Warhawk Recap

Video game conspiracy theories are about as old as video games themselves, and it seems as though every game has at least one or two unproven fan theories. With the Dark Cubone/Kangaskhan theory, it seems as though the Pokemon series is no exception, until the theory was proven in Pokemon Moon.

The widely circulated theory that appeared on the internet after the release of Pokemon Red & Blue states that Cubone, a bone-slinging ground-type pokemon that evolves into Marowak, was originally intended to be the pre-evolution of Kangaskhan, a normal-type pokemon that does not evolve. However, it could never be proven, and Nintendo remained silent on the topic.

Kangaskhan is a Generation I pokemon that famously carries its young in a pouch, much like a kangaroo.  According to the theory, after a mother Kangaskhan dies, the baby in her pouch would be left on its own and is forced to use the skull of its mother to defend itself. The baby puts the skull on its head, and thus, becomes a Cubone.

This portion of the theory is supported by the PokeDex entry for Cubone from Pokemon Moon that states: “The skull it wears on its head is that of its dead mother. According to some, it will evolve when it comes to terms with the pain of her death.”

However, despite this entry, it is possible to use Cubone’s in-game evolution Marowak to hatch a baby Cubone from an egg at the day care and continue to play with the Marowak in your party. This would appear to mean that Marowak may not be the pokemon that Cubone’s PokeDex entry was talking about.

So how has Pokemon Moon finally proven that these two pokemon that appear to be completely unrelated may originally have been from the same evolutionary tree?

Well first, the two pokemon aren’t unrelated. One clue comes from Cubone’s signature move, Bonemerang. According to Pokemon Moon: “The user throws the bone it holds. The bone loops around to hit the target twice—coming and going.” It appears as though Cubone is using his bone as a boomerang, a nod to the famous Australian weapon, creating a similar theme between the two Pokemon.

Still, Cubone and a baby Kangaskhan aren’t officially related, but the possibility exists. They are about the same size, and a baby Kangaskhan has ears that poke out, which could relate directly to the iconic horns poking off Cubone’s skull. Finally, both pokemon exist exclusively in the ‘Monster’ egg group for breeding.

However, all of this was unproven until fans noticed a small Easter egg in one of the new mechanics in Pokemon Moon.

In random encounters in the game, a wild pokemon is able to Call for Help, requesting the aid of another pokemon that may or may not arrive. In almost all circumstances, the help comes in the form of a similar pokemon, but that doesn’t always apply for our old friend Cubone.

When Cubone Calls for Help, occasionally a non-Cubone pokemon will show up. Who’s that Pokemon? It’s Kangaskhan!  The Parent pokemon rushes to the defense of a poor Cubone and confirms one of the Internet’s deepest and longest-running conspiracies.

Watching Ninja is a blur. Sure, he uses the same controls as you, the same movements, and the same building pieces. But he plays the game at a different speed. He’ll encounter another player, and you can’t blink, for fear of missing it. The things he does to give himself advantages are so minute; an untrained eye might miss it. But to those of us who know what Ninja is doing, its all kind of a masterpiece. Fortnite is the online multiplayer game that is sweeping the nation, and it’s the canvas that a 26-year-old from Lake Villa, Illinois uses to paint his masterpieces.

Fortnite is a simple game that you can learn in minutes. It only takes about 10 different controls, but don’t let that fool you. Take your mind off the game for just a few seconds, and Ninja or someone else will come up from behind you and end your game as fast as it started. The gameplay sequence is easy. You start the game on a small island, which serves as a lobby for your system to connect to 99 other players, who will soon be out to kill you. As soon as you finish connecting, you are transported into a school bus, which is flying over another, larger island. Once on the Battle Bus, you’ll have to jump out, but not before you have a look at your map and pick a landing destination. Once you’ve dived out, you’ll begin your descent. A quick look around, and some of the other players are visible as they fall out of the sky. Soon after, your parachute will deploy, and you’ll be given a bit more control over your exact landing destination. From the moment your boots hit the ground, you’ll have to be off and running. With nothing to defend yourself except an oversized pickaxe, it’s a race to see who can get guns first. Those that do, will survive. For a seasoned pro like Ninja, there may be a few different objectives, but most of us plebs will have to search for something, anything to defend ourselves with.

From there, your options begin to open up. There is a checklist of things you’ll want to start the game with: guns & ammo of course, health and shield potions, rockets, grenades and all sorts of extra toys to aid your survival and hamper other players with. By now, you’ll have gotten a message on your screen that says something like this: 3:00 UNTIL STORM MOVES. Another glance at your map will confirm the message. The Storm, which can be seen as clouds slowly building over the water over the island, Is the movable boundary in Fortnite. At first, it starts as a circle that covers half the map. However, as the game progresses, the storm will close in around you, bringing all the players together. Eventually, players will be forced to run into smaller and smaller areas, which leads to more encounters with other players. This all serves to make Fortnite into a video game version of King of the Hill. The last one standing will be given a “Victory Royale” and will have every right to take a picture and post to their Snapchat story.

Now, getting Victory Royale isn’t something that happens too often, especially for players with my amount of skill, or similar. I’ve spent XXX hours, and only have 1 Victory Royale (I shot the 2^nd last guy out of his tower, and then the last enemy walked right in front of me, while I was standing in a bush. Two quick pumps of my Shotgun, and I had my first win!)

For Players like Tyler Blevins, better known as Ninja, Victory Royale is much easier to come by.  In fact, a quick check of an online database (https://stormshield.one/pvp/stats/Ninja) reveals that Ninja has 2182 wins (as of 8:32 PM on April 9^th) You might ask why anyone would care about statistics in an online game, but Ninja’s current worth would answer that pretty quickly. A quick Google search spits out the number $3.4 million, but using online streaming sites like Twitch, Ninja can make about $560,000 per month by doing nothing but playing video games. That’s a powerful amount of money for someone who doesn’t have to get out of bed to go to work.

There are a lot of games that have a similar idea to Fortnite, which is classified as a Battle Royale game. Titles like H1Z1 and The Culling haven’t hit mainstream, but Fortnite does have one Rival. Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds is Fortnite’s main competition. Where Fortnite is cartoony and lighthearted, its counterpart, commonly known as PUB G, is much more serious, with more lifelike characters, and a more real feeling environment. But don’t let Fortnites cute characters and animated graphics fool you, its just as serious as PUBG, Call of Duty, or 2k.  The biggest difference between Fortnite and any other title in this genre is the ability to build. Along with collecting guns and bombs, players are also able to modify most of the environment. Remember that pickaxe you started with? That comes in useful for knocking down things like trees and rocks but can also be used to punch through walls and cars, even entire buildings. Once you’ve collected enough wood, stone, or metal, the player can choose from a vertical wall, a horizontal floor tile, a ramp, or a pyramid. However, limiting that may feel, the possibilities are endless. You can make a simple box, with a ramp in the middle, which creates a height advantage over enemies on the ground. You can also make ramps to run over water, or to scale cliffs. In fact, one strategy involves building a ramp all the way into the sky, to avoid detection. However, builder beware! If your structure gets shot down, you can fall right out. Your build must be attached to the ground in at least once place. This isn’t Minecraft, no floating castles here!  The best Fortnite players can build huge staircases and fortresses in mere seconds, and when you watch Ninja play, the speed at which he builds is amazing.  Its one thing that sets him apart from even the best Fortnite players.

With its cartoon graphics and simple premise, the game is very easy to pick up and allows mostly anyone to sink hundreds of hours into each mode, of which there are usually 3. The first, Solo, is the most common, where you play by yourself. Get lonely? Invite your friends online, and you can play with a Squad of up to 4 people, all speaking to each other through Fortnite’s online chat system. Does that Special Someone want to play with you, but not have the havoc of four players descending on your fort? Duo mode might be the way for you to go.  One of the best parts of the game is the Social aspect, which is made easy by freeing up communication and rewarding teamwork. Why have one builder making a fort when you can have an entire team creating a giant bunker!

A lot of people play Fortnite. In fact, according to (http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/05/many-people-play-fortnite-battle-royale-7363495/) the number rose as high as 3.4 million players at one time, breaking PUB G’s record of 3.2 million. There are also many famous people playing the game, including NBA players, actors, and Drake. In fact, when Drizzy hooked up with Ninja, they almost broke Twitch, the website people were using to watch him play. After a few rounds, rapper Travis Scott and Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith Schuster joined up to make a full squad, over 600,000 paid money to watch them play together! Numerous articles from ESPN and Bleacher Report have told of athletes playing in their free time, and NBA rookie Josh Hart even had his own Fortnite custom shoes made, which he wore during a game against the Celtics!

All in all, Fortnite is sweeping the nation. Most video game crazes don’t last that long, so you’d better hop on the Battle Bus before everyone else jumps off. After all, you don’t want them landing before you, do you?

The announcement of the cancellation of the WIAA’s spring sports season came as a suprise to no one when it came out in mid-March. The announcement, which was made during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, was recieved well as circumstances certainly called for extreme changes.

However, in a coenciding announcement made by the WIAA last week, it was made known that high school teams would be allowed a possible 30-day period of competetion in July.

That statement meant that teams still held out hope of competetion this spring.

That hope was squashed for Janesville students yesterday when the School District of Janesville announced that it would not be participating in the 30-day season.

Many fans, parents and media pundits were upset about the announcement from the school district, with some questioning how action in July could be postponed in April.

However, other voices took aim at the state’s high school governing body, lamenting the WIAA for ‘passing the buck’ by leaving the final cancellation call up to local school districts.

All in all, sports are still cancelled as far as the near future goes. The next possible action students will be able to see is in August.

The University of Wisconsin – Whitewater Sports Department has seen its Spring Season cancelled as part of the impact of COVID-19 on Whitewater’s campus.

All teams saw their spring seasons suspended in the middle of March and are expected to proceed without conclusion. However, the suspension of competition didn’t keep the Warhawks down for long. There were plenty of things brewing between those that returned home and the Warhawks that stayed around Whitewater.

Tight Ends Coach Tim Shields of the Warhawk Football program has been extremely active in his coaching career, creating a video series with the hashtag #QuarantinedWithCoaches on Twitter. The series focuses on topics such as leadership, culture and coaching, rather than scheme or strategy. He’s teamed up with coaches across the nation to make the videos, which regularly garner dozens of likes and retweets. The main purpose of the videos? According to Shields, “I’m just trying to get better.”

Another development was the top-3 finish in the Division II & III polls for the Women’s bowling team. The team ended the season with a 57-47 record, including a conference championship. The team enjoyed six top-10 finishes at tournaments this year, and had three members receive first-team all-conference. Kaylee Tubbs, Mary Conneely, and Sam Knab were selected, and Conneely was named Player of the Year by the conference.

In another online video series, Warhawk Athletics put out videos from most of their sports with the hashtag #d3week, alluding to Division III. The social media campaign focuses on why Division 3 is a great place to be in college athletics. The Warhawks videos feature testimonials from current athletes about their experiences as a member of each team.

Coronavirus has decimated the entire sports industry, and Whitewater is no exception. However, Warhawk coaches and athletes continue to work hard to better themselves, despite the difficult circumstances.       

The Wisconsin Intracollegiate Athletic Conference sent out a memo on March 16 announcing the cancellation of the 2020 Spring sports season, due to COVID-19.

This means that no baseball, softball, outdoor track, tennis, and golf will be cancelled this season at UW-Whitewater. The WIAC also cancelled women’s lacrosse around the state because of the impending medical emergency.

The memo also forbid the practicing of sports teams and forced coaches to let their players go home, an outcome everyone was hoping for.

Since the estimated timetable to return to normal life after COVID-19 is constantly changing, the conference orginizers decided that a full season cancellation will be put in place.

The conference has also announced that all athletes will be refunded their eligibility and allowed to compete in following seasons.

Fall sports such as football and soccer are still planning to be performed as scheduled, but are subject to change.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team has gotten its season off to a slow start, with several of their games cancelled to start the season. Despite all this, the team was 2-1 in February, and has shown some signs of a rebuild after losing key players.

Whitewater won its 19th regular-season WIAC title in addition to winning at least 30 games for the 12th straight year and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd time.

Starting off the 2020 season, UW-Whitewater is ranked No. 17 in the nation by D3baseball.com and was one of only four teams to get a first place vote.

The ‘Hawks traditionally have high expectations and know how to manage them “ We don’t speak much about the rankings or predictions. We try to focus on preparing for one game at a time. If we can maintain that focus, the rest will fall into place,” said Assistant Coach Steve Bartlein.

And the slow start may need to be exactly what Whitewater needs to do going into this season. With a retooled rotation and new catcher, the Warhawks will need to use this break in the season to gel as teammates, and prepare for the conference season, which is sure to be squeezed in, or possibly even cancelled.

Watch this space for more updates about Warhawk sporting event cancellations, as well as general sports department news.

On Thursday, Feb. 27, the UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team faced UW-Oshkosh in the second round of the WIAC tournament in Whitewater. The game was close in the first half, but got away from the Warhawks in the second Half. UW-Oshkosh went home with the win; the final score was 65-81.

This leaves the Whitewater Warhawks with the No. 4 ranking and means that they do not qualify for the Division III national tournament as an automatic qualifier, but rather an At-Large bid. They await Monday’s announcement of the tournament bracket to see who they will face.

The match started evenly, as both teams were shooting the lights out, Oshkosh took over when they hit five three-pointers in the first quarter. The second quarter was when we could see the Warhawks falling behind.

“We stopped playing defense. They were shooting lights out from 3, and we weren’t adjusting.” said senior Becky Raeder. The score at halftime was 35-48 Oshkosh, as the Warhawks hope was to come back from this lead, but didn’t execute. 

“We played selfish. There were five people on the court, but we weren’t playing together, we played 1-on-1,” said Raeder.

Her team couldn’t hit a shot coming out of halftime, and gave up a 7-0 run before they got on the board in the second half.

It’s not the first time the two squads have had to deal with blowouts in the conference tourney, according to Oshkosh head coach Brad Fischer.

“Two years ago they beat us where they kinda blew us out, so both teams have seen it before,” he said in a post-game interview. “They had a bad quarter, and it just kind of snowballed them.”

While the score was certainly unexpected, Fischer attributed it to the fact that Oshkosh was in a rhythm, after beating up on UW-Stout earlier in the week.

“I think having the bye sometimes hurts, because you’re a little bit rusty after sitting. We got to play Tuesday, and in some ways that’s a little advantage for us,” he said.

The Warhawks expect to qualify for the National Tournament on Monday, where they find out who they could face. They are anxious to get on with the season, and move on from this loss.

“You can’t let one game define you,” said Raeder.

“There’s so much more that can still happen this season.”

Equan Ards has been making highlights all season for the Warhawk Basketball team, but he saved the best for last by posting a career-high 49 points during the season’s final game against UW-Stout on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Warhawks (7-18 2-12 conf.]) lost to Stout (6-19  2-12 conf.]) by a score of 84-82. 

Ards kept the game close, hitting 21 of 38 shots, including 44 percent from 3-point land. He put an exclamation point on the performance in the first period when he sprung up to grab a rebound and slammed it home, showcasing his athletic ability. In his first season as a Warhawk he has consistently led the team’s offensive efforts. 

The team’s season trudged to a close as the Warhawks experienced their sixth loss of the season coming by two or less points. This lack of poise in big moments has let them down many times in the season, and they will end the season tied with Stout for last in conference. 

Ards’ achievement carries historical weight, as it was the best scoring performance by a Warhawk player, breaking Melvin Brown Jr.’s record of 47 from Jan. 23, 2019. The performance grants Ards instant notoriety in the Warhawk record books, but he’ll be more focused on adding a few more tallies in the win column next season. 

As the season comes to a close, Ards might be the lone strong point from a disappointing Warhawk squad. Without perimeter shooting (29% on the season) and poor defense, the Warhawks have a long way to go under head coach Pat Miller. They’ll be in great shape leaning on Ards, who will be a senior next season, if he can continue his ascension.

     When Joker knocked Inkling off the stage for the final victory, a massive cheer went up in the center of the UC. The crowd of about 75 people put their hands up and made some noise for the culmination of the eight-hour tournament. 

  The Warhawk Esports Club hosted their first ever Tespa-sponsored event on Saturday, Feb. 15 in UC 275, and the Joker v Inkling battle in Smash Ultimate was the last event of the Grand Final, the pinnacle of the action for the evening. While not all 150 members of the crowd stayed that late, the event was still a huge success because of turnout. The final knockout also meant that Cole “Matador” Nemec defeated his rival “Miles” after a bracket reset, and won the grand prize, which included a $180 gaming headset. 

  After running through the field of over 40 smash players, Matador, who is a student here at UWW, had to face Miles in the final event.

  “I usually am a really good player,” said Matador, who plays a wide variety of characters. “I was nervous, but I knew I still had chances to turn it around.”

  Since Miles came over from the loser’s side, it meant he would have to win two matches to be crowned champion. He reached half that goal, putting down Matador’s Capt. Falcon and Banjo Kazooie characters in the first match, forcing a bracket reset.

Matador stayed cool, calm and collected during the bracket rested. He held his spot in the chair in front of the audience, and seemed eager to get back to the game at hand.

  “I was nervous, but I knew I still had chances to turn it around,” said Matador.  

  After the reset, Matador went with Falcon again, and finished off the match getting a KO as Joker which would eventually win him the match. He finished at an astonishing 201% which left him just on the brink of elimination. 

  The event was significant because of all the sponsorships that the Whitewater Esports club received. They promoted the event well, and got sponsorships from Red Bull, Omen, Tespa, and other companies in the gaming world. 

“The turnout today was really really great. You can see how passionate everyone is just being here.”

– Brandi Moy

  “Tespa is a Blizzard subsidiary,” said Jacob Halfman, who was in charge of running the event. “They provide these services in return for pictures. It’s basically an advertising deal.”

  In fact, Tespa even sent a brand representative up from Irvine, Calif. To help administer the event. 

  “As far as I know, this is the first Elite event or big LAN tournament for UW-Whitewater,” said Brandi Moy, Tespa’s representative. She talked about how Whitewater’s Esports club is a member of their Chapter program, which means that Tespa can provide support and help facilitate these sort of events. 

  “When (a team) qualifies to be a Chapter for our program, they can furthermore apply for campaigns. These campaigns are a way for us to supply them with event goodies. The banners, a lot of the Prizing, even social media shoutouts we help them with,” said Moy. 

  The event was well executed, and featured branding from top gaming companies, including Omen, HP’s gaming division. This event saw the club clearly outside their comfort zone, reeling in huge sponsorships and reaping the rewards. Many people came in the beginning of the day, a sign to the faculty and staff that gaming is a serious avenue for students to express their creativity and internal personality. While they never have received SUFAC funding in the past, the Esports team has applied and believe they will be cut in on SUFAC next semester.

There were plenty of other games being played at WEX 2020, including Rocket League, and Overwatch. The latter game saw competitors team up for a 2v2 tournament, which ran even longer than the Smash Ultimate tourney. 

In addition to the handful of games that were being played competitively, there were also screens set up for people to play casually while the action was going on around them. Some were playing Mario Double Dash, and even Halo! 

  Even Chancellor Watson got in on the fun. He arrived as the event was winding down, but still got a chance to go through a VR gaming demonstration, and to see the Grand Finals. He looked proud to cheer on Matador and all the other UWW competitors as they faced off against the best competition the local area has to offer. He stayed until the final knockout, which saw Miles blasted off the left edge and into oblivion. 

  The event was received as a general success, especially considering the amount of people who came to support the Esports Club. 

  “The turnout today was really really great. You can see how passionate everyone is just being here,” said Moy, who flew up from Irvine, California just to attend. 

  As the event wound down Nemec was in the mood to distribute his championship knowledge.   “If you keep practicing, you’re bound to get really good,” said the champion.

This space represents a placeholder where the first blog will be posted.