The Real Top 10 PokeTubers

Watchmojo recently put out a video in which tried to list the top 10 PokeTubers out there and... it was interesting.  I'm sure everyone on that list works really hard, but they left out some of the absolute best channels so I decided I'm going to edit that list.  Why?  Because Wynaut :P  I think each of these could be number 1 in their own way because Pokemon allows for such diversity, but here's a *real* top 10 from someone actually in the community:

10. KantoCast

I know they don't do much on YouTube and maybe I'm a little biased, but when it comes to Pokemon news in the competitive world, no one holds a candle to KantoCast.  Had to work this weekend and couldn't catch the regional on stream?  Tune in and find out.  Want the hilariously adorable banter of Blue and Yellow as she tries to figure out this crazy Pokemon universe?  Tune in and lol.  Or maybe you'd like to hear the perspective of an up-and-coming competitive VGC player as he rises the ranks? Blue is your guy.  He also recently made a foray into the theory-realm with his mind-blowingly good Z theory so we can only hope that the Kanto Nation continues to grow to see more content like this.  I would put them higher, but none of you would take the rest of the list seriously because I happen to be besties with the guy who runs it :P #TotallyNotBiased

9. CrimsonCBad

CrimsonCBad may be a lesser known choice for the list, and thus a little surprising for some of you but it only takes seconds before a slick intro to one of his videos reveals his professionalism and passion. Like many of the others on this list, he is a friendly, likable guy who covers a variety of areas like Let's Plays, competitive battling, and is a coach in the original league-format organization, the GBA. His channel is still very much in the early stages (recently reaching the one year mark, I believe) but with what he's shown so far, he's likely to be earning spots on lists like this for a long time to come.

8. The King Nappy

Did you really think there would be a list without this guy? Neither did I.  For one of the biggest names in the business of Poketubing, an honorable mention feels a bit... shady.  But the rest of us know that the King Nappy pumps out content with the best of them exhibiting a great variety of content, at a high-level of energy that is always fun to watch.  Keep an eye out for his many collaborations, competitive play, league format, free-for-alls and much, much more.

7. TyranitarTube

TyranitarTube was actually the first Pokemon channel I ever discovered when I was in college and my friends and I were discussing the upcoming X&Y release.  It's for that same reason I go back to his channel because although it offers the standard sampler of variety, what makes him stand out is the insight in his speculation coverage of upcoming releases and with the prospect of a potential Pokemon Z around the corner and Gen 7 on the horizon, TyranitarTube will be the place to be as new information regarding these titles gets released.

6. CybertronProductions

Aaron could easily be higher up on this list if he wanted to be.  Currently only doing a Road to Ranked VGC-style series on his channel, Aaron has essentially become the international poster boy for the official Pokemon format and for good reason.  His videos teach many people the nuance of the VGC format by using cool, innovative teams and explaining with great detail his decision making process while he climbs the BattleSpot ladder.  The fact that he continues to be among the top players in the country year-in and year-out only adds to the value of his work.

5. aDrive

I'm personally not a fan of shiny hunting, but among his other fine qualities (have you heard him sing???) aDrive is the undisputed Shiny King.  His channel also offers a great variety of other content like Pokemon Showdown lives, Let's Plays, Battle Spot, and league format videos (like the GBA and UCL) and comes out at a peerless level of quality while proving his exceptional skill as a competitive battler as well.

4. Proto Mario

At the moment, no on does Pokemon theory videos better.  *in Proto voice* "BUT KEVIN, SOME OF HIS THEORIES ARE FLAWED. BUT KEVIN H--"Stop it. Now. Yes, comment section, some of them are flawed, but that's what makes a theory; we can't prove it.  What we can prove, however, is that tons of research goes into the making of these theories and they're generally well-thought out with reasonably sound arguments put forth, which is exactly what a theory video should do.  The fact that he addresses interesting topics in engaging ways puts him at the top of his game.

3. Alex Ogloza

There are many things that make OG great.  His fun-spirited devil-may-care attitude is exceptionally entertaining and has been a key factor in becoming the best Battle Spot channel around.  Like his good friend Aaron, Alex endeavors to teach us the insight of a top-level player and national champion while having fun and definitely not taking himself too seriously.  And just when you thought it couldn't get more laid back, Stempe Friday rolls around and the shenanigans are declared.  While Pokemon FEET has slowed down and theme teams haven't been around in a while, Alex's channel does offer some measure of variety in content and as you would expect for a channel this high on the list, the quality is always great.  To put a cherry on top, no PokeTuber on any list interacts with his or her fans better than OG and his channel has seen substantial growth and fan loyalty as a result, all of it very well-deserved.

2. MegaMogwai

So you're not a VGC guy? The best Pokemon channel for competitive singles is right here--MegaMogwai combines solid production value with remarkable content rooted in his prowess as a competitor on Pokemon Showdown.  He crafts innovative, creative teams that are fun to use *and* competitively viable before showing you how to use it to win and climb the ladder.  Not only that, but he'll give you the team and teach you how to make your own with an astute insight into the meta that he shares gratuitously with viewers while being one of the most entertaining personalities in the community.  Oh and did I mention he won the last season of the GBA?  Mogwai's consistently-high level of success in the format makes his channel the place to be for singles battlers.

1. ShadyPenguinn

Shady had to top this list and the fact that he didn't even make honorable mention on Watchmojo is frankly ridiculous and demonstrates a glaring lack of knowledge about the scene.  Aside from the vast amount of content, the variety on his channel is great.  He literally has almost every possible type of Pokemon video but the reason he's at the top of my list is that he finds ways to innovate that bring everyone together, whether the penguinn is flying solo or working on an exciting collaboration.  Got a thing for VGC? Check out VGC with pros.  Love a good league-format? His GBA and UCL teams have you covered. Maybe you're a sucker for the good ol' days of Pokemon Stadium--check out his hilariously entertaining Blind Battles series with his best friend, Nipps.  Fan games? He's got those too.  There is no Pokemon channel on YouTube that cranks out that amount of content, with that variety, at top-tier quality, with that level of contagious excitement.  Even the Pokemon company, who can be notoriously evil about people using their copyrights were like "damn--we need this guy to commentate our events."

You'll notice I left a lot of the more "informative" ones off the list like the Dex & whatnot--the reason for this is that sites like Bulbapedia and Serebii make it incredibly quick and easy to find this information essentially making them obsolete.  It's like how mp3s are much better than records, but some people still enjoy their vinyl.

What do you think?  Did I miss your favorite? Let me know on Twitter @KevinVGC!

CIL: Da Rulez

No league is complete without rules.  I will do my best to keep this simple and brief as possible without compromising clarity.

Team Rosters  

I. Pokemon on each team's roster must be static except under the following conditions:

• Trades: Each team is allowed three trades with any team in the CIL.
• Trades must be conducted tier-for-tier (i.e. an OU Pokemon can only be traded for another OU Pokemon)
• Trades must be conducted within the beginning of the second and end of the third "weeks" of the season. 
• Trades must be submitted to @CIL_Official on Twitter to be approved by the Kevmissioner (simply to check that all these conditions are met).
• Free Agents: Each team is allowed two free-agent acquisitions per season.
• Acquisitions must be conducted as a trade-off tier-for-tier (i.e. an RU Pokemon can only be acquired by dropping an RU Pokemon from the roster).
• Once a Pokemon has been dropped from a team's roster, any coach may acquire that Pokemon provided he or she has not already used his or her one free-agent acquisition.
• Free agency moves must be submitted to @CIL_Official on Twitter to be approved by the Kevmissioner (simply to check that all these conditions are met).
• A dropped Pokemon will not be considered to be available in free agency until it has been approved (to avoid timing discrepancies).
• An acquired Pokemon will not be considered on a team's roster until it has been approved as well.

II. All roster change requests will be processed in the order they are received through the Twitter account.

Battles 

I. Players have two weeks to complete their matches, constituting one CIL "week" unless extenuating circumstances prevent a match from happening.  In this case, an extension will be granted to both teams if the request is submitted to @CIL_Official on Twitter with 24 hours notice prior to the conclusion of that week.  No notice results in a -3 differential loss for each team.

II. All battles will take place on Pokemon Showdown at an agreed-upon time by both coaches.  If there are any problems finding time, contact your nearest Kevmissioner for help.

III. Rules will follow standard Smogon rules with one exception: all Mega Pokemon must evolve on their first full turn on the field.  If switching out immediately, the Mega Pokemon is not required to Mega Evolve, but if a move is being selected, it must also Mega Evolve.

• To review general rules: http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/formats/ou/
• To review Smogon-wide clauses: http://www.smogon.com/xy/articles/clauses

IV. The timer should always be turned on except in the event of a disconnection. If a player should disconnect during a battle, the connected coach should turn off the timer to allow the other coach time to return to the battle.  

• Should the disconnected coach be unable to resume, the connected coach may turn on the timer and temporarily claim victory so that he or she may use the replay to send to the disconnected coach so that they may recreate the battle as it was to that point.  If new hax (such as a Critical Hit or status ailment) that did not take place in the original play transpires in the recreation of the battle, coaches are expected to start over in recreating the battle.
• Variable damage rolls are acceptable in the event that it does not lead to a knockout that it did not obtain in the original battle (i.e. if Gliscor survives with 1% in the original battle and get's KO'd by a higher damage roll in the recreation, coaches are expected to start over in recreating the battle).
• The disconnecting coach should also utilize his or her phone to contact their opponent on Twitter immediately to inform them of the disconnect.

V. No forfeits.  Having accurate measures of differential is important for the end of the season.  Forfeiting will result in a 6-0 loss.

VI. No shows--if someone does not show up within 15 minutes after a previously agreed-upon match time without providing advanced notice, they will be considered to be no show.  A no show results in a differential of -3 added to that coach's score regardless of the outcome of the match whenever it does take place.  Any disputes on the matter should be resolved with screenshots. 

The Season 

I. The regular season takes place over five CIL-weeks in which each team must play every other team in their conference once.

II. Playoffs - At the conclusion of the regular season, standings will be evaluated to determine playoff seeding.

• The top two teams from each conference will receive a playoff seed. Two wildcard seeds will be selected regardless of division and based on record.
• In the event of a tie in records, differential will be used to determine which team gets a playoff seed.
• In the event of a tie in differential and record, we will hold a playoff match between the two teams and the winner will receive the remaining playoff seed for his or her conference.
• The number one seed in each conference automatically advances to the semi-finals and CIL Semifinals while the two and three seeds play a quarterfinal match.

III. Pro Bowl - This is a maybe, but we could vote on top performing Pokemon in the league and have a non-playoff coach or someone who wanted in the CIL but couldn't (such as @GeneticInsect) use the teams.

IV. Championship - Players going undefeated in their conference playoff-rounds will have the opportunity to play for the CIL Championship.  If I had a belt, I would totally give it to the winner, but I don't.  Sorry yall.  I would also really like to hold this on stream and pretend it's a televised event (maybe have the Pro Bowl as an opening event?) because I think that would be fun.  It will depend on schedules.  We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I think that's it.  Let me know if I missed anything.

CIL: The Next Steps

First of all, let me thank all the coaches for being a part of what I hope will be the most casual league of them all :) Below are all the coaches and their teams that I will update as everyone sends me info (if you're a coach who's had a past league team, I'm using the same name you've had. If you wanna change, just let me know):

@EdkrazeGaming - Kentucky Combusken
@DirectorDRB - Charlotte Houndooms
@MightyMamoswine - Washington Blazikens
@HankThePidgey - Winnipeg Aqua Jets
@KevinVGC - LA Kinglers
@CBranGames - Bentonville Blastoise
@TheFlyingFiona - Kansas City Whirlwinds
@Satoshi_Red_Ash - Lavender Town Night Shades
@Craig_de_Aragon - Colorado Rapidash
@KantoCastBlue & @KantoCastYellow - Wilmington Wynauts
@MavroTrainer - Sarnia Poison Sting
@Sanyer1124 - Portland Pinsirs

And of course, the next order of business is the draft.  Some of you have sent me schedules and since we're already seeing some issues, @MightyMamoswine gave me a slick idea. In true casual fashion, we'll hold the draft over a large group message on Twitter. It would probably take a week or so and we'd really need you to draft as soon as possible to ensure it's completed, but it would hurdle the issue of all of us being together at once. Be on the look out for that once I have all the team names.

In any event, here's how the draft will work (again, thanks to @MightyMamoswine for these):

Rules
-Each team must have 11 Pokemon (no exceptions)
-Must have (can be drafted in any order):
     --> 1 Mega
     --> 1 OU
     --> 1 BL
     --> 2 UU
     --> 1 RU
     --> 1 NU
-Each coach has 400 points to spend after those seven rounds to complete their roster of 11.
     --> You cannot go over this point total for your team.
     --> Drafting certain Megas will increase your 400 point total based on their Mega tier (new GBA              board to be released after this update)
-If you need to draft a Pokemon to fill your "must haves" from a tier in which there are no remaining     Pokemon, you may select from a lower tier and the difference will be added to your 400.

That's about it!  Again, courtesy of the Mightiest of all the Mamoswines, we have an updated draft board so while the picture ones I sent out earlier are close, we have a new and improved one that will be used for the draft.  All I need from you

All I need from you now is your team name and the draft will begin... soon? At the end of this week or the beginning of the next :) Bon chance.

Casualness Intensifies

Yall! So we're talking about our own draft league now (thanks to Gengar Knight VGC for the hilarious name)!  Let me run down the basics of what were thinking here.

I don't think I'm alone in that I've always wanted to try a draft but never have, and likely never will have the time to commit to something like the GBA with weekly demands and deadlines, let alone recording and editing tasks.  So here's my idea to make The Casualness Intensifies League (CIL) simpler:

1) Double the time to prepare.
2) Be flexible.
3) No recording requirement.

This is, to borrow some of my favorite words, a league by us, for us.  You and your opponent want to have your match a week early? Go for it. You had a rough week at work and need more time? Done. Let's just try this new way to play a game we love and have fun with it.

Based on who we have so far, it's looking a little bigger than I anticipated but I won't turn anyone away--this is an easy issue to resolve by making divisions.

Confirmed Coaches:
@EdkrazeGaming
@DirectorDRB
@MightyMamoswine
@HankThePidgey
@KevinVGC
@CBranGames
@TheFlyingFiona
@Satoshi_Red_Ash
@Craig_de_Aragon
@KantoCastBlue
@KantoCastYellow
@Sanyer1124

Tier Votes so far:
Smogon - 3
GBA - 7
Stopped taking votes as 7 constitutes a majority in 12, but GBA was well on its way to winning.

Comment or tweet at me your responses, and I'll let you know everything you need to know before the draft and we'll work on scheduling when it will happen.  I'll hold the draft on my stream.

Now let me leave you with some words very near and dear to my heart...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYeHPFR3f0


-The Kevmissioner of the CIL ;)