#But then Ogerpon turned out to be perfect for him.

[the-royal-hyrule-library]

Trainer Profile: The Happy Mask Salesman

“You say some young hooligans stole your masks?”

“As luck would have it, I’m looking for a stolen mask as well.”

“Perhaps we should search together.”

A mysterious traveling merchant who, when asked for his name, only insists that he’s “a mask salesman”. People call him the Happy Mask Salesman because he always seems to be grinning, even when he’s screaming in rage.

Some of the masks he sells have magical powers. One mask prevents even the most aggressive pokémon from attacking unprovoked, while another allows its wearer to hear and see that which is normally imperceivable. Rumors claim that he even has a mask that makes shiny pokémon more likely to appear.

Wherever he goes, the Happy Mask Salesman is accompanied by a pokémon called Ogerpon. She always wears a teal mask, leaving her true appearance a mystery.

[decemberazure2001]

You know how y'all are into the whole Pecharunt possession over Kieran thing? Well, I have one enlightening thought.

What if Pecharunt possessed Juliana instead as an AU?

Like at the end of the Teal Mask and before to Indigo Disk, Juliana was in shambles over betraying Kieran for simply lying to him because she was told to do so and regretted not telling him and having a crush on him which makes her feel worse and going as far as hating herself for being silent about it.

At her vulnerable moment, Pecharunt possessed her and basically made her convinced that being nice(befriending a shy gentle boy who never had a friend before) and obedient(being told to not tell Kieran out of safety but look what happened) is what got her in trouble and she should forget about it if she wanted to ruin herself and others around her more. She should focus on being more stronger, not rely on anyone and not let herself be distracted anymore.

And that led to Juliana undergo a change. From being a friendly and caring person who battles for fun to a very cold person who pushes away her friends out of underlying fear to not hurt anyone anymore and focuses on being a better battler than she already is. She no longer battles for fun; she battles and trains to get stronger and push herself hard to be better and perfect and not get attached anymore and not to be distracted.

It gets to the point that even Kieran, who at the time is obsessed with getting stronger in order to simply beat Juliana, to notice something isn't right with Juliana and her habits aren't healthy(that's saying something coming from him who doesn't get enough sleep and trains nonstop) and slowly grew concerned with her as his feelings for her resurfaced.

His concerns grew even more when Ogerpon, the pokemon who chose Juliana over him, and the friendly Raidon(Juliana had switched for the aggressive one) goes to him for help them snap Juliana out and get Pecharunt's control off of her.

Kieran sees Juliana as the hero and possibly himself being the villain. But now it became the hero turned villain and the villain becomes the anti-hero situation.

I dunno, this idea got me thinking hard and the possibilities here!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

hi hi hello im back with my ‘raidon beef bs!! can i get kieran and mc having some sort of argumentative confrontation when mc first comes to blueberry that almost gets physical before the mc’s alpha koraidon very angrily gets kieran to back off? -🧃

"[Y/n]..."

Looking to Kieran, your eyebrows furrowed at the hateful gaze he was sending you, teeth gnashed together.

You could tell he wanted to desperately say something to you--for having the nerve to show up at his school after what you did to him back in his homeland.

He was shocked that you came to BB Academy at all, before he saw this as his chance to show you how much he's changed and how strong he became. He even permitted you to challenge the Elite Four directly, growing impatient as he was ready finally crush you in-battle.

You, on the other hand, were a bit irritated at this new "persona" of his.

As far as you're concerned, he didn't need to do all of this. He didn't need to be petty and cruel to innocent league club members who don't live up to his standards. He didn't need to dismiss his sister so rudely and act like she once did.

Of course, you feel bad about what happened in Kitakami. Maybe you could've told him about Ogerpon much sooner and let him have a few wins...but this was too much.

Now he was being a straight-up bully. And you utterly despise those types of people.

"You better not go losing to anyone until our battle." Kieran huffed.

"Pssh, like I'd ever lose.." You lightly scoffed, deciding to match his energy.

Although when you looked back at him, you could see a forced grin forming on his face, spreading from ear-to-ear.

It could easily rival a Gengar's.

"Good. I'm not a little kid anymore. And you'll know it when I show you how the best of the best battle." He vowed, turning on his heel and preparing to walk away.

"Kiki!" Carmine gasped in outrage. "You shouldn't talk to [y/n] like that."

You were about to tell her not to intervene, as you didn't wanna see the siblings' relationship fall into further disarray because of this, but what Kieran said next broke the straw on the Numel's back for you.

"Shut it, sis-"

"Look, you can be mad at me all you want. But don't you dare take it out on everybody else."

His scowl deepened as he stared dead straight at you. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. "You stepped closer to him in challenge, fed up with his attitude. "And you're right. You're not a little kid anymore....you're a spoiled little brat who's mad that he didn't get what he wanted. When are you really gonna grow up and stop this charade, huh?"

For a moment he looked genuinely shocked that you're talking to him this way, but then his eyes darkened. "Don't. This isn't some charade. You made me like this-"

"Oh don't give me that. I didn't tell you to act like a bully. You did that to yourself. I was only trying to enjoy a nice trip away from Paldea until you decided to put me up on a pedestal." The words kept spilling out, and you didn't care that he was fuming more and more by the second. "Then you accuse me of ruining your life??"

"Stop it.."

"I get it, you wanna be like me. You wanna do what I can. But at least I don't go around throwing tantrums every time I lose-"

"SHUT UP!! JUST SHUT UP!!" Kieran suddenly turned around, hands grabbing the front of your uniform as he yanked you in close. His eyes were full of rage. "I'm through with being like you...I'm gonna be BETTER THAN YOU IN EVERY WAY!!! AND MAYBE YOU'LL KNOW HOW I FELT!!"

Although his screams initially startled you, and began attracting a small crowd, you tried your best not to show any fear.

But even so, this new side to him was terrifying to witness.

Maybe you pushed his buttons a little too much.

"Get your hands off me, Kieran." You warned firmly, gently grasping his wrists. "This isn't the time or place."

"In case it wasn't obvious, the battle court's right behind us. So it's the perfect place." He snarled. "And since you're so damn confident, maybe we'll just skip the Elite Four and get to the part where I kick--!!"

Before he could finish, one of the pokeballs attached to your belt popped open on its own, and from it emerged...

Koraidon.

Not the one who was your traveling companion who loved sandwiches, but the other member of its species: the alpha, the paradise protection protocol's defender--and now a very pissed off lizard who was able to jump out of its pokeball without your assistance.

Carmine, Drayton, and the other students gasped as it assumed its Apex build and scowled down at the boy, growling.

Suddenly Kieran didn't feel so high and mighty anymore, as he let you go and took a step away. An uncomfortable feeling of smallness and helplessness overtook him upon staring up at the Winged King's hostile gaze, a hand reaching for his Dragonite's pokeball on reflex.

You were stunned this Koraidon came to your defense quicker than the other. It must've somehow sensed the bullying behavior radiating from your rival.

'I guess it takes one to know one..'

The standoff continued for a few more moments...

Before Kieran surrendered.

"Fine. You made your point. The time for our real battle will come." His gaze went to Koraidon, his expression now cold and devoid of emotion. "Don't think you can always jump out to defend [y/n] like this. You'll see who's stronger."

It only snarled in response, while you remained beside it and frowned. "Kieran-"

"Looking forward to seeing you climb the ranks." Was all he said to you before he finally left you alone, the tension in the air still heavy as ever.

"Giiaa.."

"Thanks, buddy." You sighed, smiling a little as you stroked Koraidon's feathers. It relaxed its haunches, putting all four feet back on the ground so you could pet its snout. "Seems you've turned over a new leaf after all."

"Grraah!"

"Yeah..I can only hope he does, too.."

[dorianbrightmusic]

i'm seeing a lot of Pokémon SV DLC analyses where people say 'Oh, Kieran's fixation on Ogrepon is because he sees it as a path to strength; Carmine's bullied him long enough that his shield against admitting his weakness to himself is adoring a legendary creature'. And don't get me wrong – these interpretations certainly hold water – but I've actually been working from basically the opposite angle for all this time.

By all means, Kieran idolises strength, but he inhabits Carmine's shadow – he's the weak sibling, and probably has been for a long time. Yet, rather than fixate on the fantastical power of the Loyal Three, he identifies himself with Ogrepon – the downtrodden, ostracised creature cast out to eke out a subsistence. A terrible demon that wasn't quite terrible enough to cause anyone any lasting harm. The creature defeated by heroes, rather than the perfect, heroic figureheads themselves. He's enamoured with the downtrodden; he sees himself in its grief, in its being cast out and excluded. He's been cast out and excluded all his life (and he can't be a bad person, right? It's not fair – he's hated senselessly, surely, rather than for some reason?) – he sees himself as harmless; so the ogre, too, must be harmless, mis-blamed. Strength is thus in resistance; in growing a shell to tolerate others' inexplicable cruelty. So Kieran looks to Ogerpon, and he thinks that the meek shall inherit the earth, and it gives him the strength to tolerate long nights with poor company. Others are villains – not him, not this creature – and he's safe in the knowledge that at the end of the day, at least an ogre can go down in mythology as the putative sole survivor of its trials.

In this sense, Kieran's like Penny – he finds himself in a position of weakness, of being victimised, and forms himself an armour of being an underdog, of being the thing that bites back. Yet while Penny's position is that the underdog might muster the strength to bite back and restore justice, Kieran's view is that at least the underdog was worth loving. He's inert and preoccupied with his inertia. He can't understand that maybe he could be a human, with the capacity to grow, the capacity to sin. And when Carmine is cruel to him, he reaffirms his own contrarian mindset more – she says I am worth little for my weakness, so my weakness is all I am worth; my weakness is my strength.

And yet he chases strength, because he has to to survive. So when the player comes by, and supports him, maybe he has the safety to walk away from his preoccupation with being an underdog, to enjoy strength for strength's sake. And then, he starts losing, but this time, there are stakes, since he can't just withdraw and be consoled by the fact that withdrawing is right, is right, is right. Thus, he must get stronger. And then, when Ogerpon turns out to favour Juliana, who's become Kieran's idol for all that strength means, rather than Kieran, who's Kieran's selfsame designated weaklingpatheticscumidiot——well, what can Kieran do but fracture, since his whole ideology, his whole premonition that he might have the right to inherit the earth, has been fractured? And, under stress, he pivots from one extreme to the other. All he knows is that weakness is now unbearable. He must get stronger. Must get stronger. Must get stronger—because otherwise he's doomed, he's nothing. He has no myth to dissolve his identity in any longer, so he reshapes himself around the only other standard he's ever known. And it twists him and it breaks him into tiny pieces, because suddenly, the last thing he can bear to be is Kieran: Kieran, the downtrodden and meek boy. He has to flip on his axis; he must become the designated villain of his story by popular imagination, or else be subsumed in the fact that he's going to die someday without any place in the world. He has to play a part, because he's been consigned to one so long, and he can't think of anything other than heroes and villains, enemies and martyrs. He can't be the bad guy. Strength is now goodness; weakness is now evil. And he can't reconcile who he thought he was with who he must become, and as a result, all he can do is try to destroy the person who's destroyed his ideology.

[creepychippy]

My Take on Kieran from the Pokemon SV Teal Mask DLC/his Pain/Trauma (obvious and major Spoilers to the Story under the Cut):

Carmine is seen throughout the Game insulting/not treating Kieran kindly. That has tremendous Effects on his Confidence and Self-Esteem (stuttering, not confident enough to talk to others, etc)

When he sees you, the Protagonist, he immediately places you on a Pedestal, basically idolizing you and thinking you can only do right/are not capable of making Mistakes (which is a very bad Thing to do, because when you put People on a Pedestal and think very highly of them, any Mistake they'll do will shatter the perfect Image you built of them and you will grow to resent that Person because of that. Instead of unyielding Love and Admiration for them, it will turn into bitter Hatred and a Grudge forms.)

The only Thing that brings him Comfort through all the Pain is Ogerpon. It basically became his Hyperfixation which you can see when he comes up with these wholesome Scenarios in his Head (hoping to meet Ogerpon one Day and become his Friend, invite Ogerpon to his Home, etc). He also sees Part of himself in Ogerpon, so because of that he thinks he would have a special Connection with this Pokemon.

Then you come along. At first, everything seems fine, but soon Things begin to turn negative. You lie to him (probably against your Will) as he tests you, so Part of his Trust is already once again shattered and his Self-Esteem worsens once again (he thinks you and Carmine laugh behind his back without having any Evidence for it. His Head tells him that this is the Truth).

Then, the only Source of Comfort turns away from him… and to you (it's like your Hyperfixation walking right up to you, only to push you aside and give someone else the Attention you always craved), so that is taken away from him as well. On top of that, the Person he once considered his Friend is understanding themself well with the one Person who always antagonized him… his Sister, Carmine.

His entire Environment is crumbling apart, so he tries to fight the Force that is destroying it… only to lose over, and over, and over again (without anyone telling him that the Person he is facing off against is considered a Champion in one Region, while he himself only has average Knowledge about battling. He was doomed to lose from the Start)

He is shown as this shy, meek Character at first, but if you pay Attention to the Details, you can quickly tell how his Frustrations, his Despair and his Anger are building up, bottling up within him (he punches a Shrine made out of Stone with his Fist (not thinking clearly and reacting based on his Emotions as he regrets doing that Moments later on, seeing how his Expression changes into a pained one and he shakes his Hand in Pain), he falls down to the Ground and pounds his Fist against the Floor, the Light in his Eyes vanishes, he clenches his Fists when thinking about you… but also mostly stays silent all the same, rarely shouting out in Anger.)

And to top it off… he seems to be a Child without Parents, only having his Grandparents around him, one of which has kept the true Story of Ogerpon hidden from him for many Years now.

Carmine assumed at some points that Kieran acted weirdly due to Hormones, since Kieran is in his Teen Years… and we know how irrational and emotional Teens can become due to Hormones.

It doesn't end there for him, however. As one of my best Friends pointed out while I was talking to him, Kieran's School Life doesn't seem great either. Remember how all giddy Kieran gets when he hears you considering him to be your Friend. That shows how he doesn't have any Friends at his School at all. It's no wonder how he considers himself to be an Outsider and how he asumes Carmine and you exclude him from Stuff even if there is once again no Proof for it.

One last Detail I think I noticed is how Kieran sabotages himself, whether he does it intentionally or not. He is clearly frustrated that Ogerpon prefers you over him. Yet, he abandoned Ogerpon when Ogerpon needed help the most (meanwhile, the Protagonist was always there for Ogerpon, so it makes Sense that Ogerpon would flock to them more than it would to Kieran). Instead of listening what others have to say and let them talk, he keeps running away before he can gain Information/their Side of the Story, twisting his Perception of others further. He is also always the one that demands to battle with you, despite Part of him knowing that he will lose.

To sum it up: Kieran is seemingly a shy and meek Boy who already had some Troubles in his Home-, Social- and School Life, resulting in his poor Self-Esteem and dwindling mental Health. Then he places the Protagonist on a high Pedestal (possibly due to Trauma and/or Loneliness) when they come along and idolize them, only for that Person to unintentionally and inevitably destroy everything he held dearly to him and turn his Life upside down.

Also, while I can't assume that he hates the Protagonist's Guts now and harbor a Grudge against them (since that would be kinda hypocritical considering he thought Carmine and the Protagonist were laughing behind his back without having any Evidence to back it up), it wouldn't be too surprising if it turned out that that was the Case, even if it is just a tiny Part of him that does so.

So, what exactly does all of this mean for Part 2 of the DLC?

Well, I think that maybe someone is going to take Advantage of the Situation and manipulate Kieran, as Kieran's mental Wellbeing is basically down the Drain at this point. The only Thing he, and possibly by Extension his Hatred, cares about is tearing us down. And considering how chaotic his Emotions must be right now, he won't think clearly about what he is doing, as proven by his past Actions… therefore giving others an Opportunity to manipulate him.

------

If anyone wants to add something onto this, feel free to do so. Also, if this Post feels scattered or weird, it's because I copy and pasted my Thoughts and Ramblings I had between me and my best Friend on Discord onto this Post, so that's why it might be all over the Place- uwu Please remember that I also played the DLC in German, so if some Things are different, then Parts of the Translations weren't the same as the English one- :^Pc

[askdeoxys]

"COOKIES? FOR ME?... DON'T MIND IF I DO-"

The cookie had no chance. Faster than light, the baked good was chewed to disintegration-- to total molecular annihilation. There was only one possible reaction Deoxys could give.

Having knelt down, Deoxys held out a small sack to Ogerpon that was seemingly summoned from nowhere. "YOU AND YOUR SISTERS DID A PERFECT JOB. ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTIOUS, AS THE KIDS WOULD SAY. HERE, AS A TOKEN OF MY THANKS, TAKE THIS ASH. IT IS SACRED, OR SOMETHING. I HEARD IT HAS HEALING PROPERTIES, OR SOMETHING. DON'T ASK ME WHERE I GOT IT, BUT IT IS FOR YOU, LETTLE ON-YON. IF YOU EVER SCRAPE YOUR KNEE, JUST SPRINKLE THAT ON."

Deoxys spun around with fever, a fright about him. Quite literally, his bright orange carapace turned a ghost white-- an audible "-EEP!" let out.

Then, in a cartoonish pop of dotted lines.. Deoxys was gone.. Vanished..

"JUST KIDDING," a tiny Deoxys spoke from atop Wo's head, trying to find a comfortable place to put down a tiny chair on the larger pokemon's head. "IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE FORGIVEN. I DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT THE WORD MEANS. IT IS ACTUALLY NICER TO SEE YOU, SO MAYBE JOT THAT DOWN."

[ @the-feral-one ]

[applesjuice]

How are the others taking Kieran's death ? Won't they think there's something fishy ? (Legends AU)

I'm SCREAMING this is the first ask I've gotten in ten whole years and it's about KIERAN 🤣

Putting beneath a read more because this got stupid long...

But real talk, Carmine would be taking it the hardest she'd be a mess for a while. In my mind the plot of LA takes places over about two years to complete the pokedex, so by then she'd have graduated school, and is trying to redefine who she is since so much of her identity was tied into being a big sister. She'd be antagonistic towards Briar for a while, blaming her for bringing them down there in the first place. But I like to think Carmine comes to understand that adults are not perfect after the fallout that comes to Briar and the Paladean Pokemon League as a result of a minor dying on a sponsored exception.

Briar I think would write her book but she'd have fallen out of favor in the academic world due to her irresponsibility. She'd face harsh criticism from the public and the guilt she'd feel would be tremendous because Kieran, despite being a little shit at the time, was a child. I like to believe two years later she's really struggling with her career, getting denied grants and project funding, having her papers get denied by academic journals. She's a mess.

Geeta and the Paladean Pokemon League would face harsh scrutiny over allowing this specific expedtion to occur. For years they refused to allow expeditions down in Area Zero due to a lack of strong enough, accredited (re: champion level) trainers who were not bogged down by workload. Its a media shitstorm. A research team with only three children as the safety trainers? Yes one of them is a certified Champion of their league but they are still a child with only a few months experience, and the other two were strong trainers in their own right but not accredited under Paladean standards. There wasnt enough prep or vetting. Geeta would as a result step down as chairwoman due to the backlash. Atm there is no top champion so if someone beats the elite 4 there's a hold on becoming a champion level trainer while Nemona is being trained for the position.

Now the BB Academy Elite 4, they're shook. Drayton takes it the hardest because he turned down going, so he's like "what if I was there what if there was one more trainer could I have prevented this". The other 3 did see Kieran as a friend, despite his recent behavior. Before that he was Carmine's little brother, and Crispin and him were pretty friendly too, what with being in the same grade. Yeah the kid was a bully but imagine coming to school one day and there's an announcement one of your clasmates died. Thats traumatic!

Now, the protagonist. Oh boy. Regardless of if they're Juliana or Florian, they'd be pretty traumatized. They considered Kieran a friend. At one point they loved his company, he was so kind and sweet and they already blamed themselves a bit for the whole Ogerpon situation. Yeah Kieran took it to the extreme with his reaction, but I find Kieran a really interesting character with how the game wrote him. He's a child, was lied to by the people closest with him, and he doesnt seem the type to easily connect with others. But the one time he finally finds someone he connects with, we continuously and unrelentlessly crush him at something he enjoys, join his family in treating him like he has no agency by hiding the truth of his special interest from him, and go out of our way to disinclude him with his sister.

And like of course Ogerpon got close to us we spent so much time with her, getting her to trust us and know us. I see this take a lot that Kieran just wants to enslave legendaries but thats definitely not it. He's trying to get back at us. We took something special from him, and he never really had the chance to put in his bid for Ogerpon's attention and he knew it was selfish, but he cared so much for her as someone that was always disincluded, bullied, looked down on by others, and he had to at least try because Ogerpon to him, is a projection of himself. He had to TRY even if as he stated, he knew it was wrong.

And then we take his spot as Champion from him that he like, harmed himself and those around him for so he could at least have *something* that put him on the same level as you. Like we as the protagonist are the villain of Kieran's story (sorry for the tangent I swear it's relevant), but he's 14 and had a mental breakdown. And he got killed before we could reconcile or get through to him.

I think the protagonist would do a lot of soul searching because their first thought is "i should have taken the blast." Or "i could have stopped it" and then they had the humbling realization of "what could i even have done? We're the same age. That could have been me, i could have died" because even if the protagonist would never like, try to catch Terapagos immediately with a Masterball, its still a wild and untrained monster with too much power. There's no telling what would have happened if Kieran wasn't there. It'd incredibly eye opening and humbling and I think they'd strive to be a better more understanding person from this. The whole game people are hyping them up, telling them theyre so strong, they're the best, etc. Thats gotta give you a bit of a big head. I think they'd look to the adults they can trust, their mom, their teachers who are genuinely amazing people, and lean on them for support.

And when Kieran gets back and kind of has no idea who they are, and here's that sweet kid they remember with all of his love for pokemon and battling, except he's so much healthier and confident about it (and traumatized in different ways thanks Kamado and Volo). They'd probably be so amazed by him and thankful for this second chance.

Tldr: i should probably just write a fic for this it got stupid long...

[mochiponadventures]

Punishment

...

Juliana was busy helping her mother in the garden when she heard someone approaching. It was Kieran. He carried a small box in his hands and gave Juliana a big smile.

"Hey Juli, i brought you some cookies made by my sis. Believe it or not, she fell in love with that home ed class at your school and is now full on trying out everything they learn there" This amused Juliana quite a lot, seeing as Carmine didn´t really looked like she would engage in such things at all...

"Thank you, i really appreciate it!" She got up from her position and walked over to Kieran, hugging him. "So i take that you two enjoy Naranja Academy so far?"

The boy nodded, still smiling.

"Yeah, it´s really nice here and the teachers are certainly different from those at Blueberry Academy" Less strict and way more more lenient, Kieran mused, chuckling. "Let me put these cookies inside the house before the sun melts them. It´s quite hot today. Do you want something to drink?" Juliana asked, taking the box from her friend, carrying it inside. "Yes please!" He replied, looking around the lot he was standing on. The garden really was beautiful and certainly ripe with all kinds of fruits and vegetables.

Just as he wanted to follow Juliana inside, he saw Ogerpon swiping the patio with a broom, looking all but not pleased. When his friend came back, he gently nudged the girl, pointing towards the sweeping pokemon. "What´s up with Ogi? She looks really angry, did something happen?"

At that, Juliana sighed, giving Keiran his drink.

"It´s a punishment, she did something very bad and is now living through the consequences of it. Right Ogi?" She turned towards the young Pokemon, raising a brow. There was only an indignified huff as answer as she continued to sweep the ground.

"What did she do?" Kieran asked.

"Well, she sneaked up in the attic, got her Iron Cudgel, which by the way she is forbidden from using outside of battles, and decided to hit Momo on top of his head with it..."

Ogi only rolled with her eyes.

"Don´t give me that eyeroll, young lady! We don´t hit in this house and you know that!"

"POOOOOOOOOOON PON!" Ogi replied dramatically, it was amazing how close it sounded to a child, whining. Kieran chuckled, shaking his head. "Poor Momo, i bet that must have hurt!"

"He cried for hours afterwards. I even had to take him to the Pokemon Center! And you know how he likes going there..." Momo had a severe phobia of hospital settings and thus, every visit to the Pokemon Center or it´s sick bay, made the little Pokemon flew into a giant panic attack. "Don´t even get me started when its time for his shots...you don´t wanna see him there..."

Kieran nodded at that, feeling sorry for the little Peach.

"You know, Ogi and Momo are pretty much like Carmine and me when it comes to sibling quabbles. She used to hit me too when i was too annoying for her taste. Of course never so bad that i had to go to the hospital, but still." The memories of these events were still fresh inside his head, albeit it had been years by now that they happened.

"Speaking of Momo, where is he? Terapagos wanted to go play with him as soon he heard me talking about going to visit you!"

"Oh i laid him down for a nap. The heat is making him kind of drowsy and i don´t want him to get a sunburn or heatstroke either. He is in my room." Keiran mused at that for a moment, it was really hot he had to admit. No wonder even Pokemon got bothered by it.

"That´s a shame, but of course his health goes first. I hope he feels better after that nap." He took a sip from his lemonade by now and relished at the taste. "This is really good. Perfect for a hot summer day!" Juliana nodded eagerly. "Yeah, my mom makes the best lemonade around here. Nemona, Arven and Penny can testify to that!" She laughed, pulling Kieran over to her, nuzzling his cheek.

"That said, I am done with gardening for now, why don´t you come inside and we can watch a couple movies? We have an air conditioner too, so it´s nice and cool inside." Before going inside though, she called over Ogi, allowing her a break as well.

"You can take a break as well, Ogi. Take a glass of the lemonade and go inside, okay? I don´t want you to get overheated either...you can continue later!"

Ogerpon was first relieved to finally being able to stop sweeping but got hit by the word "break", which meant that she had to continue later on, which did not sit right with her at all. Pouting she listened to Juliana and went inside with a huff, throwing the broom on the ground, probably to make a point.

"She still has a long way to go..." Juliana sighed, taking Kierans hand, pulling him inside. "Then again, i can´t really blame her. She never had someone to tell her what is right and what is wrong..."

"I think you´re doing a pretty good job as her trainer so far, so don´t worry about it!" They kissed each other and went inside together, hand in hand.

Inside the house there was a commotion going on already, Momo seemingly had woken from his slumber and was now darting through the house, visibly full of energy. From what Juliana could see, he had cookie crumbs around his cheeks which only could mean one thing...he must have gotten in the cookies Kieran had brought and Momo now effectively had a bona fide sugar rush.

"I think someone gourged themselves on your sisters cookies, Kieran..." Juliana chuckled, watching her youngest charge zooming around the house, giggling like crazy. Ogi followed him, visibly annoyed but also with cookie crumbs around her mouth.

"Now that Momo´s awake, i can let out Terapagos as well, that´s what he wanted anyway!" Kieran exclaimed, calling out his friend from inside his ball. "Alright Tera, go have fun with Momo!"

The young Pokemon did not wasted a minute and quickly got a hold of both Momo and Ogi.

"You think they let us watch our movies in peace?" Kieran asked, looking at Juliana with an amused look. "We can try, let´s go before there is yet another incident caused by this trio in the back"

And with that, both Juliana and Kieran sat down and enjoyed a couple hours together, with the joyful and livid background noises of playing Pokemon.

[eiy-lei]

The reflections of Kieran. (2/3)

Good eve-after-morning gang :) This post is a continuation of my previous post about Arven, Nemona & Penny, so if you haven't checked that one out I'd recommend you read that first (!!!)

Coming into the DLC I didn't expect to like Kieran and Carmine as much as I did (considering how in the SwSh DLC there was little to no characterization for Klara and Avery aside from trainer cards and mid-battle text) however, I'm glad to say that gamefreak has surprised me, and really turned Kieran and Carmine into characters I've grown attached to.

Kieran of course, being the star of the DLC, showcased his evolution from a timid outcast with a strong admiration for Ogerpon, to being a power-hungry, desperate battle fanatic-- the complete opposite of everything that made him initially, his character growth within these 2 DLC installments mirrors that of Wally in the R/S/E & ORAS games.

On the topic of comparisons to Wally, at the start of their journeys they were nearly identical in portrayal (although by the time we meet Kieran he's already caught a pokemon, unlike Wally) and yet their road to strength couldn't be any more different.

Where Wally grows stronger through seeking courage, Kieran grows stronger through a relentless ambition for power; Wally grew stronger over the course of his journey while Kieran forced his growth, forced himself to become something he never was, a dictator.

Due to Kieran's path essentially, being a re-worked (and more fleshed out) version of Wally's story, I've found myself loving Kieran as a character, a love which was further supported by the ending of the indigo disk and the epilogue, in which Kieran had finally accepted himself and all his flaws.

In the epilogue, he carries himself with the same air of confidence that made him so fierce in the indigo disk, and yet, is not suffocating. He's been humbled and not afraid to show the silly side which characterized him in the teal mask, a perfect blend so to speak.

I hope this isn't the last we see of Kieran, as he's a major part as to why I love the SV cast, and based on what we've seen, he has a lot more to bring to the table.

Until next time gang,

Thanks for reading (!!!)

[the-witchs-cafe]

I saw you said Kieran would witch out. What do you think he’d be like as a witch?

Gonna answer this real real quick before a lecture starts- I would be lying if I didn't say that, alongside the Hau essay that is in the works rn, I haven't been gathering resources for Kiki's witch form and have a semi-realized vision of it. His struggles, his grudges, his character development- the potential is there.

So, while I am suffering over the Hau megapost, I can't see why I couldn't share the barebones ideas I got for Kiki's warlock so early!

--

Since his development is most demonstrated by his Dipplin evolving into a Hydrapple, I believe a good base for him is "a hollow beast with a thousand faces"; someone who had abandoned the person he was in order to adopt an identity needed to win. Over time, alas, his original self has faded away; leaving behind a formless husk.

The topic on a monster with multiple faces also paves way for the mention of a certain demon in the Ars Goetia; Bune, one of the dukes of Hell possessing three heads; two dragon faces and the one on the center being a human's. Bune is known to be able to move spirits from their graves, grant wishes, and possessing over 30 legions of demons under his command.

Move the dead from their graves, huh? Sounds a lot like his poisonous grudge reviving the loyal three!

So, a multi-headed monstrosity with a kabuki mask in the middle; concealing a hollow shell where his real face was supposed to be. That is terrifying of a witch concept on its own- but, wait, there is more!

After all, a witch needs a reason to target mankind, whether it is in the form of active grudges or a consequence of them stumbling into their ever-lasting nightmare. In Kieran's case, I think it is definitely the active case; he wants to "win", to become strong- that is the whole reason as to why he had abandoned his old identity. In his search for a more resilient, formidable mask, he targets those who have come this far into his labyrinth; the people and magi who have perished by his own hands. After all, his barrier is difficult enough to traverse through- those who made it this far should be strong/intelligent enough to find the center; his residence.

You can see where I am going to with this; he rips out the faces of his victims, magi or otherwise, and turns them into masks symbolizing the most common trend in every lie they have ever uttered.

His nature would more than likely be "obsessive"; what better word is out there that can describe his one-sided kinship with Ogerpon devolving into the sole desire to defeat the MC? His karmic destiny would be enough to nuke BB Academy off the map if he wanted to. (E x - C h a m p i o n), but, really, that is all there is to his power levels.

Bune, the Warlock of Masks, with an Obsessive nature...that's almost perfect!

--

His barrier, well, this one might be tricky! Seeing that it is the mental landscape of the magi before/as they became a witch, I think Kieran's deep desire to defeat the MC, driven by the desire for vengeance towards them and his family for deceiving him, I doubt it would be a cakewalk to traverse through.

The first thing that came to mind was the phrase "smoke and mirrors"; perhaps a mirror maze is present in the inner-most sanctums of the labyrinth? Half truths slowly devolving into the bitter lies he and the rest of Kitakami just ate up for most of their lives- concealing the weak and pathetic "Kiki" that he used to be, what a fitting cycle of torment this is!

Since one of his fondest memories is reading about the tale of the Loyal Three and sympathizing with the ogre of the tale - seeing that he, too, was an outcast just like her -, elements from the Festival of Masks is also involved; where else would all the other masks he had cast away in favor for the newest one end up? It is a haunting display; seeing the interior of these exaggerated, demonic masks and finding muscles and veins still attached to them...you drop the one that was in your hands almost immediately; the sight was more than sickening.

As for familiars, I think their role is to play as the characters from the tale; re-enact the story time and time again with him as the ogre. The pain is real; he can't ever change the course of destiny even if his heart wished to do so. He'd thrash against them, pin them to the ground, throw them to the wall- but it always ends in the same way, with him fleeing back to his sanctum, looking for more masks to make him stronger. They resemble Carmine, Drayton, and the MC.

[absolutely-not-a-mew]

[Video record start]

BEEP BEEP!

'Hellllooo, Rotomblr! Rotom here! Zzzrt zzrt!! I just want to see how thingz are going to turn out here.'

The camera shows Tholomew walking away and Ogerpon trying to follow him.

"What do you want?" The trainer glared at the Pokémon.

"I think Ogerpon want to come-"

"Not happening." Tholomew cuts off what Carmine was going to say.

"Poni!" Ogerpon frowns.

"But what? Are you a psychic type?"

"Pon..."

"Uh-huh... And do any of your masks make you a psychic type?"

"P-Pon..."

"Then you're useless to me! Don't follow me. I don't want you, and never will!"

"Hey! What about Ogerpon's feelings?" Carmine glares at Tholomew.

"I don't care about its feelings. I never wanted to come here! I never even wanted to help it! It can stay here for all I care!" Tholomew turns around.

"Hey...! Ogerpon... You... could come with me...?" Kieran walks closer to the Pokémon. Ogerpon sniffles, looking over at Kieran.

"Yeah, you both would be perfect for each other. You're both pathetic and weak. You're practically made for each other." Tholomew huffs.

"Hey, you can't just-!" Carmine starts, but Tholomew is already walking away.

"Don't care. I just want this stupid trip over with."

Of course, as the psychic walks away he swears he can hear the thoughts of a certain boy. Something about getting stronger so he can beat him.

"Hmph, as if that would ever happen. The weak will always stay weak..." Tholomew mutters to himself as he keeps walking further away. Not caring about how Ogerpon was now crying. The Pokémon leaning closer to Kieran for comfort.

He just wants to leave this damn place already.

'Zrrrt! Wow! He sure suckz! Well, goodbye for now, Rotomblr!'

[Video end]

[the-feral-one]

Wo-chien, how did you meet/find Ogerpon?

W: "Well, I first found out about her from the townsfolk that I had overheard while I was assisting in the apple orchards.."

W: "I asked them about who they were talking about, and got back information about a 'fearsome ogre' that lived in the mountain behind Kitakami hall. They spoke about her with quite a lot of hostility...but I did find myself becoming quite curious about who this ogre was and if I could see her for myself.."

W: "I wrote down the words that I had heard whether or not I had asked about the ogre. The more I wrote and the more I read, the more my curiosity increased. Eventually, I picked a time to investigate. When I managed to get a day without too many duties, I waited until nobody was noticing before heading for the mountain path."

W: "I arrived at the cave that I had heard the townsfolk say that the ogre lived in, and, after taking a look inside, I found that nobody was there. Upon turning to leave, I was surprised to find the ogre looking back at me. It was almost as if she was expecting my arrival."

W: "I was half-expecting her to be afraid of me, but, to my surprise, she wasn't! Ogerpon was very happy to see me, and was quick to ask if I could play with her~ As we played, I ended up becoming just as happy as she was~ I stayed with her for a long while, with all the fun we were having managing to make me lose track of time! I promised to keep visiting her before leaving to hurry back down to the town, and I didn't dare do anything to break it! Every day, I found time to visit Ogerpon~ Don't tell the townsfolk, but I did sneak some of the apples and other festival goodies away to share with her too~"

W: "Quite a lot of happiness was felt when she declared that I was one of her best friends~"

Ogerpon: (as she appears from inside the apple basket) "Hi Uncle Wo! Were you talking about me~?"

W: "There's where you've been hiding~! And yes - I have been talking about me and you and how we're best friends~!"

Ogerpon: "Yay! Me and Uncle Oki are playing hide and seek! Don't tell him I'm in here! I wanna surprise him and make him jump!"

W: "Don't worry, I won't! Shall we find a new place to hide together?"

Ogerpon: "Yeah!"

W: "I would like to tell more of this story, but that shall have to come at a later time." (he looked at Ogerpon) "Now, let's find the perfect hiding spot!"

Ogerpon happily hums as Wo carries her out of the apple orchards, while a distant shout of "Come out, come out, wherever you aaaare!" is heard.

[just-a-freak40]

Mochi desires oc. (Plus song I think fits them.)

Okay so I've decided to change the lore, time: in this au, my Ocs never moved to Paldea never meeting Arven, Penny and Nemona. Meaning that Connor was left to being bullied by Carmine, with his twin constantly sticking up for him. The only friend he really had was Kieran, however when Carmine found out she quickly turned Kieran against Connor, Connor watched as Kieran went on to make new friends and so he deemed himself as imperfect, and wished to be perfect so he may have friends. He started looking at his own Pokémon partner: Banette as an example of what it means to be perfect as Banette was his favorite Pokémon. But try as he might he couldn't get himself to be perfect like his Banette and often had mental breakdowns, but one day during one of his mental breakdowns he was approached by Pechakeen who offered to help him become perfect in return he eat the mochi. As he did his mind and sight were corrupted to when he looks in the mirror he sees himself as being one with his Banette despite not actually being that way to everyone else. Because of this Connor has become extremely egotistical (like constantly looks in the mirror, egotistical and constantly brags about how perfect he is, egotistical (just wait till he finds out that Connie has Banette and he isn't actually fused with his favorite Pokémon.)) and praises Pechakeen as if it was a god (think the way catnap worships the prototype from poppy playtime, just minus all the sacrifices and corpse sculpture.) Connor has grown his skill in Pokémon battles in order to be more helpful to Pechakeen and has taught himself to use his toxic chain as a third arm as now he no longer wishes for friends as he only now wants to praise Pechakeen. He doesn't think highly about the Chained Paldea trio, with the only one he respects being Nemona for her skill in Pokémon battles but even then Connor still beats her, He doesn't fully understand Arven as he always found him strange, as with Penny he doesn't like them at all, constantly flicking the bridge if their glasses and strangling them using his toxic chain when they insult him or Pechakeen, he would've probably killed them by now if Pechakeen didn't forbid it. He was sent to retrieve the treasures of ruin by Pechakeen as a way to be able to destroy Ogerpon's masks. However after setting all the treasures of ruin free all in one go he was only able to capture Chi-yu as the elite four of Paldea caught the other three in order to stop the rampage, however while at Paldea he snuck into area zero and obtained an iron valiant, a Mimikyu as well as a Pawmo which he evolved into a Pawmot. (He already had Annihilape and Kingambit). After that he returned to the paradise barrens in kitkikami now waiting for Pechakeen to arrive so they may continue their plans. One final thing, the flowers that represents them is the butterfly weed as according to Google it represents loneliness and Connor, extremely deep down, still has an underlying feeling of loneliness in him and wherever Connor goes he brings eerie songs to sing with him.

[medea10]

Medea Played Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, The DLC's (Part I)

Previously on Shit-post Theater

This. That. Also This. That too.

Yeah, it's been a minute. I've been holding off on doing one of these since the first DLC that dropped back in December really didn't wow me as much as I thought it would. So I waited until the second one dropped. Only to learn that an epilogue was coming soon thereafter. That was awfully kind of them. Okay, sit back.

Maybe throw away that sandwich you've been holding onto since November of 2022.

At the start, Jacq-strap tells you about an opportunity to go on a school trip to Kitakami. A region that was just pulled out of thin air...

And here we are!

You're in Kitakami with three randos from the academy, being chaperoned by Ms. Briar, who is an instructor at Blueberry Academy in Unova. And if that doesn't sound familiar to you, it will soon enough.

Soon after, you are accosted and insulted by one of Blueberry Academy's finest asses, Carmine.

The little one behind Carmine is her little brother Kieran. Now that I finished that interruption. I gotta do something really important.

There we go. I am complete. I can finally get a Clefable in these games.

A girl and her Clefable. Is there anything more perfect in this world?

I suppose I should look around this small region.

There's only one Pokemon Center. And it's an outdoor facility just like Paldea.

Gender neutral bathrooms along with boy/girl ones? Uh-oh, don't tell the right-wing weirdos on X.

More pokemon to catch as well. Even Jacq-strap gives you a special egg. I hope it's something...

Sigh. Gible, use Draco Meteor.

And then we meet these two oddballs. O'Nare and...the other one. I don't remember the other one. Biff or Billy or Monty Q Moneybags. Shit, I don't care. They're part of the Pokemon version of the Illuminati. And you'll find them in weird places throughout Kitakami and Paldea. Even on the jagged tippy-tops of the Great Crater. Follow them enough times and O'Nare will battle you a couple of times and you can get a few goodies like nuggets, big nuggets, and a phone case.

There's also a rumor that these two are really Nemona's parents. There's no proof of that and as of this date of posting, we don't know Nemona's parents. I have theories that she's the product of Goku and one of the compulsive gamblers on Kakegurui.

The point of this school trip is to go all over Kitakami and take selfies in front of certain landmarks. Each place tells you parts of a story involving a man, an ogre pokemon, and three "savior" pokemon. Through it all, you're with Kieran. That shy little cinnamon roll.

And then it's time for this mask festival. And you meet Kieran's grandpar...

Huh.

I could be wrong, but did Jessie and James wear disguises like this long ago? Nope? Sorry, my imagination! Okay, moving on.

At this festival, you can play this Ogre-busting game where you have to place mochis up before certain hungry pokemon eat em' up.

You can keep playing this game for a chance at winning a shiny Munchlax.

During the festival, you and Carmine come across that ogre pokemon mentioned prior and a teal mask. Hence, the name of the first DLC.

From this point on, you're going to learn more about Ogerpon. How he's not a bad pokemon and that the tale is fabricated.

And all of this is destroying the cinnamon roll. Kieran always loved the ogre from the stories and feels a little betrayed when you and Carmine hide the new revelations from him.

He is now a stale cinnamon roll.

It's not long before the three "savior" pokemon from the story crash the DLC and run amok all over Kitakami. Eating everything, stealing Ogerpon's precious masks, and turning into titan-sized pokemon.

So, let's get all of these masks back for Ogerpon and defeat those giant, toxic nightmares.

Ogerpon gets a happy ending where the villagers apologize for how it was treated by their ancestors.

Kieran will fight you again for Ogerpon, which ends something like this.

Oh, get up off the floor you drama queen. Shinji Ikari has more dignity than you right now.

And then you fight Ogerpon in a battle.

It's going to be tough since it has four masks, he's tera during the whole battle, and each mask changes his second type. But once defeated, you can catch it with 100% rate.

That's actually it. I was surprised when I finished it so fast. I was worried about taking too long playing it because I had a birthday trip around the same time of release. Speaking of...

I still find this cute.

After the Teal Mask main story, there were a few things we could do.

Like donating your hard-earned moolah to the caretaker in Kitakami. I know he ain't worth it like Honey in Sword/Shield, but...

Nah, I've got nothing.

You can finish off your Kitakami pokedex. There should be 200 entries. And if you fill 150 entries, you can help Perrin.

First of all, we were all wrong about who Adaman was ancestor to. I still want to believe that Adaman is somehow connected to Mikey from Tokyo Revengers. It's not possible, but I'd like to. Good on the creators for giving us Perrin in this game.

The game takes a small turn into Pokemon Snap! territory for a second as you have to take snapshots of pokemon in the wild.

And then you battle the special Hisuian pokemon.

This little fella is different from Legends Arceus. This is known as the Bloodmoon Ursaluna. And no, you can't evolve your Ursarring in this game. After you finish this mini game, Perrin will reward you with Hisuian Growlithe.

Fast forward three months later when you get that call from Clavell and has an old friend of his who wants to meet you.

Let's checkmark another gay couple to the Scarlet/Violet game I approve of.

Cyrano here is the director of Blueberry Academy and wants you to be an exchange student. Remember, this is the school that Kieran and Carmine go to and that Briar teaches at.

And that's it from me. Okay, go on and get out of here. Feed your Koraidon a sandwich.

To be continued.

[comandersprings]

A Sweet Gesture

Note: This piece is a commission for my friend Doe. She wanted an one shot about her Trainer OC Juna giving Kieran a small present as a way to apologize for what happened back in Kitakami. Working on this was a blast, Juna is fun to write about ^^

Commissions will be open until January 20th, although I go back to class on the 8th. Keep in mind that anything requested around or after that date will take more time.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,522

• • • • • • •

Juna had just arrived at her room after spending the morning strolling around the Coastal Biome accompanied by her Pokémon. They all earned a restful day after all of their hard work. 

To the girl, challenging Blueberry Academy’s Elite Four had been a fun trial so far. She took on Lacey and Amarys first and, despite their initial opposition, they had no issue accepting her challenge and even ended up getting along. With two members crossed off the list, Juna was now halfway there. She only had to defeat Crispin and Drayton and then, she’d be able to challenge the Champion: her friend, Kieran.

It was a topic that refused to leave her mind. Juna had to do a double take when she first saw Kieran at the Academy. Not only did he look much different from the last time they met, but the disdain and impatience Kieran was treating that poor boy with were something Juna didn’t know he had in him. Had no one told her the maroon-haired boy was Kieran, she would have gotten involved to tell him a thing or two. 

The girl couldn’t help but be worried. Kieran didn’t hide how eager he was to battle her, but it didn’t look like his disposition came from a friendly place. That’s all the boy talked to her about on the three occasions they had met since her arrival at the Academy, two of them being right after her Elite Four battles. 

Deep down, Juna had a feeling that the reason behind Kieran’s new attitude was Ogerpon choosing her instead of him. Although she loved the little ogre very much, Juna was sorry things turned out like that because she knew how much the Pokémon meant to him. Maybe, had he come out to see her before she departed from Kitakami, they could have sorted things out. 

At the moment, Juna was lying down on her bed as she scrolled through her SmartRotom, browsing her always active social media feed. From posts by up-and-coming musicians to video compilations of cute Pokémon, there was always something to see. There also was the occasional short demonstrating an (allegedly) fast and easy recipe. Chance wanted that kind of video to be the next one Juna stumbled across.

It was a recipe for chocolate chip cookies with a twist: they also had colorful, sugar-coated chocolate confectionery on them. The girl watched the sped-up video with interest. In it, the person preparing the cookies only used basic ingredients such as all-purpose flour, baking soda, and butter—as well as the aforementioned chocolatey additions.

As someone who loved baking, Juna happened to have all those ingredients in her cupboard. Since she wasn’t really doing anything, the girl decided to give that recipe a go, and, aided by her Pokémon, she got to work.

For someone experienced in the field of baking as Juna was, making those cookies wasn’t hard at all: they came looking picture-perfect and had an appetizing aroma. That was good because, in the middle of preparing those cookies, Juna decided she was going to look for Kieran and give him the sweets both as a gift and as a peace offering. Now she only needed to get lucky enough to spot the boy.

After buying a small box in the school store, Juna neatly placed the cookies inside and headed for the League Club room in hopes of seeing Kieran there. Unsurprisingly, he was nowhere to be seen and none of the people in the room had seen him either. Juna thought of calling him, but she soon realized that’d be pointless. As soon as Kieran saw it was her calling, he’d let it ring off.

She then headed to the school’s entrance and wandered around the area, the small box never leaving her hands. Some people glanced at her after noticing she had been walking around there for a while, but no one questioned her about it. As for Juna, she joked to herself that if she kept that up, she’d take more steps in the lobby than on the Coastal Biome.

After a while, Juna finally determined it’d be best to sit down at the bleachers and wait there. Placing the box with the cookies next to her, the girl took out her phone once again and put on the first video she saw on her PokéTube. Of course, she looked up from time to time to check if her friend finally showed up or not. In the fifteen minutes that video lasted, Juna must have raised her eyes at least ten times. She didn’t see Kieran either of those times, not even when a couple of girls passed her talking about how the boy was “so full of himself” lately.

Four videos and over half an hour later, Juna finally caught sight of Kieran. He came from the walkway that led to the outside of the Academy, avoiding eye contact with every single person he came across. In return, people went silent as Kieran passed them by, his presence being a Mute button of sorts. Conversations resumed as soon as the boy was a few good meters away.

Juna didn’t wait until Kieran got near where she was. After grabbing the box with the cookies, the girl got up and went to meet him, calling out his name and waving at the boy. Not that she needed to do that; with her almost holographic white hair, Kieran would have spotted her regardless.

Hearing his name called, Kieran looked in the voice’s direction and froze in place upon seeing it was Juna calling for him. This made him want to either turn back and leave again or pretend he heard nothing and go on his way. Unfortunately for him, the latter option was now impossible. Juna took that establishment of eye contact as an invitation to approach him.

“Kieran!” she beamed. “I haven’t seen you since I defeated Amarys. How have you been?”

“What are you doing here?” he dodged the question, his posture becoming rigid.

“As I said, I haven’t seen you in a bit and I was wondering what you were up to.”

He shook his head. “Nothing I should be talking to you about,” he grumbled. “I hope you’re not wasting your time. You know I’m waiting to battle you.”

“I know, I know,” Juna waved a hand in front of her. “Everything in its own time. For now, I just want to give you something and…apologize for what happened.”

“Apologize?” Kieran snarled. “Keep that apology to yourself. It won’t be worth anything unless what you’re trying to give me is Ogerpon’s Poké Ball.”

“You know I can’t do that.” Juna held his stare. “But I can assure you that I’m sorry for what happened in Kitakami.”

Kieran eyed her in silence. How could she say that? What was she sorry about, anyway? Was it for Ogerpon choosing her over him? Or was she sorry for her very conscious decision to throw a Poké Ball at the Legend and make her an addition to her team?

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” he said finally.

“By taking this box and looking inside it.” Juna offered him the container.

Kieran groaned and tapped his thigh with his fist. He didn’t want anything to do with that box, but Juna kept her arm extended and it was clear she’d stay that way until he took the small package. Avoiding eye contact with the girl, Kieran took the box and opened it. The scent and sight of the cookies greeted him, making Kieran’s eyes widen.

“A-are these cookies…for me?” he asked.

“You bet they are!” Juna had a confident smile on her face.

“I just…I don’t understand. Why did you make them?”

“Because I wanted to show you that I still think of you as a friend and that I’m worried about you.” The girl looked Kieran directly in the eyes. “I understand that you’re mad at me, but you shouldn’t take it out on everyone else.”

The boy swallowed hard. “You have some nerve saying that, you know?”

“That’s how things are.” Juna shrugged. “I don’t expect you to forgive me right away, but now, at least, you know where I stand.”

Kieran stared down at the box and then looked back at Juna. “I’ll take them, but don’t get me wrong: I’m not forgiving you. It’s only because I’m…a little hungry.” The boy blushed slightly.

Juna chuckled. “Then, I hope you enjoy them. I’m willing to make more if you ask me to.”

Ignoring the last sentence, Kieran began walking past Juna. His destination was his dorm room, where he’d be eating those cookies the girl had prepared him without worrying about being seen by anyone. He didn’t want to admit it, but Juna’s gesture made him feel slightly warm and fuzzy inside. How could that be after what she had done? Now, Kieran would have to avoid her so he could put his thoughts in order…and shut down the little voice trying to tell him that maybe he shouldn’t resent the girl for something so stupid.

[sudoscience]

(Spoilers for The Teal Mask)

Finally getting around to playing the DLC, despite preordering it. Starting to hate that dialogue options are just synonyms for each other. Like, it's normally not a big deal/actually kinda funny, but I don't like that the game is basically forcing me to be mean to Kieran. He says, "Why did you lie to me?" as if I had any say in the matter. If it were up to me, I would have told him the truth right away, but my only options were Lie 1 or Lie 2.

And the game wouldn't let me throw the match against him, either. When he challenges you for Ogerpon, I wanted to let him win! And then he cries when you beat him!!! Most of the time, it's actually pretty funny to me to just obliterate the NPC teams; they're always so cocky, like they're not challenging the reigning champion, a guy with a team of six Lvl 100 Pokémon with perfect stats. But this might be the first time I've actually felt bad for winning a Pokémon battle. (I do like that he thanks you for not holding back, though.) All I'm saying is, I better be able to hug him at the end of the second part.

That being said, I do think that could be an interesting concept to explore, in a different game. I mean, through no fault of your own, you're basically this kid's villain origin story. There was no other way it could've turned out, because the game wouldn't allow it. Something about the inevitability of fate and all that. But I just can't see Pokémon getting that meta. Wouldn't be surprised to see something like that in Deltarune, though.