#i thought it would be a cool idea to explore the beginnings of pokemon exploring dungeons in fuedal japan era kanto then move through time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

knamjooned · 3 years

Text

ECHOES: Team Nocturna - KNJ

pairing: ranger! namjoon x ??? reader

genre: pokemon au, fantasy au, psychic au, smut

tropes: strangers to lovers, love at first sight, amnesia

words: 10K

notes: if you don’t know anything about pokemon, i think you can read this and not be lost. if you are a fan, basically the first movie is all you need to know.

SUMMARY: While hiking, Namjoon finds a mysterious woman lost in the woods. Since she has no memories of her past, he takes it upon himself to help find them.

thanks to @blushingatyou & @samros95 for reading through this, giving me lovely ideas to make it even better <3 I appreciate you taking that time for this!

TEAM: [ info graphic here ]

Virizion (FABLE) - Namjoon was found by Virizion as a young adult. A bond formed when he helped rescue several pokemon from poachers.

Calyrex (CALY) - This pokemon enjoys deep conversations with Namjoon, although it still insists it’s smarter than him by a long shot.

Exeggutor (TORI) - When visiting Alola, Namjoon mistook this pokemon as a simple tree. He tried to climb it, but fell when it shook in surprise.

Tapu Bulu (OTIS) - The pokemon was intrigued when Namjoon put himself between two pokemon fighting. It healed Namjoon after he got hurt.

Flapple (LOBO) - Namjoon tried to evolve Applin into Flapple, but the pokemon refused at the time. It did it by itself.

Celebi (SPRITZ) - Namjoon purposefully sought this pokemon as he explored Ilex Forest. He is still amazed by the fact it wasn’t to stay with him.

Namjoon took a sip of water from the container he kept attached to his backpack and wiped his brow. It was a warm day in the forest, and even with the shade it did little to cool his skin. Rolling his shoulders, Namjoon leaned against a large boulder a few feet from a beautiful, sparkling lake, surrounded by trees on all sides. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of the spring air.

“Bi bi!”

The call of one of his partners made Namjoon stand straight and open his eyes, alert. He quickly scanned his area and saw Spritz floating excitedly toward him. Relaxing his shoulders a bit, he smiled with amusement, entertained by the creature's innocent grin.

“What’d you find, my friend? Anything interesting?” He hoisted his pack back onto his body and adjusted the load to continue on his hike. Namjoon’s patrol was almost over, and his stomach started to growl with happiness. “I hope it’s food.”

“Not so much,” came a telepathic voice. Celebi used it only when it had much to speak about. Spritz fluttered in front of Namjoon, guiding the way toward whatever it had found. “Something is wrong with her.”

“That’s not good,” Namjoon replied, moving faster. He stepped with ease over the ground, used to walking among broken branches, rocks, and other scattered things that were on the forest floor. “What kind of pokemon is it?”

“Not a pokemon,” came another voice in his head. He glanced to his left and saw Fable, another pokemon that was on his team. Virizion tilted their head toward the eastern part of the area. “A... human woman.”

“Bi bi,” Spritz agreed, nodding solemnly. The mythical and legendary pokemon lead a curious Namjoon through the trees some more, coming to a tiny clearing with enough room to place a tent at the side of a brook. “Cel...” Spritz hesitated at the edge of clearing, unsure of the woman there.

“Stay at the edge of the clearing, yeah?” Namjoon murmured toward his friends. “I don’t want to scare her. You’re right, something is wrong.”

She was a young woman, dressed in generic jeans and a t-shirt, sitting on the ground cross-legged. In her arms was a small silver backpack, not made for hiking like his, held tightly to her chest. Tears silently fell from her eyes as she gazed forward. Namjoon cleared his throat, slowly approaching from the side.

“Is everything alright?” he asked as gently as he could, hands up to show he meant no harm. His voice still startled her, causing her to grasp the bag even tighter and jerk her head toward him. Her eyes were wide with confusion and fear. He stopped six feet away. “My name is Namjoon. I’m a Pokemon Ranger in this forest. Can I help with anything?”

----

The last thing you remembered was... excitement? Anticipation? For what, you couldn’t say, but something you had been wanting to do for a while. You couldn’t grasp anything else from your memories, only the emotions that had spread through your body at the time. Now, you opened your eyes to find yourself on the grass near a brook, on your back. The tree branches shaded you from the high sun, while a breeze rustled their leaves.

Sitting up, you furrowed your brows as you looked around, taking in the peaceful scene around you. Inside, though, panic caused your chest to tighten and questions flooded your mind.

Where am I? How did I get here? What am I doing here? Who am I?

The last question repeated rapidly in your mind. Frightened, you grabbed your bag that was at your side and held it to your chest. Tears started to fall as you struggled to understand what was going on. Who am I? You couldn’t answer, and that was what frightened you the most.

You heard the sound of someone approaching, but pretended not to hear, hoping they would just leave. There was too much going on in your mind, adding a stranger to that would only make it more difficult to process. Unfortunately, he spoke and startled you, making you gasp and turn to look at him abruptly. He spoke gently, as if afraid of making you run, which was a good intuition, honestly. Taking a shaky breath, you gathered emotional strength to move past the panic.

“I... I don’t know,” you answer truthfully. You licked your dry lips, realizing you were incredibly thirsty. How long had you been out here? “May I have some water?”

“Of course! May I... come closer?” He waited for you to respond, and you did with a nod. He was being cautious, and that helped you trust his motives. Why were you so suspicious? Again, another answer you couldn’t find. “Fantastic. Here you go.” Namjoon dug a water bottle out of his pack and handed it over. You grabbed and opened it, forcing yourself to sip instead of gulping down the whole thing. It was cool and delicious, the most wonderful thing you had ever tasted at the moment.

“Thank you... Namjoon.” When you said his name, he grinned. “I.. I don’t know my name. I’m sorry, I wish I could tell you.” You grimaced, sipping some more water as you blinked back tears. You wouldn’t let the panic take over, not at the moment. That would be something to do when you were alone.

“I see,” he replied, much calmer than you expected. “My pokemon partners found you. Would you like to meet them?”

“Pokemon partners?” The excitement from right before your memory loss returned, and it made you briefly wonder if this was a clue. Before you could go any deeper into that idea, Virizion and Celebi came toward you from the edges of the clearing. Sucking in a breath, you stared, amazed. You knew these both were legendary and mythical, respectively. How had this ranger convinced such awesome pokemon to work with him?

“This is Fable and Spritz.” Namjoon pointed first to Fable and then Spritz as he introduced them. Each pokemon dipped their head in a light bow and then settled next to Namjoon, who sat in front of you. Fable laid on the ground, head held regally, gazing softly at you. You thought you saw a gentle smile. Spritz fluttered close to Namjoon, but then slowly came toward you. It had an innocent vibe, with it’s big eyes and curious gaze.

“H-hello, Fable and Spritz.” You held out a hand, palm up, and Spritz lightly tapped it with his hand-like appendage. It giggled as it fluttered back to Namjoon and sat on his lap. “How did you become partners with such... pokemon as these?”

“Well,” he chuckled, shrugging with embarrassment. “It’s kind of a long story. I wasn’t expecting to be partnered with Fable, but I guess they saw something good in me.”

“He saved a group of spinarak from poachers.” The smooth, female-like voice in your head made you jump, but when you looked toward Fable, you realized it was from them. They nodded when you locked eyes. “Namjoon is a wise and good soul, very few can be found in humans.”

Namjoon’s face reddened. He tried to look busy as he dug through his backpack, hiding his face. You chuckled as Spritz agreed by flying up a few inches and squeaking happily. When he put his pack down, Namjoon’s ears were still red.

“And Spritz?” You gestured toward Spritz, who had come to a rest next to you. It tapped your leg and looked at you with it’s big eyes. You hesitantly patted your leg in the same spot. Spritz let out a squeak and settled onto your lap.

“I admit to actively searching for them,” Namjoon replied, looking apologetically at Fable. “I wasn’t planning on having them be part of my team, I just wanted to find them. I got lucky that Spritz wanted to come back with me.”

“Fascinating,” you murmured, looking down at the creature in your lap. A thought occurred to you, and you jumped up, causing Spritz to tumble out of your lap. You gasped and crouched, patting it’s head apologetically. “Sorry, Spritz. I just... Do I have pokemon? Have I abandoned them somewhere?” You stood, heart beginning to race. You grabbed your bag and shakily unzipped it. The zipper wouldn’t work, and tears began to well up in your eyes. Namjoon quickly came over and took your hands.

“Breath. In... out... good. One more time.” You followed his directions, and the panic you felt dissipated enough for you to open the pack with ease. No pokeballs or any other items related to such creatures were found. Instead, you found a tube of lip balm, a swiss army knife, a hairbrush, elastic hair ties, a pen, and a USB drive.

“This must be something important.” You held up the USB. Namjoon nodded in agreement.

“If you’re comfortable with it, we can go back to base camp, I have a laptop we can use to see what’s on it.”

“Is.. is there a bathroom, too?” You asked shyly.

---------------------

Thankfully, Namjoon knew where a camping area was that offered a basic bathroom with a shower to campers. While you were cleaning up, he brought out the rest of his pokemon to quietly warn them of your predicament.

“How interesting,” Caly the Calyrex murmured, floating above the ground. Namjoon raised an eyebrow at the contemplation on its face. “I can search her mind to gather information, to see if she is a threat, or on the run.”

“Is this your ego speaking?” Fable asked flatly. Caly shot the other pokemon a glare, but it didn’t faze them. Namjoon sighed, readying himself to break up a fight of words between the two once again. Instead, Lobo the flapple and Tori the alolan exeggutor interrupted as they jumped out of their pokeballs.

“Just... be gentle, okay? She seems a bit fragile, like anything could spook her.” Namjoon looked at each of them for a long moment. They all nodded and went their own way, settling into what they had been doing before. Lobo fluttered happily next to Tori, who swayed happily in the breeze. Their heads were just above the forest canopy, and they loved to just look out to see what others couldn’t.

“Otis, you good?” Namjoon asked Tapu Bulu, who floated on the edge of the camp, examining a tree that seemed to be damaged by a human tool. It huffed and jingled it’s bell, and Namjoon took that as a positive response. Spritz giggled next to him and stayed near as you finally appeared at the edge of Namjoon’s camp.

“How are you feeling?” Namjoon asked gently, walking to meet you. He studied your face for any indication of your memories coming back, but the same shy smile and confused eyes looked back at him.

“Much better, mostly,” you replied with a shrug. You wore the same clothes, but the dirt was washed off your body and out of your hair. You peered over his shoulder at the six pokemon entertaining themselves. “Wait, more legendary pokemon? What kind of ranger are you?”

“Ah... well...” Namjoon had no answer to that, but was relieved to see some form of happiness on your face. Your eyes lit up as you gazed at each of his partners. Otis ignored you and Tori just swayed with a grin when you caught their eye, while Lobo circled you with Spritz. Caly and Fable approached you cautiously, trying to keep what Namjoon had said in mind.

“Namjoon is a very special ranger,” Caly said in your head. “Almost as intelligent as myself.” Fable snorted at that, but Caly ignored them.

“I see you two are best friends,” you commented, eyeing Namjoon. He shrugged helplessly as Caly and Fable glared at one another. “It’s nice to meet all of you. Thank you for letting me into your camp.”

----------------

A few minutes later, you were biting your lip with anxiety as Namjoon attached the USB to his laptop. You shut your eyes tightly, unable to look at anything that would suddenly come up. You sat next to Namjoon at the picnic table with your hand on his knee. Trembling, you squeezed it.

“Open your eyes,” he murmured, covering your hand. You took a deep breath, the warmth of his touch soothing some of your panic. Slowly, you opened your eyes and saw a file folder open on the screen. There was a folder labeled “NOCTURNA”. You feel Namjoon’s eyes on your as you stare forward, brows furrowed.

What is this? What does this have to do with me?

“Shall we open it?” he asked quietly. You swallowed, your throat dry, suddenly frightened by what this may mean, how ominous it sounded. Shaking your head, you stood and walked away from the bench, turning your back to it. You found a water bottle near your bag, so you opened it quickly and took a large gulp.

“Please, don’t open it,” you replied shakily. “I just... it feels... dark. Please,” you repeat, turning toward him once again. You forced yourself to ignore the laptop screen, the word that seemed to overwhelm your senses.

NOCTURNA.

----------

Over the next week, you focused on working in the camp and forest with Namjoon. You became close to Spritz, who had taken to fluttering around you at all times. At first, you felt guilty for taking the attention of such a pokemon from your rescuer, but he quickly assured you he had no ill feelings toward you.

You learned you had no talent for camping, but Namjoon made no complaints as you struggled with making a fire or building a tent. He kindly offered to help, but you were determined to figure it out on your own. Otis began to come around you more, apparently finding respect in your determination. It didn’t take long for the legendary Alolan pokemon to venture away from his tasks in the trees to watch you. Another watcher of yours, Namjoon, escaped your attention.

Caly tried a few times to get you to speak about your amnesia, but you refused and bluntly told the pokemon to stop. It seemed to take this negatively, and refused to even look at you since then. You ignored Caly, not entirely bothered by the distance. Namjoon scolded the pokemon, but you didn’t notice that. Tori and Lobo were the comedians of the group, constantly doing things that made everyone laugh.

Tori enjoyed telling everyone what she saw above the canopy, which led to a few rescues of forest pokemon, including a flock of bird pokemon from traps set by poachers. Lobo brought different items it found in the woods, and became attached to a small. stuffed jigglypuff meant for a baby. When Lobo lost the item, Namjoon and you searched for three hours, finally finding it under a stack of wood Otis had cut and brought. You were so exhausted, you took a nap in the shade with Lobo. Namjoon sat beside you as you slept, blocking the sun as it moved in the sky, but was gone before you woke.

As the sun set on the 6th day of your camping journey, Fable trotted to your side and laid in the grass. You were laid on a blanket, face up, looking at the darkening sky. The stars were starting to come out.

“I’ve been meaning to speak with you, but after what happened with the High King, I didn’t want to push it. But, it has been almost a full week, my new friend.” You quirked your lips in a smile at the sarcastic tone in their voice when Calyrex was mentioned.

“I know,” you sighed, swallowing down the usual fear that began to crawl into your mind when your predicament was brought up. “Is there anything new you can tell me? If not, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Actually... I might.” At those words in your mind, you sat up quickly, looking over at the green pokemon. They raised their eyebrows and stared at you, patiently waiting for you to respond.

“Really?” you exclaimed. At your shout, Namjoon appeared out of nowhere, brows furrowed with concern.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, sitting next to you.

“Ah, yeah, I was just... Fable said they may have new information about me.” As you said the words, you felt excitement bubble up in your stomach. Namjoon took your hand, squeezed it with a grin, and looked back to Fable. “What is it? What information do you have?”

“And how did you get it?” Namjoon interjected as he laced his finger with yours. You didn’t seem to notice as you held onto his hand tightly.

“I’m not sure how to say it delicately, so I will be blunt.”

“That’s ominous,” Namjoon muttered, frowning. You elbowed him in the side and took a deep breath.

“You are a hybrid. Part human.... and part pokemon.”

----------

The past week had built up a lot of feelings toward you for Namjoon, and that made the bombshell Fable had just said even more powerful. You sat quietly, staring at the pokemon, and Namjoon let it sink in for you. His own head was spinning with questions, which would only mean you had so much more going on. He studied your face, like he had many times over the week, and saw the hints of shock, confusion, fear, and even a bit of excitement.

“Can you say that again?” you finally replied.

“Fable, how can you even know this?” Namjoon interrupted. It was so outlandish, couldn’t connect any of the dots the pokemon was throwing at them.

“To put it simply, your aura. Everyone has them, and each is just different enough to be unique. You have a unique human aura, but also a pokemon aura.”

“... that isn’t unique. You know the pokemon DNA I have inside my blood,” you state quietly. At your shuddering breath, Namjoon put his arms around your shoulders and pulled you into his chest. You went willingly, your head laying close to his chest.

“Can this even be true?” he asked. Namjoon focused on clearing his mind, pulling out the more scientific knowledge he had learned over the years as a ranger. Pokemon biology quickly went through his mind, the basics taught while he was in public school. Pokemon DNA was so different from human DNA, how could it even be possible to do this?

“I only know what I know. And I know you have the DNA of Mewtwo,” Fable answered gently. Namjoon felt you pulling away, and was tempted to hold you longer, but he ignored the urge and let you put distance between the two of you. When you had sat up completely, he saw that your eyes turned blank, staring forward at something that wasn’t there. Namjoon called your name, then waved a hand in front of your face. You made no move.

“Fable, what’s happening?” Namjoon barked, finding it hard to breathe through the pain of panic gripping him. He turned to the pokemon, eyes wide. “What did you do?”

“I.. I do not know! I swear, I only spoke the truth!” The pokemon stood, obviously worried themselves about you. Still, you sat there, in your own world, staring blankly off into the distance. “Maybe when the truth was spoken... her memories came back.”

------------

As soon as the knowledge of your origins was spoken, you felt yourself fall into a trance. The forest around you faded and disappeared, and a laboratory replaced it. There were many people in lab coats working, some at tables, some looking at screens, some studying clipboards full of papers and charts. It seemed you were invisible to them because no one was reacting as you looked around the room.

“This is where you were born.” The low, gentle male voice entered your mind. It was comforting, as if you knew it well. When a light purple pokemon appeared beside you, you weren’t startled in the least.

“Mewtwo,” you replied breathlessly. “Who am I? What am I?” The desperation of finding answers laid heavy on your chest. “Is this a memory? Or is this present time?” Questions swirled in your mind, but when Mewtwo held up his three-fingered hand, it calmed.

“I understand the chaos in your mind, very well, in fact. Do you know how I came to be?”

“Yes,” you replied automatically. Pausing, you realized it was something you had always known, which was frustrating. Why didn’t you know anything about yourself, but you knew about this pokemon? “Giovanni, the leader of team rocket, contributed his DNA to mix with Mew to create something new and powerful. You.”

“Exactly. And they took my DNA and a human female’s DNA to do the same thing, which made you. Their goal was to make a human with my powers. It seems they have achieved it.”

“Powers?” You couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “I have no powers.”

“I must go.” Mewtwo looked behind him. You were sure he was looking at something that wasn’t in this memory... or vision... or whatever this was. “I will contact you soon, I promise.”

Before you could say anything else, the pokemon faded, as well as the laboratory. You came back to the real world quickly, your stomach rolling as Namjoon and his pokemon came back into view. You leaned to the side and vomited all over the grass. As you empty your stomach, you realized the sun was down and the stars were fully out.

---------------

Namjoon held back panic as you suddenly blinked and started to retch. The pokemon stepped back, giving you space, as Namjoon held your hair and rubbed your back. You must have seen something awful to be reacting like this. He believed you had been in a trance, probably having to do with where you came from. It was the only thing that made sense. After whispering soothing words, he offered you water to rinse out of your mouth.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” He had no idea what he could do. He kept a hand on your back, resisting the urge to pull you close and cross the line he had drawn for himself over the past week. You smiled shakily and finally sat the half empty water bottle on the blanket.

“We shall leave, give you some space. If you need anything, we will be here.” Fable gave a nod, then prodded Caly with their snout. The kingly pokemon reluctantly followed Virizion toward the center of camp. Namjoon was left sitting next to you, wanting nothing more than to comfort you as much as you would let him.

“I... it’s true. I think. I’m sure,” you added with more conviction. You took a deep breath and leaned into him. Namjoon immediately accepted, closing his eyes as you snuggled against his chest. He ran a hand through your hair as you gripped him tightly around the waist. After a long while. you pulled back.

“Better?” After you nodded, he started to pull his hands away from your shoulders, but you leaned forward once more. His heart beat faster as you returned to your spot, head nestled into his chest. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I have Mewtwo’s DNA.”

The words caused Namjoon to freeze. He hoped you hadn’t noticed, and he forced himself to relax immediately afterward. Clearing his throat, he tried his best to work through the shock of the famous man made pokemon being mentioned.

“What.. what did you see?” He put his chin on top of your head.

“Mewtwo contacted me through our minds. Maybe the DNA made it easier? I was in a lab. Well, shown a lab.” You paused, then continued. “He said I had powers.”

“Powers? I... suppose it would be the next logical thought...” How else was he supposed to respond? Nothing like this had ever happened before. What if the mixture of the different DNA’s had caused something awful inside you? Namjoon squeezed you tighter. You returned it, unaware of him closing his eyes in fear. He opened them quickly, though, not wanting to dwell.

“Powers could mean so many things,” you stated with a sigh, pulling back. Namjoon studied your face and saw how tired you look.

“Why don’t we sleep on it? You look exhausted.”

“Can.. can I sleep with you tonight?” Your words left him speechless. He opened his mouth once, then shut it. Namjoon felt his cheeks turn red as he cleared his throat. It took a few moments for you to realize what you had said, and lifted your hands to frantically wave it off. “I didn’t mean it that way! I was wondering if I could sleep next to you! In your tent! In my own bedroll!”

“Obviously!” he replied, his voice a little higher than normal. He pretended nothing was awkward as he stood and held out his hand for you. You took it, letting him pull you up. Still a bit unsteady, you put your arm around his waist, and Namjoon took a bit of your weight as you both made your way to his tent.

Namjoon caught Fable watching, and immediately cut off eye contact, face still red.

“You’re becoming more and more obvious with your feelings,” Fable said in his mind. Namjoon ignored it and the amused chuckle that followed.

----------------

You couldn’t sleep because of the acute knowledge of Namjoon sleeping beside you. He was inches away, and it felt like sparks were coursing through your body. At first you thought it might be whatever power Mewtwo had mentioned, but you would be a fool to deny the attraction between Namjoon and yourself. Still, you were too focused on what had just happened. Did he see you differently, now? Your relationship had grown into something nice and comfortable, and you didn’t want to ruin that.

As you nibbled your lip with worry, you heard Namjoon turn in his sleep to wrap his body around yours, throwing his arm across your waist. He pulled you into his chest, and your back hit a solid wall of muscle. Your breath caught in your throat as lust slammed into you. Had you ever felt lust before? You tried to recall a moment of your past that included sex, but nothing came to the surface.

“Oh my god, I’m a virgin,” you muttered to yourself. You snorted and brought a hand to your mouth to keep your laughter in. It was an absurd thought, honestly, and it calmed your charged nerves. You sighed and wiggled back against him. His warmth surrounded you and built a wall of comfort you couldn’t remember feeling before you met him.

Apparently you had finally gone to sleep, because your eyes fluttered open as the sun was coming up, the night bugs singing their last notes. The first thing you noticed was the warmth still around you. The second thing was the large, bare hand against your skin just under your shirt.

“Joon?” you whispered, body still. You waited a moment, then said his name again. The only response was a soft snore. With a shaky breath, you began to gently pull his arm off you. Once you knew he was still asleep, you slipped out of the tent and into the clearing lit by the sunrise.

“May I speak with you?” You were startled by Caly, the rabbit-like pokemon. You placed a hand over your chest, taking a breath to calm your jumping heart. “I... owe you an apology. I was very rude.”

“Thank you for apologizing.” You moved to lean against a tree trunk, watching the orange sky. Caly floated next to you. After some silence, he continued to speak to you through telepathy.

“It seems you and I have more in common than we both thought,” Caly stated. “Have your powers developed, yet?”

“Does speaking to Mewtwo in my mind count as a power?”

“I think it does. Would you like me to help you explore what kind of powers you may have inherited?”

--------------

Reaching out, Namjoon ran his hand over the sleeping bag next to him. His eyes were still closed, but it was immediately easy to tell you were not there anymore. He knew he hadn’t been dreaming of your body close to his, of his hand running along your skin. Had it made you run away? Frustrated with himself and his inability to just admit certain things, Namjoon let out a heavy sigh and sat up.

When he emerged from the tent, he was surprised to see you and Caly staring at one another. The pokemon was floating at eye-level with you, with a light purple and pink aura around you both. Your eyebrows were furrowed, body in a position that seemed sturdy. Confused, he walked closer, but was stopped by Lobo the flapple fluttering to his shoulder.

“Is.. she okay?” Namjoon wondered out loud, watching as a bead of sweat run from your hairline and down your cheek. Flapple chirped his own confusion, tilting its head.

“She wanted to learn.” Fable gracefully came to his side. “I think this aura is all her doing. I’m surprised Caly has decided to let her take over their body.”

“What?” Namjoon wasn’t sure he heard right. He pulled his eyes away from the scene and toward the green pokemon. “She’s... she’s holding Caly up on her own....”

“It’s a simple skill, but it gets more difficult to hold it for long periods of time. They have been like this for a good twenty minutes.”

Suddenly, you gasped and slid to the ground, eyes closed, just as the aura disappeared immediately. Calyrex caught themselves before they hit the ground, and floated over your still body. Namjoon called your name, tripping over himself to get to you. He dropped to sit on the ground and pulled you into his lap. You groaned and let yourself be pressed sideways against him.

He held you close as you trembled, your skin glowing with sweat. Calyrex looked cool and collected, like always, as they watched Namjoon run his hands over your body. Relieved nothing was physically wrong, he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. His chest ached with worry as he leaned forward, his lips near your ear.

“Can you hear me?” He called your name once more, and your eyelids fluttered open.

------

The power had been intense, although Calyrex has assured you it was only a simple skill any pokemon that was psychic mastered as a young. Floating yourself was one thing, but focusing on manipulating others energies to keep them off the ground? It didn’t take long for you to feel yourself straining, sweat from the mental effort covering your skin. As you concentrated, you saw the swirling purple and pink aura surrounding yourself and Caly, the pressure against your skin oddly comforting, yet frightening.

The next thing you knew, you were in Namjoon’s lap, so weak you could barely keep your eyes open. You stared into his brown ones, wide with concern. His large, gentle hands roamed your body, checking joints and bones and anything else that could have gotten hurt. You closed your eyes once again, comforted by his presence, but the small shake he gave you made you fling them open once more.

“Stay awake, just for a moment. Speak to me. Does anything hurt?” His arms tightened, bringing you to lean against his chest. You felt and heard his heartbeat slamming through his chest.

“I’m ... okay,” you whispered. “Just tired. Let me rest. Caly said this was normal.” Your eyes closed once more as you were placed on the ground. After a moment, Namjoon lifted you, bridal style, and carried you to a large blanket Lobo and Tori had spread out as a makeshift bed. The rising sun didn’t penetrate your eyelids as you rested, hand on Namjoon’s knee. He sat beside you as you slept.

--------

Spritz was the one to pull a reluctant Namjoon away from your side when they chirped and pulled him toward the trees. Fable realized there were some trainers and their pokemon trapped on a cliff with no way down. As this part of Namjoon’s job, he couldn’t just ignore it. He put Otis in charge of staying with you, which the apathetic pokemon did so with a snort.

After the three kids and pokemon were helped down the cliff, a couple hours had passed. Namjoon had been distracted a few times with you, almost slipping himself as he scaled the rocks. Caly scolded him even as Namjoon gulped down water on the way back to the camp.

“You could have killed yourself, Namjoon. I don’t understand what happened. You’re usually so careful! Humans are so confusing...”

“Bi..bibi!” Spritz giggled as it fluttered around Fable and then near Namjoon. It seemed highly amused with the situation, and patted his head sympathetically. Namjoon wasn’t sure what the mythical pokemon found so hilarious - Calyrex was right, he could have really gotten hurt.

“It’s because he’s in love.” Fable said, so casually Namjoon almost missed the teasing lilt in the telepathic voice. He choked on water he had just swallowed, having to stop his steps and lean forward, coughing violently.

“Bi! Cel-Cel...!” Spritz frowned as they patted his back again.

“I’m okay, just swallowed wrong,” Namjoon gasped, wiping his mouth. Finally, he got his breathing under control enough to begin walking once more. Tori leaned her head down and grinned her usual goofy grin, grunting her concern. Namjoon reached up, patted the huge body of the tree-like pokemon, and continued walking. Lobo rested on Fable’s back.

“Love, romance, a purely human invention,” Caly scoffed. The party crossed into the small clearing where the camp was, and Namjoon felt his breath catch as he stopped in his tracks. Otis was creating music with his body, his shield opened to expose the center part of himself. You were happily hopping around, laughing and spinning as you danced in a circle.

“Well, that’s something I never thought I’d see,” Fable muttered in as much awe as everyone else in the group. “All I’ve known Otis to be is grumpy.”

As the group entered the camp and interrupted your dancing, Namjoon’s head was filled with what Fable has said. Love. Was he in love with you? He had been in relationships before, but it wasn’t like he was an expert in that emotion. Still, it was easy to see as soon as it was noticed.

The nervousness when he spoke to you or thought about you, the flush he always felt when you were near, the awkward situations he found himself in when only you were there or in his mind. It was clearly obvious - he had feelings for you and it was getting strong.

You smiled at him as the pokemon worked together to build a fire to cook lunch, coming to sit on a log that had been a bench for the last week. You scooted close to his side, the sunshine raining down on everything. He resisted the urge to grab your hand.

“Fable told me about the kids on the cliff. You’re amazing, you know that?” Namjoon chuckled, bashful with the compliments, especially as it came from you. You knocked his shoulder with yours. “I’m serious! It’s a dangerous thing to do, be a ranger, but you put your heart and soul into it. You care about people and pokemon and the earth we live on.”

“Someone has to,” he replied. “I think the fire’s ready, I’m going to make us some lunch.” As he focused on cooking, his thoughts were sprinkled with you, as they always were lately. A small smile was stuck on his face, and Namjoon didn’t even notice. Unfortunately, the facts of your origin snuck in with the other thoughts.

You were a pokemon. Could a human feel this way for a pokemon? But were you really? Sure you had the DNA of Mewtwo, which was made from Mew and a human, but... you looked human. Nothing about you was out of ordinary, at least from an objective perspective. To him, though, you were extraordinary, a beautiful soul and a pretty face all rolled into one.

------------

That evening, after a week of avoidance, you stared at the screen of Namjoon’s laptop. The folder named NOCTURNA stared back at you, taunting you with answers and more questions. The sun was almost below the horizon, and everything was quiet, settling down to sleep. You felt the comforting presence of Namjoon dozing in his sleeping bag next to the bench, where he had insisted on staying while you did this.

You glanced toward him, taking in his softened features and gentle breathing. On his back, one hand was under his head while the other was on his stomach atop the cover. The realization of your feelings came to you rather quickly, as your stomach jumped and rolled with nerves. You had never been in love, but it seemed obvious this was it. How did you know without... knowing? Maybe a part of you that you didn’t remember had experienced it before.

After taking a deep breath, you opened the file. There was one PDF file labeled JOURNALS, and one text document labeled “READ FIRST”. Whoever had given this USB to you had left a note, it seemed. You lifted your hand from the touchpad and placed them on your lap. The arrow hovered over the text document, waiting for you to give it instructions with the double tap of your fingers. The butterflies in your stomach turned into a storm, a happy feeling changing into one of anxiety and fear. This was it, this was where some answers would be.

Swallowing hard, you lifted your trembling hand and double tapped the touchpad. The text document took a few seconds to open.

Let me begin by apologizing for my actions that have led to your mistreatment. I understand that these are merely words that you are reading, so I don’t expect you to completely forgive me. I will not apologize for the reason, though, as that pertains to more than just myself. The reasons for your creation were for good, I promise you that.

My life had turned toward good, giving back to those I had wronged and focusing on making the world a better place. During that time, my partner gave birth to a child, a little girl, who had a tremendous duty ahead of her. Unfortunately, my partner had been a part of a group called Nocturna.

Unknowingly, they had used her as an experiment. I did not know they had added the genetics of Mewtwo to my wife, but once you were born, the group made sure I knew. They took you.

It has taken me years to find you, but here you are, a grown woman that these wretched people had poked and prodded so thoroughly there wasn’t anything alive inside you. When I finally got you out, I made sure to take this USB, as well as wipe your memory with their technology.

I am too old to continue my deeds, good or bad, so now it’s up to you. This USB is proof to my successor in Viridian City that you are my daughter. Go there, and everything that was mine will be yours.

Be safe, be kind, and don’t make my mistakes.

Giovanni Sakaki

By the end of the letter, tears were flowing down your cheeks. Unable to hold back, you put your face in your hands and sobbed. Your memories may be gone, but the pain, confusion, and fear that had been most of your life was thrown back into you. It was hard to breathe, you cried so hard. You didn’t even flinch when someone sat beside you and held you close, his deep, calming voice telling you it was going to be okay.

You didn’t know how long you sat there, him holding you, but the stars were high in the sky when you finally pulled away. Suddenly, you were self-conscious about the state you were in - puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Namjoon took your face in his hands, though, and leaned close. His lips touched your forehead, staying for a moment, then pulled back.

“The letter... there’s a lot of things in it. Do you want to talk about it?” You shook your head immediately. “What about the journals?” You repeated the action, placing your head against his chest and wrapping your arms around his waist. His arms seemed to shelter you from all the frightening emotions and unanswered questions swirling in your mind. “Let’s get some rest, then.”

----------

He wasn’t sure what else to do, so he held you close as you two settled into one sleeping bag inside the tent. You had been silent this whole time, but he couldn’t blame you. He had read through the letter as you sobbed earlier. Namjoon was shocked and confused, but he could only imagine how much more emotions you were feeling. Had your memories returned? Was the amnesia permanent? It was clear now was not the time to ask these questions, especially when you were finally calm.

“Namjoon?” you asked, your hands between your bodies, your face pressed against his chest. He kissed your hair, just under his chin. “Namjoon, I...” You trailed off.

“What is it?” He pulled away just enough to see you move your eyes from his chest to his face. Something was in there that he hadn’t expected to see. Lust. He swallowed as his body started to react, starting to feel every inch of you pressing against his body, no matter the sweatpants and tshirt he was wearing.

“It hurts. Not physically, but.... emotionally? I don’t feel good. I want to feel good.” You stopped, biting your lip as your eyes closed for a moment. You opened them and continued. “Can I feel good with you?”

“You mean...? You’re emotionally hurting right now, maybe this isn’t the best way to deal with it right now...” Namjoon trailed off as you placed a hand on his cheek, and scooted up enough to press your lips against his. He closed his eyes, the soft touch electrifying everything. He kissed you back, barely, then pulled back. Your noses stayed close enough to touch.

“Before the letter, it was on my mind,” you admitted, a bashful smile on your lips as you avoided his eyes. “Last night, when we were lying together. I didn’t want to interrupt your sleep, though, so I left and practiced with Caly.”

“Oh,” he replied, swallowing hard. Namjoon placed a soft kiss on your lips in response, hesitating for only a moment before opening his mouth to kiss you deeper. You showed no hesitation as you opened your mouth and teased his lips with your tongue.

Limbs wrapped around one another, and he found himself rolling to be on top, your thighs opening desperately as he pressed himself against you. Lips and tongue tangled as you both rocked your clothed hips desperately. The sleeping bag gave little room to pull away, and everything seemed heat even more as you nibbled on his lips.

“Are you sure?” Namjoon asked, whispering your name as your hands ran down his chest. He hovered over you, body trembling as your roaming hands touched the skin at the edge of his shirt.

“Definitely sure. I want to feel you, all of you.” You smirked at him, a playful twinkle in your eye. He returned it with a smile, then caught your lips again with his. He rocked his hips and you let out a delicious groan. “I don’t want to wait. Pull down your pants.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Namjoon rasped. It was difficult to maneuver your bodies to disrobe, but you both managed to discard the items with giggles and stolen kisses. Finally, you were skin to skin, with him large and aching between your thighs.

He couldn’t resist the urge to kiss your skin, so he trailed his lips over your neck and to your breasts, swirling his tongue around the nipples as you arched your back and whimpered. Your hand reached between your bodies, wrapping around his cock. Namjoon gasped and brought his lips back to yours, kissing you hard as he shuddered.

“Fuck, that feels too good,” he groaned. You removed your hand and wrapped your legs around his hips. This caused the head to press against your slick heat. Namjoon’s head spun as he flexed, coating himself in you as the head of his cock hit your clit.

“Don’t stop,” you whimpered into his ear. He buried his face into your neck, biting, kissing, and licking as you rutted against one another. He kept moving, ignoring the way he was getting closer and closer to his climax. You writhed beneath him. Namjoon reached down and circled your clit with his fingers.

You gasped and bucked, surprising both of you as you cried out and climaxed at his hand. His cock pulsed against your opening, covering your mound with his release. It was so unexpected, his hand was almost splashed.

Breathing hard, he placed hands on either side of your head, looking down at your face, clearly showing content and pleasure. His arms trembled, but he focused on catching his breath and staring into your eyes. His own eyes widened as a purple and pink aura began to glow around the two of you.

-----------

You had not felt such bliss, such pleasure, and you didn’t want to let it end. You hadn’t paid attention to Namjoon, and when you realized that fact as you stared into his eyes, guilt ascended. He hovered over you, breathing heavily, watching you with wide eyes filled with surprise, lust, and care. You felt his sticky cum between your bodies. He had climaxed as you had, but you hadn’t done anything to help him along.

“I’m sorry, Joonie, I wasn’t paying attention to what you needed,” you purred, feeling confident even without practice. His mouth tried to form words as you pulled the hand that was still covered in his release from beside your head and to your mouth. He leaned heavily on his other forearm as you licked his fingers, sighing with pleasure at the taste of him on your tongue. “Can we do that again?”

“I may need a few minutes,” he answered roughly, rolling to his side. “Um... you’re glowing?” he pointed out, confused. It took a moment, but you then noticed the pink and purple power aura swirling around you and partially around him. You also felt more powerful than you had ever felt before. You didn’t know if it was the climax, or the fact you had finally given into your feelings.

“I see. I think I can use this,” you stated with a grin. Namjoon raised his eyebrows as you pushed against his chest. “Lay on your back, Joonie.” He did as you asked, and you settled yourself between his thighs, hands on his skin. He sucked in a breath as you studied his soft cock.

“Use your powers?” he asked breathlessly, putting his hands behind his head.

“Maybe,” you replied, winking.

You leaned forward and placed a kiss on the tip of his cock, causing it to start growing. A low growl came from Namjoon’s throat. You appreciated him letting you experiment. You took a breath in and blew lightly against him. Smoky purple and pink energy swirled around his member, and you heard him gasp loudly as it began to grow even more. He whimpered, and you felt a hand fall into your hair, His hips flex upward, his cock twitching.

You did it once again, this time circling your fingers around him. Your fingertips didn’t touch anymore, and you knew he was growing even larger. Namjoon cursed and whispered your name, his body starting to tremble. The purple and pink energy swelled to encompass the tent, heightening the arousal of Namjoon and yourself.

“You're so big, I don’t know how you’ll fit inside me. I suppose that’s the fun of it,” you added. You leaned forward and placed your lips on his cock, slowly sliding down. Namjoon placed both hands into your hair, tightening his hold as you took him halfway into your mouth. Your tongue swirled around his member as much as possible, a bit of saliva running down onto your hand gripping him.

You took your time to taste him, moving your head and hand together to pull moans and gasps from Namjoon.

“Baby, please, I’m so close, Where do you want me?” Namjoon’s voice was choppy, the pleasure clear as he shook with pleasure. You lowered even more on his cock, just an inch or two from the bottom, and he cried out, gently pulling your hair. You knew he was climaxing, so you used your psychic aura to stop it just before he let himself go. “Fuck, what was that?” he whimpered.

You pulled off his member slowly, letting the saliva lubricate your hand as you pumped him. You felt powerful and sexy as you saw his face, eyes half-lidded and mouth open. He was covered in sweat, his eyes staring lovingly at you.

“I used my power. Did you like it?” Suddenly, you weren’t so sure that had been the right choice. Your own body pulsed with desire, nipples hard and your entrance weeping. You stopped moving your hand.

“Oh, yeah, that was... amazing,” he answered, trying to catch his breath. His cock twitched in your hand, bringing back your sexual confidence. You began to stimulate him again, using your hand on his cock and your energy to stroke against his skin, especially the places he seemed to enjoy the touch.

“Do you want me to continue? I want to but...” you trailed off and let some spit dribble onto his throbbing cock. He grunted, hips lifting, as he nodded quickly.

“God, yes, don’t stop.” He placed his hands under his head once more. You watched as he shut his eyes tightly, a shaky breath leaving his lips. “Fuck, I want to be inside you... can I?”

“Yes,” you immediately answered, letting him go. He watched as if you were the most beautiful and precious thing as you climbed on top, lining his member up with your slick opening. You rubbed yourself over his cock, your mound still sticky with his release before. His eyes zeroed in between your thighs. “Help me,” you requested with a whimper, unsure how to get him to fit inside you.

“Okay, okay,” he rasped, putting his hands on your hips. He flexed his hips as you shifted, and suddenly he was inside. You both gasped at the same time, the aura around the tent brightening. Trembling, you felt yourself being stretched to the point of pleasurable pain. He cursed, gripping your hips tightly. “Baby, you okay? Shit, you're tighter than I thought...” His dirty words, which he never said before, caused a rush of wetness to slide around him inside of you. It helped him move deeper inside you.

“It hurts, but in a good way,” you groaned, shifting slightly. “I didn’t realize it would feel so good.” You placed your hands on his chest, lowering yourself the rest of the way. After he was buried completely inside, you caught the look on his face.

“You’ve never done this.” It was a statement filled with emotion. The energy pulsed around you in time with his cock flexing against your inner walls. You controlled some energy around him, stroking his body again the way he enjoyed moments ago. He grunted as he pulled you off of him half way. You went to protest, but he lifted his hips and slammed you back downward.

“Joon!” you cried, clenching around him. He did it once more, like he was testing your reaction. His eyes glittered with arousal now, remembering what made you cry out, what made you shudder in pleasure. “No, I haven’t,” you replied as you gasped for air. “I’m sure of that.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, starting to repeat his thrusting slowly, over and over again. With each movement, you felt the amazing climax from before coming closer and closer to you. Eyes closed, you let yourself give him control, moving your body the way he wanted. “Thank you for trusting me, thank you for this.” His words confused you, but the tenderness made tears come to your eyes.

“Joon,” you murmured, eyes opening. You bent over, capturing his lips, as you matched his thrusts. The kisses turned sloppy, only wanting to taste more and more of each other. “Do that again,” you demanded at a particularly pleasurable thrust. Namjoon did as you asked, and you cried out. “I’m almost there!”

“Me too, baby. Can you ride me? Fuck,” he added when you took his hands and slammed them on either side of his head.

You took control, slamming down onto his cock at a rapid pace. You focused on him, taking the energy once again and stroking his skin, this time moving down to stimulate his balls. His eyes opened wide, curses leaving his mouth. After a few moments, you slammed down and grinded your clit against his pelvis, clenching his cock, as you orgasmed harder than before. You felt him release inside you, the warmth and fullness of him making you shudder even harder. Purple and pink clouds of energy brightened even more, then shuddered along with you into uncountable falling stars.

You fell onto his chest and gasped for air, eyes closed tightly, as you kept yourself in the mental high of orgasm as long as possible. You felt strong arms wrap around you, sticky with sweat, and breathed in the heady smells of sex. The psychic energy that had floated in the tent slowly dissipated into nothing, and all that was left was the sound of Namjoon and you breathing deeply.

-------

After a nervous start the morning after, Namjoon and you stumbled through the beginnings of a new relationship as the days passed. Another week went by before you made a decision, and Namjoon supported you completely. It didn’t take long for you to establish yourself with the Pokemon Ranger program as a supportive ranger, with your psychic abilities suited for healing and soothing wounded pokemon and people. Still, you knew you would eventually make your way to Viridian City, where your father’s legacy awaited your return.

In time, you had a team of your own that helped in your newly acquired duties as Namjoon’s support and medic. Even though it wasn’t his official title, Namjoon was the same for you. Nightmares would come and go, and he would stay there, holding you close as you cried. Every loving kiss, every gentle touch, allowed your emotional wounds to heal. You even conversed with Mewtwo a handful of times over the year, learning a few offensive psychic techniques that you hoped to never have to use. The pokemon insisted you would never meet in person, but it was always in the back of your mind. You did have his DNA inside of you.

It was Namjoon’s idea to set up a traveling clinic, and you expanded that into specializing in abandoned psychic pokemon. The type was as misunderstood as ever, and the aftermaths of abusive, greedy groups were always going to be there. Just as Namjoon and his pokemon team allowed you to grow and heal, you would be there for these pokemon. Sleeping under the stars was one of your favorite things to do when you and Namjoon spent time together outside of work, which would include deep conversations and heated touches. Eventually, your memories returned, and a year later, all was clear. That was when you decided it was time to face your past, your family legacy, and create something new and wonderful out of something as dark as Nocturna

During one of those times, just over a year since you had met him, Namjoon held you close as you sat between his thighs, back pressed against his chest. You felt his relaxed breathing near your ear, and found your own breath matching his. With a blanket wrapped around both of you, everything was comfortable and warm.

“I love you,” Namjoon said quietly, lips touching the top of your ear in a light kiss. You let out a soft sigh and closed your eyes, the sincere and beautiful words flowing through your skin and into your soul. Everytime he said it, it was almost unbelievable, but he would always prove himself.

“I love you, too,” you replied, eyes opening. You leaned to the side, turned your head, and kissed the corner of his lips. It was an awkward position, and you both giggled and returned to your previous position. “I contacted the Viridian City gym leader today.”

“What?” Namjoon froze, shocked at the news. He squeezed you tighter. The note of concern in his voice was sweet, but you patted the arm that was around your waist.

“I’m not changing my path in life, just adding another part. I’m going to meet him and maybe make a business deal. We need donations to keep the clinic going and up to date, might as well start using what was left to me, right?”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“I… yeah, that might help, I’m nervous to meet the famous rock trainer and gym leader, Jeon Jungkook.”

EVERLAST CLINIC TEAM

#bts fanfiction #namjoon smut #pokemon au #bts #namjoon x reader #kim namjoon #fic: pokemon purple #fic: echoes

51 notes · View notes

voids-colourful-creations · 3 years

Text

Ships Passing in the Night and Sailing Together Until Morning - Interlude I

In the Grass

Summary: Satoshi takes a break. Goh asks a question. Pikachu enjoys a well deserved nap.

[Read on Ao3!]

[<Prev. Chapter] [Next Chapter>]

Goh sat cross legged on the grass, the edge of his left sneaker pressing against his leg. He had been sitting for long enough that the pattern of the sole had been imprinted onto his skin. The cuffs of his pants had been rolled up as the sun beating down through the intricate glass dome grew stronger, and all black clothing began to feel less and less practical.

The breeze that day carried throughout Sakuragi Park, a concept that confused Goh, considering it was a fairly closed environment, what with the glass dome and all. However, the gentle wind was soothing enough that he was willing to let it go, for the time being.

The leaves on the trees shook enthusiastically as the wind blew through, as if encouraging it to continue. The slightly shaking shadows fell just short of where Goh lay, within reach but not quite where he sat.

This was how he liked it.

The grass was lush and vibrant green, either due to the nearby river or the high numbers of grass pokemon inside. Perhaps both.

It was soft, Goh thought, when laid upon like this. The individual strands were wiry and sharp, depending on what angle they were held at, but together they formed a soft bed. The sun had yet to warm them, leaving it pleasantly cool to lie upon.

The sun rose further into the sky, and the heat seemed to increase tenfold. Although, perhaps the sun wasn’t entirely to blame, and some fault should be placed on the smoke spreading across the landscape.

Electricity crackled, scorch marks being left upon grass not too far from where Goh was sitting.

It was a bit strange, Goh noticed, that despite the vibrant yellow sparks colliding against the air, the grass, and the seemingly fiery blue orbs that were their initial target, his attention was caught by only one thing.

Captivating was a word Goh found himself using to describe Satoshi with growing frequency. He knew he wasn’t the first, he knew he wouldn’t be the last, but there was something about him that drew people in. He had heard people talking about it before, his flare in battle being a common thing mentioned, but for Goh it was more the opposite.

Before Satoshi, Goh had been... less than interested in battling. More than anything, he couldn’t understand the point, resulting in him finding himself bored every time he tried to follow a match.

Sure, competition was fun, and exploring what pokemon could do was always interesting. But the spectacle, the awards, the prestige of what was, on a surface level, just shouting some instructions, couldn’t make sense in Goh’s mind.

Satoshi had changed that. Satoshi had changed a lot of things. How Goh felt about battling, how Goh wanted to achieve his dream, how fast his heart beat in his chest. Lots of things. And for the most part, Goh was thankful for that.

However even with Satoshi in the middle of it, his smile making the whole affair so much more beautiful in Goh’s eyes, there were so many parts that just didn’t make sense.

But Satoshi loved to battle, and so despite the initial confusion, Goh didn’t really mind watching him train.

Something in the back of his mind told him he would’ve minded, had it not been Satoshi, which he dismissed.

Blue and yellow lights clashed, never quite mixing into the appropriate green. The grass was sent rustling from the resulting gusts.

Riolu moved too quickly for Goh’s eyes to track, becoming not more than a blur of blue and black, occasionally letting out a yell or grunt of effort. The same could be said for Pikachu, darting back and forth in what Goh guessed to be an effort to confuse Riolu on his exact location. It was working to moderate success, a few of Riolu’s attacks landing, but more not.

Riolu readied another attack, aiming directly towards Pikachu. The glow of it shined in Pikachu’s eyes, changing their colour from brown to unnatural blue for a moment.

“Dodge it, Pikachu!”

Satoshi's voice called out, strong and rough and passionate. The words wedged themselves firmly in Goh’s mind.

Maybe it was the way that Satoshi yelled them that got them caught, the emotion and heat of the moment. It could also be the boy himself who yelled them. Goh shook his head at these ideas.

To dodge, as a command, was confusing on its own, no need to make it deeper than it was, right?

Besides, he could figure that out right now, the battle having winded to a close.

Taking a deep breath, Goh stretched his arms above his head, bringing them down in a fluid motion to grab one leg. Reaching out forward, Goh unfolded his legs to sit out in front of him. With his left foot planted back, Goh pushed himself to standing, and ran down the gentle slope to meet Satoshi.

“Good job, buddy!” Satoshi praised, “You did great out there.”

He bent down and stroked the fur between Pikachu’s ears with the practice of someone who had done this so many times it was as natural as breathing. Pikachu softly squeaked out something in response, contented.

“You too, Riolu!”

Satoshi called across the field, to which Riolu howled happily in return.

Satisfied, he returned his attention to running his fingers against Pikachu’s fur.

“You’ve been working hard! Good job, Satoshi,” Goh called, waving a bit as he walked over.

Satoshi’s eyes sparkled a bit as turned to face Goh, scooping Pikachu up in his arms as he straightened so he could continue to pet him as he spoke.

“Nah nah, Pikachu and Riolu are the ones doing all the work.” Satoshi deflected with a smile, Pikachu cooing at the compliment. ”I’m just giving them directions and all.”

Goh frowned ever so slightly.

“Well, that’s clearly not true. If you were cjust giving them directions, there wouldn’t be any need for trainers in battles at all, you could just send out the pokemon to fight on their own. Besides, weren’t you the one who told me that pokemon and trainers work as a team? There’s no need to downplay your achievements, you should be proud of yourself.”

He bit his lip as he finished speaking, having rambled on much more than he had meant to. It just didn’t seem fair, Satoshi not recognizing his accomplishments.

Satoshi’s face was blank as he stared for a moment, though it quickly shifted to a smile again.

“You’re right! Both that I said that, and that we’re a team. Thanks.”

Goh shook his head.

“It’s nothing, I’m just repeating what you already knew.”

Satoshi’s smile shifted to a smirk.

“Okay now who’s downplaying?”

Goh rolled his eyes, but he was happy to see Satoshi smiling.

“Come take a break for a bit, Satoshi.” Goh said, phrased like a statement but voiced like a request.

Satoshi looked hesitant, looking back and forth between Pikachu in his arms and Riolu across the field.

“Please?” Goh added, which seemed to be enough for Satoshi.

“Alright! Riolu! We’re taking a break, okay?” Satoshi called again, receiving a nod from Riolu in reply as it ran off, presumably to chat with the other park pokemon. Or maybe fight them.

Satoshi turned back towards Goh, nodding at him as he began to head up the hill, grass skimming his ankles as he went.

Goh followed closely behind, feeling a bit awkward not quite making pace but not wanting to speed up that last little bit for fear of looking clingy.

Satoshi sighed contently just before he flopped backwards onto the grass in the shade of the tree.

“Ack! It’s cold!” Satoshi cried out, spreading his arms out onto the lawn, and beginning to laugh.

Goh smiled, leaning back to sit across from Satoshi. Satoshi’s eyes fluttered closed, Goh’s remained open.

Tiny pieces of sunlight filtered down through the gaps in the leaves, shuddering slightly as the leaves shifted in the wind, illuminating Satoshi’s face in fragments.

“It’s nice actually! The cold grass, I mean. I didn’t think it’d be that cold!”

Goh laughed, a soft laugh that slipped through his fingers as he covered his mouth with his hands.

“It’s been in the shade, of course it’s going to be cooler than the grass you nearly set on fire.”

Eyes still closed, a grin stretched across Satoshi’s face.

“You’re right, you’re right.”

Pikachu tucked his feet beneath himself, curling up on Satoshi’s chest with a contented squeak. Lightly, as not to disturb the pokemon, Satoshi let his hands glide across the tips of the grass.

Goh watched with odd fascination as the blades bent under Satoshi’s finger tips, rustling softly.

“When you’re lying on it, it feels all soft, but the tips are kinda pointy” Satoshi remarked idly. “You should try it, Goh!”

Goh blinked for a moment, then shrugged.

He placed a hand down, dragging it back and forth.

And Satoshi was right, the grass was cold in a comforting, relieving way. But something about looking at Satoshi made Goh feel warm, warm, warm, and while he couldn’t quite understand it, it was growing in familiarity.

“Pointy, huh?” Goh remarked, poking a grass blade. It did have a tip to it, though he wasn’t sure if he would call it ‘pointy’.

Satoshi nodded.

“Yeah. Not sharp, it’s not thick enough for that, but ya know…! Pointy!”

Satoshi kept one hand on the ground, the other raising to wave in a nondescript motion in some attempt to convey what he meant.

Goh raised an eyebrow.

“There’s sharp grass?”

Satoshi nodded.

“Yeah! Or, hold on I might be mixing up the word. Actually, I’ll just show you!”

His eyes snapped open, Pikachu hopping off his trainer to curl up into the grass.

Satoshi practically leapt to standing, taking long, quick strides towards the base of the tree. Next to the trunk, the grass grew longer, in thicker strands that appeared to tangle in with one another. A couple other plants weaved themselves into the mix, and Goh couldn't name a single one.

“Here’s the type of grass! It has some special name, I think, but I can’t remember it. Here!”

Satoshi leaned over, pulling a handful of grass together and tearing it out, pushing the blades out with his thumb to fan them out. He bowed teasingly as he presented them to Goh, as if offering a gift to a king.

“Behold!”

Goh laughed again, picking up one of the blades between his forefinger and his thumb.

“Feel it, really feel it!" Satoshi said, "What’s it like?”

Goh ran his finger against the stalk.

“Hmm… This side is smooth… but this one isn’t! It’s… sticky? No, not sticky, it’s catching on my fingers because it's coarse- this is what you meant by sharp! That makes a lot of sense.”

Satoshi glowed.

“Exactly!”

Satisfied, he plopped himself down on the grass again, careful not to accidentally squish Pikachu. Goh followed suit, sitting closer to Satoshi this time. Their crossed legs mirrored one another, the freshly picked pile of grass being placed between them, knees not quite touching.

“Now,” Satoshi said, a mischievous look sparking in his eye, “Check this out!”

He placed one of the pieces of grass between the pointer fingers on both hands, pulling it taut with his thumbs, and wrapping his fingers together.

“Satoshi?”

Satoshi screwed his eyes shut, brought his cupped hands up to his lips— “Satoshi, what are you-" —and blew.

The resulting sound was that of a loud, squeaking honk, resonating throughout the park, startling more than a few pokemon. Pikachu jumped up, cheeks sparking slightly. Goh practically leapt a foot in the air, heart soaring even further.

(@atlix2)

“W-ww-what was that!?”

Satoshi grinned sheepishly.

“Grass blowing trick! I guess it works better outside… I think most of the park heard me…”

“I think Kalos heard you! Give a guy a warning next time…”

Satoshi laughed a bit, “Sorry, sorry!” But Goh could tell he meant it.

Pikachu crawled over to place his head in Satoshi’s lap, letting out a disgruntled "Pikapi pi-Ka-chu.”

Satoshi laughed, stroking Pikachu behind the ears.

“Did I startle you, buddy? Aw, I’m sorry.”

Pikachu nodded, but he didn’t seem all too upset. He rubbed his head against his trainer’s leg, and Satoshi smiled a bit softer.

“Tired, huh?”

“Pikaaa.”

“You did great out there. Strong attacks, excellent dodging.”

The sound of Satoshi’s battle commands filled Goh’s ears for a moment.

“Uh… speaking of dodging.”

Satoshi tilted his head to the side.

“What about it?”

Goh reached for one of the blades of grass, pressing his thumbnail into the side of it to tear it in two.

“I was just sort of wondering… why?”

Satoshi blinked.

“What?”

Goh went on, “Like, why is it a command, and why do you use it so much?”

The strand tore to two pieces, then three, then four.

“Sometimes it makes sense, but other times I don’t get it. Why do you tell your pokemon to dodge even if they’re obviously already seeing the attack and are gonna dodge anyway? Pikachu’s good at dodging like you said, he’s gonna get out of the way on his own. So... why call it out?”

As Goh spoke he feared stronger and stronger that his words were coming out wrong, the question sounding much more like an accusation than he had intended.

To Goh’s surprise, Satoshi merely smiled.

“Oh, I can explain that! It would be kind of confusing if you didn’t battle, I think.”

The knot in Goh’s chest seemed to loosen. Satoshi’s expression softened, focused in on Pikachu, not meeting Goh’s eye.

“Trainers have debated stuff like this before, but I think, at least for me, that it’s about trust. I want my partners to trust me, and to know that I’m guiding them through the whole battle, no matter what.”

Goh let the words seep into his mind, processing them slowly.

“So you’d call out for them, even if they didn’t need it?” He asked tentatively.

“Even if they don’t need it,” Satoshi replied, “It’s nice to know someone’s looking out for you, you know? That they care enough to try their hardest to make sure you won’t be hurt.”

Goh short circuited momentarily. Did he know? He wasn’t sure. No, no he wasn’t going to think about this. He was chatting with his friend about battle strategies. This was not the time to worry about something silly like this.

Though a tiny seed of doubt was planted in the depths of Goh’s mind. A fear that Satoshi was wrong. That no one was looking out for him, nor would anyone anytime soon.

It didn’t matter, he told himself. These were the foolish thoughts of a silly child. He could stand on his own just fine. What did it matter if there was anyone else? He didn’t need anyone else.

Tongue feeling out of place in his mouth, Goh spoke again.

“Won’t that just hurt them in the long run? Wouldn’t they get used to having someone calling out attacks? Then they wouldn’t be able to fight on their own.”

Satoshi’s expression shifted for a moment, and Goh’s breath caught in his throat. This was feeling eerily similar to an argument they had already had. One he wasn’t keen on repeating. One he still thought about, still cursed himself for jumping to conclusions, for being so paranoid that he had almost sabotaged everything before it had even begun.

Maybe because Goh’s fear showed on his face, or maybe because Satoshi remembered the same as Goh, or maybe just because Satoshi was a kind person, he smiled instead. A different sort of a smile, a knowing smile, with a touch of sadness to it.

“Silly Goh. The whole point is that they don’t have to fight on their own. We’re a team.”

And Goh’s heart ached badly, painfully. Of course. Of course Satoshi wouldn’t see it that way, the thought wouldn’t have even crossed his mind.

“I mean, a few of my pokemon have gone off to fight on their own, but they were the type to be pretty independent anyway. And even if they weren’t, I still think it’s important they know we’re a team. I’ll fight alongside them, as long as they'll have me.”

Goh nodded, voice not wanting to work for the time beginning.

Satoshi scratched Pikachu under the chin, a contented smile in his eyes.

“Me and my team against the world, right buddy!?”

Pikachu chirped happily in response.

And desperately, so desperately, Goh wanted to respond, “Us against the world, right?” To cry out “We’re a team too,” to whisper “I’ve got your back, I’ll watch out for you,” and other foolish things until Satoshi responded with equally foolish words in return.

However self doubt had long since taken root in Goh’s mind, and his traitorous lips refused to utter the words, for such strong fear of being misunderstood.

Cowardice, such cowardice.

Instead he replied, “Do your best. I’ll cheer for you.”

Somehow, despite himself, he hoped that Satoshi understood what he meant regardless.

“Haha, thanks,” Satoshi said, reaching up as he stretched, taking care not to disturb Pikachu. He yawned, which then turned into a laugh.

“You’re in no rush to get back to training, are you buddy?”

Pikachu, having closed his eyes and made himself comfortable, replied with a sleepy ‘Pikaaaa. Pi-kachu, Pichu.”

Satoshi smiled, eyes shutting slowly as though they were becoming too heavy to keep open.

“That’s what I thought. We can just rest for a little while longer then.”

Stretching out his arms with great effort, Satoshi flopped over to one side, Pikachu crawling out of the way to prevent himself from being tossed out of Satoshi’s lap.

Satoshi stretched out his legs, leaving one just slightly bent as Pikachu made himself comfortable. He turned around in small circles a few times, trying to pat down the grass into the right shape, then curled up against Satoshi’s side. One of Satoshi’s arms, though slightly bent at the elbow, stretched out across the grass, palm facing towards the sky. He let the other lay over Pikachu in a loose but protective hold.

“Just gonna… take a break… in this nice… soft grass…” Satoshi murmured.

Things were still for a moment, or as still as they could be. Goh stared at the piece of grass he had shredded in his hands.

“Hey, Satoshi. Do you think-“ But the words died in Goh’s mouth as he looked up to see what he had suspected. Satoshi had fallen asleep in the shade.

Before he could help it, a soft smile drifted onto Goh’s face, the sight of Satoshi sleeping there so contently somehow relaxing him.

Nothing for it, he supposed, but to follow suit.

Stretching himself out, though not so gracefully as Satoshi had, he presumed, Goh laid against the earth, Satoshi by his side.

His ankles were crossed, one hand under his head, the other by his side. He stared up the tree, wind blowing and shifting the leaves into new untraceable shapes. Something about the disarray was comforting.

His free hand stretched out to reach at the leaves above his head, trying to grasp to no avail. Goh let his hand drop gently, finding it landed in Satoshi’s palm.

He left it there.

The smell of grass, earthy but distinctly sweet in an odd way, drifted along the breeze.

When Satoshi woke up, the grass surely would have left marks on his skin, but he in kind would leave his mark on the grass, a soft shadow of where he had laid.

Goh wondered if he too would leave a mark. On the grass, on the earth, on the boy across from him.

Goh allowed himself to shut his eyes, willing himself to think of the grass, the wind, anything at all so long as for once it could be simple.

Lying there, Goh did not sleep, but he did dream.

[End]

(the art in this chapter was done by a friend, not me! it's wonderful, and you can support them right here: (@atlix2))

16 notes · View notes

eternal-love-song · 3 years

Text

Colorful Cavalcade ep 1

Two childhood friends, a former Gym Leader, a Pokemon Breeder, and a psychic Pokemon trainer begin their journey across the region of Talon.

[Pokemon Journey, Original Trainers, Original Pokemon Region, Pokemon Training, Developing Friendships, Adventure, Childhood Friends, Psychic Abilities]

Wordcount: 11k

Episode 1, Treble in Cantor

It was a clear night. The stars were bright overhead, the moon was a sliver in the sky, and the sea spray misted over her face. The song of the ocean mixed with the roar of the fire, creating a peaceful lullaby for the night. Behind her, Cormac was stoking the fire, adding a little more warmth to the air. It was a beautiful night, the kind of beauty that she had spent her whole life enjoying. She wouldn't say that it ever got old, but lately an idea had been floating in her mind more and more.

"Hey Cor?" She looked over her shoulder where Cormac was still poking at the fire. His Corsola was sitting on his shoulder and the Pokemon looked at her before he did. She smiled. Her own Corsola was wading in the water not too far off.

She waited for his pink eyes, so very similar to her own, to glance her way. His white hair danced in the breeze and a few of the hibiscus blooms she'd placed in his hair were being blown away. She'd have to be more careful next time; it was uncommonly sloppy work for her. "What's up Orchid?"

She looked up at the sky again, stretching her arms out over her head as she weighed her words one last time. "What do you think about leaving here?"

"Leaving?" He sounded more confused than upset, so she chanced a glance at him. He was studying her, as if he'd be able to read her intentions out of the air. They had been friends for nearly all their lives, but he still had no idea what she was thinking when she didn't want him to. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." she hesitated as she walked closer to him, holding out her arm so that Corsola could jump from his shoulder to hers. "Going on a journey. Across the whole region like other trainers do."

"You... want to?"

The surprise made it hard for her to properly gauge his reaction. She plopped down on the log beside him, facing the opposite way and leaning her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, I think I do. I don't want to go without you, though. It wouldn't be as much fun."

"You just want someone around to cook for you," he grumbled.

She giggled and nuzzled her head against him. She was probably ruffling the flower in her own hair, but she didn't much care about that. "That's not so bad, right? What would Dora do without you? Do you want her to starve?"

He leaned his head on top of hers. "She's not the only one that would be lost without me so I guess I have no choice."

Her smile widened and she couldn't help the burst of excited laughter she let out. "You mean it?"

"Yeah. Kora would be sad if I let you go alone anyway," he told her.

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as tight as she could. "You're the best, Cor."

"I kinda am the best, aren't I?" he shot back.

She shoved him and stuck out her tongue at him. "You'd cry if I left you behind anyway. This is for your own good."

"Yeah, alright. Whatever you say, Orchid."

She looked out at the sea where her Corsola, Dora, was making her way out of the water. She scooped the Pokemon up into her arms and spun on her heel in the sand, wisps of her pink hair falling into her face. "We're going on an adventure, Dora! Aren't you excited?"

The Pokemon made excited noises, along with Cormac's Corsola on her shoulder. Cormac watched as the three of them celebrated and she could tell that he was just as excited as she was, even if he was more subdued in showing it.

-------------------------

Cantor City was only a few hours journey from their sleepy beach town. Cormac barely saw any of it when they first arrived, following Orchid to a hotel where they could stay for the night. They spent a long time chatting excitedly from their opposite beds until she fell asleep, leaving him to watch the city from their window.

Honestly, there wasn’t much of a view. It was too late for the city to be too active and their room wasn’t high enough to see above the cityscape, but it was enough. His whole life he’d been able to look out his window to sand and sea, and now for the first time he was seeing something different.

Cormac thought he should feel something… bigger. He didn’t feel out of place or homesick at all, though. He just felt at peace. He was pretty sure that he could go anywhere as long as he had Orchid and his Corsola by his side. He could have stayed forever in his small town and never wonder what he was missing, and now he could explore forever with them and never think about going back.

With that thought drifting through his mind, he decided to go to bed.

Cormac was woken abruptly by something shaking his bed. He was startled upright, only to be immediately captured in Orchid's arms. That solved the mystery of what had woken him up before he'd had time to question it.

"Let's go watch the gym battles!" She squealed, bouncing slightly in her excitement.

"What?" He blinked a few times, trying to wake himself up while Orchid gently shook him.

"We've never seen one in person! Let's go!" She repeated excitedly. Her expression was bright, pink eyes shining with excitement and her hair already pinned up with a flower. Sometimes it amazed him how quick and early Orchid was able to wake up. Cormac could wake up early when he needed to, but it seemed like Orchid simply never slept.

"This couldn't have waited?" he asked.

"Who would want to?" she asked. "Aren't you excited?"

He wasn't sure if he was more excited than he was tired, but he nodded at her anyway. "Yeah, alright, I'll get up."

"Yay!" she cheered as she tossed the covers off of him and sprung off the bed. She scooped up Kora and Dora where they were sleeping on the table. He let himself fall back onto the bed with a yawn.

"Time to get up," he said sleepily to himself.

An hour later, after they were both dressed and fed, Orchid was leading him around the town. Both Kora and Dora were sitting on her shoulders, chatting happily as she led him by the hand and commented on everything. Cormac was torn between watching their excitement and the town around them.

There was a band of people playing music with their Pokemon in the town square and a few onlookers dancing. There were stall shops shouting for attention to their wares, selling souvenirs, food, and merchandise advertising the gym. There were people lounging about near the town well, a sea of calm amid the excited energy everywhere else. He could see a few buildings in the distance; a daycare, a Pokemon center, a pokemart, and their destination; the Pokemon gym.

"Something catch your eye?" Orchid was watching him over her shoulder. Kora and Dora tapping on her shoulder to tell her if she needed to move to one side or the other to avoid something in her path. The sight of three of them so close always made him feel warm inside. He squeezed her hand, reminding himself that he was just as much a part of this bubble of intimacy.

"Only everything," he answered. "How are you able to be so single minded?"

"I was watching everything out the window early, so I took in a lot of the splendor already." Her eyes wandered over her surroundings briefly before returning to him. "Plus, we have plenty of time to look through everything later. Right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

The gym was wider than it was tall, with statues of electric Pokemon standing on top of each other framing the double doors. There was one person standing at the door that stopped them when they approached. "Challenger or spectator?"

"Spectator," Orchid answered.

He pointed to the side of the building. "Enter where you see the Jolteon statue."

"Thanks." They walked to the side of the building and she dropped his hand to push open the large double doors. "Wow."

The inside looked a bit more like a concert hall than a Pokemon gym. There were rows of elevated seating all around the room and a large stage in the center. The room was reasonably crowded and it took them a bit to find two empty seats in the highest rows. There were Magnemites floating around the room using Light Screen and Barrier to wall off the audience from stray attacks and the other trainers on the side of the stage were fiddling with instruments.

"Do you think the gym leader has their own theme song?" Orchid asked. "How cool would that be?"

"Pretty cool," he answered. Now that he was here, his eyes were glued to the stage. The challenger was already there, dressed in dark clothing and floating his pokeballs in the air. "Really cool."

Then the music hit. Two mohawked girls on drum and guitar started a heavy beat while a guy with spiked hair growled into the mic. The vocals were purposefully low, blending well into the music as the gym leader marched out and onto the stage. She was dressed in bright electric blue, with short dark blue hair cut sharply over her shoulders, and oval shaped sunglasses covering her eyes. There were gloves on her hands and black and blue stocking completely covering her legs. She flipped her hair and sparks shot up from the stage.

"Let's get this battle started already!" she said, tossing a pokeball into the air.

The challenger plucked one of his own balls out of the air. "Let's."

The announcer's voice erupted around them. "This will be a 3 on 3 battle. Whoever knocks out all three of their opponent’s Pokemon wins. Challenger Graham versus Leader Ahu! Begin!"

They threw out their Pokemon at the same time. The gym leader started with a Jolteon, the spiky Pokemon crouching low and letting out a hiss. The challenger sent his Pokeball spinning, sending his Girafarig into battle, the giraffe Pokemon scraping his hoof against the ground.

Beside him, Orchid was flipping open her Pokedex. "I've never seen that tall thing before, have you?"

Cormac shook his head. "I don't think it's very common around here."

Orchid giggled as she turned to him. "Can you imagine seeing that thing on the beach? It's got two heads!"

He laughed with her, but his eyes were quickly drawn back toward the stage.

“Show him what we’re made of, Jolteon!” The Gym Leader said, striking a pose and pointing at their opponent.

The Jolteon immediately launched into a Quick Attack, slamming into Girafarig's side and shoving it back. Girafarif’s hooves dragged along the ground, but it stayed on its feet.. Jolteon retreated just as Girafarig used Stomp, its spiky fur standing on end as it hissed at its opponent. Electricity danced along its fur for a moment and then a wave of thunder washed over the battlefield. Girafarig stumbled, a flash of static arced along its skin and brought it down to one knee.

The Gym Leader laughed, placing both hands on her hips as she smiled at her opponent. “There’s no shame in throwing in the towel, you know.”

“This battle has only begun,” Graham replied.

“Well, can’t say I didn’t try,” Ahu shrugged.

Girafarig glared ahead, but as soon as it tried to move a wave of static flickered through its body. Jolteon rushed at the paralyzed Pokemon, hitting it with Double Kick and knocking Girafarig on its side, back to Jolteon. The Pokemon made a small noise of pain, static still dancing along its spine.

“Hugo!” Graham called out, fist clenching at his side as he watched his pokemon.

Jolteon rushed forward at the fallen pokemon, only for Girafarig’s tail to jump up and snap at Jolteon, startling the pokemon with Astonish and causing it to flinch. Girafarig took the opportunity to get to its feet, eyes glowing as a rainbow of psychic energy blasted Jolteon. The Psybeam caused Jolteon to stumble, the pokemon trying and failing to shake off its sudden confusion.

Girafarig took advantage of Jolteon’s confusion to charge across the stage, slamming intoJolteon with a Zen Headbutt. The Pokemon was tossed across the stage, making pained sounds as it struggled to get to its feet. It shook its head desperately, trying to break itself out of confusion and failing. Girafarig galloped toward Jolteon, rearing up and stomping down on it with both hooves. Jolteon gasped, tried once more to get to its feet, and failed.

"Jolteon is unable to continue!" The announcer called.

The person on Cormac's right jumped up from his seat as he cheered. Orchid wrapped her arm around his, leaning closer to be heard over the crowd.

"Aren't you so glad we came?" Orchid asked. "This is so much cooler than on tv."

"Yeah, I can't believe it's this intense already," he answered. Kora jumped from Orchid's shoulder into his lap and he wrapped the Pokemon in his arms.

"Heh, don't think this is over yet," Ahu said coolly. "That was just beginners luck."

"I'm no beginner," Graham responded.

"Yeah, we'll see about that." She tossed out her next Pokemon. "Show him what we're about, Pachirisu!" The small squirrel let out a cry, its tail flicking behind him.

Girafarig lowered its head for another Zen Headbutt, but the squirrel Pokemon stared up at it cutely. Girafarig slowed down severely, apparently caught up in Pachirisu’s Charm attack, only lightly running into the smaller Pokemon. Pachirisu then rocketed back and forth across the field with Quick Attack as its tail began to glow.

“Hugo, watch out!” Graham called out, but it was too late. Pachirisu leapt into the air, swinging its tail and firing an Electro Ball, which scored a direct hit to the Girafarig.

Ahu flicked her hair over her shoulder as Graham recalled his Pokemon.

"Girafarig is unable to fight. The contestants are now tied one to one."

"Get him, Ahu!"

"Show that newby who's boss!"

The crowd was very excited and the music was only serving to hype them all up. Even on stage, the gym leader was tapping her foot to the song being played by the band. Cormac felt a little bad for the challenger. It couldn't be easy to have an entire stage against you.

"Do your best, Graham!" Orchid yelled out from beside him. It seemed they were on the same page again, but as always she was much more up front about it. A few people echoed her calls and she looked over at him with a smile. "I'd hate to see him get discouraged," she said.

"Every crowd should have someone like you in it, Or."

She smiled, sticking out her tongue at him. "Don't tease me, Cor."

Graham sent out an Alolan Raichu. "You can do it, Raichu," he said as he glared at Ahu.

Raichu charged at the Pachirisu. The squirrel Pokemon dodged and began to roll along the ground cutely, intending to charm it into letting down its guard. Instead, Raichu used Double Team, surrounding Pachirisu with clones of itself. Pachirisu looked around in surprise as Raichu approached, trying to dodge as one of the images surged forward only for the real Raichu to slam its tail into Pachirisu from behind.

Pachirisu glared as it picked itself up from the ground. It jumped to its feet and ran at Raichu for a quick attack, only for Raichu to dodge out of the way. Raichu’s eyes began to glow and Pachirisu was lifted into the air, flailing as it went. Raichu lifted its opponent high into the air before whipping its tail at Pachirisu, slamming it down to the ground.

“Don’t let them win so easily, Pachirisu!” The gym leader yelled.

Pachirisu gingerly picked itself off the ground. It ran in a tight circle before whipping its tail, causing stars to explode from the appendage and rush at Raichu.

“It used Swift!” Cormac exclaimed. He looked over at Orchid, who turned to smile at his excitement.

“That’s gonna be bad for Raichu then,” she said. “Think Pachirisu will make a comeback with this?”

“I don’t know. It’s taken a lot of damage,” he told her. The battle seemed really close though. He had to admit, he was rather glad that she’d dragged him out of bed for this.

Raichu ran quickly around the stage, trying to avoid the white stars tailing it. It dodged one, then two, but the stars simply changed course so that they could all converge on it at once. There was a bright light as the attack made impact and Raichu was knocked off its feet. Raichu rolled over to face Pachirisu, but didn’t get to its feet. Electricity began to dance across its fur before it released a powerful thunderbolt which hit Pachirisu hard. The Pokemon swayed a few times before falling to the side. It didn’t get back up.

"Pachirisu is unable to fight! Ahu is on her last Pokemon."

"Yeah!" Orchid yelled, clapping her hands at Graham's victory. The crowd seemed to be split now, a few worried murmurs mixed in with the supporting cheers. A lot of people were on their feet, the excitement building the longer the match went on.

The music changed, the vocals and guitar fading out as the drum beat picked up. Ahu grinned widely as she chose her last Pokemon and tossed the ball into the air. "Alright, you've earned the right to see my best Pokemon. Let's kick it up, shall we?"

The vocals became louder as the singer joined in again, followed by a long guitar riff. The music became more intense and faster paced. The crowd began cheering along with the song and it was clear that many of them knew the song well.

Orchid was watching the stage with the same excited intensity as the rest of the crowd, her head nodding to the new beat as she got used to it. Cormac found himself leaning forward in his seat, too, eagerly awaiting the rest of the battle.

Ahu sent out Luxray, the Pokemon locking eyes with Raichu and strutting back and forth across the stage. Raichu's eyes were glued to the Pokemon until it suddenly became dizzy and started swaying in place.

"Ah!" Orchid gasped softly beside him. "He's confused!"

"It used Swagger," Cormac said softly. The move definitely suited the trainer, so it was no surprise to see her stronger Pokemon start with it.

"No need to play with it, Luxray," Ahu said. "Put him out of his misery."

Luxray pounced forward and used Crunch, taking the Raichu between its fangs and chomping down on it.

"Raichu is unable to fight. Opponents are two for two."

"Flawless, Luxray," Ahu praised.

Her Pokemon stretched and preened, waiting patiently for its next opponent.

"They really put on a good show," Orchid said. "If I lived here, I'd be out to watch battles all the time."

"Yeah, they really go all out," Cormac agreed. "No wonder this place seemed so lively."

On stage, Graham recalled Raichu and floated another ball into his hand. "It's not over till it's over."

"Trust me, it's over," Ahu told him.

Graham sent out Reuniclus, the Pokemon floating before him happily.

"Give him a strut, Luxray," Ahu says, gesturing him forward. Luxray attempted to use Swagger once more, as Reuniclus raised its hands, generating a white orb of light and firing it at Luxray. The orb engulfed Luxray as it mechanically repeated the same motions.

"Great strategy," Ahu says. "That's really working out for you, I see."

Graham glared at her before turning to his Pokemon. "Come on, Blake! Snap out of it! Use Shadow Ball!"

Finally, Reuniclus shook itself and fired a shadow ball. Luxray narrowly dodged the blast, but its eyes were glowing and it was forced back into its former strut.

"Psychic!" Graham orders.

Reuniclus raised its hands and Luxray was lifted off of its feet and slammed into the ground repeatedly. Luxray struggled to its feet, growling as it glowers at its opponent, small sparks jumping along its fur.

Ahu points at Reuniclus as she yells out, "Discharge, Luxray!"

Luxray howls and lets out a powerful electric charge, hitting Reuniclus full force. It dropped closer to the ground, visibly damaged but still fit to fight. Then Luxray charges forward and lands a crunch, causing Reuniclus to fall all the way to the ground.

"Done and done," Ahu says. "Good job, Luxray." The Pokemon begins walking back to its trainer side.

"Not yet!" Graham said. "We're almost there, Blake! I know you can do it!"

Slowly, the Reuniclus is able to force itself off the ground enough to aim a focus blast.

"Luxray!" The Pokemon barely has enough time to turn before the force slams into it and tosses it across the stage. It slides to a halt at Ahu's feet. Her mouth opens in shock before she looks down at her Pokemon. Luxray doesn't get to its feet.

"Luxray is unable to continue! The winner of this battle and the Zap Badge goes to the Challenger, Graham!"

The crowd explodes in noise. Cormac is jostled into reality as Orchid throws her arm around him. "He did it! Did you see that? I thought the Gym Leader would win for sure!"

The music had come to a slow end and Ahu reclaimed her Pokemon. He couldn't hear what was said as the Gym Leader crossed the stage to give the challenger his badge. They must have turned their mics off, now that the battle was done.

Cormac slumped in Orchid's embrace. "That was crazy. I felt as tense as if I was the one battling."

"Wasn't it great?" she asked. "We have to watch more gym battles in person!"

"I don't know how Gym Leaders do it," he said. "I'd be exhausted if I had to do that all the time."

"Some people are just made for the stage," Orchid replied.

"Yeah." Cormac was still watching the stage though. The Gym Leader still had her eyes covered, so it was hard to tell what she was feeling, but she didn't leave the stage with the same energy that she had entered it.

Ahu hated the noise. The crowd became a near endless cacophony as she crossed the stage. She couldn’t tell if they were cheering for her or complaining about her loss, but she held her head up high as she left the room. She felt chased by the noise and tried not to show it. The heavy door slammed behind her. She ripped the glasses off of her face and tossed them to the ground as she let out a frustrated growl.

"That is unbecoming." Ahu jerked at the voice, turning to see one of the older gym trainers watching her. He had worked under her father and was hard set on upholding the traditions that were in place during his time. She tensed as he approached her, already annoyed at the lecture she knew was coming. He crossed his arms, looking down his nose at her as he began. "You need to learn how to take your losses more gracefully or be strong enough to win more often."

"I don't need this from you," she said as she walked past him. She only got a few steps away before he grabbed her arm.

"Wherever you think you're going, the gym's Pokemon aren't going with you.”

She shook him off, stomping over to the table and slamming the pokeballs onto it. She reached down to pick up her sunglasses on her way out. "Simsek, you coming with?"

There was an excited cry as a shinx came running toward her and she caught it in her arms with a smile. It was the only Pokemon in this gym that she could call her own and she never went anywhere without it, if she could help it.

"What about the other battles?" He asked.

"Do them yourself," she said before she hurried off. She looked over her shoulder at him before she walked out the door. "Jerk."

-----------------

The Pokemon center was as lively as the rest of town. There was a Chansey trying to sing to a group of trainers, though it seemed not to be working, and Nurse Joy was bustling busily around the room. Chingling landed on his head and brought his focus back to the screen in front of him as he huddled further into the corner and held up the Zap Badge.

"I got the badge," Graham said with a small smile, equal parts excited and nervous. "Thanks for lending me Raichu."

The Alolan Raichu waved at him from his sister's shoulder. "Wow! Good job!" She cheered, offering him a few claps. "Are you really sure you want to send him back though?"

Graham scratched the back of head nervously. "He should be home with you guys more."

"That can't be the only reason," His sister frowned.

"I also..." He looked away from her. "I want to do this on my own."

"What? But you are!"

Graham folded his arms and flipped his dyed purple bangs out of his face. "I didn't raise Raichu, you guys did that. It wouldn't be fair for me to keep going this way."

She pouted and glared at him.

"Soon, Chingling will be ready for battle and then we'll go all the way to the top. Right?" He looked to where his young Pokemon was floating and it answered him enthusiastically.

She smiled at him then. "Alright. You two take care of each other, you hear? I'll tell mom and dad that you called."

"Alright. Talk to you later, sis."

The screen shut off and he let out a deep sigh. This was going to be a long journey.

-------------------

"Oh! Oh! Cormac, look!" Orchid said excitedly, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him around.

"Alright, what am I looking at?" he asked with a smile. His eyes quickly scanned the area around them, but everything was so busy that he couldn’t possibly tell what Orchid was looking at. She had been energetic since the gym battle and it was easy to get swept up in her energy.

"It's the challenger!" She answered, bouncing in her excitement, hands still on his shoulders. "We should congratulate him!"

She began to push him forward and he didn't bother trying to resist. "Oh? Sure you don't just want his autograph?"

"Well if you insist, I can get one for you," she said in a sing song. "But you should really get used to asking for what you want directly."

Cormac couldn't help but laugh.

The man didn't seem to notice their approach, so Cormac was able to get a better look at him. It was hard to make out the finer details when he had been so far away. His hair was black with purple dyed bangs hiding the right side of his face. His clothes, a mix of black and purple with the occasional gold accent, seemed much more formal than Cormac was used to. He'd lived his entire life on a beach though, so he wasn't an expert in fashion. Still, the outfit looked loose and unrestrictive and there were enough details to get lost in.

The man turned toward them just as they got close, his purple eyes widening a bit in surprise.

"Hey!" Orchid greeted over his shoulder. "We saw your gym battle. Congratulations on pulling off the win."

The man stared at them until the Chingling hovering beside him landed on his head, seeming to pull him out of his stupor. "Uh, thank you."

"It was a really good match," Cormac added. "You and Pokemon really did your best out there."

"Uh, yeah..." He looked away and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, they did all the work..." he replied quietly.

Orchid rushed forward, bouncing in place as she looked at the Pokemon on his head. "Aww, you have a Chingling too! It's so cute!"

"Chingling!" The Pokemon floated down to Orchid's height and she immediately pulled the Pokemon into a hug.

"You have a lot of psychic types. Are they your favorite type?" Cormac asked.

"I, um... feel a kinship with them..." Graham answered.

"Oh, I know what you mean," Orchid said brightly. "I've been around water types my whole life, so I feel really connected to them. I'm Orchid by the way. And this," she nodded to the Corsola on her shoulder, "Is Dora."

"Oh, I'm Graham. It's nice to meet you. And that's Poe."

She turned and gestured to Cormac. "And over here we have Cormac and Kora!"

He waved as Kora gave her own greeting. "I hope we're not interrupting anything."

"No, I wasn't doing anything," Graham told them.

"Oh, did you want to?" Orchid asked. "It's our first day in the city and we haven't done anything but watch the gym battle so far. What about you?"

"I haven't really..."

Orchid held the Chingling up to her face. "What do you say? Would you like to come with us, Poe?"

"Chingling!"

"One vote yes!" She smiled at Graham as she moved closer to him. "Would you like to come with us? You don't have to, but it's more fun to explore together." She looked over her shoulder at Cormac as she asked, "Right?"

"Right," he nodded. "I wouldn't mind getting something to eat."

"There was a Pokemon band," Orchid said, turning to him. "Do you think they're still playing?"

"They might be."

She looped her arm with Graham's and smiled at him. "Do you like music? I think I remember there being Spinda. I would love to dance with a Spinda!"

Cormac couldn't help but laugh as he watched Orchid pulling Graham along. It was always fun to watch others being swept up in his friend's current. "What do you say, Kora? Should we save him or let him be?"

The Corsola joined his laughter, so Cormac stayed a few steps behind them as Orchid guided them toward the band, chatting away excitedly.

-----------------

Elaria was in her kitchen when she heard her door burst open. She jumped, nearly dropping the jar she was holding, fumbling to catch it before turning her gaze to Ralts. The Pokemon smiled at her and she sighed, letting her worry evaporate. If Ralts wasn't worried, there was no reason for her to be.

It was only a moment later, following the slam of her front door again, that she heard her best friend's frustrated voice. "I hate my gym!" Ahu yelled in place of an actual greeting as she stomped through Elaria's home looking for her.

Elaria put down the jar and pushed her work to the side, bottles and jars of gels and herbs moved safely to the back of her counter, replacing them with a teapot as she began to make a pot for her guest. "I'm in the kitchen, Ahu!" She called out, rather than allowing her friend to continue her search.

She could hear her friend practically sprint through the hall to reach the kitchen, slamming her hand against the wall as soon as she entered. "I hate my gym!" she repeated loudly.

"I heard you the first time," Elaria said. She placed a plate of cookies on the table for her. "What happened?"

Ahu let out a frustrated breath as her Shinx jumped up on the table and helped itself to a cookie. She took off her glasses as she sank into the chair beside her Pokemon, letting Elaria see the tired look in her eyes. Ralts climbed into a chair, onto the table, to put her hand on Ahu's head. Ahu let out a sad huff of a laugh and smiled at Ralts. "Elaria, your Ralts is so sweet."

Elaria went about pouring the tea and adding sugar to the tray before taking it to the table. "You look tired."

"I am tired," Ahu answered. "Every single battle is so over the top, I hate it. I have to stand there listening to my audience cheer for my loss while pretending to like the loud music and the stage lights, and then backstage my own coworkers tell me that I should be better and to stop losing. As if I lose every battle I've ever been in!"

Elaria pushed a tea cup toward her and Ahu pulled it close to her before dropping in a bit of honey. "I'm sorry to hear that, Ahu. I can't imagine how exhausting that must be."

"It's so frustrating! I wish I could punch every single one of them in the face!"

"I'm not sure that would help."

"I won't know until I try." She took a long sip from her tea cup, draining half the cup with one sip. "I'm gonna steal one of the guitar's and hit my father's assistant with it."

Elaria hummed and nodded as she sipped her own tea. Ahu always felt better after she got her aggressive energy out. It was usually better to wait her out.

"I'm gonna fist fight the next trainer that tries to challenge me. Pokemon and all."

Elaria reached out to pet Shinx, who practically purred under her attention. Ahu took really good care of her Shinx and it was always so happy whenever she saw it.

Ahu jumped up out of her seat, nearly knocking the chair over. "I'm gonna scream!"

"You already are, Ahu."

There was a pause before Ahu dropped back into her chair and pulled her teacup close. She was blushing as she held the cup up with both hands, hiding her face. "Sorry, I got carried away."

Elaria smiled at her. "I think you need to blow off some steam. Without fighting," she added before her friend could comment. Ahu looked away and lifted her teacup again to hide her face. "After tea, you can come with me to the daycare and play with the baby Pokemon. Sound good?"

Ahu nodded, the teacup still pressed against her lips despite not drinking it.

"Good. I'm going to clean up real quick and you can finish the tea."

"What? All of it?" Ahu asked with wide eyes.

"It's supposed to have a calming effect," Elaria told her as she rose from her seat. "So don't rush."

Ahu dropped her head to the table. Elaria giggled as she returned to the counter.

----

"So what do you like to eat?" Orchid asked. Cormac had watched the space between her and Graham grow quickly but subtly, startling with him hunching his shoulders the longer they walked and ending with Orchid unhooking their arms and walking backwards in front of him. Dora had made herself comfortable on Orchid's head and was chatting with Chingling floating in front of them. Graham had relaxed a little when Orchid let go of him, but Cormac suspected that the only reason he hadn't tried to leave was Chingling's chatting and Cormac walking somewhat behind him.

"I like sweet things," Graham answered quietly.

"You hear that, Cormac? He's one of us!" Orchid said excitedly.

The town was as lively as the first time they walked through and Orchid was a whirlwind. She gestured happily at stalls selling pretty trinkets or hummed along when they passed Pokemon singing. She and Chingling harmonized together a few times, which culminated in her scooping the Pokemon in her arms again and spinning around.

"Is she always this energetic?" Graham asked as they watched her.

"Yeah, pretty much," he answered. "You get used to it though."

"I can't imagine getting used to that," he admitted.

Cormac laughed. "I felt that way when we first met. There's something nice about having that much positivity around though."

Orchid paused in the midst of her spinning and waved at them, Corsola and Chingling waving along with her. Cormac waved back.

"Don't you ever get tired?" Graham asked.

"Yeah, of course I do." He turned to catch Graham's eye. "She can turn it off, you know."

Graham didn't look like he believed Cormac at all. He wasn't surprised though. When Orchid was in high energy mode, she could be a lot to deal with.

They caught up with her in a few more steps and she released Chingling, which went to rest on its trainer's head. "What are you guys in the mood for?" she asked, turning to point at a few specific stalls. "That stall sells Pecha Pie, those tarts are made from watmel berries, and I think those..." she drew out the sound as she squinted. "Oh! They have fruit kabobs!"

"I wouldn't mind one of those," he said.

"What would you like, Graham?"

"Um... I like the watmel berries," he answered.

"Great!" She reached out for his hand, but pulled back at the last moment. She blushed when she saw Graham watching, ducking her head and sticking out her tongue. "Sorry, I'll go get them myself," she said hurriedly and rushed off.

"What was that about?" Graham asked. The look of confusion on his face was so cute Cormac had to stifle a laugh.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. He started walking in the direction that Orchid headed, slowly so that Graham was encouraged to follow him. "She was gonna take your hand."

"Why?"

"Because she's excited and wanted to spend time with you," Cormac answered. "Haven't you ever held hands before?"

Graham didn't answer that, but the puzzled look remained on his face until Orchid came back to them. She had three fruit kabobs in one hand, one with just Watmel berries, and a Pecha pie in the other hand. She shifted the ones in her hand so that Graham's was in front as she held it out to him. "Here you go."

Graham actually smiled as he accepted it. "Thank you."

"And I got this so that we could share it later," she gestured to the pie.

Cormac took the pie in his hand as he leaned forward to steal a fruit from one of the kabobs.

"Hey! That could have been mine," she objected.

"If it was, then yours was tasty," he answered.

"Rude!" She blew a raspberry at him then laughed as she held the kabob out further. "I guess if you're going to hold the pie, then I can hold this."

Graham seemed perplexed as he watched them, but he ate his berries with a contented expression on his face.

---------------------

Ahu was only slightly calmer by the time Elaria left her house. The exercise seemed to keep her calm and Ralts held her hand while they walked to keep her from taking off in a sprint. Ahu did that sometimes when she was especially restless, running ahead only to circle back for Elaria. Shinx was walking by her side and Elaria smiled down at the Pokemon for keeping her company.

"Hey, was there something going on at the daycare?" Ahu asked suddenly.

Elaria looked up at her. "No, why?"

Ahu pointed ahead of them and Elaria gasped as she saw a swarm of Beedrill around the building. "What on earth!"

Ahu dropped Ralts's hand and took off in a sprint. "I'll see what's going on there!" She said, Shinx rushing forward to run at his trainer's side.

"Wait! Ahu!" Elaria called. She bent down to scoop Ralts into her arms before running off after her friend, knowing she'd be nowhere near fast enough to catch up to her. "I wish she wouldn't rush ahead without thinking,” Elaria said softly to herself. “She only has Shinx with her right now."

------------

"Hey! What's going on here!" Ahu yelled as she approached the daycare. Several Beedrill turned to look at her as Shinx leapt forward in front of her, growling as its fur sparked. She hated bugs and this was a nightmare situation for her, but she’d rarely been afraid of things that she wasn’t willing to fight.

The door to the daycare was ajar and after a moment a girl poked her head out. She had fluffy black hair beneath a bright yellow cap, a hair pin shaped like a button with two flowers attached, and bright red eyes. "Oh? Do you work here?" She took a step outside the doorway, revealing a matching yellow jacket over a white shirt, black shorts, ripped black stocking, and black yellow platforms.

"Wow, that outfit is cute," Ahu said without thinking.

The girl perked up instantly, standing on one foot and spreading her arms to show off the outfit. "Isn't it, just? I think it's super cute."

"Yeah, it looks really good on you."

"Aww, thanks! That really makes my day." The girl blushed slightly with the compliment.

Ahu's distraction didn't last long though. It was hard to ignore the swarm of Beedrill that was slowly closing in around her. "So hey, what are you doing here?"

"O-oh just..." The girl looked around for a moment, as if an explanation would fall out of the sky before she turned and ran back into the daycare, shutting the door.

"What the hell!" Ahu yelled, rushing to the door and banging on it. She turned the knob a few times, unsurprised to find it locked, before banging on the door again. "Get back out here!"

"Sorry, I can't hear you!" The yell was muffled by the door, but Ahu could still hear it loud and clear.

She began banging twice as hard on the door. "Am I a joke to you!" She screamed.

"Hey!" A male voice called from her left. She turned her head to see a guy dressed similarly to the girl. He was pale and blonde, with yellow eyes and his arms crossed over a black and yellow top. He had a similar hat and button pin to the girl, but his hat was brown and his flowers red. His pants were black with scant yellow accents and similar boots. Though all in all, Ahu thought the girl's outfit was much cuter. "Fury Attack."

At once, all the Beedrill turned toward her. "Oh fuck."

Graham wasn't sure what to do with himself. It was only midday and yet the hours had already been filled to bursting. He'd gotten his third gym badge and been dragged halfway around the town of Cantor by two strangers. Instead of feeling utterly exhausted though, he felt... kinda happy. It was fun and confusing and exciting, and he wasn't really sure why it had happened.

He'd watched Orchid dancing with his Pokemon and she hadn't gotten upset when he refused to dance with her. He'd talked to Cormac and wasn't called out for being too quiet or called boring. They'd bought him food and asked his opinions and it was... not something he was used to.

"Here, Graham." Orchid smiled at him as she held out a napkin with a slice of the pecha pie she'd bought earlier. After she had dragged Cormac into dancing with her and they'd both tired themselves, she'd pointed to a quiet spot near the town well. They'd settled there to rest, the two Corsola and his Chingling laying beside them as they passed out pie.

“Thanks," he said quietly. Neither of them seemed to mind how quiet he was, smiling just as brightly at him as they did at each other. It was nice. It was strange.

He didn't feel left out when they talked to each other instead of him and they always left him opening to join in, or else asked him something to pull him into the conversation. Not that it always worked. He wasn't used to having such energetic people around him and all the attention was still a little draining.

Leaning against the well with a slice of pie was nice though. It was good. He could close his eyes for a few moments and just... breathe. The stress of the battle, which he had anticipated for days prior, finally started to drain out of him. And the pie, when he tasted it, was delicious and sweet.

Halfway through his pie there was a bright flash of light in the sky.

"Whoa! What was that?" Cormac asked.

"It looked like lightning," Orchid said. "Probably a Pokemon battle."

Graham frowned. "That was a pretty big bolt."

Cormac got to his feet and his Corsola was quick to jump up his arm and to his shoulder. "Do you think someone's in trouble?"

"Hard to say from here," Orchid said. She turned to Graham. "Do you mind if we go check?"

"I don't mind," he said quickly. "If someone's in trouble, we should help."

Orchid smiled at him. She quickly wrapped up the remains of their pie, carrying both it and her Corsola. Cormac took off at a run and she waited to make sure he was following before sprinting off herself. Graham found himself keeping pace with her as he ran, feeling something warm settling over him despite the urgency.

They slowed down as they reached the Pokemon Center, where there was a rush of Chansey pushing stretchers through the door.

There was a girl with cyan hair running along one of the stretchers, tears in her blue eyes as she babbled to the Nurse Joy beside her. Graham stopped in his tracks as he recognized Cantor's gym leader Ahu on the stretcher, bruised and breathing heavily.

Graham didn't even think about it as he followed the group into the Pokemon Center. After exchanging a few more words, Nurse Joy followed the stretcher with the injured Gym Leader to the back, leaving the distressed girl behind.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cormac asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Graham hadn't even noticed his new companions entering beside him and found himself glancing around until he saw Orchid, too.

The girl looked beautiful and delicate, her hair pinned up with a lacy veil hanging down past her shoulders and delicate blue flower ornaments. She was wearing a white dress, the skirt of which unfolded like a flower, a light blue sash around her waist and darker blue shoes on her feet. There were tears in her blue eyes and Graham felt stunned as he looked at her.

"It's terrible, someone attacked the daycare. My friend she... she was trying to help but..."

"That was the Gym Leader, right?" Graham asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes, my friend Ahu. She'd left the gym Pokemon behind though, so it was just her and her Shinx. They were outnumbered."

"Why would someone attack the daycare?" Orchid asked.

"They stole the Pokemon eggs. They could be doing anything." A Ralts placed it's hand on the girl's leg and she gave it a small smile as she reached out to take the Pokemon's hand. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Elaria. I work as a breeder at that daycare. I was on my way there when all this was happening."

"I'm Orchid. This is Cormac and Graham. "

"Did you see where the thieves went?" Cormac asked. His expression was hard and serious.

Elaria nodded. Graham was distracted from her following words by Orchid stepping close to him. "Hey, Cormac and I are gonna try to find these missing Pokemon. It was really fun to hang out with you today."

"What?"

"Did you see the look on Cormac's face?" she asked, nodding at her friend. "He's really determined right now. I couldn't possibly let him do that alone. I'm really sorry we didn't get to hang out anymore."

Graham felt like reality was crashing down around him. It was absurd to him that in such a short time he had gotten so used to these two that the thought of them leaving brought him up short. Cormac and Elaria were already at the door as she pointed to something in the distance and Graham felt something not unlike panic well up in him as Orchid turned away.

"Wait!" For a moment, he was surprised that the words came from him.

"What's wrong?" She looked at him so unassuming, completely opposite to when they'd first met, and he found him hesitating. It struck him that, unlike the first time, she wasn't trying to pull him anywhere and he could just... say nothing, let her leave, and go back to his own journey. He didn't have to get caught up in the whirlwind of these pink strangers.

Maybe that was why he found himself stepping forward and saying, "Let me come. I can help."

Orchid looked surprised but the expression melted quickly into a smile. "You want to help us?"

"Yeah, I do."

"We'd be happy for the help," she told him. "Thank you."

-------------

"It's empty," Cormac said as he came out of the daycare. As soon as they had arrived he had decided to go in and look for clues. Elaria had arrived after most of the commotion had gone down, so she could only tell them so much. There had been a retreating swarm of Beedrill, but Orchid couldn't see any sign of them. She and Graham had remained outside, the latter taking a quick walk around the daycare to see if anything would jump out at them.

Cormac was upset. He hated the idea of people and Pokemon being treated poorly. It wasn't surprising to her that he was rushing in this way. She was keeping herself calm in contrast, holding Dora in her arms as something to focus on. As a rule, they weren't allowed to both be upset at the same time.

"There aren't many ways they could have gone to avoid detection," She said. She pointed in the distance at the forested road that led to the next town. "Worth a look, yeah?"

Cormac nodded, taking point as they marched toward the forest. Graham was quiet, which seemed the norm for him, but he had this worried furrow in his brow since they left the Pokemon Center. There wasn't much she could do to cheer him up in a situation like this.

"Do you hear something?" Graham asked, stopping in his tracks.

She stopped, straining her ears to hear what he was hearing. "Buzzing?"

"Beedrill," Cormac nodded. "We must be close."

"Maybe we can sneak up on them," she suggested. They walked more quietly, adjusting their path to follow the buzzing until they began to see Beedrill through the trees.

"We're running out of silver paint," a female voice said. The three of them ducked further into cover and Orchid snuck her way around a bush until she was able to see a girl in a black and yellow uniform. She was holding a paint brush over a bunch of Pokemon eggs.

"Yeah, I'm starting to run out of blue, too," a male voice added. The male, when she peeked out far enough to see him, was holding an Alolan Meowth. At least, that was what she thought before she noticed the smudge of blue on its coin and realized that it had been painted. "Do you think we took too many?"

"Maybe we can get more paint before the eggs hatch," the girl said. "Pokemon eggs are like, really hard to hatch right? Right?"

"Well, we can paint the eggs anytime," the guy continued. "We should paint the rest of these Eevee, though. They need to look shiny if we're going to make a decent profit, Belle."

"I know, Gil." The girl reached out to pet a half pained Eevee. "They're so cute, though. I wish I could keep one for myself."

He chopped her on her head and she immediately reached up to cover the area, scrunching her face up in pain. A soft chorus of "Ow! Ow! Ow!" being mumbled under her breath.

"No digging into profits, idiot."

"I know that!" she whined. "You didn't have to scold me, stupid Gil."

"I did, too. You get carried away way too easily."

Cormac must have gotten tired of waiting, because a water gun blasted right into the girl's side, knocking her over.

"Who's there?" the guy asked, turning sharply and holding out his paint brush like a weapon.

Orchid crawled over to the girl. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, helping the girl up while she watched the guy search the opposite direction for an attacker.

"Yeah, that really smarted, though," the girl answered.

"Your name is Belle, right?" Orchid asked. "Are you almost finished here?"

"Yeah and that's Gil," the girl sighed. "Wait a minute..." Belle squinted at her. "I haven't seen you at the Team Midas base before, are you new?"

"Hey, let me trade you, real quick." Orchid reached out for the Eevee as Corsola jumped into the girl's arms

"Why do you have a--" she started as Corsola unleashed a water gun right in the girl's face, causing her to sputter and drop the aquatic Pokemon, but the assault didn't stop.

Orchid looked over at the guy in time to see him knocked over by Corsola's tackle. "Beedrill!" he yelled out, gaining the attention of the swarm hovering not far away.

"You can handle that, right Dora?" she asked.

"Cor!" Corsola nodded, before shooting water at the approaching Beedrill.

The girl was still sputtering and spitting out water from Corsola's earlier attack, so Orchid ignored her as she leaned down to check on the Pokemon. They all seemed pretty young, but aside from some being painted to look like shinies, they didn't seem harmed, just confused. She ran her hand over them in a comforting manner.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Gil flailing wildly as he was held in the air, Graham staring at him with intense concentration. That was pretty handy.

"Cormac, you were really impatient," Orchid yelled at him.

Cormac scratched at the back of his head nervously. "Heh, sorry, I got carried away."

"You should apologize to Graham for making him cover for you," Orchid said. "And now we have a bunch of Beedrill to deal with."

"I know, it was a bad move on my part," Cormac said apologetically. He reached for his belt for a pokeball, calling out his Popplio. "Icy wind, Popplio."

The Pokemon happily complied, taking a deep breath before exhaling an icy chill at the swarm of Beedrill. A slight frost began to coat their wings and a few notably slowed. The rest moved in swiftly.

"Blake, use psychic!" Graham called out. Orchid hadn't noticed him calling out any Pokemon, but she did see when the Reuniclus hovered above him, taking hold of one of the Beedrill and knocking it into several others.

"Oh, I'm so inconsiderate," she said, when she realized he was still holding the Team Midas member. "Let me help with that." She called out her own Pokemon, Dratini uncoiling elegantly between them. "Luna, can you be a dear and keep those two still for me?"

Dratini wrapped elegantly around the two, holding them in place. Graham let out a strained breath as he released his hold.

"Hey, let us go!" "No fair!" The two yelled.

"Not a chance," Orchid replied. "Officer Jenny would probably like to have a word with you two."

"No way, no way, no way!" Belle said loudly. "Gil, do something!"

"Sweet kiss, Eiry!" Gil yelled out. A Comfey poked its head out from under his hat, kissing Dratini and confusing her. She swayed, her hold loosening and letting the two fall to the ground. Gil grabbed his partner's hand quickly. "We gotta book it, Bells!"

"Stop!" Orchid's breath suddenly caught as she felt a sharp pain in her side. She looked away from Team Midas's retreating form to the Beedrill who’s stinger was being pulled out of her. Her vision swam.

"Orchid!"

She remembered the Eevee that was still cradled in her arms and turned so that her back would hit the ground when she fell and the Eevee would be protected.

She stopped being able to focus on the shouting around her. She'd forgotten how much it sucked to be poisoned and the thought made her laugh weakly. "Sorry, I... did it again..."

---------------

Graham was panicking. He'd failed to catch Orchid when she'd fainted and now he was looking at her like he thought she was there. Cormac might have panicked too, if it was anyone but Orchid that had fallen. Rules were rules though, so he forcefully put a lid on his temper and panic and everything else so that he could be calm. Orchid was better at acting calm when she wasn't than he was, maybe because it was so hard for him to get worked up in the first place.

He went to her side, lifting her head and feeling the back of it to see if there was a bump. "Can you take care of the rest of these Beedrill?" he asked Graham.

The man still looked too wide eyed and like he didn't know what to do with his hands, halfway reaching out but not committed. Cormac was a little annoyed that he was so nearby and let her fall. He pushed the feeling aside as Graham nodded, giving more orders to his Pokemon.

Both his Corsola and Popplio were still attacking, though Dora had come over to stand worriedly by her head. The Eevee in Orchid's arms also seemed to be watching her with worry.

"You always do this to me, Orchid," he mumbled as he reached for her bag. "I swear I'm going to stop letting you rescue Pokemon if you can't stop getting poisoned." He reached for the left over pecha pie, hoping that he could get enough of it in her to counteract the poison.

He propped her up further, sitting behind her to make sure she would fall over and crushing a bit in hand. "Dora, do you mind helping me wake her up?"

A quick splash of water hit Orchid in her face and her eyes fluttered. Cormac shoved the crushed pie into her mouth.

"Eat this or you're grounded," he told her.

She made a small noise of protest, though he was sure if it was at his words or having pie shoved into her face. He made sure to push her forward every so often so that she didn't get too comfortable and close her eyes. She gasped after swallowing the piece he'd given her and immediately crushed up more. There was another noise of protest, but her eyes opened, if only barely.

The Eevee was making worried sounds to match Orchid's, paws on her stomach as it watched her closely.

"She'll be fine," Cormac said. Then he repeated that in his head a few times for good measure. Orchid would be fine. She was always fine. She survived all the other rescues, so she would survive this one, too.

"They're retreating," Graham said.

Cormac looked up to see a few Beedrill retreating and a whole lot more on the ground. Dratini seemed to have come to her senses, too, slithering over to their side.

Graham looked awkward standing beside them, not sure what to do. After a few moments of looking around he finally asked, "Is she, um, is she okay?"

"...okay..." Orchid said softly.

Cormac let out a relieved breath and wrapped an arm around her chest as he hugged her, avoiding her injured side. "You have to stop doing that."

She leaned her head back on his shoulder, smiling at him and then Graham. "Sorry." She let one hand rest on Eevee while the other brushed against Corsola and Dratini.

"I can... um..." Graham blushed as they both faced him. He quickly reached for a pokeball and brought out his Girafarig. "H-hugo, can carry her."

"Thanks," she said softly. She pressed her hand against Dratini and the Pokemon moved closer until she pressed a kiss to it's head. "Thanks Luna." It made a cheerful sound as she pressed the Pokemon into its side and it went back into its ball.

Graham held a hand out toward her. Orchid didn't hesitate to take it, breathing out another thank you as Cormac helped push her to her feet. She didn't let go of the Eevee the entire time, nor did it stop watching her with large worried eyes. Graham helped her onto Girafarig's back and she leaned against his long neck in what looked almost like a hug.

"How will... we get these..." She paused to catch her breath, taking a number of deep inhales and exhales before she was able to speak normally, if more quietly than usual. "How will we get so many back?"

"Me and Blake can handle it," Graham told them.

"You're handy to have around," Orchid told him. She reached out for her Corsola and the Pokemon jumped into her arms, resting beside the Eevee.

"Popplio and I can herd the baby Pokemon if you can carry the eggs," he said.

"That sounds fine," Graham agreed.

Cormac pressed the remaining pie into Orchid's hand. "Eat more if you can."

She broke off a piece for herself and then gave a piece to the Eevee.

"And don't give it all to the Pokemon!"

She stuck her tongue out as she ducked her head. "Whoops."

Graham and Reuniclus floated the eggs while they led Girafarig forward. Cormac ended up with the other Eevee and Meowth falling all over him, clinging to his head and shoulders when they couldn't fit into his arms. Some of the Pokemon seemed fine walking on their own and he assumed it was the younger ones that were clinging to him.

Orchid spent an equal amount of time eating the pecha pie as she did sharing it, to the point that some of the Pokemon he was carrying squirmed out of his arms to walk alongside her in hopes of getting treats. Which they got. Cormac didn't bother to scold her as long as she kept eating herself and she looked like the poison was, if not out of her system, at least mostly gone.

Orchid and the Pokemon were all looked over at the Pokemon Center and he wasn't surprised to see Elaria still in the waiting room.

"Thank you both so much!" She said. "I don't know what we would have done without you."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad that we could do something," Cormac answers.

"How's the Gym Leader?" Graham asked.

Elaria smiled. "She's alright, just really mad that she wasn't able to do more. The couple that run the daycare are alright, too. They weren't poisoned at all, just lost their energy to leech seed, apparently."

"Good," Graham sighed. "That they weren't poisoned, I mean."

Nurse Joy came over to place a hand on Cormac's shoulder. "Your friend seems alright too, but we want to keep her here overnight."

He frowned. "Is she still poisoned?"

She shook her head. "Your idea to give her the pie was a good one. The poison is completely out of her system, but she's still really weak. Also..." she looked over her shoulder. Cormac followed her gaze to see Orchid in the back surrounded by Pokemon. "I think the Pokemon have taken a liking to her. Since they can't go back yet, I think it would be better if we let them stay together, don't you?"

Cormac felt himself finally relax, knowing that she was okay. "Yeah... yeah, you're right."

"Um, would you both mind helping me take the eggs back to the daycare?" Elaria asked. "I want to get the paint off as soon as possible."

"Of course," Graham answered.

"We can probably help with the paint," Cormac said, nodding to his Corsola. It would be nice to have something helpful to do.

-----------------

The next morning Orchid was surprised to see Graham waiting for her in the Pokemon center.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yep, I'm good as new!" She said with a little twirl for emphasis. "Just about to help take the Pokemon back to the daycare. Without me to wake him up, Cormac will probably sleep in so I figured I'd do something useful. "

"Oh, do you need a hand?"

"I wouldn't mind it."

Getting the Pokemon from the Pokemon Center to the daycare was a little chaotic. They were all very energetic, wanting to play more than follow along, and the Eevee she'd personally rescued had taken a liking to her. By the time they got them all to where they needed to be, Elaria had shown up at the Daycare to feed them and they ended up helping with that, too.

Cormac showed up with Ahu when they were done, having a friendly enough chat as they came through the door.

"It's you!" Ahu yelled, pointing at Graham as soon as she saw him.

"Um, hi?" he responded.

"You think you can walk back in here just like that?" Ahu questioned, putting her hands on her hips.

"This is the daycare, not your gym, Ahu," Elaria told her calmly.

"I heard about what you did," Ahu went on. "You think you can just show me up like that? Twice? I don't think so! I challenge you!"

Elaria placed her hand on Ahu's head. "You just got out of the Pokemon center and you only have one Pokemon."

Ahu blushed. "E-eventually," she added hastily. "I challenge you eventually. I'll get my win back, you'll see."

"Ah, okay?" Graham said slowly.

Orchid stepped around her to hug Cormac. "I hope you weren't worried when I wasn't at the Pokemon Center."

"Nurse Joy told me where you were, and Ahu was interesting company to keep," he answered.

Ahu smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and folding her arms. "You bet I am."

"Oh! Graham! I had a question for you." Orchid skipped back over to him, stopping herself before reaching for his hand. "You're traveling to get gym badges, right? Do you wanna come with us to the next town?"

"What?"

"Cormac and I don't really have much of a direction right now," she admitted. "We're just sort of traveling around, but you seem like good company, so we wondered if you'd want to travel together?"

"It's okay if you don't want to," Cormac added. "We just thought it would be fun."

Graham looked down as he considered it. "It... might be fun."

Orchid bounced on her heels excitedly. "So you'll come?"

"Yeah."

"Yay!" She jumped forward, tossing herself on him in an enthusiastic hug.

Graham looked at her with wide arms, his arms hovering in the air as if he was unsure whether to push her away or hug her back.

"Orchid," Cormac said.

She jumped off of him at the warning. "Ah, sorry! I got excited." She hit herself on the head lightly and stuck out her tongue. "Silly me."

Graham sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?" he asked him.

They parted from the daycare a few minutes later in relatively high spirits.

----------------------

"Oh, did those nice trainers leave?" The daycare lady asked, looking around the room. Only she and Ahu were left, the gym leader pouting over her missed opportunity to battle.

"Yeah, a few minutes ago," Elaria told her.

"We wanted to give you all a reward. This Eevee in particular seemed so attached to that flower girl."

"I could catch up with them," Elaria said. "Ahu, would you help me carry the eggs?"

"Oh, uh, sure?" Ahu answered.

"Make sure the two of you pick one out for yourself, too," The daycare lady insisted.

"What? Are you sure?" Ahu asked.

"Of course. I'm grateful for all of your help and I'm sure Elaria will help you all take good care of them." The old lady came over to give Elaria a hug. "You've been thinking about a journey of your own,. haven't you? I'd hate to see you miss your chance. They seemed like nice people."

"Thank you."

Ahu ended up juggling three eevee eggs while Elaria carried two Eevees. It didn't take too long to catch up with the group and Elaria smiled at them all.

"Hey. We wanted to give you a reward. For all your help," Elaria said. One of the Eevee’s immediately squirmed out of her arms and jumped toward Orchid, who stepped forward to catch it.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Orchid asked. "So cute! I missed you, too."

"So holds the tradition of Orchid getting poisoned to rescue Pokemon and them falling in love with her," Cormac said with a shake of his head.

Orchid didn't seem to be listening as she twirled around with her new Pokemon.

"You're doing gym battles, right?" Elaria asked Graham. At his nod, she held out one of the eggs. "I hope this becomes a strong member of your team."

He hesitated as he stepped forward to accept the Eevee, which seemed happy enough to snuggle into his arms. "Thanks."

Elaria then took another Eevee egg from Ahu's arms and held it out to Cormac. "For you. Thank you so much for deciding to help me. It really meant a lot to me."

Cormac smiled. "I'm glad that I was able to help," he answered as he accepted the egg.

"You guys don't mind having a bit more company, do you?" Elaria asked.

"The more the merrier," Orchid said. Cormac nodded in agreement.

"I hope this doesn't put you out, Graham?" Elaria said.

"I'm a tag along myself, so I don't have room to complain," He said.

"Companion, not a tag along," Orchid corrected.

Elaria smiled. She took the last egg from Ahu's arms, swapping with the Eevee she was holding. Ahu looked at the ball of fluff that was pressed into her arms and smiled.

"You know what, yeah. Yeah! Me too!" Ahu declared. "I'll come along, too."

"What about your gym?" Graham questioned.

"They can figure that out themselves," she fumed. "It'll teach them to appreciate me more if I ever go back. Besides, I left all the gym's Pokemon behind, so it's just me and Simsek." She nodded to her Shinx. "Plus, I owe you a rematch."

"You don't owe me anything," Graham said.

"I owe you a loss," she said with a foot stomp. "Just you wait. When I have a team of my own, I'll put you in your place. And then I'll find everyone that earned a badge from me and I'll beat them too! And I'll get revenge on those Beedrill while I'm at it!"

Elaria put Ahu's head as her friend got louder and louder. "Forgive her, she's very energetic."

"Well, at least this journey won't be boring," Cormac said.

"Yeah, no chance of that," Graham sighed.

#ELS Writing #Pokemon AU #Colorful Calvacade #Fanfiction #Orchid #Cormac #Ahu #Graham #Elaria #Team Midas

2 notes · View notes

owlswing · 4 years

Text

ROTBTD TAG GAME

Okay, so I was tagged by

@ohlooksheswriting-wips

! Thanks for tagging me!

Answer these questions and tag your rotbtd friends! And please don’t reblog this, put your answer in a new post 😊✨

Name/nickname?

My blogging name is Owlswing, but I also go by Owl :)

How did you get into rotbtd?

Oh, gosh... I was about 15...? Anyways, I liked all of the movies individually, and I ended up stumbling across some fanart of all four of them together, and then I saw tags like “the big four”, and the rest is kinda history. I got in deep on a dying fandom and never left...

What made you stay/come back?

Hahaha! See, fandom was dying/dead when I came around, so I never left. I just started a really long Hogwarts AU that is still not finished... (also after checking the timeline for the last question, I realized that said Hogwarts AU is almost 5 YEARS OLD! Maybe I should do something special for the anniversary???)

Out of the four movies, which one is your favorite?

I mean, I absolutely love them all, probably wouldn’t be in the fandom if I didn’t, but... I have to go with Httyd. Hiccup is just a really relatable character for me, and I just love the exhilarating feeling I get every single time I watch Test Drive. It’s just so beautiful.

Dreamworks Dragons or Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure?

You know, I think I need to go with Tangled Adventure on this one. While I love the Dragons series, I feel like Tangled did a really good job of staying true to the original characters while also adding more at the same time for more dynamic plots and such. I think it was just really well done, and there are no plotholes/awkward overlaps like there are sometimes in httyd (that could be because there are less movies so not as many toes to step on) but still, I think Tangled Adventures was really, really well done and I must give credit where credit is due! :)

Which one do you prefer to be made a sequel of, Brave or Rise of the Guardians?

It’s hard because I really want BOTH... I think I would prefer a remake of Brave with the original director, Brenda Chapman, because I feel like it would’ve been so much better if she hadn’t been taken off a project that was inspired by her own relationship with her daughter. Yeah. I’m still mad about that Disney.

But for overall sequel I would probably go with Rise of the Guardians. Brave seems like more of a stand-alone plot to me, so trying to shoe-horn in something else has high chances of being not so great *coughfrozen2cough*. Where as rotg has many characters with different legends and stories to be told, a whole book series to draw from, it’s a whole world that we’ve only explored one small part of, and I would’ve liked to see well-adjusted team dynamics/family-team antics of the guardians! :)

OTP/BrOTP(s)?

Ah, see I’m really NOT against any of the ships, I’m just not big on shipping in general. There are very few ships that I’m actually, ya know, Into. So I’m definitely more of a Brotp kinda gal. I love me some good, healthy, and strong friendships! Found Family? That’s my ish! Love that!

Favorite character(s)?

Hiccup. But there’s a special place for each of them. I’ve seen myself in each of them and nothing can really replace that feeling.

Favorite AU(s)?

Okay, I gotta say Hogwarts AU cause I’m chin-deep in that right now. Soon to be drowning. Simultaneously the best and worst decision of my life. Haha! Just kidding! Anyways, I like this AU because I’m really big on fantasy, and it just makes sense; why four people from completely different walks of life ended up in the same place at the same time? I think it’s pretty cool and it’s such a big world to explore!

Besides that... I would say a War AU could be cool, like medieval fantasy or futuristic sci-fi. Pirate AUs and Circus AUs will also always catch my attention.

Pick one! favorite B4 house placement in Hogwarts AU? | favorite B4 nation/bending headcanons in ATLA AU?

Okay, so for Hogwarts Houses I definitely have preferred Houses, but the whole system is so generalizing to begin with I really believe that any of the four could be in pretty much any house if you really want, but here are my preferences:

Hiccup - Ravenclaw

Rapunzel - Hufflepuff

Merida - Gryffindor

Jack - Slytherin

As for bending headcannons, I really haven’t put a lot of thought into it, but that question is very intriguing... I’d probably do something like...

Hiccup - Air, because the peaceful Nomad lifestyle and the desire to fly and explore and be free is just very fitting. Also he could befriend Toothless instead of a Bison, confusing everyone because they thought Dragons were dangerous!

Rapunzel - Earth, because for one thing I love breaking norms in this way! I love the idea of Rapunzel being the dainty, pretty princess but then she busts out some of the most badass Earth Bending moves, invents metal bending to escape Gothel, is just very kind but if you piss her off she’ll totally wreck you. I think this would be A LOT of fun. Also, I think it would be fitting with the whole “flower” thing. I also think it could be an interesting character arc where she’s not very good because her personality doesn’t exactly fit the “traditional earth bender attitude” and being raised by Gothel (”You? A bender! Oh, honestly Rapunzel, don’t make me laugh!”) could leave a lot of insecurities that she would have to grow and work through. I think it could be really beautiful.

Merida - Fire, on the flip side this one is kinda typical I imagine, but I would say (also on the flip side) make her afraid of it. Make it the one thing that Merida isn’t, well, Brave about. She doesn’t like fire bending. It could potentially make her a disgrace to her royal/noble family. It also would explain why she’s so good with a bow and sword: she chooses weapons over bending. Unlike Rapunzel who wants to learn but is hindered and must overcome, Merida would be against learning and would eventually have to learn that it is a part of her and learn how to accept it (after possibly visiting the dragons with Hiccup or whoever the avatar would be cause who the heck knows? could be interesting if none of the Four are the Avatar. Make a fifth character the Avatar and the Four could just be the teachers...)

Jack - Water, obvious, I know, but giving Jack ice powers AND another element makes him WAY to OP. I would say Jack is actually not a natural at water bending. He’s always accidentally freezing everything! (not unlike Katara). He has to work hard and earn his title as a master, eventually becoming the best because he trained harder than any of the others and surpassed the other water benders that used to torment him back in his home village! I also think Blood Bending could be an interesting plot device here (maybe Jack is tempted to use the technique because he’s worked so hard and still isn’t good enough? Or just in general Jack’s inner battle between the darkness and his fun-loving personality...)

......Dang it. I think I just started plotting something. o_o

Pick one! since this is 2020, any hot takes you want to give us? | what old fanon tropes that you still enjoyed to this day?

I will always love brotp between Jack and Hiccup! Absolute favorite. I also love the idea of the four having sleepovers and telling each other everything and overall being supportive and loving towards each other. All the positivity and fluff!

Any fic recs? Or if you couldn’t think of any, what was the last rotbtd fanfiction that you read? (It could be an old work or a recent one, do share!)

Uh... I honestly haven’t been reading many as I barely have time to write, but I did hear of one that I think is pretty good! It’s a pokemon AU by Acecove! I’ll link it below...

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13320856/1/Pok%C3%A9mon-World-Evolving-Together

Whew! That was a lot! Anyways, I’ll tag @emixa26 and @adaminaart!

#The Big Four #rotbtd #fandom #ask #question game #Tag #Hiccup #Jack Frost #Merida #Rapunzel

14 notes · View notes

nelvana · 4 years

Text

In which the territory of others is crossed

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which the dungeon with fossil foes is explored Previous: In which there are dreams and discussions

The following morning greeted everyone suddenly. Typically, they rested for the nights in forests, or somewhere with cover, and even when they had gone out to Magma Cavern, they had been tired enough to sleep through the early morning. Now though, them being out where it was more open forced the sun to their eyes from the beginning of the sunrise. There were only a couple that slept in very long, but otherwise everyone was up right at dawn. They handled breakfast for the morning, and then began heading out towards Brine Cave.

While they still lacked a proper map for the Grass Continent, the memory of those who had been here in the dead timeline was enough to server as their directions to the dungeon. The four of them took the lead, including Nelvana, who Alex would talk to enthusiastically about their previous experiences in this location that she could not remember, in hopes of prompting some sort of memory. He wasn’t successful, but she enjoyed the conversation nevertheless.

“My only worry now is that we don’t have that relic fragment thingy. Do you think the Rainbow Stoneship will be functional?” Ceebee pointed out, interrupting the other two’s conversation.

“It should be,” Dusknoir spoke up, and then coughed. “The Rainbow Stoneship was only damaged from the meteor, as was the Temporal Tower. We should have complete access to it now.”

“The Rainbow Stoneship… would that have been our first time actually seeing bright colors?” Nelvana murmured, “it was still rainbow, right?”

Alex, who previously had turned to Dusknoir with a frown, grinned as he spun back to look at his partner, eyes lighting up.

“Yes, yes it was!” he answered.

“I bet that looks really pretty, must have been especially pretty then, for your first time,” Keahi chimed in, stepping closer up front. “Hey, you guys haven’t seen a rainbow out here yet, haven’t you? Hopefully we’ll see one soon, they’re always really nice to see!”

“Oh, yeah, an actual rainbow would be nice,” Nelvana agreed, “I’m just excited to see the Rainbow Stoneship for now in the meantime. I have an idea of what it looks like, but it will be nice to see it for myself again.”

“Natural rainbows usually only show up when it’s raining but also sunny,” Damien pointed out, “considering the season, we’re only going to have a few more chances for that.”

“There are ways to manipulate water to make your own rainbows!” Keahi countered, “we could see about using the waterfall from Whiscash’s pond if we wanted to do that.”

Damien blinked, glancing upwards as he thought back, but then nodded in agreement to Keahi’s idea.

“Hey, you know…” he mumbled instead, “for the ‘Grass Continent’, there sure is a lack of grass out here-“

“Everyone stop!” Tsuki suddenly yelled.

Freezing in place, the rest of the group stiffened and stopped walking at the command, as Tsuki leapt over to the front of the group. She bent her head down, sniffing the ground and taking careful steps back and forth.

“This is the territory of absols,” she said, her voice sounding far away as she lifted her head.

“It is?” Keahi questioned.

Alex paused to sniff the air, and then nodded, “it is. Good catch there, Tsuki, we wouldn’t want to be trespassing on someone else’s territory… I guess there were absols here before the time collapse.”

“Wow, more absols? That’ll be cool, right? Tsuki, you said that you haven’t seen any other absols before,” Edgar chimed in, floating ahead to join Tsuki at the front.

“Are absols typically territorial?” Dusknoir asked, glancing around the area, which had become rockier and slightly more mountainous as they had gotten closer towards Brine Cave.

Tsuki didn’t answer, only continuing to look out into the distance. After a pause, Damien stepped up instead.

“I… From what I remember, they can be sometimes, if they have something to protect,” he said.

Dusknoir glanced back at the gengar, appearing mildly surprised that he was the one that was able to answer, but accepted this and turned back to face ahead.

“Should we wait for some sort of border patrol then? If this territory is marked, there should be someone to check the borders, right?” Nelvana asked, crouching down to the ground as well. “This doesn’t really smell that recent…”

Alex sighed, “well, I’d hate to be trespassing, but we can’t wait here all day… who knows when someone will be back here to check the borders. Best to ask forgiveness then permission in this case.”

Tsuki’s fur bristled, but then she slowly nodded, “that would certainly be impolite, but these are dire circumstances; they should understand.”

“Could we go around?” Damien offered.

“We don’t know how far the borders stretch out,” Ceebee pointed out, “we could get sidetracked and end up wasting more time; we’d be better off waiting for some sort of border patrol in that case.”

“If everyone agrees then, we should keep going,” Nelvana said, “keep your eyes out though, if we see anyone, we should try talking to them.”

“Like how you called out to Tsuki when we saw her for the first time!” Keahi added.

With that decided, the group proceeded forward. Tsuki continued to hold the lead of the group even after this; everyone silently agreeing that in the case of running into another absol, that it would be best for her to be seen first for diplomacy. For the first five tense minutes, they still didn’t run into signs of any other pokemon. Then…

“Stop!”

Following the booming voice came an absol leaping out from behind the rocks to stand in front of the group. Their fur, while still with a blue hue, was greyer than Tsuki’s. As well, they towered over Team Galaxy’s absol by over a foot, and their build was larger as well. Despite this, Tsuki held her head high and locked eyes with the other absol.

“I am Daichi of the tall cliffs! Who are you, and why are you here?” the absol questioned.

“I am Tsuki of the winter night!” Tsuki answered proudly, “and these are my allies, of Team Galaxy and otherwise. We wish to cross these lands to Brine Cave.”

Daichi narrowed his eyes with suspicion, “why do you wish to enter Brine Cave?”

“There is a great disaster to soon befall this world! Surely, you have sensed it as well?” Tsuki answered, “we wish to pass through Brine Cave so we may find Dialga and speak to them so that we may prevent this disaster,” she further explained.

“If I may…” Ceebee fluttered closer to the front of the group. “Please, trust my word with this as well. We need to pass your territory so we can eventually make it to the Temporal Tower.”

Glancing from the absol to the celebi, Daichi slowly nodded. His steely gaze then moved across the rest of the group, finally landing on Dusknoir for a few moments before he directed his attention back to Tsuki.

“I have sensed this danger as well, you are correct,” he sighed, “I would like to believe that I can trust you. Myself and my pack guard these lands against anyone who may even try to enter the likes of Brine Cave. I can tell that you are true in your words of your goal, and I wouldn’t wish to turn down a mythical…” He stood straighter, holding his stance firm. “However, I sense disaster amongst your own group. The dusknoir is not allowed to pass. The rest of you… should be fine.”

Dusknoir stiffened before hastily making his way over to Daichi, who bristled at his approach. Pausing, Dusknoir moved back slightly again to provide some comfort to the two absols before he spoke up.

“Please, sir, I will admit to being such a danger in the past, but I can assure you that I only mean to help now,” he told him.

“No,” Daichi insisted without hesitation, “I cannot, in good conscience, simply allow you to pass through here. I cannot trust you like that.”

“Look, we’ve been keeping him supervised before now, can you trust us to keep doing that and prevent any harm?” Damien offered instead with a sigh.

“Our mission is too important, his help is required,” Tsuki spoke up again before Daichi could respond to Damien. “If you wish, I will prove it to you in whatever way required. From an absol to an absol, you know that I would never allow someone to cause disasters under my watch.”

Daichi huffed, “very well. We shall duel to prove ourselves. Come with me.”

He stepped back a few paces, distancing himself from the rest of the group, and Tsuki followed after a brief moment’s hesitance. The remainder of the group glanced at one another, silently asking each other if they should follow.

“I remember learning about this, back when I was a trainer,” Damien whispered, “we’ll have to stay back, or else it breaks the… the…” He snapped his fingers, trying to recall the right word. “…the integrity of the duel. It has to just be the two of them; if we step in to help her in any way, it doesn’t count.”

“The integrity?” Keahi repeated, “so how… does it work?”

“Not sure the specifics, but I think it’s a way to prove the strength of their goals…?” Damien responded with a shrug. “I only had some books to go off of, so what I know might not be accurate, but I think they’re going to prove whoever’s, uh, intention is stronger.”

“Do you understand the rules?” Daichi’s strong voice asked, breaking through the quiet air.

Tsuki bowed her head, “yes, now, thank you.”

“Aw, we missed what the rules are!” Keahi groaned quietly.

“Hopefully we’ll pick it up along the way…” Nelvana responded.

Everyone falling silent, the two absols began to circle around one another. After a couple cycles of the two simply staring each other down as they paced, Tsuki made the first move. Throwing herself at Daichi, their horns locked against together, before with a heavy toss of his head, Daichi easily threw Tsuki away. She rolled on the ground, immediately pushing herself back to her feet to return to the duel.

“Can she not use moves?” Alex whispered.

“I never thought about it before, but I don’t think so… I can’t remember ever seeing one where they used actual moves, just their horns,” Damien murmured, “no, wait, they can use moves, I have seen that before. Maybe just not directly…? I remember seeing one use slash, but it was only to cut the grass since the other was hiding in it…”

“I’ve seen that in other pokemon,” Dusknoir commented quietly, “it relays more to their true strengths to not use moves directly. It would be disrespectful for one of them to use a move in this sort of duel, but they can use it to affect the terrain, as that commends to their intelligence and tactics.”

“What other pokemon does that, that you would know of?” Alex questioned with a hiss, but Dusknoir did not answer, instead motioning for everyone to quiet down so they could pay attention to the battle.

Circling each other again, Tsuki’s eyes shot around, studying Daichi and the area around them. She threw herself at him again, their horns clashing against each other. This time she managed to hold her ground longer, but had to tear herself away and step back to avoid being thrown again. It was obvious that she could not win by brute force.

They continued to pace, before eventually Daichi lunged at Tsuki instead, their horns clashing once more. Tsuki’s claws dug deep into the earth, the two forcing their weight against each other. After a few moments though, Tsuki changed her angle, forcing them to begin moving in a circle again, horns still locked against each other.

After a few paces, she opened her mouth, puffs of frost floating out before ice was shot out at the ground. She held the attack, continuing to force the two of them to slowly turn in a circle, now with her tracing an outline out of where they had been pacing around each other before. Daichi pushed harder to try and throw Tsuki off, but that only seemed to turn them faster. She was using his strength against him. The more he would attempt to force Tsuki down to the ground, the more she would use that force to push them around, allowing her to continue to freeze their perimeter. Slowly but surely, she was creating a circle of ice around them. Not that it was easy, sometimes Daichi would tug and force Tsuki’s forelegs off the group, but she always managed to twist her way back down to force the both of them to continue turning around in place.

Just as she barely completed the circle, Tsuki tore herself away from Daichi, scrambling away and across the ring of ice she had created. Throw off by her sudden disappearance, Daichi stumbled under his own weight, but caught himself before he fell over, standing tall again. He glared over at her, him inside the circle of ice and her now outside.

Daichi growled with frustration, evidently not expecting this duel to last this long. Tsuki panted from her position outside of the ice ring, exhausted from putting so much force into redirecting Daichi’s strength, but she did her best to continue holding herself high. Daichi saw this sign of weakness, however, and seeking to finish this battle soon he dove at her once again.

As one paw stepped on the ice, however, he slid over, his entire weight crashing onto his chin where he landed, crumpling onto the ring of ice. Tsuki held back a smile of triumph; he was not built for the cold like she was, her paws were larger to handle the ice, and his were better suited for climbing rocky cliffs. Daichi scrambled to pull himself to his feet again, chin bleeding from a cut from the ice, but each time he would attempt to stand, his paws would slip on the ice and send him crashing down again.

Before he could get the idea to slide off the ice instead, Tsuki made her move. Leaping at him again, she landed safely onto the ice without any trouble and firmly placed her forepaws onto his head. He struggled against her, but his head alone could not free itself under all her strength, and the rest of his body still couldn’t manage to even stand on the ice. His claws scraped the frozen ground in a fruitless attempt to pull himself up, and then he kicked wildly back, but Tsuki had positioned herself where he could not simply reach her like that. Finally, she leaned down and tugged on his fur with her teeth.

“Yield,” she growled.

Daichi continued his struggle for a bit longer, but with a long sigh, he relented to her and slumped onto the frozen ground instead, breathing heavily from all his effort.

“I yield,” he gasped back.

Accepting her victory, Tsuki stepped off from Daichi, shaking her fur off. He attempted to stand once more without the extra weight, but still slipped over. After a pause, Tsuki padded back up to him, offering her help, which he accepted, and she dragged him off from the ice.

With the battle clearly over, the rest of the group hurried over to their friend to congratulate her, complimenting her tactics and commending her for the success. Daichi sat down during this, patiently waiting for his opportunity to speak again. Fortunately, the cheerful chatter quickly died back down, and Tsuki turned her attention back to the other absol.

“I must admit, I underestimated you, Tsuki,” Daichi said, “but you have most certainly proven yourself; you won that battle fairly. Your resolve for your duty here is greater than mine; you may all pass to Brine Cave.”

Tsuki smiled, “thank you, Daichi.”

“Excuse me, Daichi, your chin is still bleeding,” Edgar pointed out, “would you like an oran berry for that?” he offered, glancing over from Alex to Damien, the two bag carriers.

Daichi shook his head, “thank you for the offer, but I will not need it. I will get medical attention from my pack for it later,” he replied, “now, however, I shall escort you all to Brine Cave.”

“Oh! Thank you!” Keahi hummed, “that would be helpful, thanks! Are you sure you don’t need anything for the cut though…?”

“I am certain. You should all save your supplies for the journey ahead anyway,” Daichi insisted, “now, come along, and stay close. We would not want to lose anyone along the way.”

Shaking the dirt from his fur, Daichi stood again and padded off in the direction the group had been heading in before they had run into him. After exchanging some silent glances, the group followed him deeper into the absol territory.

It was silent for the beginning of the walk, aside from Daichi exchanging some quiet and simple pleasantries and advice with Tsuki for what was to come, most of which she, and the rest of the group, already knew. Eventually though, the terrain grew even rockier, and they soon began spotting dens between the stones, and would glimpse some white pelts darting around behind the rocks. What started as glances though soon became stares, as more absols from the pack were drawn out to stand on the rocks and look over the passing group. None of them moved up or spoke up, likely because Daichi was escorting them, but there were some mixed expressions that could be seen from a lot of them.

Suddenly though, one of the absols bounded out from behind the rocks to greet the group. This absol stood out right away, their red instead of blue fur and green eyes made sure of it. They boldly padded up to the group, smiling politely at them. Standing next to Daichi, she was at tall as him, though not as broadly built.

“Hello! I’m Sabi!” she greeted, “er, Sabi of the mountain ores, that is,” she added.

Tsuki smiled back, “and I am Tsuki of the winter night.”

“Yes, greetings, Sabi,” Daichi sighed, “this group is here to visit Brine Cave. They’re going to do their best to handle the disaster we’ve all been sensing.”

“Ohhh, I see,” Sabi replied, nodding. “Did you two duel?” she asked, looking at the cut on Daichi’s chin.

Daichi nodded, and Sabi grinned and swayed in place, her long fur swishing around her.

“I wish I could have seen it! Daichi getting beat by this runt- no offense,” Sabi laughed.

Tsuki sighed, though still smiling, “none taken. I have… noticed that I am smaller than most of you.”

“Noticed? Couldn’t you tell from… your own pack?” Sabi questioned, her own smile faltering. “Oh. Are you a lone absol?”

“I was. I do not even remember what pack I would have come from,” Tsuki replied, gaze hardening. “I have my own pack now though, right here,” she continued with pride.

“Aww… that’s really sweet!” Sabi purred, looking over the rest of the group. “Shame you lost your old pack, but it’s nice to see you found your way.”

Daichi furrowed his brows, though if he doubted the value behind a non-absol pack, he did not mention it.

“Hey, actually, are you a shiny absol?” Ceebee commented, fluttering up to Sabi.

“Yes!” Sabi chirped with a broad grin, “only one in the pack, and proud!”

“That’s neat, I’m actually a shiny too!” Ceebee replied, “I’ve never gotten to see another shiny before!”

“You’re a shiny?” Sabi blinked, and then chuckled to herself. “Sorry, I’ve never gotten to see a celebi before! This is really cool! What do other celebi look like?”

“They’re green instead of pink,” Ceebee answered.

Daichi cleared his throat, “pardon me, but I sense that this is a time important mission, yes? We should continue heading to Brine Cave.”

“Right, of course!” Sabi responded, “here, I’ll escort you all too!” she offered, “I’ll provide better company than Daichi here,” she teased.

“We don’t mind the extra company!” Keahi replied.

Daichi sighed, shaking his head, “very well, but walk and talk then, Sabi.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, old man!” Sabi barked with another laugh, padding along ahead as if to prove her understanding of Daichi’s instructions.

“Have either of you two been through Brine Cave before?” Nelvana asked, “any… tips you could maybe give about this dungeon in particular?”

“I had been getting to that before we were interrupted,” Daichi replied, “Brine Cave is a fifteen-floor descending dungeon with one rest stop after the ninth floor. There are traps, but no monster houses. Common type is water,” he told them, “its final floor is also the home to several fossil pokemon.”

“Ooh, yeah, them,” Sabi hissed, “we’ve managed to work out a truce with them so we can get through without… too much trouble, but they’re really territorial. Most definitely will attack you all, even if you say we’ll chill with you. They’re the time to attack first and ask questions later.”

“So, expect a big fight at the end, got it.” Alex nodded. “How many of them are there?”

“Uhh… it varies depending on when you go in, but usually there’s at least one kabutops and two omastar; they’re the leaders of the gang,” Sabi answered, “expect those three as a minimum and anywhere upwards to… ten? Other pokemon in the pit.”

“And I expect you would rather stay on good terms with them, so we shouldn’t be too rough?” Dusknoir responded.

Daichi glanced back at Dusknoir with narrowed eyes, “if you could, please,” he grumbled.

Dusknoir narrowed his eye back instinctively, but quickly caught himself and did his best to relax again. Fur bristling again slightly, Daichi turned ahead again to watch where he was walking, electing not to respond to Dusknoir again if he didn’t have to.

Eventually, the sight of other absols disappeared as the rocks grew into mountains spreading out into the distance. The scent that this was their territory still lingered in the air, but they by now had passed the main living area for the pack. It wasn’t long after this that the group stopped at the mouth of a large cave, the path descending into the darkness of the dungeon below.

“Here we are, Brine Cave,” Daichi announced, glancing back at the group again. “We wish you all the best of luck, I trust your strength and intentions. Know that considering the graveness of this disaster to come…” He shook his head. “…the very fate of the world rests on your shoulders. I wish I could help you more from here, but this pack must continue protecting these lands first and foremost.”

Tsuki nodded in return, “we understand. Thank you for helping us here.”

“We’re here if you ever need any other sort of help!” Sabi added, “well, we still don’t travel too much, but we’re still good for advice and directions, and any local-er disaster prevention!”

“We’ll keep you all in mind. I’m sure we’ll want to come back to this continent again some other time in the future,” Ceebee replied.

“Thanks again for the help!” Keahi chimed in.

“May Arceus watch over you all,” Daichi hummed.

Giving their final farewells to the two absols, the group entered their single file line, entering Brine Cave together.

5 notes · View notes

kingdomblade · 4 years

Text

Pokemon DLC thoughts!

Good!

We got more info out of this direct than we did from the entire leadup to SwSh and it was WAY MORE EXCITING, GAME FREAK

Adding the new DLC pokedex into the main game as a free update is a huge step up from SuMo and honestly something I never expected they would do. That’s a huge relief, so kudos to them!

Between this update and a potential new Sinnoh remakes, we’ll potentially have almost all of the Pokedex back

Seemingly no Teams/battling evil, just pure adventuring and exploring

Concept art for both new areas looks beautiful and more interesting than 90% of the main game

First time Moltres has looked as cool as Articuno and Zapdos, sorry Team Valor. Regional Legends are a neat idea! I love regionals so I’m glad we’re getting more.

Venusaur and Blastoise have Gigamax forms too so people can chill the crap out about Charizard

Gigamax Galar starters too, finally

Being able to explore with friends has the potential to be very exciting

The author of Pokemon Special is crying tears of joy because he doesn’t have to add an entire new game arc

Trees might be fixed??

Bad!

Those who were waiting for SwSh 2.0 now just get to buy one expensive game all at once

Considering the amount of content in the base game, feels a little like stuff that should have been in the main game/feel like $60 for the base game is still a bit too much

DLC (likely) won’t fix how lackluster things were in the main game - no add-ons to existing story etc.

Why does Calyrex look like that

Other!

While I still think they could have handled the Dexit announcement better, this was likely all planned from the very beginning and if they wanted to keep the DLC a surprise Game Freak’s hands were probably more tied than we initially thought.

I’m a little bummed that they added more Legendary pokemon to Galar because just having the two doggos was a plus to me, but it’s kinda necessary with DLC like this anyway haha

So yeah, I think I can say I’m mostly optimistic about the DLC, its kinda nice to feel that was after being kinda disappointed by the main games. We’ll see what happens!

#Kingdom Contemplations #Pokemon

14 notes · View notes

moonlightxarcher · 4 years

Text

Selene’s Log, Day Four

Update, 8:05 am.

“Bzzzzt, Roto Dex here! Soooo, Selene, you slept in last night. I wazz almozzt expecting you to be up an’ at ‘em at 6:00 am or something!” The Dex cracks a cheeky mechanical laugh, capturing the gentle half smile the researcher gives him in return.

“I merely wished to rest before my battle, Roto-san. It is important to get sleep in these moments before a difficult encounter.” A difficult encounter that was soon approaching. “Now, I believe Captain Ilima said this Verdant Cavern was just toward the back of Route 2? Can you see him, Roto-san?” Roto floats to her side, his camera picking up the winding paths before settling on a small nook opposite the Pokemon Center. Zooming in closer, he can see a small figure waiting by the entrance. “Yup! Got ‘im!” He salutes his partner, cracking another cheeky grin. “Man, I’m really excited for thizz! Your first Island Trial, it’s gonna be huge! You got a plan all ready?”

“Yes,” she nods calmly, her eyes closing for a moment, “I have outfitted my teammates with useful items and have prepared each of them for their roles. But I am counting on Lupa the most for this one. Whatever we face, I fear it may have strong physical attacks. That would mean her Fur Coat Ability would be largely beneficial to us.”

The two close in on Ilima, and it is not long before Dr. Selene Berlitz starts her first leg of the Island Challenge with Captain Ilima’s Normal Trial.

---

“Montage time!” Roto chuckles as the footage begins playing out on his screen of a brief conversation between Selene and Ilima, where he informs her that she must find and battle a number of Alolan Rattata before making her way to the far back of the cave and collecting a crystal embedded in the pedestal. The scene shifts to her exploring the cave, her voice muted by the rapidly rising background music that the Dex was playing. “Selene really had this tracking stuff down to a science! She could distinguish the Yungoozz denzz from the Rattata denzz with just a single look! But then those nazzty Team Skull guyzz tried to get in her way-” The screen cuts to a pair of Grunts trying to impede her progress, only to unintentionally allow her to track down and defeat an Alolan Raticate, which sends the goons running off in terror.

“Yeahh! Run away ya gooberzz!” the Roto in the video calls out to them, his waving red appendages falling in and out of frame.

“With that, she was able to make her way through the cave eazzily, and soon found herzzelf up againzzt an abzzolutely mazzive Alolan Raticate! Thizz wazz the fearzzome Totem Pokemon, oversized Pokemon flowing with extreme power! It wazz a heck of a foe, I’ll tell ya that! I thought I’d be snapped in half with just one Bite attack! But Selene was prepared.” His camera pans around toward Selene, pulling a small blue capsule from her pocket and a red and white ball off her belt. She pops the top off the capsule and tosses the Pokeball forward, releasing Furfrou in a brilliant flash. The regal white dog is adorned with a fashionable scarf, a Silk Scarf that raises the power of Normal moves. She thrusts the capsule forward, flinging a small pill toward the Normal Type, who deftly catches it in her mouth and swallows.

“She used that X Defenzze on Furfrou to make sure she could weather more hitzz. It was a geniuzz move! Without it, she certainly would have had some trouble.” Roto shivers as the footage plays out, the two exchanging blows briefly before a smaller Alolan Rattata appears, slamming into Furfrou’s side and bouncing off it. “Even though it had extra help, Lupa still kicked that Totem’zz butt!” He cheers, pom poms flashing on the screen. The clip continues, with Lupa beating on the Raticate and enduring attacks from both ends. At some point, Selene darts in during the lull in attacks to personally apply a blast from a Super Potion, but it may not have even been needed, as moments later both the Alolan rats lay on the ground defeated.

“And so Selene won her firzzt Z-Crystal! Now she can put that Z-Ring to work.” The Dex’s screen continues to display Ilima congratulating her for her efforts, and the humble Totem offering a gift of her own- the young Rattata she had fought alongside. “The Totem Raticate wanted Selene to take care of her baby, and who could refuse an offer like that?” The little Alolan Rattata’s data flashes up on screen.

Name: Ro

Gender: Female

Nature: Bold

Characteristic: Strong willed

“She seemed really amuzzed when naming her, talked about rodentzz of unusual size or somethin’ like that. I didn’t understand headzz or tailzz of it,” the Dex mutters in response, his screen showing an emoji of a blue face scratching its head with a questioning gaze. “We ran into those futuristic lookin’ people again, and I gotta say they need to work on their greeting. Ya say ‘Alola’ while moving your armzz in a circle, not in a square!” The Dex huffs, somehow offended. “Anyway, the female one introducezz herzzelf azz Soliera and the male introducezz himzzelf as Phyco. They seemed pretty interezzted in Selene and what she wazz doin’, but I don’t know if we could truzzt them quite yet.”

The next scene plays out, with Kukui nearly bumping into Selene as she exists the cave- and he comes bearing bad news. Lillie’s missing!

“Profezzor Kukui said something about mizzplacing her around Route 3, so he wazz hoping that Selene would help him. After everything that had happened with lazzt night, she definitely wanted to help, I know I did.” The scene follows on with Selene traversing the winding rocky terrain, unfamiliar to her. But not to the local Pokemon. “So Selene getzz this great idea to have one of the local Pokemon help, and she findzz thizz Cutiefly that she challengezz to a battle and capturezz quite artfully!” And that Cutiefly’s data flashes on screen.

Name: Bylii

Gender: Female

Nature: Naughty

Characteristic: Sturdy body

“Though the crafty bug leadzz uzz on a bit of a winding path, she does direct uzz toward a secluded area where a lot of people end up when they get lozzt on Route 3, Melemele Meadow. That’s where we found Lillie!” The scene shifts to the girl in question, frantically looking between her bag and the yellow flowers.

“Nebby, where are you,” she mutters to herself, gasping when she’s spotted by Selene. “You think you can help me find her again?” she asks the researcher, her big eyes wracked with worry. “I’m so sorry for being such a burden to you...”

“You are far from a burden,” Selene answers, already starting to walk away. “You are a precious friend, Lillie-san. I will not rest until Nebby is found.”

“It’zz there that Selene getzz the aide of another local Pokemon, thizz time a kind little Petilil that wazz more than willing to show them placezz that Pokemon like to hide.” The data for that Pokemon flashes on screen too.

Name: Lili

Gender: Female

Nature: Mild

Characteristic: Scatters things often

“That’s what brought us to the Seaward Cave, accezzed through a tiny hole that Selene could barely fit through crawling on her handzz and kneezz. It was cold and dark in there, so it’zz good that Selene’zz so uzzed to Sinnohan temperaturezz,” the Dex tries to crack a joke, but the humor falls a little flat. His normally cheery voice falls a little low and somber. “Something... Something happened in there. I’ll... I’ll show you what I can.”

---

Update, 3:28 pm.

“Anything yet, Carmilla?” The researcher calls out to her Zubat, flapping a foot or so ahead of them in the dark cave, guided only by the thin beam of light projected by the Dex’s flashlight eyes. The blue bat lets out a low cry- negative. Deeper and deeper they wander, relying on what little natural light was there and the young Zubat’s abilities before they found the cavern floor below them start to shake and sunder, cracks lining the walls and shattering small rocks-

“Izz it an earthquake?” the Dex guesses, frantically clinging to Selene’s back in an attempt to keep himself protected, his screen briefly darkened by the fabric of her shirt before she pulls him off.

“It might be,” she mutters, the Rotom’s light casting a dull glare over her bang-covered face. “We must keep moving.”

Smaller quakes rock the group occasionally, but they keep advancing onward. That is, until they reach a rather deep, narrow part of the cave, hearing a rumbling roar. “A wild Pokemon?” Selene wonders aloud, but she is soon caught off guard by another vigorous quake, even stronger than the first. It nearly sends her to her knees, the Dex clinging to her shoulder in a meager attempt to keep her up-

And just as the quake seems to let up, Carmilla swoops down and slashes with her wings, blowing a gust of air hard enough to topple Selene back- narrowly avoiding a rock that would have crushed her. Another falls and cracks the ground just a foot away from Rotom. Another drops further away. “A rock slide!” Selene calls out, but the tumbling earth ranging in size from pebbles to boulders start to rain down, blocking off their path forward. The gang scrambles down the wayb they came, but just as it seemed like they’d reach the entrance to this narrowed tunnel, the way out crumbles before them. Quite nearly punching the very stone blocking them, Selene tries to keep her cool-

Only to hear the feeble cry of a Zubat, her left side crushed below a rock more than twice her size.

“Carmilla!” Displaying the most emotion Rotom had ever seen on her normally impassive face, the girl that he suddenly remembers is only 13 years old frantically tries to free her partner, to no avail. Her cry of anguish rises like an ancient hymn as she struggles to budge the rock even a bit.

One of the balls on her belt bursts open, revealing Strix the Rowlet. She releases waves of sharp leaves at the rock, but all they do is scuff the surface. Leafage just isn’t enough. “Please!” Selene calls out, “S-Someone get help!” She rounds on the Dex. “Roto-san, can you call someone? Do you have that function?” There is panic in her eyes, the normally calm oceans darkened like the beginnings of a storm.

The Dex nods, “I’ll do what I can, Selene-” Only for a stray rock to fall and crack his screen, sending him hurdling to the ground.

“Roto-san!” The panicked cry of a young girl in over her head is the last thing the Dex could pick up before the recording died.

#[Selene's Log]#[Day Four]#(Prepare for things to get dark)

1 note · View note

riddlerosehearts · 5 years

Text

okay, so. i’ve now officially finished the postgame story of swsh and that means i’ve done it all.

and honestly i’m frustrated because i’ve seen a few people say swsh has the best writing they’ve seen in a pokemon game and i just... i mean, i can see that in several of the character arcs and in the potential the story had to be great, but to me the writing is just... it’s full of extremely wasted potential. bede, hop, and sonia had pretty nice character arcs imo but we still could’ve seen a lot more of them if the story had been a better length, and i have to say i was expecting marnie to be a much more prominent character. i mean, she showed up like 3 or 4 times and i feel like i know more about piers than about her? i feel like i can’t describe her personality very well at all but she was supposed to be one of my rivals? there also wasn’t enough time to expand on team yell and what was happening in spikemuth, so i didn’t get attached to them like i did to team skull. i just found them annoying and that was all.

i also don’t even like... fully understand what oleana and the chairman’s deal was, i mean i thought oleana was puppeting everything but then she says you have to help because rose has gone nuts and even then i thought she was lying. i thought rose was just some asshat who didn’t care about bede at all because he seemed to not remember who bede was at the beginning, but then he’s like “oh i’m so sad i adopted you because i saw myself in you and now you’ve disappointed me :((” and i can’t even tell if he was being honest then or not, because he never ever gave me the vibe that he gave a single shit about bede, but it just wasn’t explored enough and tbh i really wanted bede to confront him and/or oleana at some point. i also still feel confused about what they were even doing in the first place and i wanted things to be explained better but they weren’t. i don’t even fully get what the darkest day was or why the day/night cycle only begins in the post-game and i just feel stupid. i had a theory that the darkest day and the day/night cycle and everything would relate to pollution and climate change somehow but it was just... something something eternatus something something dynamaxing, i think??

and speaking of bede being an orphan, i feel like i should not have had to learn that from a card and that it should’ve been a bigger part of the story tbh, i mean i love the league cards for non-plot relevant npcs like the gym leaders because i always wanted more info on the gym leaders of each region, but... having to learn that bede is an orphan who never got along with anyone so basically has no family or friends via reading it on a league card (which i feel the need to add, is optional to even read in the first place) is just making me imagine if in black and white n came up to you and handed you his entire traumatic backstory on a card, which would feel lazy and rushed just as it does to me here.

also like... the idea of the adults helping handle things and not putting it all on a kid is excellent until you realize all it’s doing is pushing you out of the action. even if you as the player might possibly be a kid like your character, you yourself are not in any danger and you want to have fun with things because this is a video game. the gym challenge is nice and all but every single time leon or sonia tells me to just continue my gym challenge and not worry about it i wanna say “fuck no let me join you and get in on the adventure and action just like every single other pokemon game lets me do.” every time sonia told me more cool info about the darkest day i got super excited and interested and then every time i didn’t get to do anything about it i was like “okay, well, maybe the action will pick up more after the next gym” and it just didn’t, until the VERY end and even that wasn’t long enough and overall the whole thing was just so incredibly oddly paced.

there’s also just... not enough to explore?? i mean, the wild area is pretty neat, but it doesn’t have dark caves and vast oceans and winding forests, and the region itself hardly has any of that either. there are only 10 routes and they’re short. i never got lost in galar mine or anything and it was the first time i actually missed getting lost in a video game, which i usually do constantly because i have an even worse sense of direction than leon. the cities are beautifully designed imo and there are a few where i went “holy shit this is gorgeous” when i walked in, but the whole region is just too small and i was pretty disappointed when ballonlea, despite having the prettiest design in the game along with glimwood tangle imo, was so tiny with hardly anything in it. i realize this part is a tangent and not related to the story but it just adds to the frustration i had with everything!

anyway, this post is already too long and too incoherent and i’m not trying to be overly negative because i truly did enjoy some things about swsh and am glad i bought it to be able to play with my friends and shiny hunt and collect all the new pokemon regardless of my issues with it, so i’ll try wrapping it up here. basically i guess i just feel like the plot was too incredibly oddly paced, not nearly explained well enough, and the characters weren’t expanded on enough at all despite several of them having very fun and interesting personalities and arcs and every one of them being likable to me. the lore of galar has very interesting concepts in it but none of them are used to their fullest potential in this game and i so desperately wish they were! i wish the world was bigger and that i got to be a bigger part of the action and that i had a better understanding of the game i just played (and hey, maybe i’ll understand all of it a little better once i replay/see my dad get to the story parts that puzzled me, but i feel like i should NOT be so utterly lost right now), but none of that was to be. it feels rushed and unsatisfying and i know it’s because the devs didn’t have enough time to make swsh as great as it could be, but i just wish they could’ve been given the time it needed! because these issues i have, along with other ones such as the bizarre removal of features like mega evolutions and the ability to pet your pokemon or the removal of such a high amount of pokemon, and the world itself having so little to really explore, just.... keep me from being able to enjoy it nearly as much as i wanted to.

i think i have to give the game a 6/10 or maaaaybe 6.5, which is lowered from the original 7/10 i was going to give it while i was still optimistic the plot would pick up more than it did. so, decent for me and much better than any of my least favorite mainline pokemon games (i haven’t replayed through xy since forever or really touched it to do anything other than shiny hunting in ages, for example), but not really great imo and i’m sad about it.

#sorry for this negativity and for such a long post. nobody has to read it i just wanted to get it out.#being so confused about what the fuck was going on during basically any of the later parts of the story is also making me feel bad tbh #because it makes me feel like 'what if this was all really simplistic and easy to get and i'm just fucking stupid'#but yeah idk i just... nothing was what i expected and it was all badly paced and underwhelming and i'm mad because THE POTENTIAL IS THERE #swsh spoilers #pokemon swsh spoilers #long post #starlight plays swsh #swsh negativity #in case anyone needs to blacklist that ig because i know i hated seeing so much negativity before the game came out #and would've hate hate HATED seeing a post like this before i finished it #i was gonna make a '6.8/10 not enough water' joke but i'm not in a good enough mood to joke about it right now :/

2 notes · View notes

feroxcia · 5 years

Text

RULES: REPOST, DON’T REBLOG. JUST PICK A MUSE OF YOURS AND FILL IT OUT.

MUSE: Gary Oak

BASICS

▸ IS YOUR MUSE TALL/SHORT/AVERAGE? I mean he’s almost 6 feet. Tall but not super tall.

▸ ARE THEY OKAY WITH THEIR HEIGHT? Yeah, Gary doesn’t give much thought to his height, mostly because he’s pretty average and fits in with the crowd.

▸ WHAT’S THEIR HAIR LIKE? Brown color. Shoulder length when down. Pretty thick and softer than you’d think. Though you wouldn’t really notice with all the gel he uses. It can get pretty gnarly if he doesn’t comb it.

▸ DO THEY SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THEIR HAIR/WITH THEIR GROOMING? He does, especially as he’s gotten older. He meets with a lot of important people, so he’s always gotta be in his best. Never know who your gonna meet. As stated before he takes very good care of his hair (he doesn’t want to start balding at 40). But he takes good care of his face too. Even plucking his eyebrows and wear a little cover up if he has a blemish. If he’s going on a date, a tiny dab of lip gloss is sure to stop some hearts. ▸ DOES YOUR MUSE CARE ABOUT THEIR APPEARANCE? Absolutely. His looks are everything to him. If he doesn’t look good he doesn’t feel ready for the day.

▸ DOES YOUR MUSE CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK ABOUT THEM? Kinda. He likes to think he doesn’t, but he does. Honestly he just likes the attention, positive or negative. He really doesn’t care if you love him or hate his guts, so long as you remember him, that’s all that matters.

PREFERENCES

▸ INDOORS OR OUTDOORS? Outdoors. I mean, he likes both in their own separate ways. But outside is more freeing.

▸ RAIN OR SUNSHINE? Honestly he appreciates both. The sun is warm and bright. It warms his skin and gives him and he pokemon of the world energy. But the rain is calming. It provides the water for everything to grow and the sound helps him focus. There needs to be a balance though. Long hot stretches of days drain him, and many days of overcast rain can make him mopey.

▸ FOREST OR BEACH? He doesn’t mind a nice day on the beach, but the forest is where he thrives. Exploring, hunting, learning, observing. There’s so much to see and find in a forest. Even if you’ve been through it a hundred times you’ll still discover something new.

▸ PRECIOUS METALS OR GEMS? Both are cool? He’s an archaeologist at heart, so if he’s digging and comes across something shiny, well that’s a bonus find! Obviously gems are more sparkly and eye catching. But natural metals are fascinating and he owns a few chunks of raw ore he’s dug up.

▸ FLOWERS OR PERFUMES? Flowers. Strong perfumes make him stuffy and can give him headaches. You know those ladies. You walk past em and it’s like walking into a wall of artificial scents. Probably used to cover up some sort of insecurity, their nose blind, or the fact that they haven’t showered in a week. Yeah that’s gross. But flowers are nice. A good scent and something pretty to look at.

▸ PERSONALITY OR APPEARANCE? Gary would be shallow and say appearance. And of course, appearance is important. He won’t boogie with someone he’s not physically attracted to. But that’s just a surface level. If you really wanna get to him you gotta have the right personality too.

▸ BEING ALONE OR BEING IN A CROWD? Honestly it depends on what he’s doing. Is he out for a night on the town? Then he’s going to be part of the crowd, living up the limelight. Is he working or studying? The he’d much rather be left alone, or maybe with one other person there to bounce ideas around. He’ll always prefer being the center of attention. But he’s learned to enjoy the quiet moments when he’s the only one there.

▸ ORDER OR ANARCHY? You obviously need both to have any sort of functioning society, but Gary tends to lean more towards anarchy. Order is fine when the situation calls, but he thrives on going against the grain and challenging what people think. If there’s a cause he wants to fight for he’ll start a riot.

▸ PAINFUL TRUTHS OR WHITE LIES? Gary tends to be very blunt and to the point, so painful truths are his game. He’s not one to pussy foot around, and he’ll speak his mind when he feels it needed. Plus, he’d much rather hear a painful truth himself than to keep him going with a white lie. There are some white lies he’s okay with. Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, stuff like that. But if it’s important, you bet your bippy he’ll come out and say whatever needs to be said.

▸ SCIENCE OR MAGIC? Obviously being the grandson of a professor and an aspiring one himself, science comes first. Magic is only found in fiction. Though one could argue that pokemon themselves are magic, Gary likes t believe there’s always a scientific reason for something happening.

▸ PEACE OR CONFLICT? He’d rather there be peace, but if peace isn’t an option Gary’s probably one of the first people to jump to conflict to solve an issue.

▸ NIGHT OR DAY? Both are beautiful in their own right, but night is where Gary really comes alive (it’s no wonder he owns an Umbreon). Dark city streets, neon lights, loud music and social drinking are all in his aesthetic wheelhouse. He loves the atmosphere.

▸ DUSK OR DAWN? Dawn. Contrary to the above dawn has some of the most beautiful vistas. Colors dancing in the sky, pokemon waking up from their nights slumber to prepare for the day. It’s wonderful. Too bad he doesn’t see it often.

▸ WARMTH OR COLD? Once again, both are nice. Warmth is obviously more comfortable, but the cold doesn’t bother him (I mean, he lived in Snowpoint City for a while).

▸ MANY ACQUAINTANCES OR A FEW CLOSE FRIENDS? Many acquaintances are where Gary thrives. Having loads of people he knows on the street. Being able to walk past and have a short conversation and wave. The attention is great. But he does cherish his few close friends.

▸ READING OR PLAYING A GAME? He’d much rather spend his time reading a book or researching something than playing a game. Honestly he’s not much for games to begin with. He’d rather watch a movie.

QUESTIONNAIRE

▸ WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSE’S BAD HABITS? Being a jackass? Like, he just says shit sometimes that he probably shouldn’t say and it gets him into shit with a lot of people. He also tends to overwork himself.

▸ HAS YOUR MUSE LOST ANYONE CLOSE TO THEM? HOW HAS IT AFFECTED THEM? You could say his parents, but honestly he really didn’t know his parents before they were gone.

▸ WHAT ARE SOME FOND MEMORIES YOUR MUSE HAS? Despite the outcome the Silver Conference is an oddly fond memory in hindsight. Remembering how much he’d grown to get to that point was invigorating.

▸ IS IT EASY FOR YOUR MUSE TO KILL? Absolutely not. He might be a jackass but he’s not a killer.

▸ WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN YOUR MUSE BREAKS DOWN? Quiet. Scarily quiet. He tends to lock himself up and is unable to function properly. Choosing to cave in on himself. He doesn’t like people seeing him like this and he’ll do whatever he can to get the fuck out. He doesn’t normally cry and usually channels his sadness into anger, but on the rare occasion he does it’s a pretty gross sob.

▸ IS YOUR MUSE CAPABLE OF TRUSTING SOMEONE WITH THEIR LIFE? It depends on the person? He can, but he usually won’t. If he trusts anyone with his life it’s his pokemon. People are fleeting, his partners are forever.

▸ WHAT’S YOUR MUSE LIKE WHEN THEY’RE IN LOVE? Once again...oddly quiet. He gets soft. His eyes loose their sharp edge. He moves slower and more deliberate. Protective. He gets very protective. He’s the person to wake up in for morning spooning his partner, burring his face into the back of their neck and mumbling good mornings and I love yous. He likes hand holding and quiet hugs. Soft cheek smooches and passionate kisses. He just really wants to prove to you how much he cares about you.

tagged by: @aquaffensive

tagging: idk man take it from me?

#B; Headcanons #Long post

2 notes · View notes

thisselflovecamebacktome · 5 years

Text

Pokemon Sword and Shield first thoughts

The Negative:

- The reduced pokedex. Hear me out before you go screaming about how we knew this was going to be a thing. While I would always be disappointed with the reduced pokedex like I was with generation 7, Sword and Shield’s pokedex somehow felt less full than generation 7 which is strange because they had about the same (small) amount of new pokemon. My guess is that it’s because a lot of the pokemon we saw in Sword and Shield feel like the ones fans use more often than not. Like sure there were combees and whatever, but I noticed most the pseudos and beloved pokemon like charizard and gengar made it in. And like there’s nothing wrong per se about that, but it honestly felt like less diversity, especially in a game that had 6 new dragon lines.

- The lack of “evil plot” until the end. Look I know there was a buildup in Sonia’s plot about the darkest day and so on, and I know pokemon has done games where the major evil plot event happens at/after the elite four before, but the lack of evil team in these games made it feel empty and lowkey like a ripoff of Lysander’s reveal in X and Y without the team flare stuff. Like I don’t know, the chairman was an interesting villain and the whole “Is he or Olenna really the mastermind?” red herrings thrown through Bede’s story (as a sidenote, justice for Bede tbh, like yeah he’s a prick but he deserved better than he got) and Olenna’s personality was good, but none of it felt developed enough. Like story wise it literally felt like I was playing X and Y but instead of the protagonist, I was Tierno until the last part. It also made the gym challenge/travelling seem a lot longer which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but again, made it feel a little empty compared to past games.

- The version exclusives. No, I don’t care if this is a product of capitalism, I’m still gonna complain about it each game lmao. And I am especially going to criticise it with these games given you had to have a Nintendo switch online account to trade. Like I am someone who despises the idea of in game purchases, so the idea you need one to fill the pokedex is scummy to me.

- Hop. Whoever decided that he needed to make a comment every time you battled and did a supereffective or critical hit move on him needs to be fired because my god was that annoying. Just in general, I felt he was under developed in a way that made him uninteresting and pretty much a Hau rip off. And the sad thing is that like there was the makings there for him to be interesting. Him feeling like he had to live up to Leon + the shame/disappointment he felt from the loss to Bede and then you at the end along with him finding his own way in life and deciding to train to be a professor all sound interesting in theory, but it just didn’t come to life in the game in the same way I found Bede and Marnie’s backstories to be. I also kinda wish they built up the him wanting to be a professor thing more rather than just feeling like they added it on at the end.

- The graphics just popping in. Look, I wasn’t expecting Breath of the Wild graphics given this is the first new pokemon game on the switch and it wasn’t in development for as long. But I am someone who hopes that this gets fixed for future games.

- It was handholdy/linear. So I will gladly admit this was much better than it was in generation 7 and again, I wasn’t expecting Breath of the Wild but when you consider that technically in generation one, once you get cut you can do gyms 3 - 6 (7 if we’re talking let’s go) in whatever order you want and explore like 80% of Kanto, it feels restrictive that they flat out block you out of any town you haven’t been to/aren’t supposed to be in.

The Mixed:

- Sonia’s arc. I love that they showed through Hop and Sonia that becoming a professor is a genuine path because I feel like if I was in the pokemon universe, I would be a professor. But I felt the execution of Sonia’s story felt off. Like she spent a lot of it reminiscing/telling us about how she used to be a battler and supposedly Leon’s best rival and having Magnolia ask her what she’s doing with her life (which in itself was weird, I mean a professor making fun of someone for working towards being a professor???) just for Magnolia to hand Sonia the coat with no on screen resolution of any of that. Like I don’t know, I guess I just would have liked a big moment where she helped with the chairman or something whether that be through battling or her expertise and have that be an “aha!” moment where she decides to be a professor and Magnolia hand her the coat then or something of that calibre.

- The beginning. Basically I thought it was perfect except it still felt too long. Like having the champion give you pokemon, those pokemon showing their personalities in the choosing scene and being able to skip the catching and pokecenter tutorials were amazing. But even with those skippable features, the introduction felt long.

- The gym leaders. I like that Piers played a notable role in the story and his inability to use dynamax pokemon intrigues me. But quite frankly, the rest of the gym leaders are among the most forgettable we’ve ever had in my honest opinion.

- TRs. I feel like this was added for more competitive players who want a challenge which is not me if I’m honest, so I get it but would prefer TMs to stay multiuse lmao. I’m also kinda surprised at which particular TMs they chose to be TRs.

- The experience share. I’ll admit, even as someone who uses the new age experience share, I thought making it compulsory would be a horrific idea. But I genuinely feel like they balanced it out really well given I versed every single trainer with the same team without facing many wild pokemon and was still under leveled for most the gyms. My only gripe with it is that I tend to switch out my strongest pokemon throughout the main story to add a pokemon I don’t plan to use just to evolve it to fill the pokedex, so it being set up to mostly make you under leveled was a bit of a pain because as someone who isn’t big on versing wild pokemon and was just aiming to catch the new ones until post game, I couldn’t afford for my main pokemon to not be getting that experience. But I do recognise that that’s a personal thing and like not an inherit flaw of the experience share and it will definitely work well for nuzlockers and so on.

- Dynamaxing. Basically I liked them for the raids but they still feel like a worse version of mega evolutions mixed with z moves to me.

- It felt longer than most games. For the most part this is good. Like overall it felt like a fuller game, in part due to the Wild Area being somewhere you can spend literal hours in without getting sick of it. As I mentioned though, I just wish the beginning wasn’t as long and their was more to the “evil plot” part of the story throughout the games.

The Positive:

- The wild area. This was by far the best thing they added to this game. A large amount of the time I’ve spent playing this game has just been messing about in there and none of it felt like I was doing it just to pass time. The weather changes throughout also added some nice variety and change of scenery.

- The raid battles. I thought these were going to be the worst part of the game if I’m honest, but I’ve actually really enjoyed them. I do wish they had a bit more variety, but in general I feel they’re fun and well balanced.

- Bede, Marnie and Oleana. Bede was a pratt at first, but again, his backstory along with game story intrigued me and I wish we dove further into that. Marnie was just a sweetheart and I love her and wish they did more with her connection with team yell and Piers. I also wish we got more about Oleana because I loved what I saw and feel like her team was perfect for her, but wanted more.

- The music. Whoever created the Slumbering Weald music needs a pay rise because that is literally the best music track pokemon has ever had in my honest opinion.

- LionHeartShipping. Leon/Sonia is the Rivals to Friends to Lovers ship we deserve even if it’s not cannon.

- The new pokemon we got in general. Yes I wish there was more and yes there were a few that I think were among the worst we’ve ever gotten (Looking at you Thwacky, Meowth and Cramorant), but in general I liked a majority of the designs even if I didn’t pre game.

- Old pokemon getting Galarian forms and evolving.

- The attention to detail in the speaking text. While a little stereotypical, using British slang was a nice type.

- Not having an elite four. Having a more anime style championship competition to make your way up to versing Leon felt like something new and a nice change of pace. I just kinda wish that it wasn’t the gym leaders you versed in the finals. Like if they wanted to go with the major/minor idea for the gyms, it would have been cool for the gym types not included to be the ones you versed in the finals.

- Exclusive gym leaders/types. So I know they’ve done this before with Iris/Drayden, but it is something that makes playing each version feel unique. Like I don’t think just the two was enough for me to want to play sword straight after finishing shield and I wish that just say sword had grass, electric, ground, fairy, ice, normal, poison and flying types while shield had fire, water, fighting, steel, dragon, ghost, rock and bug types with Marnie and Bede keeping their dark and psychic types, especially with them emphasising the minor/major league aspect, but it was something I hope pokemon continues to do in the future.

- The fossils being created from mixing and matching parts. Feels far more creative than past games.

Final Thoughts:

- Overall this was an okay game and a decent step into the console world. While there are some spectacular aspects of the game, the story leaving something to be desired made me feel like there was something missing on this journey. Given this and the probability of pokemon improving those well done features as time goes on, I imagine this game will be one that in time will be easily forgotten. Still, despite its flaws, I definitely see it as a necessary step to whatever comes next and am excited to see where it leads us.

#pokemon #pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon shsw #pokemon sword and shield #yes some of this is nitpicky i'll admit but it was basically all of my thoughts while playing #also tbh i discussed this with my brother and he pretty much agrees with everything I said which is a first

1 note · View note

meny-sempai · 6 years

Text

MO DAO ZU SHI IS A MASTERPIECE – part 01

OH MY GOD EP 15! That was so… UGH. I have so much to say, yet I’m speechless at the same time! Aaaaa! Ok, that’s it! It’s time!

The first season is over and I can finally talk about my experience with the piece of art that is Mo Dao Zu Shi. Yes, it is a piece of art and I will prove it to you in this short series of my thoughts about the show.

I just have to say – I’m not a native English speaker so bear with the mistakes I’m bound to make. I did read the novel, but only as far as the Exiled Rebels Scanlations translated it (thank you Rebels, you’re gods). I started reading the novel after the first airing of the third episode, so at the very beginning of MDZS mania – I went in blind and… it was FUNNY. I’ll talk more about that down below. And yes, I know a lot of spoilers, but I can’t say I know the whole story – If I start theorizing be aware that I’m just theorizing, I’m not actually telling the plot, but, just to be sure: SPOILERS ahead, I will use the facts I know for my analysis.

For the first two episodes I’m going to tell you my blind reactions and compare them with my impressions after finishing the season. My misinterpretations are hilarious and I admit I was really dumb. Enjoy my stupidity.

The rest of the episodes will have my impressions and analysis that I now have after finishing the show. There will be a few of these kind of posts on my profile because I can’t fit everything I have to say in just one. I don’t actually do analysis of shows here, because this is my personal art blog, but I sometimes make exceptions. As an animation student I just had to talk about Mo Dao Zu Shi. I want more people to see it. I want people to know that it is much more than BL.

So… Here we go!

INTRODUCTION – or, who the hell even asked for my opinion?

I’ve been a fan of anime/manga since I was 13, which was 12 years ago (I’m old, I know). Sure, I’ve watched Digimon, Pokemon, Bayblade and all that jazz when I was even younger, but that doesn’t count, because I had no clue about the concept of anime.

I’ve seen a lot of shit, I’m quite open to a lot of shit and if I’m in the right mood I can take a lot of shit, but I still regard myself as someone who has a good taste. The older I get the less time I have to take a chance at something I wouldn’t normally watch. Even if there is something I’d watch I usually end up not having time for it. Since I started studying and doing animation myself, my criteria for the quality skyrocketed. I long gave up on the three episode rule. One episode is enough to see potential if there is potential (some shows can still trick me – I’m looking at you Sirius the Jaeger).

Ok, ok, I’m not bashing on Sirius the Jaeger. I’m just saying the show had a lot of potential and threw it out of the window. If there was no Mikhail and Yuliy dynamics… Scratch that – if there was no Mikhail in the show, the story would have been completely empty. At least for me.

Since we’re talking about other shows, I’ll use this opportunity to declare Mo Dao Zu Shi as the animation of the year. Sure, the year’s still not over, sure I only watched Cells at Work, Free! Dive in to the Future, Sirius the Jaeger and BANANA FISH, but I still believe in what I say.

Sorry Cells, you’re cute, you make me care more about my body, you make me have weird feelings about Cancer (WTF). I wish I can show you to all the school kids in my country, but you’re not the best this time. Please, give me another season, thank you. Love the manga. Guys, please watch this anime!

Sorry Free, you… Pfff… Ok, yeah, FREE, I love you dude, thank you for all the sexy muscles and almost BL drama (and some actual deep moments). Thank you for all the Rin, we can never have enough of Rin. And thank you for Kisumi and Asahi – didn’t know I needed that. Thank you, but… yeah, know your place (hint: it’s right here in my arms).

Sorry Sirius, I wish you had more episodes to explore the story and the characters. Liked the OP and the animation.

Sorry BANANA FISH, oh god, I really am. Before MDZS I lived for you BF, I lived for you! I was an old fan of the manga and I was so hyped. I can’t say I’m dissatisfied with the anime adaptation. I liked a lot of things they did, the way they adapted stuff, added and changed stuff, but it was just too much plot for 13 episodes and the effects of it became clearer and worse while the anime progressed. I have no idea how MAPPA will handle the second season. My fingers are crossed. Guys, watch this anime. Even with all the flaws it’s worth your time.

And yes, I watched Voltron and The Dragon Prince. This will be a really long post if I start on those, so I won’t.

So… YES. Mo Dao Zu Shi came out of nowhere for me and took the crown. Wow… where to start…?

How did I find this show…? Actually, how did this show find me? Well… It was my beta reader, I think. After 13 years of being a silent fan of Asian comics and animation, I decided to finally write a fanfiction. Surprisingly, it was for the small fandom of the Korean comic Noblesse (nobody cares, carry on). I don’t know why, but my beta told me about this new BL “anime”. When I realized it was Chinese I rolled my eyes. I’m an asshole, I know, but I just never liked anything I saw from the Chinese (I haven’t seen much, but what I saw was poorly animated/was in 3D and I’m not a huge fan of 3D). I also never liked the voice acting… Ok. OK, I admit! I never liked the language, ok? Shoot me!

Then… Everything changed when the Wen clan attacked.

Anyway… I was bored, I was lazy and didn’t want to do work for my university, so I said: “What the heck! Hit me with some Chinese BL.” I clicked on the first episode not even bothering to read the summary. Man… My expectations were the low of the lowest.

EPISODE 01 – or, what the fuck did I just watch and is there more of it?

Oh shit… I’m terrible at names, especially Chinese names! Am I supposed to remember all this, is this important? The clans, the wars, the titles? This is BL, right? Should I take out my note book? Fuck, pause it. Ok… Ok… I get it? Let’s just continue.

(When I look at it now it was pretty clear. I really am dumb. To be fair, you need time to get used to how they use names. And for someone who never watched Chinese animation seriously and doesn’t know anything about the culture it really was a lot of new information. But don’t let that stop you from watching it!)

Ughhhhh…. 3D… damn it. And it was going so well. Ugh, just look at those wings flapping! Are the wings broken? What the hell! Why do they do this?

(Lol, I was so triggered. XD The bird is actually fine. I like how the scene transitioned from the pupil of a scared man to the pupil of the crow. As if they were watching each other in the eye, only adding to the creepiness. The lighting is also great. Everything is dark and gloomy, fitting the “horror” atmosphere really well, yet at the same time the dark scenes are vivid and clear. It’s hard to make the misty night look clear and colorful. The flying is a bit iffy, but it doesn’t really matter because the effect of hundred birds covering the sky is strong and meaningful.)

Holly shit! This is amazing! Pause it! No, go back, I wanna see this again. Oh my god, that flute! The music is awesome, I’m having goosebumps. Ooohh, love the music, I never heard something like this. Oh, this dude is so cool. Red eyes and zombies and… What is this show about again? Zombie BL? Really? It’s not really zombies, right? Please don’t be about zombies, I hate zombies.

(Honestly, this scene is stunning. A really effective way to reveal a character. Especially a character that we are not sure whether he is good or bad. The most amazing thing for me about this is how they used music. It isn’t just the background music to accompany the atmosphere. It isn’t there just to tell something about the character and make him stand out (it’s not a character theme). The flute is not alone here, there are many themes working with it. Together they are not there to tell us “this is a scary action scene” so feel this, or “this is a sad scene”, or a “funny scene”. No. The music here is its own art piece. It’s actually there to tell us in its own language the story that we are seeing on screen. I don’t know how to explain it. For me, the way the music changed was perfectly synchronized with the way people were saying words, the way Wei Wuxian moved his head, the way the corpses stood up to attack. If I close my eyes I can see the scene by only listening to the music. This is something that regularly happens in this show. I don’t know how they do it, but I applaud to it. I can’t remember the last time the music left such an impact on me in the animation series. And this is just the first episode and the first scene. We have no idea who these people are. We are not expected to feel emotional for them. But I felt the connection. I felt like I was there and the corpses were about to get me.)

Ugh! 3D, you’re killing me! And it was such a cool intro! Ok, calm down, what are they saying? So… That’s the guy with the flute, right? No, it was Wei, but Wei Something else. No, wait, it has to be him. Go back. Yeah, it is him. What the hell is a courtesy name? Ok, never mind, try to remember.

Oh no…! More exposition, more names and clans! My brain is melting! Cool smoke/ink animation, though. Hmm, purple ring. Nice. That’s important, right? Oh! The amulet thing! Remember that. That’s gonna bite us in the ass later, ain’t it? Alright, so “Wei something” died. Killed by… shidi? So… the younger clan member? So…? This Wei also had his own clan? Am I getting this right? I’m probably not getting this right. Ugh, just watch the damn episode, quit pausing every goddamn second! It’ll explain itself.

I like the OP! The similar smoke/ink animation and… Wow, ok, there are too many handsome guys here. I’ll have to focus. The music is catchy. I like the singer’s voice. Cool!

(I’m now quite fond of the 3D in here. The tortoise and everything. XD Also, in my defense - they have three names, like, come on. I didn’t see that coming. I don’t even have a middle name. Although, I do think having three ways to be addressed is pretty interesting. You can tell and convey a lot by just picking a name the character uses in his speech.

Fun fact no1. – at the time I couldn’t even recognition the names when they would speak. All of the words sounded the same to me, which was so unusual. I can now recognize a lot of words and phrases. And, I think… Well, you’ll see what I now think about Chinese and VAs. I’m just gonna say this: I’d like to learn Chinese just so that I can write a love letter to Guo Haoran.

Fun fact no2. – It took me 6 episodes to actually pay attention to the lyrics of the OP and ED and to realize that they are representing Wei Wuxian and Lan WangJi. That’s a really beautiful touch, very smart. And it brings so much meaning to the table when the ED changes. I don’t think I ever saw OP and ED used in this particular way.)

Well, this is getting really dark and interesting. This Wei may be a refreshing MC. Probably a good guy at heart, but shady as fuck and ready to kill. I do have another name to worry about, but Mo is easy to remember (“Don’t close mountain” – if you know what I mean :P). I wonder if Mo is important to the plot. I see potential for some twists here.

2D animation is looking good so far. I like how they made us look from the protagonist’s POV. Really refreshing directing… hmm… Still not buying the Chinese, but Wei has a nice voice. The music is still great.

Bahahahaha! Scratch that, Wei is an idiot! Good to know that liquor is your priority, Wei! XD Omg the donkey, too, look at that face, look at the eyelashes!

The fuck is this shit? Are those people flying? While standing? Are they standing on something? What the hell? XD Man, that sky is nice. Oh! Oh, oh, wait, those guys! Those were the shadows I saw a scene earlier. Mmm… Attention to detail. Nice. Looks like I’ll have to pay close attention to every scene. Been a long time I had to focus so hard on an “anime”.

(10 minutes and I was already very intrigued. I didn’t know shit, but I was in. With all the pausing I probably spent 50 minutes on this episode, but it felt like barely 20 minutes had passed. At the beginning I paused a lot because I was too slow to read the subtitles (no, I don’t watch dubs, I’m just too used to Japanese and their culture references that reading subs is child’s play, but this was new territory for me). I also paused a lot because I felt I’ve missed something, or because I was surprised at how some scenes looked.

I don’t pause that often now. Mo Dao Zu Shi trained me to see and hunt for detail. As I said, it’s been a long time since I had the need to carefully look at the backgrounds and pay attention to all of the characters’ expressions. Mo Dao Zu Shi tells a lot in silence and in small details. It awards you if you take time to look at the scenery. When I find something that I’d usually miss, I don’t necessarily feel smarter, but I feel the show is treating me as someone smart. MDZS respects its audience. It makes them think and remember. Which makes this show 100% re-watchable. I watched all the episodes 3 times. Some I watched even more – like episode 11. And I always have a new experience. I love coming back to it. Even when I work I play the episodes and listen to them. It’s interesting. Try it. Try just to listen to the audio. It has rare quality to it. The sounds and music are used wisely and a piece of music always has a legit reason why it’s played.)

Ok, this run is too slow. I get that he’s fat, but still, the foot exchange doesn’t fit with the distance he’s making. Also, the flying guys are not flying anymore. I got more info. And MORE NAMES. Kill me now. The info is interesting, though. Cultivators are Chinese exorcist, right? I really should have read the summery.

(I still think the running was not convincing. There are moments such as these in the show, but honestly, MDZS has fascinating animation and it only gets better in the later episodes (I’m not even gonna start with ep 11 – ep 11 will get its own post). The animators know what they are doing and the director knows how to make a scene work at full capacity.

Fun Fact no3. – D.Gray-man destroyed me. I now only know how to say “exorcist” the Japanese way.

MDZS also has a way of making seemingly stupid stuff look and be cool. Surfing on swords sounds pretty dumb, but when you actually see it and have it explained to you, when it has plot significance it becomes a fresh idea. I want to have my own sword to surf on!)

Well, hello… Lan… Jingyi ~ (How do you read this? O.O) Mmm… I’m digging the art style. Cute boys~

Also, Wei, you’re a fucking genius! XD The Oscar goes to you, my dude.

(… I still think Wei Wuxian is a fucking genius. I’m not gonna talk a lot about him right now, but I just gotta say that he is such a classic MC, yet at the same time he is so original. He’s just one of the proofs how great the writing this series has.

Speaking of writing – this show has some of the best dialog I’ve ever seen. Not only because of what is being said, but also because of the VAs, directing, music and animation. Dialog often has more than one meaning and always serves to deepen the characters and their relationships. I love how they use animation to show how the characters are truly feeling while saying something and what they actually mean when they say it. Everything they say has a reason and it makes you pay attention to other’s reaction to what is being said. I love how the character can say the same thing in so many different ways and that this is used to show his development and growth. I’m also amazed at how simple “hmm-s” and “mmm-s” mean so much in this show.

I’m not saying character animation and rich expressiveness is something new, but it is rare and this show is really good at it. For example, quite a few characters laugh or cry but they all do it differently. They raise their eyebrows differently, they’re surprised and scared differently etc. This all sounds as a no-brainer, but it’s not so common. It’s difficult to pull off and I’m not saying MDZS is perfect, but it’s close.)

(Please… You think you can take down someone who spent his whole life perfecting the art of climbing up trees? Pff! You’re not Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan.)

(He looks so comfortable among corpses. It’s funny, yet so sad. These are all great hints for the mind-set of a character that you’ll miss at first watching, but you won’t forget about it. And when the memory clicks – it makes a loud click. Not a second is wasted in this show. Everything has a point. I’ll elaborate more on that with some examples in other posts.)

Bahahaha! I feel you bro! XD

But I feel you too. I mean, I don’t care about you, wench, don’t get me wrong, but it’s kinda sad. I’m liking these zombies. They’re my way of creepy and there’s potential for a deeper plot for them if it’s true that their personalities are still there somewhere. This just adds to the debate whether Wei is good or bad. The grey area… I love the grey the most. All 50 shades of it. And I’m enjoying the mystery vibe of this episode. Was there a mystery tag on this “anime”? Also, the fight scenes are not bad. And it’s cool how they all hate Wei but use his technics and knowledge. Realistic. Cool.

Oh my god! The colors! Whaaat? What the hell, look at that hair animation! And the music from that… string thingy- instrument – so cool. Ooohh, wait, this is the white dude, THE dude. Here comes the BL!

Ooohhh, I see what you did there. Kudos for you, director! Similarities and contrasts. Nice. And it’s over, I can’t believe it’s over! How can you cliff hang like that?! There’s a second episode, right? Mm, the ED is so pure. There IS a second episode! Well, while I’m here, don’t mind if I do!

EPISODE 2 – or, how I got everything wrong!

I bet he’s thinking: “The fuck is with this aim? The little shit almost killed me! I’m annoyed and amazed! Better play a fool and run for it.” But, seriously, that aim! Wei actually paused (love the little wobble effect on the arrow). And I have another name to remember! Ugh! And another color! Are they color coded? That could be helpful. Also, look at that tree. Wow… They’re blending the 3D backgrounds quite well with the 2D.

And Mo is important to the plot! Nice! So he has connections with the Yellow clan. The plot thickens.

I just gotta say – all of them have interesting designs. I wonder if every cultivator has his own sword. Bleach style or something. On the other hand, animators must be pulling out their hair because of all the details. XD

Cool little battle. Great camera work. They showed the difference between a student cultivator and an experienced one in an entertaining way. That soul summoning was nice too.

(This fight served as a nice show of power difference. It adds a lot to the future episodes where all of the main cast are students and have to face various trials. It gives us a hint at how powerful the clan leaders must be, it gives us a new perspective on the war and its casualties. We now get why many cultivators died so “easy”. It also hints at how talented students are different from the average which is an important detail in the plot. This little “unimportant” fight grounds it all and makes the levels in the clan system believable and palpable.)

This is really clever. Kudos for the reflection. Wei, haven’t you ever watched an anime? It’s clear the kid doesn’t have a mom. He probably doesn’t even have a dad.

(Ok… prepare for a full on fangirl attack.)

… My ears are tingling.

… This voice… Oh my ears, please calm down, something big is happening right now. Wait… Oh wow, he knows him! Look at the face he’s making, oh shit! And this new guy…! We haven’t even seen his face and he’s making threats! Hmm… Can’t say I don’t like that. Yeah, I like that… He’s gonna be the villain, isn’t he? I always like the villains and they always have the best voices. Well… if he’s a villain, let’s hope he’s hot-

Oh, wow, this is really good. The way the light appears, and that little shine of the… bell? Purple… Purple? The purple ring? Is this connected? Well, anyway, he has a pretty dramatic reveal and nice music – yep, he’s the bad guy. Let me see your face-

Wei… why are you so scared? They sure take their sweet time in revealing this guy. This may be more important than I thought. Don’t miss anything!

(Are you prepared?)

HOLLY MOTHER OF GOD WHAT THE FUCK OH MY GOD WHAAATT??? Was he this beautiful in the OP? Whaaaatt? AAAAHHHHHH!!!! SCREENSHOT! WALLPAPER! GO BACK, REPEAT THE SCENE! YOU! YOU, MY BOY, HAVE ENTERED MY HAREM. Oh what a day to be alive! Mmmm, ok, calm down, we’ll draw him later, let’s try to focus. Jiang Cheng. Ok, it’s a more common name, I’ll remember him. Heh. Like I could forget this boy. Oh, no, not a boy, a MAN. This is a man. Uhuhuhu~

(Aaaand my mind was a bit hazy for the rest of the episode – you will see the results.

Fun fact no4. – Immediately after this episode I looked up MDZS on Tumblr and realized that the fandom is calling Jiang Cheng JC. Still under the effects of what I just saw I thought calling him God was quite appropriate.)

NICE PROFILE!!! Is he going to be the other love interest for the MC? Are we gonna see the cliché love triangle? If it’s with this dude, maybe it won’t be so bad~ Ok, seriously, watch the show!

Ok, the magic light here is a nice touch. This Jiang Cheng is a bit cold even to his nephew. He doesn’t recognize Wei, but that’s expected. Wei is strongly reacting to him. What’s the connection? Judging by the music – it’s sad? I expected something more, I don’t know, menacing? Evil? But it’s just sad. Maybe he’s not a villain. That… that could open so many doors… TO MY KOKORO.

“Feed your dogs.” Ouch, that’s dark. Someone really hates the “demon” cultivators.

“Could this boy be…?” What? What is he? Want’s the connection? Should I know, did I miss something?

The white dude and my purple man clash! Holly, Jiang Chang sounds pissed (passive aggressive enough?), while White poster boy here doesn’t give a damn! XD Ahahaha! Could Jiang Cheng be the Chinese tsundere? No, no, no, let’s not call such a man a tsundere. It’s too early.

Oh, Uncle is the leader of the sect. Nice. How old is the Uncle? Is he married?

This obvious metaphor of concealing the light is distracting me from fangirling. It’s interesting how it connects with the Jiang Cheng reveal. I feel that… shit is about to go down.

I was right! He’s the ring! What does the ring represent? And he’s doing what I always do! I play with my ring like that all the time! Nice.

SCREENSHOT! Oh, but he’s pissed. Oh, but I love the way he looks at me~ I feel all mushy.

Ha! Interesting. He’s smart, he has some self-control. Refreshing. But don’t turn your anger at your nephew, please. Also, it seems like the white dude and the Uncle have some history. Hmm…

I thought so. The white dude was the one who killed Wei. The tragic love. I can already see it.

(Yep. I thought Lan WangJi was the Shidi who “killed” Wei Wuxian. You are allowed to face palm.)

Oh no… I know where this is going. And the music…

Oh man… It’s the second episode and I’m already having the feels. What happened, Wei?! I refuse to believe you’re a bad guy!

But, I get Wei’s reaction to Jiang Cheng now.

(I don’t know how it happened, but I was thinking… What if she was killed by Jin Zixuan’s sword? We know Wei Wuxian stopped using his. From this shot we know he wasn’t the one who stabbed her, so was it Wen Ning? It’s obvious he was involved in the tragedy. As far as I know SPOILERS Wen Ning killed Jin Zixuan. If the killer sword is the one we know – if it’s Jin Zixuan’s then Wei’s reflection in this episode has a deeper meaning.)

Bahahaha I feel you, honor student. I like the kids.

(Honestly, they balance the humor and the serious stuff masterfully.)

I died.

This is giving me Gantz PTSD. That shit gave me nightmares. Nephew is really bold.

(I believe Jin Ling has some of his Uncle Wei’s recklessness and hero complex, but he also wants to prove himself just like his other two Uncles. I’ll talk more about them in another post.)

Uuhh, Wei is playing the flute! Risky, I like it.

(Ok, people. Be prepared for the ultimate face palm.)

Oh my god! Don’t tell me he summoned his own body! This resembles the scene from the narration… and he’s wearing black!

I’m right! Nephew wants revenge! Great shot by the way. You can feel the rage in the movement.

(You face palmed yet?)

I really love the way they use the flute! It depicts the flow of the camera so well!

… Wen… Wen what? Wen Ning? Who’s Wen Ning? What? Wait, are they talking about the corpse? What’s going on??? O_O Who’s Wen Ning?! Did I miss something? What’s the full name of the MC again? Ugh… This is so tiring… Ok, never mind, enjoy the beautiful flute song.

Busted!

I swear to god, this guy is illegal!

Oh, boy he figured it out too and he’s… sadistically happy? Eh… But, I get it. If he believes that Wei killed his sister, I get it. And her husband? Did he “kill” the dad, too?

I can’t believe he has a whip AND a braid? And he’s purple??? Did someone look into my diary? Is it Christmas yet? XD Am I dead?

Did he just smile? Am I imagining things? XD I can’t figure him out!

Please! Don’t lie, white dude! “He’s path is uncommon”, yeah right, we all know what you want.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I’VE SEEN AND HEARD IN MY LIFE.

(This would have annoyed anyone no matter who said it, but because it was Wei Wuxian, I think it was even more annoying in Jiang Cheng’s head. Wei Wuxian knows him too well. It’s even funnier when you know that JC is blacklisted. XD He’s no good even to the lunatic.)

And at this exact moment Wei knew he fucked up. XD This is golden.

... Please DON’T turn into rape BL.

(It so DID NOT.)

Oh Wei, you’re no match for this guy! :D

Hmm, looks like we’re going back in time. I love me some juicy flashbacks. Can’t wait to see more.

... I can’t believe I actually like this zombie BL. I just hope they don’t fuck up the animation later on.

(And the rest is history. As you can see - I’m obsessed.)

-----

That’s all for today! Next posts will have more character, story and art analysis. Hope you liked this and please forgive me for making this so long. See you!

#mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #wei wuxian #lan wangji #Jiang Cheng #jin ling #wen ning #jin zixuan #analysis #donghua #animation

74 notes · View notes