#not sure which one it was but it was definitely one of them. maybe cyndaquil? because of the dudes with the johto starters | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

adobe-outdesign · 3 years

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Reviews of All Scrapped Spaceword Betas

Exactly what it says in the title. This is also for my reference, as I might redesign some of these later for funsies.

I’m only including Pokemon that were 100% scrapped (we’re not here to argue what might have become what) and aren’t evos/pre-evos of existing Pokemon. Also, I’m using the English fan-translations for the names because I don’t speak Japanese.

Flambear/Volbear/Dynabear

Our original fire starter, and yeah, I can see why this was scrapped. For starters (heh), it looks more like a rodent that evolves into a lion than anything resembling a bear. And secondly... it doesn’t really have a clear focus, nor a memorable design. It’s just kind of a rodent-bear thing with flames tacked onto it.

The best Pokes usually have a "catch” to them, and these guys lack that. For example, this got replaced by Cyndaquil, which has the concept of flaming spikes that form out of its back. That’s memorable. This, well, isn’t.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of focus/interesting design

Pokes to fill the void: Teddiursa and Ursaring are probably the closest in terms of being bears. Something about it also reminds me of Growlithe/Arcanine, probably because it’s a fluffy fire thing that evolves into a bigger fluffy fire thing with a mane and black markings.

Cruz/Aqua/Aquaria

This has the same problem as the Flambear line, just less extreme. It’s okay, being a little plesiosaur that evolves into a bigger plesiosaur, but it also lacks an interesting catch to it. The pearls are maybe something, but they’re not really emphasized, just kind of tacked on. Plus Dragonair kind of has the crystal neck ornaments on lock. And the horn. And the underbelly. And the water theme...

Whoops.

I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to a plesiosaur water starter in the future, but it would probably have to be completely redesigned.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of focus/interesting design; too similar to Dragonair

Pokes to fill the void: Dragonair, as mentioned above. If you want a plesiosaur, Lapras is always a thing.

Putting the rest under the cut for length.

Sunmola1/Anchorage/Grotess

This is one of the most chaotic beta evolutions out there, aside from beta Girafarig. I can see the resemblance between Sunmola1 and Anchorage to some extent--counter-shaded blue fish with two fins and a short body--but the anchor part of the evolution comes out of nowhere. Then it sporadically turns into a gulper eel, which has nothing to do with the previous two evolutions at all.

I’ve heard some people suggest that Sunmola1 basically gets dragged into the depths and turns into a deep-sea creature due to its anchor, which is a fantastic idea. However, if that’s what they were going for here it’s not really clear, and I think it could be executed much better.

Individually, Sumola1 is a little plain. Not terrible, but I think they could do something more interesting with the little head thing. Anchorage is memorable, but there’s something very un-Pokemonish about it. I think it’s just the fact that it’s basically cut in half--I keep expecting the backsprite to show its organs or something. Grotess is also a bit too plain.

It’s also worth noting that at some point, this was the evolutionary line, which is more consistent but much less interesting (save for the middle evo’s eyes, which are pretty great).

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of evolutionary consistency; some designs plain or not very fitting for Pokemon

Pokes to fill the void: Alomomola is a sunfish Pokemon. Sharpedo is a shark crossed with an object, and Grotess almost certainly became Huntail and Gorebyss.

Rinring/Bellboyant

These two... are pretty good. They have a simple catch--black cats with bells--and the designs are nicely executed and memorable.

If I had one complaint, it’s that they maybe seems a tad unfocused in the backend of things. They’re dark types, but have a bunch of “cutesy” moves, and it’s not clear why’d they be dark apart from being black cats. They seem to have a magical girl vibe (Bellboyant looks a bit like Luna from Sailor Moon, which is probably not a coincidence), which also has nothing to do with the bells or the dark theme. I do think that the designs themselves are fine though, and that if you just focused on the sound concept a hair more you’d have a pretty great Pokemon.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Not entirely sure, these definitely would’ve been popular. Might’ve just been a balancing thing, or it lost the dev popularity contest.

Pokes to fill the void: Skitty kind of has the same vibe as Rinring. They also remind me a bit of the Meowth line, being cat Pokemon with metal attached to them. The Purrloin line takes over the “dark-type cat” aspect.

Bomseel

I’m torn on this one. On the one hand, it’s a very plain looking Pokemon. The idea of it balancing a fireball/bomb on its nose instead of a ball is clever and memorable enough... except that it’s dependent on it being on that pose. It can’t balance that 24/7, and once it stops all you’re left with is a plain sea lion with dark points.

However, it’s fire/water. The only fire/water we have right now is a legendary, so it would be sweet to have one that’s just a regular poke. So it’s not that the concept itself is bad, using a water-based animal and adding a fire type; it’s just more that the execution is lackluster. Give this guy a hook not related to the fireball and make the seal itself more interesting and I think you’d have something here.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of interesting design

Pokes to fill the void: Volcanion is our only fire/water Pokemon for now. In terms of seals/sea lions with a circus theme, Popplio is a decent enough match.

Tigrette/Electiger

Someone at Gamefreak hates tigerballs, because this line was planned for Gen 1, scrapped, then planned for Gen 2 and scrapped again. Which is strange, because while it’s not the best design it’s not bad either. It’s very very cute, and could definitely find an audience.

However, I’m not really sure what the premise is here. If it’s based on tiger clay bells, then it doesn’t really play into the bell theme much at all. And if it’s not... why is it so round? It’s not that the roundness is bad, but it would usually form the hook for this Pokemon, like it collects static electricity in its fur that makes it puff out or something. Maybe some dex descriptions would’ve made this clearer, who knows.

Also, Electiger is literally the exact same design as Tigrette, just bigger. It would either need a completely new final evolution or would need to show up as a single evo.

While that sounds harsh, I do really like this design. Fix the evo, figure out/build on the hook of it being round or bell like, and maybe refine the markings a touch and it would be pretty perfect.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Not sure. Might’ve been too similar to Pikachu (both being yellow round electric type Pokemon with zig-zag tails, and og fat Pikachu was also very round). The need to rework the evolution also might’ve turned GameFreak off of it.

Pokes to fill the void: Spheal and Rowlet are both pleasantly round. Pikachu is cute and electric themed in a similar way. In terms of tigers, Raikou is also electric-type. The exact way the stripes are done here is also very similar to Litten.

Kurstraw/Pangshi

GameFreak. GameFreak, you are telling me that we almost had a voodoo-doll Pokemon based off of Ushi-no-Toki-Mairi that evolves into a fucking jiangshi panda?? You are killing me here.

A few interesting things to note here:

Kurstraw evolves at level 1. How? Why? No idea. It could just be a placeholder, but...

The fact that Kurstraw was set to have Curse as its signature move (then called “nail”) and that it only learned this move at level 100 makes it evolving at level 1 seem intentional.

To make things more confusing, it almost seems like (and this is speculation on my part) GameFreak’s intention was to encourage players to not evolve this thing. Stats are comparable, Kurstraw only gets its signature move if you level it up to where it can’t evolve, and Kurstraw has the better moveset (getting frigging destiny bond at lv. 16, while Pangshi gets... splash (which. makes more sense when you consider it’s called “hop” in Japan but it’s still useless). If that was what they were aiming for, then that’s a really unique mechanic that would really make this poke stand out.

Design wise, Kurstraw is... well, it’s a doll with a nail rammed through it. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not very Pokemon-ish. Meanwhile, Pangshi is maybe a little too much like a Jianshi rather than being reminiscent of one, right down to the little hat. The pose, fangs, and panda colors (which resemble Jiangshi mandarin robes) are more than enough to get the hook across.

What I really love about these two are the expressions. They are just like, so dissonantly happy. Kurstraw is literally like

and Pangshi has the dead-eyed thousand-yard stare of Espurr, except unlike Espurr it looks completely and utter deranged. It looks like if this Pokemon ended up in Mystery Dungeon, it would respond to every question with “my favorite color is blood”. Amazing.

Possible reason for being scrapped: I think these two might’ve been scrapped just because they were too scary. I mean, it’s a voodoo doll impaled on a giant nail that evolves into a literal actual corpse. The implied violence was probably just a bit much for GameFreak.

The reason I think this is, beside the fact that they have fairly solid designs, good hooks, and all of their stats and moves in place, most beta Pokemon have had their premises revisited at some point. But we’ve really never gotten a voodoo doll Pokemon since this, and we definitely haven’t gotten any jiangshi Pokemon either, which suggests the problem lied in the very concept rather than the execution.

Pokes to fill the void: People say that Kurstraw was reworked into Banette, but if anyone Pokemon resembles it to be, it would actually be Mimikyu. They both have cloth bodies with drawn-on smiley faces that resemble something cuter than them and they both want to curse you for existing.

For Pangshi... well, there’s Pancham if you’re looking for tiny pandas. If you’re after a jiangshi though, you’re out of luck.

Wolfman/Warwolf

This Pokemon has a great hook. I mean, a Pokemon that wears a pelt that transforms it into a werewolf? Hell yeah. Not to mention it might be a reference to an obscure Nordic tale about people donning wolf pelts to turn into wolves for ten days.

Design wise, it... well, Wolfman looks almost exactly like Venonat. I’m not the only one who sees this, right?

That aside, I think the idea could be played up a little more. Wolfman is fine, save for its Venonat-ishness, but Warwolf doesn’t do much for me, basically just being a larger version with claws and fangs. If the idea is that it turns into a werewolf by wearing the pelt, what if its evolution looked somewhat like a wolf? Or better yet, the actually body of the thing changes to fill the wolf skin more, so it looks like its a part of it? That would really elevate this Pokemon to a new level.

Possible reason for being scrapped: I’d guess that it’s the same problem as Kurstraw and Pangshi--too scary. I mean, that is a dead pelt of some kind, which means that it killed and skinned some kind of Pokemon, and that’s not getting into questions of what Pokemon they got that from.

It’s also worth noting that when we did finally get a werewolf Pokemon via Lycanroc, it was minus the pelt concept.

Pokes to fill the void: Lycanroc as our werewolf Pokemon. In terms of design, Venonat is very similar as noted above. And something about it really reminds me of Snorunt, being little critters with glowing eyes that wear a cloak of some kind and live in the cold (this line was ice-type).

#pokemon #pkmn #beta pokemon #pokemon gold and silver #pokemon gen 2 #outdesign posts things #god this ended up a lot longer than I intended it to #anyway I hope you enjoyed me rambling about concept art for 2k words

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mcofthemansion · 3 years

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Just thought it would be interesting to think about what pokemon starters the Ikemen vampire characters might pick! And maybe what kind of trainers they would be...well of course once Mc explained what a pokemon is...I hope this isn't boring

So here's the headcanon :

(These are just my opinions! Feel free to tell me what you think! There isn't like a wrong or right answer)

Arthur :

• Arthur finds all the starters of each generation interesting

• would probably pick a pokemon with an outgoing personality something like maybe Oshawott, Charmander, or Popplio

• Remembering when Arthur told us about when he was getting Vic...who's to say he won't make that same cute mistake twice (even with his godly observation skills, he's still capable of mistakes sometimes, rarely, besides it's cute) With a pokemon this time

• So Arthur chooses Popplio

• "don't you look like a fine gent, let's get along nicely"

• Eventually Popplio evolves into Brionne and then Primarina then he realizes his Primarina is a girl

• still sticks to his guns like he does with Vic

• He loves how pretty and majestic Primarina looks, and plenty of "Skirts" in town like his pretty Primarina too

• He would probably be decent at batting but with a beauty like Primarina maybe he would try Contests or Musicals instead, also lots of contest or musical trainers are women ;)

• Imagine Arthur dressing up Primarina as a detective!

• He would probably also be the kind of trainer to always stock up on full restores, revives, and full heals.

• He might be a pokemon breeder on the side it kinda suits him sort of, maybe eventually dabble a bit in pokemon doctoring

• He might meet Brock from the first season of Pokemon and become good friends

• Would probably be smart with like battle items too like X Attacks and X defenses and such

• perfect strategist and would set up terrains and use smart moves, would also have perfect offence and defense

• He and Primarina would probably be a delight to have a journey with

...

Theo :

• Would immediately look for a strong and or tough looking one

• No dog starter, that's too bad

• Stays the hell away from Litten

• Can sense great things from Charmander

• trains very hard everyday

• Charmander evolves into Charmeleon then Charizard and does not disappoint

• No one would want to mess with Theo and Charizard

• Focuses more on attack

• probably has like a potion somewhere right? Kinda forgets about that

• I can see him having a few similar personality traits from Paul from the pokemon diamond and pearl anime

• Once he becomes pokemon champion of the region he's in, he'd probably spend loads of time at the art galleries in different regions, it would be a whole new world for him

• Charizard would have a sweet tooth like Theo (They need some cute underneath that tough exterior)

• Charizard gets along well with Vincent's pokemon

• Would be a great Ally to have if your traveling and prone to regional evil team encounters

...

Vincent :

• Is a great friend to the shy pokemon of the bunch

• All the pokemon are at least a little drawn to his kind and caring nature, he's the snow white of the mansion residents

• I can see him eventually deciding on Chikorita

• He would probably paint pictures of it and have them put in pokemon art galleries, like the big one in Lumios city in the Kalos region

• It will look even prettier as it evolves

• C'mon Vincent and Meganium was meant to be

• He would probably be more into Contests but make no mistake, he will mop the floor with your pokemon if you dare battle him

• Would probably be great at defense and takes out pokemon in 1 hit

• He would probably immediately be good at making pokemon food, he doesn't want them to starve afterall

• His pokemon are close with Theo's pokemon

• He would probably be good about always having supplies on hand for pokemon

• Meganium would probably always have the same expressions as Vincent most of the time! Adorable!

• He Would be a delight to travel with

...

Will :

• Which one looks mischievous enough to keep up with him?

• Chimchar looks promising, great energy, and fire typing looks fun, what was fire symbolic of?

Well lots of things... but in this instance Hell.

• might even join an evil team just to write incredible plays for pokemon musicals, in secret of course, then possibly be a double agent for the good guys, really it depends on his mood.

• did I mention he adores pokemon musicals? New passion right here

• Although would probably beat the league to earn that respect, with you guessed it, un-evolved Chimchar like a madlad

• Chimchar would evolve into Monferno then Infernape later and be like a copy of Will

• He would probably lean more towards special attack and special defense

• Would probably at some point come across Jessie and James...just found his first play victims >:)

• Would be very entertaining to travel with, but he might dissapear if he find a scheme to cook up

...

Comte :

• Enjoys the beauty of all of them

• Has a hard time deciding on a typing

• Eventually he gets a sort of connection with Fennekin

• Both the beauty of the starter and his own handsomeness would complement eachother nicely

• He would probably get an Elite four position like very easily

• battling would totally be his thing, although his pokemon don't get dirty during battles

• focuses on speed

• is a very prepared trainer with items

• probably gets a big fanbase as large or larger than Raihan of the galar gyms

• He would have a very refined Braixen then Delphox

• Kalos is like home to this man, it is the france of the pokemon world afterall

• Might join a contest if the mood ever strikes him

• He and his team are the definition of elegance

• Would be incredible to travel with, although expect him to be swamped by fans everywhere

...

Leonardo :

• Litten reminds him of Lumiere

• Litten likes naps

• Leo just found a pokemon partner in a couple seconds

• Leo would probably be on a pokemon journey practically forever just living his life and just going with the flow

• He would EVENTUALLY get champion status...EVENTUALLY

• Would probably be a pokemon culinary genius (c'mon it's mostly berries anyways, and this man is talent galore)

• Litten would be the cat version of Leonardo

• It will eventually evolve...with time...EVENTUALLY...to Torracat then Incineraor

• Even as Incineroar it's like looking at Cat Leonardo

• His Incineroar would probably be the strongest Incineroar of all time and not give a damn about it

• His pokemon are very peaceful

• Leonardo might paint something for a pokemon gallery if Theo bugs him enough

• After having his Champion status he'll probably just move on to the next region

• a delight to travel with if you don't mind waking him up from naps occasionally

...

Isaac :

• So much to discover

• Where to Start? Probably with a starter pokemon

• He has a hard time opening up to a connection, but Cyndaquil reminds him of his own pet at home, and it's quiet enough to focus on research

• Eventually he picks Cyndaquil

• Isaac has started on the road to being a pokemon professor

• He is an impeccable assistant

• Will probably be most interested in ultra space and ultra beasts

• Hell yes he's going into space, it's for science

• Cyndaquil will probably be a cute assistant to Isaac, making sure he isn't cold when he falls asleep at his desk, giving cuddles when needed, and being a sweetheart

• This type of assistance warms Isaac's heart, Cyndaquil was the right decision

• Isaac isn't the best at batting, it's stressful and he's all over the place, why would he willingly put his little Cyndaquil in danger?

• But when he does he's quite defensive and uses items a lot

• Cyndaquil would probably learn to be great at finding space samples Issac might want

• Cyndaquil probably would have a hard time getting necessary experience to evolve, but in time he would probably evolve battling against ultra beasts and saving Isaac from them

• Isaac would be very nice to travel with but be warned he is training to be a professor, so expect him to stop at labs.

...

Dazai :

• There are bird Pokemon that remind him of Bunta but he wants something different this time

• Foakie, it seems good at stealth, which means it'll be incredible at climbing through windows

• Dazai and Froakie immediately get along, even though Froakie isn't as much into pranks, jokes, or teasing like Dazai is with the mansion residents

• They are both kinda relaxed

• Froakie is fond of the slight chaos energy Dazai seems to emit sometimes, it's fun chaos not evil chaos :)

• Dazai appreciates the more slightly down to earth nature of Froakie

• Dazai having a water type now would probably try Mantine surfing and probably make friends with Grimsley due to similar clothing styles and having water type pokemon

• Dazai would probably have the most unexpected pokemon journey out of the residents

• He would probably get to becoming a pro Mantine surfer.

• Froakie would follow that path too

• Froakie would eventually evolve into Frogadier and then Greninja due to battles with Grimsley

• He would be fun to hang around

...

Sebastian :

• Would probably go with Squirtle due to familiarity and nostalgia (he is from your time and Squirtle is quite popular, lots of people have a soft spot for gen one)

• He won't waste a second and get battling to make it evolve

• Now imagine this guy having a Blastoise to wash laundry.

He'll never spend too much time washing again.

• even though Blastoise is bulky Sebastian will happily train it to be a good butler like he is

• Sebastian will probably go on a pokemon journey that leads him to the Unova striaton city gym.

• Why? It's like a gym made for butlers! Did you see the uniforms?

• he'll probably still keep tabs on what the residents are doing too somehow

• He'll probably have fun learning the history of this place although re-learning history even if it is a new one might be a slap in the face

• He could probably have Blastoise do small bursts of water or a gentle bubble beam to clean hard surfaces and windows too

• He would possibly make friends with Az from Kaloa and Hapu from Alola while learning fun history facts

• traveling with him would be pleasant

....

Napoleon :

• He would pick Piplup

• Was there even competition? Ok maybe Charizard was an attractive offer but Piplup becomes an Emperor it's practically screaming his name.

• He would waste no time meticulously and throughly training it and his team

• He will have an Empoleon in no time

• He will probably be on par with all the strongest trainers

• Will probably become a pokemon master easily and will have beaten the league in every region

• probably feels good to pokemon battle, it's refreshing and fun, will probably battle Jean from time to time.

• hard to describe what he focuses on most, but probably special attack

• It would act just like Napoleon

• Napoleon probably likes the idea of battles with no death

• Napoleon will see Empoleon as a close partner and friend

• He probably has a bunch of Pp up's and Hp up's in his bag, not many restores or potions, c'mon this guy doesn't lose he doesn't need them

• He would probably be thrilling to travel with, like having your own 3d action novel play out before your eyes

...

Jean :

• holy boi is lost here, they're all kind of strange but eventually he gives in and picks one.

• Sinvy

• it's calm and honestly a bit mysterious

• He would train his Snivy well, it would be just as strong as him

• it wouldn't take long to evolve

• he'll probably become good friends with it, tell it all about where he comes from

• Jean would probably be the most homesick :(

• He would probably pick a job like looking after legendary pokemon shrines and temples

• He'll probably run into the other residents a lot

• I feel like for him to like it here something big should happen, like meeting Arceus and having a battle

• Then he and his now Serperior would probably bond over that moment

• after that he would probably come to love pokemon

...

Mozart :

• He was partial to Popplio Primarina but Arthur already claimed it

• Well all of them are cute and kind of interesting, and he's not against teaching it music

• Torchic it is since it's a bird and birds sing well

• Now Mozart's Torchic is quite musically gifted so they actually get along quite well, it can also dance nicely.

• He eventually evolved it into it's final evolution Blaziken with the help of Jean and Napoleon

• Mozart will probably write music for pokemon musicals and contests

• Probably during a heated session of music writing, he and Blaziken will get so in sync that he discovers that mega evolution is a thing that exists

• He will probably make writing music popular in this universe

• He might also be quite homesick

• But he does enjoy Blaziken's company

• He isn't too big on batting without the help of Jean and Napoleon but he's probably offensive rather than defensive

• He is pretty a good trainer and carries all the pokemon essentials

• It would probably be sweet and bit exhausting traveling with him, he'll get loads of music ideas

.....

(I'll also include the unholy trio, Vlad, Faust, and Charles because why not)

...

Vlad :

• Would pick Bulbasaur

• Venusaur is a huge flower monster c'mon, a deadly flower has Vlad written all over it

• He would probably be excellent at training it so evolution would be easy

• He would probably be an elite four

• He probably focuses more on attack during battles

• He may or may not be on a quest to catch a legendary or all of them

• He might create a new evil team...maybe

• He really does look like a good evil team boss, and Venusaur can look threatening if raised to be threatening

• Venusaur would adore Vlad, almost worship him

• Vlad will make it the prettiest flower and care for Venusaur well

• Mega evolution would be unlocked for him

• He would probably be an interesting fellow to travel with

• would probably like pokemon

• Ultra space travel would probably be a thing for him once he and Venusaur get ahold of Lunala or Solagelo

...

Charles :

• Needs something as clingy and energetic as he is

• Scorbunny it is

• They would probably feel a magical connection instantly

• He would train very hard with it although battling might be difficult because he gets worried when pokemon faint

• He is probably a big fan of Gigantamax and Dynamax

• loves the loud Stadium music in Galar

• He would probably want to be a gym trainer and take over the galar fire gym once Kabu retires

• He has mastered attack and defense

• Charles would probably cuddle Scorbunny a lot

• He would still cuddle Cinderace once it's all evolved

• He would probably also be good at cooking

• He probably has a lot of potions a stuff too just incase

• He probably likes watching how cute Cinderace is when it's eating berries

• He probably loves Cinderace's fluffy ears

• He really likes how fun pokemon are

• He is probably really pumped and fun to travel with, some aspects of his personality might be slightly Ash ketchum-ish

...

Faust :

• Rowlet's final evolution is a ghost type you say?

• He'll take it

• He would probably also be a pokemon professor, but not quite like in a professor Oak kind of way, he also wouldn't be much like Isaac either, He'll probably resemble evil team scientists bit he'll have a heart like Colress from Unova

• He'll probably be interested in studying Giratina or Yveltal for starters

• He probably wouldn't get along with Rowlet off the bat because it's scared that it might be dissected

• But Rowlett will see his sweet side and they will eventually be inseparable friends

• Faust will love the ability spirit shackle that the final evolution of Rowlett, Decidueye possesses

• Evolving it wouldn't be a pokemon for Faust

• He has a whole vast world to research now, he's probably on cloud nine

• He's probably excellent at batting even if he doesn't do it that much

• He might join an evil team if they fall in line with his plans

• Traveling with him wouldn't be boring that's for sure

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crystalelemental · 2 years

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I caught a Timid female Eevee in Legends, and now I don’t know what to do with myself.

I started with Cyndaquil again, with the intention of actually using Typhlosion. So I’m definitely keeping that one. I’m also likely going to keep my Jolly Lopunny and Adamant Lilligant, because let’s be honest with ourselves. I have an Impish Scyther too, and I’m tempted to make use of Kleavor.

While I initially wanted to run Gardevoir, I think I’m going to not do that this time. Probably. Maybe. What I could do is split that up into a Psychic and a Fairy type option. Which means I might go Espeon with this Timid Eevee. But I could go Sylveon. Whichever I take, I’d want to use something with the other typing.

If I take Espeon, Fairy-type options exist, but I think I’d like to run Togekiss. I like Togekiss and rarely ever get to run it. The alternative is Clefable, who I like well enough but eh. Togekiss feels more fun.

If I take Sylveon, I could run...Braviary? Give that one a spin? Or Alakazam? I think in any of those scenarios I’d drop them for one of the lake trio once we got to post-game. Or Cresselia again, but I’m trying to avoid just legend spamming.

So maybe I go Espeon. I really like Sylveon’s design, but I’m way less excited about the other Psychic-type options. Though frankly, even if I do make this decision here, there’s the chance I swap out what I’m doing anyway. I also caught a Timid Porygon and am super tempted, to say nothing of the possibility of taking Magnezone or Empoleon from the Coastlands once we get that far. Or maybe a Probopass! Like sure, Rhyperior didn’t work out because its special attack was low, but Probopass has tremendous bulk in both stats, maybe it’ll work out? Worth a try at least.

Point is, there’s a lot I’d like to give a shot here, and while this decision haunts me now, I may not even wind up using the option I pick long-term. So we’ll see what happens.

#pokemon legends arceus

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pokemongoexcitement · 2 years

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So I beat Pokemon Legends: Arceus!

Spoilery talk under the Read More.

I had a good idea when I first saw the teaser for the game that I’d probably enjoy it, and I’m glad to say that I did, indeed, have a great time! While there weren’t as many new Pokemon as a new region, seeing each new one was always a treat, especially for regional variants I hadn’t even thought about existing, let alone expecting to appear. And I had the fortune of seeing some for the first time as Alpha Pokemon, which added to the amazement as I hid in the nearest patch of grass or fled as fast as Wyrdeer could carry me. The Ride Pokemon that weren’t shown in the lead up to the game were pretty cool, especially that Sneasel variant that I’m not able to remember the name of right now; I honestly had to laugh to see that the way to scale cliffs was to hang out in a basket on a Pokemon’s back as it climbs the mountain (or tree, as I accidentally found out) for you. Your eyes even are visible in a hole in the basket, which adds to the humor a lot.

I’m glad to say that I got to try training a lot more new Pokemon than I did in Brilliant Pearl, and finally got around to adding Dialga to my team! ... At least for now. I had an Alpha Goodra on my team before, at least for a little bit, and I might switch her back in, but on the other hand, seeing Dialga stomp on ores for me is oddly funny. While I had planned on some team members - Cyndaquil for sure, even when I worried about not liking whatever it’d evolve into for the regional evolution, Hisuian Braviary, and definitely a Luxray - others were spur of the moment, such as that Stunky that I got out of the paddock after hearing that the area I was heading for was rumored to have lots of ghost type Pokemon. It was a false alarm, as it turned out, but she turned out quite helpful.

As delightful as my team this game was, I found myself growing just as attached to the characters. Having the main character have dinner at the end of every major mission with the rest of the Survey Corps team just made me more attached to them. I grew to enjoy going out with missions with Adaman and Irida, to the point where I had a hard time choosing who to team up with in the last third or so of the game. Only the fact that I liked Dialga more than Palkia led me to choose Adaman, and even then I still felt bad for having to choose between them. At first I honestly thought Cyllene didn’t care about my character at all, but when things take a turn for the worst and she shows that she cares about them, I couldn’t help but smile. I do wish we’d gotten to see more of the rival than the tutorials, the occasional battle, and dinner - perhaps they’d be involved with something involving crafting at the base camps - and seen more of their arc of learning to battle with their Pikachu. It was brought up, but kind of dropped halfway through the main story. Maybe it continues in the post-game or if you complete enough requests, though.

I don’t know what I expected storywise when I started the game, but I wasn’t really expecting all the probably deliberate parallels with the Mystery Dungeon games. I thought it was only just the beginning and the whole natural disaster part that was similar, and that the main character joining Galaxy Team just like the main character of Explorers joining Wigglytuff’s Guild was a bit of a stretch, but then the last third of the game happened, and things felt a lot more deliberate then. I even swear that at Cogito’s house you could hear parts of one certain Mystery Dungeon track in the background of the music that played there. It was so strong that at the end of the game, where your character pauses at the top of the temple as everyone goes to leave and looks at where the time-space distortion used to be, I caught myself thinking, “Do not turn into light, do not turn into light, at least wait until the festival before disappearing” because it felt like such a natural moment for that to happen. They didn’t, but I do kind of wish that they’d delved more into the fact that the rift disappeared, leaving the character stranded. The possibility of that happening was mentioned exactly once and never lingered on again. Although I haven’t caught them all yet; that and other unresolved issues brought up and never mentioned again - Ingo being stranded there too, the reason why Arceus brought the player and maybe Ingo to get humans and Pokemon to coexist instead of recruiting someone else in that time period, the past hero with the ten Pokemon that Arceus blessed and their connection to the main character - might be tied up with a bow once you catch Arceus. Maybe that’s when the “fades to light, then reappears so you can continue playing” thing happens, which I’d be very heartbroken over because I grew attached to this little found family of a professor, a teenager from the village who wants to be a better trainer for their Pokemon, and a time traveler who fell out of the sky and their shared love of potato mochi.

If in the future there’s a series of Pokemon Legends games that cover pasts of other regions, I honestly would be very happy. I’m still thinking about Zacian, Zamazenta, and all the questions their backstory never answers, like what faraway region they’re from and if the kings were more involved in their story than the tapestry showed. Even this game provides possible places to delve more into, such as about the legendary hero whose ten Pokemon were blessed by Arceus. Even games set in a region’s distant future would be fun, seeing how our character’s actions changed a region in a more long-term way than Black and White 2 showed. I only wish that if they do a) they tweak the battle system so at least you get the chance to change Pokemon in trainer battles after the other trainer’s last one faints, or at the very least give you a chance to select an action, and b) if they allow you to catch Pokemon while surfing again, to make the Pokemon more easily visible, and not punish the player for not being able to sneak up on them.

Overall, this was a very fun game! I’m going to try my best to complete the Pokedex and see the rest!

#petrixel plays pokemon legends arceus #pokemon #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon legends arceus spoilers #pokemon spoilers #spoilers

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zedpercyfan · 3 years

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The Hard Frost

Description: On their way to the next gym in Johto, Ash and his friends encounter a steep climb with bad weather on the way...

Rated: K+

OoOoO

Ash Ketchum looked up to the sky with a grim look. Dark clouds were forming high above and he seemed visibly uncomfortable at the sight. “Ugh…” he muttered to himself.

“Aha!” cried Brock as he pointed to the horizon, “there it is – Greenwood Town!” In the distance was a village made of mostly log cabins. Misty sighed with relief as she clutched Togepi closer.

“Thank goodness…it’s cold and I could do with a warm Pokémon Center!”

“Yeah…” agreed Brock, “it’s only eleven but because we woke up at six it already feels like it’s evening. It’s all thanks to that frosty wind waking us up early. We could do with a rest.”

“After that night in the forest – definitely!”

Because they were walking in front of Ash, neither of the friends noticed his frown deepen.

When they got to the town it wasn’t the sight they expected. People were in their homes and those that were on the outside were rushing about with wood and petrol tanks in their arms. “What’s with the rush?” wondered Brock before being nearly knocked over by someone passing. They eventually got their answer when they arrived at the Pokémon Center.

“It’s the incoming Hard Frost that they’re preparing for,” said Nurse Joy.

“Hard Frost?” repeated Brock and Misty. “What’s that?”

“It happens every few years. The locals know the signs immediately…”

“Yes. But what is it?” they asked again. They didn’t notice Ash staring.

“A severe snowstorm. It starts with a fierce wind before tons of snow falls, burying the ground at least six feet and brings the temperature to below zero. The last time it happened it took two weeks before the snowplows and help could arrive.”

“When is it coming?” said Ash almost too hurriedly.

“Tonight.” Ash’s hands fell from the counter to his side, not that his friends noticed.

“Two weeks’ worth of snow. Well then, I suppose that puts a stop to us for now,” said Brock. “We’ll stay here for the night; have a room?”

“Oh, I’m so, so sorry, but all the rooms have already been taken by Trainers who don’t have the resources to make it to the next town.”

The Trainers grimaced and tried at a nearby inn. But it was the same story. “Your best chance to wait out the frost is to get to the ski resort at the top of the mountain,” said the receptionist apologetically. “I’m sorry. We’d offer the lobby, but…” The Trainers knew she didn’t need to explain, they also noticed at the Pokémon Center, but even the inn’s lobby had travelers setting their sleeping bags all around.

“It’s all right,” said Ash quietly. “We all have to do what we have to do. How do we get to the ski resort?”

“It’s up the hill. It’s been a hard winter, so I bet there’ll be room. They’re a big hotel anyways. Oh, but I’m not sure about recommending them at this point,” she went on. “See, our side of the mountain is steep, and the bushes and trees thick. It normally takes a whole day to get up there, but the cold is setting in…” She huffed a sigh. “I’m so, so sorry…”

OoOoO

The friends hurried to the local clothing store to suit up. Up until that point they had primarily worn the clothes they had with them from the start – none suited for harsh cold. Ash and Brock bought sweaters to wear over their usual shirts, thick, long socks and pants, gloves, boots, and large fur coats.

Misty however, only got the gloves and jacket. Ash glared at her from across the store. “Is that all you’re getting?” he said.

“Well, yeah,” said Misty. “All I need is the fur jacket.”

“Absolutely not! I mean, just look at you,” said Ash, exasperated. He gestured wildly at her clothing. “Short shorts and a tank top. What good will those be in the cold!?”

“I also have a jacket,” replied Misty crisply. “Ash, we’ve been in cold situations before. Goodness, we’ve been rained at on a remote island during a storm and had that experience back in Kanto where we were snowed at with only light blankets for cover. I’m sure I can manage with just these.”

“But it’s the Hard Frost,” went on the raven-haired trainer. “That goes below freezing – freezing! For crying out loud the snow lasts for weeks on end after the storm passes.”

“Oh, what would you know?” snorted Misty. Ash stared, dumbfounded, before getting angry and just threw up his hands.

“Fine. Fine, have it your way if you think you can handle it.” And he walked away.

“I’ve swam in ice cold water before, Ash! A little bit of snow will be no problem for me!”

Or at least that was what Misty thought. As the trio walked steadily up the hiking trail, the cold wind danced around them. No Pokémon were in sight, the few Sentrets and Rattatas, among several others, that were out were scurrying up trees and to their burrows. Misty shivered, she was slowing down and felt miserable as her legs ached from the climb.

They set up a small camp to rest for a bit. Brock began cooking up some stew to warm them up despite the harsh conditions. “S-so c-c-cold…” whimpered Misty. She tightened her grip on her jacket and squeezed her legs together as she sat near the fire, but it was clear that wasn’t enough.

Ash let out a cruel laugh. “I told you to wear something thicker, but you didn’t listen to me. Now look at what your decision has brought you.”

“That’s enough, Ash,” cut in Brock. “Though I will admit, considering everything we’ve heard of this Hard Frost, I’m surprised you didn’t dress up like you should’ve.”

“I think she said she could manage it,” replied Ash. “I am surprised, Misty, mist and ice have water in common. I would’ve thought was a perfect fit for you, but I guess this just proves that humans aren’t suited to the cold, even for those who like water.”

“Shut up!” she snapped.

“Hey, you chose to go like that. Not my fault you chose to brave bad weather with that amount of skin showing.”

Misty seethed in anger. Ash had a point, which was a rare thing. But she didn’t want to admit it.

“A shame,” began Brock as he brought out some spices for the stew, “we didn’t think to get her anything, and we’ve still got five miles to go…we haven’t gone far; maybe our best action is to go back to the village and get Misty some warmer clothes.”

“Yeah, I agree. There’s no reason to tough it out further,” said Ash as he threw some branches into the fire.

“Right, we let the Pokémon stay here with the fire, one of us will escort Misty down the mountain, her condition just by sight is terrible. But one of us needs to stay to look after my stew and keep the fire going.”

“I’ll go,” said Ash.

“Are you sure, Ash? I can easily figure out what could fit Misty. It’d be no problem if—”

“No, Brocko, I’ll take Misty,” said Ash firmly. He gave a small smile. “No reason to leave me in charge of food, you and I both know I’d mess it up. Besides, you’re good with Pokémon, I’m not sure I could handle both responsibilities on my own.”

Brock nodded his head. “Fair enough, fair enough…” He reached into his backpack. “Here’s some hot water I prepared before we went out. You can use it if things start turning for the worst.”

“Thanks. We’ll be quick, get to the village, waste little time and come right back.”

“Yeah, by my calculations we’ve only been walking for nearly three hours. If you double your speed you should be able to get back here before we run out of time.”

“We better be able to…” said Ash ominously. “Otherwise it’ll be the end for us all. Brock, it’s already noon, the human average speed is three miles per hour but we’re going slower than that but only because of the slope. If you don’t see us by four or five, please, go on.”

Brock was going to object, but he saw how serious Ash was and nodded. “Very well, Ash, very well…”

Carefully Ash and Misty set off back down the hill, but it wasn’t easy. Snow had fallen and the ground was icy.

“So slippery,” Misty complained.

“Well don’t complain, I can’t help that!” called Ash from upfront. “I could’ve brought Cyndaquil, but it’s too cold for him to manage. Besides,” he added as he tapped the dirt, “the ground is too hard, and we’ve got a ways to go. Onix could’ve managed storming down the mountain, but…” He motioned to their surroundings.

“T-t-oo ro…rocky, and th-th-the trees a-are…too thick f-for him,” stuttered Misty. “Darn i-it, I w-wish i-i-it’d be as s-simple as when Onix f-found that hot s-spring l-like b-back then…”

“Yeah, I’m sure you enjoyed that,” replied Ash. “Meanwhile, me, Pikachu and the others had to bunker down and used ourselves to plug an open hole in a snow cove. Freezing as the wind continued to blow with our only hope being to see the sun again.”

“Oh, d-don’t ba-bang on…about that. You su-survived.”

“Only because I’m young,” said Ash quietly, “some…some don’t.” Misty barely heard. Ash continued. “Youth is a great thing, Mist. Keeps you going. You should consider yourself lucky, especially since you have friends who’ll look out for you.”

“R-right…’f-friends’, like t-th sort who m-make fun o-of me…”

Ash turned around dramatically and stretched his arms out to the side. “Making fun of you? Merely in fun. With all due respect your name and obsession with water-types kinda is fun to tease you about.”

“Y-yeah!” yelled Misty in anger. “J-just l-l-like your own…! Every…everything y-you leave e-ends with ashes. Y-you r-run i-i-into danger l-like you seek t-trouble! Y-you could g-get charred, you know.”

“Oh, and like you would do that yourself. Running into danger, I mean. I get it, haha my name’s funny. Well guess what? I don’t care if you make fun of me for that. But what I do care about is helping people, and if I’ve got to go into the unknown for that, then so be it.”

“T-t-take this situation…f-for example. I-I brought it o-on…myself. Why h-help me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do, Misty! Darn it, just…come on. We stopped walking and we have to keep moving.” With that, he set off and didn’t hear what Misty said next.

“But I-I still don’t get w-why you do it. It just d-doesn’t make s-sense. ‘Look out for yourself’, t-that’s what I say…”

They walked on for a while in silence. Then, as they had to traverse some boulders, Misty slipped on a wet spot. She screamed and Ash practically twisted himself to catch her and landed on the ground.

“Are…you…all right?”

“Yeah, th-thanks,” stammered Misty. Ash stood up carefully as he walked down, he had a slight limp to his movements. “Ash,” she called, “y-you’re injured.”

Ash paused and considered, before he shivered and pulled up his neck collar. “Yeah, I know, but I’ll walk it off. I have to get you back to Greenwood first.”

“But w-why? Why all the t-trouble for m-me? I c-c-could’ve go-gone, o-on my own.”

“No, you couldn’t have,” explained Ash, his tone devoid of any sarcasm, “not in that condition. I’m glad I came considering that happened.”

“Why though? Why do all of this…?” asked Misty as she stepped forward, shivering as she went.

“Why…” echoed Ash. His eyes went dull. He turned his head to the snow and seemed to be staring distantly at it. “Tell me something, Misty. Do you know what it’s like to freeze in your home, like this?”

“Well, I mean, when I-I get o-out of the pool…”

“No, not like that. I mean, the whole house freezes, frozen over.”

“Well, n-no…”

“No? Of course not. As you lived in the city, I suppose it’s quite common to see heat lamps around the place?”

“Well, y-yeah…I suppose s-so…”

“We don’t have such luxuries back home at Pallet Town. Only the wealthy can afford such stupid things.” Ash glared in her general direction, but not at her. “All we’d have are these power consuming heaters and the gas ones…winters next to sea are tough. It’s cold, the wind blows, and the town’s a mess, our crops freeze up and all we’d have were the fire-types Professor Oak housed at his Corral. Then, as we’re close to Johto, we faced the Hard Frost…”

“W-wait…” said Misty breathlessly. She couldn’t tell if it was Ash’s harsh tone, the cold, or both that was making her lightheaded. “You f-faced the Hard Frost?”

“Yes! And it was bloody miserable.” He quiet and turned towards the bottom of the hill. “It came without warning, dark clouds like the ones forming here came. Then the wind picked up and we got blanketed in snow. The electric lines were pulled down so we lost heat…”

“I th-thought you had g-gas.”

“Wasn’t of any help. The lines got frozen underneath the temperature drop before bursting from buildup. The whole town was frozen over, the snow was so thick no one could leave their homes…” Ash trailed off and balled his gloves hands into a fist tightly. “Want to know what made it worse…?” He continued before Misty could reply. “It was back when the maps of the region weren’t accurate. GPS wasn’t very good either, especially not in stormy weather. Gary had been out shopping in Celadon as it was the week before Christmas. He was on his way home when the storm came through. Viridian City wanted to send helicopters, but the weather was too bad, so they sent their snowplows with medical supplies to help.

“They got lost, though. Under all the snow each direction looked the same. Gary could have helped them, but the selfish brat didn’t! He stayed with those maids of his, cozy and warm in a hotel room in the city; while we froze with no warmth, the Pokémon were too cold to venture out, couldn’t do a thing and he just enjoyed himself. He could’ve helped guide them there, but he didn’t! He left us to suffer!” Ash felt rage building up and stamped the ground. He paused and his eyes welled up from the memories. “No light for hours that night, even during the day it was hard to see as there were just clouds. Any emergency batteries we had were worn out after a while.

“Worst of all were the losses. My Grandmother lived in the old family home on the other side of town. My Mother’s mom. I loved her – she took care of me if Mom was super busy with the family diner. But without power that week, she…she…” Ash was shaken, he couldn’t help it. Tears fell to the snow. “Without any warmth and nothing to cook, she p-p…passed away from hypothermia before the week was over. Frozen in her sleep…they said had the medical team gotten there sooner, let alone power, she would’ve been fine, but she didn’t make it. Damn that Gary!” roared Ash, as years of pain came out.

Misty was almost speechless. “What h-happened next?”

The boy steeled himself and stared distantly. “From the time the snow fell and we realized the trouble we were in, it took two weeks before the plows got to Pallet Town. Nearly twenty-five percent of everyone there were in critical medical condition. The freeze didn’t quite reach Viridian, but it was enough to cause problem,” replied Ash. Then he grunted scornfully. “The direct knowledge of how much trouble the citizens were over there, instead of my home where the lines were actually down, meant Viridian got priority help whilst we were on the side. Funny, no, considering Kanto’s Professor Oak is stationed there. But then I met people like your sisters – gym leaders at that, too – who have no idea about us…well, guess that shows how important one town isn’t.

“So, there you have it, Misty. The reason I know about the Hard Frost, and apparently the reason I care about helping others because you just don’t seem to understand heroics yourself.”

“Well, I’m s-sorry y-you experienced that, Ash,” replied Misty. “I-is that w-why you hate Gary s-so much?”

“No, of course not,” snapped Ash. “He’s always been a braggart and a pain. I hate him for that, but not for what happened with the frost. Even if he deserves it…”

“L-listen,” went on Misty, “I k-know you felt pain f-from that, but you s-sh…should take care of y-yourself too…”

“Well, guess what then, Misty?” said Ash as he turned to her. “It’s not that I want to be in danger, I love life and after what happened that winter, I don’t want to leave this world, not least for Mom but for all those I’ve met, Brock, Pikachu, Tracey, Professor Oak…everyone! But I really care about everyone, okay? I care about people and Pokémon who suffer unfairly, who find themselves in bad luck and no one reaches out a hand to help. So, if I have to put myself in danger to help someone in need, then so be it! Because I want to. I don’t want people or Pokémon to think that there’s no one out there who doesn’t give a damn when they need help.

“I’ll jump to the rescue, no matter how minuscule the issue; I’ll help! And even if after all that you now know about me, if you can’t understand that then…” Ash grew frustrated and flung his hands towards the sky. “Even then I wouldn’t care, I’d help you too because it’s right, and because…b-because…” he faltered. “I…never mind.”

Ash went back to hiking and Misty chased after him. But there was trouble. Misty ran too quickly and slipped and fell. Ash heard her scream and ran to her, caught her, and tumbled with her for a bit before regaining control and stopping. With his teeth gritting he pulled Misty up. “Come on, Misty, come on,” he said desperately. “You can make it…here.” He brought the flask out and gave Misty a sip of hot water. He followed this with giving her a whiff of a stick of cinnamon, hoping the spice would warm her further. “Come on…come on…”

With quivering legs Misty began to walk again with Ash acting as her crutch despite his own tiny limp. The next few minutes were painful as the two tried to tread the last two miles in the freezing cold. But Misty was tiring out, the pain of the freezing weather was proving too much. Only a mile was left to go when she collapsed again.

“Come on, Misty! Come on…!” begged Ash. He bit his lip nervously as he processed the situation. The weather too was getting worst, the wind was picking up and a few more flakes were falling. “Misty, please…”

Misty slowly tried to rise. Her exposed skin was turning blue and her breathes heavy. “I-I’m…quite the problem r-right now, a-aren’t, I…?” she said.

“Don’t say that,” whispered Ash. He gave her more hot water and watched grimly as Misty rose up once again. “Good, we’re almost there. Come along.” He took a step before he paused and turned back to Misty and approached her. “Listen, I know things are bleak. So…” he gave a sigh, “I want to say something in case you don’t make it, so that there are no regrets. I love you.”

Misty’s eyes widened and her breath stopped for a moment. “Ash…” But the boy who just confessed looked to the weather once more and grabbed her hand.

“No time, we’re almost there. Come on!” And he pulled her the rest of the way.

Ash looked at the highest public clock he could see that it was only just past of 2:30 PM. “Thank goodness,” said Ash quietly. They had made it.

Misty drank down the rest of the hot flask and was hurried by Ash into the same store they had visited just hours ago. There she suited herself more appropriately for the cold. She bought a yellow long sleeve shirt, dark jeans, pink gloves, boots, and thicker socks.

“Thank goodness you bought all these,” the clerk said. “Saw you and your friends earlier and couldn’t help thinking that you’re crazy for only getting a jacket considering the incoming weather.”

“Yeah, some good that did me,” muttered Misty as she handed her cash over. “Mind if I use the fitting rooms to get these on?”

OoOoO

Ash tapped his foot as he waited. It was just a bit past 3 o’ clock and he was eager to get going despite the bad weather. He had a cup of hot black tea that he was finishing when a voice called out.

“All finished!” Misty jogged up to him in her much warmer looking clothes.

“That’s better,” said Ash plainly as he looked her over. “Oh, here.” He held out a cup of hot tea. “Got it from the nearby café, I already finished mine and I put Brock’s into the empty flask. Now then, if we set off now, we’ll—”

“Wait,” interrupted Misty, “before you say any of that, I’ve got a question.” Ash blinked and began to feel nervous. “Before we got here, you – er – told me you’re in love with me. Is that true?” Misty’s face was now a shade of red after she said that.

“Yeah, i-it’s…true,” muttered Ash. “I wasn’t planning on saying it, but y’know, considering the circumstances we were under I only thought it was right.” He noticed her almost expectant look. “I don’t have a reason why I just…I just did. Falling, in love, I mean…”

Misty averted her eyes and fumbled with her scarf. “You know, Ash…” she said as she shifted on the spot. “I’m not exactly saying ‘no’ to your confession.”

“U-um, d-do we even have time for this?” said Ash as he looked the other way. “I-I mean, we can’t just leave Brock up there…”

“Wait! It won’t take more than a few minutes,” said Misty. She began to unravel her scarf a bit. “I just want to try something.”

“What are you…?” Ash trailed off as Misty wrapped the ends of her scarf around Ash’s neck and moved even closer. Ash fumbled a step back but was unable to commit to a full escape. “What is this for?” he asked, trying to be scornful, but it fell flat.

“Well, you said you love me. I thought I’d try something romantic.”

“Well stop it, this scarf thing is corny,” grumbled Ash as he averted his eyes, face burning.

“Indulge me. Please…?”

“F-fine. But only for a second.”

“I know, I just want to try something.”

Ash turned his head to her. “Wait, I thought this was already it- Wha…?” He noticed Misty closed her eyes and was taking a long sip of her tea. He raised an eyebrow, only to then choke on his breath when he saw her look at him, smirk and pucker her lips. “Hey, w-wait…”

“What?” she asked innocently as her hands cupped his cheeks. “I think that it’s only right a couple does this.”

“W-well, um…”

“You’re not saying ‘no’…”

“Th-that, um, i-is true…”

“Hey,” said Misty suddenly, “I know now how things have been tough for you…and certainly all this doesn’t help, the snow I mean. But…I hope now, with me by your side, that things start to get better.”

“Thanks, Mist…but I d-don’t know how you feel yet! Therefore, this isn’t right!”

Misty paused. “Okay then,” she said, her hands still in the same position, “I’ll say it outright: I love you too.” And before Ash could object, Misty Waterflower pushed her lips quickly against Ash’s. The warmth – was it the tea or natural body heat; Ash couldn’t tell – spread throughout his body, and he remained frozen on the spot.

“Okay,” said Ash very quietly as his face went redder, “that’s enough.”

“Sorry, couldn’t help it,” said Misty with a shy grin as she untangled her scarf from his neck. She proceeded to glug the rest of the tea town and the two began to head quickly for the mountain. As they went, Misty made a point to loop her arms through Ash’s left arm as they walked.

“Hey!” sneered Ash.

“Aw,” said Misty. “Still a bit frosty in that heart of yours?”

“Ha,” he said flatly, “very funny.” He went quiet before continuing. “Hey, are you going to be all right now?”

“Yes, yes, I’m going to be all right. I’ve got you, don’t I?”

“You know what I mean…”

“Well, yes! But…” She looked at Ash deeply. “…you’d still come to my rescue, right?”

Ash looked down into the snow. “Yeah…yes, I would. Every time.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’ll do the same for you one day.” Ash just gave her a soft smile, there was no need for words. A gentle hug satisfied them.

The light was fading by the time the two got back to Brock. Ash looked at his watch, just half past four.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re back!” cried Brock with relief. It was to their relief that the fire was still going.

“It’s…good to be back, Brocko…” panted Ash from the final sprint up the snowy hill.

“It’s good to see you feeling better, Misty” went on Brock.

“Thanks!”

“Here, Brock,” said Ash, giving him the flask filled with tea. “Brought it up here for you…come on, let’s eat and get up before things really become bad.”

The trio swallowed their meal and hurried the rest of the way up. The storm was picking up by the time they were within a few yards of the front entrance, and they burst in with the snow biting at their heels. They were panting, out of breath, and physically exhausted.

Luckily, despite the howling blizzard outside, the inside of the inn was toasty. The trio went to bed that night comfy and grateful. When Brock was asleep, Ash and Misty shared a quick goodnight kiss with each other – they would give the news of their relationship later.

The next morning the storm passed, and all that remained were a few clouds in the sky. From the windows, Ash, Brock, and Misty could see Greenwood Town nearly up to its roofs with snow.

The three looked to the side to see the trail they had just maneuvered the night before, and that too, was buried in snow, with the inn’s windows barely frosted over, only just.

“Well,” murmured Ash somberly, “that the Hard Frost for you. It’s a good thing we made it when we did.”

Brock and Misty agreed, and all three had to be content.

#pokemon #pokeshipping #pokeani #zedpercyfan #Ash Ketchum #Misty #AAML #fanfic

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imthepunchlord · 4 years

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For all the new things, I kinda wished they showed all of this before SwSh was released, now it's a bit more pricey and I feel like it's kinda rushed. Also for the Mystery Dungeon, I'm excited for that bit I really hope that include all the starters and non starters as well in the final.

I wish they went ahead and pushed back SaS so it’d be released 2020, with this expansion back already included, and the new places we go to can be unlocked during our adventure or as postgame. I would’ve fine waiting and would’ve preferred it, especially to give them a chance to do more with the main story which is pretty weak and made little sense, and Rose was a very forced in villain. Also made no sense in the story climax. Watching playthroughs and seeing the climax of SaS I’m just...

Its also frustrating that you get to hear about things happening and not actually witness or help. Like, its nice having adults acknowledge that you’re a kid, don’t worry about it we’ll handle it, but at the same time, that’s a chunk of story we have a right to see, and we’re kids in this game, we don’t always do what adults say we should follow and see what’s going on. That could’ve been something optional. Go to event to see what’s happening or skip it to go to the next gym.

And this is turning into a rant so I’m going to put this below. For those that just want to read my comments on Mystery Dungeon, scroll down till you get to the Pikachu gif, I’ll talk about it below.

Also there could’ve been improvements with the rivals. Marnie is suuuuper intriguing and I love her, Bede I also like though that’s more me missing mean rivals and man, he’s a brat and I say that with affection. But in the grand scheme of things, they felt pointless. More could’ve been done to include them. And Hop. God, Hop. I know people like him, but from what I’ve seen, he seems like the most annoying “friend rival” made to date. He does not know what personal space is. He waits for you in front of gyms. He waits for you on new routes. He has to comment on almost every move you make in your fights with him.

I don’t even own the games but just from the playthroughs I’ve watched I’m just... go away. Leave the lead alone. Everywhere you turn, he’s there, waiting for you. It also feels like he only got endorsed because he’s Leon’s younger brother. There’s nothing about him that I like. And, I don’t know why he gets the other wolf legendary? What makes him worthy?What makes him want to be a Professor in the future? That’s out of nowhere.

Something more could’ve been done with Hop, maybe an arc of him resenting you a little because every match you beat him, and he’s the Champion’s younger brother and you just seem to stay ahead. Maybe let us have more scene of him talking with Sonia since he’s going to be her future assistant. If he’s going to be constantly stalking us and waiting for us, then yeah, let’s at least better build up where his character will go.

Then there’s the issue of pokemon. With it pretty much confirmed they just reused models from gen 7, yeah, there’s no reason to not include more pokemon. If not the National Dex, which wouldn’t bother me too much, then go ahead and add about half. At most, I’d love pokemon included that would make the most sense. Like, lion is a big symbol throughout all of Europe. There should be a lion in Galar, either Litleo or Shinx returning if not a new lion pokemon. And with the expansion packs, yeah, they’re already adding 200 each pack.

And a lot of this dlc should already be in the game. If 400 pokemon are going to be added in, they should already be there. The new Giga forms should already be there and we should’ve seen the Giga Venusaur and Blastoise the same time as Charizard.

I’m also salty that there’s no going to Kalos. Maybe it’ll be a future expansion, and that’s a dlc I wouldn’t mind, but those are two very linked countries they’re based on. And Galar truly isn’t a big region. The Wild Area isn’t as big as it could be. Like, it doesn’t have to be BotW big, but it could’ve been bigger than what we got. And if not expanding the Wild Area, we could’ve had Kalos as a new region to go to, and more gyms for us to do.

ALSO.

I am not a fan of you refacing the gyms and having them act as your “Elite Four”.

They’ve already been fought. Aside from the first two, you’ve already fought all the star Giga forms they have. Its a really lazy decision. At least, you can have the two first gym leaders come in since you didn’t fight their star Giga forms, and include the other two version exclusive gym leaders as the other two. Just for some freshness in this final challenge.

I know they’re not big on voice acting, but, they should’ve put some form of VA into these games. Its a little awkward to get animated cutscenes and there’s no voices coming forth. And its at its worst when you get to Piers and you see him singing away, I presume loudly, into his mic and its just awkward cause there’s no voice and you can hear him tapping his foot to the music and its just so off putting to watch cause something is missing: a voice! And you know what’s the kicker? Pokemon has included voice acting before.

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There is no reason to not do something similar, at least for Piers’ intro so its not so awkward to watch.

And then post game... the official post game... I, I honestly can’t say what is even going on? Those two blonde bimbos, those designs, who agreed to pass them? For sword guy, I don’t know whether I should be laughing or uncomfortable. Its like, an in between especially when his hair flops around. Also, their reasoning, they’re causing chaos in Galar because they didn’t like a book Sonia wrote???

The villains in these games are just so dumb.

Like, Rose had a good motive but, he is still forced in. And he activates the climax for no reason. He was promised by Leon that he would help with Eternatus, all he had to do was wait through one match. One match that would’ve been 30 minutes at most, roughly. Yet he couldn’t wait for one match and went ahead and woke up Eternatus, does a video asking for help, and when you arrive, stops you for a battle that doesn’t make sense to have cause he asked for help why is he holding you up with a battle??

And Team Yell. Supposed to be like, a 2nd Team Skull and these guys could dream to live up to Team Skull. They can’t. They’re not funny or enjoyable at all. And my friend brought up a good point on the issue of having Team Yell based on punks when they’re supposed to be the “villainous” team. Punks, historically, were rebelling against an unfair system, they were progressive and revolutionary. They stood up for LBGT rights, they stood for having individual freedom, and just wanted to break the restrictions society wanted to place on people, let people express themselves and be who they want to be.

If you want Team Yell to be a 2nd Skull and play around with punks as their theme, then they should’ve been set up to be red herrings as well. Be wary at first and then later find that they have hearts of gold, and mean well, even if they can be a tad extreme sometimes. And maybe they can help build up the danger of Rose, who in turn wants to paint them in with a bad image since they’re going against him and what’s normal in society.

Anyway... Sword and Shield honestly should’ve been pushed back. They should’ve been saved for 2020, or even 2021, or however how much time they need. I would’ve been fine waiting. A lot of fans would be. But what we got wasn’t worth the $60 it was being sold at, and definitely not worth the $90 its being sold at with the expansion packs, and as far as I know, these are very, very small areas to explore. Cause as we’ve seen with SaS, they built it up to be big and grand and, well, the Wild Area was smaller than expected and the whole was far shorter than expected. You could beat it in 20 hours roughly.

I even have mixed feelings on there being no enhanced version, cause these games do have potential, they just needed more time and polish, and then it could’ve worth the $60 price. But also thankful that there’s not another 2nd version and we may be getting a few expansion packs instead.

Though I do think a lot they’re bringing in should already be in the game.

Anyway, enough ranting about Sas, onto Mystery Dungeon!

Demo I think could’ve been a little longer, they stop you before you go on the Skarmory mission, I think it could’ve been a better placement to end after the Skarmory mission.

Anyway, I like the changes so far. I love you can choose a different pokemon if you don’t like what you got from the test. I love that you have an updated move pool, though I feel kinda OP but you also kinda need it for these games cause I remember them being so hard and as a starter that can’t evolve till like, post game, yeah you’re going to need that help. I love that you get to wear a little scarf. Design wise, a little weird at first but it grew on me. Kinda reminds me of Okami.

By trailer, for sure they’re adding more pokemon in. Lucario is seen in the team, when before, you only saw Lucario as a statue in Red Blue, I believe? Its been a long time. But they only had Gen 1-3 in RB, and Lucario is there so I would think they’d add in a lot more pokemon.

For starters, I’m hopeful that beating the game, if you replay, you’ll get more options for the starters to play as and have as your partner. I’d loooove to have a chance to play as Popplio. Mega Evolution is confirmed, I wonder if regional forms would also be playable, like if we could evolve into Alolan Marowak or be one of the other two regional Meowths. Otherwise, everyone you could be in the old game is there, with no gender restriction! You can be a female Cubone! A male Eevee! A female Cyndaquil! I’m so happy about that since as a kid, I wanted to play Cyndaquil but never got it in the test and had to look it up and was bummed that it was male only and I wanted to be a girl.

My biggest hope though is that with this, we’ll have a chance to play two player, since you have a team of two usually, and your friend or sibling or SO can play your partner.

I am pleasantly surprised with it so far, though I will be holding off when its released in a few months, just going to listen to all reviews once they beat the game and if its very positive, cause SaS had a strong start and then went down hill with Gamefreak rushing it and cutting corners. I’m hopeful for this remake but cautious still.

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hyruviandoctor · 4 years

Text

Ahhh thanks for the tag @turtleduckcrossing! I missed doing these, it feels nice to be back and that you thought of me :)

Name: Tyler

Hogwarts House: I’ve been told I’m a Hufflepuff, but when I took the quiz I got equal parts all of them, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. So I literally have no idea, and I’ve only read one of the books and seen 2.5 of the movies (and also the first Fantastic Beasts, which I thought was pretty neat).

Social Media: Aside from Tumblr, I use Twitter and Instagram a lot, Discord pretty much constantly, along with AO3 (which I don’t know if that counts) and (more recently) DeviantArt. If you wanna follow anything, there should be links on my blog (let me know if there aren’t lol)

Current Time: 10:13 PM right now (EST East Coast Beast Coast)

Cats or Dogs: I love both of them so so much, but I would probably pick to have a cat over a dog if I had to choose just one.

Coffee, Tea, Other: Same as above, I love tea (both hot and iced because ya boi is from the Southeastern US) and coffee, but I would definitely pick coffee over tea if I had to. Maybe I should pick tea actually, since it’s got actual, y’know, health benefits instead of just addiction and the jitters lmao

Favorite Pokemon: This is the hardest question possible but I would probably say Mudkip or Cyndaquil.

Favorite Animal: I changed my mind this is probably the hardest question. I love so many animals, but I guess my favorites are either falcons or cats (big and small). Unless we’re talking mythical creatures, in which case it’s probably dragons.

First Fandom: Believe it or not, it was either The Legend of Zelda or Sonic the Hedgehog. I was absolutely obsessed with Sonic starting from when I first got Sonic Heroes on the GameCube, but if we’re talking the first fandom I took widescale internet part in it was definitely Zelda. I was reading fanfics and looking at fanart back in the days of everyone having a family computer in the living room (much to my mother’s chagrin lol). I’m really glad I stayed active in the Zelda fandom, because it’s given me some of my closest friends and fantastic experiences.

First Fanfic: I don’t remember the first fic I read, but I know it was Zelda for sure. It probably wasn’t Zelink since I wasn’t as into it early on, but within a few fics I was definitely all in on the Zelink train. If we’re talking in terms of the first fic I wrote, it was an OoT Zelink fic that started with Link proposing to Zelda with a ring embedded with the three spiritual stones immediately after they defeat Ganon. I’m not sure if I still have it floating around somewhere (it was uhhh not great I’m sure), but I still think fondly on it even though I had my mom proofread it (which still chills me to the core when I remember that fact).

When I made this blog: I know it was my senior year of high school, and I think it was fall semester, so I’m thinking somewhere around October 2013. I’ve been here for a hot minute now lol

How Long I’ve Been in my Current Fandom: Like I said, Zelda was my first real fandom, so I guess I’ve been in it since something like 2004-ish? Somewhere in the mid 2000s for sure, so about 25 years?

Art or music: This question is illegal and I love them both so I refuse to answer this question ghjfkdljf

Reason for URL: Okay so not to sound Basic™ but I combined the two fandoms I was biggest into at the time: The Legend of Zelda and…..Doctor Who. Hyrule + Whovian = Hyruvian + Doctor for, well, The Doctor. Surprise, I’m a nerd LOL

I’m gonna tag @geekyzelda, @swordofseiros, @telekinetic-issue, and @kimikaami (only if you all want to! Don’t feel pressured)

#Thanks for the tag!#I really did miss being here and doing these #tagging game #turtleduckcrossing

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jadeplumbob · 4 years

Text

Tag 11 people you’d like to get to know better!

I was tagged by @oliveandoaksims and @stealinyosims! Thank you both <3 I’m a bit confused on which version of this tag that I’m doing lmao but I’ll do my best!

dogs or cats? I think I’d have to say cats! Dogs are wonderful, but cats are more chill, and my two cats rn are the loves of my life XD

youtube celebrities or normal celebrities? I feel more connected to YouTubers, more personal to hear them vlog and stuff

if you could live anywhere where would be? Probably where I am now lol boring, I know, but most of my friends and my family are here

disney or dreamworks? Disney, grew up on those movies haha

favorite childhood tv show(s)? Hmm, well I think one of my favorites was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lol though tbh I think that might’ve been because I loved whatever my brother loved

the movie you’re looking forward to most in 2020? I live under a rock lmao I have no idea what’s coming out in 2020

favorite book you read in 2019? Do simblr stories count? XD My philosophy textbook was pretty interesting, but other than that and my other textbooks I haven’t read any books this year XD

marvel or dc? Ouch lol that’s hard. I love them both!

if you choose marvel favorite member of the X-men? if you choose DC favorite justice league member? I’ll be honest, don’t really like X-Men, but I really like Storm! Super cool! Justice League I liked much more because my brother and I loved the cartoon, I would say Wonderwoman, like, she was my childhood hero lol

night or day? I’m a night owl for sure

favorite pokémon? Probably Cyndaquil haha

top 5 bands: Oh no lol uhhhhhh….I’m not too knowledgable about K-Pop, but I do like Infinite! 2. Fourplay (it’s a terrible name, but it’s an instrumental jazz band lmao there’s no sexual lyrics), 3. The Beatles 4. Paramore 5. Fall Out Boy??? not sure haha

top 10 books? 1. Bartimaeus 2. Artemis Fowl 3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians 4. Harry Potter 5. The Lord of the Rings...I’ll be honest those are the only books I can remember rn XD

top 4 movies? 1. Wonder Woman 2. Mulan (hyped for live action!!) 3. Ant-Man (Marvel) 4. Any/all of the Studio Gibli movies lol

america or europe? America, I’m a homebody lol

tumblr or twitter? Tumblr lol I only just made a twitter a while ago

pro-choice or pro-life? Pro-choice

favorite youtuber? Probably PonderSprocket! Talks about ridiculous internet drama, and has wonderful speed drawings in the background! Or maybe CallMeKevin, a gaming channel! Or maybe Drawfee lol not sure

favorite author? Ouch. That’s HARD. J.K. Rowling, I think! Her twitter is a bit bizarre, but I always loved her writing style.

tea or coffee? Definitely tea!

OTP? Uh-oh lmao…I guess I’d have to say Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, probably my favorite book couple, at least that I can remember rn

do you play an instrument/ sing ? God, I WISH I could do either

Whew, that was a lot of questions lmao ok, here goes

I tag @angiesims01, @leavemetoplaythesims, @boomchicapopdat, @pixel-fried-shoestrings, @hareandhedgehog, @sunlight-reversal, @luckiselki, @elisabettasims, @justcity, @chachalarue, and @camisimblr

#personal #nonsims #tag game

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jeramiahsental2 · 5 years

Photo

Oh hey look it’s another thing.

Ack, I kept forgetting to post this (and then when I remembered, it was either the crack of dawn or the dead of night). I mean, it’s only been (checks calendar) 20 days since I finished it? Oh, feels like it took longer. I mean, that’s a pretty long time between completion and posting, compared to the last two drawings (both posted pretty much same day)... ANYWAY.

Same thing applies as usual: more info on the drawing (and lots of rambling) will be under the "Keep reading”!

Start date: 5/30/19

End date: 8/15/19

Total time taken: 78 days (actually 56, since there were 22 whole days where I either did nothing with it or undid any changes I made after getting some feedback).

This was actually a birthday gift for my friend! That’s why it’s so much more complex than any of the others I’ve drawn... It didn’t have the little watermark at the bottom of course, but I kinda wanted to show it here, too.

Firsts: first time drawing more than one character, first time drawing characters directly interacting with things and each other (does it show?), first time drawing ANYTHING with the perspective Chikorita has, first time drawing that kinda fiery glow that Typhlosion has behind his back, first time giving the character an actual surface to stand/sit/lie on, first time drawing a character looking down, first time drawing a character without complete separation between their head and body...

In all seriousness, Typhlosion was the hardest part of this thing to draw.

Not only because I had to put Cyndaquil and Cubone in before I could draw his arms, and then figure out how to position everything so the arms weren’t super stretched.

Not only because I completely changed the position of his head about 3/4 of the way through, and it took me 1/2 of the remaining time to figure out how to position his body.

But the main reason it was such a pain - and this is the most infuriating part of any drawing I have ever done, to the point that I freaking cried - was because I could not for the life of me figure out how the heck to draw him sitting. I mean, I still don’t think it looks good. There’s just something off about it that I can’t put my finger on. But it wouldn’t look half as good if not for @possiblytracker‘s help (although, it was... indirect help. I was a bit too cowardly to message them directly or send an ask off anon, so haha anon ask for the win *finger guns*).

(Also can I say holy shit I am really nervous tagging them. Like, FRICK this is the reason that I rarely send asks off anon, because I’m always worried about how people will react. Even when I am 99.57% certain that the interaction won’t be negative in any way, shape, or form.)

(Anyway back to drawing stuff.)

Chikorita! Let’s talk about the cute little bean. She was the last of the four to be drawn, so I guess I’m going in order of difficulty. For the most part, she wasn’t all that hard to draw. Except for the perspective. She has a back leg, I swear.

She technically doesn’t have a definition between her head and neck, which admittedly made it a bit more difficult to draw, but her collar made it a lot easier to differentiate between them. She also has leaf hair, which I love.

Onto Cubone! Technically the most complex of the characters, but the second-easiest to actually draw. Can I just say, holy crap his skull helmet has a lot of damage. Like, I wasn’t intending to put that many cracks and chips into it, but that’s how it ended up! Can’t say I’m unhappy, though.

He’s hugging his bone like a teddy bear. He’s also supposed to be leaning against Typhlosion, but I’m not sure how well that second part came across.

Finally, Cyndaquil! There’s a reason this little guy’s body is mostly concealed behind Typhlosion’s hand, and that’s because I had no idea how to draw his leg from this angle. I’ll figure it out eventually. (Side note, that’s also why Chikorita’s that close to Typhlosion, though she’s supposed to be leaning against him too.)

I’m honestly happy with the glow behind Typhlosion. It’s not supposed to be flames; he had his fire when I was first drawing him, but I figured it would be easier and probably better overall (both in terms of how it looks and because Chikorita’s leaning against him and Cyndaquil’s on his head) if I just made his dorsal vents glow instead of actually have fire come out of them.

Shading was a mixed bag. On the one hand, I had to completely ignore the glow because I tried including shadows from it and it just looked... bad. On the other hand, apart from that, shading was its normal fun self. It didn’t really seem to give the drawing as much depth as on the other drawings I’ve done, though (except maybe the headshot of my sona).

I’m still not 100% happy with it, but at this point I know that I’m not going to be. Better to move on to other projects, look back at this one as progress (and progress it is!), and maybe come back and redraw it in a couple years to see if/how/how much I’ve improved.

Whether you read all of that or skipped to this, I hope you liked the drawing!

#typhlosion #cubone #cyndaquil #chikorita #pokemon #I'm honestly a bit nervous about posting this?#not just because I tagged someone #but also because I'm not totally happy with it?#I know I shouldn't be nervous to post just because I don't like it #it's impossible for me to like everything I draw #I get that #that's just how things like drawing work #but it's still kind of an #'eeh what if whoever sees this also doesn't like it?'#kinda thing #I don't know #oh yeah I should tag this as 'my art' before I forget #again #my art

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jinjojess · 6 years

Note

Oh, All-knowing Jess, hear my call and drive away my doubts: how was received in Japan the datamining of the beta of Pokémon Gold? What do you think about it? Are some Pokémon you like or want in actual games? (Personally, my favourite is that creepy Pinsir, for some reasons it reminds me of the Kaonashi from Spirited Away!)

You know, that’s a good question. I’ve seen some fanart and reactions on Twitter, but I didn’t really follow it much, sorry!

To make it up to you, I will now review all of the betas:

Chikorita!

Yay! I think I’ve made it very clear that I am a big fan of this little plant nugget, so I don’t have much to add really.

10/10

AAAGGGGHHH?!

What the fuck is this thing? How does this relate to Chikorita or Meganium, who are both largely unchanged from their beta designs? Where are the eyes? Like I’m diggin’ the tiny smug face-looking thing at the top of the bulb, but what’s the deal with the huge single eye down below? Where did the legs go? Why does the body shape change so drastically in the in-between stage when both the first and third stages are quadrupeds?!

0/10 would not trade Bayleef for it

Meganium

Whew, okay. Back on familiar ground here. Meganium is likely my least favorite of the Johto starters’ final forms, but I still like my big, dumb boy.

8/10

Tepkon

Awww~!

So unpopular opinion, but for a long time I really disliked cyndaquil’s design. I’ve come around to it these days, but back when GS came out, it really put me off. This thing is absolutely adorable, and though the design isn’t super inspired, I still fucking love it.

7/10 wouldn’t trade cyndaquil for it, but would love to see the design reworked for future games

Chubby quilava

This is like quilava’s cousin who grows up to discover that he’s actually more of a bear than a twink. Really like it–seems very cuddly.

7/10 like quilava better but I support this thicc boi

Kirara

Seriously, this is basically just Kirara from Inuyasha. Not as crazy about this design as its pre-evos, especially since it seems like it’s trying to edge in on arcanine’s floof territory. An okay pokemon, but not a fave.

6/10 would not trade typhlosion for it

Baby Nessie

Totodile was one of those pokemon that I had been low-key hoping for, but I gotta admit that this is one adorable little fucker. Look at its stubby limbs! Its cute snoot! Its pudgy tail!

6/10 would not trade totodile but would love to see in another game

Let me clear my thoat (I hope ya don’t mind)

I am…less enthused about the middle evo. The eyes are cute and the little shy smile is to die for, but the…ballast? on its throat kind of looks like a giant boil and I’m not really here for that.

4/10 no thanks I’ll keep croconaw

Dragonair but with legs

The final evo I like a bit more–it looks like a dragonair that struck up a deal with Ursula the sea witch so that it could pursue its land-dwelling love. Now that the gem isn’t jammed right up under the chin it’s less off-putting, and the kind of fang-looking necklace is a Good Look.

6/10 still prefer feraligatr but GameFreak please dust off this design

Hoot-Hoot’s just really into henna right now

I’ve never been a huge fan of hoot-hoot, and I kind of like the extra markings. I assume they were taken off to make the design less busy as well as giving it a fanned tail, but I think I’d actually prefer this one.

5/10 would replace regular hoot-hoot with this one

It is the night

Okay, here we go! Now this is a cool-looking pokemon that would make training up a damn hoot-hoot worth it. Noctowl is a decent pokemon in the game since it means you get access to psychic moves early in the game, but I’ve always thought the design looked too goofy. I like irl owls a lot and this design really speaks to me.

8/10 go back in time and give teenage me this bird instead

Mareep

There’s not a ton to say here other than they lightened up mareep’s fleshy bits in the final release, and I like mareep quite a bit so there we go. Instead, I want to draw attention to this disaster of a backsprite. What am I even looking at? A giant ball of cotton candy that rolled through a bunch of broken candy canes?

9/10 I mean I like mareep, but I gotta take off a point for that awful backsprite

Flaaffy

Flaaffs seems largely unchanged. I’m pretty partial to this boi as well, especially since I had one following me for a bit in my Japanese Soul Silver game.

8/10 I like flaaffy, but fuck that name spelling

Ampharos

One of my fave Gen 2 pokemon! Doesn’t seem to have much different about it, though I did always question where the delightful floof went. I mean we get it back in the mega evolution but still. What was that about, GameFreak?

9/10 docked a point for lack of floof

Mikon

So this is clearly a pre-evo idea for vulpix, and it’s pretty damn cute. I love that with the addition of this member to the family, it’s confirmed that the line increases its number of tails by 3 every time it evolves. I like this, but I’m not entirely sold on it. The face lacks some detail and I feel like the design isn’t different enough from vulpix to really feel necessary.

7/10 it’s cute but I don’t think vulpix needs a pre-evo

Mahou Shoujo Green

This tangela pre-evo is pretty cute, though the body underneath kind of reminds me a bit too much of oddish. I mean maybe it’d be cool to look at the oddish line and the tangela line and see how two related species had off-shoots, but I am not really the biggest fan of baby pokemon as an institution so these will all be a hard sell for me, sorry.

6/10 again, cute but unecessary

Tangrowth as imagined by CalArts

I loved tangela a lot back in the day, and tangrowth is a really interesting pokemon as well…however this one has a little bow and ringlet hair so like, no contest, really.

9/10 this should be an alternate evo option for tangela (perhaps for females?)

i could be your angle or yuor devil

So this one is kinda cool in concept. It’s clearly drawing influence from Japanese kites, and the scary face might be an evolutionary feature designed to scare off predators…that or it’s a flying/ghost or flying/dark type and the angel imagery is the ruse. Either way I fucking love this thing.

10/10 I want this concept revisited

Qwilfish

I like qwilfish a lot! It’s got cool typing, it can perform decently on a rain team, and it’s based on a pufferfish. It’s definitely an underdog in the wider world, but not in my heart.

10/10

The Fish Who Lived

I have…reservations about this evolution though. As cool as it would be to have a qwilfish evolution, this just isn’t doing it for me. It’s kinda cool that it’s shaped like a naval mine, and the Harry Potter scar is pretty cute, but I can get over the dead-eyed stare.

4/10 yeah no I think I’m happy to wait for better evo ideas to come along

Pichu

Pichu’s cute enough I guess but I’ve never liked it as much as pikachu and sure as hell not as much as my boy raichu. However if the baby version was this roly poly cutie, I think I’d be more into it. This style of pre-evo harkens back to the good ol’ days of fat pikachu, and therefore I must doff my cap to it.

8/10 with a bit of polishing I would take this over pichu for sure

Cleffa

Okay, so of the baby pokemon, of which I am generally not fond, cleffa is by far my favorite because of how cute it is. This is also extremely cute. I like picturing the trainer being able to just grab the thing by the little knob on its head if it’s heading toward danger. Plus that tail nub is so cute! I don’t know that I could choose between this version and the actual cleffa.

9/10 would be a 10 but Nate once said “what if cleffa’s hands were its nipples?” and now I can’t unsee it

Igglybuff

Iggly has always reminded me of the Powerpuff Girls, but this beta version is so…delightfully round. God, it’s like hypnotizing how round it is. You wouldn’t have to show this from above to trick someone in a silhouette quiz. The tiny, wide-set eyes are also both piercing and kind of unassuming, which I can’t decide is cute or terrifying.

8/10 think I’d swap this guy in for the existing igglybuff

Quagsire!

I freaking LOVE quagsire. It’s so derpy, I love water/ground types, and just everything about it is cute and makes me want to hug it. The only problem with it in this beta is that there’s no wooper.

10/10 bring wooper with you bro

Natu

I’ve always thought natu was cute and really neat in concept, but I’ve never actually sat down and trained one. This sprite isn’t too different from its final one, but it is missing the color scheme, which is one of the reasons I like it.

6/10 stop being so washed out!

Xatu

Also largely unchanged from its final design, though I do prefer the Silver sprite where its wings are spread. (And I’m sorry about this, but some of the pictures will have bits of other sprites in them, since it was hard cutting these all down in Paint with a trackpad.)

7/10 very unique

Prince(ss) of the sea

Is this a pre-evo of goldeen and seaking, and I can see why it was cut. Who thought either of those would be popular enough to warrant a baby form?

2/10 fuck yeah was a meme guys, it wasn’t sincere

Marill

Marill’s okay. I think it’s fairly cute, and the design they went with using smaller ears and non-clown feet is better imo. Plus this is really minor but it’s bothering me that despite the codename “pikablu” this sprite is pink.

6/10 solid cute pokemon, but the final design is better

Finding Flounder

So I’m a big fan of lanturn because of its digimon-esque eyes and its cool typing. Chinchou I’m…eh on. This cutie though, I could get used to this.

8/10 cute eyes are better than terrifying cross eyes I’m sorry

Clanker’s Cavern

As I just said, I like lanturn a lot. However, this is a shark with an anchor attached. That’s like if you left dhelmise and sharpedo at the day care on the same day an enemy team spilled plutonium all over the yard. It’s so stupid! I love this thing so damn much.

8/10 it’s way too similar to other existing pokemon, but I still kind of want it anyway

Homsar

This thing kind of scares me. The gaping mouth, the wide eyes, and the fact that it clearly would inhabit deep parts of the ocean all make me want to nope out. That said though, I respect it.

6/10 glad they came back to this idea with elektross

Crobat

If you’ve ever battled me in one of our local or online tournaments, you will know that I have a soft spot for crobat. I think golbat’s design is kind of terrible, zubat is simplistic yet kinda cute, and crobat gets to be both cute/cool and also not suck completely in battle (see what I did there?). This design seems mostly unchanged.

8/10 a very good bro

Most likely to drive an airbrushed van

This paras pre-evo looks like it’s inspired by a lovely whimsical creature from Wonderland or Fantasia. I kind of like having a pre-evo to show that at the start the sinister mushrooms allow the baby para to call the shots, biding its time until takes over the entire nervous system as a parasect. Really not feeling the face, though.

5/10 cute, interesting idea, but I don’t know if I want to add more baby pokemon to the mix

Spinarak

I have some mild arachnophobia, but I actually rather like spinarak since it’s so adorable. This version is a little more true to life and not as adorable. Also wtf GameFreak stop giving your arachnids six legs!

5/10 very much prefer the final design but kinda reminds me of the little jumpy bois I catch and release from inside my apartment sometimes

Ariados

Again with the six legs thing. Ugh. Anyway, this beta version of ariados is actually much cuter than the one we ended up getting in the final game. I’m pretty lukewarm on ariados in general (my spider boi of choice is the far superior galvantula), but look at this thing’s face! Look at the face on its body! It’s cute even when it’s trying to be scary!

6/10 why did we not get this adorable boi?!

Skarmory

It’s skarmory. That’s it. A pokemon that I like in theory but have never been super into his design.

5/10 respectably cool but not my cup of tea

Alphonse Elric’s head in chibi form, screaming as his body melts

Here it is. My favorite of all of the beta sprites. This thing is so fucking wonderful in part because I have literally no idea what the hell it’s supposed to be. What is this?! What type is it supposed to be? What is it based on? Is it a pre-evo of an existing mon? Why is its mouth parted in an eternal screech? These questions do not necessarily have answers, and I am a sucker for mystery.

10/10 GameFreak please bring this idea to life just so that I can get closure

Mine! Mine!

So I see what they were going for. It’s a baby form of doduo, with three baby bird heads and a big puff of feathers to make it look like a brood peeking out of a nest. I respect the idea, I do. Too bad it also conjures up images in my head of rat kings and other fused abominations.

5/10 a good idea that didn’t pan out so well

[Obligatory Undertale Reference]

Sunflora would actually probably be more intimidating if it had an evolution rather than a pre-evo, though. I’m no big fan of sunflora, but I gotta say that this sprite is way better than the one we ended up getting.

6/10 replace existing sunflora with this bullet seed-spewing former skiddo

The Littlest Babaar

I’ve never really been into elephants as a species. Like they’re cool, but they’re pretty middle of the pack for me in terms of my animal preferences. As a result, I always found donphan kind of disappointing. However, I do like phanpy quite a bit, if only for the fact that it’s goddamn adorable. This sprite is a bit plain, but does bring the cuteness.

6/10 prefer the final design but this one ain’t bad at all

Donphan

The Don hasn’t changed much at all as far as I can tell. I’ve never trained one in Gen 2, so is its backsprite really just its trunk? If so, hilarious.

5/10 congrats! you exist!

That’s the statement of the grave mint, Doublemint

I can’t decide if this was intended to be a pre-evo for ghastly or if it’s supposed to be a new ghost type (perhaps later replaced by misdreavus?). Either way it’s an interesting concept, and I can imagine the pokedex entry now: “Born from the souls of fetuses who were eaten in-utero by their siblings. Since they feel they were destined to be twins, they find each other shortly after death and fuse together so that they’ll never be alone again.”

7/10 not the most original design but damn we had a shortage of ghost types back in the day

Girafarig

Girafarig is one of those pokemon that I always wanted to be more competitively viable because I think it has a unique design and could fill a cool niche. I like that the final design has the tail as an evolutionary measure and that there’s a smaller brain in it, just like some real life creatures. That said, we really missed out on getting a face full of evil uniraffe in the backsprite. Man, this is a real tough choice.

7/10 let’s keep girafarig as is and try out this concept on a different mon

Smeargle

This version of him seems a bit more…simian than his final, kinda canine design. Not sure if I dig it. Also, have you noticed that Gen 2 felt obligated to have a ditto/mew type mon that could mimic all the other mons? I feel like this concept gets revisited every so often and GameFreak thinks we’re none the wiser.

5/10 flesh beret just isn’t okay

Coin Kitty

So I know I said I’m against baby pokemon on principle, but the fact that this thing never saw the light of day upsets me so much. It’s so. fucking. CUTE.

10/10 go back in time and replace skitty with this

Betty Boop’s best friend

I get the feeling that this dark type cat got recycled into the purrloin line, but this one is way cooler imo. It references the old adage of “belling the cat” and I think that this pokemon line could have had some really cool sound-based signature moves (sorta similar to the whismur or jangmo-o lines).

9/10 not feeling the bipedal thing, but still a really neat concept I’d like to see

Luna

Again, I love the idea of a pokemon based on a fable. I can see why this particular design didn’t get used, given how simple it is and how closely it resembles umbreon if you just glance at it, but I’d love to see this revisited.

7/10 spruce up the design a bit and get back to me

Politoed’s wild ride

So when I first met politoed I felt he was a bit too…cutesy? Like the rosy cheeks were a bit much. This guy feels a bit more like he belongs in the poliwag line, though he doesn’t look like he’d be as bouncy.

6/10 might replace existing politoed design, might not

Slowking

Though I prefer slowbro as my yadon evo of choice, slowking is pretty awesome in his own right. Not a big fan of the clown ruffle, but honestly it’s kind of a minor setback all things considered.

7/10 remember how he could randomly talk in the 2nd pokemon movie? That was fucked up.

Unknown

All of these cool, unsued beta designs, and this one gets to stay in?

1/10 don’t talk to me right now, GameFreak

Ledyba

It’s ledyba. One of the bug types I’m actually not really all that into. Pretty sure this is the sprite actually used in Gold.

4/10 fine just not for me

I see you

Ledian’s deal as a superhero is kinda cool, even if I don’t particularly care for the actual design. And I gotta say, it’s preferable to the ever-watching eyes of this thing. Those stars aren’t natural; they’re tattoos for each trainer its killed.

3/10 I feel like I need to go lie down

My Little Shetland Pony

Clearly this is intended to be a ponyta baby form, and while I commend the idea of a foal version (or maybe a Shetland or something?), you may notice that there is very, very little to set this pre-evo apart from ponyta. Like it and and rapidash aren’t exactly the most daring design-wise, so stripping it to the essentials doesn’t really work.

5/10 this is cute as all hell but it has no reason to exist

Espeon

Though I get shit all the time for liking espeon the least out of all the eeveelutions, I do still think the design is neat, and the fact that it draws from the nekomata myth is fascinating. Backsprite is a bit janky in the hips department–yet another unrealistic beauty standard, amirite ladies?

7/10 I personally don’t think there are any bad eeveelutions

Umbreon!

My absolute favorite Gen 2 pokemon! Not many changes between this and the final design, though I will say that this one looks a lot more terrifying–the hole eyes are worse than the red ones somehow. Still, love.

10/10 listen this is my personal rating

Alolan Shellder

This one is so fascinating to me. It’s obviously the chompy boi from slowbro and slowking, which in the pokedex is referred to as a shellder, but perhaps this is a unique evolution that only happens when it disconnects from the slowpoke? I am really upset this wasn’t actually used in the game, because getting to have this thing on the same team as slowpoke, slowbro, and slowking would have been like when Banjo-Tooie introduced the mechanic that let Banjo and Kazooie split up.

10/10 give me, dammit!

Garbage Pail Kid

Again with the baby form for a line that already is known for extremely simple designs. Grimer and muk are literally just piles of slime of differing sizes. (Shut up, Alolan forms weren’t a thing til later.) So basically this baby form is fucking adorable, and I’m loving the thing that could be a nose but I’m choosing to interpret as a mouth with a single tooth. It’s just that…who needs this?

7/10 cute, but not necessary by any stretch of imagination

Are ya feelin’ lucky, punk?

Okay, so this beta is a) way cooler than remoraid ended up being, and b) makes the evolution line make SO MUCH more sense. I can definitely see why it was changed, especially since censor-happy America was a legit market by that point. And I guess the revolver barrel part of the design still persisted in Gen 2, but still.

5/10 booo censorship!

TANK!

Octillary’s name also makes way more sense with the original tank design. I mean I can kinda see why this changed, but like…Digimon was over there with a creature in the anime just literally called Tankmon who shoots shells at elementary schoolers so I don’t fucking know.

7/10 I like octillary as is, but this is a much more interesting design

WWE fan

Okay so real talk, I am not the biggest fan of tyrogue’s design, but what was even going on here? What’s with the frog hat? Is it a safety helmet? The general hitmonlee body shape combined with the baby boxing gloves for hitmonchan was pretty cool, but this is not something I’d look at and think “Yes, this will grow up to be a humonoid fighting type.”

5/10 it’s…cute? I guess I just don’t see what’s going on here really

shaga;lsdkfhahdgajspd[f

NO. JUST NO. THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS HAPPENING HERE, TOO MANY LIMBS, TOO MANY EYES, JUST NO. HITMONTOP ENDED UP BEING SILLY BUT AT LEAST IT WASN’T THIS MANGLED BODY HORROR NONSENSE.

0/10 for reminding me of claydol and my own mortality

Pupper

This is going to come as a surprise, but I’m glad they didn’t introduce a baby form of growlithe. The growlithe and arcanine line includes 2 of my top 3 pokemon ever and as cute as this is I don’t think it would fit aesthetically. It looks like a spaniel that doesn’t match the shisa vibe of the growlithe line. That said, I would love to see it as a first form for a different line of perhaps…ground type doggos?

9/10 please give us some floppy ear dog designs, GameFreak! new doggos!

Like, nya

I do think the hoppip line (except for the last evo) is pretty cute, and this one reminds me a bit of an in-training digimon so I’m liking it. That said, I think the designs we got were better.

6/10 cute but like existing hoppip

Gardnyar

Again, prefer Skiploom.

5/10 not a fan of the flower for some reason

Nyancat theme plays in the distance

So I like this better than jumpluff personally, even if the other is probably a more unique design.

5/10 jumpluff’s limbs bother me, but lbr I was never going to train one anyway

New this Easter

Mr. Mime, I think we can all agree, is an unsettling design. That’s its whole appeal, really. Mime Jr. is cute enough I guess, but this is a tiny clown egg that looks like it’s learning to ice skate for the first time!

6/10 get your derpy clown nose out of here, Mime Jr.

Agatha’s apprentice

Smoochum is…well, she is. She’s kinda cute, and I think I prefer the finished design to this one since it looks way too similar to grown up jynx. Plus it raises some uncomfortable questions about it being born with ganguro make-up and hair (in a style that looks like E4 Agatha’s for some reason). This smoochum looks like it’d be taken out to sit alone at the bar in the club while wearing booty shorts that read “Mama’s Lil’ Bitch” across the back.

4/10 this makes me uncomfortable, and the hair is too close to Agatha’s

Which way to the Chao Garden?

Elekid is one of few baby pokemon I like, but hot damn this thing is adorable. It looks like a tiny, wingless bee with a halo.

7/10 can this be recycled as something else?

Bart Simpson

Really what keeps me from fully embracing the magmar line is largely the fact that they all have butts on their heads. These spikes are way more appealing to me, and so I would have loved having this one in the game.

8/10 is it still too late to redesign magby?

Bellossom

Not too many changes from the beta. I am digging the shoujo sparkles going on around her, haha.

6/10 not a big bellossom fan but a well-design pokemon nonetheless

Audrey III

Nope, I don’t like this, no sir. Where would this even go in the evo line? Is it supposed to be an alternative to victreebel? Cause this isn’t much better, guys.

1/10 I will give it one point since it looks like it could cut a rug on the dance floor

Miltank

A good, solid pokemon I’m pretty fond of (once I got over my salt from the Whitney battle). I like her as a female counterpart to tauros. Nothing too astounding but still fun and cute.

8/10

Fire Seal

I feel like there’s folklore here, but my tired brain isn’t coming up with anything at the moment, sadly. Not a really detailed design but those tend to be more my favorites anyway. Trying to figure out what this was replaced by in the final game but I’m having a tough time figuring it out.

7/10 we have a lot of seals, but this is the only FIRE seal

Delibird

I see we chose the path with more subtlety in the end.

4/10 not really a big fan of delibird

Hanshin Hopeful

Okay, I know I said earlier that the screaming pile of goo was my favorite, but this line is also my favorite out of these beta designs. This one upsets me because this would have been such a great cultural addition! Osaka (represented by Goldinrod City in the games) has a baseball team called the Hanshin Tigers, which everyone in the area is a fervent fan of. Not only is this unbearably cute, it could have been hanging out in like a little baseball stadium area or something in or around Goldinrod.

10/10 how could you leave this out?!

Nandeyanen!!

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Why did I not get this?! The Akihabara of Osaka is even called “DenDen Town” (Electric Town)!

10/10 we’ve missed our chance and now amends cannot be made

Talk to the wing

Is this supposed to be a farfetch’d evolution?! It doesn’t make a ton of sense aside from the waterfowl connection, but like…how pissed would you be if you were farfetch’d? This is kinda cool. I’m not super into swans or anything, but the masquerade/crime fighter mask is a neat detail.

5/10 I could see this being used interestingly, even if I’d probably not use it

Hitori Kakurenbou

I love this concept. Look at this! I know it was basically recycled for shuppet’s line, but this is so much more hardcore. Now this is a pokemon that can use curse appropriately.

10/10 personally like this one better than shuppet, if I’m being honest

Hsien-ko

This is the most Chinese pokemon since arcanine, oh my god. It’s a panda jiangshi. A panda jiangshi! Imagine it hopping after you adorably, ready to leech life you to death.

9/10 it’s not as cute as the pre-evolution, but still–panda jiangshi!!!

Murkrow

Not a lot of changes going on here either, aside from the more obvious witch’s hat design. Unsure if I like this one better or regular murkrow.

7/10 good flappy friend

*uncomfortable cough*

Blissey’s design is a bit too busy and frilly for my tastes, but it’s certainly a lot more acceptable than this. I get what they were going for: a heart on top of its head to represent healing and whatnot, but it just came out so…so yonic in nature that I have to wonder about the person responsible for this design.

1/10 not entirely awful but good lord

Scisor

Here’s the boi, only this time with eyes on his little crab claws! It’s cute but later got used for hydregion instead, and I dunno, I kind of prefer scisor as is. Still think scyther looks cooler, but a good strudy boi.

6/10 for the puppet shows it could give to entertain all the baby forms on this sprite sheet

Pinsir Noh Pinching

Here’s your fave, anon! You’re right that it seems to have a blank Noh-like mask on its face, as if a huge pinching bug wasn’t terrifying enough for you. That said, I kind of like the really creepy vibe, and poor pinsir got left in the dirt by his rival scyther once Gen 2 hit and gave scyther an evolution but nothing for his clampy comrade.

6/10 we could still get a pinsir evolution, guys

Houndour!

As you might expect of me, the houndour line is a close second to umbreon for Jess’s Favorite Gen 2 Pokemon. It combines two types I love, fire and dark, into this edgy but adorable package–what could I not love about it? This design is actually even better than the final one, because look at that sick-ass spine highlighting the ribs that got left in!

10/10 you cannot half ass edge; that misses the point

Houndoom!

Houndoom, meanwhile, looks pretty much as I remember him in Gold. And there’s nothing wrong with that–his design is fucking amazing. Man, kids, back in the metagame in Gen 2, houndoom was firmly in the top tier. Ah, I remember those days…

10/10 like a shark, houndoom has passed through decades without major tinkering to its evolutionary design

Baby yeti

Long before froslass burst onto the scene, this little bundle of deceptively charming horror could have been the first ice/ghost type. Yes, yes, it’s very adorable upon initial inspection, but once you look a bit deeper, you notice that the pokemon itself is actually black as night, with two piercing Jawa eyes, and the happy fur coat is another creature that’s been skinned and put on like a hoodie. Amazing.

10/10 I’ll take four

Wampa

I started on Star Wars references in the last entry and I gotta keep it going. Anyway, the evolution of tiny, arctic Buffalo Bill up there is even more fearsome, with claws and pupils! It’s even somehow found a way to make its fur covering evolve with it, having it sprout huge fangs (yeah I know, adults probably hunt larger creatures for clothing, but let me have this).

10/10 this so should have been a thing

Pon de Lion

I wonder if perhaps this design was meant to be an alternate form or evolution of porygon, or if this was an entirely different species based on toys (presumably to pad out the number of steel types). It’s an interesting idea, certainly, but I 100% get why this design got scrapped–it was a lawsuit from Mr. Donut waiting to happen.

Ugh

Did you know that horses produce 10 gallons of saliva a day? I now do thanks to Nate quizzing us over vacation last weekend to see if we could tell the difference between real animals and pokemon based on factoids. Now, lickilicky was not a new evolution I embraced with open arms, but man, it could have been so much worse.

2/10 I can’t say there’s no appeal (that mustache is great) but it just looks slimy and no thanks

Steelix

It’s steelix, unchanged from this beta to the final game.

7/10 I just think it’s neat

Sunken Master

I would like kingdra so, so much more if this is what it looked like.

9/10 this is goddamn cool and no one can convince me otherwise

Shadow the Edgedog

I’m not gonna lie, I fucking love this stupid design. It’s an electric dog with super sayain hair.

10/10 fuck you, I do what I want

Oscar Myer

Do I find this design cute? Yes. Do I personally like it more than entei’s? Yes. Do I think it’s a better design than entei? No. It’s a bit too plain to really give off that legendary feel, but for me? I’d totally take this in a game. Also at least the last two have actually looked like dogs. The Legendary “Dogs” we got were a tiger, a lion/bear hybrid, and whatever the hell suicune is supposed to be.

8/10 I am a simple woman with simple needs

Jen Kira

I see people likening this design to Nina Tucker, but I actually don’t see that. It looks more to me like a special edition My Little Pony toy from the 80s released to promote The Dark Crystal. I dig it, even if it’s my least favorite of the three OG doggos.

8/10 if only some of the pizzazz of this design was afforded to fiery boi up there and we’d be onto something

Rook

This weasel/otter type thing is really cute, and perhaps was a concept idea for what later became sentret? I’d say I would want to see it again, but I kind of get the feeling we already did get the concept revived in the mienfoo line.

6/10 glad we got to see this one again

Ho-oh

Doesn’t seem too different from the sprite in the final game, and still a good design. That said though, I’m noticing that there’s no lugia in these beta sprites. What the fuck is that?!

7/10 got bros over this ho(-oh)

Togepi

This little bugger was introduced so early in the anime that I’m not surprised that its design was firmed up by the time the demo came out. Togepi’s okay I guess, but again I don’t really tend to like baby pokemon and I got kind of over-exposed to it in the anime.

6/10 cute but not a fave

Snubble

SNUB PARTY!! Snubs has the dubious honor of being the only dog pokemon I actively dislike. I like granbull so I can put up with it temporarily to get it to evolve, but this does a lot of things on my Dislike Checklist: aggressively pink, check; clown ruffle, check; appears to be wearing a dress, check.

4/10 not a fan

Boscoe

This early version of aipom looks like Marsupilami if it had been created by the Fleischer brothers. Something about this design just isn’t Right, but I can’t put my finger on it. I think it’s the 1930s American animation style face combined with walking on all fours? Either way it creeps me out.

3/10 though aipom is a very middle-of-the-road pokemon for me, it’s a helluva lot better than this abomination

Leafeon Prime

If you had asked us kid pokemon fans back in the days of Gen I what pokemon we’d most like to see in the future, I imagine “grass type eeveelution” was near the top for many of them. It just made sense–you had the leaf stone just sitting around, not reacting to your eevee, and it was so blatantly conspicuous. I had my own grass type eeveelution design I’d made called “Thorneon”, the design of which I might share at some point, and I was far from the only one.

So yeah, I’d have appreciated this a LOT in Gen 2. I was disappointed it wasn’t introduced in Gen 2. However, promises of a grass type eeveelution in Gen 4 got me to finally pull the trigger on getting a DS to play Diamond and Pearl, and that turned out to be an execellent decision. So maybe it was better that they kept this idea incubating for a bit longer.

10/10 I like leafeon and I also like this design–particularly like the vine bits that look like scars

And so there you have it! All 100 beta sprites reveiwed by yours truly.

Hope it was worth the wait, anon!

#ask #anon #pokemon #gs beta #long post #opinions

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