Movie Review: Les Diaboliques (1955)

Over the summer, Number Two Son is supposed to watch some French movies for his AP French class.  So the other night, he and I settled in to watch Les Diaboliques, a 1955 thriller by Henri-Georges Clouzot, one of the most famous of French directors.  In the United States the film was released with the title Diabolique.  We watched the excellent version put out by the Criterion Collection, which has done such a great job of preserving many high-quality films that are not as well known in this country as they should be.

We had a blast, because this is a great movie.  Les Diaboliques means "The Devils," and the film tells the story of two women who plot against the same man.  The man is Michel Dalassalle, who runs a second-rate boarding school close to Paris.  One of the women is Michel's wife, and the other is his mistress, and both of them work at the school, which Dalassalle runs as a tyrant.  As the film opens, the two women are working on a plan to deal with Michele once and for all.  But something goes wrong, and the tension mounts as the two women argue over what to do next.

I can't say much more than that, because it would be criminal to give away one of the very best movie plots I have ever seen.  Les Diaboliques actually concludes with a plea to the audience not to reveal what happens, and that seems like a fair request to me.  I will only say that Les Diaboliques is often compared to the great Hitchcock movies of the era, and that this comparison is fully justified.  The plot was taken from a story by two French writers:  Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.  Hitchcock later took a different story from the same writers to make Vertigo.  Of the two stories, I think the one for Les Diaboliques is better, and I am certain that if Hitchcock had made this movie, it would be regarded as one of his greatest triumphs.

I realize, of course, that not everyone likes thrillers.  But if you do, and if you would like to have the joy of watching a great thriller that you haven't already seen, then you are in for a treat.

Finally, here's the trailer for Les Diaboliques, which does a better job of capturing what it's like than I can do in this review.

U.S. Open -- Day Two

The Internet is amazing™.

Previous reports:

-- Tournament preview
-- Day One commentary and wrap

U.S. Open -- Day One Wrap-Up

In the run-up to the U.S. Open, there was a lot of nervousness about how Merion Golf Club would hold up to modern equipment, and how the weather would affect play.  Against that background, the first day could hardly have gone better.  Yes, there were some weather issues, and the first round still has three or four hours to go.  But all of the guys who teed off in the morning were able to finish, and the big names in the afternoon played at least eight holes.  As for Merion, today it looked like the Fenway Park of golf -- it's old, it's small, and it's odd, but for today it was an ideal venue for its sport.  If you like the traditional East Coast American golf course, you will not find a much prettier course than Merion's East Course.  And while many U.S. Open courses tend to encourage players to play for one par after another, Merion has a mix of easy and difficult holes that lead to dramatic runs of birdies and bogeys.

The result of all this was one of the most impressive recent leaderboards we've seen at a major tournament.  The top four players on the board are all in the top 12 of the FedEx standings.  And other big names like Lee Westwood (1 under thru 13), Rory McIlroy (even through 11), and Ernie Els (even through 8) are lurking.  Tiger hasn't played well so far (2 over through 11), but even he's not yet out of it.

So there could be a lot of drama ahead.  But if the last day comes down to a battle between Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Webb Simpson, golf fans should be ecstatic.

Here is the top of the leaderboard after Day One:

1.  L. Donald (ENG):  -4 (13 holes)

T2.  P. Mickelson:  -3 (18)
T2.  A. Scott (AUS):  -3 (11)

T4.  W. Simpson:  -2 (8)
T4.  M. Goggin (AUS):  -2 (6)
T4.  A. Presnell (AUS):  -2 (6)

Number One Son, Number Two Son, and I are all in Philly, and we will be out at the tournament tomorrow, so I won't be posting updates during the day.  I'll try to report in tomorrow night.

The Daytona 500, Take Three

I came home to find that Number1Son, Number2Son, and Number3Son are all awake, and all wired over the track explosion. It was a stunning event, which you can see here (at least for now).

But remarkably, the NASCAR people have almost finished their repairs, and they expect to re-start the race tonight. So NASCAR will join baseball in having its major event conclude after midnight on the East Coast.

Everyone is very excited, except for Dave Blaney, who has been leading the Daytona 500 during this red flag because he had not yet taken advantage of the caution to go into the pits.

All credit should go to the emergency crews at Daytona, who did a remarkable job of putting out the fire and repairing the track. And maybe there's a silver lining here. If my sons are representative, nothing promotes NASCAR like giant explosions where no one is hurt.

And Starring Danny Devito, as the Lorax!

According to this article, and the accompanying trailer, any connection between the Lorax movie and the beloved Dr. Seuss book is purely coincidental. Smart Girl and Number 2 Son are extremely annoyed.

Of course, if you really want to watch a Dr. Seuss movie, you should check out The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, which is one of the strangest films ever made.

U.S. Open -- Day 3 Wrap-Up

Notes from a day at the U.S. Open with most of my family:

1. After the usual two-hour commute, we got to the course around 11:20 AM. It was a bright clear day; warm, but not too hot. As the day wore on, we got the sort of hazy cloud cover so common on hot summer afternoons, but it never turned to thunderstorms.

2. Of course, we immediately started at the Trophy Club with another round of concessions. Number 2 Son went for a BBQ brisket sandwich, while Smart Girl stuck with her hot-dog order from yesterday. Smart Mom had what appeared to be a very nice salad, while Number 3 Son had a chocolate chip cookie and a meat-lover's pizza slice. I had my usual two hot dogs. The place was packed as always. I can honestly say that in three days at the U.S. Open, almost every concession stand I saw was absolutely packed. Americans must be the hungriest people on earth.

3. After eating, we set out in search of golf. Smart Mom wanted to see McIlroy, but he didn't tee off until 3:50 PM, which left us with quite a bit of time. We started by going to the 10th hole, which was an absolute madhouse with people everywhere. (The crowds today were simply enormous.) Then we wandered up to the third green, where we watched a few holes. And then we tried the fourth green.

4. By this time, it was getting close to 2 PM and morale was very low among the kids. So we left Smart Mom at the fourth green and went back to the concession stand. This time we got three bottles of Mountain Dew, one bottle of Pepsi, one bottle of water, and four Blue Bunny Lemon Chills. The latter is basically a very tangy, very thick lemon sherbet, and it was excellent.

5. But our location at the fourth green was not ideal. Smart Mom could see the green, but not the hole. Plus spectators were constantly having to work their way around the kids, who had taken to sitting on the ground. So we worked our way over to the second hole. This time we found a perfect location for Smart Mom where she could see the entire green complex, including the hole. Plus, about 50 yards away, between the second and third fairways, was a small cluster of shade trees far enough from either hole that no spectator ever walked there. The kids and I settled into this area, which we called "The Grove." We lay on the grass. We watched the Met Life blimp. We talked about a version of Plants vs. Zombies set at a golf course. I explained to the kids that the Grove symbolized the virtues of rural life; there's not as much to do or see in the country, but folks leave you alone and let you live as you please. Number 3 Son later decided that the Grove was the high point of the day, and that the trees were happy to have had someone finally sit under them. (Smart Girl and Number 2 Son went with the Trophy Club as the high point.)

6. Finally, at around 4 PM, it was time for McIlroy. We left the Grove and strolled over to the 2d fairway. We saw him hit his drive, watched him walk up to the green, and then headed over to the ropes used to mark a path from the 2d green to the 3d tee. We knew from past experience that the golfers would have to walk along that path -- and so we were within a few feet of McIlroy as he headed to the 3d tee. After watching his tee shot, we met up with Smart Mom and headed for home.

7. Of course, we had to make one more stop at the Trophy Club. Brownies, cookies, fruit and Pepsi were the order of the day, as we restored ourselves for the homeward journey. And then we went to the merchandise pavilion, where Number 2 Son got two polo shirts, Smart Girl and Smart Mom got tee shirts, and Number 3 Son said he didn't need anything.

8. We ended up getting home about 7:30 PM. All in all, it was an excellent day, and I am already curious about the possibilities of getting to the 2013 Open in Philadelphia.

9. As far as I could tell, the crowd today was very pro-McIlroy. This makes sense, as all of us in Washington tend to be very good at spotting when a new leader is on the horizon and in rallying behind that leader.

10. Oh, and the South abides. While on the course I saw people wearing gear from 10 of the 12 SEC schools; the only ones I couldn't find were LSU and Mississippi State.

11. There's really not much to say about the golf until after the fourth round, at which point I have a feeling that there will be quite a few things to say. For now, I will simply note that we are on the verge of a new era in golf history:

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -14 (65+66+68=199)

2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -6 (68+69+70=207)

T3. R. Garrigus: -5 (70+70+68=208)

T3. J. Day (AUS): -5 (71+72+65=208)

T3. L. Westwood (ENG): -5 (75+68+65=208)

T6. S. Garcia (ESP): -4 (69+71+69=209)

T6. M. Kuchar: -4 (72+68+69=209)

T6. F. Jacobsen (SWE): -4 (74+69+66=209)

9. K. Kim (KOR): -3 (69+72+69=210)

T10. D. Love III: -2 (70+71+70=211)

T10. H. Slocum: -2 (71+70+70=211)

T10. B. Jobe: -2 (71+70+70=211)

T10. H. Stenson (SWE): -2 (70+72+69=211)

T10. B. Van Pelt: -2 (76+67+68=211)

U.S. Open -- Day 2 Wrap-Up

There were a number of short thunderstorms this afternoon, so there are still a very small number of groups that haven't finished the second round. To be honest, none of these people matters. At this point, the only thing that matters is whether Rory McIlroy can finally capture the major title that his talents clearly merit. If he does, and given that he's only 22 years old, then I think he may make a run at Nicklaus's major record himself.

Jeff Overton went 72+72=144 and is only two over par and in a tie for 33d place. He made the cut.

Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho went 76+73=149, which left him in a tie for 97th. He missed the cut, but he will feel good about his effort.

Other players of interest who are projected to miss the cut include Rickey Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Paul Casey (ENG), Stewart Cink (who shot 70 yesterday and 77 today), Ian Poulter (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA), David Toms, Jim Furyk, Angel Cabrera (ARG), and K.J. Choi (KOR).

Here are scores of prominent players who will likely make the cut but who are out of the top 10: Charl Schwartzel (RSA) and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) are both at even par; Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood (ENG) are at one over; Padraig Harrington (IRE), Martin Kaymer (GER), and Steve Stricker are at two over; Retief Goosen (RSA), Dustin Johnson, Luke Donald (ENG), Bubba Watson and Anthony Kim are all at four over.

Here is the leaderboard:

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -11 (65+66=131)

2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -5 (68+69=137)

T3. R. Garrigus: -2 (70+70=140)

T3. B. Snedeker: -2 (70+70=140)

T3. M. Kuchar: -2 (72+68=140)

T3. Z. Johnson: -2 (71+69=140)

T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (69+71=140)

T8. A. Quiros (ESP): -1 (70+71=141)

T8. R. Palmer: -1 (69+72=141)

T8. K. Kim (KOR): -1 (69+72=141)

T8. R. Rock (ENG): -1 (70+71=141)

T8. H. Slocum: -1 (71+70=141)

T8. D. Love III: -1 (70+71=141)

T8. B. Jobe: -1 (71+70=141)

Oh, and coverage tomorrow will be delayed as Smart Mom and Number 3 Son will be joining Number 2 Son, Smart Girl, and myself at Congressional.

U.S. Open Day 1 Wrap-Up

Once again, it appears that the most interesting story of a major tournament will be the battle between Rory McIlroy and Rory McIlroy. Who will prevail, the incredible shotmaker who is clearly the most talented player since Tiger Woods, or the amazing choker who has shot at least one round in the 80s in two of the last three majors? I don't think anyone can catch McIlroy if he's on his game, but he can certainly beat himself.

As for the so-called American challenge, that is over. If anything, the gap between the American golfers and the rest of the world is getting larger and larger. Congressional is exactly the type of course on which American golfers used to have an advantage. Now there's only one American in the top 10. In fact, only 7 of the 21 golfers who broke par today was an American.

Oh, and Charl Schwartzel is only three shots off the lead. Since 1960, here are the golfers who have won the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year: Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), and Tiger Woods (2002). That's it, that's the list. If Schwartzel does it, and heads off to Britain holding the first two legs of the Grand Slam, it would be one of the great golf stories of all time.

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -6 (65)

T2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -3 (68)
T2. C. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (68)

T4. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (69)
T4. R. Palmer: -2 (69)
T4. K. Kim (KOR): -2 (69)
T4. L. Oosthuizen (RSA): -2 (69)
T4. S. Hend (AUS): -2 (69)
T4. A. Rocha (BRA): -2 (69)

Oh, and Chris Williams finished with a five-over par 76 that leaves him in a tie for 111th place. He has some work to do in order to make the cut.

One more thing: there will be no updates from this desk for most of the day tomorrow, as the head of the HP NoVA desk will be taking Number 2 Son and Smart Girl to Congressional to watch some golf.

Number3Son's Top 10 Villains: Part II

(Number3Son, my eight-year-old, continues his list of villains.)

Hello, folks, I'm back. Sorry the list isn't done, but it's about to continue.

Enjoy. And with that said, let's continue.

7. Flusifer
The villain of Rocket Slime, this villain is trying to destroy Boingburg, the capital of Slimeia. He has been trying to eliminate a heroic slime as he proportions attacks and not only a group of monsters called the Plob is attacking Boingburg. But he {Flusifer} doesn't die.

6. Jafar and Iago
Jafar is Agrabah's true friend. Since he doesn't die in the first Aladdin, he does in the second. He clutches two scarab beetle parts, which causes the magical Cave of Wonders to rise, and one of Jafar's servants goes in. But the cave says only a "diamond in the rough" can enter. (Aladdin is my brother Number1Son's favorite Disney hero. He also likes "Beauty and the Beast," but enough with Number1Son.) It's time to talk about Jafar. If you want to learn about him, WATCH THE ALADDIN MOVIES!

5. Gaston
Gaston is the villain of "Beauty and the Beast." The dream of his life is that he marries Belle, but it will never come true. Later in the movie, this proves he's evil: he decides to kill the Beast! Number1 and 2 sons think he's a jerk, but he is not! He uses a tree to break down the castle gates and succeeds, but after that, few of his Frenchmen survive! In the door, he waits to fire. What I like is the real fight because it takes place in the rain. He dies.

4. Green Goblin
One of Spider-Man's villains, the Green Goblin is a good villain. He's probably better in the books than the movies because in the movies he's just Willem Defoe in a mecha-goblin suit (though Number1 son thinks he's beter in the movies!) He also has such a thing as stun-bombs, but what can stop ol' Spidey twice? Nothing! However, he uses other deadly tricks, even his flying broomstick! But, he is not one of the Sinister Six who appear in a Spider-Man comic book I read, needless to say.

Video Game Reviews: Number 1 Son's Pokemon Dream Team

From Number 1 son:

493. As of Generation IV of Pokemon, there are 493 Pokemon (we've come a long way from the original 151, haven't we?). Of these, you must choose six. Six Pokemon with which you will battle the Elite Four and the Champion.

Now, you almost never have all 493 available, and typically you can only catch somewhere between 150-200 before you fight the Elite Four (afterwards you are able to get many more Pokemon). Even with this reduced number of prospects, it is not an easy choice. These Pokemon must have good stats, and the team as a whole must have a balanced combination of types, so that one type cannot wipe all of them out.

Even once you choose the six, however, there are more choices to make. Each Pokemon can use a total of four moves, out of hundreds, if not thousands. With these you have to balance power, accuracy, PP (stands for "power points"; indicates how often you can use the move), and type. Finally, there are a huge number of items that Pokemon can hold for benefits, but each Pokemon can only hold one.

Even with all of the planning, however, you have to then go out and catch and raise the Pokemon to good levels so that they can do well against your foes (theoretically, you could trade all of the Pokemon in fully trained from one of your friends, but that is just lame).

Now, as I mentioned before, most of the time you do not have access to all of the Pokemon. In fact, some of the Pokemon that are available can become unavailable (you get to choose one starter, the other two will become unavailable without trading). But, what if you had access to all Pokemon? All 493. Which would you choose to fight against any and all foes? It is a question I am sure that many Pokemon fans have turned over at least once. As my excitement and anticipation are not likely to subside until I have my hands on one of the new games coming out tomorrow, I have decided to share my choices, my Dream Team, if you will.

Here are some notes before I begin. For one thing, none of these Pokemon are legendary, because legendary Pokemon are obscenely powerful and I don't use them. Also, I feel like you should know a little bit about my playing style. I tend to play very fast, and so my Pokemon tend to emphasize speed and power, working on the theory that they will not have to take very much damage if I can prevent the other side's Pokemon from ever getting a turn. With regard to the information I will provide, I will tell you the number (I will give them in numerical order), their type, moves, held item, any other important information, and finally an explanation as to why they are on my team and ways that I am considering making changes. Also note that while I do know about many of the Generation V Pokemon and have started making plans, I know little about how they play compared to the other Pokemon (since the games have not come out yet), so this list has only Pokemon from Generations I-IV. (One final note, all images are from Bulbapedia, this is the link) So, with that said, let's get on with the show.

6. Charizard (Fire/Flying)

Moves: Heat Wave (Fire)

Air Slash (Flying)

Solarbeam (Grass)

Blast Burn (Fire)

Held Item: Charcoal (increases the power of fire moves by 1.5 times)

Any fan of the TV show knows Charizard, because next to Pikachu it was Ash's best Pokemon (both in terms of ability and in terms of awesomeness). It is just as good in the games (although the TV show's version's signature move, Seismic Toss, is not nearly as powerful in the games). Charizard is the fully evolved version of the very first Fire-type starter, Charmander. Charizard has very high Speed and Special Attack (the stat which governs the power of ranged attacks), making him perfect for burning the opponent off of the field before they can do anything. With Charcoal powering up his fire moves, Blast Burn (the most powerful Fire move, which is exclusive to Fire-type starters) becomes ridiculously strong, and can even do significant damage to Water types (unadvised unless you are desperate, it leaves Charizard vulnerable). Solarbeam is in there to cover Charizard's weaknesses. It is super-effective against both Water and Rock types, Charizard's two major downfalls (especially Rock, which does four-times damage). Unfortunately, it has to charge up for a turn, leaving Charizard open to attack. I would change this if I could, but Charizard can learn no other Grass moves.

25. Pikachu (Electric)

Moves: Thunderbolt (Electric)

Thunder (Electric)

Iron Tail (Steel)

Grass Knot (Grass)

Held Item: Light Ball (doubles Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack stats)

Even if you didn't know about Charizard, you should definitely know about Pikachu. By far the most famous Pokemon and the mascot of the franchise, Pikachu is somewhat unique in my team. For one thing, it is the only member that is not fully evolved (yes, fans of the TV show, I have followed Ash's example, and refuse to evolve Pikachu into its final form). For this reason, Pikachu's stats (apart from Speed) are not very good, although its offensive stats are decent. However, you can remedy this problem in a number of ways. One is to use a Light Ball, like I do. I highly recommend this, as you will be struggling to use Pikachu without one. As you can see, it doubles Pikachu's offensive stats, which often gives him the highest offensive stats on my team (Gyarados, beware, your doom is at hand). It can be hard to acquire a Light Ball, since wild Pikachu are the only source, and they only have a 5% chance of having one (the first time I went after one it took three months and untold amounts of money, to the point that I still think the Safari Zone in Pokemon Emerald should have been named after me; to compound my frustration, my brother Number2Son tried for about two hours and found TWO!). The other option is to use all of your vitamins (items which raise both a stat and the rate at which that stat increases) on Pikachu (hey, I may not want to use legends, but I have no problem with putting my Pokemon on steroids). The reason I have two similar moves (Thunderbolt and Thunder) is that Thunder, while powerful, hates me and is prone to missing (I could remedy this by teaching Pikachu Rain Dance, which makes Thunder always hit, but in my experience, Pikachu will not last long enough to waste a turn setting up an attack). As an Electric type, Pikachu is only weak to Ground types, on whom his Electric attacks have no effect. So, I added Grass Knot and Iron Tail. Grass Knot does damage based on how heavy the target Pokemon is, and Ground types tend to be very heavy. As for Iron Tail, Ground types also tend to be only part Ground, while also being another type, especially Rock, which Iron Tail is good against. This is subject to change, however, and oftentimes I consider replacing Iron Tail with the less powerful but more accurate Brick Break, which is Fighting type and would therefore have an advantage over other types.

131. Lapras (Water/Ice)

Moves: Ice Beam (Ice)

Psychic (Psychic)

Surf (Water)

Hyper Beam (Normal)

Held Item: Mystic Water (increases the power of Water moves by 1.5 times)

Lapras is the last of my Pokemon from the first generation of Pokemon, and somewhat different. Lapras is much more defensive than most of the other Pokemon on my team, with decent attack stats and is probably the slowest Pokemon on my team. However, it is a Special tank, able to withstand tons of punishment from ranged attacks, due to its high HP and Special Defense. As for its moves, Surf is the only one on my Dream Team that comes from an HM (a move that you can use outside of battle for special effects, such as crossing water; I made my Dream Team based on the assumption that HMs were unnecessary), because it is my favorite Water type move. Ditto (not the Pokemon) for Ice Beam, except with Ice. Psychic is on my list because it is powerful against Fighting types, who gain an advantage through Lapras's Ice type. As for Hyper Beam, which is a Normal type version of Blast Burn (or technically, the other way around, since Hyper Beam came first) it is just to give Lapras some added punch when needed. Strangely, however, Lapras is actually weak to Rock, a type whose primary weakness is Water (again due to the Ice type). Since Lapras is slower, there is a chance that a Rock move could get in and cause serious damage (and you would not believe how often that happens; why are there so many Rock-type Pokemon?). For this reason, I occasionally actually consider taking Lapras off of my team in favor of a different Water Pokemon, such as Blastoise or Swampert. However, these are nothing more than thoughts for now, as Lapras is still a very good Pokemon, and has saved my rear end countless times, mostly in those situations where I find it impossible to blitz the other guy.

254. Sceptile (Grass)

Moves: Leaf Blade (Grass)

Frenzy Plant (Grass)

Dragon Pulse (Dragon)

Rock Slide (Rock)

Held Item: Miracle Seed (increases the power of Grass types moves by 1.5 times)

Sceptile is the fully evolved form of the Generation III Grass type starter. It is one of my favorite Pokemon, probably due to its similarities to Charizard. Its main problem, however, stems from its moveset. You see, the Grass type, while one of the most useful, is very hard to get, becuase most of the Grass Pokemon are really bad, and those that aren't have bad moves. Take Sceptile: of the moves I list, only Leaf Blade is a move that Sceptile learns naturally. Two of the others are obtained by TMs (items that teach moves to a Pokemon that it could not ordinarily learn). Frenzy Plant is the fourth move and like Blast Burn (they are statistically identical except for type), can only be taught to a Grass starter by special NPCs. The other main problem with Sceptile is that most of its moves are physical, while its Special Attack is better. However, its Attack stat (which governs the power of physical attacks) is pretty good, and the two moves that use it (Leaf Blade and Rock Slide) make up for it (Leaf Blade has a good chance of doing double damage, and Rock Slide has a good chance of preventing the other Pokemon from moving). Rock Slide is used to counter all of Sceptile's weaknesses (Fire, Bug, Flying, Ice) with one fell swoop. Dragon Pulse is there to give Sceptile some variety. It uses special attack and makes Sceptile a good choice for a Dragon type killer (yeah, the Dragon type is so powerful that it had to be weak against itself).

376. Metagross (Steel/Psychic)

Moves: Meteor Mash (Steel)

Zen Headbutt (Psychic)

Earthquake (Ground)

Giga Impact (Normal)

Held Item: Metal Coat (increases the power of Steel moves by 1.5)

Yeah, it looks that awesome. Metagross is sort of the best of both worlds: both extremely powerful, physically (its Attack stat is through the roof), and a tank (its Defense is also great). Its other stats are also very good. So, with Metagross you have a slower Pokemon, which will get hit, but won't take that much damage, and will make the opponent wish that it was somewhere else. Meteor Mash is a powerful Steel type move, and Zen Headbutt is a physical Psychic move (yeah, try to make sense of that). Giga Impact is a a physical version of Hyper Beam, and is there so that Metagross can launch the opponent into next year (although it can only be learned with one of the most annoying TMs to try and get). Earthquake is there to eliminate the Fire types, one of Metagross's only weaknesses. Earthquake is one of the strongest moves in all of Pokemon, with great power, great accuracy, and no downsides whatsoever. Not really anything to change here, since Metagross is one of the most powerful Pokemon ever.

448. Lucario (Fighting/Steel)

Moves: Aura Sphere (Fighting)

Flash Cannon (Steel)

Water Pulse (Water)

Dark Pulse (Dark)

Held Item: Black Belt (increases the power of Fighting moves by 1.5 times)

The only member of my team from Generation IV, Lucario was the first Generation IV Pokemon we knew about, and I can see why they used it as the face of the new Generation. Lucario is awesome, and unique for a fighting type, because its Special Attack is slightly better than its Attack. Its moveset is also very good, and these are only a few of the possibilities, although many of its other moves would work. Aura Sphere is a ranged Fighting move, and one of my personal favorites, due to the fact that it never misses (ever) and is very powerful. Also, from what I read, Aura Sphere is an attack that consists of Lucario throwing its own life force at you (with no apparent ill effects). Flash Cannon is also decently powerful, and rounds Lucario out a bit. Water Pulse is very good because it takes out Ground and Fire, Lucario's main weaknesses. Dark Pulse is there to counter Ghost and Psychic types, since no one else on my team really gets an advantage over them. As I said earlier, any of these moves could easily be replaced (although I wouldn't replace Aura Sphere). One possibility is Return, a move that increases in power the more a Pokemon likes you (it can get REALLY powerful). This is good because Lucario can only be obtained by evolving a Pokemon that only evolves when you make it like you enough.

So, that's the six Pokemon I would choose to fight against any one and everyone. You may be asking, how good can these Pokemon be? Well, I would point out that only two of my Pokemon (Pikachu and Sceptile), are never used by a Pokemon League Champion (although Pikachu is used by Red, the greatest Pokemon trainer ever; by the way, he uses a Light Ball). Now, naturally, this team has its flaws, but Pokemon evolve, and so do teams of Pokemon. As Generation V increases the number of Pokemon to 649, we'll have all new choices, and will continue to get new choices as the franchise continues.

Who knows? Perhaps one day I'll do a post with some of those Pokemon on them.