#i hope when you think of me you think of the shinx line

[littlemisspascal]

Bitter Ends Turn Sweet in Time

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Female Reader

Word Count: 7k+

Summary: There’s not a single day in a whole year that isn’t bookmarked by a memory of him. And you, you remember all of them.

Rating: T

Warnings: Pokémon au (but not 100% true to canon, just elements + some characters), time skips in non-linear manner, fluff, angst, bittersweet ending, storms, language, Reader and Frankie are same age + grow up together, high school au ish(?), inspired by 500 Days of Summer + Song of Achilles' 'name one hero who was happy' scene + this quote by photographer David Alan Harvey:

"Don't shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like."

- Reader has no official name and no physical traits described in detail. However, she is mentioned to have hair, a career, wear a dress (no description), and eat sandwiches

Author Note: I've been wanting to write a Pokémon au for a long, long, long time and I've also been wanting to write a non-linear fic for a long, long, long time as well so this is the result of both those wants combining forces *awkwardly throws it into the universe* It is what it is.

-- all moodboard photos found on pinterest

-- shinx, luxio, luxray // pikachu photo references

Special thanks to @beecastle for beta reading and encouraging me through my breakdowns 💜

Day 1,695

Luxray’s a silent wall of black and blue fur for your body to brace against as the sky bleeds a deep shade of orange, and you know he knows. Doesn’t even have to use his x-ray vision to confirm what’s etched into every line of your expression. Anguish—when it’s real and unbearable and deeply-rooted—is impossible to hide. Everyone who looks at you will know. 

Everyone except the one pair of brown eyes that’ll never look your way again.

“I’m such an idiot,” you say quietly, and it’s embarrassing how thick the lump of emotion is lodged in your throat. You wipe at your nose with your sleeve. “So damn stupid.”

Luxray lets out a low growl, chiding in nature, as if to say don’t talk shit about yourself. 

“He was never going to stay,” you continue, ignoring the vibration rattling your bones. “But I got my hopes up anyways. What we’ve accomplished these last few weeks together, I thought there was a chance…a slim one, you know? That maybe–maybe we could actually stick together this time.”

And you don’t realize you’re crying until Luxray’s twisting his head to nuzzle against your temple, encouraging you to bury your face into the thick fur along his chest and shoulders. With your eyes squeezed shut, you can almost block out the all-encompassing numbness emanating from the cavity your heart used to reside in.

“He’s gone…” you choke out through sobs, grabbing fistfuls of Luxray’s inky black mane. “And I think it’s permanent this time.”

Day 1

The first day of classes at Uva Academy is a whirlwind of meeting teachers, racing from one floor to the next against the clock, and making sure you never lose track of Shinx in the chaos of it all, but when the last bell finally rings, you feel no sting of regret about coming here. 

You split a sandwich with Shinx underneath a tree in the school courtyard, brain buzzing with the overload of information absorbed throughout the day. Maybe signing up for a full schedule of classes was a bit excessive, but unlike most of your fellow students who have some semblance of a plan for their futures your next steps are plagued with uncertainty. There are so many paths one can take with their Pokémon—the course of a Trainer, a Coordinator, a Professor, a Ranger, the list goes on and on—you don’t know which direction to take.

When you lock eyes with a boy with brown eyes across the yard, there’s nothing special about the moment. No sparks, no forgetting how to breathe. He’s just a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder and a dimpled grin on his face.

“I saw you in Mr. Jacq’s class,” he says in lieu of a greeting when he draws closer, purple Academy tie loose and crooked around his neck. Recognition stirs in the back of your mind, a flash of dark brown curls towards the back of the room spotted before taking your seat at the front. 

Actually, now that you think about it…

“Weren’t you in Ms. Dendra’s class too?” you wonder, passing the last bite of sandwich to Shinx, his little body wiggling eagerly. “And Ms. Raifort’s…?”

“Yeah, I, uh, I don’t really know what I want to do yet.” He scuffs at the ground with his shoe, grin turning a bit crooked at the corner, strangely endearing in its awkwardness. “I figure life’s short, you know? Why not try as many things as you can when you have the chance?”

“Right,” you agree, finding yourself smiling back. “Nothing wrong with making memories.”

"I'm Frankie, by the way."

“Nice to meet you Frankie,” you say, shaking his hand. It’s warm in your grip, firm and secure, thumb grazing over your knuckles. “Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

And so it starts after that—the counting of days. Days when you see him in class, when he smiles at you, when he does homework with you in the library, when he and Pikachu have a battle against you and Shinx–winner buys lunch. It’s a subconscious quirk you keep to yourself. Even after he’s gone, chasing after legends to the far corners of the earth, you still continue counting days.

Days when he crosses your mind. Days when you leave the door unlocked in case he stops by. Days when you swear you catch a whiff of his citrus shampoo on the pillowcase despite the impossibility of it.

There’s not a single day in a whole year that isn’t bookmarked by a memory of him. And you, you remember all of them.

Day 183

“I want my name in one of these books,” he tells you, Ms. Raifort’s assigned reading on the lost explorers of Area Zero spread out in front of him.

You look up from the text, fatalities and disaster and other sharp words with teeth still swimming in your head. “It won’t be easy.”

You’ve only known him six months—long enough to be certain you’ll never meet anyone else like him, but too short to realize the hidden depths of his stubborn ambition.

“No,” he agrees, mouth curling up at the corner, “but it’ll be one hell of a story.”

Day 8

The air is heavy with the sharp, pungent scent of ozone as thunder rumbles overhead. You take in the ominous black clouds, adjusting the hood of your yellow coat to better defend your hair against the pattering raindrops. Doesn’t do much to ward off the chill of the wind though.

Shinx is darting about the meadow in zigzagging lines, wet to the bone and having a blast. Pikachu follows at his heels, electricity sparking from the red circles of her cheeks before fizzling out harmlessly. If there’s any rules to this game they’re playing, you haven’t a clue. Still, their obvious excitement over the weather has you smiling despite the numbness of your toes in soggy shoes.

To your left, Frankie watches the pair of Pokémon nimbly leap over a puddle, studying their graceful movements. His dark hair is flattened against his head, curls beaten into submission, but there’s something in his eyes, a sort of wistfulness that snags your attention like a moth to a flame. 

A bolt of lightning burns a gleaming white strip across the gloomy sky, halting Shinx and Pikachu’s play as they elicit squeaks of awe, but you can’t stop looking at Frankie. He’s grinning now, a wide and ecstatic thing with his head tipped back, rain streaming down his face.

“Amazing, isn’t it? Seeing one of nature’s tantrums,” he says, voice low and wonderstruck. “My mother always said it takes someone extra special to train those who can summon such raw, uncontrollable power on cue.”

You’ve never thought of yourself as someone unusual or remarkable. Looking at him though, soaked and shivering and absolutely beaming, you think if anyone’s extra special in this world it’s him.

Day 1,987

It’s a long time before you can look through photos of him without a wound violently tearing open in your chest. Longer still before you can hear his voice on the phone. He calls more often these days, mostly because you’re knee-deep in another mystery and only a little because he misses you, and that’s okay. You can smile at his jokes and it feels real. You can love him and know better than to be in love with him.

You stay busy. You photograph every inch of the nature park on Florio, even convince Professor Mirror to let you take the NEO-ONE to some of Lental’s other islands for further research. You spend hours clicking through photos on your computer, frowning at blurry ones, printing some out for the Professor to take a closer look at as well as a few for your own personal collection of albums. 

Your coworker isn’t an intimidating figure by any means, but something about watching him study and scrutinize your pictures never fails to make your hands shake and feet shuffle. Even after all these months, practically living inside each other’s pockets at the Laboratory of Ecology and Natural Sciences (or L.E.N.S. as the Professor affectionately calls it), studying the Illumina phenomenon and all its effects, there’s a part of you still terrified it could all come crashing down.

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Professor Mirror tells you, glaring disapprovingly over the frames of his glasses. It’s not the first time you’ve heard that remark and it won’t be the last either. 

“More analyzing the photos and less analyzing me please,” you reply, nodding your head at the small stack in his hands.

He grumbles under his breath, but resumes evaluating the latest shots of your walk along Blushing Beach. There are Wingulls performing loops in the air, an Exeggutor snoozing beneath a palm tree, the splashings of a pair of Corsola playing in the waves. Luxray looking at the contents of a tide pool. A Pikachu eating a fluffruit after you’d scared her by your loud gasp, mistaking her for another of her kind. You don’t mention that tidbit to your coworker though.

That should be the last one, except then Professor Mirror’s letting out a surprised little hum, holding up a photo you never intended anyone else to ever see. Not even the subject. Especially not the subject.

It’s from your sophomore year at Uva Academy. You would call the picture ugly, edges a bit hazy due to your unsteady hands, still learning the tips and tricks of photography, except it’s Frankie. And he’s looking at you behind the lens with a fondness so sweet it makes your teeth hurt, holding a newly evolved Luxio to his chest, with windswept curls your fingers will always long to tame. 

You should’ve thrown it out a long time ago. The man in the photo isn’t the same man who will call you later tonight from half a world away just to ask how your day went and if you’re willing to admit you need his help with the Illumina project. But you’ve always been too sentimental for your own good, holding onto things until there are only scraps left, slipping through the gaps of your fingers. 

At the very least, you shouldn’t have reorganized your albums so close to your work station.

After what feels like the longest stretch of silence of your life, Professor Mirror finally says, carefully neutral as if wary of provoking a negative reaction, “Someone special, I presume?”

“It’s complicated,” is all you offer in response, snatching the picture back and telling yourself the ache behind your ribcage is a side effect of a papercut.

Day 389

Uva Academy teaches you battle strategies, the effects of Berries and how to better understand your Pokémon amongst other vital lessons to prepare students for a career outside the ancient brick walls and dorm rooms. 

It’s Frankie who teaches you how to find beauty in thunderstorms, how to enjoy each day like it’s your last, how to dream a little bit bigger, a little bit bolder—or maybe that’s something you teach each other. 

On the weekends you head into the city center together, trying different eateries and watching fellow students challenge each other on the plaza battle court. Afterwards you’ll walk along the cobblestone streets side by side, sometimes discussing classwork or pointing out items in shop windows, but usually the time is spent in companionable silence. Just sharing the same space.

You buy your first camera acting on pure impulse, drawn to it inexplicably and handing over money to the salesman in a matter of minutes. It fits in the palm of your hand, heavy and solid, buttons and knobs staring back at you, waiting to be pressed and manipulated. For the first ten or so minutes of ownership, you simply hold onto the device, studying its shape, its lens, fingertips running over the bumps and grooves.

“Well?” Frankie prompts, gentle voice breaking the silence, brown eyes flicking between your face and the camera. Pikachu echoes the question with a tiny pika?, sensing the fragility of the moment. 

“I don’t know what to do,” you answer, shoulders curling with self-consciousness. At your feet, Shinx sits on your shoe and rubs his cheek against your leg comfortingly.

“Well,” he hums, a teasing smile growing on his lips as he presses a button. “Maybe start with turning it on first.”

“Shut up.” You swat at him, but there’s no real heat. “I meant, I don’t know what to take a photo of.”

“It doesn’t matter what the sight is,” Frankie tells you, grabbing hold of your hands and raising them up until the camera’s in front of your face. He steps back and you peek at him through the viewfinder, watching as he spreads his arms out wide with Pikachu still happily perched on his shoulder. “What’s important is how it makes you feel.”

You take a breath, taking a moment to hold the shutter button until it focuses, and then take the photo. No count down, no say cheese!—you simply heed his advice, focusing on how it makes you feel.

The preview screen asks if you’d like to keep the picture or delete it. Your thumb hovers over the buttons.

Focused on the way Frankie’s hair has a golden aura in the light, how Pikachu’s nose scrunches when she’s grinning, you nearly jump out of your skin when he’s suddenly at your side again, wondering, “What do I make you feel, shutterbug?”

Like I’m falling and flying at the same time, you think, quick and startling. A bolt of lightning amongst storm clouds.

You press save.

“Like spending a hundred bucks wasn’t a total mistake.”

Day 448

You take a seat in the cafeteria across from Yovanna and her Sylveon. You’re lucky she shares the same lunch hour as you. Even more lucky she likes you enough to also share her space. Her knack for securing a table each day despite the scrambling rush of hungry students is a gift from the gods. Or maybe it’s a perk of being the president of the Academy’s student council.

“You haven’t stopped smiling for days.” She points with her fork at your grin, a giddy, bubbly thing not even Ms. Tyme’s pop quiz last period could stifle. “Spill it. Who’re you crushing on? Is he a student here? You got a picture?”

“Not with me.” It’s a lie, ever since you bought your camera it’s been glued to your person and there’s always at least one picture of him stored within the device’s gallery of Luxio shots and library aesthetic and other things that make you happy. “He is a student here though.”

Yovanna drops her fork onto her plate, jostling the pieces of fruit waiting to be eaten. Sylveon catches a flying strawberry midair by jumping in her seat and landing neatly on four paws like it’s a regular trick to perform. “Shut up. It’s him, isn’t it?”

You feed Luxio a pickle off your sandwich, neither confirming nor denying.

But your grin does get a little bit impossibly wider.

“Aw man, I owe Santi twenty bucks now.”

Your eyes narrow shrewdly. “Did you seriously make a bet?”

“You two are joined at the hip, of course I did.” Yovanna leans back in her chair, arms behind her head, not a single hint of shame for her actions. “Santi said you’d realize you had feelings for him before winter break. I thought it’d take you until the end of the semester ‘cause you’ve got the self-awareness of a piece of concrete most days.”

“Rude.” She dodges the crumpled napkin you toss at her with a laugh.

“Hey, this is a good development. Now you just gotta keep the momentum going and tell him how you feel. You’re perfect for each other.”

Tucking back into her meal, she misses the brief slip in your smile.

“Yeah.”

Day 8

Ms. Dendra is the only teacher without a classroom, preferring to use the battlefield in the middle of the courtyard for her lessons rather than a whiteboard. She weaves along the line of students with her Medicham, offering suggestions and correcting forms to make the most out of their Pokémons’ moves. You keep one eye on her drawing steadily closer and one on Shinx pawing at the ground, charging up electricity in his forelegs. He still hasn’t mastered thunder shock yet, maybe Ms. Dendra can–

“Storm’s coming tonight,” a voice drawls behind you, a curious blend of casual and enthusiastic.

You turn around, finding Frankie standing there looking up at the sky. The dark gray clouds do seem indicative of bad weather, now that he’s mentioned it. Rain is definitely on its way. 

And then he asks, a little sudden, “You ever seen one up close?”

A strange question. Still, you think about it, searching your childhood. All you remember are memories of cowering under the blankets in your bed and playing in puddles the next morning when the monstrous rumbling and harsh flashes had long passed. You’ve seen rain up close, felt the drops on your skin, inhaled the scent of petrichor deep into your lungs. But storms? 

“No,” you shake your head, shivering as the temperature seems to drop. “Never.”

He hums, a bland note that could mean anything. At your feet, Shinx and Pikachu sit and stare at each other, little sparks of blue and yellow static crackling in the air between them like morse code. 

“No wonder you’re having trouble with your partner. Can’t teach him about electricity when you’ve never seen it in action.”

“That’s not how training works,” you retort defensively. “Also storms aren’t exactly harmless, in case you forgot. They’re loud and dangerous and—”

“Beautiful,” Frankie cuts in with such firm conviction you reel back in surprise. “Absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful.” A pause follows, and you hate the smirk that grows on his face, how it taunts you, how it makes his eyes glitter with mischief. “Or maybe not. I could be lying. Only one way to find out for sure.” 

A raindrop lands on your cheek. Then another on your arm. And another on your nose. It’s pouring now. Students are complaining about their lesson being interrupted and Ms. Dendra’s shouting for everyone to head back inside. Through it all your eyes remain locked in an intense staring match, neither one willing to surrender.

“Fine,” you reply with a sharp jerk of your chin. “Show me.”

Day 1,448

Your internship with Professor Oak is—good. It’s the start of a brand new chapter in your life, except the last chapter ended on a terrible note and the upcoming pages are terrifyingly blank if you fail to impress your new boss, so. Yeah.

You get along with the Professor’s other intern, a local boy named Will. He teaches you how to drive the ZERO-ONE around the sanctuary. You spend hours out on the trails, memorizing everything about the wild Pokémon who call the island home. You enjoy the assignments Professor Oak gives you, staying busy, filling up albums with photos and journals with research notes. 

But when it’s quiet, when you’re staring up at the ceiling waiting for sleep to come…you’ve never felt more lonely in your life. Even with Luxray within reach, loyal and constant, there’s a persistent ache you can’t shake. A loose thread dangling in your mind, tormenting you, and you know if you were to tug on it exactly where it would lead.

Everything leads back to him.

Frankie hasn’t tried to call you. Hasn’t had any contact with you since graduation. Not even a postcard from whatever corner of the world he’s trying to accomplish his dreams. 

You haven’t tried to call him either. And yes, it’s true communication is a two-way street, but he’s the one who left and took your heart with him. Why should you give him more of yourself? You hate yourself for even contemplating picking up the phone.

You hate yourself even more for wondering what your relationship would’ve been like if you’d gone with him. If it’d hurt less to just have stayed friends. If you’d been better off never knowing him at all. If, if, if…

Day 485

The problem is, you think your feelings for Frankie are just a little bit stronger than a crush. You’re pretty sure you’re in love with him. Or at least halfway there. 

As much as you hate to admit it, Yovanna wasn’t wrong saying you have the self-awareness of a piece of cement. You don’t know for certain if the fluttery Butterfree sensation in your stomach or galloping heartbeat whenever Frankie smiles at you is love. But you are certain he’s gotten under your skin, triggering as many irritations as he is encouraging new ways of growth. You’re a better person, you think, simply by knowing him.

You also think it’s actually kind of scary to imagine something so strong and life-transforming could be anything else but love. Regardless, you hope it stays with you forever. This precious, nameless thing.

It won’t be until many days later—until you know what it’s like to kiss him, and hold his face between your palms, the heat of his breath tingling against your skin; until he’s fluent in myths and legends and fables, swearing he’ll be the one to make them truths and facts and verities; until you can’t picture a future without him in it, not a happy one, at least—you’ll realize you do love him. And he loves you, too, as it turns out.

But nothing lasts forever. Someone’s always got to be the first to let go. 

Day 1,375

You receive an offer for an internship with Professor Oak in Pallet Town to help him complete his Pokémon Report by taking photos on a nearby island sanctuary. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime to work with such an esteemed researcher, but thinking about graduation creeping up, about leaving behind this realm of familiarity now that you’ve learned everything Uva Academy has to teach, it’s—moving forward is harder than you anticipate.

It doesn’t help that Frankie's becoming more and more restless, unable to stand still as if it physically pains him to do so. No matter how many walks around the city, how many storms chased after, he’s always looking out towards the horizon, aura so thick with discontentment it’s as if he’s physically cloaked in it. 

Lately the only moments he seems to settle within his own skin are when he’s talking with Ms. Raifort, discussing ancient prophecies and ruins scattered around the globe. You don’t understand it, his passionate fascination–no, obsession with mythology. Why not let sleeping dogs lie? 

Frankie won’t talk to you about the future, evading the topic like a cunning Nickit. Still you cling to his hand, to hope, to the belief love conquers all, until the morning of graduation he comes to your dorm room and stares over your shoulder rather than meet your gaze. Even Pikachu hides her face in his curls, ears lowered despondently.

You let him in, the beginnings of dread stirring in your stomach, sensing whatever he’s got to say will have irreparable consequences.

“Did you have breakfast yet?” You gesture towards the kitchen, an unspoken can this wait? laced within the question.

“Not feeling very hungry today,” he answers, glancing about the room aimlessly. No, it can’t.

“That’s a first.” You take a seat on the sofa next to Luxray, grounding yourself by stroking a hand along his back. “You gonna tell me what’s on your mind or are you gonna make me guess?”

At that, Frankie finally turns to you, and his torn expression fractures something delicate inside of you, coldness flooding your lungs.

“I’ve been thinking. About us.”

“What about us?”

“I love you.” There’s no sweetness to the words. No tenderness. They are words of blood, of pain, scraping against his throat on their way out. “I’ve loved you from day one and I’ll love you ten thousand more. But what I want, what you want—it’s not the same thing. And it’s only going to hurt the longer we keep pretending otherwise.”

“Stop, please don’t—” your voice cracks, the cold gripping your heart now. Please don’t say it. Please don’t do this. “We’re—we’re good together. You know we are.”

“We were,” he amends, voice so unbearably gentle it’s a jagged blade against your soul. “We were so good. But we’re not ready for what comes next. We’ve become thunder and lightning, one ahead of the other. Our timing is off, shutterbug.”

Day 765

It’s drizzling a little when you return to campus. You shiver in your wet dress, grimacing as you accidentally step in a puddle, thoroughly soaking your flats and bare feet. Hopefully you won’t slip on the stairs and break your neck. That’d be the cherry on top of this disappointing evening.

You just want to shower, put on your comfiest pajamas, and fall asleep as fast as possible. 

Except when you reach your floor there’s a figure curled up on the floor outside your door, fast asleep with a snoring Pikachu curled on his chest.

“Hey, sleeping beauty.” You nudge at Frankie’s knee with your wet shoe, raising an eyebrow at him as he jerks awake, blinking rapidly. “What’re you doing here?”

“Oh, you’re back,” he says through a yawn, stretching his arms over his head. Pikachu grunts, displeased at the movement and sounds, and stubbornly curls into a tighter ball, forcing him to cradle her in the nook of his arm as he stands up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I just–I wanted to make sure you got back from your date okay. How did it go?”

Your date, Tom, is in Mr. Hassel’s art class with you. He invited you to see a new photography exhibit at the city’s museum. He was nice, if a little overzealous, and seeing lovely displays of art  seemed like a better way to spend the evening instead of once again hopelessly pining over your best friend. So, you’d said yes, changed into a nice dress, and swore off any and all yearning.

Except that’s exactly what you ended up doing anyways. 

Every time a photo left you breathless, you’d instinctively turn to look for brown eyes that weren’t there. Every joke Tom made you’d compare it to one of Frankie’s. Throughout the entire evening, you couldn’t stop your thoughts drifting back towards the Academy, wondering what he was doing.

You weren’t surprised Tom cut the date short, correctly sensing your heart just wasn’t into it. Still stung a bit though watching him leave you behind to join up with some other classmates hanging out in the plaza.

“Poorly,” you answer with a slight grimace.

“Oh.” Frankie blinks, looking at a loss for additional words. He’s wearing the hoodie he got from his trip to Montenevera over the holiday break and sweatpants, warm and rumpled and cozy, a complete contrast to your entire wardrobe. “Did he–did he hurt you? Because if he did anything inappropriate, I swear–”

“What? No, no, nothing like that happened.” You shake your head, ignoring the flutter of your heartbeat, touched at his protectiveness. He’s still staring at you, and you know he’s not going to let this slide under the rug. “Relax, tough guy. Tom was fine. I was the problem.”

“Tauros shit,” he immediately rejects the notion. “You could never be a problem.”

The hallway feels too hot all of the sudden despite the icy raindrops still clinging to your skin. “That’s sweet,” you say, trying to flash a grin except the muscles in your face refuse to cooperate. It feels stiff. Forced. “You say that to all the girls?”

His mouth tugs upwards into a smile, dimpled and boyish. “Once or twice,” he says, “but I only mean it with you.”

It’s dangerous and stupid to get your hopes up, but there’s something about the quietness, something about his brown eyes and his nearness, that makes you take a leap of faith. Makes you think screw it and reach for his free hand, lacing your fingers together.

“I was the problem,” you tell him softly, watching his expression sober, “because I kept looking for you.”

Silence follows, interrupted by a quiet snore from Pikachu. 

Then, just as softly, Frankie says for a second time, “Oh.”

You swallow, feeling like you can’t breathe. “Yeah.”

“Silly girl, you didn’t need to look.” He squeezes your hand, leans in just enough to bump his nose against yours. “I’ve always been here.”

Day 1,375

Later, you won’t remember the particulars of how the rest of the conversation played out. There are words, so many words. Angry and inconsolable, spat out through clenched teeth and pleaded with numb lips. Tears, too. So many damn tears it’s a wonder you don’t drown yourself.

You will remember how he looks at you though. Brown eyes deep and golden, reflecting the morning light streaming through the window. He’s beautiful, and you think that’s the final straw of it all, the definitive proof that even as he’s ripping out your heart you will never feel anything less for him than love. 

No passage of time or miles of distance will ever change that. You know this like you know the sun will rise tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that. 

Still, this certainty doesn’t stitch up the gaping, bleeding hole in your sternum.

No, that self-healing won’t begin until many, many days later.

Day 610 

In another life, if you hadn’t discovered your love of photography, you think you would have been a great astronomer. You know each of the constellations’ names, the best times during the year to spot them, even the tales assigned to them.

Tonight, the night sky is full of stars in every direction you look, not even the distant city lights strong enough to overpower their shine. You lie on your back in the soft meadow grass, hands resting on your stomach, the scent of wildflowers as thick in the air as the fireflies Luxio and Pikachu chase after. To your left, he mimics your pose, except he’s got an arm pillowed under his head, silent except for his breathing.

“There’s Kingler, cursed to hold up his heavy claw for eternity,” you say eventually, raising a hand to trace the starry outline with your fingertip. “Cubone’s next to him, forever mourning his mother.”

He remains silent. You turn your head to look at him, discovering he is deeply absorbed in his thoughts. Physically, you could easily reach out for his hand, but the blankness in his eyes suggests internally he’s half a world away. Somewhere you can’t follow. An irrational spark of jealousy burns hot in your veins, upset your presence isn’t enough of an anchor to keep him locked in the present moment.

You emit a quiet sigh, mentally rolling your eyes at your own childishness, and start to turn back to the sky when his voice catches you off guard, asking, “You ever notice they’re all tragedies?”

“Huh?”

“The myths behind the constellations.” He looks at you then, eyes dim with an emotion you can’t recognize. “Can you name one with a happy ending?”

You think about Pinsir, exiled due to his uncontrollable rage; Koffing, releasing toxic gases as he dies; Dugtrio, punished by an angry Groudon for gouging too many holes in the earth. The list grows longer, the tales grow sadder.

“No,” you say at last. “I guess not.”

He shrugs a shoulder, like it’s nothing, like his next words aren’t going to hurt something fierce. “That’s because happy endings are the biggest myth of all.”

Day 1,375

He kisses you. It is perfect and excruciating all at once. His hand is cupping your cheek, and his touch is so tender and intimately familiar you can’t stop yourself from indulging and it’s cruel of him to leave you like this. Shattered and wanting. Falling and flying.

But when Frankie’s right, he’s right.

This split in your paths has been a long time coming. You’d just refused to read the writing on the wall, content to keep counting the days, pretending the number would stretch on into infinity.

Infinity is just another word for forever though.

And there’s truth in that old saying: when you love someone—

“I love you,” he says again at the door. His eyes drift over your face, as if memorizing every detail. “And I’m proud of you. Remember that.” There’s the briefest of glimpses of tears in his eyes before he’s wrapping you in a hug, so tight your ribs painfully protest. You savor every second of it. “This isn’t the last of us. We’ll meet again, I swear it. One day, shutterbug.”

—you let them go.

Day 1,669

You’ve been dreading his arrival, dreading how he might look at you. What might be different. What, if anything, might be the same. 

All communication thus far has been directly with Professor Oak. You haven’t heard a single peep even though your number’s stayed the same. Even though you know he knows you’re here. 

Luxray stays close as the hour draws closer, trying to soothe your nervous energy. You stroke his mane, eyes flicking between your computer, the window, and then back again. The cursor blinks on the screen, waiting for you to finish adding the last details to the report you’ve been developing on the Pokémon signs you and Will discovered. Bizarre occurrences where the environment manifests the likeness of specific Pokémon—always the same ones in the same places. But why they existed and what they meant remained unsolved mysteries robbing you of sleep.

It had been the Professor's idea to invite another set of eyes to examine the clues after months of no solid progress. For every one step made forward it felt like the universe would shove you five steps backwards, the hidden connection remaining just out of your reach.

If you had known Professor Oak and Ms. Raifort were old friends, that she would’ve recommended her favorite pupil…well, you’re not sure if anything would’ve really changed. What fate wants, fate gets one way or another.

Frankie arrives at eventide, bringing the warmth of the fading sun into the lab with him. He looks…unchanged. Maybe a little broader, thicker with muscle from his journeys. But still familiar in all the ways that matter. You wonder if the same can be said for yourself. 

He’s looking at you, and it’s—it’s less painful than you expected. No tight band wrapped around your middle, no spontaneous bursting of tears. He’s just a man with a Pikachu on his shoulder and a dimpled grin on his face.

“Hey shutterbug,” he says, and it feels abruptly like slow motion, like you’re watching through someone else’s eyes as he comes closer, closer, closer and pulls you into a tight embrace. His arms are just as strong as you remember them, memories of graduation screaming in the back of your mind and you’re in your dorm room again watching him walk out of your life with your heart in tow.

You want to…

(kiss him, hit him, hold him, scream at him)

You want too many things.

“Hey,” you echo lamely as he pulls back. If Frankie hears the faintest of quivers in your voice, he thankfully doesn’t show a sign of it. You shoot a small grin at Pikachu, mouth stretching wider when she returns it with a cheerful pika pi, waving her paw. “Ready to help solve a mystery?”

“I always wanted to make history.” He’s smirking that same damn smirk, an intense pang of nostalgia striking you. Your fingers twitch, wishing you had your camera. “But I think it’s better this way, yeah?”

“What way?”

Distantly, you’re aware of Professor Oak and Will watching the conversation ping-ponging back and forth, both smart enough to pick up on the unspoken something between you and Frankie. 

“Making history together,” he says, as if it’s obvious. “We make a good team, you and I.”

The words bounce around inside your head for a moment. A good team. Is that all we are? is what you want to ask, but the answer’s a double-edged sword shoved between your ribs no matter how he phrases it. 

So you swallow the question down and bury it. 

“C’mon,” you gesture towards your computer, “I’ll show you what we’ve got so far.”

Day 128

Winter sweeps in, all frigid winds and frosted windows. Together you stay at the Academy during the holiday break. It’s days of no homework, snowball fights, and parka coats. Nights spent by the fireplace, hot chocolates topped with whipped cream, wishing you could bottle these memories in a jar and keep them on a shelf.

If Frankie knew about it, he would say Jirachi heard your wish, but it’s your opinion that fate’s just got a funny sense of humor. Either way, a few years down the line you’ll have the collection of memories you desired, almost all of them starring him. They won’t be kept in fragile jars, but in captured photographs unaffected by the withering flow of time. Little glimpses of a happy life, and how much you've lost.

Day 2,000 

You kiss Frankie on the front deck of the L.E.N.S. the night before he’s scheduled to leave. It’s stupid and impulsive, but he’s just right there in front of you, bathed in starlight and high off the elation that comes with solving another Pokémon mystery, further securing his place amongst the pages of historic exploration, a legend in his own lifetime, and there’s no thoughts in your head so—you kiss him. 

It isn’t your first kiss, but it feels like something new. He’s got stubble now, you’re wearing a lab coat—little details of proof you’re far from the kids you used to be. He smells the same though, like coffee and evergreens and fresh rain. The quiet, awed exhale of your name, like you’re something wonderful, something mythical come true, is the same too. 

And for the briefest of moments, you can almost imagine you’re together again.

But in the end it’s just a kiss, not a time machine. 

Day 1,762

“For someone with a new career, you don’t look very excited,” Will says, knocking his shoulder against yours good-naturedly. You try to summon up a smile, but it isn’t fooling anyone.

Professor Oak’s treating you both to a fancy dinner at a restaurant you can’t pronounce the name of, celebrating the news of your new job as an official field research photographer working alongside Professor Mirror in Florio. It’s an amazing step forward, resulting from the success of the Rainbow Cloud discovery with Frankie, certain to give your name another added boost of recognition in the photography community. 

“I am,” you say, remembering how you’d nearly passed out when you received the offer. Another attempt at a grin yields better results. “It’s gonna be great.”

Will tilts his head, a knowing look in his eyes. “You’re thinking about him. Again.”

“Not intentionally.” Your lips curl into a rueful grimace, fingers twisting together in your lap. “He just…never leaves my thoughts.”

Frankie told you before he left he didn’t have a home, not anymore, too much of a restless spirit to stay in one place. You wonder if his answer would be different, if he knew it’s been 1,762 days and every one of them he’s spent occupying your head.

“Even when he’s gone and left you behind?” From anyone else, the question would’ve been harsh, but your friend’s eyes are kind, full of empathy. 

There’s a second where you contemplate lying, but you can’t. Not to him, and not to yourself.

“Especially then.”

Day 2,000

“Sorry.” It comes out of your mouth stilted—not because you don’t mean it, but because your heart’s beating like a thunderstorm. A wildness you haven’t felt in years.

“I’ve never needed an apology from you.” Frankie looks at you softly, the brown of his eyes getting lost in the dark. “Two thousand. Can you believe it? Seems like just yesterday I watched you walk into class.”

You forget sometimes that he’s the sentimental type too when it comes to those he cares about. It’s why he doesn’t give Pikachu a Thunderstone, and why he only knows how to play one song on a guitar, his mother’s favorite. How sweet it is, to learn he must care about you to keep count, maybe even love you a little bit still.

“Frankie,” you start, dropping your forehead onto his shoulder. His nearness is a comfort as much as it is a distraction, but this conversation is long overdue by hundreds of days. “What are we?”

“You tell me.” A hand comes to rest on your waist, a searing brand through the fabric of your clothes. “What do you want us to be?”

You think about the question for a long moment, wondering what words pack enough meaning to give the answer it deserves.

What you want is another storm to chase, another constellation to trace. What you want is for your hands to brush during walks, never having to hear his voice on the end of a phone again because he’s right there by your side. What you want is everything that once was to align in perfect harmony with the immediate now.

“I want us to be together.”

“We are.”

“No, we’re not,” you murmur, staring down at the mud stains on his boots. 

“Listen, shutterbug,” his hands move to your head, one tilting up your chin and the other gently palming your neck, forcing you to meet his gaze, “a lot can happen in two thousand days–”

“I know, I know.”

His fingers spasm, like he’s resisting the urge to tug on your hair, eyes sharpening at the interruption. “A lot can happen in two thousand days,” he repeats, and you hear it this time, the heavy weight in his tone. Rarely is he this serious. “We’ve changed, we’ve grown, we’ve been on opposite ends of the earth from each other. But tonight, of all places, I’m here and you’re here.”

And maybe it really is that simple. People say lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, but twice now you’ve watched him go and twice he’s been brought back to you. 

You reach up, wrapping your hands around his wrists, holding him there. “Do you think we’ll ever be what we were?”

“No.” He steps impossibly closer, lips brushing against your forehead. “I think one day we’ll be better.”

Better, you mouth the word. It feels like a promise, like a turning point. 

“Yeah, one day,” you agree, heartbeat steadying, matching the rhythm of his beneath your fingertips. “It’ll be worth the wait.”

[koffing-time]

Team Calm Raid: Koffing-Time Debriefing

Hi guys, update after yesterdays very exciting events. I'm typing this while on the plane back home, so it's gonna be a bit for me until it's up, but once you can read it, i'm probably back at the café. I think i have to take the day off, to care for all my pokémon (more on that below), but Olivia has agreed to run the café for another day. (If it's urgent, i'll be around though) I am so thankful my friend, you are saving my ass! (Otherwise we would have been closed today)

So... what happened?

I posted a few tiny things, and maybe you saw post by other people, so you might already know. @champion-class-hatsune-miku made a call to action, and i decided to answer. Yesterday, we went to raid the Alola-Base of Team Calm. You know, those guys that do terrible genetic experiments to create so called "ultra-domesticated Pokémon". I don't want to go into detail, basically: these Pokémon are either passive beyond recognition, or get intimidated incredibly easy. They will not defend themself if attacked, and if they are a carnivorous species, they also refuse to hunt. Often to a degree where they can barely function at life. A lot of them have other health issues as well. And, well, those are the "successful" UDs. The less fortunate have horrible mutations. If you want to learn more, i recommend checking in with @prof-lemon and their initiative @team-violence.

The raid was overall a success. The base was destroyed, which was not what we were aiming for, but i'm not mad. This just means they won't be able to continue doing this stuff, at least in Alola. As far as i know, nobody was left inside when it collapsed, neither one of the raiders nor team calm grunts or the Pokémon they bred. The only uncertainty left (to my knowledge) would be Circe, the leader of team calm. I have to say, i hope she got away. Just to clarify, she did horrible things, but i want her to stop, not to die. A few grunts were hurt, some raiders got hit in the face as well, but nothing life threatening happend, as far as i know. Me and my Pokémon are fine. We didn't go for the front line with battles, we took on the role to care for the frightened UDs and give first aid to those who got hurt. (Big thanks to everyone who supported me there! I was not alone and this was very very VERY helpful)

The rescued Pokémon will be cared for. Each of us took a few with us, but the bulk had to be rehomed to shelters, at least temporarily. Another big thanks to Miku, she contacted a lot of them to prepare. I think most of the UDs are in Alola, but a lot of shelters all over the world have supported this cause. If you want to do your own little thing to help us out and adopt one of them, go and ask around. (Prof. Lemon and Miku can probably tell you which shelters exactly have some UDs). But be warned: these ultra-domesticated Pokémon sound cute, nice and easy to care for, but the vast majority of them are very high maintenance. Please make sure you are ready for such a commitment.

As for myself: i have 4 of these Pokémon with me right now. They are 2 Trubbish, a Mareanie and a Petilil. This is the main reason i have to take the day off. I have to show them around, and i should also spend some time with Flit and Ampersand (the Beedrill ad Sliggoo that i adopted from the Snowbelle City shelter. Thank you again @oh-shinx, for doing that event!)

That being said, if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask! And i'll see you all on wednesday for @frostbite-yinny's Babyshower, all right?

[dirt-grub]

anyone else miss being in a friend group of nd kids in elementary school where everyone had one pokemon that was just their all time favorite so youd make art of a whole team of different pokemon but in your head you were like yea that ones so and so and that ones me :) and just those associations never left your head

[archersxartxblog]

   

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

hey remember when I said chapter 5 was giving me trouble. well after that it got a away from me and ended up nearly 8 pages long. I'm so sorry.

Anyway, Akari meets the twins, and battles them. also they're Uncle be worried sick. enjoy.

---

Akari had just returned from another expedition out in the Obsidian Fieldlands, trying to catch up a bit on some research; when spotted the two and had to do a double take. 

   At first glance she had simply thought they were nothing more than some kids from the Pearl clan, a very odd sight indeed seeing as most of the Pearl clan seemed to keep to themselves in their settlement; but she had hoped that this meant the clan was finally starting to open up a bit more.

   It was only on her second glance that she noticed something even stranger that caused her to stop in her tracks.

   Pokeballs.

   They had Pokeballs. 

   Which was odd to see one anyone in one of the Clan outfits aside from Warden Ingo. but that wasn’t what caught her eye.

   They weren’t just the handcrafted pokeballs she had since grown used to since Arcues had dropped her in Hisui. No, these were Modern Pokeballs. They were smooth and completely round, unlike the uneven surface of the ones here in Hisui; with bright Reds and Whites that weren’t so easily made here in the past. 

   Not even Ingo had modern pokeballs on him.

   Even the belts they had tied around their waist were of a more modern make, with small indents made specifically for holding the balls in place without the need of a bag.

   “Akari?” She heard the professor behind her call out as she started to make a combee-line towards the kids, her mind going a mile a minute.

   Could these two have possibly gotten them from one of the space-time distortions? Why were there two kids running around in space-time distortions? Was this the reason Ingo had been called back to the settlement?

   She watched the two closely, as if she were watching a pair of Shinx out in the field trying to learn more about them. 

   They were standing much closer to the fence than anyone else, in fact they were leaning against it, well everyone else kept back by at least a few feet. They lacked any kind of fear of the Pokémon just past the wooden beams, even going as far to reach out and pet any Pokémon that showed interest in the touch. Even in the clans such openness with Pokémon aside your partners was uncommon.

   Which made her think…What if these two didn’t just find two pokeballs in a space-time distortion? What if…they were like her and Ingo? 

   Two trainers taken from their time and sent back to Hisui?

   The professor walked up beside her, trying to get a good view at what had caught her interest. “Ah! Those must be Warden Ingo’s boys.” the Galarain man spoke, bringing Akari back to reality. “I heard some of the security corps mention seeing them during their posting in the highlands base camps.”

   Akari looked back at the professor and then back towards the boys. “Ingo’s boys?” she repeated in a questioning tone, Ingo had never mentioned having children; in fact he had said that he didn’t know if he even had any family let alone kids of his own. But that didn’t mean it was impossible, it wasn’t even improvable. And now that she was really looking at them she could see their likeness to the Warden, the Silver hair with those dagger like sideburns, silver eyes, and sharp noses.

   This information only proved in her mind that these two were like her and the Warden. Ingo’s kids, snatched up by space and time just like their dad. 

   “Would you like to go over and introduce yourself?” the Professor asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile; like he had caught her doing something she shouldn't. “Or would you rather continue staring at them and making them feel awkward?”

   Right. Maybe she shouldn’t be staring at them like this, less they notice her and think her rude. Last thing she wanted to do was upset Ingo by staring at his kids like they were strange new Pokémon.

   “Y-yeah, let's go say hi. Shall we?” she smiled, running the back of her head as she started to once more move towards the boys.

   How the hell should she greet them? ‘Hi, I’m Akari, I know your dad.’ or ‘Hey, aren’t you Ingo’s Kids? I’m Akari.’ Why were greetings so awkward when you first meet someone?

   Professor Laventon cleared his throat loudly as the two came up behind the boys, catching the attention of both of them. “Apologies for the interruption lads, me and my young assistant just came over to introduce ourselves.”

   Akari watched as they turned slowly to face the two of them, their movements completely in sync. It was then that she realized that not only were their similarities to Ingo nearly spot on, but they were completely identical to each other. They were twins Identical twins. Separated only by facial expression it seemed.

   “I-I am…I am” The realization seemed to hit the professor as well as it left him tripping over his words for a moment. “I am Professor Laventon, and this is Akari who is assisting me in completing the Pokedex for this region.” the Professor smiled at the two, placing one hand on Akari’s shoulder and the other behind his head as he laughed nervously. 

   Well couldn’t get more awkward than that, so she gave them both her most winning smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both, I’m also a friend of your dad.” 

   She watched the twins glancing at each other before looking back at them, one of them stepping forward while the other moved back to stand slightly behind his brother.

   “I am Emmet.” the smiling one said in a quiet leveled voice, his sentences clipped. “This is my big Brother. He is Ingo. He is verrrrry shy.”

   “Emmet.” the other boy hissed, his embarrassment seeming to leak out more through his voice than it did on his face; refusing to look up at the two strangers standing before them. 

   So Ingo’s eldest was named after, but it looked like he didn’t take after his father at all in the personality department; as she was sure the Warden didn’t have a shy bone in his whole body. Maybe a little distance at times, but not shy.

   The two made to turn back around, clearly believing the conversation was done, when Laventon spoke up again.

   “Oh, I thought you two were twins, you look so much alike.”

   To this, Emmet’s smile seemed to drop slightly at this, looking very confused by the question. “Ingo was born an hour before me. Meaning he is older. We are still twins”

   “Oh..um…yes, I suppose that is true.” the Professor coughed, slightly embarrassed by the question. “Well, Akari, we should..ah…Go and submit our findings to the …um…Captain…” Clearly he was looking for a way out of the conversation he had started.

   Akari on the other hand simply shook her head. “I think I’ll stay behind for a little bit, professor. If that’s alright.” she smiled at the man, giving him the out he needed, but she wanted to get to know these two a little better.

  “Oh, well then Jolly good!” The professor gave the three of them a nod and a smile. “I’ll go give our report and return to my lab if you need anything.” With that he quickly walked away from the scene, leaving Akari and the boys alone by the pastures.

   Once the professor was gone, Akari walked up to the pasture’s fence, leaning against it and staring out over all the pokemon she had caught. The twins turned back to look at the Pokémon as well.

   A silence fell between the three of them as Akari struggled to figure out how to really break the ice.

   “You were staring at us.” Akari was startled for a moment as she looked over to see Ingo…no, Little Ingo looking up at her, his eyes quickly darting away. “I, um, saw you. It’s okay, a lot of people stare at us.” it was probably the most she had heard him speak, his voice strained slightly as if it was a conscious effort to keep his volume in check. Although Little Ingo’s words suggested that it was okay, his tone made it clear that it was something they weren’t fond of but had sadly grown used to.

   The teen let out a sigh, guess she’d been caught. “Yeah, that was rude of me. Sorry." She apologized, wanting to correct their idea that it was okay for people to just stare at them despite how it made them feel. "But I couldn't help but notice the pokeballs you guys have. They're not from around here. I missed seeing them." Akari let a smile stretch across her face. "I'm like you guys, I'm not from around here either." She explained. " But I have to ask, You two wouldn't happen to be Pokémon trainers, would you?"

   That seemed to catch both of their attention, as their heads snapped towards her.

   Pokémon Trainer wasn't a word commonly used in Hisui, as there were very few who could even classify as such. Pokémon wielder was much more common. She honestly missed hearing the word, and from the looks of it the twins did too.

   "So that's why you were staring at us?" Little Ingo stood a little straighter, seeming to have shed just a little bit of shyness.

   "You know what happens when you stare at another trainer?" Emmet was practically bouncing in place, though his voice lacked any of his excitement. "We battle."

   Akari nodded, and pulled out two pokeballs of her own as she smiled at the two. "What do you say we get to know each other a little better?"

----

   "That was so embarrassing." Akari complained, her face in her hands as she completely ignored her potato mochi. "What are you teaching those two? Teach it to me, please."

   "To be fair, miss Akari" Ingo spoke as he continued to eat his provided meal. "I haven't had the chance to teach them anything yet. I was about to teach them Strong and Agile style today, but you seemed to beat me to it." He glanced away from his meal, watching as Emmet was over by the training ground practicing the new style of fighting, while young Ingo was watching close by; having taken an interest in crafting his own pokeballs.

   His meeting with Commander Kamado had run rather late. The man had dragged him a little over his late report and the sudden appearance of his children, demanding information on the two of them as if they were some kind of threat. By the time he had gotten out Akari had already bumped into the twins and the three had been engaged in battle. 

  “Though if there was anything advice I could give you Akari, it would be not to underestimate your opponents.”

  It hadn't been hard to tell that his young friend had been pulling her punches as he knew that she could have easily overwhelmed them with much stronger moves and Pokémon. The twins had always noticed her charity and rewarded it by…well pulling no punches. That poor Piplup and Dartrix hadn’t really stood a chance. 

  At least she managed to show them what Strong and Agile style was, even if it hadn’t helped her in the long run.

  “I know.” Akari whined looking up at him with her head on the table. “But I thought they were like ‘just turned ten and got my starter’ new trainers. Not four badges deep into their gym challenge.” she sank back in her seat. “I mean they only had one Pokémon each, how was I supposed to know? I had at least five at that point in my own challenge. I didn’t want to discourage them.”

  “I’m sure they would have gotten over the loss.” if anything they probably would have learned much more from it, just as Akari had. “As for any training they may have had prior, I’m afraid that credit belongs to my brother.”

  Akari was silent for a moment, slowly processing that information. “You have a brother?” she questioned, gaze shifted towards him; then without warning her face was inches away from his own. “You remembered you have a brother?!” the girl cheered, a wide smile plastered across his face. “Is it the man it White you told me about? Did you remember his name?!”

  It took a moment for the Warden to compose himself, leaning away from the teen who had launched herself onto the table. Ingo slowly shook his head “I’m afraid it’s not quite like that. I managed to recall having a sibling by watching the twins the other day, recalling similar antics the man in white and I would get up too. But the memory is still nothing more than a recollection.” 

  "Oh" the Akari's face fell slightly as she slowly slid herself back off the table. "But you just said your brother taught them to battle."

  "Ah, that is sadly an assumption on my part." Ingo let out a sigh, once more glancing over at the boys trying to keep an eye on them as well as give Akari his attention as well. "The boys often mention an Uncle who has taught them much, and is…was raising them in my stead." He explained. 

  He liked to believe that it was his brother that the boys spoke of, but at the same time that brought about its own set of questions. Like why their uncle never mentioned him. The idea of there being bad blood between him and his brother seemed…wrong. More Wrong than anything else that comes to pass.

  Which left the idea that his disappearance had been painful for his family, thus his brother had refrained from speaking of him. The thought that he had possibly caused the man in white so much pain was…distressing to say the least.

  "And their mother?" Akari brought him out of his thoughts. Clearly picking up on the fact that there seemed to be a lack of a motherly figure in the twins' lives.

  It was something Ingo had picked up on as well.

  Once more Ingo shook his head. "They haven't mentioned her, which leads me to believe she is…no longer around." 

  “Oh, Ingo.” Akari stretched out a hand and touched his own. “I’m sorry.”

  That should have triggered some kind of emotion from him, he had admitted his wife was dead, and yet all he could feel was sadness for the boys growing up without either of their parents. It was just another thing that felt wrong about all this.

   Helping that small little train of doubt that seemed to continue to chug away at his mind.

   Ingo let out a heavy sigh and glanced over at Akari. “Ever since all of this started happening, since the twins got here. It has been a bit of a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings.” he explained, feeling like he could be more open with Akari then he could anyone in the pearl clan. 

   “There is so much I am unsure of now, without my memories I have way to prove or disprove anything.” his eyes traveled back over towards the twins, smiling a little. “I was sure that I was not a father and yet the twins are here. They help fix the broken tracks in my mind that I did not realize could be fixed, explain things that I thought long lost. It has been a long time since I have felt such a sense of home.” 

   Slowly his trademark frown returned and his eyes turned away from the boys down to his own hand, running his thumb over the long scar that ran across the palm of his hand. He could never remember where the scar had come from. “I am very fond of those two, but I worry sometimes if I would call that train of thought… fatherly. I worry if what I am feeling simply isn’t enough…that I’m simply not enough.”

   Akari gave his other hand a squeeze, smiling at him. "My mom used to say something similar. I think all parents feel like that sometimes." She gave his hand another tight squeeze "You're already an awesome Uncle. So you'll probably be a great dad."

   Ingo opened his mouth to comment but before he could he was interrupted by a sound of pain and a flurry of movement, drawing his attention back to the twins.

   "Ow!"

   Before he even realized it, Ingo was at his eldest side kneeling down next to him. pulling Emmet, who had been slightly faster than him, away from his brother; passing him off to Akari who held him in a tight hug trying to calm the boy down. 

   Young Ingo held one hand in the other, his frown pulled tight and his eyes screwed shut from pain. The knife he had been using to carve the pokeball lay at his feet covered in blood.

   "Let me see." The Warden gently took the boy's wrist, guiding it closer so he could inspect the damage. There was a deep cut across the boy's palm, blood quickly pooling out of the open wound. He had no doubt that it would leave a nasty scar.

   There was a rising panic in his chest as Ingo looked over the wound, his mind a temporary out of control train as he couldn't help but wonder if he could have stopped this. If he'd been paying more attention then he might have been able to spot the dangers sooner. Should he have trusted the boy with the knife at all?

   He shook his head and pushed those thoughts down. Panicking would do them no good. It had been an accident and nothing more. Slowly he pulled the boy to his chest, wrapping his other arm around him. "You're fine." He all but whispered as felt the boy shutter slightly as his emotions seemed to get the best of him. "It's just a cut. Accidents happen, you’ll just need to be more careful next time." 

   Carefully he wrapped his own hand over young Ingo's hand, easily covering the wound with his much larger palm and applied pressure to the wound. His hands were fair from the cleanest but stopping the flow of blood was more important, for now at least. He let go of the boy for only a moment, just long enough to snatched the bloody knife from the ground; and shoved it into his coat pocket. Not wanting Emmet to see it as he motioned for him to come join. 

   He held both boys in his arms for a moment longer before finally standing up. "Let's go see if the repair crews at this station can do anything for this." He gave the two a slight smile. 

   The boys nodded and he led them towards Galaxy hall, Akari bringing up the rear with a snicker. "And to think you were worried if you'd be a good Dad."

---

   “INGO! EMMET!” Drayden’s voice echoed loudly throughout Chargestone, he continued his search for his missing Nephews.

   It had been well over a week since they disappeared into the cave and never came back out. At first he had managed to fool himself into believing that they had just been using the cave to train for the next gym battle. 

   But as the days went by and no one had seen them, he felt worry creep up his spine. This wasn’t like them.

   It had been when young Elesa came running to him with the twins bag, bypassing all other gym leaders to find him; that his fears were solidified.

   She had claimed to have seen them swallowed by a large black mass, controlled by some kind of Pokémon. By the time it cleared up…they were gone.

   “Ingo! Emmet!” he called once more, sending out his Haxorus to search every inch of the cave.

   He needed to keep calm. 

   His boys were strong.

   They were more than capable of taking care of themselves.

   But should he find one scratch on them when he found them…then whoever or whatever took them would know what a dragon master could really do.

[thelastpilot]

PMD ML AU

I’m in a bad mood right now so i wanted to do something fun!

PMD ML AU MASTERLIST

I know not everyone is going to agree with my selections but I will provide my reasoning for each and do every character I have remembered. I haven’t watched ML at all in ages but here we go lol

The plot, in my head, is pokemon living inside the universe, none of which were once humans. They are just in the world, operating within it. It follows Adrien, Nino, Marinette and Alya joining a rescue guild and forming their own team. Over time their guild threatens to close so after a lot of hard work they open their own guild and all their friends join and make teams! 

The Gang

Nino- A Buizel. I love a water pokemon for Nino and buizels design and color scheme are just so vibrant. Plus bubbles! He’s a good mix of energetic but also chill. just an otter chilling in a current, floating away, probably asleep

Adrien- a Pikachu. Poster boy? Poster pokemon! He’s the popular cute beloved pokemon with an electric personality, but really wants nothing more than to be part of a group. Cat Noir’s brashness and diving into trouble suits an impulsive electric type. I considered shinx but Adrien isnt cool enough to be a Luxray lmao

Alya- A Vulpix! Kind of obvious I know but shes firey and impulsive, while also being sassy. Plus you know she would be a regal kickass Ninetales one day. Perfect color scheme for her, I can just see a little vulpix with a birthmark

Marinette- Eevee! when it comes to what pokemon a character would BE as opposed to what they would HAVE i dont think ledian fits at all. As a trainer she’d have one maybe but she wouldn’t be one. I say Eevees have so much potential and can be so many things, they thrive in being ‘normal’ but CAN wield a lot of power and are the epitome of adaptable. Specifically I think she’d evolve into a Sylveon, with a crux ass friendship moment being the reason. 

The Class; AKA The Town/Guild

Chloe- Servine

Snivy is so cool and elegant and snooty as is it’s whole line, you KNOW her mom is a super mean Serperior which is exactly what Chloe is aspiring to be. I was tempted to put all classmates into the unevolved category to keep them ‘young’ but since it can happen due to experience or moments in their life I feel like it’s okay to hop around a little. Also, regardless of what you think of her Chloe had some tough moments as a kind. I bet she evolved after her mom left while fighting with her dad. ( Who LOOKS like a very fat serperior but is really a big ole ditto and everyone knows it, Chloe however is convinced no one know and always covers it up)  

Sabrina- Butterfree!

I love the idea of a skittish little Caterpie that clung to Snivys back and was always put down a little (especially as a insecure Metapod that evolved because it was standing up to Chloe and ‘toughened up’ a little) eventually evolving into a super unique cool little Butterfree that’s beautiful but still a little timid. Maybe even a pink Butterfree like the anime!

Max- Rotom? Porygon 2?

Max seems too reserved to be energetic rotom but I think Rotom has more personality than Porygon 2. I think if I had to commit I would choose Porygon 2 because the personality can always adapt and Rotom by nature is always zipping about so I think I’ll go with the second idea

Kim- Croconaw

Kim was tough for me, but I think Croconaw is a good comprise of goofy (i mean come on totodile is so goofy) loves to swim (water pokemon!) but also kind of jock who wants to get BIG and aspires to be a super buff Feraligator

Alix- Scorbunny or Raboot

Either in this evolution line is fine with me, especially a particually short Raboot who was really hoping evolution was gonna help in the height department. Fun sporty competitive and also a RABBIT

Ivan- Pangoro

This one feels a little obvious so im not totally sold I also considered a Gogoat but I kind of love the idea of Ivan evolving early so he was suddenly SO much bigger and scarier than his peers. People who were already skittish of the pancham were now totally avoiding this big brute, but people who know him well know that he’s still a young dude inside who wants to hang out with his friends, he just evolved kind of early

Mylene- Audino

Audino is such a sweet round warm loving creature, like how absolutely pleasant it is. It reminds me of Mylenes nature and i can imagine her being exactly like her normal self, always emerging with this lumbering scary Pangoro and treating him so sweetly. This one just fits, i think it works

Nathaneal-  Mimikyu

Now i’ll tell you this one is really a toss up so feel free to suggest alteratives. I also heavily considered Datrix, the mid evolution of the Rowlet line. I think that this one is cute cause hes a shy dude that is beloved by many even if he struggles with putting himself out there. plus how he make that outfit? creative! 

Rose- Deerling

This one also seems like a easy one but there are many sweet rounded creatures you can pick for Rose, I feel like she slots in many places. But I like deerling for her because its pink and naturey and also really sweet and earnest looking. I feel like a Deerling would always give the benefit of the doubt and i can imagine it swooning about love. 

Juleka- Mismagius or Mawile

Also kind of tough you can probably also go with its pre-evolution for this . But I think Mawile isn’t a far reach either! In fact as I’m typing this i might even like it more but i’ll stick to my guns with it. There are a few pokemon you could use for Juleka I think

Lila- Sneasle

I could have also gone Zoura but I think Sneasle just suits her better. Its mean, its deceptive, it is cunny and brilliant. It suits her true nature but not exactly what she claims to be so I will also say Nickit is not totally a far reach for her I feel like that makes sense I just dont like what it evolves into much. Sneasle seems more dangerous to me than Nickit, but perhaps part of Lila’s charm is her unassuming appearance. Open to suggestions on this one! 

[drew-winchester]

I was wondering if you could tell me about your Pokemon Trainer OC! I'd love to know more about her! What inspired her appearance, Her personality, the type of Pokemon she chose, does she had a type she mainly uses? Ect

Of course!

So here’s a bit more about Sarha! (Under the cut!)

Her appearance - Here’s a post about how her appearance changed through the year ‘cause I think it’s funny x/D [Here!] Please keep in mind I was a child when I first drew her, haha! I actually started drawing with her! So her look was just Sacha (Satoshi/Ash) with biiiig long pigtails because I was a baby who thought big long pigtails are cute (Istillfinditcute (imstillbabyisuppose)). But then I grew up and she became more her own self. I cut her hair short (she didn’t have the two little weird pigtail things x/D It’s funny, this came because, drawing her so much, I started drawing a little curvy line that over the time took the form of pigtails. Just a random line that became stronger and stronger until it was part of her hairstyle!)

She usually wears red, black, white and yellow. 

Her personality - She’s a strong girl, cheerful, optimistic, she doesn’t like to be told she can’t do something, she has a lot of energy, she’s strong with her legs (good kicks! xD), knows how to fight but is more interested in helping, caring, reassuring. She can be a bit susceptible but she’s a good natured girl! Laughing and jumping and everything. She’s a very bad singer!! (Her voice is Takeuchi Junko, so I basically just hear this when I imagine her singing [LINK!] )  I picked Takeuchi Junko as her voice because I enjoy Sarha having a deep “shounen anime boy” voice, she speaks like a boy, she has a “boy’s voice” (not that Takeuchi Junko has a boy’s voice but, I imagine Sarha’s voice like she dubs boys! x/D ) She was a Pokemon Trainer but became a Pokemon Ranger, because she felt better helping people and Pokemon than battling. 

Also, I talked a bit about Sarha here if you want more ovo 

She’s from Masara Town (Pallet Town) in Kanto. Her father is from Kanto and her mother from Kalos (which makes her the Pokemon version of half Japanese half French? xD And I like this!), she has a big brother who lives in Kalos with her mother while Sarha lives with her father.

The type of Pokemon she has - Her main Pokemon is a girl Flareon she calls Pyroli. It’s her first Pokemon and they’re a bit like sisters x3 She has a baby Skitty she found as an egg. The little girl isn’t battling, she just sleeps in Sarha’s hood and gets out to eat berries. She has a Shinx named Sato, who feels like the “man of the family” and protects others but is really just a little boy ;v; She has a Litleo, Shishiko, who’s always doing dumb things.

She had a lot of others too but those are her main Pokemon. She has a Litten, for example, who’s very protective. She has an Alolan Vulpix, a shiny Sylveon boy called Kalel. She also has a strong bond with Shaymin and Suicune (who helps her as a Ranger, because Suicune also cares about helping others).

Does she have a type she mainly uses - Not necessarily but she tends to like Fire types the most in general.

I hope this answers your questions~ Otherwise I’m always happy to answer hehe!

[milkway]

🐰 🐹 🌠 ☀️ 🌟 🐾 🎵 ⚡️ 💛 🌺 💥 😊 😔 🐧 💫 🎀 🎬? Sorry if that's a lot sfhsghs it was. a long list

oh fuck read more time!!

🐰 what is one secret that you’ve never told anyone?

my lactose intolerance might be kicking in slowly and im kinda ridiculously sad about it hjgDJH

🐹 what are some of your favourite Pokémon and why?

pichu/pikachu bc my pals have associated me with em, buizel and shinx lines bc theyve always been my sinnoh mvps, eelektross and galvantula bc i love their designs sm... flygon is my all time fave just cause!! i love the design and typing...i love shieldon bc it was my fav partner in pkmn ranger shadows of almia! and i rly love dodrio it was such a surprise powerful pkmn in my xy plathrough i love this cerberus bird

🌠 if you were in charge of the world, what would the world look like?

hopefully more fair, kinder, cleaner and not destroyed by global warmning lol

☀️ what do you like the most about your best friend?

i dont feel like i gotta pretend to be something im not around the two of them! i can always be honest and not feel embarassed and thats sth i rly appreciate. also theyre both just really kind and cool and good

🌟 what do you like about yourself? (must choose at least 3 things!)

uhhh i like how i keep pursuing art despite life getting in the way, i like my hair and i like that im good at math

🐾 what are you scared of most? how will you overcome it?

getting my degree and applying to jobs? ill just have to buckle down and get over it lol but rsd is a fuck and i feel like any failure would be crushing to me

also being in a relationship and i will overcome it by not getting into one ! i dont think its for me

🎵 name 5 songs you love at the moment

nobody else will be there - the national / old town road - lil nas x / bridge burning - foo fighters / dustbusters - delta sleep / head on - *repeat repeat

⚡️ if you had any superpower, what would it be and why?

shapeshifting, that nb dream..................maybe communicating with animals bc..i love animals lol

💛 if you could talk to your younger self, what would you say?

u can come out to ur friends and they wont beat u up, promise. also it gets better! itll keep getting better

🌺 which languages do you know? which do you want to learn?

fluent in polish, pretty much fluent in english, basic german and basic japanese. im taking japanese in uni so hopefully i will continue to learn that but id also love to know swedish and maybe italian!

💥 what are some unpopular opinions that you have?

oh man idk. i dont think communism is all that great but im polish so that might be like Wildly affecting my view of it lol. communist regimes are Still a thing too so, its just hard for me to subscribe to that fully. even if the ideology itself is great and would be great were it to work in practice

😊 what do you like to do as hobbies?

drawing! any sort of art rly! not much else atm.. hope i can pick up sth computer sciency since thats my field in uni currently.. or embroidery! or trying to make tunes or games or smth!!!

😔 what do you always do when you feel sad? does it help?

i go through some funney mindless lps i can remember at the time and just watch those, maybe do sth related to current Big Interest, draw until i feel better. when its rly bad i force myself to take a full body shower and brush my teeth, even if rly rly do not have the spoons for it. it doesnt always help but keeps me from breaking down usually

🐧 describe yourself in 3 words

just a milk

💫 who inspires you?

my friends!

🎀 what’s your fashion sense like?

i like casual/lowkey sporty fashion. my wardrobe does not reflect it currently but i hope to change that bit by bit

🎬 what are some of your favourite films?

big eden (watch big eden), jordan peele’s us, into the spiderverse, treasure planet, tekkon kinkreet, paprika, akira, mulan, coraline, paranorman

prompts

[ipcearn]

Okay, okay

I’m gonna give my little opinion nugget on Pokemon Legends Arceus

I am now in the post-game, I battled Volo and Giratina - and what an amazing fight that was - I caught God Arceus and I have the shiny charm (and got my third full odds shiny, one of which is an alpha Shinx)

I have not yet finished the content added by the Daybreak update but I am slowly making my way through it

But honestly, I love this game

It might be one of my fave Pokemon games so far - and the only gen I didn’t play is 5 (I think I have Black somewhere but I never finished it, it was right at the time when I graduated high school and I had other things to worry about)

Nothing will ever beat my nostalgia tinged love of Emerald as the game that really kindled my adoration for the series and that was the first game where I ever finished a full living national Dex, and I tended to enjoy most of the other games despite also seeing a lot of their flaws

PLA too has a number of flaws that shouldn’t be disregarded

While the loading is pretty fast, I really don’t like that forced returning to the village - and don’t come at me with hardware limitations; if Breath of the Wild can run that smoothly on the Switch, with a fantastic open world, then so should Pokemon be able to; and I want to state I own a regular v1 Switch

I wish the Pokemon models themselves were just a little bit smoother and from time to time I had some minor visual glitches particularly in caves - granted I am a rather forgiving person when it comes to this and it didn’t hinder any of my gameplay, so I had no problem ignoring those things - hells, my game did not even crash once so far

Do I wish some of the terrain textures looked different or more varied? Fuck yeah! Pokemon is the highest grossing media franchise, they have the money to put behind their projects to make them absolutely amazing and look absolutely amazing

(I am gonna have some words about Scarlet and Violet at the end of this, just you wait)

But granted, most of my issues are with the visual parts only

The gameplay is actually what I care about, and that I absolutely adore

I love the new capture mechanics where you can throw your balls in the overworld, backstrikes and stun-items and I sincerely hope they will keep some of those mechanics for the future

Dishonored and Assassin’s Creed are some of my fave games - and with the second one, a big guilty pleasure of mine - because I love stealth mechanics so being able to sneak up on Pokemon and catch them that way is right up my alley

Now we can definitely argue about the boss fight-mechanics - I beat Kleavor without ever pulling out my team because I didn’t really get when I could use my team against it and instead just pelted the poor thing with the balms until it had enough of my shit - and I will fully admit that I just pressed ‘continue’ on the Arceus fight since when a Pokemon game feels harder than all my playthroughs of FromSoft games - it’s mainly the lack of healing, I think - I feel no remorse to skip as much of the fight as I can on my attempts

I definitely liked parts of those mechanics, but I also get that since Pokemon so far had been a fairly casual gameplay experience before, adding what I mentally called Dark Souls mechanics isn’t going to be as much fun for less abled people and will essentially stop them from progressing

So I hope they will keep that feature either optional or out of other main line releases

Now - as someone who has no friends to trade with on the switch - I was very thankful that PLA is a singular edition game and I can get every Pokemon for the Dex, including the legendaries... even if it seems like you have to make a choice at some point Adaman all the way

I love the Dex mechanics since it really makes you feel like you are actively building a Dex for the first time, and I do like that a perfected page’s reward is a higher odds shiny chance so I can essentially ignore it for the ones I don’t want to shiny hunt

I have never been much of a shiny hunter - my first ever was a full odds Zubat in Emerald when I didn’t even know what shinies were, I just saw the green bat and wanted it for the hell of it - but it is so easy in this game even right from the start - my first full odds shiny was during my very first mass outbreak, when I was still a bit unsure what exactly mass outbreaks were, but it did result in me being startled by a shiny Ponyta (granted not as special since you later get a request that lets you get another shiny Ponyta but now I also have a shiny Rapidash without giving up my shiny Ponyta)

There are probably a couple more minor things I meant to mention, but can’t think of right now

PLA is probably the first Pokemon game I was happy to pay full triple A price for since for once it definitely felt worth it

Which does lead me to Scarlet and Violet

Oh boy

It’s way too early to announce them, in my opinion, particularly with how the trailer looks

Or rather, I don’t mind them showing off the game like this, if it had a release for  late next year

One thing the Switch titles really and very obviously suffered from is how close to each other they released

During the 2D games this might have been easier to manage, but with the Switch ones, the way these titles have been rushed and underdeveloped is very, very hard to miss

I enjoyed Sword and Shield a lot, since they did try a lot of new stuff, but they were also very terrible when you look at what a Pokemon could potentially do - looking at a number of the other Switch Nintendo titles

Now, I will hold final judgement until Scarlet and Violet release, and there are definitely things I very much think look promising during the trailer

But I wish Nintendo would take the time to take in the response to PLA and then build on a main series game based on that, as well as Sword and Shield

we fully ignore the clusterfuck garbage that BDSP is here

[pkmn-trainer-leeroy]

RNG and Eggs.

RNG. RNG. RN FUCKING G. To me, it's the greatest insult you could put in a game that requires you to rely on RNG in order to get better things or the things that you need. I shouldn't have to rely on the powers that be in order to get 1 thing I need. No matter how many hours I put in, how much money I put in, or how long I wait for the "Good Spawns" or the "Best Event", I always get screwed over by the fucking lottery that is RNG. I have two games I'm about ready to quit for good because of RNG, which sucks because I actually enjoy them both. The main one is Pokemon GO. Everyone had high hopes for this game because it's the closest we currently have to having Pokemon in the real world. Too bad the initial release of the game was clearly rushed and should've had more time to flourish. For the first few months, everyone playing felt like Beta testers to the game since it had so many issues and bugs, but eventually Niantic started fixing the game and adding stuff the fans wanted (even if it takes over a year). They added events like Community days, where a specific Pokemon will show up in a horde with a good possibility of said Pokemon appearing shiny. These Community days only happen once a month for about 3-4 hours. At first this was a good way to get some rare Pokemon that had low appearance rates. However, lately it seems like they're lacking proper ideas and guidance. Take the month of December for example. They decided to have "Community Days" in which for three days of the month they had the Pokemon from previous Community days appear again on a higher rate. This is a good idea in theory, but the event was short notice and the Pokemon hardly appeared enough to actually make much of a dent in the progress of getting the evolutions. Not to mention the fact that they had a LATE winter event as well as didn't add a bunch of Ice type Pokemon that should've appeared during the winter event such as Froslass and Glaceon. They also only had I believe two Ice type Pokemon avalible possibly be shiny, which they should've added all shiny Ice type Pokemon. They are finally adding Piloswine as well as the shiny evolution line in the February Community day, but it feels so late as well as unwanted. I kid you not when I say I have hatched MORE THAN ENOUGH Swinub in Eggs to have a Piloswine, why waste a Community Day on the Pokemon is beyond me. But that brings me to my real issue in GO, which are the Eggs. Pokemon Eggs can only be obtained by spinning a PokeStop (except for 7k) and come in 4 variations: 2 Kilometers, 5k, 7k (which can only be obtained in gifts but have a high chance of appearing), and 10k. The only way to hatch these Eggs is by placing them in Incubators, but currently we are only given 1 permanente Incubator and mainly have to purchase 3 use Incubators using Coins which are hardly given so you mainly buy them using real money. However, the eggs are completely RNG and you have NO CLUE what could possibly hatch from the egg besides what’s limited in the variation you recieved. You can only hold up to a maximum of 9 Eggs at one time and there is no way to dispose of them besides walking the Kilometers needed to hatch the Egg. During some events they change what can possibly hatch from the Egg, but they still keep the normal Pokemon available in the Eggs, so the odds of you getting the Event Pokemon aren’t even good. This is especially annoying because they have such common and useless Pokemon in these Eggs, and instead of removing them as new Pokemon are released, they just add the new ones in without even lowering the odds of previous Pokemon. One of my many issues about the way this is run is the fact that you can’t dispose of Eggs like I said before, but they have 10k spawn so rarely that I’ve hardly gotten any in the past months. I’ve probably hatched more than 100 Eggs ever since Gen 4 Pokemon were released, yet only about 11 of those were 10k, and 7 of those Eggs hatched into Dratini which I no longer need in the slightest. I’ve probably encountered 3 wild Dratini not in the Community day (which I missed anyway), yet I’ve hatched more than enough to fully evolve 3 Dragonite (which takes a total of 125 candy each). They released Pokemon such as Bagon, Shinx, and Riolu in 10k Eggs, yet I’m still casually getting Dratini in the very few 10k Eggs I can aquire. Not to mention they put Pokemon that you can casually find in Eggs, so there’s no need to hatch them other than waste your time and Limited use Incubators. Here's a list of Pokemon avaliable in Eggs currently: https://pokemongo.gamepress.gg/pokemon-go-eggs-list I personally think that most if not all the Pokemon you can hatch in 2k Eggs don't need to be hatched since they appear pretty much everywhere. 5k Eggs have the most Pokemon avaliable, however a bunch of them are fairly common as well. 7k Eggs used to only have Alolan Pokemon variations but they recently added a bunch of Pokemon that are only obtainable through hatching as well as other Pokemon that really don't need to be in there. 10k Eggs are the worst in my opinion. The rarest of Pokemon should be in 10k Eggs since they require the most work to hatch, yet Pokemon such as Skorupi, Drifloon, Mareep, and Slakoth are all Pokemon that don't fit this description at all. It also feels like a bunch of the Pokemon were placed in the wrong Eggs. They should've had only Pokemon hard to find be hatchable inside Eggs, and the more Kilometers required, they rarer the Pokemon. If I had anything to do with placements, I'd put only the Starter Pokemon, Pikachu, and Eevee in 5k Eggs. Then in 7k should only be all Baby Pokemon such as Magby, Wynaut, and Riolu since these Eggs are only obtained via gifts sent from friends. Finally, 10k would possibly hatch Dratini, Larvitar, Bagon, Trapinch, and other very hard to find Pokemon such as the Shinx line. In all honesty, we can get rid of 2k Eggs or just have every avaliable Pokemon hatch from them to make it a real RNG lottery. Another way to fix Eggs in GO is to give players the option to refuse and/or get rid of Eggs, have different PokeStops have different odds for the Pokemon in the Eggs, as well as have the Eggs actually tell us or give us a percentage of what will hatch from the Egg. It's annoying that we actually have to hatch the Eggs in order to make room to obtain more, especially since there's currently no way to hold more than 9 Eggs at once, so it only makes sense if players were given the right to discard eggs, or at least refuse them upon finding one. If the Pokemon you hatch from an Egg actually differed depending on which PokeStop you got them from, it would give players more reason to explore. Finally, if the Eggs told us or at least gave us any sort of hint as to what will hatch from the egg, then we the players won't be 100% surprised and possibly disapointed at what we hatched, because I can't tell you how much easier it'd be on me if I knew that I was gonna hatch a Mareep from the start and not have my hopes that I finally hatch my own Riolu. I love Pokemon, grew up on it, and I don't want to quit playing GO. But Niantic keeps dropping the ball that is this game as if it were covered in slime. Fix the game, please.

[0poole]

You know what I LOVE about video games?

When the final boss has a very light-based/holy/heroic feeling about them.

Not to say that dark, evil final bosses are bad; I just much prefer it when they turn out to be super heavenly beings. It feels just as fun and exciting as it does intimidating, which is an amazing combination that evil bosses don’t quite have, at least not anymore, since the idea is very overdone.

Some examples:

Asriel from Undertale: Really the first final boss that really made me realize how much I like this style. You go through the Neutral route and the final boss is obviously a super dark, unsettling, and very strange fight, with a pitch black background, psychotic images displayed on a television on top of a demonic plant monster, with death metal playing in the background... Then, you beat him, and go back to get the true ending, and turns out he still looks pretty evil, but a nice little tune is playing in the background, then suddenly RAINBOWS EVERYWHERE. It might be one of my favorite bait-and-switch moments in gaming ever, mainly because the end result is so colorful and happy, and yet it’s the final boss, and he’s trying to kill (?) you. You’re getting shot with laser beams, stars are falling from the sky, and a theme that is both metal and catchy is playing... It’s just a good time. Obviously it goes back to being more dark, but once everything picks up again, you just feel so amazing. The first time playing through Undertale was probably one of the biggest emotional rollercoasters (with many, many high points) I’ve gone through.

The Radiance from Hollow Knight: I haven’t had an actual experience with this guy yet (it’ll definitely take me a long time to get there; I just began playing Hollow Knight and don’t really have much time to play) but just watching this fight I can safely assume the kinds of feelings I’d be experiencing during it. It’s basically like the fight with Asriel, where it starts off as a dark fight, with the true final boss being very light. Unlike the Asriel fight, though, it ends in a very dark fashion, but maybe not in a bad-dark sort of way? I think the whole fight is somehow about the Radiance keeping all the light (?) for himself/his people, leaving nothing to the people below, and the player character & true Hollow Knight kill him to take it back, making the darkness the good side? Kinda complicated, I guess. Not to mention the amazing character design of that weird, almost moth-like tentacle monster... It’s easily one of my favorite designs of the game, and that’s saying something. 

Primal Dialga from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky: Hoooo boy the music in this one. Honestly, when I actually got to this fight, it was pretty easy... Definitely easier than people made it out to be, but I must have just been lucky with my items and him not spamming Roar of Time. Either way, I knew the theme of this fight for the longest time coming into it, as I only just got to him a few days ago (PMD is one of those games that I start, don’t finish, and when I come back to it I restart the save, so I don’t think I actually made it to him before now), and I heard the whole motif of it going throughout the soundtrack of most major points of the story, and each time I heard it then it gave me chills. Then, when I made it to the fight, knowing exactly what was coming, my partner (a Shinx named Luther) saying “He’s not completely overcome with darkness yet! There’s still time to save him!” (or something along those lines) gave me some serious goosebumps. Even just typing it out, I’m feeling it again. Something about both the urgency and hope just makes for such a great feeling. Then the theme pops up, and it’s a lot more flat than I’d expect, coming from years of remixes of it, but it’s still really cool. I don’t think it’s hard to say that that theme is one of my favorites that came out of the entire Pokemon franchise. It’s just amazing.

Ultra Necrozma from Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon: Another fight that I managed to get through pretty easily, but this time it was because of my flawless strategy of Quick Claw Malamar with Topsy-Turvy. I was prepared, dammit! Either way, this thing is literally the embodiment of light, so of course I love it... conceptually. Honestly I was kinda disappointed when cool, black prism-thing turned into this pretty flat-looking dragon-thing, especially since humanoid legendaries are so few and far-between nowadays. I get that normal Necrozma’s torso is supposed to be a dragon head, but they should’ve at least given it a few more details... Anyways, I’m just going to have to think of a redesign myself, but back to the light-ness: His theme has organs in it. How sweet is that? Plus, the intro just sounds like light. It’s pure radiance in sound form. It sure beats out the Dusk Mane/Dawn Wings battle theme, which just sounds like a Rock Slide falling onto a set of drums... But, knowing that Necrozma is naturally a being of light who just went crazy by not having any is a neat idea, and seeing him on the floor in a crater near the Pokemon League almost makes you feel bad for him. 

Those are all the bosses I can think of right now, but here’s hoping there will be many more like them in the future!

[katherine-rambles]

that reminiscence got me thinking. TIME TO RATE MY FAVE STARTERS (and reasons why)

grand prize, best evolutionary line: froakie/frogadier/greninja

why? kalos is one of my fave gens. they went really hard w/ european fairytales, and it’s Wonderful and perfect. 

greninja is, then, the rogue to delphox’s mage (bland design imo. braxien was so good but delphox....) and chesnaught’s warrior (great design but the actual colors are the shiny colors. i have no idea why they made chesnaught into a sand-colored thing after the color design of chespin and quilladin). 

greninja is also pretty much one of the main few japaneseisms of x&y, (ninja being, essentially, a japanese rogue). the other main one i noticed was that all the tourists are Japanese in kalos. which is funny to me because japan. LOVES. FRANCE. SO MUCH

best final evo: blaziken.

birds always hold a special place in my heart, which is why i chose torchic over the other two. combusken had me worried, but DANG THIS ONE PULLED THRU

i mean, chickens can kick my ass. legit

best middle evo: a MULTI WAY TIE!!! bayleef, wartortle, braxien, brionne.

i don’t know why, but i love these ones and really dislike most other middle evos.

best first evo: chespin

the perfect amount of design for a starter. i was so hopeful when quilladin came out and then w/ chesnaught i was betrayed. 

best overall starter each gen: pikachu, chikorita, mudkip, piplup, tepig, froakie, popplio

my actual starter each gen: can’t remember, cyndaquil, torchic, chimchar (ended up using shinx instead during play tho), tepig, froakie, popplio

consolation prizes: 

bulbasaur: u made the best backpack form of the original three and i’ve come to love and cherish u

quilava, torracat, ivysaur, marshtomp: y’all are good children

charizard: yr anime story,,,, was the best,,,,,,

feraligator: u r not my aesthetic. but i appreciate that u exist for the people whose aesthetic u r

grovyle: mystery dungeon. ‘nuff said

torterra thank u for being earth turt

snivy line: wyd??? be snakes or lizards. not both

oshawott: i’m so sorry but i hate samurott the most. 

rowlet: you are good but your evolutions remind me of one of the most pretentious and ‘edgy’ people i know.... so i can’t fully love u the way i should be able to. legolas birb child. i am sorry

primarina: GOOD!!!! BEST WATER PUP!!!!! I LOVE YOU