#But this is the first time it has been a Munchlax! And I was not prepared for how much that guy can eat!

[callingfromkalos]

Alright, this Munchlax has been evading me for days but still sneaking enough to pluck my berry trees empty. I have no idea how this keeps happening... I need to catch it(not in a Pokéball) and drop it off at the nearby daycare.

[pikatrainer99]

Let's talk about Barry for a minute.

This boy is so underappreciated and gets way too much hate just for being ADHD incarnate (or as the haters say, "his hyperactive squirrel brain"). The haters also don't recognize that Barry actually has a character arc in the games. He learns the importance of slowing down throughout his journey, especially after his loss to Jupiter at Lake Acuity. He had been one step ahead of the player the whole game, but this loss actually makes him stop and think things through for a bit, deciding to take his time and train up more. As a result, the player is the one to get the last Gym Badge and make it to the League first. Also, let's not forget that Barry had the patience (and probably hyperfocus) to get a MUNCHLAX and a HERACROSS from the honey trees...y'know, the two RAREST honey tree Pokémon...? Yeah...that takes PATIENCE. Even I don't have the patience for that...but I'm also a very impatient person myself (I blame my parents, who are also impatient, for passing it on to me and my brothers), my "now now now" attitude has driven my family crazy millions of times by now, but I digress.

Something else that's important to mention is Barry's personality (other than his ADHD traits, that is). This kid is a genuinely good guy. He's the player's best friend and that doesn't stop when he becomes the player's rival. He gives the player tips, he doesn't look down on the player or bully them, he's always excited to see them whenever they cross his path, is genuinely happy for them when they get their last Gym Badge and says he won't be far behind, etc. Barry also genuinely loves Pokémon, they are his friends, not tools for battle. He gets angry when around Team Galactic because of how they treat Pokémon, he went into empathy overdrive for Uxie's suffering after losing to Jupiter at Lake Acuity, etc. And he gets excited and happy when around people who love Pokémon as much as he does, like the player and Gym Leaders, for example. Barry also NEVER gives up, which is definitely a great character trait, especially for a rival character. He's set on his goal and nothing can pull him away from it, not even multiple losses to the player. It makes me feel less bad about beating him because I know he's just gonna bounce back each time and try again. That's just how Barry is and he's my favorite friendly rival because of it. I never feel like I'm crushing his dreams like I do with Hop, for example. Instead I'm making him stronger, both in resolve, and as a Trainer.

That doesn't mean that he doesn't have a sad side to him though...because he does. He has daddy issues, BIG TIME. This kid's whole motivation is to get strong enough to challenge and defeat his dad, Tower Tycoon Palmer. He wants to be acknowledged by his dad SO BADLY that in Pokémon Masters he straight-up TELLS YOU that the reason he keeps fining people is because he wants to use the fines he collects to build his own Battle Tower because, in his mind, that's the way to get acknowledgement from his dad. But no one ever takes him seriously (most likely because of how often he does this, how much money he asks for, and also the fact that he's a CHILD), so he never gets any money. I'll be honest, my heart broke for this poor kid during that conversation. I used to think that Barry's "I'm fining you 10 million Pokédollars!" was just his way of expressing annoyance or even just a verbal tic of sorts...but in Masters it's revealed that he's dead serious when he says those things, all because he's so desperate for his dad's approval that he wants to make him proud by building and running his own Battle Tower. Again, he's a CHILD! That shouldn't be any child's goal, especially not for something all kids deserve, which is parent approval! As someone who is ALSO constantly seeking my own dad's approval, this conversation hit home for me. My dad doesn't really approve of anything I'm interested in or anything I do, he wants me to be someone else entirely...but I can't be who he wants me to be, I can't be who ANYONE in this world wants me to be...I can only be myself and I want to make my dad proud just by being me...

The Pokémon Evolutions episode "The Rival" is ALL ABOUT Barry's daddy issues. Everything he does and says in that episode is all about getting strong enough to challenge his dad. He's able to beat him in the end, finally getting the acknowledgement he deserves (he would still deserve it even if he didn't win, or even get to challenge him, let's be clear). So it's a happy ending there, but in the gameverse that's not a clear-cut thing that happens, so we never know if he even does get to face his dad. He shows up in the Fight Area on weekends to battle the player but that's really it as far as I'm aware. In the games, Barry also admires Crasher Wake and wants him to take him under his wing and mentor him, but Wake refuses, which honestly makes me angry since Barry clearly wants (and needs) a father figure in his life since Palmer is absent all the time. At least in the manga Wake does train Pearl, so there is ONE Pokémon universe where Wake mentors the kid...buuuuut he should've done it in the games too, just sayin'.

So yeah, that's basically my ramble on Barry. Honestly this wasn't planned or anything, I just out of nowhere started thinking about Barry and how hated he is, and impulsively wrote this whole entire essay without scripting it out beforehand so this might be a bit hard to follow 😅. But I just love this kid and I don't understand the hate he gets, so he deserves an appreciation post in my opinion...so this is the post! Let me know what you think down below!

[fallershipping]

PKMN Nicknames

Looker's original Croagunk was named Croque, like Croque Monsieur. He was a very introspective and kind of serious Croagunk, so the name fit him nicely but also had a playful flair. Looker thought the name was pretty clever, as he likes a good pun. We do not know for certain if this was Looker's first Pokemon partner.

Looker's current partner Croagunk is named Buddy. After losing Croque, Looker refused to take on another partner Pokemon for a decent amount of time until a young, wild Croagunk took notice of him and basically chose Looker as his partner human. The detective began calling his companion 'Buddy' or 'Bud' out of affection as he slowly warmed up to having a partner Pokemon again, and the name just stuck, simple and cute as it is. Buddy seems to enjoy the name quite a lot, so Looker hasn't considered changing it.

Anabel's Snorlax is her first partner Pokemon, or 'starter,' that is currently named Chibe, pronounced 'Chee-beh.' Originally when Anabel was young and her partner was just a Munchlax, she offered the name Chibi for being small and plush. He kind quickly grew out of that name upon evolving however, but the name is still interchangeable.

Anabel's Raikou is often referred to as Raikou in public, but her true nickname is Himeko. She joined Anabel's team when they were both young, and ever since then, Himeko, or 'Hime-chan' to the dismay of the thundercat, has acted like a proud and spoiled lady. Even though she is a haughty beast, she has always been vehemently loyal to Anabel.

The rest of Anabel's Pokemon are also nicknamed, but I cannot think of proper ones at the moment. I think many if not all trainers nickname their Pokemon, but often say the species name in tournaments/battles as a formality.

[popomegranate]

Shin-ae

Shin-ae Yoo does not pick her Pokémon for any specific reasons or strategies. She has no type preference nor do she care to have strongly trained up pokemon. Her Pokémon are her friends :)

Munchlax: Munchlax is Shin-aes partner pokemon, he is a perfect mirror of the goofy side of her personality. He loves food and naps, something shin-ae relates to heavily.

Litten: Litten is Shin-aes lil buddy. Shin-ae loves cats, thus Litten.

Eevee: Shin-aes eevee is currently unevolved as Shin-ae still isn’t entirely certain of her place in the world and who she wants to be, thus her Eevee reflects that.

Polywhirl: A pokemon Shin-ae has simply because she liked him.

Plusle: A pokemon shin-ae got in grade school…I wonder who has the Minun?

Psyduck: A pokemon Shin-ae only recently added to her team, she guesses he used to belong by someone else because of how well he’s been taken care of. He has frequent headaches. Shin-ae loves him.

Kousuke

Kousuke works for the Hirahara family business (definitely not a front for team Galactic). The Hirahara family originated from the Sinnoh region, therefor the majority of his Pokémon are from Sinnoh. Kousuke participated in a few contests when he was younger, but he left that life behind. He says he doesn’t miss it (he does).

Luxray: one of two of Kousukes first pokemon, Kousuke raised her up from a shinx and as she evolved into a Luxio and then a Luxray, the more protective of Kousuke she became. She is wary of Yui.

Lucario: Lucario is the Pokémon that Kousuke has the strongest bond with. Raised him up since he was a riolu, their strong bond during times when Kousuke felt isolated and alone is what allowed him to evolve into a Lucario. Lucario have a strong sense of right, wrong, and justice. A Lucario will not trust a person who is rotten to their core. Kousuke has been through a lot, and done a lot, but he’s not rotten to his core. Thus his Lucario trusts him. His Lucario is also wary and does not like Yui. But for the sake of his trainer he simply keeps his distance from her.

Kricketot: Kricketot is representative of Kousukes love for music, and also one of his best adversaries in contests.

Glaceon: Glaceon is a Pokémon Kousuke has had since she was an eevee. He wanted her to evolve into a Glaceon because of thought they were the pinnacle of elegance. (Glaceon are also cold and defensive. Their fur becomes prickle and sharp when they become defensive.)

Glameow: Kousukes cat companion, Glameow are known to fickle but can be very loving. Glameow is often there at the end of Kousukes days to offer comfort to receive its cuddles.

Alcremie: A gift from Kousukes mother Yui, Alcremie has been with Kousuke since he graduated high school.

Psyduck: A pokemon Kousuke no longer has. The third Pokémon he ever had, the first one he ever caught himself, Psyduck began getting terrible headaches right after Kousuke graduated from high school. One morning Kousuke woke up to find Psyduck gone.

Nol

Nols Pokémon journey has been..unconventional. He used to travel with his mother. Then he began to participate in gym battles at a young age. He was very good at gaining gym badges. He longer participates in gym battles. Nol used to have 6 Pokémon now he only has 5.

Blaziken: Nols first Pokémon he’s had since he was a torchic, one of two birthday gift Pokémon from his mother. They are very close.

Heracross: A pokemon Nol caught after a couples of incidents, where he felt he needed to protect himself better.

Growlithe: A pokemon Nol caught because he was friendly and loyal, Nol also loves any dog like Pokémon.

Gogoat: A pokemon that used to belong to his mother. He never uses Gogoat in battle.

Cubone: Cubone began following Nol around shortly after Nols mother passed. Nol initially had no interest in catching him until one day the Cubone held onto his leg for comfort. Ever since they’ve been inseparable.

Yujing

Yujing is a part time contest coordinator, part time journalist. Kousuke *was* her greatest contest competition. Now she focuses more on her journalism.

Lopunny: Her partner Pokémon and one of greatest contest adversaries. Always by her side ever since she was a buneary.

Mismagius: Yujings silent journalistic partner, together they always get the info they want.

Gardevoir: Elegant, graceful, and beautiful Gardevoir is a mirror of Yujings grace and personality.

Lapras: A trusted Pokémon of Yujings that she relies on to read and understand others.

Milotic: Considered one of the most beautiful pokemon in the world, and known for its ability to soothe others, Yujing had to have her.

Togekiss: A peaceful pokemon that Yujing often uses in contests.

Houdour: A pokemon that Yujing is taking care of for a certain kid.

Hansuke

Hansuke is a doctor of people and Pokemon! He used to travel with Kousuke to Pokemon contests when they were children, now he mostly sticks to the hospital.

Ambipom: Hansukes pokemon partner, he mirrors his goofy personality. As an Aipom, he and hansuke, along with Riolu and Kousuke would often go on outdoor adventures when they were children.

Chansey: His doctor pokemon assistant. She tries to heal Kousuke all the time for some reason.

Gallade: A pokemon he totally didn’t get to match Yujing but then he became super attached to his Ralts and now he’s a Gallade that’s his fierce companion.

Slowbro: A lazy pokemon Hansuke grew attached to.

Ampharos: A pokemon who Hansuke often utilizes on chaotic days at the hospital (or in clubs when he loses his friends) for her beacon light tail.

Marstomp: A pokemon Kousuke and Hansuke came upon when they were children as a Mudkip. They fought over who would get to catch him until Yui told Kousuke he did not need the Pokemon. And that was that. So Hansuke caught the Mudkip and told Kousuke they could both train it. Kousuke never did.

Dieter

Bears. That’s it. (However if you examine you will see all the bears are from different regions, reflecting that Dieter moves around a lot).

Min-Hyuk

Min-Hyuk grew up around Johto pokemon but now he currently resides in Unova (America).

Charizard: A pokemon Min-Hyuk caught purely because he thought he was a cool badass pokemon.

Scrafty: The Pokemon equivalent of Min-hyuk. Also a fighting type.

Timburr: Fighting type Pokemon.

Krokorok: Another Pokemon Min-Hyuk thought was too cool not to have.

Sawk: Fighting type pokemon AND martial arts pokemon

Throh: Fighting type pokemon AND martial arts pokemon

Alyssa

Alyssa is a performer in a girl group, and has pokemon that often performer with her on stage.

Chimeco: Alyssa’s first pokemon and one that has grown with her overtime. When she was a child her Chimeco was susceptible to screeching outbursts when Alyssa became too overwhelmed. Now she’s far more in control of her emotions. She performs on stage with Alyssa some times.

Whismur: A pokemon the girls in Alyssa’s group wanted her to get, as long as she never evolves her. Alyssa has grown very fond of her Whismur.

Espeon: One of Alyssa’s first pokemon, Alyssa raised her from an Eevee. She had been hoping her Eevee would evolve into a Slyveon. Because of this, her group deemed her Espeon unable to perform with them.

Bellassom: A pokemon gifted to her by Yui and Gun Kim. They told her a Bellassom would be the perfect pokemon to perform with.

Minun: A pokemon Alyssa got in grade school.. she doesn’t let this pokemon perform with her. She tries not to think about the fact that her Minun is separated from its Plusel.

Elgyem: A pokemon Alyssa caught after she left grade school, a pokemon she loves and values dearly. Her group mates do not understand why she owns this pokemon. Alyssa never shows him publicly. But she loves him.

Yui

Yui is the Lady of the Hirahara Corporation.

Vespiquen: A pokemon that is a reflection of Yuis status.

Froslass: They say a Froslass is the spirit of a lost lady. Yui just liked the thought of having a ghost pokemon.

Nidoqueen: One of her first pokemon gifted to her by her father.

Seviper: Yuis preferred pokemon type, poison. Her Seviper does not make many public appearances with her.

Roserade: Yuis first pokemon ever, whom she raised from a budew. Roserade specializes in making poisons. Yui has always been fascinated by this.

Polteageist: Yui just loves tea.

Rand

A lot is unknown about Rand, we know he traveled the Galar region. And we know he is now CEO of Hirahara corp. He also used to participate in the Pokémon league. He no longer does.

Persian: The Pokémon of a rich business man.

Stoutland: A pokemon that belonged to Nessa.

Nidoking: A pokemon gifted to Rand by his wife Yui.

Orbeetle: A galarian pokemon he’s has since he was young, a reflection of his business prowess and this pokemon is vastly intelligent.

Indeedee: Male and Female indeedee have an intense bond, and the male act as valets to their female partner. Rand has the male Indeedee. Nessa had the female. Nessas Indeedee was never recovered. Rand never calls upon his Indeedee anymore, for he is lost without his other half.

Mr.Rime: A pokemon that is a reflection of a side of Rand no one except one known person has ever witnessed. Mr.Rime is rarely seen, but when Kousuke was younger he would often be found attempting to entertain him and make him laugh. Yui put an end to that. Rand hides him away now.

[melonthesprigatito]

A while ago I came to the realisation that I've never actually beaten Pokémon Emerald before. My go to Gen 3 game is Sapphire because I played Alpha Sapphire first so Sapphire is familiar, cosy territory for me. I've played Sapphire so many times over the years, it's the very first Pokémon game I've ever emulated.

Earlier this year I decided, you know the what, I'm gonna play Emerald. Why not? Sure, it's basically the same as Sapphire but with more stuff, right?

Im just gonna preface that I absolutely HATE grinding with a passion. I think it's the most tedious, unfun thing you can do in a Pokémon game. I sing my praises to the Lucky Egg, Audino, Blissey and the introduction of EXP Candies for taking the sting off of it. This becomes very relevant in a second.

So, I play through Emerald like I normally would play through Sapphire. Slight team difference, I picked Treecko to match Emerald when I normally pick Torchic. I get to Mauville City. I have an under levelled Plusle and I want to catch a Marill. Marill are Level 14, I need to grind it to Level 24 to match the rest of my team as well.

Normally in Sapphire, I immediately head to Route 117. It is THE prime grinding location. All because of Roselia. Roselia may not be Audino, but it does give out a lot of EXP. Approximately 300/400 exp compared to the rest of the Pokémon on that Route which give out maybe around 100.

I use it as my main grinding opponent for the entire Mauville to Fortree City part of the game where I can move on to the 1000 EXP Pokémon like Tropius. Roselia takes the sting off of grinding in Sapphire. It's just that reliable.

So I run back and forth in the grass to try find one. Nothing. I run back and forth in the grass to try find one. Nada. I spend maybe 15 minutes trying to find one, to the point it becomes obvious that Roselia isn't gonna show. So I thought "Huh, maybe Roselia just has a lower encounter rate in Emerald."

So I go to google it

I swear to god my heart dropped faster than a lead balloon.

Turns out ROSELIA ISN'T EVEN IN EMERALD AT ALL.

I'm sorry, but the second I found out that information my motivation to continue just plummeted. I just can't spend a large chunk of my playthrough getting miniscule EXP from grinding, it's just too much of a slog, I hate it.

"BUT MELON, YOU CAN REMATCH TRAINERS IN EMERALD! WHY NOT JUST USE THAT FOR EXP INSTEAD?!"

I have some very bad news, random hypothetical question asker.

This does not solve my problem at all. "After Norman" is when I move on to battling 1000 EXP Tropius. And Absol.

It's just not worth it, man. I just can't be stuck with no reliable EXP source between before Badge 3 and before Badge 6. And I ain't no impatient sucker either, look at what I got on my Team in Sapphire.

FEEBAS. Famously the second most tedious and hardest to catch and evolve Pokémon in the entire franchise behind Honey Tree Munchlax. Only available on six river tiles in the entire game. Needs a very specific blue berry (which takes anything from real life hours to DAYS to grow) to make a strong enough blue Pokéblock to evolve it.

Unless there's some other good Pokémon to focus grinding between Mauville and Fortree, I'm probably just gonna continue playing Sapphire and just watch the Rayquaza cutscene on YouTube. I've never been into competitive battles anyway so Sapphire not having the Battle Frontier is no big loss anyway. Oh yeah, I also hate that they replaced the Contest Buildings with more battle facilities….. That's another reason why I prefer Sapphire.

[laurzvahll]

I finished the teams for the matsu brothers and I’m too excited to wait to share em LOL. So here they are !! I might make slight adjustments to them in the future, and if anyone has any thoughts or ideas for the pokemon I chose for their teams I’d love to know🙏

this post could get long so teams and explanations for my au under the cut ‼️

First off we have; Osomatsu’s team !

Oso’s team consists of his flareon, munchlax, slakoth, and nickit! Osomatsu’s pokemon aren’t incredibly strong or high leveled, he doesn’t care much for pokemon battles unless it’s one of his brothers challenging him (though it’s rare). He cares for his pokemon quite a bit, though it may not seem like it, and their bonds are almost like those of silly and mischievous friends; with Nickit especially helping him steal food and snacks from his brothers.

Second, we have Karamatsu’s team !

Kara’s team consists of his (shiny!) sylveon, primarina, quaquaval, ceruledge, lucario, and hawlucha! Karamatsu has many gym badges, way more than all his brothers (except for Jyushi, but we’ll get to that later :p), he likes the thrill of battle and being challenged, though he cares slightly more about showing off how cool his pokemon are. Karamatsu likes pokemon that can match his energy or that he simply thinks are super cool, and his bond with them is close as he cares for them a lot. Most of all he just likes to make sure his pokemon are having fun too.

Third, we have Choromatsu’s team !

Like Osomatsu’s, Choro’s team is not full, nor does he care much for showing off his pokemon or battling. The gallade might come as a surprise, but I like to think that not long after his leafeon evolved he found a ralts which his brothers said looked “just like him”, and it’s been part of his team ever since. He cares for his pokemon, his leafeon and gallade are the only two that are above level 30, and it’s rare to ever seen him battle.

Fourth, Ichimatsu’s team !

Ichi’s team is simple, consisting entirely of cat like pokemon. He spends most of his time with his espeon and his skitty, as he’s closest with those two. Ichimatsu doesn’t like to make his pokemon battle, and more often than not avoids battling entirely. Even so, his espeon is pretty high leveled, having been trained with the help of Jyushimatsu just in case Ichi ever is unable to back out of a battle. He considers his little cats his companions.

Fifth, Jyushimatsu’s team !

It is clear that Jyushi loves to battle just as much as he loves his pokemon. I like to think that trainers usually underestimate him and think his pokemon are not to be worried about, that is until he brings out one of his best friends, gyaradose. He is the brother with the most gym badges and the strongest pokemon, not to mention their incredible bond with him and eachother. It is rare to see Jyushimatsu without his jolteon or his bolthund following right behind him, or his joltic sitting comfortably on his shoulder!

Last but not least, we have Todomatsu’s team !

Todomatsu is more often than not participating in pokemon shows, though it is not too uncommon to see him in battle to show off the skills of his adorable pokemon. He loves to post his cute companions on social media and praise them and glam them up with bows and accessories. It is best to not let this fool you though, for some of his pokemon are pretty strong!!

And that would be all! Before I finish I would like to mention that in my au, all the brothers received an eevee when they were younger as a gift from their parents, eevees that were color coded with nice ribbons around the tail, neck or ears as to tell them apart, just like the matsunos :p

[faceglitchsworld]

It's the 11th of August here, which means...

Happy birthday Dwaekki! 🥳

Have the collage I made for him 🥹

Ok you all, since it's been ages since I talked about a SKZ member during this tradition of mine, I need to remind you that SKZ's collages will always have the memes on it so PLS, don't act strangely for them.

Memes and SKZ live together in my mind and so in my collages 😤😁

That's it, that's the only explanation you'll get this time. I'm serious, there's no other explanation. Have the letter now.

Oh Binnie, Binnie, how can I explain how much I love this guy? I think that he's the SKZ member that I associate with funny moments the most.

Every time I try to remember the first memories of him, funny moments are always coming to my mind especially the loud ones. I still remember almost every scene from the English Debate where he speak in English like "Why are you speaking Korean?" or his "YELLOW CARD, YELLOW CARD", his "SO RUDE" and even his "BE QUIET". Or how can I forget his "I'M HUNGRY, I'M HUNGRY" he did during the sleepover? 😭 This man is born to have "being loud" as his comedic trademark.

There's also another funny thing that I always associated with him. When I was searching pics with him I was very... fascinated about how he was always the one who's supposed to be the most menaceful. He had the emo look at the beginning even. And the fact that he's buffed made his menaceful look even more credible. But then his two mascots come in and a big smile comes to my face once again.

I know you're asking "Whaaaat, two mascots?!" but let me explain. Of course the first mascot who comes to my mind is Dweakki. He's my favourite Skzoo actually, because, memes aside, I think there's some genius on creating an animal who's 99% bunny and 1% pig (his dad said so, respect his words! 😤). The second mascot is something that was with Binnie since his first days on SKZ and comforted him when he had some difficult moments. It's his Munchlax plushie. I don't know how many people still remember it, since it slowly disappeared and he barely mentions it now, but that plushie is, in my opinion, the first mascot Binne ever had. Heck, I made my personal tag for him just for this reason.

But funny moments aside, Binnie he's also the same man who transforms into a performance beast when he's on the stage. I must admit, recognising his voice at first wasn't simple. I kept confusing him with Han until I had the amazing idea to just watch the live performances for learning who's who. And I made the right choice because, for me, Changbin is probably one of the best rappers in terms of technique and also performance wise. He knows how to build up. I remember when I did a marathon of some clips taken from the concerts and how he asked Stays to say his name. My gosh, the way he just says a word and Stays already know what he will do. This man owns the stage.

Also, how can I forget that he has the most iconic song ever produced by 3Racha. This song is so iconic that it's still not released officially. I think all of you already know which song I'm talking about. I'm talking about "Can't live without Changbin". The one and only. THE SONG™. The true masterpiece. I can't believe we can't have it on official platforms.

My dear Binnie, I came almost at the end of this letter and, as you can say, I don't know which birthday wish I should give to you. I think you and the others have come so far that whatever thing I will wish you to have, you might already have accomplished it. So, the only thing that I can wish to you is to never stop being the positive energy for SKZ (especially for Hyunjin and Felix). I know it's hard sometimes, especially because the Maknae line is puuure chaos but I know you can do it. You're my strong Dweakki.

Hope you'll celebrate this day happily with the members and you'll take the time to read all the letters and open all the gifts Stays send to you. You deserve it.

Happy birthday, Binnie 🥳

[blookmallow]

tell me about pokemon that are special to you or you have a grudge against for really specific reasons

mine that i can think of right now

- theres one munchlax in pokemon xd that’s owned by an npc and keeps showing up and faking you out with “oh theres my munchlax” so you could never actually catch it. i wanted it so bad. i didnt have any other games at the time so i couldnt have one. i have several in various games now but every munchlax is precious to me i will never take a munchlax for granted, ever. a munchlax is a blessing and a privilege and should be respected

- my first ever pokemon card was a rattata some kid gave me in kindergarten and i still have it and i still feel nostalgic whenever i see a rattata

- i had an ursaring named DEATH in pokemon xd who could kill most things in one hit. it was my first ever pokemon to reach level 100. my killing move was “return” which increases in power depending on how friendly your pokemon is toward you. my big killer bear was destroying everyone with the power of its love for me and i loved it so much too. i dont even know how it became the favorite. i dont even like ursaring that much. ill never forget you DEATH

- i didnt know you only get one masterball ever and just used it on a random sableye and went through a brief phase of grudge against sableye for that but i got over it bc sableye is cool

- i dont remember which game it was but i was absolutely plagued by bidoofs interrupting me every three seconds in one of them and i absolutely fucking hated bidoof so much for it for Years until arceus made me realize they’re pretty cute actually

- i hate pinsir i hated it when i was a kid and i still hate it now i dont have a reason i just hate it fuck you pinsir

- i also hate magmar so much and i seem to attract magmar cards into my life no matter how many i get rid of. i swear they multiply when im not looking. i hate magmar’s stupid face and i have the worst case of mandela effect about it bc i would have bet you money it was gen 2 or later but its not. its an original gen 1. it always has been. i swear to FUCK it wasnt. but it was

[tactician]

even though i said i wasn't going to, i ended up shiny hunting for an all-shiny team to play through the new pokemon scarlet teal mask dlc! :D meet aske the gallade, chiyoh the sinistcha, syrup the dipplin, laz the munchlax, marrow the mandibuzz aaaand crossbun the heracross! i love this lil gang so much and am so hype to progress further in the actual plot now dkfldskg

i'm gonna ramble about how each of my hunts for these pkmn went under the cut! :3c there'll be no plot spoilers because i have pretty much only scratched the surface of that!

ok so... syrup the dipplin was the first shiny that i collected for this team! i got her in a random applin outbreak a few weeks before the dlc dropped. i wasn't sure what to evolve her into (or if to just keep her as an applin), so i ended up procrastinating on that... but i realized that she was the perfect candidate for my teal mask team, since dipplin is a brand new pkmn. i generally don't keep track of encounters during outbreaks, but she showed up really fast! i was worried that i'd miss her since applin is SO small, and it's also green so it tends to blend into the grass ;_; either way, i caught her in a luxury ball o7

the second shiny i got was laz the munchlax! munchlax has been a dream shiny of mine so i was extremely hype to take this hunt on. ik it's on the more subtle side, but i think the rich, darker blue is really cute on munchlax, and a shiny is a shiny, u know? i started it off in pkmn shield a few days before the dlc dropped, since the pkmn twitter posted a screenshot with a munchlax in it hehe. i decided to try for a moon ball munchlax via the masuda method (somehow i have a TON of special apricorn pokeballs in shield?!?! we were eatin good back then wtf). i ended up going over-odds in shield for munchlax the NIGHT that the dlc dropped... i'm not sure about the exact number, but i was definitely over 512. once that happened, i transfered the parent snorlax over to scarlet and resumed the hunt over there, since i figured it'd be more fun to explore the new region as i hatched eggs. i hatched roughly 150 more of them before laz hatched on egg 668! (i also got the item finder mark on him, so his full title is 'laz the treasure hunter' - sooo cute. ;_;)

after laz, i decided to try for some more outbreak shinies, since i thought those would be quick and easy. by full odds standards, they totally were!!! but by outbreak standards, i def faced... a few little challenges! LDFGKD;GK

the morning after the dlc dropped, i had a ralts outbreak so i figured i'd go for another dream shiny of mine - gallade. that'd mean finding a male ralts, since gallade is gender-specific. i tried to hunt for a male ralts back in legends arceus and ended up finding a female one as well as a female kirlia, so i figured that i'd have some better luck in another game. i ended up finding FIVE more female ralts before finally getting a male one as ralts #8. i caught him in a net ball and named him 'aske' after a character in the dnd campaign that i'm in with my friends!! iykyk!!! LSDKFDSLKG but i really do enjoy catching pkmn that are themed after other characters so i'm totally thrilled to have this gallade!!! ;v;

shortly after nabbing aske, i got marrow the mandibuzz during a vullaby outbreak! this shiny was such a standard fun little outbreak shiny - i knocked out around 60 vullabies and she turned up very quickly after that. i think if you have the teal mask dlc and enjoy outbreak shiny hunting, the paradise barrens portion of the map is gonna be really, really good for them, since theres barely anything to obscure the pkmn that are outbreaking (and there's no grass, so there's like, no lag at all LMFAO). i caught the beloved lil birdy in a luxury ball.

after marrow came home so fast, i was emboldened, so i started my hunt for chiyoh the sinistcha(/poltchageist). i decided to see if i could get an artisan poltchageist outbreak to trigger, since, at the time, there were rumours about all-artisan outbreaks - and i suceeded in doing so!!! but then i couldn't find a shiny like... at all... to the point that i was genuinely wondering if it was glitched or something. i hunted in it for a full day and by that point i was like, Convinced that something was wrong, so i ended up giving up on that outbreak. i now realize that the shiny is REALLY subtle, though, so it's possible that i walked right past SEVERAL and didn't know... but i was being ridiculously careful when i hunted it, so i'm honestly not sure about that. anyway, while i was looking for the shiny poltchageist, i phased on TWO different heracrosses. i love heracross' shiny SO MUCH that i succumbed and decided to add one to my team! and that heracross ended up being named crossbun!

by that time, i decided that i didn't really care about having an artisan or counterfeit version of the poltchageist shiny (and tbh i kinda agree with the notion that artisan outbreaks sort of ruin the appeal of hunting down a rare forme), so i ended up doing a few encounter power sandwiches instead. when i finally ran into the shiny, it was huge relief LMAO. chiyoh was my 6th team member, so, with that, my teal mask team was complete! o7

i gave everyone mints, hyper trained them and ev trained them (using lots of mochi from the new ogre oustin' game hehe) and they're now ready to take on the plot! ik that it's definitely not all that necessary to build a team from scratch for the dlc but i had a blast doing it. the time i spent gathering these pals and exploring kitakami was really special. i'm definitely planning on doing this again for the indigo disc dlc!

[skylarstark4826]

There is a hole in her side, a burning in her lungs, an ache in her heart, and a man at her feet. He’s looking up at her with half-lidded eyes, breathing fast and shallow, pain etched clearly into his face. She painted it there, dipped her claws into his skin like they were brushes and he was a palette, the finished piece a truce rather than the vengeance she thought she had been seeking.

She got as good as she gave, if the blood sliding down her leg on the inside of her suit and pooling in her boot is any indication. She doesn’t have her beads with her; there’s nothing she can do, for now, other than hope she doesn’t bleed out.

The beach they’re on is quiet, the sound of the waves lapping on the shore a soft susurrus mingling with the roar of the aircraft on fire behind her.

“What now?” Namor asks, voice mingling with the crackling of the fire. He hasn’t moved since she threw her weapon down into the sand; that moment seems like hours ago, but Shuri knows it could have only been a minute at most.

Her brain spins into action, but she’s never been a politician. She’s a scientist. Her world is mathematics and schematics and equations, not glad-handing and negotiating and whatever else it was the rest of her now-deceased family was so good at.

Grief rises up in her throat like the tide; she presses down on it with all of the strength she has left. The man at her feet is responsible for taking the last of her family from her, but all the need for vengeance has fled from her bones. She feels, for the first time in years, at peace. But there’s an itch under her skin still when she looks at him, something that she can’t name that won’t abate.

Pushing it aside to a different place then where she puts her grief, she says, “We need to stop the fighting on the Sea Leopard. Our people will kill each other and this will mean nothing.”

Namor smiles up at her, somewhat. It doesn’t stretch all the way across his face. She doesn’t think he has the strength for it.

“How do you suggest that?” he asks, one of his hands raising a few millimeters from the ground before uselessly flopping back down. “I can not hardly move, Princess.”

Shuri purses her lips.

Show him who you are, her mother had said. Her mother, whom he had killed, in a way. Her mother, who was still with her, even though she was gone and buried.

She knows, down in the depths of her heart, that if she’s anything, she is more than the Black Panther. More than the Princess of Wakanda. More than a scientist. At her core, she’s a helper. A problem solver.

“We need to get you into the water. Then I can hail a ride.” She has her earrings in still, a one-way link to Griot. She takes a step back from where she stands over him, moving so her feet are on either side of his knees rather than his hips. “Sit up.”

He looks at her as though he hadn’t just made it clear he didn’t think he could move. Exhales loudly through his nose with his whole chest; Shuri sees him grit his teeth before he begins to move, one agonizing motion at a time.

She retracts her claws and holds her hands out to him, patient. Another act of kindness when she had wanted nothing but to kill him over the last few days. She stoops as well, decreasing the distance he has to reach out to grab her by the hands.

Shuri knows if she stoops any lower, she’ll never get back up.

It takes a moment, but he reaches out.

He screams when she hauls him to his feet in one ungentle movement, backpedaling to give him the space to stand without letting him go.

“Was that necessary?” Namor huffs, breath coming fast and heavy, unsteady on his feet. She moves to steady him, letting go of his hands and moving to loop one of his arms over her shoulders instead, wrapping a hand around his wrist and placing the other around around his wrist.

She ends up taking most of his weight as he leans on her, his shoulder pressing up against her cheek. His skin is dry and rough, covered in sand, and he smells of charred flesh.

She’s sure she doesn’t smell much better.

“Would you have rather I pulled you up slowly and caused you pain over a longer period of time? It was like ripping off a bandaid this way.” She can feel him side eyeing her, but he says nothing. Just leans on her a little harder than necessary, when she knows he can take at least some of the weight he’s putting on her. She might have the strength of the Black Panther, but he’s heavy. “Are you ready?”

He takes the first tentative step forward as an answer, and she has no choice but to follow.

Together they limp towards the surf, one agonizing step at a time. Namor’s face is locked in a grimace, and Shuri thinks hers might be as well. The hole in her side makes her skull pulse, and she wishes now more than ever she had thought to wear her bracelet.

She knows, better than anyone, that the Black Panther is not invincible.

It feels as though it takes a lifetime and a half to reach the edge of the surf. They have to readjust their grip on each other several times on their short trip, Shuri eventually ending up with her hand fisted in the waistband of Namor’s shorts.

They don’t stop walking when the waves begin to lap at their feet. They keep going, past their ankles, past their knees, all the way up to Shuri’s waist. She loosens her grip on him then, removes her hand from his clothing and loosens her grip on his wrist.

He slips under the water ungracefully, like a drunk elephant seeing an oasis for the first time in months. His wrist slips out of her hand; blond panic seizes her for a moment, icy around her heart, until he bobs back up to the surface, eyes closed, entire body boneless on the water.

He looks a little better already, a little less faded around the edges, skin a little less flaky. She reaches out and places a hand on each of his shoulders, grounding him so he doesn’t float away.

“Griot, alert one of the pilots that we need a ride.” Her voice is quiet under the noise of the ocean, barely audible to her own ears. She just hopes Griot—or any of the pilots—will come through. That she and Namor still have countries to return to.

She pushes the thought away, buries it for later like she’s been burying everything else. It isn’t healthy, she knows, but now isn’t the time to unpack and examine every little thing that skitters across the forefront of her mind. She has stacks and stacks of problems building up around her, towers of dominoes threatening to collapse at any given moment. But here’s a trick she taught herself: they can’t collapse if she doesn’t think about them.

“I apologize for stabbing you,” Namor says, pulling her out of her thoughts, floating in the surf with his eyes closed and face toward the sun. His arms bob with the tide, stretched out on either side of him as she holds him in place by the shoulders. Her wound burns with every breath she takes, the edge of her vision spotty, salt water licking at the bottom of it as the tide ebbs and flows around her.

She tilts her head back toward the sky. The sun is warm on her skin, reminding her that she is alive. But she’s not about to apologize for what it took for her to still be standing there. “Will your wing grow back, do you think?”

He huffs out the smallest of laughs. The noise washes over her, warm and comforting, and there’s a surprising part of her that finds that she wants to make him do it again.

“No. No, I think you clipped it for good. Grounded me. I will never reach the heights I have been to, never touch the sun again. I have fallen, and I will never be able to rise again.”

“Do we need to get a life alert for your dramatic ass?” This feels like familiar territory, with an unfamiliar man.

Namor opens his mouth, likely to ask a question and just as likely to fire back, as the hum of engines fills the air. Shuri looks to the sky, and there hovers their rescue.

She looks back down to the man in her hands, and they both know this reprieve has reached it’s end.

But Shuri tells herself it won’t be the last. Not by a long shot.

[warden-melli]

💎 The Diamond Clan members react to being given a surprise gift 💎

Adaman: “A gift? Trying to butter up the leader, huh? *laughter*

wouldn’t waste any time admiring the gift before unwrapping it. Would appreciate what you gave him no matter what, and would try to find a practical use for it (however impractical the gift may be)

Arezu: “Ah! You’re the best! It’s not even my birthday!”

Would be super excited, but joke about how she’s now she’s obligated to get you something in return. If she received clothing, or an accessory as a gift she’d immediately try it on, and would wear it as often

Iscan: “Oh, wow! R-really? This isn’t a joke, is it?”

Would be suspicious at first that it was some kind of prank, but would be delighted when he confirms that it’s safe. Would have the biggest smile, and may even tear up. Would assure you that he loved the gift and trusts you as his friend, and would apologise for being suspicious (even after you’ve insisted that an apology isn’t necessary)

Mai: “Oh, how thoughtful! You’ve made my day, you know that!”

Would be delighted, especially if the gift was handmade, edible or was in any way sentimental. Would carefully unwrap it, and keep the paper/cloth. If the gift was food she would offer to share it with you, and would give Munchlax the first taste

Melli: “A gift? For me? You absolutely should have!”

Would act as if the real gift was him allowing you to give him a present, but inwardly he would be overwhelmed with gratitude and surprise. Would probably get shy, and try to cover it up by making jokes about whatever you got him. Would downplay how much he appreciates the gift, but would treasure it in secret

Sabi: “What a surprise! I just know I’m gonna love it!”

Not only does she already know that you have been planning on giving her a gift, she’s been dropping hints for weeks, and knows exactly what you’ve gotten for her. Even so she still tries to act surprised, and even has a gift prepared to give you in return (despite being fully aware that this gives away that she already knew)

(Trying something new here! Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas/prompts for PLA character reactions)

[fallershipping]

So... do you think many IPLA had a grass/fire/water official starters as their first partner pokémon but were told not to use it? In the games we're so reinforced about becoming champions that now, after your posts, it feels like giving starters could be more of a cycle-preserving-measure than wanting to help people start their journeys.

The Grass/Fire/Water trio I thiiiiink has been implied to be a coincidence at times? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but there are times when Starter Pokemon are just rare pokemon a Professor has collected, and I thiiiiink Professors are not entirely affiliated with the league, at least not all of them.

But yeah, the Starter Trio Types are all handed by Professors, who might just give those out because they're some of the most versatile Pokemon to begin with. I like to think that Starter species like Charmander and Piplup and Grookey are NOT from the region they are most affiliated with, but just a coincidence that they are the trio the protag of that region's story gets. (Much like Hisui)

Starter Species are also heavily domesticated, like they are the cats and dogs of the Pokemon world. Charizard is actually one of the best, most family friendly, most golden retriever dragon species there ever was because it is what dogs are to wolves as Charizard is to dragons.

But at the same time, the trio is not the everyday starter pokemon experience. Anabel famously started with a Munchlax/Snorlax, Red with Pikachu, Michael with Eevee, and Nanu gives out Meowth for his island. They are common and popular, but starter trios are not the standard. it's just the gameplay experience for us gamers lmao

edit: IPLA Gym Leaders and even Champions have used "starter species" but have also used their actual starter pokemon, like maybe Rika and Clodsire. Starter Pokemon are not limited to the stereotypical trio, for certain

[agonyaster]

The Bonds We Forge

Mai didn’t get along very well with Lord Kleavor’s previous warden, she can only hope things turn out better with the newest one

today i bring you lian and mai siblingisms. tomorrow? who knows

prefer ao3? read here!

…

Mai balances a basket of freshly-picked aguav berries on top of her head as she swiftly makes her way up the hill; Munchlax marches along beside her, thoroughly displeased with the fact that he hasn’t been given a single berry as a snack. When the basket wobbles he slows down a bit, eyes fixated on the berries nearest to the edge.

The pair crest over the top of the hill and Mai halts. One of the berries topples over the side and Munchlax dives for it, swallowing the berry alongside a mouthful of dirt, but he doesn’t seem to mind much. Mai pays him little attention, frowning as she eyes the figure in front of her cabin. Even from here she can see how their head swivels from side to side, a hand held over their eyes to protect them from the glare of the sun.

Continuing her climb, the figure drops their hand as they spy her, instead choosing to cross their arms across their chest.

“What came up?” Mai asks, raising a brow. “Has Gran gotten worse?”

“Nothing ‘came up,’ excuse you,” Adaman snips. He let his hair grow out; it curls just past his chin, the natural color of his roots peeking through on the dyed streak. “And Gran is fine, you don’t always have to assume the worst.”

Mai takes the basket from off of her head and props it on her hip. Another berry tumbles over the side and Munchlax is positioned perfectly to catch it: only having to look up and open his mouth. He chews with vigor as Mai shakes her head. “I don’t always assume the worst.”

“We’ll go with that.”

“Then why exactly are you here?” she asks, opening the door to the cabin and entering. Adaman and Munchlax follow, the pokémon cutting in front of Adaman and blowing a raspberry.

There’s still sunlight streaming in through the windows, but it weakens as the sun falls lower and lower in the sky. As Mai walks over to the counter, Adaman crouches down and busies himself with starting a fire.

“Do I really have to have a reason to come and visit my big sister?” he huffs, pulling the flint and steel from a small woven basket. He strikes them against one another a few times before actually getting a spark, and soon is hunched over trying to get it to catch.

“No, but you usually do.” Mai tucks the basket of berries away in a high cabinet, Munchlax groaning in protest. “Something about your time being more precious than anyone else's.”

“Hey! I never said that.”

“Not recently, anyway.”

Adaman scoffs and strikes the flint and steel once more, the spark finally catching. He leans down and blows on the flame gently, reaching into the basket and adding a few more sticks. It’s at a comfortable size before long and Adaman leaves it be, sending a glare over his sister. But his gaze soon begins to wander once he realizes that she isn’t paying attention.

He looks around for a few moments, thoroughly underwhelmed by it all. Racks of herbs hang out to dry over in the kitchen; canvases of embroidery and other various needlework are tacked up on the walls for display; a heavy chest sits in the corner, the one that Mai took with her when she first left the settlement to tend to Lord Wyrdeer. With a frown, Adaman stands and walks to the corner where her bedroll is, squatting down with a laugh as he inspects the line of tiny wooden dolls standing at attention.

“You still make these?” he asks as he picks up one of the figures. Running a thumb over its curled antenna, he examines the wooden Kricketot with mild intrigue. “You’re getting pretty good at it.”

Mai glances over her shoulder with a chuckle. “It’s a way to spend the less exciting moments. Comforting, in a way.” She shrugs and turns back to her work. “Took me a bit to learn how to do horns properly, but now Lord Wyrdeer and his children like it when I make replicas of them.”

“Really? Man, that’s weird.”

“You speak ill of our lord?” Mai asks with a devious smile that she hides behind a hand.

“Oh, shut it. You know what I meant.” Adaman places the figure back down and meanders back over to the fire, poking at the logs with a spare stick before relinquishing it to the flames. They crackle, satisfied. “And I don’t need a reason to be here, time with you is time well spent.”

“You really are a flatterer, you know that?”

“I’ve heard it now and again.”

Mai approaches with a tray in her arms and passes it off to Adaman, removing the kettle and placing it over the fire. “Will you be staying long enough for tea? Or should I just make enough for myself?”

“I’ll stick around for tea,” he inspects the jars and herbs laid out on the tray, picking out a few and tossing them into the kettle. “Probably not much after, but don’t say I never do anything for you.”

“Stay the night, it won’t kill you.” Licking her thumb, Mai tucks Adaman’s hair behind his ear before rubbing at the soot on his face. “Besides, I doubt you’ll be able to make it back to the settlement before sundown and I don’t want you wandering out there all alone.”

Adaman groans and pulls away from her but Mai gives chase, glaring at the smudge. “I won’t be alone, I have Leafeon.”

“In the dark, then. I don’t want you wandering out there in the dark.”

“You can just say you want me to stay, Mai.”

“I did. Maybe you should just pay attention a bit more.”

Adaman turns away from her, but Mai can see his embarrassment as it stains the tips of his ears red. It’s a quirk he’s always seemed to hate, and she remembers how he would clamp his hands over his ears when Melli was old enough to talk and started teasing him about it.

She stands with a sigh and snags the tray of teas from her brother, heading back for the kitchen and tucking it away. “Feel free to go if you really want to, but I’ll be making dinner and heading up the cliff to watch the sunset. And you know how Munchlax is when left alone with food, so make your decision quickly.”

“I could take Lord Wyrdeer home,” Adaman mumbles, not bothering to listen to a word she’s said.

“He wouldn’t bother with you unless you played the melody right; you and I both know that’s impossible.”

Adaman crosses his arms, huffing.

He makes it up to her when they’re climbing even farther up the hill, taking the tray laden with their food and cups while Mai handles the teapot. Even Munchlax helps, chasing away any pokémon that are drawn in by the scent of their dinner.

The two settle onto a flat plain of grass right at the top of the mountain after Munchlax chases a small flock of Starly away from the berries they were snacking on. While he stuffs his face with the leftovers, Mai pours a cup of tea for herself and Adaman. It’s not like the stuff she grew up on; the fieldlands don’t have the proper ingredients for it. Not really worth the hassle to try and get someone who still lives at the settlement to bring her any of the good stuff.

“How is Calens doing?” she asks.

“She’s good.” Adaman takes a drink and pulls a face that Mai can help but snort at. “Got way too tall— damn kid is growing like a weed.”

“You were the same way.”

“But that’s different!” he protests, to no real response from Mai. Adaman worries a lip between his teeth, brows pinched together as he contemplates and before too long, he loses his mental battle and gives in. “And… There is actually a reason I came.”

Mai blows on her tea. “Aside from visiting your poor sister? You wound me, Adaman.”

He scowls. “Do you want to hear or not?”

“Considering it was so important that you felt the need to come all the way to the fieldlands… sure. I’ll hear you out.”

Adaman downs the rest of his tea, placing the cup upside down on the tray. “The Pearl Clan has selected a new warden for Lord Kleavor, apparently,” he says.

“Apparently?”

A single-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know anything definitively. It’s just rumors.”

His offhandedness sours Mai’s mood more than she thought it would. “A rumor? So you haven’t actually talked to anyone from the Pearl Clan?” It’s not a question: instead an accusation.

“And why should I have to? It’s their job to come to me as the leader of the Diamond Clan and tell me what they’re —”

“Almighty Sinnoh, would you pull your head out of your ass, Adaman? You are the clan leader now, it is your job to take initiative when it comes to matters like these,” Mai says, voice biting. “And don’t you dare spew shit about how your father ran the clan. You are not him. You will never be him. So don’t try and rule like he did.”

His hands fist in the grass, severing the blades’ connection to the earth as his nails dig into his palms. “You don’t get to talk to me like that.”

“Why not? No one else is going to say it.” Mai takes another drink of tea, gaze steady as she watches the horizon. She can feel Adaman’s eyes burning into the side of her skull. “You should’ve buried those expectations alongside his body.”

He’s silent for some time after that. When Mai finishes her tea and pours herself another cup, she can no longer feel his glare. Munchlax tottles over from a berry tree and flips Adaman’s discarded cup, clumsily pouring tea for himself.

“I hate when you’re right.” Adaman’s voice is muffled as he speaks into his knees, which are tucked up into his chest.

Mai smiles into her cup. “So, always?”

Adaman punches her in the shoulder. She snickers as he does it again and again, weaker with every strike. Eventually he stops, laying spread eagle in the grass and looking up at the stars.

Mai hums. “Kleavor’s getting a new warden. Huh.”

“It was bound to happen.” Adaman rips a fistful of grass from out of the earth and raises his arm up. Loosening the clench of his fist, the blades slip between his fingers and sprinkle back down. “Last one’s been gone for how many months?”

“I know that you dolt, I just… I’m not sure what it is, actually. Maybe it’s just setting in that she’s gone. I mean, she’s not dead or anything—”

Adaman swats at her leg. “Don’t worry, I get it.”

“Won’t miss her too much though, lady was a real nasty piece of work. Hope the next one is better.”

“I doubt it. They’re Pearl Clan, Mai.”

She almost speaks out, but that’s not a battle she needs to be waging today. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll keep an eye out.”

They do little for the rest of the night, watching the sun disappear behind the horizon line as they finish up the tea and the rest of the food. Munchlax polishes off the rest of the bowl, burping with a satisfied sigh as he settles down into Mai’s lap.

Adaman does end up staying the night and his snoring nearly brings down the cabin. Munchlax gets so fed up with it that he stomps out of the house and sleeps outside. Still, it’s the best sleep she’s gotten since leaving the settlement.

He’s halfway out the door when she wakes the next morning, so Mai scowls and crawls out of bed and walks him through the entirety of the fieldlands in her pajamas. She doesn’t regret it until her way back, a mix of sweat and humidity keeping her clothes suctioned to her skin.

After that she goes about her days as usual, spending most of them in Lord Wyrdeer’s favorite grotto as he tends to the newborn Stantler. Twins this year; a sign of good fortune. And not that she’d ever tell him, but they’re cuter than Adaman ever was when he was a baby. She fetches food and water for the lord and the new mother, both unwilling to leave the baby Stantler. Soon the little ones are beginning to take their first steps, legs shaking as they stagger forward a few paces before collapsing to the ground.

More than anything else Mai spends her time entertaining the older Stantler, who want nothing more than to play with their new siblings. Well, some of them want to play. Some of the more ornery ones just want to fight, and whenever they’re not eating or sleeping, or trying to snag the newborns, those Stantler are wrestling with each other.

The worst three aren’t particularly happy that Mai’s stopping them and take it upon themselves to try and chase her out— she almost considers sending word back to the clan asking for a healer with how many times she ends up getting hit with their psychic attacks and subsequently walking herself into a tree. But then they get into a battle that ends when all three sets of antlers get knotted together and the Stantler crying out for help pitifully.

After she saves them, all three disappear into the woods for a good few days. When they come back they’ve lost most of their motivation to try to scare her off. Thank Sinnoh— she isn’t sure how much more her head could take.

Mai trots downhill and towards the river, an empty bucket tucked under each arm. Munchlax stayed back at the cabin for a nap, so she makes the journey alone as clouds roll lazily across the sky. There’s a close call with one of the Geodude that hangs out near the Deertrack Heights, but nothing comes of it and Mai makes it to the bank of the river with little more trouble.

Being sure to stay out of sight from the Buizels rolling around in the sand, she places her buckets down and moves to fill one, but pauses before she dips it in.

There’s a young boy crouched down by the bank of the river, washing berries in the slow-moving current. He’s Pearl Clan, with a hat almost too big for his head, cheeks still plump with baby fat and ruddy with youth. A pickaxe sits next to him, perfectly sized for such a small boy.

Worry lines crease her forehead as Mai watches the boy. What on earth was someone so young doing all the way down here? She’s never been to the Pearl Clan’s settlement up in the icelands, not really important enough to ever merit the journey or the discourse, but she knows it's far. Really far. How long would it have taken someone so young to get down to the fieldlands?

Squinting, she leans forward and tries to inspect the boy closer. He doesn’t… seem particularly tired, but there’s no telling when exactly he would’ve shown up, not as if Mai hasn’t been keeping to herself lately.

“Are you alright?” she finally asks. Her voice carries across the sound of the river, heavy with worry, each syllable low and cautious.

The boy’s head snaps up at the sound of her voice and his hand goes straight for the pickaxe. He looks at her like she’s something stuck to the bottom of his shoe or that a Glameow hacked up on the carpet.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t be.” He has that Pearl Clan accent all the officials that visit the Diamond settlement do, harsher on the N’s than she’s used to. His hand stays on the pickaxe.

Mai keeps her gaze away from the weapon, instead choosing to look the boy in the eyes. They’re wild, like a feral Luxio about to strike. “You’re just really far from the Pearl settlement, is all. How did you wind up all the way out here?”

Immediately his face blooms bright red and his nostrils flare. “I— how dare you!” he spits, voice trembling. He puffs out his chest and puts his hands on his hips, standing the slightest bit taller as he glares at Mai.

It’s only then, of course, that she sees the band around his wrist. The dark polish of the wood, the gold detailing, the precisely-carved visage of Lord Kleavor. All of it points to one thing alone and Almighty Sinnoh, could this have gone worse? Well, probably. No need to jinx it, come on now.

“I apologize, Warden, I meant no insult to you or to your clan.” Mai bows her head, the back of her neck burning in the harsh midday sun. “I’d been informed that Lord Kleavor was getting a new warden, but I didn’t realize it would be so soon.”

When she looks up the boy has crossed his arms over his chest, his mouth pressed into a harsh scowl. He says nothing.

Well, no need to lose her manners. “My name is Mai, and it has been my duty to tend to—”

“Lord Wyrdeer, I know. Why wouldn’t I know that?” he’s still angry, albeit less so than before. The red on his cheeks is starting to fade away as well, and he adjusts his hat to keep it from falling over his eyes. “Of course I know that.”

“Again, I apologize for my mistake. I hope we can learn to work together in the future.”

“Goodbye, Warden Mai,” the boy spits as he turns on his heel and stomps away, clearly not interested in anything she might have to say.

Mai shakes her head as she watches him leave, and can’t help but be a little disappointed. This sort of behavior is something she should’ve expected, but that doesn’t mean it stings any less. Her father used to say it was a fact of the world: the sun rose in the east and set in the west; the moon had its phases; and the Diamond Clan will always hate the Pearl Clan.

But Almighty, he’s just a kid! Around Calens’ age from the look of him, maybe a little bit older. Why would the Pearl Clan pick someone so young? Was he really the best they had? In the Diamond Clan, candidates for the next generation of wardens were chosen young, but never that young. And they didn’t even begin their intensive training until well after Lian’s age.

Mai shakes her head, trying not to think too hard about her newest neighbor as she fills the buckets with water and starts making her way back up to the grove.

Over the course of the next few weeks the new baby Stantler are up and about, joining their mother and siblings out for walks across Horseshoe Plains. Mai sees them prancing around with some of the Ponyta, bounding over the shallow pools of water as their mothers watch on fondly. Lord Wyrdeer is back on his hooves as well: she spies him leaving Deertrack Heights with a herd of Stantler just before the sun rises, the group returning at sundown the following day, all of the Stantler completely exhausted. It’s nice to see him teaching the little ones who’s in charge.

As she returns to her normal duties, Mai can’t help but notice the little traces the other warden ends up leaving behind. A few wet footprints leading away from Oreburrow Tunnel, neat lines sliced into the bark of trees around The Heartwood; small things that she doesn’t notice until she starts to keep an eye out for them.

Mai adjusts the hatchet where it’s strapped to her belt as she trudges along the outskirts of The Heartwood. She never likes staying here for long: too close to Lord Kleavor’s proper dwelling for her tastes, but with all the firewood weighing her down it would be stupid to try and go one of the more treacherous paths. So instead she hugs the treeline and marches forward slow enough that the few Psyduck milling about the area don’t bother her.

She’s only made it about halfway to the bridge when she hears it: the incessant buzzing of a swarm of Combee. Not so unusual, except that there’s no reason for them to be swarming. Even at the peak of pollination season back in the mirelands they only moved places two or three at a time— the only time Mai’s seen a whole hive of Combee start to swarm is when a new Vespiquen is made.

Well, that and when they’re angry. Mai’s known for a long time that not all buzzing is created equal. She can still remember the unbearable throbbing, aching, itching pain across her entire body when she got attacked as a child after sneaking out with Adaman to the Droning Meadow. She also remembers the lecture she got from the clan healer as she rubbed a sticky salve on Mai’s wounds. And the way Adaman’s father berated her for putting him in danger like that before his rage faded away and his voice went quiet as he thanked her for keeping Adaman safe.

Instinct tells her to drop the firewood and get out of there as fast as she can before the swarm even has a chance to find her. The buzzing is getting louder: they’re roaming the forest, hunting. But something else stops her, a nagging voice in the back of her head that keeps her feet planted firmly to the earth. What made them so mad? it asks.

All of the pokémon found in The Heartwood are perfectly happy with the discarded honeycomb that litters the forest floor, if they want any at all. But humans? A warden, preparing a meal for their lord? Stale leftovers wouldn’t do.

With little more deliberation, Mai turns and plunges into the forest. She pulls the hatchet from her belt and hacks away at some of the thickest parts of the underbrush as she moves through the trees. The sound of buzzing fades in and out, more pokémon starting to emerge from their hidey-holes as the swarm moves on.

Mai only finds what she’s looking for because a Buneary finds it first: hops right up to a nearby bush and sniffs at it curiously. Something rustles within it, shooing the little thing off, and the Buneary squeaks in alarm, disappearing into the forest.

“Warden?” she approaches slowly, stooping low to the ground as she does, only now realizing she never learned the boy’s name. “The Combee are gone, you can come out.”

She almost thinks its a pokémon in there until a cautious voice responds

“How far?”

“They’re down by that little island just north of here, where all the Psyduck like to play.”

“You’re sure?”

She takes a moment to look around. “I’m sure.”

With some fierce rustling, the young warden begins to emerge from the thicket. It takes a few seconds— kid’s tucked himself away pretty damn well— but when he pops out the warden yanks a few twigs out of his hair and places his hat back on with a huff. he tries to play it off but Almighty Sinnoh, poor kid is covered in welts. Bright, angry splotches of color are all over his face, run up and down his arms.

“Don’t look at me like that!” he barks, glaring up at Mai with as much defiance he can muster. He tugs down his sleeves, hiding those stings from view. “I don’t need your help!”

He stomps past her, but Mai reaches out and snags his arm before she can really think about it. “I’m not going to let you leave and let those fester. You’ll get sick.”

“You sound just like Calaba. I’m fine!” he insists.

Mai doesn’t see why that’s such a bad thing. Warden Calaba has lived in the mirelands tending to Lord Ursaluna for longer than Mai’s been alive. Every reckless child of the Diamond Clan has been tended to by her at some point, too far away from the settlement to meet with their actual healer. But aside from that, for some reason she can’t help but notice how he says Calaba’s name— the syllables rapid-fire one after the other, melding together as they roll off the tongue. Mai doesn’t think she could replicate it if she tried.

“I know Warden Calaba and she is a perfectly respectable woman.”

“She’s an old coot, that’s what she is.”

“You should respect your elders.”

“I’ll start respectin’ em when they finally have something respectable to say.”

With a shake of the head Mai adjusts her grip on the young warden’s arm and starts to walk through the forest, dragging him along with her. He fights it at first but gives up before long, resigned to his fate.

“You never told me your name, warden,” Mai says as she reaches to the pouches at her waist, fishing out a few dried herbs and a small mortar.

“What? No, I did. You forgot,” he blusters. “I definitely did!”

Mai turns her back to him as she fills the mortar with a small amount of water, but it does good to hide her smile as well. There’s something so charming about his stubbornness, how his nose scrunches up in distaste. At the very least, it seems to be the best for her to play along. No need to make things worse than they already are.

“I apologize for my forgetfulness. How about we redo introductions?” She sprinkles a few different herbs into the bowl. “Warden Mai, of the Diamond Clan.”

Silence for a few moments. “Warden Lian of the Pearl Clan.”

She tries her best to mimic the way he says it with a longer ‘e’ sound in the middle. Lian shakes his head and she tries a few more times before he’s satisfied, fudding and sitting down on a rock as he tells her it’ll do.

“Did you never learn how to make a salve for Combee stings?” she asks as she adds slices of pecha to the mixture, popping the leftovers into her mouth and offering one to Lian.

“We don’t have them in the icelands,” he explains, nibbling at the slice of berry. “I never needed to.”

Picking up her hatchet, Mai uses the butt end of the handle to start grinding the mixture into a paste. “Did the previous warden not teach you? Seems like something that should fall under her jurisdiction.”

“Of course not!” Lian scoffs. “She’s older than dirt and dumber than a box of rocks.”

With a reluctant shrug, Mai finds herself agreeing. Turning back to the salve, she works it over as soft peaks soon begin to form in the salve. Dipping two of her fingers into it, she turns to Lian expectantly. Sighing, he takes off his hat and hugs it to his chest.

His face scrunches up as she begins to apply the salve to the stings on his cheeks, nose wrinkling at the smell. Once she’s done there, Mai has Lian roll up his sleeves and she’s sure to coat those stings as well.

“It’ll help with the itching and swelling,” she explains as she goes for a second pass on his face, doing a few touch ups on his cheeks with the leftovers. “You should be okay in a few days, but if it does start acting up just smear some mud on them. Works pretty well too.”

“Okay.” Lian tugs his hat back on and then pulls his sleeves back down, being careful not to disturb any of the salve. “Thanks, Warden Mai. Do ya want help leaving the forest?”

With a nod and a smile, he begins to lead her through The Heartwood. And to his credit, Lian does seem to know what he’s doing and where he’s going, getting her to the edge of the trees in record time.

The two part ways, Mai heading for Tidewater Dam as Lian ducks back into the forest and is quickly consumed by the shrubbery. She heads back home to be greeted by Munchlax, who’s increasingly frustrated at the fact she didn’t leave any food for him within arms reach. Still, he seems to forget all about it when she reaches down and scratches between his ears.

Surprisingly, Mai doesn’t have to wait long to see Lian again— it only takes a day, in fact.

She finds him between Nature’s Pantry and Windswept run, perched at the peak of the highest hill in the area. One of Lord Wydeer’s children finds him first, and prances around Lian joyously as Mai hikes up to join them.

“What brings you all the way out here?” she asks, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

Lian has no response, hunched over something as he dutifully scratches away at it. Curiosity gets the better of her and Mai peeks over his shoulder, stealing a glance.

It’s a map. Half-finished, sure, but clearly a map of the Obsidian Fieldlands. Right now he’s carving out the base shape of Ramanas Island, pausing every few moments to glance back out at it in the distance. Raising his left hand, he stacks three of his fingers against the horizon before humming and making a few more marks to the map.

More than anything, Mai’s just surprised at how good the map is. Even as it is now, it looks a hell of a lot more useful than any of the old things she was given when she first left for the fieldlands.

“You can make maps?” she asks. Finally it draws something out of him, a nod.

“Most in the clan can.”

Mai’s brows draw up, a little confused and a little intrigued. Being a cartographer is hard, there’s only ever the master and maybe an apprentice if the master was getting up there in age.

“Really?”

“We kinda have to. Everythin’ looks the same once you go far enough north. ‘n if the weather gets really bad you really can’t tell the difference. So we make up for it by havin’ good maps that everyone can read and add to. Not that hard to understand.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

She doesn’t know how long it is, but Mai just sits and watches him work for a while. Every now and then she asks a question— why does he keep doing that thing with his fingers, what was the reason for having just so many different tools and trinkets— but for the most part she’s just content to sit and watch. Lian doesn’t seem to mind all that much and keeps scratching away at the paper.

But then he finishes up as much of the island that he can and starts to pack up. The graphite stick and all the other tools are tucked away into one of the pouches at his waist, the map itself rolled up tight and gingerly placed into a cylindrical case that he corks shut and slings over his shoulder.

“I get to ask some questions now.”

“Hm?”

“I told you about cartography, now you have to tell me about something. It’s only fair.”

“Well there's a lot to pick from. Just depends on what you want to know.”

Without hesitation, Lian points to her shoulder. “That.”

A little confused, Mai glances down at herself. “Oh, the embroidery?”

He nods and pokes the snout of the Ursaring on the shoulder of her tunic. “Yeah.”

With a gleam in her eye, the pair start to move across the fieldlands as Mai goes about explaining the different knots and stitches and the meanings of every symbol or pokémon carefully sewn into her clothing.

After that, they stop pretending it’s just happenstance that brings them together. They meet up at least twice a week, usually more, to talk and to teach and to learn. She starts to draw maps with Lian’s supervision, his dark eyes intense as he watches her ink the coastline along Horseshoe Plains. Mai spends a whole day on it, and at the end when she passes the map off to Lian for a proper grading, he barely gives it a second glance as he crumples it up and feeds it to Munchlax.

She’s more than ticked off and in the following days when he has her draw it over and over, disposing of the finished product every time. But after a week or so, Mai can’t help but notice how she’s getting faster, even when Lian tells her to map out somewhere else.

They take a break from cartography for a bit so she can teach him embroidery. Lian picks it up pretty quickly but he tends to ramble when he sews. It’s usually about mining and it makes him stick his fingers with the needle more often than not, but Lian doesn’t really seem to care. He just sucks the blood away from whichever finger was the latest casualty and keeps on talking.

When he finishes his first piece, a quaint little thing of a sleeping Swinub, he gives her a stone in thanks. It’s a deep orange and slightly warm to the touch, and she keeps it snug and safe inside her trunk back at the cabin.

When a storm brings down a tree limb not too far from their usual meeting spot, the two spend the day whittling together. Lian’s a little less experienced but makes a few misshapen baby Scyther just fine, quickly learning how to hold the blade just right and scrape away at the wood. As Mai carves out the shape of an Ursaring’s paw he starts to talk about his life back in the icelands.

The conversation ebbs and flows and Mai finds herself telling a few stories of her own, Lian howling with laughter when she tells him about Adaman’s pitiful flute skills and how they made Leafeon run away for two days. When it’s his turn to tell stories, Lian mentions his mother in most of them. Mai can’t help but picture her as a woman with a wide grin and wild hair, laughing raucously as she fishes her young son out of a snowbank.

Over the course of a few days he slowly whittles a Goodra figure for his mother— she’s managed to tame one, apparently. And though she's never seen one before, Mai can't help but wonder if they really look like that.

On one of their days together they both lose track of time, hunched over their respective projects and not bothering to look up until it's completely dark out. Refusing to let him go all the way back to The Heartwood alone, Mai makes a quick curry for the both of them and sets out another bedroll. Lian inhales the food, sputtering slightly at the foreign taste before thanking her and heading off to bed.

He curls up into a tight ball when he sleeps, forming a bit of a cocoon out of the blankets as he twists around. She supposes it makes sense: something about preserving heat. Doesn’t make it any less adorable.

A week after that, Munchlax decides to wander off while Mai is busy chopping firewood. He wanders so far that she doesn’t find him anywhere in or around the cabin, or even anywhere near the Deertrack Heights. Even Lord Wyrdeer seems at a loss for answers.

She’s wandering the woods calling out for Munchlax with a hoarse voice when Lian finds her. He snatches her by the hand and leads her into a thicket, where he pauses just before a Combee hive— a massive one. Lian marches up to the hive and sticks his hand straight into it, the Combee buzzing around amicably as he yanks it back out. His fist is wrapped tight around a chunk of honeycomb dripping with the sweet golden liquid. Moving a few paces, he slathers the trunk of a nearby tree with as much honey as he can before breaking the piece of comb in half and offering one side to Mai.

She accepts and they eat as Lian takes them back through the woods. It’s got a tangy sweet taste, sharper than she expected. The chewy texture and mild waxy flavor of the comb only adds to the experience, and before she knows it Mai’s scarfed down the entire thing. Lian finishes just after she does and the two make a quick pit stop to wash their hands off in a stream that creeps its way through The Heartwood.

He cooks for the two of them that night, a stew with a flavor that tickles the back of her throat, and he promises that Munchlax would be home first thing in the morning.

And sure enough, when they stop by the honey tree the next day and Lian gives it a harsh shake— Munchlax tumbles from the branches, landing right at Mai’s feet.

Things are good. Or well, they’re good until someone from the Pearl Clan comes to visit. It’s not someone Mai recognizes, and despite his hostility, she tries her best to be cordial.

The man takes Lian with him, and despite the fact that he’s gone for only two days, things are… different when he comes back. He doesn’t come to their meets any longer, turns the other way when the two run into each other. When Mai actively starts to seek him out she nearly gets her head blasted off by his new, erm, friend.

Turns out Lian wasn’t exaggerating when he described Goodra to her. Almighty Sinnoh, the thing is massive and it glares down at her more often than not. It usually ends up wedging itself between her and Lian, firing off a warning shot before turning around and thundering off into the forest, Lian often not far behind it.

But from what little she does actually see of him, not much about Lian has changed except his attitude. Well, that and his hat. Before it was just plain white; a little dirty, sure, but every part of Lian was a little dirty. Now, a large greenish-blue gem is affixed to it, secured with a thick golden chain and clasp.

The sight of it makes something in her stomach roll a little. It’s obviously valuable, something a little too valuable to entrust to someone so young without good reason.

Mai’s curled up by the fire, careful not to tangle her thread as she adds speckles of stars to the sky. The storm outside is so loud that she can hardly hear herself think, so she doesn’t know how she hears it. Maybe it’s the repetition, maybe it’s the growing feeling of unease in her gut that compels her.

No matter what it is, Mai sets her work aside and walks to the door. After a moment of hesitation she undoes the latch and opens the door the slightest crack to peer out into the inky blackness.

Lightning flashes, illuminating the petite figure stood at the stoop of the cabin.

“Almighty— what the hell are you doing?” Mai demands, shoving the door open the rest of the way and ushering Lian inside.

He mumbles something that might be an apology as she slams the door shut, pressing her whole body against it to make sure it stays that way. Lian just stands in the entryway awkwardly, head bowed as his clothes drip water onto the floor. Poor kid is shaking like a leaf, and be it from cold or from fear Mai doesn’t really care.

Her body moves faster than her mind does, placing a gentle hand on his back and guiding him to sit down by the fire. She yanks off his waterlogged boots and tosses them vaguely towards the front of the cabin, standing up and fetching a change of clothes from her own stores. Lian hardly seems to notice: staring directly into the flames, watches as they lick at the logs and slowly begin to consume the wood.

Mai pulls the kettle off of the fire and takes it with her over towards the kitchen, where she scrambles to put together a tea. Mind moving faster than her hands, Mai scrambles to come up with any reason he might be here. The Hippowdon in the room is still there, lying untouched as Mai dances around the idea. She can’t ask, not now. Even once the tea is steeped and she loads it all onto a tray to bring back, she has no better ideas.

She half expected Lian to refuse the Diamond Clan tunic, but she supposes even the proudest will crumble when freezing. It’s one of her older, smaller tunics; yet it still dwarfs him, the fabric nearly swallowing him whole.

Mai approaches slowly, setting the tray down as she sits next to Lian. Turning to look at him, she finally notices the tears that leak out of his eyes as he stares into the fire. As if he can feel her gaze on him, Lian pulls his attention away from the flames and over to Mai.

When they lock eyes, the floodgates open.

Fat tears roll down his cheeks and the entire cabin is filled with the sound of Lian’s wailing— his breath hitches and staggers as he curls in on himself, shaking violently.

Before she can think on it too hard Mai’s pulling Lian in close, running a hand through his hair and shushing him quietly. He buries his face in her shoulder and screams even louder, a mix of tears and snot and spit soaking the front of her tunic. His words are nothing but strings of meaningless babbling, but if she strains Mai can make out something that she recognizes. It’s in the tongue of the Pearl Clan, a word that he taught her, back when they whittled their first figures together. Mother.

Mai hates that she was right.

She holds him even tighter, begins to rock back and forth as she sings a lullaby from her own childhood into his hair. From there, ever so slowly, Lian loses his fire. It seeps out of him like the gentlest trickle of water through a dam until he’s cried himself to sleep.

[doubleddenden]

oh yeah, i never covered it on my blog. It's kinda small but the new anime revealed a new... form, new pokemon? unclear so far. Essentially this seems to be Liko's Ho-Oh- and for us, a peak at what will eventually come to the Scarlet and Violet DLC

So obviously this thing bears a striking resemblance to Terapagos. Not to mention it has a very... disk shaped body, hint hint. Tbh I do not really watch the anime much and I'm waiting to see how people think of the new series before I give it a shot, so I do not know the context of how this thing appeared. However, Liko does carry a pendant around her neck that's most likely connected.

Now this thing is probably just another Terapagos form. That being said, we can't 100% confirm anything. But you know what this reminds me of?

The last anime reveal we got of a special form of a legendary was Zygarde's Cell, Core, 20%, and 100% forms in the XY anime- of course they weren't added until Sun and Moon- most likely leftovers from canceled Kalos follow ups. The difference here is that Terapagos is heavily tied into the unfinished Area Zero story line and will be relevant in the DLC.

Its not really a lot- in fact a new form or evolution is somewhat given with these types of things. DLC at this point is basically "third" or "enhanced game" territory that gives the special Pokemon associated with them special new forms or evolutions, sometimes both. Look at Kubfu/Urshifu and Calyrex and his horses.

But this does set another important precedent: The anime will now reveal things again.

Again, Zygarde was the last time this happened with a legendary, and I guess for mythicals (which have been wonky territory for a while lately and for a while now basically only exist as movie souvenirs) the last time we had a new out of gen Pokemon revealed was Magearna. Before that, we would get reveals like Mega Mewtwo Y in the Genesect movie or Noivern from Black and White's ending run. Before that, Zorua and Zoroark in the DP Celebi movie. Long before that, we got a lot with Munchlax, Mime Jr, and Bonsly being revealed in the Advanced anime and Lucario and Manaphy in their movies. Latios and Latias in the last Johto movie, Duskull and Wailmer in some shorts, Keckleon in the anime, and then allll the way back in Gen 1 we got Marill and Togepi in the anime, Lugia in the movie, and of course, Ho-Oh in the very first episode.

Since gen 6? No special reveals until now. Not a Galar Pokemon in Alola- I guess we technically got the Paldean starters and Legendaries in post credit scenes in the Journeys anime, but by that point the games had already revealed those and were out, so it doesn't really count.

IMO I miss little drips of new things in the anime and movies and I hope this is a sign of fun things to come like it.

[whichuniverseisthis]

Haven't done my calculations yet, but wondering if I can finish this by Platinum's birthday the 27th. Beware of spoilers!

First - Vs Starly

Previous - Vs Gliscor

Next - Vs Lucario II

Last - Vs Dialga & Palkia VI

Chapter 42 / Chapter 379

Uhh, I feel a vague political note here. It may just be me.

Don't know why I instantly thought about the Ash vs Roxie match in the anime. But this is basically how the player challenges all the npc's in the games.

Dia really doesn't have a fighting strategy. He follows his instincts and acts accordingly. Most of the time it goes well, but as Riley said, he has some big weaknesses.

Props to Yamamoto for the paneling, I usually suck at understanding what's going on in shonen fights, but here every movement is made clear.

This is a pretty cool way to use Wood Hammer. Lucario is a beast to stay on his feet with that much weight on it.

I think the only reason Munchlax never evolved is that it would have been repetitive to have a third Snorlax between the Dexholders.

It's a bit like cheating, but it was a 1 vs 3 fight, so it's fair.

God, Shieldon. I bet he could enter in its mouth full.

Riley hit the right chord here. Dia was the most adamant in protecting the lake trio's secret and fighting Team Galatic, so putting all of this under perspective for him was the best way to force him to actually get stronger.

That said, three days is a very short amount of time to practice. In the games it would be plenty of time, but for them it's real life, and the bomb is a much bigger and real problem.

[babymorte]

this is my favorite! he was my first shiny pokemon ever. i found him as a trapinch allll the way back when i was playing emerald when i was like 8. i saw the little blue dude and the little twinkle thing happen, and i was like 😱😱😱 i made sure to take extra caution catching it. and my silly goose self had a guidebook and looked up what it's fully evolved form looked like and decided it vaguely enough like a dragonfly that that's what i'll name it 😂 and i've been porting him up through the games throughout the years all the way into pokemon home ☺️ along with my swampert from back then! they're always my top 2. i also spent a week on a replay of pokemon y searching the mini desert area there for a shiny trapinch. i eventually found one, but also caught 2 shiny gible in the process! 😂

a bunch of my other faves are empoleon, electravire, lapras, skeledirge, ludicolo, sableye, armaldo, munchlax, pachirisu, victini, articuno, krookodile, fraligatr, hisuian typhlosion, reuniclus, maractus, popplio, grookey, and klawf :3

i adore your selection of favorites 🤭 we love mimikyu, piplup, litwick, and magikarp!!! i too have been craving to play stadium. i also have stadium 2! but don't have 64 currently- its a shame they never made a 3rd stadium game 😫

yo that’s so dope!! you honestly sound like me taking your pokemon with you like that 😅 that’s some serious dedication ✨

i like your picks too~! you honestly had me at pachirisu i was literally just saying the other day i need a pachi stuffie for my pokemon collection 😂

ah i haven’t played stadium 2 but i do own it 😅 stafium was one of the first games i ever played with my brothers so it has a super special spot in my heart~ who’s your squad in stadium?

i always went with articuno, ninetails, mr mime, jinx, dugtrio, voltorb, rattata and victreebel as my set and ninetails, jinx, and victreebel have taken me through that entire game SO many times 😂

we need a freaking remake if not for the arcade mode alone like clefairy says and run rattata run could be their own games and i would play the shit out of them 😅 like an endless runner for run rattata run flippin yes please 😤🙏🏻