#to be fair every region since Unova with the exception of Kalos has had a fusion mechanic when revisited with sequels/upper versions/dlc

[fierykitten2]

The Violet Book’s imaginary Pokémon looks stoic and two out of three of its modern-day counterparts give off stoic vibes (maybe also Iron Crown but I think it kinda lost the stoic vibes during conversion and almost certainly Robo Terrakion will also look stoic) also fusions of three or more are likely to be quite stoic in order to balance out everyone’s personalities but I can’t help but think that a fusion of the Neo Swords would for the most part be as chaotic but also motherly and friendly as I’ve decided Iron Leaves is

[conspire24]

Why a Kalos game actually makes sense right now (crack theory)

So, I'm super excited we're getting a Legends game in Kalos featuring Zygarde. As a longtime fan in the XY anime, I always wished Zygarde was done justice in the game side of things, and once Legends Acreus came out, I knew another Legends game would be the perfect way to give Zygarde they're dues.

That said, this was definitely out of left field! Literally everyone was guessing we were going to get a Johto or Unova game this gen, since they're the only two that have yet to be remade in 3D. At first, skipping straight to Kalos makes no sense. But the more I thought of it, the more I've noticed a pattern, a pattern that I will now present as:

THE POKEMON GENERATION MULTIPLES HYPOTHESIS

The idea is that the region that gets remade is influenced by its age as well as whether or not the region's generation number shares a common denominator (that isn't 1) with the current region's generation number. I know, I'm bringing math into this, but trust me it'll make sense when we go through it.

Let's start simple, the first gen to get remade was Kanto (gen 1) during generation 3. Easy enough, it was the first gen where it made sense to remake past games, and oh look, 3 is a multiple of 1 (though to be fair everything's a multiple of 1).

Then we get to gen 4, where after the sinnoh games, we got a remake of John (gen 2). Oddly enough, 4 is a multiple of 2.

Then there's gen 5. Now, 5 is a prime number, so the only factor 5 has is 1, but gen 1 has already been made available on DS (along with every other gen, so it's not like they could do much anyway).

But then we get to gen 6, followed by the Hoenn remakes (gen 3), and 3 is a multiple of 6. Now, 6 also a multiple of 2 and even shares a common denominator with 4 (that c.d. being 2), but it seems gen 3 takes the precedent because it is the earliest set of games to have been released, since Johto and Sinnoh had games out more recently.

We move to gen 7, and you know, I remember back in 2017 when everyone thought we were gonna get Sinnoh remakes next. But why would we? 7 isn't a multiple of 4, 4 and 7 don't share a common denominator. 7 is a prime number, it isn't a multiple of anything - except for 1. And wouldn't you know it, this is the generation where we got a set of Kanto remakes - and 1 was the only thing that could factor into 7!

As we go to gen 8, suddenly it's apparent what would get remade next. Sinnoh was the region that had been out of circulation the longest, and 4 goes into 8 just fine, meaning now is finally the time to give Sinnoh another spot in the limelight with BDSP and Legends Arceus!

And now, we have reached gen 9, and again I say we all had thought we would get a return to Johto or Unova, but why? I mean, 9 isn't a multiple of 2, or 5. Rather, 9 is a multiple of 3. And you what else is a multiple of 3? 6! And since gen 6 had come out a year before the Hoenn remakes, it seems Kalos was the earliest game to pass the threshold for a modern reimagining.

So, in short, it appears that the region that gets remade or reused next coincides with whether or not the generation number shares a common denominator greater than 1 as well as whether or not the region's last release has been longer than other regions'. If this theory holds water, gen 10 may yield some interesting results, as 10 is a multiple of both 2 and 5. Though, there has been more time since the last new Johto games than there has been since the last new Unova games, so by my logic, Johto would be the next to be remade. Though if you count the Johto VC releases on 3DS, maybe that would mean Unova has spent more time out, so maybe Unova would be next on the docket?

Either way, I just think it's interesting that all the generations' numbers line up this way. Who knows, maybe each generation, GameFreak has been playing a simple numbers game when deciding their remakes.

Well regardless, I'm happy that we're getting another step into Kalos next year, and in a way, maybe the timing makes more sense than we realize. That said, definitely take this theory with a grain of salt. I highly doubt the numbering of generations (which I don't think GameFreak has ever actually acknowledged officially) truly factors into how GameFreak and the Pokemon Company greenlight what projects. But if nothing else, it's fun to notice those kinds of patterns. I'd take this in the same vein as that fire starter zodiac theory from a while back. It's probably not true, but it's funny how well it fits together!

That said, I'm calling it now, a Legends game in Johto is gonna be the game for 2028!

[sage-nebula]

I see a lot of people taking offense to the fact that Ash wasn’t invited to the World Championships even though he’s Alola’s Champion, but I think what people are forgetting is that Alola’s League is NOT on the level of the other Leagues, and does not really receive recognition as such. 

Let’s look at the situation, shall we?

To begin with, Alola’s League is brand spankin’ new. It’s so new, in fact, that Ash didn’t have to challenge anyone for the title; he’s Alola’s first Champion, because this League tournament was the first ever League. And it was the first ever League because Kukui decided that he wanted to put one together for fun. (In the games he also wanted Alola to gain recognition from other regions which have League systems, but I’m not sure if he mentioned anything of the sort in the anime or not. If he did, my apologies.) No one outside of Alola has traveled to Alola to participate in the League (except Ash and Team Rocket, obviously, but they went to Alola for reasons other than the League, to be fair, since the League did not exist when they traveled to Alola). There’s a good chance that most people outside of Alola don’t even know that Alola has a League, much less a Champion, because up until now, Alola has never functioned under a League system! While we know Alola as a main series game region (“canon” region in the eyes of some), in-universe Alola is pretty much on the same level as the Orange League. In fact, it’s in an even worse situation, because the Orange League has been around for quite a while longer, and has actual requirements for entering the tournament, whereas Kukui’s League (in the anime at least) seems to be a, “you want in? join in!” situation. You don’t even have to do the League Challenge to participate in the anime. It was set up with decidedly less seriousness than the Orange League (which, by the by, Ash was also Champion of) was.

Secondly, even if Alola’s League had recognition outside of Alola . . . Ash hasn’t actually assumed any duties as Alola’s Champion. What I mean is . . . Champions are meant to have responsibilities. In the games, we see Champions deal directly with crime or issues with their regions multiple times (e.g. Lance in the Johto games, Steven in the Hoenn games and particularly ORAS with the Delta Episode, Cynthia in the Sinnoh games, Alder and Iris in the Unova games, Leon in the Galar games, and hell, in the Alola games, you’re asked to help capture the Ultra Beasts (SM) and deal with Team Rainbow Rocket (USUM) because you’re the Champion!). In the anime, we get similar examples (e.g. Lance again in the OS, Steven and Diantha in XY&Z, etc). We also see them attend to other duties from time to time, such as Diantha helping host the Kalos League in XY&Z, as well as being the one to present the trophy to the victor and, presumably, sticking around to fulfill the challenge requirement for her title. But although Ash’s heroism while in Alola is not at all in question (his heroism in every region is not at all in question because this boy cannot go a week without getting in trouble in some way or another), he pretty much just got his trophy and bounced. In any other region that’d be understandable, because other regions have to have Champion Challenges following their Leagues because their Leagues have been going on for probable decades and therefore winning the tournament doesn’t automatically make you the Champion. But Alola’s League was brand new. Ash becoming Champion should have tasked him with watching over Alola and, you know, sticking around for at least a while, just like in SM/USUM where the player steps in to deal with the issues that arise after they’re titled and also how they battle challengers. But from what I understand, Ash’s duties as Champion were never even discussed, because again . . . it was treated as a fun tournament, rather than something serious.

(Note: Obviously I’m not saying Ash couldn’t travel around, because we see the other Champions travel! Hell, that’s the entire point of the World Tournament. But presumably they travel when they have time available; they don’t just flounce off at random, they make sure to work their schedule around their responsibilities. In Black/White, the fact that Alder DID flounce off and ignore his responsibilities was actually an important plot / character point; Cheren didn’t have a lick of respect for him at first because of it, because Alder just disappearing into the wilds despite his title / responsibilities / job was seen as him abandoning what is arguably the most important role in the region. Similarly, Lance is only Champion in the Johto games because Red similarly flounced off to go be a hermit on Mt Silver for reasons unknown. Champions can travel, but they have to mind their responsibilities, which includes not being like “k I’m gonna go elsewhere now bye!” without a concrete idea of when you’ll be back or what work comes with the title you’ve taken on.) 

So like, I get that Ash winning a game League is important to the fandom. It’s a big deal to the fandom, and even to entertainment news sites who really wanted something fun to post about amidst all the garbage fires that so many countries currently resemble at the moment. But in-universe, there’s a very good chance that many don’t even realize Alola has a League, much less a Champion, and perhaps because Alola never had a League before and Kukui focused primarily on the battling tournament aspect of it, Ash hasn’t really assumed the responsibilities of a Champion either. (Which, in fairness, is probably a good thing considering he’s ten years old and still has a lot of wanderlust and a dream to chase. If you think about it in that context, Red realizing “I am ten years old what the fuck” when he was told that it was now his job to lead and protect the region and flouncing off to Mt Silver as a result makes a lot more sense. They can’t ask him to lead and protect the region if he’s on the top of a snowy mountain. And if they try to make him, he will sic his lvl 88 Pikachu on them and that will be that.)

All in all, obviously Ash is battling Leon soon (this weekend?), he’s probably going to participate in this tournament at some point, etc etc, he’s the main character and therefore has to be a part of Everything regardless of how much sense it makes (see: why they hamfisted him into the Flare crisis even though it was Alan’s story and there was no real reason why Lysandre suddenly hyperfocused on him). But to those upset that he wasn’t mailed an invite to Smash the World Championships, I think it would be best if you remember that most people probably don’t know Alola even has a League, much less a Champion, and that in Ash’s eyes he’s probably less Champion and more tournament winner, because that’s how pretty much everyone in Alola treated him for understandable reasons. (And it’s also how the Orange League treated him, though I wonder if that’s because Drake realized that handing the Orange Archipelago over to an actual child might bring disaster upon the islands. Plus Ash had to bounce anyway since he was only REALLY there in the first place to pick up the GS Ball (may it rest in peace) so . . . it just wouldn’t have been convenient.) He’s not being disrespected, it’s just that no one has any real reason to know yet. That’s all.

[savdadc]

      She was lucky he hadn’t broken  her arm.

      The hand shaped bruise Ghetsis had left her with in his anger covered nearly the entirety of her forearm. It hurt, but it wasn’t anything that an ice pack and some Ibuprofen wouldn’t fix. If anything, it looked far worse than it felt. She couldn’t stop staring at it, tracing over where each one of Ghetsis’ fingers had seized her. Usually it was lower, on her hips, or thighs. He would kiss her there after, trailing them over every inch of her body until he found her lips again.

      But there were no kisses shared between them that night, no tender words of mutual affections, or the feeling of arms embracing her from behind, both flesh and prosthesis encircling her waist, holding her while she slept, only harsh voices and flared tempers. 

      Steam filled the bathroom. Elizabeth removed the last of her clothing, folding it neatly on the counter before stepping into the clawfoot tub, lowering herself down until the water stopped just above her chest. 

      There was a saying that all good things must come to an end. In their case, it was only a matter of when not if. It all seemed like a dream, too good to be real. She got caught up in it, they both had, and it made the reality that much more painful. 

      Ghetsis was a sick man, and his sickness went far deeper than the crimes he had committed. In the the heat of the moment, she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. It was when she dug deeper, scouring her memories with a fine tooth comb for anything out of the ordinary, without tears and emotion obscuring her vision, her memory of him when she told him that she would leave him was suddenly much more terrifying. 

      She remembered how he looked at her, or through  her, rather. She couldn't say with certainly who or what he was seeing, but he'd seemed... unfocused. His telling her to go seemed more like an afterthought than anything, except there was no hesitation in his voice, or anywhere else that she could see, only contempt. 

      Elizabeth closed her eyes, reaching for the bar of soap that sat on the lower shelf of the shower caddy that hung from the wall beside her. She scrubbed every inch of herself, from her neck to her toes, even those of of her prosthetic. The make was as such that she could feel the warmth of the water somewhat, but the sensation was dull in comparison to that of her leg composed of flesh and bone, while the other was metal and surgically reattached nerve endings in an attempt to replicate actual feeling in the limb. Given than her real leg had been crushed, and the majority of her nerves damaged beyond repair, that doctors at Lysandre Labs considered the procedure a moderate success.

      It should have bothered her more how numb  she felt to everything emotionally. She recalled feeling so hurt and angry by Ghetsis' words, but now she felt indifferent to all of it, detached  even. It was normal for her, even if it didn't feel normal. She scrubbed her skin until it was tender, and all she could do was watch herself. 

      The doctor's had called it “ dissociating “, and it was how she coped with emotional stress since the accident. It was like a disconnection from her thoughts and feelings, or even what she was doing at the time. 

      Hours passed. She couldn't say for how long she sat there in the tub, but by the time Loki had pushed open the bathroom door wide enough to slip through, barking and circling and nudging at the hand that she had led dangle over the side of the tub, the water had gone cold. Had she fallen asleep? She couldn't remember.

      Loki was insistent on getting her out of the tub, the Herdier doing exactly as it had been trained to do. She stroked his fur absently at first until his presence became more solidified in her mind, as did the rest of her surroundings. 

      " Good boy, Loki. " She praised him, but Loki merely sat there, waiting; he wouldn't leave her until she was safely out of the tub. Liz reached beneath the soapy water until her hand found the plug stopper. She pulled, watching as the water spiraled down the drain before pulling herself out of the tub.

      In the days that followed, Liz eventually went back to the hotel where Ghetsis had taken up residence during his stay in the Kalos region in the hopes that they could talk. She honestly didn't expect much. She didn't expect him to want to talk to her, let alone see her. After all, he hadn't bothered reaching out to her at all, and that was fair all things considered; she hadn't wanted to see or talk to him either. 

      She certainly hadn't expected him to have checked out of his suite and return to Unova without so much as a " goodbye ". It baffled her -- it hurt her... again -- leaving her to wonder if he would ever come back or at least try to get into contact with her, or if perhaps their time together had run its course. It also made her angry  to think that she had given herself away to a man like him, who would take it all with him and leave her there with these feelings that she never wanted in the first place.

      Seeing herself out of the hotel, she took a seat on one of the benches just outside, the mist from the nearby fountain lightly spraying her face, and contemplated what she should do. Did she go after him? Did she stay in Kalos, hoping that, on the off chance that he still gave a fuck about her or them that he would sent her a letter or something? Or was she only fooling herself into thinking that she'd ever had a place anywhere but “ under his hand “?

      " Hey, did you hear? " 

      " Yeah, man. It's all over the news. "

      It wasn't like her to eavesdrop, but being in desperate need of a distraction, Elizabeth listened in to the conversation being had by two men somewhere behind her. 

      " Do they know who did it? "

      " Nah, they don't gotta clue, but whoever it was did the world a pretty big favor if you ask me. "

      " I had a cousin who joined Team Plasma way back when. I haven't seen or heard from her since. "

      Dark brows knitted together in confusion. What did Team Plasma have to do with what these men were talking about? 

      " You'd think Interpol or someone would have gone after this guy sooner. "

      Something about the conversation unsettled her. Who was this " guy " they kept referring to? They couldn't have meant--

      " You'd think, but he has a lot of followers. The guy knows how to talk. "

      " Yeah, well, I can't imagine he's going to be doing much talking now. "

      " What kind of guy goes around calling himself a king anyway? "

      " Hey, lady are you-- "

      She didn't hear them as they called after her, and they didn't understand her reaction. Nobody ever would. Her lungs burned  as she ran, stopping only when she caught a glimpse of the " breaking news " headline streaming across the large digital billboard just outside of the local news studio. 

      " Wanted ecoterrorist, Ghetsis Harmonia, presumed dead after multiple eyewitnesses come forth, stating that the leader of the infamous Pokemon liberation group, Team Plasma, has been... assassinated? " Elizabeth felt her knees hit the sidewalk, eyes wide in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, but there it was. Once again she felt herself going numb, the world becoming static around her.

      Ghetsis was... dead? 

      " No... " 

[fierykitten2]

Both Johto and Unova are trending on twitter so with just over a month until it happens, my thoughts on the next presents, Pokémon games and other stuff

I think on the Johto vs Unova debate it has to be either both or neither (at least for my own sanity. Still, I have every intention on joking that Game Freak confirms the Paradox trio corresponding to whichever region of the two we get is superior if one of these two regions is chosen but not the other). I also believe the reason the DLC has so much stuff relating to those two regions isn’t because they’re teasing the next game(s) but because there are these trios known as the Legendary Beasts from Johto and the Swords of Justice from Unova which somehow all have the same heights just with the first and second one inconsistently being the tallest or shortest (idk how to describe this) and the third members of both trios, Suicune and Virizion, just happen to have the same initials as Gen 9’s main paired versions, Scarlet and Violet, and since Scarlet and Violet feature version-exclusive parodies of well-known Pokémon (I say well-known, most people only care about Amoongus because of Among Us) it would be a missed opportunity to not take advantage of the whole Scarlet Suicune Violet Virizion alliteration thing (and simultaneously make the two best Pokémon ever)

More DLC sounds cool but is extremely unlikely blah blah blah

I’m sure we’ll get an experimental game but I’m also sure that it won’t be Let’s Go! (because LGPE are remakes of Yellow and take its main gimmick and expand on it) or Legends (because the Sinnoh trio (well, replace Giratina with Arceus) are the only trio responsible for Pokémon’s main religion. Also why would they release a game where we go to the past (and no equivalent for the future) in the time travel generation? That doesn’t seem fair to me

If I had to choose a region to revisit in an experimental game (or remake, that’s cool too), it would have to be either Hoenn or Kalos. Alola and Galar would be cool too, I just think it’s a bit early for them to get revisits

Oh yeah and the whole “Unova remake confirmed” stuff annoys me because with the exception of FRLG/LGPE all remakes have been released during the generation whose number is double the original generation’s number (not sure how to phrase this) so by that logic a Unova remake should come out in Gen 10, not Gen 9 because Unova was introduced in Gen 5, not Gen 4.5 admittedly there was also the two consoles later theory and even though I prefer to ignore the Switch 2 leaks even I can’t deny the fact that after Gen 10’s DLC there’ll definitely be a new console so that kinda blows my argument out the window

I had another point but I forgot it also can I just point out both GSC/HGSS and B2W2 are sequels (to RGBY/RBY/FRLG/LGPE and BW)