#Yeah I can work with regice

[bethanythebogwitch]

Origins of legendary Pokemon: Gen III

I am doing a series of posts exploring the real-life inspirations for various Pokémon. Previously I have covered all fish Pokémon, all other aquatic Pokémon, and all starters. Currently I am working through all legendary and mythical Pokémon. It has been a few months since I last updated this series but I’m back now. Today I’m covering gen III. For previous posts see gen I and gen II.

Starting off with the legendary golems, I decided I’ll cover the gen III and gen XIII golems together. All of them are based on, well, golems. In Jewish folklore, a golem is a creature made of inanimate material that has been magically animated. The most famous story about golems, and the one that most modern depictions draw from is the golem of Prague. Dating back to the 16th century, the story goes that Rabbi Loew (a real person) built the golem out of clay and animated it by inserting a clay tablet inscribed with the name of God (a shem) into its mouth. The golem protected the Prague ghetto from pogroms. Every Friday, the Rabbi took the shem out of the golem’s mouth to deactivate it for the sabbath. Eventually the golem went on a violent rampage for reasons that vary depending on who tells the story. Sometimes the Rabbi forgot to take the shem out before the sabbath, other times the golem fell in love and was rejected. Either way, the rabbi eventually managed to pull the shem out, causing the golem to fall apart. The pieces were then stored in the attic of the synagogue, where it can be revived if ever needed again. The attic does exist, but is closed to the public. The idea that golems are animated through certain words either held in the mouth or inscribed on the forehead is common. In some stories (including some variants of the Prague story), the word used is “emét” (אמת) meaning “truth” and the golem can be deactivated by removing the final letter, changing the word to “mét” (מת) meaning “dead”. All of the regis are golems made from some mind of inanimate material: stone for Regirock, ice for Regice, metal for Registeel, electricity for Regieleki, and crystallized dragon energy for Regidrago. Like golems, they needed to be made by an already exiting being, in this case Regigigas. The unique sequence of dots on each regi represents the word carved on a golem’s head to bring it to life. Each regi also represents a historical time period. Regirock represents the stone age, Regice the ice age, Registeel the iron age, and Regieleki the moderm or electric age. Regidrago is harder to pin down since the only dragon age is a series of video games. It could represent the middle ages, with medieval Europe having plenty of dragon legends, or maybe a more general age of myths.

(Image: a statue of the golem of Prague, found in Prague. It is a brownish, mostly-featureless humanoid with several cracks on its body held together by rivets. End ID)

The eon duo are weird. They’re dragons with elements of birds and airplanes (the latter more visible in their mega evolutions). The biggest hint to what they’re supposed to represent might come from both being the eon Pokémon and explicitly brothers and sisters. Eon could just indicate they’ve been around for eons, but it also could come from aeon, a concept in Gnosticism. Gnosticism was a group of early Christian sects that were  very different from modern Christianity and are pretty much extinct now. In Gnostocism, aeons were divine beings that were emanations from the true God. You can think of the as the Gnostic version of angels except they’re more like less perfect derivations of God who can in turn make their own even less pure derivations and so on. It’s weird and complicated. In one of the most popular Gnostic sects, Valentinianism, aeons come in complementary male/female pairs called syzygies.

This is one of the simpler diagrams of how the aeons and syzygies are related to each other. Yeah. (Image: a diagram of the relations between aeons in Valentinianism, consisting of pairs of spheres connected with lines. Sourced from Histoire critique du Gnosticisme by Jacques Matter)

Latias and Latios being male and female counterparts could make them a syzygy of two (a)eons. They might also draw from the Chinese concept of yin and yang, opposing but complimentary forces. Yin is usually associated with femininity and passivity and fits Latias while yang is masculine and more passionate, fitting Latias. The pair’s ability to levitate and bird-like feathers may draw from the martlet, a legendary bird with no legs that spends its entire life flying. Martlets are often depicted with tufts in place of legs like the two tufts that the latis have. Finally, the name of the latis comes from the latin “lateō” which means “I conceal” or “I am hidden”, which fits both the two using illusions to stay hidden.

(Image: a heraldic depiction of a martlet, shown as the silhouette of a bird with two tufts where the legs should be. End ID)

The big names of gen III are of course the super-ancient weather trio of Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. They each represent one of the “spheres” of Earth. Groudon represents the lithosphere, the outer layer of rock that makes up the planet’s crust. Kyogre represents the hydrosphere, all of the planet’s water in solid, liquid, and gas forms. Finally, Rayquaza represents the atmosphere, the gasses that are trapped on the planet by its gravity. As mythical beasts representing the land, sea, and sky, the trio draw from a trio of creatures in Jewish mythology that were passed down to Christianity and Islam. These creatures are behemoth, leviathan, and ziz, who were primordial beasts that dwelled in and represented land, sea, and sky. Of the three, behemoth and leviathan get most of the representation while ziz remains fairly obscure. This is likely because they are both described in the old testament/Tanakh’s Book of Job as part of what is essentially God spending several passages bragging about how powerful he is and saying therefore he can be as much of an asshole as he likes. Behemoth is a grass-eating swamp-dweller likely inspired by a hippo or elephant while leviathan is a scaly, armored carnivore that (once you strip away all the fantastical elements) was probably inspired by a crocodile. Ziz is usually depicted as a colossal bird or griffon. Behemoth and leviathan are often depicted as mortal enemies who will kill each other in a battle at the end of time, fitting with Groudon and Kyogre being enemies that nearly destroyed the world with their battle.

(Image: a depiction of behemoth, leviathan, and ziz. Behemoth is shown as a red bull. Leviathan is depicted as a brown fish. Ziz is situated above the other two and resembles a griffon with no front legs. End ID. Sourced from the Ambrosiana Bible)

The designs of the three Pokemon draw from animals or mythical creatures who live in their associated biome. The lines covering them may also draw from the Nazca lines of Peru, though only Kyogre has a direct counterpart in the lines with the whale geoglyph.

(Image: the whale Nacza line, seen from above. it is a geoglyph in the form of a whale, drawn in a line lighter than the surrounding desert. End ID)

Kyogre is based on an orca. It’s fitting that the Pokémon who created the ocean is based on the ocean’s most badass animal. Leviathan is usually depicted as a sea serpent nowadays, but it has historically been depicted as a fish or whale (and a lot of ancient cultures didn’t realize that whales aren’t fish). Groudon is based on outdated depictions of theropod dinosaurs that had them standing upright and dragging their tails on the ground like Godzilla. The spikes on its side and tail may come from dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus. It also visually resembles molten or superheated rock (moreso in its primal reversion), a reference to volcanoes and their role in raising islands out of the ocean. Rayquaza is based off of the serpentine, wingless eastern dragons while it having front legs but no hind legs comes from the European lindworm dragons (though lindworms being strictly serpentine dragons with only front legs is a more recent thing). Asian dragons often had power over weather, which Rayquaza has with its ability to negate all weather conditions. it being specifically a dragon that lives in the upper atmosphere and occasionally comes down to earth might come from the draconid meteor shower, which itself is named after the constellation Draco. Oh, and to keep the ancient Judaism origins going, Rayquaza’s name might come from the Hebrew word “rāqī́aʿ���which means “firmament”. The firmament is a giant crystal dome that covers the earth and makes up the sky, found in many different mythologies including ancient Judaism.

Moving over to the mythicals we have this generation’s Mew clone: Jirachi. It being associated with a certain comet and having the ability to grant wishes is a big shout-out to the idea of wishing on a star. Its head is shaped like a star and shooting stars (the ones you usually wish on) are actually meteors. Many meteors are composed of iron, likely why Jirachi is steel-type. Jirachi is also based on Tanabata, a Japanese festival based on mythology and astrology where two deities, represented by the stars Vega and Altair, are only allowed to meet once a year. During Tanabata, people will write wishes on pieces of paper called tanzaku and hang them on bamboo or trees. Three tanzaku are present on Jirachi’s head.

(image: a branch with a paper chain and multiple tanzaku on it. The Tanzaku are multicolored, rectangular strips of paper with Japanese writing on them. End ID)

The connection to Tanabata is more explicit in the anime, where the movie featuring Jirachi has a festival celebrating the return of the comet that awakens Jirachi every thousand years. Lots of comets have very elliptical orbits that only bring them to the inner solar system once every several decades or even centuries. While comets are usually depicted with one tail, they actually have two, generated by the sun’s heat and solar wind. One tail is formed from dust while the other is formed from gas. The two streamer or tail like things coming from Jirachi’s back probably represents the two tails of a comet.

(Image: Comet Hale-Bopp, showing the large, white dust tail and the smaller, blue gas tail. End ID)

Deoxys is the first mythical to be un-mythicaled when it showed up in ORAS as a normally-catchable mon in the postgame. Shame they didn’t keep that up. Anyway, Deoxys is an alien, specifically a virus that mutated while falling into Earth’s atmosphere. The idea of a virus or alien falling from the sky is common in science fiction. Think The Andromeda Strain (book and movie, not the shitty miniseries) or The Blob, or if you want a Japanese example, Space Amoeba. Deoxys is also heavily associated with DNA. Its name comes from the full name of DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid and its tentacles in normal form take the same double helix shape that DNA strands do. Its original 3 forms also come DNA: defense, normal, and attack. Speed form messed this up when it came out. I would have called it rapid form so at least it can reference RNA. The x-shaped silhouette of Deoxys also looks like a chromosome. Deoxys also draws from the idea of mutation, which is the result of changes in the structure of DNA. It is a mutated virus and it can mutate itself into specialized forms. The crystal in its chest (which in the movie continuity is the real Deoxys, with the body being an extension of the crystal) probably comes from the sci-fi trope of silicon-based alien life.  Silicon is the next element down from Carbon on the periodic table and also has 4 valence electrons, leading to speculation that alien life could use silicon as a basis instead of carbon. Silicon-based aliens are often depicted as living crystals.

(Image: a drawing of a cell, zoomed in to show a chromosome, zoomed in to show a DNA strand. The cell is a blue blob, the chromosomes are blue, globular, and shaped like the letter x. The DNA is two blue strands arranged in a double helix structure connected by small rods. End ID. Source).

[sinjhopokedex]

Pokémon That Don’t Exist in Sinhjo/Celestia

So after a bunch of digging around Bulbapedia, Serebii, some in-game texts and a bit of PokéSpe lore, I can finally bring to you a list of Pokémon that don’t exist in Sinjho (my Netherworld that’s connected to the Pokémon world) and Celestia (the Angel world that’s connected to the Pokémon world). Why the ones that don’t, instead of the ones that do?

Buddy, there are over 1000 Pokémon. Do you really think I’m insane enough to list damn near all of them twice, or stupid enough to think anyone would actually read all that?

…That’s what I thought.

Anyway, I’ll first outline important, godlike Pokémon and how they fit into this mess. Then I’ll list any Pokémon or forms that don’t exist naturally in Sinjho, then those that don’t exist naturally in Celestia. Then comes a few outliers, then we’re done!

Gods and Godlike Pokémon (Legendaries and Mythicals)

The way Godlike Pokémon work in this universe is pretty simple — The Gods are Therians who mainly live in Celestia, have a Legendary Pokémon “familiar” which they observe the human world through, and can freely pass between Celestia, Sinjho, and the Human (Pokémon) world. They are as follows* (bolded names are important to the story of this blog and @princess2x4, normal names indicate gods that are not important to the blogs’ story, italic names indicate Mythical/certain Legendary Pokémon that are considered minor gods [multiple of which exist in all three worlds], small names indicate minor gods there are only one of, and strikethrough names are inconsequential Legendaries that have no real role outside the stories humans made about them):

Legendary Birds (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, including Galarian forms)

Mew

Legendary Beasts (Raikou, Entei, Suicune)

Tower Duo (Ho-Oh, Lugia)

Celebi

Legendary Giants (Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Regieleki, Regidrago)

Eon duo (Latios, Latias)

Weather Trio (Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza)

Jirachi

Deoxys

Lake Trio (Mesprit, Uxie, Azelf)

Pokemon of Myth (Dialga, Palkia, Giratina)

Cresselia

Heatran

Regigigas

Phione/Manaphy

Darkrai

Shaymin

Arceus

Swords of Justice (Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion)

Forces of Nature (Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, Enamorus)

Tao trio (Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem)

Victini

Keldeo

Meloetta

Aura Trio (Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde)

Diancie

Hoopa

Volcanion

Guardian Deities (Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini)

Cosmog/Cosmoem

Light Trio (Solgaleo, Lunala, Necrozma)

Ultra Beasts

Marshadow

Zeraora

Legends of Galar (Zacian, Zamazenta)

Kubfu/Urshifu

Zarude

Calyrex and the King's Steeds (Glastrier, Spectrier)

Ogerpon

Munkidori, Okidogi, Fezandipiti

*Any Legendary/Mythical Pokémon left out of this list will be explained later.

Pokémon that only exist in the Human World

These Pokémon are all regional forms that are implied/stated to be bred specifically by humans, evolved alongside humans, or just wouldn't make sense if they existed outside the Human World.

Alolan Meowth/Persian (assumed to have been bred by humans)

Paldean Tauros (all forms, assumed to have been bred by humans)

Galarian Koffing/Weezing (assumed to have evolved to look the way they so because of humans)

Glarian Meowth/Perrserker (said to have evolved alongside human pirates)

Galarian Fossil Pokémon (just… yeah)

Foongus/Amoongus (literally evolved to look like Pokéballs, which don't exist outside the Human World)

Galarian Stunfisk (similar to Foongus/Amoongus)

Cyclizar (assumed to have evolved alongside humans, bc they’re literally motorcycle lizards. do netherworlds even have/need motorcycles??)

Paradox Pokemon (idk man these things are so weird i feel like they shouldn't exist in-game based on the lore)

Pokémon that don't exist in Sinjho

Fairy-types (excluding Mawile, Kelfki, Mimikyu, and the Impidimp line)

Gallade

Pokémon that don't exist in Celestia

Dark-Types (excluding the Impidimp line and Umbreon)

Poison-types

Outliers/Man-made Pokémon

Porygon line (Digital Pokémon, tech related to them stolen by demons)

Non-Galarian Fossil Pokemon (Never went extinct in Sinjho/Celestia)

Ditto (Human-made. Failed clones of Mew, some managed to get into Sinjho somehow)

Mewtwo (Human-made. only two. both are capable of Mega Evolving and take on a Therian form outside the Human World)

Genesect (Human-made, does not exist outside the Human World)

Magearna (Human-made, does not exist outside the Human World)

Type: Null/Silvally (Human-made, does not exist outside the Human World)

Ultra Beasts (exist in pocket dimensions between the three worlds, go berserk if taken to the Human World. Only one of each exist)

Meltan/Melmetal (I literally don't know how to categorize these two lmao)

Eternatus (some ancient demon who brought the "Darkest Day" to Galar. Only one exists)

Hisuian forms (never went extinct in Sinjho/Celestia)

Aaand that’s that! If you have any questions, comments, or spotted something inconsistent/confusing, please feel free to drop me an ask about it! Cut me some slack, though, because this shit was a lot to go through and my pea brain could barely handle it lmao

[punz4lyfe]

Why a rivalry between Ash and Goh WOULD NOT work

On the topic of Pokemon Journeys, one thing I kinda see a lot on platforms such as YouTube and Twitter is that people really want a rivalry between Ash and Goh for whatever reason. My response to that is this: Why?

Didn’t the Alola episode already established that Goh doesn’t want to be Ash’s rival and focus on his own goals? I mean, for Arecus’ sake, if you’re gonna give Goh the same goal as Ash’s while keeping his own catch em’ all goal, then why bother even having Ash here in the fist place at all? But whatever, I guess people might get their wish for this someday since the 2nd opening implied a battle between the two someday and the current one indicates a rivalry between Lucario and Cinderace, which would no doubt rub off on their trainers as well.

What really baffles me is that people go their way to defend the concept of Ash and Goh’s rivalry. I mean, yeah, you’re free to think that, but if you’re going to defend something without any proper arguments, your stance just fails in the long run. Case in point, here are many claims of why a rivalry between the two dorks would work and by responses/debunks to each.

Claim #1: Goh needs a rival.

Maybe, but Ash certainly ain’t it, chief. For one, their goals are obvious different with Ash being more focused on battles and Goh on catching. Those two concepts aren’t gonna clash ever, people. Secondly, Ash himself already has enough rivals in this series in the form of Bea, Leon, and maybe Korrina and Rinto. Literally why give him another one? Thirdly, you’re forming a rivalry between a beginner against a dude who’s traveled through half the planet as of now. Think about that.

Claim #2: It would make their friendship dynamic more interesting.

An argument without any thought put into it. Look at past to see Ash’s old friendships with his past traveling companions. Brock, Misty, Dawn, May, Cilan, Iris, Clemont, freakin’ anyone. They all had well-established bonds and friendships that were already interesting. No one needed to be rivals, people!

Claim #3: It would be even because Goh has tons of powerful Pokemon. Even Legendaries!

Powerful, maybe. Trained? Heck no. One, Ash has powerful mons too, so what’s your excuse? Two, many episodes heavily emphasize that Ash trains with his mons a lot off-screen and even won some battles too in order to raise his rank while Goh’s mons do nothing but lounge away and have food debates. So, real close, people. Three, if you’re gonna bring up Legendaries, at least acknowledge that Ash has beaten Legendaries before. Articuno, Regice (with the same Pikachu he still has to this day), Darkrai, Latios (tied, but still with Pikachu), and Tapu Koko. Also, let’s not forget that Goh’s Suicune was brought down and weakened by a bunch of jobber thugs, so clearly it’s not as powerful as any Legendary Ash himself has fought.

Claim #4: Ash has lost more times in Journeys than Goh has.

Yet another argument without any thought put into it. If you really look into the episodes, you’ll see that all of Ash’s loses so far in Journeys all had a specific reason to them. Ash lost to Bea because he used his two newcomers (as I’ve already discussed before), he lost to those few jobber trainers because he wasn’t in the right state of mind, he lost to Mewtwo because it’s Mewtwo, and he lost to Rinto because of his Farfetch’d’s own stubbornness. Meanwhile, Goh’s own official loses were contributed by his own lack of skill compared to those he was fighting with (Hodge and Kiawe) and since Ash has proven to be better than both Hodge and Kiawe, then, well, y’know.

Claim #5: Goh has been with Ash a lot, so he knows his strategies and battling style.

Yeah, so did Paul, Misty, and Kukui, and like that knowledge helped them in their latest battles against Ash. (also doesn’t help that Ash was technically on a handicap in his recent battles against the last two due to Misty’s access to Mega Evolution and Kukui getting Tapu Koko to join his team with a Legendary-level Z-Crystal) Plus, wouldn’t Ash’s wins against the likes of Conway and Sawyer and such indicate that you can try to figure Ash out all you want, he’ll always come out on top? Arceus, people, at least put some thought into these.

Claim #6: We need to know who’s the stronger trainer between the two.

It’s the one who’s a Regional Champion for Alola and the Orange Islands, has traveled fully in all regions except Galar on foot, has the qualifications to be a Battle Frontier, and legitimately defeated Legendaries. Boom, done. There’s your answer people.

Closing Thoughts

If you still want a rivalry between Ash and Goh even after hearing all of this, go ahead and do so. It’s your preference and I won’t change that, but just please at least acknowledge how much of a bad idea it is and you’re basically asking for Goh to get crushed by his own more-experienced friend, and why would you want that to happen to that precious, sassy bean?

[spkmth]

          more thoughts from my playthrough of shield.     i have now beaten opal,  melony,  piers,  and raihan.

•     OPAL.     she was great.     she’s my first experience with a strong fairy-type trainer  ( my last pokémon game was hgss so it’s been a hot second )  and i was super nervous but i handled her well thanks to my corviknight and my toxtricity.     her gym challenge was really unique and refreshing.

•     MELONY.     loved the unique take on the usual  ‘arena trap’  ‘fall through the floor’  concept.     her lapras was a bitch,  but toxtricity took care of it before it had the chance to really fuck me over.     her design is a+,  though i wish i could have fought gordie.     ( wanted to fight allister more than bea so i got shield. )

•     PIERS.     where the fuck do i begin.     he was everything i wanted!     his allure ... his confidence ... his fucking battle theme ... everything was perfect.     my own obstagoon + brick break took his down easily,  along with my mudsdale for skuntank.     i really struggled against his malamar,  and immediately went to find myself a contrary inkay afterwards because a contrary malamar + superpower is op as fuck.     sneaky sneaky dark-type gym leader man.     but yeah i adored every second of my fight against him.     i’m very relieved that so many of my headcanons,  which were solely based on research,  still stand up to the canon material now that i’ve experienced it!

•     RAIHAN.     what a lovable dork.     i genuinely felt under pressure when he was watching me battle his gym subordinates.     his battle was the one i dreaded the most,  but i was prepared ;   as i suspected,  my mudsdale wiped the floor with him,  and really his gigalith was the largest threat as i’m still struggling to get a strong water-type and my poor roserade wasn’t quite up to the task of challenging it.     having played through raihan’s arc in the game,  i can now very safely say that i’m disappointed in the depth the game could have given him,  as the champ’s  ‘greatest rival’ ... i’m really glad i can give him some of the characterization the game left out.     smh leon needs to give this man more credit.

•     BIKING ON WATER.     thought i would hate this because i am a surf / fly purist,  but holy hell is this convenient and seamless and awesome.     i’ve taken so many mantines to the face in the lake of outrage,  my current fave grinding spot.

•     THE SOUNDTRACK.     i want to take a minute to recognize how immersive the music in this game is!     everything matches the environment flawlessly :   the mysteriousness of glimwood tangle,  the ethereal beauty of ballonlea,  the regality of hammerlocke,  the intimidating punk rock vibe of spikemuth ... it’s all spot on.     and the music changing the closer you get to piers ... oh boy that’s a nice touch.     marnie’s theme is still my absolute favorite theme ;   i never thought anything would beat out the theme of the legendary titans   ( regirock,  regice,  registeel )   but marnie’s is right up there with it.

•     hop and leon are still fucking irritating.     but you know who i like a lot more than i thought i would?     SONIA.     man i thought i’d dislike the shit out of her but omg she’s precious.     i do wish she’d stop asking a couple of dumb ten year olds important research questions because those cutscenes are irritating,  but that’s not her fault.     in that same vein,  magnolia is awesome.     she’s the grandma i wish i had.

CURRENT TEAM:

•     i’ve had excalibur and coalossal ever since i started the game.     knew i’d need them to go up against leon,  so we’re grinding hardcore right now to get where we need to be.

•     got lucky with flea being the daycare toxel i received!     he’s my best friend and i love his goofy run in camp.     he’s currently my highest level mon at 67 and is a permanent member of my party.

•     working hard to get grendel up to level 70 before i challenge leon.     i know i’ll need a tough fairy-type.

•     sid was the fourth pokémon i caught.     he’s gotten me out of a lot of tough spots and is also my best friend.     he found me a ton of good shit as a zigzagoon / linoone.     he’s also one move away from knowing all the moves that my piers muse’s sid knows!

•     rose is my first ever shiny pokémon in a core game!     she was a complete surprise and the battle to catch her lasted half an hour.     roserade is one of my all-time favorite shinies and i consider myself really lucky to have gotten a shiny i actually like as my first!     i’m hoping to take her against leon’s inteleon   ( i started with scorbunny )   but i might leave that to flea and put a strong ice-type on my team to challenge leon’s dragons.

HOW DOES ANY OF THIS AFFECT MY RPING?

          for piers,  it only makes me love him more.     what a mad lad.     i’m in critical condition with piers brain now.     i will never understand why some people play him as this beleaguered put-upon depressed whiner.     he’s just so badass!     as for raihan ... my relationship with my own raihan muse hasn’t changed,  but i’m sad for canon rai.     they really put him in a box,  didn’t they?     i’m glad i get to give him some deeper characterization since the games clearly didn’t,  and i’m looking forward to fleshing him out more than i already have.     man cannot subsist solely on pokégram and the desire to beat leon’s ass.

[medea10]

Medea Plays Pokemon Sword (&Shield): Part VII

Well, it has been a couple of months since the last update. Quite honestly, I did a few little tidbits with my games when I got the opportunity.

Like give my team the Gigantamax treatment.

Make more items on the abomination-o-matic

(nice callback to Kurt)

Get my certificate (only for the first pokedex)

I made this little bitch cry again.

I celebrated my birthday!

Honey, 2020 has been a trip and I hope to God it ends faster than a battle against a Magikarp that only knows Splash.

Pound my friggin’ head against a wall because this dex entry made me recall an unpleasant Pokemon episode.

My rage is rising...RISING DAMMIT!

And watch Honey quickly become best girl of the game.

Did, um...Did she kick his ass for real?

Can we please see her in anime form?

ON TO THE TUNDRA!

South of Galar is the frozen wasteland known as the Crown Tundra. As soon as you arrive, you’ll get an update in your pokedex and you’ll run into some trouble.

Is this a stranger danger moment or just some snotty teenager moment?

Either way, you battle this fella so that his daughter can escape his clingy father’s clutches.

Heads up, this fool has level 70+ steel-type pokemon. Much like a certain other person in this game. But we’ll get to that when we get to that.

Peony’s daughter leaves and goes to a place called the Max Lair. A place filled to the brim with legendary pokemon.

You rent pokemon. Go down different paths. After three rounds, then you can go up against a legendary. The automatic players aren’t as useless as normal raid battles. And you can always ask friends and relations on the internet to join you.

Let’s talk to our good mate, Peony.

No wonder his daughter wants to ditch him. Peony’s a fall-down drunk.

Wow, he very well could be a fall-down drunk. And then this...

Good eye. Actually, Peony is in fact Chairman Rose’s brother. Even Oleanna was confused.

Let’s head off to the one town in this frozen tundra.

Freezington? Oh, Pokemon...

Before I get to the tasks, let’s go skulking around the areas.

FUCK!

Nobody. Absolutely no-fucking-body missed these blood-sucking, annoying as fuck, blue-balled fucks. Say what you will about this game and the lack of essential pokemon, not seeing Zubat for a straight 11 months in a game was a God-send!

NEBBY IS OUT OF THE BAG!

NEBBY IS OUT OF THE BAG!

Lady, that’s not a Fwoofy. That’s a Nebby!

You will receieve Cosmog after you save the town of Freezington.

Only I could be so fucking thrilled about being followed by two Clefables. To be fair, only one of those is wild. Missy was just following me and ignoring the wild one.

I got my sixth OG pokemon pal, Lucy the Dratini.

FYI, not every pokemon is in the Crown Tundra pokedex. I still await Ampharos. But the Dratini line-up makes me very happy.

This giant tree. You can shake it. No fruit comes down. But if you shake it just right...

Giant, fat squirrely. Gigantamaxed!

Well, onto the missions with Peony.

In the tundra, there’s a huge tree you can see from a long ways away. That’s where the Galarian Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno are.

And I disturbed the harmony of fire, ice, and lightening.

If you don’t get what I just said, fuck off.

The three birds took off in different directions and start causing havoc throughout the Galar region.

Moltres will flap around the Isle of Armor

Zapdos will run around in Wild Area

And Articuno will troll you in the coldest area of the Crown Tundra.

It should also be worth mentioning that the Galarian forms are different types. Moltres is part dark, Zapdos is part fighting, and Articuno is part psychic.

Disturb not the harmony of Dark, Psychic, and Fighting.

Next up...

*singing incoherently* YEAGER!

Sorry, force of habit.

Throughout the tundra are giant buildings that require you of something in order for it to open. Much like the Ruby/Sapphire games, you go through some tedious tasks just to get the Regi-trio. On top of that, they give us the same OST.

Once you capture Regirock, Registeel, and Regice, you can get one of the new Regis. But you can only pick one. Either the dragon type or electric type.

And finally...

This one is kind of a lengthy mission. It starts with taking the head of a statue from Peony (who has been using it as a pillow).

Dude. Why would you think the head of a statue is a fucking pillow?

Lay off the Absolut, would ya?!

Once you return the head onto the statue, a new pokemon would like a word with you.

But wait Medea, pokemon can’t talk.

Taken care of!

Here’s a human host.

And this happens time...

And time...

And time again!

Shouldn’t have insulted Calyrex’s head, mate.

It’s been eons since anyone has sighted Calyrex and only some of the elders of Freezington know about it. So after asking village elders, talking to the mayor, buying carrot seeds, and planting carrot seeds, we’re about to meet Calyrex’s noble steed.

Calyrex does not have that much power, but if he has his noble steed maybe it could happen. Just that Rin Sohma over here is stubborn. And we have to chase it to the highest, coldest part of Crown Tundra. Plus have the mayor and Peony craft an item that’ll attach both pokemon when they’re together.

God Peony, get it together.

Once these two are together again, you may battle them and catch them.

Once captured, you can detach both pokemon with the special item you crafted during the mission. FYI, Pokemon HOME will not allow you to put the fused one in the box.

Now that all three missions are finished, Peony’s daughter Peonia will show up.

And totally ruin the moment with his daughter.

I thought he was trying to propose to her to be honest. After Peonia runs off in disgust and Peony chases after her it looks like the adventure isn’t over yet.

Eh...I’ll take a break from this portion.

Another thing to do in the Crown Tundra...

Tracking footprints.

And suddenly I remember having to complete that fat-fuck, Zygardre.

Sonia is doing some research and once you get 100% in three areas, it’ll open the doors to some more legendaries.

And finally...

If you’re from the Trump campaign, I’m reporting you to the police for harassment.

Oh God, it’s Leon.

Well, the hammy, former-champion wants to flex his muscles by doing yet another tournament. Where you can battle alongside someone.

Fuck’s sake, this skank is here too?

Yeah, depending on what game you play Klara and Avery return to compete and to tell you that they are now a gym leader (in the minor division).

Old age?

If Leon is old to Raihan, what does that make someone like Opal?

It works much like the league rematches, except you’re in doubles with the person of your choice.

Well, this has been a wild ride filled with legendaries. Lots and lots and LOTS of legendaries.

And no Ampharos!

One can only wonder if there’ll be another game expansion with more DLC’s in the future. I mean, there’s a good chunk of the entire pokedex that’s still prohibited from being in the game. Now, are these expansion packs worth the extra $30 per game? I found joy in these. But I know some people who are disenchanted by how small these side quests are or the lack of their favorite pokemon or some other such bitching.

I honestly don’t think there’ll be any more surprise areas of the Galar region for there to be another side quest. Unless they create an Ireland for us to fly to that has a town full of Wooloos and Mareeps. It should be a thing, but it isn’t. What will the future hold for Sword and Shield? Will we get more in the coming year or will the creators move onto bigger and more exciting projects?

In the meantime, I’m going to fill up these pokedexes.

I’m sure there’s gotta be some more fucked-up entries that rival the ghost types.

And just like that, I have vivid Cell from DBZ flashbacks.

[fivenightsleft]

where the hell is deadline at? the post.

yeah, click the readmore because this post is gonna be fucking LONG. the tl;dr of it is that this list of blogs is where you can find me generally bouncing across, and it can be updated at any time.

fivenightsleft (OP of this post): a multimuse based on the afton family. plus it has vanny / the reluctant follower. muses include michael afton, spring bonnie, miketrap / springtrap, william afton, willtrap / scraptrap, magdalena parks/afton ( OC ), vanessa holmes ( vanny / reluctant follower ), and glitchtrap. activity: low

deadlining: a multifandom multimuse. includes fnaf, bnha, tmnt, and su muses; also has a few muses from other fandoms, although these aren’t as “grouped” as the other fandoms are. activity: low; i still need to work on updating documents for them

primcrdials: a pokemon gijinka multimuse. sideblog to deadlining. muses include necrozma, giratina, lunala, two cosmogs, arceus, a shiny regice, cresselia, and darkrai. muses have gijinka and human verses. activity: needing to be revamped, HEAVILY. yeah, yeah, i didn’t even open this blog and it needs revamps.

gospelofdismay: a BATIM alternative-timeline multimuse. muses include several bendys, alice angel, henry, joey drew, thomas connor, allison pendle, susie campbell, and a couple of OCs. activity: low; i’m still working on revamping documents, but i’ll probably thread a thing or two with friends until i’m ready to go back into full swing.

nivanarot: a self-insert blog. formerly known as retuningstrings, except now more up-to-date with current aliases and feelings. verses include persona, animal crossing, dead by daylight, pokemon, and fnaf. activity: medium. i’m working on it?

agncsdei: a fandomless oc by the name of kyrie, a member of a secret society that hunts hostile angels and demons alike. verses include: persona, danganronpa, dead by daylight, dmc/bayonetta, pokemon, and overwatch. his generic verses are flexible for other circumstances. activity: high, but he’s also new.

[3000yearmonarch-archived]

((I had a dream this morning that was focused around the legendaries in the SwSh Expansion Pass. Of course, in the dream I experienced this all personally instead of by playing my Switch. Highlights:

A lot focused on Regice. Seriously. I found a tablet with Regice in the middle and the three Legendary Beasts on the bottom (one in each corner and one in the middle-I think Suicune was in the middle? And Entei might have been on the right, meaning Raikou was on the left). There were lines all over the tablet that seemed to imply that you had to capture those three to get to Regice. I can only imagine for the other Regis.

At some point I was in ‘my backyard’ and Regice, Regirock, and that one new electric Regi had had their bodies destroyed, leaving them as just the cognizant slabs containing their eyes/dots/whatever. I had to take Regice’s slab and put it in a tupperware, then fill that cup by cup with cold water. For Regirock, I put its slab in a large flower pot, and instead of putting in pebbles (which would make sense), I added potting soil. I don’t remember what happened with the electric Regi; I might have been called elsewhere. The whole time there was this intense tension, as if they might destroy me if I did something wrong.

Valerie was there. She judged me.

Suddenly we were back to pre-expansion pass release, and there was this playable little bit in the main games where you met Galarian Lugia. Except Galarian Lugia was basically regular Lugia that some cruel people twisted and forced their control over-you know, like Shadow Lugia. The main difference was that its wings were kind of bat-like, and an opposable claw on the ends, and it was Dragon/Psychic. You didn’t get the chance to battle or catch Galarian Lugia in the teaser, but boy did everyone go wild over the reveal. I remember that @bloodofthecovenants, in particular, was incredibly excited.

Also the people controlling Galarian Lugia were...an old man and his two adult daughters, who had apparently been kidnapped in one of the Pokémon movies? My brain told me it either happened in The Power of One or Mewtwo Returns, but...I don’t think that happened. Either way at one point they were just chilling with regular Lugia on the side of a mountain with some tourists. This ended up on the news.

I put the ink of a glitter gel pen inside a cauldron along with a few other girls because they told me to. It exploded all over the ceiling of ‘my kitchen’. This has nothing to do with Pokémon but boy did that happen.

So...yeah. Not sure whether or not to hope any of this makes it into the expansion pass or not. Honestly the whole thing involving giving the Regis temporary bodies (that they could do nothing in except be this generally angry, intimidating presence) was kind of interesting.

Also I want to know how roaming Pokémon would work with Pokémon being visible on the overworld.

What do you want to see?))

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon Black 2 Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 7]

It is time for badge number seven.

Lesgo.

Vertex (Luxray)

Caspet (Gengar)

Nessy (Milotic)

Diego (Gardevoir)

Photon (Rayquaza)

Cerberus (Dodrio)

Squad goals.

Why won’t Unova Gyms ever just let me leave?

And apparently I’m not going through Twist Mountain? I’m getting a lift on a plane?

If that’s the case, that’s happening later. I think I’m going to get Cerberus up to level 40 in the sad death tower before I do anything else. I don’t want to have members of my team lagging consistently. You will all be useful. I will make it happen.

Also, something I haven’t mentioned yet (...I think, it’s been a while to get this far) is that Pokemon Breeders in this gen seem to be available to fight every single time you enter that route. Not like you can fight them if you want. After beating them, if you leave and go back to the route, they will do the exclamation point thing.

This is annoying.

Route 7, also known as that place before the sad death tower, has one.

It is not irritating enough to conjure up hate for. And yet.

Flash forward into the future a bit later, and we have a team where everyone’s above or at 40 except for... Photon. Photon, my friend, we’re just gonna slap the Exp. Share on you and continue with the plot. Your legendary status means me stacking the deck with levels is less important.

I can’t believe this place has a purpose in this game. Or that I get to fly in a plane (I assume, my memory on the sequel games is even worse than my memory for Black and White starting out). There’s something weird about using a plane to get around in a Pokemon game. Doesn’t feel natural.

Oh well, too bad so sad.

...Lentimas Town.

I have no memory of this place.

Hey, Bianca’s coming with us! Yay!

I really have no memory of this place, but there’s some Fire pokemon in Reversal Mountain, apparently, and also Professor Juniper reminds everyone that Black and White happened, so it makes no sense for Team Plasma to be trying to wake up a dragon; they’re all accounted for after all.

My exploits from last game mattered, you guys. They really did happen.

No, but I’m easy to please. Any time the games reference games that happened in the past for the current game, I am made a happy camper. Us and N catching a legendary dragon each is a good thing to keep in continuity.

I’m starting to maybe remember this place... maybe?

I guess we don’t stay here long, so time to not really care. I do continue to like how the setting is not an exact copy of the previous games, though. There’s a lot of repetition that comes from this being a sequel, but everything’s been thought out well enough that it really does feel like a new journey.

Now see, my question is if there’s a cave to this Reversal Mountain, and is it marked with a different title. I’m catching something very soon, but do I have the option of picking between outside Reversal Mountain and inside, or do I... perchance... get both?

It’s probably just one and I should just march into the grass.

I don’t wanna.

Ah, but it looks like I have to step through grass anyway. But there is the option of dark grass vs. normal grass.

I am too battle-weary and scarred. Normal grass.

!!!! A Normal pokemon for the normal grass! Hi Miltank! Let us be the best of friends and not roll each other into death. Photon’s the best bet for not accidentally killing the little lady (I did not check this with numbers and have no plans to).

Only while I was typing, Miltank used Bide, and I missed that, so Nessy with her excellent HP had to go out and deal with the consequences of Photon’s one attack. Nessy and Twister are taking Miltank down at a safe rate. She’s in the orange, so throwing time.

While she’s using Rollout.

Of course.

Hey, first ball! We’re Pokemon Going over here!

Her name is Bessy. Because it is.

But whoops, I need to head back to the Pokemon Center for a hot second and get her out of the Graves box. You’re not dead yet, darling.

Dark grass has Luxio.

It also leads to a strange house instead of fun cave time.

See, right there in the title. Can has pokemon?

Coool. Want to join my gang?

Nessy and Twister seem to be an okay catching combo. Let’s see if we can get it working twice in a row.

Damn it, Nessy. Your first one left him in the green. The green. Sigh.

Farewell, unnamed shark friend.

(he woulda been bruce)

Ahoy random Gigalith in the upstairs of the house with the moving furniture I can’t cap because these are stills. Sadly I’m not in the mood to deal with Sturdy, so I’m going to run from those instead of harvesting them.

Awww, there’s a Castform downstairs. Plus a Spell Tag.

Then the furniture moves and clears up a doorway. Behind which is a trainer.

I feel like a lot of the NPCs we meet in these games have very hard lives. Hello Sentret in the middle of the room. Are you keeping this one company?

Ludicolo is in the front room.

Caspet learns Dark Pulse. Bye-bye, Night Shade.

Waaaaaait. Wait. Aren’t you the ghost girl from the bridge in the last games? I remember you! Is this where you get something to do instead of just being odd? Note that it doesn’t count if it’s an event thing that needs a code or internet or special event items!

She’s looking for her parents.

And her Abra.

....Then a wild Abra shows up.

Is that scripted, or did the Randomizer just give me an amazing gift?

Weepinbell back downstairs.

I go through another door, and get a Full Heal for my trouble. With added wild Octillery. Fuck you, Octillery. You are banned from all my runs forever.

Ooooo wild Haxorus. Look at all these things I can’t have. Downstairs has a stray Riolu. The trouble I go through for a... Dusk Stone. Yeah, okay, that’s nice to have. Toxicroak is also here.

Then back upstairs, suddenly Gible. What’s this place usually supposed to have?

The second floor’s chairs have moved, so I go through one of the upstairs doors. Another trainer room. Yay. With a Mr. Mime. Yay.

I’m really sorry about your life/undeath, NPC Ghost Girl.

Oh, neat. Lunar Wing.

I have no memory of which legendary that belongs to. I want to guess Cresselia, but I don’t know if it’s even in this game. I do know it’s a gen four legendary, which would make sense for the sidequest feel of this house.

Oh wait it doesn’t matter because Randomized Nuzlocke.

...Well fine, but I’d still like to know.

That makes me feel surprisingly sad.

One last door to check out. Empty but for Golett (want) and a Rare Candy. Time to leave.

Back outside there’s an Exeggcute I wouldn’t have wanted. The normal grass has Whismur.

There was a cave after all. Ugh. I can’t believe this counts as the same route as outside. Cave and grass should get to be different.

Heeey! Bianca! Wait, before we team up and I abuse your healing for exp, I need to check the other side of the cave.

Oh. The other side of the cave has a Max Repel and that’s it. Back to Bianca, I guess. And she’s psyched for Heatran, which is a very relatable feel.

Zoroark and Tangrowth for the first encounter of the cave. I say, pretending it matters. Stoutland can also be found here. Knowing their propensity for knowing Crunch, I think maybe something not Caspet can be in the front. Photon, gain your own exp for a change.

Crawdaunt is another feature. It’s a dark, Dark cave.

I was checking to see if Cerberus can learn Acrobatics. No, but he can learn Fly. You know, that classic Dodrio usage. Fly. Which he is absolutely learning.

Aww, a wild Togepi. It’s gone now.

I love getting to wander with someone who handles the healing. It’s so nice battling without stress. Also known as grinding without needing to use up items.

Haa. See, normally you’d be right, but.

Huh. There’s a Magikarp and a Weedle through a different passage. Neat. You will not be missed. Then we come across a bizarrely gen-appropriate pair of Tympole.

Can Triple Battles not be a thing? I don’t care for them. They make me worry. Arguably I could help myself by arranging my team so I would have a good comp for whenever I fell into one, but where would the fun in that sane choice be.

Dust clouds come with Munchlax. Neato.

We’re in a legendary’s nest. They’re all like this.

...Why can you find Luxray and Ninjask here???

Ditto for Steelix and Porygon. Yay for Randomizer randomizing every single room of an area. It’s cool, but in the larger places it can be really disorienting. A male Nidoran also says hello.

I don’t know where to find the Magma Stone to get Heatran, so we’re done with Reversal Mountain, I believe. Geez I hope that’s the name of this place. I’m too lazy to check at the moment.

I have escaped!

And found a Shiny Stone. Win.

I didn’t recognize this place, then I remembered. Water. Bay. Post-game trauma. They messed with the map to keep things interesting.

What.

My curiosity is piqued.

But I want to get something random in the waves before I investigate.

Um.

Well this is awkward.

Level 39.

Photon should not be out front for this. Nessy?

Okay. Nessy gets Regice in the red. Regice knows Curse and Ancient Power. I do have a Master Ball. I can’t deny that I’m seriously tempted by it, but we’re going to try doing this like a standard trainer first.

Net Ball doesn’t work because of course it doesn’t (I just wanted to use it because Surfing), and Regice knows Superpower. Ah yes, the Regis and their. Stuff. First Ultra Ball doesn’t get anywhere. Same for second. Icy Wind is Regice’s last move.

My team has no Fire or Fighting on it. I miss having those options.

Have I been able to buy Timer Balls anywhere? Those would be nice to have right about now, as my Ultra Ball supply dwindles.

I am out of Ultra Balls.

Look, Pokemon Go legendary catching can be rough. You only get so many balls, and even if you do everything perfectly, it still might run on you.

But you don’t end up spending twenty minutes trying to catch one thing.

Seconds after I type that:

Heeeeeyo.

What do I name it, though?

Refrigerator.

That doesn’t fit.

Refriger8r.

Okay, so I have to stock up on Ultra Balls, and possibly also healing options depending on my mood when I look at the prices. Then we go see what Undella Bay and Route 14 have to offer.

The Undella Pokemon Center only has Luxury and Dive Balls. :(

My beloved Timer. Where...?

And then I bought 50 Ultra Balls.

I’m going to sell some stuff.

Okay Bay, what do you have for me?

Yeah, I can make this work.

Assuming I don’t accidentally kill it.

Thank goodness for Nessy still knowing Twister. Gottem.

His name is now Zentrotta. I think we can agree he’d be happier if I hadn’t caught him. Tragedy at its finest.

Caspet is back up front, and for now Nessy will carry the Exp. Share. She’s not had much to go up against, so she’s lagging a tad.

Aw, there’s a little Deerling on the water. Aaand it’s gone.

Hello what is this.

Indeed.

...I have questions I can’t really make myself care about enough to type.

So this guy only moves if we beat him, and before we get the chance to beat him we have to pass some game-acknowledged strength test. I probably need another badge or something. But there’s enough ground to walk back and forth, so what have you got for me, Seaside Cave?

Cool beans.

Nessy, come help not kill it.

Yay, caught.

His name is Blimperton now. Welcome to the box.

Outside, the deep water spots can be Venomoth. How pleasant.

Jelli to you too, good sir.

Huh, okay, they just give you a random Jellicent encounter here.

Game. I was just trying to speed along to the Pokemon Center. Please.

Unfezant down, Simisage down, Vertex can be in for Samurott. Level 41, so I’m. not as overleveled as I usually am except for Caspet. Caspet has reached 47 and I don’t mind her being completely overpowered.

For an update, since I think I’m pretty bad about keeping track of their levels in this: Caspet is 47, Nessy is 43, Vertex is 43, Diego is 44, Photon is 45, Cerberus is 43. Everyone is healthy and alive.

Geez I hate Triple Battles. Random trainers don’t share my feelings. This is an annoyance.

ROTATION BATTLES AREN’T THAT MUCH BETTER, OTHER RANDOM TRAINER. STOP THINKING YOU’RE SPECIAL JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE AN ACE OR A COOL OR WHATEVER THE HECK YOUR TITLE IS I DIDN’T READ IT.

And I can’t continue down through Route 14 because there’s a block of people in the way. So I guess all that’s left to do is check out what the sequel to this route has in store for me.

Last game it did not have anything I wanted.

But this time...!

Eh. I’ll catch you I guess.

Her name’s Tux now.

Meanwhile, in the dark grass...

Yep.

Wormadam, too. Such grass. Much excite.

Off up to Route 13.

New route means yet another new pokemon. ...After we fight a bunch of trainers because I care more about levels than pokemon I’m hoping to never use at the moment.

Several minutes later, the only other trainers are through grass, so let’s go!

Eyo. I don’t think I’ve had you before.

Cerberus, are you up for helping?

Well, one hit almost took half your health. So let’s say no.

Nessy!

...You know, given the amount of damage it’s doing. I think I’m going to Surf and risk fainting before it kills Nessy. Aaand... yeah. Mienshao out.

This grass also has Sandile. And Cascoon.

Nothing I have knows Cut. Languish there for all days.

That Ranger wants a Triple Battle.

Why is this route like this.

Hey, a Heatran! Bianca, guess what!

Oh so you don’t need Cut. Meh. I’m not in the mood.

Professor Juniper and Bianca say hello in town. Bianca, walk about twenty steps to the right so you can find something neat. You’ll love it, promise.

But no, it’s time to listen to an old lady talk about the Giant Chasm. I don’t wanna do that, either. I want my badges. I maybe should have taken the aquarium route to speed that along, but I don’t know if that would actually do anything.

Wait, I was spamming A. Was there a directive in there?

Hm. I sense plot ahead.

This villain understands me.

Oh cool battle time.

Russell, buddy, you run almost as much as blondie scarf from gen 4. Take a chill pill. You have won all the good big brother points you possibly could just by caring about a Purrloin this long.

So everything’s telling us to go to Opelucid. For Dragons.

Hard pass, where’s the surfer Gym? Water sounds way friendlier. I’m going to see if that one’s blocked off or not.

DAMN IT.

The janitor won’t let us pass. ;-;

Okay fine, I guess we’re heading to Opelucid. And plot, probably. The plot is of no interest to me. This is true in pretty much every single one of these games. I’m in it for the pokemon. The human with their human troubles are way less fun.

New route! What will it have for us?

I had to embrace fun when I saw one of the grass patches shaking. Our first route with a wiggly grass option! And it is...?

I’ll gladly take it!

...If I can catch it!

...Preferably without anyone dying!

I’m going to let Photon take a stab. Crunch should be super effective, but Photon doesn’t have STAB adding to it, and Metagross has rocking Defense. So this might be pathetically sad, but nothing should die.

PHOTON.

FRIEND.

NOT FOOD.

Three Ultra Balls in, I am sad.

But we get it! Huzzah!

Its name is Stormy. :)

Ouch, Caspet’s trying to learn Destiny Bond.

Caspet?

You’re not dying. This is the definition of a useless move.

What else does this here grass hold when it’s not wiggling?

ELEKID. Noooo. Why must we always pass like ships in the night... Claydol is also here.

The dark grass’ first entry is Jynx and Magikarp. Chingling is also here. Buizel too.

Cerberus has learned Drill Peck! Oh happy days!

Normal grass has Vaporeon, Huntail, and Spinda to go with what we’ve already seen.

Vertex is moving up front, and Diego is getting the Exp. Share instead of Cerberus for the time being.

Another bridge, another route.

Another set of trainers that really make me want to have a Fire type.

There’s dark grass on one side of the bridge, normal grass on the other. A pass through on my bike didn’t get anything to pop out of the dark grass, so normal grass wins the prize for this route’s catch.

Before that, there are trainer battles.

Of the Triple variety.

yay

Ooooooh. I like this. I like this a lot.

Vertex, do not murder.

Vertex follows instructions, paralyzes Vileplume, and dodges getting poisoned twice. This is why he’s allowed to live. One Ultra Ball later, and new friend acquired.

Named... Bongo.

Geez, this grass also has Mamoswine. We’re not fighting that. The water’s dark spots get Zebstrika.

Uh.

So she shoves me out.

Rude. I’m the protagonist. I go where I want.

I’m starting to rush a little since this part is getting long and I haven’t even hit the badge town, but hey! I do remember this sequence! I remembered it belonging to a different game, but A for effort, right?

Made it to Opelucid.

Since the game itself suggests via Iris to go to Route 9 first, I’m guessing I should clear up anywhere that offers trainers to fight before trying the Gym. Dragon is a pain anyway. I don’t have anything except Nessy’s Twister that’s super effective against it. I think even at the level I’m at, it should be okay, but I also think it could go incredibly badly, which I don’t want.

But before that, Route 11 didn’t force me to go through any grass, so I still have a pokemon to catch there. Let’s watch.

Huh, interesting. ...Vertex, let’s swap you out before something unfortunate happens. Though it is level 36, and he does know Crunch... Yeah, we’re going to be stupid. Magnitude 7 doesn’t do a threatening amount of damage. Yay.

She is caught, and her name shall be Winn.

Now the other side of Opelucid, after healing up.

Miltank! But we have a Miltank. Next.

I like.

Vertex. Critical hits are for trainer battles. Sigh. Farewell, Route 9. I think we could have been great together, but alas. Now to go through all the everything else to do in this route and then go finally get the seventh badge.

Hm. I think maybe I’ll just get everyone on the team up to 50, then go for it. Nice, even number.

Other things of note: I have found a Mart with Quick Balls. The world is bright. But for now, grinding. ...Against Torchic and Deerling, apparently. Maybe I want other grass. Oh, but dude. Glaceon in the dark grass. Nice. Ha, randomized and still offering super effective options outside scary gyms. Golduck and Nidorina are here, too. And Braviary and Pansage.

-winds the clock forward a few hours-

K, we’ve got folks at level 50 now. So, Drayden?

Dragons.

Cerberus is going to sit in first for a while. He’s on the fragile side, but his Attack and Speed are good, and Flying should be neutral to everything in the Gym. Same cloth as Caspet, only physical. Nessy might take over just for the comfort of tankiness, but this is where we start.

First person in the Gym has one level 46 Fraxure.

Dragons are scary.

Oh fuck you.

Fuck. That’s partially on me. If I had used Drill Peck instead of Fly, Fraxure would have been busy Dragon Dancing and would have done zero damage. But I used Fly to try to hit Fraxure hard while avoiding any of its attacks, and.

Look, the screencap’s right there.

Fuck.

Nessy’s going in, under the theory that nothing on my team is going before Dragon Dance x2 Fraxure, but Nessy’s the most likely option for surviving.

It uses Taunt so it doesn’t matter.

Great.

Great.

Cerberus, I like Dodrio. An Adamant Dodrio? Wonderful. You will be missed. Fly will be missed. Many things about this feel awful.

Bye.

Stormy is a Jolly Metagross that’s a little quick tempered.

Welcome. You’ll be given the Exp. Share while your new friends try very hard to make it through the rest of this Gym without casualties.

-drums fingers-

With Dragon Dance being a move everything in this Gym is probably going to know, I do not want to play the long game with any of the trainers. I want to go in and kill everything in one hit.

...Caspet is in front.

-hides eyes behind hands-

-gives Caspet a Spell Tag-

One trainer down as planned.

IIIIIII hate this gym.

Druddigon has Crunch. Things to keep in mind.

So now we have the most obnoxious part of this Gym. I get to choose between Rotation and Triple Battle for the next peg up it. My usual path says I do both. In case you haven’t noticed, I hate Triple Battles. Doing one is not high on my list of desired outcomes.

But I’d feel weird avoiding it. Famous last words. -sigh- Caspet, Vertex, Nessy. That’s the order. Let’s do this.

Easy part done. Rotation Battle win. Ugh.

For the sake of my sanity, I’m giving Caspet all three of my Rare Candy. Yes, I have a favorite, yes, it’s the closest thing I have to a starter. If I’m putting her so close to the chopping block, I’m going to make sure she’s fully equipped. Druddigons are surviving to attack her right now, and that’s no bueno.

Triple Battle. Weeee.

It ends in a round because Caspet wins at life. Awesome. Okay.

All that’s left is Drayden.

This guy’s face is a lot less scary when it isn’t up close.

Sooooooo. Level 46 Druddigon is first. Shadow Ball finishes it. Flygon is next. ...That one, I think I can trust to Nessy. Flygon isn’t as much about hard hits.

Level 46 again. Crunch gets a critical hit that just barely keeps Nessy in the green, Nessy uses Surf. Surf brings Flygon to a sliver of red, so I go with Surf again. Hopefully Flygon’s other moves don’t do more damage than a critical hit Crunch, or Drayden feels like healing it.

Yeah, Drayden goes with a Hyper Potion.

...Flygon’s next Crunch gets a critical hit too, what the hell.

Surf after that faints it, though. So that’s two out of three down.

Drayden’s last pokemon is Haxorus. Nessy’s too far in the red to keep in without healing, and Haxorus is high on the Dragon Dance strat list. But if Caspet can’t get it in one hit, I’m pretty confident in Haxorus’ ability to fuck Caspet up.

But I’m honestly pretty confident in Haxorus’ ability to fuck my entire team up. Caspet would be the best bet for ending it fast. ...So, you know. Caspet. Go. Go. not die.

Level 48 Haxorus. Yaaaaaaaaaaay.

CASPET YOU BEAUTIFUL GHOST.

THAT’S BADGE SEVEN.

WE’RE NOT ALL ALIVE BUT ENOUGH OF US ARE.

AND I WAS PREWARNED ABOUT GETTING TALKED TO OUTSIDE ABOUT UNOVA’S MYTHOLOGY, BUT FOR NOW THIS PART IS OVER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

[09876567890]

I’m working on the next chapter of my fanfiction and I think the following conversation might be the best thing I’ve ever written:

"The only Pokemon confirmed to have two different Mega Evolutions is Charizard,” Gary informed them. “There are rumors about Mewtwo, but... well, it's not like we can confirm that Mewtwo even can Mega Evolve in the first place."

"Why not?" Ash said, sounding surprised.

"Why don't you try getting that thing into a Pokeball?"

"Oh..."

Ash paused, then said, "Well, can't you just ask it if it can Mega Evolve?"

This got a sigh of annoyance from Drew and a preposterous laugh from Gary. Misty, meanwhile, gazed back at Ash with an expression of deep thought.

"Okay, Ash, you tell me once you've managed to find Mewtwo and somehow gotten it to talk to you," Gary said, shaking his head. "You do realize that some researchers debate whether Mewtwo even actually ex- "

"Okay," Ash said, shrugging. "I'll tell you. I've found Mewtwo and gotten it to talk to me."

"What the- when?" Gary said, disbelief plain on his face.

Ash shrugged. "I dunno, four years ago?" He glanced at Misty for confirmation, and she nodded. "Yeah. I was still traveling with Brock and Misty. We found it up on a mountain or something."

"Mt. Quena," Misty supplied. "He's telling the truth, Gary. Do you even know how many Legendary and Mythical Pokemon we encountered when we traveled together?"

"I met even more on my other journeys," Ash added. "Let's see... Mewtwo, Entei, Lugia, Ho-oh, Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno, Suicune, Raikou, Celebi, Groudon, Kyogre, Regice, Registeel, Regirock, Manaphy, Phione, Mew, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Azelf, Uxie, Mesprit, Dialgia, Palkia, Giratina, Shaymin, Heatran, Regigigas, Cresselia, Darkrai, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Virizion, Terrakion, Cobalion, Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, Meloetta, Victini, Jirachi, Genesect, Diancie, Hoopa, Deoxys, Volcanion, Magearna... yeah... I think that's about it." He frowned. "Oh, and Arceus."

By now, everyone in the room was staring at him, dumbfounded.

"I think..." Professor Oak blinked in shock. "I think that's... literally all of them."

[thatvideogamezoo]

I mostly only have Sun & Moon cards, but I have a few cards from other sets people have traded me.

This is also a work in progress that will change; I already have plans on what to change when Guardians Rising releases.

But yeah, my current Pokemon TCG deck list (Standard Format).

Deck Name: I’m Doug

Affinity: Water/Dark

Sandile x2 (Sun & Moon 83/149) Krokorok x2 (Sun & Moon 84/149) Krookodile x2 (Sun & Moon 85/149) Carvanha x2 (Sun & Moon 81/149) Sharpedo x2 (Sun & Moon 82/149) Eevee x1 (Sun & Moon 101/149) Umbreon GX x1 (Sun & Moon 80/149) Pyukumuku x4 (Sun & Moon 47/149) Regice x1 (XY Ancient Origins 24/98) Glaceon EX x1 (XY Fates Collide 116/124) Great Ball x3 (Sun & Moon 119/149) Nest Ball x2 (Sun & Moon 123/149) Poison Barb x4 (Sun & Moon 124/149) Pokemon Catcher x2 (Sun & Moon 126/149) Ilima x2 (Sun & Moon 121/149) Lillie x3 (Sun & Moon 122/149) Hau x2 (Sun & Moon 120/149) Professor Kukui x2 (Sun & Moon 128/149) Red Card x1 (XY 124/146) Bursting Balloon x1 (XY Breakpoint 97/122) Escape Rope x2 (XY Primal Clash 127/160) Professor’s Letter x2 (XY Breakthrough 146/162) Water Energy x5 Darkness Energy x6 Dangerous Energy x2 (XY Ancient Origins 82/98) Double Colorless Energy x3 (Sun & Moon 136/149)

The idea of this deck is to “punish players for playing the game.”

Pyukumuku deals 60 damage when KOed, Sharpedo deals 30 damage when attacked, Dangerous Energy deals 20 damage if attached to a Dark Pokemon that is attacked, Glaceon EX prevents damage from Evolved Pokemon, Regice prevents damage from EX Pokemon, Poison Barb poisons, Burting Balloon deals 60 damage if the attached Pokemon us attacked, Red Card and Ilima force the opponent to draw a new hand, Escape Rope and Pokemon Catcher force the opponent to switch, and Krookodile punished the opponent for having a lot of cards. The rest are for card draw, retrieval, and heavy hitter Pokemon.

It’s not the best deck, but it’s a deck I like to play, because I just force the opponent to hurt themselves or do nothing just by playing the game in most situations.

That, and sometimes Pyukumuku can flip for 210 damage sometimes.

[gaycey-sketchit]

(Gary anon) Probably won't be waiting long, Project Mew itself starts on June 18th. A few scenes from its trailer that had him weren't shown yet, so this is likely where they'll turn up. (Though I think he's just a small part, since this is likely Goh's trial mission; aka Regice) And that squeeze from their handshake, hoping for more in-sync moments like that and just being bros. Maybe giving us a taste how they used to be before their fallout during their rivalry. (I wonder if a battle

(Part Deux) is still possible with them; felt the chances of it went down a bit or at least isn't happening no time soon) It really depends if Project Mew is a brief arc or a new chapter. Ash is in Ultra class now, they can't sideline that without more complaints. (Tracey speaking again isn't impossible, just highly unlikely. And if he does, might just be a few lines) It also further explains why people have different accents; once you get how the language works. Like the ability to roll R's

(Part 3) He's not a person that stays in one spot, that was clear since day 1. And it's very clear that he does a lot when he's not onscreen, to the point of being an overachiever. Willing to take on anything that's thrown at him. I love how they had him greet Pikachu and pet Grookey, reminds me of the few times get to see him physically interact with Pokemon or bend down to their level. (Probably not. Mewtwo in general doesn't seem very known outside of a few people; not just

(Part 4) from mind-wiping but also it choosing to be a recluse. Those who do know of it promised to keep their mouths shut. This isn't to say he can't try though) To be fair, Ash's Pokemon stick out the most on that ranch. xD We never get to see Gary's, outside of Doduo. It's be nice to see both groups interact. (I'm sure he'll do fine reprising Gary; despite the big VA dub change of 2008, Gary's lines in particular never felt like they "changed" like certain other characters do)

That's so soon! Excited to see how it plays out. Even if his role is minor I'll still be happy to see him again, I have missed him so much.

Yeah, that was such a small thing but it means so much to me. They're so precious and I love how close they are.

A friendly battle probably isn't out of the question! Here's hoping, I want to see Pikachu vs Umbreon so much.

True, true. I'm not too worried about Ash getting sidelined at the moment since I'm sure there's a way to balance things.

Yeah, the continued acknowledgement that Tracey exists means he does stand a tiny chance at getting to be present and say words again, even if it isn't super likely. Holding out hope.

Yeah, it's interesting stuff! (And the differences in accents even among people who speak the same language fascinate me--as someone from the southeastern US I know my accent sounds pretty different even from those of other people living in different parts of the same country, and even more different from those in other English-speaking countries.)

He really is always moving, ADHD icon. And yeah, he definitely has overachiever tendencies considering he beat ten gyms in Kanto and was still taking on an eleventh. Probably at least partly because he has the Oak Family Legacy to live up to.

Yeah, his interactions with Pokemon outside battles are so wholesome and that was nice to see. He even called Grookey cute!

That's unfortunate. At least I can say I wrote a fic where he encounters Mewtwo again and they talk, so the closure exists in my heart (and on my AO3 page).

That's definitely true. They've got some big personalities, and it's also hard to miss thirty Tauros.

That Doduo really is the only Pokemon of Gary's we've seen just chilling at the lab... with how many Pokemon he's caught it's surprising we haven't seen more of them there. Maybe someday.

I'll give Carter Cathcart some credit, he's done an excellent job voicing Gary since day one (and for some reason he's like, the only VA from the 4Kids dub who wasn't replaced when TPCI took the dub over?) so he should be able to get back into it just fine.

[otnesse]

Reply to BringsYouWings

Responding to BringsYouWings regarding her reply to my reblog on Together Forever.

Did you see how massive her gym got? She’s doing a great job as Gym Leader with lots of Water Types to train– being a Pokemon Master is a very undefined goal! But getting close enough to a Water Type to Mega Evolve has gotta be bringing her closer to that.

Yeah, I saw that, and I also knew about her mega-evolving her Gyarados before that as well thanks to the Televi-Kun bit. Heck, part of the reason I'm really looking forward to her gym battle with Ash is because hopefully she'll restore honor to herself and to all Gym Leaders as well especially after what the idiot writers did with them in AG.

Unfortunately, after how Hoenn and Unova's Gym Leaders got the whole reputation of Gym Leaders being skilled trainers irreparably tarnished, and how even Sinnoh's Gym Leaders, who definitely were somewhat competent, only got to be competent by a downgrade in Pikachu and Ash's competency where they lost to them despite their having beating a freaking Regice beforehand, I'm very cynical about the Gym Leader profession in the Anime as a result, and especially regarding how Misty's Water Pokémon Master goal most likely won't be fulfilled while she's Gym Leader.

To explain exactly what's driving me to think that, let me bring in an anecdote regarding, say, Team Rocket. In particular episode 3, the second episode they were in. Jessie, James, and Meowth managed to defeat Ash's Pidgeotto, blindsided Pikachu, and they had the advantage in EVERYTHING, even if they didn't resort to two-against-one in a cheap match against Ash. The only Pokémon he has left is Caterpie, which aside from being completely inexperienced, but was also weak enough to be captured without even a fight, and more importantly was near-DEAD thanks to earlier events (it had only one battle under its belt, the aforementioned Pidgeotto which nearly got it killed and eaten for breakfast due to Ash's complete idiocy). By contrast, Ekans, Koffing, and Meowth were a LOT more experienced than Caterpie (at least in the dub of Island of the Giant Pokémon, they were under Jessie and James' team for a whole year before the events of the anime), had the type advantage, and even managed to take out the pokemon that gave it trouble earlier. And in Meowth's case, he was probably with them for even longer than that. Despite all of that, Caterpie not only beat them, it utterly, completely humiliated them easily. Thanks to that loss, Team Rocket got a reputation of being grossly incompetent trainers not only among the fanbase, but based on some barbs by Misty and some other characters, even in-universe, and this was despite their first appearance having them be formidable enough to actually have wanted signs requesting their capture.

You might be wondering, okay, what does that have to do with the Gym Leaders, and by extension Misty? Well, thanks to that so-called Fresh Start for AG, Ash started using completely rookie-based teams against the Gym Leaders of each region after Johto, exempting Pikachu (which is a whole other issue in itself thanks to the writers loving to do pointless level resets on him, with BW being the worst of them). It initially started out a bit well, as Roxanne at least lost to Pikachu, a confirmed veteran, and Brawley managed to completely beat Ash and Ash winning on a retry (the only Gym Leader in Hoenn to ever do so if I might add. I'm not counting Norman, because they needed an excuse to force Ash to go the route of the games, especially when he obviously isn't Ash's father unlike Brendan/May). As soon as they got to Flannery, however, it completely fell apart as each and every single one of the Gym Leaders started losing far too easily to his rookie team (and in the case of Wattson, both Ash and Wattson seemed to outright cheat during the fight, the former with Pikachu being supercharged, and the latter with his using a robotic Raikou.). That reminds me far too much of what happened to Team Rocket in Episode 3. I could tolerate it with Team Rocket, since I am sort of expecting that bit even if I don't like it. I CANNOT tolerate it with Gym Leaders, however, since they're supposed to be leagues above that kind of mockery. DP does slightly better, where Ash actually DOES have to work on actually beating the Gym Leaders with various retries, and tying in one case, with his rookie team. Unfortunately, while it does allow for good development for his Sinnoh-Mons, it came at the cost of shafting Ash and especially Pikachu themselves, considering Pikachu ends up losing to the gym leaders considering that same Pikachu managed to completely wipe the floor with Brandon's Regice, so, while a slight improvement, it's not enough to truly redeem them. Then BW came along and proceeded to turn Ash into a huge-scale idiot that even made OS Ash seem like a bona-fide genius by comparison. That bit, alongside them redoing the whole "let's have the rookies trash most of the Gym Leaders like they were tissue paper" plotline for all of them, save for the infamous Palpitoad gym match, made the Unova Gym Leaders out as being even WORSE than the Hoenn Gym Leaders. And the Hoenn Gym Leaders and how they were depicted was an ESPECIALLY sore point for me because of the fact that this was right after the writers callously forced Misty to abandon her goal by having her sisters completely irresponsibly leave the gym to her while they went on a cruise, since it seemed to imply that they are thinking, "Misty's so weak we should make her a gym leader and be a punching bag to a bunch of rookies! Ha ha ha!" This is a really disgusting treatment for even a decent trainer, much less one who explicitly wanted to be a Water Pokémon Master in the OS.

This is in direct contrast to the Original Series Gym Leaders where, Misty's sisters aside, the gym leaders (even Team Rocket in their brief stint as Gym Leaders) were complete and utter beasts on the battlefield (Brock was formidable enough that Ash had to supercharge Pikachu just to even have a shot at winning after beating him with minimum effort. Lt. Surge managed to wipe the floor with at least sixteen trainers prior to Ash in a month, and did so with such viciousness that many of his opponents had to be sent to the Emergency Room afterwards. Sabrina's psychic powers, let alone her skills, were such was that even challenging her is essentially commiting suicide, and Blane, a trainer who was largely apathetic, actually managed to completely trounce Ash with his Magmar, and overall ALL of them gave Ash a complete run for his money. Heck, even Team Rocket, who ordinarily are joke characters since Episode 3, managed to take a level in badass when they became Gym Leaders temporarily. Even in Johto, Ash mainly got his easier wins via veterans such as Charizard, Bulbasaur, and Pikachu, showing them to still be very proficient at battling.). In fact, of all the series after the Original Series, the only one that actually comes close to restoring a Gym Leader's honor was in XY, where many of them managed to trounce Ash without Ash or Pikachu looking bad as a result, and even the one who did lose on the first try against his Kalos Pokemon had an explicit handicap.

So yeah, now you know EXACTLY why I'm not happy with how Misty's a gym leader, and why I want her to pursue her goal again. And even ignoring that, let me point out that there's a whole argument made by DBZ Fan on how, even ignoring all of the above, being a Gym Leader won't get her far in her Water Pokemon Master goal in the long run, as you can read here: https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=336960 Long story short, you'd need to be an Elite 4 member or even Champion level before you can come close to becoming a Pokemon Master, or even a Water Pokemon Master (and we know that's the level since Misty fangirled Lorelei, an Elite 4 member, in the Orange Islands). Besides, did Ash become a Battle Frontier brain? No he didn't, and he certainly never settled down to become a Gym Leader either.

Hopefully, I've made things far more clear this time around, at least enough to not question why I think she shouldn't be held up in the gym anymore.