#Side note but first time was hero treecko/skitty partner

[driftingballoons]

Do you ship hero/partner? Or do you prefer them as just incredibly close without romance

For GTI/PSMD I think they’re just incredibly close friends, but personally didn’t really feel anything romantic between them. 

As for Explorers, short answer is basically I think they’re soulmates, but maybe a little young to be interested in romance during the game’s events. I was 12 when I first played, so in my mind they’ve been stuck around that age, even with subsequent playthroughs 😅 I certainly feel like a romantic relationship could blossom from what they have—and it always felt like they were the closest pair out of those in the three games I played—but I also feel that, during the games themselves, they’re a little young for all that. But I can certainly imagine that, as they become older, continue exploring together, and no longer live with the weight of the world on their shoulders, their friendship becomes something romantic :P