Note from the Editor

Hey, everyone!

Issue #29 is finally here and it's been a hell of a month-and-a-half. Once again, our release has been delayed due to the attacks that have seemed to plague Smogon this summer. In spite of this, our contributors have managed to put together one of our biggest issues to date.

The 29th edition brings with it a pile of Spotlight articles featuring Pokémon from UU, NU, RU, and LC. Even Shuckle gets its very own Spotlight in OM. We have more metagame articles than we know what to do with featuring birds, turtles, and some Pokémon that used to tear OU apart. You can also find out how playing Little Cup makes you irresistible. In Entertainment, we revisit Unova's Gyms, speculate on all sorts of things, and learn about the chain of disasters that is "Smogdoom."

This issue also sees the departure of 2 of our staff: jumpluff and sandshrewz. jumpluff announced her retirement midway through this issue. Many of you know her as the cutemon who single-handedly GP'd and HTML'd more than half of the articles in recent memory. I don't even know how long she's been part of The Smog, but it has been no less than 20 issues. sandshrewz has also announced that this issue will be his last. He has left his happy emoticons over everything he's touched in the last 7 months as a staff member. On a personal note, I have him to thank for my own involvement in The Smog. Needless to say, they will both be missed. As a send off of sorts, I've added an "Easter Egg" to this page accessible via the Konami Code.

Now, go enjoy issue #29! When you're done, feel free to stop by The Smog's subforum to express your opinions about this issue or become a contributor to our next one.

~Toast++