AN: I'm back from my seven day ban (Which was entirely justified).
To those that don't know, after I posted the story up on Amazon, I was informed that Kindle Unlimited requires that the story be posted nowhere else. I had assumed that applied only to selling via other publishers, not the free novel.
That was not the case. Hence my rapidly pulling down the story from everywhere in a panic, lest I get my amazon account banned, and my dream of authorhood killed in the cradle.
That was not why I recieved a ban from HFY for seven days. I recieved the ban, because as I pulled the story, I left the Amazon link up. That was a violation of rule seven of the subreddit, which says that any link must be accompanied by 350 words of OC content. A rule I broke nineteen times in ten minutes.
Either way, that is behind us now, and I've put my time to good use setting up a patreon and building up a backlog of chapters.
So without further ado, here's book two, which will be posted up until such time that the book is published, at which point it will be pulled like book one to conform with Amazon, and we will start again with book three.
I'm also sitting at number ten on Space Fleet Sci-Fi right now on the top one hundred list, so I just wanted to thank everyone that bought a copy or left a review.
You guys rock!
​
“Alright ladies, shut up and sit down,” Tisi called over the hubbub of conversation.
To be honest, it was kind of ridiculous that she needed to ask at all, given that she was the captain, and thus the crew should have been jumping up to salute her with obedient silence the moment she entered the ship’s small cafeteria/lounge area. Unfortunately for her, captaining a tiny picket ship like the Whisker didn’t carry that kind of prestige.
More to the point, it was difficult to maintain any kind of professional distance when you were in tight confines with the same group of seven people for weeks at a time.
Fortunately, the group of layabouts she was saddled with were still obedient enough. While they weren’t quite as prompt as she might have liked, the conversation did fall away, allowing her to speak.
“Glider, Rocket, you hearing me up there?” She asked.
“Loud and clear, captain.” The ship’s intercom squawked overhead.
“Good,” she nodded.
Between those two on the bridge and the five before her, the entire crew was present.
“As I’m sure you’ve all already heard, we’ll be getting a replacement for Batna when we next pull into port.”
All around her she saw people nod, though the one who did so most vigorously was Kernathu. Which wasn’t all that surprising given that the poor girl had been running double duty to compensate for the missing member of their complement. To be honest, it was kind of ridiculous that the Whisker had launched at all without a full crew, but then again, she supposed that was just a natural consequence of being posted to Gurathu. It was about as backwater a posting as one could get without literally manning a weather station on an ocean world.
“Please tell me it’s not another Rakiri,” Someone groused from the back. “It’s already bad enough that I’m picking Yaro’s hair out of the drain every other night.”
To her left, the crew’s sole Rakiri crewmate just chuffed in amusement, the furry bipedal woman more amused than offended by the insinuation.
“Forget a Rakiri, I’d kill for another Halkem,” Scales muttered, the aristocratic grey skinned woman running a hand over the eponymous black scales that ran run up and down her forearms. “A lower caste of course. It’s been forever since my scales received a proper buffing.”
“I offered to help,” her fellow marine offered.
Scales gave the muscular Shil’vati sitting next to her a cool-eyed glance. “Yes, and you nearly de-scaled me in the process.”
Assisse just shrugged, as if to say ‘at least I tried’. Tisi coughed, before Scales could respond and allow the crew’s odd couple to get into yet another argument.
“Well, before I have to listen to anymore suggestions as to what you do and don’t want in the latest member of our security contingent, how about I just tell you?”
The crew fell dutifully silent.
Sighing, Tisi continued. “They won’t be a Rakiri, Halkem or even a Shil’vati. We’re getting a Human.”
She’d been expecting it, but it was still kind of surprising how still everyone went. You could have heard a pin drop in the ensuing silence. Even Cerilla looked a little interested. Then the questions came all at once. Tisi didn’t even try to decipher the deluge of blurted words from about half the crew. Instead, she slammed a fist onto a nearby table.
“Quiet,” she hissed, silencing them all instantly as she scowled.
Sighing, she collected herself. As her eyes roamed over the room, she noted with some contentment that most of the crew looked at least a little sheepish about their outburst.
As they should, she thought.
For all that their circumstances allowed for a little laxity in military protocol, this was still a military ship and she was still the captain. They were all well-behaved enough on-planet, but sometimes when they were out in space all of them needed a reminder of what she represented.
She was the captain. Her word was law, and all of them were expected to give her rank the respect it deserved. Content to let the matter lie now that they’d all been reminded of that fact, she continued.
“Yes, they are male.” She answered, figuring it was best to get it over with.
It was fortunate for her that she’d just reminded them all to behave with some decorum, because she had a feeling that if she hadn’t, she’d be listening to them all whooping and jeering right now. Kernathu in particular looked about to explode from joy, and even Cerilla looked interested despite her self-proclaimed disinterest in men.
Of course, there’s disinterest and then there’s disinterest, Tisi thought.
Lots of girls liked to get into relationships devoid of males, but few enough would pass up an opportunity to ‘try one’ if it came up. It was a rare one that abstained entirely.
Of course, from every indication she’d seen, Tisi was pretty sure that Cerilla was one of those rare women. Her gut instinct was that the chief medical officer’s current interest was entirely professional rather than romantic or sexual.
The same could not be said for the rest of her crew however.
“Alright, all of you get your heads out of the gutters,” the captain instructed, before the – thus far – silent excitement could reach a fever pitch.
Not that she could particularly blame them. Even out on a backwater like Gurathu, where weeks could pass between messenger ship circuits, they’d all heard about the Imperium’s latest acquisition.
Tisi was pretty sure that half of it was Turox shit, but then again, even if only a fraction of what she’d heard about the humans was true… well, she could understand what all the hype was about.
Not that she intended to do anything about it when their newest crewmate arrived. She knew some captains liked to play that part of the noble in the parlor, but Tisi was better than that. Her only relationship with the newcomer would be professional.
…well, unless he offered. She had standards, but she wasn’t dead after all.
Snapping her mind away from that line of thought, she fixed the motley crew in front of her with a stern eye.
“Now I don’t need to remind you – but I will anyway,” she began. “We’re an Imperial Naval Vessel. That means you are expected to treat our newest crewmate the same way you treat anyone else.”
She’d gotten a very sternly worded memo with pretty much those exact same words in addition to her newest crewmate’s dossier.
“The last thing the navy wants is another scandal like the Iron Tooth,” she said, which served to put a significant damper on the party-like atmosphere that had been developing.
Which it should. The Iron Tooth incident had been a black mark on the reputation of the navy as a whole, and while those women were now all in military prison, the effect of the scandal on male recruitment rates was still being felt two years later. Still, at least it had brought a number of new rules and regulations into being for active-duty ships.
She knew some members of the military chafed under them, but to her thinking they were just good sense.
“We aren’t a band of Periphery pirates,” Tisi said, echoing her own thoughts. “We’re here to do a job, not just indulge our own whims.”
The crew as a whole nodded, even Assisse, prompting Tisi to smile with pride. Her crew might not have been the most disciplined bunch in this part of the galaxy, but when push came to shove, they were all good people.
-----------------------
Shil’vati, as a race, were predisposed to high temperature conditions. Many of their earliest civilizations had cropped up around the tropical climates of Shil’s equator.
Unfortunately for Assisse, Gurathu was anything but warm.
It was a frigid ice ball of a world, filled with mountains so large it made the ones back home look like a kid’s sandcastle by comparison. Sure, the main-colony had been set up in a valley between two of those mountains, keeping it more or less sheltered from the frigid winds of world, but that didn’t make the freezing temperature any less oppressive to her senses as she and the Captain stepped out of their car and onto the busy streets just outside the space port.
“Ma’am, why am I here?” Asisse asked, as she locked the vehicle and the two started making their way toward the nearby building. A task made marginally harder by the crowds of furry Rakiri colonists that made up an overwhelming majority of Gurathu’s population.
Just last week the space port had been a ghost town. Today that wasn’t the case though. With a large cargo ship coming in, the place had filled up with natives hoping to load up or receive things.
“Upset that I’m taking you away from your away time with Scales, sergeant?” the Captain teased as they strode past two brown coated furry aliens arguing loudly with a tired looking Shil’vati customs officer.
If they were still in space Assisse would have rolled her eyes at her superior’s comment. They were on-planet though, so she refrained, keeping her features studiously neutral. That was part of the strange dichotomy the crew of the Whisker shared.
It was an old joke anyway. For all that the crew liked to joke that the pair of them bickered like two rival wives in a marriage unit, they weren’t together. They were just friends. Which ironically was less than a lot of girls in the services were.
While the reputation for girls ‘enjoying each other’s company’ while out on deployment was a pretty gross exaggeration, it was a stereotype that held some truth. Assisse and Scales had never done anything of the sort though. They were just friends who liked to bicker.
“Not at all, ma’am,” Assisse drawled dutifully.
Tisi hummed thoughtfully as they flashed their credentials at the Shil’vati militia guarding the terminal entrance to the new arrival.
“I assumed that as the leader of our little Marine contingent, you’d be interested in seeing our newest arrival first hand.”
Assisse shrugged. She wasn’t too bothered to be honest. Whether she saw him today or a week from now, when the Whisker set off for patrol again, didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like she could send him back if she didn’t like him for whatever reason. Ignoring the fact that she was pretty sure the crew would mutiny if they didn’t get the human, it would be weeks before the next message ship came through, and they would be out on patrol before that happened.
“Apparently our newest addition is some kind of tactical savant,” the Captain continued, ignorant of her thoughts. “Managed to take on an entire company of Interior elites with just two other recruits during a training exercise.”
“…How?” Assisse asked skeptically. On a purely practical level, she was pretty sure three recruits didn’t have enough ammo to gun down that many of the opposition.
Tisi shrugged. “That, my dossier didn’t say. Probably some kind of guerilla thing. You’ve heard how humans are.”
Assisse nodded warily. Everyone had heard the stories about the latest race to be added to the Imperial fold. Specifically, the fact that they had a fifty/fifty gender ratio and that the males were just as randy as women.
That wasn’t what Tisi was referring to. Earth wasn’t all that dangerous. Ignoring the myriad other advantages the Imperium held over the native population, the fact was that most of the native’s weapons couldn’t penetrate through Shil’vati armor. That made being out on patrol a whole lot less of a daunting prospect.
That didn’t mean it was totally without risk. What the aliens apparently lacked in weapons acumen, they surely made up for in tenacity and creativity. The number of homemade ‘rail-guns’ that had been popping up in recent weeks was proof enough of that.
Crude, sparse and slow to fire as those weapons were, they’d destroyed the assurance of many a patrolwoman that their armor was proof against anything the natives could throw at them.
The place was still considered a pretty sweet posting compared to the likes of the Periphery - practically a vacation, even - but it seemed that with each passing month the number of injuries and casualties amongst the occupation force grew rather than diminished. Which was the opposite of what was supposed to happen.
The numbers were beyond middling to the Imperium, but it was still a worrying trend.
“Here we are,” Tisi said as they passed through another checkpoint and back out onto the recently swept open tarmac of the landing pad.
Personally, Assisse would have preferred to stay in the heated building and watch through the viewing port, but she knew better than to voice that opinion. That they’d be standing outside waiting for the ship to arrive had been a foregone conclusion anyway. As her slightly blue snow-tanned complexion could attest, the captain liked to take every opportunity she could to be out in the open air while they were on planet. It was almost as if she was compensating for all the time they spent in the cramped confines of the ship.
Well, that wasn’t strictly fair. The Whisker was actually pretty spacious for a picket ship, with a fairly large number of amenities for its small size. Of course, all the amenities in the world couldn’t distract from the fact that it was a limited area, and that the crew spent weeks, and occasionally months, stuck there.
So, she supposed she could forgive the captain’s need to stand out in the freezing Gurathu air. Even if Assisse was pretty sure the tips of her ears were beginning to form icicles.
“Anything else I should know, ma’am?” she asked as they peered out into the great blue sky above.
“He’s a boot.”
Assisse glanced at the woman next to her. “I figured as much, ma’am. Being human and all.”
Tisi determinedly kept her eyes on the sky. “No sergeant, I meant basic boot.”
That made the marine pause.
“No vocational, ma’am?” She asked slowly.
“No.”
Now Assisse was fully staring at her superior. “With all due respect ma’am, what the hell?”
Basic training was called that for a reason. It instilled all the basics that any member of the military might need.
That was the key word in that statement: Basics.
Vocational training was where actual skills were developed. Engineers, chefs, medics, hell, even your average riflewoman needed more advanced training to truly be considered competent in their chosen role.
Advanced unit tactics, sweeping and clearing, how to call in orbital support, jump-pack operation…
The list went on and on. All skills that were needed for a team to be able to function correctly during an operation.
Empress, it only got worse on a small picket ship like the Whisker. The ship’s small complement meant most members had multiple roles. Assisse herself was entirely capable of filling in as a medical assistant should it be required, and Scales was an assistant chef.
“I was lead to understand – as was the rest of the crew – that our newest member would be filling in for Bant,” she gritted out, not needing to state that Kernathu would be devastated. The young mechanic was running herself ragged keeping the ship running without aid. The rest of the crew tried to pitch in where they could, but they just didn’t have the skills to be truly useful.
The captain frowned, no doubt thinking the same thing. “I don’t like it much either.” She allowed. “Orders are orders though. Between us, it’s obvious that something funny is going on here.”
Assisse scowled. She knew exactly what that meant.
Politics.
The word felt foul on her tongue. She’d thought having a posting on the ass end of nowhere would get her away from all the politicking of back home. She supposed it just went to show that wherever the Imperium went, politics followed. The nobility were pathologically incapable of keeping their noses out of anything.
The captain being the notable exception of course. She was a fine no-nonsense leader, but even she had her moments where that ingrained aristocratic instinct kicked in.
Though it was unfair, Assise couldn’t help but wonder if this was one of those occasions. If the captain was accepting this human as part of some plot back home.
“It’s not all bad,” the woman continued, completely ignorant to the Sergeant’s thoughts. “Apparently he was going to university on his homeworld. Part of the uplift program to familiarize the humans with our tech so that they can finally start contributing.”
She paused. “He was only part way through the course before he, uh, signed up, but that should give him enough of a foundation to be of use. I’m sure Kernathu will get some use out of him.”
Assisse privately doubted that. Still, it wasn’t her department. Her only concern was how decent he’d be in a firefight. Not that she expected to be in one, but that was neither here nor there. Searching merchant ships for contraband was already tedious enough without worrying if one of her underlings was going to shoot his foot off.
“There it is,” Tisi pointed.
Assisse glanced up, and sure enough there was a blot in the sky above. It started small at first, but as the minutes passed, it only grew in size. Soon enough she could make out individual details. The Grinshaw’s Maw was built in the style of most Shil’vati ships. Which was to say that it was essentially a brick with a set of oversize engines strapped to the back.
The cargo ship was even uglier than most. Where most warships would have at least had a sleek array of laser pods running across the ship, this one had but one, mounted to the front. Instead of holding weapons, the sides of the ship bulged out awkwardly to make room for the vessel’s expanded cargo holds.
As she watched it continue to grow as it got closer, she couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. Nothing that big and cumbersome looking should have been able to move through atmosphere. Nor should it have been so quiet while doing so. Nearly twice the size of the massive super-cargo ships that used to ply Shil’s southern oceans, the thing’s engines should have been blazing away in an attempt to just keep the massive construct in the air. Instead, they were all but silent, only occasionally releasing a small puff as the ship corrected its course.
“Anti-gravity tech can be a real mindfuck,” she murmured, ignoring the way the Captain looked away from the ship to send her an amused glance.
Kernathu had tried to explain it to her once, but it had all come out as gibberish to Assisse’s ears. Like, what the fuck was a ‘graviton’ and why was it only sometimes a wave? She had no clue, and she’d long since given up trying to understand.
Finally, the ship touched down with a clunk. Then a second clunk as the anti-grav field turned off and the full weight off the ship dropped onto the landing struts.
The cargo gates opened with a whirring noise, and massive heavy-duty ramps slid down. Almost immediately cargo vehicles and exo’s began striding out to the behemoth, to begin the gargantuan task of unloading its cargo, before reloading it with exports from Gurathu.
“Shall we go see the latest addition to our little ‘family’?” Tisi said, a hint of genuine excitement peeking through her expression.
Assisse once more resisted the urge to roll her eyes. For all that the captain played the role of the no-nonsense officer, sometimes it was easy to see the excitable young woman that lay beneath. As evidenced by the fact that they were boarding the ship, rather than heading back inside to wait in the passenger terminal.
Instead of doing that, Assisse did what all enlisted throughout history did when saddled with an excitable officer. She grunted and grudgingly followed after her superior.
​
​
First / Next
Another three chapters are also available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bluefishcake
We also have a (surprisingly) active Discord where and I and a few other authors like to hang out: https://discord.gg/RctHFucHaq

With apologies to the artist Seal....
🎼 Baby! I compare you to a kiss from a rose on Community Day
🎶 Ooh, the more I get of you, the shinier it feels, yeah!
♫ Now that Roserade is in bloom
♬ Weather Ball lights the room on Community Day....
Hello again, fellow travelers and PvPers! As I've done many times before (with Charizard, Gyarados, Gengar and many more), I want to take a close look at this month's Community Day spotlight Pokémon and examine its merits in PvP. And for the first time, this month's featured 'mon will receive TWO exclusive moves at once! Let's not waste any more time, as Community Day is now mere hours away. Made it by thaaaaaaaat much. 😌 Let's dive in to our analysis on Roserade!

ROSERADE

Grass/Poison Type
GREAT LEAGUE:
Attack: 145 (141 High Stat Product)
Defense: 110 (114 High Stat Product)
HP: 97 (98 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-11-14, 1499 CP, Level 19)
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 184 (182 High Stat Product)
Defense: 147 (148 High Stat Product)
HP: 123 (127 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-12-15, 2499 CP, Level 33)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 204 (217 at Level 50)
Defense: 158 (168 at Level 50)
HP: 134 (142 at Level 50)
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs)
The best defense is a good offense? Roserade certainly hopes so. While not quite as extreme as, say, Haunter (which has Defense AND stamina dipping below 100), anything with less than 100 HP in Great League (at least without sky high Defense to compensate, which is NOT the case here) clearly belongs in the "glass cannon" category.
Good thing then that Grass/Poison is a decent defensive type combination. Yes, you still have to watch out for Flyers and Fires and Ices, and the Poison side is also weak to Psychic damage, but you get resistances to Water, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, and 2x to Grass.
But anyway, let's get to the part you're really here for: the new moves.
ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move
Fast Moves:
Bullet Seedᴱ (Grass, 1.67 DPT, 4.33 EPT, 1.5 CoolDown)
Poison Jab (Poison, 3.0 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CD)
Razor Leaf (Grass, 5.0 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 1.0 CD)
So the few times I have seen Roserade show up in PvP, it's been with Razor Leaf. It hits harder than (non-Shadow) Victreebel and has some decent charge moves too. (More on those in a moment.) But what Roserade has going for it that many prospective Razor Leafers don't is a very good Poison fast move as well. Poison Jab is actually the best Poison has got, and a very good PvP move overall, with average damage output combined with above average energy generation. Most moves roughly even out to a 3 overall between DPT and EPT (something like 2.5 for one and 3.5 for the other, or 4 for one and 2 for the other, that sort of thing). To have one that exceeds that is always nice. We'll be looking at Jab again as we move ahead in the analysis.
But for the moment, the move to highlight is the new one: Bullet Seed. It turns Roserade into quite a different Pokémon, shifting from dealing heavy fast move damage to one that relies much more on spamming charge moves. So it's nice that it gets a new, super spammy one to pair with it. Let's see what we've got to work with....
Charge Moves:
Weather Ball (Fire)ᴱ (Fire, 60 damage, 35 energy)
Sludge Bomb (Poison, 80 damage, 50 energy)
Grass Knot (Grass, 90 damage, 50 energy)
Dazzling Gleam (Fairy, 110 damage, 70 energy)
Solar Beam (Grass, 150 damage, 80 energy)
So paired with Bullet Seed, the other new move is super spammy Fire Weather Ball. This immediately draws comparisons to the already exisiting Sunshine version of Cherrim, who has the same moves and has made some noise in GBL and Silph Arena Cups, and is on the verge of (I believe) making a lot of noise in Love Cup. So let's start there: comparing the two.
Cherrim is only really viable in Great League, as it tops out just north of 2000 CP at Level 40, and doesn't even reach 2350 CP if pushed all the way up to Level 51. So our comparison will be at GL level. Putting them side by side, Cherrim has much more desirable stats for PvP, having roughly equivalent (though still slightly higher) Defense to Roserade but 30 more HP on average. Roserade, by contrast, has 20-25 more Attack strength. Cherrim also lacks a Poison (or any other) subtyping, and thus loses the resistances Roserade has to Fighting and Fairy, and its resistance to Grass is just a single one as opposed to Roserade's double. Cherrim is not weak to Psychic damage like Roserade is, but is instead weak to Poison and Bug moves, and resists Ground (unlike Roserade who takes neutral damage from Ground). Got all that? Some of it will be important in understanding what they handle differently, which we'll look at... right now!
So, again sticking with Great League, here are the comps:

• Cherrim (running Bullet Seed/Weather Ball/Solar Beam) sets the stage, beating several big Waters (Azu, Jellicent, Lapras/Dewgong), though frustratingly not being able to finish off the Mud Boys before their own super effective coverage moves get them the win first. Cherrim very capably handles both Stunfisks and even Diggersby with its scary Fire Punches, and burns through most prominent Grasses and Steels with Weather Ball. It beats several prominent Psychic types (Hypno, DDeoxys, Alolan Raichu, Cresselia) and, despite not resisting Fighting damage, fends off some of the better ones like Toxicroak, Vigoroth, and Obstagoon, though they are admittedly close. It has a number of wins that Roserade does not share, including Hypno, Cress, DD, Dewgong, Registeel, Meganium, Toxicroak, Vigoroth, and Obstagoon.
  
• Roserade (with BS/WBF and the faster Grass Knot as its Grass charge move) does not beat any prominent Psychics other than AhChu, nor any Fighters (or quasi-Fighters like Viggy and Goon), quite ironic considering the resistance it has to Fighting damage (whereas Cherrim takes neutral damage but wins), a worrying sign of how Roserade's frailty drags it down in Great League. However, its resistance to Fairy damage DOES make a difference by allowing it to overcome Clefable (though it has a harder time versus Wigglytuff), and its higher Attack means that it beats Swampert and Whiscash before they can land their own killing blows. That high Attack also allows Roserade to outrace Haunter, Sableye, big beefy Umbreon, and even Ice types Froslass and Abomasnow, taking big hits along the way but typically emerging the victor. (Weather Ball obviously plays an especially huge role versus those Ice types.) Despite running with the weak Bullet Seed as opposed to Razor Leaf, Roserade plays more akin to the big scary "Grassholes" than Cherrim does.
  

All that said, Cherrim has a slightly longer list of wins, and most of what it wins it does so with enough left over to get in some good hits on whatever opposing Pokémon steps up next. Despite what logic would dictate, while Cherrim takes neutral damage from Fighting and Roserade resists, it is Cherrim that holds up better against many Counter users. Cherrim is also superior against Psychics (which prey on Roserade's Poison side) and Grounds (escaping with MUCH more life left over than Roserade) and has high enough bulk to outlast other bulky opposition like Registeel and Meganium. Roserade's advantages are outracing the Mud Boys, most prominent Ghosts, and Umbreon for good measure.
End of the day, in a direct Bullet Seed/Weather Ball/Grass charge move comparison, despite having a much better suited Grass charge move, Roserade just can't quite keep up with Cherrim, but does enough that it may fit some teams better.
There is one more very direct comparison we can make too, as both Roserade and Cherrim also have Fairy move Dazzling Gleam as part of their moveset. They both want to keep Weather Ball for sure, so Gleam has to slot in over their Grass charge moves and turns them into more generalists than true Grasses. But I have personally run a BS/WBF/DG Cherrim with pretty good success in GBL for a while now, so I think it's worth at least a quick look here.

• BS/WBF/Gleam Cherrim obviosuly takes a dip in performance overall, shedding big names like Cress, DD, Hypno, Diggersby, Jellicent, Dewgong and Lapras, but it DOES gain Sableye and Shiftry and holds its other wins, and take it from my experience: it will often beat things like Umbreon and can even get unlikely wins over things like Altaria, as they tend not to shield and take devastating Gleams to the face. But yes, I admit this is a bit risky and more niche overall than Solar Beam.
  
• That all said, Roserade with the same moveset now loses Azu, Lapras, Diggs, Whiscash, and AhChu, but it does at least manage to now beat Obstagoon and even Shadow Machamp, finally flexing that resistance to Fighting a little bit.
  

End odf the day, though, while Gleam offers each a couple nice niches, it's pretty clear that Grass Knot/Solar Beam are better and more impactful moves overall.
That's about where the story ends with Cherrim... but it's just beginning with Roserade. Let's look at some of its other unique move options in Great League... and beyond.
Sticking with BS/WBF, there is one more coverage move that Roserade has to offer: Sludge Bomb, with STAB! It's biggest contribution is probably no surprise: beating the prominent Charmers Wigglytuff and Clefable by a safe margin. It also beats Meganium and Shiftry, and provides an alternative but still very effective way to hold onto a big win over Azumarill. While those results are quite significant and will surely lead to a Sludge Bomb/WBF monster emerging in future Cups or perhaps even in open GBL, there is an equally significant cost: Roserade no longer beats any of the aforementioned Ghosts except Haunter (Froslass, Jellicent, Sableye), has no real shot against any notable Fighter, and no longer beats Umbreon, Diggersby, Whiscash, or Lapras, to name a few big ones. That may still be okay on the right team and/or in the right meta (it would give Roserade an extremely solid anti-meta role in Love Cup, for example, were it eligible), but generally it would appear you'll still want Grass Knot more for the sheer number of varied wins it leads to.
But wait a minute... what if we flipped it around the other way? What if we keep Grass Knot, but still get Poison damage too... from Poison Jab? 🤔 In this configuration, Roserade gives up Ghosts (as it did with Sludge Bomb... and yes, including Haunter this time), as well as Galarian Stunfisk, Swampert, Lapras, and Diggersby due to them resisting Poison and/or taking super effective damage from Bullet Seed, and also loses Abomasnow and Umbreon due to the degrade in energy generation (AKA less Weather Balls). And I know that all sounds bad... but there's good there too, I promise! Roserade basically gives up some of its versatility to become a more dedicated Grass and Fairy slayer. Look at the gains: Venusaur, Meganium, Shiftry, Tropius (and that's with Air Slash!), and Wigglytuff. All now solid wins. As bonuses, PJ Roserade can also beat down DDeoxys, Shadow Machamp, Obstagoon, and Galvantula too. Perhaps you look at that and conclude that what it gives up is too much for those gains to counterbalance... and in open Great League, I might be inclined to agree. But in Cup formats that feature Grasses and/or Fairies, perhaps with Fighters mixed in too? Poison Jab Roserade is looking pretty spicy now in that sort of environment. And Cherrim cannot imitate THAT kind of performance.
Okay, I think that finally about covers it for Great League. In brief, it's a slightly worse Cherrim overall, but does enough unique things that I think there is room for both... and Roserade has a wider variety of moves that could make it a little more troublesome for the uninformed. Poison Jab Roserade in particular has some nice potential in the right format.
But Roserade, unlike Cherrim, is not limtied to Great League play. How does it fare in the bigger badder leagues? Let's take a spin through them and see!

• In ULTRA LEAGUE, Grass Knot looks best again overall, making Roserade a Grass that can still take out Swampert and Poliwrath, though disappointingly cannot hang in there long enough to beat Lapras and Empoleon with its low bulk. However, it's a Grass that can beat most other Grasses (Venusaur, Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, Shadow Victreebel, even Abomasnow) as well as Bugs that usually get the drop on Grasses, like Escavalier, Scizor, and XL Galvantula. It's also a Grass that can beat Registeel and Melmetal, and its Poison typing comes up big by beating Shadow Machamp and all the major Charmers (even Flying Togekiss!). There are many things it has no answer for, like Dragons (not even with Gleam does it turn those around) and Psychics and most Ghosts and Ice and even Poison. But I think there is enough good there for Bullet Seed/Weather Ball Roserade to find a place in the Ultra League landscape. Tangrowth has broken out a bit because it can beat things no other Grass can, and don't even get me started on Abomasnow and Ferrothorn and the like. Roserade, like them, is a Grass that does several very UN-Grass things. Good things. I see some nice potential here.
  
• I don't think you want Roserade in a Razor Leaf role, but as a Poison Jabber... well, it's still not great, but it's something. It becomes a much harder Fairy counter, obviously, and still manages to hold most Bugs, Steels, and Grasses, while Obstagoon pops up on the win list. But overall, it's just not as potent as Bullet Seed at this level. Losing now to Swampert and Abomasnow are pretty significant steps backwards. Probably best to stick eith Bullet Seed.
  
• And finally, MASTER LEAGUE. Does Roserade have any real play? Well if I'm being honest, in open Master League, no, probably not. Even at Level 50, Roserade does little beyond what you would expect a decent Grass to do, though it does at least manage to burn down Metagross and still gets Togekiss, which are nice. But if you want Roserade at this level, I think it's for PREMIER CUP. Here, doing "Grass things" is more significant, with solid wins over Magenzone, Electivire, Rhyperior, and (Waterfall) Gyarados while also pressuring Steels and Charmers too. Solar Beam becomes a real consideration at this level, and with it Roserade beats Dragon Breath Gyarados and the Fighters (Machamp and Conkeldurr), whereas with Grass Knot it instead outraces Swampert and Mamoswine.
  
• But hold onto your butts, because Level 50 Roserade looks like a potential Master Leahue Premier Cup monster in the making. Now take this all with a grain of salt, as this is projected against Level 40 opponents, but look at that 66% win total. Look at new names like Garchomp, Glaceon, and Snorlax in addition to all else it could already beat. That is looking kinda scary now, no? Not sure if it's even possible to grind enough XL candy to make it happen in the six hour time window of Community Day, but I'm sure someone will try. And if they get there... look out!
  

And there we go... I think we're done, making this officially my FOURTH major article in the last six days. (Shadow Pokémon analysis, two massive "Nifty Or Thrifty" meta/budget analysis articles, and now this!) Whew. I hope this extensive look proved helpful to you and helps you understand where to focus your efforts during this unusual Community Day. Good luck, and good hunting. May all your shinies have good PvP IVs!
Until next time (which may be a few days after all the writing this week! 🥴), you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon with its tie-in Discord server you can access to get straight through to me for personalized answers to your questions.
Continued thanks to my PvP friends, local and around the world, who have lent their own ideas and suggestions over the last two years of PvP play, and helped teach me to be a better player and student of the game. And I don't say it enough anymore, but particular thanks to my friend u/Empoleon_Dynamite over at PvPoke.com for making all of my analysis possible and happily collaborating and brainstorming on so many articles over the years. He has his own thoughts on Roserade that I encourage you all to check out as well.
And thank you for reading... I appreciate your attention and encouragement. Catch you next time, and good luck out there!

Welcome to the /Bitcoin Sticky FAQ

You've probably been hearing a lot about Bitcoin recently and are wondering what's the big deal? Most of your questions should be answered by the resources below but if you have additional questions feel free to ask them in the comments.
It all started with the release of Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper however that will probably go over the head of most readers so we recommend the following articles/books/videos as a good starting point for understanding how bitcoin works and a little about its long term potential:

• Article: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin
• Book: The Bitcoin Standard
• Video 1: The Stories We Tell About Money - Andreas Antonopoulos
• Video 2: The Bitcoin Standard - Saifdean Ammous
• Video 3: Bitcoin 101 - Balaji Srinivasan
• Video 4: Bitcoin Macro Strategy - Michael Saylor & Ross Stevens
• Video 5: The Saylor Series - Michael Saylor & Robert Breedlove
• Video 6: Bitcoin S2FX, S2F and Evolution From Collectible to Financial Asset - Stephan Livera, PlanB & Saifdean Ammous

Some other great resources include Michael Saylor's "Bitcoin for Everybody"' course, Jameson Lopp's resource page, Gigi's resource page, and James D'Angelo's Bitcoin 101 Blackboard series. Some excellent writing on Bitcoin's value proposition and future can be found at the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute.
If you are technically or academically inclined check out developer resources and peer-reviewed research papers, course lectures from both MIT and Princeton as well as future protocol improvements and scaling resources. Some Bitcoin statistics can be found here, here and here. MicroStrategy's Bitcoin for Corporations is an excellent open source series on corporate legal and financial bitcoin integration.
You can also see the number of times Bitcoin was declared dead by the media (LOL) and what you could have earned if you didn't listen to them! XD

Key properties of Bitcoin

• Limited Supply - There will only ever be 21,000,000 bitcoin created and they are issued in a predictable fashion per the inflation schedule. Once they are all issued Bitcoin will be truly deflationary. The halving countdown tells you how much time until the next drop in block rewards.
• Open source - Bitcoin code is fully auditable. You can read and contribute to the source code yourself.
• Accountable - The public ledger is transparent, all transactions are seen by everyone.
• Decentralized - Bitcoin is globally distributed across thousands of nodes with no single point of failure and as such can't be shut down similar to how Bittorrent works. You can even run a node on a Raspberry Pi.
• Censorship resistant - No one can prevent you from interacting with the bitcoin network and no one can censor, alter or block transactions that they disagree with, see Operation Chokepoint.
• Push system - There are no chargebacks in bitcoin because only the person who owns the address where the bitcoin resides has the authority to move them.
• Low fee scaling - Most wallets calculate on chain fees automatically but you can view fee estimates and mempool activity if you want to set your fee manually. On chain fees may rise occasionally due to network demand, however instant micropayments that do not require confirmations are happening via the Lightning Network, a second layer scaling solution currently rolling out on the Bitcoin mainnet.
• Borderless - No country can stop it from going in/out, even in areas currently unserved by traditional banking as the ledger is globally distributed.
• Trustless - Bitcoin solved the Byzantine's Generals Problem which means nobody needs to trust anybody for it to work.
• Pseudonymous - No need to expose personal information when purchasing with cash or transacting.
• Secure - Blocks and transactions are cryptographically secured (using hashes and signatures) and can’t be brute forced or confiscated with proper key management such as hardware wallets.
• Programmable - Individual units of bitcoin can be programmed to transfer based on certain criteria being met
• Nearly instant - From a few seconds on the lightning network to a few minutes on-chain depending on need for confirmations. Transactions are irreversible by normal users after one confirmation and irreversible by anyone (including miners) after 6 confirmations.
• Peer-to-peer - No intermediaries taking a cut, no need for trusted third parties.
• Portable - Bitcoin are digital so they are easier to move than cash or gold. They can be transported by simply carrying a seed (a string of 12 to 24 words) on a device or by memorizing it for wallet recovery (while cool, memorizing is generally not recommended due to potential for forgetting the seed and the potential for insecure key generation by inexperienced users. Hardware wallets are the preferred method for most users for their ease of use and additional security).
• Scalable - While the protocol is still being optimized for increased transaction capacity, blockchains do not scale very well, so most transaction volume is expected to occur on Layer 2 networks built on top of Bitcoin.
• Divisible - Each bitcoin can be divided down to 8 decimals, which means you don't have to worry about buying an entire bitcoin.
• Designed Money - Bitcoin was created to fit all the fundamental properties of money better than gold or fiat

Where can I buy bitcoin?

Bitcoin.org and BuyBitcoinWorldwide.com are helpful sites for beginners. You can buy or sell any amount of bitcoin (even just a few dollars worth) and there are several easy methods to purchase bitcoin with cash, credit card or bank transfer. Some of the more popular resources are below, also check out the bitcoinity exchange resources for a larger list of options for purchases.

• Cash app
• Gemini
• Swan
• River Financial
• Bitstamp
• BitFinex
• Xapo
• Kraken
• Cex
• LocalBitcoins
• LibertyX
• P2P exchange list (decentralized)

You can also purchase in cash with local ATMs. If you would like your paycheck automatically converted to bitcoin use Bitwage.
Note: Bitcoin are valued at whatever market price people are willing to pay for them in balancing act of supply vs demand. Unlike traditional markets, bitcoin markets operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Securing your bitcoin

With bitcoin you can "Be your own bank" and personally secure your bitcoin OR you can use third party companies aka "Bitcoin banks" which will hold the bitcoin for you.

• If you prefer to "Be your own bank" and have direct control over your coins without having to use a trusted third party, then you will need to create your own wallet and keep it secure. If you want easy and secure storage without having to learn computer security best practices, then a hardware wallet such as the Trezor, Ledger or ColdCard is recommended.
  
• If you cannot afford a hardware wallet there are many software wallet options to choose from depending on your use case. Mobile wallets like BlueWallet are generally more secure than desktop wallets. Beware of fake mobile wallets and check reviews from reputable Bitcoin websites. Avoid paper wallets or brain wallets.
  
• If you prefer to let third party "Bitcoin banks" manage your coins, try Gemini or Unchained Capital but be aware you may not be in control of your private keys in which case you would have to ask permission to access your funds and be exposed to third party risk. There is a saying in the community, "Not your keys, not your coins" meaning if you don't store your coins in a wallet that you control the keys to then you do not really own your bitcoin as you have to ask permission from the third party in order to move them.
  

Note: For increased security, use Two Factor Authentication (2FA) everywhere it is offered, including email!
2FA requires a second confirmation code or a physical security key to access your account making it much harder for thieves to gain access. Google Authenticator and Authy are the two most popular 2FA services, download links are below. Make sure you create backups of your 2FA codes.
Avoid using your cell number for 2FA. Hackers have been using a technique called "SIM swapping" to impersonate users and steal bitcoin off exchanges.

Google Auth	Authy	OTP Auth	andOTP
Android	Android	N/A	Android
iOS	iOS	iOS	N/A

Physical security keys (FIDO U2F) offer stronger security than Google Auth / Authy and other TOTP-based apps, because the secret code never leaves the device and it uses bi-directional authentication so it prevents phishing. If you lose the device though, you could lose access to your account, so always use 2 or more security keys with a given account so you have backups. See Yubikey or Titan to purchase security keys.
Both Coinbase and Gemini support physical security keys.

Watch out for scams

As mentioned above, Bitcoin is decentralized, which by definition means there is no official website or Twitter handle or spokesperson or CEO. However, all money attracts thieves. This combination unfortunately results in scammers running official sounding names or pretending to be an authority on YouTube or social media. Many scammers throughout the years have claimed to be the inventor of Bitcoin. Websites like bitcoin(dot)com and the r / btc subreddit are active scams. Almost all altcoins (shitcoins) are marketed heavily with big promises but are really just designed to separate you from your bitcoin. So be careful: any resource, including all linked in this document, may in the future turn evil. As they say in our community, "Don't trust, verify".

• Avoid using ad-based search engines like Google or Yahoo: ads are shown based on how much the advertiser bids, and scammers can easily outbid legitimate providers for ad space, since immoral ways of earning money are far more lucrative than moral ways. Use DuckDuckGo instead, which has no ads, and never tracks you as well.
• Ignore private messages offering services.
• Never enter your seed words in a website of any kind. Hardware wallets will recover by displaying possible seed words on their own interface, never on a website.
• Always check addresses on your hardware wallet before sending or receiving. Some malware has been known to replace addresses in your web browser or that you copy-and-paste.
• Avoid clicking on links like that look like links, such as https://www.google.com/, without first hovering over it and actually checking where they go to. Just because a link is labelled with an HTTPS address does not mean it actually sends you to that address. It is trivial for someone to comment a link on Reddit that looks like it will send you to one website when it actually sends you to another, and you might not notice the difference until a scammer has gotten all your money, or you have downloaded and installed software that steals your money.

Common Bitcoin Myths

Often the same concerns arise about Bitcoin from newcomers. Questions such as:

• Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme?
• Will governments ban Bitcoin?
• Will quantum computers break Bitcoin?

All of these questions have been answered many times by a variety of people. Here are some resources where you can see if your concern has been answered:

• Common Bitcoin Myths
• Gradually, Then Suddenly
• Every Reason Bitcoin Will Not Fail

Where can I spend bitcoin?

Check out spendabit or bitcoin directory for millions of merchant options. Also you can spend bitcoin anywhere visa is accepted with bitcoin debit cards such as the CashApp card or Fold card. Some other useful site are listed below.

Store	Product
Bitrefill, Gyft	Gift cards for thousands of retailers worldwide including Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Whole Foods, CVS, Lowes, Home Depot, iTunes, Best Buy, Sears, Kohls, eBay, GameStop, etc.
Spendabit, Overstock and The Bitcoin Directory	Retail shopping with millions of results
NewEgg and Dell	For all your electronics needs
Piixpay, Bitbill.eu, Bylls, Coins.ph, LivingRoomofSatoshi, Coinsfer, and more	Bill payment
Menufy and Takeaway	Takeout delivered to your door
Expedia, Cheapair, Destinia, Abitsky, SkyTours, the Travel category on Gyft and 9flats	For when you need to get away
Cryptostorm, Mullvad, and PIA	VPN services
Namecheap, Porkbun	Domain name registration
Stampnik	Discounted USPS Priority, Express, First-Class mail postage

Coinmap and AirBitz are helpful to find local businesses accepting bitcoin. A good resource for UK residents is at wheretospendbitcoins.co.uk.
There are also lots of charities which accept bitcoin donations.

Merchant Resources

There are several benefits to accepting bitcoin as a payment option if you are a merchant;

• 1-3% savings over credit cards or PayPal.
• No chargebacks (final settlement in 10 minutes as opposed to 3+ months).
• Accept business from a global customer base.
• Increased privacy.
• Convert 100% of the sale to the currency of your choice for deposit to your account, or choose to keep a percentage of the sale in bitcoin if you wish to begin accumulating it.

If you are interested in accepting bitcoin as a payment method, there are several options available;

• BTCPay
• Square cash
• Stripe
• Wyre
• Blockonomics (direct to your wallet)

Can I mine bitcoin?

Mining bitcoin can be a fun learning experience, but be aware that you will most likely operate at a loss. Newcomers are often advised to stay away from mining unless they are only interested in it as a hobby similar to folding at home. If you want to learn more about mining you can read the mining FAQ. Still have mining questions? The crew at /BitcoinMining would be happy to help you out.
If you want to contribute to the bitcoin network by hosting the blockchain and propagating transactions you can run a full node. You can view the global node distribution for a visual representation of the node network.

Earning bitcoin

Just like any other form of money, you can also earn bitcoin by being paid to do a job.

Site	Description
WorkingForBitcoins, Bitwage, Cryptogrind, Coinality, Bitgigs, /Jobs4Bitcoins, BitforTip, Rein Project	Freelancing
Lolli	Earn bitcoin when you shop online!
OpenBazaar, Purse.io, Bitify, /Bitmarket	Marketplaces
/GirlsGoneBitcoin NSFW	Adult services
A-ads, Coinzilla.io	Advertising

You can also earn bitcoin by participating as a market maker on JoinMarket by allowing users to perform CoinJoin transactions with your bitcoin for a small fee (requires you to already have some bitcoin).

Bitcoin-Related Projects

The following is a short list of ongoing projects that might be worth taking a look at if you are interested in current development in the bitcoin space.

Project	Description
Lightning Network	Second layer scaling
Liquid, Rootstock and Drivechain	Sidechains
Hivemind	Prediction markets
Tierion and Factom	Records & Titles on the blockchain
BitMarkets, DropZone, Beaver and Open Bazaar	Decentralized markets
JoinMarket and Wasabi Wallet	CoinJoin implementation
Decentralized exhanges	Decentralized bitcoin exchanges
Keybase	Identity & Reputation management
Abra	Global P2P money transmitter network
Bitcore	Open source Bitcoin javascript library

Bitcoin Units

One Bitcoin is quite large (hundreds of £/$/€) so people often deal in smaller units. The most common subunits are listed below:

Unit	Symbol	Value	Info
bitcoin	BTC	1 bitcoin	one bitcoin is equal to 100 million satoshis
millibitcoin	mBTC	1,000 per bitcoin	used as default unit in recent Electrum wallet releases
bit	bit	1,000,000 per bitcoin	colloquial "slang" term for microbitcoin (μBTC)
satoshi	sat	100,000,000 per bitcoin	smallest unit in bitcoin, named after the inventor

For example, assuming an arbitrary exchange rate of $10000 for one Bitcoin, a $10 meal would equal:

• 0.001 BTC
• 1 mBTC
• 1,000 bits
• 100k sats

For more information check out the Bitcoin units wiki.
Still have questions? Feel free to ask in the comments below or stick around for our weekly Mentor Monday thread. If you decide to post a question in /Bitcoin, please use the search bar to see if it has been answered before, and remember to follow the community rules outlined on the sidebar to receive a better response. The mods are busy helping manage our community so please do not message them unless you notice problems with the functionality of the subreddit.
Note: This is a community created FAQ. If you notice anything missing from the FAQ or that requires clarification you can edit it here and it will be included in the next revision pending approval.
Welcome to the Bitcoin community and the new decentralized economy!

The Steam 2020 Winter Sale is here!

This thread will serve as a daily discussion and a place to post questions and other miscellaneous comments about the sale.
Thread comments are sorted by New by default, but you can change the sorting for yourself if you'd rather view top comments.
   

Come and join our Discord server!

Join in on active discussion over there with other community members on a bunch of different topics!
A verified phone number on your Discord account is required to be able to chat.
   

Go to the main Steam store page to browse featured deals!

You can keep scrolling down on the main Steam Store page and more content will appear.
Are you looking for games under a specific price? Use the 'Narrow by Price' feature in a search! The search sidebar has other narrowing features as well. You can narrow by: Operating system, language, number of players, specific features and tags, VR support, special offers, wish-listed items, items you already own and ignored items.
This page will bring up an empty search so you can easily use the sidebar to customize a search.
   

View the top 20 games of each month this year, January through November.

• January
  
• February
  
• March
  
• April
  
• May
  
• June
  
• July
  
• August
  
• September
  
• October
  
• November
  

Scrolling down to the bottom of these pages will reveal a short top 5 list of free games released during that month.
   

'Browse by genre' sale browsing feature.

This feature allows you to select a main genre so you can view games on sale in that genre, with a search section and more at the bottom of the page, you can even apply sub-genres!
Here is a list of all the main genres you can browse in this new feature:

• Controller
  
• Strategy
  
• VR
  
• Story Rich
  
• Simulation
  
• Adventure
  
• Visual Novel
  
• Anime
  
• Female Protagonist
  
• Racing and Sports
  
• Horror
  
• Action
  
• Shooter
  
• Survival
  
• Casual
  
• Co-op
  
• RPG
  
• Pixel Graphics
  
• LGBTQ+
  
• Open World
  
• Soundtracks
  
• Space
  
• Mystery
  
• Sci-fi
  
• Software
  

Once you have selected a main genre to browse in you can apply a sub-genre. These sub-genres are different depending on which main genre you're browsing.
   

Claim a free sticker in The Points Shop every 48 hours!

   

New: Give Awards to Steam Profiles and Discussions posts and replies.

You can now give awards directly to other users on their Steam profile pages, and on Steam Discussions posts and replies.
You can read more about Steam Community Awards here.
   

New Profile Showcases

4 new showcases have been added:
Video Showcase
Awards Showcase
Completionist Showcase
Featured Artwork Showcase
   

New: Upgrade and buy additional Profile Showcases

Each upgrade costs 3,000 points, and purchasing an additional showcase costs 6,000 points.
The following showcases can be upgraded:

• Rarest Achievement Showcase
  
• Game Collector Showcase
  
• Item Showcase
  
• Badge Collector Showcase
  
• Your Workshop Showcase
  
• My Guide Showcase
  
• Achievement Showcase
  
• Community Awards Showcase
  
• Completionist Showcase
  

An additional showcase can be bought for almost every type of showcase.
   

New Points Shop Badge: Seasonal Badge

This badge can be bought for 1,000 points per level, to a maximum of 20 levels for a total of 20,000 points. Each level gives you 100 profile XP.
You can view your own progress here!

Winter Collection - 2020

The Winter Collection has brings 4 new avatar frames, 1 new mini-profile background and 1 new profile background.
   

Steam Awards 2020 Trading Card Badge

How to get Steam Awards 2020 Trading Cards:

• Every ~$10 USD spent on the Steam store earns you 1 card during checkout.
  
• Crafting other game badges will give 1 card per badge crafted during the sale.
  
• Voting in the 2020 Steam Awards will earn you 1 card per vote.
  
• Earn 1 card a day by going through your Discovery Queue. This resets each day @ 10AM PST.
  
• Trading with users or buying them on the Community Market
  

Steam Awards Trading Card Badge FAQ

Q: Where can I see a full list of Emoticons and Backgrounds for the badge?
A: You can either look on the SteamCardExchange page for the badge or browse The Steam Awards 2020 category on the Community Market
Q: Can I craft the 2020 Steam Awards Trading Cards into a badge after the sale is over?
A: The Steam Awards badge will remain craftable until the end of the sale. If after the sale has ended you have enough expired trading cards to craft the badge, you can do so at anytime.
   

Vote amongst the final nominees in the 2020 Steam Awards!

For each category you vote in you will receive 1 Steam Awards Trading Card.
The nominees are as follows:
Game of the Year:

• Red Dead Redemption 2
  
• Hades
  
• DOOM Eternal
  
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
  
• DEATH STRANDING
  

VR Game of the Year:

• Half-Life: Alyx
  
• Phasmophobia
  
• The Room VR: A Dark Matter
  
• Thief Simulator VR
  
• STAR WARS™: Squadrons
  

Labour of Love:

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  
• Among Us
  
• Terraria
  
• The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt
  
• No Man's Sky
  

Better With Friends:

• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
  
• Sea of Thieves
  
• Borderlands 3
  
• Deep Rock Galactic
  
• Risk of Rain 2
  

Most Innovative Gameplay:

• DEATH STRANDING
  
• Control Ultimate Edition
  
• Superliminal
  
• Noita
  
• Teardown
  

Outstanding Story Rich Game:

• Red Dead Redemption 2
  
• Detroit: Become Human
  
• Mafia: Definitive Edition
  
• Metro Exodus
  
• Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition
  

Best Game You Suck At:

• Apex Legends™
  
• Crusader Kings III
  
• Ghostrunner
  
• EA SPORTS™ FIFA 21
  
• GTFO
  

Outstanding Visual Style:

• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  
• Battlefield V
  
• There Is No Game: Jam Edition 2015
  
• Marvel's Avengers
  
• Black Mesa
  

Best Soundtrack:

• DOOM Eternal
  
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
  
• Helltaker
  
• Need for Speed™ Heat
  
• Persona 4 Golden
  

Sit Back and Relax:

• The Sims™ 4
  
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
  
• Satisfactory
  
• Untitled Goose Game
  
• Factorio
  

The Steam Awards FAQ

Q: How much time do I have on me to vote?
A: Voting stops on 2021 January 3rd @ 9AM PST.
Q: When will the winners be announced?
A: All winners will be announced here on 2021 January 3rd @ 10AM PST.
Q: Can I make changes to my votes?
A: Yes, simply click on the Change Vote button on any other game to change your vote.
   

The Points Shop FAQ

Q: How do I gain points?
A: Specific amounts are different for every currency, but give or take a few points: every $1 USD you spend on the Steam Store will give you 100 points to use in The Points Shop, this includes gifts and any other type of purchase on the Steam Store.
Q: When does The Points Shop close?
A: The Points Shop isn't closing!
Q: Will items I buy expire?
A: No! Everything except for the Seasonal Profile is yours to permanently keep.
Q: Why do I have points from before?
A: All purchases you've made after the 2020 Steam Lunar New Year Sale ended(2020 January 27th at 10AM PST) has been tallied up and added to your account. For more information you can view your points history.
As the points history page points out: you may also have received points in the shop because you received an award on a community post or a review.
Q: Will new things be added to The Points Shop?
A: Yes, new things that you can buy from The Points Shop will be added over time, exactly when we do not know.
Q: Can I sell or trade items I buy from The Points Shop?
A: No, any items you buy from The Points Shop are bound to your account and cannot be traded, sold or otherwise transferred.
Q: What happens to my Steam Points when I refund a game?
A: When you refund a game, the points you gained from that purchase will be deducted from your account. If that causes your Points balance to go negative your most recent items and Community Awards you've used points for will be removed until your balance is no longer negative.
Full explanation and FAQ here: https://store.steampowered.com/points/howitworks
   

Subreddit Meta

The following is mostly for individual posts, not comments in this thread.

• Please don't submit low-effort posts, or old/generic memes.
• General questions and conversations about the 2020 Steam Winter Sale should only be posted here. We will be removing posts that the moderators deem fit for the megathread.
• All individual threads about "should I buy this game" or other low-effort game advice posts will be removed and be redirected to this thread.
• If you are not posting something unique, please do not post. There are a multitude of subreddits that would rather have your dank memes, or generic GabeN posts.
• Yes, Steam's server are under high load and might cause glitches or go down. Please don't post about it.

   

Support Issues

We will maintain the support megathread as a sticky. If you have issues with Steam or a game, post them there.
   

Beware of scams!

During the sale(...and literally any other time) be vigilant of scams!
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Is your account hijacked? Read this.
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Steam General Sale FAQ

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A few related Subreddits you might find useful:

/SteamDeals
/SteamFriend
/ShouldIBuyThisGame
/SteamTradingCards
/GameScreens
/SteamOS
/SteamGrid
/SteamController
/GameDeals
/TipOfMyJoyStick

Please read this entire post before you make a comment.

Enjoy the sale everyone!

Model S, estimated delivery March 2021 for the US at least

• Long range $79,990: 412 miles of range, 155 mph top speed, 0-60 in 3.1s
• Plaid $119,990: 390 miles of range, 200 mph top speed, 0-60 in 1.99s
• Plaid+ $139,990: 520+ miles of range, 200 mph top speed, 0-60 in <1.99s

New options appear to be:

• 21" arachnid wheels in what looks like a dark gray color, not the old black or silver arachnids

Model X, estimated delivery April 2021 for the US at least

• Long range $89,990: 360 miles of range, 155 mph top speed, 0-60 in 3.8s
• Plaid $119,990: 341 miles of range, 163 mph top speed, 0-60 in 2.5s

New options appear to be:

• 20" Cyberstream wheels
• 22" Turbine wheels

More details for both S/X:

Three Displays

With 2200x1300 resolution, ultra-bright colors with exceptional responsiveness and left-right tilt, the new center display is an ideal touchscreen for entertainment and gaming anywhere. A second display in front of the driver shows critical driving information, and a third display provides entertainment and controls for rear passengers.

Game from Anywhere

Up to 10 teraflops of processing power enables in-car gaming on-par with today’s newest consoles via Tesla Arcade. Wireless controller compatibility allows gaming from any seat.

Tri-Zone Climate Controls

Airflow and temperature are controlled entirely through the displays without any physical vents. On hot days, Cabin Overheat Protection ensures interiors always stay cool. In cold weather, pre-conditioning automatically warms the cabin and prepares the battery for maximum range.

Yoke Steering

The ultimate focus on driving: no stalks, no shifting. With a stalkless steering yoke, you can enjoy both the best car to drive, and the best car to be driven in.

22-Speaker Audio

A 22-speaker, 960-watt audio system offers the best listening experience at home or on the road, and new microphones enable active noise canceling.

Glass Roof

The full Glass Roof gives passengers a brighter, more spacious experience and unobstructed views of the sky. Infrared and UV light is effectively blocked before entering the cabin, reducing heat and glare even when the sun is directly overhead.

(Model X only) Panoramic Windshield

The largest all glass panoramic windshield in production provides a seamless view of the stars and sky above. Optimized solar tinting and an obstruction-free view creates unlimited visibility for the driver and up to six passengers.

Full interior details:

Audio and Media

• Premium 22-speaker audio with active noise cancelling
• Multi-device music and media over Bluetooth®
• 17” center display, 12.3” driver’s display, and 8” second row display
• Gaming computer with 10 teraflops of processing power
• Wireless controller compatibility

Comfort

• Panoramic windshield (Model X only)
• Heated seats for every passenger, heated steering and heated windshield
• Ventilated front seating
• Tri-zone Airwave cabin conditioning
• HEPA air filtration system
• Custom driver profiles with automatic easy-entry and exit
• Ambient lighting
• Tinted glass roof
• Ultraviolet and infrared protection on all glass

Convenience

• Automatic opening and closing front doors (Model X only)
• Front center console with sliding cup holders and storage
• Second row stowable center armrest with integrated storage and wireless charging (Model S only)
• Automatic opening and closing rear liftgate
• Auto dimming, power folding, heated side mirrors
• 28 ft³ of cargo space and secure front trunk (91 ft³ for Model X)
• Wireless and USB-C fast charging for every passenger
• Location-aware automatic garage door opener
• Phone Key

Premium Connectivity, 1 year complimentary

• Live traffic visualization
• Satellite-View Maps
• Video Streaming with access to Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Twitch, and more
• Caraoke
• Music Streaming
• Internet Browser

With apologies to the artist Seal....
🎼 Baby! I compare you to a kiss from a rose on Community Day
🎶 Ooh, the more I get of you, the shinier it feels, yeah!
♫ Now that Roserade is in bloom
♬ Weather Ball lights the room on Community Day....
Hello again, fellow travelers and PvPers! As I've done many times before (with Charizard, Gyarados, Gengar and many more), I want to take a close look at this month's Community Day spotlight Pokémon and examine its merits in PvP. And for the first time, this month's featured 'mon will receive TWO exclusive moves at once! Let's not waste any more time, as Community Day is now mere hours away. Made it by thaaaaaaaat much. 😌 Let's dive in to our analysis on Roserade!

ROSERADE

Grass/Poison Type
GREAT LEAGUE:
Attack: 145 (141 High Stat Product)
Defense: 110 (114 High Stat Product)
HP: 97 (98 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-11-14, 1499 CP, Level 19)
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 184 (182 High Stat Product)
Defense: 147 (148 High Stat Product)
HP: 123 (127 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-12-15, 2499 CP, Level 33)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 204 (217 at Level 50)
Defense: 158 (168 at Level 50)
HP: 134 (142 at Level 50)
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs)
The best defense is a good offense? Roserade certainly hopes so. While not quite as extreme as, say, Haunter (which has Defense AND stamina dipping below 100), anything with less than 100 HP in Great League (at least without sky high Defense to compensate, which is NOT the case here) clearly belongs in the "glass cannon" category.
Good thing then that Grass/Poison is a decent defensive type combination. Yes, you still have to watch out for Flyers and Fires and Ices, and the Poison side is also weak to Psychic damage, but you get resistances to Water, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, and 2x to Grass.
But anyway, let's get to the part you're really here for: the new moves.
ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move
Fast Moves:
Bullet Seedᴱ (Grass, 1.67 DPT, 4.33 EPT, 1.5 CoolDown)
Poison Jab (Poison, 3.0 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CD)
Razor Leaf (Grass, 5.0 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 1.0 CD)
So the few times I have seen Roserade show up in PvP, it's been with Razor Leaf. It hits harder than (non-Shadow) Victreebel and has some decent charge moves too. (More on those in a moment.) But what Roserade has going for it that many prospective Razor Leafers don't is a very good Poison fast move as well. Poison Jab is actually the best Poison has got, and a very good PvP move overall, with average damage output combined with above average energy generation. Most moves roughly even out to a 3 overall between DPT and EPT (something like 2.5 for one and 3.5 for the other, or 4 for one and 2 for the other, that sort of thing). To have one that exceeds that is always nice. We'll be looking at Jab again as we move ahead in the analysis.
But for the moment, the move to highlight is the new one: Bullet Seed. It turns Roserade into quite a different Pokémon, shifting from dealing heavy fast move damage to one that relies much more on spamming charge moves. So it's nice that it gets a new, super spammy one to pair with it. Let's see what we've got to work with....
Charge Moves:
Weather Ball (Fire)ᴱ (Fire, 60 damage, 35 energy)
Sludge Bomb (Poison, 80 damage, 50 energy)
Grass Knot (Grass, 90 damage, 50 energy)
Dazzling Gleam (Fairy, 110 damage, 70 energy)
Solar Beam (Grass, 150 damage, 80 energy)
So paired with Bullet Seed, the other new move is super spammy Fire Weather Ball. This immediately draws comparisons to the already exisiting Sunshine version of Cherrim, who has the same moves and has made some noise in GBL and Silph Arena Cups, and is on the verge of (I believe) making a lot of noise in Love Cup. So let's start there: comparing the two.
Cherrim is only really viable in Great League, as it tops out just north of 2000 CP at Level 40, and doesn't even reach 2350 CP if pushed all the way up to Level 51. So our comparison will be at GL level. Putting them side by side, Cherrim has much more desirable stats for PvP, having roughly equivalent (though still slightly higher) Defense to Roserade but 30 more HP on average. Roserade, by contrast, has 20-25 more Attack strength. Cherrim also lacks a Poison (or any other) subtyping, and thus loses the resistances Roserade has to Fighting and Fairy, and its resistance to Grass is just a single one as opposed to Roserade's double. Cherrim is not weak to Psychic damage like Roserade is, but is instead weak to Poison and Bug moves, and resists Ground (unlike Roserade who takes neutral damage from Ground). Got all that? Some of it will be important in understanding what they handle differently, which we'll look at... right now!
So, again sticking with Great League, here are the comps:

• Cherrim (running Bullet Seed/Weather Ball/Solar Beam) sets the stage, beating several big Waters (Azu, Jellicent, Lapras/Dewgong), though frustratingly not being able to finish off the Mud Boys before their own super effective coverage moves get them the win first. Cherrim very capably handles both Stunfisks and even Diggersby with its scary Fire Punches, and burns through most prominent Grasses and Steels with Weather Ball. It beats several prominent Psychic types (Hypno, DDeoxys, Alolan Raichu, Cresselia) and, despite not resisting Fighting damage, fends off some of the better ones like Toxicroak, Vigoroth, and Obstagoon, though they are admittedly close. It has a number of wins that Roserade does not share, including Hypno, Cress, DD, Dewgong, Registeel, Meganium, Toxicroak, Vigoroth, and Obstagoon.
  
• Roserade (with BS/WBF and the faster Grass Knot as its Grass charge move) does not beat any prominent Psychics other than AhChu, nor any Fighters (or quasi-Fighters like Viggy and Goon), quite ironic considering the resistance it has to Fighting damage (whereas Cherrim takes neutral damage but wins), a worrying sign of how Roserade's frailty drags it down in Great League. However, its resistance to Fairy damage DOES make a difference by allowing it to overcome Clefable (though it has a harder time versus Wigglytuff), and its higher Attack means that it beats Swampert and Whiscash before they can land their own killing blows. That high Attack also allows Roserade to outrace Haunter, Sableye, big beefy Umbreon, and even Ice types Froslass and Abomasnow, taking big hits along the way but typically emerging the victor. (Weather Ball obviously plays an especially huge role versus those Ice types.) Despite running with the weak Bullet Seed as opposed to Razor Leaf, Roserade plays more akin to the big scary "Grassholes" than Cherrim does.
  

All that said, Cherrim has a slightly longer list of wins, and most of what it wins it does so with enough left over to get in some good hits on whatever opposing Pokémon steps up next. Despite what logic would dictate, while Cherrim takes neutral damage from Fighting and Roserade resists, it is Cherrim that holds up better against many Counter users. Cherrim is also superior against Psychics (which prey on Roserade's Poison side) and Grounds (escaping with MUCH more life left over than Roserade) and has high enough bulk to outlast other bulky opposition like Registeel and Meganium. Roserade's advantages are outracing the Mud Boys, most prominent Ghosts, and Umbreon for good measure.
End of the day, in a direct Bullet Seed/Weather Ball/Grass charge move comparison, despite having a much better suited Grass charge move, Roserade just can't quite keep up with Cherrim, but does enough that it may fit some teams better.
There is one more very direct comparison we can make too, as both Roserade and Cherrim also have Fairy move Dazzling Gleam as part of their moveset. They both want to keep Weather Ball for sure, so Gleam has to slot in over their Grass charge moves and turns them into more generalists than true Grasses. But I have personally run a BS/WBF/DG Cherrim with pretty good success in GBL for a while now, so I think it's worth at least a quick look here.

• BS/WBF/Gleam Cherrim obviosuly takes a dip in performance overall, shedding big names like Cress, DD, Hypno, Diggersby, Jellicent, Dewgong and Lapras, but it DOES gain Sableye and Shiftry and holds its other wins, and take it from my experience: it will often beat things like Umbreon and can even get unlikely wins over things like Altaria, as they tend not to shield and take devastating Gleams to the face. But yes, I admit this is a bit risky and more niche overall than Solar Beam.
  
• That all said, Roserade with the same moveset now loses Azu, Lapras, Diggs, Whiscash, and AhChu, but it does at least manage to now beat Obstagoon and even Shadow Machamp, finally flexing that resistance to Fighting a little bit.
  

End odf the day, though, while Gleam offers each a couple nice niches, it's pretty clear that Grass Knot/Solar Beam are better and more impactful moves overall.
That's about where the story ends with Cherrim... but it's just beginning with Roserade. Let's look at some of its other unique move options in Great League... and beyond.
Sticking with BS/WBF, there is one more coverage move that Roserade has to offer: Sludge Bomb, with STAB! It's biggest contribution is probably no surprise: beating the prominent Charmers Wigglytuff and Clefable by a safe margin. It also beats Meganium and Shiftry, and provides an alternative but still very effective way to hold onto a big win over Azumarill. While those results are quite significant and will surely lead to a Sludge Bomb/WBF monster emerging in future Cups or perhaps even in open GBL, there is an equally significant cost: Roserade no longer beats any of the aforementioned Ghosts except Haunter (Froslass, Jellicent, Sableye), has no real shot against any notable Fighter, and no longer beats Umbreon, Diggersby, Whiscash, or Lapras, to name a few big ones. That may still be okay on the right team and/or in the right meta (it would give Roserade an extremely solid anti-meta role in Love Cup, for example, were it eligible), but generally it would appear you'll still want Grass Knot more for the sheer number of varied wins it leads to.
But wait a minute... what if we flipped it around the other way? What if we keep Grass Knot, but still get Poison damage too... from Poison Jab? 🤔 In this configuration, Roserade gives up Ghosts (as it did with Sludge Bomb... and yes, including Haunter this time), as well as Galarian Stunfisk, Swampert, Lapras, and Diggersby due to them resisting Poison and/or taking super effective damage from Bullet Seed, and also loses Abomasnow and Umbreon due to the degrade in energy generation (AKA less Weather Balls). And I know that all sounds bad... but there's good there too, I promise! Roserade basically gives up some of its versatility to become a more dedicated Grass and Fairy slayer. Look at the gains: Venusaur, Meganium, Shiftry, Tropius (and that's with Air Slash!), and Wigglytuff. All now solid wins. As bonuses, PJ Roserade can also beat down DDeoxys, Shadow Machamp, Obstagoon, and Galvantula too. Perhaps you look at that and conclude that what it gives up is too much for those gains to counterbalance... and in open Great League, I might be inclined to agree. But in Cup formats that feature Grasses and/or Fairies, perhaps with Fighters mixed in too? Poison Jab Roserade is looking pretty spicy now in that sort of environment. And Cherrim cannot imitate THAT kind of performance.
Okay, I think that finally about covers it for Great League. In brief, it's a slightly worse Cherrim overall, but does enough unique things that I think there is room for both... and Roserade has a wider variety of moves that could make it a little more troublesome for the uninformed. Poison Jab Roserade in particular has some nice potential in the right format.
But Roserade, unlike Cherrim, is not limtied to Great League play. How does it fare in the bigger badder leagues? Let's take a spin through them and see!

• In ULTRA LEAGUE, Grass Knot looks best again overall, making Roserade a Grass that can still take out Swampert and Poliwrath, though disappointingly cannot hang in there long enough to beat Lapras and Empoleon with its low bulk. However, it's a Grass that can beat most other Grasses (Venusaur, Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, Shadow Victreebel, even Abomasnow) as well as Bugs that usually get the drop on Grasses, like Escavalier, Scizor, and XL Galvantula. It's also a Grass that can beat Registeel and Melmetal, and its Poison typing comes up big by beating Shadow Machamp and all the major Charmers (even Flying Togekiss!). There are many things it has no answer for, like Dragons (not even with Gleam does it turn those around) and Psychics and most Ghosts and Ice and even Poison. But I think there is enough good there for Bullet Seed/Weather Ball Roserade to find a place in the Ultra League landscape. Tangrowth has broken out a bit because it can beat things no other Grass can, and don't even get me started on Abomasnow and Ferrothorn and the like. Roserade, like them, is a Grass that does several very UN-Grass things. Good things. I see some nice potential here.
  
• I don't think you want Roserade in a Razor Leaf role, but as a Poison Jabber... well, it's still not great, but it's something. It becomes a much harder Fairy counter, obviously, and still manages to hold most Bugs, Steels, and Grasses, while Obstagoon pops up on the win list. But overall, it's just not as potent as Bullet Seed at this level. Losing now to Swampert and Abomasnow are pretty significant steps backwards. Probably best to stick eith Bullet Seed.
  
• And finally, MASTER LEAGUE. Does Roserade have any real play? Well if I'm being honest, in open Master League, no, probably not. Even at Level 50, Roserade does little beyond what you would expect a decent Grass to do, though it does at least manage to burn down Metagross and still gets Togekiss, which are nice. But if you want Roserade at this level, I think it's for PREMIER CUP. Here, doing "Grass things" is more significant, with solid wins over Magenzone, Electivire, Rhyperior, and (Waterfall) Gyarados while also pressuring Steels and Charmers too. Solar Beam becomes a real consideration at this level, and with it Roserade beats Dragon Breath Gyarados and the Fighters (Machamp and Conkeldurr), whereas with Grass Knot it instead outraces Swampert and Mamoswine.
  
• But hold onto your butts, because Level 50 Roserade looks like a potential Master Leahue Premier Cup monster in the making. Now take this all with a grain of salt, as this is projected against Level 40 opponents, but look at that 66% win total. Look at new names like Garchomp, Glaceon, and Snorlax in addition to all else it could already beat. That is looking kinda scary now, no? Not sure if it's even possible to grind enough XL candy to make it happen in the six hour time window of Community Day, but I'm sure someone will try. And if they get there... look out!
  

And there we go... I think we're done, making this officially my FOURTH major article in the last six days. (Shadow Pokémon analysis, two massive "Nifty Or Thrifty" meta/budget analysis articles, and now this!) Whew. I hope this extensive look proved helpful to you and helps you understand where to focus your efforts during this unusual Community Day. Good luck, and good hunting. May all your shinies have good PvP IVs!
Until next time (which may be a few days after all the writing this week! 🥴), you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon with its tie-in Discord server you can access to get straight through to me for personalized answers to your questions.
Continued thanks to my PvP friends, local and around the world, who have lent their own ideas and suggestions over the last nearly two years of PvP play, and helped teach me to be a better player and student of the game. And I don't say it enough anymore, but particular thanks to my friend u/Empoleon_Dynamite over at PvPoke.com for making all of my analysis possible and happily collaborating and brainstorming on so many articles over the years. He has his own thoughts on Roserade that I encourage you all to check out as well.
And thank you for reading... I appreciate your attention and encouragement. Catch you next time, and good luck out there!