Pokemon: Mega Charizard X

I know I am a couple weeks late to say this, but I had fun at PAX this year.  On the show floor, I ran into some indie games which looked cool, including a game published by Midnight City where you race a car with a folded glider.  Of course, I am probably most eager for Shovel Knight, a platformer which uses an 8-bit art style and plays like an NES game.  I rocked the demo level Yacht Club Games showed last year and went through both of their new demo levels this year without dying.

I did not spend quite as much time in the Classic Arcade or Classic Console rooms as I usually do.  I realized those rooms, even though I like them, are probably best suited for late at night, when you are done attending panels (even though I ended up only seeing one panel).  I did, however, go to the Handheld Lounge a lot to battle the PAX Pokemon League.  I only acquired six badges, but I always enjoy a good Pokemon battle, especially since Pokemon X and Y make it so easy to raise Pokemon.

Speaking of Pokemon, here is a drawing of Mega Charizard X.

Charizard is one of the most popular Pokemon in the entire series, the final stage of the Fire-type starter Pokemon in the Red, Blue, and Green versions: Charmander.  Competitively, though, Charizard has never been stellar; just about anything you could think for him to do, there were at least half a dozen Pokemon who could do that job better, either because of better bulk, a better type, or a better boosting move.  In Pokemon X and Y, however, Charizard was one of several Pokemon who could now Mega Evolve, a new mechanic in the games which grants a Pokemon a boost to its stats, and this process may also change the Pokemon's passive ability and possibly its elemental alignment (or type).  Charizard is a strange case in Mega Evolution, though, because he is one of only two Pokemon who has TWO separate Mega Evolutions: one exclusive to Pokemon X, the other to Pokemon Y.

Personally, I prefer Mega Charizard X (this one) to Mega Charizard Y, both for competitive reasons and for his art design.  Despite looking like a dragon, Charizard is normally not a Dragon-type Pokemon; his types are Fire and Flying.  Mega Charizard Y retains this type combination, but the X version swaps his Flying-type for a Dragon-type, giving him an interesting defense and a powerful offense.  Not many Pokemon can withstand both Fire attacks and Dragon attacks, as most Pokemon who resist Dragon moves can be blasted by fire.  Mega Charizard X also gains an ability called "Tough Claws", which powers up any direct-contact move Charizard uses (if he slashes at the opponent with his claws or rams into them).  Typically in the series, moves which require contact with the opponent tend to penalize the user, like a small loss of stamina or a chance to paralyze the offender.  Because contact moves run lots of risks like those, I think an ability which boosts the power of those moves is encouraging.

The art design is where Mega Charizard X truly shines, though.  One Pokedex entry about Charizard mentions how his flames could potentially burn white-hot, so showing a Charizard with blue flames instead of orange already provides a nice touch.  Maybe because of these more intensely-colored flames, Charizard's orange scales have burnt into black and his yellow belly into a light blue.  All of this looks rather intense color-wise, but my favorite feature of Mega Charizard X might be his wings.  Compare these wings to what Charizard usually has, as well as Mega Charizard Y's wings.  Charizard's wings are standard dragon wings, holding up well.  Mega Charizard Y has an even larger wingspan, as well as winglike appendages on his wrists, and this website makes it clear Charizard Y has a massive wingspan and superb flight.  Mega Charizard X, on the other hand, has fringed wings, ones which look like a kid cut triangles out of them.  Mega Charizard X can still fly, but with wings like those, I imagine he cannot fly as well as he normally could.  This design choice may tell those who see Mega Charizard X about how he is no longer a Flying-type Pokemon in this form, while the blue fire (blue energy) could signify he is truly a Dragon now.  Frankly, I think those design choices were brilliant.

In fact, looking at Mega Charizard X, he bares an uncanny resemblance to another Pokemon, specifically a legendary creature.  I wonder if that was a coincidence, or if the designers did that intentionally?  THAT is a mystery I would like to know, and things like that keep me returning me to Pokemon.