#about pmd. on it. so. check it out

[front-facing-pokemon]

[driftingballoons]

Is there any media that's left a lasting impact on you?

So I’m going to give two answers, one the obvious, and another bonus answer for variety’s sake :3

Pmd explorers has possibly had the greatest lasting impact on me that any piece of media ever has. As my introduction to pokemon, I felt like I was playing partly as Hero would’ve experienced it—with absolutely no idea what to expect, and no background knowledge of anything. But the way it quickly changed from “heehee creature adventure :3” to “what does it truly mean to live and how can you shine as brightly as you can, even in the face of oblivion?” caught me quite off guard. It really made me start to think about how I could try to make the most of my life, how people’s actions can be hugely shaped by their situations, and how you really can’t take even the most simple of things for granted. I played this at 12 y/o during an otherwise very disruptive/isolated time in my life, so I’m not sure if that’s partly why my brain latched onto this as much as it did, but I genuinely felt like it helped me get through it. Whenever I felt weak or powerless back then, I found inspiration from how strong hero, partner, and grovyle had to be to get through everything, and it felt like it made coping just a bit easier. Fast forward to a much better time in my life, and it’s helped me find a wonderful, incredibly talented online community and friends, and I have an absolute blast being able to interact with you guys and see your takes on the series!

The other piece of media that had a lasting impact was Allie Brosh’s book Hyperbole and a Half. I hadn’t known before reading it, but she actually had a blog of the same name around the early 2010s, where she’d post her funny comics and stories. The part that had the most impact on me was actually her iconic ‘poorly drawn’ MS paint kind of style. It made me realize that you don’t necessarily have to make professional quality art to make something worth seeing. This inspired me not only to start posting my own doodles and stuff online, but also changed my approach when dealing with a lot of daunting things. Whenever I feel like I’m not good enough/skilled enough to try something, I remember how popular her stuff was, despite looking ‘low quality,’ and it reminds me that doing something low quality is better than not doing it at all! 

[sincerely-sofie]

[dravidious]

Oh wow, you are so amazing!

Made a pair of sagas for a weekly card design contest, the theme was a Universes Beyond saga, like godzilla and lord of the rings and stuff

Also they both ended up being 5-drop blue cards about world changing/destroying events that both get prevented in their games

[scribz-ag24]

I've recently seen again a post talking about the Sableye and Dusknoir's relationship so i'd like to put my two cents in the discussion, for I love screaming into the void about PMD. (this isnt meant to discourage any other interpretations btw this is just my take on theirs and Dusknoir's relationship, bc I think they're very fun characters and I am very glad the game actually gives these minions a bit of relevance in se5).

Tbh I don't buy that Dusknoir treats the Sableye nicely, at least not out of kindness. I don't think he's a tyrant or inexplicably mean, of course, and I think his minions ADORE him, but i also believe that doesn't mean he's nice to them, sth that i consider meaningful for their character arcs.

Throughout the entire game he's exclusively giving them orders, in se5 he concocts a plan that involves thrashing them MULTIPLE times (he's lucky Grovyle isn't one to try and kill enemies in battle ig), and the cherry on top is that the first time we see him being fully genuine he does this:

(yes, he is in turmoil in here, but there's not a single thing implying that 1. this is an unusual response towards the sablye, 2. dusknoir feels bad for it at some point or is surprised at himself, 3. this has any impact in the sableye at all. You can argue these reactions happen off screen and we don't see them, they don't happen bc they have pressing matters to attend to or they happen after they return to life, and that's perfectly valid, but i'm sticking with what the game shows us, here.)

I must say, though, the fact that the Sableye, despite having been almost mindless pokémon up to now, STAND UP TO AND ATTACK Primal Dialga for their boss and even try to look after him despite him ordering them to check on Grovyle and Celebi first is SO important to me. they are goons to the bone and they love that scheming ghost so much.

My own view is that Dusknoir is generally polite to them (you wouldn't randomly break your own revolver or weapon without any reason, would you?), but is quicker to get mean with them than with people he doesn't know or he is seeking to manipulate. He doesn't care about their behaviour as long as they get the job done, which is why I think the anime thing of the Sableye climbing onto his shoulder isn't that remarkable, rather it's a very cute moment, one that is showing how they've been working together for long and how their size difference affects their interactions, but it is not necessarily conveying an affectionate bond (this is a bit random, but it reminds me of Disney's Jafar with Iago lmao. throw your pet sableye at your enemies so they mock them and then return to your shoulder). Additionally, Dusknoir letting the Sableye onto his shoulder is probably as close as we are gonna get to a villain turning around in his chair while petting a cat in PMD lol.

[this isn't meant to be a one-to-one comparison, it's just a detail i find cute and shows that this gesture can have multiple interpretations, with none being the only right one]

Leaving that aside, I hesitate to claim Dusknoir trusts his Sableye as allies, as Grovyle makes a point in the main story of how the Sableye (your Sableye, he says, as if objectifying them; not friends, but tools, weapons at Dusknoir's disposal) are lacking compared to the way hero/partner/grovyle support one another (power of friendship and hidden information babyyyy). The Sableye are used to Dusknoir's way of doing things, though, I'm sure. They know what happens when he's displeased, after all.

I think, most of all, the Sableye are meant to look disposable: they are 6 identical pokémon that almost act like a hivemind, and we are not supposed to think at all about how we may hurt them in battle any more than we do with the angry Manectric pack or random dungeon pokémon. This, I believe, is why the game has them stand up against Dialga and gives them unique dialogue at the end of se5. They're meant to show their inner shine, just as Dusknoir managed to do. They suddenly gain an individuality they had never shown while they were working to maintain the dark future.

Where they abandoned Dusknoir in the Old Ruins, now Grovyle has motivated them to look for their dignity and fight for a better world, and that starts with protecting their leader from Primal Dialga's rampage, and supporting his new objective and allies in their quest to save the future. In their own small way, they've also grown as characters throughout SE5.

I believe that, overall, Dusknoir saw the Sableye as tools, but thanks to their growth and clear care for him, there's a possibility he might start to see them (and by extension other pokémon) in a more genuine, less pragmatic / objectifying way in the future. Now that Dusknoir has the chance to live a fulfilling life, he may learn to care for others without surrounding himself by so many walls. If anything, I think their future is quite bright. Not that the Sableye would mind if he still thrashed them around, though lol, they're clearly not bothered much by it (special episode 0 had a great depiction of the sableye imo, you can check that romhack if you haven't yet).

In conclusion, look at these little guys who adore their can-get-mean-but-is-mostly-polite boss and probably have a body count but now are good, they're so cute:

[waywardstation]

It has been so so so long since I’ve posted any fics, and I’ve been very sad about that. But seeing as I’ve been out of the house a lot lately I’ve had time to just sit and write a lot. I’ve got a Halloween fic I have done and ready to be posted, I’m just waiting for it to get a little closer to Halloween, but it’s based off either an idea I posed once, or one of those fake fic plots I did for that writing game once. I need to double check haha. And I have a collection of short drabbles that need to be formatted, a lot of them being Hisui PMD AU scenes mostly based off drawing scenarios I’ve already done, just to teach myself how to get into writing again.

I’m very excited to put them together and post them! ^^

[teshadraws]

Hi Tesha! I thought I remembered you once mentioning that you're happy for people to let you know about PMD fics they're working on, so more people can learn about them. If that's not right, go ahead and ignore this, sorry!

Otherwise, my friend @/Kit-Chat recently started uploading her PMD story! It's more of a found family slice of life fic focusing on the characters rather than world-ending disasters so it can be a fun change of pace (and it has an enemies to lovers arc!!). She's got links and plenty of art on her tumblr if people wanna check it out!

Yeah, that's totally fine!!! :] I love sharing PMD stories amongst the community, and @kit-chat has some awesome-looking stuff in the works! Love the idea of a more chill, slice-of-life PMD fic. Plus enemies to lovers? Hot dang.

Check it out if y'all are interested!

[sylvysprit]

[PC-98 Arrange] Lucid Dreamer (ルーシッドドリーマー) Original from Touhou 16.5: Violet Detector (秘封ナイトメアダイアリー　〜 Violet Detector) Original by ZUN Arranged by Princess Sylvsprit (me!)

I bet you didn't expect this huh? That's right, the era of me using PC-98 soundfonts is over, this is legitemate PC-98 FM PMD MML OPNA GANGNAM STYLE or whatever the usual chiptune people like to put in their video descriptions and titles

Back in 2013, i made my first ever PC-98 soundfont arrange, it wasn't very good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFmIlGafgJc Then, back in 2014, i tried to learn how to make legit non-soundfont PC-98 PMD MML music, with the help of Mana Kazami However, as you might have expected, it was too hard for me, so i gave up for 11 years

UNTIL NOW! That's right, a surprise comeback, i have avenged the failures of my younger self! Thanks to Pedipanol's awesome new and super helpful documentation, i was able to start re-learning how to make PC-98 MML music again https://mml-guide.readthedocs.io/ There are so many new tools available now, it is easier and more accessible than ever to make legitemate PC-98 music, especially compared to 11 years ago, so if you ever felt like it was too hard in the past, please try again, and read up on all the new tools and resources, there's a chance you'll actually be able to do it this time!

Oh, and this goes without saying, but i transcribed everything by ear of course, and i added some small new background details too like those background pianos on the right side near the end, i hope you like them hehe Still though… This is my first time doing this legitemately, so please be gentle and respectful in the comment section, thank you

Both Pedipanol and Mana Kazami helped me with this song as well, their help and advice was really useful, so big thanks to both of them, check out their channels please! Mana Kazami https://www.youtube.com/@Unreliably Pedipanol https://www.youtube.com/@pedipanol

Lucid Dreamer is an awesome song I used to dislike it, i used to think it sounded like most of ZUN's other modern works, but the more i listened to it, the more the song grew on me, and eventually i started to appreciate its small details more and more (you could say i didn't know it was beautiful) Sumireko as a character has also grown more on me in the recent few months, reading up about her lore more makes me feel really curious, she feels like one of the most unqiue characters in Gensokyo that really brings a unique dynamic, the idea of being stuck inside of a dream that is Gensokyo is actually quite creepy in a way, it's a dangerous place for people from the outside world

Audio recorded using FMPMD2000 Visuals recorded using FMDSP Player Video edited using OBS and Davinci Resolve MML written using MML2VGMIDE PMD was developed by KAJA

M2 download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17p_YN__LJkPGGqL_H-v2YR8CKA0XiUr4/view?usp=sharing

(I wonder what Hertzdevil would think of this…? He also commented on that old soundfont video back in 2013)

[umbraastaff]

what's pokeymanz? I'm only really familiar with a very simplistic pokemon system made by the GM for the Unexpectables campaign (it ain't bad, but I'm down for something with potentially more to it), also like, kinda surprised kinda not at people trying to contort 5e to fit pokemon, feels like folks try to cram everything into D&D 5e

yeah! so!! pokeymanz is a very cool system which aims (and IMO succeeds) to capture the feel of the pokémon anime in a game system. it's compatible with basically any generation or concept you can think of in pokémon bc it's such an open-ended while still giving plenty of guidelines for how to handle different kinds of things that appear across the games/shows/etc. there's even rules for playing as a pokémon à la PMD or meowth.

you can download the rulebook HERE, and honestly i'd recommend checking it out if you enjoy pokémon even if you have no interest in the game - it's very funny and enjoyable to read lol. it is based on Savage Worlds and GURPS, but I am not very familiar with either system so I can't speak much on that.

also, silliness aside, of course people can do whatever they want wrt game systems - you should be aiming to do what makes you happy first and foremost. but in my personal opinion, D&D 5e has pretty in-depth mechanics that reflect the goals and even the setting they were built for on a pretty deeply fundamental level, and trying to hack a completely different system into that just seems like... such a pain...

I am pretty sure I have also seen crunchier systems for pokémon made wholesale, which imo seems preferable to hacking it into 5e, even if it might require more work. but even then, I feel like... if I wanted a really robust pokémon battle system with specific rules and complicated math for how everything works, i would simply play the video game pokémon.

i know there are other ones - like whatever they're using on "unbeatable: a kanto journey"? i only just started listening to it and i haven't been able to find any info on what system they're using, but it seems kind of similar to kids on bikes (in that stats are represented by a d4 thru d20 and they explode), but it also seems to have more specific sub-skill checks and a lot of specific rules for how moves work...? so i am not sure what's going on there. been fun so far though.

anyway, check out pokeymanz. it's great timing bc it actually just recently had its final content update and is soon to be out of beta! every so often i get really excited about it and have pipe dreams again of running a campaign lol

[front-facing-pokemon]

[opalisprocrastinating]

PMD Special Episode 0 Romhack: Secret Cutscene!

NOTE: This post will contain minor spoilers for the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky games as well as a romhack based off of it: Special Episode 0: In a Dark Past Well. This wasn't exactly what I expected for my first post, but I sure as hell ain't complaining! I'm making this post since I discovered something that I haven't seen posted anywhere, so I thought I might as well share it. Sorry if it's a little long! First off, a bit of context: Thanks to numerous fanart, I've begun playing a PMD romhack called Special Episode 0: In a Dark Past. It's a romhack of the Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky games specifically, delving deeper into the backstories of two of its characters: Grovyle and Dusknoir. As a massive PMD EoS fan, I've been enjoying it so far! Highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of these games or characters and the writing is great! You can check out the creator's Twitter here, the hack download should be in a pinned post: https://twitter.com/PKMM_ESPEP0 It was when I got to a fight with a Vespiquen and her Combee that I got a little curious. Before I picked up this hack, I'd already watched a short playthrough of it and knew that you were supposed to lose this fight to continue the story (Vespiquen is ridiculously strong and uses Silver Wind, which basically kills you from anywhere). But I wondered if it was possible to beat it. After all, I had a lot of stun seeds by this point, and Duskull knew both Disable and Hypnosis which could stall the Vespiquen.

So I did. Though I must first confess, I didn't do it 100% legitimately. I don't own a DS, so I play all my games using emulators, including both PMD EoS and this romhack. Thus, I was able to save right before the battle so I wouldn't have to reset and go through the entire dungeon every time I lost. So while I did manage to beat the Vespiquen fair and square from start to finish, I did do a couple resets to save time. But that's not what I made this post for. After beating the Vespiquen, I unlocked a secret cutscene! I haven't seen anyone share this before, so I thought I might as well put this out there for anyone who is curious. For anyone who's read this far, thank you so much, and here it is! (It's quite long at about 7 minutes, but it's totally worth the watch!)

Thanks for reading through this one hell of a first post! Like I said, I really love PMD and from the little I've experienced, this romhack is just as beautifully written. Highly recommend checking it out if you haven't! I wonder if I should start posting PMD fanart of my own...

[rainbow-squirrels-7]

Hawk’s PMD teams masterpost:

Thanks to @flutterclouds for inspiring this (they sent in a few asks about my guys)! Anybody reading, feel free to ask me about my teams as well, for more info that isn’t provided under the cut!

Check out #hawks teams for more art of everybody!

Red Rescue Team

Team Go-Getters

Greenley (Cyndaquil, Hero) (he/him)

Cecil (Pikachu, Partner) (he/him)

Originally unnamed in my first GBA file of PMD RRT. I also wanted Torchic my first time playing the game, but I tried the quiz for what felt like hours and couldn’t get it so I settled for Cyndaquil

Named Go-Getters after the adorable anime episode

Both of them are troublemakers but their hearts are in the right place

Next to Team Ruby, they’re probably (in-universe) the strongest out of my teams

Greenley eventually evolves into Quilava but not Typhlosion. Cecil doesn’t evolve

Explorers of Time

Team Sapphire

Eugene (Piplup, Hero) (he/him)

Jessibelle (Pikachu, Partner) (she/her)

Originally unnamed and were Team Poképals

Eugene is actually an adult (perhaps 30+ as a human in the future) rather than a child or teen. Jessibelle becomes more of a daughter figure (still best friends obv) over the course of their adventure

Jessibelle has a big straw hat with a big bow that she wears at the beach. That’s her favorite place and she loves to look for sea glass

Eugene definitely pulled a “don’t you touch my DAUGHTER!” during the final Dusknoir fight and surprised himself and everyone else

Jess called Eugene ‘dad’ just as he was disappearing

Explorers of Sky

Team Ruby

Cassandra (Eevee [Sylveon], Hero) (trans female, she/her)

Katya (Vulpix, Partner) (she/her)

Originally unnamed. Do not remember their original team name

Katya was originally the Hero in my first EoS game, but I played through what’s out of the rom hack Seven Symphonies and played as Cassandra (as a Sylveon) and wanted to make Cass the leader

In my first EoS file, they got to level 100, along with their beloved Shaymin teammate

They’re so in love you guys

Cassandra was male as a human and upon turning into an Eevee, discovered that she doesn’t think of herself as male and transitioned

Darkest Before the Dawn

Team Emerald

Cinder (Eevee, Hero) (she/her)

Percy (Riolu, Partner) (he/him)

The team I draw the most

Percy never showed up in DBtD, so his personality wasn’t really explored. He’s kind of reserved and shy. He’s very much in love with Cinder but Cinder is hopelessly oblivious (she’ll figure it out)

Cinder is an ADHD queen

Cinder’s tail is slightly thinner than Cassandra’s and Celeste’s (whoa all my Eevees have C names) and she has more muted colors compared to other Eevees

various YouTube videos

Team Song

Valentina (Torchic, Hero) (she/her)

Celeste (Eevee, Partner) (she/her)

I’ve never actually played a game with them, they’re just who I draw for any PMD PMVs I make

They have no set colors

Gates to Infinity

The Hope

Echo (Axew, Hero) (she/her)

Seth (Oshawott, Partner) (he/him)

Echo is a huge nerd

Seth is himbo extraordinaire. He’s clumsy and impulsive but very loveable

Echo speaks with a lisp due to her tusks and also occasionally gets migraines

They have thicker scarves than the rest of my teams cuz the Mist Continent is chilly

Super Mystery Dungeon

The Forever

Ember (Torchic, Hero) (she/her)

Sage (Bulbasaur, Partner) (any)

I believe this was their team name

They are the embodiment of tall and lean and short and squart

Sage keeps art supplies in their bulb

Ember doesn’t talk much, especially compared my other Heroes

[casualsnickers]

Rat

Elod is a Pikachu variation and he’s part of my PMD project (second generation). I’ve written some stuff about what makes his variation a little unique. Keep reading below if you’d like to learn more about him.

-------------------------------------

Riakan Pikachus are elusive creatures; they can be encountered but instead of foraging around in the tall grass until you find one, they’ll almost always jump out at you. Especially if you’re alone. They’re known as The Snatching Pokémon as they’re attracted to numerous, beautiful things. Some Pikachus are attracted to gemstones. Others, to music. Others still to old or rare items. It depends.

The more items a Riakan Pikachu accumulates, the bigger they grow with the largest ever documented standing at around 4 ft tall (not including the ears). They come in a variety of fur patterns, but most are brown to blend in with the forest. They are much fluffier than their Kantonian counterpart and are often likened to hares with their long ears and hunched-over statures. Make no mistake, they’re rats. Though they do not live in packs, if one Pikachu is disturbed, they will call upon others of their kind and viciously attack (and sometimes hex) those who disturb them.

 Riakan Pikachus have a tendency to steal things… valuable things. Sometimes irreplaceable things. In the past, this species was sometimes responsible for missing infants and children. If they find a human particularly interesting, they will try to ensnare their victim with its charm and lure them deeper into the woods only to never let them leave. There are some tales about the species being able to turn humans into pokémon or even into still-sentient, wearable items. Tales that are, unfortunately, true.

Trainers who find and successfully manage to tame a Riakan Pikachu will often find themselves with a zealous, easily provoked companion. Riakan Pikachus are very territorial creatures and will go to great lengths to protect what they consider to be their property, going so far as to “terminate” potential threats by transfiguring them into useless items or muddying their senses with hallucinations. They’re also known to pickpocket and sway other people into giving them things. As such, even if you were to tame a Riakan Pikachu, you can’t take them into cities.

-------------------------------------

As for Elod specifically, he’s a bit on the shorter side. While he’s an electric-type, he can’t wear pretty much any necessary explorer gear like a bag, a money pouch, or a map; they interfere with the distribution of his electricity. As such, Elod has found ways of getting around the issue by either magnetizing his items or dropping all non-conductive items when it comes time to battle. Due to these issues, he’s affectionately referred to as Watts (as he doesn’t produce a lot).

Elod doesn’t like to battle; he just wants to collect shiny trinkets and glittering gemstones which is what inspired him to become an explorer. He’s more of a follower than a leader and if he thinks it necessary, he’ll flee dangerous situations. It doesn’t mean that he’s weak, though. His electrical attacks- when unhindered- are incredibly potent and his persuasion checks almost always succeed meaning that he can almost always outsmart, outspeed, or overpower an opponent. He did get tossed around like a football when he was just starting out, though.

[teamconductors]

A Day Off: A PMD Lost Tracks of Time AU

Summary: During a weekend where the Battle Subway has shut down for maintenance, Ingo offers Mono a train trip, and Emmet wants to spend time with her at Nimbasa's amusement park.

Background: This is for the Swap AU (forgive the old art). After the events of LTOT, Sneasler is turned into a human and is sent back in time to Unova before Ingo got taken to Hisui.

In terms of timeline, this is after Sneasler aka Mono has established herself as a trainer, is roommates with Elesa, and got a job at the Battle Subway out of pity (or so she claims).

This is a long one. It could've been split, but I didn't want to.

Also, for clarity: Mono is Sneasler's name as a human. Everyone knows her as Mono, but the narration uses both Mono and Sneasler for her. Is that confusing? Maybe. But I'm too lazy to change it.

"Unbelievable," Sneasler said. She wished she figured out human technology by now. Perhaps if she had, she wouldn't have entered Gear Station at the typical early morning time and saw signs blocking the entrance to her workplace.

"Good morning, Miss Mono!"

"Morning, Ingo." Sneasler turned to see Ingo, who lacked his black Subway Boss coat and hat but still wore his button shirt and pants. "I know I'm here because I messed up, I guess. But why are you here?"

"I need to make sure that maintenance occurs as smoothly as possible!" Ingo said. "That said, I only need to do periodic checks. After I complete this first morning check, would you like to accompany me for a train ride around Unova?"

"Just you? Emmet's not coming?" Sneasler almost asked about Elesa but stopped herself upon remembering that she left Nimbasa for a fashion show.

"Since I accepted the responsibility to watch over the Battle Subway, Emmet decided to try alternate routes for his weekend. We work together and have many common interests, but we don't always need to be a two-car train."

Sneasler turned her head so Ingo wouldn't see her cringe. Before she was kidnapped out of her time, Emmet had gotten better about going on separate missions without Ingo. But the literal and metaphorical scars remained. Once in a while, Emmet would suffer a panic attack if Ingo - or Eelektross or even her - were away for too long. He hated that it was still an issue, and so did she. One day I'm gonna kick Arceus' ass for the pain they caused, she thought.

She shook off the mental damage to continue her questioning. "Are you gonna be okay being gone from the station for a while? How long's the trip?"

"Less than two hours! We will return to Gear Station by the end, and there are no stops in between. This is purely a scenic trip!"

"...Okay. Why me?"

"Does there need to be a reason?" Ingo's eyes widened. "Wait, do you have another activity scheduled?"

Sneasler shrugged. Had she known, she could have at least slept in - though that's easier said than done, considering her recent insomnia. "Not really. Sure, I'll do a train ride."

"Excellent! Allow me to finish what I need to, and we will be off!" Ingo sped-walked past Mono before she could ask where she should wait.

---

Sneasler didn't wait long for Ingo. He led her to the wing of Gear Station she seldom visited beyond the her first day in Unova and ended up on a train. Unlike the Battle Subway's trains, they offered plenty of benches and tables for guests to rest at. She and Ingo took a car with no one else in it. Ingo chose a table, and Mono sat across from him, putting her basket next to her on the bench.

"Did you make that basket? It appears well-made and well-cared for," Ingo asked.

"Uh, thanks. It's... an heirloom," Mono said. This is going be a painful ride, isn't it?

The journey began. They started underground, but soon they popped out of a tunnel near Driftviel City. It was Sneasler's first time outside of Nimbasa. The mining city vaguely reminded her of the dungeons near Cobalt Coastlands.

Ingo interrupted Sneasler's musing. "Is something the matter, Miss Mono?"

Sneasler realized she had been staring at him. "Uh, no! I, uh, haven't been sleeping well. That's all."

"Oh, I'm sorry that you've been having such roadblocks. Is there anything I can can for you? Does your schedule need to be changed?"

"Nope, my work schedule is fine." Much to her chagrin, Ingo and Emmet trained Sneasler well to wake up at dawn. Even before then, she preferred mornings and daylight to night. "Don't worry about it, alright?"

"My job is to transport talented trainers to greater heights, and that includes the trainers helping us as well. On that topic, how are your pokemon doing? If I remember, your current team is a Croagunk, a Riolu, and a Whirlipede."

"Wow, you actually remembered that?" Does he usually remember different trainers' teams like that??

"Well, you only recently became a trainer, am I correct? Our guests who have battled against you certainly couldn't tell! You've been performing fantastically so far!"

Croagunk, Whirlipede, and Riolu fight well on their own. I'm just there pretending to guide them. "Got lucky, I guess."

"I don't think it's luck, Miss Mono."

I found Croagunk after he got abandoned by his trainer. Riolu was a stray on the outskirts of Nimbasa and needed a home. And meeting Whirlipede was an accident.

"Please do not discount yourself."

I'm not a trainer. I'm not supposed to be here.

"I think your journey has only just begun."

One of the doors opened. An Audino with a cart walked to Ingo and Mono's table. On top of the cart sat a kettle and bowls with colored packets, tiny cartons of liquid, and small sticks. On the secondary shelf were stacks of cups. "I have coffee!"

"Miss Mono, the coffee is complimentary. There's also a dining kart if you'd like to fuel yourself." Ingo took the cup Audino offer him. "Thank you very much," he said to the pokemon.

"Uh, thanks." Sneasler accepted her own cup. She stared at the dark liquid inside as Audino placed cups with packets and tiny cartons and a couple sticks on the table. She brought the cup to her nose and sniffed.

"Do you like coffee, Miss Mono?" Ingo asked as he prepared his own cup.

"Coffee, huh?" She sniffed again. It didn't smell bad. "I've seen Elesa drink this stuff, but I haven't yet."

"Really? I'm surprised."

"She's offered, but I just didn't feel like it. But, uh... here I go, I guess." Sneasler brought the cup to her lips and took in a mouthful of the liquid.

She slammed the cup to the table and covered her mouth with her hand lest she spit everything over poor Ingo.

"Are you alright?!" Ingo yelled loud enough that Audino, who left for another car, opened the door and ran to Ingo and Mono.

Sneasler waved at both Ingo and Audino with her free hand as she swallowed. "I'm fine! I'm fine!" She looked at Audino, who had placed her feelers on her chest. "No really, I'm alright."

"Okay... But I hope what's making you sad goes away..." Audino retracted her feelers and returned to the other car.

I heard that. "Sorry, Ingo. It was just really, really bitter, and I didn't expect it. Smelled and tasted really different."

"Hm, you do run into surprises in a journey sometimes. May I try something?" Ingo pointed to Mono's cup.

"If you want it, take it." Sneasler grabbed napkins and began wiping up the coffee that splashed out when she slammed the cup down.

Ingo grabbed a packet and a tiny carton and poured their contents into the cup. "I find black coffee too bitter to fully enjoy as well. That surprises people, but I'm not sure why." He stirred the mixture together with a stirring stick and then offered it to Mono. "I added cream and sugar to your drink, which is how I like it. I hope this is more palatable for you."

Sneasler glanced between Ingo and the cup. She grabbed the cup with a delicate hold and slowly took a sip. She braced for the bitterness, but the sweetness calmed down the bitterness like a Light Screen reducing a Psychic's damage. "That's not... terrible. I don't think I'll be drinking much coffee, though."

"That's alright! You need to know what works best for you, just like how you need to know how to keep a machine well-oiled!"

Sneasler chuckled. "Everything comes back to trains for you, huh?"

"Well, trains are fascinating! The way they're made, how they work, how precisely you can make schedules and get everyone to where they want at the right time! Why else would Emmet and I format a battle facility in a series of them? On that line of thought, why did you decide to work specifically at Gear Station? You said you weren't a pokemon trainer, so was there another reason?"

He's conveniently leaving out the part of our first meeting where I said I knew them, but okay. "I... Listen, I'm not that good with technology. I can get the gist of things, but it'll take me a bit to get used to them. But... I... I have two younger brothers that love trains." Sneasler's eyes widened as soon as she registered what she just said, but she could not take that back. "And... it's really nice to hear them excited. They've shown me books about them because they think it's fun to talk about them to someone who doesn't know squat. ...For a lot of reasons, I haven't been able to see them, and the Battle Subway... reminds me of them." She blinked more frequently as something welled behind her eyes.

Ingo's signature frown softened. "I see... Well, I'm glad to have you ride with us, and I hope you see your brothers soon."

"Me, too."

Ingo and Sneasler decided in silence to watch the view as their train passed by different areas. They breezed through forests, went through mountain tunnels and over bridges, and witnessed the sky turn from orange to blue. Ingo made comments about cities and landmarks but was clearly less energetic than before.

By the time they passed through Undella Town, Sneasler groaned, making Ingo jump. "Holy rift, I made this trip so awkward. I am so sorry."

"Please do not apologize! This has not been awkward for me, but does that mean it was awkward for you?" Ingo asked, frowning deeply.

"C'mon, stop deflecting. I can't believe you've always been like this."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been a bad trip, and you know it. I can see it in your face." Sneasler pointed at Ingo and traces circles in the air.

"Really? I've been told that I'm rather stiff..."

"Compared to Emmet, yeah, but... I can still see it." Sneasler sighed. "Maybe it would've been better if you just did this on your own."

ingo hummed. "If you hadn't been at Gear Station, I most likely would have gone on this train by myself. While that would have made for a fine trip, journeys are made better when shared with others." He looked into Mono's eyes. "Miss Mono, I know that Elesa has been a great help for you, but please also know that Emmet and I are here to help you move forward to your destination!"

Sneasler rested her head on her hands. "And dramatic as ever, too. I'll never understand how you always say stuff like that so sincerely."

"My job is to transport passengers along their journeys to greater heights. Why wouldn't I be happy about what I do?"

"The more you talk, the more you keep using Dig." Sneasler laughed as Ingo got more confused. "It's not a bad thing, Ingo. Don't change that part of you, okay?"

Ingo's eyes widened. "I... Thank you, Miss Mono. I shall do my best."

The rest of the trip was quiet, but with the air cleared, they watched the scenery change in comfort. Though fascinated with the shifting landscapes and cities, Sneasler took glances at Ingo. His human face was slightly harder for her to read than his Sneasel face, but he definitely relaxed into his seat.

Ingo said something about liking train rumbling, right? I guess that's why. ...Have I ever seen him like this? My ancestor definitely didn't. He doesn't really relax on vacations either. Maybe the warden and rescuer stuff takes more out of him than he wants to say? I know he enjoys it, but that responsibility...

I really am going to kick Arceus' ass one of these days.

***

When they returned to Gear Station, Ingo left to check on the status of maintenance, and Sneasler returned to her temporary home and take a nap. She didn't know why her body hurt more than normal. She decided to blame it on her weird human body.

Elesa described her apartment as small, but to Sneasler, it was massive compared to Ingo and Emmet's old tent at the Pearl Guild. She also gave Mono her own guest room, but the train ride tired her out so much that she crashed onto the rectangular but plush couch in the living room. She fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.

The ringing of a bell woke Sneasler from her dreamless nap. She jumped to a sitting position, accidentally making Riolu and Croagunk fall off her and onto the floor.

"What the?" Sneasler cursed as she looked between the two dazed tiny pokemon and Whirlipede wrapped around her basket. "When did you guys get here?"

"Came outta our balls like an hour ago," Croagunk said.

"You looked comfy..." Riolu said.

The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sneasler combed her fingers through her hair to fix it. The ends curled back up to their usual position. She opened the door.

"I am Emmet. Hi there, Mono." Like Ingo, he did not wear his signature coat and hat, but his outfit was even more unfamiliar to Sneasler. His pants looked almost like normal ones, but the shirt had some sort of colorful floral pattern she didn't expect, let alone from him.

"Hi. Uh, if you're looking for Elesa, she's outta town right now," Sneasler said.

"I know. You have the day off, and so do I. Do you want to go somewhere with me?"

"First your brother, now you?! Is this some sort of new employee ritual thing, or...?"

"Not at all. I am just curious about you." Emmet smiled even more.

Sneasler sighed. "Alright, fine, I guess. Might as well. Why not?" She turned to her pokemon behind her. "You guys gonna be okay here?"

"You're not taking them with you?" Emmet stared intensely at Mono.

"Am... I supposed to?" Sneasler paused, then she added, "Are you gonna challenge me to a battle?!"

"Not today. For you safety, it is a good idea for pokemon trainers to have at least one pokemon with them at all times."

Why am I getting deja vu? "Alright. Everyone cool with coming with?" After a set of affirmative answers, she walked back to the couch where her basket rested next to. She kept her pokeballs inside, along with her hat and coat, the Toxic Plate, and other important items. "...Wait. Do you have a pokemon on you?"

"Of course!" Emmet said.

On cue, a Jotik popped his head out of the pocket on Emmet's shirt. "Hello!"

Sneasler stared at Emmet and Jotik in stunned silence. "Why am I surprised anymore?"

---

Emmet led Mono to Nimbasa City's amusement park while marching and swinging his arms straight, which was more impressive to witness compared to when he did it as a Sneasel.

"We have arrived at Ronde-View Ferris Wheel. Ronde-View Ferris Wheel," Emmet said while pointing at Mono.

"Elesa mentioned something about a "Ferris wheel". You just go around in a circle?" Sneasler asked.

"Correct. It is not a thrill ride, but they give us a good view of Nimbasa City. Are you afraid of heights?"

"No! I'm a rock climber, and you can't be a climber if you're afraid of heights!" Unless there's a bottomless Distortion World void beneath me, but that's just common sense.

"Rock climbing? Verrrry interesting." Emmet narrowed his eyes at Mono.

Sneasler narrowed her eyes back at him. "Yeah. Haven't done it in a while, though."

"Would you like to try today? A rock climbing wall was set up here recently."

"Wait, really? A wall that you just... climb? As a human?"

"'As a human'?" Emmet repeated.

"...Well, I'm just used to regular rocks and cliffs. That's all."

The ride operator stopped the wheel and let people exit a gondola. She approached the gate that Emmet and Mono stood at. "Hello! How many people do we have?"

"Two," Emmet said. "All aboard!"

The pokeball-shaped gondolas were large enough to fit at least four humans and maybe a few small pokemon. The pokeball designs were upside down, making the white half see-through for people to look out of. Mono stepped onto the gondola and got surprised when the floor gave under her weight.

"What the hell?!" Sneasler jumped backward, hitting Emmet with her basket. He quickly caught himself instead of falling.

"Oh, don't worry, Miss! Some of these cars can swing," the ride operator said. "If you'd like, you can wait behind the gate and the next car will stay still."

"That car would be preferable for both of us, I think. Please stand by, Mono," Emmet said, pointing to the line gate.

Sneasler reluctantly stood back and took the next gondola. To her relief, it remained still when she stepped onto it. She and Emmet took opposite seats. Once settled, the operator closed the door and started the ride.

"That was embarrassing," Sneasler said. "I just wanna say, I think the moving one would be fine. I just didn't expect it."

"You are fine, Mono. As I said, I like the cars that don't move. The wheel moves us, anyway." Emmet looked to their left. "I enjoy riding trains and running the Battle Subway. But I also like rides like this because I get a change in perspective."

"Change in perspective, huh?" Sneasler watched them slowly rise above the different buildings in the city. Previously, she could only get a view like this from climbing mountains or riding on Eelektross' back (though he couldn't for long). Not to mention that she mostly saw man-made buildings as ruins, as landmarks of times long past. Here, they were new and pristine.

"Now that our trip has begun, I need to ask you something," Emmet said. "Who are you?"

Sneasler blinked at him. "Is your memory alright? My name's Mono."

"You introduced yourself as Sneasler first."

Sneasler frowned. She mentally kicked herself for confusing Ingo and Emmet so much when they first saw each other. How was she supposed to know she ended up in Unova before Ingo went missing? "It's just a nickname. I mistook you two for someone else."

"Your nickname is the name of an extinct pokemon?"

"Extinct?!" No, wait, calm down! The Nobles weren't active when humans were around. Not extinct. Just in hiding. "I mean... yeah, weird name, it's a long story. And what does it matter?"

Emmet readjusted himself and leaned forward. "I'm just curious. You had a verrrry strong entrance. What is your goal? I want to see your track is going."

Sneasler groaned and put her head into her hands. "Why are you two like this? Ingo got done talking to me about basically the same thing!"

"Huh. I didn't know that. We took different lines but accidentally converged." Emmet smiled. "But I think he gets something different out of questions than I do. We see things differently, and that makes us strong together. I want to learn more! Where do you want your journey to go, Mono?"

"I..." Sneasler leaned back and lazily stared out the window to think. Talking with Ingo started this train of thought, and talking with Emmet needed to finish it.

I want to fucking go home. But I have no idea how to do that, so maybe if I get money, I can go to the Sinnoh region, find the Nobles of this era, and get them to help me. ...If I can find them. If they can get me in contact with Dialga or someone. Could they turn me back into a Sneasler? Ingo and Emmet kinda turned back, but they kinda didn't either. And there's no way I could become like what they are now!

"Mono?" Emmet asked. "Do you not have an answer? If so, that's fine. That's a valid feeling."

"No, I... I do, it's just..." There's no dungeons here. There's no Nobles or rescue teams or anything I know. I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't know anything about being a trainer or being around humans. And just to top it all off, my body isn't mine anymore! Losing my memories would be a blessing at this point! Because at least I don't have to look at Emmet or Ingo and have them look back at me as a stranger!

The Ferris wheel stopped moving. Their gondola returned to ground level.

"Why are you crying?" Emmet reached into a different shirt pocket and offered Mono a tissue. "You really don't have to answer if you can't."

"Why do you care?! You don't even know me!" Sneasler stood up and grabbed her basket. She slammed open the cart and hopped over the exit gate. She looked down at the ground as she walked so that no one saw her tears.

She found a patch of grass and trees at the edge of the park. A shrill winding sound came from her basket, making her jump. Sneasler then nearly fall over as her basket got a heavy weight added inside that wasn't there before. After placing the basket down, she leaned on the tree and slid down to a sitting position. She covered her eyes with one hand.

"Sneasler?" Her Croagunk asked, having come out of his pokeball to face his trainer. "You wanna talk?"

"I am never gonna get used to that pokeball sound." She unlocked the latch on her basket and slapped the top off. "Why are you here?"

Croagunk popped his head out. "You're crying and stormed off from your friend and you're surprised I wanna ask why?"

Sneasler sighed. "Stop pretending you care. I only caught you so I could pretend I'm a trainer."

"You do realize that you totally are a pokemon trainer by now, between me and Riolu and Whirlipede?"

"I'm not a pokemon trainer!"

"Then what are you?"

"I... I don't know anymore, damn it! Like, I was just a Sneasel with a Noble mom. Then my mom died, I had to evolve to a Sneasler take over her title, which sounds great, but it's not! Because everyone wants you to be the ultimate rescuer with super strength and memories from past Nobles and other weird powers! And then a whole bunch of shit happened and everyone became convinced Ingo and Emmet are my younger brothers which is fine! I guess! Because pokemon and even the other Nobles started to respect me more!

"And then! AND THEN!" Sneasler took a deep breath. "Without an ounce of warning, I wake up! In a different time period! In a totally different world! I've never been around humans, I only have memories of them, and even THOSE are vague at best, and now I have to ACT like one?! I had claws for climbing, and now I have weak, soft fingers and nails that break under the slightest load! My back hurts if I carry my basket for too long which NEVER used to happen! I have to pretend to not know what every pokemon I hear is saying!" Sneasler pinched her cheeks. "And to top it all off, whoever did this to me decided to give me a face that looks like Ingo and Emmet's! But they don't know me! And they're the only people in this world I should know but I don't!"

Croagunk tilted his head to look at someone behind Mono and wave. "Hi there, Emmet."

Sneasler scrambled to standing position. Though absolutely terrified, she needed to see if Croagunk told the truth. Unfortunately for her, there Emmet stood, his face frozen and his smile open, wanting to say something but no sound coming out.

Sneasler recalled Uxie's description of when Arceus took Ingo: the world opened up below Ingo and Emmet. They were sucked down until the portal touched one of them and threw out the other. Since Arceus thought Ingo and Emmet were two of the same person, maybe they would think the same thing of her. If Arceus opened a portal right below her feet, she would fall in first and then touch the portal first and leave Emmet and Ingo alone. They're left behind while thinking they lost a weird employee. Nothing of value was lost. But that would mean she becomes a target of Chained Giratina. She could weather a blow if she was still a Sneasler, but as a weak, squishy human? She could die and be unable to return home. And Dialga would likely become upset at the time paradox this scenario would definitely make.

She would rather face an enraged Dialga than explain to Emmet what he just heard.

"...How much of that did you get?" Mono asked, voice just above a whisper.

"Not all of it, I think," Emmet said. "...Do you want another few days off? There's some new tech in Paldea. There's something about being able to feel what it's like to become a pokemon."

Sneasler's face started to turn red. "If I'm flying somewhere, I'd rather go someplace else." Namely, the Sinnoh region. "And right now? I'd rather go home. Just forget everything, okay? Forget everything I ever said, and I'm not bothering you or Ingo ever again, okay?!"

Emmet placed a hand on Mono's shoulder. "You are not the first human who wants to be a pokemon. I've thought about it when I was younger."

Sneasler facepalmed. Somehow, that's worse than if he found out the truth. But at least that means he's not paying attention to me "knowing" him. "Emmet. I'm asking a lot as someone you don't know well." She grabbed his shoulders. "But please don't tell people about this. It's... embarrassing."

"Sure." He presented the tissue that he tried to offer her before. "Once you are ready, do you want to try that rock climbing wall? Would that help you feel better?" Emmet pointed in the direction of the attraction.

Sneasler sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She took his tissue and cleaned up the leftover tears. "It might, it might not, but you'll know either way, I guess??" She grabbed her basket, surprised it wasn't as heavy as before. Croagunk returned to the ball, I guess. "Let's go. All aboard, conductor."

A short walk later, Sneasler saw what Emmet talked about. Calling it a wall for climbing would be generous at best. It was maybe 15 meters high, adorned with candy-colored rocks, and surrounded by soft-looking mats.

"You sure it's for adults? Adult humans?" Sneasler asked. She imagined her mom using a wall like that to teach her how to climb.

"Of course it is." Before waiting for a reply, he walked to the line.

Oh. He just wants to try climbing. That's why he's still hanging out with me. May as well join him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Sneasler sighed and followed behind Emmet.

Different humans - some kids, some adults - stepped up for the opportunity to climb. They wrapped straps around their waists, which connected to a pulley and then to the operator's pokemon, a Sawk and a Throh. Some people didn't reach the top, but those that did rang a bell hanging there next to some Pidoves. The human running the area had a remote connected to a couple timers. Even small pokemon were allowed to give it a shot, though she noted that none of them were natural climbers.

"We're next. All aboard!" Emmet said as the gate opened to let them in.

"Do you know how to climb, Emmet?" Sneasler asked. The mats squished under her feet, confirming her suspicion of being soft.

"No, but trying could be fun!" Emmet smiled even more.

"Whoa, you already have a harness?" The operator asked, looking at Mono.

"Unbelievably, yes," Sneasler said. When she woke up in this world, she wore the coat and hat the twins gifted her and her basket that still contained the Poison Plate. All the other clothes she arrived in were already on her person: the shirt with a fluffy collar, pants, boots, and fake gemstone decorations. She didn't even know what the harness was until Elesa explained it.

The operator hooked her and Emmet to the safety system and then gave them tips for climbing that Sneasler did not listen to. She stared at her hands. This isn't gonna end well. There's too many humans around looking at us. Is it because of Emmet? I haven't tried climbing with this body yet, but I hate not having my claws. Is this how they felt in their Sneasel bodies?

"Uh, miss? Don't you want to take off your backpack?" the operator asked.

"Nope." Sneasler readjusted her basket for stability. "You ready, Emmet?"

Emmet nodded. "Follow the rules. Safe driving! Follow the schedule. Everybody smile!"

As soon as Emmet began reciting his mantra, Sneasler joined in without even thinking about it. When she realized what she was doing, she turned her head to Emmet, who stared back with wide eyes as he kept going. Sorry Emmet, you've said it so much that it burrowed into me.

"Check safety. Everything's ready! Aim for victory! All aboard!" Emmet and Mono finished together. The operator wisely decided to start the timer right then.

Sneasler jumped and grabbed two rocks. She tapped her nails against the colored rocks protruding from the gray wall, hearing and feeling an unnatural hardness and hollowness. Her fingers couldn't dig into the material. She placed her feet on two rocks, and even though she couldn't feel them through the boots, it was sturdy enough to support her weight.

One foot up. Her leg extended, and she grabbed higher rocks. Another step gave her more height. And another. The colored rocks looked like child's play, but they provided a clear, stable path despite their strange and varied shapes. Her body was weaker, but it possessed enough strength to keep her grip and climb at a steady pace. Even as the steepness increased, she was too focused to let it slip her up.

Before she knew, the bell hanged right above her head. With her feet and hands firmly planted, she grabbed the rope and rang the bell for all to hear.

"YES! I can still climb!" In Sneasler's elation, she lost her grip on the wall. She half-expected a certain ghost's Psychic to catch her, but instead, a tug on her harness indicated that the operator's pokemon held her rope, letting her hang in the air. Below her came claps and cheers, but she looked down to find one person in particular.

"You won! That was fun! You did great, Mono!" Emmet near-shouted. He managed to climb halfway up the wall, which Sneasler did not expect, given his thin frame. He let go of the wall without an ounce of fear.

When they were lowered and touched ground, the operator ran at Sneasler. "You climbed that wall in 15 seconds! That's a new record! What's your name, miss?"

"Uh... Mono." I could've done it in half that time if I was still a Sneasler.

"Thank you for climbing with us! Here's your prize!" The operator reached into a pack connected to his belt and pulled out four tickets.

Sneasler snatched the pieces of paper. "Free... Casteliacone... voucher?" She looked at Emmet. "The hell's a Casteliacone?"

"It's a soft serve ice cream. You can get them in Castelia City, which is south from Nimbasa City," Emmet said.

"Oh. Nice." She turned to the operator. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

After Mono and Emmet left the rock climbing area, they found a bench next to a dedicated space to let their pokemon roam. Besides the Joltik from his pocket, Emmet also let Archeops, Durant, and Crustle. Croagunk and Riolu hanged out in their own area, but Whirlipede ran with Archeops for a race - which Sneasler overheard.

"Do you feel better now, Mono?" Emmet asked.

"Kinda." Her fingertips turned red and tough from the exertion. She turned her palm around to stare at the design of her fingerless gloves. "...Sorry for getting mad at you."

"You're not the first. But that climb was amazing. I was hoping for a competition, but I completely lost. It was so fun!" Emmet said. "Yep. You're definitely someone I want to watch for more than one reason. These are the only three pokemon you have?"

"Yep. I have my hands pretty full right now. Why?" she asked, but she already knew what his answer would be.

"When you find a fourth, you should try working for me on the Doubles Line."

"...When? Not if?" Sneasler turned to Emmet and raised an eyebrow.

"Correct. And when you get stronger, you should face me in a battle - after you face 20 trainers first, that is." Emmet smiled even wider.

Sneasler sighed. "You really were always like this, too, huh?"

"Yes? One day, you should also tell us why you act so casually with me and my brother!"

"I said you needed to forget that!" Sneasler once again promised herself to kick the butt of Arceus and whoever is responsible for her predicament.

[ravenwolfie97]

more notes comparing pmd DX and the original rescue team games!

it's throwing a lot of new items at you fast, like the Bank Orb and Rainbow Gummi and stat supplements. it's a little overwhelming to have all this stuff before the first boss lol

there's already a Kecleon shop in Mt. Steel???? oh my god why does the theme sound like that too it just randomly hits you with elevator music

AND TRAPS??? ALREADY????? WHAT the difficulty curve here is completely different! or not difficulty but more like complexity. it's so far ahead of what the original games would have and it's freaking me out a bit bhkjlk

the remixed tracks have been pretty good up until the one that comes up when you're in danger. this is just noise. bassoon was a weird timbre to mix with all of that

the skarmory fight was still pretty easy, but at least it took more than just a couple hits this time. probably was actually significantly harder, but my team just happens to have super-effective Electric and Fire moves which are. um. its only two weaknesses. lol whoops

with all the different rewards, and especially with all the other nifty items thrown at us, this reward from Dugtrio seems much more paltry lol - instead of a Pecha Scarf and Ginseng, you just get a Max Ether and a Heal Seed. though, i feel like that makes more sense than the originals, which feels much more out of left field

ohhh Wigglytuff's shop is called the Camp Corner now, and instead of Friend Areas you make little campsites for your teammates! that's cute, I feel like that makes more sense than just. um. selling you land lol. it's still basically the same though. and you get one more for free than in the originals! that's pretty nice

i did wonder just now if Alakazam noticed us, the weird human-turned-pokemon, or was just kind of staring in our direction while sensing Gengar's presence instead. even after three iterations, i'm not quite sure lol

okay so the Friend Area/Camp situation is a lot more different, and i am so utterly charmed by it. they used the old pmd sprites when you go into the camp!! i wonder what they'll do for any newer gen pokemon if they have them in here

the Rainbow Gummies/Rare Quality system is really neat, and adds a whole other level to your teammates. there are also DX Gummies which i'm very interested in. I got "Squad Up" which increases odds of Pokemon joining your team if you have multiple party members, and my partner got "Defensive Rhythm" which increases the whole party's defenses for a turn if they're being attacked, which would help a lot in a Monster House situation

the dungeon map is actually pretty different too, compared to the more recent ones, showing all sorts of stats for each dungeon. it shows the kinds of pokemon you can find there, how many floors it has in total (unless you don't know yet), how many teammates you can take, and also it shows how many jobs you have for each dungeon as well as extra things like more treasure or strong opponents. that's really interesting

you can customize your teams before you leave too, instead of cycling through the friend areas before you go! and you can also double-check your items and money beforehand! those are really cool additions!

man i do also really like that the pokemon you're trying to rescue Stay Still instead of Running Around like a chicken with its head cut off. another QoL update that is. quite nice

another interesting thing about Camps vs Friend Areas is that pokemon can join you on your adventure regardless of whether or not you have a place for them to stay, and if you keep them alive throughout the adventure, they'll give you something in return! so far all i got was money, but i presume they might be able to hand out items as well. so that's neat!

as i've been going on missions, i've been able to take 4-6 jobs per dungeon and each one of these missions gives me 50 points towards my rank, rather than the measly 5 points they had in Rescue Team. however, i hadn't been gaining points until after defeating Skarmory, so that could be part of it. but also, as rank increases, it increases the amount of items my toolbox can hold, how many jobs i can take, the capacity in each camp, and how many teams i can build. that's pretty awesome. and it seems like it'll be a lot easier to grow in rank over time. heck, in the original games, i might not even be gold rank by the time i finish the main game! i believe it'll be much faster to climb rank in this game with all these advantages

i always thought Ekans of Team Meanies was weird, particularly because it looked so much bigger than the other two. that's not the case in DX - Ekans looks weird because the upstanding part of its body is So Straight and its 3D model bends a little concavity into its body from the joint. and i don't like that

i tried a DX Gummi. i don't know what the difference is yet

there's a dungeon called Oddity Cave that apparently was in the original rescue team games through an event Wonder Code, but it was just added as a normal one in DX, which i think is pretty cool. the music for the area also seems to be a medley of Gates to Infinity dungeon themes

i forget if it came up before, but another nice QoL is that you don't immediately lose if you or your partner faints in a dungeon - the other one can keep going onwards

alright, that's enough for now. time for a break lol

[earbuster]

Sup, name's Daina Belle or DB for short. Unlike my *now extremely lost* travelling buddies I'm no trainer. I'm a PERFORMER! A MUSICIAN! AN ARTIST! And a GUITARIST. People also identify me as "a gremlin" or "a loudred" or "Cainette", apparently I have a rock throwing habit (what about people and vans being perfectly shaped like rock houses?) which is pretty funny cuz that's like, a feminisation of the name a friend of mine.

Well whatever! Anecdote aside! My scene name is Ear Buster! I'm a pretty small, hoping to not stay that way, death metal guitarist. Look for that face on the flyers!

My main inspiration is Roxie and the Toxics. I mean have you HEARD THOSE BANGERS! NOT! A! MISS! I mean I literally WEAR one of their pins. Buuuuut I do need to make myself stand out of the crowd, and that's where some folks tale I heard comes in

Y'all ever heard of that mythical pokeband? Just a whole band entirely made out of pokemons and no human input? Yeah I know FASCINATING! Welp I'm taking that and making my band with it! I already found one too

DAZZLY!

My vocalist and the TRUE gremlin of the group, also the only thing I can hear clearly without my aid. Unfortunately she requires a LOT of attention as she really, and I mean really, likes to eat metal, and other pokemons. And to all those that say "Oh just put her in her pokeball then" she ate it. It's gone, she follows me because I have food to give, guess that does make me some sort of trainer. And yes I know she's eating a vending machine and if anything I'm proud.

ANYHOW! Check out your local Tectonian venues, bars and theaters cuz I might be there!

[Linked is a chart with numerous dates and places in a small area of Tectonia]

(OOC undercut)

Alright so, DB is a character made for a TTRPG group so this blog kinda serves as a way to solidify her personality(?) Gotta keep a red line y'know. She's got an hearing aid but I still haven't decided on the cause, most likely from birth. Why is she a trainer if she's a musician? Money, cold hard cash, it's easier to go and mess up a gym where she is + that helps build her band's stamina

Dazzly was a character made for a PMD game that unfortunately didn't kick off but what I really like is that the vending machine is FILLED to the brim with references of older characters that are either mine or that I interacted with, she's still as feral as she originally was so I wouldn't recommend petting her

Okay yeah I think that's about it. It's a standalone blog, don't bother looking up what Tectonia is, fake region. AND expect the band to grow