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“Governess Mistriva!” Major Amilita startled and stood from her office's desk chair. It was on risers to accommodate her height- even by Shil’vati standards the woman was gigantic and crossed eight foot and change, with attractive broad shoulders and a squared frame that made the uniform look 'as it was supposed to.'
“Major, I thought I’d come here to introduce myself in person. Surely you wouldn’t mind if I take an active interest in my sector’s law enforcement?”
“Not at all, would you like a drink? Please have a seat.” The Major gestured to the bottle of scotch that was waiting on her desk and gestured for Lieutenant Goshen to fetch another glass from the cupboard downstairs. The old colonial house they'd occupied was situated in the state's oldest town and their occupation of these buildings sent a message, but it also came with other perks such as a fully stocked cellar.
“No, I don’t partake, but thank you.” The Matronly Mistriva did, however, take the offered seat. The Major studied her. In strong contrast to most Noblewomen, Mistriva was considered very short and her build was neglected through decades of the administrative desk work that had made her a thorn in the side of most of her fellow nobles. The Governess was busy examining the craftsmanship that had gone into the antique wooden chair, studying its ornate details and spent a moment in contemplation. Handcrafted items were the domain of proper highborn noblewomen with exquisite goods, yet here they could live as if they were regents of a noble house.
“Do you know why I’m here?” The Governess asked after the moment’s pause.
The Major’s brow threatened to sweat, but she forced herself to stay calm. It couldn’t be about a lack of action on the missing boys- that report had only landed on her desk only an hour ago and was marked 'low priority.' “I’m afraid you’ll have to inform me, I didn’t expect your visit. It’s been mostly quiet here, and I’m just entering a call with General Zylkyn.”
“That’s precisely why I’m here, Major Amilita. The departing Governess has told me that everything is fine and quiet. I am here to get a more accurate assessment, a Second Opinion, as the locals may say. Based on recent events, those same locals seem to not share our former Governess’s opinion that all ought to be quiet, and I am trying to find out why that has changed.”
Amilita gulped now. “I admit there have been incidents, but they have thankfully been largely unsuccessful. Up until now we have relied on what I believe the humans call an ‘olive branch’ approach. Insistence that the war is over and that now is the time for peace. Once we stopped walking around everywhere in armour, it helped shake the illusion that these rebels are peddling- that it’s an occupation.” She took a deep breath. “Additionally, patrols are not pulling up anything useful.” Over a thousand patrols and not a single incident of terrorism uncovered as a result. She then took a deep breath. That ought to play popular with what some called the Commoner's Champion. She'd made a whole career out of pushing more legislation for equal rights of the conquered and to abolish the line between noble and commoner. It was little wonder she was here, given Earth was the latest acquisition. Her nose had no doubt sniffed trouble. Amilita didn't want to guess how much the noblewoman had paid to get a posting on Earth. It couldn't have been cheap.
“In the name of keeping the peace I have also mandated that anyone caught pursuing or unrequited flirting with a man wearing a ring is to be punished severely and to offer personal apologies to the aggrieved and spouse, as would a high noblewoman caught flirting with the Empress’s husband.” The new Governess didn’t balk, and waved a hand for the Major to continue. “The actions have made me somewhat unpopular, but the sergeants have kept resentment low. It’s also having effects- overall incidents are down, morale is overall up as the Marines have started being able to go on leave. I’ve also worked with your predecessor to push more cooperative attempts, joint ventures, and kept the locals engaged with our operations in minor but important ways. We rely less on overt propaganda, and prefer more subliminal messages, as well, and have enjoyed good popular support in polls. It is therefore my belief that this bomb was an act of desperation by insurgents to remain relevant." She left out that she felt that it was the same group. "Intelligence suggests do not enjoy widespread nor numerous support.” Not naming your sources was a convenient way of saying 'I want it to be true.' The Major had implemented the policy after a jilted housewife had taken a shotgun to the face of one of the marines in revenge for luring her husband away. Her revenge had lasted about a half second before she was vaporised on the spot by the fallen marine's squadmates. The husband later killed himself, and it had taken a lot of hard work to bring relations in that town back down to a tolerable level.
“My predecessor and I are of a similar mind on the subject of the treatment of Humans. They are sentients and their wishes must be respected in this.” the Governess nodded as if to say she agreed with the Major's outlook.
Before the Governess could continue, General Zylkyn coughed into the microphone to announce her entry into the virtual meeting and that she’d heard enough to finally participate in the conversation. “Their odd birthing ratios, however, are definitely causing some oddities in their behaviour. Humans are very sexually forward, and it may be confusing for our marines. Hello, Mistriva.”
“And a good evening to you, General Zylkyn. I was unsure you would retain your command after that disastrous campaign against the Roaches." The Governess put her fingers steepled, and gave a little glint of mischief.
The General did not rise to the obvious bait and did not deign to answer, but kept her arms crossed. Major Amilita started speaking before the General could think of something offensive to say. "Their oddly even birth ratio is not limited to the human species. Most creatures on earth have an even distribution of male and female. Many mate for life, though I understand that varies slightly depending upon mate selection. There’s some interesting journals, but nothing concrete. I still find enforcing apologies for any breach of their monogamy has been best at resolving tensions before incidents occur.” She had prepared for that exact objection after hearing it a dozen times from angry officers and non-coms who refused to apologise for advancing forward on an unwanted tryst.
“Do you have difficulties with mutinies or soldiers acting against these orders? Anything that you feel results in fewer civilian deaths and attacks on our soldiers has my permission to proceed without approval from my office, but we’re not here to discuss your successes, but rather the situation as it is developing now.”
“I’ve encouraged the Marines to see it more as flattering that they are as noblewomen, and remind them that they are here to do a job. If they talk back, I show them the statistics in the other districts. It is not fear of death that causes them to apologise and obey, but rather the loss of certain privileges. The relatively good relations we have in this sector have made it a posting with a reputation where one can take off their armour, and go for a walk without fear. Provided they mind their manners and we are to behave as guests and not conquerors.”
“Bold words from someone who smashed the armed forces in the region. You are very much a conqueror,” General Zylkyn said.
“That was the easy part, ma’am. The hard part is as others are learning: Holding the territory we have taken. We don’t want a repeat of the Roaches, nor do we want to turn all of Earth into what’s happening down in Maryland.” The General blanched a little. Being a part of General Staff meant she had friends stationed down there and Major Amilita had just rubbed it in her face. This was not a good meeting for the General, and the Major felt she'd regret it.
“I see. What if I was to mandate such orders be instituted throughout the state and suggest it globally at the Governess's conference?” Mistriva inquired mildly.
“I would be honoured you think so highly of my orders, but I’m unsure how well instituting such a policy would work once relations have soured as badly as they have in areas such as Maryland. It may go some way toward repairing relations if not quite to vacuum-tight, then at least to where they’re not continually venting oxygen straight into the main core. I can't speak for their efficacy outside a zone that is already designated 'green.' I worry that in contentious areas that humans are unlikely to read our new policies as anything except a fear-response and a retreat. Humans may be comparatively weak, but they were the apex predator of this planet and they will view our action as such.”
“So you advise against your own policy?” The General sniped back. The Major didn't blanche but did meet the General's eyes. “Additionally, what new tactics are you employing to counteract this insurgency? I hope you brought more than olive branches?”
“I'm arguing to implement it openly where prudent and where relations are already in a good position. If compliance is an issue then remind the Marines that it’s to get things to the level of comfort we have here, where they can walk around without worrying about rifle fire from a bush, and they’ll be cooperative." That was a mighty big incentive. "I’ve also added a few books of local flavour to a reading list for the sector, which helps patrols spot anomalous or suspicious behaviour, and excuse things we think of as suspicious, but really aren’t. Arrests are down across the sector, but so is insurgent activity on average.” The Major segued the conversation to the insurgency. “That said, our Marines did just suffer casualties for the first time in over a month, and the most in a single incident since the invasion ended. It seems we do have a cell local to the northernmost sector of the state, and it is refining its tactics. We're intensifying patrols and surveillance, but for now they have also been very careful to escape detection. It's a rare but deadly combination to be both dedicated to effective insurgency, while also disciplined to avoid detection. It's my hope that the increased scrutiny will assist. I'm hoping your office might set aside some budget for some stronger propaganda in that particular area- enough for more advertisements and a tip hotline.”
"That's a good start," the Governess said. "I'll see to it."
General Zylkyn finally added: "As much as I want Humanity to join us en masse, I will admit that we cannot tolerate these bombings. They target both Shil’vati and Human alike."
"Yes, and I wish to stress that in my upcoming speeches," The General agreed. At last, all three Shil'vati were on the same page.
“Then proceed, Major, I’ll leave you two ladies to it. I think next time I might take you up on an offer of a drink, but I do prefer tea.”
“Of course, ma’am. I’ll requisition some tea for your next visit.”
As soon as Governess Mistriva walked out, Major Amilita turned to face the screen. She signalled Lieutenant Goshen that it was now okay to bring in the folder with the bombing information’s initial findings and reports.
“They’re growing bolder,” General Zilkyn said. The Major felt dismay welling up in her chest. Was she losing control of the situation? Would this get even worse?
“I know. While we’ve been reaping the benefits of keeping a loose hand, we also cannot let this festering wound worsen. Lieutenant Goshen, I want you to find anyone involved with the bombing.”
“Had we taken sufficiently stern steps initially, there’s a chance we could have prevented this,” General Zylkyn glowered at Major Amilita.
Amilita didn’t commit career suicide and refrained from pointing out that carpet bombing a woods filled with recreational joggers just to nab two children would have erased months of goodwill in the county, permanently for many. “I’ll put the local police departments and their forensics on the case. It may mean a few may be reluctant to assist us in catching humans. If they are, my lieutenant will be able to sort out who then can and cannot be relied on and will prune the police accordingly to weed out loyalists.”
“No, Major, that last part won’t be necessary,” the General said, her smouldering eyes now calm. Amilita looked over to her with something approaching hope. General Zylkyn sounded like she had a plan.
“Ma’am?”
“I want you to keep tabs on any with sympathies toward this rebellion that you do find on the force. See who they talk to and what they say, first. Pulling out a weed by its leaf only ensures its immediate return- a fact I recently learned when attending a gardening session with the locals as part of a Public Relations event. Do you know what else I learned?”
“Ma’am?” Major Amilita repeated herself unsure of what the point was.
“They trim their grass so that they can maintain an excellent field of vision. It brings them calm. But, if you ask the grass, they do not like to be trimmed. They emit a signal, chemical in nature, and it warns the other grasses to send their nutrients to the roots. If you detain the officers who are known by those around them to have sympathies to these terrorist bombers, then what signal will be sent? Imagine for a moment, if grasses could form resentment over their neighbours being cut down instead of simply hiding. We may need their work to be accurate when it comes to apprehending these bombers, but I do recommend that it be us who take them in. Apparently police have a weak spot for little girls and almost refuse to hold them in suspicion.” The Major considered a moment that under the surface, the Bleeding Heart Governess had a strong counterweight in the General’s cold pragmatism, and leaned back in her chair, enjoying the surprisingly supple springiness of the wooden beams behind and how they supported her weight.
“Has the survivor of the bombing said anything at all?”
“No, she says she has no recollection of the event itself.”
General Zylkyn’s frown deepened. “Of course. Give her my sympathies when she wakes. Best of luck in your hunt.”
As soon as the call ended, Lieutenant Goshen got a call from the General. "I don't care what our Governess and the Major say. Do whatever you have to. Shake any tree, drown that private again to jog her memory of the ones who bombed her vehicle. Do whatever it takes. I want these people found and when they are, they will pay for what they have done. This will not become another Maryland. Don't make me call the Interior in."
​
****************
BONUS CHAPTER
****************
​
School was convened in the Gym for a ‘surprise announcement.’ Several Aliens stood in attendance, along with bureaucrats with too-wide smiles and cheap suits.
“Who’s that?” I nudged George and asked.
“It’s the Governess. Apparently the old governess was just here to warm the seat.”
Most of the ‘people’ accompanying her didn’t seem to be people at all. Their eyes were lenses, skin of a metal sheen, and their necks were a pair of beams. Their movements were off, too, but they moved with precision. Their bodies bristled with what I imagined to be weapons- their limbs and joints had little lines coming out of them that looked like barrels, and a status symbol light. “Cyborgs or robots, I’d bet,” George pointed.
“-and to memorialise this important day, our esteemed Governess, Madame Mistriva has made an unexpected but welcome visit!” Our Principal expected a ton of applause, and got it. That was disappointing for us, but I did see a few people refraining. I tried to remember names or at least their faces. Our little social outcast group was growing. Just George and I shared a class but apparently the other two were making some in-roads with other students.
“Thank you, I realise we are on a schedule so I will be brief,” The Governess smiled. “This has been one of my favourite postings to date, I must say. Human beings are wonderful, and I am more than happy to work to bridge the gap between our cultures, and to learn more of yours. To that end, I have commenced the pilot of the exchange program here at Talay Middle School. It is my hope that you will be as warm to the Scion of House Fel’lya as you have been to me, and continue to be exemplary to all. The eyes of the world are upon this, and I know you will do everyone proud.”
It sort of sank in right about then that while this might have been page five or six news to us, it was considerably more important to the newsreels across the stars. The incorporation of a new planet probably wasn’t too unusual to an empire that bragged about having ‘thousands of worlds,’ but Earth had seemed to attract a fair amount of ‘fans.’ I hadn't made up my mind about where the balance of that weighed- ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ but for now, ruled in on ‘it is what you make of it.’ Out of the extra attention, perhaps I could get the newsreels to take sympathy on the human plight. It would require careful finesse and was something I firmly catalogued into the ‘worry about later’ category.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts and tired from going to Lucky’s Tavern last night that I missed the rest of the speech until the applause hit. I made the motions of clapping but came up short on each clap. Let the applause be a little quieter. Let them have to plug in audio from some sports match, if they needed- I hoped that it would get someone asking why they had to do it at all. This was our world, after all, not theirs, and it never would be, so long as we drew breath. Last night at Lucky’s had only reinforced that notion. There I’d met Scott and demonstrated the basic detonator concept, and written out a grocery list of materials I needed to make more powerful explosives. It was more of a wish list than anything reasonable, but the adults had huddled around it and made sure I was fully included even though I wasn’t nearly old enough to sit at the bar legally. Lucky’s was the kind of sketchy place that wouldn’t raise a fuss. I was so lost in recounting the events of the night, again, that I’d temporarily blanked out.
The young girl had come up to the podium by the time I came to. She was in some ways closer to Human than Alien in some of the ways I might have normally used to mark one. She wasn’t much taller than I, nor had her tusks grown in- yet she was also a darker shade of purple. She took to the stage and waved, introducing herself. She didn’t wear the form-hugging combat armour, instead opting for human clothing, albeit a little bit baggy, as if pulled from the Men’s rack at the GAP.
“Hi, I’m Natalie.” She used a human name. Interesting. The girl struggled with staying close to the microphone and almost dropped it before recovering quickly and starting over, rocking to her feet and then back onto her heels, then twisting side to side slightly. “I’m from Mar Sara originally, but I’m happy to be joining you all for school here. I hope you’re looking forward to meeting me as much as I am to meeting you.” Her English was perfect, and even unaccented. I wondered if she had an implant of some sort, or if she’d just practiced like hell. I was struggling with my Shil’vati. Reading was easier for me to decipher than speaking, and I wondered idly if it was as hard for them to pick up English as theirs was for us. I was tuning the radio to pick up Shil’vati language transmissions while I worked on bombs. I’d picked up enough of the conversational trade-dialect that was common among their Navy and civilian trade fleets. It had all the irregulars clipped out and was more forgiving on their use of tenses. It was almost artificial, like someone had done to English what had created Esperanto. Comparatively, the Nobles used a far “higher” language. If the trade-Shil’vati language I was learning was analogous to simplified English with all its letters in all-caps and spaced carefully for ease of understanding, then the Nobles spoke in cursive.
​
Later that day, I hopped off the bus a few stops early and took a walk along the path with the marshes, then came up to the bridge Vaughn had bombed. They had demolished the remainder of the bridge, Environmental Studies be Damned, and had already replaced it with one of their own design. The new one shared that strange, metallic sheen that their vessels and vehicles had. They’d put a rough, fused material over top of it. The angles were all harsh and sharp, but rounded out to smooth joints on the underside, and seemed to be made of the same kind of strange metallic sheen that went onto their ships.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jerked to the side in surprise. Or at least I tried to. The hand held me fast. I yelped as they squeezed down. With a glance over my shoulder I saw a marine staring down at me. They had a half-helmet on, with the facemask peeled back.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” She asked in Shil’vati.
“School is released for today.” It was the closest I could get in Shil’vati to ‘it’s after 2:45, we don’t have to be in school.’
She looked surprised I’d answered her in Shil’vati and relaxed her grip slightly. I twisted free and she released me instead of tightening back down. My heartbeat hammered quickly.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking at the new bridge. I heard it was different to our bridges.”
She glared at him, and he met her gaze. There was something to that gaze that set her hackles on edge, but also tickled her interest. After a few seconds, she broke contact. “Alright. Hand me your ID and wait over there for a minute.” The taller marine pointed against the shopping centre’s wall. The two exchanged a few words. I missed the first half but closed my eyes to try and listen. I doubted I could get away by running, but it was worth a shot.
“...just a little suspicious?” The taller one was saying.
“Do you want to take in a little boy for questioning?” The shorter one seemed to be irritated.
The taller Marine responded with something too low for me to pick up, then the shorter, louder marine responded: “Why does command say it was a pair of girls if they didn’t give us any facial patterns to go off of? Kids look kind of the same.”
“What do you mean?” She rocked her head in a body language expression I hadn’t seen before and couldn’t guess what it meant. Maybe the shorter one was from a backwater.
“I forgot that you’re new here. During the war, most of the soldiers we fought were men.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. That war was a little hard for me to fight sometimes. Sometimes I still hear the screams.”
“Yeah your [indecipherable] aside- How old were they? This isn’t something Command is going to hear. ‘Yeah we’re on the lookout for two tall guerilla girls, but here’s this school boy I found unescorted.’ I’m sure that will go over well.”
“I thought the school boys wore uniforms.” The taller marine was probably giving me a second glance.
“I’m just saying-”
“And then if you want to go grab the family’s son and explain later to his family that you didn’t do anything untoward? Come on, a cute kid like that, a Marine, gone for several hours? You don’t want that kind of trouble. I remember when interior snagged a family’s only son back on Tion Prime for ‘interrogation.’ Interior thought they were untouchable, the whole outfit got kicked off the planet, and they didn’t even have proof. Look, you see this? That [indecipherable] right here- yeah. Look, just trying to keep you out of trouble.” We had connections? What sort of connections? What did I even know about my parents’ work since the invasion? Dad was a biologist until he got home. Like Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde with the potion, he then turned into a sleepy drunk and was asleep in his armchair by eight which had a pretty hard effect on his social life. Mom was a psychologist who helped run the small town council’s minutes. My sister was in boarding school. Surely none of this counted to amount for anything of consequence.
I’d missed some of the exchange while I was occupied with my thoughts. It didn’t look like I was going to be arrested and interrogated at least. “Oh shut up and lick my cunt if you’re going to wag that tongue so much.” I didn’t learn ‘cunt’ from the radio, but by proud tradition the first thing any middle schooler learns in any language is how to say rude things.
There was a moment of silence. “Still, isn’t he cute?”
“Don’t be gross, he’s still way too young. Give it a couple years and then I’ll be bringing him into the station for interrogation, suspicious or not!” She was joking, but it still got my hackles up. “Alright, running the ID against anything else we’ve got on file...nope. All clean. Come on, we can blow off some steam at the bar. I know a place where you’ll have a good time, rookie.” I heard them turn their boots and I opened my eyes again, looking up at them as they towered over me.
I held my hand out. “Am I free to go?”
“Yeah,” the marine reviewed whatever was on her omni-pad. “Have a good day, citizen,” she placed it back in my hand and they both watched me go.

Happy Thursday, Barkada --

The PSE closed down 55 points to 7143 ▼0.8%.

Welcome to all the new members that signed up over the past couple of days, like @JD1026_, who took the time to write some very nice things about MB's content. Thanks, @JD1026! I hope you all take some value from these daily posts.
Shout-out to socrissy for their question about IPO buying for "noobs". To make a long story short, you buy IPO stock from brokers during the offer period or through the PSE EASy program which allows small-time investors like us buy IPO stock directly from the pool of IPO stock that is set aside people registered in this program.
If you want to know more about PSE EASy, check out this post that I made: Beginner’s guide to the PSE EASy registration process
Thanks to chongki_grampi for joining our barkada and for the positive review of their experience so far. Thanks to Julius for the email and nice comments. Thanks also to pogzie, MeGalliumPlays, rgv2020, momodonomo, and the anonymous Redditor for the various awards given to yesterday's post on the Basurapalooza.

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Main stories covered:

• [UPDATE] Well, that Subaru just drove off a cliff... by “Subaru”, I of course mean “basura”, as in the penny stocks that have surged to ungodly highs over consecutive days. More ceiling hits than Shaq in a bahay kubo. Anyway, those days are gone (for now?) as the PSE “Most Ded” list was filled with a who’s who of yesterday’s champions: Oriental Petroleum [OPM 0.02 ▼30.00%], Manila Mining [MA 0.01 ▼29.41%], Abra Mining [AR 0.01 ▼22.73%], Anglo Philippine Holdings [APO 1.12 ▼21.68%], among others. Apollo Global Capital [APL 0.43 ▲17.81%] remained on the leaderboard; it’s now up over 500% since early December. Also, has anyone noticed little old Altus Property Ventures [APVI 28.60 ▲43.00%] climbing the charts? It’s doubled-up in just the last week!
  
  • MB: Not really sure what to make of this. For those Barkadans that went neck deep into these stocks without stops (or who were left on the sidelines as prices slid by an unresponsive COL Financial platform)... this is what I was talking about. Stops keep you from getting sucked out with the tide. They help keep you from transforming from a trader to an “involuntary investor”. And COL? Don’t get me started about COL. Move your account. Complain to the SEC. Though, for those who are stuck, I got a tip from @paulobryannow that Microsoft Edge might work better with COL than Chrome. I haven’t tried this to confirm, but if the BasuraBubble continues to deflate, or defiantly reflates, you can bet we’ll have another opportunity to test that fix tomorrow with COL!
• [NEWS] BPI [BPI 83.20 ▼1.54%] merges with BPI Family Savings Bank... in the press release, BPI said that the merger will be better for customers, employees, and shareholders (so basically everyone), and explicitly said that shrinking difference between the regulatory reserve requirement for thrift and commercial banks” was also a factor in the timing of the transaction”. This merger combines the country’s largest thrift bank with the country’s second largest commercial bank.
  
  • MB: The reserve requirement is the amount of a bank’s deposits that it must deposit with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Thrift banks, like BPI Family Savings Bank, have a higher reserve requirement, but the BSP has been cutting the reserve requirement of thrift banks faster to close the gap. As of now, thrift banks must deposit 3% with the BSP, and commercial banks like BPI must deposit 2%. I just wonder if that means that I’ll be able to use BPI Express Online to transfer money to BPI Family Savings Bank accounts, or if I’ll still have to do it in person.
• [UPDATE] Lopez Holdings [LPZ 3.70 ▼0.54%] won’t delist after-all... in a strange twist, First Philippine Holdings [FPH 79.50 ▼1.24%] adjusted its tender offer to acquire “only” a maximum of 1,567,093,124 common shares, representing 34.5% of LPZ. This prevents FPH’s tender offer from pushing LPZ’s public float below the PSE-mandated 10%, and allows LPZ to remain listed indefinitely.
  
  • MB: This change is in response to the PSE’s insistence last week that the LPZ delisting proceed in accordance with the PSE’s newer (and much stricter) delisting rules, which requires (among other things) LPZ to get a two-thirds vote of directors in support of the move, and two-thirds of the outstanding shareholders must approve... with no more than 10% of shareholders voting against the plan. With rumors swirling that the Lopez group had set the value of LPZ artificially low (the price indicated for the tender offer valued First Gen [FGEN 30.75 ▼2.84%] at approximately ₱40bn, despite its marketcap of over ₱110bn), the family must have known that there was a decent chance that more than 10% of shareholders would object to the price offered and the group would suffer a rather public and embarrassing defeat at the hands of the PSE’s new rule. It feels like this story isn’t complete yet, though. Stay tuned.
• [NEWS] International Container Terminal Services [ICT 126.80 ▼0.16%] upgrades capacity of Manila International Container Terminal to 3.3m TEU... the expansion of a few berths at the terminal, as well as the addition of a few hectares of storage space at the site, has increased the terminal’s annual TEU capacity. In the world of shipping and logistics, “TEU” stands for “twenty-foot equivalent unit”, which is the length of a standard 20’x8’x8’ shipping container. The Razon family expects to complete additional improvements to the port this year, in preparation for the “economic reboot following last year’s trade flow facilitation complications”.
  
  • MB: The flow of goods at international ports can be an indicator of economic health insofar as international trade is concerned. For developing countries, like ours, the key is for the government and the port management authorities to continually upgrade and improve the facilities at the ports to reduce the friction that TEUs experience entering and leaving the country. In this regard, the Razon family appears to be doing their part to ease/eliminate bureaucratic snags where possible.

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Hi everyone, instead of watching every best picture winner I decided to torture myself by watching the worst movies the world of film has to offer. Due to the sheer volume of films I'll try to sum up every single one in a paragraph. If anyone has any suggestions send them my way because I enjoy doing this with my friends and for those who want to do something similar I will try to keep my reviews spoiler free but a lot of the time spoilers are the last thing you think of when watching these films.
Just a disclaimer, dont put too much weight on the ratings, towards the top all the films are really really fun to watch it's just based off how I felt at the time of seeing them.
42. Rubber (2010)
Pretentious, boring, and just plain anticlimatic. It's about a rubber tire that can kill people with its mind but also follows a group of people observing it in the desert. It's meta in all the worst ways, super up its own ass, I thought there was a fun idea for a film but they fucked it up hard and the worst part is they knew it. Don't watch this at all.
-67/10
41. Alien Private Eye
Alien Private Eye follows a man who is mentioned as an alien at the start and its hardly ever mentioned ever again. I watched this so long ago and can't remember shit apart from the fact that the 'alien' make up was simply elf ears on the private eye for the whole film. There's a dance battle or something but in reality its quite a boring film, dont waste your time.
0/10
40. Birdemic
This film has 2 funny moments. One where the mild mannered hero somehow secures a deal in a sleepy Floridian town worth 1 billion dollars and his date is not phased and the terrible CGI birds, which I'm sure you've seen. Rest of it is really boring, like not much happens except for most of the cast being murdered by murders of crows. It's sad because the female lead is really trying but the male lead could not give less of a shit. I don't care enough to look up their names but yeah, it was not that good.
0.1/10
39. Manos the Hands of Fate
This film is notorious because one of the cast members is tweaked out on crystal meth during the entire film, and I did not notice until a friend told me about it. It's ok, but again, boring. It's a horror film about a family who crash their car and they take shelter in Manos' residence, then some hellish shenanigans ensue. It wasn't worth it to be honest, a lot of these films at the bottom have funny concepts but half assed executions which is not what you want because there isn't anything entertaining created.
1/10
38. Blood Street
This is one of Leo Fong's Kung Fu films with a man named Cameron Mitchell, an old school Spaghetti Western actor who became an alcoholic and decided to do whatever film script came across his desk as long as it came with a bottle of vodka. This is not Leo Fong's and Cameron Mitchell's best work, even though the story has twists and turns the general cohesive produced just doesn't have a lot to enjoy. The worst thing a film can be is boring and this one, despite the star power, is boring. This isn't Leo Fong's last entry in this list, however.
1.5/10
37. Zoolander 2
Not every film on this list had the budget of a shoebox and the level of effort of me in university. This one had a crazy budget and less effort than me in third year. Zoolander 1 was an iconic film with incredible lines I quote to this day, but Zoolander 2 was a film up its own ass using rehashed jokes and just terrible performances from everyone. All the cameos felt crap, Hansel's storyline was so unfunny it hurts and the whole Derek's son thing stopped becoming funny before they started the joke. It's only higher than the others because Will Ferrell has some good lines and I'm a sucker for him.
1.5/10
36. Bitch Slap
This film stars 3 strippers in what I now realise was a 90 minute tribute to both The Usual Suspects and softcore lesbian porn. When 3 busty ladies drive into the desert with a pimp in the back and tensions are running high, I had hopes for some entertainment but it was one of those films that tried hard to be bad and just came off as awkward. There are many scenes of beautiful women throwing water on their skin tight shirts so if you're into that go ahead. I called the ending and felt proud of that but the rest of it was eh. Lots of violence though and the actor for the pimp at least did a good job. Either that or my standards are in the toilet.
1.7/10
35. Samurai Cop
I watched this one as one of the first crap movies on my list, and it is quite the film I must say. A sped up car chase, a charismatic side kick who did reaction faces before it was a thing, a weird interaction with a Costa Rican waiter (please correct me if I'm wrong), enough sex scenes to make Bitch Slap look like a PSA, Robert Z'dar's crazy big chin, in fact it doesn't deserve to be this low on the list but I watched it twice and it wasn't as entertaining the second time. Watch this film, it's fucking sick, fuck it I'm breaking my own rules here.
7/10
34. Mac and Me
You may remember this film from the clip Paul Rudd uses to fuck with Conan and the McDonalds dance scene. What you dont realise is that that little alien shit has parents and a sister, and they are all fucking terrifying. I have never felt more uncomfortable in a film before than when those beady fucking eyes stared straight into my soul, whilst everyone in the film was supposed to act as if they were cute cuddly creatures that deserved to live and not incinerated. Fucking hell it gave me such anxiety after. If you want a horror film here you go. It's higher than the others in ranking because admittingly it was more entertaining.
1.6/10
33. Hard Ticket to Hawaii
This film has more titties than most of the 80's films on here, which is saying a lot. It's about 2 girls and they're secret agents vs a drug lord. I don't remember too much because I had to fast forward through the titty scenes due to how uncomfortable it was to watch them with my best friend. There was a snake, at one point one of the girls blows up a helicopter, theres a cross dressing man inside it, I really liked it at the time, it's just the other films were better. I would recommmend watching this actually.
3/10
32. Troll 2
THEY'RE EATING HER, AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO EAT ME. This is the rest of that film. Follows a little kid who is trying to stop his family becoming plants after they go on holiday to a secluded holiday location in Mountain Peaks, CA. I will give credit to this film, it is disgusting, the props, the food they eat, the incredible use of green food colouring truly made me gag at some points. My favourite part was the main villain's actress truly giving it her all in her performance and just completely fucking it up. The subplot of the boyfriends posse just being there to have a good time is the cherry on top to this car crash of a film. I don't wanna spoil most of it but watch this crazy ass film.
4/10
31. Zardoz
Have you ever seen that picture of the Late Sean Connery in a mankini? This is that film, and he doesn't wear anything else. This film was worse than the sum of its parts, it had the main villain who had a penned on mustauche, it had Sean Connery being part of a violent group of raiders being taken to a higher plane, it had the society who was immortal and used aging as punishment, but it was just so dry, and slow, and mind numbing. I want you to watch this film so you can see what I see, and so that you can see the origin of that fateful picture of Sean Connery.
4.1/10
30. Geteven : Road to Revenge
This film was made as a Vanity Project in the early 90s, it involves the Director, Writer and Producer John De Hart being a ass kicking, country singing, one woman loving badass. In fact, the title doesn't even make sense because he has no reason for revenge really for most of the film so the road is really short. There's a musical number in there that goes for a couple minutes, but I think that the rest of the film of john de hart just enjoying his life with his wife is not enjoyable. the ending is pretty mad though.
4.5/10*
29. Chopping Mall
Chopping Mall is one film where the concept is dogshit but the execution was actually really good. The premise is that a group of 3 guys and 3 gals go to a mall after dark and fuck the daylights out of eachother. Unlike what I expected, it was all consensual, they didn't make fun of the nerds for being nerds instead they gave them space, and all the characters were geniunely having a great times. Unfortunately, the mall had new robot guards that were out to murder them all, so ensues a chase across the whole mall where very few of the group get out alive. What got me about this film was the girls weren't damsels in distresses or stone cold characters with daddy issues, they all had a good part to play, which is not expected for a movie made in the 80s. Good on you chopping mall. The robots are like discount Daleks FYI.
5/10
28. Fateful Findings (NB)
Neil Breen. A legend to those who live on the movie set. Seeing this legends work was just a spectacle. This film should not be called a film, and I should not have spent my time watching it but I did anyway. For those of you unfamiliar with Neil Breen, search up "I can't believe you comitted suicide" on youtube, that's a scene from this film. Thank me later. This is one of 5 neil breen films on this list and let me tell you if you're a fan of crap films this is worth the watch. Neil Breen has a sweet ass ferari that he flexes whenever he can, which I respect. The film itself is mindnumbing and not his best work.
5.5/10
27. Amos and Andrew
This film was recommended to me from a friend. It has Nicolas Cage, Samuel L Jackson, and Giancarlo Esposito. The plot is that a famous author (sam jackson) moves to a sleepy hick town and racism causes his life to be entangled with local loser who was paid to be the fall guy and shit gets out of hand. Having actual actors does increse this films standings in my eyes because there are some good lines but in the end it was pretty forgettable. Nice to see the younger versions of these actors though, Giancarlo is wasted in his current typecasted role of evil calculating man.
5.5/10
26. Traxx
Oh Traxx. This and Hard Ticket to Hawaii both have their own theme songs, thats the flavour of film you're working with. Traxx is a country boy who comes into the wild and violent city to settle it down as the rag tag crusader he truly is. This film was funny because in hindsight Traxx is a mass murderer but the smoking hot Mayor doesn't care cus he plays by no rules and damnit he gets results. Traxx also has a montage in the middle where he and his sidekick dance by his riverside camp he calls home. Jesus the more I write the more ridiculous this film sounds.
6/10
25. Miami Connection
What do you get when you cross a karate master, a small budget, a love of guitars and high school, and some kung fu action? You get Miami Connection, a film where a group of orphan highschoolers led by Y K Kim, a 40 year old man, battle ninjas. Seriously, they all live together in the house and the orphan bit is huge. Plus there is actually some kick ass action in this film made my yours truly Y K Kim. I really loved this film and the ending made me cry of laughter. Watch it, I dont want to ruin the surprises in store.
6.4/10
24. Twisted Pair (NB)
Oh boy. This is Neil Breen's most recent film. It involves Neil Breen's character and his brother Cade, who is a hacker of sorts fighting against the powers that control the world. This is basically the plot of every one of his films FYI, and it's amazing every single time. Neil Breen is known for making ridiculous shit films and this is no exception. The CGI he uses together from Windows Movie Maker coupled with half the film being stock footage he voices over makes for a must watch for any bad movie fan. Personally I've never gotten closer to giving up on movies than I have after seeing this.
6.7/10
23. I am Here...now (NB)
This too is a neil breen film, and this is about Neil Breen who is God, and comes to Earth to see how humanity is sinning. There is one guy in this film who actually did act well from my shit standards at this point, and he is a drug dealer much like Chris R for those who have seen the film The Room. I am Here...Now is nothing short of ridiculous, with the film not being about hacking and not being about just Neil Breen's character, you get the true scope of how bad Neil Breen is at making films. There are some hilarious bits in this regarding sex trafficking, drug deals gone wrong, people going from super old to super young through the power of God, truly an enlightening film.
6.75/10
22. Lawnmower Man 2 : Jobe's War
Fuckin hell this film. The first one is higher up in the list, the premise is this guy who was mentally retarded (I don't know how better to put it) was given the power of becoming smarter through computers by Pierce Brosnan, and Lawnmower Man 2 is set in the distant future when Jobe convinces his child friend to set him free on the world. It's lovely to see such a shit concept done so horribly with such a big budget. The CGI is godawful, the acting even worse. It's a sequel to a film that shouldn't have been made in the first place.
6.75/10
After this point I can comfortably say all the films below are fun to watch, it's just my personal preference on ranking.
21. Kill Point
Another Leo Fong flick. Leo Fong is an icon and legend, and in Kill Point he plays an FBI Liutenant going after a notorious gang leader involved in an arms deal played by the Legendary Stack Pierce. This film has it all, action, drama, comradery and shit lighting. Seriously a lot of the action is filmed at night and you can't see properly. This one is so high because of my love for Leo Fong and Stack Pierce mainly, and if you can't tell by now I need better things to do with my time.
7/10
20. Deadly Prey
An elite team of mercenaries train by chasing down the deadly prey of Man, but this time, they fucked with the wrong guy. Mike Danton. My hero, a roided up monster of a soldier who makes the hunters the hunted. This film is just such a rip off of predator and kinda boring sometimes but I really enjoyed it. Even though it isn't higher, it is required watching as you will find out why.
7/10
19. Mystery Men
Starring Ben Stiller and Hank Azaria, Mystery Men is a film about people with mediocre superpowers and how they stop the main villain played by Geoffrey Rush as he tries to destroy the world or some shit. The acting carries this film, with Stiller, Azaria, and Barbosa, its concept is really bad but the actual film is weirdly charming in a way. Fun Fact: this film was the one in the music video for All Star by Smash Mouth. Look it up.
7/10
18. Star Wars Holiday Special
When watching Star Wars did you think to yourself "I need to know what Chewbaccas family do." So did I, and thankfully George Lucas created this absolute monstrosity. A majority of this film is in Wookie and there are no subtitles. Theres a weird infomercial in the middle, and you can see how dead inside Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fischer are in this. This is frankly a must watch for any star wars fan, and I'm not even a fan and saw it. It's incredible, one of the few on this list where I can't put into words how crazy it is. There's a random animated section for Luke in it that is nightmare fuel. Watch it.
LSD Trip/10
17. Adventures of Power.
This film is like Mystery Men where the concept is ridiculous but the actual film is charming af. It's about Power, a young man from a mining town and his dream to become an Air Drumming champion. Not normal drumming, the more difficult Air Drumming. There is also a B Plot about the mining town being under siege due to no pay or some shit but it's secondary to the compelling Air Drumming competition towards the end. A true thrilling coming of age story, I don't think this is a must see in this list but I did genuinely enjoy it for what it was.
7.2/10
16. Baseketball
Trey Parker and Matt Stone were made famous from this film, about two losers who create a sport that's a mix between Basketball and Baseball. There's nothing clever about it, it's got some good jokes and just a fun rise and fall of two friends blinded by the lights of stardom. It's just quite enjoyable, and Trey Parker and Matt Stone did a great job of playing themselves as the two protagonists of this story. Both this film and Adventures of Power have scary texan oil barons as villains FYI.
7.5/10
15. Double Down (NB)
Oh shit. Neil Breen's first film is a doozy. He plays a hacking mastermind bio terrorist who lives in the desert and polluts rivers with chemical weapons whilst also making us think he is the good guy. You get to see his nutsack in his debut film and it's everything you'd hope for. The ending montage of Neil Breen running around the same desert rocks is something to bring tears of laughter to your eye. Fuckin hell Neil. I've seen this 4 times.
7.7/10
14. Pass Thru (NB)
This is his best work. If you've seen the infamous "isn't that corrupt?" clip on youtube , Pass Thru is the one where it comes from. Funnily enough this is my favourite Neil Breen film and it has the least amount of Breen, involving more hacking, more trafficking and drugs, and in the end the girl who was too high to be repulsed by him runs off with him into the sunset. It had the trademark Breen Stock Footage and shit CGI but it had more terrible acting from other people, rounding out the shit sandwich that is this film.
7.9/10
13. The Skateboard Kid
Have you ever looked at your skateboard and thought "I wish it could talk." Well Skateboard Kid has you covered! This sentient skateboard helps this 90s kid after some wacky circumstances as most 90s films are, eventually helping him run from the government and nearly kill his bullies. The chase scene is very reminiscent of better movies that do the same concept, so watch out for that. God I can't believe I watched this. It was fun though.
8/10
12. Tenet
I don't know why this film is in this list but I said 42 films in the title and you can't edit it. I guess Tenet was ok, I couldn't hear half the shit people said most of the time but all in all a fun film with loads of twists and turns. Robert Pattinson is always beautiful
N/A
**11. Who killed Captain Alex?
UGANDAN ACTION MOVIE WHO KILLED CAPTAIN ALEX? Mate this film is fucking incredible. I loved watching it and I love the fact that their budget was only 60 dollars but they made the most of it. I almost felt bad laughing because the actors truly give it their all and sell the ridiculousness to the level it deserves but the director was ok with it so laugh away. Absolute pure fun as a film, better than some action films I've seen, even though at the end of the film I couldn't actually figure out who killed captian alex. It's incredible.
9/10
10. Order of the Black Eagle
Nazis can fuck off, and discount James Bond with his monkey companion cannot agree more. Part spy film, part western, part vietnam, this film has it fucking all man. So fun to watch, loads of inconsistencies and the monkey plays such a big part I did not expect halfway through. Hitler is being recreated and it's up to our intrepid heroes to take down the Order of the Black Eagle using a fuckton of explosives and bravado. Watch this shit.
9.1/10
9. The Room
Those of you who don't know the room, it's the grandaddy of all these films in terms of popularity. A story about a succesful bank worker and the infidelity of his girlfriend and best friend, it's so dogshit in all the right ways. It was my gateway drug to this shitshow of a thread you are reading right now. Tommy Wiseau can't act to save his life, and the rest of the cast have to pick up the pieces left by this agent of chaos as the film goes on. Absolute masterpiece.
9.2/10
8. Orgazmo
Another film created by the lovely people behind Southpark, finds a mild mannered Mormon who finds himself in porn because he needs to make ends meet. He has a stunt cock, all he needs to do is act the role of Orgazmo, the hero of all these tales. The best part about this is not the incredibly funny jokes but the Villain, Max Orbestein, still being the best villain in this whole list of films. Absolutely great film.
9.4/10
7. Suburban Saquatch
When you think of Sasquatch, do you think of a 5 foot hairy man with giant titties and nipples that nearly cover them? Because suburban sasquatch fulfills that fucked up fantasy you have. It has everything, gore, magic, cops who need to redeem themselves, a reporter who needs one big scoop to make it into the big leagues and a native american woman chasing her destiny. The result? a giant clusterfuck of mania that moves from scene to scene without rhyme or reason. It's beautiful. At one point the sasquatch rips open a poodle like a christmas cracker. Must watch, was crying of laughter.
9.5/10
6. Love on a Leash
A party boy gets punished by a waterfall god for being horrible to women by being turned into a dog. A literal dog. It happens off screen, but it sets the scene for our tale about a young woman who is obsessed with the colour green, and her attempts at finding love in her sleepy town of wherever the fuck USA. Her social circle consists of her toxic mother and even more insane best friend, whilst the dog has to convince this woman to fall in love with her so that he can turn into a human again. I bet you 1000 pounds you wont predict the ending.
9.5/10
5. Low Blow
Leo Fong's Magnum Opus. A story about a Private Eye with a shit care and his attempts to thwart a cult led by a very drunk and out of it Cameron Mitchell. Stack Pierce also stars, remember him? This film is genuinely funny, from the constant soundtrack for the first 40 minutes of the film to the constantly breaking car to the night fight scenes where you cant see a fucking thing. Cameron Mitchell is only seen stood up twice in this film, that's how fucked he was making this. God this film was a trainwreck.
9.6/10
4. Lawnmower Man
Pierce Brosnan stars in the film Lawnmower Man, where he takes a persons lower intelligence and puts it into the stratosphere. Pierce Brosnan is the highest name actor I've seen so far in these films and even he couldn't save this shit show. Jobe's progression from idiot to divine god is just so bad, and the cgi is all sorts of godawful. I can't believe this got greenlit at all, it's such a shit film that it has to go this high. Fucking Lawnmower man. My head hurts thinking about it.
9.9/10
3. Hawkeye
This is by Leo Fong but he doesn't star, instead we have a budget budget discount knock off Rush Hour vibe going on with a main Chinese actor who hates children and an Eddie Murphy lookalike who is actually pretty good. It's a decent buddy cop film with both at each others throats at the start then becoming friends as time goes on. I did enjoy this a lot more than every other film and would consider watching it again, which says a lot.
9.9/10
2. Ben and Arthur
Let's say you're a gay man and you just got married. Wouldn't it be weird if your religious brother becomes a homicidal maniac? That's what happens in the story of Ben and Arthur, a beautiful gay couple who are terrorised by Ben's psycho religious brother. There is too much gold in this film to list, from when Ben's brother Victor murders people like its nothing to Ben setting a church on fire and nobody else mentioning it. I had to pause it sometimes cus I was laughing too hard. Absolute masterpiece of awful.
10/10
1. Deadliest Prey.
This is it. Number one. The sequel to deadly prey, made 16 years later. Absolutely brilliant. It's amazing how this film is a step by step remake of the first film just with the actors being significantly older so they can't do the stunts any more. There is a Ben Wyatt look alike in this so watch out for him. It's incredible, and there are many twists and turns that are exactly the same as the first one that you should be sure to accept. Just the sheer audacity to remake the film shot by shot blew my mind, and this film brought me to tears laughing so it gets the top spot.
1000/10
If you read this far thanks, and dont take the rankings too seriously, after like 30 they're all subjective. Have fun!

We should know by the weekend when content creators can release reviews/details about the book, but thought I'd post a few things I've been thinking about, and see if anyone had any other ideas on what it might do.
First prediction is that I'm pretty sure we won't be seeing a new model for it. The Deathwing Command Squad box if you use it for characters currently makes 1 Captain, 1 Apothecary, 1 Ancient and 1 Champion, with a random spare TerminatoKnight. All of the wargear options listed are in the Deathwing Command Squad box, and it's quite a few options (not to mention any that don't cost points) for a new character model, really can't see a Thunder Hammer and Mace both being included for a new model's sprue. So my guess is that it's a use for that 5th spare Terminator.
In terms of rules, it seems obvious given the name it's a Deathwing Lieutenant, their version of a Talonmaster, so re-roll 1's to wound aura for all DA units is a safe bet.
Given that the Talonmaster has a unique Ravenwing-only rule on top, I'd expect the Deathwing version to have something similar. Also a Primaris Lt. costs 75pts base, and the Strikemaster is 95pts base, a 20pt hike. When you take into account any extra included wargear at their normal costs, the Terminator Captain, Librarian and Chaplain are all 5pts more than their Primaris counterparts just for being Terminators.
The Primaris Lt has a Master-crafted Rifle (usually valued at 5pts), so my guess is that the Strikemaster comes with a Power Sword and Storm Bolter (usually valued at 10pts). So 5pts additional wargear and 5pts accounting for his Terminator status leaves 10pts for his extra ability. This makes me think it won't be anything too powerful, though the points system doesn't always reflect comparative value. THe Talonmaster is a perfect example of a bargain unit when compared to a normal Lt, or to two Land Speeders that he matches for damage output whilst being cheaper and a buffing character.
The name sort of invokes precision but I don't think it will be anything relating to hit rolls given our chapter tactic and captains already cover that. It could be something like Deathwing units within 6" get an extra AP with melee weapons.
I don't think it'll be the same "ignore cover save bonuses" as the Talonmaster because it wouldn't really benefit some DW units.
I wondered if it could be an aura of +1A similar to the Ancient used to give, or +1S on the charge like an old warlord trait. I guess exploding 6's are also a possibility. But honestly DW are so tough now I'd be surprised if they get anything too strong in terms of damage output buffs, especially given his pts cost. It could be +1 to charge rolls or advance rolls, but that doesn't seem very Deathwing, they aren't meant to be fast.
Most of the rules we've seen so far have been more subtle tactical abilities rather than outright damage, and I'm not expecting too much more durability buffs given how crazy it already is. So my only other guess is that it's something deepstrike related, which could also fit in with the name - perhaps he lets units do something immediately after deepstriking if they are near him, like move (but not charge if they do) or shoot on arrival, though that also seems too strong for the pts cost. I doubt it would be closer than 9" deepstrikes, if they are keeping that it seems fluffy to keep it tied to a Ravenwing unit like Combined Assault does.
Anyone got any other guesses? None of mine feel quite right to me.

Match Information:

 
Match: Barcelona vs Levante
Competition: La Liga
Date: Sunday, 13th of December 2020
Time: 21:00 CET / 15:00 EST - Convert to local time
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona - 99354 capacity
Referee: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea
 

Lineups and Squads:

 
Barcelona - Official squad to be confirmed
GK: Ter Stegen, Neto
DEF: Dest, Piqué, Araujo, Lenglet, Alba, Sergi Roberto, Umtiti, Firpo
MID: Busquets, Aleñá, Pjanić, Riqui Puig, Coutinho, Pedri, Matheus, De Jong
ATT: Griezmann, Braithwaite, Messi, Dembélé, Trincão, Ansu Fati
Unavailable: Piqué, Sergi Roberto, Dembélé, Ansu Fati (injured)
Not called:
 
Levante - Official squad to be confirmed
GK: Koke, Aitor Fernández, Dani Cárdenas
DEF: Son, Toño, Rober, Óscar Duarte, Rúben Vezo, Postigo, Clerc, Miramón, Coke
MID: Nemanja Radoja, Cheick Doukouré, Enis Bardhi, Morales, Mickael Malsa, Rochina, Nikola Vukčević, Melero, Campaña
ATT: Sergio León, Roger Martí, Jorge De Frutos, Dani Gómez
Unavailable: Cheick Doukouré, Enis Bardhi, Campaña (injured)
Not called:
 

Head-to-head:

 

• Last meeting: Barcelona 2:1 Levante
  
• Date: Sunday, 2nd of February 2020, 21:00 CET
  
• Competition: La Liga
  
• Threads: Pre-match thread | Match thread | Post-match thread
  
• Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwLG9tdhDSE
  

 

Form guide:

 
Barcelona

• Form: [L] L W W W
  
• Goals scored: 12
  
• Goals conceded: 5
  
• Last match: Barcelona 0:3 Juventus - Champions League
  

Levante

• Form: [W] D D D D
  
• Goals scored: 7
  
• Goals conceded: 4
  
• Last match: Levante 3:0 Getafe - La Liga
  

 

Comments (Post-match thread):

 
Author: lazyassnico | Score: 165 pts | Source

Messi doesn't seem to trust Griezmann I gave him the benefit of the doubt in the first half thinking it maybe coz of grizi playing on the right today but as soon as sergi came on i saw him passing to him on the right flank very often Something is definitely wrong.

Author: hamzah10 | Score: 142 pts | Source

Semedo is really showing that he can handle the entire side

Author: kaiko1 | Score: 121 pts | Source

Good game. We were a bit more straight forward, less meaningless passing. Also a good game individually for many players. We looked like a team and not FC Messi.
Defense was bad once again and we should’ve finished our chances better. The last minutes gave me PTSD but overall we improved from Valencia, so that’s good.

Author: Light_KraZe | Score: 75 pts | Source

I'm seeing some new things, most notably how Ter-Stegen keeps the ball for as long as he needs to, to pull players out of position and make space to get out of our third(which is what we suffered from in the past 3 games under Setien).
If anything this shows me creativity and an acknowledgement to a problem and a solution, I'm extremely happy and optimistic.

Author: evmota21 | Score: 29 pts | Source

First, great first half from Barça. Setién managed to instruct the players how they need to act when they get pressured by the opposing team. Piqué and Lenglet close to Marc when he has the ball, and Busi always moving to be the first receiver while Rakitić and De Jong constantly move so they can receive moving forward and have direct passes to the wings or Messi. Great execution.
Second, good Ansu Fati, he has so much security on the pitch for a 17 year old, but most importantly, great Antoine Griezmann. His movement off the ball gave so much space for Messi and Fati. Even though he missed some chances, without his constant movement and runs, both goals would not have happened. And Messi, well, you know... That pass to Fati on the second goal, unbelievable.
Third, this team still is lacking when substitutes come to the pitch. Especially Arthur Melo. I don't mind when players come to the pitch and miss a pass but when a player does not have a good energy, well, it will be more difficult for them to have a place on the starting 11 or even have a good form.
Honorable mentions: Setién and Semedo. I can see that the team dynamic is changing, which is good. I always say that a good manager gets the most of all its players, which end up being a good team or squad and that is where Semedo comes on. Semedo has been REALLY good all around, but most importantly, all of his qualities were shown in 45 minutes. For me, a coach that can make a player show this is pretty important.
Cheers to Levante because they played a really good game, and, contrary to what some people think in this sub, they are not an easy team (we lost to them on the first half of the tournament 3-1).

Author: Masoud7711 | Score: 27 pts | Source

Our Distance Covered was 103 KM. I remember that under Valverde we usually were at 95 or 96. It's good to see that the team is pressing and running better.

Author: Itaney | Score: 22 pts | Source

Amazing 1st half, terrible 2nd half. Very happy that Setien has decided to put Ansu back at LW and Griez on RW. The dynamic is much better and I can’t wait to see Dembele with that role given the space Ansu and Griezmann are having out wide. Messi with some insane stats (7 key passes for example) but he can do much better than this in terms of overall performance. Losing the ball 22 times can’t happen vs teams like Liverpool, Dortmund, PSG, where you get punished hard on the counter.

Author: yesiamadorito | Score: 16 pts | Source

Lots of positives, but lots of negatives too. To point out the few negatives I've noticed:
1) There's something between Messi and Griezmann. I've seen points where he definitely could have passed to Grizzy, but he chooses to not and cuts in for a shot. It's happened several times over now, and it bothers me that Messi does something like this. Hopefully, whatever issues lie between them get resolved because it's affecting the team, and I feel it affects Griezmann's confidence too.
2) The team CAN NOT afford to take their foot off the pedal, even in later stages of the game. It took us 2 minutes to score 2 goals, it could take them the same. Facing a side like Liverpool, City, Real would be tough with this.
3) Defense has been stable, but lots of errors. I'm not complaining but Quique must have some sort of plan in mind.
The first issue bothers me way too much (I personally love Grizzy as a player and feel he adds so much dynamic to the team)

 

Quotes:

 

Koeman: "Levante will come to squeeze us, so we have to open spaces and take advantage of our opportunities. We have three games at home and we have to win all three of them." - src @barcacentre
Koeman: "It is a lie that the players want to play with another system." - src @barcacentre
Koeman: "Madrid derby? It's better if Atlético lose." - src @barcacentre
Koeman: "There is enough time to react." - src @barcacentre
Koeman: "Riqui? I don't like to talk about one player individually. The coach only analyzes the team. We have 25 players in the main team. Riqui has been doing well when he came on, and we'll see what happens tomorrow." - src @barcacentre
Koeman: "We have to improve in defense, but it's not something that obsesses me either. Reviewing the 11 goals scored against us, we only conceded three goals in which we were outplayed. The rest are individual errors, penalties, corners..." - src @barcacentre
Koeman: "I'm fine. I'm not happy with the team's trajectory, but we are changing things and we're betting on young players. Until there is a new president we will try to make the most out of it." - src @barcacentre

 

Latest News:

 
[Article] - The lowdown on Levante UD - fcbarcelona.com
[Training] - Preparations for Levante - fcbarcelona.com
[Training] - Return to action - fcbarcelona.com
[Article] - Recovery session - fcbarcelona.com
[Article] - When and where to watch FC Barcelona v Levante - fcbarcelona.com
 

TV/Online:

 
Livesoccertv | Liveonsat | FCBarcelona.com
 

The "Nifty Or Thrifty" article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats: Holiday Cup, in this case. As is typical for the NoT series, I'll cover not only the top meta picks, but also some mons where you can save some dust with cheaper second move unlock costs... or don't need a second move at all! Because for those on a stardust budget--and/or folks trying to save up some dust for the future--it can be daunting trying to figure out where to spend or not spend it. We all want to field competitive teams, but where can we get the best bang for our buck and where should we perhaps channel our inner scrooge?
A quick reminder of what Holiday Cup IS:

• Great League, 1500 CP Limit
  
• Only Electric, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ice, and Normal type Pokémon are allowed.
  
• No other restrictions. Legendaries, Mythicals, Shadows are all a-okay!
  

As I try to usually do, I will start with those with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at the expensive Legendaries.
Okay, enough intro. Let's dive in!

10,000 Dust/25 Candy

VENUSAUR
Vine Whip | Frenzy Plantᴸ & Sludge Bomb
It's almost become an inside joke that every Nifty Or Thrifty where Venusaur is available, that's what I start with... so why break from tradition? After all, Venusaur looks just fine here, capably handling many top threats like Diggersby, Stunfisk, Lapras and Dewgong, Lanturn, Snorlax, the Charmers, the Alolan Rocks, and the quasi-Fighters Vigoroth and Obstagoon and Zangoose... and oh yeah, all those annoying Razor Leafing Grassholes too. Venusaur is one of the more reliable and flexible (for a Grass, at least) options around. Shadow Venusaur, by the way, is a slight downgrade, gaining an easier win over Magnezone but losing Snorlax and the Alolan Rocks... I don't recommend the Shadow version here.
CHARIZARD
Fire Spin/Dragon Breathᴸ | Dragon Claw & Blast Burnᴸ/Overheat
While there is usually a long debate to be had anymore over which fast move is best for Zard, here it's pretty clear the winner is Fire Spin. I mean, this is a format stuffed with Ices, Grasses, and other things weak to Fire (Galvantula, Magnezone), so it makes sense that you'd want that over Dragon Breath. But there IS a case for Breath as well, as its heavy damage can uniquely beat down Talonflame, Mandibuzz, and even Altaria. BUT Fire Spin is alone able to get the likes of Froslass, A-Sandslash, Galvantula, Magnezone, Drifblim, and Abomasnow, and Charizard emerges from all wins it shares with Dragon Breath with more HP leftover. Dragon Breath has niche use, but Fire Spin Zard is generally the way to go. That includes Shadow Charizard, though that one is a small step backwards overall in this meta, losing Galv, Blim, Snorlax, and Vigoroth and picking up only Dewgong, Mandi, and Talonflame as compensation.
RAICHU
Volt Switch | Wild Charge & Brick Break/Thunder Punch
That's right... the regular, non-Alolan one. What does it have going for it? (Besides festive holiday hats, of course! 🎅) Brick Break, which by itself is able to beat down Alolan Sandslash, Magnezone, Skarmory, Talonflame, and even big beefy Snorlax! But what it really does is play a similar role to Thunder Punch in setting up a closing Wild Charge. There is risk, as the opponent correctly sniffing out the bait and letting through an unblocked Brick Break is often going to be... less than ideal. But when it works, it really works, and better so than Thunder Punch. Brick Break is 5 energy cheaper than Punch, so there are some wins where it can be used and still allow Chu to get to the KO Wild Charge afterwards that Thunder Punch falls short on, including Vigoroth and Obstagoon (see Goonie, as an example, with BB vs TP), plus the unique win already mentioned against A-Slash. High risk, but potentially high rewards in using Brick Break. I'll say both it and Thunder Punch are viable alongside Wild Charge... but Brick Break is what makes Raichu truly unique.
ALOLAN RAICHU
Volt Switch | Wild Charge & Grass Knot/Thunder Punch
Is it possible AhChu is the worse Chu for once in this meta? It just might be. I mean, it still puts in good work, and can (like its Kanto cousin) beat Vigoroth and Magnezone, and with some fancy maneuvering, can even take down Altaria, something few Electrics can claim. (Though technically, in hindsight, Original Recipe Raichu can win the same way, so....) The problem AhChu has in this meta is twofold: its Psychic typing is more hindrance than help with the Ghost and Dark moves around to exploit it, and its non-Electric moves Grass Knot and Psychic--normally big boons--mostly go to waste here with no Mud Boys around for Grass Knot and little for Psychic (the move) to hit hard either. Even with shields down, regular Raichu is more impressive than Alolan Chu. KayChu's Brick Break just looks better in this particular meta. AhChu is viable, but... inferior? Say it ain't so!
WIGGLYTUFF
Charm | Ice Beam & Play Rough
I know, I know. Between Halloween Cup and Kanto Cup and Nightfall Cup and open Great League in GBL, you're probably sick and tired of Wiggly, but here we go again. With practically no true Fighters and very few relevant Darks around in Holiday Cup, Wiggly is not as dominant as it's been at times, but it still rolls over a lot of things with the high neutral damage of Charm, including domination over the Darks, Fighters, and Dragons you WILL see, plus things like Galvantula, Snorlax, Stunfisk, Abomasnow, Froslass, Drifblim (and most Ghosts in general, come to think of it), other Charmers, and even a unlisted-above win over Lapras with straight Charm. Wiggly is likely to be out in force yet again. Sorry!
ALOLAN GRAVELEGOLEM
Volt Switch | Rock Blast & Stone Edge
Seemingly always underrated, the Alolan Rocks have had success in enough Silph Arena Cups to get noticed by Arena players, but it wasn't until Kanto Cup that many in the GBL PvP community had their eyes opened. And their success looks likely to carry over into Holiday Cup. They equally terrorize Ices, Flyers, Fires, and their fellow Electrics, a unique set of wins that give them the flexability you really want in this Cup (considering that list is ⅔ of the major typings here!). Rather than ramble on, I'll just review the differences between Golem and Graveler real quick. The higher Attack of A-Golem allows it to knock out Magnezone, while A-Golem will typically fall just short. On the flipside, A-Grav can outbulk Wigglytuff and get to TWO Rock Blasts for the win, unlike A-Golem. And A-Grav is slightly better with shields down, outlasting Whimsicott and Froslass, while A-Golem usually loses those but beats A-Grav in the head to head thanks to winning CMP. Either way you go, make sure the Alolan Rocks are on your radar now if they aren't already!
LINOONE
Shadow Claw | Grass Knot & Thunder
Linoone isn't the best at anything, but it's good enough at a mix of things, checking off many big names like Lapras, Dewgong, Alolan Marowak, Stunfisk, Skarmory, Froslass, Drifblim, Mandibuzz, HaunteGengar (even with Sludge Bomb), and more. It's a borderline option if you look only at the number of wins, but like the Vince McMahon meme, it just gets better and better when you look those wins over.
OBSTAGOON
Counter | Night Slash & Hyper Beam/Gunk Shot
The cheapest Counter user here, yours for potentially just the measly cost of a second move after evolving up from a hatch-size Galarian Zigzagoon. And Obstagoon and its Counter are quite good in this meta, yes. None of the Ices like it (not even Froslass that's usually troublesome for Fighters and quasi-Fighters), nor other things weak to Counter like Diggersby, Magnezone, and the Alolan Rocks. And meanwhile, Night Slash handles all the Ghosts besides Drifblim and Golurk, and it also overcomes Lanturn and Mandibuzz with high neutral damage (mostly thanks to Gunk Shot or Hyper Beam). And with Beam, it can even potentially knock out Stunfisk.
ALTARIA
Dragon Breath | Sky Attack & Dragon Pulse/Dazzling Gleam
Don't take Alt's late arrival in this section of the article to mean it's not really good, because it is really good in Holiday Cup. Matched against the core meta specifically, Altaria capably handles the Counter users, all Fire types, most other Flyers (like Drifblim and Mandibuzz), Diggersby, Stunfisk and Lanturn and Galvantula (and nearly all Electrics, in fact), Snorlax and more. And yes, Dazzling Gleam may actually be an option for the Darks around (and the eye-catching ability to steal a win from any Magnezone that gets cocky and opts not to shield). Though let's be honest: 95% of the time, Altaria is just going to beat face with Sky Attack anyway.
TORTERRA
Razor Leaf | Sand Tomb & Stone Edge/Frenzy Plantᴸ
I've advocated for Torterror several times and in multiple leagues, but here we go again: Sand Tomb debuffing + Razor Leaf = big pain. Yes yes, its unusual Grass/Ground combo typing makes it particularly susceptible to the many Ices here, but it still manages to overcome Lapras AND Dewgong despite that, and keep in mind that the typing means that Torterra TRIPLE resists Electric damage, so the only ones that survive it are Zapdos and Emolga with their Flying moves. Tort rips through all Water and Ground types in the format besides Gligar, as well as the Counter users, Snorlax, and even Wigglytuff. It's a very nice performance that doesn't even include the potential of what Frenzy Plant or especially Stone Edge (with its literal perfect coverage against all four typings Torterra is weak to: Ice, Fire, Flying, and Bug) can do if snuck around shields. Torterra likely needs a quick hook if Ices or Grasses show up, but short of that, it can put the hurt on a LOT of things. Just don't get too cute by using the Shadow version, as it's a noticeable dropoff.
CHERRIM
Bullet Seed | Weather Ball (Fire) & Solar Beam/Dazzling Gleam
Having Cherrim as my lead in GBL Great League for 2+ seasons now, I can tell you it is more impactful on the right team than just the raw numbers would indicate. Yes, it can handle Grounds (Diggersby, Stunfisk, etc.) just fine, as well as overcome even seemingly unfavorable Waters like Dewgong, and perhaps surprising wins like both Counter users and Snorlax. But Weather Ball comes so fast and so often that it is a legit threat to Magnezone (which it typically beats) and Skarmory and Froslass and Abomasnow and Alolan Sandslash and others. The key is that Cherrim has to be swapped out more often than some players may be comfortable with, hitting hard and then ducking out before facing a killer charge move coming back its way. Against Skarmory and Abomasnow and A-Slash in particular, it can consistently get them under 10 HP, but then falls JUST short of closing it out. A quick swap out against Aboma and A-Slash, for example, can get Cherrim out of their with nearly half its life left and the opponent a mere fast move or two from death from what you swap in. Cherrim does some real good on its own, but it's even better than it appears in a soften-them-up, support type role. And those Dazzling Gleams or Solar Beams come much quicker than an unprepared opponent may be ready for and give Cherrim a high potential for sudden blowout wins.
WHIMSICOTT
Charm/Razor Leaf | Grass Knot & Moonblast/Hurricane
There are two very different ways to play Whimsie. The most obvious and most common is as a Charmer, with which it does typical Charm things like shredding Mandibuzz and Altaria (despite being weak to Flyers) and Galvantula. Or you can go off-meta and run the surprise Razor Leaf Whimsie, which forgoes those Flyers and Galv to beat Lapras, Dewgong, and Diggersby instead, all of which have moves that would prompt their owners to assume they're okay and perhaps leave them in a few moments too long before they realize their mistake. With EITHER fast move, Whimsie beats down things like Obstagoon, Vigoroth, Stunfisk, Snorlax, Lanturn, and the Alolan Rocks (yes, even with Charm in that last case, though Razor Leaf is obviously especially brutal), so there's room for either fast move in this meta depending on what you need Whimsie to do more for your specific team.
CHESNAUGHT
Vine Whip/Smack Down | Superpower & Energy Ball
Here we go, the first of a trio of viable Gen6 Pokémon all in the 10k dust category! (That even expands to a quartet later... you'll see the fourth further down in the article.) And Chesnaught is a good one, able to do standard Grass things against the various Waters, Grounds, and Rocks (beating them ALL except Flying Archeops and GliscoGligar) as well as abusing things weak to Superpower like Alolan Sandslash (usually a solid wall against Grasses), Vigoroth, Obstagoon, Snorlax, Magnezone and others. It's a nice little package with unique flexibility and well worth considering if you've managed to build a good one already. Oh, and there's even a case to be made for Smack Down, which sheds wins like Dewgong, Lapras, A-Slash (mostly due to lower energy generation) and Diggersby to instead beat Galvantula and a slew of Flyers like Mandibuzz, Talonflame, Charizard, and Drifblim. Yes, that is most certainly an off-meta play, but one that could reap rich rewards with 'Naught being so new and thus very likely to catch the opponent completely off-guard and perhaps swap one of those Flyers in before realizing their fatal mistake. Just a thought if you're feeling frisky.
TALONFLAME
Fire Spin | Flame Charge & Brave Bird
On the surface, it might be easy to chalk this up as just a worse Charizard. That's what the high level numbers show. But there are some distinct things working in Talon's favor. Firstly, no Legacy moves required. If you lack a Blast Burn Zard, that alone is a BIG plus. Secondly, there are wins Talon can get that Zard cannot, such as Alolan Marowak and Dewgong in 1v1 shielding, and Froslass with shields down (able to survive a Shadow Ball and strike back, whereas Zard doesn't live past the Ball). Talon also beats Zard head to head in 0 and 1 shield. The downside is that Charizard, with its higher Attack, uniquely overcomes Skarmory with shields down and Magnezone, Drifblim, and Froslass in 1v1 shielding. But all other wins are shared between them, and they are overall very close... and again, no Legacy required. Call it Budget Zard if you will, but it's a pretty close approximation that may actually be a better fit for some players that even have both to choose from.
PYROALITLEO
Fire Fang | Flame Charge & Dark Pulse/Crunch
If Talonflame is budget Zard, Pyroar is... uh... budget Arcanine? Maybe budget Houndoom is more appropriate. It Fire Fangs stuff down, pure and simple. And while that's not an expansive list of wins, it has some good names--Skarmory, Froslass, A-Slash, Zone, Galv, Blim, and the Charmers--that could even be hiding behind two shields and it doesn't matter... you get them with just fast moves. And then you can launch a Dark Pulse at what follows, or throw a Flame Charge and make subsequent Fangs all the more deadly with the Attack boost. Raaaaaawr. 🦁 And heck, it's even a bit better with pre-evolution Litleo, who sports notably better bulk, Crunch instead of Dark Pulse, and gets all the same wins as Pyroar plus Snorlax. The big downside is that it has to be maxed, so there goes your thriftiness. But it's a very fun spice prospect if you are somehow drowning in dust. 🔥

50,000 Dust/50 Candy

ALOLAN NINETALES
Charm | Psyshock & Ice Beam
Let's start the 50ks with perhaps the best Charmer in the format. What sets it apart from Wigglytuff and Whimsicott? Put simply, it's the typing. Having a secondary Ice typing is usually not a big plus, since Ice famously resists ONLY other Ice, but in a format packed with relevant Ices, it's a plus in Holiday Cup. Subtly, that gives it the strongest win of all Charmers against Lapras and Froslass and a true fight for Fairy slayer Alolan Sandslash (who has to land three charge moves, one of them a Bulldoze, to pull it out). More directly, it means A-Tails is the only Charmer that beats Dewgong head to head, and as a bonus it can beat Wigglytuff head to head if it goes straight Charm (usually even if Wiggly goes straight Charm too. But there are, of course, downsides. Not only is A-Tails especially weak to Fire types (always a problem for Charmers anyway, but especially for half-Ice Ninetales), but A-Tails also loses to Lanturn and the Alolan Rocks, whereas Whimsie can beat them both thanks to its secondary typing of Grass... but Whimsie then loses to Lapras, Dewgong, Froslass, and Wigglytuff. (Got all that? 🧐) Long story short, while it's a little more expensive than the alternatives, there is a lot to really like about A-Tails here... this may be the meta where it can finally get a real leg up on Wigglytuff.
ALOLAN SANDSLASH
Powder Snow | Ice Punch & Bulldoze/Blizzard
I have mentioned it several times throughout, and PvPoke understandably has it locked in as part of the projected core meta (at the time of this writing, at least), but if I'm being honest, A-Slash looks shaky here. It does manage to beat Stunfisk, and is brutally oppressive to Charmers, Flyers, and most all Grasses (really the only ones that can beat it are Chesnaught and unlikely-to-be-seen-much Breloom with their Fighting moves), and that gives it a robust win rate overall. But what that does NOT reflect is its critcal weaknesses to the quasi-Fighters and Fires that occupy the core meta, as well as the Waters that it cannot beat either: Lapras, Dewgong, Lanturn, Obstagoon, Vigoroth, Alolan Rocks, Galvantula, Magnezone, Talonflame and Charizard, A-Wak, even Snorlax... they all tend to beat Alolan Sandslash. It has a role, but it's just a specialist here that will likely need a quick hook if in one of those several unfavorable matchups.
GRASSHOLES
Razor Leaf | Sludge Bomb & Moonblast/Leaf Blade
I'll keep saying it until I see people actually starting to use it: VILEPLUME is just as good, if not better, than the more famous VICTREEBEL. They beat basically the same things (Vic uniquely beats Snorlax, and Plume instead gets Magnezone), but Plume also wins the head to head and has a somewhat subtle but important bulk advantage that lets it hang around for some extra hits that Vic may never reach. They beat mostly what you expect Razor Leafers to beat (Waters, Rocks, Grounds, Charmers, quasi-Fighters) and even things that might surprise you like Froslass and those Snorlax or Magnezone wins. And you can bet they'll be showing up as you slog through the week of Holiday Cup. Don't shoot the messenger! 😬
MAGNEZONE
Spark | Mirror Shot & Wild Charge
So if you thought Mantine was bait-heavy, get a loud of this. You've probably faced it down in Master League a lot more than in Great League, but if you've faced it down at all, you have surely gotten duped into shielding a Mirror Shot or two along the line and then cried as a Wild Charge came crashing in behind it. 'Zone is a one-trick pony in that way, but it's a really good trick. And at least in this meta, thanks in no small part to its typing, it can still be plenty dangerous even if its baiting plans fall apart. There is also the Shadow flavor of Zone, which is generally a hair worse if baits work, but ironically a bit better if baits are less of a factor, based mainly on even those Mirror Shots dealing higher damage as a Shadow. I think. Honestly this one could take a whole article in and of itself to REALLY dive deep into, so let's just summarize: with baits, regular Zone uniquely beats Galv, A-Grav, Whimsie, and Talonflame, while Shadow instead beats Snorlax and A-Wak. Without baits, regular wins Whimsie again, but now Shadow uniquely takes out Snorlax, Water Gun Lanturn, and Altaria. Got all that? Sorry, not repeating it again... too much to still cover. Good luck... onward!
DEWGONG
Ice Shardᴸ | Icy Windᴸ & Blizzard/Water Pulse
It feels wrong to recommend Dewgong run with all Ice moves, as you'd like the safety of a Water move against Fires in particular, but Dewgong really does seem to have the best potential with Blizzard as the second move to pair with the double Legacy Ice Shard/Icy Wind many players have built with Elite TMs by now. Water Pulse is just a BAD move that grants Dewgong only a close win over Alolan Sandslash, and loses Snorlax, Lanturn, and Abomasnow that Blizzard can beat. However you slice it, Dewgong is held somewhat in check here, but is still quite good and definitely something that many players who have one ready will be itching to show off. Brace yourselves... winter and its icy winds are coming!
CLOYSTER
Ice Shard | Icy Wind & Hydro Pump
Non-Legacy Dewgong for those who lack an IS/IW one... but a really dang GOOD substitute! In some ways, Cloyster is even superior, beating A-Slash, Alolan Marowak, Talonflame, and Galvantula thanks to its higher Attack and/or (in the case of the two Alolans) by unleashing the big stick it carries that Dewgong does not: Hydro Pump. Now as is usually the case, there is a tradeoff: Dewgong outbulks Abomasnow, Snorlax, WG Lanturn, and Wigglytuff, while Cloyster loses. There's also this marathon match (over a minute and a half!) that Dewgong eventually emerges from, greivously wounded but victorious. But still, there is more than enough to like about Cloyboy that it's worth even players with that coveted Legacy Gong taking a hard look to decide which actually fits best with the other two things on their team. (Shadow Cloyster is not recommended, by the way.)
HAUNTER
Shadow Claw | Shadow Punch & Sludge Bomb/Shadow Ball
Whenever there are Fairies in the meta--and Wigglytuff in particular--Sludge Bomb bears serious consideration, as Haunter beats Wiggly with Bomb, but loses with Shadow Ball. Intestingly, TIL that Sludge Bomb Haunter can also manage to tie Altaria with Sludge Bomb as well, thanks to being five energy cheaper than Ball, which falls just short. Shadow Ball does manage to typically beat Skarmory while Sludge Bomb does not, but considering all other wins against the core meta are shared, I'm going to call that (slight) advantage Sludge Bomb. But both are certainly viable, and so it Haunter itself. I also lean towards it over GENGAR, who requires a Legacy move (Shadow Punch) and cannot get close to tying Altaria no matter what it does with moves, and looks especially inferior if you try it with Sludge Bomb (which is again the only way it has a prayer against Wiggly). Gengar works, but Haunter pulls slightly ahead here.
ALOLAN MAROWAK
Fire Spin/Hex | Bone Club & Shadow Boneᴸ/Shadow Ball
I mean, what's left to say at this point? A-Wak has been relevant in so many formats now that I cannot imagine you're not already familiar with what it can do, so let's just look at what it specifically does in Holiday Cup. Yes, Shadow Bone is typically your best bet now, with Fire Spin powering it up and dishing out important Fire-type damage, but Shadow Ball is close behind, losing to Drifblim and Lapras that Bone can beat, but picking up the mirror against Bone Wak. And even Hex/Shadow Bone makes a surprisingly good argument for a set lacking any Fire damage, also winning the mirror versus Fire Spin Wak, getting Lapras and Drifblim back, and uniquely outracing Water Gun Lanturn, but at the cost of now losing to Normal types like Vigoroth and Wigglytuff. Wow, I guess there were some new things to say about A-Wak after all!
ZANGOOSE
Shadow Claw | Night Slash & Close Combat
Skipping ahead in Pokédex order a bit, because... well, Zangoose just fits well coming right after A-Wak. Not only does it boast a very similar record, but Goose easily beats A-Wak in the head to head, but it replicates some of A-Wak's best with its Ghost and Dark moves (like Froslass and Drifblim) while bringing its own unique flavor with Close Combat. We've already established, I think, that Fighting moves are a very good thing to have in this meta, and here we see it again with Goose able to easily handle Lapras, Magnezone, A-Slash, Alolan Rocks, and even Mandibuzz thanks to Combat, and its combination of hard hitting moves also overpower things like Lanturn, Galvantula, and Talonflame. The Goose is loose in this meta as a potentially really good safe swap option, or perhaps even as a pressuring lead.
LANTURN
Spark/Water Gun | Thunderbolt & Hydro Pump/Thunder
Alright, its name keeps coming up, so let's jump into this unique electric fishy. There are two flavors, both potent: Spark has the gaudier numbers, being the only way to reliably outrace Galvantula, Obstagoon, and Water Gun Lanturn; the standard Water Gun varient loses those three, and Mandibuzz, but can manage to scratch out a win against Stunfisk instead. Or there is even a middle ground, with Water Gun and double Electric charge moves that still can beat Stunfisk and gains Mandibuzz back as well. Whatever flavor you prefer, this is its best chance in a while to shine out without Rainy Castform around to show off too.
LUDICOLO
Razor Leaf/Bubble | Energy Ball & Ice Beam
Speaking of unique Water types, one of the oddest is always dance champion Ludicolo. In this meta it seems to operate best as a Razor Leafer, obviously handling Waters and Ices better than the standard Grasshole but not actually doing anything truly unique. (Its meta wins and losses are the same as Shadow Vic, actually, minus only Wigglytuff.) So yes, that works, but to get truly unique, consider Bubble Ludi, as that at least brings down Altaria, Alolan Marowak, Drifblim, and Whimsicott while retaining wins versus Stunfisk, Diggersby, Lanturn, Vigoroth and some others. That seems like a better niche than operating as a subpar Grasshole wannabe.
CRADILY
Bullet Seed | Stone Edge & Grass Knot
And while we're doing zany, no reason NOT to cover Cradily, the Grass that can slay Flyers...and better than that other Rock tossing, woolly Grass. Yes, that walking carpet Tangrowth can beat Dewgong, but Cradily shares its other wins AND can beat Mandibuzz, Magnezone, Galvantula, and Abomasnow... the ONLY Grass that can survive Aboma, in fact. And it does it while still handling most of the things you'd ask of your standard Grass type, like Lapras and Lanturn and A-Rocks and Stunfisk and Diggersby and more. Bring in the new year with a toast and a hearty "dilly dilly!"
FROSLASS & GLALIE
Powder Snow/Ice Shard | Shadow Ball & Avalanche
I am putting them together because there are many similarities against the core meta... but there are important differences as well. Froslass is infamous for its ability to fend off most Fighters, and she is also adept at beating other Ices thanks to quickly charging up Shadow Balls and simply outracing them, and these traits are most obvious in that she beats Vigoroth and Dewgong, while Glalie does not. What Glalie has going for it is bulk and Ice Shard... and wins against Galvantula and Froslass herself. Lass is generally a bit better and certainly far more popular, but Glalie is right there too, and may fit your team a bit better.
SEALEO
Powder Snow/Water Gun | Body Slam & Aurora Beam/Water Pulse
Now look, I am not going to sit here and say that going off-meta with Water Gun is better than Powder Snow, because especially when you pull back the covers and examine them against the entire meta, {Powder](https://pvpoke.com/battle/multi/1500/holiday/sealeo/11/0-2-1/2-1) has a crystal clear advantage over Gun. BUT, when you boil it down to the core meta, Gun somehow looks better than Powder. What's going on here? Well, first off, looks are a little deceiving there, as Water Gun shows a win over Wigglytuff and Powder Snow does not (with WG dealing about 8 damage per second, but Powder Snow only mustering 6, and that extra damage adds up, but if Wiggly sticks to straight Charm, WG won't save Sealeo. The other unique win showing with Gun IS more legit, as it's over Alolan Marowak, who stands up pretty well to Powder Snow but NOT to a steady Water Gun attack. WG also is the best way to beat many other Ices (and Froslass in particular), but Powder Snow is harsher on Flyers (and is the only way to beat Mandibuzz, as one example) and brings a lot more shield pressure by spamming Body Slam. That higher energy gain is also the only way that Sealeo can outrace Stunfisk. Powder IS my recommendation overall too, but just know that there are teams that may benefit from the unusual Water Gun Sealeo more. Is your team one of them?
ABOMASNOW
Powder Snow | Weather Ball (Ice) & Energy Ball
Yes, Aboma certainly does good things here, but be warned: there are chinks in its armor in this meta. Yes, Aboma capably handles many Flyers (including Altaria) but has its own weaknesses to overcome and thus has no chance against any that are part Fire, and also loses to Mantine, Skarmory, and even Noctowl, which is worrisome. It also manages to eliminate Stunfisk, Diggersby, and all its fellow Grasses (besides Cradily), and Energy Ball allows it to turn the tables on Lanturn and even Dewgong. But I just listed all of its core meta wins. It's a good list, but not incredibly long. Aboma is just simply not dominant here. Shadow Aboma is a little better, trading Dewgong for Lapras and Alolan Graveler, but still, not as much of a bruiser as you may be hoping for. Use it, surely, as many teams could benefit from its unique combination of Ice and Grass damage. Just know that it has its limitations.
PILOSWINE
Powder Snow | Avalanche & Bulldoze
Normally Piloswine's Ground subtying is more curse than blessing, opening it up to all manner of unpleasant vulnerabilities. But in this particular meta, it's more blessing than curse, giving it an edge against Electrics that its fellow Ices don't share, which leads to big wins over ALL of them besides Lanturn and spammy Magneton. It's the only Ice type to consistently beat Magnezone and the Alolan Rocks, for instance.
GALVANTULA
Volt Switch | Lunge & Discharge
Yes, of course it has play. Galv is a solid Electric with the added benefit of maiming Grasses (and several other things) with Lunge, and resisting Fighting damage to make it a sneaky good counter to the users of Counter. You WILL be seeing the spooder show up throughout your week of Holiday Cup play.
ZEBSTRIKA
Spark | Flame Charge & Wild Charge
Perhaps more spicy than true meta, but an Electric that can burn down Steels could be a nice thing to have in this meta. And with high enough bulk, it overpowers Wigglytuff and Alolan Marowak as a bonus. This spice is nice!
Now, I've managed to avoid it in other GBL NoTs posted recently, but this time, with six typings and a load of Pokémon to cover, I have to split this into two parts. So I encourage you to check out Part II and keep reading into the more expensive options in Holiday Cup, starting with those costing 75k dust for their second move. See you there!

haul overview pic
After months of being locked down, getting scammed for storage extensions, and not being able to ship parcels due to COVID, I finally got around to shipping the second half of my previous 15kg haul. Not sure why paying $40+ for clothes is fine but I get hung up over a dollar fifty so that they don't destroy it in the warehouse. Anyway.
There's a pretty wide variety of stuff this time round, with lots of cool coats and tees, as well as a few accessories. Not as many shoes this time, since I'm running out of ways to convince my family and friends that I need as many shoes as I have.
Quick question for you guys: do you guys prefer this format or would you rather a slideshow style post next time? Looks like image haul reviews are the rage at the moment, they do look nice but tend to be harder to click between links/write decent reviews. Let me know in the comments and I'll consider for my next review. If you want more info or pics, drop a comment or PM me and I'll try and help.
***
Need more heat? Previous reviews:
15+ KG HAUL REVIEW // MOBILE FRIENDLY // CLOTHING, SHOES + LOTS OF ACCESSORIES // W2C, GP'S & QC PICS // FOG, STUSSY, CHAMPION, ACNE, PRL, PALACE, CE, CHANEL, NIKE, GIVENCHY, ACW, CDG, MORE...
35+ KG MEGALIST + REVIEW // 60+ ITEMS // NON-HYPE WARDROBE OVERHAUL // PALACE, GOLF, CAV EMPT, CG, FOG, PALM ANGELS, P+F, LACOSTE, PRL, MORE...
***

Stats

Age: 21 Height: 170cm Weight: 60kg Shoe/Penis Size: US 10, EU 43/44 Build Type: Athletic, Lean Location: Australia Shipping: Shipped with GD-EMS and arrived in 13 days which is close to record time for my parcels so far! Total shipping cost was about $190 USD.

Contents:

Jackets/Coats: 4 Hoodies/Crewnecks: 5 Tees/Longsleeves: 5 Pants: 4 Socks/Underwear: 7 Shoes: 2 Accessories/Other: 7 Coronaviruses: 0
***
If you saw the previous reviews, you'll know how it works: I've given every item 3 scores out of 10; one for how they look (1:1 status etc.), one for how they actually feel to weause/own, and one for my overall satisfaction with the product. All products will also have weight included! Love you guys that much. Each item has a WeGoBuy direct link, taobao W2C, and QC pics. Plus some quick thoughts after receiving and using them for a while. The size & colours listed are as selected on taobao, not necessarily TTS. Measure yourselves people, it ain't hard.
^{Note: for transparency, the WeGoBuy link to items contains a referral code. You can use it to pretty much go straight to the agent phase and support my reviews, but if you don't want to use a referral code just use the taobao W2C link as normal.}
You know the drill. Let's get into it.

🥼 Jackets/Coats 🥼

TNF Retro 1996 Nuptse // ¥388.00 // $61.49 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: M // Colour: colour matching Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 850g
Thoughts: Had to get an HD QC pic of the logo as it looked a bit funky in the potato quality QC pics, but fortunately both on camera and in hand the stitching looks great. Inside logo tag is clean too. Fits very nicely, and feels comfy and warm to wear. There are lots of TNF jackets round here in winter, but it's cool to have a different colourway that stands out. It could maybe have been a bit thicker but it doesn't bother me too much since it only gets "cold" down here in winter, not cold cold (looking at you guys, Canada and Northern Europe). The seller's also got a ¥399 batch which is supposedly thicker so if you need it to be toasty, maybe check that one out (wego / tao). Since we're heading into summer here down under, this is gonna get a bit of the closet treatment for a while, but looking forward to breaking it out when the temp starts dropping again.
CAV EMPT Corduroy Jacket AW18 // ¥234.00 // $33.39 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: M // Colour: Navy Looks : 7/10 // Feel: 6/10 // Overall: 6.5/10 Weight: 1126g
Thoughts: The colours on this one are a little strange; retail is meant to be a navy blue. It looks super black and dark in the QC, but in hand it's a bit closer to blue, even verging on green in some lighting? Not too much to worry about because Cav Empt isn't that well known round here anyway. Apart from that, the badge is great, text is good, and jacket itself is alright. The sleeves are a bit wide I feel, but the jacket length and shoulders fit nicely. Not the most comfy jacket I've ever warm, but does the job and feels adequately warm to wear. Not sure if I'd cop again for quite that price but if you like the piece a lot it might suit you.
Fear of God Clouds Denim Jacket // ¥201.24 // $30.73 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: M& // Colour: Blue and green pink blooming Looks : 1/10 // Feel: x/10 // Overall: 1/10
Thoughts: Fuck this was garbo. Warning: QC pics may be vomit inducing. I gp'd so many different sellers on both tao and weidian looking for this piece, and this was the only one that even ended up shipping. Garbage looking batch: I don't know what clouds these guys were looking at but the colours aren't even remotely close to the original pattern. Incorrect buttons and inner tags too. Returned & refunded as fast as I could really. If anyone's got a good hookup for this piece, lemme know.
Blank Archive MAMC Gradient Coat ^legit // ¥428.00 // $65.55 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: S // Colour: spot Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 1344g
Thoughts: Fuck Taobao Resellers. Was originally looking at this coat on Blank Archive as it looks like a cool, semi-formal long coat for winter, but saw a comment saying that the company drop-ships from taobao. Reverse image search and what do you know: there it is. Selling for $65 on TB, $145 on BA. They didn't even bother to shoot new photos and just stole them too. Fuck you guys. Anyway, this is a cool piece, the outside is awesome looking and the inside is lined with a warm, kinda faux-fur material. It's not overly long for this kind of a coat, comes up at above knee height. Again, it's getting hot down under so it's gonna sit in the closet for a couple of seasons but can't wait to break this one out on some chilly winter evenings (or even show off in the office maybe?).

🧥 Hoodies/Crewnecks 🧥

CAV EMPT Night Vector Crewneck // ¥128.00 // $18.58 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: M // Colour: Black Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 6/10 // Overall: 7/10 Weight: 1126g
Thoughts: Love the graphics on this, especially the minimalist line drawing on the back. It's actually really thick and heavy feeling, and fits a bit oversized which is nice. It's more of a sleeves up to the hands not sleeves up to the wrist type fit. The inside lining is a bit more on the rough side than the soft side, but doesn't make it uncomfortable to wear at all. The front graphic is maybe a little bit too faded and dark, but not noticeably so, and the rubber badge is decent quality. It's also got the reversible inside graphic too which is awesome. There were quite a lot of loose threads when it first arrived, but nothing an appointment with Dr Scissors couldn't fix, and it hasn't fallen apart yet either. A really dope piece for CE fans.
Acne Studios Flogho Sweatshirt // ¥269.00 // $40.82 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: S (adult) // Colour: Black Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 9/10 // Overall: 9/10 Weight: 554g
Thoughts: If you don't own a sweater with writing on the collar in late 2020, wyd? Topacney continually manages to knocks things out of the park when it comes to acne studios. This is a pretty simple crewneck, but it looks fire and feels really comfy. Soft, slightly elastic material, neck hole isn't too loose, inner lining is soft and warm. This one just feels great to wear. I really don't have too much more to say, it fits great but check yourself against the size charts or send him a message as his pieces tend to run quite large. He was pretty helpful on wechat regarding sizing.
Vintage Nike Mini Swoosh Hoodie // ¥145.00 // $22.01 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: L // Colour: Earth Colour Looks : 7/10 // Feel: 5/10 // Overall: 6/10 Weight: 752g
Thoughts: Ambition's second batch. I really wanted the tan coloured one, but it was sold out in M. I ended up going for L and hoping it was oversized, but damn this thing fits LARGE. Lengthy and the sleeves have a lot of slack which means unless I hit a mid-20s growth spurt, it's unlikely this is gonna fit me very well at any point. Disappointing because the hoodie itself looks quite nice (although doesn't have drawstrings for the hood) and feels decent. The inner lining isn't the softest and it doesn't feel quite as thick as some of my other hoodies but still passes the vibe check at $20. Will probably get worn round the house or just as a comfort piece but a little disappointed it won't make it out much. Might cop another in a smaller size if it's restocked. Definitely go either TTS or 1 down with this one.
Palace x Ralph Lauren Skate Polo Bear Sweater // ¥135.00 // $21.10 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: M // Colour: Navy Blue Looks : 5/10 // Feel: 9/10 // Overall: 7.5/10 Weight: 861g
Thoughts: This one's interesting, because while it's not really the most 1:1 rep you'll ever see, holy shit is it comfortable. I don't know exactly how they made it, but it's so soft it feels like touching a cloud. It's amazing if you just want a nice sweater with a cool picture on it, but there are some flaws which need to be pointed out. The knit on the sweater isn't quite as good as retail, it's much thinner and more fine, not coming off so much as a knitted sweater. The colours on the bear aren't quite right either, which is especially noticeable on the face - the contrast is just a bit too high. The P on the jacket isn't quite as crisp either. Lastly, the skateboard kinda dips in the middle (looks like my man's riding a ripstick lmao) but this isn't so much of a probably when wearing since the fabric bends anyway. At least this one DOES have an RL embroidered on it. The inner tags are slightly different too. This may not be good for my UK repfam due to all the flaws, but if you're like me you may just want a reasonably accurate sweater for a significantly cheaper price. I haven't heard of any better batches coming so this might be your best bet. It's a little rough around the edges but nothing in life is perfect so I can learn to love it.
Kapital Skeleton Knit Sweater // ¥258.00 // $40.89 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: 1 // Colour: army green Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 9/10 // Overall: 9.5/10 Weight: 680g
Thoughts: Now THIS is how a knit should be. It's wide knit, but very sturdy. The holes are actually a part of the knit, meaning they're sewn in around the outside and don't have loose threads. Looks great, and feels super soft and warm to wear. There's only 2 sizes: size 1 fits me great as a M style fit. This the type of sweater ya granny would give you and you cherish for years. Personally, I think I would have preferred the skeleton graphic to be on the front of the sweater but hey that's a complaint for the designers at Kapital, not the repmaker. So as far as this one goes, great quality and good looks. Didn't quite sneak it in for spooktober but alas.

👕 Tees/Long Sleeves 👕

Acne Studios Upside Down Logo Tee // ¥124.20 // $20.94 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C dead // QC)
Size: S // Colour: black Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 9/10 Weight: 359g
Thoughts: Pretty hard to get wrong, it's a black tee with some white text. Cool lookin white text tho. Fits kinda boxy, but the blank is quite thick and heavy, nice quality. Really digging the minimalism vibes, and the upside down text. 🙂🙃 type beat ^lmao
Guess x Places + Faces 3M Striped Tee // ¥149.00 // $22.55 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: S // Colour: black Looks : 7/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 281g
Thoughts: This closet is brought to you by Union Kingdom. Anyone who's been in this sub for longer than 13 seconds knows about UK and the quality of his guess tees. This one is no excpetion, fits just like any of his other tees, feels comfy enough to wear, and the 3M is reflective under the light. I kinda wish I'd copped some of the other colourways than black to work with some other fits, but it's hard to go wrong with a black and white tee in a fit either. If you're a fan of 3M shit and just straight up going and utterly fucking up people's flash photos, this is a tee for you.
Comme Des Garcons Play Red Heart Tee // ¥119.00 // $18.06 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: Male L // Colour: Black with Red Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 201g
Thoughts: Heart looks really decent, good shape and stitching. Rest of the shirt looks black (as expected for a black tshirt). Held it up next to my retail CDG longsleeve, and could barely tell the difference between logos. Material is quite soft and nice too. Seller has a few different colour combos so pick what you like best. But if you buy this it means you like boys, haha get it guys??? Because of the brand name?? It means you like boys?? You know it m—
Palace Pigeon Hole T-Shirt // ¥64.00 // $8.96 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: L // Colour: White Looks : 3/10 // Feel: 4/10 // Overall: 4/10 Weight: 192g
Thoughts: Bought this so long ago I forgot it was even in my haul. Pretty much the definition of "meh" in a tee. The graphic shape is accurate enough, but it looks like it's been heat-pressed on and seems plastic-y where I'm pretty sure the original is screen printed. It's also missing the palace symbol where the tag is. The blank is damn thin as well. Material is soft, so I'll probably just wear this around the house some. But hey, you get what you pay for I guess. Should I just be happy a shirt even arrived for $9? Maybe.
Palace P-3D Longsleeve Ultimo 17 // ¥71.00 // $10.02 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C dead // QC)
Size: M // Colour: Black Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 9/10 Weight: 419g
Thoughts: Quick side note does anyone else get kinda amazed when they think about the fact they can receive decent quality, thick, accurate clothes for like 10 bucks? For not even one hour's work at minimum wage, this shirt is a definite COP. Looks very accurate as far as I can see, has the correct symbol where the tag should be, and the blank feels heavy & thick. Even came with the palace paper tag on the inside. In my opinion this is one of the coolest trifergs, so definitely super happy with this cop. W2C is dead unfortunately, but reverse image search and you should get some more options.

👖 Pants 👖

Amiri Distressed Leather Insert Jeans // ¥249.00 // $37.67 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: 30 // Colour: Black Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 9/10 Weight: 633g
Thoughts: Can we agree we need WAY more quality pants in this sub? These are fantastic. Fits TTS, skinny fit but slightly elastic, really comfy overall to wear. Construction feels good. Love the leather patches, it's great for both the aesthetic of distressed jeans, and the fact nobody gotta see my hairy-ass knees. My ONLY gripe is that the pockets are just a little too shallow. Fits a phone (barely) and that's about it. These'd be in the rotation way more often with just slightly deeper pockets.
Nike Techwear Pants // ¥94.00 // $14.98 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: M // Colour: black Looks : 5/10 // Feel: 5/10 // Overall: 5/10 Weight: 510g
Thoughts: These are most likely a fantasy piece, I thought they might be a cool and different style to most of my other stuff, but unfortunately in person they're not as great. They don't feel super uncomfortable for techwear pants, but the swoosh on the right pocket is large as all hell and the text on the left side patch is utter nonsense. They're pretty wide around the calves, but short and tight at the ankles making the fit a bit awkward. As pants, they work but that's about the best it gets really.
Burberry Style Plaid Pants // ¥100.00 // $15.63 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: M // Colour: deep khaki Looks : 4/10 // Feel: 3/10 // Overall: 3/10 Weight: 195g
Thoughts: Can't help but feel kinda scammed with these. I wasn't looking for EXACTLY burberry pants, just something in that style, but these aren't wearable. They're SUPER lightweight and thin, and feel almost more like summer pyjama pants than real pants (which is probably what they'll end up being). They're also pretty dark, closer to brown in hand. I don't think I could even wear these out, and considering the price of some of the other stuff in this review? Save your $15. Take it elsewhere.
Generic Loose Heel Pants // ¥60.00 // $9.07 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: L // Colour: Black thin section smooth Looks : 7/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 7/10 Weight: 483g
Thoughts: Was just looking for some general pants in this style with the loose heel cut. These are pretty decent; they're kinda silky, almost like formalwear pants. The heel is maybe not quite as boxy as I'd like, but they feel really comfy and are still tight around the waste. Pretty much the exact perfect length for me too so no real complaints here. Just some decent pants too vary up my fits.

🧦 Socks/Underwear 🧦

Tommy Hilfiger Underwear // ¥19.00 // $2.89 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: L // Colour: sapphire Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 7/10 // Overall: 7/10 Weight: 124g (2 pairs)
Thoughts: Pretty decent for the price. Colour is nice, text is good. But who're you pretending is gonna see these anyway? They're maybe a little on the small side, the thigh sections occasionally ride up a little. But keeps shit in place and makes you seem more like you're packin tho by comparison so toss up the pros and cons I guess?
Nike Lab Tiedye Socks // ¥19.00 // $2.97 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: OS // Colour: 1x blue purple, 1x pink blue and white, 1x green, white and blue Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 7/10 // Overall: 8.5/10 Weight: 90g ea
Thoughts: These are a STEAL for the price. Love the look of these, the pink and blue ones gotta be my favourite colorway, so summery. They feel pretty nice to wear too, not the most elastic sock ever but definitely comfy. Great way to splash and extra little bit of color into a fit. Definitely a good cop for 3 bucks. More socks = doing the washing less often. Trust me the math checks out.
Palace P Socks AW17 // ¥10.00 // $1.52 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: n/a // Colour: 1x White, 1x Black Red Bar Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 60g ea
Thoughts: I think it was Confucius who once said "one's haul can never have too many socks". It's a dollar fiddy for some Palace socks. Are you even gonna read if I write anything else? They're made of a nice stretchy material and don't feel stiff or scratchy to wear like some other socks I've had.

👟 Shoes 👟

Common Projects Suede Chelsea Boot // ¥398.00 // $62.19 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: 44 (male models) // Colour: Sand Chelsea Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 10/10 // Overall: 9/10Weight: 1673g
Thoughts: Shoutouts saiyou0018 who took FIVE qc pics for free. It'd be nice to get a few more shoes in the sub that aren't Jordans or other sneakers. But these are GOOD. Like, real good good. Fits like a glove (a foot glove?) and are actually really comfy to wear?! I was expecting it to be blister town: population me with these, but they slip on as easily as 8 year olds on Xbox live slip into my mother apparently. The insoles feel really cushiony too. Would definitely recommend some kind of waterproofing or other protection though as the rubber soles and suede outside can get dirty pretty easily. A little more on the expensive side for shoes in this sub, but for those who want something a little classier these are worth every penny.
Yeezy Boost 350 Static Black Reflective // ¥149.00 // $23.96 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: 44 // Colour: Black Starry Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 6/10 // Overall: 7/10 Weight: 1229g
Thoughts: Right after I say we need more non-sneaker shoes... fashionreps and cheap weidian shoes, name a better combo. For a $24 weidian sneaker, I was honestly not expecting this level of quality. They're properly reflective under light, the shape is good and the laces aren't too stiff. They're maybe a tad on the tighter size, so I'd recommend sizing up .5 or 1 size for the most comfy fit. Whenever my fam comes over they ask me how many sneakers I could possibly need and I'm willing to take suggestions on how to answer that question.

💎 Accessories/Other 💎

Palace P 6 Panel Corduroy Cap // ¥32.00 // $4.86 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: adjustable // Colour: red Looks : 7/10 // Feel: 7/10 // Overall: 7/10 Weight: 103g
Thoughts: More corduroy for my retro stylers. Feels a bit thinner and flimsier than some of my other caps, but looks good and stays on my head. I was a little worried about the stitching of "PALACE" at the back, but looks fine in person. Has palace tags on the inside too, so for $4.86 (holy shit I just remembered this was $4.86) this one delivers.
Fear of God 6th Collection Suede Hat // ¥78.00 // $11.84 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: 165/80a // Colour: Gray Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 7/10 Weight: 130g
Thoughts: The novelty of this one wore off a bit when I started struggling to work this into as many fits as I'd like, which is disappointing since the quality is really good. But hey, you might be better than me on that front. The suede feels and looks nice, the rubber FOG tag is perfect as far as I can see, and has the correct inner tag too. Fits nicely on my big ass head, and has velcro adjustment. Maybe figure out how you wanna wear this one, but for $12 it's a solid cop.
Stussy Stock Low Pro Cap // ¥28.00 // $4.24 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: adjustable // Colour: Light Khaki Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 9/10 // Overall: 9/10 Weight: 94g
Thoughts: How many caps is too many caps? This haul plus my last couple of hauls has the stack of caps in my wardrobe lookin like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I apparently thought this cap was so good I bought 2 by mistake. Fortunately my agent had me and returned 1. But yeah, it's good. Fits on my head and keeps the sun out of my eyes. Nice stitching on the front. Love the cream colour. Food $200 Data $150 Rent $800 Caps $3,600 Utility $150 someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this my family is dying
Louis Vuitton Upside Down Logo Pendant Necklace // ¥89.00 // $14.18 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: n/a // Colour: Golden Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 101g
Thoughts: Always gotta squeeze a bit of jewellery and other accessories into the haul. Trust me you'll be lacking if you don't. This one's good, decent length and not tight around the neck. There's 3 different connecting sections where you can join it up, so you can adjust the length based on how close to your neck you want it. It's even got engraving on the little linking sections too. The fabric bag it comes in is kinda poor quality, but if you're the kind of person who cares about that, you might wanna be spending a little more than 14 bucks on this type of thing. Can't believe it came with the upside down flaw tho smh!!! ^/s
Goyard Saint Marc Card Case // ¥76.00 // $11.54 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: n/a // Colour: Dark brown Looks : 9/10 // Feel: 7/10 // Overall: 7/10 Weight: 175g
Thoughts: There comes a time in every young repfam's life where they evolve from a Goyard cardholder to a full Goyard wallet. Outside looks nice, embossed text on the inside is pretty good too. It's quite large (better have big pockets): there's 5 card slots and then some pockets for cash, receipts, drugs, condoms, whatever else you want I guess. Kinda wish it held a few more cards but for $10? Not gonna complain too much I don't think. Various colorways available, but you can't knock the classic brown IMO.
Palace P Bottle Opener // ¥149.00 // $22.61 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: n/a // Colour: Rose Red Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 21g
Thoughts: This could be retail considering the price? Who cares, I thought it was cool and needed a bottle opener. Before I got this I spilt beer all over my floor at home trying to open a bottle using another bottle. Which while it technically worked, isn't really optimal. This thing looks fine, and opens bottles. There's a blue version too if that's more you. That's about it really.
Maison Kitsune Fox Head Tote Bag // ¥65.00 // $9.84 USD
(WeGoBuy // W2C // QC)
Size: n/a // Colour: spot Looks : 8/10 // Feel: 8/10 // Overall: 8/10 Weight: 227g
Thoughts: This is a bag. It holds things in it. It also has a picture and some text on the front. In all seriousness, there's really not a lot I can say, $10 is maybe overpaying for it a little bit, but looks nice and is great for carrying stuff around at Uni or work. Feels sturdy enough, and is made of a canvas-like material.
***

FINAL THOUGHTS

Pretty happy with most things in this haul, I generally lucked out this time around with things fitting correctly and being decent quality (with the few obvious exceptions). My wardrobe's starting to feel pretty full now, so I'm not sure what will come in my next haul but I'm sure there'll be some things I can't resist copping. Someone better remind me to add in some extra coathangers.
Let me know if you guys want any in-hand pictures or fit pics. Happy to answer any DMs if you need extra info. I was also thinking of putting together some styleboards using lots of my reps so far so drop a comment if that sounds interesting.
If you've made it to the end, thanks for reading, big ups to y'all. Remember to stay safe and stay dripping 🔥

What's all this about?

I'm Thopterthallid. I like to write guides that help people understand what a game is all about, what you can expect, and what's happening underneath the surface level. I wrote one for Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, Animal Crossing New Horizons, and Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
This guide is going to try to help people better understand what the Hyrule Warriors series is all about, what changes to expect in Age of Calamity, and why the demo isn't as good of a taste of the full game as you might expect.

But first, a disclosure:

A lot of what I'm about to write about is purely speculation based on my experience with the Warriors series, what modest knowledge I have of game development, my time playing the demo, the hundreds of hours I've put into Hyrule Warriors 1, and patterns I've picked up on when putting it all together. They could throw a curveball and derail most of this topic, but I'm fairly certain I'm going to be correct about this stuff. I'm not here to come up with new ideas or soft predictions. I wouldn't write it here unless I was fairly certain about it with some evidence to back it up.
In short: Take what I say with a grain of salt, but know that I personally am fairly certain about what I say. I'm not here to spread misinformation or make wild guesses about how the game will be.

Is this Breath of the Wild 2?

No. To be very clear, this is NOT the same game that Nintendo showed off with Link and Zelda finding a mummified Ganondorf under Hyrule Castle. That is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild and will play much more like it.
This is a prequel at best, and a non-canon spinoff at worst.

So just what is Hyrule Warriors? What is Dynasty Warriors?

Dynasty Warriors is a Koei Tecmo franchise that dates back to 1997. The best way to describe it is God of War meets classic Star Wars Battlefront. Two armies clash across a massive battlefield, and your job as an officer is to make sure the blue army wins, and you've got the strength, speed, and power to do it. You do this by capturing keeps or strongholds to spawn more soldiers for your side, tackling high ranking officers on the enemy team, supporting high ranking officers on your team, and most famously; slaying hundreds of enemies in a single combo string. Originally taking place in the Three Kingdoms era of ancient China (220–280 AD) Dynasty Warriors would go on to spin off into Samurai Warriors, and eventually get really wild crossovers such as One Piece, Gundam, Berzerk, Fist of the North Star, Persona, Fire Emblem, and probably most famously, Hyrule Warriors. The first Hyrule Warriors game was a crossover story between Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword, but features characters from across the timeline.
In short, Hyrule Warriors is a love letter to the series, but also a power fantasy game. You're meant to feel like superman, where your only weakness is not being able to be everywhere at once.

Is this game canon?

...Sorta? Not really? It's really confusing at this point.
The demo begins with some time travel nonsense which might actually place this game in an alternate timeline, and there's already a lot of plot holes and conflicting evidence. Until the game comes out, it's really hard to say if this is actually what happened 100 years before BotW, or if this takes place in a reality where BotW doesn't even happen.

Why is there so much controversy about Hyrule Warriors?

Dynasty Warriors, by it's very nature, is a very simple and repetitive game. For some people, that's a very big turnoff. That said, there IS a little more to it than just mashing buttons and slaying monsters. What the demo doesn't show off very well is that more challenging maps typically require a lot of priority management. Racking up kills is a great way to lose battles later in the game. After all, it doesn't do your team much good if you're just beating up Bokoblins off in a big field somewhere while King Dodongo and Ganondorf are ripping through your home base.
I'm not going to pretend that Hyrule Warriors is some grand strategy game, but to say that it's "just beating up millions of guys" is disingenuous. Yes, you have to be able to enjoy beating up millions of guys to enjoy this game, but there's more to it than that.
The demo does a poor job at showing the "organic battlefield", because we only see the first two story stages. Story missions in Hyrule Warriors have always been very scripted. Gates stay locked shut until you complete specific objectives. It's not until later in the game that you'll start having fires lit under you across the battlefield and you'll be forced to prioritize and neutralize objectives in the correct order.
It's very much not a game for everyone, and that's really hard to find out when it's a canon Zelda game we're talking about. Still, I urge people to at least try the demo.

What if you hate the demo?

The framerate and resolution are awful and make it almost unplayable: This one I suspect will be fixed by the time the full game releases. Demos are often made on very old builds of the game because they take a long time to make. It's not as simple as making the full game, and then taking away the parts that they want to save for the full game. "Removing" content from a game is actually very difficult. Take out one wrong texture or line of code and your build of the game crashes on launch, leave the wrong thing in and dataminers suddenly spoil the entire story online. For this reason, demos are often made from duct tape polished alpha builds of the game. They have LOTS of time to optimize and fix graphical hiccups. If you're worried about this, just wait for the reviews. It will be addressed in them.
It's too easy: Remember that we're basically only given access to the tutorial area. Two very scripted story missions, and a couple of bonus challenges that help us get our first couple of upgrades.
I don't enjoy the combat: This is a very valid opinion. It's not for everyone. Yes, the bokoblins and lizalfos are meant to be minor distractions at best, but if you don't enjoy fighting the moblins or guardians, then I suspect you won't enjoy the game.

Where is Adventure Mode?

For those of you who are unaware, Adventure Mode was an incredibly expansive mode from the original Hyrule Warriors. Once you completed the story, you had a multitude of huge maps to complete, each with over a hundred stages. It's where the "meat" of the game was.
As for Age of Calamity, I suspect Adventure Mode is being replaced with the chapters system we see in the demo. We're only given access to the first chapter, but as the story progresses I suspect we'll see bonus challenges more in line with the open-ended Adventure Mode stages. I'm really only guessing at this one. Adventure Mode was very popular, and I know that they'll find some what to include something like it.

How important is Age of Calamity to the story? Can I skip it?

In short? You can probably skip it if you really don't want to play it. Either one of two things will happen:
1: The story is canon, meaning you already know what happens.
2: The story is non-canon, meaning you don't need to know what happens.
I'm willing to bet that this game doesn't get even a hint of BotW 2 content until after BotW 2 has been out for a time. That said, I'd still really enjoy spending a bit more time with the Champions, even if it's a non-canon story.

Closing thoughts?

At this point, all we have to go by is the demo, and the datamined icons that reveal some potential other playable characters. If you have questions about the game or the series as a whole, let me know! I've spent a ton of time with Hyrule Warriors and while I love it, I'm not blind to it's flaws. I believe I can answer your questions with as little bias as possible.

Hello again, fellow travelers!
The "Nifty Or Thrifty" article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats: Holiday Cup, in this case. As is typical for the NoT series, I'll cover not only the top meta picks, but also some mons where you can save some dust with cheaper second move unlock costs... or don't need a second move at all! Because for those on a stardust budget--and/or folks trying to save up some dust for the future--it can be daunting trying to figure out where to spend or not spend it. We all want to field competitive teams, but where can we get the best bang for our buck and where should we perhaps channel our inner scrooge?
A quick reminder of what Holiday Cup IS:

• Great League, 1500 CP Limit
  
• Only Electric, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ice, and Normal type Pokémon are allowed.
  
• No other restrictions. Legendaries, Mythicals, Shadows are all a-okay!
  

As I try to usually do, I will start with those with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at the expensive Legendaries.
Okay, enough intro. Let's dive in!

10,000 Dust/25 Candy

VENUSAUR
Vine Whip | Frenzy Plantᴸ & Sludge Bomb
It's almost become an inside joke that every Nifty Or Thrifty where Venusaur is available, that's what I start with... so why break from tradition? After all, Venusaur looks just fine here, capably handling many top threats like Diggersby, Stunfisk, Lapras and Dewgong, Lanturn, Snorlax, the Charmers, the Alolan Rocks, and the quasi-Fighters Vigoroth and Obstagoon and Zangoose... and oh yeah, all those annoying Razor Leafing Grassholes too. Venusaur is one of the more reliable and flexible (for a Grass, at least) options around. Shadow Venusaur, by the way, is a slight downgrade, gaining an easier win over Magnezone but losing Snorlax and the Alolan Rocks... I don't recommend the Shadow version here.
CHARIZARD
Fire Spin/Dragon Breathᴸ | Dragon Claw & Blast Burnᴸ/Overheat
While there is usually a long debate to be had anymore over which fast move is best for Zard, here it's pretty clear the winner is Fire Spin. I mean, this is a format stuffed with Ices, Grasses, and other things weak to Fire (Galvantula, Magnezone), so it makes sense that you'd want that over Dragon Breath. But there IS a case for Breath as well, as its heavy damage can uniquely beat down Talonflame, Mandibuzz, and even Altaria. BUT Fire Spin is alone able to get the likes of Froslass, A-Sandslash, Galvantula, Magnezone, Drifblim, and Abomasnow, and Charizard emerges from all wins it shares with Dragon Breath with more HP leftover. Dragon Breath has niche use, but Fire Spin Zard is generally the way to go. That includes Shadow Charizard, though that one is a small step backwards overall in this meta, losing Galv, Blim, Snorlax, and Vigoroth and picking up only Dewgong, Mandi, and Talonflame as compensation.
RAICHU
Volt Switch | Wild Charge & Brick Break/Thunder Punch
That's right... the regular, non-Alolan one. What does it have going for it? (Besides festive holiday hats, of course! 🎅) Brick Break, which by itself is able to beat down Alolan Sandslash, Magnezone, Skarmory, Talonflame, and even big beefy Snorlax! But what it really does is play a similar role to Thunder Punch in setting up a closing Wild Charge. There is risk, as the opponent correctly sniffing out the bait and letting through an unblocked Brick Break is often going to be... less than ideal. But when it works, it really works, and better so than Thunder Punch. Brick Break is 5 energy cheaper than Punch, so there are some wins where it can be used and still allow Chu to get to the KO Wild Charge afterwards that Thunder Punch falls short on, including Vigoroth and Obstagoon (see Goonie, as an example, with BB vs TP), plus the unique win already mentioned against A-Slash. High risk, but potentially high rewards in using Brick Break. I'll say both it and Thunder Punch are viable alongside Wild Charge... but Brick Break is what makes Raichu truly unique.
ALOLAN RAICHU
Volt Switch | Wild Charge & Grass Knot/Thunder Punch
Is it possible AhChu is the worse Chu for once in this meta? It just might be. I mean, it still puts in good work, and can (like its Kanto cousin) beat Vigoroth and Magnezone, and with some fancy maneuvering, can even take down Altaria, something few Electrics can claim. (Though technically, in hindsight, Original Recipe Raichu can win the same way, so....) The problem AhChu has in this meta is twofold: its Psychic typing is more hindrance than help with the Ghost and Dark moves around to exploit it, and its non-Electric moves Grass Knot and Psychic--normally big boons--mostly go to waste here with no Mud Boys around for Grass Knot and little for Psychic (the move) to hit hard either. Even with shields down, regular Raichu is more impressive than Alolan Chu. KayChu's Brick Break just looks better in this particular meta. AhChu is viable, but... inferior? Say it ain't so!
WIGGLYTUFF
Charm | Ice Beam & Play Rough
I know, I know. Between Halloween Cup and Kanto Cup and Nightfall Cup and open Great League in GBL, you're probably sick and tired of Wiggly, but here we go again. With practically no true Fighters and very few relevant Darks around in Holiday Cup, Wiggly is not as dominant as it's been at times, but it still rolls over a lot of things with the high neutral damage of Charm, including domination over the Darks, Fighters, and Dragons you WILL see, plus things like Galvantula, Snorlax, Stunfisk, Abomasnow, Froslass, Drifblim (and most Ghosts in general, come to think of it), other Charmers, and even a unlisted-above win over Lapras with straight Charm. Wiggly is likely to be out in force yet again. Sorry!
ALOLAN GRAVELEGOLEM
Volt Switch | Rock Blast & Stone Edge
Seemingly always underrated, the Alolan Rocks have had success in enough Silph Arena Cups to get noticed by Arena players, but it wasn't until Kanto Cup that many in the GBL PvP community had their eyes opened. And their success looks likely to carry over into Holiday Cup. They equally terrorize Ices, Flyers, Fires, and their fellow Electrics, a unique set of wins that give them the flexability you really want in this Cup (considering that list is ⅔ of the major typings here!). Rather than ramble on, I'll just review the differences between Golem and Graveler real quick. The higher Attack of A-Golem allows it to knock out Magnezone, while A-Golem will typically fall just short. On the flipside, A-Grav can outbulk Wigglytuff and get to TWO Rock Blasts for the win, unlike A-Golem. And A-Grav is slightly better with shields down, outlasting Whimsicott and Froslass, while A-Golem usually loses those but beats A-Grav in the head to head thanks to winning CMP. Either way you go, make sure the Alolan Rocks are on your radar now if they aren't already!
LINOONE
Shadow Claw | Grass Knot & Thunder
Linoone isn't the best at anything, but it's good enough at a mix of things, checking off many big names like Lapras, Dewgong, Alolan Marowak, Stunfisk, Skarmory, Froslass, Drifblim, Mandibuzz, HaunteGengar (even with Sludge Bomb), and more. It's a borderline option if you look only at the number of wins, but like the Vince McMahon meme, it just gets better and better when you look those wins over.
OBSTAGOON
Counter | Night Slash & Hyper Beam/Gunk Shot
The cheapest Counter user here, yours for potentially just the measly cost of a second move after evolving up from a hatch-size Galarian Zigzagoon. And Obstagoon and its Counter are quite good in this meta, yes. None of the Ices like it (not even Froslass that's usually troublesome for Fighters and quasi-Fighters), nor other things weak to Counter like Diggersby, Magnezone, and the Alolan Rocks. And meanwhile, Night Slash handles all the Ghosts besides Drifblim and Golurk, and it also overcomes Lanturn and Mandibuzz with high neutral damage (mostly thanks to Gunk Shot or Hyper Beam). And with Beam, it can even potentially knock out Stunfisk.
ALTARIA
Dragon Breath | Sky Attack & Dragon Pulse/Dazzling Gleam
Don't take Alt's late arrival in this section of the article to mean it's not really good, because I'm really just going in rough Pokédex order, and Altaria is really good in Holiday Cup. Matched against the core meta specifically, Altaria capably handles the Counter users, all Fire types, most other Flyers (like Drifblim and Mandibuzz), Diggersby, Stunfisk and Lanturn and Galvantula (and nearly all Electrics, in fact), Snorlax and more. And yes, Dazzling Gleam may actually be an option for the Darks around (and the eye-catching ability to steal a win from any Magnezone that gets cocky and opts not to shield). Though let's be honest: 95% of the time, Altaria is just going to beat face with Sky Attack anyway.
TORTERRA
Razor Leaf | Sand Tomb & Stone Edge/Frenzy Plantᴸ
I've advocated for Torterror several times and in multiple leagues, but here we go again: Sand Tomb debuffing + Razor Leaf = big pain. Yes yes, its unusual Grass/Ground combo typing makes it particularly susceptible to the many Ices here, but it still manages to overcome Lapras AND Dewgong despite that, and keep in mind that the typing means that Torterra TRIPLE resists Electric damage, so the only ones that survive it are Zapdos and Emolga with their Flying moves. Tort rips through all Water and Ground types in the format besides Gligar, as well as the Counter users, Snorlax, and even Wigglytuff. It's a very nice performance that doesn't even include the potential of what Frenzy Plant or especially Stone Edge (with its literal perfect coverage against all four typings Torterra is weak to: Ice, Fire, Flying, and Bug) can do if snuck around shields. Torterra likely needs a quick hook if Ices or Grasses show up, but short of that, it can put the hurt on a LOT of things. Just don't get too cute by using the Shadow version, as it's a noticeable dropoff.
CHERRIM
Bullet Seed | Weather Ball (Fire) & Solar Beam/Dazzling Gleam
Having Cherrim as my lead in GBL Great League for 2+ seasons now, I can tell you it is more impactful on the right team than just the raw numbers would indicate. Yes, it can handle Grounds (Diggersby, Stunfisk, etc.) just fine, as well as overcome even seemingly unfavorable Waters like Dewgong, and perhaps surprising wins like both Counter users and Snorlax. But Weather Ball comes so fast and so often that it is a legit threat to Magnezone (which it typically beats) and Skarmory and Froslass and Abomasnow and Alolan Sandslash and others. The key is that Cherrim has to be swapped out more often than some players may be comfortable with, hitting hard and then ducking out before facing a killer charge move coming back its way. Against Skarmory and Abomasnow and A-Slash in particular, it can consistently get them under 10 HP, but then falls JUST short of closing it out. A quick swap out against Aboma and A-Slash, for example, can get Cherrim out of their with nearly half its life left and the opponent a mere fast move or two from death from what you swap in. Cherrim does some real good on its own, but it's even better than it appears in a soften-them-up, support type role. And those Dazzling Gleams or Solar Beams come much quicker than an unprepared opponent may be ready for and give Cherrim a high potential for sudden blowout wins.
WHIMSICOTT
Charm/Razor Leaf | Grass Knot & Moonblast/Hurricane
There are two very different ways to play Whimsie. The most obvious and most common is as a Charmer, with which it does typical Charm things like shredding Mandibuzz and Altaria (despite being weak to Flyers) and Galvantula. Or you can go off-meta and run the surprise Razor Leaf Whimsie, which forgoes those Flyers and Galv to beat Lapras, Dewgong, and Diggersby instead, all of which have moves that would prompt their owners to assume they're okay and perhaps leave them in a few moments too long before they realize their mistake. With EITHER fast move, Whimsie beats down things like Obstagoon, Vigoroth, Stunfisk, Snorlax, Lanturn, and the Alolan Rocks (yes, even with Charm in that last case, though Razor Leaf is obviously especially brutal), so there's room for either fast move in this meta depending on what you need Whimsie to do more for your specific team.
CHESNAUGHT
Vine Whip/Smack Down | Superpower & Energy Ball
Here we go, the first of a trio of viable Gen6 Pokémon all in the 10k dust category! (That even expands to a quartet later... you'll see the fourth further down in the article.) And Chesnaught is a good one, able to do standard Grass things against the various Waters, Grounds, and Rocks (beating them ALL except Flying Archeops and GliscoGligar) as well as abusing things weak to Superpower like Alolan Sandslash (usually a solid wall against Grasses), Vigoroth, Obstagoon, Snorlax, Magnezone and others. It's a nice little package with unique flexibility and well worth considering if you've managed to build a good one already. Oh, and there's even a case to be made for Smack Down, which sheds wins like Dewgong, Lapras, A-Slash (mostly due to lower energy generation) and Diggersby to instead beat Galvantula and a slew of Flyers like Mandibuzz, Talonflame, Charizard, and Drifblim. Yes, that is most certainly an off-meta play, but one that could reap rich rewards with 'Naught being so new and thus very likely to catch the opponent completely off-guard and perhaps swap one of those Flyers in before realizing their fatal mistake. Just a thought if you're feeling frisky.
TALONFLAME
Fire Spin | Flame Charge & Brave Bird
On the surface, it might be easy to chalk this up as just a worse Charizard. That's what the high level numbers show. But there are some distinct things working in Talon's favor. Firstly, no Legacy moves required. If you lack a Blast Burn Zard, that alone is a BIG plus. Secondly, there are wins Talon can get that Zard cannot, such as Alolan Marowak and Dewgong in 1v1 shielding, and Froslass with shields down (able to survive a Shadow Ball and strike back, whereas Zard doesn't live past the Ball). Talon also beats Zard head to head in 0 and 1 shield. The downside is that Charizard, with its higher Attack, uniquely overcomes Skarmory with shields down and Magnezone, Drifblim, and Froslass in 1v1 shielding. But all other wins are shared between them, and they are overall very close... and again, no Legacy required. Call it Budget Zard if you will, but it's a pretty close approximation that may actually be a better fit for some players that even have both to choose from.
PYROALITLEO
Fire Fang | Flame Charge & Dark Pulse/Crunch
If Talonflame is budget Zard, Pyroar is... uh... budget Arcanine? Maybe budget Houndoom is more appropriate. It Fire Fangs stuff down, pure and simple. And while that's not an expansive list of wins, it has some good names--Skarmory, Froslass, A-Slash, Zone, Galv, Blim, and the Charmers--that could even be hiding behind two shields and it doesn't matter... you get them with just fast moves. And then you can launch a Dark Pulse at what follows, or throw a Flame Charge and make subsequent Fangs all the more deadly with the Attack boost. Raaaaaawr. 🦁 And heck, it's even a bit better with pre-evolution Litleo, who sports notably better bulk, Crunch instead of Dark Pulse, and gets all the same wins as Pyroar plus Snorlax. The big downside is that it has to be maxed, so there goes your thriftiness. But it's a very fun spice prospect if you are somehow drowning in dust. 🔥

50,000 Dust/50 Candy

ALOLAN NINETALES
Charm | Psyshock & Ice Beam
Let's start the 50ks with perhaps the best Charmer in the format. What sets it apart from Wigglytuff and Whimsicott? Put simply, it's the typing. Having a secondary Ice typing is usually not a big plus, since Ice famously resists ONLY other Ice, but in a format packed with relevant Ices, it's a plus in Holiday Cup. Subtly, that gives it the strongest win of all Charmers against Lapras and Froslass and a true fight for Fairy slayer Alolan Sandslash (who has to land three charge moves, one of them a Bulldoze, to pull it out). More directly, it means A-Tails is the only Charmer that beats Dewgong head to head, and as a bonus it can beat Wigglytuff head to head if it goes straight Charm (usually even if Wiggly goes straight Charm too. But there are, of course, downsides. Not only is A-Tails especially weak to Fire types (always a problem for Charmers anyway, but especially for half-Ice Ninetales), but A-Tails also loses to Lanturn and the Alolan Rocks, whereas Whimsie can beat them both thanks to its secondary typing of Grass... but Whimsie then loses to Lapras, Dewgong, Froslass, and Wigglytuff. (Got all that? 🧐) Long story short, while it's a little more expensive than the alternatives, there is a lot to really like about A-Tails here... this may be the meta where it can finally get a real leg up on Wigglytuff.
ALOLAN SANDSLASH
Powder Snow | Ice Punch & Bulldoze/Blizzard
I have mentioned it several times throughout, and PvPoke understandably has it locked in as part of the projected core meta (at the time of this writing, at least), but if I'm being honest, A-Slash looks shaky here. It does manage to beat Stunfisk, and is brutally oppressive to Charmers, Flyers, and most all Grasses (really the only ones that can beat it are Chesnaught and unlikely-to-be-seen-much Breloom with their Fighting moves), and that gives it a robust win rate overall. But what that does NOT reflect is its critcal weaknesses to the quasi-Fighters and Fires that occupy the core meta, as well as the Waters that it cannot beat either: Lapras, Dewgong, Lanturn, Obstagoon, Vigoroth, Alolan Rocks, Galvantula, Magnezone, Talonflame and Charizard, A-Wak, even Snorlax... they all tend to beat Alolan Sandslash. It has a role, but it's just a specialist here that will likely need a quick hook if in one of those several unfavorable matchups.
GRASSHOLES
Razor Leaf | Sludge Bomb & Moonblast/Leaf Blade
I'll keep saying it until I see people actually starting to use it: VILEPLUME is just as good, if not better, than the more famous VICTREEBEL. They beat basically the same things (Vic uniquely beats Snorlax, and Plume instead gets Magnezone), but Plume also wins the head to head and has a somewhat subtle but important bulk advantage that lets it hang around for some extra hits that Vic may never reach. They beat mostly what you expect Razor Leafers to beat (Waters, Rocks, Grounds, Charmers, quasi-Fighters) and even things that might surprise you like Froslass and those Snorlax or Magnezone wins. And you can bet they'll be showing up as you slog through the week of Holiday Cup. Don't shoot the messenger! 😬
MAGNEZONE
Spark | Mirror Shot & Wild Charge
So if you thought Mantine was bait-heavy, get a loud of this. You've probably faced it down in Master League a lot more than in Great League, but if you've faced it down at all, you have surely gotten duped into shielding a Mirror Shot or two along the line and then cried as a Wild Charge came crashing in behind it. 'Zone is a one-trick pony in that way, but it's a really good trick. And at least in this meta, thanks in no small part to its typing, it can still be plenty dangerous even if its baiting plans fall apart. There is also the Shadow flavor of Zone, which is generally a hair worse if baits work, but ironically a bit better if baits are less of a factor, based mainly on even those Mirror Shots dealing higher damage as a Shadow. I think. Honestly this one could take a whole article in and of itself to REALLY dive deep into, so let's just summarize: with baits, regular Zone uniquely beats Galv, A-Grav, Whimsie, and Talonflame, while Shadow instead beats Snorlax and A-Wak. Without baits, regular wins Whimsie again, but now Shadow uniquely takes out Snorlax, Water Gun Lanturn, and Altaria. Got all that? Sorry, not repeating it again... too much to still cover. Good luck... onward!
DEWGONG
Ice Shardᴸ | Icy Windᴸ & Blizzard/Water Pulse
It feels wrong to recommend Dewgong run with all Ice moves, as you'd like the safety of a Water move against Fires in particular, but Dewgong really does seem to have the best potential with Blizzard as the second move to pair with the double Legacy Ice Shard/Icy Wind many players have built with Elite TMs by now. Water Pulse is just a BAD move that grants Dewgong only a close win over Alolan Sandslash, and loses Snorlax, Lanturn, and Abomasnow that Blizzard can beat. However you slice it, Dewgong is held somewhat in check here, but is still quite good and definitely something that many players who have one ready will be itching to show off. Brace yourselves... winter and its icy winds are coming!
CLOYSTER
Ice Shard | Icy Wind & Hydro Pump
Non-Legacy Dewgong for those who lack an IS/IW one... but a really dang GOOD substitute! In some ways, Cloyster is even superior, beating A-Slash, Alolan Marowak, Talonflame, and Galvantula thanks to its higher Attack and/or (in the case of the two Alolans) by unleashing the big stick it carries that Dewgong does not: Hydro Pump. Now as is usually the case, there is a tradeoff: Dewgong outbulks Abomasnow, Snorlax, WG Lanturn, and Wigglytuff, while Cloyster loses. There's also this marathon match (over a minute and a half!) that Dewgong eventually emerges from, greivously wounded but victorious. But still, there is more than enough to like about Cloyboy that it's worth even players with that coveted Legacy Gong taking a hard look to decide which actually fits best with the other two things on their team. (Shadow Cloyster is not recommended, by the way.)
HAUNTER
Shadow Claw | Shadow Punch & Sludge Bomb/Shadow Ball
Whenever there are Fairies in the meta--and Wigglytuff in particular--Sludge Bomb bears serious consideration, as Haunter beats Wiggly with Bomb, but loses with Shadow Ball. Intestingly, TIL that Sludge Bomb Haunter can also manage to tie Altaria with Sludge Bomb as well, thanks to being five energy cheaper than Ball, which falls just short. Shadow Ball does manage to typically beat Skarmory while Sludge Bomb does not, but considering all other wins against the core meta are shared, I'm going to call that (slight) advantage Sludge Bomb. But both are certainly viable, and so it Haunter itself. I also lean towards it over GENGAR, who requires a Legacy move (Shadow Punch) and cannot get close to tying Altaria no matter what it does with moves, and looks especially inferior if you try it with Sludge Bomb (which is again the only way it has a prayer against Wiggly). Gengar works, but Haunter pulls slightly ahead here.
ALOLAN MAROWAK
Fire Spin/Hex | Bone Club & Shadow Boneᴸ/Shadow Ball
I mean, what's left to say at this point? A-Wak has been relevant in so many formats now that I cannot imagine you're not already familiar with what it can do, so let's just look at what it specifically does in Holiday Cup. Yes, Shadow Bone is typically your best bet now, with Fire Spin powering it up and dishing out important Fire-type damage, but Shadow Ball is close behind, losing to Drifblim and Lapras that Bone can beat, but picking up the mirror against Bone Wak. And even Hex/Shadow Bone makes a surprisingly good argument for a set lacking any Fire damage, also winning the mirror versus Fire Spin Wak, getting Lapras and Drifblim back, and uniquely outracing Water Gun Lanturn, but at the cost of now losing to Normal types like Vigoroth and Wigglytuff. Wow, I guess there were some new things to say about A-Wak after all!
ZANGOOSE
Shadow Claw | Night Slash & Close Combat
Skipping ahead in Pokédex order a bit, because... well, Zangoose just fits well coming right after A-Wak. Not only does it boast a very similar record, but Goose easily beats A-Wak in the head to head, but it replicates some of A-Wak's best with its Ghost and Dark moves (like Froslass and Drifblim) while bringing its own unique flavor with Close Combat. We've already established, I think, that Fighting moves are a very good thing to have in this meta, and here we see it again with Goose able to easily handle Lapras, Magnezone, A-Slash, Alolan Rocks, and even Mandibuzz thanks to Combat, and its combination of hard hitting moves also overpower things like Lanturn, Galvantula, and Talonflame. The Goose is loose in this meta as a potentially really good safe swap option, or perhaps even as a pressuring lead.
LANTURN
Spark/Water Gun | Thunderbolt & Hydro Pump/Thunder
Alright, its name keeps coming up, so let's jump into this unique electric fishy. There are two flavors, both potent: Spark has the gaudier numbers, being the only way to reliably outrace Galvantula, Obstagoon, and Water Gun Lanturn; the standard Water Gun varient loses those three, and Mandibuzz, but can manage to scratch out a win against Stunfisk instead. Or there is even a middle ground, with Water Gun and double Electric charge moves that still can beat Stunfisk and gains Mandibuzz back as well. Whatever flavor you prefer, this is its best chance in a while to shine out without Rainy Castform around to show off too.
LUDICOLO
Razor Leaf/Bubble | Energy Ball & Ice Beam
Speaking of unique Water types, one of the oddest is always dance champion Ludicolo. In this meta it seems to operate best as a Razor Leafer, obviously handling Waters and Ices better than the standard Grasshole but not actually doing anything truly unique. (Its meta wins and losses are the same as Shadow Vic, actually, minus only Wigglytuff.) So yes, that works, but to get truly unique, consider Bubble Ludi, as that at least brings down Altaria, Alolan Marowak, Drifblim, and Whimsicott while retaining wins versus Stunfisk, Diggersby, Lanturn, Vigoroth and some others. That seems like a better niche than operating as a subpar Grasshole wannabe.
CRADILY
Bullet Seed | Stone Edge & Grass Knot
And while we're doing zany, no reason NOT to cover Cradily, the Grass that can slay Flyers...and better than that other Rock tossing, woolly Grass. Yes, that walking carpet Tangrowth can beat Dewgong, but Cradily shares its other wins AND can beat Mandibuzz, Magnezone, Galvantula, and Abomasnow... the ONLY Grass that can survive Aboma, in fact. And it does it while still handling most of the things you'd ask of your standard Grass type, like Lapras and Lanturn and A-Rocks and Stunfisk and Diggersby and more. Bring in the new year with a toast and a hearty "dilly dilly!"
FROSLASS & GLALIE
Powder Snow/Ice Shard | Shadow Ball & Avalanche
I am putting them together because there are many similarities against the core meta... but there are important differences as well. Froslass is infamous for its ability to fend off most Fighters, and she is also adept at beating other Ices thanks to quickly charging up Shadow Balls and simply outracing them, and these traits are most obvious in that she beats Vigoroth and Dewgong, while Glalie does not. What Glalie has going for it is bulk and Ice Shard... and wins against Galvantula and Froslass herself. Lass is generally a bit better and certainly far more popular, but Glalie is right there too, and may fit your team a bit better.
SEALEO
Powder Snow/Water Gun | Body Slam & Aurora Beam/Water Pulse
Now look, I am not going to sit here and say that going off-meta with Water Gun is better than Powder Snow, because especially when you pull back the covers and examine them against the entire meta, {Powder](https://pvpoke.com/battle/multi/1500/holiday/sealeo/11/0-2-1/2-1) has a crystal clear advantage over Gun. BUT, when you boil it down to the core meta, Gun somehow looks better than Powder. What's going on here? Well, first off, looks are a little deceiving there, as Water Gun shows a win over Wigglytuff and Powder Snow does not (with WG dealing about 8 damage per second, but Powder Snow only mustering 6, and that extra damage adds up, but if Wiggly sticks to straight Charm, WG won't save Sealeo. The other unique win showing with Gun IS more legit, as it's over Alolan Marowak, who stands up pretty well to Powder Snow but NOT to a steady Water Gun attack. WG also is the best way to beat many other Ices (and Froslass in particular), but Powder Snow is harsher on Flyers (and is the only way to beat Mandibuzz, as one example) and brings a lot more shield pressure by spamming Body Slam. That higher energy gain is also the only way that Sealeo can outrace Stunfisk. Powder IS my recommendation overall too, but just know that there are teams that may benefit from the unusual Water Gun Sealeo more. Is your team one of them?
ABOMASNOW
Powder Snow | Weather Ball (Ice) & Energy Ball
Yes, Aboma certainly does good things here, but be warned: there are chinks in its armor in this meta. Yes, Aboma capably handles many Flyers (including Altaria) but has its own weaknesses to overcome and thus has no chance against any that are part Fire, and also loses to Mantine, Skarmory, and even Noctowl, which is worrisome. It also manages to eliminate Stunfisk, Diggersby, and all its fellow Grasses (besides Cradily), and Energy Ball allows it to turn the tables on Lanturn and even Dewgong. But I just listed all of its core meta wins. It's a good list, but not incredibly long. Aboma is just simply not dominant here. Shadow Aboma is a little better, trading Dewgong for Lapras and Alolan Graveler, but still, not as much of a bruiser as you may be hoping for. Use it, surely, as many teams could benefit from its unique combination of Ice and Grass damage. Just know that it has its limitations.
PILOSWINE
Powder Snow | Avalanche & Bulldoze
Normally Piloswine's Ground subtying is more curse than blessing, opening it up to all manner of unpleasant vulnerabilities. But in this particular meta, it's more blessing than curse, giving it an edge against Electrics that its fellow Ices don't share, which leads to big wins over ALL of them besides Lanturn and spammy Magneton. It's the only Ice type to consistently beat Magnezone and the Alolan Rocks, for instance.
GALVANTULA
Volt Switch | Lunge & Discharge
Yes, of course it has play. Galv is a solid Electric with the added benefit of maiming Grasses (and several other things) with Lunge, and resisting Fighting damage to make it a sneaky good counter to the users of Counter. You WILL be seeing the spooder show up throughout your week of Holiday Cup play.
ZEBSTRIKA
Spark | Flame Charge & Wild Charge
Perhaps more spicy than true meta, but an Electric that can burn down Steels could be a nice thing to have in this meta. And with high enough bulk, it overpowers Wigglytuff and Alolan Marowak as a bonus. This spice is nice!
Now, I've managed to avoid it in other NoTs posted on The Road so far, but this time, with six typings and a load of Pokémon to cover, I have to split this into two parts. So I encourage you to check out Part II and keep reading into the more expensive options in Holiday Cup, starting with those costing 75k dust for their second move. See you there!