#also smth about how fraldarius was a falco knight

[wolfhednn]

ooc. remember how i said a while back that the rockruff line would be felix’s perfect link pokemon?

i lied. it’s the rookidee line. analysis under the cut for SWSH spoilers ( only for dex entries; nothing about plot or the game itself ).

rookidee

Sword: It will bravely challenge any opponent, no matter how powerful. This Pokémon benefits from every battle. Even a defeat increases its strength a bit.

the entry that got me thinking. it should be self-explanatory in felix’s case why this fits him so well, since it directly matches his mentality of self-improvement. he’s always looking for worthy opponents to test himself against: the stronger, the better, because he doesn’t find any worth in fighting people he can easily defeat. you don’t get better through easy wins. it’s through challenging fights and even losses that one finds ways to improve.

it works because this was an attitude instilled in him at a very young age, as he continuously lost to glenn during their sparring matches. though frustrated, he never saw this as a setback, but rather ongoing opportunities to get even stronger until he could one day beat him. due to glenn, felix as a child never learned to see strong opponents as roadblocks, only as stepping stones for his own growth.

Shield:  Jumping nimbly about, this small-bodied Pokémon takes advantage of even the slightest opportunity to disorient larger opponents.

i haven’t written too extensively about this yet, but felix’s focus on speed has a lot to do with him being of smaller stature and slimmer build than many men. it runs in the family, as i’ve mentioned in previous metas — all of the fraldariuses are noodles to varying extents ( and felix, like his dad, is actually on the more filled out side of the family genes ). he balances the lack of height and bulk with lightning-fast agility and precision, and his strength doesn’t suffer for it either, if his second-highest-STR-growth-in-the-game is any indication.

he’s all about evading attacks, never letting his usually larger opponents land a hit, letting them tire themselves out trying to overwhelm him with strength alone and then taking “advantage of even the slightest opportunity” to incapacitate them.

corvisquire

Sword: The lessons of many harsh battles have taught it how to accurately judge an opponent's strength.

again, pretty self-explanatory. felix “i fight and grow stronger. only natural.” hugo fraldarius is good at gauging where an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses are because he’s so experienced on the battlefield. he’s also pretty good at gauging his own for the same reason. this can be seen throughout his dialogue where he aptly identifies his own talents and deficiencies, and he’s confident about his abilities to do the same in others.

Shield: Smart enough to use tools in battle, these Pokémon have been seen picking up rocks and flinging them or using ropes to wrap up enemies.

at first glance, this doesn’t seem as relevant, but it speaks a lot to felix’s belief that, in order to be a truly skilled warrior, one can’t just rely on traditional tactics; one has to fight smart as well as hard in order to best a powerful enemy. warriors have to think outside the box, even if it means using underhanded strategies. whatever gets them the victory. this gets brought up consistently in his dialogue:

Byleth B:  No. Knights ought to have some hunger. I’ve always thought so. They depend too much on their swords. Only when they’re wrested away do knights consider their hands and feet as weapons. That’s not how it was for warriors of old. They weren’t limited by their tools. Victory is what matters, not the method of achieving it. That’s the attitude to adopt.

Ingrid C: Successful armies must be able to handle unexpected situations. That starts with weapon mastery and creative tactics.

Leonie A:  I agree. A warrior can’t stick too closely to predefined tactics. [ ... ]  I still have much to learn. Not only about swordplay, but also about thinking on my feet.

Goddess Tower: I pledge that someday, I will surpass you. I’ll surpass your technique, your skill with the sword, and your cunning as a warrior. ( emphasis mine )

CF 14 Monastery Line: I hear Claude’s earned himself a rather colorful nickname. He does whatever it takes to win. I like that.

corviknight

Sword: This Pokémon reigns supreme in the skies of the Galar region. The black luster of its steel body could drive terror into the heart of any foe.

i’m gonna point to excerpts from a couple of his non-AM mercenary endings:

“... Little is known of his whereabouts thereafter, but even many years later, soldiers continued to whisper rumors of a mysterious man able to deal swift death to scores of enemies.”

“... tales of a swordsman who made warriors across Fódlan tremble with fear...”

bonus!

more than once, @gallantgautier has described felix’s hair as being “crow-feathered” in both color and texture. foreshadowing, man.