I have! It's a really good book. That's probably because Neil Gaiman is a really good author.

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is by far the best novel I have ever read. Although, the sequel just came out, so I might have to revise that statement soon.
2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
3. The Discworld Novels by Sir Terry Pratchett
4. The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings
5. Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly

Actually don't worry about the Iron Ball, you'll have a low enough speed without it.

Hi, I'm Shadowfred, I'm 18 and I live in Australia.

I want to join the balance team to help as I feel that the current balance in pokemon is... unbalanced, I suppose. Very few pokemon in the higher tiers of competitive battling feels quite bland to me, especially when there are so many other pokemon out there.

I know alot about competative Gen IV and I am currently updating my knowlege about the new Gen V pokemon, moves and changes. I have good math skills and I know how to use the tools listed in the application form; Smogon, Bulbapedia and Damage Calculators. I have used Shoddy Battle before and more recently have been using Pokemon Online to try out Gen V strategies.

Active in our IRC channel - Can do.
Minimum age is 18 years - I am 18 (almost 19)
Living in European timezone - No (Australia), although I am pretty much online while I am awake.
A "can-do" and "get-it-done" mentality - Yes
Good Pokémon knowledge (including, stats and moves) - Yes

Here is the pokemon I have decided to balance.

Pokemon: Electrode
Type: Electric
Current Tier: NU
Reasons for this placement: The reason Electrode is in NU is, despite it's extremely high base speed, it has a lacklustre movepool containing a majority of physical attacks and poor type coverage. It is also weak to ground moves, making it difficult to defend against many pokemon.
Stealth Rock Removal: Removing stealth rock will not affect Electrode.

Buff or Nerf? Buff
Explain the Change: It is both a change to stats and a change to moveset.

Old Stats:
HP: 60
Atk: 50
Def: 70
SpA: 80
SpD: 80
Spe: 140

Stat Related Damage Calculations:

Proposed Stats:
HP: 60 (0)
Atk: 100 (+50)
Def: 80 (+10)
SpA: 70 (-10)
SpD: 50 (-30)
Spe: 140

Reasons for Stat Changes:
HP: I was considering buffing HP by 10 to allow for better use of static, but I decided that the Def increase was enough.
Atk: As Electrode has a majority of physical attacks in it's movepool, increased emphasis on attack allows for better use of Electrode's moves, this gives a good buff to explosion, sucker punch and other moves that were not viable before.
Def: A slight increase to def allows for a little extra protection against physical moves, which also allows for Static to be more effective as more hits can be taken.
SpA: There is only a slight decrease in SpAtk because although Electrode is now a more physical attacker, it will still be able to use moves like signal beam and thunder(bolt) to some effect.
SpD: As Electrode is now more oriented towards the physical side of things, it reinforces the idea that it is meant to attack first and avoid taking damage from special attackers.
Spe: -

Stat Related Damage Calculations:

Movepool Changes + Reasons

+Thunderpunch - To give Electrode a better STAB'ed physical move than Spark and an alternative to the recoil damage from Wild Charge, assuming Wild Charge is being added for gen V.
+Iron Head - This is to give a little extra type variety in Electrode's movepool as Gyro Ball is not a viable move for Electrode, who will still have 284 speed minimum.

Ability Changes + Reasons
-