#shit volkner sends me

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-pokemon-fan]

Ice-Cold Take: Cynthia is a Fantastic Champion

Yeah, I know that practically everyone already agrees with me. But I want to go on about her anyway. Let's talk about it.

The Background

Cynthia introduces herself to you as "A Pokémon trainer, just like you," and as being an amateur historian. So we already have a kinda interesting background. Then she appears a few times across your journey, even being a central character in the climax of Platinum. She jumped right into the Distortion World right alongside you. So we know she's brave and strong of heart.

It might not be total surprise to everyone on their first run that Cynthia is the champion. She is a recurring adult character who appears to be a strong trainer; Wallace and Lance have a similar setup. But even if you saw it coming from a mile away, who expected the piano?

Have another ice-cold take: her intro music is phenomenal. It also has separate effects depending on how you're playing the game. On your first run, you hear the music and know shit is about to go down. No one else in the game has had and introduction like this. But if this is a Nuzlocke, a battle you've prepared for, the last challenge of the run, the song is downright bone-chilling. In my first Nuzlocke, as I approached her with just a Porygon-Z, Electivire, and Hippowdon, my heart was pounding.

What I don't hear a lot of talk about is her actual battle theme. I'm going to dissect it in another post.

The Buildup

I've complained about the stupidly high level cap jump from Volkner to Cynthia in Nuzlockes: 17 levels in DP/BDSP and 12 in Platinum. It's an atrocious grind if you want to be at her level cap. But if you're playing vanilla, the jump is actually kind of genius. How much leveling can your team of favorites really do between Volkner and the Elite Four? Even Barry's ace at the Pokémon League is his Lv 55/51 starter.

Then you start the Elite Four challenge. Aaron leads with a Lv 53 Dustox/Lv 49 Yanmega, and the difficulty keeps ramping up and up. Last spring, I completed my first run of Platinum as an adult. My team seemed up to snuff at first. Take a look.

Alpha the Luxray, Lv 54

Shine the Gardevoir, Lv 52

T. C. the Empoleon, Lv 52

Rayda the Rapidash, Lv 50

Kongu the Staraptor, Lv 47

Montero the Giratina, Lv 49

I wasn't prepared for what came next.

The Battle

I knew when I saw Cynthia send out her Lv 58 Spiritomb that I was in for a rough battle. The difficulty of her battle doesn't just come from the leveling, though.

I don't believe for a second that Cynthia's lead is a Spiritomb just because it's a strong Pokémon. Its encounter requirement is so random and hard to fulfill that it's likely a first-time player will never have seen a Spiritomb before this battle. Its typing is phenomenal: it has no weaknesses (only one in BDSP), three immunities, and one resistance. It has powerful coverage moves too, making it hard to guess the typing. And that's just how she starts the battle.

There are great coverage moves across the board, too. Togekiss would eat shit to a Rock type that both resists its STAB moves and is super effective. So Cynthia gave it Aura Sphere. If you were going to use an Electric type to take Togekiss out, Garchomp's immunity and Earthquake will have something to say about it. Garchomp is quad-weak to Ice, so it has Flamethrower. Lucario is weak to Fire, so it has Stone Edge. Maybe you were planning on taking it out with a Ground type, but she has a Roserade and Milotic ready to counter it. Milotic has Ice Beam to deal with any Grass type challenger.

Let's also not forget that her ace is a Lv 66/62 cracked-out pseudo-legendary with only 2 (3 in BDSP) weaknesses--which are rare types anyway. I'm certainly not the first person to say that her Garchomp is a menace. I should know, it was 8 levels higher than my own Electric type ace. As a side note, it's neat that she gives you a Togepi egg early in the game and uses a Togekiss herself. Point is, you need non-STAB coverage moves or an otherwise well-composed team to take Cynthia on.

Between her story significance, musical accompaniment, and excellent team, Cynthia is a fantastic champion. A perfect conclusion to the flawed but wonderful experience that is... er, Platinum Version. I have certain feelings towards DP/BDSP. That's for another rant, though.

[mnstcrbnll]

"STARDUSTS, WELCOME TO THE END OF TODAY'S ROUND!

Our Stellar contestants did their best

And, of course, here's a reminder of how points work:

you get one point for guessing your secret correctly, and another if you guessed without any help, and unfortunately that single point would turn into half a point if you guessed it with our Rulebreakers!. Half a point is given to those who managed to discover someone else's secret -- just one half a point, even if we did get some contestants trying to stack them up! --, and an extra half point if you managed to guess your wonderful host's secret!

Some secrets remain unguessed, but we're not going to spoil them... yet.

For now, let's see how our stellar competitors went!"

A big buzzing noise, followed by excited clapping, introduces a big monitor. Soon, the names start to show up, from those with the lowest points to the highest!

A big buzzing noise, followed by excited clapping, introduces a big monitor. Soon, the names start to show up, from those with the lowest points to the highest!

JOHN ;; @turnecoat ;; 0 STARS!

Secret: "I'm scared of small dark spaces"

PROTON ;; @chounaifu ;; 0 STARS!

Secret: "I watched one of my coworkers dress in cosplay and spook our employees for fun."

BRUTO ;; @planespc ;; 0 STARS!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

ANZU ;; @dandieliongirl ;; 0 STARS!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

MOLAYNE ;; @bigmolayne ;; 0 STARS!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

LYRA ;; @kotoyin ;; 0 STARS!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

FRANCIS ;; @planespc ;; ½ STARS!

Secret: I've killed a man :) not even on purpose it was by accident and my boss knows and gave me a head pat :D i can also tie a cherry stem in my mouth with just my tongue :P ladies i'm available <3

VOLKNER ;; @low-charge ;; ½ STARS!

Secret: I like getting electrocuted. It happens a lot when I work, but sometimes I secretly do it on purpose when nobody's around... It gives me a burst of energy and sends a tingle through my body, it's nice.

RIKA ;; @monterraverde ;; 1 STAR!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

STRELITZIA ;; @darkestaken ;; 1½ STARS!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

SADA ;; @prosada ;; 1½ STARS!

Secret: sometimes i like to misplace my husband's stuff two centimeters to the right. it makes him completely lose his shit. he still hasn't figured out i'm doing it. we've known each other for almost thirty years.

REE ;; @skullkxd ;; 2 STARS!

Secret: For a period of three days I was raised by a Bewear

WILLOW ;; @soardived ;; 2 STARS!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

MABLE ;; @costofbeauty ;; 2 STARS!

Secret: UNKNOWN!!!!

GRUSHA ;; @crushed-ice ;; 2½ STARS!

Secret: One time I recorded myself doing... Stuff. And I posted it online when I was 20. I took it down before I applied to be a gym leader, but it got saved and shared around a while so it's out there somewhere... That's why I dyed my hair and always wear heavy clothes no matter where I go, that way people who've seen it don't remember my body.

RILEY ;; @auraguardians ;; 3 STARS!!!!!!!

Secret: "My life's true goal is to uphold ancient traditions that were passed down to me from my mother's lineage, which part of the reason I've not taken on other work."

[sterlingsilverarchive]

Shipping Info

This pretty much goes for any of my muses (Floralfiness for Sol and Pinktransceiver for Nancy) so i’ll be addressing them too in here. 

Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog. REPOST. Don’t reblog.

WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE?: Anyone who honestly works with my muses, to be honest. If they build off of one another, and if they work well with one another, and if both of us can see that their relationship can go that route with at least a couple of genuine interactions with one another! The more interactions my muses have with other muses, the more I can figure out if my muses would be in favor of developing feelings for them. It might seem like I take a long time to establish anything with, but trust me when I say that it’s definitely worth it in the end result! I can pretty much promise that there will be MUCH more than just fluff, smut, and angst. 

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RP WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?: I can pretty much do anything within the line of reason that is NOT underage relations. As long as it’s discussed or brought up to me beforehand, of course. My muses are pretty open to anything (except Nancy because she’s pretty difficult in SOME cases) 

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?: I’d say since like, my own parents are at least 5-8 years apart from one another, I’ll only look at within the 8 year gap. NEVER under the age of 21, however. Maybe exception to Nancy because she’s 17-18 years old, but as long as it’s not heckin weirdly in the teens then i’m good. 

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?: I am VERY selective with shipping. Reason for this is because my muses keep on getting pressured with shipping with other muses when there is no chemistry in between them, then the interactions get awkward because I then feel pressured to say yes instead of no. It’s in my rules that I’d rather focus on the chemistry between my muses and other muses and see where it goes from there. It’s fine if your muse has a crush or is infatuated with my muses, but please respect when I say that I do not openly throw my muses around like candy. I want the relationship to be meaningful, and I feel that if I can focus on the small handful of relationships that they do have developing with them, then I can make the experience for the ones that they have a lot better. 

I’m not against shipping with other muses though. All that I require is at least a couple of interactions with my own muses to see where things go, and if they do work with each other. 

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NSFW?: When the moment is getting hella intimate to the point where you don’t want your parent or stranger to look at what’s going on. 

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH?: Recall my rules say that I don’t ship my muses with another of the same muse if i’m already working on a relationship with that muse with someone else (for example I won’t ship Nancy with another Nate! The only Nate she’ll be shipped with is only one specific Nate. The other Nates though she’s free to interact with!) 

So here are the ones that my muses are working on developing a relationship with another muse: 

Steven: Wallace -> Aquaelegance -> Established / Developing Nora -> Healingwixh -> Almost Established / Developing Lance -> Fabulance -> Developing  Clair -> Clairious -> Arranged Marriage -> Developing Elesa -> Nimbasah -> Developing Olivia -> Akalax -> Developing  Morty -> Spectralclairvoyant -> Developing Cynthia -> Shironax -> Developing  Volkner -> mvsendex -> Developing Winona -> Triumphwithgrace -> Developing  Aqua -> Stcrmblade -> Arranged Marriage -> Developing 

Nancy:  Nate -> Theamazingtrainernate -> Developing  Brendan -> Hoennpride -> Developing  Shoki -> Fearlessfortitude -> Developing 

Soleil:  Rex -> Stargazingking -> Established / Developing  Akio -> Bluedragonoforre -> Developing (?) Wylan -> Cadcnce -> Developing (?) 

So any canon name here (because oc names =/= the same muse) that’s on this list there, are currently in my muses realm of developing into a relationship, so the names here are off the table in terms of shipping. They will interact with them! They can get one sided crushes n shit with them, but romance wise it won’t happen. (This is to keep interactions unique and for all of them to treat all of the other alternate muses differently / respectfully) 

Also if I missed anyones name fuckin punch me in the head cause I tried really hard to make sure that I nailed everything here as best as I could! 

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?: I highly recommend it, because if you don’t then my muses are pretty much going to keep pushing it off as a friendship or nothing more than an acquaintance. I would do the same thing if I felt that any of my muses were developing some sort of feelings towards another muse so it’d be easier too if it was brought up so we can discuss it further. I recommend not bringing it up when our muses have never interacted before / only interacted once, because that’s a warning sign for me. 

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP?: You mean by seeking new ships for my muses? Not very much because I like to focus on the ones in developing now. However, if there is one forming then i’ll definitely say something about it, unless of course it wouldn’t go anywhere. 

Now with the ones I do have, I like to think about them, *probably* draw them because I do like drawing me some good art of the ships I do have. I do try, however, to be mindful with how much is TOO much. Too much shipping comes off as clingy and I tend to back off when I feel like it’s becoming excessive. Since having a good thing for too much / long is like having a lot of cake at once; a little bit is great but overdoing it tends to lose its meaning behind what exactly makes these muses work together. 

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?: My muses are and each ship has its own verse tag so that way nothing gets confusing on my end and the other’s end. The only way i’ll use the ship tag, however, is if both muses have fully completed the thread / posts on admission of their feelings to one another. If it’s not completed, then I can’t really use the tag until it is (because I want that completed thread IT’S A KINK OK) 

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?: I encourage the relationships my muses have and I aim to build both my muses and the other muses so that way they both can work with each other and have something a lot more meaningful and in depth thoughts of one another. I’m not obsessed, however. I can live a day, weeks even, without discussing anything about it and I can always come back to them when the time calls for it. As I said before, having too much of a good thing tends to be ‘too much’ for me (or in general, everyone) so the more spaced out, the more meaningful it is to both muses. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?: I always had a fondness for Jasmine and Volkner. They were my favorite pair when I played diamond and pearl and I do enjoy them both working as a duo in a relationship. 

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?: You may ask me or send me an anon message about it if you feel uncomfortable approaching me. Just know that i’m VERY picky with my muses. I don’t ship for the sake of the ship, I ship for the development and to see how well they both work for each other. No fluff / smut / angst 24/7. On occasion, yes, but not /every single damn time/

Your chances are heightened if the muse in question fits my muses like a battle partner would with another battle partner. I love those kind of relationships! 

[ironheartedtemerity-blog]

2, 13 and then uhh.... 10?

Send me a number (ACCEPTING) 

Their emotional/moral weak spots:

  A canon example is when the Elite Four’s Flint teased the shit outta Barry and he just comes running to the player to team up with and help him take down Flint and Volkner. This is just hilarious to me because he’s so easy to bully. It’s also kinda cool to think the player is standing up for him too, since he was asking for help like a kicked puppy. He probably doesn’t challenge the elite four like he does the player because he’s got a reputation at stake as a Frontier Brain’s son and it’d just crush him if he couldn’t prove himself to his idols.

  It really shows trust in the player, too. Honestly, Barry would have at least had a chance on his own if it was one-on-one, but both Flint AND Volkner taking him on all alone at once? It’s a good thing the player shows up before he could lose his temper and get humiliated.  (Also I love how the animated sprites in this multi battle made it look like in a flash Volkner just got up and slapped Flint’s Ronald McDonald lookin’ ass in the face.)

Their fears/phobias:

  Gosh, anything intimidating could come across as scary to him, including certain people and pokemon. Barry is actually really nervous around ghost types and even some dark types, but he can deal with it. Legendary pokemon that are as big as Dialga and Palkia also make him feel small, but again, he has the willpower to deal with it. He’s also not always very good with heights unless he’s riding on a trusted pokemon’s back. It isn’t an intense fear, but he’s almost fallen to his death so many times it makes him shudder thinking about it. So he doesn’t, and he just deals with it

  On a whole other level, he has an intense fear of embarrassing himself in front of Dawn and will do anything in his power to make sure he doesn’t receive a quip from her because of his or Lucas’s antics.

What gets them flustered:

  Barry is always wide open for teasing, and what he deems as okay depends on how much he trusts the person. So there’s some discretion, now let’s name a few things…namely, being called out for not listening to what he’s been told many times (he mostly can’t help it), breaking his poker face, fighting fire with fire so to speak by mimicking him, joking in times he deems inappropriate, etc.

  It all just depends on the person’s timing, too. If it’s the right time, or wrong time, he will react accordingly. Some things won’t fluster him if they aren’t brought up at the right moment.

[lern2speell]

For the character meme: Volkner and/or Flint.

send me a character & I’ll answer the following about them!

For Volk

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff - he could be a hufflepuff too tho idkbest quality: breaks into ur villa w his best friend to watch tv. a handy man kinda guyworst quality: relatable depressionship them with: flint (duh).  i used to multi ship him a bit more like 7-9 yrs ago (holy shit im getting old) but its been so long and i can’t remember any off the top of my head lololbrotp them with: flint (duh)needs to stay away from: alcoholmisc. thoughts: i think a lot about how this electric guy canonly has a fucking octillery.  also imagine this guy w christmas lights - he’d like spend a whole fucking day making some elaborate design, bosses flint around to help him put them up, then when he plugs it in it doesn’t fucking work.  takes all night for them to find it was one bulb that went bad

AND for flint

send me a character & I’ll answer the following about them!general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: HIS FASHION SENSE.  this guy wears suspenders incorrectly and baggy pants with flip flops.  COULD be mistaken for McD’s mascotworst quality: HEY HOT SHOTship them with: volk - duh brotp them with: volk - duh.  and any of the rest of the e4needs to stay away from: camerasmisc. thoughts: i think a lot about volkner and flint riding in flint’s drifblim as main mode of transportation.  also for the remake (that may not happen) im scared of what they are gonna do to his design lol

THANKS JEN!

[friendsinthefrost]

😘 Morty for Volkner?

Muse’s Opinions

Send 😘 for my muse’s honest opinion about your muse

Them as a person : Probably fond. Volkner likes Morty’s style. Wouldn’t mind the personality either, since as long as they’re not Flint levels of wild, he enjoys the company. He hasn’t had a ton of experience to go off of JUST yet though.

Level of attractiveness : I’m gonna say 6 or 7/10 because Volkner’s not blind to what he likes. If someone looks fairly decent and has a personality where they aren’t being overly loud or super tacky, they score generally more than 5. He hasn’t exactly seen Morty too often for it to be higher than 7.

What annoys them most : Unpredictability is a bit unfun to Volkner when it’s not him being the unpredictable one. He likes it when he can surprise people and not be depressyTM and have some fun, maybe prank someone with a deadpan expression. But when it’s others shifting moods or doing things at random, he hates it.

What they like the most : I’m gonna say the wisdom and knowledge? Volkner loves someone that knows their shit, knows what they do and is handy on the topic. And while they’re totally not at all similar in what they’re good at and what they know, Volkner kinda likes that too. Teach him about something and he’ll teach you about something in return and actually be happy about it.

What they’d do if they were locked in a closet together for 4 hours : I think Volkner’s just gonna do something super embarrassing and. Get right up close to his face with a deadpan expression and then just ‘Tell me a ghost story.’ That’s his way of joking.

Overall opinion : I think Volkner would need to invite Morty to Sunyshore for a bit, pick his brain, see how they are with each other a little more. But he should be Morty’s bud at the very least. I definitely think they’d get along.

Rating : 6.5 / 10 so far