#kieran is cool

[star-arcana]

In defense of Kieran from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The battle for Ogerpon!

Hello guys, and I am back to write a response to people who think that Kieran was nothing more but a whiny brat over the final parts of Teal Mask and that his overall character is unsympathetic! Here I am here to explain Kieran's mindset and why ultimately much of the criticisms are unfair, and why the final battle in Teal Mask(the first Story DLC of Scarlet and Violet) needs to be seen with more nuance, but first some history:

Why was Kieran so obsessed with Ogerpon

Ogerpon was a Pokémon he always admired; It was a strong, independent Pokémon able to defeat 3 other mons at once ( Okidogi, Munkidori and Fezandipiti) despite being outnumbered. He admired it for it's strenght and ability to stand on it's own feet, something he felt never was able to do in his life, as his older sister, Carmine, constantly smothers and protects him, much to his dismay. Ogerpon because of this is an idol and something he wants to be like, by his own admission; "I...wanna try to get stronger. So I can do things for myself, you know? I'm gonna become someone people can rely on. Then, just maybe...I could be that ogre's friend." From this we can see that his main goal is to become someone who can protect and help people, someone who can fight on his own and doesn't need to rely on anyone, and if he is ever to become a capable and strong person that people want to rely upon, Ogerpon would be his friend. Another facette is that he doesn't fear Ogerpon like the people of his town, as they think, per legend, that this monster killed the protectors of their town in a blind and sudden rage, weakening it by sapping it of it's 3 other mask and thus making the Ogre relent. Kieran however doesn't hold that view and even admits to have ventured to it's layer, only to have it not found Ogerpon and the only thing that scared him were the adults admonishing him for this. Because of what I mentioned, Kieran has a massive love for Ogerpon, it's a symbol of strenght to him and a friend he wants to make friends with. His love by this alone for Ogerpon is genuine and no one denies this fact about him that Ogerpon is a Pokémon he truly admired and loved; It was the mon that represented what he wanted to be like, and not the weakling he was, it was someone cool and badass, someone he wants to be friends with. This is why he was unwillingly to accept that Ogerpon favored the player over him, because he wanted to be the like the player, someone strong and capable enough to have people rely upon and thus was more worthy of Ogerpon than he is. The player is what Kieran wanted to be like and got what he wanted, which made him feel like a loser and someone who couldn't be strong and independent, something he wanted to be like.

2. How and why did he fail then?

His failure can be squarely blamed on the fact that he was just not as capable as the player when it comes to battling. He indeed wasn't better than them. Ogerpon's first sight of the player and Kieran was battling them, which did garner her attention, but ultimately the player peeked her interest the most. Another reason was that Carmine really did a numbers on Kieran's self esteem with her controlling and mean attitude towards others and especially towards Kieran, leaving him to feel weak and unreliable. Her constant attempts to keep him from harm led to her do with the player perhaps the most irrational and senselessly stupid thing in the entire story; Lie about the fact that she and the player met Ogerpon at the festival. Carmine's reason is at surface understandable; She doesn't want to make Kieran feel bad for missing out on Ogerpon, thus feeling left out, and doesn't want him to run after it...but this reasoning is bollocks, wanna know why? With Ogerpon being confirmed real, it will be a matter of time to find her, regardless of how much Carmine would attempt to keep the truth from him. The More she and the player tried to keep this away from him, the worse his reactions is going to be like, because despite Carmine's insistance on this being for the best, this ironically left him out on Ogerpon and made him feel like an outcast who was denied the one thing he wanted the most; Meet and be friends with Ogerpon. The second reason on not wanting to get hurt, as many theorize, is also really dumb,because Ogerpon showed no signs of aggressiveness and can be dealt with by the player, and Carmine and Kieran, if things to south, so it was not like as if there was anything to fear. This reasoning got then even worse as justification as time went one when it was revealed by Yukito, her and Kieran's grandfather, who knows more about Ogerpon than anyone, that it was the good guy in the story and that the Loyal 3 murdered it's partner and took away the masks from her. Despite him not wanting to tell him the truth, even he admitted that Kieran got the closest at finding the truth, due to being a highly sensitive boy who clearly can empathize and understand Pokémon well...but all of this would be of no use, because Kieran, who had listened to the whole conversation and was still after it being lied to by everyone, stole the mask and expressed his anger, only for Carmine to give the most insinsere and inauthentic apology of all time leading with "Sorry... I didn't mean to-". Anyone who makes such a apology isn't worth to be listened to, since that places blame on the hurt party for feeling betrayed and dismissing how they feel, especially when you just broke their trust with such a stupid lie. Kieran had every right to dismiss her and while the theft was wrong, he was still justified in his anger, hence the player later apologized, with Kieran apologizing for the theft too. Afterwards, Kieran and the others meet Ogerpon and he wanted to give it the mask, but Ogerpon didn't grew accustumed to him, and because of this, Kieran gave the mask to the player, who handed it over to Ogerpon...which ruined a perfect chance to bond with Ogerpon, as this allowed the player to earn Ogerpon's affection more, and had Kieran tried to reach out to her, and not felt he wasn't as capable as the player, he could have gotten closer to it. Then, instead of going after the Loyal 3, who once more took the masks, he went to the village and convince them that the whole story about the Ogre and the Loyal 3 was wrong, and Ogerpon was the innocent part here. This ultimately prevented him from impressing Ogerpon directly with his abilities in battle against the kidnappers, and thus the player is put under it's radar. Still, Ogerpon was thankful for Kieran for clearing it's name, and ultimately warmed up to him...but the player was the one Ogerpon liked better and we would be the one to capture it. Kieran, who wanted to show that he can be someone worthy of Ogerpon, has had it enough, and takes his final shot and challenges the player to battle for Ogerpon!

3. The battle for Ogerpon at Oni Mountain!!!

Kieran loved Ogerpon since forever and it was his dream to meet and befriend it, but do you remember what I said earlier what Kieran wanted to be like? Basically someone people could rely upon, being someone who is strong, and capable, and doesn't need to be pampered like how Carmine does it for him, someone who can be the hero of the story...and eventually befriend Ogerpon. That person is the player character however, not Kieran, and that eats his soul alive. He wanted to be like that, only for the player to come in, swooping through all battles with ease, and winning over Ogerpon with the very strenght he always sought. This made Kieran envious and jealous, and not without any reason; Nobody believes in him. Carmine and Yukito trusetd the truth about Ogerpon to the player over him, despite having it already intuited out. Ogerpon trusted the player more than Kieran, and ultimately even Kieran trusted the player over himself, because the player always bested him without helping Kieran to get up stronger than before, and instead pursue like him Ogerpon, and win, as the heroes of that story. Kieran, knowing fully well that this would be selfish of him, and understanding that this is against Ogerpon's wishes, insisted to battle the player anyway, despite having no faith in them winning this, only the faint hope that he would win and prove that he is the better trainer for Ogerpon, even if he knows it to be untrue, his own words:

"I know I'm bein' real selfish... But, <player>! Please! Let me battle you! I want to see which one of us should get to keep Ogerpon with them!""...I want to battle anyway." I know you're probably a better Trainer for Ogerpon, but I...I..." "I knew I couldn't win. But I just couldn't give up...""I'm sorry..."

This shows less of a person who doesn't get it, but more of a person who wants one final shot to prove himself and others wrong that he is not worthless, and indeed a trainer worthy of Ogerpon...but he isn't, and the trainer is just better than he is as a battler. The request to battle, while selfish, was Kieran's right as a trainer to show Ogerpon and us, who is the better trainer for this Pokémon, and we and Ogerpon accept it, as we like him as a friend, and want to give him a chance to show us what he got. In the end what this is all about is no diffrent than what any trainer wants, to capture Pokémon, no matter how bad the odds are, so in the end, I can't be too hard on him for this request, as he deserves this chance. Ultimately, had the writers wanted us to think that this was completely innacceptable, then Kieran would have been denied by us and Ogerpon and not given this match, but since we respect him and his abilities, we allow this challenge and maybe he could have proven us all wrong, and gotten Ogerpon, who grew to like him, and would have changed her stance on him. So in the end, his lack of skill and confidence doomed any chance to get Ogerpon, not simply his selfishness, because Ogerpon values a strong partner and that is not sorely tied to moral purity, hence Ogerpon wanted a fight afterwards with us to see, if we can be her partner. This whole battle with Kieran was a battle between trainers wanting to see who can capture a legendary, and while he lost, this should be respected as a match no diffrent from any other competition for Pokémon, thus I respect Kieran as battler and person, and say, he earned the right to challenge us. However the battle did have negative consequences, like Kieran becoming battle-hungry and obsessed with victory, and this will only be fixed, when something else happens!

4. Addendum, the solution to all of this! Afterwards, in the Indigo Disk 1, we meet Kieran as an hyperaggressive and joyless battler that wants to crush us after we destroyed his dreams and hopes, and wants to destroy us (metaphorically). We defeat him, but he doesn't snap out of this until we meet together Terapagos and captures it forcefully with his masterball and after terastalizing it, it went rogue, attacked and nearly unalived Kieran, if not for our Koraidon/Miraidon saving him. This made him feel now completely uselsss, and is now convinced that he cannot do anything for anyone, like he did in the Teal mask storyline, but we need his help, we rely on his, because he is the only strong enough to help us contain Terapagos, and he does, because now he realizes that he is strong enough to be this person he wanted to be; Someone people could depend upon...but he is still not THE MAIN HERO, but A HERO, and that is enough for him to work through his issues and move on in life. He then becomes our sole companion in the epilogue and helps us defeat Pechurant and afterwards remains our friend until, probably, the end of time. This goes to show that ultimately if you help to built up people, they will help you, if you don't do this, they seek to destroy you.

That is it, how did you find, tell me in the comments below!

[ink-ami]

Wanted to do a piece with the BB elite 4 once Kieran (and by extension, Carmine) comes back after the epilogue. I think they were nice about it, even if Drayton still rubs salt into the wound. Also the occasion to draw them all because I fear I won't do it again...

[mdni]

it was inevitable. i drew salem of @wolfertinger666 fame.

[river-of-wine]

Luck of the Irish

[dipplinduo]

The thing I love about this ship is how much the vibe changes from teal mask to indigo disk because of the whole friends to enemies to lovers dynamic

[redcallisto]

Won the idgaf war timelapse v

[suguri-shark]

Was gathering some resources for something and wheezing at how out of place Kieran looks lol

the A pose master

[twildflower]

[babyaiker]

Assortment of Kieran doodles I did over the past few months,,, (that’s why each doodle is slightly different in how I draw him)

Don’t get me wrong I love all the characters in rdr2, but I’ve gotten way to personally attached to that god damn o’driscoll boy

[kof-xiii]

ouhh mby draw carmine n kieran pokemon ... they r very important n also i think u would have fun drawing their stupit haircuts <3 idk if u played sv or tha dlc so idk if u know them but theyre rlly good ...

I LOVE THEIR STUPITB HAIRCUTS AND THEY ARE INDEED FUN TO DRAW I LOVED ANALYZING HOW THE FUCK THEY WORK, THANK YOU

[spookberry]

could you pls draw kieran valentine and spelldon cauldronello. thank you <3

I've been holding onto this one cuz I'd been trying to figure out how I wanted to draw/characterize Spelldon since we know so little about him.

[claitea]

had a thought today that i wanted to quickly doodle

[pollyanna-nana]

Wondering just how long Carmine was doing her lil Mochi dance for. Like did Kieran really go “this is kinda weird but I guess it’s her new thing now” for multiple days. A week. Dear god these kids really don’t get any emotional or mental health support huh

[jadeazora]

Well, I haven't actually pretended otherwise, but it's cool that we have a more antagonistic rival that's actually relevant to the story, and that we had a bit of a hand in his downward spiral/him becoming that way.

(had to make one of these Joker memes at least once in my life ig)

[kitakami-kid]

so you're okay with being weak forever? is that what i'm hearing?

[dipplinduo]

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Sweet & Sour Dipplins!!! CHAPTER 24 IS HERE ❤️

Fun fact: did you know the anniversary date of this fic is Christmas Day? :) It's true! And as of today, Sweet & Sour Dipplins is officially a year old. 🥳

This fic initially started as a fun little idea - an enemies to lovers romance retelling of the Indigo Disk DLC with a toxic chain theory twist. It was a fanatical whim based on what is now my favorite pokemon game, and it was a blind attempt at creating something bigger than what I could initially picture. I loved romance and writing, but I was no writer - and certainty no fiction writer at that. I fully expected what I was doing to be a phase, where I quietly threw out a couple of half-baked chapters of into an empty void before it inevitably fizzed out with me moving on.

But then you all came along. The love that I have received and felt has been indescribable. I have been completely and utterly blown away by all of it: the number of readers, the playful and thought-provoking comments, the fun back and forth and theorizing in my ask box, the ART and the suggestions and the headcanons and the feedback?! It kept growing, and growing, and growing. And a year later, even as the fandom is a little quieter, it's all still here. You’re all still here.

My little ideas became a whole "au" (see, I've learned! xD). My “writing activity” that I was too modest to claim as a “hobby” became an identity that you all reinforced. I went on to not only write over a book’s worth for this story, but multiple books’ worth for others. In a very demanding, tumultuous, and tiring year in my personal life. Before writing this current chapter, I actually went back and re-read the entirety that is Sweet & Sour Dipplins. As the writer, there were a lot of ups and downs for me, and I don't speak as much about the downs. I could tell which chapters I wrote with pride and which ones felt rushed. Slowly but surely, I worried more and more about it being "interesting enough" as my audience grew. I worried about my motifs becoming “lost” in the inflation. I asked myself: Does it deserve the hits? Do people still care about this story the more the Earth rotates? And then I wondered: What is the true heart that is Sweet & Sour Dipplins? What actually pulls people to read this story?  What compelled ME to write this story?

And as I experienced it all as a reader myself, I think I began to see its soul in yet another light.

I remembered the visions I had as I was writing. I saw some things I didn’t see before, too, and even had moments where I went “Hey, you know what, I could probably write that even better now”, and it’s all thanks to you all for encouraging me to keep going.

But above all: I got the spark back. And I am excited to keep expanding the heart of this story as I share more of it with you.  

So without further ado, here’s Chapter 24 of Sweet & Sour Dipplins.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

With love,

dipplinduo