#The First Journey A Pokemon Oak Adventure

[pokemonfangame]

The First Journey: A Professor Oak Adventure

A swan song to the older generations who started with the originals, and a novel, thrilling, emotional story for the newer generations!!

Experience "Generation 0" where it all began - witness Professor Oak's first journey across the Kanto Region - and after you are done, follow Red's Journey to Johto, 40 years later, in search of a very important person!

Two adventures in one! Instead of a traditional postgame, you'll get to experience a new story, throughout a challenging Johto, in the shoes of the (second) strongest Trainer in the world! Follow Red's Journey to redemption after a devastating and humiliating loss to Ethan (Gold). Witness his transformation through loneliness to maturity, as he traverses Johto together with a cast of familiar characters.

It is the year 1957. Samuel Oak, a 20 year-old prodigy, has just returned back to his home country after spending three years in the world's best university. With him, he brings science, technology, and the true spirit of trainerhood. On a mission to establish the first ever League in the East, Oak will have to adjust to local battling traditions, overcome bureaucratic hurdles, and introduce local uneducated Tamers to the proper way of doing things.

[crystal-moon-101]

It's probably no surprise that I have more next gens beyond what I have already shown, so here I present the main cast of another next gen series I have cooking up in the background. Pokemon! Now, like most things I watch, a lot of this is influenced by a rewrite I have of the series in the background, so there are things that may not make sense to most, lol. Things like mixing the pokemon game characters into the anime series, and stuff like making Giovanni both Silver and Ash's father, not because I believe it to be real, but because I like the drama. But I hope you enjoy the main cast!

-Rachel Ketchum- The 13-year-old daughter of Ash and Serena. Rachel is a very sweet, kind and soft spoken girl, who sadly was born with many health complications. She gets easily sick, deals with nasty asthma, and overall has a weak body. It's not as bad as it once was when she was a baby, but she still has to deal with a lot of problems. But this has made her a very sympathetic person at heart, especially towards pokemon, having her father's natural love and appreciation for them.

Her starter pokemon was an Eevee gifted to her by uncle Gary on her 8th birthday party, much to Ash's dismay. Unlike her trainer, Eevee is bold, out there and always ready for a fight, being highly protective of Rachel. Eventually she evolves to become a Vaporeon, wanting to use her water powers in both combat, and to help Rachel when she can.

Rachel also has a younger brother called Percy, who is a little rascal, but adores his big sister. He may or may not have cried when she finally went on her first pokemon journey, leaving home to go to the region of Horae.

-Theo Oak- The 13-year-old son of Gary and Misty. Theo is a charming young boy who has a very buddy buddy relationship with people, and very expressive in himself. As a kid he was rather danger prone due to seeking out adventure everywhere, but has thankfully mellowed out a lot, even if he still enjoys the extreme side of life. With his father's side having a lot of pokemon knowledge, and mother's side of loving water pokemon, Theo is packed with information about water types, and shares Misty's love of them.

His starter pokemon was an Pichu gifted to him by uncle Ash, as revenge for Gary giving Rachel Eevee. As a Pichu, she had been so full of energy she was bouncing off the walls, but as she evolves into Pikachu and eventually Alolan Raichu, she calms down quite a bit and becomes more of a fun motherly pokemon, always eager to put an smile on people's faces. Having fun with her trainer at any chance they get.

-Sterling Kris- The 15-year-old son of Lyra and Silver. Sterling is the most mature out of the gang, and is very hard to phase, often calm and collected, which helps when dealing with a group like this. He mostly came on the pokemon journey to keep his cousin Rachel safe, but still enjoys what the trip offers him. He also has an odd quirk in that all his pokemon are female, and seems to have an easy time bonding with pokemon that are girls. People theories that he just has a pleasant aura around him that makes him feel safe for them.

His starter was a Togepi, having raised her from an egg that his father found during a police raid on illegal pokemon poaching. No matter how much she grows, even once she becomes a Togekiss, she is a diva of a pokemon, wanting to look her best and has a habit of taking anything that interests her, especially shiny things. But she is a sweet lady, often cuddly in nature and adores Sterling, being the vocal one for the both of them.

-Zee Gropius- The 14-year-old daughter of N and Hilda. Zee is kind spirit, having her father's ability to talk to pokemon, and is an outdoor girl at heart. Though she is a little ditzy and naive, having been a last minute addition to this traveling group of friends when N and Hilda feared she wouldn't do well alone. She has a lot of love to give, always wanting to make friends with people and pokemon, and always takes in everything around her.

Her starter was a Deino she found when he was just a baby, having lost his mother in the middle of the night, Zee hearing him cry in fear. Despite the reputation of this pokemon and it's evolutions, Deino is a chonky lovable big baby that always wants treats and snuggles. Even as he gets bigger and becomes a Hydreigon. Zee is his family, and he will never see it any other way.

[icy-wings-art-corner]

PMD: Ashen Adventures

In a world of Pokemon, the young Riolu named Ash is eager to join the Indigo League. He hopes, by joining the renowned guild, he’ll be able to travel across the land, training and learning along the way until he’s the greatest adventurer there ever was. And finally the day has come, to take the first steps first step towards his journey! Also known as: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Anime. A reimagining of the Pokemon Anime, where the world is that of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and everyone is a normal Pokemon. What differences will this spawn? What Pokemon will each person turn out to be? And how does a Pokeball work in such a world? Read on to find out!

Read on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56261590/chapters/142932277

The sunlight slowly shone through a simple window, its rays creeping onto the sleeping, blue form of a Riolu, who lay in bed, snuggled against a large pillow. The Riolu slowly blinked as the light landed on his face, forcing him from his dreams.

“Mmm, what? What time is it?” The pup asked as he stretched, blinked and sat up in his bed. He turned to his bedside table as his eyes searched for his alarm clock, only for his body to tense once he finally laid eyes on it. He lunged at the simple machine and gripped it perhaps a bit too tightly, “Ahh! That can’t be right I-” He quickly turned the clock around and his posture drooped, “I didn’t set the alarm?”

He shook his head again and ripped his bedsheets off himself and tensed to toss the clock from his grasp, before quickly reconsidering and gently placing it back where it belonged. The novel, little machines were, perhaps not entirely uncommon, but he generally knew better than to be careless with his possessions. Most of the time. Leaping from his bed, he quickly grabbed his favorite hat, white and red with a green stylized L on the front, before he tore out of his room and hopped down the stairs.

“Mom! I overslept, I have to go now!” He shouted as he came to the stair landing.

Hearing a chuckle, he turned to see his mother, a tall Lucario, her beauty untarnished even as she held her fair share of scars. She placed a paw on his head, ruffling his hat, “Come on Ash, there’s no need to rush. Although, a real master adventurer would have gotten up when he said he would.” She said, teasing him slightly, “But, you did get up at the perfect time for some breakfast.”

Ash didn’t brush off his mom’s paw, but he did stare up with a determined look, “But I have to get an early start! If I don’t then Gary will beat me to the Guild headquarters and have a headstart on me!”

“Speaking of Gary,” A voice behind Ash’s mom spoke, quickly revealed to be a Charmeleon, who fished an envelope from within his lab coat, “Before he set out on his journey, he gave me this note to give to you, Ash.”

Ash grabbed the envelope, from the Charmeleon’s claws, his apprehension stifled by the reptile’s presence, “Oh, Professor Oak, you’re here. Wait! Does that mean Gary already left?! Who’s he even going with?”

Oak smiled and nodded, “Indeed, he left early in the morning with the Squirtle son of a colleague of mine. They’ve met from time to time and got along quite well, so they decided to give being a team a shot, since they both wanted to go and join the Guild as Adventurers.”

Ash grabbed his head in frustration, “Agh! He’s already formed a team, too!”

Deciding to not dwell on that for the moment, he quickly tore open Gary’s letter and unfolded it. His expression quickly turned unimpressed as he read, ‘Dear Ash, as I am obviously way ahead of your sleeping in, loser self, I just wanted to wish ya luck on catching up to me and my Shell Bro. After all, it’d be no fun to absolutely trounce you in Adventuring if you weren’t always hot on my tail! Smell ya later Dog Bro!’ And for good measure Gary had drawn a small, cartoonish Eevee who was lazily pulling down his lower eyelid and sticking out his tongue.

“Of course he’d do this to me.” Ash said calmly before childishly erupting, crushing the letter in his paw, “I’ll show you Gary! I’ll become the greatest Adventurer before you even decide on an evolution!”

Before Ash could continue proclaiming imminent superiority over Gary, a third voice spoke as a figure exited the kitchen, “And with a belly full of breakfast I’m sure you’ll catch up to Gary in no time.”

The voice belonged to a Mr. Mime who was cheerfully carrying a veritable feast of breakfast foodstuffs over to a table. Though the breakfast was masterfully made, bearing an appearance of pure delicacy, Ash, while looking conflicted, mostly held a look that screamed his urge to run out and begin his journey just that second.

Ash’s mom just chuckled and lightly pushed the Riolu towards the table, “Come on Ash, Mimey went through a lot of trouble on this breakfast, and not only should you be well fed before going on any adventure, I’m sure you’d want to make sure our dear Professor doesn’t keel over on your way there.”

Oak let out a small sound of offense, but Ash let out a sigh and nodded, “Fine. A quick breakfast, then I’m going to go and start my adventure!” As he moved over to his seat and took it he looked to the cook, “Thanks, Mimey.”

The four ate the lovingly made meal, though Ash quickened the pace with how he wolfed down his food, leading to the family standing outside their home. While Ash fidgeted in place, overflowing with excited energy, his mom knelt down and gave him a hug, “Now remember Ash, listen to Oak, listen to Guild leadership once you get to the headquarters, and make sure to write home, okay?”

Ash hugged back, the one and only ache of beginning his journey, of leaving his home for an extended period of time, “I will mom. I’ll write you every time I can.” The two separated, Ash trying to keep his smile from quivering as his mom held out a satchel, which he accepted, “Thanks mom.”

Delia proudly smiled at her son, “And remember Ash, don’t shirk your aura training, okay? It’s pretty important for a great adventurer after all.”

Ash sighed and nodded, “I know, I know. It’s just real hard sometimes.”

“Well, some of the best things in life are hard, but ultimately satisfying in the end. Just keep at it, and I’m sure you’ll make a breakthrough sometime sweetie.” She said in a reassuring tone.

Oak pat Ash on the shoulder as he looked to the Lucario, sensing even her slight unease, “Don’t worry Delia, I’ll see Ash to Indigo Plateau and make sure he gets there safe.”

“You have my full trust Professor,” Delia chuckled, “Have a good journey you two, don’t get into too much trouble, alright?”

With that, Oak and Ash made their way away from the home, waving back at Delia and Mimey before focusing on traveling forward. As they walked, Oak turned to Ash, “Just so you know Ash, we will need to stop by my lab before we properly head out.”

“Oh, come on Professor! Do we have to?” Ash complained, deflating slightly.

The Charmeleon simply chuckled, “Don’t worry, it won’t take long.”

Ash straightened up, determination on his face, “Alright then. We’ll just need to make it quick!” 

And with that the Riolu charged off towards Oak’s residence, leaving the professor to stumble slightly and run after the boy. “Agh! Ash, hold up a second will you? I’m not the young Charmander I used to be!”

In no time at all thanks to Ash’s impatience, the two ran up to Oak’s lab. As Oak panted slightly and made his way to the door, Ash tilted his head, “So, what do you need here anyway?”

He smiled and knocked on his own door, “I just needed to pick up my grand nephew first.”

“But Gary is already ahead of me…” Ash said before stumbling back with a look of horror, “Don’t tell me there are TWO Garys!” Only for a look of embarrassment to overtake him, “But wait, Gary is your grandson…”

Oak laughed at the boy’s fear and shook his head, “Oh no, this is my grand nephew who lives a ways away from Pallet Town, so I doubt you two would have even met. His mother asked me to look after him for a bit, so he’ll be joining us on the journey.”

Ash crossed his arms and pouted, “Well, alright. Just so long as he doesn’t slow us down too much.”

A new voice spoke as the door to Oak’s lab opened, “Really you should worry about slowing yourself down more than anything else.”

Ash snapped his eyes to the small figure exiting the lab. A yellow paw handed a satchel to Professor Oak, who took it and placed it around his shoulder with practiced ease. The Riolu glared at the yellow Pokemon with red cheeks, who had the gall to look smug at the future adventurer, “Who are you calling slow? I’m gonna be the greatest adventurer!”

“Now, now boys. There’s no need to fight.” Oak said with an awkward smile, “Now, Ash, this is my grand nephew, Pikachu, and Pikachu, this is Ash, the son of a dear friend who asked me to escort Ash to the Guild and properly start his journey.”

The smug mouse simply smirked as he fiddled with a satchel of his own, “Ain’t much of an adventurer if he needs an escort.” He then laughed and pointed at Ash’s hat, “I mean, with a hat like that you look more like a tourist than an adventurer!”

“Why you-!” Ash began to say before Oak stepped between them, waving his claws in a placating manner.

Oak adopted a more firm expression, “Enough of that you two, we are going on a decently long journey, so I’d ask you two to try and get along. Besides, we are wasting daylight either way.” He looked to the dark, cloud laden sky and frowned, “And that doesn’t seem to be in good supply. It looks like it’s going to rain.”

Ash his paws together, “You’re right Professor! The more time we spend here, the bigger of a head start Gary is gonna get on me! And if a rainstorm hits, that’ll only give him a bigger one! There’s no time to waste!” He turned on his heel and eagerly began to power walk away from the lab, Oak simply shrugging with a good nature smile as he went to catch up, while Pikachu rolled his eyes.

As the clouds slowly began to crowd the sky, and a small sprinkle of rain began to fall, cooling the air, the boys entered into what seemed like their third argument, and Oak could only let out a sigh. They were even worse than Gary and Ash when they argued, it seemed.

“Just saying,” Pikachu said in a cheerful tone, “Haste makes waste, and any two bit adventurer would know that.”

Ash continued to angrily march along the hilly path, as he scrunched up his muzzle and responded, “It doesn’t matter what you think, or what you say! I’m STILL gonna be the greatest adventurer any mon has ever seen! Just you wait!”

Oak let out a second sigh as Pikachu promptly began to respond, until a fluttering of wings sounded, followed by a whirlwind of feathers slamming into the traveling mons, and while Oak remained standing through the attack, it sent his young charges rolling down the hillside, “Ash! Pikachu!” Before he could follow, a few of Spearow swooped low, and began to harry the Charmeleon.

For Ash and Pikachu, things weren’t much better. They rolled heel over head down the large hill, through mostly grass, over a few rocks and recently made mud, until they harshly slammed into a particularly hard bush.

Pikachu was the first to regain his footing, shaking his head vigorously and looking around, with fearful glances, only seeing stretches and bends of tall, thick bushes, with wet, glistening leaves acting as walls. A creeping worry entered him as he saw the way they had come in had disappeared, “Oh no. We must have fallen into a dungeon! A-and Oak isn’t here!”

Ash furiously leapt to his paws, lightly fixing and brushing some mud off his hat in the process, “Those jerks! They must have planned this! Shoving travelers down the hill into the mouth of a dungeon!” He quickly took in the surrounding area with worry etching itself into his features, “Oak could be in danger! We have to hurry!”

Frowning, Pikachu gestured around them, his arm shaking slightly, “And how do we do that when we’re stuck in a dungeon?”

Ash returned Pikachu’s frown with his own, “By getting out, that’s how!”

“Oh, because it’s just that easy. So easy, why those outlaws will probably escort us out of here, apologize to us and throw us a tea party.” Said Pikachu, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Clenching his paws into fists, Ash bared his teeth in frustration, “Oh shut up! You don’t have a plan, but I do! Dungeons are always weirdly formed, like mazes! So, I’m going to follow one wall of the dungeon until I find the stairs, then I’ll do it again, and again! As many floors as it takes to get out of here, and back to Oak and then I’ll bring these outlaws to justice!” 

Pikachu took a step towards Ash, his sarcastic sneer morphing into a look of fury as he spoke, “And how exactly are you going to deliver justice even if you get out? If anything, had you actually got up early, like you were supposed to, like cousin Gary did, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Maybe if it looked like you even tried training, and weren’t so obviously pathetic to the point you don’t even have a partner to form a team with yet, OAK wouldn’t be alone with a bunch of outlaws right now!” He shouted, similarly balling up his fists.

Ash was silent, taken aback before his surprise changed to a quivering indignation as his eyes took on a particular sheen. The Riolu turned on his heel and began to stomp away, staying near the right hand wall, “You can j-just stay here with your brilliant plan of nothing while I actually go and TRY something!” Ash yelled as he refused to turn around, his voice breaking near the end.

Pikachu felt annoyance flood through him, and even a bit of remorse, while sparks bounced from his cheeks while he absorbed Ash’s rebuttal, absorbed the obvious emotions he was forcing down as he walked away. He was split, definitely disliking the idea of following after Ash, seeing him as the reason they were in the mess, even if he had a point about trying to get out. He just didn’t think the Riolu could do anything to help. Still, a sigh overcame him, it would be wrong to leave Ash to his own devices.

He may not like the pup, but Pikachu doubted he could face Oak or Gary if anything happened to him. As much as Gary had mocked Ash the few times Pikachu had met him, he could still feel the warmth in the words the eevee spoke. And Oak would never forgive himself if Ash so much as got hurt under his watch.

With a half hearted grimace, Pikachu took after the angry Riolu, managing to catch up relatively quickly. As he approached, brushing a bit against the hedgewall, Ash whipped his head around, apparently expecting an outlaw, only to scowl and turn forward again. “W-what? Got bored doing nothing?” Even in that quick moment before he turned away, Pikachu thought Ash’s eyes looked a little red.

Despite his sour mood resurfacing, Pikachu let out a mix of a sigh and a groan, “I followed because somebody has to make sure you don’t get yourself killed until you get to the guild.”

Ash scoffed, turning down a new path along with the wall, “I don’t need your help.”

“New guild recruits don’t even get asked to deal with outlaws, and you think you, without even being part of the guild yet, can take on multiple outlaws?” Pikachu asked in exasperation.

Ash refused to turn to Pikachu as he responded, “It doesn’t matter! I’m not going to stand by and hide when outlaws are attacking somebody, especially not Professor Oak!”

Pikachu was formulating a response when a fluttering of wings, and from a side path barreled a Spearow who almost slammed into Pikachu who managed to dodge. Before Ash or Pikachu could properly think, a cacophony of wings flapped from the same passageway and a veritable flood of Spearow began to pour from the path.

Both of them made the same decisions and booked it away from the recovering Spearow and his friends.

Pikachu spared a single glance and blanched at the sheer volume of Spearow fluttering after them, “How many Spearow does it take to attack travelers like this?!”

Even as he ran, breathing heavily, with fear clear on his voice, he growled out, “Probably too cowardly to attack anybody without overwhelming force!”

“Rich coming from the ‘greatest adventurer’ who’s running from outlaws!” Pikachu yelled.

“Great adventurers are not suicidal! And you’re running away with me!” Ash retorted.

Before more arguing could commence, Pikachu felt a sudden pain to his back, as weight slammed into him, throwing him off balance and sending him to the muddy floor. He gasped for air after a moment, struggling to his paws and sending a thunder wave out blindly, in the rough direction his attacker came from.

A screech sounded success for his efforts, but another feathered fiend slammed into him with a peck, wrenching a scream from him as he was sent tumbling back into the mud. Before he could even try to stand again, more and more attacks slammed into him from all sides as the legion of feathers descended on him. Beaks and claws lunged for him whichever way he twisted to get away, whenever he tried to summon his electricity to protect himself, with his attempts slowly waning, faltering under the constant barrage.

Only for the constant attacks, the pressure, to lift with the sound of squawks and fleshy thumps. He felt himself be lifted up, to begin to be carried, if quickly and roughly. With a groan he cracked his eyes open, finding himself in Ash’s arms, a stalwart look on the Riolu’s face, even when he winced from a stumbled dodge, or glancing blow from the Spearow, he refused to stop. Pikachu grimaced as the pains lingered, or were aggravated by the jostling movement of Ash.

Despite his dodging and tenacity, Ash’s determination could only go on so long, and so, a Spearow came up beside, and slammed into them, sending the duo tumbling into an open section of the dungeon. Ash coughed as he tried to catch his breath, and Pikachu grit his teeth as the tumble hit every bruise he had.

Shaking his head, Pikachu shakily tried to get to his feet, only to be slammed to the ground from a very angry peck. “Kah! I hate ‘lectric types! Always give me muscle spasms!” A Spearow growled.

“Well what do ya expect? You were the one underestimating an electric type, again. ‘S like ya didn’t even try an dodge.” A calmer Spearow answered.

The first ruffled his feathers, “Don’t matter none! Let’s just knock this ‘lectric out and be done with this.”

Pikachu tried again to stand, only for his hand to slip through the mud, landing him on his side. He clenched his teeth harder and closed his eyes, awaiting the pain to befall him again as the thumping of Spearow talons played across the floor towards him. Only the pain didn’t come, and the thumping took a tonal change, accompanied by a pair of squawks.

He blinked his eyes open and looked ahead to see the two Spearow thrown to the ground and Ash standing in between the Spearow and Pikachu defiantly. More outlaw Spearow entered into the room, followed by a large Fearow.

The Fearow glared down at Ash, a sneer on his tone, “Rambunctious little pup, ain’t you? Normally I’d expect a youngun like you to quiver and cower. So… Playing at being a hero for your little friend?”

Ash growled and hardened his stance, preparing to be rushed, “I am Ash Riolu of Pallet Town! I’m going to be the greatest adventurer the world has ever seen! And I won’t let you hurt Pikachu, or anyone, anymore!”

A laugh rippled through the congregation of Spearow before the Fearow answered, “Well, nice dream you’ve got, hate to tell you, pup, but we’re going to have to break it!” Without hesitation, the surrounding Spearow launched forward, towards Ash.

Pikachu watched as, even in the face of overwhelming enemies, Ash stood his ground, lashing his paws out at Spearow after Spearow, watched as the young Riolu refused to dodge, preferring to take the flurry of pecks coming his way if it meant slamming his paw into their face or chest. The more Ash punched, the faster he seemed to get, his paws even becoming laced with blue light that appeared to grow brighter. At least until the Fearow charged in, throwing Ash back, harshly onto the ground. From Pikachu’s view, despite the cuts, the bruises and the mud, he sustained, Ash got to his feet, his hat abandoned on the floor, and stiltedly, shakily took a fighting pose once again. “I… I won’t let you…”

“Have to hand it to ya,” The Fearow jeered, “Ain’t every day we find some mon with your kind of fighting spirit. Your electric Rattata fell quite quickly, yet here we have a fighting type like yourself holding up. Were things even a little more in your favor, maybe ya’d have made it out, guess it’s just your unlucky day.”

The world seemed to slow down to Pikachu, as the Fearow and surrounding Spearow charged, intense expressions promising to end Ash’s defiance. He felt sparks lance across his body, as determination filled him up, and through the pain, Pikachu lurched from the ground, forcing his muscles to leap over Ash, who looked up in surprise. With a scowl on his face, Pikachu forced all his strength into the electricity that sparked, and let it out in a massive blast, “Ha CHU!”

The sound of thunder blasted across the dungeon room, as the blinding electrical light shone. Only for silence to reign.

Ash had fallen to his knees, surprise played across his face, his breathing heavy. The outlaws all laid out upon the ground in various heaps as sparks leapt from their unconscious forms. It took Ash a few moments to center himself long enough to process the sight before him, until he saw a prone yellow form, “Pikachu!” Ash exclaimed, as he tried to get to his feet, only to wince and stumble. Still, he forced himself to crawl to Pikachu’s side. “Pikachu, are you okay?” 

A groan was his only response at first, until Pikachu struggled to roll over, “Ugh… I feel like I was bullied by a thunderstorm.”

The statement pulled a laugh from Ash, as he looked at Pikachu, scuffed and bruised, and covered in mud from the amount of times he’d been thrown to the dungeon floor, but definitely better than the lightly smoking forms of the feathered outlaws. “You know, that was pretty cool.” He said with a tired, if ecstatic smile, “You took down, like, ten outlaws in one attack!”

Another groan sounded from Pikachu, “Silver linings.” There was a moment of silence between the two, before Pikachu looked at Ash, particularly a cut on the Riolu’s cheek, worry in his eyes, “… What about you? They didn’t get you too badly did they?”

At Pikachu’s words, Ash put on a brave face, “Ah, I’m fine. It’s gonna take more than a few flying types to take me down!” Only to wince, and hold his side, “But… they did get a few hits in.”

Pikachu let out a sigh, slowly sitting up with a pained grimace. “Ash, you’re a fighting type. What were you doing jumping in front of a hoard of flying type outlaws? You could have been seriously hurt.”

Ash chuckled as he braced Pikachu’s back as best he could, “We both got hurt a little, but we managed to get through it fine.” He smiled at Pikachu, a sincere expression that was very different from the looks Ash had given him even only a little while ago, “Besides, I couldn’t just let them hurt you. And that attack you did, that was totally awesome!”

The Riolu’s tail wagged, conveying his smile, while Pikachu sighed and shook his head, though even he was unable to keep a smile of his own off his face. “Glad you think so, ‘cause it hurt a lot, even on my end.” Smile still on his face, Pikachu turned back to Ash, “But I’m glad you’re okay.” His eyes flicked down in mild surprise, “Huh, looks like your hat landed here.”

Ash’s tail picked up speed as he reached for the surprisingly nearby hat, and put it on his head, “Thank goodness. I would have hated to lose it before Oak got me to Indigo Plateau at least.” There was a moment of peace, only for Ash’s eyes to bug out of his skull, “Wait! We forgot about Professor Oak!”

Pikachu immediately tried to stand, only to wobble and fall back with a gasp, “We-we have to go help him!”

“No arguments there!” Ash said, and with surprising gentleness, helped Pikachu to his feet, letting him lean on Ash as they tried their best to hurry to the exit. Their urgency led to Ash going a bit too fast, causing Pikachu to harshly suck air through his teeth. “S-sorry!” Ash said, shifting his grip on his friend.

Pikachu shook his head, “No, no problem. We need to get to Oak before the rest of the outlaws get to him. No way all of them followed us in here.”

But, as they awkwardly shuffled around the knocked out outlaws towards the room’s exit, a disheveled looking Professor Oak flew around the corner, wisps of smoke flying from the corners of his mouth, “Boys! Boys are you okay?”

“Uncle Oak!” Pikachu yelled in relief as he leapt at the Charmeleon, grabbing him in a hug. Ash happily followed behind as Pikachu lightly pulled away with a questioning expression, “How’d you get away from the outlaws?”

Oak was about to respond when Ash let out an amazed, “Whoa! Hey, Pikachu look at this!” His interruption surprised both Pikachu and Oak enough that Pikachu hobbled a bit away from his uncle to look down the hall, seeing a decent few Spearow, far more than Ash could have hit before they ran, lay splayed out across the forested dungeon corridor, with small bits of smoke still dissipating over them. Ash cheerfully pointed at the outlaws as he looked at Pikachu, “You must have blasted these guys too!”

Pikachu gaped at the outlaws and Ash’s exclamation, before turning to Oak, “R-really?”

Oak glanced from the corridor to the room the two boys had left and chuckled, “I suppose you had more strength than you thought, hmm? But now, we should get out of this dungeon. Outlaws, or no outlaws”

Rather quickly, and decently painlessly, Oak led the two through the dungeon, finding it mercifully short, so much so, they managed to avoid running into any dungeon inhabitants. As the trio trudged up the muddy hill that Ash and Pikachu had been thrown down, the rain from before beginning to end, Oak fished an odd device out of his scuffed lab coat, and began to tap away at it.

“Professor?” Ash began to ask in mild awe, “Is that a Pokedex?”

Oak looked up from the device, giving it one last tap, “Ah, yes this is a Pokedex. Being a professor has its perks, and the guild has been kind enough to let me borrow a few over the years. I’m just sending a message so nearby guild teams can come and scoop up the outlaws. Don’t want them waking up and getting away to do this again.” He smiled at the pup, “I’m sure you’ll get one yourself soon enough once you get onto a guild team.”

His words brought pause to Ash, who shuffled in place before turning to Pikachu, “Hey, Pikadchu? Can I ask you a question?”

“Uh, sure Ash. What is it?” Pikachu said as he looked at Ash, quirking an eyebrow.

Ash fiddled with his paws for a moment before tilting his head slightly, “Would-would you like to make a team with me?”

Pikachu blinked a few times, mouth opening and closing for a moment, “Why? I-I mean, why would you want me on a team? We… didn’t exactly get along.”

The Riolu nodded, his aura feelers bobbing along as he looked to the side, “Yeah, yeah. And you were right when you said I didn’t even have a partner, like Gary did.” He turned his gaze back Pikachu, a small smile on his face, “But, I think we worked well together, had each others’ backs when it mattered, and I’d really like to have someone like you by my side on my adventure.”

Still trying to process it all, Pikachu tried to deflect slightly, though with a small smirk, “Even if we fight like we did back there?”

Ash rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, “Yeah, we kinda got off on the wrong foot didn’t we? But… you weren’t really wrong. Still.” He said, extending a paw, “Offer’s still open.”

Pikachu watched Ash’s paw, his thoughts continuing to tumble in uncertainty. He looked at Ash, the Riolu smiling despite the bruises, cuts and mud that covered him, and let out a sigh, “Oh, what the heck.” And he took Ash’s paw in his own, gently shaking it, “It’s… I don’t have any plans, really anyway. Uh,” He turned to Professor Oak, “It is okay, right uncle?”

The Charmeleon chuckled and pat Pikachu on his head, “I’m certain your mother would be happy to hear about this, more than anything. Either way, you have my full support.”

With a renewed, glowing grin, Pikachu nodded and turned back to Ash, “Then I guess it’s official.”

Ash happily pumped his paw into the air, “Yes!”

Oak watched the two, glad to see the two finding a camaraderie between them, “Well, congratulations to you two. I’d say this deserves a little something.” Without another word, he whipped out two Pokedex which he held out to the two of them.

Ash snatched his quickly, grinning almost ferally at the electronic rectangle, “Really?!” Only for the smile to fall, being replaced by a look of confusion, “But we’re not even officially a guild team yet.”

“Like I said, the guild has entrusted me with a few here or there. I’m sure they won’t mind me giving you two your Pokedexs a little early.” Oak said with a wink.

Pikachu took his Pokedex, more gently than Ash did, “All of this feels so sudden.” He glanced to Ash who was admiring his new gadget and smiled, “Not that that’s bad I guess.”

Professor Oak nodded, “Well, with all that excitement, we should probably get a move on. We’ve already been waylaid enough as it is.”

The two young Pokemon voiced their agreement, and tucked their respective Pokedexs away before beginning to follow Professor Oak once again. All of them were sore and tired, but far happier than the previous argumentative atmosphere that followed them before.

After a while of walking, the group crest a large hill. Ash eagerly rushed forward for a better view, smiling at the nearby city, the silhouette of farther off buildings rising above the surrounding trees, and off to the side, on a mountain, was the intricate complex that was the heart of the Indigo Guild, Indigo Plateau. Tying it all together, was a rainbow, shining over the land.

As Ash admired the view, something caught his eye, that pointed to excitedly, “Hey, who’s that Pokemon there? Flying through the rainbow?”

Oak and Pikachu walked up next to Ash and squinted at the figure, flying in the distance. Oak hummed and smiled at the Riolu, “Well, there are many Pokemon across the world. Some unknown, some legendary, or mythical that only tales tell of great adventurers encountering them. Maybe you’ll get to meet them someday.”

Ash watched as the large, flying Pokemon sparkled as it passed the rainbow and out of sight, before speaking to Pikachu, “There’s so many secrets in the world. And we’re gonna see them all!”

Pikachu shook his head with a laugh, “Gonna find every secret as we journey far and wide, huh?”

“Of course!” Ash said, taking in the sight before him, what was but a small fragment of the world he was going to see, “And this is the first step of our journey.”

Pikachu watched Ash, watched his excitement with a smile. He gently took Ash’s paw into his own, and Ash looked down with a little confusion, “Our journey to be the greatest?”

Ash laughed and pumped their entwined paws into the air, “The greatest adventuring team the world’s ever seen!”

A/N: This was originally going to be written for a 5K oneshot writing challenge some time ago, but I hit a snag and some depression which held off me finishing this, and in fact, the negative thoughts tried to get me to delete what I had already written, though luckily I managed not too, and finally got around to finishing this.

The initial idea was very simple, a loose adaptation of the first Pokemon anime episode but set in a PMD style world, and while it still is, I have scrounged up a decent amount of ideas for where this world could go next. What Pokemon the various characters would be, what changes to things could happen, either because “I wanna” to mostly necessitated due to the fact that everyone is a Pokemon so certain aspects may not exactly translate well. The various LORE and world building to how the guild league functions, how gyms and badges work and so on.

All that potential is why this, initially just a oneshot, is open to have more chapters added, if I can get my brain to agree, along with all the other story ideas rumbling around in my head, as even a loose adaptation of the adventures from the anime into this “Pokemon Anime but PMD AU’ would be a significant undertaking which would rumble alongside my many other “significant undertakings” that my brain dares to throw at me as story ideas. And then many of my smaller story ideas tend to get away from me and balloon into giant undertakings as well, hah. But, I’ll see what I can throw here from time to time, especially if I can get my writing speed up compared to how it is currently.

As always, thoughts, opinions, pointing out writing errors and more are always welcome in the comments, and thank you for spending some of your time to read what I’ve written.

[the-larxist-manifesto]

GameGirl31 ~ Pokémon Yellow, pt. 1

Thus we arrive at our first large trek of this journey. A full-on RPG. Admittedly, it's my own fault I even have to play this one. Pokémon Yellow is not actually on NSO. But I happen to own a copy of it on 3DS Virtual console, so I figured I owed it to the legendary series to try out the very first generation!

My goal: become the Pokémon League champion. But leading up to that is a long, winding, blocky road. Can't wait to share how many hours this one takes me xP

~My history with Pokémon~

I have a... complicated relationship with Pokémon. My first game was White version on the DS, which was love at first sight. There's something very different and special about playing Pokémon games as a kid. Being allowed to name and raise your own captured critters and then excitedly show it off to your friends. I battled, I traded, I conquered the Pokémon League, I explored every nook and cranny of Unova. I spent HUNDREDS OF HOURS in this game. When you're a kid, that's basically your whole life. I'll never forget my first Pokémon adventure. I miss you every day, Pigpy... ;n;

But then... something... changed. I tried going back to FireRed, Ruby, and jumping on the hype for Pokémon X... but it felt different. I even got White 2 as a Christmas gift, but by that time, the magic was gone. I haven't played a new Pokémon generation since. For a little while, I dabbled in Pokémon Showdown (a battle simulator where you build your dream team and face off against other trainers online) and even attempted a few nuzlocke challenges (a self-imposed "hard mode" where your Pokémon must be released when they faint). At this point, I was trying to rekindle the magic. Find new ways to enjoy these games. Learn battle strategy, meticulously plan team compositions, raise the stakes to the point that I would have NO CHOICE but to care.

While those were indeed enjoyable ways to play, I've never felt the same about Pokémon as I did that very first time. In fact, my criticisms of the series began to outweigh the fun. Why is it so slow? So much throwaway, cheesy dialogue... slow transitions from overworld to battle... battle to overworld... more dialogue that you read only in hopes of an item or moving the plot along... leveling up is a drip feed... random encounters at every turn... punished with each loss by having to walk back to the Pokémon Center... then back to where you were... constant micromanagement of HM moves for traversal to each and every story-significant location... the cycle drives me MAD. Not to mention constant missteps by Game Freak in rushing out unfinished, glitchy products or otherwise ignoring the desires of their fans in new entries.

sigh

Okay... okay... general Pokémon rant over. For now. I'd love to talk about this game in particular. So far, I've been playing with an open mind. Let's see where that's gotten me.

~DUCKIE's journey~

Yes, I am following the bizarre convention in old Pokémon of writing names in all caps

DUCKIE is a young girl (we'll just say she's tomboyish (this game forces u to be a boy /.\) ) who, prompted by her sarcastic childhood friend BOSER, sets off from her small town of Pallet to see the world and collect creatures called Pokémon who wander all about the region. As she visits new places and meets new people, she learns of the esteemed Pokémon League—an organization of professional trainers that dedicate their lives to strategizing, raising, and battling Pokémon. DUCKIE earns her first badge in Pewter City, proving that she bested one of the eight gym leaders. From here on out, her goal is to become champion of the entire Kanto region.

Since DUCKIE is a bit of a fashionista, she themed her Pokémon team around the color yellow! Of course, this started with her very first Pikachu, gifted to her by the famous Professor Oak. From then on, she studied (googled the first 150 pokemon) and planned a route (looked up where they all spawn) to lead a team of all yellow colored Pokémon.

Right now, 14 hours and 2 gym badges into her journey, this is how the team stands:

SONG the Pikachu! (reference to the Pikachu song, OGs know what I mean)

WOMP RAT the Sandslash! (LEGO womp rat my beloved)

MARYPLANT the Weepinbell! (I KNOW WHAT UR THINKING, YES WEEPINBELL IS YELLOW JUST NOT IN-GAME FOR SOME REASON)

RUY LOPEZ the Hypno! (the author of works on chess, reference to They Might Be Giants song "Rest Awhile")

~Taking in the sights~

As we all know by now, Pokémon stands as one of the pillars of the GameBoy's success as the biggest portable gaming console of the 90s. For a game THAT popular, I'm a little... surprised... at the visual design. Okay, the thing is, the Pokémon designs are awesome. I have always always ALWAYS loved how every single artistic detail hints at their combat type, natural habitats, biology, even things like diet and mating behaviors. Tons of personality in their faces and stances, as well; it's even visible on the in-game sprites, which often lean into exaggerated expressions and dynamic poses (to make up for being a completely unmoving sprite).

However, it's the... overworld and menu designs that leave something to be desired. At least the text is pretty legible, being sized up on the small dot matrix screen. But the menus are very flat and strangely organized. There is a lot of information just... missing. Don't expect to pick up an item or learn a new move and actually understand what it does. In this respect, the game relies heavily on trial and error (and a great deal of patience). And wow, the towns and routes are just plain ugly. It's a tile-based overworld layout, so it makes sense that there isn't too much space for detail. Still, we've already seen several tile-based GB games that look shockingly good. Pokémon Yellow is hands-down the ugliest game I've played so far.

That being said, I do think the journey has had moments of beauty. For one thing, I adore the use of color. Unlike Red and Blue, Pokémon Yellow was developed specifically for the GB Color, and it takes advantage of this by giving the color-based towns their own auras. Here, I have a short scrapbook of the Pokécenters I've visited:

A very pretty palette of colors, like watching the hue of the sky change throughout the day ^_^

One more thing I have to point out about the visuals: seriously, these folks are GREAT at character design. Not only do the Pokémon all have their own personalities, but you gotta look out for their eccentric trainers too.

FREAKS, ALL OF THEM!!!! but I love them so much. ..

~To be continued...~

That's all I got for now! I'd love to talk about the Kanto region, how DUCKIE's story unfolds as she pursues Pokémon League championship, gameplay oddities, and more—but that will have to wait until I actually beat the game. I don't know how many entries it will take. 2 out of 8 badges doesn't seem like very much for how long I've played, but I think the pacing is just kinda weird? We'll see, I guess! Talk to you then!!

TTYL larxists <3

[sygnasableye]

Trainer Red Headcanons

Since X Twitter is turning into a real dumpster fire of a site, I've decided to move my 'lore' threads over here so I still have access to them once I leave Elon's hellsite. First up is my interpretation of Red!

This iteration of Red is in his twenties, therefore taking place before his and Blue's trip to Alola. Teddy (OC) is briefly mentioned in this list.

Red is on the autism spectrum. Pokemon and battles are his main special interests, and playing with the brim of his hat is a stim.

He's bisexual.

He's selectively mute. As shown in Pokemas (and Smash Bros. too I guess), Red can talk -- he just typically doesn't unless he's with trusted friends & loved ones.

He's so incredibly in-sync with his main team that he no longer needs to issue commands in battle. When he was younger, he used hand signals to give commands; he still does this for mons that aren't on his main team.

Red wants to seem cool and mysterious to other people, and yes, this includes standing on an ice mountain to wait for challengers for a considerable amount of time. He probably read JJBA as a kid and thought Jotaro was the coolest dude ever.

He briefly had a crush on Green/Leaf (in my head they're the same person) back when they, including Blue, were on their Kanto journey together. He never told her and eventually lost that crush, but Green is still a very important friend to him.

Even roughly a decade later, Red still hasn't quite gotten over his loss to Ethan on Mt. Silver; it was his first real taste of defeat, after all. He does use it as motivation to train harder with his team, but although he respects Ethan, he's a bit nervous around him.

Red really, really likes bug pokemon. He doesn't battle with them often, but he likes to collect and raise them. One of his favorite bugs is Heracross, a reserve mon who he actually *does* battle with; he also particularly likes the Ledyba and Nincada lines as well!

Some time after the Sevii Islands adventure, Red caught a Mew after befriending it and earning its trust. He keeps Mew a secret from most people; only the closest of his associates (Pallet Town trainers, Prof. Oak, etc.) know about it.

If you claim to be a member of Team Rocket, even if you're kidding, Red will immediately challenge you to a battle you can't refuse. He does not take threats from TR lightly and will attempt to squash out any and all of their operations.

As gifted to him by Teddy, he has a Roaming form Gimmighoul that usually hangs out in his pocket or under his hat. It has a chest full of Gimmighoul coins in his room back in Pallet Town and will happily chill out there with his mom when it's not traveling with Red.

Red enjoys fishing because it lets him space out (until there's a bite on the line at least) and listen to the water's waves. "No thoughts, head empty" is a state of zen for him. He's not nearly as enthusiastic about fish pokemon as he is about bugs, though.

Strangled Red is canon to my interpretation of Red (and Blue). Red doesn't like to think about his former role model anymore and chooses to repress his grief into the back of his mind.

Red doesn't listen to much music outside of soundtracks from video games and shows of his youth, but he tends to enjoy most genres outside of very noisy, chaotic ones like metal and breakcore (they usually lead to sensory overloads for him).

Red's starter is Charizard, but he's closest to his Pikachu (nicknamed Pika; the only one on his main team to have a nickname) that he caught in Viridian Forest. Pika is outside of its ball more often than not and sometimes even serves as an emotional support mon for him.

Red is afraid of drowning and cannot swim. He is very envious of the Swimmer trainer class for this reason.

He hates shorts and how they feel on him. In his opinion, they are NOT comfy and easy to wear.

[codradin]

It's been a long day for a lot of reasons, and a long couple weeks for every more reasons. Guess I decided to vent it all into my take on a creepy pasta.

TW: FIRE, DEATH IMAGERY

I've always loved pokemon. Course I have, it's a massive franchise. Probably will be one of the biggest in the world some day, even with only a few games out.

Smoldering Silver

I don't really remember a lot--it's never really been a bother, though. I just go to school, forget it, and come home to play pokemon. Nothing else really matters. It's almost nice--every playthrough is fresh.

I know I've played red and blue to heck and back--but I do own silver, too.

I've been meaning to play it. Maybe I have. Doesnt really matter.

I decide to pop it in the old Gameboy one school day, sitting in my dirty room on my bed. It's very warm out today, even inside, but what're you gonna do.

I turn it on, excited, faintly surprised to see no save file. Maybe I keep forgetting to play it. Whoops.

Oh well! New adventure starts now.

Professor Oak talks to me, tells me my name is Red, which is a little odd--isn't that the red and blue protagonist? Maybe they brought him back for a new adventure. That's fun. I liked Red.

I never liked Blue, though. He was always mean to red. I didn't get it. It made me scared.

Oak goes to release me on my journey, before the game seems to freeze, audio pausing.

Eh? Did the game freeze already? I know red and blue were kinda funky sometimes, but--

The Gameboy let's out a horrific scream, a human scream, and I jump as Oaks face seems to melt--

I panic turn off the Gameboy, heart racing. What the heck?-

I stare at the dead screen, confused and scared, but so unbearably curious at the same time. That's not normal, I know that.

I slowly turn the Gameboy back on.

No intro plays--the game boots up, and reds sprite is standing in a new town, a town I don't recognize, but that's not super surprising.

I amble up to the biggest house in town, a nice tune playing. There's a different sprite staring into the side of the building. Oh, like the guy outside my window! Okay.

I walk into the big building, and get to choose a pokemon! Exciting!

The choices are new and different, especially considering I've apparently never played this, so this'll be cool.

I've never liked fire types, though.

I go with Chikorita. Silly little guy.

I accidentally forget to name them, but when I go to examine my new friend, they already have a name.

Chrysanthemums? That's a big word I don't know. It's silly. I'll call her Chrys.

I walk outside the lab after being told something or other, I dunno, it doesn't really matter.

The man in the window is still there, and I look at his sprite a little more closely.

It's all monochrome, so colors are a little weird, but they seemed "tall", with a yellow hat and beige clothes, something covering their face, and in the low quality pixels, it's hard to tell what they're holding in their hands, but it's long and straight.

Huh. Thats a funny character design.

I take Chrys and go out onto the first route! I destroy some silly rats and birds, considering I have no pokeballs, but that's okay.

The first town I enter seems normal. I heal up, I talk to an old man, but his dialogue is kinda weird.

"I don't think they meant it to go this far."

What?

Man, my game is corrupted as heck, isn't it? I wonder what happened.

Oh, well, the battling seems to be working, so I quickly get distracted again. Away I go.

Up to the house I guess I was supposed to go to, woah, egg?? I have egg. Egg is exciting, and I guess the guy who gave me Chrys wants it. Cool!

I walk back to the second town-- no one is around. It's weird--I thought npcs had just been around? Eh. Memory probably is wrong again. Silly me.

I walk back to the first town. I haven't encountered any trainers yet. I wonder why.

I go to cross the line into the first town--

The game crashes.

Aw, cmon! I haven't saved. I debate just giving up right then and going back to my actually working games, but something urges me on.

I sigh and restart the game. Again. Man, this game is worse than the silly missingnos.

I load back in--oh, it...saved on its own? But wait, where am I?

I'm in a completely new town. What?

I check my pokemon--Chrys has, apparently, evolved, into a long necked flower dinosaur. It's almost giving me a sad look.

It's level 39.

What kinda memory black outs am I having? I was just...okay. this is weird.

The town is large, with a railway track running through the middle of it.

I must've gotten badges to get this far, right? I check my trainer card.

I have 3 badges, now. But my trainer doesn't look like Red...they're familiar, in a way. Long ish hair, a dirt smudged face, a strange look on their smiling face, hatless, almost vacant yet carefree.

Their name is Nina.

Huh. More corrupted cartridge nonsense, I guess.

All the npcs in town are wearing all black. It seems to be raining. None of them talk to me--I can't interact with them at all.

Okay. Uhm.

I walk north for a while, before walking through a transition tunnel.

It's a lovely park, and I think the music should be peaceful and soothing, but it's distorted into sadness, somber and...disturbing.

My skin prickles with uncomfortable goosebumps, and I continue forward.

There's a large gathering of npcs, all wearing the same black in the now pouring rain, the pixels blocking the screen solidly.

I walk up to them, but they don't move. They don't talk. They don't do...anything.

This is stupid. I just wanna play some pokemon. Why is it all creepy and sad?

I accidentally press forward--and can step through the npcs.

Oh, what? I'm the invisible man!

I walk forward to the two pixels their surrounding--a brown pixel and a grey one.

I can't move over the brown one, but I can interact with the grey pixel.

NINA GREY HAWKINS

DEC 7 1992

NOV 22 1999

I stare at the Gameboy picture of a gravestone.

A face stares back at me.

My face.

My tomb.

The heat gets worse and worse and I look up as the room fills with smoke and ash, I can hear screaming, at the window is a man with a strange protective helmet, a gas mask and heavy clothes, an axe shattering my window.

I scream, and he shouts something at me as the entire house rumbles.

I run to him--

--

I've always loved Pokemon.

[kohakhearts]

theory of evolution

fandom: pokemon (anime) rating: g relationship(s): chloe & gary word count: 5.7k read it here

Chloe first meets Gary Oak when they are children and her dad is still working through his doctorate. Thanks to their close proximity and established relationship, Professor Oak’s lab door is always open to him and often he brings Chloe along, if only to see the Pokémon.

Gary is a little bit older than her, but not much; even so, he tells her with bold certainty that he’s going to become a Pokémon Master the likes of which the world has never seen. Though he has a slight air of arrogance to him, she is inclined to believe it when she sees just how interested he is in Pokémon. She wants to be that interested in them too, but she likes looking at them more than studying them, and she’d rather see them playing than fighting.

Gary shows her the Pokémon kept by his grandfather while the grandfather in question helps her dad analyze some data he collected on Pokémon with branched evolutionary lines. He puffs up his chest proudly and explains to her that all Pokémon have special abilities, but some have even specialer ones.

“What makes them so special?” she asks sceptically.

He scoffs at her. “They’re rare, that’s what. Nobody even knows how many Hidden Abilities there are, or why some Pokémon have ‘em and others don’t. It’s cool, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Her answer obviously irritates him, but she is saved from his ire by her father:

“Time to head home, Chloe. Come inside and grab your things.”

She goes to follow him back inside, then finds herself pausing to look back at Gary. “Bye, then.”

“Whatever,” he grumbles.

But no matter how bad an impression she might have left on him, every time she comes back, he always tells her something new he’s learned since the last time she left. Until one day her father brings her to Pallet Town over the weekend, and Gary isn’t there.

Professor Oak makes her a cup of hot cocoa to offset the chill of the rain outside. He smiles at her when she asks where Gary is.

“He’s off on his journey now. Last I heard, he had collected three gym badges already. I suppose he’s been so caught up in his adventures, he forgot to pay you all a visit while he was in Vermilion City.”

She sips her cocoa in an attempt to conceal her disappointment. They aren’t really friends, anyway; she can’t say she even likes Gary all that much, but, still, he made things interesting for her. It sometimes felt like there was nothing he didn’t know about Pokémon.

read more

[pokemonemissaryau]

Kanto Prologue: The Beginning of Legends

The first story in the Emissary AU is The Beginning of Legends - which follows Red, Blue, and Green on their adventures around the Kanto region. 

Read it here!

Other characters included: Professor Oak, Professor Willow, Lance, Maxie, Archie, Looker, and Yellow

Ao3 description: 

A loose-ish retelling of FireRed and LeafGreen.

Red and Blue set off on their journeys at the same time. Along the way, they get robbed by a girl, defeat incompetent underlings of Team Rocket, and meet people who seem to know more about them than they should. All while trying to become pokemon masters.

Kanto Prologue for the Emissary AU. Not necessary to know anything about the AU before reading.

All characters featured in the Kanto Prologue are open for questions! Send them an ask and they might respond!

[somena-libra-dawn]

Beginning with Ho-oh, ending with Lugia, huh?.

(Just some random thoughts below. Nothing important.)

Anyway about Ho-oh,

The final Japanese opening of original series, Ready Go, made a reference to Ho-oh in the lyrics, saying about 'going over seven colored rainbow'. The last DP opening also had Ash chasing Ho-oh.

About Journeys, huh? I can see everyone is disappointed since it 95% follows the game-based, e.g. Ash's fighting scene, Goh is essentially Pokemon Go (no pun intended), while Chloe is Lets Go game. After all, the anime has created their own canonity for years, i.e., anime contest being different than the game, using defensive moves for offensive.

For a new pokemon fan who started with Go or LG... well this one is probably not disappointing. (Note: probably)

.

I, myself, found 'the end message' is similar to Pokemon Evolutions. There, Oak says, “But you did well. Just look at your pokemon! The bond you share is marvelous, and you’ve found so many! With the data you’ve gathered, you’ve been helping my studies. And, besides you weren’t doing it all alone. You are a part of much larger community, Green. A world of dreams and adventures, challenges and discovery of trainers and pokemon.” Then he declares the pokedex is complete but turns out it isn’t. So Green, Trace, and Elaine set out again.

The similarity: Yeah, Ash and Goh set out to another journey on their own like how Ash says goodbye to his previous companions and they all go on their own path. The previous episode (JN135), Goh stated he wanted to leave to meet more pokemon and trainers to learn about the world more (thx subs). That means, in order to reach Mew, he intends to expand his worldview / perspective by knowing its community and world. On the other hand, Chloe started with zero interest with pokemon but slowly opens up as episodes go. I guess everyone misread her as someone who doesn’t find out anything. To be fair, her first focus episode shows her doubts in aspiration. Then the later episodes, she becomes to care and learns about it little by little, particularly about Eeevee. Yes, she hasn’t decided. She spent most of her screen time going to school and, on some occasion, joining Ash and Goh; while the two boys 100% set out to a pokemon world. So I don’t find it weird she hasn’t fully found what she wants. (Not saying school sucks.) I find her still progressing on it. At least, she doesn’t stay in her comfort zone / her slice of life daily routine, but slowly getting out of that zone. The process of doing so is usually slowly yet progressively, hence it’s time consuming. I don’t get why people assume she starts her journey as soon as she gets Eevee. Well, going on a journey might work but, given her disinterest at the beginning, it wouldn’t be easy for her. So the lesson and development from her story is to discover more. Plus, I never expected anything from Chloe except gaining development (in this case, she slowly tries to discover more by being research fellow in the boys’ stead). Since Journeys is about double protags Ash and Goh at the very beginning, I always thought Chloe as the side character that would get development (which is ok coz I’m tired of ‘girl being second/third person in the group’ trope that makes them eye-candy for the show, minus Iris and Alola girls).

In conclusion, the moral lesson to discover more is somehow fitting to be epilogue (as I pointed it works in Evolutions).

.

But then again that’s my initial thought. Keeping this post to see the change of thoughts in following years. (let’s see)

[spidori]

Once everyone has fully settled into the idea that none of the Rocket's are in any way antagonistic any more, I love the idea of just the single messiest found family web developing.

Like, is James an uncle? Brother? Both? Who cares? Not him! He's family now and that suits him fine.

And Meowth! There's no way he's just a partner pokemon. I don't think he's even ever been technically caught? Just tagged along with the family he found and got roped into the growing web as different groups got tied together.

And I love how you write kinda-dad Jessie. Especially when she gets fully comfortable with her place in the Ketchum family, even if she couldn't for the life of her explain what that place is in a way that makes sense without embarrassing herself past the point her pride allows.

And then there's Sam. Do you think, once all is said and done and there's no more risk of damaging causality, does he ever tell Ash that he was there in the adventure with Celebi? Or, what if someone who was there connects the dots? Almost definitely not Ash, and Jessie also seems unlikely, but James might well figure it out with his penchant for disguises. I think Meowth would be best though; he's working with Sam daily, so plenty of little clues might crop up. Then one day, when Oak is acting grumpy, the absolutely ancient Charizard who's always napping in the corner snorts something like "don't mind Sammy. He's just jealous of Ash meeting all these legendary Pokemon. He only got to meet that time fairy on his own journey. Nevermind that most trainers never even see a legendary pokemon. So don't you mind his whinging youngling."

And suddenly a bunch of tiny hints come into focus and Meowth just *Bluescreens* and has to reboot with this entirely new worldview.

Meanwhile, Professor Oak, who has no idea what his partner just said, is completely oblivious to the storm of questions gathering behind him as his assistant comes back online.

Given that Meowth and Oak have a bit of a tenuous relationship at first, with Oak not even being sure he can trust Meowth's translations, I could see this slotting right in as one of the first seeds of real trust between them when Meowth agrees not to tell anyone.

forgot if you were asked this, but does Delia have a maiden name? is Ketchum her family name or her ex-husbands? and whose name do you think they'd take when Delia and Jessie get married? they should just take on "Mrs. and Mrs. Rocket" lmao

I personally think Ketchum is Delia's last name. As soon as her husband left she changed it back and changed Ash's last name as well

Jessie definitely takes the Ketchum because it's cool, and since she's still Jessie she likes the clout that comes with it LMAO. "Why yes my last name is Ketchum! Like the world champion. Ever heard of him? Yeah I practically raised the kid."

[kakouleuthem]

I still remember his first catch, evolution and battle; his first humiliating loss, too. The Indigo League Tournament exit was hard to watch and conceive. It was heartbreaking, but it strengthened his inner power.  With unrivaled enthusiasm for fresh adventures, Ash and his Pikachu traveled through the Orange Islands, the Johto and Hoenn Regions, respectively. There, the kid from Pallet Town grew even further by defeating the Orange Crew and the Supreme Gym Leader in their first Full Battle. Later, he took down Ash's childhood friend and long-time rival, Gary Oak, and the Gym Leader Juan, mentor of former Champion Wallace. Ash's battling style was only at the starting point of evolution!  After Ash's victory over the Kanto-Hoenn Battle Frontier Brains, we assumed his journey would end, since he could have become an official member of the organization. However, the Sinnoh and Unova Regions were waiting for him: exciting battles, myths and legends, as well as trainers with their own dreams and ambitions, became the stonewalls he had to penetrate. By defeating the notorious Paul of Veilstone City and the villainous teams Galactic, Plasma and Rocket, Ash and his Pokemon rose to even greater heights together.  In Kalos, Ash used all his experience to deliver even more fascinating battles against powerful trainers like Alain and Champion Diantha. He and his special Greninja saved the region and the entire world from annihilation, and everyone acknowledged them as heroes. Credits to me! Do NOT repost! Comments and shares are permitted! #pokemon #anipoke #anime #ashketchum #pikachu #pokemonjourneys #pokemoncommunity #gottacatchemall #pocketmonsters #pokeani #pokemontrainer #pokemonleague #worldashketchumday #worldchampionashketchum #pokemonchampion https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck9IkKeLjpP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[theriu]

So anyway I decided that the only actual logical explanation for why nobody seems to age in the Pokemon anime is that humans are elves.

Y’know, 1 elf year = ~10 actual years, that sort of thing. It’s only been about 25 years since Ash started his first journey, I could see him being just shy of 13 right now.

This would also explain why 10-year-olds are going off on pokemon adventures: they’re literally 100, and even if you still have the mental maturity of a kid, that’s still a lot of years learning how to not die in a world full of magical monsters. Maybe the aging process accelerates at a certain point so you dont end up with a 600-year-old Professor Oak. Also humans seem to be pretty durable, which tracks. Really, when every other species on the planet has miraculous powers, humans being super long-lived and hard to kill makes perfect sense.

In conclusion: pokemon-world humans are elves, and Ash in particular is functionally immortal if the number of times he has been fried or blasted by eveything from pikachus to legendaries is any indication, thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[shadowredfeline]

Yeah cause I know Japan, after Ash finishes his adventure, he might actually be a Pokemon Master since he has won twice and I think he earned it. Since he does have a lot of Pokemon back at Professor Oak's lab and I'm maybe he might start something fun in the future with all of his friends.

But for the new Anime, Scarlet and Violet coming in Japan, it's gonna be the first time going to focus on a different character in the series compare to other stories. Like Pokemon Chronicles and even Pokemon Origins.

Shadow R 😺🗡️: Since Lisa and I are a fan of Pokemon, I'm things can go smoothly and different for the next Pokemon anime.

Lisa 😺❤️⚡: Yeah and Ash does earned that goal of being a Pokemon Master after winning the league twice. Especially in Journeys and Sun and Moon.

Shadow R 😺🗡️: Mmhmm. And one day, we'll see how the new characters in Scarlet and Violet go compared to the other ones like Pokemon Chronicles and Pokemon Origins.

Lisa 😺❤️⚡: Okay. Cause normally Pokemon Origins does look similar to a Studio Ghibli film.

Shadow R 😺🗡️: Yeah it sure does.

🇵🇷Me: I got in recent Pokémon news after 25 years since watching the original anime to previous series (more or less), it’s a shocker to say goodbye to our favorite protagonist. More shock than Pikachu’s electricity, but you get the point of what I’m trying to say. Though after seeing trained hard to actually won the championship, it safe to say that he deserved a happy ending send off. Not for making way for a new anime series however.

🐰🖌Maxwell: Yeah. Also some details for the protagonist’s hair clip? Striking resemblance of Ash’s original hat design Coincidence? Maybe, but not too far off. Who knows? It could be an interesting theory that I’ll let my 🦫Bucky knows.

[pokemon-ash-aus]

Shoulder Ashachu AU

(Title is a play on the phrase, "angel on your shoulder") 

An Ash-is-a-Pikachu AU where he gets caught by the main rival of each Region (Gary, Paul, Trip, and so on...)

Bottom line, Ash is a special Pikachu with Aura abilities. He uses his Aura to "see" people who need his help. And when they're a long term projects? He catches himself. And his Trainers learn early on that trying to keep him in a Pokeball is futile; he pops out instantly, no matter what they try.

Ash is still as much of a childish goofball as in show, but in this AU he also lives by Nanny McPhee's motto, "When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go." So each Region ends bittersweet as they realize that their paths are now diverting and so Ash is released to continue on his own journey.

Ash's current "Trainer" likely takes his role in whatever group Show-Ash traveled with, (like Gary, Brock, and Misty for Kanto for example).

Also? Every crazy shenanigan he gets into in the show? Ash drags his current Trainer head first into into those adventures too. Though he's still the big hero more often than not (no better way for jerks to realize they've unwilling developed a soft spot for a certain rat than their crazy Pikachu risking life and limb right in front of them).

After a bit, every Regional Professor becomes at least familiar with the story of the strange Pikachu that trains Trainers and so are more or less able to recognize and pass on Ash's name to his current Trainer if they don't know already. However, more often than not his current Trainer learns about Ash's history from Team Rocket's latest attempt catch him.

If Pikachu is in this, it would be as the older, more responsible Pokemon who's taken it upon himself to keep this baby alive despite his ability to attract and dive right into trouble. He also frequently makes sure whatever pet project Ash is cuddling into being a better Trainer doesn't make him cry or anything (hard to be angry at anything when you have a Thunderbolt zapping you). 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gary

Professor Oak is studying a unique Pikachu and comparing it to a normal one when Ash gets loose and latches onto Gary.

"Ash" as his grandfather "code-named" him (anyone who knows he's encountered a Celebi will call him a liar), is an annoying little brat, but he's been zapped too many times by that other Pikachu to really get rid of him. 

Squabbles with Ash so much that he might as well understand everything the strange Pokemon is yelling at him. It is not a one-sided argument even if only half the conversation can be understood.

Chasing him down time wasting detours are the worst because he can't afford to lose his Grandfather's research subject since he promised to record Ash's growth and uniqueness that can only come out in field observations.

Despite himself.... he starts to look forward to whatever new discovery Ash will lead him to next. (Maybe Gramps had a point about Pokemon Research...)

Paul

Just minding his own business catching Starly when an injured Pikachu with a crazy mat of fur on it's head comes out of the woodwork, takes one look at him and bypasses Elekid to catch himself in one of his empty Pokeballs. Despite his confusion, he decides Ash is a DEFINITE keeper when he scans him with his Pokedex.

Although he'll frequently have to ask himself if the little fuzz-bit's strength is worth it with how often he disobeys and incites his other Pokemon into rebellion (Aka, playing). 

And the "pranks" (Aka, Ash's attempts to get Paul to play too) that have been pulled on him are just as frustrating!

....Though he's forced to admit Ash seems to be doing wonders for unlocking Chimchar's full power. 

(He's also ended up in more than one glaring contest with the bigger, older, but just as powerful Pikachu)

Despite himself... he starts to care about Ash who's taught him about different kinds of strength. (....Maybe it's about time he started listening, really listening, to both his Pokemon, and his brother).

Trip

Didn't know what to expect when the Professor Oak decided to visit Professor Juniper's Lab the very same day he was starting his journey, but it sure wasn't that the smaller of the two Pikachu traveling with him (named Ash apparently) would catch himself in one of his new Pokeballs as soon as Professor Juniper handed them to him.

Any wonder he may have had about the whole thing soon evaporates under frustration because Ash only does the silliest things. He's supposed to be this super Pokemon trained by Professor Oak himself! (That's what HE thinks...)

Ash spends more time goofing off like this is a vacation than training to become to strongest.

And when he tries to ignore Ash, leaving him to go off on his own? Leads to the craziest and unconventional situations!

"HOW DID-?!?!" is a frequent question whenever Ash's... irregularity makes itself apparent.

Despite himself... he starts to understand that Ash can teach him a lot of things if he's willing to learn. (Maybe... a Pokemon Journey is about learning beyond the basics rather than becoming the strongest).

Gladion

Didn't know what to make of the Pikachu that just popped into his life one day. And won't leave no matter how many times he released him, Ash would just catch himself in another Pokeball.

Keeps on dragging him to Professor Kukui's house.

Keeps on guiding him to training spots that "coincidentally" lets him run into Professor Kukui's class and his sister.

Keeps on BEFRIENDING Ultra Beasts! (And adopting one!!)

At least he and Pikachu can agree they shouldn't let his Mom anywhere near Ash.

Though he would like to know why Tapu Koko keeps on challenging Ash to a battle!

Despite himself... he can't help but be inspired by the Pokemon that seems to embody the Alola Spirit. (Maybe... maybe it's time he stopped shouldering his burdens alone and accept the support of his loved ones instead of... shoving them away).

[doubleddenden]

I got bored again, and I'm in a Pokémon mood and wanted to be creative. I saw on Reddit where someone tried to make a team for Ash where he explored the Tandor Region from Pokémon Uranium, and then I remembered I did the same thing for my region of Tauraro. So I thought why not throw my own hat into the "what if" ring and continue his fakemon journey as a teenager.

I should specify that I spliced and edited this Ash Sprite together, and found Pikachu online (did you know Pikachu isn't in Uranium? I was shocked) and specifically chose a gen 4 sprite to reflect the era Uranium came from. The rest of the sprites are from the game itself and thus made by the creators of Uranium, and I claim no ownership.

This was just made for fun, please don't take it too seriously. However I do encourage people to play Uranium, it's a very fun and soulful fan game.

More under the cut

So, Ash is roughly 18? 19 around this point, since this continues from an AU where he got to grow older than 10. After coming home from his latest adventure, Oak receives a call from Professor Bambo'o of Tandor to talk about a strange rise in odd, feral Pokemon. Samson Oak, expert of regional variants, Prof. Crane, expert of Shadow Pokémon, and Professor Sycamore, expert of Mega Evolution, do not seem to know much about this, and of course, Oak, being THE authority on Pokemon, was next on the list. Unfortunately, Oak did not know about these strange Pokemon, but suggested that a student of his might be able to help the two of them gain more understanding of the situation. And of course, Ash was more than willing to go and explore a new region, and Bambo'o was happy to be able to examine a foreign Pokémon like Pikachu.

In my mind, the events of Uranium would take place in roughly the same manner, barring a few necessary plot details and Pokemon locations. Ash would probably be rivals with both Theo abd Pluto, the nonbinary trainer the player can choose from, and probably be more on friendly terms with Pluto and more of a humoring big brother type to Theo. I haven't really decided who he'd be traveling with anyone if he would be at all. I do think that Ash would resonate with Pluto missing his father, and deal with Theo and his father issues too.

As for his team, well, I decided to do something creative with it.

Pikachu, of course, is the constant since the beginning. As, apparently, there aren't Pikachu in Tandor, Pikachu gets a lot of attention everywhere he goes. In fact, Theo begged Ash to trade Pikachu to him after losing terribly to Pluto, and cried after not getting his way. Pikachu is of course very powerful, and takes big risks to ensure the safety and well being of his friends, and still has a silly side, much like his best friend, Ash.

Metalynx was actually given to Ash after it was the last one left after Pluto and Theo completed their starter quizzes. As an Orchynx, she was rather laid back and preferred sleeping in the sunlight than battling. However, that all changed with she evolved to protect Ash and Pikachu from a Nuclear Gyrados, and since then has been more eager to protect and please, in exchange for pets and treats. Ash learned to Mega Evolve Metalynx eventually, making her even stronger than before, although it is still on very friendly terms with its fellow starters from the lab.

Pajay is a very unique addition to Ash's team, as he first caught it as a shiny Pahar that had been abandoned by its mother for not blending in with its flock. It quickly became attached to Ash and Pikachu, and soon evolved into Palij. During the nuclear meltdown of Route 8, it would evolve to Pajay in order to give Ash and others time to escape from the feral Nuclear Pokémon and the fast approaching radiation. He was thought to be lost, and Ash had a breakdown over the thought that he let his Pokemon die. Some time later, when Curie first shows their face, they send out a very familiar face: Pajay, mutated by radiation even further. Ash managed to rescue Pajay, but it had gone feral, and would take time to come back to his senses. By the final fight at the Route 8 Nuclear Plant, Pajay saw Ash in danger and finally came to his senses, now finally back to sane mind. It is much stronger than before, but also much weaker due to the acquisition of the Nuclear type.

Baariette was found as part of a gang I'm Nowtoch city, which robbed and stole from trainers and stores in excess. Ash and Pikachu made short work of the gang, and Ash caught him. It is a bit distant, somewhat naughty and haughty, but easily manipulated to fight and follow orders. He wasn't sure about staying with Ash, and actually contemplated destroying his own ball to release himself, especially after a brief team up with Garlikid. However, Ash would eventually prove his worth by shielding Barriette from Urayne's power. Since then, he respects Ash as an equal, though still not too quick to accept the Trainer and Pokémon role.

Escartress introduced himself to Ash by hitching a ride on the way through Route 7 to Bealbeach. As a Cassnail, personal space was not really a thing, and he would often break loose of his own ball to munch on food or explore somewhere new. It did not like battling until it evolved, and didn't truly fight like he meant it until food was offered, or until he finally evolved into Escartress to fend off ninjas from the sea. Since then, he's become much stronger abd a tad more mature, but a bit disappointed that he's found out quicker when he escapes. Now he's rather fond of carrying others as others carried him.

Gargryph is a late addition to the team when Ash arrived to Vanessi City. A man at a bar insisted he saw shadows at night and statues moving about, and most peculiarly a giant pink rabbit Pokémon. A gang of Raffiti and Ratsy stole some of Ash's belongings, and Ash and his Pokémon quickly dealt with them. It turned out that they were owned by a thief, and the thief kicked a fallen Ratsy for being weak. Ash, in fury, punched the man, and yet by doing so, Ash was besieged by Gargryph, which attack outsiders that bring harm to the citizens. If it weren't for a mysterious pink Pokémon coming to his aid, Ash might not have survived the night. He caught one of the knocked out Gargryph for his team. Since joining, Gargryph has been useful for a flyer, for defense, and is decent in a fight, although it lacks much for personality. In fact, it pretends to be a statue in non combat or food related scenarios. Yet it clearly learns to care for the others with time, as it guards the team at night and through all manner of dangers when it sees fit, and often leaves a small gift it finds at night. It does not mind the others' silly antics, and seems at peace with Pikachu or any small Pokémon or children resting on or near it.

I'll be working on other fakemon teams in the future cuz why not

[voltimer]

'The Magic of Johto's Level Curve'

(or, 'a leisurely analysis of the singleplayer balance of Pokemon GSC and HGSS')

The Johto games - especially HeartGold and SoulSilver - seem to have a very good reputation. Some often put the aforementioned HGSS into their top 3 or describe it as the core Pokemon experience. I personally agree with this sentiment and HGSS is either #2 or #1 depending on my mood (it usually competes with Black 2 and White 2).

Despite all its praise though, there seems to be an incredibly consistent point raised against it: the level curve. I see it described as unbalanced, janky, and generally bad.

There are two main problems people tend to cite. First is the level progression in Johto itself, with Gyms 5, 6, and 7 not exactly being a smooth progression upwards and then Team Rocket's Archer and the 8th Gym having a notable level spike compared to those last three. Wild Pokemon levels are also usually a lot lower than the major boss fights they are ahead of, making raising new 'mons harder and grinding for boss fights longer. The other problem is Kanto, whose problems can essentially be said to take Johto's levelling issues and ramp them up. The jump from fighting Blue to the Elite Four rematches and Red is also very significant.

What I'm not going to do here is refute that the above isn't true - these level scaling inconsistencies are certainly present. It's also very different to the vast majority of main series entries, whose level curves are more linear and gradual. Gens 5 and 7 even have a feature which multiplies exp gain based on how much lower or higher you are than the Pokemon you defeat which in a way acts like a rubber band around each game's level curve, ensuring you can catch up easily but not go too overlevelled either. Playing GSC and HGSS when the rest of those entries are like that is a bit jarring. Pokemon is so well-known for having quite a formulaic design across its main series and when compared to that formula with regards to level progression and the like, the Johto games do seem a bit off-colour.

What I am going to do though is try to explain why this so-called bad level curve is at the very least not actually that bad, or, if I can convince you well enough, that the Johto games actually have a unique and (what I call) magical singleplayer game design not properly replicated in any other entry. It goes to the core essence of Pokemon's theming, and it fits with the fact that Johto's narrative also happens to put the most focus on those themes than the rest of the series.

When I say the core essence of theming, I mean the very basics of every Pokemon adventure: you, the player, leave home to go on a journey around your region, meeting various people and overcoming various challenges along the way together with your partner Pokemon. Challenges you overcome are all thanks to the bonds you share with your partners and how you raise them with love and care. As you get older, this is the sort of thing in Pokemon that you probably end up taking for granted. It's typical "power of friendship" stuff, and most people will tend to come to conclude through learning about the game mechanics that this sort of thing is superficial and that stats are all that matter in the end. The more modern Pokemon games also have such a big focus on larger-than-life stories with big climaxes featuring the box Legendaries that it's easy to lose this basic level, down-to-earth narrative theming.

Johto is significant for not having any larger-than-life aspects overshadowing its core. Instead, the core takes centre stage. There is no real overarching story besides your adventure. Team Rocket's antics take a sub-plot role but in the end act as a foil to your story, being one of the more major obstacles you overcome. Catching Ho-oh or Lugia is no cataclysm either, but rather a reward for your achievements throughout the game and thanks to your good and pure heart - recognised by the Legendary in question. Moments throughout the game like how you deal with the situation at the Lake of Rage, or the Dragon's Den trial where you're asked questions to test your ideals as a trainer (which, of course, you pass with flying colours) all contribute to this core as well.

The way Professor Oak congratulates you after defeating Lance ties the knot perfectly on the main campaign:

"Ah, <player>! It's been a long while. You certainly look more impressive. Your conquest of the League is just fantastic! Your dedication, love, and trust for your Pokémon made this happen. Your Pokémon were outstanding, too. Because they believed in you as a Trainer, they persevered. Congratulations, <player>!"

These are just examples of the main story events, though,and Johto has a lot more than that. The region is filled with things to do beside the main campaign - Berries/Apricorns, Pokegear calls, the Ruins of Alph and other optional caves, the Bug Catching Contest, and (in HGSS) the Pokeathlon and Safari Zone, just to name a few of the more notable ones. Tama Hero's review of Pokemon GSC talks a lot about this and it's well-worth a watch even beyond the section describing the games' breadth of side content.

Tama Hero also touches upon the supposed level scaling issue, and her response to the complaints is that there is a "sprinkling" of opportunities for small bits of exp gain throughout the game which should help you stay on track in most cases, and where you can't match levels, you can outplay your opponent.

I certainly agree with the latter. It always feels entirely possible to beat bosses at a level deficit throughout Johto. The Johto League is one of the key cases where you'll probably end up at level disadvantage, but I've consistently been able to defeat it with a team of lv 40s on average (so nearly 10 levels behind Lance's peak), and I'm pretty certain that my not-even-10-year-old self did so as well, even though it took me many, many attempts. From various people I've talked to and bits of let's plays I've seen over the years, this seems to be the common experience too. I think only a minority of people have had to grind to match Lance's levels in order to beat him at all. Granted, it might take you a couple of tries at that level disadvantage (or a great couple of tries more, like little ol' me), but that's surely not an unreasonable expectation. The concept of getting stuck at a difficult stage in a game could be called a universal one, and I think most people agree that it's always pretty satisfying to finally surmount a challenge like that. This can even be said about other Pokemon games - Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh also all have large level spikes at the end. In fact, at least when it comes to the end of the maingame, I'd argue Hoenn and Sinnoh have a larger level spike than Johto, but they're not considered impossible or anything

Regardless, though: it's certainly possible to win difficult battles in Pokemon at a level disadvantage. Tama Hero argues that the strategy required to do so isn't something the game teaches you very well, but I think this is a tad pessimistic. In the end I think that most wins will just come down to understanding of more fundamental skills that you've probably learned through the course of the game naturally - using type matchups (gyms are all type themed), using moves with stat changes (the earlygame is full of moves like Growl and Tail Whip), using status moves (no doubt you're going to see the effects of Paralysis and Burns throughout the game at least), and apt use of items (bosses always use potions and often use held items). Players also have more control over the battle than the enemy, with the default Switch mode and a huge amount more items available. It's true that the games don't teach you the deeper, untold mechanics very well, but learning about those only unlock even more ways to succeed for the numbers-minded veterans.

On the topic of those deeper, untold mechanics I also want to talk about something which Tama Hero doesn't mention at all - Effort Values, or EVs. Most of you reading will probably know about these by now, but for those who don't, EVs are hidden values which can increase a Pokemon's raw stats by a certain amount based on the other Pokemon they defeat. They were present in a slightly different form in Gens 1 and 2 in the form of "stat exp" but the premise was the same: your Pokemon grow twofold when you defeat Pokemon, by gaining visible exp for levelling up and visibly gaining stats every time that exp bar fills, but also by gaining stats little by little every time they defeat any Pokemon. Your Pokemon's EVs weren't visible to you in-game until Gen 6 with the Super Training graphic, and numerically weren't until Gen 7 where you can press X on the Pokemon's stat screen to show what are called "base stats".

EV optimisation is crucial to competitive play because the stat boosts they give are quite significant. Competitive players will "min-max" spreads, putting as much as possible into 2 stats to maximise strengths and not wasting any on stats they aren't making use of. In maingame playthroughs, though, EVs will usually end up being a balanced spread because you'll invetivably be facing a variety of Pokemon with different EV yields throughout the game. EVs can also be increased with the Vitamin items (Protein, Calcium, etc.) which you find a handful of throughout the game (and can buy at a premium) and can be used to manually raise EVs, though only to a certain point.

In Gens 3 and onward, a Pokemon can have up to 252 EVs in 1 stat, and 510 in total. At Lv 100, 4 EVs in a stat grant 1 point extra to it. For the singleplayer campaign the conditions are a bit different, but if we assume as a standard that by the Elite Four your EV total is maxed out and you have an even spread, your stats will all be up to 10 points higher than they would be without EVs. In Gens 1 and 2, you can actually max out all of a Pokemon's stat exp values but you're unlikely to cap them all for a good while beyond the maingame so we can consider them about the same as in the later gens for this.

But why is this important?

Firstly, the difference EVs make in the above scenario account for what is usually about 5 levels' worth of stats. Depending on your exact distribution, it could be a couple more or less levels' worth in each stat but the bottom line is that they make your Pokemon's strength higher than it may seem based on level alone.

This means that the wild Pokemon grinding that is criticised for being too tedious in Johto as a result of low levels is also better than it seems because even when you don't level up, you're gaining EVs for every one of those you defeat. The stagnant levels in the midgame of Johto also contribute more to your Pokemon's growth than it may seem from the slow level gain. The Pokegear rematches which you gain access to after defeating Team Rocket before Gym 8 may also be a little infrequent, but they also very often give you Vitamins afterwards to add to all of this.

Secondly is what seems to be a fairly unknown fact: in-game trainers do not have any EV spreads. Thanks to the work of speedrunners, we have exact data of enemy trainers' Pokemon to show this. Trainers do have IV spreads based on their "AI level" (more 'advanced' AI levels will have up to 30 IVs across the board) but the difference near-perfect IVs will have on their Pokemon is not as great as the combination of random IV spreads and relatively balanced EV spreads yours.

That 10 level deficit vs Lance is suddenly more like 5 in practice. Some of his Pokemon also happen to have pretty high stats naturally in Gyarados and the Dragonites, and the level deficit will still be slightly present, but once we factor in strategy again, you can abuse their type weaknesses and make good use of items, status and whatever else have you to swing the odds in your favour.

The only way you can find out anything about EVs in Johto is from a NPC in Blackthorn City who gives your Pokemon the Effort Ribbon if they have reached their total of 510, and the only practical way for a player without the technical knowledge to have achieved this is to have spent time throughout the game doing lots of little bits of training - in other words, putting in the effort - to have incidentally capped their Pokemon's EV total. It's only fitting that you find this NPC towards the end of the Johto campaign because it's likely that by this point a couple of your team members will be eligible for the ribbon.

This finally ties back to the point of core theming. EVs are an invisible stat giving your Pokemon an extra edge over their in-game opponents, or, at worst, one closing a gap in strength between them, as a result of all of the time you've spent raising those Pokemon throughout the game. In other words, EVs are essentially the statistical representation of the "dedication, love, and trust" you have for your Pokemon which gets you through seemingly difficult challenges. Levels, then, are only a surface representation of your Pokemon's strength: they create the feeling of an uphill battle, but you can win against the odds by believing in yourself and your partners. It's probably exactly what you thought as the naive and uncynical child playing through a Pokemon game for the first time, and probably one of the ways you made such fond memories of it. In hindsight, this is definitely how it was for me. It is a sort of magic, really.

There is still a big Red elephant in the room, and I do think that the level gap between the end of the Kanto Gyms and Red is maybe too hard to go and beat immediately after even with the power of EVs and such, but Red is by all means a superboss and final challenge of the Johto games, and I don't think it's unreasonable to have to grind for a while to build up for and to finally be able to take his team of Lv 80s on. The same can be said about the Elite Four Rematches in this game and others, Steven in Emerald, or that one Barry fight in Platinum if you do decide to beat the E4 rematches 20 times to make his levels nearly match Red's. If you're setting out to fight a superboss like this, the grind is part of the prerequesites. It's definitely still possible to beat someone like Red with a 10 or even 20 level deficit if you play well, though. I admit, I haven't beaten Red in a long time, but I have beaten Emerald Steven with a ~15 level gap before. Tama Hero also said she has beaten Red with a team of level 50s in Crystal in the review.

I said before that the other games in the series haven't replicated this sort of thing as well. Gen 5 was the beginning of a marked shift away from this design, with its overarching story-driven style and a change to exp gain which would honestly be incompatible with the level curve in Johto. Gen 6, whilst returning to the exp system without level deficit multipliers, saw different means of statistical representations of the 'dedication, love and trust' trio in Pokemon Amie, which can break the game almost as much as the Exp Share when enough Affection is built up. Gen 7 brings back Gen 5's exp system whilst retaining the Exp Share and Affection systems, and actually ends up even diverging from the EV design which went before by having in-game trainers and Totem Pokemon with competitive, min-maxed EV spreads from as early as the Trainer's School. Whilst I am yet to play Let's Go and Sword and Shield, their Exp system with a 'permanent Exp Share' of sorts makes it a huge amount different and from what I've seen and heard, overlevelling is quite easy despite the game being designed around the feature. I really hope that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl at least return to Gen 6's exp mechanics, or better, reunite us with the held-item version of the Exp Share which doesn't make me feel like I'm cheating whenever I use it.

Before I go too off-topic, though, I should probably return to the original thread of this post to make some concluding remarks. What can't be denied that the way GSC and HGSS are designed may not be for everyone. I know for sure that a lot of people prefer to be able to breeze through a Pokemon game at a brisk pace without many roadblocks, but as someone who in recent years has come to appreciate much slower-paced and immersive singleplayer Pokemon playthroughs, I can't help but love the way GSC and HGSS are designed in the way I've explained, or appreciate their unique identity amongst the rest of the series. Coming to think about this has also shed light on why I adored HeartGold as much as I did when I first played it way back 11 years ago. I poured hours and hours into the game, and as a result, its magical design put me under its spell.

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Though I linked to the references I did use when they appeared, here they are again. Do check them out if they're of interest to you!

Tama Hero's GSC review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgtMVKP2T6Y

speedrun.com trainer data for HGSS: https://www.speedrun.com/pkmnhgss/guide/k2zij

speedrun.com trainer data for SuMo: https://www.speedrun.com/pkmnsunmoon/guide/d2683

Tama Hero (YT) is one of the few people I know who actually makes longer-form Pokemon analysis content besides Aleczandxr (also YT), who whilst not being a 'PokeTuber' has made some brilliant analyses of storytelling through setting in Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and just recently, Unova. I did not refer to them here but I can highly recommend their content, at least.

Thank you very much for reading to the very bottom here. This is my first time writing something like this and I appreciate it.