#imagine if jessie james and meowth had kids

[mk-wizard]

Pokemon the Anime: I love Ash Ketchum but...

Hi, friends. Fun fact about me: I love Pokemon! And I loved the anime! To me, Pokemon is a part of my childhood that I will always cherish dearly and it was one of the first animes I got into. Looking back on it, it still holds up, but there is one thing that I have come to realize about it. We need to talk about Ash Ketchum...

Now, let me make it clear that I love Ash Ketchum. I think he’s adorable, funny and his passionate energy rubs off on you in all of the right ways. Plus, he is passionate without being obsessed and still cares enough about people and doing things right that he has a heroic streak. However... he is not a good fit as a main character because while we root for him and love him, his story is too linear, his character development is minimal, we all knew he was going to win in the end and honestly, seeing his story unfold all the time got very dull. Plus, we never really got to know Ash as a character. Just to give you an example, in ALL of the anime’s run, we never find out who his dad is/was or what his mom does for a living. In other words, he is an MC who never really develops beyond his professional skills and never really get to know. We know more about Team Rocket (Jessie, James and Meowth) than we do about Ash. To me, he would have worked better as a secondary character not an main one. In fact, this lack of details and repetitive formula is why I eventually stopped watching the anime. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy Ash won in the end, but... his story took way too long and got dull. The character who would have main a great MC for the anime is someone who did undergo a lot of development, maturing and more.

Gary Oak. Now hear me out...

The Pokemon anime is essentially a tournament anime series where the standard formula is that the MC goes in and comes out the winner. However, Gary would have been unique, compelling and memorable for many reasons if HE was the MC.

First off, unlike most MC’s of this genre of anime, Gary is initially not likeable. He is egotistical, unkind, rude and a big bully. I remember than as a girl, I hated Gary and used to wish his grandpa, Prof. Oak, would ground him. However, as the series progressed, so did he. He softened his behaviour, learned humility and let his rivalry with Ash go which freed him emotionally and allowed him to grow up. While he still has a mischievous and competitive streak, he doesn’t get mean about it nor is he a showboat. And he dropped the personal cheerleading squad. He now seeks to better himself rather than constantly having his ego stroked which is something really refreshing and enjoyable to experience. I can’t really say his journey was a redemption story. It was a growing up story and a tale that reminds us that we all had our phases as kids, but we grow out of them.

Secondly, as I stated before, Gary let his rivalry with Ash go and became better for it. When he did, he realized, his calling wasn’t to be a trainer, but a researcher and he was actually really good at it. Honestly, it was this turning point that made me realize that Gary’s story was more interesting than Ash’s and I really wanted to see more of his story. In fact, I also found myself wishing we saw more of his story before that turning point kind of like Ashoka Tano’s from Star Wars, but unlike her, we were deprived of that. I would even argue that this was a reoccurring flaw in the Pokemon anime series: they never answered the questions everyone kept asking and never let us get to know the true MCs. The point is, I don’t know of any other tournament anime where the rival decided to graciously step down and turn their attention towards their true passion. Now... imagine if the MC did this. I know Pokemon is a tournament anime, but it is also an anime about Pokemon first. Gary should have gotten his own spin-off anime simply because he is the most unique rival there is in this kind of setting: he quit and was better for it.

Thirdly, having the show concentrate on him would have given us a chance to get to know the other MCs more and FINALLY answer a lot of the questions that to this day are still left unanswered. It’s very clear that the Oaks and Ketchums are very close the way the Burns and Greene family are close on Rescue Bots. I really enjoyed seeing how close the two families were and how Prof. Oak was like a father figure to Ash and a sweet grandpa to Gary. Also, Prof. Oak himself is an interesting and entertaining character. To this day, we still don’t know who Mrs. Oak was or who Gary’s parents are. Or who Mr. Ketchum was. It is a shame to me that these blanks were never filled because it is implied that they were great people and these missing pieces would explain why these characters are the way they are.

Anyway, this all just my opinion and as a rare treat, here is my fan theory about Prof. Oak’s wife, Mr. Ketchum and Gary’s missing parents... And I really want to say this first because this fan theory always made me mad, but I will try to say it nicely, but firmly.

Prof. Oak is NOT Ash’s father nor is it possible for him to be because Nintendo would never allow such a disturbing thing. And because of the Professor and Mrs. Ketchum’s age difference, it would imply that Gary is Ash’s uncle while being the same age as him. That is sick and wrong on so many levels and not something they would ever want on Pokemon and we already SHOULD know from the start that Prof. Oak can’t be Ash’s dad because has black hair.

Professor Oak is a redhead and so is his mom. And their relationship is not romantic now either. It is that between two good friends. If it is anything beyond that, I think Prof. Oak may see Delia as the daughter he never had. Same goes with Giovanni. He cannot be Ash’s dad because he looks nothing like him.

Plus, Ash has two distinguishing marks on his face that his mom doesn’t have which means he got that, his hair and olive skin tone from his dad who had all of these features. My fan theory is that Mrs. Delia Ketchum is a widow and her husband is no longer with us. Plain and simple. He was obviously a good man and a good husband who left a good impression on Ash, but I think he died most likely of disease while he was very young.

As for Mrs. Oak... Agatha is NOT Prof. Oak’s ex-wife because if she was, we would have always known it and be treated like a relative. Once a family member is revealed, there’s no point in hiding it so the anime always came clean when it came to that at least, but the most we got out of Agatha is that she was an old rival of Prof Oak which means that is all she is. Period.

I think the good Professor is divorced on bad terms considering he never speaks of his wife and has no ring which from experience, I can tell you is often a tell tale sign that you were once married, but it ended badly. As for Gary’s parents, I think that knowing Nintendo, their state is simple: they’re alive, but career driven people where they aren’t home very often so they left caring for the kids to Prof. Oak and Mrs. Oak (if she was alive then). Nothing dramatic or over the top. Just simple and short like that. Also, I think it is safe to say that the Oak family is well off (including the ex-Mrs. Oak) considering they all live so well.

Finally, how does Giovanni have ties to the Ketchum and Oak family? Well, Giovanni is in fact old and close to Prof. Oak’s age. His mom had him young, and while he is rich enough to afford facials that make him appear young, if you take a really good look at his face, he has wrinkles, a receding hairline and his face has lost some of its fullness which implies some sagging. My fan theory is that he was once rivals with Prof. Oak in their youth and Mr. Ketchum is one of the few people who managed to beat Giovanni in a Pokemon Battle.

Like I said, this series is made for kids. It wouldn’t include adult theme dramatic elements like that. I admit some of the characters have exaggerated and weird backstories with some drama, but it never becomes dirty, adult or something you would find in a trashy soap opera.

[themattress]

Unpopular Opinion Re:Pokemon

So, after a long time and a lot of hard work, we finally have the scripts to the legendary lost Best Wishes anime two-parter, “Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma!”  We’ve got the whole story.

I wish the 3/11 disaster had never happened...mostly because so many people would still be alive today and so much damage to Japan would not exist, but also because these episodes could have aired. And I wish the staff’s original plan for the overarching story for Best Wishes based on the Black/White games could have come to pass, as it would have been amazing.

However, in the end these wishes are hollow Ideals, and we have to face the harsh Truth. And part of this Truth is that Game Freak passed on doing a Gray version in favor of doing Black 2/White 2, which means the staff’s plan was going to be scuttled regardless of whether the 3/11 disaster transpired or not. They would’ve done Episode N and just placed Reshiram putting a halt to N’s coronation in the present day rather than two years prior. So that’s why....

....I’m kind of, sort of glad that “Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma!” never aired.

Don’t get me wrong! The executives in Japan not allowing the full episodes to be released in any capacity in favor of remaining Lost Media just because their events no longer line up with subsequent canon is stupid. They have lots of grown-up viewers who understand the facts and still won’t mind...heck, probably lots of kids as well! However, the episodes not being broadcast and being relegated to a nebulous space in Japanese canon ended up working to the series’ advantage when Tomioka and the other writers were freed up to recycle elements from them. Most specifically, in the Operation Tempest two-parter, which is honestly an even better pair of episodes than “Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma!” and I just have a hard time imagining them in any form other than the one they’re in now. If not for what transpired with “Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma!”, we might have never been blessed with this scene:

Pikachu using a giant Electro Ball on a nuclear space rock just doesn’t hit the same way that him using it on Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket whom Ash had never faced up until now and whom had always doubted Pikachu’s abilities when Jessie, James and Meowth talked them up. Pikachu doing it to save not only the entire Unova region but also Meloetta, a character that we’ve come to love and care about, is also far more dramatically satisfying.

Really, I’m more sore about how the show’s third year turned out due to Junichi Masuda’s Gen VI-related meddling (since it really should have been something more like this) than I am about “Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma!” and the intended arc it was setting up. As great as it would have been to see, it just wasn’t in the cards and, unlike said Gen VI-related meddling with the third year, I don’t believe that Best Wishes suffered all that much from its removal.

Tl;dr - I’m honestly kind of cool with this as all we have now.

[cosmicheartz]

I think I talked abt it once but team rocket should adopt Arven pokeani please let them join along in the path of titans

I can imagine it being that giovanni got news abt the crater in paldea/area zero so he decides to enlist the TRio to investigate with the threat that if they don’t succeed they will be fired.

The Trio disguise themselves as cafeteria workers for Naranja/Uva and they catch word abt Arven needing to find the herba mystica so they offer to help him out with it ( Ash and maybe Goh if he’s not leaving are also there and part of the path of titans story too )

At first the TRio just see it as a way to get to area zero until the reveal that Arvens Mabostiff is sick/badly injured in which James is like “ ok i know we’re supposed to follow bosses orders but we need to help him bc I don’t want this twerp to lose his Pokémon like I did ( talking abt chimecho who ended up passing away bc of the illness it had ( would also explain the plothole on why he never went back for them )

Jessie’s like “ ugh fine but just until the twerps dog is better “ Meowth already knew something was up and he agrees to the plan too. But oops Ash and pikachu accidentally stumble upon them in this discussion and starts to go to alert the others but ultimately ends up forming a truce with the TRio to not tell Arven.

Jessie and James in particular end up getting attached to Arven esp after finding out about his family situation because they can relate to the shit he’s going through ( Jessie especially bc it reminds her about her mom and she knows what it was like to have to basically raise yourself ) Meowth also gets attached to Arven but in a more like “ damn kid sorry you had to go through that, life sucks “ kind of way

Eventually after everything the TRio ends up revealing their identity to Arven and they quit team rocket and decide to adopt him.

[yamujiburo]

THE PREMISE OF YORU NO YATTERMAN IS SO SAD WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT

[waywardstation]

To the person who suggested the TRio being in the Papa Ingo AU... Oh... OH! Do you have any idea what you have wrought!??? Because I don't know how many people know about Jessie's exceedingly tragic backstory.... We get to see James and Meowth's tragic backstories in the anime, but we only get glimpses of Jessie's... You have to look to The Birth of Mewtwo radio drama (which came out around when Pokemon the First Movie came out) to actually see (well... hear) it. Because while we've been talking about Giovanni in the Lord of the Flies variant of the Papa Ingo AU... There's actually reason to think that Giovanni and Jessie would have known one another at the ages they would be at for this AU (Giovanni being a teenager going through his biker punk phase and Jessie being somewhere maybe... 4-6 years old...? Ages are negotiable.) Obscure Giovanni trivia GO!

So for anyone who doesn't know, in the Pokemon anime's universe, Giovanni actually inherited the role of leader of Team Rocket from his mother, Madame Boss. (This is actually the backstory that I prefer to imagine Giovanni having. He didn't become Boss of Team Rocket so much because he particularly desired wealth and power for himself, but rather he was reared for it and just happens to be REALLY good at being a (criminal) leader!) And Madame Boss' right hand woman was Miyamoto- Jessie's mother. Giovanni's mom seems to have been exceedingly greedy, and there is reason to think that Jessie was growing up in abject poverty, even when her mother was around. But in spite of that, it really does seem that Miyamoto loved her daughter more than anything in the world and was trying her very best to raise Jessie with what little they had. But after finding a recording of Mew, Miyamoto was sent to South America to find and capture Mew. In spite of her best efforts, Miyamoto has yet to capture Mew and is therefore unable to return home to see her daughter. Miyamoto knows that Jessie's grown up in her absence, and yet she's still out there, searching for Mew.

In any case, during this radio drama, Madame Boss actually does mention Giovanni (she seems to really dislike him), so we know for a fact that he was around at the time. But he would have likely been a fair bit older than Jessie. But because their mothers were so close, it's not a stretch of the imagination at all to think that they may have known one another. Maybe even been friends! In fact, it's not an uncommon headcanon that one of the reasons that Giovanni bothers keeping the TRio around is because of his history with Jessie. I like to imagine that Giovanni would sometimes babysit Jessie when her mother was out on missions.

So this just makes me imagine that in the Lord of the Flies variation of the Papa Ingo AU that when things start going to shit, Giovanni just appoints Jessie as his second in command as he starts taking up a leadership position among the children.

Yes!! Throw Jessie and James in!! I completely forgot that both Jessie and James had tough childhoods in their own ways (Jessie especially like ouch)

OP thank you for sharing all of that, that’s all new info to me! That’s really sad for Jessie and her mom, but it would be interesting to implement that into the AU and have Giovanni and Jessie be there together and previously know each other! I’d really like to see that actually. I never talk about them but I really like Jessie and James as characters, and would like to see them included ^^

And kid James going from a nice pampered rich life to ancient Hisui would be funny to see too!!!

[its-whitetomorrow]

How BW’s approach is still important & legitimate part of Team Rocket... but with *needless* artificial, unnatural Filters to it that mask The Truth and badly hurt the characters’ performance and importance on the show!

Just something I wanted to do for a long time but the upcoming episode with “cool” TR meets “regular” TR (and the nonsense of it when faced with all the facts!) convinced me to do it now

I won’t be talking about all the messed up appearances of XY TR which are plenty - but instead focus on VERY SPECIFIC aspects of them in mostly well-written, interesting episodes with cool ideas. Then same with SM and Journeys. And how, despite their good characterization/potential/or despite all sane reason, they are always made to fall short which in turn contributes to lessened importance of Jessie, James and Meowth as legitimate characters in the series that’s constantly evolving and changes with each new generation (just look at what they’re doing with Satoshi and all the callbacks now - or weird dimensional/mysterious plot bits - and say it to my face that it doesn’t evolve and doesn’t experiment and doesn’t “modernize” in order to attract wider audience).

Also, please note - there is a pattern across all three post-BW series and... recently almost all the writers involved in the production are completely new ones. But the pattern is still there, despite all this! So it can’t be a coincidence or my imagination or anything of a sort :)

So here we go...

Mega Evolution and the Prism Tower! 

- They try to capture and control Garchomp with a cybernetic device that makes his eyes turn red and go on a rampage (hmm almost like Plasma tech some episodes back!), with ominous and fashionable self intro. But... turns out it was completely random, not part of any plot and they disgracefully blast off in a manner of seconds never to be seen again!

Keromatsu VS Yayakoma! Aerial Battle Maneuvers!!

- Their talk with Giovanni is played out very seriously and like an intro to their regional schemes, like it’s supposed to be, but then... they jump and fool around with excess happiness and no secrecy in the middle of the crowd in a completely forceful, needless manner, just to make a pointless, forced statement that they’re not “serious” anymore. Only...

Harimaron VS Mega Mega Nyarth!!

- BW-styled tech fest! Hack the surveillance, inspect the phenomenon, kidnap the brain, “torture” the prisoners, steal the data, hack it, implement it with the mecha program, create super weapon. Also, despite there being NO REAL PLOT, the footage they watch at the beginning is a direct result of the Garchomp rampage they caused earlier. But hey, wait... there is this needless line of dialogue about how they’re doing it as part of their plan to capture Pikachu... whaaaat? Are you kidding me? 

Madame X's Plot! The Scary Calamanero!!

- The intro scene looks like something out of BW when they plot their next steps in a greater scheme of theirs. Only... they’re not, they’re just watching the footage of Pikachu!

The Bond of the Aurora! Amarus and Amaruruga!!

- Their use of camera-shaped drone working almost similar to their BW drones was curious, curiously enough in the episode numbered 23...

The Undersea Castle! Kuzumo and Dramidoro!!

- Also, episode number 24 (oh the irony also postponed!) had them use very cool explosives/rocket launchers under water to steal a sunken vault, almost like special ops thieves. Very reminiscent of different BW schemes, right? 

Hearts Calling to Each Other! To the Other Side of Wave-Guiding!!

- They improved their mega mecha tech and increased the power of their mons including Sonansu to beat everyone up but... not part of ongoing plot like BW times, not even acknowledged as something crucial. But hey, it was almost like that gear the “fake” “different personality” “cold” black-uniformed TR is using in Dialga/Palkia specials! 

The Clumsy Pukurin VS the Rampaging Bohmander!!

- Speaking of cold, they’re not done with their Pokemon-control attempts that ultimately make pokemon go on rampage - but once again pretty random, not part of ongoing subplot and kind of lost... in the huge pile of poorly done, low quality XY TR episodes

Luchabull and Dark Luchabull!

- The alternate motto in this one was notable - the cool visuals and respective colors in the intro sequences very BW-stylized

Decisive Battle in the Badlands! Fight, Numera!!

- This one was apparently regular except... the evilness and smirks was super hot from them in this one! Almost like during BW operations. Funny. The choice for it was super random but prove enough it is legitimate part of them and I don’t mind the hotness. But yeah... one may wish they had a bigger reason for such evil sexiness and gloating or that it was part of a climax of their bigger scheme!

Protect the Future of Science! The Electric Labyrinth!!

- Another BW-styled fest and they’re ALMOST like Team Plasma from Episode N in this one! With their own name for their Pokemon control project: The Guidance Waves! Not part of any longer subplot of course... No involvement from their organization nor Giovanni...

The Coveted Mega Evolution! Gaburias's Bonds!!

- Another powerful Mega Mecha and... Guidance Waves again! Only apparently they work on any type of Pokemon now and they’re after Garchomp again! Imprisoned in a Zager-beam cage (has already appeared previously, no mention of Zager though) and they succeed! Well, almost! But even then... they get to be blasted off instead of retreating with dignity and even though it’s been proved Guidance Waves is something that they just HAVE and already succeeded with it... no mention of it ever again...

Battle in the Wetlands! Numelgon VS Florges!!

Conclusion! Numelgon, Somewhere Over the Rainbow!

- Two-parter in which Team Rocket’s role is very reminiscent of their operations in BW. Working behind the scenes as the main catalyst for the conflict and keeping the viewer in the shadowy uncertainty. Their aircraft in this one is even VERY BW-inspired, especially the interior. However... it’s mostly a regular stealing scheme and Pikachu stealing scheme with a quick blast off as usual...

THE ENTIRE TEAM FLARE ARC 

- Whenever something important happened and big confrontations with Flare grunts or Zygarde core, they were fine, almost like during Plasma arc in BW! TRio were even part of prophecy and promised to play a role in the big events to come.

BUT...

The Explosive Ground Force! The Zygarde Capture Operation!!

- This one was the culmination of their rivalry with Flare and they even said their famous BW catchphrase here - all for the sake of Sakaki! They failed to capture the target but had another talk with Giovanni, looked almost foreshadowy... only nothing came out of it, Giovanni never appeared during the arc/provided no intel nor backup, and... oh well, they were still doing completely random stupid appearances in-between Flare episodes! And their only reason to be there in the end... was because they had no cash and needed to earn it at the league (you know - instead of hunting for Flare... which would make more sense)

Thunder and Onvern! The Lightning of Anger!!

- Here they go after Zapdos and Ash only meets them by pure chance. In the end almost catching it with a mecha that looks like something Dr Zager could have designed for them... but there is a quick blast and they blast off... rather than make their escape at least and be 100% pro with dignity in this one

The Endless Zero! Until the Day We Meet Again!

- There is a HQ call scene where they relate everything what happened during Flare crisis to Giovanni - such long talks with the boss and HQ only we witnessed in BW previously. But... instead of thinking of a good way to provide them with a legitimate credit or believable story that saves their faces... the writers just went over their heads and made them tell the boss they personally commanded 100% Zygarde in the battle with Lysandre himself... and he just believed it, how stupid is he??? Why won’t he ask them for Zygarde then??? And how stupid and pretentious are THEY??? This unbelievable level of STUPID, even though they actually had legitimate things to say that could have saved their face before the boss, and no doubt helping to save the world from omnicidal maniac who just broadcasted himself before the whole world... would have been enough. And yet they needlessly made JJM into lying utter fools here with this faked footage, why?

Hello, Roto, I'm the Rotom Pokédex, Roto!

- They are established pretty well, even said to be “reborn in body and spirit” once in Alola. They arrive separately on a plane on Giovanni’s orders and the boss himself was redesigned to become a super scary mafia goon with rougher face - but he will once again play no significant role in this series. What?! Still, they’re no longer blasting off in this one! They’re carried away by Bewear which is notable because any sort of alteration to their exit routine has only ever occurred in BW before...

The Vagabond in the Market, Nyabby!

- This episode pretty much established they’re getting their own subplots and time free from the main cast/Pikachu. Their scene at the café even reminds us of their similar ones in BW era, also very stylish looks and disguises.

The Extracurricular Lesson is Hidoide!?

- We’re reminded they are agents of Team Rocket and the subplot that they’re supposed to report regularly to HQ/Matori is established! Wow! What could it all mean??? (spoilers: it will amount to pretty much nothing and no consequences whatsoever!)

Really!? Mao's Great Cooking Operation!

- The ongoing subplot in which they were slowly building up their secret base is finished. They even got the antenna that’s supposed to capture all of Alola’s communications. They’re getting more subplots here! You know, like BW and some subplots pre-BW (though those weren’t that complex). However... their own place of technology... won’t amount to anything in future plots! It’s meaningless!

Fighting for a Crystal! Rocket-dan VS Skull-dan!!

- This ought to be the only and last time when they used their secret base tech to research stuff and do shit... and then off they go to battle Team Skull, coincidentally in episode 25 (I guess 24 was taken!), however it’ll be their first and LAST meeting with Team Skull trio (during the next one they don’t even remember them!). How fucked up is that? To establish this cool rivalry that’s mostly funny (with some BW angles to it though) but then... do nothing with it?

Alola at Kanto! Takeshi and Kasumi!!

- They go all the way to Kanto to meet Matori at HQ... there must be a reason right? No, the episodic plot just demands it, so they’re there and they’ll do the usual but in Kanto. No scene at HQ, no meeting Matori/Giovanni and apparently they receive no objectives either. No idea what they even talk about during their scheduled reports with HQ... and why would Matori summon them to Kanto just to talk the usual that they usually talk via computer screen... Yeah, *when the entire TR organization is made to do stupid, unexplained shit just so JJM can be somewhere and do their usual unimportant shit* and it ought to get worse...

The Shapeshifting Metamon, Find that 'mon!

- They infiltrate Aether Paradise to capture Pokemon and potentially gather up some data on UBs. Very cool and sounds like a way to go, with some BW vibes and potential for hacking. In the end, it’s even implied they got their hands on Faba’s secret database and we get a very ominous ending, with potential villain partnership with Faba or against him. But NO, next thing we see is TR quitting on him and the entire Aether Paradise building, eager to return to their malasada stand - and to make things worse and what I forgot to mention - they were only in Aether Paradie to begin with because Faba randomly approached them on the street and offered them an alternative side job, not because they actively sought to crawl their way in! Also, yep, no hacking no nothing, no scene with Giovanni about UBs either... PS: the scene where they quit on Faba is actually really brilliant and VERY TRio but this is not justification enough for lost opportunities and anyone with brain cells can see the perfect setups and potential go to waste here prematurely, cut with the executioner’s axe... even though it shouldn’t be so! It doesn’t make sense!

The Strong Sleeper, Nekkoara's Secret!

- Eager to focus on capturing UBs they repeat for the Sakaki’s sake catchphrase once again! But... they’ll quickly forget all about it and focus on their side business - malasada stand! Something isn’t right here...

The Evil Nyarth is an Alolan Nyarth!?

- The pacing becomes increasingly annoying in this one. No words from the boss about UBs, no comment regarding whatever they’ve reported to him about their actions in Paradise facilities... but he is so happy they showed him Alolan Nyasu! Good job! WTF?

Rocket-dan's Island-Visiting!? Get the Z-Ring!!

- Team Rocket gets a hint from the boss to go to the corrupt policeman and get a Z ring in his name... they do that and obtain the Z move power. But it’ll lead to nothing! Won’t ever be used by them to seriously power up! Won’t be useful in a bigger scheme because there won’t be one! To make things super interesting but WORSE... Nanu knows Sakaki and Sakaki has a serious chat with him as if he was calling a long lost friend - it’s never explained and never mentioned ever again! So it’s no just Team Rocket TRio who are kind of left behind and artificially made to always fall short despite good characterization and hundreds shades of BW that frequently appear... but by extension the entire Rocket organization and the boss!

The Big Old Thug is an Island King!?

- Team Rocket obtains useful information regarding legendary being of light and they immediately pass it on to Matori for the boss. They’re the only active agents in Alola, mind you. Well, stuff they regularly did in BW right? So what could go wrong, seems like they did something useful? No, because the plot says Giovanni already knows all about it from unexplained random source - just because the writing is a bitch, wants to make JJM looks like failures even when they aren’t written as such and turn Matori into sort of a bitch too even when she shouldn’t be one!

A Crisis in Alola! The Darkness that Devours Radiance!!

- They’re all under the influence of radiating energy that makes them numb, true, but their interaction with Matori in the Nekrozma finale clearly INSISTS on making them ‘rivals’ and enforces the idea of enmity between Matori and Jessie - even though they aren’t nowhere near rivals and shouldn’t act like it. Matori considers them useless so doesn’t want them to be involved here and JJM do the usual “we gotta get it before they get it” instead of becoming sort of an allied ground support/intel source... for a change. Speaking of which, the Matori Matrix unit which is supposed to be an elite unit... doesn’t look that impressive and doesn’t do much, their tech amounting to launching nets and aimless back and forth in the skies... kind of a downgrade compared to tech-savvy, more dangerous and calculated stuff from Best Wishes (but even their OS schemes with Lugia, Red Gyarados and Johto’s electricity crystal looked more impressive than Matori Matrix!). So once again, it’s not just JJM who are derailed - even though they surely suffer the most. And before we get into pointless reasoning such as “both trio and organization were supposed to be more funny and more prone to silly failures in SM, stop seeing old BW stuff here” - oh well, there is THAT one scene with TRio before the Pokemon school where they go on a serious rant about what they’re going to do and they do that with hyper BW-styled approach in their voice and real serious, determined looks. The writers know damn well how to characterize them in certain situations... and yet they’re still derailed and driven into pointless conflict of interests and/or being depraved of opportunity. Furthermore, TRio are the only ones left who could have seen the Blinding One in action and confirm its existence/power after Matori’s retreat but instead they’re carried away by Bewear... and then they’re also at Paradise when Rotom shares the data from the event but nowhere near that room... talking about denial and lost opportunities huh? And thus we’ll never know what even were Giovanni’s plans regarding the Blinding One...

Alola at Alola! Takeshi and Kasumi!!

- Everyone at HQ is busy and Alolan Nyasu says they don’t have anything new to report anyway. Jessie and Meowth act like idiots here and treat their malasada stand like a success that would interest HQ... which is not the first time they’re being so forcefully obsessed with it. And yet once again only James is the voice of reason here and the only one who hasn’t gone completely mad. Only this time he outright admits it IS the truth and they haven’t achieved anything noteworthy, so it is only natural that HQ would forget about them and soon they’ll have nothing left but their typical shopkeepers jobs which is terrible - all said with BW-styled HQ in the background. But there is more - once they decided on their new mecha and hatched a scheme they were shown on a background very reminiscent of the “skyscraper construction” shots from their BW mottos... Two times in a row here, not a coincidence! 

Super Fast Kuwagannon! The Awakening of Mamane!!

- Unlike XY, where high-tech was prevalent (even though used stupidity and with boring effect), in SM Rocket tech is already pretty sparse and needlessly, forcefully phased out of regular use except for mechas. Which is why their use of high tech, VR glasses and other stuff, along with how well they’ve planned their scheme of mass pokemon kidnapping during the race here while behaving themselves so professionally was surprisingly BW levels of cool! And to think they’re back to regular salesmen and complete oblivion soon enough... and most of the time they’re pretty ignorant of UBs or not even present in UB-focused episodes...

Emperor of Destruction Guzma!

- As already mentioned, they forgot all about Team Skull here! Also, the league subplot was introduced here but with this nonsense idea that... championship would help them conquer the Alola region or own the islands? What? So that’s their ultimate Alola ambition now for “reasons” not clearly defined... while selling malasada... UBs don’t matter... HQ doesn’t matter... While JJM taking part in the league was a very nice concept on paper and a real sight to behold... the many contrived reasons they used to justify them taking part in it were... not good.

You're Being Watched! Rocket-dan's Alola Forms!!

- Now, this is a horror writing. Overall the episode that’s very innovative and pretty cool, with their interactions with Matori in the field and such. However, the needless HORROR downside - Matori visits them only because she wants to take Bewear away from them (why waste the fuel? stop sending them salary then if they’re lying or refusing!), makes needles remarks about JJM being lower than grunts (how so!?! why do you employ them then!? why they have direct line to the boss sometimes?!) and when that all fails she wants to kidnap a baby (yeah, right hand mafia girl needs to kidnap a baby to please the boss... the fuel was not even worth the trip!), so again Matori is being forcefully painted as “the evil bitch” while JJM are the “good guys” completely justified (or rather artificially forced into) betraying Team Rocket! At last they’ve done it, sounds like a fanfic dream come true! Oh wait... and Matori is beaten up by Bewear, her aircraft blew to pieces, she is completely traumatized and all is alight, this betrayal is never mentioned again! Not to mention the audacity of Jessie to badmouth Matori when Matori stands right in front of them and has never really done anything outright hostile against them up until this point (she was just doing her job and she is their superior in Alola, like Zager was in BW). And yet it’s Matori who needs to suffer... and gets turned into even worse version of herself in upcoming Journeys episodes!

The Semifinals! Kaki VS Glazio!!

- Doughnuts sales continue... and JJM suddenly realize they forgot something important but they don’t remember what... Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment where it’s completely self-aware on the writers’ part - it takes a moment but JJM finally realize they forgot being evil and have become a “regular salesmen.” Not only that, for the sake of Sakaki appears yet again! JJ praise Meowth for “being so evil” when he comes up with appreciate grand scheme, and all of a sudden they’re back to villain business that’s been artificially taken from them. Still... their final plan isn’t much of a scheme because once again the writers refused to utilize them as a bigger threat here, despite all this!

Thank You, Alola! Respective Departures!!

- Despite their complete lack of achievements in canon and betrayal of their superior Matori (contributing to destruction of Team Rocket property)... the boss seems happy greeting them with a smile and ordering them to come back to HQ. Just like that! Why... throughout the whole series, mind you... INSIST and ARTIFICIALLY derail them from villainy and small successes/effort then? And forcing them into pointless, contrived tension with superiors? So in the end it looks like they haven’t really done anything, completely ignored their TR responsibilities and even betrayed TR? Yet the boss is... happy? How stupid is that?!

Fushigisou, Isn't it Mysterious?

- To add insult to injury, the next episode they’re in... they get a very shadowy intro with a brand new BGM that screams “Pokemon mafia!” and the entire scene/dialogue are very reminiscent of how their BW’s intro looked like... not only that, they’re seemingly (kind of) promoted and given special machine with TR-enslaved Pokemon to use as they please! Giovanni mentions something about “his ultimate weapon” but it’s never really clarified what he means by it and - you guessed it! - as of today he is still nowhere to be seen! Still, Team Rocket characterization from this point onward becomes exceptionally well-balanced... they’re their usual selves but they can also become hardcore battlers and criminals who approach their objectives with ruthless dedication and sexiness, kind of more frequently than SM - the enslaved, powerful TR mons making them very efficient threat on top of it. The impression which is of course diminished by frequent regular blast offs into the skies but still...

Daimax Battle! Dande, The Greatest of Them All!

Satoshi VS Dande! The Road to the Strongest!!

- Team Rocket were sent to Galar to capture a Pokemon capable of Dynamaxing. They’re undercover here and on a mission - sneaky, focused on their objective (not Pikachu!) and they actually succeed in the end, just like BW! Wow! Not only that, the Pokemon they captured ends up as a slave in their machine! But other than that... nothing more, that’s not really an ongoing subplot or anything, they’re just doing the usual appearances of the day...

Hibanny, Use Your Flaming Kick! Face Tomorrow!!

- Turns out Team Rocket got their own evil lair in Kanto - with a hidden entrance in a phone booth like some sort of spies and the design has a military-bunker look to it with walls of concrete... They have billiard table and other things which make the space really cool looking and like a lair of official TR members. The intro sequence is very cool as well, with serious undertones and BGM, even though it’s just James delivering snacks! Nice. However, just like Alola, their base isn’t really used for anything significant. We don’t get to explore different rooms, or tech they may have, or them planning and executing a larger scheme, or anything... but we’ve already seen them relaxing on sofas, complaining, eating or sleeping like hundreds of times! Yeah...the pesky pattern still here...

Take a Break! Rocket-dan!

- In episode numbered 24 (uh again?) we get to see Matori’s TR operation and in her cool intro sequence she mentions how Giovanni wants to bring order to the whole world... and she uses a helicopter here, cool! Really strong BW vibes. However... the main “plot” of this episode is actually JJM being sent on vacation as part of Matori’s contrived scheme/hostility against them in order to ensure they won’t disrupt her plan even though sending them on vacation is the EXACT thing that sends them her way! You can’t get more contrived than that... and to make things worse Matori mentions everything should go smoothly because she got rid “of Team Rocket’s problems” and it looks like she blames every failure of every TR agent on the fact that JJM breathe as official members of Team Rocket and she considers them dead-weight, which then again results in JJM betrayal of Team Rocket and Matori’s failure, but at least this time around it’s made more believable because done undercover (even though this entire contrived plot is NOT believable in the slightest!). To add insult to injury this episodes kicks off with JJM planning something seemingly serious in front of a map, presumably on Giovanni’s orders, and once the plot of the episode is concluded Matori says she’ll let Giovanni know they’re back on their mission! WHAT?! And yet... she needed to get rid of them... and called them problems, obstacles... for reasons utterly contrived... this woman gets turned into an utter, walking paranoia here... Oh and yeah, but even though this scene confirms JJM are doing more than just chasing after Pokemon of the day - which means they must be considered competent enough to be even given such other tasks! - Journeys series doesn’t really elaborate much here... and next time they’re back to their regular schemes and failures... so the illusion is kept, The Truth remains masked, and they are once again derailed! While Matori’s delusions are accepted as truth... by most, less careful viewers. Also, Jessie is stupid as usual here about Matori - she even rage quits on her! Complete lack of respect from Jessie given no decent reason for it (at least not any that they know of!)

VS Thunder! A Legendary Raid Battle!!

- It is curious that Goh and Ash accidentally bump into TR in this one - while they’re scouting a secluded building for their potential second base... yeah, sounds like something they would do in BW, or perhaps it was even an actual mission they got from HQ, who knows, it’s not really a subplot or anything...

Sword & Shield I - IV

- While already heavily packed with content, so I wouldn’t mind TR absent or wasted potential, the things that occurred here are still peculiar... On one hand, JJM are investigating Rose’s company on Sakaki’s orders and they know he’s in possession of the evilest Pokemon - TRio are hinted to be debriefed on the subject, just like in BW! Eternatus foils their plans by taking control of Meowth but then the mere mention of the boss is enough to restore him to normal and off he goes to battle Eternatus while in his Dynamax gigantic form! On the other hand... that’s where the episode quickly gets rid of them and sends them blasting off into the skies without any sort of real contribution to the conflict... and the other downside of the episode is their tech - they’ve been sent there by Giovanni who knew exactly what Eternatus was capable of but... they’re provided only with a regular net launcher... and there is no open communication with the HQ during the episodes or any follow-up report... Seriously?!

Please! Catch Morpeko!!

- What I haven’t mentioned yet was the introduction of Morpeko (as Bewear 2.0!) except it terrorizes them and steals their food supplies. Its appearances become more invasive as time goes by and seems like an excuse to stop them from a serious life of crime... Indeed, the period of Morpeko food terror saw the increase of more adventury, very fillery and random schemes of theirs rather than decent heists and actions. Still, eventually it was caught and stopped being such a hindrance apparently... Does it mean anything changed and they were given more interesting roles and more well-thought-out schemes? Or started to use their secret base more often for... well, cool stuff? Eh... not really! Still denied!

Darkrai - A Midsummer Night's Dream

- Matori Matrix aircraft appears again, with a little more technological flair and increased fire power, but still... Matori and her crew seem as awkwardly inefficient as usual. Matori contacts the TRio because she wants them to “help” with her mission - while in truth she hopes they’re going to get the blame for eventual failure! Another contrived and brainless plan of hers! At least TRio are more eager to help in this one but... once again, the TRio aren’t allowed to use any sort of technology here in order to track their target or anything of a sort so they’ll just eventually bump into it at random (because that makes sense? and apparently Matori’s stupid plan sucks completely because Giovanni obviously won’t blame TRio without an aircraft over Matori who got a badass aircraft and was in charge of the mission in the first place... the writing is trying so hard to create unneeded rivalry/contempt between them but doesn’t even try to make sense of it!). Also, another thing that sucks is that TRio are still denied of becoming allies here and working together with Matori’s guys... instead they enter the scene right after Matori’s defeat and get immediately taken out as well without any sort of meaningful interaction with the twerps and returning Dawn... That’s a weird choice and needless waste of screen time... but this weird, needless artificial barrier that separates JJM from other Rockets, even physically, was indeed put in place! Yet again.

Dialga & Palkia! The Space-Time Cataclysm!!

- And here we go... in the special Dialga/Palkia episodes - after many episodes of JJM absence, mind you! - the main badass stars are JJM but... they’re said to be alternate dimension JJM with “different personalities” even though they are not much different from our regular JJM. The only difference here is that they aren’t subject to the ongoing crazy pattern of artificial limitation/filtration as so thoroughly described here! And they merely do SHIT with the help of TECH in the SPECIAL episode that CALLS FOR IT and are USED as the MAIN source of SERIOUS threat and part of PLOT given OPPORTUNITY and POTENTIAL for it. Meanwhile, in order to keep up the ongoing farce and mask The Truth even further... the regular Journeys JJM still appear in the episode! What they should be actually doing as part of Giovanni’s agenda and catalyst for the plot of those episodes (with or without Matori involved in it) was cut out from their very soul and hearts and introduced to us as “alternate personality JJM” who by all means aren’t our JJM but they’re suddenly good enough to become part of plot and do something cool as JJM in place of actual JJM! So yeah, BW is still VERY IMPORTANT and LEGITIMATE part of regular JJM as showcased here and even though artificially limited/reduced/hidden it reappears constantly. For so many years now! Those cybernetic suits guys? Same people. Same personality really as our regular JJM. They’re merely not subject to the pattern described here and... god forbid the unnatural, contrived Filters in the writing applied over our regular JJM were dropped - that would reveal The Truth too openly and by extension turn them into more useful, evolved, more varied, more important characters on this show! We can’t have that! Which is exactly why this special needs to use alternate TRio instead...

Sounds stupid, right? But this is what anti-BW folks (and VAs themselves!) have wished for... that’s quite a number of episodes described but what’s important is that I don’t even count characterization takes scattered across both normal and bad episodes (like more competence shown, cool approach to battles, aware of their grander goals other than Pikachu, sitting out some episodes if not needed, some kind of tech and hacking etc. all of which thanks to BW renaissance)

While XY TR was indeed a corpse (hardly comparable with the quality of their pre-BW counterparts), SM and now Journeys, while comparable with the pre-BW quality, from the looks of things aren’t really THAT much different in the matter discussed here - and in the long-term this still looks to me like a painful and slow death sentence since the characters clearly aren’t allowed to do shit and when shit happens JJM can only contribute to convoluted writing and plot bits, all in order to enforce “the charade” - either because there is a strong exec decision after BW that they’re supposed to be like that and stay like that no matter what... (for “play it safe” reasons or something? IDK) or the VA’s opinion on the matter (and by extension maybe TR fandom’s - but which is less likely, actually, because writers are supposed to care about their target demographics not fandom) is enough to dissuade the writers from PROPER writing at all times and from using TR characters in interesting, modern ways with more nuance if the situation calls for it. But at the same time the writers aren’t fucking idiots so are not likely to completely remove the potential or forget about what’s proper - which is why they refuse to officially demote Team Rocket into forgotten agents they were pre-BW and - quite often! - come up with characterization, gadgets or plot bits reminiscent of Best Wishes, albeit messed up, incomplete, immediately opposed or fractured, like described above. They are not really turned to dust and walking relics of the past but at the same time they’re very limited in what they can be used for. Which makes JJM less and less relevant day after day (and the most dichotomic in the writing!). No wonder then that they appear less and less... and rarely a part of ongoing events... merely a footnote in an ever changing and surprising modern Pokemon series...

But that’s exactly what “everyone” wanted and largely contributed towards because they couldn’t get their heads around what happened in BW and how BW-inspired stuff might actually benefit JJM in the long-term if given a chance and sympathy where due, isn’t it? Couldn’t get their heads around it, and that includes the amazing, talented VAs themselves...

SAD.

I really want it to change someday...

And it better change for the better someday... with those hurtful Filters and Contrivances phased out of use before JJM become even less relevant and useful in this show... because there is no going back to the past. The past is in the past! BW is part of them now and it will be part of them, with filters or not. As time has shown you can’t erase it, you can’t ignore it, it’s been constantly there throughout all these years... The only choice here is between constant, hurtful Limitation or... well, facing The Truth. Without limits, without filters, without bizarre dichotomies and silly, needless contrivances applied over the characters and their plots... JUST LET THEM BE FREE AND PROSPER

[iamnightduchess]

Hey! I absolutely loved your It’s Gotta Be You headcanons. May I ask for your reikasa as parents headcanons and some of the twins headcanon from the It’s Gotta Be You universe? :)

Hello xrocketmanx,

Thank you so much for your ongoing interest in IGBY. Words would not be enough to express the true joy I felt the moment I saw your ask :) I was smiling the whole day!

Since I’m also planning to make a series of ReiKasa’s Modern AU headcanons, I will make this the first HC of the “Across The Universe” series. Thank you once again for motivating & inspiring me to work on this! 

Let’s jump into the headcanon, shall we?

ReiKasa Headcanons

Universe: It’s Gotta Be You (SnK HS AU & Modern AU) Pt.2

Pt. 1 Available here

Dad!Reiner & Mom!Mikasa

You know how people say a father would normally cry the first time they look at their newborn daughter’s eyes? Reiner shed tears even way before the twins were born. In particular, during Mikasa’s labor, because she almost broke his hand the moment the waves of contraction began to kick in every 10 to 15 minutes. Mikasa had a natural birth but when Miraé had been a smooth delivery, she had a challenge with Rémy as baby Rémy had broad shoulders and frame like his father. Damn those Nordic features.

Contrary to what most people believe, Reiner loves the late-night feedings and diaper changes. He’s definitely the hands-on dad. In the first three months, Miraé wakes up every hour like clockwork unlike her brother, who’s a heavy sleeper (just like their dad). Reiner would let Mikasa have a full night’s rest since the first night the twins were born. Thankfully, they have Karina and Carla, occasionally Kiyomi who would take turns staying over to help the new parents with the babies. Mr. Midnight is initially wary of the new additions to the family but he’d be the one keeping watch over the tiny humans in their cot within a safe distance.

When they first found out that they were expecting, it was actually perfect timing as Reiner was finishing his service commitment to the Marley government’s military. Mikasa herself was contemplating resignation from her fulltime position as the MO at the medical center. She also wanted to delay her educational pursuit of becoming an OBGYN. After the twins were big enough, she went back to medical school in Paradis to advance her career as a specialist.

Reiner desired for her to keep doing what she loves and he voluntarily opted for early retirement from the military. He was offered a Consultant position with a Marley private security agency’s base in Paradis, under Magath’s recommendation, offering him the flexibility to become a work-at-home father. Reiner and Mikasa decided to move back to Paradis to be closer to their friends and families.

Reiner and Mikasa are both proactive parents. Reiner volunteers to coach the Little League and when she’s off duty, Mikasa would find time to help the mum groups with fundraising activities - charity bake sale, school concerts. Reiner is the dad who’d be at his daughter’s violin class and become the resident eye candy to the other mums.

They enjoy the outdoors so much and they both even went hiking with baby Rémy and Miraé when they were only six months old to catch the sunrise. (Original idea inspiration by @quietcelt )

Gabi, is without a doubt, the 'unofficial' firstborn of the Ackerman-Braun family 😉 She even calls Mikasa mom at times & goes to Mikasa for more delicate girl issues.

Reiner and Mikasa like to make their twins’ birthday celebration a family and friends event. Niccolo & Sasha would be in charge of the food, Connie & Armin the entertainment. Uncle Zeke would compete with Uncle Levi when it comes to getting gifts for the twins. They'll glare at each other while trying to one-up the other from across the room. They’re the uncles who would be trying to take each other out in competitive family activities.

Mikasa is an absolute mama bear & protects her brood like no other, including Gabi. That's how Miraé built upon her own protectiveness. But, Mikasa is also the no-nonsense mum (like you better not tell a lie, because you’ll get an ass-whooping either way). Because of this, the twins are terrified of their mom more than their dad. Also, when Mikasa starts to call the kids with their full Hizurian names, oh shit's about to go down. Them babies better run 😹

Reiner, on the other hand, is the disciplinarian (something that was acquired through his military trainings) but he's also the most chill dad ever. He loves to sit down & converse with their children on their days or problems while Mikasa is the observant listener. He's also the dad that's popular amongst the other kids for being so cool. He's the one who organizes the twins' schedules and appointments.

Reiner makes lame dad jokes around the kids especially after a crisis aversion to cheer them up and Mikasa finds it very endearing.

Reiner & Mikasa’s teamwork as parents is impeccable. Reiner is diplomatic when Mikasa is authoritative.

Rémy and Miraé (The Twins)

Rémy Masaru Braun was born fifteen minutes after his twin sister, Miraé. He has a darker shade of blonde hair than his father but has his mother’s dark eyes. His middle name, Masaru, which means victorious, was given by their grandaunt, Kiyomi. He favors Reiner’s Nordic build and features but he embodies his mother’s tenderness and zen. Athletic, Rémy plays football & chess like his father but loves gardening like his mother. Rémy is the thinker first between the two. He’s born with a melancholic, old soul and the more shy, reserved twin.

Miraé Ramona Braun has her father’s hazel eyes and her mother’s midnight hair & soft Hizurian features. She’s physically smaller than her brother but she’s the headstrong, stubborn ball of sunshine, a chatterbox that could even rival her aunt Gabi. Miraé’s name was given to honor Mikasa’s late mother and she’s the overprotective twin with a tendency to act impulsively. Miraé is the doer first, run and forget it ever happened, twin. She’s the erratic, emotional twin with a flair for drama.

The double trouble, as Uncle Levi calls them, butted heads often but they always have each other’s backs. Miraé: the troublemaker. Rémy: the peacekeeper/mess cleaner & emotional support.

One time for Halloween, the twins dressed up as Jessie & James from Team Rocket with Mr. Midnight as Meowth. They had a lot of fun Trick or Treating with Brandon and Helena while the dads - Reiner, Bertolt and Eren took them around the neighborhood.

--------

I hope you’ll enjoy this headcanon. It warms my heart everytime I re-imagine ReiKasa in a Modern AU. Living happily, being in love and building a beautiful family together. Thank you so much for the Ask. I really had fun! <3

xoxo

NightDuchess

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Pokemon Master Quest, Episodes 41-42

In which I get an unexpected chance to check out Pokemon’s original Japanese version for the first time!

A Taste of the OG

So, when I started watching Pokemon, the website I used didn’t have any of the banned episodes. I figured if I wanted to ever check out the episodes no longer in circulation, I’d have to track them down elsewhere. So imagine my surprise when I clicked on episode 41 and it started with a Japanese theme song instead of Master Quest’s re-edited OP! Yes, it seems the website I’m using uploaded the banned episode without my knowledge, quietly slotting them in where they initially aired. Which means for the first time, I now have the chance to check out what Pokemon was like in its original Japanese! How’s that for cool? I’ll probably check out the rest of the forbidden episodes once I’m finished with Master Quest and get them all done in a single post. For now, though, I’m happy to have my first taste of OG Pokemon with The Ice Cave, an episode that never got dubbed because it has Jynx in it. And not purple Jynx; this is original flavor accidental blackface Jynx. No surprise this never saw the light of day in America. But hey, other than that, what was it like experiencing Pokemon in the original Japanese for the first time?

Well, for the voice actors were all far more professionally trained than their English counterparts. No surprise there, as Japan’s voice acting industry spares no expense no matter the project. Ash/Satoshi’s voice in particular had a fun enthusiasm to it. And while I already knew that James/Kojirou was voiced by the incredible Shinichiro Miki, it was still one hell of a treat to hear his buttery dulcet tones coming out that mouth. Honestly, though, as good as Miki is, I couldn’t help but miss dub Team Rocket. They just don’t have the same magic without their endless barrage of corny one-liners and Meowth’s Brooklyn accent. Heck, their famous “We’re blasting off again!” was originally just “I’ve got a bad feeling!” in the sub. That has way less personality. Japanese Rocket is just a bunch of wacky villains; it’s the English dub that makes them such iconic and everlasting characters. That alone makes the dub superior to the sub in my eyes, even if the voice acting is pretty undeniably better all around in the original Japanese. Except maybe Meowth. Meowth’s Japanese voice doesn’t really work for me. It’s too scratchy and weird.

Other observations:

-The Japanese version has a lot less music than the dub. There’s a lot of scenes without BGM in the sub; the dub must have added music wherever there was silence because they though kids would get bored without it. And now I understand why the fades between different music pieces in the dub are so awkward at times; they were literally pasted on after the fact!

-Brock feels... weirdly hornier in the Japanese version. I dislike it.

-The sub has a “Who’s That Pokemon” as well, but a different version than the dub has. Odd.

-Pikachu, Arbok, Victreebell and Togepi are all Pokemon that use their original Japanese voices in the dub.

-Team Rocket calling Ash and company “twerps” is a translation of Jessie/Mushashi originally calling Ash/Satoshi “cherry boy.” Which, um... this is a kid’s show, right?

-The original ED for this season is a hoedown, for some reason.

Odds and Ends

-Oh hey, I remember that badass Nurse Joy from the Orange Islands! Nice to meet her sister.

-Lmao, Piloswine have such small eyes.

-”I’m still in one peace! Get it?” ahahahaha please die

-”Speaking of chilling, these sunglasses have made me... oh so cool.” Congratulations, James, you killed your friends. You froze them to death. I hope you’re happy.

-”Meowth, please translate Wobuffet’s wobblings.” lmao

-Alright, we’ve gone back and forth on localizing the onigiri and not localizing them so many times at this point. Just pick one thing and stick with it.

-YO SHE JUST TOOK A THUNDERBOLT TO THE FACE HOLY SHIT CLAIRE

-”Looks like Team Rocket booked a non-sop flight on Dragon Air!” This man’s puns hurt my soul.

-Oh heck, this is a beautiful location.

And next time? We finally face the last gym leader and take home the last badge. Let’s goooooo!

[pokeshipping]

Takeshi Shudo Blogpost - Translated!

Dr. Lava, YouTuber and Pokemon enthusiast, investigates and shares behind the scenes details of various Nintendo properties. Recently, he arranged to have some of Takeshi Shudo’s blogs detailing the develop of the Pokemon anime translated, and he shared that translation on his website!

This particular blogpost detailed the creation of Lugia and the early development work done on the second Pokemon movie, Revelation Lugia. There’s some interesting trivia here, including how the Porygon incident contributed to Shudo’s creative freedom on the first movie, and how its success led to more freedom on the second:

Lugia’s Explosive Birth, as well as the first movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back, were both lucky films to work on from the perspective of a scriptwriter. Because right before Mewtwo Strikes Back, an unfortunate incident occurred — a flashing sequence in the Pokémon anime caused a substantial number of viewers to have seizures. So I think the film management team was so busy dealing with the seizure situation, that they didn’t have time to worry about the script of the first movie.

Mewtwo Strikes Back ended up exceeding all our expectations and became a huge hit. This led the film’s main producer to say, “I have some concerns about certain aspects of the first movie, but since it was such a huge success, I won’t interfere with the second one. I just want you to put ‘Explosive Birth’ in the title.”

And, while this has been confirmed elsewhere, we now have Shudo’s own perspective on creating Lugia available in English:

I mentioned this once before — during a big meeting (in which even game development and distribution staff participated), the name “Lugia” was chosen by a majority vote. Since Lugia was a Pokémon I designed myself solely for the new movie, I was surprised it ended up getting used later in the games and TV show. I can only imagine what was going on in the game development and TV show departments.

This is also the blog post where Shudo outlined his idea for bringing Ash’s story to a conclusion. It’s interesting to read a full translation of these ideas. Over the years, reports and an older translation have given the impression that this conclusion was going to imply that Pokemon were a child’s fantasy that Ash had. That doesn’t seem to be the case; it seems more that the series and its adventures are a broader metaphor for a journey to “discovery of existence.”

Months and years pass. Ash grows old, then one day suddenly he looks back on his past. He remembers his childhood fondly. The adventures he had with his amazing Pokemon, the friendship, the coexistence.

Maybe Ash wasn’t able to experience these things later in life. However, as a kid there was Pikachu and lots of other Pokémon, Jessie and James, and Mewtwo… And so much more — elderly Ash remembers everything that happened during his adventures as a young boy.

He can hear his mother’s voice. “Go to sleep already, you’re setting off on your journey tomorrow.” The next morning, he is woken up by his mother. He’s a young boy again, leaving his house excited to start a new adventure.

He’s going on a journey not to catch Pokémon or become a Pokémon master, but to discover the meaning of existence, to discover how to coexist with others.

Shudo also seems to be of a mind with at least some fans: he writes that “after 3 or 4 years, a new Pokémon adventure with a new main hero should begin. With its own topics — this new Pokémon should adapt to its times.”

If you ever wanted to know more about the “Pokemon revolution” idea that Shudo had, this is where he wrote about it too:

I thought about writing a fourth movie, but I couldn’t come up with any ideas.

If I wrote it, I would have used the story that I had planned for the final anime episode. The Pokémon would stage a rebellion much like Spartacus in ancient Rome. Although at first glance Pokémon appear to be friends with humans, they would realize they’re actually being used like slaves, which would lead to an uprising. Pikachu would become the leader of the revolt and end up fighting with Ash. Team Rocket, who are in possession of lots of sinister Pokemon (including Meowth, who can translate the Pokémon language into human speech) would try to mediate the conflict, but they’d do a poor job of interpreting and only make things worse…

That’s all I came up with. However, an episode like this would break the rules of the Pokémon world and make it impossible for the series to continue. Continuing into perpetuity is the series’ objective. If it could ever be produced, I think it would literally have to be the last episode ever.

I tried to think of a different plot, but I couldn’t.

Most of the blogpost, though, is about the development of Lugia and the second film. It isn’t the blogpost where he discusses Misty and her relationship with Ash; that’s another post, one that remains untranslated (at least in full.) But there is this one little tidbit:

But in this case it was a movie script, so there was a big meeting with lots of people — which is rarely the case when it’s just a script for the Pokemon TV show. The first comment I heard in the meeting surprised me.

“Which one is the scene that’s supposed to make you cry?”

“The what?”

I never had any intention of including a scene that’s supposed to make you cry. Since [I was young], I’ve been trying not to write scripts that force tears out of people. If someone happens to cry because of my script, they’re not my tears — the tears belong to that individual viewer. These kinds of tears are their treasure.

If a writer is planning “where to make them cry”, “where to make them laugh”, “where to put the spectacular reveal” — it means that writer is guiding the audience’s every emotion. The audience should cry when they feel like crying, laugh when they feel like laughing, and if the film is boring, get bored and walk out of the theater.

“I won’t talk much during the big Pokémon meeting… So, if anything happens, I’m leaving it to you,” I told the movie’s director [Kunihiko Yuyama] beforehand. So when that question was raised, he jumped in and made up an answer. “It’s when Misty saves Ash from drowning.”

I didn’t say anything, but I was pretty pissed — I still remember, even though the meeting was about 10 years ago.

To which all I can say is - good on ya, Yuyama XD

~ Z

[liloelsagranger]

Viridian Love Story - Chapter 6: The necklace

Hey my friends, I’m back...with a new chapter of my current fanfiction “Viridian Love Story”. How’s everyone? Please, enjoy! Chapter 6: The necklace «What's wrong with her?» James couldn't understand her reaction. They had been on a razor's edge, were able to talk their heads off, so that Giovanni merely condemned them to a suspension, no reason for pessimism. Meowth shook his head, landing on James' shoulder in one bound. «Yous put all the blame on her, she had to take the rap for the mess all three of us have made. Yous betrayed her trust. If I were her, I'd be miffed, too. Of course our Jessie can be moody, but this time I understand her completely. She's bailed you out so many times. Saved you from love-struck spirits and spared no effort to accept you as you are, in your very wretched way. Good luck in your attempt to rebuild that trust.» Meowth jumped off James' shoulder to leave him alone with his thoughts. James was thunderstruck. Only now did scales fall from his eyes. This woman had saved his life several times. She got him out of his personal prison. She taught him to laugh and feel joy again. She brought him out of the deepest and darkest holes without asking much in return. He had more than lost her trust. He had, so to speak, thrown her to the dogs and laid the burden of guilt on her. His remorse seemed to overwhelm him. James had to save their friendship or what was left of it. Misty ran through the deserted corridors, desperately looking for Jessie. The Team Rocket member may have answers to her burning questions. Where did Jessie get that necklace? Did she know Misty's mother? Were Misty's parents still alive? Ash came towards her. He seemed to be completely agitated, as if he had spent the last few hours trying to sort out his feelings. «There you are, Misty! I have something important to tell you. I think I'm in love with you. When I was a child I couldn't imagine being your boyfriend, but now, soon grown up and more mature behind the ears, I would like to ask you to join me, this time as my girlfriend» He blushed to the roots of his hair, but he had not expected this answer. «That's all well and good, Ash. I'm glad you like me. But can we do this another time? I'm in a hurry,» she scurried off, without giving him another glance. Jessie took a break at a small stream not far from the campus. She tried to swallow all her anger, she tried to hold back tears of disappointment. How could she have been so wrong about James? Through thick and thin from here to eternity? His promise sounded like a tasteless joke. He had betrayed her all along the line. Angrily, she wiped the hot tears from her face. She wanted to shout out her despair into the world, but humiliation stifled her voice. She listened to the quiet murmur of the stream, completely lost in thought and far from a brutal reality. «Jessie!» A faint voice caught her attention. It wasn't James who called her. « Jessie ! Here you are» Jessie could make out the outlines of a young woman in the dark. «What do you want, twerp?» Misty approached the Team Rocket member, kneeled down next to her and let a gush of questions rain down on her. «Jessie! I need to know! Where did you get that necklace? Who gave it to you? What do you know about it ? » Jessie rolled her eyes in annoyance. Was a little privacy too much to ask for? «That's none of your business, kid! Besides, since when is a frumpy girl like you interested in jewelry?» She grinned at Misty dismissively. «Jessie, it's really important! Listen to me! This necklace belonged to my mother. I need to know where you found it, where you stole it ! » Slowly but surely, Misty got impatient. How could someone be so cold and not show any empathy? «Don't you understand? I need to find my family and this necklace is the first clue in years, please, Jessie» Misty desperatley tried to squeeze some words out of Jessie, but she stubbornly resisted. «Family is overrated, kid» Jessie turned to leave, but Misty held her back. « Don't you have someone you care about, Jessie? Someone you love and need in your life ? Someone you'd miss if they were gone?» There was a shred of feeling in every person, even in a lunatic woman like Jessie. The Team Rocket member paused and thought about Misty's words. James had once been everything to her, the faithful man at her side, but this picture was more than shattered. «No, I don't!» Jessie tore loose from Misty's grip and ran further into the thicket of the forest. «Jessie, wait!» Misty followed her into the deep woods. They wandered around aimlessly, got lost in the pitch black night and didn't realize that they had long since strayed off the marked path. The lurking ghost Pokémon were already looking forward to their new loot. «I don't know where she is, Meowth!» Hoping to settle the dispute, James had set out to find his friend. He and Meowth searched every corner of the university, looked in every single room, but found nothing. She dropped off the face of the earth, no trace of Jessie. Shortly thereafter, the Team Rocket agents could hear familiar voices calling through the night. Armed with flashlights, Ash and Brock searched the campus, until they ran into old acquaintances. «Team Rocket! What are you up to again? Where's Misty? Tell us, right now!» Ash was beside himself with worry. Who else could be responsible for Misty's disappearance than this thieving gang up to no good? «We could ask you the same thing! Have you seen Jessie ? » James took a step towards the young students, but before he could add anything, a shrill scream broke the silence. « Jessie ! » James exclaimed. « Misty ! » Ash ran for the exit. « We need to find them, they might be in danger!» James' heart was beating out of his chest. He did not want to imagine that Jessie had put herself in danger because of his rotten behaviour. All four of them followed the blood curdling screams deep into the forest, stumbling over roots, sinking up to their knees into bog pools. But nothing and nobody could stop them, her friends were in trouble.«Help us!» Misty's cry for help echoed throught the night. «Somebody, please!» Jessie's voice broke. Only a short time later, Ash, Brock, James and Meowth reached a clearing at the end of the forest. The sight they saw made their blood freeze in their veins. There were Misty and Jessie, chained together by invisible forces, surrouned by a horde of Gastlys, Haunters and Gengars who danced around their victims in a trance-like state. « It's all my fault,» James sank to the floor. «No time for self-pity, James!» Brock reached out his hand and helped James to his feet. The ghost Pokémon swayed up and down areound their prey, laughing in the face of their fear. «How can we get them out? Ghost Pokémon are almost invulnerable, we need a diversion» Ash said and looked around in the forest for a way to attract the attention of the spookables. The spirits screamed and mimicked the cries for help of their victims. Jessie tried to free herself from the bonds, but failed miserably. James could no longer watch this grotesque spectacle. He threw himself into the fray without thinking. « James, no ! » Brock wanted to hold him back, but too late. He waded through the sea of purple lights, struggled to make his way forward and was attacked by the ghost Pokémon. They tried to lick his face, they gave him shadow punches, they wanted to get rid of him by all means, but despite the immense pain James was in, he was completely focused on his goal. «He won't survive» Ash and Brock could only stand by and watch James' rescue attempt. James fought on, soon he would reach the center of the ectoplasm. All he had to do was reach out for Jessie, untie her, and carry her out. The gruesome Pokémon used Destiny Bond to make him faint, but James held out, ducked and dodged their attacks. Ash had to rush to his aid. He ordered Pikachu to send in a massive thunder shock, hoping to at least distract the spirits, if not paralize them. Only a few inches separated James from Misty, he could almost touch her fingers. The thunderclap had thrown the ghost Pokémon out of concentration, the bonds were loosened for a split second. James grabbed Misty and pulled her to him. Ash crawled to them and dragged her out of the crossfire. Jessie was still lying there, surrounded by the ghostly creatures who wanted to harm her, since she had entered their territory unauthorized and disturbed their peace. Gengar formed a big black spookball, ready to fire it at Jessie, but James got in his way. He covered Jessie's body and intercepted the attack. Another thunderclap cut through the night. The ghost Pokémon felt threatened and slowly fled away. What was left behind were Jessie and James, huddled and staring in fear. James coughed and spluttered. «I'm fine» he whispered. Jessie took a deep breath. They had barely escapted their end. «What brought your here?» Brock wanted to know. Misty was shaking all over. «I wanted answers. The necklace that Jessie weares belonged to my mother. So where did you get it?» Jessie looked at James questioningly. «Tell them, James. You gave it to me years ago in Kalos . » You could tell that James was very uncomfortable talking about it. « Well, I got it from the treasure trove at Team Rocket Headquarters». Jessie snorted contemptuously. «Is that what I'm worth to you?» Misty interrupted them. «How did that necklace get into the treasure trove? Why do you keep civilian items in it ? « James shied away from an answer. « Well, all belongings and valuables are taken from people who might have information about Mew. Their belongings will be taken away before they're sent for interrogation and subsequent deportation.» Misty's eyes widened. «Does that mean my mother could still be alive?»

[letswritefanfiction]

Lost in Halloweenia! Ch1

Crosspost from ffnet and AO3.

Summary: It's Halloween! Ash and the gang are living it up trick or treating when they stumble upon a strange house with some strange artifacts. What mysteries do they hold and…wait, who are those three lurking behind them?

Word Count: 2,997/27,343

Setting: Set in between Hocus Pokémon and Here's Lookin' At You, Elekid.

A/N: Hello! This is a story I wrote back in 2016 and, since it’s spooky month yet again, I thought it was time to bring it back, since it’s one of my faves! This story is meant to by in the style of the Pokémon anime, plus Scooby Doo vibes. It’s all just very fun.

No ships!

Next chapter here

Chapter 1: Trick or Treat

Having just received his last Gym Badge from the Blackthorn Gym, Ash and his friends are hard at work as ever in preparing for the Silver Conference…

“Oh boy, a king size candy bar!”

Or are they?

Ash brought the plastic-wrapped log of chocolate up to his nose and inhaled loudly, salivating even though he couldn’t smell anything beyond the crisp October air burning his nostrils. After savoring the moment for all of two seconds, he ripped open the chocolate bar and bit off a mouthful, strands of caramel lacing his teeth and the candy together, looking like strands from the play spider webs decorating the houses of the neighborhood. When he licked it all away, he offered a bite to Pikachu, who was perched as a Golbat on his shoulder, wings and all.

“Ash, you’re supposed to be saving your candy, not eating it all tonight,” Misty stated, dropping her own piece into her orange jack-o-lantern bag hanging from the crook of her arm as she held Togepi to her chest. Togepi was thrilled by all of the sights and was content to do nothing but trill away at all of the lights and spooky decorations.

“Who says?” Ash grunted through the sticky sweetness.

“I bet your mother would,” Brock said. “And please tell me that you’re not still wearing your fake teeth.”

After swallowing, Ash felt around his teeth with his tongue to discover that he was, indeed, still wearing the false teeth that were the finishing touch on his vampire outfit. Except now, instead of glowing a light green in the dark, it was certain they were stained brown with milk chocolate and caramel goodness. Pikachu barred his teeth to reveal much the same on his own fake incisors.

“Oops.”

Misty sighed, shaking her head. “I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle accessories.”

“Hey, at least I was smart enough to wear a costume that I wouldn’t freeze to death in!”

Misty looked down at her costume, mostly just to hide her flushing face behind her bangs. She was wearing the Goldeen outfit that she had worn ages ago in that crazy magician act. “So what? I already owned it, so I figured I might as well wear it! Besides, Brock isn’t any better.”

Brock had decided to dress like Bruno of the Kanto—and Johto, since that’s where they were—Elite Four leaving him entirely shirtless. He was hoping that it would gain him points with the ladies. Unfortunately, most of the ladies they had seen so far were half his age. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to be pulled into the argument, so he suggested, “Hey, why don’t we just check out the next house?”

Misty harrumphed. “Yeah, Brock. Let’s go.”

Ash lingered behind for only a second. “Thinks she can boss me around like that,” he grumbled. “Why shouldn’t we be able to eat our candy on Halloween?”

Pikachu chattered his agreement before pointing in the direction Misty and Brock were headed.

“Oh, you’re right! We gotta beat them to the next house!”

Moments after Ash ran to catch up to Misty and Brock, there was a rustling in the boxwood hedges lining the sidewalk.

Jessie popped her head out from a bush, making certain that she was holding two branches on either side of her face. She spied the twerp running off after the other two twerps with Pikachu right there on his shoulder, as usual. “Hmm, right on schedule.”

“On schedule fo’ what?” Meowth burst out of the next bush, some leaves taped to his whiskers. “We don’t have a plan!”

“Maybe we would if it weren’t Halloween!” James interjected, poking his head out of a third bush, pausing to spit out a few leaves. “But there are people everywhere! How are we supposed to pull off any kind of a heist?”

“Well…” Meowth began slyly, turning slowly to James as a smile spread across his face, “we could pull off a candy heist if we did a little less trickin’ and a little more treatin’!”

“Ooh, now that’s a good plan, Meowth!”

Jessie whipped her hair around and managed to smack both James and Meowth across the face, leaving them both dazed. “You numskulls! We’re not out to get candy like all of these snot-nosed little kids! We’re out to catch Pikachu!”

“But Jess,” James whined, “think of how long it’s been since we’ve had that much food! Much less good tasting food.”

There was the sound of water dripping into the bushes as James and Meowth began to drool. Jessie clenched her fist until it shook, ready to let them have it again before she heard her stomach rumble. Both boys turned to her with raised eyebrows and Jessie blushed, holding her stomach in a gloved hand.

From out of the bushes, she produced three pillowcases and announced, “Well, I guess it can’t hurt to think about food every once in a while! We can always nab Pikachu once those twerps have had their fill and all we have to do is roll Pikachu off the twerp’s shoulder and right into the boss’s office.”

With matching grins, each grabbed a bag and then made off for the closest house, so close to mountains of candy they could taste it.

“Wow, this house would be spooky even if it weren’t Halloween.”

Ash and Misty nodded along to Brock’s words as they all stood at the end of the street before a huge house that seemed to creak as a strong wind blew the autumn leaves and loose candy wrappers across the lawn.

It was like something out of a storybook. It was dark purple with a thatched black roof, which was made up of all odd angles, coming to a zenith at a pointed tower standing in the middle with a single window. Jutting in front of the window were bars of sharp iron, twisted as if by a giant’s strong grasp.

“Well, the porch light is on,” Ash pointed out. “That must mean that they’re accepting trick-or-treaters.”

Ash began to make for the front deck before Brock and Misty pulled him back. Even Pikachu pulled on his hair a little.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?”

“M-Maybe we should just skip it and head to the next house,” Misty suggested, eyeing the spooky structure warily.

“Why would we do that? Let’s just knock on the door.”

Ash stepped confidently forward, ignoring a whine from the back of Pikachu’s throat as the deck groaned at their combined weight. There was no doorbell, so Ash raised his fist to knock on the door when, without so much as a tap, it opened all on its own.

“Huh, look at that.”

Brock and Misty had reluctantly followed Ash, but now the both of them were slowly creeping backwards. Brock cleared his throat before saying, “Okay, now we should go, Ash.”

“No, wait, look at that!” Ash was pointing just inside the doorway, where there was a small table holding a huge bowl of candy and a silver candelabra. Just above the bowl was a sign that said, take one. “Look, they want us to go in!”

Ash pushed the door open all the way, revealing that the whole room was lit by nothing but the three-pronged candelabra, flickering as the wind from outside tickled the stale air inside the house.

Opening the door revealed a parlor, completely decked out with Halloween decorations. There was a bit of old furniture here and there, but covering every open space were pumpkins, skeletons of humans as well as various Pokémon, witch’s hats, brooms, and gnarled branches with bat-like Pokémon hanging from them. But they weren’t tacky items snatched from the bargain bin of a local drugstore; everything was so well-made that they looked almost real, down to the porous bones of the skeletons and peeling bark of the branches.

After Ash stepped inside, Brock and Misty followed to take their pick from the massive collection of candy. Misty gave a little shriek when she saw an enormous Ariados doll in the corner, somehow suspended from the ceiling. It was shrouded by the dark, but the enamel mandibles almost seemed to glow with poisonous saliva in the candlelight.

She put a hand up to her face, turning away from it. It wasn’t real, it only looked real. So it should only bother her if she looked on it. Nevertheless, the hairs on her arms were standing up on end and, for once that night, it wasn’t from the October chill.

They all turned their attention back to the most pleasant sight of the candy dish. Even though it was pretty late in the night, the bowl looked virtually untouched. Apparently most trick-or-treaters thought even candy wasn’t worth trying the old, creepy house.

But boy, were they missing out! There had to be every type of candy in that bowl. Chocolate, caramels, hard candies, lollipops, butterscotch, even truffles and small baked goods—more than Ash had even thought to imagine.

“You know, I bet we can take more than one,” Ash said, reaching into the tantalizing bowl. “I don’t think anybody would be upset by that.”

“Ash, it says to just take one.”

Misty’s words sounded firm, but one look over at her, with her face inches from the candy bowl, showed that she didn’t much believe what she was saying. She wanted the treats nearly as much as Ash did.

Both Togepi and Pikachu, who had wiggled their way onto the table, were also looking over the lip of the candy bowl, trying to make the best choice.

“One each,” Brock stated. Both Ash and Misty sighed, resigning themselves to follow the rules before Brock spoke up again, this time with a big grin. “Though that doesn’t mean we can’t each choose one for each of our Pokémon too!”

Ash and Misty cheered as they finally dug into the bowl, counting off candy for each of their Pokémon as Brock wedged himself into the mix as well.

“Do you think all thirty of my Tauros count?”

“Only if all of my Gym Pokémon count!”

“Those aren’t yours; they’re your sisters’!”

“No, they belong to the Gym! And I’m better with them anyway!”

“Are not.”

“Am too!”

“Are not!”

“Am too!”

“Are—”

“Enough out of both of you!”

Brock unwrapped two pieces of caramel and stuck one into Ash’s, then Misty’s mouth to quiet them. He nodded at his handiwork as both of them struggled to chew.

“That’s probably enough candy for the both of you.”

Then Misty made a gurgling shriek through the caramel as she began looking about wildly.

“What?”

“Pobeebee ih aw!”

Brock cocked his head. “What?”

Pikachu reached and patted Brock. “Pipipi!”

Ash caught on at that point, joining in with Misty’s mumbling. Brock, however, still had no reaction, so Pikachu was forced to concentrate, spiking the fur on his head and rounding his body until he looked like an egg.

“Oh, Togepi!”

Misty finally managed to chew the caramel down to a workable level and shouted, “We have to find Togepi! Anyone see where it went?”

Everyone collectively shook their heads. Then, they heard a light trill echo throughout the whole house. They cast about, uncertain of the direction the sound came from. Pikachu’s ears twitched for a second, and then he took off, scampering out of the room.

“Hey, Pikachu!”

Ash ran after Pikachu, with Brock and Misty not too far behind him. There was no electric lighting to speak of in the house, but every hallway and room was lined with sconce-like lanterns, fire blazing in each of them; there was just enough light to see a few feet in any direction, but no more.

After rounding just a few corners, they stopped in their tracks, finding themselves completely lost, with no trace of Togepi or Pikachu. There wasn’t so much as the light thump of a footstep. Nothing but dull creaks from the house, coming from every direction so that it seemed like the house was trying to move or maybe even say something.

“I think we should head back to the front of the house,” Brock suggested. “Just wait for Pikachu and Togepi there.”

“No, we have to find Togepi!” Misty was insistent, her jaw clenched and her gaze firm, but the wavers in her voice belied her strong façade.

“Pikachu will find Togepi, Misty. And we’ll be easier to find if we just stay put.”

Misty looked to Ash, who nodded at her. “Misty’s right, Brock. I wanna find Pikachu.”

Brock could only shrug. “Suit yourself. But let’s retrace our steps at least to find a better path, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Alright.”

It only took a few steps for them to realize they had no idea where the front of the house was. They turned around a few times, poking their head past corners, into hallways, looking for any sign of familiarity.

Somehow, the whole house was designed the way the parlor had been. In every corner were pieces of antique-looking Halloween paraphernalia, most dusty with time, like they hadn’t just been set out in the past few weeks for the holiday. It seemed as though it was always Halloween in this house.

Ash stepped over the black statue of a Purrloin wearing a witch’s hat, trying the last exit from the room for any hint as to where they had come from.

“No luck. That hallway just has some huge ghosts that I don’t remember seeing.”

“So, we’re lost?”

Misty looked at Ash with a perfect blend of irritation and fear while he sweat-dropped and backed away slowly, nearly tripping over the Purrloin.

“Not lost,” Brock stated, trying to diffuse the situation—or rather, avoid any situation that got Misty too mad. “We just don’t know where we are or how to get back to where we were.”

A vein began to throb on Misty’s forehead as she turned to Brock. “Well, what is that if not lo—”

“Pika! Pika!”

The sound echoed all throughout the house until the two calls became many, sounding like there were dozens of Pikachu hiding in the very woodwork of the house. It sounded like it could have come from anywhere. Ash, Brock, and Misty cast about in all directions, to little avail.

“Priii!”

That sound too began to echo, morphing until it was a twisted distortion of Togepi’s cute call.

“I think it’s coming from upstairs!” Ash finally declared. “Which hallway had the stairs?”

“This one!” Misty shouted, pushing in front of them and making for a set of wooden stairs, spiraling up with an iron rail, lined with cross-shaped spikes.

“Careful!” Brock put a fingertip to one of the spikes and yanked it away quickly. “These are sharp!”

“Pikachu! Where are you?”

“Togepi! Please come out here!”

Ash and Misty tumbled onto the landing at the top of the stairs and listened as more calls came from their Pokémon, bouncing off every which way, but stronger than they had been down below.

“This way!”

“You better not be getting us lost again, Ash Ketchum!”

“No, they’re definitely this way!”

“Guys, wait up!”

The trio eventually stumbled into a large, cluttered room, furnished like an attic, with no candles to light the way. There were, however, windows washing the room with the moon’s pallid glow.

“Pikachu?”

“Pikapi!”

Ash nearly ran into a tall suit of armor as he rounded a stack of items, opening the large room up even further. There, bathed in a deep red glow, were Pikachu and Togepi, eyeing a strange object.

“What is that?” Misty asked with a gasp.

The red glow seemed to be emanating from the object, which was resting in a basket on top of a treasure chest, just out of Pikachu and Togepi’s reaches. Not for lack of trying, though, as Togepi kept stretching its arms out, trying to touch it.

“It looks like an egg,” Brock observed. “Like a dragon egg, or something.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!”

Ash rushed forward to look at it and soon enough, the whole gang was taken in by its almost supernatural glow.

Pikachu took it upon himself to take Togepi in his arms, raising it over his head so it could get a closer look at the object. Togepi trilled in delight, leaning in to reach it.

“Don’t touch it, Togepi,” Misty chastised. “It’s not yours.”

Togepi frowned for a second, whimpering a little. Then it jumped out of Pikachu’s grasp, arms outstretched as if to give the egg a hug. Togepi landed in the basket, which was lined with straw and wheat in a neat nest, and tried to hug the egg, but its stubby arms kept it at a distance.

“Oh, Togepi.”

Misty reached for Togepi, but before she could grab it back into her loving arms, the egg began to glow brightly, blinding everyone for a moment as their eyes adjusted. After a few burning blinks, everyone turned back to see Togepi being sucked into the egg.

Everyone gasped in shock. Pikachu was the first to regain his wits, and he leapt up, grabbing for Togepi, only to begin being sucked into the egg too.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

Ash grabbed for Pikachu, Misty grabbed for Ash, and Brock grabbed for Misty, each disappearing faster and faster as the glow became stronger, before fragmenting from a blood red into individual beams of orange and black like a Halloween sunburst.

Then, they were gone, and the room was once again dark and silent, save for the whistling of the wind outside, and the gentle groans of the old, dark house.

On Halloween night, Ash and friends had expected lots of treats but this is one trick they hadn’t expected! Where have they gone and how will they get out of this one? Stay tuned for next time!

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee thoughts/review

So I finally got around to beating the elite four today and while I haven’t done much past that (basically just checked out Cerulean Cave), I thought I’d give my final verdict on the main game. I will say that Kanto is far from my favourite region/games but I went into this game with the mentality that it was just here to 1. pull in new/pokemon go fans and 2. basically be a test drive to fix up any bugs so that generation 8 can run as smoothly as possible so don’t be surprised that this review is more positive than a lot of others, at least the ones I’ve seen anyway. I’m also going to say that I haven’t tried out the multiplayer or pokemon go features yet, meaning there will be nothing about them in this post. So with that in mind lets get to it.

The Good:

- I’m going to start with the most controversial ones. I liked the gym requirements and the catching system. I know a lot of people were fuming over the gym requirements when the trailer first came out saying how “easy” it’d make it, but I think they did a really good job balancing it. I also liked that to enter Koga’s gym you had to have 50 pokemon. Because at the end of the day, pokemon isn’t just about battling and I found it a good way to make sure the player is fully emerging themselves in the game. It also works really well with the catching system being the main way to level up pokemon. However, this is coming from someone who finds the battling in pokemon to be one of the more boring features so I can get that it’s not for everyone.

- The visuals. My god was I impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I was expecting it to be a step above the 3DS but they really outdid themselves. Specifically, as someone who didn’t put much thought into it before these games, Sabrina’s gym blew me away. Just on the note of Sabrina, I was shocked to hear so many people had issues with her because to be honest, Gyrados bodies her entire team. Really the only time I had mega issues in this game was the coach trainer with the primeape and that was mostly because it kept critical hitting me.

- Pokemon following/riding with you. I don’t really think much else needs to be said. Everybody has wanted this for a long time. Specifically I love how unique the pokemon you can ride are in terms of the models. Like riding on Kangaskhan’s shoulder with Eevee in the pouch, Snorax’s front, flying on Charizard etc. My only dislike with this feature is that it felt uncomfortable that fainted pokemon can still follow you.

- The cubone plot. Nothing more to say.

- The incorporation of the gym leaders/elite four in the story. Yes, it was very basic and I hope they do more with it in future games but in comparison to the original games it’s definitely more prevalent and that was appreciated.

- How they handled the Alolan forms. Once again, pushes you to catch more pokemon but doesn’t make it stupidly difficult/annoying.

- Character customisation. Once again, could have been more in depth but definitely still appreciated. Additionally, the fact that minus the crown, it is affordable unlike generation seven was a good step forward.

- The wild pokemon being in the overworld. 100% this feature made Kanto much much better. One of the reasons I could barely get through Kanto before this game is because I found the caves unbearable in terms of encounters and didn’t feel like wasting all my money on repels. Also, the fact they made it easier to get the rare encounter was much appreciated. And people can say they’ve made it “too easy” all they want but I don’t care. Grinding for rare pokemon has always been a pain and really has 0 to do with difficulty, just annoyance, so I appreciate the easier way.

- The little things. Having the gamblers have higher level pokemon because they gamble on luck with the one hit ko moves (or at least the one outside Lavender) and the like was a nice touch.

- Having characters from other games make an appearance. From Blue to Mina to Archer, it was a nice touch. This is especially the case for Jessie and James to be honest because Jessie has always been my favourite pokemon anime character and it adds a bit of feeling toward team rocket.

- Getting rid of the bicycle road. Given rideable pokemon was a major feature in the game, it was unneeded and tbh looks nicer now that you aren’t forced to zoom down it.

- Not necessarily a positive or negative but the trainers and Bill look so attractive in this game? Like nice to look at but I can just imagine the rule 34ers or whatever it is out there having the time of their lives right now.

- The pokeball plus. Okay yes I know it was expensive, but quite frankly, I found catching pokemon far more fun using it as opposed to the regular pokemon controls. 

The Bad:

- The main issue with this game, and really what I’ve found with Kanto over the years is that it feels like there’s very little replayability value. Sure, I love Giovanni as a villain and the game is gorgeous, but truth be told, nothing about the story makes me want to go back to play it once I complete the pokedex and beat the specialised trainers. Likewise, there’s very little postgame, especially for people who are more into the story than battling like myself. Also, this isn’t so much for me because I don’t do challenge runs but I really don’t know how a nuzlocke or the like would work in this game. However, like I said, I basically expected what we got given this is all but a beta game for generation eight to work out the kinks.

- Kinda goes into the above but lack of sidequests. I know there’s one or two, but given the amount in generation seven, it does feel lacking.

- Adding Meowth but having him not talk? Wack.

- Only some trainers had their pokemon out with them. It was cool to see, but I wish it was more commonplace.

- The new eevee/pikachu moves being available so early. I get that they have to make them viable given they can’t evolve and they expect you to use them the whole game, but a 90 power super effective move for the second gym is overpowered. Same with a priority 50 power but always critical hitting move. Also I’m sorry but the eevee move names were ridiculous.

- I say this every game and I know it’s a business move but having version exclusives doesn’t make me want to go buy the other game to be honest. It’s just annoying.

- I’ll be honest and say that I don’t remember Kanto well so maybe I just did this in the wrong order (given the levels I don’t think so though) but outside of Jessie and James, I feel like all the team rocket stuff was lumped in together when it could have been spread out more. Like it feels like it was nothing, then Lavender town to activate the cubone story, game corner, back to Lavender town, silph co building and then nothing again until the last gym badge which really you would have had to do regardless and had nothing to do with team rocket itself. Also, I know he’s a ground gym leader, but it would have been nice to verse Giovanni with a mewtwo at least once, but given how the main story implied his role in the game is done, I doubt that’s happening. I did like mentions that Blue and the rival helping out.

Final thoughts:

This game is beautifully made and something entertaining to do for a few days either by yourself or with the kids. But truth be told, while my disappointments with the games are small, the thing this game makes me most excited for is what comes next. Given we now know the capabilities of pokemon on the switch, it feels like the sky is the limit for generation eight and I for one can’t wait for it.

[tiniest-hands-in-all-the-land]

Can you tell us about your Until Dawn au?

Gladly! It’s not anything spectacular, but it’s a fun idea totinker around with, anyways ^^

So it’s basically just Until Dawn with all the UD charactersreplaced with the Pokemon characters and a few changes to the storyto fit around the world of pokeani, with the character roles going asfollows:

Ash - Josh

Misty - Sam

Brock - Mike

May - Ashley/Chris (interchangeably, ‘cause in some instances I want her to be in Ashley’s position, and in others, Chris’s, for reasons I’ll get into in a bit)

Dawn - Jessica

Jessie - Emily

James - Matt

Meowth - Chris/Ashley (same thing as May)

Pikachu - technically serving both the positions of Hannah and Beth, but namely Hannah

and then the old flamethrower man dude can be like an older, rugged Officer Jenny who’s long since retired lol

Oh, I should probably mention that everyone is in their 20′s orolder at the time of this au. Also, since I came up with this aubefore I watched XY (and I never bothered with BW whoops),unfortunately those travel companions will not be there. So let’sjust say, for the convenience of the story, that they had otherarrangements and couldn’t make it

From here on out, this is gonna get super LONG, and super SPOILERYFOR UNTIL DAWN. So if you don’t know jack diddly about UD, and youdon’t want to be spoiled, I’d recommend holding off on reading thisfor now. So I’m gonna put the rest under a read more so I ain’tclogging up anyone’s dash with my dumb au

So basically, instead of a bunch of rowdy college kids staying upat a cabin to party and sex each other all day and all night, it’sgonna basically be like this:

Ash won a pokemon league and became a pokemon master (finally),and won a cabin on top of Mount Silver…? I think was the place Iwanted him at…?

ANYWAYS, he’s celebrating, all his friends are there (at leastthe ones I mentioned above), they’re all having a fun dandy time,and eventually Ash conks out from exhaustion. During this time, whoelse but Team Rocket decides to stick their noses where they don’tbelong in hopes of ‘congratulating’ Ash by means of stirringup trouble and capturing Pikachu. (they do mean well, and they areactually super happy for him, butchaknow–they’re kinda the mastersat fucking things up royally)

As they’re trying to make their epic getaway, though, thesnowstorm outside blows them way off course, and they end up droppingPikachu just before they crash into the trees. They’re all fine,Pikachu included, but Pikachu’s a far ways away from the cabin now,and has to try and make it back on his own, cause the others sure asfuck ain’t gonna find him in this weather

On the way, though, some monstrosity catches sight of him andchases him to the edge of a cliff. Pikachu ends up falling off (Withthe old Officer Jenny trying to save him and failing), but hesurvives the fall. Unfortunately, he has no way of letting the othersknow of his location, since he’s so far out and so far down intothe depths of the mountain, so he’s deemed missing by theauthorities

Fast forward a year, and suddenly Ash is inviting everyone (TeamRocket included) back up to the cabin to celebrate the memory of hismissing/probably dead best friend. Everyone is a bit unsettled goingback, but go anyways, if only just to try and help out Ash in any waythey can. 

A couple problems they notice through the night, though, are 1.Their pokeballs don’t seem to work (Ash claims that cell towersrecently put up on the mountain are messing with the technology) and2. There seems to be a certain bloodthirsty killer up on the mountainwith them :o

Throughout the night, the eight are eventually split up intopairs, partly because of their own volition, and partly because ofTeam Rocket being there and causing suspicion. For instance, Dawn haslike zero sympathy for the Trio and doesn’t want anything to dowith them, so Brock takes her up to the guest cabin. Jessie and Jamesgo out on their own (either exploring or James forgot a bag orsomething, I haven’t decided). Meowth doesn’t deem it necessaryto accompany them (the trip there wore him out, he claims–inreality, he’s just fucking lazy), so he sticks around with May,Misty, and Ash.

AND THAT’S WHEN SHIT GOES DOWN

Dawn and Brock are the first to be attacked, unbeknownst to theothers, and Dawn is presumed to be dead by Brock (shes fine tho) bythe time he reaches her. He then goes on a quest to find theperson(?) who hurt his friend to bring the great fist of JUSTICE downon them. The quest leads him through an abandoned pokemon hospitalwith a very shady past (which, admittedly, I haven’t put too muchthought into), and also delves into the mysterious transformation ofpokemon who have died into a very vicious and hostile ghost-typepokemon that has only ever been spotted on the mountain (and you cansee where this is going for a certain mouse pokemon who has beenmissing for over a year)

Back at the cabin, Misty takes a bath, and Ash, May, and Meowthplay with the spooky spirit board that tells them that Pikachu’sdisappearance was no accident, but was actually planned (which makesMeowth suuuuper uncomfortable and guilty). So Ash has anunderstandable reaction to this thing that he believes the other twohave made up in some attempt to make him feel better (?), and May andMeowth eventually get knocked the fuck out by Mr. Spooky Clown Man.

May wakes up a little later and finds that Ash and Meowth are bothmissing. After some searching, she finds them in a shed outside, bothtied to a wall with a buzzsaw aimed right at them. Mr. Spooky ClownMan comes over the intercom and tells May that she can only save oneof them from being ripped in two. So she’s sobbing cause shedoesn’t want to have to make this decision, Meowth’s sobbingbecause he knows that he ain’t the one she’s gonna choose, andAsh is sobbing because LOLL WHOOPS EVEN THOUGH MAY CHOOSES TO SAVEASH, SHE ENDS UP SAVING MEOWTH BECAUSE THE BUZZSAW SAYS SO

So uh. May’s super traumatized and heartbroken about watchingone of her best friends getting killed. But. She’s also growing ateensy bit suspicious of Meowth, seeing as how she distinctly choseto save Ash instead of him, and how Jessie and Jamesare conveniently away from the area during theattack and show up conveniently after said attack.So in her mind, she comes up with this elaborate hypothetical schemethat she believes the Rockets are planning, and tries to take theinitiative in stopping said plans by keeping Meowth along with herwhile she tells Jessie and James to go find help (under the guisethat she’s keeping Meowth with her as insurance that they don’tgo ditching everyone).

Jessie and James go on a little adventure over the mountains afterdiscovering that their balloon has mysteriously been torn to shredsand all the fuel has been mysteriously emptied out. After discoveringthat the cable car house leading up to the cabin is in shambles, thetwo come across a radio tower. They manage to get a hold of somehelp, but that’s when the tower decides to suddenly keel over andtrap them in the mines, oh fun!! In the mines, Jessie is holding onfor dear life to the rail of the tower, and James tries to pull herup, but can’t reach her. He asks if she trusts him, and that hebelieves he will have a better chance at reaching her from the ledgebehind her. She hesitantly says yes, and allows him to jump, but thejump is the last bit of force needed to send the tower tumbling tothe abyss, Jessie along with it. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW FUCKINGDISTRAUGHT JAMES IS.

Jessie’s fine tho. Turns out she got caught in the wires duringthe fall, and manages to make it to safety afterwards. Then she goeson a spectacular, fun filled adventure through the mines discovering bits and pieces asto what happened to Pikachu after he went missing, and also runninginto Rugged Ol’ Jenny.

May keeps her suspicions to herself until the very end of the Mr.Spooky Clown Man escapades, where they’re both put into anotherdeath trap, and Meowth ends up being the one with the gun. Then itall comes out, and you can imagine how pleased Meowth is to hear thatthe only reason May separated him from his friends and quite possiblygot both of his friends killed during this horrific night was becausethat she thought they devised this whole thing.

THEEENN THE TRUTH COMES OUT, AND MR.SPOOKY CLOWN MAN IS ACTUALLY ASH, WHO’S APPARENTLY LOST HIS SHITAFTER LOSING PIKACHU. SO UM. HE’S FUCKING PISSED AT TEAM ROCKET FORTAKING PIKACHU AND PROBABLY GETTING HIM KILLED. AND HE’S ALSO FUCKINGPISSED THAT HIS FRIENDS DID PRETTY MUCH NOTHING TO HELP PIKACHU.

IT’S DURING THIS TIME THAT MISTY ANDBROCK MEET UP WITH EACH OTHER, THEN MEET UP WITH THOSE THREE.

YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW FINE AND DANDYEVERYONE IS TO HEAR THAT THEY’VE JUST BEEN THROUGH THE WORST NIGHT OFTHEIR LIVES JUST FOR A STUPID PRANK THAT ASH DECIDES TO PULL ON THEMIN A SICK FORM OF REVENGE.

Anyhoo, Brock breaks the news thatDawn’s fucking dead (supposedly), he and Misty decide that Ash is notallowed to be on his two feet for the rest of the night until helparrives, and Meowth decides, ‘fuck you guys, you’re all awful, immago find my friends’

During which time, Jessie manages tomake it back to the cabin after being attacked by the Hostile GhostPokemon, and Rugged Ol’ Jenny is not far behind, quite literallycarrying Meowth back with her, cause 'nah you’re not allowed to beout on your own at this time of night—dontcha know there bemonsters?’

Annnnnnnnnnd the rest of the storybasically pans out just like how Until Dawn pans out.

SORRY THIS WAS SO LONG. I JUST NEEDEDTO PUT IN MY CHANGES IN ORDER FOR EVERYTHING TO MAKE SENSE. BUT YEAH.THAT’S MY DUMB UNTIL DAWN AU.

I partly reallllllly wanna write itout, but also—that would require writing out and reworking thebackstory  of the penitentiary/mines. And also somehow incorporatinga sense of choice in the story. Which I don’t think I have the skillto do lol

I have some ideas about possibleoutcomes, such as what it’s like if a character dies, if some die butnot others, if no one dies, or the emotional and eventual impact ofsaid deaths (for example, if Brock shoots Jessie after discoveringthat she has been bitten by Hostile Ghost Pokemon, Meowth will be soovercome with shock and grief and anger that he’ll lose allsensibility and rational thought, which will eventually lead to hisown demise at the hands of a Hostile Ghost Pokemon mimicking James’svoice; versus if Brock doesn’t shoot her, and both Rockets are justsuper livid and untrusting of the twerps for the rest of the nightand Meowth has enough sense to make good decisions about suspiciousJames-sounding monstrosities), but I won’t put y'all through any moreof that lol

While I don’t plan on having this beingsuper shippy, I plan to have mentions/small discussions ofPokeshipping pining (possibly, haven’t decided whether I want thisone or not), Lustshipping, Contestshipping, Appealshipping,Rocketshipping pining, and Krazyshipping pining (lol whoops)

I also have a couple other au’s withinthe au, one of which Meowth takes the position of Beth and fallsalong with Pikachu at the beginning, and another where Pikachu iswith the group and someone completely different falls. But both ofthose au’s are very underdeveloped; this is the only one I’ve put any real thought into lol

but yeah. I think I’ve said all I cansay about this. It’s a dumb idea, but I think putting charactersthrough horrible situations is a great way to explore their psycheand toy around with what kind of decisions they might make instrenuous situations. Or at least I like to tell myself that in orderto justify myself for putting my favorite characters through absolutehell and back.

[blastingxff]

Fate that Binds pt. 7

This part: Cats and Rocketshipping. Almost better than pizza and beer. Also included: a poorly plot out magic plot. (Just thought about something: This fic actually isn’t crack like please proceed with caution)

first part // previous part // next part  Series: Pokemon Characters: Jessie, James, Meowth, Pikachu, Ash, Brock, May, Max, Jessebelle Ships: hints of rocketshipping if you read it that way, mostly just friendshipping though Summary: It had been a throwaway wish, something made out of the frustration of the moment- it wasn’t actually supposed to happen. But the magic of a well haunted by a pokemon’s spirit ended up altering reality. Now, Jessie, James, and Meowth aren’t in Team Rocket. They don’t even know each other. And it’s created far darker a world for the TRio than Ash could have ever imagined, and now he and his friends want nothing more than to change things back to how they were. Genre: Friendship, hurt/comfort, so much angst, all the angst, drama, butchered canon, Words: 1,269 / part 7 out of 16 Trigger Warnings (this part): abuse mention Notes: This popped into my head and didn’t get out until I wrote it down. It’s 16 chapters, and entirely written already in about three days. So that will explain a helluvalot. Like the bus-sized plotholes. I just wanted to be mean to my favorite characters, geeze, is that so bad? XP Also can be read on Ao3.

Chapter 7 (still) Six Days Before the Wedding 

The day saw James exhausted but counting the hours as they passed from day to evening. Counting down until freedom. He could only catch subtle glimpses at the clocks though, for fear of raising suspicion overrode the desperate desire to watch time pass.

Ash and his friends had left Jessie to sleep in the grass. They had ventured into the town, heading straight for a Pokémon Center in hopes of getting some information on the mysterious well.

When Jessie stirred finally she realized she was alone. But the evidence around her told her she wasn’t going to be alone for long. There was a relief that filled her as she pulled her still-bruised legs into her body, holding onto herself tight. In the gang, the moments of being alone where her only guaranteed moments of safety. Now, she felt vulnerable. Her eyes squeezed closed, “Only a few more hours,” she whispered under her breath. The night would fall. She’d see him again.

* * *

As is the way of the world, the night soon blanketed the Earth. Ash and his friends had returned with little more than contradicting fable and lore- some had seen something like the well, but much smaller and with a slightly different figure. Some had seen the large one- and had made wishes on the décor. Some claimed that it had made their dreams come true. Others claimed otherwise.

Jessie relayed the information that night as she sat with her back against a tree, fried meat in an open plastic bag in front of them as they munched in the moonlight, “It’s weird, isn’t it?”

James shook his head. He reached into the bag he had brought this time, taking out a small book with a bookmark between the pages, “Look in there, page 48,” Jessie took the book, looking over its pages in the light of the park’s lamp.

“There are two?” the photograph on the yellowed paper of the book looked near identical to the drawings on the well.

“The wells may have captured the soul of one pokémon, but the Hoopa also has two forms. Unbound and Confined. I think your friends-”

“We aren’t friends.”    

“I think the- um… twerps?” Jessie listened to the suggestion, mulling it over before she finally nodded, “may have wished on the Unbound one. As for changing things back, though the Unbound’s behavior is more unpredictable, it has a great deal of power. The Confined is more of a sure thing accuracy wise, but it is much weaker. Maybe too weak for shifting universes. It says some more stuff about strength of spirit, desire, and will and rituals, I never paid too much attention. Just seemed too old wives tale you know? You can keep the book if you want. Just so you can show the… er, twerps.”      

A rustling caught their attention. They found themselves drawn away from their book by a tattered, skinny looking Meowth who had reached into their bag, grabbing a piece of food. Its eyes widened as soon as it saw the humans no longer distracted.

“Hey! That’s ours!” Jessie spat out of habit, her shout shocking both James and the cat. She immediately reprimanded herself for the yell; she knew it freaked out James. The meowth escaped into the bushes, but she could still see the glint of its charm. It was just waiting to see if it would be chased or if it could sneak more food.

“Jess,” the man’s voice was quiet as he reached into the bag of fried meat, taking out a small piece. It was the first time someone had given her a nickname with such sincere kindness. It sort of made her happy. “I think it’s just hungry. Aren’t you?”

That was something Jessie could relate to, she watched as the man next to her held out the snack in his hand, offering it to the cat pokémon.

James… and Meowth.

That’s what the girl twerp had said. A meowth? The pokémon in question was slowly stepping forward, taking the food cautiously, devouring it with less than a second thought. James just laughed, “Tastes good, doesn’t it? Here, have some more.”

With a gentle hand, he fed the pokémon, Meowth growing to trust the humans little by little. Still skittish, but interested in the offerings, Meowth stayed close.

The twerp’s words were still in her mind. Jessie’s interest had been captured by the pokémon who had crashed their evening. Her words were as quiet as his had been, “Hey, James… do you believe in fate?”

“Huh?” He seemed to think on it. His hand empty of food, he kept it out, offering to pet the cat pokémon. The meowth only kept its distance, its position changing to one of defense. James simply resolved to get another piece of food, holding that out instead of a bare hand. The meowth approached for the food. James shook his head in the end, “When I was a kid I did. But not anymore, not really. You?”

“A little, I think.”

* * *

The morning saw Jessie arriving just in time to eat breakfast with the small group. She was exhausted, planning on laying down right after eating, but in the meantime she pulled out the small book that James had lent her.

“James showed me this,” she flipped it open to the page with the pictures of the two wells. By the look on their faces, she was sure it was a match. At least the bigger was. “Seems it’s the spirit of a Hoopa. Unbound and Contained. The Unbound one seems to jump around, kinda a wild magic if you will, but the Contained one stays in one spot. The bigger one is stronger, smaller one when it works is more in tune with what you actually wanted. Typical supernatural stuff.”

Max took the book from her hands, reading over the pages. “The tab near the back opens to a map. Apparently one of James’ uncles liked to track the Unbound one. The Contained one is in a graveyard somewhere. It’s probably too weak but check it out if you want. I’m not gonna stop you.”

“This is great, Jessie. While you rest, we can do some investigating,” Brock nodded, finishing his bowl of porridge. Jessie’s empty bowl beside her as she picked at a bit of broken skin on her nails. There was a question on her mind. One she had yet to be brave enough to ask.

“Twerps,” the word came out before she could remember she wasn’t speaking with just James. Her head shot up, ready to apologize- but their gaze on her held a shock that surprised her. “That isn’t an arbitrary name, is it?”

There was a shake of their heads.

“Fate just keeps knocking them out of the park, doesn’t it?” She tilted her head before sighing, “Anyway, I was wondering. James and I… were we… were we together?”

“You were together all the time.” Ash attempted helpfulness.

“That’s not what she means, Ash,” May then went to answer the question, “I don’t think so,” she frowned, “I think you were just really close. I don’t think either of you were dating anyone at all. Why?”

The question was less than innocent in intention, but not malicious. As though the younger woman was trying to get some juicy tidbits about her feelings. Almost like female friends who would gossip over crushes. Unfortunately for May, Jessie was having trouble just adjusting to not being the only female around.

“Just curious.” No one believed her.

[tumblunni]

Wouldn’t it be so cool if all of Team Rocket’s previous pokemon got to meet each other? i mean, they’re not even all in one place like with ash’s previous pokemon. We kinda don’t know where a lot of them even are. i wish they’d at least explain it a little when everyone switches pokemon in every region :P

RANDOM THOUGHTS!

* Imagine all of Jessie’s various Contest pokemon getting to meet each other and become best friends! They could team up to join game-style Sinnoh contests as a dance troupe~

* Imagine maybe some of the mons over the years were released into the wild instead of sent back to rocket HQ or anything. Like, jessie and james go back to visit Arbok and Weezing and they trust them to look after their new friends too. It would be a sad ending if all their old pokemon were left at rocket HQ, cos I mean i DO NOT TRUST giovanni to be a good boss! He probably would have just given all those pokemon to other grunts, and not even cared whether they were taken care of... Also its cute to imagine there’s just a random forest full of an eclectic family of former rocket pokemon. Some guy comes along to poach the ekans and koffing and gets their ass kicked by a shitstorm of every other pokemon ever XD

* Imagine if james’s cacnea is still with anime!Gardenia, and it’s grown up to be a big ol super strong Cacturne that’s super famous now. And maybe James is really awkward going back to visit it, thinking that it wouldn’t even remember him now it’s famous. But then as soon as it sees him it gives him a big ol spiky hug! And I think Cacturne would probably wanna rejoin his team again and go home, seriously. It never felt like with its personality it ever actually WANTED to become famous and strong at battling. Thats why that episode was such a wallbanger to me! Like THE ONE TIME they actually explained why someone left behind last region’s pokemon, and it was such a shoddy explanation seriously. James giving his adorable lil friend to a COMPLETE STRANGER just because it can’t learn ONE SINGLE MOVE, and he worries that it can’t be strong with him as a trainer. So he trusts that a COMPLETE STRANGER would be better at it, and doesnt even friggin ask Cacnea if it actually DOES care about being strong more than being with a trainer it loves... :( So yeah headcanoning that someday James goes back and trades back for Cacnea/Cacturne, and then it becomes like a cool big sibling figure to his newer pokemon. ^_^

* Also its dumb but I always kinda wanted James to find his Magikarp/Gyarados again someday and apologise. I mean he became pretty much constantly characterized as the one who pampers his pokemon in later seasons, it seemed like such a big contrast that he would have actually kicked that magikarp and abandoned it. I know its cos he was pushed to the limit by being ripped off by the magikarp salesman and dying of starvation on a raft in the middle of the ocean and all, I think anyone could have made bad decisions in that situation. And yeah it was funny that he got immediate karma by it evolving into gyarados and calling a swarm of other gyarados to attack everyone, and if it hadnt have happened then everyone wouldnt have been able to find land, and yeah.. BUT STILL I’d like to hope maybe someday he just randomly bumps into that gyarados again while the trio are travelling some random ocean, and he gets a chance to apologise. Maybe he’s able to recognise it, and he still has its pokeball, as a sign he never truly forgot it and his apology really is genuine. And then it could join the team and they could finally ride around on a real gyarados! Woo! Also it’d be cute if it was actually still comically weak and dopey, even as a gyarados. We don’t really get to see that cos it teamed up with those other gyarados to get revenge on james in the original episode.

* I just imagine it’d be really cute if Mime Jr, Chimecho, Inkay and Yamask ever met, cos they were all kinda like James’s lil babbus. KITTEN PILE! UNUSUAL KITTEN PILE! Also lol didnt james say he was only leaving chimecho there so it could get medical care, and they’d be back for it soon? WHY DID THAT NEVER HAPPEN

* Also it would be nice if team rocket took a tour to visit all the various pokemon they did actually get shown leaving behind with a particular person. Like, have an episode where they win the lottery or something and its all ‘WOO WE’RE FINALLY RICH!’ and then they spend most of the episode arguing over what to spend it on, with ridiculous meowth fantasies. But then in the ending you just see them flying first class on a plane and its like ‘oh i guess they went on holiday’, but then you get a heartwarming montage of them visiting all their past pokemon and bringing them loads of gifts ^_^ And then after the credits we see them like ‘oh no we’re broke again.. but it was worth it!’

* Also can we see James’s two Victreebel again? I MISS THEM! It was such a unique plot, honestly. I think James is the only character in the anime who ever caught two of the same pokemon. Also he kinda lost them both through no fault of his own. It was kinda sad! Much as it was also adorable and hilarious that they found each other and fell in love ^_^ srsly imagine james visiting them and they have a lil nest of baby bellsprouts imagine james buried in baby bellsprouts IMAGINE

* Oh and imagine what if jessie’s dustox and ash’s butterfree got to meet each other! Maybe they go double dating, lol. Maybe the dustox family babysits for the butterfrees. maybe they just hang out and discuss how they had weirdly similar episodes XD

* Also why exactly is Wobuffet the only pokemon that gets to remain in every region, along with meowth? Was it just that popular with audiences? I wanna know what happened to that Lickitung. That was the other one that the trio accidentally lost. At least we know it was traded to a lil kid who probably took good care of it, at least. i always felt sorry for Lickitung cos jessie was really mean to it compared to her previous pokemon. i mean, it was really disobedient and all, but still! I hope its happy with random npc kid #156. Nobody ever remembers poor lickitung...

* Also I kinda wonder about all the various pokemon the trio only used once, and borrowed from various people or were given by team rocket HQ and stuff. Its hard to even remember them all! I’d like to think that maybe the rocket HQ ones all remember the trio fondly, cos I mean.. we dont tend to see many other rockets that’re remotely nice to their pokemon. (Also I kinda like that that’s been a subtle character development? jessie used to be a huge jerk to most of her pokemon before the Contest era started)

[hgfstreamchats]

Pokemon Yellow Nuzlocke: Part II

Hello there, Starscream! Hello! Greetings. What madness is this? Who knows? Is the screen blurry for you? Not terribly, no. Ahh, it was on my end. It looks normal to me Hello! Hello! Seems legit. Why does he have no shoes? I do not like that the small creature has no shoes. .... ... "As bitch" Did you pause it, or is the stream doing something bad? Post-update, the stream's always doing something bad.

... Seems legal! Looking for one without the logo in the corner because it annoys me. Wasn't "snakes" code for... some ethnic group or something Knowing humans, probably. Mobile poob. Oh my god Oh boy Oh my god Well said. Oh my god. they cannot help but be dysfunctional with every breath Brief 30 second advertisement. Maybe they could take bitcoin! OH BOY Of being kidnapped and mugged. Oh my god. ............ ewwwwwwww Holy shit Dear Unicron. The flashing was distracting I can imagine. I still can't believe we named the pig monkey that. I think it's appropriate. AND hilarious. Agreed! I had to run an errand, what have I missed? What was happening in the stream when you left? Oh! Naming! Suggestions! Fluffy. 😃 The beginning of a staff meeting was going on when I had to leave. Well, basically, the people they invited into their "Paddy's Wagon" were not impressed and they kind of... kidnapped and mugged a bunch of people And dropped them off in the woods. That can happen when one signs up to a drinking convoy. Also, the "leprechaun trap" caught a guy They had an argument over whether he was a leprechaun and kinda... tortured him a bit. Eventually it turned out he was a pickpocket. And they dumped him in the woods, too. A fine adventure. I am sorry to have missed it. And it also turned out that maybe he was in fact a leprechaun? Or maybe the paint-drinker was hallucinating. I'm sorry we can't get this crysalis thing I'm thinking of trading someone out for the new rock. Yes, get Fluffy big and strong Put Witwicky in the Box. Make him suffer neglect It's What He Deserves Fluffy's sturdy. That might save a life down the road. Unless it learns self destruct. Unless that. Also, Alpinacee already knows a fighting move and is capable of learning more. Is... that a thing? Do geodudes blow themselves up? When they get bigger, I think it is a thing they do. Huh. That said, I never claim to know that much about these monsters. I am certainly too old to become a pokemon master myself. That sprite looks... weird. Fluffy has some very unusual growths. Maybe they're like... round stalagmites Oh, Fluffy, I already like you. I'm going to take you far in the world. Love how we just cut in line every time. Outta the way, kid! Pokemaster coming through! We were destined to either run into a geodude or one of those horrid bats no one likes and I'm thrilled at our luck. I just realized. He looks like a cabbage! We will still somehow end up with a bat. Just out of spite. What is Alpina, again? Nidoran female. Ohhhhh, right! Ohhhhh, right! Time for another mugging! "I'm waiting for my friends to find me here" doesn't exactly make it seem like SHE'S attacking US We are absolutely attacking the other children, killing their pets, and stealing their money. Tonight's theme is mugging. It is, isn't it. Oh! A paras! 😀 Even that leprachaun from the first video might've been plotting to mug them. There are so many lovely and hideously venomous pokemon in this game~ Did that guy have... a whip? probably Yes, that's a whip 😕 For whipping disobedient children. Is that better or worse than if it were for whipping pokemon That would depend upon who you are asking. Cabbage vs orange Wait, what just happened Ohhhh Wheeljack! Red! About to hotbox the frag out of my ship What is this Excellent. Knock Out is beating up children... and the occasional weird adult... and their pets, for $$$ Pokemon Yellow, Nuzlocke run. If the little monsters faint, they die. nice Also, limited to catching the first wild pokemon we meet in each area so it IS possible to make it to the end of the game and not have enough of a team to survive it what is that, a rock? Yeah, it's a Geodude A rock with arms. .... Rockman? Red, is that rockman?? Rock with fists! Rockman Returns Son of Rockman Unicron blessed. Rockman Messiah. If we find a Clefairy, I'm taking it for no other reason than they're rare and we'll almost certainly never use it. Do it. It would not be the first cheat we have overlooked. Go, Fluffy! Anakin You know. Because sand. Take the dome fossil. Do they do something? It is the superior one. You can revive the pokemon that it once was. Why can't you just grab 'em both, I mean you beat this kid into the ground already-- Ohhhh. Nice. Jessie! James! 😀 I love these idiots. Gasp How dare you hurt Meowth. He must be killed. GASP. All who oppose must perish. He's just sleeping. Gasp! Our monsters are growing up. She looks so TRIUMPHANT. As she should be! She's ruthless! blasting off agaiiiiiiiind *again Is this a new area? Are we allowed to get... A NEW POKEMON? That was entirely too close a call. In the future, no more skimping on antidotes. It would have been a terrible anticlimactic end. Oh--poison continues out of combat? Yes. Ahhhh. Sounds vaguely unsavory. "Haha, Bill will do ANYTHING for rare pokemon, if you know what I mean" Well, time to pay Bill a visit! Starscr, can't believe you don't even name your pokemons. It's like you don't care. ...Okay, two cheat cards. Oh--oh no! Special. Little. Boy. Not Lambo! That never happened. I didn't see anything if none of you saw anything. I was looking at something in another tab, personally. Seems unfair that pokemon names get more characters than player/rival names. That's right, Night human. You were. Putting the most disposable first? Another Mankey? More like the most in need of training. Be right back. Well done, Rat With No Name! Always with the poison. And those horrifying flashes. Back! Oh, so THAT'S what the flashing is. I thought it was just... part of that area. What'd I miss? No one died. Ominous but okay. Fluffy's saving Lambo the indignity of being repeatedly killed by small birds. Fluffy's nice that way. Lambo seems to be very fragile. And the game will never let him evolve. I'm starting to consider him more of a pet than a battling Pokemon. That's valid. He is your mascot. As you travel the world, killing everything in your way. Awwwww, you can't ACTUALLY join Team Rocket? You just say no in a cutscene? Bah. To be fair, with all the trainers we've been mugging, they're not good enough for US That's fair. I'm convinced that was my offscreen response. Ha. Oh, the people on the bridge scare you, and then someone comes along and beats all of them, so you attack that person? Thinker of the year award! Name! Audrey II Yes! !!!! TEN characters for pokemon names. And only seven for your own name !! : D So I missed... exactly HOW you got Rodimus there? That kid just gave you him? Apparently. Gosh. Gosh. Time to train. He's just a baby. But we'll raise him up into a beautiful, full fledged disaster. I've actually never met a Rodimus in my life. You're missing out. I hear they are noisy. Baby's leveling up already. Oooooo. I like this one. Violet? GASP. Oh is this because of its evolution It's because of its eyes and mouth. Oh, come on! It's cute! Moth, fly. Doesn't matter, I'm clever. Absolutely adorable, right up until it becomes a moth with mandibles that take up half its face Still adorable. If down the road we all decide we love it, we'll rename it Violet. There's NOTHING WRONG with having mandibles that take up half your face. Agreed! I just love it when it's a fuzzbug ...also, you can rename things? A few towns on. Nice. This is SO Zelda overworld. Isn't it just? : D Love that Nidorina. I'm glad you got her. *is concerned* Seems like they should've gotten more xp for that. That was brutal. I forgot how much psychic powers suck for you in this game That was brutal and concerning. I thought for sure we were going to lose someone. we're gonna be fine for a few gyms, but then we have to face the Psychic gym We will need a ghost. And will likely still lose party members. Well, that's sobering. "I wish my guy was as good as you!" I get that a lot. Ha! I wouldn't normally hike back after one battle, but that slowpoke encounter terrified me. Yeah, me too. And really, why NOT get all the free healing you can? Does running away have a failure chance? Yes. Sometimes you cannot escape. Ah. Baby's first solo kill! ... Good work, little creature. Great, now Rodimus can leer. Inevitable. Get your own clefairy, you moocher. So this is Bill. A little TOO into pokemon, if you know what I mean. All aboard the S.S. Bang Ship. Bill's favorite mode of transportation. Pfffft! Innocent bystanders are always dressed like team rocket. "I'm an innocent bystander," says the guy with a whip and a shirt with a big R on the front "And if you don't believe me, I'll kill you!" But we get to keep the stolen property we recovered, right? Or course. So shines a good deed in a naughty world. !!!!!! She BUFF. yuuup Guy over there just chilling in the water. Lambo''s benched, so we need that Bulbasaur. So she offers you the Bulbasaur if she sees you giving potions to pokemon? If the pikachu is happy enough. Ohhhh. ...What WOULD be a good name for a Bulbasaur Leafy Doom? Doom Bloom Tailgate? I love a good theme and it's stubby. Hee! Go for it. No Audrey II? Audrey II's face makes me uncomfortable. Shall we leave it there for tonight? I'm tempted to bump these up to weekly; I'm having that much fun with this. Weekly? Yeah! That sounds great. I would be on board for weekly sessions. It's all I can do to put it down now! Gambling with these little creatures' lives is addicting. All in good fun. One never knows when it will all go horribly worng. Exhibit A, slowpoke. Yeah. All right, all right, to be continued! I look forward to it! And for our sign off video... .... That is not an encouraging title. ..... "They found him reading the bible, without his pants" .... Well. The correct way to end this evening. The only correct way. Goodnight, and thank you for hosting. Until next time! I look forward to it! Good night! Yes, thank you for the stream! And see you next week! See you then!