#or staraptor like when we teamed up

[eclysia]

box check (+ a fucking pansage in my party), how fucked am i for tristan

[perenlop]

ash’s sinnoh team is so good (mostly) and im fond of the core six and then you look closer and you remember that only half of them were treated all that well

[musicoftheheart]

Hi!!

This is pretty random but I need to know

Which Pokemon do you think each of the marauders era characters would have?

i need you to know that i love you for this question and i spent far too long thinking about this.

for the sake of time, we're going to look at the marauders themselves here, and use generation 4 (diamond/pearl/platinum) pokemon because its my favourite (and objectively the best).

lets start with remus. funnily enough, i find him the easiest here. his starter is turtwig for many reasons - the aesthetic, the evolutions (the tree on a torterra connects in my head to the whomping willow) - but most importantly the fact its ultimately the most logical choice. not only is it super effective against the first gym, but its super effective against more overall than either of the other two starters, especially once you consider the evolutions - not to mention that grass-type moves will be an advantage when it comes to taking on cynthia at the end of the main game. its also much easier to build a team around.

hes a completionist at heart, so while he doesnt faff around for longer than he needs to hatching eggs (see: james) or digging underground for literal days (see: sirius), he does take the time to get pokemon like riolu and spiritomb despite it not being a requirement to reach the champion. also, once hes into post-game, he's the first to complete the pokedex.

by the end of the main game, this is his full team (in no particular order): torterra, staraptor, luxray, spiritomb, gyarados, machamp.

next we'll look at peter. his starter is piplup; the underestimated starter, not unlike himself. piplup is a strong starter early game - its super effective against the first gym, for a start - and can still be useful later on too, i.e. against the ice gym once evolved to empoleon. of course, its weak to gym 2, but by then peter has, like remus, picked up a starly and trained it up to waltz straight through.

his full team, by the end, is: empoleon, staraptor, luxray, roserade, gengar, rapidash.

james has given me more pause. his starter, by far, is the hardest choice for his whole team. in the end, id have to say chimchar. i mean, cmon, look at his love interests; he likes them fiery. i think, unlike remus and peter, james (and sirius, once we get there, though not to the same level) would pick his pokemon less with logic, to an extent, and more with his actual favourites. this is a fun game, after all, why make it boring with rules?

on that note, he *loves* the eeveelutions. he thinks theyre super cute, so refuses to have a team without at least 2 of them as soon as hes able. he spends *forever* finding a ditto or a second eevee so that he can breed them and create an army.

his final team is: infernape, leafeon, umbreon, glaceon, jolteon, staraptor (specifically with close combat). he does surprisingly well with this once he eventually makes it to cynthia considering he didnt pick his team based on type-matchups.

sirius. oh, sirius. he's a toughie. he never picks piplup as his starter; despite it being cute, he deems it the weakest by far and absolutely useless. for that reason alone, he picks chimchar, because it means his rival (whom he names snivellous and takes great pride in beating every time) picks piplup.

he, too, likes the eeveelutions, but doesnt have the same obsession as james over them. he does however spend most of his time getting sidetracked underground, and has the most decorated base of any of them. he drags remus down to see it when he can, and enjoys stealing james' and peter's flags to destroy more boulders.

his final team (once the others have complained enough that sirius needs to finish the game so they can have their tournament) is: infernape, staraptor, roserade, magnezone, mismagius, abomasnow. he did put some level of thought behind these choices, to be fair, but took two attempts to beat cynthia. dont ask me why, he just did.

i realise ive now genuinely spent over an hour doing this, despite it going beyond what the question asked. however! you asked a (probably) neurodivergent person about two of their special interests! you brought this upon yourself :)

if you made it to the end, have a cookie 🍪

[someslothcheese]

You encountered Gym Leader [NAME]!

Alright, Long ass design and lore explanations beneath the cut.

I've already explained my design choices for Doug-Parkzer, but due to my account dying that post is gone, so I'll re-explain. Also, I've gotten better at drawing in style as I've continued, so I might go back and redraw Doug and Parkzer, the designs are fine -probably my favourites thus far- but I don't think the lineart is up to current standard.

Doug Design

The pupil shape matches the bellpepper icon, I was considering doing an expression or shape that matches some of the other versions of the eyes. Jerma fans ate Shuffler's design up tbh. Mad P03 vibes.

"Dyed Hair". I always hated the bleached hair look on Doug, eventually I came to just find it familiar, but thank god it's basically gone by now. I used the blonde-er hair to make a pattern similar to fire.

Guy Fieri patterns on suit. If I was having Doug in a fire Gym I had to have Doug Fieri mentioned at least somewhere.

Orange Tie from Streamer Awards. How was that like almost two years ago? Squeex interviews and Doug won... We had it all...

Shoes from PointCrow Party, when he played the character "Wallace". Man I miss PointCrow Party, if I had known how Autistic I was gonna be over it I would've bought the props. Every day I mourn.

Patterns based around fire on the suit jacket, sort of more triangles though, didn't want to just repeat the same fire spikes everywhere.

Glasses based on Learning Ettique Stream from SamWitch. Doug keeps wearing these types of glasses, I think he's eating them up?

Shoulder Pads are removable from the outfit, I want to have him wear the same outfit but, less, for formal events.

Fire Type was decided on due to the Capsicum/Bell Pepper icon

"Lore"

Matching Charcadet evolutions with Parkzer, is a way of hinting to their friendship and personalities.

Co-Owns gym together. Doug promotes Parkzer because the guy is actually really good at managing the gym, unlike him.

Was originally going to be an electric gym due to Doug's Coding gimmick during battle. (In which random status could apply, random heals could apply, and terrain could change.) but because his partner pokemon Scovillian is a fire type, he just doesn't change it.

Stands out due to his eccentric suit

He currently looks after Eric's Starly for him -Explained later-

PointCrow

Head sprites on the left were the originals, I decided I didn't like the shape, too sharp and the hair differed from how I normally draw PC. This was changed last minute though, so the scar-updated version isn't as interesting as it once was.

The patterns on the wingsuit are from TOTK, Shika patterns I think.

At one point I considered a paraglider similar to Link, but I felt it was too on the nose and opted for this design instead.

At a point, Raruu's arm was considered, but it felt like too much main character energy. Instead, it went to my base design for PC lol.

Flying type was picked due to a combo of icons from the channel (Doodle, "Crow"), and of course, Link and Pointcrow's love for the Zelda series.

The suit and helmet designs were based around Starly, which I thought would be the closest substitute for Doodle.

When originally thinking of this AU, the sketches I made for headshots I wanted to make sure I made PC and Smant similar in design based on the "similar appearances" joke. As someone with face blindness, it's crazy... I think I managed that - more later.

The casualwear outfit sleeve cuffs are red and blue, Mr Miyamoto would be so proud of me. At one point I made the shoes also red and blue but it was too crazy of a design for me.

The scar in his later design was placed on the same eye his bruise was on for the Ludwig Chess Boxing PhotoShoot.

Corviknight was originally going to be a pre-evo whilst Starly would be returned to Eric as a Staraptor, but I decided his Partner would not change without its owner and whilst Eric ages Starly doesn't.

Crobat is on his team to show his love for his Pokemon despite the hermit mindset he has taken on.

Lore

Flier 89 is the name of the famous wingsuit glider in the region. Pointcrow starts training at a young age, becomes Gym leader, and is friends with Smant for the duration, some of the youngest gym leaders in the region's history.

He has a crash one day and loses the ability to fly due to depth perception.

He stops talking to his closest friend who he blames for the crash, as someone tore his suit. Truthfully, it was Eric, who denied it because he wants to push away his friend, due to no longer finding confidence in himself after he lost his "one skill".

Eventually, the trainer finds PC and convinces him to fight them, as it's necessary for their completion of the gym challenges. This is probably through a quest of just walking around with him whilst he talks about his self-worth, why he wants his talent back and why he wants to be "Flier 89" still instead of Eric.

When he fights you, his name changes to Eric in the pop-up despite being in Flier 89's outfit.

He even uses his Starly, which he had given to his friend to look after. No longer being able to stomach the sight of his partner Pokemon due to PTSD.

Smant

Headshape tried to appear similar enough to Eric's design.

Glasses are made to look thinner following both irl similarities and aiming to look separate enough from the other.

Wasn't sure how hard to go with the facial hair because in every instance bro either has a full beard growing in or is clean-shaven.

Hair was odd to do, I don't think his avatar is entirely accurate (though that's normal). So I overlayed the colour onto my original version to try and have the best of both worlds.

The hair shape I had was entirely different at multiple stages, so eventually I just tried to copy his avatar, with a bit more spike. I don't dislike it, but it doesn't sit right with me still.

Originally I wanted to have more of his Gym leader outfit in the splash, but I decided to keep it simple.

I think that he'd look back on his old outfit and cringe, just keeping the accessories and using them along with his base outfit.

Ground Type gym leader so that way he could keep his Quagsire. Though I do think it aligns with his personality pretty well.

A team designed to help with mining, because if Tanner Minecraft Ground Gym Leader isn't Mining and Crafting I don't know who is...

More to come!!!

[hinamie]

Assigning pokémon to anime characters is one of my favourite things to do whenever I get into a new fandom xD My friend and I did that for matchablossom (sk8), too!

For JJK, we thought about some shikigami-inspired 'mons for Megumi, such as Lycanroc (midnight form) and Mightyena, Seviper or Serperior, Politoed, Copperajah… Possibly Staraptor (although the closest thing to Nue is probably Zapdos). And definitely a male Lopunny! I feel like a stereotypically girly bunny pokémon that actually kicks asses would be perfect for Megumi, given his name and everything 😌

you can see my itfs team headcanons in this response here if you're curious ! I'm not sure if I'll end up finishing those sketches after all but but i'm more than happy to expound on some of the reasoning behind megumi's team in particular :3

When I was coming up with his team I wanted to strike a balance between choosing pokemon that directly referenced his shikigami but that Also fit him design and vibes-wise. I wanted to give him a team I could see him building for himself, not just give him pokemon fr the sake of them being based off the same animal as his shikigami. That being said, lycanroc midnight was also my first thought fr him bc I knew he needed a dog, but I decided on a pair of absol bc I thought giving him the pokemon that is known fr sensing oncoming disasters suited him better than a route 1 dog or a rock type werewolf. also absol having the dark type is an added bonus dgsfhjk i think megumi keeps a theme

shaking ur hand re: serperior tho omg idk why I see the snivy line getting hate I LOVE THT BITCHY SNAKE SM. nice dual reference to megumi's shikigami And his resting bitch face <3 fr his bird i chose corviknight bc design-wise it is objectively the coolest bird and i love crows sm. idk if i had a solid reason fr giving him a dragapult tbh i just thought it suited him. :)

ALSO re: lopunny I can see it i just . don't vibe with lopunny personally gdshjhfdjghj . I Did think about giving megumi a Mienshao fr similar reasons of wanting to give him a sort of femininely-designed fighting type but I decided to replace it with a zorua bc a. I ran out of room on the canvas, b. I realized I cannot give megumi both an eventual zoroark And a mienshao my conscience will not let me give one of my favourite characters a team full of furrybait and c. him having a zorua means that it can play with yuuji's growlithe PLS they r best friends

[nerdyhubbydragu]

Warning! Pokémon Scarlet/Violet: Teal Mask spoilers!

You've been warned! :D

***

What if... This generation is a story about victims of bullying?

Base Game:

Students are being "bullied" by Team Star

In reality Team Star were the ones being bullied

Miraidon/Koraidon was danger to the society when he was out of the crater

In reality he's left the crater because he was bullied by the toxic Miraidon/Koraidon "alpha"

Teal Mask:

Ogerpon was a monster that raided Kitakami

In reality he was misunderstood, as he took revenge on his bullies for beating up his friend

So they were the real villains

But let's take it further...

What if in Indigo Disc we learn that:

They were bullied by Dokutarou (the theorised fourth "Loyal" or their leader we can see in upper right corner in animation about Ogerpon's past the first time they are shown) and beaten into loyalty but promised power if they bring him Ogerpon's treasures

But the chain of violence doesn't grow further, it branches out

We meet the turtle, but it's angry for no reason, another bully? (Or he's just there being bullied and we see him in battle form later when he fights us like Ogerpon to let us prove ourselves before he joins us)

No, it turns out he's been puppeteered by the same bully that turned Loyal Three Evil!

Dokutarou's heard of Ogre's reaches, so he's manipulated three Pokémon into getting him those

He's heard about reaches of Otohime castle (the castle where Urashima Tarō is taken by the turtle, the treasure he gets from Otohime is called Tamatebako), he's manipulated another one to get those too!

(Maybe he gets it, opens it, and it doesn't end well for him)

What if Loyal Three were Poochyena, Aipom and Staraptor that went through the Johto's Legendary Trio, but this time instead of terrible accident it was bullying that killed them?

Give it a thought and let me know what do you think about my theory! ;)

PS: Kieran could have been gaslit and bullied by his sis, there are some hints for such scenario in their interactions... even if she means well in the end she bullies him being toxic by accident as she's awkward in interacting with him and doesn't know any better...

[celestialholz]

Treasures, Ruined (or 'Are the Elite Four the Treasures of Ruin?')

My fellow thought-experimentee @serene-hatterene mentioned a little while ago that the Treasures of Ruin bear a passing resemblance to our Paldean Elite Four, and I agree... though I don't think it means a heel turn is coming. None of them are evil - there's been literally zero foreshadowing of any form, and I personally refuse to believe that there is a single shred of evil in Hassel specifically. This man is sunshine incarnate - he even goddamn looks like the sun, and is painted as such in Surrendering Sunflora.

No, no evil here. But I'll tell you what I do think.

The Treasures of Ruin are the Elite Four if they were to go down a very different and much darker path, hence the Dark typing.

That's a fun statement, isn't it? Allow me to explain...

We will start in dex order, with Wo-Chien, our Hassel counterpart.

This is most of Wo-Chien's lore.

Now, there are multiple things of note here:

Tablets were classically used pre-paper manufacturing to write or draw things upon - like a musician might wish to do, or an artist;

Hassel comes from a noble family, who don't agree with his life choices - whilst he doesn't seem to bear grudges in his present state of mind, it isn't a stretch at all to imagine that he could were his mind dark enough;

Plants. Wo-Chien drains plant life, and holds control over it.

... Now, imagine if you will a moment, a darker timeline: a timeline where, embittered by his family's treatment and his own musical failure, Hassel finds Brassius, and instead of healing and supporting and encouraging him as he does in our canon, leading them to a beautiful and loving companionship, he instead does the opposite: takes out his spite and his anger, leads Brassius instead to ruin and to the death he saved him from in another life.

... No, you're crying. (/j, I am also weeping, god I hate noticing things sometimes. IT'S OKAY GUYS THEY'RE HAPPY AND LOVED AND ALIVE IN OUR WORLD *ugly sobbing*)

This idea is backed up further by the fact that Wo-Chien's shrine must be opened via purple stakes - Poison, seeping into the Grass.

Oh, and as Bulbapedia points out:

... Huh. Imagine that, the emotional guy darkened due to his own feelings - or, indeed, that of our favourite Grass gym leader...

And then there's the fact that Hass' lead Pokemon Noivern nearly always starts battle by halving your HP with Super Fang... which has exactly the same effect as Ruination, the Treasures' signature move.

Anyway, let's move on, before I sob myself to sleep...

We arrive next at Chien-Pao, or our Larry counterpart.

Lore incoming...

Whilst Wo-Chien is represented by grudges, Chien-Pao is represented by hatred - and we know Larry a. hates his boss, b. hates his three jobs, and c. probably hates his life, as tired and done as he seems to be.

And so, imagine a world where that hatred, rather than be channeled into exhaustion and exasperation, becomes instead active - becomes instead a very powerful man who can apparently master types on a whim tearing down all before him, telling the world that's kept him down to bow before him. He becomes the boss; he becomes the hatred of those 'slain' by the corporate structure, and he simply sits there and watches the chaos.

Now, lovely little tired sweetheart Larry would rather eat onigiri, tell you you're very good at battling and go to sleep... but then, Hass would never drain Brassius either. It's all in the possibility, the alternate universe.

Interesting supplementary points here include:

Staraptor has the same base attack as Chien-Pao... who, like the rest of the Treasures, was patch-nerfed. It did have 130 atk, ten points higher than Staraptor;

It's represented by orange stakes, the colour of the Fighting type - Larry's one major weakness on his gym team, which later he adopts Flying types for and becomes strong against;

This man is a facade. He gives you the TM for it, he lives the gimmick... and when one tears down a facade, the person beneath is revealed. Not that I'm saying the person beneath wants to watch the world burn, but... not too tricky to imagine someone snapping under Larry's level of pressure, is it?

What's mightier than the sword, so the saying goes? The pen. You know, those things people use a lot in an office...

God, let's see if Rika can cheer us up a bit, although I doubt it given the topic... we move, then, to Ting-Lu.

The lore has this to say on the subject of Ting-Lu:

Ting-Lu represents fear: and if any of you have also sat there like me in fear for your champion prospects (and possibly life) as Rika stares you down during the interview process, I think we know why.

Fear... and control over the earth. The translation is a little more literal here, given that they share their specialist types.

Our Rika is fun and laid-back, but in another world, well... imagine a woman motivated by the fear of those before her, intimidating all who stand before her in both words and in battle, swallowing her enemies with the power of the earth. As a fun counterpoint, the Rika we know and love even says that you shouldn't find her worrying when you meet her during your gym challenge:

Couple of additional things:

Ting-Lu's stakes are green - Grass, life, swallowed whole by the ground;

Rika's rocking the classically evil red eyes;

Most of her Pokemon have the capacity to learn Fissure, which is referenced in Ting-Lu's bio.

We know comparatively little about Rika compared to Hassel or Larry, but the type-share kinda says it all here.

And finally, we reach everyone's favourite overachieving tiny sister, Poppy.

Here's some lore for y'all:

Now again, in comparison to Hassel and Larry, we know next to nothing about Poppy, but envy specifically is interesting. The kid is very clearly far too powerful for her age, and it's therefore quite simple to imagine envy-based corruption occurring - of her dominating her peers, of her envy that everyone else seems to fit in where she doesn't. Thankfully in the Elite Four she's amongst friends, but... the composition of this team, jesus. Take a look:

Kid is made of nuclear weapons, my god. The young mind is impressionable, easy to lead astray... except she's all fine and adorable, because she has structure, and an outlet for her power. Without that... well, Chi-Yu's on fire, so... I think this about sums it up.

Little bit more on the intrigue:

Mmm. Lighter. Well yeah, she would be...

There's a saying in gemology, or the sculpting of gems, about jade - what Chi-Yu's bead eyes are made of. And it goes like this:

... Like a bell? Like that one she has on her team?

Chi-Yu is represented by blue stakes, or the Water type; the tears of a lost little girl, her fieriness extinguished.

So, now we've analysed the similarities of the characters, let's take a look at the story of the Treasures.

'The king's greed', huh...

... Huh. Geeta, who owns a Kingambit, who is the Top Champion. Now, aside from Larry, who seems to just straight-up dislike her, we don't know how the other three feel about their 'king' here - but we do know from the gym leader rematches that multiple of those guys aren't fans of her hardline stance. She and Tulip style-clash, Katy resents her for having her go easy on challengers, and Grusha seems afraid of her power to oust him. She seems to be a divisive woman, and... well, it's irrelevant, because we're here to imagine an alternate universe, friends. In another life, Geeta greedily overworks her people, taking the desire she has to host the greatest League and turning it dark; in another life, grudges, hates, fears and envies lead to a world of destruction and rebellion instead of a united found family. What is a king there is a queen here, and what would our queen be able to do, if she was attacked by all four of her treasures at once? Very little.

Four treasures, one king, two worlds. We even have the people to 'seal them away' - us, Nemona, Penny, Arven, and all the rematch gym leaders, who at that point outlevel the Elite Four. After all, if the shoe fits... two of us have already have taken down all four of them.

Let's all be glad we live in the good timeline, folks, where our Elite Four are loved and wholesome.

... It's fascinating isn't it, that we've pulled up these stakes up, crumbled them to dust... released the Poison, the Fighting, the Grass, the Water... that we've all seeped toxicity into the earth, lost the fight, had the life sucked away, and doused youthful enthusiasm.

... Nah, can't mean anything. Can't mean anything that we're the wielders who have already defeated them. Can't mean anything that Geeta's name in Japanese is 'omodaka', which directly translates to 'heightened surface', like the high places you nearly always find these stakes on.

... Nah, guys. Just a coincidence. They're all perfectly lovely... in our world. Still, quite the AU, right? ;)

[a-land-lacking-sleep]

Surprise Electric Trains Status Update!

No, this is not me saying the next chapter is coming out this week, nor am I ending the story. This chapter is taking awhile - I know that, and I am honestly annoyed about it too. The cause boils down to I have less and less free time compared to when I started the fic!

Since I last posted in April, my work time (40 hours a week) and stream time (8-14 hours a week) have stayed roughly the same, but I have picked up additional projects. Back in April, I was accepted into In Pursuit of Victory, and while I am soooo glad I was in that, I wrote two chapters worth of fic for it, which put Chapter 20 on hold (Together, those were just shy of 8000 words, which is about 90% of what I expect Chapter 20 to be). And after I finished work on it, I was pretty burnt out with writing. I also took 2 vacations since then (a family vacation in July, which was when I finished my second zine piece, and one in September to visit my girlfriend), where very little work got done. I've also been posting my stream VODs to Youtube for the first time, so I spend a lot of time after work or on days off editing and rendering videos, making thumbnails, and recording outros. I also have several D&D games going on, so there are several nights where I just... Can't do anything else. I have also started about 6 WIPs in that time, some ranging from a single paragraph, and others being several pages long.

I plan to get Chapter 20 out by Thanksgiving (Nov. 28th), and will endeavor to have Chapter 21 (hopefully shorter) out by the 2 year anniversary for the fic (Dec. 23rd). I also have a few companion posts to put up for the fic, mostly Elio's Team and I believe Akari's Team. This fic isn't dead, I promise you! I'm just very worn out and taking it slower than I'd like.

And, as a peace offering, have a sneak peek at Chapter 20! (ft. a cameo from Zisu and Wenton)

The twins were both out at the same time, and no time was wasted as they threw out their next set of Pokémon. Gliscor and Elektross hit the field, while Staraptor and Decidueye flared out their wings in preparation to attack. Then, in what some would confuse for a lapse of attention as the four trains threw their hands out in commands, the Pokémon were all in different positions. Gliscor, bruised and breathing heavily, hovered over a defeated Decidueye, while Staraptor was blown back into the dirt in front of Akari, her feathers slightly charred. 

As Eelektross trills and swirls in place, Wenton steps to the edge of the arena with a hand up to stop the trainers. “Ok, I know most of you probably got that,” he says, looking to the pair of trainers, then back to Zisu and Cynthia, “but what just happened?”

“Oh, thats easy!” Akari says, recalling Staraptor back into her Pokeball. “Zisu, do you wanna come help show him?”

“Oh, I see where you’re going with this,” Cynthia says as she laughs into her hand, while Zisu follows Akari’s direction to stand in front of Ingo.

Akari, Zisu, Elio, and Emmet step into the field, in the relative places their Pokémon had stood. “So, Gliscor moved first,” Zisu starts, stretching her back out. “He went for an Aerial Ace against Elio’s Decidueye.” 

“And Decidueye was going to hit Eelektross with a Spirit Shackle, since he’s a physical attacker!” Elio cuts in, taking the chance to adopt an archer’s pose and pull back the imaginary arrow. “If we could confine him, even just a little, we could get an advantage.”

“But Gliscor moved faster!” Ingo says from his spot at the edge of the field. “Specifically with an Agile Style.” On cue, Zisu jogs over towards Elio, hand raised to prepare a mimed slash. 

“But Staraptor was even faster, with an Agile Close Combat!” Akari swoops in and tackles Zisu, causing the woman to stumble and laugh out loud as the teenager pummels her midsection. “It wasn’t ever going to be enough to take out Gliscor, it was mostly to soften him up.”

“Good call, yup!” Emmet comes over to pry Akari from Zisu, and the woman continues her path to Elio, ‘striking’ them down. The Alolan Champion puts their hand over their heart and dramatically spins before falling down next to their Decidueye. “Of course, that left a perfect opportunity for Eelektross.”

Stepping over to his Pokémon, Emmet takes off Eelektross’ magnet, and drapes it around his neck. “I am Eelektross!” Turning on his heel, he leans back and points a finger gun at Akari with a deadly smirk. “I saw that the Staraptor was open. Using my trusty Magnet, I shot out a Thunderbolt and landed a critical hit!” Akari lets out a squawk and collapses into the dirt where her Staraptor had lain. 

With everything now settled, Ingo turns his chair to face Wenton. “As so energetically shown, that is what you missed. Do you have any further questions?”

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-pokemon-fan]

Ice-Cold Take: Cynthia is a Fantastic Champion

Yeah, I know that practically everyone already agrees with me. But I want to go on about her anyway. Let's talk about it.

The Background

Cynthia introduces herself to you as "A Pokémon trainer, just like you," and as being an amateur historian. So we already have a kinda interesting background. Then she appears a few times across your journey, even being a central character in the climax of Platinum. She jumped right into the Distortion World right alongside you. So we know she's brave and strong of heart.

It might not be total surprise to everyone on their first run that Cynthia is the champion. She is a recurring adult character who appears to be a strong trainer; Wallace and Lance have a similar setup. But even if you saw it coming from a mile away, who expected the piano?

Have another ice-cold take: her intro music is phenomenal. It also has separate effects depending on how you're playing the game. On your first run, you hear the music and know shit is about to go down. No one else in the game has had and introduction like this. But if this is a Nuzlocke, a battle you've prepared for, the last challenge of the run, the song is downright bone-chilling. In my first Nuzlocke, as I approached her with just a Porygon-Z, Electivire, and Hippowdon, my heart was pounding.

What I don't hear a lot of talk about is her actual battle theme. I'm going to dissect it in another post.

The Buildup

I've complained about the stupidly high level cap jump from Volkner to Cynthia in Nuzlockes: 17 levels in DP/BDSP and 12 in Platinum. It's an atrocious grind if you want to be at her level cap. But if you're playing vanilla, the jump is actually kind of genius. How much leveling can your team of favorites really do between Volkner and the Elite Four? Even Barry's ace at the Pokémon League is his Lv 55/51 starter.

Then you start the Elite Four challenge. Aaron leads with a Lv 53 Dustox/Lv 49 Yanmega, and the difficulty keeps ramping up and up. Last spring, I completed my first run of Platinum as an adult. My team seemed up to snuff at first. Take a look.

Alpha the Luxray, Lv 54

Shine the Gardevoir, Lv 52

T. C. the Empoleon, Lv 52

Rayda the Rapidash, Lv 50

Kongu the Staraptor, Lv 47

Montero the Giratina, Lv 49

I wasn't prepared for what came next.

The Battle

I knew when I saw Cynthia send out her Lv 58 Spiritomb that I was in for a rough battle. The difficulty of her battle doesn't just come from the leveling, though.

I don't believe for a second that Cynthia's lead is a Spiritomb just because it's a strong Pokémon. Its encounter requirement is so random and hard to fulfill that it's likely a first-time player will never have seen a Spiritomb before this battle. Its typing is phenomenal: it has no weaknesses (only one in BDSP), three immunities, and one resistance. It has powerful coverage moves too, making it hard to guess the typing. And that's just how she starts the battle.

There are great coverage moves across the board, too. Togekiss would eat shit to a Rock type that both resists its STAB moves and is super effective. So Cynthia gave it Aura Sphere. If you were going to use an Electric type to take Togekiss out, Garchomp's immunity and Earthquake will have something to say about it. Garchomp is quad-weak to Ice, so it has Flamethrower. Lucario is weak to Fire, so it has Stone Edge. Maybe you were planning on taking it out with a Ground type, but she has a Roserade and Milotic ready to counter it. Milotic has Ice Beam to deal with any Grass type challenger.

Let's also not forget that her ace is a Lv 66/62 cracked-out pseudo-legendary with only 2 (3 in BDSP) weaknesses--which are rare types anyway. I'm certainly not the first person to say that her Garchomp is a menace. I should know, it was 8 levels higher than my own Electric type ace. As a side note, it's neat that she gives you a Togepi egg early in the game and uses a Togekiss herself. Point is, you need non-STAB coverage moves or an otherwise well-composed team to take Cynthia on.

Between her story significance, musical accompaniment, and excellent team, Cynthia is a fantastic champion. A perfect conclusion to the flawed but wonderful experience that is... er, Platinum Version. I have certain feelings towards DP/BDSP. That's for another rant, though.

[iridawn]

You have asked for blorboverse question, so, I descend, bringing the silliest of blorbo questions!

(BFS) How many episodes into the G Gundam watch did it take for Lillie to start doing the Shining/God Finger shout alongside Moon? What part of Zeta gave Irida the Big Brainworms? Same question for Dawn, in regards to the Sazabi.

(SBS) What is Barry's team? Who in that team is entirely on his wavelength and who is just, like, "yeah, this is my trainer, he sure is Like This." We know Moon has seen G Gundam, but, has this Dawn also gained a healthy appreciation for all things Char Aznoble?

"blorboverse" is a fantastic term LMFAO

anywho...

BFS

I'd say it took until about... the Guiana Highlands, around when Domon is doing his training arc. The very first time they did it in unison was when Domon does that Shining Finger onto the Devil Gundam. Moon was beside herself with joy, that's how she knew Lillie *got it.*

Irida's brainworms with the Zeta Gundam stems from her enjoyment of MA modes in general. I imagined a young Irida watched the start of Gundam Wing, saw the bird form, and went ":O", which helped draw her into MA modes as a whole. Zeta stood out to her as a powerful option, especially with it's association with stars (because she was obviously interested in space), and just how it moves about.

I'd clock in the final fight Kamille has with Yazan, with the Biosensor, but even just general space fights got her interested because of how the Zeta moved around. She pondered about using such a mobile suit to explore deep space, and... well, the Choros was born a few years after that, with her finally getting the courage to do her own paint job, especially after being hired at a hobby store. (Emmet and Ingo were very willing to offer their advice - they may not build Gunpla, but they know how to fucking paint.)

As for Dawn? A combination of seeing her mom kick ass in the Garura as well as the big fight the Sazabi has with the Nu Gundam solidified it in her mind. Her mom showed a very excited kid Dawn a lot of her previous matches, and seeing the Sazabi move around so freely, dealing devastating, heavy blows, really stood out in her mind, and it looked cool. Combine that with seeing all of the strong options available at the Sazabi's disposal, Dawn was hooked. (Especially after a CCA watch. She really enjoyed seeing it do that cool upwards kick.)

Of course, she still started with the Dom Empert at first - her mom had suggested it as a simpler start and helped her customize it to her own playstyle. She would use a Sazabi in casual matches, but it was definitely a bit too far out of her reach at first... but as she got better, so too did her prowess in that suit. And, while she loved the Dom Empert, noticing a need for a power boost (and also wanting to move to one of the suits she really liked), the Sazabi Empert was born.

SBS

Barry's team is, I imagined, pretty similar to the one he's got in-game. His final team would probably look like this, really:

Barry's Torterra is absolutely on his wavelength. That's his starter -- despite Torterra being a slower Pokemon, he absolutely understands Barry's battling style and everything along those lines. You wouldn't think Torterra is so slow with how they fight. He's kind of like a big puppydog, showering his trainer with affection and very excitable.

Rapidash and Staraptor are also on his wavelength, similar to Torterra. They're both quick and nimble Pokemon, fitting his more impatient attitude and generally being able to get in and do heavy damage fast. They know how to play fast, keep up with his speed, all of that. They're in-sync with him. Staraptor and Rapidash share this oddly intense bond of friendship, seemingly having more respect for one another than anyone else on Barry's team. Maybe even Barry himself... (but they don't hate the others or anything, they simply have this unspoken eternal bond to one another. Nobody knows why, really.)

Heracross and Floatzel are a bit more reserved, but they still love and respect their trainer. They find a mutual bond in one another in perhaps how over the top Barry can be. It's not uncommon for them to just give the "hey, you seeing this shit too?" look to one another while Barry goes on and on about something. It's all out of love, though, and they still can fight and keep up with that faster pace.

Snorlax doesn't pay much mind to anything. As long as he's fed, he's happy. If Barry needs to pull out a trump card, he loudly promises Snorlax a giant feast of a meal if they can clutch this out, which immediately wakes it up and seemingly makes it even more powerful. (Of course, he does follow up on it, even if they lose. Maybe that's why he keeps fining Dawn...)

SBS Dawn hasn't seen anything Gundam related yet, she was always more into shoujo/magical girl stuff. Your Cardcaptor Sakuras, your Symphogears, and the like. (It's a smaller love for her, but one she still enjoys dearly.)

That being said, I'd imagine during their trip to Alola, Dawn passed by a store and went "...Woah, that thing looks cool," when looking at the RG Sazabi in the window. Didn't pay it much mind, though.

(Moon introduces her later, and she definitely doesn't get AS into it as her BFS counterpart, but she absolutely thinks Char is cool as hell.)

thank you very much!!! these were fun to answer LOL

[starrysmiling]

y'know sometimes i think about how jax's vanilla champion battle team represent him at different stages of his journey. like. what the hell did his team have to go so hard for.

salamence is symbolic of jax's entire journey. we all know salamence's evolution story is that it wishes to fly and as a bagon it throws itself off cliffs trying to fly. and when it finally evolves into a salamence, it is able to fly. just like how jax throws himself into situations trying to prove himself and finally when you battle him, he's finally found his own answer for himself. (also, very neat that he has the fourth pseudo-legendary that can mega evolve. very fucking neat move there.)

on the other hand, we know that staraptor live alone. staraptor are brave and will fearlessly (recklessly!) challenge enemies stronger than itself. staraptor are persistent even when injured. does that ring a bell? yeah. remember pre-development jax. remember his recklessness. remember how he sent staraptor up to the peak of the ruins of void even when staraptor was his only pokemon. interestingly enough, the ruins of void is where jax starts to turn his development around... the defeat of staraptor here is also the defeat of his recklessness and rashness. augh. (it's also worth noting that we know that jax's first pokemon was a bagon, but he raised a starly on the side because he wanted to fly. oh jax. oh jax...)

the other four of his pokemon are (very broadly) representative of the story beats where he shows up. even though we already see some of them at the start, it's very much worth noting that:

litleo (pyroar) can be found on challenge road. you can imagine that's probably where he trained when he was young, since he says he's been training a long time to become champion. on a separate note, pyroar are protective pokemon, which also highlights jax's defensive coverage and protect cover!

magneton evolves to magnezone at thundercap mt, which is right by epidimy town. this is the place where you succeed (preventing marlon from getting zapdos) compared to how he failed (ivory and getting moltres + prison stone). epidimy town is the place where he quietly gets envious of the protag, which is one of the key dialogues for the player to understand jax's feelings. this line literally flips your perspective of him!!!

golett and golurk can be found in turnback cave. this is where you come out from the distortion world back into the real world!! and we all know how crucial the distortion world is for jax's character development!!!! of course he has a fucking golurk!!!!!!!

gastrodon is found at crystal peak. i don't even have to say anything about this one. i'm sure gastrodon is a pokemon jax caught specifically for the plan at crystal peak. it's literally symbolic of his growth from the distortion world to crystal peak.

notable mention for hitmontop, the pokemon he gets in his battle frontier team. a perfect balance of offense and defense. skeli or whoever out there designed jax's team i'm going to fucking kiss you on the mouth

[barry-propaganda]

Holy shit, I just decided to check watch.pokemon.com on a whim, only to find it’s got season 11 up on it currently, meaning it’s got Barry’s introductory episode. So I have decided that I must do a not-so-live reaction (‘cause I’m gonna put all my thoughts in this one post and then post it).

Alright, here we go: S11E49 Barry’s Busting Out All Over

The Sinnoh Arc openings go HARD.

I know the episode just started, but HE’S HERE! Love that they introduce him with the classic “THUD!”

Love the consistency of him saying he’s gonna fine you but then him never enforcing it; maybe he keeps a running tab?

Brock, Dawn; Ash was not running that fast or that far away that you missed him meeting Barry.

Dawn, why do you sound surprised to have found Fantina at her gym?

THUD! the sequel

Okay, so Dawn knows who Barry is, but they still made the executive decision to have them not be childhood friends in the anime?

It’s been so long since I watched the Sinnoh Arc that I forgot just how big a Paul stan they made Barry. If you’re gonna have Barry constantly bring up a trainer he thinks is real strong, at least get it right and have him bring up Palmer. (That other post was right that he really does feel like a mouthpiece to hype up Paul here.)

I will say, this definitely feels like a conversation that would happen between 10 year olds, at least.

Barry, I know I think you deserve better than Palmer, but I would literally take you not shutting up about him over you not shutting up about Paul; since, you know, that’d be CONSISTENT.

[Barry: I have 3 badges. Ash: I’ve got 4.] XD this reminds of when Ash said he had 7 badges and then Barry flexed his 6 badges on him.

More on them being 10, it definitely makes them constantly falling for Team Rocket schemes more believable; especially here since this is Barry’s first encounter with them.

Sinnoh Arc motto is fun, especially since I think it’s the one that gets interrupted the most; my favorite will always be when Jessie was hit with Yawn in the Hippopotas episode and fell asleep during the motto, so James has to cover her lines while doing an impression of her.

SPEAKING OF THEM BEING INTERRUPTED, BARRY LITERALLY DID! They were just about to finish too 😂

I’ve never understood how the hair that Dawn has pulled back by that third clip is longer than the rest of her hair.

Love how offended TR gets at Fantina saying they don’t know how to dance.

Also love “James loves his Pokémon” moments, this time featuring his old Cacnea.

Those three have GOTTA be doing theatre on the weekend or something, right? The dramatics, the rhyming, the alliteration, etc.

“I’m not sure what you mean by bonding with them.” BARRY, DON’T YOU HAVE A FUCKING ROSERADE?? I mean, unless you caught it as a Roselia…

Barry, why are you making it sound like Paul is who inspired you to become a Trainer? WHAT ABOUT YOUR DAD, BARRY?

Barry, is your Staraptor secretly part Grass-Type? How did one Flamethrower from a Chimchar take it out?

I WAS RIGHT, YOU DO HAVE A ROSERADE!!

I always forget that the anime tends to not give a flying fuck about type match-ups or STAB or whatever.

Dawn, he also earlier put a Grass-Type against a Fire-Type, and he won that bout, so… Also Empoleon is part Steel-Type, which I think makes Electric neutral (I forget if it does or not) which realistically doesn’t make sense (since water and metal both conduct electricity).

Huh, surprised they kept the consistency of having to recharge after Hyper Beam.

RIP the days of Volt Tackle; you will be missed.

Alright, episode over; that was fun. Thanks for joining me slip a lil further down the Barry wormhole.

[driftwoodmfb]

Due to Pokémon Legends: Arceus hitting its one year anniversary recently, I wanted to talk about my character and the story I made up for him, Nikelos.

This is long so it's going under the cut:

Intro

First off a few notes for things I chose to do that doesn't really relate to his story: I named him Nikelos to make it sound like an old version of the name Nicholas. I don't remember how I got to Nikelos tho XD. In my Pearl playthrough I named the main character Nick, in the remake I decided to go with the longer version of the name, Nicholas. When it came naming my team, I used Latin versions of words since was set in the far past. It felt fitting. On my main team I have.

Hisui Samurott - Novacula (Nova for short) - Latin for razor

Luxray - Scintilla - spark

Staraptor - Acuti - sharp

Infernape - Carbones - charcoal

Torterra - Arbor - tree

Alpha Garchomp - Mordices - bite

Then the one's who were later swapped out:

Ponyta - Flamma - flame

Mr. Mime - mimum - a mime

Bibarel - Arbor (again...) - tree

Nikelos's story

Of course we all know what happens during the game, but this will be about his story before the game. Nikelos was born with red colored eyes. He was quickly treated as some kind of monster just because of this small thing. He was put up for adoption and was never adopted. He was able to go to a school, but was treated horribly by his peers. He was made fun of, punched, and some even used their pokemon to attack him. This is how he took so quick to Hisui and its more feral pokemon. He hated his life there. He wanted to escape and he was just counting the days until his 18th birthday to escape this town. The town he lived in was a small, somewhat isolated town. It's in pretty bad condition and life there isn't too great for any of its residents. They turned a blind eye to those picking on Nikelos, they all thought he deserved it. One night Nikelos saw a light outside through one of the orphanage's window. He opens the rickety window and sneaks outside. He's done this many times before, so he's gotten good at not waking anyone up. He heads closer to the shine; he now stands under it. It's not the brightest. It seems to fall down on top of him. He closes his eyes as everything goes bright. When he opened them he stood face to face with an unfamiliar pokemon... Arceus.

Miscellaneous

Nikelos sees Hisui as basically his first and only home. He doesn't want to go back to his time.

Also he is Nick's (Pearl protag) ancestor, which is fun!

His name was the one he was give at birth, he actually liked it and decided to keep it.

Because of his name he got into looking into old languages which is how he was able to name all his pokemon Latin nams.

He wore blue-grey contacts, but when he ended up in Hisui, he quickly ran out of the liquid solution used to keep his contacts from drying out, so he couldn't wear them for long. People actually accepted him, even with his red eyes. Even though people were suspicious at the time, he truly felt even remotely accepted.

He was also picked on for his long hair. He started to tuck it into a hat, until he ended up in Hisui

[truetgirl]

Pokedex, ultra ball, and lucky egg :3

Pokedex: You perfect/favorite team.

Alolan Ninetales, Mismagius, Leafeon, Primarina, Lycanroc (Dusk), Staraptor. (Big shoutout to Glaceon and Sylveon who are the other 2 members of my top 3 favs of all time along with my number 1, a-ninetales, who unfortunately eats both of their lunches on a team like this)

Ultra ball: Favorite psuedo-legendary.

Garchomp, and it's not particularly close (tyranitar is the only other one that could even dream of being in the same league)

Lucky Egg: Your gym team/theme.

My gym's up on the mountain that its town sits at the bottom of. It's a ski lodge looking kinda place, nestled into the woods a little ways back from the open snowy slopes. Inside is pleasantly warm after the cold you had to hike through to get there, and at night, it's gently lit by lanterns and a roaring fire in the hearth. It's a nice, chill-vibes kinda atmosphere where the gym trainers tend to hang out playing board games, making and eating hearty food, telling stories, the kinda stuff you don't need power for, since it goes out often enough in storms that we try not to rely on it. When a trainer arrives at night, they're invited to stay till morning, just because the gym challenge will take us outdoors and going out on the mountain after dark is not for the faint of heart. Also, all of these gym trainers are part of a partnered set, because nobody does goes anywhere without a buddy out here, and in my gym, you do double battles. The gym challenge is to climb to the peak of the mountain, encountering trainer duos at set checkpoints. Eventually, once you beat them and get to the top, you find me there, bewilderingly under-dressed for this. All the gym trainers up to now have been in full winter gear, but Im wearing just a normal t-shirt, an unzipped hoodie, fingerless mittens, a knee-length skirt, tights, and some comfortable boots. My team, meanwhile, is Aurorus, Walrein, Froslass, Baxcalibur, and the twin aces (bc double battles so there's 2 aces fuck you) of Glaceon and Alolan Ninetales. And yeah, you guessed it, we will be fighting in the snow, and under an aurora veil. Good luck.

[spacefinch]

Ranking every Pokémon region

(This is just my opinion, you are entitled to your own)

1. Unova— my favorite region ever. It all started when I took up collecting Pokémon cards and I got a ton of Unova themed ones. This region has so many cool Pokémon and the character designs are all great as well.

Favorite Unova Pokémon: Joltik, Chandelure, Unfezant, and Sawsbuck.

Favorite Unova characters: Ingo and Emmet. Also Iris.

2. Alola— this region has a special place in my heart since it’s the first region I watched the anime for. Also, it has one of the best starter trios and the whole concept of regional forms is awesome. Also: love the space theme.

Favorite Alola Pokémon: Rowlet

Favorite Alola character: Mallow

3. Kalos— nice big region, lots of cool Pokémon. Also the Mega Evolutions are neat, although I wish we could have gotten more for Gens 5 and 6 Pokémon. Also: I think I discovered the existence of Pokémon during the Gen 6 era.

Favorite Kalos Pokémon: Talonflame

Favorite Kalos characters: Serena, Calem, and Emma

4. Sinnoh/Hisui— just gonna put these in the same ranking since I love them both equally and they’re the same place, just different eras. The mythology nerd in me loves this region. And I like a lot of the cross-gen evolutions.

Favorite Sinnoh Pokémon: Staraptor and Leafeon

Favorite Sinnoh character: Looker (technically he isn’t from Sinnoh, but that’s where he’s first introduced)

5. Johto— I’ll admit it, I used to not care much about this region, but it’s grown on me. I love its funny looking Pokémon. Also: the Legendary beasts are awesome.

Favorite Johto Pokémon: Umbreon and Noctowl

Favorite Johto character: Falkner

6. Kanto— Everyone knows this region’s Pokémon, even if they don’t know what the region is called. I think it’s a bit overrated, but I can’t deny the charm of classic Pokémon.

Favorite Kanto Pokémon: Pidgeot, Eevee (and all its cool evolutions), and Arcanine

Favorite Kanto character: Red

7. Hoenn— I don’t have a whole lot to say on this region, but it’s cool. Also, points for being the first region to have TWO evil teams.

Favorite Hoenn Pokémon: Swellow

Favorite Hoenn character: Winona

8. Galar— Again, not a whole lot to say. Still cool though. Also: British.

Favorite Galar Pokémon: Rookidee

Favorite Galar character: Leon

9. Paldea— I don’t not like this region, but one of the regions had to be in last place. I might have more of an opinion on it later.

Favorite Paldea Pokémon: Wattrel

Favorite Paldea character: Katy

[radicalshadow]

Journal Entries, Session 6a

08:03 - I’ve been given a scrap notebook and some pencils by my mother, who is alive. See below for a summary of what happened:

After conducting the ritual, I lived through another memory. More vivid than normal. I was fleeing on my Staraptor’s back–Team Galactic was falling. 

Over Route 2117, Mesprit ambushed me. The reason why I fell off of Staraptor that night–the reason why I am so broken is because of it. Mesprit cursed me. 

Mesprit cursed me, and it laughed.

I don’t blame it. Not after what I did to it. It’s a surprise that it was conscious, but its actions were warranted and justified.

I woke up to Rhea shaking me. She explains that I’m compromised. We make a plan to escape, but I realize that my journal and it are both missing. I put my mask back on, and ask Rhea about both items. She states that Harper has the journal, and Recreo’s Sneasel took it. I ask Master Cyrus for his assistance to retrieve the latter; I can replace a journal (as I have just done, thanks to Mother), but it is one-of-a-kind at the moment. He agrees that we shouldn’t leave it behind, and vanishes.

Master Cyrus returns. I leave my room, and meet the child. I manage to convince him to try and get my journal back. I hide in my room for now, however after a few minutes it’s evident that he’s unsuccessful.

I sneak over to the common area, and find Geno, Phoebe, and Hontono’s Mighthyena. I start talking to Geno about my missing journal; I have to speak in code due to Phoebe. Hontono’s Mighthyena leaves. Geno agrees to help me after I mention that it will be good training for him. We both begin to plan. My vision briefly distorts. My mother briefly appears in the back of the room. It appears that Geno and Phoebe have bonded–Phoebe doesn’t even question him when he asks her to hide in the bathroom. Geno asks me and Rhea if we are “villains”, due to my wearing a mask and the ‘G’ emblazoned on Rhea’s chest. I explain my past as Commander Mercury. He claims that I resolved some plot holes?. Regardless, we plan more openly now.

Geno sends out an Electrode to wait at the door to explode when it opens. We head outside. I send out Type: Null; we may have to fight. Geno recognizes it for what it is. He sends out some of his Pokemon, and Rhea sends out some of hers. Master Cyrus returns it to me, and I put it back on my ear. I warn him about Hontono’s Absol, and he backs away to safety. 

Geno freezes the back and emergency exits (I have to inform him of the latter). There’s an explosion–likely the Electrode. I know that I may need to rely on my harsher skillset, and so I choose to warn Geno and Rhea; it won’t do any good if they get rattled by my words. Geno is notably alright with this, bringing up what he had his Sharpedo do on Route 119. I also ask them if they have any revival items, as Grimoraunt had been knocked out when I woke up. Neither of them do.

We head over to the front exit of the RARAT, with Geno taking the lead. Everyone is gathered there. Geno surprises them by talking to Hontono normally, then suddenly commanding his Sharpedo to use Aqua Jet.

I step out to the open, so everyone can see me, and remove my mask. I’ll need my expression for this.

I threaten them. I threaten their safety, I threaten their wellbeing. I describe all the ways I can hurt them without a weapon. I explain that I can tear away everything and everyone they care about.

They get rattled.

It worked.

Hontono gives the group a pep talk. They get a little more moralized, but I can tell that they still dread what I said. I’ve made myself a monster in their eyes as well. Let them think that. It’s necessary.

Geno does not give them any more chances to recover, commanding his Ninetales to use Blizzard. A sizable number of the Pokemon fall, including Harper’s Blaziken. However, N steps forward, and proclaims that due to my words and actions I must be taken care of. He sends out his dragon–a Pokemon known as Reshiram–and commands it to use a move called Blue Flare.

Everything goes black. I’ve been hit, clearly.

I vaguely remember the sensation of the wind flowing around me as I fly on a Pokemon. In the distance, there’s the sound of a jet.

Eventually, I wake up.

I don’t know where I am, but it’s inside some sort of building. I’m on a cot. My Eevee is staring at me. He looks concerned. There are people talking outside, but I can’t make out what they say.

I don’t have time to focus on that, anyways.

Mother is here. Mother isn’t glitching anymore.

She’s sitting. Staring at me.

She apologizes to me: she had to flee Sinnoh.

Mother isn’t dead. Her name is Vespera.

We have the chance to talk. I start with orienting myself: she explains that we’re in Fallarbor Town. Apparently, she is traveling with Team Aqua, and this town is a common stopping point for them. It’s been twelve hours since I was hit by the Blue Flare.

I ask Mother if she had sought me out, but she states this was simply one of the times that Team Aqua was visiting the town–it was simply a coincidence. I’m not surprised. I express this; if she knows who I am, then it’s best to learn her motivations. Mother clarifies to me that she had been told not to see me by a man named Devoraba Cassius. The last name is familiar–it’s that of the family who used to live in the Old Chateau. Regardless, he had known that I was undercover.

Mother describes him as a “complicated, but generally good man” who is helping everyone –including her– with various problems. She goes on to explain what her problem is: Mother is cursed by Azelf. She is incapable of leaving an impact on the world. This includes minor things, like an inability to leave footprints or be seen by everyone, but also a more drastic measure: if Mother manages to affect the world, she gets shunted forwards in time. From her perspective, she has only been cursed for around six years. However, chronologically she is from the era when Sinnoh had been renamed to Sinnoh.

I connect that my birth must have triggered the latter effect of her curse. My prior treatment from Father is something that Mother claims she blames herself for. However, she did not anticipate how he had acted.

I make a decision: if Mother feels guilty for how my childhood turned out, then she may be made an ally. I still have my doubts about her sincerity, but considering the previous day’s developments I will need as much assistance as I can get. I have to endear myself to her, so I attempt to assure her that it isn't her fault. She herself claimed that she didn’t know that Father would treat me the way he did, after all, and she continuously emphasizes that she dislikes his actions towards me.

She’s quick to change the topic of conversation to Master Cyrus. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had used the topic of Father as a segway to start discussing him. Mother stresses her disapproval of Master Cyrus, and explains that his family has always been one that is cold and logic-focused. According to her, each generation gets more extreme.

Let him be cold and logic-focused. It’s the correct outlook on life.

Mother explains to me that we need all three aspects: knowledge, emotion, and willpower. Without one, humanity falls.

It’s nonsense.

Regardless, we’re silent for a few moments. Eventually, Mother breaks it, by mentioning that she was trying to watch me throughout my life. She knows what I was like as Commander Mercury, and what I’m like now. However, she’s confused as to how I changed. She didn’t know where I was these past five years, since I went into hiding.

I explain what Mesprit did to me.

Mother is silent as she absorbs this. 

Then she diverts the conversation. I would have done the same, frankly. It’s shameful thatShe brings the conversation back to Master Cyrus. She seems insistent to discuss him.

Regardless, Mother mentions that she’s upset that Master Cyrus raised me. She recognizes that I always had emotions (this is nonsense. I was complete, strong. Mesprit destroyed that), but Master Cyrus forced me to bury them deep down. She theorizes that all Mesprit did was resurface them.

She’s incorrect. Mesprit simply infected me.

Mother mentions that she’s… proud of me. She’s proud of my strength.

I’m not strong.

Not anymore.

I try to divert the conversation–I need to learn more about Mother, not the other way around. I mention that Father remarried, which she seems to accept. However, she does not let up talking about my situation.

Mother tells me that she wants to make sure that “this story has a good ending”. She understands that people want me dead, and so she wants to protect me. My initial thought is that this is prompted by her alleged guilt. I can’t see why she would feel so strongly for my safety otherwise; her protecting me puts her at risk.

Mother seems to notice me mulling this over. I’ll copy her response verbatim: “I don’t care that you’ve committed crimes against humanity. You’re my daughter.”

She either is trying to make me trust her, or is truly, sincerely guilty. I try to gauge which it is by warning her about the four legendary dragons that my new adversaries have, and that there is no doubt that Professor Rowan will be warned soon, if he hasn't already. Of course, this then means that Champion Cynthia will be alerted of my presence in Hoenn.

Mother does not seem perturbed, and instead mentions that she may be able to help; she knows the Champion’s grandmother. I’m unsure as to how this would help, but any potential angle of approach is worthy to explore.

Mother then mentions Master Cyrus again. More aptly, she brings up the fact that Master Cyrus is still accompanying me. I ask her how she knows: apparently, Devoraba is able to see him. At my inquiry, Mother provides a description, and I connect that Devoraba is the true name of Zagreus.

Mother then goes on to describe the Celestica people. She is one of them herself, describing herself to be as “pureblood Celestica as it gets”. Thus, I am half-Celestica. According to Mother, the Celestica are “the blessed people of Arceus”, with some being able to bond with legends. This has historically caused discrimination, leading to Devoraba’s goal: he wishes to protect the Celestica people, and is one of the bonded Celesticas. According to Mother, many of the ones who have gathered here are like him. 

The Celestica’s history included tragedies such as culling. Mother explains that this is why she was cursed; she is responsible for a small one.

Normally, the power to bond with the legendaries is more evenly split amongst the Celestica. However, as the generations grew smaller, this got less distributed. Thus, there are cases where a single person is able to forge a bond with a legendary Pokemon that is far stronger than even that of a trainer’s. Devoraba is one of these–namely, he is physically fused with Darkrai. Mother also states that he wants something from me, although she assures me that I would get something out of the exchange as well. I’m unsure what he would have to offer, but it couldn’t hurt to find out.

Our conversation moves on to the remnant of Team Galactic. Mother has met them in Dewford, apparently. Jupiter –who is going by Amelia, her real name– knows that she’s my mother. She… punched Mother because of this. I would have expected that from Cassidy, not Amelia. I even voice this surprise, which prompts Mother to admit that only Amelia knows of our relationship. She also states that Cassidy guards the outskirts of Dewford Town and trains a lot, however the training isn’t efficient. I can’t imagine she changed much, if at all, then, just as Devoraba mentioned back on Mt. Pyre. Mother also tells me that Roman is “nice now”, as his ego has been managed. I’ll believe when I see it.

We’re silent for a few moments again, but there’s a question that had been plaguing since we started talking. We fought in a tournament in Hearthome back when I was still a trainer. We were the finalists. Mother swept my team. I ask her why she battled me in the first place. She states that she didn’t recognize me, and that she needed the money to leave Sinnoh. I probably should have pressed as to why, but I had to focus on assuring her that she shouldn’t feel guilty for needing money herself.

Mother brings up something else, eventually: the reason why I look nothing like, and so much like Father. She theorizes it’s due to her curse. She can’t leave a lasting impression on the world, and that includes her own daughter’s appearance. It makes sense.

The conversation goes back to the discussion of curses from the Lake Guardians. Mother considers our shared situation ironic, and brings up that she’s lucky that she didn’t get cursed by Uxie. She can’t imagine how it would feel to have her personality effectively wiped due to losing her memories. I bring up that I know someone who suffered this fate, and mention Recreo.

Mother recognizes his name, and… panics. She sends out a Xatu from a unique-looking poke ball. Check the addendum for a description of this. She states that the Pokemon keeps her safe–it ensures that she won’t do anything that causes her to jump forward.

She initially struggles to figure out how to safely tell me about this. I encourage her to speak in code. If it’s important, it would be best to know.

She mentions that there may be someone behind the scenes. That Recreo’s existence implies something that, according to her, isn’t good.

At my inquiry, she states that Devoraba wouldn’t know about this.

Apparently, there is a man in Sinnoh. One who favored Recreo’s name. Mother met him once, and hated the interaction. She can’t say his name, but she does mention that there is a poem. One Recreo may know, but it isn’t as old as his normal interests: “There is a follower of the Renegade who wanders this world eternal, seeking his final damnation”.

Regardless, she determines that Recreo isn’t Cynthia’s cousin.

I would prefer to continue this line of conversation, but it seems like Mother can’t risk it, so I don’t. We’re silent for a little bit more again. I turn my attention to my Eevee, and ask her why he’s out of his poke ball. Mother states that he was trying to get out on his own, and so she helped him. She states that he was worried about me.

He shouldn’t be.

He also shouldn’t be out of his ball due to his still healing injury, and I tell Mother as much. However, she tells me to give him some slack. Encourages me to bond with my Eevee. She wants me to have a second chance at being a trainer.

It’s useless. That bridge is burnt.

I decide to ask Mother why I couldn’t see her during my time in Team Galactic, as she seemingly was still following me then. She believes it to be because of the lack of emotion there. 

It’s something to mull over another time. I ask her if she was on the RARAT yesterday, and she admits that she briefly teleported over to see me before fleeing again. I don’t understand her reason for this, but it’s not something I have time to dwell on, as she asks me what happened on the RARAT yesterday.

I start from the beginning of the situation: we were helping Regulus beneath Mt. Pyre. The mention of her name panics Mother, especially after I mention that Regulus got the Azure Flute and played it. She contacts someone on a pager, out of every possible method of commu. I continue my story, and mention Amaria. Mother recognizes the name, and states that she is one of the Five Sacred Swords of Johto. Considering the woman’s skill with the weapon and immortality, I suppose it fits.I then mention Grimoraunt, and the book that it’s possessing. Mother is relieved that I have it, as it’s part of a set of three: the Grimoires of Platinum, Diamond, and Pearl. Devoraba has the other two.

I continue my story after Mother assures me that I don’t need to give him my Pokemon. I wasn’t planning on it; I need as many battle-ready Pokemon as I can now that there are at least three skilled trainers in this region that are after me. 

I mention the ritual that I conducted. Mother gets concerned, and tells me how dangerous it is to use the magic in that book. I’ll keep it in mind; no need to take any unnecessary risks. I promise Mother as much as well.

After another minute or so of silence, I ask Mother why I can see Master Cyrus. I understand that mediums aren’t uncommon, and I had simply assumed that I was a weak one. However, Mother isn’t dead, so it seems unlikely that I was born with the ability. Mother has two theories:

It is simply because I am one of the ones closest to Master Cyrus. 

I am bonded to Mesprit due to my Celestica heritage.

The first one seems the most likely. I am Master Cyrus’ protege, and he practically raised me. However, it would be irresponsible of me to immediately write off the latter option; I have to prove that it is the case.

I ask Mother how people know if they’re tied to a legendary. She states that there are signs: inborn talents and abilities. Those with particularly strong signs were traditionally sent on journeys, but Devoraba now has machines that can determine someone’s aptitude.

I decide to ask Mother if she is tied to any legendary Pokemon. She is: Kyogre.

Mother realizes that I can mask emotions, and that Mesprit has taken a personal interest in me. She seems to be connecting something, but whatever it is feels like a stretch. I simply had to put on a brave face as a child, and practiced being able to act as part of my research in Team Galactic. Plus, Mesprit’s personal interest seems more like a personal vendetta. Along with Master Cyrus, and a few other scientists, I was personally responsible for creating the Red Chain. Mother likely was there to witness it; I don’t need to describe just why it would be furious at me.

This prompts her to bring up a possible solution to my curse: return it to Mesprit and beg for forgiveness. It’s not worth entertaining. Not only would it potentially not work, but it would require me returning to Sinnoh. Furthermore, it is still a useful asset and my last physical tie to Ma.

I voice that it would be dangerous for me to go to the Sinnoh Region, which Mother seems to accept. She mentions that someone she knows would like to return to the Sinnoh Region, but can’t: Devoraba’s little sister, Lucy. She apparently would like to see the snow again. I mention Mt. Chimney, and Mother states that she had brought that up as well. According to Lucy, it isn’t the same. Children can be so picky sometimes.

Mother appears to like Lucy, notably. She also claims that Devoraba is a good older brother.

Our conversation transitions over to Master Cyrus again. Mother claims that Master Cyrus is a hypocrite for feeling emotion. How can he have the goal of removing spirit from the world if it’s derived from his hatred of it? This isn’t hypocritical. Of course he’d dislike all the pain and hatred and strife that emotions bring. Anyone would. Anyone sane and reasonable, at least. Regardless, not only does she state that she can somehow make him cry (I have my doubts. I’ve never seen it happen), but she also claims that I would not have been so driven to work towards working for Team Galactic had it not been for the emotion driving his dream. According to Mother, every goal is dictated by emotion. It’s nonsense.

It’s now that I finally realize that Master Cyrus isn’t here. I try to look for him the best I can considering my injuries, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

Mesprit’s curse reacts again.

Mother…

Hugs me.

My skin doesn’t crawl.

Mother leaves to get water after I stop making a fool of myself. She also recalls me mentioning my journal, and promises to look for something to write on. I use the time to check on my Eevee. It’s still unpleasant to engage in physical contact, but it isn’t as bad as it could be. Perhaps the ritual did work a little.

She returns eventually, with a bottle of water that she chilled, some pencils, and the notepad that I am now writing in.

Thus ends the summary. My coat is gray now, and I’m not wearing gloves.

08:10 - Mother is watching me and smiling. I ask her if she needs something, and she simply claims that she is happy to see me with clear eyes. Apparently, it was a blur when she would follow me throughout Team Galactic. Coat gray. Hands ungloved.

08:15 - Mother comments on the state of my body. Namely, she offers to hide what the Blue Flare did to me the best she could with the help of her Lapras. I deny the offer; the scarring should help hide my identity more. It should be useful, even in this region. I then bring up the Lapras, which is a very rare Pokemon. She states it was her first one, and that she is the only holder of a Laprasite that she knows of. I express surprise at the fact that Lapras can Mega Evolve; apparently, all fully evolved Pokemon are capable of the phenomenon. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

08:20 - Mother asks if I brush my hair. I respond in the negative; all I do is comb my fingers through it to prevent knots. She asks me if she can brush it. I don’t understand the purpose of this. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

08:25 - I bring up my half-brothers after the conversation goes back to the Silene family, and mention the age difference between us. Mother seems saddened by this, and offers me a ring–see addendum for description. I realize it's her wedding ring. She claims that it’s an heirloom from Father’s side; it can be traced back to Mollisima, of the Pearl Clan. She asks if I know of this history, and I state that I don’t; Father never taught me anything more than the very bare minimum. Mother mentions that if I want to, I can ask an expert in Rustboro. It seems unnecessary. I tell her she should keep the ring; I have no ties to my family aside from my name. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

08:30 - Our conversation goes to the Commanders. I tell Mother my base thoughts on the three of them, omitting Charon. He was barely a CommanMother is prompted to tell me that Amelia is Master Cyrus’ second cousin; her full name is Amelia Constancy. In retrospect, it does make some sense. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

08:33 - Mother states that she is glad that I grew into an intelligent woman with genuine skills, but not how I used those skills. I only did what I thought necessary for the greater good. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

08:40 - We discuss our method of transportation. Mother asks me if I get seasick, as we will be traveling by boat. I confirm that I do not. She informs me of Team Aqua’s culture. Based on her descriptions, they seem loud and infantile. She promises me that her own ship is much quieter, and I can stay on it if I would prefer. I will keep this in mind. She also says that she is excited to get to know me. She clearly already knows me plenty, however; especially if she has been following me for most of my life. I do not understand the purpCoat gray, hands ungloved.

08:50 - Devoraba teleports into the room that we are in; based on his proceeding interaction with Mother, I assume this is who she contacted on her pager. I greet him by his real name, and he tells me that I should call him Zagreus when we are among Team Grimoire. I do not fully understand his reasoning behind this alias, but at least I now know who he is obscuring his true name from. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:00 - Mother tells Devoraba what worried her: a follower of the Renegade has some sort of plan in Snowpoint City. She’s struggling to safely explain this, so I jump in and explain that Recreo may have something to do with Snowpoint Temple. Aside from Lake Acuity, it is the only true landmark of mythical note. Devoraba appears concerned by this, and he and Mother discuss the possibility that Recreo is someone’s son. I request clarification, which Devoraba gives: there is an immortal Celestica by the name of Volo who has attempted to become a god in the past. The concern these two share is warranted. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:15 - I confirm with Devoraba that my cover has been blown, and he promises to try and smooth things over with the Ruby Expedition Squad. I don’t blame them if they are too hateful of me, but the possibility of lowering the number of people who wish to have me arrested or dead by at least three is not something I will reject. I also mention my journal, and he states that he will try to get it back as well. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:20 - The conversation returns to Volo. Devoraba and Mother are both worried about him tampering with Regigigas’ seal. I remember that Father is a member of the Templesguard, or at least was. I don’t keep tabs on my family, so he may have retired. Regardless, he could have some sway no matter what, so I ask Mother if it would be useful to warn him. She denies this; Volo is apparently too powerful. Devoraba states that he is a manipulative, psychopathic man–even more so than when my research in Team Galactic was operating at its maximum efficiency. I inform them that at least knowing that someone is manipulative makes it easier to deal with them; consciously or not, our guards go up. This seems to comfort both of them a little. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:30 - I ask what Volo looks like, and Devoraba provides a brief description. See the addendum, but most notably he has Arceus’ hair. Devoraba claims it to be worse than Roman’s bun..? He must have changed his hairstyCoat gray, hands ungloved.

09:33 - Devoraba mentions that Regulus’ presence in Hoenn can be useful in preventing Volo’s plans from coming to fruition. I explain that she had gotten the Azure Flute, but he does not seem worried like Mother had. He claims that this is a good thing; it means that Volo has to fight something that stands between him and godhood. I mention that Regulus is dangerous, and Devoraba states that her selfishness makes it easy to control her. This could be a threat still, especially if Volo recognizes that very flaw in her. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:40 - Devoraba promises to Mother that he will ensure that Snowpoint is scouted and monitored, and then leaves. Mother and I briefly discuss the conversation, and Devoraba himself. She claims that he is stretching himself too thin. I gathered as much based on her description of him previously and his demeanor. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:45 - We are silent for a few moments, but Mother eventually speaks up. She mentions a coincidence that she finds humorous: she was a doctor, and I turned out the way I did. I suppose there is an ironic coincidence there.I mention that I have only done what I thought would help people. Mother appears to not only accept this mindset, but be relieved by it. Was she worried that I was a sadist?I thank her for healing me; regardless of the guilt she claims to have, she had no need to do such a thing. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:50 - We discuss Team Grimoire. Mother brings up the topic of Amelia again, and states that she cares for me. Of course Amelia does; she has use for me. Mother claims that I am incorrect, and her reasoning is far simpler–that she sees me as a sister. Her evidence for this is when Amelia first cut my hair. I remember the day; she had taken care to remove all of the mats while still ensuring it was properly styled. Her argument is meaningless; Amelia did not shave my head due to the ability to avoid the cost of a wig. We don’t have a bond–our relationship is that of coworkers at best, and lieutenant and subordinate at worst. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

09:57 - Mother asks if I would like her to heal the scars on my face. They must be gruesome enough to warrant this question, along with her point that I should be allowed to feel comfortable with my appearance. If they are extensive, then it may be useful in concealing my identity. I refuse her offer. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:00 - Mother asks if I am alright to go. I confirm that I am, and stand. She warns me to take it easy, as my joints are still healing, and I promise her that I will. This hasn’t been the first time that I’ve suffered severe burns. We leave the house, with Mother leading the way. I return my Eevee to his poke ball before I go, and Mother asks if he has a nickname. I mention that Harper gave him one, but I don’t see the point in using it. I’m not putting up any sort of act that would require it right now. See addendum for description of the town. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:03 - As we walk, Mother mentions the possibility of teaching Return to my Eevee. She claims that it’s a powerful move, so it could be useful. I first point out that it’s a ™ move, but Mother informs me that Team Grimiore has TMs. I follow up my argument with the fact that I have no reason to forge the sort of bond that Return requires to be effective. Mother has nothing to say about this. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:10 - We’ve reached the dock–see addendum for description. There’s a man standing on it (see addendum for description). Mother talks to him, and he questions if she’s done caring for the “gruesome burn victim”. This is obviously me. Mother takes offense?, assumedly due to it being an insult to her healing ability. Regardless, I introduce myself to the man, and learn that his name is Archie–the former leader of Team Aqua. His response to me calling myself ‘Vivian’ is thus: “that’s a name”. It indeed is a name. He seems to be a simple man. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:20 - Mother tells him to set sail for Dewford Town, with a potential stop in Rustboro City. Archie expresses disappointment in this, as she never lets him “do anything fun”. Mother points out that his idea of fun is dangerous, and Archie argues that it would be a “big macho moment”. He apparently wants to punch Groudon. I fail to see the feasibility of this plan. Mother explains that Groudon would be on the land, which Archie proceeds to claim is his mortal enemy. This is noted, in case he is ever made an adversary. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:25 - Mother informs Archie that I am her daughter. Archie does not seem to be able to understand the possibility of this, and instead heads onto his ship. Mother leads me aboard hers–see addendum for description. I offer to help her, even if I do not know how to sail, but she tells me I should prioritize resting and healing. I’ll find another way to make myself useful. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:35 - Mother starts ordering her crew. They all appear to respect her. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:40 - Type: Null is missing from their poke ball. I have to find Geno. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:43 - Geno is below deck, talking to some of the pirates. I wait for him to be done, and then ask him where my Pokemon is. He states that he weaponized the fact that the RKS System makes Type: Null insane, as Hontono’s Latios had Mega Evolved to chase us and there was still the Reshiram. He seems genuinely guilty about leaving my Pokemon behind, and comes up with a convoluted plan to get them back. I point out that I can just send someone in to retrieve them; we’re headed to the remnants of Team Galactic. He doesn’t argue. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

10:50 - Geno asks me what I know about Paldea and Galar, and so I describe my understanding of their traditions (which he calls “gimmicks”) and events. He then manages to locate a Good Rod (he rejects an offered Old Rod), and states that he will be doing some fishing while we are here. He even offers to catch me a Pokemon, seeing as he abandoned mine. I’ll have to consider it. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

11:00 - I bring up the fact that Geno appears to view this all as a game, and specifically mention what he did at Route 119. The point I make for him is that it’s inefficient to kill off the local wild population; it means you can’t go back and train against them later. He seems to accept this. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

11:04 - At my request, Geno starts describing what he noticed about this world in relation to the gamified versions that he played. He’s offered to teach me what he knows, and begins with something he calls “load zones”. See addendum for his explanation, but he’s used them to catch a Feebas. His knowledge could be useful. It’s good that he’s here, and not with the Expedition Squad. Coat gray, hands ungloved.

11:08 - Geno continues by describing the uses of fighting certain Pokemon. For example, defeating Spinda can make a Pokemon’s special attacks stronger. He mentions his frustration with getting Ice Types to be lethal, however. I offer to assist him with that issue; there’s no use in holding back when doing so would only be damaging to our progress. He accepts. Coat gray, hands ungloved.11:16 - We start discussing my near-death experience with Reshiram’s Blue Flare. Coat gray, hands ungloved.