#i genuinely love almia as a region so much. it feels like it had so much care put into it

[heartkeys]

wow i cant believe they put antivaxxers in pokemon ranger shadows of almia

[vespers-pkmn-rescue]

Hello hello!

My name is Vesper, and I’m a former Pokémon Ranger, but more importantly, I’m the founder of the Unova Pokémon Rescue! My pronouns are She/They, and I’m originally from Orre, though I’ve also lived in Almia (where I was a Ranger) and Unova, and I spend plenty of time traveling to other regions! 

I’m currently in the process of creating an online guide to Pokémon care, and I’ve raised and cared for tons of Pokémon over the years. If you have any questions about Pokémon care, feel free to ask!

What’s the Unova Pokémon Rescue?

It’s an organization I founded years back. After a pretty nasty injury during my Ranger days, I retired from my job as a Ranger and founded the Pokémon Rescue shortly after moving to Unova! I came across a Deino that had been neglected and abandoned, who I helped raise into a happy and healthy Hydreigon. Inspired by that little guy, I opened the rescue to help rehabilitate abandoned, abused, or neglected Pokémon in need of help. I work with tons of organizations across the globe, and we help Pokémon either recover enough to return to the wild, or, for Pokémon unfit for the wild, help them find loving Trainers! 

Vesper's Online Guide to Pokemon Care - Where I post about different Pokémon and how to properly care for their biological needs!

My Team:

Nibbles: Hydreigon, male. The little guy that started it all, this is the Deino I rescued who inspired me to open the Rescue! Destroyer of many a chew toy, but an absolute sweetheart. Still bites me (affectionately). Second biggest troublemaker of my Pokémon, mainly because he’s spoiled rotten.

Dust Devil (Dusty): Garchomp, male. My first Pokémon, I’ve had this guy since he was a Gible! He was my partner Pokémon during my Ranger days, and now that I’ve retired, he’s my partner around the rescue! He has a nasty scar on his leg from the same incident that made me have to retire, but is still as lively as ever. He’s very protective. 

Zipzap (Zippy): Galvantula, male. Formerly a Pokémon I was looking after as a foster when we rescued him. We found him as a Joltik in the Driftveil Cold Storage, with no clue how he ended up there. Deemed unfit to survive in the wild due to poor immune system and frequent illness, so I ended up keeping him! Climbs on everything in my apartment. Biggest troublemaker of the bunch.

Duchess Wisteria Stringbean (Duchess/Stringbean): Serperior, female. Rescued from an illegal breeding operation in Sinnoh. Sassy, stubborn, and full of herself– but a genuine sweetie if you give her attention. Very helpful with the younger Pokémon at the rescue.

Marshmallow: Tyranitar, female. Does lots of the heavy lifting around the rescue. I rescued her after she was abandoned by a Trainer who very clearly wasn’t prepared for how difficult Tyranitars are to care for once they evolve. Likes to act tough but is actually a big softie. 

Lysander (Sometimes called “Beeps”): Decidueye, male. A rescue Pokémon that we took in from a sister organization in Alola. Was horribly mistreated by his previous Trainer, and as such is rather jumpy and wary of strangers. Also easily startled by basically any loud noises. Likes to stare at me from across the Rescue and watch me work. Makes “beep” noises sometimes to get my attention.

Also be sure to check out one of our volunteers: @dustytodusty-pkmn !

OOC//

Hi! I’m Ceja, aka @visceralVoid, and this is a little pokemon irl side blog of mine! Vesper’s guide to Pokémon care is planned to be a small YouTube series one day, but until then, I’ve decided to just do a tumblr blog for now! Info stuff:

Based on the game canon, little to no regard for the anime.

Predominantly an askblog.

Expect occasional headcanon!

Sapient Pokémon and other similar stuff aren’t really a thing in Vesper’s world, but I’m generally willing to interact with that stuff for the most part. There may be times where I disregard it if it clashes too much with Vesper's canon.

Pelipper mail is ON but will be accepted at my discretion. No Musharna mail, though.

I’m an adult, and so is Vesper. Keep that in mind. There won’t be any NSFW here, though.

[harusha]

What are your top pokemon games??

Official or fangame? I’ll just list both. I will say Pokemon Reborn is my top-rated overall if we combine both lists (with HGSS and Collesseum/XD following as 2 and 3 respectively.)

On Official, it’s 

1. Heartgold/Soulsilver (My favorite region is Johto, and Ethan is my favorite Pokemon protagonist so…unsurprising. The games are still genuinely good though imo because of the massive amount of content and post-game and QoL stuff like following Pokemon, auto-run, etc.) I also love the nostalgic feeling of the region. Lance is also here, and I like him and his design a lot, not as much as Volkner though. Also Proton is here, and I love the dude so. Pedometer is included here.

2. Pokemon Colosseum/Pokemon XD; I include this together since they’re a duo set in terms of story. XD is the better one gameplay-wise because of the new additions of Shadow moves, more Pokemon choices, QoL changes like saving, etc. but Colosseum is the harder of the two games imo b/c of the sparsity of Pokemon–if you can play it on laptop, mod XD with Pokemon XG for massive QoL changes (Fairy Type, more shadow Pokemon, upped difficulty, etc.)

I like how this set tries new stuff and it honestly showcases how if you the Pokemon IP to a third-party, you end up with something that tries to be different and actually plays pretty well.

3. Pokemon BWBW2; included as a set because of joint story line. Honestly, I feel like BWBW2 are objectively the last great mainline series additions. Even if you didn’t care for the story, they at least tried with it and the rivals. You had the nice rival in Bianca and the “focused/ruder” rival in Cheren, and both encompassed the themes of the game (Truth with Bianca as she realizes her ineptness as a trainer and Ideals with Cheren who strives to overcome his boundaries and the player even if he never can). N is pretty awesome, and I think Ghetsis is a better Lusamine (sorry, idc for how Lusamine’s actions are brushed over and blamed on the space jellyfish). There’s a lot to enjoy in Unova imo.

Also massive post-game stuff like Join Avenue (which encourages one of the main tenets of Pokemon, interacting with others and trading; ex. “Magnemite Coil”), half the region opening up for Post-game (White Treehollow, Kyurem’s abode, etc.). The Legendaries also have home locations for the most part, and their items aren’t just given to you by random people. A lot of stuff to do that isn’t just breeding mindlessly for shinies (I mean I love doing that, but options ya know?) or online battle.

4. Pokemon Conquest; Fire Emblem (or more accurately, Nobunaga’s ambition) meets Pokemon. I like turn-based grid tactic games, and this one’s actually pretty fun. You’re encouraged to roam around and give people different Pokemon to see which ones they’re compatible with. Also another example of what can be done if Pokemon is given to a another developer.

5. Pokemon Explores of Sky (and to a lesser extent since it’s the base, Time/Darkness); you can swap this with Colloseum/XD, BWBW2 or Pokemon Conquest depending on if you prefer Pokemon’s style of play, tactics games, or dungeon crawlers. I like this one since the story’s actually pretty good, the difficulty’s nice, and especially the post-game dungeons and content.

6. Pokemon Platinum and Diamond+Pearl to a lesser extent– the region that actually has a reasonably difficult Elite Four and champion. I love the additions they have like distortion world, the melancholic feel you get at times in the Chateau area and snowfields, and the post-game Battle Frontier. However, the games run so slow without Drayano’s mods. In terms of husbandos, Volkner’s pretty nice as well, and he’s pretty high-tier for me. Cynthia’s here as well, so I guess she counts since she’s a feature every time she shows up.

7. Pokemon FRLG-The definite version of Kanto for me. Sevii Islands, callbacks (callforwards?) to the Johto games with the Rocket Admins, decent difficulty and ability to sequence break somewhat, etc. It gives new experiences for those who’ve played the OG versions, but doesn’t change them drastically. The “you can’t evolve anything outside of the OG 151 before post-game” is stupid though. Lance is here as well, but his half Dragonite/Dragonair team annoys me b/c of how repetitive it is, but product of the time as well and the HGSS first battle had that as well but at least they’re all evolved.

8. Pokemon Red/Blue Rescue Team-I like this one since the story’s still good and incorporates the idea of a human being transported to a Pokemon world, but I just feel like Sky’s gameplay improvements and portraits for everyone trumps this one. I like Gengar a lot and his team. I also think the difficulty on this one (depending on starter and partner) is fairly good at times (The Moltres fight is actually pretty difficult if you don’t have Pikachu or a water type partner).

9. Pokemon Emerald and to a lesser extent Ruby/Sapphire–Battle Frontier, Scott and Smeargle cave (ie. post-game content), beautiful promotional artwork (including ORAS’s), fairly difficult battles at time if you aren’t prepared/going in blind with no excessive grinding (2nd May battle, Flannery, etc.), hidden secrets like Regis and Secret Bases. However, the latter half is so boring with the excessive surfing and lackluster variety. Steven’s here, and he’s a dreamboat even with the sprite graphics.

10. Pokemon Channel and Hey you, Pikachu!-Weird I know. This would be higher if I didn’t think this was a niche pick. It’s just really relaxing, and I want another one, especially if you can get more Pokemon to raise. It’s a lot more fun once you play it. I like exploring with Pikachu and it offers a look into the world of Pokemon as a non-trainer. I really want another one tbh.

11. Pokemon Rangers series (Ranked from favorite to lowest; Shadows of Almia–>OG–>Guardian Signs; all are good but that’s my preference) The gameplay is actually pretty fun, and I wish we got another one. They could use Joycons as a styler. Spencer, Sven, and Lunick are also pretty cute

12. Pokken Tournament- What battles should feel like in mainline if they injected millions of dollars into the mainline, so unrealistic expectation. I think Pokken is a decent fighting game. The moves are nice, and the music is good. This can go lower if you don’t care for fighting games.

13. Pokemon Battle Revolution and Stadium games-They’re mostly battle simulators with some mini-games. The animations are actually pretty lively and fun compared to SWSH’s. I would like to rank this higher, but there is no story mode sadly. It’s great if you want to see what Pokemon would look like in-scale.

14. Pokemon X/Y-I think these are actually pretty nice if only for the fact there isn’t excessive handholding; it’s there but it doesn’t force me to put down the game out of boredom. The outfits are genuinely pretty cute. However, the rivals are ridiculously terrible, difficulty is either too low or unbalanced if you use/turn off exp. share. Let’s put ORAS here as well b/c I think the lack of Battle Frontier and mediocre post-game, getting Lati@s early, etc. drops it down from Emerald. The PSS system is amazing though.

15. Pokemon Trozei and Pokemon Pinball series-Yeah, I’ve played these. Trozei’s actually pretty cool as a match-3 game, and pinball is pinball. You also get slightly more lore into the Pokemon world with Lucy Fleetfoot. I like match-3 and pinball so very much a YMMV. Pop Gates to Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon here as well. Idk, they just lack the magic of the first two entries.

16. Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Dash, all the other spin-offs I didn’t talk about-they all offer something fun, but I just wish it was either updated for modern times and not released again (like with Snap) or a bit more (in the case of Detective Pikachu and Pokepark series). Pop Puzzle League games here as well. I like them, but they aren’t much besides Tetris games. Same goes for the Pokemon Trading Card games; they’re nice, but not super great imo.

???. Pokemon Box/Ranch/all the other storage games and stuff like Dream Radar-Idk what you’d want me to say since they’re storage space or gimmick games to catch HA Pokemon. You do get Extremespeed Zigzagoon which I love since the little buggers are very adorable.

Bottom Tier. Pokemon SM and USUM. I hate these games. They’re cash grabs (more so than usual) with being $40 a piece and the updated versions being barely changed (and actually feeling like what should have been released first). Incredibly handholding, areas feel half-baked, lacks areas to explore for the most part, Lillie is kinda annoying for me tbh (which hurts because you’re supposed to feel for her and the game’s story hinges on that), and the player is an actual detriment to what they’re trying to achieve story-wise. A big shame b/c Alola is a pretty region and Team Skull is great in concept, but execution is awful. Stated as someone who has bought all 4 versions to keep, and 2 extras for gifting.

Absolute Bottom Tier- Pokemon Masters, incredibly terrible mobage game coming from someone who plays FGO, FEH, etc. lack of meaningful content, grinding but meaningless b/c of said lack of content (ex. FGO gates you with mats but it makes you feel like you’re growing with your servants and offers a story and events to compensate; basically, a sense of achievement). CO-OP is pretty bad when you can just hop over to GBF or something if you want guilds and group content. I’m still gonna wait for Ethan and Volkner to appear though.

Unrated-OG RBGY and OG GSC (the remakes are superior outside of nostalgia factor imo so I think it’d be unfair for them to take a spot), LGPE (didn’t buy them b/c pricing but the colors are vibrant and I love that), SWSH (didn’t buy them because I have opinions on the cuts and stuff and price point doesn’t look appealing for what’s offered), Pokemon Mini (these were included with Pokemon Channel), Magikarp Jump+Duel (Duel was a cash grab and Magikarp Jump is cute but no real opinion on it), Pokemon Go (weird spot where I like it, but I don’t live in an area with safe walking areas so very much area-dependent), Arcade games (I don’t live in Japan for that), Perdue Farm games (they’re flash games made to promote so…), Pokemon Rumble (enjoyable but not memorable for me imo) etc.

Fangames-

1. Pokemon Reborn-150+ hours of content, visible themes that permeate the story and characters, beautiful spritework for some of the areas, intuitive usage of TMs/HMs and some logic (ex. Field Effects that emulate anime battling in turn-based rpg such as Corrosive Field; using Rock Smash to break the glass in some areas to solve puzzles, etc.), actual difficulty that hinges on how much you understand Pokemon (ex. IVs, stats, EVs, etc.) that’s fair but still difficult, puzzles and rewards for exploring and coming back to areas, etc. Fantastic game that I wish Gamefreak had attempted to emulate (perhaps not the darker themes but the ambition basically). Has some kinks with the revolving door of characters and such but still fantastic. Also offers custom shiny sprites, custom egg sprites, and online play like Wonder Trade and battling.

2. Pokemon Rocket Edition-Not done but I think this is a fantastic hack so far story-wise and how it implements its mechanics. You’re a Rocket Grunt, but you aren’t OP. It deals with the politics behind Kanto and Team Rocket. Still being worked on.

3. Pokemon Viridian Version-Another “play as a Rocket” game. Funny yet still can be serious; it takes the tone of the anime and understands when to be serious and when to not be. It feels like it would fit into the canon tone-wise, and deconstructs the “it’s cool to be a Rocket!” thing.

4. Pokemon Gaia-Excellent and a huge callback to classic Pokemon in story. It’s an OG region and offers a lot to do.

5. Drayano hacks- QoL updates but his work actually adds a lot to the games+new events.

Anyways, that’s my list. There’s a lot of Pokemon content, but this is how I feel for the most part.

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Maybe one of this ones? Lonely, Bold, Relaxed, Serious, Bashful.

Lonely: Favorite song in a Pokemon game?

I really love N’s Farewell from B/W. It is so beautiful and really makes the scene more emotional. KISEKI, the ending theme for X/Y, is also really good and it was always nice to hear that whenever I defeated the Elite 4.

Bold: What is your favorite Pokemon game outside of the main series?

I think it’s a tie between Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky and Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon. I liked the storylines for both games the most out of that series and there was a lot to do with Super Mystery Dungeon too. Plus, playing as a Riolu was a nice bonus for me and the endings in the Mystery Dungeon games always make me cry. Runner ups are Pokemon Rangers: Shadow of Almia, Colosseum and XD Gale of Darkness. Shadow of Almia was the most enjoyable Ranger game and I still want them to make a new entry in that series. Colosseum and XD Gale of Darkness were cool and refreshing takes on Pokemon. I’d love remakes or another kind of game similar to them in the future.

Relaxed: Where would you take a vacation in the Pokemon world?

I’d either go to Johto or Alola. Johto was the first region I explored and I’ve always liked the country-side vibe the region had. It always seemed calm and relaxing to me. Alola is perfect as a vacation area and I’d have a lot of fun exploring the different islands too. If I had to choose one, Alola being tropical and more recent might give it an edge, but I’d have a hard time choosing one.

Serious: Cool, you’re suddenly a Gym Leader. Which type is your specialty and what is your team?

I’d like to be something like Blue where I just use a bunch of different Pokemon. I’d be happy with a team of Fire or Electric types, but if I could be a Gym Leader, I’d prefer to use some of my favorite Pokemon instead just to make it more fun and interesting. My team would be Typhlosion, Lucario, Primarina, Sylveon, Ampharos and Salamence.

Bashful: Any Pokemon ship?

I have a few. For the anime, I like Contestshipping, or May x Drew. I liked how they became more friendly over the course of AG and I always liked the idea that they could go from rivals to a couple when they got older.

In terms of the games, I like Ferriswheelshipping, or Hilda x N. I always liked how they looked together, the impact Hilda has on N makes their connection feel really genuine and it’s one of the few pairings in Pokemon where I actively look up fanart for it from time to time. The pairing for Hilbert and N works in the same way, but since I played as Hilda in Black and beat that before White, I feel more of a connection to that pairing. I liked the May x Brendan pairing mainly due to OR/AS. The facial expressions really helped to give the characters more personality, you can see how the rival becomes more attached to the player character, especially with Brendan, and the ending to the Delta Episode made it clear that they have feelings but may not feel comfortable expressing them. Or at least that’s what I got from it and that felt kind of endearingly cute.

I also like Lillie paired with either male or female player characters from Sun/Moon. Similar to N, the impact the player character has a huge impact on Lillie and the games convey strong friendship between them. I did finish Sun as the female character first, so that does make me a bit more connected to the pairing with the female trainer, but I could go either way there. I also can go with Hau and Lillie’s pairing, mainly because the end of the game gave the impression that Hau developed a crush on Lillie. It might be more one sided there since I’m not sure if Lillie would develop feelings for Hau, but it’s a cute idea at least.

As for Pokemon Adventures, I like the Ruby x Sapphire, Pearl x Platinum and Black x White pairings. I think that these characters have the most romantic chemistry out of the lead characters. Ruby x Sapphire and Black x White in particular focus a lot on their relationship throughout their specific arc and their connections come off as really genuine after seeing how their relationships change. Pearl and Platinum just seems to work as a couple to me for some reason, probably because of how Pearl helped Platinum with training so much and I felt like Pearl understood Platinum more so than Diamond did.

Thank you for asking. ^_^