#pokemon abuse cw

[caoimhe-from-hoenn]

Do NOT declaw your Skitties and Liepards, the fuck's wrong with you?

[coldslaws-gear-station]

Yk, something I feel like I haven't elaborated very much on in my Upside Down AU is the reason why Alder's such a twat at the start, it sorta feels like I just made him a dick because I could when that's not true at all

Because Floccesy town (where he's from in this AU) isn't at all what it's like in canon. Since it's cut off from the rest of the region and only became recognised in bw2 the people there became... Off (Cw warnings for the paragraphs with * btw!)

*Food was scarce, so they'd hunt quite literally any Pokemon they could get their hands on, as medicine was also scarce. They couldn't go forging without the risk of poisoned or such by a venipede or something, if you were infected then it's game over. There used to be Deerling near the town until they hunted it to extinction, lucky enough purrloin and patrat breed large enough litters to not go extinct.

*You were only respected for how much you could contribute, if you could sew, grow, or anything important you were seen as an asset and something to be respected. If not? Game over, they can't handle overpopulation with food so low. You weren't seen as a true person, but an asset, luckily Alder knew how to sew.

*Not only that but some people would raid other's houses for valuables to sell on the market, but most of the time it was to find meat, food. Leaving your house for too long was risky, though some don't even wait till you leave.

So he grew up thinking that Pokemon being scared and frightened of you was normal. He grew up thinking that being overprotective of everything he owns was normal. He thought how he was raised was normal.

Eventually he did manage to leave and climb the ladder up to the champion's position. That's why he never leaves the room, he thinks if he does somebody would come in and steal his position, what's his, and the UD elite four enable that.

It wasn't until the Valley did he realise that, that's not normal. How he was raised wasn't normal, Pokemon being frightened all the time isn't normal. But in the elite they're always frightened? That isn't okay, that isn't normal, something needed to change.

There's so many fractions to him, he's like my favourite of the UD characters to write about. He's complex and I love that. I also loosely modelled him after N as he takes his role in the story. Raised in a bad way, thinks it's normal, finds out it's not normal, makes considerable efforts to change how they originally thought and make the world safer.

He also has a mouth that'd make a sailor blush, cussing was a norm where he was raised. Though after UD Ghetsis established a "swear jar" he quickly learns to not swear, though he slips up every now and then. He still has slip ups in his old habits, though UD Ghetsis is always there to remind him to be more soft and gentle, he's trying, that's what matters.

- 💌

waking up in the morning to this and trying to read it all had me like /lh aff HSHFSJJFJD

but yeah all that really makes sense! i like it! very lowkey apocalypse esque which i am a sucker for survival scenarios. no wonder he sucks<3 i also kinda don't blame him for basically camping out in the champion's room afterwards tbh even if he was a dick for it. like yeah he sucks but he worked hard to survive and subsequently earn his position, whether or not he did that in the wrong sort of way by being, i imagine, not very kind to his own pokemon in the process. like dudes traumatized. goes from a broken up village to a group of 4 scumbags. you can't really say he got a fair opportunity to see outsiders perspectives during his backstory, much like n went straight from his room to trying to find the dragons to kill with, and the only person to really try and intervene and appeal to their sensibilities (more than just one time at least) was hilbert

swear jar.. thank you ghetsis very cool. he got his own get rich quick scheme out of alder /lh

[eartheats]

okay so. one thing i should mention about bluebell, now that she's evolved is...well, i'm not quite sure what it is, but while some of her shiny coloration came off as a ferroseed, it's been comin' off in patches on her now as a ferrothorn? but i think some of it might be there to stay; they seem really deeply embedded and i'm hopin' evolution didn't fuck her up like that :( i even kept an everstone on her and everything, but there was an incident with a wild tinkaton and it just happened...

but!! a couple of the professors and teachers have taken a bit of an interest in bluebell, though, and i've been doing everything i can to help with emotional and physical therapy for her! the physical side is going well, despite it all, actually? she's not in physical pain at least from what everyone's been saying, and we've been tryin' to find some suitable ways to teach her how to battle. she can actually hold back some now!!

the only real problem seems to be emotionally. it's probably, um, really understandable that she has trouble managing her emotions, but she has some really massive mood swing issues that we're working on. i think the conditioning is...mostly broken, but she's not good at regulating herself. she gets stressed real easily and it's actually why lulu's not just trained as my support anymore; he's hers, too, and bouton's doin' everything he can to help too. while every day brings new challenges, i'm glad to keep bein' by her side :)

i am thinkin' it's time for her to get a new nickname, though. anyone got any suggestions?

[trainerbymoonlight]

hi all! back in unova on my unovan league challenge, finally. so out of pure curiosity, nothing else, i’m wondering if any of you have any ideas as to where one might obtain a snag ball here in unova? or maybe a straight up master ball? legally or perhaps.. dubiously legal?

i know that sounds bad, and really vague, i just.. need to get a pokémon out of a bad situation. that’s all i’ll say on it for now.

my pelipper mail is open in case anyone happens to have either ball or even something similar i can borrow. i can pay for it & return it as well if needed

[anaptian-champion]

well why dont you prove that your precious devil dog is so well-behaved and bring her out for us?

what so you punks can fucking attack her???

no thanks 🖕

[twptwp]

(Discussing some my experiences with finding comfort in PMD while growing up in a hostile environment)

CW mentions of CSA, physical abuse, verbal abuse

During this time period my sister also died, I lost quite a few of my siblings, I was subject to severe ableism from aforementioned "father", very weird threats. I could go on and on there was a lot of bad

CW over

Nowadays I'm in a much better place both physically and mentally, I thank you my friends and my ma. I had PMD Explorers of Sky as a child and played all the time, it really shaped who I am today and I learned to stay alive from that game. I found comfort in all the characters, Chatot was also a big one surprisingly HAHA!

I hope this was not too upsetting of a post, "dadnoir' stuff really sticks out to me nowadays because I use to imagine him so much when I was scared... I was actually really scared of Dusknoir as a kid for a while, but then I played special episode 5 and he became a big source of peace and comfort after that. I liked how he changed and became good. I'm no stranger to doing absurd things out of fear and wanting to stay alive, I came to respect and understand him quickly.

Anyways, that was a big post ahhh, I hope you have a nice day! Do take care of yourself, you're cherished

[anaptian-champion]

oh thank ARC he doesn't have access to the Hydreigon anymore!! ...well, at least not in your timeline. damn multiversal shenanigans...

i gotta be honest, i didn't really know much about what Ghetsis did, so this is pretty new to me...

it makes me feel sick, honestly.

im sorry, WHAT? his Hydreigon uses Frustration at full power??? //@anaptian-champion

Allegedly, yeah.

Having seen the poor thing... I can believe it. The state of his hydreigon... well. It's the reason even the staunchest believers in our ideology largely shunned Ghetsis after finding out what he did to it.

In my time, at least... the pokemon in question is recovering. Apparently the new unovan champion-- kid who dresses like a princess and specializes in dragon types? She took him in, basically went, "Hi sweetheart, I know your trust and your hope have been broken, but I'm going to respect your boundaries and show you it's okay to live again. Here's a casteliacone. You never have to battle if you don't want to."

[coldslaws]

something about destiny

part 1: here

[the-thirteenth-prime]

A slightly unhinged ramble-rant on Chairman Rose and how people are missing the entire point of SWSH.

Like, I keep seeing it pop up--like a fucking rank smell you only detect if you’re in a certain place when the wind is blowing in the certain direction--but man does it not bewilder me. Like, these guys who post tags like ‘Chairman Rose is a bad guy but is not a BAD guy’ or ‘I kind of agreed with Chairman Rose’ are just. Are you high?? Did you entirely miss the point of his character?? Did you completely miss the main plot of SWSH?

I’m going to be talking about some heavy shit (including non-sexual child grooming and non-sexual child predation), so I’m gonna put the rest under a read more, let me just say that the theme of SWSH is the relationship between adults and children on their Pokemon journeys, the responsibilities adults have towards children, and what happens when that relationship is abused.

First off, before I get some know-it-all coming at me about how there’s no evidence that Rose is a child predator or a groomer, let me just say there is. Is he a Chris Hansen ‘take a seat for me’ groomer?? No, he’s not, because child grooming is not purely a sexual thing.

Per a very informative article:

“Grooming can be sexual, romantic, financial or for criminal or terrorism purposes, and can target both children and adults. The common aspect is that a perpetrator manipulates a victim by building trust and rapport. The key to grooming is a power dynamic within the relationship: age, gender, physical strength, economic status or another factor.”

Now, with that out of the way, I’m not going to go into shit that’s super obvious to anyone with eyes, but Rose is a serial child groomer. Like, his most obvious victim is Leon, and it’s really wild that people can’t see it?? Like, Leon obviously comes from a fucked-up home situation with a mother who’s absent and neglectful at best (and the people who don’t seem to realize this REALLY confuse me). Like, he has canonically raised his little brother in a house with three adults that could have done the job for him, and the anime literally stated that he was so busy raising Hop and taking care of household chores that he could barely interact with other kids. He was endorsed by Chairman Rose at an age that is implied to be at least two years younger than the average Gym Challenger, and--per the sub of the PokeAni--Rose literally raised him from the moment he became Champion.

(Where was Leon and Hop’s mother during this, you ask? Obviously being terrible at home, since despite Leon being run ragged for all of his life and rarely being home, he still somehow raised his little brother. Let that sink in.)

So Leon has spent his entire life being moulded into Rose’s delusion of the Hero of Galar for the sole purpose of sacrificing himself to defeat Eternatus to stave off an energy crisis that will happen in a millennium and probably would be averted with solar power. THE SUB IN THE POKEANI LITEARLLY HAS ROSE TELLING LEON THAT HE HAS GROOMED HIM FOR THE EXACT PURPOSE OF TAMING ETERNATUS. I’M NOT MAKING THIS UP. I WILL PROVIDE SCREENSHOTS IF ASKED.

Does he know Leon may likely fucking die in the attempt? He sure does, because he’s already started to work on grooming Leon’s replacements! In the game, Bede is a trainer who came from a neglectful home situation who was noticed by the Chairman and given his endorsement for the Gym Challenge wait hold on that sounds really familiar.

Really, REALLY familiar.

Rose’s ploy with taking away Bede’s gym challenger endorsement after Bede literally did what he asked him to was a clear manipulation tactic, and if it hadn’t been for Opal intervening (and she ABSOLUTELY has Rose’s number and you can’t convince me otherwise), the tactic likely would have worked, because Bede would have done anything to get his endorsement back.

(Also Oleana is absolutely the fall girl set up to look like an obstructive villain while Rose can maintain his veneer of innocence. That’s a topic for another day tho.)

AND THEN. in the anime, he flat out tries to do this with Ash. AND IN THE GAME, HE TRIES TO DO THIS WITH THE MC, LIKE BEDE IS HIS PLAN B AND THE PC IS HIS PLAN C. However, the only child Rose has regular chances to interact with who DOES NOT get the manipulation treatment is Hop. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Chairman always tries to pull shit with you when Hop isn’t around, and the two times he DOES interact with Hop are at the very end of the game where Leon’s been forced into trying to stop the apocalypse and after the Opening Ceremony.

What’s different about the Opening Ceremony, though? LEON IS STANDING RIGHT OVER ROSE’S SHOULDER SMILING STEPFORDLY. Which brings me to my next point: why Rose pulls his end game bullshit.

Leon is now in his early 20s, so he has obviously started to ask for his own agency and say no to things. He has also obviously realized that he does NOT want Rose around his brother, which is why he is fucking looming over Rose’s shoulder when he meets Hop and why Rose almost seems to deliberately avoid Hop for the rest of the game. Rose knows that if he so much as messes with Hop, Leon is going to absolutely turn on him, and he’s already become obstinate enough to be a problem. Rose is losing control of Leon, which is why he’s grooming his potential replacements.

It’s also why Rose LITERALLY HOLDS LEON HOSTAGE IN A TOWER. Like, I am amazed that people haven’t seemed to realize that Hop and the MC were ABSOLUTELY rescuing Leon from a hostage situation. Leon had been on top of the tower with Rose for HOURS at that point, and given Oleana’s personal fucking army and how much Leon clearly did not want to be up there, it’s obvious that there wasn’t a way he could easily extricate himself from the situation. What you do hear from his meeting with Rose sounds a lot like a guy trying to say no while also trying to de-escalate a volatile situation: almost like a victim to their abuser oh wait.

(Oleana also says that the reason she wants to defeat you and Hop is to break Leon’s spirit so he won’t have the strength to say no to the Chairman anymore. Like, that’s literally in game. It’s dialogue.)

So yeah. You’re rescuing a prince from a tower who’s being held hostage by an evil king trying to use the prince’s special power for nefarious purposes. This game is full of fairy tale metaphors. Like, a ton.

When you and Hop show up, you basically force Rose to let Leon go so as to not look like a complete fucking monster or cause a scandal, and Leon basically very politely tells Rose to ‘fuck off’ when he leaves.

So Rose--this narcissistic, megalomaniacal child groomer, who’s basically been shut down by the lynch pin of his plan--does the absolute most rational thing and RELEASES THE APOCALYPSE DEMON OUT OF SPITE. He literally says on a screen in front of Galar that oh no, his releasing Eternatus and causing the Second Darkest Day is actually all LEON’S fault for being so unreasonable and unrealistic. It’s manipulation. It’s emotional abuse. It’s Rose punishing his victim for saying no. It’s Rose throwing a tantrum because Leon told him to wait another week before doing something about something that would happen in a millennium.

Bede made a fool of Rose doing exactly what Rose and Oleana wanted him to do, so he punished him. Leon said no, so he punished him, and punished all of Galar while he was at it. He’s not doing shit for the good of Galar. He’s doing it for himself.

See, the game’s story exists to debate the relationship between adults and children in the Pokemon world. For generation after generation of games, children as young as ten have gone out in the big wide world with nothing but their starter and a Pokedex, and the adults they have met have never had any poor intentions towards them specifically. Yes, there’s all the evil teams and blah blah blah, but they weren’t targeting you, the child MC. You were just caught up in their messes. SWSH is the first game to show that no, there are adults who will try to take advantage of you because you are a child, and there are good adults who will try to protect you.

Opal protects Bede. Leon protects you and Hop. Leon has obviously gotten old enough to realize that what Rose did to him was wrong, and he tries so fucking hard through the whole game to protect you and his little brother from his boss’s machinations and all the bad shit happening in the world. I know people bitch about being ‘railroaded’ and not allowed to participate in the ‘plot’ until the end, but that’s the point. The good adults are trying to protect the children from the bad adults trying to harm them, and the children intervene only when the adults die trying to save them. Children should be allowed to adventures and have fun, but they should also be protected and shielded from shit that can harm them and shit they’re not old enough to understand, and this game--for better or for worse--is trying to strike that balance.

One last, very important thing. Leon’s life had been micromanaged and controlled from the moment he became Champion by Chairman Rose. He had to become all things to Galar--its fucking policeman, it’s regional hero, it’s unbeatable symbol of perfection, it’s hero, and--almost--its messiah--and when the MC becomes a Champion? He doesn’t hesitate to become Chairman, and he tells you--the new Champion--that your job is to explore and have fun. He doesn’t ask you to do sponsorship deals. He lets you do matches and tournaments at your own leisure. He calls you politely to ask if you want to do the Galarian Star Tournament. He doesn’t even know your PHONE NUMBER and I think about that a lot.

The game is about the responsibilities adults have towards children. It’s about how you don’t have to be the main character to be the hero. It’s about how you can’t and shouldn’t do everything alone. It’s about how child predation and abuse don’t have to be obvious or ‘traditional’ to be real and a threat. Finally, as Leon demonstrates so poignantly, it’s about breaking the cycle of abuse.

And THAT’S why SWSH is one of the best stories--if not THE best--that the Pokegames have ever told, regardless of its faults and the National Dex and a berry tree looking a little weird.

[milkymittens]

cw: abuse

i rewatched holy matrimony today and frankly i think we need to talk about it more

[anaptian-champion]

Yeesh, kinda makes me think of this guy I battled a while back; he forced all his Pokemon to fight like savages and his Nidorino actually ended up puncturing Galvan (my Jolteon)'s foreleg pretty severely...

He's actually where I got Donner from; he had run away from the bastard while he was still a Luxio and I basically adopted him.

And now, funnily enough, Galvan and Donner are basically inseparable; Donner definitely shows signs of trauma still but he's doing a lot better now, and I think I have Galvan to thank for most of that.

Mister Bane Phobia tell us one of your greatest victories against Pokémon abusers and users

The greatest? There's been so many.

Hmm... There was once a huge trail of illegal fighting rings through Kalos that Noctis and I effectively dismanteled. I don't mean like typical battling, I mean the kind of bastards that let their Pokémon fight to the death. Longest trip of my arcdamn life!

[coldslaws-gear-station]

Odd idea for Beta Z's name; Zepto

It's a metric prefix that's usually defined by the symbol "z", it's also in the - base 10 numbers, specifically 10-²¹ while n on the system is 10-⁹ (Nano). It would've been interesting to make it the opposite of n, which would be 10⁹, but that's Giga and idk if a Zoroark named Giga is a good idea-

Idk, when I think "what would an N name their Pokemon?" I immediately think "Numbers." Also metric prefixes have cool names sometimes so

- 💌

ohhhh fuck this is actually a super cool idea i like it!! i dunno how well exactly it works but it is super cute sobs

thing about beta z is that she actually gets to spend much less time with n, at least growing up in the castle. she was with him in there for maybe just a few years at most, at least until ghetsis grew more brazen with his mistreatment of n (n being abused wasn't an immediate thing, it was a slow burn of escalation). at which point, during one of the points ghetsis chose to punish n through food restriction, z grew desperate and had n help her into one of the vents in his room so she could go look for food around the castle

but she was quickly caught by members of team plasma, and entirely fed up with her interference, ghetsis opted to beat her senseless, drive a ways away, and leave her for dead. killing her outright would be too nice of a treatment for something that did nothing but pester him. or maybe, if im still considering a ghetsis who thinks hes doing the right thing, he thinks somehow leaving her barely alive is kinder. he's just teaching her a lesson, after all. like he does with n

anyways when he comes back to the castle, he doesn't say anything about what he did. he just slowly lets it dawn on the boy that their friend has been gone for a while now. maybe he even asks about it. where did z go? why, i don't even remember her leaving your room.. what's with that vent there, hm? and he lets fester the idea that z may have abandoned n.

some good samaritan finds z and nurses her back to health. and years pass. because of z's experience with abuse and scared children, she actually becomes an emotional support and therapy pokémon, which is uncommon for zorua due to their propensity for mischief. z becomes a faded memory in n's mind, while z aches for n almost every day, though neither ever fully forget each other. she even tried to return to him at some point, but given the hidden nature of the castle, she was never able to

and after everything happens and n is brought out on parole, alder decides it might be beneficial to introduce n to some kind of therapy pokemon who also suffered, but loves humans still. enter z. n doesn't even recognize her when they reunite, it takes quite a bit for him to realize that this is the zorua he ran around with in the forest and the castle

so basically since she had basically an entirely different trainer (or trainers, as she was used moreso to educate on abuse and recovery and did a lot of traveling, like you see with some therapy dogs irl), she probably has a far different name than one that shares a motif with n like the typical z does

though bn also has a male zoroark he uses to fight his battles with, maybe he could be zepto, or maybe bz opts to rename herself to match n like she does back when they were little on rh and nhp. i think that last idea would be really cute actually, having this bond between them be a throughline between universes

[eartheats]

[A package arrives! It contains...

- a large, thick, cosy blanket. Get comfy with bluebell with it. It's spikes shouldnt be able to get through it, so don't worry about hugging if you're in it. Let Bluebell cry that stress away. Who knows how much of it has built up because of.. whatever team glitter has done.

- some metal polish with extra grit for your orthworm, to give it an extra lil treat next time there's a spa day ^^

- a bag full of various pokemon shaped silly bands!]

anon, you are an actual, literal lifesaver and i love you forever ;A;

she's...actually snuggling into the blanket okay, still bawling but it's a little more controlled. it's definitely helping her, i think, just...to be able to express all of it, even if it isn't intentional. i just feel like shit for pushing her, even if i tried to be gentle as possible

i'll gladly give lulu a good polishing next time we get the chance, though!! and i appreciate the silly bands, they're so so so cute!!

[teamcuriosity]

On "Uncatchable" Pokemon

No matter your views on battle culture, and particularly trainer culture, it would be outright ignorant to say that it hasn't improved vastly over the past couple decades. From wild captures being significantly less common and more regulated overall to the death of the "gotta catch 'em all" mentality in most regions, trainer culture has globally become more and more conscious to the needs of the pokemon over the benefits to the human trainer. However, there is one aspect of trainer culture that, the niche, has remained persistent and problematic throughout years and years of improvement in nearly every other department. This aspect is the concept of "Uncatchable" pokemon.

Now, to clarify, when I refer to "Uncatchable pokemon", I'm not referring to pokemon of legend status, mythic status, extrauniversal pokemon (commonly referred to as Ultra Beasts), or the Paradox pokemon generated by Professor Sada and Professor Turo's experimentation. These pokemon, though extremely powerful with capture heavily regulated by law, do not fall under the trainer-defined category of "Uncatchable". An "Uncatchable" pokemon is one that cannot be captured or otherwise raised independently. More often than not, this is because the Pokemon in question has a parasitic, symbiotic, or parent-child relationship with another Pokemon that would make it unhealthy or even fatal to force independence.

Two pokemon that fall into the latter category, and are often unfairly targeted by poachers and irresponsible trainers, are the infant forms of Kangaskhan and Rellor. Particularly, these pokemon are often targeted by competitive trainers participating in what are known as "little cup" tournaments—often unofficial tournaments where the primary rule is that only very young, low-level, first-stage pokemon may be used. Though these tournaments do have positive aspects, namely their ability to allow beginner trainers to get a foothold in concepts of battle strategy without feeling intimidated, like all aspects of competitive battling, there are a large subset of trainers who are simply in it to win it all costs with no regard to the pokemon that they use.

Baby Kangaskhan is viewed as a potential meta-changer due to the sheer power of its adult form. However, all known instances of separation between mother and child Kangaskhan have led to severe drops in quality of life for the baby that make it impossible for this pokemon to be a viable battler. The only instance in which a baby Kangaskhan can battle healthily is alongside and through the mega evolution of its parent, and ethics of this practice are hotly debated as there are several cases in which the mother Kangaskhan shows the stress at the side of its child fighting. Though these cases may be chalked up to personality differences between different Kangaskhan, the same cannot be said for separation cases.

Nearly 100% of wild separation cases are fatal, with the sparse few survivors living much shorter and unhealthier lives than their properly raised counterparts. With human intervention, the fatality rate goes down, but the baby Kangaskhan still exhibit symptoms of PTSD, as well as severe mental and physical developmental disorders that leave it essentially stuck in a child-like state for its entire life. Even with human intervention, the separated baby will never learn how to battle, and all moves learned will be ineffective. Many separated babies do not even attempt to battle, perpetually expecting their mother to guard them even though she's gone. Physically, even if these babies make it to adulthood, there will be much more frail and susceptible to illness than their parented counterparts. They will also never develop their adult scales, leaving them more prone to accidental injury and infection. The theories on why this occurs range from the baby having a latent psychic connection to the mother to maternal connection simply being a requirement for healthy development in this particular species, but regardless of what the truth is, all separation cases are harmful to the baby, and throughout the rntire history of training as a sport, no progress has been made in changing this. It is hotly debated whether or not it is ethical to raise a separated baby Kangaskhan to adulthood as a result.

Infant Rellor is even worse. Though Rellor itself is currently viable by most little cup standards, it is also disqualified in many unofficial tournaments due to the existence of infant Rellor and the insistence that, since it is such a vastly different form, Rellor as an independent pokemon is an evolution and cannot qualify. However, this is an entirely unfair and harmful assessment to make, as this infant form cannot exist separately from the parent Rabsca, or even the dung ball it exists within. If the infant Rellor is broken out of this dung ball too early in development, it will die in 95% of cases. The sparse few recorded survival cases have only occurred as result of two factors: a Rabsca (not necessarily the original parent) quickly forming a new dung ball around the infant, and human intervention. Even with these factors at play, survival is still dependent on the stage of development of the infant, any injuries sustained during the removal from the dung ball, and the speed at which it is transported either back into a dung ball or into an artificial gestation tank. Infants broken out of their done ball early also tend to exhibit higher rates of developmental disorders, physical disabilities, and neurological disorders. Universally, their ability to manipulate psychic energy is severely impaired, and many do not exhibit the ability to evolve into Rabsca.

Shellder is a different story. It is a commonly known fact that Shellder experiences drastic physiological changes after clamping onto a host Slowpoke—changes drastic enough to be considered an evolution by some. In certain trainer circles, this debated evolution is known as "Turban", both in reference to the shells of some non-pokemon mollusks as well as the headwear of the same name. With the form-altering venom produced by these pokemon as well as the sharp teeth and powerful jaws, it's been theorized that this form of Shellder may have a water/poison typing and be able to battle if selectively bred and raised to do so.

Unfortunately for the Shellder and Slowpoke evolutions involved in this debate, separation of a Shellder and Slowpoke after evolution is universally detrimental. The Shellder itself will always die unless it is reattached to another Slowpoke, and will be in severe distress the entire time it is detached. It cannot reattach itself due to its body losing the ability to move, and it will not listen to orders from its trainer, blindly biting the air until a new Slowpoke is found. If it is reattached within a few days, it will more than likely survive, but it will produce higher amounts of venom and exert a notably higher bite force in order to ensure it does not get detached again. This often leads to higher levels of intelligence in the Slowpoke evolution, but also higher levels of aggression and resentment towards other living species, particularly the species that separated it. One case documented a Slowking resulting from a detached Shellder that wiped out an entire seaside town in rage-fueled psychic storm. Though it was eventually captured and sent off to a sanctuary, it never fully regained trust in humans.

Comparatively, the Slowpoke experiencing detachment suffers a much harsher fate. There is a persistent belief that Slowbro will harmlessly devolve back into Slowpoke if separated. Though it will eventually devolve—being the only pokemon known to do so—this process is highly stressful to the Slowbro and may result in death. This is due to withdrawals from the Shellder venom as well as neurological and physiological decay. The symptoms can be as mild as flu-like symptoms such as headaches and nausea to as severe as heart palpitations and seizures. It will also lose the ability to walk in a bipedal manner, and will need to re-learn how to fish using its tail.

Slowking separation is almost always fatal for the Slowking. Unlike Slowbro, it is incapable of devolution due to the Shellder venom being a requirement for proper neurological function, and the Shellder is fused to the skull, causing grievous bodily harm once removed. Galarian Slowking have far higher rates of immediate fatality than Kantonian Slowking, but both pokemon will suffer a drastic drop in quality of life after the separation event. Like separated Kangaskhan, it is widely considered unethical to keep a Slowking alive post-separation as it will be unable to maintain a humane quality of life. It will be unable to communicate its needs, unable to eat or drink without assistance, unable to groom itself, incapable of locomotion beyond a flailing crawl, suffer frequent seizures, and be at a high risk of meningitis among many other complications. Though some pokemon rights activists insist that a separated Slowking can be given a new Shellder or even kept alive without one and still live a happy life, these claims are unfounded in veterinary medicine, and the damage caused by a separation event is largely irreversible.

In conclusion, for the health of these pokemon, we need to demystify the concept of "Uncatchable" pokemon. You may have noticed me using quotation marks around the word "Uncatchable" for the duration of this essay. This is because I firmly believe we should not be using this term, as it generates a sense of challenge for a community notorious for enjoying insurmountable challenges. I propose we push to change the terminology to "unethical pokemon" in order to dispell any sense of challenge or mystique. These pokemon are not physically uncatchable. They are simply doomed to suffer if not kept in their pair bond. For trainer culture to move past this stopping block, this is a fact that must be acknowledged.

—Professor Violite Schist (it/they/fae)

[eartheats]

she didn't? even take a treat or anything?? 😰 that sounds really, really bad...that sounds like a textbook case of pokemon abuse right there, but usually even those seem kinda like. skittish or something

oh yea i was going 2 give an update on how the vet visit went

vet couldnt find anything physically wrong w ninetales either, n a blood test didnt show anything off or anything weird in her system, so it cant b that she was sedated. did look like she was evolved young but that doesnt explain all the behavior stuff.

she wasnt needleshy or anything. i helped restrain her 4 the blood draw, but she didnt even try 2 move. she just lay there n accepted it. she didnt even get tense or anything. it was kinda just... 2 easy.

i havent even had her long enough 2 kno what her moves r, but when the vet asked me 2 have her do a test of her flame sacs, she just listened wo question rite away. move looked like ember btw.

vet offered her a treat 4 being so good during the visit, but she didnt even react 2 it being held rite in front of her nose. she wasnt even looking at it.

i told her it was ok n she could have it, n it was like she was noticing it 4 the first time. she sniffed at it once gently, but she still didnt take it. vet put it down in front of her in case she was just shy abt taking it from someones hand but that didnt do anything n eventually the vet just put the treat back.

she didnt show any signs of emotion through the whole thing either. not scared by the unfamiliar place, not happy when she was praised or got pets.

idk whats going on w her but i dont like it. smth feels rly rly wrong.

@coverfossils @iheartnimbassacity since u both have pokémon w kinda similar issues

[anaptian-champion]

// the reason Donner has chronic pain is because Sam (@thatguyfromsinnoh) frequently fed him rare candies

// it caused his growth to accelerate so quickly it caused damage to his muscles. its why he's so bulky compared to other Luxray, but he also needs to keep his muscles active so they don't atrophy on him