#even if the original form already has a Mega Evolution

[alexanderkrizak]

Pokémon Legends Z-A Starter Speculation

I got this into my head, so fine, let's cook. And we can repurpose this image that was used for a starter ranking meme recently.

Okay, so first of all, while you technically need two points of data to establish a trend, we can still try to extrapolate from the original Pokémon Legends Arceus.

PLA excluded the starters of the region it was set in, giving the player an opportunity to catch those starters in the wilds. PLA also excluded the starters of the current generation, probably to avoid overexposing them.

Speaking of Pokémon Legends Arceus, we're also quite obviously not going to have the same starter Pokémon as it had, so we'll have to say goodbye to two of the best starters ever created... and Oshawott.

Alright, now for something actually speculative... I believe that Game Freak will exclude Gen 1 and Gen 3 starters. Why? Mega Evolution. All six of them have Mega Evolutions, and I feel that Game Freak will want to give the Z-A starters all new Mega Evolutions. (Will said Mega Evolutions replace Kalosian forms for the starters? I'm gonna say yes, though that doesn't mean other Pokémon won't have Kalosian forms.)

And now we're at a point where we are operating on 100% Pure Bullshit™. I think this'll be another set of incredibly popular starters, drawn once again from three different generations, and that they'll try to get a representative from every generation that wasn't represented in PLA but wasn't also disqualified for other reasons. Which does still mean one generation will get represented again.

So why do I think Game Freak will choose?

But what does everyone think? Have I made assumptions you find to be wildly off? Let me know how silly my speculation is, and we'll find out how wrong I am in 2025! (Or much sooner, actually, they'll reveal the actual starters sometime this year.)

[sostanotes]

Legends Z-A Predictions

It's about 2 weeks to Pokémon day, and my brain started spitting out theories after the most reason Pokémon Home update (shiny pokémon rewards for completing in-game pokédexes). So here's some rambling thoughts, that I will revisit anytime we get more information.

First, my previous predictions, and any thoughts since:

The game is set in the past, roughly 20 years after Legends: Arceus, to coincide with the real-world construction of the Eiffel Tower, as PLA coincided with the Japanese annexation/colonization of Hokkaido.

I still think this is possible, though I have seen good arguments for it being set after XY.

There will be Pokémon from outside the Kalos pokédex, specificially from Galar and/or Paldea.

Probably. Kalos had a HUGE regional dex, split across it's three sub-dexes, but introducing newer-gen pokémon, especially from regions inspired by France' real-world neighbors makes sense and would fit with what we saw in PLA.

No new region name.

The Japanese colonization of Ezo led to it being renamed Hokkaido, which the Hisui>Sinnoh change mirrors. Unless we go back to PRE-MEDIEVAL TIMES, which the trailer pretty clearly disagrees with, no such change has happened in France. Still could happen though.

The original Kalos starter trio will get mega evolutions.

Maybe its wishful thinking, but it seems likely to me. The nerf to battle bond on Greninja may be in anticipation of that.

And now for new thoughts:

PLA-style mixed-gen starter trio, with regional forms.

I could see it happening, especially if they mirror the double starter situation from XY. It could work in either order: either you get the traditional Kalos starters first and are later offered another starter imported from another region, which to me would make more sense in a post-XY era; or you get a starter from the mixed imported set (ala Laventon's trio) and later are offered the traditional Kalos starters, which in a game set in the past could explain where that set of 3 starters came from.

Otherwise, you would just be able to catch the Kalos starters in the wild, regardless of whether they were given to you at the beginning (though that feels as if it cheapens them unless its locked to some special event, like the Space-Time Distortions for the PLA starters), or if you get a new set of starters. Similarly, the other starters traditionally able to Mega Evolve, are likely obtainable, though maybe not until late- or post-game.

And if there is a mixed-gen starter trio, my predictions are:

Grass: Snivy is the obvious choice here, given Serperior's Fleur-de-Lis patterns, with its redesign being similar in style to its counterpart Samurott. Chikorita could be an interesting choice as well, given its design connection to Belgian Endive, and the lily-like flowers of Meganium. For something out of left field, we could have Bulbasaur, who also has some lily elements. And while I doubt they would do it, Sprigatito also fits well.

Fire: This is the hardest one to pin down for me. Scorbunny has the football elements, which align well with modern French culture. Infernape is a bit of a stretch but could be fun, as there are several kinds of monkey with French names either because of the scientist that recorded them directly or because they reminded the scientists of French things (like the Capuchin) In line with Bulbasaur as a pokémon that already has a Mega, but thematically as appropriate as Snivy is Torchic, as the national symbol of France is a rooster.

Water: Piplup is again an obvious choice, given Empoleon's…well whole deal. Totodile could work as well, given the famous story of Eleonore, the crocodile who was found living in the Paris sewers in 1984; this clearly doesn't work with Chikorita though. Maybe Poplio, for Primarina's operatic elements? The oddball choice here would Froakie, singling it out among the Kalos starters even more, and letting the other's merely be caught later.

Extra legendary pokémon, specifically the Legendary Beasts with a new member.

This idea came to me because of the Shiny Keldeo reward for completing the Sword and Shield pokédexes that released today. You could already get Keldeo in game, and everyone was expecting this to be the reward I expect, since Shiny Meloetta was the reward for the Scarlet and Violet pokédexes (and you could get Meloetta in those games). But it DID get me thinking.

Scarlet and Violet's past versus future paradox pokémon included the contrasting set of Past Paradox Legendary Beasts (Raging Bolt, Gouging Fire, and Walking Wake) and Future Paradox Swords of Justice (Iron Crown, Iron Boulder, and Iron Leaves). But the Swords of Justice have a fourth member, Keldeo, who has no equivalent in the Legendary Beasts or the Paradoxes. The Aura Trio of Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde, play heavily with the themes of Life, Death, and Rebirth, which are at the core of the Legendary Beasts origin. What if the events of the game lead to a fourth--younger--member of the Legendary Beasts, in perfect parallel to Keldeo?

It would also be a parallel to PLA introducing Enamorous, the fourth member of a Legendary Trio not previously tied to the generation or region the games are connected to.

The "Scavenger Hunt" sidequest of PLZA will involve Meltan.

The other completion reward announced in Home was a shiny Meltan--not Melmetal--for completing the Let's Go Pokédex. Meltan…cannot evolve outside of Pokémon Go, and it is impossible to transfer pokémon from Home BACK to Go. so this reward is kind-of pointless, as you can (rarely) get shiny Meltan in Go, where you can evolve it for shiny Melmetal.

But what if PLZA will have a scavenger hunt sidequest, like the Alolan Diglett in the Isle of Armor, the Footprints in the Crown Tundra (which earned you Keldeo), the wisps in PLA, and the Gimmighoul Coins in ScarVi (which helped you evolve a steel-type with a Go-exclusive form), that involved Meltan in some way, granting you the (hopefully repeatable) means of evolving Meltan on the Switch (2)?

Anyway, that's my thougts so far. I'll save a draft of this to revisit after the Pokémon Day announcements and we'll see if we learned anything.

[shandit]

My Current Guesses on Legends: Z-A Starters

So with Pokemon Legends: Z-A being announced, since we now know from PLA that Pokemon will gain a special final evolution based on their new environment. I wanted to toss my hat into the ring of predictions for which 3 previous starters we're gonna get.

First off let me say which ones I'm sure we're not gonna get and why.

Gen 6 Starters

As with PLA, Gen 6's Starters will not be part of the starters in PLZA. More than likely, they will be caught in the wild just like the Gen 4 Starters were in PLA.

Gen 1 Starters

I think it's very safe to say the Gen 1 Starters are not going to be picked. But, let me explain my proper reasoning.

With the reintroduction of Mega Evolution, and the likely fact PLZA will have our Protag & Crew be the ones to discover Mega Evolution, it's very likely the Starters we get will gain Mega Forms. This said, It's very unlikely GameFreak will use Pokemon with existing Mega Forms, even if said mons get a regional form. Because of this, I can safely say Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur are not going to be on the roster, and same goes for...

Gen 3 Starters

Same thing here, with the fact these guys already have Mega Forms, I find it highly unlikely GF is going to give them both a new regional evo + a new Mega.

PLA Starters

This one's kind of a given. Pokemon isn't going to reuse any of the starters from PLA cause that would just be odd to keep giving starters other regional forms (That said I am sad at the loss of Mega Typhlosion :[ )

Gen 9 Starters

The simple answer to this is just, the Paldea trio are just, too new. While I don't think that entirely rules them out. I do think it makes them less likely to be chosen for the next mainline game.

Now with the obvious removals talked about, let's go down the line of who's left and talk about why or why not they're likely to be chosen.

Chikorita

I didn't originally have anything to say about Chikorita, since I felt their odds were snuffed out by the other grass types here, however upon doing some more research, specifically on Meganium, I learned the daylily (the flower theorized to be what Meganium's flower is based on) was actually brought to Europe around the late 1750's-early 1800's. And with France's Urbanization having occured around the mid 1800's (Which is the time period people are guessing PLZA will take place in) There actually is a good chance for Chikorita to be chosen as their plant actually fits with the location and time period! However I cannot think of what type changes would make sense for this, so I do have to dock some points for that.

Overall chances - 6/10

Totodile

Totodile sadly doesn't seem like a great fit for PLZA. It is essentially just what it is, a Crocodile. And, a quick google search will show you, that besides the barren ice land of Antarctica, Europe is the only continent to not natively have any form of Crocodile or Alligator. GameFreak would have to get very creative here with something of French history or folklore to make Feraligator work for this.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Turtwig

Now Turtwig is an interesting one. Not only is there the fact the extinct turtle species Torterra is based was discovered in North-West Europe (Though mostly Germany & Switzerland) but Torterra as a Pokemon has a lot of potential when it comes to regional forms, thanks in part to the tree on it's back. France's national tree is the Yew, specifically the European or Common Yew, it's an evergreen tree that sprouts red berries (these berries are also very poisonous, meaning we could get a change of typing here to Grass Poison). I could see a Kalosian Torterra having an Ancient Yew tree on their back sporting a great harvest of berries. But, potential put aside, I don't see Turtwig being here simply cause there's another Gen 4 starter that fits the bill of this game much, much more than them.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Chimchar

Chimchar is one I just can't vouch for out of the few fire types we have here. Their Sun Wukong relevance is way to impactful on who the mon is, and Sun Wukong, while being from a story of "Journey to the West" only went to India, and never actually went to the actual west of the world. I also once again have to toss them to the side because of the face there is one more Gen 4 Starter that only makes sense to be in this game, and it's not them.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Piplup

THIS, THIS RIGHT HERE IS A GUARANTEED PICK.

Piplup is absolutely going to be the Water Starter of PLZA, you cannot change my mind about this, and for those of you not in the know, I have one name that will explain why.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Empoleon, as obvious as their name is, is in fact based on the Ex-emperor of France, General Napoleon Bonaparte. And, if we go back to the prediction of PLZA taking place in the mid 1800's... Guess what historical events seemed to also take place in the mid 1800's. Oh you know, just THE NAPOLEONIC WARS!

Piplup is my only and 100% has to be there guess, it would be a crime if they were not the chosen starter for this game. I legit would actually be angry if GameFreak missed this opportunity. As for potential typings... Water-Dark "could" make sense since Dark Type is just Evil type in Japan, and Napoleon is an evil dude in history. But I think Water-Fighting is much more likely, with Empleon probably going to take on much less of an Emperor Penguin look, and more of General Bonaparte, give him the Hat GameFreak, it would look funny.

Overall Chances - 10/10

Snivy

Snivy is also pretty much a guaranteed pick, and this is just from the simple fact of Serperior. Who is (supposedly) based on King Louis XVI of France & other European aristocrats, and that the fleur-de-lis, aka the French insignia used by many Noble families is visible in their design... Honestly, along with Piplup I would be flat out shocked if Snivy was not the grass starter for PLZA, like I would be baffled at how much of a lost chance that would be. As for potential regional typing, I could see it being Grass Ghost to represent the death of the French Monarchy... But that's it for my brain lmao

Overall Chances - 10/10

Tepig

Tepig is an odd one. On one hand, Snivy being basically guaranteed makes me obviously think another Gen 5 pick isn't going to make it into this group, but on the other hand...

Nah, I got nothing. Tepig is based way too much Chinese Culture and the tale of Zhang Fei to really fit into French culture. Just like Chimchar's inspiration from Journey to The West, it would feel wrong to change Tepig for the exact same reasons.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Litten

This one was more of a wildcard pick here for me, simply cause none of the fire types left had any real connections to France like Water and Grass had, I just found the idea of a regional form for Incineroar to be interesting. Though I had no idea how they would change a professional wrestler into something more fitting for early 1800's France... THAT IS UNTIL I DID SOME RESEARCH BABY!

So French Wrestling is actually really interesting, while it started in the 1830's, their style of wrestling, titled Graeco-Roman, was invented by a soldier FROM THE NAPOLEONIC WARS! Not only that, but it's even named "Classic Wrestling" meaning there actually is a good chance for Incineroar to be based on this style of wrestling for their Regional form! What better thing for the Wrestler Starter to use what is to many people the first style of wrestling that was used in the First ever Olympics! As for typing, Fire Normal could make some sense... I just really don't want it to be Fire Fighting, I think a lot of people would be disappointed if it somehow got the infamous Fire Starter typing.

Overall Chances - 9/10

Popplio

What can I even say about Popplio? I mean I guess maybe the fact Sirens originate from Europen folklore? But even then it's mostly Greek origins for that. There's nothing really tying Popplio in to fit the bill here, they're outclassed by a certain penguin of french origins.

Overall Chances - 2/10

Grookey

I think the Galar Starters are going to be the hardest to even justify, really the only thing any of them have going for them is the fact they come from Galar, which is based on Great Britain, a country that was France's rival in the war to own the world.

However none of that has anything to do with Grookey, the drummer monkey really doesn't have anything to offer! Rillaboom could maybe play a different instrument, but I don't think going from a pair of drum sticks to a bugle is probably gonna work out well. Perhaps though I'm just not putting my mind into it well enough.

Overall Chances - 3/10

Scorbunny

Again, I've got nothing. Realistically I guess you could make a pun here and have Cinderace being a French foot soldier. Though French hares are a common animal, and rabbits in of themselves are abundant all across Europe. I'm just personally wondering what exactly they could do with the fella that makes them properly unique enough to earn that spot, and right now I just don't see it.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Sobble

Last but not least, We have Sobble. Now surprisingly, I could actually see them being used, Intellion is based on James Bond and 007, and being a spy, well French spies obviously existed, there's also the fact a spy can also be an assassin if need be. Water Poison Intellion that shoot poisoned bolts of water from fingertips, yeah that could work.

Issue here though you have to put Sobble up against the other water types here, and well... Piplup.

Overall Chances - 3/10

And that's it! So TL:DR for anyone not reading here are the rankings most likely to least likely by types

Grass :

1 Snivy

2 Chikorita

3 Turtwig

4 Grookey

Water

1 Piplup

2 Sobble

3 Popplio

4 Totodile

& Fire

1 Litten

2 Scorbunny

3 Tepig & Chimchar

Meaning the most likely Starters for PLZA are going to be

Snivy, Litten, and Piplup.

[pikachic]

Saw your tags, shaking your hand so so so hard. As always your taste is immaculate and your brain is huge.

My inability to be normal about the Froakie line (going strong since I was 13 and and only observing the pokémon franchise from the sidelines*) aside, I'm so obsessed with the bond phenomenon as a gimmick because it gives you so many opportunities for tinkering with character design - who the hell wouldn't want to be matchy matchy with their pokémon buddy? Plus there's an angle which I like to explore in my silly little daydreams: how deep does it go? Is it like drifting in Pacific Rim? Can you get telepathy out of it? A bleed-over effect of habits, memories, mannerisms? I have a whole goddamn pokémon journey novelisation of my Y run in my head with the battle bond included because it's just such a fascinating gimmick to tinker with.

(*I watched some of the original anime as a kid, had a brief dalliance with gen 4 games and anime and pokémon ranger, before being grabbed by the fucking throat by a cute little blue bubble froggy in 2013 and gradually dragged into the franchise proper. I only got a 3ds last year (2013-18 were a bit of a wild time for me and 18-22 were uni hell) but I swear to god the moment I opened pokémon Y and found my Froakie buddy looking at me I was fucking done for. So yeah, the Froakie line is, in fact, responsible for me getting into pokémon properly. Late, maybe, but better late than never!)

Given the fact that mechanic-wise it's a third ability, it could be argued to be genetic on the frog's side, but more of a potential/compatibility thing on the human side. If it's genetic, is it a result of higher empathy? Of a slightly less stable genetic makeup or a glitch of the evolution mechanism? How common is it? For all we know it could be more common but dormant, lacking a suitable trainer. According to that one drawing from the anime (ninja village, lore drop about the bond phenomenon) bonded Gren just looks like that (in addition to the Ash-Gren sprite in Sun/Moon retaining these features even away from Ash), so from a Watsonian perspective it seems that anime Gren just happened to meet a kid whose aesthetic matches his bonded form. That said, why not tweak it a bit? Why not see if the phenomenon also manifests in other pokémon? I'm still baffled that there's so little art of bonded trainer and 'mon duo because of all the character customisation you can do. One would think it's a fun idea to make drawing challenges etc of, like designing megas for random pokémon.

Also Gren should've beaten Alain's Charizard but they were saving up Ash's league win for his pen/ultimate seasons and this is a hill I'm ready to kill on. My Gren absolutely demolished Olympia's gym while 10 levels underleveled with just a night slash (not my fault then gen 6 gym leaders are pushovers) so a bonded, sufficiently trained Gren with a (game mechanic) affection boost and buff to water shuriken, a super effective STAB move it has high stats for, should've Deus Ex(yz) Machina'd the lizard into the ground.

Oops, got yapping. Anyways, now you're legally obligated to ramble about your favourite pokémon to me because I like listening to people ramble about their favourite pokémon.

*shakes your hand equally as hard* YESSSSSSS

I have SUCH a massive soft spot for the Pokémon and especially the Pokémon anime

I got X for Christmas when I was like 8 and it was my very first Pokémon game, I knew next to nothing about the game’s mechanics (and embarrassingly didn’t realize that the blue symbol next to my fennekin’s name meant that he was male and not that he was weak to water LMFAO)

(I eventually got better at the game)

(Kind of XD)

I would watch the English dub of the anime on weekends with my younger sister, and we watched the first season or two of XY together

I already knew about Ash Greninja when I started watching XYZ in my first year of middle school, so I was SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED when he appeared for the first time in episode 7

Pokémon XYZ and Ash Greninja then proceeded to take over my life for the next three years

The lore was great the animation was pure action eye candy and I thought it was all so fucking cool

Like. That scene on top of Prism tower?! With Lysandre and the mind control? PURE CINEMA

The first fanfiction I ever wrote was a fic where Greninja returns in Pokémon sun and moon, it’s still out there on the internet somewhere and the writing sure is. Something.

I also revisited X and did a replay of the game with froakie as my starter - I loved him so much

Also YESSS I love thinking about further implications of the bond phenomenon, I was and still kind of am so fascinated by it - I’m a sucker for this sort of power up that’s reliant on two separate characters and their dynamic with each other because of the potential for fun character development and also cool power ups

I love the idea of Ash and Greninja being slightly linked at all times, like occasionally one will feel a slight pulse of emotion from the other or they’ll briefly glimpse what the other is seeing, I’ve seen some fics where they can activate the Bond Phenomenon at any time and anywhere, which oftentimes led to Ash confusing/scaring the shit out of his friends, I saw a tumblr post somewhere about how Ash and Greninja’s mannerisms might leak into each other when the Phenomenon is active, there’s just so much potential in this concept and is it any wonder I was obsessed with it as a kid

SHOOT I ACCIDENTALLY HIT POST LMFAO

But yea POKEMON IS AWESOME AND I’D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SCREAM ABOUT IT WITH YOU POSI XD

Uhhh favorite pokemon - its probably Ceruledge right now, Greninja’s obviously great, and as a kid I loved Pikachu - it’s why my username is what it is lol

Here are some frogs for the road

[typhos-c-dragon]

Pokotho, mayhaps? Or if trying to figure out the logistics of eldritch horrors having digimon is too difficult for you, you could just do, like, Max or something idk. Or Cineplex Teen, he doesn't have much material to work with but he's funny so yeah

the lords in black and webby are digimon in this au! the way i'm doing it, they're all pre-existing digimon lines with their mega/final form being a fan made mon of my own creation. for example, webby's part of the kunemon line (with her primarily staying in her ultimate form, arukenimon), but her mega is a fanmon named "weavermon". i'm not sure what existing digimon pokotho is gonna be yet (he was piedmon in the old au but i'm. changing that bc piedmon is already a mega), but his mega form will be called "othomon".

don't think i'm giving cineplex teen a digimon in this au, but if he diiiid um. ebiburgamon? idk, fast food worker digimon basically.

look at that guy. what a guy he is.

as for max, he's got a monodramon!

originally monodramon was paul's digimon, but i decided that it fit max better. the way i imagine they met is that max was in the school computer lab printing something out, when monodramon popped out of one of the computers. when max calms down and stops trying to throw chairs at him, monodramon explains that he's been watching students come and go from the computer lab for a few days now, but max is the first one that's really caught his eye. most of the kids monodramon sees in here are weak, you see. but max? max is strong, he can tell. and monodramon likes strong, he wants a strong tamer so that he can be strong. he thinks that he and max could be a powerful team together, and practically begs the jock to become his tamer. max, liking the idea, agrees.

these two compliment each other in The worst possible way. monodramon strokes max's ego constantly, and max allows monodramon to fight basically any digimon he wants. and monodramon wants to fight Everything, so this is kind of a problem. max has the potential to be incredibly dangerous with monodramon by his side, so webby really wants hannah to sway him over to their cause of helping stop the cross program so he doesn't start wreaking havoc. hannah agrees, even is she Really doesn't want to work with max.

monodramon's evolution line is ketomon -> hopmon -> monodramon -> strikedramon -> cyberdramon -> justimon.

[acquired-stardust]

Gaming Spotlight #11: Digimon Rumble Arena (2001)

Hello this is Larsa here with another spotlight feature on a game you may have missed from the Playstation era. Stand up to the fight!

Before we get to our featured title let's review some history shall we? Super Smash Bros 64 came out in the year 1999 developed by HAL Laboratory, INC. This revolutionary game was inspired by the dream match concept of SNK Corporation's own popular "King of Fighters" series where a bunch of a existing characters are thrown together to duke it out. Many in the industry took notice as the success of the new Nintendo crossover fighting game which created many fans of a whole new genre, platform fighting games.

"Digimon Rumble Arena" or "Digimon Tamers: Battle Evolution" as it is known as in Japan would become one of the first early platform fighting games following in the giant shadow of "Super Smash Bros 64" to stand out as a game worth playing. Right away a fighting game based on one of the most popular anime series of the late 90s and early 00s just seems like a perfect pairing. By the time this game was released Digimon had firmly became a massively popular series already having a theatrical movie release worldwide and currently airing its very popular third season titled "Digimon Tamers". Right away the opening would blow the minds of any young Digimon fans at the time because it was essentially a Digimon dream match title starring the Digimon and tamers of the first three seasons slugging it out for digital supremacy.

Is Guilmon really stronger than Agumon? How about Gatomon versus Renamon? Or how about a mega level battle of Beelzemon versus Omnimon? These were and still are important questions worth asking for any Digimon fan. And these sorts of playground questions are why this game was created.

The gameplay features two opposing Digimon battling it out on one of the several different stages in a 2D plane. These stages are typically filled with unique stage hazards and ring out zones with randomly spawning items in the form cards which have a myriad of effects on the battle. These cards mirror the "Digi-Modify" or "Card Slash!" mechanics from the Digimon Tamers series . The roster is filled with Digimon supported by their appropriate tamers from the show with the same familiar voices for each character featuring over 20 playable Digimon. Unlike "Super Smash Bros" this game features a more traditional health bar system and draining your opponent's life bar to zero means victory. Each Digimon has two special moves and a myriad of normal attack strings you would expect in a fighting game. Right away in a way one would expect from this beloved franchise, Rookie level Digimon are capable of transforming into a stronger even more capable form in the middle of battle through Digivolution. Digivolving improves your stats and gives you a completely new different move-set than before meaning you as a player are often switching dynamically between different gameplay experiences. There are few things that feel better than securing a comeback victory with your favorite mascot Digimon because of a well timed Digivolution. Oh and wiping the floor with your opponent using Wargreymon's mighty signature technique, Terra Force.

The main modes of the game are arcade mode and versus modes. In the Arcade Mode you take your selected Digimon through an arcade style ladder of bouts plus a few mini-games along the way with the goal of unlocking more characters. That is until you reach the new big bad of the game at the top of the ladder. Reapermon (Also known originally as Gokumon or ゴクモン) is a very difficult opponent to overcome and even now he still manages to give me trouble. I and along with anybody else who has ever played this game know of the horrors of his most powerful technique "Burning Cyclone". He is a cheap old school style boss who will test your skill at the game as one would expect from an older fighting game eating your quarters though in this case you thankfully probably own the game and you have as long as necessary to defeat him. Thankfully if you are struggling you can use some in-game cheat codes to fast unlock some Mega level Digimon along with other goodies to help even the odds. As far as versus modes go you can battle a friend locally or even play the mini-games against them. I spent many sessions having tons of fun fighting friends in this game. For an early platform fighting game the controls and mechanics are quite responsive which makes for amusing competitive bouts.

The graphics and soundtrack of the game of the game are very impressive for the platform. The Japanese version of the game features many arrangements of songs from the anime series. However the game does have one big problem: the framerate slowdown is a persistent problem throughout the experience with this game. Unfortunately they are the game's immediate faults but the game has so much excellent fanservice content and a surprisingly responsive solid fighting game underneath that it is easy to forgive the shortcoming. This game is still pretty awesome and loaded with nostalgia for me having grown up with Digimon. This title gets my recommendation for any fans of Digimon to experience especially the Japanese version of the soundtrack if you are ever in need of a quick nostalgia-fueled adrenaline rush.

A gem hidden among the stones, Digimon Rumble Arena is unquestionably stardust.

– Larsa

[bluekat12345]

Pokemon Legends ZA Starters

I know we just got the trailer a few days ago, but I already had my own ideas on what the starters for this game could be. And here are my ideas on possible starters.

Grass: Sprigatito

Honorable Mentions: Snivy, Bulbasaur

Reason: I know it might be too soon to reuse a Gen 9 starter Pokémon, but I think Sprigatito could work, its final evolution always gives me medieval street performer energy or even jester vibes, and even it gets a regional form, I think it could work great for Kalos, whatever time era this game takes place in.

Fire: Scorbunny

Honorable Mentions: Litten, Charmander

Reason: This was honestly the toughest decision, but ultimately, I chose Scorbunny because I highly believe a Galar starter will make an appearance for this game and since I already had different ideas for Grass and Water, Scorbunny was kind of the only option. Plus, this is a Pokémon I can definitely imagine getting a regional form when I think of a Pokémon Legends game for Kalos.

Water: Piplup

Honorable Mentions: Squirtle, Quaxly

Reason: I honestly feel like Piplup was an obvious choice since Kalos has a history of royalty and monarchy and Piplup's final evolution, Empoleon, looks royal, especially with the crown-like facial details. Even its name originates from the words Emperor and Napoleon, the historical French naval leader.

Extra

The reason I didn't choose the Kanto Starters is because that seems too obvious to me, since they're the most featured starter Pokémon in the series, since all three have the ability to Mega Evolve and Gigantimax. While I can see them being featured in the game, I don't they'll serve as this game's starters.

Similar to the Kanto starters, The Hoenn Starters seem too obvious since they can also Mega Evolve.

The reason Litten and Snivy didn't get my final vote is because we already had a Unova and Alola starter for Pokémon Legends Arceus with Oshawott and Rowlet. I imagine the developers would want to use other regional starters.

Whatever starter we get, I hope we get new Regional Forms and new Mega Evolutions.

These are just my personal thoughts, so this is not concrete facts, and feel free to disagree and even share your own ideas on what the starters could be.

[photon-bytez]

After watching Roize Rasen’s most recent video about what sorts of possible new Megas, regional forms, and normal evolutions for Pokemon we could get in PLZA, I wanna try and do a quick thought exercise on what the possible new Megas could be.

Keep in mind, I’m following a similar set of limits and rules like what Roize did in his video, so there’s gonna be some explaining to do on which Pokemon I think/hope get Megas.

- The Kalos starters; It should be pretty obvious that the original starter trio from X and Y could get something. Especially if neither the Kanto and/or Hoenn starters don’t show up in the game. Aside from Ash-Greninja being removed for quite some time, it still has Battle Bond as a possible ability, even during the early days of SV’s release. Plus, Chesnaught and Delphox both need something to keep up with the ninja frog after the latter took off in popularity

- Xerneas and Yveltal; Similar to the starters, the main two legendaries of X and Y are due to get something for this game. If Dialga and Palkia can finally get something of their own via their Origin forms similar to Giratina, why can the Life and Death duo? This could go in two different directions; they either get proper Megas, or they could do something like Primal Groudon/Kyorge and Origin Form Dialga/Palkia, and have forms that are like Megas, but are their own thing. Either option works

- A few more Kalos Pokemon; Something that I always found odd is that aside from Diancie of all Pokemon, none of the species introduced in Kalos got Megas of their own. While later generations have plenty of their respective ‘Mons join in their respective battle gimmicks, we really never saw a Mega-Evolved Kalos Pokemon. Maybe Z-A could be a good way to fix that. Following the rules that Roize pointed out in his video (things like not include Pokemon that are either in pairs that could have a member get left out if the other got a Mega, have gender or size differences that could make the process hard to code in, have multiple forms already like Furfrou and Vivilion, part of multi-generational groups like Dedenne and Sylveon (the former being a Pika-clone and the latter being an Eeveelution), already got something recently (Hisuian Avalugg and Goodra say hi), and making sure the Megas are given out to Pokemon that aren’t really useful in battle), quite a lot of Kalos’ Dex is gonna be cut out, leaving out a few species to pick from. If the amount of Megas is only gonna be something like 20 to give time and space to the other new additions like regional forms and new evolutions to older Pokemon, along with already existing Pokemon and Megas from the original X and Y games, we have 5 slots to work with, given how I imagine that maybe half of the new Megas would be for Kalos species (along with how the starters and legendaries already make up that first quarter). My personal picks would include Noivern, Heliolisk, Barbaracle, Hawlucha, and Malamar

- Flygon; You all knew that this guy would be here, let’s not kid ourselves. Maybe after more than 10 years, Gamefreak could finally come up with a design for a Mega Flygon that they’re happy with. This entire game could be a good chance for some Pokemon that missed out on getting a Mega back in Gen 6 to finally get that second chance, Flygon especially. Make it the Bug/Dragon combo that people have been wanting for years

- Jynx; Yes, for those who are not in the know, Jynx may seem like a weird choice. However, similar to Flygon, Jynx was originally planned to get a Mega in X and Y, but was cut. Additionally, the whole thing of a strange cry similar to Jynx’s own being found in the data of Pokémon HOME having a similar reverb heard in the cries of every single Mega-Evolved Pokemon adds fuel to the fire

- Milotic; If the possible new Megas fit in with the culture of Kalos in a similar way to how new Pokemon and forms fit in with the cultures of the respective regions they were introduced in, Milotic would be a perfect fit. Along with that, it’s a very popular Pokemon that people have been wanting to see get a Mega for years now, and it would be a good foil to Mega Gyarados, given how both lines are seen as counterparts of each other

- Revavroom: If we’re gonna pick any Pokemon from recent gens to get a Mega, Revavroom would check that box very well, along with getting a much-needed buff. The poor thing needs a better ability to deal with its 4-times weakness to Ground types. Something like Levitate could work, as the dang thing is already floating up in the air for some reason. Plus, we could have a good opportunity to make this weird and delightfully goofy Pokemon even MORE so. Plenty of the existing Megas build off of the original designs to make their own designs extremely wild and creative, so the Rat Fink-looking car monster would be a very perfect candidate

- Parasect; Another weird candidate, the Paras line is one of the few remaining Pokemon from Gen 1 to not get anything. Perhaps that could finally be fixed with a Mega, and there’s a route for its design that I can easily see it going in; have it be a Ghost/Grass type that have the mushroom assimilate the dead bug into its body, resulting in a truly twisted-looking abomination of a Mega.

- Mimikyu; As much as I wanna avoid giving Megas to Pokemon who are already powerful juggernauts, I can definitely see Gamefreak giving one to Mimikyu, due to how insanely popular it is. While I don’t have much input on which the stats or ability could be, I can easily imagine maybe even a tiny glimpse of Mimikyu’s true appearance factoring into the design in some way

- Sandaconda; I’m aware that Sandaconda already has a Gigantamax form, but the Kanto starters and Gengar do as well, and they also have Megas too, so needless to say, the sand snake is fair game. Sandaconda isn’t that bad, but I feel it could use a Mega to make it relevant some more. The best possible route I can see this guy going is probably Ground/Dark with a Titanoboa-like design. Let this guy keep Sand Spit as its ability. A few Megas already have abilities that their original counterpart normally have, so this wouldn’t be anything new

- Vikavolt; As much as I don’t wanna add in personal favorites to this list, Vikavolt actually has a few things that could work in its favor in terms of getting a Mega; Stag beetles can be found in France, it most certainly needs some sort of buff to its Speed, and it could be a good pick for a Pokemon to add in your team early on before giving it its Mega Stone. I’m split on its ability, however; should I let it keep Levitate to not be affected by Ground types? Or should I give it Speed Boot to make it even more faster, with the added caveat of making it a glass cannon? That’s something that the fans who are into stats and Abilites would have to step in for

- Golurk; Going back to what I said earlier about this game being a second chance for certain Pokemon getting a Mega, Golurk is another example. Plus, given that more and more Gen 5 Pokemon have been getting new regional forms and the like in the last few games, I say it’s high time for Golurk to join in. Audino had its fun as the only Gen 5 Mega after all these years. Not only is Golurk one of the most popular Gen 5 ‘mons, it also has a few things that could lend it towards getting a Mega; either letting it keep its original typing or replace Ground with Steel, make it a more heavy hitter with powerful defenses, having Iron Fist as its ability (this guy can learn 7 punching moves, so it works), and having its design include more of the energy inside of its body to leak out, making it a bit more dangerous to be around for long periods of time (side-note; I really hope this game addresses how potentially damaging the transformations are to not only the Pokemon themselves, but also anyone around them, as stated by the Alola Dex entires on them)

- Scovillain; While not the most thought-of pick for a Paldean species to Mega Evolve, Scovillain has a few points in its favor; Creative typing that could translate to a memorable design, a buff to mostly its Special Attack, and something like Solar Power being a perfect fit due to its types benefiting from the sun.

Could I be wrong about most of these predictions? Maybe, but it was still fun to speculate on what new Mega s we could see in PLZA. While I think were still not gonna hear any updates for a while (while I’m cool with, these damn games need more development time), perhaps we could get a sneak peek during a possible Pokemon Presents or something. We’ll have to wait and see

[iruludavare]

What is Serena's thoughts on the existence of Mewtwonite? Given that Mewtwo is a man-made Pokemon, Mewtwonite presumably has to be an artificial, man-made Mega Stone.

     When she had first been given mewtwonite X from Mewtwo itself after their battle, Serena had not thought twice about it. It was not until after that— after talking to Wulfric and other trainers allowed in the village— just what Mewtwo was, and why it was so important to never talk about what dwells in that chamber, but to always have someone guarding it. After being told this information, Serena does not know how to feel about the existence of either Mewtwonite mega stone, despite having all the pieces to comprehend it.

     It is no secret—at least, to her, Professor Sycamore and his team— that mega stones were formed from regular evolutionary stones irradiated by the combined infinity energy from Xerneas and Yveltal when the Ultimate Weapon was originally fired. In that sense, she can understand how both Mewtwonite X and Y came to be. It is nothing more than a coincidence. There just happen to exist two of those irradiated stones that resonate with Mewtwo and allow for Mega Evolution, much like Charizard. They cannot be made by humans, nor any other legendary— not even Xerneas or Yveltal on their lonesome.

     In light of such information, she takes solace in the idea that Mewtwo likely found the mega stones while on its way to the Pokemon Village. Nothing nefarious, just pure, maybe unfortunate, luck.

     Still, there is something so horribly unsettling about the fact that this could happen for a manmade creature. The implications of that frighten her. So much so that Serena goes to great lengths to hide the mewtwonite in her possession, and claims that it is just another mega stone currently without a known pokemon it resonates with if asked about. The only other people to know of its existence are Wulfric, Gurkinn, and Professor Sycamore. It is not something to be flaunted, but instead a silent sign of approval known only to two parties. That she and her pokemon are strong enough to protect the Pokemon Village, and should the need to use the mega stone arise, all of the pieces are already in place.

[awesomeart-83]

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Predictions and Hopes Part 2: Mega Evolution

Since Mega Evolution is back (this time for real), many people are expecting to get new mega evolutions for Z-A. One of the biggest for reasons is well none of the Kalos pokemon have mega evolution. Well except Diance but it is a mythical so it is pretty random for it to appear (Since Arceus has all the legendaries and mythicals appeared in the game)

Kalos Starters

A strange thing about this group of starters is that none of them have their original generation’s game mechanics. Aside from the Paldea starters, the Alola and Galar ones have their region’s gimmick.

Alola have Z-Moves.

Galar have Gigamatix (along with Kanto starters because it has nostalgia value.

But the Kalos starters have nothing. The only exception is Greninja with its Ash Battle Bond in the anime, with might have been saved up for the third version. But even then, they retconned it making it only available in Sun and Moon through a demo.

So in Legends: Z-A, the starters may not be the starters for this game, but like Sinnoh they will be catchable in the wild

While it may be possible for them to have the same typing as their regular forms

Xerneas and Yveltal

The legendary duo of life and death are pretty awesome for being the first mascots for a 3D Pokémon game. But unlike many legendaries (excluding the tower duo) who have a mechanic that fits to their home region. So they might have mega stones. In Arceus, Dialga and Palkia get Origin form like their member Giratina (although their forms are much creepier different) so, they might get new forms to fit along Zygarde.

Flygon

If you have been in the Pokémon development for a while, you know that Flygon was supposed to have a mega for XY and later ORAS but it got scrapped due to unable to find a design great for XY and art block for the artist.

So, it is FINALLY the chance for Flygon to mega evolve or it WILL be a huge missed opportunity on the developers part.

While it could stay Ground and Dragon type, it may become bug/dragon type due to looking bug-like.

The Starters of Z-A

This was found in a Pokémon encyclopedia in Japan from KB Pokemon on YouTube. It shows the Arceus trio on the first page, while on the other page there is a trio of Squirtle, Torchic, and Grookey. It may be foreshadowing, but there is a few problems.

Ignoring how it panders to Generation 1 fans, Squirtle already has a mega in the game. So you maybe it will get another mega stone as revenge for Charizard having 2 mega evolutions due to being the most popular starter (Give Venasaur one as well!)

I think if it would get a regional form or a mega, it might be Ground type due one of the past Tera raid battles having that as its Tera type.

But in the Indigo Disk trailer that reveal that every starter is coming for this pack, there are these shots that people took notice of:

During these 3 shots, the Hisui starters are shown near Torchic, Piplup (water), and Snivy (grass).

So yeah, they might be the starter trio. But there is a issue.

Also, Torchic’s evolution already has a mega evolution. So maybe, they will give it another mega like they did with Charizard along with a regional form.

Not saying they ARE, but they could that.

Kalos Pokémon

I hope that many underrated Pokémon will get new mega evolutions because aside from Diance, none of them have them.

List for possible choices include:

Pyroar (due to obvious reasons)

Talonflame

Flogres

Aegislash

Goodra (Regular form, not Hisuian form)

Malamar

Noviern

Unova Pokémon

Now this is a big stretch since it is a but I want at least a few of Unova pokemon. Because

Those I want to have it:

Krookodile (it was seen in the teaser)

Throh and Sawk

Haxorux

Druddigon

Gothitelle

Whimscott

Mandibuzz (regional form to be a counterpart for Braviary)

Chandelure

Unfezant

Regional forms

Again, it may not happen because it nearly goes through fanfic territory, but it can please both fans of Mega and those forms.

While I don’t know if they are even going to regional forms due to the lack of them in Scarlet and Violet, I really hope they don’t abandon this concept for this game or the future.

Anyway, I am working another speculation post about Legends Z-A and another aspect of the Legends series: ancestors! It going to be posted on Friday, so stay tuned!!!

[blackbloodteeth]

Soul variant index (2023)

[List incomplete; I don't think I have the energy to continue it, but wouldn't hurt to share the trivia bits I did manage to do. I can always answer questions about variants anytime, and this list is already starting to lag when I type anyway hahaha]

Here's a list of all the Soul variants I've created this year (sorted earliest to latest). I'll be updating this as I draw more, and if it's wanted enough I'll make more of these lists for other years in the future. --- Long list below! ---

A Soul of many hands: Body is connected by many different hands and dark patchy skin. Written work has yet to be finished.

Walking Chair: Skeletal species that assists humans with tasks such as ferrying people and carrying groceries. Intelligent, only wears saddle when not on work break.

The Cult Slayer: Previously just a goat before an attempted ritual sacrifice went wrong and gave him immense power instead. Very social and loves storytelling. Lawful Good.

A good little boy: A living doll that rarely speaks and is highly obedient, only serving the witch who currently owns him. May have been human once.

String Wyrm: Fluffy dragon with multiple sets of stubby legs (not usually visible under his fur), though can move across the ground quite quickly. Constantly searches for food to steal and often sounds like he's chuckling. Will squirm around if picked up.

Lesser Crest Bird: A species that often stands around like a statue, with different poses theorized to convey different meanings. Can be approached and seemingly unbothered by humans but will retaliate if attempted to be moved. Intelligence questionable, seems to have preferences for certain standing spots.

Aquatic Maned Dragon: Shy but playful. Travels to different bodies of water via rivers, and mainly feeds on fish and small marine animals (seems to leave birds alone even after watching them for a while). Will take interest in any human belongings that have ended up in the water.

Turtleback Seahorns: A seaside-dwelling race that values family and branching alliances with surrounding groups. Exceptionally loyal and honourable even when not exchanging favours, and when a life oath is sworn the two partners will gift each other's crests to wear upon their other horns.

The Divinely Punished [Body Horror]: Assigned guardian to one of Lord Death's sacred temples after having received divine judgement. While he was initially chained to his post, something appears to have caused it to break loose and consequently free him.

Creature Centaur: A strange centaur made up of an unidentifiable creature. The eye he holds can often be seen floating between his horns, and the right side of his face has always remained obscured, most likely for the better. A fairly normal dude otherwise.

Mantis Centaur: Half person, half mantis. Unintentionally condensed Maka into a ball of silk when his instincts took over, and he seeks to repent with a way to undo what he's done.

Centaur Train: A spirit guide that helps souls and sometimes other entities safely travel through different parts of the afterliving. Is extremely enthusiastic about trains to an almost obsessive degree, but his passion can make him easier to get along with.

Mewtwo Centaur: One of the several results of a dubious cloning experiment. He was a collaborative effort of the "permanent Mega Evolution" and "human-Pokemon hybrid" departments, though he was also the first to escape when he quickly grew too alert to be contained. Currently resides in solitude while seeking the original human he was cloned after out of existential curiosity.

You can't just call a Naga a Snake Centaur: Part Demon Weapon, part couch nuisance. He can shift into a more human-looking form with legs but often prefers to stay in his natural appearance, especially when eating or sleeping. Maybe I'll give his Weapon form art someday.

An Incomplete Centaur [Mild Body Horror]: Despite his horrifying appearance he's actually quite lonely. He's taken to living in the woods or outskirts of towns as while he wishes to befriend someone, he keeps getting footage of him uploaded to the internet as an infamous cryptid/creepypasta legend.

Reverse Centaur: Lives in a world where animals combined with human bodies are the norm, as well as having to go to school way too early in the morning when he could be sleeping in. Will eat insects and small creatures whole on frequent occasions.

Steel Bird Centaur Part of a well-known family that prides in its Skarmory and Corviknight heritage, having ended up a high-ranking guard for his strategical skills despite appearing heavier than should be able to fly. Wears an Aggron based armour that he was gifted after besting one of the mountain people in combat and leading to their alliance.

The Luthier Apprentice: Dropped out of DWMA suddenly despite being so close to finally becoming a Death Scythe. Not even his friends know the reason behind it, especially as he dropped all contact too and decided to work under the music shop that's close with his family. It's been years since then but he's finally smiling again, at least for now.

A Soul with Glasses: He wears glasses. Left to interpretation.

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

Pokemon Legends ZA guesses.

With the Pokemon Presents coming up and it being all but guaranteed that we will get some news for this game, here are some of my guesses (outside of the popular "the Kalos starters will get megas" etc). These aren't necessarily wants, just guesses and may not come with this trailer, but ultimately just a bit of fun and something to look back on when we get the game to see if any of them happen.

Kanto fanservice: I know this comes under the 'popular'/expected ones but with less than 20 lines from Kanto not having some additional treatment in future generations (evolutions, babies, megas, regional forms, gmax, regional fakes), I think it's a safe bet to say that all of them will eventually have it. My current guess is a Nidoran line regional variant (whether that is a Iron Valiant type deal where it's one for both lines or one each is yet to be seen), Paras line regional fake and Psyduck line mega.

Timeline: I don't think it will be a direct sequel to Legends Arceus in that the characters will return, but I think it will be timed between the events of Legends Arceus and the modern day games and the events of Legends Arceus will be felt. Like building a city where Pokemon and humans can coexist feels like the next step from Legends Arceus where most people were scared of humans/didn't leave the village even at the end of the game and it doesn't make sense for me to be in the future (unless part of the plot revolves around modern humans and Pokemon falling out) for us to be building that city post X and Y because humans and Pokemon already coexist in those games. That, along with it happening in the equivalent of France rather than Japan, is a big reason that, while I do want the "original" versions of Omanyte and Kabuto via regional variants (because realistically little to none of the fossils were originally rock type), I doubt they are happening in this game.

What does "Lumiose" mean?: I know the website states that this game happens in Lumiose, but, especially with the extra time they have worked on it, I would be shocked if that Lumiose was the same one/size that we know from X and Y. We saw in Legends Arceus that Jubilife Town was not in the same place as Jubilife City is in in the modern Sinnoh games and obviously Sinnoh was known as Hisui so it would not surprise me if the same has happened here and what is deemed as Lumiose at the time ends up being what X and Y calls multiple cities/areas. Either way though, I was happy enough with areas of Legends Arceus, so as long as that effort has been put in, I'm sure it'll be good.

Who is the villain: Us. Just kidding. It'd be cool to have a game (and tie in to generation 5 whose remakes which people think are coming next) grapple with the fact that in order to make this city, we would be knocking down Pokemon habitats/not necessarily doing what's best for them and explore that line between what is coexisting versus pushing human ideology onto Pokemon more, and I would love to have a game where we are the bad guys, but I don't see Game Freak doing that. It'd somewhat negate the meaning and joy of the X and Y games if they did. In saying that, given the pokedex entries we've had for certain mega evolutions over the years, it would not surprise me if themes of apathy and human use of resources are among the main themes. I know we already got Cylene, but this could be a way to tie her and maybe another, more apathetic Cyrus ancestor into the plot, same with some Team Rocket (the mega pokedex entries feel reminiscent to them trying to force Magikarps to evolve in generation two) ancestors. The damage this indulgence does to the life/death balance could also explain why the mega stones ultimately end up hidden/are so scarce in the X and Y and ORAS games... actually saying that, maybe the mega tie between X/Y and ORAS (another Japan region) is how we get the original fossil pokemon (I still doubt it but a woman can dream).

Starters: Honestly I'm praying that it's not the generation 6 ones again like rumours have been claiming. Like yes give them the megas they should have had all along, but I really like the Arceus format of picking starters from other regions (especially if they're lesser used) and giving them an alternative final evolution. In my heart/wants, Chikorita, Scorbunny and Popplio are the picks, but realistically I doubt this will be the case (2/3 of those had their generation picked for Legends Arceus so I will put an official guess of Snivy, Sobble and Charmander [because god knows Game Freak does not think Charizard gets enough love lmao] in) I will deal with whatever we get. I also think it'd be kinda cool if they added Pikachu (with another regional form) and Eevee (with a new evolution) into the mix given we know they're going to do Kanto fanservice anyway lmao, but there's no precedent for that so again, I doubt it'll happen.

Ancestors: Really I don't have many thoughts or even wants on this. Like I think anyone from generations 6, 8 and 9 are clear choices but it wouldn't surprise me to see an ancestor for a character people don't think are original from Alola (Lusamine comes to mind, especially with the potential theme of use versus friendship) or generation 5 characters' ancestors either. I do think it'd be cool to have Rosa/Nate or Hilda/Hilbert's ancestors to call to the seemingly upcoming generation 5 remakes, but again, it's not a need. I do also wonder if we will get a new character that shows up in a later Polynesian or Canadian based game, but of course, we won't know that at the time of release, so no point predicting specifics there. I don't think Volo will return (nor will most of the Legends Arceus characters, but obviously he seems like the obvious choice given he implied he'd be around lmao), but it wouldn't surprise me if we get someone like Cylene or Lavender as like a diplomatic thing given Hisui appears to be further along in the Pokemon/human integration aspect.

Anyway there's probably more, but for now this is what's on my mind for now. Ultimately I'm just very excited to get news and hope that the extra time between the making and showing of the game shows.

[beaniebabs]

can i say something probably unpopular as a pokemon fan who's been playing since ruby. i really didn't care for mega evolutions. i think most of them just kinda look ugly and/or unnecessarily decorated and cluttered. or even if they looked neat, they were just not as well-designed as their original 'mons. plus, the vast majority of pokemon that received mega evolutions were like. 1. mostly kanto pokemon and 2. mostly already strong or Really Fucking Strong 'mons. and not a single gen 6 pokemon got a mega... except for diancie, a mythical. it wasn't fun for me to use in battle because it made me feel too powerful and the enemies too weak in a game that's already Very easy (ily gen 6 i'm sorry). it's not fun for me to blast everything down without a challenge.

also? frankly, i really did enjoy dynamaxing as a gimmick. i like that it has a 3-turn limit and that it doesn't feel overpowered at all. it feels like you have to strategize when you want to use it, who you want to use it on (bc with mega evolutions you can only have the one mega 'mon per battle and it lasts All Battle until they faint. and usually you're not gonna run a team with multiple mega stones on it and just randomly choose who to mega each battle, you're gonna have like one mega-evolver and the rest of your team has good battle items). but with dynamaxing it doesn't waste a move slot and you can freely choose who you want to dynamax BUT you still only get the one shot per battle AND if you switch out early you lose it. BUT of course you get the big base health boost and the dynamax moves for a bit!!! and. idk. frankly i think the gigantamax forms are much better designed than mega evolutions on average. and i mean. come on. having a giant kaiju-mon for a few turns even if it isn't gigantamaxed and is just dynamaxed is pretty badass.

the sun and moon games are ones i haven't played too much and never even remotely finished as of yet so i really can't say much for Z-moves but. idk. they probably feel more fair than megas still?

completely forgot about terrastalizing too. uhhhh. i'm not qualified to speak on if it was "good" or not but i think it's a cool concept at least definitely. but i can also understand why some people wouldn't like their lil crystal hats

[marshmallowloves]

Actually I'm gonna kinda ride this train and use this as an excuse to talk about my Pokémon S/I headcanons gjdhf. I'm sorry it's so long I got kind of excited 😭😂

So if you're (somehow) already familiar with the lore of my Pokémon S/I, then you know one of her Big Goals™ - and the reason she joined Team Magma in the first place - was to find out if there was a way for her Bisharp to Mega Evolve. It's said in canon (and this is the only canon thing in this post, the rest are strictly headcanons fjdjg) that the strong bond between Pokémon and Trainer is part of what makes Mega Evolution possible, and ever since learning this, she thought that being able to achieve it with her Bisharp would be physical proof of how close they are.

Originally, her research centered just around Mega Stones, specifically their properties, mineral composition and such. Since she was looking for a stone that would react with Bisharp, she looked more closely at stones that matched Bisharp's typing. One of the first stones she analyzed as a member of Team Magma's Mega Evolution research division was one that she already had in her possession: Aggronite. Because Aggron loses its Ground typing up on Mega Evolving and becomes pure Steel, it would be easier to study the composition of stone as there are no variables in the form of other types.

After she traveled to Paldea and learned about Terastallization, she immediately became intrigued. This regional phenomenon was capable of changing a Pokémon's type for the duration of a single battle, and was controlled via an object that's essentially the condensed energy of said phenomenon - not unlike the very subject of her own research.

So as she traveled across Paldea, got swept up in the whole professor debacle and went to Area Zero, she did her own analyses (with some help from Maxie (I dunno, I just like to imagine them working together overseas by sending each other samples and test results back and forth because the Magma Hideout has more readily-available technology for research purposes…or something fjfhgj it's just a fun image in my head)) on Terastal energy and the compositions of both Tera shards and the crystals growing in Area Zero - during which she found that the energy emitted from these is quite similar to that of Mega Evolution. From this, she wonders if it would be possible to manipulate Mega Evolution in the same way one can manipulate their Pokémon's Tera type. Either way, the fact remains that the two phenomena are clearly linked to some degree.

When she heads to Kitakami and sees Ogerpon's Terastallization in action, she sees another possible similarity between it and Mega Evolution - the drastic shift in appearance. Before, she had thought the only change was giving a Pokémon the crystalline coat and forming a jewel upon its head, but Ogerpon's masks become enormous and more elaborately detailed upon Terastallizing. The observation isn't as solid or groundbreaking as some of her other discoveries over the years, but it's still worth noting nonetheless.

She makes even further headway in her research when she's introduced to Blueberry's Terarium - specifically after crystals from the Area Zero Underdepths are introduced to the Terarium Core. It was already exciting enough for her to learn that Terastallization could be introduced into a place where it didn't occur naturally, simply by having the right materials present in the vicinity (and therefore furthering the idea that Mega Evolution could be manipulated in the same manner). But then the crystals give way to the discovery of the Stellar Tera type - a type that embodies aspects of every type - and suddenly the possibilities in her research are blown wide open.

At some point, either on her own time or on a short return trip to Hoenn, she analyzes these crystals (because of course she wasn't going to leave the Underdepths without snagging some for her research) as well as Stellar Tera shards left behind from battling some of the wild Stellar types in the Terarium, and makes an exciting discovery. Whereas the energy emitted from single-type Terastallization was only somewhat similar to the energy emitted from Mega Evolution, the energy contained within the Underdepths crystals and Stellar-type shards, as well as emitted from Terastallization into the Stellar type, is nearly identical to that of Mega Evolution.

Not only does this discovery suggest that the two phenomena are even more closely related than previously thought, but coupled with the knowledge that Terastallization can not only be manipulated but also outright replicated under the right conditions, it poses a new and very interesting question: who's to say that Mega Evolution - or even Mega Stones - can't be replicated in the same manner? That under the perfect circumstances, Mega Evolution could be triggered for any Pokémon?

Thus Sierra continues her research with renewed vigor, having finally found an answer to the question she'd been asking all these years - "Is there a way for Bisharp to Mega Evolve?" Yes. By making one.

[cyberfairyblog]

Since the original Digimon adventure turns 25 this year I've been thinking about the OC I made for it. I love the show and I always like the concept of a 'tenth' digidestined/Digi Crest.

First trying to figure out how she'd fit the group dynamic. I feel like this OC could be shy but this causes her to lack the social skills needed to survive & she has a habit of keeping secrets. She'd also have a digimon partner who chooses her willingly as opposed to destined or assigned one.

Next deciding on a theme. I figured her partner should have an element relating to night and darkness. This crest presents change, and her partner reflects story of Cinderella, how she goes literally transforms while remaining true to herself.

One major element that makes my fakemon different is that she appears humanoid compared to the others who are animals. She takes the would take the form of a porcelain doll.

Inspired by dolls like Angelique, China Doll Girl, & Tinselina. I even named it Tinselmon after Tinselina.

Her forms in order of evolution: Splintmon, Gourdmon, Tinselmon (Or Dollimon), Cendrillomon, Auroramon, Ecliptomon. Now I do not know a lot about Digimon so forgive me if some of these names already exist.

Splintmon is her Fresh/Baby 1 form. It takes the shape of a small, blocky creature small enough to fit the palm the size of a human child.

Gourdmon: In-Training/Baby 2, Evolves into a sentient gourd with a cutesy face. Modeled after a jack o latern, and references the pumpkin used to create Cinderella's carriage.

Tinselmon: Rookie level, a porcelain doll figure with brown skin, black curly hair and a simple white rock with lavender lace and black shoes. Tinselmon can use her ribbons to attack.

Cendrillmon: Champion Level, it is a feminine looking humanoid wearing an elegant black and purple dress, tiara, and glass armor. Cendrillmon can summon crystal and glass barricades to repel dark energy.

Auroramon: Ultimate, Auroramon becomes nearly crystallized with a chandelier type head wear, armor. The cloth areas glow. Auroramon can use the shadow energy from her candles for attacks.

Ecliptamon: Mega, upgrades to a tall figure wearing a Venetian mask, armored ball down, and spiky crystal armor and ribbons. The gauntlets can shoot crystal spikes, have full control over light and shadow, and invisibility.

Armor Digi Egg: Tinselmon's digi egg is a light silver crystal bearing the crest symbol of change. The crystal is in elongated round diamond with 2 smaller orbs connected to a chain

Armor Digivolve: With the Digi Egg of Change, Tinselmon becomes Corundumon! A purple, white and black metallic entity with horns made of ruby and sapphire.

Armor 2: With the digi egg of kindness Tinselmon becomes Julietmon, a jeweled beetle like digimon with light purple samurai armor, fabric skirt and glass wings

Armor 3: With the Digi Crest of Sincerity Tinselmon becomes Edenmon, a saintly being with butterfly wings and an outfit made of different plants and and flowers. Her hair would be made out of vines and teardrop shaped emblems.

I can't think of anything else for the other armor forms wah

[yveltalreal]

mhmm, as well as just some personal accounts

in terms of more recent stuff, professor junpier has published some good stuff about the origins of the pokemon we have today and how these origins intertwine with people. proffessor sycamores papers on mega evolution are very good for this too since mega evolution relies on the bond and trust between trainer and pokemon to occur safely and be stabilized. a change brought on by the cohabitation and bond between people and pokemon that can be observed in real time.

proffessor kukui's research on z moves and pokemon battles especially ones taken on in the alola region and its island challenge are also very good since the island challenge is very much meant to help people and pokemon grow and change together. hau,oli university did a series of 3 studies, each a decade apart, where they looked at the lives and school performances of children who would be going on the island challenge the next year then came back a year later and found that overall the majority of the children studied were much more responsible both in and out of the home after going on their island challenge but those that didnt finish or didnt get to go for whatever reason had not develpped the same sense of responsibility and set of problem solving skills. the bonds between the kids and their pokemon were also stronger than those who had not gone on any journey, island challenge or otherwise.

professor mirror in lental also did quite a bit of research into the illumina phenomenon and how it affected the behavior of lental's pokemon compared to pokemon of the same species in other regions, as well as their history with the people of lental.

in terms of non-regional professors, professor redwood and her colleagues have a couple of papers on the changes in behavior between fossil pokemon that were revived recently and those that were released into the bba terarium and galar's crown tundra several years before as well as the few that were born in these places rather than revived in released. proffessor apple had a really good one where the litters of a kantonian ninetails and alolan ninetails were swapped, seeing how this might affect the vulpix and ninetails as well as the care process ninetails typically use for their young. the expirement was repeated a few times, with versions done with ninetails that had been born in captivity, that have lived all their life in the wild, and those that had lived in the wild for some portion of their life and been caught leter on, as well as versions where humans were available for help, versions where the researchers kept themselves completely hidden to the ninetails, and even versions where ninetails that had already repeated the expirement partook in it again with a second litter to see if experiance changed the outcome.

in terms of older stuff, proffessor laventons old papers and records on how the slow acceptance of pokemon changed the development of jubilife and hisui are a good read to see how we got to the sinnoh we have today and it also gives a good perspective as to what might have happened in other regions.

professor juniper's (as in the current regional professors father) published some good stuff back in the day about how pokemon ended up in many of their modern locations as well as did some research on the evolution from galarian zigzagoon to hoennian zigzagoon and the history of a few alolan forms

some of proffessor oaks REALLY old stuff from when he first set up his lab is also good reading to see how our relationship with pokemon has changed in the last 60-70 years alone

tons of other stuff but isk how much of this exists in your universe and i dont wanna suggest a million papers and studies to look at that night not even exist for you

So, uh, what do those of you who do the whole... adventure thing actually intend to do once that, you know, stops? It's gonna eventually. So, like, you have thought about that at least a little bit, right?