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philsdrill · 7 years

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Chapter 16: Not What You Want for Your Birthday

Fic Summary: “Everyone had a link with their soulmates, some could hear some of their partners thoughts, some had a tattoo that would appear with their partners name; for me, I knew when they got sick.” For a while Phil has thought that his soulmate might have an eating disorder and doesn’t expect to meet him in the restaurant where he works.

Genre: a lot of fluff, recovery, really fucking domestic, waiter!Phil

Warnings: eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, hospitals, panic attacks, references to past abuse, mentions of suicide, a lot of awkwardness, small amounts of smut. This is potentially triggering so for your own sake, please think twice about reading if anything this might affect you.

Disclaimer: I don’t have personal experience with eating disorders, but have done some research. If I have anything about them wrong, feel free to send me an ask and I’ll sort it out.

Word Count (for this part): 6.8k

[Uploads will be approximately every couple of weeks! (hopefully)]

A/N: Announcement - I have a new sideblog, @philsdrill-updates, where I will post only about updates for this fic, so if you want a notification when I update, you can turn on notifications for the blog if you want! Also, next chapter should be sooner rather than later, as I’ve actually written it. This was going to be 11k, but I’ve decided to split it in two (thanks to those who helped me decide). Anyway, enjoy!

MASTERPOST

<= Previous Chapter

When the morning arrived, we found another thing for the day’s to-do list. As well as constructing our bed and phoning Dan’s parents, we would also have to go shopping. We’d had no milk for days, and now we were out of bread too. We were almost at the stage of having ice cream for breakfast, but not quite.

We made a trip to Tesco, something that I think Dan and I had only done together once. Usually we used the online ordering system, from the days when the amount of food in the supermarket would be too much for him to cope with. Today, he was feeling up to it, and it would be easier for us to get all of the things we needed without forgetting something.

As we made our way around the shop, I thought about what we would eat for lunch. For days we had been eating the odds and ends we had left in the fridge and freezer, but now we had the opportunity to eat something decent. I’d missed cooking over the last few days, and was excited to get back into the habit of it. I picked up some chicken breasts from the meat aisle, with the intention of coating them, frying them and then using it as a sandwich filler. It would make a change from pre-packaged ham.

We picked up most of the things from our usual weekly shop, and it was just after I had found the KitKats that I noticed Dan spacing out a little.

“You okay?” I asked him, bringing the trolley to a stop next to the Doritos and studying his expression.

“Yeah, this is just a little overwhelming,” he told me, “Too many sweets, too many kinds of potatoes… just…”

“Okay,” I said calmly, “I just need to pick up some new socks and then we can leave.”

I rested one hand on the small of Dan’s back and started to control the trolley with one hand. The excuse of me needing new socks was really just to get him out of the aisles full of food, but now that I thought about it, I realised that I seemed to have lost a number of them recently.

I brought the trolley to a stop in front of the display of socks and picked out a couple of pairs. Dan seemed to be a bit more focused on the world now, so I could tell he was okay, but I thought we should go home. He didn’t seem like he was about to have a panic attack or anything, but then, we never knew.

“Okay, that’s us,” I said, “Anything you’re needing or shall we go to the checkout?”

“I’m good,” Dan said, and started to wander in the direction of the checkouts.

I went ahead of him with the trolley, picked the checkout with the shortest queue, and started to unload the stuff onto the conveyor belt. Dan did help, but he had clearly given me the leading role. I felt a bit like a Dad in the situation, where I was the one speaking to the cashier and loading most of the bags, while Dan was the kid who helped out a little, but mainly stood quietly by the trolley.

However, in Dan helping to pack the bags, there were moments when I was by the trolley and Dan was next to the cashier. She was a lovely lady, who made pleasant small talk and would slow down to let us keep up. As the last few items came through, I was lifting another full bag into the trolley.

“Do you need another bag?” the lady asked Dan.

When Dan didn’t reply, I looked up from the trolley. Dan seemed to be staring into space and the cashier looked over at him, puzzledly.

“Yes please,” I replied, coming over to stand next to Dan.

I nudged his arm gently to bring him back to earth, while I filled the last bag. Dan noticed my nudge, looked a bit dazed, and then wandered back towards the trolley. I passed him the last bag to put in it, and then got my card out to pay.

“Is your friend okay?” the cashier asked me quietly, “He seems a little out if it.”

“He has anxiety,” I told her, not really knowing what else to say, “I think he just needs to get out of here.”

“Okay,” she nodded, not showing any understanding but smiling and passing me my receipt and vouchers, “On you go.”

I pushed the trolley to the car, with Dan lingering by my side. He wasn’t saying a lot, but then he could be quite a quiet person by nature. I brought the trolley to a stop behind my car, unlocked it, and opened up the boot.

“Can I go and sit in the car while you load it?” Dan asked, his voice sounding a little nervous.

“Yeah sure,” I told Dan, knowing that something wasn’t quite right, but not wanting to ask him in this open environment.

I quickly filled up the boot and parked the trolley, and before long I was climbing into the driver’s seat, next to Dan.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him, once I had the door shut.

“Nothing, I just… there was a moment where I just got freaked out by the amount of food and I’m fine now, I just needed out of there,” he said, stumbling over his words a little.

“Okay,” I nodded, reaching over and taking his hand, which was trembling a little, “Do you want a drink of water or anything?”

“Did we buy some?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said, stretching behind me into the backseat, where I had put one of the six-packs of bottled water.

I brought the packet forwards, opened it and passed Dan a bottle. I put the rest of them back behind me, and looked at Dan, who was taking small sips of the water, but looking relatively calm. I made sure he was good to go, before starting the car and heading back towards home.

–

After putting the shopping away, we started on constructing our bed. It was relatively simple, but due to its size, it took quite a while. We stopped for our fried chicken sandwiches at lunchtime, and I was grateful for the relaxing break that cooking gave me. We finished the bed after lunch, at about three o’clock.

We both lay down on the now completed bed and had a discussion about our plan for later, with our meal out. We decided on exactly which restaurant we were going to, and I called to book a table. I maybe should’ve booked a little earlier in the day, as we had to go for a time that was a little later than ideal; it just meant that I wouldn’t have time to come home before heading to the restaurant where I worked.

Dan and I were both tired, and we could fit in a little nap before going out, but we had one last thing to do first. Call Dan’s parents and see when Adam could come up.

We sat on the bed, with Dan’s phone between us. He made the call and put the phone on speaker so we could both communicate.

After the initial ‘hello’s and ‘how are you’s, we got down to the question, “Now that we’ve moved house and have a spare room, we were thinking we could have Adam up to stay for a few days. We thought it would be good for him and he seemed to like the idea when we spoke a few days ago. When would be good?”

Dan’s parents discussed for a minute or two, and I even heard Adam’s voice in the background. Shouldn’t he be in school? I guess things weren’t too good for him at the moment.

“Would Monday be too soon?” Dan’s mum asked us, “He could come then and stay for the week? It’s the mid-term this coming weekend so he’ll be off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Monday anyway, and I think realistically he won’t be in school this Monday or Tuesday.”

Dan and I looked at each other and began to nod slowly, both of us agreeing that that was fine.

“That’s fine,” Dan told them, cheerily, “We’ll get the place organised for then. Give us details of his train when you have them.”

We spoke about a few more technical aspects to his visit, but soon we were ending the call with a promise to speak soon.

Dan let out a sigh of relief, “I’m glad that’s organised.”

I set an alarm on Dan’s phone, then we both lay down for a nap. We’d had a long morning, and we were going to need our energy for later. After our meal, I had work, and we were hoping that we’d have the energy for a little intimate time when I got home. Things had been stressful of late and we both needed the release.

–

Dan’s POV:

When we awoke from our nap, Phil and I agreed to take separate showers, knowing we were both lowkey too horny to be in such a steamy environment together. We took a bathroom each, and each got ourselves ready for our date.

It was strange to think, that after being together for all these months, this was our first time going out to a restaurant together. I was a little bit nervous, but I knew I would be fine with Phil by my side.

We arrived at the restaurant, and were very quickly taken to our table. Phil made small talk with the waiter, and even managed to tell the waiter that he was a waiter himself.

After gandering over the menu for a while, Phil and I decided on what we were going to order. We’d share a starter of garlic bread with mozzarella, each have our own main course: creamy Spaghetti Carbonara for Phil and tomatoey Spaghetti al Forno for myself. Neither of us could drink, with me driving and Phil working, so we each ordered a soft drink; Phil went for a bottle of Coke, while I just asked for some tap water. We wouldn’t have to commit to having pudding until later, which was perfectly fine by me.

The garlic bread was nice, but I restricted myself to one piece and let Phil have the other two. I wanted to be able to eat most of my main course. I’d ordered the smaller ‘Starter Portion’, but I still had a feeling that I was going to struggle.

Phil and I had made the agreement not to talk about anything stressful over dinner. The subjects of house moving, anxiety, illness and my brother’s soulmate issues were all off the cards, unless of course something came up and we had to speak about them.

We spoke about more simple matters, light-hearted conversation that seemed perfect for a date, without making things too serious.

We briefly discussed the weekend, and how the plan was to go to Phil’s parents house on Saturday, have our evening meal, then stay over into Sunday. I again asked Phil if he knew what we’d be eating, but he wasn’t able to tell me much more than the last time.

“My mum says it’s a surprise,” Phil told me, “But she says she kept you in mind, when deciding on it. She won’t tell me, but if you want to speak to her on the phone, she might tell you.”

“I might do that,” I told him, “It’s not that I don’t trust her, I’d just rather know.”

When had finished our main courses, and the dessert menu came around, I made the decision to stop where I was. There was only so much food by body could handle, and I felt I was already a bit too close to that limit. However, I persuaded Phil that he should order a pudding, that I shouldn’t hold him back from having something that he loved.

When Phil’s ice cream sundae arrived, he asked the waiter if we could have a second spoon. I could see Phil was going to offer me a little bit, and I felt that I could accept his offer as long as it wasn’t too much. Phil did offer me some ice cream, and while I didn’t have a lot, I did enjoy my little sample.

We finished the meal off with a coffee, or rather a latte for Phil and a hot chocolate for myself. I wasn’t going to risk having any coffee induced anxiety to put a downer on our night, I’d have to make do with the energy from our nap.

Phil paid the bill, giving the waiter a tip, and we made our way out of the restaurant, feeling satisfied and full of food. There was a slight anxious feeling in the back of my mind, but I knew what I’d eaten wasn’t particularly unhealthy, and that I was allowed to treat myself from time to time.

Having a little time to spare before Phil’s work, we took a walk around a nearby park together to get some fresh air, a pleasant thing to do after being in warm restaurant full of food smells. Although a little cold, it was peaceful, and just what I needed to ease my mind. Phil and I held hands as we strolled around, and may have partaken in the cheesy romantic fantasy of kissing against a tree next to a stream.

As I drove Phil to his work, I reminded myself that our night wasn’t over yet. We’d have more time together when Phil came home, and we’d made an agreement about what we’d be doing. Obviously, if something changed and one of us was too tired, we’d put it off until the morning, but everything was looking good; Phil and I were well rested and we were looking forward to later on. I could certainly feel the lust in my veins, recently having found myself aroused by the smallest things.

I dropped Phil off at his restaurant, pressing another kiss to his cheek before he got out of the car. I told him I loved him, and reminded that I’d see him in a few hours, when I came to pick him up.

I drove Phil’s car back to our flat, and parked it in our assigned space. I made my way up to the second floor alone and let myself into our flat. I occupied myself with a bit of unpacking and tidying for a while, but I was distracted. I knew what Phil and I were planning when he came back, and I wanted to do a little preparation.

It had been a while since Phil and I did anything in that department, and I knew I would be way too tight to stretch quickly. To make things easier for both of us later on, I was going to get myself prepped a little in advance. After a bit of searching through boxes to find what I was looking for, I eventually made my way to Phil and I’s bedroom, armed with a dildo, some lube and a towel I didn’t mind getting a little messy.

I started with my fingers, coating them liberally in the slippery substance and slowly pushing in and apart. It was a very slow process, as I’d predicted, and it took a while before I found myself feeling comfortable enough to take something bigger. I was humming and hawing about using the dildo, knowing that I did risk getting carried away when I wanted to save myself for later. Eventually I decided that I would go for it, let myself adjust to the stretch, then take it out and leave things there.

I lowered myself onto it, biting my lip as the stretch was a little more than I’d expected. Eventually I bottomed out, and all I wanted to do was start fucking myself on it, but I mustered all my self control and kept still, saving myself for Phil. Another wave of arousal struck me, and I knew I had to take it out and distance myself from the idea. I slowly pulled the toy back out, and lay it to the side on the towel. I took a few deep breaths and stood up from the bed to retrieve my underwear.

I’d just pulled my boxers back up when suddenly my head felt a little fuzzy. I suddenly felt really really anxious and I didn’t know why.

I sank to the floor; I think I may have forgotten how to stand as my mind was elsewhere. After talking a few deep breaths and focusing on what was going on in my head, I realised that I was worrying about Phil.

Was Phil sick?

Phil never got sick though; I hadn’t felt anything through our bond since I was about eight. The more I tried to recall that time, I started to realise that this was how it felt.

So was Phil sick?

I guess we’d never quite got to the bottom of him feeling ill before we moved; maybe it was connected.

Suddenly I realised there was only really one way to figure out if he was okay. I got up, grabbed my phone from the bedside table and called Phil.

As the phone rang, I pulled my t-shirt back on, knowing that I may have to go and pick Phil up if this was what I thought. I froze and paid my utmost attention to the phone when I heard Phil pick up.

“Dan?” Phil answered, his voice sounding rough and a little shaky, almost immediately confirming my suspicions.

“Phil, I felt it; you’ve been sick, right?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Phil said, his voice trembling and catching in his throat, “I wasn’t feeling good so Chris is taking care of my tables and I came back to the break room and now -”

Phil paused, and over the phone I heard a bit of what sounded like him throwing up. He let out a pained moan and sighed.

“I’m getting ready to come and pick you up,” I told Phil, putting the phone on speaker and putting on a pair of joggies and some shoes.

“T-thanks,” Phil responded, but sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

“Try and keep yourself together for me,” I told him, “Should I bring a bucket?”

A hesitant ‘maybe’ from Phil was all I needed to know that the answer was yes. I kept him on the line so I could hear how he was doing, grabbed the bucket and my keys and made my way down to the car.

I had to end the call to drive there, but I told Phil I’d be there in five minutes. He choked out something about me finding either Chris or his manager and one of them would take me to him.

I made my way to the restaurant as fast as I safely and legally could. I was worried about Phil, and needed to be by his side as quickly as possible. I got hit by a particularly strong wave of worry after turning into the main road, and found myself struggling to pay attention to the road.

I didn’t really want to, but I pulled over to let it pass, knowing that if I kept going, I would be in a lot of danger. I took a couple of deep breaths, feeling a little nauseous myself. It hurt to know that Phil was struggling so much and I couldn’t be there with him.

Once I felt a little calmer, I started the car back up and continued on my way. I felt some relief come over me as I turned into the restaurant car park, knowing that Phil wasn’t far away now.

I pulled into the disabled space right next to the building, because fuck it, Phil was really sick and wouldn’t be up for walking very far.

I leapt out of the car, locked it and headed towards the door, not caring about my horrendously untidy parking. I doubted I’d be here long enough for anyone to complain.

Heading into the restaurant, I spotted Phil’s boss standing by the 'please wait here to be seated’ sign. I made my way over to him, ready with my question about Phil. He was probably ready for me to enquire about getting a table, but I was about to throw him off his routine.

“Hi, I’m Dan, Phil’s soulmate,” I introduced myself, “Could you take me to him?”

“Yeah, Chris told me he wasn’t feeling too good, so he’s back in the breakroom,” he said, gesturing for me to follow him, “Did he call you?”

“No I called him,” I told him, “I felt it through our bond.”

“From what I heard from Phil, I thought it was just when the other threw up, not just…” he paused, “Oh wait, has he thrown up?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, “And more than once. I’m guessing you’ve got a toilet back there?”

“Yeah we do,” he said, looking a little perplexed, “Do you know what’s wrong? Do you think he’s picked up a stomach bug from somewhere? Sorry to sound arrogant but hygiene is very important here.”

“I’m pretty confident this is connected to him being ill last week, and whatever’s wrong, he’s not contagious because I’m absolutely fine,” I told him, “And I completely understand why you’re asking.”

“Okay good,” he said, looking relieved.

“I’m starting to wonder if it’s a food allergy or something,” I explained, as we walked through a door marked ‘staff only’ at the back of the restaurant, “Because he seems to feel ill sometimes after he’s eaten, but he’s been fine for a couple of days. I’m going to take him to the doctor, probably tomorrow unless he’s really bad.”

“Could you find someone else to take his shift tomorrow?” I asked him, “I somehow don’t think he’ll be up for it.”

“Yeah, sure,” Phil’s boss replied, “I’ll get someone organised, can’t have him working like this.”

He pushed open a door, which lead into what was clearly the staff breakroom and cloakroom area. There were coat hooks, lockers, and a number of tables and chairs. At one side of the room, there were two doors labelled as toilets.

I followed the manager across to the door with a mens’ symbol on it. The door creaked open as he pushed it, and he called out Phil’s name, “Phil?”

A rough sounding ‘yeah?’ came from the end cubicle, and I heard Phil shuffling around a little.

“Dan’s here,” he said, “I’d better get back to the front desk, so I’ll leave you two to it. I hope you feel better soon.”

The boss left, and I wandered over to just outside of the toilet door.

“Phil?” I asked timidly, “Do you want to let me in?”

“Yeah, just give me a minute,” Phil replied.

I heard the toilet roll spin round and rip a couple of times, then the toilet flush. Phil then opened the door, whilst still sitting on the floor. I entered the cubicle and crouched down next to him. He was resting his head on the wall next to the toilet, and he looked incredibly pale.

“You’ve been sick, what, three times?” I asked him.

Phil nodded, “I still feel like I’m going to throw up again though.”

I gently rested my hand on Phil’s back, “You can have as long here as you need, but I’ve got a bucket in the car so we can get you home when you’re ready.”

“S-stay a bit longer,” Phil stammered.

“Sure thing,” I said, slowly rubbing my hand up and down his back.

“I think I either ate something bad or something didn’t agree with me,” Phil groaned, rubbing his stomach.

“Yeah,” I nodded, “It might not be, but I think this could be connected to how you felt before we moved. Like I think there’s something you’re eating that you’re maybe allergic to or something.”

“You think?” Phil asked, “But what? I tried not eating some things but it didn’t make a difference.”

“I think we should take you to the Doctor tomorrow and see if we can get the answer to that,” I told him, “But for now I think we should get you home to your own toilet and bed.”

“Yeah,” Phil nodded miserably.

“You want to get up and go then?” I asked him, “D'you think you’ll be able to keep the rest of the contents of your stomach in there until we get outside?”

“Hopefully,” Phil told me, “But can I get a hand up?”

I got up, then helped Phil to his feet. I brought my arms firmly around his waist to steady him, and we walked out into the sink area.

Phil wearily washed his hands, and I splashed some water onto his face, wiping some residue from his chin. After I’d washed and dried my hands, he returned to my side like a lost puppy, tired and barely able to stand on his own.

“You good to go?” I asked Phil, bringing my arm around his shoulders.

“I guess,” he said, “Can we go out the back door though? I don’t want to walk through the restaurant, feeling like this.”

“Sure,” I nodded, “You’ll need to show me the way though.”

Phil and I turned towards the back of the restaurant as we came out the room. We passed a number of doors, one of which was open and led into the kitchen. We hurried past this one as the food smells were a bit much, making Phil retch and clamp a hand over his mouth.

Phil pushed open the back door and hurried outside, bending over next to the wall and holding his stomach and his throat. Despite looking like he was about to, Phil didn’t throw up, and managed to take a few deep breaths and stand up straight again.

I helped Phil over to the car, which was fortunately just about as close as it could be. I opened the passenger door for him and let him get in, before handing him the bucket I’d brought.

“Let’s hope you don’t need that,” I said to him, “But it saves your car getting messy if you do.”

I went around the car and got back into the driver’s seat. I started the car, and started back home. Phil was next to me, clutching the bucket for dear life, looking very uncomfortable. There were a couple of speed bumps on the road into our apartments, which I hadn’t particularly taken any note of before now. I drove carefully over both, but the second one was too much for Phil, resulting in him making use of the bucket after all.

I kept going, pulling into our parking space less than a minute later, where I was finally able to comfort Phil. He wasn’t coping too well, choking out tears and strangled words.

“I feel so ill,” he cried, “Make it stop. I feel sick going over speed bumps at the best of times, but I just…”

“Phil, it’s okay,” I told him, trying to comfort him as he was panicking, “You’re going to be okay. Let’s go upstairs and get you some medicine and some water. We’ll go to the doctors tomorrow. Tonight probably won’t be great, but we’ll get to the bottom of this soon.”

Phil nodded, wiping tears away from his eyes and sniffling a little. I got out of the car and headed round to the other side to help him out. It was scary how my usually strong and happy Phil, was now trembling and in tears. I wish this didn’t have to happen to him. This time it was me helping him up the stairs to our flat, him being the weak one in the situation, the one who needed the support of his soulmate to lean on.

I helped the shaking Phil out of his work clothes and into some pyjamas; my first priority was getting him comfortable, so he didn’t have to get up again in five minutes. I got him to sit down in bed with his bucket while I fetched some medicine. I had to hastily move my things from earlier out of the way, but not without Phil noticing.

“Oh god, you were getting all prepared and everything, I’m sorry,” Phil blurted.

“Yeah, I was,” I admitted, “Don’t worry about it though. You’re ill; I can wait.”

I found the tablets that Phil had sneakily got from the pharmacy, and a bottle of water. I brought them to him, and sat by his side as he took them.

“Hopefully, those will help you feel better,” I said, putting an arm around him and getting ready to stay with him for a while.

His symptoms didn’t seem to be easing much after half an hour, and I made the decision to get him some paracetamol to try and ease the pain. He had adopted a variety of different positions over the last thirty minutes, and his current one was laying on his side, with his arms wrapped around his stomach, a look of intense discomfort on his face.

After Phil took the paracetamol,a thought struck me. Would some food disagreeing with him really put him in this much pain? Could it be something more serious like appendicitis? Or a stomach ulcer like I’d had?

Was there a way I could figure out the difference? Should I take him to hospital? It wasn’t something I wanted to have to do, but then, I didn’t really know what to do.

Phil let out another grunt of pain - the paracetamol was yet to kick in - when a thought crossed my mind. Who would’ve dealt with Phil being ill many more times than I had? His mum.

Despite technically being an adult myself, I was still young, and there were still times I needed help from someone older and more experienced with the things life throws at us. I took Phil’s phone from his bedside table, and informed him that I was going to call his mum. He tried to protest at that, but he didn’t really have the energy to utter anything more than a simple 'no’.

“Hi Phil,” Phil’s mum greeted as she picked up the phone.

“It’s Dan,” I told her.

I don’t know if it was something in the tone of my voice, or whether it was because I was calling rather than Phil, but she immediately noticed that something was up.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“N-not really,” I stuttered, feeling my own panic rising in my throat, “Phil’s really sick and I’ve given him medicine but he doesn’t really seem better, and I’ve just given him paracetamol because his stomach hurts a lot but I’ve just thought, what if it’s something worse and I don’t know if I should take him to hospital or…”

“Dan,” she said, in a soothing motherly voice that made me feel a little better, “Keep doing what you’re doing, I’ll come over and see. I’ll be there in about ten minutes, okay?”

“Thanks,” I said, feeling a little less panicky now that I knew an adult who could help was on the way.

I hung up the call to Phil’s mum and returned to Phil’s side, “You’re mum’s coming over. I need someone to confirm I’m doing the right things.”

I took some deep breaths to calm myself down, running my hand through Phil’s soft, fluffy hair. He relaxed a little under my touch, so I kept at it, hoping he would start to feel better soon.

When Phil’s mum arrived, I got up to let her in, and spent a couple of minutes explaining the context of the situation: what Phil ate for dinner, how long ago it is was and how he’d been a bit ill before the move. We even spoke about the specifics such as how many times he’d vomited and whether he was displaying any other symptoms.

“Dan, you go and take a couple of minutes to yourself in the living room,” she suggested, “I’m going to go in and see him, but I want you to try and calm yourself down a little.”

I went to the living room but found myself pacing around, rather than trying to relax and calm down. What if it was something really serious and I just hadn’t picked up on it? I stopped myself and took a couple of deep breaths. He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. I tried to tell myself that, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe it. My throat felt tight, and I was starting to feel the slightly nauseous feeling that sometimes came with an anxiety attack.

I realised that I should take my anxiety relief tablets before things got worse; I had to stay strong for Phil. The only snag was they were in our en-suite bathroom, and getting to them meant interrupting Phil’s mum as she checked up on him.

Steeling myself with the knowledge that this was my house and I could go where I pleased, I pushed open the door and walked into our bedroom. Phil’s mum was sitting on the bed next to him, one hand resting on the lump in the duvet that was his leg.

“Sorry I just need to get my anxiety medication from the bathroom,” I rushed, explaining my intrusion.

I hurried into the bathroom, grabbed the tablets and hurried back through again. I took them to the kitchen, where I steadied myself against the counter as I filled myself a glass of water.

I downed the tablets and a few glugs of water, then forced myself to sit down on one of the sofas in the living room. I felt myself twitching, my anxiety wanting to get up and pace around and panic. I fought against it, trying to regulate my breathing while taking sips of water.

I was still shaking a bit when Phil’s mum came in, and I had adopted a blanket to wear as an extra layer.

“Dan, are you okay?” She asked, “Phil was concerned when you came in to get your…?”

“Anxiety medication,” I finished for her, “I’m fine, I’m just feeling a bit panicky and it’ll stop me getting worse. Is Phil okay? I’m worried and I was finding it difficult not to think the worst.”

“He doesn’t have a temperature, so that rules out a lot of things,” she told me, “I’ve spoken to him about it, and it seems likely that something he ate didn’t like him. I think you should take him to the doctor’s tomorrow and see if they can help figure out what’s happened. As for tonight, I think he’ll be okay; just keep an eye on him. Make sure that he’s breathing okay, because breathing difficulties could mean a serious allergy, but I think that would have sprung up already if it was an issue. If he gets worse, get him to the hospital and phone me, but I think he’s going to be fine.”

I nodded, feeling relief that she thought he was fine. I was still a little anxious, but it was nothing I couldn’t deal with.

“Are you going to be okay?” She asked me, “You don’t want me to stay over for support?”

“I’ll be fine,” I told her, “I just needed someone else’s opinion on what to do. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem,” she said, “Anytime, well hopefully that won’t be needed, but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” I laughed, “I’m going to back and see Phil, but do you want a cup of tea or anything?”

“Yeah, tea would be great, but I can help myself,” she told me, “I know you won’t want to leave Phil for too long.”

Thanking her for understanding, I headed for our bedroom. I slowly pushed open the door, and walked over to the bed, where Phil was now sitting up again.

“Hey,” I said to him, “Your mum thinks you’re okay too which is relieving.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I don’t feel it, but I trust her judgement. Are you okay? I was a bit worried when you rushed in for your anxiety stuff.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I told him, “I was just a bit worried and I could feel it coming and I didn’t want to have an anxiety attack.”

“I’d ask you to come here and I’d give you a hug, but you probably don’t want that as I’m all sick and gross,” Phil commented, laughing slightly.

“I don’t mind,” I said, hopping up onto the bed and sliding across to him, “Though you’re the one who needs the hug.”

I wrapped my arms loosely around Phil, still giving him the freedom to move if he needed to. He didn’t seem to relax particularly as I noticed he was still holding his bucket with a death grip.

“Relax,” I mumbled to him, “Being all tensed up isn’t going to help. Are you feeling any better?”

“I don’t feel so much like I’m going to throw up now,” he told me, “My stomach still feels all wobbly though.”

“Do you think we can put this bucket down then?” I asked him.

“I think so…” he said, a little uncertainly.

“Okay,” I said, taking it from him and lowering it to the floor next to the bed, “Tell me if you feel you need it again; we’ll keep it within reach.”

“Thanks,” Phil sighed, now leaning back against me tiredly.

I returned my arms to their position around Phil, and slid one up his shirt a little to rest on his stomach. I knew a cool hand sometimes made it feel a little better, but I wasn’t going any further, because the likes of a stomach massage would probably make him feel worse.

“What will we do about my birthday and Adam coming?” Phil asked, out of the blue.

“What about them?” I asked, a little confused.

“Like if I’m not better?” Phil explained.

“Your mum knows you’re sick; I’m sure all we’ll need to do is tell her if you’re not up for it,” I said, “And as for Adam; he won’t be coming until Monday and this is only Thursday, so you have plenty time to get better.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Phil agreed.

Phil’s mum suddenly poked her head around the door, “Either of you want tea?”

I looked to Phil first, before answering for myself, “We bought chamomile this morning; it might help your stomach a little?”

“Okay,” Phil nodded.

“Yeah if you could make us each a cup of chamomile tea, that would be great,” I told her, “No milk or anything though.”

Once Phil’s mum was away again, Phil snuggled further into me, “I’m really tired.”

“Yeah, we should get to bed once your mum leaves, I’m getting sleepy from my medicine too,” I admitted.

When Phil’s mum came back with the three cups of tea, we all sat and drank it together, Phil and I cuddled together at the top of the bed, and Phil’s mum sitting on a chair near the bottom. Phil seemed to be nursing his tea happily, it not having any negative effects. In fact, I’d say a little colour was starting to return to his cheeks.

I think Phil’s mum noticed that we were both tired, as, as soon as she’d finished her tea, she was saying that she’d better be off. I got up to let her out and lock up, but as soon as she was gone, I rejoined Phil in bed. We were both exhausted and happy to go to sleep straight away.

However, I had to do a couple of things first; I had to set an alarm for the morning, so that I could call the doctor’s and arrange Phil an appointment before anyone else got in there. I also made sure things were on hand if Phil got sick again in the night. The bucket remained on the floor next to his bed, and I made sure he had a glass of water on his bedside table.

Phil and I laid down, but I waited until he was asleep before letting myself shut my eyes. There was nothing worse than being alone and awake at night when you were ill. I’d been there many times myself, and knew that having someone watching over you was very comforting.

I refrained from holding Phil close, giving him some space in case he needed to get up. I shut my eyes and hoped with all my might that he would feel better tomorrow.

Next Chapter =>

#phanfiction #phanfic #phan #tw #phanfluff #phan fluff #soulmateau #soulmates #fanfic #waiter!phil #someday

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bigboobshaunt · 6 years

Text

Pokémon Z

I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone that I have my fair share of problems with Pokémon XY and I’ve had them since those games were released. A lot of things bother me about them, but mostly the plot and character aspects of it, as well as something or other about the gameplay.

So! As promised on my gaming sideblog, I took a lot of notes about Pokémon XY while I was replaying them as part of my Pokéthon, in which I’m currently revisiting every region in the main series, in order for me to compile a list of alternatives to its story and characters that might have better served the Kalos region if it had been done differently.

Now, these changes are going to follow the template for Gamefreak’s “third version” so yes, it’s going to bring Zygarde into the spotlight, and I recognize that every paired Pokémon games that eventually got a third version are a little disjointed, before getting improved by their re-release, but, spoiler alert: XY were even more so than usual, so that’s not an excuse by itself.

This does indeed mean this is pretty much “What I would have liked to have seen in a Z version” as was implied by the title. Yes, I am aware of the fact that it’s 2018. Making this made me acutely aware of how many damn plates they were juggling with this region all at once, which probably explains why they all fell to the floor and broke.

This is 10k words long and I’m dying.

When I said I took notes, I mean it in the most literal sense possible, so you’re going to see my commentary unfiltered sometimes, and then my commentary about my own commentary - I like talking even though I probably shouldn’t. Point being: this is not a complete rewrite, because I sure as hell am not being paid to do this, so it’s going to be more or less my suggestions about how I would have gone about developing this world and its characters to fix their issues, had I been at the helm.

That being said, I think I’ve managed to round out a lot of reasons the “primary” versions fell flat and ironed out some solutions to those shortcomings, and though I’ll be the first to admit that my solutions are far from perfect, I do believe they’d have made for a better game than the ones we got.

At the end of the day, though, XY are still Pokémon games, and I’ve replayed them many, many times, because I just can’t outright hate main series Pokémon games, and my criticisms and suggestions here are born out of my own desire to have seen these games be better. I hope I’m not dismissed as a #hater because of it, but if these games are something you hold dear and refuse to admit its flaws, then you should probably not read on.

If it matters, I think Gamefreak’s gotten better about the flaws that made XY what it was, since then. I thought ORAS was a pretty solid remake and game as a whole, I liked the Delta Episode (specially Zinnia) and I absolutely LOVED SM, and even if I did think USUM was considerably more on the squirrely side compared to its predecessor/AU, I still enjoyed it a lot because I love that cast of characters. Meaning this rework of mine is not really topical, or being written because I’m “concerned” for the future of their storytelling abilities, for that matter.

It’s just something I needed to get out of my system, apparently. Now to move on to the actual thing.

This is going to be split in three sections for organization’s sake: Characters, Plot and Gameplay. And though I’ve been careful not to extrapolate too far from something that would happen in Pokémon canon (even though I’d argue it’s a wild ride enough as it is) and did base this mostly on actual Kalos canon (hah) there is going to be some inevitable divergence, reworking and tweaking here and there. Hope you enjoy.

Characters

1) Friend Group

*For the purposes of this post, I’m gonna assume Serena is the protagonist, as I did just play through Y with her in order to do this, which makes Calem the rival. If you flip it around, though, the complaints remain the same.

*I’ll also refer to the collective of Calem, Shauna, Trevor and Tierno as the “Friend Group” from now on, because I don’t feel like typing their names every time, and their flaws come both from how weak they are as a group AND individually.

*The first scene with the Friend Group is actually fairly competent at establishing who these characters are, however, this slips pretty fast into inconsistency as the game goes on and never really recovers.

*I’ve noticed that Trevor doesn’t really come off to me as shy beyond this scene and Tierno seems to dial down in boisterousness from now on. These might have been good changes, had they not happened pretty much IMMEDIATELY after the start of the game and been developed properly.

*Tierno and Trevor are sometimes a package deal, and I believe if they’d interacted more, you’d have been able to tell that they’re growing as people through learning from each other. Trevor could have learned to better manage his shyness through Tierno and Tierno could have gotten some level headed-ness from his friend, in turn. Oh well, down the toilet!

*This package deal is more than a little unkind to Shauna, though. She seems almost disconnected from the entirety of this group besides you. A change that similarly happens right after their first scene. I do consider her the most likable of the four, but that’s a) a low bar to set and b) obviously what the writer intended, and that’s really transparent.

*What’s also transparent is that Shauna gets flirtier dialogue with male players than she does with female ones in the fireworks scene, which should be fixed immediately.

*Truth be told, I liked the part in which all five of you explore Santalune Forest together a lot, because it showed what each of you was up to in that segment and made them feel more alive... Which sucks, because it’s the only time it happens in the game and they go right back to feeling like grating roadblocks after this. I’ve added more segments of that nature down the road.

*I’m not at all bothered by the fact that Tierno, Trevor and Shauna aren’t doing the League Challenge, I do like the concept that they have different goals for themselves. What I don’t like is how none of them ever get development in those areas.

*We see hints of some change when you battle the three of them at the bridge that leads to Snowbelle (Trevor is frustrated by losing and wonders if he should dedicate himself to training a little more, while Tierno says he felt incompetent by comparison after reflecting on what the player character did to stop Team Flare) but that’s not nearly enough to matter in a character growth sort of sense.

*Even worse with Shauna, because it feels like her resolution was, literally, “Whatever!” They tried giving her a thing about how she wants to form memories with you, but a lot of these memories are either bland or rather insignificant. I don’t wanna think too much about “That time my friends and I were roped off by some dude with a half-baked horror story” or “That time my friend and I watched some tower turn on the lights” because they’re boring and don’t Mean anything to me.

*Maybe expand upon Why Shauna wants memories she can treasure? Perhaps she didn’t have many friends she could interact with before your group and she feels her life’s been confusing and uneventful so far, so she wants to recklessly throw herself into an adventure to change that? That would actually have fit as a resolution if she decided she wanted to live in the moment, with her friends and her Pokémon beside her.

*I realize comparing BW to XY in terms of writing is like comparing filet mignon to dollar store cupcackes, but compared to Bianca, a character who also didn’t really know what she wanted in life before going on her journey, and STILL finds herself doubting it two years later, Shauna really pales in comparison, because that inner conflict Bianca was given made her a multi-faceted character, and shock of all shocks, it’s also not all that there was to her at the end of the day!

*This is overlapping a bit with the Gym Leaders’ section, but they gave her this Thing with Clemont that implies they keep in touch, and Clemont gives her that convenient little puzzle machine that comes into play One (1) time because Shauna says she loves puzzles in a single line of dialogue that might even be missed? I get the feeling they wanted Clemont to be a bigger character in this world, if the anime is of any indication, and I think that friendship could be expanded upon.

*You could have been prompted by Shauna to visit Clemont and Bonnie upon arriving in Lumiose (maybe even where we get the Holocaster since it’s not even useful before this point in the story. Oh and believe me, we’ll get to the fucking Holocaster and Lysandre Labs later...).

*Mixing those ideas, she might not have been Clemont’s friend beforehand, but visits him because she’s heard of his gadgets and since she likes that kinda stuff, this could have been where they met? It’s good for characters to interact in meaningful ways, I think. It’s nice.

*When it comes to Tierno, I CANNOT go without mentioning that for a character that’s supposedly obsessed with dancing... he never dances. Unless you count that weird flourish he does in the first battle against you, but if that’s the best he can do while dancing is his only character trait... yikes.

*There could be a theater area to Lumiose (Just a thought - having entertainment in your version of fucking Paris??) and you get to see him perform there when you double back from Coumarine? (This also has the added effect of giving some meaningful Point to restoring the energy that comes from the Power Plant, you’re helping your pal out). We’ll come back to this theater area for another character later, so put a pin on that!

*This also works as his motivation. Joining a famous dancing group or something where he feels his talents are appreciated more and he’d be able to make a career out of something he enjoys. I’ve also considered adding the Dancer class to the game and have them often mention having met up with Tierno and taught him about their personal style so he could learn more about dancing in general, explaining why he went on a journey at all.

*That time he questions himself on whether his goals are even worth it could have decent pay off if he was actually given anything to do of relevance in the story, and that’s something that goes for Trevor and Shauna too, but I have something in mind for them too...

*Trevor... oh Trevor, what even are you doing here, lil’ guy? I’m serious, I realize his focus is on the Pokédex, but I must ask this - to what end? It’s even more embarrassing because he keeps losing to you in what’s supposed to be his primary objective (You had ONE job).

*It’s also been pointed out, I specifically remember it was by tumblr user @kibibarel, that there’s this one particularly disturbing point of continuity concerning Trevor, given that, in BW2, N posits that humans could eventually grow past the need of Pokéballs for interacting with Pokémon, which is honestly a pretty great idea... smash cut to Trevor, one generation later, in which he literally says you must save the Pokéball factory because there would be no way to bond with Pokémon without them, and this is not a notion that anybody else ever questions, which honestly feels like a kick in the teeth the more you think about it... (I’ll actually need to get back to the Pokéball Factory later on in this post REGARDLESS because it’s super blatant padding anyways, so that gives me a chance to retool the whole thing anyhow).

*Trevor lives in Lumiose, and he’s pretty scholarly in general, so I thought it fitting if he’d already decided he wanted to become Sycamore’s assistant, and feels like he needs to get to know all of Kalos to expand his knowledge of it and its Pokémon before he can actually apply for the position.

*His parents are dicks who left him and his sister to travel the world, apparently, so I’d like to think Sycamore has maybe been sort of a parental figure to Trevs? (Err... my version of Sycamore’s not as Sycamore as Sycamore is, but I’ll get to that. Just felt like I’d clarify that because if you’ve recently interacted with Sycamore, you’re probably really concerned by me making that decision).

*As a whole, the Friend Group needs both more interactions between each other and also with the player. And I think adding a few more battles to the ones that exist would be a good way of gauging their progress throughout the game (Have you noticed how battles with Shauna, Trevor and Tierno fucking EVAPORATE after you get two badges, upon which you only battle Calem, and then once Calem takes a time out you battle them again before your eighth? It’s like the writer needed to have an on/off switch to balance them out and couldn’t have both at once, it’s weird as hell).

*Fuck the scary house segment and all it stands for I’ll never get those minutes of my life back ever again oh my god Yah so instead of that huge waste of time in which everyone involved is kind of a grating asswipe, how about we all explore Route 14 together like we did in Santalune Forest? There’s a lot of potential interactions there, and we could even have a Pokémon Graveyard area that was strangely absent in Kalos (unless you count Route 10 which is just a poor substitute) and simultaneously flesh out the Friend Group as they relate to the fact that their Pokémon’s lives are finite and they should enjoy the time they have now?

*Another potential area for this sort of joint exploration is the Terminus Cave, which is a multi-layered dungeon that has three floors, allowing the game to divvy up attention between a couple of characters in each floor (Tierno in the first floor, Trevor in the second and Shauna in the last) as you explore it deeper. It’s really milquetoast and boring in XY, if you visit it before the credits roll, but I think Reversal Mountain would have been the same, had Bianca not partnered up with you to explore it in BW2. This area is required to explore in this hypothetical version for reasons you’ll read more about in the Plot section.

*So, Calem, huh? I’ll admit, the first time I played this, I thought the fact that they were getting progressively more crushed and disappointed with themselves in their dialogue for being beaten by you repeatedly, even though they’re more experienced than you are as a trainer, was...going somewhere, but it really doesn’t. I thought for sure this would lead to them growing resentful towards you, and truth be told, I got that impression too in my replay, which makes the fact that it doesn’t happen all the more jarring.

*I think Calem should have lashed out, at you and at himself at least once for this. Sure, have him apologize on the spot and then leave to clear their head. Do what Pokémon games usually do and say that this character needed some time to think and reflect as they split up. You can even have his training under Gurrkin happen during this part, in which Calem realizes he wasn’t even thinking about his Pokémon, but got so wrapped up in trying to beat you that it became obsessive and unmanageable, and that he was no longer journeying just to improve himself and his Pokémon.

*Have them admit to this later, and think about that fuck-up. This would also have been a fantastic comeback to Lysandre, as even in XY, Calem is shown trying to argue with him once - have this personal failing be where he learned it.

*There is adversity in friendships, sometimes, and we all do wrong things, grow and develop as people, before mending relationships that might’ve become shaky. But as a whole, this friendship the player is supposed to have with the Friend Group feels fabricated because none of your relationships ever grow or change in any way, be it because you’ve learned more about your friends and were able to relate to them on a deeper level, or because you’ve overcome a hurdle in that relationship together.

*There is precisely one scene in XY in which Shauna confesses to the fact that she feels useless, left behind by the player and Calem, but it’s then supposed to be solved by the plot convenient puzzle machine she uses, so it doesn’t feel earned, because it comes out of nowhere and is gone just as fast. It’s portrayed as if getting over that kind of internal worry is something that is even remotely easy, which does her a great disservice.

*TLDR - Instead of reminding you that she matters as a person, it instead imparts the far stupider lesson that yes, she really was useless up to this point in the adventure and then isn’t anymore because of a really contrived happenstance.

*Another thing that bugs me a lot about their portrayal related to Team Flare is that at least in two occasions (Pokéball Factory and then in the Geosenge Lab) instead of using the Friend Group in a way that could portray them as brave and helpful by actively helping you take out the grunts, the game instead opts to make them bail out on you as Flare gives chase off-screen to thin out their numbers... which makes them look weak and kinda hard to love. I think it was meant to be endearingly clever and funny, but it’s............................. really not.

*Wrapping back to Calem for a moment, I realized that, retroactively speaking, the match that decided who’d be worthy of Mega Evolution in the Tower of Mastery was really kind of pointless in the end because Calem later gets a Mega Ring too, so it really ended up just being a battle for who’d get a trinket earlier, basically? It could have added a lot to his character if being judged unworthy Meant something to him (kinda explaining why later he comes back to Gurrkin for additional training).

*Also did y’all notice that this was the first battle with your rival? In the third gym’s city? It should have been a minor culmination of your rivalry up to that point, I feel, which is even stranger to me because the gap between gyms 1 and 2 is So Damn Big in XY anyways, so it could have at least been utilized for character development (also another thing I want to try my hand at alleviating, but that’s under Gameplay).

*I pointed this out in my liveblog, but instead of using a Flecthling that later disappears completely from their team, the rival could have instead used the Swablu that would have later become their Altaria. This would also have been a good shorthand to showcase their experience, since Swablu can’t be caught until almost the end of the game... but conveniently next to the place Calem’s father lives! I just think it’s nice when attention is given to your rivals’ teams, like what happened with Cheren and Bianca.

*Not helping matters is that Calem was written with absolutely no character voice, which does not help give you any kind of idea about what sort of character they are and what’s going on in their head, something that even the other three, bumblers supreme, have. It’s sadly a lot like interacting with an automaton, at times, rather than a human being who has anything that sets them apart.

2) Sycamore, Lysandre and Diantha

*I get the feeling that with Sycamore, Gamefreak tried to make this really cool, relatable dorky character, who could also be shown as a competent person and reliable adult, but I also feel like they failed spectacularly in doing so, because what they did add makes me think he kinda sucks big time. I also get the feeling I’ll get at least one death threat for this.

*I’m referring mostly to two things, his relationship to the game’s main antagonist, Lysandre, and how he kickstarts the player’s journey.

*The fact that you actually interact with Sycamore himself very little in the game doesn’t really help. I’m not kidding you guys, one of my notes actually said “Sina and Dexio are completely useless” verbatim, and my proposed idea was to scrap their interactions with you and replace them with Sycamore, in which he wants to help you directly and isn’t just content with pointless Holocaster interludes, and you know what? I was trying to come up with ways to present that a little better for the Z version, but it’s... already pretty solid.

*Dexio and Sina are themselves another thing I don’t get about XY. They’re given so much importance and yet contribute absolutely nothing of note at the end of the day. It’d be functionally the same thing as if one of Oak’s aides kept showing up at random during your battles with Team Rocket to prattle on about how you must defend the region, before maybe handing you an item and then leaving without Doing anything. You already have a bloated cast, and yet you squander so much potential by giving these goons so much screen time?

*Dexio and Sina would have been fine as assistants that show up to update your dex, leave, and then hang around in the lab. Maybe even have them occasionally give you items for completing a percentage of each of Kalos’ pokédexes? That could give further reasoning for splitting it in three, too. But that’s about all that they need to do, because it really does feel like they’re sort of robbing Sycamore himself of time he could have spent actually showing he cares about you or about the world around him...

*...Specially when his best friend is the very same person who’s threatening that world. And make no mistake, I realize that it’s a game for children, so Lysandre was pretty much always going to be signaled as the Obvious Bad Guy, so I’m not even that miffed that it’s as transparent as it is... what I Am chuffed about, however, is how oblivious Sycamore is to his best friend’s outright genocidal tendencies. It actually makes Sycamore incredibly unlikable when you have Lysandre monologue about how the world’s past saving and then cut back to Sycamore being all “Oh that Lysandre... what a lad.”

*Contrast this with Lusamine, one gen later. She’s also pretty clearly set up as the villain, but you can actually buy that some people would not notice that she is, because you actually get to see that she’s attempting to do good by Pokémon with the whole Aether conservation area, and her true goals don’t come to the forefront until much later.

*We’re repeatedly told Lysandre is trying to help people, but it’s all tell and absolutely no show. Which is even worse when the guy who’s supposedly super close to him and to you, doesn’t notice anything off about him. Contrast to Lillie, another character closely related to the villain, who’s shown going out of her way to avoid interacting with Lusamine, immediately tipping the player off that something’s up, if they’re paying attention.

*You could even, theoretically, keep Sycamore’s obliviousness about his friend - it is, after all, a part of Sycamore’s characterization - however, maybe tone down Lysandre’s obviousness just a bit? Show his work at the Lysandre Labs and how they’re trying to make this a better world? It’s really unclear. Make us see what Sycamore sees in Lysandre.

*The other shoe needs to drop at some point, though. Sycamore NEEDS to realize what Lysandre has become, and through helping you take down Flare in a way that’s more active than what he does in XY, this could serve as his way of atoning for not noticing sooner. Allow his laid back nature to have real consequences, let him fuck up and attempt to help patch things up.

*One of the absolute worst moments of XY was when Sycamore meets you at Couriway and says the following sentence: “By defeating Team Flare, you’ve saved Lysandre,” which is about one of the most insulting endings you could have given Lysandre, because he is SUPER dead by this point, and that also paints Sycamore as someone who apparently didn’t give enough of a fuck about his friend to grieve what has become of him?

*The way he sets up the player and the Friend Group’s adventure is also just blatant, empty padding. There is a lot of promise, mystery and hype about Mega Evolutions, which is understandable considering how innovative and eye-catching of a feature they are... but when it’s all said and done, there was no real solution to any mystery, and this never really goes anywhere, having any and all leads Sycamore gives you about them turn out to be duds... so I can’t help but feel robbed of actual meaningful experiences by this.

*Heck, the way this is set up makes Sycamore feel even dumber of a character, because both of his friends, Diantha and Lysandre, are some of the only opponents in the game who use Mega Evolution against you. It’s specially puzzling in Diantha’s case because she discusses Mega Evolution with Sycamore in Coumarine and seems oblivious about how it works, despite the fact that she can use it herself...

*Instead, if they were not going to answer any of the mysteries behind it, why not just make them a part of the world? Make it so they’re not this closely-guarded secret no one knows about, but just have your objective be to Find the Mega Stones throughout Kalos, since they are indeed still illusive and you can’t perform Mega Evolution without them. You’re given a few Mega Stones anyways, so it’s not any more game-breaking than it already was, in theory, and this would at least have made the really dumb, time-constrictive search for them in the postgame feel less bad.

*It’s implied Lysandre learned how to harness their power through spying on you on the Holocaster, but this is revealed in a throwaway line as he’s about to battle you for the last time (in which, admittedly, the player has other priorities in mind and has most likely even missed this explanation) But it would have been better done if he had just asked Sycamore if he could study the Gyaradosite, and Sycamore had allowed it before realizing Lysandre is Flare’s boss.

*Lysandre himself could have been an interesting villain, but only if his own life and the Kalos region had been developed more than they actually were. We see no actual evidence to prove his point of view that greed is going to be the downfall of the region, when in fact the region seems unfailingly kind and nice. The game should have established instead that such niceties are only skin deep, and hide Kalos’ problems away apathetically while displaying that façade.

*(Ironically this is actually touched upon, but only after the main storyline is over and it has nothing to do with Lysandre, but everything to do with XY’s best character, Emma).

*My proposed development to this would be to expand upon both Lysandre’s relationship to his friends, Sycamore and Diantha, and how he became the person he is today, with his warped, misguided view of the world.

*At Couriway, I think it would have been interesting if both Sycamore and Diantha showed up to talk to you, after Lysandre’s been taken down (Diantha is sorely lacking in interactions with the player before the laughable “Oh I almost didn’t recognize you!” speech at the Elite Four... so this also helps with that).

*I don’t think it’s ever stated where these three grow up, but the fact that Couriway is such an important place for Sycamore gave me an idea to establish that the three of them grew up together in that town as childhood friends. In this version, I would have liked Sycamore (and Diantha) to have shown a lot more sadness over what happened to Lysandre, and about how they were both too caught up with their busy personal lives to really notice his change until it was too late.

*You would be able to find notes from past Diantha and past Lysandre in addition to the one you find from past Sycamore, too. This would have served to shed some light into Lysandre’s past, adding to the tragedy of the kind of person he became, and it would also have fleshed out Diantha as a character the player is supposed to care about and have a bond with.

*I feel XY would feel a lot more personal to the player if it were essentially the story about how three close friends drifted apart by how their lives changed them, only coming together again through the loss of one of them.

*What I had in mind for Lysandre’s backstory and internal turmoil is this - Lysandre, as established in XY, is of royal blood. He’s related to AZ’s younger brother, and I feel like that’s not something XY used well, if at all. In my mind, I assumed people would have pretty much always expected great things from Lysandre, just because of his ancestry, and the fact that he is so successful (through his labs, technological developments and his café) would have been chalked up to that, instead of people actually acknowledging the hard work that he must have done in order to get where he is now.

*Now, what if this is what spurred that change in Lysandre? He could have been someone who always wanted to help, to unendingly give and give to others through his own work... only to be taken completely for granted and basically have his personhood ignored, creating his misanthropic sentiments.

*This way, it could be played like he could never fully escape the shadow of his greedy, yet larger-than-life ancestor, and ironically, this is what made him so much more like this person. It would have added some dimension to Lysandre himself and his decisions, not to mention his worldview.

*In the game as it is, Lysandre seems overwhelmingly concerned with loss and greed, but as the player is never shown what Lysandre even knows of those things, personally, the entire crux of his character seems kind of random, and this is not helped even a little bit by the fact that his and Flare’s actions are all over the place, and end up incongruous with what he believes in.

*If he believes greed is what’s going to tear apart the region again, why does he charge people to join Flare? Why do they seem so concerned with personal style? Those aspects don’t seem to connect in any meaningful way. Why does Flare seem like the exact type of person Lysandre would loathe, yet he’s the one who hires and presumably directs them? Why do THEY get a place at his side, when they’re the very kind of people who’s tearing the region apart according to him?

*I hate to keep going back to BW (that’s a lie, I love BW) but Plasma had similar conflicts between its stated goals and methods... except that this was the entire point, because Plasma’s leader, who did believe in their stated goal, was being manipulated all along by someone who did not believe, and the same went for the Grunts and other members, who eventually even have split factions based on the differing motives that come from both of their leaders.

*It’s never something that gets answered or explained with Flare, which makes their already quite weak motives and cartoonish actions seem even more pointless than they already were. Once again, not helping Lysandre’s case, because his team never really congeals under any singular goal that seems to matter to them, nor is it reflected clearly in their actions.

*There are two quotes that come up about Lysandre in Snowbelle that attempt to shed some light into him. This is a place which, I must remind you, you can only access after Lysandre has been defeated.

"Lysandre... he's my old friend. He was trying to help people in need. Becoming convinced of people's stupidity and facing his own limitations led him to conclude that the world could not be saved, which lead to his suffering... it's ironic."

"Lysandre was his name, right? I wonder why he didn't dream bigger. If he had said he wanted to save everyone in Kalos, surely people would have supported him."

*While interesting, these fall right back into what I said before. We’re told Lysandre wants to help, but we’re never shown how, exactly, he’s supposed to be doing this. His only named invention is the Holocaster, which the player never gets to use for themselves in the game, only being called by others through it. Doesn’t seem like much of an invention that was made to help the needy, either.

*Presumably the reason why he didn’t think to ask for help is because of his own disillusionment with other people, which I need to state again, is wrong and rather myopic unless we know about his personal conflict.

*In short, they’re also too little, too late. Hilariously, Calem even attempts to “both sides” the conflict with Team Flare when you meet him in the Victory Road, and I can’t even begin to explain to you how fucked up this is when there was no real, poignant motivation to Lysandre’s genocidal tendencies and how the Kalos region is never taken to task about the alleged greed of its people, thus failing to let the player and the characters learn any one lesson from the whole thing.

*I like Diantha’s conversation with Lysandre in Lumiose a lot, truth be told. It’s one of the very few scenes in which the legendaries’ main themes (life and death) are brought to the forefront in a way that affects the characters, and it’s even a little subtle about how it goes about it! (Except for Lysandre, there’s nothing subtle about him). It’s just a shame that this is the only part in the game in which they interact.

*Heck, I’m not even sure anymore about how close they are, and if they’re not just friends-of-friends through Sycamore? I had guessed they were also friends, specially given their little brunch in Generations, but I like the concept that I already explained above and I think it could have been expanded upon to further both of them.

*I’ve also involved Diantha directly in taking down Lysandre, but this is something that’s only really going to make sense once you’ve read how I’m going about changing the basic plot-line.

*Speaking of that, though, remember back when I was talking about Tierno and I brought up the new theater area in Lumiose? That could have been used to learn more about Diantha’s job, since it’s absolutely criminal that we have a region based on France, its Champion is an actress and yet we have no real clue about the kinds of movies she stars in? This really could have been both a cool hang-out spot with your friends, as well as providing bonding opportunities with Diantha herself.

*I think that, since movies were already a feature in the game that immediately preceded this one, this wouldn’t really have been a mini-game per se, but rather a place to learn about Kalosian culture and flesh out the world itself. Maybe even let the player “watch” her movies, unlocking more as the story progresses (since you do have to visit Lumiose a lot).

3) AZ

*”You know what would be cool? If we had this really interesting character with a textured lore to him... and then gave him four scenes total, two of which aren’t explained and don’t matter.” - Direct Quote from Junichi Masuda, circa 2013.

*Jokes aside, I can’t believe how under-utilized AZ is, when he was an idea with such potential. He’s still supposed to be the emotional core of these games, and I feel that he is, to some extent, even if I question literally everything about how he was executed. There was obviously a lot of care put into his backstory, and while that presentation goes a long way in making us care about his situation, it kinda gets irreparably damaged if you give his character and his place in this setting and in this story even the slightest bit of thought?

*We’re supposed to think he has changed since he unleashed the weapon upon the region, all those years ago, and while he distinctively doesn’t seem homicidal, of course, in the end he’s... not really done anything to redeem himself for that? All his sorrow is directed to his Floette, and how being parted with it made him grieve and wander the world, but where does that leave the lives he took? How is that supposed to be an answer to his actions when it’s still centered all on himself?

*So many questions, so few answers. Like for instance - why is he so tall? Was he always that tall or was this something the weapon just did? What authority do his soldiers have to send his Pokémon off to war? Heck, it’s never actually confirmed in the game that being exposed to the weapon made him immortal, but I believe it’s what we’re lead to assume, and was later confirmed... but uh. I would... think being exposed to that lethal weapon would make you, er, dead? Like the Pokémon who were killed back then and would presumably be killed by its activation now?

*I get why it made the Floette immortal, that’s where the power of the Pokémon’s lives was used up for (this is basically the Philosopher’s Stone from FMA, let’s be real here) but I would think that being exposed to it would probably have killed AZ instead of giving him eternal life, but that just raises more questions about how the weapon works that are never explained - why did getting exposed to it while in kill mode not kill him if he was that close to it, but then DID affect him when it was in life mode?

*Touching as his reunion with Floette is, I think seeing AZ more and interacting with him in a more meaningful, less one-sided way should be the way to go. He could be met earlier on in the journey, perhaps even in Route 10 itself, maybe he’s taking care of Pokémon injured by Flare or even their own trainers, then he notes about how well the player is raising their Pokémon with care, and then gives the player some healing items? This would at least get the player to make a more personal bond with him and showcase how he’s trying to help Kalos in his own way to atone.

*The only time he makes explicit that he’s the man from the legend is during the parade, by the way, which caught me by surprise. I mean, there’s no doubt that he is, when he’s exposition dumping telling the story to you, but that he refers to himself as “that man” then... it comes off as a little dismissive of his actions, like he’s trying to distance himself from it, which while understandable, given the interim 3000 years, it doesn’t reflect too well on him in retrospect given that, again, we don’t know what he’s done to atone for those actions.

*I’ve also detailed another point concerning both AZ and your Friend Group in the Plot section later, because I want to answer a rather jarring plot hole in XY while also giving your friends something to Do.

4) Others

*In general, the Gym Leaders need to show up outside their Gyms more. They get very little characterization in this game already, which isn’t helped by their only repeated appearance being in the incredibly odd Battle Chateau, that restricts their team so much and is such a hassle to even encounter them in, and doesn’t even add anything to their characters when you do.

*Same goes for the Elite Four in feeling almost disparate from anything going on in the region and the plot itself.

*Neither of those notes above are exclusive to XY, but it’d still be good to have, so I think adding at least one interaction with every leader outside of their gym would be better. I’ve also wanted to involve them in taking down Flare for good, but that’s for later.

*I can’t very well discuss the Elite Four (who should also all show up outside the castle) without addressing the accomplice to attempted genocide in the room: Malva. Now, I realize Pokémon has involved some very hokey decisions for its villains’ daily lives. Giovanni being a Gym Leader being a prime moment of fuck. That was something that happened in a 1996 game, though, and I would think a 2013 game shouldn’t have tried to upstage it by making the villainous team member one of the Elite Four?

*What really doesn’t help Malva’s case is the whole execution of her membership in Team Flare, as it lands with an incomparable *thud* because it’s one big pile of “uh what?” after another, because we don’t actually even know what she was doing in Flare or how she was balancing this triple act of Holocaster host, criminal team member and Elite Four member by night?

*Who even IS Malva, come to think of it? There is no connection to ever be had with her, in the context of her being a Team Flare member, because she only shows up once in the main story - a mandatory, two sentence Holocaster segment that reports back to you the Pokéball Factory incident (a life-changing piece of Kalosian news, as you recall) which you just did.

*It’s the only time in the game it happens, and I can only assume it was meant to be a regular thing, except they changed their minds but decided to keep that scene in for some reason, despite how completely extraneous it is.

*If it were up to me, the Lysandre Labs would be its own area in Lumiose, not attached to the Lysandre Café through a silly secret entrance, because it’s actually kind of pivotal to his character and visiting it would have allowed us to both take a gander into the tech Lysandre supposedly helps people by developing, and have introduced us to Malva in a way that could matter in any way, shape or form.

*Expand Malva’s role in Flare’s machinations and also let the player meet her while it still matters so they’re surprised by her affiliation with a criminal syndicate.

*It would be interesting, I think, if she was so devoted to Lysandre because she came from a place of poverty and was given opportunities by him to make her life better, so she thinks Flare will also make everyone’s lives better, and she’d be a microcosm of Lysandre himself, in their prior disillusionment with the world, and hey, an actual concrete example of Lysandre helping someone, at that - win win.

*Malva’s postgame stuff with Looker is also... a whole ‘nother can of worms about how the International Police works, but it’s postgame so I’m not gonna get into that. Also not having the battle with her only include one damn Pokémon would have been nice... The Essentia subplot was the best part about XY so I feel like it could just be transplanted whole cloth into Z without too many changes, really.

*Alexa. Just as a concept... I don’t understand what happened with her. She was used to promote Kalos in Pokéani, making me assume she’d be an important character, but then she did absolutely nothing of importance in the games? Seriously, there is absolutely nothing to her except being related to Viola and giving you the EXP share. I actively forgot about her the first time I played the game and then the Lumiose Press came up on the postgame, which made me feel like I suddenly got sucker-punched by another character with wasted potential.

*As a journalist, I feel like she would have been the obvious choice to get into Team Flare’s actions across Kalos and also discover Lysandre’s connections to it, and she would have been a pretty great foil to Malva, at that. I can only assume she was meant to interact with the player a lot more, but then had her role cut out for some reason or another, because as it stands, there is no reason she should even have an unique model in this game.

*In Z, she would be the one who gets the Gym Leaders together to fight back against Flare, through her connections with Viola.

*I deliberately said four there, because Xerosic, unexpectedly, actually has dimensions added to his character in the postgame, but while I do believe his button sequence would be scrapped in Z version, the rest can stay because it’s not all bad. Trust me, I wouldn’t have expected this guy to be my favorite member of Team Flare at the end of the day, but the world is a very strange place.

*Speaking of things that were wasted, it absolutely flabbergasted me that they chose to go with four named Scientists in Team Flare while they barely have one personality between them. Granted, there are only so many ways they could have been allowed to express themselves when their individual actions were so nonsensical, disjointed and unnecessary in the long run, but even then, their existence is kind of an accomplishment for all the wrong reasons.

PLOT

*As was established earlier, this version would bring in Zygarde as its mascot, because it’s the obvious third member in the trio that consists of Xerneas and Yveltal.

*My ideas for the plot changes have taken some elements from the XYZ anime, because I think it’s actually a fair window into what a Z game could actually have been about, specially as it pertains to Lysandre trying to use Zygarde to accomplish his goals, and Zygarde admittedly would fit that role a lot better than Xerneas and Yveltal ever did, in the end.

*Everything about Xerneas and Yveltal’s utilization in the games is kind of a big question mark. They’re woefully underdeveloped for the ones who’re supposed to be the title legendaries, and even Team Flare’s utilization of them feels odd and rushed. I aim to give them their own place in the lore, building with what little blocks we have and to try to have both of them exist at once.

*There’s not even an explanation for why they’re what’s needed to power the ultimate weapon, since they didn’t seem to have anything to do with its creation, despite the parallels of its power to theirs (I was under the impression that they were going to BE the ultimate weapon the first time I played the game, because, well, it just made sense to me, but it turns out they were just glorified batteries?)

*The general idea is that Lysandre is trying to fuse Zygarde back to full power in order to raze Kalos to the ground and restore it to a natural, pure state. I’m not having him use the ultimate weapon again, just siphon its power into Zygarde to force that transformation into its 100% forme and make it even stronger.

*I think it’d be appropriate if the final tussle with Flare happened at Lumiose, because it’s the literal center of everything Kalos stands for. Which even the Anime understood.

*I’m... not actually sure why the weapon CAN be used again in XY without killing many before being activated again? Did AZ leave it on standby for 3000 years or...

*I’m of two minds involving Lysandre’s... whatever the fuck he wears for the final confrontation (what ARE those metal ass BUGS??) On the one hand I could give them a reason to exist, being what Lysandre is using to siphon the weapon’s energy into Zygarde... but on the other hand, I hate them and want them gone from the world (or Gamefreak could at least provide an EXPLANATION for what they were supposed to be?? Or to “bee,” rather).

*I think the Prism Tower would be a great final battle location, given its height and stated importance to the city (being the obvious Eiffel analogue and all) but it’s currently just Clemont’s gym, so I feel like I’d expand it to have like a few topmost floors that also let you see a scenic view of Kalos the first time you arrive in Lumiose? This would also sort of bookend your adventure as you climb it up again to confront Lysandre at the top.

*Prism Tower would also be where the Gym Leaders show up, beckoned by Alexa, to block the exit of the Team Flare scientists as you all arrive to storm the place (kind of like what happened in N’s Castle).

*And while I’m certainly not going to contrive a reason for Lysandre to get killed to shit again, I am going to have Diantha show up to block his escape and talk him down out of his genocidal ramblings, by reminding him of their talk back near the beginning of the game, and about how he’s been selling humanity, and life in general, short, before he’s apprehended.

*You explore Terminus cave (as mentioned above) with your friends upon catching wind that Flare wants to nab Zygarde, though you’re too late to stop them there.

*Like I said before, the Lysandre Labs would be expanded into their own area, so you don’t really fight the Scientists there and that’s no longer where AZ gets imprisoned. I’ve sort of mushed Lysandre Labs and the secret Geosenge Lab together into one place because if you think about it, these really did not need to be separate locations.

*If it’s been a while since you’ve visited the Geosenge Lab (aka the “why are you crying?” “Pokémon” place) I’m gonna have to remind you that the whole location amounts to one room and then an endless hallway of nothingness except filler Flare grunts to fight, and then when you reached the place where Yveltal and Xerneas are being held, more Flare Admins appeared to block your path.

*Why Flare even bothers with Admins when they ALSO have the previously discussed Scientists, who basically stand in for the evil team Admins in the past, I don’t know... but I’ve always felt like it would have been way more memorable if you had to fight the four Scientists instead of that random group of nameless Admins before battling the Legendaries.

*You infiltrate this place in Z because you don’t want Flare having their hands on the energy from the ultimate weapon, and indeed, once there, AZ pleads you not to let them use something so morally repugnant and terrifyingly powerful in their schemes, and he fears for Zygarde’s safety if exposed to that energy (hint hint). This, of course, happens before the final showdown at Lumiose, but still happens after your seventh gym badge.

*I’ve alluded to this before, but in XY... it’s never actually explained how AZ got out of his imprisonment, let alone how he got from Lumiose to Geosenge in time, so I think I would like to use this opportunity to have AZ be rescued by the Friend Group, since this also allows them to do something meaningful. Maybe even have them also listen to AZ’s story and comment on it.

*Calem would still be training with Gurrkin at this stage, and wouldn’t come back until the Lumiose sequence, adding more dramatic fuel to the fire as well as letting Shauna, Tierno and Trevor shine a little, as he would have undergone his character development by then, in order to both attempt to reach out to Lysandre, as well as call him out for his methods.

*Due to the fact that the Anistar Sundial is loosely connected the ultimate weapon, and how Olympia warns Ash and Co. in the anime about the impending trouble caused by Team Flare, based on one of her visions, I’ve decided to integrate this into Z by switching the order of Snowbelle and Anistar’s gyms around.

*I would accomplish this just by tweaking where the routes connect, which routes are blocked off from the player Because Reasons and even adding new routes, which is essentially something that always happens in third versions anyhow.

*So the new order is: beating Wulfric, being informed of Flare’s intentions over the Holocaster, flying to Lumiose to ask Lysandre what the fuck, finding him at the Lysandre Labs arguing with Sycamore. The player battles him for the first time, then heads to Geosenge for the lab sequence, which the player ultimately arrives too late to save Zygarde, who has already been exposed to the energy. Lysandre battles the player a second time in order to buy time for the Scientists to relocate Zygarde, and then leaves.

*Player and friends then talk things through with Sycamore, who asks them to go to Anistar to learn about the legendaries from Olympia (instead of that random-ass nameless npc), and she proposed the idea to have them awaken Xerneas and Yveltal to counter Zygarde (pretty much doing what Zygarde was supposed to do for them in XY, but didn’t because it’d get his nerd snake ass kicked) but also warning them to be quick about it because the showdown at Lumiose is imminent.

*You then have to find Xerneas and Yveltal’s slumbering places and do battle with them, before they decide you’re worthy of them and disappear, only to appear during the final battle to try and stop Zygarde. The hint hint above is that Zygarde is eventually defeated, turns into his 100 components, and due to exposure from the weapon’s energy, gets scattered throughout Kalos until the postgame to lick its wounds and rest, while Xerneas and Yveltal return to their spots where you can now catch them.

*I’d like Xerneas to be found at the Pokémon Village, because I think it’s a beautiful area that just fits it, and its tree form would look pretty great in the middle of all the flowers, moreover, the Winding Woods are kind of the perfect security mechanism for this Fairy deer?

*Yveltal is a little harder to place, but I’ve read at least one theory which posits that it was actually what made Route 13 the wasteland it is, and in fairness, we’ve been teased about a hidden legendary in that area before, so actually having Yveltal there could be pretty interesting in a meta way.

*Speaking of that area, though, it also just so happens that it is the only area that Flare attacks during XY that I can see any sort of payoff to. So this would carry over to Z, but then we’d also have all the Scientists show up in that area... which wouldn’t actually be that bad of an idea, all things considered. This would make them more of a package deal, which I think helps, given that individually they’re not that interesting or that tough, as XY proved.

*The Pokéball Factory segment, in all honesty, needs to be scrapped. No payoff at all to Flare attacking there, besides the fact that they used the Pokéballs they stole to uh, try to catch an Abomasnow they didn’t even succeed at catching? Both it and the Frost Cavern were just there to pad the game out... which brings us to...

Gameplay

*There’s no real excuse for the Holocaster not to be useful in any way, specially after the Xtransceiver and the Pokétch. Have it have a call functionality. Maybe have Shauna as the Feelings Checker, Tierno as someone to tell you about moves a Pokémon learns or coverage options, and Trevor as someone who tells you how to evolve your Pokémon or about Pokémon you can catch in a certain area?

*In addition to adding more rival/friend group battles like I said before and switching the 7th and 8th gyms in order, I’ve also attempted to diminish the super weird, long gap between gyms 1 and 2 in XY.

*Since there is a lot more to establish in Lumiose right when you arrive there in Z, I thought it would be fitting if Clemont was challenged as the second gym leader instead of as the fifth. This also goes into why Shauna wants to go with you to meet him and Bonnie now.

*This is there to make it seem like the player is progressing faster, comparing the distance between Santalune and Lumiose in Z to Santalune and Cyllage in XY, but it also requires that the garden area between Santalune and Lumiose be lengthened a little for level balancing.

*It’s also my idea to add a farm area before the garden proper, because France is very rich in farmland, which made me very confused because XY only has one very, very small ranch near Couriway. Having this area here would also make the riding Pokémon feature a little more cohesive and less sparse.

*In either this new farm area or in the garden, Team Flare would make its first appearance, since, at least in my opinion, having it first show up almost at the second gym (specially with such a distant second gym, as we’ve established) is waiting too long.

*In this area, Flare Grunts are harassing a Riolu, because they heard its evolution can harness a special energy they think might come in handy for them (aura, obviously) the player character saves that Riolu, which turns out to belong to none other than Korrina. This is all really here to establish an actual connection between the Lucario that’s eventually given to you and the player, instead of having it instantly love you for no reason like in XY.

*Team Flare should have an expanded roster of Pokémon, including lines like Inkay, Helioptile, Corphish and Pancham’s, as well as each Scientist having a Furfrou with a trim that matches their color scheme.

*Shabboneau Castle is now mandatory because of the Mawilite you’re to collect, as well as by establishing the whole Parfum Palace drama.

*Glittering Cave is visited because of the scientist who holds the Aerodactylite that’s been recently excavated, and Team Flare is encountered for the second time there, having caught wind of the search for the Mega Stones by then.

*AZ is encountered for the first time in Route 10, and then again in Couriway, which has a water route that leads to a mountain route that connects its two halves (AZ being met contemplating life while staring at the water, hinting at something deplorable he’s done in the past). Both halves of Couriway now have a Pokémon Center and can be flown to independently.

*After player beats Ramos, they’re messaged about Tierno’s performance, and this is why they double back to Lumiose, hearing about the Power Plant trouble and helping out there along the way.

*The Pokéball Factory is no longer attacked by Team Flare, though it’s visited together with the Friend Group. It’s a place where you’re given specialized balls daily. They also meet scientists who try to research methods for bonding with Pokémon without involving Pokéballs so they can evolve from there. Player still gets Master Ball there.

*Trouble at Frost Cavern no longer happens, but it’s explored for the Abomasite and functions as the last Friend Group exploration, with a lot of reflection about what’s changed for them since the journey started and also about Calem having just left to do some soul-searching.

*I decided Snowbelle should be the 7th gym after noticing how odd it is that an Ice-heavy area is followed by the Psychic gym, and then it goes back to the Ice gym afterwards, so this is more thematically cohesive, as well as allowing for Olympia’s new plot role.

*Postgame should contain new areas besides Kiloude, but that are connected to it. Calem is found at the top of a mountain peak there, having found the Absolite by themselves after being directed there by Gurrkin.

*EXP share can still be toggleable and for the whole party, but instead maybe gives 25% experience instead of 50%.

*Prism Tower’s top floor becomes the area for Gym Leader rematches with updated teams after beating the Elite Four for the first time. Leaders are invited there after talking to them at their gyms, and each of them uses a Mega Evolution in these matches. These refresh every day.

*Defeating Calem at the new area, every Gym Leader in a rematch and completing Emma’s story makes the Elite Four get stronger and adds a Mega Evolution to their teams.

*Optional postgame battles with everyone in the Friend Group, Sycamore, Alexa and Gurrkin.

#Pokémon #Jack's Pokémon Z #Pokémon XY #gen vi #Kalos #uhhh kinda braindead for tags atm #I'm not even going to calculate how much money this wordcount would have cost me going by my rates #I love Pokémon even when it disappoints me

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