#I'm not a fan of the evolutions designs but they have potential

[marquisegallery]

So, according to something found during the recent Teraleak, there was apparently going to be a Flying type evolution for Eevee. But then they scrapped it because they thought it would be too similar to a fan design for the same idea. That got me thinking about what a potential Flying Eeveelution would look like.

Of course, plenty of other people have made their own designs for the same idea. A couple of people actually make its ears into wings (such as this neat design by @elbdot !!).

I don't think I've seen anyone make its wings actually fold so that it can look like regular ears too. So that's what I'm going for with this design I drew!

I can't really think of good names for it right now, so for the time being I'm gonna called this Eeveon. Which is the name most people go with for a potential Normal evolution for Eevee too. In this case I'm intending this Eeveon to be a dual Normal/Flying type! Especially since I think at this point there's probably a better chance of us getting more Eeveelutions of the other types besides just Normal and just Flying.

Also since pure Flying types seem like they're meant to be very sparingly used for Pokemon, with the only one for the longest time being the legendary Tornadus. And before that, Flying was always at least paired with Normal for a lot of Pokemon.

(tbqh the fact that the non-legendary/non-mythical/etc. Rookidee and Corvisquire are also pure Flying annoys me way more than it probably should, but I digress, lmao...)

Anyways, let me know what you think of this! :>

[quartings]

Legends Z-A Thoughts and Theories!

Okay, I was pretty quiet on my opinions for Scarlet and Violet, but I'm confident enough to be very pleased and optimistic for this! Legends Arceus was the strongest Pokemon game we had in a decade, and to see them continue this, bring back Megas, and take an extra year to hopefully make it non-buggy? Makes me so so excited!

On Megas:

It's a bit of a surprise to see Megas back, but honestly? Not too much of a surprise. Even ignoring the inevitability of Kalos remakes, Megas are the only gimmick Pokemon kept around in their spinoffs. It was in Mystery Dungeon, Shuffle, Smash Bros, Pokemon Go, and probably more I'm forgetting! So it was always in the back of Gamefreak's mind and I'm glad it's truly back again!

With Gens 8 and 9 bringing back cross-gen evos, I think they'll focus on only giving Megas to three-stage lines, to not quash the potential of 2nd stage Pokemon getting regular evolutions. So starters and Pokemon like Flygon can get Megas since they can't evolve further, but Pokemon like Tropius and Chimecho probably won't, in case they get evolutions in Gen 10 (That then get Megas)

I also don't think we fully grasp how many more Pokemon can get Megas now, too. Barely any of Gen 5 and 6 had Megas (Seriously only 2 Pokemon between the 228 Pokemon in those gens) and we've had THREE more generations since then!!

Note: We went from wanting a Dunsparce evo, to wanting a Dunsparce Mega, to getting Dudunsparce with mixed fan reception. Now I'm going to be a selfish deluded clown bitch and get my hopes up for a Mega Dudunsparce.

Speaking of starters and Megas, do we think we'll get a mish-mash of older starters for this game that then get Megas (Say, Piplup, Snivy, and Scorbunny) or will we get Megas for the three Kalos starters?

Megas may mean Mega Stones return as held items, and held items weren't in Legends Arceus- new gameplay advancement?

Legends Arceus gave us 7 new Pokemon (most of them cross-gen evos) and a dozen new regional forms. Do you think we'll still get regionals this game, or will the design team be focused more on making new Megas instead?

On the world:

It's been confirmed the whole game is only in Lumiose City- how big is the map?? Hopefully we really do get lots of sidequests, biomes for wild Pokemon, and traversal options.

When is this? We're redeveloping Lumiose City, but are we in the past developing it into its current state, or are we in the present/future developing it into a new solarpunk city? Or neither, and this is a "Paradox" game set in a timeline which doesn't quite match ours?

This doesn't have to be an isekai (as in, we don't have to be time travellers again per se), just keep that in mind!

The "Z" in the logo represents Zygarde, with the black color and green hexagons. So who's the "A"? It's green with green scale/leaf patterns on it. What does it represent? The "Chaos" to Zygarde's "Order"? Is it a 5th Zygarde form or is it a whole new Pokemon?

Meta thoughts:

This further confirms my theory that Gen 9 will last until 2026, where they announce Gen 10 on that year's Pokemon Day for their 30th anniversary, and that's great! I'm glad they aren't overworking themselves too much compared to Gens 6-8.

On them "skipping" Unova remakes: I don't see this as skipping. We've been long overdue for a Z version since Kalos is literally the only Pokemon region to only appear in one release (no third version, no remakes, no sequels, no ultras, no DLC). So we're simply making up for the "deficit" of a third version here, and we can go back to focusing on Unova remakes for Gen 10.

Do you think we'll get any final updates to SV to tide us over until the next LegendZ trailer around August? Maybe a small DLC, mythical reveal, or free update?

Pokemon Adventures skipped the last Legends game, so they'll probably skip this one too? I'm fine either way- at least by skipping it, they won't be too rushed and stressed, and they'll actually have the time to flesh out SV and catch up with ORAS/SM/USUM/SwSh in the full volumes.

But on the off chance they do adapt Legends Z-A, do you think we'll get dexholders named Z and A??

Note for the future- the Yoasobi Pokemon song BiriBiri has a part where they namedrop all the game titles- one part has the lyrics "ABC to the XYZ". Long shot, but if Legends Z-A does indeed have an ABC theming, this could be a crazy bit of either coincidental or intentional foreshadowing!

[knightotoc]

Luke & Anakin Epiphany: "I love that quote from A Wizard of Earthsea, the fantasy novel by Ursula K. Le Guin: 'To light a candle is to cast a shadow.' That inspired me to propose, for the first time, that Anakin's ghost could come back." [Iain] McCaig

This is the most intriguing part of The Force Awakens' art book, for me. I remember from the Attack of the Clones' art book that McCaig also wanted a woman Sith (his designs eventually became Ventress in the 2D and 3D cartoons). This man has a lot of great unused ideas.

The collage is cheesy, but I do love it, and I Iove this less flattering depiction of old Luke. What if Luke had greenish eyebags and no access to conditioner? Now that's subversive.

The quote and Hayden's expression lead me to think that McCaig meant for Ghostakin to become a complex villain. Luke's good deed has had unintended consequences. It looks like Ghostakin has an exhausting mental/spiritual power over Luke. This is a sad but compelling situation, and not far from my own interpretation of Luke's post-RotJ character. Luke and Anakin had a Force-bond, which leaves a supernatural wound after death. It's a cool metaphor for grief, great melodrama for these two intensely magical guys.

This picture also makes me think of the evolution of "Vader" in the minds of these two men. For Anakin, Vader was a persona that allowed him to abandon his potential for good. For Luke, Vader was a symbol that represented his own potential for evil. But perhaps, as time has passed, Vader has become a representation of both men's regrets. Now that Vader has been conquered, there is nowhere to hide and nothing to fear... yet Vader remains in their minds, accumulating more complex emotions. Vader's lifespan is not just full of evil, but empty of the time they should have spent together as father and son. It blocks the path to an alternate universe where they did as they should and got what they wanted.

As big a fan of Anakin as I am, I'm not sure what his ghost would have wanted in a potential sequel. And as much as I love this dynamic between him and Luke, I don't see how such a spiritual conflict could have involved new characters.

[papaya2000s]

The History of Korean Girl Groups' evolution over time - Before Liberation to Girls Generation (SNSD) -> Part 4

The way i am explaining the History of Girl Groups' may be a bit confusing again, as this project is still ongoing as I'm writing this, and I hope this will make sense. :) <3

In my previous post, I discussed the training of Kisaeng's before and during the Japanese colonial period, which eventually led to the formation of the first girl group in Korea. In this post, I will explore the activities of Kisaeng's after they completed their training.

How Kisaeng influenced the Entertainment Industry

Prior to delving deeper into Girl Groups, it is important to discuss the venues where their performances took place, as this marked the beginning of the transition from groups of girls performing to the emergence of Girl Groups. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the manner in which they performed has also evolved over time.

Group picture of IVE on stage. An example of a Girl Group on stage.

Numerous Kpop enthusiasts are familiar with the venues where their beloved idol groups and soloists showcase their talents weekly, providing the option to witness the performances either in person or through online streaming.

Watching live performances of idols has evolved significantly over time, influenced not only by technological advancements but also by the desire of many fans to witness their favourite artists in person. Personally, I have had the privilege of attending live shows of some of my favourite artists, and the experience is truly unparalleled.

Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 (2023) Episode 3 He said "A Mermaid". The song this is being played above is called Love Song by Kei if anyone wants to know.

The landscape of watching idols perform live, whether on grand stages, through busking, or at intimate venues, had transformed with the debut of new acts and the annual comebacks of of established groups and soloists.

Various music programs such as Inkigayo, Music Bank, Show! Music Core, M Countdown, Show Champion and the The Show continue top provide platforms for artists to showcase their talents. With each broadcasting company having its own show aired on different channels, the opportunities to witness live performances are abundant and divers.

I won't be addressing shows that are still on air or those that have already ended, as they are not relevant at this time.

The origin of the all-round were Kisaeng's

Kisaeng, the predecessors of today's celebrities, were known for their immense talent and ability to create scandals, which contributed to their enduring popularity. Despite their fame, Kisaeng always had retirement in mind, seeking a stable life and striving to expand their own influence, much like a multiplayer in a game. A prime example of this can be seen in their success as record singers, appearing in movies, and even making appearances on Gyeongseong radio broadcasts.

However, Kisaeng were also very protective of their private lives and would go to great lengths to maintain their beauty. During that time, magazines and newspapers treated them as modern pop stars rather than objects of feudal overthrow, highlighting their status in the entertainment industry.

During this era, Kisaeng belonging to Gwonbeon, a specific class, were prominently featured on radio music broadcasts. Some even recorded gramophone records, propelling them to become popular singers.

Fashion world embraces Korean style - Choi Eu-don and Im Sang-kyun. While the two names may not be familiar in Korean fashion circles, these designers are proving their potential in the larger landscape of the international fashion world.

Early movies also revolved around Kisaeng stars, showcasing their entertainment skills in various exhibitions and fairs. This responsibility fell upon Kisaengs from different classes. A clear illustration of their attempt to showcase themselves as a specialty of Joseon can be seen in their participation in the Paris World Exposition in 1900.

If anyone is wondering what the Paris World Exposition is, its a world's fair, its a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a period of time, typically between three and six months.

An advertisement poster for the exhibition. Chōsen Industrial Exhibition (朝鮮物産共進会) was a colonial fair held in 1915 to mark the 5th anniversary of the establishment of Japanese Korea, and was the first official event of the new government. It was held in Keijō (Seoul) at Gyeongbokgung. Source Link - 1915 Seoul Exhibition

This event highlighted the significance of Kisaeng in the entertainment industry and their efforts to establish themselves as a unique aspect of Korean culture.

In my opinion this reminds me of how modern-day Kpop idols nowadays do modelling/acting in commercials, movies and series/being brand ambassadors and attend fashion events like Paris Fashion Week representing there country(s).

Kisaeng busking near Subway Stations

In the early days of the Gyeongin Railway, the company faced difficulties attracting passengers due to low customer numbers. To tackle this issue, they resorted to placing signs with the names of Kisaeng at major stations and organizing live performances to entice people to ride the trains. Moreover, Kisaeng themselves would travel in each train car, going between the departure and destination stations to further attract passengers.

Fusan railway station circa 1920-1930s. *Fusan also known as Busan. This article is about two foreign travellers in the 1920-30s that used the train while in Korea under the Japanese colonial period one being about a woman, Audrey Harris, a British travel writer who travelled by train from Antung (Dandong (단동;丹東), a Chinese city on the Yalu River, to Seoul, and John Patric an American and traveling to Seoul but got on the wrong train. I would give it a read as being able to read the perspective of two foreigners that visited Korean in the 1920-30s experienced while there.

During the Japanese colonial period, Kisaeng played a significant role in advertising, especially for beauty-related products. Their image as advertising models held great importance in quickly conveying messages. They were considered a social class that met the necessary criteria, and their presence in newspaper ads, magazines, event posters, and wave perms was widespread.

Before the perception of Kisaeng changed, they were seen as glamorous figures, similar to today's celebrities, with their beauty, singing, dancing, and intriguing life stories becoming popular topics of public discussion. They were trendsetters in terms of beauty, fashion, and makeup, surpassing ordinary women and being recognized as equivalent to today's female celebrities.

Pyongyang famous writer Kim Ok-ran's (김옥란) Ondan advertising poster. In Korean - 평양명기 김옥란의 은단 광고 포스터

It's evident that regular women in Joseon were envious of these individuals and desired to imitate them, which advertising agencies quickly picked up on. Initially, print ads didn't include photos, but models soon started appearing in ads during the 1920s and 1930s. By examining the products they endorsed, we can gain an understanding of the perception of Kisaeng that prevailed among the public at that time.

Kisaeng who worked as advertising models

Advertisements inspired by Kisaeng have a striking resemblance to today's marketing tactics. In the modern era, brands often choose female celebrities who perfectly embody their product image, even if it means paying a premium. One example of being worthy of being the best advertising model was the ‘Ulzzang Kisaeng’(얼짱 기생) Jang Yeon-hong (장연홍).

Jang Yeon-hong, a member of the Pyongyang Kwon clan, displayed her beauty and musical talents in the Changan region during the 1930s.

Jang Yeon-hong's photo, says, "With just one or two coats, rough spots, gaps, and wrinkles disappear like a dream, and the makeup is so dazzling that it suits anyone's skin."

The Yeocheon cosmetic beauty is expertly crafted to make you appear younger, with the advertising message creating a direct and personal connection by implying a whisper from a clean and pure image. The use of models like Jang Yeon-hong and other popular Kisaeng's such as Kim Young-wol (김영월) and Kim Hwa-jung-seon (김화중선), along with phrases like "My favourite non-activated soap," further reinforces the idea that the models themselves use the product, leading to envy and admiration for their flawless skin.

Kim Young-Wol's soap advertisement. I couldn't find any information about Kim Young-Wol only that she was maybe had the role of being dong Composition and arrangement for Kim Chun-Hee's (김춘희) song "Bouquet of  hopelessness" and that she belonged to the Dongrae Association in 1918 with many other famous Kisaeng's.

The Mihwal Soap advertisement cleverly taps into the desire for youthful beauty, with the gisaeng models symbolizing the ideal of pure white skin that was highly coveted during that era.

By associating the soap with these renowned beauties, the ad effectively communicates the message that using the product can help achieve the same level of beauty and radiance that was admired by all women at the time.

Hair ad star that looks like Jeon Ji-Hyun (전지현)

I couldn't find anything in Jeon Ji-Hyun (전지현), if someone finds something about her pleas tell me.

Who was Noh Eun-hong (노은홍;盧銀紅)?

Limited information is available about her, aside from the songs she performed with Kang Hong-sik during the Japanese colonial period, such as "Customer in the Wilderness" (孤客) and "Purification." (情花). These songs were popular at the time and were released on Columbia Records in Japan, with some recorded in collaboration with the Columbia Orchestra.

Kang Hong-sik (강홍식;姜弘植), also known as Kang Jin-hun (강진훈;姜秦薰), was a theatre actor in the 1930s who worked as an exclusive singer for Columbia. Born in 1907 or 1902 in Pyongyang, he passed away in 1971. He recorded new folk songs like “Joseon Taryeong” and “The Long Dawn Is Coming” during the Japanese colonial period. Kang Hong-sik mainly sang new folk songs composed by Jeon Ki-hyeon (전기현;全基玹), as mentioned in [Samcheonri] (1935). He was known for his work as a theatre actor and exclusive singer for Columbia, leaving a mark in the music industry during the 1930s.

The Kisaeng's exquisite beauty was not the only thing that caught people's attention, but also their lustrous hair, which became a focal point in advertisements. Noh Eun-hong (노은홍;盧銀紅), the model for the 'Hwawang Shampoo' advertisement, revealed her secret to achieving gorgeous hair with the Hwawang Shampoo.

The advertisement boasted that using this shampoo for just a week would not only uplift your spirits but also give your hair a radiant glow.

During the 1920s and 1930s, women relied on a limited range of cosmetics for their beauty needs. These included camellia oil, white powder, and rouge. Camellia oil, primarily used as a hair oil, was particularly important as it provided moisture without causing dryness. It played a crucial role in styling and maintaining long hair, eventually leading to the development of branded shampoos.

In the advertising landscape of that era, beauty-related product advertisements often featured popular Kisaengs. These advertisements predominantly showcased upper body or close-up photos that highlighted the face. The Kisaengs were dressed in hanboks and had their hair styled in a one-parted ponytail, even in shampoo commercials that aimed to emphasize silky hair.

Noh Eun-hong, a Pyongyang gisaeng who advertised Japanese Hwawang Shampoo (「Dong-A Ilbo」, August 14, 1935, advertisement). In Korean - 일본 화왕삼푸 광고를 한 평양기생 노은홍(「동아일보」 1935.8.14. 광고)

During that time, the Gwonbeon Kisaengs were actively involved in various fields such as broadcasting, music, movies, advertisements, and event assistance, much like today's celebrities. Kwon Beon played a role similar to that of a modern entertainment agency or manager.

Moreover, the Kisaengs were required to obtain a 'Kisaeng Business License' from the authorities, which can be compared to today's 'individual business registration certificate'. The similarities between the Gwonbeon Kisaeng's and today's celebrities are numerous, as Gwonbeon represented the artistic talents of the Kisaeng's who entertained through laughter and arts, dividing the profits in a 7:3 ratio.

During that era, Gwonbeon's Kisaeng's were easily found as models for both oriental and western paintings in art colleges. It is even said that when Idang Kim Eun-ho (김은호) painted the portrait of Chunhyang for the Chunhyang Shrine in Gwanghallu, Namwon in 1939, he used Kim Myeong-ae (김명애), a Kisaeng who had been associated with Gwonbeon during the Joseon Dynasty, as his model.

The portrait of Chunhyang

Kim Eun-ho (김은호;金殷鎬), a renowned painter, was born on June 24, 1892, during the 29th year of King Gojong's reign. He passed away on February 7, 1979. Notably, Kim Eun-ho's artistic talent flourished during the Japanese colonial period, where he created notable works such as 'Golden Tea Bonnapdo' and 'Chunhyangsang'.

During his early years, Kim Eun-ho pursued a short-term surveying course at Inheung School in 1908. To support himself, he worked as a surveyor's assistant in Seoul and also engaged in copying old books at Yeongpoong Seogwan. In 1912, he joined the Gyeongseong Calligraphy and Painting Art Society as a second-generation student, graduating from the Painting Department in 1915 and the Calligraphy Department in 1917.

Notably, he painted portraits of prominent figures like Song Byeong-jun (宋秉畯) and Yoon Deok-yeong (尹德榮), as well as full-body seated statues of Choi Je-woo (崔濟愚) and Choi Si-hyeong (崔時亨) from Donghak(東學). After his graduation, Kim Eun-ho actively participated in the Joseon Calligraphy and Painting Association, which was established in 1918. However, during the March 1st Movement in 1919, he was arrested for distributing the 'Independence Newspaper' and served a five-month prison sentence, as he was a Pro-Japanese and anti-nationalist.

The portrait of Chunhyang for the Chunhyang Shrine in Gwanghallu.

There are three portraits of Chunhyang displayed at the Namwon Folk Museum in Eohyeon-dong, Namwon-si, Jeollabuk-do. The first portrait, created by artist Kang Ju-su in 1931, was made during the construction of the Chunhyang Shrine.

In 1939, the first painting by Idang Kim Eun-ho was donated by Hyun Jun-ho and placed in the museum. Unfortunately, the Portrait of Chunhyang was damaged during the Korean War, but it was later restored by Idang Kim Eun-ho in 1961. This restored version was donated by General Song Yo-chan, who was the head of the cabinet at the time, and it remains enshrined at the museum. The original copy of the portrait is preserved at the Namwon City Museum.

Characteristics of the portrait of Chunhyang

The Portrait of Chunhyang embodies the ideal of beauty for Korean women and aims to depict a historical female figure. Kang Ju-su from Jinju crafted this unique piece in 1939, with the collaboration of archaeologists, sculptors, cultural historians, and directors. Kim Eun-ho utilized the Joseon gisaeng Kim Myeong-ae as a model to create a lifelike representation.

This artwork not only serves as a symbol of Korean femininity but also showcases the collective effort of various professionals in its creation. The Portrait of Chunhyang stands out for its meticulous attention to detail and historical accuracy, making it a significant cultural artifact in Korean history.

[adobe-outdesign]

What do you think about Seaking? It’s probably the most mid pokemon of all time, but I wanna see your take.

Goldeen is one of those Pokemon that sure do Exist. There's nothing much wrong with it visually—the orange and white colors are very pretty, and the green eyes pop nicely—it just doesn't have anything in particular going for it to make it memorable. I mean, it's a tosakin goldfish with a horn (side note: slapping horns on everything is one of Gen 1's favorite things to do). There's nothing particularly clever or unique in the design to really make it stand out.

Seaking is a bit of a strange evo. It's not like it technically changes all that much from Goldeen—it's still a goldfish with a horn—but I've always had trouble seeing it as an evolution of Goldeen despite the obvious similarities.

I think the problem is the lack of advancement in the concept. Normally, evos will take the visual elements and themes of their pre-evos and expand upon them. Take Goldeen's horn, for example—you'd expect Seaking to have more horns, have a bigger horn with spirals on it, something like that. Instead, the horn is exactly the same.

Another issue is the body shape. It's a bit rounder than Goldeen, but it doesn't really come across as particularly bigger or stronger than its pre-evo. I could easily believe these two were the same size if I didn't already know better.

There is some attempt at progression in a few spots, at least—the palette has expanded to include black in it, the mouth now sports some small fangs, and it's arguably more of a koi fish (of the sanke variety) than a goldfish. It's just not quite enough to make it really feel like an "upgrade" to Goldeen.

All of that aside, the actual markings are quite pretty, and there's something appealing about those completely black no-thoughts-head-empty fish eyes that I like. I also think this 'dex entry has some neat lore, in that it explains why they have horns to begin with:

All that said, what could be done with this line in the future to help earn it some fans? One possibility would be to give it another evo, though I'm not sure what direction they could take it in. Another possibility could be regionals—perhaps a flying-type variety based on koinobori streamers or something, with the fins working as a sort of wings?

Another possibility, though I doubt they'd add something like this, would be to give them a bunch of different patterns and colors, Vivillon-style. Both goldfish and koi are known for being bred endlessly for different varieties and appearances, something even referenced in Goldeen's 'dex entries. A simple gimmick like that could easily help them stick out a bit more.

Anyway, overall: these fish are perfectly harmless, but also fairly bland and underwhelming. The line definitely has potential across the board, so hopefully this is one GameFreak will be wiling to revisit some day.

[raidante]

ok FR would ANYONE be interested if I decided to actually compile a doc that has like.... the Lore of my original work? I call it a fan SMT game because it's essentially using SMT as something to bounce off of muse wise and fill in the blanks for some things (like alignments, gameplay mechanics, demon encounters, and keywords and locations) but the story, characters, and overall themes of the work are wholly original and birth from the depths of my brain.... would you guys rlly be interested in that?

I'm talking details about story PREMISE, because there's things I actually do wanna keep secret even if I don't ever fully develop it into a game...maybe a mockup game thing or smth I just absolutely do not have the skillset to make games or game assets tbh.

details about CHARACTERS from their designs (including concept designs, evolution of designs, inspirations and themes) to their personalities and their own convinctions in their alignments.

to ENVIROMENTS including mockups of places and inspirations for certain mood pieces and potential dungeons, scripted encounters, boss figures, etc.

as well as potentially a list of assets that inspired me (music, movies, games, religious symbolism and social impact).

This is a MASSIVE PROJECT that has already been developing in ny brain for a year almost, and will probably take years of life and time in the future. Is this something you guys are really interested in? Not just as SMT fans either but like...genuine interest. Idk. I wanna know if its worth committing so much effort into it not just for my sake alone. I need motivation to sit down and develop things so...

[shadowonwater]

Pokemon Masters EX: my thoughts on Legendary Adventures [unfinished]

I'll go in order.

Also I have a general headcannon than the main reason so many legends are showing up is because they want to check out this man made island with all these powerful trainers. So unless the story proves otherwise, I'm just going to assume that.

Zamazenta

Pretty good! Of course I'm a big fan of the giant freaky skeleton dragon, so seeing it appear is cool. It feels a bit off though that the story in which I get Zamazenta is more focused on a different legend.

Also Sigma suit Leon at the end looks cool af and I wish I had him because he and Eternatus make such a cool pair. I wish I got them from this story rather than Hop and Zamazenta. Or at least I would prefer Zacian to Zamazenta. But getting another steel type is nice at least, I could really use some.

Anyway the idea of Eternatus showing up and being weak without an energy source and needing help is neat. And I think it's cool that Leon decides to help it and formed a sync pair with it.

World building wise it's interesting seeing the professor's bring up the fact that the sync stones and mega stones must have something in common because they can both cause mega evolution. And that they could potentially also cause dynamaxing. Suggesting that all these things may have some sort of common energy to them.

I wonder if Z-Moves and the new Terastlization could be included in that at all. It would be neat if the gimmicks were all kinda connected.

Solgaleo

For sure the weakest story. It wasn't really much of a story at all. Main Character and 2 friends walk up a mountain because people are talking about loud roaring coming from the top, and also to see the sunrise.

Anyway the roaring was Solgaleo. A bunch of other trainers are at the top of the mountain as well. Solgaleo is really jiving for a good battle so it's just battling everyone there like nonstop, including Main and Friends.

Eventually Solgaleo has had enough so Main and Friends leave but it follows them and befriends Main.

I think it's interesting that it bonds w/ the player character rather than someone else. Because all these other legendary sync pairs are characters from various already existing stories. So I'm like, why this legend? Why bond it w/ Main and not some other character?

Anyway I wish it was Lunala. I don't really care about getting Solgaleo outside the fact that I could really use more steel types.

Xerneas

This was actually the 1st one I did, in part because I really love Xerneas's design, but also because I could really use more fairy Pokemon. Also I like Sycamore, so it's cool to have him on the team.

So Xerneas shows up on the island, Sycamore is like: Let's go check it out. At the same time apparently he's aware that Lysandre is on the island and he has some guys who are disableing some bomb he made. We don't find this out until the end though.

We know he was talking on the phone about something serious. And it's like a Chekov's gun because it comes back at the end to foil Lysandre's plans. I liked that, it was simple but done well I think.

Lysandre is just as Thano's like as ever. He's still got his whole "We need to kill people for population control" Which is pretty fucked up, but at the same his wording always comes off as kind of goofy to me. His whole "Let's keep the world beautiful" has always been such a strange way to say "Let's do some genocide"

Anyway Xerneas was nice what with counteracting Yveltol's whole... death aura(?). So people would stop choking. And I guess it thought Sycamore was a chill dude so it was like "imma stick with you"

anyway, good time I enjoyed it.

Kyurem

Oh boy, I gotta say this one was more favorite! I love Silver, and I love N. And woof, these poor boys have some daddy issues. 1st loseing a match to a father-son duo and then later having their dads show up and be asses.

N was hopeful and Ghetsis is an ass for playing with his feelings. Really goes to show how much of an ass Ghetsis is. And what he says to N at the end of the story, wow. Poor N. It was pretty jarring that right afterward the story ended and I recruited Ghetsis. An example of story and gameplay not matching up.

Y'know I never really thought about pairing Silver and N together before, but honestly it makes so much sense. They have the similar issue of having a villain as a parent, and they were both antagonists in their own right from the games they came from.

N really took some high ground when defending Kyrem, and by extension Ghetsis, from Giovanni.

And I like it when the game locks me in to using certain characters, wish it would do that more, I like the challenge.

Anyway though, that part w/ the 2nd Kyurem? WTF Already I'm having a hard time with why there are both normal ledgendaries and some shiny legendaries around. This one isn't even shiny! I had the same reaction as Ghetsis here of "what the hell, that shouldn't be possible" and the game kind of acknowledges that but not really. Nate (or was it Hilbert?) just says "yeah I thought that was weird too, the Pokemon world sure is strange" and just kinda shrugs it off. Not a good enough explanation for me, I'll say.

One more thing, did they forget Reshiram? I mean after Nate's Kyurem fused with Zekrom, Ghetsis acted like "that's it, my plan's are foiled!" While there's an entire fuseable dragon just sitting in storage, you could have grabbed that one Ghetsis. And none of the main characters mention Reshiram at all afterward. I can only assume that N grabbed Reshiram while leaving but there was truly no mention of it whatsoever.

[the rest of these are unfinished, I wrote all this stuff like half a year ago and I just want to get this out of my draft]

Palkia

Gotta say, the opening was kind of funny, the Kyurem story also had a funny opening in a similar vain. In both cases the villains just kind of shows up on Pasio and are like "where the fuck am I".

And Team Break see this guy with a fucking legendary, and are like "yeah we can take him". No you can't Team Break! You never do.

Rayquaza

Ho-oh

Probably my 2nd favorite story. I really love Silver!

Mewtwo

[doubleddenden]

Admittedly with this whole Armor Evolution I've decided to go into, I'm now faced with a dilemma

A. I've gone against the very thing I initially set out to do with my region originally- that is, a game without an overnight reliance on a gimmick to use as a crutch.

But being fair, if things go to plan, the armor evolutions will actually be pretty low in number compared to the amount of new fakemon and such you'd normally get. Last I did math, there's roughly 3 to 4 gens worth of new Pokemon to work with that won't require said gimmick, whereas armor evolutions so far only encompass about... 40 to 50? The region would be huge, it's an entire coast line, so it kinda has to have a lot to work with.

But also, in theory, the mechanic wouldn't really do much different in comparison to a cross Gen evolution or something. There's plenty of drawbacks to encourage you not to keep your pokemon in that form forever, and also with exception to a very select handful related to story plot, there's not really any numbers added to BST, just rearranged. Sure, it might seem a tad unfair to have access to a fully evolved starter's bst in the teens, but theoretically so would other trainer including gym leaders, rivals and such. It wouldn't be advantageous to keep it turned on constantly in that regard either, because then that makes catching pokemon harder. The beginning early 30s might seem like a cake walk, but eventually stats would start to even out and you'd have to actually use strategy again.

Plus, it's just... fun this way? I thought Dynamax was stupid because it just makes your pokemon bigger and it's just for a limited time, even with new forms. As much as I love Megas, I wish I could just keep them as is forever and treat them as new pokemon. Zmoves and Terra are cool, but not as fun as gaining a new form.

Armors in this regard would just give you more new Pokemon to enjoy semi permanently. A type change can open up your team to new members you wanted but couldn't have because of type overlap. In the event a starter evolution isn't to your liking, you can just swap to another form that is. This just opens up more doors to have fun.

But I'm still a hypocrite lol. At least it has potential to be fun.

B. It'll be a LOT like Digimon I guess. But... is that a bad thing? I like both.

As a kid, I used to pretend Flamedramon was a Pokemon anyway so I could play with it and my Pokemon toys. Likewise, I would give Pokemon additional evolutions just like Digimon- well before megas were even thought of- example being Metal Charizard or War Charizard, etc.

The region is meant to be a playground for me to mess with and explore all of my childhood fantasies about my favorite things in one place. In that regard, why shouldn't I indulge in that a bit if I can make it fair and balanced?

C. I'm now fighting the urge to make Flamedramon a Pokemon again for the first time since i was 7 lol. I think I might try it anyway, or at least indulge and try to incorporate what makes it such a cool design into a cool poke/fakemon.

I mean it'll probably never become a real playable fan game anyway, so it's just me playing with toys again except I'm making them in ms paint.

[bmpmp3]

as a public domain warrior i do really respect and appreciate fanpro and its successor comproject as a nice little source of made-to-be-CC0 character designs BUT while the focus on freedom and a complete lack of personality or names or anything for the designs gels well with the evolution of the project as it focused more on being a public domain resource first and foremost, I did always think that for the original very VERY early concept of "purely headcanon-based fandom" there could be a bit of room for improvement on the "creating a fandom for something without canon" side of things. again, fanpro's goal shifted away from that pretty quick and comproject followed in late fanpro's footsteps so it didn't need to concern itself with that at all, but i do think there's still a lot of potential in that early concept.

i dont know how to explain this but I think there could have been more incentive for fan-based engagement if the character designs weren't JUST designs and a number: I think giving people a jumping off point for headcanoning, nothing super specific or concrete just like an image colour, a symbol or representative item, maaaybe a name, etc would really allow people's minds to get going. I think a blank slate with all the freedom in the world can be harder for a lot of people to work with than loose guidelines with a couple jumping off points - its the same reason why things like warrior cats is more appealing for kids to play in the world rather than i dunno. seekers? easier to make up unique ocs in a world where theres a bunch of different fighty cats in fighty clans etc etc vs a world where there is. three bears. plus cats are a nice middle ground for designing OCs, not as all over the place as dogs but not as limited as bears.

im getting off topic WHAT IM TRYING TO SAY is i have had a pipe dream for the past like ten years of making a similar project of CC0 characters but with more focus on little bits of character to use as a jumping off point, maybe help with CC0 settings too. but also as i type all this i have realized that what I'm imagining is like, what people do with vocal synth characters but fully public domain instead of very open but still limited licenses LOL

[shaaaaaaar]

the evolution of fnaf and, by extension, it’s evolution on the internet, is such a wild case study on how a piece of media can affect culture.

fnaf on release, and for a few years after that, was primarily an indie horror game. it a game that exploded first due to its gameplay (largely due to lets players) and then because of its storytelling. fnaf nowadays is reminiscent of a comedy, a piece of media that has become more of a parody than a game.

i’m not saying that’s a bad thing (even though I'm personally not a fan of where the series went), besides that’s what the internet does a large percentage of the time. but it’s so interesting to look at this shift retrospectively, to compare fnaf today to how it was a few years ago and to watch how the series' changes led to what we have today.

let’s look at fnaf 1, my personal favorite. the most important note about this game, and why it made every choice it made, was that it was intended to be a one-off game. it didn't care about story, about being something massive, only on being a horror game. this led to fnaf 1 being the rawest form of fnaf's horror, and these distinctions led to fnaf 1 feeling very different from the rest of the series. its design is insanely fine-tuned in order to capture feelings of anxiety and unease, scruffy’s video on audio in fnaf illustrates this really well.

there’s a lot to say on the horror in fnaf 1 because it doesn’t hold itself back. from the near universal experiences like phone guy’s death and seeing your body stuffed into a suit to the rare events people may never encounter like the death screens and rare events in the game itself (whether small like posters changing or big like the illusions or golden freddy), the only rest the player will have from fear is the release of the 6 am alarm. the design choice that resonates with me the most is how as you progress into the week, the camera shots you’ll see will sometimes be different, as if the animatronics want you to know how disturbed they are.

everything changed when various lets players noticed this small indie game. markiplier, jacksepticeye, pewdiepie, and a ton of others introduced this small one-off game to a massive audience. they praised the game, got scared by the horror, grinded for 4/20 mode, infused it with their own culture (such as markiplier being the king of fnaf), and it all led to people paying attention to scott cawthon and fnaf.

fnaf 1 didn’t have plans to be anything greater than an indie horror game. fnaf 1 was a game with a lore that doesn’t go deeper than 5 dead kids who were stuffed into suits they’d go on to haunt. fnaf 1 was meant to be a fuck you to those who critiqued scott’s character designs before he'd disappeared from the game design sphere. fnaf 1 wasn't focused on much else because it wasn't meant to be much else. fnaf 1 was, to the surprise of scott, a massive success, opening the option for a potential series. fnaf 1 was an opportunity for scott to continue this life he planned on abandoning.

because of its predecessor's success, fnaf 2 had a much different development than 1 did. while 1 was meant to be a one-off and a final shot at making it big as a game creator, fnaf 2 was trying to capitalize off of fnaf 1's success and to make this series stay around. this manifested into creating the story which 1 lacked. its where the beginning of fnaf’s infamous storytelling method of making itself into a puzzle began.

three pillars for fnaf's success begin to be observable. the gameplay and, by extension, horror, the lets players, and the developing lore. fnaf 2’s goal was to establish a balance.

the difference in goals can be seen with how juxtaposed the gameplay of 2 was compared to 1. you’re no longer in a small, claustrophobic office but a large, exposed, vulnerable room. the lore was explicitly intertwined with the gameplay through the minigames and phone guy while 1’s lore was barely present beyond some posters and, as it was in 2, phone guy. the balance aspect of the game’s design even got into the gameplay thanks to the puppet. it worked incredibly well as a follow-up to 1. and though the horror was less present compared to the first game, it wasn’t like fnaf 2 wasn’t scary. 2 still felt like a horror game, just a DIFFERENT horror game.

fnaf 3 marked when the story began to take center focus. again, it’s not like the other categories were forgotten about or nullified, in fact i think springtrap and fazbear frights as a setting do their horror better than all of 2 did, but the story took more of a center stage due to how prominent it was.

if fnaf 1 was designed as a final shot and fnaf 2 was designed to capitalize off of the sudden success of 1, fnaf 3 was to hook people into the blossoming story of the series. springtrap being the sole animatronic demonstrates the meaningfulness of the game's story excellently. the setting being in an attraction based on fnaf also is emblematic of this focus. and, most obviously to me, the existence of a good and bad ending which gave conclusion to the story (even if it'd be retconned) showed that more than the prior installments, this game wanted to be a story. scott was trying to strengthen that lore pillar, to draw in matpat and theorists to stand alongside markiplier and the lets players as faces of fnaf

and then, fnaf 4. if fnaf 1 was the prologue to the lore takeover, fnaf 4 was the entire first half of the story.

while fnaf 3 asked more questions than the prior installments, 1-3 were still clear in what they were saying. 4 is where this stopped. fnaf 4 had the problem of being too unclear to the extent that matpat stated 4 was the game with the most questions unanswered several installments after its release. but even if messy the story was massive for this game's identity, something scott egged on. a couple of theorists, matpat included, did a several hour livestream where scott interacted with them to help them solve the mystery that fnaf’s gameplay is now most remembered for.

it’s telling of how much of a focus it took with how the lets play and gameplay pillars suffered. pewdiepie dropped fnaf because it was all the same to him. what’s equally telling is how big a deal this was in the gaming sphere. the horror felt a little lost outside of animatronic designs (which fell flat for me) and jumpscares (which shouldn’t need to carry the horror of a horror game). the horror now was in the story that the players were asked to solve.

this change in identity really shines in sister location, where the strength of the gameplay and horror were completely lost. there are several moments in sister location where the horror genuinely stuck with me, which hadn’t happened since fnaf 1. but sl is only remembered for the lore. what people remember are the moments that build on the lore, that bring more questions and give more answers. in fact, the game’s story couldn’t be fully appreciated without prior knowledge, which includes the BOOK SERIES, which a lot of fans won’t read or know details about unless they care about the lore. while the same need for context goes for the preceding games (except fnaf 1), needing to read a non-game source to appreciate the story in the games is a big ask for a lot of people.

this is also where the non-seriousness that fnaf is remembered for today was born, thanks to the daily elevator trips which, among other quips, brought about the exotic butters joke. though it didn't distract from the game's theme due to its brevity and non-intrusiveness, so it wasn't much of a problem at the time.

fnaf 6 takes what fnaf sl did with story, de-emphasizes the horror, and makes the lore pillar the most important. the ending of fnaf 6 is impossible to truly understand without knowing each character’s story, including the book and fnaf world exclusive henry emily. the pizzaria simulator gameplay loop is the exotic butters tone shift if it took up half of the game. ignoring the last cutscene, the horror is lacking (scraptrap is the definition of pathetic), the night half barely stands out, for god’s sake the method to get one of the endings was unclear for several years. in exchange, the lore was sweet and satisfying; the final speech henry gave is incredibly resonant and powerful. fnaf 6 made a choice with its direction and captures the change the entire series had gone through up to it better than any other game before it.

the gameplay and horror pillars became like the hips of a whale. they still exist, they’re just hidden within the rest of the skeleton.

ultimate custom night and help wanted are big exceptions, being focused on their gameplay and with the storytelling being a secondary focus in between moments (as ucn didn't have much story to tell and help wanted was only trying to start a new story). but in my opinion, the horror is still lost in ucn. there’s too much going on, a lot of it being super goofy, for the game to feel scary to me. especially notable is everyone's favorite animatronic, mr. hippo, who manages to be the fnaf 4 to exotic butter’s fnaf 3 for the games' lack of seriousness. help wanted meanwhile, largely due to being in vr, still holds onto the fear and seriousness that fnaf can create.

while help wanted was more scary than ucn is to me, following its release was the new book series. they were a collection of short stories which lore enthusiasts had to suffer through for even more details about the game story. they were when the comedy invaded into the lore as well, with faz-goo and time traveling ball pits not only bloating the lore but making it into a complete joke to many.

the horror barely felt like a focus to the franchise anymore, the gameplay had its great moments but became unmemorable, the lore got infamously messy, unclear, and hard to navigate, and with the game's newfound whimsical nature (as well as funko’s merchandise), the series began accumulating a large child audience and lost the themes and tone it maintained in its earlier releases.

fnaf lost its identity as a horror game and only somewhat held onto its identity as a story.

security breach’s rushed state put the final nail in the coffin. it barely felt like a horror game thanks to the pizzaplex's brightness and the very silly designs. people only cared about the gameplay for the glitches, lets players got attention because people wanted to see the game break, people's care for the lore fell apart when afton returned again, and the game's popularity was the equivalent of the attention a car crash on the side of the road gets from passerbys.

whatever serious identity fnaf still had to the general public had been lost. the past was absorbed by this new perspective. fnaf had transcended past an indie horror game to become a cultural phenomenon, a title that meant a specific flavor of jokes and parody. its origins are a footnote to this holy bible of comedy. every leg it once stood on had merged and mutated into a structure of memes.

if it wasn’t obvious, i miss the horror that was a deep part of the series in its earlier days. but fnaf’s position has changed now, and while there is a lot to critique with what led to this, what first made fnaf special isn’t lost. the journey of how we got here is largely encapsulated in the jokes we make, making history into a satirized time capsule.

and god, that time capsule is a fucking trip to reflect on.

[pochapal]

Wack Anon here! Big fan of Pokespe Gen 5, so some gen 5 questions. Favorite Starter, and pokemon in general? Favorite and least favorite characters? Any thoughts on how Pokespe will likely adapt the story, or things you hope they change?

best gen 5 starter is oshawott. his evolution line may be the most mid when it comes to gameplay experience but oshawott is literally just a little guy how can you not love him.

my fave gen 5 pokemon is kind of a hard pick since there are so many good designs but i've always been a big fan of mincinno and reuniclus! in my years replaying the games i've also massively warmed up to scrafty and audino as really versatile and useful team members to have.

best bw character has to go to my girlie bianca. she's the most overlooked pokemon rival with parental trauma of the whole bunch given she debuted in the same generation as N but i really do care her. and in terms of least fave i wouldn't say i hate them but i do think anthea and concordia are absolutely missed potential given that they have this whole presence in the opening cinematic but in game are reduced to five lines of dialogue between them in N's castle at the end of the game in an optional room. i feel like they could have been massively interesting figures to run into at several times during the game's story but it is what it is.

as for pokespe i am curious as to what role white will play as a character since b/w's whole thing revolves around the nuvema trio and black'll be filling that role if the bw arc is going to closely shadow the plot of the games. bw are the first pokemon games since gen 2 where the opposite gender protag character doesn't play any kind of role to adapt into the pokespe plot so i'm interesting to see what they'll do with white. one thing i'd like to see changed/altered is a more keyed-in focus of the philosophical manipulation imposed on unova by team plasma - the games gesture at it but i'd like to see the ramifications of a regionwide "release your pokemon" activism campaign on the general populace with soms substantial details.

[the-scungles-of-crungles]

I actually appreciate electrode for how stupid it is. And also how it proves old pokemon fans are huge hypocrites. Yes I'm saying klefki is actually more creative in design than electrode and most gen 1 pokemon are incredibly stupid (not bad but definitely pretty cheesy and bland in comparison to modern designs)

And goddamn blastoise, these exact dickheads I hate, often have Blastoise. GODDAMN BLASTOISE. As their favorite pokemon.

AFTER THE LEAKS REVEALED THAT IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE SQUIRTLE LINE ORIGINALLY

I feel BOTH VALIDATED AND ROBBED.

WARTORTLE WAS GOING TO EVOLVE INTO SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY BUILT OF OF ITS DESIGNBUT THEN FUCKING

MOTHERFUCKING BLASTOISE RUINED IT ALL

I hate blastoise for slaughtering its pre evolution's potential

The pokemon fanbase is full of crusty grown-up 90s kids who hate anything new and think there's such a thing as "objectively bad" video games

Meanwhile they found joy in the oldest pokemon games, which were a mess of flashing lights and high pitched noises and had pokemon like goddamn electrode

[pichiicake]

[antialiasis]

I saw a fan theory years ago about Gen I stating that Venomoth and Butterfree's designs got mixed up in development – i.e. Venomoth's design was supposed to be Caterpie's final form and Butterfree's design was supposed to be Venonat's final form. It's just a theory, but the physical similarities have honestly stuck out to me and it seems pretty plausible to me – have you heard anything like this before? Is there any truth to it?

It is a pretty interesting theory! Venonat and Butterfree absolutely do share uncanny similarities, and more so than Butterfree looks like Caterpie or Metapod or Venonat like Venomoth. Furthermore, if you look at the original Red and Green sprites, Venonat's sprite and Butterfree's resemble each other even more closely - Venonat is facing forward with its hands together in a way that looks super similar to Butterfree. Butterfree practically looks like someone took Venonat, shrank it down and then pinched the sides in to separate the head and body, and just rotated the hands a tiny bit:

It is interesting to consider the actual evidence we have more closely, though! In the internal Pokémon ID sequence of R/B/Y, which is likely to be closely related to the order in which Pokémon were conceived of, Venonat appears relatively early (#65), before they really started in on the concept of evolution. Venomoth appears much later, at #119, after they've begun inserting evolutions or pre-evolutions for the earlier Pokémon - and the entire Caterpie-Metapod-Butterfree line appears in order shortly after it, at #123, #124 and #125. To me, this absolutely suggests that when Caterpie, Metapod and Butterfree were added to the game, they were definitely intended as an evolution line - Venomoth was added first, and then all of them together.

(Image courtesy of Helix Chamber)

On the other hand, I can definitely imagine that prior to the actual inserting them into the game part, someone designed Butterfree as a potential evolution for Venonat.

The narrative that I'm imagining is: they've come up with the evolution concept and are creating evolved forms for some of the Pokémon they created previously. They pick out Venonat as one that should have an evolution. And probably before they actually approve an evolution for being put into the game, people will come up with concepts and draw some sprites, right? At this point I imagine either...

...a couple of artists decide to give creating an evolution for Venonat a try; one of them comes up with Venomoth, the other Butterfree. Ultimately, Game Freak chooses Venomoth, but they like Butterfree too, so they tell Butterfree's artist to create a couple new Pokémon for Butterfree to evolve from instead. They do, and they're all put into the game...

...or the initial effort to create a Venonat evolution is Butterfree, but one way or another they end up not being happy with it as an evolution of Venonat and decide to make a different one, while liking the Pokémon itself enough to want to create new pre-evolved forms for it.

This is circumstantially supported by the fact Venomoth and the Caterpie line are so close together in the internal numbering - their creation likely happened around a similar time. It's also circumstantially interesting that the Caterpie line is the only evolution line created wholly within this period - other than that and standalones Snorlax and Mewtwo, they were seemingly fully preoccupied with making evolutions and pre-evolutions of previously conceived Pokémon at this stage.

So why would Game Freak decide they'd rather have Venonat evolve into Venomoth than Butterfree, despite how similar Venonat and Butterfree look? Well, if we just look at the real-life inspirations for the Pokémon, Butterfree is pretty obviously based on a black-veined white butterfly, with its highly distinctive wings. Venonat, on the other hand, far more closely resembles something like the fuzzy, venomous caterpillar of the flannel moth. Game Freak may just ultimately have felt that having Venonat evolve into Butterfree would just be a little bit of a biological stretch, and it would make more sense for Venonat to evolve into a moth - or they figured hey, they could do that, but maybe rather than fusing a moth and a butterfly together, why not have one moth evolution line and one butterfly?

Obviously this is all pure speculation, but that's where I think I'm at on this theory: Butterfree may very well have been originally designed as an evolution of Venonat, but either way Game Freak seems to have quickly decided they'd rather have Venonat become Venomoth and give Butterfree its own pre-evolutions, before it was actually added to the game.

(I really should write about this on TCoD at some point.)

[adobe-outdesign]

Oh, Wooloo. I am so conflicted over you. On the one hand, it’s adorable, and I love it’s little rectangle pupils and how round it is. The design is also easy to read and free of clutter.

On the other hand, however... it is just A Sheep. Not even in the sense that it’s mostly a sheep; it is, quite literally, a 1:1 cartoon sheep. I can’t help but feel like like a Pokemon design needs something to make it distinct. At least do the Gen 1 thing and slap a horn in the middle of the forehead or something.

(You could argue the way it rolls around is something, but I generally feel like if the most interesting part of the concept is something that's visible solely in the animation and not the flat design, something went wrong.)

Of course, while there are things you could do to visually spruce up Wooloo or ways you could add a theme to it, one could also argue it’s not Wooloo’s fault. Sometimes a Pokemon has to start off bland before it becomes interesting later on, and if Wooloo had a better evolution, it might be perfect as-is.

There were some really interesting ideas being tossed around during SWSH’s reveal, for example. One idea was a wolf in sheep’s clothing kind of thing, which I like--though granted, I’m not sure if that saying even exists in Japanese. Then there’s this design, which is my personal fav take on it:

Granted, you might need to make the line a three-stager for this design, but I love how it goes from a fearful prey animal to a fierce warrior, and it plays on the one thing Wooloo has that's somewhat unique--the braids--and integrates them both visually and thematically. If this was Wooloo's evolution, Wooloo would be perfect as-is. Unfortunately...

Yeah, I'm not huge on Dubwool.

I mean for starters, it's just a Jacob sheep, right down to the iconic pie-balding and the four horns:

And I want to make this clear: I am not saying a straightforward, sheep-like evolution is inherently (especially because the somewhat similar Mareep line ends up distinctly Not Really A Sheep at the end, and while I love Ampharos, I can get why people might want a more normal sheep). Rather, I'm saying that the lack of anything unique makes the entire line really underwhelming.

I've heard some argue it has a soccer (or football, seeing as we're in England in this game) theme, but if that's what they were going for it needed to be much more overt because honestly I'm not even sure if it was intentional or not.

But my other main problem with Dubwool that isn't related to the plain-ness is that it doesn't... really look great, visually. First, it isn't as cute as Wooloo, but it's not interesting visually either. It doesn't really have its own niche to make people appreciate it, you know?

But secondly, and more importantly, Dubwool is a weird mishmash of styles. The body is very similar to the cartoony, round body of Wooloo, but the head and legs are sudden much more realistic, in a way that clashes with the body. Make the torso more realistic or make the entire thing more cartoony, I don't care, but keep it consistent.

And there are just a few other things that bug me. Like, why give it the Jacob sheep-style four horns, which are very cool, and then bury half of them in wool? Why is the extra wool around the neck such a dark grey, and what's up with the random leaf-like points at the bottom of it? And what's up with that barely noticeable grey eyebrow above the eye?

I mean, it's not terrible--if you really like Wooloo, this at least preserves some of the elements from it (like the lovely ungulate-style eye), and it doesn't go off in weird directions that would alienate Wooloo fans. But at the end of the day, Dubwool just feels like a waste of potential, and not a terribly well-designed waste of potential at that.

So overall: Wooloo is adorable and the design is very simple and pleasant, but it's awfully plain. This is only amplified by Dubwool, which adds nothing thematically or visually while just looking worse overall than Wooloo. If you like sheep you'll like this line fine, but it's simply too underwhelming to really do much for me. I will still protect Wooloo with my life, however.

[mars--madness]

Hello Mars! how’s your day going? (mine’s pretty well) but anywhoo, i have like 4 questions to ask, but it here it goes!

1. When did you became a Mucha Lucha! fan? (mine’s been like 4 years and yet i have the dvd and the comics)

2. How long have you been drawing? (like an evolution of artwork through the years)

3. Who’s your Favorite ML! character and why?

4. Any future concepts or ideas on a possible artwork?

that’s all the questions that i have for now :P

hope you’re having a very great lucha day!

No problem, I'd be happy to answer them! 😊 this will be a WALL OF TEXT so prepare yourself!

1. I've been estimating this question with even myself as to exactly HOW LONG I've been into this show! And it all chocked up to a random memory I had in passing: I remember watching the opening with my baby cousins back in '03 when they were being babysitted! So way way back then 💀 ancient times

2. As for drawing: I've mostly started with random stick figure doodles in printer paper flipbooks, in which evolved into crude/traced attempts-at-art in one of my 'how to' guidebooks that I get at my local craft store! (This was in the span of times of '03-'06 if I can give an estimate)✨️then I decided one day I wanted to be more serious w the craft and started ACTUALLY free handing pics from magazines/Google images/and said tutorial books from before--even if they still seemed very crude ('07-'09)✨️THEN I tried searching for a specific style (before I figured out it didn't rly matter pfft) and drew from my mind/conjured up design features from varied media I was into at the time! ('10-'13)✨️ And after that, I went full digital and had YEARS of practicing with plethoras of tutorials along with attending art classes which REALLY helped out a whole bunch.. ('14-'17) ✨️ and now that I'm out of school basically, I'm just here practicing and drawing at my leisure! But I hope to use my knowledge in art with the degree I have + years of (self taught) practice 🎉🎉

You can find some of my favorite works on ARTFOL here: https://artfol.me/masa_ne

And no worries! I'll find a way to eventually print out some old (and cringe worthy) works and update it on this question in the future!

3. Oh GOSH,, I can say with confidence that my faves have fluctuated over the YEARS, and have been all over the place, so I'll break it into two categories: children/adults

Children- basically LOVED the elementals such as Zk and Pierre (the obvious pick), but some others include megawatt, electricity, and non-elements like La Pinata and ( in more recent years) French Twist!

Adults- Basically love the adults NOW more than I do the students, and I would consider them to be underrated characters that TOO can be rich with potential backstory development 💕

Some include Perro Salvaje, La Pared, and Rey Dinamico (I understand he's based on mysterio BUT-- he definitely has potential!!) Some MORE obscure pics would be a great handful of the parents, Hot Chocolate/Marshmallow, Hula Hattie, and the adult insectos!

4. I have a FEW in the works currently! (Most of which I'm holding off until after I move at the end of this month👍) But the one (or TWO) anniversary pics I'm aiming for will most likely be uploaded in September :"] a little inconvenient but it is what it is I suppose!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your questions! 🙏✨️

You have a Lucha day YOURSELF!