#crap posted this early this was supposed to be for pokemon day

[stimmysayori]

❤️ 🧡 💛 / 🩵 🌺 🩵 / 💚 💜 🩷 (🌺)

Flag by @alolababy!

[epicspheal]

Not sure if you answered this but what was the moment when you either knew or said Leon is my champion? Basically when and why did you fall in love with him?

Hi there namelessbaron!

To be honest, Leon intrigued me from the start of that trailer (right before every thing went to crap with the Nintendo Treehouse). I was curious to know what was going to happen since they never reveal a champion that early. And having another POC champion (I'm saying POC only because I know multiple people have different headcanons on to what his actual ethnicity is) was nice.

But I would say it was actually when I played the game that he truly became my favorite of the champions. He was goofy, smart, the most consistently challenging fight outside of the legendary max raid battles. He had a true presence in the game not really felt by other champions. I think the only other champion that really had an impact on me was Blue(Green) Oak but that's mainly due to the absolute wham factor of your rival beating you to the punch (sidenote: there is going to be an essay on the OG rival from me later). And also the Champion Red fight in the Johto games because again there's a lot of weight to that moment. That's not to say I don't think the other champions aren't memorable, I've said this before but the champions as a whole are my favorite class of characters. But I hope that for future champions they follow the Leon route and give them more presence and importance in the game. It's what they deserve given their status.

I think the part that stood out to me and made him my favorite was the part that probably makes him the most controversial among the fandom at large, which is him actually stepping in and solving issues without involving the player. Like for me it was such a breath of fresh air to have an adult act like on in the Pokemon Games. Especially if we're supposed to respect them. It's hard to take other champions as seriously when they leave things for a kid to do, especially since as far as we know most of named non-protag/rival champions probably had very easy journeys (and by that I mean not dealing with the end of the world crisis or evil teams).

Getting off topic, but the fact that Leon (and Sonia) is so insistent on us not joining in makes me think that something happened during his journey (like Team Rocket level bad).

But also I think another thing that really endeared him to me was the note on him from Opal

Like I've covered that in a post long back in the early days of this blog, but that's such a moment for Leon that I honestly wish was explored more in games. It makes sense that he would be hiding his true feelings in order to please his fans and his family. But like I feel like there was a lot of missed potential in exploring it's such a very relatable thing for the "star" kid of the family to maybe not be entirely happy with their position, but keep up a positive front because of the expectations around them.

So yeah that's the gist of why Leon is my number one favorite champion, a position I doubt he'll be kicked out of anytime soon.

[themattress]

Pokemon Franchise Narrative Comparison

To this day, there have been only three other mediums that have run for as long as the core Pokemon game series has: the anime series, the Pokemon Adventures manga series, and the Trading Card Game. With the obvious exception of the TCG, these have all had narrative arcs within each passing generation, and I want to use this post to compare their quality.

GEN I Games: Red/Blue/Green/Yellow Anime: Original Series: Indigo League + Orange Islands (The Beginning) Manga: Red/Blue/Green Chapter, Yellow Chapter  

1st Place - Manga. The original R/B/G Chapter brings the world of the Game Boy games to life in stunning accuracy, while also its own spin on certain things and crafting a simple yet sophisticated coming-of-age narrative, with the Yellow Chapter being its Actionized Sequel that raises the stakes even higher and deepens everything within this manga series. Add to this clear influence from the anime and the fact that it’s the only Gen I product to feature the character of Green in it, and we have the definitive story for the franchise’s first generation.

2nd Place - Anime. While increasingly less faithful to the details of the games, the anime remained very faithful to the spirit of them while telling its own coming-of-age tale for Ash Ketchum in the Indigo League series, plus a “postgame scenario” equivalent with the Orange Islands series. The highlight of this story is definitely how it fleshes out the games’ main antagonists: Gary Oak, Team Rocket and Mewtwo, into interesting, memorable characters.

3rd Place - Games. The 8-bit adventure that started it all is incredibly bare-bones and basic: take the Pokemon League challenge, thwart the evil Team Rocket along the way, and if possible fill up that Pokedex with all 151 Pokemon (”Gotta Catch ‘Em All!”). As a story, it’s not very interesting, but as an excuse for gameplay it works marvelously and established a winning formula for the series, and to this day it’s still charming in its wholesome simplicity.

GEN II Games: Gold/Silver/Crystal Anime: Original Series: GS (Gold and Silver) Manga: Gold/Silver/Crystal Chapter

1st Place - Manga. It’s funny - in the first volume of the G/S/C Chapter, things seemed to be a definite downgrade from the Kanto-based arcs that came before in terms of artwork, characterization and narrative. But then the mysterious masked antagonist appears at the end, and from then on out things just keep escalating to such epic heights that it becomes the best Johto story in the franchise and arguably the best arc in the whole manga series! Practically everyone and everything from the previous two arcs end up joining up with the new elements and the series up to this point is brought to a satisfying, conclusive note. 

2nd Place - Games. While the League challenge and Pokedex narrative threads are basically the same as before, and the Team Rocket thread is actually weaker, this story also features a stronger regional setting, a stronger rival, and stronger characterization for side characters both old and new, especially in the special edition, Crystal, making it a welcome step-up.  

3rd Place - Anime. An attempt at a new narrative was notoriously abandoned early on, with Takeshi Shudo leaving the head writer position and the whole show devolving into formulaic Filler Hell. While the Johto League tournament that concluded the whole thing was good, there was barely a story to support getting there, and the main characters had all become Flanderized versions of their former selves by the end. Without question, the anime had jumped the shark. But Shudo did give us the best movie and an OVA that properly concluded Indigo League’s Mewtwo arc before he was through, so let’s not say it was a total waste.

GEN III Games: Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, FireRed/LeafGreen Anime: Advanced Generation (Ruby and Sapphire) Manga: Ruby/Sapphire Chapter, FireRed/LeafGreen Chapter, Emerald Chapter

1st Place - Games. The first time that the games get first place, but only on the technicality that the other contenders are worse, since this really isn’t that big an improvement over the previous two generations’ game narratives. The biggest difference is that your character is the child of one of the Gym Leaders, and the evil team narrative thread (Team Aqua and/or Team Magma this time) builds to an epic high-stakes event that involves the Legendary Pokemon mascot of the game which will become a mainstay of the formula from now on. There is also the remakes of the original Gen I games, and aside from some small tweaks of improvement and a postgame scenario in an island archipelago (anime-inspired, perhaps?), the narrative is basically the same as it was before. Nothing outstanding, but serviceable. 

2nd Place - Manga. Talk about a mixed bag...the R/S Chapter started out with promise but ended up going to shit in its second half, the FR/LG Chapter was fantastic only to conclude with a bullshit last-minute cliffhanger, and the Emerald Chapter that connects the two arcs is just stereotypical, badly-written shonen crap with only a few good elements in it (plus some ironic enjoyment to be had in its batshit insane climax). On the whole, this was the weakest period that the manga series has ever had, despite Kusaka and Yamamoto’s best efforts.  

3rd Place - Anime. Beyond May and her character arc which, by some lucky fluke, came together wonderfully, the anime hadn’t improved that much from the Johto days. Hoenn was not done any justice (even the manga did a better job with it!), and the FRLG/Emerald composite for the filler arc afterward was just weird in spite of how entertaining half of it was. All in all, the anime hadn’t gotten a real narrative back. It was just going through the motions.

GEN IV Games: Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSilver Anime: Diamond & Pearl Manga: Diamond/Pearl Chapter, Platinum Chapter, HeartGold/SoulSilver Chapter

1st Place - Manga. Pokemon Adventures retakes its crown in this generation, with a phenomental two arcs in the Sinnoh region that are so linked that they essentially make up one whole story, and a brief, adequate arc in Johto that properly bridges the gap between those Sinnoh arcs and the Emerald arc before them. Whenever I think of Sinnoh, it’s the region portrayed in this manga that comes to mind, which is a testament to its high quality.

2nd Place - Games. One word can describe the narratives of these games: overcooked. There are a lot of good ingredients here that elevate the series’ storytelling to a new level, but way too many cooks who don’t have a unified idea of how to properly mix them together means that it becomes a muddled mess of mythology, philosophy and vague character motivations. This particularly pisses me off when it effects the otherwise solid Gen II remakes. However, the good elements are still good regardless, and as showcased by the following generation this was a necessary learning curve to get through, so it deserves some respect.

3rd Place - Anime. Ugh. Newly appointed head writer Atsuhiro Tomioka tries to have his cake and eat it too here, maintaining the anime’s banal filler formula while also attempting to tell a legitimate narrative, but he as just one man somehow manages to clutter up that narrative more than the several writers did for the games in this generation! It is an increasingly insufferable roller coaster of plot threads and supposed character arcs that are drawn out to the point of disinterest across four years, with you really feeling the disastrous pace when it takes a years’ worth of time between Ash winning his 7th badge and him winning his 8th. Combine this with the source material of the games being disrespected or cast aside perhaps worse than ever, and you get what I will always believe is the lowest point for the anime.  

GEN V Games: Black/White, Black 2/White 2 Anime: Best Wishes + Best Wishes Season 2 (Black and White) Manga: Black/White Chapter, Black 2/White 2 Chapter

1st Place - Games. With this generation, particularly with its first set of games, the learning curve undergone in Gen IV paid off. This is quite possibly the richest narrative in the whole game series in terms of plot, characterization and themes, and the peak of the traditional formula. Combined with stellar gameplay, it creates a high point that has yet to be matched.

2nd Place - Manga. The Black/White Chapter had a rough start, just copying the games’ plot almost to the letter but with the characterizations for the main characters truly being less than ideal (see what I did there?) However, once Black and White go their own separate ways the arc starts rapidly improving until it ends on a phenomenal high note that segues perfectly in the Black 2/White 2 arc that, like the Yellow arc, is an Actionized Sequel and, like the Platinum arc, is essentially the continuation and conclusion of the same story as in the previous arc. The only real mark against it is that it can be too fast-paced which only adds to the frustrating irony of the absolutely Hellish schedule slip it underwent (8 fucking years for an arc of just 24 chapters / 3 volumes to be completed! It’s never going to live that fact down!)

3rd Place - Anime. Kind of the reverse of the manga: had a great start being the best that the anime has been in a long time, only to get progressively weaker, with the third and final year being a trainwreck of checking off plot points in a mad rush to promote the upcoming Gen VI and pander to the whiny fanboys who’d been complaining about the loss of the formula and D/P-style story writing (yes, they actually liked those) plus the “soft reboot” aspect going on, particularly with Ash. However, much like the Gen IV games, the Gen V anime proved to be a necessary learning curve for the future and is a highly impactful series in that regard, so it deserves respect for that (although I hate that both a natural disaster and the B2/W2 games screwed up the originally planned Team Plasma arc! It’s never going to live that fact down!) 

GEN VI Games: X/Y, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Anime: XY + XY&Z Manga: X/Y Chapter, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Chapter

1st Place - Manga. I thoroughly dislike the story of the X/Y games and the Delta Episode of OR/AS, so imagine my surprise when Pokemon Adventures actually makes something good out of them (or, in the Delta Episode’s case, something tolerable at best). The X/Y Chapter is a delightful deconstruction of a lot of what’s in the games, turning what was light and fluffy and hollow into something dark and suspenseful and meaningful. And the OR/AS Chapter gets points for being the best that Ruby and Sapphire have ever been characterized, to the point where they’ve been officially Rescued from my Scrappy Heap (Emerald’s still lame tho).

2nd Place - Games. Like I said, I dislike the X/Y games’ narrative and the Delta Episode of OR/AS; I think they are the worst writing the game series has ever seen to date. But the main narrative of OR/AS - the actual remake of the Gen III games which features a lot of new and necessary improvements - is solid, and that’s enough to put the games at second place here.

3rd Place - Anime. Similarly, the one thing the anime series does really well - the Myth Arc, which includes the Team Flare storyline - is not enough to elevate it beyond third place, because the rest of the series’ narrative is just as lame as the X/Y games’, there’s not much benefit from OR/AS elements, and everything that it positions in its shameful fan-pandering utterly fails to deliver or add up to anything meaningful in the end. The Mega Evolution specials pretty clearly demonstrate that this should have been Alain’s show, not Ash’s.

GEN VII Games: Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon Anime: Sun & Moon Manga: Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon Chapter

1st Place - Games. The Gen V games have serious competition story-wise with the Gen VII games. Both S/M and US/UM are excellent, with things not done so well in one being done better in the other and vice-versa to the point where they compliment each other beautifully.

2nd Place - Anime. Miracle of miracles! For the first time since Gen I, the anime series gets its narrative in second place, with Daiki Tomiyasu and Aya Matsui completely reinventing it in a refreshingly fun and vibrant way. There are some missed opportunities here and there, but overall it’s a perfect adaptation of the Alola region and everything that makes it so great.

3rd Place - Manga. While this is still an arc of good quality that I like, it’s also perhaps the most disappointing since Ruby/Sapphire back in Gen III. After doing so well with Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos, one senses that Kusaka and Yamamoto struggled to adapt Alola to that same standard, and while the decision to keep US/UM as part of the same arc rather than be a separate one was wise, it’s during the US/UM half of the arc that things really start falling apart and the wasted potential of stuff that got set up earlier becomes overbearing. It doesn’t help that the leads are an unlikable hero with an interesting, relatable goal and a likable heroine with an uninteresting, unrelatable goal respectively. Let’s hope that the patchwork done in the volume releases fixes some of the problems so that I can like this arc even more.

GEN VIII Games: Sword/Shield Anime: New Series (Journeys) Manga: Sword/Shield Chapter

1st Place - Manga. As I recently stated, Kusaka and Yamamoto are back at their A-Game with this arc, taking advantage of all that was lacking in the games’ story and utilizing them in an interesting narrative that I can’t wait to further experience alongside our surrogate, Marvin.

2nd Place - Games. If the Gen IV games’ narrative was overcooked, then the narrative of the games four generations later is most definitely undercooked. It’s not the worst story - that’s still Gen VI - but it’s possibly the most disappointing since it’s so easy to see how it could have been better and you are left baffled as to why the writers didn’t go in that direction.

3rd Place - Anime. This series is highly enjoyable thanks to the continued leadership of Daiki Tomiyasu, but not only is there not as much of a narrative as there’s been in earlier shows, it isn’t even uniquely Gen VIII-based: taking place across all regions in the Pokemon World and taking influence from mobile games like Go (released in Gen VI) and Masters (released in Gen VII).  Add to that the unfortunate hiatus it’s now on and it can’t help but be placed last.

[haberdashing]

but i always thought that i’d see you again

Pokemon world fic featuring one of my OCs.

Blair, a pessimistic and cynical Pokemon breeder, reflects upon their distaste for the holiday season, which stems from the unfortunate timing of the deaths of two immediate family members.

Written as part of @badthingshappenbingo​ for the trope “Never Got To Say Goodbye”; my current bingo card will be posted at the end of the fic, below the cut.

on AO3

Blair, frankly, hated the winter holiday season. They hated Christmas and New Year’s with a passion, hated that the frigid air made it hard even for Delta to keep all their eggs warm, and generally would be very much happy if the calendar excluded the entire month of December, and possibly November for good measure.

It wasn’t about simple practicality, about disliking having to buy presents or go to family parties, because Blair didn’t have to deal with any of that. Sure, they had gotten an invite to go spend Christmas day with some cousins, but they had no intention of taking them up on the offer. Even if they wanted to trudge through the snow and ice just to see a bunch of semi-distant family members (and they didn't particularly), they had work to attend to, work that wouldn’t always allow for spur-of-the-moment trips, especially when they had rather a lot of eggs to cart around with them.

And business was always good this time of year. Sure, the cold made it a bit trickier to keep all their Pokemon wrangled, to keep their fragile eggs nice and toasty, but around the holidays, that hard work always paid off. Lots of people wanted to give their loved ones newly-hatched Pokemon as Christmas gifts, it seemed, a desire that Blair as a breeder was all too willing to accommodate. It was a nice breather from most of their usual clientele and their less idyllic plans for the Pokemon being bred for them, really.

No, their hatred of Christmastime spread from another source altogether, one that had little to do with the chill in the air that froze their eggs if they (or Delta) weren't careful and everything to do with a tragic event that would change Blair’s life forever happening to fall awfully close to the time of the winter holidays, tainting their perception of the holidays for the rest of their life.

Blair’s sister, Blake, and their mother had left on their last ever poaching trip in late November, which wasn’t technically winter yet, admittedly, but that unmistakable winter chill in the air had already arrived just the same. It was early enough in the season that the two of them would undoubtedly be home in time for Christmas, but late enough that some of their catches might well end up as Christmas gifts down the line, a busy season for both poachers and breeders alike. (That, at least, hadn't changed, Blair thought to themself as they watched Delta tend to their current batch of eggs.)

Blair and their father had seen them off as they usually did, with an unceremonial meeting in the hallway by the front door as the two were getting ready to head off on their latest expedition, the family Christmas tree visible in the background. The pair brought plenty of warm clothes for the winter weather to come, making their bags even heavier than normal, but they could handle it. They always did, after all. (Part of that, at least, was still the same. Blair was handling things the same as always, better even, now that they had Delta to warm their eggs.)

They did some of the usual sentimental crap, hugging and wishing each other well and assuring each other that they'd be home in time for the holidays, but that wasn't the note that they left on. Blake had looked over at Blair, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, and said, "Hope you don't get too badly poisoned while I'm gone." This had been before Blair had sold off most of the family breeding stock, before the eggs that they cared for were predominantly Poison-type, but there were still enough Poison-types in the mix that poisoning was a real enough danger to be considered.

And Blair had responded, with a similar twinkle in their eye, "And I hope you don't freeze to death while you're out there." It had been just a casual comment, a joke even, the sort of humorous exchange the twins had made time and time again over the years. Normally, it would have been forgotten before the month was out... but as things turned out, it was a statement that Blair would never allow themself to forget making.

And that was it, more or less. Blake and their mother left to go on their poaching expedition, to brave the cold in the hopes of finding some good Pokemon to sell, and Blair and their father stayed home and tended to eggs (as they still do now, they supposed, albeit with Delta helping with the eggs instead of their father), and everything seemed normal enough for a time. Blair couldn't remember, afterwards, when it mattered, if they'd actually outright said goodbye to Blake and their mother beforehand. They didn't think they did. But it seemed like just a formality at the time, how could they have known?

The knock on the door had come on a day that had seemed ordinary enough. Blair and their father had both been tending to the eggs (perhaps some part of them would always think of that, even now, when their current batch of eggs was so far removed from those ones) when it came, and while only one of them was strictly needed to answer the door, Blair had followed their father inside, glad to get a respite from the winter chill outside. It would be rather early for Blake and their mother to be home, so Blair's initial guess was that it was some door-to-door salesman doing the rounds, not an uncommon happening around those parts.

It didn't take long for Blair to notice that the person at the door was not, in fact, a door-to-door salesman, but instead a local police officer in full uniform. Even with this information, though, their mind leaped to the wrong conclusion, thinking that their mother and sister must have gotten busted by the police for poaching, that they must be in jail now. That would be a rough way to start the holidays, for sure, but as it turned out, that would be more pleasant than the reality of the situation, one that would ruin not only that holiday season but every one in the years to come.

The police officer spoke only to Blair's dad at first, not directly to them, and he spoke quietly enough that Blair couldn't make out what he was saying, which Blair initially thought was him being unintentionally rude but later figured was him trying to spare a child from hearing gory details about the fate of their relatives shortly before the holidays. Over the months and years that followed, Blair went back and forth between thinking that the police officer was in the right to do this and thinking that they should have just broken the news to both of them at the same time, gory details and all. It's not like they wouldn't find out eventually anyway, and they weren't that young at the time...

Whatever Blair thought of it in hindsight, whether the police officer was right or wrong, he left before speaking to Blair in person, leaving their father, newly grieving, with the task of explaining what had happened to his child. "What was that about?" Blair had asked, still largely clinging to the theory that their mother and sister were rotting in Caecus jail right now. It took a moment for Blair's father to summon the courage to respond. "You know how Blake and your mom were supposed to be home in time for Christmas?" Blair had nodded, still not realizing what their father was getting at; surely a mere poaching charge would come with a reasonable bail amount, right?

"Well, uh, sweetheart-" That was enough to set Blair on edge a little; their father didn't use the term "sweetheart" on them often, and when he did it was usually either to make a point or a vain attempt to soften harsher speech to follow. "Yeah?" "They're not going to be home for Christmas, Blair. They're... they're not coming home at all." The words hung in the air for a long, silent moment as the reality that Blair's father was dancing around began to sink in.

It took longer than it should have for Blair to realize what their father was getting at; even now, they'd look back at their past self and wonder how they could have been so naive, how they could have not known of the cruelties that the world would deal out without warning or apology. To their credit, they did put the pieces together eventually, realizing that what their father was referring to was a much graver problem than mere arrests. "What... what happened to them?"

Blair's father took a deep breath and let it out before replying. "Well, they don't know the full story, it sounds like... but a hiker out on the Bends found them. They think a wild Pokemon must have attacked, caught them off-guard so they had no time to get out their own Pokemon before it was too late..." Blair wasn't sure they bought it. Blake and their mother had been to the Bends time and time again; they knew the risks, knew the dangers, knew what precautions to take to avoid the worst of it. If they had been caught off-guard by a Pokemon attack, there was no way to be sure that the attacking Pokemon was wild... ...man, they really wished they could've talked to that police officer before he'd decided to abscond.

Blair's father started crying before they did. Part of them saw that as weakness on his part, that he was the first to break down, not able to last as long as someone who wasn't even technically an adult yet. But part of them understood. Part of them knew his world was falling apart just like theirs was, even if they had different means of coping with it, different ways of putting together the pieces. On that night, a few days before Christmas, Blair and their father hugged and cried and grieved for all that they had lost, for all that would have to change on a moment's notice.

The next few weeks, during a time that was supposed to be filled with festivity and cheer, were filled with a series of entirely different emotions that all seemed to blur together just as the days themselves did. Sadness and grief, of course. Anger, at whoever had killed Blake and their mother, at the police for not investigating further. Guilt, for possibly jinxing their final outing, for not sending them off with a proper farewell, for not doing more to help keep them safe, for living when they no longer did.

Breeding helped a little. Going through the motions, doing the same tasks they'd done day in and day out before... maybe that's why they'd hung onto it, kept working as a breeder and caring for eggs even to this day rather than seeking out a different profession. It was something they'd done before the worst happened, something familiar, something they could fix their mind on instead of focusing on everything else they had to deal with.

But breeding could only do so much. Caring for eggs, eggs that were destined to end up owned by another, was no replacement for a mother, for a sister, and, eventually, for a father. (That last loss wasn't during the holiday season, but it was still technically winter at the time, further souring Blair on the season as a whole.) And funerals were certainly no replacement for the family's usual holiday celebrations...

Since then, Blair has loathed the holiday season. Where others see festivity and bonding and bliss, Blair sees funerals and a police officer breaking the worst news imaginable. Tending to eggs helps distract them a little, but only so much. If hating Christmas makes them a grinch, well, so be it. They'd rather be a grinch than pretend to enjoy something that makes their heart ache.