#and I go over for my pokeballs and expected to get to my ultra ball after a poke ball and NO

[justmanic03]

Amethyst - Chapter Ten

When the flying taxi landed in Quantanum, I realised it was just as bustling and illuminated as Acuada and Ridgeburn. Although it wasn't quite as aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it was clearly the powerhouse for electricity in Taldourse. Surrounded by pylons and wires connecting almost every building in sight, it definitely made sense to have the Electric-Type Pokemon Gym in this city. Neon signs were everywhere, as well as strings of lights connected between different statuettes that were placed atop bollards. Whilst scanning my surroundings, I realised that these statuettes were mostly of Pokemon, but not exclusively. There was one of the electrostatic Pokemon duo - Plusle and Minum - clutching each other. The lights were arranged in such a way that it looked as though there were generating an electric current.

"Y/N! Over here!" I turned around to see Jordan waving at me. I jogged over to him. "Are you just going to keep showing up at every single gym I challenge?"

"Well no, not exactly. My dad sent me out to try and track down any Team Moon grunts. He's the one who runs the Electric Gym, by the way."

"Your dad is the Gym Leader? That's cool."

"Definitely. He's been expecting you. Come on in and I'll get you registered."

****

Upon walking into the stadium, I noticed there were cables everywhere. This was in stark contrast to the pristine stadia of the previous three gyms. It definitely seemed as though the Gym Leader was not expecting any challengers, and thus hadn't bothered to clean up. He almost jumped out of his skin when Jordan cleared his throat.

The short, bald man spun around in shock, his piercing blue orbs gazing into the back of my head. "Good Lord Arceus! You gave me an electric shock!"

"Dad, what did I tell you about always being prepared for gym challengers?" Jordan chuckled.

"Well considering there aren't many Gym Challengers who make it this far, I wouldn't have thought I needed to." The middle-aged bald man then turned to me. "Oh excuse me. Where are my manners? I'm Buzz." He held out his hand. Upon taking it, I felt a small jolt of electricity penetrate my body. This caused me to flinch.

"Oh, my apologies. Forgot to switch the circuit off." Buzz shook his head. "It's only 12 volts, you'll be fine."

"Well I'm sure as hell awake now!" I rolled my eyes. It had, indeed, woken me up. "So, you're Buzz? As in Buzz Lightyear?"

"Nah, more like Buzz, Crime Scene Investigator!" He proceeded to strike a Sci-Fi pose, curling his fingers up around his eyes to emulate goggles.

"Yes, as you can see my father is quite eccentric. But he's doing good work." Jordan smiled.

Buzz then interjected once again. "Young Y/N here has come to me at just the right time. Since my gym challengers are very few and far between these days, I spend most of my time investigating crimes and trying to gather intel on a gang of criminals known as Team Moon. You heard of them?"

I nodded. "Seraphina came to Ridgeburn to warn me about them. I was horrified when she told me some of the awful things they've done."

"They've done pretty much everything you'd expect from an offset of the notorious Team Rocket. Testing their inventions on Pokemon, radicalising people, stealing music from rock bands and passing it off as their own... you name it. Team Moon has done it." Buzz explained. "And that's why your Gym Mission is to assist me with my research."

"So there's no puzzle or anything?" I queried. "No quiz, no water slide, no dancing and juggling with flames?"

"Damn, so Austen's still a hard task master, huh?" Buzz chuckled. He then pulled an Ultra Ball out of his pocket. "Well then, Y/N, it's time to see if you have the strength to earn yourself a 4th gym badge. We should probably get into battle position."

I nodded, before proceeding to walk to the other side of the battle court. I almost tripped over a wire, however, Stalagus was quick to jump out of his Pokeball to steady me. I patted the adorable Glaceon on the head in appreciation.

"Time to really step up the potential difference! Hope you've brought some good electrical resistor Pokemon!"

You are challenged by Gym Leader Buzz!

(A/N: I decided to skip writing this battle as non-stop Pokemon battling can get a little tedious to write and read over time. However, you will get to battle Mackenzie later. Until then, enjoy the lore :P)

***

You defeated Gym Leader Buzz!!!

"Hmm... zapping to the extreme isn't always the best approach." Buzz mumbled. "Congratulations, kiddo. As promised, here's your Electric Badge!" As the sparkling, yellow trinket was placed in my hand, the hairs on my head and arms began to stand up due to the static. This caused Jordan and Buzz to burst out laughing. "Damn those pesky electrons, they don't stop moving for a second, do they?" Buzz chortled.

He eventually interrupted Jordan's laughter by clearing his throat. "Now then, back down to business. Y/N, your power is increasing day by day. With this Electric gym badge, now you'll be able to catch Pokemon up to Level 40. I want you to go around Taldourse, and find as much information about Team Moon as you possibly can. If you run into any grunts at all, battle them, and make sure to note down the level of their Pokemon. We need to know exactly who we're up against . Save it onto your Rotom Phone, then send it to me via email. Now then, could you please hand me your map?"

Reaching into my backpack, I scoured through the newspapers and pulled out a crumpled map. I laid it down in front of me. Buzz pulled a bright yellow highlighter out of his shorts pocket and drew an 'X'. He then proceeded to hand the map back to me. He had placed the 'X' slightly West of where Opaquia city was located, which was still a long, long way from our current location. Whilst all the other cities were located within an 80-mile radius of my home town, Opaquia was much further afield. It was definitely out of the way, and it would probably take hours to get there even by Flying Taxi. In addition, it was surrounded by mountains and dangerous woods. It was a notoriously difficult place to reach.

"That X on your map is where Team Moon's alleged base is. You can see it from the summit of Juniper Mountain. It just looks like a factory but it's got a huge blue crescent moon attached to the roof. You can't miss it. The area seems to have been quiet for years, but since it's so far, nobody actually knows what Team Moon are really up to over there. Any questions?"

"Well... yeah, actually. I do have a small problem."

Buzz raised his eyebrows. "Oh, well, please do share, I wonder if I may be able to help?"

"It's one of my friends. For some reason, she's absolutely fixated on Team Moon. She's been dreaming of joining them for years and she's doing the gym challenge as a means of proving her strength and loyalty to them. But I don't understand why she'd worship people who are just so... evil. She's always been more interested in bad guys than good guys, but... I'm scared she could be walking into danger." Despite my shocking revelation, Buzz did not look surprised at all.

"Well, you know, that's actually not uncommon." He explained.

"Wait, what?!" I was baffled.

"Team Moon are notoriously good at manipulating people. Especially young and impressionable people. They're good at playing the whole "misunderstood dark tribe" trope. They get people to feel sorry for them, and that's how they recruit. Oftentimes, people who desire an alternative lifestyle look up to Team Moon. But I do agree with you, I think your friend's obsession with them sounds just a tad unhealthy."

"What do you think I should do about her?" I asked.

"I think it's far too early to say, since we don't know that much about how Team Moon operates. Don't say anything at first, because she probably won't want to listen. For now, let's just concentrate on gathering intel."

I nodded in agreement. "I guess I'll see you later, Buzz. Thanks for the great battle and the gym badge."

****

After leaving the gym, I felt a little peckish. Luckily, Quantanum was also blessed with a Pollux, and this particular branch also had a food court. Upon making my way inside, and grabbing a luxury burger, I noticed Mackenzie leaning against a pillar, scrolling on his Rotom phone.

"Hey Mack! I beat Buzz!" I chirped proudly, with a huge grin on my face.

"Oh wow, that's brilliant! I must admit, I fell flat on my face after tripping over a wire in that place." Mackenzie's eyes averted my gaze whilst he stated this embarrassing fact. I giggled slightly. "Anyway, Buzz gave me his whole spiel. He's researching into Team Moon. Did he say anything about the T shirt you're wearing?"

Mackenzie looked down at his black t-shirt with the infamous Team Moon logo across it. "Oh yeah, he gave me a huge lecture on being careful. But then he said I should keep trying to join Team Moon so I can gather information on them. Kind of like a double-agent."

"Wow, that's crazy. He wants me to look out for Team Moon too."

Our conversation was quickly interrupted as Danny cut in. "Hey, Slowpoke and Moon Boy. What's the tea?" He folded his arms in anticipation.

"We were just talking about how Buzz has recruited us to find out information about Team Moon." Mackenzie explained.

"Yeah, apparently I'm in on it too." Danny rolled his eyes. Mackenzie and I glared at his antics. "What?! I've got better things to do than go bad guy hunting! Like challenging the Pokemon League and becoming Champion!"

"But Danny, this is part of the gym mission, after all." I reminded him. "And you want to find out more about Team Moon, right?"

"Hmmm, I guess so. Alright, I'm in. So what's the plan?"

"We've got to somehow locate where the grunts are hiding out, and battle them. Buzz wants us to assess their strength." I explained.

"But what if we're not strong enough to take them on?" Mackenzie asked, there was a look of fear in his eyes.

"I say the four of us, including Lisa, should all battle each other to determine who is the strongest of us. The strongest will lead."

Danny and Mackenzie both nodded. "But Lisa's not here." Danny added, looking around the place.

"Looks like it's just the three of us, then. Let's go to the battle court once we've finished our food!"

****

"I'm going first! My Pokemon are freshly healed and ready to go!" Danny insisted, marching up to the pitch.

"Do you want to go first, Mack?" I asked. He hesitated for a moment, glancing between Danny and I, before he finally nodded, taking his place opposite my rival.

I sat down on the sidelines. This was going to be interesting to watch.

Pokemon Trainer Danny challenges Pokemon Trainer Mackenzie!

Pokemon Trainer Danny sent out Jolteon! (Zana)

Pokemon Trainer Mackenzie sent out Golurk!

Poor Zana was no match for Mackenzie's Golurk. Not only was he faster, but was also pretty evasive. He even managed to open up the battle with a critical hit. Zana fainted within two turns.

Pokemon Trainer Danny sent out Pikachu!

Golurk also took down Danny's signature Pokemon, with still half of its HP remaining. Although Danny was known for being a smug smartass at the best of times, it hurt a little to see the disappointment in his face whenever Mackenzie took down one of his Pokemon. Yes, Danny always had a tendency to put others down, and although I knew it was all in jest, I still felt slightly sad to see all of his insecurities come to the surface.

It was Danny's fourth Pokemon - a Pupitar - that managed to beat Mackenzie's Golurk. However, Mack had a formidable team at his disposal, and his Gengar made easy prey of Danny's remaining two. Danny's head sunk in defeat, and Mackenzie and his Gengar jumped up and down in unison for their victory. I opened up my rucksack and handed them both some revives and potions. "Good job, both of you," I praised, although this praise was mainly directed at Danny. After taking the revives and healing up his exhausted team, he looked away from me. I turned towards Mackenzie. "Right then, I'm your next victim!" I joked, eliciting a chuckle from the victor of the battle.

Danny slumped down to watch the next match, and Pikachu jumped out of his Pokeball and crawled onto Danny's shoulder to console him. I took his spot on the battlefield. I decided to switch my team up completely, as most of my main team wouldn't stand a chance against Mackenzie's ghosts. I decided to opt for a Lickitung (Don't judge me, but Lickitung is literally one of my faves), Umbreon, Snorlax, Zoroark, and Weavill. I kept Zelda in my party just for good measure. "Hey Y/N... do me a favour and avenge me, please?" Danny asked. I nodded in response, determined to dispense fiercely with my opponent.

"Three, two, ONE!"

You are challenged by Pokemon Trainer Mackenzie!

[punz4lyfe]

Pokemon Journeys Episode 45. Let’s review:

1. How are the news reporters not dead yet in that flimsy helicopter in the middle of this apocalyptic event?

2. The fact that Team Rocket were able to reach out to Gigantamax Meowth to have him control himself and try to take on Eternatus absolutely speaks grand possibilities for both funny and awesome Team Rocket moments in the future in the Galar region! That, and Meowth’s knowledge of G-Max Gold Rush, too! Hopefully, the writers won’t miss out on these blatant opportunities.

3. I swear Leon and Charizard cheated death like 4 to 5 times in this episode.

4. The Ash vs. Chairman Rose fight was really done, with Ash using Pikachu and Riolu’s speed to take advantage of Ferrothorn and Copperajah’s bulk and put them against each other. In addition to that, Rose shows how much of a villain he is by smiling throughout the beginning of the fight with sadistic intent, even going as so far to command his mons to attack Ash and Pikachu and crush Riolu. Great display of character, writers! And, of course, as we’ve all been waiting for, Riolu’s evolution into Lucario. Absolutely done well, with Riolu showing his strong friendship with Ash and Pikachu by defending them against Rose’s mons, despite all odds being against his favor due to the sheer size and weight difference. Absolutely perfect. And then Lucario used his aura to tell Ash “Screw Vacuum Wave, I got the Poke-Hadouken, now!”, which was a sweet callback to Ash and Riolu’s aura bond in the latter’s debut appearance. And once the battle was over, Rose showed concern for his Pokemon and not for his failing plans, showing that he’s still human on the inside and is really just in a lot of turmoil due to the trauma he experienced as a child at the mines. So yeah, great moment of the episode all around! On the other hand though..... ugh.....

5. Goh vs. Oleana. Like I said in my last review, I was not looking forward to how this would turn out due to Goh’s win being obvious, and.... yeah, there are some problems. Compared to Ash and Rose’s battle, the action in this one was a lot less impressive. At the start, it was mostly just Raboot using Ember, only to get countered and splooshed by Water Pulse every time. When it actually picked up with Goh using the environment, leading to Raboot’s own evolution into Cinderace to finish Milotic off with Pyro Ball, it was still not done well, as Milotic was knocked out by Pyro Ball and a few consecutive Embers beforehand, which should NOT be enough to make it faint. Look, when Ash fought Rose, it took Pikachu and Riolu a good number of hits to push back Ferrothorn and Copperajah before both were finished off by Aura Sphere, a super-effective move. In this case, Milotic was taken out solely by A FEW attacks its strong against. That shouldn’t have done it in, especially with how untrained Raboot is compared to Ash’s mons. Not to mention, it also kinda digs further a little problem there is with Goh and Cinderace almost always winning/achieving every little thing they do that I’ll go further in-depth with my future blog over them. And while I’m happy Cinderace is back to his enthusiastic self (with some of Raboot’s coolness still left in) and the moment where Goh communicated with Raboot to use the environment for his preferred Ember attack was a good character moment between the two, the cons of this part of the episode kinda outweigh the pros. Moving on, however.

6. Sonia x Raihan? That’s.... kinda cute honestly.

7. Seeing Ash run around with a Lucario at his side is probably bringing a lot of fanfics to life. That, or Lucario and the Mystery of Mew flashbacks. Man, that was a good movie, wasn’t it?

8. Ahh, look at those five dorks gawk over each other and fist bump. It’s stuff like this that makes 2020 better.

9. Remember that part in the original Final Fantasy VII where Sephiroth attacked the whole gang with shockwaves before the fight against Bizzaro Sephiroth? The scene with Eternatus escaping Leon’s Ultra Ball gave me flashbacks to that. And I don’t even know why lol.

10. Oh my Arceus! The up-close shot of Eternamax Eternatus was honestly a little frightening!

11. Chairman Rose...pl-please get away from the helicopter windshield.... That’s just.... creepy.

12. Eternatus’ onslaught of Screw-U laser beams. At this point, it’s natural for Ash and Pikachu to take this kind of stuff in the face everyday.

13. Becoming the Sword and Shield legend? Yeah, that was expected. Look, when it comes to stuff like this in the anime, it’s about as obvious and cliche as it can get to the point it’s really no longer a bother to long-standing anipoke fans. And Leon? Please, my boi, stand down. You just want all the credit to yourself. (I’m only joking please don’t attack me fellow Leon fans)

14. The whole final battle between the good guys and Eternatus was alright. It was really cool seeing the Sword and Shield doggos’ signature attacks in the anime, though, it would’ve been cool for Ash and Goh to actually command them a little just like in the games. (and Ash’s whole thing with Nebby should prove that you don’t necessarily have to own a Legendary to command it in a crisis) It also nice for Pikachu, Lucario, and Cinderace to give Eternatus another three-way combo so that the doggos could have their opening. How it ultimately ended though.... well....

15. GOH’s REGULAR Pokeball caught Eternatus. I repeat, a REGULAR Pokeball from GOH caught Eternatus. Yeah......

16. Legendaries doggos, come back! I wanna see our dorks scratch behind your ears! Ah well, it’s more than likely they’ll return in the anime, given usual tropes and cliches.

17. Chairman Rose and Oleana are also definitely gonna make a return someday, no doubt about that. We still gotta wrap up Rose’s whole character with his childhood and father!

18. PROFESSOR SONIA!!!!! I STAN THIS SO FREAKING MUCH!!!!!!

19. Oh, Goh. You and your love for catching. Unfortunately, as the whole thing with Eternatus kinda proved, the anime is willing to have you able to capture Legendaries. With a plain Pokeball no less. You’re lucky I love you, my boy.

At with that, we’re done with the Darkest Day Arc! Pretty dope arc, ngl! While there were some things I felt were missed out, like Pikachu Gigantamaxing or Goh using mons other then Raboot/Cinderace, given how the episode ended, I feel there will be more of that kind of stuff in future Galar episodes. So that’s worth looking forward to you!

For the overall episode alone.... it was okay. Again, there were some things that kinda made it avoid being perfect (which sadly all involved Goh), but what we got was still great. The visuals and music were all amazing, there were a ton of great character moments, and for the most part, the action was intense and awesome! I’d give this episode an 8/10!

Now, to end things off, who else is excited for Mewtwo next week?!?!

[epicspheal]

Pokemon Journeys Episode 45 Review

[Image Description: Screenshot of the Pokemon Journeys Anime of Leon and his Charizard facing off against Eternatus]

And now we have the final episode of the Pokemon Journeys adaptation of the darkest episode! I have a lot of thoughts about it

First off, the Team Rocket portion...honestly we could’ve gone without it. I like TR don’t get me wrong, but there wasn’t much point to their screentime other than showcae G-max Meowth

Probably one of the highlights of this episode for me was the Rose vs Ash fight. I really enjoyed seeing Rose hold his own against Champion Ash and give him a bit of trouble with him actually using strategy. I like how this is a subtle nod to the games where one NPC in Hammerlocke states that Rose was a semi-finalist in a previous gym challenge

Also Rose ordering his Pokemon to attack Ash and Pikachu directly? Was not expecting that at all. I mean it lines up with the more unfettered approach they took with his character anime but still...geez..

Lucario evolving? YES! Even though I’m not a huge fan of Lucario as a species, I have wanted to see Ash with a Lucario. Would I’ve preferred to see him with one in XY or DP? Sure. But better late than never. Also the nod to Ash’s own aura powers was a nice touch (the Lucario and The Mystery of Mew fan in me internally screamed

I do like that they added Rose being concerned for his Pokemon though, still showing that he’s not a completely amoral person (like say Ghetsis)

Goh vs Oleana...was not my favorite part. To be honest the way they handled Oleana has been one of my consistent flaws with this arc. Twilight Wings gave her far more justice IMO

[Image Description: Screenshot of the Pokemon Journeys Anime of Goh’s newly evolve Cinderace giving Goh a hug]

Okay but Raboot evolving into Cinderace and going back to his warm affectionate self? That was adorable. 10/10 cute scene

The reunion between Ash and Goh was cute, and I loved seeing how they fanboyed over each other’s evolved Pokemon

Also Leon combatting Eternatus solo with Charizard was pretty badass and it was nice subtle nod to how strong he is a trainer. Although....I would’ve loved to have seen him use Dragapult and one of his other mons, as in game the text implies he used his whole team against Eternatus.

LEON USED AN ULTRA BALL INSTEAD OF A POKEBALL ON ETERNATUS! That was amazing and Anime Leon > Game Leon for that moment

Also I love how Leon shielded Ash and Goh (with his own body) while Charizard protected their Pokemon very nice touch. Again Anime Leon > Game Leon. Like imagine Leon shielding Hop like that in game and Hop having to hold up his brother like Ash and Goh did? The feels are real

Rose looking like a kid pressing their face up to the glass at the ice cream shop was unsettling to say the least. I didn’t mind the mildly crazed-mesmerized look Rose had in the previous episodes, but honestly the shots of him in the helicopter were a little much if I’m being honest

Sonia coming up to the top was a nice touch. Honestly as I was playing SwSh the first time around I thought she would’ve gone up their with us. That would’ve been cool to see. 

The reunion between Sonia and Leon was super cute! I liked how it seems like they’ll be on their way to rekindling their frienship. Plus Sonia helping Leon when he was injured was very touching. 

The wolves being revived and the final fight was pretty cool. Nothing spectacular as it was kind of like the games with the wolves doing most of the work, but still nice to see

The fact that Rose and Oleana got away is interesting...it seems like they are setting them up for a return. 

While it was nice to see Sonia become a professor, I do feel like a lot of her plot was chipped away by the rushed nature of the arc in general

This is going to sound petty (but IDC) but I would’ve greatly preferred that instead of seeing Team Rocket, we’d see Leon recovering from his injuries with Hop coming in to check on his big brother

I really like how they handled the capture of Eternatus with both Ash and Goh teaming up to throw the Pokeball and instead of them keeping it, they sealed Eternatus away (although that does seem cruel to Eternatus, it wasn’t doing anything on purpose). 

All in all for me, this was a decent episode. Probably the weakest of the four for me because of all that they had to pack in but it did an okay job. 

[anti-anti-a-la-bi-bi]

Can you rant about pkmn sword? Rants are enjoyable to read

Alright, so it took me a bit to get my thoughts in line. Lets start with how I feel about the pricing: I am all for having 30 euro DLC over a third version for the full price, however, I do think that if they do that, as well as with the dex cut, they should quit with having there be two versions. Nowadays, with internet communication, it doesn't really do much for social interaction, it's just another hurdle for those of us who wish to complete the pokedex(and especially when they remove the GTS and make you pay for it later). It's still a scummy tactic, and no one will complain if there's just one version+DLC. It makes a big difference in the pricetag, since being forced to buy nintendo online, or two switches and two games to trade, are both mandatory payments to make in order to achieve one of the encouraged goals within the game. Furthermore, people within one family will likely be using the same cartridge, so if there is only one version, all in all, it'll make a huge difference for people who use a whole switch as a family as well. Also, I do not think that sword and shield are worth 60 euros. I think they're worth 30 at most, since the base game is worse than x and y/sun and moon. They also locked following pokemon behind a paywall, which is bullshit and yeah, fuck that. I think swsh are enjoyable, but not when they sell at the same price as games with way more content, games that look much better, and usually both combined. For what the switch can do, swsh look really bad, actually. There are a few pretty spots, but that's the exception, not the rule. To add on to things that I think are horrible; the raid battles, especially the more difficult ones, in single player. I don't have switch online, and as such, I need to do all raids alone. But, the raids are near-impossible in a lot of cases unless you get really lucky with the npcs and ai. I got two gmax Toxtricity by using wide guard with Zamazenta for over four hours until I finally got lucky for each. This is both to blame on the ai, and the horrible selection of pokemon. Pokemon that should have evolved at level 60, well, they are still in their first form, so you have magikarp and mudbray at a 5 star raid. At least have them evolved. They have good moves, yes, but their base stats are so low that it doesn't matter. Also, the shield mechanic. It is predetermined how much damage you can do, and if you land a supereffective hit, it's not unlikely for it to only do a sliver of damage and then the shield goes up. It's annoying, makes battles extremely difficult because a lot of npcs just won't attack while the shields are up, and it just becomes a waiting game if your pokemon is just there to act as support(such as my Zamazenta with wide guard to prevent Toxtricity from 2-hit ko-ing all my teammates). Also, the fact that even if you beat a gmax pokemon, there is still a chance not to catch them. It often takes ages to even defeat them, and then, 'Congratulations! You just wasted over half an hour of your life! Get fucked!'. I had this happen with Applin t w i c e. Also, the wild area is... It's okay, really. Nothing exceptional, my immersion is ruined by the sheer amount of pop-in, something that happens even when there aren't a lot of models on-screen, the Onyx in Motostoke being a rather infamous example. The trees look like shit, the berry trees look like they don't belong, to put it bluntly, it looks like something a student would make in unity. You'd expect something better from the highest grossing franchise in the world. The ai of the pokemon is often pretty bad, with them just moving in circles, I have seen so many synchronized pokemon at this point that it's just... Egh. Also, the customization options are still so limited? Can't choose eyeshape, can't choose clothes that actually make your character stand out, and you can't even choose your challenger uniform after you become the champion. Why does Leon get a special uniform? I have never seen a pokemon game so set on making you feel like a celebrity after you win, yet you don't get to have much of an identity in the game even after you win. It didn't have to be difficult, just a customization screen inside the dressing room of the Wyndon stadium, perhaps some extra clothing options? As for things I like: I like the atmosphere. The music, though sometimes repetitive, does help my immersion. The gym leader theme is dynamic, shifting with what happens in the battle, making me feel like I'm actually standing there, and the ambient themes work well as well, though those were rarely encountered at all. I love the characters, the trainer cards giving you some backstory on them, they are, together with the Unova leaders, the most present gym leaders today, with a history of their own. It felt amazing to just read the trainer cards(and I enjoyed making my own as well). The towns have their own themes, and while I can't remember the names, I do remember each location well. But. There was so much wasted potential. The castle in Hammerlocke? The large building in the east? Hammerlocke's castle: the vault, 1 room and a roof. The large building? Nothing. You don't even get to see the attraction inspired by the London Eye. Wyndon is so small??? It has a small shopping street, the stadium and the inn and that's about it. Castelia City was bigger than that. Overall, the game feels rushed. The gym challenges at the start were cool, but by the end it's more of "battle these trainers in a row haha". Also, the animations. Gamefreak claimed to need to remake all models(they did not, the 3ds models were used with better textures), and to make better animations(only for newer pokemon, most pokemon used their pokemon amie animations and further animations from the 3ds titles). The animations are still bad, especially for something as powerful as the switch. I enjoyed the lore behind the region, but I really, really dislike Dynamax. I like gigantamax because the pokemon usually changes in a way that is distinguishable, but regular dynamax... Nah. Give me mega evolution back, perhaps update its mechanics so it changes the gameplay more and requires more strategy, but Dynamax just feels like something that is so low-effort. Pokemon but beeg. The curry making, on the other hand, I love. Pokemon should not be a cooking game, but it made me feel like I was actually bonding with my pokemon, that they were present in the mc's daily life. I would love to see more additions like that, the possibility to become the kind of trainer you want. Enjoy swimming? Perhaps go for a swim with your pokemon? It doesn't need to be complex, but I'd just love to see my pokemon interact with each other and with my actual character more. The routes are too linear. The last route is literally a straight line with some trainers, with next to no effort in it. I also think that the handholding needs to be talked about. When you get to Motostoke and have signed up for the gym challenge, a staff member will lead you to the in, which is literally one screen to the left. Such examples are found all over the game, and I hate it. They do let you skip some tutorials, which is a welcome change, but characters are so willing to force you to stop with whatever you're doing and make you listen to their speeches that it still often feels like a slog, especially because you don't get to do shit besides gyms until the very, very end, in which the fucking champion tries to catch a legendary in a regular pokeball, not even a great or ultra ball. The lore is great, but the actual story is so nonsensical that I just didn't bother to pay attention. Hop literally recycles Hau's animations. I would love for him to have his own, so he'd feel more separate, because they ARE different characters, with different goals. But Hop is even more annoying than Hau because he just won't shut up. You walk 5 steps and he shows up somewhere, for no reason at all. Meanwhile, there's this big event going down, a crowd has gathered, you get there and... Leon has already resolved it. You just get a picture, that was what you wanted, right? That sums up most of the game 'the adults will deal with this!' . The picture doesn't even look good. Swsh is fond of just showing you pictures, for example, right before the climax when Rose and Leon are talking. There's no background music or anything, just pictures and the sound of the textbox. It feels so low-effort. Also, if you have a character that is a singer, and he uh, he sings, it MAY be a good idea to include VOICE ACTING. They had someone sing in Black and White 2! Surely they can do it on the fucking switch, several years later? The mouths flapping about just feels incredibly awkward. I would recommend the game if you can find it somewhere for cheap, not for the full price. There is enjoyment to be had, but it's subpar in comparison to other games for the same price. I may rant further depending on how much time I have.

[jennajayfeather]

Before y’all go “IT’S A HACK” or something let me tell you about the hell I went through to get this baby:

So basically in Pokemon Yellow you had glitches known as “Mew Glitch” which allowed players to catch a Mew.  Now they left these glitches in the virtual console games, and while you can send Pokemon over, you can’t send your glitched Mew.

Why?

It’s technically supposed to be an event from “GF”  (Gamefreak) with a trainer ID of 22796, and because PokeBank checks for those two, Mew can’t be sent over.  So in other words, unless your name is GF & you were lucky enough to get the trainer ID of “22796″ you were out of luck of getting your glitched into SM game--

However, through a series of glitches, it is possible to change your name and Trainer ID to fix up your Mew to be sent into SM.

So here’s my tale of my sufferings (my friends called me a masochist):

First I had to start a new save file & to make my life easier I named myself “GF”(this was the easiest part), and then I took my first steps straight into the hell of Viridian Forest so I can get a level 100 Nidoking Before Brock and breeze through the early parts of the game.

So for those unfamiliar with this glitch, basically you have to find a long range trainer in Viridian Forest, hit the start button before he walks up to you, use the escape rope (THESE STEPS ARE WAY HARDER THAN IT LOOKS, TOOK ME LIKE 5 OR MORE TIMES JUST TO GET THE FEEL OF WHEN TO HIT THE START BUTTON) and be sure to go into Pewter City, then find a level 4 Caterpie in the forest (not level 5. Not level 6.  Level 4)  Then Growl at the Caterpie 6 times.  However, sometimes Caterpie will only let you Growl at them 5 times, so you gotta search for the right Caterpie which can take time--

Anyway once those steps  are done you go back to Pewter,  have the guy blocking you from leaving Pewter take you to the Gym (<-THIS IS IMPORTANT) and then walk back to the forest & a message will pop up and then if it works right, a Level 1 Nidoking.

I say “IF” because if the Caterpie you growl’d at had a high special or w/e  you’ll get a Voltorb.  Anyway I had to repeat this several times just to get the Nidoking.  Once that was done though, things went smooth, then I used the “Underflow Glitch” to get less than 54 EXP to automatically get Nidoking to level 100--

However when I got to Cerulean, I took a detour.  I had misunderstood the Reddit Post I was reading & used the Mew Glitch.  So before I could do the Mew Glitch I had to catch an Abra (THIS WENT WAY EASIER THAN EXPECTED TBH) and then I had to do the long trainer glitch with a specific trainer by Cerulean.  I used Teleport to go back to Cerulean, battled the Slowpoke Kid (GROWLED AT HIM 6 TIMES FOR A LEVEL 1 MEW) and the glitch went right. Caught Mew, used the Underflow Glitch to level it to 100, like Nidoking.  Then I did the same process again against a dude with a Shellder and got ANOTHER level 100 Mew.  I later found out it was pointless, but that’s for another time.

Anway. THen, after that I had to make it to Cinnabar Island.  This took a while since you have to clear a few gyms, get Surf, which is easily like beating half the game. 

ONCE I DID THAT, it was time to do more glitches.  So first, just to make my life a bit easier, the first glitch I had to do was the Missingno Glitch.  To get a “safe” missingno. I needed to place my nuggets into item slot 6, have a pokemon with a stat 181,182, 183 (MY NIDOKING THANKFULLY HAD THIS!!) and then do the long range trainer gltch like with Mew--

But this time I had to go into Cinnabar Mansion, find a Ditto, have it turn into Nidoking and then fly back to Cerulean and encounter Missingno.  This gave me over 100 nuggets, and then I swapped nuggets with rare candy, it gave me over 100 rare candies after I caught missingno.

But that wasn’t the end--

Then I had to sell some nuggets so I could buy 73 revives. I bought them, did the glitch over again and encountered that same missingno. to give me exactly 201 revives. 

THEN after that, I had to do another glitch to get this special item called “W SM.”  This item is magical.  But it also comes with great danger for if you use it wrong, your game corrupts and you’d have to start completely over.

Anyway to get this special item, I had to find another Missingno, but this time with a Pokemon with the stat “194″

Well.  Shit.  I don’t have???? A Pokemon??? With Stat 194????  

I really thought I was screwed here.  But I wasnt, turns out Articuno will have that stat if I use some rare candies--so now I gotta get an articuno.

This would have been easier if I had gotten my Master Ball, but I never did so I’m using Ultra Balls.  Anyway I swim to Articuno, find it in the Seafoam Islands and catch it.

I level it up with Rare Candies praying that I’d get Special stat 194.  I got 195.  So, I had to reset, and try to capture Articuno again. Caught it, leveled it up.  GOT THE STAT 194 HOWEVER--

I forgot my escape rope so I was stuck trying to meander around and get out of the seafoam islands. I was frustrated but I marched on and somehow got out.

Once I got that, I did the Long Range Trainer Glitch w/ Ditto again, this time with an x accuracy (or was it speed? Can’t remember)in like my 8th? Slot, and encountered that Missingno so it could turn my x accuracy into the “W SM.”

This, is not where it ends though.  This was just the beginning really. Then I had to go around getting specific Pokemon.  The first Pokemon had to be a Seel with exactly 233 HP—

So I had to go back to the Seafoam Islands, find a seel, catch the seel, and rare candy it till it got 233 HP.  This was more annoying than it seems because you have to feed rare candies at one at a time and every single time the damn thing kept trying to evolve. Anyway ONCE THAT WAS DONE, I got my first Pokemon in a free box.

Then I had to find as follows:  Parasect, Growlithe, Magikarp, Psyduck, Flareon, Tentacool, FEMALE Nidoran, and then three pokemon of my choice.  Once that was done was where the fun, and paranoia again.

So first I had to buy 43 Burn Heals and 53 Ice Heals.  After that I set up my items as:

1.

ws# #m#

Item to get to 255

Burn heal x 43

Ice heal x 53

Revive x 201

(IF YOU DO NOT SET IT UP THIS WAY, EXACTLY THIS WAY, AND HAVE THE POKEMON BOX WITH THE POKEMON YOU GOT, YOUR GAME  WILL CRASH)

 Which I needed: 89 Lemonade, 12 Repel, 211 Carbos, 88 x Accuracy, 115 Water Stones, TM01.

Once I utilized that glitch to get that, it changed my Trainer ID to be 22796.  

 After that, I needed a Mew with my NEW trainer ID. So I have to repeat that first formula, but this time for

 any item

ws# #m#

Item 3: Repel x21

Item 4: X Speed x14

Item 5: Ultra Ball x64

Item 6: TM05 x89

Lemonade x201

 And successfully got my Mew.

 Then I had to repeat the first formula again, so I could make my Mew shiny.  So I had to have:

Any Item

WS M

Lemonade x170

X Accuracy x134

Carbos x209

Pokeball x119

Fresh Water x201

AND THEN, make sure  I had Mew in the front of my Party, use W SM, toss one X Accuracy, then use WS M again.

ALL THE WHILE, FOR EACH OF THESE CODES IM DOUBLE, TRIPLE, QUADRuPLE CHECKING EVERYTHING SO I’M POSITIVE IM DOING IT RIGHT.

ANYWAY, EVERYTHING WENT SPLENDID, AS YOU CAN SEE

 AND

IM

TIRED.

[teamyellremade]

wonder trade pokeball tier list

AKA what to expect when you first see the pokeball appear on your screen in a wonder trade

based on my own experiences wonder trading so it’s probably not completely accurate but meh

HELL TIER

great ball: this pokemon is going to absolutely 100% suck ass. 

nest ball: ...........................................yeah it’s probably gonna be a level 3 pokemon from like route 1, 2 or 3

BASIC TIER

don’t get too excited, but hey, there’s a low chance it could be something cool? maybe?

pokeball: basic, average wonder trade pokemon. occasionally you can get something really nice though! (like a shiny or breedject) you can also find starters and other somewhat notable pokemon sometimes! a wild card.

ultra ball: this pokemon will probably suck. probably. might be a late-game pokemon or something a little higher leveled, but nothing too extraordinary.

quick ball: usually lower leveled average wonder trade pokemon. usually nothing too noteworthy here either.

premier ball: basically the same expected outcome as pokeballs honestly. though premier balls are just a little cooler imo

net ball: congratulations it’s a bug

dive ball: 60% of the time it’s a magikarp but sometimes you can get cool fish i guess?

timer ball, repeat ball, dusk ball: usually something just average. don’t get your hopes up.

ALRIGHT TIER

the pokemon itself may not be anything to write home about, but the pokeball is nice!

friend ball: i have not ran into anything too notable in a friend ball, however i still end up enjoying the pokemon anyways because the pokeball is really cute!

luxury ball: a bit of a wild card, though slightly tends towards normal, basic wonder trade pokemon. (luxury balls are my favorite type of pokeball, though, so i feel like it adds a little bit of value to the pokemon anyways)

GOOD TIER

apricorn pokeballs: very likely a rejected pokemon someone bred then wonder traded off, so the pokemon will probably have some nice ivs, moves or skills! and even if it doesn’t, the pokeball is still super cute!

master ball: i’ve only ran into a few master balls over wonder trade, but they’ve mostly been low-leveled start-of-the-game pokemon like fletchling or rattata which is honestly hilarious in itself. i also got a level 100 shiny porygon2 though so? who knows.

GOD TIER

beast ball: hands down my FAVORITE type of pokeball to see because it’s either an actual ultra beast (pretty rare, probably like 1 time out of 10) OR some normal level 3 pokemon like yungoos caught in a stupid beast ball (9 times out of 10) which is absolutely fucking hilarious to me

[zrbillings]

Pokemon Sword & Shield - Review

So it’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed anything (years in fact) and since video reviews take such an exorbitant amount of time and COPPA has made Youtube this very scary place right now; I figured why not do what I know and write a review.

So with that out of the way, let's talk about Pokemon Sword & Shield. These games appear to be super devicieve you’re either in #gamefreaklied #bringbackthenationaldex camp or you’re a ‘defender’. I find that I have a bit of a unique perspective on the game so I wanted to share my thoughts. I’ve just completed Pokemon Sword, and just so you out there in internet land know my qualifications because to Pokemon fans that seems they only real way to justify having a different opinion.

I was born in ‘91

Pokemon Blue was my literal first GB game.

If point 2 wasn’t enough I collected everything Pokemon and grew up watching the show, often playing the games while I did.

I’ve completed the National Dex

I’ve completed the Kanto Dex like 3x over.

And I’ve played various other spin-off games i.e. Colosseum, Stadium, Gale of Darkness, Trozie? Trozae?

And if you couldn’t put it together I’ve played through nearly every mainline game the only exceptions being. Alpha Sapphire, Diamond, Fire Red, Let’s Go Pikachu, Sun, Ultra Moon. Basically at some point if I owned one version that’s all I needed.

Okay! So with all that out of the way, let’s talk about these games. Plain and simple if you just want to know if it is actually bad, no it’s not, it’s good, one could argue great, I wouldn’t, but you could. If you like Pokemon, get over the National Dex and “It ShOuLD LoOk BEtTeR” and play it, it’s fun it’s Pokemon with some new gimmicks. 3 out of 5 I guess if you want to be critical. Okay so for the rest of you, the ones who are more critical and want to know what SUCKS, and what ROCKS. Keep in mind going forward I’m not addressing the whole stupid delemma of cut Pokemon or graphics, at least not in depth, you want to talk that crap just @ me I’ve got the time. So graphically it is undoubtedly the best looking in the series you literally cannot argue that, should it look better? Well, I don’t know, I think to expect it to makes you look stupid no matter what reasoning you want to bring to the table. Pokemon has literally NEVER shown interest in pushing graphics, they’ve almost never made massive leaps forward, the amount of times they have can be counted on one had, so to have expected more that’s on you, not them. I find them to be gorgeous, yeah there’s things here and there that could be better, but if you go looking for a problem in anything you’ll find it, you could find ugly stuff in Skyrim too, or even Final Fantasy 15. Characters are definitely more expressive than they’ve ever been, the towns are stunning and I feel unlike some of the more recent games definitely come off as more memorable even if you can’t name them, you can instantly picture them. Animations, while I totally agree should be better, shouldn’t have been expected to be more than they are, again this is Gamefreak they literally improve at a snail’s pace justified or not. That being said, while Pokemon aren’t particularly animated in battle, the game overall is the most animated in the series, and here’s why. Again characters are far more expressive, and are constantly moving even in battles when a Pokemon attacks the trainer makes an action, you have overworld Pokemon, you have each and every Pokemon able to do a handful of different animations in Pokemon Camp. You have the world itself that is filled with movement i.e. NPCs, scenery here and there, a good example being the town Ballonlea the Fairy-Type gym location in case the name doesn’t sound familiar. So yes while the animations aren’t particularly impressive, I would say they’re still the best in the series AS A WHOLE (can’t believe I need to specify that). The big draw of this game is the open are called The Wild, this is sort of what people who hate these games wanted an entire game to be like, but better. And I think while they could be bigger, they feel the right size in correlation to the size of the rest of the map, there’s plenty to explore and it is genuinely fun to roam around in especially online. That being said, the game definitely (at least for me) chugs a bit while online, but I wouldn’t say it ruined the experience at all for me. It was so cool to see other players setting up camps and running around, I will say however that while these things are cool, they could have been developed further. You can’t interact with these players if you engage with one they just give you a stock response and then hand you some sort of cooking item, which okay getting cooking items this way fantastic! But why not let trainers customize their greetings? A little especially while in camps? There’s just more they could have done here, I can understand not wanting to create a system where interacting with someone dead stops them in place in order to trade or whatever, that could get really annoying. But I find, there’s not enough here that really push this feeling of a shared space, like why not have brought back Secret Bases again? And had your friend’s bases show up that way if you did want to hang out and chat (through the terrible Nintendo App, or whatever superior option) you could! Like can you imagine? Instead of just having to camp outside and hang out with friends having like your own space to hang out, battle, trade. You could have made this space like an area where if you interact with a trainer a menu for those sort of things could be triggered. The Wilds overall are fun and they’re cool to explore for new Pokemon, I just feel they could have been experimented a little more with. I won’t prattle on any further, but just saying I’d love to see Gamefreak take this and push it harder next game. As an ending note I do fine the placement of The Wilds fine, at first it looks odd, but once you start playing given it’s function it makes sense, I think if the whole game were The Wilds like some people desperately want, you’d run into a lot more problems, with things like trainer placement, and how to limit progression, not saying it can’t be done, just that we’re a ways off from anything like that happening yet. I will say this though (sorry last thing I swear) I DO NOT like how the progression system of The Wilds works, the moment you enter it you can explore 90% of it, which fine, EXCEPT! The problem becomes that while you can explore nearly every nook and cranny of it you can only catch Pokemon in designated areas because if a Pokemon is over a certain level and you don’t have enough badges you just straight up can’t catch it. Which okay I can understand, but then I SHOULDN’T EVEN BE ALLOWED THERE! For example (and why I’m bringing this up) there is an area where you must cross a bridge to get into the next section of the lands, cool I think this is great it visually queues us, “hey this is a different section so logically the Pokemon will be stronger here.” The problem! Is while we in theory can piece this together literally nothing stops us from crossing, the reason this bothers me is because on the literal otherside of the bridge is I SHIT YOU NOT a MF Snorlax! Just chillin, doesn’t wander just stands there, while okay this is a great reference to other games. WHY WOULD YOU NOT! Just put him sleeping on the bridge like in every other game in this scenario, it bars the pass and players don’t waste their time exploring an area before they can get the most out of it. Plus! This game rewards you special Acorn Balls at each Gym, if you don’t know what these are they were in Gold and Silver they’re special Pokeballs that in this game are one of a kind that have awesome effects, the one I want to reference specifically here is the Heavy Ball which works better the heavier a Pokemon is i.e. “this ball was invented for catching Snorlax.” So it baffles me how Gamefreak didn’t do something like the last Gym before you’re able to wake up Snorlax and pass the bridge allows you to get a Heavy Ball thusly not only letting you finally progress into this new area, but also gives you an item as a sort of reward. Wow, sorry moving on. I find where this game really misses the mark is the story and the characters, outside Hop (who is insufferable early on) are really bland and sort of lackluster. I feel like this is a bigger thing to be upset about than animations and Pokemon count. Hop is one of the only rivals to truly go through a character arch which is amazing! He goes from this arrogant, insufferable, condescending, ass, to someone who just wants to be the best, but doesn’t act like he already is, he knows where he’s at and strives to be more. This huge development really, really shows how poor the rest of the cast is, the professor this time is boring, not even a professor really at least not like were used to. The champion is fine, but lacks any real charisma like the game wants you to believe he has. The other rival Bede is...under utilized? Like he comes around and it’s like, “finally! Gary Oak 2.0!” and he just sort of disappears about half way through the game and then pops up at the end. I’m not going to go through the whole cast, but everyone is more or less this same sort of doesn’t bring much to the table. As dumb as Team Yell are I actually like that they’re not the evil baddies of the game, they’re not even Team Skull level, they’re just kind of a bit of inconsiderate fanboys, they work well as a level progression block? System? Their use for impeding your progress until you’ve done the right thing works well is what I’m saying. The big thing with this game is it really lacks an evil team, it’s like The Aether Foundation all over again, except infinitely worse, while The Aether Foundation sort of slowly unravels at some point, the ‘evil team’ or in this case just two baddies, kind of feels like it comes completely out of left field and only happens because Gamefreak wanted a cool way to introduce the legendaries. It just felt super random and unsatisfying and that the motivations really didn’t make sense and happens right in the middle of the Pokemon League so it kills all momentum, and any tension the league did have. Which is another thing the league is shit, it’s bad, the idea is really good, it’s inspired by the show it feels like a proper tournament, but since you can heal and swap out Pokemon between each match there is 0 tension, and since the story just decides to interrupt it, it just doesn’t feel satisfying. Beating the champion doesn’t feel like an accomplishment because you’ve already beaten the big baddie just before him, and all the other trainers before him in two different sessions, it doesn’t feel like you went through this gauntlet of really tough trainers to reach him and prove yourself, it feels like no matter what you were always going to beat him, the game did literally everything it could to make sure you beat him! I felt fucking bad beating him, because it was so easy, I literally gave him a handicap, I used 0 healing items and beat him with two Pokemon to spare and that was also because I gave him another handicap where I didn’t switch out once I threw out a Pokemon! Gyms are back, but they kind of feel like they belong in Sun and Moon because you have to do ‘missions’ before each one before you face the leader which is fine, but I personally could have done without them, for the most part they're just glorified obstacle courses. I guess they feel like the same old stuff, but I think it’s the nature in which they’re handled that actually bother me and less of having to do them myself. I think in a way given how this Pokemon League is set up it would have made more sense to just completely do away with them, maybe put something else there in its place. The gym leaders are all really colorful and actually really well designed, they all have their own very defined personalities which is cool, It would have been cool to have actually seen more of them somehow. The last thing I’ll talk about as this review is already overly long is Dynamaxing. It’s fine, I will say that if it were up to me I would have changed how it’s handled, I think the raid battles are great, they’re really fun they make grinding for levels a fucking joke and I love it, it helps you find really cool Pokemon and strong Pokemon for your team it makes Online feel like there are actually other trainers out there in the world taking on this gym challenge besides just you, it’s cool, but I feel outside of the raids there really pointless. Each Gym Leader uses it always with their last Pokemon, and it never feels like it matters so long as you Dynamax yours at the same time and have type advantage it’ll feel like KO-ing any other old Pokemon except it’s big af.If it were me I would have changed it to Mega Evolutions, because they actually feel like they matter and then they could have introduced new megas and I’ll do you one even better! What about when after you beat the Gym leader they gave you the same kind of mega stone that they used! Maybe in place of TMs, or in conjunction with them rather than them giving you Gym uniforms you’re never going to wear. That’s more short and sweet two cents on the Dynamax system, it’s great for raids pointless for everything else. Kind of like the clothing in this game, and that’s all I’ll say about the clothing that and I think the uniform thing was dumb and should have only been used for the Pokemon League rather than every single Gym battle. And that’s it! That’s my very thorough review of Pokemon Sword & Shield. Like I said at the beginning, these games are fun no doubt, but they definitely aren’t even in the top 5. I think there’s a lot of wasted potential or cooler directions they could have taken these. There are definitely cool things like the different gyms for the two versions, The Wilds are fun to hang out in and run around, the new Pokemon are actually really cool, I love that they added more regional variants and not just for Kanto Pokemon, the towns are very visually memorable. But outside that, I’m kind of hard-pressed to think of much else, I can’t speak on the post-game either, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any if at all. This game simultaneously feels like the largest Pokemon game to date as well as one of the smallest.

[shining-kommo-o]

My pokemon let’s go review (from someone who hasn’t beat the 2nd gym in their own game since they spent 6 hours playing with their mom on her game)

Pokemon lets go is honestly.... surprising. I'm a hardcore pokemon fan and tbh i was a bit apprehensive at this new release. since it's basically a toned down pokemon game. But it's really chill. If you prefer the "capturing" aspect over the "fighting wild pokemons to level up" you'll probably enjoy let's go. Really relaxing, doesn't feel too stressing and annoying with the fights, it's a really great game for beginners. My mom who never played a pokemon game (and tried to play a mainline game but got bored due to heavy dialogue) really loved it! and so did i! the two player options is super cool! Just shake your remote to get in and automatically help your friend or family member! Some things have changed from the original Kanto, but to me these changes are very welcome. Thought I did expect us to get an eevee from that one building in I think celadon city

Now one thing that sorta bugs me I guess, is really the lack of day night cycle. I know this is  nitpicky, BUT. A day night cycle is very welcome in a pokemon game since night mode doesnt strike your eyes when you play late in the night. And they had a day night cycle in ultra sumo, so that honestly feels like a downgrade. And I find it a bit sucky that Mew only comes with the pokeball plus. It sucks for those who don't want to buy it, but tbh I love this accessory so much myself, I love how comfy and cool to use the ball is! Thought it is a bit small, so if you have big hands, stick to the joycons. I know it's a major gameplay part, but the fact that you sorta have to use motion control to play doesnt make the game very useful if u play in handheld. I mean sure theyres a toned down way in handheld, but still. Wish we had alternatives. Overall, I think Let's Go is a very relaxing and endearing game. If you only want the usual main line serie of games, it really isnt for you. But if you're open minded to try something simpler that requires less big thinking, or if you just dont mind like I do, then you should give it a try! I adore the game more than I thought I would, I got really attached to it, and it seems very promising as a secondary line of maingames!

[0poole]

Some more thoughts on Let’s Go, now that I’ve finished it (and also Firered)

I mean, I haven’t captured Mewtwo yet, or fought all of Red/Green/Blue, so I’m not COMPLETELY done, but I basically know exactly what’s up with the game. Even better, I played through Firered again (Not really again? I don’t think I ever finished it before) so I have a better reference for what people universally consider to be “Good Kanto.” I’m even going through Heartgold to get another slice of the Kantonian Pie, and also to try and actually conquer my least favorite Gen (Least favorite, not worst)

But yeah, I mean... Let’s Go is infinitely more enjoyable in pretty much all aspects compared to Firered. Like, all aspects. Literally not a single aspect is more enjoyable in that game. Note: More enjoyable =/= universally better. You may like the past games, but honestly I can’t like them, at least compared to the modern stuff. The biggest thing? The Physical/Special split.

Oh my god, I had no idea how much better that one change made the games. Some Pokemon are straight-up unusable because their type is Special, while they have better Attack. Case in point: I took a Hitmonchan from the Fighting Dojo in Firered, expecting a heavy-hitter in 4 different types (with the elemental Punches). Guess what? Kinda sucks when each elemental Punch is special, when the Punching Pokemon only has 35 Special Attack. Why even give him those moves then? Why did anyone think this was okay? Genuinely, this is one of the few things that seems like legitimately bad game design. What’s the point of having a Physical Pokemon have a type that’s Special, like with Kingler? He only has 50 Special Attack, but 130 Attack, and yet in that generation his STAB type was always Special. You could make do with other Physical types, but then it just makes him being a Water type so pointless. I did end up using Kingler in my Lets Go playthrough as retribution, and he was so much fun to use, mainly because Kingler is just a really cool Pokemon, and also walks behind you sideways, which is just a neat little detail that obviously was going to be a thing, but I love it anyway

I guess I’ll piggyback off of that. I LOVE the personality given to each Pokemon just by them walking behind you. Who the hell knew that Bellsprout was such a speedy lil boy? It always wanted to run in front of me, and I never saw Bellsprout as having that kind of energy. Since my sister also got the game, I was able to actually use a Golem in my playthrough (I always use a Geodude/Graveler at least for a while in basically every playthrough of every game, since it’s such a good mon to use in game, but I ditch it eventually since I usually can’t trade stuff) and I loved watching him roll into a ball behind me. I also was able to use a Gengar, and, even though it’s weird that you can ride Haunter but not Gengar, It was neat to see him phase through everything. 

Then, Rapidash. OH MY GOD Rapidash. IT’S. SO. FAST. I’m riding a flaming horse in a video game (that isn’t an MMO). I also had a Dodrio who wasn’t as fast so I never really rode him, but riding around on a Rapidash was actually one of the coolest things that could happen in any Pokemon game ever. I did not miss bikes one bit. Although, there was a bit of an issue here: Whenever you got a little too close to a wall, sometimes, since it was so big, it would return into it’s Pokeball for a second, making you return to normal walking speed, only for it to come back out a second later, making you go right back into hyperdrive. It was a little jarring, but it’s still pretty easy to avoid the walls. There was enough open space that it was still super fun, though.

That all being said, my team did end up being Kingler, Golem, Victreebell, Rapidash, Dodrio, and Gengar. That is, no Eevee, despite having Let’s Go Eevee. It was super cute and all (and having it run through the vents of the Rocket Hideout was in second place underneath riding Rapidash in terms of cool stuff) but I really never wanted to use it in battle... Even though it’s not egregious in my mind, it’s special moves were kind of lame by how powerful they were, and they’re names are still pretty dumb... Since I didn’t have to keep it in my party, and it would just stay on my head anyway, I just decided to ditch it for the classics I never got to use before. I did love how it was the replacement for HMs, but I also don’t really get why they couldn’t just keep the past HM names... Again, it’s not egregious, but the new names were much dumber...

Another thing I wished they improved from past games: The music. There was no Rival battle, Team Rocket Grunt battle, or Rocket Boss Giovanni battle music, like in the past. That’s super lame. It was all the same, plain trainer battle music. WHY? We have themes for each of them now, so why not remix that? It’s literally one of those things that no one has nostalgia for, so why keep it that way? Most of the time I just kept the music off, partially because I don’t really like orchestrated covers of Pokemon music that much, and because it got old after a while. I did like that the Snorlax fight was put on the same intensity level as the Legendary Birds and Mewtwo, though. Even though I wasn’t in any danger of running out of time or losing to it, I did feel the sense of urgency.

Then, the big one: Catching. I was actually travelling for most of my playthrough, so I used handheld mode for catching most of the time, and it was completely fine. I still needed to aim, but I could actually feel where I was aiming before I threw the ball. Then, I returned home, and tried to catch literally anything... Either I just don’t understand how they work, or the motion controls are actually terrible. If any Pokemon merely hops off to the side, it’s impossible to hit it. You can aim off in that direction, but it still won’t work. It’s weird, because if the Pokemon stays in the middle of the screen, it’s almost too easy... It almost always hits right in the center, so you just have to time it right. 

My biggest gripe with catching is the berries you have to use. They are technically useful, but... they only affect one single throw... Like... you only get 5 whole Golden Razz berries for the whole game (as far as it seemed), and yet if you don’t get lucky for the one throw you use them on, they’re just gone. The weirdest one is the Nanab berries, which only make the Pokemon stop moving for a single throw. It’s great if you’re planning on using the Master Ball, but otherwise they’re completely worthless. Also, I don’t even think I bothered to use the Pinap berries... All of this, combined with the fact that the skill of your throw (Nice, Great, Excellent, etc.) Don’t seem to affect your chances of catching the Pokemon either, even though they have every right to. It seems all they do is multiply the EXP you get after, which doesn’t help when you have to waste 30 Ultra Balls on a Chansey anyway. I got so many Greats and Excellents, but it doesn’t matter because it just broke out, and then lo and behold it got caught on the one measly normal throw I made on it. 

As far as I can recall, that’s all the possible negatives I can think of, to be honest. Even though all of these are painted as negatives, I’d still much rather have these mechanics over the alternatives in Firered. In that game, I just didn’t want to waste my time catching ANY Pokemon, whereas I actually wanted to catch ‘em all in Let’s Go. I’m still working on that. My sister even bought Let’s Go Pikachu after completing HER copy of Let’s Go Eevee just because she wanted to catch every Pokemon. This girl has a pretty limited amount of money in her allowance, and a need to buy a lot of stuff, so her spending her money on that of all things really testifies to how much she enjoyed it. She’s not even a PokeManiac like I am, either.

But, I’ve saved the best for last. The one, biggest improvement to Kanto that Let’s Go made was: The Movesets. I honestly had no idea how absolutely horrible the movesets in OG Kanto were until I played through Firered. Beedrill was practically unusable, even beyond its terrible stats, because it got basically nothing to work with. Now? It gets OUTRAGE. Also, it learns Twinneedle upon evolving, like it should have, and gets Poison Jab pretty soon after. It even gets normal Rage, because literally every single time Beedrill appeared in the anime, it was angry and chasing down whoever decided to fall into its turf. Why wasn’t this a thing before? 

Side bit: I loved that Jesse and James were in this game. Honestly, they are my favorite characters in the anime (even above the plethora of waifus) and I’m so glad they exist outside of it now (even though they did exist in Yellow and also even though Meowth doesn’t talk)

Back to the moves, the TMs were very interesting. At first, I was kinda sad Brock didn’t give you Rock Tomb, but Headbutt was an interesting alternative to say the least, since basically any Pokemon could learn it. It was a straight and easy upgrade to Tackle, which practically every Pokemon knew at that stage anyway. Also, the buffs to Absorb and Mega Drain were completely unexpected, but welcome nonetheless. It’s a bit odd making Mega Drain the wanted endpoint for my Victreebell over Giga Drain, but I got used to it. I also loved the Coach trainers, how they each used Pokemon with a specific move, and then gave you the TM for that move once you beat them. It was a great way to let the player stock up on TMs without having them just find a simple secret hidden behind HM. 

As for difficulty, it honestly wasn’t as easy as people said it was... Sure, it wasn’t insanely hard, but it was a very fair difficulty. I did actually have to try against some of the Gym Leaders, and the Coach trainers did knock out a few of my Pokemon too. It was very fair to me as someone who knew exactly what they needed to do, so to a newbie I think it’d pose an OK challenge. The massive level curve after you beat the Elite 4 was a bit annoying, and I’m still trying to grind my way up to level 60 so I can use all of the XL candies I stocked up, but I can appreciate that they aren’t letting you sweep everyone just because you beat the game. Maybe that’s just because grinding is super easy now... I actually stopped playing Firered at the E4 because I really just didn’t care enough to grind to a level where I’d actually have a chance against them. That’s way too many hours just to do something I only kinda want to do to begin with. Seriously, I don’t know why people were okay with it in the past...

All of this just makes me super excited for Gen 8. I did enjoy the partial Go mechanics, but I will love to have back the usual stuff in the next games, not to mention having new Pokemon is always fun. The only thing I’m kind of pessimistic about is that they might end up using the same old models for each Pokemon in the next games, since they all already have walking AND running animations, like the ones used in Lets Go. They’re just getting a little old, is all. Plus, I don’t remember if I mentioned this before, but I really just want certain flying Pokemon like Charizard, Dragonite, and Xatu to just stop flying in their idle battle model. They really don’t work like they are now, since they aren’t designed to be constantly flying at all times (as seen in their 2D sprites and official art). That stuff just bugs me. They made it that way for Airborne battles in Gen 6, but since those types of battles don’t exist anymore, those animations are pointless...

But yeah, Let’s Go was fun, much more fun than Firered, and I have high hopes for the next Pokemon games.

I’m seriously feeling the stasis of the franchise right now, though. We need some reliable leaks and/or official announcements soon, or I might go nuts. 

[artpharos]

In the Depths of Insanity

Sorry I’m late! This is my submission for Day 1/Forbidden Romance. Fair warning, it isn’t a happy fic :( 

Everything was wrong. 

The air felt thick, pervaded by an oppressive pressure that made it difficult for him to walk. It was dark— and in between the strange rock formations that jutted out from all around, any illumination came from the faint light filtered out from a distant above and weird, glowing plants that dotted the rocky field. Gladion could scarcely hear a thing, save for the muted chitters of what he could only assume to be Ultra Beasts.

He had never been in an Ultra Wormhole before. Each step was a struggle, and if it wasn't for Silvally supporting him, he wouldn't have gotten far.

But he had to come. After all, this was where Moon disappeared. 

It was so quiet, and it felt difficult to breathe. It was hard to imagine that she would be here— the bright light of Alola, lost in this unfathomable darkness. But he had found her broken pokedex lying on the floor at the entrance of this wormhole. Had seen the obvious scars of battle left on the stone tendrils as he passed.

And as they reached a clearing, Gladion's heart dropped.

She was unmistakable, standing in the middle of a faded shaft of light. But also unmistakable was the thing attached to her. He'd seen it before— when his mother had summoned the Ultra Beasts. And whatever it was, he knew something was terribly wrong. 

"Moon!" he yelled. Silvally shifted its position, placing itself between him and the Champion of Alola. 

He didn't know what to expect— whether she'd lunge at him, or whether the thing wrapped around her would drop away and leave her be.

But then she turned to face him. Though her eyes possessed a strange glow, they lit up in recognition. And in her soft, familiar voice, she asked, "Gladion?"

"Is— is that you?" He swallowed. He couldn't believe it. The thing attached to her was pulsating with an eerie light, and by all rights she shouldn't have been... okay. 

But then she smiled— guileless, pure. Just as he remembered, the last time they met.

"I should ask that of you," she teased. "Weren't you in Kanto?"

Gladion felt his throat dry. It was so familiar— it was almost as if all his fears were for nothing. But then Silvally growled as she approached, startling them both. Gladion rested a hand on his partner's mane, even as her eyes clouded over and she frowned.

"I don't want to fight," she said. 

"Me neither," he admitted. "You always win."

She giggled— the same laugh he knew, that always lifted his spirits. "Return Silvally." She smiled. "Then we can talk."

Gladion hesitated. Silvally turned to him, snapped its beak. It was evident that his partner didn't trust her words, sensed imminent danger. 

But Moon— 

Moon saved him. Trusted him. 

"Return, Silvallly." He didn't give his partner a chance to protest. But even as its form disappeared into its ball, he didn't put it away. Held it tight, in his hand, just in case.

Her smile was warm as she approached. But up close, he could see strange colours streaking her usually dark hair, and her normally dark eyes were iridescent, reflecting various colours in the shifting light. He could also see the way the Ultra Beast had its tentacles wrapped tight around her neck and her torso, how its bulbous head sat carefully where her hat usually was. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked, stopping an arm's length away. 

"I came to find you," he responded. "Lillie— she messaged me that you were missing. I couldn't just stay away."

"My hero." She frowned, the smile on her lips fading. She turned, about to dance away— until Gladion reached out with his free hand. Her wrist was small— fit nicely in his grip.

"Moon," he said tersely. "We have to go."

She regarded him with inscrutible eyes. Then, she sighed and tossed her hair, the Ultra Beast's gelatinous head wobbling with every move. 

"Why?" she asked, her tone sharp. "To get back out to Alola?"

Gladion frowned. Up until a moment ago— she had been acting just like the Moon he knew. "Everyone's worried about you."

"They shouldn't be." She scowled. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. And maybe— maybe I don't want to go back out. Maybe I don't want to have to deal with everyone calling me to fix their little problems. I have everything I want, right here— and if I leave, that's all gone!"

"You don't really mean that—" Gladion began, only to be cut short by her sharp laugh.

She glanced down to her feet, but there was a simmering emotion in her eyes. "You'd leave."

His breath caught in his throat. 

When Moon looked at him again, there was the intense look in her eyes that he knew so well. He'd seen it when they fought in battle, and when they stood together, side by side. It was that Moon that he remembered, far away in Kanto. The same girl that stood before him, now. 

Her voice was soft when she spoke. "Maybe— all I want is to be with you. Right here. Forever."

He clutched Silvally's pokeball tight in his hand. Some instinct in him was telling him it was dangerous; that he should run— but— this was Moon. This was the girl he looked up to, his Champion; the person who was so dear to him—

She reached out to him, her fingertips caressing his cheek. His chest tightened— and while it was hard to breathe before, now he could only manage a gasp. 

Some part of him wanted to break away from her and flee. But there was another part of him that kept his feet frozen to the ground, even as she approached. He understood the emotions behind her words; had felt the same aching loneliness beating in his chest. 

She stepped forward, so close that their noses could almost touch. Then, before he could react, she pulled him into a kiss. Gladion froze— the sensation of her soft lips against his wiped all thoughts from his mind, and her body felt warm, pressed against him. Her hands wound around his torso, clutching at him with a passion he didn't know she possessed. A strange sensation slipped over him, a cool touch against his neck that made it difficult for him to think. 

It was wrong. He tried to tell himself it wasn't her, that the Moon he loved wouldn't be like this. But still—

He closed his eyes as she pulled away, tried to calm the rapid beating of his heart. Tried to remember why it was he was here.

"Gladion?"

She watched him, pained loneliness in her shimmering eyes. 

"Moon," he managed. "This isn't right."

"No," she acknowledged, biting her lip. 

He hesitated. It'd be so easy to send Silvally out, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Couldn't bear to have to deny himself what he wanted— what they both wanted— once more.  

And as she took him into her arms again, he pulled her closer, paid little heed to her tentacles that had wrapped themselves around him, nor the bulbous form that had covered them both.

[crystalized-dreams]

So, we ended up going to Tennessee last weekend to see some friends (And well, go to Worlds while there anyway), which if you check my Twitter or are subscribed to my Youtube channel, you likely already knew 😛 But anyway, it was nice to go somewhere new. I had never been to Tennessee so I had fun just enjoying Nashville.

Before we get into the general trip stuff, I’ll talk about Pokemon and Pokemon Worlds a bit 🙂

So, we picked up our badges on Thursday afternoon. Figured it was best to get that and the shop out of the way ASAP. I think I generally liked the colors/theme of the Worlds 2017 stuff better, but I still really liked the lanyard at least. I loved all the Pokemon with the different instruments. I kind of wished there was more merchandise featuring all the Pokemon for this over just Pikachu. They did, however, give out this free poster which was perfect (And we were even given a few extras!):

So, while we didn’t really buy any of the exclusive stuff, we did get these adorable plushies: And here’s the bag by itself:

We also got some packs of cards with our spectator badges and these were essentially the highlights from our pack openings: I did not get nearly as nice cards from opening the digital versions 😛

They also had a demo station for the Let’s Go games! I was really excited to try them out:

And even got this cute Pokeball stress ball for playing:

I actually had a lot of fun with it. I really like the look of the game and how Pokemon show up and just exploring. The world feels so much more alive which is really nice. The Pokeball controller worked well, though, I found I accidentally would hit the button versus moving it sometimes, but I think that’s more just because I was getting used to it. It also reacted fairly well, but I couldn’t figure out exactly where the timing was for Pokemon who move around a lot and sadly, my time with the demo ended before I could play around with it more.

I’m really looking forward to it though. Now to just… finish Ultra Moon.

But yes, some pictures from the Pokemon Center, the main room, and where it was being held: #gallery-0-9 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-9 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The view was so nice.

The Prize Wall

I want one of these in my house.

One of the various stands around. Meloetta was the Pokemon available to download. If only it was able to come with a ribbon…

Part of the Stage! I love the building names.

All the set-ups were genuinely really neat.

They’re really nice. But honestly, the card artwork is my favorite.

I really love these so much

I was so tempted to buy one of these, but $50 was too much for me… 😦

I really loved the stage. I love the buildings being all Pokemon world themed and it just really makes me wish there was some big combined Pokemon game of all the various cities and things we’ve gotten from every game. The Pokemon World is already so huge and there’s so much to see and I wish they’d actually use that versus constant new regions. At this point, I’m just kind of tired of new regions and new Pokemon. I’d mind a new region less if we could visit it alongside familiar ones, but I think there’s plenty of Pokemon at this point 😦

Moving a bit more outside the convention center, I wish we got to do more in Pokemon GO, honestly. We seemed to manage to miss every single raid, there weren’t too many Pokestops actually in the main room, my GPS was constantly a bit finnicky, and I just didn’t have much luck with spawns either. I at least finally got a Sneasel and I did get a shiny Sunkern:

Also Tom traded me one of the Shiny Mareep he caught when we had visited back in April so yay 😀 And I at least got a lot of gifts to send back to people. Since I don’t go out much (and sometimes just can’t especially with the weather lately), I don’t usually have many chances to give gifts out 😦

But yes, as to one of the biggest reasons for going, it was to pick up this from a very amazing friend:

This was one of the prizes for the first winner of the Sylveon Girls Battle in 2016 in Japan and one of my most wanted items that featured Mega Audino T~T My next big goal will be Mega Audino Ddakji:

So, if you’re in Korea or know someone who could maybe help with those, let me know! ❤

Going into general Tennessee, it’s time for various random tourist-y pictures and food tours 😛 #gallery-0-10 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-10 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-10 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-10 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I couldn’t help but take pictures of some of the things at the airport when we landed

This was in the center of the hotel’s main entrance. Though, this was taken as we were leaving…

Close-up because of the cute bird in the tree!

Fireplace in the lobby.

Flowers in the hall.

Our hotel room!

The breakfast at the hotel! It was nice.

The hotel actually occasionally had stuff for dinner too though.

And for lunch as well!

And they switched it up a bit. Some nachos with chili and cheese! They also always had cookies–chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin.

Our very first meal was at the Corner Bakery Cafe that was right at the corner of the hotel. I had a Club Panini with Chicken Carbonara.

My husband had the BBLT with the Asian Wonton Salad. The drink was a Hibiscus Lemonade. I actually really liked this place, but due to the hours, we didn’t manage to go there again sadly.

This pig was near the entrance of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint. You’ll see we ate there a few times 😛 As it was my husband’s favorite and pretty much everything we had there was good. I wonder if this pig has a name. I will name him Sir Pig for now.

Meanwhile, I got a sausage sandwich and potato salad

My husband’s pulled pork and corn bread~

Dessert! I got pecan pie while he got their fried pie to try.

On another day, my husband got the “redneck taco” and potato salad.

Meanwhile, I got the sausage platter with hush puppies and cornbread.

On our final day, I had actually still been sick from the day before and so, we didn’t have lunch (paired with just not many people being open on Sunday). In combination with that and it being our last day and my husband still wanting to try a lot, we kind of overdid it a bit. I got a brisket sandwich with a side of mac & cheese and a baked potato. He got the the Brisket Burger with the cornbread, and then Loaded Fries and Catfish for sharing. And a strawberry cake for dessert.

They also had homemade brownies. I miss this brownie.

Also cheesy bread to share.

And olives! My only issue is only some were pitted and it wasn’t even just like… one specific type that wasn’t pitted. It was a bit random.

My husband’s pizza~

This is from Hot Diggity Dogs 🙂 I got a normal hotdog and the Polish Sausage while my husband got the Nashville and Bratwurst. Also cheese fries.

Straight down from the convention center was Al Taglio, a pizza place. I got an all cheese pizza.

Wild Bill’s was essentially a soda stand in the convention center. They had all kinds of different soda’s and if you got one of their special cups, you could get free refills on Friday and Saturday. While soda isn’t really my thing, my husband enjoyed it.

One thing we saw a lot was a Party Bike. Which was like a Party Bus… but with a group of people biking. They were always kind of amusing to see.

Butterfly we saw at the airport!

But yeah, I had more fun than I would have expected and there’s definitely more I would like to do and see so hopefully we have time to go again. And hopefully we won’t have another person pulling the fire alarm or another super hot day that destroys me because those were really the only bad things.

As for Pokemon Worlds next year… We don’t have too many plans, but Washington DC is a pretty good location for us, so maybe~

A Trip to Tennessee! (Pokemon Worlds and Goals) So, we ended up going to Tennessee last weekend to see some friends (And well, go to Worlds while there anyway), which if you check my Twitter or are subscribed to my Youtube channel, you likely already knew 😛 But anyway, it was nice to go somewhere new.

[tubaninja2236-blog]

Gym Battle 1! Chapter 4!

We awoke to a beautiful morning with singing Pidgey in the background. I opened up my zipper door to see if Emerald is awake. Her door was down too so I’m guessing she likes to wake up early. I step outside of the tent and see her near a small pond and see her washing her face with a adorable Pokemon. I pulled out my Pokedex to scan what it is and it revealed that the little creature is called Skitty. “Hey, good morning Emerald!”, I shouted. She quickly pointed her blackish colored Pokeball and said, “hey you scared me! I guess you finally got to see one of my Pokemon by accident.”. “Yeah it was a cutie, I’ve never seen one before. I’ve seen many Pokemon through books but not all of them.”. She giggled and ran up to me and muttered, “so…… what’s for breakfast and what is the plan”? “Hold that thought on breakfast. For a plan I want to go against the General’s Gym”. She looks at me and says, “are you serious?! With a Mudkip you are asking to get your butt kicked”! “You be surprised on what I’m capable Emerald. My Mudkip isn’t an ordinary one. It has been bred through generations of strong and talented Swampert”. She pictured actual bread in her mind then giggled about the idea of it then realised what I was talking about then blushed a bit before walking off to the tent to get her stuff.

We ventured off to the Vermilion City Gym and noticed a tree blocking our way. A little sign says you should use HM01 (Cut) to get through. I shrugged and picked Emerald up and jumped through the branches unharmed. She looked at me amazed to what just happened. “How did you do that?”, asked Emerald. “Lots of training.”, I steadily muttered to compose myself since I had no idea how the hell I did that.

When we stepped inside the Gym, there were 3 weird trainers just standing there in between some trash cans and the door behind us locked up with an alarm. They were ready. I walked up to the closest one and he yelled, “you dare challenge me?! You will die from the hands of a Juggler!”. Confused, I jumped back and waited for him to send out his Pokemon. He brings out a Magnemite, level 16. “Mudkip I choose you! Overcome your weakness to become the best!”, I shouted in excitement. I tell Mudkip to use Dig and immediately the Juggler had a grim look knowing that he was doomed. He gave Magnemite Defense X to increase his defense in exchange for his attack command. Mudkip came out of the ground and smashed into the poor little guy and managed to beat him with one hit. Mudkip was a gift from Grandpa so he gained extra experience to go straight into level 12. Pissed, the Juggler brings out a shiny new Ultra Ball which contained a shiny Voltorb. He ordered it to use Thundershock which severely hurt my Mudkip. Down to his last drop of energy, I tell mudkip to push even further and use Waterfall to smash into the damn thing to make it faint thanks to hitting its weak point which resulted into a Critical Hit in competitive terminology. Shocked, the trainer gave up and conceded to give us our first victory on Kanto soil.

The next trainer was a child that looked like he is from a different region. I walked up to him and immediately he threw his Love Ball that contained a rodent that I’m familiar with, at least from my region. His only Pokemon he had in his trainer roster is a Dedenne, level 18. My level 13 Mudkip was ready by commanding him to use Iron Tail, his 4th move. As dumb of a move it was it did ok damage which left it open for a finishing move. Dedenne was given the command to use Thunderbolt. As the youngster laughed his butt off, he looked shocked to why Mudkip lived. “I’m prepared for this Gym. I gave Mudkip a Focus Sash to catch you cocky electric type users off guard. Now Mudkip use Dig and smack him hard!”, I yelled in excitement. The trainer didn’t know what to do so he ordered Dedenne to go into the hole Mudkip dug and chase it with Nuzzle. In a panic, I gave Mudkip the instruction to get out of the hole and use water gun to flood the hole. Dedenne launches itself at Mudkip and ordered him to give it all he’s got because if that Nuzzle touches, it’s all over for us. Mudkip gave it his all and managed to push Dedenne off course, forcing itself to fly into the ceiling and fainted on impact. Mudkip gained enough experience to become level 15 for his huge effort in taking out such an opponent. Frustrated the trainer tossed the ball into the trash and disowned the poor guy. Emerald quickly grabbed the ball in tears wondering how trainers can treat their Pokemon like useless tools. The Pokemon referee threw a red card at the trainer and banned him from competition for 3 years for the offense for dishonorable conduct stacked with abuse towards a Pokemon. He flipped him off and was never seen again.

I felt sorry for the poor Pokemon and I can see how hurt Emerald was by the way she was snuggling the ball. “Do you want to keep it Emerald?”, I softly asked. “No… it deserves a trainer that is willing to go all out for the Pokemon. Besides I already have a full roster and don’t have a PC system set up yet and you have 5 slots available on your belt”. In concern I took the ball and pushed the emergency claim button to make the Dedenne join my team for good. “For now I’ll hold onto the Dedenne. When your PC system ever gets set up, I’ll gladly trade it to you so you can raise it yourself”. In delight she shook her head and wiped her tears and gave both Mudkip and Dedenne a Super Potion. Now off to the last trainer.

The final trainer was another youngster that looked unfazed to what just happened. I walked up to him and he offered to challenge me. I jumped across the playing field and tossed out Mudkip from his ball to prepare for the last battle. The youngster brought out a Pikachu, level 13. I ordered Mudkip to use Waterfall but was quickly interrupted by the youngster’s Quick Attack. It hurt but Mudkip was able to land the Waterfall to almost knocking it out. The trainer used Quick Attack again only to fall victim to another successful Waterfall to finish the match. “What was with the strategy? You could have easily knocked out my Mudkip!”, I shouted. “You saved that poor Pokemon. It’s the least I can do for a honorable trainer like you. You deserve to face the General. Good luck”. He offered his hand and shook before walking up to the door that leads to General Surge.

Puzzled, both Emerald and I got close to the door and it wouldn’t open like the entrance door. A screen lit up and read, “If you want to proceed beyond this door, you must find the two keys hidden under the trash cans. If you click on them in order you will unlock this door to face the Gym leader”. “Emerald I don’t want anything to happen to you. Head back to the entrance and wait there just in case something goes wrong”. She nods her head and says, “ok, but make sure nothing happens. When you are done with the General, I want to jump in and battle him as well.” I lift my fist up to give each other a fist bump before she took off to the entrance to wait there.

Thanks to my hearing, I was able to pick up the sound of the first switch because of its blinking red light making a faint sound. I clicked it and immediately heard a button slip up for me to find but this time it became a proplem. It didn’t make a sound so I actually had to guess where the next button is located. Out of random I checked the trash can behind the one I originally checked and found the button. I clicked it and watched as the security system that locked us here in the first place deactivate with the door slowly moving apart. “I did it Emerald! When I’m through with the General I will let you know so you can battle him too”. “Sounds good!”, in a excited tone.

“So you are the trainer that wants to battle me! You have got to be kidding me. Let me guess your region got blasted to pieces because the militia didn’t heed to my warning about the government?! I can recognise a foreigner from a mile away! As long as I am alive, my military instincts will protect mine and the other mainland regions from certain destruction! Now boy, show me what you got!!!”, shouted by General Surge. “When I defeat you, you must tell me where I can get a lead to track those scumbags!”, quickly after his statement.

The general only had 1 Pokemon in roster to go against my two, Mudkip level 15 (close to 16) and Dedenne level 18. The referee blows the whistle and calls for the General to reveal his Pokemon. He throws his beat up Pokeball to bring out Raichu, level 20. I decide to open up with Mudkip. “Raichu use Thunderbolt!”, yelled the General. “Mudkip use Dig!”, in a nervous voice. Thunderbolt landed to knock Mudkip down to his last drop of energy. The General decides to use a Defense X in exchange for his attack command. Mudkip’s dig smacks right into Raichu and surprisingly lands a Critical Hit, a record high for one day for him. “Alright Raichu give him Iron Tail to finish him off”! “Quickly Mudkip use your own Iron Tail to take him down”!

CLANG! A loud metal sound erupted and see that Mudkip has been hit right on the abdomen while Raichu got hit on the head. Both of them fell down to the ground hurt with a loud whistle soon afterwards. “Mudkip was hit first before landing his hit on Raichu. Raichu wins due to landing his attack first. Mudkip is out for the match due to injury while Raichu is indicating that he can continue the match.”, explained the referee. In sadness, I return Mudkip back to his Pokeball and kiss the ball before grabbing my new partner for his debut. “Go Dedenne!”, I shouted. Shocked, General Surge didn’t expect to see that kind of Pokemon used against him. “Raichu is too weak to get hit by a healthy Dedenne, especially if he uses Thunderbolt. Crap… this kid was ready.”, muttered General Surge. “Use Thunderbolt to finish off his Raichu Dedenne!”, I shouted. A huge bolt hits Raichu with a blinding flash. When I looked the poor guy was fried with the green flag waived towards me to indicate that the match is over and I’m the winner. “Yes! We did it!”, in excitement. I quickly gave Dedenne a hug and Emerald runs up to me and says, “congratulations! Now it’s my turn to fight him”! Scared, General Surge decided to take her challenge tomorrow rather than now to give Raichu a good day’s rest. “Here is the Thunder Badge. You will need this to compete in the league. Now then I will give you the information you need by taking you and your girl friend for lunch”. Emerald and I looked at each other and blushed and both said that we are not dating, we just met each other. He chuckles and in a smart tone he says, “yeah. That’s what they all say”. He puts his arms over our shoulders and walks out of the Gym to go mooch off the Pokemon Center’s complementary food. END

For those that are reading along, Gym chapters will be longer than the regular chapters to go into more depth and so I don’t split off the plot for another day. I hope you enjoy the story as I plan on releasing a new part every day!

[beautiful-lusamine-blog]

Finally (A Gladion x Sun Fic)

headofspectre said:

(I felt like writing something that wasn’t tragic or depressing. So here’s a first attempt at fluff.)             

  Gladion remembered this motel. He remembered the smell of the sheets. The letter he’d written almost a thousand times in one of the rooms. He remembered Null scratching desperately at the door, wanting to fight, to explore, to see the world it’d been denied…

            Hard to believe that was a mere two years ago. Since then, everything had changed. People called him ‘President Gladion.’ He’d learned business, mostly from Wicke, but when Mother had recovered, she’d helped where she could. He respected her for that. She seemed to be doing her best to redeem herself, and she’d refused to retake her position as Aether President, instead using her health to resume her original work. Not studying the Ultra Beasts, but pokemon preservation. She was little more than another Employee now, a field worker who barely resembled the woman he’d once loathed.

            He heard rumors of Lillie dominating the Kanto and Johto regions, as well of rumors that she was planning to take Alola next. He wanted to see that battle. He’d challenged the Alolan Champion himself, almost weekly. The boy was tough! His Primarina was absolutely ruthless, and the rest of his team consisted of a variety of ghost, dark and fairy types who put up a hell of a fight! Gladion had come far against him. Silvally had managed to battle him down to just his Banette, but then he’d Mega evolved it… and then Silvally’s ghost memory had become its undoing.

            That’s what led him here, actually. After their last battle, the Champion had approached him, for their usual post battle handshake, smiling as always, and as their hands had met, Gladion felt a piece of paper being pushed into his palm.     “Good battle, Gladion!” They said, “Maybe next time, you’re even gonna take the title!”

    “How do you know I want it?” He’d asked, smiling at the boy, “Maybe I just like the chase?”

    “Keep chasing, and you’re gonna end up catching.” He’d replied, pulling away. “See you later!”

            He turned away, heading back to his throne to heal their pokemon, letting their wounded Primarina into the fountain he’d had installed for her to bathe in until it was time to battle.

            Gladion admired that. The way he cared for his pokemon, especially his very first. He looked down at the paper in his hand, frowning at it. It was the address for the motel, and a time.

            He’d looked at that trainer, and then turned to leave.

    “Gladion!” Sun’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he turned over his shoulder to look at him getting closer.     “Sun? Hey… I was wondering what you brought me out here for.” He said, before raising an eyebrow. “You’re not trying to train me, are you?” He found himself looking for pokeballs on Sun’s belt, only to find none.     “Nah, what would I show you? I’ve been picking up more tips from you than you’ve been picking up from me!” He said, “Actually. I wanted to ask you something…” He paused, looking over at the sunset.     “You… um… wanna grab a bite or something?”

    “Hm?”

    “You heard me. Wanna grab a bite.” Sun repeated, “Mallow’s family’s restaurant is on the island. I thought it’d be a good place to go.”

            When the surprise wore off, Gladion found himself confused. He seldom saw Sun outside of a few casual visits to Aether Paradise and their weekly battles. Mother sometimes reported seeing him around the islands and from what he could tell, they had a friendly relationship. Come to think of it… Mother had seemed aloof today… evasive, like she knew something he didn’t, and besides, he’d been studying a lot lately and could use a bite to eat. He’d taken online courses to make himself a more efficient director and scientist. Diligently enough that he hadn’t actually stopped for a bite since breakfast… yesterday morning. It was hard to tell, but from the way Sun was looking at him, he almost felt as if the boy knew that.

            Gladion smiled.     “Yeah. That sounds really great!”

            The dinner was excellent. Mallow herself had come out to serve them, chatting up them both the whole while. She needed to be called back into the kitchen a few times. Sun seemed a little relieved when she was gone. He asked about Gladion’s studies, how the Aether Foundation and Silvally were doing. He told him about how the Silvally Gladion had entrusted to him was doing. His words made him happy he’d entrusted Sun with the wellbeing of such an outstanding pokemon.

            Talking to Sun was a lot like battling him actually. It made the stresses of life seem to melt away. He found himself smiling more, laughing more. It was something he’d noticed for a while when he was around the other boy. Gladion wasn’t stupid. He’d figured out soon after he’d left home just where he stood with other guys. It only took a look at the cuter members of Team Skull for him to clue into that, and with Sun, he knew exactly where he stood. But he hadn’t ever imagined saying anything. Sun was one of his closest friends! Plus, there was Lillie to think about. She seemed close with the boy! They even called each other just to talk almost daily and… well… Gladion didn’t want to get in the way…

    “Hey, Gladion!” Sun called, snapping his fingers, “Earth to Gladion. The Ultra Wormhole is closing. Come home!” He smiled as Gladion shook himself from his thoughts.

    “Oh! Heh… sorry…”     “It’s fine! You were spacing out. It was kinda cute, but I was thinking of drawing something on your face.”

    “You wouldn’t dare and you know it.” Gladion said knowingly.     “Sure about that?” Sun asked, “Go look in the mirror!”

He felt a small stab of panic before Sun started giggling.     “Relax! You weren’t THAT spaced out. Something bugging you though? You can talk to me if you need to!”

    “Oh. No, I’m fine. Honestly. Just thinking, I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten out and about. I don’t think I’ve been to Akala since I went back and did my trials properly.”

    “It’s nice to visit.” Sun shrugged, “I like the landscape the most. Maybe one day, I might get a house in Paniola Town. It’s a nice area! Like a Western town!”

   “Wouldn’t it be kind of hard to keep up?” Gladion asked, “Y’know, there’s extra room in the mansion on Aether Paradise. You could always move in.”

    “What, are you lonely in there?” Sun asked, smirking playfully, “I honestly never even thought about living in a mansion. I don’t even know what I’d contribute. I used to help Mom with the housework but…”

    “We’ve got a cleaning staff.” Gladion blurted out, before wishing he hadn’t. Sun just smiled.     “Yeah. That’d be nice, but then I’d just feel lazy. Speaking of which, how’re you feeling, now that you’ve really settled back in there?”

    “Not bad.” Gladion admitted, “It’s nice being… well… home again. Mother’s been doing alright. We’ve been getting along alright. I guess I expected it to be going a lot worse.”

     “Sounds like it’s better than alright.” Sun said, “When Lillie finally comes back, you guys can give being a family another shot, can’t you?”

            Gladion’s heart skipped a beat, before he nodded.     “I guess. Wouldn’t really be a Family without Dad, but… well. We can make it work. I got an email from Lillie the other day, actually. She’s supposed to be coming in next week.”

    “Better hold on to my throne then.” Sun replied, “I heard from a trainer passing by the other day that she’s a real force to be reckoned with…” He thought on it for a few moments, his smile fading, before giving Gladion a more serious look.

    “If she’s coming back so soon, you mind if I showed you something after dinner?”

    “Sure, if you want.”

    “Great! I want your opinion on something really important!”

            With that said, Sun worked on rushing through his meal. Whatever it was, it must have been something he couldn’t wait for.

            After they’d eaten, Sun had left quickly, going to a pokemon center and coming out with three new pokeballs. One was familiar. A dusk ball, marked with a moon sticker. That was Nebby’s ball. The second and third were just ordinary pokeballs.

    “Here, let’s head down to the beachfront. Nobody’ll see us there.” Sun said, his voice a little calmer. He gestured for Gladion to follow him, and when they reached the beach, he gave Nebby’s ball a toss, letting the Lunala free, to explore the area. The large batlike legendary pokemon regarded Gladion gleefully, swooping joyously over him in recognition before soaring higher into the sky to play.

            Sun watched it with a smile, turning the other pokeball over in his hands.     “I wanted to give Lillie something when she came back. I wasn’t sure if it would be Nebby, or…”

            He tossed the pokeball, releasing the second pokemon. Gladion’s eyes widened when he recognized a Cosmog on the beach.     “Where did you find that… How?”

    “On the Alter of the Moone. Must’ve been summoned from an Ultra Wormhole. Nebby really liked it, so I took the little fella in. I don’t have as much time to play with them as I’d like though… so I thought, maybe Lillie or… well, you.” He paused, “One of you might like them. You could use them in your research. I know you wouldn’t hurt them.”

            Gladion shook his head.     “I wouldn’t… but, I wouldn’t trust it around Mother… she’s better, but I worry. Give it to Lillie.”

    “You’re sure?” Sun asked, and Gladion nodded.

    “I’m sure.” He said, and Sun withdrew the Cosmog, after giving it an affectionate pat.     “Alright… well then, this is for you.” He took the second pokeball, and offered it to him.     “What’s in there? A Solgaleo?” Gladion asked.     “What? No! Just look in the ball!”

Gladion took it, and gave it a light toss, eyes widening as he saw a young Popplio appear, then eagerly hop towards him.     “If you won’t take Nebby Jr. You can have this little one!”

    “Why?” Gladion asked, kneeling down to meet the Popplio, who eagerly snuggled into his arms.     “Couple of reasons. Firstly, you really need to lighten up.” Sun said, his smile returning. “Second, Silvally really means a lot to me. I wanted to give something to you too, and third…”

            He knelt down beside Gladion and Popplio.

    “Well, I love you.”

            His hands were full. He couldn’t resist when Sun leaned in to kiss him, and frankly, he didn’t WANT to resist! The kiss felt so good! So right! He found himself leaning into it, savoring every last second until their lips parted.

            Sun was still smiling, and he laughed quietly.    “You’ve really changed since the day we’ve met… and I just can’t stop thinking about the person you’ve become… and who you’re probably gonna be one day. You told me that we weren’t friends, but we also weren’t enemies, and ever since that day, I’ve been trying to figure out what you are to me. Now I know, and I know what I want you to be.”

            Gladion’s mind was nothing but a blur as he heard Sun say those words. This had to be a dream. He’d wake up in bed, sweaty and alone! But he didn’t seem to wake up at all…

            He shifted the Popplio’s weight, and reached up to cup Sun’s cheek.     “You mean that?” He asked.     “Yeah. I do.” Sun promised, “I really do. So… I guess what I’m asking is, what do you say?”

            Gladion pulled him into another kiss. That was his answer.

            A week later, both boys stood on the pier, watching a ship come in, and their hands clasped together.

            The gangplank was lowered, and they saw a familiar face dismounting. Lillie almost came running out of the ship, and when she saw them, she stopped in her tracks, staring at their fingers, laced together, before slowly she started to smile.

    “You told him? FINALLY!” 

beautiful-lusamine:

{Ah! I love it! Thank you so much for writing this! It’s really great! I love the idea of Lillie getting off the boat and just being like “Hi guys I’m so happy to - Huh? What the fuuuuuuuuuuuu - OH YEAH THAT’S RIGHT I REMEMBER NOW! WOW TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!” :P I also really love that Gladion is already aware that he’s really super gay due to members of team skull (who based on some dialogue I think are also secretly gay lol) it’s my personal headcanon anyways.

I really appreciate all the stuff you’ve been submitting, and especially this one. For a first attempt at fluff, it was pretty damn good! Sorry to cover it up with a “Keep Reading” link at the beginning, but I know some people who follow me don’t like it when a giant thing pops up on their dashboard. It was magnificent though, thank you very much again!

(I TAKE NO CREDIT FOR THIS, IT WAS WRITTEN BY THE SUBMITTER  IN CASE THAT WASN’T CLEAR.)}

[shari-berri]

Rose

Drew x reader

(Imma catch a phat case bc I have a raging lady boner for Grasshead)

Your POV

I am Y/N L/N, also known as Y/N. I am training to be the best coordinator I can be with my partners by my side. There is this boy that I have a crush on. He is also a coordinator but he is way more experienced than me since I am just starting out. I don't have a chance with him though, I've noticed how he is always giving May roses, and I hate it. I wish he would notice me for once.

Staring sadly at the ground, I turn around and grab my bag holding my pokeballs, heading off to the park to train for the next contest.

Grabbing my pokeball with my starter in it, I throw it, releasing Sceptile.

"Scept! Tile! Sceptile!" He calls, coming over to me.

I reach down and pat his head.

"Hey buddy, are you ready to practice for the next contest?" I ask, still lightly rubbing his head.

He nods and gestures to my bag, prompting me to let out the rest of my team.

I reach my hand into my bag again, pulling out a great ball. Swiftly throwing the ball, my Arcanine comes out, barking with glee. He already knows what is happening, eager to get started.

I pull out another pokeball, releasing my Absol. He barks, eyeing me happily, tongue hanging out of his mouth. I stroke his fur, reaching out to grab my fourth Pokémon.

My hand comes out of my bag, an ultra ball in my palm. I press the button, enlarging it, and chuck it into the space in front of me.

Zangoose pops out, claws ready for battle. He turns to look at me, confused about what is happening. I hold up a finger telling him to wait.

Pulling out a quick ball, I release my Ampharos.

My last pokeball calls out my Froslass.

"We are here to practice for the next contest. I want to try extra hard so I can impress Drew." I tell my friends, making gestures with my hands.

They all nod in agreement, calling out their names, ready to practice.

"Froslass and Ampharos, step up. The rest of you please go stand in the back and watch closely." I command.

Froslass and Ampharos step up to the space in front of me, ready to work.

"Froslass use shadow ball! Ampharos use Electro ball! Make them collide in the middle!" I scream.

Froslass and Ampharos corrects execute the move, creating a storm of sparkles to fall onto the ground and around the spot around them.

"Alright you two, go back to join the rest. Sceptile and Absol, you're up!"

Sceptile and Absol waddle forward.

"Absol use will-o-wisp and Sceptile use leaf storm!"

As expected, the leaves are surrounded by wisps of fire, sparkling around.

Lastly I called up Zangoose and Arcanine.

"Arcanine use fire blast and Zangoose cut it with X-scissor!"

The move works perfectly, surrounding Zangoose with trails of fire dancing around him.

As I gather my whole team for a group hug, I hear someone clear their throat from behind me. Quickly turning around, I spot green hair.

"Hey Y/N, I saw your performance and wanted to say that it's good, but not good enough. You'll never be able to beat me or May with that routine." He says cockily, nose turned up.

I felt my heart deflate. I had expected him to complement me, but instead I was put down. Sending my change in mood, my Pokémon gather around me defensively. Zangoose stands behind me, claws at the ready. Arcanine's teeth and bared and so are Absol's. Sceptile readies a leaf blade and Ampharos has electricity cracklings around it. Froslass has a blizzard ready to be released.

Drew sweatdrops and stutters an apology out.

"H-hey! I didn't mean it like that! Call of your pokemon! Alright?"

Waving my hand, my Pokémon all drop their guard, still standing around me protectively.

Drew sighs and simply hands me a rose and walks off.

I clutch the rose in my hand, feeling lightheaded. I smell it and smile. I lay onto the grass, putting my head and torso onto Zangoose. Absol curls up and lays his head onto my lap. Froslass happily floats above us.

As I drift off to dreamland, I feel the rest of my Pokémon cuddle up to me.

[ovojebalkan-story-collectio-blog]

Lisja Esenski (Pokemon AU)

Leaves blew around the city as the lights on the stadium lit up. It was the night of Skopje Fest 2014. Already, Macedonia were going to be deciding their entrant for next year's Eurovision Pokemon Contest. This year, they were going to be the first country to choose their competitor for the big event. Macedonia was not typically good at Pokemon battling, they were a shiny collecting nation, an entire country of shiny hunters. Battling just wasn't their speciality. But still, every year they would show up at the grand tournament of the Eurovision Pokemon Contest. Typically they would get knocked out at the semi-final stage, but they were always back the next year to try again. It was nearly time, and the Skopje Fest competitors were hanging around the green room. All the entrants were there, except for one, who was mysteriously absent, X Factor Adria winner Daniel Kajmakoski. He was one of the favourites to win Skopje Fest, he had already won the great Pokemon battle at X Factor, shocking everyone, as no one had expected a Macedonian to win the contest. "Where is he?" Tamara asked, "He should be here by now, the show is starting soon." "I don't know," Dimitar said, "Should we go and ask someone? We can't really start without him, can we?" The contestants thought it over, but at that moment, the door opened. Daniel Kajmakoski walked in, along with his mentor, Željko Joksimović. Željko was one of the best Pokemon trainers in Serbia, and one of the best in the entire Balkans too. He had helped many Eurovision entrants in the past, and if Daniel won Skopje Fest, then he would be helping Team Macedonia. "Hey everyone," Daniel said, "Hope I'm not late!" "Nah," Vlatko Ilievski replied, "It hasn't started yet. You're right on time!" Vlatko looked down at his PokeDex. It was coming along quite nicely. He was hoping to get into the Eurovision contest again. He had been before, so this wasn't new to him. Vlatko had won Skopje Fest in 2011 and so won the right to compete at the Eurovision Pokemon Contest back then. He had tried very hard but got knocked out at the semi-final stage. But Macedonia would never give up on the dream, even though they were not the best at Pokemon battling, they would continue to compete at Eurovision. This time, Vlatko had brought another trainer with him, his friend Risto Samardžiev, to be a part of his team. Risto had more experience with Pokemon training, and so he hoped that would give him a better chance. Vlatko looked up from his PokeDex and at the clock on the wall. The show still hadn't started yet. "What was it like?" Egi asked, "To go to Eurovision and compete at the contest?" "Oh, it was an experience, that's for sure," Vlatko grinned, "And much harder than Skopje Fest, ya know. Well, I tried my best, and that's all I can do." Back in 2011, Azerbaijan had been the winners. Ell and Nikki had used the legendary Pokemon Moltres to secure victory. It started a huge debate on whether or not legendary Pokemon should even be allowed in the tournament, but the head of the EBU, Jon Ola Sand, decided to allow legendaries in. His logic was, if a trainer was good enough to catch a legendary Pokemon, then they should be allowed to use it. But no one at Skopje Fest had any legendary Pokemon, even Risto, who had been a Pokemon trainer for longer than the others. Vlatko told the story of Eurovision 2011 to the other entrants. "And now you want to go again..." Tamara said, "Just like me." "Yup," Vlatko grinned, "But this time, if I win this, Risto will be with me." "Haha, yeah," Risto laughed, "Well let's not get too ahead of ourselves, ok? Let the best Pokemon trainer win, whoever that is. The best trainer should represent Macedonia, after all." "That's true," Tamara said, "But I just loved the whole Eurovision experience. I would love to go again." Tamara had been in the Eurovision Pokemon Contest back in 2008. Tamara, Vrčak & Adrian had all gone together as Team Macedonia. Even though they had come 10th in the semi-final, there had been a jury wildcard rule back then. The jury got to decide who the 10th country to qualify would be. They chose Sweden instead. Charlotte Perrelli had made some crucial mistakes in her semi-final battles, but Sweden was always a popular country with the juries. Macedonia didn't stand a chance at being chosen against them. Still, they weren't bitter about it. Macedonia would always come back next year to try again. And the next. And the next. They weren't a country to give up easily. They looked over to see Kaliopi walking over to them. "Hey guys," she said, "Long time no see." Kaliopi was a strong Pokemon trainer, but even more than that, she was the greatest shiny hunter in all of Macedonia, all of the Balkans, and perhaps even all of Europe. Her collection of shiny Pokemon was the largest in the entire continent. Kaliopi was one of the interval acts tonight, she wasn't going to be a competitor. The Skopje Fest contestants were glad at that, because Kaliopi would be a hard one to beat. "Well," Željko said, "Are we ready?" The entrants looked around the green room. Some of them certainly didn't feel ready, especially since they would have a battle against Daniel Kajmakoski, one of the best Pokemon battlers in all of Macedonia, but it was already time for the start of the show. They would have to be ready. "Sure," Tamara said, "We're ready. Let's begin." And so the Skopje Fest 2014 began. The Pokemon battles were fierce, but it was obvious that Daniel had the upper hand. His Pokemon were more trained than the others, and he was pretty consistently winning against everyone else. However, winning wasn't everything. The results from the juries and the televoters would also be taken into account towards the final score. One thing was for sure though, everyone expected Daniel to win this. The entrants recalled their Pokemon back into their Pokeballs and they returned to the green room to wait for the results. Joce Panov looked outside the green room and then walked back over to the others. He seemed very excited about something. "Guys!" he said, "A golden Pokeball is being brought into the arena!" "A golden... Pokeball?" Vlatko asked, surprised. Golden Pokeballs were rare, most people had never seen one. They usually contained an amazing Pokemon, like a legendary, or even better for Macedonians, a shiny Pokemon. And sure enough, there it was, the host of Skopje Fest, Vasil Zafircev, walked into the room carrying a golden Pokeball. "Hey everyone," Vasil said, "Just to let you know, whoever wins Skopje Fest tonight will also win the prize that is inside this Pokeball!" But something happened, Vasil tripped on a prop on the ground, and he dropped the Pokeball. A flash of light appeared and the Pokeball opened, revealing the Pokemon inside. There it was, a shiny Groudon. A shiny legendary Pokemon. People gasped in amazement. No one had expected this. A legendary AND a shiny? "That..." Vlatko said, "That... it's beautiful. Wow." The Skopje Fest entrants gathered around the dinosaur Pokemon. "Remember guys," Risto said, "It's also a legendary Pokemon. It's very strong. Keep your distance. We need to treat this Pokemon with respect." "Don't worry you guys," Daniel grinned, "I'll handle this. I'll catch it again and then we can get on with the show!" Daniel stepped forward and took out a Pokeball, throwing it at the Groudon. The Pokemon immeadiately broke out. This seemed to anger the Pokemon, and it flicked its tail, knocking some empty chairs over. "Sorry, sorry," Daniel apologised, unsure if the Pokemon could understand him or not. The Pokemon knocked a table over. "This isn't great, is it?" Dimitar sighed, "Whose bright idea was this?" "It's not my fault," Vasil said, "Who left that prop on the floor that I tripped on?" "Guys, guys," Risto said, "Let's not blame each other, I'm sure we can fix this." "Exactly, Risto," Daniel said, as he picked up another Pokeball and threw it again. The Pokemon popped out of the Pokeball again and this time it was even more angry. "Daniel!" Tamara yelled, "Please stop throwing Pokeballs!" "Sorry," Daniel said, "I thought I could catch it. Anyone else got any ideas?" "Yes, anyone, please," Vasil said, "Before this Pokemon gets out of the green room and into the audience area. It'd be a real shame to have to evacuate the arena or even cancel the end of the show because of this." Kaliopi stepped forward. "I have an idea," she said, pulling an Ultra Ball out of her pocket. These were stronger than regular Pokeballs. She threw it as hard as she could at the Pokemon, which went inside the ball. The ball rolled and shook a few times, then clicked. She had done it, she had caught the Pokemon. "Kaliopi!" Daniel said, "You did it!" "Thank you, Kaliopi," Vasil said, "Great work catching that Pokemon. Now we can finally get on with the show!" The entrants sat in the green room as the results were read out. Skopje Fest had certainly been eventful so far, but that was enough excitement for one day. Now, they were going to find out who was going to represent Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Daniel was leading the scoreboard, which didn't surprise anyone, since he was one of the most popular Pokemon trainers in Macedonia. Tamara was in second place. The final results rolled in. "And the winner," Vasil said, "Of Skopje Fest 2014... is Daniel Kajmakoski!" "Wow..." Daniel said, as he took the Skopje Fest trophy from Vasil, "I don't know what to say. Thank you, everyone." "And, as the winner of Skopje Fest," Vasil said, "You get to represent Macedonia in the Eurovision Pokemon Contest. Also, Kaliopi, the Pokemon you caught was Daniel's prize. You really should hand it over to him." Kaliopi took the Pokeball out. Daniel thought it over, but he couldn't take it. After all, he had failed to catch it, multiple times. Kaliopi had been the one trainer who was able to capture it. "No," Daniel said, "I can't accept it. Kaliopi, you caught it, it's your Pokemon." "Really?" Kaliopi said, "Daniel, thank you so much." "No, Kaliopi, thank you. I hope one day I can be as worthy a Pokemon trainer as you and have a shiny legendary of my own. I almost feel like I'm not the real winner, and that you're the real winner." "Nonsense, Daniel," Kaliopi grinned, "You are the winner of Skopje Fest, that's why you'll be going to Eurovision next May. Good luck at ESC!" "Thank you," Daniel said, "Hopefully nothing like that happens at the actual contest." And so, Macedonia had their Eurovision entrant, Daniel Kajmakoski. Macedonia had been the first country to choose their contestant for the 2015 contest, so Skopje Fest signalled the beginning of Eurovision 2015. Everyone was excited for the big event. Macedonia hoped that Daniel would do well at the contest, but one thing was for sure, they would be proud of him no matter what.

[noivysneverland]

Justice, Reborn pt 8.

I didn't want to leave the Grand Hall, the air in here was clean. But eventually people would question me and I'd have my cover blown. Leaving the building and holding back the urge to vomit, there was a young lady dressed in clothes that reminded me of the kimono dancers in Johto's Ecruteak City. Her eyes said she was familiar with the region so it wouldn't hurt to ask if there was a place to stay. "Pardon, ma'am," I ask in my 'confused wandering trainer' voice, "Is there any hotels that you may know of in the area?" She turned and looked surprise that always comes from someone suddenly being asked from a stranger, and to her defense I didn't want to ask but I'm not going to get anywhere without asking. "Go east across the bridge," she responded, "Obsidia Ward's your best chance. It has a lot of shops and hotels. Oh, and be ready for a few battles. The bridges are a popular place for trainers." "Thank you, Miss-" I make a point to get names. "Victoria," she cut in immedeatly, "what's yours? "Keeper, thank you again." And with that, we went our separate ways.

Walking to the bridge and climbing its stairs gave me another blast of foul air into my nose, I pulled my head into my coat to ease the stench. An old codger like me doesn't get a lot of people looking at him most of the time. Younger trainers usually don't want to face adults, especially strangers. Most of the other trainers on the bridge couldn't have been older than 25, a few stood out, but they seemed just as disinterested about battling in the moment that I was. Half way through the bridge, a young man called me out and challenged me. The guy was clad in dark clothing, with blue and green patterns scattered throughout his outfit, his eyes determined to learn more about the new stranger that I was. "You're walking across the bridge and expecting not to get a battle?" His voice reminded me of the insufferable rich brat of a water leader from the Sigil region, I had to bite my tongue. "That was the plan," was my dry response, "I have places to be,  and you’re not in any of them." The trainer took umbrage in my reply and stormed in front of me, an ultra ball in hand. I raised my head to lock eyes. "You don't want this battle," I sighed as I pulled out Manectric's pokeball from my belt. And with that, my formal welcome to Reborn's battling scene began. The ace trainer, as he called himself was a haughty fellow, had pokemon that I could easily gauge were still growing in their ability, compared to the seasoned Manectric whom I didn’t even need to usher commands to. This Manectric seems to live for battle. The battle was over within minutes, all of the other trainer's pokemon quite thoroughly zapped and trainer himself shocked at what he had just experienced. "Who the hell are you," the ace trainer fearfully inquired after withdrawing his last pokemon. "Just a man looking for something," I replied, withdrawing a very unimpressed Manectric, "and believe me, it isn't a battle. Not here, anyways." I looked around, there were quiet stares from across the bridge directed at me, and the ace trainer. With nothing left to say, I continued on my way to Obsidia.

Obsidia wasn't in much better condition than the Peridot ward, but it did have some buildings that were noticably more maintained, some of the shops looked pretty nice as well, a candy shop and department store being among the ones that stood out the most from the dreary streets. Noticing a hotel building near the department store, I entered the building and walked up to the main desk. The attendant was shocked I had asked if there were vacancies, and even more so when I told her how long I wanted to stay. "I'll pay for as long as I'm here, however that may last." I paid for six months in an executive suite, was given a key. I went for a larger room because I don't like to keep my pokemon locked in their pokeballs over night if I'm not out in the field. Climbing four flights of stairs, I walked to my fifth room suite and explored the room. Searching every corner, drawer, and desk I found nothing that could freely give anyone an indication of my pokemon. After a few minutes, I finally allowed myself to relax, letting every pokemon out of their balls, I sat down at a desk and laid my travel gear and PDA on the table. I checked in with the IP's database, who haven't noticed my abscense from HQ. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Oryx staring out the window at the city. Its face was a mix of anger and devastation. It knew humanity's errors too well, but I think this was a level it previously had never imagined. The state of the city, especially the water, is easily making the worst thing Oryx had ever seen in its life. "Finding Noivy may as well be a secondary objective," I walked over to Oryx, "this City needs us. There's not much we can do, but we must do something." Garchomp, no, Flower took notice of Oryx and I and walked up behind us. It pointed to an area of the city with a giant tree sticking out of it. She made it clear she wanted to go there at some point. With night coming, I went back to the desk, lit a cigarette, and looked for as much information on Reborn as I could on my PDA.