#So lovely such fun <3 A specific kind of trainer-Pokemon understanding that can only be had between specific cultures! Yesss

[sysig]

If the rules are “Catch them all” ZEX already has a leg up (Patreon)

[boberta]

random pokemon headcanon (keep in mind I've only REALLY played gen 3 and I didn't ever keep up with the anime after Johto so. yeah) it got long lol so readmore Ɛ:

Pokemon Gyms are places for both people and pokemon to work out at. This kind of seems obvious what with water gyms literally being swimming pools iirc. rock gyms offer rock climbing, fighting gyms are for getting swole, fire gyms offer... what fucking ever flannery was doing.

but anyways psychic type gyms are the real juicy one to me. The Meat of this headcanon is that you can go there to learn the psychic powers that so so many NPCs exhibit. like this:

what's fascinating to me about this is it gives you a means to unambiguously understand your pokemon. like they're at least People enough to pick up on language and follow commands and use #tactics but they can't really communicate with humans outside of psychic-types using telepethy and weirdos like meowth. they already exhibit a sort of human-level intelligence. so going to the gym and picking up telepathy to talk to your pocket monsters... well. that makes the partnership a lot more equal and probably a lot more healthy.

Not to say that pokemon training is unhealthy. pokemon already love and bond with humans good this isn't a "lol it's dogfighting??" type post. it's just nice to think of being True Bros with your guys.

Like imagine having a passionate discussion about your favorite soap opera with the fucking fletchinder roommate that beats up bugs for you on the way to work. Talking food with your lil dudes and cooking stuff that doesn't conflict with their unique physiological needs. Engaging with your pokemon's highly specific behaviors like special interests and listening to them infodump about their niche stuff.

of course you can get similar results if you have a psychic type to translate for the rest of your team, no gym required. Psychic type trainers are Already Aware pokemon have been people in my world.

But it's still not like common knowledge necessarily. Obviously from the canon most people talk about these dudes like they're just special magical pets. like not everyone's a psychic type trainer and not everyone's got the time to devote to the Psychic Type Gym (just like how bodybuilders are rare irl). so the status quo is about what you see in games and in the anime. just watch out!

this makes pokemon way more fun for me

[aro-aizawa]

alright so i finished up playing all of pokemon shield including the post-game mini plot, so here’s a quick fire list of all the things i liked about it and disliked about it before i go on to explain it in more depth (also spoiler warning). here we go.

what i liked:

the graphics, a little weaker in handheld form but largely unnoticeable unless you were looking for it. GREAT graphics when playing on tv mode.

the new pokemon. they were all really cute, and i especially loved the alternate forms and new evolutions of older gen pokemon.

opal, she’s hands down one of my favourite gym leaders so far only shortly followed by bede.

bede is a nonbinary icon as proven by the fact that they didn’t use any pronouns to refer to them until after the fourth gym, and the fact that when they’re in their gym uniform its trans flag colour. it may not be canon, but its canon in my heart.

gym battles are treated as they should be -- huge spectacles that gets people amped the hell up.

dynamaxing. its so goddamn satisfying to finish off a gym battle with your best pokemon as a fucking giant behind you, no matter their actual size. tiny pyukumuku behind you? badass. huge ass wailord? bad. ass. an actual baby pokemon? bad. ASS.

the wild area. introducing camping was a good system, it definitely helped a lot when you couldn’t exactly jump back to a pokemon center so you cook your pokemon some curry to revive and heal them. i imagine they took some inspiration from breath of the wild, tho i haven’t played it to really confirm.

what i didn’t like:

they cut so many corners in the game, you can definitely tell it was made in a hurry.

a minor note here, but for me i have this annoying bug that makes it so some pokemon have the exact same cry. its a sort of whooshing noise that you’d expect for a flying type pokemon, but it frequently appeared instead of well known and familiar cries. i can’t pin down exactly what the cause of this is, or if i’m hearing things wrong, but it was infuriating.

the towns are empty and barely even give you flavor text anymore. you might as well not speak to any npcs except shop keepers and named characters.

there is exactly three cute outfits and three cute hairstyles and that’s about it. i know a lot of this point is mostly about personal taste but please nintendo, we had such a good range in the previous game. 

don’t explore. there is literally no point in looking in all the nooks and crannies of this game, because i guarantee that if the game doesn’t tell you to go there, then there’s nothing there.

it’s too easy. it’s....actually crazy that i’m even putting this as a point, because i’m a strict believer in making games playable for everyone. but it’s just....too much.

the cut down pokedex will forever inject salt right into my veins. especially when they had the audacity to include one of the first starter pokemon, but not the other two. charizard is an okay pokemon but its overrated, nintendo please accept that.

the plot didn’t exist until suddenly it did and then it made no sense. 

i hate the fact that the team in this game were just delegated to fans. i understand the whole “fake out” thing they might have been going for by getting the player to think that they’d turn out to be bad, but no. it just sucks. 

fucking. swordward and shieldbert. i???? literally. have no. words. (i do but they’re super long so hmmm down below)

a game worth about £20 ($25) less than i paid for it. its a decent quality game, but not nearly nintendo quality. 

wow this post is longer than i expected it to be already. but anyways, the rest is super long and under the cut further going into depth about the points i raised. 

to start with, i’ll talk about the good points because honestly?? i really wanted to love this game. i really really did. maybe it was just the fact that at first i didn’t like sun and moon because they changed the formula so much, but it turned out to become my favourite game in the series. or maybe it was just that i don’t like being hypercritical of things i spent fifty fucking pounds on. either way, i wanted to like the game, and overall i sort of did but i sort of didn’t. lots of mixed feelings. anyways. onto explaining the good stuff. (or you can skip to “now on w the bad junk” for the bad stuff)

1. the graphics, a little weaker in handheld form but largely unnoticeable unless you were looking for it. GREAT graphics when playing on tv mode.

one of my favourite things about the pokemon series in recent times is seeing the process from 2d undetailed sprites to 3d incredibly detailed models. the most ambitious thing about gen 5 was the way the camera moved with your movements as you crossed the bridge, and now i just sometimes sit back and thing “wow 13 year old me would FLIP if she could see how good they got”. bc i kept just....admiring all the graphics and the quality of them. 

2. the new pokemon. they were all really cute, and i especially loved the alternate forms and new evolutions of older gen pokemon.

definitely one of my favourite things about the game was seeing the new forms of pokemon we already knew and the alternate forms they’d take when dynamaxed. i love seeing pokemon with new types that completely flip the script, like darumaka becoming an ice type instead of a fire type. or the fact that they gave mr mime a galaran form and it actually doesn’t look bad. 

i really loved that some of the galaran forms had unique evolutions, such as linoone evolving into obstagoon. or meowth into perrserker. it makes sense and i’m always super happy to see new evolutions for old pokemon, it keeps things interesting when pokemon other than eevee get new evolutions.

(tho that being said, still disappointed there’s still not another eeveelution. still holding out hope for that ghost type.)

3. opal, she’s hands down one of my favourite gym leaders so far only shortly followed by bede.

i’m not super well versed in the pokemon universe besides from gen 1 and gen 5 onwards (if you couldn’t tell), but its really refreshing to have an old gym leader that’s visibly elderly rather that just grey haired maybe retiree man. her personality was also really fun, it sort of felt like she literally had the most personality of all the gym leaders, which kind of sucked but it made me really love her character. 

and bede i didn’t wholly expect to really like as much as i did? i mayhaps might have spoiled myself a little on their gym leader status by dipping into the swsh tag here on tumblr before i fully completed the game. but still, they seemed just generally really annoyingly stuck up? but something endeared me to the darl and i just think it mostly had to do w the fact that opal took one look at them and declared they was her grandchild now. 

4. bede is a nonbinary icon as proven by the fact that they didn’t use any pronouns to refer to them until after the fourth gym, and the fact that when they’re in their gym uniform its trans flag colour. it may not be canon, but its canon in my heart.

argue with me on this point all you like, but you can’t deny the fact that in CANON they literally did not use any pronouns to refer to bede until after the fourth gym. the only mention of pronouns before that was their trainer card, which i did not check because good character development should be shown not told through an impersonal medium such as character cards. 

5. gym battles are treated as they should be -- huge spectacles that gets people amped the hell up.

i’ve always loved the way the league is set up, because it makes sense. the pokemon formula works and its interesting, but in previous games most people only vaguely acknowledge it as something every kid tries but doesn’t really complete. it’s already set up people love pokemon battles, there just wasn’t a spectator sport about it unless in the anime or movies. they’re just a thing that happens that none of the npcs care about. 

finally its treated like the spectator sport that it should be. like,,, hell yeah,,, 

(also do you think that in the pokemon universe there’s various stories/tv shows about made up kids completing the league and becoming champions? because i definitely do.)

6. dynamaxing. its so goddamn satisfying to finish off a gym battle with your best pokemon as a fucking giant behind you, no matter their actual size. tiny pyukumuku behind you? badass. huge ass wailord? bad. ass. an actual baby pokemon? bad. ASS.

i p much summed up most of my thoughts in this point well. but i love when pokemon are so visibly powerful. like these creatures have powers that we’d equate to actual gods like summoning whole storms, creating giant waves, create earthquakes and so much more. pokemon are so powerful and to see them become giant and have so much weight and power? its so satisfying controlling that and bringing down other giant pokemon. 

7. the wild area. introducing camping was a good system, it definitely helped a lot when you couldn’t exactly jump back to a pokemon center so you cook your pokemon some curry to revive and heal them. i imagine they took some inspiration from breath of the wild, tho i haven’t played it to really confirm.

i really appreciated the change that started in pokemon let’s go with some pokemon being visible and easy to encounter wandering through the grass. it makes it so much easier to search for the one pokemon that you don’t have in your pokedex yet, or if you’re looking for a specific pokemon to join your team.

i love how large and expansive the wild area is, and with the camping system you can just explore and fill out your pokedex without ever leaving if you’re fully stocked up on supplies. it makes you really believe the whole “yep this kid isn’t just blasting through the whole thing in one day”. kids sleep in tents on their journey with their pokemon and cook curry for them all. adds a nice level of immersion and convenience. 

.

jesus fuck this is so long and i haven’t even gotten to my criticisms yet, is anybody actually reading this chunk of text??? well rip to you my friend and thank you. but now on w the bad junk.

1. they cut so many corners in the game, you can definitely tell it was made in a hurry.

they did a decent job considering it was in development for only two years w one only for the concept and the second actually making it. but they cut so many corners it doesn’t quite feel like a true installment into the pokemon universe. it feels like it was made by another dev studio rather than gamefreak. like how fallout new vegas and fallout 3 barely feel like the two installments in the same franchise. 

this point sort of leads into many different points that i raised, so i’ll explain those a little bit more in depth there. but to sum it up, the easiest way to see it is just how...flat things are. if you only pay attention to the things the game directs you to, then you will not miss a single thing. flavor text is less about adding depth to the world and more just...pointless. it adds. nothing.

and in the post game when sonia gets a new assistant, even though she plays a fairly important part in the post-game plot, she doesn’t get a name nor a unique character model. she get’s a generic doctor model yet it’s treated like we should feel betrayed that nameless npc 234 went behind sonia’s back and stole from her. 

OH! and i almost forgot!!!! but that one part where rose is trying to talk leon into something “mysterious”??? they straight up just used images!!!! like,,,, what???? you didn’t have time to program the minimal animations for that?? who’s fault is that for pushing the release!!! give your employees time to work at a decent pace and not crunch them to reach an impossible goal. game freak, you don’t have to release a game every november.

2. a minor note here, but for me i have this annoying bug that makes it so some pokemon have the exact same cry. its a sort of whooshing noise that you’d expect for a flying type pokemon, but it frequently appeared instead of well known and familiar cries. i can’t pin down exactly what the cause of this is, or if i’m hearing things wrong, but it was infuriating.

also p much just explain this in the point. BUT it happened all. the. time. the only pokemon i know for sure was effected by the bug was gyarados, because instead of the roaring cry i heard the whooshing sound that was probably meant to be another pokemon’s cry. it sounds wack when im saying it rn bc im not 100% convinced i wasn’t making this up, but it was the sole reason i turned the pokemon cries to get drowned out by the music and sound effects.

3. the towns are empty and barely even give you flavor text anymore. you might as well not speak to any npcs except shop keepers and named characters.

i touched on this previously in 1 but basically walking around a town and talking to npcs will not get you any interesting dialog. going into the houses/rooms, and you’ll only get one npc who’s all like “i’m brushing my hair!” and that’s about it. there aren’t any items tucked away in houses or corners of buildings for you to explore or battle people. when you acknowledge that there’s no flavor text from npcs all the towns feel practically empty whereas in the previous games it actually alive.

not to mention how little the diaglog changes? like it may just be my faulty memory at play but im pretty sure that the npcs in the previous games had more dynamic dialog in which they’d change what they said depending on your action in the town or for the plot. after a major event just happened, if you walked around and talked to everyone in that area they’d talk about it. but that happened like....once.

4. there is exactly three cute outfits and three cute hairstyles and that’s about it. i know a lot of this point is mostly about personal taste but please nintendo, we had such a good range in the previous game. 

one thing i loved about the series was the increasing freedom in customisation of trainers. fashion kept getting wider and with more variety, clothes that were still cute and i’d frequently have about 2k because i just kept buying them. by the end of my playthrough of swsh i had almost a million saved up because i didn’t like most of the clothing options. i found one outfit and hairstyle i liked a quarter of the way through the game and stuck with it until the end. they drastically cut down on the options, and that sucked. 

5. don’t explore. there is literally no point in looking in all the nooks and crannies of this game, because i guarantee that if the game doesn’t tell you to go there, then there’s nothing there.

again, already touched on this point but one example i know is this. when you go to the energy plant to battle rose, or go to the roof to battle eternus, i expected to go back to it when the event was over to see if something was left behind or because i’d been locked in a cutscene and unable to explore before, that meant there would be something now. but nope. don’t bother. even when you think you might be able to do something fun, don’t try until the game points you in that direction itself. if something interesting is going to happen in the game, i assure you they will point it out for you. 

6.  it’s too easy. it’s....actually crazy that i’m even putting this as a point, because i’m a strict believer in making games playable for everyone. but it’s just....too much.

hard games disinterest me. if a game is renowned for it’s difficulty, then i will avoid it. i don’t care if defeating dark souls is a badge of honor for your stubbornness or skill. i simply don’t enjoy playing a game that makes me want to quit in frustration because i am not good at video games. i appreciated how easy the games have been in recent years because it makes it a lot easier for me to actually complete them and enjoy them, it’s why i have trouble getting into the earlier gens of pokemon. 

but when it got to the point where after only about an hour or two of dynamax farming, by the time that i got round to the championships i was literally one shotting every single pokemon. even when i didn’t have super effective moves. i was almost 20 levels ahead of the competition, and blasted through the whole thing in a total of 10 minutes battle time and 30 minutes dialog and cutscene time, with a 20 minute pause for a phone call. 

i defeated leon with only very minimal struggle. i couldn’t one shot all his pokemon, i will admit. i two shotted them. i went into the championship fully stocked up on potions and revival items and left with all of them. none of my pokemon fainted or even sustained major damage. 

while satisfying feeling that you’re op enough to utterly annihilate your opponents, there comes a point where it’s just “why bother i know i’ll win” which kind of sucks. 

7. the cut down pokedex will forever inject salt right into my veins. especially when they had the audacity to include one of the first starter pokemon, but not the other two. charizard is an okay pokemon but its overrated, nintendo please accept that.

sorry to charizard fans, but please acknowledge that it’s overrated. its design is basic, and already has multiple different forms. the fact that they passed over the opportunity for the creativity that dynamax venusaur or blastoise could give, for another basic dragon design is so annoying. 

not to even mention the fact that they didn’t even bother to keep the rest of the starter pokemon either. i vaguely remember one time some nintendo employee or big shot saying that the best thing about it is that every pokemon is at least one person’s favourite. the underused or underloved pokemon will always be ONE person’s favourite, and that’s why you can get the whole pokedex. but y’know fuck that philosophy in the name of getting the game out on time. when they could have very easily pushed the release date back. i’m lucky that most of my faves got included but i know that a fair amount did not. and i’m pissed. 

8. the plot didn’t exist until suddenly it did and then it made no sense. 

9. i hate the fact that the team in this game were just delegated to fans. i understand the whole “fake out” thing they might have been going for by getting the player to think that they’d turn out to be bad, but no. it just sucks. 

these two go so hand in hand, that i’m taking the time to address them together considering in every single previous game so far the team has had some HEAVY influence on the plot in one way or another. they’re always linked to the legendary pokemon of the game and they’re always included in the overarching plot, either by driving the player to act or subtly there. 

i kept seeing team yell show up and trying to work out how they were going to join the plot. were they a cult doing Science Shit in the background trying to revive the legendaries? was marnie the leader of this cult and going through the league to distract people from her totally devious going-ons? or would it turn out that marnie though the team harmless but really it was a front for her relative’s secret cult? 

nope!!! they were annoying roadblocks who added literally nothing to the plot. 

and when i realised that, it was the seventh gym battle and so far the only plot i’d glimpsed at was the mysterious explosions in hammerlocke city and the overarching tale of the sword and shield that had been obvious since literally the first time sonia started to talk about it. there had been no plot. there was literally no plot other than the gym battles which sonia and leon specifically called out to “leave this to the grownups, you two just focus on the gym challenge”. 

and when i got my eighth badge and was completing the equivalent of the elite four, i was still confused as FUCK because where the hell was the plot???? and then the whole weird ass “we have to save leon” from a meeting with.....a chairman? how about you wait just an hour jfc it’s not that bad? he’s not being held against his will? the chairman wasn’t doing anything obviously evil or even hinted at? 

the whole thing was vague and rose’s motivation was just ??????? i don’t know???? i still don’t exactly know what the whole deal was. it came out of nowhere and made. no. sense. it had completely lost me. along with the fact that they were suddenly introducing dynamax raids like we hadn’t already been doing that so many times in the wild area????

which leads me to my next point.....sigh. 

10. fucking. swordward and shieldbert. i???? literally. have no. words. (i do but they’re super long so hmmm down below)

first things first, is that i hate everything about these characters. from their names, to their designs, to their motivations, to how they’re handled in canon. it was shitty and while i had fun playing with the whole “this is what a champion does after they beat the previous one” thing, it was just in general really bad. 

like, i cannot get over how shitty their designs were. their hair was literally a sword and a shield. i kept thinking “wow swordward has a penis head that wiggles when he moves” and couldn’t take a single thing he said seriously. i literally wanted to weep at the horrible character design. 

not to mention the suddenness of their whole schtick. “yeah we’re royalty and we’re “”””CELEBRITIES”””” even if none of you have heard of us”. like what????? the fuck????

it just sort of pisses me off to an astronomical degree that this low quality shit was jammed into a pokemon game when they were getting so good at storytelling. it felt like game freak were hammering me with a club while singing “YOU PAID 50 WHOLE POUNDS FOR THIS IN PARTICULAR!!!” like,,,, thanks. thank you. thank you for waiting until after i’d finished the game to really hammer home that point. 

which somewhat leads me to my last point that really just sums up the majority of my thoughts on the whole game:

11. a game worth about £20 ($25) less than i paid for it. its a decent quality game, but not nearly nintendo quality. 

if i knew what i knew about the game know, i wouldn’t pay fifty fucking pounds for it. it physically pains me to spend more than £30 in one sitting, that i actually winced while i was buying it even though i was being 100% optimistic that i was going to love it. at most i’d pay £30 for it, but only then. it’s a good game to really distract you and power through but other than that, i don’t see it as a game i’m going to come back to so i can complete the pokedex and i certainly am not going to buy the other game so i can play it again unlike how i’ve done in the past with my favourite installments. 

maybe i’m just picky, or i don’t buy games often enough, but i really would not classify this as a quality installment in the pokemon franchise. if you get a free copy, or just the opportunity to play it for a few hours then fine it’s a great game. but not quite something you should want to spend your money on. but don’t pirate it. that’s a fast way to get bugs.

to sum this whole mess of a post up: immediately after finishing the game i said to myself “now time to go play a REAL pokemon game” before booting up pokemon moon.

[zrbillings]

Pokemon Sword & Shield - Review

So it’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed anything (years in fact) and since video reviews take such an exorbitant amount of time and COPPA has made Youtube this very scary place right now; I figured why not do what I know and write a review.

So with that out of the way, let's talk about Pokemon Sword & Shield. These games appear to be super devicieve you’re either in #gamefreaklied #bringbackthenationaldex camp or you’re a ‘defender’. I find that I have a bit of a unique perspective on the game so I wanted to share my thoughts. I’ve just completed Pokemon Sword, and just so you out there in internet land know my qualifications because to Pokemon fans that seems they only real way to justify having a different opinion.

I was born in ‘91

Pokemon Blue was my literal first GB game.

If point 2 wasn’t enough I collected everything Pokemon and grew up watching the show, often playing the games while I did.

I’ve completed the National Dex

I’ve completed the Kanto Dex like 3x over.

And I’ve played various other spin-off games i.e. Colosseum, Stadium, Gale of Darkness, Trozie? Trozae?

And if you couldn’t put it together I’ve played through nearly every mainline game the only exceptions being. Alpha Sapphire, Diamond, Fire Red, Let’s Go Pikachu, Sun, Ultra Moon. Basically at some point if I owned one version that’s all I needed.

Okay! So with all that out of the way, let’s talk about these games. Plain and simple if you just want to know if it is actually bad, no it’s not, it’s good, one could argue great, I wouldn’t, but you could. If you like Pokemon, get over the National Dex and “It ShOuLD LoOk BEtTeR” and play it, it’s fun it’s Pokemon with some new gimmicks. 3 out of 5 I guess if you want to be critical. Okay so for the rest of you, the ones who are more critical and want to know what SUCKS, and what ROCKS. Keep in mind going forward I’m not addressing the whole stupid delemma of cut Pokemon or graphics, at least not in depth, you want to talk that crap just @ me I’ve got the time. So graphically it is undoubtedly the best looking in the series you literally cannot argue that, should it look better? Well, I don’t know, I think to expect it to makes you look stupid no matter what reasoning you want to bring to the table. Pokemon has literally NEVER shown interest in pushing graphics, they’ve almost never made massive leaps forward, the amount of times they have can be counted on one had, so to have expected more that’s on you, not them. I find them to be gorgeous, yeah there’s things here and there that could be better, but if you go looking for a problem in anything you’ll find it, you could find ugly stuff in Skyrim too, or even Final Fantasy 15. Characters are definitely more expressive than they’ve ever been, the towns are stunning and I feel unlike some of the more recent games definitely come off as more memorable even if you can’t name them, you can instantly picture them. Animations, while I totally agree should be better, shouldn’t have been expected to be more than they are, again this is Gamefreak they literally improve at a snail’s pace justified or not. That being said, while Pokemon aren’t particularly animated in battle, the game overall is the most animated in the series, and here’s why. Again characters are far more expressive, and are constantly moving even in battles when a Pokemon attacks the trainer makes an action, you have overworld Pokemon, you have each and every Pokemon able to do a handful of different animations in Pokemon Camp. You have the world itself that is filled with movement i.e. NPCs, scenery here and there, a good example being the town Ballonlea the Fairy-Type gym location in case the name doesn’t sound familiar. So yes while the animations aren’t particularly impressive, I would say they’re still the best in the series AS A WHOLE (can’t believe I need to specify that). The big draw of this game is the open are called The Wild, this is sort of what people who hate these games wanted an entire game to be like, but better. And I think while they could be bigger, they feel the right size in correlation to the size of the rest of the map, there’s plenty to explore and it is genuinely fun to roam around in especially online. That being said, the game definitely (at least for me) chugs a bit while online, but I wouldn’t say it ruined the experience at all for me. It was so cool to see other players setting up camps and running around, I will say however that while these things are cool, they could have been developed further. You can’t interact with these players if you engage with one they just give you a stock response and then hand you some sort of cooking item, which okay getting cooking items this way fantastic! But why not let trainers customize their greetings? A little especially while in camps? There’s just more they could have done here, I can understand not wanting to create a system where interacting with someone dead stops them in place in order to trade or whatever, that could get really annoying. But I find, there’s not enough here that really push this feeling of a shared space, like why not have brought back Secret Bases again? And had your friend’s bases show up that way if you did want to hang out and chat (through the terrible Nintendo App, or whatever superior option) you could! Like can you imagine? Instead of just having to camp outside and hang out with friends having like your own space to hang out, battle, trade. You could have made this space like an area where if you interact with a trainer a menu for those sort of things could be triggered. The Wilds overall are fun and they’re cool to explore for new Pokemon, I just feel they could have been experimented a little more with. I won’t prattle on any further, but just saying I’d love to see Gamefreak take this and push it harder next game. As an ending note I do fine the placement of The Wilds fine, at first it looks odd, but once you start playing given it’s function it makes sense, I think if the whole game were The Wilds like some people desperately want, you’d run into a lot more problems, with things like trainer placement, and how to limit progression, not saying it can’t be done, just that we’re a ways off from anything like that happening yet. I will say this though (sorry last thing I swear) I DO NOT like how the progression system of The Wilds works, the moment you enter it you can explore 90% of it, which fine, EXCEPT! The problem becomes that while you can explore nearly every nook and cranny of it you can only catch Pokemon in designated areas because if a Pokemon is over a certain level and you don’t have enough badges you just straight up can’t catch it. Which okay I can understand, but then I SHOULDN’T EVEN BE ALLOWED THERE! For example (and why I’m bringing this up) there is an area where you must cross a bridge to get into the next section of the lands, cool I think this is great it visually queues us, “hey this is a different section so logically the Pokemon will be stronger here.” The problem! Is while we in theory can piece this together literally nothing stops us from crossing, the reason this bothers me is because on the literal otherside of the bridge is I SHIT YOU NOT a MF Snorlax! Just chillin, doesn’t wander just stands there, while okay this is a great reference to other games. WHY WOULD YOU NOT! Just put him sleeping on the bridge like in every other game in this scenario, it bars the pass and players don’t waste their time exploring an area before they can get the most out of it. Plus! This game rewards you special Acorn Balls at each Gym, if you don’t know what these are they were in Gold and Silver they’re special Pokeballs that in this game are one of a kind that have awesome effects, the one I want to reference specifically here is the Heavy Ball which works better the heavier a Pokemon is i.e. “this ball was invented for catching Snorlax.” So it baffles me how Gamefreak didn’t do something like the last Gym before you’re able to wake up Snorlax and pass the bridge allows you to get a Heavy Ball thusly not only letting you finally progress into this new area, but also gives you an item as a sort of reward. Wow, sorry moving on. I find where this game really misses the mark is the story and the characters, outside Hop (who is insufferable early on) are really bland and sort of lackluster. I feel like this is a bigger thing to be upset about than animations and Pokemon count. Hop is one of the only rivals to truly go through a character arch which is amazing! He goes from this arrogant, insufferable, condescending, ass, to someone who just wants to be the best, but doesn’t act like he already is, he knows where he’s at and strives to be more. This huge development really, really shows how poor the rest of the cast is, the professor this time is boring, not even a professor really at least not like were used to. The champion is fine, but lacks any real charisma like the game wants you to believe he has. The other rival Bede is...under utilized? Like he comes around and it’s like, “finally! Gary Oak 2.0!” and he just sort of disappears about half way through the game and then pops up at the end. I’m not going to go through the whole cast, but everyone is more or less this same sort of doesn’t bring much to the table. As dumb as Team Yell are I actually like that they’re not the evil baddies of the game, they’re not even Team Skull level, they’re just kind of a bit of inconsiderate fanboys, they work well as a level progression block? System? Their use for impeding your progress until you’ve done the right thing works well is what I’m saying. The big thing with this game is it really lacks an evil team, it’s like The Aether Foundation all over again, except infinitely worse, while The Aether Foundation sort of slowly unravels at some point, the ‘evil team’ or in this case just two baddies, kind of feels like it comes completely out of left field and only happens because Gamefreak wanted a cool way to introduce the legendaries. It just felt super random and unsatisfying and that the motivations really didn’t make sense and happens right in the middle of the Pokemon League so it kills all momentum, and any tension the league did have. Which is another thing the league is shit, it’s bad, the idea is really good, it’s inspired by the show it feels like a proper tournament, but since you can heal and swap out Pokemon between each match there is 0 tension, and since the story just decides to interrupt it, it just doesn’t feel satisfying. Beating the champion doesn’t feel like an accomplishment because you’ve already beaten the big baddie just before him, and all the other trainers before him in two different sessions, it doesn’t feel like you went through this gauntlet of really tough trainers to reach him and prove yourself, it feels like no matter what you were always going to beat him, the game did literally everything it could to make sure you beat him! I felt fucking bad beating him, because it was so easy, I literally gave him a handicap, I used 0 healing items and beat him with two Pokemon to spare and that was also because I gave him another handicap where I didn’t switch out once I threw out a Pokemon! Gyms are back, but they kind of feel like they belong in Sun and Moon because you have to do ‘missions’ before each one before you face the leader which is fine, but I personally could have done without them, for the most part they're just glorified obstacle courses. I guess they feel like the same old stuff, but I think it’s the nature in which they’re handled that actually bother me and less of having to do them myself. I think in a way given how this Pokemon League is set up it would have made more sense to just completely do away with them, maybe put something else there in its place. The gym leaders are all really colorful and actually really well designed, they all have their own very defined personalities which is cool, It would have been cool to have actually seen more of them somehow. The last thing I’ll talk about as this review is already overly long is Dynamaxing. It’s fine, I will say that if it were up to me I would have changed how it’s handled, I think the raid battles are great, they’re really fun they make grinding for levels a fucking joke and I love it, it helps you find really cool Pokemon and strong Pokemon for your team it makes Online feel like there are actually other trainers out there in the world taking on this gym challenge besides just you, it’s cool, but I feel outside of the raids there really pointless. Each Gym Leader uses it always with their last Pokemon, and it never feels like it matters so long as you Dynamax yours at the same time and have type advantage it’ll feel like KO-ing any other old Pokemon except it’s big af.If it were me I would have changed it to Mega Evolutions, because they actually feel like they matter and then they could have introduced new megas and I’ll do you one even better! What about when after you beat the Gym leader they gave you the same kind of mega stone that they used! Maybe in place of TMs, or in conjunction with them rather than them giving you Gym uniforms you’re never going to wear. That’s more short and sweet two cents on the Dynamax system, it’s great for raids pointless for everything else. Kind of like the clothing in this game, and that’s all I’ll say about the clothing that and I think the uniform thing was dumb and should have only been used for the Pokemon League rather than every single Gym battle. And that’s it! That’s my very thorough review of Pokemon Sword & Shield. Like I said at the beginning, these games are fun no doubt, but they definitely aren’t even in the top 5. I think there’s a lot of wasted potential or cooler directions they could have taken these. There are definitely cool things like the different gyms for the two versions, The Wilds are fun to hang out in and run around, the new Pokemon are actually really cool, I love that they added more regional variants and not just for Kanto Pokemon, the towns are very visually memorable. But outside that, I’m kind of hard-pressed to think of much else, I can’t speak on the post-game either, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any if at all. This game simultaneously feels like the largest Pokemon game to date as well as one of the smallest.

[smilingperformer]

SM082 - Thoughts, shorter ver!

Because it’s way too hot to write full-on thoughts but I really want to talk about two events of the episode specifically: Amamaiko’s journey to Amajo and our beloved Rocket Gang! Let’s get started with newest episode:

Won’t You Give Us a Dance Dance Evolution?

When we first saw previews, the episode seemed to not really focus on one character, but throughout the episode, it was clear Mao and Amamaiko were the focus of the day. The theme being PokeDance, the episode consisted of fun scenes with different kinds of PokeDances (and with Satoshi not understanding the concept of Dance... hey, he never did, even if he tried doing it in XY, it makes sense he did what he did!), one being Alola Hula, which is pretty much Pokemon version of Hula Hula Dance! The Old Lady from the Market is finally named as Moani, as Mao and Amamaiko are apparently regular customers at her stop.

But the two sure get inspired by the dance, as they are now practising it for the little Competition at Pokemon School! Even Mao’s Papa lets her off from work early to practice for the dance. Alola Hula seems so fitting for Amamaiko. Shame they can’t showcase their dance in the end, thou Amamaiko being so tranced with the dance sure helped them out of Rocket Gang’s latest scheme! Speaking of Rocket Gang!

They heard Mao and Moani talking about the PokeDance competition while selling Malasada Donuts, and thus started planning on kidnapping all of the Pokemon at Pokemon School. All because Musashi wanted Back Dancers for her show, Kojiro and Nyarth agreeing! First time they do a scheme on School land. I sure hope Kukui does some preparations to improve security. But their scheme, ah!

Their scenes were so lovely to watch, it’s also fitting for Musashi to be so entranced with dancing, considering her career as Performer Musavie! She danced a lot during her Kalos journey!

I want to quickly mentioned how I loved Suiren’s PokeDance performance, and I think she’d do great in Contests/Showcases! Maybe a lil foreshadowing. Or maybe I’m overreading. Tehee.

Back to Rocket Gang thou! Ohmygod I never thought I’d be so happy to see their old days of crossdressing return! I now realise I truly missed it!

Kojiro looks absolutely stunning and Musashi looks absolutely amazing in her suit! I keep thinking about Smooth Criminal when seeing her in that outfit and just... ah. Nyarth’s outfit is a reference to some japanese puppet play of sorts, apparently. Saw it linked on twitter.

Their scheme was kind of a typical one, but considering Satoshi hadn’t been trapped liked that since well, long time ago (I think XY had similar ‘Pokemon here and Trainers there’ scheme but I don’t remember clearly), I don’t blame him for not remembering about such occurance. Amamaiko being in a Alola Hula trance of kind thou, she didn’t listen to their instructions and is actually free! So she’s their only hope! Sort of similar to SM018 where Amamaiko evolved from Amakaji! This time Amamaiko is a threat to the plan thou, when last time they didn’t think Amakaji could do anything, until it evolved and double slapped the hell out of them lol.

Some may find it lazy, but it’s sort of a nice touch to make Amamaiko’s evolution episodes have similarities with each other, with added scenarios like Amamaiko’s actually being capable of doing something. Althou, it seems like they prepared for a flaw in their flawless plan (8D), and welp.

Amamaiko gets trapped in Basketball net. Which by the way... was very poorly animated? It literarily had three frames when coming down from ceiling like they usually do. Wonder if this episode’s animation production somehow had trouble? Because some scenes were gourgeus, but this bothered the hell out of me.

But y’know, Rocket Gang obviously thinks Amamaiko’s no longer a threat with her slapper hair trapped. But her legs are still free. :)))) Nyarth, you done goofed. Even more when he tells them exactly how to break the cages. I think he’s been too used to saying his thoughts out loud lol.

Mao and Lilie take action right away, Nyarth trying to fix his mess-up by catching Amamaiko before reaching the top of the cage. Considering Amamaiko cannot use any of her moves atm (her moves involve hands and her hair pretty much!), Lilie helping her out by causing Nyarth slip with Shiron’s Powder Snow was good thinking.

But oh boy, the scene we’ve been waiting for! Since Amamaiko only has her legs free, she’s using them to break the cage! And each time she’s kicking, she’s actually learning Stomp, confirmed by Kukui! You guys know what that means!

HERE WE GO!!!!

OH!

MY!

GOSH!

This whole sequence! ;____;

I told you guys Amajo is happening the moment we had the title Dance Dance Evolution! This was the very first evolution episode I watched without being spoiled, only having speculated of her happening, being super anxious, and then crying out of happiness when it happened ;v; And this is most definitely my favourite evolution sequence in Pokeani up to date! Why? Because it actually shows what’s being changed when evolving, and in what way. It’s not just blue aura changing form. This is something that is extreme norm for Digimon and love it a lot there, and I think I like this evolution scene even more! Sure, quite Magical Girl inspired, but I don’t mind one bit!

I do hate how my mind keeps thinking Waifumon because of watching Vinesauce Vinny’s Pokemon Moon playthrough. God damn it.

Anyway, I love Amajo’s design, and her voice changed exactly how I pictured it to be! And I freaking love how Nyarth is self-aware of the fact that once again, Mao’s partner evolved under their watch, and is gonna screw them up! And oh boy. Amajo’s legs are strong!

Also freaking love how Kojiro says that Amamaiko evolved into a Queen Pokemon! That is beautiful! Oh! I just realised Amajo means Queen of Fruit! Niiiice that explains the Berry Tiara!

Let’s try to end this post thou: Amajo Trop Kicks Nyarth into the other Basketball net in the room, and breaks the cages, letting everyone free! While it looks like there’s gonna be a Alola Squad VS Rocket Gang battle, Kiteruguma comes and grabs the naughty kids back home :)))

Episode finishes with an upgraded MokuShot combo ending up being Amajo’s PokeDance performance, and considering how strong her legs are now, it’s a nice showcase of how much more powerful MokuShot is now as well! Just look what it did to Satoshi:

Cracks on the floor..... someone needs to renovate the place. That was one powerful MokuShot.

End of the episode! Erm. Amajo caused me to talk for a bit long apparently. I just really started adoring Amajo when I finally evolved my Amamaiko in Ultra Moon. She’s so badass!

The episode as a whole was a bit on the weaker side. While I truly enjoyed it, animation was lacking in some places compared to the quality we’ve had throughout the series. I can’t help but be bothered by it. I can definitely see the people who watch Pokemon for battles not enjoying this episode but eh. I’m not one of those. I watch for characters, and their interactions. And this episode did that to me!

But it was nice for Mao to debut the full Amakaji evolution line, and I’m extremely happy for her! Next step for her journey would be either getting Z-ring, or something happening with the Aina Cafeteria that could be devastating, or a step-back. I’m not sure. Catching another Pokemon is a possibility as well, thou I wouldn’t bet on it, considering the big cast of characters!

The episode as a whole kinda seems like it could work as a basis for future Contest/Showcase debut in Sun & Moon series. This is definitely me being wishful, but considering how they introduced Gyms, it’d be approriate for Kukui to arrange an introduction to Contests at least!

When it comes to next one to evolve.... Ashimari? Mokuroh? Those are my two guesses!

Pokeproblem post-segment shows Amajo looking sad with her apron being too small now, to which Mao respondes by promising to fix it to fit her again. It’s a nice nice scene <3

Next week, Sauboh is back, and accidentally minimizes Satoshi, Lilie and Mamane, who end up going on an adventure outside the School Yard with giant-sized Pokemon around them!  And apparently Sauboh trying to capture them in a clear pokeball as well!

Also with a return of Ganbalilie hairstyle, with Lilie’s usual outfit! That is wonderful combo! Also...

I can imagine this Persian being the same one from Nyabby’s episode, SM007! I could be wrong, but it would be a nice callback!

SM083 - Satoshi Minimizes

Looking so forward to this episode! Cya all next week!

[mochibuni]

I watch a lot of YouTube, and I think some great and quality YouTube channels, and I really feel like putting out some goodness today. So here is a list of my YouTube watch list, with descriptions and why I think they're worth watching. Updated 3/16/2020.

GAMING

brutalmoose - Ian's reviews tend to be around edutainment games and old PC games, which he delivers his brand of comedy in a dry and deadpan tone. Which is hilariously contrasted by the comedic editing of his videos, some the most creative I've ever seen. I can't even adequately describe a typical video from him, other than it's creative and hilarious. I enjoy his style so much that I'll watch his reviews on 60/70's educational films.

The Completionist - Once a week Jirard chronicles his journey and struggles in 100% completing a video game. His reviews are earnest with a touch of comedy, but largely trying to accurately convey the sense of the game and his experience with it. He does, however, make bad decisions like 100% completing Hyrule Warrios and Fire Emblem Blazing Sword, which of course it's fun to laugh at his agony.

Game Theory - I usually stick to MattPat's videos, but all of them are quality in both editing and substance. However I enjoy MattPat's style and delivery the most. Even if I 100% don't agree with his theory, I 100% enjoy listening and watching him talk about it. He has energy and a great sense of humor, his voice really sells what he's presenting, but I also find a kind of mellowness to it that I enjoy just listening to. He also hosts a live stream with his wife playing games together, and they are adorable to watch.

Kshaway - If you're a League player, you probably already know about Kshaway. He makes the Wood Division series, chronicling everyone and his own fails and bugs with the game. His video style has no voice overs, just well timed music and text for the punch line.

Did You Know Gaming? - They do what they say, offering 5 to 10 minute videos with lesser known facts and production history on video games.

Pokemon Rusty - Made by Dorkly, this is a parody series following Pokemon trainer Rusty as he attempts to become a Pokemon Master in all the wrong ways. It is graphic with very adult humor, but I laugh ridiculous amounts at each video.

MOVIES AND TV

Film Theory - The sister channel to Game Theory and it does the same thing, only this time it’s about tv shows, movies, and web series (remember Salad Fingers? Mattpat made a great video series about it). They also do Did You Know Movies from time to time.

Be Kind Rewind - One of my new faves, she follows the history and culture surrounding movies by discussing female Oscar wins and their cultural significance.

Folding Ideas - Foldable discusses film theory and larger themes usually with movies. His 50 Shades series is probably my favorite, followed by how he accidentally made colonialism in his Minecraft server.

Jenny Nicholson - It’s like listening to your best fandom friend rant and rave with you at 3am in your bedrooms. Jenny has a very lowkey tone and attitude wrapped in a very silly and dry sense of humor. She talks about movies and theme parks. Her review of Avatar Land is probably my favorite.

Lindsay Ellis - I’m not even sure where to being with Lindsay’s work, I adore every video she’s made thus far. It is all film critical theory, but like talking to your smart and sarcastic fandom friend who goes out of their way to explain critical theory concepts.

New Rockstars - These are the guys going over every trailer, every second of a movie looking for easter eggs and fodder for their theories. Really great if you’re into superhero blockbuster movies.

OTHER MEDIA

Comicstorian - I love this channel, they break down comics (either series or single issues) and read them dramatically with visuals. Periodically they also give complete histories of comic book characters, especially when there is a universe reboot.

NerdSync - Somewhat similar to Comicstorian, NerdSync delves into the history and stories of comic books. They’ve moved down the path of being more history based, which is great for me since I know little about the American comic book industry. 

Sideways - Remember the music theory video about singing in native languages using Moana as an example? Yeah it’s this guy’s channel, and while he has few videos, all of them are great. My favorite is his analysis of Rogue One’s score.

Atop the Fourth Wall - Linkara reviews comic books, but I largely come here to watch his retrospectives on Power Rangers.

THEME PARKS

Magic Journeys - Largely a Disney centric channel, Mig V and Lovely Jannell explore any and all types of food at the Disney parks, largely sprinkling their videos with relevant Disney history. They’re expanding to other parks in the area, but Disneyland and California Adventure are where they film. Mig edits their videos wonderfully and I greatly appreciate the bits of history he provides. Jannell also makes sure to try a variety of dishes for those with dietary restrictions and has recently branched out into trying kid’s meals. They also started a Disney Foodie group on Facebook.

Defunctland - This channel talks about the history of now defunct theme park rides.

Theme Park History - This channel also talks about theme park history, defunct or currently running.

Expedition Theme Park - Okay sometimes you just need multiple channels of the same content. Another theme park history channel.

FOOD/COOKING

Laura in the Kitchen - Laura cooks largely easy to make, no hassle meals and deserts, and is warm and personable at the same time. I’ve tried many of her recipes and each have come out very well. I also find Laura very endearing, with her genuine love of food and cooking coming through in every video.

Maangchi - Maangchi is the adorable and sweet host of her Korean based cooking channel. She provides step by step instructions, with tips and tricks, on several Korean dishes. She also talks about her time in Korea, relating dishes to stories of her life there. I have made several of Maangchi’s recipes as well, but I’d watch just about anything from her as she’s sweet, funny, and has a soothing presence to her. She’s basically everyone’s Korean Mom.

Strictly Dumpling - Mike Chen talks all about his favorite Asian food, largely Chinese, as he travels around exploring and eating at Asian restaurants. And when I say Chinese, I mean that he talks specifically about provinces and the differences and types of food each have. He also has a variety of cooking videos and traveling videos. Mike is informative, energetic, and hilarious, with a little bit of Chinese humor peppered in that makes Dan laugh.

How To Cake It - If you’ve seen the gif set of the realistic watermelon cake, then you know what Yolanda can do. She makes elaborate cakes ranging from multi-tier to recreating non-cake objects. Yo gives step by step instructions on how she makes her cakes and also sells baking supplies and cake inspired shirts on her website.

Binging with Babish - A charming and dead pan cooking series recreating food from various media. This channel became a must for Dan based on the sense of humor alone.

Destination Flavour - A mini series that aired in Australia, you can find the whole series on YouTube and I highly recommend it. Chef Adam Liaw travels to 9 different prefectures in Japan exploring the local food, culture, and recipes.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner - An older documentary about the history of breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Britain, also all on YouTube. I love this documentary, it’s very thorough and I learned tons about British food and eating customs that of course influenced my own culture.

Lofty Pursuits - Based in their candy store in Florida, watch the workers at Public Displays of Confection make pulled hard candy.

ARIKITCHEN - A Korean baker with super cute bakes and a personality to match. Most of her videos have English subs.

Christy Carlson Romano - THAT’S RIGHT, REN STEVENS/KIM POSSIBLE HAS A YOUTUBE CHANNEL! It’s usually cooking videos where she invites celebrities she’s worked with to make fanservicey foods.

CULTURE

CGP Grey - This channel is rarely updated, but goes in depth into cultural and political ideologies and misunderstandings in an easy to understand way. His videos are worth a watch if you���ve ever been confused about “once removed” family members or don’t understand how the electoral college works in America.

Begin Japanology - An ongoing NHK series exploring Japan, each 30~ minute video explores one item in depth, from sushi, to mushrooms, to the importance of umbrellas in Japan. These videos are in English and are also dubbed, though many of them have deleted audio in places due to copyright restrictions.

Japanology Plus - The sequel and current version of Japanology that continues to explore Japan and sometimes revisit old videos to update them.

Lunch On! - Also provided by NHK, it explores what the Japanese eat for lunch and the history and culture surrounding those dishes. The segments also tend to explain and explore the background of the people they’re following for lunch, such as the balloon industry or bus scheduling.

ARIRANG TV - A Korean channel, it provides a variety of subbed and dubbed videos about Korea. I usually just watch the food videos, but they also have videos about current affairs, media, and variety programs.

Crash Course - If you haven’t seen this show before, it’s mini video essays hosted by John Green discussing history, literature, science, and so on.

MISC

Buzzfeed Unsolved - Another Buzzfeed series, this time exploring the supernatural with a believer and a non-believer. This series is just hilarious, the supernatural cases are presented in a matter of fact way with visuals, but often intercut with commentary from the two about the cases that brings a nice comedic tone to the otherwise serious video.

Bright Sun Films - Jake’s current video series explores buildings and establishments that were abandoned, their history, as well as projects that were cancelled. Most videos are about the Disney Corporation, but also include Target in Canada, Blockbuster, and the McDonald’s Barge. His videos are well researched, great visuals, and his voice and personality are great to listen to.

AKB48 - 48g is one of the biggest music franchises in Japan, based on the idea of Idols You Can Meet. Since the COVID outbreak in Japan, AKB has been streaming their daily theater show on YouTube. If you want to relax to some cute Japanese pop for a few hours, check out their VODs.

Laura Price - Laura is a professional artist and most of her videos are either about her life as an artist or tips and tricks on art.

Royalty Soaps - Soap making! I find Katie really relaxing to watch and listen to, and she often talks about her soap making process.

Safiya Nygaard - Quirky and adventurous, Safiya tends to make beauty and fashion try videos, and some travel videos as well. Safiya is probably one of those YouTubers you need to watch a video of to see if you’ll like because her channel is all about her and her husband’s Tyler’s personality.

The Try Guys - Four very different guys who try things together. I’m assuming you all know who the Try Guys are, but.

Watcher - Shane, Ryan, and Steven left Buzzfeed to make their own video channel and brought many of their ideas over from there. Shane and Ryan continue to be a delight together in just about everything they do. So far my favorite is Shane’s Puppet History Theater.

ENGLISH SUBS

AIDOL - One of the last English subbers, though they update infrequently now. This links to their DailyMotion account as AKB videos are largely removed from YouTube quickly. If you enjoy the older AKB generations, this is a great resource of older subs.

Animegg.org - My go to English subs place if Crunchyroll doesn’t have what I’m looking for. Their adds aren’t evasive and they accept adblock.

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Gacha Gacha crate June 19

Hello! Welcome to the next review x3 I meant to do this a couple of days ago, but I haven’t been feeling well. But I’m feeling better than I was and I really wanted to get this written before I started something else related to the box... more about that on the inside.

In the booklet this month we get a page on the early history of Gachapon/Capsule machines. There is also a page about a contest the box is doing, where you take a creative picture using your most favorite gacha from the box so far. You can win a full set of said gachapon if you win!

As soon as I saw this I had a really cute idea, so I’ve been wanting to get this done before I put that together. I’m not sure when the contest ends, for all I know it might already be done- but I just got this box like a week ago. But I still plan to at least make the picture because I thought it would be a lot of fun :3 it has to be posted elsewhere, but I’ll be posting it here too.

But for now let’s focus on this box and it’s contents!

Inflatable Neck Pillow

Our first item is this creative travel companion, based on various food items. Like a croissant, shrimp, an eggplant/cucumber (not actually sure...), a banana, sausage, and a decorative chocolate.

I got the banana, as you can see.  I think they all would have been cute, but if I had to choose I would have waned the chocolate.

I’m just glad I didn’t get the shrimp <3< I would have been too weirded out to use it... maybe.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

For travel or just around the house it’s nice to have a neck pillow once in a while. It’s very comfortable -surprisingly- but at the same time, it’s a bit strange. Like, it feels nice but at the same time the material feels odd and sticky. I don’t think that would bother everyone though.

It could also be used as an inflatable Frisbee if you don’t care for the neck pillow idea. Or maybe a fun toy for the pool or bath because it should float on the water without much applied pressure.

Doggo Desk Buddies

I was very excited to finally get one of these; these types of practical Gacha where the character or animal works as various useful desk ornaments. I love them!

This specific series features 6 ceramic puppies, each one a different species with their own function, including: a paper clip holder, a pen stand, a stamp holder, masking tape hanger, a post-it note stand, and a message holder. 

As you can see I got the adorable post-it stand pug. It also comes with a kawaii little set of pink sticky notes. The puppy is put into bubble wrap to ensure it won’t get broken, which is a detail I really like. The post-its were in their own, separate tiny zip-lock bag.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

First of all, I really like the care put into this set. I’m guessing that if the capsule was jarred too much the puppy could risk breaking or damaging the sticky notes, or opposite. It’s really nice to see this type of consideration.

Meanwhile, as I already gushed, I love the concept as a whole when it comes to these. I would have been happy with any of them. I do find the tiny size of the sticky notes to be a bit of a let-down, but they can still be used for a lot of things, like bookmarking pages or “last-second emergency tape”. I also noticed that mostly the entire sheet seems to be sticky, but they still easily peel off the pad. Plus you could swap them out with other, smallish sets of sticky notes too.

Fish Game

I grew up with this game, and I’m sure a lot of you will recognize it too :3 in fact I still have mine. But if you’ve never seen it before, this toy is based on the electronic game that includes multiple people trying to catch the moving fish using their fishing rods.

It’s available in Purple, Blue, Pink, Green, and Yellow. It requires very minor assembly, you basically just connect the piece included with it that works as the “brain“ of the game. You then put the fishies into the slots and you can set the rod on the stand when not in use. 

Rating: ♥

I fell in love with the adorable miniaturization of a beloved childhood game- I’ve really liked these game gachapon we keep getting as of late, I hope we get more~

I’m also delighted I got pink! It’s my favorite shade and everything!

But in saying that... my game is either wonky, or everyone’s is like this. For some reason I can’t get it to work, it barely wants to move/spin around like it’s supposed to. I also noticed one of my fish has 2 magnets in it’s mouth while the others only have 1, but that has nothing to do with it. It’s pretty disappointing.

  Pikachu/Eevee Trainer

I think these might be “balancer“ gacha, due to the various poses they’re in. In a set of 6, we can get 1 of 2 Pikachu or 3 Eevee, all dressed up and ready to join up with their Trainer for an adventure! This series is by Takara Tomy Arts.

This one looks exactly like my Eevee from the game, so I was very happy :3 but mine is a girl, while this one is oddly a boy. I mean that isn’t to say guys can’t like flowers too, it’s kind of cute how the boyish looking Eevee in the set is a girl. Both Pikachu are boys.

Now, by this point I was beginning to have difficulties trying to get pictures. As soon as I would snap one, this happened:

Fluffy really wanted to play with them, he kept trying to carry off the puppy!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I think these are very cute, especially if you played one of the Let’s Go games x3 Getting the flower Eevee was perfect for me, since I usually used them and the bow accessories on mine. 

I wonder if the people who make this box saw the screenshot I uploaded of my Eevee months back...

Game-Box Mini Genesis

We’ve already established that I play video games, so this gacha especially caught my attention! This tiny, adorable glittery device (that Fluffy also went after) has 26 games in it! Ranging but not limited to shooting, driving, block destruction, puzzles, and image adjusting games.

Besides red, it also came in purple, black, white, green, and orange.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Definitely one of my favorites from this box, I love it~ It works perfectly, it has sound, of course the images are all made from pixels due to the retro nature of the device, but it’s really fun. The only problem is that as you can see from the instruction page included with it, and the game itself... it can be really hard to understand and use if you don’t understand the writing system.

But it’s not hard to turn it on and start playing, even if you don’t know what’s going on like me :P

Retro Gachapon Machine

This is kind of a spoiler but not really, because I will be covering this in a separate post! Only because like our previous Gachapon machine capsule, it has to be assembled and I thought I could get a handful of pictures from it. It’ll also serve as a comparison piece between the two gachapon machines I have.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Total Rank: 8 out of 10 cuties. As usual there isn’t really a theme behind these so I can’t really point it for that. I liked every capsule we got, and almost every single one features a form of practicality or use. I was especially surprised by the size of the inflatable neck pillow, it’s the biggest thing we got yet!

I’m pretty much only removing points from this one because of the possibly broken fish game. I don’t know what it’s problem is. I also think I might have liked last months a bit better than this one...

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Dog Desk Buddies - Being a ceramic figure, it’s obvious the detail would be there. What I like about these is that if I really didn’t want to use it for a desk item, it would be a cute figurine to put on a shelf.

2. Pokemon  - Mine would have been spot-on if it was a girl eevee, but I love him regardless of gender. The detail is very well done and they all have flawless paint jobs.

3. Gachapon Machine - What’s cuter than adorable Gacha than a put-together model of the machine? It’s perfect for re-ment. 

4. Mini Genesis - I love sparkly translucent things~

5. Fish Game - Even though it behaves weird, I think the fishies are still really cute looking. They have different expressions, which is a cute little detail.

6. Neck Pillow - It’s cute in a really silly kind of way. Realistic-looking food goods always look kind of silly though, don’t they?

Okay, so that will be doing it for this review :3 I plan to be focusing on my “possible entry” for the boxes contest, then I’ll be doing my review/put together of the retro gachapon machine. Then we can finally begin the January boxes!

Until next time~

[echoeternally]

its okay im only asking for these ones :). Jk 2 5 6 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Geez, that’s a lot. Well, 9, 12, 14, 26, & 26 were already answered in previous posts, so I’m skipping those. The rest? Uh…here goes.

2. Is there a ship you didn’t like at first but ultimately started shipping?

Hmm. Um. I guess Alex/Maggie of Supergirl. At first, I liked it better when Maggie rejected Alex, and thought they could go in a better direction for them after Alex came out, but was then rejected. And I still believe that. But, it’s a canon lesbian pairing, and they’re cute, so sure.

5. What is your most fluffy + happy ship?

…Nothing is. I have fluffy and happy moments that I enjoy and love, but ultimately, I don’t think that I have any pairings that started or will remain that purely happy at any time. Which leads to…

6. What is your most angsty ship?

Everything, probably. All of my ships are full of angst. My more known pairings that I support are gay, so easy gayngst right there. And then otherwise, I just like adding drama and struggles in for everyone. Because torture is good.

10. Is there a ship that makes your skin crawl?

Uh, not particularly. Like, you kind of have to reach for stuff that I wouldn’t think works, which most people either wouldn’t think of, or care about themselves.

For example, if anyone seriously shipped something like Fox/Pigma, kudos to you for going the distance on something so hideous and loving it, but goodness, that’s probably my limit.

Also, I guess stuff involving characters that are underage, but do nothing to age them up. Like, if Bowser Jr. is suddenly in an AU fanfic where he’s in his 20s and courting Peach’s daughter or something, ok, sure. But, if Bowser Jr. is paired straight up with Peach, as a child with an adult? Yuck.

11. What is a character you can only imagine in one particular ship?

The struggles of being a multi-shipper include that you’re typically good at pairing off characters and don’t need them to stay in their ships. Continuing on Star Fox’s examples, I guess, I’d pass Fox around to basically anyone else in the series that I think somehow works.

It’s pretty easy when characters aren’t defined enough, or if you’re not close-minded to headcanons like, “Fire Emblem’s Inigo/Laslow likes all the ladies, but would totally get with guys too, when he’s practiced enough.”

15. What is the first ship you had?

Isn’t this just a repeat of that “oldest ship” question? Whatever, I guess something basic. Mario/Peach, out of sheer laziness, because I liked them together as a couple a while ago, like around when the first games came out. I’ve paired them off since, and I did fall out of it at some point probably, but I don’t know, they’re a nice pair overall.

16. Is there a ship that made you realize something about yourself?

…As in…? I mean, I’ve realized that I love writing lots of pairings? And that I like cute, tender moments, amidst all kinds of hard, turbulent trials? Writing hero/villain things makes me realize how to be kinder to those that we don’t immediately understand? I don’t know, one of those should answer this.

17. Is there a type of ship you always go for?

Nerd/Jock or Popular/Shy have become my go-to pairs, especially gay ones, because yes.

Usual stereotypes in stories include some bigger, muscle dude in a bitter relationship/rivalry with a smaller, smarter guy, or otherwise a quiet, lonely girl that struggles to standout against a loud, popular girl.

So, whenever that happens and when I’m not rolling my eyes from it, I’m like, “But what if they secretly had crushes on each other instead?” And honestly, that’s so much more satisfying, like I can’t even begin.

18. Is there a ship the writers have ruined for you?

Oliver/Felicity, no contest. I think I still have it as a couple that I like, but the longer that Arrow goes on for, the more that I don’t like them together anymore.

It was a cute idea, it could have made for a cute endgame or fun one-off idea. But the writers of the show twisted it so hard to work throughout Season 4 and at moments in Season 3 and Season 5 that I literally can’t stand it.

When it gets to the point where Felicity gets a scene to punch not-Laurel, basically feeding into shipping war fans and siding with one over the other, that’s my limit. Shipping wars happen, but it’s best when writers and stories don’t go out of their way to side with one; you pick one to be canon in the end, not give them ammo to be jerks to other fans with.

19. Is there a ship the fandom has ruined for you?

Let’s stray from the above, because I barely touched into the Arrow fandom once to see Olicity shippers, and goodness, I don’t need to go back.

Hmm. I don’t think any Steven Universe ships have been ruined for me yet, but I feel a lot less comfortable supporting them like I used to. An official artist was chased off of Twitter by Amedot (Amethyst/Peridot) fans, and that was a pairing that I totally supported before I learned about that happening.

Outside of that, it’s not so much that ships get ruined as much as they grow stale to me. Keeping it with SU, I’ve grown very weary of Ruby/Sapphire. It’s like, the series has content that could go for any Gem pair-ups, but because they’re the canon lesbians, they win all kinds of cute and lovely fan art.

Like, I love them, but it’s exhausting to see and go, “Oh. Another fan art of Ruby and Sapphire being gay. How original.” It’s especially weird because they’re not main cast individually (Garnet is), so…yeah.

22. Is there a ship you’ll never admit you have?

Probably, I’m sure. By answering it specifically, that means that I’m admitting to it, right? So, good, I don’t have to think, lol.

24. What is one scene you want to see happen for all your ships?

Well, who wouldn’t want to see their OTPs get married? Isn’t that like the most obvious…really, why is that a question?

25. Is there a ship you wish you didn’t know existed? 

I guess not really. There are ships that gross me out. There are ships that bore me. There are ships that have fans that turn me off of them. But I don’t think there’s anything that I wish I didn’t know about. Otherwise, that would make me feel ignorant upon learning it, or I’d be missing out on some drama.

28. Is there a character you have several ships for?

Gosh, I really need to make it clearer that I’m a multi-shipper. Yes, I can ship multiple characters in multiple ways.

Mario, Peach, and Bowser are all in one love-triangle. I can pair that one off in any way, if not pairing all three of them off together. I don’t care.

Just because I would fight to have Machamp and Alakazam as a couple being a thing and actively encourage people to follow them, they’re not exclusive, and I could see either with other Pokemon.

I started Arrow and thought that the moments between Oliver and Diggle should have become romantic. Some episodes still make me think they should’ve been a couple.

Steven Universe has no “perfect” canon pairing outside of Ruby/Sapphire, and therefore everyone is open game. Do I like Pearl/Rose more than Greg/Rose? Some days. Sometimes Pearl seems better with Amethyst. Or Lapis. Or Peridot.

Every character I come across has a relationship with other characters that, if they have enough development, could be seen in a romantic light. Therefore, I like the idea of any of those.

29. What is the ship you ignore 98% of canon for?

Well, I guess that’s anything Pokemon, because Trainers are always needed, but I usually say, “screw them, go monsters.”

If it means anything with enough plot, then I guess nothing. I don’t really ignore canon, and like to work with it when possible.

If this means for confirmed canon ships, I usually acknowledge canon relationships, especially if it’s beaten to death with confirmation. It doesn’t mean that I’ll automatically like it, but I won’t pretend that it doesn’t exist.

30. Is there a ship you like but you dislike the fandom?

I think Steven Universe is the go-to for that. It’s most definitely not the entire fandom, but I’ve heard my fair share of stories.

Like in the above posts, I like many ships, and I like pairing off characters in Steven Universe any which way that I can. If anyone is looking to tell me, “No, you can’t do that, it’s not canon,” or, “No, you can’t do that, because this one’s better,” then that’s not ok.

The SU fandom is full of that kind of attitude, and the whole “shipping wars” type of attitude. I don’t approve of shipping wars, period. I like comparing and contrasting ships. I like that everyone has different opinions about pairings.

I like civil conversations on them, and people understanding differences and respecting different approaches to pairs. Even things that I’ve talked against, such as the earlier mentioned Fox/Pigma, I wouldn’t outright hate someone over. Like, do you really ship them together? Ok, cool.

There are all kinds of different flavors out there to try. Some you like, some you won’t. You shouldn’t be close-minded to that, and you shouldn’t hate someone for having a different taste from yours.

If the fandom thrives on debate topics that involve insults and rabid hatred of one another, that’s not worth the time or energy. It’s that simple.

There. Done. I feel like I completed the ask meme already, goodness.