#plus doing all the champion stuff for alola

[cosmicheartz]

Thinking abt my au abt Ash being Likos adoptive dad

#also i did not realize I’ve been saying her name wrong bc I thought it was Riko #might ramble abt it in the future but just know it takes place like a decade or so after journeys #ash is in his early/mid twenties #he’s currently just vibing and living life #plus doing all the champion stuff for alola #he’s at kanto when he encounters Liko #and he takes her back to his house so he and his mom can contact Officer Jenny and try to find her parents #it’s unknown what happened to her bio parents but I’m gonna either assume they’re neglectful or dead #so Ash decides to adopt her since she needs a support system

[fierykitten2]

Fun fact: if you take on the Paldean Gym Leaders in the objectively best order (which I didn’t in either version oh well) the genders of each pair of Kalos Gym Leader and Paldean Gym Leader are the same in each version - the first (Viola and Katy), third (Korrina and Iono), sixth (Valerie and Ryme) and seventh (Olympia and Tulip) gym leaders are female and the second (Grant and Brassius), fourth (Ramos and Kofu), fifth (Clemont and Larry) and eighth (Wulfric and Grusha) gym leaders are male. In addition, out of the five pairs of gym leaders between Kalos and Paldea where they share a type, three of them are in the same spot based on this order (Bug-type Gym Leaders Viola and Katy are first, Psychic-type Gym Leaders Olympia and Tulip are seventh and Ice-type Gym Leaders Wulfric and Grusha are eighth). And as a bonus the second gym leaders both have cool hair that matches their types well. And the Grass and Electric gym leaders are always next to each other in that order plus the Grass Gym Leaders are among the oldest gym leaders of their region (Ramos almost certainly, Brassius probably younger than Ryme and maybe Kofu) and the Electric Gym Leaders are among the youngest gym leaders of their region (Clemont is around the same age as Viola, Grant and maybe Korrina but probably the youngest between them, Iono definitely). Oh yeah also the Psychic cities both begin with A and the Electric cities both begin with L

The first fact means that both regions have an equal gender ration for their gym leaders. In addition, they both also have equal gender rations for their Elite Four members (I believe they’re the only regions where both of these are true all the time so far though I might be forgetting something. Alola and Galar automatically don’t count because Alola doesn’t have Gym Leaders and Galar doesn’t have an Elite Four. Kanto, Hoenn and Unova are also probably excluded because they all change their lineup at some point (although it doesn’t change the gender ratio in Hoenn but then they also have Tate and Lisa so that overcomplicates stuff too. It also doesn’t change the overall gender ratio in Kanto but it does change the individual ones for Gym Leaders and Elite Four members)) although only the first and third members line up if you take on the Kalos Elite Four in order. Also both regions have female champions (and the only reason the fandom doesn’t consider either to be their least favourite is because no one can remember Trace 😭 justice for Diantha, Geeta and Trace! And by that I mean from the fandom, not Game Freak. It’s not Diantha’s fault she was too busy to beat Team Flare and kick them out of Kalos for good, Geeta’s fault she decided to make her ace a Pokémon that should be sent out as soon as possible just because she loves it so much or Trace’s fault he doesn’t want to get himself and you imprisoned for starting a physical fight only to plead innocent so only the player gets locked up (yeah this is something I think RGBY era Blue would do)) and because Larry takes a spot as both a Gym Leader and a member of the Elite Four that means Kalos has a slightly more even gender ratio for its league overall but both have more women than men. Additional fun fact (yep, I love comparing Kalos and Paldea and PLZA just gives me a bigger excuse to do it) - Kalos makes you take on the Gym Leaders in order but allows you to take on the Elite Four in any order while Paldea allows you to take on the Gym Leaders in any order but makes you take on the Elite Four in order. Oh yeah also there’s a Steel-type Elite Four member in both regions and both regions end their Elite Four with a Dragon-type trainer

#how do i tag this #gym leader viola #gym leader katy #gym leader grant #gym leader brassius #gym leader korrina #gym leader iono #gym leader ramos #gym leader kofu #gym leader clemont #gym leader larry #gym leader valerie #gym leader ryme #gym leader olympia #gym leader tulip #gym leader wulfric #gym leader grusha #I think I also have to tag the elite four and champions from both regions because I spent a lot of time talking about them #well I didn’t mention any of the Elite Four by name (except Larry but he doesn’t count) #so I don’t think I need to tag them bc it just clogs up tags #but I will tag the champions #champion diantha #champion geeta #luckily all I had to do was type in champion and tumblr knew the champions I wanted to tag in the order I wanted to tag them #honestly whoever’s in charge of the anime should take Z-A as an excuse to do some big arc involving the Kalos and Paldean leagues meeting #pokémon #this post keeps getting longer as I think up more fun facts #long post #ive never used that tag before but it is undeniably a long post #sure it’s only two paragraphs but those are some long paragraphs

[turboacek-blog]

Why I think Alain is in the Masters 8

(I kept trying to post this earlier but the app kept crashing)

With the free time recently because of the breaks and recaps, I thought I would share my guess as to why they included Alain despite him not battling Ash

If you aren't aware a lot of fans wanted Ash vs Alain not only for a rematch/redemption but they didn't see the point of him being included if not to battle Ash

And some would say to at least give him us Alain vs Steven

But my guess as to why he was included is simple

Alain is the closest to a “lead”/main character aside from Ash in the anime

He led the mega evolution specials/aka a separate show/spin-off

So his appearance is like the equivalent to Future Trunks in Dragon Ball with the History of Trunks Special (special side material that brings a character into the main story)

Not a perfect example but I hope you get my point

So with the eight slots, 6 were champions and another by Ash of course, why not have the other anime lead be the other slot?

That way the other spots are the main characters

Jimmy could technically fit as well as he was the lead in the Legend of Thunder specials and could be the Johto rep so it wouldn't be two Kalos and Lance could be Kanto, Ash with Alola, making it a bit more region diverse

And honestly, I wouldn't have minded that

But I think Chronicles was so long ago plus Alain was more relevant and popular so it works out

So yeah I just think it was just having another main character take that spot and the only “main” characters are Ash in the main anime, Goh as he's a co-lead (when you consider characters like Dawn supporting or a deuteragonist), Alain the ME specials, Jimmy the LoT specials and kinda characters like Misty, Tracey, and Ritchie because of Chronicles

Tracey and Goh aren't battlers

Ritchie shifted his battle focus like Gary

Misty wouldn't be that high if she participated

Leaving Jimmy and Alain

And we have a clearer showcase of Alain's power than Jimmy’s

So I think Alain was the easy choice in that aspect

Then just story wise

Ash didn't officially beat Alain but Alain admitted Ash was better at the end of XY after the team flare stuff

Alain wants to be strongest even with the shift to researching he probably still wanted to be strongest so having that chance as Leon is the strongest and has the strongest Charizard was the best battle for him character-wise

As losing to Ash wouldn't help his character it would just be for us the audience that felt Alains statement at the end of XY wasn't enough

And battles against Steven or Diantha would be fun but wouldn't do much for his character unless saying that maybe Alain>Diantha and he should be champion matters to the audience that much

As at most, it would be like mega-evolution research for him

Power level

I think this is the least debatable, especially with all the XY fans out there lol

But if in the mega evolution specials his Charizard could beat Malva’s mega houndoom her ace

And Malva’s an elite four member

And Elite 4 members are more or less equal with each other with only notable standouts like Flint

And Alain got stronger since that battle with Malva as he hasn't even met Ash yet who pushed him to be stronger

But by the finals, Alain was high E4 level if not low-champion level

And even if he didn't get stronger since XY

If he's low E4/low-champion he's on that similar tier of characters like Raihan, Flint, and Wallace so with a decent schedule he could have gotten in with characters like Raihan Flint and Drasna at the top of Ultra/was in M8

And if you don't think the XY characters were that strong in XY (like maybe the animation and choreography made the weaker characters look stronger)

Then you have to give a similar level and progression of growth characters like Ash and Iris have

Regardless if it's “believable” or whatever Ash and Iris are champions and champion-level batters so if Alain is on their level he went through similar growth

All in all, I liked his inclusion

I think he served his role well and honestly even after my explanation,

Ash vs Alain might have been a more exciting battle than Ash vs Steven for the casual viewer as with Steven it was offense vs defense but with Alain, it would be offense vs offense which if it doesn't result in one shots (I'm joking btw) then it would be a more intense battle I feel (not that Ash vs Steven was bad I love it personally) as it would be more attacking and speed and such vs Steven’s more defensive and strategic style which lead to stuff like Cradily’s ingrain strategy

Let alone the viewer's feelings about the rematch and inevitable Ash win/redemption

But for Alain, Leon was the right choice for an opponent just like for Iris Cynthia was the right choice

It not only adds to their story similar to other past companions we've seen in journeys, but it also gave us fun unique battles and for better or worse power scale debates

#anipoke #ash ketchum #pokemon #pokemon anime #pokemon journeys #trainer alain #pokemon alain #masters 8 #pokemon steven #pokemon diantha #pokemon xy #xy #xyz #charizard #mega charizard x #mega evolve #mega evolution #mega evolution specials #why I think Alain is in the masters 8

[cheemken]

what about the main trainers, since you said theyre canon in your hcs? would they follow their champions too or not?

Bruh wait I actually forgot ncmdndm I got so caught up w the champions omf hahaha

But yeah God wait bc in my own hcs, Clair is actually one of Lance's E4 (replacing Koga), w Silver being the one in charge of Blackthorn's Gym, I might have to edit the prev post jfkdnd

Anyways

Yeah the Kanto trio, especially Green since he's still Viridian's Gym Leader, they're a bit skeptical at first, they know how rash and impulsive Lance can be, and Red and Blue fully expects Green to be all "that man's lost it." But,, he was strangely quiet. For Green, he's kinda w Lance and Diantha on this one, he believes that maybe the world will be better without bad people, and from experience since he was also a bit mean back then, he knew how much he hurt Red and Blue, but not again. In a perfect world, Red and Blue won't get hurt, and he'll be better, he won't lose them again.

The Johto trio... Man, Silver's having a crisis. This was the same man that helped him better his ways, and now he's seeing Lance go down a dark path. That's basically his dad at this point and he's witnessing his bastardization arc hahah. But fr tho, idk, maybe he'd be conflicted at first, but then again, the thought of the world without any organizations like Rocket tormenting them over and over again is a nice thought. Plus, y'know, Gold and Kris won't have to worry abt the threat of Rocket being back again, and they could just live their lives peacefully

The Hoenn trio, idk I feel they'd be neutral the same way Steven and Wallace are. They see Diantha's point, but they also see how she's wrong in pursuing it. May just kept quiet about her standing on it, Wally was honestly terrified by the thought of an all out war between the regions, but Brendan's trying to calm all of them down saying that maybe Wallace is right, Diantha could still be saved.

The Sinnoh trio, no they're against Diantha's cause. While they do think that a world without all evil is great, it's basically just Galactic all over again but with a slightly different cause. They aren't vocal abt their opinions tho, and they try to comfort Cynthia as well, they know how much stress she's already under. But for now they're just preparing if ever Diantha, or even Kalos in its entirety, tries to attack

The Unova gang,, well,, the same as the Sinnoh trio really, bc it's basically Plasma in a different font, but then again, they also know how caring Diantha is, especially to Iris, and even when they visited Kalos, Diantha welcomed them w open arms. They're also conflicted really, because some believe that Diantha is doing smth right, she just has to be guided, while some believe she's really lost it and she needs to be taken down. They never tell Iris abt their own thoughts on it.

The Kalos gang, they honestly felt like they've been lied to and used by their Champion, and it all adds up now that Calem figured out why he couldn't capture Yveltal, even w Xerneas by his side. But they also still respect her in a way, she really guided them in their journey and helped them stop Flare. But now they thought abt it, was that an act too? Maybe it is, maybe it's not. Maybe Diantha's just scared too, maybe she really needs all the guidance she can get, as much as they're scared of her now, Diantha's still important to the professor, and they know how important Augustine is to her, and w that they know her humanity is still there, she just needs help on finding it again

The Alola gang, Gladion would be against Dia ofc, and he and Hau argue about it almost every day, to the point that Gladion decided to just keep his mouth shut bc it really upsets Hau. The other three didn't voice their own concerns too, they already know that Hau knows there's smth wrong, but... Diantha was family to him now, and Lillie and Gladion knows that feeling too well. Elio wasn't really updated w a lot of stuff, so he's just trying to lighten the mood everytime they talk abt it, and Selene's just quiet the same way Gladion is.

The Galar trio, man when they found out abt how corrupt their league truly was they couldn't believe it at first. And then they got confirmation from Raihan, from Allister, and from Sonia. And God it was terrifying how detailed Sonia was, remembering the time Rose did threaten her w death, bc he knows she's the only other trainer who could easily beat Leon. They try not to talk abt it that much, especially since Hop's close to breaking down, finding about his brother being part of Rose's scheme, and doing nothing when he knew what was going on. Their views on Leon did change tho, Hop's especially, so now he tries to avoid his brother as much as he can.

The Paldea gang, well, they know their own region isn't as strong as the other regions' leagues. They know that. Considering that Penny hacked into the league. So they all decided it's best to just keep quiet and support Geeta at the moment, as she really needs it. They believe it's the safest option, as Geeta is quite close to Diantha, so w that, maybe Diantha won't try to attack Paldea too.

#man how could i forget chmdnd #especially w silver imagine how torn he'd be tho jfkdnd #villain diantha au #an ask and an answer #anon

[snarkylinda]

I had a very specific dream a few nights ago so I might share it here.

Basically, I dreamt that Lusamine got an hold of 3 tickets for the Master 8 (she is rich and shit) that she reserved BEFORE they went for Monh (ie before Ash was even champion) but now she offered them to Kukui's class to support their friend/champion. Lillie decides to give hers to Gladion, who blushing accepts it. After a bit of stuff I can't remember because it was a dream they decide to send Gladion, group mom Mallow and best bro Kiawe to the Master 8 in name of all Alola.

They get lost. Like really lost. The stadium is huge and this ain't city kids. Oh and Mallow is carrying Ash's Rowlet so I guess she brought his Alola team with her. Ok so she pretty much ran ahead of the group cause she thought she heard someone ahead and that MUST be the direction to the main stadium- ignoring the boys's warnings- before colliding against someone else that was also running toward her group's direction.

The person she collided against was Dawn, who had met with Gary on the way to the M.8 herself and were currently searching for their seats- and by they I mean her, that ran after she heard someone chatting, ignoring his warning completely. When they fell the opposite boy caught the falling girl (Gladion caught Dawn and Gary caught Mallow. Kiawe caught Piplup and Rowlet that were sent flying upon impact) After they apologize to each other and thank the boys for saving them from crashing against the floor, Dawn notices the "cute matching bracelet" that both Mallow and Kiawe are wearing (their Z-rings- Remenber they are very similar due to them being made by Olivia) and that catches Gary's attention, who notices that in fact all 3 of them are wearing them. Plus the pokemon that were with them (Rowlet, Alolan Marowak, and Tsarena).

"Do you guys come from the Alola region?" the trio is a bit taken aback and Kiawe narrows his eyes, his defenses up, but nevertheless the 3 nod. Dawn is super lost on the background until "Then you are here to root for Ash, aren't yah?"

And then I woke up.

#you can see my bias have an choke hold on me #pokeani #anipoke #pokemon

[rk-ocs]

In where a very experianced trainer ends up in Alola, displaced in time and not in her game

---

Pokemon sun fic

This kid is wearing a dusty suit, cluching a pokeball, and is looking at people with fear and suspicion. This needs an intervention. If nothing else, suits are terrible to train and run in. And he could probably use a meal. Screw it, I'm takeing an apprentice, sort of.

------

Sara in the shot will come off as aragont. She decides, without even knowing the full story, Let's go break into this foundation and stir trouble up.

But she has three lvl hundreds and lvl 80 legendary creation trio with her, and is ungodly rich. Plus she took on Galatic and Cyrus.

Soo, I think it's kind of justified.

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

Hmm, you'll need a disguise. We should get sunglasses. In the mean time, put on my (white winter) hat, and use this scarf to cover your nose and mouth. No, we still need some sunglasses. Let's go find a town that sells sunglasses to complete the cover for later

---’---------’------

Then a type null POV. In game came into my head.

"Scowly blond child has rescued Type:Null. Scowly blond child is helpful."

" Blond child abandoned pack to save Null."

"Blond child is surprisingly persistent in training."

"Scowly blond child is working to save Aloha."

"Scowly blond child headed back for packsibling."

"Ahah! An ultra beast! The blond child has brought me to my purpose."

"Scowly blond child's pack has scattered again."

"Scowly blond child is now my pack!"

----

I tried keeping him just blond child, but the title Gladion the Scowly blond child is a hard name to get rid of now.

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

A few years in the future with sun and moon game.

"Oh no, I recognise that crazy smile that promises to kick your ass in battle. She's also probably crazy and will end up training gods. "

"I guess my mother is makeing her move, if a champion was sent here to deal with it. "

"But aloha dosent even have a league? So how will that work."

""Hello Luna(tic)""

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

Where Gladion is like

"Whats with this person. No really what does she want from me. I can really afford to turn down these things I'm the long run, but my mom was only like this to pokemon. Humans arnt treated so nicely."

"Why is she doing this. Why haven't I left?"

"She's absoutly nuts."

"Ohh faller. I should warn her. She should know about what might happen to a faller here."

"She's absoutly nuts."

"For all her crazy, she hasn't left. Maybe she could get me to An easier place to train. She seems to know what she's doing in training at least."

"Oh wait. She dosent know ther local surondings in the slightest."

"She's so open. How is she so comfortable with me knowing this about her?"

"There is no way I am flying you lunatic."

"Serriously how do people fly like that. Their crazy! She's so crazy!"

"I can't take any more crazy today."

"-Wait-"

"No way your leaving me behind you Lunatic!"

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

"This scowly blond child needs help, and in my time as being a travler, my intuition tells me that it will be important."

"He looks hungry. And not appropratitly dressed for training. I should fix that. Besides good fosters friendship, yah."

"Now I need to find my purpose. It must have something to do with an organisation of some sort. Kiddo might be able to help."

"He good be a good guide. Wait, no, your not supposted to bring civilians with you. Maybe if I train him... But I should ask."

"Come apprentance, let us find a safe place to train!"

"I am telling you this stuff beacuse I need an outlet, and you are surprisingly a good person to have this with, beacuse you are neutral, and this is deeper then I thought."

"What do you mean? Flying is the best."

"Oh crap, your oppinion of me does matter to me now, and I'm terrible at this friendship thing."

"When did this happen? No really!"

----------

Damnit, I don't know if it can be permanent. Sara is carving the consequences of capturing gods, which means she does wake up in the past, New dimentions, and the disortion world sometimes. That's why she hasn't freaked out more about this strange occurance, more, just thought "oh damn, now I remember why I don't carry them all at the same time to train them.

She sort of wants to go back, but she also has responsibility now, sort of, as responsible adult figure( when did that happen? How did that happen)

First Red, and then, Sara apparently decided she's adopting (not but kindofsortofyes) Gladion. And plans to rescue Lillie too.

Yah.

They won't stop talking about things they probably wouldn't talk to other people about.

Like maybe that's what Sara does to deal with ending up in other times/dimentions from time to time, and Gladion is responding to that honesty by saying more then he would too, and it makes him uncomfortable.

Or is it ridiclously OC.

-------

Sara always has bulk.

Including cloths apparently.

"Why is it you always have soda, and healing items on you but never foodactual food.

"Oh I practicly live off this stuff. I did tell you I don't notice I'm hungry tell I'm done training, beacuse training comes first, and I kind of forget untill then. This is what keeps me going, I always have this stuff in bulk. I don't know how the bag holds so much stuff, including keeping castilia cones frozen, but who am I to question it. "

"I'm only here beacuse you've remembered to feed me so far, and stupidly rich. "

"I've grown on you and you know it!"

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

Training in her winter clothing would have been a disaster. I had her take off the coat and sweater, and whatnot, but she was still wearing boots and stuff, so I just had her get a bunch of cloths. And all the socks beacuse walking around all day would make you go through socks fast.

In game gladion wears black pants and a black sweater with a red too underneath (I think) but he's used to the weather , and probably burns easily.

Sara is more used to cold weather, and will probably need sunscreen.

------

Given my diamond protagonist has grinded the E4 countless times, Its would be weird if Sara wasn't ridiculously rich. And this one is even more travled then the games

----------

That means Hau adopted protag as faimly (faimly friend), and they proceded to adopt Gladion and Lillie into their Ohana.

Or at least that's how I internet Him calling your mom auntie at the end, and the professed calling you cousian

#pokemon #gladion #sarah Diamond #writing #original character #pokemon sun and moon

[redtoomuchintoit]

Red’s Alola is very, very close to entirely self-sufficient. The only reason it’s not entirely is because they don’t want to have no reason to contact the outside world other than inter-regional work. Having active movement is good for everyone - plus they export, and people don’t want to not have Alolan stuff!

It’s something that some people are for, some are against. If you asked around about it, you’d meet plenty of people that think they should rely more on the outside world, as to lower the work the region has to do for itself, but there will also be plenty that think Alola should cut off contact with anywhere it isn’t absolutely necessary. (See: Acerola)

Hell, there’s people that still have issue with someone who’s not a native being the Champion. It gets to him sometimes.

However, Red also goes on a “patrol” as he calls it every day, where he does a walkaround of every island in the region, so that if anyone needs help, they don’t need to seek him out - you’ll see him, and you can flag him down, and things will get resolved! But part of this is talking to the major heads of the islands, the Kahunas, to keep everyone informed of what’s going on. He can’t handle the whole region alone, as much as he’d love to handle everything himself.

The Kahunas and Captains were handling things long before he moved here, after all! No reason to expect they’d even want to stop, let alone expect them to listen if told to.

This keeps Alola free of undesirable influence, as there’s lots of eyes everywhere, and they’re all VERY loyal to Alola. Corruption is incredibly unlikely, and in some cases, absolutely impossible.

#{Headcanon} This Is My Story #this is a very surface-level and probably jumbled-sounding explanation of how the region runs but I wanted to write about it #because I saw some people talking about their regions and how they run! #feel free to ask questions about it if you have any!!! I'd love to expand about it #either ic or ooc tbqh

[especialistaenfracaso]

New Week, new champion stadium 2k clear, except Im posting on a Thursday instead because college and Olivia kicked my ass

More detail under the cut!

Kahili was first. She was killing Acerola too fast, and I don’t have ingo, so Spooky Caitlin had to come in, and I had to rework Olivia’s grid to not be based around sandstorm. We managed to win, but kahili almost had me on the ropes. Caitlins crit protection, damage reduction, endure, and all that stuff was the only reason I didn’t die.

Fuck Olivia. I couldn’t figure out how to beat her. She is the main reason Im posting this Thursday and not Monday. I went through pretty much all my viable water teams and even some off-type, but nothing could beat her. Until I swapped Elio with SS Cyrus. I had used different combinations of Hilbert, Elio, Swimsuit Misty, SS Blue, Wallace, SS Grimsley, and May, but it wasn’t until I had the SSGrim+SSBlue+SSCyrus I could win. Since he cause sleep to all targets, plus some damage and debuffs, he was way more reliable even if he did less damage and didn’t provide buffs. However, he kept them asleep long enough for Grim to do his thing. SSBlue was crucial, too. I was also near defeat when I managed to win.

Next up, Acerola. She got wrecked. After seeing all the new units, I decided that getting cynthia to 3/5 would be a better use of my gems. Time will tell. Anyway, I could have cleared this pre-sync, but I clicked shadow force instead of shadow ball, and had to take a sync from Acerola, but she didn’t kill anyone.

Hala was easy, too. Cobalion maxed Crit, then triggered move gauge acceleration, meaning Diantha swiched from spamming aura sphere to Secret sword. Korrina EXed first, but didn’t manage to kill all three on the first sycn, but thats ok, because the following Secret Sword and Close Combat finished the job.

Kukui was the final battle. Things were going smoothly until he used toxic. Then I wished I had not used Spooky Caitlin. I tried to use all four units with antitoxin (Caitlin, Clay, Hilda, and Plumeria), as I thought Classic Elesa and Anniversary N would be enough, but no. I gave Dawn antitoxin via lucky skills, and won first try, although N did miss the crit in his sync.

Overall, Only the first two battles were tough, but Alola is always tough. My next EX is between Knight Diantha and Dawn, but Im not sure. Also, fuck that moltres legendary fight, what the hell is that all about?

#pokemon masters #pokemas

[punz4lyfe]

Okie dokes, this episode. When I first read the leaked summary and I saw the preview for it, my expectations were... um.... iffy? There were just some things I felt could go really wrong if dealt with incorrectly, but after seeing the episode myself, I have to say that it was... okay. Was it a bad episode? Not in the slightest. But was it perfect? Not even close, but nothing’s perfect anyways.

To help get a better understanding of where I’m going at, here are my overall thoughts:

1. Ash’s depression in this episode was, imo, not necessarily dealt with well. Compared to past depression sessions from his losses against the likes of Paul, Wulfric, and Napu, it was just kinda cringey with how subtle Ash is with it. In all those past instances, when Ash was depressed, it was still noticeable, but not in an overly-dramatic way. Heck, with all the “droopey” effects shown around the beginning when Ash was starting to get depressed, it was like they were trying to showcase his state in a comedic manner, which is just... no! If we want to take his depression seriously, then it needs to be done in a more-so serious sense, not in a way for people to laugh at.

2. Speaking of his depression, the reason why Ash was so down wasn’t that good either. Ash became depressed when his ranking reached back down to Normal after suffering two consecutive losses with Riolu. Much like with Bea, though, if you really look into it, it kinda seems he just took it was too seriously. One, his ranking barely went down that much and if he went that down by losing to two normie trainers, then he can easily go back up by beating two normie trainers with different Pokemon. Two, this is Ash we’re talking about. The same guy who, before Alola, lost six consecutive regional leagues (discounting the Orange Islands) when league victories was his primary goal. When he lost the Kanto League because of his sleeping Charizard, did he doubt himself as a trainer? No! He got up and kept going! Especially since now Ash has won a regional league (two counting the Orange Islands this time), with a new goal in mind, three simple loses shouldn’t be that much to bring him down. Three, as mentioned before, the two losses Ash suffered at the beginning were done with Riolu against two Pokemon with tentacles as a callback to their past lose against Bea’s Grapploct. Yes, it’s true Riolu is Ash’s youngest member of his team, so he needs more training. But Farfetch’d is also new and he lost as well, so about him? Plus, shouldn’t this be an eye-opener for Ash to train Riolu and Farfetch’d on his sides while using the already-powerful Pikachu, Dragonite, and Gengar to help build his rank back up? This is now all seeming like a bunch of missed opportunities now. (also I need to move on because this second point is now LOADED with words)

3. The goggles are back and that one gag with Sobble was pretty cute and funny. (though, how many times have they been to Hoenn now?)

4. Ash commanded Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on a Flygon... I could rant more about this, but I’ll save it for the next point.

5. Goh’s capture of Flygon. We all knew it was coming. How? The intro. But Goh having powerful Pokemon is not so much the issue. It’s just the way is was handled and much more. Ooooh boy, where do I begin with this? First off, because Ash’s mind was too lost in his previous losses, Goh was the one who took over for the battling this time. To get Flygon in their grasps, Goh actually incorporated many of Ash’s own previous strategies to turn the tide in his favor, like using Sobble to wash away the Sandstorm, using Raboot’s hearing to detect Flygon, and then having Raboot climb over Flygon’s Draco Meteor. One problem is this: When the hecks did Goh get so good? This is a far-cry from his previous battles when he mostly relied on booksmarts which perfectly contrasted from Ash’s on-the-fly strategy motif. Yes, Goh should improve, but seeing him be this good just feels too soon. Like his unseen victory over the Karate Master, it feels the writers are giving Goh too much credit without any proper development beforehand. Is he secretly training with Ash on the side? Does he take notes of Ash during his battles? We need at least SOME semblance of development, otherwise, it just feels wrong with all these achievements, and while I’m glad that he’s earning his captures for a change, giving him a Pokemon as powerful Flygon THIS EARLY with all what I said in mind just seems incredibly iffy. A perhaps better way of having him catch Flygon imo would be to start off incorporating strategies similar to Ash’s. Ash, instead of just sitting on the ground, SEES what Goh’s trying to do and gives him the tips needed to do stuff like climb Flygon’s Draco Meteor. Taking Ash’s advice in mind, Goh would defeat Flygon and catch it afterwards, thanking Ash for the tip and then asking him if he feels better, which Ash agrees to because helping Goh pull off his own tricks restored his battling spirit. And this brings up my last point...

6. The ending. Look, Ash and Goh are best friends and they’re supposed to always have each other backs, I get it. By the way things turned out at the end, especially with the framing, just seems off. Yes, I said framing. The way both trainers and Pokemon were set up with Goh kneeling over a sitting Ash and Raboot looking taller than Pikachu and Riolu while staring down at them just, imo, gives the interpretation that Ash and his mons should be the ones learning from Goh and his. Of course, with the next episode in mind, this is probably not the case, but it just seems wrong. Ash is a champion while Goh is still a beginner, so Goh should still be the one learning from Ash. Again, I’m probably thinking too much of this, but I still feel it should’ve been treated better.

7. While the effects were great as usual, I feel Ash’s battles at the beginning were a little on the slow side. Goh’s battle against Flygon was overall smooth, especially with the Draco Meteor part, but some parts kinda dragged for too long, like Flygon’s Dragon Rush.

Overall, not the best, but certainly not the worst. I’m glad Goh got Ash outta his depression, despite there being better directions it could’ve taken, but from what we’ve got, I’m fine with it. (plus, in a friend-zy sense, he handled Ash’s depression kinda better than Serena. Like, girl, I LOVE you to death, but throwing snowballs is now how you talk to depressed people)  ‘Sides, next week we’re going back to Alola!! I know many fans have already said this, but LET THE CHAMPION TITLE BE KNOWN.

#pokemon #pokemon anime #pokemon journeys #anipoke #pokeani #ash ketchum #pikachu #riolu #goh #raboot #sobble #flygon #hoenn

[quartings]

How Pokemon could double the length of the games’ story without changing their writing style!

This will be quite a long post, so a lot of it will be under the cut!

Even though many Pokemon postgames can be really fun and fulfilling, it’s really only thanks to the battle facilities that some of them are blessed with. The postgame areas/story themselves usually feel very rushed and/or hollow. Meanwhile, Mystery Dungeon games have 20+ hour main stories that are followed up with even longer postgames adding up to over 50 hours of story! So how do the Mystery Dungeon games do it (Besides having a far superior programming and writing team)?

This is because among the three pillars of content in mainline Pokemon games, (Gym Leaders- aka distinct minibosses, new areas to explore with new Pokemon, and a b-plot) one or two of them always disappear in the postgame.

For example:

Johto: Has new gym leaders, but barely any b-plot to provide pacing, and the many new areas have barely any usable new Pokemon.

Sinnoh: Has a few new areas and a small b-plot, but no minibosses, explaining why the b-plot feels so small.

BW Unova: Has many new areas and new pokemon, but no minibosses and the Sage-finding b-plot barely counts

B2W2 Unova: The new areas are less new, the new Pokemon are less new, and none of the minibosses are mandatory. Outside of finding N again, there’s really not any b-plot.

Kalos/ORAS Hoenn/Alola/Galar: Barely any new areas, barely any new Pokemon, mostly a lot of backtracking in a condensed plot. Having more of a concrete story is nice but the lack of challenging fights makes it feel even shorter and less significant.

 IMPORTANT NOTE: This is only re-crafting the story based on using plot devices that Pokemon have already used to improve and lengthen the playthrough. If we were allowed to use plot points or creative ideas that Gamefreak hasn’t used before, then we might as well turn the story into a 200 hour Mystery Dungeon-style epic saga, haha.

So-! Let’s take a look at this reworked story, where the main and postgame both have all three pillars of storytelling!

 Main Game:

The main game will be based off Gen 5 (Stopping an evil team) and Gen 7 (Setting up a league)

Set in a region where the evil team has already won (not really post-apocalyptic and edgy, just roughed-up like anime Kanto) and is a gang that constantly terrorises the residents. Gyms have been dismantled by this evil team, and the now-jobless gym leaders are trying to protect their towns from the villains.

You get your starter from the professor to save them from a grunt.

Instead of gym leaders, you fight the evil team admins in their hideouts across the region. There’s still puzzles and the admins are type specialists, so these simulate gyms to teach type matchups.

I guess to prove that it’s still to teach type matchups, some townsfolk will say stuff like “Admin X scorched my poor Grass and Bug-types with his Fire-type Pokemon!” and “If only I still had my Water-type Pokemon with me- then I’d teach them a lesson!”

Reasons to stop individual admins can be very different to make fighting them not feel stale- Rescuing Pokemon, the Professor, unblocking routes, re-securing an important facility, protecting cargo/a VIP, obtaining an artifact, etc. One of the reasons the grunts challenge you is because they want your Pokedex. For some reason, even though it’s been a plot point in the manga and the anime, saving your mom from the evil team has never happened in the games, which I think is a big missed opportunity for creating an intense high-stakes conflict!

You learn history in this region from former gym leaders/elite four/champion maybe? Sometimes gym leaders may make you take on their old gyms to see if you’re good enough to help them stop the evil team.

Rivals:

You have two rivals. One is a happy and friendly rival who becomes morally swayed as the evil team affects them personally (They become evil for like one fight because Pokemon would never allow more than that) until you help redeem them. And the other starts out edgy and driven to stop the evil team, like a Silver or Gladion, but learns compassion and overcomes most of their trauma by the end of the main game.

Villainous Team Boss:

There’s a scripted unwinnable battle with the evil team boss (like with Zacian and Zamazenta) early on in the game. This’ll help you feel like the boss is real threat and a scummy person you want to beat later!

And since the best evil team bosses are shitty parents, let’s make them the parent of the edgy rival!

This villain would probably be using the box legendary you have to save in the final battle against them?

We’ve somehow never had a villain who HATES Pokemon as their motive, just ones who see them as tools, so maybe this villain or their family member was injured by Pokemon before and now they hate Pokemon and want them subjugated? And as the first trainer in a while who openly loves their Pokemon, you specifically pose a threat to this villain?

This idea mostly came from realising that you’re pretty much always a reactionary protagonist and not a proactive one. You’re not really out to change the status quo on most Pokemon games, but in this one, the status quo starts out as villainous and it’s up to you to change it! This also comes from the critique from SwSh and Borderlands 3 where your character has no personal reason to do anything and just gets dragged around by some arrogant adult giving you orders.

Postgame:

The postgame will then be what the main games are usually like (Beating the league, completing the dex, dealing with legendaries)

It’s been several weeks since you beat the villain, and many towns have been repaired. A proper league has been set up, and you, as the hero of the region, are invited to test it.

A handful of new Pokemon are now in old routes, and several new routes are unlocked too.

Most gyms are in towns you’ve been to before, but some are in all-new towns that were blocked off by the evil team before!

Some gym leaders are former gym leaders who have reclaimed their titles, some of them are all-new characters, and at least one of them is a redeemed evil team admin. All of them have teams of six, plus gimmicks like Raihan or many NPCs in prior games like triple battles, held items, special moves, etc, in addition to the type matchup stuff.

You get a third new rival who’s a champion from another region, wanting to try this league out. They’re friendly but really cocky like Leon- maybe they’re actually Leon, who knows?

Instead of just using the shiny charm to incentivize Dex completion, there are many NPCs who give sidequests wanting to see specific rare Pokemon, offering hints to their location, items, TMs, etc in exchange. Some of them are even mandatory mini-arcs to help space out the gyms. Think the Solaceon news people or the Unova Hip Waders. All the NPCs have names to distinguish them more.

Like in SwSh, the Elite Four is a rivals tournament with 1) Recurring Fan like SwSh’s Orbeetle Girl, 2) Edgy Rival, 3) Cocky rival, 4) Former Champion. And like in USUM, the champion challenger is your very first rival, as cliché as it may be.

Bonus Postgame:

The third bonus postgame thing mostly features what modern Pokemon postgames and DLCs are like (Short story arcs with new characters and Legendary Pokemon showcases)

You travel to a new island area where the remnants of the evil team have freed their boss and they’re trying to use Space Dragon Legendary #4 to eradicate everyone, and you and edgy rival have to stop them, with many other characters all playing a part. Maybe even Looker too!

Overall Rival Character Development:

Nice rival: Starts out nice, becomes conflicted, turns kinda evil for one fight, becomes good again and regrets it, gets closure at the Champion fight, becomes a gym leader or something.

Edgy rival: Starts out edgy, wants the sole responsibility to stopping the villains, but gets pummelled by the villains, gives up for a while, gets motivated by you, helps you stop themain villain, tries to understand how to be a normal trainer kid, tries out the league challenge, gets closure from fully helping stop the main villain in the bonus postgame.

Cocky rival: Starts out seeing you as a stepping stone, sees you as a challenge after a few defeats, sees you as a bully after a few more defeats, and becomes depressed after losing the league, finally recognizes you as a better person than them after you save the world again in the bonus postgame, and gets downgraded to both a rematch character and helpful postgame NPC in the end.

In a perfect world, there would be PMD Sky-style bonus stories to develop the rivals and other characters, but I’m trying to make a slightly plausible story so I’m not including it in the main pitch here.

#pokemon #theory #pokemon sword and shield #q speaks #my writings

[unmeiverse-nextadventures]

Wanted to get that stuff out of the way before I talk about some new kids who are still pretty much in limbo but I am liking the idea behind them, so they might stick.

So regarding my possible Korrina fankid Gina, what’s starting to save her from getting completely scrapped is me getting the idea of giving Wally a kid that he actually raises instead of him being the unaware father to Korrina’s kid. So Wally gets a kid and Gina possibly gets a twin, twin sister most likely, and this is all basically to set up something like The Parent Trap but without the twins switching to see how the other’s parent is like (maybe). Kid’s name may be Wilhelmina but goes by Mitsuna, a reverse of how Wally and Wanda’s actual names are Mitsuru and Michiru. And then maybe Wally and Korrina do get back together and have another kid, who knows. I would need to fit them into the timeline better plus take into account how Garrett would interact with Mitsuna, seeing as Garrett’s main thing during the story is being irritated and frustrated at how he feels like a failure for not being as good as his “Uncle Wally” and how interacting with Akito and Muscari, themselves children of former and still very popular Champions, helps him get over this. Plus there’s also figuring out what would lead to Wally and Korrina breaking up and splitting custody over their twin daughters.

Was originally trying to go for making a cousin for Grant and Viola’s kids so toyed with the idea of an Alexa kid, and was gonna go with the idea of pairing her with Cassius, the PC dev guy for Kalos who has the Punk Guy trainer model. But then I saw Molayne and remembered he was still single and since punkXnerd is a ship aesthetic I really like (even tho technically these two are both nerds) I decided to go with endgaming them instead. Was originally gonna still have Alexa and Cassius with a kid that they share custody over, but then I wanted to have at least one female character who decided not to go through with an unplanned pregnancy since that is a thing that happens in real life. Cassius really wanted a kid though and they ended up having an argument, and after that whole fiasco they decided that it would be best for them to break up and meet other people. Cassius likely ends up adopting a year or two after that, (a kid named either Simon or Simone) not sure yet, and raises the kid solo for a couple years before meeting Molayne and settling down in Alola. The kid is definitely gonna be a tech-inclined kid and will interact with all the other science and tech fankids, might be significantly older than the other Alola kids.

#fankid musings #(i absolutely dislike wally and korrina's ship name. WHY)

[alolanrain]

Do you like someone? No.

“Who do you like, Ash?” Misty asked one night. The original gang had set up their small camp, resting before going after Ash’s fourth gym badge.

Ash looked up from grooming Pikachu, who for once wasn’t whining like Ash was ripping out its fur in clumps, glancing at Misty through his eyelashes. The clinking of metal against metal in the small distance means dinner isn’t done yet so Ash can’t escape from her question.

“No one.” He answered easily. Moving to drop the fur brush and pick up a fine tooth comb for Pikachu's tail, the mouse Pokémon actually started purring at the sight of black plastic. Ash doesn’t look back up at Misty, even though he heard her disappointed sigh and the discord chime of Brock setting down the metal spoon with slightly more force than necessary.

Because Ash doesn’t like anyone, he never really needed to. It’s not something he should be worried about anything either, he’s only ten. It’s not like Ash doesn’t have more important things on his mind like when Team Rocket is going to surge up or when the next Godly encounter is. Ash is only ten years old, he’s fine with just focusing on his Pokémon and gym battles for now.

-----

“Do you have a special someone, Ash?” Max asked, popping up besides the older trainer who was filling his dish with the amazing smelling stew Brock made for lunch. “Like someone back home in Kanto?”

“Max!” Misty hissed, shoulders hunching as she tried to reach for her brother around the table to drag Max back to his spot next to her.

Ash lifted his eyes to where Brock was walking over after double checking that everything was off and no wild Pokémon was going to steal any leftovers in the closed pots. Brock lifted an eyebrow, his eyes held a curious glint to them.

He ducked his head back down, shoveling another spoon full before swallowing and facing Max. “No.” Was Ash’s slow response. He doesn’t really like-like anybody right now, and no one would be waiting for him back in Kanto. “I don’t like anyone and no one is waiting for me back home.”

The curious glint in Brock's eyes died down as he sat next to the raven haired teen. His hand coming out on reflex to mess up Ash’s hair, the shorter complained slightly before going back to his meal and Brock scooping some of his own out of the large pot on the table.

Max felt his older sister sag against him a little, glancing up he didn’t comment on the sour look on Mays face and turned back to his own delicious lunch with a quiet thanks to Brock.

——

“So…” Dawn drawled, rolling over on the hotel bed so she could look at Ash upside down, “anyone special in your life, Ash?” She immediately giggled when Pikachu poked her bare side with the edge of its tail.

Ash sighed and set down his phone on the coffee table next to the pair of chairs he’s sitting in and the large window. He chose to glare out the window a little bit, looking at all of the pretty lights shine and blink in the twin they’ve stopped in. If only Brock were here instead of going out to a strip club.

“No,” was Ash’s answer, dropping his head sideways onto his arm that’s thrown over the chairs back, “nobody has gained my interest yet.” To be honest with himself, Ash is a little bit worried. He’s fourteen now and not a single person has caught his eyes; female, male, or any other gender. None, absolutely nada. Is there something wrong with him?

“What about Zoey?” Dawn asked, rolling back over and eyeing the way Ash’s league suite made weird waves over Ash’s stomach. If only she could alter the suite, Ash would look ten times more better than whatever Champion Lance chose for Ash.

Groaning, Ash stood up. Bringing his arms above his head to stretch. “She’s a lesbian, Dawn.” He did a mock voice of the old lady from that one vine Dawn really liked to play when she’s bored.

Said girl immediately pushed her upper half up before twisting to look at Ash, all doe eyes and small smiles. “She is?”

“Room 103, second floor down the left side of the hallway.” Ash relayed like a robot. It wasn’t his fault that he was actually texting the same red head when Dawn asked him who he liked.

Dawn was jumping off the bed and pulling her shirt down before rounding said bed to lung at Ash. She pecked his cheek once he caught her before darting off and out the room. Leaving Ash and Pikachu alone in her wake.

——

“Do you fancy anyone, Ash?” Cilan asked one sunny day. The trio were out in the woods, stopping for lunch before continuing on to Ash’s fifth gym battle. 

They had eaten and were now chilling by the small lake that was nearby. Pikachu was silently dozing in the sun next to Ash, the humans cap laying on the Pokémon’s head to block out the sunlight.

Ash’s face scrunched up in consideration before a frown marred his lips. “No,” he’s tone sounded dull to his ears as the same answer for the past sixteen years passed his lips. “No I don’t.”

Iris scoffed, sitting up on the other side of Cilan. “What a little kid!” She crowed our, ignoring Cilans weak glare, “only little kids don’t get crushes.” Iris declared. All the while eyeing Ash.

Said teen shrugged his shoulders, ignoring Iris’s petty attempt for a silly argument and the need to throttle her for the ‘kid’ comment. Ash’s hand that wasn’t supporting him came out to gently run his fingers over Pikachus fur, the Pokémon was so asleep it didn’t even twitch at the touch.

Scoffing at the lack of response, Iris later back down with a huff and rolling over to look away from both boys.

Cilan then took over and started to wax poet about why daring can be so good for the soul, or something.

Ash really didn’t care, so he kept silent and let his traveling partners do their own thing.

——

“Hey Ash!” Bonnie yelled suddenly. Wrenching herself away from Diantha’s side and bounding over the sand easily to reach the nineteen year old trainer.

“Ye-oof!” Ash huffed as he caught the excited little girl suddenly. “Yeah Bonni?” He croaked out, morning his Long Island that was now spilt into the sand. He felt a hand rest against his shoulders, turning back Ash met Professor Sycamore's knowing look as the man had bent down to grab the falling glass.

“Do you like anyone?” She yelled happily, pointedly glancing back at Serena who was sitting next to Miette and Alain. The contest girl had frozen up with an angered look directed at Bonnie.

Ash's smile felt like plastic, he was hoping he would be able to dodge the question but Aah should have guessed it would come up either way with Bonnie in the group. “Why,” Ash pauses, scooping the giggling girl up more into his arms, “I like everyone here! They are all my friends!” Ash was at least happy that he could direct the answer to something more friendly, he doesn’t think he would be able to deal with a sulking Serena for the rest of their travels.

Bonnie groaned in annoyance before requesting to be put down, Ash doing just that she then farted back over to Diantha who happily allowed the little girl to climb back up into the Champions hammock.

Ash pointedly ignored several staring eyes, going back over to the set up beach bar where Professor Sycamore and Malva are making another batch of Long Islands.

——

“Hey Ash,” Mallow greeted, planting herself right next to Professor Kukui’s Teacher Assistant. Said Teacher Assistant was sprawled out over a picnic blanket, an extra one he brought in case the larger one their teacher brought couldn’t hold all his students.

She waved to a group of girls she was familiar with as she waited for Ash to acknowledge Her. Ash was pretty determined to not do anything for this festival, choosing to lay down the extra blanket a little ways from all the festivals festivities. Unlucky for the twenty year old, it just made everyone that he knew on Melemele to slowly transfer their stuff next to him.

Sighing as Ash couldn’t ignore Mallow for too long before the young girl would lay herself over Ash’s back and whine extra loudly that he was ignoring her, he wiggles his arms under his chest so Ash could push up his upper half off the blanket.

“Yes, Mallow?” He grumbled. Ash also ignored the soft cries of resistance from Pikachu, who’s large head had fallen off of Ash’s shoulders. 

“Do you like anyone?” Her innocent smile couldn’t cover her teasing smirk that was thrown over her shoulders.

From Ash’s position he could see Gladion, Hau, and Kiawe all freeze up at the green haired girls question. Dammit, Ash was hoping that he wouldn’t have to break hearts in Alola.

“No.” Aah was forceful in his answer. Starting it clearly with a final tone to Mallow, because if he didn’t surely Mallow would get Lana and Lillie into bothering him as well.

He ignored the broken looks of Gladion and Hau, and Ash didn’t even see Kaiwe’s shoulders slumping. Ash slid back down so his chest could press against the warm blanket with a half mumbled goodbye to Mallow, only smiling at Pikachu's soft cry of victory before the mouse Pokémon laid its head back into Ash’s upper back.

——

“Do you like anyone?” Gou was blunt with his question. Scorbunny next to Gou snuggled deeper into the over plushed and soft blankets of the hotel bed. The young’s teen was almost regretting letting Ash use him as his ‘plus one’ to a Gala in Galar.

The question just popped into Gou’s mind, after all Ash didn’t really do a lot at the Gala besides talk to people and dance with a few other higher up members like the Kalosian Champion Alain and the new Regional Professor Garrison Oak. All of which were just friends and old rivals of Ash when he was younger.

The twenty three year old Alola and Orange Isle Champion poke his head out of the extended bathroom. “Nope!” Was Ash’s answer before his head disappeared into the bathroom. Only to pop back out with a slight frown and eyes glistening with a little worry. “Nobody at the Gala assumes you and me were dating, if that’s what the question is referring to. You're too young for me and everyone knows I’m not into dating.”

Gou’s shoulders relaxed a little, to be honest he was worried about that. But it seemed it was all okay now. “Alright.” Gou mumbled back, feeling the lack of sleep the past few days fully hitting him now.

Chuckling, Ash slipped out of the bathroom. Trotting over in a pair of pj pants and a fully white robe draped over his shoulders. The young adult reached for the covered and Scorbunny, lifting the tiny Pokémon up Ash places Scorbunny on Gou’s chest before covering both of them with the hotel blanket.

“Get some sleep,” Ash stated quietly, one hand coming up to cup Gou’s cheek before carding through his raven hair once, “we’re leaving early tomorrow to head back to Kanto.” Ash pulled back before whispering good night to both Scorbunny and Gou.

Gou whispered goodnight back as he felt the bed dip and Pikachus bulking frame came into view before curling into the young researchers side

#mini pokemon fic #ash ketchum #gym leader misty #gym leader brock #pokemon max #pokemon may #pokemon dawn #pokemon zoey #gym leader cilan #pokemon iris #pokemon bonnie #gym leader clemont #professor sycamore #champion diantha #pokemon alain #champion alain #pokemon serena #elite four malva #pokemon mallow #pokemon lillie #pokemon lana #pokemon gladion #professor kukui #pokemon hau #pokemon kiawe #pokemon gou #champion lance #pikachu #scorbunny

[theangrypokemaniac]

Contests Part 2/2

6. Loser Jessie

Screechy harpie Jessay has even more of a raw deal than Mavis and Dawn of the Dead.

From the outset I knew she'd never be champion, but she ought to rise above the tiresome berks clogging up procedure.

Sufficient popularity at Pokémon Towers ensured the girls were allotted coverage of all their award ceremonies. They had a moment in the sun.

What has Jessie in comparison?

I can't recall Hoenn, but I don't expect it was much.

Sinnoh however carried naught but a single paltry episode.

This for a main character.

This for someone there from the beginning.

This for an ardent fan favourite.

This for a wench who, should we include all her various mutations, has featured in more installments than either of 'em.

But no, treat Jesseee as worthless, even lower than Dawn's groupies. It's not like anyone watches it for her.

Looking back, it's obvious what they were intending to do come Unova.

What's the score then?

• One paltry Contest on screen.

• A couple happen elsewhere, marked by a few seconds per mention when the script oh-so generously moves away from the thrilling main plot.

It's gotta be the small-town concerns for Jessuhleenuh, nothing major. She deserves no better.

• One won by James, so not hers. Press her inadequacy upon us!

• One obtained as a gesture of pity from Kate Middleton.

And how did that work? What's the good of allowing 'Dawn' entry again?

She'd already qualified. If winning here, that gives her six, therefore there aren't enough Co-ordinators for the culmination.

And when Jessie showed up with a Ribbon recorded as belonging to Dawn, how was she taken as fulfilling the quota?

The slapdash way these Contests are run!

God forbid Jess should be shown as excelling at anything. It must be scraping into the final undeservedly.

Bitch gotta know her place.

7. Bumpkin Jessie

...

Ain't no description I can give that don't rhyme with 'hit', or variations of the theme.

You thought the shafting Jessica got coverage wise was bad enough? Yer ain't heard the 'alf of it.

Sinnoh was a period of peak Moron Team Rocket, where the one surprise was how stupid they could be.

You may remember an early episode when James designed her clothes for the catwalk. She thought it'd complement his work by applying lipstick all across her mug.

Obviously Jessie would do that, clueless as to how make-up functions.

Come on kids, she's thick!

Even at that numskull nadir it's difficult to comprehend anyone choosing this get up without severe duress.

Picture the scene: you debut on stage, before an audience of thousands and television cameras, in an event preoccupied with superficiality.

What do you wear?

• Giant, oversized glasses out of fashion since the Seventies.

• Bootlace tie last worn in the nineteenth century Wild West by a barman serving sarsaparillas.

• Colour scheme of brown and orange, the nation's favourite hues.

• A man's old shirt fraying at the cuffs.

• Voluminous apron dress.

• Massive yellow bows last seen decorating an Easter Egg. Always a winner.

• Heavy, clod-hopping boots.

• PIGTAILS!!!

Even the name is unattractive.

Ah yes, very common for those under six. Unheard of later.

You have reached puberty haven't yer Jessie? I can't tell anymore.

They couldn't get enough of that combination in Cosmo, which is why it's no longer in print.

Not only is Jessie denied success, she's deprived of the chance to be pretty in a realm where nothing but that carries weight.

Worse, given how her face disintegrated, this is the best she's been for five generations.

Yeah, because the inbred milkmaid style is such a good look, eh?

SEXAY!!!

8. So Long, Tsundere

Remember tsunderes? What happened to 'em?

The curse of Pokémon was draining the well of inspiration too quickly, throwing away interesting characters as mere guests.

This is particularly noticeable regarding the ladies. Back then, we got Misty, Jessie, Jessibelle, Cassidy, Aya, Giselle, Tyra, Sabrina, assorted crones Brutella, Nastina and Lacy, plus Joy, Jenny and Dame Ketchum provided parental authority.

How did a series that began with ball-breaking birds like that end up with insipid, glassy-eyed dullards like Zuhreena, Banana Lana, Marsh Mallow and Lilliput?

Ooh, Zuhreena is a pwincess!

Ooh, Banana Lana bwows big bwubbles!

Ooh, Marsh Mallow wuvs phallic waddishes!

Ooh, Lilliput won't pwet wanimals bwecause of Secwet Pain!

Can you imagine such weak specimens finding any place in the anarchic atmosphere of the classics?

It's SO boring!

Where's the punch? Where's the human spirit?

Where's the entertainment gone?

This squishy attitude began in Hoenn. Misty left, Jessie's hair symbolically changed from volcanic red to pink, and Contests introduced a cuddly theme where glitter glue and sequins are top priority.

Every sharp corner, every jagged point has been filed smooth. Now its substance hasn't the hardness to even develop edges, not when it's all cushions and candyfloss, where catching Pokémon rests on them deigning to grant permission, rather than 'avin it out.

Tsunderes, exuding untamed charisma and independence, besides a soupçon of danger, simply don't fit the cardboard box we habit now.

Nor do yanderes, kuuderes, tsuntsuns, or even derederes. It's just nothing but smiley-smiley creeps.

I wouldn't mind any of these tropes as long as there was some sign of colour to be had.

9. The Sacrifice of Misty

Misty bid farewell under the feeble justification that the lack of a longterm goal made her vulnerable to sacking.

Such a line uttered as if her own choice, being beyond them as writers to invent a purpose.

This implied her replacement would have an exciting quest aiming for excellence, something just beyond Misty's capabilities.

What did we get?

Dressing up and collecting Ribbons!

Is that...is that it? Is that the great idea? Is that all the girls are worth?

I lost Misty for THIS?!

Perhaps it makes no difference. By Hoenn they'd rendered her a leaden blandness sucked dry of all that made her special.

Going by the greasy-toothed bastardisation that swanned up in Alola, Misty was simply too wild for the safe, stifling atmosphere of today.

Her departure ensued she remains frozen as a funny, beloved presence, unlike those she left behind.

Now there was a lucky escape, as once the fanny-flapping starts, the bints have it on the brain.

May had Max to beat on the side, but Dawn developed monomania.

Hardly an episode went by without some reference to Contests, or how today's plot spurred her on to the next opportunity.

Yer need help, love!

Rather than Ash's new friend being a fascinating person who so happened to enter vanity projects, the competition defined them to the exclusion of life.

It is but moths drawn to the candle flame waiting to engulf them.

Contests are this world's version of Tom Riddle's diary: they promise sympathy and validation, but they eat your soul.

Like Tumblr.

10. Completely Unoriginal

Seems to me it wasn't so much Misty had no goal, it was more that Contests were the supposedly hot concept wedged into an existing property.

If earlier aspects failed to accommodate the invader, the onus certainly wasn't on the new kid to change. Oh no, stuff it in and chop off whatever gets in the way.

In the eyes of the post-Shudo regime, Misty was too volatile to last, and so had to go.

What idiots.

She's a tsundere. The softer, more feminine side is a defining component.

Would it really have been so problematic to retain her as an entrant? If Jessie can, why not?

Even if failing to fit, so what? Since when was established characterisation a barrier?

Isn't twisting likeable folk into unrecognisable pods the modus operandi of the writers?

That canon is immaterial, and must always give in to whatever fancy they currently have?

Well then, what's the big deal in infantilising Misty to promote it rather than pensioning her off?

Viewers will be more invested in the challenges awaiting a familiar face rather than a stranger.

What reduces the above to the risible is the original Misty and Jessie both participated in the Princess Festival.

All Contests are is that very scenario on repeat and robbed of all meaning.

Think about it:

• Beauty round

• Battle round

• Jessie loses

Same bloody thing.

Not only have I got to suffer this draining spectacle, it's got the nerve to possess not one iota of fresh ideas!

Contests are a low rent rip-off. The Princess Festival had a worthy reward in the shape of one-of-a-kind Dolls.

It'd already been revealed that ordinary Princess Dolls were ruinously expensive, therefore the special Pokémon edition have to be priceless.

What d'yer get for the trouble of a Contest but a bit of plastic tat taped to bargain basement frippery?

And they demand you get five of 'em!

Contests themselves were then resurrected as Showcases, although mercifully slimmed down to only three, with the emptiness ramped up in compensation.

Perhaps ironically, Princess Versus Princess is one of my favourite episodes. I love its critique of female avarice and accurate portrayal of clothing sales as reminiscent of the zombie apocalypse.

I don't mind the Festival as a single adventure, but I may have felt less favourable had it been a constant presence.

Except it isn't the competition at stake. This is a framework to explore Jessie and Misty as people.

Through its device we learn their history and therefore how they came to develop as the girls we know.

The setting serves as an opportunity for both to confront the misery and isolation of their childhoods, with the promise of overcoming that old torment with the balm of victory.

In the final, they aren't so much battling an opponent as fighting to be free of the past.

The tragedy is only one can be granted that reprieve. The other must remain unhappy in the ruins of memory.

It matters, unlike vapid Contests, where posturing is king. What depth can they provide in comparison?

Despite identical content, they are inverse counterparts, with the Festival presented as merely a light affair concealing a rather dark tale of neglect.

Contests however are paraded as this worthy nourishment for body and mind, a major point in one's journey towards enlightenment, when all they really amount to is an organ grinder and his monkey arsing about for the slack-gobbed plebs.

Bread and circuses.

Best of all, Misty won, not some side twat, as it should be.

Note how Jessie dressed: in delicate, vivid robes and golden decoration. The boys thought her beautiful.

Not as a gormless dweeb you'd cross the street to avoid!

And why the need to disguise herself anyway?

The Twerps had no issue with Jessie of Team Rocket joining the fun back then, so what happened?

At least she received the consolation of gaining Lickitung as a friend, with James and Meowth desperate to comfort her.

What do Contests bring? Sod all!

#pokémon #team rocket #contests #misty #jessie #kanto #princess versus princess

[motherhenna]

THOUGHTS ON POKÉMON SWORD/SHIELD

Firstly, I really like most of the new Pokémon: pretty great stuff, imo. And can I just say that the Galerian forms are objectively nicer to look at than most of the Alolan forms? Raticate and dugtrio were fucking horrible. In hindsight, a lot of the Gen 7 designs were mediocre, and I especially hated the ultra beasts—they looked like fucking digimon. So I’m glad that the designers seem to be going back to simpler roots: most of the new mons have a lot more in common with Gen 6 mon, the aesthetic of whom I mostly loved.

Like sorry dexers but SWSH is actually a more than decent game; obviously the cut sucks, but I’m sure there will be DLC or something that will reincorporate them. Though there are definitely things that can be improved and things that were left out, I honestly enjoyed this game more than I enjoyed Alola, Sinnoh, and Unova, and I think the replay-ibility is pretty good. I finished the main story in two and a half days and really enjoyed it. Very aesthetically pleasing, and nowhere near as hand-holdy as some past games.

I also really liked a lot of the characters; they were simple and to-the-point, but not cardboard-cutouts. For one, Hop is not a Hau clone; he’s honestly a vast improvement, and way more of a compelling rival. Like I legitimately felt bad for him when I beat him, and his moments of insecurity and frustration were way more realistic than Hau’s constant blank positivity and pluckiness. As much as I liked Lily’s arc in Alola, it got really tiring to watch the only main female character be so limp and timid and have to be rescued by the guys constantly; so while yes, Marnie wasn’t quite as developed, I actually prefer her. She’s soft-spoken but determined, and worked hard to rise beyond her impoverished hometown. Plus she’s an adorable little punk with a cute northern English accent (I think) and I love her. Sonia’s arc was basic, but effective, as I think a lot of millennials can relate to her plight: directionless young adult unsure what she wants to do who feels pressured by her family to be more productive and start a career. I think we’ve all been there. Unpopular opinion tho: I fucking hate Leon lmao what a cocky, boring tool—I couldn’t stand him within minutes of encountering him, and COULDNT WAIT to wipe the floor with him at the end. What kind of douche walks around with a champion cape? Felt so good to kick is ass, though it WAS a tough fight. Bede was refreshing just because I miss having asshole rivals—like yeah he had a tragic past but I kind of loved that he remained an asshole for the entire game???

The gym leaders were really aesthetically pleasing, and I wish more of them were better developed. But I fucking LOVE Opal omg I cant get enough of weird old ladies, and her gym challenge was pretty funny. And Nessa is HOT as hell can I just say?? Piers is adorable too—his gym was the hardest for me, but I love his design and the theme of financial inequality implied in the state of Spikemuth and his lack of access to Dynamaxing. But fuck his obstagoon wrecked my ass, dynamax or not. Team yell were endearing too: more well-rounded than Skull, in my opinion. Just a bunch of well-meaning hooligans who just want to make their hometown better. I liked that the villains were people in power—it was realistic, and more subtle than Alola. Wish we could have heard more about Rose’s motivations and that the final battle with him could be more difficult, but it was still fairly compelling. The finale felt too short, though: I would have liked to see it drawn out a little longer.

I also think the games need to work on difficulty scaling: it tends to be very erratic. I’m NOT a fan of the mandatory exp share, as it made me end up being 5+ levels higher than all other trainers—I one-shotted nearly every Pokémon on the gym leaders teams in the championship, as they were STILL in the low to mid 50s. However, the difficulty spike between them and Leon is pretty severe: I went from sweeping everyone with my level 62 inteleon to just BARELY beating the champion with only 2 Pokémon remaining (granted I have a no item rule to make the battles at least somewhat challenging). I wish everyone had been at least ALMOST as hard, as I felt legitimately proud after beating Leon. While I’m glad I don’t have to grind anymore like in the old games (bc let’s face it: nobody wants to spend two hours knocking out gravelers in victory road to get remotely close to elite 4 level), they need to find a happy medium, and the permanent exp share is not it. At least in Gen 6/7 you could turn it off! USUM had a similar problem: most of the trainers and kahunas were insanely easy, but then the totem battles were stupid difficult and unfair (I have literally screamed during the togedamaru fight—it’s such bullshit). I think the two games that nailed difficulty scaling were ruby/sapphire/emerald, and the spin-off game Gale of Darkness. While there were of course pushover trainers, those games were really good at keeping fellow trainers close in level to you, and boss battles legitimately challenging. My opinion is that unless you go out of your way to overlevel, you should be able to progress organically through the game while staying no more than two or three levels higher than most opponents.

[to be continued]

#my thoughts #like once again im not a nintendo bootlicker but yall are blowing everything way out of proportion #sword and shield

[askkrenko]

SWORD AND SHIELD THOUGHTS

Alright, just finished the main game/post-game of Sword and Shield ,and I have... thoughts, general impressions, and feelings about the game. I’m going to try and be spoiler-free, but some things will have to be talked about, and though it might be indirect, no promises. Here’s my thoughts on the game overall...

First off, It’s Pokemon. I’m not going to discuss the parts of it where it’s Pokemon. At this point, you should know whether or not you like Pokemon, and if you DON’T know... start with FireRed and LeafGreen. Still the best gameplay experience.

Graphics are... meh. I understand and accept that they’re really not up to the standard of other Switch games, but you’ve got 400 pokemon, lots of people, locations, etcetera. Battle Animations continue to be pretty weak for the most part, with pokemon mostly wiggling around and a special effect showing up. Nasty Plot’s animation is offensively bad in this regard. Sure, some moves look cool, especially ones unique to individual Pokemon, but this game’s visual advances still result in mostly-static battles where your pokemon doesn’t even move across the screen to use melee attacks. You know how in old Final Fantasy games you rush to the enemy before doing your generic sword swing? Can’t we at least have that? 

The new Pokemon are bitching. Sure, there’s winners and losers, but overall I love Galar’s lineup. There’s new type combos, interesting abilities, a lot of cool designs.

Dynamax is... just not interesting. The idea of giant pokemon are cool, but when you actually use them they replace your cool, interesting moves with heavy-hitting moves that have minor secondaries that are hard to leverage. My best pokemon at the end was a Wishiwashi that knew Aqua Ring and Dive, so my battles involved doing the former, and then Diving, so with Aqua Ring + Leftovers I’d be healing a huge portion of my HP between every attack... In Dynamax, Dive turns into a heavy hitting water move, Aqua Ring turns into Protect, and it doesn’t even last long enough for a tank-build to work. In the gym battles the right answer is basically always “Dynamax when your opponent does so you don’t get one-shot”, and in Raids it’s just “Dynamax when you can.”  Gigantimax is a cool idea, too, but... you just don’t get to do it. You get a Charmander that can eventually do it for free in the post-game, but he’s a baby and your pokemon at that point are level 70+ and you probably already have a fire type who loves you so there’s no reason to train him up.  

On Difficulty: I played a Nuzlocke with no items in battle, so I can’t really speak to difficulty normally but... camping makes healing you party super cheap, and every dungeon and challenge seems shorter than in most games. I only remember one real cave system and it was relatively short, and gyms all seem to have exactly three trainers (or three pairs of double-battle trainers) before the leader. Further, enemies always ask if you’re ready instead of ambushing you, and many will give you a full heal before or after the battle. I had some challenges against gym leaders, sure, and I did wind up losing the Nuzlocke to the final fight against the ‘big bad’ (and then just continued in non-nuzlocke method) but I never hit one of those points like a Rock Tunnel or even one of Alola’s Trials where I felt like the encounters on the way to the boss were really whittling down my resources.

Quality of life: Infinite Escape Ropes and free Fly make Krenko a happy gobbo. Except I never used the escape rope because there’s nothing to escape. Other basic QOL stuff is updated, too- moves are marked with effectiveness once you’ve seen a Pokemon before and presumably know it’s types, the menu felt very comfortable overall (though with all the different types of items I’m starting to think the bag needs MORE pockets), and the hotbutton to pokeball in an encounter is great. Having an EXP ALL as a core mechanic makes leveling up pokemon so much easier. There’s now a name rater and move-rememberer in every pokemon center, and I use that guy so much. Any time I newly catch or evolve a pokemon, I take it right to him to see what else it can get.

Dynamax raids I... didn’t do much of. Because the difficulty of the ones that show up apparently increases with the story or something. The first few I encountered I could handle with my pokemon at the time, but now that I’ve beaten the champion, it feels like every raid location I see is five stars and I need pokemon higher than the level 70+s I have to handle it. It doesn’t help that the NPCs they summon to help you are incompetent. Sure, a few have useful abilities, but why is there a level 49 Magikarp, and why doesn’t this Solrock seem to know any attacks, and what even is this Wobuffet doing here?

Story:  Story is easily the weakest part of Sword and Shield. The story is both boring and too exciting for the game itself. The characters are both too cool and too bland. In the ‘main story’ where previous pokemon games have it, you are doing the gym challenge. This is fine. This is normal. There’s some cool stuff in there that makes it more of a proper sport than just a kid wandering around. You ocassionally have encounters with Team Yell who are trying to stop you, but... Team Yell is never threatening, they don’t accomplish anything, and the game seems to be very inconsistent on whether or not you have to accept that they’re in the way or if you can just kick their butt. When you finally get their super secret origin story, it’s... fine, and I like it, but I’d have liked it more if they had literally any impact on the game. The worst thing is, they compare unfavorably to Team Skull. Team Skull had strong leadership, and though you kicked their butts, they were regularly in the way and up to no good. Also, Guzma was awesome. Team Yell is just... running around being a general nuisance. Which would be fine if there was another real villain but...

Well, it turns out there IS another real, main villain... Who you don’t have reason to believe is a villain until after you’ve beaten all eight gyms, whose plot and motivation makes no sense, who has no convictions, and who you as a character have no real relation to. I literally don’t understand why this character was doing villainy.  And their evil team you only fight in the handful of battles immediately leading up to the big fight, and they make absolutely no impact other than standing in your way for reasons that you don’t really understand. That whole segment had nothing to do with anything, wasn’t properly built up, and didn’t feel like it went anywhere except the game handing me a Legendary pokemon.

Then there’s the post-game villains, who are... eh. They’re a lot more interesting, and I’m not even sure it’s fair to call them post-game. Unlike in most pokemon games, once you become champion the plot doesn’t just stop or say “now go to the challenge areas.” Instead, you have another, shorter storyline where you revisit all the old characters (who are all really cool on the surface and have NO DEPTH so you can’t get attached to them) and deal with stuff involving more dynamaxing and the box-art legendaries. This isn’t the worst plot, but it again suffers from no dungeons. You just fly from Gym to Gym having one fight at each gym. The game wants you to get to know and appreciate each Gym Leader, but because there’s so many of them, plus three rivals, plus the Champion, plus two professors, plus a handful of other NPCs, even the one that spends a fair deal of time with you in the post game never gets any real development. Here’s a key for story-writers: If your character’s not going to develop over the story, you don’t need to make a point of them showing up four different times. I don’t feel more connected to Nessa than I do to Flannery because she kept showing up and I got a card detailing her backstory. I just feel like you could’ve let me play faster instead of waiting for cutscenes.

I could rant about the story for a long time, but the point is: It’s bad. And the worst part is, there’s a bunch of cool stuff that seems to happen... that I don’t get to see.

So, my BIGGEST, absolutely most major complaint about the story is that two of the characters closest to you, Hop and Leon, do all sorts of really cool and interesting stuff... just offscreen. Hop is your main ‘rival’ and best friend, and he’s sharing in your adventures but also has some of his own. He has battles, he has a character arc, he starts really annoying but grew on me over time and I genuinely like him... But it’s hard to feel attached because all his formative stuff happens just off-screen. This isn’t a ‘Blue’ situation where he’s doing the stuff you are but faster and getting in your way, and you want to smush his stupid face in. This certainly isn’t like Hau who was just one step behind you the whole time. Hop has a couple battles that he talks about that alter who he is as a person that you don’t get to see because the game decides you don’t watch them. You’re not racing this guy- you hang out all the time- but for some reason you don’t get to watch his fights. I understand it’d be boring if they forced it and it played out like a normal fight, but give me a cutscene! Hell, I wanna know who he faced at the end! Hop has a mystery battle against someone else who completed all eight gyms that he beats and we never find out anything else about this person... 

But it’s even worse with Leon.

See, a big part of the game’s storyline is giant, Dynamax pokemon running amok and the Champion having to stop them. This means for the FIRST portion of the game, Leon is going out doing heroic things, battling giant pokemon that you never see. Sure, you can dynamax battle, but he’s involved in all these cool, great, crazy adventures... just offscreen. And then when you become the champion, YOU get to fight these rampaging dynamax pokemon... ... by walking to the area you’re told they are and immediately showing up in a dynamax fight. The game has models for pokemon walking around the overworld. Pokemon all have various attack animations. If Dynamax pokemon are running wild, can’t you SHOW me them running wild? There’s so many ‘cool things’ that happen in the game that I just don’t get to see, even when my character should be able to watch them, and it’s annoying as hell. If you can’t SHOW ME rampaging giant pokemon, don’t make the story ABOUT rampaging giant pokemon!

....Okay, done talking about story.

THE WILD AREA is a cool idea with poor implementation. I absolutely love this big area with all sorts of pokemon that change with the weather and different sections having different levels, except the wild area only really connects two locations (you get there via train the first time,) so there’s not much in-game reason to go back except for grinding, it’s small enough that it’s mostly the same terrain, and the level progression of the area doesn’t really match where you are in the game in the way just having routes used to. Also, for some stupid reason once you’re champion everything there suddenly becomes level 60 instead of scaling to different areas.  Which, sure, I get it, for post-game stuff people just want higher level Pokemon, but it’s so weird that suddenly there’s level 60 zigzagoon running around.  The Wild Area would have been much cooler if they’d just done away with traditional routes entirely and had free wilderness between EVERY town- blocked off in part by tunnels and forests which still counted as wild area, sure, but not gated by ‘you must have this many badges to progress.’  Just gated by ‘the pokemon here are level 30, are you sure you want to proceed?’ The only reason the game forces you to face the gyms in a certain order is to lock you into a narrative that’s mostly a waste of time. Not being allowed to catch ‘very strong’ pokemon is dumb, too. You could’ve made us able to catch them and just not train them because they’d do things like go to sleep and use the wrong moves and loaf around like a traded pokemon.

Camping with your Pokemon is cute, but needs more variety. There’s like seven toys, but only one of them isn’t a ball you throw and they fetch. You can make curries, and you will because it’s the cheapest way to heal your pokemon on the go, but the curry minigame is identical every team and gets very boring very quickly. You can talk to your Pokemon, but none of their responses have any meaning or impact or anything at all. It’s not like they’ll give you hints in the game or randomly give you items or ask for specific items for huge happiness boosts or whatever. It’s cute, and they get experience from it, but camping feels like it should’ve been expanded a whole lot.

....In summation: Pokemon Sword and Shield is not one of the better Pokemon Games. It’s still Pokemon, and if you’re into that, there’s still plenty of fun to be had in it, but it’s heavily flawed. 

[cheswirls]

tether notes 3/3

attached links

reference maps

pt 4 drawings

pkmn team graphics for 5 char

big bang art one / two

timeline

[this is very loose and only goes chronologically, so some points may happen years apart from each other]

caesar, under the family, begins research on creating an artificial arceus

the river from law’s village becomes polluted, and lami gets sick

everyone in law’s village dies. he travels to alola

corazon, the ula’ula kahuna, gets wind of caesar’s experiments

law joins the family in alola

law meets corazon, and shortly after embarks on an island challenge

after getting a special material on poni island, law meets with corazon, who tells him he was planning to turn the family over to the international police

corazon dies, and law escapes the family with one type:null

law ends up in the kalos region

luffy meets shanks, and learns about aura

luffy leaves for the sinnoh region to train with shanks for the first time

ace and sabo set off on a journey through the kanto region

luffy is given his second pokemon, a buizel, by shanks, to help cope with the loss of his brothers

sabo and ace return to travel kanto once more

sabo’s accident occurs; he’s hospitalized, but convinces ace to continue traveling

ace dies in an accident; sabo takes striker, his charizard, and leaves the sevii islands

luffy starts his journey looking for sabo

a band of pokemon poachers begins to grow more prominent in sinnoh; it’s led by caesar, who escaped capture at alola all those years ago

dragon’s group arrives in the sinnoh region

marguerite, a close confident with the sinnoh champion, goes missing

shanks sends luffy a letter; law boards a boat for sinnoh from kalos

the sinnoh champion, boa hancock, contacts shanks about marguerite

dragon arrives at snowpoint and meets with kokoro

aisa goes missing

tama goes missing and, catching word of this, shanks heads to tsuru from his meeting point with luffy

anana goes missing

luffy arrives in the sinnoh region

chimney goes missing, and shanks sets off to go look for all the missing girls

luffy migrates to jubilife, thinking it was veilstone; law arrives in the sinnoh region

shanks is captured and loses contact with boa hancock

dragon separates from his group, going off on his own

law and luffy meet in jubilife

-

the battle zone’s real-life location is a formerly-japanese-but-now-russian island called sakhalin. the lower half, specifically. the other island on the map where the pokemon league sits is based off a chain of japanese-owned islands that i can’t remember the name of and am too busy to look up right now. sakhalin is pretty barren, pretty remote, and pretty unpopulated. it’s also colder than hokkaido, being further north, but bc the pokemon-equivalent has an active volcano, the climate balances out.

i spent more time researching sakhalin on google earth than i did actually writing the entire travel part of part 4. like, an absurd amount of time. more than i needed to. but the result is a good portrayal, and an accurate, effortless one. here’s some geography stuff.

1. the squatty plants on sinnoh’s route 225 are probably stone pines. i say probably, bc i still came away unsure, but this was my best conclusion. i cross-referenced sakhalin flora with what i was seeing on google earth, paired with what was most common since these trees are everywhere in the battle zone. specifically they’re japanese stone pines, so more of a squatty bush than an actual tree. (also called dwarf siberian pines, or the genus name of the dwarf version, pinus pumila) in pokemon verse, i chose aguav berries as the pine’s fruit since the seeds grow in pink bundles, like an aguav plant in-game. also, an unripe pinecone is greet, so there’s that too. 

2. southern sakhalin, that i can remember, doesn’t actually have black-sand beaches. there’s one in platinum off the base of stark mountain, but since that’s aniva bay area of sakhalin, it doesn’t match up great. the only thing similar is in northeastern sakhalin, off the sea of okhotsk, where dark mud will collect on the coast and turn the beach dark. i wrote it off as a game mechanic, saying ‘it’s from the ash from the volcano’, or something like that, and then referenced beaches in iceland that are actual black-sand beaches and really pretty. 

3. aniva bay is southern sakhalin, essentially. it’s a fork, and in the middle is where the black sand beach is in platinum. in actuality, aniva bay is not that big. there’s a lighthouse off one fork, not tall or anything impressive, but it’s there. at one point i wanted law and luffy to sail in (i saw sail, i mean like surf on a pokemon okay) past the lighthouse, and go through the bay, and stop on the black sand beach. this was before i knew most anything about part four, though, and soon the idea was scrapped as i deviated towards the cargo ship taking them to fight area. also, aniva bay isn’t deep enough for whales to flop around in, and i realize since i called it a bay in tether that that should also hold true, but i did say it was a wailmer so let’s jus forget that inaccuracy and say its okay bc the whale is tiny.

4. stark mountain was a challenge i spent. so long. so so long. trying to find the  mountain range it was based off of. pokemon wikipedia was no help, bc sakhalin is huge. if i was gonna do anything for the pokemon community, i’d wanna go and edit articles to include real-life landmarks that in-game ones were based on. i think the closest thing i found to a once-volcano was more into the northern half of sakhalin, so after spending too much time looking into it, i jus wrote based on screenshots of stark mountain, and on my own intuition. also, yea, i used video game logic the closer they got to the volcano. please don’t depict characters holding cloth over their mouths to protect from sulfur ash if youre going for accuracy, bc thats not going to help. 

5. the survival area and the ainu village. i wrote a little about the ainu in part one, while exploring law’s village. my main amount of research went into the ainu’s of sakhalin, though. it’s all sorta the same culture, since they all got kicked out migrated to hokkaido anyway, but there are a few differences. the sheer rock cliff is part of a sakhalin photoset i referenced, so it does exist, somewhere. yes, there are bears in sakhalin, perhaps even more than hokkaido, since it’s less-human-populated. but, again, also colder. i realize survival area is a settlement in platinum, but also.. its really small? and kinda nothing, tbh. so i transformed it into an ainu village, since it’s so outta the way of the other two areas down on each fork of the bay, and it’s closer to the volcano, where the fire goddess resides.

the ainu are the indigenous population of japan. i mentioned before, if you’ve read fma or one of arakawa’s spreads, you’ve probably heard of them. in fma, they’re the race that the ishvalans are based off of. nowadays, they reside in hokkaido, and a while ago they used to reside in lower sakhalin. i couldn’t figure up a creative name for tether for them and i was in so much of a time crunch that in the end i didnt bother, sue me. researching the ainu was most definitely one of the more time-consuming tasks. i spent a long time reading. i watched, after a good recommendation, all two seasons of golden kamuy (an excellent portrayal of hokkaido!ainu, btw, jus not exactly what i was going for) and all one season of sirius the jaegar, where i got the most help from. marking maps and writing the outline (and making myself remember why i dont ever outline. ever.) were definitely time-consuming, but ainu research was by far the most hours i spent on a task for tether (besides like, writing it.) 

i still don’t feel like i did enough research, so the cultural things i did include i tried to keep vague to keep from portraying wrong. the bear ceremonies, the signs of summer through salmon (finneon) hunting and huki harvesting, the bear cub raising, the ripping of clothing in a funeral procession, and the kamuy (ainu gods) are all real things and part of ainu culture. woman tattoo their lips, yes. the patterns of the clothing are distinctive (also warm, bc they’ve always been This Far North, and tether!law is a bastardization of forgotten ainu culture pls dont look at his sleeveless top next to his wooden earrings i beg you) there are lots of things i could go into, but im jus gonna leave it vague again and say if you’re super interested, go find an article or watch golden kamuy. 

there wasn’t a lot of pokemon depicted in the wilds of the battle zone, and for reason. at this point i really wanted to keep true to sakhalin, so i stuck with the fauna native there, and the pokemon native to sinnoh, and if i didn’t include any pokemon that actually appear in the battle zone in platinum? oops. my house my rules. anyway so horses, dogs, wolves, bears. rapidash, eevee, luxray line, ursaring line.. that covers it, right? oh, and fearow. okay, so i did include one pokemon from platinum’s battle zone. also wailmer, there was a wailmer. 

why did you include baroque works into dragon’s group?

so. i wrote tether while the vivre cards were coming out. specifically, right before i was supposed to have started writing part 4, the alabasta pack came out, and i was so taken with goldenweek’s real name that i re-read little garden and stuck her into the story. bentham was.. k, no lie, in my mind he’s like a pseudo-rev member? i jus associate hm so heavily with ivankov, and i read a fic once where he was iva’s student and since then i’ve jus always had to include him in rev stuff so that’s why he’s here. plus i love him. good enough, right? and those two are the only ones, so it’s not entirely baroque works. i don’t rly consider bentham bw anymore, like i said, he’s kinda a pseudo-rev. and i jus rly liked marianne’s name. also her, now. tether!marianne is cool. 85% of the story’s sass.

april 9th is both caesar and marguerite’s birthday. i think in the beginning i was searching for characters that share birthdays for a plot point, and when i settled on caesar i settled on marguerite eventually for this reason just so i could make the whole ‘it’s not his bday its mine!!’ joke. and then i formed the whole story on it being late march-early april and based the weather off that.

law’s sixth pokemon. see, i told you revealing it was strategic! you all were expecting null, right? and then out pops silvally. well, it’s been so many years, so it’s natural they would’ve figured out love and trust and such and breaking the mask and evolving. still! aaaa, that felt so good to write. 

there’s more of a metaphor with silvally, even more with umbreon, that i was going for. something along the lines of a captured being being granted escape, bonding with someone, coming back to get due vengeance with the old captor, showing how much more they had become. with umbreon, it was more thing-i-protected-grew-into-something-that-now-protects-me aka her helping law through his nightmares, being a generally supportive and kind pokemon like someone law knew wink wink. also literally protect, with the whole casear thing.

okay mind control time. i reread pt 4 real quick before writing the notes, and im still not completely satisfied with how shanks broke free. i tried to hard to research good mind control depictions but i was more interested in figuring out how the mind control ended rather than the state of being, and there weren’t many promising results other than the victim dying, which wasn’t helpful. i knew i didn’t want it to be the whole i-love-you-so-snap-out-of-it thing, thats so cheesy and kinda ridiculous tbh. i think luffy confronting shanks’ inner self directly and convincing him to step out is nice, but if you pay attention closer to the scenes and how they match up, you might notice something that aids this.

so, it wasn’t just luffy. i know a lot goes on in latter half of pt 4, and all the scenes are disjointed. law and umbreon and silvally defeat gengar before shanks awakes properly. it was luffy, yes, that convinced him everything was going to be okay, and to not falter. but since gengar was knocked unconscious, the control over shanks was already waning to begin with. it was more like, he was already fine, and out of the cycle, but the trauma kept him from realizing it until luffy came. does that help? so basically, it wasn’t luffy talking alone, it was defeating gengar, like luffy had thought of previously. and then it was helping shanks thorugh it, because you don’t just bounce back from that. thats why i wrote shanks Like That in the remaining scenes.

while not in the best conditions as lab 3, labs 1 and 2 were fully-operational and secure facilities, so if you were questioning why sabo and law (mortally injured, mind you -two stab wounds, ow) would just leave the people and pokemon next to a burning lab, it’s because it was secure and the fire contained. the base was inside a volcano, guys, there’s no way the rooms werent airtight to prevent an accident. imagine being That Guy that fucked something up and led to the active volcano erupting. of course they took precautions. also, sabo had been working in the base for a bit, so if he thought the people were gonna catch fire, he wouldn’t have left them.

koala having aromatisse was purely for plot purposes, for it’s hidden ability. i needed a psychic type, and if i haven’t mentioned, dragon’s group are based in kalos, so it had to be from there. it fits though, maybe, right? anywa, yea, that’s why sabo has a delphox and salamence after he fucks off for two years, because he was in kalos. (this is what i’m referring to, if you haven’t clicked on any of those links.)

Law takes Luffy’s hand and leads them backwards, until they’re out of sight again

and, finally, my favorite moment of tether, when lawlu graduates from arms to wrists to finally holding hands. /cries so proud

k but what’s with that ending?

fun fact time i always knew how i wanted to end tether. from the moment of its conception, even before i finished writing part 1 (before i started, really, back when i was gathering material) i knew it ended with dragon in front of the statue of giratina. insert obligatory sequel joke here marianne mentions, before the trio ventures into the base, that her group’s leader wouldn’t appreciate having to halt his own agenda to help them with taking out the hunters. giratina was this agenda. 

originally, before i started on pt 2, i thought abt law/lu taking a different route. i wanted them to go north, up through eterna forest and to eterna city, and examine the statue of dialga. then go east from there, still taking them through coronet, but then through celestic town and seeing the cave painting of the lake guardians. i also really wanted them to go to lake valor, since it was the only lake they could conceivably go to on their way to veilstone. i thought about switching pastoria for snowpoint and encountering sabo at lake acuity. none of this worked out, but it was all supposed to reference back into dragon and giratina and sinnoh lore. instead i turned it fully into a travel fic and then a rescue op, at the end. it’s still interesting to think how the story could’ve changed, had they gone up to eterna before crossing through coronet. 

in all honesty i wanted to end the story on a surprise note. almost like a goosebumps ending, where everything is resolved and then at the very end there’s a quick scene that leaves you grasping for more, leaves you questioning. (also like certain op chapters leaving you with zero answers and more questions than you started with, fuck you, oda) it wasn’t until i was almost done with part 4 that i started to kinda miss tether, even tho i wasnt done yet but my outline had been done for a bit so i kinda was? and then i remembered back in november when i created concepts for ace and sabo before i even wrote that one scene in mt coronet, and i remembered thinking so much about their story, and their travels, and sabo’s accident. and then, not long after i finished with part 4, i had a startling idea, and i had a first line of a maybe sequel, and i started to put a little more thought into it.

if you’re looking for confirmation, this isn’t it. this is saying i have an idea i’d like to explore. maybe. tether took a lot of work, and a lot of time. it definitely doesn’t have as much feedback as i would like it to, for me to invest in a full-fledged sequel. if i start this, if i ever do, it’ll definitely be more lax, and a chapter-by-chapter sort of thing. i guess it just comes down to how many people are actually interested in it.

#tether #writing