#(i'm not even in viridian forest yet so uh

[puppypaw-wc]

you know that a pokemon nuzlocke’s off to a good start when your starter almost dies like three times.

[jacscorner]

Gen2verse: A Different Kind of Rival

Hey, remember this dumb fanfic idea I had back in, like, June?!

...It's okay, I understand. But here's the bulk of what I said back then.

The reforestation project of Viridian Forest made a smile grow onto Erika's face. The grass was fresh and growing, the trees were mighty and tall once more. It hurt her when she saw the devastating effects of humans taking more than what nature could replace. All the while, she felt trapped within her gym; her duties as a Gym Leader kept her from doing much of anything. But, through the cooperation of Pokemon and People, Viridian Forest was back to what it was before. In a way, it looked better than it did before; stronger than ever, with more Pokemon than ever roaming the grass and ducking under logs. It was magnificent. It was, genuinely, a marvel of na- "Hey, Erika, look!" Misty's voice suddenly broke Erika out of her self-induced trance. She gasped, nearly tripping over her sandals. "Uh, you okay?" "Y-yes, yes, I'm fine." Erika assured. "My mind was just somewhere else for a moment." Misty giggled, "jeez, Erika, you can't just zone out like that. I could've lead you somewhere dangerous or something." "We're in the middle of the woods, Misty. I doubt you'd lead me somewhere nefarious..." "You don't know that." The Tomboy gave Erika a wink. Her face turned a soft shade of pink; before she could say anything else, however, Misty looked ahead. "Oh, look, there's a clearing! Let's set up camp and have a battle!" "Battle?" Erika giggled a bit, "Misty, I know that we didn't bring our strongest Pokemon, but I hope you remember that Grass beats Water." Misty smirked back at Erika, "hey, you don't get to be a Water-Type Pokemon specialist when you don't know how to handle Grass-Types! Now come on! If you lose, you go on a date with me!" "Very we-wait, excuse me?! I-I don't agree to these conditions! Misty!"

I'm a lot prouder of this pic than the one I did before. Not that I hate it, but I really like how I did this one. It looks more fantastical and dreamlike. I think it helps to build up the fantasy that Pokemon is. I even did some neat stuff with the background Pokemon! Anywho, as I mentioned before; one idea I had to keep the Gyms from getting stale in this hypothetical reality where you just kept going through Kanto-Johto over and over again would be for some Gym Leaders to step down and let some new blood take over or set up gyms elsewhere. Misty and Erika, thus, have left their gyms. I'd imagine this is a process done by the Pokemon League through some selection process and it's possible the two simply volunteered for this.  Misty can take the time to reevaluate her 'all-out Water-Type Pokemon offense' strategy. Time to retrain a new team of Water-Types and to teach this old dog some new tricks. And, naturally, this is after Gen 2, so I had her keep that hairstyle and more-or-less put her in her Let's Go Clothes. She probably wears a swimsuit under those clothes. 📷 Erika, meanwhile, stepped down cause, well, this gives her the chance to do a lot of things. Tend to her flowers, practice her flower arranging skills, train casually, catch up on her sleep since she apparently naps in her gym. Also, her design is mostly her Gen 1 design, you probably saw it if you played Pokemon Colosseum and played through the Gym Castles. The two gals have put away their Gym Leader teams and decided to go on an adventure of their own! Mist left Cerulean with just Horsie and Erika, an Oddish. It was really Misty's idea to decide to go on a Pokemon Adventure!  Erika: Misty, aren't we a little old to be going around as new trainers? Misty: Eh?! What do you mean?! By the time the two of them reached Viridian Forest, they've probably gotten some serious training done and are a bit tougher than your average Bug Catcher. And, hey, wouldn't it be cool to have some former Gym Leaders as a pair of Rivals? Or, better yet; imagine running through a revamped Viridian Forest. It's a new, more complex maze. More Pokemon roam about now. And boom! You turn a corner and still Misty and Erika! You can battle them and they can join you as Traveling Companions! For Double Battles, you can pick one as a partner! Misty can help you fish in ponds and a big lake and Erika can help you pluck berries and heal your Pokemon. Maybe a 'cutscene' can happen where you camp during the night and swap dialogue with Misty or Erika, and maybe depending on how well you do, they'll be a long time companion for your adventures!