predictionprincessmieru

[predictionprincessmieru]

HZ hitting 100 eps today wohooo 🌅✨🎉🎉

My kids have grown up uewuewue;-;

[predictionprincessmieru]

top five most important things you can give a character. 1. bisexuality. 2. autism. 3. so much negative rizz it loops around into irresistibility. 4. so many bad events. 5. a coping mechanism that’s cute and silly provided you don’t think about it too hard

[predictionprincessmieru]

Spinel having an Umbreon as his main partner strikes me the more I think about it because it paints his character in a more interesting light than being simply "evil". Umbreon is a friendship evolution, evolving from Eevee through a really close bond with its Trainer, and Spinel's bond with Umbreon is completely genuine. Now it's easy to say that he's a sociopath who has been emotionally manipulating his Eevee/Umbreon, but I don't think that's the case. On the contrary, the bond between Spinel and Umbreon is mutual and genuine. Spinel genuinely loves his Umbreon. He cares about it and values its company. Umbreon in turn is also completely loyal to Spinel and devotedly protects him and cares about him. Spinel in turn appreciates its loyalty and it's a two-way street: Umbreon also communicates with Spinel and Spinel genuinely trusts and listens to Umbreon. Back when Arboliva came out to threaten Spinel, Umbreon urged him to retreat, and he listened. Their bond is strong and genuine, and they genuinely share a connection with each other where they understand each other at a deep level.

It stands out because what this suggests and even highlights about Spinel is that he is in fact, not actually a psychopath or sociopath, and is quite the opposite: he is actually functionally empathetic. He's not devoid of empathy like psychopaths and sociopaths are. On the contrary, he possesses a very high level of empathy. He's perhaps almost too empathetic even. That sounds ironic when you look at how he acts on a surface level, but it's very much true.

He is capable of connecting with others at a deep level and understanding them in a way. His bond with Umbreon, a Pokemon that evolves from Eevee through a deep bond with its Trainer, is a testament to that. But he's afraid of doing it because he's so full of empathy. Building connections with others, getting close to them, learning about them and getting to know them as people, it's all things he is capable of doing. But it also hurts him to do it. Because doing that means seeing everything about a person, not just the good things about them but also the bad and ugly things about them. And it also sets him up to be put through pain and hardship, because building connections means subjecting yourself to potential betrayal and misunderstandings. Humans are messy and complicated by nature. Sometimes people will betray your expectations, sometimes you misread other people's intentions. Sometimes even when you do your homework and keep your nose to the ground people will do things that don't work in your favor. And that scares Spinel deeply, because he's very emotionally sensitive and prone to being hurt as a result. Being hurt puts him through more pain than most. And he doesn't want others to get to know him because he's afraid of people hating him for what they know about him.

Spinel hates complexity. His underlying laziness, which I talked about some time ago, comes from a hatred of effort, optimism, selflessness, potential, and ironically, a hatred of lies. The fact that the world and people are complex and messy is something he hates, because it means the ugly side of people will hurt him, and he assumes the uglier sides of people are their true intentions, so he's afraid of getting close to people because of those sides.

His Umbreon's moveset consists of Snarl and Reflect, the former of which lowers Special Attack and the latter of which halves physical damage. It highlights his Umbreon's loyalty and how it's his devoted protector, but it also highlights Spinel's own tendency to keep people at arm's length and keep his guard up. He's guarded and assumes the worst of people, and thus pushes people away: Foul Play using the opponent's strength against them highlights that he sees the opponent's strength and tries to turn it on them to push them away, and overall his unwillingness to let other people get close to him and get to know him, only seeing the facade he's put up.

The word "facade" being especially important. It's actually quite meta that his outward behavior throughout the series is similar to that of a sadistic, malignant psychopath, because that's the "facade" he puts up to protect himself from others and keep them away from him. He's not actually that: his "psychopathy" is entirely a fake act. But he's putting on that false front because that's what he wants people to believe he is. He wants others to believe that he's literally entirely evil, so that they stop making any effort to get close to him and go away, and thus have no chance of ever hurting him, either by showing their ugly front or using what they know about him against him.

Deep down, Spinel is not only capable of connection but genuinely craves connection. He felt valued when Gibeon gave him special approval for his profile as a researcher and wanted to be special to him. His behavior around Friede also suggests he sees in him someone he could be friends with, but his fear of being hurt prevents him from making the effort to try. So he studies Friede from afar, trying to get to know him, and is fascinated by him because deep down, he sees a potential kindred spirit in Friede, someone he shares things in common with and could even be friends with, but he's too afraid to let Friede get close to him. Friede even recognizes this and calls him "Mr. Awfully-Shy".

His fear of being hurt in a way also foils Liko. Which is interesting that they're both Dark-type users and have similar but also opposite battling styles rooted in cunning, trickery, hiding, and deception, and overall being sly and devious. But painting Spinel in this light also paints a mirror to her because Liko is defined by her empathy and desire for connection.

Liko started out as someone who was very afraid of hurting others. She wanted connection but never got close to anyone because she was afraid of inconveniencing or upsetting others, and thus she would much rather hurt herself and put herself through suffering instead, so that she doesn't hurt others. Spinel is the polar opposite in that front. He also wants connection, but he's afraid of being hurt himself, afraid of other people hurting him, and thus he would much rather hurt others and make other people suffer instead, so that they don't hurt him. That foil kind of raises interesting implications for what kind of dynamic they could have whenever they end up directly confronting each other, especially since they're both Dark-type users and guile/tricky, but Liko's Meowscarada has a more bold and risk-taking type of guile, while Spinel's Umbreon has a more guarded and cautious type of guile.

In Spinel's ideal world, everyone is a two-dimensional figure that wears their heart on their sleeve. Nobody would develop or change. It would be a world of lies, living in the moment, with easy answers, and simple truths. You would never need to wonder about someone, doubt someone, or believe in anyone, hide anything or search for anything. It would be a static world without worries. Without progress. Without decisions. Without problems.

Which is why his public media appearances and manipulation of public opinion paint people in a black-and-white mentality. He paints the Explorers as heroic figures while he paints the RVT as villains, even telling some of his new recruits about Liko and Roy specifically and that they're evil. The people in both groups, however, aren't really that simple and easy to judge. Coral and Sidian are not "evil" but have personalities that aren't conventionally likable. Coral is a loudmouth who expresses her thoughts and feelings with no filter, even if the sweeter personality she shows to the masses post-timeskip is in a way, a real facet of who she is. But the public now only really sees a part of who Coral and Sidian are, not all of them, which traps them because they don't get to fully be themselves, having to actively hide their more..."unpleasant" traits to keep the masses liking them.

On the contrary, Liko and Roy face a public reputation as villains if their affiliation is ever outed. But they also have the ability to challenge perception. Roy is by nature the exact opposite of the RVT's reputation. He doesn't have a single bad bone in his entire body and is completely honest. Liko on the other hand is...well..."evil" in a way and her fighting style and team aligns with it, combined with her lowkey self-centered motivations, but she cares for others and has a good heart behind an "evil" mind, and is capable of showing it in a way. That instance with Nyabiko in Episode 93 where she calmed an angry flock of Dodrio and Spearow by putting on a magic show with Meowscarada, showing a more non-violent method to calm Pokemon, was a case of challenging a pre-conceived notion. Even though she's seen by others as an evil person, she can be more than that, and lets her actions do the speaking. Even a supposed "villain" like herself can be more than that and capable of doing good and being worthy of trust.

Spinel wants simplicity. He embraces a truth but fails to look farther or make any effort to challenge perception. He knows his peers in the Explorers see him as a despicable person not worthy of respect, and leans into it, but refuses to look further or aim for anything or accept that he can be more than that. And thus he lies to himself. Because that's simple. Easy.

But in reality, truths never are.

[predictionprincessmieru]

I feel like Coral deep down, even if she doesn't say it outright, actually hates the role she's forced to play in Spinel's reign of the Explorers.

The reason she's even in the group, which she pretty openly admits to throughout the series, is because she sees being with them as a place to do whatever she wants without having to conform to other people's rules. She's a loud and abrasive asshole, but she's honest about it and it's in her nature to be honest, even if it means being unapologetically an asshole. She's not really invested in the group's ambitions, and she just wants to be a free spirit getting to let loose in battles and unleash her strength to her heart's content, because to her that's fun. She's always complaining about how bored she is and how she wants someone to "play" with her. The Explorers seem to be the only ones willing to take her in, since her brashness leads to her being seen as a troublemaker anywhere else, as she repeatedly gets in trouble with people for breaking the rules.

That's not something she really gets to do under Spinel. Her job has mostly been to present an "ideal" public image of the Explorers to the public, but for her especially that also means playing by an externally imposed "ideal" which means...playing by rules of how she "should" act according to what society deems to be acceptable. Sidian on the other hand doesn't really care for fame but rolls with it for the sake of the mission. But Coral mostly has to play by rules and it's implied that since Spinel took over she's basically never been allowed to actually let loose and run wild like she did when Gibeon was in charge, because doing so would ruin the "ideal" image Spinel wants to portray to the public masses. Even though she's popular among the public and has a lot of fans, I don't think she's actually happy about it deep down, because they like her for the image she has to put up to present as "likable" according to societal expectations, not for who she really is, making such admiration hollow.

That time when she and Sidian met Liko and Roy again at the Exceed testing facility sticks out more in hindsight. The two duos, even if they don't admit it outright, have a pretty close personal relationship with each other at this point and know each other really well. Liko and Sidian looked each other in the eye and had this quiet acknowledgement between them. Her behavior in the battle against them, as nasty as it looks outwardly, actually feels kinda sad in this light. She's probably actually quite miserable with her current position in Spinel's reign over the Explorers and has been for a while. The fact that she went that far against Liko and Roy (and Uruto) actually feels like her letting loose those feelings of misery on them because she's just that miserable under the current Explorers now. She introduced Liko and Roy as her "friends" and given how honest she is by nature, she probably does see them as such in her own weird way. And in her own rather abrasive way she also sees those two as two of the only people she really trusts to see the real her. She can't show her real personality to the public because it's not "likable". But she can show it to them because in a way, she's close with them even if they're on opposing sides so much so that they can show who they really are to each other.

She, Sidian, and Chalce are close with each other, even if they don't like to admit it, and they won't leave each other, which is why they're still around. Chalce and especially Sidian are among the only ones who are willing to put up with her annoying and overbearing personality, and she does appreciate that they're willing to put up with her, even if they still sometimes show annoyance with her. They probably can't really do anything against Spinel themselves because they may be loyal to the Explorers name but they're not loyal to him, and they're all probably very aware that Spinel sees them as disposable liabilities who will throw them away in a moment's notice if he decides they're of no value to him anymore. What happened to Amethio made it pretty clear to them how he sees people (and Chalce in her feigned attempts to assist him has managed to get a strong assessment of his character and motives).

Her behavior when Chalce ordered her and Sidian to just leave Liko and her group alone says something. She scoffed when Chalce reminded her that their current mission is to continue to present themselves as ideal Trainers and was like "Totally boring...". That kinda nails it in for me that she really doesn't like what she has to do in this charade and wants to be free of it all. She and Sidian would much rather get off on their little frenemy relationship with Liko and her friends than continue this dumb charade, even if they express it differently, but their circumstances pretty much don't allow them to do so.

Though the fact that Chalce simply opted to leave Liko and her friends be also says something on her end too. She (and Coral and Sidian) could've outed Liko and Roy as RVTs to force them further underground and reduce their supposed "threat" but they all chose not to. Chalce is an intelligent and pragmatic person who tends to think in terms of the bigger picture, as mysterious as she is, and the fact that she decided the best course of action was to let Liko and her friends remain free kinda points to something else going on. Her behavior around Spinel subtly suggests she's been secretly plotting against him and is waiting for the right moment to backstab him and reveal she's been playing him like a puppet the whole time (which will likely contribute to his inevitable manchild-like meltdown). She likely sees a benefit to allowing Liko to remain free, and for her and her friends to do their thing, all the while this course of action gives Chalce (and Coral and Sidian) plausible deniability if Spinel ever starts to suspect anything.

As far as the public is concerned, the "Explorers" is mostly just Coral and Sidian, and possibly Chalce if they even know who she is. So they have plausible deniability should things lead to Spinel getting singled out since Spinel has been keeping himself behind the scenes and uninvolved in the Explorers' direct missions (and he has two wannabe Zirc and Onia grunts doing the dirty work for him in terms of his actual experiments, as the upcoming episode preview showed).

Somehow, even if they're not outright allies, I feel like Coral, Sidian, and even Chalce are lowkey putting their trust in Liko and co. in their own weird way to free them all of this situation without Mr. Rat discovering them...

[predictionprincessmieru]

Some hippie from a movie nobody watched: Pokémon are inherently pure and righteous and they never do evil things, they are always being forced to by evil humans. Only humans have the capacity to be evil. Pokémon are kind of like dogs in a sense but with laser breath and magic.

Meowth: Hooheehoo I love being evil and bad and working for the actual fucking yakuza. Stealing Pokémon is so fun and wonderful and I’m actually a kidnapper if you think about it too hard. I love constantly terrorizing Da Twerp and trying to kidnap his literal best friend/brother in arms because Pokémon are canonically sapient and That’s Just A Guy. I was given free will and a human personality and I am actively making it everyone’s problem.

[predictionprincessmieru]

Blue hoodies! 💙✨

I can't be convinced that Liko's Mega Voltage design isn't meant to be a loving nod to AG, haha. Look, even the front part of her hair looks similar to May's!

[predictionprincessmieru]

The Prediction Princess herself; Mieru Hochun, now in Duel Links!🔮👑💖

Victory style sprite for @/MieruHochun on Twitter, thank you!🥰 The commissioner is a writer by trade so Mieru is holding a fountain pen, a very cute & unique touch I really enjoyed drawing.🥺❤️

Super proud of how this one came out, I absolutely love her design. I really need to get around to watching Arc V one day.🤩

[predictionprincessmieru]

sorry another bald tshirt post that came to me last night

[predictionprincessmieru]

Your art is so amazing especially with the human characters, got any tips on human tutorials if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you!! :>

I'm always glad to share some tips! Is there anything more specific you need help with? Humans have many different parts after all haha

[predictionprincessmieru]

Your art is so amazing especially with the human characters, got any tips on human tutorials if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you!! :>

I'm always glad to share some tips! Is there anything more specific you need help with? Humans have many different parts after all haha

[predictionprincessmieru]

my personal explanation on why the pokemon anime (gen 1-8) is so insane is that it's ash retelling the story to his children/grandchildren. and he's exaggerating (and also forgetting some details), so that's why the episodes are Like That.

[predictionprincessmieru]

Inktober 13 - Ash

With a prompt like that I could think of nothing else but good old Ash Ketchum from Pokemon! I decided to pair with Latias since Pokemon Heroes made the pair seem so cute.

[predictionprincessmieru]

[predictionprincessmieru]

Would You Still

“Ash?” Latias asked.

Ash paused, halfway through rubbing the damp cloth down her side to get off some of the scorch marks.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You… do still like me, right?” she said, sounding worried.

Ash blinked a couple of times.

“Why wouldn’t I like you?” he asked.

“Because-” Latias began, then winced. “Because… that was such an important battle for you, and… it didn’t work out?”

Ash exchanged a glance with Pikachu.

“Ka-chuu, pika-ikachu,” Pikachu opined. “Chu, Pikapi pika chuu!”

“Latias… I guess-” Ash began, then stopped and sighed.

“I’m going to put this in a really bad way,” he groaned. “But… uh… so, first, yeah, losing a battle sucks, and losing at the Pokémon League really sucks. Because so many people are looking at us.”

Latias looked crestfallen, and Ash dipped the cloth in water before getting to work again.

“But that happens,” he said. “I know it sucks, but I also know – it happens. Harrison and his team pulled out all those surprises, to try and stop us, right?”

“Chuu,” Pikachu muttered, rubbing his side.

“Yeah,” Ash agreed. “Some Pokémon I’ve never even seen before – some really cool Pokémon, at that! And – yeah, he stopped us, but he had to do all of that, right? And then that Jon guy who’s been doing so well is up against him next, and… oh, right, you might not have noticed?”

“Noticed what?” Latias asked.

Pikachu giggled.

“Yeah, I keep forgetting you’re not experienced,” Ash said. “It’s just one of those things that… makes sense, to me, and to Brock and Misty too… Jon is going to be ready for all those tricks that Harrison has, because Harrison had to use them all on us to stop us.”

Latias frowned, then made a thoughtful noise.

“Right!” Ash said, nodding, as he finished up with her right flank and moved on to her wing. “So – I don’t know if Harrison’s got other tricks left, but he brought back some Pokémon from Hoenn with really neat abilities that were a huge surprise! I don’t know if that Jon guy is going to win or lose, but… he’s going to have it easier, and Harrison is going to have it harder, because Harrison decided he needed to use all those tricks against us. Right?”

“I… think so?” Latias frowned.

“It means that – no, there’s nothing to be ashamed of!” Ash explained. “And I guess… maybe that’s easier for me to explain to someone else than to remember myself, hehe… but, don’t worry, Latias. You did really well. You’re new to battling, and I’m glad you chose to come along with me as my Pokémon, and… you’re brave.”

Latias tilted her head, shifting her weight a little as she lay on the floor, and Ash nodded.

“You are,” he said. “Because… like I say, you’re new to battling, and you didn’t have much training, or much experience, and you went for it anyway, and you kept fighting for so long to try and pull it out for me. And… I guess… getting better at battling, getting stronger, getting more experience, learning more moves… all of those are things we can work on. And you’re already brave, which is… great, it really is.”

He washed the cloth again, then looked at the water. “Uh. In fact, you’ve got so many scorch marks from Blaziken’s Blaze Kicks that I guess I need more water, this one’s turned black…”

Latias giggled, and Ash grinned.

“So – don’t worry, Latias!” he reassured her, getting up. “Because… yeah. We lost. And now I’m going to get better at being a Pokémon trainer, so we’ll all be ready next time and we’ll do even better!”

“Ka-pikapi, kachu!” Pikachu pointed out, holding up both paws and showing a total of four fingers, folding them in, then another four.

“...oh, yeah, and I guess that’s easy to forget, too,” Ash admitted. “Which is that – yeah, not many people make it to the quarter finals. Not many people even make it to the Pokémon League. And we were battling in the quarter finals, and – you fit right in, Latias. You should be proud of that.”

Pikachu nodded. “Chuu!”

Ash was about to go and get some more water, but Latias picked herself up off the floor and gave him a spontaneous hug.

“Thank you, Ash,” she said. “I… I feel a lot better now.”

“Heheh, I’m glad to help!” Ash replied, grinning. “Though I really do need to go and get some more water to finish cleaning off those scorch marks…”

“Chuu, ka-chu?” Pikachu asked.

“...actually, why aren’t we just going to a Pokémon Centre?” Latias asked.

Ash shrugged. “I guess… I wanted to make sure you didn’t feel uncomfortable?” he said. “I know it’s the first time you’ve been knocked out, and normally for my Pokémon that happens where Brock or Tracey can take care of them, not at a Pokémon Centre…”

(inspired by seeing this)

[predictionprincessmieru]

it's pretty funny that gifs can only do up to 50 fps because they store the framerate as the number of centiseconds that each image is on screen for some reason and basically every gif renderer only supports setting it down to 2 (1 would be 100 fps but most things will render it as 10 fps for historical reasons)

[predictionprincessmieru]

[predictionprincessmieru]