#in case you wanted to know kyurems take on things:

[ask-impatient-samurott]

[Decided to join a community event for once! Or, as much of an event as a drawpile is lol. This was a nice warm-up doodle for me, and I can't wait for the end result!]

Drawpile hosted by @ask-the-royal-absol

Bad End Pokeask AU: Kappa

Kappa learns the truth of what happened during the accident, and now she knows her team's killer. But, before she can do anything with the information, said killer appears and attacks Kappa and her party. And Giant Chasm caves in with her and Kyurem inside.

She wakes up to find herself alive, but mangled. Her right arm completely missing. Looking around, she sees the corpses of her friends. Nema, Jean, Marigold, and Morelet, brutalized and dead on the floor. Another four Pokemon dead.

Kappa can only blame herself for their deaths. They died simply because they associated with her. And now, she might be next. She turns to Kyurem, her only company in the chasm and begs them to protect her from her friends murderer.

Kyurem, practically powerless themselves, can only grant her their ice.

Kappa is left to wander the endless maze of caves below Giant Chasm, near brain-dead due to ice inside of her body. But, a part of her is happy. This is what she always wanted. To know the truth, and be surrounded by hallucinations of the people who love her. She can never be hurt again.

[a-tale-of-legends]

Yaknow what? Here's a funky question; how would you ocs be if they weren't chosen?

Not that they wouldn't be protags or have legends (unless that's what you want to do lol) but just like normal pokemon world

Ooooooooh that's a good one.

Jin - probably still goes through their arc growing up, though no longer has this chip on their shoulders when it comes to being Chosen. Don't get me wrong, their relationship to Rayquaza is still pretty complicated, but given that there's no true bind, it's kinda easier for them to simply ignore it.

Kohaku - she's definitely the one of the few that took being Chosen well, so her not being Chosen wouldn't really change her outlook on life really.

Kenji - On one end, being Chosen made him feel like he really had to exceed imaginary expectations, something he was already struggling with. So not being Chosen would kinda relieve him of some stress in that sense. On the other end, being Chosen kinda gave Kenji a comfort that not anyone could give him. Someone to talk to when he felt like he shouldn't with his friends. Without Ho-Oh having that bond of a Chosen and Legendary, things feel more hollow. Yes, Ho-Oh is still there and still tries to comfort Kenji, but it's not completely the same, you know?

Aiko - Hmmmm. Aiko is still someone I'm reworking a bit, so it's hard to say. Maybe she just. Doesn't get the courage to stick it to Silver. Heck, maybe Silver ends up being the one that goes after Lugia instead of her. Aiko's personality isn't based on Lugia of course, but not being the trainer with a "soul like silver" might come to play here. Though all of that is just a guess, I really need to figure Aiko out lol.

Danica - Her eeriness is almost always the same, but her childhood is much more lonely I think. I'm going with the idea of Danica not being Chosen = Giratina never coming to her as her "imaginary friend". Of course, she had Barry, but I imagine Danica is more distant than she already is in canon.

Kiran- Not a Chosen lol. I think his powers would stay the same bc Sakura isn't a Chosen either. Whoops!

Alexis- Woooooooooh boy. BW would still be the same I think. But there's no. Sense of someone looking down at Alexis all the time. Like something is calling to him and he just can't figure out what. His journey is still a nuzlocke. It still sucks. He still runs away with Zekrom. After he returns, Zekrom would.... honestly just leave him given the path he was going. The main reason Zekrom stayed when he was a Chosen was bc 1) they had faith that Alexis would snap out of his awful funk and take care of himself and 2) Alexis was their Chosen. And while legendaries can Choose and Unchoose as they please, they can't help but just want Alexis to be The One. Zekrom is very optimistic in my au, if not a bit naive. Though without Alexis being Chosen, I think Zekrom is more inclined to listen to Reshiram and just leave ( or at least go back into it's ball form). Which. It wouldn't do great got Alexis mentally I think. Not great at all.

Elliot - Another hard one. She was passed down the Chosen title by N in this au. So honestly it's the same thing but she just doesn't get Chosen.

Eva - Another odd case for a Chosen. Kyurem knew it couldn't really. Survive with some sj ort of protection. So it Chose Eva. If Eva was never Chosen, she wouldn't have such complicated feelings towards the cold. Well. That's a lie. What happened in Opelucid City scarred her, but not being the Chosen of Kyurem would not have her in such a panic at the time.

Wayne - Maaaaan, Wayne not being the Chosen of Keldeo kinda implies that he hadn't fully found himself. I still think he grew as a character, and still catches Keldeo, but. Yeah, it's not the same.

Jude - I was going to say Jude fucking dies, but that seems to extreme lol. Jude has been repressing her aura for years, and while Lucario and Sylveon are skilled enough to help him manage it in the early days, Yveltal's aura helps our a lot. There could be a chance Jude would die so to their aura being so much, but protag powers say they live lol.

Dante - another one where he could have died but again that's probably too much. Honestly I'm not completely sure! Outside of like, moral support, I dunno how life would be without being a Chosen for him.

Ames- Nothing really changes outside of having to wear a specialized suit if wanting to go through ultra space. That and just not being that much of a night anymore lol.

Ray - Same as above( minus the night owl stuff)

Naomi - Well. For one, I don't think her father would be dead. Possibly. The whole reason she's a Chosen is bc her father's Curse Chosen status fell to her when he died. Can't be Chosen otherwise if that didn't happen so. There's still a chance the man could have died when she was young still, but there is no longer anything fogging her memory and the faces of the past. Not saying she remembers everything clearly but the unnatural fogginess in her head? Gone. If her dad was still alive, I think those two factors would have made Naomi just a bit more confident in herself. Not a lot, but just a bit more.

Carol- Nothing much changes I think. They don't have to accidentally touch someone and release their soul, so that's cool I guess. Carol got Chosen pretty late so. Yeah.

Luca- Again not 100% sure if he is gonna be a Chosen, but uuuuuh. If he wasn't, I don't think the story would have changed much lol.

R.B - Not a Chosen lmao, I know that now. I personally find that hilarious, and just wanna say that if no one is Chosen, that means R.B loses her " I'm the only normal human being next to these fucking demi gods of people" status. Then she would be losers like the rest of them ( affectionate).

Sorry this took so long to answer I! Feel asleep. Thanks for the ask deer!

[pokemoncenter]

uh we're planning to eventually harness the power of a legend because you just can't get enough energy without doing that. I know it sounds kinda scary bc of things that've happened before but there's plans ok? we're not going to let this be like "woah freeze everything" it'll be more like "okay with regice's help we'll be slowly lowering temps"

Okay, beginning to seriously regret giving you the benefit of the doubt on this one. Let's take this point by point:

Regice isn't a Pokemon, it's a statue of an ancient Pokemon.

If, hypothetically, Regice was a Pokemon, it would need to have power greater than Kyurem's to affect the overall ongoing temperature from year to year.

It would be much easier to start working on energy sources that don't use Carkol-based fuel for the emissions.

You're focused on Hoenn. Fine. A power on par with Kyurem *could* lower temperatures the way you want it to... for as long as you maintain it. You'd be turning a Pokemon into a climate machine and ignoring the needs of that Pokemon.

If, against all odds, you somehow overcome all the above and you manage to start messing with Hoenn's climate, you're going to start freezing things, which... You guys do remember how that goes, right? There's a giant, green, draconic reason to not, under any circumstances, mess with Hoenn's climate. Especially since, by making it freeze, it's very likely to interpret this as a direct attack on its Dragon/Flying self.

What I'm getting at here is that the best case scenario is that you're going to get Draco Meteored so hard they will not be able to identify your pieces.

[crystalelemental]

Let’s take a shot at another one of these, given that there are  afew things we know.

Going over major notes in order of appearance:

Shauntal, Clay, and Cheren are my grid hopes.  There’s also Roxie, Marshall, and Marlon, but you know.

Please for the love of god just don’t bring in the genies.  Skyla already got Tornadus so hopes are high.

The NPC Trainer Classes need to not have Kantonian Pokemon, but they will.

Bianca and Cheren alts are a possibility, if we focus on BW1, which seems possible for a sort of “Classic Ghetsis” look if he gets an alt.  I don’t really know if I should expect a Ghetsis alt immediately or not, but I feel the odds are incredibly high.  In fact it’s not even on here because I feel like it’s a guarantee.

I think they’ll go Kyurem-B for the upgrade.  I could be wrong, but I suspect.

Iris makes the most sense of a lodge alt addition.  Pretty popular, needs a bit more attention, do the thing.

If they’re doing Unova, they’re doing Colress.

Will N get a second Master Fair?  Honestly I instantly regret this, because probably not until next month, but it’s a bitch to edit these images so we’re keeping the speculation.

100%, there will be an interstitial event between parts of the VA.  This will, I imagine, be a new EX for a 5*, and be largely inconsequential otherwise.  I’m guessing Fantina.

Hilda getting an alt is at least possible.  Rosa feels impossible due to Skymin, but Hilda was long enough ago that it’s at least somewhat possible.

I mean...Unova’s missing a billion legends.  They’re all gonna have legends, we all know this right?

Cheren EX on Masters Day.  I can feel it.  Because his grid’s gonna suck ass and that’s what they always do.

Alder getting an alt.  I actually kinda anticipate this.  I think Alder’s gone largely under-appreciated, but the VA usually gives Champions focus, and Iris literally just received an alt.

The 5/5 expansion is almost definitely N and Zekrom.

Listen to me.  Every single reasonable addition through the VA is a dude.  DeNA does not do solely male events, and so I am hoping, nay praying, that there’s a chance for my girl to get an alt.  Please, Caitlin.  Get your alt.  Bring Gothitelle home.  Everyone, lift up your hands.  Give me your energy.

I talked about it before, but the funniest addition possible is Zinzolin with Ice Zone, similar to Ground Zone Courtney.

Next month is one of the months with a gear event, since they alternate every other.  Ice feels guaranteed.  Ghetsis upgrade, possible Ice Zone with Zinzolin, Ice is in desperate need.

LG is also next month.  Anyone seriously betting Cresselia happens this time?

If ever there were a time for literal back to back alts, Iris deserves it.  Come on, it’d be so funny.  We got two Cynthia alts within 5 days of each other.  Sure one was a free lodge alt, but I’m counting it.

Caitlin Grid Expansion is the other big one I want.  I expect Nate or Grimsley since they’re way worse off admittedly, but I want to believe.

Lastly...we’re all assuming an awful lot about Unova being the next VA.  There’s no hard confirmation, beyond Colress’ presence.  And we all suspected Kalos after the Shauna VA leak.  I’m just saying, it’s perhaps unlikely, but given that they played us once, they could be about to play us again.  In which case, I’m calling it an honorary bingo.  Because that’s so funny.

[ghostie-gengar]

hello hi i present something That I Have Written

for some background, basically i played Pokemon White, but then I played Pokemon Black 2, so N had a different dragon than in the first games. normal people would ignore this but I decided to write Lore for how N ended up with Zekrom

(and it's basically self insert cuz im a rat)

anyways without further ado

Yuki travelled to Dragonspiral Tower, reflecting on his journeys the entire way up. Eventually, he stood at the top, surrounded by whipping winds and debris from past battles. He couldn’t help but notice the burn marks from when N had awakened Reshiram.

Zekrom came out. “So, what are you going to do, Hero?”

“We’re going to see the world.”

“And for the Hero of Truth?”

“I have a couple words for him.”

That answer seemed to satisfy Zekrom, as he crouched down so Yuki could climb onto his back.

“Wait.” Yuki sent out his Zoroark. In another time, it belonged to N. (i traded my n’s zorua from white 2 over) “Can you wait here in Unova, in case N returns?”

Zoroark looked a little disappointed, but nodded with a soft growl.

Yuki scratched it behind its ears. “I’ll miss you a lot, buddy. Thanks for everything.” (that zoroark carried my entire team)

Zoroark licked his hand, then transformed into a backpacker and ran off.

And so, Yuki took off.

In the faraway region of Johto, Yuki found him.

N was crouched down by a pond of Goldeen and Seaking, lightly tossing breadcrumbs for the Pokemon to eat. He caught a glimpse of Yuki in the water’s reflection and gasped.

“Hey.”

N stood, letting the small bag of breadcrumbs fall to the ground and spill into the pond. He blinked at Yuki, his expression layered with guilt, relief and confusion.

“It’s been a year, how’ve you been?” Yuki’s fingers twitched with the urge to grab N’s hands.

“I-” He looked down, fidgeting with his bracelets. “I- You-”

Yuki couldn’t stand it anymore and hugged him. “I missed you.”

N went stiff, then slowly and awkwardly hugged back. “...You did?”

“Of course! You’re my friend.”

Zekrom bumped heads with Reshiram, who was sitting nearby, drinking out of the pond.

“It looks like they missed each other, too,” N said, pulling away. He gave Reshiram a little scratch under the chin, earning a purr.

Reshiram smiled at Yuki. “How have you been, Hero of Ideals?”

“I’ve been well.”

N slowly picked up his bag of breadcrumbs and offered some to Yuki so the two of them could both toss them to the Seaking.

They talked for hours, of what they saw during their journeys and what they hoped to see next. Yuki told him about finding all the Sages and almost becoming Champion, squishing a tiny piece of bread between his fingers before throwing it to a Goldeen.

Then they climbed onto the backs of their legendary dragons and soared around the vast skies together, laughing and smiling and reveling in their reunion.

However, all things must come to an end, and both N and Yuki had more to see.

Yuki ran his hands through Reshiram’s fur, as she’d seemed to take a liking to him within the past few hours.

Zekrom, too, sat close to N, shooting him a grin every now and then.

“Well, I guess this is it.” Yuki rocked back and forth on his heels.

“I’d love to take you with me, but I believe we have our own paths we must follow.” N stepped aside so Zekrom could pass, but the dragon did not move.

“Zekrom and I feel the same. We have our own paths to follow,” Reshiram said. “If it is alright with you, Hero, I wish to travel with Yuki.”

Yuki jolted in surprise. “M-me? But, I’m not the Hero of Truth.”

N looked like he was trying very hard to keep his expression passive. “If that is what you desire, Reshiram, I have no qualms.”

Reshiram smiled. “You don’t have to lie, Hero.” She lightly bumped him with her nose. “It is not because of anything you did.”

Yuki slowly raised his hand. “And...why exactly do you want to travel with me?”

“Reshiram taught the Hero of Truth many things,” Zekrom replied. “Now, it seems there are things she wishes to teach you.”

Yuki slowly nodded, not knowing what else to say.

“On that note, I wish to travel with N.”

It was now N’s turn to be surprised. “Um- Pardon?”

“I want to show you what all the world can do for you. Besides, Yuki doesn’t have enough room on his team for both Reshiram and me.” Zekrom planted his feet, as if to show he wouldn’t be changing his mind.

Yuki sighed out a laugh. “Well, I guess we just traded dragons.”

N covered his smile with his hand. “I’m not sure the legends allow that, but oh well.”

“Now it’s like we have a piece of each other!” Yuki grinned, then attacked him with another hug. “Plus, now we have another reason to see each other again when the dragons want to switch.”

N shook his head with a small smile. Of course there were more reasons to meet than just that.

And so, the Heroes parted ways, with the opposite dragons. It turned out each dragon had a lot of wisdom and power to share with the other Hero.

---

N had watched in horror as his father fused his partner Zekrom with Kyurem. Ice had melted into obsidian scales, and their combined roars shook the cavern and made N shiver from the pain he felt from them.

But what felt worse, was that Zekrom was not only his friend. He was Yuki’s friend as well. How could he let this happen?

In the end, all he could do was watch as a young trainer he’d never met before defeated both the beast Black Kyurem, and his father.

Zekrom and Kyurem split, and his father was taken away.

“Thank you,” N said to the trainer. “Zekrom is a very close friend of mine, and is also close with a trainer called Yuki. I was looking for him, actually, but I sensed a change in Unova and had to come. I wonder if he sensed it as well…”

The trainer only stared at him with wonder and admiration.

“You!” N stepped closer, forgetting personal space was a thing. “I think you should challenge your ideals by taking on the Pokemon League.”

Yuki once did it, so N had full faith that this trainer could as well.

N stepped back. “I’ll… I’ll get going now. It’s nice to be back in Unova after all this time.” As he left, the trainer called out to him.

“N! Thank you for saving me.”

N didn’t think about how the trainer knew his name. He only smiled, waved, and turned away once again.

He wondered where Yuki and Reshiram were, and when he’d see them again. He knew it would be someday.

[another-bloody-multimuse]

True Intentions

So, the latest Pokemon Masters event gave me Feelings, and therefore I had to write something for it.

Needless to say, this contains Pokemon Masters event spoilers, verbal/mental abuse, and one reference to physical child abuse.

And in case the “read more” breaks, this is also tagged as a long post.

N stepped into the cave, his heart thudding. He could see the oh-so familiar cloaked figure in the distance, and he swallowed hard. He was not alone, for which he was very grateful, but companionship was not doing much to assist his nerves. 

‘You’re sure about this?’ his companion dubiously asked. In Nate’s opinion, N was making a huge mistake, and it was not yet too late to turn back.

‘Yes. This is the answer I’ve come to. I’m sure,’ N insisted, and Nate held back a sigh. Damn it. ‘...Thank you for coming with me, though.’

‘It’s fine,’ Nate replied. ‘I wouldn’t want you to go and see him alone.’

‘Mmmm,’ N murmured. He knew only too well that Nate had a point. ‘We need to be careful when dealing with a man like… him.’

N had tripped over his words. He was uncertain how to refer to the man they were meeting. “Ghetsis”? “Father”? As much as he wanted to call the man “Father”... it was too soon. Much too soon for that.

‘I’m still a little worried,’ N confessed, after a pregnant pause.

‘Yeah, well no matter what happens, I’m on your side,’ Nate promised.

‘Thank you…’

Any further conversation was cut off,  by a sudden interruption. 

‘N! You’ve come to see me!’ a voice called out. For a moment, N froze; when they entered, Ghetsis had his back to them. His and Nate’s conversation had been in whispers, and he had assumed Ghetsis had not seen them yet. 

He shook himself out of his reverie, his face calm, stoic, as he turned to lock eyes once again with the man he called Father, his abuser.

At least in appearance, Ghetsis had not changed. N sincerely hoped that was the only thing that remained static. Incredibly tall, Ghetsis towered over those he met, and his own son was no exception. He still used a cane. N’s gaze lowered to the gloved hand that held onto it, as his mind helplessly wandered to thoughts of what was hidden beneath the cloak. Was Ghetsis’ health the same? Had it improved? Or perhaps worsened?

That was the most likely scenario; Ghetsis always had a great love of expensive wines, scotches and other such alcoholic drinks, and it had taken its toll on him. Combined with one arm, the nerves permanently damaged by his Hydreigon, Ghetsis was an incredibly unhealthy man. 

N lifted his head, staring his father in the eyes. One was still covered, and the other just as vividly scarlet as he remembered. It was difficult for him to maintain eye contact, but he forced himself to push through it. 

‘I’ve come to let you know my answer,’ N declared. He had taken a quiet, deep breath in before speaking, to ensure his voice would not wobble, nor crack.

His head had been spinning, ever since Ghetsis initially approached him. Wanting to be a father to him again…

Though in order for him to be a father “again”, he had to have been one before. N knew that, deep down. But it was a thought he tried to keep pushed to the back of his mind. 

‘Let’s send out our Pokemon,’ N added, when Ghetsis remained silent, just observing him. 

Zekrom and Kyurem were both released from their Pokeballs, two thirds of the Tao Trio coming eye to eye with one another again for the first time in years. 

‘Well? What’s your answer?’ Ghetsis demanded. Still so impatient. 

‘...I don’t think it’s possible for us to become a true father and son so easily…’ N cautiously replied. His nerves were threatening to spill over, and he grabbed the brim of his cap. Something to focus on, while under his father’s scarlet gaze. ‘But… if you’ve really had a change of heart, and are seriously prepared to face people and Pokemon, then… maybe one day, it will be. That’s why I need you to show me that you have love in your heart -’

Ghetsis, the lower half of his face hidden by his incredibly high collar, clenched his jaw together tightly. How the fuck was he going to do that?

‘- through battle!’

Oh. The former Plasma leader relaxed. That was alright, then.

‘Father!’ The word escaped N’s lips, as he called out to the man before him. Ghetsis’ eyes slid shut.

‘I am grateful you’ve given me this opportunity…’ he started, his voice soft. N’s demeanour changed a little - Ghetsis was accepting what he said? Then maybe, just maybe, he had been telling the truth, after all! If Ghetsis could work on his issues, and treat those around him like human beings, and N himself like one, instead of an extension of Ghetsis, then -

‘Thank you for this chance.’ Ghetsis’ voice pulled N out of his thoughts again. The Plasma leader’s face twisted into a wicked grin, as he leant forward on his cane, a malicious glint in his eye. ‘To capture Zekrom for myself!’

No. No, please, God, no -

‘What?’ N gasped. The words left him winded, as though Ghetsis had struck him with his cane.

And it was a feeling he remembered all too well.

‘Now! Restrain Zekrom!’ Ghetsis commanded, his voice thunderous, as N tried to wrap his head around what was going on.

How could you be so stupid? Of COURSE Ghetsis was going to betray you, it’s what he DOES! the former king mentally chastised. How could he have been taken in so well? How, even now, with years free from Ghetsis’ influence, could he still be so easily manipulated? 

As Ghetsis slammed his cane down on the rocky ground, several unfamiliar figures in black and white masks suddenly leapt out, having been waiting for Ghetsis’ signal. More Pokeballs were flung into the air, as more Pokemon were sent out, between N and Ghetsis. 

Crackles of electricity zapped around Zekrom, the giant legendary held in place. N had frozen up again, feeling helpless, lost for what to do. 

‘Zekrom!’ he cried. 

‘It can’t move,’ Ghetsis said, a sinister chuckle coming forth. ‘I took special measures to use Pokemon that can hold it in place.’

N’s hands clenched into tight fists, shaking. How could I be so stupid? The entire thing had been a scam. Not only had Ghetsis prepared his Hydreigon to counter his team, not only had he made sure the Shadow Triad had Pokemon that could take down Zekrom, he had now done the same thing again on Pasio, to ensure he got what he wanted!

And like a fool, I fell for it, N’s mind traitorously whispered. 

‘What d’you think you’re doing?!’ Nate angrily snapped. He looked as though, if the Pokemon were not there, he would run at Ghetsis and try to physically attack him. 

‘I can’t believe you’d actually do such a thing…’ N’s voice was flat, hollow, belying the deep sense of betrayal that was rooting him on the spot. 

‘Of course I would!’ Ghetsis taunted, cackling. In typical Ghetsis style, he seemed to be relishing rubbing salt into the wound. When he spoke again, his voice was a disdainful sneer, not making the slightest effort to mask his contempt for his own child. ‘I only put on that ridiculous act so that I could get my hands on Zekrom! That is all you’re worth to me! As if we could be a true family! Me? With a freak like you?!’

N’s jaw was clamped tightly shut, only barely managing to contain an outburst of pain at Ghetsis’ words. He had heard that insult too many times.

“He’s nothing more than a freak without a human heart!”

“DON’T TALK LIKE A PERSON, YOU FREAK!”

He had lost count of just how many times that word had been wielded like a weapon against him throughout his entire life. Every time he had attempted to talk to his father, particularly about his ability to talk to Pokemon, it had always gone the same way.

And that was no doubt the reason why, as an adult, he was still being called a freak. Because Ghetsis had always refused to believe his claims. 

The fight had left N, and he did not bother to counter his father’s harsh words. But Nate was livid. 

‘How dare you play with N’s feelings like that?!’ he yelled, launching his Pokeball into the air, Braviary bursting from it. ‘I’m going to help N protect Zekrom!’

With an instruction to attack, and N still paralysed, Nate began to battle the Team Break grunts that had gathered under Ghetsis’ command, and easily took them down. As the last opposing Pokemon fell, Ghetsis’ expression twitched, ever so slightly. 

‘...Not bad,’ he conceded. ‘I can feel your anger!’ And it fuelled him.

‘Next is the pair holding down Zekrom!’ Nate declared. The Team Break trainer in question looked concerned as Nate attacked again. 

‘That’s enough.’

A new, commanding voice interjected, as yet another Pokemon appeared. The sleek, yet threatening form of Mewtwo landed between Ghetsis and Team Break, and N and Nate, pushing the latter two back. Mewtwo extended one arm, launching a hard blast of psychic power, taking Braviary down. Trying not to panic, Nate recalled his Pokemon before it could hit the ground, as N gawped at the newcomer.

‘Is… is that…?’ His voice trailed off, his eyes wide in horror when he recognised his father’s ally. 

‘Stay out of my way,’ Giovanni warned, his voice a low snarl. He looked almost exactly as N remembered. He had not seen anything of Team Rocket himself, not even on the news; Ghetsis had done too good a job when Team Rocket were around, of keeping N secluded and ignorant of the outside world. But the boy had heard things from his sisters, and done his own research since escaping Team Plasma. 

This Giovanni did not look too dissimilar to the man he had seen in photos. Perhaps a little older, his face slightly more lined. A few flecks of grey in an otherwise jet black head of hair. But the biggest difference, was the symbol emblazoned on the breast of his jacket. Not a red R, but multicoloured. Reds, yellows, greens and blues, one colour transforming into the other. 

Rainbow Rocket Giovanni rolled up a sleeve. In doing so, he revealed not just the fact that his arm was so heavily tattooed that his skin colour could not be seen, but more importantly, the Mega Bracelet enclosed around his wrist. 

‘Giovanni?’ N questioned, as the man in question approached, coming to a stop beside Mewtwo. ‘W-What are you doing here?’

The realisation that an already bad situation had just gotten worse caused N’s voice to crack. Which in turn made Ghetsis smirk. N was afraid. Good.

‘I just so happened to meet Ghetsis, while recruiting Team Break members,’ Giovanni explained. The apparently leaderless team had been like a gift for him. Already organised, already with their own Pokemon, all they needed was someone to take them under their wing. Someone to guide them.

And who better than Giovanni?

‘He told me all about his plans. And if he’s able to get his hands on your Zekrom, then that works out perfectly for me.’

In just getting him this far, this Ghetsis had already proven himself to be much more useful than the one he had already met and recruited into Rainbow Rocket. But, Giovanni was a smart man. He knew that the Rainbow Rocket Ghetsis had already tried to manipulate him, and was absolutely prepared for the current Ghetsis to try and do the same. Ghetsis no doubt had his own hidden agenda, but he was certainly not the only one. 

‘Yes, so I should thank you for gathering these pawns, and sharing your information with me,’ Ghetsis smirked. ‘I’ll be sure to return the favour. Now, our preparations are complete! I will soon possess a legendary that combines two powers!’

‘No…!’ Nate gasped. 

‘The fusion of Kyurem and Zekrom…’ N murmured, the memories of the exact same thing happening before flying through his mind. 

‘Watch this moment closely!’ Ghetsis cried out, as he approached the trapped Zekrom, Giovanni keeping close behind him. 

‘Zekrom!’ N called.

‘Ghetsis, don’t do it!’ Nate added. He knew too well that there was no way Ghetsis would listen, but without his Pokemon and badly outnumbered, there was not much else he could do. 

‘Kyurem! Absorb Zekrom, use Absofusion!’ Ghetsis ordered, an unhinged, determined grin set upon his face. 

‘Now’s my chance,’ Giovanni quietly said, watching the scene intently. He snapped his fingers. ‘Do it.’

Mewtwo reappeared, floating in the gap between the two other legendaries, facing Kyurem down. 

‘What the -?’ Nate spluttered. N looked similarly taken aback.

‘They stopped them from fusing?’ he questioned, not entirely certain whether he believed what he was seeing. 

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Ghetsis spat, glowering at Giovanni. He slammed his cane on the ground again. ‘Giovanni!’

‘Well, you see… I too have a plan,’ Giovanni replied. ‘I know how you operate, Ghetsis. Perhaps a little too well, and the way I see it, once you have both of these legendaries under your command, your next move will be to secure more pawns to make use of. And as these Team Break members answer to me, I know that it’d be me you target next.’

Ghetsis remained silent, teeth bared. As Giovanni observed him, he could see that he had been completely right. Granted, it would not have been out of character for Ghetsis to lie, and claim he had nothing of the sort planned, but he surmised Ghetsis would only have done that if he were calmer. And the ex Plasma leader, as he was currently, looked apoplectic with rage. 

Ghetsis’ raging, hateful silence was the only answer Giovanni required.

‘So, I intend to take Kyurem and Zekrom before that can happen!’

‘How cunning,’ Ghetsis hissed. ‘But it’s too little, too late.’

More masked members of Team Break appeared, again, on Ghetsis’ cue, standing beside him, as Giovanni’s eyes widened, just for a second. 

‘What?’

‘You are not the only one who has a talent for convincing people to join you,’ Ghetsis gloated. ‘I am more than capable of that, too! A faction of Team Break is already under my command!’

Oh, shit. This was not what Giovanni had in mind. He knew exactly what Ghetsis was planning, yet the son of a bitch still out-witted him!

Despite his inner panic, the Rainbow Rocket leader’s expression continued to be a smug grin, as though it was all a game they were playing. He would be damned if he was going to let Ghetsis know that he was rattled.

‘I guess I underestimated you after all,’ he admitted. ‘In that case… Mewtwo, get them!’

‘Rise! We must defeat Giovanni!’ Ghetsis roared. 

‘...So they’ve broken their alliance,’ N mused, as more Pokemon were sent out. With the attention mostly taken off Zekrom, N felt he could breathe a little more easily. ‘...I suppose they were never actually allies in the first place… 

‘I want to help Zekrom, but there are way too many Pokemon over there…’ Nate fretted. 

‘Go, Volcarona!’ 

Another new voice entered the fray, as a familiar Volcarona appeared over N’s head, striking the Team Break Pokemon. As they were knocked out, N and Nate spun around on their heels to see the former champion, Alder Castillo, striding forward. He was staring directly at Ghetsis, his expression set into a look of grim determination, with a young redhead behind him. 

‘Alder! Silver!’ Nate greeted, a wave of relief washing through him to have some backup. 

‘I had an unpleasant feeling that something bad would happen,’ Alder stated. The sensation of foreboding had been with him ever since he learnt Ghetsis was back. He knew that N had been ambivalent about forgiving him, and having a proper father and son relationship with the man again. And Alder did not want to completely squash his hopes of that happening. He had been direct with stating that he did not trust Ghetsis, but seeing the look of utter defeat in the young boy’s eyes, Alder had to wonder just what he had missed. That maybe he had not been severe enough. Perhaps he should have explicitly told N not to trust his despicable excuse for a “father”, even for the faintest fraction of a second. ‘I’m glad we made it in time. We took care of the Team Break members at the entrance, but reinforcements are on their way right now! We need to get out of here!’

Silver, the young redhead, was not paying any attention to Alder. Nor was he even paying any attention to Ghetsis. No, his gaze was firmly on Giovanni, and his expression was one of hatred. 

‘Oh?’ Giovanni questioned, glancing over. He was uncertain how to react, so he kept the same usual smug demeanour. This boy was not his Silver, but was a Silver. And clearly things had gone the same way between him and his Giovanni, as they had in the Rainbow Rocket leader’s timeline. 

‘I have more important things to worry about right now, than him,’ Silver declared, without giving one single fuck about the fact that his voice was loud enough for Giovanni to hear. Not that Giovanni seemed bothered. He was used to it from his own Silver. ‘Come on, hurry up!’

Now freed, N turned back to the rest of the group to see Zekrom land before him.

‘I’m so glad you’re okay…’ he murmured, relief sparkling in his eyes.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ Nate urged. 

Sensing that the situation was no longer in their favour, the Team Break grunts who had followed Ghetsis began to retreat, much to his annoyance.

‘Tch… Worthless fools,’ he growled. 

‘Now that a former champion has arrived, I suppose I have no choice but to give up on Zekrom,’ Giovanni decided. For now. ‘Kyurem, on the other hand, will be mine.’

‘I warned you before…’ Ghetsis started, his voice dripping with rage, before suddenly ramping up to a scream, ‘NOT TO UNDERESTIMATE ME!’

The cane struck the ground, as Kyurem roared. Alder winced at the noise, but Giovanni seemed unbothered. A snap of his fingers later, and he was gone, along with Mewtwo. Alder glanced back, seeing N approach, and noticed how the boy looked mentally exhausted. It was no surprise, Alder guessed that N must felt like he had been put through the wringer.

Because he had been. He was about to speak up, to try and reach out to N, when Nate interrupted with another insistence that they should leave. He was right, the less time they spent in the cave, the better. Giovanni might have been gone, but there was still Ghetsis to contend with. 

N stopped before he reached Alder and Nate. And, without breathing a word, he turned his back, and strode over to his father. 

‘...What?’ Ghetsis questioned, a look of annoyed confusion on his face. N refused to clarify, but stayed by his side. 

‘What are you doing? Just leave him!’ Silver irritably told N.

‘Yes, what are you doing?’ Ghetsis agreed, clearly as baffled as his son’s friends. 

‘...I want to save Kyurem, regardless of whose Pokemon it is. Even if that means I have to help you...’ N finally answered, without looking at any of them. Part of him had to wonder what the hell he was doing, siding up with Ghetsis, after how Ghetsis had betrayed him, insulted him, and openly laughed about it. He told himself that he was not doing this for Ghetsis’ sake, or even his own.

This was for Kyurem.

‘...I won’t call you my father, Ghetsis.’ That was fine with the Plasma leader. His skin always crawled when that word left N’s mouth. Disgusting. N turned and looked at him. ‘But if you co-operate, I’ll help you get out of this!’

‘I see. Very well. That’s convenient for me,’ Ghetsis replied. No “thank you”, but of course not. N had never gotten a “please” or a “thank you” from Ghetsis in his life, and he definitely did not expect that to change now. ‘Let’s take him down, N!’

‘N and Ghetsis, standing side by side…’ Nate muttered. The idea left him unsettled. It was wrong. He brought the Pokeball with his unconscious Braviary in it up to his mouth, whispering to it, as he used a revive. ‘Just a little longer, we need to help N…’

‘Hey!’ Silver called out, as Nate and Braviary took off. 

‘It’s too late to stop them. Let’s just make sure that they have a safe escape route,’ Alder told the redhead. 

‘The plan is to hold off Mewtwo until he can’t come after you any more, alright?’ N told his father.

‘Yes,’ Ghetsis crisply agreed.

‘Well, why don’t we put it to the test?’ Giovanni questioned, as he was joined by his own Team Break grunts again, now they had recovered from the previous fight. ‘Let’s see what your little father-son team up can do!’

Nate’s Braviary, and the two other legendaries opposing Giovanni started the battle, fighting ferociously against the Rainbow Rocket leader and his underlings. It was not long until it was just the legendaries against each other, and with Mewtwo outnumbered, it was Giovanni’s team that fell. 

‘...Hmph, I suppose that does surpass my expectations,’ he reluctantly confessed. 

‘After him!’ Ghetsis then commanded. 

‘No! You remember what I said earlier, don’t you?! We’re getting out of here!’ N countered. 

‘What?’ Ghetsis hissed, angry that N spoke back to him. But he could see that this time, N was not going to be moved. ‘Fine.’

‘Too bad,’ Giovanni said to himself, as the others left. ‘This would have been so much easier had you stayed here...’ He glanced to the cave exit. ‘Go after them.’

‘Hey!’ 

Giovanni had assumed that it was just him, Mewtwo, and his underlings left. That the others had all left with Ghetsis and N. So he was surprised when he saw himself suddenly face to face with his son.

‘That’s enough. Your plan failed,’ Silver glared. ‘Let them go, or else!’ 

To Giovanni’s surprise, the Pokemon that Silver released was none other than Ho-Oh. 

When did Silver obtain a legendary of his own? Giovanni thought, as Ho-Oh flapped its wings and released a loud cry. 

‘...Change of plans,’ Giovanni decided, recalling Mewtwo. ‘We’re leaving.’

His decision confused his underlings, who had been readying themselves for another fight. 

‘B-But sir…?’ one hesitantly questioned.

‘The more people you command, the harder it is to control them. I think learning that much is enough for today,’ Giovanni replied. He tilted his head, glancing to the side at Silver. ‘Besides… I’m very pleased by what I’ve seen today.’

Silver pulled a face, and blinked. Was Giovanni complimenting him? For standing up to him? Obtaining Ho-Oh? But once the shock quickly wore off, his expression turned back to angry. He was not going to be taken in, be swayed by Giovanni’s words! This man had no idea who Silver was, if he thought a few pretty words could appease him.

It was probably a lie, anyway.

Silver headed outside the cave again, where the rest of the group - unfortunately, still including Ghetsis - were waiting for him.

‘I think they’ve stopped coming after us now,’ Silver declared, without offering any explanation as to why he had stayed behind. None of them needed to know about him challenging Giovanni. Or what Giovanni had said to him. 

‘I see. In that case…’ Alder pointedly looked back at Ghetsis.

‘You want to come after me, now? I can’t allow that to happen,’ he warned. ‘Perhaps we can come to a truce for today. What do you think, N?’

‘...I know that you haven’t changed, at all,’ N said, and Alder was relieved. He had been concerned that siding with Ghetsis to protect him might have caused N to start reconsidering, again. He wanted nothing more than for N to have a father he could be happy with, but as long as his father was Ghetsis, that was just not possible. ‘If you do anything to harm the people or Pokemon here, I will be the first in line to stop you!’

‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ Ghetsis replied, tone thick with sarcasm. Clearly he did not believe N to be a big enough threat to him. ‘Then, farewell.’

‘Wait, Ghetsis!’ Nate then called. Ghetsis paused, not turning back around to face them, but instead peered over his shoulder, to see what Nate wanted. ‘I hate you. I’ll never forget what you did in Unova! But you’re still N’s father! You raised him, and spent all those years together!’

Ghetsis had no idea where Nate was going with his tangent, and neither did N. N’s childhood had been spent cooped up inside one room. A very spacious room, admittedly, but still locked away from the rest of the world, and fed only whatever information Ghetsis deemed worthy of him knowing. As much as N longed for change, he was no longer blind to the horrendous circumstances that stole his childhood. 

So why was Nate bringing it up?

‘Are you really going to say you felt nothing when the two of you were fighting side by side?!’ Nate demanded. ‘It’s not too late to change your ways! Please, at least think about it!’

Oh. N braced himself. He was certain that Ghetsis was going to scoff, laugh hysterically at such a ridiculous notion, and he knew it was going to hurt. 

‘Nate…’ N began. 

‘Ghetsis!’ Nate repeated, when he got no reply. And N’s heart sunk to his stomach, when sure enough, Ghetsis began to chuckle. At last, he turned back properly to face them, and erupted with laughter.

‘You naive fool! Our relationship is nothing more than that between a master and his tools! What happened here changes nothing!’ he barked, before turning his evil scarlet gaze onto N. ‘As long as I can keep using you, I don’t care what you call our relationship! I do whatever I please! I am not your ally, not your friend, and I am certainly not your father!’

In unison, N and Nate both tugged on the brims of their headwear. Nate in embarrassment, and upset for N, and N to try and cover his face. He was attempting to be as expressionless as he could, but the hurt shone in his eyes.

‘How dare you -!’ Silver began, readying to go into a full force rant. 

‘Despicable,’ Alder quickly interjected, unwilling to let the youngster draw too much of Ghetsis’ attention. ‘You’re the one without a heart!’

‘If that’s all,’ Ghetsis sneered, their anger and words bouncing off him. With another - but more sardonic - farewell, Ghetsis was whisked away by Kyurem, leaving them free of him at last.

‘I had a bad feeling this might happen,’ Alder sighed. ‘N, my apologies. I think I should have stopped you before you went to help him.’

‘Don’t apologise,’ N said, to Alder and Nate. ‘It was my decision. Please, don’t be sad on my behalf.’

‘...Nate, are you crying again?’ Silver questioned. He looked embarrassed.

‘You truly have a kind heart,’ N gently told Nate, ‘one that resonates with others. You got angry for the people of Unova, you yelled at Ghetsis for me… and now, you’re even crying for me...’

‘I can’t help it! It’s just all so messed up!’ Nate wept. ‘You’re not asking for anything special! You just want a normal relationship with the man you call your father! It’s not asking for much! Why can’t you have that too?!’

‘Nate… It’s okay.’ It was a lie, but a lie told for N’s own sake as well as Nate’s. Right now, he felt like being strong for his friend distracted him from his own pain. ‘I may not have a father, but I have good friends like you.’

‘N…’ Nate sniffled.

‘Yeah, you can survive without a father,’ Silver chimed in, and N nodded in agreement.

I’m blessed to be surrounded by such kind people and Pokemon. That’s enough for me. I suppose… a father figure was just never meant to be.

...But it was nice to hope for it.

[ghetsis-a]

Enough is enough.

Xerneas had heeded Serena's pleas for them to remain as they were, within the confines of a master ball, so that Ghetsis would have not a single opportunity to have the source of eternal life in his clutches. Her reasoning had been sound. No matter how much he pries, tests, waits and watches, the secret to it all could not be discerned from the heroine. Abilities and limitations, yes, but nothing more. She had, ever the selfless individual who honours her promises, offered herself up to take the suffering and pain for the both of them, until an opportunity to escape arose. Yet as the deity had heard her voice grow weaker, rife with pain, the sobs that seeped into connection, and felt the pain inflicted upon her growing, no longer could the Life pokemon stand idly by.

She does not deserve to suffer so much-- not when the deity knows they could take whatever is in store, if not far more.

What follows, when the ball snaps open, is a staggering display of power. Antlers golden and glowing, with gem-like structures throwing off light in six colours from across the spectrum. A trill, booming enough to shake the space between them escapes. The air whirrs, ground vibrating as they summon power from the earth, pillars of light encircling the deity, star-like wisps of light now long, hexagonal shapes-- a call to the plates. And all at once, it is released. Streams of vividly coloured light shoot out, those same pillars sweeping across the room, shaking its foundations, shattering the glass. A magnificent, gorgeous display-- for those who have not earned its ire. But the glare in ancient eyes, the pink glow that ever fades from their form afterward, leaving their form almost obscured in a shimmering and ethereal aura-- why it is clear Xerneas has no intentions of treating the man before them with anything but the same cruelty he has shown others.

In the worst case, they tell themselves, they might retreat to the pokeball once more-- if not that, then revert to their dormant state. Both cards they carefully tuck away, should the situation take an undesirable turn.

His men had come to him in a panic as they reported of Xerneas's emergence and the damage to confinement chamber. A shame he had missed it. It seems this creature's power may well surpass Kyurem's. Despite this, Ghetsis smiled. Though the confinement chamber had been used to contain Kyurem, that is not why it was build. It's intended purpose was to house the complete Unova Dragon. Xerneas could break glass and stomp its feet all it wanted. Ghetsis was confident it would not escape. In any case, it was best not to keep his guest waiting.

He strode into the observation room, broken glass crunching beneath his feet. He spoke with an eerie calm in his voice.

"So. You've finally decided to join us. No doubt you're concerned for your dear trainer. Then you'll be pleased to know that I have not harmed her."

No, not yet. Not physically anyway. Not past whatever agony she endured in cheating death without any aid from modern medicine. Currently, there was no need to harm her further. Not when she was so useful for information and leverage. Not when he had Lysandre available to endure more arduous studies. Besides, if all went to plan, he'd have all the time in the world to understand how things effected immortals.

"I'm sure you're wondering why the both of you have been brought here. Truthfully, it was not in my original plan to do so. I was not aware you were with here nor was I aware of her... condition. But it happens to align most conveniently with my current endeavors. You see, I seek the gift of life that has been bestowed upon her. Once that is achieved, I'll have no need of either of you."

Xerneas simply granting Ghetsis immortally just for asking was probably about as likely as Ghetsis simply allowing Serena and Xerneas to leave when he had what he wanted. But that was fine. He had other plans anyway.

[rrocketgrunt-archive]

"You're going to tell me every little thing you know about each one of these people, and whatever you don't tell me, I'll pull out of you myself. Understand? Shall we begin with Giovanni, or do you need a little more time to figure out what useless lies you plan to tell me?"

He's just asking, right? Threatening. Asking. Ghetsis is confident that he needn't be too heavy-handed with the threat, though he wants to make sure it is there to be seen. His cane taps on the sterile floor.

"And in case you were wondering, you are that predictable. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt - pick any boss and begin there, if you'd like. We have plenty of time."

Of course. Ghetsis wanted what he'd always wanted: information. That was Aiden's job, after all. Though it was a career path he'd moved away from, recently. His troubled mind often making it difficult to focus and not sabotage himself.

But strangely, with Ghetsis here, he felt more collected than ever. Terrified, but oddly organized in thought. Thinking, thinking... His knee bounced and his fingers fidgeted. Yes, his instinct was to lie. To insist he was just a grunt who knew nothing. But Ghetsis had anticipated that. It seemed he always had a frightening talent for knowing Aiden's moves. Perhaps because he was the one guiding them.

Ghetsis demanded and Aiden couldn't disobey. Quite literally, he couldn't. The years between Plasma's initial attack on the League and the Kyurem Event had been spent in confinement. His punishment for attempting to halt Ghetsis' plans was to be ruined. Transformed into someone unrecognizable, but obedient... And then, seemingly without reason, he was released. Abandoned. Set off to wander the world broken and afraid.

Why... did he come to Kanto, again? Why not someplace like Alola, where the criminal environment was more suited to someone like him? Why join Rainbow Rocket? By all accounts, he seemed I'll suited here. But the KanJoh area was a place he had fond memories. It was more home to him than Unova and Giovanni was a man whom with he had history, albeit small. Did, perhaps, Ghetsis know he would flee here? Was all of this part of some grand design? 

"Giovanni..." he began, "I... don't actually know all that much about him, but... he's smart. Patient and strategic. He wants to rule the world, but I don't know what he plans to do with it when he has it. I don't know his motivations aside from power. But he's determined. He's willing to play the long game and do whatever it takes to reach his goals. He'll take big risks, but he's not reckless. He won't back down if threatened and he isn't someone to be taken lightly."

Giovanni and Ghetsis shared a few qualities and they were probably the only bosses he's met who wanted to rule the world as opposed to destroying it in some way. They were fitting rivals.

[sinnohborn-trainer-evan]

Adventure trio thought...

So you know when it comes to things like virtues, there's often like a thing where a number of parts make one whole?

Like faith - hope - charity

Prudence - temperance - courage - justice

That sorta thing.

Somewhat related, but after finishing a Zelda game, I had checked into Pokemon Masters, and then suddenly had this idea.

If I were to relate Nate, Ethan and I to something like the three virtues of the Triforce, it would look like this.

Ethan would represent Wisdom

Nate would represent Courage

And I would represent Power

Here's why I think this:

Starting with Ethan, he's the explorer type of Trainer. He wants to see the world, so he always keeps his bag extra-packed to bursting with camp gear, refreshments, and items for battle, just in case anyone joined along with him. He keeps his trusty Pokégear on-hand which is his navigational tool, his days of experience with the wilderness of both Johto and Kanto allowed him to develop a natural sense for geography. He is always keeping up to date on regional cultures, legends and lore. Therefore, he is a wise friend and a wise choice to have any adventure even away from civilization.

Next, Nate would best represent courage because he would do anything to defend his and others beliefs, to protect his Pokémon the people dear to him, and to achieve his personal goals. He, alongside his Pokémon can get beat down and pushed to the ground over and over again, but he would still get back up on his feet and try again. And he's not afraid to put himself in danger to test himself against fate. Hell, this kid was cornered and nearly got iced by Kyurem, and he stood there ready for it to happen! Nate has guts, and his courageousness earns him a special place in a team of Trainers.

And finally, my reasoning for being in the spot of power.... Well, it mostly comes from my brute force battle style. Compared to the other two reasons for Nate and Ethan, mine sounds like nothing special. But it's not really far from the truth either. When I participate in a Pokémon battle, neither me nor my Pokémon hold anything back, sometimes it's a do or die situation and we really have to think about whether to do or fall back and think of a smarter action to take. The majority of moves in a Pokémon's moveset I tend to choose are attacking moves, be it physical or special. And although it's silly and sometimes detrimental to just always be on the offense, with the risk of fainting looming over, I feel like a turn that could be used to do some damage before the opponent can dish out more damage than I can, is a wasted turn. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and branch out move styles to find a good combination. I tend to just attack attack attack as fast as I can before the opponent can get the edge. But of course I'll have to change strategy when the opponent becomes faster than my Pokémon.

That about sums up my hypothesis on my team's Triforce theory. Do you guys agree? Or do these characters have any qualities that clash with the placements I gave them?

[imaginesfubu]

Obey Me Characters as Pokemon Trainers AU (Pt. 2):

Part 2 is finally here! Read Part 1 here! Again, the pokemon chosen were considered based on character personality, appeal to said character, Pokedex entries, and, in the demon brothers' cases, their respective sin they represent.

Asmodeus: This demon trainer of Lust is all about fashion and appearances, meaning he prefers Pokemon Contests over battling. If he does engage another trainer, his brothers, or the MC, he will surprisingly put forth an effort if he notices that his pokemon party actually want to battle and dirty up their precious costumes. Since Asmodeus rules the pokemon contest industry, both the personalities of Asmo and his pokemon charming the industry and their fan club without fail, I would think Asmo would be a Normal type. His team will wreak havoc ob his opponents when all of his pokemon know the move "Attract." Vietnam war flashbacks to Whitney and her Miltank

Asmo's team would consist of: Sylveon (originally an Eevee), Wigglytuff, Cinccino, Blissey, Staraptor (refer to its Platinum entry), and Lopunny.

Honorable mentions: Audino, Chatot, and Purugly (when caught as a Glameow; was horrified that it evolved into Purugly. Emphasis on ugly, but still loves it nonetheless)

Legendary: Meloetta

"You are such an ADORABLE trainer! You're so cute that my pokemon and I could just eat you up!~"

Beelzebub/Beel: Beel as a demon trainer would look VERY intimidating due to his height and body build, he is actually a softie and a major foodie; he likes traveling with his brothers to different regions and their respective cities and towns to try signature dishes. Unfortunately for all the chefs, they love Beel as their regular customer, but ultimately hate the fact that he's literally eating the restaurants out of house and home, and kick him out in order to restock on food and other supplies. Don't worry, once the restaurants are fully stocked, the chefs graciously allow him back in, serving him and his twin brother Belphie to a free meal, accompanied by a dessert of their choice, also on the house.

Considering Beel's insatiable appetite, his loving nature towards his family, and his physical strength and physique, I can see him as a dual trainer of Normal and Steel types, leaning more towards Steel pokemon due to their resistance of Poison and sheer endurance to most of the other elemental typings.

Beel's pokemon would be: Ursaring, Munchlax (later evolved into Snorlax, sweetly reminding him of Belphie when apart), Alolan Sandslash, Copperajah, Aggron, and Bastiodon.

Honorable mentions: Steelix, Solgaleo as "the beast that devours the Sun"

Legendary: Melmetal (see Shield pokedex entry) or Solgaleo.

"I'm hungry. After this battle, wanna go grab something to eat together?"

Belphegor/Belphie: Y'all know Caitlin from Unova's Elite Four? That's Belphie. All this pokemon demon trainer wants to do is sleep and spend time with his twin brother Beel. Out of all of his brothers, Belphie is by far the most ruthless of all when it comes to pokemon battling, but doesn't like to show it until after you can't run away from a trainer battle. You wish you could. Belphie would be a very powerful Ghost type user. If you wake him to battle, only for the battle to be time that "I could be using sleeping," you will pay dearly your life. The only two people who have the honor to wake him for a battle are Beel and MC, only after MC proves themselves as a competent trainer.

Belphie's pokemon team would consist of: Gengar, Bannette, Spiritomb, Jellicent, Golurk, and Mimikyu.

Honorable mentions: Decidueye, Palossand

Legendary: Lunala or Hoopa, alternating Hoopa's forms depending on the battle.

"*YAAAAAAAWWWNNN* ....You woke me up to battle? ...Fine, but if this turns out to be a waste of time I could be using to sleep, you're suffering will be slow and painful."

Diavolo + Soon-to-be Dateables

Diavolo: This Demon Lord trainer is of course, the Champion of the Devildom, succeeding his dad. Diavolo is a trainer with many great titles and even greater status, but that doesn't stop him from swinging by each school in the Devildom to have fun with the younger demons and learn all about the latest trends and memes. Diavolo himself is a big kid himself, never thinking twice about his child-like actions in front of nobles or any demon trainer with a high status. He's very charming and charismatic upfront, and is the kind of demon you could talk to or joke about anything without feeling nervous. Diavolo knows that the only reason he's so laid back and fun-loving is thanks to Lucifer, so he trusts and appreciates Lucifer a great deal.

Taking into account Diavolo's personality and status, I would deem him as an expert in Dragon type pokemon, embodying the many personalities Dragon type pokemon have. They enjoy having as much fun as Diavolo does, and both are forces to be reckoned with.

Diavolo would have the following team members: Duraludon, Salamence, Dragonite, Tyrantrum, Haxorus, and Dragapult. Diavolo loves seeing Dragapult yeet Dreepy to their opponents because he finds it funny every time.

Legendary: Giratina, gifted to him from his father after beating him in battle and becoming Champion

"Being both a Demon Lord and a Champion is such a draaaag! Nobody wants to challenge me because they're intimidated by me, I guess. How about you an I have a little fun with a pokemon battle? Don't hold anything back from me!"

Barbatos: His ability to see alternate timelines and universes and manipulate them to his will leads me to the obvious: Psychic. Between caring for the royal family and their grand palace, he can't find the time to battle with his pokemon as a stress reliever, unless Diavolo orders him to battle him and to "have fun" while battling him. Even though Barbatos apparently knows all and sees all, he nonetheless humors Diavolo already knowing the outcome.

Barbatos's team: Gallade, Gardevoir, Alakazam, Espeon, Xatu, and Gothitelle.

Honorable mentions: Orbeetle and Indeedee (one male, one female whom he asks them to help with his daily tasks in the Devildom's royal palace.)

Legendaries: Dialga and Palkia: They both assist Barbatos when he uses his abilities to maintain order amongst the alternate timelines and universes, and keep him from over-exerting himself in the process.

"Would you like to challenge me in a pokemon battle? Haha, no need to answer that, I already know that that's what you want."

Luke: Precious child of God. Very defensive and reluctant to associate with demons, but over time begins caring for them. He favors Beel the most out of all the brothers, but will never admit it outright to anyone no matter how obvious it is to everyone else. Enjoys baking more than battling, so his team isn't fully evolved. He won't battle unless Simeon is training him in battle or Luke challenges trainers in the Celestial Realm that are around the same age and level as he is. Because of his personality as of now, he would be a Grass type trainer.

Luke's team: Treeko, Turtwig, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Snover, and Bounsweet.

Honorable mentions: Snivy and Milcery, with Milcery helping Luke bake in the kitchen, and Skiddo

Legendary: Celebi or Jirachi

"What? You want to battle m-m-me?! Why? I know I'm not that strong, but I think it won't hurt to try!"

Simeon: Literally Luke's guardian angel in the place of Michael the Archangel during their time in the Devildom. He's very patient with everyone, especially with Luke. His patience gives off an impression that Simeon is a grounded angel who thinks things through before speaking and acting. But if someone hurts Luke in any way, all logic and patience goes out the window, as he will savagely check the individual and pray to God asking for forgiveness. Ground types would be Simeon's cup of tea.

Simeon's team: Torterra, Gliscor, Mamoswine, Flygon, Rhyperior, and Mudsdale.

Legendary: Suicune or Ho-oh

"I think I may be missing something in Luke's lessons as his mentor in both battling and teaching about the ways of the three Realms. Think you could help me figure out what I'm missing with a friendly pokemon battle?"

Solomon: Very mysterious human trainer who doesn't talk much about himself. Is he a rival or friend? It's difficult to tell, but he hasn't done anything to raise any alarms, so the MC deems him as decent for now. But why does he act like he knows something that everyone else doesn't? Because of his seemingly shady impression he gives to others, whether he realizes it or not, makes him a Poison type trainer.

Solomon's team: Roserade, Venusaur, Naganadel, Salazzle, Crobat, and Drapion.

Legendary: Eternatus or Kyurem

"Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away you're coming right to me?"

MC: "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer."

"Then come as close as you like!"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Finally done! This AU is still a WIP, but thank you for reading such a long post! I decided to include Diavolo and the rest into one big post to keep from making so many parts to this AU

[incorrect-rainbow-rocket-quotes]

I'm really digging the whole possession/fusion concept. Any other little headcanons for it?

I’m so sorry this took so long, Anon, but yes, I do!

Giovanni

Inspiration: Carrie (Carrie 2014) / Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Pronouns: I / They / Them

His eyes have gained a layer of tapetum lucidum - colloquially known as “that weird membrane that makes your cat and dog’s eyes glow when you shine a light on them.”

Can detect people’s auras, in a way. Not so much as to where people are, specifically, but as to tell if there’s any sort of malicious intent towards them.

Under severe stress, they can instinctively teleport out of danger’s way, but it’d drain them quite a bit.

Maxie

Inspiration: Godzilla (Godzilla franchise)

Pronouns: I / He / Him

The first time he tried fusion, he had a... particularly weak stomach. That’s when one of the grunts found him, but when they tried to give him a bag of ice to cool him down, the ice went liquid in about half a minute.

When under severe stress or nervousness, he has a tendency to melt things when he touches them. This ends up melting his paperwork, which makes him more stressed. He also tends to freeze on the spot with a rock casing around his feet.

His blood has gained a sort of shiny-orange, iridescent quality to it, like magma. It dulls when he drinks a lot of water, and even starts to glow when he’s pretty pissed.

Archie

Inspiration: Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe) / The Asset (The Shape of Water)

Pronouns: We / They / Them

Due to his body being fused with Kyogre, and his body temperature adjusting to water accordingly, he can survive pretty cold temperatures. He could swim in the Arctic Circle in his wetsuit for a couple minutes before it starts to bother him.

The lines on his body tend to glow and pulse in response to certain stimuli and emotions. Other signal-based water type Pokémon, like Lumineon, Starmie, and Lanturn, seemingly understand these signs (and he can understand them. Not specifically, but he can grasp a general idea.)

Always nearby some source of water, whether it big or small - the others are not pleased by Archie’s new habit to sit in a full bathtub for an hour or more.

Cyrus

Inspiration: Enchantress (Suicide Squad)

Pronouns: I / They / Them

Sometimes, if no one engages with him for a while, his eyes go black. When he speaks, it makes no sense - spoken cryptically as an ancient language. (”Ay, yo, Cy, you ok?” // “H̵̫̙̔̀ḛ̷̠͈̚t̴̩̑̈́̐͛ ̸̨̨̱͔͊n̴̺͇͚͓̓ë̵͉́̅̿̚s̸͈̱̠̳̎́̀k̵͔̀̒a̶̢̙̝̥͒̉͛͘ȓ̷̰̾d̷̗̠͉̦̐s̵̤̗͙͒ ̴̜̉m̷̡͙̀o̷̦̻̮͖̔̓́c̴͔̙͍̾͊e̸̦̔̋̓h̸̰̩̅t̴͙̼̪̐̀̕.”̵̺̤̠̘̀͂ // “Oooohkay, buddy, let’s go for a quick walk, yeah? Walk n’ talk.”)

Will sometimes stare off into space above for hours on end. No one knows why, but no one really wants to try and bother him at that time.

Is utterly silent when he moves. No one knows if he’s in the room until he’s right behind them. ( [Warping the wall and stepping in from the shadows] “What’s going on in here.” // “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH” )

Ghetsis

Inspiration: Venom Symbiote (Venom)

Pronouns: We / They / Them

Taking into account all the extra features involved, he’s the tallest fusion, with Lysandre coming in close as second.

Despite him not needing the cane to walk, technically, they do need ice to maintain the fusion (it acts like an adhesive, in a sense, preserving Kyurem from Ghetsis’ body heat, and keeping Ghetsis cooled enough to deal with Kyurem’s chill).

Coming off of that, they’re highly heat sensitive - they try to shy away from Maxie if possible, due to warmth melting the adhesive and making it easier to unfuse.

Lysandre

Inspiration: Smaug (The Hobbit series) / Rodan (Godzilla franchise)

Pronouns: We / He / Him

Surprisingly doesn’t need to eat to survive while fused. Not out of any biological change, but because of Yveltal’s influence - the life they drain from other people sustains them just fine.

As for his ability to drain life - he can���t really ‘turn it off’ in the broad sense, but he can actively avoid draining life from a specific person if they concentrate.

He can produce wings and is capable of flight, but he can’t fly too far or for too long.

Guzma

Inspiration: Spider-Man (Avengers: Civil Wars / Into the Spiderverse)

Pronouns: I / They / Them

His chest glows with a white light that outlines the dark bones of his ribcage. It was so bright and so unnatural that he couldn’t sleep for the first few nights. They can also reflect light in a way that turns them invisible temporarily.

He’s oddly developed a bit of a hunger for fruit. As someone who is technically both a bat and a human (who had lived on a strict diet of various cups of hot chocolate, potato chips, and candy bars), the switch is a healthy - if not jarring - one.

Likes to crawl on the ceilings or stay in high places to the point he fell asleep on the walls. Trying to get him down was a challenge at first. You know that scene in Into the Spiderverse where Miles is stuck to the lights and needs to unstick? Kinda like that.

Aaaaaaand, bonus!

Sycamore + Xerneas

Inspiration: Mothra (Godzilla franchise)

Pronouns: We / They / Them

Life and renewal seems to spring up where they walk: flowers bloom in the grass, cracked tile becomes whole, tired beings gain a pep in their step.

Possibly the only person who can touch Lysandre while he’s fused with Yveltal without getting drained. Xerneas’s powers help cancel the other’s out, and vice versa.

They can form powerful moonblasts in response to danger, but they’re more often then not a curious pascifist.

Sometimes just sit out in nature and feel the grass. The mere presence of other living beings is a comfort to them.

They can heal others through sympathetic touch and concentration. If worse comes to shove, they can transfer some of their own essence into others.

Sycamore would be VERY averse and confused to fusion at first glance, and Xerneas chafes as well. It takes them a while before they really settle into each other, and end up being a pretty stable fusion.

His eyes have gone blue, with X-shaped pupils. A crown of antlers pokes out from the sides and behind his head, and blue lines run down the bridge of his nose and cheeks. If they’re very excited, a tail may or may not start wagging.

[a-tale-of-legends]

Eva: Aaaaaand- there! Okay, just wait here while I get your readings, okay?

Leon: Hm.

Eva: I do suggest going back to the doctor after this. I'm not a medical professional, just making sure your signatures are alright.

Leon: ( grimaces) Ugh. I think I've had enough doctors in my lifetime.

Eva: ( snorts, back turned to him, writing some things down) Yeah, I get that. But for you're health I strongly advise it.

Leon: Can't....uh. Don't you have people that can heal?

Eva: Healing can only do so much. Your not getting out of this one Leon~

Leon: Uuuuuugh.

Leon: ....

Leon: So...

Eva: Mm-hmmmm?

Leon: Kyurem.... it's....

Eva: Not dead, more of a husk, but not dead. You're a peculiar case, if Jude's rants weren't clear by now.

Leon: Y-yeah. ( He bites his lower lip) Elliot said that you and Kyurem had a....rough start?

Eva: .....

Leon: I-I'm sorry if that's too personal-

Eva: Hm? Oh no you're fine, just making sure this thing is working properly ( a few clicks on her keyboard) Yeah, me and Kyurem didn't exactly have the best start. I didn't want it to Choose me, and it didn't exactly like me either but ( shrugs) It needed protection,and having a Chosen was its best option.

Leon: O-oh...that sounds terrible, I'm sorry....can I ask why you didn't want Kyurem to Choose you?

Eva: ( gives a short laugh) Why would I want to be Chosen by the being instructed to kill me?

Leon: ( eyes widen) Oh! Oh, fuck, I didn't- I should have put the dots together, I'm sorry-

Eva: D'aaaaw, you're fine, Leon. It's been a long time since then. Me and Kyurem did a lot of healing together. Still not fond of the cold, but not in the way I was back then. Plus ( gestures to her tech) the cold energy I have now means I have a free cooler for my tech! Which is always a win in my books!

Leon: I see....

Eva: But yeah, we're good now. Dare I say, Kyurem is actually nice. Still grumpy though. And kind of a bitch. But nice.

Leon: Hm...

Eva: Yep! .......Any reason you asked?

Leon: Oh, uh-

Eva: Is it about Eternatus?

Leon: ........( Sighs) It's fond of me. Protective, from what Naomi and Hop told me. And....and I know I've always felt some connection to it,even before I truly knew what it was going to do. But....

Eva: You could have died.

Leon: ( grazes a hand over his scars) Yeah.

Eva: ( hums) Yeah. Never easy bonding with a legendary that tried to kill you- even if it wasn't intended.

Leon: .....

Eva: Well. If you want my advice, try talking to it. Earnestly. If it's fond of you, then you'll have a waaaay better time that I did with Kyurem, heh.

Leon: .....and for healing? How do I heal? I....I don't know what to do.

Eva: ( shrugs) Healing isn't a linear path, Leon. No one knows what to do. Just...... don't be too hard on yourself, okay?

Leon: ( he laughs, bitter) That sounds impossible.

Eva: It does, doesn't it? But it's not. It'll just take time ( she walks over, and gently rests a hand on Leon's shoulders) Tienes a este León. Solo se necesita tiempo.

Leon: Yo.... Lo tendré en cuenta. Gracias.

Eva: ( giggles) No problemo! ( Heard a beep) Oh! The signatures are done~ Give me a minute~

Leon: ( chuckles) I'll be here.

~~~~

Quick translations.

Eva: You got this Leon. It just takes time.

Leon: I....I'll keep that in mind. Thank you.

[renaso2-blog]

Why Best Wishes and Iris are my favorite

Pokemon Best Wishes anime is my favorite. There's always been a lot of negativity and dislike towards the anime, so I'll post some reasons why BW is my favorite.

Let's just start off with a background. I stopped watching Pokemon for a while (left at Advance Generations), and I only recently started watching it again. In 2013, I randomly decided to watch a Pokemon Movie which was "Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice". I decided to try watching a few minutes, and then I got hooked and ended up watching the whole movie. I enjoyed the movie a lot actually, and I'd say the movie encompasses a lot why BW is my favorite.

I watched Pokemon again in 2018, I caught Sun and Moon on Disney XD and enjoyed the episode. So, I went backwards, and watched Sun and Moon (the current season), then XY and XYZ (VOD), and then Best Wishes, and then the rest of the Pokemon episodes I missed. And again in 2019 with Twitch Presents (BW and XYZ).

In 2019, Twitch Presents, more Pokemon (BW and XYZ again).

**The reason why I like Best Wishes is kind of the same reason why I like Raimi's Spider-Man 2.** Best Wishes isn't as much as about power levels but about just dealing with things. In Spider-Man 2, Peter did his best to live by “with great power comes great responsibility”. However, as Spider-Man, nothing seem to go right. In fact, Peter being Spider-Man seemed to make him miserable and sad. Spider-Man did not get rewarded for his good deeds or anything. He lost his job. His relationships was going down hill because he had to keep his identity a secret. And Spider-Man had bad publicity in the media.

Peter was starting to feel sad and just was really conflicted if he wanted to be Spider-Man anymore.

For Peter, it's not about Power Levels but it's about struggling with whether he wanted to be Spider-Man still. However, Peter came to realize and be grateful with what he has, and with “great power comes great responsibility”, does his best to become Spider-Man once again. I'd argue just like Spider-Man 2, Best Wishes does a good job at that type of story. Just like the Gen 1 anime.

Best Wishes does a good job with relationships with other characters and bonding and personally (it has a lot heart with how it depicts Ash and his journey).

One important thing is that in real life competitions, 'everyone' is always training and practicing. In the StarCraft scene (for example), and even if someone was great in the past, that doesn't mean they'll still be good and be up to face against newcomers at all.

Best Wishes gets a lot of bad rep because Ash seems to be reset. However, I'd argue Best Wishes does the best job at showing why Ash is the way he is (how he deals with lost and stuff). It's not just training the most but how they approach a situation and how they deal with loss. The question is what difference can a specific person can do to be the truly be the best? Ash in Best Wishes is very distinct.

What I like about Ash in Gen 1 vs a lot of other anime protagonist is that I'd argue Ash has very realistic limitations and struggles with his attempts to attain his dreams. **In Gen 1, Ash just did not have anything go right at all. Ash was late, Pikachu did not listen to him, and later Charizard did not listen to him. Despite things never going his way, Ash always manages to have a lot of heart.** Like when Ash did his best to train by running to charge up Pikachu, and his relationship with his Pokemon. Another example is when Sabrina turned Misty and Brock into dolls, Ash had to find a way to get a Ghost Pokemon to beat Sabrina. He managed to get Haunter and it didn't work out at first but it did in the end.

The way Ash acts in Best Wishes (examples with Keldeo, Meowth, all the Pokemon he caught in Unova, and his relationships) show why he can be the best.

Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice - Keldeo challenges Kyurem but he ends up getting the other Sword of Justice frozen. Ash runs into him, and says "he'll take care of things" and goes off and does his best at trying to free the Sword of Justice even though he knows he has little chance at winning directly. I find the BW Trio to be very endearing. Ash and friends help Keldeo, do their best to fight Kyurem, and Ash and Keldeo form Ash Keldeo (which is like Ash Greninja but it came out before that)... and Keldeo still cannot win but Kyurem decides that Keldeo learned his lesson and the story is done. I really enjoyed the Ash Keldeo vs Kyurem fight, and when I finished Sword of Justice, I felt like I got into Pokemon again. That movie (and the Rival Destinies song) is a good representation on why I like Best Wishes.

Another moment is when Meowth joined the BW Trio, and then later betrayed the BW Trio... Ash says that he had fun with Meowth (even after Meowth betraying him). While Best Wishes does not have the most powered up Ash, I'd argue it has the Ash with the most heart. Another great moment is the Butterfree throwback episode in Best Wishes. Finally, I enjoyed the ending to BW where Team Rocket traps the BW trio but the BW trio manageds to get out of the trap with Ash holding onto the ledge, Cilan next, and Iris next, and Iris swinging everyone up out of the trap to face Team Rocket again. The BW trio was a really fun dynamic. These are just some examples.

**Now, let's get into Ash's power level in Best Wishes.** Pikachu vs Snivy (Trip's Snivy), in that episode Zekrom made Pikachu sick. So, the infamous Pikachu loses to a Snivy that never fought before, and there's that. However, when things got real (Ash vs the Forces of Nature), Ash can still do his best. Pikachu was able to fend off three legendaries (the Forces of Nature) at the Season 2 finale of the Best Wishes anime. So, when things mattered, Ash was still himself. I'd argue in terms of power levels, context matters a lot, and Best Wishes didn't really downgrade Ash (although Ash is definitely more laidback and goofier in Best Wishes, I'd say he was still himself when it was serious).

**Second, I like all the antagonists in Best Wishes.** The thing about Trip is that he's just a random person that kind of acts like a jerk. Like someone you can randomly run into in PvP but he mellows out. Skyla is another good example. She decides who wins or loses based on the meta and type match ups. It's like if in MTG, someone just decides who wins or loses based on decks without even playing. I found Skyla (knows the meta and doesn't think playing is needed), Trip (some random person that kind of acts like a jerk but once you bond with him more, he kind of just mellows out and that's it), and other antagonists a lot fun. There's no real Gary or anything but I find just all the range of characters Ash would battle against interesting and fun.

**Finally, let's talk about why Iris is my favorite.** The reason why I like Iris is because she has a lot of empathy from her desires. Let's get straight to the point, while Iris does say “you're such a kid” (once an episode basically), in terms of actual interactions, Iris is probably the nicest and kindest companion. If I had to pick any companion, I'd pick Iris because she'd always defend you, and be with you, even if things aren't going well.

**[1.]** When Ash first met Iris. Ash accidentally throws a Pokeball at Iris. Despite that though, Iris takes that introduction to be completely fine. Honestly, when I first started watching BW in VOD, I knew of the negativity Iris got but at this point, I never really got it. I mean, she's really nice in the intro episode and all the other episode. Most importantly though, in the third episode (BW003), Iris follows Ash and she tells Ash that she wanted to help show him the region. It's nice of Iris to want to show Ash around. My family and I moved to to the US in the 1980s from Asia. Honestly, if I had to pick a companion, I'd pick Iris because of that. Again, it's just honestly. If you can meet someone, how is Iris not a nice person when she wanted to show Ash around and help him and stuff.

**[2.]** In that same episode (BW003), there is a moment where Ash is about to fall into water but Iris helps catch him. Later, when Trip insulted Ash, Iris defended him (most importantly; I'd argue there aren't that many cases of other companions defending Ash when he gets insulted as Iris does). Whenever Ash fell, Iris always ask if he was fine (“Ash, are you all right?” Again, at this point, how can people dislike Iris when she's really genuinely nice). Iris bought Ash ice cream. And one of my favorite moments is Roxie vs Ash. Ash was losing... and Iris managed to get bongo drums and did her best to cheer on Ash (BW084). It's really touching and heartwarming. I mean, the reason why I like BW is because it really had a lot of nice character dynamics like that. Finally, Iris defends her friends in BW098 (one of my favorites). BW098 is the one where Iris gets the others to crossdress, so that they can enter a competition to defend her friends' honor (Iris defends her friends that were insulted). It's really funny but at the same time really heartwarming too.

**[3.]** Iris's strength in Best Wishes - Iris in Best Wishes is again, a good throwback to Ash in Gen 1. Before Best Wishes began, Iris won 99 times with Drilbur/Excadrill. So, Iris can win when it matters too. In the beginning of BW, Iris does her best to find Dragon type Pokemon (she just has Excadrill and Axew). At first, Iris was afraid of Dragons but she does her best to become a Dragon Master, and so while she does a good job with Excadrill, she tries to train Axew and get other Pokemon. But like Ash, Iris doesn't really (well, especially after the incident with Excadrill) push her Pokemon too much. So, she takes her time with her Pokemon after that incident.

What I like about Iris is she has a lot of interesting dynamics that a lot of other companions do not have. First, I liked that she started off having a strained relationship with Excadrill.

For example, I really like May in AG but May (and I'd argue same with a lot of other companions) did not have that many struggles displayed. May vs Harley. Harley tricks May (giving her the wrong info), and... May falls for it and still wins against Harley (after Ash cheers her on). May is a starting out, and she never really loses or has a dynamic or a story where she struggles with things. In the other series, when a character wanted a Pokemon, thet'd probably get that Pokemon. Basically, do a good deed (want a Pokemon or be nice to a Pokemon) to get a reward (catch Pokemon).

But what I like about Iris's story is that there are times where Iris wants a Pokemon like Tepig (BW004) or Deino (BW056), and Iris does not get that Pokemon. BW056 especially since Iris spent the whole episode staying with Deino since apparently his owner abandoned him (it turned out he was actually just late).

Finally, when Iris managed to get Dragonite to join her, Dragonite did not listen to her at first and struggled. Iris worked really hard to get that Dragonite (defending it from others) but even then, things don't go her way.

Again, I think this is a nice throwback to Gen 1 anime where nothing went Ash's way and he just did his best.

**[4.]** As for Iris saying “you're such a kid”. In BW130, Iris's says “Aww” after Ash tells his story of his Butterfree. In an episode where Cilan and Ash are enjoying a view of a field, Iris says “you two are such kids” while later playing around in water later. When Iris says “you're such a kid”, I hardly say it's an insult at all. I'd argue she's saying it (when she's saying to Ash and Cilan) to me that they're being cute to her.

**[5.]** Personally, I find Iris really funny. Meowth says “Don't worry. I'm empty handed.” Iris replies with “Duh, you're a Pokemon”. Zorua transforms into Georgia (Iris's rival) in front of a camera, and and Iris hides behind the transformed Zorua, and says “Iris is the best” while Zorua lipsyncs for her. Honestly, there's a lot of these moments in Best Wishes and I find it really funny. Iris nice and a fun character to me.

**[6.]** I'll finish this with saying that Iris has a lot of empathy, and what I like is that she has empathy from her desires. I mean, the way she acts and the way she wants (like wanting Deino) is why she defends her friends like in (BW098). Or when Trip insults Ash, and Iris defends Ash. There are very specific moments for Iris that are unique to her as a companion compared to all the others. In a lot of media, a person does nice things to save others or because they went through a tragedy or dark past but I find there's a lack of times where there are characters shown to do nice things because they understand what it feels like to want something.

**Anyway, that's my post and I hope it changes some people's mind about Best Wishes and Iris.** While Best Wishes doesn't really focus on power levels, I'd argue it best show why Ash is the way he is. The Butterfree episode, his experience with having Meowth in the party (he said it was fun), and Sword of Justice Keldeo (Keldeo needed help, Ash knew he had little chance against Kyurem but said 'he'd take care of it'). As for Iris, again I find it really silly for people to dislike her when the only thing negative she does is say “you're such a kid” (which again, I'd argue isn't even an insult when used to Ash and Cilan; there's many times where Iris says “aww” or something else to Ash like in the Butterfree episode).

In Twich Presents (2019), there were around 20k viewers at the beginning and still 20k at the end, and by the end of the last stream, most people said they liked it in chat. Again, I hope my post changes some people's mind about Best Wishes and Iris. Personally, I find the negativity around BW really exaggerated, and especially since I'd argue that Iris is actually one of the nicest and kindest companions (she defends Ash whenever he gets insulted, played bongo drums when losing to Roxie, and did not mind getting hit with a Pokeball by Ash and instead wanted to show Ash around the region since he was new to Unova). And while BW does not have Ash with the most power level (he can still do things when things get serious like Ash and Pikachu vs the Forces of Nature trio legendaries), BW does have Ash with the most heart (lots of nice throwbacks to Gen 1 Ash when he was starting out).

[dire-vulture]

16, 35, 42, 43, 45, 49, 53, 62, 63, 69, 79!

THAT is a lot of numbers omg,, let’s do this

16. answered here!

35. How in-tune with their native element are your dragons? Does it vary? If you have any dragons that aren’t, why is that?

OH yes does it vary. I have some dragons who are very elementally inclined (no mistaking Tamarind for anything but a Nature Boy), some who outright refuse their birth element (Zaffre is native to plague, but uses lightning magic), and many who are just neutral. I’d say the majority of my dragons don’t have any sort of magic or strong affinities. But the ones that do have magic often have powers that don’t have much to do with their element at all. As for why, I guess that’s just the way it is haha. Zaffre just never jived with Plague. And same with Bergamot, who hides his plague eyes with green goggles... And Kyurem has light eyes, but they’re as icy a dragon as it gets! Moraine doesn’t have magic at all, but she still relates more closely to her family’s ice roots than wind. and Gushers is wind too, but she is ALL about the arcane, it’s what interests her the most. i could list more but i think that suffices haha...

42. If your clan leader went off the deep end, who would stand by them no matter what?

Oh well, my clan has four leaders: Tarragon, Moraine, Zaffre, and Tamarind... them going off the deep end, not totally sure what it would entail omg. They’d probably all try and stand by each other though, though if they were doing like, truly horrifying stuff the others would do their best to try to figure out and ultimately stop the situation dfadsfsdg otherwise they’d do their best to be understanding of why one of them was suddenly so distraught or whatever? i think i good portion of the lair would want to like, help too. (though it also would depend on a lot of factors.

I guess if you want some more specifics, Ingot would be the most likely to stick by Moraine? Ingot really respects and trusts Moraine and they are very good friends! Kyurem of course would stick by Zaffre, they’re partners and have known each other for like 40 years by this point and have gotten closer than ever the latter half of that. Tamarind has had a bit of harder time getting support from dragons other than Tarragon and Moraine, and his heaps of exes in the lair doesn’t help, but I think I’ll say Hallow would be most likely to stick by him. They’re exes too, but it ended amicably and I think of anyone in the lair, Tamarind probably helped Hallow come to terms with the loss his charge the best, so Hallow has the utmost respect for Tam. And lastly, Tarragon... Tarragon is so lovable, friendly, and gentle that finding dragons in the lair that like him is as easy as it gets...but truthfully he isn’t super close to a ton of them outside his fellow leaders. I think the one who’d be most likely to stick by him is his younger brother Paragon, who throughout their whole lives the two have always done what they could to support each other, even if they find themselves at odds sometimes. Paragon isn’t the most popular dragon in Florabrisa, but Tarragon is always there to defend him anyway, and Paragon would definitely return the favor should something strange ever happen.

oof that was long im gonna put everything else under a read more fadsfd

43. How has your clan changed since it started? This can mean when you first joined or in-lore.

Well, in lore, the clan’s certainly grown a lot in the 20 years it’s been around! It’s still a small community but it’s bustling! The gardens of Florabrisa will always be its major feature, but it has a lot more on offer now.It’s always been pretty agrarian, but there are much more food options now than there used to be. Crystalspirit has grown his art gallery considerably through the years and now with Ardest joining the clan, there could be a local art scene coming... I also wanna get some theatre in, Florabrisa definitely has one and i think Tabbagh is gonna be a big player, they love the stage. Ricotta too honestly, she’s very theatrical. and Bomoseen will probably be trying to introduce film to the lair (though they currently don’t have the tech for it. Bom needs to talk to Xana.....)

And out of lore, I think I still have more or less the same concept as i did at the start! The biggest change might be that at first Tarragon was the only leader, but I later decided to elevate Moraine, Zaffre, and Tamarind to be his equals. Tarragon leading by himself just didn’t really make sense to me haha. Also adding the swamp was a pretty big deal! Picked up some many swamp aes dragons this year haha... Also, initially I did think that breeding didn’t have to be a relationship thing, but admittedly I’d done absolutely nothing with the concept so that’s probably not the case anymore dfafd I’ve definitely aged the lair too, like a lot of dragons I initially saw as kids have grown up now :`) i do wonder how much further along i’ll take the timeline, since I do have some dragons in my lair who lorewise intend to leave Florabrisa within a few years. I could probably stick them in my den, or just let them stick around anyway...?

45. How competent would your clan say your leaders are? How competent are they really?

Tarragon, Moraine, Zaffre, and Tamarind have been leading for almost 20 years now, so I’d say the clan thinks they’re in good hands haha. All four leaders have their different personalities and roles and balance each other out in many ways, and they all take the clan’s needs very seriously and the dragons of the clan feel respected by them! They do what they can for the clan and get the job done as best the can, so yeah the clan would say they’re very competent! And I’d say so too, they are good bunch together :D

49. Who’s the “clan mom”?

Ooh, there are a few dragons who could fit the bill, Moraine being an obvious one. Ricotta probably fits the bill even better than her though! Ricotta will really go out of her way to make sure dragons are getting properly fed..or at least eating plenty of pasta haha. She is incredibly caring for the wellbeing of the lair and does what she can to make her fellow Florabrisians happy and blessed by her presence haha. Ricotta admittedly does tend to pick favorites though dasfsda And there’s Clash too, who is very nurturing and along with her wife Antikyra has taken care of younger dragons of the clan for awhile now! Many of them definitely think of the two as parental figures. The list of dragons under 20 years old who have called Clash ‘mom’ is probably quite long.

53. What dragons make up your most disgustingly cute relationship? What makes them so cute?

OH man lots of strong contenders here. I think Prim and Proper are the best answer! They have matching aesthetics, are pretty much inseparable and utterly glow in each others’ company, they share everything, and of course THEIR NAMES omg... No one in the clan knows if like, they just coincidentally have matching names or if they did it on purpose. (honestly I think it’s a mix of both. they happened to have similar names then just..made them match better haha this isn’t 100% set in stone but i’ve considered their ’full names’ are Primrose and Prosperity. Either way Prim is definitely short for Primrose, it’s Proper’s name i’m not as sure about.)

62. Who’s the clan troublemaker and who has to clean up the mess?

The clan troublemaker is Prank Master Patlican! You never know what to expect with her. She’s most famous for hiding vegetables in strange places, but she will do almost anything. From good old fashioned handshake buzzers to leaping out at poor unassuming dragons to switching locations of Tarragon’s potted plants, she has a large prank repertoire... Her friend Ottomy does his best to clean up her mess. He’s very often the target himself fsadfaf

63. Are there any rivals in your clan? Are they friendly rivals or bitter enemies?

Oh yes, I got some rivals! There’s definitely some stuff going on with Xana/Iolite versus Matrix/Micron. I think they’re more friendly than anything, but then again they probably subscribe to ‘keep your enemies closer’ haha... Matrix also has some sort of rivalry with Lisianthus, who is mostly just confused by it tbh. They’re probably ultimately friends though.

Millisievert and Falcata were pretty fierce rivals and hate everything the other one stands for. They’ve mellowed out a bit over the years and mostly just try to avoid each other now.

Tamarind and Kyurem also probably count to some extent? Mostly Tamarind is bitter that Kyurem managed to take both his wife AND son (and not even a son from said wife dfdsaf) They do try to be adults about it and are generally cordial to each other, though Tamarind is definitely like ‘that guy’ under his breath.

OH and how could i forget. Marglobe and Warglobe! Marglobe just wants to grow tomatoes and Warglobe won’t stand for it for some reason. 

69. Who misses their old flight/home the most?

Ooh hmm..most dragons are quite happy to be staying in Florabrisa and came in part because they wanted to get away from their home for whatever reason.

There is Tamarind! I imagine he misses his Nature home every now and then, but he is chargebound to stay in Wind. That said, his charge being the native flora of the Windswept Plateau is like, obviously it can take care of itself so he doesn’t really need to stay there, he can definitely leave for a period of time if he so desired, but it’d still feel wrong to him to do so. Plus all his friends are here!

Osira probably gets a little homesick too. She is very strongly an arcane dragon and I’m not really sure why she left? Maybe she just wanted to go exploring, or just needed to take some personal time. It’s likely she and her gf Gushers will decide to move to the Starfall Isles at some point, but for now they’re happy together in Florabrisa c:

79. How religious is the bulk of your clan?

Not very religious at all! Florabrisa doesn’t exalt or really follow the teachings of any deity, aside from the general influence of Wind culture. That’s right. Florabrisa commits tax evasion fdsfgd

There are some members who follow a particular deity or two, like Qirrasi is very devout to the Plaguebringer, and Inermis is by far the biggest Windsinger follower around, but yeah in general deities are talked about very little in Florabrisa, and rituals are few and far between.

That said... I also gotta mention Ricotta. She claims to be a goddess. Most of the clan doesn’t really think she’s one, but there is a small handful of dragons who do, and she is happy to accept their prayers and offerings and give them blessings for it! (though she’s happy to share her divine food with almost anyone in the clan anyway, as long as they aren’t rude to her!) Some of her known followers include Macaroon, Artichoke, Calabasas, Nutshell, Sicliane, and Marbles! (and even some that don’t really believe in her are happy to play along anyway haha) There’s also the newer goddess in town Lemuria, but considering her complete inability to back up her claim, I don’t think she has even one follower so...RIP her.

thank you for the ask omg!! this was a Lot, but it was a lot of fun too :D

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon Black 2 Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 9]

All eight badges earned, so what does that leave?

Pirates.

Team for the task?

Vertex (Luxray)

Caspet (Gengar)

Stormy (Metagross)

Photon (Rayquaza)

Nessy (Milotic)

Diego (Gardevoir)

...Those who did not participate in the last Gym, raise hands or whatever you have in place of hands for grinding.

#LET ME LEAVE THE GYM WITHOUT A CONVERSATION GEN 5 CHALLENGE.

Colress, I swear, if you pull a Euicine and make me fight you for the honor of not fighting the Terrakion...

He does not. He gives us a toy and basically says to check out the cave that I need Strength to go through more thoroughly. The Giant Chasm pirates are still blocking my way, so.

Siiiiiigh.

Box crew! What have you got for me!

I will take out Bessy, the level 33 Miltank, and teach her Strength.

Bessy is Modest and somewhat vain, but that doesn’t matter because she’s just here for HMs. She’s temporarily taking Vertex’s place, since Vertex isn’t in need of more experience.

Ah. Actually, Strength just lets you get Toxic. Which is fine, but sorry Vertex, guess I threw you out of the squad for nothing.

Hey we found the boat!

Marlon lets us aboard. Thought: I should go put Bessy back in the box and grab Vertex in case something goes wrong. Except that would take time.

...I am going to go put Bessy back in the box and grab Vertex.

After shifting a boulder on Route 22. And grinding for a bit.

Okay. A few hours later, I am more comfortable entering the pirate ship. Team levels are now 56-60. That is absolutely a balanced assessment of my current team. It is in no way misleading.

Me!

...This is the greatest grunt ever. He calls Marlon Smiley Swimsuit. Yes. You have perfectly boiled down his character essentials.

Oh wait, he has a Watchdog.

Sorry pirate friend. We can’t be friends.

Russell, my actual friend, is trying to go on his roaring rampage of revenge. Only as a responsible big brother, not a Sasuke.

I used to have a Sasuke. No more.

...I should have named Russell Itachi. If there’s ever a next time...

I continue to find it delightful that after N leaves, Team Plasma ditches their knight theme for a pirate one. I don’t even know why, I just love it. I love knight aesthetic, I love pirate aesthetic. My castle was right next to my pirate ship for most of my childhood, and it rocked.

Though my pirates wouldn’t steal people’s pets. A key difference. Pirate in name only. Well. And clothing. Pirate is just a more fun word than sailor, and pirates have looser fashion.

Mook time over?

Technically this one isn’t stealing.

Just animal abuse.

The villain of this game is just a salty old man who spent so much time in a refrigerator he decided the rest of the world should spend time in a refrigerator, too. Then he found out his region has a legendary Dragon/Ice type, and the rest is history.

Only history I have to repeat.

Because the villain of a Pokemon game decided his winning strategy would be shooting bolts of ice down at the world below.

Video games are the greatest.

...Wait. How did me and Russell get down here? Did Team Plasma just throw us off?

Also, yes Cheren. They use everything for evil. They’re the bad guys.

And then Cheren asks where the people Zekrom and Reshiram recognized are and. I wonder if he misses his friend. his best friend, [last game protagonist]. How much does it suck that he spent a full game with [person], and now they’ll never see each other again because [person] is bound to a different dimension. A world Cheren can’t touch.

Canon has, what. Red who comes back? Every other protagonist kind of just. vanishes as far as future references to that world are concerned. And Red spends quite some time up on a mountain. Alone.

These games are all about people who swoop in and birth legends, then vanish.

I made myself sad.

Anyway, to the Giant Chasm!

Totally bro.

Aw crud. Do I need Strength? I think I might need Strength. Can I mayhaps avoid that?

Oh. I could just go down the giant stairs.

Wow. Talk about your parties.

ONE MORE TIME ON THE BOAT.

I hate password games. At least the ship supplies a doctor early on. I wasn’t to the point of active concern, but I was feeling a bit itchy about using up healing items. I haven’t grown out of my usual standard in these games where I just let everything in my party die to avoid spending money.

Agreed, let’s roll you.

This guy just keeps throwing Cryogonal at me.

You know, I don’t have a lot to complain about regarding these games and their choices. I whine about everything, but all in all, I find all of them very solid and enjoyable. Even if gen 4 has too many HM requirements wtf just stop.

This isn’t really a complaint, but it is a confusion. Zinzolin is fought multiple times in a relatively small window, and his team never changes. We just keep beating him. I get the sense that they wanted a villain, but as a sequel game to a gen that went all out on that, they didn’t really have anything they were willing to turn into a threat.

Really, I feel like a better path to pick would have been giving one of the Plasma grunts a different hat and having them be the captain of a very confused and angry crew. But eh, whatever.

....Oh. You.

Why is the most anime hair dude in the game so gosh darn forgettable?

For the sake of my flawed memory, he wants to bring out the full potential of pokemon, and is willing to us whatever means are necessary. The only question is which approach actually yields results.

I like you, Colress. I am never going to remember you, but I like you.

Good grief his theme sounds like it came out of Phantasy Star.

First up is a level 50 Magneton. Caspet’s an okay choice, so I’ll just Shadow Ball it. Magneton Thunder Waves Caspet, then uses Volt Switch to swap in Beheeyem (also level 50), who takes a Shadow Ball and dies instantly.

Sorry, ‘faints.’

A level 50 Metang is switched in next. Out of twitchiness over Caspet’s paralyzed state, I put Nessy in and go with Surf. Metang uses Agility from the red. Colress uses a Full Restore. Metang hits a Zen Headbutt, but Nessy has the last laugh.

Ugh. Colress is going to send in a Magnezone. Stormy’s the best answer to that, I think. Stormy knows Hammer Arm. It hits, but like everything I hate, Magnezone has Sturdy. A Bullet Punch handles that.

A level 52 Klinklang is next. His only thing over 50. Stormy is paralyzed thanks to Magnezone, but a Hammer Arm that hits should end it, and I don’t think Klinklang knows anything that’s a threat.

Even if Stormy feels like being paralyzed.

Only once, though. Hammer Arm + Bullet Punch does the job, and we only have that pesky Magneton left.

Hammer Arm and we are done.

Please don’t make me fight another one of these clowns. I don’t wanna.

Aw heck, Russell’s having his moment with Purrloin drama. And I guess I’m not fighting robe dude. It’s all ninja for now. With my four pokemon who aren’t paralyzed. Maybe I should have fixed that.

:(

For real though, our rival’s plotline here is pretty dang sad. He wants his little sister’s pokemon back, and by the time he finds it, it isn’t hers anymore. It’s had an entirely different life without them, probably committing crime. Because it’s been told to.

This is why you get the pirate Plasmas and the knight Plasmas. It’s fantastic that you, the protagonist, has a crew of pokemon perfectly happy fighting and doing whatever you want. But living things being forced to do whatever you want them to because you happened to throw a ball at them is pretty screwed up.

There’s not really a satisfactory conclusion to all of this, since critique of a game mechanic that is never going to stop being a game mechanic doesn’t get to start dramatic revolutions regarding that mechanic, but it’s all very sad and sobering.

That pretty ice tho.

BUT WHERE IS THE PROTAGONIST FROM THE LAST GAME.

No, but thank you N. I was not ready to die at the hands of Kyurem. Your assistance is much appreciated, and pretty great in your sequel. Props.

Gee, that looks bad.

Cue dramatic anime battle sequence.

Followed by anime transformation sequence.

Welp. Time to kill you. Let’s just hope I can.

...Stormy. I think I might want you to tackle this. To the front you go.

But really.

So damn cool.

It’s dead now, but so. cool.

There are too many fights going on. I think I wouldn’t mind in a normaly playthrough, but for a Nuzlocke, this is needlessly stressful and I am not a fan also I beat Ghetsis in the last game and it wasn’t fun then, either.

He has six pokemon, and he opens with a level 50 Cofagrigus. That is not Stormy’s friend. Nessy, if you would. Hydro Pump hits. Toxic hits from the other side, and I will deal with that in a moment, after the Cofagrigus is gone.

Ghetsis, naturally, uses a Full Restore.

Nessy handles it in the end, but is down to 73 health. Eelektross is coming out next. Time to switch. To... uh. I’ll give Photon a whirl. Feeling lucky, I use Outrage, and Eelektross faints.

Ah. Hydreigon is out next.

That is a nasty type combo for my team to deal with. I think. Geez, mark this where I have all the regrets, but Photon’s staying in to murder the Hydreigon with Outrage. Ganbatte.

IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE AND A CRITICAL HIT, GOOD JOB PHOTON.

Seismitoad is next. Diego, time for you and your Magical Leaf to shine. Shine they do, and we’re on to Drapion, which I will leave to Photon. Two Air Slashes make their mark, and all that’s left is Toxicroak, so in you stay Photon.

AND WE’RE DONE HERE, SCREW YOU GHETSIS!

But where is that certain Trainer, N????

Anyway, with that, it looks like the plot portion of this Nuzlocke is over. All that’s left is heading up to challenge the Elite Four.

I think a battle like that can have its own part.

[inikavulpixelreviews]

Let’s Talk About Pokemon - Kyurem

646: Kyurem

And last we have Kyurem. The third Legendary dragon, and the incomplete, broken husk of what both Reshiram and Zekrom once were. And this skulking Dragon/Ice type is a neat one. In being a broken and tattered Dragon, it's all bent over with a hunch, one wing and side of its skull messed up, and an extremely muted color palette. Supposedly, back many years ago, when the two heroes of Unova had their kerfuffle, their hero Dragon had also split apart, Reshiram and Zekrom each going with one of the heroes. All that remained of the original Dragon was Kyurem. Now a sad little mess waiting for a new hero to come along and make it whole again.

The connecting of elements between Reshiram and Zekrom also extend out to Kyurem here. Kyurem is notably more beastial in shape and stance, as opposed to Reshiram and Zekrom both being bipedal Dragons. Kyurem is also mostly missing a tail, against the other  two where their tails are one of the centerpieces of their designs. And where as Reshiram and Zekrom are the Yin and Yang, Kyurem is a representative of Wuji, the absence of either Yin or Yang. Which also goes along with their elemental theming as well. The team that's going after Reshiram or Zekrom, depending on your game, is called Team Plasma. The secondary typings of the Dragons are Fire and Electric respectively; both as forms of plasma or energy. Kyurem, being an Ice type, and being the Gray contrarian to both Reshi and Zek, is the complete absence of energy.

A crazy amount of thought went into the three, at least with all of the under the hood theming. In which this kind of marks a new direction Gamefreak slowly took with the cover Legendaries being more fleshed out rather than just some weird horse-dragon that embodies time I guess. I've already complained that it would've been cool if the three got to be other creatures and not just dragons, but I digress. The three of them are cool as a trio enough to where I'll let it slide.

Personal Score: 9/10

Kyurem is quite the cool one.

Black Kyurem:

But as most Pokemon fans know, there was also a twist in the obligatory “third version” for Gen 5. Instead of just a Pokemon Gray, we got... sequels! Yeah, actual sequels! Black 2 and White 2, both continuing on the story of their respective version. And at the end of the game, you confront one of two new forms of Kyurem, each one horribly and forcefully meshed together with one of the other dragons.  Bad sadly, I don't think either of them look quite as good as unfused Kyurem does. But they're still cool enough.

Black Kyurem, obviously fused with Zekrom, does plenty get to show that Kyurem's slightly more complete, but still looking like a mess. But I wish they played up that angle a little more. Kyurem was all about being disfigured and asymmetric. Sadly, both of these forms are super symmetrical. Which you wouldn't think is the case given this thing is still only two-thirds of one dragon. Yeah, maybe it should technically look more complete, but I still think the thing should just look horrible. Especially given how one party of this fusion wants nothing to do with it. I do appreciate that a slightly more complete form of Kyurem still looks like a wreck.

Personal Score: 8/10

Mood.

White Kyurem:

Despite my leaning toward Zekrom, I think White Kyurem looks slightly better than Black Kyurem does. Its frozen half just looks a tad bit more messed up, so I can take victory there at least. Its face is also closer to the old Kyurem's, which looked cooler anyways. I do like the visual that one half of the dragon looks more complete, but then the other half has to be made up of ice to look more complete. And between the two forms, it's the opposite half that's frozen. More or less signifying that Kyurem's still needs that other half to become whole.

Personal Score: 8.5/10

Pretty nice! But still not topping the OG.

...And surprisingly enough, we never get to see what Kyurem looks like completed. Which really makes Kyurem seem like an odd one out in this Third-Version-Legendary mantra they've been doing since Platinum. We get to see Giratina's original form, a completed Zygarde, and an uncorrupted Necrozma. And while we get to see Kyurem horribly mish-mashed with its dragon pals, we at no point get to see what the three look like fully fused. Or even the three-way fusion going horribly wrong because two out of the three dragons not consenting for this fusion. Which seems oddly uncharacteristic, given how they’ve otherwise jumped on the opportunity to sell more forms of Legendaries.

Overall:

A really cool set of monsters. I like the way these three dragons tie together so neatly, and I probably wouldn't like them so much if it wasn't for their synnergy.

[Archive]