#the flambé and ralter saga

[pokemon-teacology]

I love living in Galar I swear postwick is my home it's where I grew up it's my favourite place but why the FUCK are the wooloo on the train tracks again

I love these cute motherfuckers but I don't have the time to walk through the wild area I need to get home from motostoke before next week thanks

There's this kid sitting on the table ajacent to mine saying "just call a flying taxi" do I look like I have the money for a flying taxi??? League trainers may get the service for free but I'm a regular ass citizen, I have to pay for services.

I envy regions where flying your Pokémon is legal I really do, if it weren't for air traffic violations I'd be doing great Chomp could have me there in minutes

Doesn't help that both Ralter and Flambé insisted on being out of their balls and are now bickering with one another. Plus it's fucking freezing.

[pokemon-teacology]

So they're... fighting over who gets to protect me? I'm not sure what they think they have to protect me from, but it makes sense looking back on their behaviour since evolving. I'm not quite used to having Pokémon that want to protect me like that. I tend to catch and raise lil guys, y'know? Back when they were first-evos, they were so small, I was the one protecting them, y'know? The same went for Chomp, and Aneurin, and the others. They're always so little, and I like to take care of them. I nurture them and I teach them about the world, it's almost like raising kids, y'know? I guess now that they're stronger, it's as though they've grown up, and they feel like it's their turn to protect me.

I don't know how I missed this, to be honest. I'm usually pretty good at telling what my Pokémon need. But I think I'll have a long talk with them. Maybe discussing the reason for their rivalry will help here? If not, I can always try to get them involved in something together. I hear there's a little knight training course that you can take with your Pokémon in Kalos. It's set up by one of their elite four, I think his name is Wikstrom? He's the steel type guy. Maybe having them work together in that kind of protective setting will help them realise that they aren't so different?? It's only a couple of hours by bus to Kalos, too, from the academy. I could plan a weekend there when I'm back in paldea.

I could also make individual time for them. I haven't had as much time to hang out with my Pokémon one-on-one since I got back from paldea in May. What with work and travel and sorting out my life, plus having gone from having three Pokémon to nine, it's been tougher for me to adjust and make sure they're getting as much individual time with me as possible. I used to hang out with Smilliam and Chomp and take them on little days out all the time, they both had a specific day of the week that I'd take them for a day out and pamper them, but nowadays it's usually a group thing.

I could always try that again? Maybe have a certain date every month where I spend individual time with my Pokémon and make them feel special? Or if I get them a hobby to do with me?? Smilliam always sits with me when I study and write, Pumpkin sits on my shoulder when I go on walks, and Chomp is out and about most often, plus Acacia's been out while I've been working, so I don't think they've been in a deficit of affection, but the others could surely use some time with me aside from standard care and group activities.

Your response provided some great insight, thank you so much! I'll have to have a chat with the gang after I talk with Ralter and Flambé to see what I can do to help make this change. I really appreciate the insight, and I'll update on my blog how it's going! :)

Hey there! I see you have an armarogue, and I wanted to ask some advice. Since evolving, mine's been super competitive with my gallade, to the point that I can't take them out together anywhere anymore, and if one goes the other has to, so I'm not able to spend time with either of them in public very much.

They were buddies before, but I'm not quite sure what's happened to them. I was told that it was just them getting used to their new forms, but they've been evolved for a few months now, and nothing's changed. I wanted to ask if you think this is normal or if I should set them up with a professional or something?

I'm just struggling a little here haha. I'd appreciate some advice if you have any :)

(@pokemon-teacology)

I HATH FORGOTTEN OF MINE BLOG UPON HITHER SITE!! But I dare not leave a fellow trainer in peril!

An Armarouge and a Gallade, drawn to sudden rivalry... I dare not speak completely upon the motivations of thine Gallade, but I doth know Armarouges to be oft fiercely loyal. Likewise, from mine talks with @pokedelivery-girl, I doth know the Ralts lineage to be just as loyal - jealousy oft arising if the trainer wouldst happen to find themselves enamoured. Especially if such amourousness is to be reciprocated... Such a case, course, not applicable here, yet it is worth to keepeth in mind - for it provides insight into theirs.

It wouldst not be unwise to assume that thy Pokémon may be vying for the spot of thine stalwart protector! Why, the very same hath occured with Gettemhult and Isadora! Hence why I hath imparted upon them the lesson that they art mine protectors both - that the role doth have the possibility to be one shared.

...But I am not blind to the possibility that such a lesson wouldst only allow such rivalry to grow and fester...

Thus, I recommendeth that thou shalt visit an professional - a master of the minds, a Pokémon Therapist. If not I, they shalt knoweth the proper course of action.

I wisheth thee luck with thine Armarouge and thine Gallade!

[pokemon-teacology]

More travel into Masegoza today, I had a ttrpg thing that's like DND aligned??? Which was fun a lot of fun.

According to my housemates, Pumpkin and Acacia have been out in the shared garden we have with the other houses in the area playing with the bug and grass types that live out there. They only went in once the sun set lmao. I think the trip to the vivillon house yesterday was good for them. Due to the nature of their species' behaviour towards shiny Pokémon like themselves, they've been super shy around others of their types, but I think now they're getting better :)

I've been thinking over some of the plans for getting Ralter and Flambé on the same page again, and I think I'll try a day out with the two of them together first. Tomorrow I have my first day of classes (read: class singular) so I might take them out afterwards to have a meal and then to play around in the field outside the house.

For now, I have takeout and I've bought a new plant on the way back. It was a horror one-shot that we did so I'm a bit spooked, but getting the plant has made me feel better :)

[pokemon-teacology]

I'm back from my night out! The music was so loud, my ears are ringing still even though I've been out of that club since like 2am (it's almost 3 by now)

But we got chips (fries) and various other snacks! So I'm fed and chilling, my ears are just ringing like a motherfucker. And my eyes hurt just a wee bit.

But I have an apple pie and a day off tomorrow from any plans, so I'll be able to nurse whatever emotional hangover I'll have tomorrow. I'll definitely be fatigued.

We didn't run into any problems, Flambé and Ralter started fighting mere minutes into the club, after we got pres at a pub we know well. They got really pissy at one another for some reason or another, so I called them back and tries the night without my Pokémon for a try. It wasn't too bad! When we left though I felt a bit more vulnerable, so I brought Aneurin out. He sat on my shoulders and helped me warm up while we were waiting for our taxi to take us back.

I really need my ears to stop ringing, but I'm sure if I play my own music over it I'll be fine.

Goodnight, all :)

[pokemon-teacology]

I got up early to head to Motostoke, the opening ceremony starts in about an hour as ai'm starting to write this, so Im here a bit earlier than anticipated. I'm not quite sure who's going to meet me here, but I suppose I'll wait around the front of the stadium for now. I have a hot drink so I'm good to wait.

While I'm here, I'll give an update on Flambé and Ralter. We had a talk, a very long one, the other night. I... don't know if I approached it with exactly the right words, at least not at first, but essentially what I did was I sat them down with some tea and acknowledged that their rivalry was inconveniencing all three of us, and the team. I told them that I'd asked some folks and done some research, and I finally figured out why it was that they were always fighting. I told them they didn't need to protect me from anything, much less one another, but that I appreciate their effort and that they care about me, and I want them to feel as though they're performing their self-appointed duty of protection, without it coming in the way of their friendship. Because they used to be really good friends before this rivalry started.

So I've told them my plan to get them into that knight school, and to spend one-on-one time with one another, and that I've got some ideas for when we get back to Paldea for them to practice protectinge together. I let them know that I care about and love them both so so so so much, and that I just want them to be happy. I asked if they had any other ideas of how to do this, because I want them to be comfortable in this process of learning to work together. Ralter had some ideas, and Flambé seemed interested in trying them, so that's what we're gonna do! Things were still... tense between them throughout the conversation, and we did have to pause a few times to calm down a starting argument, but we managed to get it done in the end, and we cuddled on the couch afterwards until bed time :)

So I think things went well??? It's a rocky start but it's a start.

Anyway, I'm supposed to meet this person about now, so I'm gonna head in and I'll update when I'm where I'm meant to be.

[pokemon-teacology]

Heyyyy, guess who landed herself in the hospital 🤪

It's me, I did that

I'm okay! Not in any danger and honestly not really hurt that much, I'm okay to keep going to class and I'll be right as rain within a month or so.

But... Uh...

Okay so, remember the whole thing with my two psychic types? Ralter and Flambé have both been fighting Real Bad since they evolved, and honestly since the start of last semester it's gotten pretty awful. So I've been trying more and more extreme measures to get them to get along! But nothing's been working, so I've been wracking my brain for strategies to get them to tolerate one another.

As I was looking through some of my older posts, I came across one in which I sent an ask to someone asking for advice, and they told me that it's likely that the two mons are trying to protect me, and are fighting over who's more capable. I kinda dismissed it at the time, since I considered Chomp as the leader of my Mons and kinda the default protector, and I knew that flambé and ralter respected that, but it was kind of my only option by the time I was rereading.

S o

What I did was that I got my friends (the ones from back home who also go to Naruva) to stand in a circle with their Pokémon, with myself and my two mons in the middle. What I then had my friends do was fire off attacks pointed at my direction while I stood still (we agreed that their Mons would aim for like just past my head or my feet. i specifically didnt move so that there was less of a chance of me getting hit). It was then Ralter and Flambé's job to work Together to defend against the attacks.

They did really well at it, too! After a few minutes of arguing, a wave of razor leaf "almost got me", which got them to stop arguing and start defending again. They seemed to actually kinda enjoy the exercise and got into a really good rhythm. Usually, when they do double battles, they argue too much to get anything done, but I figure now that they had something to protect and Had to work together, they wanted to make it work more.

It went on for like,,, 30 minutes??? Before I called a time-out so that the Mons could take a break, since everyone was looking kinda tired and/or thirsty.

Usually, when we call time-out in the battle club we go to (me and my Mons), everything stops immediately as soon as the whistle blows, so Ralter and Flambé put down their guard straight away, as they were trained to do. What we didn't account for, however, was my buddy's newly-caught pachirisu not quite getting the memo, and continuing to fire attacks. So what I didn't expect, as I started walking to leave the circle, was a full-force electroball hitting me square in the chest.

Which! I just want to say this was absolutely not the mon's fault, it'd just been caught and isn't used to stuff like this. I should have been a bit more cautious and waited for my friends to recall their Pokémon before I started walking, that was my bad completely.

But anyway, it winded me and kinda knocked me to the ground, whoops :/ I managed to hit my head on the way down, too, so my friends called me an ambulance just in case something was wrong.

I've got a mild (very mild!) Concussion and my ribs are bruised, but other than that I got off scot-free! Which is good, considering it was an electric-type attack, so I was expecting to be shocked pretty bad. But! I'm good! They've got me on pain meds, and I'm going to stay here in the hospital for a night of observation before they send me back. Other than some pain while breathing and instructions to rest up and not exert my chest too much, as well as not drinking alcohol while the (again, very mild, totally okay!!!) concussion heals up, I'm totally okay to keep going to class and doing practicals. I'll just have my Mons help me out a little more while im on field trips.

Ralter and Flambé, bless their hearts, have been by my side the entire time. I feel terrible for making them worry like this :( usually I'd recall my Pokémon in a hospital or other government building, but I couldn't bear to do that to them right now, I think they need to be able to see that I'm doing good, y'know?? I've been reassuring them that it wasn't their fault, and that they did Such a good job of protecting me. They'd known it was an exercise and that I wasn't in any real danger, which let them have fun with it, but now that ive actually gotten hrut it seems to have spooked them both kinda bad. I think, once I get back tomorrow, I'm going to have a proper stay-at-home day with my mons in the house, so we can all have a cwtch and chill out after today.

But again! Totally okay, I'm not in any danger or much pain, the pachirisu isnt in any trouble whatsoever, I've got meds and I'm on the road to recovery thanks to the staff at the hospital <33 I just thought I'd give a little update and laugh a little at my silly mistakes.

[pokemon-teacology]

Things with the trouble two are becoming... Frustrating, to say the least. Ive been going on walks lately around my hometown and hanging out in the woods (NOT the slumbering weald, i dont have a death sentence)

It's been nice, and I thought being outside would give Flambé and Ralter a chance to be in the same space with no stakes, but every time I turn to look at something in more detail (usually a plant or mushroom) they start growling and snarling again. I'm fairly certain psychic types aren't even supposed to do that!

I've tried having individual days with them, I've tried to get them in the same space, I've brought them to group events together, I've tried separating them. Nothing I di seems to work with these two. This may seem kinda out of the blue for y'all reading, since I don't post about it Super often, but I've been really trying behind the scenes to work with them. I think I'm going to have to try something bigger if I want to fix this.

[pokemon-teacology]

I went to town with a friend today! They're from around here and don't go to school in Naruva, they just live in Mesagoza. It's been neat walking around the orientation week stands and seeing all the new students signing up for clubs and societies. We got breakfast at a cafe and then I got some craft stuff to do for the week.

Our WiFi box arrived today, too! And the person who's gonna fix it up is coming on Thursday.

Speaking of WiFi and electronics, though, I'm considering catching a rotom to put in my phone. Does anyone have any experience with them? I don't know very much about electric types, and my knowledge on ghost types is foggy at best, so I'm not really sure how to get one to like me :(

I don't think I've ever actually caught a Pokémon, not in the standard sense. Usually I just... offer them a spot on my team after befriending them? And they usually say yes? I don't like the idea of catching a Pokémon that doesn't particularly want to be caught, y'know? So I tend to ask first. But I'm not really sure how I'd go about doing that with a rotom, they're kinda zippy. My brother has one in his phone, and they're really fun, but his phone model came with one pre-caught for him, rather than how mine did.

Most folks here have a rotom phone, it's good for keeping you safe on journeys and keeping track of things, I just never really bothered to get one. Doesn't help that they're hard to come by in Galar. I hear they're common around the outskirts of Levincia, which is only about an hour away on the bus, or 20 minutes going full speed on Chomp's back.

But either way, today's been very artsy. I'm going into town again with my friends later. They're going on a night out and I tend to do pre-drinks with them before heading back early. I dunno though, maybe I'll stay out a little longer tonight. It could be a good chance to test that theory we had on Ralter and Flambé's rivalry. If I have them both out, they can both keep an eye on me and my friends while we're around so many people. It'll make me feel better, by any means. I'm not one for public areas, and even less so for alcohol.

I'm sure it'll be fine. If they start fighting I can always call them back and have them take turns. Or just bring out Chomp. I get worried about weirdos on a night out, as I have been raised to be as a woman, but people usually won't approach a trainer with a Garchomp, so he's my safest bet. Though, I can't imagine an Armarogue or Gallade will be any less intimidating. Aneurin and crass are also a great deterrent for scary people.

But I'm sure it'll be fine by any means! I'll be with my friends the whole time :)

[pokemon-teacology]

Over an hour later and they say they'll take another fucking hour to remove the wooloo

I'm not being funny how long does it take to get a boltund to corral these guys off the tracks? Or better yet pick them up and move them? I swear these guys are doing it on purpose. Ik growing up near wooloo your whole life gets you used to them but surely these professionals can deal with it quicker than this????

These fuckers are lucky I brought my charger with me this time and that these trains have WiFi, shitty as it is. I'm tryna rewatch last year's league final but it keeps buffering on Leon's stupid fucking cape while he monologues about the thrill of the battle and giving everyone a show. His voice doesn't show up in the video since they aren't mic-ed up but I know that's what he's going on about when the battle pauses for thirty seconds he's very predictable by now.

Honestly seems like a waste to not put mics on the contestants??? Surely you want to hear them call out their attacks so you know what's going on. There's not much difference between a flame charge or a flare blitz from afar but I wanna know if the opponent is now slower in comparison or if they're gonna be destroyed.

On a brighter note, Flambé and Ralter have stopped bickering and now Flambé's sitting next to me to keep me warm so I'm not so cold anymore. And that kid from earlier fucked off into a taxi so I don't have to worry about anyone talking to me

I love living in Galar I swear postwick is my home it's where I grew up it's my favourite place but why the FUCK are the wooloo on the train tracks again

I love these cute motherfuckers but I don't have the time to walk through the wild area I need to get home from motostoke before next week thanks

There's this kid sitting on the table ajacent to mine saying "just call a flying taxi" do I look like I have the money for a flying taxi??? League trainers may get the service for free but I'm a regular ass citizen, I have to pay for services.

I envy regions where flying your Pokémon is legal I really do, if it weren't for air traffic violations I'd be doing great Chomp could have me there in minutes

Doesn't help that both Ralter and Flambé insisted on being out of their balls and are now bickering with one another. Plus it's fucking freezing.