#sorry for the huge ass post i'm just very passionate about pokésmaun okay

[dragongirlafro]

Miscellaneous things I liked about Sun and Moon

-Kukui coming to your house and just letting himself in.

-Kukui asking the main character to find the kahuna without actually giving a short fill in on who he is, other than “he looks just like a kahuna”.

-the little wobble effect when you’re crossing the bridge to save Nebby.

-The main character asking Lillie if she’s a kahuna, either jokingly or because they genuinely have no idea what a kahuna is.

-Hau’s theme. I mean, I’m psyched for Hau in general, but I really loved his music.

-the cutscenes. No seriously. I like reading dialogue and interactions between characters. The cutscenes at the beginning of the game really set the right mood and tone for me imo.

-Trainer models behind their Pokémon during battles.

-finding Ledybas on route 1.

-Kukui yelling “Oh yeah, Rockruff! My body is ready!” from inside his lab, giving the impression of a hilarious double entendre.

-The Rotom pokédex’s witty personality.

-And the wide variety of Pokédex entries ranging from “really sweet” to “how did this get past ERSB’s ratings?”

-just the sentiment of going out into the islands with your starter and just one or two low level Pokemon.

-Pokémon Refresh!! I had no idea how much of an improvement Refresh was to Amie! Like you can just give a Pokemon two sparkly rainbow beans and they’ll love you forever!

-the ability to just go into a PC and grab your pokémon or move it around without any of that “withdraw or deposit” bullshit.

-that adorable scene where Rotom takes a picture of you, Hau, and Lillie.

-Rotom thirsting over “that dreamboat Ilima”.

-The Skull grunts at the berry farm. More specifically the one who had self-esteem issues.

-when the Skull grunts think you can’t tell them apart cause they’d switched positions so they swap places and are like “how’s that?”

-Totem Pokémon being three times larger than they normally would and scaring the crap outta you.

-The fuckin anime-ass pose your main character does whenever they get a Z-crystal

-in fact Z-moves in general. A lot of older fans seem to dislike them but honestly they were one of the only things that convinced me to buy the game.

-Ride Pokémon!!!!No HMs!!!!!!!

-Also being able to program any Ride Pokémon on the D-pad. That’s become like second nature to me.

-that cutscene when you’re on the boat from Melemele to Akala island.

-and that little exchange between Lillie, Hau, and Kukui when they reach the shore.

-The shopping music. Holy fuck do I even need to tell you how amazing the shopping music is in this Gen???

-meeting Dexio and Sina again. I didn’t really care for the whole Zygarde thing but just seeing those two again was really sweet.

-Paniola Ranch and its chill af vibes.

-Lana trying to find a “strapping young swimmer” when she’s supposed to be guiding you through her trial.

-and her trying to convince you that her trial site has a Kyogre in it.

-The frickin Water type Z-move dance. Oh my god that wavy hula dance is the cutest thing ever.

-The whole “Professor Kukui wtf are you doing” “Who is this ‘Professor Kukui’ you speak of I am the Masked Royale!!” exchange.

-and then he just blurts out “and now we have our foursome!” and all the characters ignore it and move on as if that’s a normal thing to say in everyday conversation

-Kiawe’s trial. Just… everything about Kiawe’s trial.

-But mostly Hiker David.

-“Press A to pound the ingredients.”

Honestly tho that was the only redeeming quality to Mallow’s trial Totem Lurantis can go fuck itself in USUM.

-Professor Burnet’s groovin’ dimensional research lab theme.

-when Olivia does the Rock type Z-move dance and the camera just zooms in on Lillie gawking over her.

-OH YEAH that Pyukumuku chucking thing where you can get 20 000 pokédollars a day. I hope they bring that back because that was a real good way of making cash.

-And those missions in Pokécentres where if you’ve caught a set amount of Pokémon or if you’ve caught a specific Pokémon they’ll pay you like 10 000 dollars or something.

-Meeting Wicke for the first time and her being incredibly sweet and nice.

-That small bit when Hau can’t believe that Lusamine’s more than 40 years old and she’s really flattered.

-battling Nihilego for the first time.

-That scene on the boat to Ula’Ula Island where Hau talks to you and offers you a Malasada. That really solidified his friendship with the main character for me.

-Speaking of which that part where you’re at Malie Garden and Hau asks “hey, did you know-“ and you can just say “yah i know” and he’s like “dude come on I haven’t even asked the question yet.”

-that little side quest where you have to find a woman’s eight Stuffuls on route 10 that’s like really sweet but also why does she have so many stuffus?

-The Skull grunts who fucking try to steal a bus stop sign.

-Molayne. I liked his relationship with Kukui and Sophocles.

-and I especially liked the part where he gave you Kukui’s mask and when you give it to him Kukui’s just like “oH uhhhhh I’ll um give it back to the Masked Royale when I uh see him”

-Blush Mountain. It has such a nice name. Blush Mountain.

-Acerola’s, um… Little brother and sister? Kids she’s babysitting? I wasn’t too clear on how they were related to her, but they were cute either way.

-the whole bit where rotom’s afraid to go into the haunted store because “spoopy scary ghosts” despite him literally also being a ghost.

-On the subject of those two kids, the event where Team Skull stole the girl’s Yungoos and she gives you a Rare Candy just to get it back fucking broke my heart like oooooohhhh sweetie you didn’t have to give me this I would have gotten your Yungoos back either way!!

-Plumeria!!She was so underrated!

-uncle Grimsley’s cointoss bit where you could pick heads or tails but if you picked neither then he’d just say that Skarmory swooped in and grabbed it in midair, even though that obviously never happened and he was just bullshitting you.

-Also just the mere fact that Grimsley refers to himself as “Uncle Grimsley”

-Nanu. Enough said.

-The fact that all the Team Skull grunts in Po town are gay. Every. Single. One of them. gay

-That scene where Nanu does the Dark type Z-move pose and the main character and Gladion just stare at him and there’s just an awkward pause until he goes “there you cleared your trial or whatever”.

-actually now that I think about it, Sun and Moon had a lot of subtle humour.

-when you were infiltrating Aether Paradise and a good amount of employees were set on stopping you but there was like that ten percent who were like “whoa shit’s gettin wild out here lmao do you want us to heal your ‘mons? We could even take you back if you wanted i ain’t about to lose my job over some space conspiracy fuck that noise”

-That one Skull grunt who was all like, “wanna see me get hit by a Hyper Beam?”

-When you Battle Guzma outside of Lusamine’s mansion.

-LUSAMINE’S BATTLE THEME. HOLY SHIT.

-“Doot doo doo, just a Kahuna, taking a stroll through the laguna.”

-when Hau compliments Lillie over her outfit makeover and Gladion immediately pulls the defensive brother card.

-Seafolk Village’s night music. Oh my lord I’ve never wanted to marry a video game meledy before it.

-Hapu!!! Another underrated character!

-That scene where Lillie and the main character are in the cave on Exeggcutor Island in the rain.that was super cute.

-Vast Poni Canyon! Love me that guitar and flute!

-Mina!!! I can’t wait for her trial in usum I love her so much!!!!!

-when you go to Ultra Space and Rotom is unconscious because you’re disconnected from your world.

-When Lillie gave that whole speech to Lusamine and her sole reaction was basically “¯\_(ツ)_/¯” that absolutely slayed me

-After all that shit in Ultra Space and catching Nebby goes down and then Nanu’s just chilin’ at the Altar and is like “oh, hey, you can challenge the league I guess, if you really felt like it.”

-Kahili!!!!!

-THE MOTHERFUCKING CHAMPION THEME!!!

-that corny-ass scene where Lillie was gonna say something to the main character after the festival and it was all set up like a love scene from the final act of a goddamn comedy romance film and then they get shouldered by the fireworks. My heart can’t handle that kind of sappy cuteness and I need more of it.

-Looker and Anabel. Those two were adorbs.

-oh. And Alolan Raichu. When I first saw that Pokémon revealed in the trailer last July I knew that I had to buy Sun and Moon. Alolan Raichu is what got me into Pokémon.

#Keegster posts #Pokémon thoughts #sorry for the huge ass post i'm just very passionate about pokésmaun okay #no but srsly sorry #this took me two months to write #quite possibly the biggest post I’ve made on Tumblr #Pokémon #Pokemon Sun and Moon #Pokémon UltraSun and UltraMoon

[dragongirlafro]

To sort of expand my thoughts on the Ultra Recon Squad;

Honestly, the more I look at these characters, the less and less I’m convinced that these guys are evil. The way they interact with the main character just doesn’t come off as hostile at all. And Zossie’s artwork and overall first impression seems too naïve for her to be a baddie. Looks can be deceiving, I know, but that goes both ways.

The name “Ultra Recon Squad” sounds more like a law enforcement group than the name of an evil team. Kinda like the intergalactic equivalent of the international police on poké earth. But again, in a world where the Aether Foundation was a thing, anything’s on the table at this point

If anything, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that they are the ones who’ll need our help. Ultra Megalopolis has had its main source of light (i. e. its sun, I guess?) stolen by Necrozma, so they’re most likely going across dimensions in order to find other places that are more habitable to either take their main source of light (however the fuck that’d work) or move their population to that place.

… I could possibly see them as being morally clueless and not understand how the Pokémon world works or how their actions could have consequences. That’s the only way I see these guys being problematic at the moment.

Going back on the subject of Ultra Megatropolis (yes im purposefully going to miswrite its name all the time because it’s just too cheesy XD), the world they live in seems really tragic and almost horrifying if you think about it. Their main source of light is gone. That would be like if our sun had disappeared. Without the sun, all life on earth would be fucked. But with that in mind, it’s also hard not to have somewhat of an admiration for these extraterrestrial guys. Their technology is so much more advanced than the Pokémon world’s that they managed to build a small source of light in complete, utter, pitch black. That’s literally god-like.

The last main thing that’s on my mind about these guys is that some people seem to be asking if these guys are aliens. I personally say it depends on what your definition of “alien” means. They obviously come from another world, different than the one the humans in the Pokémon world live in. Because their world lacks any natural light, their skin has become an other-worldly pale, completely devoid of colour (I have no idea why they have coloured hair though. They could have dyed it; but if that’s the case, then why would they colour their skin or clothes as well??)(also I just realized that a race that lives completely without sunlight couldn’t have picked a worse region to land in than sunny, tropical Alola. They’d probably die irl if any of their skin was exposed to light). But at the same time…….. they look human. Like they don’t look biologically different from any of the other human beings in Pokémon, unless they’re hiding some wicked crazy shit underneath their masks and stuff. The fact that they speak English and wear clothes and use Pokémon also kind of solidifies the idea that they’re human… right? I guess it’s kind of an age old question when it comes to sci-fi universes: if human beings live on other planets or in parallel universes, are they aliens or not? It all depends on what you consider an “alien” to be.

… whoa. I did not mean to ramble on like that. Sorry! 😂 I’m really interested to see what the Ultra Recon Squad bring to the table, and I’m a bit more confident now that the overall games won’t be drastically gritty or dark. It is just a Pokémon game after all. I kinda had to remind myself that.

also btw I sure hope that all four squad members appear in both games and they’re not explicitly version exclusives because I need my Ultra bfs and gfs

#Keegster posts #sorry for the huge ass post i'm just very passionate about pokésmaun okay #ultra spoilers #Pokémon #Pokémon UltraSun and UltraMoon #Ultra Recon Squad #god im gonna have to type that out every time I post about these guys now 😂😂😂 #speculation #Ultra sun and moon #usum

[dragongirlafro]

List of things I want to see in Pokémon UltraSun and UltraMoon

Sorry i know I’m a little late on this but i mean at this point it’s not like we’ll get a whole lot more info on USUM that will drastically change my hopes.

Pokemon following you: yeah, yeah, I know that this is what everyone and their grandma wants to see in the new games and honestly the more that I think about it the more the chances seem 40/60, but I mean there are literally sprites of every single pokemon created walking and running in the games’ data. if not for this very feature, then why would Game Freak go to all the trouble to make these? (keeping in mind that only a set amount of ‘mons appear in the Poke finder, thus negating the need for them to create all 802 models)

More Pokemon: I myself am not the kind of person who wants brand new pokemon, evolutions, or forms every single game, but I feel that the Alola region could use a few more native Pokemon. And that’s coming from someone who shudders at the thought of a National Pokedex being included in UltraSun/Moon, ‘cause it was honestly a hassle enough completing the Alola Dex. and that was only 300 ‘mons! The day I actually complete the National Pokedex is the day Game Freak stops making new Pokemon. I’m not terribly picky about whether or not we get completely new ‘mons or just ones that were unavailable prior to Poke Bank. Although I definitely wouldn’t mind getting the chance to catch Swablu and Altaria in the new games.

More Alolan forms/Mega Evolutions: This was one of those things where when I first thought about it, I did not want. I was looking at it from the perspective that if any other ‘mons got alolan forms, it would permanently ruin their design for me. But then I put more thought into it and realized that I  actually don’t have a problem with any of the alolan forms that currently exist in terms of design and types.They’re fresh, cool, and quite honestly make a lot of sense. What I realized i had a problem with was “leakers” and whatnot on 4chan who tried to create their own alolan forms by emulating the ones that had already existed, or even worse, absolutely blowing them out of proportion (Because if a Fire type can become an Ice/Fairy type, then surely this Grass type can become a Flying/Ground type, amirite?)(p.s. i crossed out mega evolutions because at this point that ship has sailed and personally they’re not really my cup of tea)

Minor! characters! given! more! spotlight!: I need to know more about characters who didn’t have that much focus in the previous games (and preferably who don’t have that much focus in the anime) I wanna hang out more with my boy Ilima and finally do Mina’s Fairy type trial! I want to hear about what got Kahili into golfing and why she chose Flying types as her go-to ‘mons! Hell, i’d even settle to learn a bit more about Ryuki, even tho he looks like he’s essentially wearing an anime fursuit.      

Less obvious plot/conflict: this is probably the most contoversial of what i’d like to see in UltraSun and UltraMoon. With Sun and Moon being my first ever Pokemon games, I will say that the tone and pacing of the story was executed pretty well, especially for a first timer like me. That being said, however, I will admit that many parts of the story felt ham-fisted and in-your-face. There was literally a part where an Aether guy said “we need you to ‘conveinently dissapear’.” Like, you’re gonna say that Nebby will die if she’s used to rip open a hole between dimensions but you don’t have the balls to threaten to kill an eleven year old? And on the subject of Aether, they were probably the most painfully obvious Pokemon villains since the days of Team Rocket. Like, even with Team Flare, which I personally consider to be one of the worst evil teams, their motives were somewhat ambiguous for the first part of the game. But the Aether Foundation’s intentions and goals were pretty much known to everone on the day that this trailer was released. I get that the argument for this is that pokemon is aimed at children so the villains have to be apparent, but my counter-argument to that would be that the kids got their conspicuous plotline in Sun and Moon and now UltraSun and UltraMoon have the opportunily to appeal to an older, more experienced audience who are able to comprehend and appreciate a more complex story.

MORE MUSIC!!!: the Sun and Moon soundtrack was beautiful and full offence but if you disliked it you have no taste in music whatsoever the seventh generation’s music was the pinnacle of video game music and i cant wait to hear all the remixed themes!!!! Like I mean have you heard the remastered wild battle theme its sooooooo good!!!! I’m most excited for Guzma’s encounter theme, Lusamine’s battle theme, Seafolk Village and the Champion music!

I wanna pass on the question to @thefangirlingcartoongal and @pokemon-trashhh and anyone else who’s as excited for UltraSun and UltraMoon as I am. What are some things that you want to see in the new games?

#Pokemon #ultra sun and moon #Pokemon UltraSun and UltraMoon #usum #sorry for the huge ass post I'm just very passionate about pokésmaun okay #I had a lot of fun making this #Now all i have to do is wait to be massively disappointed #Keegster posts

[dragongirlafro]

Evidence supporting the Ultra Recon Squad being antagonists:

They come to the Pokémon Earth from a distant dimension across space and time.

They appear to be conducting studies about the Alola region and the Pokémon world in general. The reason for this is unknown.

It is said that their world has “had its light stolen by Necrozma”. This could give them motive to invade other, more hospitable worlds and relocate their population (and subsequently relocating/exterminating the current ones).

They don menacing clothes that resemble those of previous evil team members. They also wear visors that conceal their eyes, the most identifiable feature of the human face, giving their character designs a sense of distance and dissociation.

They appear to possess a much higher intelligence and knowledge of parallel dimensions than many of the other in-game characters. On that note, the design of Ultra Megalopolis also showcases that they have much more advanced technology than those in the Pokémon world. This could have grave implications should they choose to use it against anything or anyone.

Dulse and Phyco’s artwork and models give them the impression of being very unemotional and analytic.

The trailer showed that all members of the Ultra Recon Squad appear in the opening cutscene, blocking off Lillie as she escapes with Cosmog. This implies that they could have ties with the Aether Foundation.

It also reveals that they have an interest in Ultra Beasts, or at least Cosmog, similar to the Aether Foundation.

They use Ultra Beasts (or at the very least UB: Adhesive) in battle. This is concerning due to the Alola region’s troublesome history with the Ultra Beasts.

The poster in which they were first teased portrayed them as dark shadowy figures looming over the protagonists.

Very minor detail that most likely pertains no relevance whatsoever, but Phyco posseses a cartoonishly long goatee and moustache, which he frequently twirls, a common stereotype among villains.

Evidence opposing the Ultra Recon Squad being antagonists:

Pokémon Sun and Moon had two main antagonists; Team Skull and the Aether Foundation. Both groups played a significant role in the games’ plot. As of the most recent Japanese trailer, it has been confirmed that both Team Skull and the Aether Foundation will be returning in UltraSun and UltraMoon. It would be highly illogical for there to be a third antagonistic organization, unless one of the previous two play a much smaller role in the story.

Unlike Team Skull or the Aether Foundation, the nature of the Ultra Recon Squad’s name does not come across as threatening.

It is highly likely that the Ultra Recon Squad itself consists solely of either two members (being Dulse and Zossie in UltraSun and Phycho and Soliera in UltraMoon) or at the very least four members, with the second halves playing minor roles in opposite games. The reasoning for this is that normally when a villainous group is introduced, they label different classes for different members. Examples would include the the grunts, the admin (Plumeria), and the Team Boss (Guzma) for Team Skull and the employees, the Branch Chief (Faba), and the President (Lusamine) for the Aether Foundation. And since only names have been revealed so far, it would imply that the squad is sans rank and only consists of two to four members.

Unlike previous antagonists, we are not given a description as to what actions the Ultra Recon Squad perform or have performed in the past.

The Ultra Recon Squad’s battle theme, while bizzare and extraterrestrial, does not sound aggressive.

Zossie and Soliera’s artwork show them smiling and give them the impression of being friendly.

Soliera’s battle pose portrays her in a very non-threatening, almost playful manner.

Zossie has been shown to be very child-like and friendly in nearly every media outlet thus far. Compared to the other three squad members, she is very short. In her official artwork, she is grinning widely with her tongue sticking out playfully. Her in-game model also shows her smiling, and using the same idle animation as the one used for Youngsters and Preschoolers, further suggesting her young nature. She is also smiling and waving to the main character as he steps into Megalopolis in the poster. Even in the opening cutscene, where the other squad members chase and/or block their target, presumably Lillie, Zossie is smiling and appears to make little effort to block off the pathway.

The Ultra Recon Squad seem to act very docile towards the main character during their visit to Megalopolis.

And finally, if the trailers are of any indication, it would seem that the player encounters the Ultra Recon Squad quite early on in the game. Judging from backgrounds, the first battle appears to take place near Paniola Ranch, and the first encounter seems to take place as early on as near the festival in Iki Town. Of course this is assuming that most locations and sequence of events remain the same in USUM. And while it could be argued that Team Skull was also encountered early on in the game, a counter-argument to that would be that Team Skull had generally less relevance to the plot than Aether, and they were never really perceived or even portrayed as “villainous” all that much to begin with.

Phew. That was a lot of analyzing for just a few seconds of trailer footage. I mostly did this because I’ve been seeing a bit of debate bubbling towards the surface since the trailers came out. There are some who are certain without a doubt in their mind that the Ultra Recon Squad will be evil, there are others who are absolutely sure that they’re good guys and that we’ll be battling alongside them, and there are people (like me) who have no idea how these weird blue aliens’ moral compass is gonna work, or that they’re going to fluctuate from good to evil or vice versa.

If you were to ask me for my opinion, I can’t really say for sure whether or not the squad is good or bad, but I’m reeeeeeeaaaallllly hoping that they aren’t evil, because I really, really, really want to be able to have cool interdimensional bffs in a Pokémon game. At the very least, I hope that they’ll receive a redemption arc of some kind if they turn out to be villains. If I were to make an actual prediction, I would guess that they’re in Alola for one of two reasons; to try and “steal Alola’s light” (make of that what you will) and take it to their own world, or to stop Necrozma, who is the real main antagonist, from doing to other dimensions what it did to theirs. In all honesty, I’m putting my money on the latter theory. It feels like Game Freak is kinda trying to market these guys in the opposite way they did with the Aether Foundation: making them look like baddies in the trailers and then having them turn out to be alright in the actual game story. I don’t know for sure though. I’m willing to be able to see all possibilities play out without getting too disappointed.

So what do you all think? Ultra Recon Squad: Good? Evil? Somewhere in between?

#Keegster posts #sorry for the huge ass post i'm just very passionate about pokésmaun okay #ultra sun and moon #usum #Ultra Recon Squad #Pokémon #Pokémon UltraSun and UltraMoon #Dulse #Zossie #Phyco #Soliera #speculation

[dragongirlafro]

Pokémon X adventures: a Champion in the making (+mini review)

Hey, it’s motivational champ guy!

Guess I’m just going straight to the league, then.

Oh my god I’m so excited. Like, more excited than I was when I took on the league in Alola. I don’t know how to describe it, but… the Pokemon League in the Alola region just felt kind of, overshadowed by the trials and the Aether Foundation/Ultra Beast plot? Like don’t get me wrong, I loved Sun and Moon’s story, but the climax was definitely in Ultra Space when you’re fighting mother beast Lusamine. Then immediately after its like “Hey while we’re at our peak why don’t you catch the legendary Pokémon that you’ve journeyed alongside all this time?” And then it sort of just halts in momentum and the game just goes “oh btw they finished the league guess you can check that out if you feel like it.” In X and Y, the gyms provide a steady buildup in both anticipation for the Victory Road/Pkmn League and difficulty in battles. While both generations have their easy and difficult moments, I distinctly remember being healthily stocked up on Potions, status restoring items, and berries in Alola by the time I reached the league. Here, I have practically no berries, and I’m weary about how many of each healing item I might need, not to mention revives.

In addition to that, the Pokemon used by the Sun and Moon Elite 4 were-for lack of a better term-predictable, making it easy to find a strong opposing ‘mon. And the difficulty curve in that game made it so that I could easily one-shot or two-shot opponents because I was much higher levels then them. Even though my X team is an average of fifteen levels above the ‘mons NPCs use, their Pokemon often have unusual typings with diverse move sets that make it more difficult for me to just automatically use whatever is super effective. I honestly have no idea what to expect from Kalos’ Elite 4, but I’m legitimately anxious that I might black out once or twice.

Now let me repeat myself: In no way am I saying Sun and Moon was worse/easier than X and Y. Pokémon Moon will always hold a special place in my heart as my first real Pokemon experience, and there were more than a handful of adrenaline-filled moments during that playthrough (especially being unfamiliar with type matchups/healing item effects, etc.) I’m simply writing out my impressions and feelings on how the two games compare and contrast to each other. I suppose you could consider this my “final review” of Pokémon X, if you really wanted to, but it’s more so just a literary interpretation of the splurge of emotions that are running through me right now as I am about to finish this game.

Previously: Snowbelle City gym Next: Route 21

#sorry for the huge ass post I'm just very passionate about pokésmaun okay #Keegster posts #Pokémon X adventures #Pokemon X and Y