#(honestly. nemona alone does wonders for dena's growth as a trainer but I'VE STILL GOT MORE) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

relicsongmel · 7 months ago

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You know, I've held for a long time the belief that canon!Denise eventually surpasses Sylvia and is just a notch above her in terms of battle prowess despite being younger. But the more I think about it the more I realize Paldea!Denise blows Sylvia out of the WATER with how strong she is to the point it's not even a contest

#mel's musings #forest for the tree #little songbird #first of all. dena started 3 years younger in this au. she got her sprigatito at 15 whilst syl got oshawott at 18 #she's got FIVE rivals as opposed to syl's three. one of whom has a reputation for being a battle maniac #(honestly. nemona alone does wonders for dena's growth as a trainer but I'VE STILL GOT MORE)#dena literally has battle studies on her academic record and has studied at two different schools for it #she's fluent in both singles and doubles strategies and beaten elite and champion ranked trainers in both playstyles #plus she's got 4 legendaries AND access to terastallization. syl would get WASHED #to be fair to her though. she certainly would not go down without a fight #she's got 2 legendaries herself plus a mega gardevoir she can communicate telepathically with #and she's significantly more adaptable than dena when her strategies don't go as planned. whereas dena tends to get boxed in her mind a bit #meaning if she manages to catch her off guard it's even possible she could pull a win from her in some circumstances #but after she spent so long wearing herself into the dirt gaining the strength she needed to beat team plasma #and trying her best to live up to everyone's expectations for her as the hero of truth (to say NOTHING of her expectations for herself)?#she's just not the grinding type anymore. she's simply content to live out her life with her beloved pokemon #and if she gets stronger as a side effect of that then cool! but it's not her main focus and she wants to keep it that way #paldea!denise was never forced into getting stronger the way syl was. and she's less beholden to others' expectations in general #and having that agency means her natural inclination to gain knowledge and grow isn't stunted by feeling like it's her only option #so she doesn't have the same reservations about striving for strength as her cousin. but that's not to say she's inherently better for it #point is. both girls had different circumstances behind how they got to where they are and the struggles they faced along the way #but regardless of that they're both content with where they ended up. they're living their best lives and that's what matters #sobs. they're so everything ;_;

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