#hoenn cast

[pricklypearcactus]

Had a remake/sequel (?) of the Pokémon Advanced Generation anime inspired by OR/AS visit me in a dream last night

[jadeazora]

Some snippets of a longer meeting I found fascinating. (I don't know if Yuyama has social media, but I hope he doesn't because because OOF. Like, it's okay that he has his own vision for the character and and everything, but said vision of that eternal adventurer was why I dropped the series as a kid. I just had burnout. 😅)

So, a bit of context from my personal experience with the old Ash anime, and sorry if it is a little rambly. I had originally started watching from early OS (the first episode I ever saw was when I was 6, and it was the one where Ash catches Bulbasaur), and stopped following it in mid-Hoenn (when I was maybe 11 or 12), which was when I caught onto the loop they had Ash in, that he'd never really reach a conclusion to his journey and it was really just meant to be an eternal adventure rather than something to make real progress in. (I would watch episodes if there were characters I liked, or if it just happened to be on, but I couldn't get invested in Ash anymore. I would watch for pretty much everybody else.) To me, it felt like you were just supposed to watch until you matured and were expected to leave, so that's pretty much what I did.

I tried coming back in Unova after playing BW, because I really loved the games and was excited to see Team Plasma in the anime, and it had a very promising start with the quicker pacing, but then came the earthquake and the cancelled two-parter, so I pretty much dropped the series again because there was no Plasma in sight until roughly two years later. I watched the league, but Cameron and the way Plasma (sans N) was handled pissed me off enough that I dropped the series entirely until TSME reeled me back in with Lysandre, and I joined Tumblr close to the time XYZ came out, so I just started watching the anime as a weekly thing from the Flare Arc on because it seemed like a fun thing to do for this blog. (I was also getting caught up on what I missed around this time.)

But even despite coming back and doing that, I still wasn't particularly invested in Ash, tho I was happy when he made big strides in his journey, like when he won the Alola League. I was here for the Aether family in SM, and all the returning characters in Journeys. When it came time that they were announcing their plans to retire Ash my literal reaction was YELLING, "We're finally FREE???"

It's pretty much one of the biggest reasons I gravitated to Horizons, besides being interested in the new cast. It seems to have a clear ending in mind with the way the plot is headed. Like, because the main mysteries are centered around Terapagos and the Explorers/Lucius, I really don't think we'll continue following them after everything's resolved. It might be risky changing casts, but that variety makes things way more interesting. (It's just more fun that way, having more characters to talk about, discussing favorites and least favorites with people.)

[zponds]

Spy May and Spy Max

Here are May and Max dressed as top secret agents/spys.

After @hunty627 told @grantgfan about his (@hunty627’s) Ben 10 series; Ben 10 Intergalactic Adventures, I spent months trying to come up with a series of my own. Eventually, i finally did, just a couple of weeks ago, i came up with a spy thriller show called “Hoenn Spy Siblings”. This series stars May and Max as top secret spies/agents and this show was inspired by the 2001 film Spy Kids and the series Totally Spies.

The Totally Spies part of the inspiration is shown in May and Max’s spy outfits, with May’s outfit being red like Clover’s and max’s outfit being green like Sam’s, not to mention the outfits are designed similarly (though obviously Max’s outfit is designed more so for boys), though the belt symbol is in the shape of a pokeball rather than a heart. The Spy Kids part of the inspiration comes from May and Max’s sibling relationship, with May being the big sister like Carmen Cortez and Max being the little brother like Juni Cortez.

As for the cast of this series… May and Max are obvious as they’re the stars. And the rest of the cast are recurring characters and they are… Ash (May’s boyfriend), Norman & Caroline (May and Max’s parents, obviously), and Dexter boy genius.

Being spies, May and Max have been trained into the arts of stealth, speed and agility thanks to the teachings from Ninja Teacher Angela and test simulations from Dexter’s simulation (similar to the one Professor Utonium used). And speaking of Dexter, he’s the one who supplies May and Max with state of the art technology and being May and Max’s supervisor, briefing the siblings on their missions. As for Norman and Caroline, they’re retired spies in retirement now that May and Max are doing the spy job, though the parents wont shy away from coming out of retirement whenever the occasion calls for it. For Ash, he’s May’s boyfriend and is a spy himself, though no one knows that yet.

Now as a side note; for Pokémon, May still has her Pokémon (including the Pokémon she gets in my AG rewrite), and Max has Jirachi. However, these Pokémon are brought out only when absolutely necessary.

[vivid-lite]

Hoenn Ensemble (1/?)

Heya! Here's the cast of the HybridVerse's Igneous! I might do the rest soon :]

[magmaaqua]

HARDENSHIPPING: A PRIMER

you’ve probably heard of hardenshipping before. even if you’re new to pokémon, the posts about maxie and archie’s hardly ambiguous relationship have probably crossed your dash before. but just who are these two old men? and how does one find out more about them? can one even get into a ship from a game that’s almost twenty years old now? (yes! please do! there will always be at least a couple people still enjoying the ship, and what with the streams of new content constantly coming out and being pulled away almost immediately, it’s a real breather to take a look back at the things that’ve come out in the past.)

the key players

hardenshipping is the ship between maxie, the leader of team magma, and archie, the leader of team aqua. they debuted in pokémon ruby and sapphire in 2003, with maxie starring as the villain of the first game, and archie starring as the villain of the latter. maxie’s goals as the leader of team magma are to expand the landmass of the world – making more room for growth and development by the humans that live there. archie, meanwhile, desires the opposite – as the leader of team aqua, archie’s sights are set on the ocean. he wants to engulf the world with water, making more room for the pokémon that dwell beneath the hoenn region’s vast seas. while in ruby and sapphire, the team not cast as the villain works as your ally, the enhanced emerald casts them both as villains and you as the intermediary.

in the remakes, omega ruby and alpha sapphire, maxie and archie’s roles are upped to eleven. while in the original games, maxie and archie were somewhat similar in terms of personality (even using the same dialogue at times), the remakes gave them more distinct personalities and loads more lore. maxie became more of a calculating, cold character – a professional with a short temper and no mercy when it comes to fighting you. on the other hand, archie’s love for the sea and pirate persona gained prominence, and although his goals are still those of a supervillain, he treats you more as a rival, even calling you a little scamp with a big grin on his face. we learn more about their backstories as well – maxie and archie used to be on the same team once upon a time, and both end up harboring a desire to make things right with one another by the end of the game. even seemingly aloof maxie keeps a telltale boat model in his hideout, with not a speck of dust to be found on it. between archie talking about maxie’s bony backside and the soft song that plays as they reconcile, there’s ample room to think that yeah, there’s definitely something going on between these two.

why are they called that?

pokémon ship names have been written differently than your typical name-fusion ship name for a while, and often the first part of the ship name will have something to do with the characters involved. (for example, jessie and james from the anime are called rocketshipping.) when lava meets water, it hardens. hence, hardenshipping. magma and aqua.

are they canon?

depends on what you mean by canon. the heart-shaped valentines’ card posted circa 2016 by the pokémon official twitter (complete with cards called “maxie’s hidden ball trick” and “archie’s ace in the hole”) certainly leaves little to the imagination. you don’t have to consider them canon, of course, but it’s safe to say there’s at least a bit of evidence pointing directly at the idea.

how do i play the games?

i would personally recommend oras first, but the original games can very easily be emulated by looking up roms and a gba emulator online (i remember there being a post with pokémon emulation resources going around a while back, so i’ll add that on if i find it). if you have a 3ds and a friend who’ll lend you a copy, you could play oras like that, but although you can find the games for their original sales price online, you can also easily watch a playthrough without commentary on youtube (there are TONS) if you can’t or are just looking to catch the story bits. (i’m not an expert on 3ds emulation, but that’s always a supported option, too. it’s a bit trickier than gba emulation but it works.) the game’s about four and a half hours through and well worth it, especially for free.

what about other stuff?

there are lots of different iterations of canon when it comes to pokémon. maxie and archie come back in ultra sun and ultra moon as their ruby and sapphire selves, pulled forward from a timeline where their plans succeeded. the manga takes a darker turn with their characters, and although i’m not personally a fan, it might be up your alley if you prefer your villains less …supervillain (and your enemies to lovers heavy on the enemies part.) i haven’t watched much of the rse anime but while it hasn’t followed the game characterization for characters like cyrus too closely, it’s always an entertaining watch. and sometimes people post screenshots from the mobile game, but i suggest looking up those on youtube as well, as they’re not too long nor hard to find. the mobile game and usum are tied to/inspired by game canon more directly, but the manga and anime are their own separate interpretations, and not generally considered part of the main “game” canon.

tldr: these two are really great! consider them if you've got the time!

[sugarglider-s]

All this water in Hoenn is turning the freaking champions gay!

[ID: a digital drawing of Wallace holding Steven with a colorful forest background behind them. Steven is laughing as he hangs onto Wallace, and Wallace smiles sincerely. There is a pink and orange light cast on them from above. End ID]

[corruption-special-au]

!!! this au looks super cool i love ur designs and concepts but im a bit confused on the original plot of it— whats the basic concept of the au? Like how would u explain it to someone? why is everyone corrupted or masked or whatever?

Thank you so much!! I'm glad your digging the au designs also its ok I really only have sketches here and not alot of explination

basically the idea is that I try to think of the worst outcome I can for each pokespe arc that results in the main cast being somewhat evil but maybe not like all the way ( mortally grey? i guess would be the word? )

So instead of growing up a normal kid: red grows up in team rocket and has a very warped outlook on things. likewise green(f) is also in team rocket but more so for her own reasons.

Then moving on to johto: silver never escaped the masked man with green(f) so he just stays and is raised by pryce and the other masked kids. And after failing to get something the professor's have that pryce wants because of gold, pryce blackmails gold into working under him as another masked trainer and basically threatens his mom and little poke family + has some of his team held hostage just to tack on (don't worry they get revenge. they force pryce into that like time portal thing in celebi's shrine aka "the pit".)

And then finally the hoenn crew which ruby and sapphires arc is mainly spent being slowly possessed by those orb things in the manga that archie and maxie had. and they basically are just possessed by groudon and kyogre eventually like exorcist style. The reason its called lost special is because after they are possessed, they both sort of just disappear and the gym leaders are left looking for them all over hoenn.

emerald on the other hand has a different backstory based on @digitalsnail 's au idea where emerald was trained by zinnia instead and thus is sort of just some wild dragon (mostly ghost tho) trainer type of kid hiding away in the sky pillar

Hope this clears it up, this is the basic idea of what I have right now for each of their plots! Don't hesitate to ask any questions, thrills me to bits when someone new finds this blog and gets hooked!!

Adding a Note: this originally started out as just masked special. but after I added more I renamed it corruption special because of the fact that older pokemon game files could be corrupted on the gameboy (and some ds). and since nothing in this au goes right: the file must be corrupted! its a joke

[crystalelemental]

*deep breath*

Okay, so! As some of you know, I recently replayed almost all of the Pokemon games, because I was in a State, and recently completed this little journey. As part of that, I've been doing write-ups, and in the aftermath, making up some tier lists of game rankings and type rankings. I was going to do the Pokemon themselves region by region, but I've done that before and didn't want to do it again right away. Apparently this was meant to be a mercy. Except I can't let myself be normal, so I decided hey. You know what really needs sorted? All the Pokemon characters ever.

I'm not talking about the specifics here. I will tier by tier in separate posts, but not here. Too cluttered. But I will lay down some explanations here. First and foremost, this is approximate. After a while, your eyes just glaze over and you can't really sustain sorting this individually anymore. On that note, this is intra-tier ranked. If they're higher or to the left, they are rated better. Approximately. Third, I did leave characters off the table. Specifically, anyone who is such a non-entity I can't really comment on them, like all of the Team Flare admins, named shopkeepers who do nothing, or (with apologies to their fans) the Hoenn Frontier Brains I have never met. I didn't do Emerald Frontier. I will never do Emerald Frontier. I do not know these people. I did attempt to supplement some information from Masters, but even then I still do not know these people. But because of this supplementing, I did include Masters OCs. I did not draw from the manga, because I've never read it.

But yeah, cast your aspersions or praises as desired. Or make your own tier list and tag me in it to call me out as having shit opinions/reinforce my personal biases. Either way.

[echidnapower]

Now that Ash's series is over, how do you feel about the decision to write Misty out of the main cast at the end of Johto in 2002? As we know besides brief cameos and the last few eps of MPM, she really did stay off the show for 20 years, 6 series, and somewhere over 850+ or something episodes. Once Hoenn started and May was introduced, the writers likely decided sometime in 2003 they weren't going to bring misty back to the cast (her cameos with Togetic aired this year), and then that was basically it.

I always assumed the writers would have brought Misty back like how the Brock/Tracey switch was reversed after Orange, but I guess May became too popular it convinced the writers they had no reason to bring Misty back to the cast. So they slowly started phasing her out over AG as her cameos/specials started to dwindle, then by the time we got into 2005/2006 she got her final episode for over a decade. Then by the time DP started and they decided to bring Dawn in, that was basically it. They brought in a second new female companion for a second full gen, and Misty didn't get to appear in DP at all.

People tend to forget that long before the modern pokemon era (XY, SM, Journey's, etc), the writers seem to already decide back in the early 2000's from 2002-2010 during the Hoenn/DP era that they weren't going to bring Misty back full time. And as we know, they didn't. It's just kind of ironic to me when you stop to realize how long ago that was, 2002 was the beginning of the millenium, it over 22 years ago now, and Misty left at Gen 2 of the franchise whereas Ash's series went through Gen 8. She basically was only there for like 20% of Ash's series, and missed 80% of the anime.

Do you believe the writers were in the right to remove her? Since you write fanfics with Misty staying, did her departure shock you or did you think the anime couldn't go on without her? In the end I guess it doesn't matter now, but it says a lot so many original fans decided to continue to watch without her year after year.

Well as someone who considers Misty "best girl" I would never condone the decision to have Misty leave the group. What I will say though is that it was clear to me that the writers for the anime back in those early days had no idea what to do with Misty since her "goal" as it were was to become a water-Pokemon Master, but they never took any steps to have Misty actually try to BECOME that. She was playing a support role for Ash and that I feel like was an extreme disservice to her character.

What we did get though was an evolution of her personality over time, as she became less violent with her actions and started seeing Ash more as an equal rather than someone who needed her coaching to become a good trainer, and in that change, the ship started to solidify for me. There were plenty of "shippy moments" during Indigo, but the more Ash grew as a trainer the more it felt like there was room for their relationship to grow.

By the end of her tenure, it was clear to everyone (or me at least) that the very thought of leaving Ash to go take over the gym because of her irresponsible sisters was a source of emotional pain for her. In her mind, Ash wasn't just some brat that stole her bike, he had become her very best friend and (depending on how you choose to interpret it) she'd fallen in love with his passion and devotion to Pokémon, because that's what made him stand out from all the other trainers out there. The lengths he was willing to go to in order to make sure that his Pokémon became the best they could possibly be and the love that he showed them, it even trickled over to his human friends as well, which of course included her.

And even with all the other girls that came along after Misty's departure, you could tell that there was a special bond between her and Ash that was never replicated with anyone else. In my mind, Serena kissing Ash before she left isn't the most impactful scene in the anime, it's the fact that Ash shed tears over Misty leaving because he knew how much he was going to miss her. To my knowledge, aside from her and Brock, Ash didn't cry over anyone else's departure. It was always "until we meet again" and then off he went on his new journey. Even Serena didn't get a tear from Ash over saying goodbye. That honor falls only to Misty (and Brock).

All this being a long-winded explanation for what makes their relationship so special, I'll address the other part of the question. Do I think the writers were right to remove her? Of course not. I think they should have given Misty something to do rather than just stand there with Togepi and cheer Ash on, and in an anime where character growth coincided with aging (yes, aging as in getting older and more mature, something Pokémon is notoriously allergic to), eventually Misty would've had to be given something to do. Their solution I suppose was to give Misty a new goal, one that was separate from her travels with Ash. I don't like it, but I get it.

May and Dawn were the main characters for the next two generations of games and they were made into coordinators so that they wouldn't overlap with Ash's goals. Contests weren't available in B/W I don't think so having Ash travel with Hilda would've been redundant, so they gave Iris to Ash since she was the most...rambunctious character in those games, and Cilan took on the Brock role now that he was finally off pursuing his new path. Back to the old dynamic but it wasn't the same. Iris wasn't Misty, and neither was any of the other girls he went with, Serena included. That BOND just wasn't there. The closest one who got there IMO was Dawn, and ironically aside from Misty herself, I think Dawn got the most returns to the anime out of all the Pokegirls.

I started writing my story over a decade ago with the mindset of "fixing" the anime, by putting Misty back where she wanted to be all along, but now by aging them up a few years (which is what they should have been in the first place) I opened the door for Ash to actually see Misty as more than a friend, paying off all those little moments they'd previously shared where Misty caught his attention when they were traveling together and he saw her as more than just "Misty," she was also "girl" which bizarrely Ash understood better early on in the show and forgot later on somehow with any other male/female interactions. I made Ash and Misty finally get together, strengthening their bond even more as now the titles boyfriend and girlfriend make it so that Ash AND Misty get something out of the relationship. She hasn't done much in the way of training for herself, I'll admit, but the way I write her, Misty doesn't just stand there and support Ash, she's his go-to for companionship, a partner he can count on when the going gets tough, more than the others. She's put on a pedestal as someone special to him, which she already was but now the role is more defined. And Misty now gets to be a big sister to Dawn as their relationship has grown throughout my story. Dawn looks up to Misty now, seeing her as someone she also can turn to when she's struggling with something. Ash is her mentor with training, but in a world where human interactions are more than just "Let's battle," Dawn needs someone to help her navigate those turbulent waters, and that's big sister Misty.

I rambled for a long time and for that I apologize. The anime could and did go on without Misty, and other characters who took her place have their own roles and their own merits. I won't take that away from them. But Misty is special I believe because there's just that bond that is difficult to define in words between her and Ash. They can push each other to their limits unlike any other characters in the show can, and undoubtedly Ash sees her as his very best human friend aside from Brock. If the anime had allowed him to age and grow, there's no doubt in my mind that they would have gotten together anyway, because a bond like that can't be broken by distance. If anything, it would just inevitably bring them together again.

[lumenflowered]

[A video file is attached. Maria can be seen, in what might be faintly recognizable as Route 14 of Kanto, though it seems clearer than normal. For the first time since it has ever appeared on this blog, it doesn't seem to be raining at all.

Calling it sunny is a strong word, though, considering that the sun is beginning to set in the distance. It's close to falling behind a mountain to the west, a mountain that... could that be Mt. Silver?

"Well, we are here," Maria mutters, casting her gaze about the route. "Where—"

"Hello!"

Both Maria, and the camera, whip around at the voice. Dee's standing there, Mallory at her side—in the form she's in now, the form she'd taken after what really did look very much like a Pokémon's evolution, she towers over even Dee.

Dee isn't a short person, even if she's slightly shorter than Maria.

(Though, for anyone familiar with what the god known to most as only the Moon Presence looked like, Mallory isn't anywhere near that size. Maybe half that, if anything, and comparable in size to both Ho-oh and Lugia.)

"How," Maria asks with a raised eyebrow, "did you do that?"

"I'm getting good at illusions," Mallory says, a little smugly. "Comes with practice. Also, not gonna lie, it is really satisfying to surprise you for once."

The eyebrow goes higher. "Are you still angry about the clocktower?"

"Angry's not the right word and you know it."

Dee clears her throat. "And this is not why we called her here, is it?"

Mallory groans. "No. It's not."

"Then why did you?" Maria asks.

"Because... I..."

Mallory's gaze finds the ground. At least, it probably does, it's a little difficult to tell with her sometimes, especially in this new form.

But, eventually, she speaks again.

"I'm not human anymore," Mallory says at last. "I never will be again. And the thing is, I don't hate being like this. The illusions are nice. Being able to help people instead of hurting them's nice. I was good at being a Hunter, but I never really... liked it."

"Those who did genuinely like it," Maria replies, "were more often than not liable to end their lives on the Crow's blades."

"Yeah. But you liked being good at it, right? You liked being useful."

"...Yes," Maria says, after a pause.

"It was fucking awful even once I got good at it. For me." She pauses, her spiked tail lashing back and forth behind her. "So it's nice to be able to do something different. And it's nice to be home."

"Even if you aren't human any longer?" Maria asks.

Mallory's gaze snaps back up to Maria, eyes narrowing. "Yeah. Especially then."

"We've been... busy, over the past days, as well," Dee chimes in. "Professor Oak is as certain as I that, while Mallory certainly wasn't a Pokémon initially... she is now. For better or for worse."

"Running theory," Mallory says, "is that this world didn't like me coming in and doing godlike things without being one. Stuck around too long, and... this happened."

"Something like that has happened before," Dee says. "Not only to gods, though those examples are the best known. Deoxys in Hoenn was initially quite alien, but has since become far more acclimated. The Clefairy line might also have once been something entirely different."

"I... see." Maria pauses. "If I am understanding this correctly... anything that is not reasonably similar to a human, and not a Pokémon, will eventually become a Pokémon?"

"It does seem so, yes!"

"...Should we be worried about Henryk's dog?"

Dee considers this. "Likely not, the timescale involved in most cases is far too large for any non-immortal beings—the changes in Clefairy likely occurred after several generations, and Mallory is... well..."

"I had been telling the world where to shove it for months already," Mallory says without a hint of remorse. "Not too surprised it eventually decided to bite back. But that's not all."

"Oh?"

"After... everything," Mallory says, "Ho-oh and Lugia asked to speak with me. Privately. Lugia was still pretty unimpressed with my... everything... but less outright willing to attack me over it, that was her following Giovanni's orders while she still had to. And Ho-oh..."

"Ho-oh," Dee says, "is far younger than Lugia. He came first, shortly after this world began. But the gods of this world most often come in threes. Such as Johto's Legendary Beasts—Entei, Raikou, Suicune. And Kanto's Legendary Birds—Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno."

"But Lugia and Ho-oh have been a duo for a long time. Life's beginning. Life's rebirth. And..." Mallory hesitates, her tail stilling in place behind her. "Life's end, and what happens after. They made me an offer. That could be me."

"They did what," Maria says, a little faintly.

"That," Mallory says, unhelpfully. "I'm not sure if I'll accept yet. But it'd be nice to belong again. It'd be nice to be able to... mean something again. Not too much would even change on the surface, Dee's already two steps shy of being a Chosen like you."

"I did get that impression," Maria says. "What was the catch?"

Mallory stares at her for a long moment, then throws back her head and cackles. "Of course you'd think there's a catch! Which. Well. There is. Either I accept my past, or I sever myself from it entirely."

The raised eyebrow goes back up, this time in conjunction with the other. "Do you intend to ask me for advice regarding that, because I am far from the best person to ask for advice regarding anything—"

"No! No. Just..." Mallory sighs. "A few weeks ago, even a few days ago, I would have known exactly what to do. But now I'm not sure. So. I want a rematch."

"...Against me?" Maria asks.

"Against your Pokémon," she says, "directed by you. I've been... figuring out how this works, I think. I trust Dee to direct me, she's better at this than she thinks. She's better at most things than she thinks."

(Dee silently opens her mouth to argue, then shuts it again.)

"And the outcome of this battle," Maria says, "will determine what you do?"

Mallory nods. "If you win, I'll... I'll talk to her. I'll tell her the truth. And I'll try to hope she won't hate me. I didn't pick the route my mom lived on for shits and giggles."

"If I lose..."

"I forget about it. I kill my past, if I have to, because this—this isn't sustainable. I know that." Mallory inhales sharply, and admits, "And I really want a rematch now that your mental health isn't in the fucking gutter, even if it's not quite the same."

Maria regards her for a long moment, considering this.

"Very well," she says at last. "I accept."

The video ends there.]

[howlingday]

My idea for a potential DB! #11

2024 jun 26, 27, jul 4, aug 22, 24

PREVIOUS POST

Tenya Iida vs. A-Train

MASTER LIST

Chaos VS Kyogre (Sonic the Hedgehog VS Pokémon) | DEATH BATTLE!

Their rains of destruction will flood and drown the world!

THUMBNAIL

FIGHTER 1: Chaos, the mutated God of Destruction of alien descent from Sonic Adventure.

FIGHTER 2: Kyogre, Pokémon’s legendary sea expander of primordial origin.

Wiz: Water is the substance that fuels all life, the sea is where life originated, and rain brings crop growth and rejuvenation.

*insert clips of the sea, flooding, and torrential downpours*

Boomstick: But too much H2O will leave you drowning or flooded, especially when it comes to these two ancient gods of rain and sea. He’s Wiz and I’m Boomstick.

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.

PREFACE (What to know): 

For Chaos, I’ll primarily be looking at Sonic Adventure and Generations for references to power, and I’ll look at Sonic Battle for moveset. For Kyogre, the games are the primary source of Pokémon canon, so I won’t look for any anime or manga adaptation. The games I’ll be looking at for Kyogre are Pokémon Sapphire and Alpha Sapphire.

This MU also has some popularity. Brandon Yates gave us Primal Chaos (both an instrumental and vocal version), Sky / TehGM gave us Chaos Primal, and we even had a DEATH BATTLE cast episode related to this MU. You can find other MUs for these two (I noticed Chaos vs. Zygarde a few times), but this is perhaps the best MU for both due to their icons and surface-level similarities.

I will not be treating this as a Pokémon battle, so we don’t just get damage that correspond to “It’s not very effective…” attacks, and Kyogre will be using the moveset from when you encounter it during the climax of Alpha Sapphire as Primal Kyogre: Body Slam, Aqua Ring, Ice Beam, and Origin Pulse, as seen here, but I’ll still make reference to other moves because Kyogre’s thing is manipulation over rain and water.

I also looked at the VS. Battle Wiki pages for both characters, but I decided not to use their stats, only their abilities.

WHY:

Connections (What do they have in common):

1. Both are ancient water beings who were reawakened by the main antagonist of their debut games (Dr. Eggman and Archie of Team Aqua) for their big plan to change the world (Dr. Eggman wanted to conquer the world by making Chaos subservient to him and Team Aqua wanted to expand the oceans to make more room for aquatic Pokémon)

2. Both have reputations for being destructive god-like creatures with potentially world-ending power. Chaos is known for wiping out the Echidna tribe, flooding Station Square, and being one of Infinite’s “4 Horsemen”. Kyogre is known to have expanded the oceans via torrential downpour and tidal waves. At their most powerful, Perfect Chaos and Primal Kyogre both had big potential to, again, destroy the world. Perfect Chaos handedly flooded Station Square and Primal Kyogre could have drowned not just the Hoenn Region, but the entire world via rain. Their final forms even look like giant Leviathans from the Bible.

3. Both draw power from ancient stones that allow them to transform into their strongest states. Chaos becomes Perfect Chaos with the Chaos Emeralds and Kyogre becomes Primal Kyogre with the Blue Orb. Said rocks were used by the aforementioned main antagonists, but our rain gods only ended up turning against the villains.

4. Both also have connections to ancient peoples, Chaos being the descendant of the extraterrestrial Ancients that brought the Chaos Emeralds with them and Kyogre is connected to the Draconid people that prayed for Raquaza to stop the fight between the Primordials. 

5. There is a possible thematic element of peace vs chaos. Ironically, Chaos could represent peace as Chaos is the first known guardian of the Chaos Emeralds and watched over a Chao colony in ancient times. However, 3,000 years before the events of Sonic Adventure, an attack from the Knuckles Clan led to Chaos being consumed by a fury that threatened to destroy the world, but was sealed in the Master Emerald. After the events of Sonic Adventure, Chaos has only re-emerged in times of great crisis. Kyogre would represent chaos and destruction to all of its lore regarding its legendary fight for dominance against Groudon. 

Personal reasons (Why I want this battle/like this MU):

We could use a good Sonic vs Pokémon MU. Mewtwo vs. Shadow deserves to be redone with love, so in the meantime, here’s my idea.

Kyogre is also one of my all-time favorite Pokémon ever since I first played Alpha Sapphire in 2014. Chaos, while not one of my favorite Sonic characters, is intriguing to me, mainly because of its reputation from Sonic Adventure and its lore from Frontiers. Also, I liked the idea of being able to play as Chaos in Sonic Battle and I liked how Chaos looks in the Sonic Smackdown videos.

Imagine Chaos as a Pokémon. I imagine it starting as a Chaos Chao, but its first evolution would be a lot like iconic Chaos 0 and the Ancient Warrior. The limbs and body are now water and fluid. The cutesy features of the Chao start to disappear, with some scales and the brain starting to protrude from the body, but there is also a core in the chest of the beast. The eyes become a mix between the yellow of Chaos Chao and the emerald green of Perfect Chaos. The final stage would be a giant kaiju-based monster like Tyranitar, Archaludon, Groudon, etc. Scales, the monster-like eyes, the brain now exposed, and scary power with a busted ability that lets it set up beneficial weather and boost its own attacking power or speed, almost like a two-in-one Drizzle and Swift Swim. The line would have a pure Water typing until the final evolution, which would be either part Psychic or Dragon due to using the power of the Chaos Emeralds, which their abilities to affect space and time and even powerful god-like beings (Solaris, Dark Gaia, Time Eater, Nega Mother Wisp, THE END), are affected by the thoughts and emotions of the wielder, can be recharged by the planet, and are artifacts of alien origin. Either that, or Chaos would be tapping into its alien ancestry. The line would have poor speed, but its HP, Attack, and Defenses are great. Maybe it would have a stat total between 400 and 500. Maybe it could even be a pseudo legendary/member of the 600 club for a new region.

Maybe I’ll actually draw this Fakemon someday.

August 22, 2024

King Bowser VS Dr. Eggman is confirmed and is currently a work in progress. I want this to be a celebration of not only DB!’s return, but also of the eventual release of future Hard-Boiled Fury.

Art:

THE FIGHT:

Art and animation:

It’ll be in 2D sprites. Let’s count: Sonic has had 12 fights with 11 of them being done with sprites, and Pokémon has had 6 fights with 4 of them being done in sprites. Sonic’s only none-sprite fight was the show’s 100th episode, done with hand-drawn animation, and the none-sprite Pokémon fights were done in 3D, which were the season 2 finale and the “milestone episode” 125. The fight will most likely be in 2D unless it's a season finale or milestone episode like 250 and not a pseudo milestone episode like 125 or 175.

You can find Chaos sprites, though there may be some struggling with some Kyogre sprites, so it’s likely that some custom sprites will need to be made.

Or maybe it’ll be in 3D for ease of movement for Kyogre, but I don’t know where you can find the models for it. There already is a model for Chaos if Sonic Smackdown is any indication.

Possible setup:

Groudon and Kyogre have emerged from the Seafloor Cavern and Cave of Origin. They have once again engaged in their eternal endeavor. There may be rain, but the sun is still shining.

Groudon uses Precipice Blades, but before Groudon can fully execute the attack, the land on which it stood falls and Groudon is seemingly pulled down into the water by an invisible force. The rain clouds start to quickly block out the sun. Kyogre is also struggling to control the waves as they are going against its command, until a fist made of water deals an uppercut to Kyogre’s jaw, staggering Kyogre a bit. The fist of water lands meters in front of the Sea Basin Pokémon, and it morphs into Chaos 0.

It is a time of crisis, and so Chaos has re-emerged.

Kyogre lets out its battle cry as if it were a Pokémon battle.

FIGHT!

1. Chaos enlarges a fist and strikes Kyogre and starts to unleash a combo, ending it with slamming both arms and fists into Kyogre, submerging it. Kyogre responds by spins around and strikes Chaos, like if it used Aqua Tail. Chaos retaliates by plunging his arm into the ground, causing a fountain to spring up and knock back his opponent (Upper Chaos).

2. A  Chaos Emerald quickly descends from the sky, and Chaos turns into Chaos 1. Before Kyogre could move, Chaos repeatedly starts lobbing water at Kyogre (Chaos Shot). Kyogre gets hit, but then uses a Body Slam, crashing into Chaos.Chaos then uses Chaos Strike, a ripple of Chaos Energy hitting and dazing Kyogre long enough for Chaos to dive into the water, shoot out of it like a crazed angel fish, and stretch his arms down and lands a powerful Air Chaos Strike. Kyogre, while hurt, simply launches water under immense pressure a la Hydro Pump and damages Chaos.

3. Yet another Chaos Emerald descends, and Chaos 1 becomes Chaos 2. Kyogre charges at Chaos like if it used Double Edge, but Chaos simply becomes a puddle, emerges by Kyogre’s tail, grabs it, and swings Kyogre away with a lot of effort. Kyogre enters the water again but with little trouble. Kyogre then cools the air around Chaos in a poor attempt at using Sheer Cold, momentarily freezing and greatly damaging Chaos, but then another Emerald descends. 

4. Chaos 2 becomes Chaos 3 when another Chaos Emerald descends and breaks free from the ice. Chaos jumps into the air and then strikes the Sea Basin Pokémon with a punch on the way down, inflicting a large shock that triggers an earthquake, damaging and dazing Kyogre (Chaos Impact). As Chaos then starts striking Kyogre up close again with powerful aquatic arms, Kyogre charges at Kyogre again, but as Chaos starts to hold Kyogre off, Kyogre uses Ice Beam and starts to freeze and break off Chaos’ limbs.

5. Chaos 3 becomes Chaos 4. With greater speed, Chaos starts to emerge out of the water in an arc and splash down around Kyogre, and before Kyogre could use Ice Beam again, water in the shape of tendrils suddenly forms upwards and starts bashing Kyogre. Chaos is using Chaos Splash, but Kyogre makes the water around it launch upward like if it used Water Spout, launching Chaos 4 skyward and Kygroe bounces Chaos once like a dolphin or sea lion bouncing a beach ball and then bounces Chaos away.

6. Chaos 4 absorbs two more Chaos Emeralds and turns into Chaos 6 who then turns into a giant puddle, escaping another Ice Beam and charges at Kyogre with a giant version of Chaos Dolphin, but Kyogre uses Aqua ring, and Chaos then merges with the Aqua Ring and is launched out towards whence he came, and Kyogre then launches origin pulse to launch Chaos 6 further away. Chaos then escapes back into the water and uses Chaos Heal. Kyogre continues healing with Aqua Ring.

7. The rain is pouring down, but neither beast is dead. They have their ancient stones in possession, and so draw power from them and from nature itself. With the final Chaos Emerald descending into the ocean, Chaos becomes Perfect Chaos, erupting out of the water, and with the Blue Orb, Kyogre becomes Primal Kyogre. We see the world now almost fully flooded. The rain is now pouring down furiously, and the two gods roared at each other.

8. P. Chaos launches an energy projectile, but P. Kyogre moves out of the way and strikes with an Ice Beam, severely damaging P. Chaos. As Kyogre moves around the battlefield, Chaos then lifts up water tornadoes, preventing Kyogre from moving. Chaos then bites down on Kyogre, and with one swift motion of the neck, throws Kyogre across from him.

9. Chaos wins by using power and terrain control. Perfect Chaos causes a whirlpool and then a water spout to launch Primal Kyogre skyward. As Kyogre reorients itself, it starts to use Origin Pulse. However, Perfect Chaos unleashes a faster Breath Attack and Tentacle Attack. Effectively juggling the Sea Basin Pokémon until Chaos can use Chaos Bind, freezing the air and Kyogre. Perfect Chaos then catches Kyogre in its open jaws and splits the legendary leviathan in two, the giant bloody body falling into the water. Victorious, Perfect Chaos releases a perfect roar of triumph as the rain clouds start dissipating, and rays of light start piercing down.

10. Kyogre wins by exploiting Chaos’ weaknesses. Primal Kyogre uses Ice Beam on Perfect Chaos, reducing its mobility. Chaos opens its mouth to launch a super charged laser, but Ice Beam has frozen it, and by using Ice Beam once more, but this time, on the exposed brain, Chaos is effectively done. Kyogre charges one more Origin Pulse and shatters the frozen leviathan. The clouds are now pouring waterfalls, and the sky is fully dark save for the lightning. Kyogre then gives a primal scream of victory.

11. The victor doesn’t celebrate for long because a giant green snake with ephemeral, golden, and glowing tendrils as long as its body protruding from its lower jaw descends from the sky and unleashes its own war cry. The aquatic adversary responds in kind, and another battle for the Hoenn region and the world begins. 

12. KO!

RESULT:

Strengths and weaknesses:

Chaos:

+ Perfect Chaos is powered by all 7 Chaos Emeralds, which could move pieces of Sonic’s world and power planet-destroying weapons. Perfect Chaos is more powerful.

+ The better fighter up close.

+ Several Chaos forms have hydrokinesis. Perfect Chaos can even create and control water tornadoes and entire floods, thus having terrain control in the ocean, lakes or sea in which Chaos fights.

+ Chaos 0 can cause status effects. Chaos 0 can use Chaos Bind and freeze his opponent, and so has the faster freezing option and can also use Chaos Strike, which can disorient the opponent (basically casting confusion). 

+ Chaos, at least Perfect Chaos, can change his shape into liquid, “and if dissipated, can reconstitute himself again.”

= Comparable healing. Chaos needs to stand still when using Chaos Heal while Aqua Ring is passive, but Aqua Ring doesn’t heal as fast or as effectively as Chaos Heal and will eventually wear off.

= At their strongest, both have similar flooding power. Tikal said that Chaos could eventually destroy the world and Steven said that if Kyogre’s rain/reign doesn’t stop, then the whole world will drown, not just Hoenn. Chaos may have an advantage as Tikal said that Chaos has destroyed the world before.

- The brain on Perfect Chaos is a highly exposed weak point.

- Cannot take advantage of Kyogre’s weaknesses of electricity or sapping plants.

- Slower regardless of form

- Lacks a meaningfully powerful moveset

- It is told to us that Perfect Chaos is powered by the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds, and it is implied that this negative energy is not as powerful as positive energy, which is what is used by the Super Forms. If this is true, then it’s a matter of how much more weaker negative chaos energy is compared to its positive form. If it’s a lot, then Chaos runs the risk of being weaker than Kyogre. If it’s minimal, then Chaos remains the stronger combatant.

Kyogre:

+ Kyogre produces rain that powers up its own attacks.

+ Ironically the more agile combatant.

+ Origin Pulse and Ice Beam offer better ranged attacks.

+ Ice Beam can freeze Chaos, and Chaos has been damaged in lesser forms by being frozen.

+ If given access to moves like Thunder and Sheer Cold, then Kyogre has instant win attacks. Sheer Cold is stated to attack “with a blast of absolute-zero cold”. Thunder (which is more appropriately named as “かみなり / Lightning” in Japanese) never misses in the rain, and is described as “A wicked thunderbolt is dropped on the target to inflict damage. This may also leave the target with paralysis.” Again, this is a conditional advantage that isn’t fully common.

+ Moves like Calm Mind increase Kyogre’s resistance to energy attacks and projectiles (Special Defense) while augmenting its own energy attacks/projectile attacks (Special Attack)

= Comparable healing. Chaos needs to stand still when using Chaos Heal while Aqua Ring is passive, but Aqua Ring doesn’t heal as fast or as effectively as Chaos Heal and will eventually wear off.

= At their strongest, both have similar flooding power. Tikal said that Chaos could eventually destroy the world and Steven said that if Kyogre’s rain/reign doesn’t stop, then the whole world will drown, not just Hoenn. Chaos may have an advantage as Tikal said that Chaos has destroyed the world before.

- Limited moveset that doesn’t always take advantage of Chaos’ weakness and can be exhausted. (Power Points, aka PP)

- Kyogre doesn’t learn Thunder naturally and doesn’t always have access to Sheer Cold.

- Ice Beam only has a chance to freeze, compared to Chaos Bind which always freezes.

Ending puns:

"Kyogre couldn’t handle all this destruction and Chaos."

"Kyogre truly did rain on Chaos' parade."

MUSIC:

Art by me. (:

Name: Raining Chaos

The name makes reference to Kyogre’s rain abilities and to Chaos directly by name. I wanted to include “Alpha” in the name to make reference to “Alpha Sapphire”, but I couldn’t think of anything. I also did not want to include “Primordial”, “Primal”, or “Origin” because most VS scores for this fight have titles referring to the ancient nature of both fighters. It will seem hypocritical considering what I’m going to do with the sound, though.

Art: The cover shows a Chaos Emerald with both the beautiful sapphire shade and alpha symbol of the Blue Orb. From it Perfect Chaos’ tentacles are emerging from under, and from above, there is a blast of Origin Pulse. If there is a background to the image like in Hearts of Light, Chaos Unraveled, and Thunder Shroud, then it will be the flooded Station Square or the flooded world

Sound: There’s really only two songs that need to be referenced: Open Your Heart and the Vs. Groudon and Kyogre music. Just use Open Your Heart’s guitars and the Kyogre and Groudon battle music’s bells and horns. I specifically think Yates should be the one to make the battle track since, as previously mentioned, gave us “Primal Chaos”.

The song starts with the iconic bells of the fight from Groudon and Kyogre with the sounds of distortion of the Primal Reversion like this mashup here. As the bells fade out, we get the starting guitars from Open Your Heart. While the sound is primarily Open Your Heart, every now and then, the guitar fades for a bit and the bells play again with Hoenn’s iconic horns in the GBA sound like Vs. Primal Kyogre & Groudon, foreshadowing the eventual primal reversion.

FINAL THOUGHTS AND WORDS:

I like the idea of Chaos winning only to have to take Kyogre’s place in the fight against Groudon and Rayquaza. By embracing the wish to destroy, Chaos only perpetuates ancient conflict and becomes a monster. Rayquaza then becomes almost a reflection of who Chaos was: a figure considered divine with legendary power that reappears when there is great conflict that threatens the world, but will become aggressive when a threat comes near.

I had to do a lot of research into Chaos’ abilities, so I hope I did a good job of portraying them alongside Kyogre’s fearsome power. I wanted to give them both respect since both are more or less gods of water, rain, and sea.

August 22, 2024:

I wanted this to be my release for June and have the next episode be for July. Obviously, that didn’t happen. DB! has since announced their return with their next episode airing October of this year. During the summer, I was struggling with my life and career choice and then my classes resumed, which is why I haven’t continued with this for almost two months.

I also had an idea of drawing the cover art for the music. After I drew my “Raining Chaos”, I decided to resume writing this for a little bit, but then I started writing more, and I thought to myself that I can get this done before my next class. Maybe I’ll make a more well done version of my drawing, but it won’t be donde digitally like all DB! track art since I have neither the tools or knowledge to draw digitally.

When the two beasts fully transform into their Leviathan forms and roar, we get an epic Crush 40-style solo like what Yates did in Primal Chaos. It’s just pure glorious guitar from there on out. The song ends similarly to Open Your Heart but with the bells from the start of the song fading out.

IDEAS THAT I HAD:

1. Kyogre vs Chaos 0 - 6, Perfect Chaos vs Primal Kyogre.

2. We see the world drowning and being flooded. Maybe the Draconids pray for Rayquaza and Tikal is praying for Chaos to find peace

3. When reaching the final transformation, they let out a titanic roar.

4. Chaos trying to attack Kyogre with Aqua Ring active, causing Chaos to be molded into the Aqua Ring and launched away.

5. Include references to Noah’s Ark and the Leviathan of Biblical fame in the analysis.

6. Chaos hearing Tikal’s prayer, remembering the Chao, and winning by embracing positive chaos energy

THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS!

NEXT TIME…!

After the A-Train/Ingenium fiasco, Vought has come under intense scrutiny and UA is losing popularity for endangering one of their students and for associating with a company that employed a Nazi like Stormfront and a questionable character in A-Train. Homelander has taken it upon himself to “fix” the problem, and while UA may have given a press conference to address the issue, Homelander, the charismatic devil that he is, started a slander campaign against the threat of “Quirkies”.

In UA, the students have left as the school day just ended. All Might is in his normal form, taking down anti-UA propaganda that people have stuck to the school protective wall as well as some anti-Vought propaganda after a long day of teaching and trying to calm down protestors outside the school making noise that were shouting that word spouted by that fellow hero, a blonde American whom All Might initially thought well of. His press conference called to action the… More unpleasant elements of society. All Might hasn’t even changed out of his costume. and as he enters his office to grade papers, he hears a voice coming from within it. 

“Ah, Toshinori. Just the man I’m looking for.” 

That voice… All Might was hoping not to have to face the man in front of him. Toshinor turns on the light and behind his desk with his legs on the table sits a middle-aged man wearing a navy blue suit, red boots, and an American flag for a cape. Homelander had snuck past UA’s defenses and gotten in. He must have been waiting for him. He was… Looking at a picture of young Midoriya and Class 1-A. 

“Homelander. Why are you here?” Toshinori was hoping that the other teachers, and especially the students, weren’t here.

After a chuckle, John replies: “That f*cking little UA goody two shoes and that moron A-Train ruined everything at Vought and are making Supes look bad, and then that red birdbrain Hawks tried to leak some confidential info. So, I decided to come here and fix the problem at its core. Step 1? Remove Quirkies, and that starts with UA and you.” Homelander puts down the picture.

“Young Ingenium is a great hero! He may have faltered, but he lifts those around him and encourages them to be their best selves! I’m sorry to hear about A-Train, but he murdered an innocent civilian, and then you decided to make Heroes with Quirks look like villains.”

“See, here’s the thing, Toshi.” Homelander sighs and he stands up, approaching the skeletal figure. “We’re heroes, right? We gotta look for the public. I. Gotta look good.”

“After that press conference you did, I can’t consider you a hero. Your words are putting my students and colleagues at risk.”

“To the people, I am a hero, the GREATEST hero. I’m saving them from this plague, your genetic diseases of superpowers that make the majority of you Japanese not even Supes. A-Train and Ingenium may have brought bad press, but it’s nothing uncontrollable, and Hawks wasn’t able to get anything. So don’t stand in my way, Toshinori. I’m a real hero, and I will save everyone from you Quirkies, and if you don’t…”

Homelander’s eyes start to glow red and he smiles evilly.

“Well, let’s just say that you’ll have a hard time being either a hero or a teacher.”

Toshinori’s cheeks then stretch downward with his lips, steam exiting his lean body that is now starting to fill in his costume. The lanky man who was more bone than skin now stood almost two feet above Homelander, with his costume now stretched by his amazingly dense muscles, and his two long strands of hair, droopy and miserable now stand proud and curved like rabbit ears. Where there was Toshinori Yagi now stands All Might, a sharp blue gleam in his eyes.

Class 1-A may be able to handle Homelander, they certainly could handle almost everything, but in front of All Might stood a villain masquerading as a hero, and it was his duty to stop villains. “As the Symbol of Hope and as their teacher, I’m warning you: Don’t you dare hurt my students.” 

FIGHT!

All Might VS Homelander (My Hero Academia VS The Boys)

--------------------------------------------------

Whale, whale, whale,

Look what washed up on our shore. Another Death Battle idea? Holy mackerel! As fishy as it may seem, I smell blood in the water and we're gonna need a bigger post.

...Tuna.

Anyway, great work on another awesome idea! I can't say I've played Sonic Adventure, though 2 was definitely the best Sonic game ever. I did watch Sonic X, which briefly touched on the story of Sonic Adventure, though. I've played A LOT of Pokémon Sapphire, too, so I am very aware of Kyogre and their legendary status.

To be honest, the Chaos Emeralds do feel a bit deus ex machina, but it's not like it'd be the first time Death Battle pulled this kind of thing. The battle also feels very strange, since it's a physical fighter VS what's basically a whale ocean wizard, and Kyogre's only response to being punch in the face is either "flipper whack" or water/ice beam. Still, it was a fun fight to read, especially with Primal Chaos playing (Non-Vocal, because the lyrics can be very distracting).

Overall, great work!

As for this next fight, I'm feeling a little bit antsy. See, based on the dialogue, this is post-injury All Might, which means Homelander is going to be fighting against someone not in his prime. Also, that line about him purging the world of "Quirkies" got my blood boiling, so awesome work on that! Then again, maybe using this All Might is giving Homelander the Handicap~?

If I were to give this next battle track a name, I'd say...

PLUS BETTER

[alexanders-pokemon-adventure]

Foster island summer camp

Arrival

I should have teleported was all Alex could think as they limped off the boat to foster island. The many hours plane ride hadn’t been that bad from the Endless mountain region to the Hoenn . It was mostly sitting but… there had been more… walking than they had anticipated even with the taxi to the docks. Alex had not thought about how difficult and tiring it would be every time they stood to stay upright on the ever shifting ship. Since waking from their coma, there had been a heaviness to their body that Alexander had been unable to shake, even knowing that they had actually lost weight during there more than a month long slumber. Alex has started to become agitated by their bodies. Lack of ability to keep up with them. Even after all these weeks it felt to them they had not recovered as quickly as they hoped. Beyond Alexander‘s body, they had started to become agitated by how much help they needed and the constant mother Henning of their family and friends. So when the most diligent of Alexander’s loved ones, Derek had needed to return to Unova for two weeks to deal with work in their own life and Pokémon Alexander hatch a plan. Convince Derek that they would stay with their sister while they were gone all while in reality Alexander planned a trip to Foster Island. Logically they appreciated all the help that their friends and loved ones gave them but they hoped for a a few days were people were not poking and prodding at them. So Alex paid the sitter they usually hired to watch their house and the majority of their Pokémon and drove to the airport the same day Derek left.

The indignant and prideful part of Alexander did not want to admit the possibility that they had made a mistake. Two hours after arriving on Foster Island, they still sat on a wooden bench on the dock, unable to muster the strength to walk the path to the main building. They had not anticipated how much of the heat and humidity would have affected them, sapping more of their strength. Their claydol, Juegette drifted in the air above them, casting a shadow over Alexander and Nimbus their Castform in their hail form circled them in particles of snow, both Pokémon trying to alleviate their trainers discomfort. it was appreciated.

A part of Alexander was glad that the class they had agreed to teach for the summer camp did not start the first day if they ever managed to make it to their room, the rest of the day would be a sitting day. Alex was glad the ranger panel. They agreed to be a part of head seats.

As Alexander consider the humiliation of maybe having Juegette carry them to the main building when Alex saw two familiar figures approaching, and immediately told his Pokémon to knock it off. As a Nimbus settled in Alexander‘s lap, and juegette many eyes looked in many directions. Lynn fallowed by Ellisa( @adventures-on-foster-island ) reached them. The greetings began quickly and so did the questions. Why were you still at the dock? Why are you still here? How are you feeling? Alexander knew that Lynn and Ellisa saw the cane Alexander had it taken to carrying, knew they saw how bad they had blocked only a few short weeks ago and did their best to put them at ease.

With a grandiose jester, Alexander spread their arms wide towards the ocean and the skyline, and said in the voice more jovial, then Alex felt” you don’t gets view like this from the Endless Mountains, forgive me for indulging, perhaps a bit longer than I should have” they made their aching, heavy, stiff body rise from the bench, refusing to allow it to buckle or flinch in front of their friends” I do think I need to get ready for that ranger panel” Alex gesture down the path” walk with me?” They said grinning and made their body move

[c0stiffen]

You know... i wonder will you do the same with others? Like other than Paldea cast. Like Red is Mute, Wally is Asthmatic, N (might be) Schizophrenia.

Oh if you mean that if I plan to include the rest of the Pokemon characters in my AU, I'm sorry that it won't... At least it wouldn't be part of the same AU because my Au focuses on Scarvio. But I like to have Hcs for some characters that are not part of the paldea original cast! I have many of Kalos and Hoenn.

oh and about Red, He speaks in pokemon Masters. I think this is the only time he has said anything officially.

Sorry if this is not the answer you were expecting, I'm answering this at 2:25 am, let me know if I answered incorrectly!

[kysoncat]

Eeveelution Squad Journeys (My ES AU)

Hello everyone. If you saw on my introduction post I mentioned having an ES AU called Eeveelution Squad Journeys and I'd like to talk about it here. Hope you guys enjoy my first ever post about it here on Tumblr since I've talked about it before on other sites like reddit and Discord.

History I feel like before I explain what my AU is I need explain how it came to be so here's the backstory!

Way back in 2021, I was first introduced to the Eeveelution Squad comic from the dub and then found the actual comic and began reading it myself for the first time. While I was reading it a lot of stuff bothered me like Speed being stupidly overpowered, complex lore that I could not process, shipping moments being shoved down my throat every 3 pages, and more. I kept up with the comic till it ended and I was sad as I saw the comic could've had potential specifically with the characters but it didn't do anything with most of them.

After the comic ended I began thinking how I would write ES while fixing a lot of the problems I had with it. I dug through EV's account and found that ES was originally supposed to be about the cast as a Rescue team instead of living together. Around this time I was watching the Pokemon anime and while watching it I thought what if Eeveelution Squad was like the Pokemon anime. What if they were an actual squad, an actual team that would actually bond with each other by going on adventures like in the anime. It was at that moment that my AU was born. After developing it for a bit and sharing this AU idea with some people in the ES Discord Server (Now known as Astral Treehouse) with it receiving positive feedback, I would continue developing it for myself as it was fun developing and for what ES could've been with its missed potential. I decided to name the AU "Eeveelution Squad Journeys" after a friend suggested in the name in the Discord Server.

Premise So this AU is basically what if the Eeveelution Squad were a competitive battling team in a humanless mainline Pokemon world where they would take on the regional leagues and go on adventures as they bond and strive to become the greatest team ever.

The AU takes the series in a more action/Shounen approach rather than the Slice of Life or whatever the hell the Vacation Arc was trying to be. It takes inspiration from some animes I've watched like Pokemon and Fairy Tail.

While making the AU I have these goals in mind for it:

Have the characters be used to their fullest potential. A lot of ES' characters either had very little or nothing at all and after scrounging through the comic and certain journals I knew they had so much potential and I want to use them to their fullest.

Make the main cast actually bond. To me, the main cast in the comic had no real bond, they didn't feel like a squad, or family, or roommates. Also the title does not fit the comic with its story or genre. I want the main cast for my AU to actually feel like a team and make the "Eeveelution Squad" in the title actually make sense.

Don't make the AU stupidly edgy or confusing. Pretty simple with this goal.

Don't prioritize romance. Characters with their development and building bonds comes first.

Don't let anyone influence my AU. I'll listen to feedback and criticisms but I will not listen to someone who tries to change my AU into something that's unrecognizable. Toxic fans and shippers can go away if my AU isn't for them.

AU Changes

The World ES Journeys takes place in a humanless mainline Pokemon world where competitive battling is the most popular sport in it. The world has the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar regions only so no Paldea as well as some anime locations like the Orange islands. Rescuers are still a thing in this AU but they're part of the police. Because this AU has a more modern setting, there's no such thing as Wild Pokemon. Technology in this world is not as stupidly advanced as the comic so no Iron Man suits or other junk like that (I hated ES' technology), only modern technology like computers and stuff we have today.

The Lore ES Journeys does not focus on the Timeline Lore or Berserker Virus Lore because they do not exist. These two things should not have been in the comic but did because one comment said ES was boring which made EV add them. 90% of people either do not understand it or don't care about it. The only lore in this AU is backstory on characters.

The Cast While ES Journeys does have all 9 main characters (10 counting Axel) they're not going to be together right at the beginning. The reason I made this decision is because giving focus to that many characters right at the start of the story would be difficult to pull off. I want each character to get focused on without another one hogging it up like how Speed, Flare, Lazuli, and Silvia did in the comic. With the cast starting off small, focus can be put on them and when the characters join the main cast over time, focus moves on to them. The cast starts off with just Speed, Crystal, Flare, and Sunshine but when the group are in a region where the other main characters are they join them like how Ash gets new traveling companions when he arrives at a new region. So... yeah. That's Eeveelution Squad Journeys with what is had and how it came to be. Does this sound interesting or is this a stupid AU idea? I might make posts on my AU about the characters or story in the future. If y'all have any questions about the AU, feel free to send me an ask and I'd be happy to answer. Well until the next post that's all I have to say so bye everyone!

[torchickentacos]

Every Opportunity Pokemon Missed by not having Drew in Destiny Deoxys: A Non-Comprehensive But Still Long-Ass list

Art above- credit to the lovely @salon-maiden-anabel ! So. This is a topic that, if my sister mentions, she knows I will go off about it at the dinner table while my mother stares on confusedly. This is a topic I feel very strongly about, and I decided to put it into words for this post-and I KNOW I'm not the only one with strong feelings about this topic! @raich-raichu I know you showed interest in this topic when I said I'd do it so hope you don't mind if I @ you! THIS GOES FOR EVERYONE: PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE REBLOG WITH YOUR OWN OPINIONS AND/OR ADDITIONS ON THIS. I thrive on hearing everyone's takes and opinions. Images are included which makes it kind of long, each number on my list has a corresponding image below. For funsies. Also, I imagine this happening right before the last grand festival, though I know that’s incorrect. It just gives me more developed characters to work with since advanced and battle frontier Drew are pretty different development wise. This is with late AG Drew.

Some background. Why do I think Drew should be in Destiny Deoxys (which will be referred to as DD for the sake of my carpal tunnel)? What is the connection? Why DD and not, say Temple of the Sea? The key is the location. Drew is canonically from LaRousse City. And DD is the ONLY time we ever get to see it. Connection has been established. So... what would he even do in the movie? I'm glad you asked! Let's get into it. A numbered list of every missed opportunity the writers had by not including him.

1.) Character building through backstory. We know little to nothing about Drew's backstory, and this would have been a really natural way to learn more about it. We could have had a scene where we learn, oh, this is the flower shop his mother worked at and he grew up helping tend to the plants or whatever. This is the garden where he met budew. Just little things here and there would have been fascinating, and this movie's setting was a PERFECT opportunity for it. Plus, here's the vision. We get a semi emotional, nostalgic scene with his favorite place as a child, right? Rare Drew emotional moment, maybe sharing it with May and co.? And then, later in the movie, we see that place destroyed by the conflict in the city and we get an emotional sad moment there!!!! And in the ending credits with the song??? WE SEE HIM AND HIS POKEMON STAYING BEHIND IN THE CITY AND STARTING TO REBUILD IT (after waving at Ash and co. on the train back to mainland Hoenn). Guys, my vision is CLEAR AS DAY. Greenhouse time.

2.) Seeing him interact with other characters. Drew isn't the most extroverted guy out there, and we only ever really see him talk to Ash, May, Solidad, Harley, and Brianna. Also, May is the only consistent one in that list. That's literally five people, for those of you keeping count at home. In DD? A large cast of interesting characters for him to interact with, possibly childhood acquaintances that know him! We have Rebecca, purple hair metagross trainer who likes her computer more than most people. Sid, a human golden retriever. Rafe, who's basically Drew but with brown hair and none of the redeeming qualities. The two twins, whose names are never spoken and are only in the credits as Audrey and Kathryn (one of them also has a masquerain iirc, or at least a Surskit!). And Tory, kid who is scared of pokemon and tbh I wouldn't change Tory's role or screen interactions much. I would, however, say the others have a lot of potential for interactions with Drew. Rafe taunting both Ash and Drew at the same time? Rebecca and Drew getting along well because they're the only two who appreciate silence as a form of hanging out? Audrey and Katherine taking little sibling roles, possibly? Tons of possibilities here.

3.) Shamelessly plugging the contestshipping agenda here, but why else do you all follow me? Anyways, Sid from Destiny Deoxys has a sweet but entirely blatant crush on May (who actually knows and does not give much of a shit, though they get along well anyways). Now, I usually do not like jealousy tropes. I think they're easy to do poorly and for them to come across as posessive, which I am not a fan of. HOWEVER, I am a fan of Drew being all moody and bitchy /affectionate. I can see it going either one of two ways: one, we get asshole Drew back from season one of Advanced, who makes snide remarks at Sid who would likely brush it off as fun banter, further annoying Drew who literally cannot get under Sid's skin due to Sid's overwhelming optimism, or two, we get the Drew that has all of his walls up, hiding behind this cool facade of professionalism and aloofness, sort of emotionally overcompensating for trying to hide how much it irks him. Either way, would have been fun. Could have been used for comedy, too, since May is dumb as shit with the guy who has genuine feelings for her, but clocks the puppy love crush from Sid immediately. Would I have trusted the pokemon company to do this trope well? No, but it could have been funny as hell in the right hands.

4.) On that note, THE PASSPORT PHOTO SCENE. May isn't the most photogenic person in the world. Does he tease her about it? Does he make some offhand remark about how he thinks she looks nice before aloof-ly and deftly moving on from the topic, leaving her with the rare compliment as she tries to figure out if he was serious or not (or was it for her beautifly)? Does he show her how to retake it? DOES SHE GENUINELY SMILE IN THAT RETAKE PHOTO, LOOKING AT HIM BEHIND THE CAMERA ROBOT THING???????ASDFGHJKL so much potential with this already gold scene.

5.) More location-based character building. LaRousse City is home to the (or at least a) Battle Tower, and no mention of contests. This means, likely, that LaRousse is a very battle-enthusiast city. Did this make Drew feel like an outcast as a kid, being interested in something different from his peers? Could have been interesting.

6.) Let Drew have his hero moment. Let's be honest- most of the times that we see him, he's being either a jerk (affectionate), head-over-heels in love, or pathetic (see: Who What When Where Wynaut drowning incident). And in what I would categorize as an adventure anime, he has remarkably... little adventuring, save for a traipse in the woods with On Cloud Arcanine. This can be his moment to actually shine! He's obviously a great battler, though he prefers contest-oriented formats. He beat Ash with a type disadvantage. He's a strong trainer- let him put it to use and try to hold off the Deoxys clones (bonus points if he's holding them off from May, not that she needs him to save her ass).

7.) Forced togetherness with the crew. We know Drew has no issue spending time with May, and he's at the very least quite tolerant of Ash. But... Brock? Max? Fun fact, Brock CANONICALLY does NOT like Drew. At all. Calls him nails on a chalkboard. Makes this face at him (pictured below). Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want more of that. Tell me to my face that you don't want more of him having to socialize and of Brock being... like this. Shit's hilarious.

Look at him.

I need more of this in my life.

8.) The angst. He has his entire city destroyed, let him have a grieving moment for it. Hell, let him have a moment where May tries to reach out and he has to decide if he's going to let her in or shut her out. Does he snap, like he did in May, We Harley Drew'd Ya? Does he let her in, like The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing? Do the other LaRoussians reach out to him and let him know, hey, we're in this together? DO THE PLUSLE AND MINUN TRY TO CHEER HIM UP??????

9.) Let him get separated from the group, or let the group get separated from him. Let him have panic, uncertainty, worry for his newfound friends. Humanize him a little bit for casual viewers who know him as 'that asshole with the roses'. You know how Pokemon loves shots of people reaching out to save someone? Give me that. Let him not reach their hand in time as Deoxys clones pull them away or as they get lost in a swarm of security bots. Give me a Drew that thinks he’s failed, that it’s his fault. It isn’t of course, I just like putting him through it. Then… give me a reunion scene. An “oh my god, you’re all safe, I thought I had lost you” scene. Did you guys know we don’t get a single contestshipping hug????? Ever???? No, her keeping him from drowning doesn’t count. I think that’s a crime and I think a “thank god you’re alive” hug, from either end, would be amazing. Ship mode activated. Imagine. May, spotting him from across the city plaza once the dust settles, and sprinting to him, nearly knocking him over with a hug that he hesitantly returns, before realizing he doesn’t want to let go. Alternately, the other way around: he lets his walls down long enough to hug her, to feel safe to break down for a minute in her arms because he was so fucking worried. May, short-circuiting slightly because wait, is this really the same rival that she accidentally threw a frisbee at and hated so long ago? Give me Sid reacting forlornly in the background too fhdhhf. I love Sid, he’ll be ok. (Also: Brock having a moment of “Oh. You’re still alive. Great.” Kidding, mostly.) also… Brock giving Sid a “yeah, I know how it feels” pat on the back???? Just a concept.

10.) More Roselia teasing him. She's the biggest contestshipper out there. I love this little green rose gal. We need more of her being snarky to her trainer. She had so much personality with so few appearances, I love her. GIVE HIS OTHER POKEMON PERSONALITIES TOO!!!! Give them time to shine! My own takes here, but I like to think Absol is over Drew's bullshit 24/7 and is the serious one of the group. Flygon? no thoughts head empty, like most reptiles. Ft. a picture of my own no thoughts head empty reptile, who made friends with a cricket in his cleaning bowl below under Roselia gif. The others, no idea but there's my takes.

[leggerefiore]

cw: jealousy, poly

pairing: Cyrus/Reader, Volo/Reader

Volo's sudden reappearance in your life well over a century into the future should have likely been a more terrifying experience. Especially when his initial reaction to seeing you was to immediately section you off somewhere alone and ramble about how long he had waited to see you again. His hands held your wrists together tightly while he basically told you how lonely the years had been since you left for the modern era.

The blond made it clear that he had been waiting on you all this time, even having cast away his plans that he swore by in order to meet you once again. Asking as to how he had managed to live this long felt useless; he was simply always too good at keeping secrets.

Instead, you told him that you were already in a relationship. He was momentarily in denial, but you explained that it was with the man you had told him about while in Hisui. One that you never thought you would see again. Cyrus. It had been surprising to return home and find the very same man who left you in a messy state in a similar one.

He had clung to you when you showed up at the apartment door in your Survey Corps uniform. There was little belief in your story to him, but you seemed to be able to mildly convince him by telling him of his ancestor and his family's ties back to Hoenn. In exchange, he told you of how Giratina had suddenly forced him out of the Distortion World.

You recalled only then that you had cried to the legendary pokemon after everything had happened with Volo. The poor Renegade Pokemon appeared to attempt to repay you in some way. It was soon after that the two of you began to settle into some resemblance to the life you had led before everything. Of course, an interrogation was had between Cyrus and the International Police, but something had been struck between them to stop an arrest. Cynthia played a role, too, from your understanding.

There was something nice about returning to the high-stress life provided by Hisui and being in a relationship with a company president in the modern day. No more worrying about food or possibly being mauled by some upset pokemon while out on a survey. You could lounge around your apartment for days with little complaint from Cyrus, who just agreed with Saturn's plans to turn Galactic into what it claimed to be. Everything seemed peaceful and relaxed. A complete change from what you left and were dropped into.

Now, however, that peace has come to an end. Volo announced himself proudly. Cyrus was obviously just considered an obstacle to him. You tried to think of a solution to this that would not involve fighting or possible bloodshed. The blond only pressed you closer to his body. Warmth sunk into you.

Well, you had an idea, but…

Cyrus and Volo likely would not be fans of it.

~

“No,” the blue-haired man said firmly while shooting a glare at the blond sitting on the couch, “… If I'm to believe your story, he nearly killed you! I will not allow him to be anywhere around you.” You felt sheepish. Apparently, you had read the situation well in your predictions. Suggesting an addition of Volo to your relationship had not gone well. “In fact — Leave, now,” Cyrus kept a harsh look on Volo. You had not expected him to be so protective of you.

Volo's hand grasped your wrist tightly. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Do you think someone like yourself is worthy of someone chosen by Arceus?” he questioned as he pulled you more into him. His heavy coat shifted to reveal more of the black sweater underneath. That silver ornament laid on his chest caught the light for a moment. “I will not let you have them,” Volo threatened, and he fully held you to his chest again. His eerily slow heartbeat echoed in your ears as you tried not to think so much about it. “… Only someone with the blood of the ancient Sinnoh people is worthy of being… Someone like myself,” his finger traced your jawline, “Do you really want to be with someone like him?”

You felt momentarily captured by his actions, but a grumble from Cyrus brought you back to reality. The Galactic Boss looked ready to kill the blond for daring to do such a thing. You forgot his jealous streak, you supposed. His younger years often reflected his fears of losing you to someone traditionally appealing, like Volkner. It re-emerged to counter this new contender. “Yes,” you replied, “I love him.” Volo was genuinely taken aback by your words. His visible eye grew wide while his body tensed. Cyrus shifted to rest his forehead in one of his hands. You moved away from Volo's hold during his shock. What could you say here? Both seemed intent on keeping you to themselves. In terms of a possible normal life, you knew Cyrus held that. Volo... was himself.

“... I do still like you, though…” you sighed, wishing to rub your temples from the building headache. Memories of time spent together with Volo in Hisui entered your head. You had said something about understanding his ambitions during the confrontation on Mount Coronet. But, you were unable to support his plans. Cyrus's intentions haunted you. Making a new world to escape the problems of this one simply was not the solution. Whatever love you had felt during intimate moments alone with the blond had almost vanished, yet knowing that he had waited over a century for you brought something back. “If you say that I can't be with him and have to be with someone of ancient Sinnoh blood, I know someone who fits that, too, that isn't you,” you tried something that might work.

Both froze. Volo's eye narrowed, while Cyrus's expression grew even more unamused somehow.

“I'm pretty sure Cynthia is still single,” you shrugged.

Both seemed to look at each other in some wordless conversation. Volo was well aware of his descendant, while Cyrus was clearly mortified at the thought of you running off with her, of all people.

“… Perhaps… We could try this “arrangement” out,” Cyrus relented, “However, he may not sleep here. I would prefer him not being here in general, if possible.” You felt as if he were talking about a stray pokemon and not a living person.

“I'm inclined to agree,” Volo's smile seemed strained, “… I would not wish to stay here anyway.”

Well, it appeared that a new situation had emerged in your life.