#like My Other Ride Is A Zebstrika

[pokemon-ranger-booker]

what's the Trainer Type stereotype you fully buy into

Like Electric type specializing trainers can't drive. None of them. I fully believe this. You tell me you specialize in electric types and I will never get in your car cuz I know you're blowing through every stop sign like it's a suggestion

[pokemonshelterstories]

is it safe to ride a zebstrika? i want to get into pokemon racing and it sounds like a cool pokemon to race. would its rider be at risk for electric shock or anything?

it is! i regularly ride my boss's zebstrika, whiskey sour. you use special pads under the saddle that redirect electrical discharge back into their body as well as electricity-resistant riding pants and gloves.

however, i wouldnt recommend them for racing. they're not really comfortable to ride at a pace faster than a trot for extended periods of time due to their natural conformation. they're also only able to maintain their speed in very short bursts compared to rapidash. they're most often used for trail riding or western pleasure, and sometimes for western dressage or reining. the only time i really ride whiskey fast is if i'm practicing a flame charge stop, which is a common technique in reining.

rapidash and cyclizar are generally used for racing for the sake of comfort, though rhyhorn racing and dodrio racing are also popular in some regions. you also need to look at what pokemon are race-legal in your region. some regions allow mixed-species racing (johto's pokéathlon comes to mind), but others are more limited.

[aitapokemon]

Aita for using pokemon to get around?

Little information: I'm from Unova where we don't have ride pokemon like I've heard a few other regions have.

Lots of people will use Braivery to Fly and stuff but it's not like they're the only ones who can learn that. I have an Unfezant that I've trained since a Pidove who evolved willingly and she will fly me places, but recently my cousin has been talking bad about me for it, saying I'm pushing her into it even though I always ask her first.

Additionally, I'll ride my Zebstrika to and from work (I live a town over from my workplace) and my cousin hasn't ever liked that idea- something about how it's not good for me? He never really explained, and now I'm worried he's going to start talking badly about that as well.

Tldr: Cousin is saying that my pokemon shouldn't be used to get around.

[flyingpochama948]

A while back I mentioned how I wanted to do a fanfic about Stephan and Tracey meeting each other. I wrote...some of it. Not sure if I'll ever finish like with most of the stuff I write

There was one interaction I really liked that I wanted to share, a littlel snippet.

The context is Stephan is traveling through Kanto to compete in the Indigo League. He was riding Zebstrika when they crossed paths with Tracey. They got to talking, still working on the whole plot point, but you know how Tracey is when he sees new Pokemon so...like that lol. Anyway they sit down for a break together and have a bite to eat when this conversation pops up.

Enjoy~

As Tracey and Stephan grew more comfortable in the camp setting, curiosity started to get the better of the young Pokémon watcher.  There was something about his new company and his Pokémon that he needed to know about.  He turned towards Stephan and asked, “Does Zebstrika always let you ride him like that?”

Stephan glanced in Tracey’s direction while he was setting his sandwich down on a plate.  Nobody really ever asked him before.  “Um, yeah.  For the most part.  I try not to ride him too often though cause I know carrying me around isn’t the easiest thing.  Plus all the supplies in my backpack.  Why do you ask?”

“I’ve just heard many trainers have difficulty taming them for rideability.  They’re a bit wild by nature when compared to other equine Pokémon and far more unpredictable.  Yet you handle yours so well.  What’s your secret?”

“Hmm…” he mumbled while looking down and scratching his chin.  Then he looked up again, right into Tracey’s curious eyes.  “Guess I don’t really have one.  Zebstrika just really trusts me, like I trust him.”

“I see.  Mutual trust…”

Stephan then flashed a grin, “It’s kinda funny though.”

“What is?”

“The way you described Zebstrika’s nature— 'wild and unpredictable’.  I think that describes me too.”  He paused for a bit and turned his eyes to his Pokémon.  Tracey only noticed then that their eye color was the same.  Stephan gently ran a hand down Zebstrika’s muzzle, prompting him to lean into the contact and closed his eyes.  “It’s like we were made for each other.”

Tracey smiled softly.  Sometimes the answers were really simple like that.  It was strange.  Something felt nostalgic to him in that moment—a headstrong trainer with his Electric-type partner.

They would absolutely get along.

[kitsumidori]

I've been playing Pokemon Violet almost all day and I've been wanting to do a Left 4 Dead/Pokemon au for awhile (but also since there ain't a lot of those au and I wanted to have some fun with this)

Bill: The only survivor that has a full team. I tried to go with pokemon that would fit with his veteran background (most notably Archenine, and Richu)

Blissey is definitely the oddest of the bunch, but with them working in pokemon centers with Nurse Joy, I can see one helping Bill with his PTSD flashbacks.

Zoey: her Charmeleon would have been her starter,and the rest would have been gifts (mostly for her dad).

Her having a Staraptor is actually based on the one I have in Shining Pearl, who has the same name.

She wasn't a trainer for too long and if she did drop out of college, she would have continued being a pkmn trainer.

Louis: Similar to Zoey's Staraptor, Louis's Empoleon was based on my starter with the same name.

I gave him pokemon that are known to be positive (Ludicolo and Exeggutor) and Togekiss, who's literally called the Happiness Pokemon

Francis: Obstagoon is pretty obvious, it wears a vest, Francis likes vests. Manibuzz was from a fanfic where Francis mentioned that he used to work at a bird sanctuary, and was close with a bearded vulture.

I wanted to give him a ride pokemon, and Gogoat was the closest to a bike (that wasn't Koraidon)

And Cleffa was because I wanted to give him a cute pokemon that he loves but would hide her from others because it would damage his street cred.

Ellis: The only mono type trainer, mostly so that they can help him with his mechanic work.

Zebstrika was so Ellis can still have a horse like pokemon in his team (yes it's technically a zebra, work with me)

Coach: His was pretty easy, strong fighters (Machoke and Hariyama) and big eaters (Snorlax and Swalot)

Rochelle: Originally I was going to give her a Kleavor since it's literally called the Axe Pokemon, but decided on Scizor instead.

Smeargle for her reporter background, and a Buneary because I headcanon her having a major soft spot for rabbits.

And Hattrem because it's whole evolution line is literally the witch from L4D, and I thought it would be funny.

And lastly

Nick:........He just has one pokemon.

For Nick, he only looks out for himself, and his Weavile. They actually meet during a back alley gambling game gone wrong.

Nick was about to fight some dude he was betting with and a Sneasel appeared and protected Nick, scratching the dude with his sharp claws until the dude bailed. Nick likes this Sneasel's moxie and decided to let him tag along with him.

If he were to have more pokemon, he would also have a Thievul and a Liepard.

[tlblitzle]

Hey folks! I kinda went dark there after the freeze, huh? WELL

I would have posted a bit today, if I wasn’t too busy enjoying Nimbasa Pride! By now y’all have missed the whole thing, but don’t you worry, I took SO MANY pics and videos! Sorry not sorry for how I’m about to utterly clog your dashboards >:3c

[First is a mirror selfie of Storm. She’s fully decked out for the day, a grin plastered across his face. He’s wearing shades with bright pink lenses and a pair of earrings, one the male symbol and the other the female one. Her tee shirt seems a size too small on her flat chest, and says KILOWATTREL on it, repeating several times as the word fades to reveal LOVE in rainbow colors, the V coming from half of the W. The bottom of the shirt has been cropped immediately below the last letters, revealing a mesh tank beneath. Secured around his shoulders is a cape made from the intersex progress flag. Her usual trainer’s gloves are replaced by ones in the pan flag colors, and he’s giving a peace sign with his free hand. He’s wearing a skirt made to look like a genderfluid flag wrapped around his waist, which ends at his mid-thighs. Below that is a pair of fishnets, and finally a set of big black platform boots modeled loosely after Zekrom and inlaid with blue LED details. The photo has been captioned “IT’S MY PRIDE-HAVING OUTFIT BITCH”]

[The second picture is a group shot of Storm’s team, each with a bit of pride flair. In the back of the shot is Ozone the Zebstrika. Each of his white stripes has been dyed a different color, turning him into a rainbow. He’s been posed to show off as much of the dye job as possible, and from his complete calm and comfort you get the sense he’s had this done many, many times. In front of Ozone sits Nimbus the Luxio. She has a trans flag bandanna around her neck, matching her unusual blue and pink coloration. Nestled into the tuft on Nimbus’s head is Beanie the Joltik. Beanie is a bit hard to see, being so small, but her legs have been dyed pink on her left and blue on her right, leaving her yellow body untouched to create a pan flag. Finally, Lux the Wattrel is perched on Ozone’s back. Lux has a little tank top designed for birds on, matching Storm’s shirt from the prior picture. On closer inspection, this one looks handmade]

[The post continues with countless images and videos taken at the parade. Storm and team posing with other attendees. A wealth of pride-themed Pokémon treats being eaten. Extremely loud cheering as the Battle Subway float passes by. A couple pictures of the last lingering snow banks from The Freeze, dyed rainbow colors. A single picture of Storm sitting on Ozone’s back, fist raised in a “Charge!” pose, but captioned “don’t do this actually Zebstrika can be extremely difficult and dangerous to ride. he’s very well trained and I STILL only ride him in emergencies!”]

[The torrent of media ends on a video taken so close to Ozone you can only see his side. It pans very VERY slowly down his body, from the red stripes at his front to the purple ones at his back. This process takes a couple minutes, with celebrations heard in the background and snickering coming from the cameraman. Once Ozone’s tail comes into view, Storm whip-pans the camera to land extremely close to her face, revealing a massive shit-eating grin before he asks “do you love the color of the zebSTRI-?” and the video immediately cuts off]

[terrific-togekiss]

What if Pokémon Legends went on to other Regions?

This has been a topic of the Pokémon fandom for awhile. With the announcement of Pokémon Legends: Arceus not too long ago, many fans are anticipating and speculating the future of this ambitious side series.

Being able to not only witness, learn and partake in the legends that shape both the regions and Legendary Pokémon, leaves much room for creativity.

This is all merely speculation.

Here's my take for how any future Pokémon Legends games could play out.

Pokémon Legends: Mew

Set about roughly 20 years before the events of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow, the elusive Mew makes an appearance in the Kanto Region.

This prompts many scientists to want to study and catch the original Pokémon, foreshadowing the creation of Mewtwo and the Ditto.

You, the player, are taken under the wing of a much younger Professor Oak, with the Gen 1 Gym Leaders also showing up to lend a hand.

As the plot focuses on you tracking down Mew before various criminals and an older Team Rocket, try to for their own nefarious purposes. Helping Professor Oak invent the Pokédex and with his research.

Gene splicing and gene testing on Pokémon grew after the War LT. Surge fought in, with an older Team Rocket using it to their advantage.

This Team Rocket being a much bigger criminal organization, before the player took them down and a smaller one appeared in Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow.

A younger Giovanni is also present, as the player gets to know the man that would go on to lead present day Team Rocket. He's a friend to the player... for now, giving some insight on who he was beforehand and show how he took over the criminal organization, setting up the events Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow.

Mew's appearance in the Kanto region, inspires him to the point of illegal gene testing on Pokémon.

As a nod to Pokémon first debuting in 1996, the game takes on a more of a late 60s to mid 70s aesthetic, so it feels like the player is shaping the legends that set up Gen 1 of Pokémon.

Plus Kanto in the Legends artstyle would be mindblowing. And take inspiration from 60s to 70s Japan.

In addition, to avoid looking too similar to Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Being more of a modern era Japan region, than a Meiji period Japan inspired region. While following in said game's footsteps, by focusing on the secondary legendary than the main one (Mewtwo).

The starters would be Chikorita (Gen 1 is about Nature vs Technology), Torchic (Peace and War aesthetic) and Popplio (60s to 70s definitely saw a rise in many famous and popular musicians).

Pokémon Legends: Celebi

Ever wonder the origins of the Legendary Beasts: Raikou, Suicine and Entei?

What they were before they were killed in Brass Tower revived by Ho-Oh? How Ho-Oh came down and choose them, saving their lives? The sea Lugia stays in the deep for? The early days of Johto? The ruins of Alpha in the past? The early days of the Kimino Girls?

Well now you, the player, do now! ...sort of. As the title of the game implies, the player meets and befriends Celebi and gets to see many of these events via time travel.

Not only would this include a huge mechanic separate from other Legends games, but it would be the most unique in how it could be approached. As Nintendo is no stranger to time travel games (e.g. Majora's Mask) that impact both the plot and gameplay.

Time travel tends to create stories that are very confusing or very heartwrenching. Or both. But I have no doubt it would be the latter.

It also leaves room for many side quests.

Starters would be Bulbasaur (Time is all about growth), Scorbunny (Bunny Rabbits are not only a common symbol in the older days of Japan, but of Spring much like Ho-Oh) and Froakie (ninjas were more prevalent during this time period, as they slowly faded out).

Pokémon Legends: Jirachi

1000 years before the events of Pokémon Emerald, (Omega) Ruby and (Alpha) Sapphire, chaos raged across the ancient Hoenn Region, between two legendary Pokémon: Groudon and Kyogre. The Draconid people hope and pray for the arrival of Rayquaza to save the Hoenn Region itself.

This is where the player steps in: in order for all this chaos to end, the wishes of the people must be heard. And the only Pokémon capable of that is Jirachi.

The player would go around helping wishes be granted, traveling and training Pokémon along the way.

An ancestor of Zinnia also makes an appearance as a friend and rival of the player.

To maintain the wishes and stars aesthetic, Deoxys also makes an appearance with its origin being explored. Being able to explore space itself, meeting Pokémon said to have an "alien" origin, like Elgyem and Beheeyem.

Latios and Latias can also be caught, flying on them just like in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

The meteor that would hit the future Sootopolis is what awakened Groudon and Kyogre, said Meteor containing Deoxys. Setting up the game's plot.

Since it's roughly 1000 years before the Gen 3 Pokémon games, Hoenn resembles and takes inspiration from Japan during the Heian period.

The starters would be Turtwig (Theme of continents being at stake), Chimchar (Japanese and Chinese relations) and Totodile (sea monster symbolism, which is often associated with crocodiles and related animals).

Pokémon Legends: The Dragon

Two Princes, of Galar origin, known as the "Twin Heroes" share the power of an unimaginable Legendary Dragon. Bringing Truth and Ideals to the people of Unova. They live and lead from Relic Castle.

You, the player, are a friend of the princes and over the course of the game, your alliance with them changes. Struggling to choose between Truth or Ideals. Serving as a major story mechanic.

A feud and disagreement between the Princes happen, with the player being caught in the middle and to try to quell the anger of the Dragon.

In addition to finally seeing Reshiram and Zekrom before they split, Victini is also present with the Swords of Justice Pokémon (Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion), the Forces of Nature (Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus) and even Meloetta tries to raise people's spirits.

Team Plasma's origins are alluded to, with the army of the Princes baring an odd resemblance to the future evil team.

The game has more of a wild western aesthetic since Unova is based on New York. Think late 18th century America. With horseback riding on Pokémon like Zebstrika and Rapidash, bandits and criminals that try to steal your Pokémon and being able to explore Unova in its entirety.

Or perhaps roaring 20s to 30s America. If that setting sounds more vibrant and close to the Unova of Gen 5. This is all still speculation.

You even get to ride Keldeo in a later part of the game.

The starters would be Chespin (Chesnaught is based on a Glyptodon; fossils were found in South America), Litten (Wrestling is popular in New York) and Mudkip (mudpuppies are found in Lake Michigan).

Pokémon Legends: Diancie

Set after the Kalos War, you the player are caught in the middle of it going off to fight with your Pokémon. Hoping to make a difference as the Professor (ancestor of Professor Sycamore) takes you under his wing. And hoping to help the war turned world that is Kalos.

Yveltal and Xernas have both gone into slumber, with Zygarde needing to be restored to at least 50% (player can go to 100%), so the world of Kalos can be healed from this war.

The main game focuses on Diancie: since Diancie is the Pokémon of diamonds, the war has forced soldiers and leaders to exhaust the many resources of the Kalos region. Particularly precious stones and diamonds.

The player befriends Diancie later in the game as the two work together to bring an end the greedy hearts of those involved.

The game resembles France during the 100 Years War, with the player character even having armor as part of their attire. Due to Kalos being based off of France, roughly Middle Ages or Medieval France in this game's case.

AZ also makes a few appearances in the game, racked with grief over firing the Ultimate Weapon, mostly keeping to himself over the game's plot.

As a new gameplay mechanic, the player can befriend other trainers to amass armies to overcome many challenges, like beating other armies and crossing obstacles.

Volcanion and Hoopa are also present in the game and can be caught.

The origins of Mega Evolutions are expanded on, with the player getting their hands on some Mega Stones. Due to the energy of the Ultimate Weapon.

The starters would be Snivy (said Pokémon is based on French nobility), Piplup (Empoleon is based off of Emperors and can be a nod to Napoleon) and Charmander (Charizard is based off of European Dragons).

Pokémon Legends: Marshadow

Set in the ancient Aloha region, when Tribes followed the Tapu Pokémon, you the player find yourself stranded in this intriguing region.

Ultra space wormholes begin opening across the region and its up to the player to figure out why and how to stop them. Even being able to traverse the Ultra Megalopolis in its entirety.

Necrozma is up to it and the player must learn why. With Marshadow playing a bigger role, since most of its origin is shrouded in mystery, so this would be a great opportunity to explore those origins.

Along with the origins of the Z-Crystals.

The game has more of an ancient Polynesian world, seeing as how Aloha is based of Hawaii. Being able to sail to smaller islands and even catch Pokémon while doing so.

The starters would be Grookey (drums are a popular musical instrument in the tropics), Sobble (chameleons are native to Hawaii) and Tepig (pigs have been brought to Polynesian Islands in the past).

Pokémon Legends: Zarude

3000 years, before the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield, a black storm covers the very region itself. This black storm causes Pokémon to randomly Dynamax and Gigantamax. Many live in fear of what the next day brings, as hope of a better day seems like only a naive dream.

The player joins with many Pokémon researchers (some being ancestors of familiar faces in Pokémon Sword and Shield), in order to track down the source of this chaos.

Zarude comes in as he helps providing with resources from various forests, so less Pokémon and people are harmed. Or worse.

The player believes tracking down Zarude, will lead them to stopping this madness (Eternatus).

The game looks much like 13th to 14th century Britain, in much of the fashion of characters and even dealing with the equivalent of a plague. Ironically enough.

The starters are Treecko (Forest theme and light in the dark theme in contrast to the Darkest Days), Fenniken (Magicians are a common Middle Ages motif) and Squirtle (Cannons were first invented in Europe, around this time period).

[cycleoffates]

electro-piers headcanons????

nobody asked for them but here they are bc they’ve been sitting in my head ever since i had the idea of drawing the guy. 

but also uhhh dropping these in a read-more bc wow this ended up being more than i thought:

can never stop saying this enough bc i love it but this whole idea was inspired by Meychan’s newest release, Bright Sign.

along with basing his outfit off of Toxtricity and the neon lights in Spikemuth.

like canon Piers, he can sing but also likes to dance. a lot. like he’s really good at doing both at the same time (”electrifies th’crowd an’ all that”). strike a cool pose at the end of a song and all that jazz.

as a gym leader, you probably wouldn’t find him in his stadium at first. the guy would be found either at any dance clubs or bars with a lot of high energy, having the time of his life not giving any shits.

listens to music like synthwave, electropop, citypop, vaporwave, future (and its subgenres like funk, bass, etc), lo-fi, edm and so on. anything that’s catchy and gets your body moving or head bobbing!

would probably be the kind of guy who “listens to vaporwave while high”.

(i don’t actually listen to much vaporwave but i’m dropping hints here that i personally recommend Dan Mason, who’s music can kinda-sorta be like that).

(the joke here is that i have never once smoked weed).

collects 2x vinyl cds of the same album; one to hang on the wall and one to play.

probably has vinyls of his own albums.

he’d totally make music in these genres too. (jack stauber: electrify my heart heart heart heart--)

a total night-life guy, catch him up all night and sleeping in the day.

Piers and Klara talking: “who are you?” “i’m you but successful.”

(this actually applies to canon Piers too ashdkadadlfsdf)

”if ya stop carin’ and do yer own thing, you’d feel better ‘bout everythin’”.

alternatively: “let yer worries loose on the dance floor and shake those vibes out!”

since he’s the leader of Team Yell, i’m kind of debating on making electric!version of them too! Marnie’s already got a hybrid electric-type pokemon sooooooooo.

his version of Team Yell would be “Team Spark” (i’m aware of the guy from Pokemon Go). i kinda also want to design them as well and give them proper names and background info!

like Team Yell, their disruptions would just be to ‘party everywhere they go’ while cheering for Marnie. you gonna root for someone have a good time while doing so!

wears a bunch of 80′s/retro clothing, but his “staple” is a crop-top (with a pink cut tank underneath), poofy windbreaker, patterned trousers, leg warmers and platform boots.

owns the same crop-top but with different designs on top.

changes his earrings often (he wears two but the other often gets hidden under his fringe).

if you take off the giant holder that holds up his hair, they’d probably touch his knees or lower.

though his team is mostly Electric/Electric-hybrids, i really wanted him to keep his Obstagoon, but instead have a shiny version! it’d be his “trump card” pokemon that would surprise anyone that go up against him, as they probably wouldn’t expect an Electric-type trainer to have.

he actually has two Toxtricitys! both an Amped and a Low-Key form. he keeps the Low-Key one at home though and doesn’t use it much for fighting. both of his Toxtricitys are in his ‘musical entourage’, along with his Obstagoon.

since i wasn’t sure on a region for him to come from, i thought it’d be cool for his party to consist of Pokemon he caught from other regions! besides Toxtricity and Obstagoon, he got his Rotom from Sinnoh, Zebstrika from Unova and Raichu from Alola.

if his Rotom wants to change forms he’ll gladly let it.

I’M GOING TO GIVE NAMES TO HIS POKEMON EVENTUALLY.

Piers..................... ride........... moped.......... or motorcycle...... or both..

always has some form of energy to hit it on the dance floor.

YO I’M KINDA EYEING THE FACT HIS NAME IS NEZZ IN GERMAN???? WHICH IS NOT TOO FAR OFF FROM HIS ORIGINAL NAME IN JAPANESE????? (NEZU).

so i’m giving him a Handle (tm) and it’s NZ.

[methoxyethane]

Pokedrabbles 10

(Keith, Age 17)

“They look kind of…” Lance began, staring out into the field. “Intimidating, all in a group like that. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Keith looked out at the herd of wild ponyta, scattered with evolved rapidash and grazing in the field. “It’s just some ponies, Lance. What harm could they do?”

“Trample you to death,” Lance insisted. “Set you on fire the moment you try to touch them.”

“Dude, are you scared of horses?” 

“Only rapidash!” Lance defended hotly. Paused. “And mudsdale, and sometimes zebstrika.”

Keith’s turn to pause. “Didn’t you grow up on a farm? How can you be afraid of mudsdale if you lived on a farm?”

“I’m afraid of them BECAUSE I lived on a farm!”

Keith considered that. “Did you get kicked in the head?”

Lance flung out an arm to point at the field of ponyta. “Don’t you have a ponyta to go catch?!”

Keith adjusted his hat, signaling to his torracat to follow him as he ducked out from the trees they’d been hiding behind. “I don’t wanna waste any time, so. I’m gonna go for the rapidash, actually.”

Lance’s eyes widened and he flailed a little after Keith. “Don’t get killed, you idiot!”

Which was ridiculous. It was just a herd of wild horses.

Keith crept slowly through the grasses, sneaking up on the ponyta as they grazed. Once they were close enough he signaled to his torracat, gesturing that it should run in and break off one of the three rapidash from the group so Keith could single it out.

Torracat ran in, and a squeal of neighing commenced as the cat picked out the rapidash towards the back and started blowing flames at its feet to try and trip it up. The rapidash reeled, delivering a harsh stomp attack right on poor torracat as the rest of the herd all started going crazy.

Shit, and torracat was caught right in the middle of the rampaging crowd. “Torracat, get out of there!” Keith commanded, reaching for his pokeball to withdraw the still relatively small cat. He’d been chosen for stealth but it looked like Kosmo would be better suited for the job now that the herd had been riled up...

He heard torracat’s familiar yowl, and Keith called after his cat once again, rushing to try and get to it through the herd. He had no need to worry so much though, because the howl was accompanied by a glowing light as his torracat glowed with evolution.

Bursting out of the crowd of wild ponyta was Keith’s adorable new incineroar, about six feet of pure kitty-cat muscle ready to take on whatever these horses had to offer. “That’s my boy, Incineroar!” Keith shouted. “Now grab one of those rapidash by the neck and hold them still for me!”

Incineroar howled a mighty roar, leaping up into the air for some ungodly reason that did not involve Keith’s order, and coming down hard with an elbow to rapidash’s head. 

The rapidash dodged most of the hit to only get a graze, shaking it off with a confused whinny. “Good enthusiasm but that’s not what I told you to do! Try again, Incineroar, hold it still for me!”

The rapidash charged at Keith’s incineroar and Incineroar charged back, grappling the horse with it’s great arms and this time actually following orders to hold it by the horse’s thick neck.

The rest of the herd took the time they were charging at each other to all scatter off, leaving Keith and his pokemon alone with their chosen rapidash. Keith ran up to rapidash’s side, leaping up onto the horse’s back.

Incineroar let go of the rapidash’s neck and leapt out of the way, letting the pokemon go wild with Keith still on his back.

Keith clamped his legs tight around the rapidash’s sides, leaning forward to get a grip on its neck. The rapidash took some time to get used to him, running around the field in huge circles and trying to buck Keith off for a few long minutes before finally settling down and letting Keith ride him.

Keith led the rapidash back to where Lance was watching with a dropped jaw, pointing at Keith like he’d just grown a second head.

“THAT’S NOT HOW YOU CATCH POKEMON, KEITH!” He shouted, for some reason offended. 

Keith slipped off the horse’s back, taking out a pokeball and tapping the button to let Rapidash inside and officially capture it. “What are you talking about? I just did it.”

“You can’t just -“ He flailed. “Jump on a wild horse’s back and instantly TAME IT, Keith! That should have killed you, not caught you a pokemon!”

Keith shrugged. “Incineroar helped,” he said, turning over his shoulder to watch the giant cat charging after them from where Keith had left him in the field. “Right buddy?”

Incineroar roared in delight, wrapping his huge arms around Keith and lifting him up off the ground in a bear hug. “Roooaaarrrr!”

Oh, okay, that was disorienting. Keith was pretty sure he’d never been picked up before in his entire life, so this was… A new thing to get used to, right here.

Lance was just watching from the sidelines as his excitable incineroar gave Keith one last affectionate rib-crushing squeeze before putting him down. “You know you’re a freak, right? Like a total weirdo?”

Keith just smirked. “Hey, Incineroar, don’t you think Lance looks like he could use a hug, too?”

The giant cat rumbled in delight, turning to Lance with outspread arms. Lance swallowed thickly, and Keith laughed.

—

[pokemon-breeder-breeze]

hi there! i'm a trainer with a love of all things... well.. equine! I plan on either catching or raising a team of my own, featuring primarily horses/ungulates (Ponyta, Rapidash, Zebstrika... etc!) I was wondering if you could tell me anything about as many as you can think of? Ooh, primarily Galrian Ponyta/Rapidash, perhaps? :0

Sure thing!

First is some facts that apply to all equine-like/ungulate-like pokemon.

They need a lot of space. They all love to run and jump and just all around have fun, so they need the space to do that when out of Pokeballs.

They’re herbivores and will eat most plants, so unless you’re in an area with very little flora, you won’t need to worry about feeding them.

They are much happier in groups than alone, but they won’t get depressed or inactive if they’re alone.

Now for specifics.

Common ponyta need time to get to know you before you can safely touch them. Otherwise, you’ll be burnt. They’re big fans of dirt roads and grasslands more than anything, but can settle for other settings. More moody than people realize.

Common rapidash are challenging to gain trust from. Best to evolve a ponyta that already trusts you instead. rapidash are extremely fast and will knock you off their back if you aren’t careful. If it doesn’t like you, it’ll do the best at ignoring you as you’ll allow.

Galarian ponyta won’t even approach you if you have ill intent or are in a foul mood that may read as ill intent. They’re much more skittish than the common Ponyta, and have an easier time with forest brush and branches, making them easy to lose. Galarian ponyta like forests and similar brush, as well. They’re much softer and kinder than the common ponyta.

Galarian rapidash is quite near impossible to find in the wild, as they don’t like humans. Evolution has made Galarian rapidash much more picky than it was as a ponyta, and the ponyta are picky. They’re massive fans of brightly colored or even bioluminescent flora. A Galarian rapidash that doesn’t like you will attack, so be careful.

Girafarig. I know it’s technically not horse-like, but I still want to give it a mention. Girafarig cannot be caught off-guard, but are actually very friendly pokemon. They only eat with their main face, as the tail face is only for protection. Girafarig are basically one of the nicest choices, and are only a danger if you approach it from behind.

Blitzle is a kind pokemon that’s pretty likely to get random bursts of electricity. If you have things that could get badly damaged if struck by lighting it’s pretty helpful for redirecting it, so long as you don’t have it trained to stay near you the majority of the time. Just be careful being near it when there’s a lot of static or electromagnetism in the air, as well as right after a thunderstorm. It’s likely to accidently zap you in those circumstances.

Zebstrika are extremely moody and hard to work with if they didn’t already know you as a blitzle. Like, more so than any others on this list. A zebstrika is not a beginners pokemon. They also have even less control over their electricity in the previous circumstances than blitzle.

Mudbray is stubborn, but very handy to have around, as they can carry a lot for their size. It also needs to be washed occasionally, despite being a ground-type, or it’ll have some health issues down the line.

Mudsdale is extremely loyal and strong. A mudsdale will easily and willingly let its trainer ride on its back as it’s carrying other items. They have to eat a lot more than any of the others on this list, but they’re highly recommended to anyone who loves equine pokemon.

I hope this helps you out, friend!

[annsparksthegmr]

Pokemon Black Nuzlocke - Part 3

Continuing on with my Pokemon Black Nuzlocke for those interested. For a quick summary of my Nuzlocke so far in a nutshell: “I’ve got no Flying-Types and I swear Critical Hits are happening to me every other turn. Also by the way, can I mention how nearly all my Pokemon are females and I’m usually used to getting males?” But there had been progress made if you want to read it below. Because, quite a bit happens as I start off with Route 4.

So back to Pokemon Black Nuzlockes I go and my next encounter in Route 4 as a Darumaka. Never got to use one, let alone a female one. Her nickname is… well… *looks up random names that might fit*. Let’s call her Ramona. Who shall now be replacing Ghost Girl since as Liepard is not really pulling any weight. Also I kicked Cheren’s butt. Thus I fully went onto journeying through Route 4. Quick notes shall follow if anything of interest happened.

Fighting-Type Pokemon are the current bane of my party. I got no Pidove and thus no Flying-Type or anything super effective against them. Which is troubling when it comes to dealing with Timburr.

Went to visit the Desert Resort and get some encounters there. Just in case I suddenly have Pokemon faint during the upcoming battles. And I think giving Pebbles the Quick Claw is worth it, as having a Roggenrola who can outspeed others is fun. Captain finally evolved from a Tympole to a Palpitoad; meaning also I know have a Pokemon who is only super duper weak to Grass. My encounter for the Desert Resort turns out to be a female Sandile. Who I quickly just tossed the Quick Ball. Her nickname shall be Cassandra and she’ll chill in the Box in case I need.

Now considering the fact I could theoretically catch a Volcarona later on during the post game (depending on whether or not I decide to Nuzlocke post-game story.) I just decided to use Repels for the castle. But I managed to find the person with the fossils. And as much as I wanted to get the Tirtouga, I was considering getting Archen in case I could not find a Pokemon capable of using Fly later on. But I decided to screw my luck and took the Cover Fossil. Bias and planning be damned. (I shall revive it when I need the Pokemon and once I can learn Fly.)

I did some more grinding to get everyone up to Level 25 before heading into Nimbasa City. Pebbles evolved into a Boldore. Making her the last main evolution for the journey to Nimbasa City. But upon arriving in the city after getting free Ultra Balls, Team Plasma appeared harassing an old man. Which I had to beat up and got the bike! Hooray for faster travel! Got the Strength HM and decided between going to the Amusement Park and Bianca, I chose to ride with N in the ferris wheel. Because that sounded more exciting and as much as I’m poking fun at things, I really enjoy this game.

The ferris wheel ride ended as I faced off against N. Which could have been a challenge… if I didn’t have Captain. Like he quite literally just swept most of his team. Though I had Zigzapzop finish off the Sigilyph. Then I amused Bianca with the Pokemon Musical stuff. (Look, this was my jam back in the day. I used to be a master of these when I was younger. Too bad it doesn’t do anything in terms of Nuzlocke from my memories.)

Exiting the building is the sweet scene with Bianca, her father and Elesa. Like these moments are what I live for which Sword and Shield did not give me. Which is unfortunate. But in other news I decided to venture into the Big Stadium and Small Court to level my team up just a bit more for the upcoming Gym Battle. I was pretty confident with the current team I had. And getting them just a few more levels and getting some Amulet Coin boosted cash would work for my preparations. As Elesa literally swept my old team as a child. Which, since I mainly had Zipzagzop, Captain and Pebbles on my team, I was feeling pretty better about my odds.

With overconfidence and just now remembering Emolga is a Pokemon which exist, I waltz into the roller coaster Gym leading with Captain and Pebbles to take down Elesa. Which is troublesome considering the damage Volt Switch Emolga do. Though having Power Gem just fling out super effective moves does work out pretty well. Not to mention how Power Gem avoids the Static from Emolgas. Can I just say that the RNG Pokemon loves to toy with my emotions by having a Volt Switch nearly bring down Pebbles to 3 HP from a CRITICAL HIT. Poor Pebbles she did not deserve that. So for the second Emolga, I switched into Captain to prepare for the Zebstrika. He took it down with a Round, since Pebbles weakened both flying squirrels. Which left Captain to face down her ace Pokemon. And thankfully, because of the Water/Ground typing, made it a quick sweep of Captain defeating her Zebstrika. Plus it did help Elesa for some reason decide to waste her Hyper Potion on her Emolga.

Securing the fourth Gym Badge, needless to say I felt so proud of both Pebbles and Captain for cleanly saving my team from losing anyone else. I never got to use either Pokemon in my original run and I can’t help but be proud of them. If only I could say the same for Puppy. Sadly, a policeman on Route 16 decided it would be funny to take out my own Herdier with a CRITICAL HIT Take Down. Poor baby, I didn’t mean for her to take the hit but alas there goes my second death. I personally feel hurt about losing her to a random Trainer battle.

My Route 16 encounter was actually a double-battle one. But one was a Liepard - which I had. The other was a female Trubbish - which I chose as my encounter since I didn’t have one. I gave her the nickname of Trashie because I suck at nicknames at times. Though I don't have any real reason to truly keep Trashie around. Because looking at the moves she learns, she won’t be a decent-enough Pokemon to add for type coverage. All she’s good at is taking out Grass and Bug-Type Pokemon. Which, I have Ramona for. So I’ll deposit her into the Box for safe-keeping. But for HM Cut sake, Ghost Girl is returning to the team to fill that spot. And I don’t want to really teach that to my Starter Pokemon.

But inside of the Lostlorn Forest, I got another encounter. Being that of a Male Cottonee! Catching him, I named him Lowen. He now rests in my box since I already have a Grass-Type. Missed out on getting a Tranquill but I’ve managed so far without a Flying-Type. I just hope to get a Pokemon capable of learning Fly soon enough.

Then I had the match with Cheren on Route 5. Defeated him, chatted with the Champion before we bullied two children on his behalf. Zigzagzop evolved during this process as well. What I once feared as a child is now at my side. And on Route 5, at first I got a dupes Liepard which I chose to skip over. Though in a random trainer battle I lamented how I long my Puppy, as she was my main counter to Psychic and Ghosts. And I still have no plans of using Ghost Girl. Then came the dupes Trubbish. Which I also skipped. And after some more dupes of Liepards and Trubbishes, I got another double encounter. This time with another Liepard and a female Minccino. Who, despite how doubtful I am of being of use, I nicknamed Lady. Lady will be in the PC until I have a need for her. That or she’ll just chill out in there for the rest of the run.

Driftveil Bridge was opened up thanks to Elesa. And thanks to that and a bit of checking, a female Ducklett finally appeared!!! Finally giving me an encounter on the bridge (or at least I think is a proper encounter) which may grant me a Flying-Type to add to the party. I caught her immediately and named her Odette. Who shall be added to my team as soon as I arrive into Driftveil City. Clay was there to meet us and I already remember why I liked him. But I kind of have some fears about facing his team in a Nuzlocke.

And here’s where I’ll end things for this update. Going to probably grind a bit before continuing on with the story. But I will say some of my team is a bit higher than I thought. Considering I have to fight Clay and his Excadrill, though, I got a feeling I’m going to have to be very cautious. Because I have heard Clay is a run ender with his Excadrill. Though hopefully it won’t stop me! Here will be the team updates regarding what has befallen everyone. Next time, I plan to at the very least defeat Clay and depending on how that goes, hopefully reach Chargestone Cave for what I believe is to be the N fight. That is the plan but who knows what will happen.

Until next time, thanks for reading this lovely experiment of a Nuzlocke!

Team Recap:

Queen - Female Servine (Lvl 26)

Pebbles - Female Boldore (Lvl 29)

Zigzagzop - Male Zebrastrika (Lvl 28)

Captain - Male Palpitoad (Lvl 30)

Ramona - Female Darumaka (Lvl 25)

Odette - Female Ducklett (Lvl 22)

In Box/Reserve:

Ghost Girl - Female Liepard (Lvl 20)

Cassandra - Female Sandile (Lvl 21)

Trashie - Female Trubbish (Lvl 22)

Lowen - Male Cottonee (Lvl 20)

Lady - Female Minccino (Lvl 23)

Deaths: 2

Fountain - Male Sampour (Lvl 15)

Puppy - Female Herdier (Lvl 25)

[furubabes]

furuba pokémon au?

so other than being a fruits basket fan, i’m also super into pokémon. today’s swsh news got me thinking about furuba characters as pokémon trainers and well… those thoughts definitely spiraled into obsession. this is by no means a comprehensive or definitive list but these are my thoughts so far.

tohru - she would run a healing/support based fairy type team. i picture her main being whimsicott because from the back, it looks a bit like a rice ball with a plum. tohru would frantically sprint to the pokémon center after every battle, though she wouldn’t be a big fighter anyway. her bag would be stuffed full of healing items and she’d probably catch most of her team in heal balls or luxury balls. all her pokémon would have max friendship. i think her team would also be a duel type team, grass and fairy. i picture her with ‘mons like (mega) audino, deerling, bulbasaur, sylveon, leafeon, or togepi.

kyo - this type selection was probably the easiest. kyo runs a fighting type team. he and his pokémon train relentlessly - and also have a knack for finding the best berries, so the whole team is well fed. kyo runs pokémon like mienshao, primeape, blaziken, or maybe even a (shiny) bewear. his team also consists of two types, as he also trains fire types. i see him with maybe a typhlosion, darmanitan, incineroar, or houndoom. kyo takes excellent care of his pokémon but his battle style is all out and relentless. he uses offensive moves only; the boy has never heard of a stat boosting move in his life. he wins on raw power or not at all.

yuki - yuki is a water and ice master. his team having one type strong against kyo’s and one type weak to it feels fitting. yuki’s ace is probably a milotic, and he’d also run things like floatzel, samurott, primarina, or lapras on the water side and glaceon, alolan ninetales, frosslass, or aurorus for ice pokémon. yuki is an incredibly skilled battler but doesn’t really fight unless directly challenged. unlike kyo he’s all about strategy; his pokémon carry lots of status inflicting moves. yuki is almost a celebrity battler, but what his fans don’t know is that his pokémon are also emotional support animals and are trained to end battles quickly and discreetly if he ever develops an anxiety or asthma attack mid battle.

shigure - easy pick, he runs dark types. shigure is that asshole who hides behind a corner and challenges passing travelers. he’s friendly, but plays dirty in battle and you wouldn’t really want to make him your rival. he uses pokémon like liepard, mightyena, houndoom, zoroark, honchkrow, and shiftry. he appears randomly a lot, usually with a useful and quest-relevant item, but you can never be positive he’s not working for the evil team.

hatori - also a defense/healing based team. kingdra is his ace. he runs dragon types (duh) and probably a second type but i have no idea what. best guesses go to steel, psychic, or ground.

ayame - poison type trainer with an arbok, a scolipede, and a seviper, but ayame is way more into contests than battling. he makes his own contest spectacular outfits. people underestimate him because they don’t think most poison types are usually contest viable, but he makes it work.

kagura - solo runs with a grossly over leveled emboar. beware her heat crash. she’s not really a trainer, more of just an everyday person with one partner pokémon.

hana - she runs psychic types, obviously, and is psychic herself. she’s a sitting gym leader but doesn’t get a lot of challengers. she can often tell whether a challenger is worthy by their wave signature even before the battle starts. her main is an espeon, but she also runs alakazam, xatu, gardevoir, swoobat, starmie, or delphox. her team changes out a lot because psychic pokémon are sensitive and battles tire them out quickly. this is why her gym is difficult to get through - she would hate to overwork her team.

uo - steel type trainer. she used to participate in a lot of street battling rings but she has since retired and only battles safely against her friends, and even then only on occasion. she’s a more defensive battler in friendly matches but if ever forced to battle an actual enemy she is a force of nature. uo carries pokémon like aggron, mawile, scizor, metagross, excadrill, bastiodon, or bisharp. she says her mawile reminds her of hana. uo will sometimes step in with her metagross as one of the trainers in hana’s gym.

akito - i get ghost type trainer vibes. akito is relatively obsessed with the idea of legendary pokémon, namely arceus, and is convinced they are more than folklore. she would lead an evil team, formed by members of the sohma clan, in an attempt to harness the power of legends for herself. however, she would be a leader like archie/maxie or N or guzma who is reformed at the end of her arc. i think she would then devote her time to being a lorekeeper instead, changing her obsession with legends into something positive. she would probably carry mismagius, chandelure, oricorio sensu, mimikyu, gengar, banette, or froslass.

momiji - more of a jack of all trades than a type focused trainer, i think momiji would actually appreciate some “weaker” pokémon and give them a fair shot. he’d run things like plusle (his sister would have a minun), bunnelby, whismur, spinda, oricorio pom-pom, and wigglytuff.

kisa - look idk but tiny girl with giant incineroar just makes me happy as a concept. kisa doesn’t battle, by the way, it’s her emotional support incineroar.

hiro - he claims that he thinks battling is stupid and pokémon are lame. he owns a mareep and a gogoat anyway and gets really mad if you point out how much he dotes over them.

rin - i haven’t seen her animated and it’s been forever since i read the manga so this one isn’t deep and insightful, but she has a mudsdale, a zebstrika, and a rapidash. horse gang. don’t @ me.

haru - trains normal and dark types. his training style varies wildly; light haru isn’t much of a battler and prefers riding pokémon for fun, but dark haru is an aggressive battler with a style reminiscent of kyo’s. he has a bouffalant and a tauros, both of which he rides because they have a better sense of direction than he does. he also carries an absol, a pangoro, a zweilous, and a slaking. haru takes forever to get from one gym to the next, so he’s nowhere near getting all his badges yet.

kyoko - no idea about her team specifically but i think kyoko was a fighting type trainer who gave up battling but never gave up on her pokémon and kept them until her death. i like to think kyo’s mankey was a gift from her when he was a child.

this took a bit to type out, geez. that’s really all i have for now but feel free to add on or throw in your own ideas, even if they conflict with mine! i’d love to know what the rest of the fandom thinks, if any of you are big pokémon fans!

[the-legendary-professor-cherry]

Hey, any advice for tacking up and riding the swords of justice? (Cobalion, verision, and terrakion.)

Good question!

Terrakion (and Keldeo, if you’re counting it) can both be tacked up like your standard Mudsdale or Zebstrika. Terrakion is extremely powerful, so make sure you have a good grip—and always make sure you have someone nearby just in case.

Cobalion and Virizion are taller, so you’ll have to purchase a more specialized saddle—think along the lines of a Girafarig saddle! Other than that, as far as my knowledge goes, it’s quite similar. Like all Pokémon, you want to make sure you have a good understanding of the Pokémon you’re trying to ride, for your own safety as well as theirs!

If you have any further questions, do send a follow-up ask. Good luck!

[pkmnsdarkqueen]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

(original open)

1. Pokemon black and white had good pokemon designs. Yes we got a literal trash and ice cream pokemon, but like we also got hydreigon, haxorus, serperior, zebstrika, and so many others. Also trubbish is a cute bag of trash with arms, and geodude is an angry rock with arms. I don’t see why everyone has to freak out!

2. I don’t mind the fairy type nerfing the dragons, but I do hate them because they gave dark types ANOTHER weakness. Now it has 3, and darks already have a hard time battling with fighting being a weakness. This DOESN’T HELP!

3. X and Y was the worst game so far. This isn’t because of jangly keys, or the heavy handed plot of Lysandre. In fact I love both of those things! The execution of the story was a shambled mess though. Like people who think killing off the population will help the issues we have exist in real life, heck infinity war even brought this up and did amazingly well in the box office! It was just so saturated with long dialogue, sporadic flare interruptions, and frankly lazy work on the details that the flow of the story lacked. Character motivations made no sense sometimes too, and I didn’t feel like I was part of the story simply along for some confusing ride. Also this came out after the unova games which told such an amazing story that it was a real let down!

4. I loved the super training mechanic and want it back. Pokemon pelago ev training is confusing, and I liked being able to visually see what my training was doing on that little star graphic. I like the idea of the island and the other features but i hate the ev training. 

5. Ok I haven’t read much of the manga, only what I can find on bulbepedia, bt like I ship hilda and colress. I get he kidnapped her, but she got away too. I think it’d be cute if like while trapped on the plasma frigate they ended up talking alot, colress realized he was started to like her, and then helps her escape. Then like they meet up later or something and reconnect. Just saying, I think it’s cute, and have thought about this story line way too much. 

[puppyluver256]

Charlie Hart

Xe’s a heartbreaker. Xir name...Charlie. To be fair, xe isn’t purposefully setting out to break hearts. Xir badass biker persona just happens to attract plenty of admirers, and their hearts are only broken as a result of xem not being able to reciprocate their feelings even if xe wanted to. Xe’s never sought after a QPP either, though likely wouldn’t say no to the idea if one formed naturally. Charlie’s heart is plenty focused on xir bike, xir family, and xir Pokémon. Xe has fond memories of riding sidecar in xir dad’s bike when he was still riding, then riding beside him on xir own for a few years when xe was able to. Xe wishes xe had more memories of xir mother, but something happened and she hasn’t been in xir life since they were five or so. Charlie doesn’t even remember what happened, though xir dad insists she didn’t just walk out. Xe’s always wanted to try and find xir mother and get some answers, even if it’s as a body rather than the living person, and trying to find that closure is what led to xem becoming a missing persons investigator in the first place so xe could help others find closure while looking for xir own.

-----

Have some more Battle Peak in the wee hours, hehe. Any time I think of Unova beyond the strict plot, my mind either goes to how great the Lillipup family is and the rotation/triple battle specialist, Motorcyclist Charles. You know, Charles. The self-professed heartbreaker. Anyway, I wanted my Unova rep to be related to him in some way, so here’s his kid Charlie :3 Also Charlie’s my first character to actively use neopronouns??? :O I think I got this set grammatically correct from what I researched, but if I need to reformat things feel free to lemme know! I still don’t know how to pronounce “xe” without it sounding like “she” in my mind’s best guess, I’ll just back to googlin’ that

Since the Battle Peak is much like the Battle Tower and similar facilities, Charlie doesn’t have a set team each time xe’s fought. Xe will select three (or four, if in a double battle) from xir six best Pokemon: Krookodile (always present), Zebstrika, Archeops, Basculin, Accelgor, and Scrafty

Pokemon and related concepts © Nintendo/GameFreak Charlie Hart and artwork © PuppyLuver Studios

[medievalmon]

I've noticed that most of the characters introduced so far have the bipedal body style (walks on 2 legs, have 2 arms and can hold/grip things with them). Do you ever plan to introduce characters that are non-bipedal/have no hands, like quadrupeds or birds? Or are you mostly excluding them since it's harder or awkward to write for characters that don't have hands and can't pick things up (like weapons) as easily as others?

((Hey! I almost answered this with Escavalier, but I realized it was pretty much directed to me, so I’ll just take it, ha! 

So, most characters are bipedal, that is true. Not having hands or arms isn’t something that daunts me, hence the inclusion of characters, mostly bugs, such as Escavalier, Scyther, Scizor, Kricketune, Empoleon, and Delibird. Claw hands, lances and blades for hands, wing-hands, those come in easily. 

I’m still planning on introducing more characters that aren’t quite full of human-like anatomy in my next story. Perhaps it’s no surprise, but I will be including all three of the final stage 7th Generation / Alolan starters, with Decidueye being an avian / wing-handed character, and Primarina not even having legs. Serpentine bodies typically interest me in concept, so I’m planning on some kind of snake popping up, provided that it fits in with the story hopefully. 

More below the cut! 

Quadrupeds, on the other hand, I shunned a bit because I honestly started thinking of the mount Pokemon first. Like, my thoughts went to Rapidash, Tauros, Zebstrika, Sawsbuck, Mudsdale, etc., those before others like the Eeveemons. And I didn’t really want to include those because it created a mess of thoughts in my mind and questions that were tiring to answer, stuff like: 

“Oh, does that mean the knights ride those horse-like Pokemon? Or do they not do that because the quads refuse it?” 

“Shouldn’t the mounts have just as many rights as the regular Pokemon? Are they meant to be treated as inferiors?” 

“Does getting ridden around so often hurt their backs, or are they used to the labor and capable of it?” 

“Do quadrupeds get their own society, or do they mix in like the rest?” 

Those are just the first batch that came back to mind when I originally questioned including them. And while world building is fun, and those have entertaining concepts, it would distract where I wanted the focus on the stories to be. 

After all, the first fanfic of this series evolved from what I planned out as a one-shot between the last two chapters. By making a 10-chapter story, I already went past my scope. Also, I’ve got one loud and recurring complaint about moving away from the Romance genre in favor of the world building, and more than one complaint about having too many characters to focus on as it is. 

Aside from that, and dipping slightly into spoiler territory, some of the questions that I brought up about “mount-mons” are getting passing inclusions with “plant-mons” that will be included in the earlier portion of the third story. So, on top of not wanting to go overboard with the type of Pokemon that I’m including, there was also a redundancy to it. 

Going past the ones that I mentioned, and to the more favored Pokemon, such as Arcanine, Luxray, Eeveelutions, Beast Trio, Musketeer Quartet, and others, I really didn’t give them much thought individually. Since I mentally prioritized mount-mons, I just basically waved off anything on four or more legs as knight or soldier characters. 

There are exceptions, like Samurott, who I basically bend rules to make them stand up. And even that can bother some readers, who forget that some Pokemon alternate between standing up and going down. Which is weird, given that Pikachu is the series mascot and does it all the time, so I’ve never understood that argument. But I digress. 

TL;DR: I honestly don’t have the time to pour over every aspect of the Pokemon universe and how to directly translate it to the medieval era that I created. Could I? Sure. Will I? No. Quadruped fans, I’m very sorry, but you’ve been handed a short stick again. 

Also, I’m sure it’ll come up in a future ask, so I’ll answer it here: No, I am not including the Ultra Beasts. I’m sure dimension jumping Pokemon could be fun for a medieval story, especially with itty-bitty Kartana the kite-samurai, but that absolutely goes beyond my focus and expands the scope to encompass the entirety of the franchise, which isn’t my goal. They’re not going to be included whatsoever, and while I have other-worldly concepts to explore, I never made plans to include them. 

And even though I’m not ruling out “alien-mons” outright, it’s also highly unlikely that I’m using those either, so if you’re waiting on someone like Deoxys, you’ll be very disappointed. Furthermore, since I’m already going down this path, I’m not planning on using many Legendary Pokemon at all. Less than 10 is my plan, and I’m pretty sure it’ll end up being less than 5. That includes Mythical Pokemon as well, which I forget separates the umbrella terms “Legendary Pokemon,” so I’ll have a mention for that too. They get enough attention as it is, both from the official media sources, as well as fandom outlets, so I think that’s fair anyway.))