State of the ASB Address


[Well now. Leave it to me to finally get this up on the day of a American tragedy. Shows how much I care for this commercialized day. Anyway, a moment of silence for the 9/11 folks that gave their lives and died that day 9 years ago.

There. Done. Tribute over. Back to the fun-because that's what you came here for! n_n

Exodus/Newbies

We're seeing some people leave and some people stay. Happens every September, and I wish dabsaww, Falcon's Eye and Darthcookiemonster the best of luck in their endeavors.They'll be back, they'll always come back.

But on the flipside, we do have new members Sonickrazy, crown34, darklight and 3m0d0ll! You each get 2 points for joining, link back to this NL when you post them in the Financial Tower.

Now onto the meat of whats happening this fall.

Referees!

Thank to Elf, we've come up with a dynamic new way of updating the Safari Zone. Starting today-we will split up the Zone into Ref quadrants. Meaning each Ref will have their own thread for the Zone. You sign up in the main Safari Zone Thread still-and a Ref will come along and take your quest. You then post in the designated thread. This will (hopefully) alleviate confusion/wait times and make for a more qualitative Zone in which people may discover more than previously imagined.....

Contests!

We're seeing a consistent rise in Contests and that's always welcome. Special thanks to Ayeun and Mew Master for hosting them-and don't be shy folks. They're not hard to do. You can practice with the mock reffing we have up and we'll be glad to help you with any questions you may have.


Tournaments!

Well! The Tournament is over, with Blademaster taking it all at the very end. A very healthy pot as well, 76 points I believe? Congratulations Blade. The runner up, Ultimate Charizard, also had an outstanding show. Thank you everyone that participated, and we'll be sure to have a new Tournament up and running for the winter season. I'm sure by then you'll have your hands full with the other things coming this fall.

Member/ Ref of the Season.

Oh yes, Summer is winding down. But that does not mean we haven't been watching you all. We have our pick for Ref and Member of the Summer Season, and it goes to Greyfox and Ayeun !!

Grey has been very consistent with his Reffings this quarter, and quite possibly all year, and we really do appreciate the effort.

Ayeun has been consistently striving to keep activity at a good clip, with her energy to start contests, keep battles alive and her passion toward finishing her own fights.

3 points and a free catch/evolution for the both of ya!

New Stuff!!

Here's that section that you all have been drooling over. All those suggestions you all have had, well here are the ones that are coming to light thus far.

Pokeathlon: The concept is sound-and we will try to implement this soon. Mew Master is trying a test run of the Speed aspect, so feedback would be good (just PM him). The others will follow shortly, so suggestions are welcome.

Gym Leaders/Elite 4: The 6 Gym Leader thing is working well, and they're putting up with a lot of challenges. However, we do seem lacking in even stiffer competition, don't we?

Hence we have now chosen whom shall be in the Elite 4. This has been an time-consuming effort in which we've looked over not just the current Gym leaders records, but the records of most the other ASB community, and their level of participation and overall activeness. There are stipulations to being a E4 member...and here's one of them.

The Elite Four have the distinction of being able to Battle for Gym badges (better qualifying them for their position.), and Gym Leaders battling for Elite Four Status. More information can be found in the Tower of the Ascended, where the names of the Elite Four are revealed.

Now, prolly the biggest one...

Legends: It has come to our attention for many a time now(but moreso cause of the latest damn episodes in the Anime) that Legends are being used more and more. To the point where common people seem to whip them out all willy nilly. So, your fabulous Mod team plus helpers have worked arduously hard in figuring a way for you to attain these creatures.

It won't be easy, but everyone has a chance to get a few Legendaries-while others are still off limits. A few have been spotted in the Safari Zone, in random- not easily accessible-areas. Don't expect them to be captured on the first go round either, it might take a while for you to catch them too. A list will be up shortly pointing out what Legends are available in the Zone, and this list will grow in time. More information will be revealed soon.

Referees: Just a reminder. If you need to take a break, please don't leave your matches without any notice. If the break gets long, alert the folks waiting that a Sub-ref may be their best bet. This way we don't have matches taking years to complete.

Misc:

Now, I've been hearing talk and offshoots about Gambling needing to be allowed in ASB. I'm going to say now that any direct gambling on ASB matches will not only be terminated on sight, but the match will be void and the participants will be deducted 10 points per allocation. That said, there has been rumblings about a Casino that uses ASB points being created in the Games section of the forum as a whole...We just need a few more permits and zoning rights to be legalize...err finaliz... worked out.

Also. do not forget about all the Fanart work available. Customize and legitimately make a badass banner for your team! Over in Fanart you can request a banner from Crazy Elf Boy, or a picture of your Pokemon from Mew Master/Crystal Tears, or the collaboration of Asilynne/Mystic Clown and Blademaster. Please, I implore everyone to take a look at each of their work and support our artists. These are all great ways to further showcase your teams might or skill out in new and very imaginative ways :O.

So. This is where I rag on MLG for not being around. Why would I do that. Damn drunk Belgian Waffle. Bet you he has Waffle squares for hands and he fills them with beer....hrm wait that's not a bad prospect....