I'll start with the greatest news, POKEMON HEARTDGOLD AND SOULSILVER! The initial announcement was great, and the little reveal on Pokemon Sunday only added to the greatness! I really hope the official site opens up soon and has a trailer, and the art of the starters and the trainers. The wait until next year when these games come out in English is going to be long, I can tell.

In anime news, season 12 started with a bang today! The opening theme didn't keep any footage from High Touch, which was total fail.
But other than that the opening was alright. 38 Seconds long (a new record for the comercial-heavy CN slot)

The episode itself was hilarious. I have always been a big fan of the episodes featuring ghost types, mostly because I love watching everyone get scared and go running. Rotom was just too funny. Team Rocket wasn't attacked by Rotom, but it did steal food from them (that they were trying to hide from each other), causing much hilarity.  All-in-all, It was a great episode to start the season with.

(Taken from Nekusagi)

Rules:
*Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find the fifth sentence.
*Post that sentence along with these instructions in your LiveJournal.
*Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

"Nevertheless, we wizards seem particularly prone to the idea that we can bend the natures of existence to our will. "- The Tales of Beedle The Bard (I got this book for Christmas, haven't read any of it yet, but it is right next to my desk.)

I am dumbstruck, I do not have the mental strength to comprise a new post, so I will X-post.

A sad day for us all
As this news is now confirmed by many sources, I will post it.
During the previous week, Maddie Blaustein passed away in her sleep. The cause of death is unknown at this time, though it seems Maddie had a bad stomach virus, and there should be a release sometime within the next few days.
This is a very sad day for the fandom, as we have lost one of our own. A friend, an actor, a person. It's times like these that remind us that we are all living human beings, and fans of this wonderful franchise which is about the celebration and appreciation of every living thing. The things that divide us, are nowhere near as vast as the things that unite us.

Madeleine Joan Blaustein ~ 1960-2008

It was truly an honor having you with us, and you will never leave our hearts.

I have been giving thought to the disagreements we have had in the past, and I wish to apologize.
Just as with SOVA, there is no reason for us to be enemies. Especially over such a trivial things to begin with. So, in my opening efforts to make amends, I have changed signatures at Serebii.net, and changed my LJ icon, as well as removing the posts in my journal regarding you.

If there is anything else I can do, or you wish to discuss, just let me know.

Best regards,
Kuroshi

Since Nekusagi's email is screwed up. I have copied and pasted the contents of the email that should be in sitting her inbox whenever she is finally able to log on.


You asked for a response, so here it is. The witch you seek shall stand trail for their crimes.

How would posting anything supposed embarrass me? I suppose peppering it with your flavorful insults is a good start, but to be honest. I have been called that and more by every facet of SOVA, and by those associated with it. That being said, It is good that you came to your better mind on such a plan. SOVA can keep the hate train rolling in their private forums, and avoid making the organization look extremely small and petty, and more concerned with witch hunts than the goal they have.

I made it a personal note not to post anything insulting, or degrading about SOVA, or it's members, and through I have not received that courtesy myself, I shall continue to do so.

Tell me where I posted one word of disrespect or insult about xdeadpan on those forms. I disagree, but I do not insult, nor do I slander and to accuse me of slander without having read any of the posts in question for yourself is slander in itself.

I am most aware of the current leadership of SOVA, and just as with every leader before, I have been nothing but respectful and forthright in my disagreements.

You hope the guilt is driving me insane? I ask you, what have I done that would warrant such guilt?

Lied? Show me where I have lied.

Supposed sabotage? Reposting one message that had already been leaked to the general public the minute it entered the ear of any person not involved with the dubbing process. You tell me where I spilt blood, tell me what I destroyed. Tell me how it is any different than any other journalist posting any other bit of news.

Libel? Again, that falls under lying. Tell me where are the volumes of posts filled with lies about SOVA and it's members? Disagreing is not lying, never has been, never will be.

Actions that SOVA has never condoned or engaged in?

"The new actors suck." - Blanket negative statement, spoken is if were fact instead of opinion. That is libel.
"Kuroshi is/has/is planning to/ sabotage us" - Slander, in fact, your entire LJ post counts as a textbook example of slander.
"Sarah Natochenny has a big nose, she can't act, she's too young" - Insulting much?(and shallow if you're picking on someone for their facial features, kinda like picking on someone for being transgender? Ignorance is ignorance, no matter who does it)
"Pokemon USA is greedy, evil, kicks puppies" - You see the pattern here?


Here's a nice one. "Kuroshi is responsible for the Veronica Taylor rumor." - I am in no way responsible for that rumor, infact, I spent the last two weeks emailing any source I could find for confirmation as to if this was true or not. (remember xdeadpan? The person that I spend all my time hating and tormenting? Ask her, I just recently shared my discoveries with her, and yes, it does include Maddie's final confirmation of this rumor as false.) Even at this very moment, there is a thread on the SOVA forms by Ben_darkpikachu that is a lie of massive proportions.

I will post the factors proving that Ben is lying (again) this come right from the SOCC front page:

Lately there have been claims that Amy Wexler had a supposed phone call with SOVA, and told very intimate information about the dub. This rumor is false. Firstly, and most importantly, Amy Wexler is no longer working at Pokémon USA so it would be impossible for her to have any up to date information regarding anything Pokémon. Second, Amy Wexler's former position at Pokémon USA was as a PR manager, which means she had zero involvement with the anime, and would not know anything about the dub production. Lastly, the people that do know anything about the dub production never make comments to the general public about it.

This information I also shared with xdeadpan, so since I know everything I say is made of lie and suck, you can ask her for verification. (She will also verify that Ben has been pulling this Amy Wexler stunt since last year)

I won't even go into the amount of stuff said about me since my being "found out" (and for the record, No, I am not trying to hack your forums, I would not want to, and even if I did, I do not know how to hack) So where is the strong disapproval? Where is the SOVA does not condone? Maybe I'm lying about all this, but xdeadpan felt the environment was so hateful that she contacted me and asked me flat out for my side of the story. (something that no member of the current SOVA leadership even thought to do, I guess it's just easier to, pretend to befriend, hurl mean insults, rumors, and plot public humiliations like this is a high school cafeteria)

You'll notice that there was no protest over Rocket Grunt's banning, you'll also notice that he said he was not coming back to the forums. Ding dong the witch is dead. So why is there still an issue that the all of SOVA felt was so awful that there needed to be a public execution? You tell me outside of one leaked message, what crimes were committed? Flaming? trolling? giving bad or dangerous advice? Leaked names? Pictures? How different was he from any other SOVA member? How is Kuroshi different from any other human being? Is having a different opinion so much of a crime that it warrants all of this?

So. Now I will give you what you came here for, the bit you can take back to SOVA, and anyone else that needs to hear it. You win. All of SOVA wins. Kuroshi is defeated, vanquished, deceased, dead, destroyed, humiliated, crawled back under his rock, will never bother anyone again. (Again, I will make sure to tell xdeadpan this so the honesty of my demise is verified)

Just email back if you need a public post. I can put it a nice big post of defeat on RG's journal.

I will be posting this on the SOCC forums, so that there is no more chance of this message not reaching you.
Since all these attacks have come only because you apparently did not receive my message, I will not consider it SOVA's attempting to rub my face in the dirt after a clear victory.

[17:20:19] Brian's Test Account has been disconnected the Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:20 pm (session timeout)

[17:29:00] darkblade09 has joined the chat the Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:29 pm

[17:29:38] Brian has joined the chat the Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:29 pm

[17:31:59] darkblade09 : Maddie please come here

[17:32:02] maddiejoan has joined the chat the Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:32 pm

[17:32:11] Moderator status given to maddiejoan by Brian

[17:32:16] @ Brian : Hi Maddie!

[17:32:17] @ maddiejoan : Hiya, folks

[17:32:23] darkblade09 : maddie I'm so happy you're here

[17:32:41] @ Brian : Hehe, it's actually cool to be talking to one of the most awesome voice actresses in Pokemon

[17:32:48] @ maddiejoan :

[17:32:56] @ maddiejoan : So what's the issue?

[17:33:07] @ maddiejoan : :::blush::::

[17:33:15] @ Brian : Well, there is a lot of controversy over this Veronica rumor...

[17:33:19] darkblade09 : There is a person name Kuroshi

[17:33:34] @ maddiejoan : yes --I read his assesment of me

[17:33:43] @ maddiejoan : he's wrong about quite a few things

[17:33:44] darkblade09 : He is destroying SOVA

[17:34:01] @ maddiejoan : DuArt hired me -- and PUSA is very happy to have me doing voices

[17:34:07] @ Brian : Awesome!

[17:34:14] darkblade09 : are you back as Meowth?

[17:34:19] @ maddiejoan : but they have expressed zero interest in having me return as Meowth

[17:34:33] darkblade09 : To me you are the only Meowth

[17:34:38] @ Brian : Yes, I agree!

[17:34:43] @ maddiejoan : So far --all I've done is Chatot on the Mystery Dungeon

[17:35:02] @ maddiejoan : I miss meowth very much

[17:35:07] darkblade09 : I miss you as Meowth

[17:35:16] @ Brian : So do I, there were so many lines you said that made me burst out laughing!

[17:35:37] @ maddiejoan : DuArt and PUSA both know I'd return in a second --but like I say, they have no plans to have me play Meowth

[17:35:47] darkblade09 : Ms. Maddie Blaustein = Meowth sounds great

[17:36:14] @ maddiejoan : So --while I miss doing the part --there's not much more I can do about it

[17:36:37] darkblade09 : Do you think it was rumor that Veronica is coming back as Ash?

[17:36:53] @ maddiejoan : and I'm okay with that -- somethings are just out of an actress' control

[17:36:55] @ Brian : However, going back to Kuroshi, we think that Kuroshi was the one behind the Veronica rumor...and is trying to make us all into fools.

[17:37:01] @ maddiejoan : I see Veronica quite often

[17:37:12] @ Brian : We need to get this out in the open.

[17:37:19] Pokeyug has joined the chat the Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:37 pm

[17:37:21] @ maddiejoan : I've heard nothing of the sort

[17:37:25] @ Pokeyug : Hey!

[17:37:35] @ Pokeyug : OMG! Maddie's here!

[17:37:35] darkblade09 : You don't how you made me feel a lot better Maddie

[17:37:35] @ Brian : Hi Pokeyug!

[17:37:42] @ Pokeyug : Hey Maddie!

[17:37:49] @ Pokeyug : Hey Brian!

[17:37:51] @ maddiejoan : Hey!

[17:38:04] @ Brian : I'll be right back everyone!

[17:38:09] @ Brian : Don't leave without me. XD

[17:38:27] @ maddiejoan : I'll try not to

[17:38:28] @ Pokeyug : Ok!

[17:38:32] @ maddiejoan : but I can't stay long

[17:38:44] darkblade09 : Maddie, how much do you love Meowth?

[17:39:03] @ maddiejoan : I have no idea why Kuroshi hates me so much

[17:39:19] @ maddiejoan : Meowth is as close to my heart as if he were my child

[17:39:37] @ Pokeyug : So, did you here anything from Veronica about the rumor?

[17:39:52] darkblade09 : He can't see the difference

[17:39:58] @ maddiejoan : I've heard nothing --but if it were true --Veronica would have told me

[17:40:18] @ maddiejoan : it's very unlikely

[17:40:55] @ Pokeyug :  So, the email was fake?

[17:41:04] darkblade09 : that's sweet

[17:41:12] @ maddiejoan : do you have a link to the e-mail?

[17:41:27] @ maddiejoan : I haven't seen that

[17:41:28] darkblade09 : So that was fake

[17:41:34] JacobGRocks has joined the chat the Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:41 pm

[17:41:36] JacobGRocks : hi

[17:41:39] @ Pokeyug : Yeah, I'll PM it to you.

[17:41:48] darkblade09 : I can pm it to you

[17:42:25] @ maddiejoan : great --I can tell you if it's real or not

[17:42:41] JacobGRocks : ok

[17:42:44] JacobGRocks : i havent seen it yet

[17:43:00] darkblade09 : just sent it

[17:43:28] @ Pokeyug : So, did I. XD

[17:43:38] @ Pokeyug : It was sent to Lisa.

[17:43:41] @ Brian : [13:39:03] @ maddiejoan : I have no idea why Kuroshi hates me so much <----Maddie, he hates everyone.

[17:43:48] JacobGRocks : oh.

[17:43:50] @ maddiejoan : and it's fake

[17:44:24] @ Pokeyug : It was sent using a really weird site.

[17:44:50] @ Brian : Yeah, willselfdestruct

[17:45:13] darkblade09 : Kuroshi has been pretending to be a SOVA supporter and he steals all the info to sabatoge us

[17:45:18] @ maddiejoan : not Veronica's e-mail for one

[17:45:25] @ Brian : Right.

[17:45:38] @ maddiejoan : PUSA is very happy to have me onboard

[17:45:38] @ Pokeyug : Yeah.

[17:45:47] @ Brian : I just wish you could be Meowth again.

[17:45:58] JacobGRocks : willselfdestruct can be used to make fake emails

[17:46:02] @ maddiejoan : DuArt made a point of getting their permission to hire me for Chatot

[17:46:08] @ Brian : Hehe, maybe I shouldn't say this, but I can imitate your Meowth screams pretty good Maddie.

[17:46:23] @ maddiejoan : they were xcited --but have no plans to re-cast me as meowth

[17:46:29] darkblade09 : That will destroy Lisa

[17:46:29] JacobGRocks : yeah

[17:46:43] JacobGRocks : she was mad yesterday

[17:46:52] @ Brian : But Lisa has to believe it! We're getting this from the real deal!

[17:46:55] @ Pokeyug : Do you think it's possible for season 12?

[17:47:16] @ maddiejoan : anything is possible I suppose

[17:47:32] darkblade09 : Why are they being so hard

[17:48:00] @ maddiejoan : I really have no idea

[17:48:08] @ Brian : Maddie, if I gave you Lisa's email address, would you email her and tell her that this stuff isn't true? She won't listen to us...but she really needs to understand what's going on.

[17:48:10] darkblade09 : they are going to ruin some special episdo

[17:48:15] @ Pokeyug : I just don't it.

[17:48:16] @ maddiejoan : The fact is --I'm the one that finally called them

[17:48:38] @ maddiejoan : and they were happy to have me audition for some parts

[17:48:45] darkblade09 : Do you think Duart or PUSA is the one who can hire talents? [17:50:55] @ maddiejoan : but right now --I kinda have to go --I have to get ready for an appointment [17:50:59] darkblade09 : is he really here? [17:51:14] darkblade09 : will you be back? [17:52:08] @ Pokeyug : Ok. Bye Maddie! [17:52:11] @ maddiejoan : maybe --but ya know --there's not a lot more I can tell you guys [17:52:42] @ Pokeyug : We just like having you on! [17:52:47] @ maddiejoan :  [17:52:47] @ Pokeyug :  [17:52:47] darkblade09 : well, thanks for making us smile. I hope you come back soon [17:53:02] @ maddiejoan : I'll pop in every now and then [17:53:03] @ Pokeyug : Me too! [17:53:10] @ Pokeyug : Yay! [17:53:20] @ Brian : Bye Maddie!! [17:53:23] @ Brian : It was awesome talking to you!!!!!!!!!!! [17:53:29] @ maddiejoan : Bye guys! [17:53:40] @ maddiejoan : I'm Blaustein off agaiiiiiiiiiiin [17:53:44] darkblade09 : bye. Take Care, one day they will reliaze that they need you

I hope everyone had a happy and productive Independence Day; and yes, that does include all you SOVA and ex-SOVA members who swear I am the devil. I had myself a decent 4th.

The latest thing to hit the rumor mill at various Pokémon forums, is a claim that Veronica Taylor will be returning to Pokémon in September.
this rumor has it's origin in Veronica Taylor's guestbook, where a very suspect post was made:

I heard from one of my friends that you were returning to Pokemon, and we'll hear your voice once again as Ash... I couldn't believe it, so I asked him where he got from. He told me that he knew somebody else whose uncle works for DuArt, the company that produces the show. So I got to talk to this guy (his name is Adam W BTW) myself and he confirmed that Veronica Taylor was called in by DuArt a few weeks ago to start working on Pokemon once again. And we'll most likely hear her on the show once again in September.

CONGRATULATIONS VERONICA!!!!

You REALLY REALLY deserve this. It will be so refreshing to hear your voice once again after two long years. It doesn't even seem like the new girl is even trying. It is also a shame they chose to replace you in the first place. But it is good to know that I'll hear your voice once more. Plus I hope to hear you as May as well in the next dozen episodes. Take care!

~Ryan~
Monday, June 30th 2008 - 08:08:41 PM

Eager beavers have carried this rumor onto forums such as Serebii and Bulbagarden, where the usual rounds of discussion took place until promptly closed by the forum moderators.

I believe this post to be false, as does most of the fandom, and while they would never admit it out loud, I believe that the majority of SOVA believes this is false too, and rightfully so. The whole "my friend's friend's uncle" thing screams falsehood so loudly that I think the writer of that post did it on purpose. A juvenile prank by someone that thinks the VA issue is still relevant enough to cause mass hysteria within the fandom. Fortunately, those days have long since passed, and even the remains of SOVA have grown too wise to be fooled by such minor tricks.

I (and I'm sure many others) have looked over the DuArt site, and staff listings for this "Adam W" and there is no one by that name.
Furthermore, if this person did exist, and was in a position where he would be privy to such information, he surely would not be sharing it with random people. As anyone who has been following this situation will tell you, info that important does not get leaked so effortlessly.

There, is also the fact that the planning for the next season has not begun yet, we are only 8 episodes into this season, and it will carry us up past the latest Japanese episodes. We are no where near the next season, and it is not being planned yet.

Lastly, there is the issue of another abrupt change in voices; contrary to what some may think, there are those who prefer Ash's voice as it is, and the VA issue has become very quiet and Pokémon USA is no going to poke that beehive again.

In short, time will reveal what we have all known since this post was made, that it is a prank, and not a very good one at that.

So.
It was recently posted online that Rachael Lillis had auditioned for and gotten the role of Maylene on Pokémon.
This news comes hot on the heels of the news that the 4Kids contract clause (the one that Maddie, Veronica, Eric and to a lesser extent, Rachael all swore up and down did not exist, and did not matter) has expired. The thing that I find hilarious is that now, we have direct evidence that three years ago, when the 4Kids cast had everyone bitching and moaning at and about Pokémon USA, and the current actors; The truth had been told by Pokémon USA. That's right, contractual obligations  did exist, and of all the 4Kids actors, only 2 were willing to get on 4Kids bad side, and break contract to continue working on Pokémon.

We had news articles, outlets such as the Anime News Network, Serebii.net, Even Bulbanews (which is supposed to be the one with the most neutral view) all of them airing the stories with facts muddied to say the least, by the 4Kids cast, and emotion/outrage. Now, here we stand three years later, and not so much as an apology, not even a post to say that the stuff they reported three years ago was incorrect.

This seems to be the face of the Pokémon fandom. We never apologize for our mistakes, even when by all rights we should.

The other thing that I find very amusing is that SOVA has taken to claiming this has something to do with them, and their letters, pokeballs, and whatever else they send that is delete/trash on site at the Pokémon USA offices.
This was a decision that Rachael made Pokémon USA did not call her begging for her to call off the SOVA attack dogs. Rachael went to the studio, and auditioned for a role, why didn't she do that three years ago? Because if she did, she would not be the voice of Ursala on Dinosaur King, nor would she be voicing anything at 4Kids. I also think that if I were a member of SOVA, I would be quite frankly offended. SOVA spent three years fighting tooth and nail, taking every single word from the 4Kids actors as an unbreakable law, even when logic proves it wrong. They have fought battles, stressed themselves to no end, spent time, money, resources, even risked facing harassment charges in this effort. And the actors that they fight so hard for do not even find them worthy of a "Hello guys, I'm auditioning for a role on Pokémon" even as a courtesy to the fans that adore you enough to go to those extremes? If I were in SOVA I would have to ask myself this... if the actors won't even tell me when they do a simple audition, then there is no guarantee that what they have said in the past is 100% true. Like when they say that they never ever had any kind of chance to stay with the show.

I feel sorry for the die-hard SOVA devotees.