#down with hogwarts au's. the future lies with pokemon

[batsplat]

#casey's starter. if anyone cares

I care! Thoughts on pokemon for the other aliens?

okay. um. the slight problem I have is that... the amount of thought I've put into ~pokemon for aliens~ as a concept ranges from 'fully thought out pokemon teams (multiple)' for casey and valentino and 'precisely zero' for all the other aliens. it's basically a thought experiment I've only run for that one specific rivalry where you get into like... match-ups between the different teams... and then there's the matter of how you philosophically approach pokemon au's - whether you go 'imagine if people irl had pokemon' or whether you fully invest in the setting - which also has implications for pokemon choice. I like thinking through both regionally agnostic pokemon teams where you basically have a free pick, or ones where you try to think what makes sense in a specific story progression similar to what you'd get in a pokemon game. BUT let's put all that aside and just... pick one starter pokemon for each of the aliens. their first lil guy

casey - eevee

the pick that prompted this ask. counting eevee as a starter is kinda marginal, apparently it was one in... pokemon xd: gale of darkness...? which I have obviously never played. but my first pokemon game was mystery dungeon (blue rescue team) and it's one of the 'starters' in that. and,, look, I want eevee to fulfil the starter plot function for casey by being the first pokemon casey befriends, so. we are counting eevee

as any fan of the franchise knows, eevee is a pretty unique pokemon. it has like... an 'unstable/irregular genetic structure' that means that is influenced by its environment in how it evolves. it is the pokemon with all the potential... it could be anything. it can evolve into one of eight different eeveelutions, all with different types

some of its pokedex entries:

the quintessential mutant pokemon! a bit weird and special! can adapt to pretty much every environment it ends up living in. it's very casey idk,, adaptation is his trademark trait. his ability to respond to any possible challenge, to compensate for any problems - the natural talent that provides him with such flexibility in his skillset as a rider. like eevee, he's all about potential!! I also like how eevee starts as a normal-type pokemon that basically just looks like an ordinary animal at first glance. a cute woodland creature, a cross between a fox and a rabbit. you wouldn't see it and immediately think it can help you unlock some of life's greatest mysteries. but it can!! casey believes in it from the start and gets very prickly if anyone else underestimates his pokemon. plus, starters are obviously generally quite cuddly and kid-friendly, but eevee in particular does just properly look like a pet you might feasibly have. I am pro casey having a creature that can sit in his lap and provide emotional support

in general, obviously no pokemon species needs One Single Characterisation... for all of these, you do want a bit of individual personality for the pokemon that reflects how it bonds to its specific trainer. though you do usually get a bit of guidance for common personality features, certain associations and key traits. I don't feel like there's anything particularly established with eevee, so we can just play it by ear for this one. I think casey's eevee should be a little proud, very stubborn, not always the friendliest to strangers but extremely outwardly affectionate with casey. maybe a bit hot-and-cold, somewhat unstable in its temperament in line with its whole schtick as a genetically unstable pokemon. (my preferred annoying valentino character trait in pokemon!verse is that he is very good at getting other people's pokemon to adore him. draw whatever conclusions you wish to about what implications that might have for this particular dynamic.) I wouldn't... prescribe casey one set eeveelution... like it kinda depends on team composition, right, the whole point is that it can fulfil lots of different functions. my preferred options tend to be glaceon, as a sort of reserved, hardy (albeit pig-headed) companion that learns to balance out casey's hothead tendencies - or jolteon, which goes in the complete opposite direction and is extremely sensitive and moody and a bit difficult to deal with. but, again. the whole point is allowing for flexibility here. this pokemon can adapt to all sorts of harsh environments... all about capturing casey's raw potential, while also providing him with a friendly and affectionate companion who can ground him. one day, when casey has retired from the battle trainer profession as a renowned champion, he ends up on a farm surrounded by like a dozen baby eevee - who will eventually evolve into every type of pokemon imaginable. for now, they're too busy jumping all over him

valentino - chimchar

obviously a single pokemon doesn't have to be representative of the entire team unless you're like,, a gym trainer... and in this case specifically valentino's starter doesn't represent the pokemon types that you'd typically feature in valentino's team as a whole. in terms of basic dualism, for the casey/valentino rivalry it's ofc very much a casey fire vs valentino water situation. as their canonical colour coding helpfully reflects. BUT idk,, I feel like it takes the fun out of it to be super stringent with elemental types for starter pokemon. you want balance in your pokemon teams anyway, the water/psychic/ghost types can come later. and in terms of Vibes, I think valentino should have a little fire chimpanzee

look at it. this is a great pokemon for young valentino specifically... cheeky little rascal. it's got a fire tail that can't be extinguished even when it rains. young valentino canonically a wimp about rain, to the extent that he didn't want to leave the trailer to actually ride in races (aka his job) and had to be cajoled into doing so. (an attribute he never quite lost if you look at how he acted in some parc fermé situations over the years.) having a permanent source of heat follow him around he can cosy up to (at an angle that doesn't set his clothes on fire) can only be a good thing. the only time chimchar extinguishes its fire is when it sleeps, though the flame also grows fainter when it is sickly. and unquenchable flame is very valentino. ALSO chimchar is known for its ability to climb mountains - and I just like the idea of valentino getting a heart attack when his cute companion is halfway up an extremely steep rock face. valentino bonded 4 lyfe with a creature that puts the fear of god in him once a week. bonus points if chimchar is extremely restless and very nearly too energetic even for valentino, so valentino's trying to sleep off another late night only to wake up at eleven am and realise with horror that chimchar's trying to catch clouds again

the typical characterisation of chimchar leans into curiosity and mischief... it wants to know things, always sticking its nose in places it doesn't belong. AND it's playful, cheeky. a perfect partner in crime. a pesky little clown. this surprising clever annoying chimpanzee who can alternate between bounding around, bothering everyone in range, and clinging onto valentino as he roams the land on his adventures... the constant companion to ensure that valentino is never too lonely. trusty, unflinchingly loyal, extremely ride-or-die if not always the most obedient - it has an independence to it that garners valentino's respect, however irritating he might find it in the moment. a constant source of entertainment. prone to sitting on valentino's shoulder, and also to setting his clothes on fire

its evolutions suit valentino too:

the post-chimchar evolutions add fighting type - always up for a scrap, always up for challenging themselves with a new dangerous opponent, increasingly adept at handling themselves in combat. perceptive. resilient. fierce. let us consult bulbapedia:

'all of its limbs' 'comparable to dancing' 'flame never goes out' it all works what can I say. also! infernape isn't the tallest final evolution anyway and valentino would have like... a good sixty cm on it... but you'll also note that it has really terrible posture. like I said. valentino's perfect partner

dani - treecko

with this pick, I didn't start with treecko itself - rather, I thought about how treecko's evolutions suited dani and worked back from there. sceptile (the final evolution) to me is such a classic cool pokemon, like you just know that guy means business. sleek powerhouse. it is also a lot taller than dani and I just like the idea of this looming grass monster standing behind dani. but my real affection lies with grovyle (the second evolution), who was a major character in one of the pokemon mystery dungeon games - a time traveller attempting to save the world from an apocalyptic future where time had stopped working and was scapegoated as the culprit while working to defeat the REAL villain. long story short, grovyle was very brave and very committed but was also just like?? completely put through the wringer, like this guy simply cannot catch a break. tragic arc!! kid me was extremely invested

anyway, this is treecko

even when treecko is still small and cute, it's just a cool little fellow. the typical characterisations centre on how calm and collected treecko is... a reserved type, not prone to panic or indeed expressing any strong emotions. doesn't get intimidated or scared when facing bigger pokemon. fun giving dani a starter that exaggerates the more prickly aspects of his personality - make his treecko standoffish, verging on rude. very dismissive of those it doesn't see worthy of its attention. it comes across as too composed for this to read as shyness, though there is a little bit of that too... maybe not the best socialised pokemon. comes off as harsher as it means to, sometimes. and this is the story of how jorge lorenzo came to feel he had been mortally offended by a half metre tall creature

not quite as outwardly affectionate as some of the pairings on this list, dani and treecko have a lot of implicit trust and loyalty going for them. they very much come as A Unit - so early days when dani is still a bit more closed off to the outside world, treecko very much mirrors this. dani really only needs one confidante, everyone else is unnecessary. often a nuisance. I've already brought up the evolutions, but as a quick refresher:

cool leaf guys. towering over dani. yes. there's a real confidence and class to this pokemon post-treecko, a certain protectiveness of its trainer... proud and single-minded. perhaps even a little more assertive than dani and more willing to stand up on his behalf than he is on his own. even when they get kicked a lot by life, even when they struggle, they learn how to work through that and take pride in their successes as they come. a pairing that draws strength from the other, one that learns how to provide each other steady support and companionship. and if dani's REALLY in danger, sceptile can always pick him up and just get the fuck out of there. they'll always look out for each other

jorge - torchic

get jorge a torchic right now. right now. as stated at the top of this post, I didn't have any ideas prepared for three of the aliens, and admittedly my thought process with this one was picking dani's treecko first and then thinking about the other starter pokemon you get in the same game. which is how I got to torchic. but idc, never mind all that, I now feel very strongly about this pick

torchic is... this little warm ball... it's kinda awkward, toddling after its trainer, a bit unsteady and off-balance. not necessarily the coolest one at first glance... hey, maybe jorge wanted a treecko but dani got first pick. but once jorge commits, he really commits - and torchic are generally seen as extremely loyal to their trainers. dependent to the max. some more key details: they have a flame literally burning inside of them that makes them warm to hug. they're afraid of the dark and will cry if you leave them alone at night. they're basically very cute very cuddly wimps. jorge is initially sceptical... but once torchic worms its way into his heart, it sure does stay there. give jorge a little unconditionally loyal creature that he has to take care of and protect... let jorge do the full one eighty from being kinda unconvinced by this pokemon to being EXTREMELY defensive at anyone suggesting that there's anything wrong with being terrified of dark places. nobody else gets it... jorge knows his torchic is just misunderstood

more of a side note but. I like that I've given both yamaha teammates fire types who can keep them warm. a bit of a ~fight fire with fire~ approach to intra-garage relations. bright flames, drama, show. evENTUALLY they figure out they have a fair bit in common and don't have to try and kill each other every other week but... it takes time. there's also a bit of a superficial resemblance between both of their starters' final evolution, in colour scheme if nothing else

jorge's torchic only evolves once he's completely accepted it like it is, uncool overly affectionate wimp and all. at which point it does increasingly become the ~badass~ companion jorge had been looking for, though it never loses those early traits entirely. I also like this description of combusken's battle, like yeah sure let it be annoying and screechy:

jorge obviously canonically quite smooth and sleek on track - but again, it's fun to have a little bit of contrast too, where his starter pokemon is LOUD and DISTRACTING. he will LOSE IT if anyone calls his precious pokemon shrill and grating... people just don't get how smart it's being... (they get it, they just find it annoying anyway.) and this whole 'fire inside' thing just suits jorge... he's big on how his pokemon's fiery heart matches his own or whatever. even the torchic had PASSION. it's a proper partnership built on a mutual willingness to challenge absolutely anyone as they grow stronger and wiser together... they make for quite the pair. jorge's pokemon might never be the biggest fan of the dark, but it sure ends up being very brave about it

marc - totodile

as someone who regularly makes reference to marc's serial killer grin, it feels only right for me to assign marc a starter pokemon that can wrench open its jaw like a crocodile

totodile bites. a lot. it's not even malicious - it's playful and likes to roughhouse with everything in its vicinity. but the problem is that it has extremely powerful jaws that can chew through a LOT of things... so it might playfully bite you in a way that leaves you requiring stitches. and it also does this to its trainer! when marc is young, he's constantly getting the brunt of it, leaving him covered in bruises and worryingly gaping wounds as a result of his pokemon's affection. he never holds it against totodile, for all that a lot of those marks won't ever quite fade - he knows it doesn't mean badly. it's not generally a good idea to have your back turned to totodile and marc has to be careful to take his totodile around other people... now there you can get some nasty incidents that get marc into a lot of trouble. marc has a tendency to be quite bullish about these attacks and will always defend his pokemon, but eventually he learns to take more responsibility and totodile learns to be more careful. mainly because it doesn't like seeing marc in constant pain approaching agony

beyond these... uh, teething difficulties, totodile is fun to be around - cheerful, bright, and a steadfast companion to marc who always wants to play and have fun with him. it never quite loses these character traits in its evolutions --

-- though it does grow somewhat warier, a little more determined to protect marc from any potential attack. this evolutionary line sleeps with one eye open at all times, only ever resting half of its brain as a way of always staying on guard. croconaw have barbed fish hook teeth you can't get out once they are attached - so when it properly bites down onto something, it won't let go until it's lost its teeth. which fortunately (?) grow back fast. there is a certain reckless disregard for its own wellbeing with which marc's pokemon defends marc that does unsettle him, and he tries to dissuade his starter from regularly losing all its teeth on marc's behalf. character arc where they both have to learn to take a bit better care of themselves - for each other's sake, if nothing else. by the time marc's starter becomes a feraligatr, luckily it generally only has to open its massive jaw to intimidate foes. and when it DOES bite down on an enemy, it shakes its head around to like... idk man, just make life even worse for them? tear them asunder? not a pokemon to be messed with for sure. another one with a somewhat comical height disparity to its trainer, so marc can just show up and have an extremely scary massive crocodile as backup to glare at foes. but away from battle, it's still the playful affectionate creature it once was. just a touch more terrifying

[tcrmommabear]

TCR Secret Santa 2020 Wishlist

Hey everyone! Here’s the compiled list of everyone’s wishlists for Secret Santa 2020! Each person may have their list on their blog, but this makes it easier to find if you ever need to look again!

Have fun and good luck everyone!

Masha / @givingupthemashaghost

1. Natori trying to wrangle a smartphone away from Natoru because they won’t stop taking pictures of Embarrassing Things (TM) 2. Anything involving Muta and Natori interacting and not being happy about it. Bonus points for a “Trapped in an elevator” type of plot. 3. Anything regarding the now retired Cat King and Natori getting a “divorce” over something trivial, and Natori being scandalized people keep calling it a “divorce”. Bonus points if it’s written like a romantic comedy, with all the cliches and drama, but missing the actual romance. 4. Natori teaching Lune how to do a Royal Thing that eventually ends with Lune giving Natori Good Advice (Good Advice can be life altering or trivial, dealer’s choice) 5. Dreamland/Wonderland AU ft. Natori trying to find his way home, lies down, and finds out it was all a dream. Alternative version can be with Haru or Lune as main character and everyone else in humorous roles.

Ro / @adalhied-prime

1. Something for a Lune/Yuki “Ella Enchanted” type AU, guest starring Persephone and Louise if possible 2. Space Pirates/ Treasure Planet AU, based on Ro’s “A Sea of Stars” fic 3. Bureau Mission gone awry, maybe DnD characters and the campaign has gone off the rails, anything works. Make it light hearted and shippy. 4. Any continuation of Ro’s TCR fics, try your hand at it and have fun!

Helen / Cat / @catsafarithewriter

1. Supernatural Housemates 2. Lost Ladies (either their adventures or the Bureau meeting them) 3. Haru and/or Hiromi as witches 4. Monsterhunters! 5. Pokemon AU (either as Pokemon or people living in the Pokemon world)

Casandravus / @mommacomms

(Best found on Discord!)

1. “Tis a land of nightmares and dreamscapes...” 2. A time for peace. 3. “It’s us - what else could go wrong?” 4. Favorite Cartoon AU 5. “Anything short of “no” indicates you have permission to do the thing!” 6. Ka-boom!

Athens / @letterstoathens

1. Wormhole AU where the Bureau find themselves at Comic Con on Earth in the future after their film has been released and becomes wildly successful. Now, they must pretend to be extremely dedicated cosplayers. 2. Fantasy AU! Lord of the Rings, Dragon Age, Skyrim, GO CRAZY! 3. Great British Bake-Off AU 4. Hogwarts AU or Percy Jackson AU

Greenie / @greenleaf14

(Best found on Discord!)

1. Christmas Special of some kind with Haru and Baron! (Bonus points if they have a dance!) 2. Toto and Muta shenanigans! 3. Wildcard!

YarningChick

(Best found on Discord and FF.net!)

1. Nutcracker 2. Childhood Sweethearts 3. How a different film would have careened off course if the TCR cast/characters starred in it instead!

Dee-Dee / @deedee-sunflowers

1. The Bureau meets a witch/ Baba Yaga 2.  A quiet night in 3. Girls/Guys Night Out!

Wolfie / @wolfiethewriter

1. Bureau family fluff 2. A Very Bureau X-Mas 3. Something inspired by “The Baron’s Apprentice” (Wolfie’s fic) 4. A Christmas Carol as told/featured by the Bureau!

Cat / @cat-with-a-keyboard

1. Phantom of the Opera AU 2. Star Wars AU 3. Elder Scrolls AU 4. Bureau Prank Wars (Crack)