#kicks minun

[hostile-heros]

Pumpkin stares at the two Pokemon bickering between each other, Kicks insisting that Connor is lying while Connor insists he hasn't seen this man ever in his life.

Pumpkin gets pulled out of xeir trance as their mother taps them on the shoulder.

ROSIE: "Sweetie, is this true?"

Connor internally celebrates over Pumpkin covering him and his made up on the spot lie as Kicks has a further tantrum in the background.

ROSIE: "I see."

She turns towards where Kicks is lying down.

Kicks, afraid of the threat from Pumpkin's mother, shuts up and sinks back into his infirmary bed.

KICKS: "Yes ma'am."

ROSIE: "Good. Now that fuss is over with. Are you ready for your check up Connor?"

CONNOR: "Yep."

ROSIE: "Good. Now if you can make your way over here and take a sit."

[voidvinn]

made it to the battle pyramid in emerald (again)

[cidsin]

Art by me @cidsin Character belongs to @faestorian

the first art fight attack that ain't a revenge... and I don't know how much more i can manage :((

but yes, had to be her! We need more powerladies of the mermaids!!!!

[frikatilhi]

What was your reaction when Bojan was like ”we had such a beautiful symbiosis of being constantly together” about their Cyprus vacation?

Oh I had a totally normal reaction

In their beautiful symbiosis in their rakas huone with his minun ukkelini, they wanted to rest their heads from the same things, and they didn't have the need to talk all the time

I'm imagining them silently, comfortably together, doing their thing and just being, not feeling any pressure to be anything, just themselves, Jere's mind quieting down for once (and maybe sometimes being kicked out to go on his daily yapping walks), Bojan's reading his Finnish book and thinking how perfect this all is, could it always be just this

And them coming back and saying out loud how it was perfect, can we get one more week

Yeah, totally normal about all this

[pines-pokemon-center]

Its early. Before sunrise. The girl hugs the small mon as she holds on to her pigdeot. Tears streak her face. She cant believe she just did that.

The bird lands and she checks the mon. Its so spaced out still. How long had it been locked in that closet in the dark? She hated her brother being so mean to pokemon.

She looks around, itll be okay here. She didnt know how to help. She took off her scarf to wrap it up with the note of what happened. She shouldnt be caught sneaking out. Maybe someday she’ll see it again after shes begin her journey next year. Happy and healthy…

She pets its head. It doesn’t respond, only hides its face from the start of light, too used to the dark and silence. So used to being devoid of sensory. So used to being alone…

“Good luck Stitch.”

This is Stitch. He has been trapped in a box in a dark quiet place for several months since my brother hatched him. Im going to tell him Stitch got out and ran away. Please help little Stitch.

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

((Not the same day))

The trainer held the pokeball close. He cant believe his opponent had tried to break it with the pokemon inside.

“Fine! Keep it! That feral thing isn’t worth training! Its so weak and nothing i did worked!”

He pouted wishing he could come up with a great come back but he just got up from the dirt from the dive to save the pokeball. It did seem so angry and hurt and wouldn’t listen when they battled… and then when he kicked the poor thing… He didnt blame the little mon for snapping back. Almost wished itd bit that jerk.

There was no way he’d be any better trying to train this little feisty mon. He took out his pokedex and looked up where he could take them. It was a bit of a ride on his bike, evening by the time he arrived but he made it there to drop off the little plusel, “Thanks for taking in Cross. Shes hurt and is very very… fiesty. I hope she finds a great home that can handle her.”

Hello everyone,

We here at the center thought long and hard about sharing this story here on our official blog. Ultimately, it was decided that stories like this are important to share because it spreads awareness of some of the harsh realities of why some Pokemon end up in our care.

These two are not currently up for adoption. I wish to share progress of their recovery as they begin their stay here at our center as well as showcase how our process of rehabilitation goes.

Our first initial plans are to introduce these two to one another due to how important the bond between Plusle and Minun are to their overall health and wellbeing. While it isn't mandatory to have both, it can be a bit harder to care for one of these two if they are without a partner.

Nurse Joy will keep you updated on their health as their recovery goes along. If people are interested in seeing more about how we take care of Pokemon, I will consider adding a fourth employee to this blog.

Sincerely, Scott

[sword-reborn]

GYM BATTLE- Julia

A recorded match of a gym battle. Watch it? ----

[VIDEO: The footage is taken from a camera hanging above the room. A large battle court is displayed, with flashing glass tiles that light up yellow in a moving pattern. A green-haired girl in a cheerleader costume stands at the back, under an array of hot pink banners that spell out "KABOOM!!!" in bold, sparkly golden letters. She bounces back and forth on her feet as the camera rotates to show Blake walking through the double doors, pink hair a bit frazzled.

"Hihi, Blake!" Julia greets the challenger eagerly. "Welcome to the Super-Duper Ultra-Hyper Electro-Dazzle Happy Boom Time House of CHEER!! You liked the gym maze I set up back there?!"

"It was certainly... explosive," Blake replies, pushing bits of their hair back into place.

"Course it was! That's what I'm all about!" she said proudly, then did a quick glance around the room. "You can just ignore all the super lame machinery junk. I need more banners! And streamers! And, hm... FIREWORKS!"

"That-" Blake knitted their brows a bit in concern. "Isn't that a safety hazard?"

"Wait, is it?" Julia slumped a bit, but then shook her head dismissively. "Oh, who cares! Anyways, don't think I'm gonna go easy on you just cause you helped us out with those Team Meteor bozos earlier! I've got pride to uphold! As former captain cheerleader, the Onyx Trainer School's honor depends on me!"

She pulls a set of yellow pom poms out, and begins to chant as she kicks her legs up and down in what looks like a cheerleader routine. "OTS, we represent! We pack a punch and don't relent!"

Without any further ado, she reaches for a Pokeball on her belt and smiles excitedly. "Alright, alright, alright, I'm wired so let's fight!!!"

The battle kicks off fairly quickly, with Julia leading in with her Minun, and Blake with Ruben. Even with a lower leveled Pokemon, Blake's long history of battle experience shines through the first few match ups- with their trusty Combusken Flame-Charging three opponents down in a row without so much as a sweat.

Eventually, a shiny Alolan Geodude comes out, so they switch to Viper. This one takes a bit more of a struggle, but the Ekans manages to narrowly slither around the rock monster's punches and wither its health down with Bite. After that, Oricorio follows- and unfortunately, Viper fumbles from the exhaustion of the last fight and gets taken down by a swift Air Cutter. Ruben's up next, though, and yet again steals the win with another Flame Charge.

Her last one up is Electrode. While Ruben's still going pretty strong, his opponent is buzzing with double the energy from the electric field affect. Ruben gets the first move from his prior speed boosts, but Electrode tanks it again and retaliates with a brutal Charge Beam.

"Hang in there, Ruben, almost done!" Blake calls out to their starter, before calling another Flame Charge.

Ruben rushes in coated in flames, landing the hit, but after getting rolled into a nearby wall Electrode still stands. It fires off another Charge Beam, and you see a flash of panic cross Blake's face- but Ruben manages to slide across the tiled floor and out of the way just in the nick of time. This time, he goes in for a Double Kick- and just like that, the match is over.

"Huh?" Julia blinks a bit in surprise as her defeated Electrode rolls pitifully past her, as if she's snapping out of a daze. "Aw, I lost already?"

"YEAH!" Blake exclaims, jumping up in triumph before rushing over to envelop their Pokemon in a hug. Ruben lets out a small coo of surprise as they pick him up and spin him around. "That was awesome, buddy! You kicked ass!"

Once the excitement of Blake and Ruben's victory settles down, Julia rubs her eyes sleepily as she recalls Electrode to its ball. "Mrrr... Whateverrr, I'm gonna go take a power nap."

"Wait-" Blake stops her just as she tosses her pom poms aside to a nearby bench and starts to trundle off. "What about my badge?"

"Hm? Oh, right." She turns towards them, then raises her head a bit in realization before digging into her pocket and flicking it to them with her thumb. "Fiiiine, take your Whatchamacolit Badge."

Blake manages to catch it, but then looks up at Julia like they were expecting there to be more. "The Thingamajigger Badge makes stuff happen," the Gym Leader mumbles on, snapping her fingers a few times like she's trying to remember something. "Aaaand it allows you to use the thing. I need coffee..."

She seems to doze off while standing for a split second, but before Blake can comment on it, her eyes snap back open. "Oh! Also, it allows you to use the move Cut outside of battle!"

"It does? How?"

"Well I mean, I think it lets ya use it legally around here, I mean," she clarifies. "Means yer a responsible enough trainer to not go chopping someone in half or somethin'. Also-also, it lets Pokemon up to level twenty-five obey you."

Blake mutters something about having already completed three gym challenges before and not needing to worry about any of that, but Julia doesn't seem to hear. "Also-also-also, take this!" She suddenly turns on her heel, extending a yellow disc sealed in a plastic container to them. "Consider it a thanks for your help earlier. Your sister can use it too, if she wants! It doesn't go boom, but it IS a useful move!"

"Oh, thanks," Blake says, looking over the TM for a moment. "Charge Beam, huh? Could come in handy if I catch an Electric-type later..."

"Aaanyways, sleepies. Good night..." Julia yawns, before collapsing onto the bench she threw her pom poms onto earlier. "Zzzz...."

Blake stares awkwardly at her for a moment, seeming perplexed at just how fast she conked out. They share a look with Ruben, before shrugging and turning around to make their exit from the gym.]

---

[miraculousmitzi]

Sonic characters, their gym specialisms and potential gym teams. A thread (since I enjoyed making my Hetalia/Pokémon threads so much!).

Sonic:

I think for Sonic, he'd be a normal type gym leader. This is a tough one, but I think given how Sonic seemingly sees the best in everyone and can pinpoint their better qualities, he'd be the type to have a cool normal type team to show people normal type Pokémon are just as exceptional as other types!

Potential team: Kangaskhan (a reference to Sonic's bravery, like how this Pokémon will always fight to protect its young, Sonic will always fight for his home and those he cares about), Lopunny (reference to Sonic's combat skills), Audino (reference to Sonic's kindness and compassion), Snorlax (I like to think this Pokémon and Sonic would eat SO many chillidogs), Ditto (a reference to Sonic's inner prankster, I can imagine Sonic asking Ditto to turn into others as a distraction for Eggman).

Shadow:

Given how Shadow's personality can be described, I think he'd be a dark type gym leader.

Potential team: Sableye (reference to the Chaos Emeralds), Houndoom (its nature and how it is described in Pokédex entries remind me of how others fear Shadow), Tyranitar (a strong, powerful Pokémon- similiar to how one could argue Shadow is), Pangoro (another reference to Shadow's physical strength and the fact that like this Pokémon, Shadow sometimes engages with his fists first), Umbreon (reference to Shadow's inhibitor rings).

Knuckles:

Knuckles for sure would be a fighting type gym leader, given his strength and combat skills.

Potential team: Hitmonchan (reference to Knuckles' fighting spirit), Annihilape (reference to how one may describe Knuckles' nature and its fists also remind me of Knuckles'), Machamp (reference to Knuckles' physical strength), Scrafty (reference to how Knuckles looks after his friends, though he is fierce and often a loner by nature), Hariyama (another reference to Knuckles' strength, like how this Pokémon compares strength).

Tails:

I can see Tails as an electric type gym leader, due to his engineering work and intelligence surrounding technology.

Potential team: Plusle and Minun (reference to Tails' energy and enthusiasm in regards to working with his friends, particularly Sonic), Rotom (I can imagine Rotom would help Tails in his work, particularly when inventing new equipment), Kilowattrel (reference to Tails' ability to fly), Alolan Golem (I think Tails would have a Pokémon like this to act as a defense against Eggman's attacks), Jolteon (its appearance reminds me a little of Tails), Magneton (again, another useful Pokémon for Tails in his engineering work).

Amy:

Amy would be a fairy type gym leader, given her gentle but powerful disposition (like how fairy types can be cute but also pack a punch!).

Potential team: Wigglytuff, Tinkaton (reference to Amy's Piko hammer), Togekiss (reference to Amy's connection with nature and Birdie), Slurpuff (reference to Amy's baking/cooking skills that have been hinted at), Sylveon (reference to Amy's caring nature and how in touch she is with her emotions).

Rouge:

Ahh, this is a tough one! But I can see Rouge being a steel type gym leader, one who has Pokémon to help her hunt for jewels with Pokémon strong enough to fend off potential threats to her missions.

Potential team: Mawile (reference to Rouge's cunningness and deceptive appearance), Corviknight (reference to Rouge's flying ability), Klefki (much like how this Pokémon loves keys, this is a reference to Rouge's love of emeralds and gems- I also like to think she'd try and use this Pokémon to get into places where she shouldn't be), Copperajah (reference to Rouge's strength, especially her kicks, and her proud nature), Tinkatuff (I like to think Rouge would have this Pokémon help her dig and scout out gems and jewels).

Silver:

I think Silver would be a psychic type gym leader, given the nature of his abilities and the fact he is from the future.

Potential team: Espeon (I like to think he'd have a Pokémon like this to warn him of potential danger), Gardevoir (reference to the fact Silver is from the future), Male Meowstic (its defensive nature reminds me of Silver being able to use his abilities as a defense), Sigilyph (reference to Silver being able to fly using his abilities), Galarian Rapidash (reference to Silver's bravery and strength), Alakazam (another reference to Silver's abilities and his knowledge).

Blaze:

A no brainer here- Blaze would be a fire type gym leader.

Potential team: Flareon (a reference to Blaze's ability), Blaziken (reference to Blaze's strength and inner temper), Delphox (its appearance reminds me of Blaze's appearance and also, both can be argued to be quite elegent), Armarouge (reference to Blaze's loyalty to her friends and allies), Arcanine (reference to Blaze's royalty and her regal nature).

[skippthecredits]

Field Log #10

Back on the road again. I didn't get a whole lot of research done today since I'm still getting used to being back on the grind, but I guess I can talk about the shit I saw in Slateport.

For starters, I noticed a fuckton of feral Yamper. I'm not sure if they count as invasive or whatever, but they were everywhere at night, digging through trash cans and shit. I remember there was a similar problem in Celadon the last I saw of it. People thought they were cute and found ways to get them imported from Galar to raise and breed, then started releasing them when they realized how easily bored they are and how much space they need to run around. I guess this is karma biting me in the ass or something.

There's also a small population of Toxel near Cycling Road that seems to be outcompeting the native Plusle and Minun. I'm guessing something similar happened with these guys and that's why they're here. Toxicitry look cool as fuck. Maybe I'll see about adding one to the team once I get some more resources. Toxel are a pain in the ass though, so maybe not.

Beyond that, I was too busy dealing with evil team bullshit to do any work. Some researcher doing field studies got their shit kicked in by these pirate cosplayers calling themselves Team Neo-Aqua. I've run into them a few times at this point, and motherfucker they've landed on my list. Not for the scientist thing, but they keep getting in my damn way.

[super-smash-bracket]

As an interim!

Here's another fun little "longshot" character, since everyone seemed to like my concepts for Anna and Plusle & Minun!

MACH RIDER, from the 1985 game MACH RIDER! A highly mobile fighter with not just a motorbike, but also a machine gun and a knife!

Of course, all Machine Gun blasts are relegated to their NEUTRAL SPECIAL! It's simple! It doesn't need explaining! It's a quick hail of bullets!

Ordinarily, driving the bike around won't deal impact damage. HOWEVER! For the SIDE SPECIAL, Mach Rider will REV UP their engines! Holding down the special button will get those motors really running! The ensuing impact has power that's DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL!

Up Special takes a bit of a hint from a similar fan-favorite, EXCITEBIKE! That's right, it's a RAMP! Mach Rider rides up the ramp! Like Donkey Kong, it isn't exactly good for vertical movement, but horizontally it's an incredible return technique!

For the Down Special, Mach Rider kicks an OIL BARREL at their opponents! Hitting it causes it to roll faster, or even in the other direction! Hit it too much, and it'll explode into an oil slick that makes that area of the stage too slippery to stand still on! Hit it with any fire move, and it'll just explode!

Of course, that Final Smash is non-negotiable these days! It's a FOURTH-GEAR RUNDOWN, of course! Mach Rider runs down the opponent, then, RIDING ON THE BACK OF THE STAGE LIKE A TRICK RIDER, DRIVES AROUND AND RUNS THEM DOWN AGAIN! When it comes to high speed assaults, NEXT TO NOTHING COMPARES! Ride on, Mach Rider!

[adcraball-a]

Here's Lyra swooping in to give Kris a hug, cheering as she throws her arms around her: "pinch,"—pat—"punch,—bap—"first of the month!"

It's obvious what she's done as soon as she's pulled away. Kris' shoulder is now emblazoned with a sticker��a cartoony slowking wearing glasses and a mortar board—as is the back of her left hand. It's a holographic sticker of a plusle and minun jumping in the air with 'best friends' written in cartoony capitals below.

Quick as she appears, Lyra's scampering back towards C.C., calling, "No take-backs!" over her shoulder as goes.

"WOAH--

Lyra what th-"

...well. That's it. She really, really thought she'd survive without having to deal with April Fools without having to deal with any weird prank! What will it be this time? A "kick me" note? Something about her being silly??? Or--

"...oh."

Or something very sweet, actually. Aw.

"..well, I don't think I'm going to ask for backsies! This is cute!!"

She's going to keep these forever. :)

[hostile-heros]

KICKS: "THAT MOTHERFUCKER RIGHT THERE!"

ROSIE: "First of all, inside voice. Second of all, what?"

Connor adjusts himself by walking over besides where Pumpkin is standing, closer to observing the rather pissed off and violent rat.

KICKS: "That's the Chimchar who gave me my injuries!"

Ah... Fuck... Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. FUCK.

Of course Kicks would be here in the guild's infirmary you literally injured him yesterday.

KICKS: "He fuckin' assaulted me yesterday in the arvo! In Beach Cave!"

That's it you're over. You're over. You're fucked. That's it. You had a chance at a new life to be a new person. A good person. And you've fucked it up. He's going to tell everyone about you. Everyone is going to know what you did. They're going to hate you and they're going to hate Pumpkin too. You've made everything so much worse.

. . .

Or... Or have you?

This guy is an asshole and from the tone of voice herd before, Rosie does not seem to be a fan of him either.

Can...

I can be a good person.

But that doesn't mean. That doesn't mean a good person doesn't do bad things right? This isn't bad. This. This is saving yourself. It's like swimming so you don't drown.

I'm not doing a bad thing.

I just don't want to go back.

I don't want to go back to being... Being that thing.

ROSIE: "Connor, Do you not know this Minun?"

Connor takes a moment to look at Kick's exasperated face before looking towards Pumpkin, making eye contact with their confused gaze before lightly tapping their arm twice.

C'mon. Please Pumpkin. Understand what i'm doing.

He looks at Rosie. Then back at Kicks.

He grins. Knowing full well that Rosie cannot see his current expression.

[rodimissliveblogs]

Trying to figure out how I want to incorporate Scarlett’s now-numerous losses to Lacey and Drayton into my canon. That first loss against Lacey, the game comments on and lets you progress, so that’s canon.

But the others… I can’t decide if Kieran telling you not to lose is because Kieran wants to be the only person to beat you, to prove unequivocally that he is the strongest, or because if you lose to the Elite Four, it knocks your ranking down and you can’t progress further. It sounds very clearly like the latter when he checked in after Scarlett beat Amarys, but the first time he says it could really be anything. A combo of both seems most reasonable to me.

So then… Scarlett losing to Lacey and Drayton both doesn’t work if those losses would knock her BB League ranking down to a point that she’s gotta work her way back up to challenge the whole Elite Four again. I mean, I could have that arc, but I feel like that’s gonna get muddy with what’s going on with Kieran. That’s gonna make his arc weird. I’m sure there’s a way to make it work, but I probably have to see how things resolve with him first.

On the other hand, I think Scarlett the character is a little more careful than I the player currently am. I mean, I’ve described Scarlett as a wrecking ball before, but I think having her ass kicked by a Plusle and a Minun shakes a little more sense into her that it did for me, the player. She’s being a little more mindful in her training and prep. And like, Drayton says before you battle him that he wants to see you go all the way through the League (though he’s not gonna go easy on you for it!).

So I’m thinking maybe he gives her a few pointers. After the battle with Amarys he’s like “listen, princess, your team has done pretty well so far, but how is it that you’ve got fifteen Pokémon in active rotation and Fairies and an Excadrill will eat almost all of them?" And he's also observed that she still doesn't seem to be fully keyed-in to the double-battle style, so he's like here, let's have a practice round between us - no League rankings, no witnesses, nothing official, just a fun match between buddies ("...are we?" "You wound me, bud.") and an assessment so that Drayton can give her a better idea of what she needs to work on.

And then he kicks her ass, because she is, in fact, still struggling with double battles.

This lets me have both another devastating loss on her record, because I as the player have had enough of those that I feel like I gotta give her another. But it also doesn't mess up the BB League rankings, and Kieran never has to know (until he's mentally stable again, later), and gives me more room to play with the five-car pile-up that the Scarlett-Drayton friendship is, in my head, becoming.

[ecargmura]

The Indigo Disk DLC Is Really Run! (Review)

If Teal Mask showed off the adventure/story aspect of Pokemon, Indigo Disk showed off the battle aspect of Pokemon as it is a primarily battle-heavy DLC. Compared to the previous DLC, this one was a lot more challenging due to an up in levels and that battles are primarily in doubles; this means that you have to think strategically about the Pokemon you want on your team and how you’ll survive. Did I do any of that? I did…and I still got my ass whooped.

I think the Indigo Disk DLC is good! A lot better than Teal Mask, in all honesty. Kitakami was just a small region with little battle, an expansive area to explore, and a good story. However, Indigo Disk has battles, exploration and story equally. Unlike Kitakami where the location isn’t specifically told, Blueberry Academy is primarily in the Unova region. Given that it’s near the ocean, I can safely assume it’s somewhere nearby Undella Town.

In terms of battles, Indigo Disk is the most challenging Pokemon has been since Pokemon Colosseum. Because it has been 20 years since the Gamecube game, I can safely say that Indigo Disk is A LOT more challenging because there are more Pokemon and a lot more strategies used. The tutorial battle with Lacey and her Plusle and Minun was actually super creative with how they both have hidden abilities and use it to their advantage. One had Volt Absorb and the other had Lightning Rod and using moves like Helping Hand and Discharge made such a unique battle strategy; while I had no issues with the battle, if you had trouble with those rats, that is a testament to how you need to up your strategy game. It’s not just Lacey, every NPC in this DLC fight via double battles and they all have different strategies. I once got my ass kicked by this NPC named Max who had two Oricorios with the Dancer ability, which meant that Revelation Dance was chain spammed. The Blueberry Elite Four are really challenging—all of their Pokemon are in the high 70’s and the Champion, Kieran, is in the 80’s. What other trainers have you challenged that were in the high 70’s and 80’s? The Elite Four are also the first League where double battles are mainly used. This is why they are hard; they also have one oddball in their full party to throw the player off and also amp their types. I lost to Crispin once, Lacey knocked out five of my Pokemon, Amarys was easy, and I lost to Drayton 3 times. 

The exploration in Blueberry Academy is super fun. There are four biomes where Pokemon inhabit, but they’re all super cool. I really like exploring them. Some of the areas in the biomes are a nod to previous games. For example, the Savanna Biome is a nod to the Kanto Safari Zone as some of the Pokemon you can find there are Pokemon you can find in the Safari Zone like Doduo, Kantonian Tauros, Chansey, Doduo, Exeggcute, Venonat and Scyther. The Coastal Biome seems to be a nod to Alola as most available Alolan forms are found there. The Canyon Biome has a small cavern called Chargestone Cavern where it is a replica of the actual Chargestone Cave and it connects with the Polar Biome. I think this is a cool idea and that you can find starters in the wild if you collect BP, the main currency of the school, and upgrade the biomes.

The story is a bit of a sequel of Teal Mask. The reason why the player goes to Blueberry Academy is because Carmine recommended you to Cyrano, the headmaster of the academy, after the events of Teal Mask. I’m not sure how much time had passed between Teal Mask and Indigo Disk; I’m assuming it to be months because Carmine talks to the player as if we haven’t seen each other in months. In terms of story, this is a bit more simpler than Teal Mask as the main “story” is just trying to be the very best, knock down Kieran to become Champion, and then go to Area Zero. There wasn’t as much lore like Kitakami; this is why Teal Mask has better story, but the story in Indigo Disk isn’t bad. If I were to describe the story, it’s mainly trying to rekindle the lost friendship with Kieran who has changed for the worst after the events of TM. Returning to Area Zero was pretty cool, but it sucks that Terapagos wasn’t too important to the story like how Ogerpon was; it was mainly plot device and something to fight and to show off the Stellar Tera Type.

Even if ID’s story was simple, the characters made up for it. The characters were all so good. The BB League Elite Four were so great and unique. Crispin is hilarious with the way he had 6 Magmortars in his trial; Lacey is adorable; Amarys is also adorable; Drayton is a toothpaste-haired bozo. All of their personalities are unique and stand out so much. Carmine and Kieran changed a lot too. Carmine is a bit calmer and less arrogant than she was in the beginning of TM. The events of the previous DLC has gotten Kieran to change from shy and reserved to obsessive and cold. Getting him back to the way he was is the main focus of the DLC as his desire to get stronger intoxicates him; no, the theory of him being possessed is untrue. Fortunately, he does become your friend again after the events of Area Zero—Area Zero is a place that solidifies friendships, let that be known. My only real disappointment was Briar. While she isn’t a true villain, she was mainly the cause of problems in the Area Zero section; she doesn’t have a battle or even a Pokemon with her. That’s a bit unfortunate and big wasted potential for someone who is supposed to be Heath’s descendant. I did like that the mysterious drawing of the circular Pokemon did get answered in this DLC via Stellar Form Terapagos.

There’s a lot to do post-game from inviting special coaches from Paldea to get rematches and special gifts and Pokemon trades to completing the club requests to finding Legendaries to fighting a secret boss (I haven’t encountered this secret boss yet). Compared to the previous DLC, there’s a lot to do and that makes me happy. I even completed the Pokedex and that’s only one thing I crossed off of my list.

I had a fun time with the DLC, but it isn’t perfect. Let me tell you some of my gripes of this DLC. Grinding for BP via Blueberry Quests (BBQ) is probably my least favorite thing ever. While I don’t hate it as much as I hate Ogre Oustin’, it gets tedious and boring after a while. I think it’s just best to find a friend and do BBQs together to get BP. It’s a lot faster; single-player BP grinding is so asinine. With all the emphasis on Terapagos, I do feel like Stellar Tera type isn’t interesting. It’s pretty to look at, but what does it really do other than be a type for Terastalizing? Will it be used in a future generation? Is it viable for actual gameplay? What are its weaknesses? Its strengths? The fact that there’s really nothing going for the Stellar type despite the hype for a 19th type is a bit disappointing. The fact that the build-up towards Terapagos doesn’t really go anywhere after you battle it with Kieran is a bit of a let down too. You catch it and that’s that. All you really do with Terapagos post-game is bring it to the Crystal Pool in Kitakami and it triggers a rather crazy scene that I won’t spoil because I want you readers to see it for yourselves. And yes, the method to catch Meloetta is really ridiculous, but worth it. Also, the framerate is still crap. Sometimes, it moves so slow that I get worried that my game would crash—this happened on several occasions.

I do recommend playing TM first before you head into ID because of continuity. I wrote this review so that I can get it out of the way and then start on the epilogue which will be released on January 11. I’m also working on something related to the Indigo Disk DLC that’s an ambitious project of mine. What are your thoughts on the Indigo Disk DLC as a whole?

My team for the story part of the DLC is:

-Quaquaval

-Fezandipiti

-Ogerpon

-Metagross

-Ursaluna

-Meloetta

[mathysphere]

@evil-pansy thank you for asking this! And it's not stupid at all-- these are great things to ask!

As far as this AI-pattern-spotting idea is concerned, I was thinking specifically of ones that feature the same tell-tale signs you mention; there is unfortunately no shortage of those. Here's a couple I got from just a quick dive into the most recently-listed patterns:

To the best of my knowledge, there are no programs that will intake a text prompt and output a full pattern*, so patterns like these would be made in two steps: first, the creator would have a generative AI program produce an image, and then the creator would load it into a pattern generator like WinStitch or PCStitch to convert it into the actual pattern.

The pattern generator is a necessary part of the racket, but it is worth mentioning and underlining that honestly, pattern generators kick ass. They're great for all-purpose pattern making, and really excel when converting photos or paintings to cross-stitch-- if you've ever seen someone stitch a photo of a relative, or a beloved pet, or their favorite boyband member, odds are that they made that pattern using a generator.

The programs aren't infallible, though-- there's an art to getting a picture to turn out right, without too much confetti or inaccurate colors, and the best results (shout-out to Gecko Rouge!) involve a lot of time spent going over the pattern by hand. There's a great section in the Mr. Xstitch Guide to Cross-Stitch that covers converting images, complete with stitched examples of some common gaffs-- highly recommend checking it out, if that's a style you're interested in.

You can see in the preview above that Minun kinda looks like shit, though, and that's the trouble-- it doesn't take too much work to generate a decent pattern, but it takes zero effort at all to make a shitty one, and if you don't post a close-up on Etsy it can be hard for anyone to tell-- at least, until they've bought it and tried to start stitching.

That's the bone I have to pick with pattern mills, both the AI ones and the regular sort; they're able to flood the market with zero-effort sludge, and make it hard to tell the bad patterns from the good. Also the assorted ethical issues with both, but I will try and stay on track--

My guess is that there are AI-generated patterns in a more 'traditional' cross-stitch style, too, or at least a pixel art style; the most common AI image makers aren't optimized at all for pixel art, and can only produce images like this one:

[a closeup of an image used to promote an AI pixel art generator: notice how it isn't actually made out of single, same-size pixels]

The cross-stitch style is even more niche than pixel art, which means it takes more effort to get the program to generate something accurate; still, it would not be too much work to generate an image that looks 'close enough', and then simply neglect to include any closeup photos in the listing.

I'm still trying to figure out how exactly to set up the AI-pattern-identifying survey site... I won't hope to get a perfect result, but ideally we can at least identify what percentage of patterns are obviously AI, and then go from there.

*though there is this iconic reddit thread

Okay, here's a rough game plan:

Hypothesis: there are more AI-generated cross stitch patterns on Etsy now than six months ago, considerably more than there were a year ago, and several-hundred-percent more than there were in late 2022 (the earliest data I have).

Second hypothesis: 0% of those patterns have been test stitched. Additionally, 0% of them are in any sort of cross-stitch-specific style; all of them are pictures in other art styles (watercolor, photorealism, stained glass, etc) that have been converted to full-coverage patterns.

Third hypothesis: even if their numbers have increased, AI patterns still represent less than 1% of the total number of patterns on Etsy.

Fourth hypothesis: while the number of AI-generated patterns has increased, the overall percentage of patterns that are not test-stitched AND are conversions of existing artworks has not changed since late 2022.

(this fourth hypothesis is the one I am least confident in!)

To test these, here's how I think a pattern-sorting template could work:

I've got to head to work, but-- am I missing anything?

[benkipo]

8/18 Paralysis Punishment

Going into this battle I thought it would be no problem. My Combusken is maxed out ev’s with a good nature. And I was positive that Wattson had magneton on his team so it would be easy one-hit-ko. And it was looking like it was gonna be a breeze when he opened with magnemite. Combusken used flame charge for an easy one hit ko and a boost to speed just in case. But when the dust cleared, the magnemite was still standing… I had completely forgotten that magnemite can have sturdy as an ability which lets it stand at 1 hp. That magnemite then attacks with the move I feared most… thunder wave. My Combusken now affected by paralysis is slowed by 50% and has a 25% chance of not being able to attack. Terrible status condition for my ace. Honestly my only real battle team member. I have a Nincada, Seedot, and Minun but they’re all just lil guys right now and I don’t have any intentions on keeping them for final team so they’re just travel buddies in the mean time. No real exp invested in them. So if Combusken is taken out… it’s over.

Wattson with a surprise move to me, heals his little magnemite to full hp with a super potion. So when my Combusken attacks with Flame Charge, it again lives with 1 hp… oh how I regretted not using double kick… Combusken is paralyzed and takes a hit. Then knocks out the magnemite.

Wattson does some volt switch nonsense with his Magneton and Voltorb. Combusken gets paralyzed some more unable to act throughout all this. Eventually it comes down to Combusken at less than 10% hp, surely one hit away from a ko. And a full hp Magnemite who will be able to act first due to paralysis affecting Combusken’s speed. It was looking bleak and loss was certain by this point. But Magneton attacks with a steal move which is very effective against a fire type and Combusken somehow lives with 1 hp!

My jaw dropped and my eyes shimmered with admiration for my Combusken. All he had to do now was power through the paralysis and deliver the double kick that would surely knockout this magneton. Combusken hasn’t let me down yet, and he didn’t there either. He delivers the blow and magneton instantly goes down. The battle is over and the badge is won.

I regret so much not taking a picture of Combusken in battle! The pic shows him at 4 hp but it’s just bc he leveled up bc of the battle increasing his hp. But yeah what a battle!!

[heinousactszx]

Bro plusle and minun are kicking my fuckin ass out here