#I need pokemon tabloids

[mandachuart]

Listen... okay listen... I just... LISTEN OKAY

I am obsessed with them???

I CAN'T STOP???

I JUST...

[rivalhughs]

I like hearing about your verse's Leon and Hop awhile back!! Do you have anything about their family dynamic? Or their teams? :)

MY LOVES oh i adore leon and hop theyre so . blorbo from my game... the sillies...... (special luv to all the 3 swsh rivals + their family issues ngl . very important and special to me.)

ramble ahead... :) (cws for mentions of parental death, big financial difficulty, and leon's mental health being absolute shit, & rose being a twat)

SOOOOOOO . the malik brothers

first and foremost Very Important. they're pakistani-british. this is just me projecting bc the area of north england that i'm from there's a lot of pakistani communities <3

their ma's name is Sana & their pa's name is Farhad

originally born in hulbury, the family moved to postwick when leon was ~10 and hop ~5 to be with Sana's parents after pa passed away suddenly (rapid decline after a cancer diagnosis :( ) leon is trans; hop is he/they nonbinary (but doesnt crack his egg til partway thru his gym challenge)

they had it quite rough for a while after farhad's passing. sana was struggling to find a job due to her lingering grief, and while her parents did everything they could to keep food on the table, it was incredibly tough.

one day, while staying out far past his curfew, leon met sonia & her grandma magnolia gifted him his charmander! he calls her charlene because he's very creative <3

he gets in trouble with his ma for staying out late, but she's very quickly enamoured with the charmander so he's not in that much trouble...

leon quickly develops a talent for pokemon battles, wiping the floor with even adult trainers when he enters a for-fun battling tournament in a local park, intended for casual trainers.

(un)fortunately for him, one certain chairman rose happened to be watching. and seeing how leon's talent was not only incredible, but also just in its infancy, he instantly recognised someone who he could have as a star. his star.

he becomes a mentor figure to leon, rose is an accomplished battler after all, and even sponsors him to join the league! leon... honestly would much rather keep his battling and pokemon training to just be a hobby, but... well, his family need money. and he loves his family. so of course he accepts, and battles his way to the top, all the way above the poverty line and into upper-middle-class life. all by the time he's twelve. he hasn't even properly started secondary school; he's missed basically his entire first year to the league and promotional events, acting as Galar's newest rising star.

he's upset. he's lonely. his friendships feel forced and strained. he misses his family, he misses his hobbies. he's camera shy and doesnt like all the questions people ask him, as if he's a prop, as if he's an actor, as if he's not even a kid anymore.

but it's worth it, right? his family are doing better financially- great, even! they've moved out of that crummy, damp filled (cozy. it sucks, but he misses it. misses what it represented. family. being close.) little cottage, and moved into a huge, three storey house in the nicest part of postwick! he can afford to get his family extravagant gifts whenever he wants- even though technically rose manages his finances, but rose lets him do whatever he wants with it. it's his money, after all.

it's fine. his family are happy. they're comfortable. his ma or grandparents no longer have to skip on meals for him and hop to eat. they could afford to have a three course meal for every mealtime if they wanted. it's fine. he's fine. he can do this. he loves his family.

he loves them. he wishes he could tell them, but it's so hard to find time to go home anymore. every magazine, every tabloid, every news program and newspaper and website and every single person wants an interview and a thousand photographs. he's signing autographs for hours, replying to letters by hand so much his wrist aches. he wants to go home, but he needs to stay where the work is, where the money is. he's thirteen, he loves his family. he's fine. he's eighteen and he loves his family. and he's fine. he's twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two... he loves his family. he's still not processed his father's death properly; busywork drowns him and his whole body aches, and he hates battling these days, everything's all so fake, so scripted, he's always advertising something or other, something he doesn't care for, but he's fine. he's getting paid. his family is comfortable. they're fine, so he is, too.

hop doesn't really remember much from before leon became champion. he remembers a bit of hulbury, of course- that's where he met vic, after all- but... not much else. grief and poverty wound together for those couple of years, and thesedays, it's almost completely repressed. almost.

he misses his brother, but loves when he comes to visit- or when hop can go and visit him, down in wyndon. he can tell something's not quite right with leon, his smiles are always a little too wide, his eyes always so tired, he drops thoughts mid-sentence and stares off into nothingness too much... but lee never tells him what's wrong. eventually, hop stops asking, frustrated, feeling like leon doesn't trust him, or thinks he's too little, but he still tries to cheer him up.

hop's first pokemon is his wooloo, whistle. whistle is a little knowitall. he and charlene have a faux-rivalry, since charlene also loves to dote on hop, and whistle is like "Umm Ex-Cuuuse me, lady, this is My boy. fuck off." and charlene is like "dude ur a tiny sheep. u dont even have hands to ruffle his hair. pathetic." they're friends, really, when it comes down to it, but most of the time they are having beef over completely inconsequential things. hop thinks its incredibly funny. hop caught him on accident one day. vic- who already had a pokemon- had come by for a sleepover, and was showing hop how pokeballs work. hop was looking at one, and dropped it. it rolled down the hill, got boosted off a small rock, and hit whistle, who had been snoozing. insane.

hop loves his family just as fiercely as leon does. but because hes the youngest, because they're all adults, and he's not... he feels like they never take him seriously.

it's difficult. it's weird. they miss each other, but there's a rift there. battles, grief, naivete, fears said and silent... they'll cross it someday, but it's clear that something needs to change.

maybe one day, it will. and things will start to get better.

as for their teams:

leon:

charlene | charizard, f, she/her | leon's ace. can mega evolve, but they choose to gigantamax her bc of Branding. tough-love kinda gal, rough and tumble, loves to train herself, often wrestles lee's other pokemon for funsies. teases hop's pokemon affectionately. uchi villager kinda girl

holly | haxorus, f, she/her | first pokemon leon caught after setting out on his gym challenge. holly is camera shy, like leon, but loves to battle. she doesnt really like her role as a champion's pokemon, but leon is her best friend, so she sticks it out for him. she's very kind.

link | aegislash, m, he/it | yes named after link from LOZ. nobody tell shinon. gluttonous beast, please stop eating the automatic doors of rose tower. tough and reliable, but can easily be persuaded with snacks. sometimes, anyway. won't take anything from rose. rose's number 1 hater.

oceana | rhyperior, f, she/her | named after her favourite sweet treat- rock-stick candy from the beach :) . she's another shy one, and very much looks up to charlene. despite being shy, she can be quite argumentative, and butts heads with link a lot.

cinnamon | dragapult, m, he/him | weirdo who comes and goes as he pleases. he's a freak he's a weirdo what the hell is he doing here (on this mortal plane) he doesnt belong here (hes a ghost of a dragon that lived millions of years ago) . anyway. cinnamon is an edgelord loner who literally will steal leon's phone to listen to emo music. what a legend.

tango | rillaboom, f, she/her | super upbeat and happy-go-lucky. tango is the baby of the team, quite literally only having become a part of it in the last couple of years, after leon's previous 6th team member (a rapidash named Prince) had to retire from professional battling due to an injury. tango is very sweet and genuine, but her high energy does sometimes irritate the quieter members of the team. her bestie is cinnamon though. they listen to linkin park together :)

and for hop! darling hopscotch <3

whistle | dubwool, m, he/him | hop's ace. knowitall little man. this wooloo is a hater and he loves to be a hater <3 . he will chat shit about anyone who even looks at hop funny. watch out bede. def hop's number one, his best friend forever. so his confidence is knocked when hop's is, and when hop boxes him after the bede confrontation. is angry with hop for a long while after that, doesnt listen to him in battle, even when hop returns him to his team. it's not until the eternatus incident that whistle forgives him.

severn | inteleon, m, he/they | chatty and fun. severn likes to make sure everyone is included in things :) . he's very sweet and reliable, the unofficial leader of hop's team. very well respected and level-headed, even if he's not the best battler.

citrus | pincurchin, f, she/her | mysterious. quiet. oddly powerful. very chill, good listener. offers her teammates insanely good advice. why is this spiky blob so wise? who knows.

bex | cramorant, f, she/her | unlike most cramorant, who rarely have a thought in their heads, bex is ridiculously intelligent. like. scarily intelligent. this bird can do calculus. she's a little bit stuck up, which is funny, and sometimes her teammates (just whistle. who is jealous) find her to be annoying. but she is also patient and good at explaining things. she and severn like to come up with battling strategies together

teacup | snorlax, m, he/him | sleeby.... very reliable and gentle. likes to tuck his teammates in at night, hop included. makes sure they all rest well.

lingcod | corviknight, m, he/him | yes, named after the fish. this is the mon hop has had the most trouble with. lingcod was a rescue from a trainer who sucked BAD. lingcod was raised with a need to be unnecessarily aggressive, and to be strong above all else. he lashes out a lot at first, and is generally disliked by a lot of the team. he doesnt trust any of them, but hop slowly earns his trust by simply not giving up on him. eventually, lingcod learns to relax and settles in with the team. he likes teacup the best. they're snoozing buddies. hes still anxious and bitey, and doesnt like new people, but he's slowly doing a lot better, bit by bit :)

tldr i love u malik brothers ;w;

[daily-creampuffcutie]

so you're a palatean pokemon? are there other pokemon that also have different palatean forms?

[♪] [[ More than you could possibly perceive! Planet Palatea houses millions of saporous species baked into every corner and crumb of the world. It is a biosphere brimming with bonbons! ]]

[[ Depicting every species here would exceed this blog's scope, so Connee has invited a few guests today to showcase a slice of our extraordinary ecosystem. ]]

[[ Our first guest is Madison, a Palatean Buneary! Cotten candy coneys like Madison are local to Doughnut Delights and tend to be a tad timid. They often stay together in groups and conceal themselves within the forest foliage. Their fur is also superbly soft! ]]

[[ Madison is a bit camera shy, so Connee gave her a helping hand! ]]

[[ Next up is Frederick, a Palatean Macargo! This molten mollusk is a visitor from Choco Challenge looking for a cool climate getaway. Frederick's study shell and fiery fudge are the results of his ancestors, who spent millennia lounging in lava cake volcanos. ]]

[[ Also, do not panic, macargo are not actually 18,000°F! This is a misconception that tabloids spread to create sensational stories. If this was the case, Connee would have been instantly vaporized! ]]

[[ For our final guest, Connee fetched her friend Lu- ]]

????: YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

(C R A S H !!)

????: Howdyhoodles, ladders and gentlesnakes! How rawr you all doing on this tacotastic Tuesday? X3

[[ O-Oh gosh, Connee! Are you alright?! ]]

Connee: @w@

[[ LUCA!! You were supposed to wait for your cue and walk carefully onto the set, not head charge straight into the host!! ]]

Luca: I wanted to make a grand entrée! Besides, you guys were in despacito need of some high-larry-ness that'll shatter everybob's boneless spare ribs! And I'm here with that digiorno delivery. UwU

[[ First off, the phrase is "make a grand entrance," not "entrée." Second, the word "hilarious" is an adjective, not a...never mind. ]]

[[ Anyway! This is Luca Lemonloaf, another Doughnut Delights denizen and one of Connee's bestest buddies. Luca is a yamper-fidough crossbreed who inherited his mother's citrus style and father's doughy disposition, resulting in a well-baked bowow. ]]

[[ He is brisker than a breakneck bullet! He is peppier than a megalopolitan power plant! ᴴᵉ ᶦˢ ᶦⁿᶜʳᵉᵈᶦᵇˡʸ ᵘⁿᶠᵘⁿⁿʸ ᵃⁿᵈ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵇᵉ ᵉⁿᶜᵒᵘʳᵃᵍᵉᵈ ]]

Luca: Heckie freaking yeah I am!! I can do tony's tricks too, watch me flip-flap all over these sandals!! XD

[[ At least get off of Connee first!! ]]

[[…thank you for the prompt anon! ]]

[iruludavare]

inquiring minds need to know! can we expect to see your family expand so to speak?

Anonymously send me asks as a tabloid journalist || Accepting

          Oh, for goodness' sake.

          "Well... You see, so to speak, I consider my pokemon as part of my family. That must be what you mean,"

          "I'm not really one for catching pokemon left and right— new additions to my family are rare. If they want to join me and I have the resources to take care of them, then of course. But otherwise, I don't see any need to. So, possibly."

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

That latest pokefic pitch sounds straight out of black mirror and that’s terrifying

[ Anonymous: While I hate the idea that the Time Machine doesn't actually time travel, I do LOVE the idea of Emmet manifesting a pale imitation of Ingo based on how he sees him. (Maybe he somehow gets in contact with the Disk/Crater Entity directly. Emmet needs his brother... And maybe the Disk needs an agent, a construct that can help it stretch its power outside of Paldea. So Ingo "coming back" would benefit the both of them.) ]

>:3

see i find the idea of it being a fake time machine much more believable than actual time travel happening. not least because it explains why dialga's cool with whatever's happening, and why these "past/future pokemon" happen to so perfectly resemble cryptids from a supernatural tabloid. but! it's not like the writers are putting a ton of effort into making this believable anyway. so it's not necessarily something i think is canon so much as a theory/hc i enjoy.

what would be interesting is if the first clue they get that something's not right here is that turo/sada can't. get the machine to work. it's baffling, there's nothing technically wrong with it but no matter how much they futz with the parameters they just get more paradox pokemon. it isn't until barry and emmet step up to the machine that it cooperates and spits out the people (because sada/turo doesn't know enough about protag/ingo for the crater to form a coherent picture of them to copy). which isn't something that pings as immediately wrong in the moment, but would be a detail that kept nagging at emmet and barry the more they interacted with their not-right loved ones.

[exhalcdvibes]

official  name  : alastair  joseph  miller  iii .    meaning  of  name  :  of  greek  origin  meaning   ‘mans  defender’  ;  of  hebrew  origin  meaning  god  will  give.  nicknames  :  alvie  ,  al.  date  of  birth  :  april  15, 1981.  age  :  forty  one.  birthplace  :   little  rock  ,   arkansas.  nationality  :  american.  gender  :  cis  man.  pronouns  :  he/him.  orientation  :  bisexual  ( prefers women  )  &  biromantic.  religion  :  atheist.  languages  :   english .  education  :  high  school  drop out   .

｡*    ❪       📂   ›  BASICS

(—) ★ spotted!! alaster “ alvie ” miller iii on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 41 year old looks like charlie hunnam, but i don’t really see it. while the bodyguard & owner of a security agency is known for being forthright my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be possessive i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song john redcord by sir  {he/him / cis man}

｡*    ❪       📂   ›  BACKSTORY

alvie grew up with a father who hated his guts, his mom died in child birth and his dad has always blamed him for the loss. literally this man tried to name him lucifer and his mother ( alvies grandma ) was like no we’re not doing that 

he was more so raised by his grandma than his dad, when he was six he dropped him off there and rarely ever surfaced again but when he did he always left a dark cloud in alvie’s life until he eventually left again. he literally hasn’t spoken to his dad in over twenty years. 

his grandma died when he was twenty five and that was the last time he cried. he’ll tell you that he’s never loved someone besides her. she was basically his only family. he has a half sibling that he knows about but hasn’t made any effort to get to know. 

he joined the military at 18 and intended to make a career out of it, only retiring at age 35 when he got into a fight with a commanding officer which essentially stalled his career. 

he tried to have relationships but he was moving around so much while he was military that they never really lasted long. he kind of just gave up on love, he’s been single for seven years.

he was recommended to lily because they needed security and he was more than qualified. he’s still her personal security and anytime there’s a big event you’ll find him trailing behind her like a little shadow.

｡*    ❪       📂   › EMOTIONAL STATE

very closed off, really doesn’t like talking to people like...at all

he doesn’t often get angry you have to push him pretty far to get him upset most the time he’ll just get in his car and drive until he feels better instead of reacting 

he will not be your wise old man, don’t tell him your problems most you’ll get out of him is a “that’s rough buddy” 

emotions are tough for him to identify he tends to feel blank most of the time 

tries to be nice but it doesn’t always come off the way he’s intending it to 

｡*    ❪       📂   › QUICK FACTS

my mans was almost in the secret service

hates drugs , doesn’t drink ( he’s a recovering alcoholic )

addicted to tiny desk performances 

loves cardigans & sweaters

his house is a fucking disaster zone and he absolutely refuses to hire a maid he doesn’t want a stranger in his house

always keeps a gameboy with whatever pokemon he’s playing that day & a minimum of $20,000 in his fanny pack

[unovasaved-a]

@rocketborn​ reassured(?): ❝ i’m just saying it could be worse. ❞

He’s right. It could be worse. Rosa could have gotten separated from Azu at home in Unova. Forced to spend all day attempting to avoid rabid paparazzi while hunting for her poor little, well maybe not that little, Azumarill lost in a huge city like Castelia. Or this could have happened when she was younger and at home in the commune. She could have all the adults yelling at her for being so careless, so stupid, sending her out into the woods to understand how it must feel to be a pokemon lost in the big terrifying world without the guidance of the King or Lord Ghetsis.

Oh... There was that thought again. Azu was now lost all alone in that big terrifying world. In a completely unfamiliar place without any friends to help. How could Rosa be so careless? So stupid?? How could she be such a horrible friend? No, no, she needed to calm down. Gather her bearings. These thoughts of worse scenarios and self pitying was doing nothing to cool her nerves, his attempt to bring a positive spin to this wasn’t helping either. In fact as she thought on it, it was kind of pissing her off. HER! Little Miss Optimistic! Miss Always Smile for the Camera, for the Whole Wide World! Not that he’d know any of that. She was famous in Unova. In Kanto? She was just some Unovan Celebrity brought over for Game shows and Teenage Dramas. If she was even recognized for that. She kind of hoped she wasn’t. The last thing she needed while her heart was beating out of her chest was for someone to recognize her as a celebrity.

“N... Not... Helping...” She says through breaths that don’t want to leave or enter her body. She attempts to collect her breathing before speaking anymore but her attempts are shaky and heavy as though she just ran for miles. Which maybe she did, she had ran all over Celadon City now searching for her beloved partner. She held a finger up to the stranger informing him to wait one moment while she composed herself. She could not do this. Not in front of other people! What would they say? What would the tabloids say if they saw her? She could see the headlines now ‘Rosa's Meltdown in Kanto!’, ‘Rosa’s Freak Out Far From Home!’. She wanted to puke and she wasn’t sure if it was from the anxiety of having lost one of her precious partners in an unfamiliar city or at the very idea of the field day the tabloids would have over her crisis. She stands up straight, pulling her hair from her eyes and turns to face the stranger forcing herself into some composure.

“Help me. Please, help me. I don’t know this city at all and Azu - My Azumarill could be anywhere. I’ll pay you if you help me!”

[leggerefiore]

Can I request HCs of the train twins dating Reader, who’s a Champion of another region that isn’t Unova? Keep up the good work!

thank you, i'll keep trying to!

▲Ingo▼

● He wants to battle with you often. You have pokemon that he likely hasn't seen before, and it's a wonderful training experience. Not mentioning your competent ability from being a champion. Basically, kick his ass; he loves it.

● The Subway Boss wishes to know about the public transit infrastructure if your region has any. He hopes to ride the magnet train in Kanto and Johto, it is a dream of his (and Emmet's). If you're from Alola, he is mildly distressed by the lack of trains for a moment. 

● If he manages to get some time off work, he would be delighted to visit your region. Take him on a full sightseeing tour, he stands there with a dead-pan expression snapping photos. People pass him by thinking he's seriously hating wherever he is, but truthfully, he's entranced and excited to learn about your culture and region.

● His tourism outfit varies by region. He wears the ugliest, black Hawaiian shirt in Alola. In Galar, he buys a plaid flat cap and walks around with it on the entire time. He's trying his best to be more casual, but not look plainly Unovan. (He gets horribly sunburnt in any tropical environment. Poor baby needs to slathered in sun cream.)

● He might challenge the league while you're there and give you an unexpected battle. It's nice to have a role reversal from you battling him on the Subway. When you beat him, the volume of his “Bravo!” scares at least one of your elite four members.

● You're a celebrity trainer couple, there's hilarious gossip about you two constantly. At some point, an article mixed up Ingo and Emmet, so another tabloid claimed you were cheating. That entire week was pure, unbridled insanity.

▽Emmet△

○ Also battles with you often. He does not mind if you win; however, he just wants a fulfilling battle with a strong trainer. He's a wonderful training partner, and you probably won't lose your edge while dating him. Not only that, but he also loves seeing your foreign pokemon! He'll ask you questions all about them.

○ Also curious about whether or not your home region has trains. If not, he asks, “Why?” with a genuinely confused expression. Had you ever ridden a train before coming to Unova? There's something kind of romantic to Emmet about the idea his subway line was your first trip. As mentioned before, he wants to ride the magnet train.

○ If you notice he's suddenly doing a bunch of overtime and seemingly always at work, he is attempting to get time off. He intends to see your home region (and possibly gape at the actual lack of trains. He is in denial; they are so convenient!). He's doing the goofy tourist photos with you. His giddiness is apparent as you tell him about important locations and customs.

○ Like Ingo, he's wearing tourism outfits. His ugly Hawaiian shirt is white and hurts to look at in direct sunlight. Interestingly, he buys a punk choker in Galar (it's not for him). Also gets terribly sunburnt, he whines when he does. Asks you to kiss it better.

○ The Subway Boss would like to try desserts from your region! Take him to pastier, a baker or a café. You try so many different desserts and new ones you probably have never heard of. Emmet never stops beaming at the confectioneries.

○ There is no 'if' he'll challenge the league, only 'when'. He wants to see you in action in your home environment, as you've seen him on the subway. When you beat him, he embraces you too tightly. It genuinely knocks the breath out of you. He is so proud of you, it's ridiculous. (One of your elite four members wondered who gets that happy when they lose.)

○ You two are a celebrity trainer couple, too. Though, the press inexplicably leave you alone. It's anyone's guess as it why. You say this as you rub your boyfriend's giant spider pet's head.

[i-write-boop-spoops]

Leon with a chubby! S/O

Thanks for the request anon! I’m on the softer side too, so I really enjoyed this one!

This is gonna be wholesome and sfw! Though there will be brief mentions of fatphobia and body-shaming. Remember all bodies are beautiful, no matter the shape or size!

Seriously if I catch anybody body-shame on this blog they will catch this block, lemme tell ya that much

Enjoy!

Leon loves your body

He thinks it’s so gorgeous and soft

So beautiful!

So snuggle-able!

It’s so different from his

He really enjoys the contrast

One of his favourite things to do when he needs to de-stress

After a long day of league-business

Is resting his head on a plush part of you

Like your lap

Your tummy

Or your chest

And have you run your fingers through his hair

While he has his big strong arms wrapped around you

Basically hugging you

It’s heaven to him

You’re so nice and warm

Your scent is amazingly comforting too

The whole experience just makes him a happy, blessed boi

He’ll never need another pillow again, since he has you!

At no time has he ever felt ashamed or embarrassed to be seen with you

Whenever you’re out together, he holds your hand/hip proudly

Presenting you as his beloved S/O to the world

He’s fully aware of how the tabloids treat you

It’s honestly disgusting what they’ve written about your size/shape

And some of his stans are SO rude to you online

They already hate the fact their champion has a sweetheart

A sweetheart who isn’t them

So they would post terrible things about you and your appearance

He has denounced them, and blocked/reported many of them

You’ve done the same

But unfortunately you can’t escape all of what they say

One of the ones that stuck out to Leon

Was a particularly terrible rumour that you had blackmailed him into dating you

Which, besides from being absolutely vile

Is such a wild concept to him

Because like

In his opinion, it should be the other way around

He thinks you’re way out of his pokemon league

So pretty and kind and funny and cute and smart and sexy

Etc, etc

You see him as he truly is, not as his Champion façade

Man’s so whipped for you

You do your best to ignore his mean stans/the media, but sometimes they get to you

He makes sure to remind you of how much he loves you

How pretty you are

How gorgeous your body is

How you j i g g l e

You find solace in the fact you can always lean on Lee for support and reassurance

He really does make you feel beautiful/sexy

Leon loves to work out

All that wii sports resort does a body good

So if you wanted to start exercising with him

Whether to lose weight, get stronger or just to take up a new hobby

He will be the BEST coach ever

Supportive, encouraging, inspiring

Pushes you to push yourself, but not to the point of injury or exhaustion

After all, he finds you perfect as you are, so no need to over-exert yourself

He’s just very blessed to be with you

[volkshore]

sinnoh league headcanons

these hc’s are very centric to my favourite characters so i apologize if most of them only revolve around a few characters (volkner, flint, cynthia, maylene, candice, dawn, lucas).

byron and volkner smoke and the rest of the league hate it. cynthia, maylene, and gardenia, being the biggest advocates for health and the environment in the league, constantly admonish them for it and pull the craziest things to try to get them to stop.

flint and volkner once stayed in the hotel grand lake together (the hotel near valor lakefront, renown as a honeymoon location for couples) and the tabloids caught wind of it, sparking an extreme amount of dating rumours. they still haven’t heard the end of it from the rest of the league.

the elite four all get along surprisingly well for the wide range of ages. flint and aaron occasionally butt heads due to their forward and loud personalities clashing, but bertha talks them down and lucian keeps them sane. the four of them together make quite the unconventional, tight-knit group.

candice and volkner act like brother and sister. they bond over their seclusion (geographically) from the other leaders and their love for complex puzzles, as well as their intense best friends (maylene and flint). their personalities mesh really well and they always protect each other from media rumours and general hate.

the last three gym leaders (byron, candice and volkner) tend to spend more time with the elite four than they do the other gym leaders (though they’re still very close with the others).

the gym leaders, elite four and champion are the closest sinnoh have to any real celebrities, and therefore they attract the most media attention. articles such as “volkner being the problematic gym leader for 5 minutes straight” and “10 times maylene turned a public meeting into a motivational speech” definitely exist.

maylene has a popular tiktok account and she always forces the other leaders to make videos with her.

dawn and lucas are like the adopted children of the league. they always make time to visit the leader of the cities they travel to and make occasional appearances at the battleground when the league decides to meet up there.

flint and volkner have especially taken to dawn and lucas and are the ones they visit most often. they jokingly refer to them as their dads — flint and volkner don’t mind.

even after dawn/lucas beat the league, cynthia stays on as the figurehead champion who takes care of the league’s affairs. dawn and lucas are still young and have so much more of the world to learn and explore before they deal with anything that stressful, though they do take the battles of the occasional challengers.

the sinnoh gym challenge isn’t taken on my many people which leaves the league with a lot of down time, and this is why they’re all so close. only they can empathize with each other regarding the leader experience and the league are the only family that some of them have.

though their most popular hangout spot is the battleground, a lot of the time, they also meet up at someone’s gym/the league building. having so many eyes on you can get exhausting, and they use these hangouts at more protected areas to just be themselves with the people they trust.

during the time of team galactic’s terror, the league often held meetings that turned into group therapy sessions. for the first few hours, they would intensively analyze team galactics actions, movements, and possible motives, but once their energy tanked and the sun went down, most of them would end up lying on the table or floor and they would lay out all of their insecurities to each other. they would often talk about how worried they were that cyrus’ plan would succeed if they weren’t strong enough, or if the region could tell how little control they had over the situation.

i don’t have hc ages for all of them, but here are some:

— cynthia: mid/late 20’s (27?)

— volkner & flint: 24

— candice: 21

— maylene: 20

— aaron: 19

— dawn & lucas: 16

(i know that pokemon has the consistent theme of their mc’s being 10-12, but i just never saw that as viable with the level of maturity needed to go through the situations that they do. read: this is my hc list and i do what i want)

most of the leaders are quite young and i figure that’s why i hc that they all get along so well. bertha, byron, and fantina are the only ones left from the previous lineup of leaders.

this is kind of a big one, but i hc that cyrus was the previous champion of sinnoh. he was very power-hungry and put way too much pressure on the gym leaders / elite four to perform at their highest capacity. it was a huge breath of relief for the whole region when cynthia beat him.

the previous generation of gym leaders / elite four all stepped down from their positions around the same time (within a few years of each other). much like the current lineup, they were all very close, and just couldn’t keep up when the new leaders stared to take on their positions. all of the current leaders are very forward-thinking and fast on their feet while the previous generation still carried the burdens of the league under cyrus’ rule, and decided it was time to let them take the lead.

bertha, byron and fantina all have their own reasons for staying.

bertha: she’s nearing retirement anyway and wanted to see the league be something good before she stepped down. all she knew was cyrus’ rule, and she wanted to end her career on a good note with some years under cynthia.

byron: he decided to stay because of roark getting the leadership position in oreburgh. roark always tells his dad that he shouldn’t stay just for him, but byron does still very much enjoy being a leader, so he stayed for that, too.

fantina: she’s still young and has a huge passion for battling. as close as she was with the past leaders, she still has so many years of her career ahead of her and found it easy to fit in with the new leaders. she also figured that someone with past experience that the younger leaders could relate to should stick around in case any of them needed guidance (being in the middle of sinnoh also helps for visitations sake)

even though dawn and lucas are still very young, they’re wise beyond their years. they’re both extremely empathetic and very good at picking up on other peoples emotions, so when the leaders are feeling off or down, they’re always the first ones to be able to notice what’s wrong and give good advice.

all the leaders feel extremely indebted to lucas and dawn, but all they ever ask for is friends in the leaders and a place to stay when they visit every once in a while.

the league always have a yearly vacation together with each other. it’s chaotic, competitive, and always ends up drawing media attention and making headlines for something crazy that happens during the trip, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

i’ll stop this list here for now, and i’ll compile all the ones i think of from here on out into a part 2! this headcanon list also gave me the idea to make fake social media profiles for the league, so stay tuned for that coming in the future.

[yama951]

Lucid Twin Dragons #5

Nimbasa City, Unova Region, 2022 AC

Elesa gulped as she returned to the city. There was an aura in the air, a feeling of bursting power but everyone acted normally. A little too normally now that she became aware of the whole dragon incarnate deal. The sight of smiling people made her wonder if people are just happier or if they were made to be happy as an ideal world to live in.

A shiver went down her spine at the thought as she felt like she was entering the dragon’s den as a sacrificial princess in those childhood tales. But this is her city, her home, if she had to deal with a potentially rampaging dragon in the form of her best friend, she has to do it. Who else could?

She headed to the mall first. She is a gym leader but she’s not a fool. Let the tabloids spread rumors about her outfit and supplies. A couple humidifiers, a bunch of dryer sheets, even a whole outfit designed to deal with static electricity and sparks from powerful electric pokemon she had to borrow from her gym’s janitorial staff. Once she had everything, she went to the twin’s apartment that night.

“Emmet? You there?” she asked as she knocked on the door, before pressing the buzzer a couple times at the timing of a pop tune for extra annoyance. ”I swear if this ends up being a damn Beauty and the Beast situation, I’ll go straight to punching.” she muttered to herself.

The door then opens, revealing Emmet in his casual home wear with his work gloves on, though what shocked Elesa was the whites of his eyes have become clear red, not red from tiredness she first assumed but an even red. The glowing eyes of Zekrom were staring back at her from the shadows of the unlit apartment.

He flipped the lights on, the strong pressure fading as he was relieved it wasn’t another nosy reporter. The tight grin softened back to a normal smile.

“I am Emmet. You are Elesa. You are back from the gym leader meeting.” The eyes remained unchanged as Emmet tilted his head at her outfit. “Do you require assistance at the gym?”

Terrified, she slapped a dryer sheet right at Emmet’s face. He blinked in confusion.

“Emmet, this is an intervention! You need to take a break, or at least stop whatever it is you’re doing!”

“I am Emmet. I am doing well. Thank you for your concern Elesa but I am functioning at an Ideal state.” he said as he took the dryer sheet off his face and looked at it, wondering what’s going on with his best friend.

“But that’s not the truth though.” crimson on silver eyes turned to look at her but she held her ground. “Look, I don’t know much about this whole… dragon incarnate business… but forcing yourself, forcing everyone, to remain in some ideal state isn’t healthy. It’s not healthy for anyone.”

Emmet’s eyes widened in shock. Elesa could tell. The twins tend to communicate their emotions through their eyes. He walked towards her slowly.

“How did you-” he then grabbed her, moved face to face, almost touching, and took a deep inhale. Elesa noticed the fangs as he growled. “Who told you?”

Elesa kept eye contact as much as she could.

“This is why you need to stop! What is going on with you!? Personal space, Emmet! Let go of me and calm down!”

Realizing what he just did, he let go and took a few steps back in shock.

“I am Emmet. I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you.” static and sparks jumped up his legs, flickering the lights of the messy apartment.

For a moment, Elesa was crestfallen at the sight. The once neat and tidy apartment was becoming a landfill. She agreed to give him some space and to protect him from the carvanha that was the news and tabloids but for him to fall like this and still kept going at 100%?

“Emmet, please. Whatever it is you’re doing, there’s better ways of doing them.”

“The police dropped the case, Elesa.” Emmet stated. “I went to the police station during my break weeks ago for a check and they said that they dropped the case. The trail went cold. There were no new developments.” The pressure grew as tears began to fall from Emmet’s wide silver on red eyes. “I… I could not accept it. I Will not accept it.” he growled out. “The next thing I knew, the police continued the case. They kept on looking. They even put more people in the case, expanded the search area, put more money on the search, anything they could do for the Ideal result. Just for me, with a smile on their faces.” he then dropped to his knees, crying with a small smile.

Elesa went to comfort him, noticing the mirror on the wall, cracked, shattered and bloody with a hole where a punch was done to it. Careful, she pulled the gloves from his hands. They were bandaged but what she saw were the black claws that replaced his nails..

“I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. I am scared, Elesa. Ingo and I are a two man train. This has been the longest time we have been decoupled.”

Elesa hugged him.

“You can cry, Emmet. You know Ingo wouldn’t want you to force yourself like this.”

She felt Emmet’s heaving as sparks jumped around them, moving through them. She sighed in relief as the rubber janitorial suit came in handy. Then Emmet roared.

It was a deep and echoing roar with no words yet the pure Will through it impressed the concepts in her mind.

Brother. Twin. Where?

Return. Please. Return.

It took a while as Emmet’s breath began to slowly calm after his sobbing and sudden roar. He glanced at her, silver on red meeting blue on white.

“What is happening to me, Elesa? Am I cursed? Did Ingo left-” Elesa slapped another dryer sheet at Emmet’s face.

“You know that’s not true, Em!” she shouted. “You’re brothers, twins! The Train Twins of Nimbasa City! If you’re apparently Zekrom Incarnate or something, then Ingo’s Reshiram Incarnate.”

“... Ingo does not lie.” Emmet muttered out as he looked at the floor while taking the dryer sheet off his face.

“Without being grounded in truth, ideals can go wild, for good and for ill. For what is a dystopia but another ideal one can strive for?” Elesa quoted the old novel they were made to read in grade school. “Without an ideal to strive for, how can we rise to greatness, to achieve what we have dreamed to achieve? Our republic was founded on the ideals of liberty, freedom, and justice for all. Without our ideals, we would have become passive and accepting to the inequality caused by the monarchy and aristocracy, to the slavery and serfdom caused by the wealthy and powerful, to the injustice of it all. Without both, without truth nor ideals, we are nothing, destined to be forgotten in the mists of time.” Elesa then placed a hand on Emmet’s shoulder. “Em, what we need isn’t an ideal, but the truth. We are missing our truth, Em. So please, whatever it is you did, you have to end it.”

Emmet glanced at her, opened his mouth, and breathed out. Like some reverse roar, she felt the pressure pulled back, whatever Emmet did to the city was being undone, she hoped. She let out a sigh of relief. Until she saw Emmet’s eyes.

They look guilty.

“I am Emmet. I am also Zekrom. I made a mistake.”

Elesa tried to calm him by holding his clawed hand.

“I made a terrible mistake, oh treasure ours, a pact made to a Champion of a Twisted Ideal.” he held her hand tightly. “I can not take it back.”

“Do… do you know who this champion is?”

Emmet shook his head, sadly.

“My Zekrom self was resealed for easy storage, I think. Easy to hide and travel with.”

“That’s it!” Elesa shouted as she stood up. “We need to find Reshiram! The one that came out of the Light Stone! They’re still connected to Ingo right?”

Emmet’s eyes seemed to glow in hope as he got up and hugged her.

“That’s true! They have to be connected to him, just as I’m connected to Zekrom.”

“So, we got a plan. We have to go visit N. We’ll deal with this champion later. But first, Em, we need to get your… everything… in order.” she said as she looked at the mess of an apartment once more.

“I am Emmet. I am a mess. That is the truth.” he said with a more sincere grin.

Elesa hoped that Emmet’s taking his steps away from the dark path. She knew it’s not a one off thing. It’ll take some kicking and screaming, and she will go kicking and screaming if Emmet really does the whole ‘dragon kidnaps the princess’ schtick on her, but she hoped he began to heal.

[gaycey-sketchit]

1, 6 and 30 for both RespectShipping and OakShipping for the Ship Ask Meme! (If that's a bit too much, just doing the former is alright~)

There is never too much honestly! I reblog these things for the excuse to ramble about my headcanons, I love when people ask a lot of questions!

Under a readmore because some of my responses got a little long.

what’s their love language?

Respect: Drew's primary love language is canonically gifts--the rose thing is kind of his Brand, but I can see him showing affection through meaningful little gifts in general (food is probably a common one for most of the people he dates, definitely including Ash). I can see acts of service as a secondary one, because despite his aloof nature, we get multiple instances of him going out of his way to help the twerps, and that has to mean something. I get a very strong impression that acts is also Ash's main one--it's kind of his whole thing, doing whatever he can to help those he cares about. He's also very physically affectionate with his friends (see whatever he and Goh have going on) so you can make a case for touch as another one.

Oak: Gary's main ones being words and touch are both backed by canon--he thrives off of praise and frequently seeks it, and when he gives it himself, it's really significant, and I'm also a PalletShipper who has taken notice of all of his and Ash's Meaningful Touches. Gary's always looking for a reason to hold a cute boy's hand. Tracey's harder to pin down, but I think you can make a solid case for acts. I also tend to personally portray him as pretty inclined towards touch--he canonically sleeps with his gay little headband on, and when I noticed that I was like "why does he do that" and then my dear friend Wendy was like "pressure stim" and I was like "oh you're right" so. He is pressure seeking autistic and stuff like Gary laying on him/using him as a pillow is a good time for both of them.

what’s their stance on PDA?

Respect: Despite being a person who performs on a stage in televised competitions with an audience and everything, Drew is surprisingly shy, especially when it comes to his shows of affection (and being a celebrity, his relationships do end up the subject of tabloids when they get found out) so he tries to be discrete about things, preferring to reserve open affection for more private places. Ash, however, has no such reservations--he's used to being very openly affectionate with the people he's close to, and he tends to sort of... forget there's any reason not to. Whoops. (And their relationship's not going to be a secret for long anyway, with Ash going to contests to cheer Drew on and yelling "THAT'S MY BOYFRIEND!" for everyone to hear.)

Oak: Gary does not care where they are or who's watching, he will not hesitate to kiss or hold hands or rest his head on Tracey's shoulder or whatever. Tracey is more hesitant to initiate if other people are around, but totally doesn't mind going along with it when Gary does. And regardless of where they are, if he notices Gary seems stressed, he'll reach over to hold Gary's hand.

what’s their stance on having kids?

Respect: Despite how much I love this ship and how much I enjoy fankids, I haven't really come up with any for them? So I think maybe they remain childless, except for their Pokemon. I think Ash would be totally down to have a kid and he'd be great at it, but maybe Drew has reservations about it? With how much they both like to travel, and how sometimes Drew needs quiet and solitude, he's just not sure he could raise a kid right.

Oak: In contrast to the above, I've been considering like three fankids for them. So while I think it takes them a long while to feel ready, they eventually do, and they both take to it as doting and dedicated parents to their mini research team of kids.

[epicspheal]

You know what would be an interesting arc for the main character in SWSH if thy weren't just a controlled Protagonist? Them thinking about how they DON'T really have a reason to be in the gym challenge. Like, someone would maybe ask them from time to time "Why are you here in the challenge?" like a reporter or Bede and the best response they can give is "I'm here because Hop asked" or "I love pokemon and battling" but as the story goes on and they see all the reasons Hop and the others have for being in the Gym Challenge (Family pride, living up to expectations, wanting to prove their worth) they worry that maybe that's not enough. Maybe they think they don't have a good enough reason for being there in comparison to their fellow competitors. If you want to give some parallels with Hop, they could even get talking to from Bede after beating him where he says they "have no real goal beyond having fun and that wasn't enough" that makes them rethink their participation. Maybe they even think of dropping out or leaving since it wouldn't really be as bad for them to do so in comparison to Hop or Marnie only for maybe Hop to tell them that's stupid. He helps them realize they don't NEED any special reason or tragic backstory to compete and thwt they deserved to be there for their skills.. After all, Leon most likely didn't have some big reason or anything for becoming champion. He just became champion because he loved to battle and that led him to the top. Maybe that even helps Hop during his depression arc by makes HIM realize that maybe that's his problem. He's been so focused on living up to Leon and becoming the next champion, he's forgotten the real reason he's doing this. Not just because of wanting to succeed his brother but because of his love of pokemon and pokemon battles.

Hi there @l-egionaire! This is such an interesting setup for the protagonist. I know we talked a bit about this over DMs with Gloria in masters mentioning that she noticed that her friends had a lot of things on their mind in addition to the gym challenge. So I can definitely see the SwSh protag may be erroneously thinking that they don't have a reason to be in the challenge. I say erroneously because loving Pokemon battles and Pokemon is a reason, a good reason. Just not the most heartwrenching compared to the other challengers. Now admittedly the whole "I'm just doing it because Hop asked me to" is very weak and I could see a lot of drama from the tabloids from that one. I will say I think that Marnie might actually prove to be a better foil for the protagonist in this case than either Hop or Bede. I think instead of making Bede the one who implies that having a basic goal isn't enough, Marnie would be the better one to deliver that message. We know that even though she isn't mean like Bede, she can be rather blunt. Plus she has such pressure to succeed I feel like her knowing the protagonist was just kind of there would rub her the wrong way. Having her be the one to make the protagonist question their place in the gym challenge would open the path for some growth of her own. See Bede's words to Hop right before they have that fated battle "All this prattle about <player> and the Champion and whatnot... Do you not have anything of your own to show?" Perfectly highlights the dichotomy between both him and Hop. In the end, both of them aren't fighting for themselves but fighting to live up to the perceived expectations of someone they hold in high regard. And their growth comes from stepping out of that person's shadow and becoming their own person. Compare this to Marnie who is very much fighting more for others than her own personal enjoyment. I've criticized her lack of exposure and development in SwSh and I think given the scenario you're proposing I think her being the foil would work better. Yeah, I agree Hop needs to remember the love of battling, but I think Marnie needed to learn that lesson even more so, to make her eventual transition feel less like it's her being a martyr for Spikemuth but something she wants to do for her own sake. So I'd personally make the whole "who makes the protagonist question themselves" and "who's the one who realizes they need remember their love of battling" her.

[notafrogblog]

Who wants to read an entire fucking essay I’ve been writing over the last few months it’s about viddy games wooooooo

Video Games's Popularity

16% of entertainment hours in 2018 were spent playing video games, according to a study by The NPD Group, an American market research company (Stych). Video games have become more and more popular as they have become easier and easier to access through consoles, computers, tablets, and phones. Video games and gaming have become some of the most popular topics to watch on youtube, twitch, and other platforms, which is shown by the fact that youtube has a trending section just for video game content. I myself watch video game content whenever I get the chance. Merriam Webster defines video games as "an electronic game in which players control images on a video screen." If you use that definition for video games, it means gaming is a lot more widespread and prevalent than you'd first think. It would be a struggle to find anyone below the age of twenty who's never played a video game in some form. There are thousands of people in online communities who discuss video games and the people who play them, on sites like Reddit, Twitch, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, and more. Video game music, posters, clothing, and general merchandise is popular and lucrative for the companies that make and sell the products. People continue to invest their time, money, and energy into playing and enjoying video games. Video games are such a big part of the online community and my life that I decided to take this opportunity to learn more about them.

While researching this paper, I found different types of sources than I was expecting. Many articles on video games are outdated, poorly written, or simply didn't contain much information. Most possible sources were game reviews, tabloid-esque gossip, or talked about events occurring recently in the gaming community. These weren't very helpful for the type of topics I wanted to discuss. When I set out to write this, I expected to find more analyses of video games or game genres as a whole, or perhaps more in-depth writing. Although I did find articles that were in-depth, they were often very niche, scholarly, or outdated. Video games as a culture moves indescribably quickly, with new games always being released. The vast amount of content and places to share said content on the internet makes video games so widespread, it's near impossible to categorize and talk about video games a whole, rather than individual games or franchises. I suppose that's why there are so many game reviews. People are always looking for new games to play, new content to view. I did my best to find articles and sources I could use to talk about video games a whole, as a culture, and as a complex and nuanced form of entertainment. Part of my own interest in video games is due to the large variety of games and game content available. I would consider myself fairly knowledgeable about video games, especially after researching this essay. But I don't know much about games as a whole, or why people play them. As much as I love to talk about and watch video games, I don't play them often myself. I wanted to know what made other people love playing video games so much. Both my brothers are very engrossed in their respective games and consoles, and I found myself wondering what compels them to put their time and energy into something that doesn't give me that same satisfaction. Which begs the question, why do people play video games? What keeps them coming back? What makes video games so enjoyable?

I started by looking in the school databases, and on credible sites like the Washington Post and the New York Times. Video games is such a broad topic, but many articles focused on specific games or events. While I researched, I wondered what is so compelling about video games. I had some hypotheses. Video games often have a plot, a list of tasks to complete, or some sort of storyline. I found an article about the stories and plotlines of first-person shooter games, one of the most popular genres of games. In the article, David M. Leeson explains what differs between a multiplayer and a single-player shooter: "Most multiplayer shooters are gameplay-driven: play sessions consist of one or more matches, in which players compete with each other (either individually or as teams) to win the game, either by scoring points or capturing objectives. Most single-player shooters, by contrast, are story-driven: play sessions consist of one or more levels, in which the player is told the story so far and then must overcome a series of obstacles to find out what happens next." Already this provides some insight into what compels people to play video games. Multiplayer shooters, such as Fortnite, some Call of Duty games, Battlefield games, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, depend on other players to keep you interested. Winning a match is the main objective. In single-player games, the goal isn't to win a round, it's to complete the story. In a way, this makes a single-player shooter similar to a book or a movie. The difference between them is that the player takes an active part in moving the plotline forward, which keeps the player interested and motivated to find out what happens next.

A storyline isn't the only thing that can be necessary to keep a player motivated. The gameplay plays a big role in keeping the player interested in continuing the game. Games have two main parts, speed and strategy. Speed-based games rely on fast reflexes, immediate feedback, and quick thinking to be enjoyable. Games like these require you to be in the moment the whole time, ready to react to whatever is thrown at you. Games that are more speed-based include titles such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and endless runner games such as Temple Run or Subway Surfers. Despite being very different games in style, aesthetic, plot, and goals, these all rely on speed as a main mechanic. Another aspect of games is strategy. Strategy-based games take a slower route, and are more based on planning and thinking before you act. Strategy games often have some sort of back-and-forth mechanic between the player and some sort of other entity, usually a non-player character (npc) or the game itself. This includes games such as battling games such as Pokemon, storyline games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, and many mobile games. Strategy games require the player to think about what they want to do before they do it, and often have multiple storylines or options for how to play the game or what to do when. All games have elements of both strategy and speed, but usually one takes precedence over the other. Each category of game has its pros and cons and its own problems.

There are a few problems with speed-based games that the developers must remedy for the game to be enjoyable. Firstly, games with speed-based mechanics are often very easy to pick up and learn. Many Super Smash Bros. players will mash buttons or spam attacks rather than use combination attacks or the full variety of moves available. Speed-based games must introduce a learning curve for players to learn new skills, become better at the skills they already have, and some sort of challenge that requires those skills to be used. Another problem with speed-based games is the lack of variety. One character with only one set of moves can quickly become boring to play. Most games don't have this problem, with many games having multiple characters. Breath of the Wild, however, only has one playable character, Link. Nintendo keeps BotW from becoming boring by having Link have many weapons and clothing to collect and choose from to use, food items to temporarily boost stats, and a way to upgrade Link's health points as the game grows more difficult. Many endless runner games (i.e. Subway Surfers or Temple Run) lack this attribute, which causes players to become bored of them after playing for a while. While they may include customizable or lots of character choices, the changes are purely cosmetic and don't impact the gameplay.

Strategy games have issues as well, most notably those to do with speed. Strategy games often have a slower pace, and making the pace too slow can cause players to become bored. This was an issue with the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII, a 1997 turn-based rpg by Square Enix. Final Fantasy VII is set to have a remake by Square Enix, the first part of which was released on April 10, 2020. An article I discovered addressed some flaws in the original game as well as what the remake should have to make the game better. The article reads: "Modern releases of Final Fantasy VII include an option to speed up combat by a factor of three, and after turning it on, you quickly learn that you almost never need to turn it off to more carefully manage the flow of battle, such is the monotony of just attacking and healing over and over. This speed boost is greeted by latter-day players as a crucial "quality of life" improvement. It doesn't matter how many oakleaves you've acquired in 22 years; when letting the player essentially skip the gameplay is treated as a godsend, you don't have a very good game." (Vogt) As said in the quote, the ability to speed up gameplay shouldn't be necessary. The gameplay is also described as monotonous. Games must be interesting to keep players motivated to continue playing. Keeping players interested in the game is a big part of video game making.

Game designers and developers must put player enjoyment first when making a game. Even if the ultimate goal is to make money or gain popularity in the community, player enjoyment is what leads to a game's success. If a player isn't having fun playing a game, they won't recommend it to others, or join an online community about it, or even continue playing it. For this reason, I decided to find information about the process of game design and development, where ideas came from, and how enjoyment of the game came into the mix. I found an academic study of a game jam in 2013. A game jam is an event where multiple groups of game makers come together to make games in an allotted time using a given prompt. The study discusses multiple aspects of the game jam, including initial ideas, prototyping, and game development and testing, the latter of which is shown in the quote here: "Participants [in the game jam] removed systems within the game (e.g. attacks requiring combinations of buttons rather than single buttons) or reduced the total number of components used (e.g. fewer game levels or types of enemies). Swapping mechanics occurred when already implemented systems were buggy or dysfunctional or when playtesting (personally or with others) showed them to be overly complex or unintuitive." (Zook) This quote shows how game developers must think about how the players will interact with mechanics, especially mechanics they aren't used to. Mechanics are how you do things in the game, whether it be with certain buttons, an item, movement, interaction with the environment, or a combination of these. Mechanics must be easy to pick up on and learn for beginning players, but difficult to master so as to keep players entertained. The quote shows how initially complex mechanisms such as button combinations or buggy systems can be unintuitive for the players, and therefore need to be fixed. If a player has difficulties with the game's function, it won't be fun to play. Games must be fun if they want to keep players interested.

For this paper, I interviewed one of my friend's younger brothers, an avid player of video games. Ian plays video games for a few hours every day, he says, on xbox, nintendo switch, and mobile devices. In the interview, he says that what he thinks makes video games enjoyable is having fun. Although he plays video games more suited to younger users, there were a few things he had to say about games he disliked. The main things he didn't like about games were the difficulty (too hard, too easy) bad graphics, or he "wasn't as interested as he thought he was." His viewpoint as someone who plays a lot of video games is very useful for the question I'm asking. Difficulty of games is something that is hard to balance for game developers. As discussed earlier, the mechanics must be intuitive so the player can pick up on them easily. However, if the entire game is easy, the player will get bored, just like Ian did.

"What makes video games enjoyable?" is the question I've tried to answer. So, what does make video games enjoyable? I'd say it's a variety of things. Video games are so complex, and what makes them entertaining is even more complex. There's such a huge variety of video games available to play, on dozens of platforms and consoles, and in many different ways. Expecting to find just one answer for such a broad question would be unjustifiable. So, I've determined a couple things that make video games enjoyable. As Ian said, games should be fun. Fun means different things to each person, so different games will be better for different people. Different difficulties and styles of games will be different for different people. A more casual game style, like mobile games or kid's games, might be more enjoyable for a gamer like Ian. However, strategy based games such as Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, or shooting games such as CS:GO might be more suited to older players. In short, what makes video games enjoyable is the variety of games there are to play. Games are for everyone, and each type of video game has people who enjoy it, and people who don't. There is no one clear answer to this question. Unfortunately, this means that if I want to be more involved in playing video games, I'm going to have to try some games and find out what I like. If you're interested in video games, I suggest you do the same.

Works Cited

Jabr, Ferris. “Can You Really Be Addicted to Video Games?” New York Times, 22 October 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/magazine/can-you-really-be-addicted-to-video-games.html. Accessed 2 November 2020.

Leeson, David M. "Northrop Frye and the story structure of the single-player shooter." English Studies in Canada, vol. 37, no. 2, 2011, p. 137+. Gale In Context: High School, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A294194389/SUIC?u=midd34407&sid=SUIC&xid=e5b85bc6. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/video%20game. Accessed 5 November 2020.

S., Ian. Personal interview. December 2020.

Stych, Anne. “Americans' favorite forms of entertainment are digital.” bizjournals, 28 March 2019, https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2019/03/americans-favorite-forms-of-entertainment-are.html?page=all#:~:text=The%20shift%20to%20digital%20is,research%20by%20The%20NPD%20Group. Accessed 2 November 2020.

Vogt, Ryan. "For all its greatness, Final Fantasy VII wasn't a good game. Let's remember why." Washingtonpost.com, 7 Apr. 2020. Gale In Context: High School, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A619723232/SUIC?u=midd34407&sid=SUIC&xid=0b17c660. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

Zook, Alexander and Mark O. Riedl. "Game Conceptualization and Development Processes in the Global Game Jam." School of Interactive Computing, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, http://www.fdg2013.org/program/workshops/papers/GGJ2013/ggj13_submission_4.pdf. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

[marvels-phoenix]

Headcanon that the reason Leon is referred to as the "unbeatable champion of Galar" is because even if he did lose know one would know or remember because he lived his life in video game mechanics!

HERE ME OUT PLS! also it's only a headcanon lol....anyway let's get to the point before I don't make sense anymore 😅!

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- when Leon starts his Pokemon journey he slowly starts to realize that he is different than the other Pokemon trainers. It freaks him out a little bit because (1) he's only ten, and (2) literally this happens to no one else!

- finding randomly placed pokeballs, evolution stones, and heal potions in the middle of the forest,wild area, and everywhere he goes? He's still pretty thankful that he has them when in a battle, but creeped out. Know one else seems to notice these strange instances going on. When Leon tries to talk to anyone else about this ( be it Raihan, Sonia, or any adult/trainer/etc.) His mouth suddenly freezes up and he can't speak. His mouth feels like it's suffocating him and his eyes water and all he feels is pain. Until after a moment feeling like he only have 2 other options to say something else he finally gets a word out to finish the conversation but not the words he wants. ( Because of that I think that Leon is selectively mute unless someone speaks to him first because of the traumatic instances where he couldn't speak what he wanted to, afraid that he would say the wrong thing.)

- another instance that kind of traumatized him as a 10 yr old ( which the video game mechanics kicked in only when he started his journey, but neither him or anyone else knows that.) Is when he was fighting in the wild area, and after his last Pokemon faints he blacks out, only to wake up in nurse joys pokecenter. After a few more instances like that and not knowing anything of how he got there or what happened after he blacks out another handful of times he ends up going weeks, and sometimes up to a month instances where he doesn't sleep. Afraid that once he closes his eyes he will wake up somewhere else he doesn't know, alone. ( Hence why he can be horrible at directions. )

- as he goes so much time without sleep he quicky realizes that there's no after effects on him. He's not feeling drowsy or hungry or anything that he should be feeling after going a month without sleep. It scares him even more and he even stops eating because of it, finding it useless. ( He misses his mom, his baby brother, he doesn't know why or how this is happening but he can't tell anyone! ) There is no backlash by not eating, and he only feeds his Pokemon from then one.

- one of the most prominent things that Leon noticed right from the start is that when he loses no one remembers him or his loss. It's heartbreaking, it tears at him. Why does no one remember him? Everyone remembers the losers, don't they? Why is that they act like they never met him before and why can't he do anything about it? Sometimes he just wants to crawl out of his own skin.

- he realizes that he is only remembered if he wins the battle, and that motivates him to win even more because even though it's happened before he can't stand the thought of people forgetting him again. ( He can't help but think that with every loss his family and friends might forget him too. They don't travel together for the battling of the champion cup, but when he does he his two best friends, Raihan and Sonia he clings to them so much. Even if he can't say what he wants. )

- so as he wins more battles, and gets more badges, and eventually wins the champion cup he finally thinks it's over. As much as he loves battling and pokemon, he knows deep down that by the next year someone is gonna beat him and maybe he'll be free from this other power controlling him. ( Maybe he can eat, sleep, and just speak how he wants to again! )

- the next year Rahain is the only one person that has gotten close enough to beat him, he's the one person that gives him a real challenge anymore, and most importantly battling Rahain makes actually Pokemon battling in general, fun for him. Leon loves him so much. God he loves him. He loves his so much that he wants him to win. ( Leon just turned 11 a couple months ago, and Rahain is 14 now. ) Leon can't help but think that Rahain, more happy, emotional,and older would be a better fit as champion anyway.

- But he wins. A year later he wins again. And again, and again, and again. He can't stop winning and as he gets older he can't help but feel like a puppet. Other than being chairmen roses puppet that is. He is just so, so tired. He can't seem to get hurt either. He tries hurting himself but nothing happens. He is untouchable in both psysical feeling and battles. He just wants to stop. Raihan, Nessa, Milo, and the other gym leaders, along with his family are starting to get worried about him. He stops talking to them all together and instead finds company in the chairmen. ( If he doesn't know what higher power is fucking with him, then at least put another higher power to give him directions. At least he knows where the fucking source of that is. )

- so he withdraws, but keeps the happy facade around everyone because he can't be to he wants to be. Eventually after year ten of being the unbeatable champion of Galar, the chairmen decides to give other people the fighting chance. he says that Leon can indorse however many people he likes for. The champion cup this year.

- he meets Leon's best friend Gloria. After he gives them their starter Pokemon and after he sees his brother lose in his battle against Gloria, he notices something about her. Something that just pulls him to her. It's her very first Pokemon battle and she's won. She doesn't speak much but what she does say sounds scripted to him. ( He distantly wonders if she is like him. )

- so he watches her as she wins. Again and again. He remembers her losses tho. He's the only one but he remembers every time she lost a battle. Only to win the next time. He feels some sort of kinship to her. He knows she going to make it to the champion cup and hopes that she beats him. For his own sanity he needs to lose. Winning can't be an option for him. He so, so tired.

- and then she wins. She beats him. As the rest of the audience is silent and the wind slows down everything seems to have come to a standstill. He tilts his hat and grits his teeth for a moment. ( Is is finally over? Can I be free? ) But that doesn't matter right now. He so happy. He got what he wanted. He throws his hat up in the air and smiles brightly, a real smile in what seeme like forever. He runs over to Gloria and picks her up spinning her around. Their both laughing and smiling and he's crying happy tears at her victory and his loss. He doesn't care about the tabloids commenting on his tears or anything other than her. She is like the little sister he's never had and he so grateful that he got to meet her. As she is on his shoulder, waving at the people sitting in the arena he finally has some peace. ( Is it finally over? )

- he gets his answer in the empty locker room. The battle is over. Gloria is celebrating with Hop. ( He will definitely be happy to spend more time with his friends and family ) he gets his old poketknife he found on the road when he was ten and slices the palm of his hand.....

He bleeds.

"Leon?"

It Rahain.

Can he tell him? Everything? Why he's so messed up?

He looks back to se Rahain with shock all over his face. He must've come in to try and talk to him about the battle. ( They made a promise that Rahain would be the one to beat him.)

Leon smiles lightly befoe putting the knife back down.

He slowly walks up to Raihan...

He does something that also wasn't allowed before.

He hugs him. Tight. And cries.

{ P.s - cue explanation, confessions, and emotional sex featuring bottom Leon ; ) }

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Whew! That was fun to write. I really hoped you liked this headcanon/mini fic! It's been something I've been thinking about ever since I've become obsessed with Leon.

I do not have the time to right a full fledged fanfic of this but if anyone wants to take this as inspiration and write a fic based on this please do! ( Also credit me for the idea lol and let me know cause I wanna read it! ) We already have alot of talented writers from this fandom that have posted on AO3 and I would love to see someone write about this and use their own creativeness with it! : )

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Fri 15 Nov

Louis played Children in Need looking alarmingly good, like idk if that's just his go to television look or what but holy fuck!! THE OUTFIT. THE HAIR. LOUIS! AND on top of that they showed footage of him playing football and being cute and smiley and sweaty with children in the background while he sang WMI sounding amazing AND posted pics of him with not one stuffed bear but two, small and large.... It's just a lot ok? An interview came out today with pretty familiar-at-this-point promo answers... except for one, perhaps the most thought provoking take on the WMI lyrics yet: according to the magazine's obviously very well proofread transcription the lyrics are a message between himself and 'Andrew'!! Well that's definitely a new one. Also today, in a more coherent interview, Louis told us that the least laddy thing about him is his openness about his feelings, which we knew, and that he often just says whatever random ass thing pops into his head in interviews and later is like wtaf why did I say that, which we also knew but which some fanalysts need to be reminded of periodically I think, so thanks for that.

Flames is out and it's, pardon me for saying so but damn, really, FIRE!! Zayn truly has the voice of an angel and that's a fact. There's a lyric video up which is a good thing because the song has been mysteriously removed from Spotify in a bunch of places including the US, though hopefully that's not going to last long? Very weird!

Did Watermelon Sugar come out today? Well apparently not. Yesterday links were found on Harry's site, other very strong signs and sigils were spotted, promoting release is nigh hysteria but ultimately we were left hanging! The links were removed, no announcement materialized. I guess Harry's too busy thinking up things to send the fans at this week's most happening hotspot, the camped out line at the SNL studio. He has sent thus far: hot chocolate and pizza which I'm sure was very appreciated, Ben Winston (probably slightly less appreciated) so Harry could facetime them (okay that part is amazing), and cherries and watermelon for maximum confusion but also, thank goodness, hot chocolate and coffee because brrr. Meanwhile Howard Stern sent people out to try to get sound bites to make fun of the fans with but gave up when the fans wouldn't bite, the line were mistaken for Gwen Stefani fans (or maybe vice versa), they were mistaken for Pokemon enthusiasts... how the hell many different lines of people are camped out on this block?? It sounds crowded. Packed in like sheep on Harry's sweater vest speaking of which he wore another sheepy sweater vest today! One lil lamb this time. That gucci campaign was truly giving us a message about the future of fashion I guess, we just didn't see... I look forward to the chicken themed clothing.

Niall posted pics of him and Louis together in Mexico! A 'NTMY lyrics explained' video is up and when I tell you it does not have any surprises.... well I guess I was surprised by how entertaining the experience of watching Niall struggle to say, "so the line nice to meet ya is about... meeting someone" and "when I say she disappeared... it was like... I would turn around and she would have, you know, disappeared" for like four minutes was. Idk I guess I just like to see him sweat SORRY NIALL

Liam announced a small show for his album release, sold out the small album release show, was papped in London with Maya ("girlfriend Maya, 18 years old", according to the tabloids), and cheered up some sick children at a charity event.