#( sorry y'all. ppl coming @ me via twisting/misconstruing my words gets under my skin )

[draystersden]

Also, y'all know something really funny about the "Drayton vs Kieran" thing? Drayton was basically the only character to recognize that something was literally WRONG with Kieran. That how he changed and how severely he changed wasn't right. It wasn't normal.

"When it came to Pokemon battling, I never saw so much joy in anyone’s eyes as in his! But then, outta nowhere, he changed. Now he’s relentless-pushes himself, pushes everyone around him… Nothing good’s gonna come out of this. Someone’s gotta snap him out of it."

The other Elite Four members? They're troubled, but it comes across that they just think Kieran's going through a weird phase and that's it. Carmine calls it Kieran's "teen angst" and trivializes it. Cyrano and Briar, the main adults in the Indigo Disk setting, are completely disconnected. Briar comes across as not giving a single shit anyway - ESPECIALLY during the story's climax with Terapagos. Kieran was clearly in distress for all to see, but it was invisible to everyone but Drayton.

He's not only the one to recognize something's wrong, Drayton's the only one who becomes proactive and tries to help Kieran in the way he believes will work: having Kieran lose the Champion title. It's unknown if the other elites ever tried to challenge Kieran, but it's confirmed Drayton did at least one or more times post his dethroning. After a point, he realized "yeah I'm not good enough" and suspected someone else would have to do it. In comes the protag.

Kieran's thirst for power is clearly like poison to him and is like venom to others, so depriving him of the high of being Champion might help him regain full coherency. It's simplistic logic and doesn't at all tackle the nuances surrounding mental health, but....Drayton's just a teen boy. Of course he isn't going to know better and know how to go about the situation better. And of course, he's going to be bitter over how shitty Kieran's treated him & the club in general.

So many people love stating that Kieran's "just a sweet, teenage bean so don't be hard on him" when it comes to his bullshit getting criticized, but then they turn around and act like Drayton's the scum of the earth despite being a teen himself. Ugh.