#< you can also play the good pokemon games for free this way

[mc-260627]

I'm replaying Ōkami and having a blast remembering what a good game it is so here's my Amaterasu fan dragon that I haven't shared since I finished her

[catmask]

genuine question – and i hope it doesn't come as weird – but how do get into...pokemon? </3

pokemon universe feels so big and there are so many games and i really like their designs – both for pokemons and trainers – making ocs in this setting would be so cool but i have no idea how to. begin!

could you give some advice?

ps leaving compliments for your comic and art in general!! i really like how your pieces are so colorful! gives the vibes of some small but cozy and fun town in a videogame..

no worries!! it seriously depends on what you are interested in - gamewise, region wise, and story wise.

heres what i can say. if you like typical top-down style pixel art rpg games where you solve tile puzzles and build a little team of monsters, any of the games before x and y is a good choice. platinum is a great introduction to the series because it doesn't baby you but is still decently difficult, heartgold/soulsilver are the 'coziest' games imo but may spoil you because of how much content there is, black/white and black/white 2 are the most story-driven of the games and bw2 is probably the longest play of all the games. emerald is also great, but its genuinely a hard game even as someone whos been a fan of the series for years. i would say to start with hgss because they're my favorites, but they're so good it might raise the bar too high for all the other games pixel-art games.

if you prefer 3D graphics, but still like the 'run around catching guys and solving tile puzzles', i think sun and moon are the best of the 3D games! the story is engaging and a little more modernized so that there are actual cut scenes, i think the pokemon available are cute and the region is really pretty. i thikn after that, x and y is pretty cute! the story is less strong in comparison to sun/moon. importantly; every game in the 3D era has a new type that was not present in the pixel art era - the fairy type, so if you want to learn the MODERN type chart and balances, the 3D games are where you'd need to start.

finally, if you're not a fan of the 'catch pokemon run around region' type games, pokemon has a LOT of really awesome spin off games. my favorites are as follows...

pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky. its the strongest story the pokemon company has ever written, and im a big fan of the mystery dungeon style gameplay.

pokemon ranger (any ranger game!) the story and graphics are cute, and it focuses on rescuing/rehabilitating pokemon more than capturing them. really lovely expansion of the pokemon universe.

pokemon go, because its free! so if you dont want to download a rom, or sink money into a new franchise, its an easy way to get into it.

pokemon snap - this was actually my very first pokemon game i ever played! (never owned it though heha) but there was just a remake for the switch, if you've got a switch that is. the game focuses on photographing pokemon in their natural habitat, and its really quite cute. slow paced and fun if you're not sure about battling yet.

finally... if you weren't looking to get into games at all, pokemon art + fan creations are personally my favorite things in the entire fandom! artists and writers and fangame devs are the people who hold this fandom up, engaging with their creations is a great and typically free way to involve yourself... im sorry this is so long, i hope this helps!! and ppl are free to add on to this hehe

[eldragon-x]

Game recommendations for In Stars And Time fans

There's only four of them but honestly I think each one of these is good enough of an excuse to recommend it to ISAT fans. All of these are more or less in order of how much I recommend them from most to least.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity (Nintendo 3DS)

I am a huge PMD fan, being as it's a largely story-based spinoff where you yourself play as a Pokemon. And I believe fellow ISAT fans would get the most out of this entry of the series.

Gates has the strongest cast of characters in the series and largely deals with themes of nihilism, hope, the importance of community, and how negativity can consume you. The core cast of characters develops a very lovely dynamic and go through compelling character arcs.

Heads up, as much as I adore this game, it has the most frustrating gameplay out of the spinoff between limited Starter Pokemon choices, being only able to take one mission per in-game day, and unskippable slow dialogue. Watching a playthrough instead of playing the game yourself is a valid way of getting into it.

Additionally, the game deals with suicidality. This also applies to parts of the other PMD game on this list, but it's especially present in GTI's main story.

The Dark Queen of Mortholme (free on itch.io)

The creator of TDQoM describes it as an "anti game". You play as the final boss, a Queen who considers herself eternal and is challenged by the Hero over and over again.

This game is very short (maybe ~20 minutes for one run) and has a few bittersweet endings depending on how you engage with and fare against the Hero. I believe this one might appeal to ISAT fans for its themes about change and in how the Hero always comes back in a gameplay loop, stubbornly trying to defeat the Queen over and over again.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (Nintendo DS)

First of all physical copies of this game are expensive so consider emulation. Or getting Explorers of Time/Darkness instead, just know that Sky has additional story elements.

That aside, Explorers is the most popular entry in the PMD series for good reason. I don't think the cast is as strong as Gates', but I agree with the sentiment that the game has one of the best stories that has come out of Pokemon.

The premise you're presented with is that time all over the world is starting to freeze because artifacts that keep time flowing in different places are being stolen, which would lead to a frozen paralyzed world. But the plot gets a lot deeper at a certain point, and the situation becomes a lot more tragic than previously anticipated.

Detective Beebo: Night at the Mansion (free on itch.io)

Honestly I'm mostly putting this at the bottom of the list because I played this just recently, have yet to see all endings, and don't have very strong feelings about it at this point. That being said, it is a free game, just six hours long, offers several endings, and I've seen several ISAT fans fall in love with it. I def think you'll find something of value here if you like ISAT.

The premise is that you're playing as a private detective, Oliver Beebo, who was invited to a party at a mansion. Oliver seems to be trapped in a timeloop, first triggered when the party's host kills him, but Oliver has no recollection of the previous loops.

He gains a companion in Àngel, who does remember the loops, and both of them try to investigate the purpose of this party and why the loops are happening.

Heads up for child murder, as well as unreality and unsettling imagery/scopophobia at later points in the game. There's also endings that contain suicide and body horror.

[claitea]

do you all wanna hear random pokemon worldbuilding headcanons i've had written down for a while but never really had an excuse to talk about. of course you do here you go

you know how pikachu in the anime says "pikapi" when it refers to ash bc it sounds like satoshi? a lot of pokemon do that. the only ones i've thought of so far are volo's togepi calling him "toto" and emmet's archeops calling him "che-ar-che" (kudari)

my in-game explanation for dex cuts only starting to happen in swsh is that more regulations were put in place to prevent invasive species, after alola's current problem with alolan rattata. you Can have cross-region pokemon still, but you can't release them outside a region they're not native to, you cant breed them, no freeroaming. protag characters arent traveling out of their region so they only use the pokemon available to them

pokemon journeys are a very integral part of the society! its seen as a coming of age thing by most, However, it's never mandatory, and you can go on one at any point in your life. it can be as long or short as you want, you can have a goal from the start or you can just wing it. its not even always about battling, some people do it for contests or just making friends and seeing sights. its not a strongly defined thing

since its such an important part of the world theres immense support for it! its why pokemon centers are free and you can even stay at them overnight in little hotel rooms attached to them specially made for travelers. the gym circuit's purpose is a good progression tracker for people who want to go that route, an easy way to sequentially explore the entire region while battling its best trainers

the poke balls found in the overworld with items in them are specifically left by other people as treats and aid for traveling trainers. its also why people just give you free stuff just for talking to them

"sinnohan form" is technically an acceptable term for hisuian pokemon, but people are so used to calling them hisuian pokemon bc thats how it was written in early dexes and carried over, that not a lot of people call them sinnohan actually

speaking of. sinnoh nowadays has a much higher population of dark type unovan zorua :)

the way rotom work is that they slot their sparkplug body into something in order to possess it. newer appliances make it harder for them to do so. thats why the rotom catalog is a thing now - people have made rotom specific appliances that are easy to possess and are battle resistant

zoroark have photographic memory to produce realistic illusions with. hisuian zoroark mostly do not retain this - most ghost-types born from the death of something else have memory issues especially about their past life - but what they Can do is pull memories directly from their victim's minds and construct more tailored illusions out of that

meloetta also never forgets a song or dance that it hears. when it performs, it can transmit its memories of instrumentals played for it to its listeners. so when you hear guitar play when encountering it in the terarium, thats completely diegetic

when testing a trainer to see if they're worthy of catching it, or when its already captured, legendary pokemon actively hold back in battle. its simply a game mechanic that every legendaries' stats arent like 10000 in every stat. a genuine no holds barred precipice blades would reduce your garchomp to dust. in battles where the pokemon is Actively trying to kill you like eternamax eternatus, your pokemon should be trying their best to dodge every single attack and the huge damage they do sustain is from being Grazed. its extremely rare for anyone to see a legendary pokemon's true power

battling and the use of poke balls simply never caught on in fiore, almia and oblivia. they've historically always been extremely close with pokemon, unlike regions like hisui where people started off scared of them. so, proving yourself with a battle and using poke balls to befriend a pokemon was never necessary

^ the lack of poke balls in those regions did once cause a major issue, where people from abroad realized befriended pokemon counted as "wild" still, so they could easily steal them. this is part of why the ranger union was established, and also why pokemon can let themselves out of poke balls when they wish. its a safety measure. ranger bases can manually tag a pokemon to prevent others poke balls from working on them

the ranger union of fiore, almia and oblivia is completely different to the rangers of the mainline regions, but they find merit in their different ways of handling pokemon so they sometimes swap members

i have several thoughts about the different pros and cons of battling and poke balls vs capture stylers:

poke balls need to constantly be replaced, but a styler is a one-time purchase that a ranger can use for years

mainline region rangers do battles, but that wouldn't work if, for example, the pokemon was already injured and weakening it further to get it to stay in a poke ball would cause it unecessary stress or be dangerous. union rangers calm pokemon by getting them to trust them via styler, but this just becomes dangerous if the pokemon is particularly aggressive.

poke balls are great for transporting a pokemon, keeping it isolated if, say, they have to take an aggressive pokemon through a busy city. but, they wont work on pokemon that have already been captured with a ball. stylers cannot undo a capture, but they can encourage a pokemon to leave a dangerous person and come with the ranger

[e-vay]

Hi! If you have the time, could tell me a little about Love and Deep Space? I originally played a ton of Dress Up! Time Princess, as obsessed, and even occasionally threw a little money at it, but ditched it once the UI became too cluttered, they added a ton of things that used up massive resources, and almost all events were P2W. I keep eying LaDS but am worried it might have the same issue? Also, does it have a lot of customization/personalization options? That'd be a big selling point for me.

Oh my gosh, where do I even start! Listen I'm not a saleswoman but I'll do my best to explain. I'll put it below the cut so that people who aren't interested don't have to read. Oh and also (not that you are, but I just want to make this clear for everyone) Love and Deepspace is NOT a game for children. So don't download it for your kids lol

I haven't played any other game like LADS before so I don't know what to compare it to. It is just this very rare game that happens to check every single box of all my niches! It's a romance, it's a sci-fi/fantasy, it's got action and fighting as well as really cute mini games, its got steamy audio stories that'll make ya go WOOF, the writing is superb and the animations are STUNNING!!!! I am not kidding when I tell you the story is so well written; it makes me cry, it makes me laugh, it makes me sweat 🥵 (in a good way haha), the writers really know what they’re doing! Here are just some samples of the different things you can do in the game:

RPG Battles - Multiple fighting styles, including your choice between guns, sword, wand/staff and claymore.

Main Story - This includes written stories, animated cutscenes, character interactions and battles.

Special Events - Variations of the above ^ But limited to a small window of time so you can only participate and get rare items during that window

Lottery ("Wishes") - This is how you obtain 'memories' which you use for battling. Think of them like Pokemon cards. Some of them are extra special and will unlock dates/stories/animations for you to enjoy.

"Date Minigames" - These are cutesy things to do with your love interest like playing cards or claw machine. You can even choose whether you play the claw machine or your date does (hint: some of the guys are good at some of the machines, while others are not)

Photobooth - You can take cutesy snapshots with stock poses or you use the studio mode and make a lot of adjustments to capture the scene you want. They also have an AR mode where YOU can take a photo with him, haha!

Interact with your love interest(s) - The stronger your affinity with him, the more you can do together. This ranges from cute, animated interactions to having "conversations" with him. He'll also text and call you. You can romance all of the love interests if you want and it doesn't negatively impact your affinity with the others.

Audio stories - These are steamy vignettes starring you and your love interest. This one is for all the “Booktok girlies”!!! 🥵 Listen with headphones! 🙈

Anecdotes and other Side stories - The lore in this game is ENDLESS! If you enjoy reading, there are plenty of written stories within the game. If you don't like it, you can just skip through it to gain your reward and move on.

Dress up (limited) - As you play you'll earn different outfits, but there are also outfits you can buy. You can use real currency or in-game currency, it just depends on the outfit. You can't completely create your own ensemble but you can pair different outfits with different accessories to use in the photobooth. You can also decide what your love interest(s) wear or have him decide what he wants to wear.

LADS is free to play and doesn't have any ads. However, if you're prone to FOMO, you'll have better luck receiving items during their special events if you do make purchases. But again, you absolutely do not have to spend any money on it to play.

There is a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to the navigation of the game because there is so much to do within it, but you get the hang of it really fast. I feel like the UI is actually quite clean and organized. I’ve put a screenshot below:

The most confusing thing is the story mode; it kind of jumps around out of order because characters were added after the game's story had already started. But I personally didn't find that a dealbreaker and you can go back into the story and replay it in order any time.

The amount of storage the game will take up on your phone/tablet is a lot, but that's because the game is GORGEOUS. All the characters are fully rendered in 3D and the animations will blow your mind. I can't tell you how many times I'm playing it and I can't believe it's a mobile game. I play on "medium" resolution so my phone doesn't explode on me, but even then the quality is so good.

Customization is where the game unfortunately falls short. Though you do get to customize your protagonist, there are limitations. You can change her face, makeup, hair and voice, but during in-game fighting, dialog and cutscenes, MC will always default to a woman with long dark hair. Some players have found ways to glitch the game so that your customizations like hair style and color will appear in the “kindled” animations (you’ll know what that means when you play it), but it's not a long-term solution. We're all crossing our fingers that they'll update the game one day so the animations reflect our choices better!

There are other customizations in-game that are fun. You have a banner that you can change the appearance of and change your title. As you build a stronger connection with each of the guys, you can have them call you by unique nicknames and they'll refer to you as that moving forward (though you can change it every day). There are also elements of the game that involve you sending and receiving text messages, phone calls, and social media posts and you can customize how those look to an extent as well.

As far as the unique experience you have as a protagonist, when it comes to dialog/action choices there are only so many options you can choose from. The writers have an overall plan for MC so sometimes she'll say things that I would never want her to say, but I didn't write her so 🤷‍♀️ We still get more control than some games offer so I can't complain!

Personally, I do wish it was a little more inclusive than some other games out there. Right now you can only play as a woman and you can only romance the male characters. But that's what other games are for, I guess.

I don't know if this game will be your cup of tea and I know for a fact it's not for everyone, but DANG if this game wasn't made for me in every way! If you do end up playing it, I hope you enjoy it! And you can add me! My hunter’s number is: 82001322820

[nicktremblaywayfu]

I've seen Outlast x Pokemon but i have yet seen Outlast x Monhun so IT'S TIME TO SHINEE (if you like dragons in general this post also for you)

Also, I wrote this as general as possible so non-fans can read it as well don't worry hehe. I also open request for this MH x Outlast for your OCs even if you haven't played Monhun so feel free to drop in your oc references and some details of their personality/behavior ;)

Leland Coyle - Zinogre

An electric k-9. There are many other thunder element monsters that I also think fit for him, like how Rey Dau uses his horn the way Coyle uses his baton or Kirin as his pride ride

But Zinogre would fit as this cop's best friend. With the biggest size length of 21 m, this giant electric puppy would be a pet that Coyle flexes 24/7. This wolf-dog monster also has a symbiotic relationship with Thunderbugs, which is the source of his electricity. This also means Coyle would use those bugs for his own power as well. So basically These two shares are similar in having electric source power for their ability (Coyle with his Pontiac Battery and Zinogre with its Thunderbugs). And bonus point Zinogre is canine themes

Mother Gooseberry - Rathian

Mother's knows best. And these two have strong mother instincts in their respective game. Rathian, just like any good mother, is very protective towards its younglings. The same goes with Mama Goose. They are equipped with deadly weapons to defend their nest, a sharp poison sting, and a drill. Oh and, did I mention in MH we have quest stealing Rathian's eggs and in Trials, we have MK kidnapping Goose's children?

Alternatively, the Pink Rathian variation also fits Goosebery's aesthetic

As for Futterman, I think he would be YiantKut Ku for shit and giggle lol (Although Yian Kut Ku is also treated like a bird mascot in MonHun like how Futterman exists in Trials)

Franco Barbi - Yian Garuga

I kinda struggled to find the perfect monster that fits for him but I think Yian Garuga fits him perfectly. Both have a purple color palette, and both have a precise aim of attacking the intruders. Franco aimed his Lupara to shoot the Reagents, while Yian Garuga launched itself from the sky and targeted unaware Hunters with its beak. Yeah, afterward you'll see the poor Wyvern got its beak stuck on the ground lol. Also, they have balding hair/fur around and are overall small-sized compared to other characters/monsters (listen, I'm gonna pretend Franco is dialogue-accurate considering Coyle mocked his height and Franco was insecure being small). Both Yian and Franco scream a lot in the game and they are very, very loud.

Alternatively, Shogun Ceanataur also fits for him as it uses its bottom (yes. Bottom), acting like a water pistol to shoot Hunters. Not to mention it's a crab monster and Franco has Dock map with sea theme inside.

Danny the Big Grunt - Nergigante

Listen, this one is very biased I'm (not) sorry. But also like, just look at his device and that dragon's spike. It fits the aesthetic (trust me). And the implication of Big Grunts eating reagents as meals with Nergigante titled as Elder (fellow dragon) Eater, yeah both fit. Also, this is because he shares the same VA with MonHun Stories 2' villain, Zellard. And that villain wears Nergigante armor so, yeah

Both Nergigante and Danny rely on raw power, with their muscle as their source of power. Nergigante was also considered big for his class, with muscular and meaty bodies he would body slam Hunters standing in his own way. Just like how Danny grabbed a reagent and threw them out of his way. They are also packed with strong punch and are able to inflict large damage on their enemies.

And bonus: Danny in MH Wilds

Pusher - Chameleos

There are three monsters that fit him, but I pick Chameleos because of its goofy googly eyes, Pusher's, and Outlast's theme connected with reptilians (Which Pusher also mentions about Tuatara, a lizard species). Chameleons is a chameleon dragon that has the ability to emit fog from its mouth (and steal your stuff), which reminds me on how Pusher gassed the Reagents. Chameleos are also able to spit poison smoke, which also reminds me of psychosis damage as both inflict damage on the player.

The rest of the candidates for Pushers are Volvidon and Congalala, two monsters that weaponized their stinky gas

Night Hunter - Malfestio

I think it's already obvious. Owl themed. Both prefer dark areas and swift enough to attack unaware foes in their dark lair. Just like owls, Night Hunter and Malfestio rely on pivoting their head and neck as they can't move their eyes like other people/monsters. There's not much I can think about it other than them being owl-based, but if you are both NH and jester/clown lover, this monster is for you.

Another monster that i think fits for NH would be Nargacuga, a dark cat-bird monster that hides in the dark to ambush its prey. Narga often pictured having its eyes glowing in the dark

Pitcher - Rathalos

Listen. This is very obvious. Both breathe fire. The iconic fire-breather in the game. Pitcher also speaks nothing but roaring and spitting fire on you, the same as Rathalos. Despite there are other fire-breathing monsters in MH, Rathalos is just the most iconic one and I place him with the Pitcher, our iconic fire shaman of Trials.

Berserker - Brachydios

Look at Berserker's gauntlet, then look at Brachy's fist. They shared the same vibe. Go punch punch, tho Brachy is not blind. The two use their fist to flatten their foes, except Brachy's fist leaves up green acidic slime that will explode on impact.

Although we do have a blind monster, I doubt this one looks like Berserker

That would be for Dave the Naked Big Grunt

I think that's all! if you want to request any outlast character / your oc with MH monsters I would associate with them, feel free! ;)

PS: if you are fellow Hunter-Reagent, let's play MH someday

[u3pxx]

✱ frequently asked questions!

hey there, the name’s den/sun! i’m a filipino artist with too many ideas and too little sleep! i mainly post and draw ace attorney, haikyuu, and disco elysium with the occasional dungeon meshi drawing.

i also like good omens, danganronpa, tmnt 2012, undertale/deltarune, mob psycho 100, splatoon, monster prom, fairly odd parents: a new wish, potionomics, and pokemon! :^]c

rest of the faq under read more (because it's very long lol) | dividers from here! | faq will be updated every now and then

what program do you use?

old answer: i use clip studio paint ex! as of 06/24/2023: i use clip studio paint pro v3 for illustrations and clip studio paint v1 ex for animatics

what brush do you use?

old answer: i mainly use the gasa gaya line pen for sketching and the t-pen for both sketching and inking as of 09/22/2023: i use the koya pen for sketching and inking and the gasa gaya line pen for inking occasionally. as of 12/19/2023: i use the a pen that feels like a pencil (鉛筆を感じる液だまりペン) with the pen pressure opacity turned on for sketching (i also use it for inking occasionally). i don’t ink that much right now but i still also use the gasa gaya line pen for it. as of 03/07/2024: i use both the a pen that feels like a pencil (鉛筆を感じる液だまりペン) and calish ink for both sketching and inking. as of 07/08/2024: i use the dry ink brush on clip studio paint.

do you do commissions?

yes, i do! currently closed right now because i’m a student and art school is hard but feel free to take a quick look here if you would be so interested! :^] however, i do occasionally open 2 slots for sketch commissions whenever i’m in need of some money so watch out for that pftt <3

do you sell prints?

yep! i have an inprnt!

where else can we find you?

you can find me both in twitter, Instagram, and art fight! i also have a youtube where i haven’t posted in 4 years pftt

can we use your drawings?

you can use my drawings for profile pictures, banners, even your little tiktok video edits as long as i'm credited (with a link back to my art account, please!) (also if you did do little tiktok edits with my art can you please send them to me i would be so delighted to see them)  just so we’re clear too, i don’t allow reposting of my art on other social media without my permission or credit. thanks!

can you draw [insert thing here]?

i don’t do requests! and usually, when i ask for things to draw, it depends if i’m feeling up to it so sorry if i don’t!

can i draw fanart of your au’s/oc’s?

YES! please, i’d be so dang honored! and please tag me too if you ever post it so i could see it and reblog it here! :^D (and also gush wail cry and scream about it forever and ever)

what does your username “u3pxx” mean?

it’s just my name den upside down, the x’s are because my old selfsona design had x’s for pupils and i wanted to incorporate that.

what does your tag “pampabait” mean?

pampabait (pam‧pa‧ba‧it) is a tagalog word that loosely means “to make [something] kind”, since the prefix “pampa-” is used to denote the causing of a state and “bait” means “kind”! the way i use it is also kind of referencing the phrase "nasisiraan ng bait" (losing one's mind/starting to feel insane). it's just a tag i use for some wholesome stuff i see that would stop me from going I HATE EVERYTHING FORVEVERRRR

have you played all the ace attorney games?

i have not! only because i got into ace attorney via let’s plays, instead. me and some friends are however trying to finish dgs though we haven’t been able to play for a long time pftt. we’re currently still on dgs2-1.

who’s your favorite ace attorney character?

look at me in the eye, boy. wheezes but it is apollo justice, trucy wright, and klavier gavin.

TAG DIRECTORY

✱ GENERAL TAGS

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[askmerriauthor]

I said the game demands microtransactions, not that it requires them. That's not just me being pedantic about wording, but rather a big indication of how the developers designed the game to work. Pokemon Sleep doesn't want you to play for free and is designed to make playing-without-paying a worse experience.

Like many free-to-play games out there, they operate on the idea of monetizing convenience and "fear of missing out" (FOMO). Such games will either create a problem in order to sell you a solution, or rely on a rotating/limited availability of enviable items to encourage impulse buying to avoid losing the chance to have the item. Pokemon Sleep does both of these.

Despite Pokemon Sleep being presented as a passive "something in the background while you sleep" kind of novelty, that's not the actual gameplay at all. The game actually wants you to be extremely active and paying a lot of attention to it non-stop, along with encouraging you to get others involved as well. Up to 500 potential invitations with a 50 individual approval list of contacts, specifically, and the system "helpfully" lets you link to your Google, Apple, or Facebook accounts in order to facilitate that and further scoop up lots of personal data for advertising.

The basic gameplay cycle of Pokemon Sleep is that you have a 7-day period in which you can power up your Snorlax as much as possible, with a higher power score equaling a greater variety of visiting Pokemon for you to catch. Visiting Pokemon will appear in a variety of sleeping types, of which there are at least 415 to collect (with individual Pokemon having multiple sleeping types). These Pokemon can also be "befriended" by giving them a sufficient number of items, which means they'll then join your team and help you boost Snorlax's power score over time. You can further boost Snorlax's score by feeding it, which the game encourages you to do three times per day within a given time window. Your Helper Pokemon will supply you with ingredients to make meals for Snorlax at different intervals, and the meals you make have different potencies based on the ingredients used.

So, to summarize, you have a limited period in which to get a number as big as it can be, with various randomized factors able to improve the rate of progression, before it all resets and you're back to square one.

Yes, you absolutely can play this game without spending any money. But the game itself is designed in a way that urges you to spend money at every turn. Every element of gameplay is improved if you spend money, and will actively degrade in effectiveness and quality if you don't. Remember how you can befriend Pokemon to help you out with getting Snorlax's score up? That's faster and easier if you spend money. Those same Helpers who gather ingredients for you? They lose Energy (an arbitrary limit put in place by the game system) the longer they're around, and become worse at gathering ingredients the less Energy they have. But, good for you! You can just buy more Energy for them! Rather, you have to make two purchases - the Energy-restoring item only gives back 50% of their Energy, so you need to buy two in order to max them out again. And you can just buy a box of random ingredients too! How convenient! And if you really want to get the most out of sleeping, you can buy the monthly auto-renewing (until you manually cancel it through Google or Apple, not the game app itself) Premium Membership! Which literally makes your sleep more valuable than the same - or even higher quality - sleep of people who aren't Premium members! But you better buy fast, because all of these items for sale are on a rotating schedule and will swap out of the shop at different 15 or 30-day intervals. You wouldn't want to miss your chance, would you?

A core facet of microtransaction pricing is that it's intentionally and carefully designed to never be enough. You'll always be in a position where you need to buy just a little more than the minimum, and it always comes out at odd numbers that never fit exactly where they need to in order to maximize your purchase, and are priced in unorthodox values specifically to trick the buyer's brain into thinking it's a better deal than it is. With that in mind, it pays to look at the minimum and maximum amounts the game wants to try and charge you since that gives a good idea of their intended range of interaction with your wallet, and how far a given amount of paid microtransactions will take you. Because, remember, such games are built around the idea of NEVER giving you enough. They ALWAYS want you to be in a state of wanting a little more and being tempted to dish over some more cash for it.

In Pokemon Sleep's case? The minimum buy-in for "Diamonds" - their premium microtransaction currency - is 60 Diamonds for $1.19. Their maximum? 7000 Diamonds for $97.99. So what this says outright is that the game is designed in such a way that it expects 7000 Diamonds to NOT BE ENOUGH to maintain a player's best experience. Because, again, such games will NEVER give you a value sufficient enough to deter the need for further purchases. This is a game that wants players to spend $100 multiple times over throughout the lifespan of their interest in the game. Will the majority of players do this? No. There's absolutely going to be a number of whales who will, especially among influencers and content creators on social media who make their own career off these sort of things. But what Pokemon Sleep is relying on is that there will be a far greater abundance of players who think "Oh, it's just a dollar..." or 'Oh, this item is going away... it's not even $5, so why not?" on a very regular basis.

And I haven't even touched on the overt security/privacy issues and the personal info scraping the app has potential for as well. So, yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and sleep on Pokemon Sleep.

[drinkabletoxicdishsoap]

sort of continuation/redo of this fairly odd parents a new wish x pokemon post but this time I decided to give the kids legendaries and mythicals but based on what game I think suits them best (sorry that scarlet and violet isn’t on here even though it might fit a character. haven’t played the game but hoping I can get it for Christmas from my family)

Dev: Gen 4 (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum)

Hazel: Gen 6 (X and Y)

Winn: Gen 5 (Black, White, Black 2, White 2)

Jasmine: Gen 7 (Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon)

For the other pictures: I feel like Jasmine would probably use Necrozma for her legendaries. Btw I I gave her tapu lele because I ran out of mythicals 💔💔 Hazel would probably mega evolve her Diancie and use Hoopa’s other form. Winn would probably fuse their reshiram and zekrom. And nothing else for Dev because I’m pretty sure I made him WAY too overpowered and that’s completely my fault I’m so sorry 😭😭

I could definitely see Jasmine using the Sword and Shield legendaries and mythicals as well. For Winn I was stuck between Gen 5 and Gen 3 because I feel like they would love Rayquaza and the Gen 3 legendaries but I ultimately went with Gen 5

Anyways this song definitely gives the vibes I hope i give with these teams 😭😭 shoutout to army of lovers their songs are so good

Feel free to share your thoughts or different ideas you have in reblogs because I would love to hear them :33

Also tysm for coming to another crossover yap session !! It means so much <3 i hope you have a great day/night wherever you are in the world !!

God I wish I could draw these well but I can’t draw Pokemon that well 😭😭

About to give like every single kid show ive ever watched pokemon teams 💀💀

[dark-type-appreciator]

Intro post! :3

Hello! Like my description says, I'm Liam! I'm 16 and I found this website a while back and decided to finally make an account!!! I really like dark type pokemon (bet you could guess that XD), and I'm always open to talk about them! I also really like other catmons ^w^ curse of being a warrior skitties fan I guess...

I also like drawing, warrior skitties, and roleplaying! I have other interests but those are my main ones! I play games sometimes, but I'm not very good at them x_x

I'm not really a pokemon trainer… I only have one pokemon haha! His name is Goldie, and he's a purrloin! He's kind of a cranky old man but he loves me!

umm, what else? I get confused sometimes, please be patient, I'm autistic (and other things). Same goes the other way around!! If u need me to rephrase something, please tell me! Also i misspell things a lot, auto correct is my best friend. Hopefully its not too bad!

Oh! Also I am a furry! :3 I almost forgot to mention that asjhdjahs

Here's my pokesona!

not the best reference, it's kinda old... Maybe I'll redo it someday!

Also- if we're friends, pls tag any bug types!… I have a really bad phobia of them, and I don't wanna see them at all. Thank you!!!

also- look look look!!

They're friends.. :3

[OOC under the cut]

Actias (@act11as) back at it again... Oh boy! OOC posts will be tagged as #ooc and #moth's yapping to avoid confusion.

All triggering content will be tagged as "#[word] tw" for better blacklisting. Please contact me if I miss something or you need something tagged.

‼ This blog will have heavy themes! including mental illness, gaslighting, (witnessed) domestic abuse, emotional abuse, child neglect, Past physical abuse, and generally dysfunctional and unhealthy family and friend dynamics ‼ [This blog is heavily connected to @sound-type-advocate, highly recommend following if you want the full story.]

Boundaries

Self-insert Fallers, do not interact. There is a certain level of unreality I can handle and self-insert fallers cross that threshold. I will block over this, be warned. Everyone else is fine to interact!

NSFW COMMENTS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Mod is a minor, even if muse is an adult!

IN CHARACTER anon hate is okay! I have the right to not answer anything, and if you're ever unsure, feel free to ask.

Extra:

Pelipper Mail, un-mail, and Malice are off currently! You may be able to convince him to turn it on!

Mystery Gifts are closed! Though if this and Pelipper mail were to open, this one is preferred!

Musharna mail, and Musharna malice are always on! Magic anons are off.

Organizational Tags!

Liam Chatters - General post tag! As long as he's saying something in the text portion, it'll be tagged. Reblog! ^w^ - Reblog tag. Pretty self explanatory Future Sight (queue) - Queued posts tag! Again pretty self explanatory. Liam used Doodle! - Art tag! Liam's art will be tagged as this, for those who want to see it. Foresight - Out of character tag. It marks posts that will potentially be important in the future. This can range from his opinions on things to heavy lore posts! Good tag to read through if you think you're missing something!

Friend Tags! (Tags for friends!)

#Tari mention - tag for Tari from @/pokemoncryptids #faith is friending - tag for Faith from @/faithispokemoning #rare sprig appearance - Tag for Sprig... Who does not have a public account! they're Liam's friend however.

ONGOING ARCS:

Nothing named!

PAST ARCS/EVENTS:

#Lucy Strikes! - One of Liam's friends stole his phone while they were supposed to be visiting. General warnings for bullying. #Mask Off Arc - Shorter arc involving the aftermath of the previous event. Liam started to open up a little more, and hey! Mask reveal! (subject to be renamed, could be used for something more important currently)

Blocklist:

These are blogs Liam has blocked in-character! usually for lore reasons! these are not blogs that have personally been blocked, feel free to interact on anon if you're on this list!

@/tinkatinktrain

@/sound-type-advocate

[system-of-a-feather]

I think something that I've learned and a way of wording it that kinda made sense to me when talking with one of the therapists I work with is that a HUGE thing that made my life a lot better - especially the further I got out of my trauma environment - is that one of the best ways to just kind of.... improve your life and create a stable day to day that makes you happy is to ask "If I were to imagine the most IDEAL and perfect day, what would it look like" and then "what can I do today to get as much of the things listed in that day to happen today"

Like my ideal day would look something like this (and in this order typically)

Wake up

Eat a nice breakfast and watch some TV / youtube or play some kind of game that lets me get my brain thinking (strategy, puzzle, pokemon challenges / battles)

Go birding - either a more chill "just vibing" one by myself or with literally anyone who is interested / willing and is at least SLIGHTLY positive and a slightly familiar person (but literally almost anyone)

Go walking around somewhere window shopping and/or eat out with my fiance

Play a casual social game with some friends of some sort

Do some sort of exercise, preferably martial arts, but just anything that builds a physical skill of mine is good

Eat dinner with my fiance and probably watch something with him (could be done before social game / exercise depending on scheduling)

Shower

Write or Draw

Sleep at a good time

And honestly? Most weekends / days off, I honestly usually get like most of that done, save for exercise recently due to physical health issues I have to get addressed, birding being substituted "birding or outdoor chores", and social games sometimes being substituted with "social writing and/or discussions with online friends" as those substitutions fill the same ideal, but just to a lesser extent

And cause most of my days are honestly close to my ideal day, I honestly find myself both very happy, content, and pleased with where I am in life and it really helps me feel both safe, stable, and handle when life starts getting shaken up.

Of course its taken a lot of time to be able to work a lot of that into my base routine because I had to create just fundamental stability with stuff like money and relationships and curating a healthy and supportive social circle and explore what I like to do and what matters but genuinely.... figuring out your ideal day and finding time to get as much of that day emulated every day is just a nice way to just be satisfied in life.

Even on the days I work 12 hours shifts, my work lets me get social games and exercise in most of the time, and I tend to come home, and do 7-10 at a minimum EVERY day.

So even on my busy work days, I still get 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of my ideal day almost every single day and thats like 70% every. single. day.

Like I genuinely can't complain about my life when every day I live 70% of what my ideal day would be at a minimum.

But I dunno man, this is just to throw it out there as food for thought and something to consider.

Feel free to also respond and share your ideal day if you like. I think its really neat to hear what it is for everyone honestly.

[idontwannatalkboutitok]

Damian as a little brother. A trained assassin, yes, but also the family's youngest.

Here's how I think that plays (Part 1?)

Damian & Tim

----

Worth mentioning that I headcanon Tim as a gamer. Now, to me, Tim is a 90s kid. He played pokemon on his Game Boy when it first came out. He had a nintendo 64, a gamecube, and basically every console you can think of.

Because the timeline is not time lining, and he's not allowed to grow up (side eyeing DC), he now is a switch kinda kid.

Cue short story

----

Every time Tim is at the manor or the cave, Damian can't help but notice he's always using a strange console. He's never paid much attention to it. After all, what Tim does in his free time is of no relevance to him.

But one night, after patrol, he sees Drake throw the console away angrily and leave the room, cursing. (Not real curses, mind you, not with Alfred around).

Now this. This is ... intriguing. Anything that could make the older boy angry, Damian could find interest in. So, out of curiosity, he approaches the device and examines it. Black, two bright controlers on each side. Nintendo is written on the back, and Damian think he does remember a few classmates carrying similar consoles in their bag. They used them to play games that would get them yelling and laughing when on break from lessons.

A gaming console then. Is this what had Tim so riled up? He thought Drake to be above such imbecilic distraction. The older boy has such a practical mind. Damian cannot picture him spending all of his free time playing a child game. And enjoying it. He has to be doing something else with this.. Switch? Something worthwhile.

He must figure it out. So he opens the console, and confusion flows through him at what he sees. These graphics are horrendous. A pixelised and ridiculous robot is giving a speech on the screen. What in the world is Tim playing. The robot turns into a dancing man. What.

Graphics start to flow on the screen. Damian does his best to avoid what he understands to be attacks and to fight back, but his character is ridiculously weak. He is defeated quickly and extremely annoyed. When the screen tells him to "stay determined," he scoffs. This game is taunting him. Ridiculous.

So when the game starts again, instead of fighting the ridiculous robot man, Damian tries to find an ennemy he can slay. And he does! He makes his way back and win a few fights. Now that he understands the concept better, this game- well it's not so bad. He just defeated another ennemy when Drake comes back. And as soon as he sees him with the console, he's yelling.

Damian thinks it's a bit too much. After all, he only played a little and gained experience points. Which Tim was lacking. He says so, but then the older boy goes quiet. Deadly quiet.

Drake takes a step forward, and weirdly worried, Damian takes one back. The yelling picks up, and now Tim is chasing him, throwing cussions and curses at him. He finally catches Damian and rips the console away from him. After pressing a few buttons, he whines and pinches his nose, looking so mad. Disappointed. And that does it.

Damian yells back and demands an explanation. Why is Tim so angry. He does not understand. What did he do that was so wrong?

The questions seem to settle Tim, who deflates, and now simply looks defeated. His head falls back and he starts to talk, as if to explain, but then he stops. And smirk. That can't be good.

Next thing he knows, Damian is sitting in the den. The console is connected to the television, and he's playing the game from the beginning. Tim is sitting next to him, offering no advice. Drake said he would understand what he did wrong once he reaches the end of the game, but really, Damian thinks he's doing great at winning so far.

[your-absolute-destiny]

What’s Absolute Destiny? @harpes-pokeblogging-adventure

Normally, I wouldn't answer because it says you have a bisharp, but I'm making an exception because it's rude not to help people who don't know something.

Absolute Destiny is a game originally made for the Nintendo DS. It has a lot of mixed reviews online, but I don't really get all the reasons people say it's bad. They released a remake for it on the Switch a few months ago that has brought a ton of people into the fandom, but I don't have a Switch, I just played the original.

Absolute Destiny is a game about an absol person (all the characters are anthropomorphic pokemon. think kinda like pokemon crossing but a different artstyle) named Lucky, whose father is His Most Disastrous Majesty, King Tragedy, king of the absols. The absols are a group of evil pokemon who use their power to cause disasters and tragedies to control all the pokemon of the world. In the past, the arcanines opposed the absols and other evil pokemon and stopped them from destroying everything, but that changed when King Tragedy killed the king of the arcanines and captured all the rest.

Lucky decides he doesn't want to rule the world like his father, and hates the thought of being a tyrant like him and runs away. Once he leaves, though, the spirit of the king of the arcanines comes to him and tells him only he can save the world and sends Lucky on his epic quest.

Lucky travels the world, defeating the members of his father's council who have been assigned to control parts of the world, and making new friends along the way! His teammates are Clip, the manectric who was raised by mareep and acts as their protector, Willow, the feraligatr who was exiled for trying to start an uprising against the absols, and Jingle, a chimecho who's family was imprisoned for trying to heal the king of the arcanine.

Together they take down all of the evil dark types, and free the arcanines after defeating Lucky'a father! At the end, Lucky turns into an arcanine because of him rising above his evil family and background, and becomes the new king of the arcanine before banishing all the dark types for their evil.

A lot of people love the game because of how progressive and inclusive it was for the time, with a story about rising above your background to become a good person, Clip being implied to be trans in the original kantonian version, Willow mentioning having two dads, and Jingle's design turning the ribbon on chimecho into a hijab, among other things. A lot of people also hate the game for it being "anti-dark type" by portraying them as evil, but dark types are evil, so???

It's a good game!

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Theoretical Candle Communication Spell

So part of what we're starting to do in the Jasper's Beans Discord is to play these games where we come up with different magical solutions or ideas based on our crafts for a central problem. I decided that the one I came up with earlier this evening would be fun to toss to the dash and let people chew on it for fun. Feel free to analyze, dissect, review, or gnaw on as you please!

The prompt:

You have a good friend who you know enjoys your company but you haven't seen them in awhile and they haven't been responsive to texting or other ways of communicating for a few months. You know that this is something that happens when they are v busy with life.

What are some magical solutions you could do to have more consistent communication with them?

My response was as follows (please note that it took all of 15 minutes for me to put this together):

I've always said that communication is the first thing that fails. Just...generally.

So, for me, this would be an air-aligned spell first and foremost. This is because air is associated with the intellectual realm in my paradigm, and communication is always easiest when you're thinking straight.

My next step would be determining my angle. Would I want to do something involving one of my pop culture sources? If I went the Pokemon route, I could do Psychic or Flying types as the basis. With MTG, Blue might be of the most use to me. But I could also go about it without pop culture influences and dig through my correspondences binder until I found something that interested me.

Let's say, for this hypothetical, that I wanted to cast a one and done spell. How about a candle? For opening communication, I'd probably pick a lovely yellow or a light blue, since I have so many of those and they're decently friendly colors in addition to being associated with air (again, in my paradigm at least). And I have fake craft feathers, so I can use that in some way to bring in more of the air element.

Since most of my magic is done using my own energy, I don't feel the need to get super specific with the taglock, but I guess I could use whatever it is that I communicate with this person on and pull up their profile or contact information on that platform. Finally, I guess I'd throw in a sigil I could make to open up communication. Draw it into the candle or burn it along with the candle wick, I dunno, haven't gotten that far.

So I'd get everything together, draw the sigil where needed, light up the candle, use the craft feathers to waft the smoke vaguely in the direction of my taglock, and cap off the spell by leaving them a text like "Been thinking about you! Hope you're doing alright!"

[zelandiangelo]

wip wednesday ft. the beastieball agenda

so i started playing Beastieball per a good friend's recommendation back in November and fell head over heels in love w the game... the game is very good on its own merit but also i Can put joukai in it. so i did.

(in my save file they're Beasties (and partners <3) but in this fic they're humans LMFAO)

they're about 7 years old in this bit! also I think this is pretty understandable without having played Beastieball (though I think you should consider it... ;;ww;;) but for quick context the setting is kind of like Pokemon (there are Creatures).

-

He pops out of his hiding place, and the boy starts. He backs away from Joey with wide eyes. His heels catch on a wayward clump of grass, and he stumbles, falling backwards onto his butt in a way that looks painfully familiar.

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” Joey rushes over and offers the boy a hand up. But the boy’s bright blue eyes slide past the offered hand, and they lock instead on the ball, which Joey had unthinkingly balanced against his hip with his free hand.

“You took the ball,” the boy says flatly.

“Oh…” Joey lets his hand drop. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes again. “I didn’t mean to.”

Joey never means to, or at least he doesn’t think he does. But his parents always say it doesn’t make sense that he “didn’t mean” to shove his classmate, or that he “didn’t mean” to break Serenity’s doll. They tell him people don’t do things that they don’t mean to do.

Joey thinks it’s a bit more complicated than that. He’d meant to take back the toy his classmate had stolen from his friend, to show his sister a cool trick, to get a closer look at this strange new sort of ball he’d found. It’s just that those things hadn’t quite worked the way he’d expected them to. But trying to explain this to his parents and teachers has gotten him nowhere, and anyway they know more than him, so…

He shouldn’t bother with the excuse. He has to make it right.

“You can have it back,” he offers, holding the ball out with both hands towards the other boy.

The boy blinks up at him, then pushes himself to his feet. “It’s okay.”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay,” the boy repeats.

He’s not mad. He’s not sad. He’s standing, and doesn’t seem to care about the dirt on his pants or the stolen ball in Joey’s hands. He points past Joey, and Joey turns to look.

“Another one will grow in a couple of days,” the boy says. “See the tiny ones?”

Joey nods mutely.

“Plus, I know all the spots around here where ball shrooms grow,” the boy continues.

“You come here a lot?” Joey asks.

“Every day,” the boy says, chest puffing a bit with pride.

“But the sign says keep out!”

Now the boy does look a bit cross. “You’re here,” he points out.

“Well, I- I only came this time,” Joey argues. “I only broke the rules once.”

“But you still broke them.”

Joey’s quiet for a moment.

“Don’t tell,” he finally begs.

A grin flashes across the boy’s face, showing off the gap where one of his teeth is missing. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Fair’s fair. “Deal.”

The boy holds out a hand, and Joey shakes it.

“My name’s Seto. What’s yours?”

“I’m Joey.”

The boy smiles, this time with a shy edge. “Do you want to come play with my friends, Joey?”

Joey’s eyes widen. “You have other friends who come here?”

“Uh-huh.” Seto nods. “Come on, I’ll show you.” He turns, his small, warm palm sliding into Joey’s as naturally as if they’ve been holding hands their whole lives. “Stay close to me, though. Some of the bigger Beasties can trample you if you aren’t careful.”

“I’ve seen bigger Beasties before,” Joey says defensively.

“Wild ones?"

"...No."

He doesn't argue further as Seto continues to lead him by the hand.

[corgitation]

resources I'm using for studying japanese

vocab/kanji:

wanikani: I use daily reviews to learn kanji and vocabulary using the kanji. This resource isn't free, but this has really helped me stay consistent. I like the UI and find the content helpful

renshuu: this is my favorite mobile app, I use this to learn JLPT-specific vocab and kanji. I use the free version

mochi srs: the best flashcard app! The UI is super easy to use and has lots of shortcuts for making and reviewing cards fast. You can easily create and edit templates for cards, and have cards reference other cards. I have a deck for kanji and one for vocab, and my vocab template references any kanji that are used in the vocab tab. There's also super easy furigana, lots of features for japanese.

grammar:

bunpro: really good for grammar, this has lessons for each grammar rule and divides them into groups through popular textbooks and their own groupings for jlpt grammar

genki textbooks: pretty standard textbook for learning vocab, grammar, and kanji

genki study resources: great site with activities for all the genki lessons

tokini andy genki reviews: extra practice for genki lessons, explains some grammar more clearly, introduces new dialogue.

reading:

japanese folktales for language learners and japanese stories for language learners: folktales are a really great way to learn, because these references come up a lot. I've seen references to urashimo taro in evangelion, and the new pokemon dlc is a reference to momotaro. This book has the japanese on one page and english on the other, with vocabulary after the chapter. (here and here on natively)

animal crossing new leaf tobimori: I've recently started playing this and it's so much fun. I'm already really familiar with the game so I don't depend on any of the text for playing, and it's good for more common expressions, differences in speech between polite/casual/male/female etc. I have a post describing how I'm able to play this here. (here on lingotrack)

listening:

japanese with shun: big fan of this podcast, it's free on spotify and youtube, which scripts on patreon. Each podcast is about a short subject, and they're all in japanese. (here on lingotrack)

learn japanese pod: some free podcasts on spotify with more paid content, this one is both about japanese and in japanese. It will teach phrases for specific scenarios, like ordering sushi or refusing situations.

tracking:

lingotrack: I started time tracking a couple of months ago and it's been so helpful! This site is great for quickly logging study activities and seeing how the time stacks up. It helps me identify which areas I'm spending enough time in and which ones are lacking. I also use the library section for keeping track of my japanese native content

toggl: I use this online stopwatch for tracking the time for different study activities so I can log them in lingotrack. It also has a browser extension which I usually use

finding native content:

natively: excellent site for finding comprehensible input content and tracking days read. This site has a lot of reviews for books so it makes it easy to find books that are on level. You can follow me here

lingotrack: collections in lingotrack provides user generated groups of content so that you can create an see groupings of native material content. There aren't as many reviews for material here as there are for natively though, so I find material there and then add them here. You can follow me here

other:

tofugu: this blog has everything. Use it for finding reviews on japanese language resources, learning grammar rules, etc.

jisho: dictionary app, I use it as my source of truth for vocab and kanji meanings

heisig's remembering the kanji: a different approach to learning kanji, this focuses on first teaching the simplest kanji and building from ones you already know. This is different from wanikani, which will make sure you know (its own) particles before introducing the kanji that uses them, but focuses on learning kanji and vocab in priority order. I'm listing it here because I don't use it much anymore

deepl: ai translator, works much better than google translate. You can also put sentences in chatgpt and ask it for broken down explanations. Take any translations from ai with a grain of salt - they are great tools but do not ensure accuracy

edit 3/10/2024: added tracking and native content sections, added links to lingotrack and natively for media