#Maybe I'll pick up the new Pokemon too

[rainbow-squirrels-7]

And three! Smiles go for miles!

(split under the cut for better viewing!)

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

routine vibe check: what’s the best starter pokemon and why are you right (pictures and long paragraphs of evidence welcomed and appreciated)

Gonna get a good grade in vibe check, normal to want and inevitable to achieve because I have objectively correct Pokemon opinions and will block naysayers

OKAY LET'S GO

I decided to do, like, a top 5 list or something, because I'm bad at picking a single favourite of stuff. And then even that overwhelmed me, so I found one of those tier ranking list sites and produced this:

It was done in less than a minute, so if I wanted to get really picky, I don't know if I would be fully wedded to it (not sure if maybe Sceptile should be one higher) BUT it did help to highlight the important ones.

So!

5. Bulbasaur

It's. Just. So. Nice.

Like you can find cooler, more beautiful, cuter, fancier... there's a whole bunch of ways for a Pokemon to be great. But you will never ever find a nicer Pokemon than Bulbasaur. It's so lovely. Look at it. Look at its face.

I can't put it higher, because the rest of the line is fairly bland in terms of development. It's good and logical and fun, don't get me wrong, but Ivysaur and Venusaur just look like bigger versions with More Flower and Less Cute rather than creatures in their own right. To be honest, if it weren't a starter requiring a three-stage evolution, you could do away with Ivysaur. Something I don't like about a lot of lazy three-step lines is that the middle step just looks like a transitional mid phase rather than a Proper Creacher, like they were artificially inflating the Pokemon number count. Meanwhile it took us until Paldea to get a Girafarig evo that would actually make the giraffe tall. Madness.

However my first ever Pokemon was a Bulbasaur I called Daffodil, and I have traded him forward onto every single successive generation since. He is, quite literally, my First Ever Pokemon. I love him desperately. I still have him. Not many people still have their First Ever Pokemon. But I do and I love him. So, Bulbasaur gets the fifth spot.

4. Snivy

Again, a victim of the Banal Transitional Middle Evo, but both Snivy and Serperior are incredible, and as Meatloaf took such pains to tell us, two out of three ain't bad.

But Snivy! It's so snooty! I was super lucky with mine, too, because I beat the 12.8% odds and got a female, and I loved her. Normally the initial baby starters are designed to be cute but Snivy has SO MUCH PERSONALITY, she's great. And the design of Serperior is utterly gorgeous. She keeps the expression, but rather than the Animal Crossing-style snooty-cute vibe of Snivy you get this thousand yard withering stare of an empress whose servant (you) has just turned up dripping mud in her throne room and asked her for money. Her green and gold colour scheme is exquisite. Her filigree design, including her high collar, give off the air of wealth and sophistication befitting her immaculate pedigree. And all this! In a simple snake. Incredible design work, 10 out of 10, no notes.

Begone, you miserable peasant. Have him boiled.

3. Torchic

Now I'll be real with you, lads, but Pokemon design hit its stride with Hoenn and then got better.

It's partly a fashion thing, of course - you look at some of the Kanto designs and they are remarkably 90s, because that's when the franchise launched. Others are clearly a product of what the 1990's were capable of producing in pixels on an already over-stretched cartridge medium. Like we like to clown on Red and Green/Blue now, but my god, those game designers performed a miracle with Pokemon. Every single square inch of space was used to make that game, and complex designs weren't going to cut it.

(With that said, there is still no excuse for Dragonite.)

And then Johto came about and its Pokedex sucks ass. It's mostly new evolutions for existing Kanto stars, useless babies to inflate the dex number, or poorly thought out single-evos like the inexplicably short Girafarig and the unacceptably dreary Dunsparce (our greatest thanks to Paldea for fixing both of those).

BUT THEN CAME HOENN (trumpets intensify)

And we get habitats! Biomes! A different regional climate, gifting us a brand new area of Pokecology! And therefore a brand new flush of creativity in Pokemon design across the board; less dated, and more inclined to be unique rather than a rehash of Kantonian stuff.

Which brings me nicely to this lad:

Now, I mean. Just look at him. Fucking hell. Cute starter stage, check. LOOK AT HIM FACE

AND THEN he became, at the time, a brand-new unique typing: Fire/Fighting. I realise that is now the norm for like, half of the Fire starters, but that's because of Torchic, actually. He was super popular. In fact if you ever play Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and you do what my husband and I like to call a Mynci Dave run (use one Pokemon almost exclusively, meaning it gets all the experience points and therefore over-levels to a terrifying degree, allowing you to sweep the game; so named after the noble Primeape we first did this with, Mynci Dave), Torchic is the PERFECT Pokemon to choose, because almost everything is weak to either Fire or Fighting in that region.

Anyway, Combusken is, again, kind of mid (although props for the inverted colour scheme and the fact that it actually does look like a teenager.) But Blaziken, on the other hand... Blaziken is a six foot ninja chicken with wings for hair whose Pokedex entry describes it as able to leap tall peaks in a single bound, a feat it achieves after strengthening its legs by hoofing Geodudes down mountains like they're fucking footballs

Also an impressive bulge.

My first was called Gilgamesh, and he was fucking great. For a long time, this mad lad was my actual favourite Pokemon, not just starter. Brilliant. Love him. Five stars out of three. King.

2. Fuecoco

It would probably surprise you to know I've not actually used one. I chose Sprigatito, and I do really like Meowscarada, actually. But pretty anthro cat boys have been done in Pokemon quite a bit at this point; cats, dogs and rabbits are over-represented in terms of Poke-taxa. Possibly this is another reason for a toad, a snake and a chicken being 5, 4 and 3 so far (ooh, basilisk ingredients, I've just realised.) They're new and unusual! I like an Eeveelution as much as the next person, but they're a whole family of cat-dog-rabbits, like.

However.

Nintendo has tried its hand at Pokecrocodilians three times (Feraligatr, Krookodile, Skeledirge), and they have gotten so much better at design each time that the three of them are basically a scale proxy for ongoing design improvement. Look, I've made a diagram:

EXCEPT

(Strap in)

This one is that rare thing: a three step line that deserves to be a three step line. Let's talk Fuecoco first:

SO CUTE. It's charming, it's charismatic, it's adorable.

It also has hints of its evolutionary end goal, but not like an undeveloped middle evo. It likes singing. The white face hints at the eventual calavera, and it looks a bit like a lil chilli pepper - a ghost pepper, probably in reference to the eventual Fire/Ghost typing. But the colours and shape right now also look a bit reminiscent of a babygro, because this thing is a cute starter. Lookit them teefs. That tuft. Its lovely smile. Beautiful.

And then, at the point you expect it to turn into just the awkward teenage version of the adult, instead we get Crocator:

Oh boy. Oh there's so much to say. Okay okay:

The region it's from is based on Spain, but this thing is incorporating Hispanic elements from across the board. It's a mariachi in a sombrero, except the sombrero also looks kind of like a ring of Mexican marigolds and kind of like a Catalonian Easter cake called Mona de Pascua that has an egg (or egg-shaped confectionary) in the middle. Body shape and markings look kind of like a piñata. The white face is now on its way to a calavera, with the cheek and nostril markings more defined. And it sings, with its open mouth (also how crocodiles release heat, appropriate for a Fire type) and signified by the mariachi theme.

THAT IS A LOT.

And then it becomes Skeledirge. A Fire/Ghost crocodile.

Now the obvious design here is the calavera and the  Día de Muertos theming, which is part of it. But there are also many examples of crocodile figures in Spanish folkloric ghost stories: the Catalonian Cocollona, the Lizard of Magdalena from Jaén, or the Drac de Na Coca, or even the Cuca - that one is Portuguese, but turns up in both Brasil and the Iberian Peninsula including in parts of Spain. It's got a Gaudi vibe (like Barcelona). It's got an alebrije vibe (like Mexico).

And the bird! Nile crocs have a cleaning symbiosis with Egyptian plovers; it also sits at the tip of the snout where male gharials have a sort of bulbous bit to help them make sounds (the singing thing).

But this is what the bird does when Skeledirge uses Torch Song:

It becomes a microphone, then grows in size and attacks the opponent in Phoenix form. Phoenix: Fire/Ghost. Resurrected from the ashes.

Quite simply, your fave could never.

5. Rowlet

My god. (My god)

gasp

Look at this lovely creacher. He is so round and so soft and so lovely. He looks like that baby Yoda meme. He looks like that cat that someone's landlord said they would make an exception for because he looks very polite. Look!!! At his lil bow tie!!! He is a smartly dressed young man and he is kind and he is... well, a bit vacant behind the eyes. A himbo, if you will. But he is all the better for that. What a lovely owl.

He looks a little like a barn owl, perhaps, and those were imported to Hawai'i, where Rowlet is from. But I think he looks a little like a Pueo owl, and given that he will eventually be a Ghost type, that seems right - pueos are one of the physical forms assumed by ʻaumākua in Hawai'ian culture, as I understand it.

And then, hang onto your tits, lads, because this is another banger - THE MIDDLE EVOLUTION IS ITS OWN DESIGN!!! (confetti cannons)

I said earlier that boring middle evos are like just awkward teenagers of the adults. Here, I present to you, a very deliberate Awkward Teenager, in Dartrix:

IT'S A DANDY

I love him I love him I love him

He plays with his fringe and if you touch it without permission he has a tantrum. God, he's so charismatic. Also, that fringe further suggests the pueo - they have pronounced outer rims around their facial disks like that. Look at his bow tie and tail coat. So smart and handsome

This one is so good that it could be the final evo. This is actually my issue with the Delphox line - Braixen is amazing, and then it becomes the bland boredom of Delphox. Braixen should have been the final stop. Here, Dartrix is much the same - good enough to be a high-quality end goal.

Where they differ is that Decidueye is better again.

IT SHOOTS ARROWS MADE OF ITS OWN QUILLS

Also, fun fact - This line is the only starter to change secondary typing. Dartrix is part Flying; but on evolving a second time into Decidueye, it switches to Grass/Ghost. In this evolution, it's definitely mostly a pueo, so the ʻaumākua reference is IN, but actually barn owls also have their associations with the dead in various cultures.

The crown of feathers around its head are also reminiscent of an ayaigasa - a hat worn by Japanese samurai archers. And yet! AND YET!

It still has its lil bow tie look. Bigger now, more of a cravat; but there it is.

A perfect Pokemon, and a perfect evolutionary line. No notes.

Anyway, thank you for this chance to waste three and a half hours writing this essay

[nightfang22]

For the wayne smut could you add the idea of them losing their virginity to each other. Thank you<3

Of course I can!Thank you so much and I hope you love it!Sorry if it's not great,it is my first spicy fic.Anyways,lemme know what you think!

Virgin Lovers

Warnings:SMUT Minors DNI

Pairing:Wayne McCullough x f!Reader

Word Count:1.5k

His smile. His eyes. His lips. Wayne McCullough infected your every thought. He made you feel things that you had never felt before. As you were lost in thought, you didn't realize that your phone had been constantly buzzing. You picked it up on the third ring of the 4th call. "Hello?"

"Hey Y/n, you got any plans later?" It was Orlando. You and Orlando had always been good friends which is how you met Wayne. Orlando had introduced you two one day when you had begged him not to make you skip class alone.

                                                         *Flashback*

"Pleaseeeee Orlando? I don't wanna go alone and you're way better at this than I am! Besides, I'm only skipping to help you get these new Pokemon cards you wanted! I don't have to do this, you know." You pouted and whined until he conceded. "Fine fine I'll go with you. You probably wouldn't know what to look for anyways." You were about to make an offended rebuttal when something else caught his attention. Or someone, you should say. Turning around to see who it was, you thought it was just going to be the girl he's been constantly crushing on with a spinal cage. But no. When you turned around, you saw none other than Wayne McCullough walking in your direction down the hallway. You felt your heart pound and your cheeks flush. Your throat constricted and suddenly your mouth had run dry. You guess Orlando had noticed this and nudged you in the side with his elbow. "Oooo somebody got it bad, huh? Who is it? Is it the guy with the clarinet you have band with?" You jabbed him with your elbow back and tried not to stare at Wayne's gorgeously bruised up face. Orlando caught notice and smiled wide. "Oh, you got it bad for my boy, Wayne huh? Want me to hook you up?" Your head snapped violently in his direction. "I swear to the Gods Orlando, if you embarrass me in front of him I will kill you." Wayne walked up to us and looked at Orlando, giving a little head nod. "Wayne man! Where you been?" Wayne chuckled a little and it was this sexy soft rumbling noise. "Whatcha mean? I'm like 20 minutes late." Orlando laughed. "Yeah 20 minutes and like 3 weeks!" Orlando must have seen you fidgeting with the rings on the chain around your neck cause he put his hand on your shoulder and looked at Wayne. "Wayne, this is Y/n L/n. She's new-ish. She was new, like a month ago." You felt Wayne's eyes on you and you looked up at him through your eyelashes before smiling awkwardly. "Y/n, this is the man. The myth. The legend. My best friend, Wayne mothafuckin McCullough." Wayne punched Orlando in the shoulder and he winced. "Damn man! I'm tryin to do you a favor!" Wayne's eyes never left yours, even when you felt your cheeks tinge pink and you looked away briefly.

                                                     *Flashback Over*

You had been inseparable ever since. Wayne ended up cutting class with you and at some point you had completely lost Orlando and went to some record store where Wayne had asked you if you wanted him to be your boyfriend. You and Wayne have been together for 3 years now and you could never be happier.

"Uh not really. Probably just homework. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me and Wayne to this club off campus later? It's supposed to be super rave and like alternative vibes and I know that's your shit. It took me forever to get Wayne to agree and I maybe sorta already told him you'd go?" "Orlando!"

"I'm tryin to get a hot goth girlfriend! Help a brotha out!"

  I sigh in defeat through my nose. "Fine. I'll go. But the moment anyone is too drunk, we're leaving. Got it?"

 "Yeah yeah for sure! Thanks, Y/n! You the best!"

                                                *Timeskip to the club*

You look around at your environment. It's a lot of flashing lights and loud music. Not really your scene. You scan the crowd for Orlando and Wayne when you spot them against the wall outside. You walk up to them and you notice Wayne's eyes scan up and down your body. You're wearing a faux leather 2 piece with a silver body chain covered in dangly purple and blue rhinestones with black sparkly platforms. "Hey guys, sorry if I'm late I-" You get interrupted by Wayne pulling you in by the waist. He keeps you close to him and it looks like he's glaring at something when you look up at his face. You look over and see him glaring at some guy. The creep looked like he was eyeing you and you weren't for it. You curled closer to Wayne before Orlando waved us to go inside with him. The place was loud but very hype and fun. It didn't really seem like your kind of scene though. You don't get why Orlando wanted us to come. Neither you or Wayne were much of the party type. After watching everyone dance for a while, you decided to call it a night.

Wayne took you home and got you settled inside, laying you down in bed. You just laid there staring at his beautiful face. "I love you." Wayne never blushes but his cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. You don't know where the courage came from but you leaned up and kissed him, wrapping your arms around his neck. The kiss quickly evolved into a heated makeout session. Wayne crawled into bed on to of you, pulling away only to take off his shoes cause he knows you have a thing about shoes on the bed. His hands roam your body in your pretty outfit. You pull away tossing off your body chain and making quick work of his shirt. Wayne wasn't necessarily 'buff' but he was very well tones and had a gorgeous frame. Your hands glided from his shoulders down to his waistline, working on the button of his jeans. He pulled away to look at you. "Are you sure? I-I mean I've never. And you've never. What if you regret it?" You pull him in for a sweet kiss. "I could never regret it. If anything, I wouldn't want to lose it to anyone else." That must have really got him going cause he practically tore off your clothes. He slid his jeans off along with his underwear and kissed my neck, pulling a gasp from you. When he pulls away, you finally have a good chance to look at him and holy fuck. You didn't realize your boyfriend was so….well endowed. Big enough that it looked like it might hurt. Wayne grabbed something out of his wallet and when you noticed what it was, he looked at you sheepishly. "Orlando gave it to me." He shrugged and smiled shyly. He rolled on the condom and crawled back over you. "And you're absolutely sure?" You nodded and placed your arms around his neck so that you could play with his hair. He placed himself at your entrance before stopping. "Hang on gimme your leg." You looked at him confused before lifting your leg and he placed it up on his shoulder, doing the same with the other one. "I read somewhere that it hurts less if you do it like this." He realigned himself at your entrance and slowly pushed in. You felt tears prick your eyes as he stretched you and he kissed your forehead, stopping. He made you look into his eyes. "Are you okay? Do we need to stop?" You shook your head. He stayed still, waiting for you to adjust until you nodded you head. He began to move and even though it hurt, it was a good hurt. You moaned softly as he bottomed out inside you. Wayne gently bit down on your shoulder and kissed it before placing his forehead on yours, beginning to find a steady rhythm. Your moans were the sweetest sound he had ever heard and he just wanted to keep hearing them. With one especially rough thrust he hit that special spot inside you and you arched your back while digging your nails into his and he ate that shit up. He continued at that pace as you screamed out his name in pure ecstasy. You felt the knot in your stomach pulling tighter and your breathing picked up more. He held you close as you came crashing down from your high as his hips stuttered, painting the inside of the condom with his seed. He pulled out slowly, tossing the condom into the bin. He got up to grab a towel to clean you up and brought back a glass of water for you. After you're all cleaned up, he crawls back into bed with you, covering you up and pulling you close as you slowly fall asleep in his arms.

[mono-dot-jpeg]

stop playing league - k. kenma

summary; a callout to me and my fellow league players. (not league enjoyers. players.)

genre/extra tags; one shot(?)/drabble, fluff, comedy, slight crack, kenma (kind of) slanders riot games and you, relationship unestablished and unmentioned, if you know the games cool (i hate valorant), self indulgent

[can be interpreted as romantic or platonic] [gender never mentioned] [i make many references to different games and use game terms, sorry]

word count; 489

a/n; no one except for league players can make fun of league in this post now, i make the rules and enforce them. (/hj) you ever think abt the difference between making fun of your favorite things and someone else doing it? yeah it's like that basically. i genuinely like the characters league has to offer, but people always think i like the game. (i play it but i usually end up hating most sessions)

"don't you dare hit that button."

your cursor hovers over the fated "find match" button. the button that has been torturing you for at least a few hours now. your dying urge to play "one more game" has you in a chokehold when you just want to win once.

"kenma..." you whine. the pudding head is playing a much more chill game compared to yours, which was slime rancher. it was a little bit nerve-wracking with how easily he almost slipped off ledges, deal with the occasional tarr slime, or the adorably angry slimes in certain paths. but nonetheless, it's a much healthier game to play than league. "it's not like i can even play slime rancher with you, it's not multi-player. just let me have this. i'm gonna win this time. surely. i'll switch to val after this, promise."

"you still won't be playing with me because i don't play valorant." you can imagine his cat-like glare staring at you through the screen. "and you rarely play tft and legends of runeterra."

"it gets me dizzy, alright?! and also you should know how painful it is to get those annoying people who hold my three stars from me!" you pause when he mentions the card game, "the card game isn't that bad. just not my favorite. what about overwatch?"

"isn't the new hog rework annoying?"

"that's... it's something. what about plate up?"

"you're gonna rage."

"stardew?"

"you're too lazy to update your mods."

"shut the fuck up, actually." you hissed at him as he huffs out a laugh. "i'm waiting for the next update. i think everyone is at this point."

"literally play anything but league for fucks sake, y/n."

"but cute neeko skin.." you pretend to cry, "i just want to play my sillies. maybe even win a game, dare i say." you angrily wave your mouse over your screen. kenma watches your screen share, unamused.

"you spent money on that skin."

"WRONG, I SPENT MONEY ON ONE OVERWATCH SKIN AND TWO BATTLEPASSES."

"still spent money."

"that's a lot of backtalk coming from you. you buy skins and dlc too. you're not clean either." despite kenma trying to prolong the inevitable, you click "find match" and sit back and wait as kenma groans in annoyance. "your signs can't stop me because i can't read." you read the burst of notifications in discord of kenma and your friends making fun of you for even playing league willingly. "fuck y'all. god forbid, i have a hobby." you huffed.

"it's league."

"just let me play my silly champions in peace, kenma! you don't see me judging you for picking sebastian every stardew save!"

"he's not even that bad!"

"you always steal him from me!"

"you don't deserve him!"

"fuck you!"

"fuck you!"

a blanket of silence falls over you both as you end your silly bickering.

"you wanna play a pokemon soul link run after your match?"

"fuck you, yeah i do."

[sunflowerrosewood]

Forgotten Anniversary ~ Raihan

Author's Note: Since my other account @cheekyredwillow got deleted. I am adding some of my favorite fanfictions to this account and revamping this one with new ones. I hope to make an actual list of fandoms I am still a fan of! NO requests for the time being.

~~~

It was your 5th anniversary with Raihan. Every anniversary, Raihan was able to be home and near. But about two months ago, Raihan has been distant from you. He hasn't came back to your place in a while. Your partner Clobbopus was worried about you because you weren't too happy and you did not understand why. 

Now while you thought the worse, Raihan was so caught up in all of his gym battles that he hadn't been home in a while. He did worry about you but that's why he gave you Clobbopus on your first anniversary. The Clobbopus would act as comfort and a guardian when he was busy at the gym.

The day of your 5th anniversary was almost over and you hadn't heard from Raihan all day. You tried calling him a couple of times but did not get a response till he came home finally. 

"Rai! Are you okay?!" You exclaimed as Raihan sighed. 

"Many gym challenges. I'll have to stay at the gym again. I'm just picking up other clothes." He said as you felt your heart breaking. 

"Do you remember today?" You asked as Raihan stopped to think. 

"No there's nothing special today. I know in two weeks is Bea's birthday but I think that's it." Raihan said before grabbing clothes. "I have to head back Y/n. I'll try to come back tomorrow. Love you."

"Bye Raihan." You said softly as he was out the door not even stopping when you did not say I love you. 

You called Bea up to see if you could fly over to her place and stay there. It hurt you Raihan was so focused on his gym and never took a break. And did not seem to care that he forgot your anniversary. You left a note for Raihan in case he came back and flew to Bea's apartment. 

It was about a week before Raihan came back to your shared apartment. He was excited to tell you that he took the week off and could stay home with you for a week. 

"Y/n! I'm home!" Raihan yelled as he heard no response. Even your Clobbopus did not come to greet him. 

Duraladon was already beginning to look for you while Raihan kept calling your name. Raihan was still calling your name. Raihan made it to your shared bedroom when he noticed most of your clothes were gone. He began to fret for your safety that maybe you were hurt until Duraladon came in with your note. It read:

Dear Raihan,

By now I have left and it probably has been a week. I left the day after you came home for the gym. While I understand Rai that you have a gym to handle and around this time is when gym leaders are being tested. I love you a lot but even when you were having to handle this, you would spend time with me. Enjoy my company. Not forget our anniversary. I love you a lot Raihan and I know it was only our 5th anniversary but I cannot handle this anymore. I want to feel wanted not left behind. I’m sorry but I had to leave.

Love,

Y/n

Raihan read the letter over and over again before he dropped to his knees. He felt his chest clench in pain. Tears were already falling down his face at a fast rate. His body could not help it but it was shaking. He hurt your heart and now he pays for it. Duraladon tried to lean down to comfort its owner but Raihan could not stop it. He felt like he could not breathe. 

It tore him up as he stayed on the floor for hours. The rest of his pokemon were trying their best to comfort but also failing. They knew how much Raihan depended on you. You were the one that he could break his walls down and not have to be a celebutante and gym leader. When you are not around, he has to put on the facade. 

He fell asleep in the bed with your faint scent while his pokemon watched over him. Raihan was strong to a degree but even he has to admit that he fell asleep with a tear stained face. It scared him how much you had an affect on him. He had to find you and apologize.

You were sleeping in bed with Clobbopus and a tear stained face. You noticed it was raining outside when you opened your eyes. You sighed and laid facing to the ceiling. You had talked to Bea the night you came over and you continued to help around her place. But yesterday you saw Raihan on TV and you broke down. You stayed in bed since then. Bea had already left so you stayed in bed. 

About two hours later, you noticed a Flygon outside the window of the guest bedroom. You were lucky Bea’s guest bedroom had a balcony so you could open it. You saw Raihan riding Flygon as your Clobbopus ran out after you opened the window. You felt your heart clench as you saw Raihan’s somber eyes.

“May I come in Y/n?” Raihan asked as you nodded your head. Raihan called Flygon back and walked in. He sat down on the bed as Clobbopus ran to his lap.

“So how did you find me?” You asked as Raihan rubbed the back of his neck.

“I asked Leon who did not know then I asked Milo and then I asked Bea and now I’m here.” Raihan rambled as you took the seat next to him.

“Then why are you here?” You sighed not noticing a tear run down his face. Duraladon got out of his pokeball and laid his head on your lap. You smiled softly and patted his head.

“I got your note a week late. I know this is horrible of me. I know I spend too much time at the gym. I’m extremely sorry for making you feel like I abandoned you and forgot our anniversary. It does not matter if it is our 5th or 50th, I should not forget it. I feel like a horrible person and it made me realize how much I need you. Instead of the facade of a social media gym leader, I can be myself with you.” Raihan rambled as you grabbed his hand halfway through his speech.

“It wasn’t just feeling abandoned. I hated that you are overworking yourself and we haven’t had a day to ourselves. I love you so much but I just can’t do the whole leaving me at home and not seeing you for weeks.” You explained as Raihan brought you into his side.

You two stayed quiet for a bit by each other’s side. Your partner and his partner pokemon were looking hopeful as you nudged your face into Raihan’s chest.

“Y/n, I am extremely sorry. I took the whole week off because I wanted it to just be us. I was just too late. I understand if you do not want to do this anymore.” Raihan sighed and you felt a tear from his eyes fall on your cheek.

“Raihan, I love you too much to just get rid of this. You make me way too happy.” You said softly as you looked up at him.

“I got you something to apologize for missing our anniversary.” Raihan said before pulling out a loveball. You clicked it open and an Appletun jumped out. He was already climbing onto the bed and to your lap.

“Rai! You did not have to do this!” You exclaimed as Raihan smiled.

“I’m glad he likes you.” Raihan said softly as you hugged Raihan softly to not disturb the Appletun in your lap. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”

You leaned forward as Raihan met in the middle to kiss your lips. His lips were pressed soft against yours which quickly shifted to a kiss full of passion. You were kissing back with need as Raihan touched your cheek. You broke the kiss and both of you were panting.

“I see the two of you have made up.” Bea said as you both jumped back in surprise. She laughed and walked back out of the room. 

“Would you come back to our apartment and I can make it up to you?” Raihan asked softly as you kissed his cheek.

“I would love to.” You said softly.

Raihan returned Duraladon before calling out Flygon. He jumped on Flygon’s back and held his hand out. You grabbed it after calling your pokemon and flew with him home. The following week you sent a card and gift to Bea’s house for her birthday but you two stayed home. You make food together, slept in, and played with all of your pokemon. It was a relaxing week you two needed to relax but also rebuild your relationship.

[vickyvicarious]

I so badly need to play this hack rom of pokemon where you play through a pokemon version of the story of the dracula novel and where you kill him with the power of love and violence

Pfft, it would be really fun I admit.

okay now we got to pick the pokemon the other characters would be

Admittedly I'm not the best at this. Also confining it to the first couple generations (mostly 1-3), as that was what my dream was set in and also the ones I know best (though I still heavily consulted Serebii for this). But here's kind of what I'm thinking for the team...

Jonathan (THE): already assigned, with art and everything! Shiny Magikarp, later evolves into a white Gyarados. As a bonus, the Sapphire description reminds me of him in the castle too: "MAGIKARP is virtually useless in battle as it can only splash around. As a result, it is considered to be weak. However, it is actually a very hardy POKéMON that can survive in any body of water no matter how polluted it is."

Mina (POWER): Despite the name suggesting Fighting-type, I really wanted to do Psychic because that's what makes sense for her. I thought about the Gothita line but not only are they not present until Gen 5, but the descriptions don't fit her as well. I also liked the idea of the Ralts line particularly as Gardevoir has text about knowing the future and sacrificing itself for its trainer. But I think overall I prefer Eevee at the start (super adaptable and interested in lots of things)... and then teetering on the edge between Umbreon and Espeon near the later stages before finally evolving into Espeon just in time. We get the affection+daytime evolution which seems fitting for her, and again the description emphasizes Espeon's loyalty which also works well.

Jack (OF): Got so stuck on this one. I was drawn to mostly Electric or Bug types, but nothing stuck out to me as perfect. Venonat line is kind of fun. Nocturnal is a nod to his poor sleeping habits, big eyes because he's always looking and noticing stuff... Still not so sure on for him.

Arthur (LOVE): So I obviously want a dog. And I think Normal-type fits him. But there are no Normal-type dogs until gen 5. I thought about going with either a different type or an earlier dog pokemon, but honestly I think the Lillipup line works for Arthur too well so I'll break pattern and pick that. The whole line is about herding dogs who want to help keep other pokemon safe and I think that really suits him. Plus, moves such as Helping Hand where he boosts another pokemon's abilities, or Odor Sleuth that allow a Ghost-type to be hit with Normal/Fighting moves are perfect for him. That said, my second choice is Growlithe because they're also dogs who can have those moves, and are friendly/loyal with a good sense of smell that can pick up emotions. I just think the Fire-type and the Arcanine are a little less of an overall match.

Quincey (AND): He's generally quick to act and observant, so I was thinking some kind of bird for him, maybe. I like Ground-types for cowboy vibes but I think overall Pidgey line fits best for him. Quick, alert, large territory, beautiful plumage, a classic. I kind of feel like both he and Arthur would already be on their second evolution when you catch them, so he'd be a Pidgeotto already.

Van Helsing (VIOLENCE): The first thing I did was look up who can use Confusion or Supersonic, haha. I did consider Abra line but other than the super high intellect of Alakazam I don't think it fits best. And honestly... I know it's kind of a weird choice but weirdness itself feels fitting for him: I almost picked Lickitung. Abilities being Oblivious or Own Tempo works, the whole 'licking everything new to memorize it' kinda could go along with him having a million degress, and some of the moves work pretty well. Supersonic, Knock Off, Wrap, Disable, Refresh... I think overall I might lean towards Mr. Mime, though. Also an odd one, but the description mentions its ability to convince people of imaginary things which then become real and that seems fitting for him. Also the various Barrier/Light Screen type moves make sense for him always warding away vampires, and he's got Confusion and Double Slap too. Him being personally weak to Dark/Ghost types might make sense in some parts and make others more difficult, admittedly.

That's the best I've got for them all, at least! Feel free to suggest others if you like.

When you get them:

At the end:

[zprites]

TMNT All 4-1 Challenge

I kept debating on whether or not to participate but I loved all of the entries I've seen and felt compelled to write this.

The Gracious Hosts: @turtle-babe83, @thelaundrybitch, @leosgirl82, @tmnt-tychou, @nittleboo, and @post-apocalyptic-daydream

18+ and a little NSFW towards the end (maybe?)

I chose the pick up line prompt since I've had a few saved up for a Donnie x reader idea and what better time than now to use them. I edited as I wrote so if I did miss something, sorry in advance for any errors.

Is it bad? Probably. Am I proud of the Homestuck reference? Very. Did I expect Donnie's reaction myself? No, and I wrote the damn thing!

Rise! Donnie x F! Reader - All turtles and reader are over 20 years!!! Minors DNI!!

Shut Up.

So give me your two lips And baby, I'll shut up Shut Up - Greyson Chance

The lair around you was silent. With a huff you turned onto your stomach, clutching the pillow you were given close to your chest. The brothers allowed you to stay with them while your apartment building was being renovated after one of the tenets caused a kitchen fire so bad that it affected several floors. 

Although your back has grown stiff from sleeping on their couch for the past week, you were grateful for their hospitality. Splinter often kept to himself, spending much of his free time with Draxum in the Hidden City. Mikey enjoyed having an extra pair of hands that knew their way around a kitchen and Raph began teaching you a few self defense moves, in return you showed him the basics of yoga. Leo was just glad to have another person around with insomnia. The two of you often stayed up late to play video games, mostly Pokemon, as well as watching the newest season of the latest hype anime show. 

The only turtle seemingly upset of your extended stay for whatever reason was Donatello. It’s not that you two didn’t get along; quite the opposite actually. You were two peas in a pod. Almost inseparable. For almost the whole year you’ve known the brothers, the two of you spent countless nights working beside each other in the lab, you working on your novel while Donnie worked on upgrades or new inventions. He was the first and last person you talked to everyday. You shared your past with him, your dreams and fears. On the flip side he told you everything about his work and life. He even confided his insecurities to you one late night after a particularly rough run in with a mutant. You picked up some of each other’s hobbies, at least the ones you didn't already share, having a plethora of inside jokes. 

One of your fondest memories with him was when he took two whole weeks to play your favorite video game series, freaking out over every decision he was forced to make and insisting that you stayed with him the whole time. You couldn’t refuse him when he called you, practically begging you to come over while he rambled about the first hard choice he had to make. You packed a small duffel bag and hunkered down in his room with him for the entirety of those two weeks. 

Honestly, you were certain that you'd do anything he asked you to.

It was no secret that you harbored a massive crush on the resident genius, you realizing your feelings early on. His brothers knew. April knew. Splinter and Draxum knew. Hell even Hypno and Warren knew! The only person who didn’t was Donnie himself. 

It wasn’t for lack of trying. As soon as you came to terms with your crush you tried dropping hints to Donnie, but nothing seemed to work. Except one day, you took Leo’s advice several months back.

“If you were words on a page, you’d be what they call fine print.”

You almost regretted saying those words. Almost. 

Donatello was pushing himself in his chair throughout his workspace. Upon hearing your words he spun around a bit too carelessly. One of the chair wheels caught one of the many cables that littered his lab, resulting in his chair to tip sideways, sending him onto the floor. He quickly hid his face from your view but you were certain you saw a touch of pink on his cheeks.

Oh… That was something…

Suddenly the alarm sounded throughout the lair, informing the brothers that they were needed elsewhere. You stayed behind in Donnie’s lab once they all left, giddy that you finally got some kind of reaction from him.

However when they returned he acted as though nothing happened. But you didn’t let it get to you. For months you tried to get the same kind of response from him, saying one bad pick up line after another in hopes that he would take the hint.

“Are you an F5 key? Because that ass is refreshing.”

“You must be the square root of 2, because I feel irrational around you.”

“You seem to be traveling at the speed of light, because time always seems to stop when I look at you.”

“Are you made of Uranium? I’m made of Iodine! That explains why all I can see is U and I together.”

“If you were a bottle of Sprite, I’d obey my thirst.”

Each time he remained stoic, often responding to any pick up line in almost a literal sense, seemingly unaware of your poor attempts to elicit some kind of reaction from him. 

Frankly, you were beginning to grow annoyed. You didn’t know if he was playing dumb or just flat out rejecting you. His brothers encouraged you to keep trying. Mikey even let slip one day that Donnie has ‘that look’ about him when you’re brought up in conversation. 

Which brings you back to now. Unlike the others Donatello made himself scarce during the week you’ve been staying on their couch, finding any excuse to be where you weren’t. You thought back to the last pick up line you told, the first thing you said to him when you arrived at the lair for your stay. 

“I’m just hypothesizing, but I think that the reaction between you and me would be quite exothermic. Care to plot some data points?”

Donnie promptly turned around and walked back to his lab, not coming out until the following day. Since then he barely spoke more than a few words to you.

It hurt. 

Maybe it is pointless… 

You flipped dramatically onto your back, your legs twisting in the lightweight blanket Raph lent you. The dark expanse of the ceiling was all you saw, the quiet hum of the silence providing white noise as you bit your lip.

Fuck it.

Shoving the blanket off you stood up from the couch and walked towards the subway cars that served as the brother’s rooms. You soon arrived at Donatello’s car and knocked on the closed door. When you got no answer you let yourself in, the metal door sliding open with ease. His lab was locked, the irregular beat of techno music barely audible through the nearly impenetrable door. 

You steeled your nerves and placed your thumb on the fingerprint scanner that turned green, allowing you access into his lab. The door slid open and you quickly entered his lab, the door promptly shutting behind you. The music was much louder, reverberating off the metal walls.

Once you made it to the main part of his lab you saw him slumped over his desk. You smiled and shook your head. 

You made your way over and turned off the music from the computer console in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly, waking up at the sudden lack of music and the feel of your hand. 

Once he realized it was you his body stiffened. “You should be sleeping.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re one to talk. I don’t know how you can sleep like that.” 

The two of you stayed like that for a short moment. You let your hand drop and bit the inside of your lip. It’s now or never… Just say how you feel…

“Um… Want to come back to my Quest Bed?” 

And you blew it… God, why did you listen to Leo in the first place?

Donnie frowned at you. “What…?”

Well you’re in too deep now… Might as well get this over with so you can die of embarrassment and he can continue ignoring you…

“My Quest Bed. I can help you reach God Tier…”

He stared at you with a neutral expression, unmoving. You had no idea what was going through his mind which only added to your nervousness. 

Finally he let out an amused breath before standing up. You watched his eyes shine in the purple light that filled the room. 

“So you want to put me to sleep, then kill me?” He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, the smallest hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips. 

You licked your lips, catching the way his gaze shifted down to them before going back to your eyes. 

Oh…

Don’t fuck this up…

“Well, you know what they say about ‘la petite mort’.” 

Donnie’s eyes closed as he took a shaky breath. 

“You really are trying to kill me, huh?” His eyes focused on yours once more as he took a step forward, leaving only a few inches between the two of you. 

“For months, you’ve been testing my patience with all those dumb pick up lines… I thought you’d stop if I didn’t acknowledge them but you just kept at it…”

Your heart quickened as you realized the implication in his words.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me…?”

You chuckled a bit under your breath. Your soft chuckling soon turned into pure laughter which only confused him. “I’m sorry.” Your laugh died down as you gave him a large grin. “It’s just, out of all the pick up lines it was that one. Damnit…”

He huffed. “Shut up.”

You bit your lip with a smirk. “Make me.”

Before you could react Donnie grabbed your waist, placing a hand under your chin to tilt your head upwards, his lips finally meeting yours. You practically melted in his arms, letting out a soft moan as your hands laid flat against his plastron. 

All too soon he drew back. The hand under your chin moved to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing against your lips. His dark eyes shone mischievously.

“Now, what did you say about reaching God Tier?”

It’s safe to say that the both of you got no sleep that night.

[atthedugouts]

A Nice Dinner Out

Yevgeny was six years old today and his mama told him he could pick any restaurant to have his special big boy dinner. He picked Chili's because he heard Kev and V talk about it once and figured it must be a fancy restaurant. And boy was he right, this place was way better than Patsy's. The waitress gave him crayons he could use to color on the menu and everyone in Chili's clapped and sang to him when they brought out his chocolate cake. This place was the definition of luxury.

Yevgeny was finishing his cake, licking his chocolate covered fingers when he noticed his parents arguing. Again. Yev doesn't mind his parents bickering, Ian told him it was their love language so his mom and dad must love each other a lot.

"What you mean you lost wallet?"

"I didn't lose it bitch, I just misplaced it."

"Misplace it where?"

"Fuck should I know?"

"So it's lost you dumbfuck!"

Yev watched his dad rub his eyebrow.

"Look, you pay for dinner and I promise to pay you back later," his dad suggested.

"I forgot wallet too," mama says avoiding his dad's eyes.

"Then why are you giving me such a hard time?"

"Because now we can't pay for dinner!"

Yevgeny's dad looks around the table and starts putting last couple bites of his dinner in his water glass and mixing it in to create a gross smoothie.

"My mom used to do this all the time when we were young," dad says. He finished making his concoction and slide the glass over to Yevgeny. "Here kid, drink this put don't swallow."

"No thank you," Yev said scrunching up his nose. "I'll eat my cake."

"You want to poison my son?"

"No, just create a distraction," dad answers. "Do it little man and we can come back next month with Ian."

Yevgeny was sad the Ian had to miss his birthday dinner. He had to work but he did give him a new Pokemon deck that they opened together before he left. It had a Metapod which was cool because it looked like Uncle Iggy.

"I have to drink all of it?"

"No, just take a sip and when the waitress comes back spit it out on her and act all sick and shit," his dad explained. Yev was always good at acting sick. His dad made him do it to leave Lip's house early all the time.

Yevgeny did what was instructed. His parents picked him up declaring that they have to take their son to the hospital. In fact it was probably the food that made him sick and they should contact a lawyer.

With a comped meal and a promise to not press charges the young Milkovich family left the fancy dining establishment.

"You like your birthday dinner?" his mama asked when they got onto the L taking them back home.

"Yeah, but maybe next time I don't have to drink dad's weird drink. I didn't like it," Yevgeny yawned as he leaned into his mama.

"Don't worry, I make sure your stupid father doesn't do that next time."

"Hey, you forgot your wallet too bitch!"

Yevgeny closed his eyes as listened to the loving sounds of his parents arguing.

[nanjokei]

i think the spread of character ai usage (and ai art generation usage also) is definitely an issue with people wanting instant gratification which actual rp usually is just not sustainably built for unless you're doing chat rp, even then your friends aren't awake 24/7 waiting at beck and call to entertain you. it's not literally entitlement, but it 100% stems from entitlement to be entertained constantly and passively instead of actually going out and finding something to do.

god this sounds like such boomer shit but the creation of endless scrolling like on tiktok with specifically tailored algorithms has made people so PASSIVE. ai can never come close to human creators but if people, especially the younger generation, are getting too cozy with choosing it over seeking out other human beings (whether it be indirectly via consuming fanmade work or directly via actual collaborative stuff like online roleplay), then how different is it from the ai "winning"? i don't think any of the excuses are valid. it's a subpar product in every way. it's almost never im character, it breaks if you propose anything too left field, and it's ultimately empty wish fulfilment and i have no idea how anyone past the age of 16 AT BEST gets any gratification from it. is it just the spread of a lack of reading comprehension? OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!

i do think it's an issue of people not being comfortable with boredom, always needing instant gratification, not wanting to sit down and hone a craft, or give the people who hone a craft themselves the time of day because they can't crank out """content""" for you 24/7. in a way, i'm thinking right now, when i'm bored i just channel surf on tv even if i don't do it as much anymore. but most people don't have tv anymore (personally we pirate iptv so LOL). i don't blame it on that necessarily, but i think with the rise of streaming, you just sit there on a media library staring at a bunch of thumbnails and posters, having to make a decision on how to invest your time. in this case, i get why people are so passive. tiktok is easier, character ai is easier. because i never ended up watching anything whenever i opened netflix (when we had it years ago). one could argue that watching tv is passive, but there's still a choice. you check the tv guide or google it and you know a certain show is on tv a certain channel at a certain time so you keep that in mind. what do you do in the meanwhile? i remember when that was an actual routine for me. i'd be slacking and not doing my homework, so maybe i'd draw a bit, maybe i play on my ds for a while, maybe i go make myself a snack or bake some pastries if i have all day, maybe i continue a book or even surf the web a bit.

the instinct of "aight, im gonna do something else on my own while i wait" is kind of dying. yes i'm on my phone! the difference is my use case. these days i'm not on social media aside from here so i don't use it as much aside from talking to friends on messaging clients and playing games (rarely tho). i say this as someone who stares at the ceiling not doing anything for a good bit each day, but at least i feel like i still have retained some ability to sometimes go, ok time to learn about a new hobby! i don't have to even pick it up. just entertaining it is gratifying on its own. i'm not a writer, but sometimes i'll write a little bit for fun then go "yeah i get why i don't jive with this". lately, i've been interested in competitive pokemon (with not much interest before) because i've been replaying platinum. i research a bit, watch videos, i even got a little brave and tested some sample teams on showdown. it was a fun time killer! i might keep doing it. i might even do it later today. i started reading pokespe too to scratch the pokemon itch too. and it's not like i don't suffer from crazy hard executive dysfunction but hey, this is a product of my effort. lately i've been thinking i wanna pick a character in guilty gear and learn at least one combo! trying new things is fun!!!

i'm sure this post sounds self important, self impressed, self absorbed (c-c-c-combo breaker) and boomer ish as fuck but honestly i don't care anymore. if someone who struggles with simple tasks on the daily like me can find shit to do that isn't just instantly caving to endless scrolling and resorting to chatting up an AI then i'm sure most people can too. it is so much more gratifying actively seeking out fun than to be passive about it.

[ask-serafinas-harem]

"..is that it? for some magical wish-giving pokemon that everyone was so exited for, they don't look like that much. i've seen flashier from a geodude."

"shUT the hell up you bonehead! i'm not gonna miss my chance to get legendary-level presents, just because you can't keep your damn mouth shut for five minutes!"

"alright boys, that's enough. now, did everyone write their notes like i asked?"

"well, it'd be kinda stupid if we didn't. that's why we brought the berries, right?"

"well, anyway, i hope this will suffice. we've got quite a large group here, so we went with a large basket.

(it's a variety basket. there's some notes in it.)

"i want to make sure i'm a more proper leader this year. you're all so big and important, i want to be someone worth celebrating to my subjects too." -serafina

"i've been so busy training every day to be able to protect miss serafina, i've never had time to explore any hobbies of my own. i want to learn something new, and make myself better for it." -arsine

"i need to learn more about people. i'm not good at people in general, i just wanna open up someone's brain and find out what makes them tick." -azidoa

"this island looks so interesting, there's so much life here! i would love something that could teach me all about the fascinating history and stories of this world!" -dichloro

"i've never been one for super extravagant wishes, but i wanna try just one thing. one small pleasure of the world that might go overlooked. something to smile at when i wake up." -kindle

"i guess if i had to pick one thing, it would be security. i like to know what's coming, and be ready for it. something that would keep me safe." -phosphine

"i can never tell what people are really thinking.. i'm always wondering if i can really trust someone, or if they're just putting up a front. i need to make sure we don't get caught in a trap again." -sialia

"i don't understand it. i've done all i can, and been training since i hatched, but i still feel like i could be MORE! do you have some super-santa power that'll make me unstoppable? maybe i'm being too hard on myself.." -sirius

"if i'm going to be a super-contest star, i'll need something extreme. give me anything i can use to dazzle the crowd and be the most elegant pokemon on the stage!" -tellurium

@pokeask-magi-retreat

[staticraichu]

Little storytime of something that happened a few years back.

Something around 2013-2015 I had been playing Pixelmon. Not for the first time, maybe the second or third, but it was a then new version after not having played minecraft for a few months. I loaded up a new world to check it out, picked my starter (Cyndaquil, probably) and started exploring.

Not long after I came accross a lake that had a bunch of pokemon in it. I jumped in to check it out closer. There were a few magikarps and goldeen, maybe some other water types I can't remember but it was nothing too interesting for me. Deeper underwater I saw a dragonair, no way in heck I was gonna catch that but that's cool I didn't know they spawned in lakes.

But what's that? Looking up I saw a dratini swimming around at the surface. It was pretty low level too, I think something like 12. That's way more reasonable. Still higher than my still level 5 starter but it seemed very much possible if I just get a bit lucky with moves and catch attempts. Very much worth an attempt at least.

Well, that didn't work out, it defeated my only pokemon with about half health left.

Since it was still weakened I decided to just chuck my 5 starter pokeballs at it. If I catch it that's great! But if not bummer but I can live with that and now I'd need to find a pokemon center anyways.

I threw my first pokeball at the dratini. The ball was shaking once or twice, but the dratini broke out, oh well.

I threw another one, but that one straight up missed. Oops!

Not wanting to risk any more of my very limited supply of pokeballs I jumped into the lake to get closer. Now up close I hit the dratini with another ball. It wiggled a few times, but it broke out again.

Right as I see it break out I see a notification in the bottom left part of the screen. I read it. "You caught-" huh that didn't make sense, it broke out right in front of me. I read it in full. "You caught Dragonair!" What?

Confused I checked my party. Indeed there was a level 52 dragonair in the second slot of my party. How did I... Turns out the pokeball that I missed the dratini with just kept flying past it, sunk into the water, hit the level 52 dragonair that was chilling at the bottom of the lake and just... caught it instantly.

Well that was not what I was trying to catch but I'll take it I guess? I can't believe I somehow caught that purely on accident by missing.

I did try to continue to catch the dratini with my 2 remaining pokeballs. It was not successful.

[cyborb]

there have been some asks sitting unanswered in my inbox for an embarrassingly long time so I'm just going to go through and answer a bunch of them at once haha.

Sada and Turo / Paldea

now that the dlc is out I can play around with my own version of paldea's story and the professors (that I may or may not actually talk about), but they won't be in the rainbow rocket stuff with supersymmetry. "officially" at least. maybe I'll draw something for fun, but I don't intend them to actually be in rr like the rest. they're more interesting to me within the story of paldea, especially with the ai aspects and ... other things going on there.

but to the anons who sent me these: those ideas are cool and honestly you should pursue them yourself!

Lusamine

absolutely yes. in the base universe, her "unification" with nihilego kills her pretty quickly. iota lusamine is luckier since her nihilego seems to prefer keeping her around for longer. slow-acting vs fast-acting poisons, I suppose. by the time lusamine is picked up by rr, it's been about 6 months since she became jellyfish. who knows how much time she has left but her mental (and physical) state will continue to deteriorate along the way. an unsurprising consequence of willingly jumping into the mouth of a parasite

possibly? I haven't given that much thought tbh. considering lillie and guzma's proximity to lusamine when she goes motherbeast, they'd both be lucky to make it out alive hahaha. but I could see all three of them trying to help people and pokemon in the UB-overrun world too

honestly, no clue. I don't even think she knows, and she definitely doesn't care. who needs regular pokemon when she's got ultra beasts now! if lillie is still around she might have taken in a few of them herself though.

Other AU stuff

I've actually made a post about team galactic here!

one fun fact about each of them:

maria/mars is giovanni and ariana's first child, and she ran from her home in kanto when she was 16 to become a pokemon trainer and get away from her parents. sorry silver (she hasn't contacted him in a while).

juno/jupiter makes traditional (hisuian) style pokeballs as a hobby despite the fact that they absolutely are not practical to actually use anymore. but they look nice

sterling/saturn helps run the in-universe equivalent of pokemon showdown because he's a nerd. he enjoys simulated battles more than the real thing most of the time

great news: the rainbow rocket invasion all his fault!

by that I mean the choice of the base universe for invasion wasn't entirely arbitrary; rainbow rocket didn't just Show Up and hope this universe had what they wanted. beforehand, someone from rainbow rocket (either giovanni or archer, maybe even colress) scouted things out, and approached faba for information about the general state of the world and necrozma in particular. faba essentially sells out the universe (and aether's work with necrozma) in exchange for the promise of power and whatever tantalizing rewards the rr emissary offers haha. it's possible some of this involves planting a device to let rr come back to the right universe when ready too. what faba is up to when everything is going down in rr is not something that I've thought about, but he definitely gets found out for his actions leading up to it. oops!

unfortunately probably not. the rr stuff is happening on the other side of the planet and I can't think of a situation which might result in them getting to meet up. I'm not enough of an expert on the two of them to say how such a meeting would play out either, but it would definitely be... interesting considering their own universe's version of the other person has been dead for several years.

rose would probably be the least upset about it but cyrus wins the award for most upset (he has control issues). lysandre absolutely would have the most violent response to it though

Compliments

while I'm not going to share the collection of complimentary messages I've gotten over time, I want everyone to know that I really appreciate hearing that you enjoy my ideas and art! it's encouraging and I'm glad people like my pokemon playground hahaha. and that applies to tags too! it's always great to see... I don't always get around to actually answering the stuff in my inbox (whether it's actual questions or otherwise) but rest assured I do see it!

[echantedtoon]

Love Doesn't Do Encores Ch46 Epilogue

(Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank everyone who read this far and liked my story enough to read it to it's end. I had a lot of fun writing it and it makes me happy knowing some people loved it enough to read it fully. If you liked this consider checking out my other works. Thanks to everyone for reading this, faving it, or leaving a nice comment. And thank you to Nintendo and Game Freak for creating such wonderful characters and giving me the opportunity to make this wonderful story.)

"What do you mean he went off somewhere again?''

Marnie shrugged in front of you. "He left a good number of days ago. I thought ya already knew that. Didn't my big bro tell ya anythin' 'fore he left?"

You shook your head wide eyed. "No. I didn't even have any idea he was gone! How long has he been missing?"

"'Bout two weeks ago. Said he had ta take a quick trip over somewhere ta pick up somethin' after Sonia told him 'bout it. Not sure what tho. But M' sure he'll be back soon."

"And how do you know that?"

"He called me this mornin'. Said he'll back by tomorrow noon."

"...Oh."

That was strange. You hadn't seen Piers for almost two weeks by now because you both had been so busy lately. The gym was being repainted and renovated for some minor repairs and Piers had been talking to an agent Nessa recommended him to start working on his first ever album to be launched soon. Not to mention he was speeding up things ready to retire from his Gym Leader position to fully hand it over to Marnie and at the same time managing Marnie's homeschooling and gym leader studies. Needless to say he was really, really busy. And so were you. More people had moved to Spikemuth which meant that the cafe had been a LOT busier with more and more customers and managing your home with all your pokemon. Managing to also convince Eclipse to join your crazy family. So you hadn't seen Piers lately but only assumed that was because he was busy with everything he had on his plate. But..he had left without telling you? That was very much unlike him. Where did he go? To see his agent? Why didn't he tell you? Maybe he's been so busy and stressed that he had just forgotten? You'd just stop by to see if he wanted to join you for lunch that day and was hit with the news when Marnie answered the door. Well you'd soon find out what he was doing anyways since he was returning tomorrow. The next day came faster than expected and you were in the middle of work too. Your coworker and yourself were in the front restocking some napkins and condiments to tables when a man of monochrome hair and smile on his face walked in and you paused in your tracks, eyes widened, and the napkins you were holding fell onto the table as none other than Piers himself walked through the door sending the little bell above the door ringing. 

"Piers!?"

"'Ello, Love," he said with a smile on his face turning towards your wide eyed look. "M' home."

"Where have you been!?," you asked turning from the table and frowning at him. "You took off for two weeks without telling me! I thought you said you were done with traveling for a long while."

He held up an empty hand. "I know. I know. But I promise I can explain. Can I talk to ya outside for a sec?"

..You looked to your coworker who nodded. "Go ahead. I'll just tell Ma you're taking your mandatory break time."

Well that settled it. With that being a yes you went ahead and followed Piers back outside just in front of the cafe with the bell dinging away behind you. Once outside he stopped and looked at you silently smiling for a moment however you were still confused. It was only after another second or two you opened your mouth, but was stopped when he held up his other hand. You weren't sure how you didn't notice but the entire time he was holding something, that something happened to be a simple pokeball wrapped in a red ribbon. You stared at him, then at him, then back at the balls, and after a moment of silently staring at it, slowly it from him to which he then lowered his hand back.

"...What's this?"

"It's a pokemon."

"I-..W-Well yeah. Obviously. But why?"

"J-Jus' open it," he stammered hand shakily reaching up to grab his choker and blue eyes looking away. "I w-went through the trouble o' gettin' it for ya."

You still stared at him for a moment before looking back down at it. Piers..got you a pokemon? Well that was an unexpected gift but not a bad one! That's actually really sweet of him to do so! With a smile you immediately pulled off the red ribbon and gave the small red and white ball a toss to summon out whatever it was inside. A bright white light popped out from it and the small critter came forth but the sight of it made you pause. It was a pokemon alright and one you HAD seen before...But by accident. When Gloria accidentally gave it to Hop so long ago. The small pokemon had the small body of an apple with eyes poking out at the top where the stem would be and a small green tail behind it. It blinked before looking around and stopping at you. Giving a curious peep towards yourself. 

...An...Applin???

IT WAS AN APPLIN!! A FREAKING CUTE LITTLE APPLIN!! PIERS HAD GIVEN YOU AN APPLIN!! you continued to stare at the small pokemon for a silent wide eyed moment for a moment before looking at Piers.

"W-What's all this about?"

He gave the shakiest most nervous sounding sigh you had ever heard him say. "Y-Yeah...Look. I jus'-....*ahem* I-I-....*sigh* I didn't know how else ta ask. Alright?" His head rolled to the side as he nervously fiddled with his choker with a shaking hand. "I-...I know we h-haven't really t-talked 'bout being together together or anythin' official or nothin'...So I-...I-I remembered what your mate said 'bout the Isle o' Armor. I talked ta Sunny 'bout it and found out there was a ton of these lil guys living over t-there n' secret. So I just..." He sighed again closing his eyes gesturing to the small apple pokemon who made a peeping sound. "I wanted to get ya one and ask-..W-Well it-it's only natural I'd a-ask an' make it o-official at least. I-I MEAN! Only if ya want to. W-What I'm askin' is....Y-Y/n. W-W-Would y-you m-mind..Being m-my..p-partner-" His body flinched feeling a touch on his hand and he snapped his blue eyes up towards you. 

He got his answer when you wrapped your hand around his own and smiled. "Yes."

[itskristal]

JOURNAL 02. LOCATION: NEW BARK TOWN

<<WOW!! I've made it back to New Bark and I have a TON to catch you up on....I'm gonna just ramble everything out because my mind is still raaaaacing!!

I used my packed-away Potion on Trouble right away when he got hit--is this not what you're supposed to do??? He didn't seem to mind and I'm not about to let him get hurt! When I got to Cherrygrove I immediately bought 10 more...he's not about to drop because I'm not prepared!!

Also HELLO I MET PROFESSOR OAK? He was just hanging out at Mr. Pokemon's house? AND I got...a POKEDEX! Top of the line, brand new...I spent a couple hours tinkering with it until Mr. Pokemon kicked me out. It is SO cool...

I learned that Trouble can heal himself by eating Berries!! So we spent a super long time picking them, and GOOD THING too, because we ran into that bully from before!! Can you believe he STOLE one of Prof. Elm's Pokemon?? 😠 It was a tough fight but Trouble ate his snacks and barely outlasted the other 'mon. (I guess SILVER didn't know about the Berry trick...serves him right!! He marched right off before I could take the Pokemon back though...)

Also, he made fun of my fire-resistant gloves. Jerk!! Sorry not sorry for being prepared! 😠😠😠

Aaaanyways, I said that these were gonna get shorter but maybe I lied!! Let's wrap this up...I'm excited to catch my first Pokemon, unless it's a bug...I already ran away from a LOT of Caterpies today. NO THANKS. 😖 To Violet City we go for my first shot at a Gym Badge too! I'll keep you posted, whoever you are...! Hooked on my heroic origin story yet?

ps: maybe I SHOULDN'T have spent all my money on Potions...they're taking up a lot of space in my bag and I gave the rest of my $$$ to Mom! Oh well...>>

[shiloh-the-pokemon]

Off-Screen Post

Shiloh, a Jolteon, entered the streets of Cascarrafa. They had been walking for about an hour now. They would have rather avoided a town, but they did not see another way forward. To their left were mountains, and an uphill climb seemed less than fun. To the right was the Paldean crater, and Shiloh was not sure they could get out if they went in. Going around was not an option either; on one side of the town was a desert with an active sandstorm, and the other side featured another upward climb.

Shiloh made it their goal to pass through as quickly and quietly as possible. Being a Jolteon was a blessing and a curse, it meant they could move fast, but they also stood out in a crowd of water types.

They kept to back alleys, and ducked into public parks where people had their Pokemon out already. They made it pretty far without more than a few stray glances, that is until they walked next to a pond.

"Ha! I gotcha!"

Shiloh was hit by a splash of water. Not an attack, but they ended up soaked nonetheless. They shook themself off, and looked for the culprit. Hidden in the water was a strange blue Wooper, giggling to itself.

Wait, weren't Wooper brown?

Shiloh stared at the giggling Pokemon for a bit. The Wooper laughed and swam forward a bit, "You ain't a water type are ya? You're, um, yellow! So maybe I shouldnta soaked ya.... Sorry stranger!"

Shiloh chuckled under their breath, "no biggie."

The Wooper lept out of the water and stood next to Shiloh, "You wanna be friends? I have, um, well I have 31 friends! But only 6 are not water types, cause most of the not water types don't like my sneak attack."

Shiloh laughed again, "yeah, ill be lucky number seven."

The Wooper leaped into the air, "Yes!" They skipped around Shiloh and sung, "I got a new friend, with my sneak attack!"

He paused, "Oh wait! We gotta give each other our names too. My name's Manchester but that's long so I call myself Blue cause I'm blue and Woopers ain't blue so no other Wooper can use that name!"

Blue stopped to catch his breath, before returning to his giant smile and cheery voice, "Now its your turn!"

Shiloh laid down in the grass. They really didn't like using their name, there were too many complicated feelings there. "uhhh i dont- i dont know."

Blue sat down next to them, "That's okay it took me forever to come up with Blue!" He dramatically fell onto his back, "Oooh I'm really good at names can I pick one for you? I promise it won't be super long and I'll think really good about it."

Shiloh remembered what their mom called the most important lesson in raising them. "If you wanted to talk, good. I could keep you busy for hours just nodding along to whatever you wanted to tell me."

Shiloh looked at their friend, who was looking at them expectantly. "sure. whatcha got?"

Blue looked up at the sky, "Hmmm, maybe the clouds have the answers? Clouds come in all kinds of shapes. Like that one, y'see that one?"

Blue didn't exactly have hands to point with. Shiloh nodded, "you mean the white one?"

"Yeah, that cloud! It looks like a, uh, it looks like a Squawking Billy! You've seen one, right?"

Shiloh nodded, "yeah, ive seen em."

"Yeah it looks like that! But, um, that's not a good name. Ooh, maybe that cloud! It looks like a.... A rock! Like a big rock! But you're not a rock type, I think, I don't think there's yellow rock types. Are you a rock type?"

Shiloh shook their head, "nope."

Shiloh didn't know why they stayed. They could have walked off at any point and continued on their journey. But it wasn't like they had a destination in mind. And Blue made for good company. It reminded Shiloh of themself when they were younger. When they had energy, they had it in bulk. They questioned everything, Shiloh remembered how their mom used to joke that their first word was "why". Shiloh was a strange kid. But....

Was that even them?

Did they have a childhood, really?

These were borrowed memories. Maybe their childhood, their real childhood, was in a glass tube, unable to form memories and-

"Whatcha think?"

Shiloh snapped out of their spiraling thoughts, "huh?"

Blue sat up, "Didya fall asleep on me? I didn't mean to make you sleepy!"

"no, sorry, i just- long day. er, long week." They stopped for a second, before realizing Blue would probably interrogate them on the contents of their week, "you- did you find a good cloud?"

Blue fell on their back again with a wide grin, "Yeah! Well, no. I didn't find a good cloud, I found the best cloud ever! See it? Its the tiny one up there!"

Shiloh, much to their surprise, thought they knew which cloud Blue was talking about. Though, they could have been completely off. "oh, uh, yeah. its pretty."

"Yeah! And you know what it looks like?"

Shiloh stared at that tiny cloud. It was drifting away fast. As it drifted, its shape changed. It was probably two clouds, one behind the other and both moving. The two clouds together would give the illusion of an ever-changing shape.

They squinted, trying to make out a shape before it changed, "uhhh maybe a-"

Shiloh was interrupted before they could finish, "A cloud! Whadya think? I think your name should be Cloud!"

"oh, uh.... sure, okay."

Blue abruptly stood up, "Alright! Now I got 32 whole friends and one of them is Cloud! I think we should do something fun to celebrate! 32 is a really cool number!"

Shiloh nodded, "sure. whatcha thinking?"

"Um, uh.... Oh! I got a surprise! Come on, follow me, Cloud!"

[qlala]

hello miss Q! I saw that cute pokemon drawing that you reblogged on your main blog and I didn't know you liked pokemon! I wouldn't presume to ask for an AU (🥺) but hypothetically... what pokemon would you give team flash and the rogues? or, at least, Barry and Len? (and Iris...? I haven't forgotten that you promised us a coldwestallen fic 🥺😫🙏)

oh friend you know i can't resist a coldwestallen ask... i tried to cut this down but it's STILL way too long and became an AU anyway, so i'll put my answers under a cut :)

barry:

i made myself unreasonably sad right off the bat with this one, but originally, i'd say he has an eevee—an anniversary present that his dad gave to his mom just before she died. afterwards, barry didn’t want her. he was traumatized, the eevee just reminded him of his parents, and frankly, he wished that she had died instead of his mom. but joe coaxed him into keeping her, with a big planned talk about ~responsibility that barry interrupted after thirty seconds by asking if joe would leave him alone if he just said he would keep the thing

the resentment eased up a bit as barry got older and realized he was unfairly putting his survivor's guilt on her, but he still kind of kept her at arm's length (just one more thing to lose, otherwise) and they never got close enough for eevee to evolve into one of the friendship-based forms

but he kept her around (some of joe's talk stuck, after all), and so she was dozing in the hood of his jacket the night that he got struck by lighting after the particle accelerator explosion. when he opened his eyes again, one months-long coma later, it was to find a jolteon sleeping on his chest in the hospital bed, growling without opening her eyes whenever anyone tried to get near him

and barry finally gets it, the way he didn't when he was a kid--they survived something together, and it changed both of them, but the change doesn't have to be a bad thing, and they can (and do) learn how to navigate it together

(and yes, cisco DOES make the jolteon her own little flash mask, once they realize she can keep up with barry. it's a common enough pokemon that it’s not a huge problem, the flash having a jolteon too, but the story about barry’s eevee evolving in a lightning strike made the news, so better to be safe than sorry) (the lightning strike wasn't even the newsworthy part—barry's jolteon bit three cops, two paramedics, and a firefighter before joe finally pulled on a pair of barry's rubber lab gloves and grabbed hold of her long enough for them to put barry in an ambulance)

iris:

joe knows damn well that giving a kid a pokemon is a recipe for them getting in 100x more trouble than they could possibly get into alone, and he resolutely told iris her whole life that she could pick between getting a pokemon or a car for her 16th birthday... right up until they start fostering barry

because iris is an amazing kid, but there's limits to the amount of jealousy any 11 year old can handle. and iris suddenly having to share joe with barry and watch barry be an ungrateful punk about a pokemon he doesn't even want? is probably one of those limits. so, because it's joe's own fault that barry kept the eevee, he tries to preempt any issues by taking iris to pick out one of her own

iris loves her eevee from the second she sees her. she picks the one that walks right up to her, as bold as anything, and joe's only consolation for being 100% right about iris getting in more trouble in the immediate future is that maybe seeing iris with her eevee will help barry work through whatever's making him so upset about his

it backfires; iris's eevee evolves into an espeon within a year, the two of them inseparable, and it makes the situation with barry's eevee all the more awkward as the years go on—when people find out they got their eevees at the same time, they expect to see barry with a matching espeon or umbreon, and the unevolved eevee always seems like an unspoken rebuke (though from which one of them, no one is ever really sure)

but a very protective, very psychic fox turns out to be the perfect companion for an investigative journalist with a habit of chasing down dangerous leads. and after spending so much time around barry, iris's espeon knows him almost as well as she knows iris, so iris doesn't need a panic button once barry becomes the flash—if iris is ever in danger, her espeon will make damn sure barry knows it, even if they're clear across the city from each other

leonard:

i was going back and forth between like four different ice types before i realized i was approaching leonard's pokemon all wrong. leonard is not a pet person—he wouldn't get himself another mouth to feed just for the aesthetic. lisa and the endless parade of rescues she kept sneaking into their house growing up were plenty, thanks but no thanks

leonard would only get a pokemon as a tool, and even then only if he really needed one; like, for example, if his new super-powered nemesis had a very angry electric dog that kept frying the engines of leonard's getaway cars before he could use them to get away. ice types aren't actually very helpful against electric type pokemon—if he wanted something that would cancel out a jolteon's powers like the cold gun does to barry's, he would need a ground type.

and there is one particular ground type that would be perfectly suited to all of leonard's needs, of course. something immune to electricity, small enough to carry into a bank unnoticed in a duffel bag—and related to one of the only animals we know leonard does finds interesting, sharks. which means leonard is absolutely rolling up to his third time going head-to-head with barry, drawling, "think fast, flash" and then underhand-throwing a gible directly into his jolteon's legs like a bowling ball

in this universe, leonard wouldn't even need to torture and blackmail barry's friends to find out he's the flash. his gible just sticks his head out of his bag one day in jitters while leonard is waiting to pick up his drink, and the jolteon leaning against the legs of the kid in front of him gets one look at the gible, yelps, and bolts straight out of line and then out the front doors too, for good measure, before the kid can even turn around.

and when the kid does turn around... leonard recognizes the shape of that mouth, and the pale green of those bewildered eyes, but it's all academic at this point, because now that he's looking for it? leonard's only surprised that he didn't recognize him from silhouette alone

leonard is smirking before he can stop himself, and the kid—the flash—looks about as ready to bolt as his jolteon just did. but then the pretty barista, the one with the espeon, who always lets her fingertips brush leonard's as she hands him back his change, sets a medium flash, extra hot, on the counter and says, "here you go, barry," and leonard finds out that barry doesn't need his suit to live up to the nickname 'scarlet speedster'

(later—two years, seven near-death experiences, and one bonus threat of an actual-death experience from detective joe west later—leonard is still pulling jolteon quills out of the gible on a weekly basis. but now, it's only because iris and barry keep letting the pokemon on the couch whenever leonard isn't home to remind them that they had all expressly agreed not to do exactly that, because the jolteon and espeon shed, no matter what barry and iris say

and the gible is still a gible; leonard says they shouldn't let him evolve because he'll eat "the cats" (his collective name for iris's espeon and barry's jolteon), but really, it's just because he likes the gible the way he is. he says, once, that the gible reminds him of lisa when she was a toddler. cisco gets offended on her behalf, but lisa goes misty eyed—lisa snart, actually misty eyed—watching the gible bite one of barry's favorite sneakers in half, and says it's one of the nicest things leonard has ever said about her.)