wooden boats to splinters. It fights with Basculin over food.

Sword: It won’t attack while it’s alone—not even if it spots prey. Instead, it waits for other Carvanha to join it, and then the Pokémon attack as a group.

Shield: These Pokémon have sharp fangs and powerful jaws. Sailors avoid Carvanha dens at all costs.

BTB: This pointy fish gets real rowdy in a crowd and loves chompin' on boats. They get all bashful without their buddies though.

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This episode NOT sponsored by Carvana

Cover design by Kwesi Phillips

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Alright, we're on to the final Lycanroc and it's kind of a dud to be honest. This rare and special doggo definitely deserved some better entries but don't worry, we make up for it by talking about locusts, Clifford, and Curious George. Follow along with the entries below:

Ultra Sun: Bathed in the setting sun of evening, Lycanroc has undergone a special kind of evolution. An intense fighting spirit underlies its calmness.

Ultra Moon: This strange form is the result of its evolving at dusk. It’s very rare in Alola.

Sword: This form of Lycanroc is normally calm and quiet. Once a battle begins, however, this Pokémon displays a ferocious fighting spirit.

Shield: These Pokémon have both calm and ferocious qualities. Their temperamental nature makes them a difficult species to raise.

Scarlet: Normally this Pokémon doesn’t even bark, but once it enters battle, it will relentlessly drive the opponent into a corner.

Violet: These Pokémon have both calm and ferocious qualities. It’s said that this form of Lycanroc is the most troublesome to raise.

BTB: Two wolves live inside this form of Lycanroc. Somehow, this makes it harder to raise. Weird!

Cover design by Kwesi Phillips

Music by Junichi Masuda and Go Ichinose

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