#swsh spoilers

[angstandhappiness]

BABY

this is what happens when you name your pokemon before you know what it evolves into.

she still baby tho…

[verdantmeadows]

So, in case you haven't heard...

Penny, from Scarlet and Violet is officially related to both Peony and Peonia (and, well, Rose too, since he'd be her uncle)! Peony is her father, and Peonia is her sister.

For those unaware, this is Peony.

And this is Peonia!

The woman in this image is (presumably) their mother (unless Penny is a half-sibling or adopted, which I don't think is the case).

And let me just say, this makes me so, so happy, seeing this visual/genetic diversity in a family.

So many people are completely ignorant to how genetics and biracial people can exist and have their genes expressed. Two siblings from a biracial couple, such as a black and white person, can look totally different. One could have curly hair and one could have straight! One could be super light-skinned and the other dark-skinned! Two kids from two parents doesn't mean that they necessarily just get a "mix" of how they both look.

Seeing this represented makes me so happy. I really hope more people realize just how different siblings from interracial couples can look. I really hope people don't erase this aspect of Penny's character, or think that she doesn't look Black enough or enough like a POC.

For a real life example, here are a pair of biracial twins!

(Lucy and Maria Aylmer)

So, basically, the point of this post is this:

Penny is Peonia's sister and Peony's daughter! This was my headcanon for a while, considering her name is Penny and based on Peony, but seeing it confirmed makes me so happy. I want this post to end on the note to inform people that biracial people can look like this. Biracial people can pass completely as white. White-passing biracial people can have dark-skinned parents and family members. Biracial people don't owe you passing as their ethnicity and the ethnicity/race of their family.

Please embrace this aspect of Penny and learn what being biracial can look like! Understand, acknowledge, and accept how biracial people can look! I've already seen people frustrated that Penny doesn't look "Black enough" or saying that her design makes no sense, or that she couldn't possibly be Peony's daughter, which is already a huge issue for REAL LIFE BLACK PEOPLE, who are told this!!! Even if you don't realize it, these thoughts and ideas ARE racist to have. How you view people when they're not real can often be indicative of how you treat them when they ARE real!

I hope that if you didn't already know these things, that you don't feel bad about it, and instead come away with new knowledge and understanding!

Edit: Also she could just be adopted? I meant to say that in this post and forgot. Like, adoption is a thing. Like, we know that Bede was an orphan and all... (I however don't think she was adopted based on her visual similarities)

Additional edit: I'm not trying to imply that their family is Black, either���I mentioned Black biracial families as an example, and also mentioned it at the end because I specifically made this post in response to people saying Penny "isn't black enough" and directing their racism towards Black biracial families. In all likelihood, their family is probably implied to be the Pokémon equivalent of Indian.

Other additional edit: Dialogue in game

Penny also frequently refers to her dad's behaviors that align with how Peony behaves

[fruityrats]

Me and my partner replayed Shield the other day and.

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Me, who hasn't played Pokemon Sword/Shield: "I don't know why I keep seeing people so angry about Rose. Spoilers said he was just worried about the energy crisis, if very very dumb about not waiting just one day for a problem that's a thousand years away."

Me: "... oh.."

Me: "JESUS."

[skippygiraffee]

Now I wanna hear more of your thoughts about Raihan and Leon and their insecurities wrt each other, and how they might solve them please.

absolutely, thank you for asking <3!! as per usual with me, I'm unsure how long this will be, so I'll put my thoughts under a read more for the sake of people's dashes/the tag. BUT I do think about these two a lot, especially this side of them, so I have a lot of thoughts floating around in the mind palace that I will try and materialize >:3c

I have a hard time picking a place to start with these two because the aforementioned mind palace is more like brain soup, and I'm trying to pick out the tasty bits from the broth with this one (meaning I think about it a lot, a lot) and it's hard to put pen to paper so to speak. but essentially, I doubt either of them started their careers with high self esteem to start with, and then I have in my own personal headcanon that Rose specifically pitted them against each other for the sake of numbers and marketing. it would be good for his bottom line, and Leon's brand as a champion, if he had a really strong and flashy rival, and Raihan was right there begging for the spotlight for various reasons.

when it comes down to each other specifically, however, here's a breakdown of some of those insecurities:

Leon is infinitely jealous of Raihan's freedom and that he has control over anything in his life

Raihan resents the effortless way in which maintains his popularity

Leon's body issues manifest in being spiteful towards Raihan's assumed ease with posting on social media

Raihan feels like Leon never has time for anything or anyone outside of Rose's elite circle of people

both think the other has social skills that they themselves seem to lack (for Leon it's interpersonal relationships and close friendships and for Raihan it's the way Leon is seemingly comfortable around and with powerful people), and they feel equally small when the other is in those settings

there's a lot of unresolved anger and tension from the years and years of being sold as rivals that has done immense damage to their relationship, and neither thinks they can overcome it

Raihan in convinced that Leon will always be, forever and always, out of reach in every possible way

Leon thinks he'll never be good enough for Raihan unless he remains at the top, the best, the undefeated Champion

to break some of them down a little more, Leon just doesn't have time for anything or anyone that isn't Rose or the League once he's Champion, and of course to anyone he's close with that's going to sting. and I think Raihan has a habit of questioning his place in people's lives, to the point that any shift in energy or attention can feel like the end of the world. so for Leon to just be busy with shit out of his control would definitely fester and build inside him, to the point where I think a lot of that boisterous energy on the field in battle is Raihan trying to let out that building anger towards Leon, when he logically knows it's not Leon's fault. however, logic and emotion don't always meet at the same junction, so Raihan and Leon have definitely had fights that spilled over into their shared friendgroup over how Leon will just ghost everyone for months on end.

I also think both want what the other has, in that childish way that kids always want what their friend is eating, but also in the very adult way of wishing their lives had turned out differently. Leon so desperately wishes that he wasn't caged up in Wyndon, forced to perform, forced to be Rose's left hand (because Oleana is his right, and Leon isn't even good enough to be there). he loves battling, loves his Pokemon, loves everything about what he does except being Champion. so he wants to be Raihan.

and Raihan is sick and tired of always being one step from the top, constantly reminded that he isn't good enough to be Champion. so painfully aware of the sacrifices that come with it, but he'd be fine with it for a taste of the adoration that Leon has. he wants to feel what it's like to wear the crown, be loved and cheered for, rather than hearing someone else's name being yelled from the stands the moment he enters the field anywhere but Hammerlocke. he wants to be Leon so bad it hurts, makes him privately bitter, and publicly aloof to avoid dealing with it.

Raihan has spent so long looking up, and Leon has spent so long feeling trapped I truly think it's a genuine shock to the system when the whole thing just stops. Leon wakes up in the morning Champion, and goes to bed dethroned. and it wasn't even Raihan who took his crown.

dealing with that is a whole other beast, you know? because they defined a good chunk of their relationship on the rivalry dynamic. do they scrap it, do they keep it, what do they do with that? how do they look at and deal with all the emotions being thrown right on the floor after Leon is defeated, because Leon is also dealing with the after effects of the whole Darkest Day event, which is at best just a natural disaster narrowly avoided, and at worst an extreme upheaval in the lives of so many people thanks to Rose being in prison and his company being left without leadership and Leon being left with lifelong ailments thanks to it.

honestly, once Leon is ready for the conversation, I think a lot of anger on both their parts comes out first. tears, yelling, the works. where they just start listing off all the built up anger and resentment from the years. it's not healthy, by any means, but they aren't sure how else to really lay it all out. and once it's out there they have to figure out how to deal with it, like unpacking an old closet and finding long forgetting items, and figuring out whether to toss or keep them. for Leon, he's just sorry, because he wishes he had been better for Raihan, for everyone, and he carries all the guilt in the world for the past decade or so of being Champion. he let everything fall to wayside, and now he has to figure both himself out and how he fits back into people's lives. for Raihan, he has to really really confront where his anger is coming from, and he hates that it's been staring at him in the mirror for a long time, being displaced onto Leon.

the legitimate things wrong with their relationship, like the foundation it was built on and how they talk to each other and treat each other, they work it out by slowly rebuilding everything. not from the ground up, because they can't erase what happened, and don't want to, but their rivalry is different. they battle together, but they'll be damned if the other outdoes them in making curry (Leon can't, but that's because both Hop and Raihan aren't sure what the fuck is up with his tastebuds). a lot of it is just them mellowing out, getting calmer about things, and doing their passions in different ways.

I dunno, I just like thinking of them as middle aged guys who still think their older mons can still duke it out like they're spry, and of course will for them, but Leon and Raihan laughing and having fun. and the local kids are wondering how these two were once these fierce rivals that their parents still talk about, when they're just sitting back and having a relaxed match. where the baggage of the past still comes up every now and then, but they get to sit down, have the time to talk about it, and come back better. I think more than anything they work it out with time and openness, honesty and compassion, more than anything. and it's what they deserve really.

[poke-a-bri]

Been playing Sword and Shield with friends. Ran into this Gem of a convo...

[beezonia]

SHES SO FREAKING ADORABLE ALSO WHY DOES SHE REFER TO HERSELF IN FIRST PERSON??!!

[quitealotofsodapop]

Um, what... Galar's whole thing was about the King being a fraud, tho??? The true heroes were the box legendaries

Referencing.

Yes

and the idea for the au came from the idea that the "King" who overwrote history might have muddied the water of *why* tournaments were being held in the first place to secure his rule. It wouldn't be the first time a british ruler lied and covered up history to make and themselves look good (we're looking at you Richard "pls ignore my massacres of non-christians" Lionheart).

Recently Crowned Galar Champion-King: "Hmm. I don't want to rematch next year so..." (*Changes the law so the Tournament only elects "Champion Monarchs/Matriarchs" not "Kings". Slowly erases the history of the original King and Queen who partnered with the legendary dogs by changing the monuments to that of a flattering version of himself with a sword and shield*) Galar King: "Sweet! Hopefully no one finds out about this." (*a few hundred years later*) Sonia, glaring at historical inconsistencies: "Mate, wtf?"

Hence why the Champion is called the Monarch/Matriarch and not outright King or Queen.

I mentioned in the first post that the King and Queen with the doggos faced a lot of rivals for their rule. When they passed, some of their enemies played the long con and forced a traditional European monarchy system in top of the tournaments meant to find leaders wise and confident enough to rule.

This also brings Swordward and Shieldbert's claim to the throne even more shaky. As they are now realising that they've inherited *nothing* since the ruler of the country was meant to gain their power rightfully in battle. I do wonder if the two bros are the final members of their lineage though. It would be hilarious if there was a gotdang pokemon Queen Liz or King Charlie still bumping around.

Then the dogs show up and now history is getting the ditto beaten out of it.

[best-pkmn-battle-ost]

Bede (Sword/Shield) VS Team Star Boss (Scarlet/Violet)

Propaganda:

Propaganda:

it's a pretty good fight and song 👍

[verdantmeadows]

If you are complaining that Penny being Peony's daughter makes no sense because of how they both look, you are racist! Hope this helps!

(If you are complaining/confused because it comes out of nowhere, I will kindly direct you to the fact that Penny's name is Penny, which comes from Peony, and we've known she has been from Galar. Peony, as a father, would not stand for how Penny was treated at school, but kids frequently don't tell their parents when they're being mistreated at school, and it makes sense for Penny to not have told him.)

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Browsing NASA's image gallery for very specific reasons and I stumbled across this illustration (link here and here) of a star being consumed by a black hole.

I know its likely a coincidence but... does this look familiar to other Pokemon fans?

(Image is by someone (can't find credits) in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of CalTech..)

I've yet to play the game (still) but? I've killed gods and demons and entire planets in countless video games... but a black hole? Props to the SwSh PC and the Version Doggos for defeating a force of nature beyond anything imaginable.

[irlkisukeurahara]

With the extent of Leon's injuries at the hands of Eternatus, in Pokémon Unown Legends Tale I have it like this -- He's turned around, shouting at Gloria and Hop to take cover. Charizard shields them from the blast of energy. While Leon's back is turned, his skin is burned by the blast of course, but it's accompanied by a small concentration of an Eternabeam as Eternatus prepares to ascend to his Max form...

What I'm saying is... Add PULT Leon to the list of fire wielding anime boys that get doughnut-ed

[getvalentined]

I gotta say, the confirmation that Penny is Peony's kid (and thus Rose's niece) gives some fascinating implications for how she came to the conclusion that becoming some kind of secret shadow premier would solve all her problems.

(I guess that also fully settles which timeline SwSh is on, since I know there's still been some debate about that.)

[anura-island]

Some of the swsh graphics are impeccable... Rushed or not, the animators put their souls into it

[pinballopinions]

PENNY IS PEONY'S DAUGHTER?????

WAS ANYBODY GONNA TELL ME MY FAV IN SV WAS RELATED TO MY FAV IN SWSH OR WAS I JUST SUPPOSED TO FIGURE THAT OUT FOR MYSELF

[draconscious]

(ooc. preparing for the dlc by blowing the dust off my switch, colorized.

I also missed the earlier heads-up on tumblr not sending notification alerts and that's definitely been happening to me too as of late!! I've successfully set up the discord webhook thing--thanks to those who shared, people rly are geniuses--so I should be good now, but please IM if you've replied/answered something recently and gotten nothing from me yet!! I'll be pinging people too.)