The 'Shroom:Issue 106/Strategy Wing

Director's Notes
Written by:

''Two...zhousand...sixteen? Does zhat mean zhe office needs a new calendar?''

Another month, another year. Why must they all fly by so quickly? I'm even busier than usual this month, so my staff notes for this month aren't going to be super-fascinating or lengthy.

We have a healthy four sections this month, all of which you should totally check out. Roy Koopa was unable to provide images for Insider 64 due to computer issues (are these contagious?), so you'll just have to train your eyes to deal with the text. Additionally, we are in between months for From the Mushroom Vaults currently.

Congratulations to and  for winning this year's Director election! I'm certain The 'Shroom will continue to thrive under your administration.

Section of the Month
Tied for first, we have and yours truly, each with 7 votes. Roy's debut edition of Insider 64 and his peculiar glitch coverage proved to be quite popular. I must extend my thanks to everyone who voted for last month's From the Mushroom Vaults, too; I had a lot of fun writing that particular one. In third, we have with her Pocket Handbook entry on Abomasnow. Too bad he won't be running for Presidential office again (do I have the right person?)

Mario Kart: Wheel Tips Corner
Written by:

Hello 'Shroom racers! And welcome to Mario Kart Wheel Tips Corner, here I plan to give you just some extra tips to help you with your racing, or just some changes in a track that might catch you off guard if you aren't prepared for them. So the lights are out, let's start racing.

Kool Karts
You can't race if you don't have a Kart to do it in, so in this section I'll give you some facts about a Kart, Bike, ATV or even tyres and gliders that you can use hopefully for racing success.

This month's Kool Kart is actually a tyre. Yes, these are the Mushroom tyres that appeared in Mario Kart 7 when Kart customisation was introduced. However, they more resemble toadstools as opposed to actual mushrooms.

The Mushroom tyres offer no stat boosts whilst driving underwater or in the air; however, they do offer land bonuses. These bonuses are in speed and handling, meaning that you can take corners well, as being quick on the straights. But, it'll take you a while to get to that speed as the acceleration stat is actually quite low, in fact it takes acceleration off of the Kart. The Mushroom tyres also takes drift and off-road stats down. Your best course of action with these tyres are to use them on a track with long straights, so you can catch up once you're at top speed.

What's Changed?
Retro tracks are now a huge portion of the Mario Kart games, typically amounting to half the courses in the game. But usually these courses change some things up, so in this section I'll help you find out "What's Changed" in the retro tracks.

This month I decided to go for a DLC track: Wario's Gold Mine. This track first appeared in Mario Kart Wii]] before reappearing in Mario Kart 8. And surprise, surprise the graphics got improved, but there is another major change. And that is the implementation of anti-gravity in the course, this was placed inside the mine shaft, and as a result the mine carts now no longer cause racers to spin out, instead they give them a small boost if hit. The half-pipe sections have also been removed, but there is still a Boost Pad where the one before the entrance to the mine shaft was located.

Ace Shortcut


In this small section I give you a way to shave a few seconds off your time, whether you know about it or not. Be warned, most of these shortcuts will require a Mushroom.

This issue I bring you a shortcut from Dino Dino Jungle.

Just as you enter the cave portion, there will be a small muddy opening, boost across it with a Mushroom and hit the ramp to skip the corner. In Mario Kart 7 the ramp is actually a glide panel.

Insider 64
Written by:

It's Roy here with another (wow this sounds an awful lot like I've been doing this for years and years) edition of a section that's better than all the rest Insider 64! Last month, I thought I'd take a ride write an issue, so I did. This mon-I mean year, you're going to be stuck with me all year long.

Glitch of the Month
Do you remember last mon-I mean year when I talked about dying? Well guess what. It's probably not about dying! Or maybe it is. Who cares anyway? It's just a glitch! Besides, I said “probably” too.

Ok, let's not argue, but let's get on with our discussion of GOTM (abbreviations FTW) so I can sit back and listen to Living in a Box while you torture enjoy yourselves and do this quirky but explainable glitch. I'd say there were two methods like last mon-I mean year (this whole New Year's business is really messing with my head), but really there aren't because TT64 is for easier access in most cases, and this only has one way of getting in. Fortunately, it's ridiculously simple. Follow some decree some person put into effect at some point and pound the pillars. Get out of the castle somehow (I say that because the door on mine is glitchy) and head over to the area near the waterfall. Fall into the hole. The easy part is done now. Now, there are two methods!

Method 1: Short Method
Once you land on the beginning platform of Vanish Cap under the Moat, do a Long Jump. (I'll be talking about long jumps in just a bit) Be sure to miss all the ledges and the Vanish Cap Box. Mario should land on his back end and lose four health. Now, continue to The Glitch.

Method 2: A Little Less Short Method
If you feel sluggish, lethargic, or redundant then this is the method for you. Slide down the slide and use those...black...dots...that shoot fire and burn until you hit two health. Now, keep reading.

The Glitch
Once you're down to three health or less, stand around and twiddle your thumbs while you wait for a...whatever that thing is called. I wanna say it's like Kuromame or something? Anyway, let that burn you. I recommend doing it with one near the row of five coins, but that's up to you. When you get hit by the flame, sprint for the edge and fall off. The health meter will be at zero. Mario will respawn in what's left of the moat, but he'll re-die so to speak.

The Explanation
Usually glitches can't be explained, but this time it's possible. What happens is Mario runs off the edge before his health hits zero. Mario can't do a death animation mid-air, so the game waits for him to be in a place where it is possible for him to do a death animation; in this case, the moat. It only works in Vanish Cap under the Moat because there is no death layer, only a “respawn in another area” layer. Rainbow Road, Tick Tock Clock, and others don't work because if you use a flame and fall off there, Mario hits a death layer and loses a life there. Get it? Got it? Good.

Technique of the Month
Ever get stuck in front of one of those long gaps? Yeah, those ones. Well, do I have the solution for you. It's the Long Jump. Yes, the long jump with a short formula (I'm a science student so I deal with a lot of formulas): +  = Long Jump, or alternatively, crouch + jump = Long Jump. Isn't that simple? Now, as to “Why the heck am I supposed to know this?”, have you ever been faced with one of those looooooong gaps? Y'know, like in Cool, Cool Mountain? Those have signs just to tell you what to do, but if you tend to ignore like I do, just long jump; but be sure not to long jump into oblivion. Mario pr'y wouldn't like you after that. The other thing to avoid is long jumping into walls, because long jumping into a wall ends up defeating the entire point of doing a long jump.

“And why is that?”

Well, I'll tell you why. If you ram Mario into a wall via long jump, you're most likely going to end up right back where you started. Sounds counterproductive, doesn't it? It is. If you decide to long jump into a wall for no reason right above a big drop or gap in the ground, then you're basically throwing away health. Who does that? Ummm, probably not a lot of people now that I think about it.

That does it for me, so I'll be back next month (hopefully with images *sigh *) with more glitches, techniques, and quirky phrases in parentheses in Insider 64!

Pocket Handbook
Written by:

What’s that in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s our new sub-director,, who is none other than our beloved plain Jane bird Pokémon, Pidgey! What an adorable little guy. Look at him flapping his tiny little wings, explaining how the slightest alteration in his trajectory could create a chain reaction that results in a tsunami that wipes out the entire West Coast of America. So cuuuute~ Anyway, serious talk, to commemorate our beloved new sub-director, I've decided to cover his own fully evolved form, Pidgeot!

The Pidgey line was among the 151 Pokémon first introduced in the original Generation I games, and among the very first any player was likely to see, being commonly found across all regions in the game and obtainable as early as Route 1. Pidgey are very common sights in particular, preying on hapless Bug-type Pokémon and kicking up sand with their developed feet to ward off predators. Its evolved form, Pidgeotto, develops a much more noticeable mean streak, defending its territory ruthlessly from intruders with its ever-powerful talons, with its final form being Pidgeot, which employs its intimidating size to ward off predators, and has a plumage so striking it compels many a trainer to attempt to tame them. All things considered, the line is very standard bird stuff, and indeed throughout its entire life, Pidgeot struggled to make any sort of impression in the competitive scene aside from its stunning appearance. Its stat spread and poor overall movepool has always just been inefficient in making Pidgeot a considerable threat, and basically any Rock, Steel, or Electric-type Pokémon is able to easily deal with the poor bird, but its received a considerable buff in the newest set of games which allow it to be a genuine force to be reckoned with, albeit a somewhat niche one. So without further ado, let's go all out with Pidgeot!

Now, we'll start with the base form. You are probably not going to get a whole lot of mileage out of this, I'll be perfectly honest... Neither of its attacking stats are brilliant enough to make it an offensive powerhouse, its defenses are just OK, and its speed may be pretty damn decent, but it's still outclassed by a lot of far better Flying-type options, such as Talonflame, Crobat, or Archeops, all of whom have far better offensive prowess as well, as well as a lot of major threats to it, such as Manectric, Jolteon, and Aerodactyl. To add insult to injury, its type coverage is sub-par as well, allowing it to deal damage off Flying, Normal, Fire, Bug, Steel, and Dark moves... and not much else. Even the moves in those will leave a lot to be desired as far as damage output goes, and Pidgeot is simply too frail to run as a utility or supportive Pokémon. That said, the most standard moveset that most Pidgeot players will run, and the one I've given to my Pidgeot - nicknamed Pi after our beloved mathematical sub-director - would be as such:

Physical moves are the focus here due to Pidgeot's Attack stat being marginally better than its Special Attack stat, which is... something, at least. Brave Bird is Pidgeot's second most powerful Flying-type attack, dealing a whopping 120 base damage on the opponent, plus STAB... at the cost of Pidgeot's health, as it'll take heavy recoil damage from the move. Not brilliant for a frail Pokémon, which is where Roost comes in to the mix; I've mentioned several times before that Roost is one of the best restorative moves in the game, and is an absolute must-have for any Flying-type Pokémon, which can also help mitigate some of Pidgeot's glaring Flying-type weaknesses... provided it can get the move in before its opponent spits ice or hurls rocks at it. U-turn is a great utility move that gives Pidgeot some momentum to easily escape from threats or walls that it would otherwise have no means of dealing with, but otherwise has little practical use as an offensive move. Finally, we have Pursuit, which is there to offer some additional coverage - particularly against Ghost-types - and potentially deal with cowardly foes that attempt to flee your glorious plumage... which is unlikely, since as I've said numerous times, Pidgeot unfortunately doesn't scare a whole lot of Pokémon. Your other options are... not glorious, to say the least. You know how I said Brave Bird is Pidgeot's most powerful Flying-type move, at least on the physical side of things? Well its next strongest ones are... Wing Attack and Aerial Ace, which both sit at a measly 60 base attack damage, a full half of what Brave Bird dishes out. Its only other potent physical Flying-type move is Sky Attack, which is a two-turn move and thus completely unreliable, although it does have a decent-ish chance of flinching the foe, so if that's your poison, then go for it. Just don't get salty when your opponent ends up swole as hell from all the set-up you gave it in-between turns, if you even live long enough to see that. If you're so eager for Special coverage instead, then you have Air Slash, which does have an increased chance to flinch the opponent but still lacks in a tremendous amount of power, and Hurricane, which is insanely powerful and has a chance to inflict confusion on the foe... but is also very inaccurate, so putting all your eggs in that basket isn't a wise life decision at all. Its only really brilliant Normal-type move is Return, although it's a pretty damn powerful one if your Pidgeot's happiness is maxed out, so that's a valuable option if you want something a bit more neutral. Outside Flying and Normal-type coverage, we have Faint Attack as a possible replacement for Pursuit, doing a bit more damage with the added bonus of never missing, but... that's a tiny bandaid, if I've ever seen one, so I would personally stick to Pursuit as it offers more utility. Steel Wing can be an option for combating Ice, Rock, or Fairy-types, and also has a chance of raising Pidgeot's sub-par Defense stat, so that's probably one of the better alternatives. If you feel you want to try out full utility, then go ahead, Pidgeot does have access to Defog to counter entry hazard scummers (which is actually very useful for Pidgeot, giving its weakness to Stealth Rock, Tailwind to boost its team's Speed for a few turns, and Whirlwind to remove set-up threats from play or rack up entry hazard damage on your opponents. These are all decent moves on their own, I'm just not convinced they can find their fullest potential on Pidgeot, but you're always welcome to try.

Pidgeot has access to three abilities, one of which is a hidden ability; its two standard ones are Keen Eye, which prevents it from losing accuracy as well as ignore evasion buffs its opponent may have indulged, and Tangled Feet, which raises its evasion whenever it's inflicted with confusion. Its hidden ability, on the other hand, is Big Pecks, which prevents its Defense stat from being lowered by any outside source. Obviously, the last one is the most consistently useful, especially given how brittle Pidgeot naturally is otherwise, but Keen Eye certainly has its uses if you're playing against one of those dickheads that spams Double Team a million goddamn times, although note that this merely ignores the opponents evasion buffs, it doesn't automatically allow even your inaccurate moves to always hit their mark. Tangled Feet is ridiculously niche and should largely be ignored. OK, items! ...Uhh, Pidgeot unfortunately doesn't rock that many items out so well, with its most consistently beneficial option being Leftovers, but Sharp Beak can be used to help bolster Pidgeot's Flying-type damage, which can somewhat make up for its pitiful defenses. So all seems bad for this majestic beast of a bird, doesn't it? Typically, I would say it's just one of those in-game clutch Pokémon that help you get through the game really well due to its ease of access and decent power throughout the game, but competitively, it just has nothing to stand out and elevate itself above others of its type or playstyle... but these aren't typical times. Indeed, Pidgeot was blessed with a Mega Evolution in Pokémon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire, which has allowed to elevate to such a point where even the blokes at Smogon are considering putting it in top tier territory:

What Mega Pidgeot gains completely changes the name of the game, shifting it towards Special offense rather than Physical, a slight Speed buff that elevates it into the higher mobility bracket, and an incredible double-edged sword ability that does it far more good than bad. Mega Pidgeot is a very basic Mega evolution, probably the second most predictable after Mega Mawile. This is because once your opponent sees you're using a Pidgeot, they'll instantly know you're using it for the mega evolution and then will instantly know you'll be running Hurricane on it, as the normally inaccurate move is granted %100 accuracy thanks to Mega Pidgeot's new ability, No Guard. No Guard allows all moves used by or against Mega Pidgeot to always hit regardless of accuracy or if either Pokémon have used a two-turn move that allows them to hide like Fly or Dive. But Mega Pidgeot doesn't need a million tricks in the trade since what this ability and its particular moveset offers is so frightening that most players will have to play super carefully around the complete freedom the Pokémon has thanks to No Guard. I know this ability sounds very risky for a Pokémon that's fairly brittle and still outsped by some fairly prominent threats, but most Pokémon are so scared of the potency of Hurricane and the high chance to inflict confusion that they'll almost always switch out to something that can more efficiently check Mega Pidgeot... free turns which are just delicious for the bird of prey.

So, moveset! Gone are your days of underwhelming physical moves with nasty side-effects, and on to the beautiful meadow of powerful special attacks with basically no repercussions! This is the set that most competitive players will swear by, and in my honest opinion, should be seen as gospel for how damn effective it is: So U-turn and Roost are still there; you know why I love Roost, while U-turn is just to keep momentum up, just so Mega Pidgeot can escape from counters or get out of trapping abilities or moves like Arena Trap or Mean Look. While Hurricane existed purely as a niche move for normal Pidgeot before, it becomes the centrepiece for the mega evolution, devastating even highly defensive Pokémon with perfect precision whilst offering a decent chance to inflict confusion on them. There's a reason so many players feel it necessary to switch out to a Rock or Electric-type Pokémon when Mega Pidgeot is thrown their way, although hilariously, most commonly used Electric-types aren't defensive at all so Mega Pidgeot will still rock them like a hurricane. Heat Wave is there just because its Mega Pidgeot's best coverage move, and can help mitigate its fear of Ice-type Pokémon or melt down Steel-type walls that otherwise shrug off anything Pidgeot can throw at it, and the potential burn chance doesn't hurt. If anyone tells you that you can do anything else with Mega Pidgeot, blast their ass with a well-placed Hurricane because they are wrong. These are all the moves you need to terrify your opponent, anything else is just failing to play to Mega Pidgeot's core strengths, and yea, I know that makes it seem really boring, but are you in it to win it, son?! Get your head in the game, kid, this is life or death we're talking about! ...well that's not entirely true, Mega Pidgeot is probably one of the few Pokémon that can justifiably run Hyper Beam as a last resort move, but it is situational and may not be worth sacrificing one of its other moves which synergise so well together.

Mega Pidgeot is a swift powerhouse, but don't think for a second that it's going to be taking hits well with its above-average 80/80/80 defense spread, especially given it'll no longer have access to restorative or tankability items thanks to requiring Pidgeotite. Its ability No Guard does do it a tremendous amount of favours, but if Mega Pidgeot doesn't destroy its foes in at least two attacks, they have ample opportunity to strike back with a powerful-but-normally-inaccurate super-effective move like Stone Edge, Thunder, or Blizzard, which will make short work of the poor raptor. While Mega Pidgeot's weaknesses seem very limited, keep in mind that its weak to three of the most common offensive types in the game, and some of the less useful resistances: Mega Pidgeot suffers from a weakness to Stealth Rock that can be absolutely crippling for it, given that it likes to switch in and out to play around the opponents strengths. Amusingly enough, opponent switch-ins can prove very detrimental to Mega Pidgeot in the long-term given the low PP Hurricane has, which can result in Mega Pidgeot wasting its most potent attack on a switched-in Mega Manectric - which is faster, and thus will counter with a devastating %100 accurate Thunder - or Tyranitar - which will just laugh off the attack like it was nothing. I would say, however, that Mega Pidgeot's biggest fear is Mega Aerodactyl, which is so much faster than it but also has the perfect type combination for dealing with Mega Pidgeot's particular range of moves. But despite all this, and despite how simplistic the Pokémon's playstyle is, you will find few raptors in the game as frightening as this one, and if you're the kind of person that just likes raw power over strategy, then this is the 'mon for you! Now we just have to wait for our own adorable sub-director to grow up into this majestic avian beast, and we can finally have a perfect newsletter.

Mario Calendar
Written by:

In loving memory of Lana (February 16th, 2004 – October 19th, 2015), the Robin to Lili's Batman, the jelly to Lili's peanut butter, and a heroine on her own.


 * January 1st, 2013 (JP): Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES-3DSVC)
 * January 2nd
 * 2014 (EU/AU): Mario Tennis (GBC-3DSVC)
 * 2015 (EU): Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)
 * January 3rd, 2015 (AU): Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)
 * January 5th
 * 2007 (EU/AU): Super Mario Bros. (NES-WiiVC)
 * 2012:
 * (AU): Boom Street (Wii)
 * (JP): Super Mario Bros. (NES-3DSVC)
 * January 7th, 2005 (EU): NES Classics: Dr. Mario (GBA)
 * January 9th
 * 2009 (EU/AU): Donkey Kong 3 (NES-WiiVC)
 * 2014 (EU/AU): Mario Bros. (NES-3DSVC)
 * 2015 (IT): Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)
 * January 12th, 2007 (EU): WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii)
 * January 13th, 2005 (JP): Mario Party Advance (GBA)
 * January 15th
 * 2007 (NA): WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii)
 * 2009 (JP): Wii de Asobu Mario Tennis GC (GCN)
 * 2014:
 * (JP): Mario Open Golf (NES-WiiUVC)
 * (JP/EU/AU): Dr. Luigi (Wii U) – Nintendo eShop (Released in JP as Dr. Luigi & Saikin Bokumetsu)
 * January 16th
 * 2001 (NA): Mario Tennis (GBC)
 * 2014 (KO): Mario & Luigi RPG 4: Dream Adventure (3DS)
 * January 17th
 * 2008 (JP): Mario & Sonic at the Beijing Olympics (NDS)
 * 2014 (EU): Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS)
 * January 18th
 * 2007:
 * (AU): Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (NDS)
 * (JP): Kaitou Wario the Seven (NDS)
 * 2014 (AU): Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS)
 * January 19th, 2006 (JP): Super Mario Strikers (GCN)
 * January 20th
 * 2009 (JP): Nintendo All Star! Great Melee Smash Brothers (N64-WiiVC)
 * 2011 (KO): Super Mario Wii 2: Galaxy Adventure Together (Wii)
 * January 21st
 * 1993 (EU): Super Mario Kart (SNES)
 * 1994 (JP): Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB)
 * 1999 (JP): Nintendo All Star! Great Melee Smash Brothers (N64)
 * 2001 (JP): Super Donkey Kong (GBC)
 * January 22nd, 2015 (EU):
 * Donkey Kong Jr. Math (NES-WiiUVC)
 * DK: King of Swing (GBA-WiiUVC)
 * January 23rd, 2015 (AU):
 * Donkey Kong Jr. Math (NES-WiiUVC)
 * DK: King of Swing (GBA-WiiUVC)
 * January 24th, 2000 (NA): Mario Party 2 (N64)
 * January 25th
 * 2007 (AU): WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii)
 * 2008 (EU): Donkey Kong Jet Race (Wii)
 * January 26th, 2007 (EU/AU): Mario Kart 64 (N64-WiiVC)
 * January 27th
 * 2005 (JP): Catch! Touch! Yoshi! (NDS)
 * 2011 (AU): Mario Sports Mix (Wii)
 * January 28th
 * 1993 (EU): Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB)
 * 2000 (JP): Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong (GBC)
 * 2011 (EU): Mario Sports Mix (Wii)
 * January 29th, 2007 (NA): Mario Kart 64 (N64-WiiVC)
 * January 30th, 2007 (JP): Mario Kart 64 (N64-WiiVC)
 * January 31st, 2008 (JP): Great Melee Smash Brothers X (Wii)