#ive never claimed to be good at pokemon

[raepritewrites]

it is probably very obvious I'm a filthy pokemon casual when I say I died like 5 times to Pryce in HG/SS because I didn't know Piloswines typing and didn't want to look it up at first.. it also probably does not help my case that my team consists of croconaw, togetic, ampharos, onix, growlithe, and weepinbell all of which were lvl 30 or under (not to mention 3 of those pokemon require an evolution stone that I can't get until I'm given the national dex, so good job me)

Tldr: light screen was my friend in that battle, and I heal stalled until I finally won, but hey results are results right? Now on to foiling team rocket

[socksandbuttons]

do you have any other old interests you lost interest in? Like any show, movie or comic media you liked?

'lost interest in' is different than 'i still think about this but not vocal about it in fandoms' so thats two different lists. Hold on. Old shows and movies and comics i like

-Wreck it ralph, Coraline (GOD i love the new interest in coraline lately so its nice! Still dont think its as scary as the book. me and my cousin both obsessed over it and could quote it lol)

-Invader Zim, i had a askblog of my ocs from a different timeline (diana got a nice redesign, green is so much better), i came back to it when the movie came out. I... dont want to interact with a lot of the fandom anymore with that. But i love my oc's and frankly my iterations of things are much better for me. Also made a nice personal AU that no one sees except if u squint on ym artfight. (and also jthm/ifs but more enjoying the comic) Pokemon SUn and Moon honestly i love that game so much. i lvoe to see el's comics on it <333

Madoka Magica, Princess tutu (listen i love MG stuff- i have amassed some MG aus ina lot of this btw)

Fusionfall is forever and partly why im everywhere with cartoon netowrk cartoons to degree (it was Ed edd n eddy that got me into the game from an artist) i met some good friends and mutuals with fusionfall rp and art this way!! -EENE, may kanker is my baby girl i love her and yes i will defend this 11yr olds problematic behavior. -KND IS A BIG ONE YOU KNOW ITS BEEN YEARS OF MY LIFE not somehting id throw away, i enjoy a lot of my older art and memories i have of the fandom and people who ive met. Steve and Moonbase trio and 10- theres a lot i didnt get to cover actually and the topic of decom is very heavily in things because Memory. -PPG, this one is subtle but again i dont interact with the fandom only close friends. I ahve a very specific headcanons on the powerpunk girls i love them very much and i dont like a majority of what i saw and sometimes see. so theyre my babies now. not to mention my one oc who ive had since 9th grade. (This includes the anime PPGZ!) Anyway theres also current like undertale and DCA/TSAMS stuff! so there ya go a sort of timeline. And now i dont wanna talk about the Lost Interest things too much, but stranger things is on that, southpark which i never want to return to, onceler (yes i was there, it wasnt as bad as people claimed. lots of askblog stuff, swagler... for years they were a mystery)

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Ok. ok ok ok I know youre having fun with Elden ring, and youve probably moved on from the Ley Line Au But Hear me out! Ive been chewing on it for a bit.

So! Three main things that just feel off to me in the au. 1. Giratina is the only primordial god without a magic branch (Which I Know They are anti magic but HEAR ME OUT!) 2. The Twin Dragons are the Light (They just dont feel like Primordial Gods ya'know?) . 3. Giratina still has no motive.

I!!! have connected the dots!!! It always rubbed me a bit when we talked about the dead god and the twin dragons. The Twin dragons are not really death connected. I just realized, we have a perfectly good ghost dragon Right there! Giratina!

So let me set the stage! The Three Primordial Children of the One. At the One's command they became The Fonts of Magic from which the world sprung forth. Then, an unimaginable time later, the Light tore its god to shreads. The God is dead. What is left from the smoldering remains of Light and Magic is a Lack. A Hole from which no light comes and no magic resides. Magic follows waters rules and tries to fill a hole which cannot be filled. In which the Starving, Writhing thing that was Once Light was banished by The One bc It was now a Danger to the world it created. (It is starving Its mind is in disarray WHERE IS ITS LIGHT.) The Magic it brought forth is now destabilized. Which as one of the forces stabilizing space time and the world is a big uh oh. So One Minor Dragon God seized the light as it thrashed and tore the world in a despite bid to keep its people safe. Unlike the Original Light whom was shredded until nothing but a shade remained, the Dragon God was only torn in twane. (Whether its because the light mages (Maybe Celestica? they have light theme right?) stopped in shock or divine retribution has claimed them Idk.)

But the tearing stabilized the light bc It created a dichotomy. Light was no longer JUST light. Its the swing of light to dark. the Truth to the Ideal. The gods original thing merged kinda with the Light. Maybe the Twin gods were gods of Wishes or Maybe Human Perspective idk. But It was important bc Now the Original God of Light is now Darkness. And the Allowance of Darkness in the Light Magic kinda keeps it from folding like a house of cards.

Light Magic tends to the rule of two. Or Give and Take. Depends on the user and the intent. Which makes it Very Dangerous. The Twin Gods try their best but the Light Magic is scarred and volatile. Light users tend to play by the rule of two bc Its generally the more safe of the rules to play by. Two Mages or One who Gives so they can Take. (the appearance of a LONE ridiculously powerful Light Mage Could be very alarming, what could they give to take that much magic. (where is the other one) and Irida has to safe.)

Which Gives Giratina a motive! or maybe a motive for Arceus to stop them. I imagine being killed is very disorenting and not very conductive to being rational non rampaging gods who have yet to realize what it has become. Maybe at the events of the plot it has chilled enough to be reasoned with to Not Eat all the Light Magic and kill everyone (Kinda. it IS a primordial god. ) Tho with Volo maybe trying to control it or maybe enabling it and giving it awful ideas we might need to deal with him first. (If we go with the Idea that Celestica killed Giratina and thats why they're dead, then Volo trying to control the god that their ancestors failed to would be a better motivation than just bc yeah?)

Sorry I just had to get it out here. <3 Have fun with Elden Ring

oh anon i have never moved on from a thing in my life and i am SO INTO THIS.

the one thing i take issue with tho is the sidelining of the twin dragons to being minor deities, bc having a minor deity jump on the ruins of a primal force feels kind of left-field, and to me the concept of there being gods who entirely, by definition, rule the domain of human thought and desire—and pokemon gods, animal gods that can be leashed and controlled—is a concept that fucks so hard and i can't see it as being anything other than deeply fundamental to the universe itself. so can i play with your premise a lil bit

bc i think—and idr how much of this ive talked abt before—BUT i think in pokemon CANON, giratina is also kind of a god's corpse moreso than it is a god in itself. by which i mean to say, giratina was the original holder of spirit, not the lake trio—but having the whole force of spirit contained in one mind was too much for it, and arceus had to take it away and reform it into three separate beings, leaving giratina a banished and abandoned shell. which actually dovetails so neatly into this, just instead of being doomed by its creation, giratina was killed by its mages instead.

so like. light to dark to antimagic to spirit. this feels like such a closed loop. like, it's always kind of fascinated me how the lake and tao legends feel so conceptually linked—truth and ideals vs. willpower emotion and knowledge, like you can see how they're distinct concepts if you squint but intuitively it feels like there should be a lot of overlap. SO. do you see where i'm going with this. i've already said that light is like, the fundamental force that is the contract law of the universe—which fits so neatly with the lake trio's red chain of spirit and the way it can control even palkia and dialga and repair the very fabric of reality. cogita even suggests that it "lets one see reality as it truly is."

i also take umbrage with the idea that resh/zek don't have a death link bc to me they are the products of a death. the original dragon died, and they're the leftovers of its power, with kyurem being the body. ...but kyurem also hasn't played much of a role at all in this so far. has it.

so maybe reshiram and zekrom weren't a separate god that stepped in to fill the void. light has always been the same thing as spirit, two words for the same fundamental domain—fitting so neatly with the concept of facets and angles we've had going so far—and resh and zek are the shards of giratina's corpse. fundamentally disunified and out of balance, two opposing pieces of a god trying to fill the role of a single one. meanwhile giratina persists, but now having been completely gutted, the fundamental piece of its heart where its magic should live permanently gutted and bleeding darkness.

is this tracking?? idc i'm rolling with this now anyway. it fucks to me. anyway i'm also so into the idea that it was celestic who originally killed giratina, bc those mages have been kind of faceless until now but i think it also gives ingo such a fascinating personal stake in this whole quest in a way even irida and adaman don't have. like, he inherited their bloodied hands. he knows more intimately than anyone what the force of light is like now, lacking a true deity. that is fascinating to me.

also wouldn't that legally make volo another light mage?? but like, an Old Light Mage. one of the few who still adhere to the way it used to function, before the killing. bc like, i don't think this has made it into a post yet but i do think those are very different things. light magic is a completely different ballgame nowadays. goddammit yet again volo and emmet have taken up narratively opposed and symmetric positions. why do they do this EVERY time.

[parasolids]

sorry for posting about this so much ive just been chewing on it. when i was a kid i got evaluated for autism and the eval came back as not autistic but has traits at subclinical level; to my understanding, i think this means basically not enough traits to qualify for diagnosis/not disrupting my life? i have some doubts about the eval tbh bc it says my mom said no about behaviors i display, like saying i never get unusually obsessed with things. i think my mom thinks i started doing that in high school but i think i did the same thing as a kid a lot, just with more 'normal' things like pokemon or whatever

idk ive been chewing on that lately, bc its been revealed to me a couple times lately that a couple people do think i am on the spectrum, and also the ways im socially just........... not....... good. cant talk well out loud, weird/flat intonation, hate making eye contact or even looking at people's faces, carry myself weird, inexpressive, word vomiting all over people about my favorite album if they even mention music. i mean i do try to act normal in a situation. i can see myself doing it all wrong. i also cant seem to get it right and i do wonder if those things are probably the aforementioned Subclinical Traits. which sucks a little because if its your personality you can change it but if its just your genetically encoded brain type... you're stuck with that. a trusted professional mentioned (unprompted lol) that retesting might be an option but i know diagnostics are expensive as hell and if i come up positive then that has all sorts of possible consequences about healthcare providers not taking me seriously or even not being able to move out of the US since some countries bar people from moving there

also just kind of feels lonely because like, as far as i'm aware i'm not autistic, but also i have traits that most allistic people do not and it feels glaringly obvious whenever i go outside or talk to people. i dont really feel like i can make claims to being in any kind of autistic communities because i'm not, but i also wish i had like.... a space where i could talk to other people like me? because i have friends at work but i am well aware that i'm scaring the hoes when i rock up and proceed to fail to form coherent sentences around my friends and also make 0 eye contact or anything. i don't even know where to find others like me. it's a little lonely in here. i want companionship

idk if any of yall have been diagnosed the same as me id love to hear more about it bc man the pressures of being human

[vaugarde]

For the oc ask-1, 4, 47?

1. Your first OC ever?

oh goodness idk what counts here... technically ive had funny little characters in my head for ages. if we go wayyy way back the earliest i remember are my electabuzz and emolga ocs, i dont remember their names but they were dating and also spies and also like. literally whatever suited whatever story i wanted them to enact in my brain. i drew em for funsies earlier this year (they had wayyyy more with them but these two were my faves)

4. A character you rarely talk about?

ok theres a starfall main character that ive never posted bc hes gone through SO many revisions and he was meant to be a secret character that showed up later, but now he shows up pretty early on. and now im like. shit i gotta give him a cool intro. but it just hasnt come up i never feel like drawing him. also it may be kinda weird? idk its one of those elements of the story that may raise an eyebrow or two

of the ones ive posted, sadly most of the prequel characters like shona and spectra... theyre actually pretty damn important and are castors first allies in the pokemon world and have backstories and a whole dynamic but like... i always go to drawing my main guys lmaoooo. as a consolation heres a couple of fun facts abt them

-they grew up in the same village which was a fairy village along the same tone as glimwood tangle/ballonlea. shona's family are mailcarriers and they grew up idolizing this bounty hunting team that came from their village- a morgrem and hattrem!

-they're childhood friends! spectra was always very skittish but shona was very patient with her. though lately they've been fighting over that because it's gotten in the way of their training.

-shona is usually just a lot nicer than how they're gonna act in the prequel bc they are at their fucking limit. theyre just REALLY righteous and get frustrated.

-spectra is the ghost of a clefairy (ill ramble abt my ghost lore some other time its kinda lengthy?) and she was adopted by a gardevoir and an aromatisse when she spawned in their yard. she died in a freak accident so thats why shes so paranoid... poor girl. is pretty in-tune with her fairy roots bc of where she grew up in this life.

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child?

@a-cat-in-a-dino-costume when can i have custody of skylar again

[bittersot]

2021-11-21

I need to find someone to cry in front of and be comforted by, stat. Next time I get into a bad situation I wonder if my brain will manage to not tear itself apart, I need intimacy and vulnerability right the fuck now. Holy shit.

[the-abysmal-and-aberrant-bard]

Shout out to my corrupted Minecraft world

R.I.P. to “Survival Oley” my first serious survival world that I shared with my brother. Before this world all we had done was mess around in creative and pretend to be in survival. The world was named after the pledge that we would be “survival only”, except my brother misspelled the word “only” and the rest is history. It’s data was corrupted today and the world is no longer with us.

We had this world since 2018 (possibly 2017), not very long in the grand scheme of things, but long enough that we had a lot of memories there. We hadn’t been on it in the last year or so, but we thought to revisit it today. The system crashed for whatever reason and the whole world was corrupted. When we realized it was gone, my brother broke down and cried.

This post is my final goodbye to this world. Survival Oley was where I truly experienced Minecraft for the first time and I became a better player because of it. We never defeated the ender dragon or the Wither on it (because we weren’t that good). I’m really going to miss it.

Good bye to:

Geo the orphaned polar bear (a personal favorite)

Cat the dog

Dog the dog

Cactus the dog

Snack the pig

my many sheep (I believe I had almost every possible color)

All of my brother banners and flags

the house we built together

the docks we built together

the tower with NO purpose, but looked cool (it had fire on top) that we built together

the farms that I built

the cobblestone wall surrounding our base that I built

every cursed Nether portal my brother built

the enormous cobblestone sign outside of our base that was my brother’s name (guess who built that)

that one wither skull that my brother hung up in his room (it was the first one he had ever gotten that wasn’t from creative mode)

the mountain side I dug out for our enchantment room

the giant cave I dug out because I didn’t understand how strip mining worked, but we still used as a battle arena against mobs

My Impaling IV trident with mending and loyalty III (I was really proud of this because I got all the enchantments from fishing, so much fishing)

all of our diamond armor

the multiple sets of iron armor we left around (I swear we traded them like Pokemon cards)

the mesa biome that had a woodland mansion plus a savanna/desert village next to it and was within a thousand blocks of our spawn point

that one snowy village that my brother had claimed, where I had “fixed” the paths

the desert village that neighbored the snowy one, which I promptly claimed and tried to “fix”

the two ocean temples next to each other

the cursed buried treasure I never found. I had accidentally wasted multiple treasure maps on this thing. Even after setting up a base on site and digging out the entire chunk, I still never found this chest. I had considered digging out the chunks surrounding the “X” on the map, but at that point I decided to walk away. This thing was my literal nemesis for a few irl days 

Anyways, there is some good news. We have a saved version of this world, the problem is that it was saved at the point where we still lived in house with a dirt roof. Big oof, but it means we have the seed, we can rebuilt if we want to. Knowing that makes the lost less impacting for me, my brother on the other hand is still pretty bummed out. To any Minecraft players who might read this, keep mining and crafting and whatnot. To everyone, treat people nicely, keep playing video games and try not to rage quit.

[summerlycoris]

Okay, so spoilers for Legends Arceus postgame below the... did the mobile app get rid of readmores? Gross! Hope this works:

[[MORE]]

So, ive seen it claimed on the tvtropes page for Legends arceus that Rei/Akari are called pokemon trainers, and Volos called a pokemon wielder because he's the villan. And the logics good, but its not true. Heres how!

Rei and Akari are never called trainers. Trainers dont really exist yet, because pokeballs are new tech and people havent really started training pokemon yet, at least for the primary purpose of battle. Heck, even Ingo, who was a trainer in his past life, is only ever called Warden Ingo in battles. Volo, before going mask off is called Ginkgo Guild Member Volo; while Rei/ Akari are called The Survey Corps Rei/ Akari

One of the major plotpoints is after all, Diamond and Pearl clans thinking your new ways arent good, and thinking their management of pokemon, of living with them, is better. Meanwhile, at the start of the game they complain about you keeping pokemon in balls and think youre just using them

(This becomes weird when you consider Ingo, who does use pokeballs in battle, but still has a high position in the pearl clan.)

My theory is "pokemon wielder" comes from how people in hisui see people who use pokemon primarily for battle. Most characters title is [job description[[name]. Most people who keep pokemon keep them as companions, or to help with their work (either literally, like the farmers in the fields, or by protecting them on the job, like the security corps and survey corps.) Theres no reason yet to just... train pokemon for trainings sake. And the people in hisui look upon the idea with suspicion. Pokemon wielder is probably a little used term made to describe someone who, in the future, would be called a pokemon trainer. But... derogatory.

But then theres Volo in the last fight. Because hes no longer even pretending to act on the Ginkgo guilds behalf, he has his title stripped from him. So, because hes not training pokemon to, say keep him safe on the job anymore, he's *just* a pokemon wielder. If you ditched the survey corps in some bad end alternative, people would probably call you a pokemon wielder too. Becsuse youre no longer doing this for a reason they can understand.

What proof do i have of this? Well, not much besides what ive included above. But, the music for trainer battles is called Battle! (Pokemon wielder). The theme when you fight *Volo*, on the other hand, is Battle! (Pokemon wielder Volo)

And honestly, this just seems more likely. As much as Volo sucks, he has three different mons that evolve from friendship. If he was in this time, hed be called a trainer, like a more problematic N.

Though, we see that this'll likely start changing soon. If you talk to (cant remember exactly orz) either Zizu or one of her nearby subordinates, they mention thinking about setting up a dojo there in the future.

Having a dojo meant for pokemone battles would probably start changing the cultural expectations of human and pokemon relationships, and may even blossom into the first shinnoh gym! ( probably canalaves gym, due to the duel rivers running through. Yes, I know its called *jubilife* village. Its clearly closer to where canalave would later be on the map.)

So yeah. Thats why game freak didnt just go "oh his evil? He's a wielder now!" And how the phrase probably says less about Volos treatment of his team, and more sbout societal attitudes towards training pokemon.

Did i need to make an effort post about something so minor? Probably not. Did i enjoy obsessing over bullshit? Yep!

[kuromichad]

different subject that’s heavy on my mind rn but since i’m already being harsh let’s get into it. i wish it wasn’t automatically presumed to be some kind of truscum attitude when someone tries to express that different parts of The Trans Community have like, different needs and different risk levels and different experiences and that we have the ability to talk over each other, harm each other, etc... like when i put it that way people generally are like ‘of course that’s true!’ but is it ever really understood in practice? a number of people (not a large enough number, but still) are able to loosely understand ‘you can be trans and transphobic’ when it’s applied to the matter of transmisogyny but when a trans person tries to express distrust of or frustration with afab nb people due to how common it is that that category of person will, despite being trans/nb, espouse bioessentialist, anti-medical-transition, radfem-adjacent if not outright cryptoterf rhetoric, suddenly ‘trans people can be transphobic’ gets applied to... the person with a complaint about transphobia. 

because he’s clearly an evil truscum man! regardless of if the person making the complaint is a trans man or trans woman, oops, lol. he’s a bad person who is attacking and invalidating and totally hatecriming the heckin’ valid, equally at-risk transgender identity of “an afab woman who isn’t a woman except when she pointedly categorizes themself as a woman because being afab makes them a woman who is ‘politically aligned’ with women but she’s not an icky unwoke cis woman because they don’t like being forced into womanhood although Really When You Think About It 🤔 all women are dysphoric because obviously the pathologized medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria in transgender people is something that equally applies to cis women just default existing under patriarchy 🤔, and no, equating these things totally does not imply anything reductive about or add a bizarre moral dimension to the idea of being transgender, whaaaaat, this woman who isn’t a woman doesn’t think there’s anything immoral or cowardly or misogynist or delusional about being transgender, they would never say that because THEY’RE transgender, except when she feels it’s important (constantly) to make clear that she’s Still A Woman Deep Down Inherently Despite Not Identifying As One, and none of this ever has any effect on how they treat the concept, socially and politically, of people who actually wholly identify with (and possibly medically transition to) a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth, be it ‘the opposite gender’ or abstaining from binary gender altogether or ‘politically aligning’ with the ‘opposite’ gender from their asab. never ever!”

and like maybe that sounds like a completely absurd and hateful strawman to you! but in that case you’re either like, lucky, or optimistic, or ignorant. i’m literally not looking at random nb people and declaring that in My Truscum Opinion they’re ‘really a woman’ just because they’re not medically transitioning or meeting some arbitrary standard of mine. i am looking at self-identified afab nb people, who most often use she/they because, y’know, words mean things, especially pronouns, so people who are willingly ‘aligned with womanhood’ typically intentionally use she/her (sorry that i guess that’s another truscum take now!!! that pronouns mean things!!! the bigender transmasc who deliberately uses exclusively he/him wants it to invoke a perception he’s comfortable with!), who actively say the things listed above (in a non-sarcastic manner). 

like, the line between a person who says “i don’t claim to really not be my asab because i know no one would ever perceive me as anything else” because theyve internalized a defeatist attitude due to societal transphobia, and a person who says that because they... genuinely believe it’s impossible/ridiculous/an imposition to truly be transgender (in the traditional trans sense, beyond a vague nb disidentification with gender) and are actively contributing to the former person’s self loathing... is hard to define from a distance! i think plenty of people who are, in a sense, ‘tentative’ or like ‘playing close to home’ so to speak in their identity are ‘genuinely trans’ (whatever that may mean) and just going through a process. they might arrive at a different identity or might just eventually stop saying/believing defeatist stuff, who knows. but there are enough people saying it for the latter reason, or at least not caring if they sound that way, that it’s like, dangerous. it is actively incredibly harmful to other trans people. and it’s fucking ridiculous that it’s so difficult to criticize because you’ll always get the defense of “umm but i’m literally trans” and/or “well i’m just talking about ME, this doesn’t apply to other trans people” when it’s an attitude that very clearly seeps into their politics and the way they discuss gender.

because it’s just incredibly common for afab nb people (most typically those that go by she/they! since i’m aware that uh, i am also afab nb, but we clearly are extremely different, so that’s the best categorization i’ve got) to discuss gender in moralized terms, with the excuse of patriarchy/misogyny existing, which of course adds another difficult dimension to trying to criticize this because it gets the response of “don’t act like misandry is real” (it’s not, but being a dick still is) and “boohoo, let women complain about their oppressors” (this goes beyond ‘complaining’). a deliberate revocation of empathy/sympathy/compassion from men and projection of inherently malicious/brutish/cruel intent onto men (not solely in the justified generalizations ‘men suck/are dangerous’, but in specific interactions too) underpin a whole fucking lot of popular posts/discussions online, whether they’re political or casual/social, and it absolutely influences how people conceptualize and feel about transness. 

because ‘maleness is evil’ is still shitty politics even when you’ve slightly reframed it from the terf ‘trans women are evil because they’re Really Men and can never escape being horrific soulless brutes just as women can never escape being fragile morally superior flowers’ to the tumblr shethey “trans women who are out to me/unclockable are tolerable i guess because they’re women and women are good; anyone i personally presume to be a cis man, though, is still automatically evil, and saying trans men are Just As Bad is progressive of me, and it’s totally unrelated and apolitical that i think we should expand the concept of afab lesbianism so broadly that you can now be basically indistinguishable from trans men on literally every single level except for a declaration of ‘but i would never claim to be a man because i’m secure in the Innate Womanhood of the body i was born into, even as i medically alter that body because it causes me great gendered discomfort.’ none of this at all indicates that i feel there’s an immense moral/political gap between being an afab nb lesbian vs a straight trans man! it says nothing at all about my concept of ‘maleness’ and there’s no way this rhetoric bleeds into my perception of trans women and no way loudly talking about all this could keep trans people around me self-loathing and closeted, because i’m Literally Trans and Not A Terf!”

again, if that sounds like a hateful strawman, sorry but it’s not. i guess i’m supposed to be like ‘all of the many people ive seen saying these shitty things is an evil outlier who Doesn’t Count, and it’s not fair to the broad identity of afab shethey to not believe that every person who doesn’t outright say terfy enough things is a perfectly earnest valid accepting trans person who’s beyond criticism’ but like. this cannot be about broad validation. this can’t be about discarding all the bad apples as not really part of the group. we can’t be walking on eggshells to coddle what are essentially, in the end, Cis Feelings, because in the best cases this kind of rhetoric comes from naive people who are early and uncertain in their gender journey or whatever and are in the process of unraveling internalized transphobia, and in the easily observable worst cases these people are very literally redefining shit so that ‘actually all afab women are trans, spiritually, all afabs have dysphoria, we are all Equally oppressed by Males uh i mean cis men <3’ because, let’s be honest, they know that the moment they call themselves trans they get to say whatever they want about gender no matter how harmful it is to the rest of us. and those ideas spread like wildfire through the afab shethey “woman that’s not a woman” community that frankly greatly outnumbers other types of trans people online, because many of those people just do not have the experiences that lead you to really understand this shit and have to push back against concepts of gender that actively harm you as a trans person.

like that’s all i want to be able to say, is Things Are Different For Different Groups. and a willful ignorance of these differences leads to bad rhetoric controlling the overall discourse which gets people hurt. and even when concepts arise from it that seem positive and helpful and inclusive, in practice or in origin those ideas can still be upholding shit that gets other people hurt. like, i don’t doubt that many people are very straightforwardly happy and comfortable with an identity like ‘afab nb lesbian on testosterone’ and it would be ridiculous and hypocritical for me, ‘afab nb who wants to pass as a guy so he can comfortably wear skirts again,’ to act like that’s something that can’t or shouldn’t exist. it’s not about the identity itself, it’s about the politics that are popular within its community, and how the use of identities as moral labels with like, fucking pokemon type interactions for oppression effectiveness which directly informs the moral correctness of your every opinion and your very existence, is a shitty practice that gets people hurt and leads us to revoke empathy from each other.

like. sorry this is all over the place and long and probably still sounds evil because i haven’t thought through and disclaimered every single statement. but i’m like exhausted from living with this self-conscious guilt that maybe i’ve turned into a horrible evil truscum misogynist etc etc due to feeling upset by this seemingly inescapable approach to gender in lgbt/online circles that like, actively harms me, because when i vent with my friends all the stuff i’ve tried to explain here gets condensed down to referencing ‘she/theys’ as a category and that feels mean and generalizing and i genuinely dislike generalizations but the dread i feel about that category gets proven right way too often. it’s just like. this is not truscum this is not misgendering this is not misogyny. this is not about me decreeing that all transmascs have to be manly enough or dysphoric enough and all nbs have to be neatly agender and androgynous or something, i’m especially not saying that nb gender isn’t real lmao or even that it’s automatically wrong to partially identify with your asab; this is not me saying you can only medically transition for specific traditional reasons or that you don’t get a say on anything if you aren’t medically transitioning for whatever reason, now or ever. i just. want to be allowed to be frank about how... when there’s different experiences in a community we should like. acknowledge those differences and be willing to say that sometimes people don’t know what they’re talking about or that what they’re saying is harmful. without the primary concern being whether people will feel invalidated by being told so. because these are like, real issues, that are more important than politely including everyone, because that method is just getting vulnerable people drowned out constantly.

[shiftperception]

Misc Gen 5 Headcanons cuz I’m HOPELESS

-ADHD Bianca. I know it’s kinda surface level stereotypical being based on how she’s described as “flighty” and accused of having no sense of time, but as an ADHD (well ADD but apparently that name isn’t used anymore?) person myself I’d like to claim Bianca for the neurodivergent squad. Besides I don’t see ADHD hcs about female characters that often. ADHD girls exist and could use some more recognition!

-Additionally, Bianca seems like a fidget toy collector. You know those people who have like a million keychains, phone charms, desk toys/figures often including colorful fidget toys sprinkled in? I don’t know what it is about Bianca but she seems like that kind of person. The kind who would have a counselor’s office level fidget toy stash. It just vibes with her aesthetic to me.

-Colress is absolutely the type of person who’d be super into competitive. He’s all about bringing out the potential of pokemon and will use any means necessary to get the best results. Colress would spend hours breeding pokemon and release boxes of breedjects that don’t have the right IVs. Be particular about EV training, like investing a certain amount into a certain stat to be sure his fast attacker will always outspeed xyz with a choice scarf. Colress has the showdown damage calculator open in another tab. He has a rotom wash on his team. He could’ve picked any rotom form and he picked wash because of course he did. *whispers* VGC player... Or whatever the in universe equivalent would be. VGC player Colress. I will die on this hill.

-His stupid team he had as a battle tree partner is not only infuriatingly lackluster in the moveset department, but OUT OF CHARACTER. I know it would be too OP for gamefreak but you can’t tell me Colress with a porygon z and the normal z crystal would be out here running breakneck blitz when z-conversion is right there. This man would setup sweep with no remorse and you know it. Explosion metagross?? Honey no. I haven’t played competitive in ages and was never a top tier player by any means, but I can tell you from my hours wasting time on showdown in class while pretending to work I’ve never seen that. Nobody wastes as good of an attacker as metagross as a suicide lead. At least not that I know of. A strategy that reckless doesn’t fit a cool calculating scientist like Colress anyway. And in DOUBLES?? With a partner. That he hasn’t talked with to make sure they’re running protect/wide guard/a ghost type or SOMETHING that prevents their own pokemon from dying to explosion??? No.

-wait I’m nOT DONE. A L S O while Colress is morally ambiguous and not the most caring or compassionate, he is courteous. Maybe it’s hard to say if he’s good (or evil), but he is for the most part nice. I think he’d be a merciless opponent but very supportive and considerate battle partner. He’d want to talk strats and team build with you, and definitely wouldn’t run a move that hurts your pokemon without consulting you. Because it’s a dumb play and a dick move. Ok rant over.

-Ever walked into a store and been like I think (insert character) would shop here? There’s this Japanese store in my city called Muji and I feel like N would shop there. Something about the wooden everything and the plants and the soothing minimal designs makes me feel like I’d see him buying clothes there, staring thoughtfully at the oil diffusers, writing philosophical quotes or trying to doodle his pokemon in the pen/notebook section.

-N and his reformed team plasma followers start a real anti pokemon cruelty organization post BW2 that run nature reserves where they care for rescued pokemon in various regions. N becomes a well known and highly regarded pokemon rights/environmental activist in Unova.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

You say the story of Rescue Team frustrates you? How come?

Rant ahead. Rant ahead about a game I unironically love, but I spend far too much time overthinking the plot of, hence my grievances.

Maybe I just held it to unfair standards on account of playing it for the first time after Explorers of Sky. Which is easily the greatest pokemon game ever made, accept no substitutes. Nah, Rescue Team DX is addicting, the music is incredible as always in these games, and the gameplay has been massively overhauled and made far superior to the original, which while fun, was pretty buggy. And the game does have some pretty cool characters, too. Like...whatever I may yell to the heavens about Albus Dumbledore from HP, make no mistake that he’s an exceptional and three-dimensional character. Same goes for Snape. And that applies to this game as well. 

The main reason this game’s story irritates me comes down to Gengar and Alakazam. Again, they’re very well written characters...but I hate them. I despise both of them. I don’t know what it is, but Alakazam rubbed me the wrong way right from the start. Him and his whole team are so self-important, so arrogant. They condescend the MC and act like they’re the ruling body of the town square. Alakazam goes around telling people that he knows everything. That’s a god complex if you ask me. At several points, the characters make decisions based on the assumption that he is stronger than the MC, which you as a player never get to challenge. (Think of Leon from Sword/Shield, but a million times worse.) The Partner character is so in awe of them, so enamored by them. Yet behind MC’s back, Alakazam knows (or suspects) them to be the human of legend and doesn’t tell them “for their sake.” Which gives me strong Nozomi (SMT IV: Apocalypse) vibes, since later on he ignores all responsibility for having been "complicit" with the MC's secret. 

The Fugitive Arc doesn't make any damn sense. First of all, Xatu claims that the disasters, all of the trouble, are being caused by the Human from the Ninetales Legend. Ninetales later debunks this. When I first played this game, I legitimately thought Xatu would wind up being some kind of secret villain, that he had lied, and that the Fugitive Arc was all started by him. This doesn't wind up being true, and we never get an answer for why he thought the Human of Legend was responsible for the state of affairs, nor did anyone question his being wrong or acknowledge his role in all this. But the one who really started everything was Gengar. He doesn't really annoy me until the Post-Game (I'll get to that) but everyone else's reactions to Gengar's story bother me. He is a known liar, a known trouble-maker who no one likes. It's well known that he has a vendetta against the MC. He has no proof whatsoever of his allegations. And everyone just buys it, despite MC now having a great reputation, because...I guess MC didn't actively deny it? Which the player was given no agency in? And it doesn't stop the accusation from being ridiculous? 

Enter Alakazam. Apparently, everyone held a town meeting that must have taken all of ten seconds, to decide what to do about MC. They held this meeting without MC or the Partner present, because having them there would make too much sense I guess. Team A.C.T. prepares to...I guess kill MC? As well as the Partner, even though they're completely innocent. Before Alakazam hesitates and decides to give the MC a day to run away. Hold on, if he is so convinced that MC has to die to save the world, how do he justify letting them go? I guess the same way he justifies how he "knew" MC was the human of legend this whole time and said nothing about it? He bids MC to run, and throughout the entire Fugitive Arc, his team is the looming threat. Which was quite frustrating for me, already a Diamond Rank and probably higher leveled than Team A.C.T, because I would have been happy to settle things with Alakazam right then and there. It is beyond frustrating that the story denies me this chance. Not to mention, half of the town shows up to say goodbye when MC and the Partner take off. Like...okay, at least half of the town believes in MC. How in the hell is this even happening? Why do we have to flee when so many characters are on our side? When there's no proof? Why is Alakazam's word just considered law? If he “knows everything” how come he doesn’t know that Gengar is human as well, if he could sense MC’s humanity? 

You don't know how badly I wish there was a fight with Team A.C.T. when all was said and done. And the game could have done it, too! Just have it take place at the top of the Mt. Freeze, before Ninetales shows up. They have a skirmish that takes place in a cutscene, but even in the remake - there's no boss battle. Why not? It's not like this dungeon has a boss battle otherwise. Wouldn't it have been a fitting conclusion to this arc? Maybe I'm biased, maybe I just think it would have been cathartic to kick Alakazam's ass, to make him put his money where his mouth is...because again, the arrogance. He demands Ninetales tell him what happened, and that "depending on your answer, I may be forced to eliminate MC" Ah, slow your roll there, buddy. Ninetales already broke up the fight and made it clear that it's not going to happen. You're a guest in their domain. On top of that, Team A.C.T. basically forbids you from going to Magma Cavern to challenge Groudon. As if you haven't just proven yourself capable of braving dangerous dungeons. As if, after they chased you halfway around the world and were proven completely wrong, they have any right to talk down to you or tell you what to do. Again, I so, so wish we could have fought them and taught them a lesson. 

In general, this is a consistent thing with the other characters, following the Fugitive Arc. Everyone focuses on how happy MC and the Partner must be to have their names cleared, (Again, the Partner was accused of nothing. Like, literally nothing.) and no one stops to address that everyone in the Town Square should be falling to their knees and begging our forgiveness for what they put us through. Several of them tried to kill us. Upon returning to the Town Square, Gengar acts like MC is turning them-self in because they don't have any proof, even though he never had any proof to begin with, and it's only after MC is "cleared" by Team A.C.T. that everyone remembers that Gengar is untrustworthy. Reading the words "under the watchful eye of Alakazam" has always made me extremely salty. I don't have much to say about the Mankey brothers but they irritated me as well. Maybe I was just out of patience after the Fugitive Arc but I found myself wondering why we appeased them at all. Initially, we give them the chestnuts because they attack us if we don't. No matter how many times we beat them, they keep attacking if they're told no. I realize it's a staple in Pokemon games to have false yes/no choices, but those are especially noticeable in the games that focus on story. And sometimes the excuses are just pathetic. Meanwhile, the other pokemon continue to treat you as rookies, as kids. You are once again "forbidden" by...um, the other townsfolk, from going on the Rescue Mission until you talk them into it. It's like...guys. You put us through hell. We could have died a dozen times over, because you bought into the mob mentality for no good reason. How does everything just go back to normal after that? 

I don't mind Gengar at first. He's a villain, and a well-written one. He's got a clear personality and there's hidden depth in there as well. He's one of my favorite characters in the game, easily. And all of the stuff he does in the main story? Stealing the mail, manipulating Caterpie, and the stuff during the Fugitive Arc? That weird psychedelic sequence where he's dragging MC down to hell at the end? (Or whatever that was?) All fine by me. He's a villain. He's doing bad things. But sweet Arceus is Gengar annoying in the Post-Game. I wonder if this must be how Merula Snyde Antis feel, over in the HPHM Fandom. Because the MC has absolutely no motivation or reason to help him out. He just demands that they act as his bodyguard, offers nothing in return, and won't leave you alone until you say yes. Buddy, my team has like thirty pokemon at this point and they're all hanging out in the Friend Areas a few feet away. You think you can intimidate me? The only reason I'm helping is to progress the storyline. And throughout this entire storyline, you have to help Gengar even though he hasn't earned it. 

He does not deserve forgiveness, or a reconciliation with Gardevoir. What if I don't want to help him because I don't think Gardevoir would want to see him? What if I think that it would do her no good to see him? He's unrepentant and awful, the story does the bare minimum to suggest that he's changed. Now I will admit one thing: I love the moment that Ninetales first appears, sees Gengar, and simply goes "...What do you want." Like. Like that was the moment that I put it together, before he went on to tell the rest of the story. I love simple moments that make the big reveal crystal clear without needing to directly tell or show the audience. I've always dug that. But everything that happens after that is frustrating. Gengar demands the curse be lifted, despite having no justification to offer Ninetales. He threatens to attack them, but then clarifies that MC will be the one doing the fighting. Excuse me? Why would I ever do that? MC just found out the truth about Gengar, what he did to Gardevoir, and then how he pinned it all on them during the fugitive arc. Gengar, why would I attack Ninetales after this, instead of attacking you? Tell me I don't initiate battle against you right now? Thankfully MC doesn't have to actually fight Ninetales, but they are still forced to testify at Gengar's "trial" and it's a forgone conclusion because no matter what answers you give, it's treated as MC acknowledging his growth and he is forgiven at the end. 

Oh, I’ve just thought of something else. MC isn’t given a reason for why they have to leave the Pokemon world, or why they were able to return. Explorers gave a reason. Gates to Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon made a whole post-game story out of their reasons. Here? We get nothing. MC’s “role” has finished and so they have to return to the human world. Never mind what they want. Not until after the dramatic moment where they have to leave has passed, anyway. That voice at the end who suggests that we may be able to see our partner again just by “wishing.” Who the hell was that? What did they mean? Look, by Pokemon standards, the Rescue Team story is quite substantial. By Pokemon Mystery Dungeon standards? It’s...probably the weakest story. I mean, to be fair, Super Mystery Dungeon had the endless schoolhouse arc that added up to nothing in the second act. But hell, that was still fun. And I suppose the Fugitive Arc and Gengar’s “redemption” were fun too. Just frustrating as well. 

[ask-professor-laurel]

Shiverwood Facilities

(This is a WIP, will probably be updated fairly frequently!)

PREFACE

This blog is a headcanon blog- it is not run as canon, and everything said is my own personal headcanons. The goal of this blog is just to explore the Pokemon world and the lore in ways that canon does not, I don’t claim anything I say to be canon or superior to anybody else’s headcanons.

This blog ignores game mechanics, as they don’t apply to the more realistic approach I’m taking here. I’m operating more under a blend of manga and anime mechanics. Storylines in the games may be acknowledged, but game mechanics (level up system, IVs and EVs, etc) are not canon to this blog.

A note from the person who runs this blog: I am by no means a medical expert, or an expert in real life animals. This is all for fun, and is just my fun way of having a blog for a self-indulgent Pokemon OC. Do not take anything I see here as real-life medical or animal handling advice- I am not a professional in any way.

(I also want to note- I was inspired by the Professor Peach blog to start my own, so shoutout to them for giving me the idea!!)

—————

What do we do?

Shiverwood Facilities itself is dedicated both to Pokemon research and Pokemon care. Our work is primarily based on Pokemon behaviour rather than on any specific Pokemon type, with our primary work being researching into a broad spectrum of Pokemon behaviours, and the care of Pokemon sent to us for care or rehabilitation. We also act as an in-between for Pokemon that need more intensive rehabilitation we can’t offer and we can often take in Pokemon that need to be removed from situations, but who don’t have someone to take them in quite yet. 

On the research side of things, I (Professor Laurel) am in charge of most aspects of it. My research is centralized on Pokemon variants, the environmental causes, and the behavioural aspects. I’m also a behaviouralist myself, with a background in that sort of research, so I’m a bit of an encyclopedia on Pokemon behaviour and the habits of various species. I’m most familiar with Dragon, Grass, and Bug type Pokemon, but I can help with pretty much any typing. 

Our site is equipped to deal with Pokemon that need care or minimal rehabilitation- anything more intensive we offer to just hold onto the Pokemon in question until someone more qualified can come and pick them up. Pokemon care here covers mental wellbeing and physical health- we have several behaviouralists onsite, including myself, who can get to the root of the problem and help a Pokemon emotionally, as well as trained medical staff who can deal with anything physical, be it injuries or something chronic. Our medical facilities are equivalent to a Pokemon Centre, and we often take in injured wild Pokemon for short stays before releasing them, but we’ll also help out trainers who pass by, or anyone who needs to bring in their Pokemon for a longer stay, free of charge. Any Pokemon left with us, whether found after being abandoned or being surrendered from bad situations, will most likely be rehomed, if not taken in by someone on staff. 

We offer tours of the facility, as well as tours of the local habitat. These are both guided either by myself or another staff member with a capable team, just in case. Public areas are clearly marked with signs, same with warning signs for any areas that might be dangerous, and areas closed to the public. We also host a couple of events every season that serve to raise awareness of our work, Pokemon care, Pokemon wellbeing, etc for the public. 

—————

Who are you sending your questions to?

Professor Arthur Laurel! That’s me- you can call me Arthur if you want, I’m not big on formalities. I’ve talked about myself already, but I’m the person who will be receiving and answering all of your questions.

I have a smaller team of Pokemon from my trainer days, and all three of them are my trusted partners and some of my very best friends.

Cloudhopper - My Dragonite. She’s been with me the longest and is my partner, gifted to me as a starter as a Dratini when I was going to set out on my Gym Challenge. She’s also a certified service Pokemon, as well as a flying Ride Pokemon. Known for being very protective, usually the one to get me out of trouble, but also very sweet and loving. She does have a wicked sense of humour, though, watch out for if she feels mischievous.

Honeybite - My Appletun. He’s larger than the average Appletun, standing at over 3 feet tall, and known for being the sweetest cuddles there ever was. He’s been with me nearly as long as Cloudhopper. Honeybite’s famous for his cuddles, but don’t underestimate him for his sweet face, he’s quite the little powerhouse when he wants to be, but luckily for us he chooses peace.

Sweetbug - My Vespiquen. She was the last addition to my team, but it’s still been a good decade of having her by my side. She’s a mother hen type between myself and her Combee hive, with a fierce protective streak that has us keeping her hive closed to the public. She often offers honey as a gift to those she cares about, so you can always tell someone’s having a good day when they’ve got a little jar of honey that they didn’t get from me.

—————

Where are we and how can you find us?

Shiverwood is a bit of an exaggeration for a name- we’re located just north of Ballonlea, near the mountains surrounding Wyndon. We’re just north of being hot and humid, and just south of being freezing, so we have some cooler weather for most of the year, although summers can get quite hot. There are designated paths through the thick forest outside of Ballonlea that lead to us, so finding your way isn’t too difficult, but for those who don’t want to travel on foot we can also be reached through Corviknight Taxi and easily spotted from the sky on a flying service Pokemon. We don’t have any water access, the only body of water being a nearby lake, as well as no train access. Walking/riding or flight are the only ways to reach us. 

We’re in this area on the standard Galar map.

—————

What kind of facilities do we have?

MAIN LAB - This is the largest building, it’s the main research facility and where you’ll find me if I’m not cooped up in my lab or out in the field. It also contains a smaller medical facility equipped for minor injuries for both people and Pokemon. Mostly open to the public.

LAUREL’S LAB - Within the Main Lab building. I keep it open to the public for the most part, just know that it’s a mess most of the time, because I believe in organized chaos. My team can be interacted with here if they’re in the mood for it, so if you’ve ever wanted to hug a Dragonite, now’s your chance. 

POKEMON CENTER - It’s not an official Pokemon Center, but we call it one because it’s easier. It’s equipped to handle anything from massive medical emergencies to permanent and semi-permanent residents who require more care. Also equipped for human care. We often offer supervised positions to learning medical students so that they can gain experience under the watchful eyes of our doctors. Some of it is open to the public, but the rooms are restricted to trainer and friends and family only, and surgery rooms are completely off limits.

ZEN AREA - This is a combination of a building and a bigger outdoor area. This is where the behaviouralists care for Pokemon’s mental wellbeing- think of it like therapy for Pokemon. The outdoor area is open to the public, but inside the building only the entrance is accessible. This is because inside is where Pokemon who may be volatile or aggressive are cared for, to prevent them from escaping, or harming other patients. We call it the Zen Area because it can be very soothing, patient or not.

CONTAINMENT - Where we hold the Pokemon we’re temporarily holding for someone to come collect. This area is completely closed off to the public due to the usually very aggressive or unpredictable nature of the Pokemon who stay there. This area is meant for temporary stays- it’s a sizeable enough area of the woods right at the base of the mountain, and there’s a pond in there that’s surprisingly deep. This area can handle a wide variety of Pokemon, temporarily, but it can’t handle every single species. In those cases, we relocate them to another facility as quickly as possible.

GREENHOUSES - These are the warmest places in the facility, mostly inhabited by Grass Types, but also home to quite a few Bug Types. Open to the public and plants are available for purchase, with a wide range from leafy greens to berry saplings. The Pokemon here are tamed, and can be adopted. There is one that’s closed off to the public due to the Combee hive in there, but the honey can be bought!

TRAINING FIELD - Most of us are trainers, so we have a standard battlefield set up for battling! It isn’t equipped for Dynamaxing or Gigantamaxing, but that isn’t a worry since we don’t have the means to do so in this area. Trainers are welcome to use the field for practice, and to see if any staff would like to battle with them. I’m usually up for a good battle unless I’m busy (or recovering from something), and it’s great fun to spectate during your breaks!

MIRROR LAKE - Named after the Giant’s Mirror, Mirror Lake hosts numerous Water Types that prefer the colder waters. We have a Lapras who lives there and she’s very friendly, though she’s never been captured and we don’t allow the public to ride on her. She picks and chooses on the staff who she’ll allow to ride on her back and if you try to force it, she throws you into the water. We have other trained ride Pokemon for water rides, and the shallows can be nice to dip your feet in during the hotter summer, though the water never gets above chilly temperatures.

SHIVERWOOD FOREST - Likely named during the colder winter, Shiverwood is the forest we’re built on the edge of. It’s technically still the Glimwood Tangle, but we have stronger wild Pokemon around, as well as some other species you won’t find south of Ballonlea. There are trail tours, but we generally advise not wandering into the dense forest, as it’s very easy to get lost. You’ll often be able to see the wild Sylveon and Umbreon packs, as well as some Deerling and Sawsbuck herds, lots of Impidimps and a few Morgrems and Grimmsnarls, and plenty of Zubats. If you’re lucky, you might spot a Trevenant! 

MOUNTAIN TRAILS - We have several mountain trails to hike on if you don’t mind the chillier weather up there. Most of the caves have danger signs posted in front of them and we often have staff posted near them, but several caves are open and free to explore! We have a Gigalith who lives deep in the caves who comes out every once in a while and is a real sight to behold, and higher up the mountain for more experienced climbers, you may get to see a very friendly Froslass. Other than that you can expect to find Geodudes, Gravellers and Golems, more Zubats, Roggenrolas and Boldores, and most common Rock Types. If you’re very lucky in the winter, and if you’re patient and brave enough to climb up to see the Froslass, you might just see an Aurorus if you wait around long enough. She’s very elusive, but breathtaking to see. Just don’t get on the wrong side of any Abomasnow or Beartics you see up there- keep to the trails and don’t go without staff. 

—————

You said events?

I did! We host a couple of events every season, raising awareness for our work and for Pokemon in need to the public. The events we host are all free and are open for everyone, and we always put out plenty of notice and signs so everyone knows!

SPRING

Shiverwood Trek - Every year, early in the spring, we put on the annual hike where everyone who shows up early in the morning joins us for a hike through the forest! We do Pokemonspotting throughout, and this is usually the time where you get to interact with a lot of wild Pokemon and see the sights that Shiverwood has to offer. This is also the only event where we go off the trails- since the foliage won’t have fully come in, it’s much easier to get through, so we always explore “new” (we explore before taking random people in for safety reasons) areas. Afterwards, there’s a lunch and then we offer the usual guided tours. I usually lead this one!

Wake-Up Call - A lot of Pokemon come out of hibernation in the spring, and after sleeping for so long, they’re quite hungry! Come on down and make up baskets of food grown here in the Greenhouses, and join us in going through the forest and setting baskets around for anyone who might need it. You’ll often get to see sleepy Pokemon stumbling around, and let me tell you, you haven’t lived till you’ve seen a sleepy Greedent fall asleep eating the basket it found.

SUMMER

Summer Barbecue Bash!! - Just what it says it is! It’s a massive barbecue party we hold from early afternoon to late into the night every summer. We team up with Kabu and other Fire Type experts to bring in Fire Types to help with the cooking, as well as putting on shows of them displaying their talents and powers. It’s a lot of fun, just remember to bring sunscreen! 

Scavenger Hunt - This one’s more meant for the younger ones, but we host a big scavenger hunt in the easy forest trails and the easy mountain trails for people to complete! Everybody gets a prize for finishing, but first free to finish get a bigger prize just as a bit of incentive. This usually brings out the families, a lot like the barbecue bash, and is a lot of fun to set up and help out with. Staff get to be wonderfully cryptic and unhelpful (unless it’s with the little ones- we’re a bit more helpful there) and it’s good to get out into the sun for a bit. We hold this one a couple times throughout the summer.

FALL

Fall Forage - As fall comes in, a lot of local plant life starts to wither for the colder weather. Right at the beginning, we lead people around for foraging, and anything they find they can choose to donate to us or take home for free. There’s a lot of Pokemonspotting to be had, a lot of exploring, and at the end of the day we take some of what we’ve found and we make a big community pot of soup! That’s become a tradition for the forage over the years, and it’s probably my favourite part after spending the whole day gathering plants in the chilly weather. 

Sawsbuck Sendoff - Every year in the fall, the Sawsbuck and Deerling herds that live in the area migrate towards the mountains for the winter. They come through the area in big herds, and this lasts usually 2 - 3 days. This started off as something unofficial, but the popularity of it led to us advertising it as a sendoff, where we all gather and watch the Sawsbuck and Deerling herds migrate. You can also help clearing their way with us if you want, it’s a volunteer operation and we repay you with food, but you basically just help us clear the way and set up food and water stations, plus you might see some early groups come through! Can’t go up to the herds for safety reasons, but watching them is quite beautiful, and very rewarding to see your hard work pay off when they eat the food you set out for them. 

WINTER

Into the Unknown - Named a bit dramatically, because we definitely know where we’re going, but winter’s event is cave exploring! This is the only time of year we open up some of the more restricted caves, and we take people deep into the caves to explore. We check them all out in advance, of course, to ensure safety, but this is the one and only opportunity a year to get into some of these caves and explore deeper into the mountain. This is another one I tend to lead, and it’s great fun, but it’s also got a lot of hands on deck and on standby just in case. A lot of prep goes into this one and honestly, it’s probably my favourite event to host! There’s hidden waterfalls, glittering caves, and this is the only way you’ll see some Pokemon like Noibats, Noiverns, and some elusive Ghost and Dark Types.

Winter Harvest - We do this one a few times throughout the winter. Winter Harvest is when we take what we’ve been growing in the Greenhouses and the public can come help us make food packages that we donate to Pokemon shelters, and to families in need. This one usually has a big turnout and it’s a great environment all around; just people helping each other and drinking hot chocolate. I participate every year, and help with the deliveries along with staff and volunteers. 

Besides those, we also host regular adoption events. People can come through anytime to see if they’d like to adopt any of the Pokemon we hold here, though we do have fairs on a regular basis to promote the facility’s adoption services. 

You can also find some courses here- we offer them to anybody looking to learn, no age limit (just a minimum; 16), but they can be very helpful when applying for certain lines of work. I also offer referrals and letters of recommendation as a professor, and the staff are also qualified to do the same as medical experts and behaviouralists.

—————

FAQ

Q: What kind of questions can I ask?

A: Anything and everything! I’ll always answer to the best of my ability, be it behaviour, medical, or just you wanting my thoughts on a certain species or concept. I’ll always be sure to be clear when my answers are uncertain, theoretical, or if I just don’t know. But anything you want to ask, ask away!

Q: Can I come to you for medical advice?

A: Within the Pokemon world? Absolutely! If you’re looking for real-life medical advice from the author of this blog, who is an arts student who works part-time retail, you are not going to find anything helpful!

Q: Why is my question taking a while to get answered?

A: I (both myself and Arthur) get very busy! I check this blog whenever I can, but I don’t always answer right away because my answers require time for me to sit down and think it out. I answer every ask I receive (unless it’s really weirdly personal or if there’s clearly something really bad about it- then it’ll be deleted) and I do so as quickly as I can, but I pride myself on quality answers, so it might take me a bit!

Q: Do you hand out starter Pokemon?

A: Not in the way you think! We do adopt Pokemon out, but we’re not like, say Professor Oak. Adopting a Pokemon out here, even to a child, involves a screening process of the adopter (anyone over 18 and if younger than 18, their legal guardian(s)), and a lot of paperwork. We have to make sure everything is going to work out, after all! But we don’t just hand a new trainer a Pokemon, no.

Q: Can I leave my Pokemon there for a short while?

A: Absolutely! We don’t have a designated daycare area, but we will ensure your Pokemon gets the best care and stays in the area best suited to them. Feel free to leave them with us, but we do ask that it not be long, so try to come get them within 10 days unless you give us notice it will be a longer period. While you’re away, your Pokemon will be allowed to roam (with supervision) in any area that best suits it, and I’ll personally assure you that staff are more than happy to keep our Pokemon guests company, haha :)

[teethands]

FF HEADCANON LIST

CRACKS KNUCKLES these are all imported from google docs bc thats where ive been keeping all my thoughts :] im not sure if theres any repeat HCs in here and im sorry if someones got to me before i have but these all came from my own brain !!! these are all very miscellaneous HCs but they generally revolve around vivosaurs and revival. some of them are rather macabre so a solid CW warning here for mentions of dinosaur body horror and death. ALSO SPOILERS FOR FOSSIL FIGHTERS 1 AND 2 BUT MOSTLY 2 LETS GO

modern boneysaurs/zombiesaurs

i think it is entirely possible to replicate a boney/zombiesaur outside of whatever sorcery zongazonga used to resurrect them in the first place. i think its relatively well known undead vivosaurs are a direct result of ZZ and his ancient tournament, and although zombiesaurs are usually claimed to be used in such tournaments most often, i think boneysaurs are just a variant of that but where less used due to weakness and general incompatibility. theyre all undead vivosaurs. thats it. on to the meat of this headcanon, boney/zombiesaur resurrection: i think zombiesaurs could be the result of attempting to revive a deceased vivosaur, while boneysaurs might be caused by man or machine malfunction while reviving a fossil. i think this might be an interchangeable effect: zombiesaurs might emerge from resurrections, and boneysaurs might emerge from revivals, although altogether i think this entire phenomenon is extremely rare. fossil revival goes entirely against the laws of nature and thus, nature must step in at some points to attempt to stop the process, although common fossil park high-tech machinery probably stops most instances like this from happening. boneysaurs emerging from failed revivals are almost always the cause of very poor cleaning, (maybe attempting to revive a heavily damaged, failed fossil head?) or outdated/unkempt fossil revival machinery. boney/zombiesaurs were so common in ZZ’s time because of such poor methods of revival. at some point during a “doomed” fossil revival, the skin and flesh of the vivosaur its supposed to resemble never quite “renders” in. the skin is registered and stitched together, but only holds the bones in place with an unknown black substance, leaving it void black in the same way a texture in a video game may just fail to load. presumably boneysaurs are almost always immediately dead in the revival chamber after the process is over due to lack of functioning organs, skin, etc, without some kind of support or magic. or maybe they are magic- every bad unnatural part of a revival machine fused into one being, and thats what allows them to live on. on the other hand, this could mean any type of boneysaur could emerge from any dinosaur- pterosaurs, therizinosaurs, raptors, maybe- maybe- just a thought, maybe even super revival vivosaurs could have this effect happen too. so, so rarely though. so rarely, its probably never even happened before in recorded vivosaur revival history. 

as for zombiesaurs- this phenomenon could happen when a recently deceased vivosaur is attempted revival. recently deceased, as in, undecayed flesh-still-in-tact. i imagine this happens much more often than boneysaurs- although, i dont think many people are trying to revive dead vivosaurs.

zombiesaurs, fresh from the revival chamber, are almost always damned and in pain, and serve as a reminder to fighters that the laws of nature can only be twisted so far, and they are best be put down. presumably no fossil cleaning facilities will allow a fighter to attempt to revive a dead vivosaur due to the danger and the frightening, disturbing nature of zombiesaurs. fossil damage + neon goo every fighter has encountered the bright purple (green in the OG FF) substance that appears during cleaning when a fossil is too damaged in one area. this material wouldnt be produced from the fossil itself, but rather generated by the fossil cleaning machinery when it detects damage within the bone, kinda like a 3D printer. this is why fossil cleaning is so meticulous, and why it has to be done in such specific conditions with heavy surveillance and a tight time limit. this prevents the vivosaur from having broken bones when it is revived- it is a bright, obvious substance, and it feels much like a warm, firm jelly with a hard, synthetic core that sews bones together. maybe its different in other regions, explaining the color difference amongst games. it is almost completely unnoticeable when the vivosaur is revived, nearly perfectly mimicking bone and flesh to prevent issues later on in the vivosaurs life. as good of a bone mimic as it might be, i think a very heavily damaged bone would still be a weak point during battle or an area of pain or irritation for the vivosaur. that is why it is best to clean your fossils as well as you can. maybe this goo is designed to be replaced with real bone by the vivosaurs body later in life, but i have yet to think about that too much. perhaps its soft enough to be destroyed and replaced by the body’s natural healing functions, but hard enough to act as bone? And perhaps thats why its best to let your vivosaur rank up (rest+heal) before taking them to battle. UNRELATED HEADCANON- GUHNASH COULD HAVE HAD A COOLER DESIGN. I DONT LIKE HIM HE LOOKS LIKE A TADPOLE. i have a vision in mind for a cooler guhnash redesign- i like the snake-ish look, but maybe he could be like. an infinitely long being. nobody knows where he starts or ends. a head at the front of an infinitely massive body that consumes everything, and nobody knows where the eaten planets goes. kinda like a jörmungandr-like being. idk i just think a “planet eater” with living brains should be more eldritch and god-like and mysterious. ANYWAYS vivosaur ecosystems? there is literally no way a vivo ecosystem wouldnt form. NO WAY. so many dinosaurs and seeing how OFTEN they are abandoned- refer to the opening scene of fossil fighters champions- it would not be any surprise feral vivosaurs wouldnt breed and form small ecosystems among themselves and around fossil parks. its not an uncommon sight to see pterosaurs flying overhead or sauropods munching on trees, although id bet theropods and more dangerous vivosaurs would have teams of park rangers to keep them under control. refer once again to FFC opening scene. this would explain the seemingly infinite amount of fossils in the dig sites, how you can find vivosaurs in only specific areas- although thats leading into a rather dark topic and i would rather not talk about it right now LOL i will leave that open to interpretation. jurassic park knock off SOME OTHER LITTLE MISC HCS TOO SHORT TO WRITE ENTIRE TOPICS ABOUT: because ZZ is a mix of boneysaur and zombiesaur and hes also an ancient sorcerer he smells fucking rank. so fucking bad. hes got maggots and shit hes only held together by magic but somehow he kicks ass. but hes fucking stinky so at what cost boneysaurs have no concept of feelings and arent really desirable as vivos and zombiesaurs only know rage and pain, also making them undesirable, for very very good reasons. they are taboo to talk about among fighters but most of the time they are only myths because of how rare they are feral vivosaurs dont have medals, only revived vivos do. that means they are standalone animals and they are also generally undesirable for fighters but they can still be tamed, if one wishes. theres way, WAY more fossil parks and dig sites than shown in the games. fossil battling is as well known and used as much as people love music and video games in the fossil fighters universe. vivosaurs are an essential part of society, although there is often controversy on the ethics of fossil battles and revival. pokemon knock off alright thats all i feel like typing for now thanks for reading this far lads. i love dinossuars. i wanna write some things on dinaurians but maybe later after ive introduced saar here :)

[distortsverity]

 should you date hikari? 

 pros. 

i. feeling a little cold? no scarf? she just might share hers. as in, it can be wrapped around both your necks. how romantic. also you can have her coat.  ii. want to share a moment on one of the highest and most sacred places on earth? gaze at some of the clearest, most dazzling night skies anywhere on the globe? maybe even feel like you’re in the presence of something most divine? all you have to do is ask. spear pillar is generally inaccessible and prohibited to the public, but hikari’s certainly not “ the public ” and you won’t be either. iii. anyone important and / or famous in sinnoh you hope to meet? professors, trainers, scientists, historians, artists, authors, politicians, etc. --- hikari can get you in touch with them. she has plenty of connections.  iv. tying into the above : she may be willing to pull strings in favor of / against policies you vehemently support / despise so long as she doesn’t come out looking bad. no guarantees it’ll be wholly successful, but never underestimate her prestige.  v. she’ll let you grab her hands, pull her into a hug, kiss her, address her with any terms of endearment --- display any sort of affection, really --- without the risk of being shoved away, kicked, insulted, socked in the face, or attacked by her pokemon.  vi. speaking of pokemon, you dating hikari means that all of them approve of you, ‘cause if they didn’t, she wouldn’t like you either. congratulations. your foes, whoever they may be, are totally shit out of luck.  vii. speaking of foes, hikari will fight ( and potentially kill ) for you. casually drop the names of your enemies --- people you have nasty grudges against, people you don’t ever want to see again --- in a conversation over coffee or something ; she’ll take note and ensure you won’t ever see them again.  viii. she’s constantly on the move. you’re invited to tag along. ix. poffins. free quality poffins, anywhere and anytime. 

cons.

i. hikari loathes talking about anything and everything that makes her out to be “ weak “, even with family and friends. you will not be an exception. if there’s a sensitive topic you wish to discuss that relates to her, she will be reluctant. hell, there’s a good chance she’ll flat-out refuse to speak. drop the subject immediately.  ii. related to the above : no matter how close you are to her, there will likely be some secrets you’ll never get to hear.  iii. not terribly affectionate. although hikari will have no issues if you are --- even if your love ends up overwhelming her ( not too difficult an accomplishment ) --- she just isn’t that type of person herself. some more effort will be put in if you ask for it, but don’t get your hopes up. she much prefers to show her love through small deeds.  iv. she will always expect you to maintain a good image in public, whether or not she’s accompanying you. don’t forget you’re dating the “ savior of sinnoh, ” here ( but then again, if you never had a good image in the first place, she wouldn’t be dating you ). if you fall so far that her homeland deems you not good enough for her, you’re not good enough for her. the end.  yes, they ( the government ) will be keeping tabs on you.  v. she holds nasty grudges. she never forgets, even if she claims to forgive.  vi. she’s constantly on the move. if you’d rather the both of you stay in one place, well. tough luck. maybe in the next decade. vii. her pride. oh god, her pride. her belief that she is favored by the heavens. her desire to leave a beautiful legacy for future sinnohans to admire, even if it means making choices that are morally questionable ( at least to the world outside sinnoh ). none of that is going away. you’re not fixing her. 

so in conclusion, and in hikari’s own words, no. stay the hell away.

[atamascolily]

Extremely subjective opinions about Star Wars planets

Inspired by @carmarthenfan. I did my top ten faves, and then gave up trying to put these in order, so they're literally in the order they occurred to me.

(This is not conclusive; I left a bunch out. There are a lot of Star Wars planets, y’all.)

1. Tatooine.

Iconic. Terrible place to live. Great place for making your characters suffer. Who cares that the ecology makes no sense when you have wide open spaces, exposed rock layers and salt flats, and a rockin' aesthetic? Not to mention wretched hives of scum and villainy and also, like, ACTUAL DRAGONS.

(Thesis: literally half of what makes ANH so compelling is that it's set on Tatooine.)

2. Yavin IV (Legends)

AKA Jedi Jungle Friendship Camp or Space Guatemala. If I was going to live anywhere in the GFFA, it'd be here. Temple ruins (even if they are infested with Sith ghosts), hot springs, rainforests, biodiversity, awesome eclipses and a giant blood-red gas giant constantly overhead, not much in the way of development... what's not to like? (Okay, the Sith ghosts are a problem, but they got rid of those eventually.)

3. "Forest moon" of Endor, ROTJ

Redwood forests are awesome. I'd totally live in an Ewok treehouse. They're the only place in the galaxy with handrails!!

4. Coruscant

I'd probably hate to live there, but it's a great setting for fic. A surprisingly large amount of wildlife and plant life, despite the rampant development. Epic architecture, lots of culture, Luke has a cool retreat in the Manarai Mountains and Han and Kyp go skiing at the poles. Home of "the room where it happens".  

(most of my fics to date are set on Tatooine, Yavin or Coruscant, lol)

5. Alderaan

Too bad the Empire blew it up. :( IDK about the whole Killik business, but Space Switzerland seems great, and I'd live there in a heartbeat. An actual multi-biome world, wow! I should write more fics about this place.

6. Myrkr (Legends)

Jungle planet with metallic trees and furry, Force-repelling lizards. Also giant vornskrs that use the Force to hunt. Don't forget Talon Karrde's awesome tree base!

7. Dagobah

I love this place, even if living there would be a challenge. Actually kinda has a functioning ecology in canon. Love the sheer abundance of snakes, plus dragonsnakes and the mangrove-like gnarltrees, which are the adult form of giant white spiders (I love plant-animal weirdness like this).

8. Mulako Comet (Legends)

Not technically a planet, but how can you not love a resort carved out of a giant frozen comet HOW. 10/10, we stan. The perfect place for a romantic getaway, especially if you are a water nerd like Luke.

9. Vjun (Legends)

The Gothiest goth place ever to Goth. Has names like "River Weeping" and carnivorous moss that nibbles on Obi-wan. <3. Vader's Goth castle was originally here before the writers moved it to Mustafar.

10. Honoghr (Legends)

Another terrible place to live, thanks to the Empire's sabotage, but I love there's actually an attempt at an ecological plot line here (Timothy Zahn is surprisingly good at those). A single biome world, but for a legit (and sad) reason. I should write some fics about this place.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Corellia (Legends) - It's okay, I guess? I'm not sure how I feel about the Corellian trilogy in general, but there are some things with the Selonians and the Drall that could be interesting for fic? Also, Treasure Ship Row is cool.  

Kessel (Legends) - Hell-realm. Not sure if Kevin J. Anderson's "glitterstim" is the same as "spice," but Han and Kyp have to fight off giant spiders in the dark underground mine, which is certainly dramatic. Had a moon until a prototype Death Star blew it up.

Ithor (Legends) - JUNGLE PLANET POPULATED BY BOTANY NERDS, SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. But they won't let you actually explore the surface, because it's sacrilege. :(

Belsavis (Legends) - Hoth on the surface, Yavin in the rift valleys (but with, like, plantations), plus underground tunnels full of monsters and Jedi artifacts. Home of a secret Jedi botany master and his plant friends, so I'm in favor.

Chad (Legends) - Mostly ocean planet--I guess Space Earthsea, but with more geological activity? Callista makes it sound dreamy and idyllic in her flashbacks, but all the native Chadra-Fan are trying to GTFO, so I dunno.

Nam Chorios (Legends) -Like Tatooine, I would probably hate living there, but it's a great setting for a fic. The perpetual twilight would get old fast, but I love the terraformed ecology, the sentient rocks and the Force storms. Drochs are super creepy, though.

Hijarna (Legends) - There are ruins and sweeping vistas. What can I say, Karrde knows how to pick a secret base. :)

Dathomir (Legends) - Rancors have to be native to somewhere, so why not Dathomir? Courtship of Princess Leia is hokey and weird as all get-out, but it did give us Teneniel Djo, and I love her.

Hapes (Legends) -100% better at you than everything, and they know it. Leave them to it.

Yavin 8 (Legends) - Giant snakes and giant eagles... who literally eat children. Kinda weird being in a place where humanoids are on the bottom of the food chain. Love the Melodies' amphibious lifestyle, though.

Wayland (Legends) - Endor with the serial numbers filed off. Still love it, though. And Palpatine built a lair in a giant mountain! Props to him.

Ryloth (Legends) - sounds like an actual hell realm, but a desert planet? One half in perpetual sun, one half in perpetual darkness, and only a very narrow habitable zone? I’m game.

Msst (Legends) - Terrible, if accurate, name. All we ever see is the eponymous mist, plus giant pink creatures that numb you with poison and devour you alive.  Brakiss's home planet. No wonder he hates everything. On the plus side, his mom got to see Luke Skywalker naked, so good for her.

Kashyyyk - TREE WORLD, WE GO HARD (part II). Except I don't think the Wookiees have handrails, do they?

Hoth - Ice, ice, baby. Ecology makes no sense; it's a fucking glacier. I would hate living there, but I've read so many fluff fics about snowfall fights and sex in X-wings and supply closets that I feel a kind of fondness for it.

Byss (Legends) - Dark. Hidden. Secret. Goth as fuck. I like it. Exegol, but with more class.

Ahch-To - Skellig Michael is great, but too recognizable as itself to really be a good stand-in for somewhere else. Puffins are better than porgs. Great place to hide, but I stand by my claims that the Jedi order could not have arisen there. Love the aesthetic. The Caretakers deserved way better!  

Naboo - Space Italy. Would definitely live there. Closest thing we see to Dinotopia in the GFFA. (Tell me Theed isn't Waterfall City!)

Kef Bir - why not just let the original forest moon have multiple biomes? It's okay to have multiple-biome worlds, I promise, we wont get confused. Epic sweeping grasslands, steep cliffs, massive waves. I love what little we see of it.

Crait - you're going to film a Star War on the Bolivian salt flats and NOT make an epic dream sequence with the night sky reflected on the salt?? What. Hoth with red dust. Crystal foxes look like Vulpix from Pokemon, and I like them.

Ilum - cool ice planet gets turned into planet-destroying superweapon and blown up. Not a fan.

Bespin - I don't know about the ecology, but 10/10 for aesthetics.

Nal Hutta / Nar Shaddaa - Ecological disaster. Gross and full of Hutts.

Niraun (Legends) - I don't like caves and that's pretty much all we see. Especially if those caves are filled with carnivorous hordes of Space Army Ants.

Gamorr (Legends) - "Procedures programs for visiting Gamorr consist of a single line: DO NOT VISIT GAMORR. Really!” Especially do not visit in the season known as "slushtime".

Af'El (Legends) - I know very little about it, but it seems cool? "The Dark World". Home planet of the "wraiths" (Defel) and the homunculus wasps.  

Kijimi - "Disneyworld with space facism". Swirling snow and stone looks cool at night. Too bad that fight scene was such a mess. 

Takodana - it's the English Lake District, I'm never going to be able to suspend my disbelief to believe it's anything else.

D'Qar / Ajan Kloss - Yavin IV knockoffs. If you want me to care, you're gonna have to give me something better.

Exegol -  this “planet” is just a CGI soundstage with a floating pyramid/arena whatever, and lightning. Weather instantly improved when Palpatine died, which strongly suggested he liked it that way. Knockoff Byss.

Mustafar - Literal hell-realm. Lava does not work like that. And apparently, ROTS insists it also has snow and trees, which seems like a little too late.

Canto Bight - you'd think people with that much money would have a better-looking planet. ughhhh.

[timegears-moved]

☕️ mmmm pokemon games specifically (not including spinoffs)

sorry this is late im terrible with actually answering asks. ill do this generation by generation. also this ended up very long because i have a lot of thoughts about pkmn.

gen one: okay so right off the bat im gonna say that i have a massive soft spot for gen one, considering blue was the first game i ever played. i do have a degree of nostalgia towards it which is why i can never be truly be harsh on these games. i know they're a mess of glitches and mechanics that make no fucking sense (seriously FUCK psychic types and everything they stand for) but it has a certain charm to it.

but even as a "kanto apologist" (which damien calls me) i can absolutely agree that the pandering is fucking abysmal. they're trying cater to a demographic who hasn't cared about pokemon in years and aren't going to pick up a new game just because charizard is in it. by doing this it feels like they're alienating the people who actually care, like "yeah ur support is nice but we want the genwunners to like us more than anything.

also on the topic of pandering is that their pandering is so half-assed too. all of this gen one content and not one shred of love for my boys victreebel or cloyster? bro i hate it here.

gen two: i dont really have that much to say here tbh. i have no fond memories of it at all considering i only played through gold once right before hgss came out. i can say that i appreciate all of the bullshit from gen one that it fixed but i have issues with johto as a region that ill elaborate on when i talk about the remakes.

gen three: honestly i never cared much for this gen. i played it quite a bit growing up but it's always been whatever for me. a lot of it just feels kind of.....bland for me. i really don't know what to say because it leaves me feeling conflicted. there's nothing bad about these games that sticks out like a sore thumb but they just don't do it for me, ya know?

i do appreciate frlg for shedding a much better light on kanto though.

gen four: okay so i'll fully admit that the sinnoh games are my childhood faves and are still my faves now but im not letting nostalgia completely cloud my judgement on this.

honestly? i think pokemon peaked with platinum. dp had their problems for sure and some of those still carried over to platinum but the scale in which platinum told its story feels so much grander than any pokemon game that came before or after it. i absolute adore the sinnoh mythos and i only want dp remakes just so it can get expanded upon, i could care less about any actually gameplay from it. ive said this before but you cannot make the god of pokemon and not do anything with it.

as for hgss, i have very mixed feelings about this one but not in the same way gen 3 made me feel because i do have genuine problems here. ive talked before about them but i just cannot stress how bad the level and pokemon distributions are. how the fuck can you make brand new pokemon for your johto region and not put them in fucking johto?

like these games are fine ig. i never cared about the walking pokemon mechanic but it literally feels like people only praise this game as the best because of that one thing that has no bearing on the actual game itself. you can like these games all you want, i still enjoy parts of them myself, but calling them the best is a huge reach.

gen five: right off the bat im gonna say that i do love the gen five games so nobody thinks im being overly critical or anything. i love the aesthetic of these games, i ADORE the pokemon here and they're some of the most fun pokemon games to play through. it's the story and characters (with the exception of n i will absolutely give credit where it is die there) that throw me for a loop.

i feel like whenever i praise the story or characters im just following the crowd here. i don't know if im just very stupid (i definitely am very stupid) or what but none of it felt as powerful as people claim it is for me personally. maybe i should just pay more attention but i honestly don't know. im definitely not saying theyre bad or anything i just in all hobestly dont get the (very sudden) hype.

uhhh i can't say much about bw2 because i haven't beaten it since it came out but i remember liking hugh and it made iris a champion so i remember them being good on those two things alone.

gen six: hohohohoho here we go. tbh i don't even know what i can say about xy that hasn't already been said. like gen one might be a huge mess looking back on it but at least it had character. xy introduced a few pokemon that i really liked and some amazing shiny hunting methods that should definitely return but that's the most i can say in terms of praise.

i dont think pokemon has ever gotten this boring before, and that's speaking as someone who clocked over 300 hours into my x save file. nothing has life (which in hindsight is ironic considering xerneas is the god of life) and i hate the way mega evolution was handled so much. i really don't know what else to say because everyone has already said what i want to but i think this has been pokemon's lowest point so far.

oras once again made hoenn complicated for me. they made hoenn somewhat interesting for me in a way that didnt capture me in the originals. i don't think they're stellar but ive seen people call these the worst ones and....why. i get that the originals are special to a lot of people and that they feel like oras did them injustice but honestly i would oras over the originals because they're just more fun for me.

gen seven: it made popplio. 10/10.

okay so i can understand why the very slow start and unskippable long cutscenes threw a lot of people off but i just don't understand so much of the hate it around other things. again i see people proclaiming it as the worst and you can see it as that from a gameplay element, but the story fucking slapped ass and i don't think amybody can or should deny that. maybe i just feel very passionately about them because they're very personal for me in helping me through a rough time in my life but i just also dont see why everybody is so mad at these games sometimes.

the fact that sm mean so much to me makes usum's entire existence hurt so much more. like wow i love abuse apologism: the game thank you sooooo much gamefreak! /s

aside from ultra wormhole jumping, my baby dusk lycanroc and the new ultra beasts i dont care for anything new usum brought. it feels like it back peddled so much by completely ruining lillie's character by attempting to make lusamine likable when the damage from the first games was already done. i hate usum they're the only pokemon games i can state that i hate. i don't know how you can take sm's well-done albeit flawed blueprints, take out everything that was good and only leave stuff that either doesn't matter or is actively harmful.

also let's go pikachu and eevee exist too idrc

gen eight: ive already spoken my piece on swsh but im gonna be more clear here. i dont think swsh is inherently bad and i can still have fun with them. i dont think the issue here lies with the cut pokedex. i could honestly care less about that and i always figured we would get to this point. the issue lies with nintendo and tpci pushing for yearly releases, forcing the devs to make yearly subpar games. i can think of so many ways they can remedy this situation: taking longer times between releases, hiring more staff at gamefreak or even splitting developments for different projects between multiple different studios. i hope that the reported low moral at gamefreak at swsh's releases is enough of a wake up call for change but that could just be me being optimistic.

i am SO sorry this ended up as long as it is but i have a lot of opinions and not enpugh willpower to keep my mouth shut