#more variety of Pokemon for Ash and everyone else to use

[kcuf-ad]

Have I watched the Pokemon Anime lately?

No.

Do I have some ideas for the Sinnoh Region?

Kinda.

[lucabyte]

ADORE your Siffrin gender essay. I appreciate the focus on using direct lines from the game and providing references. You put into words well from what I saw in the game as well and explained it all really well.

Very sidenote from but hell yeah aroace Ash

*does a sick kickflip and high-fives you*

yeah evidence is swag i love evidence. I don't know how else to put it LMAOO. okay let me try and be coherent

I think as an OC creator first and foremost I interact with canon characters, especially of smaller works like this, with a very "what was the author intending? what did they want to tell me, the audience?" mindset.

I specify as like, as an OC creator because of like... I think its a dual-pronged thing.

I know what it's like to write a guy and try and imbue them with knowledge that i Have but they will never be able to just Say Aloud Via Their Mouths (because some characters will just never say some things), but that there's always evidence for the authorial intent SOMEWHERE if you can just triangulate enough pieces...

I have a big beautiful playground full of guys to project my identity unto whenever i want to (hits a larger than average number of my ocs with the aroace nonbinary beam) and that means both a. I come to (well-written) canon characters with a mindset that, oh thank god, they AREN'T mine. I get to use this to explore someone else's mindset, try and decenter my own experience, practice whatever empathy they are leading me to practice. and b. I've already learned that variety is the spice of Character Creation and i'm on the prowl for new things I haven't already made or seen. And amab NBs are not. Commonly seen. So I latched onto that motherfucker like a crocodile about to death roll him and started scouring for supporting evidence.

So yeah. I come at the text with I think, a slightly different angle than the usual "just playing in the fandom space for fun". which like. i AM having fun. i almost feel bad how much fun i'm having, sorry to my ocs who are collecting dust LOL. But it does mean I'm presumably coming at this from a weird angle to begin with, thus, my want to treat it like a more academic endeavour where I Cite my Sources and point out where I'm getting my ideas from.

I also like. haven't interacted with fandom at large for. a number of years. so my barometer on how much I have to explain myself is WACKY. this is what you get from only hanging out with lit and classic students who can't make a gay catboy without psychoanalysing them to the Nth degree. But again I'm having fun so we stay silly.

And i am SO glad that i wasnt the only person drawing these conclusions. Glad to see people immediately going "oh yeah i thought this!!" because like. i dont read other peoples meta. i had NO idea if this was just gonna like. go down like a lead balloon because I'd stepped on everyone's collective toes instead. Glad it does not seem to have in these first couple hours at least

also yeah sidenote god ash ketchum is so aroace. He's only got time for one partner and that's his pokemon partner motherfucker. No time for romance he's on that Seeing The Wonders Of The World Grindset. that complete blank nonreaction to being kissed by serena never fails to make me lose my shit thinking about it. sorry girl you have bet on the wrrrooooong ponyta

[astalkingirin]

For the Pokemon meme: 3, 5, 7, 19, 20!

Favorite starter?

This is actually kind of hard! When I first got Blue, I was sure that charmander were the best ever - anyway, I reset after Brock and took the manual's advice about bulbasaur instead, and won the game with it. It beat my rival's charizard with struggle! Never again have I been so bad at the game that I can be so fond of a pokemon for saving my butt.

That said, eevee starter was always a big thing even if it was out of reach for so long, chikorita are adorable (and longneck dino flower is a great concept), and I do love fennekin.

7.: Favorite Pokemon?

Umbreon/vaporeon. Part of it's just that I like the sleeker designs. I'm much more a cat person than a dog person, but foxdog cartoon animals just look so pretty.

19.: Which evil Pokemon team is your favorite?

Hm…

So I do like Team Rocket, but I also actually do like the epic plotlines tied to a legendary. RBY's plot of having Team Rocket just there in the background doing a variety of mundane evil for money works fine, but there's not much of a sense of progression with them. They really needed some sort of capstone. The anime almost finished connecting the dots by having the exploit pokemon for money plots turn out to be to use that money to get more pokemon and power, and then that blows up in their face, but the anime also got rid of any actual Team Rocket plots in favor of some idiots harassing one kid over and over. So while the games have, if you read between the lines, Team Rocket be why there's a superpowerful dangerous new pokemon, that pokemon is just chilling in a cave and there's no sense Team Rocket should be stopped before they do that again and their pursuit of the masterball and the fact you're expected to catch your mewtwo with that don't seem connected either. Then in the anime Mewtwo is going to kill everyone and that's ultimately Team Rocket's fault, but Ash never takes on Team Rocket the actual organization, doesn't so much as meet Giovanni, and never even knows the two are linked at all.

As dumb as they are, I think I like the Magma/Aqua guys best. There's a clear progression over the course of the game as they move closer to their goals, I think there was a good balance in the sense that you're thwarting their plans but not so much they can't move along to the next thing, their focus on a particular powerful pokemon makes sense in that people should be trying to find meaning like that, they fuck around and find out, and then you get to fight God! As part of an ongoing series they're absolutely the cause of the power creep where from this point on villains want to reboot the universe but as a single game plotline they work so well. Also, I liked the sense that everyone else hates both groups and thinks they're dumb, which is why their opposing group can't get anyone to help stop the ones about to destroy the world.

Apparently Aether is not officially an evil team, but if we're asking who's best characterized and least stupid, they're the winners. Using another group as disposable cats-paws so you stay officially squeaky clean! And they're also the only one of these that manages to be nominally non-villianous where you're not asking how the hell everyone missed that they're the villains, and where their portrayal, intentionally or not, feels a lot like real conservation groups coming in from outside with disproportionate resources compared to the people actually living there. But in terms of gameplay I wasn't too impressed by their integration to the plot, and it's really just Lusamine who's doing everything.

20.: Which evil Pokemon team is your least favorite?

Team Galactic because I did not like their memeing, fourth-wall breaking underlings and the whole thing about evolution power came out of nowhere and was dumb. Also, destroying the universe is one of those things that's just too big to care about. In theory, digging up secret lore about forgotten eldritch gods that should not be awoken is super cool. In practice, the grunts were too busy mugging at the camera about how they had no idea why they were doing this for me to know that was what was going on. I felt Flare did a much better job with the idea of idiots fighting you while having no clue what their boss' actual plan, and honestly Flare wasn't that great either.

[shipsforeveryone]

XL Ship For Anon

Their Request - 

Hi! Can I request a ship for all of your fandoms. Males only please!

Oh and for the scenario - First Fight. For TVD?

I am a tall, curvy straight female with blonde hair and blue-green eyes.

I am introverted, intellectual, I have a bunch of interests and hobbies, which I tend to hyper fixate on. I am also a bit of a jack of all trades as I like to learn/teach myself how to do a wide variety of things.

I have a very idiosyncratic point of view, I'm bookish and very interested in history. I have a knack for accurately predicting the likelihood of the future. I tend to test people to see if I can trust them a lot but then I become a friend for life. Literally, a ride or die. I have hidden dimensions and intensity and they're hidden because I'm pretty withdrawn. Wanting to watch people from afar to see if I can even poke my head out of my shell around them.

I tend to act arrogant, cryptic, or cynical when afraid. I can be diplomatic and say things without saying them. I am defiant/rebellious towards authority and habitually find counterexamples to whatever others assert. Despite this attitude, I'm incredibly loyal, hardworking, ambitious, and very idealistic.

I struggle with ADHD, social anxiety, and paranoia. I can brood over injustices or entertain conspiracy theories. I am a bigger fan of sneaky vengeance over outright confrontation. I can be passive-aggressive and self-attacking. I love all animals though I never want to personally own a dog, due to how needy and loud they are. I'm more of a cat or reptile person.

I like to record my thoughts out loud and later organize them.

I'm also currently fighting the urge to delete this because I think I sound very full of myself in this lol

Pretty please and thank you! Also sorry this was so long.

My Response

No worries, babe! You don’t sound full of yourself at all. I love the fact that you didn’t beat around the bush about describing yourself!

Avatar: The Last Airbender 

OTP - Zuko. He would love your idiosyncratic point of view and how insightful you are. And would often come to your for advice.

BrOTP - Aang

NOTP - Sokka

Bright

OTP - Nick Jakoby

BrOTP - Tikka

NOTP - Daryl Ward

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

OTP - Rupert Giles. You have quite a bit in common, and you may even end up arguing the uses of technology while admiring books as much as he does.

BrOTP - Daniel “Oz” Osbourne

NOTP - Buffy Summers

Doctor Who

OTP - The 10th Doctor. He’d gently coax you out of your shell. And he’d take you anywhere in time or space that you want to go. If you don’t outright say where/when you would like to go then he’ll pick up on it by listening to your latest interests. 

BrOTP - Is it cheating to say the 12th Doctor? Oh well. I think you would be partners in crime all the way.

NOTP - Rose Tyler

Dragon Age

OTP - Solas. There’s so much in common and I think you’d probably be the best option to convince him to change his plans. 

BrOTP - Merrill.

NOTP - Cassandra.

Fast and Furious franchise

OTP - Tej Parker

BrOTP - Deckard Shaw

NOTP - Luke Hobbs

Game of Thrones

OTP - Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion would tease you to draw you out of your introverted shell. He'd be very interested in your hobbies, interests and your knack for predicting the future. He'd admire your wide skill set, loyalty, defiant attitude and how hardworking you are. He’d often suggest books to you and vice versa. 

BrOTP - Jon Snow

NOTP - Daenerys Targaryen

Golden Girls

OTP - Dorothy. 

BrOTP - Rose

NOTP - Sophia

Hannibal

OTP - Will Graham.

BrOTP - Alana Bloom.

NOTP -  Jack Crawford

Harry Potter

OTP - Severus Snape. Your mind, skill set and attitude would all appeal to him very much.

BrOTP - Luna Lovegood

NOTP - Ron Weasley

Inglourious Basterds

OTP - Hugo Stiglitz

BrOTP - Donny Donowitz

NOTP - Aldo Raine

John Wick

OTP - John Wick

BrOTP - Marcus

NOTP - Winston

Jurassic Park franchise

OTP - Dr. Ian Malcolm

BrOTP - Dr. Ellie Sattler

NOTP - Dr. Sarah Harding

Kingsman

OTP - Merlin

BrOTP - Harry Hart / Galahad

NOTP - Jack Daniels / Whiskey

Legend of Korra

OTP - Mako

BrOTP - Asami Sato

NOTP - Tahno

Marvel 

OTP - Bucky Barnes

BrOTP - Loki

NOTP - Natasha Romanoff

Mayans MC

OTP - Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes.

BrOTP - Johnny “Coco” Cruz

NOTP - Emily Thomas-Galindo

NCIS

OTP - Timothy McGee

BrOTP - Abby Sciuto

NOTP - Tony DiNozzo

New Girl

OTP - Nick Miller

BrOTP - Winston Saint-Marie Schmidt

NOTP - Julia Cleary

Once Upon A Time

OTP - Killian Jones / Captain Hook

BrOTP - Regina Mills

NOTP - Mary Margaret Blanchard / Snow White

Parks and Recreation

OTP - Ben Wyatt

BrOTP - April Ludgate

NOTP - Jean Ralphio Saperstein

Peaky Blinders

OTP - Tommy Shelby

BrOTP - Alfie Solomons

NOTP - Ada Thorne

Pokemon

OTP - Brock

BrOTP - Bulbasaur Ash Ketchum

NOTP - Jessie

Rick and Morty

OTP - Rick Sanchez

BrOTP - Beth Smith

NOTP - Jerry Smith. 

Schitt’s Creek

OTP - David Rose

BrOTP - Ronnie Lee

NOTP - Moira Rose

Sherlock (BBC)

OTP - Sherlock Holmes. He'd adore your mind and find your skill set useful. Sherlock would love your defiance of authority and ambition. Though you'd butt heads every now and then ultimately your differences would make you an even better match. You'd both bring out each other's emotions more and understand each other better than anyone else ever could.

BrOTP - Mycroft Holmes. I know, very surprising. But like with Sherlock there’s a lot in common and a lot different. So you’d frequently argue But in the end you’d have the common goal of looking out for Sherlock to make you both closer.

NOTP - Jim Moriarty.

Sons of Anarchy

OTP - Jackson “Jax” Teller.

BrOTP - Bobby Munson

NOTP - Tara Knowles

Star Wars Prequels

OTP - Obi-Wan Kenobi

BrOTP - Qui-Gon Jinn

NOTP - Anakin Skywalker

Star Wars Original Trilogy

OTP - Luke Skywalker

BrOTP - R2D2

NOTP - Han Solo

Stranger Things

OTP - Jim Hopper. I think Hopper would admire you for testing people so thoroughly to see if you can trust them. And he’d really love how loyal you are to the people you do trust.

BrOTP - Alexei. Here me out, the two of you seem to have a bit in common. First and foremost your intelligence. And I think you’d make Hopper quit being such an ass to Alexei.

NOTP - Nancy Wheeler

Supernatural

OTP - Sam Winchester. Okay I can just see you researching together. Staying up all night in the Bunker’s library poring over every single book.

BrOTP - Charlie Bradbury. Do I need to say anything more than nerd power?

NOTP - Mary Winchester.

Teen Wolf

OTP - Chris Argent

BrOTP - Stiles Stilinski

NOTP - Lydia Martin

That 70’s Show

OTP - Eric Forman.

BrOTP - Donna Pinciotti

NOTP - Jackie Burkhardt

The Expendables

OTP - Lee Christmas

BrOTP - Barney Ross

NOTP - Mr. Church

The Hobbit

OTP - Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin would admire your wide skill set and your ambition to learn how to do so many things. He'd adore your loyalty and knack for diplomacy. 

BrOTP - Fili Durin.

NOTP - Thranduil

The Lord of the Rings

OTP - Faramir. 

BrOTP - Samwise Gamgee

NOTP - Denethor

The Vampire Diaries & The Originals

OTP - Elijah Mikaelson. I think that Elijah would adore your intelligence and would encourage your interests and hobbies. If you want to know anything about history? He'd be more than happy to discuss his own experiences with you. He'd often get your opinion on a course of action before doing it, due to your with and ability of predicting the possible outcomes. He'd love your original, no pun intended, point of view. And though he loves your tenacity, your ambition, your idealistic nature and your loyalty, sometimes it can frustrate him when he thinks certain people who have your loyalty don't deserve it. Or at least not at the intensity that you give it. 

First Fight - Your first fight would probably have to do with your friendship and loyalty towards Klaus. While sometimes he admires it, he often wishes that you weren’t so loyal to his brother. Thinking he isn’t always deserving of it. Afterwards you’d both go in different rooms to brood until ready to make up.

BrOTP - Niklaus Mikaelson. Klaus would admire your intelligence, ambition, hard working and even defiant attitude. Your skills and ability to think differently from everyone else. He would also come to you for advice though he wouldn’t always adhere it. Though what Klaus would love most of all is your loyalty. Especially after he made it through all your tests and found himself on the receiving end of your loyalty. And he would feel guilty when your loyalty and friendship with him would cause a rift in your relationship with his brother. 

NOTP - Damon Salvatore. Damon is impulsive and has his own way of testing the loyalty  of those around him. Though his form of testing is more of him doing things that makes them less loyal and trusting of him. He’d probably end up trying to test and strain your loyalty towards Elijah and Klaus. Which would infuriate you. And he would fail which would infuriate him.

The Walking Dead

OTP - Negan.

BrOTP - Carl Grimes. In an AU where Rick’s Group became saviors instead of finding Alexandria. I think Carl would have become Negna’s protege and may have even softened him up.

NOTP - Rick Grimes.

The Witcher (show)

OTP - Geralt of Rivia

BrOTP - Yennefer of Vengerberg

NOTP - Queen Calanthe

True Blood

OTP - Eric Northman

BrOTP - Bill Compton

NOTP - Sam Merlotte

Vikings

OTP - Ragnar Lothbrok

BrOTP - Ivar the Boneless

NOTP - Björn Ironside

WWE (kayfabe personas)

OTP - Roman Reigns

BrOTP - Finn Balor

NOTP - Chris Jericho

[ambitionsource]

wait i actually have more weirdly specific questions (if ur up to it) - how do the kids feel about poetry? do they follow any sports? what childhood tv shows were their favs? do they have celebrity crushes? fav coming of age movie? how are they doing in quarantine? what time in history were they obsessed w as a kid? have they ever been to summer camp? what type of candles do they like? what song do they cry to? how do they drink their coffee/tea sorry if u’ve answered already/too many questions

wooooo thank you for your patience iz!! we’re gonna go point by point

poetry?

charlie loves it genuinely and will read it for fun. riley likes it enough but doesn’t go out of her way to read it. farkle loves coming up with insane explanations for the metaphors and is smug about interpreting it in class. zay doesn’t care for it, neither does lucas. asher appreciates it but finds it boring; dylan likes it for the same reason farkle does, only not to look smart but to come up with something completely crackheaded to combat farkle’s interpretation (which he can’t then say isn’t correct, bc its poetry, so all interpretations are valid!). isa doesn’t like it because she doesn’t get the metaphors on paper the same way she can pick them up in film. maya hates it even though multiple people have pointed out that song lyrics are basically poetry -- she will tune you out.

sports?

sports aren’t Big at aaa (aside from dance), but there are remnants here and there. riley follows basketball of course -- even tho as demonstrated in 110, she cannot play it to save herself -- and she tried out for cheer in 9th grade at her old school but was rejected from the squad (another bad mark on a terrible year). farkle prefers wii sports over any actual sport, but will sometimes watch golf with stuart because it’s quality time with his very busy father. charlie did soccer when he was younger before it got phased out by dance and semi keeps up with it. dylan also “played” soccer, but this meant the other little league teammates getting pissed at him bc he never paid attention to the game and was just like “hey! hey, dennis, look at this!” and did like 3 cartwheels across the field. it was a smart move when randall pulled him from the team bc those intense soccer moms were gonna like beat them up fDJSKG. so now dylan is just an unofficial gymnast instead.

isa doesn’t like sports but played them a lot with foster siblings, and even though she sucks she gets very competitive. lucas liked baseball and was good at track in middle school, but he never thought about doing a sport for real because he knew he was going to quincy eventually where his dad is a coach... yeah. no. but he’s great at running fast from the police!

maya hates sports (aside from the art of dance). waste of time, waste of energy. asher has never done a sport nor ever contemplated a sport. the most Sport he’s endured is going with jade to support dave at his swim meets (where nigel also does swim) and suffice to say, asher wasn’t there to look at the swimming.

childhood tv?

dylan to this day is a spongebob squarepants STAN. legend, icon, scholar, best television show ever made, in his opinion. he also was well-versed in pokemon, adventure time, gravity falls, and phineas and ferb. asher and lucas both didn’t watch lots of tv growing up (if at all), so dylan considers it his job to give asher a thorough education in the quality tv he missed as a kid.

maya was all over hannah montana (miley is still a role model to this day for her), and she, zay, and charlie all remember the fever dream that was shake it up. zay especially loved it bc he was (is) obsessed with zendaya. zay and maya both also watched victorious. charlie was sharing a tv with four siblings so he just ended up watching whatever the dominant sister that day wanted to watch. riley was a disney channel girl, and farkle was a pbs scholar (arthur, cyber chase, fetch! with ruff ruff man... classics).

 celebrity crushes?

zay = zendaya (as previously mentioned). charlie = harry styles to a major degree, although his Cover Story would be zendaya if you asked (ironically). maya = britney spears (but in a I Want To Be Her way, major idolization rather than attraction) and technically the same for valerie de la cruz but like... rip to that lmao. isa = loki, yes we know, but sometimes it be that way (altho that does extend a little bit towards tom hiddleston in general). asher = logan lerman, aka the main valid white boy who dresses nice, is polite and soft-spoken, and minds his own business (not to mention he is the Same Type as dylan). dylan = had crushes more on like... personalities so like ash ketchum and percy jackson, and now its irrelevant bc he met asher and became obsessed and its like every other potential crush just flew out the window of his brain. it’s full asher territory in there nowadays.

riley doesn’t have a specific one, she thinks lots of people are Pretty but no one particularly strongly. farkle doesn’t have one because he’s insane and doesn’t have the mental capacity. lucas doesn’t have one because he’s demi and also hates most celebrities as people.

coming-of-age movie?

maya’s is mean girls. farkle’s is ladybird. zay’s is easy a. riley’s is bend it like beckham. isadora’s is eighth grade. charlie’s is dead poet’s society. asher’s is perks of being a wallflower. dylan’s is spiderman: into the spiderverse. lucas doesn’t know movies.

quarantine?

we’ve somewhat discussed this before, but ultimately es and i elected to let aaa remain in a nice, calm universe where they don’t have to endure covid. lucky them. blow a kiss to the ether for us, buds,

fave time in history?

riley is huge on ancient greece and greek mythology. maya loves the theatricality and Drama of the roaring 20s (a baby flapper at heart). zay vibes hard with the 80s. charlie likes the fashion and romanticism and music and art of the 70s (that sort of flowery positivity clashing with the rebelliousness of the movements of the 60s... yeah. that hits something in him). farkle’s is the great depression not only bc he’s an emo but also all the raw and desperate art that came out of it. isadora was a egyptian mythology kid. i know lucas sounds lame (he is), but i don’t think he cares about history -- but if pushed he’d probably say the 90s bc he dresses like he’s straight out of there, everyone was angry rocking, and he wasn’t born. asher likes the victorian era bc of the sheer elegance and Aesthetic to everything. dylan doesn’t have a favorite time period because due to being the subconscious multiverse conduit (i.e. the being that is somewhat connected to every other version of himself) sometimes he wakes up and for a minute he doesn’t even know what year it is 🤪anyway...

summer camp?

charlie has been to many a christian youth summer camp. zay went to the kossal program, but that was basically it. lucas no although he probably wished he could be anywhere else during the summer sometimes including a camp he would hate. riley went for a few years in elementary school. isa has gone to a couple of “foster kid” summer camp bonding things that she despised. farkle went to jewish summer camp One time and was like that was HORRIBLE, never make me spend a whole summer outside AGAIN. asher was more of a Enrichment courses at the rec center during the summer kid than a camper. dylan no because the orlandos couldn’t afford something like that. same for maya.

candles?

riley has a small variety of scented ones that are like... warm scents, like cinnamon and stuff. asher a couple that smell like clean linen but his fear of accidental fires keeps him from ever lighting them. maya has one and it smells like “star power,” a gift from her mom one christmas. isadora can’t have any because many of her foster homes don’t allow them. lucas legally shouldn’t be allowed anything that catches on fire. dylan doesn’t have one but similarly should not be given one. the minki have a whole collection for different things so farkle can just pluck one at any time if he needs one like for a super fancy bath or whatever the fuck rich people do.

mental breakdown song?

charlie’s are “falling” and “from the dining table” by harry styles.

riley’s is “manhattan” by sara bareilles and “rainbow” by kacey musgraves.

zay’s are “imagine” by ariana and “dear life” from the step up soundtrack (post zc breakup).

farkle’s are “vienna” by billy joel and “get it right” from glee.

asher’s is “don’t cry” by ruel.

isa’s is “you are my sunshine” because valerie used to sing it to her a lot when she was really little, so it will always make her a little emotional.

dylan’s (although rare) are “soon you’ll get better” by ts and “make you feel my love” by adele. the second one is because his mom loved adele when she was just starting out bc 19 was released the same year that she passed away so there’s a lot of like subconscious association there even if he doesn’t realize it.

maya doesn’t have one, and lucas also doesn’t have one because in the rare moments he does cry its in his closet in the dark silence alone bc he literally can’t stand the sentience of knowing he’s crying so. sensory blackout.

coffee / tea?

riley will add at least 3 sugars to anything, but she’s ultimately an iced tea gal. lucas drinks it black but only because it never occurred to him to add anything to it and so it’s a big wake up call when he realizes you can drink it and have it NOT be bitter and horrible and demoralizing ( “i thought we were all just suffering for the caffeine fix??” ). isa is a tea girl mostly, although she wishes she could drink black coffee for the aesthetic (and hates that lucas can... it’s like... he didn’t even Earn that aestheticism, smh). asher doesn’t drink caffeine bc it makes him Jittery (and he’s already jittery) so he’s like... the lemonade bitch at coffee shops which kin, and then dylan definitely drinks caffeine but not thru coffee, he’s more likely to get like a hot chocolate.

farkle lives on coffee but he can only drink it from home because they’re rich and can have like fresh ground good imported whatever the heck etc etc so he’s like spoiled about coffee. zay will hit up a starbucks now and then and will order coffee at a diner, but he’s not too attached either way. maya is a fun n free starbucks gal with her frappes and lattes and lots of cream (whipped or otherwise). charlie doesn’t drink coffee or tea bc hes hyper aware of his body and health (he doesn’t really have soda either) and it was frowned upon in his house.

[pkmnmasterlyra]

Ash’s Pokemon: XY

Here we are~ The first season of Kalos!~ It's hard to believe that this gen is already 6 years old now. Even harder to believe it's twice as old as when I first started these. So now that all the hype has died down is the XY anime as good as we thought!~ Well, yes and no? It still has all those episodes you've seen a bunch like the haunted house episode or the "Ash loses to a trainer and learns he actually needs to train his Pokemon" episode, some of which (like that 2nd one) can be really annoying. But on the flip side, the art style is much more pleasing, the characters are more well written, And the battle choreography,

ho boy the battle choreography!

The poses and angles used as well as the pacing and flow of the battles just, destroy anything that had been in the show up to this point. If I were to pick the season's biggest flaw so far, I'd say it's, and this will shock everyone, the gym battles. I'm not joking, every single one of these first 3 gyms has one major flaw in it. The first Viola fight that he lost, was terrible, like, I would have expected to see that in Best Wishes terrible. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a lot of people's last episode before they quit watching the XY anime. I know first gym leaders aren't as weak in the anime as in the games, but when her 2 Pokemon are Water and Flying type, you need a much better reason for Pikachu to lose than "The floor was icy and slippery" when Pikachu has fought on Ice battle fields before and in this battle

did not once slip on the ice!

The Grant battle had a lesser case of the Virbank Gym's problem from last gen, having Ash use 3 Pokemon to beat Grant's 2. And lastly the Korrina fight, where Ash spends a solid 5 minutes of the episode bumbling around trying to get Tierno's strategy to work for him before eventually giving up. That isn't to say the gym battles were bad (except for the unsuccessful attempt for Viola) but those were some far heavier flaws than I was ready for. The Grant fight despite being uneven is more being mean to Fletchling than anything else, since that, well, went about as well as you'd expect with a flying type in a Rock gym, making it mostly 2v2 anyways, and the weird Tierno strategy in the Korrina fight is just an awkward intro to an otherwise amazing fight. Altho the negatives of the failed Viola fight outweigh the positives of the successful attempt, as I can't even remember the latter over the former X3 But other than that it was just as good as I remembered. The better character writing makes the retreaded storylines more interesting and enjoyable. Also, I know a lot of people have an opinion of "The SM anime is Best Wishes 2, and Ash's skill as a trainer isn't that great like in Unova" let's compare the first 3 gyms in Kalos to the first 3 Kahuna battles in Alola:

Loses embarrassingly to Viola

VS

Beats Hala without any of his Pokemon fainting

Needs 3 Pokemon to beat Grant's 2

VS

Only has one of his pokemon faint vs Olivia because his other KOd it

Spends 5 minutes embarrassing himself at the start vs Korrina

VS

Loses to Nanu due to previously established flaws Lycanroc has, but comes back and sweeps him 3v1 on the rematch

So yeah, but anywho, the win rates!~

Pokemon              Fights                    Wins             Losses                      %

Pikachu                    37                        34                    3                        92%

Froakie                    18                        14                    4                        78%

Fletchlinder              10                        5                      5                        50%

Hawlucha                 6                         4                      2                         67%

Successful Clemontic Gear: 6

Megas                 Wins Pikachu:       1  

So first, you may be asking, especially if you've never watched the XY anime, the hells a Clemontic Gear? And to that I say there's a running gag in the anime where Clemont would always have all kinds of inventions he shows off that inevitably blow up in the end. Pretty much the replacement for the Brock hitting on girls gag, except with far more variety, and frequently actually helps the gang with their troubles. And this counter is how many of his inventions DON'T blow up!~ I haven't had one of these silly side counters since, I think Hoenn? And I thought this would be a fun thing to do~ Pikachu claims one of the first Mega wins, which I believe is the last til the XY&Z season, where we get a ton of em. Pikachu also sets a new record, most battles in a regular length season. Less than the first season, but the first season was an incredibly long 83 episodes long. This season is 49 episodes long, you could literally add the entirety of the Sinnoh League Victors season to this one and that would make it match the first season's episode count. (If you add Pikachu's battles for that season to this season that makes 50, compared to Indigo League's 48, even further proving my point!). To the surprise of no one, Froakie enters the fray with a win rate of 78%, making him Ash's Pokemon with the 5th highest win rate. This could go down but it's a good sign of things to come! Fletchling got hardcore bullied until it evolved. The episode before it evolved he had 4 battles 1 win for a 20% win rate. Thankfully, in the episode he evolved he won a double battle and the battle that made him evolve, bringing him to 4/8, and he kept that 50% til the end. Nothing spectacular to say about Hawlucha tho, other than the fact that I think he's the only pokmon Ash caught that didn't get a loss from his battle to be caught (of the pokemon that actually battled) since he and Froakie actually tied. Join me next time for

the best gym battle ever!!!

(Hint: It's vs Clemont ;3c )

[the-depressed-shiny-buneary]

Pokemon Next-Gen (Movie Kids): Alistair Ketchum

Alistair is the older son of Riley and Queen Ilene, despite being older he actually wants to become an Aura Guardian like his father so his younger sister became heir to the throne. Alistair and his younger sister were recruited to be part of PokeStar Studios and the two agreed so long as they could still do their training. Alistair co-stars with Corvin in the show where he plays the villain, Alistair plays the hero while Sapphire plays the role of the heroine, Alistair’s role is that he has to protect Sapphire from Corvin’s villain role all while both of them have to keep their true identities a secret from everyone else. He also has his own show, playing the role of an Aura User that’s traveling to become a full-fledged Aura Guardian. Alistair is noble, polite and very formal to those around him due to his upbringing in the royal family, he’s also courageous and is very chivalrous which causes a lot of females in PokeStar Studios to gain a crush on him. Despite how formal he acts, he can be pretty casual to close friends and his family, he also takes his training seriously and he always does his best when he’s acting. Much like his father and his cousin Ash, he can control Aura but he’s still training to master it. Aside from being able to use Aura, Alistair also knows a variety of different fighting styles that he’ll use on set and when he’s training with his Pokemon, Alistair is also very athletic and it’s because of how athletic he is that he’s able to perform his own stunts instead of having someone do his stunts for him. He has a Key Stone fitted into a ring that’s on his right ring finger.

His main colors are blue and black. From blue, Alistair is loyal, trustworthy and responsible. He’s also very calm in every situation, as well as caring and he expresses concern to his friends and family. He’s also known to be helpful and he’s known as a rescuer, for example, he’ll always go out of his way to help someone if they need help or if he sees someone in danger. It also represents his devotion to his family, friends and his role as an Aura Guardian to be. Blue also represents how he’s knowledgeable and how he radiates authority which gives him a lot of respect from others. Black represents how he’s protective, has self-control and is disciplined. Black also gives him an air of mystery, which is what causes a lot of girls to have a crush on him as black is associated with seduction, he only seduces girls if he has to. The color black represents how he’s formal and sophisticated to everyone around him.

Like the others in his family, Alistair can understand what a Pokemon is saying. Some other abilities he has access to include manipulating his aura to fire a blue sphere, create a barrier, calming down aggressive Pokemon, detecting another person’s aura, reading someone’s mind and actions and prevent mind control.

His Pokemon:

Lucario- Lucario is Alistair’s first Pokemon. Back when Alistair was a child, he was given a Riolu to help him with training to become an Aura Guardian. Riolu soon evolved into Lucario when Alistair was ten years old, that was when Lucario started to help Alistair with his training along with Riley. As a Riolu, Lucario was more playful than serious but he still knew when was a good time to play and when it wasn’t a good time to play, he was also friendly and happy to make friends with others. When he evolved, he became more serious but he was very loyal to Alistair acting as both his mentor and his partner, if Alistair gave him an order, Lucario would follow it with no hesitation. Much like his trainer, Lucario is formal and chivalrous to those around him and he’s able to talk through telepathy which allows him to talk to other humans. He’s always seen out of his Pokeball.

Given in a Pokeball. 

Ability is Inner Focus, changes to Adaptability when Mega evolved.

Held Item is Lucarionite.

Moves are Aura Sphere, Force Palm, Meteor Mash, Bone Rush, Ice Punch, Psychic, Brick Break, Calm Mind, Iron Tail, and Swords Dance.

Pikachu- Alistair has met Pikachu because of a strange encounter, Pikachu just appeared in front of him one day while Alistair was training with Lucario. Pikachu had claimed that he was told to find a trainer with a blue and black hat that was training with a Lucario because that will be his new trainer, seeing as Alistair fit the description he caved in and caught Pikachu. Pikachu is serious and wants to do his best to train with Alistair and Lucario, Pikachu also has a soft side and he’s happy to just curl up on Alistair’s lap, he also enjoys being petted and being called cute by people who pass them by. Pikachu is also very modest if he gets complimented by someone by either his strength or how cute he is, he’ll blush and rub the back of his head in embarrassment. Much like Lucario, he stays out of his Pokeball. He hitches a ride on Alistair’s shoulder.

Caught in a Friend Ball.

Ability is Static.

Moves are Thunderbolt, Electric Terrain, Surf, Volt Tackle, Swift, Electro Ball, Agility, Spark, Discharge, and Iron Tail.

Bisharp- Alistair caught Bisharp after he had defeated him in and his Pawniard minions in a battle, as soon as Bisharp saw that he was alone and his minions were beaten he bowed before Alistair and dubbed him as his trainer so Alistair caught him. Bisharp is an honorable Pokemon who knows when he’s been beaten and he knows when he can’t win a battle. He’s still a Pokemon that will try hard and will train to improve his skills in battle. Bisharp highly respects Alistair and will follow his orders no matter what, even if something may not make sense to him he’ll still follow his orders without question. Bisharp finds himself sharpening his blades with a sharpening stone that Alistair got for him after a while of being caught and while he isn’t as chivalrous as Lucario or Alistair, he is still a noble Pokemon who will act on his trainer’s orders.

Caught in a Pokeball.

Ability is Defiant.

Moves are Iron Head, Swords Dance, Throat Chop, Psycho Cut, Metal Claw, Night Slash, Metal Burst, Giga Impact, Payback, and Sucker Punch. 

Weavile- Alistair was sent to stop a group of Weavile who was terrorizing some people for food, Alistair had tracked them and found their hideout, as well as their leader. He knew could tell that the leader had made it clear that he was in charge and that he would stay in charge no matter what, once he figured that out he battled the leader and caught him once he was weakened enough, once he was caught the other Weavile had no idea what to do as he never trained one of them to take his spot so the group was disbanded. Alistair then had to train Weavile so that he can follow what he says and to get him to behave himself, it didn’t completely work. Weavile does listen to what Alistair says but he’s still a mischievous Pokemon, Weavile is also a troll and will sometimes cause trouble for anyone who happens to be nearby just for the heck of it.

Caught in a Dusk Ball.

Ability is Pressure.

Moves are Ice Punch, Night Slash, Hone Claws, Metal Claw, Ice Shard, Psycho Cut, Avalanche, Agility, Fake Out, and Beat Up.

Mienshao- When Alistair first met Mienshao, she was meditating, when she sensed that Alistair approached she was ready to start battling one of his Pokemon. What she didn’t expect was that Alistair himself was going to fight her, she had no problem with it and started to fight him one on one. She didn’t expect herself to lose to a human but she gained a lot of respect for him and asked to join his team, which he agreed to. Mienshao can be picky about how she battles, she likes to look elegant as she battles against her opponent and she enjoys training alongside her trainer. Mienshao also holds her trainer in high regards because of how he managed to beat her without the help of his Pokemon, she’s always helping him with martial arts training as well as helping him with meditation.

Caught in an Ultra Ball.

Ability is Inner Focus.

Moves are Aura Sphere, Fake Out, Calm Mind, Reversal, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Meditate, Double Team, Drain Punch, and Power-up Punch.

[tingletalksgames-blog]

Pokémon Yellow Version

September 1998. A masterpiece had been unveiled to world the blew the batteries out of everyone’s Gameboys for years to come. Nintendo had graced the world with a Pokemon experience that inspired many trainers around the globe to get out there and catch them all! For those that aren't familiar with the hype, Pokemon is a game about catching and befriending powerful creatures of many shapes and sizes and training them to get them to become stronger and to eventually become the Pokemon Champion; one who has defeat all the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four!

This game will always hold a special place in my heart as the first video game I ever played. I received my first GameBoy when I was 4 and Pokemon Yellow at the same time, around the time when I started watching the show! My small underdeveloped mind couldn't understand the strategy or the type system, but I still had a blast with the game!

You start as a young boy who has the opportunity to go on the grandest adventure across the Kanto region, that others attempt, but not all succeed. If you have seen the Pokemon show as a kid this may seem really familiar because you are essentially following a lot of Ash’s footsteps for the game! Enter Professor Oak, a Pokemon professor that has dedicated his life to studying these creatures, who allows you and your rival to pick a Pokemon. After running an errand, Oak presents you with the famous Pokedex, a device that can record information on Pokemon you have seen and provides details on ones you have caught! You then become tasked with filling the Pokedex with all 151 Pokemon, in which your secondary task (retrieving all 8 gym badges) helps make easier. You travel through multiple towns, caves, and enemy organization detachments to widen your scope, train your Pokemon, and catch what you can to fill the Pokedex up! As you play through, you meet a plethora of NPCs that can help you get through the story and even give you rare Pokemon! But as you traverse the towns you see the cancer that is Team Rocket and the Pokemon slavery that they instill. They capture and enslave Pokemon and exploit them for monetary gains instead of treating them like friends or family, such as the main theme of the game.  You fight against these captors in multiple locations as you get your gym badges and eventually finish them once you fight their boss a few times.

Now on the surface this game may seem like a simple ‘paper-rock-scissors’ archetype where water beats fire, fire beats grass, and so on, but one part that helps make this a bit deeper is the stat system that is in play. Each area you go in can give you an idea of what you are fighting against so you can prepare, like fishers having water Pokemon or Bug Catchers having Bug Pokemon, so developing a strategy can be helpful to you in the long run. Maybe having a fire type with a ground move, a fire move, and a stat boosting move so that he is good against way more creatures than just a grass type. The physical aspect is determined by the Attack and Defense stat, which will determine how offensive or defensive against moves like scratch or fire punch are. The Special stat determines how elemental moves are or will be defended against.  You can only roll with a team of 6, so making good decisions based of what you could be fighting is critical; catch and train what you need so that you can handle these situations as they come.

The Pokemon can learn their moves 1 of 2 ways: naturally through leveling up or by you teaching them. Pokemon can learn certain moves not their type by you helping teach it through Technical Machines (TM) or Hidden Machine (HM). TMs have extra moves that you can teach and use only once. HMs have the ability to affect the overworld, like making you surf, or moving boulders. They will be revealed to you through discovery, as a gift, or even in a shop, and all play a key role in how your playthrough turns out!

Your team of Pokemon can consist of any combination of the 150, but really the choice is yours to either choose the ones you like or the ones you find useful. Most the types that you find will be useful against 2 types of Pokemon, like water beats fire and ground and fire beats grass and bug. Using the experience and knowledge you gain through the journey can let you know which ones to use and which ones won't really help. Once you go through and beat all the gym leaders, the final challenge is call the Elite Four, a group of four diverse trainers who are considered the strongest in the region and after you beat them you become the Champion.

Now, a game of such status doesn't come without a few faults. First off the game has not aged well compared to our standards now a days, and its one of the few to not get a remake so Yellow is the only version there is for Yellow. A lot of the statistical things in the game, like the evasion-speed correlation, or how the special stat works doesn't get explained by Oak or any one else, so you kinda have to go and fumble through it until you catch the patterns.  The movement is blocky and slow and can be frustrating when you want to go fast or walk down a long cave and you can’t, it just takes forever. The TMs I talked on earlier don't get an explanation until you are using them, hampering the amount of planning and prep you could be doing by wasting your time with each and every TM not having a name next to it. Your inventory is a super limited container so if you don't know what TMs you have, find a way to use or sell them because you have to make space for mandatory items like a bike. The moves have animations for each one seem too long or overdone between start and finish, but that will be my most minor gripe. All of these are things the following games improve on, making Yellow a worthwhile starting point just to see the origins of the Pokemon world into what it has become!

If you have heard of Pokemon Yellow, then chances are you have heard of Red and Blue too. They are all Pokemon games based within the Kanto where you fight gyms and Team Rocket, but with different varieties to force socializing among the generation. Red and Blue are both shown  in their own respective color tone while Yellow has actual color for all its towns and scenes. They all three have differences in what Pokemon you can catch, what actions unfold, and even how the fighting goes between a few key characters! Pokemon Yellow is the better of the three to get the more full experience of the 1st generation of Pokemon, You get to grab all three starter Pokemon through the journey, have Pikachu behind you, and color schemes for each town, all giving a more enjoyable adventure!

[jacksgreysays]

A Year With The Moon + what made Gary decide to travel with the twins. (I was debating asking for a Shikako au but Pokémon).

I was trying to go in a different direction with this (or rather, to-someplace-else, heyyyyyy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) but it turns out this makes more sense to me so…

Enjoy?

~

To some extent, the Oak family is as close to nobility as Kanto gets. The prestige, the wealth, the influence, the name–it’s a lot.

That’s the world Gary is born to.

The mansion and the lab, the land that they own, is bigger than all of Pallet Town. People from all over Kanto come to his grandpa’s lab for advice, to research, or a place to keep their powerful Pokemon.

He doesn’t realize that his life isn’t normal until he goes to school.

///

Gary is six and his parents are gone. His sister has left for her Pokemon journey, and his grandpa is always so busy at the lab.

He thinks school will be a welcome change. It’s hard to befriend kids his age when he lives in the mansion on the outskirts of town. He knows that sometimes adults don’t want their kids going near the lab–worried that the Pokemon might escape and hurt them–but there’s only been maybe three breakouts that Gary can remember. And two of them were just a pair of Psyducks that spent the day wandering around in circles on Main Street.

He thinks now, away from the lab, he’ll be able to make friends of the human variety.

///

You can take the boy out of the lab, but you can’t take the love for Pokemon out of the boy.

Love is a kinder term than what the other kids use.

Crazy. Weirdo. Obsessed.

And that’s not even counting what the other kids think of him in that big house far away: snobby, spoiled, bratty.

The saddest thing is, it’s based on truth.

///

He’s not the only outcast in the class. A bratty, Pokemon-obsessed weirdo he may be, but that’s nothing compared to the twins.

The adults trade whispers amongst themselves–a single woman with no man in sight and two children, how scandalous–and that trickles down to the kids.

Ash, maybe, might be able blend in, but he dreams so loud of being a Pokemon master that he’s not so far off from Gary’s level.

And, also, he has the tendency to hit anyone who even looks at his sister the wrong way.

Considering what Ember looks like–her hair, the firemark, and the dazed, thousand yard stare–that’s nearly everyone.

///

Gary and Ash become fast friends.

Ember takes her time, but follows soon enough.

The three of them braided, balanced–nothing tears them apart.

///

In the end it’s not really a decision at all.

~

Check out the Ask Box Author’s Cut event!

[entergamingxp]

DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Mike’s Top 10

December 27, 2019 10:00 AM EST

This year gave us a ton of excellent games like Resident Evil 2, Days Gone, and more that I loved: here were my top 10 games from 2019.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

This year like any other year, I played a ton of great games from a ton of different genres. 2019 really seemed to be a year that had something for everyone, from multiplayer games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, to an even greater variety of story-driven games that kept me on the edge of my seat like Days Gone, Death Stranding, and Resident Evil 2.

While I couldn’t possibly list all of the games that I loved from this year here, here were the 10 games that stuck out to me the most in 2019.

10. Apex Legends

Even though lots of people like and enjoy the battle royale genre, Apex Legends was really the game that made me enjoy the genre like everyone else. One of the few things that standout for me in the game are the very simple rules in the game, but how it can reward players that invest in it over time. Apex Legends evolves the genre and improves on what Fortnite and PUBG started while being placed in the Titanfall universe, making this game a worthy entry for the top 10 games this year.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Apex Legends.

9. My Friend Pedro

My Friend Pedro is a fun game that anyone can easily jump into and run around with a companion named Pedro that is your friend and supports your plan to shoot bad guys, and who also is a banana. Your one goal is simply to save the world, but doing it while jumping and flying through the air is just incredibly fun.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for My Friend Pedro.

8. Concrete Genie

Concrete Genie is a great game with a good narrative story about a boy named Ash whose lifelong dream is to be an artist while struggling with life, reality, & bullies. Ash is then tasked to save his hometown of Denska that was abandoned and polluted while on his quest and in the process he discovers a magical paint brush that can bring his creations to life, which makes it a magical game on its own.

7. Pokemon Sword and Shield

Pokemon Sword and Shield is a fun game and a great addition to the Nintendo Switch. Even with the negative reaction from gamers it received it, was a treat to see what an open-world Pokemon game could be like, and it makes me all the more excited for the next generation.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Pokemon Sword & Shield.

6. Death Stranding

Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is a mixed bag (admittedly) when it came to the reviews that the game received at launch; many would argue that the game looked to be a disappointment. However, Kojima’s masterpiece redeems itself with an amazing story that is packed with breathtaking visuals and powered by amazing performances from The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus, Casino Royale‘s Mads Mikkelsen, and Tommie Earl Jenkins. The gameplay can definitely feel like a chore at times, but what drives this game is the powerful narrative with an ongoing task of trying to reconnect the world and bring people together.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Death Stranding.

5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

If you are a Star Wars fan obsessed with the lore of its universe, this is the game for you. Fallen Order offers a fresh new experience when it comes to the series by combining elements from games like Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, Dark Souls, and even Uncharted. This along with the game’s worlds and refined lightsaber combat makes Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order feel like a love letter to fans, and that is exactly what it is.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

4. Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

Destiny 2 is a game that I always go back to and enjoy. Whether it is doing strikes, public events or competitive PvP, and trying to become a legendary guardian, there is always something to do and Destiny 2: Shadowkeep only enhanced what the game currently offers. Given the fact that Destiny 2 has the best gunplay mechanics in any shooting game I have ever played, seeing what Shadowkeep brought to the experience only made a game that I already love even better.

3. Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry 5 is a fun action adventure game that lets you hack and slash tons of demons. Nero, Dante and V each have their own unique fighting styles with one common goal, and that is to save the world from the demon king. My favorite character was the newly introduced character V, who can summon a bird called Griffin, a panther called Shadow and a monster called Nightmare. Overall, DMC5 took the action of the Devil May Cry series and turned it up to 11, making for a great time.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Devil May Cry 5.

2. Days Gone

Days Gone had a tough launch that was plagued with bugs and glitches, but the developers from Bend Studio worked hard and made this game fun and enjoyable. You play as Deacon St. John in this action-adventure game that has you set out to discover the possibilities that your wife could still be alive in this post-apocalyptic world. Even though the game treads a lot of familiar ground from many open-world games, Days Gone still had me excited to explore as Deacon and experience a new type of post-apocalyptic world.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Days Gone.

1. Resident Evil 2

Resident Evil 2 was one of my favorite games this year because Capcom gave us a remake of a game that takes us to Raccoon City were we are chased down by zombies, monsters, and a tyrant that is named Mr. X. Even though it is a remake of a two-decade-old game, is a must-play because it will keep you on the edge of your seat and your heart pounding as you try to escape Raccoon City as Leon or Claire.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor  December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 27, 2019 10:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-mikes-top-10/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-mikes-top-10

[junyuyangsbloggerapp-blog]

My Life and Pokemon

The long road to my current obsession. 

I live my life as a slave to Pokefanaticism. Just when I think I am free—that the lore of Pokemon will no longer excite me—there will be some other aspect of the franchise that will draw me in. I suppose it’s not too unlikely--this franchise has multiple manga storylines, an anime, many movies, and way too game continuities to keep track of. And yet again, for the fourth time, I am drawn in.

Both of these are Pokemon. Semantically, they are the same type. 

A rundown for those who may not have heard of or seen this franchise: Pokemon centers around these creatures called Pokemon. We’re not quite sure if they’re animals, plants, or household objects, because they are all of the above and also dragons.

But  we know is that they are all birds, because they all hatch from eggs.

Even the Ice Cream Pokemon.

Humans and Pokemon have a mostly mutualistic relationship, where they feed and help each other. Humans can catch and train Pokemon to battle each other, a process which is said to help both the human and their Pokemon. The storylines focus on different aspects to varying degrees, thus appealing to more people. It’s very common to find fans who have only played a specific series of the games, or only read the anime, or only played the card game.

My run-in with Pokemon first began in 2006 when I was eight and saw people playing with Pokemon cards. They all seemed like cool and well-adjusted people, so I thought, “Hey, if I play Pokemon, maybe I’ll become cool and well-adjusted too!” I bought some Pokemon cards because they were cute. I still flip through them sometimes.

Little me then set my eyes on the Pokemon games themselves. I really wanted to play Pokemon Emerald, which came out in 2005. It was hot off the griddle and looked absolutely packed with content. (It was. I still assert that it was one of the pinnacles of Pokemon main game development, even if I’ll have to fight one-hundred-and-one people who will try to convince me that ORAS is a better game. Literally, in order to beat some of the optional Emerald endgame content, you had to do calculations and strategize.)

There was only one problem.

My parents don’t believe in American food, Chipotle, Costco cakes, chicken tenders, or video games. They thought the latter would completely derail my life and firmly refused to get any consoles for me.

And so I learned to settle at a young age.

I settled for the anime. You know, the one about Ash, the annoying, forever-ten-years-old kid with the z’s on his face who refuses to evolve his Pikachu because merchandising and publicity said so. 

You might have heard bits of the age-long discussions “Who the heck is his dad?” (because only his mother has ever been revealed, and we don’t think his father died in the War) and “Why is he still ten?” He’s been ten for nearly twenty years now. 

That was a ridiculously childish show, where every episode had the same exact plot except the bad guys got increasingly better at crossdressing. Even 8-year old me could plainly see this and rant about it. The anime is pretty much responsible for many people delegating the entire Pokemon franchise to the “kids only” section of their heads, even though there are many parts of Pokemon that are...not so child-friendly. For instance, in the manga, there’s a scene where the villains kill the protagonist’s father and then decide to burn him so he can’t be revived.

But what the anime did right, and what no other branch of Pokemon has quite successfully captured. is the magic and spontaneity of battle and the vibrance of the Pokemon themselves. Sure, the anime characters are almost all some variation of “good-hearted and way too cheerful”, but they still had heartwarming and unique interactions with their Pokemon. The lack of human focus also allowed for entire episodes based on specific Pokemon and Pokemon families. And they would often showcase rather esoteric Pokemon too, which is great, because when you have hundreds of critters and your franchise only wants to promote the ones everyone already knows about, everyone else tends to slip through the cracks. People will wax lyrical about how Pokemon Adventures (the most well-known manga) brought forth increasingly complex, dark, and trashy plots, but it never really allowed you to observe the cute critters and watch battle mechanics because you would be too focused on whether or not the main character’s really annoying love interest was going to die.

Perhaps some of the introduced plot twists in the anime were rather...lame. Ash gets a badge at some point by accidentally triggering the sprinklers in a Rock type gym. Rock-type Pokemon are weak to water, and so he won. Regardless, that was pretty funny and shows how Pokemon actually interact with their world outside of battle (which may or may not be really violent dog-fighting, depending on who you ask). I quickly became entranced by the cute little mons dancing around, showing off their quirks and abilities, although the formulaic plot and pattern of the episodes easily bored me. You can only watch “Team Rocket shows up, tries to steal Pikachu, and then are lambasted into space” so many times.

Then, in 9th grade, I learned that instead of watching a bunch of too-peppy ten year olds duke it out, I too could take part in this violence. At that time, I was taking Fundamentals of Programming. The class itself was okay, but we were also learning Alice.

Thanks, Carnegie Mellon.

I mean, it wasn’t a bad programming language. It’s drag and drop, and most of the graphics have mansions in the Uncanny Valley, but it is far superior to Scratch. You could make some pretty sophisticated animations and games.

There is only so long you can gaze into the empty eyes of Alice Liddell.

And so we discovered the joys of Pokemon Showdown, a website where you could battle real life people. There are various tiers of battling you can partake in--each tier has its own unique limits on which Pokemon you can use--and the one we always battled in was “Random Battle”, where you and your opponent are both given a completely random, computer-assembled team. It was easy and quick, since we didn’t have to think about team-building (which takes literally eons) at all.

My peers and I became very involved in this. I remember battling out of boredom one day, picking the one-time username of “Grack 331” because Mr. Grack taught Fundamentals of Programming in Room 331. Out of the blue, my opponent messaged me: “Do you go to Troy High School?”

Turned out he was very bored in Robotics class and also indulging in the pleasures of virtual dog-fighting. (Although Generation VI asserts that this helps build a mutualistic bond between you and your Pokemon that will allow them to strip themselves of all humanity and inhibitions. This sounds like BS, but it does sort of hold up--Pokemon with human trainers are able to reach new levels of power. Given that some of Pokemon got the short end of the power stick, that’s pretty important.)

In this era, I became entranced with the complexity of battle mechanics. I learned about movesets, stats, and breeding. All were important considerations in selecting and creating powerful Pokemon who could counter almost everything thrown at them. In Pokemon, there is a concept of weaknesses and strengths. Think of it as a very complex 18-way game of rock-paper-scissors, except you could be rock and paper (and maybe have some scissors DNA lurking in there somewhere), and even if you were only rock, you could probably learn paper-like moves if your father was a piece of paper. Almost every Pokemon, regardless of strength, could be honed into a fine weapon capable of sweeping any opponent. (Well, except for Sunkern.) It was simply intriguing to see the way people play movesets and team compositions to their team advantage. I watched as very savvy battlers set up the field so that a pathetically weak pokemon could overpower opponents of huge power.

I think what ultimately stopped me from getting too into competitive Pokemon battling was the community. Interspersed between all the nice people, you had the hardcore fellows who believed in might over all else and delighted in tearing down others. They’re the kind of people who would go and curse you out if they didn’t like the way you battled, even if they literally didn’t know you at all.  My high school was already toxic enough--I really didn’t need more toxicity in my life. And so the second phase of my Pokefanaticism waned.

The next era came in the summer after 12th grade. Like everyone else, I started playing the darn new-fangled Pokemon Go (PoGo), where Pokemon appear as you walk around. You then throw balls at them and try to walk around more so that you could “catch them all”. I didn’t expect to like PoGo, because it looked like it would lack many of the features which drew me to Pokemon. There was no battling mechanic at all, no real human-Pokemon interactions, and the Pokemon themselves did not do much except engage in very basic battles and roar at you when you tapped them.

In here lay the ingenuity.

The game is so simple that there is literally nothing to distract you from ogling the cute mons. There are some noticeable patterns like “Water Pokemon tend to appear near rivers” and “Ultra Balls are more likely to capture Pokemon than normal PokeBalls”, but you really don’t need to understand very much to enjoy PoGo. Just look at the extremely simple catching mechanic, where you toss balls at Pokemon until one sticks. In the main console games, you have to think about weaknesses, properly trapping Pokemon so that they don’t run, inflicting status conditions like poison and paralysis, and picking the most optimal ball from an assortment of over 20 PokeBall varieties. (Things have gotten better, but PoGo is definitely a “appeal to as many people as possible” sort of game. Though it’s expanded its roster, it still focuses overwhelmingly on Kantan Pokemon and events, even though the last Kanto games Fire Red and Leaf Green came out in 2004. After all, when most older people think of Pokemon, they think of the Pokemon they grew up with, even though a lot of those critters had very clear design issues. These Pokemon happened to be Kantan Pokemon, Generation I.)

Thus, Pokemon Go lured in players who otherwise would have never touched Pokemon. The most hardcore players I’ve met understand all the in and outs of PoGo, but very little about the lore behind it. Heck, I met someone who had no idea that Mega Evolution is a thing, even though it is such a huge part of the games and advertising.

There’s nothing wrong with being a casual player, because I’m a casual fan for many franchises and I can still get a lot of enjoyment out of them. The problem (and why a lot of people are getting increasingly irked by Pokemon’s reattempts at mainstream approval) is when your games get dumbed down and gimmick-fied to appeal to more people. Take, for instance, the recent Pokemon Let’s Go! Series. It’s cute and all, sure. Many fans, me included, would rather see all that effort geared towards Sinnoh (Generation IV) remakes. Sinnoh is a grand region with so much lore and possibly the best Champion of all time. And yet, what do we get? We get another return to the most hackneyed region, because it’s the one everyone grew up with and remembers.

I digress.

No matter how I feel, I inevitably fell. PoGo preyed on me where it mattered. It fed on my love for cute things and targeted my tendency to hoard things. Just look at my nail polish collection.

And before I knew it, I was taking extra long laps around MIT just to get more mileage and losing weight. Sometime in my sophomore year, I discovered the MIT PoGo community. This broadened my horizons. I could now engage in “raids”, where you take down an extra powerful opponent with your “friends”. Just two months ago, I was carefully planning my day so that I could go to important raids. I remember getting my timeslot for an exclusive raid and realizing that it conflicted with a presentation I had to give. So like a normal person, I hunted down one of my friends who was free, carefully arranged teams, and gave my PoGo community the details of his appearance so that they could find him if necessary.

So what snapped me out of my PoGo craze?

I rediscovered the complexity which had drawn me to the franchise in the first place. It all began a week before my second 7.05 exam, when I decided to check out the web series Pokemon Generations (again). It is a 18-episode official webseries, where each episode is five minutes or shorter. Apparently, they couldn’t afford to pay for longer episodes. Unlike the anime I described above, it stuck closely with the game continuity and was definitely darker and grittier without becoming edgy. The animation was also very sharp (whether or not it’s “beautiful” is hotly debated) and detailed.

I’m not sure why I decided to rewatch a series, however short, during this time. Maybe it was to actually view it; the first time around, my involvement dropped drastically after Episode 5. This iteration, I began watching with more attention to detail. In Episode 8, which is an episode that explores, “What if Team Aqua, the evil team that aspires to become global warming and raise sea levels, actually succeeds?” I noticed that someone refer to one of my favorite villains, Shelly, and she looked...very different. 

I expected the one on the left; I got the one on the right.

At first, I thought, “Maybe there is another Shelly,” even though Pokemon takes great pains to not repeat names. A few moments of googling told me, nope, same character. As you can see, Shelly used to be a fiery redhead. This was extremely distinctive, because everyone else on her team was either bald, brunette, or lighter brunette. I loved her when I saw her in the anime, because she was literally the only person during that arc finale who was competent. Her redesign (right above) was also pretty snazzy, but it’s also fairly jarring for someone who wasn’t expecting it.

In my googling, I discovered two things. The first thing was that many of the older Pokemon games got remade, where the plot was rewritten, the regional fauna elaborated upon, and the characters redrawn. The second was that despite these clear differences, and the fact that there are so many main console Pokemon games, all of them (yes, even the originals and the remakes) are supposed to fit into the same continuity.

Here, my foot fell into a rabbit hole. When my friend gave me a copy of the game Pokemon Soul Silver, my entire body sunk in.

 See, all this time, I had never really gotten up to date on the progression of the pokemon universe. We have 7 generations so far—each generation bringing forth a new region and new pokemon—and I had never really learned about anything after Generation IV. Being extremely young back in the day, I learned about the individual regions but never stuck around long enough to learn about their remakes. A lot of game developments also happened in the meantime, and it turned out that the Pokemon universe actually was a collection of Pokemon universes, where each continuity differed by maybe just a few details that eventually became huge life-changing inventions/events. Formerly, we assumed each game was somewhat standalone.

You might have noticed that so far, I haven’t really talked a lot about the humans of the Pokemon world, because I didn’t put too much attention into them. They’re fairly flat battling fodder in the original.  

But with the remakes, due to changes in creative direction, a lot of the humans in the games got more characterization. It was not a lot, just enough for you to feel the presence of a personality growing in there somewhere. And with the realization that their world(s) were so delicate and easily-disturbed came the potential for character development and interactions.

Immediately, I immediately became intrigued by how all my favorite characters back in the day had changed. Some are not too drastic—Clair from Gold, Silver, and Crystal was a...witch that starts with a b back then, and Clair from Heart Gold and Soul Silver (the remakes) is still that. Others are sweeping. Courtney from Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald turned from a somewhat sly but also underutilized admin into a mentally unhinged and eccentric scientist who may or may not secretly have psychic powers that allow her to see the results of her actions. (Not that it stops her in pursuing her dangerous goals. Some contest that her visions of the world’s destruction might not actually be visions, but rather, disturbed fantasies. People are weird.)

And here I discovered a perplexing paradox.

I am very character and worldbuilding focused. If I were given a choice between a hardcore plot and really good character interactions, I will always take the latter. The fandoms which have jumped out to me are all fandoms with well-developed characters, even if the plot is weak. My Little Pony, for instance, is very slice-of-life, and many of its attempts to a plot are cliched and clumsy. However, the characters undergo a lot of individual growth and have extremely nuanced interactions that allow me to overlook plot issues.

The Pokemon games have neither a complex plot nor an intense character focus. (Really, the anime doesn’t either. Hence I stopped watching it.) The plot is quite literally: you, as a ten year old (somewhat older in subsequent games), venture out into the world and battle people. Along the way, you get called along to save the world since child endangerment isn’t a thing in this universe. After you defeat the Champion, the strongest trainer in the land, you can catch all the Pokemon that exist in your region. This is a very simple plot. Yes, there’s a lot to catch, and a lot of content and wade through. It still doesn’t change the fact that the trainers are basically fodder for you and that the entire setup is made to appeal to kids. What sort of parent would let their ten year old child wander out into a wilderness where there are threatening creatures in the fucking tall grass? There are so many, many other questions.

Look at this cutie, who you might encounter on your journey. Except its Pokedex entry reads:  “It is whispered that any child who mistakes Drifloon for a balloon and holds on to it could wind up missing.” -Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver

And then one day, as I was playing Soul Silver and trying to decide how some of these characters even functioned, it hit me why I kept coming back to this franchise.

In order for this very simple and formulaic plot to work, the world in which it takes place must be very complex. At the least, it needs to be radically different from ours. The process of understanding this foreign world and how they have adapted is what makes Pokemon so appealing.

Let’s start with an aspect of the Pokemon games that is mildly well-known: the extreme youth of the main character, especially when compared with what you can do. You’re in the early years of your adolescence, and yet you can summon gods while priests and lorekeepers trained to deal with them can’t (ORAS). Sure, this is all the result of a game mechanic that’s supposed to entice younger kids. Real Pokemon training would probably be very dangerous and arduous, because Pokemon are basically dangerous weapons that could kill you. No one wants to play a game about what is basically dog-training but where the dogs are also nukes.

But if the Pokemon world were real, training would be very dangerous and require lots of patience. And most certainly, no one would send out their ten year old into the wild. One can dismiss all of this, rewrite canon for their purposes, or comb through the dialogue and events and develop a reasonable society in which things like this can become accepted.

And so my current obsession is constructing a reasonable and nuanced headcanon where characters are distinct and multidimensional. This is twofold. It is always mind-broadening to see how other people have interpreted the context clues and gotten creative, in the form of fan art, headcanons, and fanfiction.

There is a special whimsy about the Pokemon world which makes it especially appealing despite all the plot voids which exist in it. It is a world of really weird people and really strange life motivations. You have the mishmash of multiple tropes, Chosen Ones who are passed over for you despite being more magical and gifted than you’ll ever be and a lot of heartwarming goodness where you would expect none. People take baths with their venomous Tentacruel, they get their dreams ruined, they drop their balls…what more could you want?

Thanks for letting me know? 

I imagine in a few months, my Pokefanaticism will wane once more. But soon, as more content and more oddities are added, it will flare up again and again. Generation VIII is coming out in late 2018, after all.