Return of Team Plasma Spriting TournamentFinal RoundAs the two heads of police were finishing their preparations, they were approached by a young trainer eager to help. Though the two police officers were unsure about letting a civilian fight a dangerous battle, the trainer could not be persuaded and was eventually accepted as one of the team. Pokemon at the ready, the three of them marched to the battle where the final standoff with Team Plasma was to take place.
However, they were completely unaware of the trap laid before them. A low rumble warned one of the police officers, who yelled and jumped out of the way of the oncoming attack. The other two, however, were not as lucky. A mighty avalanche roared over the second officer and the trainer, encasing them in ice. When the snow had settled, the trainer was revealed to have been frozen solid, completely immobile. The second officer was only trapped up to her hips, leaving her crippled but still able to battle.
The new leader of Team Plasma laughed. "That should even the odds!" she yelled. "Not like I would have needed it though."
The two officers readied themselves for battle.
CJames has dropped out of the tournament. He has placed 4th with 0 points.Round 1
Dragon Arbock2 - 2 - 1It's a shame you had to go up against Lizz's gryphon this round, because Vuladuro is actually my favorite of the three foxes. The shading's good, the pose is dynamic... Though I keep seeing the leaves as a grass skirt around its waist instead of the tail, but that's more my fault than yours. The trainers are okay. The leaf skirt won you a fair bit of points on the trainer sprite, and you did a good job getting the hair recolored from what's-her-name's sprite. The mugshot is technically fine, but suffers from being simple to a fault.


Lizz3 - 3 - 2Psh, the longer I sit around the more jealous of everyone's scratching abilities I get. I think the wings are some of the most beautiful I've seen on a Pokemon. Anyway, there's more praise to come, so let's get to some things to improve on. I really can't tell if you're trying to subvert the stereotype of witches who fly around on broomsticks as tiny, super skinny girls, or it's just an unfortunate implication of the sprites you used. The mugshot for sure looks rather masculine. It's not as apparent in the trainer, but the shoulders are rather wide.

anti_righteous0 - 1 - 3Gotta love a good suit. Let's start with the mugshot. I recognize the pose, and Blue/Gary/Garyblue tends to have one of the more recognizable poses, but the scratching of the suit and the new head change it up just enough. I guess the best way to describe the sprite is to describe the trainer. Simple. Sophisticated. The trainer sprite kind of gets there, but as I say later on (I judged out of order can you tell?) it lacks a sort of presence that a legendary trainer has. Also, the black is just a tiny bit too dark. I can see the details fine with my nose to my screen but I tend to judge all slumped over into the back of my chair and the details get a little lost that way.
Round 2
Dragon Arbock3 - 1 - 2I really like the water effect on the tail. It's simple enough to be used in a Pokemon style, and still gets a very watery vibe. Like kind of a torrent. I'm a little confused about the horns though, it looks like there's little hairs coming off of it. Or it's a mistake, but at this level, I'd be surprised if it was a mistake. For your trainer and mugshot, it was a tough choice between you and anti_righteous. As much as I hate using such a vague term for this, it really came down to which sprite had the more... presence? The theme was to make legendary trainers. I felt that vibe from the mugshot, but not as much from the trainer, probably due to the sprite chosen for the base. It's more reserved, less in your face.

Lizz2 - 3 - 3I hope you realize that viking totally has my vote for the awards this December. He has a real presence about him. I think it's due to the fact that you went with a fairly uncommon body type, and it really works. Though I can't decide if the muscle on his arm looks like a muscle or just a funky circle... but I suppose it's better to keep a detail like that as simple as possible. The rhino... dinosaur... thing is very nice, and it was difficult to judge against Dragon Arbock, as your two styles are very different. However, the shading is a bit too much contrast. It's very Gen V-y shading, but you hit a picky spot on me with that one.

anti_righteous0 - 2 - 1Like I said in Dragon Arbock's comments, a lot of this round came down to how well each sprite gave off that legendary vibe. The trainer is well done. The longcoat and super magenta pants help that vibe, and there's the fact that the sprite is technically flawless. Unfortunately, those details can't be seen in the mugshot. The legendary feel isn't really there, and she looks like any trainer you'd find walking down the street.
Round 3
Dragon Arbock2 - 1 - 1That's actually a really interesting effect you have going on with the orange highlights and shadow on the tail. It's a neat use of color, and helps bring out the ground type. If anything it would be cool to see a bit more of the orange shading on the other rock bits. Anyway, it was a close call on the Pokemon sprites with Lizz's, but being the third round, she pulled out ahead for more diversity with the Pokemon. As for the trainers, I'm sure you're probably aware of the flaws, but it's mostly because he still looks like what's-his-name the Sinnoh steel leader.

Lizz3 - 3 - 3And now we get a wizard and his unicorn to round off the mythical trio. Please excuse me as this ended up being the last set of sprites I judged and... this took several weeks too long I just want it to end. The only complaint to point out is the shading on the front leg's joint. It looks like it should bend the wrong way because of that (thank you mlp for helping me remember horse leg anatomy). Eh regardless... floofy mane is floofy 1 2 3 let's get this judging on the road thank you.

anti_righteous0 - 2 - 2I do really like your trainers, but you have a comfort zone that isn't really being reached out of right now. To explain, both Dragon Arbock and Lizz had obvious themes with their sprites (they also had Pokemon which may have helped.) Dragon Arbock based her sprites on the elements, and Lizz on common European mythology. Your trainers don't have a common theme among them. Regardless, they're still very good. I love the trainer's pose (and can't seem to think of the base sprite used) and I like the detail of the shadow across the trainer's face in the mugshot.
Round 4
Dragon Arbock3Funny, I expected the fusion round to be the easiest. Maybe I should make a round dedicated towards fusing two original sprites... Anyway, I would have preferred a little more Vulamniqua in there, it's about a 70/30 Vuladuro/Vulamniqua split, but otherwise it's pretty good. I think that water effect looks best on this sprite. Although, to point one more thing out, I'm not sure what those things on its back are.
Last minute judging edit: I see now that the things on its back come from the third fox, but the fact that I didn't see that literally until the last minute should give you some idea about the fusion mix.
Lizz2Yeah, you know why you lost this. At least I did notice that the feet are different, but other than that it's just a recolor.
-No Entry-
anti_righteous0Dragon Arbock: 5 + 6 + 4 + 3 = 18
Lizz: 8 + 8 + 9 + 2 + 3 (bonus) = 30
anti_righteous: 4 + 3 + 4 + 0 + 3 (bonus) = 14
And once again, Unova is safe from Team Plasma. Thanks to you! Looks like my work here is done. I'll be taking off, there's always trouble stirrin' in other parts of the world. But don't worry, I've got my eye on them!For coming in first place, Lizz will receive 5 points on the scoreboard (whenever I bother to update it). For coming in second, Dragon Arbock will receive 3 points on the scoreboard. For third, anti_righteous will receive 2 points, and CJames will receive 1 point. In addition, each of the finalists may request a color and Pokemon icon to represent them on the scoreboard as well.Thank you all for participating! Next time, make sure I plan it so the finals don't fall right when school begins!