#pokemon second evolve set

[pokemonshelterstories]

I have an Oddish named Oddball who hasn't been doing well. His leaves are wilting and he just seems out of energy, but the vet can't find anything wrong with him.

I do live in a cold area but I have a spot set up for him with sun lamps, do you have an idea what could be wrong with him? My friend thinks he might be getting ready to evolve, but is it normal for Oddish to act like they feel awful in those cases?

does your vet specialize in grass types? it really sounds like it's time for a second opinion. lethargy is already a big sign that something is wrong, and wilting leaves are a concern. he's probably tired because he's not able to take in enough energy through photosynthesis to keep his body going.

i can't really comment on what the problem is as i'm not a veterinarian, but i can say for sure that it's nothing to do with evolution. while you may notice some fatigue and lack of appetite in the days right before evolution, your pokemon should not look unwell. grass types typically leaf out prior to evolution so that they can work on storing up the energy they'll need- if they drop their leaves, it'll be after they evolve. wilting does make me think it's an issue in how much water he's getting, and that could be caused either by a husbandry issue or a medical condition. but you really need to find a vet who's knowledgeable about grass types to confirm.

[trashworldblog]

Welp folks, looks like we're in for a hell of a season of puppet history!

*Let's crack in*

the set is gorgeous this season. i always have loved the puppet history set and how it evolves season after season. the mismatched chairs are beautiful. i love the lion and beaver and little dinos. and eagle eyed viewers may notice the brick wall came from the old pod watcher set, and watcher tv folks might have noticed the scuba lamp fella is the light they made on weird wonderful world (thanks to @toomanywatchers for pointing that one out to me!) also the new theater!! its gorgeous!! the stars light up!!! its so pretty!! incredible craftsmanship!

now why is ryan holding a ... hose (?) ready to fight someone? maybe to melt a wicked witch of the west? kill a genie? kick some hologram ass again — water is good in a fight against electronics [unless the substitute is a pokemon] — either way its a little too soon to tell but i love to throw shit at the wall and see if it will stick like molasses so maybe he's fighting dorthy ruth's shady second husband.

PS aka Puppet Safety: what seems to be a shady organization that is responsible for or is dealing with the puppets in pergatory. im assuming they arent going to be great based on the poster that i will struggle to read later, but either way, their role next season is to deal with the mess of all those dead NOT DEAD puppets in hell Wondrium Arena PERGATORY. Theyre like OSHA. but puppets.

okay now i cant read all of that but what i can make out shivers my timbers. its obvious that shit is gonna go a little crazy if theres a department. but after carefully unravelling whats in this, you guys might go nuts.

after taking it into photoshop to try to enhance it, i got this. still pretty incomprehensible, especially on the right side. but im autistic and also a bitch so i wont take no for an answer. so i zoomed in and squinted and started reading anyways. and this is what i got.

The department of puppet safety (the department) hereby unequivocally disragards any and all responsibility, liability, or .....

to the words statements, or [representations?] made on the poster....

the phrase 'everything will be [fine?]' (... referred to as 'The Substitute') The Substitute is .....

and a not to be.... or a [tactical? factual?]

it is typically noted and dictated that contrary to the ..... of the [Substitute?]

the [Poster?] ('The [Reader? Riddler? Reactor?]') is herby informed that they are....

included but not limited to an immediate and painful vaporation....

shredded by a thousand lazers that simultaneously rips your.....

the aforementioned vaporation process is depicted to appear in the [readers?]....

'pergatory' However, The department makes no....

pergatory and any assumptions by the [Reader?] regarding....

evidence. In short, pergatory may or may exist and the Department cannot be held responsible for any...

uncertainty.

By choosing to meet or otherwise engage with the Substitute the [Reader?] acknowledges and accepts....

consequences that may arise, including but not limited to their imminent vaporation, the insuing agony...

or similar unknown [means? realms?]. The [Reader] further acknowledges that they are inherently....

adverse outcomes stemming from.... The [Reader] ... responsibility and not that of The Department.

The Department futher .... any duty of care ... duty or any other obligation to protect safeguard..... of the

[Reader]. The [Reader] is advised to

have any doubts or concerns regarding the potential ramifications.

In the event that any portion of the disclaimer a ......

..... [??? which shall remain in Lil bitch and effect. ????]

By continuing to meet, ..., or otherwise engage with the Substitute the [Reader].....

and ...... and acknowledges that they have been sufficiently...

Summary: The Department of Puppet Safety takes no responsibility for the consequences of ..... the [Substitute?]

[vaporization?] and..... [afterlife?]

the brackets are for the text mush i couldnt quite make out but could make out with context clues or letters.

Disclaimer: This is a poster from The Department. The Department is trying to cover up that pergatory even exists, so accusations and information from this poster should be taken with a grain of salt.

the substitute is gonna be a player next season! yay!!

I spent a long time trying to decipher what the "Reader" actually says but the image was too compressed to make anything out besides possibly a captial R, and the first time i read it I read it as reader, so we'll go with that for now. Now, who is this mysterious reader? why is he in contact with the Substitute? I believe this reader is the mystery puppet we saw in this tease from shane a few weeks ago.

we see the reader be buddy buddy with the professor. maybe they're friends from long ago, maybe they're family, maybe they've just met. either way, he plays the key role in helping or hurting the puppets that are trapped in pergatory.

Now, is he working with the Substitute? did he just meet with them? it seems that simply contacting the substitute could lead to vaporation, and if the reader wants to help free the trapped puppets from pergatory, the substitute would be the only other puppet (besides literal god and satan) that would have any information. So the Reader could be a good guy just looking to help out and looking for information.

or he is working with the Substitute by getting buddy buddy with the professor. He learns about dorthy ruth and how she is on a mission to get her stanly melvin back from pergatory. so he, as an evil scientist that may have created the substitute, slips her a horse brain pill so that she forgets everything, even her own name, as the song above suggests.

I do find it interesting how all of my information about the reader is coming from The Department, who is basically just using the reader as a scapegoat. if the department is supposed to keep puppets safe, why are they covering this up? why are they using vaporization death penalties? what is really going on here? why is my silly puppet show slowly turning into a massive lore dump with an overbearing government that is pumping out propaganda and using scapegoats? why am i having so much fun with it and so excited to start a puppet revolution? free your felt hands from your chains!

The more I dig, all im left with is more questions. I can not wait to see what is in store for us. This has been the most fun I've ever had digging for lore. I can't wait for this season !!!! It's going to be so insane and fun.

[blushingdread]

Second set of princess teams!

If you've seen the other teams I made, you're probably wondering why the Witch's team is fully evolved. That's because she over leveled her team like hell!!! None of them listen to her even a little bit!!!! Her team is just likely to take her and each other out as they are to attack TLQ or his pokemon.

Trevenant because they can control forests and trees, and Witch can control roots and Cacturne because I find the way they hunt terrifying, and I think Witch would love having such a scary pokemon.

Thorn is no longer over leveling her pokemon. In fact, one of her pokemon has even evolved! Depending on your Thorn ending, she'll either get a Vileplume when you betray/attack/abandon her or an Bellossom if you free her!

Tsareena because it's a pokemon that starts off very sweet and nice in its first two evolutions and becomes ill-tempered and aggressive in its final form. Their a reflection of Witch and symbolic of how Witch is still with Thorn.

Sawsbuck is partly because they're sometimes called the bringers of spring in the pokemon world, and it's like the implication of something better coming, they constantly change forms, showing Thorn can grow past the hatred, and also their flowers reminded me of the flowers all over Thorn's cabin.

I gave Wild an Arboilva, their known to be kind pokemon that will help feed other pokemon. It shows how Wild is moving towards kindness and a end to the strife

[touristbree]

🔎Legends ZA Trailer 1 Analysis🔎

🔎Legends ZA Trailer 1 Analysis🔎

We finally have a trailer for Pokemon Legends: ZA, and I am absolutely hyped for the game! Kalos was my first region and it’ll be fun to go back to it in such a creative way. We don’t know much, but we do have plenty to examine from the trailer and accompanying advertising.

Everything below is spoilers for today’s present.

The Setting

[ID: First Image shows a Bunnelby, scatterbug, and fletchling running down a street in Lumiose that’s been overgrown with plants. “The Wild Zone” is named in the image.

Second: The player character running down a similarly abandoned street, there’s a car left behind and more plants around]

It’s interesting that one of the wild zones looks like an abandoned street in Lumiose city, the stores are still intact and there’s an entire car left behind, implying that this was a recent change. Wild zones are clearly very new editions and I wonder how much of the city was set aside for them, and what happened to the people who lived and worked in those areas.

[ID: An overview of as street covered in black and blue, futuristic scaffolding over very old looking buildings]

I noticed some construction scaffolding in the background and I have two theories about them:

1. Decoration: The scaffolding is just there for decorations in one part of the map to make it look like it’s actively under construction and provide more interesting spaces for battles.

2. Changing Map: Over the course of the game's story, scaffolding will appear over old buildings, cover them up, and then they get removed to reveal new buildings.The city evolves over the course of the story… but is that a good or bad thing?

Quasartico Inc.

[ID: a large modern looking building with the Quasartico logo on it]

We get introduced to Quasartico Inc. and it’s CEO Jett, and everyone is in agreement that she is the villain of this new game. We don’t know her plans, but we know she wants to modernize Lumiose City, we see a lot of construction at one point and an abandoned street in another, this bitch is gentrifying this city.

In the trailer we get a look at AZ’s hotel, it’s an old building that I think will be under the threat of being demolished to make way for a new modern building. My only reason behind this is that AZ is living his best life with his Floette and that the player living there makes it an emotionally important location, threatening it would establish Quasartico as a major villain in the game.

[ID: A comparison between the Looker Bureau im the trailer and in XY. Same being walls and tiled floors, the kitchen is more detailed in the trailer, there’s a board on the wall with notes about the city and papers and a laptop on the desk]

We also know that someone is keeping an eye on them, we get a quick glimpse at the Looker Bureau office from the postgame of XY. In the background there’s a board covered with notes and a map of the city meaning whoever is living here is keeping an eye on all the urbanization. When I first saw the trailer, I thought it had to be Emma from the XY postgame, but examining it a little closer I’m not as certain; Looking closely I noticed the picture of an Espurr on the desk, clearly meant to be Emma’s friend “Mimi”. The fact she’s in a framed picture gives me 4 theories:

1. Mimi died and this picture is in her memory, Emma is still at the Looker Bureau.

2. Looker is in the Bureau again and the picture is a reminder of Emma and Mimi.

3. Theory 1 but Looker has the picture.

4. I’m overthinking this, Mimi is fine and Emma just has a picture of her pet.

Conclusion

This game is looking amazing and it’s getting all the time it needs to marinate, I can’t wait to see who makes an appearance and I can’t wait to be introduced to the new cast of characters.

[bogleech]

Mortasheen

Given that I think your Mortasheen page has over 700 monsters while the latest Kickstarter update said you'd have 100 included, what should we think of those not included? Are they still 'canon' to the setting? Will the whole website page need to be revamped?

The book was never meant to be a one-off project but was always planned as the introduction to an entire tabletop gaming brand meant to keep adding content every year, at least in smaller batches. Like Pokemon the goal is to release playable monsters as "generations," and they'll always be a mix of old, new, or reinvented concepts, though @gutsygills who took over a lot of essential work doesn't want to leave a single one behind and stops me from completely scrapping any unless they truly just won't work. The Mortasheen archive on bogleech.com is just there for posterity now and might never be modified again, except to add links to where people will eventually be able to buy the books or visit a more dedicated official website. I guess you could say the release of the RPG will be a "reboot," especially since a lot of aspects of its world had to evolve a little to make more cohesive sense as a game setting. I'll still share my own new monster art and concepts as I go along but some will be book exclusives while some might get released with their gameplay stats for free, it'll vary with the monster. This is supposed to be basically my new job from here on out, it may be an independent project but it's being run as a serious business endeavor in partnership with the gameplay devs.

Here's one new monster I did for this first book though, its name is Pestode and it was designed to be the most basic common Wormbrain class monster, the Rattata of Wormbrains, just a large deadly parasitic worm whose "host" is reduced to barely more than a second skin it can contract into. Every monster also has a "retro sprite" from an imaginary nonexistent gameboy game and in many cases I'm using that to show a monster's other possible poses or configurations; Pestode can scrunch up like a frog if it wants

[aspielce]

pokemon au since im fixated on both poi and pkmn right now

team elaboration below the cut v

john:

had absol the longest, found in his early teens. both of them are considered bringers of doom. had lucario the second longest, received (riolu) during the service. friendship evo for him seemed fitting. corviknight third longest, received (rookidee) when starting the cia. mostly for travel. next zamazenta, very shortly after meeting harold. for his protectiveness. next pawmot, rescued a wayward pawmi during a numbers case. another (technically) friendship evo, also thought it would be funny for him to have a cutesy lil guy. arcanine last, who belonged to joss.

harold:

has a huge assortment of pokemon, caught and wild, who help him with anything he needs. felt like noctowl was fitting, ampharos and reuniclus as well (fitting more into the computer setting). shiny eevee that he has had for years, never evolving it because he was too busy thinking about all of the possibilities. silvally, previously type:null, represents the machine. he designed the pokemon, but the team he was working for wanted it for nefarious purposes. fleeing the team, he stashed type:null away, until finally he allowed himself to get close enough to it for it to evolve (machine going god mode essentially). it looooves root. houndoom is bear, given to him after john stole it from an abusive trainer. shaw consistently begs him to give it to her.

shaw:

druddigon + haxorus are large dragon types, scary and strong but solid friends, not unlike shaw. liepard is her oldest partner. the pokemon just reminds me of her. zangoose was one she found on a job, kind of a hothead. meant to parallel root’s seviper (which root insists means theyre soulmates). got zacian shortly after joining team machine, similar to john’s zamazenta.

root:

like harold, she has a large network of caught and wild pokemon to help her. mimikyu and zoraork are.. self explanatory. zoroark is her oldest mon, mimikyu is more recent. seviper and ariados for creepiness factor. I feel like she would like the off-putting pokemon. flygon also just for the vibes, and latias to round out the legendaries.

[kingofanemptyworld]

Suo’s Team:

Mienshao (Partner Pokemon)

Dragonair

Mawile

Vulpix

Plusle

Suo’s another rookie taking on the Gym Challenge in the same year as Sakura, and his party is (I think) a pretty good reflection of who he is as a person. Or, anyway, who he wants people to think he is. (With the exception of Plusle but we’ll get to that in a moment)

Mienshao as his partner pokemon hit me like a slap in the face, not gonna lie. Like, it was the first concrete thing I had for him and the image of them pulling matching fighting poses would not leave my mind. So it had to happen. And if you can look me in the eye and tell me they weren’t made for each other — then we’ll duel at dawn, I guess. Bring your switch and we can go at each other in Sword/Shield.

The rest of the team is what prompted some enterprising magazine to dub him “Most Elegant Rookie,” with each one more beautiful and stylish than the last. He’s likely not interested in evolving his Dragonair at this point, and Dragonair’s more than fine with that. It gets around fine whether it’s on land, in the water, or in the air. Mawile’s a charming addition with a very literal “hidden side” so you know I had fun giving it to Suo. Vulpix is the little princess of the team, and the one Nirei dotes on the most. You can usually find it on Suo’s shoulder or cuddled in Nirei’s arms, or poking out of one of their backpacks as they travel together. It’s Suo’s youngest Pokemon, having hatched from an egg (which he obtained from winning a contest he chose to join on a whim) fairly recently.

Plusle is a match to Nirei’s Minun! They caught them together on one of Nirei’s research expeditions he asked Suo to join him on, and on the rare occasions they double battle with another set of trainers, Suo always brings his Plusle out so they can support one another. Y’know, the whole hand clapping deal, because it’s cute as fuck and was the second suo-related thing I couldn’t get out of my head.

[lostonesart]

Pokemon Twst

giving all the boys Pokemon cuz other people were doing it

Ace gets a Purrloin, to assist with his magic tricks. Probably picks up an Aipom his second year.

Cater gets the Furfrou, diamond cut cuz theme and a Ditto that he'll absolutely send to class in his place and it's actually passed a test for him once on accident. (It doesn't keep the ditto face, that was the one ditto in the anime that didn't know how to properly transform)

Riddle raised the Vileplume from an Oddish in his first year and picked up the Cherubi at the start of the second year. The Rapidash kinda adopted him and he basically got to keep it when becoming Dorm Leader.

Trey needed a baked good Pokemon So he gets the Appletun. And He also gets Spinda because Spinda's Cafe in Mystery Dungeon and I needed to make the reference.

Deuce gets a Mankey. So he has a buddy to work on his temper with. The implications when it eventually becomes Annihilape is not missed by him. Probably picks up an Eevee next year that evolves into a Sylveon eventually to help that temper.

Under the cut, I set some rules for myself because I have to make things harder on myself, lol.

first years get 1 first-stage Pokémon, second and higher get 2 Pokémon of first or higher stage. Dorm leaders get 3 Pokémon. Teachers/staff (if I decide to do them) get 4 Pokemon.

no legendary or mythical Pokemon.

avoid too obvious of choices when possible. (unless nothing else works)

[apocalymons]

Our DCG Divination Deck

Okay, I'm finally gonna stop putting it off and actually talk a bit about our Digimon card game (DCG) divination deck.

Under a read more, because it's gonna be long.

So, the theory behind our DCG div deck is based loosely on these two posts by @miracleeye and @mahouowo respectively. The former is specifically about Pokemon TCG divination, while the latter is a bit more broad.

This is gonna focus on the process we went through to build our DCG div deck. It's technically a WIP, but that's because we have to order a few specific singles that we don't have yet, and are liable to switch cards as new sets come in. I've split this into a few headings, but a full list might be a later project if folks are interested, even though we have a spreadsheet to keep track of things.

Card Selection

Selecting cards is really the most personal part for us. We're Digimonkin, and have a lot of members in our system which adds to the flexibility and personal aspect of card choice. On the most basic level, what we were looking for were cards to represent different members and their different stages, because they have close associations with specific experiences/journeys/emotions.

This creates an "arc" in a similar way to certain groups of cards in Tarot. The Major Arcana tells a story; Digimon lines do the same, because Digimon evolution is often closely tied with spiritual and emotional growth.

It's also worth noting that the way Digimon work on a fundamental level means that growth, despite this chart, is largely nonlinear. Some Digimon revert back to previous levels. Others don't always evolve the same way as they did before. Reincarnation is also involved in certain cases (anime, v-pets, and Digimon World style games included).

All that is to say that, while we included specific "lines" in our DCG div deck, some of those lines have multiple stage representatives in order to highlight the plasticity of growth. This deck also has duplicates of the same stage/Digimon in order to represent different aspects of life, even when on the surface that form is the same or similar (3 Beelzemon cards, 3 Apocalymon cards, 3 Impmon cards, for example).

Beyond that, other card selections also focus on elements related to our experiences. For example, we have a grouping for Jeri, which includes her tamer card, ADR Searcher, Blue Card, Leomon, and Calumon. This same grouping also bleeds into Tamers Impmon's grouping, of which we consider Blue Card and Calumon included, but also has Ai and Mako.

Selection in our case is also most down to what artwork resonates with us most in a symbolically relevant way. We recently switched out BT15 DemiDevimon with EX 8 DemiDevimon, for example. Parallel art is common in the card game as well, to the point we technically have two arts of one card in the same deck.

Part of this change is also down to what the cards do. The former focuses on supporting Myotismon (a Digimon unrelated to our system). The latter focuses on supporting Nightmare Soldiers, which is more in line with the way that stage feels to our headmate who identifies with it: a resignation to the lot others see in you as a servant of evil.

[ID: two Digimon Card Game cards, both depicting DemiDevimon, an orb-shaped demon with bird-like talons and bat-like wings coming out of a leather hat. The first artwork, by Yamuretsu, shows DemiDevimon flying away from a group of agitated Digimon with a mischievous tongue peeking out of its smile. The second artwork, by Minato Sashima, shows DemiDevimon hanging from a tree branch, backlit by unnaturally purple-red moonlight.]

Also, we've included a few cards that aren't DCG cards. Specifically, we have an Apocalymon card from the old Digital Monster Card Game (we usually just refer to it as "Hyper Colo" tbh), and a Satellamon card from the Data Cardass Appli Monsters game.

The former is to represent an "archaic" feeling; something outdated, that has been processed but can ultimately not be purged from one's life. The latter is more down to the fact Satellamon is an Appmon, and we're only just now seeing those in the current DCG. (There's actually two Satellamon cards, and the one we don't have is the one we would prefer, but in a pinch, you take what you get.)

Information to Pay Attention To

In the Digimon Card Game, there are a few different card types as well, with information that puts them into groupings. The most basic card types are Digi-Eggs, Digimon, Tamers, and Option cards.

These may also be further grouped by card colors, which include red, blue, yellow, green, black, purple, and white (in the order of how they're sequenced in sets). Cards may have up to 3 colors.

These don't necessarily correspond to elemental divisions, but do often include them. I think this video does a better job explaining it than I could; divisions are much more about archetype than element, not just mechanically but also within the story structure of Digimon as a franchise.

If you're unfamiliar with Digimon, this also includes Digimon traits, such as Virus, Vaccine, Data, Free, and Unknown. Vi/Va/Da have a rock/paper/scissors relationship in other media, but very rarely interact with each other in the card game.

All Digimon also have stages, which represent levels of growth from In-Training (lv 2) to Mega (lv 6-7). In order, these are Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega. The terminology differs in Japanese, and elucidates the way you can also read these levels: Baby II, Child, Adult, Perfect, and Ultimate.

There are also other traits such as Field Types (Deep Savers, Nightmare Soldiers, Nature Spirits, etc.), protagonist groupings (Hero, Adventure, Liberators), type (Puppet, Dinosaur, Avian), and lore groupings (Seven Great Demon Lords, Three Angels, Four Great Dragons, Three Musketeers).

Appmon, which are only just getting introduced into the DCG, have similar stages (called "grades"), but 8 attributes. Appmon grades are Standard, Super, Ultimate, and God. Their attributes are in a larger circle than Vi/Va/Da, and are, in order of effectiveness on one another: Social, Navi, Tool, System, Game, Entertainment, and Life. Outside of this relationship is God attribute.

For people interested in using numbers for their readings, Digimon cards also have a lot of information in that regard. Digimon alone have play cost, evolution cost, Digimon level, DP, set/card number, and block number. More or less information is present on some cards.

The DCG also has all artists credited on the cards themselves, which has led us to notice some other groupings in our own readings.

Deck Size

In our case, we made our deck 50 cards large. This is the size that DCG decks are--- there is no variance, outside of egg decks, which are 0-5 eggs large.

Originally, the deck was 35 cards large, but we found this too small after experimentation, leading to unclear readings and ultimately encouraging us to tweak the count to its current number of 50.

Spreads

We've drafted up a few spreads inspired by the various Digimon card games. We've really only tested one of these spreads, as it functions well enough for our purposes without too much complication.

After a bit of messing around, we've found that our DCG div deck plays nice with a spread resembling the current card game. In order, we lay one card in the Raising Area, one card in the Battle Area, and one in Security. An additional clarifying card in each area sometimes helps.

The easiest way to explain it is that this spread represents Potential, State, and Protection:

Potential: something that can be nurtured, or is growing already.

State: elements regarding the current situation, physical or psychological.

Protection: elements that can be utilized to beneficial effect; what is keeping you safe.

We do our readings also on playmats with our own art.

Concluding Thoughts

So, I've told y'all about how our DCG div deck was constructed, but I haven't actually talked at all about the readings and how it treats us.

Generally, we try to do our readings at Digimon Locals, after we've done our matches for the tournament. The vibes are just there. Our cards are double sleeved in the official Bandai Beelzemon sleeves and some Dragon Shield outer sleeves. Anything more and we would literally be unable to hold it in our hands, let alone put it in a deck box.

Any time we do a reading, we also shuffle the same way we'd shuffle our for-play DCG decks--- a mix of pile shuffling and gingerly interlocking the cards in equal piles.

Here's a reading it gave us that's pretty straightforward, so it makes for a good example.

I've described this deck to friends as having the temperament of a high school gossip, but I also think one of our friend's descriptor of it as "roommate that steals your Dr. Pepper" is pretty accurate too. It doesn't really cut corners.

This reading in particular was so straightforward you could mistake it for a ruler, because it's a snapshot of a literal moment in Satty's and my exomemories--- these three cards are associated.

Specifically, Potential is in Satty, state is in Gallantmon, and Protection is in Blue Card. The exomemory this quite literally evokes is when Satty was killed by Gallantmon and death evolved (Blue Card represents evolution, "growth to overcome adversity" and wishes).

Satty evolved into me (Glut), which compounds just how funny this reading was to look at because of our interpretation of Gluttony (the sin) as being about dissatisfaction (ie: wanting; wishing without ever getting what you want).

The deck itself kind of just looked at who was holding it and said "ah, okay, so this is you?" 9 days before I properly split into the system.

It also likes giving us some cards repeated in certain positions, which are specifically cards representing to us confidence in the self (in creative endeavors) which. Really funny considering we're nervous about applying to grad school for creative writing.

Anyways, all this is to say, testing is always required with this shit, but also, if you make your deck personal, it will go for the jugular without hesitation.

-Gluttony

[ladyzee-oddityhunter]

VOD Uploaded April 19

Well That’s Just Shrood

[When the lobby screen swipes away, Zee is sitting at what appears to be a blue picnic table with a large sandwich on a plate off to the side. It looks more like she just tried to incorporate a sandwich for the Paldean theme than actually recreate one of the Paldean classics/monstrosities.

Right in front of her is a small blue pokemon prodding at a sitrus berry, a shroodle. The little pokemon gives a start when Zee waves to the camera.

“Hello my darling skiddo kiddos! You’re here with me, Lady Zee, and today we’re deviating from the typical ghosts and ghouls and featuring an odd little pokemon! Say hello to shroodle!”

The pokemon begins to waddle toward the edge of the table, so Zee very carefully scoops it from beneath and sets it back down in center frame facing the camera.

“This sweetie’s name is Gummydrop, and he belongs to long time skiddo kiddo Nancy Shrew! Nancy saw the shroodle discussion on the blog last week, and she reached out to tell me she’d be in Kanto and Gummy would love to help answer any questions we might have!

“Now, if you’re like me you saw shroodle with its half sphere shaped body, giant eyes, and small legs and you thought it was some sort of beetle pokemon.” She gently lifts the shroodle again to show its underside where its tiny legs are kicking in protest.

“I’d only ever seen photos of them, but on closer inspection I can tell you this little sweetie is very warm, very unlike most bug types, furry, and he has little paws! Look how cute!” When Zee sets it back down, Gummy begins a scramble for the table’s edge again, so she boxes it in by resting her arms on the table on either side of it.

“So shroodle are from the family soricidae, the same family as sandshrew. Contrary to what you might think, shroodle is not a rodent! One of the key differences is rodents such as the mouse pokemon dedenne have incisors that grow throughout their lifetime and have to be worn down as they go. What a shroodle has is what it gets! If its teeth wear down or break, they won’t regrow.”

Gummy begins to clamber over Zee’s arm with renewed vigor, and Zee pauses her lecture to grab it with her other hand before it can fall off the table. As she scoots it back onto stable footing, Gummy jams its teeth into her forearm, earning a yelp from Zee.

“Oh no! No, Gummy!” A woman’s voice cries from behind the camera, presumably Gummy’s trainer, “Are you okay? I’ll get some antidote!”

Zee waves a dismissive hand. “I’m alright, I have pecha extract and some bandages in my bag. I’ll get them when we’re done.”

After taking a moment to compose herself, check her wound, and apply pressure, Zee giggles and smiles pleasantly for the camera again. “He had to get a little love nip out of his system!”

Gummy seems to have calmed down upon hearing its trainer’s voice, so Zee continues. “Shroodle are poison type because of their venomous saliva, but did you know certain variants of shroodle are capable of echolocation? It’s uncommon, only noted in two variants of shroodle which is already an uncommon pokemon, but it’s used primarily for finding small bug pokemon. Similar to bats, these shroodle can emit tiny clicks and squeaks to ‘see’ in conditions with poor visibility, but the tradeoff is their eyesight is far worse than that of their peers.

“Shroodle are very small and low to the ground, and until they evolve into their much more agile grifaiai forms they live on the ground hiding from predatory bird pokemon under grass and leaf litter. As you probably know from your pokedex app, they defend their nests from ground based predators by dribbling poisonous liquid in a ring around their nesting site. So if you come across an acrid smelling, colorful patch of comfy looking leaf litter, don’t touch!”

Zee pauses to flex her fingers on her bitten arm. She flexes them twice, seeming to struggle a little to close her hand the second time.

“Perhaps I should find that pecha extract,” She says, maintaining a smile while her voice seems almost strangled.

She pushes herself to her feet, but as she’s attempting to step over the picnic bench she trips and keels right over like a fell tree.

“Lady!” Cries Nancy as she runs from behind the camera to check on Zee.

Gummy waddles over to the forgotten sandwich and begins eating it.

Thanks for watching! ]

HELLO my darling skiddo kiddos! Thank you for joining me on this visit with Gummy. He says he's sorry, but we forgive him! I hope you all learned something about shroodle today! Don't forget to follow and subscribe on Togetwitch to get alerts when we go live, and tune in tomorrow night for our regularly scheduled haunting site exploration stream! Shoutout to @completelylusingit for being correct about shroodle! They ARE mammals after all!

[st0rmyskies]

Can you rank your favorite Zelda games?

1. Majora's Mask

There hasn't been a game like MM since, honestly. I love this game so goddamn much--the music, the art direction, the time mechanic, the story, the allegory of grief, the delicious holes in the lore just begging for stories. Fucking Ikana Canyon. It changed my brain chemistry as a kid and I've never been the same.

2. Skyward Sword - It's the art for me, the soft colors and backgrounds reminiscent of pointilism make it a really lovely visual feast. And Link's expressive face. And his dialogue. The fucking sass. The real, genuine relationships between Link and Zelda, and with the other characters. Oh my god. There's a reason I put this blonde bitch in so many Situations.

3. Ocarina of Time - This is probably a function of my age, but. This game has been single-handedly feeding my brain since before I was a teenager. The lore is second to none. Although if you set OoT and a different title in front of me and asked me which I'd rather replay, I'm probably picking a different title. Mainly because of the graphics.

4. Link's (re)Awakening - My gaming equivalent of mental potato chips. It's adorable. It's simple. The battle mechanic is actually quite fun. Highly replayable, especially since I don't have the pressure of needing to remember much story or much about the commands when I pick it up again. I need to get a hard copy of this one.

5. Breath of the Wild - This game singlehandedly got me through Covid. Its open-world nature makes it so unlike the rest of the Zelda series, but the peaceful, somber feeling of traversing a healed post-apocalyptic Hyrule is exquisitely haunting. The music alone has this high on my list. The overworld theme is just this half-remembered piano music, and hearing Termina's clocktower chime in the final dungeon theme made me cry while playing through it at 1am. Ranks lower than the others mainly for replayability (dis bitch LONG).

6. Windwaker - This is the one I've replayed the most out of all the titles. It gets back to the classic "little kid on a big adventure!" vibe that was missing from the series since MM, but then we get jettisoned right back into that with TP. Talk about expressiveness, this is such a top tier Link model. The battle mechanics were great, the music was so fun (Molgera's theme, anyone??), honestly just writing this bumped the game up on my list another rank.

7. Twilight Princess - This one's climbing the list, as I'm on my first replay of it now. On my first play-through I really didn't appreciate the richness of the story, nor did I pick up on the subtleties of Midna's motivations and her evolving relationship with Link. But most of my interest in replaying this one was learning who the Hero's Shade is, and the fact that wolf!Link makes his BotW appearance. I was SO disappointed when I found out that was an amiibo thing.

8. Echoes of Wisdom - I've gotta pick this one back up, but honestly? I think the thing I like best about it is how much it reminds me of LA. The Wolfos are my favorite pokemon.

9. Tears of the Kingdom - I hATE building shit, but I did like the Depths. I turned off the game right before the fight with Mineru's construct and have had no interest in turning it back on.

[amelikos]

Some character notes and episode notes for HZ088, writing them down for future reference.

The episode starts with the residents of Kumuri Town watching over Kumuri mountain worriedly as they notice a pink smoke around it, while the RVT worry about not being able to contact Liko and the others.

In Rakua, Liko, Roy, Dot and Amethio start the battle against Gibeon's Zygarde. They slowly get used to working together, and try to think of strategies to counter Zygarde. Nyarote evolves into Masquernya during the battle, and she lands the decisive blow against Zygarde.

After the battle, Zygarde disassembles himself and leaves. Lucius tells Gibeon that Zygarde acknowledged Liko and everyone, and that he may have been trying to show Gibeon the possibilities that bonds between humans and Pokemon can create, which causes Gibeon to contemplate Zygarde's Pokeball. At the end, Pagogo transforms into Stellar Form and flies up to the top of the Rakurium crystals, ready to purify them.

--

Lots of things to cover. I'll go out of order.

Amethio and Soublades. Really liked the scene when Soublades toughed it out so Amethio wouldn't feel sad (ie, not being defeated and surviving a move out of pure affection towards his trainer). I feel like the more Amethio opens up and asserts himself, Soublades does as well? Soublades conveyed to Amethio his desire to keep going on for him during the battle, and I thought it was nice.. Amethio thanked him for it too, and I think it was the first time Amethio said ありがとうin the series? He's expressed gratitude to others a few times before, but he used other words to convey that sentiment. So, hearing Amethio say a simple "thank you" while smiling felt meaningful. Also, Amethio usually asks Soublades for his opinion and always checks on him before making an important decision so they are equals as partners, but I felt like the scene with Soublades asserting his desire to keep going felt a bit different since the initiative came from Soublades. It showcased his personality, too. I feel like Soublades was probably influenced by the other Pokemon, and particularly Liko and Nyarote/Masquernya's bond during the battle? It reminded me a bit of HZ065. In that episode, Nyarote took the initiative to gather grass to keep Liko warm. Upon seeing that, Soublades had the idea to warm up Amethio by using his own blades. Soublades is changing bit by bit as well, through watching Liko and her Pokemon. The fact they played a bit with the knight motif in Soublades during the battle too.. Amethio and Soublades covering for Liko and Masquernya, Amethio wanting to protect (which goes in line with his desire to protect his grandfather) and making way for Liko was great. It doesn't feel diminishing towards Liko either, since they are both portrayed as equals, and Amethio is trusting her to handle the rest. I feel like it also makes him similar to Liko, in the way that both of them grow stronger when they fight to protect others?

Liko and Nyarote.. When Nyahoja evolved last year, I thought that Nyarote would reach her final evolution towards the end of the second year and that Amethio would be there to witness that again. So all requirements were met w Something about Liko's main partner evolving to respond to Liko's feelings and to protect others. The first time Nyahoja evolved, it was in a battle against Lucius's Rayquaza, and this time it was against Gibeon's Zygarde. It's always in a setting related to the Explorers. Amethio being so linked to Liko's growth as a trainer has been a recurrent pattern from the beginning of the series (being her motivation to become stronger after feeling frustrated for not being able to do much in her first battle against him, coming back into the plot precisely in the episode when Liko decided the kind of trainer she wanted to become after catching Mibrim, etc), and I'm glad he was there to witness Nyarote's final evolution. In both battles (Rayquaza in HZ045 and this one), Amethio was acting as an ally as well, so there is something about both Liko and Amethio growing stronger when they join forces.. Also, liking how fierce Liko and Nyarote both are. Liko has her reckless moments and she wanted to stand by Nyarote's side during the battle to support her (really liked that Liko looked at Friede and that they both mutually nodded at each other before she ran next to Nyarote, like she wanted Friede's approval and acknowledgment before doing it). I like that they have similar sources of strength and that they are both motivated to protect others. Liko wanted to protect everyone's feelings, and Nyarote wanted to protect those fighting alongside her.. Soublades included, he was part of those Nyarote wanted to protect and I thought that was nice? Nyarote is so loyal, and I think she was becoming closer to Soublades during the battle itself.

Noting that everyone reacted to Nyarote evolving. I particularly liked that Friede was the first person whose reaction was shown.. He's watched over Liko from the beginning and he is a huge inspiration for her, so I am sure he was proud of her. Amethio didn't react like the others, but this is also unique in itself and sets him apart from the others. Other than that, I loved Nyarote's evolution sequence. It felt like a magical girl transformation scene in how beautiful it was. Masquernya slays severely too, she was really the coolest and I hope to see more of Trick Flower in the future. Now that Nyarote has evolved into Masquernya, it also means that Liko has a cat with dark type as a partner.. just like Spinel. Liko and Spinel both have cunning sides to them, and their main partners share similarities.

Gibeon and Zygarde.. Really liked the visuals when Zygarde slowly disappeared. The cells raining on Gibeon as he is begging Zygarde not to leave, but he is powerless to do anything. The metaphorical rain made it look like Zygarde was crying too.. I think they managed to convey lots of emotional weight through Zygarde, despite the fact that he can't speak or emote. Zygarde really fought for Gibeon's sake, just as his trainer asked him to, but it wasn't necessarily in the way Gibeon wanted. Zygarde genuinely wanted to stop Gibeon this whole time and wanted him to realize what's truly important.. He stayed by Gibeon's side out of loyalty and love for him. I think it demonstrates a lot of agency on the Pokemon's side? In general, I like the relationships between the Explorers and their main partners because there is a lot of care and trust involved in each one of them. Zygarde chose Gibeon and willingly followed him. He could have left anytime, but he didn't because he wanted to be with Gibeon. I think that part of Zygarde may have probably been a bit desperate and pained seeing Gibeon like this for such a long time.. And probably hoped that he would come back to his senses, which is why he set up an elaborate plan to gather the Six Heroes and everyone again, etc. I feel like Zygarde leaving was probably his way of saying that this is the most he could do/muster for Gibeon, and that it's up to him from now on? Maybe Zygarde wants Gibeon to be the one to come to him this time? It does make me wonder if this will be the end for Zygarde and Gibeon. And what will happen to the cell that stays by Hamber's side? Actually a bit worried about this because as things stand, Gibeon probably feels like everyone he's ever loved and trusted left him, and it is miserable for him. I think Zygarde's intentions reached his heart at the end, and I liked that he contemplated his Pokeball. I think he is starting to realize what Zygarde was trying to tell him this whole time, so I wonder if Gibeon will want to meet him again..? Or will this end just like that? I don't know. But I really like the nuance in Gibeon and Zygarde's relationship. Zygarde wanted to save Gibeon from himself and remind him of the value of bonds.. It's interesting seeing a trainer and Pokemon bond with the Pokemon who is more put together than the trainer (a bit like Dot and Kuwassu in early Horizons).

Lucius and Gibeon.. It connects to my thoughts on Gibeon and Zygarde, but I thought it was interesting that Lucius "translated" Zygarde's thoughts and intentions to Gibeon and that he understood Zygarde so well? Something about Lucius's relentless kindness towards Gibeon and the tender way he explained everything to him at the end (ie, that Zygarde was trying to show Gibeon the bonds between humans and Pokemon and the possibilities they bear).. Lucius bears no ill will towards Gibeon and still considers him as a friend he wants to save. On Gibeon's side.. his breakdown was glorious yet infinitely poignant. Something about the way he slowly shifted his gaze Lucius to Liko and realizing her presence, and then absolutely losing it upon realizing that Lucius and those connected to him will always stand in his way and interfere with him? The previous ep confirmed that Gibeon genuinely thought that Lucius was dead this whole time and he was shocked to find out he was alive. Yet we've seen during the series that Gibeon talked about/to Lucius as if he were still alive (when he mentioned the adventure not being over yet in HZ045).. I wonder if he feels like Lucius is just bound to haunt him his whole life.. Something about the mix of love, resentment and feelings of betrayal he can't shake off. Gibeon desperately wanting to understand what makes him different from the rest of them also means that he wants to be understood and that he wants to be part of "the rest of them" in a way.

Also, Lucius' speech about the value of bonds felt sad to me because Gibeon was someone who believed in those concepts once upon a time. His first meeting with Lucius and Rystal comes to mind. Lucius suggested that they all travel together to find Rakua because if they joined forces, they would definitely reach their goal. And Gibeon accepted. Which means he also thought that bonds would make them stronger and more efficient in their quest for Rakua. Which emphasizes the tragedy of it all, because Gibeon lost sight of something he believed in. It wasn't a foreign concept to him, it's just that Lucius and Rystal's betrayal left him heartbroken to the point that his view of trust and bonds became distorted and that he closed off his heart. If they betrayed him and couldn't understand his ideals, then no one else could.. Which speaks of how highly he considered both of them. Also, I liked the scene when Lucius approached Gibeon at the end and got close to him.. I thought he'd either put his hand on Zygarde's Pokeball or hug him or something. It's not too late for this, Horizons.

Liko and Amethio.. Liko protecting Amethio's Pokemon during the battle (just like how he protected her back in HZ045), Liko and Amethio exchanging looks, and Amethio smiling at her. All very important things.

I thought it was interesting that Amethio wasn't exactly in sync with everyone else towards the beginning of the battle. Liko called him out on it too, and he actually listened to her and everyone else. He seemed surprised and taken aback by their comments, but he adjusted to them. He is humble and willing to cooperate.. Also, I couldn't help but compare this teamup with Amethio and Friede working together in HZ045. The setting was much more different back then, but I felt like Friede and Amethio were more used to each other and had no issues adjusting to each other. Their teamwork was smooth. Which makes sense because both Friede and Amethio know each other's styles thoroughly since they battled many times. Amethio is closer to Liko but he doesn't really know Roy and Dot much, so maybe a part of him wasn't as quick to rely on them initially, compared to when he teamed up with Friede. This current situation with Gibeon feels more desperate and personal for Amethio as well, since he wants to stop and save him, so his tendancy to charge in had a reason to it. I have to point out that Amethio talked back to Friede when the latter gave him orders (and still followed them anyway), yet listened to Liko and had no retort.. Again, different settings etc, but this one is cute to me, because I love how Amethio allows himself to show his bratty sides around Friede and banters for the sake of it, but doesn't do the same with others. He doesn't act the same way with everyone, and it shows in the way he interacts with both Friede and Liko. I wonder how Friede felt and what he thought seeing Liko and Amethio battle together, too.. He was an observer this time around and couldn't act.

Either way, I loved that Liko and Amethio finished the battle together. Definitely feels earned and rewarding, especially since they started off the series on opposite sides and couldn't trust each other. Both Liko and Amethio were fighting to protect others and their motivations are similar in that sense. Liko wanted to protect everyone's feelings, and Amethio wanted to protect Gibeon. When they are together, they manage to protect "everyone". Amethio trusting Liko to end the battle also felt meaningful. Amethio has a wish that others don't necessarily share (protecting/saving Gibeon), yet he is leaving it to Liko and putting this much trust in her. He knows that Liko won't trample on that wish and will be able to protect it, and he also respects her strength by trusting her to land the final attack on Zygarde. Amethio saying he'd carve out a path for Liko feels moving, since "path" is such a significant theme in Amethio's story.. He sticks to his own path, looks for his own path and for answers, and then paves the way for someone else (that person being Liko specifically).. Amethio considered that his and Liko's paths were different and couldn't intersect in HZ065, but now their feelings became aligned and they walked the same path, if only for a moment. Which is too poetic it makes me sick tbh.

Other stuff I liked. The Explorers reacting to Zygarde leaving.. I thought Spinel's expression was interesting? I'm not sure what to make of it, but it wasn't something we often see from him.

Something I noticed is that Gibeon's Zygarde has three moves of the same type (Ground) and one move of another type (Dragon). Which is similar to Lucius's Rayquaza (three Dragon type moves, one Flying type move).

During the battle itself: when Dot said "let's run support" so they could both support Roy.. Dot didn't address Amethio at that moment. It made me think that Dot was probably hesitant and didn't know how to include him. She isn't used to working together with him, so she only addressed Liko.

Gibeon saying "don't approach me" to Liko and Amethio during the battle. This specific line stood out to me. It's like he is closing off his heart to everyone, and won't let them get close because he can't afford doing that.

Amethio and Gibeon.. I liked when Amethio told Gibeon that he felt the moment his and Soublades's wishes united. He used "watashi" in this scene too (which reframes a bit the moment he used "ore" in front of Gibeon in the previous episode, like he was talking more earnestly than usual, etc). Gibeon didn't dismiss him, and listened to his words, so it seems like Amethio is finally getting through him.

The voice acting was great. Particularly enjoyed Gibeon, Liko and Amethio's VAs in this ep. Gibeon commanding the moves so calmly and sounding so composed during the battle was great, and he sounds hot ok. I could listen to him saying "Core Punisher", "Ground Force", "Thousand Wave/Arrows" forever. His breakdown sounded so vivid, too. Liko's VA puts a lot of heart into her acting, and it definitely shows. Liko sounds so fierce, and I love that she is becoming like Friede, someone who can give courage to those around her. Amethio's VA was great, and hearing him get deeply invested in the battle felt different.. I feel like he was definitely influenced by Liko and everyone else.

Anyway, this was just a great episode. The magical girl vibes were strong ("we become stronger thanks to our bonds and feelings" is such a magical girl thing to do). AmeLiko and LuciGibe are very good. I really appreciate how even things feel on both Liko and Amethio's ends? Liko suggested working together once in HZ065, and Amethio refused. She didn't have to push it again, or ask another time. This time, the teamup was Amethio's initiative and it was his choice to join forces. They can both protect each other and trust each other's abilities. They really feel like equals.

A bit nervous about Gibeon's future as a character, but at least, I'm satisfied that his heart was reached a little bit in this episode. The way he is continuously depicted as this sad, isolated old man also gets to me..? They don't turn their backs on Gibeon, because it would mean ignoring a century of suffering and not giving closure to heartbreak. The situation escalated to such a degree because Gibeon's feelings festered all this time and he had no one to tell him otherwise. He lived in an echo chamber of his own thoughts and was convinced that Lucius and Rystal meant to betray him and the misunderstanding couldn't be cleared up. The previous ep showed it too. Gibeon showed signs of hesitation just after talking and listening to Lucius a little bit, to the point Spinel had to push him to focus on their plan. In this episode, Lucius calmly talking to him again was enough to make him contemplate the situation.. Which really emphasizes the themes of communication conveyed through this story.

A highlight from the ep from PR account (gif of Liko and Amethio). The twt mentions Liko being Lucius's descendent and Amethio being Gibeon's grandson. In case the Romeo and Juliet vibes weren't clear enough. Just in case.

[alolanrain]

Ash’s Pokémon the TA!au are quite different then their normal counter parts, and what I mean by this is that if you put the TA!Pokemon to the same evolution of itself its very clear that the Pokémon in Ash’s care evolved different.

Charizard has grown a lot more than just physical prowess in the Characific Valley. It’s also height, weight, and physical features. He gains small spikes down his spine that are just big enough to make it uncomfortable for people to ride him without a custom saddle. He also gains an outline made out of black scales along his eyes, claws and the a good chunk of the top of his tail. Charizard is also the one out three of Ash’s fully evolved Pokémon to continue evolving in small but noticeable ways, leaving Rowan and the Pokemon scientific field as a whole to believe that Ash’s Chairzard may be able to evolve into a whole new evolution if given enough time.

Leavanny gains a second set of arms during her final evolution along with being bigger and stronger. The second set are smaller than her main set of arms and are located closer together in the front of her body. She uses them to hold her leafy projects in place better as her main arms work her sticky string into it.

There are obvious outliers like Gengar and Dragonite as they weren’t apart of Ash’s team when pre-evolved in Gengar case and or haven’t had time to properly soak up the weird energy that radiates off of both Ash and Pikachu to gain the extra abilities and body parts in Dragonites case.

[adobe-outdesign]

Please review Koffing and Weezing (Galarian form included) if you haven't already! :)

Koffing is a pretty neat concept. It's similar to the Grimer line in that it's kind of pollution personified, but instead of being more slime and sewage-like, Koffing is based off of poisonous gasses. It's more or less just a balloon that can kill you, but unfortunately the semi-transparent, inflatable skin is completely lost in basically all of its art and animations, making it look more like a floating boulder. Still, it's a decent, straightforward concept.

Visually it's also pretty neat; the simple round body has some of that nice Gen 1 organic-ness with the craters everywhere, and the fans are an unexpected but welcome addition. The skull-and-crossbones on the body is a little blunt, but it works, mostly because they managed to render it in a way where it's still believable as just a set of markings.

Weezing almost falls into the "just multiply it" trap of Gen 1, but thankfully it manages to be more unique than that. First, the faces have changed to have some big ol' brows and larger fangs along with flat upper teeth. The lip is also more defined, and the markings have gotten bigger.

More importantly, however, is that the second head is fused directly with the main body. This makes sense for two gaseous creatures, and gives it an extra deformed look, especially with the third "joint" in the back. The second head is also different from the first, having only a ring instead of a full skull and one set of upper fangs, which keeps it from feeling like the same creature that's been copied and pasted.

In Galar, regular Koffing evolves directly into Galarian Weezing here. It does feel a little abrupt, but at the same time a G. Koffing probably would've been a repeat of the same elements, so it's not exactly a big deal to not even bother.

G. Weezing plays with the original pollution concept by giving them top hats and mustaches resembling that of Victorian-era oil and coal tycoons. The top hats then double as smoke stacks (the creators have also said they're based on steam engines, though I don't personally get that as much), allowing polluted air to be taken in, purified, and released out the top. The palette is also different, swapping out purple for steel-like dark grey with green accents (for the polluted air) and white (for the clean air). This gives the design some good contrast and makes it pop a little more than the original.

For the most part this is a pretty decent idea that makes sense for the region, giving the thick smog that's blanked areas like London in the past, and ties back into the original Pokemon nicely. However, I do think it's maybe a little too on-the-nose? Like I said, the skull-and-crossbones thing works because it was integrated in a way that feels natural, and these designs don't as much. Maybe if the mustaches were less obvious or the hats didn't have a clear brim to them. It's not a huge deal though, and it mostly depends how much you like the more character-based designs.

My only other issue is that it kind of feels a little contradictory conceptually—like they're based off of industrial capitalists and smog, but then also they... clean the air they intake, to the point that they're part fairy-type? Like it feels like the pollution-causing Victorian capitalist theme and the inverted regional that cleans the air instead of polluting it are two separate concepts that both loose a little something when smushed together. Once again not a big deal, but something that's always just low-key bugged me.

Anyway, a pretty solid line as a whole. The concept for the originals is strong and both stages feel unique, and the designs are solid as well. The regional is also good conceptually and visually, albeit maybe a little too complex for its own good.

[limitless-blue]

This might be too crackfic adjacent but in the predprey AU. Can everyone get Sapnap pregnant or just Conter 😭

oh god okay i am complicating this much more than what's necessary but alas. prepare for biology talk

so i talked about the options for whether or not they're all the same species as hybrids, or whatever, here. i am, admittedly, still not sure how hybrids work biologically. i guess it depends on what i want out of the hybrids and deciding based on that? so first question: do we want it to be possible for everyone to impregnate sapnap (based solely on hybridism and not sex)? yes.

anyway, i've thought on it some more, and because there would definitely be issues regarding endangerment/extinction if each hybrid type is a different species (regardless of if they evolve from or alongside humans, if interspecies relationships are common enough, then extinction would be a very prominent threat. because like. think about how many species of animals there are. and then if there's a human hybrid of most, if not every, species. there aren't going to be a lot of each to begin with. so if they're mating with a different species, they either won't produce any offspring at all, or won't produce fertile offspring (like mules from horses and donkeys, or ligers)). SO! that means each hybrid being its own species is very much a bad idea.

as for the idea of all hybrids being the same species, there are two ways to go about this. one would be that hybridism works like ethnicity, where a person can be different percentages of different animals. for obvious reasons, this is a no-go. which means that we're gonna be going with the second option, where all hybrids have the genetic code for every type of hybrid, but only the set of traits from one animal "turns on." another way of thinking about it is that they're like pokemon (without the restriction of egg groups). two hybrids of different types mate, and their child comes out one or the other.

also i just realized i never talked about the possibility that hybrids are genetically 50% human 50% other animal. i'm pretty sure that result would be a mix of separate species and ethnicity? because each hybrid would always be 50% human (to spare myself the headache, no, they can not mate with the animal they're hybrids of), and eventually, the genes get all muddled and certain types of hybrids go extinct, and everyone's genetics are a melting pot of a bunch of different animals.

i am so glad we've finally answered this question of What The Fuck Are They.

and to answer your question, if sapnap was able to get pregnant, everyone would be able to get him pregnant!

[pokemon-card-of-the-day]

Okay here's round 2 of cards I like, now for more recent sets (yes, to me BW is modern, help I'm old)

Eelektrik was a very useful way to accelerate... But really it's here because they decided to make an evolving Stage 1 good on its own. It's not like this never happens (recently we had Flaaffy and now, to an extent, there's Metang) but Eelektrik being chosen was a cool moment at the time.

The best fluff. At a time where big Legendary Pokemon-EX did most of the work, this thing could actually hold its own. It was also fun because you kept discarding things and ran like 25 Pokemon at a time where 10 or fewer was very normal.

They went with evolution line theme art here. Probably one of the coolest things they've done with card art.

The idea here was of a Stadium that worked differently for each player, and whoever had the card got to pick which side went where. A fun idea for sure, though one they didn't keep for long.

Look at this thing. It has 60 HP and 10 base damage. Oh, right, its damage scaled up quickly... So basically we had a good, competitive deck with a 60 HP attacker that damaged itself on purpose when a lot of other things were over 250. And it worked.

I once took this to a local tournament and had a winning record. I might be biased because Castform but it was fun as hell to play. You got to use whatever Stadium you wanted to mess with the opponent and discard all over the place. Lost to a turn 1 Cramorant there, though.

I like the Supporters that let you choose what to do, and this was cool in the V era as drawing or forcing a V into play. Much less cool now. And yes, it went well in Castform.

Welcome to modern funny gimmick! Pair this with Forretress ex. Blow up a ton, fall way behind. Your second Brambleghast will have 350 HP and a ton of Energy, and you flip your way to a win. Or probably not, but if you're playing this you really don't care much about the result. It's just hilarious. Add Hero's Cape for even funnier results.

I could most likely find more but I think this will do, there's so many interesting cards out there I probably missed.