#I used moltres as a base reference and went from there

[thatonefatgumsimp]

Ohhh people of tumblrrrrr~

Guess what time of year it is againnnn?~

:D

CREATUANARY TIME!!!

I drew this last night :3

[magicalfxgirl]

LO Characters as Pokemon Trainers: Primordial Gods/Titans

We reach the end with the finale with the remaining titans in LO. This includes; Helios, Nyx, Prometheus, Metis and Styx. No Leto as she is in a different blog and the other titans appeared in the previous entry. This is it. Side note Prometheus entry is based on greek myth. Let's begin with the one person Zeus never dared to cross, Nyx.

Nyx: the premordial goddess of night

Nyx the premordial goddess of night, mother of Hypno and Thanatos. Nyx team is based around darkness and death. Darkria nicknamed Night has been by her side for longer than anyone can remember. Nyx like Darkrai are not evil, yet are feared by others. Its pokemon Saphire pokedex entry state "It can lull people to sleep and make them dream. It is active during nights of the new moon." Thus a perfect fit for goddess of night and mother of the god of sleep. Hydriegon and Glararian Moltres nicknamed Strife take after her brutal nature and those of her children. As some myths indicate that is the mother of Eris (goddess of Strife) and the Erinyes (the furies). Her Hypno a gift from her son Hypnos, while her Dusknoir was a gift from her son Thanatos. Murkcrow is eyes and ears in Olympus. Her Mawhile, Chomp is adored by Nyx due to its cunning nature. Thanatos does not like Chomp as the pokemon likes to sneak up and bite him.

Styx: goddess of the underworld River Styx

Styx is literally a river, but sense she still appears in LO, I thought she deserved her own pokemon team. It also should be noted that she "the spirit (diamon)personification of hatred (stygos)( theoi.com). Styx is filled with souls and her pokemon team is made up of almost entirely of ghost types. Marshadow is her ace and represent her more vicious nature. Her Cubone is sadly trying to find its mom among the spirits. Styx took pity on the pokemon and decieded to care for it. Along with all cubone, despite them avoiding water due to being to week to it. Yamask are also sacred to her due to the fact its pokedex states "Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry." Phantump pokedex Y entry states "According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest." Need I say more. Her remaining pokemon include Glararian Corsola and Polteageist.

Metis: Titan-goddess of good counsel, planning, cunning and wisdom

Metis poor and her team have been trapped since Zeus ate them. Before you ask yes she tried to use Teleport to get out and it never worked. Her ace is Reshiram as the pokemon "helps those who want to build a world of truth". Her team also contains the Lake Guardians: Mesprit (The Emotion Pokemon), Uxie (The Knowledge Pokemon) and Azelf (The Willpower Pokemon). All three being aspects needed to be a wise person. Metis' Latias telepathic ability helps Metis comunicate with her daughter Athena and give advice to Zeus. Although Zeus just claims he did it all himself, but no one believes him. Latias ruby pokedex entries states "Latias is highly sensitive to the emotions of people" while its saphire entry states "Latias is highly intelligent and capable of understanding human speech." Making it perfect for the mother of the goddess Athena. Rumors has it Metis and her Pokemon team taught Athena everything she knows while Athena was child inside of Zeus. Cutiefly was the pokemon that she was pokemon she was tricked into tranforming into by Zeus. He then ate her along with the poor Cutiefly she used as reference and the rest of her pokemon team. None of Metis' team have managed to escape to Zeus on either. So they now provided her company in her tragic fate.

Helios: The God of the Sun

Helios team is filled with pokemon related to sun which means Solrock makes its third appearance. His ace is Solgaleo the personification of the literal sun. Helioptile is literally named after the sun, while Espeon is refered Sun Pokemon. The two also evolve due to the sun as Helioptile evolves into Heliolisk with a Sun Stone. Eevee evolves into a Espeon through level up with high friendship during the day. He also has ponyta and a Blaziken. Astreas has noted that despite is serly nature, Helios loves his pokemon dearly. His anger is partly due to no longer be able to play with them, like he did in the past. Helios used to have a Volcorona, but gave it Prometheus. As he wanted to annoy Zeus by supporting someone who went against him.

Prometheus: Titan god of forethought and crafty counsel, Creator of Mankind

Prometheus's pokemon team was considered lost until Heracles freed them and their master. His ace is Deoxysis as it is the DNA pokemon and Prometheus was the creator of Mankind. Two other pokemon that reference Prometheus creation of mankind include Mew (the first Pokemon) and Reuniclus. Moltres is was born from the flame that Prometheus gave to humans. Volcorona and Gigantamax Coalossal are reference to how Prometheus saved the humans by giving them fire. As both pokemon having pokedex entries where they helped save people. Volcorona's pokedex entries indicates " When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacement for the sun." Coalossal pokedex entry mentions that "When Galar was hit by a harsh cold wave, this Pokémon served as a giant heating stove and saved many lives." His Volcorona was a gift from Helios. Although he still confused that Helios gave him a gift as the two are not friends.

Wow I did it. This blog series has been a blast to do and I hope you enjoyed it.

[radramblog]

Pokemon Legendary Themes Ranked

I saw a video of a youtuber I like doing this tier list so I thought I’d get my own opinions in first so I’m not biased by theirs. This list is a little incomplete- there’s a few things I know are missing, most pointedly side game stuff, but I suppose they can’t win em all. Thus, here are my objectively factual opinions, no nostalgia bias here surely. Here’s a link to the list in case you want to do the same.

(Tiers are sorted in increasing quality right to left)

D Tier

Mewtwo (FRLG): Y’all know Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres also use this, right? It’s just a marginally more dramatic version of the regular wilds music, so it gets the fail from me.

Mew (Emerald): This is the same as the last one! Except it gets the edge because it is slightly higher pitched, and because it’s in a game where it’s not a remix of a song you’ve just heard dozens of times.

Mewtwo (XY): I just really dislike the soundfont XY uses for most of its themes. This sounds like a shitty youtube remix from the late 00s with like 300 views, and most of them are the same person who really likes the song for some reason. Am I just biased against the kanto wilds theme? Maybe.

Regis (Crown Tundra): Narrowly dodges being the worst Regis theme since the Platinum one exists (It’s not on this list though). I think a lot of the more recent versions of older themes suffer since they were designed with the lesser hardware in mind. It is a shame because I do really like some of the additions to the theme.

C Tier

Dynamax Legend (Crown Tundra): Mewtwo is already back for his last appearance on the list. It’s just a remix of the max raid theme, which I don’t really care for- especially after hearing it over and over and over again grinding Lairs for shinies.

Calyrex (Crown Tundra): This song being dramatic makes no sense in universe- the player knows this is the big legendary, but the character sure doesn’t- but it ultimately feels hollow. This is deliberate, since it’s actually just one half of another song.

Steeds (Crown Tundra): h o n s e theme is the other half of that song, and it’s the better half, but its still incomplete.

Aura Trio (X/Y) and Solgaleo/Lunala (S/M): These two get lumped together because I always get them conflated, which signifies to me that neither has made a strong impact. Listening to both again, I think I like the latter more, but it’s narrow.

Regis (ORAS): It’s just not the same without the horns. My gen 6 bias is showing, but I don’t really like the soundfont.

Deoxys (ORAS): similar to the Regis, this is held back by the soundfont (why the fuck is there an organ in this??) but also by the fact that at this point, the Deoxys theme just isn’t special anymore. And that’s kinda sad.

Calyrex 2 (Crown Tundra): The full version of this theme is much better, obviously, sounding suitably regal for the king of the tundra, but it overall lands at a meh. The percussion sounds like it’s trying to rip off the Weather Trio’s, which is a big no-no.

B Tier

Eternatus 1 (SwSh): We are now entering the songs I like zone. Eternatus 1 goes in a lot of different directions, and despite how 13-year-old me would balk at it I actually enjoy the dubsteppy bits of it. Sorry to disappoint you, you edgy fuck.

Ultra Beasts (SMUSUM): I don’t know why these are separated, they’re the same theme. I really like the UB theme, but the thing is it isn’t really a legendary theme- it had to be a bit less bombastic seeing as you can just encounter a bunch of these bad bois. And while it sounds suitably alien, I still think it doesn’t belong on this list.

Weather Trio (ORAS): Why is this listed as this, its just for Rayquaza. Extremely dramatic, but a retread of one of my S-tier picks (spoilers oops) and not different enough for the remaster to make it worth it.

Primals (ORAS): the same as the previous, but I do like this much better, what with the song “reverting” to the original every so often. This should probably be higher, but I don’t want to separate it from the “full” version.

Eternatus 2: It’s kind of a shame how little time you get to hear this, because it’s a big ol “you’re fucked” and that’s pretty great. There are bits of this that sound like they’re sampling Kirby Super Star, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Galar Birds (Crown Tundra): While I know everyone used to adore this one, I think the honeymoon phase is over for me at this point. I still like it, but at the end of the day it’s still a Kanto Wild remix.

Legendary (BWB2W2): This is really good! The way the tempo shifts around the song is a really nice touch, and that build section is excellent. Just a solid overall theme.

Tao Trio (BW): Reshiram and Zekrom’s themes are slightly different, but even Game Freak forgot that one. Kyurem’s is the same but where they have different SFX it just has dead air, which while fitting is a bit less good. I adore the beat this one has running, almost a throbbing bit going on there.  Edit: Ok on relisten I’ve heard Kyurem’s a bit closer, and it’s a little different with some record skips, but they’re pretty unecessary imo.

Zacian/Zamazenta (SwSh): This is one I kinda wish was less dramatic, considering it’s not as oh shit as the situations their other themes have. I kinda hate the opening to this, but the rest of it makes up for it I suppose.

Eternatus 3: Yeah this is a Z/Z theme not an Eternatus theme let’s be real. A suitably triumphant third act to the climax of SwSh’s (lackluster) story. This is kinda just a banger, very much appropriate for the beatdown it accompanies.

Dialga/Palkia (DPPt): Closing the tier with a song that I actually love, but it’s occurred to me that it’s a little odd sitting next to some of these other ones. I mean, it’s mostly built around this very pretty little piano line, which makes it feel less weighty than the competition. It’s a classic, and hasn’t aged poorly or anything, but it’s less of a climax than I would expect. With that in mind, I shudder to think of what would happen to this in a potential remake.

 A Tier

Mysterious Being (SwSh): This is getting carried here by that bass alone. The rest of it is ok I guess.

Arceus (DPPt): Ah, the track no one ever got to hear. I really love how sparse this is, being basically only percussion most of the way through. I think the Arceus event is something we should have actually gotten to experience, I’m pretty sure it would have blown little me’s mind.

Lugia (HGSS): HGSS, the games where every legendary got its own theme. Bring this back please, I’m begging here. I understand the reason this sounds the way it does is because it’s based on the Shadow Lugia theme from XD, but I haven’t played that one, so I can’t comment. I’m sure not complaining, though- considering Lugia’s other main appearance (in the movie, of course) I wasn’t expecting such a menacing theme.

Legendary (DPPt): For a “generic” theme (fucking Rotom gets this btw) this has a lot going for it. The animation that plays when you start a fight with this music is burned into my brain. It’s fast, it’s tense, and it sounds great.

Lake Trio (DPPt): Unlike Mysterious Being, while the bass slays here, it’s not alone carrying the song. This track was always my favourite out of Diamond and Pearl, and those games have a fucking great soundtrack, so.

Black/White Kyurem (B2W2): I really love that this is a remix of the (also very menacing) theme you hear when you boot the game up- you’ve heard a version of this while staring at the fucker, now here’s the real version for when you have to fight it. The references to the regular Tao Trio theme are well placed, but this more bombastic version sounds like Kyurem is here to fucking kill you, which to be fair, it kinda is.

Legendary Beasts (Crystal/HGSS): I’m lumping these together since, although HGSS gave each their own remix, they’re basically the same theme. This was the first Legendary music ever written for the series, and it still holds up really well. As for the HGSS remixes, I don’t think Entei’s slower rockier version works as well, but I really like the punchy percussion on Raikou’s version.

Regis (RSE): Hella bass and Hoenn Horns? What’s not to love? I do think the original version of this theme is by far the best one, being an ample payoff for the puzzle that was getting to it in the first place, and it makes hurling balls at the golem’s much more tolerable. I literally never caught Registeel as a kid so I could go back and listen to this whenever I wanted.

Tapus (SMUSUM): Again, why are these separated. Considering this game has literal aliens in it, the Tapu theme in SM is somehow the most messed up sounding one, but it works extremely well. The surprise vocalisations work really well with the… I’m hesitant to say tribal, but I don’t have another word for that vibe to be honest. It does feel like you’re doing a transgression with this song, which you are (why the fuck are you allowed to catch these things in universe lmao).

Ultra Necrozma (USUM): Probably the most climactic song in the entire franchise, and it makes sense- this isn’t just the climax of those games, but the finisher to the entire 3DS era of the series. The church organs, therefore, are pretty justified. This song sounds like a Big Deal, and the organ getting pretty jazzy when it gets to some of the less intense bits is a really nice little touch. And then the percussion picks up again and oh fuck here we goooooo. A fitting track for arguably one of the hardest fights in the entire franchise.

 S Tier

Dusk Mane/Dawn Wings Necrozma (USUM): Haha oops I like this one more than Ultra. I think it’s just the unstoppable percussion that opens this that does it. I don’t think anyone who went in blind saw this moment in the games coming, and the intensity reflects this- its like a prelude to Ultra but it doesn’t have as much of a low point, with the onslaught of noise fitting the sheer OH FUCK that is seeing everyone’s favourite bag-dodger getting bodyjacked out of nowhere.

Weather Trio (RSE): Anyone who understands my bias is gonna understand this one. It’s almost entirely carried by nostalgia, but I just love this fucking song. Compared to some of the other things on this list, it feels nearly minimalistic, seeing as it’s pretty much just the drums, horns, and that bell, but that’s all it needs. It’s the first song in the series for a proper legendary, and it suits that fact.

Deoxys (FRLG/E): By contrast, the Deoxys theme is pushing that GBA soundfont to its absolute limit. You can hear some of the best of both the FRLG and RSE soundtracks in this song, with the Kanto percussion and the Hoenn horns both doing their part, but whatever instruments the rest of this is going for are absolutely not slouching either. It’s somewhat telling that the best soundtracks for FRLG romhacks (e.g. Clover) sound more like this than like the other themes in the game.

Ho-Oh (HGSS): Oh fuck is that a koto I love kotos. By contrast with Lugia, Ho-oh is a more relaxed track that takes a lot from traditional Japanese instruments, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t dramatic- far from it. The groove in this makes it sound like it comes from another series entirely, being so incredibly different from anything else the series had to offer at that point. That main riff is so fucking perfect, man.

Giratina (Platinum): I remember having my mind blown when I first heard this. Giratina went from the generic DP legendary music (which is obviously still good) to this chaotic energetic power play, and I was sold on Platinum immediately (like everything before XY, Platinum came out in Japan some months before in other countries, so I heard this well before the game dropped). This song has so many different lines, so many different builds, and yet none of them feel out of place. I almost feel like this song is what started me down the path that would lead to me being a prog fan. After the haunting ambience of the Distortion World, this sheer energy is such a shock to the system, and the climax of the song hits harder than any individual moment on any other song in the series. It’s my number 1 pick, and I love it to bits.

 Thus, the full list is as follows. If you end up doing your own, link me up, I’d love to see how wrong you are your opinions.

[musashi]

For the fic asks: 12, 14, 3?

favorite character to write about this year

oh this year it was deffo james.... but also i got to write a little of mareanie in my fixit fic and that was so nice. i rarely get to write for that kintype and once i started it was. so easy and i loved being in that headspace. a lot of people commented on my characterization of her specifically and i was just like..... thanks im she

a fic you didn’t expect to write

aforementioned fixit fic! i was fixing a pokemon battle i hated in canon, and i HATE writing battles, ESPECIALLY alone. all the pokemon battles i wrote for DTE, i wrote with my writing partner at the time, and we’ve since stopped writing together, so i was like... how do i do this on my own without someone to bounce ideas off of. 

turns out, i do pretty okay! i mean, i already had kind of a base to build off of (was basing the battle off a real life historical event, so lots of historical accounts to pour over and use as inspiration) but keeping it grounded in canon and truer to what i wanted to see turned out okay.

the other thing that was wild about swallowtail was it was the first fic i wrote about musashi, kojirou, & nyarth!! i’ve been a dub writer my WHOLE life and despite being someone who exclusively watches pokemon subbed now, i always use the dub’s canon because their characterizations come easier to me and feel more comfortable. but this episode i was fixing wasn’t dubbed yet (so i couldn’t borrow its dialogue, something i am Autistic(tm) About) and a big part of its Lore in my fic was referencing the rockets’ original japanese namesakes, so i HAD to keep their japanese names. musashi & kojirou are sorta different characters than jessie & james, and i was not totally sure i could write their manner of speaking effectively. buuut it turns out, being a sub watcher actually made all that flow a lot more naturally xD i didn’t have to stop and check what the dub called a thing, i didn’t have to struggle to remember a pokemon’s name in english, i didn’t have to sit there talking out loud in meowth’s voice to phoneticize his dialogue, i just..... wrote...... it was really nice.

swallowtail was a fucking weird fic!!!! it doesn’t even seem like something i wrote but here we are dfghdg.

favorite line/scene you wrote this year

this is really really hard because i wrote the last two chapters of DTE this year, and the last two chapters of DTE contain some of my favourite scenes in the whole story. i actually ended up rambling a lot here, soooo. cut.

the rocket proposal is definitely up there. see, i wrote DTE for a few reasons: one, i needed to fucking get it out of my head and onto paper because i was frustrated with it not already existing. but two, it was a big giant canoncall. i was writing very vivid kin memories into this fic with the hopes that another rocket kinnie or six would read it, feel that creeping nostalgia they can’t place, and contact me. in the last chapter i was going to reveal in my author’s notes that i was just a jessie kinnie chronicling her life, and wait for them to flock to me so we could reconnect.

it turns out, that’s exactly what happened--my james and i met in the notes of fic reviews, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. the last two chapters contained a lot of snippets here and there that were, more or less, soft little love letters to her. the proposal scene itself is full of a lot of them, and a lot of references to just our experience as kinnies in general

The scent of roses clung to the air, and Jessie shut her eyes and let it take her away. Its fragrance always seemed to swim around James, one that had made her dizzy since she’d met him all those years ago. In future lives, she’d cover herself in its embrace, rose perfume stuck to her skin in lieu of a longing she can’t describe, keeping his soul close to hers until the day they found one another again. Wandering a thousand more gardens while she tapped her foot at the multiverse to put him back in her arms.

but actually, the scene that tops them all is the one right before this, where james evolves his gloom into a vileplume. 

in DTE the rockets take in a pokemon egg through some wacky hijinks, and they don’t actually know what it’s going to be because they don’t have any insight into where it came from. it ends up hatching into an oddish and imprinting hardcore on james, which sucks for him because he’s starting to unpack his deep-seated trauma he’s been pushing down for an eternity and it turns out the oddish line is a massive trigger so now he gets to raise his greatest fear and live in panicsville for the rest of the story. 

the rest of the story has a lot of focus over james reconciling what’s been done to him, trying not to hurt this pokemon with what he himself can’t help. oddish is a catalyst for his trauma, and the vehicle the story uses to show him coping, accepting, and healing. you get to see oddish’s side of everything--where its wondering why james can’t bear to look at it, what it’s done wrong. and you get to see james’ side--where he grapples with this fact, fighting back against the pain he’s felt and learning to face it instead of always running away.

james eventually catches oddish in a heal ball, a gesture to soothe both their heavy hearts, and it eventually evolves into a gloom and becomes full of a lot of existential confusion--it knows it wants to evolve again, it knows one of those evolutions makes some of james’ other pokemon shift uncomfortably, but no one will give it the full picture, least of all james who does not at ALL want his baggage to effect such a massive choice in this pokemon’s life. he ends up coming into both stones, and gloom ends up taking a year to ruminate on if either of them feel right, and eventually it decides it wants james to choose himself. 

the purpose of this oddish in the story was always to be a catalyst for james to reclaim what was once his and heal from his trauma, so he evolves it into a vileplume, the pokemon his abuser used specifically to abuse him. as a scene, it represents the culmination of all his growth--he rose above wrongdoing as an outlet to inflict pain on the world that turned its back on him, he looked his trauma dead in the face and carried on regardless, he killed his abuser and burned down his hallowed home, and he rose like a moltres from the fire and flew away once more--not as a coward, but as a survivor. james chose vileplume because vileplume is his, and no one or nothing can take that from him any longer.

Light pulled James’ eyelids back open, forced them shut again almost instantly. His pokémon was glowing with a radiance he almost couldn’t look at, a supernova that had fallen to earth. He watched as the shape of it shifted and changed, feet becoming sturdier, body evening out.

Within the silver-blue light, the pokémon felt flowers bloom in its heart, through its veins. All the questions and what ifs and maybes that had been tearing it up, all the conflict and fear and worry about doing what was right—the illustrious flash had turned them all to cinders. It knew more than ever, right then—this was who it was always meant to be.

The brilliance reached its apex, and James watched as She went with it, a hand thrown in front of her eyes as she desperately tried to keep her footing in its wake, clinging to this realm on a thread of fear and despair. The fires enveloped her, one more time, and her form fizzled to the nothing it always was.

while writing james & vileplume’s arc in my head, i would listen to lemon boy and daydream. its always been their theme song for me. if u ever wanna watch that scene without reading the story, i highly recommend also daydreaming to it. the evolution scene in particular is the part at the end where the music gets very quiet and somber before swelling into a beautiful, triumphant harmony.

i had it in my head for years, so getting it on paper felt pretty amazing.