#this feels like i’m going ‘who’s that pokemon!’

[runawaycarouselhorse]

da-bug: #What people saw is that justification of all the internet memes and jumped#in a way purposefully misleading the message enough to not get the meaning beyond their nose#The internet has become so pervasive within the online communities that these stories had to be cut#the internet has become sexualized in a way to the point where people see a design and pre lament#Those kids that grew up centuries ago aren’t normally exposed to this amounts of gratuitous sexual qualities#Perhaps those whomst villages have been pillaged I suppose.#These stories need a certain level of thought to be kind to the pokemon#these stories wouldn’t be so out of place on like‚ a kids historical myths interactive website#I dunno#I’m still going to use these pokemon despite the bad feelings people are hellbent on making me feel#It’s unfair to ascribe sexual intentions onto any pokemon in my opinion

This is a very nuanced response and helps explain this, because I've also seen bizarre pearl-clutching about... tales as simple as Hansel and Gretel and Brother and Sister, as if they're "too scary" with their themes of parental abandonment (Hansel and Gretel + Brother and Sister) and the plot element of a cannibalistic witch (Hansel and Gretel) or witch step-mother cursing them (Brother and Sister), as if children would not focus, instead, on the virtues of the two siblings protecting each other loyally as their parents failed to do so (Hansel and Gretel + Brother and Sister), even when one is under a curse (Brother and Sister)... the danger of the forest and the witch makes the story exciting, but not too scary for most kids, especially given the good conquers evil ending. Perhaps a rare, particularly sensitive child would find it too scary, but many will find it exciting, esteem courage and bravery, and empathize with the siblings and their love for one another, rather than go "OMG TOO DARK FOR KIDS THE WITCH EATS PEOPLE, THEIR STEP-MOM THREW THEM IN THE WOODS TO DIE, AND THEIR DAD IS A SPINELESS COWARD WHO WON'T STAND UP TO HIS WIFE, HOW IS THIS FOR KIDS?!?!?!"

It reminds me of Miyazaki's pitch for Princess Mononoke.

"... however, even in the middle of hatred and killings, there are things worth living for. A wonderful meeting, or a beautiful thing can exist. We depict hatred, but it is to depict that there are more important things. We depict a curse, to depict the joy of liberation..."

I don't want to act like a snob, but, y'all... really don't read old fairy tales or mythology, do you...? You only know the sanitized, bloodless Disney versions? People get cut to pieces (Cinderella/Ashputtel, The Red Shoes), women are abducted to be wives (an upsetting practice that continued until very recently, still practiced in some countries today—horrible, but part of life that found its way into stories, like The Seal's Skin), and magical talking animal husbands / wives (The Crane's Return of a Favour; East of the Sun, West of the Moon, etc.) abound in old mythology. Kids have been raised hearing these stories and not thinking about sex for centuries...

Humans marrying Pokemon in the ancient past was frankly stated in the Japanese version of DPPt. The English version rightly assumed English-speaking fans won't take it and reworded it from used to marry to used to eat at the same table (some euphemism!)

The Typhlosion story is no different from western stories like East of the Sun, West of the Moon (the way she was advised not to look at him reminded me of that) or The Seal's Skin (selkies cannot transform and return to the sea without their pelts—the abducted wife leaves her half-human child on land, escaping with her pelt when she finds it... the half-human, half-Pokemon children are bullied by their pelts being thrown on them to transform them against their will for cruel human amusement..)

The bloody myth about the boy with the sword is Veilstone's myth, but told in detail, right down to the Pokemon exacting a toll from him for how he maimed and slew them for amusement.

A man unknowingly marries a transformed-into-human form Froslass he met once before in Pokemon Legends: Arceus and she flees when he finds out what she was... it's based on a tale about the yuki-onna, the folkloric snow woman Froslass is based on.

[music]

[aspens-dragons]

Off Screen Post

heat abnormal - Part Three (Final Part)

Content Warning(s): Post-apocalyptic themes/imagery, possession/mind control, parasitism, non-lethal injury.

//If the the Pokemon Sun and Moon main story makes you uncomfortable, it is recommended that you do not read this post.

The Beast runs. How long has it been running? Who knows; maybe five minutes, or ten, or maybe it’s been hours. It doesn’t particularly care; it is a Beast. An amalgamation, a manmade horror easily comprehended; It is a jacked fucking attempt at making God, having horribly failed in the process. It is nothing more than a consequence, just like how the battlefield that surrounds it is nothing more than a consequence.

04 stares into the sky; the dark, gelled mass that holds the boy is massive. He looks so small compared to it; compared to both of them. He floats, limp in it’s hold, scowling down at the chaos. 04 can vaguely feel the heat of electricity crackling in the distance behind, a flash of purple is the venom of a lethal Poison Jab. Maybe it should stop, maybe it should focus less on avoiding the attacks and maybe even help their recipients, but it doesn’t, because up in the sky is it’s goal and it’s purpose. Up in the sky is the very creature it was born to kill and the boy it has tasked itself with protecting.

As it runs, the mask cuts into 04’s neck; it hurts. It can’t remember the last time it felt air on it’s face. It would all be easier without it, but there’s no way for it’s chains to crack, so it howls instead as it races towards it’s trainer.

---

Aspen stares down at the battlefield, at the people and Pokemon and the orange flash of what he feels must be called the Blade. Something courses through his veins, something that pricks in his mind as something Wrong, as Something dangerous and noxious, but the Something is too blissful, too numb for him to particularly care. All these different battles seem so meaningless, so… small to him, but he doesn’t know where the thought comes from.

I’m so tired.

I might as well…

He wants to close his eyes, to relax, to let the bittersweet taste in on his tongue and the pleasant paralysis take hold of him forever. His vision blurs, and his eyes grow all the more dead until an unholy screech of a howl cuts into his hearing. It’s so loud, it’s louder than Miguel was, and it’s absolutely ear-grating. His eyes snap open, his exhaustion forgotten as he lets out a pained, strangled scream at the sound, excruciating and familiar in a way he can’t name.

NO-

NO-

The bliss, the paralysis, the numbness that brough him such relief is ripped from him as he screams again, the sound of that sacreligious cacophony of pure desperation reaching his ears and making him feel as though they are bleeding.

His eyes focus and they feel wet. His face feels wet.

What is this? Where am I? What’s going-

Everything is fine. I am fine.

That ever familiar pinch in his neck suddenly comes back, and everything goes dark.

---

04’s howl and Aspen’s scream both echo throughout the ruined city, and suddenly all eyes are up towards the sky and every gaze focuses on the gelatinous monster holding him in it’s grasp.

There he is; there is the boy they came in searching for, kicking and screaming, in what can only be the worst pain he’s experienced in his life.

His eyes are filled with tears.

Aspen’s eyes are filled with tears.

He is alive until he isn’t; as quickly as life returned to him, it leaves, and he goes fully limp.

The Beast, the [DATA EXPUNGED] makes a quiet sound and only runs faster, despite the surging pain every step brings. There he is, there is it’s trainer, so close yet so far. It runs and runs and it keeps running; that’s all it can do, that’s all it’s ever known, yet as it runs, not away from the boy but towards him, it can’t help but grow more and more aware of the sound of something cracking in it’s ear and the near blinding light that emanates from it’s chest.

Memories race through the beast’s mind, as though being sorted into files, into a new system; memories of joy and laughter, of pain and accidents, of quiet, winced affection and gentle, calloused hands.

As the light grows brighter and the cracking grows louder, 04 can think of nothing but it’s trainer and-

For just a moment, everything goes dark.

It can hear Aspen’s voice.

What do you say, bud?

The setting comes back as quickly as it left; everything is the same. The sun is still that wretched scarlet, the sounds of every battle in the ruin forming a horrid, terrifying symphony of desperation, the smell of chalky ash and bone and faint blood seeping into it’s nose and the overbearing, overwhelming suffocating heat continues to bare down on it’s talons and body and face–

It feels the air on it’s face. Everything is clearer, it’s senses are sharper, it no longer hurts and suddenly, 04 understands what the cracking noise and light was.

Leaving the remnants of the mask behind, 04 sprints with a newfound vigor; energy seeps into it’s bones as it locks onto it’s target.

Information about the dark, gelatinous mass that’s kept it’s trainer trapped in this hell comes to it naturally, memories of fights in never partook in playing in it’s mind like there’s no tomorrow, because there isn’t a tomorrow if it can’t get him back.

The Silvally runs, and it runs, and it runs, and it runs, and without an ounce of hesitation, it leaps into the air, eyes trained, not on the Infection, but on Aspen.

Talons and fangs and a crest rip through gelatin, the attack unleashed with every ounce of strength in it’s body; it near-tackles the Infection to the ground, ripping it away from it’s trainer; as they hit the ground, it resists the urge to continue to tear at the monster that took Aspen, but turns back to see him falling to the ground, all alone.

He looks so small; he seems to float in mid-air for just a moment, and for that moment, haloed by the sun, Aspen looks nearly divine.

04 runs towards him again, reaching him just in time to catch the boy, unconscious and limp on it’s back.

It wastes no time, sprinting through the wreckage, straight towards the Ultra Wormhole–straight towards home. 

"Aw shit,” says Miguel, watching it all. Below them Celcity shifts uncomfortably.

"Everyone, we gotta get outta here now,” they look around at the rest of them.

Esper stands stock still, her head swiveling around as she speaks in a panicked tone, "What? Why? What's happening? I can't see anything out of my range. what's happening??"

"Aspen's fuckass thing is running back to the portal," Maple says, pulling herself over a ledge.

She lets out a sharp whistle, and Dash wastes no time trotting over to his rider. As he moves past Maple, she grabs a hold of him and pulls herself up onto him, the Cyclizar not slowing to a stop until they've both made it back to everyone else.

Jaime does a quick glance at everyone in the group to ensure that they’re all present and accounted for. Returning his Indeedee and his Croagunk to their Pokeballs, he says, “I think it’s time we did the same.” 

He doesn’t want to spend another minute in this hell, not with the sounds of Ultra Beast cries beginning to surround the city.

The boy whistles for Momoto and Estrella to come to his side. The Cyclizar and the Espathra are both quite bruised and battered from their respective fights, but they trot to his side with newfound vigor and determination. They’re getting out of here alive.

“Momoto,” Jaime turns to his Cyclizar, “Help Esper and Victoria onto your saddle,” he moves to mount his Espathra, “I’ll take Estrella.”

Momoto nods and leaps to the girls’ side, and Victoria grabs Esper’s wrist to help lead her to Momoto, “Let’s go.”

Miguel looks around, trotting over to Maple and Dash while the others get situated, "Hey, Maple, what do you say to some good ol' distraction tactics? Keep the Beasts busy while everyone makes a break for it?"

Maple looks at everyone then back to Miguel with a smile, "I'm up for the world's first Cyclizar race to involve Ultra Beasts if you're up for it."

Miguel reaches down into their saddle bag and winces for a moment. Damn wound. Gonna have to get that one patched up. They pull out two rods, and throw one to Maple. 

"Here, catch," They extend out their own with a smirk, electricity crackling off the end, "Extendable cattle prods."

Jaime glances back at Maple and Miguel, hesitation etched onto his face. “Right… well, if you two are doing that, then I’ll be taking the girls back to safety.”

He adjusted the hat on his head and said to them, “Don’t fall too far behind.”

And with that, Estrella and Momoto dashed off to the distance, taking Jaime, Esper, and Victoria with them.

Maple watches the others leave, taking a few test swings of the cattle prod. She'd ask where Miguel got this, but she's pretty sure she doesn't want to know.

"Well, wouldn't want to keep them waiting, would we?" She asks Miguel, a smirk forming on her face. Maple doesn't give Miguel a chance to respond before she sends Dash running in the opposite direction from the portal, loudly hollering to get any remaining Ultra Beasts attention.

Joy lights up in Miguel's chest even despite the shit situation, thinking to themselves, Oh, we are so fucking back.

Sprinting across the battlefield, 04 finds the weight of Aspen across its back to be almost comforting.

It can hear Jaime, Victoria, and Esper following behind them on the Espathra and the other Cyclizar. It trusts that Maple and Miguel will follow behind them.

As the Beast Type: Null Type: Full Silvally reaches the Wormhole, it can feel white hot warmth pulsing from it.

This is it.

It looks back, gazing at the five of them, who’d come into the Ruin to get Aspen. It glances at the boy on its back, just to make sure he’s still there. He looks better; his skin’s already gained some warmth to it. That’s good, isn’t it?

…

04 steps into the Wormhole.

It’s time to go home.

[morningstar1399]

I was just struck by the most random memory of a website I used to play on all the time as a kid. If I remember correctly, it was either made by PBS or perhaps the US mint, but it was all about coins and money. There were stories and games and coloring pages and the like, and the main reason I remember this site is because every so often I randomly recall the one story about how one character collected pennies, and had one from almost every year for like, a good century, but he was missing one from 1942 I think. So one of his friends hops in their time machine (oh yeah, there was time travel so you could go to various times in US history and learn about why currency was weird, but also like…see different historical events like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and go through Woman’s Suffrage to learn about the Susan B Anthony dollar but also like…the California gold rush?? but anyway. time machine) and she tries to find a penny, but as it turns out, there were no pennies minted that year—or at least no copper ones—because copper was needed for the war effort. And I remember this because a little girl was trying to buy a hot dog but her mon was like “sweetie they don’t sell frankfurters bc those are German and also the war effort. do you want a victory sausage instead?” And then she went to pay with a dime but then the lady at the hot dog cart was like “wait this isn’t a dime this is a penny” because the penny was minted in whatever silver colored metal it was idr and the friend of the main character guy was like “ohhh that’s why there’s no pennies from this year!” and went back to modern day. Anyway I’m realizing that WOW was that some serious USA propaganda game shit I was playing but I also kinda miss the “learn about history” aspect of it? Also I remember sifting for gold in one of the games and that was fun.

Does anyone else remember this website? If so, what the hell was it? If it helps, it was definitely from between 2007 and idk maybe 2016.

[tainebot01]

I would like to officially welcome Eustace Winner to the "My Name Is A Cruel Joke My Paternal Figure Played On Me" club

[Image Description: A digital drawing of Eustace Winner from Ace Attorney and Hunter from The Owl House in a handshake, against a purple background. Both are looking towards the camera as if they are taking a picture and both have a look of concern on their faces. Eustace’s expression is significantly more distressed than Hunter’s. End Description]

[sydchan]

I don’t think you all realize how many times I’ve had to hold myself back from going on a long rant about the age gap N and Hilbert allegedly have according to Bulbapedia (just so you all know, I stand on the freak side of things, I genuinely would still ship them if the Pokemon company swore they were 14 and 20). It’s just narratively this is nonsense and does not fit and Word Of God means nothing when compared to source material so 16 and 18 makes way more sense. But again…not worth rambling about. One thing I will say is while I can kind of buy N as 20 (21 would make more sense as the next age milestone after 18 he might have been coronated at, but I guess 20 is from when you’re an adult in Japan?) it’s honestly Hilbert as 14 that grinds my gears more. Like why does Bulbapedia say he’s 14 and then within the trivia section of that very page, mention that interviews say he and Hilda were designed as 16. Like at least list 14-16 as the age range??? Like bruh, why is it not a range????? 16 is clearly one of the correct interpretation of his age. Constantly perplexed by this.

The damage Bulbapedia has done cause fools won’t play the source material and come to their own conclusions….

Like I guess if one wishes to assume Hilbert is younger than the game implies and N is older than the game implies have at it. You do you. But it’s such a bizarre shift to see in how the ship is viewed.

[kingofanemptyworld]

I’m still thinking about Umemiya’s team as well as everyone else involved in the AU but! For now! Take our beloved blushy boy!

Current Team:

Absol (Partner Pokemon)

Riolu

Eevee

Togepi

Pichu

To address the obvious theme here: friendship. Yes, they’re also all adorable and Sakura deserves cute things, but primarily they’re a good representation of his canon-typical character growth — as in, you’re going to see these babies evolve at crucial moments during Sakura’s journey, and almost exclusively to show he’s opened his heart to another traveling companion.

And then there’s Absol, my personal favorite misunderstood Pokemon. A so-called harbinger of disaster who’s actually vital to preventing loss of life and resources. It’s my favorite pick for Sakura because it’s just so damn fitting for who he is and how his friends come to see him.

I’m leaving the last spot open for now but I’m leaning towards having him run into Type: Null at some point (don’t ask me how, this is all vibes and no plot at this point). It’s another friendship evolution so it’s especially good for this line-up, plus I appreciate that its in-game relevance lines up with Sakura’s canon themes again.

[taakitz]

sorry this is random as fuck but. does any1 have any advice (or reading recs) for drawing with less expectations/pressure on yourself? like. advice on how to just enjoying the act of making art vs. drawing with the final product in mind?? how do i enjoy art again.

[rainbowpufflez]

“So how’s the Kalos region going for you Bo?”

Oh yknow, great.

[sharkdays]

something something dot being the one to identify the taste of dodogezan’s udon first and pick it out of a bunch of other food, and going out of her way to help the eatery using the skills in her skillset (how to keep people coming back for streams, flashiness like with kuwassu’s moves + salt pickling) and those skills being recognized and acknowledged… her growth in relation to food is awesome methinks

also her going up against aoki/larry who is an appreciator of good food. there’s something there i just dont have the energy to put it into words

[graysondays]

— ✿ TAG DUMP. › LENNY GRAYSON.

These are going to be under a read more, because this got very long.

— ✿ i stumbled over all my words i made it weird i made it worse. › default verse.

— ✿ no time to lose we’ve got to move steady your hand. › naruto verse.

— ✿ you’re a virgin who can’t drive. › high school verse.

— ✿ you’re like a sunshine only giving good vibes anytime that you roll in. › yugioh gx verse.

— ✿ from underneath the trees we watch the sky confusing stars for satellites. › yugioh 5ds verse.

— ✿ kiss kiss fall in love. › ohshc verse.

— ✿ is this what it feels like to really cry. › noragami verse.

— ✿ you wouldn’t find a riceball in a fruits basket. › fruits basket verse.

— ✿ everybody’s trying to be famous and i’m just trying to find a place to hide. › swac verse.

— ✿ i’ll choose you over and over again. › lenny’s pokemon verse.

— ✿ put down the weapons you fight with and kill em with kindness. › kingdom hearts verse.

— ✿ darling don’t you ever grow up just stay this little. › single mom verse.

— ✿ in ancient egypt when the pyramids were still young. › ancient egypt verse.

— ✿ i could be your sunshine girl or the company for your misery. › supernatural verse.

— ✿ let me be the one to light a fire inside those eyes. › headcanons.

— ✿ she wears flower crowns and knitted sweaters. › appearance.

— ✿ the more boys i meet the more i love my cat. › aesthetic.

— ✿ and we danced all night to the best song ever. › playlist.

— ✿ but i know this crush ain’t going away. › ryou and lenny. › diverse-hearts.

— ✿ let me love you until you learn to love yourself. › saeran and lenny. › diverse-hearts.

[exopelagic]

cue screaming abt legends Z-A

[janamensch]

Adorable little moth baby Slither Wing… I would not get closer than 20 meters to this thing in real life because it is terrifying but it is also so adorable and fluffy!

[fingertipsmp3]

Just remembered I’m expecting an important phone call tomorrow

[lagfestival]

in happier news song because trying to get back into rp space with a casual one

[karmicrespite]

This ‘door’ kept me trapped for a long time back in gen 1:

So much clearer in FRLG:

I might be dating myself with this poll, but I'm interested in seeing which region everyone started with. Feel free to tag your first Pokémon game!

[dearestagonya]

— ✿ TAG DUMP. › LENNY GRAYSON.

These are going to be under a read more, because this got very long.

— ✿ i stumbled over all my words i made it weird i made it worse. › lenny's default yugioh verse.

— ✿ no time to lose we’ve got to move steady your hand. › lenny's default naruto verse.

— ✿ you’re a virgin who can’t drive. › lenny's high school verse.

— ✿ you’re like a sunshine only giving good vibes anytime that you roll in. › lenny's yugioh gx verse.

— ✿ from underneath the trees we watch the sky confusing stars for satellites. › lenny's yugioh 5ds verse.

— ✿ kiss kiss fall in love. › lenny's ohshc verse.

— ✿ is this what it feels like to really cry. › lenny's noragami verse.

— ✿ you wouldn’t find a riceball in a fruits basket. › lenny's fruits basket verse.

— ✿ everybody’s trying to be famous and i’m just trying to find a place to hide. › lenny's swac verse.

— ✿ i’ll choose you over and over again. › lenny's pokemon verse.

— ✿ put down the weapons you fight with and kill em with kindness. › lenny's kingdom hearts verse.

— ✿ darling don’t you ever grow up just stay this little. › lenny's single mom verse.

— ✿ in ancient egypt when the pyramids were still young. › lenny's ancient egypt verse.

— ✿ let me be the one to light a fire inside those eyes. › lenny's headcanons.

— ✿ she wears flower crowns and knitted sweaters. › lenny's appearance.

— ✿ the more boys i meet the more i love my cat. › lenny's aesthetic.

— ✿ but i know this crush ain’t going away. › ryou and lenny. › diverse-hearts.

— ✿ let me love you until you learn to love yourself. › saeran and lenny. › diverse-hearts.

— ✿ i could be your sunshine girl or the company for your misery. › lenny's supernatural verse.