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lycaran · 4 years

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Meet Lonnie

So uh...May have made a Hardenshipping fankid.

His name's Lonnie, an orphan street kid that Archie and Maxie adopted who counts as a fankid in my eyes, god damn it.

I can’t draw muscles or children to save my life.

Originally @cryptidanaphafsi did this I with their fankid I believe?

Info under the cut because I really started to ramble about details...A lot.

Bad Quality picture, but his adult versions both have a keystone in the middle of their mask that they use for Mega Evolution.

Notes:

RSE canon is Emerald, which leads in Alpha Sapphire in the future, though in this canon way, RSE events get resolved Without a protagonist. Hypothetical game futures for the SM and USUM games.

RSE Version -

-Still living on the streets at this point, 8-10 in age.

-Met a few times over the course of the story, usually found hiding around a corner after an encounter with Maxie or Archie(outside of hideout encounters), seems mostly in awe of how cool the plans seem.

-Selectively mute, if talked to he'll make gestures towards the player but since the player is about ten, all you really get from talking to him is "...."

-Jumpy, running off as soon as the player is done talking

-Vitiligo

-In the Sapphire & Emerald versions of the game, post game, he's absolutely Terrified of Kyogre, developing Aquaphobia as he grows older.

-Sometime post game, Archie and Maxie pick him up bc he still seems to tag along just behind one of them, and hey, the kid needs a home. And when they’ve patched things up, they’re really good dad’s.

ORAS Version, constants-

- Adopted pre-game and raised by Maxie and Archie before they split bc of differing ideals...again.

- Mid-twenties.

- Team Magma Admin.

- Aquaphobia from past trauma, selectively mute.

- I can't draw muscles but he's definitely the strongest person there, thanks to Archie and a bit of Matt.

- As an adult, Vitiligo patches have spread and caused part of his hair to grow in white.

- Personality wise, he's a rather nice man, only really being a sore loser. And takes after Maxie alot in the brains department, including dumbassery.

- He’s dating both an Aqua Grunt and a Magma Grunt, don’t tell his dads though. A grunt in the Magma hideout asks you if you want to place a bet on that happens when the bosses find out, then realizes you are Not one of the grunts, and runs off.

- Aqua Grunt is named Dew

- Magma Grunt is named Ashe

- I will draw them eventually, they will be mentioned elsewhere.

Omega Ruby -

-he appears somewhat sporadically, usually around Maxie. Fought once at Mossdeep city when the player beats the gym, viewing the player as a threat to Maxie's goal...and wanting to make use of himself, aquaphobia keeping him from following the rest of the team down to the Seafloor Cavern. Team: Crobat, Camerupt, Mightyena, Sealeo.

-A Grunt, Ashe, follows him around and acts as an interpreter. Talking directly to Lonnie is always "..." before the grunt buts in to explain what he's trying to say.

-When defeated by the player, he'll turn to the grunt, signing furiously, only for the grunt to exclaim "I can't say that to a child!" before Lonnie leaves in a huff.

- During the Delta Episode he's fought at the Magma Hideout, without Ashe, absolutely Livid about what Zinnia did to Maxie, and fighting the player as soon as they enter, seeing them as just something else that'll upset his dad. Team: Crobat, Camerupt, Mightyena, Walrein.

- Post Delta Episode, you'll actually find him alone in a house on the Battle Resort. When talked to, he still won't talk, but after interacting with him Maxie walks in to explain that he and his son were there, trying to lay low, relax a bit, and they're waiting on "a certain someone" to show up for a talk.

Alpha Sapphire Version, aka the Canon Version-

- Not very active story wise, always seen rather ominously popping up mere seconds after an interaction with Team Aqua. He doesn't have an interpreter this time, so all the player really gets is "...." then a yes/no text box before he leaves.

- Appears on Mt. Chimney with Maxie to try and stop Team Aqua's little attempt. Maxie will actually translate some of what Lonnie's trying to say, and while it would be nice, he doesn't exactly explain Why Lonnie tends to be tailing Team Aqua, Archie most specifically

-And ho boy. When Kyogre gets awoken, this poor man is having the Worst day.

- In Sootopolis, he's seen quite visibly shaking, signing Something at Archie, who might be having a "Oh shit." moment and a half because his Son is VERY MUCH AFRAID OF WATER, AND VERY MUCH CAN. NOT. SWIM.

- So yeah. Not a fun time.

- Half of what he's signing is ruined by how shaky his hands are. Ashe looks ready to strangle Archie, and Dew is reeling from the reality and Actually starts cursing Archie out as soon as the player leaves to handle Kyogre.

- Tbh if the two boys didn’t start trying to murder Archie first, Maxie might’ve.

- When Kyogre is captured, when the player leaves and all is said and done, he gives the player a piece of Cameruptite with a small little Thank You note.

- Battle Resort/Battle Maison, he is once again found in a house, but this time Maxie is already there. And once the player talks to the two, Archie walks in, but when that happens, the player is asked to leave so they can have a Family chat.

Sun & Moon Games-

- Okay this is just me being self indulgent and including him in my favorite games of the series, plus it’s just neat.

- Basically, he’s there on a honeymoon with Ashe and Dew.

- Even after the teams disbanded, he’s very partial to his Magma outfit. Only real change coming coming from the removal of the Magma symbols on his vest. Still keeping the combined symbols on his mask.

- More or less appears as a cameo. The only reason they’re even having a Honeymoon in Alola is because it has both Water and Volcanos near eachother.

- Shows up in post game, investigating the Altar of the Sunne/Moone as the idea of other worlds really peaked his interest.

- Funny Images: 6′0″ string bean and a 5′7″ man with average muscle trying to carry a 6′5″ man with muscle from hell because the waves touched him and he freaked out.

Ultra Sun & Moon Games -

- Mostly the same.

- With the addition of the player actually getting his help against Rainbow Rocket

- When reaching the mansion, Lonnie will be there. Along with Ashe and Dew.

- He’ll then “ask” which side the player wants to take on, fighting either Archie or Maxie depending on choice. Vs. Archie, he takes Ashe with him, Vs. Maxie, he takes Dew. The other of his husbands goes with the player to help handle the other boss.

- After this, you can find Lonnie, Dew, and Ashe at the battle tree.

- Funny Images: Trying to get Lonnie onto Aether, a man made island in the middle of the ocean.

Pokespe Version -

- His age is more me throwing darts at a board trying to guess when shit happens.

- He’s alot more playful and joking in this version.

Ruby Sapphire Chapter -

- 16

-Actually adopted prior to the Ruby&Sapphire Chapter, but in a surprising twist, stays mainly with Archie.

- Interacts with Ruby and Sapphire once, maybe twice through the whole Manga.

- Hard for Archie to be intimidating with a giant of a teen in a life jacket clinging to him everytime they get near water, but he makes it work

- He stays with Arche and team Aqua for two reasons and two reasons only

- One, he lacks past trauma with Kyogre in pokespe, thus doesn’t fear water as much and can stand to be around it more. Two, alchoholics scare him more than water ever could.

-Along with that, Archie also has the safer public persona, so win win on his part

- Lonnie, being a teen, does tend to wander though. Barely seen for most of the chapters. When Archie and Maxie have their fight, he's there for a split second, before letting out his Crobat and fleeing.

-I don't have it all ironed out, but basically, the whole battles between Magma and Aqua through the whole arc have slowly built up this fear in Lonnie's brain when it comes to his dad's, and this is the tipping point.

- Sadly, both leaders are a bit preoccupied to notice at first that he's gone, and it's a fullblown panic after the fact.

-Sadly tho, this doesn't slow down their plans. But Blaise and Amber are put in charge of trying to track him down and find him.(Not in a bad way, more in a Extremely worried parents with a missing son way)

- Cue end of arc.

Emerald Arc

-still 16

-Makes brief cameos, he tends to linger around the back.

- Actually, screw it, I'll make this pretty later but he and Emerald do become friends.

- Has a small interaction with Emerald, writing about how he finds his equipment cool, and is in awe of how he calms pokemon.

-And boy oh does this lead to some Fun

- Cut the confrontation with Guile in the cave, the first Jirachi attempt

- Alot changes here.

- First of all, while Jirachi still escapes, Guile lingers for a moment. Looking at Lonnie for a long moment. And while he does 'reflect' back the attacks with his sword, he sends the attack flying off into a wall instead of at Emerald and Lonnie.

- Later, Guile actually snatches the poor kid, pulling off somewhere just to have a few moments to make sure he's okay

- If you know the manga, you know it's gonna be revealed to Lonnie at this point that Guile is, in fact, Archie. And while he tries to avoid the details, he does tell Lonnie he needs Jirachi to fix things

- Lonnie assumes, sadly naive, that this has to do with Maxie and their family. Even asking Archie where his other dad is, only to be met with silence.

- That doesn't settle well with him, actually demanding to know what happens, atleast as much as you can demand when you can’t talk. The last he heard about them was nearly destroying Hoenn so what happened?

- Archie doesn’t tell him, straight up Refuses to tell him what happened.

- This does not go well. Leading to Lonnie once more running off.

- Lonnie keeps in touch with Emerald after the arc is over, basically adopted him as a little brother because they’re both weird looking kids, Emerald being unusually short, and Lonnie having Vitiligo.

- He runs into Amber after this and kind of just, vibes there, treats Amber like an uncle, and that’s who looks after him for the next few years.

ORAS Arc -

- 20

-Lives with Amber, mostly helping the man with fishing and all around, just trying to have someone around he can 'talk' to without needing an interpreter or to write down every word he says.

-Team Aqua....2!

-He does end up joining the New Team Aqua, since he feels more safe with them in Pokespe. Along with this, he’s curious about where they came from and what’s going on here.

-Looks most like my concept sketch for him in this version.

- Eventually just, disepears in the midst of fighting. He's learned enough and doesn't want to face that all.

- Listen when I tell you. When he sees Maxie and Archie, he's pissed.

-And when The Dustening happens...

- He actually does cry. Hell, it's probably the only time he speaks, begging in a hoarse voice he never uses for his dad's to stay there. Just for once. Let them be a family just for Once.

- It doesn't work.

- Funny Images: Emerald, looking up at Lonnie who is like 3-4 times their height: “I AM GOING TO STEAL YOUR KNEECAPS!!!!” Lonnie, amused, signing: “You-can-try.”

-Pokemon Seen: Crobat, Sharpedo, Sandslash.

Sun and Moon Arc -

- 22

-He actually appears here.

- Listen, he's a smart man, and he knows a lot.

-Appears after that small time skip after Sun and Moon disepear through the portals, ultimately he's here investigating the portals.

- He 'talks' with Kukui and Burnet to try and figure out what's going on.

-I don't know how it'd be incorporated, but basically, he's trying to figure out where the Hell his dad's are. And if these Wormholes can help him, by god is he going to use them

- Knows that, most likely, they’re dead and gone for good. But still holds out hope that somewhere out there, they’re still alive.

- He's still wearing the life jacket. Less for Aesthetic, more because he’s scared shitless about being on an island.

- Are this chapter is where he would have started dating Dew and Ashe, having met them when that whole, other Team Aqua & Magma were made in ORAS.

#pokemon oc #pokemon fankid #hardenshipping fankid #of sorts #lisTEN HE COUNTS IN MY EYES GOD DAMN IT #They raised him. He's there kid #I'm not good at oc shit but uh. yeah #lyca-art #oc: Lonnie

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streetsteel · 4 years

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.: A Shift in Dynamics

Normally, getting called to Archie’s office is not a big deal. It’s met with indifference slightly tinted with a hint of anticipation. There’s a task that needs doing, something that needs to be kept under wraps, or both. But this time? This time, Jay is actually nervously bouncing his leg while he’s seated in the chair on his side of the desk.

Of course, Archie notices, and he nods with a smile, as if silently telling that he understands the source of the anxiousness. It’s a big move to pull off, after all. The Aqua Leader leans back into his chair, swinging a foot onto the his desk, crossing his other leg over it. It’s always kind of weird to see him wearing something different than his signature wetsuit, like he’s just another nobody in the crowd, but he said it himself: going to the bathroom in that getup is Not Optimal.

“So, y’know Shelly’s got more work than she can do with our big dive comin’ soon,” the boss starts. Jay knows things are coming soon to an end. The submarine is almost complete, and research started showing the underwater anomalies they were looking for. “The work looks like it’s cut out for ya. Y’deal with the engineerin’ team already, so ya’d just need t’bring R&D into the fold. Y’know, streamline things, kick their asses into productivity.”

Jay doesn’t want to put words in Archie’s mouth, and lets him speak. He knows what he’s talking about. “Yeah, engineering’s a small bunch. Bein’ their senior’s just makin’ it easy t’make sure they’re all doin’ their job an’ not sittin’ ‘round doin’ jack shit.”

“So ya’d be a’right with takin’ that Admin position?”

Okay, Jay was prepared for something direct, but this amount of not-fucking-around takes him aback. He looks back at Archie, leg stopping its bouncing as he rests his elbows on the desk and moves in.

“You’re really offerin’ that to me? Just like that?”

“Jay-boy, ya’ve been ‘round Aqua for the last what, almost six years now? Y’already do th’ admin work in engineering. It’s really just a formality an’ makin’ stuff more official, so ya don’t have t’go through Shells all the time. She trusts yer judgement, an’ if she trusts ya with that, then I trust her.”

Hell, years ago, he would’ve wished for that position. Would’ve made his other work so much easier. But now, when he starts to actually feel home with this bunch of assholes? He has mixed feelings about it.

“By the way, how’d yer vaycay go? Looks like y’had some stuff goin’ on.” Archie’s still leaning back, but Jay feels the tension rising in the room. The eyes that are normally a warm brown, almost tugging on the amber side, are looking at him with such pointedness that they could be icy blue and the chill down his spine would be the same. The Aqua Leader is nonchalantly pointing at his own cheekbone, and Jay knows all too well that he’s referring to the bruise he’s sporting on his own. “Y’run into a clothesline t’get yer neck messed up like that, son?”

His bandanna must’ve slipped and shoved the dark purple bruise that wire left around his neck. Caught red-handed, Jay doesn’t even move to hide it again—it would only give Archie a point. He instead just rests his chin into his hand, elbow against the desk.

“Had some unfinished business that needed takin’ care of.” It’s vague enough, but also making it clear that he doesn’t want to talk about it.

“An’did ya think y’took care of it the right way? Did the best thing?”

Jay pauses. He feels the scrutiny, the piercing gaze on him. Funny how people who don’t know Archie peg him as a dumb pirate, while the man actually shows a superior understanding of people and how they work. A Lycanroc purposefully donning a Wooloo’s costume to keep people thinking he’s less dangerous than his counterpart. Shit. Biting on his lower lip, Jay glances at the door, as if someone was listening behind him, then back to Archie. He hates feeling like this—he’s normally the one reading people, not the other way around.

Did he do the right thing?

“It’s... complicated. I set out to do somethin’, but in the end, it went an entirely different way. I can’t really tell if it was the best way, really, it’s not black or white. It’s not even gray, hell, it’s more complicated than that.”

“An’ the fact that ya see things that way’s another proof that ya’re cut out for Admin work, boy. Nothin’s ever as easy as people put it. So, you takin’ it?” His large, dark-skinned hand is extended over the desk.

Jay looks at it for a moment. Steels himself.

Shakes on it.

MAINVERSE SHIFT : AQUA ADMIN VERSE IS NOW MAIN VERSE

#❞░▐ DRABBLE;#❞░▐ TIMELINE EVENT;#I FINALLY DID IT #❞░▐ V: TRUST YOUR HEART IF THE SEAS CATCH FIRE — AQUA ADMIN;#❞░▐ VIGNETTE;

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isthemedia · 4 years

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Hey welcome back to the Pokémon groove. Um could I get a quick reminder on the admins again? I know you pull in like ALL them.

Awww thanks man. Alrighty! Here we go!

For Team Magma:

Tabitha and Courtney- ORAS Designs

Kagari and Homura- RSE Designs

Harlan- Anime Admin/Field Commander (given purple hair)

Blaise- Manga Admin-who I have become their medical officer.

For Team Aqua

Izumi and Ushio- ORAS Designs

Shelly and Matt- RSE Designs

Isabel- Anime Admin/Field Commander (given pink hair)-now their medical officer

Amber- Manga Admin-now their Analytics Expert.

I like that there were so many designs and changes between the medias and just wanted to pull them in.

#anon ask #team magma #team aqua #magma admins #aqua admins

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themattress · 7 years

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My Disliked Pokemon Adventures Arcs

I love Pokemon Adventures, but there are three arcs that I don’t care for at all: the Ruby/Sapphire Chapter, the Emerald Chapter, and the OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire Chapter.

In other words, all the Hoenn arcs.

Why I dislike the Ruby/Sapphire Chapter:

- The tone. It’s inconsistent - it goes from a children's version of "Around the World in 80 Days" to a political thriller based around Team Aqua and Team Magma to a freaking Kaiju movie as Groudon and Kyogre wreak havoc, and none of it really gels together or works well, and I feel that this arc is the only one to have this particular problem.

- Ruby and Sapphire. I personally don't care for Ruby and Sapphire's personalities here. I think Kusaka wanted to subvert expectations based on the characters' designs, but it's still done in a pretty hamfisted, over-the-top way, with Ruby being stereotypically feminine and flamboyant and Sapphire being stereotypically tomboyish and wild.

- The story's whole set-up is flawed. Ruby and Sapphire argue about which is better: Pokemon battles or Pokemon contests. They make a bet to see which one can master their preferred goal in 80 days. The problem is that this makes much less sense than an alternative bet: to have the one disparaging contests to try to master them and the one disparaging battles to try to master them. How much more interesting would that have been? That's why I'd have had Ruby be masculine yet still end up doing and enjoying contests, while Sapphire would be feminine yet still end up doing and enjoying battles. But if Kusaka really wanted to do them the way he did, then the contest-loving Ruby should have challenged the gyms and the battle-loving Sapphire should have performed in contests.

- The whole Ruby vs. Norman conflict. It is so forced and so badly-written. It starts out as a thinly veiled metaphor for a bigoted father who can't accept his gay son (which is stupid since, when you strip the metaphor away, Ruby not being gay and being in love with Sapphire is kind of a big plot point later on), yet we're later expected to sympathize with Norman because it turns out he was going to allow Ruby to do contests before Ruby ran away and that he has been protecting Ruby more than Ruby knew for a long time, making him running away come off as particularly ungrateful. But is this really a good excuse for Norman outright beating his son in a physical quarrel in which Ruby is hopelessly outclassed? Yet Norman is still called a "good father" immediately after this! What!?

- Wally. All the build-up he gets to being the "Emerald"-representative Dex Holder, and it amounts to absolutely nothing because he ends up having to turn in his PokeDex back to its rightful owner, an actual character named Emerald who doesn't work nearly as well as Wally would have. What was even the point?

- Archie and Maxie. With Archie, Kusaka gives him an interesting position as the head of Hoenn's primary TV station and thus Ty and Gabby's boss while secretly being the leader of Team Aqua, but his personality is all wrong - he is now Faux Affably Evil rather than genuinely Affably Evil, ruthless to the point of discarding (even lethally) his own grunts in order to get what he wants, which Archie from the games would never do, ever. Maxie's personality is on point, but his position as a total shut-in at his cavernous lair undermines him as a character, since in the games he's a badass who is just as active with his team as Archie is because he's just as committed to his extreme vision of a new world. They get worse when they decide to team up to awaken Groudon and Kyogre, despite knowing the risks and the fact that they'll have to betray one another in the end, anyway. But then they get driven mad and even flat-out possessed by the Orbs they are holding and seemingly get killed. But then they show up still alive in the end for one pointless final battle, no longer possessed but evidently permanently insane and sadistic. They meet an unceremonious defeat within an electrical forcefield. This is a severe bastardization of the well-intentioned extremists from the games, who were the series’ first (somewhat) fleshed-out villains! Just what was Kusaka thinking?

- Tabitha's design. Seriously, wtf!? I get that Tabitha didn't exactly have the most interesting of designs in the games, but you could have come up with better than this!

- Courtney. When she first shows up, she's fine. But then she faces Ruby one-on-one, and we get a very uncomfortable one-sided flirtatious dynamic, with Courtney finding Ruby "interesting" due to him being an innocent, beauty-loving Coordinator like she used to be before becoming an evil pyromaniac (a backstory and transition which is never explained, btw!) She then gets so obsessed with Ruby that she looks up all sorts of personal info on him before getting called back on her mission, in which she takes innocent people hostage and threatens to kill them in order to avoid being defeated by Roxanne - a low, cowardly action. So we're supposed to dislike her, right? Well, apparently not, since she receives an abrupt redemption as she helps Ruby in stopping Groudon and Kyogre, even at the cost of her own life until the Celebi Ex Machina happens. Very little about this character adds up, yet she receives the most exposure and supposed "development" out of any of the villains in this arc. I was so sick of her at the end that I wish she'd just stayed dead in the Cave of Origins - or better yet, back when Ruby dropped her into a flaming inferno at Rusturf Tunnel!

- Shelly's disappearance. Shelly came off as more likable than Courtney, and yet not only did she not receive as much paneltime, but she also just disappears without explanation. Following her defeat at the hands of Winona and Flannery, who she had good adversarial chemistry with, she retreats on a Vibrava and is never seen again. She's the only villain to not receive a conclusive ending at the end of the arc, and that really bugs me.

- Matt. Apparently, Kusaka thought it would be too boring if he was just the generic tough guy he was in the games, so he made him more sensitive and accident-prone, which should have made him more sympathetic. But like Courtney, he really isn't, particularly when he attempts to drown Sapphire and Flannery and set a Sharpedo on them, grinning and laughing with maniacal glee while doing so. Kusaka must’ve realized this by the end, since he's ultimately left to die (by drowning, karmically enough) - and unlike with Amber, nobody saves him.

- Ruby crosses the line. Late into the arc, after Kyogre and Groudon are awoken, Ruby pulls a two-punch move that kills all likability his character had. First, he refuses to swallow his pride and call off the bet in order to join Sapphire in saving all of Hoenn when she pleads with him to, flat-out saying he doesn't care about what happens and just wants to keep doing contests. Sapphire is understandably pissed about this extreme display of selfishness. What's worse, afterward he blames his Feebas, whom it looked like he was coming around to liking for a while, for losing a contest and kicks it out of his party, yelling about how it's weak and ugly. Yes, Ruby played the "You're not beautiful enough for me!" card well before Lusamine did! How am I supposed to root for this guy after this? I don't care if he felt remorseful afterward, this was too selfish and mean-spirited for him to come back from.

- Ruby and Sapphire's backstory. OK, this was just stupid. Out of nowhere, it's revealed that Ruby and Sapphire actually knew each other as children and don't recognize each other in the present day. Even worse, we find out that the reason they developed the personalities they have was because of a misunderstanding - a Salamance attacked Sapphire, and Ruby viciously fought it off all by himself, at the cost of getting a scar. He and Sapphire were separated afterward, leading Ruby to think he traumatized her with his viciousness and becoming more gentle and feminine as a result, while Sapphire thought that Ruby must have gotten in trouble (in addition to getting hurt) because of her weakness and becoming more rough and tomboyish as a result. Really now? That's what we're going with? Ruby and Sapphire's romance, IMO, would have been much more engaging without this "bombshell”.

- Groudon vs. Kyogre. This starts with round 53, in the fifth volume. It ends with round 83, in the eigth volume. So that's 30 chapters of this big climactic event happening! It just goes on, and on, and on! What's worse, it keeps getting sidetracked by other things, like the Gym Leaders fighting the Aqua and Magma Admins, or Norman training Wally, or Ruby and Sapphire's quarrel and reconciliation and backstory reveal, or the introduction of Juan and his training program on Mirage Island, or Courtney's whole Redemption Equals Death...and then, even after Groudon and Kyogre are finally put to rest, we get another climax when Archie and Maxie turn up alive and ready for one more battle! It just never seems to end!

- Sapphire being locked in the car during the big climax. Fuck you too, Ruby!

- The infamous Celebi Ex Machina. So, after that prolonged climax, we have had three casualties: Courtney, Norman and Steven. That seems fitting - you shouldn't do such a huge, lengthy, perilous event and have no prices be paid at the end of it all. But nope - Ruby reveals that he's had Celebi all this time, and uses it to do some time mumbo-jumbo and resurrect all three characters. This remains one of the most criticized parts of the entire manga series, since it's such cheap writing and feels like a slap in the face to readers who read through this arc. It was completely unnecessary - Courtney never appears again and Norman doesn’t do anything that couldn’t have been done by another character, so it's fine for them to stay dead. And as for Steven, his father could just resurrect him in the OR/AS arc with the whole Infinite Energy / Ultimate Weapon ritual that he is canonly well-versed in.

- Finally, the arc's length and what came from it. This arc taking so long, particularly due to the Groudon and Kyogre battle getting so dragged out, screwed the entire manga's schedule over for the next decade. Gen IV started and Gen III was nowhere close to being wrapped up in the manga. Gen V started and Gen IV was nowhere close to being wrapped up in the manga. Gen VI started and Gen V was nowhere close to being wrapped up in the manga. Only with Gen VI have we finally gotten back on track, with the manga wrapping its Gen VI arc just as that generation came to a close - and even then, we still have yet to see Gen V's B2/W2 arc conclude. And it's all thanks to this one, long, BAD story arc.

Why I dislike the Emerald Chapter:

- Emerald himself. There is almost nothing likable about this guy. He's a battle fanatic who only cares about Pokemon as tools of battle, he's an insensitive jerk to everyone around him, he's got a very unappealing design, and he's actually freakishly short (and his sensitivity about this is nowhere near as funny as Ed Elric's.) The worst part is that Wally was supposed to have his role, but for some reason or other, Kusaka became convinced that he needed to pull a Yellow and create an original character with the game's name, and that Wally is too gentle to fit in the Battle Frontier...which is exactly why Wally would be so interesting in the role, and it would fit his development from the games (even more emphasized in OR/AS) and this very manga!

- The tone. It's by-the-numbers shonen action style. C'mon, Kusaka - you're better than this!

- The big twist. It turns out that Emerald is actually under hire from Professor Oak and Kris to catch Jirachi so that it can use its wish-granting powers to revive Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Silver from the petrified state they were inexplicably left in at the end of the previous arc. The problem is that everyone predicted this already, and it makes it seem like the whole reason that cliffhanger was even put in to begin with was to make the Emerald Chapter more "epic", like the Gold/Silver/Crystal Chapter. It didn't work, at all.

- Ruby and Sapphire return. As if things couldn't get any worse when it comes to the main character, he ends up having to deal with Ruby and Sapphire inserting themselves in as his teammates midway through the arc. Their already excessive stereotyped personalities are even worse here - they seem to have gone through Flanderization, and it’s annoying.

- Guile Hideout. Nothing about this arc's villain works. It's a lone man in knight-like armor with the absolutely stupid name of "Guile Hideout", who wants to capture Jirachi for his own evil purposes. Again, it's a blatant attempt to copy the epic quality of the Gold/Silver/Crystal Chapter and its Mask of Ice. They even throw in a red herring and make it look like Guile Hideout is actually the resident old man, Spencer, just as Mask of Ice was Pryce. But nope, the villain's true identity is actually....Archie!? And he's even crazier and more evil than before - the armor he's wearing is space armor that keeps him from dying as an aftereffect of his possession by the Orb and he murdered Maxie in cold blood to get it. And now he wants to create a demonic version of Kyogre and take over the world? Kusaka, just stop it, please! You've fucked this character up enough already.

Why I dislike the OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire Chapter:

- The Delta Episode. The postgame scenario of OR/AS is the basis for the arc. I did not like that scenario in the game, and while there are a good number of improvements made to it in the manga, I still can't say I like it. There is just so much about the plot that feels contrived, from the Draconid tribe we'd never heard of until now to the Grand Meteor Delta itself that we're supposed to believe is a threat to the entire planet even though the Pokemon World has survived worse before. Kusaka did his best, but he can't fully salvage this.

- Zinnia's Villain Sue-dom. I love Zinnia, but her use in this arc was iffy. It keeps in that she was undercover in Team Aqua and Team Magma, and that her guidance was crucial for Archie and Maxie to discover how to awaken Kyogre and Groudon...but without the stipulation the games had about it being in an alternate timeline, thus making Zinnia responsible for the villains' plans in the R/S arc. If this wasn't enough, it turns out it was her Salamance that attacked Ruby and Sapphire as children, caused the trauma that made them change their personalities, caused Ruby to get scarred, caused Rayquaza to escape and Norman to take the blame in order to protect Ruby...all of that (with Rayquaza escaping being retconned into being the goal all along rather than a freak accident Ruby caused, meaning that Norman did what he did for nothing). So Zinnia is literally responsible for everything that went wrong in the R/S arc. Every bad thing that ever happened in Ruby and Sapphire's lives can now be summed up with "THANKS, ZINNIA!"

- Emerald's new design. OK, I take back the criticism I had for his old design being unappealing. This one's even worse. Kill it with fire!

- Archie and Maxie. Didn't see this one coming - it turns out that Archie and Maxie's spirits were somehow transported to the Distortion World due to the supernatural nature of their deaths, merged together and then split apart, which cured them of their evil and insanity. Now resurrected into new bodies (their OR/AS designs), they are finally in-character and finally get to redeem themselves before dying again. While I should be pleased with this, and to some extent I am, the convoluted way it happens and that it had to happen at all only reminds me of how badly Kusaka botched these two in the first place. Sometimes I question if they weren't better off just being left dead and forgotten about.

- The Codenames. How does Kusaka work in the OR/AS designs of Shelly, Matt, Courtney and Tabitha? He has them show up as entirely seperate characters, and reveal that "Shelly", "Matt", "Courtney", and "Tabitha" are actually codenames that Admins of Team Aqua and Team Magma use, and that they weren't the real names of the originals either. Lame!

- Crazy Rayquaza. In the R/S arc, Rayquaza was unquestionably a heroic Pokemon. In this arc, however, it's suddenly prone to mood swings of psychotic anger, and it keeps switching from a protagonist Pokemon to an antagonist Pokemon at the drop of a hat. This, along with it eventually doing battle with Deoxys, calls "Destiny Deoxys" to mind - and I don't want to be reminded of that crappy movie!

- Needless Relationship Drama. For no good reason, Ruby decides to start keeping secrets from Sapphire, until he suddenly doesn't and starts being open with her. In between is all the expected relationship drama between the two, and it all feels so forced.

Now, let me say that none of these arcs are actually bad by regular manga standards, IMO, and there are also several things I like about each one. And Kusaka doesn’t half ass-it, he always tries his best. It’s just that the bad stuff overshadows the good stuff for me, and that by the standards of this usually excellent manga series, they fall disappointingly short.

#Pokemon #Pokemon Adventures #Opinion

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