#also raihan gets done better in the game and sonia gets to do more and-

[perenlop]

its kinda crazy to think about, but i think the anime version of the darkest day arc was the most faithful adaptation to the original game arc? which is crazy because otherwise jn is allergic to doing anything with galar.

[voidpunkanathema]

if not already asked, leon for the character ask :) basic but opinions vary!

(Also asked by @shinekittenace)

Why I like them: I fully expected this guy with his John Cena-esque go getter attitude and aggressively marketable ace to annoy the shit out of me, but the truth is is that hating Leon is like hating a puppy. You just can't. He's just a nice fuckin dude that wants to keep everyone safe even though he's just one man. There's also the fact that he's essentially a grown up ex-protagonist which the game delves into a little with his complicated emotions surrounding losing the title he's had since he was eleven by the end of the game and the fandom's done some FASCINATING psychological deep dives with. 

Why I don’t: I feel like GameFreak failed a bit with show don't tell with him. Some of the ways GameFreak try to make him seem really intelligent and capable are...a little on the nose to say the least. Like for instance him estimating how much Hop has grown during his introduction scene COULD be taken as a hint they don't get to see each other often but nah I really do suspect they wanted the kiddies to be like WOW THIS GUY IS SO SMART HE CAN DO MATH lol. I do kiiiind of suspect the fandom put more effort into analyzing the guy and the kind of havoc being a massive celebrity since the age of 11 can wreak on your personal life than GameFreak ever did but that's very much not a bad thing IMHO. I'm not one of those IF IT'S NOT STRICT CONFIRMED CANON IT'S OF THE DEVIL people (and honestly rather detest them) 

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I...don't think the Anime showcased the better sides of his personality well (he loses the protective streak and just kind of comes off like a self-absorbed manchild that everyone loves because he can defy basic Pokemon battle logic in the same way Ash can. He's a protagonist But Annoying This Time) so I'm not terribly interested in seeing more. 

Favorite season/movie: See above. 

Favorite line: Tbh I don't have one particular standout one immediately coming to mind and I'm feeling too lazy to go through his quotes page rn. His catchphrase IS fun to meme about I will say. 

Favorite outfit: He absolutely kills everything that's not the Sponsorship Cape tbh. The guy has GOOD fashion sense despite the memes, corporate was just holding him back. 

OTP: Raihan/Piers/Leon for reasons I already went into in the Raihan response lol (the vibes between him and Rai are interesting and pretty damn hard to deny but Piers is holding up 90% of my mental health on his bony little shoulders rn and also I wanna see him and Leon interact more) I'd also love he and Sonia to work thier shit out, they are cute as FUCK together in Pokespe 

Brotp: The platonic Raileon enjoyer strikes again. Id also certainly take he and Piers being bros too. Also he and Nemona would be absolutely insufferable together and I'd love to see it someday lol 

Head Canon: One thing that was inspired the anime and a certain infamous wall punching scene is that through no real fault of his own he and Raihan's relationship was actually dangerously close to fraying for a bit. He WANTS to be a good and supportive friend to his favorite person but he's gotten fame and empty adoration pretty much handed to him for long enough that he can't REALLY understand what's going on in Raihan's head, the immense pressure he's putting himself under and the frankly unhealthy behaviors he's starting to develop. It's gonna take the pressure of the championship being gone for Leon to stop being the impossible standard Raihan's harming himself with and start being an uncomplicated source of companionship again. On a brighter note he's a good enough guy that once he becomes Chairman he's gonna prove he deserves that position by taking steps to reverse Rose's power consolidation to make sure no one person can cause that much trouble for the nation of Galar again. He'll prove his worthiness to rule by NOT being a total corporate dictator. 

Unpopular opinion: I've bitched about finding him annoying in the anime enough so instead I'll say I actually don't mind how involved he was in the game plot, it's honestly kind of weird other adults HAVEN'T been like "why are we letting random ten year olds go into very dangerous situations unaccompanied" before if you think about it

A wish: The same as the others, I'd love to see him again IF he's not miserable or acting like an ass. 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Don't get lost in spacetime my neurodivergent king you've been through enough 🤞🤞🤞

5 words to best describe them: The tragedy of Superman, Pokemonned. 

My nickname for them: Lee suffices.

[torterragarden]

For character ask, forgive me if you've done this one already- uhhh how about Leon?

Surprisingly I don't think I have done this for him yet lol so thank you!

First impression: That is. a really ugly outfit. He's a bit obnoxious but hopefully he grows on me

Impression now: Well fuck he sure grew on me and now he's my favorite Champion lol. I just think what Leon represents in the story is really cool and he's definitely one of the better things about swsh as a whole. Having him be your rival/bestie's older brother adds a really interesting layer both to your relationship with Leon and your relationship with Hop, the way he parallels the player and is basically a different version of us, like the protag we never got to play as, the way he's almost the hero of the story but isn't actually, because his story is ending as yours is beginning. It's just really neat! I like how much build up he gets throughout the game so when you finally get to battle him it actually feels really cool, and whoever decided his battle theme should be a remix of the hall of fame theme has the biggest brain at Gamefreak it really elevates the whole event even more. And okay, his outfit isn't actually that bad, I actually like the shirt and I had my protag wear it a lot in the game, I've come to realize that the problem with Leon's outfit is really just the cape. I get that it's supposed to look tacky but god it's really ugly and clashes with everything else. When he takes the cape off the outfit is Fine. Not amazing but like it's Fine

Favorite moment: There's a lot of subtle moments with Leon that I like but my favorite is. a bit hard to explain. It's when you're supposed to fight him the first time, right before we get interrupted by Rose starting the apocalypse or whatever, and Leon says this to you: "The tense, still air on the pitch... And the exact opposite from the audience, cheering and yelling... They're both fantastic, wouldn't you say? But remember, the audience is also a bit cruel... They want nothing more than to see one of us lose, after all! It can fill you with fear knowing that, but I absolutely love pushing past the fear. I love giving it everything I've got as a Trainer and seeing my team give everything they've got to seize another victory! It's the greatest feeling in the world, and I can't get enough of it!" I really can't explain why even to myself, but it was reading these lines that really made Leon click into place for me and when I realized. Oh I do like him a lot actually. But yeah I couldn't tell you why

Idea for a story: One day I'm gonna write about his and Sonia's Gym Challenge. One day

Unpopular opinion: Leon's ace being Charizard does make sense. I didn't like it at first either but that's cause I didn't get it. Leon is meant to be us, and a lot of us started with gen 1 and Charizard was the most popular starter, so Leon has a Charizard. Yeah it's still pandering, but at least it's pandering with thematic purpose so I've come around on it. Let the man have his Charizard

Favorite relationship: Him and Hop are very sweet of course though a bit sad at the start of the game, also his relationship with Sonia is really interesting and leaves so much room for interpretation and headcanons, I really wish it had been explored more in the actual game but that's swsh for you I guess lol. Also applies to his relationships with Raihan and Nessa. At least we have Masters for all that

Favorite headcanon: Leon's Charizard knows Ancient Power, which is a move Charmander can only learn through breeding, so I like to think his Charmander was a gift from Sonia when they were kids, she bred it to know Ancient Power and Leon never replaced that move

[crystalelemental]

Alright then, I’ll take a look.

STRIKER (3)

Cynthia (3/5) - Okay, you know I have to advocate for her.  Cynthia’s stupid good, 5/5 makes her so wildly self-sufficient it’s hilarious.  That said, 5/5 depends on how much you care about Gauntlet, and Sand Alert 5.  Her power is at 3/5, and you actually give up a bit of strength for self-sufficiency.  It’s not actually a necessary trade.

Raihan (3/5) - How do you feel about Raihan right now?  I know he’s EX.  Does he consistently get the job done?  If yes, 5/5 is a waste of your resources.  The benefits are wild upgrades on his sync damage, and some speed debuffing utility, but it’s not entirely needed.

Steven (1/5) - To 3/5?  Sure.  Haymaker and Aggravation are fairly nice tools.  To 5/5?  God no.  His 5/5 expansion right now sucks ass, I have no idea what their game plan was here.

SS Red (2/5) - You have Leon.  Leon is just better SS Red with worse setup.  I can’t argue in favor of Red.

Summer Gloria (1/5) - I was going to say if she’s a favorite it’s probably worth it, but she actually gains very little on her grid, so I’m kinda like...maybe not Summer Gloria.

SS Leon (2/5) - Okay, I don’t have this guy, but my wife does.  And I’m kinda blown away at how bad 1/5 seems.  I know he’s got a bit of the Gloria issue of needing the foe to sync, but it’s still really bad.  I’d say this one’s relatively worth it, if you really want him.  But Dragon-type damage is a pretty easy one to cover with Cyrus.  And Zinniquaza, I guess.

Summer Steven (1/5) - Pfft, no.  No.  Ancient grid with like nothing of value, doesn’t even get Aggravation.  I run him, but I shouldn’t.

Emmet (2/5) - Gets Aggravation, sync multiplier, and the ability to set Sand on first sync.  I think it’s worth it, especially with Rock being so hard to shop for.

SC Sonia (1/5) - If you like Sonia, and you’re mostly using her for Grass-type damage, then 3/5 is wildly worth it.  She gets fantastic tools that offer much improved damage, and some nice utility in Defense Crush.  I don’t use her outside of Gauntlet, but you know.

SS Hilda (2/5) - 3/5 gets Rising Tide and Super Sync 9, which is just hysterical levels of firepower.  I know you have Leon, I assume preference goes to him for Fire damage, so she’s not entirely worth it in that context.  But also it’s really funny.

Leon (1/5) - Leon’s grid’s bad.  He doesn’t really gain much of anything from it.  Truth be told, I’ve used Leon a few times now, even off-type, and 1/5 is doing him just fine.  The extra burst damage of a Max Move really adds a lot of depth to him, so I don’t see this as being necessary.

Alder (2/5) - Bug damage is hard to come by, so it’s an option, but I feel like Alder’s kind of a rough option until 4/5 when he gets a reasonable multiplier on Hyper Beam.  But I dunno.  Personally, I’m waiting for Lusamine grid expansion.  Next month, maybe.  But it’s not bad.

SS Giovanni (1/5) - Now this is worth it.  As a known SS Giovanni Hater (TM), I’ll still say that for CS purposes, this dude is strong.  Critical Crit and Haymaker are tremendous tools, but he gets all his good multipliers on his already obscene damage.  Also, Hit the Gas stacks with the move damage improvement from higher move levels.  Like if you gain 10 points of damage, Hit the Gas makes it so you gained 15.  It’s really worth it.

Anni Steven (1/5) - Probably not worth it.  The only thing I’d say he gains that’s really useful is Fleet Feet and the MGRs on Dragon Ascent.  Oh, and Weather Wipe for Moltres, but that’s a tough one to pull off consistently.  Anni Steven isn’t much of a powerhouse, he’s more supplemental DPS. 

TECH (2)

Lucas (1/5) - Okay, unless he has any intention of being a primary damage dealer, no.  He’s fine as just the Zone setter.

Anni Raihan (3/5) - 5/5 gets him Sun extension, which is nice if he’s aiming to support Leon I guess.  But I don’t think it’s strictly necessary.

Anni May (3/5) - No way.  4/5 has some arguable utility, but it’s so wildly not enough to justify candy.

H!Iris (1/5) - Did you pick up Emma?  I can’t remember.  If no, definitely, Poison’s so hard to shop for.  If you have Emma, H!Iris can be supplemental.  Her 3/5 is mostly her nuke, and guaranteed special defense drops, which...they’re fine I guess.

Bede (1/5) - You EX’d him, right?  Then yeah, take it to 3/5.  Get your sync multipliers, he gets some hilarious utility across Psychic and Fire teams, and is an unbelievably good debuff bot.  I hate to say it, but I respect Bede in this game.

Eevee Lyra (1/5) - Water is super easy to shop for, there’s no need.  I had to 2/5 her just to get Muddy Water to hit consistently in Gauntlet, but I can’t recommend it for sane people.

SS N (1/5) - I mean...he gets slightly improved setup, and access to his two shitty multipliers.  Sure I guess.  Actually wait.  Are you getting SC Steven?  If yes I have a request, and it involves candying SS N.  Stack Physical Moves Up Next on N and see how stupid the numbers are.  That’s gotta be funny.  (Don’t actually do this)

SUPPORT (4)

SS Brendan (1/5) - I do not like Brendan.  But this alt is really good.  He’s got a metric ton of useful traits, so I think 3/5 is definitely worth it.

Aura Cynthia (1/5) - Same as above.  Cynthia’s just stupid good as a wall.  The main reason to do this for her is that she can now buff crit rate, use double Potion MPR, and apply paralysis.  It opens a lot up.

Evelyn (1/5) - Maybe if she had EX, I’d say 3/5 was worth it for Synchro Healing.  I will say, Fire Teamwork stacked with Leon’s passive is funny, it’s just that Evelyn...can’t buff Leon’s needed offenses worth beans.  So I don’t think they’re actually a good comp.  I dunno, she’s hard to justify.

Regirock (1/5) - Same deal but way worse because Regirock is a disaster.

Mesprit (1/5) - I’m biased.  We all know I’m biased?  Okay good.  2/5 Mesprit’s pretty fun.  That’s what I have, and you get access to Tighten Up and Toughen Up 3, which aren’t fantastic odds, but they’re passable when you have dual screens.  Freevenge, and the ability to buff special attack to crit with some speed bonus too, and Synchro Healing by default?  Mesprit’s really nice.  3/5 is relatively justifiable, since you get MPR on both screens, and can even guaranteed boost Def/Sp Def with each use of them.  Depending.  Energy constraints.  But it’s surprisingly versatile, considering how bad the other Master BP units are.

RECOMMENDATIONS If you’re looking to use everything, my recommendation for Striker is probably SS Giovanni to 3/5, and either Alder or Emmet to 3/5, depending on how much you need Bug-type damage.  Giovanni gets by far the most bang for your buck among the strikers, covering three types really well for CS.  Alder doesn’t gain a ton, but he finally gets multipliers of some variety that Viola can help set up, while Emmet gets Aggravation and some more Sand-related stuff.  You can buff SS Leon or SS Hilda to 3/5, but I feel like their types are well covered.

You don’t have a ton of Tech candy, so I’m gonna say Bede or or H!Iris to 3/5.  If you stick to Giovanni, Iris is likely not necessary, because he’ll handle CS Poison stages for you just fine.  Bede’s EX and has the potential for really good damage and support at 3/5, so I actually consider him the more dynamic pick.  Iris is just if you really need Poison damage.

With four support candy, I think Brendan and Cynthia are the obvious picks.  The Master BP units tend to be underwhelming and not that significant, and while I will defend 2/5 Mesprit’s honor to the death, I don’t know that I can recommend it against the other options.

tl;dr SS Gio to 3/5 Emmet or Alder to 3/5 Bede to 3/5 SS Brendan to 3/5 Aura Cynthia to 3/5

Here’s the candy options, @crystalelemental when you got time. Hope you don’t mind handwriting, I’m at work so this was easier. Don’t worry, it’s a slow day XD

After this part could I also request some sync grids off you? Some might be repeats, I’ve lost track a bit…

[mala-sadas]

On the Legendary Wolves’ Plot in Pokéspe SWSH

I really like the way the legendary wolves’ plot is being handled in Pokespe so far. They’ve made a handful of changes and additions to the plot as it’s presented in the games that make it feel integral to the main characters and the overarching story, as well as just being more interesting to follow.

Part of the reason why this plotline is weak in the games is because it’s presented as just a minor subplot. You occasionally get more information about what really happened as you progress through the game, but it doesn’t seem important for you to pay attention to it until you get to the climax and Rose reveals that he’s caused the Darkest Day. Even though you encounter Zacian or Zamazenta in the Slumbering Weald at the beginning of the game, it’s not until Circhester that Hop connects that encounter to the legend you’re unraveling. And in the grand scheme of things, all that encounter does is confirm that the sword and shield Pokémon live in the Slumbering Weald - which Sonia apparently also learns about in a book that mentions Zacian and Zamazenta by name. So, why was it necessary, again?

But right out of the gate, Spe immediately ties the legendary wolves into the main characters’ backstory and motivations. A year prior to the beginning of the chapter, Sou goes to the Slumbering Weald to try to find the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield. He knows about them – and has an interest in them – because he’s from a family of swordsmiths, and he wants to see genuine, historical pieces of armor in person. Meanwhile, Schilly goes to the Weald to look for a Wishing Star that she had seen falling, since she wants to get it made into a Dynamax Band. The pair encounter the illusory Zacian and Zamazenta, and Sou immediately comes to the conclusion that these two are here to protect the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield – a conclusion supported by the fact that when they walk through the illusions to try to take a look at the artifacts, they’re knocked out by a flash of light. When they awaken, the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield are gone - as are all of Schilly’s Pokémon. Sou decides to start traveling with Schilly because he feels partly responsible for her Pokémon going missing, and Schilly decides to compete in the Gym Challenge to spread the word about her missing Pokémon and make it easier for her to find them. Additionally, it’s later revealed that Sou decided to participate in the Gym Challenge so he can get stronger and challenge Zacian and Zamazenta to a battle, believing that they’ll only allow someone with skill as a Trainer and an earnest desire to see the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield to see the artifacts in person.

So, in short, the reason why Sou and Schilly met and their respective reasons for taking on the Gym Challenge are both intrinsically linked to their encounter with the legendary wolves. This makes the wolves’ presence relevant throughout the whole story, ensuring that the reader doesn’t forget about the encounter by the time it becomes relevant again. (I also appreciate that they gave the wolves a concrete reason to appear before the protags in the Weald, something which the games and anime never really bothered to provide.)

Additionally, the decision to introduce the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield right away instead of saving their introduction for the climax like what happens in the games was a really smart choice. First, it ties directly into Sou’s interests, giving him a good reason to be interested in the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield as well as the other legends involving swords and shields. Second, it allows the characters to link together the encounter with Zacian and Zamazenta to the information they’re learning about the legends - Sou observes that the sword and shield held by the statue of the hero in Motostoke as well as the sword and shield depicted on the Hammerlocke tapestries resemble the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, suggesting that the legends have a connection to the artifacts. And when I say “suggesting”, I don’t just mean in the sense that it’s something you can interpolate from the text. I mean that Sou literally says, “It’s not entirely unlikely that the three are all the same,” and Raihan brings up later that if they’re the same sword and shield, the legendary wolves may be connected to these events in some way as well.

This is another thing that I really appreciate about the way that Pokéspe is handling this plotline: the characters actually speculate, hypothesize, and draw conclusions about the evidence that they’re being presented with. In the games, most of the encounters with Sonia just involve you pointing out incredibly obvious things about the historical artifact/legend, and Sonia agreeing that they’re significant. She asks a lot of questions, but doesn’t postulate answers to them unless they’re directly being shown to you. And even some of the conclusions she draws seem like leaps of logic, like when she assumes that the statue behind the Stow-on-Side mural must be correct because it was made in “truly ancient times” - like, we just discovered this statue, Sonia. We have no idea how old it is.

But in Spe, the characters draw logical conclusions from the information they have, which means they can figure things out a lot faster than they do in the games and makes the conversation interesting to read whenever they learn new information. For example, Sou speculates that the sword and shield wielded by the hero might’ve had special powers, which is true. How did he figure this out? He explains that he thought about it because the hero used them to fight giant, rampaging Pokémon, which is a bit difficult to accomplish with a normal sword and shield.

Another great example of this is in Hammerlocke vault, when Sou guesses that Chairman Rose wants to cause the Darkest Day. One might think that he’s figuring things out way too quickly, but the thing is, this conclusion makes perfect sense given the information he has. While looking at the tapestries, Sou notices that the first one depicts a Wishing Star falling and the second one depicts the Darkest Day occurring. Thus, he guesses that Wishing Stars might have caused the Darkest Day, a hypothesis that Sonia agrees with because they’ve already figured out that the Darkest Day has a connection to Dynamaxing, and Wishing Stars cause Dynamaxing. But Sou had previously learned from Bede that Chairman Rose is collecting a massive amount of Wishing Stars, so it’s only natural that his next thought would be to wonder if Chairman Rose is - advertently or inadvertently - going to cause the Darkest Day again. This immediately ties the Rose plot in with the legendary wolves’ plot, a connection that doesn’t start to be made until your third visit to Hammerlocke in the games.

In general, the Hammerlocke vault scene is way better in Spe than it is in the games, where all you get is Sonia saying that the disaster depicted is probably the Darkest Day and wondering if there was one hero or two. Besides the conclusions that I already mentioned, Sonia also connects the disaster shown in the tapestries to the disaster shown in the Turffield geoglyph, concluding that they’re both depictions of the Darkest Day. However, Sou points out the lack of giant Pokémon in the tapestries, which are always associated with the Darkest Day. I really like how they point out both the similarities and the differing details between the stories, which makes it a little more understandable why no one has ever put together that this myth of the creation of Galar and the legend of the Darkest Day might be referring to the same event.

Finally, the last major improvement that I want to talk about is the one that was introduced in the latest chapter: an explanation for why the legendary wolves’ existence was lost from the legends. The destruction of the Stow-on-Side mural happens offscreen in this story, which is kind of understandable - the main significance of this statue in the games was to introduce the concept of Pokémon being involved in the legend, which Sou, Sonia, and Raihan had already figured out. This statue holds a completely different significance here: when Sonia is telling the protagonists about the newly discovered ruins, she says that she thinks the mural was put up by someone who wanted to deliberately hide the two Pokémon from the legend, giving all the credit to the humans. She points out the tapestry at Bob’s Your Uncle as further proof of this, which - given its condition - looks like someone threw it away so it would disappear from history. 

I don’t believe that the games ever explain how the tapestry ended up in the restaurant, so the fact that it’s given any sort of context here is really neat. But more importantly than that, it’s really interesting that they’re stating outright that the legendary wolves were deliberately removed from the legend. In the games, Sonia wonders why the ruins at Stow-on-Side would be hidden, but doesn’t offer an explanation - she doesn’t even say anything to suggest that it was done intentionally. The question is never brought up again. So I’m really hoping that Spe won’t go that route, and this revelation will have broader implications in the story next chapter or even later - that we’re going to find out who covered it up, or possibly that someone in the present day knows about the cover-up and is willingly propagating it. The immediate assumption is that it’ll be connected to Sordward and Shielbert in some way, since they benefit from the legend being that their ancestors were the heroes who saved Galar. But I think it could also be interesting if we find out that Rose knew about the statue and is deliberately trying to keep the existence of the sword and shield Pokémon covered up - it’d make a lot of sense why he was so unforgiving to Bede for trying to destroy the mural if that were true. Either way, I’m excited to see where they take this concept.

tl;dr The way Pokéspe has been handling the plot points related to the legendary wolves has been really good so far, much better than it was in the games, and I’m very excited to see how it develops going forward!

[pokemonswshbutionlyplayedsword]

I thought of this a long time ago but I never really put much thought into it. It's like a turf au or an apocalypse au I don't really know. But it's like it eternatus wasn't defeated galar went into this state of panic and basically collapsed. Now like everyone's against each other and like galars divided into the cities themselves based on the gym type. So most dragon trainers in hammerlock's and so on. The wild area would be life free war areas just thought it would be a cool postgame thing.

Okay, so I’m kinda new to the idea of turf aus, but I like what I’ve seen so far. As for apocolypse aus??? I love them. Like, a lot. One of my favorite types of aus. And now, Anon, you’ve got me thinkin about it, so sit down and lemme tell ya, cause I’ve got somethin’ to say. And tonight I’m feeling like ranting, so buckle up.

So here’s the plan, you’re on the right track. Eternatus demolishes Galar. There’s no leader that can ease the chaos that’s broken out. The economy is just gone. Wyndon fell apart and every other town was either mostly destroyed or abandoned. Now, what exactly is preventing Galar from putting itself back together? Good question. If you know me, you’ll know that my favorite game is Hollow Knight. In Hollow Knight, the player battles a plague caused by a godlike creature known as The Radiance. The Radiance creates this infection to gather the bugs of Hallownest and restore them to her hive mind (Yeah, I know that’s a lot to take in, but just go play the game. You’ll understand and you’ll also love it because it’s the best game.)

Now, I’m not saying that Eternatus creates a plague of sorts to bend the people and pokemon of Galar to its will, except that is exactly what I’m saying. That is what is happening. No other region can come help them because there’s nothing they can do, and even if there was some way to help, there’s no way for them to know if there’s actually anything left to save at all, and since Galar’s a big island, there’s no way for it to spread, so they’re on their own.

Here’s the vibe. Y’all ever heard of Darkwood? Yeah, another video game. Fantastic, incredible, intense and emotional. Aside from the fear and desperation to survive the night, the players of Darkwood will experience foreboding, hopeless and violent feelings. Protect what is yours and trust no one, essentially. Kill on sight kind of vibes. You know what I mean. And if you don’t, well, go play Darkwood, you won’t regret it. Warning, though, it’s graphic, bloody and can be really gross at times. But, like, that’s the aesthetic of it.

So, as a quick recap, what Eternatus has done: Effectively destroy most of Galar, especially the northern part of it; scorch the earth where Wyndon used to stand; spread plague and disease to technically enslave people and pokemon to only their base, animalistic instincts; and pretty much ruin the lives of the people who weren’t killed by the blast.

And, for the sake of convenience and my poor little heart, let’s say that no one was present for the event. Yes, Eternatus emerged in Hammerlocke, but it wasn’t defeated and it moved to Wyndon, taking possession of Rose Tower before creating the devastating blow that caused Galar to fall. No, no one we know dies, so that’s nice. But Eternatus is gone. There’s no tower to climb. No evil to defeat. No way out of this hell hole. Oh, and dynamorphing is officially cancelled, too.

ANYWAY, here’s where things get interesting. We now get to see what happens to our dear characters.

Milo is in Turffield. It’s a mess, but it’s not the worst place to be in Galar. He was there on his farm when it happened. Almost every plant was wiped out. Most barns were destroyed and the pokemon in them were either released or killed. It was hard, but Milo and his farmhands were able to salvage what was left and create a new, less impressive farm. Still, they have the most reliable food source in Galar. They had to build a lot of defense and acquire a lot of guard pokemon. They had to get really aggressive about defending their things because so many people would try to steal. But they get everything they need by trading with the other mini-societies that formed when the dust settled.

Nessa was in Hullbury. Things are extremely hard, but they’re on the sea, so a lot of the survivors tried to sail away. Nessa stayed, but she did help them try to leave. This was before the plague spread, so it was relatively safe, if not dire. After that, and when things get bad, she finds Sonia and Magnolia, and they go to Turffield to work and get protection. Magnolia definitely needs the sanctuary. Hullbury was abandoned.

Kabu is leading Motostoke the best he can. There are some survivors that follow Kabu, and they keep the production that comes from Motostoke, you know, metal production and shit. Most of Motostoke is abandoned. There’s a line of large warehouses and a nearby grocery store that the people made into a base. They’re a large crowd, but they do well because they’re so close to Turffield. There’s a lot of paranoia, though, because there’s not a lot of room for trust.

Bea is an excellent fighter, of course, so she protects Allister and the rest of the people who stayed in Stow-on-Side. They moved into the cave with the statue of the two kings. It’s so easy to fortify and, in fact, due to their pokemon, and the fact that a lot of people there have the right kind off pokemon, they are able to carve the cave out more and make an actually viable place to stay. They struggle with food a bit because they’re far from any reliable source, but they’ve made it work for their small group. There are very few of them left, so there’s a lot of trust.

Allister stays close to Bea. He’s terrified of what’s happening. He does his best to help, but mostly he stays in and tries to think of ideas. He’s come up with the idea of making tunnels to the other mini-societies. He understands that they survive if they have something worth trading. They have the power to make transportation possible. He’s currently looking for other ideas, too. If they make resources easier to access and they get means to acquire them, they’ll have a better chance of survival.

Opal knows that the woods around Ballonlea are thick and hard to traverse when the proper paths are not kept up. Thus, she has a choice to make. Does she make her town vulnerable or does she isolate herself from any other resources? She chooses isolation. They build into the trees to expand. They’re able to make farms of sorts, but they also forage. The survivors in Ballonlea isolate themselves from the plague and survive by living like the fairies- with the fairies. Most of the outside world don’t know if Ballonlea still exists. Opal knows she likely won’t live to see the end of this situation, she can only hope that she can teach her successor to lead the people of the forest.

Melony sets aside her problems with Gordie to protect her family. She works with Circhester to isolate herself from the rest of Galar. It’s hard to get to Circhester because the event caused the snow to come down harder. That makes resources hard to come by as well, though. The hot spring and a large home that houses the survivors are their stronghold. They’re not worried about being stolen from. However, monthly a group of people have to take their pokemon out and journey to the rest of Galar to trade and get resources. It’s risky, but its their only option. Melony normally leads these expeditions, and Gordie takes over while she’s gone.

Gordie is the second in command in Circhester. He’s the strategist, so to speak. He comes up with the plans. He takes care of everything while Melony is gone. He’s especially protective of his younger siblings. It’s going to be hard to grow up in a post-apocolyptic world. He used to sit around and think of what would happen in this situation, but now that he’s actually here...? He’s completely forgotten about his problems with Melony before the disaster.

Piers counts himself extremely lucky. Spikemuth has walls. It protected everyone within the city from the blast. But the walls are thin and they were already poor to begin with. The thing about Spikemuth is that they’re survivors. They may not specialize in anything, but they scrape by any way they know how. Piers may come off as an apathetic and careless person, but in this disaster, Piers steps up to lead Spikemuth. He fortifies the town with metal from Motostoke, he manages to barter with Milo to get food. They’re on cliffs right next to the sea. Some days it’s an Arceus send, some days it’s another way for Eternatus to laugh at them, but it does bring in food and scavenge sea garbage. In a town full of Zigzagoons, what else do you expect? One of the things they barter with is sending people to be temporary warriors/bodyguards. The people of Spikemuth can mf SCRAP.

Raihan fled from Hammerlocke with the rest of the survivors. They went to find Leon in Wedgehurst. There was nothing left to salvage in Hammerlocke. Some people split off from the main group. Raihan convinced Piers to let them seek refuge in Spikemuth. Some of them joined Milo. A few hoped to find Ballonlea, which wasn’t unheard of. Compared to the rest of the Galar, the rumors sounded like utopia. Raihan still has hope that help is on the way, and he’s used that to lead his people as far as they will go. His pokemon are strong and he can defend himself and his loved ones. He joins Leon in Postwick, where they retreat into the Slimbering Weald.

Leon evacuated Wyndon along with everyone else who was smart enough to leave. He immediately returned to Postwick to join Hop and his mother. The people there were pretty unharmed, since the blast didn’t reach quite far enough. Wedgehurt was abandoned for sure, but that didn’t really matter. They’re close enough to Milo to not have to worry about food so long as people came to help tend to the farms sometimes. Eventually, when things turned even worse than they already were, Leon led Postwick into the Slumbering Weald. With his powerful pokemon, he was sure he could protect them, especially with Raihan at his side. They’ve made themselves a home there, in that Weald, hoping that Zacian and Zamazenta reveal themselves to end this.

Rose is not safe anywhere. The people of Galar hate him for what he’s done, and there’s no one there to listen if he tried to explain himself. He’s not a survivor, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He and Oleana end up leaving Wyndon with a certain small group headed towards Motostoke. He keeps his head down and his hood up. He wants to find the gym leaders and other authority figures around to make a plan to fix the region, but he can’t do that yet. He doesn’t have the means or the plans to make it happen. He eventually branches off from that path because he has no choice but to follow Oleana. She leads him to Spikemuth, and she convinces Piers to accept them. It’s not easy, but Spikemuth is probably one of the safest places for him now.

Oleana stays with Rose. She calls all the shots, but she protects him at all costs. She knows he never meant for this. She’s a fighter and good at surviving. Through rumors and travelers, she learns that Spikemuth is accepting of all stragglers who need walls to protect them. One of two things happen if she takes Rose. 1. They’ll be killed on sight or 2. Piers will accept them and they’ll be safe. Oleana doesn’t ask Rose, because she knows he’s still in shock and not of right mind right now. She thinks she’ll be able to get through to Piers, they understood each other. Luckily, she’s right, but she has to work extra hard to earn both their keep. She doesn’t exactly mind, since she rises through the ranks quickly and proves to be especially valuable to Piers.

Sonia goes with Nessa to Turffield with her grandmother. She regrets leaving Leon behind, but she had no choice. She had no idea if he was even alive. She hears rumors that he’s leading Postwick, but she can’t make the trip to see for herself. She won’t leave Magnolia behind, even if it means mucking around in Wooloo pens to earn her and her grandmother’s meals. It’s a simple life, not much to it, but she knows she’s extremely lucky. A lot of people never got this far. Plus, Turffield is an empire compared to the rest of Galar, and it’s one of the best places to be since they’re so wealthy there and Milo is so kind.

Magnolia is too old and weak to survive on her own. She knows she’s lucky that her granddaughter brought her with her. Turffield is the perfect place to be for them. Sonia earns both their keeps, so Magnolia lives a very easy life. She’s researching the phenomenon that’s happening, and Milo is happy to let her. She really hopes to find out what happened to everyone and to find a way to end this. She really needs Oleana and Rose to help her, but she thinks they’re dead, so there’s no point in looking for them. She’d go to Wyndon to look for answers, but there’s no Wyndon left to go to.

Hop was terrified when it happened. Luckily, not days after the disaster struck, Leon came home and led them all to the Slumbering Weald. He’s been Leon’s apprentice of sorts. He’s been learning to be a leader like him. He hopes that he’ll be able to help more soon. He misses his friends, and right now, he’s been looking into a communication method without cell phones or electricity.

Marnie is in Spikemuth, as Piers’ second in command. She’s incredibly important because she can see things that Piers can’t. He’s fiercely protective of her, more than he was before. She’s looking for solutions to all of Spikemuth’s problems, and she’s the one that convinced Piers to let Rose and Oleana into Spikemuth. She has been listening to all the rumors and stories that pass through, hoping to hear about anyone she knew.

Bede is in Ballonlea, being taught everything Opal knows. He was the one who suggested building into the trees. Opal’s proud of him, but he knows she worries. Bede doesn’t know how long they can last until they need to make contact with the rest of Galar. He’s stressed about the future and he doesn’t know how to fix any of these problems.

Anyway, the point is, Eternapocolypse AU is a thing now, and I encourage all of you to interact with it. I love apocolypse aus so much. Only post for tonight btw because I’m tired and this took an hour to write out.

[light679]

Hey hun! Dunno if you're taking requests at the moment... but I saw that analysis on Leon's room and it got me thinking... what would Leon's early travels be like while he was taking the gym challenge? I feel like we didn't get to hear to much about it, other than Sonia saying a few things, but I was wondering what your take on it would be? Feel free to ignore this ask if you've got a lot going on at the moment! But thank you if you end up answering! ^^

Hello there! This ask makes me seriously happy! I’m so glad you liked my post about his room! I love thinking about young Leon and his gym challenge, I see so many pictures of him on Pinterest of him as a youngster with Charmander and I die of cuteness every time, so here's some hc's of mine to go along with this! :3 Thank you for such a lovely ask!

So first of all, I sort of hc that Leon and Sonia took the Gym Challenge the same year as Raihan, so all three of them became pretty close friends during this. Leon and Raihan probably met at the opening ceremony or at one of the gyms at hit it off, constantly arguing in a playful way about who was going to be stronger. 

The Wild Area was definitely a struggle for Leon. Sonia and her Yamper leading him to the right path, as she mentioned in the game? Definitely happened here 😂. Sonia probably did her best to not let him out of her sight, but of course when Leon gets excited about something, or saw a Pokemon he really wanted to catch or battle, he would just run off at a moment’s notice. He caught a lot of cool Pokemon that way, but often had to call Sonia on his Rotom phone to have her come find him, who gave him a light scolding later on lol. 

Leon learns how to cook in the Wild Area while he’s camping and such, but isn’t necessarily the best. He’s decent at making spicy foods, which are his favorite, although the reason they’re likely better than his usual is that he puts a lot of spices in to mask any other imperfections since the focus is mainly on the spice when you eat it. Sonia does a lot of their cooking. Raihan is a little more independent and does his own thing, but will pop in every once and while and set his tent up near theirs. Sonia and Leon set their tents up at the same camping spot together virtually every night to keep Leon from getting lost and to just have a friend nearby. In my opinion, Sonia develops a slight crush on him at least once over the course of their Gym Challenge, but it never really goes further than that. Leon’s so focused on his Gym Challenge and eventually Sonia realizes this, so she gets over it pretty quickly. 

In his journey, there’s probably a few spots that Leon really likes. Of course, the Wild Area is something he absolutely loves. It gives him a chance to get really strong and meet strong Pokemon, which as we know is something Leon really puts care in. Particularly the Lake of Outrage is a favorite of his. There’s a lot of really strong and interesting Pokemon there, and the Pokemon that come out of hiding in the different weather is incredible to him. And is also probably where he met his Dreepy, which he evolved into Dragapult. He also probably really likes the cold, mountainous area leading up to Wyndon. There’s quite a few strong Pokemon there too, and he can just feel how excited and eager those Pokemon are to join in some exciting battles, maybe feeding off the energy that comes from the city nearby. 

Which of course brings me to Wyndon. I hc that Leon absolutely loved the city life at first. Compared to Postwick, it’s so bustling, exciting and new to him, with a lot of people excitedly talking about Pokemon battles and the upcoming challenge. It matches his own passion and excitement for battles and the Championship Cup in a way a lot of the other places along his journey didn’t. Hammerlocke was probably the closest thing to matching his excitement, although it still had a different atmosphere that didn’t quite match his, although he was incredibly excited to see all of the history-related things in the city. Leon’s room is a clear indication that he IS smart, and that he enjoys learning new information. Just like he did with Pokemon, he also most likely went to all of those historical spots in the towns to learn about Pokemon, something a lot of challengers may not have done. Obviously in Sword and Shield you do since you’re helping Sonia make discoveries, but in reality, unless you have a strong passion for learning and history/science/etc, a Gym Challenger could easily breeze by something like that and ignore it. But Leon, despite being incredibly excited for his own journey, most likely dragged Sonia to all of these exhibits and areas to learn more about the history of Galar and Pokemon, in part because he hopes it will help him learn about Pokemon to make him stronger and in part for him to just continue learning. Seeing these places eventually makes something click for Sonia and she ends up being thankful that he’s brought her along to them. 

Naturally, every time they stopped in a city that had boutiques, Leon was quick to pick up a new hat. He picked up a new hat in just about every city he could. He might even have done it as a ‘reward’ for himself for winning a battle. Like, once he beat a Gym Leader, he treated himself to a new hat. Eventually Sonia noticed his bag being so full, seeing that it was full of caps and made him send some home. Partly to make sure he had room to carry actually important things with him and partly because it would damage the caps. Sonia liked fashion and clothes too, and would hate to see Leon ruin his new clothes too. After her lecture on how he was damaging the caps, Leon almost always had them sent home unless he wanted to swap it out. His fashion sense in buying other clothes was still absolutely atrocious, but still adorable. 

The Gyms were fairly easy for Leon, breezing through most of them, except one: Melony, who would have been old enough to still be Gym Leader during that time. Not only did he have a few dragon types that were pretty well damaged by Melony’s ice types, but her Gigantamax Lapras wasn’t weak to Charizard, and was in fact, strong against it being an ice and water type. Leon also doesn’t typically seem to use electric types, and there’s a solid chance that his Charizard wouldn’t have known electric-type moves by then (I hc he probably did some special training for that to happen/Pokemon have to go through some special training with Pokemon of that type to learn moves outside of their specific typing). He still won on his first try, but it was a very close match. The dragon-type leader was also probably a bit of a tougher match for him since dragons usually aren’t weak to fire, but still less of a challenge than Melony. 

Leon’s definitely the challenger that a lot of other Gym Challengers look up to and admire, and with him being favored to win their year, though Raihan comes in as a close second. A lot of people loved his adorable Charmander, but he was certainly seen as incredibly ‘cool’ once his Charmeleon evolved into Charizard. Charizard isn’t exactly a common Pokemon in Galar, coupled with it being incredibly strong, people grew fascinated by it very quickly. 

Their match during the quarter finals is really close and intense: Leon beating Raihan by just a hair. Many people were incredibly impressed by their match, for both men. Raihan was offered a position at the Hammerlocke Gym almost immediately after their match, and Leon received several proposals for endorsements contingent on his win against the Champion. Despite how intense their exhibition matches were in the subsequent years, many people still regard their quarter finals matches as one of the best matches in Galar history. There’s probably a rerun screening of it whenever Gym season pops up each year honestly. 

[punz4lyfe]

Pokemon Journeys Episode 45. Let’s review:

1. How are the news reporters not dead yet in that flimsy helicopter in the middle of this apocalyptic event?

2. The fact that Team Rocket were able to reach out to Gigantamax Meowth to have him control himself and try to take on Eternatus absolutely speaks grand possibilities for both funny and awesome Team Rocket moments in the future in the Galar region! That, and Meowth’s knowledge of G-Max Gold Rush, too! Hopefully, the writers won’t miss out on these blatant opportunities.

3. I swear Leon and Charizard cheated death like 4 to 5 times in this episode.

4. The Ash vs. Chairman Rose fight was really done, with Ash using Pikachu and Riolu’s speed to take advantage of Ferrothorn and Copperajah’s bulk and put them against each other. In addition to that, Rose shows how much of a villain he is by smiling throughout the beginning of the fight with sadistic intent, even going as so far to command his mons to attack Ash and Pikachu and crush Riolu. Great display of character, writers! And, of course, as we’ve all been waiting for, Riolu’s evolution into Lucario. Absolutely done well, with Riolu showing his strong friendship with Ash and Pikachu by defending them against Rose’s mons, despite all odds being against his favor due to the sheer size and weight difference. Absolutely perfect. And then Lucario used his aura to tell Ash “Screw Vacuum Wave, I got the Poke-Hadouken, now!”, which was a sweet callback to Ash and Riolu’s aura bond in the latter’s debut appearance. And once the battle was over, Rose showed concern for his Pokemon and not for his failing plans, showing that he’s still human on the inside and is really just in a lot of turmoil due to the trauma he experienced as a child at the mines. So yeah, great moment of the episode all around! On the other hand though..... ugh.....

5. Goh vs. Oleana. Like I said in my last review, I was not looking forward to how this would turn out due to Goh’s win being obvious, and.... yeah, there are some problems. Compared to Ash and Rose’s battle, the action in this one was a lot less impressive. At the start, it was mostly just Raboot using Ember, only to get countered and splooshed by Water Pulse every time. When it actually picked up with Goh using the environment, leading to Raboot’s own evolution into Cinderace to finish Milotic off with Pyro Ball, it was still not done well, as Milotic was knocked out by Pyro Ball and a few consecutive Embers beforehand, which should NOT be enough to make it faint. Look, when Ash fought Rose, it took Pikachu and Riolu a good number of hits to push back Ferrothorn and Copperajah before both were finished off by Aura Sphere, a super-effective move. In this case, Milotic was taken out solely by A FEW attacks its strong against. That shouldn’t have done it in, especially with how untrained Raboot is compared to Ash’s mons. Not to mention, it also kinda digs further a little problem there is with Goh and Cinderace almost always winning/achieving every little thing they do that I’ll go further in-depth with my future blog over them. And while I’m happy Cinderace is back to his enthusiastic self (with some of Raboot’s coolness still left in) and the moment where Goh communicated with Raboot to use the environment for his preferred Ember attack was a good character moment between the two, the cons of this part of the episode kinda outweigh the pros. Moving on, however.

6. Sonia x Raihan? That’s.... kinda cute honestly.

7. Seeing Ash run around with a Lucario at his side is probably bringing a lot of fanfics to life. That, or Lucario and the Mystery of Mew flashbacks. Man, that was a good movie, wasn’t it?

8. Ahh, look at those five dorks gawk over each other and fist bump. It’s stuff like this that makes 2020 better.

9. Remember that part in the original Final Fantasy VII where Sephiroth attacked the whole gang with shockwaves before the fight against Bizzaro Sephiroth? The scene with Eternatus escaping Leon’s Ultra Ball gave me flashbacks to that. And I don’t even know why lol.

10. Oh my Arceus! The up-close shot of Eternamax Eternatus was honestly a little frightening!

11. Chairman Rose...pl-please get away from the helicopter windshield.... That’s just.... creepy.

12. Eternatus’ onslaught of Screw-U laser beams. At this point, it’s natural for Ash and Pikachu to take this kind of stuff in the face everyday.

13. Becoming the Sword and Shield legend? Yeah, that was expected. Look, when it comes to stuff like this in the anime, it’s about as obvious and cliche as it can get to the point it’s really no longer a bother to long-standing anipoke fans. And Leon? Please, my boi, stand down. You just want all the credit to yourself. (I’m only joking please don’t attack me fellow Leon fans)

14. The whole final battle between the good guys and Eternatus was alright. It was really cool seeing the Sword and Shield doggos’ signature attacks in the anime, though, it would’ve been cool for Ash and Goh to actually command them a little just like in the games. (and Ash’s whole thing with Nebby should prove that you don’t necessarily have to own a Legendary to command it in a crisis) It also nice for Pikachu, Lucario, and Cinderace to give Eternatus another three-way combo so that the doggos could have their opening. How it ultimately ended though.... well....

15. GOH’s REGULAR Pokeball caught Eternatus. I repeat, a REGULAR Pokeball from GOH caught Eternatus. Yeah......

16. Legendaries doggos, come back! I wanna see our dorks scratch behind your ears! Ah well, it’s more than likely they’ll return in the anime, given usual tropes and cliches.

17. Chairman Rose and Oleana are also definitely gonna make a return someday, no doubt about that. We still gotta wrap up Rose’s whole character with his childhood and father!

18. PROFESSOR SONIA!!!!! I STAN THIS SO FREAKING MUCH!!!!!!

19. Oh, Goh. You and your love for catching. Unfortunately, as the whole thing with Eternatus kinda proved, the anime is willing to have you able to capture Legendaries. With a plain Pokeball no less. You’re lucky I love you, my boy.

At with that, we’re done with the Darkest Day Arc! Pretty dope arc, ngl! While there were some things I felt were missed out, like Pikachu Gigantamaxing or Goh using mons other then Raboot/Cinderace, given how the episode ended, I feel there will be more of that kind of stuff in future Galar episodes. So that’s worth looking forward to you!

For the overall episode alone.... it was okay. Again, there were some things that kinda made it avoid being perfect (which sadly all involved Goh), but what we got was still great. The visuals and music were all amazing, there were a ton of great character moments, and for the most part, the action was intense and awesome! I’d give this episode an 8/10!

Now, to end things off, who else is excited for Mewtwo next week?!?!

[derpyflowergarden]

A Bede/Hop Fic Idea I will never write.

I have come to the realization that I can comeup with MILLIONS of fic ideas but never have the motivation or energy to write them, at least properly. I am willing and able to write them out as a synopsis but actual detail writing? No. (This does not mean I don’t plan to write more fanfics, but most of the time it’ll just be synopsis’s and ya know what? Fuck it, I’m gonna write them down!)

Alright so we start off with the fact this is Post-Canon, so if y’all haven’t finished the game yet do so before reading further kthx. So once upon a glorious Galar day Hop has been assigned by Sonia to go investigate further into the Glimmer Tangle to check up on different type of fairy type pokemon. He invites Gloria to go with him, and Bede has to go because not only would it benefit him as the Ballonea gym leader, but it would also get him used to his new stomping grounds. Marnie and Victor also wind up joining in, because only two of the three that are in that group are reliable enough NOT to get killed, and they don’t want to risk Bede letting Hop and Gloria do their own thing without a voice of reason.

Opal, being the badass regal fae that she is, also oversees this, and since there has been...a weird distress going on in the fae realm, calls in a favor of two twin fae that owe her (We’ll call them Fawn and Faye, no they don’t have genders shut up). She doesn’t want to butt into Bede’s affairs too much, after all, he’s grown enough to handle himself, but she wants them to at least bring him a protective charm, so at least he has a back up just in case. (At this point the ragtag group of five have already gone off into the Tangle, so she has to have them send it to them.) This should be an easy job, give Bede the charm, and shadow them just in case.

Of course it isn’t.

While the group is travelling, the twin fae manage to catch Bede off guard (probably inspecting a random impidimp or something), and whisk him into a small space that just has the three of them in it. Fawn tries to explain in a grandish manner why they have come, but Bede is having NONE of it, throwing accusations that he’s being spirited away and that he’s not one to be trifled with. While the two of them are arguing, Faye realizes that this is taking a little bit too long, and that Bede’s friends are wondering where he had gone. Unable to cut in and point this out, Faye grumbles and decides to do the only thing they can think of: They take Bede’s place. Hooray!(Not)

So now Fawn has Bede in a hidden bubble, who is pissed at what is happening but unable to leave, and Faye is now playing the role of Bede, which is going somewhat well, the others don’t have a clue...well, Victor does, but he figures it’s Bede growing to be a little nicer, and Hop.

So things are good, grand even, and then Hop has a brilliant idea. Getting the pep talk from Gloria, and Marnie to an extent, he goes to seek out Bede while they are taking a rest in the Tangle. (It’s been a few days by this point, they’re still getting research done, also why are there so many detours?) He finds him leaning against a tree and tapping away at his phone.

Faye is typing responses to Bede’s angry questioning, and also just giving snide remarks. He understands now what has been happening, but of course he isn’t happy about it, and is willing to go to great lengths to bother the twins, since he’d rather be DOING HIS JOB and not trapped in a bubble. Faye just chimes back that they’d rather be at home with their Haunter and not here. That is when Hop pops in. Faye goes quickly back into character, throwing a quip at Hop, and he just bristles and shoots one back, before he starts to stammer and start to get the words he’s been wanting to say for awhile out.

It takes a minute before Faye realizes what’s going on, as well as Bede, and hoo boy this was not Faye signed up for.

Hop is trying to confess his feelings for Bede.

Hop is trying to confess his feelings for Bede, in the middle of the deep parts of Glimmer Tangle, while they are on a research mission and there are different fae trying to sabotage their progress.

Before Hop can get the actual words out, Faye puts their fingers to Hop’s lips, looking down, before glancing up at him. “Stop. Now is NOT the time for this confession, so what you’re going to do is this: Wait until we’re out of the Tangle, and then redo this entire thing, but not as the stuttery mess it is currently.” Then they lean up to whisper in his ear. “Who knows, maybe you’ll even get the answer you’re hoping for.” Before quickly sauntering off to go bash their skull into a tree because THEY DID NOT SIGN UP FOR TEENAGE LOVE CONFESSIONS.

All the while, Bede is also screaming, but not because of Hop, but because GOSH DANGIT HE HAD BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG FOR THAT CONFESSION AND HE COULDN’T EVEN DO ANYTHING ABOUT BECAUSE HE IS STUCK IN A GOSH DANG BUBBLE!

So a little while after that, Hop comes to realization that, no, this person is NOT Bede (he realizes this by little things) and after a confrontation and an explanation, is okay with this not Bede, but is still hesitant. Well, throw in some more drama, research, and an angry rivalry between another old Fae and Opal, which came to a plot of trying to whisk Bede off by making him their bride, which winds up being foiled, and the kiddos are out of there! Finally!

At that point, Hop is just like ��Alright, we are out, now can we please have the real Bede back?” Which Marnie agrees, although it confuses the heck out of Victor and Gloria who are both like “the real Bede?” (Marnie is observant, she ain’t a fool, she knew that wasn’t Bede the second that Hop said he didn’t actually accept his confession because she knew Bede also had a giant crush on Hop so something was up.)

Faye is extremely happy to oblige, and allows Bede to return to their sight, and he is relieved but still pissed, and Faye just gloats that they all got along better with them instead of him, and the two get into a bit of a fight that has them spinning around a bit, before they both look at Hop and say “You know which one of us is the real Bede, right??” Poor Hop is just like “Uhhhh” but then notices that Faye is giving him an eye signal towards the real Bede, and Hop just laughs before rushing to lift Bede up and twirl him around happily as he squawks in embarrassment, as Faye goes to the other three to apologize. That is when Fawn and Opal appear, happy that they have all returned safe and sound. Faye just is relieved it’s all over with, but tells the rest of the group that “hey, if you guys ever want to hang out, I’m down for that, and no I won’t try and trick you guys into doin some weird shite, lest I wanna deal with the wrath of Madam Opal.”

Before they leave, however, Hop intervenes and is like “I actually have a favor to ask of you.” And whispers quickly into Faye’s ear. A sly grin spreads across their face and are totally down for it, before quickly looking at Bede, who just stares in confusion and dread.

Cut to Hammerlocke, where Leon is currently hanging out with Raihan and Piers (who was dragged by both men in question because he’d rather be workin on his not love songs for the pair at home). Hop calls out to Leon, who turns around, happy to see his little brother, before his eyes widen. There stands Hop, with not one, but TWO Bede’s in his arms, and Hop is waving happily. “Just wanted to say hi bro, before I head off on my date. Told ya I could snag two partners just as badass and gorgeous as you did!” Before quickly placing a kiss on both Bede’s faces, and then the trio leave. Leon and Raihan are floored, and Piers is just wondering if they had smoked something before they left Spikemuth because what the fuck just happened.

Anddddd that’s it. This was long, but here we are. The whole idea as a synopsis. This could have been a multichaptered fic, but I would never be able to write it out without stopping halfway through. (I have only ever finished one multichaptered fanfiction, and that was over a decade ago, so yeah...) Enjoy this thing I guess guys. I might post more ideas at some point, not just for this pairing but for other pairings I have as well. Laters!

[grey-eyed-menace]

So!

I'm coming straight outta left field with this one, but hey, some of the best things in life come from spontaneity!

Er... Maybe.

Anyway, here's my Pokèmon AU!

Featuring the Female Protagonists I played as, their names, general differences from canon, and personal headcannons I came up with during my first playthrough of each game!

...and how they fit into the wider world! Maybe. Kinda.

I'm only doing the main series females in this post, with potential a potential sequal in the form of the side game females!

I do know that the main series male's will have their own post though! Mostly because I legitimately cannot control myself, and it's already halfway done!

So, without a further ado...

Arden Forrest!

Childhood friend of Red Audra, and the maternal cousin of the one and only Blue Oak.

Chose Charmander as her starter, named the little guy Flare, and is extremely defensive of the nickname. She is/was ten! Sorry if her creativity wasn't up to par!

Ended up having to travel with Red because her mother absolutely refused to let her leave Pallet otherwise.

Simply stick with him out of convenience after Viridian Forest, mostly because at that point there really wasn't anything to gain in separating from him.

In this continuity she's the older sister of the Sun and Moon protagonists. More on that in Jericho's section.

At the end of her journey, her team consisted of Flare the Charizard, Lenz the Jolteon, King the Slowking, Knott the Vileplume, Skye the Pidgeot, and Blue the Raichu.

Raichu is a stuck up little shit, and pampered, the nickname was obvious. To her at least. Oddly enough, Blue the Raichu hates Blue the human.

The only reason Giovanni remembers her is because she straight up decked him across the jaw when he threatened to kill one of her Pokèmon.

Somehow ended up acquiring Silver as a travel companion for three weeks, Red was bemused. He was also incredibly confused when that feral eight year old showed back up three years later in the news.

Ended up hanging up her battling career shortly after she lost the championship to Lance, and handed over Flare to Red to battle on a more permanent basis.

She still trained the rest of her team, and still does, she just realized that despite her talent in the profession it just... Wasn't her calling. She wasn't as quite as in love with it as she was at the start of her journey.

Bounces around the world for a bit during the three or so years between the Blue/Red and the HeartGold/SoulSilver storylines, and after Lance wins the championship back from her. Trying to find herself.

She participates in the Galar league around the same time as Leon, Raihan, Sonia, and Nessa, mostly as a curiosity, and maybe as a way to try and reconnect with her battling roots, but jumps ship after Opal because fucking hell is their League a killer for self-confidence.

Her jersey number, for the record, was 069. She deeply regrets keeping the uniform years later.

She also finishes the Unova circuit, but doesn't challenge the Elite Four or the Champion, and she tries to do something in the Ferrum Region for a bit before packing up and returning home.

Perpetually pissed off that no one can remember her fucking name.

And no, it isn't about the Championship thing, she was fine with that, really, it's just that the moment she introduces herself ahead of Blue or Red people tend to either treat her like a commodity, or like she doesn't exist.

Made it through the Elite Four and beat Blue before Red.

So yes, she is the official record holder for the shortest Championship. Which, if you're wondering, is exactly thirteen hours, seven minutes, and thirty-three seconds.

She and Blue played Go-Fish for two hours while Red finished up with Bruno.

The ensuing eleven hour battle with Red both traumatized and bored Blue in equal measures.

Blue had the title for a week. Red bolted to Unova shortly after winning and declined the position, turning it back over to her. She proceeded to hold it for another six months before a match with Lance turned it back over.

Actually ends up as one of Professor Oak's lab assistants once she ends back up in Pallet, and... Eventually finds her calling in research.

She throws herself into her education with everything she has. And... Never really loses that passion and drive.

Has to be physically dragged to Passio during the Master's tournament/festival. Dragged. And no, that's not an exaggeration, Blue physically throws her over his shoulder, books their shared flight, and well, he basically kidnaps her.

If it makes you feel any better, he pretty much did the same thing with Red, only it was a private flight that was prearranged.

It makes her feel better, anyway.

She spends the entire tournament/festival in borrowed clothes.

She takes solace in mock-poker matches with Red, Grimsely, Lina, and, oddly enough, Cynthia and Steven Stone.

She does eventually end up becoming a professor in her own right, with a focus on Abilities and how they affect a Pokèmon's mental and physical growth, and also ends up with an engineering degree as well.

In her late thirties I see her taking over Professor Hasting's job for the Ranger association. Mostly because, in my head-cannon at least, Regional Professor status isn't all that it's cracked up to be, and at that point in her life the only reason she would even take over for Oak in any capacity is out of sentimental value for the Pallet Labs.

That, and it's a cushy job, plus she gets to see small children scramble around for over jumped flying tops. So really, it's a win-win.

Teases Jericho relentlessly over her relationship with Gladion.

Not that her romantic life is much better. Someone idly points out that Red is romantically pursuing her when they're nineteen and she proceeds to have a minor breakdown.

Or, you know, she just remains forever oblivious, and Red remains extremely passive in his pining.

Completely blind-sided by Blue's wedding, and honestly doesn't know what to think of his wife, but plays the role of doting aunt pretty well once they have their first kid.

Shows up in the White 2 storyline in a rental tournament, wrecks Rei's shit, comes back a day later during a Team Switch Tournament, and proceeds to destroy the battlefield.

Then, once Rei is the Unovian Champion, she comes for an actual vacation, and actively, and willingly, participates in the Cross-Region Tournament, makes it to the finals, wrecks Rei's shit again, and then destroys the Stadium when she goes up against Red in the semi-finals... Yeah, I'm not sure what storyline to put to the whole rage vent thing, but it's there. It exists. And Red pays for it.

I'm thinking Blue just gets in over his head a week or so before the tournament, and she quietly simmers all the while.

I think if I were to make a fic about her journey/life, I'd call it 'The Trials And Tribulations Of A Run Of The Mill Pokèmon Trainer'. Because... Ya know, against Blue and Red, she's actually a pretty average trainer.

Compared to Red, who'll have participated in over thirty league circuits in his lifetime, (and plowed straight through the champion in a pretty good chunk of them), Arden has only actively participated in maybe five, mantled a single Championship, and completed two other circuits, with the last three or so having her jump ship due to pressure, having to put it aside for prior commitments, or a simple lack of interest, (the incredibly vague Greece based region I have an idea for is incredibly interesting history wise, in universe, it's Gym and tournament circuit on the other hand... Lacks pretty much anything to make it even remotely interesting).

Red will be a living legend once all is said and done at the end of his career. While Arden has a single legal achievement to her name, the famed recognition of being one of three people to take down the Pokèmon equivalent to the Mafia, and a pretty average badge count for a career trainer.

Also, Lina loses to Red on Mount Silver. She knows, she was drafted as the referee because when she came to drop of Red's food for the week. She's pretty much payed off to say otherwise though.

And she doesn't know why.

She's convinced it's a conspiracy.

Fades into relative obscurity around the time of the Sun & Moon storyline, but her damn if her tiny fan club isn't dedicated.

Doesn't show up in Alola for the battle tree because Blue couldn't find her for three solid months.

No one knows what the fuck she was doing.

...she may or may not have been the Gates To Infinity protagonist.

There's a tiny aside to a Snivy named Leaf in article concerning Overgrow and how it affects the Snivy population at large though.

And that's Arden Forrest, a bit clunky, but hey, they're randomly ordered facts, not a character sheet. Next up is the Crystal heroine!

Marie Smith!

Traveled through Johto about three or so years before Arden, Red, and Blue began running around Kanto.

Older than her sister, Lina, by seven years.

I actually don't have all that much on her because I got to the third Gym on Crystal before my brother destroyed the Device I was using to play the game on.

What I do know, from this information, though, is that she disappeared around said time.

No build up, no cries for help, nothing. Just up and gone. She just cut contact with her family, things happened, and she's absolutely infamous for nearly killing three thousand people. Somehow, she's officially recognized as someone who completed the Johto Circuit though.

She got recruited by Cypher.

Again. Shit happened.

Oak blames himself for an incident in the Kiro Region, (Egyptian Region), pertaining to her.

Lina's entire journey is an event and a half because of her.

If I were to make these little things into a fic series, she'd get... Like a seven chapter mini-fic told from seven different people's perspectives throughout her journey.

Those people, in order, would be... Her mother, Whitney, Naoko of the Kimono Girls, Giovanni, Clair, and Oak.

With an extra chapter detailing her death during the Kalos invasion.

She shows back up in the Kalos storyline in this and traumatizes the ever loving fuck out of Serafina.

She chose a Chikorita. Who she loves dearly, even when she's pretty much gone off the deep end, and then some.

Lina Smith, local trouble maker, owner of a perpetually terrified Feraligator, and the best friend of the very weird Ethan Aurum, and the only person who seems to be on Silver's good side. Vaguely.

Oh so vaguely.

Youngest out of three children, her older brother, Gregory, is an incredibly average guy who's extremely confused as to what the fuck happens on her journey, and never NOT worried about her.

Parents died in a car accident some two years before the start of the storyline, is cared for by Gregory at this point in time

Don't ask why Greg is a thing. He just is.

Like Arden before her, Lina takes a very proactive approach to dealing with Silver during the Radio Tower Incident. Which involves decking him in the jaw.

Surprisingly, this is the part where there relationship improves.

Chooses a Totodile and names him Reyne, and is fiercely protective of him. The little guy could put a Sobble to shame... This also means Silver ends up with the incredibly overly energetic and affectionate Chikorita, all for my personal amusement, (said Chikorita is named Lyra, and no, he does not spoil her, shut your mouth Aurum!).

Her entire story isn't so much focused on her gym challenge or the reappearance of Team Rocket, as it is finding out what the fuck happened to her sister.

Ethan starts tagging along after Goldenrod, and starts to reveal he knows a lot more than he's willing to admit about the situation.

Gets caught up in a lot of nasty things, and nearly ends up dismantling an operation to kill Red, Lance, and Cynthia.

(Where are our favorite colored duo, and supporting tree, during all this you may ask? Why, still recovering from trauma of course! Like reasonable, sane, run-of-the-mill people. More specifically, Blue's officially taking over Viridian gym before the start of the Kanto gym circuit season, Red's fucking around in Hoenn for a good bit before coming to Mt. Silver just two months before Lina gets there, and Arden's in that vague Greece based region getting therapy.)

Her journey is just a really long incident report, and Looker has half a mind to slap her at the end of it.

A good portion of it is Ethan's fault though. Ethan, by the way, nails the looking right through you stare.

And a girl named Sarah Morgendy comes up a lot, although it turns out she's just a kid trying to protect her adopted brother from the shit shoe she got them involved in illegally.

The only two problems with that is she's about eleven and emotionally compromised.

Gets recruited by Interpol after everything is said in done.

Gets the code name Agent Lenz.

Demands therapy for herself, Ethan, and Silver. She gets it.

While she's training as an agent, Ethan and his mother move to Unova so that he can attend an Academy meant 'rising stars', and Silver becomes Elm's apprentice.

...somehow ends up married to Blue years down the line. They have two kids between them. Maria and Reginald

[cinnamonzor]

BrattyShipping Headcanons Pt. 5

Previous Posts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Teen Years

- After returning from the Isle of Armor, Victor opts to keep his hair at its newly grown-out length. This decision is partially influenced by it giving him a new comfort device for his anxiety and partially because he quickly discovers he loves Bede playing with it when it’s loose.

- Bede also enjoys it more than they’d wish to admit to anyone but Victor. Their brain temporarily short-circuited at how good the new style looked on him when they first saw it. If the prior notes didn’t convince Victor to keep it grown-out, Bede’s flustered reaction most certainly succeeded.

- Bede is SUPER touch-starved. Against most people’s expectations, they revel in Victor’s naturally cuddly behavior, accepting hugs and snuggles whenever possible. However, neither of them are particular fans of PDA, still preferring to keep their relationship on a need-to-know basis (i.e. their friends, family, Pokemon, and pretty much every significant character from the game).

- Opal’s one problem with Victor is his general lack of style, as all he really looks for in clothing is comfort. She takes several opportunities to insist he accessorize and/or throw some more pink into his outfit. Bede eventually decides enough is enough and gives him a necklace with a pink, berry-shaped charm on it to appease her (and if they enjoyed watching Victor’s face light up, so be it).

- Victor’s heard enough of Opal’s unsolicited fashion advice to figure out his significant other’s ulterior motive, but loves the gesture anyway. He attempts to find an accessory-related gift for Bede as well, settling on a cozy scarf with a little Hattenna logo on the end. They now wear it as part of both their casual outfit and gym uniform.

- While Victor’s social anxiety and tendency to overthink still act up from time to time, he’s still fairly secure in their relationship. They don’t openly admit to it, but Bede is actually the most insecure in that regard. Their past mistakes and the numerous fans Victor has meld with their abandonment issues and leave them frequently worrying Victor will leave them just like everyone else.

- Bede begins to slowly integrate into the friend group formed by the Postwick Trio and Marnie. They’re still reasonably wary of Gloria, but they grow to tolerate each other. They find themselves on much better terms with Hop and never really had any problems with Marnie in the first place. Victor still regularly finds himself mediating, though it’s not much worse than when it was just the original three.

- It takes some digging, but Victor manages to find out when Bede’s birthday is (personal headcanon: August 13). They’ve never bothered to celebrate it since before they arrived at the orphanage and have mostly just written it off ever since. Since birthdays have always been fairly significant in Victor’s family (a trait he himself retains), he takes it upon himself to ensure Bede enjoys theirs from then on as well (usually with an outing or meal and a thoughtful gift as the basis).

- Bede finds out about the twins’ birthday (personal headcanon: February 27) through Gloria insisting they arrive in Postwick to celebrate. She admits she’s not the hugest fan of having them over at a party that’s half for her, but she recognizes her brother is head-over-heels for them at that point and how much it’d mean to him if they came. She makes it particularly clear that their attendance is not optional.

- Their first major fight since their relationship begins is spurred by Victor’s concerns that Bede is still holding him at arm’s length after over a year together (rarely expressing themselves beyond surface value, waiting for Victor to reach out more often than doing so themselves, etc). Bede attempts to play it off as being due to their busy schedule as a gym leader, but Victor sees through it fairly easily. He mostly just tries to accept it, but it leaves him feeling particularly dejected and things are fairly awkward for a bit afterward.

- After a couple weeks (and, of course, some “guidance” from Hatterene), Bede admits to holding Victor at arm’s length and starts to open up a bit about their trust and abandonment issues. Victor also apologizes for prying too much and reminds Bede that he’ll always be willing to listen when they need it.

- Bede ends up taking Victor to the post-season League banquet as their plus-one when both are around sixteen or seventeen. The media assumes he came as his sister’s (who is still very much the Champion) and that Bede invites Opal as theirs. In truth, her invitation never ceased to be issued even after she retired.

- Everyone else who is invited is well aware at this point. Raihan, Nessa, Leon, and Sonia end up debating the plausibility of their blatantly contrasting personalities working well together. Piers doesn’t bother to join in, but silently agrees with Nessa and Leon based on the stuff he’s heard about their dynamic from Marnie.

- Victor’s favorite part of the event is the amazing catering and relatively low-attention atmosphere. Bede’s favorite part is how amazing Victor looks in a suit.

- Bede and Gloria end up facing each other in the League Finals that year. When Victor goes to congratulate them afterward, the three are mobbed by press and he starts having a panic attack. Both his sister and significant other go into “angry protective mode” and attempt to angrily tell off the paparazzi.

- Gloria tries to lead the press away while Bede gets Victor into the locker room to calm down. They haven’t actually seen him in such a state since the opening ceremony of their League challenge (and even then it wasn’t this bad), mostly since he’d figured out methods to cope with his crowd-induced anxiety and misophonia by the time it would have acted up around them. They have no idea what to do for the most part, but their presence manages to help ground Victor enough to employ the calming techniques he’s had to learn over time.

- On their way out, Bede is still pissed at the paparazzi for rendering their boyfriend in such a state. Taking advantage of Hatterene’s particular skill-set, they covertly send her out to inflict them all with migraines in spite. Gloria notices from across the crowd; her respect for Bede doubles that day.

- By the time both finish growing, Victor is a couple inches taller than Bede. Their hair makes it seem closer than it actually is, but it’s still not the most drastic height difference.

- Bede eventually figures out how to incorporate their puffer coat into their gym uniform. But before that happens, they return to their locker room one day to find Victor waiting for them while bundled in it. They nearly have a cuteness-induced aneurysm.

- It’s around age seventeen when Bede learns that being nonbinary is a thing and immediately clicks with it. When they come out to Victor, he spends a full day researching gender-neutral terms to refer to them by online. He’s wary of calling them his “partner” in fear of it sounding too serious, but Bede personally approves of the term themselves.

- After growing incredibly accustomed to Victor making food for them, Bede attempts to surprise him by trying their own hand at cooking. While they have much less experience, he adores the thought they put into it and informs them that it’s surprisingly good for a first try. He offers to teach them some tricks he learned and cooking together ends up being a favorite activity of theirs from then on.

- Bede accidentally left the Vengeance Board up the first time Victor saw their room later that day. It was at that point when they realized how potentially creepy having a bunch of mementos of their boyfriend tacked to a corkboard labelled “vengeance” looked, but Victor thought it was adorable and took a picture (with a few playful snarks thrown in, of course).

- That was also the first instance of them sharing an actual bed (instead of the couch that one time), falling asleep cuddled in each others arms. They groggily bid each other good morning when they wake up, only for Opal to throw in a “good morning” of her own from her chair next to them. Just like the first instance, there was some screaming involved (and a couple empty threats on Bede’s part).

- Bede isn’t prone to using cutesy nicknames, while Victor’s nicknames for them are “Love” and “Sprite.” Hop once jokingly used the second one after seeing it as their contact name in Victor’s Rotom Phone. It took three whole minutes to fish him out of the river.

- Upon nearing his goal for gaining funds and cooking experience, Victor ultimately plans to open his restaurant in Ballonlea. The quaint, whimsical nature of the town makes it an ideal location for both his desired atmosphere and projected business (since large crowds are less likely in a smaller town, but the sights and gym challenge will attract enough customers).

- After showing Gloria, their mom, and Hop his notes to assure them he thought everything through, he brings up the idea to Bede. They’re caught off-guard at first, but after thinking it through with Opal’s help, they inform Victor that they want to help with the preparations when their schedule allows and move in above the restaurant with him when its ready.

Still not done! Like hell I’m missing out on writing the domestic fluff!

[artgurusauce]

So, how was Pokemon Shield?

Before I start, this is going to cover the main game, not post-game. Sorry, no talk about Dickhead Swordward and Shieldbert. Also, if it wasn’t obvious already, massive spoilers ahead. 

IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT READ THIS POST

I’m not going to ramble for hours about this, because to be honest, my thoughts about this are much briefer than they are for gen 7/Alola. Not to say there’s not much going on in this game, just that if you were expecting a super professional and profound review of the game from me, you may or may not be disappointed.

I will do my best to be articulate, though.

I’ll start with the rivals, the most obvious choice the begin with being: Hop.

Hop is definitely not like Hau like so many people were desperate to make me believe pre-release. In fact, while their arcs are similar, there’s a biiig difference. That difference, to me, is their changes in character. Hau had a big ass crash, yes, but his character change was pretty damn gradual. With Hop, after Bede puts him down, well, you can pretty much tell he’s not the same guy right off the bat the next time you talk to him. I absolutely adore Hope and I’m glad he got as much screen time and focus as he did. His arc was fantastically written and beautifully handled all the way to the end. All I can say is, another cinnamon roll for the collection.

Then there’s...Marnie.

Now, I don’t hate her, far from it. I adore her very much as well. The problem is that it seems she doesn’t get much time to flesh out like Hop did. A problem that goes both ways between her and Bede. Of course when I got to the seventh gym and met big brother Piers I actually did like the dynamic they were going for. Buuut I really wish they had given Marnie just a little more time to herself before that. I just didn’t feel like they did enough with her and...that’s a damn shame considering how popular she was upon her first reveal. Of course, again, this isn’t to say I don’t think she’s still just the cutest little punk goth button ever.

Sigh...and now it’s time for me to talk about Bede.

Look, from what I could tell, half the fandom was nuts for him, the other half was sick to death of a generic douchebag rival that adds no flavor to the table. But I’m a little torn on this one. Like I said, him and Marnie share an awful side effect of Hop’s arc being the most prominent...they don’t get enough time or everything that happens in their arcs feels...rushed, by comparison, at least in my opinion. So the thing is, when Bede gets disowned by Chairman Rose, of course my first reaction is “You had it coming, you were being a shit.” But then Opal...takes him in? And...acts as though Oleana manipulated him? I guess I could perhaps see what they were going for here, and, I’ll admit it, I kind of adored their dynamic, albeit a short interaction between them. And I did find it rather cute at the League when he was all flustered about being trained by Opal, having to continue training because everyone was cheering for him. But the thing is...his arc is kind of...broken? Like, I want to feel bad for him, and I want to feel invested in Opal taking him in and showing him the ropes of the Fairy Gym but...it just doesn’t work like it should. Which is odd considering Bede gets considerably more time to flesh his arc than Marnie, at least, that’s how it seemed to me. I do think the general story and Hop’s own arc really just forced the writing’s hand in sweeping Bede’s arc by as fast as possible. He could’ve been an interesting diversion of expectation, but...oh well.

Speaking of gyms, how do I feel about the gym leaders?

Well, Milo is a fucking cinnamon roll, and I do think I’ve settled on shipping him with Nessa because...I mean...c’mon now. Short bean boy, toll ocean gal? Perfect for each other ♥

I don’t really...feel anything towards Kabu. His design is bland, his personality didn’t stick out to me at all, but I guess they can’t all be iconic gems when you think about it.

Then...there’s my baby boy Allister. And lawd, my dudes, if Hop ain’t my new son well then Allister sure as fuck is. I did HC that he was mute like Red before the game came out and, well, his personality and dialogue are pretty good despite not being what I was hoping. I mean, c’mon, how can you not love that adorable little face? Or that he’s so socially introverted he keeps a collection of masks to make absolute sure his face is hidden? I am going to be quoting “Crumbs, that’s aces” forever now.

Opal was an interesting woman, I definitely think there could’ve been more to her relationship with Bede but I already discussed that. My dad thought she was kinda scary and creepy but she reminds me of that old lady from Spirited Away so I ain’t bothered all that much lol. She was nice enough, I do like her humbleness and that she’s willing to admit it’s definitely time for her to call it quits. And yes, I have seen that official art of her when she was younger. She is a fucking QUEEN  ♥ ♥ ♥

Then comes Melony...hoooo boy my lesbian ass is fallin’ so hard it physically hurts me in ways you will never imagine in your life. Wicke wishes she was this thicc. In all seriousness though, I am pretty curious about that son of hers. I heard you can meet him in Sword but I’ll have to wait and see that for myself. Aside from being the newest love of my life, she’s absolutely adorable and wholesome. I know her card reveres her as strict, but, she just looks like a cinnamon roll.

Piers...oh Piers, where do I even begin? His design is fucking on point, for one thing. And his relationship with his sister Marnie is just so cute and so much fun to watch. As unfortunately left field as it was for me, I did like his arc about not being a good Gym Leader and wanting his sister to take over for him. It was sweet and kinda sad but I just love him so much. For the first Dark Type Gym Leader, not bad guys, not bad at all. Also omg Piers slay me with your metal, king plsssss

Finally, there’s Raihan and...omg he’s so great. This mother fucker not only takes selfies in the middle of a match, not only bombards you with weather effects therefore making him a fun and challenging opponent, but this dude is also beefin’ with our head champ? SIGN ME UP, FAM. For real though, like, I loved battling with Raihan the most out of anybody that I fought. I definitely haven’t felt this much fun battling a Gym Leader in years. And I will forever be torn as to whether or not I want to ship him with Leon >3>

Speaking of the chadster, I ain’t talked about ‘im yet. Or Sonia, for that matter. Honestly, they’re both pretty great. 

But Leon is the fuckin’ MVP this gen, I’ll tell you what. He’s such a bro he tells Rose his “Day of Destiny” bullshit can fuck off til our match is over. Of course, I do like his ditzy and dorky sides too. Like his snapback collection or how easily he gets lost seriously Leon it’s just a straight fucking line to your house how do you fuck that up. But he ain’t just a bro to the main character, naw, he a bro to his actual bro, Hop. And I fuckin’ love it. Their interactions are so investing and entertaining and wonderful to watch. It’s almost kind of magical, in a way. I think he is without a doubt my number one favorite Champion of all time now. 

But as for Sonia, well, I dunno...maybe I’m nitpicky or remembering things wrong but she seemed to drop her disdain for researching the legend of the “Darkest Day” like a hat at some point. Granted, I still think her character arc while it wasn’t even needed was very well done. I loved listening to her dork out about the legends, her research, all of it. It was spectacular. And ever since I first found out she was childhood friends with Leon before the game even came out, ladies and gents, these two have dun been my OTP. The only one still challenging that notion is Raihan at this point, lol.

And now...we get to Oleana and Chairman Rose.

Oleana is just...kind of a nothing character for me, personally. Even after knowing about her Garbardor and all that, sorry fam, she ain’t doin’ it for me. She was a red herring so overblown and obvious it has since been laughable that anybody thought she was gonna be this gen’s Lusamine. She is just...some really crazy lady who happens to be passionate about her job. Ok.

Rose, however, is an absolute bastard. And I love it. However, I do have a problem with this, as it sort of connects to my earlier point with Bede. His relationship with Bede is...I don’t even know if I could call it a father-son relationship. I mean, yeah, he basically adopted him, but he disowns him at the drop of a hat. Granted, what Bede did was wrong, but...really? I guess that’s just how much of a dick he is, but, there’s no closure to that. Even after finding out what a horrible, deplorable man Rose is, Bede never talks to him after he’s disowned. Maybe this was meant to be a “Well it’s better he moves on to the next chapter of his life as soon as possible” sort of thing. But his sudden taking under Opal’s wing did not accomplish that feeling with me. So it feels sort of...hollow, to me. There’s no conclusion, follow-up, it’s almost as if Bede didn’t even know who Rose was anymore after Opal scooped him up. And yeah, Bede says “Everything has gone wrong since I met you” but...here’s the problem; That’s as much as he goes into being affected by Rose. It’s not too important, I guess, but it’s something that bothered me, personally. Rose’s motivations seem...ok, I guess. It’s about what I was expecting. Seriously though, his battle theme has no business being that good.

Those are all my thoughts on the characters, at least any that were all that worth talking about. Without further ado: Allow me to introduce y’all to my babies...

As I mentioned on Monday, my team consists of an Appletun, Centiskorch, Greedent, Hatterene, Inteleon, and an Eiscue. And I only just now realize like 5 out of 6 of them have names that start with a “C” lmao.

First up, we have my very first darling: Chastity

There’s a few things one should know about this slick little bitch:

Big shock, she was a huuuge cry baby as a Sobble. Like, mortified of pretty much everybody. Total mama’s girl. But as a Drizzile she was just a total grump goth binch. The only one of my Pokemon in my camp she would give the time of day is her dear friend Chariot, who at the time was a Hattrem. They pretty much grew up together and they’re besties now.

But now that Chastity is fully grown, well...she’s a little...flirtatious. Oh, no, not with the boys on her team. No no no. Every camp we step onto she’s just flirtin’ like a mad woman. She even managed to seduce my dad’s Cinderace who was already a huge playboy

Still, I can’t stay mad at this cute little brat. She’s still a total mama’s girl at heart and I love her to death. Btw, her Snipe Shot is ridiculously strong, though that’s probably because she’s still holding a Mystic Water haha

Up next is our resident lady in waiting: Chariot

I found Chariot in the Motostoke Outskirts and she has always been a picky snob even as a Hattena. She only ate small portions unless it was Whipped Cream Curry. Though nowadays I’m sure she only eats in such small portions to maintain her figure...

As I said before, she and Chastity have pretty much always been best friends. I definitely love to imagine her always hassling Chastity for her less than lady-like behavior though, haha. Chariot was weirdly sleepy as a Hattrem, though. Like...she dozed off a lot. She must’ve been getting plenty of beauty sleep for her evolution lol. 

I used to have a Toxtricity on my team named Ripper before I found an Eiscue for the League, and she seemed quite enamored with him. At least for the long period he was with us, she talked to him 50% of the time when I stopped for a little break. It was incredibly adorable, though I fear what might happen if I leave them alone at a daycare for too long...  <(⚆_⚆;)>

As a grown Hatterene, she’s rather dainty and conversative. I’m actually surprised, lately she’s starting to talk to some of her other fellow team mates lately. I suppose she’s not as stuck-up as she pretends to be, haha.

Up next we have our looonnnggg boy: Mushu

I picked up Mushu at Kabu’s gym. He was pretty shy as a tiny Sizzlipede and often avoided talking to most of his team mates. He was pretty spooked by a lot of them, actually, particularly Ripper for reasons I never quite understood. I guess when Ripper was still a baby, Mushu didn’t understand why he cried so much and was terrified of the loud noises he made lol.

However, he grew into a long boi rather quickly and he’s pulled us through some pretty tough spots in the gym challenges so I like to spoil him with lots of play time. He’s got a Jolly nature and honestly, it shows a lot more now that he’s all grown up. He loves to play and races with his team mates pretty much all the time. Rip Caramel, your utter annihilation will not be forgotten. He’s a very sweet and almost gentle boy and I honestly feel bad for all the battering he’s had to take before because I was a little too eager to take on opponents way out of my league.

A couple of fun facts about him before we move on:

His favorite curry in the curry dex is Smoked Tail Curry, which he always eats in gigantic portions. He freaking loves camping on Route 6 or in Stow-On-Side, I guess he really loves the heat.

Up next is my precious dumpling baby: Caramel

I first caught Caramel on Route 5, and I love love looove my baby apple pie. He’s such a chill and adorkable little dragon and I’m not one to pick favorites but...oh, who am I kidding? He’s totally my favorite.

As an Applin he was just too cute. He was a little slow and none of his team mates seemed to understand him so they tended to leave him by himself. So I ended up having to give him lots of attention so he wasn’t too lonely. And gosh was he just the cutest little baby apple. Of course, he wasn’t an Applin for very long, so there’s not much to speak of regarding his early stages.

However, once he evolved, he became a fucking tank. Caramel can take hits like a freaking champ and since I gave him Draco Meteor he’s practically an unstoppable beast. Of course, by heart, he’s a Lax boyo and enjoys the littlest things in life: Like the nice breezes in the Wild Area, or his Apple Curry, even if it’s snowing something fierce outside he’s all about it. And I just- argh he’s so fuckin’ cute!  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Up next we’ve got the chunky cheeked baby: Peter Griffin Conker

Conker is a Gentle boy who’s been with me since the very beginning at Route 1, and it fits since objectively he’s probably the weakest Pokemon I’ve got on my team. But that’s ok, because he’s definitely scored us a couple of hard gym challenges just like Mushu has. He was definitely useful for buying some time when I needed it, that’s for sure.

He was pretty chattery as a Skwovet, even if some of his team mates weren’t all that talkative looking at you, Chastity. This probably comes as no surprise, but he’s always had a bottomless stomach. Seriously, he’s eaten large portions even as a baby Skwovet and it baffles me. Guess he’s just a really hungy boy, lol.

As a fully grown, chunky Greedent, he’s pretty slow. Like, really slow. Even when he runs it’s like a snail tracking through peanut butter and molasses. And it’s too cute to watch. I really wish I could give him belly rubs tbh, he looks like the type that’d enjoy those, haha. These days he’s best friends with my Eiscue, Cubert. They usually race each other after they have lunch.

And finally, one of my greatest MVP’s: Cubert

Cubert joined us very late in the game on Route 10. And while unfortunately he ended up taking Ripper’s place, I knew he’d be a good addition to the team. I’ve given him Hail and Aurora Veil, which is super useful for battle prep. It’s pretty lucky I was able to find this little guy waddlin’ around up there on my way to Wyndon.

As I said before, he was pretty anti-social with everybody at first. Though I’m sure that’s because he was so new by the time we got to the League. Thankfully, Conker got him out of his shell and they’re best friends. He still seems a little shy around the others, and even myself, but I’m just glad he’s got somebody to talk to. Not much to say about him unfortunately, since he’s so reserved and tends to keep to himself, but I’m sure that’ll change eventually with time.

Now that’s everyone that’s on my current team, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my boy Ripper at all, so, allow me to introduce an old friend who’s been livin’ in retirement for the past few days:

I first picked up Ripper at a Nursery while I was omw over to Hulburry, I believe. So Ripper was with us for a damn long time until I picked up Cubert. Initially I had hoped he’d be a High Key Toxtricity, but I’ll take what I get. Besides, he was more than helpful with quite a lot of battles, especially Opal’s gym.

He was pretty loud as a Toxel, which should come as no surprise. Always throwing tantrums and never really seemed to eat anything bigger than a small portion of whatever curry I cooked, so he was picky just like Chariot was. All around a bastard baby, really. He didn’t really start getting onto the battle field until he evolved, in all honesty.

But once he did, hoo boy, he was killin’ the competition like a pro. I feel pretty bad I didn’t take him into the League with me, but I felt like Cubert would’ve been more useful so I swapped ‘im out. I’ve been pulling him back out of the PC box for some more training lately to help him catch up to make up for it, though. And he seems pretty happy about it, so bygones are bygones I suppose.

And it seems he’s still very much taken with Chariot. Sigh, young love, so adorable. Anyways, respects to the OG madhouse that got me through some toughies, you did good out there buddy. ;w;

Alright, well, that’s just about all I have to discuss, for now. I hope this wasn’t too droning of a post or anything. But before you head out, I’ve got a little surprise. Since this was such an interesting experience, I’m opening a new Tumblr based on my journey that will follow my Trainer OC Luna and her adventures through Galar. If you’re curious to check it out, click here. I don’t really have an upload schedule, so just keep your eye out for any posts in the future. Hope you guys enjoy it!

[pkmnomegaverse]

What fankids do the Galar characters have?

So first things first is that I’m not all that quick to develop fankids.  It takes me a while to decide on the canon cast, both what they’re doing in the future and if any of them get together, let alone deciding on fankids.  So this is one of those things that will likely expand with time.  Here’s my initial thoughts after beating the game though.  Which is more about the characters than any potential fankids.

Bede

Bede is definitely the character I’m going to hyperfocus development on, which both means he gets the most drama, but in theory, his children are the “main Galar fankids”. He’s an omega, no question there. I’m pretty set on endgaming Victor/Bede, but it takes a while for them to officially get together. 

I’m like 90% committed to the idea of Bede having a son conceived during ingame events, pretty much during the Champion Tournament.  Let’s just say I had the terrible realization that my fankid, Darcel, would make a really good child for Bede and this other character. Darcel is too established in Kalos to switch his parents, but I was stuck on the idea for its max-drama potential, so I decided to make a new fankid. A “not-Darcel”. Bede raises his son on his own and while it’s not the primary reason he turns his life around under Opal’s guidance, he is determined to be a strong and good parent to his child. Get his life together for both their sakes. My prototype name for the kid is Roan, although I might give that name to a Pier’s kid.  Regardless, someone is getting that name. 

Victor and Bede kinda end up with a complicated relationship early on, in the sense that Victor wants to be more official while Bede is often pushing him away. Plus Bede has kind of a warped perspective on what’s normal in a relationship, due to his past. Despite how far he’s come, he still has a long way to go.  He also doesn’t completely let go of his tsun tendencies when it comes to Victor, so even from a non-angst perspective, the guy plays hard to get.  At some point, they end up with a kid, a younger half-sibling to Bede’s first child. More than likely also an accident baby.

This one is way more up in the air, but given Bede’s backstory, I can see him possibly wanting to adopt if he ever came across some unfortunate orphan in need.  He’d see himself in the kid, and want to be a much better guardian than Rose was to him.  Break the cycle. So perhaps he and Victor end up with a third child who’s adopted.

Piers

Piers is the other character I really loved from the game, so he gets to be hyperfocus #2.  Also an omega since that’s my preference. I’m not 100% set on the pairing, but I am strongly leaning towards Raihan/Piers as endgame.  I do like Raihan/Leon as well, but my vast preference for Piers means I want to do more with him. So the pairing involving him wins. I’m too bad at OT3s to generally make a threeway work, so I can’t see myself going in that direction with these three.  

Kid wise, I feel like Piers has at least two kids, since I can see him wanting his child to have a sibling the way he did. As his first child is certainly an accident.  The second one could be an accident as well, but is likely deliberate, since again, he wants a younger sibling for his oldest child. He likely aims for them being closer in age than he and Marnie are. 

I do think that Raihan and Piers would have…problems making things work longterm. Not impossible, but I see Raihan as too into himself.  Kind of selfish and also likely not liking the idea of being “tied down”. One could say Piers would similarly not want to be “tied down” but given his relationship with Marnie, I see him as much more family focused. So were he to have children with Raihan, he’d be more willing to make sacrifices to make the relationship work. But a guy can only do so much on his own. It’d be on Raihan to make some compromises as well. I still need to think about this pairing more before anything is set though. 

Everyone Else

The main issue is other then the above ships, I really don’t ship anyone else. I liked Hop, but I felt he only really worked with Victor. But since Victor is with Bede…Hop is either a single dad, or maybe I’ll rarepair/crackship him with someone. 

Marnie was fine, but like Hop, no one really stood out as shippable with her.  Presumably Gloria could be shipped with either her or Hop, but I still have to decide if/how I want to implement her.  I’m fine with the idea of her as Victor’s twin, but since it goes against what I’ve done for every other region, I’m leaning towards not doing that (since even though I made Sun and Moon twins, I had a good reason for Moon not appearing in-game.  I wouldn’t be able to use the same excuse for Gloria, and I don’t want to rewrite the game plot to pretend she was there all along).  So maybe she’s some random girl, in which case, she probably would work better with Marnie over Hop?  Since Hop is too closely linked to the protag.  Were she to be Victor’s twin though, then Hop is the more likely ship.  As for omegaverse aspects, Marnie is an omega, like her brother.

Nessa/Sonia makes sense as a pairing and I can see the potential, I just don’t feel strongly enough about them to give them a fankid at this point. But they’re likely endgame.  Nessa is maybe an omega, but I can honestly see her as anything. Valid arguments for each.  Sonia is probably a beta.

Milo has strong potential Dad Energy, but I really have no ships for him, so probably nada for fankids.  Milo is an alpha.

@pokemon-legends-and-legacies‘s suggested Bea/Gordie as a couple and the idea is really growing on me.  So that one is at least a consideration.  Gordie is probably an alpha and I actually kinda like the idea of Bea as a buff fighter-type omega, since I always make fighter-type trainers alphas. Although she could possibly be an alpha as well.

I like Allister in theory, but again, I don’t have the slightest clue who I’d pair him with. There’s really no one who stands out, since all the younger characters I’d likely ship with someone else. He’s an omega cause I’m like that.

Opal is an omega since I like the idea of her being able to relate to Bede in that way.  Offer him some advice and probably teach him the ends and outs.  Since there’s no way Rose was giving him any practical information. He probably had to rely on the internet for anything he wanted to know that wasn’t taught in whatever schooling he had. I don’t think Opal has any children, since that was the overall impression I got from her trainer cards. She just skipped straight to sorta-grandma for Bede.

I don’t really think about Kabu all that much, but he’s likely an alpha.  Maybe he has family back in Hoenn, maybe he doesn’t. 

Leon and Hop are both alphas, since I like the idea of all the similarities between the two being part of what fuels Hop to want to be just like his big brother at the beginning of the game.  If I were going the single dad route for one of the brothers, it’d be Hop first, so Leon is the cool uncle to any of Hop’s kids.  Perhaps he and Raihan end up true bros as well, so he’s kinda the cool uncle to the Raihan/Pier’s kids. Maybe. 

Raihan is an alpha because of course he.  No question.  I feel like regardless on whether he and Pier’s make it long term, he’s still the father of Pier’s children. A dad with way too many pictures of his children.

Rose is an alpha and we’re not gonna discuss him right now since I’m struggling to decide what happens with him after the events of the game.  Oleana is maybe an omega?  Like Nessa, I can see there being a good argument for her being an alpha or a beta instead.  I lean towards omega going with the idea Rose “rescues” both her and Bede from a life of poverty.  And both are omegas, despite the fact the two don’t get along.  Cause I like parallels. Oleana likely won’t have children since she’s at the bottom of my list of characters to develop.

Victor is an alpha and Gloria is maybe a beta?  If I add her.  Will depend on what I decide her origin story is.

[jaybug-jabbers]

Pokemon Sword/Shield: A review of my experience

So, I’ve rung in the new year in style with a bad cold. Fortunately, I received a new Switch Lite for Christmas and a copy of Pokemon Sword, so at least I’ve had something to do while sitting about feeling miserble. I beat the game last night, and I figured I’d say a few words about what I thought of it. There are major spoilers ahead!

Graphics & Music

First of all, it looks absolutely beautiful. I’m used to using my 2DS, so the upgrade to the Switch Lite was quite the jump. When compared to previous Pokemon titles, the game is absolutely stunning to gaze upon. What’s more, the environments are varied, creative, colorful, and just lovely. They were such a delight that when I first started the game and had control of my character, the first thing I did was simply stand there for a solid five minutes just gazing on the dynamic, gorgeous countryside, butterfree flapping in the distance, Wooloo rolling around, people going about their day. It helps that I do love the UK and I’ve visited it in the past, and I have to say they did an excellent job evoking the feel of those landscapes. Exploring the towns and the environments was always a joy. Their layouts were natural, intuitive, and walking around or biking around was easy and fun. I was eager to explore every nook and cranny. Accompanying the environments was excellent music. All of the tracks were on-point. They set the feel of the location and they were all great to listen to.

UI & Battle Mechanics

Another thing you notice right away is the UI has been beautifully updated. It’s logically and appealingly organized, it’s very speedy, and there are a lot of quality-of-life tweaks and updates– such as accessing your pokemon PC from just about anywhere. (or easy access to Flying from the regular Map menu!) These tweaks have really helped smooth and streamline things and make for a better experience. It took some getting used to some of the tweaks, such as a forced Experience Share for the entire pokemon party. I’m still not sure what I think of that, but I kept reminding myself that full-party experience is standard in other RPGs, so it’s not so huge a jump for Pokemon to adopt it as well.

Characters

The game is also populated by many characters that I enjoyed. The character designs were well thought-out and appealing, and the characters themselves were fun. Hop may have a bit of a doofy haircut and be a bit of a dork, but he’s still an enjoyable rival. Professor Magnolia seems cool, as does her daughter Sonia. As we meet each of the gym leaders in turn, I generally liked them, as well. They did a good job adding little bits of personality to each of them. And yes, I even liked Leon, the over-the-top and bizarrely-dressed Champion. He was hammy and I think it worked well for him.

The Sport of Pokemon & Dynamaxing

Something else I found myself really enjoying was how much the game was emphasizing the sport aspect to Pokemon battling in the Galar region. This is something the game has always had to a certain extent, but never to the degree it has here. Pokemon battling was a huge spectacle here in Galar, done in massive statiums to huge, roaring crowds. This is a world of difference when compared to the solemn, trial-like, solitary experience of the Elite Four. It just brings and entirely different energy to the experience. And I found I really liked that. During the first few gym battles, I wasn’t entirely into it at first, largely because the first few gym fights were incredibly easy. But after they got a little harder, I started to get into the feel of things.

Naturally, the whole huge emphasis on the electric thrill of competition and of huge, bombastic spectacle was tied into the gimmick of this particular game: Dynamaxing. And as lukewarm as I was about Dynamaxing when I first heard it announced (I’m pretty tired of these gimmicks– Z-Moves, Mega Evolutions and the likes), I have to give credit where credit’s due: it was at least tied very thoroughly into the plot and into the fabric of the game. It didn’t feel tacked on, and I wasn’t resentful about actually using Dynamaxing. It may have been a silly gimmick, but it was still enjoyable to use, because it made sense to help entertain the crowds with oversized spectacle, and because there was a certain amount of enjoyment in the added strategy it required. I’m glad I was able to get into it.

I think the highest point for me about the gym challenge experience was when I was facing off Raihan. Here’s the chap they’ve been hyping for a while about facing up against, because he’s the last gym leader standing before you move onto the Semi Finals and the Finals. When you walk through the dark corridor out into the pitch, you can feel the electric atmosphere; you can hear people cheering your name as their new favorite trainer hopeful; and then, Raihan, the man who always acted so casual and smooth and cool, suddenly shows his intense side on the field of battle. He flings out two pokeballs and brags about mixing things up for you with a doubles format and with the weather, and dares you to step up for the challenge.

My two front pokemon come out– Snowdrop, my Frosmoth, and Bazz, my Grapploct. After all that weather bragging, I decide to show him, and have my Frosmoth flip his sandstorm weather over to Hail. Surprised, my opponent acknowledges that was a pretty nice move on my part. I then Blizzard and Superpower his first pair of pokemon out of the picture.

I’m feeling pretty good, and then he sends out his second pair of pokemon. I have no idea what the heck the Duraludon is supposed to be. Then he Dynamaxes it, which takes me a little off guard, as I had expected it later, but of course this is doubles so there is no later. I stall for a little bit, trying to decide what to hit the Duraludon with, and my first few pokemon go down, and the sandstorm kicks back in.

I decide to send out my Corviknight out for Dynamaxing. But I’m still floundering over the best tactic for this unfamiliar pokemon. I try Max Airstream to see how much it does, but it’s not a very impressive chunk. Then his Sandaconda gets a Glare off on my Corviknight, which is a pain. I waste one of my Dynamax turns getting paralyzed. I’ve fainted several other pokemon in the process of things. I start to think I’m toast and I’ll need to replay the match. Then I realize this stupid-looking Duraludon is, of course, a Steel type. I’d just recently put Body Press onto my Corviknight for some move variety. On my final Dynamax turn, I use it. It utterly destroys the Duraludon, which had just lost its Dynamax.

My own Corviknight falls back down into its normal state. There’s only one pokemon left on either one of our teams; his damned Sandaconda and my half-health Corviknight. The sand is still up, but my Corviknight didn’t mind that at all. It did, however, mind the paralysis and the Fire Fang the snake kept using. Fortunately, Corviknight is still a tanky beast, and I blasted away with Drill Pecks. It was tense, really down to the wire. Would Corviknight tank enough hits to make it? Would he get paralyzed at an inopportune moment?

Fortunately, he makes it, finishing off Sandaconda and taking the match. As I cheer at the victory, my pokemon cheers too, amongst all the swirling sand. The crowd roars, and I feel a genuine respect for my opponent’s skill. It was a good fight. Afterwards, when I returned to the lobby, people were congratulating me on my victory, and it felt truly nice.

Moments like these are not common in pokemon games. At least, they aren’t for me. I had felt everything during that match– the magnificent spectacle of the dynamaxing, the tricks my opponent pulled, his keen desire to win, the crowd’s thirst for a good match, my desire to pull through somehow. As it turned out, after that, I didn’t have battle quite as good. The Semi-Finals and the Finals were a cakewalk for me. Even the Raihan rematch was ridiculously easy. He changed up his team and made it much worse, so that he had different weather-setters for each poke, lacking any team synergey at all. It was a shame. Perhaps the only reason that match was so close was because I had been briefly intimidated over the doubles format and confused over the  Duraludon, but I do wish those magical experiences happened more often.

Indeed, even my final battle with the Champion was a woeful disappointment. I got off one Dragon Dance with Dragapult and swept the whole team cleanly. That brings up another point, though: the difficulty level of this game. It is … well, not very high. It’s a shame. I realize it’s a tricky balance, since this game is aimed at a variety of age levels, and they don’t want it too difficult for the younger audience. Still, it would be nice for Pokemon to implement a ‘hard mode’ to help deal with this issue. Perhaps if they did, we could have more magical moments like the one I had with Raihan.

Character Development & Plot

The low difficulty wasn’t the only thing about Pokemon Sword/Shield that sometimes brought disappointment. At the end of the game, I also found the plot sort of ended up in a no-man’s land. Almost all of the plotlines felt unfinished. Marnie looked like a really cool character full of potential, but then nothing ever really happened with her character. Team Yell ended up being very different from all the other ‘teams’ of the pokemon universe, in that they were just very vocal and sometimes excessively involved fans of Marnie. I actually liked the idea of the ‘team’ not being a group of organized villians up to no good, but Team Yell’s plot ultimately petered out into nothing. The same could be said for other characters. Sonia was a cool-looking character design and again seemed to have a lot of potential as a character, but I never quite understood the point of her plot. She was … uninterested in research, maybe, but became interested? Or was overwhelemed with the work? Or … what, exactly? When she “earned” the lab coat, it didn’t feel like an accomplishment. There was no weight or clarity to her character arc in the slightest. She didn’t even ultimately contribute all that much, because she failed to even be the one to discover the Sword and Shield artifacts.

Again, we find this trend with others, such as Hop’s development. Hop is a cocky, confidant young lad who idolizes his older brother. Eventually he runs into a trainer who throws off his groove, gets into his head with some comments, claiming that he’s dragging his older brother’s name through the mud by being shite at pokemon battling. Then he starts to doubt and second-guess himself, reshuffle his team and his strategies endlessly, and so forth. Eventually, he seems to ‘get over it’ and gets his groove back, but we never are given a really firm reason as to why he gets his groove back. What brought about this change? We need to see why he’s learned and grown. And really, even when he does pull his shit together again, has he really learned much from the experience? I assumed his ultimate lesson would be to see his brother more as an equal, not as someone to idolize; as a human who can self-doubt and make mistakes just like him. But the writers passed up the opportunity to go that way with the plot. They just sort of … gave up halfway.

The most of a glimpse we get from that is something given to us from the animation itself, not the writers. Out on the pitch, during the final battle against Leon, when he’s just about to toss his pokemon out, there’s a moment when he pauses and taps both hands against his face. It’s a subtle little gesture, as if he’s trying to shake off any gnawing self-doubts and get his head into the game, and it echoes his younger brother, who we’ve seen do the same thing. It’s such a lovely little touch, such a human moment, and to me shows that both brothers have been vulnerable to self-doubt despite their swagger, but in the end can overcome it. I only wish the idea were explored further in the actual plot.

The ‘evil plot’ of this particular game also feels only half-baked and incomplete. The motivation behind Rose’s actions feels entirely absent to me, as does any logic whatsoever. What’s worse, the game leaves behind so many lingering questions. OK, so this slumbering Eternatus is the source of all Dynamax power, and he’s discovered the energy will run out in a thousand years or so. How is waking up Eternatus by feeding it Wishing Stars (which, as Magnolia later reports, are bits of Eternatus itself– so, what, feeding  Eternatus pieces of itself?) going to help with that? Will it produce more energy once awake? So he planned on capturing it and … sending it out whenever they needed more energy? Or just keeping it around as a power-giving pet of some sort? But at the end of the game, the player keeps Eternatus for themselves, so doesn’t that mean Galar is sort of screwed now? How can the power plant continue to function (and Dynamaxing) if the source of that power is now inside my pokeball? Also, how exactly did Rose wake up Eternatus to begin with/bring about the Darkest Day? Just release all the energy he had at once? There’s so much that’s confusing and unclear. Basically, the plotline felt very half-baked. I had the sense the writing for this game was frankly very rushed.

It doesn’t stop there. Oleana, the whole thing with Bede, and other characters are left with tons of lingering questions and unfinished plotthreads as well. I suspect the devs simply ran out of time. It’s a huge shame, because I enjoyed all of these characters and felt there was so much potential there, but that potential was never really realized.

Pokemon

This generation has a relatively low number of new pokemon, and you do feel that a little bit as you’re going along. The older pokemon that are mixed in were chosen well, in that they blend naturally with the environments they were placed in, and they’re spaced out nicely, so you encounter a mix of new and old at a nice clip, so they have that going for themselves. But even still, yes, you do start to wish there were a few more surprising faces. Still, there’s definitely fun to be had with new pokemon, especially for some of the cooler Galar regional variants. (I fully support regional variants and am happy they made a comeback in this generation.)

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, there’s also only a very limited set of old pokemon this game has access to. Any species not listed in the Galar dex simply cannot be transferred over. This has upset many people, but when I played the game, it did not feel lacking for that reason. The sheer number of pokemon in the overall franchise is now staggering. It makes complete sense to not include every species in every game now. They intend to include old pokemon on rotation in future games, and that seems like a fair compromise to me. Am I bummed that my favorite Parasect can’t be transferred to Galar? Of course. But I’m not too worked up over the fact. He’ll see another region someday.

To finish this section off, I’m going to do a rapid-fire list of my top 5 and bottom 5 of the new pokemon.

Top 5

Corviknight: An absolutely gorgeous design and easily the MPV of my team.

Wooloo/Dubwool: It’s an adorable ball sheep/ram. You simply can’t go wrong with that. One of the first to be revealed of the new pokes, but I can never get bored with it.

Dragapult: A very creative, lizardy Dragon/Ghost creature that adorably shoots its own babies as ammo. I love it.

Grappaloct: So beautiful. Love its design, its stance, the way one tentacle is a belt, love its colors and pattern, its eyes, its cry, everything. Such a badass and I love octopi in general, so a real winner. This is the octopus we’ve needed for a while.

Snom/Frosmoth: I mean, in some ways its design isn’t revolutionary, since we already have many moth pokemon. However, Snom is still adorable and Frosmoth is still beautiful, something you cannot deny. And it’s been long overdue to get an Ice/Bug. What’s more, Snom is based off real caterpillars (jewel caterpillars), which is wonderful.

Bottom 5

Inteleon: A very distinctive design style that doesn’t look like it belongs anywhere near a Pokemon game. Just feels very mismatched to me.

Alcremie: I hate sentient food. A massive pet peeve of mine.

Applin: See above.

Duraludon: Sorry, but I still think its design is ugly. I can’t get used to it.

Mr. Mime (Galar Variant): No. Mr. Mime is always horrible. Stay away from me. Keep your creepy variant, too.

The Wilds Area

Of course, a review of the game would be incomplete if I didn’t mention the Wild Area. This section of the game was really very lovely. I enjoyed exploring what was essentially Breath of the Wild: Pokemon, and I think it’s a wonderful direction for the game to take. Wandering around, finding goodies, rare pokemon, Dynamax dens and all the rest is very entertaining and it’s just beautiful. Really makes you feel like you’re out in nature exploring, and really encountering pokemon in their natural environment. I’ve read people predicting that Game Freak is using the Wild Area in this game as a test, and something they will probably expand upon in later games. If that’s what they are indeed doing, then I welcome the change. I can’t say I am super interested in fighting wild Dynamax pokemon with my friends, but I did enjoy everything else.

Summary

So, would I recommend this game to others? It would depend on who you are. If you’re a big pokemon fan, then yes, of course. You’ll enjoy the beautiful locations to explore, the new pokemon, and the excitement of the Galar sports arenas, as well as some colorful characters. However, you are going to find some flaws. The plot and character arcs are going to eventually end up a little lacking, and you’ll find there’s not as much new content as you’d have preferred. While some aspects of this game are very well polished and complete, others feel rushed. Overall, it’s going to be a mixed experience, but I think that if you like pokemon, you will still enjoy it.

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Jan 1, 2020.

[stars-hearts-gems]

Pokémon SWSH fiction ~world building~

How the Pokémon Sword & Shield world works inside my head:

Pre-game: Definitely open to writing some stories that take place pre-game! At ages 10 and 12 respectively, Leon and Sonia were gym challenge rivals; Nessa (11), Milo (14), Gordie (14), Raihan (11) and Piers (10) were also part of their challenge cohort, but their rivalry was well known to be the most fierce. Hop and Marnie would be 4 and 2 years old respectively when Leon becomes champion. Bede, living in a foster program due to being an orphan, was 6.

In game: Hop is 14, Marnie is 12, and Gloria and Victor are both 13. Bede is 16, though we all know he rocks the grandma vibe. I always pictured Marnie a little younger — she more than makes up for it in maturity, though. Additionally: Leon is 20, Sonia is 22, Raihan is 21, Nessa is 21, Milo is 24, Gordie is 24, and Piers is 21. Kabu is in his 50s and Opal is exactly 83, she will gladly and truthfully tell you, before scolding you for not offering an elderly lady a seat and refreshment (there’s a mischievous glint in her eye when she does this, though the poor target usually doesn’t see it).

Post game: Personally, my favorite. Five years later. Hop is 19, Gloria and Victor are both 18. Marnie is 17 and kicking ass as usual. Bede is 21. Leon is 25, moving on to his “real” career. Sonia is 27, Raihan and Nessa are 26, Milo and Gordie are 29 (neither is particularly concerned about the big 3-0, but you can bet Raihan will be when his time comes). And sweet Piers is 26.

Maybe I’m missing something, but some questions I’ve had to find answers to include: If you can technically set out to become a trainer and join the gym challenge at age 10, what kept Hop from doing that, as keen as he is? Why did Leon act like he had never met Gloria/Victor before when he met them at the train station? Why was he so hesitant to endorse the kids for the gym challenge? Do these kids have school of some kind to go to?

My answers: I think Leon was a Pokémon prodigy who left to join the gym challenge the first chance he was able, cheered on by family and friends. If Leon joined the challenge at 10 and became champion at that age, that would only add to his notoriety. But I think it would be difficult for Leon and Hop’s mum to agree to send off her second son quite the same way, after seeing her first gain celebrity and then rarely come back home. Hop’s mum (who I call Moira) forbade Hop from joining the gym challenge until he was a little older, and made Leon promise not to give Hop an endorsement until they agreed he was old enough. And as far as Gloria/Victor are concerned, their mom, who I’ll call Emma, is a florist — she’s not steeped in the Pokémon training world, so naturally her kids aren’t going to be out the door at age 10. They recently moved to the area, which is why Leon had never met them before the day he gives Hop and the player their starter Pokémon.

I like this approach because of how Hop’s mom holding him back from the gym challenge for a few years speaks to a slightly better parental relationship than most fics grant him. I still fully subscribe to the narrative that Leon gets most of the attention and that Hop feels overshadowed and insignificant compared to his big brother — but his parents certainly love him and try to look out for his well-being. He might not always see it that way, though. However, in my mind’s eye, Hop ends up appreciating the delay and the extra time for traditional schooling it provides him when he pursues higher education on his way to becoming a Pokémon professor.

Now, importantly: SHIPS. Because that’s what you probably came here for, hmm?

I am personally a Hop x Gloria, Raihan x Nessa, and Leon x Sonia shipper so I will definitely be interested in writing those stories! Since I don’t have strong feelings on anyone else I’m down to write whatever people may request. (Rules in a separate post.) AND I’m also down to write any of my aforementioned ship characters in a different ship scenario! Just be warned that those are the ones I like the most so you’ll likely see them the most.

Ok that’s enough! If you’re in the market for any SWSH stories with this kind of setup, please do ask! Zero charge, and I’ll write until I feel like the requested scenario is done justice.

XO

Esme

[beinfriends-a]

As I announced a while back, I am adding a few new muses to the blog; Bede and Leon-- but I’ve also elected to add Chairman Rose to the roster as well.  While I am still working on their bios (I’m trying to juggle homework and rp jdfsdfbjsd and it’s slow goin-), I stated in my tags of that original post that these characters would be extremely canon divergent, and I hold true to that.  Enclosed here is the in depth explanation for the AU for which all SwSh muses operate under: the Rusted Sword and Broken Shield AU-- or RSBS for short.

Please use this for reference if you are confused about the verse for my muses.  This is an overview for the entire AU, so there’s some extra characters discussed as well aside from my muses.  I’d also like to give a quick shout-out to my buddy Koshi for reading over this and helping come up with a lot of Marnie’s arc (because I completely forgot about her the first time... whoops).  He doesn’t have a blog for me to tag unfortunately, but I sincerely appreciate the help!

Under the cut because it’s long.

Gloria is the player.

Hop like usual, idolizes Leon and has developed an arrogance from being the Champion’s brother.  He can’t separate his own identity from Leon’s and so becomes incredibly discouraged when he keeps losing to his rival.  It’s Gloria that ends up making Hop reconsider his choice to become a Trainer, rather than Bede.  Bede rubs it in, but he’s not the root cause.  Hop realizes he’s thought he was better than Gloria this entire time and learns to see her as an equal.

He learns by the end that you have to lose sometimes in order to grow as a person.  If you’re never challenged, you’ll stagnate as a person.  After seeing Leon struggle to take control of the situation with Macros Cosmos as well as his depression after being defeated, he realizes Leon is another human being, like anyone else.  He comes to respect his brother rather than worship him.

He finally admits that he never really enjoyed training in the first place and Sonia allows Hop to be her lab assistant so he can train to become a Professor.

Marnie is less friendly to the player, Hop, and Bede at first.  She’s taken that resent of Dynamaxing to heart thanks to Spikemuth’s lack of a power hot spot, leading to Piers’ obscurity.  She wants to prove that someone can be Champion without needing to use Dynamaxing, and she manages to convince her brother Piers to give her an endorsement to prove herself.  If she fails, she promises to return and take over Spikemuth Gym for him.

Marnie doesn’t hate her rivals, but she resents them because they’re “special”-- having been endorsed by the Chairman and Champion.  Although she too was chosen by a League member, she feels as though Piers and Spikemuth are at a disadvantage.  Team Yell essentially hold their same position as in the original game, except that they have a strong dislike of Chairman Rose and the current state of the League.

Yell views Marnie as their Champion and cheer her on to victory.  Marnie is just as tired and annoyed by them, but she appreciates the support.  Although she ultimately loses to Gloria, she’s proud to have stuck to her guns about keeping away from Dynamaxing.  She becomes good friends with all her rivals by the end.  She and Piers later help evacuate Hammerlocke during Eternatus’ attack.

THE CHAIRMAN’S CHOICE

Bede starts out the same.  He’s sponsored by Chairman Rose, who has encouraged him to become a Trainer in order to pull himself out of his miserable childhood.  After hearing about Galar’s alleged impending energy crisis, he begins collecting Wishing Stars for Rose.  After he desecrates the monument at Stow-on-Side, Rose pulls him from the Gym Challenge.

However, Rose does not wash his hands of Bede.  He continues to encourage Bede, who is desperate for his approval and paternal affection.  He tells Bede that withdrawing from the Gym Challenge was to show that Bede had been punished properly; however, he sets the boy out on a new mission.

Not only does Bede continue collecting Wishing Stars, he is also attempting to take people’s Dynamax bands from them as well as seeking ways to harness some of the Dynamax energy from the stadiums.  It’s Bede who accidentally causes the first Dynamax incident in Hammerlocke when he is given a tour with Oleana and Rose, who intentionally leave him to his own devices in the Energy Plant.  The power failure is all orchestrated by Rose, but he makes Bede believe it was entirely his fault.

Bede eventually becomes the “fall guy” for Macro Cosmos.  By using the unaware teenager, Rose can divert attention away from himself and make himself out to be the good guy as he attempts to “teach” Bede to be better, all while stringing Bede along by getting closer with the young man as a father figure.

Whilst waxing about the state of Galar’s energy, Rose “accidentally” lets slip the mention of Eternatus, a being that could help forever power Galar if only they could harness its energy.  Although it’s buried deep below Hammerlocke and its energy provides much already to Galar, it’s not enough.

Bede decides to take matters into his own hands and attempts to summon Eternatus to help Rose by utilizing the machine to wake up the creature.  Just as planned, Rose again is able to blame Bede for everything in order to get people to cling even closer to his company.

Chairman Rose then discards of Bede now that his plans have completed, telling him he’s unlovable and too hard to “fix,” but thanks him for the help.  Hurt, Bede finally realizes he’d been used this whole time, but had repressed it due to his wanting to belong and be accepted by Rose.  He slinks back to Gloria and Hop and agrees to help them.  Although Rose hasn’t told him much, he has enough insider information in order to help them defeat Rose and Eternatus before it’s too late.  He’s injured battling Eternatus, but gives Gloria and Hop enough time to summon Zacian and Zamazenta in order to defeat Eternamax Eternatus.

After redeeming himself to the best of his abilities, Opal finally offers Bede the position of Ballonlea Gym Leader.  She met him during his initial withdrawal from the Challenge, but knew he had growing to do, but she encouraged him from the sidelines, always hoping that he would come around and learn to be better.

UNLEEFEATED

Leon is quite the same to start out as well.  He’s kind and cheerful, but ultimately shallow and arrogant.  Being the undefeated Champion of Galar for over ten years, he’s stagnated.  Although he never loses until Gloria comes along, he doesn’t learn much from his experiences.  His arrogance rubs off on Hop.

Although Leon believes in Hop, he still thinks his little brother will never match the talent for training that he has.  Gloria he sees more potential in, but still doubts he’ll ever be defeated.  However, curious to see how they’ll grow, Leon gives the two starter Pokemon as well as an endorsement so they may participate in the Gym Challenge.

Leon and Sonia’s formal rivalry is more highlighted.  The two had a falling out years ago due to Leon’s arrogance.  Sonia had enough of his inadvertent talking down to her during the Challenge as well as when she decides to quit in order to become a researcher, and the two had a massive falling out once Sonia felt she couldn’t even recognize Leon anymore after he took the Champion’s title.

Leon carries a lot of guilt for how he treated Sonia, but has repressed it enough to ignore it rather than ever try to bridge the gap between them.  He instead throws his investment in a rivalry and friendship with Raihan.  As he begins to encounter Sonia more and more over the course of Hop and Gloria’s journey, those feelings of sadness and regret return.

Before the Gym Finals, Rose approaches Leon to discuss business with him about Galar.  Rose is concerned for the energy that Galar will have, and shows Leon that the “endless” energy emanating from deep within Galar is starting to rapidly deplete all of the sudden.  Leon is shocked, and feels uncertain about Rose’s plan to fix it, and promises to think it over after the finals are done.

Once Leon is defeated for the first time by Gloria, he experiences a huge mix of emotions.  While he knows he should be proud of Gloria, a sadness eats away at him.  He feels empty now that he isn’t Galar’s undefeated hero anymore.  He had attached his entire identity to that ideal, and now, it’s gone.  While Rose exploits him at his lowest, Leon eventually comes to terms with his defeat.

He becomes proud of Gloria defeating him and throws himself at a new project: renovating Rose Tower into the Battle Tower so he can continue battling new and strong trainers.  Once Hop is given the assistant position to Sonia, Leon finally swallows his pride and apologizes to her.  While it doesn’t completely fix the tension between them, it’s a start, and Leon works at becoming at growing as a person and trainer.  Things are looking just as up for him as ever.

GALAR’S MOST BELOVED

Chairman Rose is a fucking bitch and I’ve had enough of him.  Basically, he’s not a big fucking idiot in this version.  He plays much harder into the role of the good guy, using Bede and other distractions in order to draw attention away from the fact that he is orchestrating a plot to take over Galar.

After all, Rose already controls a vast majority of the industry in Galar, as well as having the Pokemon League in his pocket.  He orchestrates a fake crisis about Galar’s energy, hoping to scare people into giving him more power.  This eventually culminates into false attacks on energy in Hammerlocke as well as the summoning of Eternatus.

He unintentionally almost summons Eternatus earlier in the story whilst attempting to pull more energy from the power spot in Hammerlocke, but fails, only to realize what opportunity he has.  Eternatus is stirring, and begins to eat away at the energy reserves at a dangerous rate.

After he tricks Bede into summoning the beast, Rose lets Eternatus wreak havoc by acting as if it was another error by the boy, who he constantly manipulates and feels little for.  He hopes to re-establish his role as the leader of Galar by helping defeat Eternatus, taking responsibility for Bede’s actions.  He has an untested device that will ideally contain Eternatus, but only in the event of Leon and his failure to defeat it.

Seeing Leon unable to beat Eternatus, he attempts to kill Leon in hopes of drumming up sympathy, wanting to make Leon a martyr for Macro Cosmos.  Then, he would attempt to use the device to placate Eternatus and utilize its power to further help Galar and prove how badly the region needs him.  However, he is defeated by Bede and then captured by authorities, jailed and his business dissolved.

HOW ABOUT THE PLOT?

There’s a lot of the same beats as in the vanilla game, but with some changes.  When the Dynamax incident happens in Hammerlocke, Hop and Gloria go to investigate, only to find Bede responsible for the incident.  They battle, argue a bit, and then try to help fix the problem, only to be stopped by Leon.  Leon is upset that the kids would disobey him when he told them to move on without worry, but was glad to see them stop Bede.

Bede is encountered a few more times throughout the game generally causing trouble on behalf of Chairman Rose, who continues to sigh and look like the tired father figure to the boy.  Opal attempts to nudge Bede towards realizing his true potential, as well as that he will not find meaning or value in trying to fight for Rose’s affection, but goes unheard.

There are unusual earthquakes and things happening with Dynamaxing.  Sometimes Pokemon randomly start and stop Dynamaxing in different areas.  Macro Cosmos promises to investigate but encourages everyone to continue their Gym Challenges and Dynamaxing to the best of their ability.

When Leon takes the kids out to dinner to celebrate them making it to Wyndon, Hop doesn’t freak out.  Leon texts them to let them know he’ll be late, and eventually, the kids are invited to Rose Tower when it appears that the meeting is growing longer and longer.  Rose gives them a tour, and explains that he and Leon are simply discussing some troubles with Galar, again disparaging Bede for his foolish actions in order to “help” the issue, before sending them on their way.  Hop and Gloria have a bad feeling about it, but don’t say anything.

Leon is defeated without any outside interference from Rose.  After a party celebrating Gloria’s win a few days later, Eternatus breaks out of Hammerlocke and starts wreaking havoc.

Rose approaches Leon and begs him to help.  He tells Leon that although Gloria overcame him, he is still Galar’s strongest hero, and that he’ll be loved in the hearts of millions if he is the one to defeat Eternatus.  He’d show Galar that he didn’t need to be undefeated to be a hero and a winner.  Leon agrees both out of duty and out of a need to “prove” himself to Galar once more.

Leon and Rose confront Eternatus together at the top of Hammerlocke Stadium.  Rose promises to fight alongside Leon, but soon disappears as the battle grows wilder.  Leon hardly notices as he fights to protect his and his Pokemon’s lives.  Leon tosses a Master Ball given to him by Rose just before in order to catch the dragon, but it fails.  Eternatus is uncatchable.  The beast bursts out of the ball and attacks Leon and his Charizard with even fiercer determination.

Leon starts to lose hope and confidence in himself, and soon nearly his entire team, save for his Charizard, is wiped out by Eternatus.  He attempts to escape, but Rose reappears to stop him, demanding to know why he’s giving up.  When Leon tries to leave again after explaining himself, Oleana knocks Leon out and they leave him to be devoured by Eternatus.

Bede soon arrives to stop the Chairman from his plans in order to give Hop and Gloria time to grab the sword and shield and to arrive back in Hammerlocke.  He manages to fight off Rose and Oleana, but finds himself beaten by Eternatus as well.  It’s just enough for him to try and drag Leon to safety before Gloria and Hop soon arrive, and begin to battle Eternatus with the help of Zacian and Zamazenta.

Leon comes to in the middle of battle and rushes back out once he hears the sound of the beast from outside.  As much as Bede attempts to stop him, they both arrive at the top again to see Gloria, Hop, and the legendary wolves defeating Eternatus’ Eternamax form.  The Pokemon loses its form and collapses into a pile of bones, the energy dissipating and being taken by the wolves, who returned to their resting place in Slumbering Weald.

Authorities catch up with Rose and Oleana and the two are arrested.  Macros Cosmos is dissolved.  Dynamaxing is no more thanks to Eternatus’ defeat, but the Gym Challenge roars on.  Zacian and Zamazenta absorbed the energy, spreading it evenly throughout Galar, helping the energy issue but preventing Dynamaxing from occuring.  People cope with the loss, but enjoy the act of simply battling anyways, learning about other forms of ultimate evolutions, such as the Megas from Kalos.

Not sure about the post game yet because I hate those sword and shield hair fucks and I don’t feel like coming up with a reasonable plot for them.  That’s not really important to the AU anyways, but if I come up with something, this post will be amended and I will make a note of it.