#pokemon research/resources

[jaybug-jabbers]

Gen 3 Beta Pokemon 'Dex - Page 3

Continuing the beta pokemon, previous post is here.

Name: Hipo [ヒポ]

My Notes: A pastel blue hippo that seems to have a baby bonnet-inspired frill on its head.

Name: Charmin [チャーミン]

My Notes: Some kind of baby pokemon. Might be a beta Happiny, just based on the egg and the pink coloration, as well as the frills on the side of the head. There are no evo notes or data though.

Name: Piper [ピッパー]

Type: Normal

Category: Lottery

Height/Weight: 1'4'', 17.6 lbs

Pokedex Entries:

It changes into different forms during evolution, but the cause of these transformations is unknown, attracting the attention of Pokémon researchers.

--

Its biology is mostly unknown. It doesn't seem to have a visible mouth or ears, but it reacts to sounds and light, which has been confirmed.

Additional Gamefreak Notes:

A Pokémon that evolves through transformation. When it evolves, it transforms into various different Pokémon.

Evolution: Supposedly able to randomly evolve into any pokemon

My Notes: Unlike Ditto which can transform temporarily into any pokemon, this guy would have been able to evolve into any pokemon pernamently. I imagine if they went through with this they probably would have put a few limits on it and prevented it from evolving into legendaries/mythicals, though. I also imagine Piper probably would not learn many moves before evolution, since anything it evolved into would also have access to those moves-- unless they were to make an exception for Piper and have it forget the moves of its previous incarnation.

Name: Snoun [スノウン]

My Notes: Apparently it's a snowman moth. Honestly a cute idea, though the sprite can use some refinement. We did eventually get Frosmoth of course, but this shows they were thinking of an icy moth for a long time.

Name: Panpamu [パンパム]

My Notes: A toy monkey with cymbals. By the way, if you google 'Jolly Chimp,' a vintage cymbal-banging monkey toy, be prepared for some very creepy photos. Anyway, this pokemon was probably based on it; the toy itself was based on organ grinders training monkeys to bang symbols.

Name: Bonbongo [ボンボンゴ]

My Notes: These two do not have index numbers next to each other, but it's still possible Panpamu would have evolved into Bonbongo here. Keep in mind, there is a vintage boxing monkey toy that was made in Japan.

Name: Shiomagune [シオマグネ]

My Notes: A crab with magnets for claws. The "hair" are magnetic metal filings. The use of magnetic filings as hair would later be seen in Probopass and in Sandy Shocks. We also have "hairy" crabs with Crabominable (based on the yeti crab) and Klawf. Despite all that, I wish we had this magnet crab, a Water/Electric crab (my speculation on typing) would have been cool. This is one of my favorites.

Name: Torchin [トーチン]

My Notes: A strange snake with four stubby legs and a tail on fire. HRP's notes say that this pokemon was reworked into Seviper. I don't see much in common with Seviper, other than the fact they are snakes. But until I gain access to the original files, I'll have to take their word for it.

Name: Ponku [ポンク]

Evolution: Evolves into Tanpu

Name: Tanpu [タンプ]

Evolution: Evolves from Ponku

My Notes: TCRF calls these vacuum cleaner pokemon. I . . . guess they are? They're pretty weird looking vacuums if that's what they are. Interestingly, this guy seems to have fins and looks fish-like.

Name: Paootsu [パオーツ]

Evolution: Evolves from Spinda

My Notes: We could have had a badass Spinda evolution! I'm sad.

Name: Suiba [スイバ]

My Notes: I can't figure out what they were going for here. At any rate it seems part Steel-type.

Name: Lighli [ライライ]

Type: Flying/Dragon

Category: White Dragon

Height/Weight: 11'10'', 385.8 lbs

Pokedex Entries:

Lives a nomadic life without a fixed home, attacking by wrapping its long body around opponents and striking with a sharp beak.

--

Its entire body is covered in white scales. When it flies through the sky, its scales scatter, creating a sparkling trail of light in the sky.

Additional Gamefreak Notes: A Pokémon that does not settle in one place. It has no sense of territory and lives a nomadic life. Its entire body is covered in thin, hard, white scales. When it flies, the scales scatter and sparkle. It wraps around the enemy's body, constricting them, and finishes by striking with its beak

Evolution: Evolved from Swablu

My Notes: Believe it or not this was beta Altaria. Altaria went on to be refined into a very different kind of birdlike dragon, and it's possible that elements of Lighli were then used for Rayquaza (a long, snakelike flying Dragon). In the sprite scratchpads, Lighli's design was updated to be closer to its concept art:

Name: Shaboo [シャボー]

My Notes: This thing terrifies me. That is all.

Name: Hakogame [ハコガメ]

My Notes: I feel like they were cooking with this one, they just needed to refine the idea some more. Possibly this guy was scrapped in favor of-- or changed into-- Torkoal.

[acepalindrome]

I’m not in college anymore and don’t have the time or energy to invest in doing a whole research project, but I think it would be really fun to research the role of technology in horror, scary stories, urban legends and so on. I was thinking about horror that deals with physical media, like the VHS in The Ring, or stories about finding a cassette tape or CD at a yard sale that has some kind of curse or haunting connected to it, or all the creepypastas about used Pokemon cartridges that have Something Wrong with them.

This is a fairly recent phenomenon since physical media hasn’t been around all that long, but now the world is becoming increasingly digital and stories like those are phasing out. So that creates opportunities for horror that deals with digital media, and especially the internet. Not even just horror where the source of the scary thing is the internet, but horror that uses the internet as a vessel to tell the stories.

I love the Kisaragi Station story, in which a women is stuck on a weird spooky train that makes no stops, and starts posting to an internet forum on her phone to ask for help identifying where she’s going. She keeps posting updates, and eventually posts that her phone’s battery is dying and that she’s going to try to make a run for it (at this point in the story she was trapped by a spooky man.) And that’s the end!

I love the elements of this story using an internet forum to offer a believable way that this story is being told, as opposed to, ‘I heard this story from some guy who heard it from some guy etc.’ It’s a person posting her apparent own experiences to ask others for help in a way that people often do! And that she had a mobile phone to update the story in ‘real time,’ again, this is fairly new! A lot of old horror stories will deal with the fear of being isolated and unable to contact anyone for help, but in the modern world, almost everyone has a phone and a way to reach others. So we have to take this into account with horror! Being able to contact people outside the train doesn’t help save the girl in the story, because no one can find out where she is even though she’s asking a forum that has their own resources to help. Because she’s stuck on the train to hell or whatever, and our phones can’t save us.

It’s just really interesting! How the scary stories we tell evolve with us! New things enter our world and are sources of fear and anxiety, so we tell stories about them! Hell, look at all the stories that deal with shit getting fucked up from nuclear radiation. A fairly new fear in the history of the world! Or use things in our modern world to show that all our modern conveniences and things that made our world safer can’t protect you from like, Slender Man. I really love this stuff!!

[crimmothy]

Who's making Mario and Luigi Brothership?

I'm really really excited for Mario and Luigi Brothership! I've been with the series for a long time and to finally see a completely new entry that so faithfully emulates the style of the past game while still having unique character design, and really good animation has me hyped! But after watching the trailer and screaming for a bit I had one question. Who's actually making this game? Alpha dream went bankrupt in 2019, and the studio has been gone since. As to where their staff ended up we know that Hiroyuki Kubota is at Monolith Soft, Yoshihiko Maekawa supervised the Super Mario RPG Remake and according to Stealth40k on Twitter several of the senior staff that worked on Dream Team still work with Nintendo. The director of both the Superstar Saga Remake and the BiS remake ended up working at ILCA as quality assurance support on Sand Land. The point being is that the Alpha dream staff are scattered about the industry and aren't really at one studio. It's possible that some of them are working on Brothership but we most likely won't know until release. So I started to research Nintendo development partners that have experience with RPGs and here's what I've come up with so far. -Monolith Soft( Most notable for their franchise Xenoblade but also worked on Baten Kaitos, they're notable since they've provided support for a lot of recent Nintendo games including Splatoon 3 and Tears of the Kingdom) -Intelligent Systems ( Notable mainly for FE, but recently developed the Paper Mario Thousand Year Door remaster) -Genius Sonority( Developed Pokemon Colloseum and XD Gale of Darkness, are currently working on the New Denpa Men that was announced in the direct) Camelot ( Though they're known for their more recent works on Mario Sport titles, they made the goat Golden Sun) ILCA (Recently worked on BDSP, has an former Alphadream director as well as other staff) Arte Piazza Ltd. (Has a lot, and I do mean a lot of experience on RPGS and were recently on the Super Mario RPG remake) My best guess so far would probably be ILCA? Since I don't believe they're working on anything outside of porting One Piece Odyssey to Switch, they have several previous Alphadream staff and they have at least worked on a Nintendo Franchise before being Pokemon. But it could also be a brand new studio that Nintendo hasn't worked with before or an inhouse team! We really won't know until the game releases. But I can't wait to find out who made this game so I can thank them profusely for bringing back one of my childhood favorites.

Here's the sites I used if y'all wanna learn more! Plus the link to Stealth's tweet and other resources https://www.mobygames.com/ https://www.mariowiki.com/List_of_Mario_%26_Luigi:Superstar_Saga%2B_Bowser%27s_Minions_staff#Producers https://x.com/Stealth40k/status/1803226827080491008

Video on every Nintendo Dev Team: https://youtu.be/95oj9_eF25c?si=4sJW7iaqEvSHDHYg

[pxmegranates]

→ ❛Artificial❜

→ Pairing ; AI Turo x Reader

→ Quote ; ❛❛And in the darkness of the night, the only illumination in the room would be his eyes, as you wept quietly in his arms.❜❜

→ Genre ; Drama , hurt/comfort

→ A/N ; Sorry it took me so long to get to this, I struggled with inspiration but it finally struck so here it is!

Turo didnt believe in faith, much less would his AI counterpart believe in it. If anything, they both believed in the future, the waves of newfound achievements and exciting new discoveries. Turo wasnt one to focus on the past, rather, he focused on the future, and even farther than that. Perhaps, in some sense his ideals clashed harshly with Sada’s, who focused more on the past, the achievements already received and the things that already had happened, finding joy in discovering elements from the past that had been forgotten in favor of advancing.

Thats why, when he started feeling something weird in the way things seemed to move, the AI didnt waste any time in putting his head deep into discovering what was wrong, and what was causing said disturbance. What once started as the continuation of the deceased professor's research, now took a turn into studying this new variable, this new element that caught his attention, and with it, came his attention turning forward to you.

An interesting variable, Turo would find in you something he hadnt seen in years of investigation, yet, here you were, something—or rather someone—that proved the existence of a multiverse, and he welcomed said proof, after all, his research focused greatly in pokemon from diverse timelines, did it not? Thats what caused both of you to meet for the first time.

Breaking past pleasantries, Turo would call you forward once after you had yet again helped Miraidon regain part of its power, one of the few moments where he knew he could try to bring forward a conversation, but not bring afloat any suspicions, at least not more than were necessary to advance in his study. He’d begin simple, focusing on the present moment, with simple questions like what you were currently doing, what was it like in where you were, simple yet sufficient to gain a grasp at what he was battling with. That was perhaps when he heard it, when after what felt like weeks of research, he heard your voice for the first time.

“Kinda odd questions for a game like this” You said out in the air, not expecting any answers nor any questions, but Turo had many, in fact he had enough to bring even more questions for the next batch of questions he thought of bringing. With limited time and limited resources in the claustrophobic space he was battling in, his questions became more cryptic, more… strange to you. He started asking subtly about what you were doing, just that this time, he focused on whether your answer would focus on the “player” (as he guessed) rather than you, as the one behind the ropes.

Thats how he learnt more about you, slowly but surely, he learnt more and more, until eventually he’d learnt that you were adventurous, you kicked right back into challenges and, despite the weird events that went through in game due to his doing, you pushed forward. Often you would comment things like “Dude do you think every copy of Pokemon is personalized?” To no one to answer, but he’d chuckle at… whatever that was supposed to mean. Other times you spoke about “Kinda creepy how my bias is asking all these questions”, and once again would he chuckle, only that the word ‘Bias’ threw him for a loop, what had you meant with that? Part of him wished to come out of where he was currently in, just… walk out of Area Zero and greet you properly, greet you the way the late Professor used to do to those he met, but… He knew it wouldnt be possible. Besides, there was only so much the AI knew about the outside world, just enough for it to be useful in the current moment. Still, he wanted to know more, explore more, learn more things, a hunger he hadnt felt ever since he was created, but…

…Was he really just an AI anymore?

The question threw him for another loop when it came to his mind. He had begun questioning his existence as a created being, someone of metal, someone of artificiality. He was the future, but in between said future, came questions of who he had grown to be after what were now months of investigation of this new horizon. So, when you came to Area Zero, when you came to him, he was eager to finally do what he hadnt done in years.

“Thank you for coming to Area Zero, though I am afraid I must reveal the truth to you” He began, closely following the script of what he was meant to say, despite breaking past the code he had been studying for days on end. “I am not really Professor Turo, but his assistant, made in his likeness”

“I knew it—I called it!!” You noted in the air, yet again, not expecting anyone to answer, before something, or perhaps someone, answered those words.

“You… Knew it?”

“Huh?”

For the first time, it was Turo’s time to throw you in for a loop, questioning everything that had been happening thus far. Yet, he’d only smile, everything was going exactly as he had expected after all.

“While Im afraid to sour your momentary excitement, I must ask you some more questions about what is currently happening.” He’d say, walking off to the side before lift an eyebrow at the resonating groan you’d shoot him, turning quickly to face you with a confused face. “Is, something the problem?”

“More questions, great…” You mumbled to yourself, oblivious to what was happening currently, to what was really going on in between the code and the binary.

Turo would hum for a bit, bringing a hand to his chin as if in thought, yet, before he could even bring up an answer, a question would bring him out of the loop he was in for a long time ago. You’d ask to the air, yet again, what was really happening this time, why out of sudden had these words seemed to be directed straight towards you, and perhaps thats when it clicked on your mind, even if the thought was too wild, too weird to be considered fair, to be considered a possibility, you clicked your tongue and asked yet again.

“Are you… perhaps… aware this is a game?”

The question would bring his mind turning and running, like a machine beating fast and rough, you denied yourself almost instantly, but for Turo, this seemed to be the missing cog in his whole scheme, the entirety of things he had been researching but had close to no answer to it all. If this, if all his existence seemed to revolve around a game which someone controlled, then that would explain the strange things he had been experimenting, albeit not explain the reasoning behind his sudden awareness in said stage. It was strange, it was a sudden revelation, a shot of luck in the darkness. But he caught it, he took it in his hands and ran with it, after all, would there ever be a chance like this in the future?

“Could you, say that again?” He asked, almost as if begging to whoever was out there to answer him.

“What?”

“A game… Talk to me more about this game”

Granting his request nonchalantly would bring afloat a strange relationship between the both of you. Stuck in that part of the game, you’d answer Turo's questions, and Turo would finally (and more comfortably) advance in his study. While there were elements that he was already aware of, he’d become… amused, if anything, about certain other elements of your reality that caught his attention, like the lack of pokemon, or the lack of technological advancements in certain topics. He’d lift his eyebrow specially regarding topics of investigations made, almost making you read word by word certain papers regarding such investigations, which prompted a set of rules to be created regarding what you and he could do with each other’s resources.

You compromised on some, and he compromised on others, you bought the online pass as a compromise, and he stopped asking too much as another compromise, despite his hunger for knowledge often coming unfed… but not for long. His investigation would draw him to explore past the limits of the “game” he was in, but not enough to break through the “screen”, instead, his insatiable curiosity would be filled to the brim with investigations and papers he managed to find using the hidden web browser in the switch. The drawback? It lasted only 20 minutes, which wasnt a bad time limit, he could read quickly and efficiently, yet, there was a sensation of disappointment when it came to the fact he could only advance so much, plus not being able to keep his resources for too long of a time.

“Im so tired…” His musings would stop for a moment, then, hearing you come about the apartment. Your voice had become enough to break his concentration, but at the same time, the routine of hearing you come up, pop up and nonchalantly call out to him, it was starting to become…

… warm.

“What are you up to while Im gone?” You’d ask him, and he’d lose focus again after unsuccessfully attempting to regain it. “I mean… I leave the game on as part of the deal but… Is there… really much you can do there?”

“I read” He answered, coldly and perhaps too bluntly, causing you to roll your eyes, not like he could see it though “Papers, works of science… This world you’re in is…”

“Interesting? Yea you already told me…” You groan, fiddling with the controls of the switch before setting it down.

“Right…” He answered, looking down back at his writing, neat scribbles forming words and shapes, he’d nod quietly, before looking at the you that was in game. “...”

He’d stare at it for long, long moments, perhaps as if waiting for something to happen, but the coldness of Florian’s eyes and his purple uniform were less than appealing to the professor, and suddenly, he wondered what you were like. By your voice he knew you were an adult, the only thing he knew was yours, truly yours, but the rest? A mystery. Time had passed ever since your first meeting, time had passed ever since he first had knowledge that he was aware of his existence inside a game, and even with your nonchalant attitude, he found himself… yearning for something more than just chatting.

“Why did you call me bias once?”

“Jesus fucking christ you scared me—”

He’d stare at you blankly, not fearing to repeat the question again as you fumbled for your words. He wondered what your reaction was, after some research he had come to learn the meaning behind “bias”, yet it still confused him, and humored him, that you would use such a word for him. So, he’d ask, and in your nervousness you’d manage to dodge the question, which only brought his curiosity up more. Like a quiet disease, then, feelings of curiosity and yearning creep through his circuits, he felt the need to know who you were, what you did, the things you liked, the things you didnt. He yearned for more, yet to him his feelings felt like a mystery.

So he asked again, once, this time receiving an actual answer from you which would bring far more questions than answers.

“Thats… weird…” You’d begin “Are you sure you’re an AI assistant? You sound quite humane…”

“Please answer the question.”

“I mean… It sounds like you’re falling in love…”

You were confused, you had skipped past the bias stage rather tactfully when he asked, yet now he asked about feelings creeping on his back, feelings about infatuation and love, perhaps tingled with an obsession you could only seem to find reason in his seeming hunger for knowledge. Yet for Turo, this felt like a life sentence. Love was deadly, he knew that too well having the knowledge from the past professor, who died in a search for a better place for his family. But Love was also intoxicating, filling his mind with scenarios and ideas. He found himself at a standstill then, between the need for knowledge and the feelings that suddenly creeped up on his mind.

Yet when the day came that you didnt greet him back, was perhaps the day that he made the final decision on said topic. It was rainy, or so he thought, at least out of Area Zero the air was humid which indicated rain or a chance of rain. He could hear muffled crying, or at least what felt like crying, prompting him to ask what was wrong, yet the answer wasnt one he expected.

“My boyfriend left me” You cried, a muffled noise that Turo couldnt fully comprehend, yet he made the best out of the words in the bunch. “Just, im not in the mood to talk today, do your thing and leave me alone…”

“But-”

“Leave me alone! You’re not even real anyway…”

In your mind, you thought it all to be a dark dream, one you’d wake up from sooner or later. But for him, he finally found the answer to his question, deciding to make a drastic turn that may or may not bring him to the same level as the befallen professor Turo. He’d imvestigate the code yet again, utilizing previous methods to try and break free from it. If he couldnt break free from Area Zero, then Arceus, let him break free from the confines of the switch. It’d take him a week, a long, arduous week, before he’d finally be able to see it, the limit from which reality and fiction blended. He turned back for a moment before turning forward, and stepping out of the confines of the game.

He’d come about inside a room, quaint as it could ever be with few elements that he noted could be yours, little trinkets, posters, an unmade bed which he carefully prompted himself to make, and a rainy day outside of the window. Today was rainy, yesterday it had been rainy too, and tomorrow it’ll probably be rainy as well. He hummed as he heard the fumbling of keys, before coming out of the bedroom into the rest of the apartment.

As you’d come inside you wouldnt see anything out of the blue, considering he didnt have time to deal with the rest of the mess. Scattered tissues, scattered plates of food, almost my chance had you and him crossed paths when you passed towards the living room, and thats when it happened. You didnt have the voice to scream, but you did have the energy to run to him and hug him, feel his body for a moment, his arms and torso, the scent of stillness and robotics, sterility, and ultimately, the realization that he was there, standing, unsure of the next course of action.

“Turo” You’d start, tears pricking your eyes as he looked down at you. “Is, is it really you?”

“... Yes, I am real, arent I?” He’d say calmly, perhaps a bit coldly, but with two arms wrapping themselves around your body with calmness, he’d sigh.

“... Dont leave” You’d say, dropping to the floor with him following you suit. “Please…”

“I wont” He’d answer, and in the darkness of the night, the only illumination in the room would be his eyes, as you wept quietly in his arms.

[rough-around-the-hedges]

I'm biased but I've found a lot of grass types to be very mellow and easy for beginners as long as you don't mind your lawn being a little bit overgrown. Obviously you should check for how much space they need and if their secondary typing requires more specialized care and such, but in my experience, grass types generally have good temperaments.

Personally, I would recommend chikorita if available in your region

Asking for a friend, what’s the best Pokémon type for a new trainer to get? The fire type wasn’t the choice…charmander burned the house down and ran off. They are now seeking a safer type

the type of pokémon that's right per trainer is exactly that. Per Trainer. if you do 5 minutes of research on any given pokémon i think it'll be evident which ones are out of your capabilities. there is no one true default

[pokemonshelterstories]

Would you similarly recommend Anorith? I realize getting one can be fairly expensive but I've heard of some folks raising very loving Armaldo.

again, not really unless you've already had experience with their unique environmental needs. because they start out as largely water-bound pokemon, you need to already be adept at maintaining a warm, dark saltwater enclosure. these guys foraged on the seafloor for food, so providing them with a proper environment can be tough.

there's also the issue that anorith, in addition to being tricky to get your hands on, don't have nearly as many resources available for someone starting off who needs advice. many people who raise them are researchers, and a lot of veterinarians aren't specifically prepared to treat fossil pokemon.

the reason i recommended wimpod as a good beginner bug type with a longer lifespan is that their care needs are more forgiving and accessible for someone looking for their first companion. fossil pokemon don't really fall into that category.

[bunburyist-darcy]

Cards that Draw Cards

Ponderings on card draw in card games...

Drawing cards is one of the most fun things about playing tcgs. The anticipation of topdecking the exact card you need, or perhaps seeing your favourite card - most players can empathize with the excitement of believing in the "heart of the cards" for their next draw to determine the game.

Having recently looked into how the Pokemon tcg works, I was shocked to find that unlike the other tcgs of the big three, Yugioh and MTG, Pokemon tcg has tremendous amounts of card draw as a normal part of the game. This got me thinking as to how these different game systems allow and limit card draw.

A simple place to start I think would be with Yugioh, since it's lack of a conventional resource system means card draw can be evaluated more in a vacuum. Take "Pot of Greed" for example, which simply reads "Draw 2 cards." In the context of Yugioh, there is no cost to play this card, no limit on how many you can play per turn, no restrictions as to what deck it can go into, and few ways to prevent a player from resolving this card (e.g. negates or counterspells). Thus pretty much any deck can and will play as many copies as allowed since each "Pot of Greed" effectively reduces your deck size by two, increasing consistency at little to no cost. Makes sense to see that it was limited to 1 copy per deck very early in the life of the game and banned completely within a few years, where it has stayed to this day.

If "Pot of Greed" only drew 1 card, it would probably still be played just for the consistency boost. However by drawing 2 it provides free card advantage as well. A number of variations on "Pot of Greed" have been released over the years, all with various restrictions and costs, however the original card remains a benchmark for card draw effects in Yugioh.

Now going to MtG, which has a resource system to put a price on any effect, however trivial or powerful. One of the famed "Power Nine" is "Ancestral Recall", which says "Target player draws three cards." and costs 1 blue mana. In the context of MtG, 1 mana is the smallest unit of cost in the game, and there is no limit to how many you can play per turn. Again any deck can play this, though you do need to find a source of blue mana, which does come with some deckbuilding considerations. Although this card's effect can be prevented with a counterspell, all counterspell variants require the opponent to pay at least as much mana in cost (or otherwise comparable cost), making it an even trade at worst. Once again, a card that allows for significant card advantage at little cost proves to be powerful and ubiquitous to the point of being banned in all but the most powerful formats.

MtG has since released countless card draw spells, with the modern design converging upon an average of 1.5 mana per card. (e.g. "Divination" 3 mana draw 2). This would be considered "fair" and likely not efficient enough for most competitive play. The presence of the mana resource system allows for much easier balancing of card power levels.

Now looking towards Pokemon tcg. When I first started looking at pokemon cards, I saw "Bill" from base set, which read "Draw 2 cards." and figured it must be broken, like my experience from ygo and mtg would have suggested. Oh how wrong I was... That same set had the first version of "Professor's Research", reading "Discard your hand, then draw 7 cards.", which is significantly more value as one can easily imagine playing the useful cards out of your hand and then tossing the rest for a handful of new cards. In the context of Pokemon tcg, there is no cost to play the card, again no deckbuilding limitation, and no reactive way to prevent its effect. Yet the card and near identical variants are printed often and is perfectly legal in most pokemon formats with 4 copies allowed per deck.

How then does pokemon prevent you from drawing your whole deck on turn one and breaking the game? Well, I then learned that "Professor's Research" and similar card draw effects largely reside on "Supporter" cards, which are limited to 1 per turn. Other types of cards which are not limited, such as Items, rarely draw cards. Pokemon that draw cards exist, and can increase the number of cards you see per turn even more. However, Pokemon tcg limits how much you can do with the cards you do draw, as there is a limit to 1 energy per turn, 6 pokemon on the field, evolution mechanics, etc. The relative absence of alternative win-cons or instant-win combos in Pokémon also makes drawing specific combinations of cards less of a end-goal. (To my knowledge things like Exodia or Tron don’t exist in Pokémon.) Finally, the card draw supporters also compete for that 1 per turn slot with other useful supporter effects such as "Boss's Orders" and thus the game does not proceed at a breakneck pace due to card drawing alone.

On the whole, it is interesting to see how all of the big three produced some of their most powerful card draw spells in the early years of the respective games. Yet although for Yugioh and MtG, that meant setting a bar limiting future design of card draw effects, Pokemon maintained that same high amount of card draw throughout its years of design without, as far as I know, creating significant impact upon its game flow.

Thus concludes my ramblings on card drawing in the big three tcgs. Hopefully you find the similarities and differences in card drawing mechanics as intriguing as I do, and thanks for reading.

[cafe--tables]

Character Ancestors part 1: (kaluva)

(Zinzolin’s ancestor) Vio: 

a man of the Arceusanic religion. He leads the main church of the Arceusanics in Kaluva. He’s is a the leader of the church in Kaluva. he serves his community and his kings to the best of his ability. He has a hatred for the warm weather, often praying for Arceus to make the cold seasons longer. Like his descendent, He is quite intelligent and respectable. Attempting to help make decisions with the young princes and king.  He is kind, optimistic, loving, religious and believes that there’s always something good about someone.

(colress’s ancestor) Colton:

Colton is a philosopher and a man of scientist, he dabbles in a bit of alchemy as well. Colton could Go on and on about his research Getting into things he shouldn’t. He’ll push the limits of anything and anyone. He was originally from kaluva but visits his friend and test subject, Dennis. He holds all his supplies in a large backpack, he has everything a person would ever need and maybe extra. The princes are his patron, helping him to make items that keeps the kingdom safe. 

(Ghetsis’s ancestor) Dennis: 

Dennis is a soft spoken man. He’s a happy person, living with the pokemon who he calls his friends. He treats them like people. He can understand and speak with Pokémon. For this and his past, He’s an outcast to the rest of people in kaluva. He was raised by zoroark in the Alabaster Icelands, isolated from all the people in Jubilife Village. Colton often gives him food and resources in trade for assistance in his experiments. He’s not book smart but he’s certainly smart enough to live in his environment.

(Ingo/emmet/drayden’s ancestors) Ralf and Chester:

Chester, is usually a relaxed and empathetic person. A real go with the flow type of person. However he can get really angry at people when they touch his equipment. He works as an engineer for the train, fueling the train as it goes. Not interacting with any passengers. He appears nice and kind to passengers until he’s bashing your head in for borrowing a tool of his. He cares a lot for Elec and Ralf, He’d protect them from anything he can.

Ralf is the older sibling. He is a loud and abrasive on the outside. He appears to be intimidating with a permanent hostile glare. However in truth he’s a caring person to all and any passengers. He’s the conductor of the train, he makes time to help make everyone as comfortable and happy as possible. He so sweet to make crying babies laugh and smile at the sight of him. He has pockets full of candies to give to young children, to help their parents out.

Ralf has an extremely large collection of litwick and lampets that light up the tunnels. Progressively both Ralf and Chester have been losing pigment (from the lights slowly eating parts of their souls) in their hair making them become grey instead of their natural black hair.

They care for their new employees, one of them is strange but they care deeply for them. Jackie has been great help to them

(elesa’s ancestor) Elec:

Elec is an electric type gym leader and artificer. Helping the train men by building some parts that they need to run. Helping them to uses electricity to heat the water in the boiler to create steam. But still be able to use burning fuel in a firebox in needed. He’s a very calm and stoic person. Elec likes to show off his skills with as much style and a performance to have his Pokémon in the sunlight. He admires beauty in battles and shares wisdom when ever he can. He’s originally from Hisui but moved when he became a young adult.

and a height comparison for each, I might’ve done something wrong but eh

[kafus]

hi I have a question thats kind of general in terms of gaming. Mastering mechanics or maxing some if not all aspects of certain games is pretty enjoyable to me and obviously I appreciate that about some of the stuff you do, my question is on whether you think mastery most readily comes from actually using guides and online references or people who just do and explore every crevice of everything themselves. I had like a two hour convo with a friend but she couldnt really figure out an answer!

aw i appreciate it lol

tbh i don’t think i can say either way though because… i think both are required, usually? it does also depend on the game some i think, but like, for example i literally only play pokemon pretty much, and it would be ludicrous to re-document everything about pokemon myself, figure out everything about pokemon myself. sites like bulbapedia exist for a reason. that would essentially require the ability to read assembly and do software decomp to be considered a “master” of the game or a mechanic in it, which i just don’t think is reasonable! and knowing how to efficiently find & understand information about niche mechanics online is part of the skill, i think

that being said, reading guides online cannot replace hands-on experience and self-research. obviously if you want to master something you have to actually do it and that’s no different with video games. i think generally if you are really experienced with a game and playing it enough to be considered in some way a “master” of it you will naturally learn more about it or discover new things about it by playing it, including stuff which may not even be easily reference-able online

this ask makes me think of speedrunning and how popular speedgames have community resources and guides, but then when someone gets really acquainted with a speedrun, they may discover new routes or glitches on their own. this is basically how i feel about the topic in general including outside of speedrunning lol

[pokemonranch]

I would love to get a pokemon when I leave for school, but those dorms are tiny. Luckily there's a lot of outdoor and green space on campus where pokemon are welcome to play around, but do you have any recommendations for little guys who wouldn't mind being in a little dorm? Ground and water types are my favorite, but I love anything!

Many Water types can be safely kept indoors in a water tank but can also enjoy the outdoors! Small guys like Poliwag, Mudkip and Shellos are calm and like to just hang out in a water tank, are relatively easy to keep, and aren't loud, so they're appropriate for where you're stayin'.

On the other hand, if you don't have the space or resources to get a proper water tank to keep 'em in, you can research 'mons like Shieldon, Carbink or even Shuckle, as they also do well in small spaces. They're not Ground-types per se, but most of 'em Ground -types like to dig, create small dust clouds, or eat furniture, so they're not the safest/cleanest ones to kept in a college dorm!

[jaybug-jabbers]

Gen 3 Beta Pokemon 'Dex - Page 4

Continuing the beta dex! You can see the previous page here.

Name: Togepyon [トゲピョン]

My Notes: Looks like a cross between a durian and a jerboa. Might have been a Pikachu clone.

Name: Zuruuzu [ズルーズ]

Evolution: Evolves into Archaeon

My Notes: It's beta Scraggy! Once again showing that Pokemon keeps its shelved ideas for a long time and keeps open the possibility of returning to them, because a couple generations later, they finally made Scraggy a reality.

Name: Archaeon [アーケオン]

Type: Rock/Flying

Category: Archeopteryx

Height/Weight: 4'3'', 77.2 lbs

Pokedex Entries:

The scales on its arms have come to resemble wings. It jumps like a glider. A living fossil from the dinosaur age.

--

The feathers on its scales are very sharp and hard, acting as weapons that are strong enough to cut iron. They move in a flock of about 10 individuals

Additional Gamefreak Notes:

Its scales have formed into wings. It cannot fly long distances, only glide. The wings made of scales are hard and sharp enough to slice through metal plates. It has not changed its appearance since the age of dinosaurs, making it a living fossil. It moves in groups, led by a leader.

Evolution: Evolves from Zuruuzu

My Notes: Reworked into Grovyle. (This helps explain Grovyle's unique appearance, which always struck me as being unusually good for a mid-evo and being rather different from the base form and final evolution.) It's also likely this pokemon later inspired Archen/Archeops, which is based on Archaeopteryx just like this pokemon and has the same typing, and is 'a living fossil from the dinosaur age.'

Name: Aidog [エイドッグ]

My Notes: Appears to be a St. Bernard dog, which is often associated with the fact they have been used to perform rescue work. (In cartoons, they are depicted as wearing little barrels of alcohol around their necks, which was believed to help people who are freezing to death) The name may be a combination of 'Aide' and 'dog.' There seems to be a saddle on this dog, so it's likely the lore would include letting rescued people ride to safety.

Name: Weathery [ウェザリィ]

My Notes: The name and design suggest this was possibly related to Castform-- perhaps a planned evolution that was scrapped.

Name: Tinkii [ティンキー]

My Notes: May be a flying fish, with 'arms' that look like airplane wings and a generally airplane-shaped body.

Name: Snowrora [スノーロラ]

My Notes: Name seems to be a combo of 'snow' and 'aurora'. We had to wait until gen 5 for a polar bear pokemon, Cubchoo and Beartic. Beta Cubchoo and Beartic were also quadrupedal, in fact.

Name: Yakkoko [ヤッココ]

My Notes: Unexpectedly, it seems Flygon was originally part of a line based soley on dragonflies, rather than antlions. The other two parts of this line present after Yakkoko are beta Vibrava and beta Flygon:

As such, Yakkoko is apparently based on the IRL dragonfly larva, which is an aquatic species.

Beta Flygon's official name etymology confirms it was based on a dragonly (not to mention its Category which is just 'Dragonfly'), and its original typing was Bug/Dragon, finally validating what we have always known, that Flygon should have been Bug/Dragon. (Beta Flygon was later changed to Bug/Flying because Gamefreak are cowards)

Pokedex entries for beta Flygon:

Lives deep in forests. Despite its large size, it is agile and skillfully flies between trees and branches.

--

Capable of absorbing oxygen on its own, allowing for underwater activities. Aquatic life in ponds is its main prey

And the additional notes on Flygon:

It can live underwater. It absorbs air from the water through its tail. It swims by twisting its body. It inhabits forests. Its green body serves as camouflage. It flies by flapping its wings rapidly.

It's an interesting choice to be sure, since real dragonflies cannot swim, and instead prey on flying insects. It seems they wanted the adult form to have characteristics of the IRL larval dragonfly, because larvae do indeed have their gills in their tails, and hunt aquatic prey. The feathery shapes on Yakkoko's tail in fact are probably based on the feathery shape of larval damselfly's gills on their tails.

Yakkoko was eventually scrapped in favor of adopting an Antlion family instead. Antlion larvae are pudgy little creatures with massive jaws, and they dig little pits in the sand and wait in the bottom for an ant to fall in so they can feed on them. The adult Antlions look very similar to dragonflies, so the switch was not a difficult one to make. While some fans may complain about how radically different Trapinch looks from Flygon, there is good reason for it, because in nature, the larval stage of insects often look radically different from the adult forms.

Name: Heppii [ヘッピー]

My Notes: Appears to be a pink-and-brown skunk, with green eyes, green little feeties and a pink 'bib.'

Name: Supanku [スパンク]

My Notes: Probably meant to be the evolution of Heppii. I am unsure what the headpiece is meant to be. HRP notes that it's possible these two skunks may have been merged with the Skitty/Delcatty ideas.

Name: Basyamo [バシャーモ]

Type: Flying/Fire

Category: Cockfight [とうけい ]

Height/Weight: 6'7'', 114.6 lbs

Pokedex Entries:

It has large wings capable of creating gales of up to 30 meters per second. There's a legend that it blew away clouds to bring sunlight to people.

--

With the flap of its wings, it creates scorching hot winds that burn vegetation to a crisp. It can barely see in dark places. Every few years, its entire body is engulfed in flames, and it grows new feathers. Even in defeat, it never gives up and possesses an indomitable spirit.

Additional Gamefreak Notes: Every few years, all of its feathers burn away, and new ones grow in their place. When it flaps its wings, it generates a hot wind with a speed of 30 meters per second, so intense that vegetation is scorched black in an instant. It is night-blind, meaning it can barely see in dark places. It has incredible determination. Even against an opponent it cannot defeat, it bravely faces them without hesitation. (There also are the names 'Basyamo' and 'Fiyoko' next to each other in the GF notes, which is the beta name for Torchic.)

Evolution: The GF notes do not explicitly state that Basyamo evolves from Fiyoko but their names were together in the notes, so it was probably being considered even at this stage

My Notes: This is beta Blaziken, back when the flaming chicken could actually fly. (And yes, real chickens can fly, despite many people believing they can't) There is a critique from the pokemon survey notes that seems to be someone complaining it looks too much like a Delibird evolution, which seems pretty silly to me, but I guess the spikey white head does have some similarities.

Name: Hakkeyou [ハッケヨー]

My Notes: A pre-evolution to Makuhita. Goes along with beta Makuhita and beta Hariyama:

Both Hakkeyou and Makuhita were criticized as appearing 'too human.' However, while Hakkeyou was cut, Makuhita's redesign didn't really make it look less human (in my opinion, at least), so it's unknown if this is the reason the pre-evo was cut. A note on Hakkeyou also says that 'sumo might be too controversial in Korea,' but finalized Makuhita/Hariyama are still clearly inspired by sumo themes; thus the pokemon survey criticisms do not automatically mean a pokemon will be changed as a result.

Name: Unknown

My Notes: These sprites were found in the sprite scratchpads, and were based on some spooky concept art that was also revealed in the teraleak:

These pokemon fascinate me. I have no idea what typing they would be. I'm guessing Dark/something, but I'm at a loss to offer a secondary typing. Its body seems to be made up of a delicate crystal lattice structure, with a glowy, nebulous light within. The limbs and tail gradually fading into nothingness seems very much intentional and the sprites reflect this lack of full back limbs. Perhaps Dark/Ghost would make the most sense, although I almost want to invent a whole new typing just for these dogs (Dark/Light type).

[heimsresearchcenter]

Welcome to the official page for the:

Heims Pokémon Research & Rescue Center !

(Find more information below this divider and cut!)

__________________

┊ ⋆ ┊ . ┊

┊ ┊⋆

┊      

✧     

First of all: Who are we?

The Heims Research & Rescue Center is a location in the Gledai Region, meant to monitor the behavior and evolution of Pokémon, as well as rescue any of these Pokémon if they were to be in danger.

The Gledai Region has reached an all time low in temperature in the matter of just a few years, a phenomenon we have yet to understand. Mount Heims happens to be the coldest place in the region!

So we dedicate our time, energy, and resources to helping and understanding the people and Pokémon of our home. Not only that, but the biggest mystery of the Gledai region, what has happened to our climate?

This page is ran by me, Bruce, one of the top researchers at the facility. I’m only in my 30’s, but man, I sure feel older in this weather, haha.

My dear Pokémon, an alolan vulpix, was surrendered from an unethical shiny breeding system, not only for shinies but for beauty contests. We brought her to health, and they allowed me to officially adopt her. You can call her Baby.

Bruce, what Pokémon are currently in your care?

Well, if you’re talkin’ Pokémon I have official taken in as my own, there’s Baby (Shiny alolan vulpix mentioned before, female), Pea (Snom, male), and Gertrude (Arcanine, female)

But if we’re talkin’ the ones I’m nursing back to health and researching for my job..

We got

Lucy (Dusk Gledai Lycanroc, Female, Caring for)

Whisper (Phantump, Male, Researching)

Beanie (Dad, M), Weanie (Mom, F) Meanie (Kid, M), and Teeny (Kid, F) (Gledai Maushold, Caring for collaboratively, in bad condition / being monitored)

But aside from Pokémon, most of all, a task I’m proud to have been assigned, I am one of the people responsible for trying to find the source of the Gledai regions change in weather. I haven’t quite found any significant information yet, it’s unfortunately a more confusing mystery than we first thought…

What Can We Do?

All you nice little people out there on Rotomblr,, Rotumblr? Ah, forget it. You can send me some of them asks and such. Like about me, Pokémon, or something else. Talkin to me is cool. I’ll keep all of ya updated, and my coworkers might even pop in time to time.

—————

OOC // Who are YOU?

You can call me Maxie, I’m 18. I run a few other blogs on this site! This blog has no particular dni, aside from basic criteria (MAPS, Racists, Homophobes, Transphobes, etc), proshippers/darkshippers, and people who sexualize pokemon. Do not let this be a reflection of the rest of my morals, this is a Pokémon irl rp blog with a random region I made up WAAAAGHH

References:

Bruce Robillard (MC)

[clowngames]

Do you feel like talking about game development?

https://youtube.com/shorts/0w3hnaUo-50

I can't speak on Palworld as a game because I haven't played it, watched any footage of gameplay, or seen any trailers, but I can aggregate some commentary by gamedevs I've talked to along with some research I've done to confirm we're not all just making shit up.

Palworld is Pocket Pair Inc.'s second major release, and it's an Early Access game while their first game is still, also, in Early Access.

The banner from their other Early Access game, Craftopia, is this:

This doesn't bode well for Palworld's future. Note that it is February at time of the screenshot taken, and more distressingly a "bugfixing update" is worth celebrating 4 years into Craftopia's development.

They have two previous releases which are an AI-art-based social deduction game and a gacha card game. There's no nice way to say this, but the types of games in their portfolio bring to mind an amount of startup capital that makes the Early Access model unnecessary. In particular, there's no circumstance in which a game dev company simultaneously needs the early return of the EA model and also has the resources to split their studio off to make a second one. The reason they're using this model is as a metric of gauging interest to figure out how to divide their resources according to demand and to show to their investors that they're doing well.

Finally, they're working on another game at the same time as Palworld and Craftopia: Never Grave - a metroidvania roguelike with visuals similar to Hollow Knight and the capture mechanic of Super Mario Odyssey (complete with throwing your hat at enemies to possess them).

All of this paints a pretty clear, if cynical, picture of their business strategy. Pocket Pair is simply making other people's video games, but faster.

To be clear, I'm not accusing them of plagiarizing. I think Palworld is pretty distinct from Pokemon in fairly obvious ways, in the same way that Craftopia is distinct from Breath of the Wild. In addition, both games are borrowing game mechanics and ideas from more than one game each.

But at the same time, the vibe I get is less "taking inspiration from multiple sources" and more "seeing what is successful about multiple sources and combining them with the goal of making something appealing." Gamers like farming, so we added crops. Gamers like third person shooters, so we added that to Pokemon. There's no consideration for thematic cohesion or vision. I think the reason there was a controversy involving the suspected use of AI in Palworld is because there's an evident absence of artistic intent which mirrors the way AI generates images or text.

Pocket Pair Inc. is the cover band of game developers. And with Palworld they happen to have learned the crowd pleasers.

That's not to say there's no artistic value to Palworld, or even that the game isn't worth playing, or fun, or "good," whatever that means. Objectively speaking, making a game that appeals to so many people it breaks records is an accomplishment worth paying attention to, and quite frankly if that were me I'd be pretty proud of myself. But I can't help but think about that post about AAA games all being the same because studios are afraid to take risks without risking capital and then think, Palworld is a manifestation of the same problem.

[tigerarainbowra-blog]

Tigera, your art is very beautiful and unique! I always recognise your style when I see it. Do you think you can provide some tips on developing such a unique style? I’ve been trying, but it is a struggle. Thank you, and I understand if you cannot !

Thank you very much!! Yes, somewhat. Ysee the thing is, I never focused on having a "style". I've always just tried to draw things i like as exact as possible. I also often study art I happen to see and I think is amazing is well done, which often makes me test new approaches in my art. I never really understood other artist obsession with "having my own style", you will always draw things that exist or have existed, from the world your brain can perceive and comprehend, or from other fictional works. Nothing is quite new, and that's great! Because it means you can stop stressing about being 100% unique. And perhaps you might come up with a cool concept that people haven't heard of before who knows. But that aint all. I didn't get to my level by just doing that and sitting down, I studied basic principles. These are the building blocks, the base concepts, that you can use to make your art: shapes, volumes, shading, color, composition, values, perspective, etc... If there's a word/concept in there you don't understand, RESEARCH IT RIGHT THE FUCK NOW. Be curious, observe things around you carefully. Pretend you are a fucking scientist in a lab and you have a bunch of cool liquids and you can mix them up with not much consequences, try things!! It's ok if you fail it, you'll be fine!! Also for studying said principles, here are some ressources:

I didn't get the luck of being able to attend an art school, so I'm self taught. We are EXTREMELY LUCKY to have a library of knowledge available to us at any time called the internet, USE IT.

So just have fun, I know social media nowadays makes it hard because of peer pressure and shit, but please, make art because you love making art and because you love whatever it is you are drawing!

TLDR: calm down, it'll come in time. I'm here right now because I kept drawing my pikachu plush when i was 6, and a buncha pokemons and Spyro and shit. You'll be fine! Good luck, have fun, and stay curious! OvO

[leggerefiore]

HI UM ! Do Not Think I missed that giratina volo tag in your latest post 👀... Not a real request request but i would love to hear literally any and all of your ideas about him pretty please 👉👈

mmmmm

okay

full-blown imagines because he's on my Mind.

cw: pokehybrid au, volo shenanigans,

💫Giratina Volo📜

⭐️ From the moment he came into existence, he was aware he was not meant to be. A being like him was not intended to be created by Arceus's thousand arms, but he simply came into being alongside the annoying protectors of space and time. They were just as shocked as his creator to him. His appearance was more of an imitation than there's with how he resembled the humanoid form of the god before him. Arceus faltered for a moment but shook their head. A gentle, gloved hand reached out for him. He attacked it at once.

⭐️ It was then his banishment began. The distortion world was boring and empty. He was alone, too. He observed humans from his realm. Gilded plates cupping his face and growing into horn-like appendages. Dark, tendril-like wings spread from his back a tail came from his lower body, denying him the human idea of legs. His loneliness grew worse through the years, making his anger and distaste to for the god who took no responsibility for him grow. He cursed her as he gazed himself in puddles. Coming from nothing, the only thing he could take a form with was from her.

⭐️ It was during one of his many rages, in which he destroyed more of his realm than he expected that he found himself creating a portal. Entering a land that Arceus favoured, he gazed at a group of humans being chased by the wild pokemon of the region. His form changed, and he felt legs standing on the ground under him. His wings truly appeared a pair on his back. A plan began to form into his head as the shadowy portal closed behind him. The Temple of Sinnoh at the top of Mt. Coronet held his answers.

⭐️ He observed, still. Just in the background to wait for Lady Arceus's attention to fall on him. Another pokemon made by the goddess herself fell through after his portal opened and grew amnesic. The goddess of Space, Palkia had taken him into her clan after. She and Dialga's actions mattered little to him, as they both failed to close his portal. It would not be long until one had to enter the form they were created in to stop it. Their following rampage against the other would be enough to force Arceus to fix it herself. He felt confident in his plan.

⭐️ That was, until another person fell through. This person was human, unlike the previous one. He was curious as they quickly struggled in the new world they landed in. Jubilife put them into a harsh trial to prove themselves before accepting them, still with the scorn of being an outsider. It was as he watched them battle and adapt, he realised just what was happening. It was then he approached them, as they remained on their own out in the wilds of Hisui for the research they were assigned.

⭐️ You were obviously entranced with him the moment he stood before you. It was obvious he was nothing like any of the other people you had met, even barring the clan leaders. His tips to you were an invaluable resource, and it was clear he already managed to get some level of affection in your mind. It was easy for him to figure you out, simply observing you from both your world and his own. He even felt an odd emotion towards you, watching as your struggles to protect your land barely garnered praise and acceptance.

⭐️ “You seem lonely,” you told him once as he helped you with a situation. It caught him off guard. Well, of course, he was lonely. He was banished into his own dimension for attacking his creator. Company was a rare thing, and he would admit you were one of the first people he had spoken to in likely centuries. A few times he had come and gone from his realm only to be sent back after causing harm to the other world. A couple of those times were to stop Palkia and Dialga from fighting with each other. It left him astounded they even managed to settle their differences to exist in the same space at once, as it were. Your hand grasping his reassuringly made him take it away. He returned to his realm, feeling disgusted.

⭐️ He watched curiously over you after his banishment. A certain place in the region held someone he knew would help you, but he almost felt awkward to approach. The woman there was an obvious extension of Arceus, but he felt terrible watching you stand banished from your home with nowhere to go. His sudden appearance and hand on your shoulder made you jump. The blond took you to her easily, her stormy eye staring into him knowingly. She offered to help you easily and scolded him lightly. He helped you with your trials alongside his counterparts, to his mild annoyance.

⭐️ “... Would they forgive you if they knew you were partly why they are here?” Cogita asked him as he began to walk away. His head whipped around to see a certain emerald and crimson tinge in her eye. For now, he chose to ignore the opportunity. This plan was failing, and a new one had come to mind. She only drank her tea as he truly left her home. You were none the wiser to their exchange. He did enjoy witnessing the battle of the two fellow legendaries as you tried to help them. The red chain subdued one, but the other soon grew frenzied. You somehow managed to quell them and be accepted back into the team that had turned its back on you.

⭐️ Your newly brought curiosity spurred on by him mentioning a certain someone was entertaining to him, too. He was already with his own plate, that being one from the cave he emerged in, but the others were a mystery to him. He had a good idea of where they were and has you assist him in looking. His inhibition told him that you were likely the only one able to obtain them. You agreed to go with him, naturally. Volo was unable to hide his smile.

⭐️ He felt annoyed with the strange urge that overcame him as you both sat near the tent. Your blankets were orderly and fine, but he wished to rearrange them. You titled your head as he got up and did just that, moving them into a more nest like shape. A small laugh came from you, and you accepted it. “You really are a dragon like Irida and Adaman,” you smiled at him and laid in the nest, “... It gets cold here at night. Do you want to cuddle?” Part of him wanted to tell you off that he would make you colder, but another half truly desired some form of physical contact with another. He did not think he had ever slept so peacefully as he had when laying beside you. It was a bit rage-inducing, the effect you had over him.

⭐️ He helped you through all the challenges slowly and perfectly, which ended in all the plates obtained and brought to the destroyed Temple of Sinnoh. It almost felt too perfect. He could feel the look of annoyed terror on Arceus's face already. Of course, that was only after he saw the distress on yours. It was easily revealed that everything that led to you being here, to the struggles of defeating Nobles, to Palkia and Dialga fighting and nearly ending the world was due to him. This time, he properly introduced himself as Giratina. The battle that followed was brutal, as your refusal to give him the plates made him fly into cool anger.

⭐️ Slowly, you pushed him back further and further until there was no more struggling to follow. His breaths were heavy as he quickly began to summon a portal before another blow could be landed on to him. What caught him off guard was you following him into it. You held on to him tightly. In his strange world, you watched as his form shifted into the one more adept for moving around this realm. “... I could trap you here,” he threatened, “You could never have a chance of returning home to wherever you truly came or Jubilife.” You shook your head, but still refused to let him move too far from you. The portal closed, and he sighed. “Don't you hate me?”

⭐️ “No,” you said simply, “I love you, actually.” He stood dumbstruck by your words. What was wrong with you? Did him trying to kill you and overthrow Arceus go over your head? Did you just not care? “... I said you seemed lonely, didn't I? I see why if this is where you live,” you gazed around the realm. It was devoid of people, and its geometry was weird. He wanted to call you insane and force you from his dimension, but he could feel it was pointless. Besides… If you were offering to stay with him, he would not be so opposed. There was something uniquely pleasurable in his mind about corrupting Arceus's chosen one. “I'll never let you leave,” he threatened. You just laughed and pecked a kiss to his cheek.

You, however, did not make it another hour before asking him to let you get your stuff from Jubilife.

He let you.

[stem-sister-scuffle]

STEM SISTER SCUFFLE: ROUND 1 MASHUP 12

Professor Aurea Juniper (Pokémon) vs Asami Sato (The Legend Of Korra)

Professor Aurea Juniper is a Pokémon Zoologist/Researcher!

Asami Sato is an Inventor, Mechanical Enginner and Architect!

Why you should vote for each contestant:

Professor Aurea Juniper:

"she is the first pokemon professor to be a woman in a mainline game and she is 100% more well put-together than any of the male professors that came before or after her and she keeps helping save the world. or at least the pokemon usa. pokemerica."

"We NEED to support the first female professor <3."

"Because I’m love her, your honor. Also, she was the very first female pokemon professor, which is super cool."

"First female Pokémon professor and she deserves the world <3"

"Juniper is the first female Pokemon Professor in the Pokemon games.

She's very involved in the plot of Black and White. She gifts the protagonist and their childhood friends their Pokemon. She also regularly calls them to give them tips and tricks throughout their journey. She shows up a few times to also give the protagonist useful items. She even meets the protagonist before they go off to Victor Road to challenge the last gauntlet of bosses.

Juniper is friends with another professor, Fennel. She helps Fennel with her own research by recommending the player go to visit Fennel to search for Dream Mist.

Juniper later takes Bianca under her wing when Bianca decides to quite Pokemon battling, instead having an interest in doing Pokemon research. Bianca becomes Juniper's research assistant in Black 2 and White 2.

She's a girlboss and one of the more interesting Professors in the Pokemon franchise

The creator of Pokemon Ken Sugimori requested to change Juniper into a woman when early concepts had her as a mn. Sugimori also considers Juniper to be a New Yorker type; in his words, ""a real career woman""."

"She encourages other women in STEM, specifically Bianca from Pokemon who becomes her research assistant. Think she's pretty. Sorry I'm just gay"

Asami Sato:

"According to her wiki page: Asami is considered a "genius technologist and inventor". A practical thinker and highly capable engineer, she is able to repair and construct vehicles with limited resources, such as when she improvised a makeshift sand-sailer using materials from a destroyed airship.Her skill in engineering extends to major projects, as she was involved in developing the Future Industries airship. Asami is also a skilled Pai Sho player, proving herself to be a good methodical strategist and can pick locks with her hair pins, able to free Tenzin through this method in the Northern Air Temple. Due to her mother's influence and her time at Future Industries, Asami is a capable architect, capable of designing large amounts of houses in a short period of time. She enjoys working as engineer, architect, and inventor.” She’s bisexual, dating the most powerful woman in their world and she fought her evil CEO dad and won"

"She is beautiful"

"I'm gonna be real i should be taking a map right now not submitting STEM girlies but trust me she's made some cool shit. also she's pretty. and canonically bisexual"

"She's pretty and bi. Her eyes i could stare into for hours."

"She fights with a glove charged with electricity. She has a fucking raw moment where she accepts a glove from her dad and then turns around and shocks him with it to free her friends because her dad is causing horrors. Also has the great line of “I know these roads better than you - I built some of them”. Also she makes a flying robot suit. Being a femme bi woman in STEM >>>>>"

"She is literally a GENIUS and has saved her friends time and time again with her intelligence! She is also the only one in her group without supernatural abilities and uses her engineering skills to make weapons to help her in fights!! She is canonically bisexual!!"