#kyurem; ic posts

[alibraryofsouls]

@heroftruth​ : “i know it doesn’t make sense.” (kyurem)

“You’re right, it doesn’t.”

Here she is yet again, honestly he can’t believe she’d come back to the chasm after last time. He figured Reshiram would be slapping away that idea with even more ferocity than ever, and yet here she was yet again.

“What do you want from me, Hilda?” He asks while crossing his arms. “You don’t need to try to make up for anything you weren’t around for. I already told you I don’t remember any of it anyway, there’s nothing to make up for except for whatever damage I’ve already done to people.”

He pauses, an idea dawning on him in that moment.

“Don’t tell me you’re here trying to fix Reshiram and I, there’s no saving that either you know. It’s not worth it to try.”

[trustyalt]

2 weeks left to order the ice zine! you don't want to miss this!

[synthaphone]

the bad news is i'm still doing this. the good news is that playing brilliant diamond saps all desire i have to play pokemon, so i'm expecting to be back to drawing ocs again within the next few days

[egginfroggin]

The same words can be said many different ways.

Ingo is very familiar with this.

(Notes for self-deprecation, self-blame, self-isolation, hints of minor self-harm in the form of coping mechanisms such as nail-biting, and grief below)

"It's your fault." That was what his thoughts whispered, hissing at him in a cacophony of angry Sevipers, as he cradled Emmet's head and shoulders, his little brother's ever-burning warmth chilled to embers, frost dusting his white-streaked hair. Guilt almost choked him half to death, nearly stole his voice as he screamed for their parents.

-----

"It was your fault," he told himself, even when his parents wouldn't, even though Emmet had almost died and had a hole in his memories surrounding that wretched incident.

-----

"It was your fault," he snapped at his reflection, lonely tears balanced on the edges of his eyelids, lip wobbling stubbornly. He wasn't a child anymore, but here he was, crying about missing his little brother when he had only himself to blame.

-----

"It was your fault," he thought silently, shoulders hitching as he sat on the floor, arms wrapped around himself in a facsimile of an embrace. He missed touch. He didn't want to be touched. He missed it. He shouldn't.

-----

"It was your fault," his thoughts tutted as he saw Emmet, halfway across the room at the banquet, his twin's face lighting up at the sight of him despite what he'd done -- of course, Emmet didn't remember, so he wouldn't know to hate him, would he? Instead of facing him, he excused himself and ran back to his room, where Litwick sat on her hearth, waiting for him.

-----

"It was your fault," the reminder said as he dug his fingers into his arms, listening to Emmet quietly cry on the other side of the door, wanting to throw the door open and hug him, tell him that it would be okay, that he was sorry for leaving him alone -- but he didn't, just like he didn't go to the funeral, still too scared and dangerous to leave.

-----

"It was your fault," his thoughts tittered, Nimbasa far behind him, snow soft against his legs and the icy mountain air a balm to his flushed cheeks. He couldn't go back. Not now. Not when they knew about him, not after he almost hurt people -- hurt Emmet -- again. Maybe he'd never go back, even if he could, because everyone knew how merciless the mountains were.

-----

"It was your fault," he reminded himself one last time, looking up at the Dragon that loomed over him, plates of long-undisturbed ice crackling as it lowered its head to his level. He couldn't forget it, even if Death was staring him in the face. He would never forget it, even though it was washed away briefly when Kyurem offered him a deal instead of ending his life then and there.

-----

"It was your fault," he remembered, Emmet's snappish, "Make me leave, then, if you do not want me here so badly," echoing in his ears like the creaking of ice around them. He could feel hairline cracks spreading, ice threatening to break like his emotions, and he reined them in, spat out ice along with a simple, "Fine, then."

-----

"It was your fault," he thought, unable to think much else as the reality sunk in and he stared at the gaping hole in the ice floor, leading down, down, down into a crevice between the cliffs. His fingers dug into his hair, uneven nails scraping his scalp, reopening every scabbed-over quick as he clung to the thought that the powder was soft, a cushion, and Emmet had been dropped into the middle of it.

-----

"It was your fault?" he said, inflection failing him, voice barely more than a breath. It almost died against the creak of Kyurem's ice before the Dragon fell still, head lowered in something approaching shame.

"This was your fault?" he said, voice mounting in volume, forced from his lungs -- something burned, seared inside his chest, a pressure that built and built and built until, like hot glass plunged into water, it broke and something approaching a scream tore from his throat, a demand for answers, for retribution, for everything he lost to be returned to him, an impossibility.

Ice shuddered in his chest, snapping the rapidly fraying tie between them, and he could see his eyes reflected in Kyurem's, silver touched with sulfur-gold as lonesome cold rushed and every fractal of ice around them shattered.

"You made me like this on purpose?"

[nonbinaryspy]

Fun Facts About Cheren (mostly from BW2)

- He claims to have given up his glasses so he could focus on Pokémon battles, but someone going by the name "3rdGradeGoodyGoody" wrote into 'The National Gymquirer' after witnessing him "making his thumb and middle finger into a circle like glasses," implying he misses them.

- This contains the broader implication that Cheren's students write in to gossip shows about him.

- According to both BW2 and Pokemas, he loves taking his Pokémon to the salon.

- For tactical reasons, he gives his Pokémon berries.

- An NPC beside the weather institute mentions that you can call Cheren to ask him about Pokémon natures and type advantages. While this is of course a hint to the player, in-universe it implies that people who live nowhere near Cheren have his number and regularly call to ask him to read them the encyclopedia.

- Luckily enough, in many adaptations and spinoffs, he has a nice voice.

- At the shrine dedicated to Landorus, you can fight one of his students. She talks like a valley girl, speaks admiringly about him, and has a Deerling and a Zangoose.

- His Pokémon include a cat, a dog, a bird, a monkey, a chinchilla, two vigilant rodents, a buffalo, a bunny, a mongoose, a blob affected by weather, an upgraded artificial creation, a boulder, a dragon, and Lickilicky.

- He lives in the mountains but hates cold weather. This is the in-universe explanation for why he enlists a preteen to take care of the game's plot despite being among the first to notice the signs of Kyurem's imminent ice age.

- In fairness, on his first day at his second job, said preteen kicked his ass.

- He was a very good sport about this, though afterward he complained about it to the scientist from his home town.

- His favorite people are his childhood friends, one of whom is a legendary dragon's Chosen One and the other of whom is an insecure-yet-peppy researcher with a complementary color scheme to his, and a wandering grandpa who implicitly helped him get his first job.

- Said grandpa compares Cheren, visibly a scrawny nerd, to another mentee of his who is a martial artist. Said martial artist seems to take no offense to this.

- Said grandpa and said martial artist both regularly jump off of cliffs. Amusingly, in Pokemas, Cheren is shown to make multiple dramatic entrances by simply walking around tall places instead of jumping down from them.

- His dog, however, jumps down dramatically in his stead.

- He and said dog are "best buds."

- Though his catchphrase is "what a bother," as 'the one who seeks the right path,' he's incredibly good at making sentimental speeches relevant to the games' themes about ideals and bonds, and has touching dialogue in the post games of both BW (link to no commentary vid) and BW2 as well as in the mobile game's main story and events.

- He doesn't understand why ferris wheels are fun, so he spends multiple rides trying to figure it out, before concluding that he dislikes the fact that the view changes because he prefers things to stay the same.

- He's very tall.

[waywardstation]

alright here we go...

I've brought together the basic outline of my idea... and since I said I share it here I am!

I really hope you like it and it is something interesting for you! I had a lot of fun fleshing out these ideas so it's alright.

~-~-~-~-~

Like it is established in your thoughts Warden Ingo is like an empty husk of who he used to be, torn away from his old life, his memories and from Emmet. I've added to this idea that there is a link between certain humans and Reshiram + Zekrom at all times. Aside the fact these humans have a high tendency of leaning into truth/ideals there isn't much else but it gives the dragons some kind of balance and ties to the people of Unova. Kyurem being "just" the husk has no such tie to the people, though it longs for one.

Ingos ties to Zekrom has been severed when he arrived in Hisui and as there already is a human tie in this time on top of being a shadow of his former self it has become a once in a lifetime moment for Kyurem to have a human tie as well.

Kyurem feels Ingo's presence all the way in Hisui and eventually seizes the opportunity to form a human tie with him. But things go horribly wrong and Ingo ends up being in a half frozen state. Never feeling truly warm; the few things his heart remembers from his old life keeping his core just warm enough.

With ice leaking out of him and an incident where he almost hurts (or does hurt) someone(not sure who), he steps down as a Warden and Instructor at the Dojo and decides to hide in one of the many ice caves in the Icelands, so he can no longer be a danger to the people. After all safety of others comes first, no matter what.

Enter Akari who just refuses to leave Ingo to his own misery and is determined to help him out of this no matter how. And no matter what it takes.

(I've also thought of the idea that since Ingo's tie with Zekrom has been severed it affects present Unova as well. With Zekrom being restless + causing random thunderstorms all over Unova. I can see N seeking out the Pokemon trying to find out what's wrong. Not sure though how much Emmet will be involved, I can see him being affected by the severed tie as well as Reshiram, not sure how at this moment though... Especially since Emmet isn't even aware of his tie... just that something is horribly wrong beside that Ingo is missing.)

~-~-~-~-~

and there you have it.

Its really just a rough outline, I think it will get better over time and sound less "rough"...

also excuse any mistakes. There are times I feel the face english isn't my native tongue come through and this might be one...

Hope you like it! Take all the time you need to reply! I am a bit nervous but I'm sure I'll be fine!

In regards to this post

OHHHH OH THIS IS SO COOL I LOVE THIS CONCEPT!! Kyurem wanting a connection with someone but it can’t in its empty state, augh… ;n;

MAN. I could certainly see how this tie would be severed especially if Ingo was placed into a different timeline when this happened (a timeline where he already exists and is fine in the present/hasn’t been sent back yet?). Putting something into a timeline separate from the Zekrom he’s connecting to, and into a timeline where a “him” already exists and is connected to that timeline’s zekrom would leave him without a connection at all. (WHEW THATS CONFUSING but I see your vision and ITS VERY VERY GOOD)

Especially if Ingo doesn’t know exactly what’s going on with this persistent cold and this feeling of connection, I could see why he’d want to separate himself from a situation. Even if it wasn’t a terribly bad incident, don’t give things a chance to do something worse, especially if you don’t understand what you’re dealing with.

I AM GLAD TO HEAR AT LEAST AKARI IS THERE TO HELP WHEN HE TRIES TO WITHDRAW. They will figure out what’s going on together!!!

I love the thought of Zekrom becoming restless. A tie was severed!! I doubt either of them have ever dealt with a situation like that and even know what a severed tie feels like. And the thought of N trying to figure things out and talk to the dragons as well… SO GOOD.

WHAT A GOOD OUTLINE, FRIEND!! I’m so glad you shared it, I enjoy this concept a lot and would love to hear additions you make to it as time goes on!! Thank you for sharing!!

[oncillamoltres]

hi sorry to the one person who followed me here for my short-lived attempt at a flight rising roleplay blog. this is now a place to dump pokemon IRL roleplay worldbuilding and character rambles.

i'm Oncilla i go by she/her like the night sky and he/him like a girl and it/its like a thing with sharp teeth. 20+ years old.

RP blogs:

@lovenpeace-pkmn -- N's sisters that you probably didn't know he had navigate life outside of team plasma and post about their dogs. (most active)

@tranquill-feathers -- concordia lovenpeace's vent sideblog. really just an extension of the above. sometimes contains important lore and context for things happening with lovenpeace

@vullabies-and-skeledirges -- my trainersona who collects pokemon bones from the woods to sell to cubone trainers. (mid activity)

@fog-with-a-blog -- N's zoroark partner discovers the wonders of the internet. shared lore with lovenpeace. (mid activity)

@alolanratttatas -- u know that one aether foundation employee who's implied to be a former plasma grunt? yeag. i transed her gender and gave her a rat though. (inactive atm)

@black-ice-white-snow -- anthea from a bad end AU, now a fugitive from team plasma's reign of terror, seeks the aid of kyurem to overthrow ghetsis. (inactive i forgot that story-driven blogs are harder than slice-of-life ones. i'll figure something out eventually)

@fablefangs -- biology nerd/former Sinnoh protag does pet shows with her beloved hydreigon (low activity, still finding my feet with this one)

[the-nimbasa-trio]

*Echo frowned, crossing her arms as she looked up at the sign.*

"Not a clue about where any of these places are." *She mutters, glancing over at Ingo and Emmet.* "I only really know of Nimbasa because of, well, the Subway. You guys are a big deal for those of us invested in non-gym battle facilities."

*She scowls at the mention of the new problamatic team.*

"Sounds like a pain and a half. I'm pretty certain where I come from there's nothing...like that." *She frowns, before looking over at Ghost.*

"Can you remember where you came from? Like if someone asked you where you live, could you answer? I can't."

The twins' brows furrowed in contemplation when Echo mentioned that she did not know of the locations posted on the signs. Ingo was the first to speak since Emmet had begun pacing back in forth during their thinking. "Hmm. You don't recognize anything?" Ingo repeated, mostly for himself.

"Oh, yeah, Team Masquerade is what they're called. The old group, Team Plasma, captured Kyurem a few years ago," Emmet said, though only as a reminder. They already said that. "I am Emmet. I hope they don't try to repeat the past. I heard they honor the Original Dragon."

"Kyurem, my friend, is the third of the draconic trio," Ingo began.

"Legend has it, there used to be a singular dragon that protected Unova. It was known as the Original Dragon, though nobody knew its actual name. It followed twin brothers, both who were kings, many years in the past."

"The brothers disagreed on how they should rule!" Emmet piped in and suddenly stopped pacing. They whirled around and their trench coat snapped through the air from the swift, sudden movement. "Truth and Ideals. That was what they fought over."

"Both are important! They didn't agree with each other, and war broke out between them. In the midst of the war, the Original Dragon broke apart into three separate beings: Reshiram, the Dragon of Truth, and Zekrom, the Dragon of Ideals. As legends have it, Kyurem is what remained- the shell of what once was. It is made of pure draconic energy, and its body is covered in harsh, freezing ice. It had the ability to freeze everything in its wake," Ingo explained and his face subtly twisted into a look of remembrance. "It did that, once, to Opelucid City because Team Plasma controlled it. Years after the attack, the ice was finally broken away and removed. It took years, I repeat! That shows its raw, unbridled power."

"Team Masquerade has been reported mentioning the Original Dragon once or twice before. You can see why I'm worried, yes?" Emmet asked with their smile curving ever-so-slightly. It didn't break, but it wasn't as wide as before. "Kyurem can fuse with either Reshiram or Zekrom at a time. There's the possibility it can fuse with both. No one has been able to achieve it. I hope that this team doesn't."

[supermitskifan1234]

Urge to combine autistic interests ENGAGE! :3

Pokémon Teams of The Entities;

The Buried

Jellicent (Water/Ghost)

Crustle (Bug/Rock)

Excadrill (Steel/Ground)

Weezing (Poison)

Cofagrigus (Ghost)

Stakataka (Rock/Steel)

The Corruption

Garbodor (Poison)

Shiinotic (Grass/Fairy)

Muk (Poison)

Parasect (Bug/Grass)

Orthworm (Steel)

Buzzwole (Bug/Fighting)

The Dark

Lunatone (Rock/Psychic)

Gengar (Ghost/Poison)

Minior (Rock/Flying)

Lycanroc Midnight (Rock)

Dusknoir (Ghost)

Marshadow (Ghost/Fighting)

The Desolation

Coalossal (Rock/Fire)

Turtonator (Fire/Dragon)

Houndoom (Fire/Dark)

Magcargo (Rock/Fire)

Chandelure (Ghost/Fire)

Primal Groudon (Ground/Fire)

The End

Kabutops (Rock/Water)

Spiritomb (Dark/Ghost)

Trevenant (Ghost/Grass)

Mandibuzz (Dark/Flying)

Shedinja (Bug/Ghost)

Yveltal (Dark/Flying)

The Eye

Xatu (Psychic/Flying)

Unown (Psychic)

Claydol (Psychic/Ground)

Absol (Dark)

Espeon (Psychic)

Jirachi (Steel/Psychic)

The Flesh

Barreskewda (Water)

Mawile (Steel/Fairy)

Emboar (Fire/Fighting)

Lickilicky (Normal)

Conkeldurr (Fighting)

Buzzwole (Dark/Dragon)

The Hunt

Seviper (Poison)

Zangoose (Normal)

Lucario (Fighting/Steel)

Luxray (Electric)

Crobat (Poison/Flying)

Nihilego (Rock/Poison)

The Lonely

Froslass (Ghost/Ice)

Bewear (Normal/Fighting)

Mimikyu (Ghost/Fairy)

Marowak (Ground)

Dhelmise (Grass/Ghost)

Kyurem (Dragon/Ice)

The Slaughter

Octillery (Water)

Aegislash (Ghost/Steel)

Electrode (Electric)

Clawitzer (Water)

Annihilape (Ghost/Fighting)

Necrozma (Psychic)

The Spiral

Kecleon (Normal)

Spinda (Normal)

Hypno (Psychic)

Musharna (Psychic)

Malamar (Psychic/Dark)

Hoopa (Psychic/Ghost)

The Stranger

Ditto (Normal)

Zoroark (Dark)

Mr. Mime (Psychic/Fairy)

Primarina (Water/Psychic)

Hariyama (Fighting)

Blacephalon (Fire/Ghost)

The Vast

Wailord (Water)

Drifblim (Ghost/Flying)

Beheeyem (Psychic)

Sigilyph (Psychic/Flying)

Altaria (Dragon/Flying)

Regieleki (Electric)

The Web

Ariados (Poison/Bug)

Galvantula (Electric/Bug)

Araquanid (Water/Bug)

Porygon-Z (Normal)

Spidops (Bug)

Mega Banette (Ghost)

Sorry for massive post make sure to like and subscribe :3

[klangking]

[Post: A video of an enormous piece of machinery in the sewers that seems to be giving off an icy mist. There are a ton of wires and hoses coming off of it - the viewer probably hasn't seen anything like it before, but it is the machine causing Kyurem's ice to lower the temperatures throughout Unova. A large Klang hovers in front of the machine, eyeing it with curiosity and anticipation. "Toyotathon." Henry's voice can be heard, he's clearly the one holding the camera. His voice is soft, but serious. "Gear grind." Toyotathon hesitates for just a moment, just long enough for it to find a good angle of approach, before it slams its gears into the the corner of the machine. The satisfying sound of metal groaning and tearing can be heard as the gear's teeth catch the corner and begin to pull at the machine's metal frame, ripping and bending it as more and more of the machine gets pulled into the Klang's hungry gears.

The freezer's steel body folds like cardboard intoToyotathon's powerful gears, as various warnings and alerts begin to come out of the machine's speakers. Barely audible over all this noise, Henry lets out a quiet "Good boy." Blurry and out of focus in the background, @professor-amaryllis, @iheartnimbassacity, @profsilverleaf, @guitarandgallade and @subwaywardeningo can be seen fighting for their lives against Kyurem and Team Winter Admin Blizz. They're probably fine.]

[theenderdirewolf]

Okay okay so twin dragons au right? Ingo is Zekrom, Emmet is Reshiram and whatnot. (And also Draden being Ingo and Emmet's Uncle/Father this is also important) I'm sitting here playing Violet and just caught myself Kyurem and FINALLY got around to finishing the dlc story and whatnot- so that's what started this. and- and I can't fully explain- BUT HEAR ME OUT!! CONSIDER Consider Twin Dragons AU but instead of Iris or whoever being bonded with/is Kyurem, it's Drayton. I THINK WHAT GAVE ME THIS IDEA IS THAT THIS DRAGON TRAINER ENJOYS THE COLD?? MAYBE? And Kyurem is dragon/ice!! SO!! (it also probably helps that Kyurem is so- so much smaller than i thought so itty, perfect hug size i love them so much) I dunno, it made sense in my head and i got excited enough to make one of my once in a blue moon tumblr posts about it so-

[alibraryofsouls]

@heroftruth​

“I like your champion more than you.”

[quilveor]

Wu of Dawn's Boundary

Unfrozen, reintegrating. Ancestral trauma dug deep, yet there is always warmth awaiting at the Dawn's Boundary.

"My name is Wu, sir. How may I help you tonight?"

Wu's been a character I was working on for last, oh, year. More than that, actually. A Kyurem that abandoned the icy visage, that tries to be proper. The dragon. Past cannot be abandoned or ignored, yet perhaps the future can still hold some pride.

I have three kyurem characters, and they're all dealing with ancestral trauma of the original Kyurem [who split apart, and was the cause of a major civil war] in their own ways. Wicked gave in fully to it, being miserable in a cave. Raic, who was around here before, tries to ignore it and find his own meaning in life, separate to the trauma. And finally Wu, who has truly made peace with his past, and found pride in who he has always been.

I really like Wu as a character. He's wise, he's helpful, he truly desires someone to be there for him. If he can be around people, he prospers and overcomes his issues; leave him alone for too long and he's visibly withering away. And so, he found a job in a very people-focused place, he has his own bar so he's forced to interact with strangers day by day. He's forced to thaw the chains of misery.

He's not really doing this on his own, either. He had someone, a particularly powerful creature who made a pokemon-friendly city, kick his ass out of solitude twice. Maybe I'll get more into detail on the city, and its unusual owner... but not in this post.

His bar is an unusual place. It opens only at night, and biggest part of it is a giant basking spot with caves. Wu intends the place to be for those pokemon who need a bit of warmth to get through cold nights. Constantly high temperature of the place caused him to lose his own ice [but only temporarily! Wu does refreeze if it gets too cold!] but he's more than okay with that. He needs not to be punished further.

So there's that. Wu. The iceless Kyurem. And straight up one of my favourite OCs I have ever made. He's a joyful fella.

Here at the end of this ramble I would like to thank, like, ALL of my friends I have been bothering over last few weeks asking for opinions, corrections, or just being a sneaky gremlin not saying what I was actually planning. You're all fantastic, and you all helped me get through doing this. Love y'all.

Hahraan~!

[egginfroggin]

I should probably explain some stuff about Iced Tracks.

By which I mean I am currently gripped with the desire to exposition all over the place about my AU, and as far as I can tell, that's what this site is for: jabbering.

So, Legendary Pokemon, in this AU, have the ability to give gifts to humans that they favor. These gifts are rarely flashy, more often subtle and serving to just help out in one way or another. These gifts are almost always seen as blessings, but it didn't used to be that way -- certain Legendaries had, needless to say, a negative stigma surrounding them, and that stigma would be pushed onto the child who had been gifted. But that is mostly a perspective belonging to bygone days, generations ago.

For as long as anyone can remember, Zekrom and Reshiram have blessed children born into the Unovan royal family, descendants of the twin princes who founded the country.

Reshiram's gifts make its chosen child warm -- Emmet was born with Reshiram's gift, and just about gave the poor midwife a heart attack because he was so feverishly warm. He isn't much bothered by cold. Sometimes, if he gets particularly riled up, he'll start spitting embers, but this doesn't happen very often.

Zekrom grants certain gifts such as a sensitivity to pressure -- I've seen a lot of portrayals of Zekrom as a so-called storm dragon, and I've always thought that it was really cool. Ingo was the one whom Zekrom favored, and so would have such sensitivities, able to tell when the weather would turn for the worse or clear up, and would have a static charge when agitated.

And then we have Kyurem.

Kyurem is the one who actually got to bestow signs of its "favor" upon Ingo, completely replacing and erasing Zekrom's gifts.

And Kyurme's "gifts" are not subtle in the slightest. Ingo was born much, much colder than Emmet was born warmer, and was thought at first to be stillborn until he started wriggling around and doing all the loud things that babies do (screaming). He doesn't feel cold, because ice is a part of him.

And that ice is very, very hard to control. It wasn't at first, but as Ingo grew, so did his powers -- at a rate that far outpaced his ability to control said powers.

Nobody really knew how to help him, because Kyurem hardly ever grants somebody gifts. It is a reclusive, isolated Legendary that spends its days in slumber, and few children have ever earned its attention.

(Fewer still have made it to adulthood, for Kyurem has been feared for its entire existence, and such fears can push humans to do terrible things to their own children; it is only recently that that fear has been tempered into hesitant acceptance).

So, Ingo was kind of on his own. His parents tried to help him, but they didn't really know what they were doing -- even the people of the Village of Dragons knew little about the recluse that is Kyurem.

He tried to control himself by controlling his emotions. His emotions are tied to his powers, after all -- the more agitated he became, the harder the ice was to control.

In the meantime, as time passed and everyone who knew of what was happening held their breaths with hope that control would come with age, Ingo willingly shut himself in his room. His parents posed the suggestion -- perhaps a bit forcefully, but they didn't expect it to be for so long, and they were scared of losing Emmet to another accident, too -- but Ingo agreed readily, even though it hurt to shut Emmet out of his life, too.

Then time passed, and Ingo never learned how to control his powers.

And he got more and more terrified of himself as they grew, until he couldn't be pried out of his room with a crowbar unless it was for some official dinner with foreign ambassadors that he had to attend for the sake of appearances. Even then, he would claim to be unwell, sick, not feeling right and worried to spread it to others.

Eventually, he figured out that he could tamp them down with his emotions.

And it worked... kind of.

Not enough to get him to come out of his room -- he was too scared of hurting Emmet, too scared of hurting him again, too afraid of extinguishing his life even with Reshiram's warmth keeping his soul aflame.

So, Ingo stayed in his room and practiced self-control. Even through the death of his parents and the subsequent funeral, he stayed, until the snowflakes stopped floating lifelessly in the air and finally fell to the floor after months of grieving.

Then the day of his coronation came. Ingo tamped down his emotions, keeping them and the ice tightly under lock and key, and gripped like a lifeline the knowledge that he only had to be out of his room for the day.

And then things went horribly wrong.

And the entire kingdom -- and Emmet, and Elesa, and every foreign dignitary present, every person who he didn't want to know -- found out that, out of all the Legendaries he could have been blessed by, he had been blessed with the curse of Kyurem's attention.

[maareyas]

Ok so Bittercold and Dark Matter. I am not over this.

(This became a sort of analysis of GTI's themes too LMAO)

My issue with Dark Matter is that there was little build up to it. I'm not talking about it's actual presence, but rather what it represents. "The negative feelings of all pokemon" then where was this negativity in the story?

I understand that the main theme of Super was connections and all. The protag duo helping and being helped by different pokemon are a consistent Thing in the plot. The climactic fight with Dark Matter involves pokemon coming together to stop its ascent.

But I ask again, where was the negativity that Dark Matter was apparently born from within the story? Krookodile?? The Partner having self-doubt?? Pancham and Shelmet being mean?? Nuzleaf and co??? These are all less "incidents of negativity the Dark Matter was born from" and more "general plot events/stuff the villains do".

So it feels like the concept of the Dark Matter feels like it came out of nowhere.

Compare it to how GTI handles the Bittercold. It's the manifestation of all pokemon's collective desire for the end of everything. The loss of hope for better circumstances. And is there narrative build up to this? As a matter of fact, yes!

From the beginning, it's established that the pokemon world in GTI is becoming more and more selfish/dangerous/distrustful etc etc. Gurdurr's and Verizion's arcs connect to this, with both of them choosing to close themselves off from the world. Dunsparce's arc too, to a lesser extent. His first few attempts to get "stronger" end in trouble, almost as if being discourages from having hope to achieving his dream. It isn't until they meet the Protag duo that they have their Character Development™

It all connects to the overall theme of "Believing in other people" and having hope in the face of uncertain circumstances and pessimistic fatalism--which is the opposite "side" in the story, represented by the Bittercold itself, as well as Kyurem and Munna's gang.

We get to see the effects/source of the Bittercold ourselves because we got dialogue like this:

(screenshot courtesy of @rutabga)

AND because characters losing hope/being unwilling to trust others happens several times in the story. Even during the climax.

In other words, the feelings that makes up that the Bittercold is composed of is present throughout the story. So when the Bittercold itself was actually introduced, it made sense for when it was explained what it truly was.

THIS is the build up I was looking for with Dark Matter.

The final stretch of the Player being supported by the voices of the Partner and other pokemon in Paradise/Post Town hits SO much harder compared to Super because of this, despite having less people.

And you know what else? The Bittercold itself could be considered a narrative foil to the Partner. Partner's goal is to make a pokemon Paradise and help others--the ideological opposite of the Bittercold (or rather, what it represents). AND IT'S GOOD!! it gives the Partner so much more Narrative Depth and I love it.

Even the concept of it specifically being ice and found within a glacier dome is sorta neat? A "cold" person is someone who remains closed off from others. It's literally ice. It's found in the heart of a glacier that's isolated from the rest of the world by 1.) A castle (and Kyurem) 2.) A HUGE DOME 3.) "uncrossable" crevasses--once again tying into the idea of staying isolated from the rest of the world.

In conclusion: Dark Matter/the stuff it represents doesn't have much of a presence in the narrative and thus makes Super's narrative as a whole weaker. Meanwhile, I hate the Bittercold as a boss fight but goddamn is it great as a symbolic entity and ties together the themes of the game.

[thunderblessedhero]

OFFSCREEN POST

———

Keldeo’s hooves thundered against the ice, causing it to crack and crumble away under the sheer force- but the young legendary was too fast to be taken down with it. August tightened their grip on their steed’s mane, flattening themself against his back to hold against the velocity of the wind threatening to send them tumbling off.

Kyurem hovered just up ahead, temporarily stunned by an earlier assault from Keldeo. In that moment, August knew- this was their chance. They wouldn’t get another shot like this. If they didn’t split the dragons right now, then the fate of Unova was decided.

Bracing themself to jump, August readied themself just as Keldeo went galloping over the edge, the bridge of ice shattering to pieces below him. No turning back.

Time seemed to slow down. In those final, pivotal seconds, August sucked in a deep breath, before giving the command in one final shout-

“SECRET SWORD!”

Rearing his head back, Keldeo let out an echoing bray as a radiant, crystallized blade sprouted from his horn. Kyurem looked up just in time to see him hovering overhead, golden eyes widening as the trainer and legendary dived in.

With a swing of his head, Keldeo sliced straight through Kyurem’s chest, leaving a cut where beams of dazzling light would pour from. As the mighty dragon let out a prolonged, agonized screech, August leaped off just as Keldeo began to fall- grabbing onto Kyurem’s chest spike and dangling from it.

Moving purely on instinct, their hand dove into their pocket, snatching a syringe-like device- the DNA Splicers. The new set that Colress had made in such notice. Whether or not they actually worked, the scientist couldn’t have said, but August didn’t have time to worry about that right now. They lifted it above the cut, and with as much force as they could muster, stabbed it straight into the god’s heart.

After that, everything fell silent. Deadly silent. For that split moment, August’s felt a jolt of panic within them when nothing happened- thinking maybe the splicers hadn’t worked, or they’d done something wrong.

Then, light swallowed them. It was blinding, and August felt everything at once- it burned like flames, crackled like lightning, stung like frost. It was all so much- they hadn’t even realized their hold on the dragon’s chest had slipped and they’d began to fall.

Kyurem’s roar shook the heavens, reaching the moon and the stars beyond as its form began to divide. It ripped as seamlessly as paper, leaving three pieces behind to plummet to the earth. Long after its bellow of defeat had dwindled into nothing, August could still feel the Original Dragon’s pain echo in their eardrums, piercing into their very soul. It’d been a cry of relief, yet one of sorrow. One of joy and gratitude, yet once of remorse and pain.

In their fall, they blinked away tears that ascended from their eyes in glistening droplets, feeling a heaviness settle inside their chest. In those last moments of consciousness, they had one last thought, a whispered question that no one would answer- “Have I done the right thing?”

•

“August?”

“August, wake up...”

“It’s over now. You did it. You won.”

“Come on kid, wake up…”

“August? Hey, c-come on, we just beat that thing, you- you can’t…”

“August!”

Brown eyes shot awake, and the young trainer jolted in the arms of someone they couldn’t see. But there was a warmth, a familiar warmth- they looked down, seeing a red jacket sleeve, then moved their eyes up to see its wearer.

Hugh sucked in a sharp inhale, his face lighting up upon seeing his best friend awake. It was a rare expression August wasn’t used to seeing on him- usually he carried this furious scowl or a brooding frown, but now, he actually smiled.

“Oh thank gods, you’re-” he stammered, letting out a shaky chuckle and moving his wrist up to wipe away some stray tears. He stopped, though, when he noticed this unreadable, entranced glaze over August’s eyes. “H-hey, you okay there?”

“You’re…” August trailed off dazedly, tilting their head to the side as they tried to find the words. “I’ve… never seen you smile like that before.”

Hugh just gave them a bewildered blink, before he just blurted out a laugh and face-palmed at their remark. “You’re a dumbass.”

The sound of his laughter making them feel a bit lighter, August smiled up weakly at him, before glancing to the side and noticing two others- a distinct duo of pink and green hair.

“N? Blake?” They mumbled, relief swelling in their chest at the sight of the two older trainers. “You guys are okay!”

“Yeah…” N sighed, shrugging a little and giving them a tired half-grin. “Sorry about the whole attacking you thing. I don’t… exactly remember what happened?”

“Yeah, me neither,” Blake mumbled sheepishly, shifting on their feet and rubbing the back of their head. “But you did good, kiddo. Sorry we only got in your way. I just remember hearing Reshiram’s voice, and… everything kinda went blank.”

“You don’t have to apologize for being mind controlled,” August huffed lightheartedly, sitting up beside Hugh and slightly leaning on him. “I’m just glad you guys are back to your old selves…”

“Trust me, we are too,” said Blake, before they stood up straight and pointed somewhere off to the side. “Oh, and look who else is!”

Eyes following their finger, August let out a joyful gasp when they were greeted by not only Keldeo and the other Swords of Justice standing before them- but the faces of Reshiram and Zekrom, as well. Finally two again- and gazing softly down at August with thanks.

With an excited whinny, Keldeo bucked before he cantered over to August, giving their face an affectionate bump with his wet nose. They giggled, reaching their hands up to scratch his neck. “Hey buddy,” they greeted him, pressing their forehead against his. “You were great out there. You sure made your mentors proud, huh?”

Cobalion crooned in agreement, strolling forwards and lowering his head down to August’s height. Surprised by the gesture from the usually standoffish Legendary, they reached a hand out hesitantly towards him, before carefully gripping on one of his horns as he helped pull them back onto their feet. They wobbled a bit upon standing up, but with a little support from Hugh they managed to steady themself.

“I am deeply sorry for ever doubting you,” Cobalion apologized sincerely, stepping back and rising to his full height once more. “It… would seem that I have some reconsidering to do in terms of my views on humanity as a whole… but what I can say for certain- Keldeo is unbelievably lucky to have a Chosen like you.”

“Thank you…” August acknowledged his praise with a respectful nod, before their eyes turned back to the dragons towering over the rest of the group.

“We must express our gratitude as well,” Zekrom stated, taking a step forwards along with her brother, remaining cautious of where they moved due to their gargantuan size.

“Had it not been for you, we would have likely razed the region we hold so dearly to the ground under Kyurem’s command…” Reshiram murmured rather sorrowfully, averting his gaze to his feet.

Casting a sympathetic gaze to the pair of divine creatures, August offered them a smile of understanding, trying to assure them it wasn’t their fault. But at the mention of Kyurem, their expression shifted into one of concern, and they took a quick glance around the area for any sign of the third dragon. “Wait a minute… where is Kyurem?”

Reshiram and Zekrom became uncomfortably silent at that question, meanwhile August’s human companions all shared a look of cluelessness, wondering the same thing as well.

“We don’t know,” Hugh admitted. “When they all separated again, there was this big explosion, and… well, it definitely wasn’t there when we found Zekrom and Reshiram unconscious.”

“Maybe it went back home?” Blake suggested with a shrug. “Either way, I don’t think it’s gonna bother us again, so that’s a good thing- right?”

“I suppose so…” N mumbled, a finger raising to his chin in thought. “But I can’t say I don’t feel uneasy leaving it to roam unchecked.”

“Yeah…” August mumbled, awkwardly rubbing their arm. “It’s just that… when I struck Kyurem with the DNA splicers, it sounded like it was in so much pain… For a second there, it almost made me wonder if I’d done the right thing by separating it.”

“Of course you did,” Blake calmly assured them, crossing their arms and gesturing towards Reshiram. “You saved our dragons- and that thing would’ve used them to flatten Unova if you hadn’t.”

“I-I know, but-…never mind.” With a sigh of defeat, August dropped the subject and waved a hand dismissively. “I dont think Kyurem should have to suffer either,” they kept the words they wanted to say confined within their thoughts. This seemed like something they could worry about later- right now, they just wanted to finally enjoy this short period of peace with their friends that they’d gone through hell to earn.

N furrowed his brows in concern, before exchanging a look with Blake. The two almost seemed to communicate something silently, but before August could ask what they were both thinking the pair of Chosens had already moved on from it.

“Welp, no point hanging around here,” Blake declared, placing their hands on their hips. “Are you kids alright? That must’ve been a nasty fight, you don’t need a hospital or anything?”

After mulling it over for a second, August simply shook their head. “No, I feel totally fine actual- Woahh-!!” They were soon to be corrected when they took a step forward, only for their ankle to give out under them and send them teetering forwards. Thankfully, Hugh caught them with lightning fast reflexes. “…Okay no, yeah, I need a doctor.”

“Alright, hang in there,” Blake just chuckled, offering them another arm to lean on as they helped lead the kid over to Reshiram. Meanwhile, N watched all of them with a fond smile, the sight of his little group back together bringing warmth to his heart after these… hectic last few weeks.

He could hardly believe it. It was finally over. Plasma had been disbanded once more, another crisis had been averted… there was still this gnawing feeling inside him, filling him with anxiety that another crazy twist would be thrown their way… but he knew that feeling would go away with time. Right now, in this moment, everything was fine. Everyone was safe. For now, he was just going to relish that.

Feeling a tug at his boot, he glanced down to see none other than a certain shiny Zorua nipping at his laces- Nyx. His face brightened at the sight of her, and he kneeled down to give the little Dark-Type some scratches behind the ear, to which she enthusiastically leaned into.

The poor thing was scruffier than she’d been last time he’d seen her, visibly shaken by that big near-calamity and patches of dirt caked in her dark fur- but other than that, it was clear August had taken good care of the little one in his absence. He’d have to make time to thank them later.

For a moment, he pulled his eyes away from the kit, and stared rather absentmindedly across the desolate fields Kyurem had left in its rampage. After all of this, there was only one last loose end remaining…

Sage Rood and the other ex-grunts had sworn to him that they’d do everything in their power to rescue any and all Pokémon that’d fallen into Team Plasma’s grasp. They’d assured them that- no matter how long it took, no matter who they had to track down or how far- they’d get Nox back for him.

He trusted their word, of course, but… there was this voice haunting him, this creeping fear that made him wonder if it was too late. It might’ve very well been his Zoroark in disguise, taking that Hydreigon’s Hyper Beam in Blake’s place…

A startled yip from Nyx was what caught him before he spiraled into grief and panic over his missing Pokémon- when he looked down, he was to be surprised as well by sight of his Zorua companion having… duplicated?

Nyx stared at her doppelganger with dumbfounded eyes, while the second Zorua simply licked at its fur casually without a care in the world. N’s mouth hung open as he tried to make sense of the sight before him- was he just seeing things, or had another shiny Zorua really just appeared out of the blue…?

Before he could question the little creature, it shot him a devious smirk and bounced back up onto its paws. His shock would only increase tenfold when the Zorua was swallowed by shadows, its form changing and growing into a larger one.

From the illusion, emerged a Zoroark. Long mane of red, with new scars burned along the right side of its face, shoulder, and arm- but despite all the changes, N would recognize those sharp eyes anywhere, even after two years apart.

He froze stiff, his voice coming out in a murmur of disbelief. “…Nox…?”

Without a word, a grin spread across the fox’s face before he quickly tackled the young man to the ground, wrapping his fuzzy arms around him in a tight hug. N was quick to return it, a shaky sob escaping him when he was overwhelmed by the feeling of his companion’s warmth he’d missed for so long.

“You’re back!” he exclaimed, sitting up and ruffling the Pokémon’s mane. Nox let out an excited bark, nuzzling against him as N waved to get Blake’s attention. “Blake, look!”

Looking up from helping lift August onto Reshiram’s back, a gasp escaped Blake upon seeing the familiar Zoroark at his side. Their eyes watering up and a smile breaking across their face, they quickly jogged over with their arms outstretched. “Nox! Oh my gods, you’re alive- oof-!”

They were abruptly cut off by Nox jumping up onto them, causing them to topple over backwards and thump across the ground. Blake just giggled and accepted it though, squishing their face against his as they squeezed their arms around his shoulders. “Haha, I missed you too!”

August watched the scene with a somber smile from the back of Reshiram as Nox continued to leap around the two older trainers, before he just resorted to grabbing each of their arms pulling them both in for a group hug. For a moment, August’s gaze trailed off to the side, and they swore they saw a trio of shadowy figures looming from atop a nearby cliff in the corner of their eye- but they were gone by the time August tried to focus on them.

As if seeming to know exactly what they were thinking, Hugh crossed his arms and followed his friends’ gaze towards the same cliff. “So, where do you think Colress and the triad went…?”

“You don’t know?” asked August, looking back down at him.

“Nope. They were all just kinda gone after you beat Kyurem.”

Had August not been too utterly tired to care, they probably would’ve been a bit more worried about the absence of the four shady individuals than they felt. But they just decided to brush it aside for now- Team Plasma was gone, if not then probably in the process of crumbling at this very moment, so it’s not like any of them had anywhere to go to cause more trouble.

“I hate to say it, but… we kinda owe him for making us those new DNA Splicers, don’t we?” Hugh suggested.

“Not when he was partially the reason Ghetsis had the means to fuse the dragons in the first place,” August scoffed. “If anything, that was him paying us back for all the trouble.”

“Touché.”

———