#MAIN. ( GENERATION HOENN. / ARC VIII. )

[gracifleur]

🌸 ███ THIS STORM, UNNATURAL AS IT was, was nothing that she & her alpha had flown through before. the hisuian braviary cutting through the air with ease, whipping about violent winds as if they were merely branches upon trees to avoid. the rain, while ignored, was certainly something else. the pelting against skin, freezing one moment then the next boiling hot. hunkering down further into skye's nape, the creature chittering in response. as always he'd keep her safe no matter what skies they dove through.

the sea beneath roared far louder than the howling winds could ever. the pain emanating though the waters was deafening. perhaps only to she; the humans at the shore & in the city panic only due to the risk of floods, of tsunamis. evacuation was a smart move but that was the only move they had done. from what she had seen running through the streets toward the beach all were the opposite of her, trying to escape. few times she would have distaste toward the cowardice of humanity--- this seemed to be one of them.

landing was near impossible, so a click of her tongue against teeth & skye nods. swooping down close as possible as she readies herself for the jump. eyes catch sight of something interesting. it seems that there had been a human who'd braved the storm. perhaps not all was lost. quick she was to then push herself from skye's back, landing on ground firmly with a squat. rising looking toward skye, a gesture for him to circle about & wait for her. but safely. as much as she would order him to abandon her should things sour for his own life, she knew he'd never. a silent understanding between them & he flies off for the moment. her attention to the man at the door.

no hesitation as she bridges the gap & heads for the door, any sort of want in her to even attempt at hide her being as something other than human was lost the moment the seas began to quiver in their rage. ＂you should be joining the evacuation teams. this is no place for storm chasers.＂ / @journcys WALLACE.

[sage-nebula]

The most frustrating thing about the main stories of Gen VI (Kalos) and Gen VII (Alola) is that Game Freak quite clearly hasn’t lost their touch entirely. They still can make great characters and write fantastic stories if they want to. They just seem to be refusing for the primary stories of each generation.

Take Gen VI for example. Anyone who knows me knows that I think the characters and narrative of Gen VI were garbage for a lot of reasons. I won’t get into all of the specifics now, but the tl;dr is that I felt that while there were very, very serious concepts introduced in the narrative of Gen VI, there was no emotional gravitas put behind them. They weren’t taken seriously. Combine this with the fact that the characters were shallow and two-dimensional at best (with so many of them being superfluous---you could have easily yanked Trevor and Tierno out of the game and nothing of value would be lost), and you have something that is not only a massive waste of time, but a massive waste of time that stops you every five seconds to force you to pay attention to it. It’s terrible. It’s beyond terrible. It’s an excruciating disappointment after the majesty that was Gen V, and yet . . . and yet the Kalos games still have some glimmer to them, a diamond in the rough, in the form of the post-game. The post-game was fantastic. The post-game carried emotional gravitas; while the fact that a grown man had stripped a teenage girl of her agency and made her do whatever he wanted her to do while she retained no memory of it was horrifyingly glossed over, that girl---Emma---had more depth and characterization than all of the other characters in Kalos combined. Her struggles held emotional significance. She was someone you could at least sympathize with, if not empathize with, and root for. You wanted her to succeed. And since you actually got to see her relationship with Looker develop, you felt your heartstrings yanked on when they separated at the end. To this day there are people who still want Looker to go back to Kalos for Emma, and that fact is a testament to how effective Kalos’ post-game story was in comparison to the flimsy mess that was its primary story.

Gen VII’s Alola games were a similar mess. To be fair, they had promise; the promotional materials (along with so many other things) promised to deliver on the alchemy plot that has been building for several generations now. The characters, too, were interesting for the most part; while some of them were once again underdeveloped and didn’t capitalize on the potential they could have had (Kukui), or else just underutilized despite the importance they should have had in the plot (Burnet), others had massive potential, both in their depth at the outset, as well as the potential for development as the story progressed (Aether family). Yet, was any of this capitalized on? No. The abused children in the narrative were disrespected in the end and made to go back to their abusive parent. The first female villain in the series wasn’t allowed to be treated as a villain. And all of this was even worse in the “Ultra” games, which make the original games look good by comparison (and particularly considering the fact that the gameplay was worse in Gen VII than it was in Gen VI, that’s a feat).

But still, I find it hard to say that Game Freak has lost their touch when you dial back a bit and look at Gen VI’s Hoenn remakes. While it’s true that the main story of the Hoenn remakes was just slightly updated from the original games, the Delta Episode was brand new and absolutely fantastic. It incorporated characters you had met throughout the main story, and starred one that was there, her plans were foreshadowed, you just might not have paid her too much mind on a first playthrough. And that character, Zinnia? She’s a well-rounded character with depth and, once again, a compelling arc that makes you care about her. Yes, she has her haters, and there are a slew of distasteful reasons for why that is, but the simple fact of the matter is that Zinnia is a compelling individual. However the narrative might have ultimately disrespected her in the name of making the player feel important, the truth is that Zinnia is one of the most compelling, and one of the deepest characters Game Freak has made to date. They did that. In 2014, they did that. True, that was four years ago, but it was only one generation ago. If they did it then, they can do it again.

And that’s what’s frustrating. In Gen V, they gave us a phenomenal story. In Gen VI, they gave us phenomenal post-games (since, again, the main story of ORAS was brought over from Gen III). Gen VII gave us literally nothing of value. But my point is that they can do this. They can do a good job with their characters and their narrative. Why they seem so averse to doing this in the main plot of the game, the one players spend the most time with, is beyond me, but I really, really wish they’d change their minds and get their acts together soon.

Here’s hoping they do so by the time Gen VIII rolls around. 

[gracifleur]

🌸 ███ NOTHING. NAUGHT ALL EXCEPT FOR a roar. a roar so deafening that it shakes the earth, the sky cracks, & the sea turns all the more violent. && that was her answer. it didn't matter who was on the this side of the door, so long as marea was in this state there would be no reasoning with him unless they were face to face. at this point shea could only assume he was on the road to becoming primal.

&& no one would win with a primal legendary on their hands.

a turn, looking toward wallace. feeling the string pull all the more tighter within her mind as if in amused laughter at the predicament. naturally her sibling would find this needless anger & destruction hilarious. well if that was the case, she was about to be a damn riot.

moving quick as if they dallied here any longer their lives certainly go from at risk to immediate danger, she rushes to the champion & grabs his arm. just the one, a nod to his trusted partner wearing an expression of assured trust before gaze returns upward to meet wallace's own. ＂okay so plan b is gonna be a lot for you, sorry in advance.＂&& with her starting statement, she tugs. tugs violently at that string that lays between she & the renegade---- giratina. king & sole ruler of an alternate dimension that exists alongside this reality. shadows start to grow upon the earth of which they stand, the void of darkness so powerful light simply does not exist within. looking into it makes you feel ill, sound fades away. a pair of eyes & a smile appear before vanishing completely. ＂you may wanna hold your breath until we reach the other side.＂

&& with that last statement the ground beneath them buckles, dripping downward as if pulled below, the earth stretching unnaturally. however the lot of them hover for a moment before falling down, down, down, down.

most certainly not unlike alice into wonderland.

There’s a whine that leaves the Milotic as Shea speaks to her and she nudges her about against Wallace in a worried motion, ‘We should go’, and though he doesn’t understand her fully, he can understand enough in which he shakes his head. Wallace was the champion of this region—Marea was his ancestor. He wasn’t going to leave both—despite how risky and fragile his human life was, he would do anything to stop this entire thing; even lose his life if it came to that.

Still, the Milotic tightens her hold as the wind picks up, and Wallace pats Kireina’s body once more to reassure her, but also to let her know to loosen her body a little so he could at least walk. “Well I assumed if you’re like him, it would make more sense that you knew. Not that it really helps the situation—the bloodline is so diluted that I, unfortunately, aren’t as much as I could be.” She was right about the cave—usually, he could just do that. But now…

Wallace watches Shea at the door and he can’t help but sigh. “I tried that already—he will not listen to reason!” As Shea tries to plea to the ancient water god inside of the cave, Marea lets out another roar that cracks lightning in the sky and shakes the earth around them, Kireina tightening around Wallace once more so he doesn’t fall over.

“Do you have any other ideas? Perhaps something we HAVEN’T already tried?”

[gracifleur]

VERSE DUMP 02;   here listed are the verses that are intricately tied to the mainline games spanning gen 1 to gen 9. these are short descriptions for each gen for the ease of interaction & summary of the events within & shea’s association with each. certain games will have a more in-depth verse post at a later date, such as gen 4. by default, shea masquerades as a human child & a traveler unless her origins are revealed by herself or against her will by those connected to cyrus or volo. for the most part, shea acts on the behalf of arceus to check & care for the various legendary & mystical pokemon throughout the regions. her priority will always be the safety of said pokemon. unlike her sinnoh kin, however, she is not directly related to the mythical & legendary pokemon in the other regions.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION KANTO. / ARC VI. )

a boon from the creator themselves, arceus; shea travels to the kanto region feeling unease about their fellow mythical mew. a creature that hadn’t been seen for centuries, being sighted & even worse pursued. shea arrives sometime before the events of the game & keeps themselves hidden as she researches the destruction of the lab on cinnabar island. after word reaches that a young trainer has been taking down members of team rocket, shea decides to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong hoping that this young trainer will lead them to mew--- discovering the origins of mewtwo.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION JOHTO. / ARC VII. )

on her way back toward her home within the sinnoh region, shea travels through johto & finds herself once again wrapped up in someone else’s business. meeting crystal & finding herself in quite the dilemma for if this young trainer found out about shea’s origins--- well, she’d be trapped in a professors lab for sure ! fortunately the return of team rocket in search of their fearless leader tends to put priority on matters as regions legendaries wake up causing shea to rush to their aid as one of their own. this verse is highly influenced by @starmarkcd @unmcsked & @gxldenstreak who are canon to shea as the trainers; Crys / Silver / Gold respectfully. 

#MAIN. ( GENERATION HOENN. / ARC VIII. )

once more shea travels to a region outside her own, this time in peril as a sixth sense compels her to rush to hoenn in time for team aqua & team magma to purposefully disturb the rest of both kyogre & groudon. joining the young trainer(s) climbing the rank of the gym challenge of the region, she aims to calm down the legendary titans who helped formed the earth & sea before it’s too late--- && find those responsible to deal with them before it’s too late, for no doubt the sky dragon is soon to approach.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION SINNOH. / ARC IX. )

sinnoh, the home of shea & her brethren. no longer called the hisui region--- shea lives primarily in the flower paradise with the other shaymin. however her ancient adventures have left a impact that she has yet to understand the gravity of. the people of sinnoh speak in their legends of a child of space & time that transcends dimensions, capable of controlling the legendary beasts of creation. while the reality is far from; shea a child born from arceus themselves the myth remains drawing the attention of two major players within sinnoh: cynthia, a celestial descendant of volo, & cyrus. no fool, cyrus is quicker to unravel the truth about this ‘child of space time’ & moves toward the flower paradise with a red chain in tow to capture shea & use her to summon the creation trio so that he may use them to create his new world.... **this verse will have an expanded post of which will be linked here when finished.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION UNOVA. / ARC X. )

finding the news of an organization that promotes releasing one’s pokemon from human “servitude” shea travels to the unova region, discovering team plasma roaming the various cities. worried for the twin dragons she travels toward the relic castle to find it empty.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION KALOS. / ARC XI. )

xerneas & shea are no stranger to each other; as shaymin are often found near the tree of life, the beastie itself visiting the flower paradise within sinnoh at times. it is in fact a visit from shea to the forests of kalos of which starts their journey into worry for her friend & it’s counterpart. however shea only finds a collection of zygarde cells & cores, tipping her off to a much bigger problem at hand. knowing exactly who to turn to for help, shea seeks out the descendant of a old friend in the form of serena, a young trainer who’s destiny is intertwined with the legendaries of life & death.  this verse is highly influenced by @iruludavare

#MAIN. ( GENERATION ALOLA. / ARC XII. )

alola ! shea decides she wants to see the ocean. a different ocean than one near the flower paradise & with a hankering for some malasadas--- of she goes to the island region ! however midway into her little adventure she runs into scientists of the aether foundation, who’s various scientific instruments out shea’s origins as a human-pokemon chimera & capture her to bring her to the president herself; lusamine. narrowly escaping being contained to be “protected” shea spends her time thereafter running from aether workers tasked on retrieving her.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION GALAR. / ARC XIII. ) 

the slumbering weald is home to the heroes of the darkest day & sometimes it is visited by a wandering shea; visiting to help shaymin bring the change of seasons to the forest & care for the altar where the heroes rest. however on one journey out to the weald she notices the absence of the hero duo & turns her attention outside the weald curious as to what caused the beasties to stir from their slumber & if there is a new threat to the world on the horizon.

#MAIN. ( GENERATION PALDEA. / ARC XIV. )

dialga finds itself irritable, upset, & even sick--- a sign of time distortion forced by human hand somewhere in the world. as shea cares for her sibling her worries for their health & well being grows as dialga shows signs of it’s primal rage returning in it’s mysterious illness. asking the trio of the lake to stand & care for the deity of time as shea travels outside of sinnoh toward the paldea region after consulting with giratina if there are any distortions in the world outside of their own. in paldea she learns of a giant crater in the region’s center known as area zero that is forbidden to enter under any circumstance. convinced what lies there holds the answer to dialga’s sickness she decides to do a bit of recon, pretending to be a student of the famous naranja/uva academy( the default will be uva bc i like the color purple however this will fluctuate depending on the writing partner’s chosen/preferred school ) she sets off during the treasure hunt to find clues as to what could have happened in area zero & a way inside to confront professors turo & sada, those very clearly linked to the time-sickness effecting dialga. **this verse contains an original story based on shea’s lore & the events of the game, this description is spoiler-free ! click here for more info on this verse; contains minimal spoilers.

[gracifleur]

🌸 ███ A HAND HOVERS OVER THE grand door leading into the cave of origins. she can feel the seal, the radiating power that keeps it locked tight. turning to the human behind her & tilting her head as she gets a better look at him. the region's champion. wallace--- curious how something about him nags the back of her mind, a familiarity somehow. thoughts pushed away for the moment & her attention turns toward the milotic. somewhat completely ignoring the human. a hand to her chin as she thinks, speaking out loud in a language unknown to humans. as it wasn't meant for their ears. her words meant for the tender pokemon. words of a holy language understood by pokemon, spoken to pokemon only. gifted to her by the all creator themselves. ＂ that entrance underwater may be obscured with how dangerous the sea is right now.

there are tons of reports of whirlpools & riptides.＂ a worry, she's not exactly the aquatic sort nor had she brought her flute with her to summon some aid. ＂or even worse, it could have been blocked off by rubble, possibly a cave in or two. be extra careful okay !＂

attention finally turns proper toward the champion. moving to where he stood & looking him in the eyes, ＂we are running out of time here so i'm gonna cut to the chase, so i'm gonna trust that someone who wears the mantle of champion will just accept my words & not freak out: my name is shea, like marea i too am a pokemon. i came here because i feel he's in pain & if i'm right at this rate it won't be just sootopolis city that's in danger !

if i can trust you, tell me what all you know about what's happening right now. ＂

The unnatural storm was not something that Wallace wasn’t used to. Monsoon season had just passed and he had managed through that just fine. He had lived in Hoenn his entire life, after all—and with water types being his specialty, he figured that he would be able to handle what was happening now.

But this was heavier then any monsoon, and things were flooding quickly. He could hear the roars in the cave—more like screams of frustration and centuries worth of pain. He felt for his ancestor—truly he did, however, this had gone on long enough. With 75% of Sootopolis evacuated, the Champion was at a loss.

Kireina poked her head from the water and it caused Wallace to perk. “Reina darling, did you find it?” The Milotic shakes her head and he sighs, watching her dive down once more to try again. It’s not surprising that such a possibly large cavern could be so hard to find. Legendaries were good at keeping their secrets.

He glances over at the girl who speaks—he briefly saw her bravery in the sky, a huff leaving him. Whose sassy lost child was this? “I should be saying that to you.” He huffs, a brow raised.

“Unlike everybody else, I at least have a chance at stopping this storm. Normally I can get in through the front, however…He is not allowing it to open.” His brows furrow as he looks back to the water when Kireina pokes her head up again and shakes her head, still finding nothing. “Supposedly there’s an underwater entrance that accesses the 4th floor of the cavern. I’m trying to find that.”