#Headcanons

[gruntadminloch-moved]

((. . .you can give me relevant japanese cultural references for it all you want

I still maintain that the pokemon world just has really high standards for their children and anyone who worked in child protection or knows anything about child labor laws would have a heart attack if they went there.

I mean if 10 year olds can go out and make money working with pokemon amd saving the fucking world, everyone else is gonna be like 'why can't my kid get a job' because there's just a global standard that a prepubescent kid can go out on their own and support themself.

In most pokemon regions by the time you're 11 you are no longer required to go to school. What they learn up to age 11 or 12 is what we learn up to high school in the real world. You can get a job after that or go on to apprenticeship or higher education or whatever. If you didn't go to trainer school you had to go to regular school where they aggressively crammed your brain with knowledge or prepared you for a specific job from your first day of school with a specialized school. When you hit like 12 it's out into the real world with you. Go be successful like all the pokemon trainers out there. High standards. Lmao.

(Tbh you probably aren't required to go to school period in the pokemon world. There are so many family businesses and you really don't need schooling to learn to be a trainer, it's just not really necessary. Lots of people send their kids to school anyway of course, but there are plenty of people who have never set foot in a school in their life.)))

[gruntadminloch-moved]

((Headcanon: Some Pokémon that can naturally travel between dimensions and worlds(mostly ghost-types, although it also happens on occasion with other Pokémon using moves like Teleport, or Phantom Force getting lost in transit) are also commonly seen in Ultra Spaces.  They don’t have Faller auras due to not travelling through wormholes, simply moving between dimensions as is normal for them.

These Pokémon have usually developed into variants when found in Ultra Space, their Ultra Beast counterparts looking, behaving, and communicating in similar ways, but still usually noticeably different.  Reports of Ultra Beast variants in the regular world do exist, but they weren’t considered alien.  Instead they were considered genetic mutations or regular variants and hybrids/crossbreeds and their Beast Boost abilities were chalked up to other abilities still being researched at the time.))

[gruntadminloch-moved]

((While i wait for approval on one of the verses i worked out loch’s timeline for, here’s loch’s kinda vague ‘mainverse’ timeline.

If something doesn’t make sense, please let me know 👍🏽))

[gruntadminloch-moved]

So. Loch’s opinion on the previous Ula’ula kahuna(s from different universes)

@thebrokenbeasts‘s KalamaUa liked everyone more or less–so the Kahunas almost always are people he likes.  As a māhū, Ua worked closer in worship of Tapu Bulu than most–they knew chants and songs and stories and dances and could recite them by memory, and they were seen as a healer, among other things.  So he worked closely with the Kahuna of Ula’Ula that came before Nanu. In Fuse(Octo’s Guzma)’s verse, that’s Kalama, a Psychic-specialist who, as I recall, was largely a decent Kahuna up until her partner Pokémon fell ill and eventually died.

Presently, Loch feels a bit…sorry for her.  She suffered enough trauma that she began to lash out at people using her psychic powers, although she had been kind of…suspect even before, prying into people’s minds without permission and all, and ultimately that led to Bulu taking her down.  She was mentally unstable and, instead of letting them get someone to help her, he killed her–and leveled a whole village in the process.

@emergencyxexit‘s KoaAgain, Ua got on with the Kahunas prior to Nanu since he worked closely to Bulu with his role as a māhū.  Ua was an obedient and well-behaved kid who listened to what everyone around them told them and did what they were told–Loch has been like this since he was young, and it was never discouraged.  So Koa, while not someone to like kids at all, thought Ua was okay since Ua listened to him and was somewhat influential culturally.  They were useful–someone who could be taken advantage of.  Ua remained…probably innocently unaware of this, believing whatever Koa told him his excuses were.

Koa was a flying-type specialist–same as Loch is today.  In this verse, Koa gave him his Emolga, Vaughn, as his starter early on since they were kind of forced to spend a lot of time together and he’d already taken interest.

Nowadays, Koa’s ill-intentions are known fairly publically, and Loch hates his memory.  He tricked him–used so many of them because he wanted power…and as a result he got his sister killed, nearly got him killed.  He resents what he did.  He still hates Bulu for killing his sister and injuring him for being among the group with Koa, but Koa also takes some of that blame.  In this verse, most of Loch’s family is still alive–Tapu Village’s destruction was a historic event and they live closer to the trailer park area that’s still considered Tapu Village, so the ranch was never actually destroyed–and they believed that Loch knew Koa’s intentions since he’d worked with them since they were young and that he was, because he’d aligned himself with his group, ill-intended.  Ultimately, the social scorn was the same and he was left to handle himself.  Fortunately he also worked with Aether by that time, so he had somewhere to go… .

[gruntadminloch-moved]

((I bet people name their kids after Pokémon species in the Pokémon world.

Torracatherine (or Torra Catherine,) Skitty, Cloyster could make a good name?, Tauros, Rowlet (Raulet?), Natu could be a good one too

Imagine someone in your class named Yveltal (everyone calls them Eve for short, maybe.) Wouldn't fuck with them, would you.

Jirachi could be a common one too. Named after the legendary wishmaker? It's cute.

I dunno. Lots of names mean or take inspiration from animal names irl (albeit often in other languages) and gods/legendary peoples so why wouldn't that be a thing in the Pokémon world?))

[gruntadminloch-moved]

(from tulog) What person has most influenced their development as an adult?

God…Team Skull as a whole and Alolan society as a whole left major impacts on him, too, although the latter was heavily in response to whichever incident with Tapu Bulu affected him.

Raehela, his little sister, also left a big impact and continues to be a big part of his reason for continuing on in the first place. He wanted better for her, and whether he blames himself for her death or not, she saught him out after dying–so he takes it upon himself to do something with his–with their–life.

Aether’s labs got to him as well–being made to conduct cruel and abusive experiments on Pokémon, well, it made him retreat into himself a lot more, as well as decide he didn’t want to stay in Aether anymore. And he probably would still be there were it not for Hyde. Being pretty much his first friend after losing so much and so many, Hyde really helped him to stand up for himself and also helped him escape Aether when he did.

Alolan society wouldn’t take him back in–a human rejected by his own Tapu is for sure trouble, so he struggled to find his footing again. This resulted in wandering and homelessness–which isn’t as much of a problem in the world of Pokémon, where so many trainers don’t really have permanent residences, but it’s still tough, especially when he didn’t have the Pokémon team he’d trained up in his trials anymore. Being forced to stick on his own made him a little more independent, but it also caused him to panic and cling to anyone who’d care for him for a moment–and continued the cycle of his doing anything anybody said when he did. Because he’d had times in his life where he wasn’t like that and he knew how good it felt to be his own person, he did try and keep himself independent but…it’s hard without support, especially when your culture is usually so about support.

That’s when Skull comes in. Guzma, Plumeria, and Team Skull as a whole had a lot of freedom and they ran around having so much…fun and being unburdened by the rest of society and their notions. And they were surviving, too. While at first some grunts were just individuals who’d taken advantage of his situation and his being in their territory, when he came to join he came to be family to them too.

Guzma and Plumeria generally encourage his independent mindset and self-development, although Guzma tends towards more eager to take advantage of his obedience and such.  As a result, especially in recent history, Plumeria has likely done the most influence on his development as an adult.

[gruntadminloch-moved]

Is there anyone who can upset or anger them no matter how happy they are?

Upset as in make sad, certainly. His superiors all have the power to upset him–or make him feel most anything, really. He’s very accustomed to letting others dictate his feelings. If Guzma or Plumeria seemed upset with him, he’d get upset and remorseful in response almost immediately. He tends to feel similarly in regards to friends and lovers as well. In an attempt not to lose them, he gives them various control over him, including emotional. If they’re unhappy with him, while he may not show it as much, he’ll likely be upset in response.

Tapu Bulu makes him angry with very little difficulty. He can barely think of it without feeling upset.

He used to have another ‘enemy’ but they left the community–but anybody who’s a deserter or betrayer of Team Skull, he likely gets angry at the thought of them, too.  However, the idea of getting back at them would please him, if that invalidates it.

[gruntadminloch-moved]

“For the record, yes, if a male Salandit does not suffer from malnutrition, it can, in fact, evolve. But they submit naturally and habitually, so even in captivity or separated from females getting one to eat properly is hard. Instead, they may give their food to their trainers or caretakers. In fact, many biologically can’t handle the amount of food or nutrients needed for survival. Their bodies treat it as excess. But it is doable to have a male Salazzle.”

[gruntadminloch-moved]

While Loch's Pokémon type/specification-preference is flying-types, Pokémon with wings, and serpentine Pokémon

Raehela's would have been "magnetic" pokémon and primarily Pokémon with "unappealing" looks, being that she's blind and she has no real concept of finding aesthetic pleasure in them. Her sight Pokémon was a Probopass. (It's likely still in Aether, due to that it accidentally crushed her while attempting to protect her from falling pieces of their home, and it's since become incredibly depressed and distant.)

[gruntadminloch-moved]

That specific tile is the treasure tile. A few grunts hide quite a few things in a big hole under there. It’s a time capsule and a treasure chest and a hiding place all in one!

[gruntadminloch-moved]

So how did you reconcile him being Aether and him not having received an education?

Help Me Develop My Muse(s)! Ask questions about my OCs, even if they’ve been answered/discussed already.

I’M NOT SURE IF I’D CALL IT RECONCILIATION SO MUCH AS IT IS REALLY BAD JUSTIFICATION unless i used the term reconcile at some point which, knowing me, I probably did. Moving on.

TL;DR: the Pokémon world doesn’t rub me as someplace that you have to go to school. Particularly if you’re going to be working with Pokémon, especially as a trainer, education is advised, but not necessary.  I could go on about my school headcanons but that’s a bit extra.Many Pokémon Professors and Scientists aren’t formally educated–they are, however, recognized for their skills and knowledge and developments and discoveries and work and such. It’s like.  If you can do all of this in practice and explain it without, y’know, having had needed formal education, you don’t necessarily need to have had a formal education or a degree or anything. That’s just kind of the general view of it. Obviously there are places and positions where you do need to be able to produce a degree, but that’s individually based on the basis of, like, the company in question or the school or whatever.

So Loch’s family was Breeders and Daycare workers and have been for like. All of their family history. His surname, Kahu, even means ‘caretaker.’  They took on an occupational surname–as I recall, surnames aren’t common in native Hawaiian naming conventions(which reminds me that i need to change Loch’s birthname because he should probably have one of those really long and detailed names and just be Ua for short,) and they took on their surname long ago for the sake of, y’know, the…mainlanders to put it nicely. why am I putting it nicely? idk. they were invaders. don’t ask me for too much history i’m still VERY BAD AT THAT. Besides, they were typically associated with the term anyway, because, like I said, it’s an occupational surname.

MOVING ON Loch’s family has been breeders for forever, and he was raised the same.  As a result of that and expectations leading to a lot of personal study and personal experience, Loch became very knowledgeable about Pokémon biology, not just breeding patterns and such.  This heavily influenced his love for crossbreeds and variations, which you can see heavily reblogged onto this blog at times.

As stated earlier, one doesn’t need to have official school credentials to be able to be recognized for their work in the Pokémon world if they, y’know, produce work.  Loch joined the Aether Foundation and, obviously, just started as a regular employee, working heavily in the conservation area.

Hey! Backstory time!!

Loch’s only real personal interaction with Lusamine was what landed him a spot down in the basement(and, y;know, because his record stated his dependent tendencies and his eagerness to please and such. So clearly he’d be a good sheep/canon fodder/scapegoat and be able to keep a secret and just take the blame should something go wrong and still do his best to work for them as they desired. Like i’ve said before, Loch basically has a big neon sign over him that says “EASILY TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF.”

So in the conservation area, obviously they have to make sure Pokémon don’t go breeding recklessly.  Medications are usually applied shortly after they arrive in the Paradise to ensure they don’t go making eggs or anything crazy. Keeps hormones and populations in check as needed and lets them ensure all is well with the Pokémon before they go about their business.

Well, now and then timing isn’t right and some Pokémon didn’t get their medications in time and hey where’d that egg come from isn’t it weird how they just appear like that sometimes?

Obviously the Aether Foundation isn’t fucking PETA and isn’t gonna go killing eggs just because they weren’t meant to be there so the Conservation area staff had to attend to the egg. No big deal since they had to care for baby Pokémon anyway and all. It happens. Loch, of course, felt a little spark in him at something he knew lots about and eagerly jumped in to help caring for the egg, displaying all manner of breeder knowledge and being the one heavily in charge when things started to go wrong or things seemed off with the egg.

And those things happened often. Loch didn’t voice his suspicion as he didn’t want to seem like he was smarter than some of the scientists around for the suggestion(well, kinda, he does actually rather like being a bit of a knowitall) and not to mention the chances of such were slim so he didn’t blame them for not thinking of it… .

But one day the egg hatched into a semi-healthy crossbreed. I never decided what Pokémon it was crossbred between, but Loch, of course, rushed in to ensure it lived and grew to be healthier, shyly displaying his knowledge in the process.  Of course, when lusamine came around to check out the new addition to her lovely Pokémon family, the uncommon sight and the knowledgeable little fucker leading its care caught her attention. Mostly the Pokémon, of course.

When it was old enough, she said she would be taking it for her own care. Hybrid children often don’t live that long, even in captivity, so that Loch was able to get it to reach a stage where it was stable was an impressive display of his knowledge on the matter. Loch was okay with this, since he’d passed hybridized Pokémon off to trainers before, and politely and hesitantly and with her permission gave her instructions on how to ensure its best care, not that he thought in any way she would have trouble caring for it!! But he knew how much she loved Pokémon and she seemed okay with his sharing his knowledge with her.

Of course, one little display of biological know-how doesn’t get somebody to be an un-diploma’d scientist. Obviously he helped out in other areas. But his personal knowledge and skill used in practice combined with his attitude and personality and semi-reclusiveness(being that he was pretty much only friends with Hyde when he was in Aether, though he knew others, though not very well) meant he wouldn’t be terrible at keeping a secret.

And so they brought him down to the labs where he would be helping with some of the more…complicated aspects of Pokémon conservation and sciences and the like. No need to worry, they’d teach him anything he didn’t quite understand while he was there! He’d also be helping with some…additional projects that he’d likely be good at handling. He could surely handle the workload…don’t want to disappoint the President, now do we? She’s put so much trust in you, so come along with us to the labs below… .

…Did that explain everything? I feel like I got off track, but.

TL;DR: in my view of the Pokémon world schooling isn’t completely necessary for all the same things it is irl(obviously if you wanna be a doctor you’re gonna wanna go to school!! But not so much for some scientists) if you can prove your knowledge practically. Loch was able to do so at the Aether Foundation, which led to them making him a scientist to help out with work down there, Ultra Beast studies, and stabilization of Type: Full since he did have practical knowledge of hybrids and chimeras and was able to keep one alive for a good while.

Lusamine probably froze it. /shrug emoji) it’s beauty and uniqueness will be appreciated and salvaged forever… . 

[gruntadminloch-moved]

((So i've been shown this a million times but now i'm here and i just

You know how sometimes you get new canon and you're like "this conflicts with my headcanons bwaaaa"

This. Is pretty much accurate for Loch tbh. Worded differently, yes, and his speech patterns are more loose but.

He joined team skull because he saw them running around joyful and free and individual, themselves, people having fun and living their own lives even though society was against them

And he wanted that. That was exaxtly what he wanted and who he wanted to be.

Yes, he was kinda dragged in to a certain extent in most of his backstory presentations but. He really joined and stayed and became dedicated because it seemed like team skull was everything he wanted to be.

[gruntadminloch-moved]

((For rhe record, THAT door is Loch’s bedroom door.

Obvs I imagine the mansion is bigger than displayed in-game so there’re more rooms along that hall. And there’re two couches stacked on each other so the door is p much inaccessible unless you move them to the side. He’s never really in there often, except maybe he sleeps in there post-game once he manages to pull himseof away from his post.))

[gruntadminloch-moved]

What's something you don't bring up a lot but is integral to his character?

Help Me Develop My Muse(s)! Ask questions about my OCs, even if they’ve been answered/discussed already.

I feel like I bring it up a lot lately but maybe that’s on Discord, but.

Loch doesn’t like being the way he is.

He hates it.

His behavior is conditioning and [poorly written on my part] mental illness.

He hates being subservient, he hates not being able to think for himself, he hates that he relies on other people for how he should feel and think and what he should enjoy, he hates the way he is!

He’;s not that way intentionally. He doesn’t really have any sort of control over that. Its just how he is and how he’s been conditioned to be. And he doesn’t want to be that way. He doesn’t want to be obedient and roll over for Guzma all the time. Not that he doesn’t love and respect him, not that he doesn’t think he deserves respect, but he knows how drastic and extreme his behavior is but he does not know how to stop.

That’s why he’s trying to grow and develop himself and know himself and learn to stand up for himself and all of that.

But he’s also scared to.

I feel like he’s also too direct with his answers a lot. Like, I think I avoid writing it out the way it’s supposed to be because it’s kind of a hassle?? But he’s actually kinda stumbly when answering questions about himself and he tends to answer with other people’s answers or turn them around on the asker or hesitate and seem uncertain of himself. Maybe it’s that he’s been asked a lot of questions he understands his answer to already–favorite Pokémon, favorite color, favorite tastes, etc–so he’s able to answer more confidently which makes him feel a bit better.

But he’s very uncertain of himself overall unless directed by another.

Unrelated: People being upset with Loch I feel like I rarely get to portray. He’s very agreeable so he winds up not conflicting a lot or causing a lot of agitation in his superiors or when he interacts with others. When he does, he tends to be anxious and quick to try and make things right, but he’s also strangely stubborn and insistent in his behavior(that he hates.)  Because it’s what he knows. He struggles to fathom that somebody cares about him or his interests or his own opinion, so when, for example, a Guzma gets mad because he’s apologizing a lot or he gave an indirect/open/vague answer to avoid conflict or his answer was something like “whatever you’d like is fine” when he wanted like a real human response and not a pleaser response, he can’t really. Comprehend it as more than a test. He has a lot of things he needs to learn to understand.

Bonus Unrelated: Originally Loch was going to have had been a former grunt to another group–Rocket or Plasma or Flare or Galactic or someone else with huge villain plans. This was originally going to be the explanation of his “Master” thing and his weirdly obsessive and obedient behaviors–he’s used to his boss being like a king or a god and that Guzma’s so…normal and human in comparison just makes him even more worthy of it.  However I concluded that “well if he’s from one of those other groups he may be foreign, which doesn’t really make sense with the whole background thing of Team Skull and Island Challenge failures and the like.”  So I put him in Aether instead(after someone assured me someone else we no longer speak of wouldn’t be mad about what I was worried may have been seen as me “stealing his idea”.) Somehow I managed to make it work(I mean I know how I managed to make it work but at the same time ‘he’s never been to school why did they make him a scientist” shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it’s the pokemon world sometimes people don’t go to proper school shhh don’t ask so many questions or do so i can explain myself lol.) He was also planned to have a lot of dog Pokémon because I thought it made sense for a guard character to have that kind of team. Then I considered “he has a team of shockingly and bizarrely strong Pokémon that you’d expect of like a fucking Champion but you never actually fight him because you don’t have to” hen I thought “wow that’s op let’s tone that down.”  The muse then suggested “i like flying types and snakes” and I worked off of that. Somehow, he wound up with really strong Pokémon anyway??  Gift Pokémon play into things really strangely lol

[gruntadminloch-moved]

((Jusy beyond that little thicket is Po Town

If i wasn’t bound to roads I could just walk on through. Not even a thick bit of wood.

Tbh i imagine they regularly walk through tjat patch of trees ro get to route 10 and get around and such so no need to surf or anything. Some of them find it easier to climb parts of the mountain and slide down like that. It’s a pretty regular path for them, but somehow it stayed unpaved i guess lol))