#maybe next is let's go eevee/pikachu

[eloiscbridgerton]

i've been playing pokemon nonstop ever since i downloaded a switch emulator omfg nearing 200 hours now like . girl

[starguider]

Shiny Charmander ~ nicknamed: Meelo Full Odds; Let’s GO Eevee!

Catching him brought the combo to 556 and bringing the total number caught to 627.

I wasn’t expecting to catch him not on a boosted 32 so my clip is a little shorter than I would have liked and since I was panicking to catch him I was late on hitting the record button but that is okay I still got a small recording of him appearing and he’s got the best stats! 💪🏻

The reason he is named meelo…the wheel decided so and i think it’s a cute name lol

[r0-boat]

MAybe some fluff sfw headcannons for Submas if s/o was expecting twins? Together or separate are both fine

Absolutely!

Submas Twins their partner expecting twins

Cw: babies,pregnancy, s/o is expecting babies lots of new parent fun.

Ingo

You know one of those parents who immediately color assigns children? Yes thats him. Everything they get has to be in the color assigned to them it's not to tell them apart no he could tell them apart easily he was a twin once before he knows the small little differences having his two little babies in their different color PJs make them look like a package deal. Because they are! Do not separate! Ingo was already a little nut for color coding you remember him having a multicolor pen when he would write notes down but now it just takes it to a whole another level.

Ingo is in new parent mode his rose tinted glasses are bright red everyday he has that soft kitten Smile as he can't take your hand off your tummy. The twins your future children his future children is all he talks about. Once he opens his mouth everyone knows that the next words coming out is going to be about as pregnant partner.

If you want to be involved with Planning and Building the nursery you better be on it because Ingo will be too excited and accidentally start without you. It's nice that your husband the father of your children is so excited but you're also just as excited.

Emmet

Words cannot express the excitement he feels the man is practically vibrating. Two babies for the price of one! Instead of color codes like his brother he assigns little Pokemon they don't have any joystick or Venipede onesies. I guess he'll have to stick with Eevee and Pikachu for now while he calls up an old friend, one of the many perks of being friends with a celebrity Fashionista. Emmet fuck with his friends and family think thinks about dressing up his future little children in the same things because he thinks it's funny.

Online he read somewhere that carrying twins means you're extra susceptible to all kinds of things that could happen when you're pregnant which scared him shitless. Emmet becomes extra protective. He will not I repeat will not let you do things that he thinks are dangerous! At first it does feel nice when you don't have to lift a finger. You're happy that your husband is taking the time to research however you don't want poor Emmet to be drenched in anxiety for the next 9 months.

Ingo always has a hand on you but Emmet oh man he is all over you I mean your husband was normally very cuddly but this he's practically attached to your leg he does not leave your side. Every hour asking if you need anything anything at all.

[silvermeww]

The other day I had to go out shopping with my family, and while I usually hated shopping for once, I have found some pretty funny Pokémon merch (or rather, bootlegs).

(Under a read more because it is very picture heavy)

I mean, nice try but I know that’s a Mimikyu lol /j

Wait… Lego Brock? What’s next to him? What is happening—

Literally the first thing I see after DP Brock is OG Gary. Nice.

JAMES??? Are you okay?? Please speak to me!! Also is that supposed to be a rose? I actually thought it was a sceptre right until I started posting this lol.

IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE DAISY?? SHE ISNT EVEN IN THE ANIME??? HELP???

Anyways, after this fun run I realised that there was the back of the box that shows all of the characters available and I’m just here to say that I wish I never saw it.

Ash: My brother called him bold and yeah, I’ve got to agree

Pikachu: Not his Pokédex number but I’ll let it slide.

Misty: #notmymisty (Why is her hair like that???)

Bulbasaur: Could’ve put this guy first. Also okay, this seems to be an OG thing here…

Brock: Still stuck in Hisui I see. It happens to the best of us.

Daisy(?): Had to get some girl rep I guess

Squirtle: #notmysquirtle Get the sunglasses if you’re going to be bootleg

Eevee: It’s crying out in pain, I can just hear it. How did they massacre your design that badly???

(Me: Okay, who is this rando??? …Wait, it couldn’t be…)

It’s Leon. Yeah. He lost his cap and ended up in this strange dimension with the rest of everyone. Also his hair may be cut down to shoulder length, I can’t tell.

Professor Oak: Yeah his hair went disco, he’s still in the 1970s having the time of his life or something. My sister thought he was a girl lol.

Charmander and Pichu aren’t bad ig, but the latter is a bit unexpected at this point.

James and Gary are There. Gary at least got the canon family so I can’t be too mad. James, however, is stuck with the last two of the pack imo, Gengar and Snorlax (Gen 1 who get GMax and a Mega/Z Crystal respectively… also just very well known mons) and now I’m scared if it’s an allegory for Meowth as a big cat and Jessie being dead or something. Or maybe I’m just reaching.

ALSO. Each part they have works into making a Dialga and Palkia, so there’s that. Maybe that’s the reason why they are all badly made and have been summoned to the White Space. Someone make a fanfic about it.

Further on my quest to find a small gift token for some people in a class I teach, I came upon this curious thing.

Me: Oh boy, I can’t wait to see what stickers they would make out of the XY series! Hopefully there would be some good ones out here.

(My sister: That keyhole is for the Master Class)

The stickers:

Wow, I totally remember May being there! Also I’m pretty sure it was DP that had the 10th anniversary but idk (Advanceshipping real?). Anyways I love how there is so much AG and then we get Togepi and Piplup coming in. And OG Ash. And Cyndaquil. And Phione. And my personal favourite Pokémon Rumble Charmander.

But

But perhaps the next page will give me what I want, right?

Wrong! Deoxys movie sticker be upon you!!! No, seriously, how did they get that as a sticker? I love the rep though, just wished we had all of the other characters too ngl to complete the pic. My brother loved the second Ash on the bottom pic, said it looked very smug, and honestly imagine using that sticker. For what occasion would it be most useful?? Also miscoloured OG Ash on the third row from the bottom my beloved, more 3D pics, Skitty in a Contest stage, DP Ash?? And Birch merchandise (we need that around here). Now there is one more sticker page left (it repeats the same pages afterwards), and I honestly gave up hope. And I was right to, but still, look at this lol:

The only Lucario you will ever get. That Croagunk one with Chimchar at the back. That one Ranger from that one Ranger’s special (I think the Deoxys one???). And of course, we can’t forget Shedinja.

So yeah, it was definitely a pretty eventful shopping day. I couldn’t get a picture of it, but there was this holographic picture in a frame that had Pikachu changing into different Kanto Starters, and another frame from another shop that flashed with Ash and the gang from multiple series (got jumpscared by XY help). Idk but that existed lol.

[doubleddenden]

Just for fun, I'm going to make an absolute WORST CASE scenario for Pokemon day (with sillies)

Pokemon decides to announce NFTs (they did put out a job listing for an NFT expert months ago)

Pokemon merch that's just more overpriced garbage. Shitty pastel tshirts that just have the pokemon logo stamped on the left breast area- $50, only goes to size XL.

Pokemon Go has way too much screen time for yet another Kanto fest

Pokemon Masters, Unite, and Cafe just won't end their trailers.

New tv show that's just a vague reality show about celebrities that liked Pokémon once, and it's more of an episodic celebrity biography show with one line or two about Pokémon. Not even fun ones, C tier at best. So, something like T@yl*r Sw*ft's boyfriend's football career, but one line about playing Blue for a few hours at his cousin's house.

Pokemon Home fees will increase

Pokemon Bank will close TODAY

Port of Red, Blue, Gold, Silver, Ruby, and Sapphire to NSO- you have to pay for online to access it over cloud- internet connection required, and for some reason you have to pay extra for them in a Pokémon exclusive expansion pass. No word of third versions. Does not include the events or Japan exclusives.

Black and White 1 remakes announced. It's chibi like BDSP, colors are dry and washed out, there's graphical errors in the trailer frames, they state BW2 specifically is not part of the remake, they promise tweaks to make the gameplay EASIER than ever. Parts of the game are made with AI and script rewritten by Chat GPT, with an error you spot easily in a trailer. Masuda has the remake game director's neck clenched tightly from the back. He looks at you and says "you will buy the games this time. This isn't a request." Japan pre-order exclusives are amazingly crafted Reshiram and Zekrom statues that even have light up tails and eyes, and also you get shiny versions of them only in the Japanese copies, US gets a cheap piece of paper with generic stock images of Pikachu and Charizard on it, everything is shiny locked for everywhere not Japan.

They tease a Legends game. You think it's going to be amazing, you think oh my god we're getting Legends Unova... wait, it looks Japanese, maybe LEGENDS CELEBI???...it's Legends......... KANTO, and it's the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen after the clear lack of care put into their non gen 1 games since the Switch launched. A selling point is, once again, no new Pokémon after the og 151 so older fans can enjoy it better. Your starters are Charmander, Charmander, and Charmander, you might encounter Bulbasaur and Squirtle in post game. Your job is to stop EEEVIL outsiders from the rest of the regions with their newer Pokémon from settling into Kanto. Johto is having an awesome party next door with all the regions invited, but there's been a convenient landslide blocking the only way over. It's just reskinned Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. Professor Oak is your age and putting moves on your mom.

Features a mythical Pokémon based on depression that looks like a tiny salary man, comes with its own movie featuring Ash as a depressed Millenial realizing he peaked at 10. He has to get a job. Pikachu is dying of old age and Ash has to "grow up" and release him and all of his other still living Pokémon. It cuts to real life, and Pokémon was just a game he has been playing for years to cope with his parents' divorce and eventually his own with Misty, then May, then Dawn, then Serena, then Goh, etc. Ash's dad is finally revealed: it's Chris Pratt with bad cgi wrinkles, back with milk. They go to the arcade to play Mario to stomp on some................................................................................................................................................................................... KOOPAS.

"Well that's all. Oh wait, one more thing!"

Ed Sheeran and T@yl*r Sw*ft music video featuring 1 Pikachu in a frame that can be easily edited out, with a song not even about Pokémon. The song sounds like shit and is about another breakup.

There, the bar has been lowered to the floor. It cannot get worse.

[epicspheal]

Blue should’ve won the actual battle, but Red should’ve gotten a higher score than Blue because his team had the most fun battling. Settle one rivalry, but kickstart another, y’know?

Hi there @ethergearhead!

First off I want to apologize for taking so long in answering this! School has been...rough. That and also I've had to sit on this question a lot because as we all know I'm not a fan of how the event went down to begin with. To your idea about Blue winning the battle but Red getting a higher score, I disagree with that wholeheartedly except for the kickstarting a new aspect of their rivalry. And that's because it basically repeats some of my gripes with the original event. All three of the Kantrio should have an event that lets their leadership/mentoring shine without it being dulled by someone else. Having two essentially share an event is not fair to either one. The one who wins (Blue in this case) has their win undermined and the one who technically loses but gets the higher score feels like it's a pity win (like how Blue "wins" in the canon event). Each of them should get a chance to shine in one event without having to share it. Now this doesn't mean I don't think Blue should get a win over Red, or that Red should have his skill being not approaching battles with fear, but fun. It's just it needs to be written in a way where all three get a chance to shine while also recognizing where they need to improve (thus refreshing the rivalry amongst all three) So how could this work? Well we need three events

First event I think is fine having a knowledge based portion. Where I would change it is make this part longer. SHOW how Leaf and her team actually know their Pokemon beyond just facts from the Pokedex but their individual traits. Because that is important. Knowledge is power and can go a long way in tactics. But also by showing her bonds and how she notices individual characteristics. Because not all Eevee, Pikachu, Pidgeot, etc act the same and knowing how one's specific Pokemon acts is just as important as knowing the general species' pattern. So for the first event the rankings are 1. Leaf- this is her specialty 2. Blue- keeping in line with his growth from gen 1 he and his team do solidly here but admittedly he does neglect to spend much time on this part 3. Red- Obviously Red isn't going to bomb this portion but admittedly maybe let him do the worst here just because he went drill sergeant on his team Alright so the next event is the new event. This event tests the mentees by having them battle on their own a gauntlet of trainers the increases in strength from random Pasio trainers to gym leaders, elite four, frontier brains, champions and neo champions. This is acknowledging a scene in the canon event where Red's mentees on their own merit decide to challenge some champions because they aren't afraid of losing anymore (and obviously in this rewrite there's more focus on showing Red he doesn't have to be so harsh with his methods to get the point across). So in the gauntlet all the teams do well but despite probably having the most technical skills, Blue's team washes out first, then Leaf's then Red's. Blue's team washes out because they're so nervous about showing the results of Blue's training. Leaf's team goes farther because they're still having fun (something Leaf emphasizes) but washes out for the opposite reason of Blue's in that she could've taught them a bit more technical skills (not that she didn't but it wasn't the emphasis of her mentorship). So for the second event we have 1. Red 2. Leaf 3. Blue The final event isn't until the next day and this gives time for an important scene. Blue is with his team who is apologizing to him but he ends up stopping them and apologizing. He realizes that he got a little too worked up at the thought of being able to best Red in an event like this that he only focused on technical skills and not other parts like having fun and bonding with Pokemon, realizing he's repeating mistakes from his past. This helps ameliorate another gripe I had which is him repeating the same mistakes in his pasts but A) not acknowledging that (because to be fair, people do fall into bad habits and flaws long after they learned their lesson, so it's not unrealistic that he backslides here) and giving him a way to make up for it. While he's apologizing and working with his team (along with some previous neo champions like Bede, Hop and Calem who also share the importance of learning from mistakes), Lance and Professor Oak would be somewhere in the area watching this. The final event is just a straight up 3 on 3 tournament. It goes the same way where in the semi-finals Leaf's team loses to Blue's but in the finals, Blue's team triumphs decisively over Red's due to Blue's leadership (which is him admitting fault, and learning from mistakes) So the final event score is 1. Blue 2. Red 3. Leaf That way each of the Kantrio has one first place victory, one second, and one third place victory showing them all where they excel and where they need to improve which refreshes their rivalry in new ways.

[ladala99]

Reactions/Thoughts about Today's Pokemon Direct (Feb 2024)

First off: I was predicting a Johto remake over a Unova remake. Because LGPE counts as part of the remake cycle.

I also pre-made a bingo card, so I was paying attention for these things:

I was still setting up during the intro, so I didn't even process the Unown.

Plush in back! Check! (That was going to be obvious)

SV event is Tera Raids, no Mythical. Might still be coming?

Pokemon GO is a tie-in to Horizons with a couple of new species. Neat. No Gigantamax (honestly with how Raids are what Dynamax is based on, I'm not sure how that'll be introduced).

Legendary in Sleep!!!! (I actually play this game, so I'm excited.) I was tempted to put Mew or something as my Sleep prediction, but I thought that was too far-fetched this early and a Unova tie-in would be appropriate if there were Unova remakes. Wait... Johto beasts? Johto..?

Master's EX has Silver on spotlight! Check off the Johto character on spotlight in Master's EX slot! No Unova characters, it seems. We have Geeta, the Aether family, and Riley, which are from neither region. Two Johto things, though...

Cafe Remix has some Paldea Pokemon. I haven't played this game since it came out and every time I think about going back I remember I got stuck on a puzzle and I seemed to need to pay for a microtransaction to win so I just don't.

Unite I randomly guessed Terapagos and I was wrong. Lots of Ceruledge today.

This TCG thing appeals to me. Very much appeals to me. I played TCGO pretty much only logging in daily so I could open a pack every five days - the actual gameplay took way too long. Opening two packs every day with a shorter type of gameplay? Appeals very much. I am the target audience here.

Oh and exploring the artwork? Having the artwork actually designed to look good on the phone's screen? I am the target audience. I love this. I want this now.

Wait, Unown in this transition. Unown in the intro. Johto Beasts. Silver. We're getting Johto this year! I was right!

That font in the Confidential writing... reminds me of the Team Rocket Pokegear style in HGSS.

City design? Is this a spin-off actually?

There's an awful lot of Kalos Pokemon...

That's the Eiffel Tower type thing. It is Lumiose!?

It's a Legends title! And Z! In 2025!

I absolutely did not expect this. I expected something unexpected, which is why I put "No Legends Title" on my card, but I did not expect them to skip over Johto AND Unova to head straight to a Kalos revisit.

Z-A is the actual name. AZ's whole plot took place 3000 years ago, and this isn't 3000 years ago. By other people's saying when the Eiffel Tower went up, it's taking plaace more like 150 years ago, which is contemporary (within 30 or so years) of Legends: Arceus's real-world equivalent.

But Z-A might mean we go back in time further? Maybe? That'd be interesting. But as always, I can't get my hopes up too much.

The A definitely looks stylized like it's an actual Pokemon like Z is Zygarde, but it's not one we know. Mysterious.

2025 is a good sign. Though Legends: Arceus came out in January of the target year and it still seemed it could have used some polish. Not as bad as Scarlet/Violet, but it certainly looked worse than Sword/Shield and Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. So I hope they release it when it's actually polished, not just functional. I hope to see trailers for it in next year's Pokemon Day Pokemon Presents, and its inclusion this year was only because there's no other real headline.

As for my Bingo card?

No Bingos.

[silentstaresfanficandfanart]

i have a few but my biggest one was when i was a little kid and i found out that in the pokemon game i'd just found that i was able to chose to play as a girl, i remember jumping up and down with excitement and enthusiastically telling my mom, and being so overwhelmingly excited because i was troubled lately by other kids my age having the overwhelming opinion that "girls dont play games/shouldnt" and it was like "oh yeah? well NINTENDO says girls DO PLAY GAMES so SHUT UP" : ) and it stuck with me ever since and now i make video games too! I also remember my first time chosing a pokemon and realizing i accidentally chose bulbasaur instead of charmander because i couldn't read yet (i was like, 3)

and when my boyfriend and i played minecraft (before i was dating him)i was kinda unconciously into him so i was like, intentionally putting my minecraft bed next to his not really grasping i was ...kinda flirting with him- i have no idea, he thinks its freaking hilarious but i was a bit mortified when i did admit it was a thing-

and then there was that time i was playing pokemon with my irl friend (the lets go pikachu and eevee games) together and we hunted down each of the three elemental birds together, that was FUN it felt closer to a real pokemon adventure than any pokemon game had ever felt like to me short of maybe pokemon xd gale of darkness-

no offence to the other pokemon games I just think that genuinely was a really great remake and that they deserved a lot more love than they got and that it captured some aspects of being a pokemon trainer that other games havent really managed to and I especially loved the riding pokemon features and how it was set up, it felt way cooler than normal!

do you have any video game memories that stick with you. for me it was playing Terraria for the first time with my friend and going down to the cave layer and hearing the music and going "oh dude you gotta come down here it's kinda funky"

[whispered-into-the-void]

Okay so Rampant Pokémon Speculation time, scroll on if you're not interested;

For background, The first thing I want to touch on is that the remakes have been following the same pattern as the mainline games. We got a Gen 1 remake during Gen 3, and Gen 2 remake during Gen 4, a Gen 3 remake during Gen 6, and most recently a Gen 4 remake during Gen 8. The part I find interesting, though, is that it actually included a Gen 1 re-remake between the Gen 3 and Gen 4 remakes; between OR/AS and BD/SP, we got Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, meaning the actual timeline of the remakes is exactly in-line with the mainline games; Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, Gen 1 remake, Gen 4. Of course, this means that the next remake we should be getting, according to this pattern, would be a Gen 2 re-remake, maybe along the lines of a Let's Go Togepi/Azumarill; however, I've got a different conspiracy theory I'm working off.

The second thing I want to touch on is that, other than BD/SP, the Pokémon remakes have been fully on-line with the most recent games/gimmicks. The Gen 1 remake had the dark and steel types introduced in Gen 2; the Gen 3 remake had fairy types and mega-evolutions from Gen 6; the Gen 1 re-remake was tied up with a Pokémon Go styling BC that was relevant at the time. I think that, if we got a Gen 2 re-remake right now, it would try to tie into the current generation, like ORAS did.

I think at this point we can jump to the actual Rampant Speculation, and it involves the Pokémon Scarlet/Violet DLC. Firstly, there's been the announcement of Paradox Forms for legendary groups; specifically, the first two announced were a Past form of Suicune - one of Gen 2's Legendary Dogs - and a Future form of Virizion, one of Gen 5's Legendary "Swords of Justice." While I'm less focussed on this part, I think it's a definite choice to make the two highlighted forms from Gen 2 and Gen 5, given that those are the next two games in line for remakes - again, Gen 2 remake fell between Gen 4 and Gen 5 so it would make sense to have a Gen 2 re-remake next.

Additionally, the DLC trailers have been dropping hints, along with Terapagos, that could be hinting towards a new type to get introduced. I think introducing a legitimate new type is unlikely at this point. With over 1000 Pokémon, you'd have to change the typing of an entire generation's worth of Pokémon to make it fit; instead, I agree with some other speculators that it would most likely be a terastalisation-unique mechanical type, that it'd be a different Tera Type that would expand STAB and type weakness or impact the mechanics in some additional unique way. But here's the issue; you can't just call it the Tera type; Tera Type already refers to the type that a Pokémon will take when it terastalises. So it's got to be something else; the "obvious" next choice would be Terastal type, but you'd definitely see that shortened to Tera type, and now you're back at square one. Instead, I think theyd lean into the crystals present in terastalisation, and the Tera Crystals around Crater Zero; I think the Super Type we see in the DLC will be the Crystal Type, and it'll be re-introduced in a Gen 2 re-remake, playing off of the Crystal spin-off of Gen 2.

[legendtraineremily]

Day 1 of my Pokémon Yellow Nuzlocke Challenge!

Well, I’m fueled up with one of my favorite sodas (Mountain Dew Spark), have a hot cocoa (it’s raining tonight) cooling a bit before drinking, and I’m ready to go!

Standard start so far. My Pikachu is…decent actually. I am hopeful with what I have to use for now.

Starter—Pikachu/Zippy

Lv. 5

Hp: 19

Attack: 11

Defense: 8

Speed: 14

Special: 11

Next up, the customary rival battle. Let’s hope for a paralyze with Thundershock and all will go smoothly.

Woo! No paralyze, but a Crit at the end saved my butt. That victory brings Zippy to Lv. 6 though, so we’re setting up for success.

Why’d I grab the crummy hot cocoa? Whatever. On to Viridian City, then back to get the Pokédex, and finally some Pokéballs so we can fill out the team.

So, I forgot I don’t get free Pokéballs until I beat the rival up a second time (Winning that will make him evolve his Eevee into Jolteon and get wrecked by my future Dugtrio). As I have no pokéballs yet, I’m burning route 1 to the ground to train up before going back to Viridian. Is it stretching the rules I set up? Maybe. Does my desire to do a half-way decent run overrule that? Heck yes.

Roast Pidgey with a side of Rattata Flambé anyone? The crits keep coming in spite of my low level (another factor in the game’s formulas).

Trained up a bit and it’s on to that rival battle. He’s got a Spearow leading so I’m liking my chances so far. First turn, he Growls and I crit a Thundershock on him. This is going pleasantly. :) Level 8 achieved along with Thunderwave!

Eevee took my Thunderwave and threw a Sand-Attack at me. Thanks… -_-

Stop with the frickin’ Sand-Attacks!! I won but, Gah! Now it’s off to get free stuff and finally fill the team out. Oh and stop at my mom’s place to heal because I forgot to do that in Viridian apparently. And then to chuckle at more of the “fun” Gen 1 brings—“tr to catch them”—that’s not me misspelling try, that’s GameFreak missing it when editing and fitting the text for Yellow version. It’s the little things that make you smile, am I right?

First encounter, what will you be? It’s…a Lv. 4 Pidgey! Okay, I’ll have to use Thunderwave and chuck a ball at it as such because a single attack would end it. Yep. Got it first try while para’d.

Route 1 Encounter—Pidgey/BIRBY

Lv. 4

Hp: 17

Attack: 9

Defense: 8

Speed: 9

Special: 8

Route 22 Encounter—Rattata/Remy

Lv. 3

Hp: 15

Attack: 8

Defense: 7

Speed: 9

Special: 7

Oh. Right. I forgot the menu sprites were really weird in Gens 1 and (a little less so) 2. Remy looks like a Tauros and BIRBY gets the generic bird Pokémon look. Pikachu looks fine though. 🤷‍♀️ That’s two more to the team at least!

Why yes, old man, I would LOVE to learn how to catch a Ratta—oop! You failed. Looks like my sarcasm threw him off. Good. Now comes the great question—will I luck out and get the Nidoran for my route 2 encounter? Let’s get past the forest first and hit the upper grass just in case.

Wait, why is one of my Pokéballs blacked out—oh my gosh! I forgot to heal after catching Remy! Gotta fix that before hitting any more trainers in the forest.

Excuse me Caterpie. This is supposed to go “encounter, paralyze, catch,” not “encounter, paralyze, lose three Pokéballs, switch to BIRBY, hit a couple times, catch”! Bleh! You’re now “Stinky.”

Viridian Forest encounter—Caterpie/Stinky

Lv. 4

Hp: 17

Attack: 7

Defense: 8

Speed: 9

Special: 7

After that lovely encounter, I’m going to train in the grass a bit by the forest entrance and then call it a da—oh frick! A Lv. 8 Pidgey!

[descendant-of-truth]

Tags from @ladylolalilly:

#…what the christ is this games intro?

I don't know if screenshots can truly do it justice but I'll try

(footage taken from IGN's "First 17 Minutes of Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu")

So, Pikachu (or Eevee) jumps out of "your" television with no prior establishing shots, climbs on you, gives you a lil sniff that makes them decide you're Cool, Actually, (or maybe they recognize you?) and then hops right back into the TV, where you follow them seemingly without hesitation:

Then you pick the language you want to play in, and it takes you right into the standard Professor Oak Exposition... with a twist.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border of reality, right? Same as me and that Eevee over there"

I haven't played Skyrim I just saw the opportunity and had to take it

Anyway, the same Pikachu is there when you wake up, and they hang out next to Professor Oak as he gives you the all-too-familiar "welcome to the world of Pokemon" speech. Except this time it seems to actually be happening instead of just being there for the player's benefit.

(OAK STOP BRINGING THE WHOLE FOREST INTO THE POCKET DIMENSION)

I have no idea why he does this, but it'd be easy to just say "he was experimenting with a transporter one day and things got kinda wacky" if not for... the other stuff that usually happens in these sequences.

Trace showing up here as functionally just a character model whose name is chosen by you is a very standard practice for Pokemon games, but since it was just established that we literally walked in here, I have. questions.

Questions like "why is there a physical representation of Trace here" and "did Trace exist before the game started or did we just alter his memory as to what his name is"

Bouncing off of that point, we also get to choose what we look like and what our name is. We have two base options, and a neat thing about this game is that it has multiplayer, so a second person can pop in any time and they show up as whichever character you didn't pick. Weirdly, no one acknowledges the second person, but Trace will recognize you as his friend no matter what you pick, which brings me back to a similar set of two theories:

Both of these kids existed beforehand and you simply nope one of them out of existence, causing everyone to forget them

The world did not exist before you got here, and you're shaping its details as you go along

Both of which are some wild Kingdom Hearts-type plot points, I'm gonna be real with you

(Also Oak WHY ARE YOU FACILITATING THIS. ARE YOU EVEN THE REAL OAK)

Once you're done with all that, you follow Pikachu/Eevee into the Suspiciously Screen-Shaped Light, while Oak hypes up your new adventure.

You enter the light, and...

...you wake up in a lower-poly version of your room from before, in your new body. You look around, confused, and within the next few seconds, Trace announces that he's coming in.

Naturally, you don't recognize the voice, and you just traveled between dimensions at the behest of a pokemon, so you understandably look a little freaked out when he barges up the stairs.

Or at least, that's what's implied by what Trace says:

But, sadly, he immediately brushes it off and starts rambling about how excited he is that the two of you are going to be given a pokemon from Professor Oak that day.

As far as I'm aware, this is the last time the setup of the game is really brought up. Your game-specific partner pokemon latches onto you immediately, presumably because they chose you before you even arrived here, but that's about it.

And it's absolutely bonkers to me that they chose the open the game this way, even if I can sorta understand the thought process. "Aw, wouldn't it be cute and fantasy-fulfilling for the kids for a pokemon to leap out of their screen and bring them into the world of their favorite game?" Which is exactly how it's presented, it's all very whimsical.

But the implications of it are INSANE and not something the game thinks about for even a second, which in turn makes it really funny

The Let's Go games are so cute that it almost makes you forget that you're running around in someone else's body and lying about your identity to their best friend wherever you go

(Granted you didn't MEAN to hijack this random kid's life but I have serious questions about the Pikachu/Eevee that dragged you here. Why can they travel through dimensions via television. What made them choose you. Are they secretly the real gods of their world)

[touristbree]

Penny Family Theory, Extra “Evidence”

This theory has taken over my mind, I want it to be true or good enough for a headcanon like my Bede-Mawile Theory, but it feels like it's missing that last bit of evidence or explanation.

So I'm making a post about various bits of evidence that I consider reaching or not strong enough to include in the main post.

Exhibit? A: Uniform

Throughout the Crown Tundra, Peonia is always wearing a school uniform. While the uniform looks nothing like the Naranja Academy Uniform, Pokemon has a habit of teasing the next generation in the current generation (strange totem in XY, Toxtricity poster in SM), maybe her uniform is meant to hint at the next generation occurring in a school? Meanwhile, her “Sister” Penny never wears a uniform.

You can probably see why I didn't include this first one.

Exhibit? B: Hair Color

Peonia has blonde hair and Penny has blue and red hair (maybe dyed). But Peonia also wears a blue headband.

Also a stretch.

[Image Description: Penny and Peonia side by side. Peonia has a blue headband and Penny has blue hair in a very different shade]

Exhibit? C: Mascots

Peonia wears Pikachu earings and Penny has an Eevee bag she carries everywhere... And the generation prior had Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. Her Description on the official website even comments about the backpack, which didn’t factor into the story that much.

This also feels like a stress… but I also kind of like it.

[Image 1 Description: Peonia’s pikachu earring and Penny’s eevee bag. Below them is the box art of Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee]

Image 2 Description: Penny’s description, highlighted text: She is especially fond of her fluffy Eevee bag and always has it on her back]

Exhibit? D: The most stupidest one

Penny’s name… is like the coin penny … and pennies are made of metal… and Peony is the steel type gym leader. His ace is Copperajah, Pennies are made of copper…

This is just a pun.

[ohtumbly]

The Secret Life of Pokémon Episode 3

A Great Big Treasure Hunt!

I left the house at 10 in the morning for a 2-day trip to Castelia City.

The Pokemon I took: Klinklang, Levanny, Machamp, Ampharos, Swanna, Pidgeot

There's still a lot of other Pokemon I left in the house, and Lapras is one of them, though I usually bring him around with me most of the time.

Wigglytuff: Hey everyone! The boy's gone!

The Pokemon looked out of the house.

Pichu: Lapras is still here. I thought he usually brings him out with him.

Minun: Well, I never knew he would leave Lapras out like that.

Plusle: Maybe he just forgot. He always will bring Lapras out.

Minun: No he won't always.

Plusle: Will!

Minun: Won't!

Marill: With Lapras here, maybe we could go out on a trip with him.

Togedemaru: How about a vacation to a nice sandy island?

Pachirisu: Or how about a treasure hunt?

Clefairy: That'll be fun!

Rowlet: Coo!

Piplup: I think you've spent too long on the TV.

Torchic: Oh boy, I can't wait!

Mime Jr: Sounds like fun, fun, fun! Don't you think, Wynaut?

Wynaut: Why!

Pikachu: No time to wait! Let's all hop on!

Scorbunny: Hey! Don't forget me!

Eevee: And me!

Pichu: Meganium! Over here! Can you help me open the window?

Meganium: No problem!

So he lifted the window shutter up with his beak.

Marill: Let's go everyone!

They all hopped on Lapras. Not every Pokemon, some have to keep track of the location of Lapras.

Eevee: I brought food! I got them from Wigglytuff since she said we need food for our journey.

Oshawott: And here's Lampent! In case it gets dark.

Oshawott is usually scared of the dark.

Lapras: Welcome on board a ferry trip with me, Lapras! Where do you wanna go?

Clefairy: A trip 'round the globe!

Torchic: An underwater cave!

Piplup: Scuba diving!

Pikachu: Uhh...maybe just bring us somewhere. We don't know where we're going anyway.

Lapras: Alright then!

So he sailed off away from home.

Night time comes around and they've travelled for miles and miles.

Pachirisu: Are we there yet?

Pikachu: Not really, if we see land then we'll just stop there.

Lapras is slowly approaching a thick white fog in the middle of the sea.

Lapras: It's getting foggy in here, so hold on everyone!

Oshawott: Don't worry, Lampent will he-

The light on Lampent vanishes.

Togedemaru: Rowlet, I'm scared...

Rowlet: Coo...

Piplup: I'll join in...

Pachirisu: Me too...

Plusle: I better hope we will find somewhere!

Minun: No we won't. We'll just head back home.

Plusle: We will!

Minun: Won't!

Plusle: Will!

Minun: Won't!

Oshawott shaking Lampent: Come on Lampent! Give us hope!

Eevee: Torchic! The food is for everyone!

Torchic: Sorry. But we still have plenty for everyone.

Oshawott shaking Lampent: Lampent please...

Lampent lights up again.

Oshawott: Finally!

Pikachu: Thanks Oshawott, but we're about to CRASH!

Everyone: AAAAAAH!!!

(thud)

The next morning, they all found themselves on an island and Lapras was beached on the shore.

Pikachu: Where are we...

Marill: Get up! We're here at a nice island! We can build sand piles and swim in the sea, or mayb-

Pikachu: No. This is no place for a holiday mood. There's nothing but sand. Not even trees.

Clefairy: That's strange...

Pikachu: Is everyone alright?

Torchic: Yup!

Oshawott: Yeah, and so is Lampent.

Rowlet: Koo!

Scorbunny: Lapras isn't.

Lapras: Guys, I need help getting out of the sand here.

Mime Jr: Ow...my cony head.

Wynaut: Why...

Wigglytuff: Where are they now?

Magneton: They're right here. Looks like some sort of sand pile. It doesn't even look like an island.

Eevee: Do we still have the food?

Scorbunny tries to pull the box of fruit out of the sand.

Scorbunny: Yup, and I got it!

Clefairy: We're going to have to dig the sand around Lapras to get him out.

They all used their paws and claws to dig the sand.

Pikachu: Does anyone know how to use Water Gun?

Marill: No, sorry... I can only do Bubble. (hiccup)

Piplup: Me too... (hiccup)

Pikachu: How about Surf?

Oshawott: I can!

Oshawott swam right behind Lapras and skated back to the sand. He fell off the tiny wave and landed face first on the sand.

Clefairy: Lapras can also use Surf, but he's out of the water now.

Togedemaru: Lapras can also use Hydro Pump but I think that would be a bit too much.

Back at home:

Wigglytuff: They've been here for 10 hours! We have to get them out before the boy gets home!

Magneton: We don't have Pidgeot...

Bellossom: But we have Butterfree! Hopefully he'll get us there.

Butterfree: I can't carry as much as Pidgeot...and I'm also scared of thunderstorms.

Wigglytuff: Alright, let's see...

There will be a thunderstorm at about 7 in the evening, which is about the same time as when the boy gets back home.

Pichu: I'm tired...

Pikachu: But you just had a nap a few minutes ago.

Clefairy was just casually digging until she hits a hard spot in the sand.

Clefairy: Hmm... This thing in the sand looks rather shiny.

Pikachu: Let's dig it out!

They all dug out the hard spot.

Pichu: It looked like a precious box!

Precious box: Open it up!

Pikachu opened the box.

Precious box: Hey! You found me! I'm surprised to find someone who can find someone like me here.

Pichu: Who are you?

Precious box: It is I! Gimmighoul! I'm basically real treasure in a chest, but also a Pokemon!

Pikachu: Cool!

Marill: Can we take it home?

Pikachu: Alright then, we're almost done! Keep digging!

Gimmighoul: There's no need to waste energy. I got this.

A purple wisp appeared in the hole they dug. When it disappeared, the holes became bigger and water from the sea rushed in.

Lapras: Alright everyone! I'm back in service! Hop on.

So they all hopped on and Pikachu picked up Gimmighoul onto the back of Lapras.

Pikachu: You're heavy.

Plusle: He'll tip over if he's too heavy.

Minun: Lapras is well-trained. He won't tip over.

Plusle: He will!

Minun: He won't!

Plusle: Will!

Minun: Won't!

Bellossom: They're over there!

Butterfree: Over here everyone! We're bringing you home!

Magneton: There's going to be a storm in about an hour!

Bellossom: Better hurry up!

Lapras: I'm on my way!

Lapras returned home and stopped at the port near the house he usually sits at.

Meganium opened the window and all the little Pokemon went in.

Wigglytuff: Everyone! He's coming back in a minute! Back to your places!

Gimmighoul: Then what about me?

Wigglytuff: You'll sit by the door entrance.

So when I returned from Castelia City, there was Gimmighoul at my door.

Wanna be friends?

Gimmighoul nodded his head.

So I tapped it on the head with a Pokeball.

Gotcha!

Gimmighoul was caught!

Hey everyone! We've got a new friend!

Pikachu: Pika?

Levanny: (twitch)

Here he is!

Pikachu: Pika pika!

Butterfree: Free!

Wynaut: Why!

They all had a great time with Gimmighoul in the house.

Now who wants a berry?

[mattzerella-sticks]

Just a thought I had after seeing  the announcement of the Big 8 Conference of Pokemon trainers for the final arc of the Royal Championship Tournament with Ash, but with this new region and game coming out I don’t see a future for the Pokemon anime with Ash as the protagonist anymore after this series.

Like, whether he wins or loses against Leon I think Ash will be stepping down from being the protagonist of the series. If he wins, there’s nowhere else for him to go forward so it does beg the question ‘why’ of him starting over again in a new region. It’ll make no sense for them to nerf Pikachu for this new region. If he loses, I don’t see why that would be motivation for him to go to a new region and engage in the same type of stuff he’s already done before despite not doing so with this latest incarnation (the Galar region).

Which brings me to this point - I think, if Ash steps down, either Chloe, Goh, or both, are his replacements.

I think that’s why we’ve gotten this kind of story in Pokemon Journeys because the writing is on the wall for Ash and he’s going to pass the baton on to a newer generation.

Does this make sense? Well, thinking about it I believe both Goh and Chloe were based on the sprites from Pokemon’s I Choose You Pikachu/Eevee, which was a reboot of the Pokemon Red series which started it all (with the protagonist, Red, who Ash is based off of). I think the final arc of Pokemon Journeys won’t have anything to do with Ash but instead be about Goh finally capturing Mew - or realizing he doesn’t have to capture Mew, but after completing that goal means Goh will need something else to chase after. You also have Chloe, whose character arc this series has been about figuring out what she wants to pursue and whether or not she and Eevee can bond. Plus, recent years have done a LOT to push Eevee to the forefront of the series along with Pikachu, so if they do decide to switch Pikachu for Eevee I wouldn’t be surprised. I could see both of them going off to the new region to explore while Ash either goes off to train for the next World Championships or fulfills his responsibilities as the strongest trainer in the world. Goh goes to compete in his own type of training so he can face off against Ash (because as we know Ash’s love language is battling, and I mean that in like the purest ways Ash communicates best when he’s in the midst of battle and it’s helped connect him to so many people afterwards). I also see Chloe maybe going with him in with her Eevee as she pursues contests (because I think they’re bringing that back again what with the emphasis on both Dawn and Serena coming back and pitching Chloe with it). Maybe the third in their posse is someone from the region specifically or that white-haired kid with the Bayleaf (or maybe he stays on with Project Mew if Goh decides he no longer wants to capture Mew, who knows).

I’ll end this by saying it’s children’s animation and it doesn’t have to be that deep, but the fact that this season broke the formula they’ve been working with for so many years shows that they are open and willing to change how they operate and tell the story. They tested the waters with Alola and then completely threw the script away for Journeys. Could they continue on like Journeys, just without the Championship arc and keep it grounded in Goh and Ash travelling around and learning about Pokemon, helping where they can? Maybe. But I see this getting staler faster than the original storyline.

Journeys is special, and I don’t think we’ll get a season like this for a long while. I would not be surprised if this is Ash’s last season, and they retire his character to let Goh and Chloe pick up the narrative.

[neon-moon-beam]

What I Hope For Gen 9 (Mostly Scarlet and Violet)

Disclaimers:

These are just my opinions.

I haven’t played 6th or 7th Gen yet.

It sounds like I don’t like SwSh; I actually really enjoyed them. I’m using them for comparison here because besides Legends: Arceus, they’re the most recent games I’ve really played, and for everything I enjoyed, there were a lot of things I did not and hope are toned down or not used again in Gen 9. Post under a cut due to length.

What I’d like to see:

Even better character customization options. I know being able to customize much more than skin and sometimes hair color at the very start, and then later hair color and style, eye color, and clothes probably won’t be seen any time soon, but it would be nice if they at least stopped gender locking hairstyles and clothes, go the route Animal Crossing went.

More open world, which it seems like we’re getting. I liked in Legends: Arceus how you could just throw a ball and potentially catch something, as well as being able to see shiny Pokemon immediately.

The return of crafting, but also being able to make more than Poke Balls, healing, and battle items. I really enjoyed the cooking aspect of BotW, so I’d like a game where you can forage and shop for ingredients and cook something for yourself (maybe to heal if you get attacked by wild Pokemon?) and/or your Pokemon in a camping setting like SwSh, just with more options than adding an main ingredient and berries.

A bigger world. Legends: Arceus feels very small once you’ve explored all the areas for the first time (and especially after getting Braviary), as do a lot of other regions once you’ve been everywhere. Galar felt small, and some of the routes were just tiny. Earlier Gens had tiny routes too, but somehow going to 3D made short routes feel even shorter than Gen 5 and earlier to me.

Alternative paths to getting 8 badges and challenging the League. It would be nice to have another way to unlock new areas, new items in stores, progress in general, etc. Or even a game where you could do a combo of things and say, have one badge, one contest ribbon, and a certain amount of the Dex filled out be the equivalent of what having three badges in another game would do and unlock things. I know we probably won’t get this though.

More interacting with your Pokemon in the overworld. Having Pokemon follow you (but less glitchy please!), more varied interactions with them (bring back being able to pet Pokemon, please!)

I’m enjoying seeing more characterization for NPCs than earlier Gens. I want to see more of that.

More exploring, more locations off the main path that you have to find for yourself, and more locations that are completely optional vs every location is required at some point. It was really rewarding to find these in earlier games, but later games seem to hold your hand and lead you to everything.

What I don’t want to see:      

The constant hand-holding through the entire main storyline; I don’t need characters to stop me every time I reach a town or other location to challenge me to a battle or catch me up to the plot, I don’t need the villain team, sleeping or otherwise immovable Pokemon, or anything else blocking the exit of every town until I get a badge or complete another requirement, preventing any real exploration. Something that was fun about earlier games (as in Gens 1 through 4 at least) was you could sometimes progress a little further than the current town and badge you were working on, limited only by Pokemon and trainers who were overleveled for you, and HMs you didn’t have yet. This was useful for leveling and if you had Fly, you could fly ahead to the next town so long as you’d visited it before, upon beating the Gym, etc. SwSh refused to let the player progress AT ALL and it wasn’t fun.

Just being given things, like being handed Legendaries or other usually hard to obtain Pokemon (like getting Mew or Jirachi after one badge in BDSP, so long as you had a SwSh file and/or Let’s Go Pikachu or Eevee). Working for those and having an actual fight was part of the fun and challenge of the games.

Battles that are essentially playable cutscenes. Going back to SwSh (again), there was no real risk with Eternatus, and knowing it was a guaranteed capture took away a lot of the excitement. Yes, the Max Den has guaranteed captures, but you’re not guaranteed to get to the Legendary in the first place, and you might lose the battle even if you do and have to start over. At least that was a challenge.

Less linear progression around the region (but not the way you’re thrown all over Sinnoh in D/P/Pt and BDSP either). It’s boring when every town after the first or second has a badge, and you can only go one way, especially coupled with the hand-holding and not being allowed to progress. It’s nice to have a break from the plot here and there.

This push and expectation that your starter is going to be in your party AND be your ace. SwSh pushed that harder than any other game I’d seen (I haven’t played 6th or 7th Gen yet), and ironically was the first game where I didn’t feel much of anything for any of the starters. In previous games, I have kept my starter in my party the whole time. Many NPCs around Galar talk about how special your starter is, etc, and even Leon has a team with two Pokemon tailored to your starter—the starter with the type advantage, and one Pokemon with a disadvantage. I ended up with a team that did not include my starter in SwSh as well as BDSP.

Special treatment for Charizard. I remember everyone wondering why it had to have two mega-evolutions in 6th Gen, and then in SwSh it was super annoying to keep hearing about Leon and his “unbeatable Charizard”, despite all the new Pokemon they could have chosen to be his ace. I don’t understand why they showcased a Kanto starter again instead of something new to really make the region feel fresh.

Too much attention on the Kanto starters as whole, such as being given one or all postgame, or giving them special forms (whatever the new gimmick will be in this Gen, if they do one). There are seven other Gens of starters besides the new ones we’re getting to pick from in Gen 9. It would be nice to see some of those again (and especially ones that were Dexit’d from SwSh).    

The battle style of Legends: Arceus, in that you can be up against 4-5 Pokemon sometimes, which worst case scenario means you’re outsped and have to wait 8-10 turns to move, and are likely knocked out regardless of level and type matchups. Constantly being one on one and having everything take exactly one turn isn’t realistic, but being ganged up on all the time is very annoying. I’d like to see more of a balance (and less random Pokemon inviting themselves to the battle—this means you, Paras).

 No more being forced to only battle with one Pokemon while a trainer can send out two or three. If it’s a doubles, let the player send out two! And just bring back triples and rotation if they’re going to send out three. I’m hoping that people sending out multiple Pokemon while you can only use one was just a way to show that people in Hisui really didn’t know how to battle before the player and Ingo showed them.

I don’t want to have to go back to the same area every time I want to go somewhere else, the way you have to go back to Jubilife to go to another area in Legends: Arceus. I want to be able to just walk, ride a Pokemon, or fast travel between any locations.

What I want to see outside of Scarlet and Violet:

 Another Legends title

Ports, not remakes of 5th Gen (unless they go really, really hard with the remakes—the quality of BDSP has me worried)

INGO AND DAWN/LUCAS HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR PROPER TIME AND PLACE AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD

[punz4lyfe]

Pokemon Journeys Episode 48. Let’s review:

1. I’m honestly confused on why Ash and Goh didn’t bring Dragonite and Greedent with them to Unova. Greedent was the mon responsible for getting them the all-you-can-eat pass and while Dragonite lost, they still helped out as much as they could, so where’s the credit?

2. That Pretty-Much Pikachu / Hikachu mech was Tails Doll level creepy in its inactive state. Eugh. And the fact that it can behave pretty sentiently when active honestly does not help matters.

3. This is an issue for the entire episode, but why is Cinderace trying so hard to be friends with Lucario? While it’s appreciated that he’s actually trying to bond with a Pokemon that isn’t smaller than two feet, with how much he’s putting into in making friends with Lucario, it just seems..... forced in order to establish the comedic theme for this episode. It especially doesn’t help that this is actually the first time Lucario and Cinderace have interacted in a non-battle manner, which makes this whole plot point come out of nowhere.

If they’re trying to establish the two as future rivals, then that shouldn’t work either because of their trainer’s different goals and the fact that if Cinderace ever tried to take on Lucario in a no-holds-barred battle with their trainers without any plot-induced stupidity, Cinderace would get absolutely bodied. Lucario has already done so much more impressive things than Cinderace, that in a fighting sense, it wouldn’t be a contest. Not to mention, Goh’s goal is about catching while Ash’s is about battling, but why set this up if Goh and his Pokemon are somehow just as strong as Ash? It doesn’t make sense and, like I said in an anon ask, it ruins the power balance of the show.

4. And here’s a problem I have specifically for Lucario: Why is he now suddenly acting like he’s too good for anything? Now only is this hinted in the new opening where Dragonite basically has to force him to appear on-screen, but in the episode proper, when Ash offers him a snack, he just coldly stares off. Ummm, why? He has no qualms following Ash’s directions in battle, they never had a previous spate to warrant this behavior from Lucario, Lucario showed no hesitation to cheer with his friends after defeating Eternatus, and he was completely loyal to Ash as a Riolu both inside and OUTSIDE of battles to the point he was basically a 2nd Pikachu.

If they’re trying to make him a stern and stoic type, that would be cliche because we’ve already had those Lucarios with Sir Aaron, Maylene, Ryley, and Korrina in the past. It wouldn’t be original or anything, it would be completely boring. Heck, as much as it pains me to say this, freaking CAMERON’s Lucario had more personality than this! Plus, the anime has established that baby Pokemon usually take more of their trainers after hatching, and since Lucario showcased more of that as a Riolu, it honestly feels like his character is taking a step back in development, it especially doesn’t help that we JUST had the whole “stoic-guy develops more” stuff with Raboot. Writers, DON’T reuse past elements. Try new things!

5. While the snacks Ash and Goh get do look good, it honestly would’ve been cooler if they got snacks pertaining more to the signature of Iris and Cilan as a little callback to the Best Wishes series, like maybe an Axew Chocolate figure or a Mint Pansage treat. The anime did one with Dawn and Brock with the Piplup and Croagunk episode, so why not here?

6. Also Goh only prefers plain vanilla and that’s just too relatable to me cause I love vanilla.

7. Another issue with the overall episode, but Unova just seems so dead. There are no additional people or Pokemon at the park nor at the city. This is a problem because, not only is it important to keep your worlds alive, but this is UNOVA we’re talking about, and it doesn’t help that the episode takes place in the Pokemon World equivalent of New York City.

8. And now Lucario hates getting his fur dirty? When and why??? He had no issue going his fur scorched a billion times over with Eternatus and Mewtwo and this is also a repeat of Lycanroc’s whole thing with getting messy. While I doubt this will become a big development thing that Lycanroc had, it’s just disappointing they’re reusing past gags for Pokemon instead of trying new ones.

9. Apparently Cinderace’s time as a Raboot never made it learn the value of personal space.

10. ANOTHER overall issue with the episode is how choppy the animation is. There are just some parts that look very poorly put together. Examples being Lucario and Cinderace flying around the city and Team Rocket blasting off. It literally just looks like a bunch of different frames grouped together without proper transitioning. C’mon animators, you’re better than that! Literally almost every battle scene we’ve received from this season alone so far is proof of that.

11. I do love the canine-esque sounds Lucario makes throughout the episode, something I don’t believe other Lucarios have done.

12. I really wish episodes like this where it’s the Pokemon with the most focus had either subtitles (like in OG’s Island of Giant Pokemone) or the narrator translating for them (like SM’s Pikachu’s Exciting Adventure). It would be a good way to know their characters more and help build connections. Heck, not even Meowth bothered to translate for TR when Lucario and Cinderace started arguing. Missed opportunity right there.

13. The gag where TR, Lucario, and Cinderace started swinging around the city right behind Ash, Pikachu, and Goh lasted WAY too long.

14. Nice touch of TR’s rental Pokemon of the day being Sawk and Throh.

15. Wait, so it was Cinderace, the lesser experienced of the two who’s owned by the catcher, who thought of the idea of using their glued-together palms to their advantage? Not Lucario, the one who’s been through more battles and owned by the battler? What the what?

16. Defeated by two mons who were on a basic handicap and didn’t had their trainers on their side. Further proof of how absolute jokes Team Rocket are.

17. I’ve said this for past regions, but plump Ash can either be really blessed or really cursed.

18. Hahaha Lucario got dirty again and he’s chasing Cinderace now. Can I please be done with this review now? I can? Cool.

Overall.... yeah this episode wasn’t good imo. Weird animation, forced and/or inconsistent character moments, an environment close to dead, and unfunny gags that lasted longer than they should have. Hecks, not ever TR made me laugh in this episode. I’m seriously hoping they aren’t trying to establish some kind of “ace rivalry” between Lucario and Cinderace. I’ve already discussed this issues and problems with that, so I’m not gonna repeat myself.

Sorry fellow fans, but I gotta score this episode a 3/10 for all the reasons above.

Looks like next episode will introduce us to Chloe’s leaked Eevee, so here’s hoping we can get some character development! Please please PLEASE some character development!!