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askthewhiterocket · 29 days ago

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Continued from here...

"Kicked around is putting it nicely," Kyo said with a chuckle. "My hands were bruised up pretty badly once they pulled me off him."

Kyo listened intently as Nat opened up a bit about his feelings in the lead up to the tournament, the precautions they'd take and how it had all been for not. "Feelings are complicated. Sometimes we behave in ways that feel uncharacteristic of ourselves. I have. There will always be people in our lives that will draw out the worst in us, the part of us we don't want other people to see. And there's no good solution to how to handle those situations. You just have to figure it out, I suppose." She shrugged. "Of course, I haven't, so what would I know."

Kyo looked over at Nat's shoulder and offered him a reassuring smile. She thought it over for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't mind. It... might be nice to share actually. Meowstic's the only other person close to me who knows."

Kyo folded her hands together and sat in silence, pondering how best to start the story. "His name was Luke Rifa. We grew up next door to each other in Driftveil, did everything together as kids. I have so many fond memories of staying up late watching princess movies together, talking about what we were going to do in the future," Kyo said, a smile spreading across her face. She gazed at the stars above them as she continued, "Got into even more trouble as teens. Smoked behind the cold storage, stole stuff from the markets, tried to convince one of the locals to give us tattoos. Typical dumb teenager stuff."

Kyo nodded her head in Meg's direction, Meowstic sitting on her shoulder. "Meowstic was actually his Pokemon, originally. We caught her together just outside Driftveil and decided to take turns caring for her. She was registered to his trainer ID though. It was his Pokeball that caught her. And, in all candor, I think she liked him better than me."

"I actually think Luke might've been my first crush, in retrospect. Though, that was long before either of us had words for what we were. And years later when we did, we both had a good laugh about how obvious the signs were. He became my most reliable wing man with the ladies and I helped him pick a name, something that felt really him."

Kyo lowered her gaze to her folded hands and took a shaky breath. "Luke's parents didn't... take it well. When they found out about my sexuality, they blamed me, saying I'd put these ideas into his head. They forbade us from seeing each other, though that didn't stop us." Kyo tightened her grip on her own hands, her knuckles turning white. "It didn't help that Luke's parents had always been hard on him. His father in particular was very tough on him, constantly pushing Luke to go into a field he considered "proper" like nursing. He was always setting Luke up on blind dates in hopes he could get Luke married to someone wealthy."

Kyo fell silent as her expression darkened. She took in another shaky breath and released her hands to take off her glasses. "Things... escalated after that. Initially, Luke's parents let him continue to live with him, but then abruptly one day they kicked him out and completely disowned him. Since my step father is good friends with Gym Leader Clay, we were able to get him into an apartment and a job at the gym. I thought everything would be fine but... in retrospect, Luke never was quite the same after that."

Tears began to trickle down Kyo's face as the walls crumpled down around her heart. She quickly tried to wipe them away with the base of her palm only to have more immediately replace them. After a moment, she gave up, simply looking at Nat. "I was the one who found him," she said quietly. "The Pokemon Center contacted me that morning saying a pokeball had been left there for me to collect. It was Meowstic, now registered under my trainer ID. I rushed to his apartment but I... I was too late."

Kyo shuddered as she drew in another deep breath. "The authorities brought in his parents as part of the usual procedure. And his father..." Kyo set her jaw, a growl rising out of her throat. "His father had the audacity to say 'Good riddance.'" Kyo balled her hands into fists, gritting her teeth as the deep seated anger rose to the surface again. "I snapped. I attacked him, right there in the police department. Knocked out a few teeth and hit him into the floor so hard he got a concussion before they got me off him. Had to go to court over that and almost lost Meowstic in the process, but they agreed to settle with community service." She shook her head. "I got lucky. Someone else without my step dad and sister's connections would've faced a far worse sentence."

Kyo rubbed a few more of the tears away from her face. "I know you're not him. But for a moment there, in Sinnoh, when that dragon hit you, I found myself back in that police department all over again, and all I could see was red." She let out a sad laugh. "And once again I got lucky that your connections were there to save me from myself."

Kyo reached over and gently placed her hand on Nat's shoulder. "Nathaniel, I know we've had our differences. Between everything you have going on here and all the shit I've got in Kanto, we're both busy as can be. But whatever it is, I will always support you. If nothing else you're welcome to come camp out under the stars in Kanto with me and Meg anytime. She'll talk your ear off with stories about the constellations well into the night."

Kyo wiped her face again with her free hand and smiled a bit. "By the Tao, that pitorro and coquito sounds really good right about now actually."

@asktheisle

#pokeaskmagiretreat25 #pokemon ask blog #written ask blog #poke ask blog #pokeask #tw: transphobia #tw: suicide mention #tw: mental health #tw: disownment #ask to tag #wr: kyo #wr: meowstic #wr: meg #asktheisle #chrono #askthewhiterocket #sad backstory time whoooo

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wooahaes · 5 months ago

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ok svt pokemon au [version 2] for funsies. this is still league stuff bc i don't feel like figuring out their normal everyday teams/jobs rn <3

starting off with the gym leaders. in order: vernon -> jun -> joshua -> minghao -> wonwoo -> jeonghan -> mingyu -> seungkwan

vernon is a bug type gym leader. i put him as the first gym leader because he's kind of the least competitive of the group, and chose bug type for him because i think he'd see the potential that bugs have. yeah, some kid can come in and wipe his gym with a fire or flying type, but he's here to try and teach 'em something along the way. i could see him having a joltik and a paras on his team as two little guys, with beedrill serving as his ace pokemon. while not on his competitive team, i could also see him having a snom/frosmoth as well as a pokemon that he's buddies with. i think his gym would probably be relatively straight-forward, no huge gimmicks, just battle his trainers and face him and he'll congratulate you on a job well done.

jun has a water type gym and is probably the friendliest gym leader to new trainers. he tends to be a bit laid-back and more of the educational guy, especially when he battles kids. i think his ace would likely be a quagsire (friend-shaped lil guy) and the rest of his team would be composed of a psyduck and a lotad. i 100% also see jun being the kind of gym leader who gets very involved with his own community and gets well known because of this. tending to gardens, hosting cook-outs, etc. i honestly could see his gym being a restaurant, if i'm honest? you have to take out his trainers/staff and that's when he'll come out of the kitchen to 'cool off' with his water types. man who tells you its important to take breaks, probably.

joshua comes next as a flying type gym leader who loves his silly little birds so much. the kind of leader who spouts off poetry and really plays up this airy, gentlemanly character when he's on the clock. outside of it, he's just a mostly chill dude who goes off to get drinks with the other gym leaders and teases them. his team has a swellow and a swablu on it, while his ace is a vespiquen that he'll openly admit was achieved with the help of vernon (to find a female combee). he trusts her with his life btw and they're a terrifying duo. i think he'd have an open-air gym, maybe with some flowers to really sell home the cozy, casual vibe he's aiming for. the kind of place that you can bike through on an average day (and he does).

minghao is an ice type gym leader who also plays up a certain image when he's doing his job. while plenty of people have seen his warmer side, when he's in gym leader mode, he's colder and much more calculated--a very intelligent gym leader to go up against. his gym either involves some sort of skating puzzle or for trainers to cross ice flows, balancing to get across to him. his team has a froslass, lapras, and weavile, all leading up to his ace: alolan ninetails. like joshua and his vespiquen, minghao and his ninetails are a terrifying duo because of their close bond. i think he's the kind of trainer who 100% makes sure to train a lot with his team so that they're all highly coordinated. unfortunately is very aware that his gym has been a tough spot for some trainers to the point where they've quit, but a very vocal advocate for trainers to step back, examine their teams and strategies, and use their own frustration as a motivator to kick his ass.

for wonwoo, i ended up going the kind-of predictable route this time of giving him psychic (because ghost is going to someone else). unfortunately, i'm also not original, because i still think his gym being a library is so fitting for him. it'd be more of a modern library with nice big windows and a tech center, and probably doubles as such with a arena in the center for battles to be contained to. his ace is a gallade he's lovingly raised from an egg. he also has a meowstic, xatu, and a hattrem who would likely have been his ace if his gym was a little later in the league (giving him a hatterene). all of them are nicknamed after literary characters btw. highly intelligent, very good with strategy in terms of battling. absolutely records the battles he loses (and wins, but the loses are more important for this) and goes back over them with his team later to see how they can better prepare for future battles. not the kind of guy to be competitive in the 'i hate losing' sense, but in the 'i want to be the best at what i do' sense.

jeonghan comes shortly after with his team of ghosts that do help him pull pranks on his friends. very friendly and very jovial for a guy who's gym fully leans into a more gothic aesthetic. maybe even placed within an old castle to really ham it up. i could easily see jeonghan playing into a vampire-y role as well, just to have fun with his job. his team has a sableye, banette, and mimikyu, with gengar serving as his ace. they're his little pals and he loves them dearly. there's a lot of stories floating around out there, typically from cheol, about jeonghan's little team of pranksters that he has pulled together. they, with joshua and his team, are the worst to deal with because they can easily get the drop on you either by not being visible or by swooping in via flying types.

mingyu is very high up in the league because he's one of the more competitive people, so he likes a solid challenge. he's a steel type gym leader who i could see having some sort of factory as his gym, complete with some sort of conveyor belt puzzle for trainers to solve. his team has a mawile, a bisharp, and a togedemaru. people constantly question the presence of his bisharp, but they're just bros and probably one of the first pokemon mingyu ever trained up. his ace is a tinkaton because of course it is. a reckless, impulsive pokemon that likes doing whatever it wants? he enables her and lets her pick out whatever scrap metal she wants after battles--win or lose--as a reward for doing her best. his tinkaton is basically his child.

and while mingyu is highly competitive, i think seungkwan is the one person out of this group that can and does beat him on a regular basis enough to have earned that eighth gym leader slot. man who 100% monologues about how he's tougher than he seems and is proud of his place. his fighting type team are his babies and he is 100% also the kind of trainer who's ace, bewear, has been with him since the beginning of his own journey. he loves the rest of his team dearly, though: pawmot, lucario, medicham, and breloom. all are pretty formidable in their own ways, but watch out for the synergy he has with that bewear.

as for the league... the elite four can be challenged in any order.

seokmin is the fairy type elite four member, who's chamber leans more into a fairy tale aesthetic, complete with him being kind of a knight or princely figure. he is absolutely the person who congratulates you on making it this far first, and says he hopes your journey to become champion doesn't end here, because he's 100% not going to let you win without a good fight. he has a dedenne, gardevoir, florges, and a galarian rapidash on his team, with a togekiss being his ace. like a lot of the others on this list, seokmin raised his togekiss from an egg and is very close with the little guy as a result. he's outright admitted that it makes him sad when his togekiss faints, so he's usually the first party member he recovers before congratulating the trainer on defeating his team. he feeds his team snacks after a battle while taking care of them. he 100% has a poffin recipe that he swears by, too.

jihoon is the ground type member who is pretty widely known for being extremely reliable and someone who's own dedication often motivates others to do better. his chamber is surprisingly more laid-back and cozy, as it's more of a place for him to let go and enjoy battles than it is for him to do his job. he takes it seriously, don't get him wrong: but battling for him is something he cares deeply about, he won't be a pushover, but it's freeing when he and his team are on the same wavelength. his garchomp, his ace, is his longtime teammate and actually the parent to the garchomp that seungcheol has on his own team. he also has a gastrodon, excadrill, flygon, and nidoqueen to round out the rest of his team. they're protective of him in the same way he respects and cares for them: he wouldn't be here without them, and he's proud to be their trainer.

soonyoung is the electric type trainer who's chamber is over the top with fireworks and a sick ass light show that he easily turns off for trainers who need that change. it'll still have fancy lighting, but nothing that can harm anyone. he's the guy who hypes you up and says he's gonna give this battle everything he's got, but also congratulates you if you've already faced jihoon (or warns you that jihoon's one of the strongest trainers he knows if you haven't). soonyoung's ace is a luxray, the closest thing i can get to a tiger being an electric lion. he also has a zebstrika, emolga, boltund, and ampharos to round out the rest of his electric type team. guy who is so, so intense in battle but if you see him outside of his job he's usually one of the most chill people. probably plays fetch with his boltund a lot.

seungcheol is probably one of the scariest dragon type trainers in the business. he's carefully raised his entire team from eggs ever since he was a kid, and that effort shows. to help balance the e4 out a bit, he tends to play a more serious role like jihoon does. if he's the last trainer you face, he'll congratulate you highly on performing so well this far and that he's hopefully looking forward to seeing you go on to face the champion. if he's the first, he definitely admires your courage to face him ahead of the others, since he knows about his reputation. his ace is his tyrantrum, restored from a fossil forever ago and his closest pal. but he trusts the rest of his team just as intensely: duraludon, dragonite, garchomp, and kingdra. yes, his garchomp exists to match jihoon's. if he could have matched a pokemon to soonyoung's and seokmin's teams, he would have. also another guy who goes back over battle footage with his team in order to better prepare for future battles.

and then finally, there's the champion: the future of kpop himself, lee chan. the room you enter is going to be the most elaborate stage set-up in the fucking world. he has fought long and hard to get to this place, he is going to ham it up and have his own fucking overhyped monologue that seungkwan calls overdramatic every single time he has to hear it. he doesn't stick to a single type, instead having a variety of pokemon. his ace is his tyranitar, and the rest of his team is as follows: metagross, blaziken, rosesrade, milotic, and blissey. like cheol, he's trained his entire team for an incredibly long time to have earned the title of pledis champion. i can see him with sharp looking sunglasses and a jacket thrown over his shoulders that you're left wondering how it stays on. if you beat him, literally everyone shows up to clown on him /j. nah but fr, he straight up tells you not to get too comfortable: he'll rise up to challenge you for the title again soon, but he congratulates you on a battle well fought.

and then everyone clowns on him once you're out of the room to be added to the record because they saw that speech. loser lmao!!!!! big dork!!!! what a dramatic NERD!!!! and he probably laughs it off because where else is he going to just be able to ham it up and be a big dramatic goofball

#wooahaes.txt #svt pokemon au

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ifbench · 5 months ago

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Pokemon Soulsilver Retrospective, from the perspective of someone who had it as their first Pokemon game but never finished it (until now)

To preface this, this is not my first time playing Pokemon Soulsilver. I played some of it back in 2012 or so, but didn't get very far. And my memories of that playthrough are almost nonexistant, so this is essentially still a first playthrough.

If you'd like to read my other mainline Pokemon retrospectives, you can read Emerald here, X here, Firered here, and Black here.

Pokemon Soulsilver has a strange sort of anti-nostalgia to it to me.

It was technically my very first Pokemon game, yet I have more memories of the 25 minutes I played of Explorers of Time back in 2012, than I do of the several hours I played of Soulsilver in that year.

I don't even remember how far I truly got. It might have only been up to the first gym, it might have been up to Pryce, I don't know.

What I do know, though, is that like with Black, people keep bringing up Soulsilver and Heartgold to be the "golden age" of Pokemon. That it was when the series was good. (Though I personally disagree. I love Violet, and I also love what I've played of Shield so far.)

Nonetheless, the idea of trying Soulsilver again kept popping up in my head after I got into PMD. I briefly entertained the idea of playing it again in 2021, then again in 2022, but I never went through with it until I started this marathon.

But in September of 2023, I decided to do it. I deleted my old save file, and started anew. While I had chosen a Cyndaquil during my first playthrough, this time, I chose a Chikorita as my starter. I named him Acacia, after my PMD Rescue Team DX partner.

However, soon after entering Cherrygrove City, I very quickly got sidetracked with Emerald and put Soulsilver on hold. I didn't get back to it until July of 2024, after I had finished Emerald, X, Firered, and Black.

And after I figured out how to implement the infinite rare candy cheat, since I remember a lot of people talking about how grindy the Johto games are.

But after all that, my second playthrough of Soulsilver had truly begun.

I went to go meet Professor Oak, and as I was on my way to return to New Bark Town, I had my first encounter with this game's rival, Silver.

I very nearly lost that first battle, but through sheer luck, Acacia managed to win.

After meeting with Professor Elm again and hearing about the theft, I caught a Sentret, and named him Niko, after the Sentret on my friend's blog @fated-furret.

I continued on the way to Violet City, collecting a few apricorns along the way. It was cool seeing them again after Legends Arceus, even if they did originate here. I also briefly peeked into Dark Cave.

Violet City was neat to see! I enjoyed how the Pokemon Center and Pokemart had different colors than normal.

I decided to head to the Sprout Tower first, with Niko at the front of my party.

Side note, I love how your Pokemon follow you around in this game, and you can interact with them! Reminds me of the "Let's go together" feature from Violet.

The Sprout Tower was...not very fun. It was a bunch of extremely samey trainer battles, all the way up to the top floor. Though seeing the central pillar shake and wobble was pretty neat.

I also caught a Ratatta here, who would be my HM buddy. I named her Jifa, after my HM buddy from my Firered playthrough.

But with Niko leveled up quite a bit, I decided to take on Falkner. He was pretty tough, but Acacia felled his Pidgey, and Niko felled his Pidgeotto (after 5 Roosts).

Then I decided to take a short detour to explore the Ruins of Alph. It was cool to look around for what possible secrets the ruins held, and the sliding puzzle was fun, though I didn't spend much time there.

As I was traveling down Route 32, I caught a Mareep that I named Marla, and subsequently found someone trying to sell me a Slowpoke tail for an obscene amount of money. I knew from fandom osmosis that there was something related to Slowpoke tails coming up soon.

But before that, I had to traverse Union Cave. It was a bit tricky due to all the firebreather trainers around, but I made it out the other side, into Azalea Town, where Team Rocket awaited me.

After talking to Kurt, I went into the Slowpoke well, and had my first encounter with one of the Team Rocket executives, Proton. Thanks to Marla, he wasn't very difficult to defeat.

Apparently, in the original Johto games, GSC, the Rocket executives are all nameless? I guess that makes sense with how different they were in the GSC arc of the Adventures manga, but I'm glad they were given names and personalities in the remakes.

But after defeating Proton, it was time to face my second Johto gym leader, Bugsy. He was quite tricky, especially with how powerful that Scyther of his was. But he had a Metapod with only Tackle, allowing me to have Niko spam Defense Curls to maximize his defense. After that, taking care of the Scyther was easy, and I won.

My next task was to look for Farfetch'd in the Ilex Forest. I enjoyed the little puzzle here on how to sneak up on them, it was pretty neat!

Then, with Cut taught to Jifa, I pressed onwards, and helped out one of the Kimono Girls along the way.

Soon, I made it to Goldenrod City, the hometown of my character Gen.

It was one thing to research Goldenrod City, but another thing entirely to experience it myself. It was massive and sprawling, and took me quite a while to explore it fully.

I feel like now's a good time to talk about nostalgia.

See, I remember nothing of Goldenrod City from my 2012 playthrough. I'm not sure I even ever got there. Yet you might be wondering, why choose it to be Gen's hometown? Why not Saffron City, or Castelia City, or another city from the mainline Pokemon games?

It has less to do with Goldenrod City itself, and more with Johto as a region. My memories of Soulsilver from 2012, foggy and faint as they may be, did influence me to have Gen be from a Johto town. From there, I just chose what looked like the biggest city, and made that his hometown.

Johto does hold some nostalgia for me, and so I cannot truly say that this retrospective is untainted by nostalgia. I do, however, believe that nostalgia to be faint enough to be negligible. I hope that is satisfactory.

Back to Goldenrod City, I completed the quiz to get a radio card, and went to the gym to challenge Whitney.

The rumors weren't lying, that Miltank was tough. I had to have Acacia use stall strats in order to pull off a win.

Next up, I headed towards Ecruteak City, and was starting to understand the jokes about Youngster Joey, after receiving my 11th call about his "top percentage Ratatta".

Speaking of the Pokegear, it's really neat! It has so many little functions, such as the radio and calling people you've met along your journey. Though I do wish the map was a key item instead of being inside the Pokegear. I always assigned the town map to the quickselect button.

But soon, I made it to Ecruteak City, after catching a Pidgey and naming him Bagoli. After fending off a Rocket grunt inside the Dance Theater, I went inside the Burned Tower, to find Morty, Eusine, and Silver.

Eusine is definitely an odd character. All I knew of him before this playthrough was from Pokespe, and that he was a prominent character in Crystal. I think he's neat, though.

After a battle with Silver, I went downstairs, causing Entei, Raikou, and Suicune to flee. Though I'm not sure why they only fled then, and not during the commotion upstairs.

For the gym battle against Morty, I actually only used my Furret, Niko. I had kept Foresight on him, and this allowed him to sweep through the ghosts with Headbutt, while being immune to all the ghost moves.

Afterwards, I headed east, and got the Strength HM. But not wanting to go through a cave at the moment, I headed west towards Olivine...and immediately encountered Entei.

I had no idea what to do here. Entei was far beyond the levels of any of my Pokemon, and I had no idea what triggered the encounter.

So, since Niko was still in the front of my party, I used his Run Away ability to flee the battle.

It wasn't until I told my friends about this that I learned about Roaming Pokemon.

Apparently, Entei and Raikou randomly teleport around the map, and if you end up on a route with one of them, you have a chance of encountering them. You only have a single turn to do anything against them, but damage stays between battles with them.

I don't understand the reason for all this in the slightest.

I was rather baffled by this, but I continued onwards, to Olivine City. I caught a Pidgey somewhere around

I like the Olivine lighthouse's music. It reminds me a bit of Pokemon Tower from Firered. Somber, but catchy.

Eventually, I made it to the top of the lighthouse, and was told to go to Cianwood to get medicine for Amphy.

Side note, I love how the lighthouse Ampharos has a nickname.

Surfing to Cianwood was simple, and so was getting the medicine. And there was also Suicune, in plain sight. I was expecting Suicune to be a Roaming Pokemon like Entei and Raikou, but here they were.

Of course, they fled shortly afterwards, but it was nice seeing Eusine again afterwards, and getting to battle him!

The gym battle with Chuck was actually easier than his gym trainers. After winning, and with the medicine and Fly HM in hand, I flew back to the Olivine lighthouse, to give the medicine to Amphy.

Jasmine was a rather difficult battle, as I had nothing super-effective against Steel. It took several tries, and me mixing up my strategy a bit, but I managed to win.

I flew back to Ecruteak City, surfed around Mount Mortar, encountered Suicune and Eusine again, and arrived in Mahogany Town.

The gym was blocked off, I couldn't go further west, and the strange souvenir shop didn't hold much interest for now. So my only path forward was north, towards the Lake of Rage.

And I got mugged by Team Rocket along the way.

But I managed to catch the red Gyarados, my first shiny I've encountered during my entire mainline Pokemon marathon. I named them Splind.

After arriving back on shore, I encountered Lance for the first time since my Firered playthrough. It was cool seeing him outside the Pokemon League.

And after making my way back to Mahogany Town, I got to see the oft-memed scene of Lance having his Dragonite Hyper Beam someone. Then, it was time for the Johto Rocket Hideout.

I'll be honest, it kinda felt like a disjointed mess.

They had something cool starting out, with the Persian security statues. But after the first one, you can immediately turn them off, and they don't appear on any other floors. I'd have liked to see some stuff about remaining out of their lines of sight. There was also the explosive floor, which I still have no idea what was up with.

Then there was the two passwords, for which I had to battle Rocket grunts willy-nilly until I found both of the ones with passwords. I feel like a hint as to which grunts had the passwords would make this better.

The battle with Petrel wasn't much to speak of, though it was funny seeing him speaking the password aloud backfiring on him, thanks to his Murkrow.

Then there was a battle with another Rocket executive, Ariana. I feel like she and Petrel deserved their own separate encounters, instead of being immediately one after another.

And even after defeating her, it still wasn't over. I still had to defeat the Electrodes powering the radio transmission.

The entire hideout was all over the place, and I felt like it's a bit indicative of one of my main problems with this game.

But before that, it was time to take on Pryce.

He wasn't too tricky, but he was no pushover either. It was also interesting to see how he differed from his Pokespe incarnation.

But I won, and immediately afterwards, Team Rocket sends their second radio transmission.

I feel like now is the best time for me to talk about the pacing with Team Rocket in this game.

In short, I really feel like it'd have benefited from another major encounter with them before Mahogany Town. Maybe around Olivine or Cianwood.

Because before Mahognay Town, there was only two noteworthy encounters with them. The Slowpoke Well, and the single grunt in the Ecruteak Dance Theater. That's it.

Petrel and Ariana should have had their own bases, instead of being shoved into one together. I also feel like it'd help make Team Rocket feel like more of a threat, rather than something that happens almost entirely just before and just after the gym battle with Pryce.

Sorry for the negativity there, but I needed to get that off my chest.

Anyways, I flew back to Goldenrod City, to take on Team Rocket one final time...at least until Ultra Moon and Let's Go Eevee.

It was neat seeing the Rocket disguise from the first visit to Goldenrod coming into play here...at least until Silver unmasked me immediately after I entered the Radio Tower.

Still, it was fun fighting all the Rocket executives again. Petrel, Proton, and Ariana. It was a Rocket marathon, and I was having far more fun here than in the Rocket Hideout. Helped that the door puzzle in the underground storage area was pretty fun!

But soon enough, I was at the observation deck of the Radio Tower, ready to face off against Archer.

Like with Petrel and Ariana, I wish we had gotten to see more of Archer. But his battle didn't disappoint. It was quite tricky! But I won, and defeated this iteration of Team Rocket for good.

Again, though, mainline Pokemon games don't end when the plot ends. I still had quite a ways to go before the credits.

Next up was the Ice Path. It felt like sorta an extension of the Mahogany Town gym, with more ice puzzles. This time with an added echo of the Seafoam Islands puzzle, of using Strength to push boulders down holes. It was a fun challenge!

Soon, though, I made it through, to Blackthorn City, ready to face the final Johto gym leader, Clair. She was a tough opponent, but I won the battle.

Not the badge, though, not yet. For the second time this game, a gym leader refused to hand me the badge after I won the battle. But unlike Whitney, Clair wasn't content to just give me it anyways after a few seconds.

No, I had to go into the Dragon's Den, and pass one more test in order to prove myself worthy of the Rising Badge.

I really like this part of Soulsilver! It's so interesting to see some of the gym badges have a bit more to them than usual.

I passed the test, and received my final Johto badge, only to receive a call from Professor Elm, telling me to meet him at his lab.

I decided to go the long way, instead of simply flying there. So I set foot onto Route 45, and immediately encountered the last of the Legendary Beasts, Raikou.

Sure enough, after a single Petal Dance from Acacia, it fled. But I had now seen Entei, Raikou, and Suicune all at least once, and so I was satisfied.

After receiving the master ball from Professor Elm, it was now time for me to face the toughest trainers yet, the Kimono Girls.

Silver wasn't kidding, they were very tricky opponents. They may only have had one Pokemon each, but as I couldn't heal between, it was essentially like fighting one trainer with five Eeveelutions.

But I pulled through, and won, receiving the Tidal Bell. And then, it was time for me to go to the Whirl Islands.

Which were completely dark.

Oh no.

I was not looking forward to stumbling blindly in the dark again like I did with Rock Tunnel in Firered, and Emerald's Victory Road. And due to my single rule for this marathon, I could not look at a guide for help.

Not helping was that the only members of my team who could learn Flash already had four moves that I wanted to keep on them.

Luckily, I was still able to ask friends for advice, and one of them gave me a very useful tip. To go in the top-right island entrance, and not take any stairs.

And so, I navigated through the Whirl Islands with that advice in mind, eventually coming to Lugia's hiding place beneath the waves.

The scenee to summon Lugia was really cool! I love how the bells stated getting added to the track as each one began to ring.

And then, it was time to face off against the box legendary, Lugia.

I wanted to catch Lugia. Not only that, I wanted to catch Lugia in anything but the master ball. I wanted to prove that I was worthy of being Lugia's trainer.

They weren't kidding, the catch rate for Johto's legendaries is very small. Even after having Marla paralyze Lugia and then knock it down to a tiny sliver of health, I went through all my ultra balls and great balls without a catch.

I tried again, having Marla knock Lugia down to an even tinier sliver of health, plus paralysis. Still, it took nearly my entire ultra ball stock again to catch Lugia.

But I did catch Lugia. It was time to say goodbye for Jifa, at least for now, as I had Lugia take the sixth spot on my team. I needed every advantage I could get for what was to come.

My first steps as part of that, would be my first steps in this game into Kanto.

You see, I had thought that the entirety of Kanto was post-game only. That you wouldn't even step foot there until after the credits roll. So imagine my surprise when the first person I meet after surfing east from New Bark Town tells me that I'm in Kanto now!

It was so cool seeing the map be updated to show this section of Kanto, and it made me determined to keep going.

The trainer battles on Route 27 and Route 26 were some of the toughest yet, but I kept going, unstoppable on my way to the Pokemon League.

But before I got there, I had one final challenge, Victory Road.

It wasn't nearly as tricky as the other Victory Roads I had faced so far. The puzzles were pretty simple, and here weren't any trainers there.

Well, except for one, who had driven off all the other trainers on Victory Road.

The final fight here with Silver reminded me of the battle with Wally from Emerald. A final battle with one of your rivals, inside Victory Road. Only this time, it was at the end of Victory Road, rather than the start.

It was fun to see Silver realizing what he had to do to become a truly strong trainer: be better friends with his Pokemon.

Silver is probably my favorite of the "jerk rivals" (though what I've heard of Bede makes him a very close contender). He's a very interesting character, and this final battle with him was great!

After saying goodbye to Silver for the final time, it was time to enter the Pokemon League.

Healing up my team, and purchasing some final supplies, I headed beyond the doorway at the top, to start my Elite Four challenge.

Will was quite tough! But Psychic's weakness to Bug would be my key here, with Marla's Signal Beam decimating many of his Pokemon. While I won this battle handily, it would only get more difficult from here.

Koga was no joke. I had no counter to Poison, and his hyper-evasive Pokemon badly poisoned several members of my team. But Niko's Foresight would once again prove useful, and be key in taking down Koga's Pokemon.

Next was another familiar face, Bruno. Bagoli and Lugia were key here, but a tricky switch-out from Bruno during a Fly from Bagoli had him get taken out by a Rock Slide from Bruno's Onix. Thankfully, Acacia was able to take care of the Onix, and Lugia took care of the rest.

Finally, there was Karen. True to her advice, I was going to try to win with my favorites. I tried to have Niko pull the Foresight trick against her Gengar, but it surprised me with a Focus Blast, taking Niko out. But with the help of Marla, Acacia, and Splind, Karen's team was defeated.

All that remained now was Champion Lance.

I healed up my team, but forgot to use an Ether on Marla, whose Discharge was running low on PP. This would soon come back to bite me.

Lance was my toughest opponent in this game by far. Sure, Marla easily took out his Gyarados with a Discharge, and Splind took out his most powerful Dragonite with an Ice Fang, but then the tides turned in Lance's favor. Splind got knocked out by a Thunder, and Marla ran out of PP for Discharge. I had to scramble to figure out a strategy, and it took all of my remaining Hyper Potions.

But eventually, I won. I became champion of Johto, and finally finished Soulsilver. I had done what my 2012 self couldn't, and beaten this game for the very first time.

I had completed Pokemon Soulsilver, and that fact means so much to me.

I will be doing the postgame for Soulsilver eventually. But that'll probably be its own retrospective.

I had a lot of fun with Soulsilver! Sure, its pacing could have been a lot better, but it was a really nice experience overall! Though I feel like it'd have been a lot trickier and more frustrating without the infinite rare candy cheat.

I am so happy to have finally completed this game, 12 years later.

#pokemon #pokemon retrospective #retrospective #soulsilver retrospective #johto retrospective #johto #pokemon soulsilver #pokemon soulsilver retrospective

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reds-fluff-extravaganza · 1 year ago

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Steven x reader

Requested over on ao3! I went with a happy au for this one cause they wanted fluff and it fit better for this oneshot

“Do you think he’ll be surprised?” You asked as you were walking towards Mike and Steven’s house, holding a pokeball in your hand.

“Oh, absolutely.” Mike nodded in agreement as he walked beside you. “If you offer it to him, he’ll accept it from you, consider you are his partner.”

“I suppose that is true.” You chuckle a bit as you and the brunette continued walking, glancing down at the pokeball in your hand, which held a pokemon that you were going to show to your boyfriend, Steven. What had happened was: Mike had asked Steven to trade Miki to get the data for his pokedex, but you had a better idea, since you had a Charizard of your own, you figured you could breed them and give Mike the egg so he could raise his own.

What you weren’t expecting however, was two eggs waiting for you at the daycare center. You didn’t mind, really, you could just raise the other one and give it to a trainer starting out their journey or something. Or at least, that was the original plan. That all changed when the two Charmander hatched. One you did give to Mike as promised, but the other you just couldn’t give up.

“Y/n, we’re here.” You were brought out from your thoughts as you heard Mike talking to you.

“I just hope he won’t freak out or anything.”

“I doubt it. Come on, he should be here.” Mike opened the door and let you inside before following you into the house.

“Steven?” You both called out to the raven haired male, who soon walked into the room.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Great! Y/n has something they want to show you.”

“Oh, uh, alright. What is it, Y/n?” You gave Mike a playful glare before you walked over to Steven, placing the pokeball you had in your hand, into his own.

“Let them out, Steven.” He nodded in response and let the pokemon out from the pokeball. What he saw, however, was definitely not what he was expecting. What stood in front of him was…

“A shiny Charmander.” Steven just barely managed to get his words out, surprised to see the shiny Pokemon in front of him.

“Yep.” You nodded, a faint smile on your face as you watched him pick up the golden colored Charmander and hug it.

“This is amazing, Y/n! Also very rare, but amazing.”

“Agreed.” You went over to him and hugged him as well, the Charmander seemingly enjoyed the attention as he got closer to both of you with a smile on his face.

“And I figured… since he is from our two Charizard, we could… help raise him together?” Steven looked back at you, a surprised look on his face, before he nodded and kissed your forehead softly.

“I would like that, very much. Hopefully Miki won’t get too overprotective or anything.”

“Well just have to wait and see.” You chuckled a bit in response.

“Should we… give him a name?” You tilt your head to the side in a curious manner.

“I think we should.” Steven tapped his chin in thought, as if in thought. “Let’s see what we can come up with.”

“Well, he is like a golden color…”

“Gold? no, that doesn’t sound right for him.” You two continued mulling it over, throwing out ideas for names, either not liking them, or putting them into consideration. That is, until you came up with another name:

“How about Solaris? Since he’s golden like the sun, and Solaris is a name that means of the sun, if I remember correctly.”

“Solaris…” Steven thought about it for a moment, looking down at the Charmander in his arms, who looked back up at him and smiled.

“I think it’s perfect.”

“Then that settles it. Welcome to the family, little Solaris.” You pet Solaris’ head, who smiled more and nuzzled against your hand, letting out happy cries.

“I think he likes it, Y/n.”

“I’m glad he does.” You hugged them both, looking up at Steven.

“I love you, Steven.”

“I love you too, Y/n.” He leaned down and kissed your cheek, you giving him one in return. “Now come on, let’s go show Solaris the world!” You let go of Steven and grabbed his hand, him holding your hand now as you practically dragged him outside, smiling and laughing. Steven chuckled a bit as he followed you outside, Solaris happily following behind you two.

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pokemoncenter · 1 year ago

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@illusionfreak hey so has Bean ever used their ability of illusion at all to get into trouble?

Ah, I should explain this to all my new followers.

Beans is my Zorua, but she is an extremely unusual case as far as Zoruas go. The short version, is that Beans cannot use illusions, but that is not entirely accurate.

I found Beans many years ago, about a year or two after the fall of the first Team Plasma. She was digging in the trash outside my home, and knocked over the garbage cans. I came to investigate, and she was quite scared of me. Her illusions were... rather strange- They did not make any sense. I could not see any details, nor did these 'illusions' interact with the world- They floated around through the objects around without even attempting to pretend they were making contact. As a result, this did not actually deter me from approaching her.

I noticed, at the time, she had several injuries that were not inflicted by Pokemon. Boot prints, injuries from being thrown... As I discovered later, an intense fear of brooms. She resisted me, and scratched and bit... In retrospect, I should not have forced the issue, but I was frightened for her, and I picked her up regardless of the injuries I received. And I ran her to the closest Pokemon Center, and did everything I could... I took her in, and it took me quite some time to earn her trust.

What I heard from the Center, and the veterinarian they referred me to, was that Beans had some manner of disability. Her illusions are impaired- I suspect the origin of this is traumatic, though I do not know if it is physical or emotional trauma... Of course, it could simply be nothing more than a birth defect, as well. It ultimately does not matter much, as the outcome is the same.

When Beans attempts to use her illusions, she cannot hide herself. Instead, she creates... what I can only assume are her perception of the world. Rather than accurate illusions, she creates towering, faceless figures that 'clip' through the area around her. Shadowy monsters that seem to be how she sees humans.

The problem with this is that her illusions, being based on her own perception, scare her as well. And when she is scared, she tries to create more illusions. The feedback loop terrifies her immensely, and she is difficult to calm down from this. It has taken... a great deal of work to make her feel happy and safe enough to even go outside, and fortunately, even when she's scared, she now defaults to jumping on me rather than attempting illusions.

I am proud of how far she has come. She is safe now, and I do my best to give her the happiest life possible. In many ways, she saved me from my isolation after the fall of Plasma, so now I wish to return the favor and make sure she has a full, blessed life.

#pokeblogging #pkmn irl #unreality #beans the zorua

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shilo-sumac · 28 days ago

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New Pinned Hello Hi!!!!!

((Technically a WIP but the important parts are done))

last edited 1/15/25 (Added Pokemon list, boundaries section, and fixed some awkward wording.)

No ongoing arcs

im Shilo hiiiiiii hello hi hi! she/they please! im somewhere in my 20s i think. welcome to my blog, i hope we can be friends!!!! :D im a ride or die guy if we become friends you can count on me forever n always!!!!! sometimes i give nicknames to people so that i don't risk forgetting them

originally, this blog was just going to be about my rehabilitation center, but interacting with other people was just too fun! plus i suck at keeping my mouth shut.

sooo about me, i guess! after winning the sinnoh championship, i got my pokemon science degree and "retired" to rehabilitate pokemon for a living on a private island off the coast of sinnoh, i nurse abandoned or injured pokemon back to health and help them return to the wild or find their forever homes 💜 hmu if you ever wanna adopt somn!

i love infodumping about pokemon facts. please ask me how to take care of pokemon ill love you forever.

oh uhm, i should probably warn ya... i may get mood swings... and im really sorry if they bother anyone, i uh... might have a mental illness or two.

Here's My Trainer Cards! [Old and New, respectively]

Urtle, Monarch, Bess, Gadzooks, Bane and Bianca!

Rin, Spooky!, Bianca, Gadzooks, Bane and Mym!

Hello hello! Welcome to my oc's blog. They really needed a new pinned since the old one was really long winded. I'm Ri! No pronouns or it/they! I admittedly still am figuring stuff out here but I think I'm doing well! Follows and likes will come from @ridragon. Pleaaaase come talk to me if I ever do something you don't like or accidentally break a boundary, I won't know unless you tell me! I love interactions of all kinds, feel free to send asks and reblog with comments. Or send me compliments. I like those too. :3c Always open to make new friends here.

NOTE: Shilo's blog will have themes of death, delusions, depression and injuries (both self inflicted and by others), doubt of personhood/humanity, and disassociation.

Shilo suffers from delusions and therefore is not a reliable narrator when it comes to information about herself, her mental state, or her physical well being.

FURTHERMORE: The line between delusion and what's actually happening to her can and will be very thin at times.

Her mood swings may cause her to go from sillyblogging to rage and threats to depression and back to silly again, though she's mainly my silly gorl it's fun to explore on occasion.

Things tagged as "memento" are plot or character relevant. ;3

Boundaries: Uhhhh, can't really think of much atm. I have good friends who are minors who I don't wanna alienate, so no explicit nsfw (jokes are alright, which will be tagged as "suggestive.") This section may be updated if I realize something makes me uncomfortable in the future. Mod and muse are both adults.

Links to important things:

[World Info and Muse Trivia]

[Frequently Used Tags]

[Ended Arcs with mini descriptions post here whenever you make it]

List of Pokémon + Minibios

Reference!

#pinned post #character bio #pokemon irl #rotumblr #rotomblr #pkmn irl #pokeblogging #pokemon oc #pokemon art #my art #art of shilo

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megamidevice · 1 year ago

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Hisuian Zorua & Hisuian Zoroark • Pokemon Legends: Arceus Pokemon Center Original Figure by Kotobukiya & Pokemon Center

#zorua #zoroark #hisuian zoroark #hisuian zorua #pokemon #legends arceus #video games #pokemon center original figure #figure #upload #kotobukiya #pokemon center

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miblue · 6 months ago

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So I got into a conversation with some friends about original characters. And trying to think back to very first oc.

Like a very first original character, who wasn't just yourself inserted into show/movie. Cause we all do that, and I don't feel like those count as actual original characters (until you are able to completely separate everything of yourself from them)

And it was interesting, cause it made me really think back. And I think I can say with full confidence, this was truly my first, and after 20 years, I attempted to draw it.

Names or details are lost to the sands of time n space, but I remeber the important bulk

When I was 10, I made this character (who is also supposed to be 9 just turning 10. She's just tiny). I don't remeber her name but I know it was some kinda flower. Anyways. She was the youngest child of a traveling performers.(that traveled by ship, between kento n johto) she wasn't apart of it. But her older sister, that all also have evolved eevees did.

They were simply known as the eeveelution sisters.

They supposed to eaxh have a act centered around their pokemon and their type. Ending with all 3 coming together for a big finally.

Espion and umberon just came out around this time, so they had their own act, that was a very swan lake kinda vibes with the two.

Basically the idea is, eevee youngest, is kinda getting lowkeyed overwhelmed by each one of her siblings trying to show how their evolution is the best option and she should evolve her eevee like theirs, and she loves them all, but nothing seems like the right fit, and in the end comes to the conclusion she can only make such a choice for herself and her pokemon, on their own, they need to go on an adventure and figure our the answer

(Yeah I very much remember it did not go past the, writing it in my little head like it was just a singular episode of pokemon...I was 10. Let's be fair!!!))

But yeah. Thinking about it again. Like unlocking a dormant idea. It's not great by any stretch of the imagination. But I kinda wanna poke at it now.

#cool story blue #sketches #Very very very old idea #Like I think I drew her once before and gave up cause it didn't look like the show #I was a child I had no idea what I was doing even worse then #And this was before the internet was bigger #pokemon oc

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bethanythebogwitch · 1 year ago

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Digimon & Mythology: the Holy Beasts and the Deva

I really like mythology and I really like Digimon, so why not combine them? Talking about the real-world inspirations behind monsters is something I've been doing with Pokemon, so let's give Digimon the same treatment.

Digimon has a lot of special groups whose members share common goals and origins. Two of these groups that are inticately linked to each other are the Holy Beasts (translated to English as the Sovereigns or Harmonious Ones) and the Deva. The Holy beasts are Ultimate/Mega level Digimon who each guard one of the cardinal directions of the Digital World: north, south, east, and west, with a 5th member ruling over the other four and guarding the center. The Deva are a group of 12 Perfect/Ultimate level Digimon that serve the Holy Beasts, with each of the Beasts having 3 Deva that answer to it. The Beast of the center has no Deva.

The Holy Beasts are based on the Chinese legend of the Four Symbols or Sì Xiàng. Other names for them include the Four Guardians, Four Gods, and Four Auspicious Beasts. These are four constellations that are said to represent and guard the four cardinal directions. Some versions of the myth add a 5th member representing the center. While it originated in China, the legend of the Four Symbols spread across East Asia and can now be found in many cultures. The legend reached Japan where it inspired the designers of Digimon. They specifically made the Holy Beasts based on a Japanese variant of the legend where the Four Symbols are believed to guard Kyoto. The Beasts are also associated with seasons and were syncretized into the 5 elements of the Wuxing: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. I will discuss each Digimon and its mythological counterpart below.

The Deva have multiple origins. The name comes from the Devas of Hinduism, benevolent supernatural beings who fought against the evil Asuras. As Hinduism evolved and changed over time, the term took on varying meanings, but still retained the idea that Devas are good. Buddhism adopted the idea when it split off from Hinduism. Buddhist Devas are beings that are more powerful than humans, but are still mortal and trapped in the same cycle of death and reincarnation as humans are. While Devas may be venerated by humans, they are still below the Buddhas. This can be seen in the Digimon Deva who are powerful beings (though not all of them are as benevolent as their mythical counterparts) but still are subordinate to the Holy Beasts. The Deva take the shape of animals from the Chinese zodiac. The names of the Deva come from the Twelve Heavenly Generals. These are Buddhist figures that are the guardians of Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha if healing and medicine in Mahāyāna Buddhism. This story spread throughout Asia including to Japan, where Bhaisajyaguru is called Yakushi. The Heavenly Generals eventually came to be associated with the animals of the Chinese zodiac, though different traditions disagree on which animal is associated with which general. I think I have tracked down the version used by the Digimon creators, which uses the same animals for the Generals and the Deva. The Deva's names all come from Japanese transliterations of the Generals' original Sanskrit names. In this tradition, each General is associated with a particular weapon. The Deva share this trait, each having a weapon named in Chinese called the Bǎo [weapon name] with Bǎo meaning "treasure". Stragely, the Deva mix up which weapon is associated with which General. I don't know if this was intentional or not. Each Deva also has an attack named after one of the Narakas (hells) listed in the Hindu text Vishnu Purana. More detail on each Deva will be presented below.

The Holy Beast of the north is Xuanwumon (Ebonwumon in English). It is a gigantic tortoise with two snake-like heads and a tree for a shell. It is based on Xuánwǔ, the Black Tortoise of the Four Symbols. While nearly every depiction of Xuánwǔ depicts it as a tortoise, usually with a snake on its shell, the name actually translates to "black warrior". It is associated with the season of winter and element of water. The snake seen with it is because it was believed that turtles could only mate with snakes and not each other. Yeah, the Greeks weren't the only people who could be hilariously wrong about animals. The snake connection carries over to Xuanwumon, whose heads and necks are those of snakes. Xuanwumon is the eldest of the Holy Beasts and fights using water powers (fitting its mythical counterpart). It is also the least violent of the Holy Beasts and is a philosopher who comes up with zen koans.

The Deva who serve Xuanwumon are Kumbhiramon the mouse, Vajramon the bull, and Vikaralamon the boar. Kumbhiramon is usually depicted as the weakest of the Deva, but is very intelligent, capable of predictions the actions of others, and participates in Xuanwumon's philosophical musings. It is also rather rude and sarcastic while playing up its charming and cute aspects. It's weapon is the Bǎo Chǔ, a vajra (type of Indian club) that it controls with telekinesis. This is one case where its namesake does use the same weapon and it functions as a pun since "chu" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a mouse's squeak.

Vajramon is the most physically strong of the Deva and is a mighty warrior who seeks truth and honor and despises cowardice. It also aims to rid itself of material and emotional concerns, fitting the Buddhist origins of the Deva. It wields the Bǎo Jiàn, a pair of swords, which fits its legendary counterpart.

Vikaralamon is the largest of the Deva. It is detached, preferring to silently observe the world form a distance and only steps in when it needs to. It may also just be lazy as it sleeps a lot and can sleep with its eyes open. Its weapon is the Bǎo Lún, wheels that it spits out of its mouth and which have different effects depending on what color they are. None of the Heavenly Generals uses a wheel. Its namesake instead uses a sword or vajra. The wheel is a common symbol in Buddhism used to symbolize the cycle of death and rebirth.

The Holy Beast of the west is Qinglongmon (Azulongmon in English), a dragon made of storm clouds. It is based on Qīnlóng, the azure dragon of the east. It is associated with the season of spring and the element of `wood. Xuanwumon seems to have stolen the wood though, given it has a tree on its shell and Quinglongmon has nothing woody about it. Quinglongmon is described as a dispassionate deity who rarely concerns itself with humans or weak Digimon and will only step in when things get serious. This is in contrast to its anime appearances, where it was the most helpful and proactive of the four. Quinglongmon is also a member of the Four Great Dragons, possibly the least utilized group in the franchise. They exist as nothing but a reference to the Chinese Myth of the Four Dragon Kings.

The Deva that serve Quinglongmon are Andiramon the rabbit, Majiramon the dragon, and Mihiramon the tiger. Andiramon (Antylamon in English) is the first of the Deva to debut, predating the group as a whole, though in a different form. There are two forms of Andiramon, Andiramon (data) and Andiramon (virus) with the former being treated as the normal form and the latter being a corrupted version of the Deva as a result of a computer virus. Andiramon (virus) appeared before Andiramon (data). Andiramon is also the only Deva with a dedicated evolution line from Child/Rookie to Ultimate/Mega. Andiramon is a gentle Digimon that loves small and cute creatures and will defend them. Its weapon is the Bǎo Fǔ, which are its own hands transformed into axes. Its mythical counterpart instead uses a mallet or whisk.

Andiramon (data)

Andiramon (virus)

Majiramon is the most capitalist of the Deva. It is extremely greedy and will not lift a finger to do anything that doesn't benefit itself. It also puts a monetary value on everything and will intervene if anything upsets the flow of money. Its weapon is the Bǎo Shǐ, arrows formed from its hair, each of which is worth 5,000 yen. Its associated General is usually associated with bows or spears.

Mihiramon is a scoundrel and a ruffian that enjoys picking fights, but is also the Deva's best strategist and possesses a brilliant tactical mind. Combined with its ability to fly and incredible speed, Mihiramon is one of the best fighters amongst the Deva. Its weapon is the Bǎo Bàng, a three-sectioned staff connected by chains that it can turn its tail into. Think a souped-up nunchuck. Its mythical counterpart uses a vajra instead.

The Holy Beast of the South is Zhuqiaomon. It is based on Zhūquè, the Vermillion Bird of the south. The bird is described as a pheasant with five-colored feathers and that is perpetually covered in fire. Fittingly, its season is summer and its element is fire. Zhuqiaomon is also a flaming bird that attacks with fire. It is the least pleasant of the Holy Beasts, a violent and often cruel god who incinerates those who approach it and rarely helps out others. Fittingly, its sole major anime appearance was as a villain.

The Deva who serve Zhuqiaomon are just as assholeish as their master. They are Indaramon the horse, Pajiramon the sheep, and Sandiramon the snake. Indaramon is a vain asshole that spends its time bragging about talented it is. It even looks down on those who value hard work as it views them as inferior to its natural talent. Despite fussing over its appearance, it is completely unrefined in battle and fights like a berserker. Its weapon is the Bǎo Bèi, a giant gilded conch shell that it uses as a bludgeon and as a horn that can release ultrasonic blasts. Its mythical counterpart instead used a staff

Pajiramon is one of the coolest Deva and one of the evilest. It rules the world of dreams and knows many dark secrets that it divulges to no others. It even avoids the other Deva. While it is described as always calm and yet cruel to others it gives me the impression that the secrets it holds are so dangerous that it must stay away from others at all costs. Its weapon is the Bǎo Gōng, its crossbow that fires arrows which can put others to sleep and trap them in nightmares. It's mythical counterpart also uses a bow.

Sandiramon is the cruelest and most cunning of the Deva. It prefers to draw out fights and kill its enemies in slow and torturous ways. It also lives underground and excels in subterranean combat. Why do snakes always have to be evil? Let us have good snakes damnit. I really don't like it when a group of animals are always or almost always villains in fiction, like sharks, rats, vultures, and snakes. Its weapon is the Bǎo Kuí, spears made of light that it spits out of its mouth. Its mythical counterpart uses a sword or conch shell instead.

The Holy Beast of the west is Baihumon. It is based on Báihǔ, the White Tiger of the West. Báihǔ is associated with autumn and the element of metal. Metal is fitting for Baihumon as it wears metal armor and can unleash a roar that turns targets into metal statues. Baihumon is the youngest and strongest of the Holy Beasts. It is a neutral being that prefers not to get involved in most matters, but is the first Holy Beast to leap into the fight against a powerful enemy.

The Deva that serve Baihumon are Caturamon the dog, Makuramon the monkey, and Sinduramon the rooster. Caturamon has a strong sense of justice and will preside over judgement of others, proclaiming them as good or evil. It's view of justice is very black and white and it doesn't like dealing with situations without a clear good and bad side. It also acts like an older brother to its fellows, something they do not seem to reciprocate. Its weapon is the Bǎo Chuí, a giant hammer it can transform its whole body into. Its mythical counterpart uses swords instead.

Makuramon is interesting it that it almost never speaks and its face remains completely expressionless. This would make its emotions enigmatic, but its body language is extremely expressive, showing it to be hyperactive and extremely curious, though with a short attention span. It dislikes battles and prefers to trap enemies and settle fights nonviolently. This is opposed to its major anime appearance, where it was a total asshole. Its weapon is the Bǎo Yù, spheres that can be used to trap other Digimon. Its mythical counterpart prefers an axe.

The last Deva is Sinduramon, which also sounds like it would be unpleasant to be around. It's a gossip that loves to give insults and pick fights, then it hides inside its armored shell when this inevitably gets it into trouble. I know some people like that and they suck. Its weapon is shared with Kumbhiramon, a vajra called Bǎo Chǔ. Sandiramon's vajra can shoot lightning. Its mythical counterpart also uses a vajra, but a single-pronged one instead of a three-pronged one.

The leader of the Holy Beasts and one of the most powerful Digimon in existence is Huanglongmon (Fanglongmon in English). It is based on Huánglóng, the Yellow Dragon of the Center. It is considered the incarnation of the supreme deity that is the Yellow Emperor and its color represents the earth. It represents the changing of the seasons and the element of earth. Huanglongmon is associated with earth in that it is trapped in the center of the world, from which it observes the Digital World and oversees the other Holy Beasts. In the distant past it was free, but when Lucemon (Digimon's devil) rebelled against God, it trapped Huanglongmon as its first act since its rebellion would have been foiled were Huanglongmon around to oppose it. The imprisonment of Huanglongmon caused the other Holy Beasts to begin fighting for supremacy, but they eventually settled into an equilibrium. Huanglongmon's body is coated in the ultra-rare metal Huanglong ore, which is utterly indestructible. Assimilating Huanglong ore into one's body is a process that takes so long that only Huanglongmon is old enough to actually use it. Huanglongmon is both good and evil, having achieved true balance. If that balance is thrown off, bad things can happen. Specifically, if it leans too hard to evil it will become Huanglongmon Ruin Mode, an unstoppable god of ruin whose rampage was only stopped when the other Holy Beasts restored the balance. This would imply that it also has a mode where it leans too hard to good (Holy Mode? Creation Mode?) but this have never been made official.

Huanglongmon

Huanglongmon Ruin Mode

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