#I think it's funny how basically the only AUs where I have Ingo and Emmet in an ideal relationship is the one where they can see the future

[ratwithhands]

I'm curious. I've seen your art and something that's come to my mind is what actually got you attached with the Subway brothers. Your narrative on their different AU forms is so unique which is what brought me to that question

Alright, rat history time.

So basically back in 2021-2022, I was working on an old OC storyline (about 3 years old by then) and I was in grade 9 so I was like “A new Pokémon game? Pfft, like I care” and just didn’t watch any of the stuff related to PLA when it dropped. I still got recommended Twitter posts about it on Instagram and I ended up seeing this one.

I tried looking up Ingo cause I was like "oh, funky design, looks like a captain or something" but I didn't end up finding anything so I didn't press further. Anyways in March break of 2022, I got bored and decided to put some game streams on in the background while I drew. I saw Alpharad's PLA video and decided to watch it for a bit when I saw Ingo.

I was like "Hey you're the guy from Twitter!" and since I knew his name now, I looked him up and found his Bulbapedia article. I found him much more interesting than the rest of the PLA cast since he had history outside PLA, and I ended up reading up whatever I could find on him. I also by extension discovered Emmet this way, which only served to suck me deeper down the rabbit hole. By the end of March break I had a fan OC and 2 AUs made with more on the way, as well as a YouTube recommended page with nothing but theory videos on Ingo and decade old Submas content.

Around May I decided to decommission my OC storyline for personal reasons, and by this point Submas was starting to occupy more of my creative work anyways. Since I didn't have my storyline to put my energy into, I started funnelling literally any story ideas into Submas. This led to nonstop content for a shockingly long time, and ofc I'm still coming up with stuff now.

Long story short, I got attached to them by accident! It was a "right place, right time" sort of thing since they came in as I was starting to get sluggish with my original content and I ended up being more interested in writing for them.

As for narratives, I am effectively playing dolls with these guys. Usually the kind of stuff that I write for them is meant for OCs, but I dumped the 60+ person cast so I put that energy into them instead.

Most AUs will either have a core theme, an out of pocket idea, or both to make things interesting. Usually I just come up with a dumbass idea like "what if we brought ReBURST back for a rerun" or "what if Emmet signed a contract with an eldritch space spider" or "what if Submas could see into the future" and stuff like that, then it picks up themes as I keep writing. For some silly examples:

Burst is based on Pokémon ReBURST and the idea of human-Pokémon fusion, but there's focus on skill, how characters misperceive it, and resentment as a result. There's also a spotlight on inferiority complexes, bottled up guilt, and blind confidence depending on which main character you look at

Journal is about a diary that helps Ingo to regain his memories, and it focuses on remembrance and regret as a result of him reading it. Spotlight on lacking awareness vs hyper awareness and the monotony of living as people around you leave

Oracle is exactly what it sounds like, with the twins being able to see into the future. It focuses on cooperation and the importance of working together, but also learning how to work alone. The spotlight's on jealousy and gratitude for this one, though the latter greatly outweighs the former in this case

I also just have AUs I made to try deranged shit for funsies, like Sapioflora, Cybernetic/Z-Λ, Team Supernova, and Idol. Those are mostly for exploring goofy ideas that may or may not go anywhere.

Right anyways basically I just saw Submas after watching PLA gameplay and found the twins more interesting to write about than the project I'd exhausted by then. The narratives are like that because the AU ideas I make are actually OC concepts that I modify to fit Pokémon specifically for these two or ideas about the two that I'd like to explore. Hope that answers the question ^^*

[furiouskettle]

So there’s been a LOT of fics about Ingo going back home, or Emmet going to the past, and i’ve definitely been inspired a bit by Detours...

but what if Rei got teleported to the future instead of either of them?

I’m no writer, and i only have so much comic juice (and i havent even played Arceus) so i’m not gonna polish these any further... but i wanted to share it anyway. more thoughts and even messier scribbles under the cut!

Some ideas, most of them copypasted from me and my friend’s chats, ordered approximately in chronological order. (C= me, Y=friend)

 Rei is fully convinced the train is some sort of horrible alpha pokemon nightmare beast the first time he sees it.

Y: he hears it coming and is like "oh shit oh fuck is it a steelix???? oh god i've only ever seen the one akari brought back to pasture i can't confront one oh god oh no" and then it's a train and he's just "THIS IS WORSE SOMEHOW???"

Y: this poor child is going to have a heart attack

Emmet doesn’t consider Rei a legitimate lead at first- he’s hardly the first kid to try and find the missing subway master in the subway...

Y: on the one hand rei probs doesn't know about the Time Travel and ancestors/descendants of people he knows on the other him just awkwardly trying to convince himself "ah they must be... related..." before Emmet is like "8> no shit sherlock"

(i think im leaning towards no idea abt time travel)

C: man tho. like. rei saying that ingo never said anything abt a brother would sting emmet So Much Y: like i imagine even with rei saying he's got amnesia it would still hurt in that way where he knows it's illogical but surely he would remember. surely. C: and like. rei wouldnt know that ingo vaguely remembers but also its funny that rei would mention that ingo remembers So Many Train Phrases despite never saying what a train IS Y: rei, genuinely never more confused in his life: well at least one thing makes more sense now

Y: rei starts asking all these weird questions about extremely simple terminology and emmet suspects the kid is fucking with him but every answer he gives rei is so earnestly like "80 OH MAN I GET IT NOW" C: and like. then the kid namedrops hisui, and like. idk how good emmet's history is so either it's like. "where?" or "why are you using the outdated name" Y: i honestly imagine he'd just be like "that's not a station on this line. where did you get on" and they go in circles on that for a bit Y: eventually he says he's from Jubilife and Emmet goes "that is verrrry far away. you did not come here by train" and rei is like "i said that!!!! many times!!!!!!"

I feel it might take a while for it to sink in for rei just how far away from home he is, both geographically and chronologically.

C: also im just imagining rei just sitting politely w a cup of tea in the breakroom and some kinda vending machine snack emmet got him fbjfvgcd ill prolly have to add the electric type leader lady to the au mix just so emmet won't go too hard on rei

Y: rei explicitly says his thick layered clothes are to protect him better against pokemon attacks so i imagine elesa finding him a nice outfit (bc emmet would not care) and he's just internally sweating "aaa i'm so exposed aaaaa" C: get him a denim jacket tough material might make him feel a bit better Y: at his most powerful in a Joutfit C:no pokemon will get him now Y: i'm basically imagining him piecing together "wait akari is from here????" based purely on seeing T-shirts and going "oh damn i remember that stupid outfit"

Y: also i am imagining emmet being very focused on the ingo side of things and kind of treating poor rei as an afterthought but eventually rei just breaks down bc he's a kid and he's scared and he wants to go home Y: emmet is not the subtle or assuring type but he can use the reminder that there's more than one reason to figure this out

Y: i imagine him (rei) getting super claustrophobic in crowds just like. oh god there's so many people. there's so many strangers and he's so small and lost and how is he ever supposed to find a way--

[yanban-san]

Eldritch Monster/Demon Submas Drabbles

Put it under a header because is a bit of a long post?

CW: Polyamory, Demon/Eldritch Monster AU, technically stalking??

Enjoy; Demon Submas AU antics where they’ve been summoned by reader-san and... are nervous train wrecks when it comes to interacting with her and don’t know how to be human at all, so they start causing shenanigans instead! Also added Aikka’s two ideas from the previous post as well, I thought they were good ^^

These ones are meant to be more... funny/comedic than like a serious one but they ended up being somewhere in between? IDK I still think they’re pretty funny; Anyway I hope y’all enjoy!

How the Demon Twins are Met

Their kind are forbidden by Arceus from entering it’s creation, on account of their kind being reality bending god-like nightmares capable of tearing apart the cosmos, but they managed to make a kind of loophole to get in! They spread a functioning (and very simple) summoning ritual throughout the world they know their soulmate lives in! They just need their soulmate to find it and perform it, and they’ll be able to enter their world! And of course, they have some ways of getting the rumors to get to their soulmate’s ears- And ways of bring about the subtle changes of fate needed to get their soulmate to call to them.

Once their soulmate does this, however, Emmet and Ingo suddenly get very, very, verrrry nervous for the first time in their excessively long lives. They’ve waited an impossibly long time to meet their beloved- And finally, finally-

They realize they have no fucking clue how humans act and uh, they’ve never practiced turning into humans either. So they bolt after you summon them before their horrific, ungodly appearances terrify you. And/Or melt your brain. No amount of “p̴̝͝l̸͎̏e̸͖̓a̸̘̚s̴͎͋e̷͘ͅ ̷͉͗d̶͎̑o̷̰̔n̶̪̏'̴̢͛t̷͚͝ ̴̥̌b̷̡͒ḛ̴̃ ̵͉̇a̵̤͋f̶͚̈r̴̝̾a̸͍̽ĩ̴̭ḏ̴̏ ̵̭͗d̴̘͗á̸̝ṟ̷̊l̷̗̈́i̷͆͜ń̸̝g̷̻̽, N̷o̵ ̸s̵e̸r̷i̴o̵u̵s̸l̸y̷ ̸w̶e̵ ̸l̴o̸v̴e̴ ̶y̷o̶u̸ ̴w̴e̶'̶v̵e̴ ̷b̶e̵e̷n̸ ̷w̷a̶i̸t̵i̵n̵g̴ ̶f̷o̶r̴ ̴s̷o̸ ̷l̴o̷n̵g̵ ̶a̵r̸e̷ ̷y̷o̶u̶ ̶o̸k̴a̸y̸ W̶h̸y̷ ̸a̴r̵e̴ ̵y̷o̸u̵ ̵c̵o̶n̸v̴u̷l̸s̸i̴n̷g̷ ̸i̵s̴ ̶t̵h̷a̸t̶ ̵n̸o̴r̶m̸a̸l̶” and any other reassurements is going to make you able to comprehend the mere acknowledgement of their existences.

They also take your memories of summoning them, because making your first meeting be the time they accidentally almost killed their beloved doesn’t suit their ideas of a romantic first meeting. You have a fucking horrible headache the day afterwards- And you’re not sure... what happened. You did something last night, but you just can’t remember what!

They then spend a good long while trying to make themselves look human, and well- they are technically brothers, (and are essentially twins) and they learn about the existence of identical twins in the human realm- and wouldn’t it be so cool if they were identical twins?? They both adore the idea, as it ties into the nature of their beings- And thus they adopt the human names Ingo and Emmet, and start learning how to act Human™.

I also have a dumb headcanon of them being called Kudari and Nobori as demons ignore this entirely

🜋 They’ve never experienced nervousness before- And suddenly they are horribly nervous- They are so so so worried, apparently humans only normally have one love they spend their lives with, not two, and there’s two of them and one of you- What if you reject your soulmates purely out of desire to conform to your preconceived notions of love? They’re jittery for the first time in their existences; They don’t want to hurt you, they want to love you- And they want you to love them back, willingly of course! Lest they must take drastic action instead-

🜋 They start following you around, keeping themselves well hidden from your eyes- You’re none the wiser that your shadow looks a little darker than it should be, or that lights seem harsher when resting on you. At first, they’re just watching- trying to figure out basic information about humans, how humans do human stuff, and primarily observe you- And they misunderstand a lot.

🜋 According to their kind, who don’t really interact with humans very much- Humans are excessively fragile little packets of organic matter that live ridiculously short lifespans with immortal souls attached to the whole mess; They are super weak. After all, humans can’t even stand looking at eldritch entities! At the very least they get headaches, at the worst they go nuts and/or die.They need to constantly move the air particles of the physical world into their bodies or they’ll die. They have a weird pump in their bodies to circulate fluids and they die if the pump stops- If they don’t consume physical matter regularly, they die- If they don’t consume water, they die- But they can also die if they consume too much- Hell, humans can die sometimes by tripping. Although they also hear reports of people falling far distances and being completely unharmed. Humans are weird- But most importantly, humans are very fragile!

🜋 And so they are experiencing constant anxiety by their soulmate doing things that will lead to an early death. Someone tries to run a red light even near you? Their car suddenly dies and grinds to a halt right before they get to the intersection. You try to climb a staircase? You- you’re not quite aware of it completely, but you swear you just felt a hand behind you while you were walking up to your work...

You go out hiking with some friends and every time you try to go near something neat- a waterfall, or a mountain cliff face, you feel the same pressure pushing you back strangely. Emmet starts thinking it might be very romantic if he caught you and saved you from falling, and Ingo glares at him with such intensity Emmet drops the subject immediately. His older brother can be very scary sometimes. Ingo just doesn’t want to risk the possibility of you ever getting injured in any capacity.

You go into your shower one morning to find that you now have- er no, you have always had a non-slip mat on the bottom- as well as a rail too. That’s just how it’s always been!

If you injure yourself, no you didn’t.

If their soulmate isn’t taking care of themselves Emmet and Ingo will absolutely step in. You normally eat very cheap meals during the week- No more will you be buying those cardboard noodles. You’re out walking through a street in Nimbasa, lined with food carts- Your stomach growls, you’ve been walking a lot today, haven’t you? But you don’t have the money to buy anything here, no matter how good it smells-

And all of a sudden some guy runs up to you with a dozen meat skewers telling you to take them, they’re free, please take them, they’re really good, please just take them you’ll like them- He’s trying to give you these skewers like he’s been possessed, you joke to yourself. You try to take one and he gives you all of them. Emmet and Ingo cheer in the shadows and the light- Now you will not die of starvation! ...Which is a regular affliction of human beings, they think!

And if someone is foolish enough to harass you- or foolish enough to try to hurt you? That person doesn’t exist. You turned away from the man harassing you as you walked the lonely alleyway back towards your apartment- You needed to get back to where people were, you were feeling horribly scared and- there’s no one there. Your anxiety shoots up for a second- You swore there was someone tailing you just now- Someone yelling at you, obscenities- no one. There was no one. There never was anyone, so don’t worry.

🜋 You go out to to your favorite cafe, remarking to your friends on your X-transceiver how you wished you didn’t have to drop 500P every time you wanted a delicious beverage; Surprisingly, you’re the XXXXth customer to your favorite coffee shop and get a year’s supply of one-free-drink-a-day-coupons. Cool! You’re only a little superstitious; you give a thanks to whatever God was listening in on your wish, mostly as a joke.

And Emmet and Ingo are fucking ecstatic. You talked to them! You thanked them! You acknowledged them! Now they know why their kind likes being worshiped by humans so much; The praise is delicious. Addictive.Or maybe it’s just because you’re their soulmate? They don’t know, they don’t care- They love you oh so very much-

They want more! They want to hear you thank them and laugh and see you smile more and more! They want you to fall in love with them! -But they’re also still oh so scared that you’ll be scared if they reveal themselves to you. So they continue to secretly observe you, to help you- to make your life easier in a hundred little ways. You never miss your bus. The rain always stops when you go outside, and there’s always a cool breeze on hot days or you feel strangely warm on cold days- Like someone’s given you a big hug.

🜋 Having taken on human identities, Ingo and Emmet begin to devote a good portion of their time to learning human courtship rituals- And goodness, there’s a lot. And a lot of conflicting advice, too- and a lot of bad advice, they quickly realize (Thank Arceus Above)- They do not need to be “Sigma Males”, they are near-omnipotent entities of incomprehensible powers and divine forces, thank you very much- They are “Sigma” enough. They try watching rom-coms- Why do the humans simply not explain to one another what their problems are? It’s verry strange. The entire movie could be avoided if they just sat down and spoke to one another. Despite this, Ingo is watching intently, though Emmet wishes there was more on how to physically seduce your beloved.

🜋 Ingo sees a human receiving roses and baby’s breath from their lover- and you wake up to find that you’ve been sent the biggest bushel of roses you’ve ever seen- At least a hundred, you stopped counting- with a single black rose and a single white rose in the middle. A shame the person who left you so many roses didn’t leave their name, you think. Maybe a good thing though; it’s a little overbearing. Also, you’d never noticed it before, but you see outside your apartment are the biggest, healthiest looking rose bushes you’ve ever seen in your life- and they are big. Huge. You might as well call them rose trees as opposed to rose bushes. Ingo stands under the rosebushes, hoping you’ll notice him in the shadows- Unfortunately you only notice a cute flock of pidoves pecking at the ground, and you decide to indulge them- Buying some millet from a street vendor, you are about to throw it at them when they immediately pile onto you in a cloud of cooing bird fluff. No one’s bought millet for them in a while, apparently. And the figure under the rosebushes is about to make all those obnoxious birds disappear when- Oh you look so happy and cute, don’t you? Hugging each bird more and more, promising to buy them more millet- A heavy blush spreads across the demon’s face, you’re too cute- and he decides to spare the birds. For now. The vendor does decide to give you more millet for free, too!

🜋 When they learn their darling is heading down to the beach for a day, they also happen to have learned that Luvdiscs are considered a blessed pokemon for couples to see- So with a smidgen of “convincing” the little heart shaped pokemon, their darling goes out walking on the beach- and sees two strange, twin figures standing beside each other, and feels an odd sense of recognition, a headache- And just when they’re about to call out to you, your friends grab you and begin wildly pointing at the ocean- There’s a massive hoard of luvdiscs leaping from the waters of Undella Town! And now, not only is there a massive hoard of luvdiscs, but there’s a massive hoard of couples also on the beach going to look at them- and fishermen! So many fuckin fishermen- You manage to dart away from your friends, and escape the onslaught of overly romantic couples and men in weird hats and life vests. Emmet’s smile is twitching in a very inhuman manner, growing in size to stretch across the whole of his face- and Ingo is seriously contemplating how simple it would be to just. Erase everybody here.

🜋 Later, you’re back at Nimbasa, bound to head home one evening and you lament to your friends how much you hate buses and taxis- Buses are always late, dirty on the inside, they jerk something awful, and smell like gasoline in a very unpleasant way- Taxis are equally bad and there’s been increased crime reports of taxi drivers attacking riders- You just hate public transit around Unova so much, and you wished someone would do something about it. And Emmet and Ingo realize they can grant your wish! What a simple one too, this might lead to the perfect opportunities to meet you as well!

The next morning you wake up, and head down to your usual bus stop- when your friends look at you like you’ve grown two heads. Why’re you stopping at this random street corner, you all need to get down to the subway! The subway? You can’t recall a subway- wait, is there a subway? Your head feels foggy, but you can clearly remember taking a bus home last night. Subway?

It’s beautiful, well-lit, and feels oddly familiar, though your mind tells you you’ve never been here before. The employees are exceptionally nice- and you instantly fall in love with the railway. Clean, well-lit, a smooth, gentle ride- You can’t believe you’d never ridden it before! You’re quietly ecstatic, and you don’t even notice that one of the Station Masters is standing beside you, watching you from under the brim of his conductor’s hat; A wide smile on his face. He’s so happy you’re so happy! And they really like these train-things too; trains are so cool, are they not? Oh, wouldn’t it be something wonderful if you quit that terrible job you hated and took a job at Gear Station? Emmet smirks deviously. You do complain about your job an awful lot. They can help you with that next!

There are now conspiracy boards about the existence of the Nimbasa/Unova Subway System; While it’s rare, there’s a few people who believe it never existed- Absolute idiots, like an inter-regional subway system can just pop up over night, haha!

🜋 The biggest thing that happens though is when you go to a museum with your friends. A special exhibition on relics from Sinnoh! Orbs, carvings, paintings, statues, old clothing from the ancient clans of the region- And your eyes settle on an ancient painting of the Gods who formed this world. Arceus, in radiant glory, atop Mt. Coronet- And Dialga and Palkia flying off to either side, and the cursed Giratina underneath Mt. Coronet, in a strange reflection of the mountain. Your eyes settle on Dialga. It’s awfully pretty, isn’t it? You mention to your friends how amazing it would be to meet such a powerful legendary one day.

The Station Masters are also visiting the museum- They look at each other and share a glance, nodding in agreement. They’re not quite sure why humans are so interested in those weird, really big lizards- But if you want to meet one, or even all of them- Heck, if you wanted to own them- Well. You are their beloved soulmate! Dialga is about to receive a rather aggressive surprise visit.

And the very next day there’s a major international incident taking place in Unova; Dialga, God of Time, is standing outside your fucking workplace on the edge of Nimbasa City. It’s not doing anything, it’s just. There. People are gathering in awe and shock and horror- Some are running, some are bowing, some are screaming- And no one is noticing Dialga looks a smidgen uncomfortable and is giving a thousand-yard stare while it trembles ever so slightly, screaming internally- until you come by, then it bows it’s head for you to pet it. The fucking God of Time itself is prostrating itself to you for headpats, and you’re confused, the crowd is confused, Emmet and Ingo are starting to think there’s a slight possibility they may have overdone it, but what’s the big deal? The lizard wasn’t any stronger than any pokemon they’d already met here around your home. Yeah it lived in a funky blue universe adjacent to this one, and it could control time, which was pretty neat, but what’s a God of Time to those who exist outside of the influence and control of such an elementary dimension? Every universe has time as a part of itself, it’s not like Dialga is special or anything.

You’re starting to suspect there might be something afoot. Though what it is exactly, you can’t even begin to suspect. You cautiously extend a hand out to touch the legendary dragon, noticing it’s quivering ever so slightly as it bends it’s head even further down to you-

Dialga just wants you to please tell it to leave and not come back please just do it already the demons are scary so please send it back-

Eventually you tell Dialga thank you, and it flies away rather rapidly, disappearing through a portal. Holy shit. Everything you want seems to fall into your lap-

And you eat those words when you go inside your office, and your boss calls you in to tell you you’ve been laid off. Effective immediately.

You might be sad now, but Emmet and Ingo think of how happy you’ll be once you find a new job at Gear Station! The only qualification for whatever position they need filled is that the employee is you!

[ghostypetrainer]

Okay but the reverse time travel AU is so funny?? Does Emmet end up going to the future to rescue Ingo at some point? Or does someone stumble upon Ingo/Akari in a hisui exhibit and start them on a quest to get them back home? Is the rift still caused by frenzied gods or is there a different reason? There's so many possibilities!! Plus, plus, imagine if Alpha Pokemon still existed in Hisui so Ingo and Akari are the only people who know what they are

Like, okay- the people closest to them definitely kind of assume Ingo and Akari are time travelers. It's obvious they have zero familiarity with even the most basic of modern technology- indoor plumbing? air conditioning? landline phones??? all so bizarre to them. so strange. Memory loss couldn't cause that!! Probably, at least. But the thing is, they have no idea where or when they're actually from. They don't remember much about their homes- only that the Pokemon there were much more dangerous than the ones here.

I think there are things they could make connections with- Akari arrived in her Survey Corps uniform, and Ingo of course had his Pearl Clan tunic and his Warden bracelet- two things he never parts with, even after being offered more modern clothing. He also has his flute, and Akari has an (empty) set of ye olde pokeballs with her. But this is more useful for Professor Laventon than it is Irida and Calaba- since you know, he's a professor! He eventually assumes that Akari is from Ancient Sinnoh, and was probably a member of the Survey Corps... but that doesn't narrow it down a lot. That's still probably a decently sizable chunk of history!!

And yeah, Volo still caused the rift, but I guess since this is set in modern Unova, he frenzied Reshiram and Zekrom instead? And is working with Kyurem? I GUESS it could also be set in modern Sinnoh, but then there's no trains for Ingo to discover lmao. Don't ask me how they ripped through time and space. they just did. don't worry about it.

Alpha Pokemon are still pretty common in Hisui!! It's their appearance in modern times that is so strange. But these huge Pokemon are somewhat familiar to Akari and Ingo, the former of which is skilled at avoiding them, and the latter of which is good at that too, but knows how to confront them if necessary- especially after he gets some Pokemon of his own, after Irida teaches him how to use Pokeballs.

[cutekittenlady]

The thing you mentioned before about your villain in the AU, regarding how feelings "ruined" people's relationship with pokemon, was how easily he used Emmet and Elesa's emotions to get the Noble pokemon. Except, you mentioned how it was Elesa's "friendship for Ingo and love for Emmet". At the time, my immediate thought that made me snicker was, "It would be funny if Elesa wasn't even aware of those romantic feelings yet and immediately springs to denial because the villain is crazy, but THAT crazy to think she, Elesa, in love with one of the twins?! No, this was her helping a friend! Only to keep thinking on it later and realizing 'Acerus dammit he's right.'"

(Also "Emmet, this almost sounds like a Team Plasma knock off."

"We're not hunting Legendaries tho!")

LOl that would be halarious. Altho my idea was that Elesa was already aware of her feelings for Emmet but more or less keeps herself from acting on them. Both because she isn't sure if Emmet feels the same and because she can't help but feel that her and Emmet developing a relationship in part as a result of Ingo disappearing feels morbid.

Although her shoving it all into the backburner of her subconcious and lying to herself for the longest time only to acknowledge the truth afterwards would also be hella-fun.

And, yeah, I guess it does sorta sound like a team plasma knockoff. Then again the whole "capturing powerful pokemon to then try to remake the world in your own twisted image" is practically a staple for the series.

As I think I've said previously, it almost seems like a deliberate theme with villains in pokemon to be people who have these grandiose concepts and ideas either about themselves or the world as a whole. Only to have their ideas easily crushed due to their plans being so flimsy or poorly thought through you could drive a truck through the loopholes. But I'm on the fence if thats because its just the minimalist writing for a video game/kids media, or if its a deliberate commentary on how, for all their big talk, the villains of pokemon's ultimate downfall was how they removed themselves from the everyday world and held themselves above it to the point of being incapable of seeing what was right in front of their faces.

I mean, old school pokemon fans love to say how Team Rocket were super cool but, like, Giovanni's plans got sunk by a ten year old because he got too big for his britches and forgot "theres always a bigger fish"

Archie and Maxie, for all their hooing and hawing about their big visions of the future by expanding the ocean/land evidently failed to take even a basic meteorology class to find out why reckless ecological manipulation is a bad idea.

Don't even get me started on Cyrus and his whole 'create a new universe' thing. You know what Team Galactic is? A death cult.

And it just goes on like that.

I like to think this OC villain guy continues that tradition by exemplifying people who are obsessed with an idealized version of the past/history. Like, treating ancient Hisui and their nobles like this great ideal thing where everyone was more noble and better for having to struggle to survive kinda ignores the reality of the setting or how the people who actually live there truly feel about the whole thing.

I dunno I just thought, since the villains motivations are, at this point, honestly pretty flexible, it'd be a cool concept to explore.

[awellboiledicicle]

The seafaring au is going to be all fun and games until Balboa, aka "densely wooded bee and bear hell".

Mostly because Balboa is my personal hell, bc I get lost easily, and because theres puzzles.

One is finding all Brunos-- a radio operator that lost his marbles alone in bear hell-- tools because he rigged the tool board in a ranger station to fall and reveal a pic once all are collected. Echo would not rest until she either got that picture or died trying. Given his story is only completed by getting past a giant bear, a pool of toxic waste, and the bear legion, they're gonna be there a while.

Second is a drawbridge that normally has a lever on your side the canyon but it crumbled. So you have to throw rocks to hit the lever across the canyon and make it come crashing down so you can cross.

Echo will try yeeting rocks for about ten mins before Ingo just. Sends gliscore over.

This is a problem mostly bc he would insist it was funny and it would take all her self control not to murder him.

That said Emmet would probably think it was hilarious.

But no, the last 'puzzle' is how to actually handle mama bear, the giant one. You either kill her-- which uses a good several stacks of anything and she hits like a truck on steroids. Or you put a bunch of berries in a basket and zoom to her cave while shes eating, grab stuff in said cave, and run.

And you cant just avoid her, because the point of the island is to activate three radio towers to triangulate the next story location. One is behind vines you need a machete to cut. The machete blueprints and a free one.. are behind Mama. That's your only option.

And while Echo would be fine saying "we could just electrocute/burn/stab" it to death, idk if the twins would be down to risk their mons on it. And even armored, I dont see them wanting to fight her on foot.

So itll probably be a "let galvantula go wild here" moment and then moving on bc webs, but still. Like theres bears where you would assume they would not put bears, for fairness. You breathe and a bear comes out the bushes. Down from rocks.

And a bonus quest is finding a bike that's just.. been stuck to a tree, bell ringing, for years. You go unhook the branch ringing the bell. That's a thing.

And quest is very.. you know you're done by interface spoilers p much, bc notes go in your journal at predetermined pages so you can kinda guess if you're missing some. In universe your character just has to be willing to risk chemical burns, bears, bees, potential poison ivy, and all that jazz for notes that might not exist.

While climbing moldering ranger towers.

Basically if the twins dont know Echos insane after Vastagan, they will after Balboa.