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dalooneylass · 3 months

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The Chains Pokémon partner parings explained.

Hi this is that post where I try to explain my reasoning for pairing each Link with their Pokémon partner + a little fun fact about each Pokémon.

Sky with Dragonite

Sky and Dragonite have quite a few things in common. Their both big, loveable, caring beings who are always ready and willing to help those in need, their both also A LOT stronger than they initially seem. Sky being a literal demon god slayer, and Dragonite being a Pseudo Legendary Pokémon that can control the weather at will.

I imagine that Sky met his Dragonite before his adventure when it was still a little Dratini, they love to take naps together, and go on long flights around Skyloft.

Fun Fact: Pseudo Legendary Pokémon get their title from the fact they have a base stat total of 600, which is the same as most Legendary Pokémon, and are extremely difficult to evolve, Dratini taking 55 levels, or 207,968 experience points earned to evolve into its final form, Dragonite.

Four and his Eeveelutions

To be honest there really wasn’t any other Pokémon besides the Eevee line that had enough evolutions or unique forms/variants to give Four. But even then it’s still a good pick, Eevee can evolve into one of 8 different Pokémon. Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, and Espeon being the most obvious picks for Four/The Colours, Jolteon being the next best thing for Green since there’s no Flying type Eeveelution, and Espeon for Vio due to his book smarts and relation to Shadow, with Vaporeon and Flareon being perfectly fitting for Blue and Red respectively.

I picture Four meeting his Pokémon between his adventures in Minish Cap and Four Swords Adventures, as Eevee, and then taking them with him through the latter adventure. And while Green, Blue, and Red found the evolution stones to evolve their Eevee at some point or another throughout the adventure, Vio and Shadow’s Eevee evolved during their time together when Vio was pretending to be a traitor (Eevee evolves into Espeon and Umbreon through high Friendship during the Day and Night respectively). And that while the Colours were struggling to work together during FSA, their Pokémon were working with each other just fine. After Shadow sacrificed himself, Four cared for his Umbreon.

Fun Fact: Shadow’s Umbreon likely knows Shadow isn’t really gone, but has no solid way of communicating this to Four.

Time with Celebi

Pretty simple really. Time is a time travelling fairy boy from the forest who’s possessed by a deity, Celebi is a time travelling forest guardian fairy who IS a deity.

I believe that Time would meet his Celebi some time after Majora’s Mask, but before the War of Ages.

Fun Fact: Time’s Celebi is nicknamed Navi.

Double Fun Fact: Time’s Celebi Navi may or may not actually be several different Celebi (Cuz there’s actually like a bajilion of these lil onions babies all zipping throughout time and space) and Time has yet to figure this out.

Note: Still a’nt actually settled on whether Navi IS multiple different Celebi or just one single Celebi. Tell me which one you guys think it is in the comments. I genuinely love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

Or I might make a poll or something.

Legend and Lopunny

With the fact that Lopunny is a rabbit Pokémon with a pink shiny, the connection seems pretty surface level, and that I paired the two just cuz I genuinely like Lopunny (Which I admittedly do) but when you look a little deeper into Lopunny’s character, they actually do have more in common with Legend other then aesthetics.

For one, Lopunny evolves via Friendship (Like Espeon and Umbreon) HOWEVER Buneary, Lopunny’s pre evolution, is actually hard to befriend at first, as Wild Buneary always start out with a friendship level of 0, (something usually reserved for Legendary Pokémon) Legend too is a bit rough around the edges and a little hard to get to open up at first, but a loyal companion and friend once he lets people in. As well Lopunny, while not one to go out of it’s way to pick fights, IS a strong and capable fighter, who could hold its own alongside Legend in combat, and much like how Legend has a wide variety of tools in his arsenal, Lopunny is able to learn a wide variety of Moves. Plus both Legend and Lopunny could totally put on one heck of a show if they wanted to.

I would think Legend meets his Lopunny as a Buneary after all his adventures where set and done (But before LU of course) and while they didn’t get along all too well at first, they actually warmed up to each other rather quickly and have become the best of pals since.

Fun Fact: Due to how Pokémon breeding and Egg Groups work, Legend’s Lopunny is able to be siblings with Fable’s partner Pokémon, a Delcatty.

Twilight with Herdier

I wanted to pare Twilight with a Pokémon that would not only work well with his profession as a Rancher, but also not overshadow or replace Epona’s relationship with Twilight, nor the Chains relationship with Wolfie. So I went with Herdier, A loyal and sturdy hard working dog Pokémon that just like real dogs has been working with humans both on and off the farm since ancient times.

Just like Legend and his Pokémon, Twilight meet his Herdier back when it was still just a little Lillipup some time after Twilight Princess, and they do everything together! Work, play, fight, and just overall in joying the simple things in life, Herdier loves to play with the village children, and is happy with its life with Twilight overall.

Fun Fact: Twilight’s Herdier is actually already passed the level when it should have evolved, but hasn’t due to it holding an Everstone, a item that, when held, prevents a Pokémon from evolving even when the conditions for evolution have been met. Herdier has the Everstone because it’s happy as a it is right now, and is in no real rush to evolve, and Twilight respects his Pokémon’s wishes to say a Herdier.

Wind and Clauncher

Again a pretty simple reasoning behind this pairing. Wind loves the Great Sea, the colour blue, and lobsters. Clauncher is a Water type Pokémon that lives in the sea, that is blue, and is a lobster.

Again just like Legend and Twilight, Wind meets his Clauncher after his adventures in Phantom Hourglass, but before LU. Wind loves his Clauncher, and Clauncher does love Wind back, tho that doesn’t mean they don’t get in fights, as Wind and his Clauncher are both hotheads. (Wind taking weeks to get Clauncher to stop attacking Arill’s Wingull, or any Wingull in general for that matter, and being VARY upset with Clauncher during that time. And Clauncher being upset when Wind thinks that he isn’t good enough as a hero or a big brother, despite it being completely untrue, casting Clauncher to become moody with Wind) But they can still both be sincere when it really counts. And will comfort the other when the other is feeling down.

Fun Fact: Wind’s actually had his Clauncher for the same amount of time that Legend and Twilight have had their Pokémon for, but Clauncher has yet to evolve due to Wind lacking the Time to properly train it.

Hyrule with Ribombee

I paired Hyrule with Ribombee due to their similarities. Hyrule is half Fairy, and Ribombee is a duel Fairy type Pokémon. Hyrule is a capable Magic user, and Ribombee is a strong Special Attacker. Hyrule has the ability heal his allies, as so too does Ribombee. Not to mention their both small and cute.

I imagine that Hyrule actually meet his Ribombee as a Cutiefly during his first adventure in Zelda 1, and that while Hyrule was apprehensive about bringing a tiny little Bug Pokémon like Cutiefly on a dangerous quest, Cutiefly did a surprisingly good job holding it’s own against the monsters in the dungeons. And after that, the two have been best buddies ever since.

Fun Fact: Hyrule’s Ribombee has the Ability Honey Gather. Meaning after a battle, Ribombee has a chance of just finding some random honey. Ribombee happily shares this questionable sourced with Hyrule afterwards.

Warriors and Aegislash

Picking out a Pokémon partner for Warriors was the trickiest, I initially thought about giving him a Kingambit, but felt that it didn’t really suit him, as while Warriors does lead an army and is a tactician, I felt that Kingambit’s style of fighting didn’t really suit Warriors. Aegislash however are known to work with people and leaders such as kings, and are known to be good judges of character, which I feel was more fitting. Also I thought it’d be cool to have Warriors use his Aegislash like a sword. (The Pokédex says you shouldn’t do this, but it’s been established that the Pokédex is being written by edgy 12 year olds, and a character did it in one of the mangas, so it should be fine)

Warriors met his Aegislash during the War of Eras, not sure if was already an Aegislash or not tho. Despite the communication barrier between them, the two often do battle planning together, and fight really well together. Aegislash and Warriors a’nt afraid to tell the other off if they were bing stupid, or pushing themselves too far, but also are happy to compliment each other if the other for doing well.

Fun Fact: Warriors Aegislash has a Sassy Nature, meaning it loves bitter foods and hates sweets. Don’t ask me how a sentient ghost sword can eat, it just does.

Wild and his Hisuian Zoroark

And finally we come to Wild and his Zoroark. When I was looking through the Pokédex to see what Mons would fit well with Wild and saw Zoroark, I knew that it would make the perfect partner Pokémon for Wild. A loyal, wild fox Pokémon and master of trickery that will protect its pack no matter what.

Much like the others in the Chain, Wild did not meet his partner as a fully evolved Pokémon, but as a Zorua. But he didn’t meet it as a Hisuian Zorua. They meet each other when they were kids, before Wild had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and back when Zoroark was still a regular Zorua, they became close friends, and where together through thick and thin. Zorua was there when Wild became a knight, Zorua was there Wild when he became Flora’s appointed knight, Zorua was there during the memories, Zorua stood by Wild’s side when Calamity Ganon attacked, Zorua died by Wild’s side during the Battle of Fort Hateno.

And while Link was placed into the Shrine of Resurrection so that he may revive and defeat the Calamity 100 years later, Zorua was not. But Zorua did not need the Shrine of Resurrection. Through the power of they’re hatred for Calamity Ganon, and they’re love for their trainer Wild, Zorua rose from the dead, reborn into the world anew in the form of a Hisuian Zorua. They wanted on the Great Plateau for over a hundred years for Wild to revive, likely evolving during that time. And when Wild finally awoke, it was the happiest day of they’re life. But it was also they’re life, as Wild remembered nothing of his life before the calamity. But even then Zoroark stuck by Wild’s side throughout his adventures in BotW, through thick and thin, and they defeated Calamity Ganon together, along with the Champions, and Zelda. And while the spirits of the Champions and the King passed on afterwards, Zoroark did not, as always Zoroark continued to stand by Wild’s side, through TotK, and Beyond.

The Fun Fact about Wild’s Hisuian Zoroark, is that it uses its power of illusions to help Wild recall his lost memories.

OK! This was a long post but I did it, I hope you all find my progress interesting, and that I did a good enough job of explaining it. If you want to look into this sorta stuff yourself go for it. Sorry for the Wild bias, I hope you have a lovely day/night and goodbye.

#legend of zelda #loz #linkeduniverse #linked universe #link #lu sky #lu four #lu time #lu legend #lu twilight #lu wind #lu hyrule #lu warriors #lu wild #pokémon #pokemon memes #zelda memes

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elbdot · 1 year

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If you have watched it, what are your opinions on the latest TOH episode?

(SPOILERS UP AHEAD!!!)

IT WAS SO GOOD I LOVED IT It was PACKED full of storylines and you could TELL that each of them were meant to be an episode on their own, I wish we would've been able to actually get these episodes or a bit more time to breath between moments, but you know, THEY DID THEIR BEST to give us the best compressed version of what they initially had planned and I think THEY DID A FANTASTIC JOB!!!

I did NOT care for a Bosha-return however. I genuinely do NOT like her but I know that she served her purpose in this episode to once again piss of Willow, causing her to break down later on. Still, I'm glad if we don't have to see her again, she doesn't deserve any more of our scarce screentime in my opinion.

Also you have no idea how relieved I am that we got a break from any further Hunter-abuse, I am NOT kidding when I say "Thanks to Them" really messed me up emotionally for TWO WEEKS because of Hunters treatment from "boy is finally healing :)" to "actually let's make things WORSE" UURHGFDHGFHG ARRRGGGGGG

LOVE to see Belos suffer tho. Love that his past keeps haunting him. Yes...FEEL that underlying gUILT of freaking KILLNG YOUR OWN BROTHER and then 1000 CLONES OF HIM I am hoping for a full on mental-breakdown from Belos when he sees Eda next Ep with her Evelyn-Haircut and Hunter and Willow HOLDING HANDS HEHEHEHEHEHEHE That body-posession in his lab was FUCKED UP tho, I can't believe Dana got away with that hOLY CRAP (lovedittho)

Honestly the more I think about the episode the more stuff I remember that I absolutely loved I don't even know if I can write it all down it's just sO MUCH

BUT I ALSO REALLY LOVE STRINGBEANS SHE'S SO CUTE I LOVE HER COLOURS Dratini-cat-snake FUCK YEAH

And...THEM

oOooAAAAAHHHAAJGFDGJFDJFDJKJGFJF 🤩😍🥺😭❤️💖💕💞💖💖💞💕💖💕

THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPYYYY AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Just every Huntlow moment and every Emerald Trio moment they just fill me with joy I love these three so much

#TOH spoilers #the owl house #toh hunter #huntlow #TOH #HUNTLOW CANON!!!!!!!#HUNTLOW FRIGGIN CANON YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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adobe-outdesign · 10 months

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if you haven’t yet, could you review the dragonite line?

I'll be upfront, I've always really liked this line, with Dragonair being one of my top ten favorite Pokemon. I think part of it is just the simplicity; there's just the right amount of real-world elements and fantasy elements, without too much detail to over-clutter things.

Dratini, for example, is just a small sea serpent, and there's not even a clear theme at this stage. However, details like the fins on its head and the white nose make it stand out enough so it's not overly generic. It also does a good job of looking enough like its evo while still being distinct due to most of the main elements being different (head fins, bump instead of horn, white nose, rounded underbelly, lighter color, etc.).

Speaking of its evo, Dragonair is just straight-up beautiful. The long slender body is really elegant, and the minimalist details give it just the right amount of flavor without being overbearing. It's one of the only Pokemon in my top 10 favs that earns that spot solely through visuals alone.

The new orbs on its body are perfectly placed, and their addition makes the theme of this line clear—it's an imugi, a Korean lesser dragon that only becomes a true dragon when a jewel falls from the sky every 1000 years. In addition to the theming, these orbs are also distinctive and serve to convey the vibe of a semi-mythical animal.

In addition to this, the body has some white countershading that starts and ends at the orbs, which breaks up the main body just enough. This white is then accented by the white of its horn and the two wings on its head; another unexpected element, and another very pretty one at that. As far as I'm concerned, nothing about this design could be improved.

I know some people really dislike Dragonite, but I'm going to defend it to a degree. Yes, it is much more generic than Dragonair, having lost some of its more distinctive features, and I do think that's a shame (losing the orbs makes sense because that's how imugi work, but why replace the fluffy wings with utterly generic dragon ones?). And yes, the change between it and its pre-evos is a little jarring.

HOWEVER, people tend to act like its completely detached from the rest of the line, which is just plain wrong. It still has:

The same rounded head shape

A horn

Two things on either side of the horn

A lighter-color underbelly

A smooth, curved body shape

Even thematically, the change from a serpent to a dragon ties into the imugi thing, with Dragonair obtaining the orbs and then becoming a true dragon. It's definatley not the best evolution out there in terms of memorability (it's a fairly generic dragon at this stage) or coherency, but it still makes sense as an evo.

If I were to make any tweaks to Dragonite, it would simply be to change the colors. I don't know why it suddenly becomes orange, and the change is jarring when a clear pattern was established with both of the pre-evos being blue. The line looks 200% better just by keeping the colors consistent, and you could always make the orange its shiny:

I also would've kept the wings on the back but kept the feathered look of Dragonair's; its much more interesting and would've further helped with consistency. Everything else, however, I think is fine. Not as good as its pre-evos, but certainly not awful by any means.

Side note: there's a lot of talk about this line getting something in the future. In all honestly, I don't think it needs it; it's still an iconic and well-loved line with decent stats. That said, Dragonite is one of the only psuedo-legendaries that doesn't have a new form, so I guess it would be fair enough to give it something. A regional could work, maybe something that brings Dragonite in-line with Dratini and Dragonair a bit more. I could also see a split evo being a thing.

Anyway, overall: Dratini and Dragonair are the perfect blend of mystical and normal attributes, and are quite beautiful all around. Dragonite is also good, but more generic and suffering a bit from some strange color choices. As a whole, however, this line is pretty fantastic.

#dratini #dragonair #dragonite #pokemon #pokemon reviews #outdesign attempts to edit

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disfrutalakia · 8 months

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Okay since i'm bored as fuck, I'm gonna make a list for how I envision each character and how I would design them if I could draw!! This baby will be long so shh it will take a while also there will be like a LOT of images. (also last moment decisions this will be in parts lmao cause tumbrl will kill me if I do so much people, so this part will be the brazillians)

Pac

In my mind he has very sharp and big bottom teeths, almost like a those fantasy shows orcs and I see him as a bat hybrid, with big leathery wings that he never really learned to use so they are just there, also in terms of hair he was a pretty long one (it's almost a mullet) with some dark blue in the tips, his style in what I would call "techwear" but with blue always in there.

Mike

An obvious creeper hybrid, like just look at him it makes sense!! He has some green marks around his eyes and on his shoulders that are very sensitive to the touch and look a lot like scales. His natural hair is pink as he has mentioned before but I imagine it being longer now, he don't have time to take care of it so usually he just puts it up. In terms of outfits he prefers comfortable stuff so it's very normal to see him running around the island in like his pjs and just the lab coat/anarchy coat being on top of it

Forever

He is a werewolf, he can't really remember when he started turning but it always happened, when he was together with Brunim they would go on a bunker together in nights of full mom so Forever would't just ran around. But for some reason in the island he stopped transforming. He is very careful about taking care of his long hair, spending hours in the morning taking care of it and braiding it.

Cellbit

Yes he dresses like a doctor who character, he thinks it gives him a mysterious aura (it doesn't) and he is a own hybrid, but his wings were clipped a long time ago (during the war) so all the owls traits he was left with were the big unsettling eyes, the ability to stay up way too long and his head can turn into agles that should't be possible.

Felps

He is... well Felps, he dresses like the coolest person in the island and might be a cybord (he already was before the feds, the only thing the feds did was fuck up his enginas by throwing him into the ice. He was actually turned into a cyborg by Mike, who felt bad for the guy being killed by Cell in the prison so... robot Felps was born!

Richas

Child baby, when not imagining him as an egg I see him as the water dragon hybrid he wants to be, but since he is young all he has are the white pointy horns (like the dratini) coming out, in terms of clothes he always wears his brazil shirt (it's a difficult task to be able to wash it) but it's usually covered in paint just like the rest of his body, it's pretty rare to see Richas without splatters of paint on his arms or pencil stains on his fingers.

#qsmp #qsmp headcanons #qsmp design series #qsmp tazercraft #qsmp cellbit #qsmp forever #qsmp felps #qsmp richarlyson

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plushie-neopet · 2 months

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Tbh there is a nostalgia to this specific style of shoyru lineart that I really wanna try to capture for Boimo.

I know Shoyru is suppose to evoke the vibes of Mew but this is also giving Dratini/Dragonair/Dragonite in different ways.

I don't know why but when I was little I thought only rich people could have the desert pets xD I remember admiring desert shoyrus.

Starry/fire seemed popular back then... I started with a blue shoyru that I painted purple then later silver... And I just like the colour palette of the old striped more. The saturated shadows make it look almost glowy.

Anyway, that's the end of my shoyru nostalgia for now, I have to be a productive human.

#shoyru #uc art #desert #lost desert #starry #fire #blue #purple #striped #old art #site art #neopets

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bethanythebogwitch · 8 months

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Let’s turn up the heat because I’m going over the real-life inspirations for all the fire-type starter Pokémon. Here are the links for when I covered the inspirations for all grass starters, all fish, and all non-fish aquatic Pokémon.

Gen I gives us quite possibly the most iconic starter line: the Charmander line. Interviews with the design team have revealed that Charizard was the first of the line to be designed and the other two were designed by working backwards from it. Both Charmander’s English and Japanese name (Hitokage) reference the mythical salamander of European folklore. Salamanders have been associated with fire in multiple cultural folklores throughout Europe, often to the point where their depictions have nothing to do with the actual amphibians. Interestingly, the oldest accounts that associate salamanders with fire comes from Pliny the Elder, who repeated an account their bodies were so cold they could extinguish fires. Somewhere along the line of legends being passed down, salamanders got flipped from repelling fire to living in it, possibly as a result of getting conflated with other mythical reptilians like dragons or basilisks. In the renaissance, the alchemist Paracelsus described salamanders as fire elementals, along with a group of other elemental beings (gnomes for earth, sylphs of air, and undines of water).

(image: an artistic depiction of a fiery salamander. Art by Michael Maier)

In addition to salamanders, Charmander and Charmeleon are given the upright poses and dragging tails of outdated reconstructions of theropod dinosaurs. Charizard is a classic depiction of a western dragon: a winged reptile that breathes fire. Western dragons are based heavily on lizards, with some of the earliest depictions being a dead ringer for monitor lizards. Charizard is said to love fighting, which is reminiscent of how western dragons have been depicted as dangerous, destructive, and even demonic monsters. It is only relatively recently that western dragons have been depicted as anything but evil. Charizard doesn’t have the dragon type (unless it mega evolves to X form), but that’s more because back in gen I, dragon was intended to be the special type exclusive to the late-game powerhouses that are the Dratini line. Charizards mega evolutions and gigantamax form don’t really add much to the origin, they’re just exaggerations of Charizard.

(image: art of a western dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch)

Cyndaquil is based on an echidna, an Australian monotreme (egg-laying mammal) that has a long snout and quills like a porcupine.

(image: a long-beaked echidna. I don't know why, but its snout makes me very uncomfortable)

Despite being an echidna, its species name is the Fire Mouse Pokémon. This is actually a hint to an additional inspiration for its origin. The Japanese word that got translated to “Fire Mouse” is “Hinezumi”. This is the Japanese name for a monster originating in Chinese legend called the “huǒshǔ”. It’s a flaming mouse that lives in volcanoes. The flaming mammal and volcano association continues through the line. Also, when I googled “hinezumi” the first thing that popped up was the Monster Girl Encyclopedia. If you know, you know (don’t google it). Quilava and Typhlosion completely drop the echidna inspiration, which is a bit disappointing to me. That’s why I made regional variants of them for my Australia/New Zealand fakemon region where they stay as echidnas. While being based on badgers, they retain the quills that are found in many animals, most famously porcupines and hedgehogs. Hisuian Typhlosion is based on Kamuy-huci, the Ainu goddess of the hearth. The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, the island that inspired Sinnoh and Hisui. There are multiple Ainu references in Hisui’s design, plot, and regional variants. In the Ainu religion, the hearth was the connection between Earth and the world of spirits and was therefore never allowed to go out. It could also be used to communicate with the kamuy (gods and spirits) and was the passage through which the souls of the dead would leave the world and eventually return for reincarnation. This is why Hisuian Typhlosion is part ghost-type. The fire around H Typhlosion’s neck looks like magatama beads, which are used in the spiritual practices of multiple belief systems. These flames can release 108 ghost lights. 108 is an important number in Buddhism and is the number of beads in a Japamala, another type of beaded necklace used for spiritual practices in (among other religions) certain types of Buddhism.

(image: a japamala with wood beads)

The Torchic line is, I suspect, the place where the trend of basing fire starters on Chinese zodiac animals started. Typhlosion really doesn’t fit the zodiac, though some people say it’s supposed to be the mouse. The line is based on chickens. More specifically, they are based on the basan, a legendary fire-breathing chicken.

(image: art of a basan by Takehara Shunsen)

Torchic is a chick, a hatchling chicken. It being bright orange comes from a tradition of dying chicks bright colors to be sold at festivals. Male Torchics have a tiny black spot on their rear ends that females don’t. This is probably based on vent sexing, a technique for determining the sex of chocks, a notoriously difficult task. It is done by examining the cloaca, looking for a bump that usually only males have. Combusken and Blaziken are based on cockfighting, a form of animal abuse where people force chickens to fight and bet on the winners. The official art for Blaziken’s normal and mega evolved forms have it in poses used in the martial art of Muay Thai. Blaziken is usually depicted as fighting primarily with kicks and Muay Thai emphasizes kicking. Blaziken being an humanoid with a bird head may also reference the bird-headed Egyptian gods Horus and Ra, or off of the karura, a diving being that looks like a human with a bird’s head in Japanese mythology.

(image: a statue of a karura)

The Chimchar line are based on the monkey from the zodiac. Chimchar’s species name is the Chimp Pokémon, and it does bare some resemblance to a young chimpanzee. When Chimchar’s flame goes out, you can see prominent red marking on its butt. Several monkey species have marking on their hindquarters, but the most famous by far is the baboon. Chimchar’s lack of a tail identifies it as an ape, but its evolved from gain tails, making them monkeys. A lot of people think that apes are separate from monkeys, but really apes are a subset of old-world monkeys. Apes are monkeys, you are an ape, therefore you are a monkey and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Monferno and Infernape both have prominent facial markings heavily reminiscent of those of mandrills.

(image: a male mandrill's face)

Monferno having blue facial marking and orange fur also makes it look like a golden snub-nosed monkey.

(Image: a golden snub-nosed monkey's face)

These are native to China and the line does have some heavy Chinese influence. The martial art that Monferno and Infernape use is most likely Monkey Kung Fu or Hóu Quán, which was inspired by the movements of monkeys. Infernape is based on the character of Son Goku, the Japanese name for the character Sun Wukong from the Chinese epic novel Journey to the West. Sun Wukong is the king of all monkeys, a martial artist, and has several magic powers.

(image: Japanse art of Son Goku/Sun Wukong. Art by Shunman Kubo)

Sun Wukong may be based on the older Hindu god Hanuman, a monkey-like god associated with strength and heroism who was also a member of the varana, a species of monkey people.

(image: a sculpture of Hanuman)

The Tepig line are based on the boar of the zodiac. Ken Sugimori said that the Unova starters were based on different cultures to reflect Unova being a very diverse place. The Tepig line were given Chinese design elements whole the Snivy line were “western” and the Oshawott line were Japanese. Tepig having a dark marking on its head and rear but being light everywhere else comes from the markings of the British Saddleback pig breed.

(image: a British saddleback pig)

The fire and pig combination references how pigs are bad at regulating their body head and need to use external sources like mud to cool off. Pignite takes on more boar traits with its exposed tusks. The markings on its body look like it is dressed in a wrestling singlet, which fits as both Pignite and Emboar are based on wrestlers. The yellow markings on Pignite and Emboar resemble patters found in ancient Chinese cauldrons called dings.

(image: a ding)

Ken Sugimori also stated Emboar was inspired by the character Zhang Fei in the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the story, Zhang Fei is betrayed and decapitated by his own men. This could be the purpose of the fire scarf Emboar has, to separate its head from its body. Pignte and Emboar also draw from another Chinese story, the afore-mentioned Journey to the West, specifically the character of Zhu Baije. Zhu Baije is a pig man who joins the titular journey. He is also jealous of Sun Wukong, which kind of fits with how Emboar is a much worse Pokémon than Infernape.

(image: an artists depiction of Zhu Baije. Unknown artist)

The Fennekin like take the place of the fox in the zodiac. Design-wise, their large ears mark them as being based on fennec foxes. They are also based off of the kitsune, magical foxes in Japanese mythology. Among the many powers attributed to kitsune were the ability to breathe fire and perform magic. Kitsune could also take on the form of human women, which is referenced in Fennekin’s evolutions becoming humanoid and having feminine designs.

(image: art of a Kitsune scaring two people by Utagawa Kuniyoshi)

Human could also learn magic form foxes, becoming fox witches or kitsune-mochi/kitsune-tsukai. Braixen and Delphox take quite a bit of their design from these fox witches, they also draw from the classic wester witch, using magic wands and Braixen having a tail that looks like the head of a flying broomstick. The association of witches with fire might be a reference to witch burnings. Delphox is also based on a prophet or seer, with its ability to see the future. Delphox’s English name directly references the ancient Greek oracle at Delphi. The final forms of the Kalos starters are based on the fantasy character archetypes of the fighter, the mage, and the thief. Delphox is very much the mage.

Litten is a black cat with tabby cat features. Tabby cats are defined by the stripes on their faces and legs. The orange and black stripes also identify it as the tiger from the zodiac. Its eyes plus forehead stripes are a dead ringer for the alchemical symbol for brimstone, another name for sulfur. Sulfur is a highly flammable element, fitting the fire type. This is one of several references to alchemy found in gen VII.

(image: the alchemical symbol for brimstone. two horizontal lines crossed by a vertical line that leads down into an infinity symbol)

Torracat doesn’t change much from Litten, just adding more stripes and a fireball that looks like a bell on a cat’s collar. It does change when it evolves to Incineroar, and not for the better. Incineroar is my least favorite final stage starter and easily in my top 10 most hated Pokémon. I could go on for a while about how much I hate it, but this isn’t the post for that. It’s still a tiger, but now it has been combined with a professional wrestler. You can tell they really wanted to do another fire/fighting type but knew there would be backlash. The belt of fire is based on a championship belt and its dark type comes from being a heel. In wrestling language, a heel is a villainous character, someone the audience is supposed to boo (a face is a heroic character). This fits with Incineroar being describes as a violent and egotistical Pokémon. However, Incineroar does have a soft side. This fits with how wrestlers are performers playing characters. A performer playing a heel character may cheat, lie, steal, and generally be an asshole while in character, but when not in character they probably won’t be nearly as unpleasant a person.

Scorbunny is the rabbit of the zodiac. More specifically, it is a white rabbit and like with real rabbits, its feet are considered good luck charms. The yellow patch on its face comes from a Japanese character design trope where a bandage over the nose is supposed to indicate that the character is tough and rambunctious. Maylene from the Sinnoh games shares this design element. Its fire typing could come from the Jataka tales, a collection of Buddhist stories from India. In tale 316, a rabbit is placed in a fire as a burnt offering, but it is unharmed by the flame. Another connection could come from the fact that rabbits have unusually high body temperatures for mammals. If Scorbunny is cheerful child, Raboot is a moody teenager. It’s fur and the stripe on its head look like a tracksuit and headband, giving it a connection to athletics. This continues with Cinderace, who is now an association football (or soccer to Americans) player. Football is a huge deal in England, the basis for Galar. Its fur looks like athlete’s attire and it uses a flaming berry like a football. This is another one where you can tell they wanted to make another fire/fighting type.

The Fuecoco line ditched the zodiac theme to become a crocodile. Its upright posture makes it look like a chibified theropod dinosaur and its silhouette looks like a chili pepper. The white face of both Fuecoco and Crocalor resembles a calavera, skull imagery used in the Mexican Day of the Dead. This is a Mexican holiday which is a celebration of dead loved ones that is typically very spirited and cheerful as opposed to glum and mournful. Folklore says the ghost will return to the world of the living on the Day of the Dead. While Paldea is based on Spain and Portugal, several of the new Pokémon have designs based on elements from central and south America, possibly because of both countries’ history of colonialism in those areas. Crocalor adds several references to mariachi players. The flaming nest and egg on its head is a sombrero while the markings on its abdomen look like a traje cordobés, a type of vest often used in mariachi.

(image: a mariachi band wearing wests and sombreros)

The hat combined with the calavera face makes it look like La Calavera Catrina, a skeleton wearing a wide-brimmed hat that is used as a common symbol in the Day of the Dead.

(image: art of La Calavera Catriana by José Guadalupe Posado)

It could also be a bouquet of Tagetes erects, the Mexican marigold, a flow also used for the Day of the Dead. Skeledirge continues the mariachi and Day of the Dead theme by becoming an undead singing crocodile. Real crocodiles will vocalize during mating and nesting season. There are several stories of ghostly or monstrous crocodiles in Spanish folklore, such as the Cocollona and the Drac de Na Coca, the latter of which is displayed as a taxidermied specimen in a museum in the city of Palma de Mallorca. There is also the Coco or Cuca, a boogieman-like that originated in Spain and Portugal and spread to the Americas that is often depicted as a monstrous crocodile. All three of the Paldea starters are based on entertainers and Skeledirge is based on a singer. Given its typing and English name, it probably single funeral dirges. The fiery bird on its nose could come from the gharial, another type of crocodilian. Male gharials have large bumps on the tips of their snouts in the same spot the bird sits.

(image: a male gharial)

Another, possibly more likely source is the Egyptian plover, a bird that will land on top of Nile crocodiles and eat parasites off of their skin. Skeledirge could also be based off of alebrijes, very colorful statues of mythical creatures in Mexican folk art. This is making me think about how cool a Mexico-based region could be.

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skuaclan · 27 days

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I would love to hear about the SkuaClan pokemon teams 👀 especially Berrystripe and Sunstar!

sure! here are assigned pokemon teams for the skuaclan members, based purely on vibes and not any actual gameplay viability or type cohesion. i've given the younger characters less evolved teams, even though they're adults now, cause there's still a major generational divide between them + sun/fox/cinder that i feel in my soul. you can decide if this is "pokemon they would own as a trainer/gym leader", "pokemon they would be drawn to use in a playthrough" or "their favourite pokemon" because my choices are a mixture of all of those

sunstar:

(honourable mentions: rapidash, sceptile, ampharos, and serperior)

foxfern:

(honourable mentions: breloom, falinks, thievul, hitmonchan, escavalier, leavanny, klefki)

cinderplume:

(honourable mentions: empoleon, drapion, xatu, mabosstiff, camerupt, tropius, beartic)

berrystripe:

(honourable mentions: every fire type starter. berrystripe is the kind of person who always picks the fire starter, and tears through the gyms with them without bothering to level or catch others. this team is from shortly after bluefeather told her to stop playing the game like that so she started catching and using pokemon that she thinks are cool or funny as well. other honourable mentions are galarian meowth, makuhita, croagunk, darumaka, impidimp, and tyrunt)

bluefeather:

(bluefeather is the type of pokemon player who really enjoys team building and probably has a decent grasp on the competitive meta but also gets super emotionally attached to her pokemon and really just prefers to play with her favourites, which are more aligned to these.) (honourable mentions are luxio, dratini, and glaceon)

fogbloom:

(honourable mentions: timburr, roselia, swadloon, tangela, haunter, drifloon)

ravenpelt:

(honourable mentions: phanpy, shinx, cubchoo, anorith)

#ooc questions

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yurisorcerer · 15 days

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What are your top five dragons?

I've thought long and hard about this, and I've come up with a list that I think is pretty good.

Spoilers for, honestly, like, a couple things below the cut. I've tagged the post accordingly.

5. Raijin, my Dragonite from Pokemon Violet

(Obviously this isn't specifically a picture of Raijin, my Switch is sadly batterydead at the moment, but this is about what she looks like in my head. Anyway!)

Somehow or another, Dragonite ended up being the very last Gen I Pokemon I'd never caught or trained in any way. I'd caught all of the others in SOME playthrough of SOME pokemon game over the years, even the ones people generally don't love or tend to forget about. (I will be a Lickitung apologist until the day I die.) I'm not sure why I avoided the Dratini line for so long. Some general subconscious backlash? I can't really say for sure. Anyway, I caught Raijin off the coast of Paldea in Violet and she quickly became essentially the ace of my team. As it turns out, Rain Dance + Thunder with an Electric terra type is a pretty good combination.

4. Black Hole Dragons, from a Dungeons & Dragons homebrew sourcebook

I looked and looked and to my IMMENSE frustration, could not find a copy of the old-school D&D homebrew sourcebook that these things are from, but please trust me and hear me out here.

Black hole dragons as depicted in this book, a truly ridiculous bestiary of appropriate foes for Epic-level adventurers, were bizarre snaking collages of geometry that could grow to be larger than the size of the visible universe and erase people from existence by breathing on them. After encountering these when reading these sourcebooks at the impressionable age of uh....like, 23, vanilla D&D's usual array of chromatics and metallics don't do a ton for me anymore.

3. Nicol Bolas, from Magic: The Gathering

This guy.

This fucking guy. This is how you do an impossibly powerful doomsday villain right.

Nicol Bolas is a dragon who's also a dimension-hopping wizard. As part of what is by my estimation one of Magic's last good sets, he also kills a bunch of faux-Egyptian deities and takes their place as the divine ruler of an entire dimension. This guy fucking rules and every single card that's ever had his name on it is awesome and if you disagree, well, that's good for you, because WoTC killed him right around the time they decided to make Magic boring forever.

2. Falin Touden, from Dungeon Meshi

No, she counts. Get back here.

If I stopped to count all of the ways I thought Falin was an amazing character we'd be here all day, but very briefly I find her arc and her interesting liminal role in Dungeon Meshi's narrative super compelling, and I find her characterization very, very relatable, and not entirely in a way that reflects well on me.

But as a *dragon.*

As a DRAGON

Falin is still one of the best to ever do it. The original Red Dragon is a very cool and pivotal part of Dungeon Meshi, and I love that too, but when Falin is fused with it by Thistle we get what is just honestly one of the most memorably bitchin character designs of all time, a ludicrously hot capital MG Monster Girl, and a huge driving force for the rest of the story. Not to mention Ryoko Kui clearly put a ton of thought into how she would work, since a key flaw in her design (so to speak) is what eventually leads to her being saved. I love her to pieces, and the form Falin finally gets at the very end of the story is honestly super cool-looking too! Although it's less dragonny than this one.

The Dragon, from "Dragon"

headspace-hotel's "Dragon" is one of my favorite poems of all time. It's easily the best tumblr post, and while I don't read a ton anymore, it's definitely one of my favorite overall pieces of literature.

I realize that being so brief in the top entry makes this a little anticlimactic, but I can't bring myself to rob the poem of its impact. I linked it there, so please go read it. More than anything else on this list, it's made me think. Beyond simply thinking it's an absolutely great piece of work (which it is), it's very meaningful to me. A reminder that the danger is still present in our time.

Some honorable mentions: the rest of the Dungeon Meshi dragons, every dragon from the Souls series and from Elden Ring, Paarthurnax from Skyrim, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Godzilla, Beast Machines Megatron, and Odious, the Green Dragon who turns into a giant d20 that I bought from Hasbro Pulse a year or so ago.

#yurisorcerer answers #this is honestly one of the best asks I've ever gotten thank you for sending it #Dungeon Meshi #spoilers #pokemon #Magic the Gathering #Dungeons & Dragons #headspace-hotel #dragons

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jangmo-othewarrior · 8 months

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DMC Questions Anon here!

Create a crossover! What is Devil May Cry crossing over with? How does it work? How do the characters from each world interact with the characters from the other?

Look, ya'll see my username, u know I'm gonna go with Pokémon.

specifically I'm thinking about pokemon naturally existing within the human realm, and demons are almost entirely separate from them. So all of the human characters have pokemon partners, with some exceptions.

All of the Spardas have a pseudo-legendary, and Dante specifically has Tyranitar. I wanted this line specifically because this species is known for causing a lot of damage, but have also been shown to be very sweet and protective if need be. It really fits Dante's 'don't come near me, I'm dangerous' mindset until Patty climbs all over it and it utterly adores her. It's also a hugger, so much so that Dante actively lets himself get poked to Hell because it looks sad.

As for Vergil, I'm going with the Salamence line. It's a very interesting line, having a goal-driven lizard eventually achieve that goal in the final stage. Vergil would have a hard time working with his partner, especially in 3 (where it would be a Bagon), because demons don't have pokemon partners. He leaves Bagon with Dante when he falls into Hell, thinking that the pokemon would not be able to survive there. It would stay with Dante for decades after that, until finally reuniting with Vergil as a Shelgon in DMC 5. It would take a bit, but it would eventually evolve after the boys got back from hell. Dante will forever lord the fact that his partner fully evolved before Vergil's (until Salamence smacks him with a Dragon Claw. Vergil approved.)

Nero would definitely have the Dragapult line! A dragon type (like Salamence) that has a large focus on family in its design whist also being completely unique from most other pseudos? Yeah, it's chock full of Nero vibes. The Dragapult evolution definitely only happened at the end of DMC 5, becuase the image of a Dragapult and DT Nero fighting with Silver Bullet in the bg is so fuckin sick. Also he was a Dreepy during DMC 4 and u need to know that he loved to sit on Nero's head or in his hoodie.

Patty next because propaganda. This one's up for grabs, but I think her first partner was a Dratini! Specifically one that kept showing up in the DMC office until Dante shoved it into Patty's arms. She's a Dragonair now, and often flies around the office just to annoy Dante. Also, shoutout to Patty for being the only human to get a pseudo because she's Dante's kid.

Trish didn't have a partner at first, since she was a demon. After going off on her own for a while, she ran into a Wattrel that kept using her motorcycle's wind to glide in the air. She found the little thing tenacious, and now there's a Kilowattrel half the size of Lady that perches in the DMC office rafters. It's high speed nature complements her fighting style rather well, along with the electricity.

Lady's partner is an extremely violent Scolipede. She really big and very venomous, so most regular people steer clear of her. She is also very tsundere, but actually doesn't mind when Dante or Trish are around. Lady takes great care of her, and often rides her in during jobs. Most people would tell you that's a horrible idea, but DMC employees are not normal people. Also Vergil was shot by one of her needles in DMC 3 when she was a Venipede, and now they are locked in a bitter rivalry. Lady thinks this is hilarious.

Nico is very happy with her Riolu partner, even if it was a gift from her dad when it was an egg. She doted on it very often, and even forced Rock to help her make a special egg warmer. When it did hatch, it quickly shared her interest in the art of metalworking and gunsmithing. Nowadays, he's Nico's assistant. He hasn't evolved yet, but Nico doesn't mind. He will when he's ready.

Kyrie's partner is a Sylveon, and a very caring one at that. Loves the kids, Kyrie, and Nero. Was an Eevee during DMC 4, and refused to leave Nero's side after Kyrie was kidnapped. Because of that, she is actually incredibly strong, so much so that Salamence was immediate put on edge when they met.

Some quick ones! Eva gave Sparda a Dieno when they met, and it was a very affectionate Hydregion during the boys' youth. Eva herself had a Alolan Ninetales, who was very protective of the boys and the baby pseudos. Both of these Pokemon are actually still alive in a rehabilitation center, although the boys don't know that rn. Morrison has an old Stoutland who can surprisingly handle battle quite well. Nina's partner is a very majestic and battle worn Kingdra, who is currently enjoying retirement. V did not have any pokemon, but he does talk about one he regrets leaving behind in the past....

And... that all their main partners! They actually have other pokemon as well, but these were just their first ones. As an example, Dante also has a Houndoom that he befriended in DMC 3 (as a Houndour) that knows a lot of bite moves. Why? King Cerberus rep for the mutual Coverage. Elemental coverage.

Thanks again DMC Questions anon! I really enjoyed this ask, even if I did flex my pokemon knowledge a bit please ask me questions I will write an essay to answer u-

#the pokemon brain got me again #also my wallet. I just purchased a plushie hammock to hold all of them #so ye!#this was great #Dantes larvitar is very sweet even if they sometimes need to go sicko mode #Also sdt Dante would bear hug his tyranitar u need to understand #also the connection to the pokemon represents something about humanity blah blah #vergil rejects his humanity so he gives up his partner for 20 years #blah blah finally accepting humanity allowed him to finally reconnect with sheidgon which allowed it to evolve #and Patty has a dratini because (violently points) PATTY-DANTE FTAHER DAUGHTER PROPAGANDA #anywho plz ask me questions i promise im normal #dmc questions anon #devil may cry #dmc #dmc dante #dmc 5 #dante sparda #nero dmc #dmc vergil #dmc 3 #vergil dmc #patty lowell #patty dmc #lady dmc #trish dmc #kyrie dmc #dmc nero

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steel--fairy · 1 year

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Character Headcanons #1

champions and the leadup to them becoming champions!

lance started his journey at 14, the traditional age in the dragon clan to let kids go out on journeys. they have to pass a certain test in order to receive a dragon type and he did (clair failed the first time rip). his first pokemon was a dratini ofc. he did all the johto gyms, beat the e4 and made champion rank, then went on to the kanto gyms (which i see as being a common thing among high level trainers from kanto and johto. you do your own region and make it to the champion level if you can then try the other 8 across the mountain). he travelled the world for a few years and after he returned, he joined the e4 at about 24ish and made his way up to being the leader of the e4. he was pretty content in that position but wasn't too upset to become sitting champion when red unexpectedly left.

steven became a trainer a bit older than most expect. he was content to travel and mine rocks and never really considered being a trainer until a bit after he turned 16 and his dad was like "well you're old enough to start learning how to take over from me someday : )" and steven was immediately like "actually i think im gonna try being a trainer I'll come back latermaybebye" and yeeted himself out of rustboro faster than you can say electrode. he ended up being very good at training which was just a bonus. shortly into his journey he learned about mega evolution and completely halted doing the hoenn gyms to yeet himself to kalos to learn about it properly. when he gets back he basically just. curbstomps everyone with the fairly unknown mega evolution ability and becomes champion at around 19ish.

wallace comes from a family thats very established in the contest circuit, with several older sisters who were all master ranks coordinators. he started young (10 or so) and very quickly rose to being a top coordinator in hoenn. however his older sisters all eventually stopped competing leaving him miles ahead of the rest. its very boring when you're basically just competing against yourself so he was like "well im going to try being a trainer now : )" at 16ish and was instantly successful at that too. it also scratched his competitive itch a bit better, especially when he became a gym trainer (and later gym leader) for juan as he liked the challenge of trying to fit his team to the challengers level. it got even better when this one guy managed to absolutely destroy everyone in the gym despite having a pretty severe type disadvantage and they became best friends and rivals : ) as for being champion, he takes over from steven shortly after the whole team magma-aqua fiasco.

cynthia had a very protagonist like journey. she set out at 12ish with her gible, got a pokedex from prof rowan and set about filling it (though she had already gotten a badge or two by the time she ran into rowan), had some grand adventure, became champion very young (13 or so) and has held onto her title ever since.

alder is super interesting to think about because he's old lol i imagine that the unova league was still fairly newish at that point in time so the concept of going to a gym to battle was very thrilling and unique, though not everyone thought it was a good thing. alder started his journey pretty young (13ish?) and took his sweet time doing the challenge as he just loved exploring so much. he only became champion at like 18 or 19 and not because he was bad at battling. he was probably one of the first champions in unova and reigned for quite a few years. then of course his first partner volcarona died. he resigned from battling for a long while until pulled back in a bit before bw starts. the previous champion unexpectedly retired due to illness, and since they hadn't been ousted by battle, all the members of the pokemon league voted for a new champion. alder was fairly surprised when he got a call saying he was up for champion duties round 2 if he wanted them, but agreed to come back until a new champion won the title.

iris challenged alder and won : ) haha, she's just a bit too young to have as much history as the others lol she wasn't ever a gym leader, but she did work as a gym trainer for her grandpa which was great practice.

diantha came from a rich family who wanted her to focus more on her acting career than battling but diantha was insistent on taking time off to try the gym challenge. (her parents were mortified. it's one thing to have a few leisurely battles at the battle maison where you can make connections but to join the rabble in the gym challenge? eugh.) but her parents bought her a specially bred ralts and off she went. she was young enough (14 or so) but by that point she had a decent acting career which led to her being noticed every so often. she quickly became champion (diantha's good and kalos doesn't exactly have a strong battling culture) which caused a huuuuuge argument between her and her parents who were still very stage parenting her.

leon is like cynthia. he was basically another little 10 year old protagonist prodigy who quickly rose to the top. but for some hc's, he got his sponsorship from kabu. motostoke was the closest gym so he and sonia took the train there to ask for it. kabu, as most gym leaders do, asked for a battle to see if they were good enough and was blown away by leon's already evident skill with his charmander.

#pokemon #pokemon headcanons #steven stone #champion cynthia #champion lance #champion iris #champion leon #champion diantha #champion wallace #champion alder #how do you tag pkmn characters!!!! i hate being in fandoms where charas have only one name #also no geeta until we get dlc and potentially learn more ab her....#pie has hcs

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luimagines · 10 months

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You know, I had a thought. So originally I was going to suggest a few flying types for Sky to have, but then I remembered something. Dragons, he was blessed by dragons in his era, right? So what if dragons types just flock to him? Like I'd love for him to have a Dratini. Or Altaria works as well, cause imagine all the naps he could have on the fluffy bird/dragon!

Ooooo! Good choices!

Dragonite would also be fitting. Powerful in it's own right but no one really expects much of it.

The kind of pokemon that would allow other to their guards down around him- for better or worse. Like Sky! :D

That being said- I am also aware that there are better options ^.^*

But I love him.

#pinky replies #pokemon trainer! reader #i know it's not technically legedary #internet calls it pseudo legendary #but he's so friend shaped #he should be loved too

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adobe-outdesign · 9 months

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Magikarp/gyarados review? 🐟🎏🐉

Magikarp is everyone's favorite useless fish, and it does a pretty damn good job at being a Useless Fish. I think the eyes really get this across well—this is a creature that absolutely only has a single brain cell bouncing around in there like a game of Pong, all right.

Visually, the design is pretty simple, but it does what it needs to. Like I said, the expression is spot-on, and the open mouth also adds something to it. The whiskers are nice, both carp-like but also reminiscent of eastern dragons, and the body has a distinctive bony shape that'll become even more prominent when it evolves into Gyarados.

The only thing that bugs me about it is the pink mouth; it looks disturbingly fleshy and adds another color that isn't needed. White or yellow would've worked much better. Also, I don't really think the lines under the bottom of the head were needed, but that's a very minor thing.

(Also, side note: this isn't needed in any capacity, but Magikarp was given some pretty neat patterns in the Magikarp Jump game. Some of them are completely different colors and look a bit too much like shinies, but the more koi-like ones are really cool and I wouldn't mind seeing them in an official game.)

The whole concept of a fundamentally weak and useless Pokemon evolving into something badass and powerful is a great concept, and Gyarados pulls it off very well. It's also a nod to the Chinese legends about how carp that managed to jump over waterfalls would become dragons, so that adds another layer to it. It's also probably based in part off of windsocks, hence the water/flying typing (keep in mind that in Gen 1, the dragon type was still considered to be rare and mythical).

Visually, I think Gyarados does a good job looking more powerful without being completely disassociated from it's pre-evo. Similar to the Dratini line, people seem to think the two stages have nothing in common, which isn't true at all. They both have:

"Lips" and wide open mouths

Whiskers

Three-pronged fin structures on the back

The fins near the head having an edge at the top and the tail having two edges

Segmenting of the body

A bony, rigid body structure

Gyarados changes color and gains a more serpentine body, but the visual elements and overall design remain shockingly similar so you can stop trying to say Gyarados and Dragonite were flipped just because Gyarados is long and blue, seriously if I see that "theory" one more time I am going to go apeshit on someone

Visually, you can definitely tell that this is a powerful Pokemon, and I love the shapes and detailing around the head. The repetition of the body segments helps to create a pattern, simplifying what would otherwise be a complex design.

The only nitpick I have is that it's strange that the whiskers are positioned under the head instead of by the mouth, which isn't a big deal but is hard to unsee once you see it. Also, the three prongs on the head would've worked better in cream or white. Otherwise, I have no complaints.

Gyarados also has a mega for no real reason, though at least with this one you can't argue it would've been better as a regular evo, as that would've defeated the point of the Entire Everything.

I don't think it adds much to the line, but the design itself isn't terrible. I do actually really like the massive back fins, which pop nicely and instantly gives a focus point to the design. Other than that, most of the design is just exaggerating things already on base Gyarados—longer whiskers, longer head ornament, long head fins, extra body fins, etc., which works to make it look more powerful.

However, I do have a few issues with it. Adding two colors to a previously two-color design feels like a bit much, and all three colors are too low contrast. I think the black was added to try to haphazardly justify the dark typing, but all the black areas could easily be cream/red without losing anything. Alternatively, making the red areas cream would've helped with the contrast; I'm not sure why they're there anyway, other than a tenuous connection to Magikarp. Here's a quick edit to show what I mean (original on left):

Also, it actually has two giant back fins. When I first saw it I thought it had one, and frankly I think that would look just as good but would've cut down on the clutter a bit. It doesn't look too bad from a side angle, but it's a bit much from the front:

I'm also not big on the two extra tail fins, as the bottom set interrupts the flow a bit (they're also more rounded than the main fins; some consistency would've been nice), and the spike under the chin feels random. Everything else, however, works well enough for what they were going for, and it's at least an interesting albeit pointless take on the original design.

Anyway, overall: the concept of a weak Pokemon suddenly getting super strong upon evolution is a good one, and this line handles it well. Magikarp is endearingly useless, and Gyarados has good contrast with it while still looking like they belong together. The mega isn't quite as good, but it's still a solid enough design as a whole minus some clutter and odd color choices.

#magikarp #gyarados #mega gyarados #pokemon #pokemon reviews #outdesign attempts to edit

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sunnixsunshine · 1 year

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Hehe, hoohoo my hdhd made me draw some silly little guys >:3c lmao i couldnt focus much last night and just drew whatever idea popped into my head first, which was was 12 year old Hassel, Brassius, and Larry. Some headcanons under the cut :)

Hassel

He is not a natural blond. Yeah he dyes his hair, no shame to it though. When he ran away at 15, that's when he starts to dye his hair. Sort of as a way to further separate himself from his old life. He would also experiment with strips of color, but as he got older he stuck with plain blond.

His starter was an Axew, who still serves on his team as a Haxorus. He's affectionately named him Siegfried. He's raised Siegfried since he was an egg, a tradition in his family. He also caught himself a Dratini with the help of Siegfried, which he named Ezra. Ezra remains on his team to this day, now fully evolved into a Dragonite.

Brassius

Pretransition Brassius wore so much baggy clothes at this age. Many, MANY hoodies. Cargo pants and jeans a size too big so he'd have a sag and would have to wear a belt too. Made him feel comfortable. He's lucky his mom was understanding enough to just assume he liked how loose it felt and not pester him into telling him the real reason. He would come out to his mom eventually, and she would support him every step of the way, but at this point he wasn't ready. He took on the gym challenge, but stopped half way due to getting way too focused on a sculpture...

The first pokemon he ever caught was at the age of nine, and it was a Sunkern. He never named her himself, but his mom called her Sunshine or Sunny often as a nickname. This Sunkern would grow into a Sunflora, who would unfortunately fall ill to a common illness amongst grass types and pass away during the worst slumps of Brassius' life, sending him deeper into a depressive art block. She became one of inspirations for Brassius' most viewed and well known art work, Surrendering Sunflora. Brassius would vow not to use another Sunflora, or Sunkern, on his team ever out of respect for his fallen friend.

Larry

If you asked any other trainer taking part in the Unovan gym challenge, they'd tell you they had no idea Larry was even taking part. He didn't exactly put too much effort into battling the gyms or passing trainers. He only really started the challenge to level up his then Staravia. Which he then thought would give them both a better advantage in playing baseball together. He ending up dropping the challenge all together after gym number five as at this point baseball season had started. It was his number one priority afterall. Later in life, he wouldn't revisit the challenge but he would battle passing trainers more.

His Staravia had been by his side since he was a Starly. He had just turned seven when his uncle gifted him the Starly after a business trip to Sinnoh. He wouldnt have a name until two years later is when Larry taught him the TM Swift; so his name is Swift. Very clever, very creative. Such a big brain this kid has. Everyone hand him the ribbon for most creative person on the planet.

#ignore their anatomy it was like midnight when i drew this lmao duensi #pokemon #pokemon fanart #pokemon scarvi #gym leader brassius #gym leader larry #elite four larry #elite four hassel #staravia #sunkern #axew #pokemon headcanons

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