#maybe the true problem is that cilan doesn't have much to actually connect to in a deep and meaningful way

[kalosian-woods]

to add on to the previous anon’s post, there’s a short of Bonnie and Clemont meeting Cilan, so maybe you could rewrite that or have Serena similarly meet Iris (or both!)

Yah, I watched that once I finished XY the first time (literally took me ages to find it, I was wondering 'hey, I know there has to be a special somewhere') (if only Serena had her own, seriously where is Hoenn :'U).

I'm also teetering there about including it because tbh that ep was very... idk, divorced from canon in a way?? I mean I know they usually aren't as connected (and Cilan doesn't give that much in his own ones) but both Dawn's and Iris's connect to their arcs. Chronicles also really emphasised the change that everyone went through and all of these examples show the next steps everyone is taking. Again, Cilan isn't much of a 'decisive' character as he's more go with the flow, but he had a good time with Brock and they had a (very weird but) legit reason to know each other but didn't + actual conversations that made them reflect on their journeys. But with the XY one (the only one... sorry Legend of XY&Z), a lot of the focus went to Cilan and his hyperspecific interests and apart from one scene from Bonnie and Clemont each, I had no idea that they changed from ep 1. Honestly. Ignoring their mon acquisition. And don't get me started on their futures :'>

Maybe I'm just not that much of a Cilan fan rn (it ebbs and flows lol) but it definitely would need a lot of heavy reworking overall. And (thank you so much Pearl for the ideas seriously) there really is just as much potential with Iris and Clemont (both of them having high talents as kids and scouted for Gym Leader buisiness + connecting with one type of mon a lot) as with Cilan and Serena (multi-tasking geniuses that desperately need a break + investigating/really having bonds with mons). But also I really just want girl power too lol. If we do go with Cilan and Clemont, I feel like a good bonding point for them beyond the whole natural vs tech debate they sort of had??? could be what they have gained from leaving the Gym and what can they bring to their own Gyms. The fact that Cilan is still travelling beyond his journey with Ash and (presumably) seeing other bonds between Pokemon and Trainer is a goldmine for Mr I-Couldn't-Handle-The-Gym-At-One-Point-And-Lost-It-To-My-Robot. Both of them seeing beyond what they've previously known. Having mons that aren't their usual Type. Trusting the outside and knowing when to take your own journey. What differenciates them from Brock is that they still have a Gym to return to and while... Cilan hasn't really made it too clear (we'll never know if they go the BW2 route, but considering the anime hopefully not), I feel like there's a lot to bond with over there. And of course, siblings (and Grass + Electric mons why didn't they talk about it???).

Absolutely no hate to your idea though, you've reminded me that the special existed lol (and got these thoughts running, I'm just really overworked these days heh). Adapting a similar thing for Serena and Iris does seem similar to one of the ideas I had before about them, and honestly, it was pretty funny lol. No idea how I'll do it in actuality, but thinking about it is fun lol. And once again, ignore my rant if it's too negative but I really wanted to let go of that steam for a while now ^^'