#now i have a specific pool of pokemon i try to leave in gyms. i go for anything in the 1700-1900 range

[fingertipsmp3]

I’ve got a pokemon that’s been in a gym for over three weeks and one of the three people defending the gym with me has fed it so many berries that it’s at 3/4 health again. Why are you prolonging my suffering???

[inthedarkofficial]

Malakai: 1, 2, 19 (can instead be Digimon), 31 Shakra (I know she's not a PC but eh): 11, 25, 28, 43

1. Does your PC believe it’s possible to save someone? You can help people, but they have to save themselves. 2. What does saving a person involve? Difficult to answer given the previous response. Someone helped him save himself once, and they were insightful, open-minded, and also willing to hand him a large bag of gold and map. 19. What is your PC’s Pokemon Gym Leader type and Signature Pokemon? Fortunately I am a bisexual and was in fact obsessed with both Pokémon and Digimon as a three year old. Malakai would be a Ghost gym leader with an Alolan Marowak. His partner Digimon would be Veemon. I want to know how much either of those answers means to you. 31. What’s your favorite part of playing your PC?  I think he's one of the most earnest characters I've played and that's a lot of fun, especially because he thinks he isn't. He's got a lot of lovely, human contradictions. Fantasises about Scrooge McDuck swimming pools, but also cannot pass by someone in need without trying to help. Offended his best friend right before he died because he got really in his own head about being percieved as a class traitor for being friends with a sheriff. Thinks he's dead and therefore not capable of growth, actually has done so much growth and is bothered by the idea of regressing. Thinks he's tough and hard and driven by avarice, actually driven by compassion and would go weak kneed for a courtly romance (thanks Wyll Ravengard, no one will ever compare now for my boy). Mechanics wise... you know I love doing rogue shit, and his stealth missions are great fun.

11. How does your PC show affection? Jokes. Acts that seems small but show how much attention she pays. Solving cases for free. A hug one time but it was weird. 25. What are your PC’s charm point(s)!  'Charming' isn't a word I think a lot of people use for Shakra... she's funny, when she isn't working she likes to joke around. She's very passionate about what she does. She can be seductive, she just usually only turns that on to get something. She can be very clueless about her own feelings and the contrast with how in control she usually seems with everything else definitely works for some specific people.

28. When your PCs want comfort, what do they seek out?  A new hairstyle, both for the change itself and for spending time with Shile. Might ask to hang out with DV for a bit.

43. When your PCs make decisions, who or what are they making those decisions on behalf of? Depends on the situation. On a case, she might have to make decisions on behalf of a client, and then how much she leaves herself out that decision really varies.

[justmanic03]

Amethyst - Chapter Seven

(A/N: I hope nobody minds a chapter where there aren't any Pokemon battles present. This chapter is much more plot-heavy.)

"Here's your reward! You completely swept my team right off into the ocean!" Veronica handed me a shiny, blue badge that was of similar shape and size to the grass badge Blade had given me.

"Thank you, Veronica!"

"Oh no, you should be thanking yourself and your Pokemon! You completely earned it! I had the type advantage but you still managed to nail me! Flossi and Kossi have been the only two people known in history capable of pulling that off,"

"Yeah, Blade said something along those lines, too," I replied. "So there are room for two Champions after all?"

"Well yeah, but without the crowns, it's not the same," Veronica replied. "And currently... there are no champions at all," Her face fell.

"Wait, what?" I was suddenly taken aback. "But I thought Champion Flossi was still alive?"

Veronica shrugged, sniffling slightly. "I don't even know if she's alive. I haven't seen her in such a long time. Plus, even if she is, she's not the Champion anymore."

"What do you mean?" I queried.

Veronica turned to me with a surprised look on her face. "Don't you remember? Flossi was stripped of her title of Champion after Kossi died."

"Wait... WHAT?!" This revelation had left me aghast. Her title was... taken away?

"I thought that was common knowledge," she said, turning her head to look at the Finizens playing in the pool opposite her gym.

"Well Danny and I moved here a year ago from Unova. I guess that was after everything happened. So... Flossi was stripped of her Champion title? What happened?"

"Only the Elite Four knows the answer to that question. They were the ones who stripped her, specifically the Chairwoman. They had a huge falling out after Kossi died. All we know is that Flossi disappeared, and with her, so did the two Champion's Crowns."

I took a moment to try to digest this new information. I had no idea that Flossi had been stripped of her Champion title. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. She was a grieving widow, who had spent her entire life working tirelessly to obtain her title as Champion... and then the Elite Four had just taken it away from her? Just like that?

"Poor Flossi. It seems like they really kicked her when she was down. Why would they do something so cruel to her?!" I just couldn't make sense of it.

"Every night when I'm alone, I'm plagued by the same thoughts. I have no idea where she is now. The last time I saw her, she came into my gym, collapsed to the floor and was just bawling her eyes out. She told me that she'd been stripped of her Champion title by the Elite Four but was in too much hysteria to tell me why."

"You guys were friends?"

Veronica nodded, smiling. "Yeah, Flossi was lovely. She was so easy to talk to. She and I used to train together in the Opaquia gym before Kossi had the idea to turn the place into a proper gym. Wherever she is now, I hope she's doing better." She clearly had some fond memories of Flossi.

"But the Opaquia gym is closed these days, yes?"

Veronica nodded. "Flossi and Kossi were the gym leaders. Nobody's been in there since Kossi died. In fact, nobody actually goes to Opaquia anymore. It's like an abandoned village. And to think it was once a thriving town. It was constantly in wealth competition with Acuada. Part of the reason this city is so huge and wealthy is because of the deterioration of Opaquia. It makes me feel kinda guilty that it prospered on the back of Kossi's death. But I guess that's out of my control." She folded her arms. "Anyway, I'm going to head back inside now. You take care, Y/N. Good luck with the fire gym. Austen is pretty tough." She bid me goodbye. I waved in return, and she re-entered the gym, leaving me alone outside.

As I sat down on the curb of the sidewalk, I couldn't stop thinking about what Veronica had told me about Champion Flossi. No wonder she was in a hurry to leave Taldourse. I began to reconsider whether or not the Gym Challenge was worth it after all. If you could dedicate your life to working so hard for something, only to get it ripped away from you by a bunch of higher ups, what would really be the point? The exact same thing could happen to me, if I were to become champion, or Danny, or anyone else. I stared down at my two glistening gym badges, contemplating whether or not I should continue, when all of a sudden my thoughts were interrupted.

"Who put the pineapple on your pizza?"

I immediately looked up, to see a purple-haired girl with a black moon T-shirt and her arms crossed, staring at me with one raised eyebrow: Lisa.

"Oh, uh... nobody," I shrugged.

"Come on, I'm not stupid. You've got a face like a Ratticate's posterior got smacked." She sat down on the curb beside me.

"Thanks," I huffed sarcastically in response.

"Look, if you bottle things up too much you'll start to look like a Greedent. And that's not a good look for anybody." Lisa rolled her eyes. "So come on, spit it out. What's bugging you?"

"What's the point in this gym challenge to you?" I asked.

Lisa twiddled her thumbs, which were painted black with blue crescent moons atop to match her T-Shirt. "Isn't it obvious? I'm doing it so I can join Team Moon. Back in school, people always laughed at me saying that Team Moon would never accept just any random trainer to join them. So I made up my mind that in order to prove my strength to them, I'd complete the gym challenge and become Champion. It was never about the fancy crown or the salary. I've never been bothered about being some fancy-dressed model like Flossi or Kossi. It was because of what I believe in."

I paused for a second to digest everything Lisa said. "Y'know, I admire how passionate you are about the whole Team Moon thing. I won't pretend to understand it, because I don't, but your loyalty to Team Moon is quite something." She stared at me in disbelief upon hearing this, as if nobody had ever praised her in her life. Her eyes returned to the ground, and when she opened her mouth again, she actually stuttered. "Nobody's ever supported my ambition like that before... other than Mack. I don't know what to say,"

"You don't need to say anything, Lisa. Just focus on your goal. Follow your dreams. That's what I was always told as a kid." I responded. She just nodded.

"But... you have to be prepared for the fact you might not be Champion for long. The Elite Four could snatch your title away just as quickly as you earn it, by all accounts."

"You're talking about Flossi, aren't you?" It seemed as though Lisa already knew the story.

"Yeah. Or you could just suddenly drop dead, like Kossi." I remarked.

"Team Moon will protect me. I'm sure of it. But I guess it's nice that you care." Lisa responded. "So, what about you? What makes you want to be Champion?"

"I just wanna be somebody, you know?" And, before I could stop myself, the words came spilling from my mouth. "I've never felt like I'm enough. Danny has always been one step ahead of me at every single turn. Even back in Unova. Everything I set my mind to, whether it's art, or a new game or hobby, Danny has ALWAYS been better than me at it. He's funny, he's charismatic, everyone liked him at school. But me? I'm just seen as a pathetic cling-on."

"Pfft! You're not pathetic! Anything but!" Lisa gave me a small shove. "You're way stronger than Danny at Pokemon battling. It doesn't take a moron to see that. If I don't become Champion - or Mackenzie - you're the one I'd support. You know that?"

"Geez, so you're not a cold hearted rebel after all," I smiled. She laughed along with me.

"Nah, I just get really defensive whenever anyone challenges Team Moon. But don't go repeating any of this soft crap to anyone. I can't stand the thought of being seen as weak in any capacity."

"Haha, don't worry Lisa. Your secret's safe with me. Street cred is important, after all. By the way, where is Mackenzie?"

"Oh, he's in Pollux getting one of those luxury burgers. He's already beaten Veronica. I was just heading into the water gym myself, because for some reason I've lost to her twice!" She cursed.

"Oh well, good luck. Veronica's pretty tough. I scraped it. Hope you've got plenty of steel types."

***

"Yeah, it was super easy for me." Danny grinned and crossed his arms with pride.

"It wasn't THAT easy." Mack retorted. "Veronica is strong. Poor Lisa was completely humiliated when she couldn't beat her. I feel bad being sat here, celebrating."

"Well if you don't want the burger then I'll sure take it." Danny said.

"Hey! No! Get your own!" Mackenzie grabbed his burger and pulled it towards his chest, causing Danny to roll his eyes.

I decided to interject. "Did you guys know about Champion Flossi being stripped of her title after Kossi died?"

"Uh, no...? I didn't know anything about that," Danny said, seemingly puzzled.

"Yeah, I remember it happening. The whole nation went into shock." Mackenzie replied. "But that happened before you guys moved here, right?"

"Yeah. We're from Unova." I said. "We are still figuring out how Taldourse works in terms of its hierarchy."

"Well, from my understanding, the Elite Four are basically the government. The leader of the Elite Four is essentially the President." Mackenzie explained. "Flossi and Kossi were involved in a bunch of important official stuff. But then when Kossi passed away, there was a huge fallout between the Elite Four and Flossi herself."

"Do you know anything else about what happened?" I inquired.

Mackenzie shook his head. "Nope. And I don't think we'll find out anytime soon. Since the Elite Four are looking for new Champions to replace them now, I reckon they're in a hurry to put the whole sordid affair behind them." He took a bite out of his burger.

"Hmm. Interesting." I nodded my head.

"And one of those Champions is going to be ME!" Danny interjected. It was now my turn to roll my eyes. "Yeah, good luck with that, Danny. You still can't beat me in a Pokemon battle."

"But I've been training real hard since our last battle! I reckon I could beat you now!" He still had a smug grin across his face.

"Well in that case, I'll race you to the fire gym!" I sprung up from my chair and began darting towards the exit to the department store.

As I was running, questions began popping into my mind. Questions that I knew I wouldn't be able to shake until I had the answers.

Why had Flossi been stripped of her title as Champion? And where exactly did she go?

What really happened to Kossi? Could he have been murdered by someone?

And who were Team Moon? Did they have anything to do with this?

There was no doubt in my mind that something very, very strange was going on in the top echelons of the Taldourse hierarchy.

And I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

[comradewodka]

Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Meowth, Chikorita, Smeargle, Gardevoir, Latias, Uxie, Zoroark, Chandelure.

Bulbasaur: What is the first Pokemon game you ever owned?

Pokemon YELLOW. My dad got it (and a purple GBA) for me for my seventh birthday, and it was the first video game/game system I ever owned, period. 

I went through the game with no concept of party balance, ended up unable to take down the Elite Four with only a level 100 Pikachu, and did much better after starting over for a second runthrough. xD I devoured both Red and Blue version later even though they’re both.. basically the same thing but slightly worse, lmao. Then I pre-ordered a copy of Silver at my local Toys-R-Us and made myself a little ‘calendar’ out of sticky notes to count down the days until its release date… ah, childhood.

Squirtle: Which Pokemon do you think is the coolest?

That Squirtle from the anime that always wears gurren lagann sunglasses.

No, uh… probably Houndoom? “Cool” has very specific connotations to me which means “all the edgy ones” I guess

Meowth: Which evil organization is your favourite?

HONESTLY… Team Skull. At the very least, they’re the best team since Rocket, for sure. Aqua/Magma were all right, Galactic was fucking terrible (like everything from that generation), Plasma had an interesting angle going for them but lacked personality, and Flare were just… baffling, genocidal misanthropes in the midst of an equally baffling attempt at introducing a larger narrative.

Rocket still has Skull beat in terms of sheer weight of development and nostalgia value, but they’ve also been around for a lot more time, so that’s to be expected! Skull’s just. So endearing and dorky. I’d like to see them continue to get fleshed out a bit and get like, more than 2 named characters and 2 grunt designs. 

Chikorita: Which is your favourite region?

Mrgh, I’m trying to think back and like, objectively evaluate the regions rather than just pick the one from my favorite generation, but. I think I still have to go with Johto. It has interesting set piece locations, and I don’t think anything was too repetitive or annoying about it that I can recall? Plus, it was just so cool to be able to actually keep playing after the Elite Four by going back to Kanto. It made 2nd Gen feel like a really big place, and physically expanded the world of Pokemon in a way that felt tangible.

Smeargle: Have you ever drawn any Pokemon fanart?

Uh, yes. It wasn’t good, but. Friends… there was a time when literally all I drew was Lugia. Or variants/offspring of Lugia. Or like. Purple, electrified evolutions of Rapidash. I don’t know.

Gardevoir: What Pokemon gives you the most feelings?

Bye bye, Butterfree wrecked my seven year old ass, and Pokemon the Movie 2000 sent me into a death spiral of obsession with Lugia that would leave me playing pretend and whale-songing That Tune in public swimming pools for years to come.

Also Mimikyu is trying so hard you guys I don’t–

Latias: What Pokemon do you wish you could have in real life?

I was going to say that this one’s tough, but then I remembered Greninja is my frog boyfriend, so…

Uxie: What is something you wish would be added to the games?

*SLAMS FIST ON THE TABLE* BRING BACK THE POKEMON FOLLOWING YOUR CHARACTER SPRITE AROUND, WE KNOW YOU HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

Zoroark: Would you be a Pokemon trainer, breeder, coordinator, etc? What would you look like?

In all honesty, the most direct comparison would be just one of those ordinary people who go through their lives raising a pokemon or two… but then again, the world of Pokemon seems to allow people to basically live off of an entirely animal-friendship related economy, so who knows what I’d have been free to pursue.

Being like, a keeper at the Safari Zone would be really cool… Or I could go to one of the big cities and be one of the sidekick trainers who hangs out with a feminine, metropolitan gym leader… OR I could sew little outfits for people’s Pokemon and make a killing… hehe

Chandelure: What Pokemon do you find the creepiest?

There’s some pretty fricked-up lore behind some of the dark or ghost types, but uh— I… like almost all of them, lmao. So I don’t really feel actively creeped out by them per se

My fav is Yamask/Cofagrius. THEY’RE LITERALLY JUST GHOSTS OF PEOPLE? AND THEY REMEMBER BEING PEOPLE? 

yamask: mask mask yamaaaask (hi im dave i used to be a plumber and had two kids)

some twelve year old: ok now get in this ball and be my servant

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ sometimes it is US who is the creepy

[jays-fictional-fun]

Gone Fishing

@semidemi-minigod, @mauisfursona

((Don’t think you’re not getting involved with this too, mister! Let’s peek into the lives of the young rivals, shall we?~))

“Gods dammit!”

Tamatoa spat as his fishing line snapped and the flash of gold that had been tugging on the hook disappeared into the darker water. The frustrated teenager threw his old rod to the ground, nearly breaking it in half against the rocky shore. That was the FIFTH time he had that shiny Magikarp within reach, but the pond it lived in was so full of seaweed, driftwood and rocks that no matter how strong of a line he used, it always, ALWAYS broke!

Maui grinned from his resting spot as he watched his friend’s little tantrum. The other young trainer was reclining against his napping Exeggutor on the opposite side of the pond, casually helping himself to some payapa berries growing on a shrub beside him... and only occasionally remembering to offer them to the Rufflet nesting in his curly hair whenever the young pokemon squawked for attention.

“You know, Krabby,” he commented teasingly, “you’re gonna drive yourself kooky going after that thing, right?”

“Ruff-let!” the baby bird agreed.

“I’ve told you not to call me that!” Tamatoa snapped back as he picked up the rod and pulled yet another lure out of his backpack. “And I don’t care! It’s gonna be MINE!”

“Come on, man, it’s just a magikarp! It’s not like being shiny makes it any stronger or anything!” He spat out a seed or two before crossing his arms. “It’s just gonna flop around like any other Magikarp... And there are literally HUNDREDS of them here on this island.”

“Yes, but I want THAT ONE.”

Maui rolled his eyes and shared a look with his Rufflet. He knew there was no talking Tamatoa out of this. Once the guy had set his mind on getting a specific Pokemon, it was like an obsession... He had once spent weeks combing various islands to try and find a Prism Scale to evolve his Feebas into a Milotic... almost half a year trying to find a Meowth that could learn Pay Day... And of course, Tamatoa had talked Maui into tagging along on every single wild Ducklett chase.

If his friend didn’t catch that Magikarp soon, Maui knew he was gonna be stuck with him on this boring little island until he did... Couldn’t have that now, could he? They had a Gym challenge to conquer!

“Okay, okay... I see what’s happening here...” he relented as he stood up and stretched. The Rufflet complained, squawking in defiance and pecking at his trainer’s temple, but Maui brushed it off and shooed the pokemon down to the berry bush as he removed his tank top.

“Look, if you’re so intent on getting that silly little fish, let Maui here give you a hand, huh?”

Tamatoa frowned as he looked up from tying his fish hook. “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”

“Easy! CHEEEEE-HOOOOOOOOOO!”

And with that exclamation, Maui jumped forward and cannon-balled straight into the pond, splashing up water everywhere. Tamatoa sputtered and tried to shake himself off, soaking wet and at a loss for words.

Did he really just...?

A few jets of angry pokemon releasing Water Gun attacks geysered out of the pool, swiftly pulling him away from his thoughts... Apparently Maui’s dramatic entrance into their domain hadn’t been appreciated, but after about half a minute, his dark mop of hair returned to the surface so he could catch a breath.

“Thing’s fast for a Magikarp!” he chuckled, his cheek already turning slightly red from being slapped by an annoyed pokemon’s tail.

“Maui, what the HELL are you doing!?”

“Gettin’ you your dumb fish, Krabby! Now shut up! You’re scarin’ ‘em off!”

Tamatoa groaned. Leave it to Maui to go for a more hands-on approach to fishing... literally. “That’s NOT gonna work!” he insisted, but his friend’s head had already disappeared again under the rippling surface.

Even though the water was murky, it wasn’t hard to tell wherever Maui was... Water Gun jets, blasts of Bubble Beams and even a few Mud Shots and Razor Leaf attacks created quite the show wherever he went as more and more pokemon were disturbed by the trainer’s chase.

“You’re gonna get yourself killed,” Tamatoa called after him as he crossed his arms.

And then... Nothing. All at once the pond grew still again.

The Rufflet chirped in concern, and Tamatoa’s eyes widened “Maui? You okay down there?” he scrambled to the edge of the water to try and get a closer look. “Maui!?”

When there was no immediate response, Tamatoa started to panic. He cast aside his own shirt to dive in after him, but before he could jump, a series of bubbles disturbed the surface, and something large and golden was thrown directly at him. The fish hit him squarely in the chest, knocking all the air out of his lungs and toppling the surprised trainer backwards with a heavy THUNK.

“And the crowd goes wild!” a familiar voice called out. Maui hauled himself out of the water, pausing just long enough to shake himself off like a large dog.

It took a moment for Tamatoa to collect himself, and he slowly sat himself back up. The shiny pokemon flopped uselessly on the ground in front of his feet, and he stared at it in disbelief for a moment before giving Maui that exact same look. “You... You actually...”

“What can I say?” Maui smiled as he rung out his hair and quirked an eyebrow. He was bleeding, bruised and out-of-breath, but smiling his usual wide proud grin. “You’re welcome~”

[le-pokerus]

My thoughts on Sun and Moon

So after a couple of months collecting my thoughts, I finally have written a list of all the stuff I liked and didn’t like about Pokemon Sun and Moon. It’s a long one, so I’ve made it nicer for your dash. (Also heavy spoilers).

Okay imma split this into four sections to make it more organised: 

things I liked about the game

things I didn’t like about the game

things have mixed feelings or am impartial about the game

things that I personally would’ve liked.

Things I liked about the game:

The silliness. In an interview with GF somewhere they said they wanted the game to focus on the fun aspect of Pokemon, so from weird dances to silly expressions and team skull not being taken seriously, I think they nailed it.

The Island Challenge! Despite really liking gyms, I thought the Island challenge was a cool thing that suited alola well (until a certain point, I’ll talk about that later).

Alolan forms. Regional variation is something I found really cool and gave some pokemon (only some) a nice twist (despite some awful forms).

The evolution music. Specifically when a pokemon evolves to or from and alolan form, giving the music a nice Hawaiian-esque sound was a little thing I liked.

A story line that doesn’t involve trying to control a legendary pokemon and using it to try and take over the world (or something like that). Yes all the previous games did it a bit differently and for different means, but by X and Y it was a stale story line and I’m glad they changed it.

Z-moves. Despite them being a bit OP at times, I quite liked them and thought they introduced a nice new battle mechanic.

Apricorn balls. Although you can only get one of each, it was nice them bringing them back even a little bit.

The new graphics. Despite really liking the graphics style of 3rd, 4th, 6th gens, I actually liked the graphics of sun and moon and it made them feel like a modern game.

Island Scan. I am a sucker for new ways of encountering pokemon, pokeradar, rustling grass, dexnav, I love ‘em. Island scan is also great, albeit not perfect and could’ve been improved, it was still a cool thing, and allowed me to catch the johto starters which is always great.

SOS battles. Speaking of new encounter methods, SOS battles not only allowed you to chain for more powerful pokemon, and increase your chances of a shiny, it also allowed you to find pokemon you couldn’t usually catch in the wild, e.g. salamence, snorlax, mereanie, lucario (although lucario was a pain in the arse due to riolu knowing fucking final gambit).

The Alola League. Pokemon leagues were always something that were just there and had been for ages, I loved the fact that the league was formed whilst you progressed and you became the first ever champion. I also liked how you defended your title against a small roster of different people rather than one (although I would’ve liked maybe another new elite 4 member instead of loads of island kahunas).

Team Skull. Honestly one of my favourite villainous teams, they’re silly and stupid and no one takes them seriously, 10/10.

Lillie. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Oh my god Lillie is a great character, the way she develops as a character throughout the story line is really well done, and the way she stands up to her mother towards the end is great, and when she leaves is a really sad moment and actually something not done before in a pokemon game.

All the other characters. From Hau to Professor Kukui to Gladion to Lusamine and the Guzma, sun and moon had great characters whith very different personalities and personas. Most of pokemon games, the characters are just there, there’s very little back story or real personality, but sun and moon went so far into these things that honestly it makes the game worthwhile just for them.

The mini map. Having a mini map was cool and made traversing the map easier so you don’t get stuck looking for something in the wrong place.

The music was pretty cool as far as pokemon games go, more memorable than XY but still not as good as previous gens in my opinion.

Magearna QR Code. One of the main problems of pokemon is events that only run for certain times making events such as the aurora ticket, oak’s letter, and genesect impossible to get without cheating in older games. Making Magearna available by a QR code that will never expire makes it so even fans in the future picking up these old games can get this mythical pokemon without hacks and honestly have a better experience for it.

Gridless. Due to limitations of old consoles, pokemon games have stayed to a grid like overworld, and even up to xy and oras they seemed to stay like that. Now don’t get me wrong I really like the grid like map etc. but sun and moon changed that and I love it. It really does make alola seem like a real tropical island based region, and really does change the whole feel of the game.

Added to the pokedex! I like how after evolving pokemon or breeding pokemon, or getting pokemon as gift or through trade that the data for the pokemon is added to the dex on screen, something that i’ve always thought previous games would benefit from.

Things I didn’t like about the game:

The Island Challenge! Wait didn’t I already do this one? Yes I did, but they fit on both good and bad lists (but not mixed feelings). As I stated before, I like the island challenge it was a fun thing that really made sun and moon different. HOWEVER, it just stopped, like the 1st and 2nd islands were great, they had cool challenges and cool leaders, the 3rd island sorta died down, and by the 4th island it had stopped, like it felt as if GF had given up by then, it was just hey there’s one challenge and theirs no trial captain or kahuna, and it’s just 3 straight battles. At least with gyms you were always guaranteed them, there was always a gym nearby and always one to challenge after the main story, but up until the pokemon league I was like where’s the next challenge and then when i got to the league I was like oh, there isn’t one.

Zygarde. Zygarde and its cells did fuck all and was basically just a gimmick.

The Rotom Dex. Oh god where do I start? This thing just doesn’t shut the fuck up. It always has something to say even when you’ve got nothing left to really do. The markers on the map killed the exploration aspect, the unnecessary commentary when you register a pokemon to your dex. Making it difficult to touch the mini map, cuz for some fucking reason you tickle him instead.

The A button. Having the press the A button every god damn fucking time you want to go through a door. Who’s idea was this? There’s no point, it just makes the A button whittle down faster, it should have just been left at walking into it automatically makes you go through.

Fishing. Only being able to fish in certain spots. Stupid idea. 0/10.

Legendary evolution lines. Didn’t like that cosmog evolved into the mascot legendary (through another legendary). Like legendaries are supposed to be these really powerful pokemon that are just there, they’re supposed to have been created like that, not evolve from another pokemon.

Unbreedable evolutions. Speaking of legendaries evolving, I dislike that fact that cosmog and type: null evolve, are not able to breed, and are only available once, it makes a living form dex (my main pokemon quest) very difficult to complete since i have to own another game and go through that story as well to have all the evolution family.

All legendaries are shiny locked. Who’s idea was shiny locking? Not that I’m gonna hunt for them but the off chance of encountering a shiny legendary was always a cool one.

The PC boxes. XY/ORAS PC boxes were great, they were quick, easy to use, and simple. SM boxes were slow, clunky and had some unnecessary changes. They also had very little space compared to the previous gen, despite adding 81 new pokes, they only added two boxes (60 mons), meaning that a living form dex is almost impossible to have on one game.

The Battle Tree. For myself, a filthy casual, the battle tree is impossible. Unless you have made/bred a competitive team, you cannot progress at all. At least with the battle maison they had tiers, so gaining battle points wasn’t tedious. but with the battle tree, there’s just one tier and it’s the worst. You only get one BP for battle (if you win) and you need 1000 alone just to get the mega stones (which are only available there. All I can say is, thank god pokebank gives you BP.

Post game was shit. Again, the post game was lackluster and the looker missions were just doing the same thing a few times with little point to it.

The ultra-beasts. The Ultra beasts, despite being a “massive threat” didn’t do anything at all and were just catch fodder. They also just don’t fit into the pokemon universe (yeah I know they’re from a different universe, but from a franchise point of view, it’s like a halo character in a my little pony universe).

The battle scenes were slow. Too slow from encountering a wild pokemon to being able to battle it.

Surf encounters. Is it still surfing if you don’t use HM03 Surf? Regardless, the encounter rate for pokemon while surfing is ridiculously small, like you do multiple laps of a a pool of water and hardly encounter any at all.

No National Pokedex. Seriously every game has had a national dex in some form (gen 1’s dex was basically national, gen 2′s was national in a different order, ruby/sapphire got one after trading with firered/leafgreen/emerald) like why have they removed this feature? Yes bank has a national dex as of the update, but sun moon doesn’t get one making it more difficult to sort pc boxes, and it means pokes not in the regional dex don’t get a dex entry for sun moon (maybe this’ll get fixed in the future (much like ruby/sapphire was)

Legendary battles. I’m a fan of interacting with the overworld sprite to battle a legendary, however for almost every legendary in sun and moon there isn’t one: the tapus, you interact with the shrine; and the ultra beasts and necrozma are just in the grass, idk it just makes them feel weird.

More than one ultra beast. One weird thing sun and moon did was make more than one of some ultra beasts available, I get that there are more than one and it would make sense for more than one of some to come through, but when you have 4 kartana or 4 pheromosa in your box, it just makes then feel less special.

Event only Z-Crystals. This is tentative since it may be changed in the future but much like as stated before event only stuff is annoying for those who pick this game up in the future. So the snorlium-z and mewnium-z won’t be available to some players and since z crystals are an important thing, it’s kinda annoying.

A small loan of $1,000,000. So after beating the looker missions, you get rewarded with $1,000,000, although this is very nice and means you don’t have to grind for money, I feel it’s a bit too much and makes it so there’s less to do post game.

No auto save after elite 4. Just an annoyance really, all games have saved after the elite 4 and it made me lose some progress cuz it didn’t save. It also doesn’t repeat the credits and send you back home which i liked about the other games.

Experience gain. The way of how experience is calculated has been changed back to the shitty gen V method, where the lower the level you are from your opponent the more experience you gain. This sounds good in theory but the highest levels are 59 in the wild and 63 on the elite 4 which makes getting your team to level 100 or evolving some pokemon very tedious. The only reason it worked in gen v was cuz they had audino literally everywhere and they give a fairly high amount of exp, but there aren’t really any high experience giving pokemon in alola at all.

Things I am impartial or have mixed feelings about the game:

No HM’s. Although having no HM’s allowed me to finally have a six party team (which i definitely used to make sure I have type coverage, 3 fairy types is the way to go), I just missed them and only getting fly and surf post game was annoying since I always have them on my main mons.

Pokepelago. I liked a lot of aspects of pokepelaga, growing berries was made insanely easy (and better that way) gaining evolution stones and rare items was so much less tedious unlike super training, hot springs were cool, levelling up pokes was an option if you wanted. HOWEVER, the pokemon capture method is complete bs. so sometimes a wild pokemon will appear, and when interacted with mohn will say come back tomorrow to see if it likes being here or whatever, but it’s complete chance there is no way to affect if they stay, sometimes they will just disappear for no reason, honestly it’s stupid and reminds me of the awful safari zones in gens 1, 3 and 4 *shudders*.

The Batte Royal. It’s a really cool concept and adds something new to battling but it makes the game lag on all devices and it just feels too short, instead of ending when one person loses all their pokemon, it should’ve been when there’s only one player left and then add up how many pokes were knocked out by each person.

Things I personally would’ve liked:

More previous gen legendaries. Yes, I am aware you can already get 8 legendaries in the game, but there are currently 61 legendaries and mythicals, therefor I would’ve liked to have seen maybe a couple more from those gens, just so it doesn’t feel so secluded. This may also make another case of ORAS where they just added a shit ton of legendaries to make them available in that generation due to xy’s appalling legendary selection, so if they are to make them all available this gen then they might have too many in the next game.

The bicycle. Although there is poke-ride to replace the bike, it’s not the same. the bike has more maneuverability, and the fact that I have to constantly get on and off my poke-ride to get into small places due to their stupid collision boxes is something the bike would fix.

Nebby. Wait it’s not what you think! I love nebby, it’s a great character and has great memes. What i disliked was that after nebby turned into the version mascot, we kept it, yes I get that the player has to get it somehow, but I feel nebby should always have been with Lillie not with someone who met it a few days prior, I think the best way to have done it is if you’re given like a cosmog egg or something (but I guess you had to battle the mascott so idk).

Less spoilers. Not necessarily about the game itself, but GF revealed way too many pokemon prior to sun and moon. One of the biggest things I looked forward to when SM was announced was discovering new pokemon (i’’d never had a game at release so I knew them all prior) unfortunately GF decided that was not happening and showed almost all of them before the games came out, making me lose out on this experience.

A safari zone. No not the crap ones, the ones like gen 6. I would’ve liked a somewhat safari zone where you could catch more pokemon outside of the alola dex, and it would’ve been awesome if you could catch regular versions of the alola forms too.

A post game island. Sun and Moon didn’t add any new places, everything was available to explore before the elite four and i would’ve liked to have a couple of new islands to explore, I’m not talking about another huge island, but maybe just a couple small islands with maybe like a town with cool things on (like the above mentioned safari zone).

Sidequests. Yes this is a common thing for people to want from pokemon games. But sun and moon really lacked things to do rather than the main story. Really the only thing to do is the Battle Tree which is only post game and is awful, or the battle royal which is cool but laggy and over too quickly.

In Conclusion

Great, not perfect, but a hell of a lot of fun, would highly recommend. 8.5/10.

[warlordess]

Champselyseeshipping (hope I spell right. If not: MistyxSerena) and prompt 52.

Just thought I’d point out (in case you haven’t noticed it yet) that I clearly don’t know wtf a drabble is. This shit ended up being almost 1500 words long. Wtf wtf wtf... I’m so dumb. But I wanted to do this adorable crack!ship justice!

OoO

Champselyseeshipping drabble:“Can I kiss you?”

“So you’re from Kalos, huh?” thered-haired gym leader asked curiously from the Cerulean Gym pool.“And you came here at the advice of your mentor to meet mysisters?”

“Ah, yeah! I was told it had alreadybeen pre-arranged between them that I would be able to come watchsome of the rehearsals for the latest underwater ballet that’sbeing produced here at the gym,” the petite honey-haired girlvisitor responded from just beyond the tile and cement rim, “I wastold it would be good training for me.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Misty said with anagitated huff, wiping a drenched tress of hair out of her eyelinebefore continuing, “Listen, uh, I’m sorry, what was your name?”

“Oh, sorry, I guess I forgot tointroduce myself to you. I… I was a little distracted by your, um…”the girl paused and nodded towards Misty’s odd(ly attractive)choice of swimwear; a red beaded necklace and bejeweled earrings,violet seashell bra, amethyst pearl hairband, and flowing emeraldgreen mermaid’s tail trailing behind her and floating in the water,complete with an ornate decorative starfish patch affixed on her leftthigh, before continuing, “… Anyway, my name is Serena,” sherevealed with a charming flush to her cheeks, “I guess, with anoutfit like that, you must be in the ballet too?”

“Yeah, my sisters always somehowconvince me to help them out with things like this. They’re nothere right now though. They left a little while ago and said theywouldn’t be back until late in the afternoon. So… sorry but Ithink they forgot you were supposed to arrive today.”

[read more]

“Oh… um…” Clearly at a loss forwords, Serena kneeled stiffly over the side of the pool, biting herlower lip, gaze averting left and then right, trying to figure outwhat her next move in this case would be.

“Um, your name is Misty, right? Do…do you mind if I just watch you practice until your sisters comeback? The next Queen Showcase season begins a month from now backhome and I really wanted to take advantage of every opportunity tolearn something new that could help me win!”

“The next…?” the redheaded gymleader tapered off at the rather unfamiliar sounding career path.“Well, I guess you could but… I’m not going to be doinganything special…”

Misty, not having planned to have suchan intimately small and captive audience, felt overcome with a waveof anxiety. She’d waited specifically for her sisters to leave forthe day before deciding to take the opportunity to practice her roleand ballet techniques… and now…

“Well, anyway…” she muttered in aflustered tone of voice as Serena retreated to a nearby bench to takea seat. Then Misty dived swiftly down into the water and rejoined thePokemon who were waiting for her to start them off.

Serena watched the redheaded trainertwirl around a Kanto Pokemon she loosely recognized as a Dewgong,grasping ahold of their front fins and drifting into a wide, sweepingbackwards dip, which ended in a floaty backflip.

By the time she’d righted herselfagain, her next dance partners had come to call. Two Luvdisc driftedover in her direction with lips locked and heart-shaped bodiesfluttering like a set of wings. They separated just as they finishedtheir introduction, swirling parallel around Misty, bubble streamsjetting out behind them and encircling the would-be mermaid in analmost ethereal, magical sequence.

Serena sat in awe for the next hour orso as the Kanto-based native went through the motions of her somewhatsolitary rehearsal. As unfamiliar as the Kalos performer was withone’s ability to act fluently underwater, she could still tell thatthe redhead was good at what she did. The most entrancing part of theentire private show was Misty’s ability to time her resurfacing forbreaths with multiple opportunities to engage with the audience.

When she was under the water, theredhead acted as though it were her own world, nothing else aroundher but murky blue depths and her Pokemon friends. Yet, when sheemerged, she would always catch Serena’s eye and perhaps wink,twirl under an aurora beam water arch combo that the Pokemon hadmanifested with their elemental prowess, and backflip underwater oncemore for another festive round with the other stars of her littleshow.

Serena was positively enthralled by themagnitude of the other girl’s skill, never mind that she’d madeit seem in the beginning as though she were going to endure a boorishchore.

“… Are you okay?” Misty begged ofher some time later between gulps of air.

Serena jumped as though she hadn’trealized the redhead had stopped performing and reappeared at theedge of the pool to stare out at her where she sat, then brushed offher own jerky reaction with a bashful giggle, only just thencomprehending that she’d been clasping both hands tightly to herchest and that her face felt uncomfortably toasty.

“I - I am!” the Kalos performerresponded in haste, leaping from her seat and cautiously edgingcloser to the water to take in the sight of her surrogate tutor,chest heaving slightly, cheeks full with a rosy flush, vibrant hairsomehow both limp from the weight of the water and full of thickwaves as it cascaded down her back, supple muscles in her arms andabdomen tightening as she finally grasped the cement swell of thepoolside wall and lifted herself with ease out of the water.

Misty sighed and stretched languidly,and Serena inched instinctively closer to her and took in the sight.

“Any - oh, sorry, I think I got somewater on you,” the Cerulean trainer said pointedly but herhoney-haired visitor shrugged and murmured something negligible underher breath so she shrugged it off and went on, “Uuh, okay…Anyway, I was going to say that I’m done. I don’t know - I mean,I doubt you learned anything from watching me. My sisters may beflakes as gym leaders but they’re actually really great atchoreographing these dances and scripting their shows.”

“No!” Serena exclaimed defiantly,fists clenched tightly before her, “I - uh - I actually learned alot! You… you’re really great too! I mean, next to your sisters…Well, I haven’t met them yet but…”

Misty quirked an eyebrow at the othergirl’s wild rambling but waited for her to try and pull her ownthoughts together as patiently as she could.

“… But I… feel that you must bejust as capable as them!”

“Oh, well, thanks. Of course, I’vebeen telling them that for years but at least someone sees mytalents!” Misty replied with a confident and flattered laugh.

Serena pursed her lips together, havingdifficulty trying to find the words to explain what she’d feltwhile watching the redheaded gym trainer’s performance. If she werebeing honest, she could admit to feeling similarly to how she hadalways felt towards Aria, and Miette… and Ash.

Aria, her greatest and final challengetowards accomplishing her goal. Miette, strong and stubborn andalways willing to give her best to motivate her into working as hardas she could. Ash, the boy she’d been so inspired by that he’dstolen her heart, hadn’t he?

“Can I kiss you?”

The question tumbled from between herlips before she could justify to herself the sense behind it. Inresponse, Misty paused amidst toweling herself dry, blinking rapidly,mind blown by the sudden invitation.

“I… I’m - what?”

“Oh, sorry,” the Kalos nativeblushed so red that she looked momentarily faint, hands up before heras if trying to brush off her previous outlandish request, “Ididn’t mean… I didn’t think… It was… in thanks. Youtaught me a lot… and I wanted to show my gratitude.”

“Oh… that’s all?” Misty asked,but Serena felt her heart jump at the realization that her advanceshadn’t been outright rejected.

“Well, maybe…”

“Or… maybe not…?”

The was the last exchange between thetwo young girls before the distance between them finished closing.Serena swore she could hear her own heart pounding, felt even moreempowered when a slightly calloused and pruny hand enveloped hers.Some blissful, hopeful part of her couldn’t help but think shecould feel Misty’s equally erratic pulse through the pads of herfingertips.

Serena couldn’t help sucking a breathin between her teeth as they both separated, trying her best todispel the stars behind her eyes and the heavy warmth in her chest.

“So…” Misty began, peeringintensely at her visitor with a glowing smile, “… that was nice.”She paused as Serena’s eyes lit up at the comment before continuingbravely onward, “So nice, in fact, that I think I should thank youtoo,” she finished, grin widening as she leaned in once more.

And so she did.

OoO

Thanks for sending me this request! I honestly adore the idea of these two girls together, I think that Serena would be really taken with Misty tbh. And Misty has always loved cute, French things so… Yuuuup!

Also, wow, I’m pretty sure that this is my first wlw/shoujo ai fanfic. I hope it came out okay. I’m so exhausted from working a 17 hour shift that I was in zombie mode typing this up. I’ll probably beta later after I get some sleep but, uh, enjoy my shitty raw skills as a writer! Lmao.

Also, I’d mentioned it earlier but here’s another heads up; progress has started on another prompt as well, one of the Pokeshipping ones! :-D I will try to finish hand-writing it up tonight and then I’ll type it up some time tomorrow since I’m off work!