#kalos trio is nice!

[akkariynn-tries-her-best]

finished a drawing I had started before my XY replay Sycamore is so hot its unreal Kalos had its flaws but I still liked it a lot

[shiny-shaymin]

legends ZA predictions

i wanted to just write all this in a .txt but it was getting too long to screenshot lol. also im french so im obviously gonna be right /j

Time period: Contemporary (like 10-15 years after XY). my reasoning is the legends games take place when the legends happen, not necessarily in the past. The reveal did show the city as 3d wireframe so i imagine the renovations could be based on old paper plans or smt? theres a guy mentioned in the museum that was an artist and architect. And since we're finally aknowledging kalos again it'd be nice to get. Any kind of conclusions to stuff that was left unfinished in XY, like the message behind the train board, the ghost girl etc. I imagine it'd be 10 years after XY cuz if we're gonna do a game set in current times it'd be logical to follow real time. Also the motisma dex was supposed to have been built by Clemont so it'd be nice to aknowledge that now. And uhhhhh I didn't like team flare when i played the games so idk what they could be up to but i dont imagine they'd have disbanded after Lysandre disappeared.

Story: since zygarde is the balance pokemon and comes wrecking shit when the ecosystem is in danger I imagine it'd have something to do with the electric central from kalos; since it makes all the types of green energy i also imagine the A pokemon from the logo is involved with it. Also since i imagine it'd be only 10 years after XY I don't think the protag would need to be time traveled by god lol but i imagine like ingo there'd be others that were time traveled instead.

Starters:

Serperior: most obvious lol. If it gets a regional i dont really know what it could be based on or what type it'd be??

Empoleon: also obvious lol. idk either for the regional variant, a president instead of an emperor??? idk

Cinderace: idk why everyone wants the cat instead this one makes more sense, football is the number one sport in the country. Regional variant could be fire/electric and based on cycling instead bcs of the tour de france?

New megas? (taken from pokemons already in XY, i expect some getting introduced from future gens tho idk who):

Engine: in a good universe they re-use the PLA engine instead of touching whatever they used for scarvio. but since the game is supposed to be entierely in Illumis i have my doubts.

Others: - releasing in late 2025? and would prob get a switch AND sw2tch version thats just slightly better visuals (like what happened w botw on wiiu and switch) - south kalos mentioned. please. (<- sudiste on copium) - new KALOSIAN pokemons get introduced. not just regional variants. They could all be from south kalos and since in XY the dex was divided in regions its not like it messes it up. - ^ could also be a way to natively introduce pokemons from future gens, esp from paldea. - fashion is still a big part of the games. I wish the clothes weren't gender locked this time too - idk wich legendary trio would get a fourth if they do that but the only guesses i have are the swords of justice (they're already 4 of em) or smt to do w the legendary birds + lugia since there's the cave where they show up but i don't think that one's explained (and also they already got galarian forms)

i did lose the .txt where i originally wrote all this so i'm going off memory and what i wrote on discord but i hope im right about at least the starters and time period 👍

[scraftyisthebest]

SV DLC Ramble

After quite some time we finally got in-game footage of the Scarlet and Violet DLC (The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero), both from Kitkami and the Blueberry Academy. And I’ve gotta say, this is looking to be great, and perhaps even grander than the SwSh DLC which stayed put in Galar.

Kitakami as we all expected seems to be travelling overseas back to a Japan based region, Kitakami even being a place in the Iwate Prefecture in the real world. The Iwate Prefecture is located in the Tohoku region in Japan, which is south of Hokkaido and north of the Kanto region in real Japan. 

If we were to use real world Japan as a basis that would mean that Kitakami would be south of Sinnoh and north of Kanto+Johto (the latter being based on Kansai), with Hoenn being the furthest south of the five.

Kitakami does seem to be based in the Pokemon world’s equivalent of Japan in that regard, with the presence of Johtonian Wooper being one of the biggest signs: unlike previous games, this time we’ll actually get to see the original forms of the regional forms Paldea introduced (and by extension Quagsire) actually be catchable in Kitakami. Perhaps Kantonian Tauros will also be available in Kitakami as well. 

The three “hero” legendaries seem like an interesting trio. They uniquely possess the ability Toxic Chain which seems to badly poison opponents if they attack. It’s pretty nice to have Poison-type legendaries nowadays after Poison was shafted as a legendary/mythical type for so long: first Eternatus and now these three. The fact that they are Poison-type however does raise questions as to what their relation to Ogerpon is: especially since poison implies toxicity and negative impressions. Ogerpon is an interesting beast, being under a mask, and perhaps having connections to the Terastal phenomenon.

The Blueberry Academy on the other hand seems to have more new characters like the director Cyrano and a fellow student in Lacey. 

I was curious how they were going to incorporate wild Pokemon aka the returning Pokemon to catch in the Indigo Disk with it taking place in the Blueberry Academy, an underwater school and facility but it seems they’re using a giant Terrarium that acts as a wildlife preserve and park, filled with a variety of environments to boot. Pretty cool way to incorporate that into a modernized facility setting. Hopefully there’s a battle facility of some sorts here as well.

It’s also interesting that the Blueberry Academy also involves traveling abroad (aka overseas), much like Kitakami. Together, both of these places being entirely separate settings in the world from Paldea, unlike with SwSh which stayed in Galar, would imply that the Terastal phenomenon has been found in places *outside* of Paldea, which puts it more in line with Mega Evolution in that regard. While Z-Moves and Dynamax are pretty deeply entrenched in Alola and Galar and the latter cannot be used outside of it, Terastal while originally found in Paldea seems to have sightings of it being present in other places as well like Kitakami and the place where the Blueberry Academy is. This is somewhat of a parallel to Mega Evolution albeit with slightly less dubious origins, in that while Mega Evolution is dominantly found in Kalos and was believed to only be found there at one point, Mega Evolution energy has also been found in Hoenn and has its own origin story there as well. 

Perhaps a similar case is occurring with Terastal as well: like Megas being found in Hoenn, another Japan-based region has sightings of Terastal, and in this case Ogerpon may play a role in the lore behind the Terastal phenomenon as well. Terastal is already my favorite super mechanic since Mega Evolution itself, and lore wise it’s looking even more interesting than Z-Moves and Dynamax ever were which may draw me to it more. 

I definitely look forward to playing this DLC, travelling to new places outside of Paldea and exploring new landscapes (which for the record, are looking incredibly vibrant and diverse, even moreso than Paldea) and exploring the lore of them in relation to Terastal, Terapagos, and Area Zero is interesting, and I genuinely enjoyed SV in spite of its technical problems so the DLC is gonna be more icing on the cake (contrast SwSh which was underwhelming and the DLC had to save it, and even then was overall smaller in scope than SV+DLC is setting up to be).

[love-is-a-pearl]

That's a lot of work, re: making a whole summary of relevant things, but I 100% get the insanity and overanalyzing, that's my jam. Lucky for you, I'm not totally clueless as the small percentage of people who have deep dived into Pokemon lore. I'm taking about memorized NPC dialogue, flavor text for items, creator interviews, design inspiration and mythology, every bit of side/beta/unreleased/scrapped content, theories and inter-game connections. Yes, I know Amber2 and the Champion's League with their Elite 4 Cup mentioned in the DP anime. I'm just sad about it because what do you MEAN after my old draft outlined the chapters I have to DELAY the Elite 4 challenge until ANOTHER LEAGUE? I named those chapters so specifically as a nice, smooth transition and callback 😭 Granted I guess...it also kind of works. If you have ideas on what it is, how it works, or when it takes place? I might be able to implement it. I don't know if its another League with strong trainers or specifically battling the E4. 1) Ash-Guzma talk, gotcha! I think there's something to be said about how Guzma isn't another meglomaniac Ash had to face, and how the feelings of loss can be understood by Ash...I was just reading your write up on the parallels with Alain and how Ash's Unova self was a set up for his Kalos self. In my rewrite, although the story isn't focused on Ash and friends, I figured I try to give everyone their due anyways, and my biggest grip so far is keeping the anime for what it is and treating it's choices seriously VS altering them. Sure, I COULD disqualify Tobias for using legendaries, I COULD have Ash beat Alain, but...same reason why I can't undo Ash's pity badges. It's a part of his journey. 2) Iris MC arc, good point. There's no reason to off-screen her becoming a Champion. Not sure how I'll do it tbh, and it'll probably extend the time we spend in Unova (I really want to get to Kalos haha) but it could be nice. Mm, maybe I can have Iris meet other dragon masters from the regions...maybe I should rewrite the Plasma arc tbh, I think they changed N's character entirely in the anime? And make up an original episode for when Team Rocket was in Unova (the one that didn't air) and use that to lead to a near permanent shut down? Give Iris key moments there? 3) Real. Anime is kinda misogynistic about the girls. trainer!Lillie, with S/M style Lusamine, yay or nay? I often wonder about which aspects of the game characters to transfer over. Like, I want to bring in Will and Karen too although they don't exist in ani...I was thinking Ash and friends would have a plot similar to Substance R from the Detective Pikachu movie. Pokerus/Mewtwo's Beserk Gene/the forced evolution experiments/mega evolution? trying to get it all reconciled. They'll meet Karen in a similar underground tournament as in the movie I think... 4) Gary-Ash rivalry...they're no Reguri, but might as well give em something. Silph Co takeover, during Mt. Moon some Rocket defects with the fossil Pokemon (after they're revived at the Cinnabar's lab, which like in the game, the technology suspiciously works.) That's how Devon gets their own fossil revival tech we see. Stolen research. Aerodactyl was too wild, so uh, while attempting to use it at Silph (which went so bad the grunt was like "aight imma quit in the chaos.") Gary ends up catching it, and this starts his interest in fossil Pokemon research we see in the anime. 5) I have a gameverse AU too, so trying to find a 2nd origin story for the executives and Team Rocket is the dreaded </3 ignoring the chronicles japanese opening cameo, Silver does not exist. tragic, I love him, but what on earth am I gonna do, I can't repeat the AU storybeats. As funny as the TRio and Silver interactions might be. I guess this is always subject to change, but soooo much emotional investment in characters already exists that I had to keep anime!Bill instead of the other...very sad.

Yeh yeah, the tags weren't targeted at you specifically. it just gets me the amount of people who watched the OG anime as kids and think they know all that there is to know about it. Pokemon youtubers who played the games and start to target anime viewere when very obviously not caring for it get on my neves sometimes orz

And no, no! It's not another league! I'm pretty sure that what the anime calls champions league is actually just the elite four (or rather a name for challenges between trainers on elite four level, like we saw with Flint vs Cynthia sometimes). You don't need to worry about changing your fanfic SORRY!!! I just tend to ramble a lot in tags, don't worry about it 🙏

Oof, I get you. While Pokemon in general is my special interest and I love knowing anything about it, the competitive side of it (the whole IV-EV thing, smogon and showdown) are things I just can't bring myself to care about :V

Ohh, I understand the struggle. While the anime has some fun ideas and themes at times, there's some stuff that just begs to be changed.. I think it would depend on what kind of story you want to tell.

For my AU personally I'm taking what the anime did and kinda fixing the things I disliked while taking advantage of an older Ash and certain themes I want to explore. For instance, I'm having Ash use Primeape while he is traveling alone and focusing more on his pokemon, and that gets him to realize he never tried knowing that monkey at all. Ash traveling alone is something I always wanted but is not something that works in-anime and in a fanfic like that I can explore underated pokemon much easier than just idk, shoving Primeape into the JNs team.

But if you plan on rewriting everything post DP league (if I'm assuming correctly) and perhaps get Ash to age as the story goes, it does makes sense to change some big things as league resuts. Like, there's the joke "he would not say that" when people make characters OOC but is always good to remember "what would cause him to say that?". As in: if things change enough, if you write a story that deviates a lot from canon, then even certain outcomes and character reactions can change.

Like, an Ash that wins in Sinnoh probably won't be as affected by the Unova loss as canon Ash. And that Ash would be much more relaxed at Kalos, etc, etc. I guess it all depends on how you write (and what you want to write more than anything. I can't reiterate this enough, but have fun with those stuff!!)

Ohh, I have been talking to a friend about Unova and Kalos a lot, and one of the recent things was this idea of taking advantage of the fact Unova has more than 8 gyms in-game. Like, if you do want Ash doing gyms there still, I think having Iris do the other gyms that are introduced in BW2 would be an awesome way to start her gym challenges on-screen. We even talked about the concept of Iris and Ash and Cilan all meeting in Striaton gym! With both Iris and Ash going there to challenge him and since that gym has 3 leaders, Iris could get to battle one of the brothers while Ash battled Cilan.

Yes, the Plasma team and N and their connections are very different in the anime. Honestly if I could recomend you to research about anything out of the anime for reference, it would be Plasma Team. The way they're portrayed in the games is very interesting in how they pretend to care for pokemon, telling people that pokemon are better off alone and that holding them in balls/battling with them is abuse! And that's one thing I get very very sad the anime didnt take advantage of.

Ash is a character that would be so easily dissuaded by that kind of talk if done right and would be interesting seeing him questioning himself about that sort of thing SPECIALLY AFTER PAUL!!

And going back to Iris. Have her be more confident in her relation to pokemon because she was raised in a village of dragons, where human and pokemon live as one and let her take the role of main character and prove that Team Plasma are not as good as they pretend to be. Show how her connection with pokemon is that of a champion or something yknow?

SM Lusamine is always a Yay for me ;w; I love love love how she is portrayed in that game ♥ evil bitch of a mother, but so so good story-wise. And makes Lillie becoming a trainer even more meaningful too.

Yeah, I get it. Specially for timeskip stories, is hard to know how to balance Anime and Game characters. I.. don't have a tip for that tbh. If there's no anime equivalent, I tend to go with characters I got attached in-game or that are generally popular in fandom. I mean, if I can get attached to a random NPC from 2 dialogues in the game, then it means they're special right? But usually elite fours that haven't appeared on the anime (nor the manga) are not that memorable at all so Idk what to say about Karen and Will.. But I guess introducing them like that could be interesting. Karen has that kinda "strong pokemon, weak pokemon. it doesnt matter which you choose as long you trust them" quote that would make her interesting if portrayed as someone that is very against pokemon abuse. And if you make Will into a spy (since he has that magician vibe and i guess could be used as an excuse for him to work in TR's game corner undercover or something), it could be fun for them to team up to stop evil orgs like that on their own :V

BRING BACK THAT POKEBALL FROM JOHTO LEAGUE FOR ASH-GARY! I dont know what to do with it, maybe they could take it to someone to fix it and discover it belonged to someone and they both go search for it or whatever. But it was an interesting thing to AshGary that the anime just pulled out of nothing to explain their rivalry and never did anything else with.

Adding to what you already have, I could see Gary maybe taking a "Red role" and going after Team Rocket after getting his ass handed by Giovanni's Mewtwo. Like, I don't think he knew that was "Team Rocket's Giovanni", but adding to your idea and him discovering from one of the grunts that that gym leader was the boss of this evil organization could make him interested in knowing and stopping that guy since he saw how powerful the pokemon he used could be. And then if you plan to have Ash there for the TR endgame, they could meet and team up against Team Rocket and from that learn to respect eachother as equals more!

Oh, that's a whole nother beast I never dared to deal with. I have a special love for pokeani so I'm only focusing on that, so I can't begin to imagine how complicated it must be to balance two universes based off the same thing.. I have no tips on that lol sorry but maybe… seeing how things are handled in different games? I mean red/green, firered/leafgreen and letsgo are all from different universes, so maybe seeing how gamefreak themselves twist things may help with inspiration?

[delphiniumarchangelmoon]

Pokemon I think should get megas/regional forms in ZA:

Regional forms/new evolutions:

Lapras. Yea I know it has a gmax so why would they give it more attention but I think it deserves an evolution ok plus every regional variant surrounding ice types has always been cool so I trust them on this

Meganium. Grass/fairy meganium is all I’ve ever wanted in my life please please pleeaasseee

Grass fighting or grass ground rillaboom would be nice as well

Magcargo, please he’s been done so dirty for so long. Give this man an evolution

Speaking of done dirty, get off your asses and complete the Jynx evolutionary line come on! It’s supposed to be a trio with magmar and electibuzz and you’ve been putting it off too fucking long. I want a gigantic woman in a stereotypical Viking helmet like every awful opera reference, I want it to have Punk Rock as its ability and a STAB sound based move like an ice type hyper voice or something. (This is heavily influenced by the fact that I used to play pokemon stadium with my mom and Jynx is her favorite pokemon and I want my moms favorite pokemon to stop being shoved under the rug thx)

Mega evolutions:

Grumpig. Make it psychic dark or psychic fighting

Flygon, but we all want mega flygon I’m not special

Ice cream sundae mega vanilluxe pretty please 🥺

Gigantic horrifying nightmare mega seviper or arbok pretty please 🥺

If we have a mega gyarados now we need a mega Milotic I don’t make the rules. Make it ice or fairy type too.

Kalos starter megas would be cool but I’m not too fussed if we dont get it, they’re my least favorite trio overall (never did get the hype with greninja. It’s fucking ugly)

Now UNOVA starter megas i’d LITERALLY die over! Grass/dragon serperior with wings and a crown? Massive magma covered emboar with like huge power or something? Water/ghost Samurott that moves so fast it becomes incorporeal? SIGN ME UP BABY YUMMY YUMMY DELICIOUS

This is so out of left field but Mega Dubwool might be fun actually I can see that being a BEASTLY wall, maybe give it steel type?

[aki-346]

Pokemon Head Canons :)

These Head Canons are for both tsme trio and my AU (Au: Pokemon Sunrise | IK ITS STUPID IDK WHAT TO NAME IT / Can yall help me get a name for my AU?)

(this is going to be really long so sorry)

General

There is a time skip 2 times- 3 year time skip and 4 year time skip.

Alain-

Alain is 18 Turning 19 in XYZ ( 3 year - 21 / 4 year - 25 )

Alain birthday is July 24, 1998 (Lavy Hc <3)

Professor Sycamore adopted Alain and Maron. So Alain and Marons last name are Sycamore.

Alain does live in the lab but he moved in with Aki at 19 (After Kalos Crisis

Alain and Maron are researchers that work with Sycamore.

At the Age of 25 he took his dads job and now is the professor of Kalos.

Alain, Daigo, Maron work together ever since Alain and Daigo are dating

HE CHANGED HIS STYLE BECAUSE OF AKI- THANK YOU-

He has a matching charm thing with Aki.

He has kinda longer hair, like a mullet

Daigo and Alain started to Date after Tsme.

Alain buys Promise rings that match with Daigo because they promised each other that they would get married. (Age 23)

Alain does propose to Daigo at age 25. (but as fiancées)

Tsme happened around 17 and Kalos Crisis was 18-19

When Alain figured out he was being used by Lysandre, he broke his key stone in the process (On Marie / Lumiose tower )

Alain does have PTSD, Trust issues, has a hard time to show feelings.

Alain at the age of 23 he became the Champion of Kalos (Master Tournament happened around 21)

(The reason why he is so close to Aki because Alain see Aki as a young sister and Aki sees Alain as a older brother. NOT BECAUSE I SHIP THEM)

Alain was with a happy family but his family was toxic and never was proud of Alain. That effected him to make him not proud of himself too.

Alains dad left (Alain was 6 when he left) leaving Alain and his mom all by themselves but in the process his mom left Alain too because Alain looks likes his father (has the same eyes).

Alains family usually goes to the adoption center to look for another kid because Alain always wanted a younger sister.

After being abandoned he left the house because he was starving for days and went to the adoption center where he was cared.

Being at the adoption center for almost a year- Sycamore took him in as a assistant then a son (but secretly Sycamore took care of him like he was a son).

Dagio-

Daigo is 20 in XYZ ( 3 year - 22 / 4 year - 26 )

Master tournament

Daigos birthday in on February 11, 1997

Daigo is a royal core person (WHICH WORKS SO MUCH)

He is still the Hoenn champion and now the CEO of the Devon Company.

He got eyelashes because hes girlie pop

Daigo hair is longer then Alains-

His personality is vey sassy and very dirty minded ( BECAUSE YES)

He has tried Pokemon performing before but he doesn't do it anymore sadly. (He actually does secretly mwahaah with Mikuri of course)

Back when Daigo was still the heir of the company, he was suppose to have an arranged marriage with May so the company could be more supported with the help of Hoenn Queen.

But he fell in love with Alain so he told his dad, and the marriage was called off but his dad was really disappointed.

Alain, Daigo, and Aki go around all the regions to go to labs and do research or just help out.

Daigo did change his suit outfit because Aki did make one for Daigo (I will draw the design trust)

He is a very sleepy dude and doesn't get enough sleep because of work just like Alain-

Daigo doesn't have a great relationship with his parents but is trying to get closer to his mom. His mom is really nice to Daigo's friends- but shes more friendly to Alain, Mikuri and Maron.

(I will make a part 2 later so it wouldn't be so long)

[crystalelemental]

All in all, that's an okay update for me. I like Leon's Battle Tower outfit so it's nice for him to get another alt. Gloria looks nice too, and Olympia is finally added. I haven't even played SV games but Nemona is already added lol, dunno when I finally decide to play the game.

Of all Kalos Elite Fours, I'm glad that Drasna is added before Malva, solely because I know you'll be happy.

Personally I'm not sure if I'll be pulling for anybody. Not too convinced yet. But yeah, that's my thoughts. Sorry for the spam!

I am decisively disappointed, and really only excited for Drasna and the introduction of Paldea. All of Galar has failed me for the last goddamn time.

Really, all this has done is kinda set the stage for Paldeaversiry, which I expected. But. I expected Nemona/Arven/Penny as the Master Fair trio. I uh. I didn't...expect Nemona early as a PokeFair. This raises...a lot of questions about anniversary. It can't possibly be Geeta, can it? Geeta's not popular. There's no way it's Geeta. Please be Geeta, though.

[cheemken]

what about the main trainers, since you said theyre canon in your hcs? would they follow their champions too or not?

Bruh wait I actually forgot ncmdndm I got so caught up w the champions omf hahaha

But yeah God wait bc in my own hcs, Clair is actually one of Lance's E4 (replacing Koga), w Silver being the one in charge of Blackthorn's Gym, I might have to edit the prev post jfkdnd

Anyways

Yeah the Kanto trio, especially Green since he's still Viridian's Gym Leader, they're a bit skeptical at first, they know how rash and impulsive Lance can be, and Red and Blue fully expects Green to be all "that man's lost it." But,, he was strangely quiet. For Green, he's kinda w Lance and Diantha on this one, he believes that maybe the world will be better without bad people, and from experience since he was also a bit mean back then, he knew how much he hurt Red and Blue, but not again. In a perfect world, Red and Blue won't get hurt, and he'll be better, he won't lose them again.

The Johto trio... Man, Silver's having a crisis. This was the same man that helped him better his ways, and now he's seeing Lance go down a dark path. That's basically his dad at this point and he's witnessing his bastardization arc hahah. But fr tho, idk, maybe he'd be conflicted at first, but then again, the thought of the world without any organizations like Rocket tormenting them over and over again is a nice thought. Plus, y'know, Gold and Kris won't have to worry abt the threat of Rocket being back again, and they could just live their lives peacefully

The Hoenn trio, idk I feel they'd be neutral the same way Steven and Wallace are. They see Diantha's point, but they also see how she's wrong in pursuing it. May just kept quiet about her standing on it, Wally was honestly terrified by the thought of an all out war between the regions, but Brendan's trying to calm all of them down saying that maybe Wallace is right, Diantha could still be saved.

The Sinnoh trio, no they're against Diantha's cause. While they do think that a world without all evil is great, it's basically just Galactic all over again but with a slightly different cause. They aren't vocal abt their opinions tho, and they try to comfort Cynthia as well, they know how much stress she's already under. But for now they're just preparing if ever Diantha, or even Kalos in its entirety, tries to attack

The Unova gang,, well,, the same as the Sinnoh trio really, bc it's basically Plasma in a different font, but then again, they also know how caring Diantha is, especially to Iris, and even when they visited Kalos, Diantha welcomed them w open arms. They're also conflicted really, because some believe that Diantha is doing smth right, she just has to be guided, while some believe she's really lost it and she needs to be taken down. They never tell Iris abt their own thoughts on it.

The Kalos gang, they honestly felt like they've been lied to and used by their Champion, and it all adds up now that Calem figured out why he couldn't capture Yveltal, even w Xerneas by his side. But they also still respect her in a way, she really guided them in their journey and helped them stop Flare. But now they thought abt it, was that an act too? Maybe it is, maybe it's not. Maybe Diantha's just scared too, maybe she really needs all the guidance she can get, as much as they're scared of her now, Diantha's still important to the professor, and they know how important Augustine is to her, and w that they know her humanity is still there, she just needs help on finding it again

The Alola gang, Gladion would be against Dia ofc, and he and Hau argue about it almost every day, to the point that Gladion decided to just keep his mouth shut bc it really upsets Hau. The other three didn't voice their own concerns too, they already know that Hau knows there's smth wrong, but... Diantha was family to him now, and Lillie and Gladion knows that feeling too well. Elio wasn't really updated w a lot of stuff, so he's just trying to lighten the mood everytime they talk abt it, and Selene's just quiet the same way Gladion is.

The Galar trio, man when they found out abt how corrupt their league truly was they couldn't believe it at first. And then they got confirmation from Raihan, from Allister, and from Sonia. And God it was terrifying how detailed Sonia was, remembering the time Rose did threaten her w death, bc he knows she's the only other trainer who could easily beat Leon. They try not to talk abt it that much, especially since Hop's close to breaking down, finding about his brother being part of Rose's scheme, and doing nothing when he knew what was going on. Their views on Leon did change tho, Hop's especially, so now he tries to avoid his brother as much as he can.

The Paldea gang, well, they know their own region isn't as strong as the other regions' leagues. They know that. Considering that Penny hacked into the league. So they all decided it's best to just keep quiet and support Geeta at the moment, as she really needs it. They believe it's the safest option, as Geeta is quite close to Diantha, so w that, maybe Diantha won't try to attack Paldea too.

[fierykitten2]

As much as I’ve gone into Pokémon Day this year believing that if all three of the Z-A starters were from starter trios represented in the Hisui starter trio we would only get a total of 3 Legends games ever because we would run out of starters afterwards, assuming they don’t pull another curveball next Legends game (I am more convinced now that even if we get Gen 2 and Gen 5 remakes next Gen we could still get a Legends game on top of that and the main paired games and the main paired games’ DLC assuming both sets of remakes are made by ILCA/Pokémon Works but I still think that’s a lot of games for one generation and will be treating this as an unknown for now) and use Snivy, Litten and Popplio as expected (I would love those three in a Hoenn Legends game. I think Litten and Popplio are especially fitting. I’m choosing Popplio for sure btw. Also I know Primarina is supposed to be the cute one but it would be cool if we could have a heavy metal/rock-inspired Primarina) and then somehow continue on the series with a new group of starters not from Johto, Unova or Alola I really hope they allow themselves to vary things up a bit each time and don’t just use the same three starter trios for three games in a row only to change it up when they’ve run out. It would be more interesting and besides, Gen 7 being the most recent generation with starter reps in a Gen 10 or 11 Legends game would feel kinda I guess alienating for those of us who like newer starters better than older ones (ie me)

Also the knowledge that Z-A is set in the modern day or future means my spite wish from about a year ago when I was actually genuinely convinced Z-A would be set in the past again for a Hoenn game set in the future isn’t actually that unrealistic anymore (I know the Hoenn box Legendaries are referred to as the Super Ancient Pokémon so a Legends game set in the past would make more sense for Hoenn but a) I thought Kalos would be much more likely to be set in the past than the present day or future and b) we have a past vs future theme in SV it would be unfair if they kept reusing the past theme without attempting the future theme again. Also I think Hoenn is most likely because Kanto… just feels unlikely even with all the Kanto pandering, Sinnoh and Kalos have already had Legends games, Johto, Unova and Alola are being used for the starter trios (although technically Johto will be free), Galar and Paldea are a bit complex and I don’t know how they’d do Legends games for them and Paldea will probably be too recent. Galar and Johto aren’t out of the question but I’d prefer Hoenn because Hoenn and Sinnoh feel like they were meant to be counterparts for many reasons and Sinnoh has a Legends game already so it would be fair to set a Legends game in Hoenn, especially a future version of Hoenn to make it the opposite of ancient Sinnoh)

Another reason I think they should choose Hoenn is because 2x3x5=30 so even though they would have missed the 30th anniversary by that point (my secondary school celebrated their 90th anniversary for 2 or 3 years in a row so I’m kinda used to anniversaries being stretched out a few years) it would be a nice reference to Gen 10 starting on the 30th anniversary especially given I think they need to do Gen 2 and 5 remakes then as well (partly because the remake pattern puts a Gen 5 remake in Gen 10 and Johto is more overdue for a remake than Unova but also partly because 2x5=10 and I think that would be funny. Hey, the way they probably chose the legendary trios getting Paradox counterparts (especially the two getting special treatment) in Scarlet and Violet and are likely to be choosing the Mythical to get a Mega in Z-A kinda suggests to me this is the kind of thing they would do)

[wooglebear]

The Striation Triplets' Backstory in my AU

Marietta302, ask and you will receive! This is the Striation Triplets' backstory for the Everything is Better with Triplets AU, because I love the backstory I cooked up for them and want to yell about it

Their Childhood/Pre-Finding out Major Blanc's True Identity

-Before we get any further, allow me to tell you the backstory of Cilan, Cress, Chili, and Crispin's parents (who are still unnamed at this point): their mom left her home in the Orange Islands to try to live life on her own, but it was very difficult for her. Not only was she trying to get through law school, but the job she had didn't exactly pay the best. She travelled through every region pre Gen 9 (aka Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar). She ended up meeting the quartet’s (trans) father at some point during these travels. He was a butler, yet he wore a frilly maid ensemble, which covered everything below the neck, besides his hands. Anyway, they got married, moved into Unova, and planned to have children. They really didn't have much money to their names, but their mom chose to hold off on her degree to save, and they were rationing quite a bit to make room for one more in the house. But then it became apparent that they were going to add four more. Babies obviously cost a lot of money, time, patience and work, doubly so for four at the same time, but unfortunately the boys' father was just impatient and easily agitated enough that he couldn't handle the pressure he was under. So one day he left, leaving his wife to deal with four little boys. It was even harder for her now, and with the job she had at the time it was bound to get worse. So she swallowed her pride and asked her parents for help, who were more than willing to give it to her in the form of a loan of money (and it ended up being a lot more than expected). Their mom used it wisely, spending on the boys as need be while also choosing to continue her classes at law school. Eventually, thanks to her hard work, she graduated and made it big, and earned herself a nice job in the Kalos law firm. Unfortunately this also meant that she still had very little time with her kids, which is why Cilan, Cress and Chili are waiters in Striation City. But now, thankfully, the boys are no longer in need of money.

-I imagine their meeting of their monkeys to be like that one episode in BW, where they would have these designs:

-Young Crispin foreshadows Major Blanc by wearing a kid version of his design, minus the gas mask. Kid Crispin swaps out Major Blanc's bandolier with a combat vest, but he still has the vibes Major Blanc's design had.

-When they grew up, Cress, Chili and Cilan were waiters, while Crispin cooked for their restaurant. Then Crispin saw the Shadow Triad and thought they were his brothers so he ran away, and fell in with Team Plasma.

-He was renamed Major Blanc, and was made into Ghetsis' right-hand-man.

-Blissfully unaware of the tragic fate that had befallen their brother, Cilan, Cress, and Chili joined the League at a relatively young age (17 y/o); because of it, the League allowed them to co-run the gym as a trio.

-Six years later, the brothers met their brother, now Major Blanc

-They hated him, as he shot them with paintballs. The fact that the triplets (technically) are children makes this all so much worse.

-Yet, Team Plasma don’t care while Crispin's brothers get near constantly pelted with paint.

-Major Blanc hated them, as he thought they were the Shadow Triad.

-Cress had nightmares about him, even more so than Faba. At least Major Blanc didn't take Cress's place that one time.

-Crispin doesn't remove his gasmask, as he's afraid the rest of Team Plasma would totally notice that "Major Blanc" is not apart of them if he did (Though N had his suspicions long before Ash's Angels found out).

Post-finding out about Major Blanc's True Identity:

-Yup, the triplets and Crispin do in fact have a long-lost brother story arc, but it’s done less dirty than a certain arc from tetocu

-There would lots of denial and needing to stay calm about the reveal.

-Cilan is ok with Crispin after they explain to him they are not the Shadow Triad

-The quartet bickers a lot, but they slowly start to get along

-Team Plasma does notice that Major Blanc is gone. Which is why when the triplets confront him during the BW arc, we see Ghetsis ready to flatten them with a steamroller if one were available.

-During an episode, the triplets and Crispin share a good moment, but the former Plasma member warns that they have to put sibling things on pause again so they can focus on the journey. Chili is supportive as always and suggests potentially asking Ash to watch their backes, which Crispin is receptive to.

-Crispin would have horrible nightmares about Ghetsis

-During Alola, Crispin is recruited by the Aether Foundation, made an intern, endures Faba, and reconciles with his brothers thanks to Cress

-Also finds out that Cress is part of the Ultra Guardians. It took a moment for that to sink in, and when it did, his screams of shock and surprise were likely heard from the other side of Alola.

-Crispin is made a waiter while Cress studies in Kalos.

-I’d think Crispin would love Castelia City. And he'd grow a friendship with Burgh

-I can see Crispin being the kind who watched the early Disney Renaissance films

-Of course, the whole thing with Team RR happens in this AU and Major Blanc comes back. Maxie manipulates Major Blanc the same way he does Courtney. Thank god Major Blanc turns on Maxie, Courtney and Tabitha.

Their Half Sister

-Yup, the quadruplets have a half sister in this AU.

-Her name is Sawyer (nicknames herself Saw to differentiate herself from Hoenn Sawyer).

-She was created by their mom, and none other than Colress from Pokémon Black and White.

-She's basically a test tube baby

-Sawyer is basically Ash's rival throughout Journeys, her reflexes (and wit) as quick as lightning

-Her type ratio is skewed. Like, heavily, to the point where it's half electric (her Emolga, Dedenne, and Jolteon) and half ghost (her Froslass and Dusknoir). And then there's goggles, her beloved shiny eiscue (which can talk).

-Sawyer has freckles. She has slightly choppy, shoulder length bottle blond hair tied in a ponytail (she cuts her own hair) and she has heterochromia. One yellow eye, one purple.

-She wears a yellow bow tie and the white half apron her half-brothers have. The black vest her brothers have over a white dress shirt. Black skirt mostly hidden under half apron. Black Mary Jane shoes with white knee socks

-While she finds Crispin bizarre, she develops a begrudging respect for the boy and his siblings. She has some deep rooted issues that see her exploited by Team RR

-Hates the Terrible Trio of Maxie, Tabitha and Courtney.

-She openly hates Team Magma. Whereas Crispin is a misunderstood antihero, Sawyer is a quickwitted little girl who can run circles around you in no time flat, and her Pokemon have humiliated them more than once.

-Sometimes led Team Magma into Anime Jiggypuff's path…

-Goggles also hates Team Magma, but clings to a mean and spiteful facade because the only way she can cope with Team Magma’s suffering is to revel in it.

Courtney: You haven't talked to the Striation siblings NEARLY as much as of late.

Tabitha: "Why?"

Maxie: "I fear no man. But that... girl... she scares me."

-I forgot to mention this on my first post, but Chili is kinda this kid who grew up too fast. His parents just aren’t around much, so as the eldest, he’s had to become the replacement parent, but he DESPERATELY wishes he could gossip with his brothers, or go out for food or ice cream with them, like you'd see other siblings do. He gets his wish while travelling with Ash.

-The siblings have kinda a strained relationship at first because the triplets are gym leaders, Sawyer’s kinda an introvert, and when he was Major Blanc, Crispin didn’t even care about his brothers. But they slowly grow into this quintet that can face off against even the most evil villain.

-I won't make Sawyer into a Mary Sue or a background character, and she definitely won't have even less empathy for others than Paul of DP fame.

-Attempts to stop Team Aqua, but it goes sideways in some way

[spacefinch]

A short story:

"I didn't spend months raising you to get this! Now go! I don't need you anymore!"

From across the park, N could hear another Trainer yelling. He turned and saw the Trainer, glaring at a Sylveon. The Pokemon was shaking all over, and its ears were folded back.

Why? The Sylveon asked. I did everything you asked me to, and you turn your back on me?

The other Trainer, a young boy probably about Nate's age, was already walking away. The Sylveon tried following, but the boy stopped and turned around. "I said, GO AWAY!" he shouted.

I'm sorry....

The Sylveon turned tail and slowly walked the opposite direction.

A voice in N's head told him, " This is why people and Pokemon can never live together."

Shut up. That's Ghetsis talking, N told himself. Just because there are some bad people doesn't mean everyone's like that. Most of the people I've met here in Kalos are nice.

Still, something had to be done. This Sylveon, now just a few meters away from him, had loved its old Trainer so much, only to be rejected. And all for its appearance. I'm going to find someone who DOES appreciate Sylveon.

N pulled a berry out of his bag and held it out. "Here, boy," he called to the Sylveon. "I've got some nice treats for you!"

Understandably, the Sylveon was nervous. Can't say I blame him.

"Oh, there you are! We've been looking for you!"

"Ummm... what are you doing?"

N looked up to see two teenagers standing nearby. "Oh, hey there, Calem, Serena," he said. "Do you think you could keep it down a bit?"

"Sure," Calem lowered his voice. "But why?"

N told both of them what he had seen a few minutes earlier. How an Eevee had just evolved into Sylveon-- a Pokemon that could only evolve through a strong bond-- only for its former Trainer to reject it for being "too girly."

"Oh, come on! That's just mean!" Serena exclaimed. "Which way did that Trainer go? I would like to have a word with him."

"Serena, no," Calem said, clamping one hand on her shoulder. "We are not fistfighting anyone. That will not solve anything."

"Fine," Serena let out a sigh. "We'll do it your way."

"Anyway--" Calem turned back to N-- "Meowstic and I collected some extra berries if you need some."

"Of course!" said N. "I'm sure Sylveon will love them!"

For several minutes, the trio-- plus Calem's Meowstic and Serena's Talonflame-- patiently waited. That's about all we can do, N thought. Just wait. Sylveon has to approach us on his own if he's going to trust us.

The sun was setting by the time Sylveon had gotten the courage to approach N and his friends.

You three, the Pokemon's voice echoed in N's mind. You. Will not hurt?

No, we won't hurt you, N reassured Sylveon. But I saw you were hurt earlier today, and I wanted to help.

You. Understand me.

Yes. I can hear the voices of Pokemon. Including you.

Sylveon came a bit closer. Food? For me? He sniffed the berries in front of him.

Yes. For you. Eat as much as you want.

Sylveon did just that. He ate every last berry, then looked up expectantly. More?

"I'm sorry, I don't have any more food," said N. "But if you're still hungry, we could go over to Serena's place. Is that okay with you, Serena?"

"Sure," she answered. "Mom will be happy to have you over. We haven't had guests in quite a while."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Calem asked. "Let's go!"

This place. Is it warm? Good food? Kind people? Sylveon looked in Serena's direction.

"He's asking if your house is warm and if the food is good," N translated. "And if there are nice people."

"All of that, and more," Serena promised. "My house is the warmest, coziest house in Vaniville Town."

And so they set off home, with a new friend following them.

[complete-idiot-inc]

A list of Pokeparents

This is a list of the people I’ve chosen for my Pokeparents series of one-shots.

Edit: updated the roster, and fic can be found here

Kanto

Drake - Drake attempts to get his Dragonite used to his son, and he succeeds wildly.

Diamondshipping - An average day in the life of Giovanni Ketchum, a husband, a father, and a mafia boss.

Koga - Ash & Janine train in their ninja skills, the problem is they use it to mess with their neighbors and their dad has to do something about it.

Johto

Valerie - ash and his mom are moving away from their home.

Morty - a young couple struggles to make some ends meet, luckily Agatha can be nice.

Silver (Anime) - Silver takes his son to the sevii islands for the first time, Montress says hi.

Hoenn

Archie - team Aqua + Ash and Delia go to the beach, and Ash learns why not to swim out too far.

Juan - Juan introduces his son to his protege, and the two aren't all that different.

Steven Stone - Ash’s surprise part 2: hand-cut from the mountains of Kalos Steven put the tiny gem into the white band.

Sinnoh

Cynthia - Cyn picks Ash up from school and takes him home for a surprise. 

Sir Riley - Aura training becomes a battle between the Ketchums and the Tougans.

Fantina & Byron - The recently reconstituted Togan family has to deal with Byron’s smarmy brother.

Unova

Lenora - Ash brings his girlfriend home for dinner, and Lenora talks to her.

Ghetsis/N - N rescues his brother from their evil personification of a father and returns him home to Kanto.

Subway brothers + Drayden - Grandpa Drayden and his sons are tasked with watching Ash and Iris for the week, none are prepared for what’s in store.

Kalos

Gentryshipping - Sycamore and Ash are invited to Diantha’s next movie premiere, chaos breaks through when Zygarde tries to invite ash on a crusade against team flare. 

Malva - running away from Lysandre and team flare with her son in her arms.

Wulfric - Wulfric takes his son camping at the pokemon village, and both find an unexpected surprise.

Alola

Kukui & Burnett -  Ash accidentally calls Burnet “Mom” in the middle of class, and neither hears the end of it. 

Skullshipping - Kukui has to talk to the parents of his new student from Ula’ula, he wasn't expecting one to be his old friend.

Nanu - “I leave for 5 minutes and already there’s a hole in the wall!”

Galar

Melony - Ash gets sick and refuses to accept the fact, then it's a good thing Melony is a great (s)mother. 

GardenoasisShipping - The Ketchum family has a Christmas (?) party, and things go south when Rose shows up.

Leon - a lesson on why impulsive adopting an orphan is not always a smart decision.

Paldea 

Tulip & Dendra - Dendra decides to give her class a demonstration of how moves can be used in more than just battles, featuring her wife and son. 

Larry & Katy- “take your kid to work” day doesn’t gel well when your son is rather high energy.

Miriam (& Iono) - my little bro battles me at my gym!? (not clickbait, gone wild!!)

Hisui

Cyllene - Of the many things Cyllene expected to occur in Hisui, becoming a mother to a kid who fell from the sky was not one of those things. 

Lental & Pasio

Mirror & Bellis - the Pokémon world’s oddest couple and their even odder child.

Various 

Jessie & James - TRio finds an orphan, James takes him in, unknowingly creates a found family.

Big thanks to @alolanrain for Peony x Delia's ship name.

[oceandiagonale]

Not exactly an OC story or character, but if don't mind me sharing my current brainrot... Ok so, arceus is not a prick or apathetic, they truly love the trio as their children, I kind of like having the creation trio and arceus act as a family both sweet and dysfunctional. Yet, they always treat the trio like a bunch of kids, no matter how old they are, thing that get into Giratina's skin, because that means arceus may not always takes them seriously. Also arceus loves the universes that were created. But here is the thing, their love is not like that of humans and pokemon, arceus love is more akin to the love an author has for their work, so like the univers are like tales for them. They watch, cheer with those in ecstasy and cry with those in misery. So yeah...arceus really needs to visit earth. Ah! Also the arceus that appear like Pokémon are a fragment from the original as well as the eyes, and the unknowns the arms and words. Also arceus are like watchers for each universe and I thought that their main job is be the univers source of energy, so they regulate and produce energy for the universes....and that what thought, kind of messy but it refuses to leave my brain. Btw what would Gene's think about this arceus?

oh this is a very gentle take on arceus, I love it!

makes me think of arceus taking on a human form or using unown as eyes to visit earth and looking around like “omg there’s Lloyd from the Kalos Pokedex data filing office division arc, I wonder if they’re going to eat a portabello sandwich today again or go with honey and jam, I hope their date goes well tonight 🥺🥺🥺”

Gene would prefer this arceus tbh -- his arceus is involved and interested like that for Pokemon, but it would be nice to know that one liked people too! they’re also working hard to provide energy for the universe, what a generous deity 😭😭😭

[claitea]

I love your second chance au so far!! Do you have any other info on it?

! i do indeed!! its pretty much a completed au actually, its timeline is complete, i just didnt have plans to release it All in drawing form since just the parts i posted seemed enough

volo in the present day is a librarian. its a simple quiet job where he doesnt really need to interact with people too much, plus his obsession with research translates into a general love of books so he'll often stay after hours when he's supposed to have closed up just to read. he's still very good at the whole fake nice guy act so his few co-workers love him and think he's the best senior the library's ever had but he's sitting there like "they don't know i tried to end the world once"

i havent thought about his team much but i imagine to lower suspicion and not draw attention to himself he strays from using the same pokemon as cynthia. he's already been asked if he's related to her a few times and he's just had to try pass it off as a coincidence so people stopped asking. he keeps using the togepi line though they're his lil buddies and he adores them actually

the au's timeline is simple. volo gathers together emmet, barry and dawn to go find a way to reach hisui to bring back ingo and lucas so that volo doesnt have to keep seeing their names pop up and get reminded of how he Failed so bad at his original plan. its just salt in the wound to keep seeing lucas's face after volo vowed all those years ago to keep trying to meet arceus, but he still hasnt succeeded 200 years on.

at first, volo tells them barely anything. he doesnt even explain why he knows ingo and lucas are stuck in the past. so combined with his grumpiness around them they all initially distrust him, especially emmet who's just become a cool uncle and was trusted to protect barry and dawn. this trio's general cheeriness eventually rubs off on even volo and he cant help softening up after a while of traveling. thats where the guilt sets in for him, really slowly, he doesnt even realize he's getting too attached for his own good until its too late and now suddenly he's starting to develop Empathy again. so eventually he'll at least say he's from an ancient sinnohan lineage that granted him immortality and thats why he knows where ingo and lucas are. hard to believe at first but also dawn remembers that one story about the immortal guy in kalos so like. this might as well be happening

they find a way to timetravel eventually, they track down the lake guardians to (safely, unlike team galactic) summon dialga. a little before he lets them go to hisui, its been so long since they started travelling and the guilt's chipped away at him so much he comes clean. admits the whole past ordeal with giratina and why ingo and lucas were taken was because of him - ingo was direct interference since it was his rift that pulled ingo through, and even arceus itself was forced to call the only person strong enough to stop him, lucas, into hisui. he expects them to hate him after that and was fully ready for it but, while they're shocked and angry, they... still want to be friends with him. they've come to understand volo's changed for the better since his hisui days, they've travelled with him long enough to know that for sure and its not just volo being really good at the happy chirpy friendly facade. they dont forgive him for past deeds, i mean can you really excuse trying to wipe out the Entire Universe, but they at least give him a much needed second chance (roll credits)

emmet, barry and dawn get to reunite with ingo and lucas, everyone goes home. from there i was actually tossing up two ways volo could go: one becoming a researcher again, maybe moving to other regions to help out there. the other becoming a pokemon trainer, pokemon journeys are all about broadening your horizons and connecting with others so volo could benefit from it probably. also cmon he has three friendship evolution pokemon, even if he used to call himself a "wielder" he probably actually cares about his pokemon a lot very deep down. maybe emmet even invites him to be a special guest final opponent on the multi trains with him sometimes.

[draftingteacups]

Hello one of your post about soni doing a pokemon contest, could I please get a scenario of pomefiore trio just reacting her do it like she actually performs or they just watch a recording of her doing it. It's okay to ignore this don't stress yourself out.

Aw, don't worry, Anon. Spring Break's coming up in a few weeks, so I'll be taking some time to myself by then. Thank you for the concern though (^^)

refers to this ask here

I feel like they would ask about Pokemon Contests and Soni would just show ones on videos for the group to get a feel for them. This particular Contest is one that is a cultural mash-up of all regions to show off their region's highlights.

If there's one thing that would immediately catch their attention is the fact that Soni's dressed up with make-up on. It's very light make-up, but Vil and Rook can see it on the video while Epel's like, "I can't tell the difference" until they point out the corners of her eyes have some eyeliner and some eyeshadow with her wearing some lip gloss.

(Soni's in the back is like "How can you even tell- Never mind.")

As they watch her Contest Performance, Nimbus would summon Safeguard to enclose herself in turquoise before using Round and sing for the audience while flying around to music. Soni herself is moving minimally with the music. Each time that she does, the music seems to move to her performance. Round slowly manifests into physical rings that are visible before they get sliced by Steel Wing, which creates a reverberating sound of Nimbus' song in the air that chimes alongside Safeguard like bells. I imagine it to be a dance inspired by the Kimono Girls' dance from Johto as well as the traditional dances of Kalos.

Rook would find the performance beautiful and very charming. Epel thinks that the dance was nice and something that he could imagine seeing from the Far East. Vil, on the other hand, thinks of the possible combinations that Soni could've done to enhance the final product. Soni just sweatdrops as Vil is giving his critiques, but she does point out several things like duration times as well as timing on both parts for the Trainer and Pokemon.

Since Soni was doing a more performative piece to begin the competition, this was something that was at the forefront of her mind.

The battles are where Epel really gets involved as they see combinations of Moves being transformed into new Moves that are just as dazzling as the next. Shimmering Swifts merged with Blizzards for a dazzling Snow Storm that buffeted the opponents. Electroweb mixed with a Petal Dance made for a shockingly beautiful display of blooming flowers.

The combination of strategy, as well as presentation and execution of the Moves, is what gets them all involved.

Vil and Rook are very much interested in the point system as well as the judges' opinions, sometimes Vil looks briefly annoyed by a comment before his face smooths out. He's watching attentively for the combo Moves that he could pull off using magic, gaining a bit of inspiration from them as a whole.

Epel and Soni watch the videos back and the latter explains to the former how the whole battle system in Contests was different from a normal battle as well as there being a whole Grand Contest competition for those that gathered 5 Ribbons. Epel isn't fully into the idea of going into Contests, but they don't look bad if they can make something that looks both stunning and badass.

All in all, the Pomefiore trio really enjoyed watching the video, although Soni now has to hope that Vil doesn't go create Contests in TWST.

[kbmercer]

Chapter 2: A New Beginning

[Life’s A Journey]

Summary:

A lot had happened after they parted ways. Nevertheless, the threads that tie them together remained. From children to adults, a reunion that’s long overdue leads the trio to embark on another journey.

Just like old times.

Word Count: 3.8k+

The first thing (Y/n) does when they enter Sonia’s room is divebomb onto her bed. The plush mattress effectively absorbs the weight of their descent and the trainer curls in on themselves like a Litten.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” the redhead giggles as she swiftly usurps her pillow from the resting spot.

“We have a lot to catch up on,” she says as she shoots a glance at Leon. He had relegated himself to sitting in her vanity chair.

“Yeah. Let’s not let this time go to waste!”

“Ugh. Don’t we talk to each other over the phone already?” Leon laughs as Sonia beats (Y/n) with the pillow.

“I’m kidding!” They laugh as they feebly block her attacks.

“There’s no doubt that we have a lot to catch up on, even though we do talk on the phone—especially with you.” They playfully point an accusatory finger at the violet-haired man.

Leon scratches the back of his head abashedly. “Yeah…It’s been a while…”

“I swear, both of you are so limited on time. Sometimes I feel like I’m the one keeping you two in check.” With a hand on her hip, Sonia’s lip juts out in a mild pout and (Y/n) hums.

“Not just you. Hop is mighty loquacious. I’d even go as far to say that I talk to him more than the both of you.”

While Sonia let’s out a noise of surprise, Leon chuckles.

“I suspected as much. If it’s not Gloria or me, then it’s you.”

“Ah, the new champ? I can’t believe it’s been over a year already. How’s she holding up?” (Y/n) moves from their lying position to prop their head onto their hand. Leon shifts in his seat.

“She reminds me a lot of myself. I love the battles and putting a smile on the people of Galar’s face but outside of that—paperwork, meetings with businessmen, sponsorships—it’s not the best. I see the same happening with her.”

“Oof. That’s a bummer. Though, I’m sure she’s a smart kid and will push past that.” Leon agrees with a nod. As he looks back, his business relations weren’t all too terrible. As he grew into the Champion role he had the likes of Rose and Oleana to assist. He will be forever grateful for that help and has been using that knowledge to do the same for Gloria.

“The Galar League is very different from all other regions. While the League is a big deal everywhere else to some extent, Galar is on a different level entirely. It’s like battling here is integral to life, even if you don’t progress very far…”

“That may be true, but I still think that in terms of overall prowess, Galar has a lot to work on.” Leon’s expressive contemplativeness elicits quiet laughs from them and Sonia.

“Stop it. Give Galar a lil’ more credit!” They sit up and cross their legs.

“You’ve still held on to that dream, huh.” Sonia says admirably. Her phrasing was more-so a statement than a question.

It was as if the temperature grew a bit warmer as both (Y/n) and their red-headed friend watched the fire in Leon’s bright eyes glow.

“The dream to make the people of Galar the strongest in the world. A noble endeavor,” (Y/n) teases though Leon pays no mind.

“I meant it then and I mean it now. If I can contribute to making that goal a reality I’ll do what I can.”

“You’ve already done more than enough…” Sonia smiles and (Y/n) intercedes.

“You’re such an over-achiever!”

“You’re ones to talk,” the ex-Champion counters. He swiftly moves from the chair and scoops (Y/n) off Sonia’s bed. They sputter a protest as they’re lifted. The strength that both of their friends possessed was astounding.

“Speaking of champs—congrats on becoming the Unova Champ, mate!”

(E/c) eyes stare into the man’s amber before they begin laughing once more.

“You’re a little too late. Have been Champion for a few years now.”

“Yes, and in those few years we’ve yet to see you. I think it’s high-time to give a proper celebration don’t you think?” They huff before landing a light punch to his chest.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No no. I want to.”

“Don’t let this opportunity slip, (Y/n)! We need to make the most of this while we can!” Sonia presses. (Y/n) was never one for parties but seeing both her friends adamantly agree to the idea is something that they couldn’t bring themselves to reject.

“Fine,” they concede with a sigh. “But don’t get ahead of yourselves. We’re keeping it small.”

Both nod happily. Even though Leon and Sonia are relatively private people, they weren’t above going wild at grand parties.

             “I also think it’s high-time that we have a battle for old times sake!” (Y/n) huffs at his enthusiasm.

             “Always the one to jump right into it, yeah?” Ah, well, it’s not like I didn’t see it coming.” They shrug as a smug smile grows on their face.

“I’m sure Hop gave you the Mega Stones?” Leon’s eyes grow as he is reminded of this. In his excitement for meeting (Y/n), he had forgotten about the items in his possession. Fishing them out of his pocket he showcases them to the two in the room. Sonia gasps, the academic in her rears its head.

“A Charizardite X?! These stones are so rare to find! How’d you get your hands on them?! Her verdant irises analyze the items. The ex-champion hands them to the professor to further examine to which she does with vigor.

“During my time in Kalos, I came across a hiker that was selling ore. It happened to be within the bunch.” Crossing their arms,  (Y/n) lulls their head to the side. “It’s been sitting in my bag for a while and that’s just a waste.” They jut a thumb toward the violet-haired man. “There’s only one person I know that has a Charizard.”

“It’s nice to know that you think of me whenever Charizard is a topic.”

“Hmm. My colleagues like to drag me on escapades after the League challenges end. So, I’ve been dragged into helping study Mega Evolution.”

“You said that you didn’t find out anything new?” Sonia asks. She was fully aware of the work her childhood friend had been doing but had never gotten close to an artifact closely linked to the profound Evolution.

“We haven’t. The stones are a thing we’ve known about for a while, there just isn’t a whole lot of information about Mega Evolution’s history. As much as I’d like to explain further, we’d be here all day. Plus, it’d be better to learn first-hand right?”

“Go on then,” she agrees giving the item back to Leon and they head out the room and down the stairs.

             As the trio make their way out the house, they join with Hop and Magnolia. The younger brother was busy tossing a ball out to the slew of pokémon that occupied the field. (Y/n) and Leon both had released their teams for some exercise, and it looked like they were having a blast. Most of them were passing the play-thing around before returning it to the teen while Magnolia stood elsewhere leisurely waving a feather toy at Babe and Yamper.

Noticing the pokémon’s attention being shifted away from the ball causes the boy to follow their line of sight.

“Done having your convo already?”

“Not quite,” Leon says as he rolls his shoulders. “We’re gonna take the pitch and have us a good battle.”

“This will be a one-on-one for now. We’re testing things out.” While the explanation was pretty vague on it’s own, Hop understands what the Unova Champion means. He was about to see what Mega Evolution was all about.

With a small cheer in anticipation, he is quick to help corral the pokémon away from the violet-clad battlefield. Sonia and Magnolia meet together on the sidelines and the former professor hums.

“I will take the position of referee if that is alright with you all.”

(Y/n) smiles, “Not at all.”

“That’s more than alright, Gran. Besides, I want to document as much as I possibly can.” She pulls a memo pad from her coat pocket and calls her Rotom Phone forward to record.

“Alright, Charizard. You’re up.” The fire-flying type gives out a sprightly roar and takes a battle stance on his trainer’s end of the pitch.

Lulu, (Y/n)’s Lopunny is called forward. With a prompt explanation, the rabbit pokémon shares a determined look with her trainer and confidently enters the field. Leon takes note of the pink bow that (Y/n) wrapped around the pokémon’s left ear, a stone similar to Charizard’s was in the center but in shades of yellow and brown.

             The tension in the air is palpable. Both pokémon keep their eyes on each other as they stand off. Seconds feel like minutes, then Professor Magnolia commences the battle with the stamp of a cane. In a split-second, Charizard and Lulu are already at each other. Padded paws grip sharp claws as both pokémon dig their heels into the sturdy ground, their strength being pushed against one another prevent any sort of pushback before the two ultimately separate. Jumping back to their ends of the field, both pokémon lunge at each other once more to meet in the center.

“Charizard, use Dragon Claw!”

“Counter with Mega Punch!”

The physical attacks make impact, the force of both coming together leaving a blast of air in their wake as it billows throughout the area. (Y/n) feels it flow through their clothing and Leon felt it weave through his hair. The greenery that surrounds them rustle loudly as the fight continues.

             “Fire Fang!”

             “Dodge and use Shadow Ball!”

Taking a leap over Charizard, Lulu creates a sphere of ominous energy in between her paws and brings it down on her adversary, though Charizard is quick on his feet and redirects. The Shadow Ball is destroyed as he brings his heated fangs down on the attack. The spectral power is enough to nullify his Fire Fang however, and the flames in his maw dissipate. Lulu gives a teasing snicker and Charizard releases a low growl blowing the aftermath of smoke from his nose.

“Brutal Swing!”

“Breaking Swipe!”

Both trainers had shouted their commands in unison. The two pokémon go for a sweep but are caught at an impasse once more. (Y/n) hums amusedly. If their attacks were going to constantly be nulled, this match was going to be a lengthy one. Leon appears to share the same sentiment.

             “I guess some things never change! Even now we still manage to hold each other off!” The glint in the former champ’s warm amber eyes showed a sense of renewed spirit and anticipation. (Y/n) responds in kind.

             “You and I have only gotten stronger since times past. It’s only natural we’d be neck and neck with each other again.” Their smile was prideful, (e/c) eyes harboring mischief. “But we also understand that one of us will slip-up eventually. Regardless of who that may be, Lulu and I will give our 110 percent!” Leon lets out a joyful laugh.

“Well said! We won’t lose, so prepare yourself!”

As they stand by, Sonia and Hop can feel their hearts race. Spectating Leon and (Y/n) as both stand assertively and give quick-witted directions to their pokémon was a sight to behold. Swift and graceful movements between Charizard and Lopunny almost look like a dance. Neither of them let up and devote all their focus on both the opponent and the commands of their respective trainers. Directions continued to be shouted and every time both pokémon went to deal damage it would only end in a stalemate. The clock ticks and Sonia soon begins to notice that the two creatures are starting to grow tired. Movement starts to slow down little by little. Room for exploiting weak points were gradually opening for them both. Meanwhile, Hop and Professor Magnolia gauge the Mega Stones that Charizard and Lulu wear. Both had gradually begun to glow the longer the two butt heads. It was only a matter of time before their power took effect.  Though, the call to transformation was a two-way street.

(Y/n) is quick to make the call.

“Alright! I think it’s time we speed up the process. As much as I love a good battle, I don’t have all day,” (Y/n)’s words are teasing as they move their hand to wrap around their Key Stone. The Key Stone activates, and Lulu’s Mega Stone reacts. The symbol that lie in the center of Lulu’s Lopunnite glows radiantly and the warm mix of yellow and brown is overtaken by an ethereal rainbow. The multicolored aura expands, encasing the pokémon in a prominent crystal before it breaks open to reveal the Lopunny’s transformation. Her appearance is more dynamic with the fur on her ears being shaved down—the tuft being more prominent at the top of the head in the reminiscent form of a butterfly. Voices of wonder flow through the audience. With a flourish, Lulu takes an arm and sweeps a long ear away from her face before taking a boxing stance.

Leon had watched their actions intently and the activation to Mega Evolution seemed simple enough. He is quick to follow suit.

“I’m game for a quick-fire round. Let’s make things more interesting!” He takes his hand and places it over the brooch he’d pinned to his outfit and the glow of the Charizardite X does the same. Charizard is encased in a similar crystal before it falls away. There was no longer a trace of warmth in the skin with orange being replaced with black. His wings have become more pointed and perhaps the most notable feature resulting from the transformation was the bright blue flames that kindle at the jaw and tail. The new power elicits a booming cry from Leon’s companion as he regards his opponent once more. Then the two fighters continue to exchange blows.

“Iron Tail,” Charizard’s tail moves hit Lopunny and she braces for the impact. The damage taken was minimal as the rabbit pokémon listens for her trainer’s orders.

“Ice Punch.” In one swift movement, Lulu utilizes their close distance to hit Charizard on the chest, giving an effective blow. With a grunt, the fire-dragon type jumps back to make space.

“Dragon Pulse.” He opens his mouth as the fire between his jaws grows larger before blowing the flames.

“Use Agility and dodge it,” Lulu just barely bypasses the heat and increases her speed.

“Go for another Ice Punch!” Frigid crystals enclose around Lulu’s fist once more as she goes in for another strike.

“Not a chance!” Leon interjects before giving another command. “Let’s take this up high!” He points skyward with vigor and Charizard follows the order, spreading his wings and lifting off the ground.

(Y/n)’s lips press into a thin line, though it’s gone as soon as it appears. It’s clear that Charizard was now at an advantage, but surely Lulu is more than capable of taking that away.

“Alrighty, Lulu. Let’s meet ‘em there with a Bounce.” In one swift motion, the normal-fighting type gauges Charizard’s location in the air before reaching him in the sky with little to no effort.

“Chip-away with Acrobatics!” With whatever momentum she had in the forever space, Lulu flips and kicks at Charizard utilizing every part of her body—arms, legs, and ears to hit at him rapidly. She manages land a few but is quickly met with retaliation.

“Take her down with an Air Slash!” Leon’s command is instantly met with the action as if they were in synch.

Charizard flaps his wings rapidly to create a razor sharp current of air to which Lopunny takes the blunt force of, being sent back to solid-ground. (Y/n)’s jaw clenches for a moment but they think fast on a method to break their partner’s fall.

“Use Acrobatics once more and land on your feet!” Having heard loud and clear, Lulu tucks in on herself as she speedily descends. Doing a few flips mid-air, Lulu lands on the battlefield safely albeit the velocity. Charizard remains in the air as it seems that Leon is banking on this tactic. It was time to change that.

“Use Bounce! One more time!”

Lulu meets with Charizard in the air once more and the fire-dragon rears for another Air Slash—a mistake that could very well hand them the match.

“Perfect. Go for the wing!” Before Lulu can suffer another super-effective blow, she intercepts by using another bout of Acrobatics to nullify both of their flying-type attacks. Lulu takes the split-second after the nullification to latch on to Charizard’s wing. This action served as a surprise to everyone watching as the rabbit pokémon utilizes Charizard’s weight to swing, using his appendage like a trapeze. Releasing the wing from her grasp, Lulu moves into a 180 back-flip effectively landing on Charizard’s back.

“Drain Punch, let’s go!” A hefty strike to the back destabilizes Charizard’s flight and in the shock brought on by the sapping of his energy, he starts to rapidly fall. Leon’s brows furrow bringing wrinkles to his forehead as he feels the pressure of the fight get heavier. While he’s had plenty of experience in battles, (Y/n)’s unconventional strategies always found a way to turn the tables. It’s something he had noticed back when they’d battled in the Gym Challenge as children. Now as adults battling once again, he’s noticed that their skill in unconventional thinking hadn’t gone away. If anything, it’s gotten stronger alongside their team. Lulu had not missed a beat despite the large risk and managed to pull through. Her partner trusted them completely—relying on them to make the correct calls and obeying without hesitation. Unfortunately for (Y/n), he could say the same for he and Charizard.

“Use this descent to your advantage! Take her down with you and use Heat Crash!” (Y/n)’s eyes widen at this command watching on in growing disdain.

Charizard moves to shake from Lulu from his back avoiding her attempts to take hold and remain on his back. The strong blue flames that flowed from his mouth along with the flame at the end of his tail grew larger and crept along Charizard’s body until he was wholly engulfed in the flame. He feels no pain, but Lulu does and continues to feel the searing heat as they torpedo into the field. Obviously, Charizard uses his opponent to break the fall and (Y/n)’s heart races—faster than it had in a long time. A crater was made in the ground kicking up chunks of dirt and leaving a larger dust cloud.

             (Y/n)’s teeth grind together before they call out to their partner. Both trainers wait a bit as the cloud in front of them disperses. Taking a breath, they grin. Both partners remained conscious on the field thought they both look petered out, though Lopunny looked too worse for wear. She had endured and the Unova champ felt nothing but pride.

This conflict was reaching its end and if they wanted to win, they’d have to do it quickly. Both pokémon remained in close proximity to each other, creating distance wasn’t an option anymore.

             “Dragon Claw,” Leon shouts.

             “Swift,” (Y/n) commands in tandem. The star-like projectiles that come of the attack are easily destroyed by the Charizard’s heavy swipes, but they only served as a distraction.

Gotcha.

“Low Kick,” without a second to spare. Lulu kicks out their legs using his weight against him. The disorientation that follows is exactly what they need to bring this to a close.

“Alright! Finish the job with Play Rough!” Lulu holds Charizard down and uses the remainder of her energy to thrash with the fire-flying type. The dirt and debris that accumulated throughout the fight created yet another opaque cloud within the battlefield though (Y/n) didn’t need to see pass to know that the brawl was over.

Sure enough, as the dust settles, Charizard is down for the count. He had reverted back to his normal self—no black seen in his skin, just the warmth of orange. Lulu managed to stay standing but just barely. The rabbit stood in a fighting stance despite the outcome and only falters at the words spoken by Magnolia.

“Charizard is unable to battle. Lulu is the victor.”

The pokémon’s Mega transformation dissipates as the pokémon falls forward and into a kneel. The jovial cheers of their spectators mixes with (Y/n)’s own as they’re quick to assist Lulu in regaining her health.

             “You did wonderfully, Lulu! I’m so proud of you!” They bring their companion in for a hug and she reciprocates in kind before separating. Turning to see Leon tending to Charizard, the Unova champion praises the winged creature.

             “I’m honestly very surprised. For a first timer, he did a top-notch job.” Leon smiles as he looks up at (Y/n) from his squatting position.

             “That’s good to hear,” his gaze shifts to look back at Charizard. Despite the loss, his partner was in high-spirits— more enthusiastic than he was before the fight, in fact.

             “It’s one thing to see the photos and read about it. Obviously, utilizing the change in battle is a completely different experience.”

             “So what’d ya think?”

             “I think it’s great. Maybe the reason Charizard could get the hang of it so quickly was because the transformation is sort of like Gigantamax in a way. They change form and unlock strengths and abilities that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

             “That’s why I’m so interested in it. Dynamax and Gigantamax seem to be a capability that is exclusive to Galar with the use of hotspots and wishing stars, but Mega Evolution is something that can be utilized anytime and anywhere, no matter the region. All you need are the proper stones and a close bond with your partner.” They take their hand to make a fanning gesture.

             “I’ve kinda already spieled about this, so I’ll cut to the chase. Keep the stones and add them to your arsenal. It won’t hurt to shake things up a little bit.” Leon had since moved from his squat to stand.

             “Sounds like a plan. We’d never reject this opportunity to get stronger, isn’t that right?” Charizard grunts in affirmation. (Y/n) laughs.

             “And we’ll look forward to it.”

After the post-battle the exchange Magnolia, Sonia, and Hop meet them on the field.

             “That battle was so awesome!” The teen enthused with a twinkle settled in his already bright eyes.

             “I’ve only ever seen a few Mega Evolution battles in my lifetime, and they never cease to amaze me.” Magnolia agrees.

             “I’m so glad Rotom was recording. My heart was beating out of my chest that I failed to take notes,” Sonia whines. “At least I can re-watch it…”

             “You’d best make use of this great power and hone your skill of it, ya hear?” The elder presses to which Leon nods his head with no hesitation.

“Definitely.”

****************************

 I started shiny hatching and just never made it back…I managed to obtain 8 new shinies in the span of a month. Hyper-fixation at its finest.

Relegating Pokémon move sets to only four at a time is boring, so I removes that aspect. I understand why this is a thing in-game, but this is a story. I feel like pokémon should have access to their entire move pool—both learned and through TM/TR.