#Circle of Arceus

[csolarstorm]

AZ's Floette & The Circle of Arceus

Image from: Forgotten Dex, the Lost Forms

Back when I was writing Eternal Flower Files: Sacred Geometry, I figured out that the Eternal Flower that belongs to AZ's Floette maps really well onto the Circle of Arceus.

Here's a breakdown that shows how the Circle of Arceus fits the design of the flower:

It matches so well that I don't think it's a coincidence - GameFreak probably designed this strange flower to match up with the circle.

Now, there are a lot of hexagram-based symbols in anime. This article from Comic Book Resources does a great job explaining the significance of the hexagram in the east and west, and why it's a shorthand for divinity and magic in anime.

But I think there's more to it than both shapes just being hexagrams.

I think this design choice comes down to two things. One, the Eternal Flower is probably based on the Philosopher's Stone, the divine substance in alchemy that grants eternal life.

Even though Floette is the one that was brought back to life, the machine that revived her looks like a giant Eternal Flower itself. There are definitely organic petals emanating from the center during the blast.

Two, Eternal Flower Floette is almost definitely inspired by the fleur de lys. To recap, legend has it that the first King of France, King Clovis, adopted the fleur de lys as the symbol of France after he was given a lily by the Virgin Mary during his baptism.

This divine lily is said to have sprung up from the tears of Eve as she left Eden. (Source) Like the Philosopher's Stone, lilies are symbols of rebirth.

Image from: clker.com

So if Eternal Flower Floette is partially based on this holy lily, this flower of light so entwined with the mythology of France, it would make sense to connect it to Arceus, this non-denominational Poke-god that combines myths from all over the world.

And we see this divine symbolism further with Eternal Flower Floette's signature move, Light of Ruin. It feels like something that would turn you into a pillar of salt if you looked at it. Then again, the Ultimate Weapon's power turned Pokemon to pillars of stone.

What does this mean for Legends: Z-A? I have a feeling that Z-A is more of a sequel to Legends: Arceus that we'd expect from a Kalos game. I think Arceus will still have a presence in Z-A as the Alpha to Zygarde's Zed, even if it's just in spirit.

...

This is the latest entry in The Eternal Flower Files, my series about analyzing Eternal Flower Floette, King AZ, and their part in the history of Kalos.

The Eternal Flower Files: The Sun King

The Eternal Flower Files: Flowers of the Fleur de Lys

Eternal Flower Files Short: Thismia

The Eternal Flower Files: Sacred Geometry

[front-facing-pokemon]

[leonisloresmith]

Thank you pokemon leaks we all say in unison.

Here’s my interpretation of the Arceus circle as I choose to believe it and for the fic I’m writing.

Long explanation about which pokemon each circle stands for is beneath the read more-

In this interpretation, all of the pokemon included here are gods in the pokemon world. Most ascended to their roles, having once been normal people or pokemon, but many were just born for their roles.

First we have the innermost sections of the pantheon: the Origin Circle and the Rules of the Universe.

The Origin Circle is the innermost circle that includes The High God Arceus and Their favorite creations Palkia, Dialga, Giratina, and a fourth non-canon fic-specific individual. These gods are usually deemed the most important ones as they hold the fabric of reality together.

The orientation of Palkia and Dialga can change but they must be inline along Arceus AND Palkia must be closest to Rayquaza. Giratina is non-symmetrical on purpose. And Arceus must always be at the center of the entire pantheon circle.

The three gods that sit on the line of the Origin Circle are Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre. I’ll get to them later.

The Rules of the Universe include everything within both triangles and the circles at their points. Let’s just call it the Triangle.

The inner triangle is connected at its points by the Lake Guardians: Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. They are the gods of consciousness and are just as important as the gods (excluding Arceus) within the Origin Circle.

The outer triangle is connected at its points by Regigigas, Ho-oh, and Lugia. The orientation of these points to the rest of the pantheon circle doesn’t really matter, but some orientations have more symbolic meaning than others (like Uxie being next to Regigigas for knowledgeable craftsmen).

Regigigas is the World Smith and one of the elder/father gods, older than even the Lake Guardians. It can make living bodies, but must work with the Lake Guadians to give those bodies minds of their own. The five gods connected immediately to it are the Legendary Giants, who do not have minds but are considered their own individual gods. Regidrago and Regieleki are younger than the other three Giants and are considered infant gods, their places on the circle are to the bottom left and right of Regigigas (the spots not symmetrical with the other two triangle point circles).

Lugia and Ho-oh are usually depicted making the base or the Triangle because they are the Guadians of All-Worldly Balance, or the yin and yang to Regigigas’ qi. The Legendary Birds answer to Lugia as gods of the seasons and the Legendary Beasts answer to Ho-oh as the gods of resurrection and cycles.

At the end of the day, the work these gods do is vital to the maintaining of the rules that dictate how the world works. They are the “rules of the universe.”

Now Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre sit at the edge of the Origin Circle as ambassadors to Arceus, which are called the Courtly Champions. These champions oversee basically everyone else I haven’t mentioned yet. These three and the rest of the gods are part of what’s called the Heveanly Courts.

The Heavenly Courts are set in the pantheon circle between the aspects of the mind, meaning that the membership of each court is based on how well each God’s throne (the thing they’re god of) fits between each grouping of the Lake Guardians’ thrones. These gods largely act independent of any greater plans or prophecies because their service to their thrones is “unnecessary” compared to the vital work of the gods within the Triangle.

Rayquaza champions the combination of knowledge and willpower.

Groudon champions the combination of willpower and emotion.

And Kyogre champions the combination of knowledge and emotion.

The Heavenly Courts themselves have four ranks (five if you count infant gods as a separate group):

Courtly Champions

Worldly Boundaires

Foundational Principles

outer ring gods with no actual special title

infant gods (who also get no special title)

Worldly Boundaires are the six gods within but at the edge of the outermost circle. These gods are important enough in the pantheon circle to be too important to become Courtly Champions. Instead, their position marks the edge of what counts as godly and symbolically “encompass” the world within its boundaries and rules.

The gods with these roles are:

Mew

Zygarde

Jirachi

Necrozma

Celibi

Terapagos

The last group I’ll talk about are the Foundational Principles. These gods are often replaced based on their thrones and the changing of the exact meaning conveyed by their different combinations. Basically, which combination of gods will best describe one certain definition of combined knowledge and emotion, etc.

I’ll just list the current Principles and their thrones to show the current combinations:

Knowledge and Willpower:

Zekrom - the god of dragons, twins, and ideals

Reshiram - the god of dragons, twins, and truth

Pecharunt- the god of puppets, the god of wants and desires

Knowledge and Emotion:

Calyrex - the god of wise leaders and kings

Cresselia - the god of good dreams

Darkrai - god of bad dreams / nightmares

Willpower and Emotion:

Shaymin - the god of flowers and healing

Hoopa - the god of mischief and doorways

Enamorus (sometimes including all the forces of nature) - the god(s) of nature, the change of seasons, and natural disasters

The rest of the gods are all equal in standing but have more important thrones based on how you look at things. I won’t list them all out cause this is very long.

Thank you if you’ve read this far!!!

[fallershipping]

Giratina ripping gashes in the spacetime continuum just to get Arceus's attention and drag the alpha beast out of its den seems like a very silly, cat-like thing to do...

But to be honest? Great, giant dragons with god-like powers but with the territorial aggression and temperamental attitude of a wild beast is kind of terrifying. There is no 'divine authority that acts in mysterious ways' like what we think human deities would be like. A rampaging Giratina, Dialga, or Palkia getting into a scuffle is like... Two lions fighting each other atop an ant hill, kicking up dirt and sand and ants flying off and not caring if they're ok or not.

Arceus is known as the ALPHA Pokemon, but perhaps in the sense of being the 'Apex Animal' or highest of the pecking order over the four divine dragons (if we count arceus as a dragon)

Each has their role to play and their niche in their celestial ecosystem... But each is also arrogant. Palkia and Dialga take on forms that mock Arceus's figure, and Giratina does a bold move to challenge Arceus for alpha status.

Arceus... Really wants these lizards to leave it the fuck alone and to stop fucking up its divine patching and knitting of the fabric of reality.

[volodei]

agshdhdhd sorry i got distracted by corny medical kdramas so i got nothing drawn all week 💔 pls take this old bust i drew of volo while trying to find out which glasses shape suited him best for now 😘

[luvdalkxdlk]

Arceus Decides That Putting N Who Wants To Liberate Pokemon Into The Past Where People Fear Pokemon Is A Good Idea (Spoilers, It's A Terrible Idea, Especially with God Seeking Volo) - The Fic.

Note that this is an absolute crack idea where being such an N and Volo fan, who only watched YouTube moments where they star in and bop to their music and ofc have more reedemable characteristics for such characters because I admit on my bias... Without fully knowing pokemon lore nor actually wanting to deep dive into it when I just want to give the vibe, the aesthetic, the dream of putting my two characters together and see the dynamic, the chaos, the craziness.

So here's the deal, the idea. That while I do like N after he figured out Ghetsis manipulated him and turned to a grayer thinking to thus become the sweet character we love that wants to hear our pokemons' voice through battle and become a great ally... I also want to explore what he was before, with the manipulation of Ghetsis when he wholeheartedly believed in the liberation of Pokemon, before the canonical events of Black & White and say just after being let out of the castle to explore the world in a brief period of time as Ghetsis might allow, to understand being King of Team Plasma and honestly doing God knows what. So N, our protag who wants to help Pokemon, understand the world, learn to become King with an idea about the Pokemon League and in search to find the Dragons of Truth / Ideals (leaning to either one, who knows).

Then one day, a rift suddenly popped up to him, sucked him in and he fell to the sky to Hisui, where P:LA happens and that N has some understanding towards because while Unova is his hometown, he was educated as the best as King (biased knowledge tho because if he was taught well, he wouldn't be so black and white about people and Pokemon, seriously Ghetsis...) so he was aware of the other regions, and with his smart curiosity with a thirst of knowledge because he is a smart chara coz remember that cube, and his philosophical rambles etc that being in Hisui meant he was in Sinnoh's past. Combined with the Arc phone and about the deity to seek out all Pokemon, plus the fact that in this era where people surprisingly feared Pokemon which N had no idea of... as King, with the idea to liberate Pokemon from people, even in such situations, he knew what can be done:

Find a way to present time. The Arc phone is related to that, so he would follow Arceus' will to seek out pokemon and learn what he needed for the path needed.

Check out the current state of the legends in Unova, whether they were still Kyurem or split into Reshiram and Zekrom because finding out what happened to those Pokemon in real time might help him locate whatever happened to them in present time. Also leaving an impression in the past might help to be recognized in the present, as long as he doesn't overdo it.

Plant seeds of separating Pokemon from people in the past. Although there was the paradox of chaing past and messing up with the future, if people can only fear and abuse Pokemon, if that was what the world of people and Pokemon together amounted to, then N is determined as heck to stop whatever happened with those newfound Pokeballs and at least made sure people stay far away from Pokemon and that they should be separated. Pokemon suffered enough.

Because I don't know lore enough, P:LA kinda runs about the same way it usually would but more emphasis on N and Volo dynamic because that's what happens as a sucker to both characters. But it would also largely change, because N can talk to Pokemon. N will obviously keep it a secret that he can talk to Pokemon if people fear Pokemon so what would people think about someone who can talk to them and he didn't want any trouble in an unknown timeline. So let's see what points I can make of the aesthetic, the vibe, the insanity...

N brought Zorua with him, who had disguised as a small Joltik to nestle in N's hair because they are BFFs for life, your Honour. Don't @ me

N refuses to catch the three starter Pokemon into Pokeballs, but went along with it for the Professor when he realized he was in the past and he needed more information and a place to live. He was about to make excuses that he was unable to catch the Pokemon after finding them himself, to urge them to freedom but see it go sideways because they were fascinated about a person who can actually talk to Pokemon and ended up with the Professor anyway. Also, when asked why N didn't catch them in Pokeballs, N stated his dislike reluctantly and yet firmly and the Professor decided to accept it thinking he had the same mentality as the Clans

Still since N was somehow good with Pokemon and he fell out of the sky to bring him into Jubilife Village, meeting Akari and Rei the twins. Getting an Oshawott because felt connected Unovan style... recruited into the Survey Corps because even though he refused to catch them, he somehow worked well with the starter Pokemon and the affinity might help surveying although it was a little tentative because the moment he was in danger...

He was tasked to help complete the Pokedex, which disgusts him. But then he hears that Akari and Rei were among the few Survey Corps people entrusted to the task and if there was one thing to be learned about young kids (or young trainers in his present) that they could be menaces to people and Pokemon alike (caring more for the latter obviously) with that curiosity and crazy wonder that spoke of foolhardiness, recklessness and if he wanted to plant the idea of liberation between people and pokemon... start with young minds (and secretly find his 20 y/o a- being a bit of a father to two young kids because by Kyurem, he might not have lived with people for that long opposed to Pokemon but even he wouldn't wish anything to happen to two children just because of short manpower by the people responsible for them.)

In other words, N will just *pretend* to help with the Pokedex but honestly, he was busy with other things. Anything to further his own goals though.

Kamado doesn't necessarily trust N because from what I kinda figured out about his character, because of fear of Pokemon that anyone who is close to Pokemon like that could be a little red flag although I know that might not the entire thing. N vowed even more to never say a thing about how he can talk to Pokemon.

In exchange for all that, N would have access to what the people in this village know about Hisui and potential access to records so he could know more about the legends, the nations outside etc. Or whatever he can find.

Moving on from that, N meets Volo. N will meet the totally not suspicious merchant who expresses complete interest for someone who fell from the sky and since N has an Oshawott, why not a friendly battle? The Pokeball revolts him so he refuses, hugging Oshawott closer and Volo berates with what's wrong with friendly competition as he summons out his Togepi who looks eager.

N, though revolted, was astounded by Togepi's love for Volo (which evolved into Togetic through friendship so honestly I do want to believe that Volo takes good care of Pokemon in his passion to learn and understand them more) and even when battles still repulsed him, N also can't ignore Togepi's voice, is curious about how a Pokemon who was caught in the first ever Pokeball feel and with Oshawott also surprisingly raring to go, N could only respect Pokemons' wishes. And intervene if things go too far.

It was a close battle and will end up in a tie, because I say so XD Volo will heal both Pokemon, gift N a Potion and offer parting words. N decided that it was because he was a merchant supplying for Pokemon battles that he was like this and thus didn't think highly of him. And yet his interest was piqued at the love Togepi had for Volo, ask whether it is worth for friends to get stronger, to get contained in Pokeballs. All that philosophy, even when the world now was at fear of Pokemon in this era but Volo was among few as N noticed to have a Pokeball and the first to ask for battle. Volo wondered aloud whether a person from the sky had some different mindset but could only offer an answer about curiosity, of 'don't you want to know more about Pokemon' and also at the very fact why wouldn't anyone not want their partner Pokemon to get stronger when wild Pokemon are more likely to attack people for dead. Which causes N to short circuit because it ends up people attacking Pokemon for dead, the abuse that he could not stand for friends. But if it were Pokemon attacking...

At first, he didn't believe but when you somehow find yourself attacked by an Alpha Rapidash and saving two kids who thought it was a good idea to face it in battle just because they got starter Pokemon... N who had lived a long time in the wild with Pokemon and despite very little with human civilization knew it all screamed bad idea and was thankful he befriended enough Pokemon along the way that helped provide a diversion for escape.

Interestingly enough, would that be enough for N to start questioning about the relationships between people and Pokemon, but honestly N lives in the wild before so he knew Pokemon could be aggressive but that was also because of people so his thoughts largely remained unchanged. Reluctantly tho he can see why people would train up their Pokemon to be strong just to survive that. It made the idea of separating Pokemon and people even more urgent than ever, but as circumstances allowed it, he had an understanding of Volo's view. But at the same time, wondered how someone who directs Pokemon in order for survival would have such a tight bond, the love a Pokemon has for who caught them. Something that the very few who owned Pokemon in Pokeballs didn't really have, say a stubborn Pikachu with one of the twins.

That kind of makes meeting the Clan members who ask help for the Nobles thanks to the space-time rift just propel N's curiosity even further because look, the Clans dislike Pokeballs (immediate approval) and just have their Pokemon by their side (what N does so hello kindred spirits) so this makes him eager to accept helping the Clans quell the Nobles' wrath and figure out what happen to propel them to a present with the disgusting Pokeballs and how people who could live alongside Pokemon would end up abusing the very Pokemon that were there with them. It wouldn't change his end goal, but the more he learned, the more he can pinpoint and for the sake of his friends, the less hurt he would let the world inflict on them. Maybe.

Volo appearing out of nowhere that could have scared N out, if not for Zorua always with him to say whoever's approaching, taught the Back-Strike technique which N refuses because he would never use Pokeballs, unusual for a Survey Corp member but reminiscent of the clans. Which piques Volo's interest and left with N's huffed disinterest.

N uses Zorua as some Noble whisperer as an ever changing Pokemon (not that anyone else will know at the time) to calm down Nobles when it was actually N's expertise and somehow summoning friends out of thin air that made him worthy to get the Plates.

Volo 100% freaking out on the Plates, expressed himself as interested in Hisuian ruins and N, despite having somewhat mixed impressions on Volo, knew that this person might be one of the only ones to have any idea about the histories and of legendaries (especially if the clans are arguing about who the Almighty Sinnoh is, when they are just talking about Palkia and Dialgia who cannot match Arceus) and started asking about Unovan legends.

This is how two nerds (kinda) bond with each other, hold interest with each other and can be terrible to each other regardless.

Because I honestly do not know how anyone can change the mind of a Mr. even if it will take me years, decades, centuries to meet Arceus so I land on them sadly enough being terrible menaces together. Or maybe Volo might not change his mind about meeting Arceus, coz why can't we mere mortals have questions about the universe but about changing the world to a happier place with Arceus power just like how N wanted to change a world separated of people and Pokemon, in black and white for happiness.

Actually, those two will clash because I think Volo likes Pokemon enough, curious enough about them and wanted the Pokedex completion to refuse N's vision of a black and white world but N wouldn't budge either.

And yet, maybe it's a little easier for N's worldview to shake a bit, because honestly, the more Nobles N meet, the more of the Clan side by side with Pokemon in happiness and also Legendaries who might not really have problem with people, even if its indifference. Yeah, N needed to find Kyurem just to become a hero and dispel those doubts. Will that be a pretty picture? Nope, but it will be funny.

Time skipping to basically Kamado exiling N out of Jubilife Village, for a lot of reasons from the space time rift and being caught talking to Zorua and understanding him which no one believed even if it is true which makes people think Kamado is just determinely deluded to heap anything against N to bring him into exile and THIS might be when Volo will have something changed by N, in actually speaking with Pokemon.

Because N was in a bad place, even if he could live in the wild, he was shocked by Volo's kindness, was thankful enough, asked to hear Volo's Pokemon voices which he had twice now after yet another battle that led to learning more about a stolen wall fragment few Nobles ago and wanted to hear a third time, not necessarily through battle. Because Volo, despite being something N would inherently despise, from those Pokeballs to the interest in the Pokedex and also using those mercantile needs to fuel Pokemon battles because apparently Survey Corps being what would bring his present was something that would make business boom... and yet despite all that, Volo's Pokemon trusted, respected and dare he say it, even love him. Not any differently than how N and his own friends love each other. Clan members who do not confine their Pokemon in Pokeballs were one thing, even if maybe forced to be stuck with their *owners* regardless but someone like Volo... the closest thing to the Poketrainer he knew of the present.

He listened to Togetic, confirmed he could hear Pokemon's voices by relaying what Togetic had said, all good things from knowing Volo since hatching from an Egg, partnering up together as a Gingko Guild Merchant using Togepi's cheeriness to soothe customers and showing out and yet protecting the very young Togepi in the world that they promised to do the same for Volo...

It left Volo stunned, for more reasons than one, and also he definitely asked N whether he can talk to a deity. The answer is maybe because he would like to talk to Legendaries (cough Kyurem cough)

Their interests was piqued by one another and an exchange was made, with a trust somewhat forged between them after N's secret was out and Volo was the only one to lend a helping hand. N expressed his desire to find Kyurem and Volo would like to know more about Hisuian legends but he would see what he could do.

I'm not making a full fic of this, because first of all, this is a vibe and aesthetic SO SKIP ENTIRELY TO THE POKE WIELDER VOLO VS TEAM PLASMA KING N because imagine how N feels about Volo when he has the Spooky Plate all along, was the reason why the space time rift existed which led to N being here in the first place and finally that he was leading N on to get the plates thanks to his success when Volo hadn't as much luck as N...

Yet Volo's monologue was something N understood as a somewhat nerd with a burning curiosity and passion about the questions left blank, which is why he was eager to seek out Truth and Ideals when Volo wanted to reach out to the Creator, even about a happier world because it was similar to how N wanted to do it even if Volo phrases it in a way that unnerves N and he now wonders about his own consequences...

Still, because Volo felt that N understood him more than anyone else, especially considering the fact that he got a bit of his life story out of Togetic and all that, also them being nerds together. He offered N that they could change the world together but N was wavering and while he did say he agree, they may differ on the ways that the world be remade. Because will Volo's world still have Pokemon or will they be separated as intended to?

They battle, only for their ideas of a different world. It was different than how N would envision because present wise, this might be the equivalent to hero vs hero, Reshiram vs Zekrom and for Volo, it felt different only because even when N was Arceus chosen with the Arc phone and all, N had similar ideals where he can't let questions go unanswered, with the burning drive and passion and it was easy enough to hate when someone so similar was chosen when he was not and rather chase a lesser legend but at the same time, N was an interesting character that fueled his own curiosity being the only person who can talk to Pokemon, who can understand and could even help him talk to a deity.

There was less ill will, more stake to the world but not to them despite their own personal stakes, not really duelling to the death but more like duelling each other for N to understand Pokemons' voices between each other and to see who's convictions were strong in battle while Volo wanted to understand the Arceus' chosen might, why he wanted to separate the black and white when he so obviously bonded with Pokemon like his own team who had his back in the harsh world of Hisui and so forth.

So we know Volo will have something like Cynthia's theme and also Girantina with Origin so it's like 8 Pokemon. So what does N have, that he can somehow summon because he straight up refuses Pokeballs, something he didn't do in B&W games I know but still somewhat canonical to his character. CALL IT ABUSING GAME MECHS ANYWAY AND SUMMON NOBLES USING ITEMS THAT COULD SUMMON TO BATTLE INSTEAD OF GETTING A RIDE.

Also, I'm going to throw in Kyurem for N because the time shennanigan stated in this, to look for Reshiram and Zekrom in his present, he... might have messed up with Unovan's past lore when he wanted to meet and understand Kyurem (DESPITE BEING IN HISUI BUT TELEPORT EXISTS AND HE WILL PRIOIRITZE) that ended up N hijacking a hero role somehow, able to summon Kyurem later and so forth. (I know this is in no way accurate but it makes the N vs Volo battle even more chaotic)

ALSO, N would be able to hear all of Volo's Pokemon team who somewhat knew about Volo's plan, understand the desire of a happier world but believe him going the wrong way about it and pleaded N to change both of their minds because when N wanted to battle for Pokemon liberation, the Pokemon steadfastly refused that notion and battled their hardest against it. Which led to an even battle to be honest.

And then there is GIRANTINA, when N somehow beat all of Volo's Pokemon down to their last HP that they struggle to hold on. And to hear confirmation from the PokeSatan themselves that Volo is indeed responsible in collaboration about the space time rift, agreeing with vengeance about kicking Arceus' ass and wanting to know what the Creator was thinking about this world...

From here, I'm going to make it a tiny bit anticlimatic when it is two legendaries Kyurem and Girantina who even through battle acted as the mediator between both Volo and N to reach a compromise because somehow they will end up as a tie, to the bitter end when both Pokemon refused to deal the final blow which both N and Volo knew what it meant.

N's convictions were not enough with a wavering heart that had met Legendaries and Pokemon like Volo who did not want the black and white world he envisioned which was something he respected out of Pokemon because they were friends and the journey proved that a mixture of gray, such a chemical reaction might not be such a bad thing after all.

Meanwhile, Volo still rather have the world a better place, but with N, he realized such a definition could differ for anyone. He realized what his Pokemon battling so hard for N meant, with the idea of what world recreation meant to his fellow partners that tried so hard for him but he honestly still wanted to win because he was kinda petty against the Arceus' chosen, about what makes one so special. It just meant PRIMARILY, he just wanted to seek out Arceus, wanted to know everything by solving Hisui's riddle to reach the end goal of a meeting and because he wished to be chosen as much as N was, to wield Arceus' power which he wished could also be right. And yet... despite everything sad and painful going through, a passion can cool even if curiosity could not and when everything just didn't seem to work in seeking out Arceus, to the point he would do anything, maybe now there will be a less destructive way. As for the world itself to making it a better place, maybe... that could be done by themselves, especially when nerding out with N and everything that happened by his own doing did make his world a better place. At least a little.

Girantina and Kyurem for their chosens, as they felt like they had words for the Creator themselves, realized the impasse enough to find out that both might have a goal they could compromise on and work together in the end. Seek out Arceus, kick their ass and get their questions answered.

For Volo and N's curiosity, whether it be for why this world, why people and pokemon are not separated, why do sad and painful things happen, it was something they can mutually agree upon.

In conclusion, if this fic ever be made because I cannot be bothered to look up B&W or P:LA or Pokemon lore in general to get this story done right, N and Volo will be somewhat semi-redeemed while being menaces together to search upon Arceus more as rabid researches than world destroying villains. Yeah, they can be redeemed AND be menaces together. Shoutout to the villains who had Legendaries on their side through friendship and partnership instead of being forced <33

Also, note in every way that because I'm practically biased to N and Volo in interpretation that it might not be completely accurate but I'm just letting out my crazy. As for plenty other charas who might make it to this fic such as Ingo, Cogita, Ghetsis to name a few, I wanted to focus on N and Volo BECAUSE I had too much thoughts about them. Also, imagining N breaking game mechs that no other Pokemon protag would do with how he's friends with every Pokemon while Volo already broke the 6 pokemon rule as a Pokemon antag... Glad to put this out here. Salute~

[celestialholz]

Look, I haven't even played the DLC yet (getting on tonight dw guys) but sometimes you've just gotta ask yourself a deeply important question in life:

Who's the core-wyrm and who's the fore-wyrm?

(Also I know that 'place' is gonna be Kitakami but also I WONDER WHAT PLACE THAT'S A REFERENCE TO.) 😒

[steel--fairy]

looking at the leaks like 👀

[hisuianhellion]

m!a

You are teleported on top of a tree…

Rose flicked through her phone, the activity tab on Rotomblr flaring with plenty of notes, both reblogging her chats and liking her answers. It was honestly the most Tumblr-based activity she had ever gotten. Her personal blog back on her original world of Earth could barely keep up. One day? She had FIFTY likes. From one person! Who could've even seen that COMING! It made her giddy just thinking about it!

But hey. She was comfy in the wheelchair. She sat herself back, letting the locks stay in place as she closed her eyes and just... breathed in the sea air.

It was so relaxing... No, not yet. Focus, girl. Just a few more asks to go, and honestly she should start at the bottom and go up--

Wait. Wait hold on. What the fuck was this one--

One moment she was on the dock. Staring out into the sea, letting the air hit her comfortably.

The next, the crashing of branches and the shifting of weight, landing her SLIGHTLY backwards and staring up into the sky, petrified to move. She inhaled. She exhaled. What the FUCK, anon?! She was in a FUCKING WHEELCHAIR with a BUM LEG, this was NOT CASH MONEY-- Hold on was that running water? She heard water.

She also heard voices. More voices than she expected to hear. She twisted her head a bit, trying to look around for a moment before glancing down to a few... modernly dressed humans. On a PAVED WALKING STREET. The running water? It was a fountain!

WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE?!

"... Little help please. T-... Teleportation mishap." One of the others nodded, pulling out a phone to call for some support. Which Rose caught immediately: she wasn't just in "more" modern times. She was in a timeframe she was familiar with the workings of. Which means that guy just called the fire department while the others, in rather normal-sounding ENGLISH, spoke to her easily, asking if she was okay, what caused this, what Pokémon had gotten the poor girl stuck up there.

Well, anon? She was in a tree.

No one expected that tree to be in Central Castelia, though.

[csolarstorm]

The Circle of Arceus Doesn't Need Modern Legendaries

(Source: Centro Leaks)

That's right, it's time for me to post a theory about this.

A lot of people are pointing out that this diagram is obsolete simply because there's been five more regions of legendaries since it was made and it's been...almost 20 years. I think that's only partly true. It actually holds up surprisingly well in modern Pokemon.

GameFreak definitely tried to get away from the whole "legendaries are gods" thing after Gen IV, mostly because where do you go after Arceus? So you don't get a lot of newer legendaries involved in the creation of the Pokemon world.

Plus, GameFreak used to have these random moments where they worried about continuity. Why do we need incense to evolve the Baby Pokemon from Sinnoh? You think players are going to complain that Munchlax should've hatched in Johto? Well, you might be right...but still.

That might be why a lot of newer legendaries have an alibi that explains why they weren't in the Pokemon World when it was created. Many of them were either in Space, or "Ultra" Space:

The Orignal Dragon of Unova

The Cosmog Line

Necrozma

Eternatus

By the way, some professor really should look into the reason so many incredibly dangerous space dragons are just dropping into the Pokemon world.

Then there's legendaries that are strong in the context of their story, and some are even worshiped, but they're more like regional gods and myths.

The Swords of Justice

The Tapus

The Legendary Heroes

Kubfu Line

Calyrex and His Steeds

The Paradox Duo

The Treasures of Ruin

Ogerpon

Most modern mythicals unfortunately fall hard into this category, to the point that some are literally just a monkey, Zarude. Actually, there's no need to list the others. You get the idea.

But who does fit the circle?

That leaves the Aura Trio, the Forces of Nature, and...Terapagos. In my opinion, these legendaries would be right at home in the circle. The Aura Trio deals in life and death, which is pretty major.

That Yggdrasil inspiration would make the Aura Trio right at home on the tree of life from the beta origin story. You know, that "giant tree of life" that Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre broke apart, that turned into the sky, earth, and ocean?

The three gathered in a circle and prayed, and the seed sprouted. The sprout quickly grew, and became the giant tree of life. However, the tree continued to grow, soon filling the entire world, and no one was able to move.

(...) RAYQUAZA wrapped its body around the tree of life. GROUDON and KYOGRE slammed their bodies into the tree of life. Eventually, the tree fell and broke into three pieces.

REI, AI, and HAI prayed, saddened that the tree would rot away like this. Then, the pieces of the broken tree would transform into the sky, earth, and ocean. RAYQUAZA became the pillar that holds the sky.

(Source: Centro Leaks)

Yeah, now I'm thinking the Aura Trio are more of a second try at this whole tree of life thing at GameFreak. Because the whole "Rayquaza wrapped its body around the tree" gives me major Yggdrasil vibes. Surprise Pokemon theorists, Nidhogg isn't Zygarde...it's Rayquaza!

Rayquaza did Ragnarok!

But some people think the Aura Trio are aliens who came to earth on the meteor that the Anistar City Moondial was made from, so that would explain why the Aura Trio aren't in the circle. After all, the Unovan Original Dragon came from a meteor just one generation earlier.

There's also the alleged "original story" rumor for XY that claimed that XY was originally about aliens. The Teraleak probably has something to say about that. So the jury's out about the Aura Trio - they could belong in the circle, but they might be aliens.

(Wait, the rumor was that the alien plot was cut for time? As in, it would have been included (and maybe made less "weird") if they didn't rush? So is THAT was what in Southern Kalos...)

Or maybe my theory is wrong. Deoxys is on the outer layer of the circle after all. Maybe Arceus doesn't discriminate against aliens, they just have to stay on the outer layer. It's not that much of a difference either way - there's plenty of room on the outer layer with the other mythicals. I'm talking about the head honchos really.

The Forces of Nature probably belong on the circle, if we're being honest. They kind of clash with the Legendary Birds' role in the mythos as "weather" gods, but they should be on there.

Lastly...Terapagos is an enigma when it comes to this whole post. It might be more powerful than Eternatus, since "tera" is more power than "giga", right? It's so much power it can literally warp a Pokemon's type. Like Arceus, or genetic engineering.

And Terapagos isn't an alien like Eternatus, at least there's no evidence of it. It's been stuck underground, but it used to live on land. I would say it's just a really, really powerful Pokemon that isn't technically godly, but it's literally based on the World Turtle, another creation myth.

It's in the same boat as the Aura Trio, only it's not an alien. Except, it is responsible for the "Stellar" type, as in stars. And there is this Pokedex entry:

An old expedition journal describes the sight of this Pokémon buried in the depths of the earth as resembling a planet floating in space.

Who says that planet is Earth? What if that's its homeworld?

Terapagos doesn't just borrow inspiration from the world, but the idea of worlds itself, or the philosophical idea of "turtles all the way down". Not only does it depict a world, but a world on a world. A world on a world on a -

I don't know how to end this. Are all my Teraleak theories going to be this long? I hope not. Happy Teraleak! Enjoy the leak!

---

Edit: Changed the name of the title. It used to be called "Newer Legendaries Just Aren't in Arceus' Personal Circle".

All pics other than the Arceus circle are from Bulbapedia. It's easier that way.

[mothman-dan]

I havent seen this anywhere yet so

heres the (leaked) origin of the pokemon universe story with the correct pokemon names in place of the beta ones

(original text here)

EDIT: just woke up but theres an updated translated version here. I've gone ahead and changed the text below to the updated version Please note that there is no mention of giratina in the updated version (which makes more sense based on some other info we have)

In the beginning, there was a vortex of chaos. All mixed slowly together, and everything was a blur. One day, a large egg appeared in the center of the chaos. For a long time, the egg continued to shake.

Eventually, the vortex stopped, and the egg broke. The absolute god Arceus was born.

The scattered fragments of the egg transformed into giants, and attacked the newly born Arceus. However, Arceus quickly grew, and continuously defeated the giants. At last, after a fierce battle, Arceus defeated all the giants.

The wounded Arceus created an alternate self. As the left and right side of Arceus’s body were different, it created two selves. Arceus gathered the body of the defeated giants, and poured its blood into them.

From the one who resembled his left poured out light, so Arceus named it Palkia, the god of light. From the one who resembled his right poured out darkness, so Arceus named it Dialga, the god of darkness.

To the two, Arceus commanded that the world be filled with people, and fell into a deep slumber.

Although Palkia and Dialga were different in appearance, they loved one another, were joined, and had many children. However, there still existed no world, and their frail children, who had nowhere to go, died one after the other. Though overcome with great sadness, Palkia and Dialga thought of creating a world where all could live healthy and prosperous lives.

Palkia and Dialga called their children Uxie, the god of eyes; Mesprit, the god of heart; and Azelf, the god of voice.

When Uxie open its eyes, everything that was there appeared. There was now contour and color in the world. When Mesprit wished for it, everything that was there could be felt. A sense of calm spread. When Azelf shouted, everything that was there trembled. A blessed timbre began to resonate.

To the three, Palkia and Dialga gave the seed of life and told them to nurture it.

The three gathered in a circle and prayed, and the seed sprouted.

The sprout quickly grew, and became the giant tree of life. However, the tree continued to grow, soon filling the entire world, and no one was able to move.

The three asked Father Palkia and Mother Dialga for help.

Dialga and Palkia joined once again, and had three children. The god of the sky, RAYQUAZA; the god of the earth, GROUDON; and the god of the ocean, KYOGRE were born.

RAYQUAZA wrapped its body around the tree of life. GROUDON and KYOGRE slammed their bodies into the tree of life. Eventually, the tree fell and broke into three pieces.

Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf prayed, saddened that the tree would rot away like this. Then, the pieces of the broken tree would transform into the sky, earth, and ocean.

RAYQUAZA became the pillar that holds the sky. The shadow that reached into the heavens became the three gods who sustain the sky: Dragonite, Gyarados, and Tyranitar. The air filled the sky, and the stars sparkled.

GROUDON became the land that covers the earth. The roar of the diving land became the three gods who sustain the earth: DAABU, SAAN, and GOODON. The earth shook, and the mountains stirred.

KYOGRE became the veins of water that embraced the oceans. The ripples that disappeared into the seas became the three gods who sustain the ocean: LATIAS, METAGROSS, and LATIOS. The ocean was filled with water, and the waves whispered.

Thus the world was born.

Palkia and Dialga, and the various gods, were very pleased with this, and filled this world with their children.

That peaceful world was a paradise for the children of god.

The children of god would continue to multiply.

Through that, words would change little by little.

Over time, the gods began would call those who lived in the world by two names.

The children of god who resembled the great father, Palkia, would be called “Pokémon”. The children of god who resembled the great mother, Dialga, were called “humans”.

The absolute god Arceus will soon awaken, and seeing the world filled with its descendants, will promise great abundance and prosperity.

[quartings]

I translated and analyzed the leaked Pokemon Theogony diagram!

Here's the non-spoiler version from the Sinjoh ruins Arceus event! The leaked spoiler version with specific and leaked names is below the cut!

Things to note:

1) Tex is Regigigas maybe because it sounds like "Tectonic" + "Rex"? Since it moves the continents? (Dumb joke about how the Regi family can be found below Clay's Driftveil City in B2W2)

2) Despite appearences, the notes say the pink circle is for the god of time, and the blue one is for the god of space- could be cool to see Dialga and Palkia with swapped colors! Also note that Giratina isn't in the original version, but has a circle for it awkwardly added in the final version.

3) Pseudos have their own section- weird that Latias, Latios, and Gyarados are Pseudos but Salamence isn't. They're all bunched up in a section called "Supporting Legendaries". The three gen 4 placeholders for "Dahabu", "Saan", and "Gordon" could be for Garchomp and two other lesser legendaries like Cresselia and Darkrai or something. Or since they omitted Salamence, they could also not include Garchomp and the circle could be for something like Heatran instead.

4) Note that "Supporting Legendaries" are different from the birds, beasts, and regis, which are called "Servant Legendaries".

5) Also "Smilay" (Smile>Gratitude>Shaymin) and "Birthly" (Egg/Phione>Manaphy) are my speculations on the mythicals, but no confirmation, obviously.

6) Also there's a decent chance most of this is now moot since this diagram is from 2005 and we've had over 5 generations since then.

[imperatorbaronius]

Thought I would attempt my own version of the Arceus symbol meaning. There's a deeper explanation below and feel free to ask any questions

The centre is Arceus with the Origin Forms for Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. Lore wise the strongest forms of those three and the original forms of them before being weakened later on.

The next ring has Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza, in charge of land, sea and sky. Groudon and Kyogre use their primal forms as again, they're considered the original forms, Rayquaza uses the mega design more to match them than any particular lore reason as lore states Rayquaza doesn't mega evolve until humanity has been around for a good long while.

Then there's the lake trio, Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie. With Knowledge, Emotion and Willpower

Then there's Ho-oh, Lugia and Regigigas, each with three guardian Pokémon. The birds for Lugia, Beasts for Ho-oh and Golems for Regigigas (I imagine Regidrago and Regieleki as kinda…failed golems that were sealed away)

The circle before has Pokémon deemed guardians, sometimes assisting the respective Titan. Tornadus, Thunderus and Landorus for Rayquaza, Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde for Groudon and Latias, Latios and the original Unova dragon for Kyogre.

Lastly the other features mythicals, typically deemed to maintain a smaller aspect. Mew for life, Celebi for time flow, Jirachi for wishes, Shaymin for nature, Cresselia for Dreams and Darkrai for nightmares.

Also included in that but slightly above would be Ho-oh, Lugia and Regigigas. Ho-oh maintains the winds, Lugia the Ocean currents and Regigigas the continental drift

[ideahat-universe]

It's like Pokemon but mask off.

I like monster catching games and like with most westerners my first taste of the genre was with Pokemon. But it didn't end with Pokemon. A lot of people who fell in love with Pokemon rarely extended their interest to other titles. As a result many other members in the genre languished in obscurity. The most notable ended up being Digimon but Digimon never got a big piece of the pie, but when rpgs were having a monster catcher craze I jumped in.

Monster Rancher, Dragon Quest Monster, Digimon, Azure Dreams, Robopon, and even something completely off the wall.

And after playing that and many more I had my illusion completely shattered on how good Pokemon actually was.

Every game had a little something that Pokemon either dragged their feet on having or never had.

Robopon gives you the ability to customize and change your abilities based on whatever load-out you gave your Robopon. On a surface level this looks like something that makes the identity of your Robopon irrelevant but that's far from the case as items have to be compatible and certain levels of compatibility make moves more or less effective. But the most important part is acknowledging is that when this game came out Pokemon still had sparse, single use TMs and HMs that were permanent. Robopon allowed you to access to basically every move in the game, you just had to discover which combination of items on which Robopon enables it.

Dragon Quest Monsters 1 has a breeding system and mandates that you use it. Not only are bred monsters stronger than wild ones but carefully bred monsters can have unique and very powerful offspring and even if you settle on a specific monster and want it to be your main, the monsters have level caps that are less than 100 meaning that you'll fall off if you insist on holding a monster indefinitely.

Dragon Quest Monsters 1 came out a full year before Pokemon Gold and Silver came out and when that came out and had breeding as well, the differences were brutal. You were expected to wait out the egg hatching (as if running around in a circle was ever going to be a fun game mechanic), then your egg would hatch and the Pokemon would either be the mother in its base form or a not Ditto. But wait, it's even worse. Pokemon have breed compatibility that is obfuscated with vague terms and now instead of mixing and matching at will you have to consult an insane flow chart to divine who can make babies with whom and you just end up using Ditto anyways.

But the worst part is that outside of shiny breeding (and learning a couple of moves from the parents that can't be acquired otherwise) and getting baby forms you don't get anything special from breeding Pokemon because any random Pokemon can have the stats you're looking for meaning that catching Pokemon is going to be better than breeding in almost every regard.

Azure Dreams allowed you to fight with your monsters and your monsters followed you around in the over world. Two years prior Pokemon Yellow came out with the trademark mechanic of having Pikachu following you in the over world. But this feature would not consistently stay in future titles and it took till Arceus for a trainer to be ever slightly more involved in the fight than just standing and giving commands.

Monster Rancher sacrifices a lot of commonly loved mechanics in monster games in order to have the most definitive monster training experience. Monsters have to train via mini games and non-combat related activities.

Monsters get tired, they get sick, they eat, they have favorite and least favorite foods, they can get hurt, they can get angry, they can run away from home, they can cheat their training, and they can fight with or without your guidance. When you play Monster Rancher you will miss out on the exploration and the range of creatures but when you let your Pokemon get one shot because you didn't know the match-up and basically nothing happens to you or them you'll miss how Monster Rancher makes you care about the well being of the Monster and when you're in a cave or a patch of grass or a large body of water, grinding out experience by fighting a small handle of Pokemon over and over again (back then! I know experience gain is really easy now but back then) you'll wish you can just go to a real gym and exercise the experience you want.

Digimon World changes from game to game but the very first one for the PSone is THE game that screwed up how I felt about Pokemon's basic mechanics.

Digimon World 1 gave you only one Digimon to train and raise at a time and a couple dozen transformations but you could feed the Digimon, it has moods and behaviors, you need to discipline it, you can train it in combat or at a gym, you can adjust its stats, it can learn dozens of moves on top of a super move and Digimon are programmable. Intelligence isn't just a magic damage stat. The smarter your Digimon is the better it can comprehend specific commands and complex maneuvers, meaning that with enough training your Digimon can be told to do everything from evade oncoming attacks, go whole hog and do max damage, Defend from all attacks, or even conserve mana spending.

Dragon Quest Monsters had this as well where depending on how they are trained they handle fights and understand commands based on your training or lack thereof.

Nothing like this really exists in Pokemon. When Reverend breaks Pokemon down to "press the button to receive dopamine." It's a joke but in reality, as a trainer you should be expected to actually train your Pokemon well enough to actually do things on their own. In real life every trainer for every sport expects the person they train to be self directing, when you do a coliseum match in Dragon Quest Monsters you can't give monsters specific commands so you have to rely on how you conditioned them to fight well beforehand.

A Pokemon Trainer should be able to be hands off, and have your Pokemon handle it on their own. If you have to tell your Pokemon what to do and when to do it, have you really even trained them anything?

And you might think this is a long diatribe on what is clearly a post about Palworld but my point is that I play the Monster Collector/trainer games and have been finding Pokemon lacking for maybe 15 years. So I look forward to and support the little differences that make other monster collection/training games better than Pokemon and Palworld offers a very unique experience when compared to Pokemon.

Let me break it down.

Pokemon slowly phased out regular real world animals in favor of more Pokemon but they often gloss over how because there are no normal animals and there's just Pokemon for everything, that Pokemon have to be the main product that's consumed and killed and that hundreds of Pokemon more than likely exist to just be butchered and consumed regardless of how sentient and sapient

many of them are. At the very least Pokemon have their own food cycle where they brutally murder each other to stay alive.

In Palworld you don't have that issue! It's a dog eat dog world, whatever you don't feel like capturing or keeping you thrash 'em and scrap 'em. The game has ragdoll physics so when you're done murdering the sheep and stripping it of its assets you can roll its dead body into a river.

Pokemon talks a big game about friendship and love and how you can't just treat Pokemon like emotionless weapons. However, that's exactly what players do. There's no consequence for letting your Pokemon get nuked so there's no particular care for their well being. Nine times out of ten you don't win because you love your Pokemon more. You win because your Pokemon out levels the opponent or they hard counter the opponent.

In Palworld they don't worry about that ethical dilemma. You know what? Your Pals are weapons and if you really want to up the ante, give them a gun! In the Pokemon world most conflicts are resolved with a Pokemon battle but in Palworld killing people is a team effort!

Gary may think he's smarter than you but is he smarter than bullet?

Throughout the games and the movies and the comics and even TV show what you'll notice is that actually Pokemon battles are a low priority for most Pokemon owners. A lot of people treat Pokemon as family members and pets but even more use Pokemon as a utility to solve everyday problems or participate in special contests.

Depending on the Pokemon game you are playing the side content can enable ways for you to treat the Pokemon like a friend and not like a living gun. There are even mini games that allow you to train your Pokemon towards a goal that doesn't involve just fighting the opponent but these things aren't added on top of each other with each title, they're swapped out. Never the same mini games, never the same friendship mechanics and in each game they are very shallow.

In Palworld you are expected to fight with your Pals but the main feature is putting your Pals to work at your base. Building and turning your complex into a well oiled machine. Not every Pal does the same job so you're invited to get many pals for many different tasks.

So in Palworld they are a pet, they are also a gun, and a hammer. But it's all a core feature and not side content and there's no pretense where you pretend that the creatures you control is not just tools to serve you and do what you desire.

Speaking of desire! Pokemon has Winked and nudged at the idea that Pokemon are occasionally more than friends and pets. There are an odd amount of Pokemon that are more human than monster and there's a redacted text log that says Pokemon and humans were mates and got married. It's hard to know just how close Pokemon are to humans without it being kid friendly or just extremely strange.

Palworld doesn't have that issue! In fact.

Here's Lovander! A Pal whose text entry more or less says that it's fucking everything that moves! It has only recently set its sights on humans, but that's not a big deal. After all, humans can be captured in Pal spheres like any other Pal. That's right game theorists! in Palworld humans are just Pals and are subject to the exact same mechanics.

It takes courage to say the quiet part out loud.

Now is Palworld the Monster Catcher game I've been waiting for? Kind of. It's in early access and if it adds more tasks and locations and objectives it could be quite good. Being completely unhinged and unethical is what makes Rimworld great. If this game can be modded easily, for 30 dollars. It's worth your time. Let's just hope that Craftworld was just a stepping stone for this and not an indication of the devs being more idea dogs than developers.

[hoofpeet]

Teehee... many Femmet au (?) thoughts... This idea is like a cool rock I found and keep in my pocket to look at every so often

-Emmett (feminine spelling of Emmet apparently) transitioned after Ingo disappeared and moved on with her life. Ingo also somehow transitioned in Hisui.

-Emmet wears black lipstick + earrings to honor her 'sister,' but nobody outside of her friend circle is aware that she ever had a twin.

-Arceus eventually figures out what happened, panics, and sends Emmet to Hisui to reunite with her brother.

-Because of the transition, time spent apart, and Ingo's memory issues, Neither recognize each other. Despite this, they immediately become buddies anyway, mostly since Ingo is the only one in the village who matches her battling skills and, by extension, can talk with her abt battle strats. :]

-Because Ingo arrived in Hisui when he was ~12, he's only 25 and isn't considered an old man. Still Sneasler's warden but not as much of an outcast in the village as usual.

-He still has Luxa !! Luxa (as a litwick) came with him when he fell because she was still his only pokemon. Ingo maintained his interest in pokemon training/battling and still became one of the only people in Hisui who enjoys battling.

-Emmet's presence kickstart Ingo's memory a bit and he slowly starts to remember bits and pieces; eventually realizes that he also had a sibling named Emmet. Still takes a comically long time for either of them to connect the dots

[smelting-smores]

Pokemon Z-A starter predictions

Now that we know the starters are Chikorita, Totodile, and Tepig I want to guess what their new final evolution types will be. I predict Emboar will be fire/steel, Feraligatr will be water/fighting, and Meganium will be grass/fairy. Here's why:

In more recent years, Pokemon has been giving their starters secondary types that counter each other in a similar way their primary type does (ie. Legends Arceus with dark-ghost-fighting and Kalos with psychic-dark-fighting). Steel counters fairy, fairy counters fighting, and fighting counters steel, a perfect circle!

With Chikorita being a starter, I knew that Meganium is most likely going to be fairy. I mean, come on, it's perfect for a fairy type! Additionally, it could have a perfume design as its dex entries often describe a calming and rejuvenating aroma and France (the place Kalos is based on) is the heart of the luxury fragrance industry.

To counter the fairy type, Emboar would take on a steel typing. I chose steel for Emboar since it already has a secondary fighting type and its a great type combo, resisting around 9 types according to my research with a 4x ground weakness that evens it out. I imagine Emboar's new design would be inspired by chefs and the cuisine of France as its fire would cook the food and the steel would be the oven and stove it would cook in.

Finally, Feraligatr would gain a fighting type to counter the steel type of Emboar. The fighting type would draw back to France's history of war and revolution. Also, Feraligatr's design is already so aggressive, why not point that fury towards a cause, for freedom! According to the poke dex, Feraligator is savage and has powerful hind legs which would be perfect for the French fighting style Savate which specialized in kicking techniques.

To top it all off, all three starters would have a shared theme of fairytales. Meganium would represent the princess with its elegance, beauty and serenity. Emboar would be the knight in shining armor and filled with fiery determination and pride. Feraligatr would be the beast/dragon (despite not being a dragon type, I know) that acts fierce, savage, and rejects the status quo.

Let me know what you think about my predictions- do you agree or do you have something different in mind for legends Z-A?