#second ended in elite4!!!

[autism-corner]

link click x coockie run kingdom when.......

[raitnrong]

i don't know if it's okay to type out a counter reply to this, but i just cant help myself when it comes to pokemon so feel free to just skip if so! :)

(pls im not arguing ;w; im more on just letting the pkmn brainrot whir n get more traction by the second ;;w;; this is looong)

okay, first off. a lot of the sentiments here.... kindaaa goes against what the whole world of pokemon is supposed to represent tho?

i mean, in a world where money literally growns on trees through endless resources and actual pokemon who rain money down on you (u just... pick it up. after battle. payday? like running after dropped pingpong balls lol),

most villain motivations would boil down to one thing: pokemon themselves. less on the need to out-corporate or out-politicize ppl for money but on the usual world domination bit themselves by abusing said creatures --mostly legendaries-- for their own gain.

yes pokemon's economy is so-so if we're judging on how fleshed out it could be but they literally sold a bike that costs a million pokedollars in their previous games somewhere!! a bike!

capitalism will always exist ofc but the resources in that universe is simply too abundant to be strictly 1:1 irl bc imagining pkmn irl would honestly be a nightmare (constant repairs/accidents and deaths/power being strong armed by ppl w strong pkmn to the point of constant chaos n violence) but it works in the poke-universe right! so world-building aspect is that there will always be a sprinkle of, 'maybe it rly is just too good to be true' in pkmn n that's fine actually :)

continuing on the in world-building principles. ash is canonically ten! ten years old!! he travelled around the world n won the pkmn championships (my boy!) when he was ten! w fellow children most of the times as well. that's how lenient it is in the pkmn universe. poppy is four and in the elite four, a job she's happy to be a part of! does that mean she's capable? well ofc not, yes, but she's not as incapable as a child of four irl would be.

now u could bring up how poppy being in the elite4 could be proof against paldea's economic shambles specifically. but w the fact that again pkmn is diff irl, the bottomline is it doesn't matter.

there are two things u need to battle the elite four in paldea: all eight badges and to pass the interview. the reason y poppy and larry r in the elite4 even tho it seems like they shouldnt be is bc they love pokemon! a very integral question to the interview btw.

but i digress.

just case-in-point, pkmn age leniency. another point, most kids can actually already support themselves/have careers as kids btw (no that does not make pkmn story telling bad n no im not advocating to leave ur ten yr old on their own)

now arven i do feel he not only needed, but WANTED his parents w him. that makes all the difference when talking abt independence. the adults not doing anything abt it is ofc concerning... hopefully arven's got support somewhere other than his mabostiff. maybe something like a provide-necessities kinda deal? after all he is enrolled.

still, the idea of sada being more burdened than turo while fair, kindaa takes away the point of both sada and turo's biggest flaw had been.

(then again i may have just missed the game's interpretation of them )

the reason y sada and turo have infuriated some ppl couldnt be bc they abandoned arven to meet needs and earn money,

but it's that they abandoned him by CHOOSING to be stuck w their work. the usual "my research. my research!" scientist trope. and i use abandoned there generously bc while i do think that sada n turo were negligible, their true end of dying protecting the region legendaries' was all an accident.

sada died bc she put koraidon's life over hers, wc was a noble sentiment she stll chose to make. koraidon was the height of her discoveries as a research leader. even the ai questioned the orig professor. while battling, the ai made a comment asking abt whether all the professor cared for was the machine. why? bc of their hyper aggressive protection protocol! it speaks volumes as to how much sada/turo treasured their work. not above arven but it was still a big part of they are.

y say sada was more reluctant to leave than turo bc of her oppression, when she could have been just as reluctant bc she was as passionate abt the past as well. is there even a personal gain to be got in area zero btw? whats the profit in it for the professors specifically? other than the research, wc is worth more than its weight in gold in pkmn!!!!!!

and, uhm, this part im not too sure abt bc i dont remember all of geeta in the games, but where r the theories abt geeta stemming from? i mean i do get her slight omnipotence and the accounts of her subordinates during their evaluations, but ive never actually heard her be manipulative or malicious or even sketchy. liek,, my most memorable moment w her other than her mid champion battle when she told us abt nemo holding back against her and how shes glad nemo finally has someone on her level,,

(also maybe its the bias that i view sada n turo as passionate n strong individuals that would have left area zero if they wanted to. they had a kid after all. how could geeta stop them? just look at their designs! i mean i do believe nothing would stop them from focusing on arven if it were the case, other than say, themselves?)

also why is the whole women r oppressed only present for sada n not geeta? ,':T excuse me if thats offensive, but you'd think if such issues did exist, they'd be worse the higher up the ladder goes.

to me that kinda seemed so humble at the time, like she was genuinely glad too to see another strong trainer in paldea, to which i got to admit back then i felt so flattered and it pumped me up to fight nemo bc!! challengeeee! pokemon battling!! good spirits all around! :DDD

btw i do think geeta finds kindred soul in nemona bc like nemo treats battling like it's her life. geeta loves being able to handle all these ppl as both top champ n being in the academy's board. wc is a good thing bc who would rather have a boss who hates their job? she's nitpicky bc she's passionate abt seeing paldea trainers grow (very important to foster btw bc competition is a big part of pkmn)

and actually, the bit w penny i thought was sweet. i mean y blame only geeta for making penny work when clavell was the one who personally gave the "punishment" w a smile? so even clavell trusts her judgment.

penny was facing serious charges of fraud (again, see how lenient they r w money lowkey? :) nice) that could have gotten her jailed-- or worse-- expelled!! :ooo (lol actually i forgot if she was actually threatened by jail time).

and instead!!! what did geeta decide! to use penny's talents to both benefit her (acting for paldea's good btw) n penny! i for sure do not think geeta would provide compensation if penny so inclined, regardless of her debt. tech work was something penny already loved to do anyway? shes totally the type to just fuck around w computers n troll ppl for fun :3 actually, a position like penny's is good btw bc it provides penny w access to tech, professional experience (yes shes skilled but theres more to learn when its a job vs hobby) and u best be she's going to get a highly paid job offer once she graduates bc IT is no joke :333 especially for something that needs such high security like the league/govt. geeta has helped penny by making penny do the things she already likes and putting it in a direction that could be a total win-win!

n again before we talk abt age, poppy is four and penny stole from the league. it's one thing to hack a rando's bank acct but that's like stealing from as high up as the govt!!

n the chairwoman not only just forgave her BUT found a way to benefit both them in a way that still made it so penny deals w the consequences of her actions?

wtf geeta is a LEADER not just some boss

(omg wth? im writing this now and ive always known geeta ran a tight ship -n tbh i respect that order deeply- but what if most if not all her decisions were as heartful and smart as this!)

so uhmm, tldr: pkmn worldbuilding greatly differs for concepts of capitalism. pokemon is individualistic in general, not just paldea, as the point of pkmn literally is to get urself out there. i believe sada n turo died less bc of the need for money, but moreso as a choice relating to one of their biggest passions. n geeta good actually?? ,':T im surprised by just how much

ok so larry and geeta

i really hate to rag on a character other people like for my own blorbo so uh, geeta fans i am so so sorry i would recommend skipping this post, i doubt its actually this deep </3 you are allowed to like her prommy

ok but ACtual analysis time, what the FUCK is up with larry and geeta (people who have never had a shitty two faced boss before ask. /j)

larry expresses anti institutional ideologies a lot, he wants to do things outside the system hes in will allow. he expresses a lot of negativity about his position, a lot of remarks which could rock the boat. which they HAVE with the amount of people now realizing most gym leaders have second jobs. and the system might! be kinda fucked! and deal shitty pay and is just kinda a whole gimmick of an industry in the whole universe. and larry sorta points directly at that, when he actively complains about Having to be a gym leader, Having to be an e4 member.

Geeta in this position would fucking hate Larrys guts! and would also point to her just quietly not saying anything when the player likes larry most. Because Geeta doesnt just dislike larry in this position. Geeta dislikes the ideals hes lowkey pioneering here. And when the player likes larry, its like the player is siding with larry. The player believes hes in the right, not Geeta, and it directly pits the player and Geeta at odds, in a very quiet way.

Geeta cant say shit. Geeta has to keep up the appearance of one big happy league full of amazing, positive members and they're all strong and etc etc. She keeps the facade of the entire league. Whether she genuinely loves the league or not, she has to keep an incredibly dedicated face up about the view of the league. But this same rule doesn't apply in private. The gym leaders, her workers have to keep that facade also, especially with Geeta, but Geeta doesnt have to give them that same light of day. Geeta can do whatever she wants, and the gym leaders just kinda have to deal with it.

i very much believe geeta and larrys relationship proposes this really. really sad idea. because geeta is larrys boss, and they. really dont like eachother! and geeta has. power. larry is afraid she will "dock his pay" for chitchat. but really it comes down to his chit chat going against the status quo, the status quo which Geeta benefits from. And ultimately, she does have the power to dock him for chit chat. She can rob him for being honest. And while Geeta's true treatment of the gym leaders as a manager will probably remain unknown, Larry's existence really offers the idea that it's probably not a great role.

Larry is not special. And thats the problem. Hes not breaking ass to go all out on a cute gimmick, hes not loving the institution as much as everyone else is to the point of doing more than its worth. Hes just doing the bare minimum to get by. Actively complains about his job, which for people in the right spheres it could seem like a huge deal to be a gym leader, and an elite four member. like bro! thats awesome! you just get to do pokemon battles all day! but really its not. once you live in the system, and you get sick enough of it, it loses its luster, and you realize that its just another grind, dodging pay cuts, trying to please the right people and constantly bust ass just to pay for the rent on your apartment and maybe groceries.

Larry is a pawn in the same system as everyone else. Geeta needs larry to be special. But he wont be. And Geeta doesn't take well to that.

Thats why hes the exceptional ordinary man. His ordinariness is what makes him the exception.