The Creature Quorum

You know, I used to live in a former mining town. Carbondale, it was called. Gives away the game a bit, the "carbon" part. "Driftveil City" may not have any minerals in the name, but it's a former mining town through and through. Clay has turned this blue collar burg into a gentrified pocket of apartment buildings and fancy tourist attractions. But when one of those attractions is a big Pokemon tr...

Last episode was our first time revisiting a city from Black & White now that we're in 2. It was a little underwhelming, to be honest. I began to think that maybe this was gonna be a bit of a letdown. But the Nimbasa City area? Hoppin', jumpin', bumpin'. The heck with Castelia, this is the REAL jewel of Unova. On our next episode, we're headed west to Driftveil! The Scanline Media Discord can...

Your first time in the Big City, you're wowed. Perhaps even blown away. But your second time? ...You're probably still blown away in a real city, I guess. In Pokemon, it's a bit... eh. We've already done Castelia City, and while there have been a few interesting changes, it mostly hasn't learned new tricks. It's got one hell of an underground scene, though! this is a joke about the sewers Electric...

P! O! M! E! M! O N! POMEMON! It's time to rock out in Virbank City, the town with kinda nothing to do! We'll pass back through Route 20 on the way there, swing by the ol' Virbank Complex, have our fifteen turns of fame at the Pokestar Studios, and of course enjoy the musical stylings of Roxie and her band. Flip a coin: if it's heads, she doesn't use a single poison attack on you, and the fight is...

We've got a bit of a different one for you this time. We're joined by Magellan, Allen's best friend and cohost on Chatz: A Television Podcast for a special draft episode. We've got a whole menu of regions, a plethora of trainers, and a trio of visions to make real. Let's. Get. Snake Drafting! Our podcast art is done by the wonderful Noelle ( @noelleproblem  on Twitter)!

It's time for round 2! Many Pokemon generations have an extra game that comes out after the initial two, but only Black & White got full-on sequels, aptly titled Black 2 & White 2 . Two years have passed in game! The world has changed! Team Plasma hides in the shadows, and the cast of the first game have moved into a new stage of their lives. Let's pick the tour back up, coming at this fro...

And once again... we're caught up! The Paldea Pokedex is done, and we await a new challenger. Probably Legends XY, but I guess we'll see! On this episode of the Quorum: Archaludon, Gouging Fire, Raging Bolt, Iron Boulder, Iron Crown, Terapagos, and some pre-B2W2 Q&A. Our podcast art is done by the wonderful Noelle ( @noelleproblem  on Twitter)!

It's time to get back to our original duties! Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's DLC, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, released in two parts, bringing some two dozen new pokemon with it. (EDIT: No, Six. That's 14. Not 24. Please learn to count.) Neither of us had completed the main game, nor touched the DLC, so we held off on discussing designs we'd never seen in context. Well, we have now, and we're...

We had a score to settle with N. And then, spoilers... we did. This week on the Unova Tourism Committee, the Eight Badge Gates, Victory Road, the Elite Four, N's Castle, and a man impersonating our mom! That's it for round 1 of this tour, and we'll take a few eps doing other things before we jump back in... but we WILL jump back in, for Black 2 & White 2.

We're so close to done... but alas, getting close to finished with the first half of our Unova journey is a lot of pressure. To relax a little, we're taking a quick detour. Team Rocket, Team Skull, Team Magma, Team Yell... and others, like... also Team Skull but different. So many villainous organizations in Pokemon. But what is the BEST? Let's decide. Our podcast art is done by Robin ( @Courageou...

In search of answers as to how to revive the dragon pokemon of legend, we head to Opelucid City, home to Drayden and Iris, Dragon Gym Masters and protectors of the Legend Badge. And, of course, they don't know a SINGLE THING. Siiiiigh. Opelucid itself is a strange city separated by version, with very little to do but dramatically different aesthetics. We wrap a few character stories, like Professo...

We thought we were done with Pokemon movies. Truly, Allen and I were like "okay, we've had our fun, but the rest aren't worth our time." But along came Magellan ( @chatzpod ), Allen's best friend and Pokécinéphile, to convince us that we were neglecting a magnificent body of work. Is that actually true? I guess we'll see, as we continue our journey through the Pokémon movies starting with the 4th....

Snow and ice conjure hardship to the human mind. Bitter winter, and its challenges- something so many of us know well. It's something we can all relate to, and find hard. That's why ice-type gyms are so often near the end, but not actually the last dungeon: you want a relatable challenge, and clear communication that things are getting hard. But for the finale, things need to get more intense than...

A quick jog to Chargestone Cave becomes a LONG slog through the cave itself as we deal with an onslaught of story, trainer battles, and an obnoxiously high encounter rate. Then it's on to Mistralton City, a city that- wait. That's it? There's no city here! Oh well. Off to Celestial Tower? Then the gym? I'll be honest- not Black & White's strongest showing this ep.

For all the hype about the music, Driftveil is no great shakes. Ha! Cuz Quake Badge? It's a... yeah, ok. Driftveil City is a quiet town, and this is a quiet episode, as we partially foil an unclear Team Plasma plot before being forced to surrender the culprits back to their organization, check out a nice little market that doesn't sell anything we want, watch the sunset... y'know, a quiet day is n...

After, let's face it, a down episode, we're back up as we head to Nimbasa City, the electric city! Sports! Musicals! A ferris wheel! A roller coaster! Plus sand, a castle (but not a sandcastle), a spoOoOoky forest, and lots of new pokemon! We're feasting this week, and even N being sorta inappropriate and definitely a weirdo can't bring us down. Alright Empire PokeState, what have you got for us n...

Little trainers in the big city! Our journey through PokéNew York hits a milestone as we finally reach PokéNYC! Big streets! Huge buildings! Lots of people! S... urprisingly little to do! I mean, don't get me wrong- there's more to do here than like a, a Nacrene City, or an Accumula Town, or something, but... lotta empty space! Lotta "skyscrapers" that in practice only have two floors! Well, whate...

Five final monsters, and then the Hunters may rest. We've gone through every mainline Monster Hunter and talked about the big boss beasts, and now all that remains is Sunbreak. Will Malzeno make it big? Will Lunagaron pass our inspection? It's time to rate a few last friends, and then close down shop until the next Monster Hunter. Not that the Quorum's stopping- hell, our Unova journeys are only j...

Our tour through the Unova Region continues! Travel Famous Route 3, see Complete Nothing Wellspring Cave! Drop by Nacrene City for a soda- but only if it's Wednesday, otherwise the local cafe won't serve you??? Check out the museum, see the home of famous artist Burgh! Then it's off to Pinwheel Forest- after you swing by the Challenge Rock of course- and onto the big city itself... next episode!

Everyone is asking, "what will the Generation 10 Pokemon games be like?" Always, we look to the horizon. That's not a bad thing: to neglect the future is to neglect progress. But it hasn't always been a step forward, has it? Are you going to be the first person to claim Sword & Shield were better than Sun & Moon? Do you really think Diamond & Pearl were better games than Ruby & Sap...

It's time for the curtain to fall on Monster Hunter Rise. Six, Allen, Minovsky, and Crass assemble one more time to finish up the new monsters of Monster Hunter Rise. It's only four creatures, but we manage to go over an hour debating the merits of some particularly interesting beasts. Next time: Sunbreak. After that? Well, I guess we'll see. ...That's not like a sly tease, I truly have no idea. A...

It feels gross to start our pod with Monstro. Why is there a level of Kingdom Hearts set inside a whale's stomach? ...No, I get why literally speaking, I've seen Pinocchio, it's just... ah nevermind. Let's just talk Heartless, shall we? Oh, hang on, I'm getting a call.... Our podcast art is done by Robin ( @CourageousRobin on Twitter), though that's the Johto Quorum art, and we intend to get some...

Once again, we find ourselves reaching the end of a journey. It's like chasing a car- what do you do when you catch it? Well, we've done it before, so trust us- the best answer is to sit down for months or years and let the car get a healthy lead again, then resume the chase. We've got the Ruinous Quartet, some more Paradox Pokemon for you including our cover legendaries, and... oh. That's it! Tha...

One. THOUSAND pokemon. And a lot more designs, thanks to their many forms. We've got a new third stage evolution for a Black & White design, then we're off to the Paradox Pokemon mines for a while. Finally, we end with a Jojo's reference. I know. I'm sorry to bring this cursed knowledge into your life. Not as sorry as Allen is at the Gholdengo fan art I sent them. Our podcast art is done by Ro...

Weird Fish Hour! We're back with more Scarlet & Violet Pokemon designs, and you know? They kinda went for it on this set! In weal and in woe, they went for it. Seriously what the hell is Cetitan. Our podcast art is done by Robin ( @CourageousRobin on Twitter), and you can contact the show with any questions, comments, or arguments for future (or past!) monsters at johtoquorum@gmail.com.