#pokemon sword leaks

[jadeazora]

No spoilers, but the one thing the leakers have said about the game that has me really excited is that the story is supposedly really good, with the final chapter even making some of them cry.

I didn't really care much for SwSh's main story, tho I did like the lore about people in power rewriting history to benefit themselves and most of the characters just fine. I just didn't like the laser focus being on Gyms (I've played since Gen1, Gyms are just really "been there, done that" for me at this point, it was pretty bland), the player not being really allowed to engage in some of the more interesting parts in the story (like rampaging Dynamax Mons), and thought Rose and Leon were kind of a waste of potential.

Imo, with the sports theme, I think it would have fit better with Leon being corrupt or Rose fixing matches (with or without Leon's knowledge) over the 1000-yrs away energy crisis. My initial theory was that Leon was gonna be exposed as a fraud and wake Eternatus in an effort to regain the clout and fame he lost, only to need to be bailed out by the player, Hop, and the wolves when Eternatus shows him he's in way over his head.

Moreover, even tho Leon didn't really seem to understand Rose's haste to fix the crisis, he still agreed to help and Hop states to us that he's always the sort to keep his promises. The whole villain conflict just felt really forced.

Rose meant well, but waking Eternatus without his safety net being there was foolish. Leon was bound to lose anyway to it anyway for story reasons, but it getting loose probably would have just been seen as a tragic accident if he had waited. Dude probably could've even avoided the jail sentence, like he had asked for the "unbeatable Leon" to help corral it and keep civilians safe, but they just didn't realize the full extent of its power.

[adobe-outdesign]

So apparently a ton of Gen 9/BDSP style menu sprites were leaked and whilst it's most likely just future-proofing, I find it interesting that the sprites contained the Mega Evolutions but NOT the Gigantamaxs. It's not like they never had unique menu sprites either, they did back in Gen 8.

The data for Mega evos still existed in SWSH as far as I know despite not being used in any way. G-maxes probably weren't included because they only last three turns, and thus you're less likely to see them in menus where sprites would be used.

[thegreatyin]

also we probably actually have a very good idea of who iono's ace is btw. literally the entire pokedex of new pokemon are known in leak circles. all we have to do is narrow it down.

[cattiittii]

INTRO——-

While everyone is speculating on what the starters will be in legends ZA I am speculating that we will get a third charcadet evolution. As crazy as it sounds, please hear me out.

Also! This is speculation. This isn’t a leak or anything, this is just a fan separating on a PKMN i really like. If I get this wrong don’t come after me please.

THEME———

Koraidon is red and represents the past, Miraidon is purple and represents the future. Cyclizar is green and represents the present.

Armarouge has red and represents the future, Ceruledge has purple and represents the past. Where’s the green knight that represents the present? It might be in Kalos.

The focus of Legends ZA is Zygarde, who just so happens to be green.

ZA might have some themes about the past and future, and since the knights represent the opposite theme of their games, a knight that represents the present in a game about the past and future, just makes sense to me.

France, the country Kalos is based on, had numerous famous knights in its history. It wouldn’t be far-fetched for another Charcadet evolution to appear in the region. Kalos and Paldea are also connected, meaning that it’s also not unlikely for Charcadet to be found there.

In X and Y the Royal Family has a castle we can go in, there’s a lot of knight-like PKMN statues around the castle that being Pawniards and bisharps. (but not gallade because gamefreak regretted making gallade)

In castle, we see these two paintings. Tying us back to the past and future as well as the knight thing going on. Both Armarouge and Ceruledge represent the past and future as well as being very “knight-like” PKMN. I feel like it’s a possibility they could be in the game, as well tying us back to legends ZA possibly taking back in the past and further.

COMBAT STYLE———

Somebody on twitter pointed this out

The third missing combat arm is cavalry, which is riding on horseback.

French knights were known for their horse riding; many writings, paintings, and statues portrayed French knights on a horse or with a horse. French knights were called chevaliers, which translates into “horseman”.

Jousting, a competitive sport practiced by knights on horseback, originated in France. Each knight attempts to knock their opponent off their horse with a long lance.

This third evolution might be based on jousting, which is still played to this day despite its medieval origins. A lance would be a perfect mix of it being far away from the opponent but close enough to the opposite. A middle ground from Armarouge’s far distance attacks and Ceruledge’s close combat. 

This also could tie us back to the third evo representing the present because jousting is still played to this day.

While jousting doesn’t require a horse to be played, the armor on the third evo might have some horse elements to it to emphasize the cavalry, and since mega evolution is coming back what’s not to say they’ll make its mega evolution a centaur for this third evo. *shivers*

SHAPE LANGUAGE——————-

Armarouge and ceruledge are both perfect examples of shape language in character design. 

Armaoruge is rounder in appearance due to its Pauldrons, it also has rounder eyes, hands, and a brighter color palette. Its armor is smooth and overall has a nicer, friendlier appearance. A Pokemon who would probably hug you..

Ceruledge on the other hand is a menace to society. Its armor and body is full of pointed edges, from its chest, its chin, helmet, ears, eyes, boots and obviously its swords. It has a darker color palette which gives it a menacing appearance. If you were to see this Pokemon in the wild you are probably going to die. Definitely not as huggable as Armarouge.

Armarouge used a lot of circles and rounder shapes for its design, making it seem friendlier and approachable, while Ceruledge uses a lot of edges for it’s design to seem more intimidating. This third charcadet evolution would use squares for its design making it seem strong and reliable.

In character design there are usually 3 shapes you should use when designing a character. Circles, squares and triangles. It’s interesting you see Armarouge uses circles and ceruledge uses triangles. but not having the third one that uses squares.

In character design squares are seen as bold, sturdy and strong. In jousting you sorta have to be sturdy when riding on your horse.

TYPING—————

What could this third knight typing be?

Armarouge and Ceruledge’s typings seem to relate if they are in the past or future.

For example Armarouge is a psychic type based on the future. Psychic types pkmn are known for looking into the future, for example gardevoir, delphox and Xatu. What's not to say Armarouge could do the same thing.

Armarouge’s armor also reflects that being more “technologically advanced” and having less armor, which throughout the years armor has been used less and less since guns were invented.

Ceruledge is based on the past and it's typing reflects that as well. Being a ghost type, ghosts are known for being stuck in the past and being vengeful, spiteful of what happened. It also uses more traditional weapons and has more armor, like on its helmet, boots and arms. 

My idea for what this third knight typing might be is either steel or flying type. (Fighting type could work because of typing stuff with psychic and ghost.)

Steel could represent the present because we are in the Iron Age. Steel is strong and sturdy, tying back into the square shape language and the sturdiness required for jousting. Green is also not an outlandish color for a steel type, as we have seen a few examples already. Celesteela, the Brozor line, and Copperajah are all examples. Green calls to mind tarnished metal, which could play into the “old but still standing” theme of jousting. 

For flying type air and wind associated with speed and the color green. (The reason why wind is associated with green is because of grass and trees being blown by them) Horses in media are usually portray with their mains flowing in the wind and are also really fast. If this third evo is going to be more “horse like” *shivers* as well as it being more speed based I think flying type could work. It also work to represent the present because flying is usually portrayed as “being in the moment” like skydiving or a character in media trying/learning to fly.

ISN’T IT TOO SOON FOR A THIRD EVOLUTION?

While I would agree with you, I would like Armarouge and ceruledge to have a bit more time in the spotlight. It seems that Gamefreak has been making new evolutions since gen 8 with their newer Pokemon, for example Applin, Duraludon and Blood Moon Ursaluna. 

Blood moon Ursaluna literally having another form RIGHT AFTER legends arceus.

The idea of a third charcadet evo being “too soon” is out of the question. Gamefreak also seems to make new forms for PKMN that need it or PKMN that was *extremely* like zorua, sneasel etc. The charcadet line is a very popular PKMN, I mean there’s a reason why both Armarouge and ceruledge were the first paldean to be revealed. *ceruledge even had a Pokemon day to itself*

Conclusion

While this is just pure speculation and I could be totally wrong and we never ever get a third evo, I just think we going back to Kalos and the whole green thing and the possibility of the game being based on the past and future just seems like a perfect time to make a third evo that could represent the present. Not doing so just seems like a missed opportunity, at least to me. With Paldea and Kalos being so close to eachother I feel like it’s a possibility. 

TOO LONG DIDN’T READ YAAAWWN

We might get a third charcadet evo in legends ZA, the reason why I think this is because of the box legendaries in scarlet and violet as well as cyclizar each represent the past, future and present. I think this third knight will represent the present as well being green much like cyclizar. It will also be green because of legends ZA being green. Since we are going in Kalos again I think making a evo based on a French knight or a French sport just makes sense to me and would be a missed opportunity if they didn’t do that. 

[diamondwerewolf]

What Pokemon do you think Brassius would be? Smeargle is kind of obvious but maybe something that presents more like goth/edgy, to fit how he looks. A funny brambleghast maybe.. but that might be hard to incorporate into an anthro design. (Not asking you to draw this btw I just need ideas LOL)

I've actually been thinking about him quite a bit. I'd probably make him a chivalrous gardener, like a farfetch'd. I think Brassius has some traditional, or valiant tendencies. If he didn't have a heavy wire on his hip, I think he'd have a fencing sword instead. Farfetch'd are known to be elusive gardeners, too. I also feel like this pokemon has the right kinda dramatic for brassius :]]

He's a rough idea, sorta subject to change. Another idea is the leak acting as an unusual paint brush.

[sonicasura]

Since were on the course of showing OoT Ganondorf odd and cool Pokemon let's show him Sirfetch'd. A Pokemon that uses a leak as a sword and has a shield made out of a leak too do battle with and has fantastic swordplay to boot

Considering how many people beat Legend of Zelda with the most ridiculous items possible, a leak wouldn't be so far off. Plus you can't forget about the Deku Scrub race either. Ganondorf would be curious that there's another world where flora can develop weapon like properties.

[chaifootsteps]

When pokemon gen 8 was about to come out (if I remember correctly) there was a massive leak (I think someone had a copy early, I don't know how or why, and they basically tried to spoil everything). People were happy at the start but as the leaks became more and more apocalyptic of the game (to the point it wouldn't leave anything to the players anymore) they began to discourage the fanbase from searching the spoilers.

Anyway that was a bit random trivia. I wanted to say that I've been thinking of spoilers as leaks since then.

Oh yeah, I remember that. It worked on me, Sword and Shield was the first Pokemon gen I skipped and I'm glad I did.

[noveratus]

Alright, so after finishing playing through the pokemon DLC, here are my thoughts:

For the good parts: the DLC is fun to play and pleasantly challenging, which is new for a pokemon game. It feels great to just walk around catching pokemon to fill the pokedex. The characters are a mix bag with Kieran and Drayton being the highlights but still not quite meeting the greatness of Nemona and some of the Gym trainers. The other ones just disappear in the back as nothing but obstacles. I think that they lack a bit of the soul the gym trainers have even with less screen time. I also found Nemona to be a far more interesting rival than Kieran since you always get this sense she is better than you, even though you beat her. It feels like an older sibling letting their younger sib play with them and getting down on their level. Kieran is still pretty good and quite a plot twist considering the leaks and trailers. He never goes full villain, just kind of an ass out of jealousy, which I think is a pretty interesting concept. Kieran feels like what Hop should have been in Sword and Shield.

The environments are also really great and fun to explore, I love how much personality different pokemon have. I also prefer double battles over single battles as I found out. They do require more strategy.

The story also fits with the story of a DLC, that being you, the player, meet this shy kid who becomes filled with jealousy and tries to become the best by making things very unfun for everyone else only to be demonlished by the player. His desperation leads to him seeking an even more powerful pokemon that ends up being a threat and has to team up with the player to stop them (the pokemon should have been peacharunt, but alas.)

Now for the bad

While teal disk is really, really good, it also increases my disappointment when it comes to the actual main game.

Let's start with the features. Why is flying locked behind a pay wall? It doesn't even make any sense when you take into consideration the story of the game. One of the main missions is all about making the cover legendary better until it reaches its maximum power, and yet there it is, gaining another 'form.' The return of throwing balls and even BBQs are things that I think should have been in the base game. Also, couldn't they have added at least a few more clothing options to the main game?

I can understand the legendaries being behind the pay wall, that's fine. The new areas, new pokemon, all of that is alright. That is what you put in a DLC, but a whole mechanical gimmick in the form of the stellar type, it only goes to show just how unfinished the core games were at launch. At this point, it feels less like the DLCs are extra content and more so that they are what the actual game was meant to be, but due to time constraints, they were half assed and, instead, if you want to play the actual game you have to pay another 30 bucks on top of the 60 that you paid for the unfinished, unpolished mess of a half game that was the core games. Ironically, this almost makes me miss the 3rd games in the franchise because, if you waited a year, you could just pay for the game once.

The last hour of the DLC feels like it was the hour that was missing from the central story of the game. Just replace Kieran with Arven being upset that his parents cared more about the pokemon than him, replace Briar with Nemona, and be excited to meet a new pokemon and Carmine with Penny and you can have the exact same story. Hell, it would make more sense for Geeta to trust the player and trainers from paldea with the investigation of the crystals instead of complete strangers. What was Nemona up to in Indigo Disco anyway? Are you telling me that Geeta would ask for the help of Carmine instead of Nemona? Nemona, whose original team we have yet to see? Don't get me wrong, I like the plotline in the DLC. I just don't think that that last part deserves to be DLC. It simply feels incredibly unfair and greedy. The least you can do is put out one complete main story instead of half assing 3 of them.

That's my rant, anyway. Expect a rewrite of these games soon. For the record, I really, really like the dlc. I would give it a solid 8.5/10. However, seeing it and what the base game could have been makes the core games drop down quite a bit, from a 6.5/10 to a 4/10.

[cut-content-contest]

Pokémon Z

As you may or may not know, every Pokémon game had an enhanced version that was released later. Pokémon Red and Green/Blue had Yellow, Gold and Silver had Crystal, Ruby and Sapphire had Emerald, Diamond and Pearl had Platinum, Black and White had Black 2 and White 2, and Sun and Moon had Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The two (technically three) exceptions are: • Sword and Shield and Scarlet and Violet because they started to add content through DLC • Pokémon X and Y which just didn't get one Because of the rush to get to the Switch and them needing a big reveal for Pokémon's anniversary (like a new region), they scrapped it and went to work on Sun and Moon and it wasn't made public that there was a scrapped enhanced version of X and Y in the works until a leak revealed it in 2020. What sucks about this X and Y absolutely needed enhanced versions, the PokéDex had odd filler pokémon, the teams for important battles were weak, the story was lackluster, etc. This is one thing I will never forgive Nintendo, Gamefreak, and TPC for. I loved the Kalos region and stay up at night sometimes thinking about how it wasn't done justice.

cut beta pokémon

It would have given us one tailed baby vulpix and cute baby meowth and they TOOK IT AWAY FROM US. they probably thought they had plenty of baby pokemon as is, and redesigned some to better fit the pokemon evolution line.

Just Pokémon that were cut or reworked to be completely different. It was amazing when the demo leaked.

tcrf link: https://tcrf.net/Proto:Pok%C3%A9mon_Gold_and_Silver/Spaceworld_1997_Demo/Pok%C3%A9mon

[jadeazora]

Y'know, we probably only got a few more weeks until we see early copies start showing up in the wild again, and I'm looking forward to all the crazy spoilers and leaks, how many theories have been accurate.

One thing that has me excited is how leakers have said the story is really good (tho not really giving us that many plot details), especially since I wasn't the biggest fan of SwSh's story.

(I liked most of the characters, more or less. I just wasn't a fan of Gyms being the primary focus, Leon kind of hogging the more interesting things that happen in the plot like rampaging Dynamax Mons, or how Rose was handled as an antagonist.)

[adobe-outdesign]

Have you reviewed the Farfetch'd line?

Back in the early days of Pokemon, it was more common to see Pokemon based on specific Japanese references that English audiences wouldn't necessarily understand (not that this doesn't still happen, but they seem to acknowledge they're an international brand more these days).

In Farfetch'd's (that name looks so wrong as a possessive) case, it's based on the Japanese proverb "a duck comes bearing spring onions". Ducks are often cooked with onions, so the saying is referring to something that's an unlikely opportunity (the closest English version would probably be a "sitting duck").

The concept is fun, but being a Gen 1 design, it's also maybe a bit too straightforward—it's a duck with a leek, nothing less and nothing more. I do like the expression with those big ol' brows, and it's perfectly fine-looking, but it feels like it could've been pushed more. (I'm kind of surprised it didn't have leek elements built into it and be part grass-type, given that it already has the leak shape built into its head feathers.) It always seemed like the perfect kind of Pokemon to evolve, and apparently GameFreak agreed... kind of.

My major beef with Galarian Farfetch'd is that it exists in the first place. That sounds harsh, but what I mean is that regional-only evolutions are fine when they only make sense coming off a regional with a different concept. For example, Cursola wouldn't make sense when evolving from regular Corsola because the bleached coral theme would come out of nowhere; Obstagoon wouldn't make sense evolving from regular Linoone because it has no reason to turn into Gene Simmons out of nowhere, etc etc.

But with G. Farfetch'd? It's not really all that different from regular Farfetch'd at all, and I definitely don't think Sirfetch'd needed to evolve from a regional; it would've made just as much sense evolving from Kantonian Farfetch'd. So all G. Farfetch'd does is make regular Farfetch'd feel even more obsolete than it already did.

Now, I will say that visually, I do prefer G. Farfetch'd's design. The stupidly huge leek is super fun and brings a lot more to the table conceptually when combined with its extra serious expression and increased strength (especially because it's apparently based on how leeks are bigger in England than Japan). The darker colors are also nice, and it's a nice little touch that the head feathers switch orientation. It's a good improvement over the original, just once again frustrating from a practicality standpoint.

I should also mention really quick that originally, Farfetch'd had this scrapped evo called Madame. I'm... not a big fan, to be honest. I don't know if it's meant to have an SM thing going on with it or if it's just meant to be masquerade-themed, but either way that element comes out of nowhere and the main focus of Farfetch'd, the leek, is too de-emphasized. The feather detailing also feels like too much.

Pre-evo beefs aside, I do really like Sirfetch'd as a design. The concept of just taking the leek and making it into a sword and shield is extremely fun and straightforward, and I like the little details like the sheer length of the sword, the handle being the unpeeled base, and the leaves being the shield. The white body works well with the white parts of the plant and gives it a "white knight" kind of vibe, which is really emphasized by its super stocky body. Conceptually it makes logical sense as an evo; visually, it's fun and easy to understand. No complaints here.

As a whole: Farfetch'd is fine but feels like it could've been pushed more conceptually. G. Farfetch'd has an improved concept and design, but also didn't really need to exist and robs original Farfetch'd of an evo. Regardless, the evo itself is a great design with a solid concept.

[rararazaquato]

do u ever think abt what your team would be if you were a gym leader? i do. for all 18 types. here's normal, fire, and bug!!

(some of these pokemon were mons i've used in in-game teams! here's a list)

Mandarin the Darmanitan: Pokémon Black. He and Janice the Scrafty were the Route 4 Power Couple of the team, but you'll meet Janice if/when I ever draw my Dark type gymsona.

Zazzy the Salazzle: Pokémon Moon. Absolute powerhouse, swept the shit out of the grass trial.

Jack Swellow the Swellow: Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. Embarrassingly, he wasn't initially named after Jack Sparrow. His name at first was just Jack, after the person I was compulsory-heterosexuality crushing hard on in middle school. When my cousin asked me for the origin of the nickname, I told her it was after Jack Sparrow, but Jack Swellow was too many characters. She immediately pointed out that it was just the right amount of characters, so I took him to the Name Rater and made the change then and there.

Alba the Noctowl: Pokémon Platinum. I like to think she's a lesbian and had a big crush on Antoinette, my Empoleon. They were very sweet with each other, in sharp contrast to Voltron the Luxray (in the inevitable Electric team) and Boneless the Gliscor (in the Flying team), who were toxic yaoi before I had ever considered the phrase "toxic yaoi".

Ursaring: Pokémon X. He had no nickname because I got him from Wonder Trade. I think if I did nickname him, I would've called him something really stupid, because I was 10. I'm tempted to say Freddy, but I don't think FNaF came out until after I had beaten X. Either way, he was kind of a beast. Did super well against Wikstrom with his Fighting moves.

Dunsparce: Pokémon Y. This guy actually did have a nickname, but I don't remember what it was. I actually played Pokémon Y with the language set to French to study for my French final in my junior year, and I beat it super quickly. Therefore, I don't remember a lot of my team members' names. There was a Nidoking who you'll see in the Ground team named Roi, but everyone else is evading me. Shockingly powerful, I ran paraflinch strats with Serene Grace, Glare, and Headbutt.

Gamzee the Obstagoon: Pokémon Shield. Don't look at the nickname. He was in a polyamorous relationship with Baby the Toxtricity (on the Poison team) and Sasha the Inteleon (who you won't see because I didn't include any starters on this list). He filled a similar role to Ursaring, having Fighting type moves for good coverage. For some reason, Sword and Shield are super good games to have a Fighting type in. Alas, I didn't have a Fighting type in those games, so that was Gamzee's job.

Snuggles the Frosmoth: Pokémon Shield. When I saw the leaks, I knew I had to use a Snom/Frosmoth. I didn't care how long it took to find one, I didn't care about the blatant 4x weaknesses, but I had to use it. She was super solid into Marnie's team when Whippy Cream the Alcremie (on the Fairy team) didn't quite cut it!

[luckyspot]

WHOISIT? YOUKNOWIT!

✨️Iono!✨️

(We're gonna ignore any cynicism towards this trailer for now, okay? We'll touch on that later.)

But wow! I ❤️ unique trailers like this, it really makes the 🌎 feel big and lived in! But we got Lady Iono, a Paldean Gym Leader and totally SPARKLING Social Influencer!

For today's stream, Iono challenges the viewers to figure out her totally perfect partner Pokemon!

Her three hints are:

It's got two bumps on it's head that people mistake for it's 👀.

It's an ⚡️ type (DUH)

It puffs up to help generate the electricity in it's belly.

And of course, it's so totally cute!!!😚

Iono says that she'll come back at a later date to see who got it right and as always...

"Your eyeballs are hers- caught in her electroweb!"⚡️ 🕸⚡️

Okay, now that that's over...

I wasn't lying when I said that I really like trailers like this, the Pokemon world felt kind of stale to me after Black&White. Sword and Shield made the world feel more alive by continually stressing the Gym Leaders personal lives and treating them like celebrities in a more modern age.

But on that note, Pokemon couldn't get an English Actress to play Iono in the English trailer? I don't care about the Sub vs. Dub debate, but I know people who can't see well and struggle with Subtitles. And not to sound excessively whiny, but the Japanese Channel got a cute Rotom build up screen leading up to the stream since yesterday.

Anyways, Iono implies she'll come back to us at a later day to tell us what her Partner Pokemon is.

(I've seen some of the leaks so I have an idea of what it looks like, but there are still some Pokemon popping up that nobody can figure out.)

Either way, bit of let down but excited to see what comes next.

I'd totally be one of Iono's subscribers in the Pokemon world.

So til then, I guess...(prepare for cringe)

I'll Pikach-you later!💛

[pierswife]

@wyrmmak SOOOOOO TRUE well get ready for the Manda Lore Unlock cause this one is a fun story

Okay, let's go all the way back to November 2019. It's my third semester ever of college. I was doing so freakin good at avoiding leaks and spoilers for Sword and Shield (except for official release trailers) and was just SO excited to pick up my preorder after class (it was an 8AM Friday lecture and I sadly couldn't go to the midnight release even though I was invited got a call from gamestop that night and everything). I even requested the day off from work too because I'd be dammed Taco Bell kept me away from my pokemon and it was midterms too so extra excuse to request off (did this with Three Houses too fun fact). This is to set up how this man absolutely blindsided the fuck outta me when I first saw him.

So here I am, absolutely powering through this game having the time of my life playing it because idgaf what people say and idc how much a pokemon game may suck, if I have the ambition I'll finish it in less than a week. Keep in mind, I had no fucking idea who Piers was. And then I get to Spikemuth and I am ABSOLUTELY loving the vibe and the music and I am absolutely jamming out to everything. And then I get to him and he gives his little before battle speech thing and tbh I'm enthralled because I just love the way his dialogue was written and also just found it so cool that he was the still 7th gym leader without being able to dynamax his pokemon and honestly commended the fuck out of it (I'm not a big fan of it myself and only used it when I absolutely had to). I'm also just a sucker for his aesthetic and found myself getting a little crush after finishing his gym. Also his battle music was a fucking banger and I would just constantly listen to it for a few days after. And then we got to the lead up to Rose Tower and I fell harder when he just kinda shows up and basically is 100% down for some anarchy to help the kids stop Rose. And then GOD the post game where it shows that he's just such a good older brother and constantly worried for his sister, but also accidentally adopting the player character and Hop along the way and being the most tired mom friend like ever, icing on top of the cake. And I was cackling when at the end of the post game he gives you his rare trainer card and basically goes "never contact me for something like this ever again" and just LEAVES. Had me giggling like a maniac. So yeah by December that year I was pretty down bad.

Overall I just appreciate how he's a pretty chill and down to earth dude, but 100% is so fucking down for violence (think along the lines of "violence is the question and the answer is yes"). I also just love how like... prickly he seems on the outside before you do kinda get to know his character a little bit more. I've always found characters like that super neat in general! The more I learned about him the more I felt "hey, this would be someone I'd be super comfortable being myself around" and he wouldn't mind my Mentally Ill Moments and would actually sit with me and help me work through them (because my and a lot of people's headcanon is that he's been through some shit himself so he understands). I also have the old fic I wrote forever ago where he helped me repierce my ears (cause irl I was repiercing them in my bathroom lmao) and that was just absolute nail in the coffin I would die for this man. Tbh it's a mix of his mannerisms and how you could fill some stuff in with headcanons (a lot of which a majority of the fandom agreed on) and how I just see him as someone who I could just let my guard down around and relax that made me like him so much.

[who-the-fuck-is-sennalye]

look I like pokemon scarlet. I think it's fun. It's just the little things that frustrate me to no end.

Like the boxes. How did they mess those up so bad? They were perfectly fine in Sword and Shield, it was a done job. And yet somehow they've managed to fuck it up so badly that if a Pokemon's icon hasn't loaded, it'll just show up as nothing, or worse, the wrong Pokemon entirely. And this happens everywhere. In the bag, in the pokedex, hell, even in the damn TM maker.

What's worse is the Tera Raid battles. I could go on and on about how unfair I think tera raid battles are but instead I'll just focus on the glitches. Plural. Like the non-functional health bar. How fucking hard is it to make a fucking health bar that isn't WRONG. ALL THE TIME.

Tera raid battles are bad enough without having no idea how much health your opponent had left. And that's not even mentioning the camera glitches, online raids being a mess, the Pokeball that just likes hanging around on the floor sometimes. Once I had a tera raid battle end and then never put me back in the overworld, that was a fun softlock. Another time my pokemon came back to life, only for every ally Pokemon to faint at the same time for no reason. Once I battled a Corviknight seven times only to realise the loot doesn't reroll if you reset the game. That's not the game's fault but it was such a frustrating experience I'm mentioning it here anyway.

Shall we mention Pokemon spawning inside walls? There is nothing stopping Pokemon from spawning inside walls. One time I found myself inside a wall in Area Zero, and I was running into pokemon just wandering around in there. Speaking of Area Zero, there's a cave in there where you can see Pawmi floating on the ceiling.

Hey, speaking of clipping, let's talk about the sandwich minigame, shall we? No, I don't have a vendetta against the sandwich mechanic (as much as I'd like to, it's too good for shiny hunting). What's with the tablecloth clipping through the ingredients bowls? What's with the ingredients clipping through the bread? What's with the black feathery looking things that appear during the eating animation sometimes?

Also, not a glitch, just a tangent; but who the fuck puts sausages on bread crossways. That's not normal human behaviour. Get that checked out. Seek help. If you're a human being and you put sausages on your bread crossways, please stop there are better ways to live.

Anyway I think those are the major things I wanted to cover. I mean besides that I've just got Pokemon vanishing when you talk to them because they're too close to the camera, the overworld unloading for a frame, the camera desyncing with the player if you move to fast, eggs hatching behind you if you turn quickly enough, pokedex text not disappearing, rain in perfect weather... And there's this really small minor glitch I'm having trouble remembering... something like a memory leak in a AAA game.

God it'd be funny if it weren't embarassing.

All in all, I don't hate Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. I think fundamentally it's a fun game, in fact I've played it for over 90 hours so far. It's just the glitches the game has holds it back from being some of the best Pokemon games since Black and White.

[gorematchala]

Playing PLA again I'm reminded of the prerelease era when we were seeing leaks of the new pokemon, particularly the regional starters, and my slow acceptance of what has become one of my favorite pokemon, Hisuian Samurott. Samurott itself being one of my least favorite. A lot of what I love about the Hisuian version is how little they changed, which served to confirm all the problems I had with the original design so I had grounds to tell gen 5 stans I told them so

My problems with Samurott were many. Primarily that its built like a mic stand. It has 4 big chunky legs splayed out at a weird angle, and a long thin neck supporting an obnoxiously huge *thing*. Having not been in on the ground floor of gen 5 I saw the design separate from the Pokémon's name and assumed that the head thing was supposed to be a ship mast or something and that the beard was like an old timey ship captain beard. Realizing that it was meant to be a samurai I had questions like "huh?" And "what?"

It has swords hidden in its arm guards which protrude at an angle that would be impossible for its three fingered fat fuck flipper hands to reach, and it would have to fight on 3 legs because its back legs arent long or thick enough to support its gigantic upper half, but it has two swords?? It also has weird lines on its chest that I think are supposed to be muscles even though they dont look like muscles. It doesn't look powerful, or sturdy, or agile. I can't envision in my head how it would look in a fight. It's just kind of a mess.

HISUIAN Samurott shows up and says your daughter calls me daddy too. My only criticism of the this design is that the shape of its beard makes no sense, but I can overlook that because this guy is Water EVIL type. Its a ronin. It's a Bad Dude.

What they did is make the whole thing thinner overall, which does a lot on its own. They shrunk the helmet, they made the shape of the armor panels more interesting, they turned its feet backwards which makes it look more like a sea lions rear flipper feet and makes the whole Pokémon look sturdier. The horn and its swords are now wavy flamberge style blades which IS dumber, but dont forget that he is a BAD GUY. And you know he's a bad dude because there's what looks like an arrow stuck in its helmet, which I assume is a reference to a story about a samurai that I'm not familiar with.

They also removed the weird chest muscles and changed its eye shape. A recurring design element I hate in gen 5 is the anime eyes they put on everything. Terrakion, Shamin Sky, Virizion, and original Samurott all have just like anime human eyes and its weird. And I know what youre thinking but theres something different about Voltorb or Shiftry. Gurdurr has gen 1 Pokémon eyes, Terrakion has a human face stamped on a cow body. Hisuian samurott has a more angular cool eye shape, and the bright red accents contrasting with its dark blue and black is much more visually impressive than the originals ocean blue, tan, black, and orange.

Hisuian Samurott looks proud and strong and if it slapped my girls ass at the ancient japanese bar thats his girl now. And you can't fuck with a move called Ceasless Edge. Especially because at the end of the day it is just Samurott plus edge. But the result is a Pokémon I like vs one that I don't