#&& think that's a big step up for koga

[wildwoof]

Also how Adonis said the reason UNDEAD never tried anything new from their original style was due to how adamant Koga was about sticking to their immoral style, most likely barks & yells about it. It deals with Koga's clear desire to keep him comfortable in a space he knows. But, this also puts into effect how clearly Rei took Koga's feelings into account. As the leader, he could have still gone through with any of the prior suggestions for additions or changes, but when Koga spoke up about being against it, they wouldn't do it. That'd be the end of it. Sure, Koga might've still fought against it, as it'd not be his safe space, but after all, the leader's word goes & more than likely Koga was the only one opposed to anything. Yet, Rei took Koga into consideration into the decision not to do it.

Thus, it's huge progress for Koga to finally be willing to learn & adapt different styles recently with Adonis' to-the-point words of wisdom getting through Koga's thick skull. To adapt UNDEAD to not get left behind & allow their growth as a unit to blossom forward. Adonis being more talkative now to keep Koga settled is a big help since at the moment Rei can't talk to him.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Being in a relationship with Gaoh Ryuki...

( Disclaimer: This is going to have darker tones to it, Reader is from the Inside, and well... We know how awful the inside is, especially for women :) )

Y/N smiled passively, listening to music loud enough to tune out the world as she walked to Yamashita-san's company. As usual, she managed to successfully skip class, so she decided to have her lunch with the old man, whom she sees close to a father figure. Needless to say, though she was so young, she felt the most at home around the old CEO, his secretaries and all the Kengan Fighters, since very young, when she first got involved in the Underground world.

Fixing her cute summer dress, she knocked on the door of his office, and entered. "Yo, Yamashita-san, I brought my famous bento lunch! Let's eat together today!" she spoke cheerfully, only to freeze upon making eye contact with a familiar face. Though she wasn't greeted by the manager himself, she saw her classmate, Koga, bored out of his mind and rather frustrated. She wanted to laugh in his face - She almost couldn't believe he finally managed to get himself in relation to the Underground after so long; But what caught her attention was that brunet man, looking absent-minded. "OH MY GOD, OHMA, YOU'RE ALIVE!" she squealed cheerfully, the lunch pack falling to the ground as she jump-hugged the man, holding him tightly. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I KNEW YOU COULDN'T BE DEAD! I KNEW IT! YOU'RE TOO STRONG TO DIE, OHMA!" the man didn't speak a word, bewildered, but unable to voice any kind of protest out of shock and confusion. Koga was long since forgotten, yet it was Yamashita Kazuo who cleared her throat, and in the gentlest voice, called out to Y/N. "Y/N... I'm sorry, that's not Ohma. Look again." Y/N froze, and in that moment, the stranger placed his hands gently on her shoulders, pulling her at arms' length, so she could take a better look at his face - Indeed, that wasn't Ohma, but by hell, he looked like they could be twins, or at least a younger brother. "Oh no... You're right... You're not Ohma... But you look so much like him... But you're a bit shorter, and your body isn't as buffed up. Even your hair is a little longer and lighter in shade. Your eyes too... They are dark, but gentler. I should have known better... You couldn't be Tokita Ohma's younger brother by any chance, can you?" she tried, but the boy shook his head, earning a sigh from her. "Sorry to disappoint, miss, but I hope you see this Ohma again some day. My name is Gaoh Ryuki, and I'm here to become a Kengan fighter." Y/N looked up at him, unable to break eye contact, and she smiled. "Yeah, I can see that, alright. You are going to fit very well in this matches. I can feel these things, y'know?" she giggled playfully - Not only was she sure any person with the last name 'Gaoh' would be an excellent fighter, but a survivor of the Inside like himself was sure to make it big in an underground fighting arena. "My name is Y/N L/N, it's lovely meeting you, Ryuki. And I'm sorry again for mistaking you for someone else, that was unnecessarily rude of me."

"Hey, are you just going to ignore me?!" Koga's voice made both Y/N and Ryuki look at him. "How'd you get here, anyway?!" "Question is, how did YOU get here." Y/N chuckled teasingly. "I've been associated with the Kengan Association since I was 10 years old. I have to say, it was rather hilarious seeing you stumble around, trying to find your way to the underground. Gave me quite the laughter." "Wh-What?! How could you -- Hey, why didn't you tell me?! You knew how much I wanted to get in the underground!" Koga frowned, stomping in front of her like a little brat throwing a tantrum. "Why? I think that's obvious, isn't it?" Y/N gave him a wicked smirk, completely shocking the boy, who only knew her as that kind and sweet girl who could do no harm. "It's because you would die the second you stepped inside the arena!" she laughed mockingly at him. "There's no way someone like you, as you are now, could POSSIBLY compete with those MONSTERS!" she turned around properly, stepping in front of him, dangerously close, as if to provoke him. "In fact - You couldn't even defeat ME, let alone an actual fighter!" "What the heck, Y/N, are you trying to challenge me to a fight or what?!" based on her impish, mischievous smirk, the short-tempered boy only got angrier. Before he even got the chance to react, however, he found himself being thrown into the shelf, the whole world rotating aggressively with him. "Yes. I was challenging you. If you can't even react fast enough to defend yourself against a girl, you stand no chance, Koga. You have to gain experience and train properly if you ever want to make a proper debut." Koga seemed to be mumbling, pissed off but unable to protest after what happened. The poor manager was freaking out a little, concerned for the silver haired boy's well-being. "Well, Y/N, Koga is now Yamashita Co.'s apprentice, so he won't fight in an official match any time soon. As you said, he needs to get prepared. As for Ryuki, he is going to become an official fighter." the old man spoke in his usual gentle voice. "Sounds about right. Where does Ryuki stay?" it might seem like a peculiar question, but the old manager knew very well the reason behind it. "Both Ryuki and Koga are staying over at my place." he explained simply. "How about that. Ryuki, would you like to stay over at my place? I bet it gets rather crowded at the old man's place." Ryuki looked attentively in the sly girl's eyes, and he could easily pick up on the undertone behind her proposal. With a quick look at the old man, seeking approval, Ryuki smiled innocently and agreed.

Y/N didn't wait to hear Koga's yells of protest, for she hooked her arm to Ryuki's and guided him out of there, enjoying a nice walk all the way to her home.

"What is it that you wanted to speak with me?" Y/N smiled, hearing his words. "Ah, pretty AND smart, I like it." she chuckled leisurely. "I know you're from the Inside - Surely, you know that about myself also. I didn't want to reveal it in front of Koga, he doesn't get these things. He is too... Innocent." "I noticed." he nodded his head. "Have you gotten out of the Inside recently?" she asked softly, and he affirmed. "Did you have anyone to teach you how to read and write?" he shook his head. "And do you want to?" "I suppose that could be useful." he shrugged his shoulders absent-minded. "I got adopted when I was 10 years old, and we escaped. Mum was super smart, and she started studying and became a CEO. Dad became her fighter. I had the privilege of leading a rather beautiful life for the second half of my life." soon, they arrived in front of a large mansion, with a beautiful flower garden and an outside pool. Ryuki could only stare, mesmerised at the lush opulence displayed before him. "Please, make yourself at home. Dad's going to love you." "Y/N... This is really too much." Ryuki mumbled, feeling a little uncomfortable. "I know, it took a while to get used to it - For all of us - But, you know... We deserve it, after what we've gone through, don't you think?" the boy looked at her with a small yet appreciative smile. He couldn't say that he went through that many atrocious things to begin with, but he wasn't blind to the suffering of the others who hadn't the privilege of being adopted by a man to care for them and teach them how to fight. He couldn't imagine what Y/N went through, but at least now, she was fine.

✩ Here, at your home, you taught Ryuki how to read and write.

✩ You often hung around with him and Koga for pubs, restaurants, shopping and what not - Though obviously, Y/N paid for everything, as she was the only one actually earning money to begin with.

✩ Though Ryuki needn't glasses, he got a fashion pair, and you thought he looked adorable.

✩ Also, you loved buying him all the most ridiculous and cute Tshirts and sweaters.

✩ He even agreed to have matching outfits!

✩ You could completely understand why he spoke so freely about killing, and his lack of remorse - You were the same, and unfortunately, you always end up indulging him, without realising.

✩ Life on the Inside left a powerful mark on both of your lives, and even though you left that place physically, a part of you will always be affected by the time spent there, fending for yourselves.

✩ It wasn't until Himuro pointed it out to you, that you realised your lack of care of the life of others wasn't exactly normal behaviour.

✩ You, Himuro and Ryuki ended up pairing up, while Kaneda took Koga to Seki's Wrestling arena, to train.

✩ When the Kengan vs Purgatory Tournament was announced, you assigned your Dad to be one of the original fighters, along with Gaolang and Dad's best friend, Wakatsuki.

✩ You could tell that Ryuki was being just polite with you, at least at the beginning - There was a shallowness and emptiness to his smile, but with time, and your mutual hatred for the Worms, you started feeling some trust in one another.

✩ You cheered for him when he went to fight Jose in the wrestling ring, and even kissed his cheek as a victory prize, to which he smiled like a cute puppy getting a treat.

✩ You were impressed with his way of explaining the footwork game to Koga, and played the referee for them - It was easy for you to understand Ryuki's words, and even wanted to play with him yourself, it looked like a lot of fun, though Koga was getting a little frustrated.

✩ He couldn't understand Ryuki as well as you did, and you often had to translate it in easier words for him.

✩ Koga took Ryuki shopping again, and though he tried to get him to adopt a super cool street style, well, Ryuki definitely preferred something more comfortable and cute.

✩ Ryuki even admitted to you that it was rather fun hanging out with Koga once in a while, though he was a little weird.

✩ When the two boys were taken to the Purgatory to explore a little, you refused to go, out of sheer ego and arrogance.

✩ Over the time, Ryuki began confessing to you about his active effort in eliminating the Worms, and you supported him whole-heartedly; They had to be eliminated forever.

✩ This time, however, Koga witnessed his killing, and Ryuki couldn't understand why he was to upset and angry at him - Didn't he know how evil the Worms are?

✩ You try to explain to him that Koga is completely unfamiliar with the way the Inside works, and even the Underground, and that he shouldn't take it too heart, he'll get over it eventually.

✩ You even tried to talk to Koga, but he outright refused to listen to anything you said in Ryuki's defense.

✩ When you heard that Ryuki's proper employment match was against Akoya, you shuddered in deep fear and tried to reason with Yamashita, but there was nothing he could do.

✩ You told Ryuki about how much of a psychopath monster Akoya is, and how terrifying he can get, but he only smiled brightly at you, kissing your cheek and reassuring you that he'll win - For you.

✩ You have no idea when you started caring so much for Ryuki, but watching him getting brutalized by Akoya made your eyes sting with forming tears, and your heart was aching, the same way as when you watched Cosmo getting tortured by him.

✩ When you saw Ryuki stopping himself from delivering a killing blow, despite being mounted, on the ground, and vulnerable, you realised that Koga's words affected him so much that he allowed himself to get hit until he lost consciousness.

✩ "LEAVE HIM ALONE, AKOYA!" you yelled at him, jumping over the gate and grabbing his wrist as Paula the referee announced the match over. Thankfully, Katahara's bodyguards were there to aid you in stopping that psycho from killing Ryuki.

✩ You immediately knelt by Ryuki's side, helping him stand, and took a handkerchief to wipe away the blood caking his face, before pulling him into an embrace, his face cradled to your soft chest.

✩ If it weren't for the blood on his face, he would have blushed at the proximity.

✩ After the fight, you allowed him and Koga to make up, all alone, though you remained with Yamashita and Kaede, lowkey spying on them, happy that they were finally getting better.

✩ For the next month until the Purgatory fight, you watched Ryuki train in your courtyard, sometimes sparring with your Dad and getting better and better with each fight.

✩ And your Dad ended up liking his so much, that they have a Father-Son relationship of sorts, which almost gets you jealous. Just kidding, they are adorable.

✩ It was the first time you told someone of your Mum's tragic death, and how you had to take over as the CEO at barely 13 years of age; Though your Dad took it the hardest, and never recovered from the loss.

✩ You told him how you were an orphan at first and how you have no idea how you survived until the age of 5 in the worst district known to mankind, Rikuko, before a mafioso kidnapped you, trafficked you and pimped you out until the age of 10, when one of the newer prostitutes along with a client rescued you and took you as their own, with the wish of escaping this hell.

✩ It wasn't an easy escape, and you continued being in danger until you stepped foot over the custom line - And even then, you lived in poverty until your Mum's smarts and Dad's prowess landed you with a whole goldmine and a life of luxury.

✩ You even admitted to Ryuki only that you're still actually afraid of sleeping by yourself, and you don't feel safe even in your own home, despite the guards on the premises.

✩ Since then, Ryuki offered to sleep in the same room with you.

✩ Initially, he wanted to sleep on the ground, unable to look at your beautiful body wearing only a thin and short nightgown.

✩ When you pull him to bed and cuddle with him though, he's completely lost in the warmth and holds you to his chest without any seconds thoughts.

✩ Sleeping together like this becomes more natural for you than anything else.

✩ Sometimes, when he thinks you're asleep, he'll whisper sweet things into your ear, or play with your hair absent-minded, or kiss your forehead; All these things calm him down so much, though he doesn't know why.

✩ Your Dad always jokes about how cute you two are together, and how you'll end up getting married soon.

✩ You have cute dates just strolling around the park, enjoying a coffee at the cafe, or rollerblading around idly.

✩ Or, at night, he'd show you fun 'games' that his grandpa used to help him train, and considering the Gaoh style is more or less proclaimed a coward style, Ryuki thought it would be useful for you to learn, in case you got attacked and needed a quick escape.

✩ When you were told that Yamashita and Koga got attacked and the boy was in hospital, you quickly took the car and drove that way, only for the door to swing open and see, this time, the real Ohma.

✩ "OHMA!" the same as with Ryuki, you jumped on Ohma, this time, 100% sure it was the real one. The man patted your head, smiling down at you - He knew how much you missed him, even though you only met during the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, but with the amount of times he saved you from Rihito's harassing, he became as good as your elder brother. Not to mention, you always cheered and bet on his fights, especially after he destroyed Raian.

✩ Though, the pyscho Kure devil was also fun to hang around, but even better to tease - Yet it always backfired tenfold.

✩ Despite how friendly you were with the two fighters, Ryuki couldn't stand how they were telling Koga to give up on the idea of joining the competition - You had to agree with them though, despite how much he's worked out in the past half a year, he was still nowhere near the level of the veteran legends of the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, which represented most of the roster to begin with.

✩ Both you and Raian had to point out, more or less, that Ohma simply meant he couldn't participate for the moment, especially with all those injuries, and Narushima seemed rather emboldened by it.

✩ Ryuki was in a gloomy mood the whole night though, and you couldn't snap him out of it until you were sent to the island where the Tournament was taking place.

✩ You were so happy to see most of your old friends again, and made sure to have nice conversations with all of them, especially with Misasa, with whom you shared a fighting style. Small and cute people like you had to defend yourselves somehow!

✩ Of course, for the first fight, everyone had to argue amongst themselves on who the should go first - Poor Gaolang got so pissed that he simply went on ahead to calm the waters.

✩ His shameless defeat shook you to the core, and you ended up protesting loudly at how unfair it was, playing by the weakling rule of a ringout.

✩ You hugged Gaolang tightly, reassuring him that he was the real winner in the Kengan's eyes.

✩ Next, that German Powerhouse of meat, Julius, won against Pineapple Head.

✩ Your favourite fight, however, was Misasa's, whom you nicknamed Ken, and you were Barbie the CEO. Not only was it fun to watch him fight, but he completely humiliated that traitor for betraying not only Kengan, but Katahara especially.

✩ The next fighter was Naidan, a Mongolian fighter, who coincidentally was also a White Worm, who directly provoked Ryuki into fighting him.

✩ Not only you, but your Dad also, tried to warn the boy to keep his wits about him and not lose his mind over revenge; Hopefully, he will be fine.

✩ Koga also got in the stands next to you, to get a better view of the fight, though all of you were on the edge.

✩ Naidan was, unfortunately, far stronger than Ryuki, and no matter how much the boy wanted to hold back from killing, to keep his promise to Koga... He had to get serious, otherwise, he would just end up dead.

✩ Naidan was provoking and confusing Ryuki so bad, to the point of him losing his mind - Though he started attacking faster, he completely disregarded his own safety.

✩ Just like in the fight with Akoya, Ryuki ended up on the ground, mounted and roughly strangled to the point of almost fainting.

✩ Though he wanted, even to the bitter end, to keep away from killing - Naidan forced him to kill him.

✩ Ryuki was devastated and lost completely.

✩ You were the first to run over to Ryuki, shamelessly kicking Naidan's corpse from above him, before falling to the ground and grabbing Ryuki in a tight embrace, telling him everything was going to be okay and that it wasn't his fault. It was self-defense. Koga agreed with you also, once he got over.

✩ You were so angry on Ryuki's behalf, that when Liu tried to attack him, you immediately leapt to your feet and deflected his punch, cursing at him and telling him to get the hell away from you.

✩ Thankfully, Ohma and the others came by also, taking over for you so you could return to Ryuki.

✩ During Agito's match against yet another filthy Worm, you and Koga tried, and failed, to comfort Ryuki.

✩ In the end, Ryuki asked to be left alone for a while, and you could do nothing but watch as he left the arena, into a dark corridor, to sulk all alone.

✩ Raian's fight was next, and you found yourself laughing almost hysterically as he split his Wu opponent in two. Poor Koga looked at you like you had mental problems.

✩ Meguro's supposed brother, Hayami Masaki, went on to win the next match against one of the two Kings of the Purgatory, Jurota, yet you had no clue that Ryuki ended up getting corrupted by none other than Kiryu Setsuna, whom you thought long dead.

✩ Akoya's match against Nicolas ended up in a draw, and unfortunately, Nitoku lost just like Gaolang, over a stupid Ringout, against that emotional idiot Liu Dongcheng.

✩ At least Naoya, wearing a clown outfit, won against Terashi... Though, you still couldn't quite understand why he was wearing such a ridiculous get-up to begin with.

With three more matches to go, Ryuki finally decided to return, all but bewitched by Setsuna's magic, yet just in time to say his good wishes to your Dad fighting; He had no idea why you looked so angry though.

"You will NOT be fighting now! Let Tsuki-san fight! Let Ohma fight! They won't lose their mind in a fight, but you WILL!" you yelled at your father. It was the first time anyone ever heard you raising your voice. "Sorry, honeybunch, but I gotta. Ain't no way I'm letting that fucker humiliate you like that." your Dad kept his back at you, cracking his knuckled. "TO HELL WITH HUMILIATION, SOME WORDS DON'T HURT ME ANYMORE! HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU MORON! WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITHOUT YOU?!" everyone in the Kengan arena watched as you kept screaming at your father, while he could only glare at the ugly bastard waiting and taunting him in the ring. "N'aww, cutie, why you got so little faith in me? Your mum woulda be much more encouraging." he chuckled dryly. "No, mum would have slapped your face for being so fucking dumb, that's what she'd've done!" you gripped the back of his shirt, trying to budge him. "I am the CEO! I am directly FORBIDDING you from stepping into the ring!" Your father hung his head, remaining silent for a few seconds. "Yo, Wakatsuki. When my little babygirl marries Ryuki, won'tcha be walkin' her down the aisle for me?" the poor man looked with extreme confusion and bewilderment at his friend. "I think you should be doing that yourself, friend." Takeshi replied. "He's saying that because this dumbass KNOWS he has every chance of getting provoked into a blind rage and getting himself killed!" your frustrated scream only shocked those around you. "Mama's really lonely up there, y'know? And I miss her like hell. Someone's gotta keep her company." your grip fell lax, and you felt your body grow cold and unresponsive. "What about me, then? Are you going to leave me all alone? Am I not your child? What about me?!" you felt tears streaming down your cheeks silently. "WHAT ABOUT ME?!" "My only happiness in life was your mother, and seeing you grow in the beautiful and intelligent young lady that you are. You're gonna be safe now." he started stepping towards the ring. "Forgive me, Y/N."

✩ You remained completely absent from everything around you, almost like you were all alone, in another dimension, forced to watch your father being massacred by the very mafioso who destroyed your early childhood. His looks could resemble Alan Wu after Raian ripped him apart.

✩ Ryuki's heart ripped in two, finally brought back to reality by the raw shriek of anguish, and the distraught expression on your face as you violently ripped and tugged away at your gorgeous velvety hair.

✩ When the mafioso dares speak ill of your father for being weak, and even throwing crass and improper comments on your child-body, not only Ryuki, but Wakatsuki also, wanted to beat the crap out of him - But you were faster.

✩ All spectators gasped as you took out a dagger holding your hair in a pretty updo, and with perfect Silat and Systema moves, you hacked away at the evil-doer, slashing away at his flesh, digging into his chest, ripping him apart, stabbing his skull, until he reverted into nothing but mush and porridge. People were screaming at the murder taking place for a fourth time before their eyes, and not the referee, or the fighters could hold you down.

✩ Ryuki was the only one capable of prying you away from that monster, and even though he tried to hold you into his arms, like you always did for him, you were on such high alert that you pushed him away, yelling at him not to touch you.

✩ Koga followed after you, and though he tried to reprimand you for slaughtering a man, his heart was also broken, having finally found out your story, and understanding now why you always took Ryuki's side and excusing his murders.

✩ When you got home, you cried the whole night and there was nothing Ryuki could do, except stay there with you, making sure you didn't feel afraid, all alone, in such a huge mansion. He, too, mourned your father's death, having gotten close to him over the course of time.

✩ "Ryuki... Do you want to be my company's fighter? I don't want to ever lose you. Not you too." he agreed.

✩ After the Kengan vs Purgatory Tournament, Ryuki joined Setsuna and Akoya in defeating the Worms, while you supported them with funds and information.

✩ Since then, you contacted Misasa, Retsudo and Rolon so that all three of you could teach you their own variations of Silat, as it was the best fighting style for you.

✩ When the Berserker Bowl took place, you cheered on Ryuki all the time - Though you were shocked when he ultimately lost against Koga.

✩ That wasn't the big issue though. What hurt the most was that... Rihito won. There is no atrocity in life bigger than Rihito winning anything in life. Useless man with ugly shorts.

✩ With this loss, Ryuki had a revelation, amidst a lot of confusion - He completely severed ties with Setsuna, and decided to speak to you, Ohma and Yamashita, about going by himself to the Inside, to have a talk with his grandfather. Too many of his convictions got shaken up in the few months spent Outside, and he needed to get some questions answered.

✩ Albeit reticent and afraid, you gave him the blessing of going.

✩ As reassurance, Ryuki kissed your lips for the first time, promising you that, when he returns, he will ask you out.

✩ Though you and Koga waited and waited, the Summer ended, and Ryuki hadn't come back. Naturally, you began to worry, so you created a small party to get to the Inside and rescue him, including Ohma, Retsudo, Himuro and Rei.

✩ Ryuki's GPS tracker stopped somewhere around Rohza district - Not the worst, but not the best place to live either. That place, however, wasn't a district anymore, but a contested place for a turf war by all sides, as every minute, the borders of the districts keep changing and changing actively.

✩ Both Ohma and you explained to Yamashita how dangerous it is to live in the Inside, and that not even people living there would dare cross districts through that place, and instead, take cautious steps through the Outside.

"So you're going through Rohza? That's a good choice." Kushida Rin spoke, once the four of you returned to Yamashita's office. "Rohza and Hachio are the more relatively safe parts of the Inside, but you'd have to go through Goyu to get to the disputed territory through Hachio." though she got a little flustered when Kaede mentioned how well versed she is about the geography of that god-forsaken place. It seems she wasn't aware Rin was also from there. "How about Rikuko?" Koga asked innocently. "THAT'S PLACE IS HELL ON EARTH! NEVER EVER GET EVEN CLOSE TO IT!" Rin shrieked, visibly shaken up. "... That was my home for 10 years." you bit your lip, shivering softly just remembering that place. "There are no words to describe that place. I bet even Hell is a kinder place than Rikuko. I home it gets burnt to the ground, along with all the people living there. No, rather, all those fucking monsters." Koga looked at your disturbed and disgusted face, and felt a tremor of sheer fright go down his spine.

✩ You reached the huge wall separating the Outside with the Inside, and felt your heart covering with a blanket of ice and numbness, seeing the destruction and desolation of this place. You never wanted to return to this place, but Ryuki needed saving, and you couldn't abandon him.

✩ You got to the Black Market, and followed the safest route that Retsu's men could scout, but before, you took lodging in a dilapidated place, provided by the General himself.

✩ Instead of going to eat with Ohma and Koga, you remained with the others, and though you couldn't find the power to speak much, you went through packs of cigarettes to try and sooth your stress. You didn't.

✩ Himuro especially expressed his worry for your helped, but you simply smirked and showed him you just puffed them as a bad fixation habit.

✩ When those two returned, Koga explained that Setsuna visited them and told them some info about Ryuki and Mukaku's safe houses and what not. When you told Koga that you were well aware that Ryuki continued to kill Worms with him, he got frustrated, grabbing yours shoulders and shaking you, screaming at you for allowing him to murder.

✩ You simply punched him away, not wanting to bother with explanations.

✩ The next morning after breakfast, the General sent a lackey to call them over, and he asked for one of the party to defeat one of his men, to see if you deserve an escort.

✩ Without a second thought, you stepped forwards, ready to face the hulky man with swirly tattoos.

✩ The only one to protest was Koga, but Retsu shut him up.

"I'm far too angry to pretend I'm an innocent little princess. I'm here to rescue my boyfriend and return home, with all the party members intact and in good shape. So, let's get it over with, shall we?"

✩ You took out your dagger and played around with it, before going to attack the large man holding a knife.

✩ Of course, you were in a playful mood, so like a cat playing with its prey, you confused him with a few good side-steps, before placing the tip of your dagger to his neck artery. "Should I kill you, or do you surrender?"

✩ The general stopped the fight, offering you your guide as he watched you high-fiving the other men in your party who praised your techniques.

✩ The Nameless Guide guided you through the Underground, through the Second Layer, and when descending back to the surface, they were brought to a path that led to a temple.

✩ Out of nowhere, an old man with a large meat cleaver attacked Ohma - He looked incredibly hostile, claiming you were Worms - Koga had to clear up the misunderstanding, though you could smell the bullshit. The old man was a shit liar, and the others seemed to be sensing the same.

✩ He claims Ryuki dropped by about a week prior, but he wasn't around anymore. Somehow, you couldn't believe him. Though he doesn't know where he could be, he explained that Ryuki is indispensable to the Worm, as both him and Ohma are clones of the Connector.

✩ When Himuro's phone beeped, you took out your cigarette pack and followed him and Retsudo outside of the temple, voicing your concerns of the blatant truth avoidance.

✩ You pointed out your belief that Mukaku might have attacked Ohma, thinking it was Ryuki - But why would he attack the child he raised?

✩ When you returned to the temple, Mukaku told you a story of his youth, of him getting in the inside, taking the many Niko as his students, how the Worms made the Inside, the Gu Chamber Ritual, and how during the field trip to Gakigahara Forest, the Nikos ended up killing each other as two of them defected to the Worm side. Ohma's Master, Tokita Niko, was the only one left.

✩ He went on to say that, after attacking a Worm base, he found baby Ryuki and took him under his wing.

✩ Koga got all chummy with the old man, cutting log and wrestling around. Ohma and Himuro kept trying to find any lie in the old man's tale, while you looked at Retsudo speaking on the phone in the distance. He, like yourself, had your doubts about Mukaku.

✩ When finally Retsu returned, he told Mukaku that his men found Ryuki and was taken into custody. The old man's reaction, as well as his shift in gaze, was enough to confirm his lies.

✩ You tried to ask the old man of Ryuki's location - Clearly, he was somewhere on the premises - But the revelation came through, that Mukaku was actually a Worm.

✩ Retsu revealed the Gaoh style is a hoax, and it was just a revived Nameless style, and that the old man was a Remnant of Wowang. Of course, he got hostile, and though dumbass Koga had to go ahead and get himself in trouble, needing rescue from Ohma, you and Retsu, followed by the dumbass boy, ran away to a storehouse where Himuro was waiting. It was the place Ryuki was kept at.

✩ Not inside the house, but underground in a cellar that stank of death, rot and decay worse than anything you've ever encountered before.

✩ Using the lighter's flame, you went on ahead, seeing the countless skeletons and rotting corpses, and all the way in the back, shackled by the wrists, a beaten up Ryuki, half-conscious, was hanging there.

✩ Though Koga's loud scream rang painfully through your ears, you rushed ahead to rescue your boyfriend. Thankfully, despite how bad he looked, his breathing and pulse were just fine.

✩ Soon, Mukaku led Ohma to the cellar after surrendering - There was nothing else he could do, he says. He explained the true purpose of Wowang, and how they wanted to kill the Connector. He also mentioned how all the bones around are the remains of all the kids who couldn't become Niko. How awful.

✩ Though a little confusing, he spoke of Shen Wulong, the Connector, being a clone of his predecessor, and how the Worm was continuing to clone to create the most perfect iteration of the Connector. Mukaku wanted to destroy all closing facilities - Apparently, all attempts at cloning Shen were failures, and with the facilities destroyed, Ryuki was the last existing clone of him.

✩ That's why he sent Ryuki to Kengan - To lure the Worm and get the chance to kill Shen Wulong.

✩ Of course, Koga's temper got the best of him, and Ohma had to hold him back from injuring himself against that beast of a man.

"Guys, forget him, he's none of our concern. Shen Wulong is going to have a lot of fun, finishing the job of killing all those worthless Wowang cockroaches. We came here for Ryuki, so let's get him to safety already." though they agreed, Ryuki, woken up, used all of his strength to cling on you and get in a sitting position, to get a chance to speak to his grandpa. "Were you... Just using me... Grandpa?" his broken voice shattered your heart. "Why else would I keep you? The only reason you're still alive today is 'cause you're the clone of the Connector - That piece of shit wants you back, no matter what. Then again, I find it hard to believe - How can a weakling like you be one of HIS clones? What a failure the last clone turned out to be." it wasn't just Koga, but Himuro also, seething with rage and cursing the old man. "I understand. You're not my grandpa anymore." Ryuki sighed, defeated and depressed, hanging his head.

Before you left, you took the opportunity to land one clean punch, breaking Mukaku's nose. "That's for breaking my boyfriend's heart." you hissed at him, before slashing at his cheek with your dagger. "And that's for hurting him." you turned your back to him, supporting your boyfriend up. "Heed my words, old man. Run away. Shen Wulong is going to massacre a weakling like you!" you laughed, taunting him and rushing the boy out of the stinking cellar.

✩ Ohma spoke his sage words, reassuring the two boys, as Retsu simply suggested to get the hell out of there already.

✩ Ryuki got the best medical treatment, and you stood by his side, next to his bed, until he was finally released.

✩ He hadn't spoken much at the beginning, but in the end, he allowed himself to cry a little, in the comfort of your arms. The betrayal had hit him hard.

✩ When you finally returned to your home, he was very clingy and didn't want to spend any moment apart from you. He was like a cute, clingy panda, just seeking your affection and attention.

✩ It was during his most vulnerable time that he first confessed how much he loves you and how grateful he is for everything you've done for him, and especially, the endless love you bore for him.

✩ Koga would continue teasing you for being so overly affectionate with each other, but you simply shrug.

✩ The three of you continue hanging around often.

✩ When you get intimate for the first time, Ryuki is very attentive, to make sure you're comfortable and not afraid of his touch - He knows very well what you went through, and wants to make sure you're feeling okay all the time.

✩ He's so gentle all the time, and he kisses you the entire time. He can't get enough of your lips.

✩ He loves missionary the most because he can take it slow, with you in his arms, amd he can suffocate you with all his love and passion, cradling your face, kissing your forehead, seeing all of your cute expressions and those sweet thrills you make for him.

✩ Ryuki's love for you is pure and innocent, and he only ever focuses on you and your pleasure.

✩ He gets off on making you feel good, and he loves taking his sweet time in bed, taking you over the edge many times.

✩ Just like your Dad predicted, Ryuki proposed pretty quickly, after he won an important match for your company - Of course, your fighter friends were present and cheered for you.

✩ That night, he told you your Dad talked to him about you and the prospect of marriage pretty often, told him about his relationship with your mum, and it inspired him to become a better man for you, worthy of becoming your husband.

✩ He doesn't know yet entirely what real life in the Outside means, but he has time to learn, and people to teach him - His most important goals were to protect you and that precious smile of yours for as long as he's alive.

✩ Though your wedding wasn't big, with many guests, it was grandiose and all of you and your dearest friends of Kengan and Purgatory were invited. Alright, maybe that's quite a lot of people actually.

✩ As promised, Wakatsuki walked you down the aisle, and with Mokichi being the priest holding the ceremony, Elena was the flower girl and the ring bearer.

✩ Koga was the best man and Sayaka was your Maid of Honour.

✩ When Ryuki saw you as a bride, he almost started shaking with emotion, a huge grin on his face and shining like a happy golden retriever - He only needed a tail to wag.

✩ He was so impatient for you to get over to him already, and since he had no idea how the ceremony was supposed to go, he kissed you before Mokichi could even say a word.

✩ You are happy.

-----------------

Being in a relationship with Wakatsuki Takeshi... Being in a relationship with Yoroizuka Saw Paing... Being in a relationship with Kure Raian... Being in a relationship with Tokuno’o Tokumichi... Being in a relationship with Kano Agito... Being in a relationship with Gaolang Wongsawat... Being in a relationship with Gaoh Ryuki... Being in a relationship with Narushima Koga... Being in a relationship with Hatsumi Sen

[mephinomaly]

[TL] Flashback/Epilogue 2

[ This post uses Ois~su ♪ ]

Kaoru: Grandpa was throwing a bit of a tantrum, saying he “hates complicated things”, so for the time being, we’ll just be going by UNDEAD.

Koga: Not much point in usin’ two separate brands. Besides, that criminal came up with HELLSING so I don’t wanna use it. Pisses me off.

Adonis: The delinquent most likely had his own ideas for UNDEAD, which was HELLSING.

Kaoru: Yeah. He was probably like “I can make the best version of UNDEAD!”

But we don’t need his idealised version of UNDEAD, we just need to shine brighter and brighter, as the real us.

Adonis: Easier said than done.

As Hakaze-senpai said earlier, both the radical immoral side and the variety programs side of us can be successful— It wouldn’t be superficial of us to do so.

Koga: It’s fine for us to get rid of one of them though. I, personally, think we should get rid of the variety programs.

Kaoru: You really hate those sorts of jobs, don’t you? …Like I said on stage yesterday, you can gain experience from anywhere.

You can’t grow big and strong if you’re a picky eater, you know?

Koga: Who do you think you are, my parents? Anyway, I get it, but I’m not gonna stop complainin’.

We need to eat everything, even if we don’t like it, so we can grow big and strong.

Kaoru: That’s the spirit ♪

Let’s do our best, ‘kay? The AIIE experiment was set up in order to trick us, nothing more to it—it almost felt like a dream.

We’ve seen real robots of ourselves and those kids from Ra*bits too.

The fakes were almost identical to the real us. At least, visually.

Technology and AI will only improve from here, and AI idols will become even more realistic.

Rei: Umu. That is how it seems to be progressing.

Kaoru: Oh? I didn’t see you so I thought you’d had an early morning bath? But then I didn’t see you in the bathroom either…?

Rei: Nay, I was enjoying the peaceful bliss of the early morning by taking a stroll.

I spoke with some neighbours who were also awake at this time, and once I grew tired, I basked in the sun on a nearby bench…

Kaoru: You actually act so much like an old man. You get more and more senile as the years go because of some character you force yourself to play.

Rei: Rather, I used to force myself to act young. I feel more comfortable now than I did back then. I am showing my true colours.

Of course, those who caught a glimpse of the previous me will have seen the immaturity in me, befitting of my young age at the time.

Anyhow. I apologise for interrupting, but I do believe you should keep Kaoru-kun’s worries in the back of your minds.

Humanity continues to evolve, scientific capability is growing ever closer to the abilities of a god.

Robotics, AI, VR— artificial idols will be comprised of those parts.

Then when non-human creatures rise in strength, and become stronger than humans, when monsters arise, when they become the new normal—

What value do humans have, other than being authentic beings?

Will we become pieces of art, displayed in museums for all to see, rather than something a part of your everyday life?

I do not know what the future holds, but that future is fast approaching.

We stand at a crossroads.

If we give up, we die where we stand. We must explore and search for what it means to be human.

We must demonstrate time and time again the value of being loved.

Otherwise, we can easily fall into the position our criminal was in.

A foolish, pitiful creature that can only look into the distance and envy how bright others shine.

What happens to one today may happen to another tomorrow. But I am not so pessimistic.

We are alive.

If we continue to live and grow, we have no reason to fear this lifetime.

That is the strength and beauty of being human.

Let us drive away our abhorrent past, and our anxiety-inducing nightmares alongside it. Let us step into the day with a smile on our faces.

～...♪

[ ☆ ]

Epilogue 1

Directory

[sweetbottletops]

I was going to look up what it's called when you're into animal ears, but I don't want to do that to the FBI agent assigned to my search results. Maybe taking her to Universal Japan every year will be enough.

Ch 79

Aya is taking this golden retriever boyfriend trend to heart. Only Koga has zero retriever energy so she is sticking with old lady dogs.

"It doesn't hurt that much."

Let the record show Koga was the one who got herself in this situation. She is going to out herself as cool at school. And then what? Have school friends? Friends that think you are cool? Outrageous.

How did they not notice all those holes before? I know Koga tries being invisible and she wears her hair down at school -

But as someone who has to look down ~~ at her own printed band tshirt ~~ to see what the store clerk is complimenting like I'm three years old....perhaps I shouldn't throw stones. “So you like The Sounds?” *gasp* “Yeah, um…” *follows eye line down to shirt*

Koga, your glasses are off! They're going to realize you're Superman!

It has to be a shock getting positive attention for things you've been meticulously hiding while at school. She's this close to getting head pats from everyone. Woof.

Mao is really getting into this. I'm going to need to see her dressed up to see some eventual gig once the cat is fully out of the bag (continuing with the animal theme). She might be a Narita match in more ways than one when it comes to her future Oshi. And she was the first friend to try out their music too.

This is all easing them into "meeting" the cd shop "bf" isn't it?

Aw, Aya is a bit jealous. Koga being cool and appreciated by more people is what she wants for her, she literally has been wanting to see her happy face at school, but it is a big difference from having a special Oshi to yourself.

What do you mean by "this", Koga-chan? *steeple fingers* Other people may come to think she's cool, but they got something that's just for the two of them. And that sounds a bit like -

- the famous, loyal, change-for-nobody, akita dog name Hachiko. March 8th is Hachiko day. One day off of Koga's birthday. Now that is out of Aya's system maybe don't revisit the role-play until y'all have some bigger relationship talks.

Thematically Koga needs to step onto the big stage (both actual and in life) by the end of the series imo. So keep your secrets from your friends now you two (especially the dog stuff, Aya), but eventually Koga's going to debut and it will be very obvious to everyone who Aya has been into this whole time.

[polyphonical]

Dragon's Head - Back to Square One

Location: Wrestling Gym

Tomoya: Excuse me. Good work today~……

Tetora: One two~, three four~. Two two~, three four~ [1]. Hiiro-kun, make sure to stretch really well, okay?

Hiiro: Umu! I understand, Buchou. If you don’t stretch properly, you can get injured, so I’ll do it well. One two~, three four~. Two two~, three four.

Koga: Hey, Adonis. Let’s spar together ‘kay?

Adonis: Okay, I don’t mind. But Oogami, do we have to go that far when you're not competing in the show?

Koga: Heheh, don’t say things like that. You and I are friends.

C’mon, put on your gear already. I’m gonna beat the shit outta you ♪

Adonis: Hm? You’re going to be the one hitting? Oogami, maybe you just wanted to get your body moving?

Kuro: Aaand thereーー that’s enough punchin’ bags, right? I think we have this many people.

Lil’ miss might be stoppin’ by to check out how things are goin’, so maybe I should get a chair ready for her too.

Tomoya: ……

I don’t understand why I was chosen as a member for this!!

Tetora: Ah, Tomoya-kun. Sup～☆ What’s up? You just came in yellin’ all of a sudden.

Tomoya: No no! This is crazy, right!? The “The Starpro Rhylink Reconciliation Strategy” is a martial arts battle between both sides, right!?

So why was I chosen for this!? I can’t fight at all!?

Eichi: That’s because I recommended you, Tomoya-kun.

Tomoya: Ehhhh!? But why would you do that!? You’re participating too, right Tenshouin-senpai? Then just join by yourselfーー

Ah, is this your way of trying to be considerate to me? Sharing your work? Thanks, but no thanks. Please just compete by yourself.

Eichi: I’m not trying to be considerate. Have you taken a look around you? I have no other choice.

We’re surrounded by people with the strength of gorillas. Ah, maybe it’s more accurate to say they’re like gorillas themselves.

And yet I, someone as frail as a gazelle, got thrown in the middle. There’s no way I could compete in something like this, right?

Eichi: That’s why I recommended Mashiro-kun as a person I could compete with ♪

Tomoya: You’re not being considerate of me at all, are you. I’m more of a sacrifice than anything.

Koga: Haah? Just who are you calling a gorilla, Tenshouin-senpai? [2] Don’t blame me when I bite back after you talk shit behind our backs.

Eichi: Hey now, I never said that. I’d like it if you didn’t put words in my mouth. I said, “people with the strength of gorillas.”

Tomoya: You literally called them gorillas right after though……

Eichi: Did I now?

Ah, it’s my phone.

…Hm? Why are they calling me?

I’m going to step outside for a bit, so you can begin practicing without me. Helloーー

Koga: Aah. That bastard~ He just said his piece and ran away!

Tomoya: Sigh…… Based on how Tenshouin-senpai responded, it doesn’t look like I can get out of this one……

Tetora: Hi~yah!

Hiiro: Guh……!

Kuro: And there it is, technique! With that, Tetsu wins based on points!

Hiiro and Tetora: Thank you very much!

Hiiro: As I expected, you’re great, Buchou. I thought you were going to strike towards the upper half. I totally read that wrong!

Tetora: Yeah, I knew you were being wary of me striking you at the upper half, Hiiro-kun~. Tomoya-kun, you should join us next time ssu!

Tomoya: Absolutely not! That’s definitely impossible! Hell no! We’re at totally different levels! I’d die, y’know!? At the very least, let me fight against Tenshouin-senpaiーー

Wait, huh? Speaking of Tenshouin-senpai, he’s been on the phone for a long time, hasn’t he?

Koga: Maybe he got scared and ran away~.

Kuro: He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to run away like that…… I wonder what happened.

Adonis: Ah, Tenshouin-senpai is coming back.

Kuro: Hey. Ya were gone for quite a while. Any trouble? If ya can’t make it to practice today, it’s fine.

Eichi: Trouble… Yes. You can say I ran into trouble. Big trouble.

―― Everyone, we’re going to have to cancel today’s practice.

Kuro: Ha? The hell’s that mean?

Tetora: Literally ssu. It was really hard to get everyone’s schedules lined up for this…. Why do we have to cancel so suddenly?

Eichi: That call I just took was from the management at ES. They told me that we have to stop this plan.

Tetora: Ehhh!? Stop the plan… But why now!?

Eichi: Well, it’s not like I didn’t consider this possibility.

If two agencies that have been rumored to be on bad terms suddenly appeared on a TV show fighting each other, it might give an even worse impression of both agencies.

If they want to limit the number of risks taken, it’s not hard to imagine why they would be reluctant to go through with a project like this.

In fact, both Anzu and I understood these risks when we came up with the plan.

However, since this kind of project has many risks, it gives a sense of authenticity, even if it’s dramatic.

The more drama there is, the easier people are influenced.

Good grief. I thought the managers understood that. I didn’t think they’d be so spineless…

But since it got rejected, there’s nothing I can do but follow what they say.

Tomoya: So, are you going to come up with another plan?

Eichi: Perhaps. It’s hard to do anything right now. They asked me to come up with an alternative plan, but I haven’t came up with one yet.

At any rate, today’s practice has been cancelled. I will contact you all if there’s any progress made.

────────────────· · · · · ·♡· · · · · · ────────────────

Previous ♡ Directory ♡ Next

They're doing that type of counting where you say which set you're on as you count. So like, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (2), and so forth. I hope that made sense TOT

Koga's being sarcastic here ofc, but he also said senpai in katakana instead of 先輩, so I italicized it for emphasis.

[mainstoryarchive]

Revolution - 57: Domination

Translator: Creampuffs

Keito: *Pant, wheeze*

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: Auditorium

Keito: *Pant, wheeze*

Sorry. Wait a minute, Kanzaki. I’m not very athletic – give me fifteen seconds to breathe. I–I’m going to die.

Souma: Oh? I did not know you were so feeble, Hasumi-dono. You should take up martial arts like myself and Kiryu-dono. It is a young man’s honour to train oneself…

Keito: Ugh, don’t lump me with you two muscle-loving humans. I don’t need more stamina and physical strength than necessary.

But what is going on?

Souma: A picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look yourself, Hasumi-dono!

Keito: Hm…?

W-What is this…?

Why is there music playing? Who is performing?

Keito: (No. I need to keep calm. Take deep breaths.)

(I’m not good at handling unexpected situations, but I can’t complain right now. I need to make quick decisions and come up with the appropriate measures.)

(Something bad is happening. If I don’t handle this right, then I might end up making a big blunder.)

(Majority of the units will not be participating in today’s “S1”…)

So the only ones performing today should only be us, “AKATSUKI”, and that new second-year unit that appeared out of nowhere.

Souma: Indeed. I think they are called "Torrikusutaa". The unit members are my classmates.

But they are not the ones currently on stage.

I do not remember seeing them before, but who are they?

Keito: Hmm…? Wait, I’m not wearing my glasses properly.

And what’s with this crowd? There are far too many people here.

I can’t see in front of me. There’s not enough lighting – it’s basically pitch-black in here. I can’t see a thing…!

Souma: I shall cut open a path. Proceed towards the stage, Hasumi-dono.

Souma: Ayee, make way, make way! Step aside – those who obstruct our path shall be cut down without mercy!

Keito: Don’t cut anyone down, Kanzaki. How many times have I told you not to bring swords into the auditorium?

I’ve only turned a blind eye because you’re a member of “AKATSUKI”, you know?

Souma: But a katana is the soul of a samurai!

Keito: You’re an idol, not a samurai. This is not the time to be bickering… We shouldn’t be doing this, but we’re going to climb up on stage!

Souma: Give me your hand, Hasumi-dono. I shall climb up first and then pull you up! Up you come!

Keito: Woah… You’re too rough – reflect on your actions. I’ll be lecturing you later, Kanzaki.

In any case, you lot! What’s with this commotion? It’s against the school rules to hold unauthorised performances!

I, the vice president of the Student Council, denounce you so! Stop the performance immediately!

Kuro: Yo.

You sure took your sweet time, Hasumi no Danna.

Thanks for coming here in haste. But these guys probably won’t listen even if you yell at them without giving them a chance to explain themselves.

Keito: Kiryu. You knew that non-participants would make an appearance during today’s “S1”, didn’t you?

Kuro: I still ain’t happy about how the “Dragon King Competition” got cancelled, you know. I stick to my ethics – I’m a member of “AKATSUKI”, too.

I’ll fulfil my duty. Anyway, now isn’t the time to be worrying about me, right?

Look, it seems the gate to hell has been opened. Looks like that rowdy bunch are going on a rampage on stage.

Koga: Kuhahaha! Shake to your very core, ignorant fools! Today’s “S1” belongs to us!

We ain’t gonna let’cha go home until your eardrums burst! You’re gonna listen to our songs whether it’s in your dreams or in the afterlife…!

Kaoru: Sorry, Four-Eyes~ You were taking so long, so we decided to start without you.

I’m making every single girl here mine ♪

Kaoru: All the girls who have come a long way to be here!

I kept my skills a secret because it’d be a waste to show it to the male students at school. But today, I’ll show you what I’m like when I’m serious!

You’re welcome to fall in love with me as much as you like, okay~? ☆

Adonis: …………

Koga: Hey, Adonis! You should say somethin’, too!

The audience loves stuff like that. Lemme hear your battle cry! Get the crowd pumped up!

Adonis: …I’m not good at talking. In exchange, I’ll make it up by performing as “UNDEAD”.

[ ☆ ]

← prev ❖ all ❖ next →

[silvercaptain24]

I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I’m falling asleep but wanted you to get this tonight

Warriors normally liked PE. Normally he didn’t have to think and as long as he participated, Mr Koga was far too lazy to actually join in or give his 30 students any critiques. The problem was… it was only his first week back at school after the incident. He had insisted on going to school. The teachers were very quickly losing patience with him needing accommodations for his hospital stay… not that any of them dared say it out loud, but he heard it in Mr Zant or Ms. Veran’s careful tone when they spoke to him. Trying to shoot free-throw shots was infuriatingly taxing with the concussion screwing with his vision and the random, scattered noise of the seven bouncing balls was making his headache worse with every second. With the headache, came nausea. He watched the clock, trying to will the 50 minute period to go faster.

He made it within 10 minutes of clean up/dress time before he lost the battle with his splitting headache and roiling stomach. He’d tried to catch Mr Koga’s attention to slip out, but the gym teacher was trying to show off ridiculous trick-shots with another group of students and… he barely made it to the side of the court and a garbage can before losing his breakfast. Immediately everything in the gym came to a screeching halt. He heard the gym teacher groan through everyone’s expressions of fear or disgust.

“Pipit, take Warriors to the nurse.” He rested his head on his arm. It helped hide his face. Of course the class-president would be drafted to help his sorry butt…

“You good to walk, Wars?” Came Pipit’s quiet question. The other student pulled one of Warriors’s arms over his shoulder to assist him anyway.

—

He couldn’t focus his eyes enough to work his own phone so he ended up laying in the dark nurse’s office for over an hour until someone found time to call his guardian.

“How are you feeling, Son?” There was an odd click that accompanied every other step as heard Fierce greet him from across the nurse’s room.

“I’m sorry.” He’d pulled Fierce away from everything (again) to deal with him. He’d have to do much better than this if he wanted to be on his own and taking care of Mask…

“You’ve nothing to be forgiven for, Warriors.” The odd click-click came closer and Warriors pulled the plasticky pillow away from his eyes. Fierce was standing beside the bed and leaning on… a cane?

“What happened?” He sat up, too fast for his aching head and his guardian hurried to change his stance so he could reach out and steady him.

“Nothing recent nor concerning.” Feirce followed Warriors’s gaze down to the cane he was currently leaning on. “It is simply the cause of my no longer being in the military. I shattered my ankle one deployment and… it is a bad day for it apparently.” Warriors continued to stare for just a little longer. “It is also the reason why Mask and you had free pick of the rooms upstairs and for this.” Fierce shifted to brandish the cane.

“Now… How's your head? Can you walk? I’d like to take you home.” They certainly made an odd pair. Him with his leaning almost drowsily against Fierce as Fierce tried to juggle keeping his footing with the cane and also halfway holding Warriors upright. They made their way out of the school. You know, if the big tall scary guy could need a cane on a bad day…maybe he wasn’t completely hopeless?

YOU USED THE CANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

ALSO PIPIT MY BELOVED

[crystalelemental]

In anticipation of Scarlet and Violet, I think now’s a great time to update the overall opinions on games within the series.  So I made a tier list that, I imagine, no one is surprised about.  Though who knows, maybe some of you are surprised.  I was.  This is the worst bell curse my opinions have ever produced.

Overall, this is an assessment of personal enjoyment.  I want to call it quality too, and will talk about my perception of quality, but let’s be real: it’s personal enjoyment.  As such, some of the placements are more based around the questions “Would I intentionally pick this up again?” and “Would I enjoy playing it again?”  There are extra aspects that go into those questions, but I’ll address those as I bring up the games.

Speaking of, in the interest of avoiding just going in a logical order, I’m going to go by generation, because that’s the order I made the list in.  Which means initially, Gens 1 and 2 largely fell in C until opinions started happening and stuff got moved.  And I think it’s more interesting to talk that process of why.  Also note, I only put one of each game cluster up, choosing based on which game I tended to gravitate toward for the cluster.

GEN 1

Red/Blue (D2).  The games that started the franchise, and are universally beloved.  Except, notoriously, by me.  Listen, I get that there’s nostalgia, but that’s all there is anymore.  Red and Blue were great for their time, but the instant we stepped into Gen 2 it became apparent how much better we could have it.  Red and Blue are not games that I go back to...almost ever.  Very, very rarely do I think about just making a fun run through, and almost every time it’s because I went traveling somewhere and forgot to bring the physical carts for other games, but Red/Blue are downloaded on the 3DS.  It’s just not that much fun anymore.  Inventory space limitations beyond reason, the nightmares of Wrap/Rage, no rebattling any kind of trainer with fairly low level wild Pokemon that made catching up difficult, the lack of almost anything interesting going on because you had like five non-Normal attacks in the game.  It’s a fine start, but it’s the kind of start that legitimately should’ve been left in the past as something that started the series, but isn’t a major focus.

Yellow (D4).  Okay look.  I know it’s a generally accepted rule that the third game in the series is the better option, and that Yellow is included.  I do not like Yellow as much.  These are mostly petty reasons, but they bug me.  The most “legitimate” is lack of reasonable access to Missingno.  Sometimes, Red/Blue entices because of the raw clownshoes of Missingno’s presence.  Without that, Yellow doesn’t feel as ridiculous of a time, which is a drawback.  Second, I don’t love that I have to keep Pikachu around.  I like Raichu, but I never liked Pikachu.  It was so bad that, as a kid, I’d get my cousin’s Red and trade Pikachu to it, evolve it, and send it back.  I do not want Pikachu on my team, unless it’s waiting to be Raichu.  Which leads into the big, incredibly petty complaint: this game is just playing as Ash.  No, really, look at it.  The means of acquiring the three starters is like...the exact method the anime shows up.  Koga has Venomoth line only because that’s what he uses in the anime.  Yellow is PokeAni Season 1 The Game, and while I liked the show as a kid, I never liked Ash enough to ever want to play as him.  Not that the distinction ever sunk in as a kid, but it bothers me more over time.  I also have gone from “Oh cool, you get all the starters” to “that feels kinda cheap, and why are there still version exclusives if we’re getting rid of that requirement?”  I dunno.  I like Red/Blue better.

GEN 2

Silver/Gold (B2) - I feel like when quality is discussed, often people will defer to “Pokemon is a kid’s game, they made it for kids.”  Which is fair, but also, this came out when I was like ten, and even then I could feel the difference.  Everything that made Gen 1 clunky was gone, and Johto remains one of my favorite regions.  It’s a cool place!  Silver legitimately felt like a more exciting experience, with great new Pokemon and old faces alike.  Frankly, it’d be higher if it weren’t for Crystal and the remakes, which...kinda make these games far less enticing to pick up.  That said, I have to bring up the biggest issue of all things Johto.  Wild encounter levels are pitifully low, rebattling trainers still isn’t much of a thing, and levels scale really fast in some places.  In some ways, it has a legitimately worse version of Gen 1′s problem with this.  While completely subjective, I feel like the tradeoff was that Gen 2 felt bigger.  I mean...it honestly was because of the dual-region thing, but even just Johto felt bigger than just Kanto, with more side events like the Bug Catching Contest and trying to track the Legendary Beasts, or exploring optional caverns like Mt. Mortar.  Johto felt a bit more exploratory, and because of stat experience, you never actually fell too far behind despite staying lower level, making it feel a lot more like you’re the underdog trainer fighting stronger opponents and winning with your friends.  The exception’s the Red fight, which is bad, but Gen 2 never bothered me as much as Gen 1 despite having similar issues.

Crystal (A5) - My beloved.  Crystal was the first game I legitimately fell in love with.  I still have incredibly fond memories of the game.  Which is fascinating because I don’t actually think all that much changed between GS and C.  The biggest thing was honestly Pokemon placement.  Early access to Poliwag, Teddiursa, and Phanpy was neat, reminiscent of Yellow adding Mankey and the Nidorans before Brock.  I...really couldn’t tell you much else, though.  This is really more a situation where I don’t think it’s legitimately better in every way, I just like it better in every way, and always pick it up over Gold or Silver.  And sometimes over HGSS.

GEN 3

Ruby/Sapphire (C1) - When this game first came out, I...did not love it.  In a weird way, I think this game really indicated what the fallout of Dexit was going to be.  All my old Pokemon couldn’t be transferred, and I hated it.  I didn’t have any of my Eevees.  I couldn’t trade my Mewtwo.  So much was just gone in the generational shift.  While I’ve since gotten over this, and come to actually appreciate when games push their new dex, Gen 3 remains pretty mid-tier for me.  Well.  The originals, anyway.  Ruby and Sapphire never quite caught on with me, and Hoenn remains one of my less favorite regions on the whole.  I could not tell you why.  I have no especially negative opinions about it, it’s just hard for me to like Hoenn.  I do think part of it is the Eternal Surfing, and the fact that Magma and Aqua remain the dumbest teams.  Because otherwise...Hoenn has a great dex, some great gym leader designs and concepts, Steven Stone is there.  I shouldn’t be as lukewarm on it as I am.  But, here we are.  As for why C-tier, it’s because I have not ever thought about picking up Ruby or Sapphire.  The reason should be obvious.

Emerald (S2) - Until recently, I would’ve lumped Emerald in with Ruby and Sapphire.  It was actually a recent playthrough that really got me invested, to the point I think it has legitimate claim to being the best game in the series.  I argue this due to challenge.  When challenge is discussed in Pokemon, I feel like it’s pretty universally in terms of absurd, tedious challenge that is honestly just bad game design.  Think about things like how Gen 7 and BDSP addressed concerns around difficulty, and produced something that lacks any sense of fun.  “Challenge” is ill defined, subjective, and most problematic, not synonymous with good game design.  Sure, you can make foes with capped EVs, IVs, and positive natures, but is it fun for the player to have to stop, breed something with perfect IVs, and farm millions of dollars 20k at a time over days to catch up?  No.  No, that’s horrid.  There are other ways to go about this, and Emerald goes about it the right way. Emerald introduced Boosting moves in a big way, incorporating Bulk Up, Calm Mind, and Dragon Dance as the big names.  And as a result, they anticipated everyone would play around with them a bit, and built battles that aim to counter this strategic play.  Almost every fight offers counterplay to setup, be it Winona’s Perish Song on Swablu, Sidney’s Sand Attack on Intimidate Mightyena, Glacia’s Body Slam paralysis on Sealeo, Wallace’s Water Spout Wailord, all the way up to Steven Stone’s Toxic and Spikes on Skarmory.  The game introduced strategies that the player could try out, and intelligently built its battles around them, being able to demonstrate responses.  This is the kind of direction that I think the series needed to go, building challenges that were more strategic. Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way, because Emerald failed its mission by  proving the most effective way to win was just four coverage moves.  Just hit them and most of your opponent’s counterplay is irrelevant.  It’s why I can’t accept it as top dog, despite having some really fantastic concepts behind it.  I love this game, it’s not easily among the favorites, but if it had just gone a little further with its teambuilding it could’ve been perfect.

FRLG (A4) - I mentioned Gen 2 was my youthful realization of what quality of life improvement was?  FRLG was my realization of what graphical improvement was.  I kinda started console games around OoT, I missed the major jump.  But seeing the old beep boop Pokemon game in this kind of color, with this much improvement to the sprite work, honestly dazzled me.  It was such an improvement.  And if I’m going to get nostalgia about Kanto, this is where it happens.  This game exclusively.  FRLG has a lot that fixes the original Gen 1, to the point I consider it the only perfect remake.  Every mechanical issue is gone.  The Vs Seeker lets you battle trainers again, easing the issue of being massively under-leveled.  The Sevii Islands added a lot of meat to the game.  FRLG is fantastic.

GEN 4

Diamond/Pearl (C2) - I will be honest.  These are the only games I haven’t had access to a physical copy for.  My cousin stole my Diamond ages ago and I never got it back.  I uh.  I don’t remember much specific.  But I remember not liking them quite as much, and thus not liking Gen 4 quite as much, until...

Platinum (S1) - Platinum is still my pick for the best game in the series.  I will admit to serious flaws.  Despite Emerald’s strategic approach, Platinum goes in the exact opposite direction, locking entire strategies behind the BP shop for no reason other than removing boosting and Toxic/Paralysis from any equation.  This game wants you to hit each other with sticks and nothing more.  Jokes on them, because movepools are now big enough, and technical applications wide enough, that you can do some fun things with the game.  This is where I feel like things actually worked.  In Emerald, trying to Leech Seed stall usually gets you killed, because of how well your opponent can counter you.  But Platinum doesn’t have the same aggression toward setup leads.  This is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, strategy is much more effective in Platinum.  On the other, so are setup sweepers, who can absolutely body most of the game.  Just about any kind of setup can turn Cynthia’s final battle into a pretty easy time.  I’ve absolutely 6-0′d her team because of how easy it is to set up on Spiritomb. What I think is nice about Platinum, though, is that it will showcase strategies through your opponents as well.  Emerald didn’t do a whole lot of cohesive strategy, so much as just having strong anti-leads.  Platinum is where you get team structures like Gardenia, who can set Reflect to block Bird Sweep, followed into Cherrim’s Leech Seed to obliterate Bronzor stall.  Or where you get Candice, whose Hail-based shenanigans means she can potentially win any matchup just by having RNG work in her favor a bit, and thus pushing players to use their own weather to respond.  The game isn’t quite perfect about it, but Platinum feels like another attempt to have legitimate team cohesion and strategy behind it, which makes it more engaging.  It’s also like...the only game where I’ve never been able to handle the final fight 15-20 levels below them.  I’m always within like 5-10 levels of Cynthia.  Part of this is difficulty, but part of it is what I talked about with Emerald: better game design.  Having to go from facing level 62 to level 88 is not a fun nor reasonable challenge.  The only solution is tedious grinding, or having gotten really good at counterpicking the final battle.  Cynthia always feels so close in level because the content of Platinum is so dense that being under-leveled is a choice.  There’s an extra thing to do constantly, and the introduction of open areas with an exploration partner who heals you was a brilliant way to allow players to farm a few levels without running back and forth to the Pokemon Center.  Even post-game, you have the entire island to explore.  Platinum is wonderfully content-rich, well-balanced, and by far my favorite in the series. 

HGSS (A2) - HGSS is an objective improvement over GS, but arguably C.  I say this on one technicality: all the cool early access Pokemon in Crystal aren’t there is HGSS.  I don’t agree with it.  But it’s hard to deny how much more HGSS has.  The Safari Zone offering access to the Kanto-exclusive new Pokemon was a delight, and added more territory to explore to help close level gaps.  Kanto itself felt a bit more full, so it wasn’t quite as empty a sandbox as it was in the original games.  They kept the Suicune subplot, which is great except the part where Suicune has to wait until after your first run of the league.  Speaking of, the improvement of the league in a rematch helps bridge the gap between Blue and Red’s fights.  You’re not as required to experience a 26 level jump in one go.  Though you’re still likely to be massively under-leveled.  There’s also the questionable choice of Voltorb Flip.  Personally...I liked it better.  I could never do slots, but I’m good at Voltorb Flip.  As another small addition, the Kimono Girls were given tremendous significance, which I loved, and we got a bit more of the lore of the region.  So with all this praise, why not S-tier? It still suffers from the same thing every Johto game does.  Progression is slow, grinding practically required, levels too low to gain meaningful experience, etc etc.  I’d argue it’s worse here, because stat experience was a free boost to everything that could legitimately close every statistical gap despite being 20 levels under.  Here, you get EVs, which are outright impossible to control for, and therefore can’t offer the same cushioning from being constantly under-leveled.  As a result, it can legitimately feel more stacked against you.  Some people like that.  They’re lunatics.

GEN 5

Black/White (S3) - Black and White has the best story in the series.  I don’t feel that’s controversial.  It also did the best thing ever by completely cutting off previous Pokemon, and making you operate only with the new stuff.  That one might be controversial, but I loved it.  Reusable TMs saved a ton of effort, but I will admit to sometimes missing the strategy of where to allocate those resources.  The league being interrupted by the villain team and N’s rise is way more interesting a shakeup to the Pokemon Formula than anything Gen 7 tried to do.  Gen 5 has some of the best stuff the series has done, and yes, that includes Garbodor.  So why below Emerald and Platinum? Black and White was a bit of a step back to me when it comes to strategy.  Nothing stands out like a Candice fight, and no one’s got a particularly strong anti-lead like Emerald to suggest serious planning went into it.  A lot of Gen 5 feels more like “We’re going to hit you with a big stick.”  It also has a little bit of a Gen 2 problem, thanks to scaled experience.  Levels are not intrinsically too low, but because experience is scaled lower when you’re above an opponent’s level, grinding is effectively impossible...unless you Audino farm, which is the single most tedious means of gaining EXP the series has ever produced.  Because of this, you’re constantly underleveled against opponents who are really strong, and now have nigh-endless coverage options by this point in the series, and all your best strategic responses like boosting moves are TM locked to post-game.  BW is legitimately just less fun to play than those games.  Even as fantastic as it is, Gen 5 is a generation that takes a little building up to.  I have trouble just picking up and playing without at least some level of “Yeah, this is what I want over Platinum/Emerald/HGSS.”  But when I want soemthing in Gen 5?  Man, this is the one.

Black/White2 (A3) - A rare case of the continuation being worse.  Not significantly worse, I think it does some interesting stuff in its approach to Team Plasma’s division between those who were in it for themselves, and those who earnestly believed in the mission.  But I also think...BW2 incorporating other regions’ Pokemon was for the worse?  I liked being left with just the new region.  They don’t do anything too interesting with the league this time around.  Iris is bizarrely absent most of the game, despite having the regional champion be a big deal in like...every other generation.  There’s an odd amount of backtracking at times as you navigate the region, making it feel a little more tedious.  And it also keeps a lot of the flaws of BW1, notably the EXP scaling and Audino thing.  To make matters worse, it also has Hugh, the worst rival.  Going from Bianca and Cheren, two of the best, to the worst in the series, is a rough transition.  I’m also going to concede, I never really liked Colress.  I could never get a read on him or what his deal was. Still, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t add some of the best side features of any game.  PokeStar Studios blew my mind the first time though, it was such a cool and creative idea.  Pokemon World Tournament bringing in nearly every face from the series was super cool, and having matchups against other gym leaders along their favored typing was everything my aspiring monotype heart could’ve asked for.  And nothing about the game was specifically bad, it just didn’t live up to BW1, in my book.

GEN 6

XY (B3) - I feel like this may be too generous, but I’m sticking with it.  XY is not great.  It is absolutely riddled with problems.  EXP All trivializes the game, and even without it, the game’s surprisingly easy.  Mega Evolutions were so cool, but then you don’t have access to almost anything until post-game.  The region is loaded with options, but this always gave me more choice paralysis than excitement about options.  I never know what to run, and get frustrated with the selection process by like...Parfum Palace.  There’s also just not much attention given to the characters, which feels incredibly odd after Gen 5′s fantastic emphasis on character and story.  Speaking of story, Team Flare is still one of the least coherent villain organizations, with Lysandre being so transparently the villain from the moment you meet him that no one has ever reported being fooled.  Diantha remains mysteriously absent throughout the game, much like Iris, resulting in her having almost no lasting impression.  So why is it B? In part, the fact that I keep picking it up.  XY isn’t great, but it’s kinda like the gaming equivalent of having a craving for McDonalds.  It’s not good for me, but sometimes it’s what the heart wants.  It’s a pretty simple game, with a lot of favorites to work with, and if I can just push through the early-game choice paralysis, it does tend to result in a fairly fun experience.  Not like the other generations.  But it’s at least something.  Which feels appropriate for B.  Something I’d intentionally pick up, but not be in the mood for generally.

ORAS (B1) - Speaking of which, the other Gen 6 introduction is also B-tier.  ORAS is inferior to Emerald, I don’t think that’s controversial.  But I will admit to still liking ORAS, in spite of things.  Delta Episode is fun.  Mauville is a nightmare in this state, I can’t find anything.  Aron can’t be caught until later.  But we get the first hints of no HMs with the Latis flying you around.  I actually like the designs a lot better.  Except Wallace, which is worse.  This is also the only one I think I’d be willing to argue one version is better, and it’s Alpha Sapphire.  Given their new presentation, there is something endlessly funny about frat boy Archie constantly outsmarting Hypernerd Maxie at every turn.

GEN 7

Sun/Moon (D3) - Sun and Moon is, similar to Gen 5, a generation where the first thing brought up is story.  And yes, SuMo has a great story.  For the Aether Family and literally no one else.  No one else in this game matters.  They get a quick introduction and are removed.  You don’t even battle the trial captains, just the totem Pokemon; they are completely removed from relevance.  Even characters you’d think would have a lot going on due to proximity, like Wicke, don’t.  SuMo just doesn’t feel like it matters much.  Though I will give props for the post-game with Anabel and Looker and Nanu.  I love that segment. What really bothers me about this generation is that it’s the worst to play by miles.  Totem Pokemon were awful as a decision.  Cool, your idea of “challenge” is making every fight 1v2 with my opponent having like doubled stats, fantastic.  Even random encounters and the Call for Help mechanic just endlessly keeping the battle going if you can’t take out both options in one hit is a nightmare.  And Rotom Phone.  Oooooh my god, with this thing.  I hate it.  Sun and Moon is the only game that is top of its generation that I cannot bring myself to replay.  Even when I pick it up, I put it down as soon as I leave the first city, every time.  I have not made it off the first island in like five years.  It’s just unpleasant.

Ultra Sun/Moon (F1) - And yet somehow, the sequel game is worse.  Imagine having everything bad about the first iteration, but then making the bad parts worse, and tanking the only positive you had.  Totem Pokemon were made infinitely worse, by forcing you to deal with even cheaper strategies like Thick Club Marowak with Protect so it guarantees its partner, or the nightmare of facing Ultra Necrozma’s doubled stats.  In a game where OHKOs aren’t a constant, the idea of a massively powerful foe like that could be interesting.  But this is a turn-based game where every attack that thing throws out kills you.  This isn’t fun, you’ve just developed a check to see if I have enough Revives or Rotom Powers, and the latter is still just waiting to get crit.  It’s wretched. But even more unforgivable is how badly is botches the Aether Family.  Turning Lusamine into just misunderstood parent and having all that trauma and abuse resolved off-screen in the ten minutes you’re gone is insulting.  Having a post-game where Lusamine is turned into a damsel in distress for you to save from Giovanni of all weenies is bad enough, but to then have Lusamine come to and laugh with the family in the room where all her Pokemon are still frozen?  The game is just tone deaf and does nothing to actually rectify the problems it kept.  All the while they introduce the worthless Ultra Recon Squad running around like “Oooh, technology can be so bad for us.”  No it can’t, moron, because that wasn’t your issue!  Your issue was capturing a living entity and torturing it for a power source, you clown!  What are any of you talking about?!  USUM was terrible, and despite originally stating it’s the worst in the series, somehow it would be outdone twice, and even once within its own generation.

Let’s Go (F2) - Talk about a game that’s borderline unplayable and has no redeeming qualities at all.  Do you like having to jerk your controller around the room to throw a Pokeball, only for it to go in a completely different direction than how you moved?  Do you like having no ability to realistically improve your odds of success, and have Pokemon just run away from you at random if you aren’t lucky?  How about all of that, but also there is no challenge to any battle at any point, because the levels are scaled lower and teams truncated to like one Pokemon instead of usual team sizes, so the idea of encountering a challenge is laughable?  No?  Don’t play this game.  I have nothing positive to say.  And it’s not even the worst one.

GEN 8

Sword/Shield (D1) - Having had three years to cool off from the original launch, I’m willing to say there are some positives to these games.  Some.  I think much like XY, there are occasions where it’s something I’ll think about as junk food, but it’s actually harder to get invested in SwSh than XY.  Mostly, it’s because of how often something stupid happens.  Usually it’s “What do you mean they took away Altaria’s natural Dragon Dance?”  Movepools got annihilated this run, and while your options still exist, they now exist through Watts, the super tedious currency of the boring Wild Area.  Wild Area should’ve been huge.  A place to find every Pokemon in the game right at the outset?  You can build any team early!  Finally, my dreams!  But instead, it’s boring space where a ton of areas can’t be accessed because of level constrictions, and the “every Pokemon” is either a lie because you have to find it during specific randomized weather (one of which is only found in post-game), or because they’re in dens, the worst idea of the generation.  Dens suck.  And they suck because of how hard the game insists on hard saves before every action, or locks events to the day on the system calendar, making it impossible to soft-reset for anything you want around the terrible appearance rates.  Despite having Pokemon visually on the field, they put some hidden in the grass at random for no reason, ruining one of the only pure positives the game could’ve had.  I can’t even say it has any good post-game, because all of that is now tied to the concept of DLC, which...is legitimately good and enhanced a ton of what base game felt like it was missing.  Most notably, any sense of exploration?  Wild Area sucked, and each route is a straight line with almost nothing in it.  This region is dead and empty.  But Isle of Armor actually feels more interconnected and like you’re exploring a location, and is what the game probably could’ve been all along.  So unlike XY, which got elevated to B, SwSh is staying down in D, because even though I’ll sometimes go to play it, it’s a legitimately tough sell.

BDSP (F3) - I...literally cannot believe this game is real.  I forget it exists sometimes, when my mind wanders and I can forget the cruelty of the world. BDSP is the worst designed Pokemon game by miles.  Even Let’s Go can be forgiven for just being a bad idea an executive made about tie-ins to mobile games.  BDSP has no such excuse.  It’s a full-price “”remake”“ of Gen 4′s Diamond and Pearl, except it is point for point exactly the same.  Only now with dozens of incredible bugs that snapped the game wide open for people, including being able to circumvent blocks and get their limited time event Pokemon months ahead of schedule.  But the real sin is the League, and rematches.  Every battle has max IVs, max EVs, and a beneficial nature.  This game is a fangame.  This isn’t a main series Pokemon game, it’s the kind of crap you see some moron shit into a fangame after spending too many years arbitrarily complaining about “Difficulty” in Pokemon.  This isn’t a well-designed challenge, because it robs Pokemon of everything it is.  You cannot match this.  You, the player, cannot have perfect IVs.  You cannot have perfect EVs without spending millions of dollars on stat boosters, which requires ungodly amounts of farming random trainer battles that would honestly put you over-leveled anyway.  You can’t get most of this without breeding Pokemon, which should not be a requirement for the base runthrough.  Oh, but I guess it’s not, all you need to do is massively powerlevel to avoid being steamrolled by Aaron’s Heracross.  It’s just another rendition of GSC Red.  Their solution to challenge is to spike the difficulty so sharply that you have no choice but to engage in the mind-numbing process of level-grinding.  But that’s not being challenging, that’s being tedious.  And removing the sensation of being an underdog goes against what Pokemon is.  Do you know why EVs are the way they are?  Why stat experience was a thing, and why none of it is ever mentioned?  Because you’re not supposed to know.  It’s meant to be a hidden mechanic that the player has access to, pushing your stats up to match higher level Pokemon, to facilitate the illusion that you are the newbie underdog overcoming significant challenge through friendship and teamwork.  When you take that away, the game loses all of the charm the series is supposed to work with.  This game isn’t just badly designed, it’s antithetical to the entire series’ function. No love or thought went into this.  I legitimately wish they hadn’t even tried, because they massacred my favorite region.

Legends (A1) - So thank god for Legends.  Legends Arceus is a wonder to me.  After two generations of having some really awful products, having Legends Arceus show up with a fascinating new approach to the series, that builds on the lore of Sinnoh and produces one of the most engaging experiences I’ve had with the series in over a decade, is miraculous.  Yet here we are.  I adore this game with all my heart.  The speed with which progression moves is honestly the biggest improvement.  Who knew that what held the series stagnant was how slow and tedious random encounters were, and how much better it was to just smack that Bidoof in the back of the skull with a Pokeball and call it a day?  Having little action sequences with the boss fights was also fantastic, making the game about more than just the Pokemon battles.  Simplification of mechanics also worked greatly in its favor, with things like Frostbite and Sleepy being infinitely better status conditions than Freeze and Sleep.  And the story.  By god, the story.  This is a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game in spirit, and I adore it for that.  It’s so good, both how it handles its characters and how much it does for the lore of the Sinnoh legends.  It’s all perfect.  There were points in playing this game that I outright squealed in delight with what was presented, it was so good. But, that’s not to say Legends does not have flaws.  There’s a reason it’s not S.  Legends has very little in the way of battling, and as a result, isn’t particularly engaging on that front.  Which is wasn’t specifically trying to be, I can forgive that, but it is an area where it’s lacking to a degree it hurts experience.  Having opposing Pokemon gang up on you, but being unable to use AoE moves, really makes the experience annoying when you’re sitting through like six opposing actions because you made the mistake of leading with Rhydon.  This is especially noticeable, I feel, around Crimson Mirelands, when you don’t have much grit but are focused on getting into those distortions.  Getting hit by multiple enemies is a death sentence without being caught up on grit, which can kinda feel like the original Rescue Team Mystery Dungeon games, when you’re going through an area that is littered with traps and have to just accept that this isn’t for you until you can get the IQ to turn those traps off.  Which isn’t great.  And Alabaster Icelands, despite being a cool location, was never a place I lingered too long, because at that point I’m just eager to blitz the story.  There are points where Legends can feel like a little bit of a drag.  But all of its positives massively outweigh the negatives.

Hopes for Gen 9 If this turns out to be a B-rank game, I will be happy.  Like, that is how much I have to hedge my bets after Gens 7 and 8.  If it can be as good as XY, a game already not that great, I will be satisfied.

I think the biggest hope I have is that they really did take a lot of inspiration from Legends Arceus in their approach this game.  All else aside, the mechanical changes in Legends really made that experience shine.  I’d also hope, though not expect, to see battles become a bit more of a big deal.  Very little in the last three generations ever truly felt threatening and fair at the same time.  XY and SwSh lack a sense of threat in most fights, while SuMo constructed challenges that were terribly designed.  I’d like to see things go back to Emerald/Platinum structures, but honestly if I can go through this fight and feel, legitimately, like thought was put into the team composition and actions of the AI, I’ll take it as a win.

[fefeman]

I know Dudley is set up to lose by the narrative since Ryuki is Koga's rival, but I think it would be hilarious if Dudley win after Ryuki made all his spiel about Dudley being a stepping stone to the true challenge.

Talk big shit and get clowned on...

[swingjazzbear]

Adonis’ body self-image.

tw: racism

Due to his Turkish DNA and his father’s genes altogether, Adonis statute is very much like him : tall and strong. His skin is thicker and darker in tone, and his overall traits are edgiers, rougher. Although he did inherit from his mother’s more slender body type in general and softer, pretty facial traits, from the day he came to Japan, everything about Adonis’ body had him stand out in a crowd, no matter how hard he tried.

Even when they do not mean to be insensitive about it, instinctively, through the collective unconscious, Adonis’ presence is easy for Japanese people to see as scary. The country’s culture, as much as he loves it, does not see to foreigners kindly. Every issue about Adonis’ physical difference comes from Japan’s casual and widely accepted discrimination.

So why did Adonis specifically said he had never lived through such things ?

Let’s pick him as a character and not a walking representation of his entire country (as he should in a narrative focused on individual characters, at least the broad appliance of it : he’s a full person, not a token). Putting this aside from a second, Adonis is a young man who values peace above all. Which also means avoiding conflict at all cost. This makes for him stepping up to help others using his own blood and sweat, and many micro internal conflicts where he does not know what to think, like is this person scared of him because he is objectively large or because he looks foreign. It’s both, but consciously or not ? Those social conflicts which are extremely complex to deal with and sprayed upon every aspect of his life, thus him asking a lot of questions, especially to Souma who he sees as a perfect reference to Japanese culture.

Uniquely, Japan is known to be, unfortunately, very xenophobic. This show mostly through rudeness such as walking into foreigners when walking by, not making eye contact nor nodding/bowing when saying hello and general rudeness.

I believe that Adonis took it upon himself, like many minorities in East Asia. When you see people being so considerate and polite to one another but you and you are young, you might just start to believe you are the problem. This also fits his very “silently take action for yourself” personality. Adonis’ avoidance of conflict make him focus more on what he can do and less about what others can do or how to change people’s mind. Thus his thinking that he is too big, that he’s bothering everyone (especially in a country where socially you wish to bother as little people as possible) and that, as someone who is so physically imposing (people make him feel more imposing than he actually is), he needs to work extra hard to not take more space.

This makes him even more silent than his calm personality makes him to be : only with the help of his friends, especially Koga, Rei and Souma, does he start to dare speak his mind, and think of himself as just fine the way he is. Handsome even.

[thatmcgwords]

“The ultimate goal of our existence is always to be better, do better, and continue to strive to be better. It is in our nature to focus on self-improvement; change is a process we are used to. However, we are frightened by sudden or forced shifts in the normal and prefer to approach it in safe amounts at a time.

We fear change, but without it, there's little hope for us in achieving our dreams. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“When we refuse to change, we cling hopelessly to the idea that the past affects the present and future. The reasoning is that whatever happens now will happen whether you act or not. But this is false because our destinies are not determined until we work in that direction.”

We must free our minds of the excuses that hold us back; change is good for us in the long run. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

Change doesn't have an expiration date; you can take a bold step now. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“We are the only ones who can make our lives better, the power to change is in our hands. We need to break free of the hold fear has on us; it only limits us and keeps us from being our true selves.”

Humans are emotional creatures—highly intelligent but still prone to emotions from time to time. These emotions include anger, happiness, and sadness. Whether we admit it or not, they have a hold on us, and the only way to gain true happiness is to take back control and use our emotions to our advantage.

Emotions can be controlled; the goal is to utilize this control to your advantage. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“We often bring up trauma we may have already healed from as the reason why change is impossible. We are our own worst enemy when it comes to bettering ourselves, not because we hate ourselves but because we are more willing to give excuses than do any real work towards changing.

When confronted with the opportunity to grow and change, we create excuses instead. This action is often because we are often afraid of failure, and we cannot fail if we do not do anything outside our comfort zone. But self-improvement is waiting for us just outside of that zone.”

Past trauma isn't an excuse to be stuck in a bad mental and emotional phase. We must be courageous enough to move past it. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“Once you develop the courage to be disliked, you can indeed be free to be who you want to be.”

Comparison robs us of true fulfillment because we gauge our successes according to the success of others. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

We must acknowledge the successes of those around us as their fate and not feel the need to replicate it in our lives. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“To truly grow, we must not burden our minds with a picture of perfection. Instead, we should think of models as a possibility.

When you do this, you'll be more focused on the journey and count your little wins. Often we get so caught up in the big win at the end that we forget the small ones that culminate in it.”

There is no such thing as perfection. We all make mistakes and learn from them to do better. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“The courage to accept our lives as imperfect is the first step to achieving happiness through contentment. When we celebrate our little victories instead of competing, we free our minds of many negative emotions that cloud our judgment. Your only competition is who you were yesterday; the goal is to do better today, not become bitter.”

Do not live to satisfy the expectations of others. ~ Ichiro Kishimi

“As social creatures, we have thiѕ inherent need to be seen; that is to be recognized and acknowledged. But many people often go about it the wrong way, inadvertently sacrificing their own identity for the recognition of others”

Don't try to fit in with the crowd. You have your path to follow; live it to the fullest. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“If you make new friends, they need to know the real you and not a version of you within their acceptable standards. The best connections are those built on the genuineness of character.”

It would help if you found the courage to be the odd one out, be original. Don't let anyone set standards for you that aren't you. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“Once you free yourself of this weight of expectation and acceptance, you open up the door for a proper relationship dynamic, one where you can offer yourself in the most total capacity, untainted and true. Be sure to not place anyone above or below yourself; treat everyone as equals with your communication and attitude.”

“Interpersonal relationships are simply relationships we have with other people; colleagues, friends, and family. They are the bedrock of our existence, whether we admit it or not. Without these relationships, we would lose touch with reality and live relatively empty lives.”

Humans, by design, crave and create interpersonal relationships; the goal is to foster healthy ones. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“We form these interpersonal relationships because we need to due, to our evolution, and cannot live detached from society. How do you create them? It’s relatively easy, you must first have an active interest in others, not just yourself, and show commitment to the affairs of others besides you.”

Nurturing healthy interpersonal relationships is key to living a wholesome life. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“To effectively nurture healthy relationships, we must cultivate a few habits. Namely:

Self-acceptance. We shy away from forming connections because we feel unworthy or imperfect. We need to change this mindset. We must focus only on the things we can adjust and work towards them.

Confidence in others. It's often true that we reluctantly show confidence in anyone but ourselves because people can be untrustworthy. But to form deep and meaningful relationships, you must have complete faith and trust in the people you form connections with.

Contribution to others. As we form connections, we must make conscious efforts to contribute in our way to their lives. As we do, we create a sense of value and usefulness in ourselves, knowing that we can positively affect others and not just ourselves.”

We must not let the opinions of people shape who we are and how we live. ~ Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

“We must stop and appreciate life for the exact way it is and only seek improvements where they are needed. If you have set goals, pursue them but don't expect them all to get achieved. If you keep putting so much weight on your set goals, you set yourself up for unhappiness.”

“The key to a wholesome life is letting oneself experience life's stages to the fullest; past, present, and future.”

Your unhappiness cannot be blamed on your past or your environment. And it isn’t that you lack competence. You just lack courage. One might say you are lacking in the courage to be happy. ~ Ichiro Kishimi

“Getting your emotions in check will pave the way for you to free yourself from the pressure you face when letting others decide how your life should go. It would be best if you learned to live for yourself.

Knowing how to distance yourself from the opinions of others is very vital because it helps you nurture healthier relationships with others in the long run. You must realize that you are one of a kind, and as such, you must act accordingly; refuse to be caged or classified.

Own your uniqueness and show enough courage to be you, unapologetically you. It takes a lot of courage to be different in a world that's forcing you to be like everyone else. You might even be disliked, but you'd be living a life you chose, free and happy.

The courage to be disliked is refusing to live within the confines of people's negative opinions of you. It is choosing to live freely, by rules set by you—rules that ensure you are living a healthy and fulfilling life.”

If you want the courage to be disliked, you must first accept yourself wholly, thereby blocking any negative external feedback. These are steps to follow to accept yourself:

• Embrace the fear of failure.

• Know your purpose.

• Gain control of your mind.

• Remember that you don’t have to be perfect; you need only to be authentic.

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[gingerontheside]

Mt. Nokogiri Hike!

On April 1st, I traveled with Temple Japan's Dean Wilson to explore Mount Nokogiri. This is a historic, gorgeous mountain in the Chiba peninsula known for its extraordinary natural beauty. We were encouraged to go on this trip if we are fans of the movie Princess Mononoke, as the lush forests really reflect the scenery of the mountain in the movie.

Before we could step foot onto this mountain, the large charter bus with 45 students and 4 workers was loaded up into the Tokyo Bay Ferry to cross the water from Kurihama to Kanaya port. Apparently, if we held out shrimp chips off the side of the boat, seagulls would swoop down and snag them right out of your hand! (I was a little seasick, so I opted to stay seated as the others around me played with the seagulls.) The ocean was gorgeous and the sun was shining, signaling an amazing day ahead.

(The view from where I sat on the back of the Ferry.)

Once we pulled into port, we boarded back onto the bus and traveled for a few minutes to take the Nokogiriyama Ropeway. This Rope Car took us nearly all the way to the top of the steep mountain, allowing us to take in the beauty of the forest from above as we traveled rather quickly to the top. I was very thankful for this, since just going down and around the mountain was enough to kill my calves. I can't imagine if I also had to hike from the bottom to the top. The view from way up top was breathtaking. Apparently, on clearer days, you might even see Mount Fuji in the distance. Alas, as beautiful of a day it was, the visibility from that far was lacking.

(You can see the little Ropecar in yellow on the left of the image. Yeah, this is how high up we were.)

This is the map we were set to follow for the day ahead. It is deceptively easy looking. It was a lot of going down and then back up, and HOO does that kill your legs.

The first of the areas we explored was The Hundred-Shaku Kwannon. This was like a crack in the mountain. You climbed over several rocky pathways and up many flights of rock stairs to reach this cavern. Inside, my group was shocked to find a massive sculpture of Buddha imprinted into the wall of the mountain. This carving was absolutely giant and served as a great point of realization for all of us in the group on how big this mountain really is. (This is not the most giant Buddha statue on this mountain. Like, woah.)

After staring at the carving for a long while (and taking a few obligatory Temple Japan Instagram pictures), we made our way around and ABOVE the sculpture. This meant several more minutes of steep stair climbing, and for the first time, I noticed my legs shaking from exhaustion. Once at the top of the staircase, we were greeted with "The View From Hell." This was a fenced-in area where you could lean over and see the HUGE dropoff to pretty much the base of the mountain. It was enough to make you dizzy but was also very cool to look at. It was then we realized just how far down we now needed to hike.

(I kept joking it was like the scene in Midsommar where the old people jumped from the cliff...I don't think my travel companions appreciated this much. They did laugh though don't worry)

As we made our way down the (VERY STEEP) steps to the bottom of the mountain, we kept stumbling upon gatherings of Buddha statues. They would be clustered together along the path, watching us as we made our way down the side of the mountain. Some of these statues were in tip-top shape, and some were broken in pieces. I think we happened upon at LEAST 8 of these statue gardens as we made our way down. One of these gardens was particularly impressive, called the 1,500-Arhat Approach. This area was created by zen master Guden Koga and his 27 apprentices, who then dedicated from 1779 to 1798 to carving stone figures and placing them in natural caves caused by erosion. It is known as a 'marvelous masterpiece depicting the spirit of eternal benevolence." This area is renowned by Buddhists as one of the world's holiest grounds. Many are now in a state of ruin due to the anti-Buddhist movement of the Meiji era.

(In one of the caves in the large garden.)

(The pillar separating the two caves)

Unfortunately, one of the main attractions of Mount Nokigiri is the Nihon Temple. This temple is entirely closed off to the public, as it is undergoing rather expansive construction. The temple is the oldest Imperial invocation place of worship in the Kanto area. An extant monument states that this temple consists of 7 shrines, 12 monastic houses, and one hundred lodges for priests. We could not even get close to it, but from a distance, it did seem rather impressive.

We hiked around the Temple area and made our way down the mountain to nearly the bottom of the entire thing. On our way, we passed by several shrines, many plants, a couple of lizards, and some rather impressive stone bridges.

(One of the shrines we passed by.)

Finally, we made our way back up to about halfway up the mountain, where the massive Daibutsu of Nihon-Ji lay. This massive 28-meter-high statue was carved by Jingoro Eirei and his 27 apprentices over 3 years, from 1780-1783. This image is actually of Ruriko Bhechadjaguru Tathagata, and signifies that the whole world is "a pure field contained in a lotus world." It was constructed as a symbol of world peace and tranquility. In the late Edo period, the statue was nearly destroyed by erosion until 196, when restoration efforts began and were completed in 1969.

Surrounded by Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom, and lush greenery, this area was a quiet space of retrospection. Everyone who hiked the mountain eventually ended up here, and in the field surrounding the statue we all would catch our breath and relax in the warmth of the beautiful spring day. Every time the wind would blow, cherry blossom petals would float through the air like snow. It was very tranquil.

This was where our hike was completed. We caught our breath for a few minutes, then headed on our way to get some traditional Japanese lunch and go to an onsen to relax our muscles after all the strain we put them under. It was a wonderful day and a gorgeous hike. I could not have asked for better weather, and the cherry blossom trees in full bloom scattered around the mountain just added to the luck and joy all of us felt. This was truly an unforgettable experience I was honored to be a part of.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 20 - Ken Doll and Barbie the CEO

With support from her partner, Kisara and Ohma returned to watch the third match. The odds were equal now, and the Kengan fighters had renewed hope. Now that they got familiar with the ring-out rule and the countdown, they can show off, as they deserve - After all, Purgatory was shit compared to Kengan.

Once they arrived back at the waiting room, the fight had already started, and Julius was fighting that guy who matched his colossal build. As soon as Kisara saw her friends, she almost completely forgot about her haziness and started smiling, greeting them with a lazy wave. Before she could blink, Raian was there - Thankfully, her partner pulled her out of the way before that dumbass could pounce on her. Five times. "Guys, stop, I'm getting dizzy." though her vision blurred slightly, she was able to chuckle. "Seeeeeee~♪ babe? I told ya you could fuck those fuckers up! You fucked them up real time!" he cackled like a freaking maniac, but he was hilarious. "It was a collective effort, I don't deserve all the praise. I learnt from all of you. It should be me, thanking you, for quite literally seven years of help. You especially, 'Tsuki. You started all this, my best friend. My win is yours, as well as everyone else's." the man smiled at her, and walked up, patting her hair. "Hatsumi would have been proud watching you fight." she smiles sarcastically. "Oh, yes, of course he would have - If he wasn't training in some mountains in the middle of nowhere, in China. He went training with Rei, the same as when he started training me. I wonder if he thinks Mikazuchi Rei is actually a girl." she started laughing again, only to cringe and clutch her sides. "Kisara." she heard Gaolang's voice, as he stepped forwards. "Thank you." he held such a sweet and tender expression as he thanked her and extended his hand for her to shake. "I don't do handshakes with the God of Boxing, brother." she smiled back, clenching her hand into a fist, and bumping it into his right Godly fist. "I have been blessed." he couldn't help but look away in amusement. Through all the praises, Kisara went to Agito and extended her arms to the side. "Do I get a hug, AG?" the girl gave him a playful smile. "You should have been in the roster from the very beginning. I know what I trained." careful not to hurt her, he pulled her into an embrace. "It takes almost being beaten to death a few dozen times to get this good." Kisara laughed, making Agito shake his head - It had taken a long time, getting full control over his two sides and eliminating the delay - But in the end, he succeeded.

"Hey, boss. You mind if I watch the fights from here?" a boy around Ryuki's age came in the room. He had silver hair, and a boyish, innocent expression on his face. Judging by his stature and the few visible scars, he must have been a fighter. Kisara's supposition was confirmed by Yamashita Kazuo, who agreed to let him watch from here. "Ohhh, are you Ryuki's friend?" Kisara quickly made her way to the two boys, putting her hands on their shoulders. "Ah - ! You're the lady that fought just now!" Koga stared at her with awe. "Kisara's my name, great to meet you. I take it you're training to become the next big guy too?"  the boy grinned, though he seemed bashful. "Yes, Miss - But I know it will take a while. I just started, really. You guys are all super cool and strong, and I'm nowhere on your level." he was such an innocent boy, sweet darling. "Hey, now, you've got all the time in the world. At your age, I was a shut in who never left the bed. In fact... I was around 23 years old that I actually started doing any kind of physical training. That pretty man there - He's Nitoku. He studied to become an author, you know? He took up fighting barely 15 years ago. So - Not all of us start at an early age, but it's never too late, you know? So, chin up, I'm rooting for you!" though Koga was feeling overwhelmed by all the encouraging, he couldn't help but be attracted to the battle of the two beasts that was taking place. The impact of each and every blow was so heavy, that even the people of the audience thought they were being thrown flying away. "Hey, hey -- This doesn't look good at all! Our guy's getting pushed back!! Gosh, are they even human?!" poor Koga's face was dropped to the floor, crestfallen. "Doesn't look good? For who?" Wakatsuki scoffed at what he had just heard. "I've fought him before, so I can tell - It'll take more than THAT to bring him down." Julius managed to land a blow so hard to his opponent's gut. "Ohoho, yes, that was a fantastic fight, though you gave me a fright close to death. Half your face was dragged across the cement wall, it was insane!" Julius received a heavy blow to the head that sent him down to the ground - He almost got stomped down, but he blocked with his arm, delivering another blow - The enemy fighter was sent sliding across the floor, and continued getting plummeted... Or so the public thought.

"Wakatsuki... This isn't looking good." Ohma stared in shock as the opponent took a direct hit to the cheek, only to spin around and land a punch so powerful that it sent Julius to the ground, and the countdown began. "...I knew this would happen." he tsk'ed in annoyance. "He  shifted the flow of power to reduce the damage." "But... That looked like your Redirection Kata." Kisara muttered back, earning a nod of approval. "C-Come to think of it... The first time he knocked Julius down - His fist made an unnatural impression on his torso. What if that's because he was going limp?" Yamashita pointed out a very good fact. "The Water Kata. That Pineapple Head relaxed all the muscles in his body to disperse the damage." Ohma agreed. "B-But how does he know the Niko style techniques. C-Could Toa Mudo be a Worm that's infiltrated Purgatory??!!!" the four of them sobered up.

On the count of 8, Julius got back up. Though he attempted a punch, he was deflected and sent to the ground, only able to block the rain of punches. But from that impossible posture, Reinhold was somehow able to lift the man slightly heavier than even himself, whilst getting hammered down, trying to break free. "JULIUS!!! PUT UP YOUR GUARD!!!" Takeshi was his one eternal rival - And his biggest supporter in this tournament. "It's hopeless! His opponent's techniques are first class! He's not an opponent he can beat with brute force!" Koga looked like a gasping fish. "You're underestimating Julius, kid." Kisara smirked. "Only people who have fought Takeshi and gave him a run for his money can properly develop strategies to beat down strong guys that rely on martial arts as well as their own raw strength. I bet Julius sees Tsuki in the ring." she jabbed at her best friend. "... Let's not." Wakatsuki grumbled, anxious for the fight before him. As if predicted, Julius knocked back Toa, making him fall on the ground, and he even made him cough blood. "WHA--?! WHAT'S UP WITH JULIUS'S FOREARMS?!" as Yamashita rightfully gawked, his arms truly did look... Odd. "THAT'S -- THAT'S MUSCLE CONTROL!" if something could make even the Tiger breathless, it must be fantastic. "I've never seen anyone control their muscles to that level before...!" "That's... Pretty insane. Think you could still defeat that guy?" though she meant it more as a joke, they both were wondering the same question - Although, neither has forgotten how modest and nervous Wakatsuki usually easy, even going as far as to downplay his own strength.

The two fighters were back up and took their stances. "He's preparing for a counter! He'll have to approach with caution." Wakatsuki declared - Everyone, on both sides, as well as the auditorium, were feeling tense. Julius was the first to rush, ramming like a high-speed train - And with a single punch, Toa had broken the concrete ground with his head. Impeccable. All the Kengan fighters were cheering loudly, gleeful at the fantastic sight before them - Although Toa must have landed the counter, Julius spun his forearm to repel Toa's block. He flexed his muscles to their limits, then released them all at once - Similar concept to the Blast core, though its usage is entirely different. On the count of 10, Julius Reinhold, the Martyr of Muscles, was declared the undisputable winner of the 0% fat fight.

"That was AWESOME, Julius! A great match to witness, as always!" Kisara praised the man, who grunted and nodded in acknowledgement. "That win was totally you. You pulverized his techniques in just one hit." Ohma recognised his achievements. Once again, Julius scoffed. "The truly strong need no technique - But more importantly, Tokita Ohma, I don't think that man is a member of the Worm you're looking for." Ohma nodded his head. "Yeah... That looked like the Niko style at first, but it was something else entirely." he agreed. "You've improved again, Julius." Wakatsuki praised, raising his hand up. "I'll be cordial with you, but only this once." in their most epic fashion, the two strongest men high-fived, the sound of that clap resounding like pure victory for the Kengan association.

"So, now that three matches ended, it's finally time for the Purgatory to choose first, and we counter, right?" Kisara asked, though quite a few minutes have passed. "Yes, you are right... But why can't they just pick someone already, the hype is dying down fast." the manager grumbled, staring suspiciously at the Purgatory. "But we have 13 matches - Doesn't that leave one out?" Naoya asked, counting on his finger.

As if on cue, Alisa came forth, announcing a special match, as all lights went off. It was a timed match, and instead of the ring edges, the fighters can only move inside the glowing light. You lose if your whole body leaves the bounds of the light. In this match, the countdown doesn't apply. If, by the end of the 5 minutes there is no clear winner, the match is declared a No Contest. Gaolang was the first to speak, saying that the Purgatory had every advantage - Kisara disagreed, and she looked at Misasa with a mischievous smirk. He looked back at her, and with that leisure smile of his, he took off his blazer and announced that he can go fight this one. "Who else but someone small, fast and agile like this silver fox do you think can properly fight under these rules? If some big-ass meat head comes over, he can easily play around him. You wouldn't want another Julius and Toa match under these circumstances, right?" Kisara countered Gaolang. "If Miss CEO has so much faith in me, how can I back down now?" Misasa lazily chuckled. "Maybe I should go. I'm a rookie too." Masaki serenely spoke. "No." Yamashita was solemn. "I'd like you to go, Misasa." after so long, he could see how match ups can be made in your favour. He trusted Misasa's confidence, though he's never seen him fight before, the way he saw others. Regardless, despite his small build, he was chosen as the Eighth Fang, so he must be strong, especially after Katahara Retsudo himself praised him so much.

According to Alisa, the Kengan team was 'tricked' into choosing first - As it was a special fight, the two teams had to pick at the same time. But no matter. Misasa had his hands in his pockets, and looked around. The ring was empty, save for his sole presence. Ohma was reminded of Kisara's No-Fighter stance, and found the corner of his mouth twitching up. This guy must be the real deal. The Purgatory will underestimate him, the same they did for Kisara. Losers. "Don't pussy out, Biiiiiiiitch~ ♪" the Kengan fighters could hear nothing from the two Fangs shading each other, but they could hear Kisara's uncontrollable laughter. Raian recalled that one day he trained with that damned Fox girl, and all the tricks and taunts she pulled on him. He wasn't sure whether that little shrimp guy was doing the same thing, or simply had a personal vendetta against that meat-head fuckwad, but it was going to be as good a match to watch, as the red head's. Still, he just wanted to jump in action and beat the crap out of those fuckers already. And kill. Raian craved violence.

Once the fight was announced, the meat-head went in for a punch - He was fast, and followed up with more hits until Misasa was at the edge of the light. Though Naoya was impressed by his speed, despite his large build, Ohma was disappointed to see such an amateurish waste evident from all his motions. "Now, the fun begins." Agito heard Kisara giggling ominously, jumping on the railing to get a better look of the fight. The meat-head tried to palm Misasa's face, only for him to side step and end up behind him, punching him out of the ring - But he failed, and the traitor turned around and somehow cut off at his shirt and chest, drawing a bit of blood. Misasa seemed irked off. The motion the ex-Fang made with his hand looked as though he was using his thumb's knuckle to cut, the same as Lihito used the pads of his fingers to pinch.

The light's spotlight was getting smaller and smaller, whist the enemy's arrogance was increasing a hundredfold. Kisara was sitting on the railing, dangling her legs playfully and grinning at the display before her. "He's toying with him, what a cute dork!" she felt so easy-going, unlike young Koga whose grip on the railing bar seemed to be so tight that his skin turned bloodless pale. "Toying with him? Miss Kisara, I know he's your friend, but look how close he is to the edge of the light! One small push and he's gonna get propelled out of the ring!" the poor boy gasped in anxiety, only to see the red head point her finger towards the fight, as Misasa punched the enemy down to the ground, his face roughly slamming on the ground. "Ahhh, that was rough...." Misasa took off his shirt, throwing it out of the light-ring. "I can't stand being talked down to by a piece of shit like you..." Kisara wolf-whistled at the blond fighter, only to receive a mischievous wink right back. Kisara laughed, and laughed harder, as the foe got back to his feet, shrieking and growling countless curses and insults towards the Eighth Fang of Metsudo. "Come on. It's time to go to Hell." Misasa got in a fighting stance, flapping his hand as a gesture to get his opponent to attack him. "You are just a bat who thinks he's a lion." Misasa effortlessly retorted, watching the traitor lunge at him, and he retaliated with a knee to his chin, making him stumble backwards, before rushing forward with a barrage of elbows well aimed. "I've never seen a martial art like this before." Ohma muttered, leaning down to Kisara's height. "That, my darling, is just about one of the best martial arts known to mankind." the girl giggled, snaking an arm around his waist to pull him next to her, so she could lean on his body. "It is called Silat, and it has mainly soft movements, and can be successfully done with weapons also. They use elbows not only for attacking, like in Muay Thai, but for blocking and parrying also." the red haired woman explained the theory behind it. "Look how Misasa used his elbow to parry and derail that idiot's straight punch, and now he's using the other elbow to hit him over the head, at precisely his weakest spot. We are adorably cute and small people, my love, but we are capable of defending ourselves, even against meatheads like Yumigahama." the girl giggled playfully, watching as the blond knocked him off the balance and getting him in a one sided beatdown, attacking from outside his awareness. Misasa was capable of out-maneuvering his enemy at every turn, and no amount of size difference can make up for an attack you cannot see coming.

Spinning elbow, 12-6 elbow, elbow uppercut and a karate-chip to the wind-pipe, they all sent Yumigahama to the ground, writing in agony. He didn't even realise that his large frame was working against him, as the ring was shringing at such a rapid pace. A psychological wall that was getting him caught up and unable to fight to his fullest.

The foe cockily got up, getting in a stance, laughing at murdering one of Misasa's subordinates - Took out the trash, he said - If only he knew how angry Misasa was, deep inside his heart. "I don't wanna hear another word out of you. Just shut up and die." Yumigahama kept throwing punch after punch as the younger one dodged perfectly, yet still got nicked here and there. Despite all this, he wasn't landing any hits, nor was he able to throw Misasa off his groove.  His moves don't work if the opponent sees them coming, and Misasa was a master at foresight, and was always one step ahead. "He's strong!" Wakatsuki exclaimed. "Misasa excels at fighting in tight spaces. He's turned his smaller build into an advantage." Agito nodded. "Look, Wakatsuki. Misasa is carefully aiming for Yumigahama's vitals. Misasa's cultivated the skill it takes to bring down  opponents with bigger builds, and with his movement restricted and nothing in his arsenal but simplistic attacks, Yumigahama has no way to defend himself." he noted skillfully. "That's right, you big, brawny guys~!" Kisara looked over her shoulder at them, a snake-like smirk on her face. "All it takes is a little ingenuity."

Finally, Misasa got fed up with entertaining that idiot, and the light ring was small enough to his liking; As Yumigahama aimed for a grapple, Misasa used his elbows to hit his wrists down, before the joints of his thumbs shoved hard into his temporo-mandibular joint, dislocating it. As the enemy was shrieking in agony, the blond aimed an elbow shot to his cervical vertebras, and another, right in his face, making his teeth fly out - With one last punch, Misasa slammed his head down onto the ground, making push out of his face and skull.

"IT'S OVER!" the red announced. "THE WINNER OF THE SHOWDOWN IS MISASA!" as Misasa made a catwalk prowl back to the stands where the Kengan team was waiting for him, the first to greet him was of course, Kisara, who high-fived him.

"Way to go, you little tanuki!" Koga almost shuddered at the ominous look those two seemed to emanate simply from those vague, enigmatic close-eyed grins addressed to one another. "Much appreciated, kitsune lady." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, looking at the others. "Good work, Misasa." Agito praised him. "Oh, don't mention it. I was just lucky enough to hit his sore spot." the blond chuckled dismissively. "Hey, don't be modest, that was a nice fight!" Naoya scolded him with a laugh. "That's right, you little Ken-Doll. Don't go around playing down our fearsome might!" Kisara nudged him in the ribs. "Alright, alright, my apologise Barbie the CEO." Misasa chuckled lightly. "Okubo and Miss Kisara are right, you fought very well!" Yamashita Kazuo smiled at the Fang. "Your display was worthy of the name of Fang. The Master will be pleased." Agito nodded, pleased at his successor. "Hey, guys." Koga called out. "I don't want to say Misasa's win wasn't impressive - But don't you think those guys are pretty unfazed?" "Yeah... It seems that way." Ryuki also spoke in a light voice. "N-No way! Their ex-Fang of Metsudo just lost! They should be screaming on the inside!" the manager exclaimed in shock. "No. My guess is, the boy is right." Misasa spoke as Kisara was applying cute, smile-face and animal plasters on his cuts. "Do you know what Yumigahama's record in Purgatory is?" he asked, only to look down at the red head. "No, not the salamander, I want the pink seal -- Oh, and that blue and purple panda." he cleared his throat, looking back at the manager. "Nine wins and five losses, wasn't it?" "Five losses? But he WAS the Fang of Metsudo, wasn't he?" Nitoku was just as surprised as everyone else. "So you mean there're still at least five guys stronger than Yumigahama?" Okubo sweat-dropped. "Purgatory is... Unfathomable." Kano grumbled with a glare. "With weakling rules like the ring-out, are you really surprised freak-loses can happen? Just like what happened with Gaolang." Kisara reminded them bitterly, only to flinch at the obnoxious laughter of the Kure fighter. "I LOVE IT! That makes them all the more worth killing!" Raian cackled like a maniac. "No killing, Michael Myers. We want to win, not lose because you can't restrain your blood lust." the girl scolded him. As they kept bickering amongst each other, Purgatory chose their fighter, a man called Naidan Monkhbat, otherwise known as the Hawk of Ordos. "He looks pretty strong." Ohma admitted, watching almost lazily. "Is he... Mongolian? He reminds me of what we see in movies." the Masaki lookalike approved her theory. "Yes, that's a Mongolian Wrestling uniform. It belongs to the Main School in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region." the boy spoke his knowledge. "So... Is he a grappler? Have I gotten that right?" the single girl there asked. "That's a perfect match for my Sambo." Nitoku fixed his glasses, fire surging through his veins. "No, no, it's time for a wrestler like me to shine!" Naoya, in his clown outfit, smirked arrogantly. "I could go out, if you like." Masaki didn't look up from his book. "Sit the fuck down, Richie Rich." Raian's comment made Kisara chuckle.

Naidan smirked up at the Kengan stands, and flexing his arm, he showed off the white tattoo of a disgusting insect. He was a filthy Worm, reporting directly to the head. Kisara gasped in surprise, whilst Koga and Yamashita yelled in shock. Ryuki, however, took his shirt and faux glasses off, and stepped into the ring without a warning to anyone. The Dragon King promised his friend he wouldn't kill this Worm monster... But it seemed the Mongolian had a death wish. Did he really want to get killed, or was it his arrogance speaking?

Ryuki was a tall, well-built boy, even for his age, but standing in front of Naidan, he looked so small and vulnerable. Naoya and Masaki seemed to agree his style must be something close to Greco-Roman Wrestling. As Alisa declared the beginning of the fight, Ryuki, in the blink of an eye, disappeared, leaping towards the enemy, only for him to get skillfully kicked down. The boy landed like a cat on his feet, before leaping again; Instead, he got tripped and forced into a cartwheel move, dizzying him slightly. Ryuki realised there is no way he could beat him in a contest of strength alone, as the man before him was at least 30 kilograms of pure muscles heavier.

Whilst deciding on a surprise attack, Naidan affirmed he wasn't an imposter, but the real man named and called Naidan Monkhbat. Interesting concept, if not, a little fearsome. Ryuki went in for an Uncoiling Serpent fist, only to get effortlessly punched in the mouth, and sent backwards. None of his moves worked - The boy was far too direct, and his set-up process was sloppy at best. He was far too easily predictable. Even when he was being held up, not even his toes touching the ground, he tried to hit his shin into Naidan's temple, but he got caught, the enemy's hand gripping the inside of his knee joint. Kisara was reminded painfully of Ohma's fight with Seki, a long while ago... It was a most frightful memory that she didn't want to remember at the moment. She was afraid for Ryuki's life, especially in the merciless hands of a Worm.

Naidan back-slapped and dragged him around, punching and kicking him without as much as breaking a sweat, yet all of these hits were nothing but a warning for Gaoh to get serious and actually bring forth his killing intent. "He's holding back on him, all 'cause I told him not to kill him...!" Koga gasped, nervous as he watched the fight - Seeing his best friend being slammed into the ground, bleeding so heavily, only made him realise furthermore how weak he was, compared to everyone else. He has so much to learn. "His opponent's strong enough to kill him, even if it weren't for that." Ohma reassured the boy. "If he is strong enough to report directly to the head of the organisation, I fear Ryuki might have no chance." Kisara muttered softly. "His movements are as precise as a machine. There's not a bit of waste. He has the unique 'Clingy Muscles' and 'Stunning strikes' unique to a grappling-based martial artist. His resilience is extraordinary too. This is going to be a tough fight." Gaolang spoke, and Kisara couldn't help but nod her head in agreement, remembering Cosmo and how tough he was, especially fighting against that psychopath Akoya. Grapplers were something above her comprehension. "Nobody on our team could match him in pure strength, except for maybe Julius, Wakatsuki and Raian. Ryuki can't win the fight the way he is now." "Not even you and Ohma?" Kisara blinked in surprise, only for the Boxer God to miserably shake his head. "Agito?" still a negative answer. "What an insane man."

With some mental gymnastics played by the Mongolian, Ryuki was now questioning his own convictions and morals. His grandpa, Gaoh Mukaku, told him to kill all Worms as they are evil, yet at the same time, he wasn't trying to kill him in the ring. Going as far as to claim that the boy was questioning the validity of his grandpa's claims, Ryuki's mind was completely blank and gone beyond the human realm; He began attacking his foe on an instinctual level, and it was clear he was doing far better, enough to get Naidan staggering. Ryuki was so much faster and unflinching than before, so swift that even his opponent couldn't see his hits.

Still, the Mongolian and his mastered 'Bird's Eye view' was fantastic and on a whole other level than any of them put together. It was a different kind of Foresight that Kisara couldn't understand the mechanism of, yet could agree it might just be a little better than the initiative she was taught. She wondered if she would be able to keep up with Ryuki's swift moves, as she, too, was speed and agility reliant.

Naidan hadn't broken a single sweat bead during the entire match, not even as he was holding a struggling Ryuki up by the neck. "Neither you, nor I, can escape the karmic cycle of killing - So if you won't kill me, then I will kill you!" the opponent shouted at the boy. "Is it because of your environment? Then, let me exterminate the Root cause." as Naidan glanced back at Koga and Yamashita Kazuo, he completely missed Ryuki's lightning speed as he got slammed in the face, only for the boy to get behind him and feint him, then get hit with a soft strike in the cheek, to the point they were both on their knees. "I'm never... Never letting you hurt Koga again." Ryuki growled like a feral animal. "YOU WILL DIE." "BRING IT ON! ONLY ONE OF US WILL LEAVE THIS RING ALIVE!" Naidan laughed boastfully, whilst both Koga and Naidan's Purgatory friend yelled in disbelief.

Gaoh incapacitated Naidan with a thumb deep in his foe's eye and slammed down into the ground, plummeted down with a barrage of berserker hits and punches, only for Alisa to order for a count down. Ryuki was deaf to the refere, and Naidan was holding a death-grip on his neck, unwilling to let go of the one who had to kill him. The Omega. Both fighters were beaten and bruised, and the match was approaching its end. Naidan grabbed the boy, snapping his shoulder, dislocating his joint - No, rather, Ryuki dislocated his own shoulder to be able to land a good punch up Naidan's chin. In his suffering, he received a rough shin kick to that agonising spot of his joint, making his growl in pain.

Gaoh got flipped on his back and his waist was straddled; The Mongolian started strangling him, and not in the fun way either. His windpipe was on full attack. From sheer desperation, Ryuki pierced his thumb deep into Naidan's eardrum; Tears were gleaming and streaming down the boys face, only mirrored by the satisfied grin on the opponent's face, as he grabbed the finger killing him and driving it even further, into his skull and brain.

Naidan fell on Ryuki, half-dead. His friend leapt out from the stands, grabbing the Mongolian and begging him not to die, calling for the doctors to come over, yet barely any of his shouts were heard by the deaf man, who could only warn him not to trust the man calling himself Nicolas. "These fucking Worms only know how to bring misery to this world." Kisara growled, hopping off the railing and kneeling in front of Ryuki, bringing him into a tight embrace. The boy's fingers were gripping so deep into her flesh that she was afraid he would rip the flesh off her bones. "Shhhh, it's okay, Ryuki, it's okay. Everything will be okay. Nobody is upset at you, I promise. Nobody, not even Koga." it was almost weird, holding an almost exact copy of her own fiance, as though he was his little brother. Kisara was rocking the boy in her arms as though he was her child, one arm around his torso, the other hand caressing the mess of dark hair. "Miss Kisara... I....I'm..." the boy was trembling violently in her arms. The sound of running footsteps alerted the boy, who looked back at the two new-comers. "It's okay, Ryuki, just calm down. Let's get you fixed up. Miss Kisara, please help me get him to the Infirmary." Koga looked down at the two, panicked. The manager, however, was feeling intense guilt over being unable to save  Ryuki. "Koga... Boss. I'm... S-So..." but the soft, weak voice of the young boy was drowned out by Naidan's friend, Liu, who was out for revenge. "Wait a minute... You think I'd let you leave, did you?" the glare of the Taiwanese man could freeze a lake. "YOU DIE TOO."

No matter what Yamashita said in an attempt to stop this Liu man, it was in vain, for the enraged man created an earthquake where he stood. Liu Dongcheng, the Serpent, one of the Three Demon Fists. How adorable. "W-Wait a minute, let's just all calm down--" "GET LOST!" Liu attempted a punch down towards the whimpering Ryuki, but in a split second Kisara rose up, using her Aikido to grab the foe's arm and making him fly on the other side of the poor boy, landing on his feet. Though Liu was shocked, being countered in such a way, he tried to hit the red head - He remembers her, the one who killed another one of his Purgatory friends - She deserved to die also. His next hit got deflected, but not by her, but by Ohma, who somehow appeared by her side in the blink of an eye, his eyes focused, yet his body completely relaxed.

Raian, too, came by, smirking like a mad-man, followed by a raging Naoya and a silently wrathful Akoya. "Look, I know how you feel, but if you start this, we're not gonna take it lying down." Tokita spoke with a bored flair, putting a protective arm around his wife, bringing her closer to his side. "YOU'RE ON! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" the enraged Taiwanese man had to be held back by his team mate, Jurota, whilst the other three were there to de-escalate the situation. "No, no, no, we'll back off right away, pardon the embarrassment." the blond called Nicolas smiled nervously. "Let's just keep a level head for now. This isn't the smart way to go." for some reason, Liu started at the one dressed for a nice beach time with absolute dread. "They've got a point. Naidan was acting strangely back there. I don't know what he was doing, but..." of course, nothing could calm him down. "If you get this competition called off, then Naidan will have died for nothing. Is that what you want? To let your friend die in vain?" Donaire, the one who no doubt was the captain, called out to him. This man seemed to have just about the same vibe as Ohma; Confident, assured, strong... A true leader, without even trying to be. "I'm killing them as soon as the competition is over." Lie growled at them, turning on his heel and walking away. "Well, looks like things are back under control." Naoya sighed, glaring at the Purgatory fighters. "They don't want this match called off any more than we do." Ohma nodded in agreement. "Things are looking a little too lukewarm." Raian grinned wickedly. "Raian, no!" Kisara snapped at him as she returned by Ryuki's side, embracing him. "Raian, HELL yes!" he lunged to land a punch on Jurota - But not only the brunet didn't even flinch, but Lu Tian casually rose his hand, blocking the fist. "You're a lively one, aren't you? But save that spunk for your match." as Raian tsk'ed in annoyance, remarking their strength, Naoya yelled and scolded the assassin. "Raian." Kisara called him over. "They're strong, aren't they? Very strong. To block your attack like that..." the Kure nodded at her. Sighing, the girl got a strong grip on the boy, but before she could get him up, she got dragged away forcefully by the assassin. "Nah, sis, ain't gonna let ya rip your stitches open." Kisara's cheeks turned a hue pinker, realising her awful mistake. "You should know better, Miss Doctress." "I... Might have forgotten I just got stabbed. Not that the pain isn't lingering, but I suppose the Worms pissed me off too much to remember." she sheepishly chuckled, only to get picked up in Ohma's arms. "Enough with the Worm-stuff, you dumbass bookworm. Just because you got some new moves and put a little muscle on those skinny arms of yours, doesn't mean you can overexert your injured body like that." the man smirked down at her, though the disconcerting feeling was eating away at his heart. "I just got you back, I'm not letting you escape my grasp, you little vixen." "Technically speaking, it was I who just got you back, not the other way around, you stupid gym rat." she brought him down in a kiss, before she was brought to the Kengan waiting area and put down. "Hey now, enough with that lovey-dovey shite! No need to make us all jealous!" Rihito whined at them, only to get swatted away by Raian. "Shut up, shit head, leave them be." Raian cackled, glaring at his menacingly. "There's still someone on the stage." Gaolang spoke all of a sudden, earning everyone's attention, before looking at the single Purgatory member, the man called Lu Tian, who easily blocked Raian's punch. "I guess he's next." Ohma grumbled lowly. The other member of the Three Demon Fists, the Centipede, Lu Tian. With a somber look on his face, he displayed a circular item, looking very much like a bracelet bangle. At once, Kisara gasped, her head snapping towards Agito, who was grinning at the direct provocation. "Agito -- Will you be alright?" she stepped in front of him, her hands gripping his arms. "My apprentice won her fight. I cannot lose either." he spoke simply. "I am as prepared as always, even with this." Kisara nodded at him with a smile, bringing her fist up for him to bump. "Alright, Agito. Show those fuckers who the Emperor of the Kengan Matches is!" "You've got it." with a monster-like grin, Agito confidently stepped in the ring, seizing up his opponent, challenging him with the Gu ritual bracelet.

It was going to be one hell of a fight.

< Previous Chapter Next Chapter >

[meganuzlockediary]

Fire red! Warp panel Hell!

November 9th

So between Koga and Sabrina was longer than expected. First, I needed too get the major hms in the safari zone. So I raced through to get hm surf and the gold teeth. I tried to catch a Rhyhorn here but it just wasnt having it and quickly ran away. Accidently caught a Nidoran male tho. Had to release that one. Woops.

Once the hms were obtained I deceided to majorly level my team. Sabrina frightens me. With no effective type counter I knew I was going to have to rely on Persian and Fearow. I didn't like my chances.

So I train HARD. Going against every possible trainer left in the overworld without surfing. I make my way up the east side of the map all the way to snorlax. Again I use hitmonlee against him and this time I capture the Snorlax and name him Jumbo. He is boxed for now incase I want to use him in a different game. So long as I don't use him in battle I think this is fine.

I then decide I want a tanky special defender and I've had my eye on Lapras for a long time. Fortunately the next step is infact silph co tower where we can get a free lapras. Unfortunately I have to battle my rival first.

The battle doesn't go terribly! I wall his pokemon with Golem however I do lock him into rollout and get very scared when gyarados comes out with its intimidate and dragon rage. Fortunately Golem is fine he one shots Gyrados with the final rollout and I switch into Arcanine to get a flashfire boost before going back to Golem on a wing attack to finish Charizard with rock blast.

I get Lapras! One of my favourite pokemon and name him Cerulean! He has a Sassy nature which is great for a Sp. defender but a shame for the speed drop. Still With my new shiny mon I decide to EV train like nobodies business. Levelling up all the way from lv 25 to lv 43 (the level cap) I train him against 92 gastly, 126 Clefairy (a nice lass next to lavender town give 4hp evs a battle!) and Some tentacool until I get bored.

This means Lapras has basically a full spread of EVs. Focused on Sp.def and hp with a few sp.atk evs. I also teach him the tm Thunderbolt and I'm ready to go...

I dont even dare use him against Giovanni agter all that work. I use Golem against nidorino and nidoqueen (double kick scares me). Then Khangaskhan comes out so I switch to Hitmonlee. Fake out does ALOT more than expected so I just hope I out speed and one shot. I do outspeed but I do NOT one shot with brick break. Fortunatly he just used leer so I was clear to finish him off leading to rhyhorn. After a defense drop and him not taking fake out well I pull hitmonlee out and replace him back with Golem. Using magnitide to take out Rhyhorn and win the battle.

No where near as bad! Plus I'm rewarded with the Master ball! Which I will be making good use of next time!

So finally is sabrina. With all my pokemon close to the level cap I am still scared and dont want to take any risks approaching her. I take the quickest route and hope for the best.

I lead lapras vs kadabra! It serves me well as I manage to take it out in one surf only being outsped for a future sight. Mr Mime comes out and sets up a barrier as I go for Ice beam. I do around half health. She heals I chip away until he is down taking around half damage from a psybeam, future sight and hitting my self in confusion combo. Leftovers would be a dream right now. Venomoth comes out so I use the opportunity to bring Fearow out. Oneshotting venomoth with a single fly. Now comes the big boy. Alakazam. Lapras is to precious and no other pokemon can come in and deal with alakazam so I stick with fearow and use fly... A mistake. I outspeed, It uses calm mind and survives the next hit. One psychic is all it takes to remove fearow from the field! He has been a great mon and I am happy to have used him. He will be missed. This gives me a good opportunity to switch however and get the momentum back. Problem is Alakazam is FAST and many of my pokemon cannot take a calm mind boosted attack. I go for my own alakazam and use psychic not doing enough but making the opponant use recover so I can safely switch into persian... with nothing else to do I ungabunga my way to a biting victory (I literally used bite hoping for flinches). Fortunately I outspeed Alakazam due to training against meowths when I first got persian and get some luck.

Sabrina is defeated and I breath a massive sigh of relief. I dont think the rest of the fame will be nearly as hard again provided I dont lose Golem or Lapras. I'm feeling confident! The end is in sight.

Badges won: 9

Pokemon Caught: 35

Pokemon down: 6 (Rip Fearow)

[reikeip]

Crossroad ♱ Crowd 1

Talks of death and depression

Location: Downtown

The next day

Koga: Sakuma-senpai~!

Rei: Hm. Oh, good mornin’... Puppy ♪

Koga: Who ya callin’ puppy!? And it isn’t the time to say good mornin’, it’s dusk already!

Is that it, ‘cause Sakuma-senpai is always abroad… are ya jet lagged?

Koga: Ah whatever! Look here look here, I brought the guitar ya left in the underground livehouse, Sakuma-senpai!

I’ve taken care of all the maintenance it needed myself, fufun ♪

So tonight, make sure ya charm everyone with a performance so flashy it makes ‘em swoon!

Rei: Oh~ guess that’s why I couldn’t find it… I see, Puppy’s been takin’ care of it for me. Good boy, good boy ♪

Koga: Don’t pat my head!?

Rei: Haha. What a good mood you’re in, Puppy… This past week, did ya get some thorough instruction from Bouzu? How much have ya improved?

Koga: Oh. My knowledge is growin’ so fast I’m even surprised myself~ that priest is surprisingly good at teachin’!

I can even play the hard chords an’ all that now!

He gives me too many annoyin’ lectures, which kinda gets on my nerves, but he did really help me step up my game!

So, I guess I can say I’m a bit grateful for ‘im!

Rei: If ya are thankful, thank ‘im in person… That guy had some prep work to do, so it seems he got to the live house before us today.

Ya should help ‘im out with all that stuff. And if ya can, get along with ‘im from here on out, I think you two are pretty compatible.

Koga: Eh~... How many times do I gotta say it, I want Sakuma-senpai to teach me!

I’ve been patiently sticking it out and following shitty glasses around everywhere, and today it ends!

‘Cause from now on, I’ll always be with Sakuma-senpai…♪

Rei: Ahaha. I did promise that if ya learned enough to impress me, I might teach ya.

Gonna make sure ya give me a big surprise an’ dazzle me, hey?

Koga: Leave it to me! I’ll perform something that’ll knock the socks of of everyone in the audience, includin’ you!

Ahh this is so exciting, today I’m gonna play the guitar until I collapse! hehehee ♪

Rei: (Haha. Young boys can be so energetic, he’s got these sparkly eyes… I might’ve been like that too, when I first started playing guitar.)

(When did I get like this—just a corpse… Nothing can excite me anymore, it’s like I’ve become a dark shell of a person.)

Koga: Sakuma-senpai? What is it, ya don’t look very lively~...are ya jet lagged after all?

Rei: Nnn~ no. …If ya want, ya can keep that guitar as a sorta gift.

I haven't touched the guitar in a while, an’ I just plan on singin’ today.

It isn’t really some luxury item~ Take it as an apology for draggin’ ya into our affairs.

Koga: Eh? You mean, I really get to have Sakuma-senpai’s guitar? Yahoo ☆

But, is that really alright? This, it’s the guitar you’ve used since you were young, right Sakuma-senpai? Don’t you think this should be a keepsake?

Rei: Hell do ya know so much about me for. I said so, so ya just take it, Puppy.

Today, I’m going to bury the ties which I’ve draggin’ ‘round since bygone days, forever.

So if I kept a memento like that close by, every time I saw it I’d think back on that very past…

It’d make me all depressed, so it’s best to hand it over to someone else~

If you don’t want it, that’s fine.

Koga: How could I not want it?! Thanks Sakuma-senpai, I’ll take good care of it ♪

Rei: Ahaha. Ah, what simple-minded happiness… Well, I guess ya are still just a kid.

Bein’ all grown up juuust isn’t as much fun as I thought it’d be…

If ya can, keep on bein’ a radiant child like ya are now. The innocent smile of a child, it’s everyone’s greatest joy.

Location: Underground Livehouse

Koga: Ooh…? What’s all this, the underground livehouse is a lot more fancy than it usually is!

Woah, looks like there’s a summoning circle or somethin’ drawn here!

Rei: Did ya not hear anythin’ about this from Bouzu?

Koga: Eh? Umm~... I was told that I was gonna stand on stage with Sakuma-senpai today, who came back from overseas.

I was really happy just hearing that, so I didn’t catch all the fine print.

Rei: Ya really should pay attention, yanno.

Hmmm… As I’d expect of ya, Bouzu. Looks like ya got yourself acquainted with the taste of the underground livehouse's regulars…

Rock n’ roll style huh? I don’t mind that~

This seems kinda old an’ tacky compared to rock nowadays, like an old classic style of rock. It’s nice, givin’ a sense of nostalgia…

I can’t admire the nostalgic feelin’ of the good ol’ days yet, I ain’t some senile old man~

(...Bouzu is gonna run the student council from here on out, so he’s gonna act as part of the establishment, ain’t he…)

(But ain’t rock anti-establishment at its core? Isn’t he contradicting himself? Or is he not ready to let go?)

(Have you lost your way? You’re struggling in that ravine between your worldly desires and ideals, aren’t you, Bouzu? That must be so tiring—I’ll dismiss your soul, and help carry it across.[1])

(Divin’ into the flames like that… If ya aren’t reincarnated, it means ya were a person who could only get that far.)

(Let us have a debate, for old time’s sake. Let us fight, pittin’ belief against belief.)

(After all, that’s how we met. I won’t let ya say you’ve forgotten that~ Keito.)

← previous | all | next →

Rei's making an extended metaphor about Buddhist reincarnation. 引導 is a Buddhist term that is said at funerals to wish the recently departed a safe travel into the next life. Most Buddhists will cremate their dead as they believe it'll speed up the cycle, which goes until that chain is broken by attaining Satori (some may know this as Nirvana, or as many other names), something like liberation, the quenching of the major evils of the soul. If you aren't reborn, you were as good of a person as you could be

[darealsaltysam]

what your paladins main says about you

a comprehensive essay by a paladins player of right around 4 years

this is like really long so i’ll make it under the cut so my followers don’t have to scroll through this if they don’t wanna

(for context i’m a current maeve main, i used to main skye and sha lin and played tyra a long while ago)

.

Androxus

it’s not a phase, mum

“i don’t care we don’t have healer, i’m really good at him i swear”

you ult every time it loads in and you die before the final shot

your favorite mode is siege because you can fly up and shoot the whole point on ult

you’re usually really stand-offish and don’t communicate much and/or a 13 year old boy with anger issues

.

Ash

you are level-headed but in a scary way

you will hold the point solo even if it costs you your streak

“get on the point” “guys get on the point” “attack the objective”

you’ll ult to save yourself 99% of the time

good leader

.

Atlas

you probably used to main lex or androxus before he came out

“he’s like a flank, but a tank, he’s great!”

you chase after solo kills instead of sticking to the point

healers hate you, flanks and damages fear you

your favorite mode is death match

.

Barik

you’re a former/current tf2 player looking for something fresh

you don’t like working too hard so you spam turrets on the point and hope for the best

“healer stick to me i’m boutta ult”

actually really nice between rounds

but you don’t communicate much mid-game and kind of do your thing

.

Bomb King

you’re a really old player. you have the beta makoa skin and you were there when lex was first released. veteran’s discount.

your favorite maps are the old ones and they barely show up any more

the team always underestimates you

“who plays bomb king in 2021 lol?”

you need a hug

.

Buck

“wait, he’s a flank? i thought he was a tank??”

you’re also a veteran in the game

you’re a dying breed. i like never see you. do you even exist?

you’ve been here since like the first day of the game

buck gets so many skins and you want all of them but the best you have is a random recolor

.

Cassie

sweetest person alive

“we can do it guys! let’s try to all rush the point this time!”

you are the bane of every flank

the opposing team hates you, your own team kind of doesn’t notice you’re there

*casually gets a pentakill*

.

Corvus

you know those weirdly political kids who like ww2 and know the details of every tank to ever exist? yeah that’s you

but like that’s corvus. as a character.

but no one ever plays him.

like i never even see him do you exist???

you are a cryptid.

.

Dredge

yo ho you’re a hoe

no seriously the other team views you and they FEAR you

“yeah i just got a penta kill” “YOU WHAT?” “eyes on the point mate don’t get distracted”

hella good at the game and hella casual about it

you like onslaught on the one sea map the most

.

Drogoz

another veteran, are we?

you’re either useless or can wipe out a whole team in seconds. there is no in-between.

you always have a really cool skin.

dovahkiin, dovahkiin...

“i don’t care about the point i gotta get them trips”

.

Evie

you bought her because you thought she was cute, admit it

*turns into ice right before dying* *turns into ice right before dying* *turns into ice right be

your personality type is identical to her. no question about that.

always buys faster reload and better speed

strangely good communication with the team

.

Fernando

gay gay homosexual gay

“he’s kinda hot if you look at him the right way”

fernando is the tank for gay people

you are gay people

i don’t have much more to say

.

Furia

mum energy. not as much as inara mains, but still, mum energy.

will protect every member of the team with your life, even the flanks

you’ve been maining her since she was first added

i bet you didn’t even know she’s canonically seris’ sister

“we’ve literally failed to capture the point the last 3 times we might as well give up and go to another game”

.

Grohk

“yeah i have a gremlincore tumblr blog, how could you tell?”

i honestly have no words

you’re kind of like a catboy but a racoon

do you even heal the team or do you just pretend

you were there when lex got announced and thought he was cringe, now everyone finally agrees with you

.

Grover

he was your first purchased character and he’s stuck around ever since

he’s the only healer you can play well

“i am groot lmao”

you would never say a word to your team

would give your life for the tank but that’s about it

.

Imani

daenerys targaryen on drugs

your favorite anime is my hero academia

your husbando is todoroki

you see where i am going with this

“team protect me i’m gonna ult” *dies 5 seconds into ult*

.

Inara

BIG MUM ENERGY

your team is your family. you will protect them with your life.

can only hold your own with a good healer so you have good teamwork going for you

*cutely places wall in front of your ult*

useless in tdm so you stick to onslaught, siege and koth

.

Io

are you a furry, furry, or a furry?

“victow! dont ult on my tweam pwease! uwu!”

you 100% find her attractive in some way shape or form

you are either a 30 year old redditor who enjoys loli content or a 16 year old teen who is playing a shooter for the first time

she’s kind of cute, i guess

.

Jenos

i can never tell if i’m going to absolutely destroy you or if you’re gonna kick my ass

*cutely holds you up so the whole team can shoot you to death*

kamehameha

you’re a healer??? i guess???

your character has such deep lore and i bet you don’t even know half of it

.

Khan

one day you were playing and your team desperately needed a tank. you picked the first one you saw. suddenly, you’re lian’s foot stool

despite 2 layers of heavy armor, you’d still let this man walk all over you

“this skin is really cool, wish it wasn’t behind a pay wall...”

YEET

you actually know the game’s lore, for some reason

.

Kinessa

i never trust people who are good at a sniper. if you’re bad that’s natural and you’re 99% of the population. if you’re good you are definitely up to something

you’d sell your sister for 5 pennies if you could

you’re missing from the team all game and somehow have the most kills

“we have a kinessa???”

you are an urban legend to your team

.

Koga

someone’s been watching naruto

you are so shit at the game. like i’m sorry. no one’s good at koga i’m so sorry

how do you have so many skins for one character???

you’re always missing from the point

healers hate you. so does the enemy kinessa.

.

Lex

quit the game /nm

“who mains lex in 2021??? lmao???”

wall hacks, aimbot, and it’s all legal for you as an ability. you are a hacker in a world of puny vanillas. you like it easy so you go for the easy min max character. have fun getting hated

you think he’s hot and press on his loading abilities just so he can scold you and you can hear him being mad at you

*bonk* go to horny jail

.

Lian

"she could step on me”

you used to main some sort of healer but switched over when you got sick of everyone being needy

you can hold a point all on your own for a really really long time but the moment your team gets there you start flunking

you wish you had more skins for her

you don’t

.

Maeve

so imagine this. it was like 2018 and you were just chilling playing the game. you kept getting killed by maeve. in every game. she was in every game you went to and she kept killing you over and over and over again. you got frustrated, snapped, and bought her to see if you could do the same to others. you are now the maeve in every game. the cycle repeats.

your whole team doubts you but then you casually get a quad kill and they just sort of look away

you die a total of two times each round and 99% of the time it’s because you go too fast and fall off the map

you repeat everything she says in her accent because you think it’s cute

“welcome to ze meant streets, kitten!” “can you shut the fuck up” “i hate to cut and run, he-he!”

.

Makoa

you have the plushie skin or the beta skin, otherwise you don’t main and only play casually stop lying to yourself

“attack turtle go brrr”

you’re really good if you get paired with a good healer

otherwise you’re useless

you wish you could get better teammates because you could really thrive with an organized group. but on paladins you won’t get that, i’m sorry-

.

Mal’Damba

i always forget this guy is even in the game

you’re definitely under 6 foot IRL

you have an older sibling you always fight with

you’d love to have a snake irl

you’re really chill outside of the game, but when playing you hella rage

.

Moji

you are so precious

but also such a little shit

you annoy me but i also want to give you a hug

“let’s go guys!! to the point!! wheee!!”

please never change but also get out of my sight

.

Octavia

you always main the new character until the new person drops

somehow always have enough credits to buy the new champion whenever they come out

you don’t like having a stable main cuz you get bored

you like hanging out at the training rage

hate siege and love team death match, you like your games quick

.

Pip

you are the worst and best thing to ever happen to this game

you only pick him to heal yourself and hardly ever heal your team

no one notices you there until you ult

then you get focused

honestly you just seem like you wanna do your thing and i can respect that

.

Raum

you probably go to therapy or desperately need it

“BIG MAN BIG. HE IS BIG. BRRRR”

you always love the demons in media

you like being in charge of the team and wreck the point any time you are there, you like fighting on your own but having a healer nearby is nice too

you probably have daddy issues

.

Ruckus

you think ruckus’ and bolt’s dynamic is cool and that’s one of the main reasons you started playing him

he’s the only tank you can play

you used to main either inara or ying at some point but chose violence instead

really short irl. you physically relate to ruckus and spiritually to bolt.

“funny goblin man :)”

.

Seris

certified girlboss

you can hold an objective all on your own or heal your whole team no problem. either way you are SLAYING

“alright. who’s ass am i kicking today?”

mum energy is inferior to inara but still kind of there

i’m like 50% sure you have a foot fetish

.

Sha Lin

*pointing and chanting* incel, incel, ince-

whether that’s about you or the character you can decide

you like minecraft bedwars on the side

“if i don’t get this headshot i am literally going to spontaneously combust”

really useful when there’s no other long distance people - otherwise a nuisance

.

Skye

AWOOGA *jaw drops to ground, eyes roll out of head* BOOBA BOOBA BOOBA

you bought her for the tiddies, didn’t you?

she’s actually really satisfying to play once you get the hang of her, but can be real tough on rough days

you need a break i think - maybe play some other game for a bit?

*casually gets team kill with ult*

.

Strix

you own at least one pretty knife

you played him when he was unlocked on rotation, fell in love, and spent a whole evening collecting credits to buy him fully

“haha bird man”

i’ve said what i said about snipers. if you’re actually good at him you are hiding a body somewhere. i fear you.

why does everyone ship him with viktor????

.

Talus

little furry child

he reminds me of tommyinnit because he is small and annoying

if you play him you are tall and intimidating 

i’m friends with a tall scary talus main

i can’t say bad things please spare me

.

Terminus

you always ult at the worst time and just get killed again 5 seconds after

“hey losers watch this” *goes on the point, dies, revives, kills one person and dies again*

you’re only a good tank if you cooperate

you don’t

on your own you’re a pretty good player

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Tiberius

*sigh*

you think the cat is hot, don’t you?

“his accent is kinda cute tho hehe”

you saw that one ending scene in zootopia with the dancing tigers and it CHANGED you

you are probably a furry. if not your awakening is coming. be ready.

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Torvald

you’ve been playing this game for too long

you’ve seen skins rise and fall. you’ve seen nerfs and buffs. you’ve seen reworks and remakes. you are ancient. older than the dragons and wiser than makoa. respect.

people see you on the opposing team and get really annoyed

“the point is really crowded, we can’t move in” “don’t worry guys, my ult is charged up”

you’re really good at all the characters but you like this guy a lot because you think he’s funky fresh

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Tyra

you’re either new to the game or have been playing for too long

either way you can KICK ASS but you need to keep behind your team to do the most damage

flanks are the bane of you, especially the fast jumpy ones

you really want one of the cooler skins but you can only ever get the basic ones. such is the curse of maining one of the OG characters.

“bite me”

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Viktor

you are level 100+ guaranteed, and everyone fears you

“oh shit they got a victor. flank focus him”

you probably play COD and CS:GO normally and wanted to go with something familiar and easy. your skill from the other more advanced games DWARFS everyone else

but why are you playing “guy with gun 132″ in a game with magical elves and fairies. like come on bro.

you don’t have any in-game friends because paladins is your guilty pleasure game you would never admit to

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Vivian

“step on me” syndrome cranked up to 100%

this woman could spit on you and you’d still respect her more than your own mother. good for you

“i’m not a simp. i’m just tier 3 subbed to pokimane ironically”

you sweat the game hardcore. former victor main or he’s your secondary.

you’ve got her on level 50+ at least

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Vora

like the maeve mains but somehow worse

bought her out of spite or played her while she was on rotation, now here you are grinding credits for her a day after she became unavailable

honestly you’re really good at the game i have nothing else to say

you enjoy the newer characters more than the OGs - you’re either a former vivian or lian main

you miss the play of the game feature in the game because you’d get all of them with this girl

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Willo

you seem like the moji mains at first but show your true colors soon after

“fuck you” x50

you are a trash talker on max overdrive. you need to sit down, do some breathing exercises and have a drink.

you hate your own team more than the opposing guys

when you see a willow on the opposing team you make it your sole goal to eliminate her as many times as humanely possible

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Yagorath

i bet you didn’t know she was canonically female until you read this

you don’t like sweating too much so you pick the tank that leaves you heavily relying on your healers and damages

you can hold a point really well so you like siege and onslaught

“are vora and yagorath connected in the lore somehow and do i really care?”

you have a friend who you always party up with to be your healer, otherwise you might switch to another character

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Ying

“tanks love me, flanks hate me”

you are too powerful. literally. how are you so strong

you’ve mastered the most difficult healer in the game. the others are really easy for you to play but you have trouble with seris

motivate your team a lot but start shading and trash talking if they don’t cooperate

you’ll gladly play someone else for a long while and like taking breaks from her

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Zhin

this is your first main after switching over from overwatch. we can smell it on you.

you’re really annoyed with his personality and voice lines but the character is too good to play for you to pass him up for that. you respond to his voice lines aloud very aggressively to let him know he’s an ass

“YES ZHIN HEALERS AREN’T USELESS YOU SELFISH PRICK”

you try your best but you’re not a great team player

infinite trips on a good day, die repeatedly without kills on a bad one and you switch over to vora or skye for a bit.

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this took me hours to write out pls leave reblog and note thanks uwu