#Fuchsia City Gym

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[last-of-the-venoshippers]

#5 and #6 (not my artwork)

[gender-euphowrya]

i always found it way too convenient in terms of in-universe realism that the pokemon gym leaders with the lowest level teams just HAPPENED to live right next door to the new kid who wants to start a journey

[actualtrainerred]

(@interregionalgyminspections) Hello! It is nice to meet you. If you don't mind me asking, how would you rate the safety of the gyms you've been to? -Breve

Happy to answer yeah. Just rating the ones I actually participated in/have been in a lot, because just visiting as an outsider doesn't give me enough experience to really tell what could go wrong. In a few months I'll come back to you with Sinnoh gyms though because I'm bored and about to run that circuit for fun

Pewter City Gym- 10/10, just a room

Cerulean City Gym- 8/10 when I went, just a pool with walkways in it. The walkways were slippery when I went but that was a long while back and I hear they fixed that. If you can't swim they make you carry inner tubes with you and there's life guards on hand always

Vermillion City Gym- Either 3/10 or 9/10 depending on if the electric gate actually was electricity or just light beams for show. Either dangerous misuse of electricity or just a room with garbage in it

Celedon City Gym: 10/10, just a room with plants. The mazes are pretty accessible actually and unlike some gyms i did not trip in this one while wandering around. There's also spotters throughout that if you have to "give up" on the maze, will escort you out so you don't get lost for real.

Fuchsia City Gym- 7/10, walked into the invisible walls too much :(

Saffron City Gym- 6/10 The teleporters scare me. Honestly. They're probably perfectly safe but I have my reservations

(Bonus Saffron City Dojo because I'm still rooting for them to go majors again- 10/10, just a room)

Cinnabar Island Gym - the gym itself is 10/10, just a room with a quiz, 0/10 because it has exploded :(

Viridian City Gym- under Giovanni, 4/10, those stupid spinning tiles sucked really bad and I could easily see someone getting hurt. Under Green, 7/10 because my husband can do what he wants but those tiles are still sucks.

[nerdpokemonheadcanons]

Hello professor, I wanna share something that brightened my day. Recently the train station near Lavender town has adopted a Meowth as the station master, which does match the station mascot being a meowth. Kanto has an extensive railroad system that actually spreads around the region, granted not a lot of trainers use it but a lot of regular folk do. Each station has it's own Pokémon mascots depicted in wall art and plush form in the Pokèmart in the station, alongside other pieces of merchandise centered around them.

The stations and their mascots

Pallet Town- The Kanto starters

Viridian city- Nidoking and Nidoqueen

Pewter City- Clafable (originally a steelix but it was changed in the late nineties because it was too scary for young kids)

Cerulean City- Poliwhirl

Vermillion City- The Pikachu line

Lavender town- Meowth

Celadon City- Bellsprout

Fuchsia city- Venonat

Saffron city- Alakazam

Ok so Cinnabar island technically doesn't have a train station because of the whole being an island thing but there is a ferry station at the docks, the town's managed to rebuild very nicely after the volcano erupted several years back, Blaine actually still has his gym in the seafoam islands to give trainers a challenge, the ferry station has an Arcanine as the mascot and right outside to access the rest of the island is a shrine dedicated to the Pokémon Ninetales

The sevi islands also have the ferry system and they have mascots too

One island- Flareon

Two island- Vaporeon (it was temporarily changed to a Psyduck due to something going around online but due to community outrage it was changed back)

Three island- Jolteon

Four island- Espeon

Five island- Umbreon

Six island- Leafeon (was changed from Eevee)

Seven island- Glaceon (was changed from Eevee)

Eight island- Sylveon (this was changed from Eevee about a year ago and so far no one's made a fuss about it)

Nine island- Eevee

Cute!

[lumenflowered]

[A video is attached. Janine—a young woman with spiky purple hair and a long scarf on over what sure looks like ninja attire—appears to have just shut the door behind Maria into some sort of break room.

"So! Good to finally meet you, champ," Janine says cheerfully, practically bouncing on her feet as she makes for a comfy-looking couch and launches herself backwards into it, the camera following her there. "You beat Dad, so. I knew I probably wasn't winning, but damn if it wasn't fun to try!"

"I can see the resemblance," Maria comments, looking around the break room and eventually choosing to just remain standing, very awkwardly, near the door.

"Aw, really? That's really sweet, thank you. But anyway!" Janine beams at her. "What brings you here? Are you just the sort of overachiever who wants to get all sixteen of the viable badges, or... something else? My guess is something else. Though you do have overachiever energy."

Maria blinks, clearly confused. "Thank you? I... think?"

"Eh, it can be a compliment, could be not, I mean it as a compliment so you're welcome. Seriously, though, what are you doing here?" Janine pauses. The smile drops from her face. "It's Rocket, isn't it."

"As in the team? I... had intended to ask you that."

"Wait what."

"How much has Lance told you?"

"Pretty much just that he did get defeated but for personal reasons you're not taking over for him at the Indigo League quite yet. Also a quick physical description of you so we'd actually know when you turned up. Which... understated a few things, but never mind that." Janine sits up, arms crossed over her chest. "What's going on?"

"After being driven out of Johto, Team Rocket seems to have plans of some variety here in Kanto instead," Maria clarifies. "They seem far more afraid of me than they are of Lance—"

"Wait, were you the one who crashed Ho-oh into the Johto Radio Tower???"

"—and as such the plan is for the rest of the League to monitor Johto while I search them out and deal with them here in Kanto." Maria pauses, brow furrowing. "Also, no. Ho-oh crashed themself into the Johto Radio Tower; I was merely taking advantage of their offer of a way into the building."

"What the fuck, you're way too cool to be the new champ," Janine mutters. "Anyway. Uh. Got it! Fully understood. Honestly it wouldn't be the first time that Rocket has managed to listen in on League communications, so I get why Lance didn't want to say much, but also what do you want from me here?"

"I'd like to know," Maria says, "if you have seen anything particularly suspicious in or near Fuchsia City recently. Anything directly related to Rocket would be ideal, but anything... out of the ordinary would work."

"Hmm. Hmmmmm." Janine steeples her hands thoughtfully, shifting to an even more ridiculous sitting position on the couch if she does. "See, I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I've seen Rocket's work before, and I've got a hunch about where they will be if they're anywhere near here. Give me a couple days, I'll let you know. Or I'll have one of the girls let you know."

"...One of your gym trainers is a boy?"

"Oh, Barry? Yeah, he's bigender. He delights in being one of the boys and one of the girls. Not the point though, I'll get on that after the gym closes tonight. In the meantime... stay close, give me a call if you find something first, and I hope you enjoy Fuchsia City!"

"Thank you," Maria says. "There is one other thing, more of a... personal matter."

"Oooooooh? Do tell?"

"I... believe there may have been a challenger here... close to a month ago?"

"Okay...? I'm gonna need something slightly more specific, I get a lot of challengers. It's mostly people who are here for the Safari Zone and figured they might as well try for a badge while they're in the area, but hey."

"Dee. The name she would be going by is likely Dee."

Janine's brow furrows. "About a month ago... yeah, I think I remember her. Actually, I thought she was you at first—Lance's original description of you wasn't as specific as it should've been, he didn't even mention that you're an edgelord."

"...A what."

"Uh, you like dark clothes and... don't worry about it, actually. What about her?"

"I..." Maria hesitates. "She... did Lance mention that I was a Faller?"

"Like Surge, yeah. But also it's pretty... you're not subtle. I like you a lot but you're not. What about it?"

"I believe that she may be too," Maria says. "That she may be from the same place I am, and... may even be someone I knew once."

"Oh shit? That's a good thing, right?"

"...I don't know."

"What, is she your ex or... yeesh. For real? That's rough." Janine pauses. "Also, you can totally sit down if you want. Like. There are plenty of seats."

There are, indeed, plenty of seats. Maria equally awkwardly takes one.

"Perhaps I am wrong," Maria says. "I hope that I am wrong. But any information on her that you are willing to share may help."

"Okay. Well. Um..." Janine's brow furrows. "Let me think on that one too, actually, it's been a long month."

The video ends.]

[sinnohelitefourlore]

Two weeks later, came an announcement from the Indigo League, from the champion himself. Kanto-Johto tournaments had gone out of style. Most trainers opted for the Nugget Bridge experience in Kanto, or in Johto they would sign up for Johto's Armed Forces if illegible. But when Sergei announced that if gym trainers between the ages of fourteen and nineteen in the following cities and towns: Olivine, Saffron, Vermillion, Celadon, Cerulean, Cinnabar Island, Pewter, Fuchsia, and Viridian, that wanted to compete in a tournament for that gym leader position, to sign on up by tomorrow. "You're aware of what Kanto is doing, do you?" Iruka asked her rhetorically. When Jasmine nodded, Iruka explained anyway. "They want to push the Kantonians against the Johtonians despite our history together. They want to give Johto a message. That if a Johtonian defects to another region, we will punish you by putting a Kantonian in your gym's place since we don't think a Johtonian is strong enough. Prove them wrong, girl, I know you can do it." Jasmine looked down at her shoes. "Let's say I do sign up. The people I would be going up against. Most of them have been gym trainers for quite some time. I'm still new. And I'm a Johtonian. You don't think people will look down on me because of that?" "Oh they definitely will. Compared to the Kantonians they're putting up there," Iruka told her bluntly. "They'll see a shy, timid little girl that has no chance against the seasoned Kantonians that had trained in Nugget Bridge and then became a gym trainer. Johtonians are weak, in their eyes. They're going to look at you and see a Magikarp out of water." Jasmine felt anger rile up within her.

~Sneak Peak of The League Chronicles, Chapter 49- Jasmine

Link: Ao3

[jils-things]

NEW COLOR PALLET TRIO INFODUMP AAUGH‼️‼️(art by nero mwamwa)

OKAY im genuinely gonna take huge insp off the movie because it just matches so well and it bridges missing concepts i needed for their lore AUGH OKAY so

• i'm reclaiming the idea that red gave jaide a torchic and named it chuy (it was named kaia but its CHUY NOW!!!) while i unfortunately cannot answer how did red acquire a torchic it's totally meant for her (maybe through trading with a hoenn local that happened to be in kanto at the time)

• before jaide left for johto, red and blue invited her to the safari zone in fuchsia city because they miss her and they want her to experience what it's like to catch pkmn (despite the pikachu incident that occured before) this allowed jaide to discover her talent - she's really good at catching pkmn, even better than both boys combined.

• so when she was prepared to leave kanto, she would at least have this newfound passion to try to capture, and her target is the johtonian pkmn. she's thankful they helped her find something special about herself. her parting words was hoping that she'd meet them and they'd become fully fledged trainers they aim to be

• skipping past the gen 3 to gen 6 events, we land on the gen 7 timeline, they're all adults now. blue is viridian city's gym leader,

jaide is professor oak and elm's designated professional catcher,

and red is the mysterious living legend and champion who later opened up to the public again thanks to blue.

• meanwhile - thanks to kukui, alola has been creating their own championship league which meant that it's still new. i like to think that the battle tree was also created at the same time and he needed "bosses" to facilitate the battle tree.

• kukui invites red and blue to become the battle tree bosses, to which red and blue agrees with. it's gonna have some sort of grand opening and this brings attention to people from the other regions to want to visit alola. i like to think bringing blue and red was a celebrity bait in some way, especially for red who's popular despite not showing his face around.

• at that same time, professor oak has a new job for jaide which was to capture all alolan regional forms of certain pkmn - she was given the funds to help her go travel to alola. blue would know about this and he tells her to come visit the battle tree because he and red will be there as well. (AHEM AHEM LIKE HOW MANOLO IS GONNA HAVE HIS FIRST BULLFIGHT AND IT COINCIDES WITH THE DAY MARIA RETURNS FROM SPAIN AND AND AND--

• ahem anyways, blue is very excited about this! because red and jaide havent exactly met up with each other properly (they were only able to say hi to each other through blue's contacts since blue and jaide consistently talking to each other throughout the years) (just imagine a funny zoom call where red and blue are in the same room and jaide is on the other side)

• red's ... quite nervous and excited about this! he's still getting used to the public attention and usually loses his mojo when he's being watched, and it's double the pressure when she's around. he can only pray he'll do fine at the battle tree if she's gonna watch him.

• a fun cameo happens with elio/selene where they solo red in the battle tree and blue watches them - jaide eventually appears as well to watch and they're both cheering for red 🫶

• red almost lost that round because jaide showed up and he kept taking chances to look at her

• after the grand opening, they were officially reunited and it felt so good to meet each other again. well, blue with jaide and red felt like nothing since he was simultaneously in contact with them. he's like the messenger between the apples 😔😔

• i like to think red really has never fallen off of liking jaide since he was a kid but it only got stronger when they meet again and it's like an old book had been dusted clean and ready to be opened

• and appleshipping pre romance begins shortly after wehehehhe

[gnzma]

[ chatting with cas (the My Love kind not the haunted kind) and like. one of the things that really bugs me, and i think is very underrated in the poke rpc, is the fact that people really think that some stuff is universal like. of course everyone knows what mew is, of course everyone witnessed a megaevolution, how come you don't know the name of all the ultra beasts, yes of course whatever is in area zero is public knowledge--

LIKE MISS ME WITH THAT?? why don't we have a little more of a cultural shock!! let some johtonian look in awe at the Z moves! hoennians and sinnohnians discussing wether groudon or regigigas are responsible for the creations of continents!! unovans watching kalosians go on gogoats and be shocked, and in return paldeans wonder why everyone gets bikes in kanto! galarians and kantonians talking about their version of the legendary birds, people in alola not understanding gym challenges, johtonian and paldeans occasionally talking about dunsparce and people being genuinely confused about it! hell, we can go further! you don't know every single animal that exists, even in your area. who says that someone from fuchsia city knows what a jynx is? that every unovan saw a yamask, or even knows the lore behind it! and even more, sinnohnians who don't believe in arceus' creation myths! unovans who are completely unaware of the history of the two dragons!! kantonians considering mew just an urban legend!!! paldeans sharing theories and horror stories about the pokèmon of ruins, bad horror movies that mischaracterize trevenants as vindictive spirits, children stories about groudon and kyogre being sibilings who fight sometimes but still love eachother!!!!

like there's SO much potential and we're not USING IT!! ]

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Shared Custody

Words: 2,000

Pokemon AU: Bulbasaur

Characters: Hatake Kakashi & Yamato

@alumort

Once in a while Kakashi was lucky enough to visit Yamato at his Gym in Celadon City just in time for one of the eggs to hatch. Eggs that had either not been given to a trainer yet, or which had been created by one of Yamato’s prized Pokemon and were thus immediately relegated into the ‘only friends’ section of gifting because no matter how much Kakashi or anyone else tried to convince him otherwise, Yamato refused to believe that any other trainer was worthy of receiving such a special egg.

Today was one of those lucky days. 

Kakashi had popped into the Gym for a quick lunch before continuing on his way to Fuchsia city for the annual Pokemon beauty competition which Iruka had convinced him to judge alongside side him, Tsunade-sama, and Kurenai. There was nothing exciting scheduled for the day, but apparently, life had other plans.

Yamato and he had just sat down for lunch after a quick spar, which his newest batch of students had stuck around to watch regardless of Kakashi’s protests when an alert rang out on Yamato’s phone.

“Oh,” he jumped to his feet and motioned for Kakashi to follow him. “An egg.”

“An egg?” Not wasting a single moment, Kakashi stood up once more and quickly followed Yamato out of the room. “Which one?”

“Not sure yet,” opening up the security footage, Yamato examined it as they left the back garden in which they’d decided to have their lunch and returned to the main gym. “It looks like it’s from Venusaur’s batch.”

“Venusaur?” a jolt of excitement surged through Kakashi’s veins. “You mean, my Venusaur?”

“My Venusaur,” Yamato corrected him. “You gave him to me remember?”

“I do, but he’s still sort of shared custody.” it was true that Yamato trained, fed, groomed, and generally took care of Venusaur, but none of that took away from the bond that Kakashi had formed with the grass Pokemon before giving it to Yamato. Venusaur was the first Pokemon he had ever caught on his own. The Pokemon he’d walked out of the Professaur’s lab with at his side and begun his first real adventure with. Even after all the years he’d spent at Yamato’s side as his Pokemon, he was still Kakashi’s Pokemon as well. 

“Shared custody requires shared responsibility, Senpai.”

“I bring treats every time I visit,” Kakashi argued. “And can you really say he’s not equally mine when he still doesn’t let you read any of your books to him?” A sharp glare was his reward for daring to speak the truth. “I’m just saying. As soon as I walked in today he was at my side nudging my pouch where he knows I keep my book. Does he do that with you?”

Yamato grumbled out an answer, keeping his voice low so that Kakashi couldn’t hear him.

“Sorry,” He quickened his pace so that he was walking by Yamato’s side instead of trailing behind him. “what was that?”

“I said ‘No’,” Yamato answered with an exasperated sigh. “He doesn’t let me read to him. He’s never going to let me read to him, Senpai. That’s your thing.”

“Because…”

“Because…we have shared custody,” he finally admitted, rolling his eyes when Kakashi chuckled. “Shut up.”

“Well, as long as you admit it,” stretching his arms over his head, he rested his hands behind his head and looked straight ahead. “So, if it’s Venusaur’s that means…wait, was it with a different Pokemon?”

“No, it was with another Venusaur,” Yamato answered. “Actually, the egg usually would have stayed with the other trainer since it was her Venusaur that had it, but she said she wasn’t interested in having another one on her team and said she trusted me to get the egg to someone who would take good care of it.”

Listening to his friend's explanation, Kakashi couldn’t help but frown as the words sank in. “So… this was an accident?”

“Very much so,” Yamato admitted with a sigh. “I took Venusaur to a Pokemon daycare for a day while I was stuck in meetings for the league. You remember the one I’m sure,” thinking back to the three-day conference they’d had with all of the Gym leaders, the Elite four, the Pokemon League organizers, and the Champian, Kakashi cringed. He’d known he would have to commit to some boring events when he first accepted the position as a Gym leader, he’d just never realized how boring the commitments could get until that conference happened. “I didn’t want to force him to sit around all day doing nothing. At least at the daycare, he could walk around.”

“You could have just left him at the gym.” He argued. “He would have been fine for a few days.”

“I could have,” the two of them entered into the hallway and immediately turned the corner. “But I thought the trip would do him some good. He’d been sulking for a while and seeing you always seems to perk him up.”

At moments like this Kakashi wished he had his book out in front of him so he could hide the smile that spread across his face. Although the mask hid most of it, it did nothing to cover the way his eyes crinkled at the edges, putting his joy on full display for Yamato. 

“So, you left him in the daycare and he just-”

“Yep.”

“With another Venusaur that just happened to be there?”

“Unfortunately,” he confirmed. “I got a call a week later from a very frantic trainer begging me to meet up. As soon as I walked into the cafe we’d agreed to meet at she shoved the egg into my hands and told me she couldn’t take care of it.”

“She’s a trainer, though,” Kakashi argued. “Taking care of eggs is sometimes part of the deal.”

“It is,” coming to a stop in front of the small hatchery, Yamato punched his code into the little display beside the door and waited until he heard the door’s lock unlatching before reaching for the handle. “She told me that she was hoping to build up a team of fire-type Pokemon and that as much as she loved her Venusaur she wasn’t interested in having another one.”

“So, she had a grass-type Pokemon-”

“But wants a team of fire types, yes. I was confused about that too,” pushing the door open, Yamato stepped into the room and immediately moved to the side so that Kakashi could follow him in. Once Kakashi was safely in the room, he released his grip on the door handle and allowed it to swing shut. “I wasn’t really going to argue with her. I only have five other eggs at the moment and those are all for trainers who can manage to win against me.”

“And how many had that been this month?”

“Two,” He admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “But unlike some people, I’m not trying to crush every trainer's dream of reaching the Pokemon league.”

Placing a hand over his chest, Kakashi gasped. “I would never.”

“You do it all the time, Senpai,” Yamato fired back. “When was the last time someone even beat you.”

“Well,” thinking back, he cringed. “Does Itachi count?”

“That was three years ago.”

“So…”

“No.”

“Ah,” no longer enjoying this conversation, Kakashi turned his attention to the shelves where Yamato kept all of his Pokemon eggs. There were a few Pokemon eggs sitting in their warmers, each of them grouped into sections based on which Pokemon they had come from and whether they were going to be gifts to trainers who beat the gym, or Pokemon that Yamato kept for himself. 

There was only one Egg on the shelf Yamato had reserved for himself and close friends, and it was already glowing so bright that Kakashi was certain it would hatch at any second.

Not wanting to waste a moment, he left Yamato standing beside the door and made a beeline straight for the egg. 

“Hey!” Yamato called after him, but it was too late. As soon as he’d reached the egg he reached out and gently lifted it out of its heater. “Senpai, that’s mine.”

“Ours,” he corrected his friend with a wink. “Remember, shared custody.”

“That’s not how this…put it down!” Storming toward Kakashi, he reached out to take the egg from him only to have him pull away just before he could grab it. “Senpai!”

“It’s not like I’m going to steal the Pokemon from you,” glancing down at the egg, he couldn’t help but grin when it began to glow a little bit brighter. He’d seen countless eggs hatching over the years but the excitement never changed. Even when he knew exactly what was going to appear in his hands he still felt that rush of adrenaline.

A new life was being formed. 

A new Pokemon was arriving into the world, and he was the lucky one who got to greet them. There were few experiences that could match up to seeing a Pokemon beginning to take shape from its egg and opening its eyes to see him before anything else. 

“You know, the world would never believe me if I told them.” Yamato teased, a playful grin spread across his face when Kakashi looked back at him.

“Believe what, exactly?”

“That Hatake Kakashi, the most difficult Gym leader and the man known for being harsh with his words, was actually a big softie.”

Kakashi gasped. “Yamato, how dare you.”

“What, you think I’m wrong?”

Thinking it over, he huffed. “Not at all,” he admitted. “You just don’t need to be going and telling me about it. Keep it to yourself.”

“Sorry,” Yamato snorted. “I forgot you were allergic to kindness.”

“Very allergic. I would like to avoid breaking out in hives if you would be so kind as to keep all of that,” removing a hand from the egg, he pointed toward Yamato’s chest. “To yourself.”

“I will if you give me back my egg.” 

“Mmmm, no.”

“Of course not,” sighing, Yamato slipped his hands into his pant pockets and leaned in close to the egg. “It should hatch soon.”

“Any moment,” Kakashi confirmed as the light of the egg's glow began to fill the room. “How long have you had it for?”

“Three weeks?”

“A short amount of time. Someone’s excited to see what the world outside of that egg looks like.”

“Maybe,” bumping his shoulder against Kakashi’s, he gave the older man a sweet little smile. “Or maybe they’re just excited to meet you.”

“Been talking about me to the eggs again, Tenzo?”

“Don’t call me ‘Tenzo’ he protested. “And so what if I have? Is that a crime?”

“No, but it is embarrassing,” he admitted. “You always put me on such a high pedestal. All of these Pokemon are going to come into the world thinking that I’m some sort of great man when I’m really, really not.”

A hand came down on his shoulder, squeezing just as the glow of the egg began to fill the room. For a moment Kakashi couldn’t see anything except bright, white light, and then it was gone and in place of the egg there was now a Bulbasaur. A bright green-eyed, curious little Bulbasaur stared up at him as if there was nothing else in the room. 

“You are,” Yamato answered his previous words while reaching out to pat Bulbasaur’s head. “And I have no doubt this little one will agree with me when they get to know you. Don’t you agree little one?”

Without taking its eyes off Kakashi, Bulbasaur opened its mouth and produced the first sound of its little life. “Bul!”

“See?” Yamato grinned. “Bulbasaur agrees with me.”

“Well, if you think it’s true,” lowering his head, he pressed his forehead against Bulbasaur’s and felt his heart melt when the tiny green Pokemon responded by closing its eyes and stretching itself up to return the gesture. “Who am I to argue?”

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[last-of-the-venoshippers]

[batscrem]

Lyra's Headcanons -Pokémon: Affinities

Quick little foreword for this: I'd had this concept for a while, but wasn't sure how well it would work in the official Pokémon universe. In theory it sounded good, but actual public application... I became a lot less certain.

... But then I realized it wasn't leaving my head so I decided FUCK IT, MIGHT AS WELL SHARE WITH THE CLASS

One more little disclaimer though, this is PURELY MY IDEA for the Pokémon World and ISN'T OFFICIAL. It's just me messing around with my own ideas for Pokémon characters. It will show up iny own little projects/blogs but IS NOT CANON.

BUT NOW LET'S GET INTO IT

1. What is an Affinity?

In the case of this Pokémon headcanon (AU?), Affinities are (usually) passive abilities based on whichever Pokémon typing that person decides to specialize in. They vary from type and also from person to person: just because two people both have Grass-type Affinities doesn't mean they result in the exact same ability.

2. How Does Someone Gain An Affinity?

The actual definition of the word "affinity" is "a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something." In this case however, while a person's literal affinity for a particular type might start right away, the ability that qualifies as an Affinity takes years and years of training with the particular type to develop.

From a biological standpoint, it is believed that humans, like all mammalian Pokémon, share a genetic ancestor with Mew. However, while most Pokémon species adapted to their environments and gained specific typings--Grass, Fire, Water, etc.--it is thought that humans have not developed the proper genomes to naturally develop typing like Pokémon do (the one exception to this is Psychic abilities). However, it was discovered very early on that through intense training with Pokémon of a certain type, people could develop Affinities associated with the chosen typing. The ability of speaking with Pokémon (such people are called Spoken) is not associated with any one type, and thus is not included as an Affinity.

As it takes several years of training with Pokémon and developing particular skills, people can only ever have ONE Affinity, and will keep that Affinity for the rest of their life.

3. Some Examples of Affinities

Koga of the Indigo Elite Four has developed the relatively common Poison Affinity of venom/toxin immunity. His daughter Janine, Gym Leader of the Fuchsia City Gym, followed in his footsteps and has the same.

Drayden of Opelucid City Gym in Unova has a considerably rare Dragon Affinity: he is able to enter brief periods of draconic rage and attack even harder than one usually can.

Affinities can cover all 18 known types and can manifest in different ways, so not everyone will have an obvious Affinity.

If you use this, let me know so I can see 👀

[the-larxist-manifesto]

Whatnot ~ The long road to Saffron

Welcome to Whatnot, where I just kinda talk about random thoughts I'm having at the moment. Irl I say the phrase "... and whatnot" a lot—but do you ever wonder what exactly the whatnot is? That's what this blog will be.

I love me a good, long journey. I don't always know what decisions will lead me to a worthwhile journey, but the best ones tend to arise from spur-of-the-moment ideas and just saying "sure, let's give it a try." For example, this whole GameGirl31 project. Nintendo added GameBoy games to NSO, I noticed how few of the titles I recognized, and I decided it could be a unique challenge to play them. It is now setting in exactly how much time this will take me.

Pokémon Yellow, for instance. I don't know this particular generation super well, but I understand the Pokémon formula well enough. Despite this, more than 20 hours have been dedicated to this playthrough so far. I've only earned four gym badges (five if you count the one I skipped, accidentally?), meaning I'm about halfway through the experience. Just stating the facts here. We can imagine what the timer will read by the end.

I'm actually playing a session right now, taking a break in the middle to write this entry. I left off in the middle of route 14. In-game, I've been really wanting to return to Vermillion City because, about five hours back, I managed to completely avoid fighting Lt. Surge and then leave without the badge I need. That being said... five hours later, I couldn't be stuck on the more opposite side of the Kanto region. There is no quick way back to Vermillion from Fuchsia. I can only press forward. And the next leg of the journey is... the long, long road to Saffron City.

So, I packed as many hyper potions and ultra balls as I could into my trainer bag, and then started on the road. The journey is so long that it's actually made up of 5 separate routes.

Map; for reference, the path between any two cities in the Kanto region averages 1 to 2 routes

I can feel the length of the journey as I begin dismissing the possibility of travelling back to Fuchsia City for the Pokécenter. I'll just have to rely on the resources I've got. The only things to be found along these routes are other traveling trainers and the occasional patch of grass.

I've complained in the past about this game looking kinda ugly, in the graphics department. The overworld sprites are quite simplistic. The colors are limited. Often, it feels like I'm just staring at pencil lines etched in a white void. Yet somehow, the simplicity of the landscape around me as I bike the miles of this road... a true sense of distance sets in. DUCKIE is so far away from home. She's so far from anything that even resembles home. Only passing blades of grass, bushes, a small forest, abandoned fence posts... lines etched into the world by nature itself.

And then I read a sign.

Route 14 / West to Fuchsia City

There's something very haunting about a sign that only points you in one direction. Dead end. One way. Do not enter. Or maybe a highway sign that names a city you've never heard of about 50 miles away. This sign didn't tell me I was going anywhere. It only told me the quickest way back to civilization.

For those who don't know, in my actual life, I recently drove over 3,000 miles across the United States—nonstop except to sleep and eat, over the course of 6 days. It was another one of those decisions that felt so much smaller when it was just an idea in my head. Then I got into the car and drove away from my house, for once with no intentions of coming back. Then I crossed my first state border. Then I passed one last small town. Then, only the lines of rock and shrubs etched in the world around me.

I saw a lot of signs like this one on the long drive. Route 14 / West to Fuchsia City. It's just a practical sign to put up. A statement of fact as to where the nearest market would be, for instance. Yet something about it ineffably reads like a warning.

Subtle game design choices like this leave an impression on me like nothing else. The developers could have written "Road connecting to Saffron City," like they did with every other sign in the game. They could have put up no sign at all. But they chose this sign. I don't know; that made this world feel so much more real to me. And once again, for the first time ever, I think the simplicity of the graphics in this game do a great service to the tone and worldbuilding at this leg of the game. The same scenery passing you by over and over again. Eventually blurring into abstract lines etched in the void. You have grown so much as a trainer, to make it this far all by yourself. This is what it feels like to be far from home. It feels sickeningly lucid to become so aware of the bigness of the world.

That's a feeling only video games can give you, baby! And that's why video games are art, as if I even had to argue that. But who knew such strong emotions could come from a game that looks like... this?

Go on, guess which Pokémon that is. I bet you can't.

And so, I'm actually pretty excited for the long journey to Saffron City. It is, after all, just a small part of the long journey to beating Pokémon Yellow. Which is, of course, only a small part of the long journey to play 31 GameBoy games!

Well, at least for these journeys, I don't have to sleep in my car. :p

That's it for this edition of Whatnot! Too niche for GameGirl, but stuck out too much in my mind not to write about. I hope to do a lot more of these in the future (including non-video game stuff, ideally). Ta-ta for now~

[hunty627]

Hunter’s Pokémon journey part 3.

My team and I arrived in Fuchsia City and battled Koga and got the soul badge for winning. When I arrived Saffron City after catching more Pokémon, I saw Team Rocket harassing a woman, who happened to be the secretary of the president of the Silph company. She told me that Team Rocket took over the company because they want the master ball. After I went inside the company building, I rescued all the innocent Pokémon. One of the scientists even gave me a new Pokémon called Lapras. When we arrived at the company president’s office, there was Giovanni. I battled him and when I won, but he got away in the helicopter. After my Pokémon recovered in the Pokémon center, I battled Sabrina and won the marsh badge. Then I took on the karate master at the fighting dojo and won. He said I can choose one of the fighting types. And I chose Hitmonchan. After that, I arrived at the power plant to catch the legendary Pokémon known as Zapdos. After that, I went to the Seafoam islands to catch Articuno, another legendary Pokémon. After I caught them, I arrived at the Pokémon center on Cinnabar Island. After my Pokémon got healed, I flew on Fearow to the Pewter City museum and got an old amber. When I got back to Cinnabar Island, I had the old amber and the helix fossil restored. And I got Aerodactyl and Omanyte. After we explored the Pokémon mansion, I battled gym leader Blaine and my Omanyte evolved into Omastar! Then we beat him and I earned the volcano badge. Now I can go and fight the last gym leader.

[iamapoopmuffin]

Pokemon Gyms and whether my wheelchair user player character would be able to navigate them

Pewter City: Straight line on some cobblestones. Compared to the rest of this bullshit, this is luxury. Brock needs to come down off his staircase throne at the end of the corridor though.

Cerulean City: Yes. Mans can just scoot scoot around the edge of the pool. Misty has to come down to meet him though, she’s also on a staircase throne.

Vermilion City: Once he gets past the initial ‘what the fuck’ of the thunder barrier, as long as the bins are spaced out enough he’s fine. Doesn’t appreciate rummaging through trash though. At least mans isn’t on a staircase throne this time.

Celadon City: Depends entirely on how much tree is actually left after using cut.

Fuchsia City: He can make it through, but after about the third time of bumping into an invisible wall he’ll be real sick of this shit.

Saffron City: Runs entirely on little teleporters. Gucci.

Cinnabar Island: I never got to Blaine in LeafGreen but it looks like a straight shot.

Seafoam Island: Wouldn’t even be able to enter the gym in the first place. Can’t climb ladders.

Viridian City: Would probably develop motion sickness from all the spinning but I think he can navigate this one.

Violet City: I wouldn’t feel confident navigating the sharp turns 50 feet in the air walking, never mind trying to manoeuvre a chair through them. He can do it, but he won’t be at all comfortable.

Azalea Town: Stairs right at the entrance. Motherfucker.

Goldenrod City: Hard nope. Multiple steep staircases. Fuck you, Whitney

Ecruteak City: Morty, I love you, but the narrow walkway entirely in darkness over the void to hell isn’t exactly able bodied person friendly, never mind this-

Cianwood City: Another hard nope, those stairs look homophobic

Olivine City: Another straight walkway with an elevated leader. She’s definitely nice enough to meet him halfway too.

Mahogany Town: Ice gyms as a whole are bad. Not sure how well the chair will do on the ice (do you want to slip and skate or have traction?) and in Vernon’s case he is paralysed from the waist down so his lower body isn’t great at the whole temperature regulation thing. He’s definitely learning about winter’s harshness, thank you. Compared to the other ice gyms this one is pretty chill though.

Blackthorn City: The warning of unstable footing at the start is worrying, but the puzzle itself can be done.

Rustboro City: It’s all ramps until you get to the almighty stair throne, so okay. Also he’s absolutely stopping to look at the little museum.

Dewford Town: Give him enough room between all the exercise shit and we’re gucci

Mauville City: More of these random electric death walls? Eh whatever, the floor’s level at least. ... NEVER MIND I FOUND MORE STAIRS

Lavaridge Town: What the fuck. Fuck you.

Petalburg City: Doesn’t seem to pose any problem, yay!

Fortree City: I don’t think he’s getting in, dear.

Mossdeep City: Y’know what? All this floating around is pretty cool, actually

Sootopolis City: WALLACE YOU MOTHERFUCKER WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS

Oreburgh City: Ah yes. Vernon’s actual home region serving him an immediate slap in the face with steep ass stone stairs. Wonderful.

Eterna City: Ahh, so peaceful, so chill, such a vibe. Maybe there is hope after all.

Veilstone City: Goodbye hope, hello whatever the fuck I have to push and a lot of stairs before you even enter the gym itself-

Pastoria City: Besides this being the weirdest fucking swimming pool I’ve ever seen, it’s another fuck you to wheelchair users. Though Vernon can swim, so if there’s a clear path from the entrance to the leader via the water he can make it, he’s just going to have to fight the battle soaking wet, in a swimsuit and on the floor.

Hearthome City: As long as you can do maths, you’re alright.

Canalave City: He can navigate it but those super speed lifts are giving him motion sickness for sure.

Snowpoint City: He’s dead now. He fell down the stairs right into the massive piles of snow and suffocated.

Sunyshore City: It’s another hard nope, and I had high hopes when I saw the catwalks-

Striaton City: No problem no worries, Hakuna Matata.

Nacrene City: As long as someone can get the books down for him he’s good.

Castelia City: Pushing through the gooey shit will be annoying but it is possible as long as it doesn’t gunk up the wheels too bad.

Nimbasa City: It’s possible, but only if someone brings his wheelchair round to where he’s getting off the rollercoaster, or the chair can go on the coaster.

Driftveil City: Lifts and scaffolding? Okay. Random staircase right at the very bottom? Not okay.

Mistralton City: The cannons themselves are fully disability friendly. The stairs are not. So close.

Icirrus City: I’m giving this one a no. Even without the stairs, that jump, the fuck? We’re not all stunt ready actors, sir.

Opelucid City: The path is narrow and winding, but it has cool trick ramps and that’s a win in Vernon’s book! But also there’s stairs so 0/10

Aspertia City: Straight shot with a stair throne. Cheren you patronising cunt, get your ass down here.

Virbank City: Stairs right at the beginning. They’ll never hear him scream.

Humilau City: Getting on and off the lilypads looks like a pain, it might be easier to swim it again. Also it looks like you need a lot of momentum to move those pads.

Santalune City: He’s fucking dead again.

Cyllage City: Grant what the French fried fuck is this?

Shalour City: Yeah no this is impossible. Sorry, buddy.

Coumarine City: WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS. I can't fucking do this shit with fully functional legs.

Lumiose City: Finally one we can fucking do. Thank you, puntable looking children.

Laverre City: The warp panels are annoying but mountable.

Anistar City: Trippy as fuck and totally doable!

Snowbelle City: Fuck this disco fuckery.

Turffield: Ignoring the stairs in and out (rage), we can handle herding some Wooloo. Git along lil tumbleweeds!

Hulbury: So anyway I don’t like Nessa-

Motostoke: So again ignoring the stairs in it’s totally doable-

Stow-On-Side: Can transfer in and out of the spinny cups, but someone has to bring the chair down while he does it.

Circhester: Fuck you and your pitfalls.

Ballonlea: OLD LADY HAS RAMPS YAY

Spikemuth: What a nice wheelchair friendly street!

Hammerlocke: I forget if you can actually get in the room, but hey it’s just double battles, sweet.

Cortondo: The olive roll is possible.

Artazon: May depend entirely on where the Sunflora choose to hide. The gym itself is elevated up some stairs though so...

Levincia: All you have to do is sit there and look at some cameras and look pretty for the fans.

Cascarrafa: The trek through the desert to get Kofu’s wallet back to him ain’t gonna go well, but this is supposedly not the usual pre battle challenge so ehh.

Medali: The stage at the treasure eatery is a whore but everything else is fine.

Montenevera: Once again, access to the stage and the gym itself are whores. He’s gonna pet all the ghost dogs though.

Alfornada: You just gotta make faces for this one, right? Surely any other exercises Dendra and Tulip give you should be able to be adapted for the disabled anyway.

Glaseado: Uhhh the snow slope run is done on the back of a Pokemon as far as I remember so it should be fine.