#lilligant sweep

[hisuianhellion]

Reach For the Ground

TW: Severe Injury

She had it all figured out, didn't she? Lilligant was a grass-type. It couldn't do much to her newly evolved Luxray, Lucien. He was properly prepared, he knew Ice Fang thanks to the head of the Security Corps, and everything was poised to be perfect for her to take the Noble's rage down a notch.

The attacks came in waves, quite literal ones that diving over and away from meant her knees and arms were getting respective workouts and beatings. A ballet of an energy you couldn't even stop to think about, as the attacks were relentlessly effective. One in particular even sent the slow-moving, but almost paralytic energy through her stomach, knocking the wind out of her enough that she could barely breathe.

But no. She had it all figured out! The moment the Lilligant had exhausted herself, out came Lucien, roaring outwards with the adamant power he had held back until this exact moment. The fangs dug in, not enough to pierce her body, but enough to let the frost of his potently icy breath kick right in, half-freezing one of her arms. She cried, but the depth of her voice was unmistakably still enraged by the fury of whatever being had "blessed" her with this energy.

By the efforts of Lucien's attack, this let Rose get back to her feet, smirking as she began to throw the soothing balms meant to get the poor Noble down into a more manageable state! The cloth flew, the balms spread in a mist around the flowery Lilligant, and progress was beginning to become apparent as the young woman brushed off her chest and nodded. She had it all figured out!

Dash to the side to avoid the impact, throw a balm. Leap right underneath of Lilligant to miss the shockwave, toss a soothing salve. Skid off to the side and take a quick jog to the other end of the arena, aim, smirk, and get poised to throw.

Lilligant was right in front of Rose's face. A momentary peek of arrogance was followed by fear, leading to both of them reacting simultaneously. The Noble knew how to fight, but their attacks were almost all in their legs. A slam of their heel here, a sweep of their leg there. All with a grassy energy that hit deeper than normal.

The human was winded, but so was the Grass-type Pokémon. She thought she had it all fig--

A sweep of their leg. Rose was airborne for all of a single second as the Noble had kicked her own feet out from underneath of her. No grassy energy came about. The human landed with a grunt on her back, a balm flying from her hand straight upwards. It would've been the final one. And as her eyes went up to look at it, it came tumbling down. It was perfectly poised to hit Lilligant right in the head, and would've brought her out of her frenzy! All Rose had to do was wait!

And the moment it had landed, the burst of bright, golden energy erupted outwards in a blinding flash, the shimmering sound echoing outwards brilliantly.

Which masked the scream Rose had let out.

She didn't have to hear what happened. She felt it. The sound practically shot up her leg like the pain that immediately followed, as a deep snap and crack reverberated through her body from the slam of a heel. Lilligant had gotten one, final attack in right as the balm had connected, and something felt very wrong about it.

What followed was a blur. The pain was delirium-inducing for almost a full minute, but she could make out that she looked... relatively normal to an onlooker. Stressed, sweaty and a bit pale, yes, but fine. Just sitting upon the ground, her legs looking none the worse for wear. Adaman thanked her. He gently scolded Arezu, to which Calaba quietly returned a playful jab in return towards him to give the poor girl some slack. This was before opting to take the slow stroll down the steps to return to her own Noble. Mistakes happened, right? And Lilligant? She stepped away from Rose, bowing gracefully in response as she overlooked them, Arezu apologizing profusely to the poor girls both standing upright as well as currently lying there quietly. Silently.

The pain was... well, it was fading steadily and slowly, but enough to make thinking possible, oddly enough. Which gave her a moment of pause to let herself regulate her breathing. Adaman's keen eye spotted her oddly slow-to-dwindle stress, however. "You alright there, Rose? Come on, no need to dwell on what coulda happened, the present's right here. It's high time you realized that you just helped us tremendously!"

"Right! Heh... I can imagine you'd be a little weak-kneed after that battle, though, gosh..." Arezu brought a hand up to her own hair, patting it as if to soothe herself. "I know the feeling. I really do."

"I'll... I'll be fine. I think the fall I just had spooked me more than I thought. Almost got me like the Kleavor kerfuffle had." Rose waved a hand, only to have Lilligant plop a green, grassy tablet upon her lap as she leaned up, leading to the trio to laugh at the rather abrupt thankfulness the Noble was showing. "I'll catch up, though, if you have things to get to. I know you value your time, Adaman. Wink-wink."

"Hah! I knew I liked you. Alright, I think you're someone we can trust with Lilligant, now that she's back to her graceful self." A chirp came from the Pokémon as they looked over towards Rose gratefully, the warden and clan leader beginning to descend. And eventually, it was only herself and the Noble, now far more calm and looking at her quietly and curiously.

Rose... was starting to lose the bravado she had before. The pain hadn't subsided fully. It was dull. It was sitting in her left knee, lightly pulsing in discomfort. Gently, she began to tug up her pant leg, wincing from a much sharper pain shooting from the same spot she felt that... that crunch. And the sensation of it began to immediately mirror what she was looking at.

The Lilligant seemed to gasp in response, bounding off immediately afterwards due to what they both took notice of: Rose's knee was already swelling, and it wasn't doing so lightly. Within the mere minutes of talking, the swelling had been dulling the pain because of just how nasty of an injury it was.

"Oh god."

It was the only thing she let out of her lips as she stared down at it. Lilligant immediately came back, holding a set of leeks she knew had healing properties, and upon handing them to Rose, the human snapped one and began to press the oozing end right onto the knee's side where the swelling was the worst.

One leek helped. Two leeks helped more. Three... started doing nothing. The swelling was, within the small moment of healing allowed, reduced but still visible, and with a very careful lowering of her pant leg, she nodded. Okay. She just needed to get back! That's all she needed to do! Just get back to camp, get escorted to Jubilife with a limp at worst, and the Medical Corps could take a look! That's all she needed to do.

She stood up slowly, her weight focused on her right leg. She felt... alright. A tap of her left foot on the ground. No real pain... that was good! That was progress. A bit more weight... a bit of pain, but nothing major... She could deal with this. Carefully, she stepped forward with the left leg.

Pain.

Pain.

This scream was a good deal more audible, and the Lilligant squeaked outwards in alarm as Rose's knee visibly buckled sideways. It snapped back into place, but she was on the floor, groaning with enough pain shooting through her leg, it was hard to even stay conscious. She groaned outwards as the throbbing sensation came back with a vengeance, and the yell of raw agony she let out echoed throughout the arena.

She thought she had it all figured out.

[crystalelemental]

@patchun did it, so now I'm doing it. Apparently it's just a big grid of your favorites, if anyone else wants to play along. I tried to be more honest with myself about pre-evolutions, but we all know how that can go.

GEN 1 There were no Dark types, and only one Steel type, so that's a little lame. Otherwise, Gen 1 has a lot of "my favorite is a pre-evo." Eevee, yes Vulpix over Ninetales in this moment, and most critically, Kadabra over Alakazam. Kadabra is, at least at present, my favorite Gen 1 mon again. Just like when I was a lad. I loved Kadabra. One that I think might stand out is Nidoran-Male. There are plenty of Poison types, but truth be told? I always just thought Nidoran-Male was super cute. I love its big ears. It's not the same when it starts evolving.

GEN 2 I feel like none of this should be surprising, and I'm sleepy, so moving on.

GEN 3 Gen 3 has excellent Pokemon, I love them. Illumise is a bit of an odd pick, but I had a really fun AlphaSapphire run one time that ran Illumise and it did pretty well, endearing it to me. Otherwise...yeah, actually, Mega Mawile is preferred over Gardevoir at this time. I miss it so bad...

GEN 4 Despite my love of Gen 4, I feel like a large draw is its legends. A lot of these feel like filling in a box. That said, Mesprit. There are so many good legends, but I'm tired of pretending Mesprit isn't my favorite.

GEN 5 Lilligant Sweep. Honestly, looking back at how much I love so many Gen 5 designs, it's nuts to think that people hated on it. Also we're back to having pre-evos as favorites. Frillish is better than Jellicent, with the pink one being my favorite, while I also just like Dewott better than Samurott, and think it's the best starter form of the generation.

GEN 6 Okay, so at this point, I should mention: I decided to put something different in each box, to avoid just spamming certain favorites. That was ill advised when you get to gens 6-8, given how few new additions there really were. So much of this feels like picking something. That said, special shoutouts to Gourgeist, who is legitimately one of my favorites ever, but cannot compete with Lilligant.

GEN 7 UB Sweep. Also, I love Pikipek. I love Trumbeak. I don't really love Toucannon. I loved woodpeckers, and was really excited by having one, but then it evolves and it's like sure, this makes sense. Morelull was the worse outcome, but the short is Gen 7 really did not endear itself to me with the evolution decisions. It did, however, endear itself via Moon Bat and the Ultra Beasts. Nihilego being the easy favorite. Like, come on.

GEN 8 Man, thank god for Legends Arceus, am I right? If it's from legends, safe to assume it's actually my favorite. If it's from Galar, it's like a 50/50 I was just filling a spot. That said, I am here to pick fights right now. Thievul is cute, y'all are just mean, and I fucking love Indeedee. Great shit.

GEN 9 I happen to like Paldea quite a lot. That said, wow do Ice and Bug not have much going on. Ice is especially painful, but I actually do like Frigibax. I saw it first in the evolution line and was like oh hey, that's a pretty cool dragon thing, and it's Ice type that's crazy! And then I saw its pre-evo form and was like oh, that's not so good. And then I saw its final form and was like "well that's not too bad" until I saw it move. It's not great. But the rest I legitimately love. Arboliva, Ceruledge, Espathra, Glimmora, Bellibolt, and yes all of the Meowscarada line. They're really good.

MISCELLANEOUS Not a ton to mention in the special section, but I'll comment on a bit. Spearow line is great, they're just vilified because of the anime. But if you think about it, Pidgey spams Sand Attack and is a little punk-ass bitch with Whirlwind when it evolves, while Spearow is an honorable warrior. Chingling is probably my favorite baby? I briefly debated Smoochum solely for being not-Jynx, before decided I didn't really like that one either. Flareon is my favorite Eeveelution but couldn't win over Vulpix, so it just...never got to appear. I'm sorry, I just love the Vulpix line so much.

OVERALL I assume none of these final decisions are surprising, so instead, here's the official ranking of each within the favorites (just the 18 types):

Lilligant - Absolute favorite, I adore Lilligant.

Nihilego - Very, very close second, I love this space jellyfish that deletes your personality.

Gardevoir - I can't help myself, I just love Gardevoir. It's such a good design.

Mawile - While Mega Mawile won out over Gardevoir overall, I think that's as much sadness over losing it as actually preferring it. They're pretty evenly matched, but without the mega, I think Gardevoir pulls ahead.

Mesprit - Emotion gremlin, I love you Mesprit, it's so cute and I am instantly drawn to emotion things.

Kingdra - I actually really love Kingdra. I think it's the Johto thing, and the strong association with Clair, who is a favorite. It's also just a cool dragon, like look at that thing.

Glaceon - Eeveelutions suck so bad, and I'm so mad about it, but I love you Glaceon, you and Flareon are hot garbage but you're my favorites.

Iron Valiant - Iron Valiant is so goddamn cool, what a good Paradox Pokemon. I just...wish I had more time with it, you know? Maybe over time it'll climb up, but I think it's just too...locked to one of the very last things you can do to attach.

Mismagius - Super cool ghost witch. Love this thing.

Milotic - It's very pretty, and it's one of the few Water types I stronly respect. I'm sorry, I don't love Water types.

Indeedee - Look, Indeedee's my girl. It's such a cute little design, I love that it got Psychic Terrain on entry, I'm dying for Pokemon Masters to give Caitlin or Darach one of these things. It's so good.

Braixen - Fennekin is the best starter ever designed, and Braixen is therefore the best by virtue of being the best iteration within that evolutionary line. REALLY wish it were Psychic type.

Krookodile - It's just a really cool thing. I wind up using Krookodile like every time I play Gen 5, it's just such a cool thing.

Diancie - You should be higher, but Pokemon is terrible with how mythic Pokemon are distributed so I just don't have enough direct engagement with it.

Vespiquen - This is the coolest bug. And it's also one of the shittiest. Life's not fair, is it?

Meowscarada - I actually do really like Meowscarada. I think it's a cool concept, and for a humanoid creature like we feared, it actually didn't turn out as bad as I expected.

Ampharos - Electric is one of my least favorites types, but Ampharos line is just so cute. Look at this thing. That is a friend.

Noctowl - I just think it's the coolest regional bird, and deserves more respect.

[the-normal-connaisseuse]

Chapter 1: C is for Connaisseuse

The line at check-in isn’t as long as I expected, but I still keep my scarf high on my face while I wait on the street. People walk along the sidewalks, their Pokémon—Audino, Patrats, Pidoves, even the occasional Lilligant or Darumaka—following in the early spring chill. The many skyscrapers that make up Castelia City block the morning sun, making Mode Street even colder than it would be. While it keeps the cold at bay, the scarf is more to hide myself from my old coworkers than to stay warm.

--

There must be three hundred photos from the launch party. I sift through image after image of glowing, smiley models, influencers, and staff in front of a Gracidea-covered wall, with giant Shaymin statues flanking them. Of course, the people in the pictures are as much decorations as the flower wall and statues; Madame Freesia’s main concern is the oversized perfume bottle on the pedestal in the middle of each pic. I haven’t smelled Grace yet—my coworkers never bring me samples—but I know that the launch party turnout and the buzz on social media are good signs about the new fragrance.

Madame Freesia, dressed in a highlighter-green dress, sweeps her way into my office without knocking.

“Annette, how soon can you get those pictures online?” she asks sharply.

“Once I pull the best ones,” I’ll send them to you for review,” I reply, “just as you asked me to before. Once you approve everything, I should have them up by tomorrow.”

“And why can’t you put them out today?” I see her cross her arms as I look over my glasses.

I sigh. “Well, Madame Freesia, it’s two o’clock now, and I only received the images ten minutes ago. With our goals being ‘clean, pretty, joyful perfection’ for our social media, I need to analyze each image for symmetry, facial expressions, and other minor details that could make the guests look bad or that could mess up the view of Grace. I then have to narrow our images down and determine how many and which ones to put on each of our ten social media accounts, all of which I can’t schedule until you decide whether you like them and the caption, which I haven’t written yet.”

Madame Freesia snorts, but the sound of glass breaking on the floor keeps her from saying what she wants to say.

“Fine,” she huffs. “You have until tomorrow to get all of them up.”

The peach-colored wall of the store’s hallway disappears as she slams the door. I take my glasses off and press on my eyes until spots form.

“Just a little longer, Nettie,” I tell myself as I put my glasses on. “Just a few more days and everything changes.”

Back to the launch party.

--

“Hello, Miss,” the smiling woman at the check-in desk says. “Can I have your name please?”

“Annette Sweets,” I say, pulling my scarf away from my face.

She looks over a list of names, looking for mine. The Joltik on her shoulder waves a little leg at me, and for a moment, a faint pink glow outlines its fuzzy body. I wave back before a chilly breeze sends the Pokémon scuttling into the woman’s shirt collar.

“Ooh, it’s so cold today,” she says as she checks off my name. “I could’ve sworn today was supposed to be the first warm day.”

“I don’t think it’ll get much warmer until the sun is overhead,” I say. “I hope you don’t have to be out here for too long.”

“Thankfully, no.” The woman pats her dark hair back into place, then gets back to work. “Annette Sweets, here for the C-Class Pokémon Connoisseur Assessment, which will begin in half an hour. As I’m sure you know, there’ll be a written portion followed by an evaluation portion. The assessment will end at one o’clock at the latest. Your results will be listed an hour after the assessment is over, at which time, you may come collect your C-Class badge from this table if you passed. Hopefully it’ll be warmer by then.”

The woman winks at that last part, and the nerves slowly building up inside of me ease, but only a little bit. I smile as she hands me a folder full of information, most likely the dates for Connoisseur meet-ups and events in the area. Having already looked at the Castelia City branch’s website, I probably know all the dates anyway.

“Thank you,” I say, feeling myself shrinking into my dark coat. I stand up straighter.

“Good luck, Miss Sweets.” The woman nods at me as I walk around the table and into the Castelia City Connoisseur Association building.

--

“Are you still working?” Dye asks over the phone. It’s ten o’clock.

I stop typing on my work laptop, which I brought home. “No?”

I can feel the judgement through the phone, imagine her eyes narrowing and her lips pursing across from me. I can even picture her Whimsicott and Lilligant joining in behind her.

“Okay, fine, I’m working,” I say. “Madame Freesia sent me another hundred photos to go through, and the posts have to be ready by tomorrow.”

“Nettie, what are you doing? I thought you said you were gonna ease up on the work!”

“I know, I know. I just don’t want to leave anything incomplete, y’know? This is like the last bit of the Grace campaign, and then I can make changes to how I work without being right in the middle of a campaign.”

“Okay, but what good does that do? It’s not like you want to go into this kind of work again, and even if you do get back into social media management—like if you lose your memory and think you like this work—wouldn’t it be better to start putting boundaries in place?”

“I know what I need to do. If I can just make it to Saturday and pass the assessment, I can do all of that, with the knowledge that the next phase of my life is already in the works.” I finish up the captions for the posts. They’re all versions of the same thing: Thank you for joining us! Look out for Grace, exclusively at Madame Freesia’s! The details may vary based on the character count, but it’s the same sequence of information. There’s creativity in it—figuring out how to get all the information in, making use of varying formats—but it lacks anything remotely satisfying.

“Okay,” Dye says. “I guess that makes sense. How goes the assessment prep? I know nothing about Pokémon Connoisseurs.”

“I’ve watched videos, read the recommended books, taken the practice test—the only way I could be more prepared is if I had shadowed a Connoisseur beforehand.” I attach the captions to an email to Madame Freesia and turn back to the photo gallery and the new, sometimes blurry additions. “I think that the evaluation part of the test will be the hardest, just because it’s hard to practice that on your own.”

“What’ll that entail?” The sounds of a videogame go off in the background. Dye groans. “And don’t mind me. Mom just beat me in the new Battle Tournament.”

“Hi, Nettie,” Dye’s mom says. The clearness of her voice tells me that we’re on speaker now.

“Hi, Ms. Lynn,” I say. “Sounds like you’re getting better with the games.”

“I know! I’ve been on quite the winning streak! Now, what’s all this about your Connoisseur assessment?”

“I was going over the evaluation portion. From what I understand, we have to evaluate the relationship between a volunteer trainer and one of their Pokémon. Despite the fact that everyone’s a beginner, that part of the assessment is worth more than the written portion.” I attach the pictures I chose before to the email and send them to Madame Freesia before shutting my laptop. At this point, there’s no reason to keep plodding along; going through the others in the gallery would just mean staying up past midnight.

“That sounds like a difficult test, Nettie, but I’m sure your experience with your family’s Pokémon should help you get through it.”

“Yeah, maybe. All I know is that if I can get through this workweek, I’ll be good.”

“Well, take care of yourself at least,” Dye says. “You won’t make it very far if you don’t get some sleep and put those boundaries in place.”

“Yes, Mom.” I smile, practically hearing her roll her eyes. “I’ll let you two go then—you, too, Whimsicott and Lilligant. I’ll let you know how I do with the assessment.”

“Alrighty then,” Dye says. “We’ll talk to you later.”

“You’ve got this!” Ms. Lynn cheers. “We’ll be here rooting for you with the rest of your family.”

“Thanks. Bye.” I hang up and look at the clock. It’s almost eleven. I take my glasses off and pull the mattress out of the couch.

As I drift off to sleep, the gray walls of my little apartment fade into the darkness of night. A final thought crosses my mind: What happens if I fail? I’m too tired to think of an answer.

--

The written portion of the assessment is full of scenarios: a young trainer picking out a first Pokémon, a trainer and their partner working to get used to settling down after years of travel, a Pokémon getting used to a new trainer after the passing of their former. They’re situations I read about in books; they seem almost ubiquitous for Connoisseurs, although I doubt I’ll be handling them on my own anytime soon.

But what if I do have to handle them on my own? I find myself thinking as I write out my answers. What if the evaluation portion involves helping people in these situations? What if that’s why it’s worth more, because we have to put our written answers to the test?

The thought of trying to help someone so soon makes my heart race. As I train my eyes on my hands, hoping to keep myself from thinking too far forward and psyching myself out, a faint lilac light glows around them, ebbing and flowing like a tide. I squeeze my eyes shut, and it’s gone when I open them again. I sit up and look ahead. No one else has that light around them.

Why does that keep happening?

I shake it off and turn back to the assessment. I can’t afford to get distracted and fail.

--

Madame Freesia’s is as much a gossip mill as it is a perfume store. With my office being in the back, I rarely hear the rumors and news that get shared out on the floor, but I know my coworkers well enough to know that they share and speculate just as much as the customers. Too busy tying up loose ends—answering and getting rid of DMs and comments on our posts, checking the changes for our social media scheduler, ignoring the flurry of texts from my Castelia friends about not being invited to the launch party—it's only when the sound of voices and heels reach me that I realize that my door didn’t close fully after Madame Freesia came to approve the posts I made.

“When do you think Madame Freesia’s going to do it?”

“I heard that her niece is graduating in May. She should be here not long after that? Then again, there’s not even a guarantee she’ll want the job.”

“It’s so dirty of her to put all that pressure on Annette, just so she can fire her as soon as her niece is out of college. Besides, is she even any good with social media? Just because you have a personal account doesn’t mean you can handle a professional one and bring in new followers.”

“She’s her niece! I doubt she even cares if she knows how to manage a social media account. Madame Freesia would probably make up a new nonsense position for her if she asked.”

“I just don’t want to pick up the slack if she can’t do the work. Annette’s the only reason our online presence is what it is.”

“Look, at the end of the day, it’s not our problem. As long as I get paid at the end of the week and get free samples every month, Madame Freesia could hire a Trubbish for all I care. Annette seems like a smart girl. I’m sure she’ll find another job. We should get back out there. Why do you even make us gossip back here? Not like we’ll get in trouble for doing it on the floor.”

A pair of heels click down the hall towards the floor. The other pair stops at my door. Fey pops her head in, her shiny brown bangs slipping into her face. She winces at me.

“Just an FYI,” she says in a low voice. “I didn’t want Madame Freesia to know that you knew, in case it made her act sooner, but I also didn’t want you to think I wouldn’t say anything to you if I knew something.”

I nod at her, still not sure I heard her right in the hall. “She really wants to replace me?”

Fey readjusts her bangs under her headband and nods lightly. “She was out there talking to a regular about it, according to Miki. It’s almost April, so I thought you should know.”

I slouch back into my chair and press my hands into my eyes, not even bothering to take my glasses off. “Thanks, Fey.”

“I’m really sorry, Annette. Maybe you’ll be able to find a better job. Maybe your Aunt Lenora could give you a position at the museum, although I’m sure you’d confuse guests with how similar you look.” She lets out a nervous chuckle.

When I pull my hands away, my lenses are smudged enough that—it has to be—a peachy pink light outlines Fey’s upper body. I take my glasses off to clean them on my shirt and the light’s still clear, even as everything else becomes blurry. Maybe the lighting from the hall is stronger than I thought. The light’s gone when I put my glasses on again.

“I’ll figure it out somehow,” I say. “Thanks, Fey.”

Printouts from Madame Freesia cover my desk, alongside coffee stains, my endlessly buzzing phone, and my computers. When was the last time I cleaned any of this up? It feels as if all these things have been here this entire time. At the top of a short stack, my calendar sits on top, Saturday’s date circled. The assessment. I turn back to Fey.

“I…I think I know what I want to do next,” I say. “No, I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m just sorry you’ll all have to pick up the slack.”

Fey takes a big sigh, then nods. “I’ll understand if you do what I think you’re going to do. Just do me a favor.”

“What?”

“Make sure you don’t come back here.” She turns back into the hall, then back to me. “I have to go, but good luck with whatever your plan is.”

She disappears, and as her heels reverberate down the hall, I get to work.

--

It seems that a lot of people turn to Connoisseurship to restart their lives. Talking to the other assessment-takers during the break, so many are looking for new paths forward. One guy’s dream of beating the Champion of the Pokémon League fell apart after an accident. Someone else got laid off and wanted a job that wasn’t rooted to a desk in some poorly lit office (I can relate). An older woman in her sixties is looking for meaning in her life after her husband left her and the Scolipede they raised together for another woman. Another just wants to find a side hustle now that she’s an empty nester. It’s interesting how so many of us found our way here after big changes or realizations.

As I sip on some water and listen to their stories, I wonder how many of us will actually get to the next step. How many will take the assessment over and over again until they pass? How many will give up and go do something else? Do any of us really have it in us to do this, or is it just a fantasy that keeps us going, the hope that this will be more fulfilling and worthwhile than what we left behind?

--

I know that when Madame Freesia sees how spotless my office is, how the computers are reset and ready for new hands to use them, how the USB I left behind has everything organized for whoever takes my place—she’ll know that I really am gone. Perhaps it was too kind, clearing so much away and preparing everything for her niece, but it felt so good to write my resignation letter in a clean office, so good to be free of all the clutter. I feel light enough to skip through Central Plaza, especially since everything I had in that office fits in my purse. Funny that after three years there, I hardly had anything to make that box my own.

As I reach my apartment by Skyarrow Bridge, the sun taking the day’s warmth with it as it sets, I freeze. I don’t have a job anymore. I don’t have a plan beyond the assessment.

Oh no.

--

The evaluation portion begins. A sharp-looking Connaisseuse in a black, pinstripe skirt set walks up to me as I mill around the association’s gallery.

“Ms. Sweets?” she asks, looking over her clipboard. “You’re next. Please follow me, and we’ll get your evaluation started.”

We walk out of the gallery and into a white room off to the side. A fidgety guy about my age stands at the back of the room. I don’t see it until I’m farther in, but a Sandile is here, too, camouflaged on the light wood floors. The little Pokémon growls and huddles further into the corner, away from the guy.

“This is our volunteer Nathan, Ms. Sweets,” the Connaisseuse explains. “He and his new Sandile aren’t getting along well, and so he’s asked for an evaluation. You have an hour to provide some solutions to their situation. You may begin when you’re ready.”

I walk up to Nathan. He keeps his face straight, but his reddened ears tell me he’s nervous. My stomach shifts the closer I get to him. I blink and a red light envelops him, much like the lilac light I saw around my own hands. His feels harsh, though, like standing next to a heater on high, and yet the hairs on my arms stand up like the room is as cold as the outside. I force a small smile. No matter how uncomfortable I feel, I still have to pass this assessment.

“Hello,” I say, trying to keep the feeling I have out of my voice. “My name is Annette, and I’ll be taking a look at your Sandile.”

I put my hand out to shake, but his grip makes me wish I hadn’t. I don’t know who taught him how to do a handshake or what he wants to prove, squeezing so hard, but the full, constant eye contact that comes with the handshake makes me want to leave the room. I take my hand back and move over to his Sandile.

The Desert Croc doesn’t have the harsh redness of her trainer. Even as she sits defensively in the corner, a gentle silvery light radiates from her like moonlight. My sense of dread and fear fades in her presence. The feeling takes me back to playing with Aunt Lenora’s Pokémon at the Nacrene Museum when I was a kid.

“How long have you had this Sandile, Nathan?” I sit down on the floor next to her. How do I know she’s a her in the first place?

Nathan shrugs, his face unchanging. “A few days. A friend traded her to me.”

“It sounds like the two of you need more time, but let’s see if there’s something else going on.” I lay my hand on the floor in front of Sandile, making sure to give her room to come over if she wants. “Take your time, Sandile. I just want to know how you’re doing. There’s no pressure.”

Not entirely true—this is an assessment I’d like to pass right away—but with an hour to complete it, I know that I can be patient.

Sandile’s growling stops, and a little trill hums out of her. She creeps towards my hand, keeping her small black eyes on me. She puts a claw on my palm, and something shoots up my arm, although I do my best not to flinch away from her. Visions flash in my eyes: a small boy in the desert, a playground, Nathan, the boy fading away, tears on asphalt. I turn to the Connaisseuse, and the same red light around Nathan envelops her, although the edges are rigid and don’t come out in erratic waves, like her—her brother.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help them,” I say as Sandile crawls into my lap.

The Connaisseuse blinks at me. “You only just started. You’re doing so well, too. What makes you think you can’t do it?”

“Because this isn’t his partner. He took her from someone else, not as a trade, but like a kidnapper.”

Nathan’s face grows redder with every word, and so is his sister’s. Before either of us can stop him, he snatches Sandile and runs out of the room. The Connaisseuse runs after him.

“Hey!” she shouts. “Stop him!”

Security blocks off the main entrance, so Nathan turns, looking for another exit amongst the crowd. I move in front of his sister.

“Sandile, use Sand Tomb!” I command.

The Pokémon releases a flurry of sand that envelops her and Nathan and makes everyone else back up and shield their eyes. In little time at all, the gusts of sand die down, and a trill pulls my eyes from my sleeve. Sandile stands on top of the pile of sand, her front claws on Nathan’s mangled hair. I sigh in relief. His sister doesn’t.

“How could you do this to me?” she hisses at him when she walks up to him. “I thought I made it clear that you come here with a Pokémon you didn’t steal!”

“Do you know how hard it is to find a Pokémon with Intimidate?” he asks at a normal tone.

The Connaisseuse groans, then turns her eyes to me. She stalks towards me.

“How did you know he took the Sandile?” she asks, loud enough for everyone else to hear. “How would you know that? Do you know him?”

“I-I don’t know,” I say, feeling eyes turning on me. “I just felt it, and I saw it when Sandile touched me. I don’t know who he is otherwise.”

“I’m sure. We’ll see what you have to say when the police get here.” The Connaisseuse pulls out her phone, but a slender, wrinkled hand reaches out and stops her.

A tall older woman in a mint-green cardigan and floral dress stands next to us, her ornately carved cane sloped between us. Her quiet gray eyes search my face, then crinkle with her smile.

“Now, now, Louise,” she says, keeping her eyes on me. “There’s only one thief here, only one cheat, and he’s already caught. Although, as his sister and the one who brought him in, you should’ve checked and made sure that was actually his partner before the assessment even began.”

“But Ms. Cyra—” Louise starts, but the older woman puts her hand up.

“She doesn’t know him. She is just like me, is all, and I know every Connoisseur in this building knows what I mean.” She turns to a man holding a clipboard. “Thomas, look through the written portion’s scores and tell me if this young lady passed.”

Thomas fumbles with the papers for a moment, then looks back at Ms. Cyra. “The tests were scored immediately after being turned in, Ms. Cyra. Annette Sweets passed with full marks.”

I stand a bit straighter, more out of shock than pride. I passed.

“She’s passed the evaluation portion, too, as far as anyone’s concerned. How often do we have candidates catching Pokémon-nappers? In all my years of helping the association evaluate potential Pokémon Connoisseurs, I certainly haven’t seen it before. Give the woman her badge, have the police collect our thief, and help Sandile get home. That’s all that must be done.”

Louise huffs, but she doesn’t argue with Ms. Cyra. “Very well. Sorry, Nathan. I can’t get you out of this one.”

Nathan tries to pull himself from the mound of sand, but Sandile only adds more, until it’s high enough for him to rest his chin on it. The little Desert Croc Pokémon trills and wags her tail.

As Louise walks away, the lights fade from everyone. Ms. Cyra turns back to me.

“You did lovely work, Miss. Certainly not the way Connoisseurs would do it, but with a good mentor, I think you can blend those skills with your gift in time.”

“Um, thank you—wait, what gift?” I take her arm when she offers it to me and walk her to the front door, too confused to question much of anything.

“You’re only just beginning, Miss. You’ll understand soon enough, perhaps with the help of a Pokémon partner by your side.” She turns to look at me and smiles. “Do come and visit me someday. You have much to learn on your own first, but I’ll be waiting to give you help when you’re ready.”

She walks out the door, and before I can process anything else, Thomas presses a C-Class badge into my hand.

“Congrats, Annette,” he says. “You’re officially a Connaisseuse.”

—

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've been stuck in writer's block for a long time, and I wanted to write something meaningful to me. I hope to write and share more of the story in the future. It's nice to have somewhere to share this work, even if it might not seem important or anything like that. Even if no one sees this, I've got the motivation in me right now to keep posting. I've got nine other chapters that I'd like to put out. I look forward to sharing with whoever reads this.

[meganuzlockediary]

N and Ghetsis! Pokemon White!

30/9/23

Ok this is the big one! After losing Crustle I switch back into Druddigon. I discover you can actually leave Ns castle and do some extra grinding so I do just that on Victory road until I am level 54 in all pokemon! great!

With that time for the toughest challenges. I choose to use Zekrom in this run (this proves a bit useless honestly). So I catch him with a masterball and name him Black. I swap him out for Emolga who while very much loved may not actually be much use in the next battle.

Ok so I am forced to lead Zekrom vs Reshiram! Annoyingly Zekrom is rubbish against Reshiram learning dragon breath instead of dragon claw significantly hampers him. It is a 3HKO and in that time I go down deep into the yellow from 2 fusion bolts. He recovers as I do minimal damage again before he uses Hyper beam and takes Zekrom down. Very short lived.

I send in Druddigon who easily finishes the job on Reshiram's recharge turn. Vanilluxe comes in so I switch to Darmanitan taking a Blizzard before OHKOing with fire punch. Next up is Carracosta I grin as its set up time. I send in Lilligant. Take a Stone edge, use Giga drain to heal back up to full activating sturdy then put Carracosta to sleep and set up 2 quiver dances. With that I am set up to sweep the rest of N's team. Zoroark goes down to a giga drain. Klinklang takes 2 giga drains while I lose a lot of Sp. Defence. And Archeops goes down to one Giga drain too! Overall a clear victory.

Shetsis however is the real tough cookie. I am leading my fallen Zekrom so immediately switch to Druddigon unfortunately taking a toxic in the process. He protects once before my dark gem boosted Night slash smashes through getting him into the yellow. One more takes him out as the accumulated toxic damage gets Druddigon into the red.

Hydreigon is obviously out next my fear increases. Fortunately it goes for focus blast... AND MISSES! Druddigon gets a dragon claw off for massive damage leaving Hydreigon in the red before going down to toxic. I switch to Samurott who can outspeed with aqua jet... and annoyingly Ghetsis heals and I do Jack all in damage. I manage to tank one Dragon pulse and use revenge to get him into the yellow. He attacks again leaving me at 1 single hit point! (it must have been a low roll) allowing Samurott to use revenge again to take him out.

Bouffalant comes in now and I try my luck with revenge but forget it has negative priority move last and fall. Could have gotten good chip damage there but ah well. I switch to throh who easily handles his attacks and with a combination of revenge, rocky helmet and his own recoil damage takes out Bouffalant in one hit. Eelecktross comes in and is equally worrying with acrobatics but throh manages to last one more hit again going into the red getting a strong revenge and I watch as the rocky helmet takes down Eelektross as Throh goes down to an acrobatics. Top tier item.

Now I have 2 left, Lilligant and Darmanitan vs Bisharp and Seismotoad. I go for Lilligant and he sends in Seismotoad. A single gigadrain takes care of him. I go for quiver dance against Bisharp now feeling over confidence and hoping I can just walk over the rest of this. An X scissor puts me in my place as MVP Lilligant goes down. Bisharp can do absolutely nothing against Darmanitan though and with a brital fire punch the game is won!

[isa-ah]

lmao take the L on breloom wlw lilligant sweep

literally mlm hostility can lilligant spore and false swipe? no? bye

[hazelplaysgames]

a few cutscenes(about 7 minutes) later, i can begin the first Lusamine fight!.

her lead is a Clefable, it seems. i can get Rocks up no issue. Metronome calls? planning could be rough here. it has Moonblast, and Night Shade, at Fuchsia's level 47, does less than a third- that's gonna need 4-shots. no matter what, i think Cinnabar, thanks to Spore and Acid Spray, can handle it from here. if i don't mess it up, since Moonblast 2-shots.

the second 'mon of hers is Bewear. part fighting, i think i can see how this is gonna go from here. Hammer Arm can miss, but i'm looking at 1-shots if it doesn't. Nuzzle is great, however, and i can finish it off with Saffron and Viridian left.

Lilligant is third, so Viridian seems a decent enough pick here and now. Own Tempo renders her Teeter dance ineffective, get a Leer off, and i think Lilligant outspeeds Viridian? what?

ah, base 90 speed. Smeargle's own impressive 75 with maxed out enough EVs can't handle that. at this point, it just sweeps my last two Smeargle. i'm not about to reset to sit through all those cutscenes, so-

wait huh.

wait. this fight against Lusy...

YA DON'T NEED TO WIN THIS FIGHT!?

well. all right. i guess. i learned something today. i don't really wanna sit through all those cutscenes again, i'll take it and pick this game back up on Friday, when i will hit level 51 and have to consider move number 6. maybe i'll poke my head onto the Poni Wilds real quick, get closer to that end.

[aspens-orchard]

Aspen had walked into the battle fairly confident in his team, knowing that grass was resistant to electric, expecting a clean sweep. His pokemon were in no means strategic, but they each had their own strengths. During the first matchup, he watched his Vileplume go down pretty quickly, but that's ok. Vileplume was there for laying down status effects and boosting the team. Appletun up next, he went down just as quickly, which worried him a bit. Appletun was his tank, and to be crushed so quickly was anxiety inducing.

Trevenant came out and crushed the other pokemon, allowing Aspen to let out a sigh of relief, swapping to Lilligant to take out the next one per the rules. This part was pretty eventful, Lilligant eventually going down after a 10 minute standoff with buffs and debuffs. The anxiety started kicking in again, and suddenly he realized just how many people were in the stadium. He had no chance of victory now, it was 3-1. The best he could do was land a tie and hope for a good tiebreaker match, holding out Toedscruel's pokeball as the squid popped out and battled hardily. It won by a hair, but that didn't ease up Aspen's anxiety in the slightest. Thorton's team had been so strong so far, and his ace hardware wasn't even out yet. Of course, Aspen had his ace left too, but he was still really nervous. He had to win this one, Dusk was counting on him for this. Dusk needed the money after his fashion business hasn't been doing to good.

With a shaky hand, heavy breath, and eyes darting around to see all the onlookers, he sent out his final pokemon, Brute Bonnet.

And just like that, it was over.

Brute Bonnet fell down and fainted, Aspen falling to his knees with tears running down his cheeks. He had failed Dusk, even with the chance of redemption in the other bracket his chances of victory were slim. He openly wept on the ground, calling back his final fainted pokemon, feeling all the eyes of the stadium on him in that moment. He couldn't move even if he wanted to, and after what felt like hours passed by, a couple members of the pwt committee escorted him off the battlefield. He had made a fool of himself for all the world to see.

(@analuein feel free to respond if you want)

[thebustedmachine]

Another Sweep just uploaded, I hope you've been enjoying this quick videos, this week it'll be the continuation of the Sub Randomizer nuzlocke, so yeah, this video yet again will just take about two minutes of your time, Lilligant of all pokemon, I've never really had a opinion on lilligant but I love it now lol, I hope you enjoy, drop a like, comment or subscribe, anything you do will help a lot, thank you very much

[kynimdraws]

Does Laila still beat the shit out of everyone in WiFi battles?

I haven’t done much nuz team wifi battles, but my friends always call Lilligant sweeps as “the Laila special”

[furbyq]

Can I ask for 44 on the OC asks for Ravenna and Mordecai? Or Pokémon teams for everyone idc! :)

ah that’s a neat question to get! thank you for asking it :D

i’ll go ahead and do ravenna and mordecai first, but i’ll do everyone under the cut.

ravenna’s favorite type would be fire. i imagine her having a specifically shiny chandelure and then a regular ninetales, houndoom, and volcarona. the rest of her team is rounded out by a mismagius and a milotic, with the milotic being a good option against the water types that could otherwise sweep her team.

mordecai’s favorite type would probably be either fairy or dark, but his team would be a mix of different types instead of one-type heavy like ravenna’s. he would definitely have a delcatty as his signature pokemon (lol) and then also an espeon he doesn’t like as much that eventually betrays him because he’s an evil character, a grimmsnarl, a nidoking, an aegislash, and a galarian rapidash.

makenna’s team is fighting focused! she would have an incineroar, a mienshao, a breloom, and a lucario, and then she also would go for a skarmory and a glaceon, partly for type coverage. 

lavender likes ghost types. he would have a gengar, a banette, and a dusknoir, followed by a weevile, venomoth, and crobat for more type coverage.

i don’t know a lot about bowen’s team for sure, but i think he would have a raticate AND an alolan raticate, a rotom-wash, and then three alakazams to round out his team. i’m not entirely sure why.

eve’s favorite pokemon type in canon is poison, so she would have a poison-focused team! salazzle, scolipede, gliscor, nidoqueen, dragalge, and a probably a florges as a wild card. 

erick likes birds so his team would be mostly flying. i think his favorite pokemon is fletchinder, so definitely one of those and a staraptor and honchkrow. the rest of his team would consist of a lurantis, a scizor, and a solrock. 

molly’s signature pokemon would be a very powerful azumarill. the rest of her team would be a lanturn, a slowking, a froslass, a galarian ninetales, and a metagross just for aesthetic honestly.

melchior’s main types would be a mix of ground and dragon. so definitely a flygon, a golurk, a kommo-o, and then maybe like... a steelix, a tyranitar, and a parasect. i think melchior’s team would be overall more resistant to ravenna’s, so that’d be interesting if they battled. 

vincent’s team would be mainly dark. he’d have a hydreigon and an absol but i also like the concept of like... a seeing-eye umbreon? also a spiritomb, a sigilyph, and a tsareena.

lucien is honestly hard because i don’t think he’d ever pick good choices in a pokemon game or the universe if this was an au. he’d go by appearance. so definitely a luxray, xatu, maractus, noivern, starmie, and politoed. honestly it’s not the worst team, but it’s not the best.

viola would mainly use grass and fairy types. so she’d have a meganium, a shiinotic, a lilligant, a hatterene, a sylveon, and an aromatisse.

cassandra would use all snake pokemon without even considering types. so arbok, seviper, serperior, sandaconda, a dragonair holding an eviolite, and a centiskorch. that’s her entire team. 

i think that’s everyone akdjslksajdklsa

[prof-peach]

This might be similar to a question asked before, but what do you think is a good pokemon for someone with depression and anxiety? Sometimes it's hard to get up and face the world - what do you think would be a good companion in everyday life?

I really do understand this issue, having both myself, but take all advice with a pinch of salt. Not everything works the same for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine, trial and error is a huge part of recovery, working out what’s right for you and how to negotaiate with yourself to do things you want or need to do. It’s tough, and I wish you luck on the journey.

Now everyone’s different, we all like what we like and there’s not much we can do about that, appart from embrace it. You need to find a partner that does things you enjoy to do as well, that is endearing and loyal, and this means it could technically be anything, so long as you and that Pokémon get along well. A lot of recovery for me was found in joy from Pokémon companions. Their growth and love gave me meaning, I could look at the day and think ‘ok, I feel miserable, I don’t want to get out of bed...but the seedling oddish I planted will need watering. If I don’t do it they might be thirsty, so I guess I have to get up.’ You can begin to do things a little easier because it has purpose outside of yourself. You do things for others because you love them, and they love you in return, Pokémon have an extremely good ability to form bonds with humans. You simply need a species that fits your lifestyle best. 

If you have limited space of course choose something small, a sunkern is incredibly rewarding, jolly and gives off a gentle fresh smell that is proven to improve moods. You could pick a growlithe if you feel you’d like to do more walking, or perhaps a Lillipup, both very sweet and loving partners. Maybe a water type, Corpish or Buiezel make good partners for those who want to do more swimming (which is suppose to be good for depression too, bonus). If you just like to stay at home a lot and read or do whatever, perhaps a Munchlax or slowpoke could be a good match. Both love to nap and chow down, and often are known to help those who struggle to remember to eat in the day, as they work like clockwork for meal times. I know I for one would always forget to eat for like hours on end, and it helped to have a buddy around who needed feeding, so I would remember to eat anything at all that day. 

There is also the Pokémon who are generally good at relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety. Psychic types in general are excellent at learning how to regulate brain activity for their trainers. It does take time if caught from the wild, but there are plenty of professors who train and give these Pokémon out at a low enough level for anyone to take them on. Their training is tailored to the individual Pokémon, and they are chosen from hundreds of young Pokémon hatched and grown for breeding programs, for their aptitude with their skills and willingness to be with humans. Those who do not want to be on the program are returned to the wild with their friends and family. 

Species who would do this well include Natu, Solosis, Espeon, and Chimecho, but of course many others would be suitable. Ones to avoid would be Abra, Eglyem, and Wobbuffet, due to limited abilities or occasionally unsafe skills/techniques used by the Pokémon. 

Alternatively you have grass types who can use scent to calm the mind and body, making things just generally a lot easier and pleasant. Chikorita comes to mind straight away, these Pokémon are always good fun, can use vines to perform tasks and help you with the jobs that you struggle to get done, like maybe sweeping the kitchen, or putting a dish by the sink to help. They produce soothing scents, a few in fact, that can do various things to both humans and Pokémon. One is an energising smell, tangy, zesty, fresh and bright, its proven to give you more stamina to do things, you feel more up beat. This helps a lot in the mornings especially, and after intense social situations when your energy tanks from any panic or nervousness about it all. They can pep you up just enough to get home or through the rest of the day. Another scent is calming, floral and delicate. It soothes your mind, you can sleep better, calm down faster from panic or stress, and maintain focus on tasks better. There are more, they make scents to express feelings to others normally, so take note of them all should you choose a chikorita. They just are really neat. Others who do this include Roselia, Cherrim, Sunflora, and Bellossom. The draw back with grass types is they require care that could be new to some trainers. In winter they may decide to root in for a week or more, depending on their size, health and age, becoming dormant and docile while they soak up nutrition for the coming year. Some species need this all year round, such as Tropius, and Lilligant. If you have limited space, a balcony or just pots indoors, choose a smaller species and invest in an everstone for the time being. You may need to perform routine care for them, much like any Pokémon, that involves gardening skills. It’s not difficult but can be daunting, so some choose not to use grass types for this reason. Also consider allergies, pollen can be released by many species and you don’t want to get a Pokémon you’re unable to be around haha. I would avoid lilligant and lurantis as options, they can be testing to work with even for experienced trainers. 

There is of course also Shuppet my die hard, sure fire way to beat the blues down to just a small heap in the corner for a while. These Pokémon eat up all the negative feelings your body is producing, just the energy behind it. You get sad, they come along, yum yum, eat that sadness right up, and hey presto you can get past the sadness. You almost like acknowledge it and it goes away. Very useful. This works for envy, anger, anxiety, sadness, and jealousy especially well. I kind of always suggest people pair a Shuppet up with a more active Pokémon should they need to. When you get a partner, especially ones who are supporting you, they also need time off. Having two on rotation, so that one can take breaks while the other helps you, means everyone’s not working too hard, and becoming stressed. 

You must evaluate where you feel you struggle the most, and pick a partner that can be there for you at that point. If you’re struggling to get up and face the world, then I think the most important factor is you need a friend. A Pokémon who wants to be with you, who likes to hang with you and play games, even indoor ones. I do hope this helps you pick the perfect buddies, you are wonderful and need to know it, and boy do Pokémon show love by the bucket full. Good luck out there.

[goldenvicious]

Vs: Team Skull Leader Guzma/Aether President Lusamine + Evo: Draco

After we infiltrated the Aether Foundation, we snuck around trying to find a way down. Along the way, I managed to find the TM for Toxic. Might be useful later.

We found the elevator, but we were unable to go down, leaving us with only one option: going up. When we did, we encountered Branch Chief Faba. He challenged us to battles, but lost. He agreed to send us down, but I saw a mischievous smirk on his face on the way down. I wonder what goes on in that brain of his...

Once we entered the Secret Labs, we split in order to cover more ground. A trio of scientists tried to stop us, but Godzilla was able to sweep through them. Once I entered one of the labs, two workers spotted me and were about to challenge me to a double battle, but Hau got here just in time to help me. After winning, we read some of the materials nearby. Turns out Nebby-or Cosmog, I should say-is an Ultra Beast capable of creating Ultra Wormholes. We hurried back to Gladion and told him the info. Once we talked over the "plan" (Gladion wasn't good with details), we went back up with the elevator.

Faba was waiting for us upstairs with a few grunts and more of his own pokemon. Through the power of friendship and a gun I found overleveling, we got by with no problems. Hau was even able to trick Faba into conforming where Lillie and Lusamine where. How do you get duped by fricking Hau? Anyways, Faba handed over the keys to Lusamine's location.

Once we got there, Team Skull grunts were scattered around the place. Turns out that Team Skull and the Aether Foundation were working together! But why? Heck if I know. Gladion rushed right by all the grunts to fight Guzma, leaving me to fight them. It was an easy sweep for three of them, and the last one just let me through. When I arrived, it turns out Guzma and Gladion fought, with Guzma coming out on top. Guzma is acting as Lusamine's bodyguard. He challenges us to another battle, and I accept.

Vs: Team Skull Leader Guzma

Guzma leads with Golisopod, and I lead with NES. One Discharge is enough once again.

Next is Pinsir. I'm playing it a bit safer and sent out Bwark. Pinsir missed a Stone Edge (Thank Arceus), and was knocked out by a Choice Specs Boosted Moonblast.

Next was Vikavolt. I sent out Draco for this. I taught him Rock Slide just before this fight. You can guess what happens next. Yup, easy 2-Hit KO.

Finally was Masquerain. Once again, Micky was able to knock it out in one clean Rock Slide, despite the Intimidate. It was an easier win then before, but I'm glad that Pinsir missed the Stone Edge.

hey, guess what?

DRACO REACHED LEVEL 50! Yup, it's evolution time! Enter: Draco, the Salamence!

I entered Lusamine’s Mansion, and the first thing I spot was the Ultra Recon Duo. One of them challenged me to a battle in order to defend Lusamine, but lost to Godzilla. I entered Lusamine’s room, and found Lusamine emotionally harming Lillie, breaking her down. Fortunately, I got there just in time to stop her. She started talking about how I’m “Too good for Lillie”. Bull... 

Before I could give her a piece of my mind, she left through a teleporter hidden behind a mirror. I healed up my team a bit, changed some of the items I had on pokemon, and followed her into her trophy room. Everyone else also followed. Me, Hau, Lillie, Gladion, and even Guzma. Lusamine reveals her plan to go into Ultra Space to capture the powerful being of light, Necrozma. Lillie and Glaion verbally show their concern for their mother, but Lusamine isn’t having any of it. She challenged me to a fight in order to prove that she’s strong enough to defend herself. I accept, and we start to fight.

Vs: Aether President Lusamine.

She leads of with a Clefable, and I sent out Godzilla. Clefable used Charm, I used Bulldoze. I knew Godzilla could take a few hits, but I knew that it couldn’t knock out Clefable on it’s own. After one more Charm and Bulldoze to lower Clefable’s speed, I switched out Godzilla for NES. At the same time, Lusamine switched out Clefable for Lilligant. Lilligant was faster than NES and used Teeter Dance, confusing NES. Fortunately, NES was able to paralyze it with Thunder Wave. I switched out NES for the newly evolved Draco afterwards, but Lilligant confused them too. After one confusion check, I was able to get a Supersonic Skystrike off, knocking out Lilligant. One down, four to go.

Next up was Clefable (again), and I sent out NES. I outspeed and land a Flash Cannon, but it’s not enough. Good thing is that Clefable goes for Moonblast, and It’s not even close to being enough. A second Flash Cannon is enough to KO Clefable. Two down, three more left.

Up next on the chopping block battlefield was Bewear. Oh, poor Bewear. I sent out Bwark to deal with them. I outspeed Beware and OH-KO it with Moonblast. Two left to deal with. 

Next was Lopunny. Honestly, I feel a little bad for sending Chad out to fight it. It was able to get one Fire Punch off (Probably trying to burn me), but failed and got Knocked Out by Cross Chop.

To end it off is Milotic. It’s able to outspeed me, and you know what it goes for? Dragon Pulse. Not once, but TWICE. Milotic, I love you. I really do, but you’ve got such a dumb trainer. Anyways, I was able to knock out Milotic with two Discharges from NES. I have emerged victorious, with no new casualties as of right now. 

After losing, she admits defeat, but continues with her plans anyways. She orders Guzma to follow her, and he DOES. She activates a machine that puts Cosmog under heavy stress, opening an Ultra Wormhole. Cosmog refuses to cooperate, so Lusamine just amplifies the stress, like the monster she is. Eventually, a semi-stable Wormhole opens up, and Lusamine just hops right in, like a madwoman. And of course, Guzma follows right behind her. 

We approach the container that holds Nebby and free them. The problem: Nebby doesn’t look the same. It looks smaller, and it’s no longer moving. We put it into a bag and go back to the main room. After the whole Aether Incident, we decide to take a nap on the beds available. I sure hope nothing bad happens the next day.

[echoeternally]

If Poliwrath and Politoed Survive Together...

Balancing the votes between Poliwrath and Politoed in the Hero’s Second Wind poll will bring them into the next story together. Those potential scenes are found on this page!

Brief descriptions and scene titles will be included below!

Fair warning: There is some content dealing with death below as well.

Second warning: This post is long to depict several developing scenes!

... ... ... ... ...

Cave of Wonders

Working together to paddle for safety, Poliwrath and Politoed are able to reach a cave that heals their wounds and restores their lives. They’re mystified by the cave’s powers, and wonder what it means.

...

Poliwrath paddled through the water, gripping his body with one arm while pulling through with the other. His feet tightened around Politoed’s hand, as his brother kicked them along.

Struggling with his sight, Politoed glanced back the way they had swam, but noticed that the tunnel had changed. He patted at his body with his free hand, and lifted it to his eyes. Nothing was on his hand.

Paddling up and guiding them to the surface, Poliwrath pulled himself up, and scooped Politoed from below, pulling him up. Politoed rubbed where Poliwrath had been hit, blinking at his body.

“That’s only going to make it hurt,” cautioned Poliwrath. “Think we both know what blood looks like.” Poliwrath chuckled as Politoed silently stared at his hand. He then turned it over to Poliwrath, revealing no blood from him either. “…Wait, what the hell?”

“You’re not bleeding anymore,” pointed out Politoed, as he glanced below the water’s surface. “I can’t even see where you were cut.”

“Well, it might be harder on me, but with you…” Poliwrath stared down at Politoed. “Wait, hold on.” He sunk back into the water and studied his twin’s body, but found no wounds on him either. Poliwrath scratched above his head as he swam back up. “Ok, that’s…weird. We…we did get stabbed, right?”

“We should be dead.” Politoed swayed a bit in the water. “When he threw those weapons at us, when we saved Greninja—”

“Maybe he missed the mark?”

“Look, I don’t know about you, but he got me for sure. Pretty sure that felt like dying to me.” Politoed paddled to the edge of the lake, as Poliwrath followed him. “Plus, even if he didn’t kill us, we were both bleeding out. Hell, we had to work together just to swim to this place, because that pain was so much for me.”

“Think either of us could’ve made it, honestly,” contested Poliwrath. “But it was a lot easier working together.”

“Usually is.” Politoed hopped ashore and smiled down to his brother, who winked to him. “But this still seems so strange. …Do you think…would it be weird to wonder if this place has magic in it?”

“Here?” Poliwrath spun around and looked around the cavern. “How could it? I don’t see anything…wait, is that grass over there?”

“Seems like it.” Politoed pointed at a few spots around the cave. “There’s some snow there, that has sand, and the rock formation there is like a miniature—”

“Mountain?” Poliwrath turned back as his twin nodded. “…Where the hell are we?”

... ... ...

Netting Newcomers

As they become more familiar with their friends of the Grass Fields Kingdom, Poliwrath and Politoed plot to advance on two attractive allies.

...

Spiraling around, Lilligant gathered petals with her spins, and they fluttered across the air as she danced around.

“Check out how pretty she is,” murmured Politoed.

“Yeah, she’s cute and gorgeous,” complimented Poliwrath. “Think she likes tough guys?”

“I dunno.” Politoed shrugged. “Maybe we can make her laugh instead.”

“Teaming up to get her interested…that’s crazy enough to work.”

As she twirled aside, Lilligant slipped from her vortex of petals and leaves. Diving from beyond it and sweeping through the air, Sceptile slashed at their practice dummy, slicing it with his blade and her plants.

“Oh no, he’s hot too,” whispered Poliwrath. “What do we do?! Who do we go for?!”

“Both, duh.” Politoed grinned. “One of us gets the pretty dancer, the other gets the sexy ninja.” He poked at Poliwrath. “Pretty sure we can work out who we’ll like more, right?”

“Hmm.” Poliwrath pondered it over and nodded. “Ok! But let’s do it nice for them.”

“Right, right, no fighting, and no advancing too much like we did with Chesnaught and Greninja,” agreed Politoed. “…Well, mostly Greninja, but whatever. Come on!”

... ... ...

Showdown Spectacular

Arriving at the arenas of the mountains, Poliwrath eagerly challenges a strong competitor of the monarchy, and drags Politoed into the battle with him.

...

“This place has such a cool arena!” Poliwrath pumped a fist and flexed his arm. “All right! Let’s get in on this one, Poli-Poli!”

“Wait, what? No!” Politoed flailed his arms. “Look, I’m not a bad fighter, but I don’t need to prove it to the likes of these—”

“Hey! Hey you! Big angry cat guy! Over here!”

“And you’re literally ignoring me again, how swell.”

“Hm?” Incineroar blinked and pointed to himself. “Cat guy talking, who’s asking?”

“Me! You’re tough, but I’m a pretty good fighter myself!” Poliwrath wrapped his arm tightly around Politoed and dragged him close. “In fact, both of us are!”

“Whoa, no, no, no,” piped up Politoed. “Do not drag me into this.”

“Come on and battle us!”

“Whirly Froggies want to fight, huh?” Incineroar sighed but forced himself back up into a confident grin. “Ok, might as well! Which one of you wants to go first?”

“Nah, try both of us together!” Poliwrath lifted his thumb up. “You want to really see how strong you are? Two-for-one, let’s go!”

“Poliwrath, that’s hardly fair for him,” insisted Politoed. “He’d be at a disadvantage by Type alone, and he’ll clearly get clobbered facing off against knights that know how to work together.”

“Sounds like you two need to be taken down a few pegs,” taunted Incineroar. He cracked his knuckles. “Don’t worry, I’ll be glad to pull that one off.” He pointed to the ground. “Come step into the ring.”

“That’s hardly fair at all,” interrupted Lucario, as he ambled over to Incineroar’s side. “If you’re going to try getting yourself killed over this place that you loathe so much, you might as well have a fighting chance.” He turned to the twins. “Your battle will be with both of us.”

... ... ...

Building Brotherhood

Reaching the midpoint cave of their journey in the mountains, Poliwrath and Politoed work together to quell the arguing mantis brothers.

...

“Get along?” Scizor scoffed. “With that arrogant little twit?”

“He’s actually taller than us,” pointed out Politoed. “Especially me.”

“Height isn’t the issue,” restarted Poliwrath. “It’s your relationship, or lack thereof.”

“No offense to you two, but our relationships are vastly different,” chimed in Scyther. “You’re twins. You have a deeper connection with one another with just that alone. But then you two get along really well, you have cute banter with one another, and you can actually battle side-by-side.” He gazed down and studied his scythes. “Scizor and I can’t even get past our differences based on the surface.”

“Oh, don’t turn this into another debate over scythes and claws!”

“Shocking, that’s exactly where the extent of it lies for you, huh?”

“Both of you, cool it!” Poliwrath folded his arms. “You two keep at this and you’re just going to keep fighting! Has that helped anyone from Grass Fields thus far?” He waited as neither mantis replied to him. “Then that’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

“Easy, Wrathy.” Politoed chuckled as Poliwrath lowered his eyes, but then straightened up and returned his attention to the others. “Poliwrath and I actually struggled to get along after we both evolved, because we thought that our differences were too great to contend with.” He pointed to his brother. “He always wanted to be the stronger one, and I always had creative techniques that I wanted to better explore.” Politoed placed his hands on his hips. “Sound familiar?”

“It’s not even just about the differences between you guys, but your whole structure as siblings,” carried on Poliwrath. “Politoed and I were always competitive with each other, but even we could put that aside when it mattered. The two of you literally want the other to fail more than you care about succeeding.” He folded his arms. “You should understand one another’s strengths and perspectives, and then learn to cooperate with them.”

“Exactly.” Politoed nodded, but then frowned as Scizor threw everyone dark glares, while Scyther placed his attention elsewhere. “Look, maybe you guys don’t want to get along either. And that’s ok.” He sank down. “But, have you ever even tried to get along?”

“Can’t recall a time like that at all,” confessed Scyther. “And you, Sciz?”

“Don’t call me that,” snapped Scizor. He checked over the others and then deflated. “...But, no.”

“So, give us a chance to help you work on it,” insisted Poliwrath. “It’s better than nothing.”

“If anything, we’ll help you guys hate each other at least a little less,” promised Politoed.

... ... ...

Clawing to the Apex

Towards the end of the journey up the Mountains Monarchy, Politoed and Poliwrath find themselves battling the enemy assassin, Zangoose.

...

“You…you’re both alive?!” Zangoose gawked in horror as the twins readied their weapons. “That’s not possible! At least one of you should be dead, and most definitely both of you! How?!”

“Turns out your aim was off after all,” taunted Politoed.

Zangoose growled and pulled out a shuriken. “Doesn’t matter. I know exactly how to correct this mistake.”

“The only mistake was letting you live,” snapped Poliwrath. “Greninja should’ve gotten you like he did your partner.”

“SHUT UP!”

With a roar, Zangoose threw the first shuriken, and lobbed a full barrage at the brothers as fast as he could manage. Dropping back, Poliwrath and Politoed dipped behind a boulder, and looked at one another as the blades clanged against the stone.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have pissed him off so much,” murmured Politoed.

“Nah, he’s distracted like that,” contested Poliwrath. “Let’s use that to help.”

“Right.” Politoed spun his nunchaku and slowly made his way to the edge of their cover. The shuriken had stopped for a moment. “I’ll knock them away when he starts again, and while he focuses on me, you rush him. Just…be careful.”

“Will do.” Poliwrath winked at his brother. “But you’d better do the same, ok?”

“Promise,” pledged Politoed. “Ready in three…two…one…”

... ... ... ... ...

(Remember, these are scenes in development. However, this is what you can look forward to, should the vote tallies of Politoed and Poliwrath be close enough together! See if you can get their combined return for the stories!)

(Head back to the poll here!)

(Still not sure or want to read more? Check back here!)

[timebranded]

✓ LES GO

Send ✓ for me to come up with a Pokemon team for your muse. // Accepting

Garchomp. Because for every one that I do, I’m gonna try keep the muse’s ‘ace Pokemon,’ (so I have something to build a team around, bc that’s how I roll) and from what I understand/remember that’s Garchomp in Platinum’s case. 

Ground/Dragon, and if I recall right he’s Adamant natured? Either way. Solid start to a team, if I do say so myself.

Lucario. And I’m not just saying that because I’m completely biased towards the Riolu line. Garchomp’s typing leaves it painfully vulnerable to Ice-type moves, so a typing that works effectively to counteract that would complement Garchomp beautifully. Why not a Pokemon whose typing is not one, but two of Ice’s weaknesses? A Lucario would work wonders in covering Garchomp’s weaknesses, and vice versa. Just don’t let the Garchomp use Earthquake.

Steel/Fighting, and you can pick almost any nature because Lucario is actually pretty versatile when it comes to ATK and Special ATK! 

Primarina. Every team has to have a starter, right? This is to cover Lucario’s Fire-type weakness, and because it also has a Fairy-typing. Besides, this strikes me as a good match for Platinum as a whole, because they can be beautiful and powerful too. 

Water/Fairy, you’d probably want something like Modest or Timid nature. It doesn’t need ATK as much as Special ATK.

Lilligant. We gotta have a pure-typing in here somewhere, so why not a pure Grass-type? It’s your standard Grass-special attacker, but its access to Quiver Dance makes it one to be feared.

Pure Grass, Modest or Timid. Or Calm. Really, anything that hinders ATK would be best.

Talonflame. While there is a quad-weakness to Rock-moves, the presence of Lucario, Primarina, and Lilligant more than makes up for that fact. Its Speed stat is absolutely fantastic, and with the right setup you could sweep whole teams with it. 

Fire/Flying, definitely a nature that ups its Speed. Given that its Sp. ATK is lower than its ATK, I would recommend Jolly. Just don’t go for Timid. 

Mimikyu. Yes, this makes two Fairy-types, but its unique typing gives it different weaknesses from Primarina, so it kind of works out. It’s a unique combination of cute and terrifying that solidifies its spot, and its ability helps out a ton if you want a free turn to set Swords Dance up.

Ghost/Fairy, preferably Adamant or Jolly natured.

[pokemonpundit]

6 Smeargle Challenge

A while back, I was writing about my attempt to beat pokemon Sun with a team of 6 Smeargles. I also don’t bother to do any grinding beyond beating the trainers along each route, but that’s pretty much always true for my runs. 

Smeargle stats are atrocious, except for their speed. Though it still hurts to look at the stat screen and see both their attack stats are less than their level. Normally the saving grace of Smeargle is its limitless moveset, which is why you still occasionally see one in competitive battles. However, I don’t have the ability to Sketch any move in the game; I just have to work with what’s around. 

I’m skipping around a bit because for the most part things go the same. Most trainers aren’t that difficult, even with Smeargles, because your team of 6 can just wear down their team of 1-3. You’ll probably have to trudge back to the pokemon centre between each battle, maybe two if you’re lucky. 

That’s not to say no regular trainer poses a challenge. There’s one with a Miltank on route 8 that knows Milk Drink, which I literally cannot damage fast enough to counter the healing, even if I poison it. My only hope is get it close, then kill it during the 5 turns its trapped in a Rollout, while also hoping that the Rollout doesn’t just destroy my entire team. 

Most of the trial pokemon are no threat. Since its only one pokemon, you can just poison them, then hope they die faster than your party does. Some of the faster ones, like Mimikyu or Kommo-o make it tricky to set up the poison (or use any move for that matter), but you can just equip Lax Incense and pray to RNGesus to make sure your poison goes off fine. 

The one exception is Totem Salazzle, which you can’t poison, or even burn. As far as I can tell, you also can’t access any Leech Seed to Sketch. Luckily for me, Salazzle has a 4x weakness to Ground, so even a Smeargle can kill it. Though be careful not to trigger the Salazzle’s Peteya Berry, because then you’ll just get sweeped. 

As cool as the totem fights are, they can’t quite compare to gym battles because they can’t get past this flaw of just having just 1 or 2 pokemon. 

Let’s quickly go over all the boss trainer fights:

Hala: I already covered him in a previous post, but I’ll do it again here.   He’s tricky because you’re running a team of weak normal-types, and also before you have many good moves.   You basically have to use Red Card on his starting Mankey, then hope the Makuhita is the one forced in. Makuhita doesn’t hurt you too much, giving you time to throw a pile of X Items at one of your Smeargle. 

Olivia: Her Nosepass is not blessed in the attack stat, so you can use an X Defense and the Leech Seed you sketched from the Phantumps outside to heal back any damage you still take. Boldore is just as terrible. The Lycanroc can break through but at this point its 6 on 1, and it doesn’t stand much of a chance.

Molayne: Set up against the Skarmory, defeat it and the Metang really easy, then lose to the Dugtrio like ten times in a row before you remember that Night Shade is a move that exists.

Guzma 1: Not actually difficult, but this happened:  My Smeargle: Charm  Guzma’s Golisopod: Swords Dance  *repeat 19 more times*

Guzma 2: Second verse, same as the first

Nanu: Nanu decided to use his Z-Move against one of my Smeargle’s that already had only 1 health left. Not actually that hard though.

Guzma 3: This one took forever.  The First Impression almost always kills something, so you just have to take it. Super Fang then Night Shade to force the Emergency Exit ability.  Next, swap to a full-health Smeargle with Lax Incense, and hope Ariados misses at least 1 attack while you set up X defenses. If the Fell Stinger kills something during this part, you might as well restart. Also add one X Sp. Def for next part.  You basically have one shot against the Masquerain before it just sweeps your whole team, so I used Rock Blast, and hope it hits 4 or 5 times.  Comparatively, the Pinsir and second half of Golisopod aren’t that tough, but if you get unlucky here you’ll have to defeat the Ariados and Masquerain all over again next time.

Lusamine 1: Just set up against the Clefable, hope its Metronome doesn’t throw anything too stupid your way (like Final Gambit), and then sweep the rest of the team. The Lilligant is funny because it keeps trying Teeter Dance when half your team has the Own Tempo ability.

Hapu: I went in to try and figure out a strategy, but I won on the first try, so apparently floundering around randomly works here. I did learn that I can’t even OHKO a Gastrodon with Wood Hammer. That’s a 4 times effective 120 power move... and I still can’t one-shot with it. That’s Smeargle stats for you. 

Lusamine 2: Basically the same as the first battle, but I poisoned the Clefable and it just decided not to take damage for some reason. Look at this smug bastard:

Gladion 4: No particularly intelligent comment here. Just that his Crobat is a beeyotch who wouldn’t let me a single move. 

Hau 7: Most of the Hau battles weren’t worth mentioning, but I died at least a dozen times to crits from his Decidueye here. It would have been was less annoying if he used it first so I didn’t have the beat the whole rest of his team each time, but this is the kind of nonsense I’m used to by this point. 

And with that, I’m finally at the gates of the Pokemon League, where Kukui is making questionable fashion choices for the weather out here. (Although I’m still wearing the default capris, so who am I to judge). This is my final team as I enter the Elite Four:

I haven’t actually beat them yet, so I’ll go do that now. Wish me luck.

[hooshizzoria]

1st plat - assume empoleon?, luxray, kricketune, lvl 100 dialga from a trade (lol)

^ this one’s funny because i swept the league with the dialga but then felt so guilty about not using my underleveled partners that I cried and restarted

plat - empoleon (NN WaterQueen), golduck, luxray (?), chimecho, flareon (NN Cutegirl), togekiss

^ i regret restarting this for a nuzlocke i never finished.

black - serperior, stoutland (later replaced w reshiram sort of unintentionally :( ), unfezant, seismitoad, gothitelle, volcarona

^ i lost this game /before/ the time my brother and I lost like all but 2 of our ds/gameboy games :( worked really hard at it too. gothitelle was the gardevoir i never properly got to use in my plat games.

black2 - serperior, lopunny, mandibuzz, volcarona, uhhhhhh

^ struggling to remember the rest of my old team :’( doesn’t help that im currently slowly making my way through an “extended team” white 2 aka I just catch and train all the pokemon that strike my fancy at the moment.

y - greninja, venusaur, aurorus (NN Aurorous iirc lol), dragonite, talonflame, ...can’t remember

x - greninja, charizard, gardevoir, toxicroak, manectric, aggron(??)

^ in this game i was like “im going to make this character be a cool character. cool character cool pokemon” ok. I’m so lucky i still have photos i took from xy before we lost our games i need to back them up.

um - primarina (NN Lavender), lopunny (NN Marzipan), malamar (Blackberry), noivern (cant remember NN off top of my head), kommo-o (NN Meringue), volcarona (NN Bellatrix)

^ i still have this game!

white 2 - lets see if i can remember them all: serperior, emolga, lilligant (Vanilla), swanna, reuniclus, crustle, flygon, beartic, weavile (Kokoro), dewgong, arcanine, tangrowth, magnezone (Emmet), sawsbuck (Gardenia), lucario (Montgomery), amoonguss (Bittle), muk (Princess), braviary (Caramel), cinccino, ...?

^ Cyan my vaporeon is the one i feel the closest to though :) i gave him an expert belt so he can sweep pretty easily.