#okay another Pokémon drawing

[chloesimaginationthings]

Morioh’s dangerous hair duo

[pinkhairandpokemon]

rp thread starter for @touya-san

“Come on Fwoofy! You can do it!”

“Blake, it’s been almost an hour,” Hop sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he watched his friend repeat words of encouragement to their Cosmog over and over. Beside him, Reshiram stood, eyes following his trainer with a dumbfounded expression plastered on his face. “You realize they can’t understand a word you say, right?”

“Yes they can!” Blake insisted with a pout, shooting him an annoyed glare over their shoulder.. “They’re still just… figuring it out! We’ll get it eventually.”

The Cosmog in question, however, was currently occupied with exploring in the tall grass, happily chittering to itself as it floated about and very much not trying to do whatever it was Blake wanted them to do.

“Uh huh,” Hop nodded, voice dropping with sarcasm. “Real hard worker over there.”

With a defeated groan, Blake ran a hand over their face as they rose to their feet. “Okay, yeah, this isn’t working.” Scooping Fwoofy back into their arms, they turned to face Hop. “Let’s try something else! There’s gotta be a way we can-”

A strange snort from Reshiram made everyone draw their attention towards the legendary dragon, and they all looked up to see him awkwardly scrunching his nose at nothing in particular. Raising a brow, Blake reached a hand out towards their Pokémon in concern as he squeezed his eyes shut and reared his head back. “Woah, buddy, you okay-?”

ACHOO!

The sudden, booming sneeze from the feathery creature made everyone nearly jump out of their skin, and made Fwoofy quite literally go flying straight out of Blake’s arms. With a frightened squeal, the little sentient ball of clouds spun about in the air like a stray leaf, a blue glow encasing its tiny body.

“Woah, Fwoofy-!” Blake exclaimed, both them and Hop simultaneously moving to run after the Cosmog. Before they could even take two steps forward, though, a dazzling explosion burst forth from Fwoofy and swallowed their fields of vision.

Blake had hardly realized they’d been sent tumbling backwards by the blow, until they opened their eyes to find themself collapsed on the grass. With a groan, they placed a hand over their head as they sat up and looked around. Sparkling residue still lingered in the air from the blast, but by the looks of it no one seemed to have been hurt.

After stumbling back onto their feet, Blake moved to help pull Hop from the ground and pick Fwoofy back up. “Okay, that was weird,” Blake remarked, giving Fwoofy a look of worry when they noticed how exhausted it suddenly seemed. The Cosmog let out a weak little trill, deflating in its trainer’s arms like a balloon. “I’ve never seen them do THAT before…”

“Maybe Fwoofy just learned a new attack?” Hop suggested with a shrug, momentarily glancing over at Reshiram, who still seemed a bit disoriented himself.

“I-” Blake opened their mouth to reply, but stopped when they suddenly noticed Reshiram’s head jolting up from the corner of their eye. “Reshi? What’s up?” They asked, turning to see what had gotten the Legendary’s attention.

Reshiram let out a roar towards the sky, a particular sound Blake had come to recognize whenever he was calling for his counterpart. Thinking N had come to see what they were up to, Blake followed the dragon’s gaze, expecting to see the black silhouette of Zekrom approaching on the horizon- but instead they spotted… another Reshiram?

[the-river-runs]

My best friend Fandom has once again returned and asked me to post to Tumblr for her! Once again, I have permission to post this video and all edits were done by Fandom (http.redshoes on Instagram)

These memes are all based on Cryptid Sightings by @naffeclipse

She has a lot to say this time around!

A message from Fandom:

"Hello Naff!! And hello everyone :D

It’s me, your girl, your local meme and edit maker, Fandom (aka http.redshoes on Insta 😎)

I’ve come back to make another meme comp for you guys! I wanted to make this earlier, but:

1. I was busy saving/collecting ATSV content on Instagram like Pokémon to getting noticed twice by Jack in the Box ☺️

2. I had to create an Ao3 account (understandably ofc AI theft sucks) and was um. You know… being silly in the comment section 👀 (please don’t mind me if you ever stumble upon them - I react and appreciate the stuff I enjoy in weird ways 💔)

3. Was waiting for my friend here to finish reading so I didn’t spoil anything in the memes! We both loved the series so much and man. The Naff do be eclipsing fr in releasing chapters left and right biggest round of applause for one of my favorite authors here 👏👏👏

Naff, you did such a great job writing this fanfic. I’m going to repeat myself from the comment section BUT you need to give yourself a pat on the back, relax, take a break - just reward yourself. You deserve it all and I hope that you take care of yourself for all the hard work you’ve done 💞💞💞

I’ve also included the lovely artist themselves, @themeeplord , again in one of my meme comps.

It’s only one meme but dang they always draw Eclipse to be getting that gain 💪💪💪 (bc of how muscular he is haha.) Mad respect to all of the drawings they create - they’re always a banger to see.

(Most of the memes surround the last episode + epilogue so if you haven’t read those chapters LOOK ‼️ AWAY ‼️ Don’t get spoiled 🤯)

(P.S. for the imagine scenario that’s not a meme, this is what they’re saying in the audio:

“[Amused] You can hear their heartbeats? Come on, that’s a little far fetched.”

“[Soft chuckling] I can hear yours too… Your heart’s beating pretty fast.”

I’d like to think this would take place around the beginning of “The Episode Bedeviling Bodies,” where the Hunter is still trying to understand their dear friend and what they’re capable of. I thought it was fitting ngl and included it in the comp.

There were uh, more memes I wanted to include, but I’m running low on storage space atm. I’ll get back to making more after I’m done clearing that out ^^’)

(P.P.S. Okay I don’t have Tumblr obviously but 🕴️ apparently you guys really liked the SJ memes I made??? Because my friend’s been receiving notifs of it still??? Thank you so much you guys!! I didn’t really expect people to enjoy them that much 😭💘💘💘)

Now without further ado, enjoy the meme comp! >:D " -Fandom

[catwalkvivi]

well hey, since hardly anyone's looking at this corner of the website anyway I might as well take the opportunity to vent (it's annoying to do it on twitter with the character cap)

Man, social media is hard.

I see so many people posting regular content consistently for years and years without even seemingly breaking a sweat, while it's always been so difficult for me... Calculating engagement, deciding the best times to post, or, hell, even just sharing what they think/feel/made/fucking ate that day just seems, like, so easy and second nature for pretty much everyone around me. It's genuinely incredible to me that somebody can share what they've learned about idk shitty impractical tanks made in WW1 on this website and make it such an interesting read that hundreds of people engage with it!

But I've tried keeping social media accounts for art and stuff so many times now, on here, on Instagram, on Artstation, on Xitter, and eventually it just- kinda- fades away, it just feels so exhausting to keep track of all the things necessary to Chase the Algorhythm™ if you wanna have any relevancy. Is it a charisma thing??? Where do I grind to get a stat boost on my Cha???

I'd love to say it doesn't matter to me, since I've been drawing shit for myself for years now, but unfortunately artists do need social media presence if they wanna get work. Not to mention, well, I wanna reach people with the stuff I do! I want people to react to what I made, to say what they liked about it, or how it made them feel, and then when I post something I worked on for hours only to get, like, almost zero visibility? idk, man, it just kinda hurts. It's probably selfish and immature for me to say it, I know that it takes time and effort to build an audience and all that, but damn I get happy when people show me that something I've made has affected them positively. I like the connection, I like the conversations, I like meeting people who enjoy the same nerdy trash that I do!

(I was very fortunate to have an art post of mine reach a lot of notes here years ago, which was amazing, but it's such a rare thing)

God, and, like, there's all these weird unspoken rules about interacting on social media too.

The other day a friend of mine came up to our friend group and was like "oh my god this girl liked my stories on instagram it means something does she like me" and I was SO confused and then they were like "well, when somebody not on your friends list likes your stories, it means they're interested in you"

Then some time later another friend was telling me that somebody stopped liking her posts and unfriended her and how that is a horrible offense and my fucking brain hurt, like- okay I get the unfriend part kinda but there could be a hundred reasons for it??? it's not like you have a deep personal connection to all 300 friends you have on your account???

Then I see so many people out there simply sharing something they think or did only to have some rando twist what they said and come at them like they're the shittiest person on the planet that deserves everything bad in life actually (except the ones that are willingly spouting/promoting hateful shit to begin with. Those can rot in hell and I shall not mourn their demise)

Like??? It might be the Power of Autism™ in me but it always feels like I'm one step away from either making a fool of myself or offending twenty different people or both. It's both the fear of having hundreds of thousands of eyes on me and the fear of having none at all. And that makes it really difficult to share anything on the internet for me. I already have to deal with my entire existence as a trans woman making some cunts around the world mad, it sucks that I have to risk it in places where I just wanna post dumb drawings and talk about dumb things that make me happy with others.

I dunno. Word vomit I guess. Social media is hard. Interacting with humans is hard. Sharing stuff is hard. I prefer Pokémon

[volostogekiss]

an eternity spent (one-shot)

No warnings. GN!reader, time-traveling/immortal Volo. Established past relationship. This man is just in love with you a lottt okay. It gets pretty wholesome because I want a happy ending :)

(Based on the Pokémon Masters EX and PLA premise because I’m waiting for when Volo is released in PoMas plsss)

Summary: Life was just how it should’ve been between you and Volo in Hisui. A love tried through trials immeasurable would never be broken, but fate always had a way of taking the things you treasure the most from you when you least expect it. After what had happened on Mount Coronet, you’d hardly spent a few months together, until you’d disappeared without a trace one day. 

But perhaps, fate could be merciful as well.

Volo had spent nearly two hundred years without you, waiting for the day to find you once more. He has his chance when he’s brought to Pasio, and it just so happens that he learns you’re the first Champion of the island.

He won’t let you go, this time.

I’m the one who is lucky to have you, my love.

How often had he thought of that, told you so as he’d embraced you?

He’d always trace his teardrop pendant he’d given you as it sat around your neck, his fingers drawing meaningless patterns on your chest and his lips caressing yours.

How often had Volo thought himself lucky to have you by his side, even when he felt undeserving of your love?

He was lucky that you had forgiven him for his misdeeds, his anger, his hatred. You’d forgiven him for breaking your heart, but your benevolence to allow him a second chance to love you…

Volo hadn’t ever experienced such happiness before, until you.

He was foolish to think that he was lucky enough to stay with you forever, however. It was too easy to lose himself in the bliss of your perfection, but how could he have avoided it? You were perfect.

Of course, his Pokémon were dearly important to him, but you were the one good thing he’d never thought he could ever really have. How right I had been.

He cursed Arceus for taking you from him.

The morning he had awoken with you gone… it haunted him every night. At first, he’d thought you had merely wanted an early start to the day, that you were trudging your way to Jubilife from your home far down in the Sandgem Flats. It had disappointed him that he hadn’t been able to kiss you awake, but as the day dragged on without you, that was trivial in comparison to your unexplained absence.

Volo could do nothing but wait for you. He trusted you. He knew you would return, wouldn’t you?

Creeping in before he had really wanted to acknowledge it, that doubt stole into his mind, worried him, and hounded at him incessantly. You weren’t there to stop it.

You weren’t there.

He hadn’t wanted to believe you had left him. Volo trusted you, as you had trusted him.

But three days after your disappearance, he went to Jubilife, hoping that someone else had seen you.

No one else had.

You had just vanished.

Part of him wished that you had left him, if it would spare him the pain of being separated from you in a world not even of his own. A world he had no connection to, no way to reach, a world that condemned him to agonize without you.

He knew it was so, for it could have only been another cruel act in the play of Arceus’ grand absurdity.

He had cursed his forsaken god more times than he could recall, so he couldn’t believe it had been the one generous enough to bestow him this opportunity to reunite with you on Pasio. He could put no faith in Arceus, for the deity had never accepted it, but presumed it fitting to both bless and damn him with immortality. Then, instead, Volo chose to lay his faith in the strength of your love—the only constant he would keep in his heart. Perhaps his fate had finally played out as it should have—with you, and only you—or maybe some other force besides Hoopa, as he’d learned, was at work, but Volo wouldn’t let you escape him.

Not when you were here, too.

His heart had almost shattered with a hysterical joy when he saw it was your picture flashing on the walls of the buildings all around the island. Maybe it’s once more that I’ve been lucky to find you. Of course, he wasn’t surprised that you were crowned as the strongest Trainer—the first PML Champion, as he’d heard. You’d defeated him and Giratina, after all. A lofty pride surged through his heart as he thought of your success here, and a burst of desperation compelled him to find you despite knowing nothing of Pasio. Its differences in landscape and culture compared to the Sinnoh he knew from only decades prior were inconsequential when you were here, waiting for him to seek you out. Ignoring how people had stared at him while he asked for you, whether for the uniqueness of his features, his noticeable accent, or some familiarity they said they saw in him, Volo thought only of you.

Their opinions were naught but useless blathering, for only yours meant the world to him. He needed to hear you. He needed to see you. He needed to feel you.

After what felt like an eon apart, Volo wouldn’t let anything take you away from him again.

Not when he knew how much he loved you, and how much he knew you loved him.

It didn’t even matter that you couldn’t remember anything of him.

Still, he hadn’t expected his heart to sink when you had first met at the Trainer Lodge, as people said you often were there in the morning. His heart should have soared upon seeing you, exactly as you were, exactly as he remembered you, but he supposed he was truly unprepared for the reality that you had forgotten him.

Smiling at him as you did to everyone else, you greeted him like a stranger after you gave him your name. “Oh, hello!”

The heat roiling inside him had almost caused him to lurch forward, pull you close, and call you his love. But Volo simply smiled at you, unable to keep the adoration from twinkling in his eye when he saw his pendant around your neck, even as you remained unmoved when he spoke his name.

“‘Volo’…” you repeated his name with a thoughtful hum, and by the stars, he trembled. It was almost as it had been back then, when you’d said his name in so many different ways, brightened by your happiness, shaded by the flushed tint of yearning love, and even coarse amid your grief. Ah, his name always sounded best upon your lips!

“It’s nice to meet you!”

He was glad you said nothing about his uncanny likeness to Cynthia; it was a difficult point to ignore as it was one of the most common things he’d been told upon his appearance in Pasio, but of course, you would be the one to look at him for who he was. And despite how much he’d heard of her, his descendant he should rightfully be interested in—shouldn’t he?—Volo found he couldn’t be as fascinated with her as he was enamored with you. You were always his priority, and he couldn’t change that.

He would make sure you would remember. If he could wait almost two centuries to see you once more, then the time spent to recapture your heart would be mere seconds in comparison. He would hold dear those seconds, treasure them like nostalgic days far gone in the past.

“Here,” you proposed generously, showing him your own decorated Poryphone, which he thought looked awfully akin to your old Arc Phone, “how about we stay in touch?”

Volo couldn’t help that his mischievous nature had revealed itself so readily in your presence. “I’d love to. You’ll have to teach me how we go about things on this island, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, I’d be glad to!” You’d accepted his Poryphone and flashed him another smile. “I think we’ll get along well—I just have a feeling.”

Volo grinned. “I happen to think so as well.”

And while he supposed he should have been acquainting himself with everything this artificial island had to offer, nothing could captivate him like you did. He often asked you more questions about yourself than Pasio, even after you’d taught him about battling with his Togekiss as a sync pair. He should’ve been focused on the second upcoming tournament. He should’ve been focused on battling harder, for your skills had only improved after your time apart.

Even more so, you’d graciously invited him to compete on your team, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to know if you could remember him, if you knew anything of Hisui. You had even said it yourself that he was a man of many questions, but you never seemed to grow tired of them. Then and now, you had said you enjoyed hearing his voice, and Volo absolutely loved it. You hadn’t changed.

“Hm, so even as I and other Trainers were brought to Pasio with our memories intact,” Volo considered with an uncharacteristic sullenness marring his expression, “you haven’t been able to recall anything.”

The pair of you were seated upon a square balcony, framed by flowers at a seaside café. A shared breakfast plate rested between you two, just as Volo saw it on the little dining table you had built together in your home.

“I don’t know. I wish I did. A few of my Pokémon were brought with me, but I don’t remember anything still. I wish I remembered…”

One of your hands drifted to the silver pendant settled on your chest, the action so natural it was apparent you had often fiddled with the charm. Volo smiled at that. It was reassuring that you subconsciously thought of him, even if you couldn’t remember him.

It really was you.

You brought your hand down, rested it on the table beside your untouched cup of neatly sliced fruit and berries. “Sometimes, with how many things are happening on Pasio, and the fact that I’m the Champion, I tend to lose myself in how happy I’ve become.”

Volo then wondered if it was better for you to remain happy without your knowledge of everything that had hurt you in Hisui, even if that included himself. Only you knew what he’d done to you, since you’d told no one else about his betrayal. And with how Adaman and Irida had welcomed him as a friendly face on Pasio, he knew you really hadn’t said a thing. Should he let you feel that pain again? He shook away the alternative of leaving you ignorant of matters that were yours just as much as they were his. Your love was worth that suffering; you had told him so, and you always did when his doubts were too easily read on his face.

He often left it at that.

He could never give you up anyway, regardless of what you’d told him.

After all, months had passed, and Volo was sure that you were seeing him as more than a friend. Despite how common it was to exchange Poryphone numbers, he had been on Pasio long enough to understand that whether one continued communicating after that really spoke volumes of your relationship. You were popular, of course, as your prestigious station demanded, but you still wanted him by your side. So why else would you have wanted him on your team? Why else would you keep showing up to talk to him and present him little gifts whenever you saw him in the Trainer Lodge? He knew why. It was exactly how he’d been all those years ago in Hisui whenever he’d seen you. He’d curl into your palm tokens of his affection, the mementos small, but telling of his boundless love for you. His hooded gaze, warm touches, and reluctance to part from you were surely clear enough signs for you, weren’t they?

Privy to rumors as he’d always been, Volo knew that it was certainly obvious to anyone else who looked your way. With their knowledge of your relationship from the past, the two clan leaders could see it, but neither felt it right to interfere with history, instead allowing him to court you as he had before. So why should he still wait to proclaim his love to you? No one else could love you like he did. None had waited nearly two centuries to be reunited with you, and never had he faltered in his stride to find you again. Throughout the lonely years that had stretched over the melancholy patience in his heart, Volo never forgot you.

He could never forget you.

When he least expected it, the rush of emotions—relief, love, and sheer happiness—tended to overwhelm his heart. But then at the worst possible moment, when you faced one another in a training session, he often felt himself pulled back to that day on Mount Coronet, and it slowed his reactions, forced him into clumsy mistakes, and worried you.

Like today, as the two of you fought against one another, in a secluded clearing at the northern forest’s edge of the island.

“The intensity of our battles sometimes brings me to such a state of nervousness that even I can’t quite comprehend it!” he lied, and he hated that he had done so again.

The last time he’d lied to you…

He didn’t want to think of it.

And yet, you never let him remain lost in his uncertainties. Your wit, your humor, your genuine concern… Volo could see how you looked at him with nothing but appreciation for who he was. So much more for someone who had been a stranger to you just short of half a year ago—

“Well, don’t think I’m not watching you,” came your playful retort as you stepped closer to him.

From behind you, Solgaleo pawed at the ground, its tail twitching. It almost looked amused.

Volo ignored your sync partner. He turned back to you with a smirk he hoped would distract you. “I’d prefer it if you watched me all the time, actually.”

“Volo—!”

He laughed, and he was relieved that it wasn’t long before you did too.

Oh, how he’d wanted to hear your laughter! He’d thought he’d never hear it again, but when he’d heard it so close just a day after meeting you again, he didn’t know how he’d lived without you. It hadn’t been over anything significant that caused you to snort, then laugh, but it had been because of an off-handed remark he’d made about the number of times people had felt the need to stare at him for his similarity to Cynthia.

“I think most of them are looking because you’re unfairly handsome!”

Volo had frozen. That was what you had told him when you’d first become friends. You’d admitted it with that same laugh, then gone on how the two of you should take a picture together.

And in this modern age, you’d done so more times than he could count, the album in his Poryphone full of photos of you and him.  

It seemed you were thinking of something along those lines now, for you were almost touching him, that smile you saved just for him on your lips.

His heart fluttered.

He wanted to kiss you very badly then.

Volo often realized he was dangerously close to dipping down and pressing his lips to yours, but always, always, regrettably, he stopped himself before he did. He’d brush it off as some dirt on your face or a stray eyelash dropped upon your cheek—excuses to touch you as he had when you were lovers.

Oh, and if you could just see the way you looked at him now.          

“You know, I’m really happy that you’re here, Volo,” you whispered quietly, leaning forward to gently take his hand.

He let you wind your fingers between his, felt his world tilt and rush away from him just to come careening to a halt as he thought of the first time you’d held hands. A breezy spring day. His enthusiasm for exploring the ruins he’d wanted to show you outmatched by his excitement to be alone with you. The wonderful, rugged and soft skin of your palm, the warmth blazing against his hand. The startled look on your face, then how you’d smiled at him so brilliantly. He looked up at you, saw the glimmer in your eyes, saw that same beautiful smile, and then the overlapping memories were almost too much for him.

It was almost the same, but this time, it was you who had reached for him first.

“The longer I’m around you, I think there’s something so pleasantly familiar about you that I just can’t understand.” Your lips twitched upward when he placed a hand tentatively upon your waist. “It’s like I know you, even though I hadn’t met you before you got here.”

You don’t know how well I know you, and how well you really know me, my love.

Volo tilted his head, drew you in so that your clothes brushed against one another’s. “I don’t think you realize that I’m beyond happy to hear you say such a thing.”

Not once had he ever stopped loving you.

Your eyes wavered when he cupped your cheek hesitantly, and you could barely manage to remain still in his arms. Thudding and twisting in your chest, your heart pounded in your ears, and you swore he could feel how unsteady you were. “Volo, I don’t know what it is, but when you look at me like that, I can’t help thinking that I—”

“I love you.”

Volo wasn’t even sure if he was the one who had said it, but he knew he was the one who had moved to kiss you.

He’d always dreamed of kissing you again—fantasies clouding his mind throughout his wistful mornings, or soaking deep into his skin as he lay alone at night. You’ve always been everything I’ve needed, he hoped to tell you with the craving press of his lips against yours, and somehow, I’d known it the moment I’d met you.

I love you.

He held you closer, turned to catch his breath, but couldn’t deny the desire to steal yours away again. How could he hold back any longer? He couldn’t. A wanton growl escaped him as he chased the warmth of your lips, but before he could kiss you again, you stiffened in his hold so suddenly that he had to let go.

“I knew you,” you gasped, a light in your eyes that shone clear in recognition of who he was to you. “I knew you, Volo. I—I loved you, and I know I still do.”

Immediately, with a cry of delight, Volo swept you up in his arms, twirled you in the air, and laughed to the heavens, the unprecedented reaction catching both you and him by surprise.

“My love, I’ve waited for you for so long—”

You were the one to lean in and kiss him this time.

“You’ll have to tell me everything later—“

He nuzzled against you, then set you back down on the ground, his lips brushing against yours.

“Of course,” Volo chuckled, “we’ll have all eternity, now that we’re together again.”

[chinchillasinunison]

The poll I hosted the other day regarding Ishimondo Fakémons came out as "just post the written concepts now" by a 2/3s margin, so that's what I'm doing here. Name and Pokédex entry followed by an inspiration and appearance section. Feel free to draw them if you wish!

Uniformic: The Orderly Pokémon (Bug/Psychic)

These Pokémon can discharge and receive psionic waves through their large antennae, which is how they keep their colonies so precisely structured. When they forage for food on the surface, Uniformics tend to find the chaotic nature of the outside world frightful, so individuals will try to impose their standards onto others to little effect. The only exception to this is Toadstooligans, which Uniformics have developed a symbiotic relationship with.

On my "Kiyotaka is an ant" propaganda yet again. Not much to say about this one, just taking regular ant traits and giving them a little supernatural twist. In terms of appearance, Uniformic would honestly probably just be a cartoon ant with some Kiyotaka traits (big eyebrow-like antennae being the major one, and of course the eyes). I don't have much to say about this one.

Toadstooligan: The Pestilent Pokémon (Poison/Fairy)

These impish Pokémon will steal whatever tasty goodies they come across no matter the barrier between the two, often leaving destruction in their wake and sometimes hurting themselves in the process. Its discerning diet gives the jelly fungus that grows from its head a rich, buttery flavor when fresh. However, when consumed dry, it inflicts a hunger-induced blind rage. The thieving ways of a Toadstooligan can be halted by a Uniformic, which will keep it out of trouble in exchange for its delicious fungus.

Making Mondo a fungus and Kiyotaka an ant that feeds on it is inspired by leafcutter ants, who cultivate fungus as food (and a certain other ant-fungal relationship that we'll get to later), but there's another fungal species that Toadstooligan takes after: witches' butter. Firstly, yeah, it's a butter joke, but I've put thought into it beyond that, okay? In Swedish folklore, the devil gives witches a cat called a carrier, which steals food for the witch (typically butter). Sometimes, the carrier stuffs itself too full in its eagerness to please its master and vomits some of its cargo on its way back home, which is where the fungus comes from. The whole idea of being part of this cycle of crime that's actively harming you but still participating anyway is very Mondo to me. Appearance-wise, I'm picturing a wooden doll/puppet thing (because it grows on rotten wood) with some cat-like features (like the way the piece of wood for the head was cut looks kinda like cat ears or a branch tail) and the witches' butter as the pompadour.

Whorlyceps: The Spiraling Pokémon (Poison/Psychic)

This evolution is the result of a Uniformic outlasting its Toadstooligan companion. Any spores inside its stomach dry out all at once, engulfing it in directionless fury and ravenous hunger. It will run itself in circles trying to find its typical food source, with its psychic abilities sending nearby Pokémon into similar senseless spirals until it faints from exhaustion.

Before you say anything: yes, cordyceps have been done in Pokémon before, but this is a bit of a different angle. Both pieces of this evolutionary line take inspiration from different ant-fungal relationships to establish the contrast between them and tell a story about how a relationship can help and hurt in equal measure. There's also the inspiration of ant mills, something I've compared Ishida as an unhealthy coping mechanism to before. It's a phenomenon in which army ants lose their way due to an outside trigger and start running in a continuous circle after each other until they die of exhaustion. Whorlyceps is definitely fucked up looking, bleached white dry spores all over and spiral motifs (in particular, the eye flames curling into spirals).

[katkitters]

Do you have an anatomy tutorial or base I can reference? I really like your style and I'd like to do something similar to it :3

hi! first of all, thank you for asking! it makes me really happy to know my style can be an inspiration to you!

having a quick glance at the work on your blog, i think you have a pretty good handle on some basic human anatomy. i have both some general tips for how i achieved my own style of anatomy as well as some of my sketches for reference!

general tips;

you've surely been told this a million times, but references are your best friend! for references, i use pinterest more than anything. for human/humanoid pose reference, i like adorkastock! they've been creating reference images for artists for a long time, so they have a huge backlog of interesting poses! figure studies are really helpful too but i tragically do not do them as much as i should :P don't be like me. do ur figure studies

references also don't have to be real life images. if you like the anatomy of a fictional mascot or character, you can reference that too! for example, if you like the build of pikachu, kyubey, or my melody, you can reference that for your own characters. you can even reference artstyles of toys like littlest pet shops! personally, a lot of the way i draw my mascots/chibis is inspired by pokémon designs like pikachu, eevee, and riolu.

another piece of advice you hear a lot, but the best way to improve is to practice and experiment! see which rules of real-life anatomy you wanna keep and which you enjoy breaking!

here's a few examples of how i might stylise anatomy! i have a habit of cleaning up my sketches as i go, so i've drawn back over them to show the structure of the anatomy!

all three of these characters have dfferent bodily structures inspired by different things, but some of my anatomical style stays true through all three drawings. catpurrccino (1) has a body type inspired by pokemon like pikachu and morpeko, kitten kaboodle (2) is moreso based on the build of my little pony g3 toys, and legoland (3) has a build inspired by dragons :3

i hope this helps even a little! i'm okay with people referencing my art to improve their own, just be sure to credit me in some way if you post it (mostly because i'd love to see!!)

[koolkat9]

Parent Support Group AU

Time to move onto the kiddos.

You can find the info about the parents here. Also check the reblogs of the post too because I added some parents through that. 

Let’s start with ages

Peter: infant (no older than 1 but probably younger)

Kugel: Also an infant like Peter

Luxembourg (I don’t have a human name for him): 2

Ludwig: 3/4 

Erika (Liechtenstein): 4

Feliciano: 4

Alfred and Matt: 5

Emma (Belgium): 5

Kiku: 6

Romano: 6

I’m also adding Emil: 15/16 and he volunteers at the daycare portion of the meeting because he needs a certain amount of hours to graduate. 

Okay with that out of the way. Let’s get into what it’s like for these kids at the daycare. Basically whenever a new parent joins the group they introduce the kids to each other before heading to their meeting. 

Arthur is still fairly new to the group like Gilbert and Gilbert is wearing a t-shirt with a band Arthur likes so maybe he’s finally found a possible friend in this sea of parents who look at him like he’s a fuck up (they actually don’t, but he thinks he’s a fuck up so he thinks everyone else sees him like that). Anyway, Arthur tries to get the boys together but Alfred refuses to come away from the toys so it’s just Matthew and Ludwig who are introduced to each other at first. 

Arthur warns that Matthew is shy and doesn’t talk much and Gilbert assures him “it’s okay. Luddy here is the same.” 

And the little boys instantly connect. No words. Not even gestures. There is just this unspoken understanding that “Hey! You’re like me.” And they go off together. Ludwig plays with blocks while Matt plays with some plastic animals. Ludwig gets excited and shows Mattie his tower. Aww maybe Ludwig builds Matthew’s animals houses. 

Feliciano and Alfred probably also gravitate to each other because they are both bubbly and talkative. Though Feli ends up making friends with everyone to some extent. Feli is probably how Alfred got introduced to everyone.

Alfred and Kiku bond over Pokémon and become like best friends despite Kiku being wary of him at first. Kiku already has a massive collection and he brings it to show Alfred and Al is just floored. Al probably only knows the anime, so Kiku maybe gives Al a card to get him started. 

Like I said in another post I think things are actually tense between Feli and Ludwig at first because Feli doesn’t know how to approach Ludwig without making him uncomfortable. Thinking more about it, I’m thinking maybe the two of them finally make a break through one day when Matt has to stay home sick and Ludwig is devastated. Feliciano can tell he’s very upset and wanted to do something. He’s picked up on how Matthew and Ludwig play: not really together but they do an activity beside each other and occasionally come together to show what they are doing. So Feli suggests that he and Ludwig should make get well cards for Matthew and give them to Mr. Kirkland before he and Al leave. So Feli and Ludwig draw for most of their time together. Feli even teaches him how to draw some things. Drawing eventually becomes something they do together regularly. 

Erika for awhile was the only girl. She played with Feli and Kiku sometimes, but often times she stuck to Erzsébet’s side and helped her get snacks and stuff. Eventually a new parent comes in and brings along another little girl named Emma. Erika is shy and worries that she won’t make a good first impression. Luckily Erzse helps them break the ice. 

Lux is really young so it’s hard to play with the other kids sometimes. There is not much else I can say right now other than that he always follows his big sister around.

While everyone breaks off into friend groups, Roma is kind of left out. Everyone seems to get along, some of course hang out with others more, but no one ever seems to want to hang out with Roma. Emil sees this and keeps him company when he can. Roma thinks Emil is so cool because he’s a teenager and wants to hangout with him. 

But now I feel bad Roma doesn’t have kids around his age to hangout with...Hmm...I guess we could get Afonso and Antonio in here? WAIT NO! We can do Carlos (Cuba). Carlos and him bond. And then Roma gets to know Mattie because Carlos is also friends with Mattie. I don’t know who will be Carlos’s guardian but we’ll figure it out later 

Emil really doesn’t want to be there tbh. He’s a teen after all. But he needs volunteer hours for high school and since his uncles are the ones running it, it was an easy in. The kids like him though because he talks to them like their people (I don’t know if this makes sense, but you know how some adults talk to kids and like...talk down to them. Not on a purposefully malicious way, but like...they talk very differently to kids and it’s like they don’t understand what kids are capable of). But I think it would be cute if he warms up to the position and when he’s deciding on what he wants to do after high school he decides to be a teacher or work in child care in some way. 

[joy-crimes]

If you had to eat a Pokémon, which one would you eat? I feel like magikarp is a safe bet

i think that there are many different values to consider when selecting which pokemon to eat.

most importantly is the ratio of delciousness to ease of the hunt. I think that the more difficult the hunt is, the more rewarding it would be overall, but you DO reach a territory of diminishing returns where taking down a powerful pokemon could exhaust so much of your life force that a meal that was “just okay” really wouldnt feel like a reward

to this end, i’d skip all legendaries probably. the small ones dont have any meat on their bones and the big ones can terraform, create/destroy life, etc.

to this end as well, i would likely skip man-made pokemon, especially the ones that are a result of pollution or erosion. this encompasses a lot of poison types and steel types. additionally, i’d like to rule out obvious answers like pokemon that are basically just fish (magikarp & remoraid), miltank, or food pokemon like alcremie and vanillish. also if we’re simply talking abt sensibilities i would say that im also ruling out eating anything that resembles an animal that i would never eat IRL (cats, dogs, horses, rats, etc).

what we are left with are the following: pokemon that are based on animals and pokemon that are so fantastical as to not have a real-life counterpart to easily draw from. I prefer the latter.

so in terms of risk and reward, i would say my first choice would be Eelektross. its scary, its dangerous, and it arguably may taste something like eel does IRL, which means that the reward would be worth a life-threatening hunt. Do i think I could win? with enough planning I think it would be possible, but its electric powers combined with the probable water environment make this feel like a dangerous pick.

another posit would be something like blaziken. it’s very chicken-like, but offers a unique challenge in its fighting abilities. overall i do not think i could win, but i would be honored to put up a fight at all against something that would definitely have a sort of smokey, spicey flavor BEFORE seasoning. the easy answer would be to fight combusken instead but i believe this would prove to be remarkably easy given its stature and lack of muscles.

lastly i would posit that as many rock types have visible tongues, they most definitely have some kind of meat underneath their hard exterior. the physiology of rock types may be as simple as “this animal developed an extremely thick hide to protect itself from predators” which means the inside is probably absolutely delectable, considering evolution’s means of protecting it.

to this end, i would most likely try to eat graveler due to the size. golem looks like it’s probably too tough of a cookie to crack, while graveler seems like it could be done in with some steady pickaxe/sledgehammer work!

[streaminn]

okay real question have I drawn other Fandoms? I have only seen wednesday & a bunch of Au's for it (witch are great!) But I couldn't find another Fandom? Oh and another question what do you think abt the pikemon thig like the new horizons one without ash a lot of ppl shit liko x dot so js want ur opinion on the pokemon thing. Would u also see ur self draw pokeomn stuff or different fandoms?

Srry ifo asked tooo many questions!! I was curious, I love ur art btw u have such a unique style of drawing and I love it!!!!!! (It's kinda comforting ngl)

Well, I've drawn for other Fandom but those were years or so before! But nothing recent

I'm just really active in the Wednesday Fandom cause i love wenclair B^)

Not so sure about drawing Pokémon, it just never really peaked my interest so... And as for other Fandoms?

Let's see if they scratch my brain and I get hyperfixated

[doubleddenden]

Okay, new Pokémon. Let's look at them and give my thoughts.

Iron Leaves

I mean, like many future pokemon, it's just a previous pokemon but it's a robot now. Kinda disappointed because the drawings at least made it look neater.

Walking Wake

Well, it's kinda neat I guess. I don't think we expected a weird leopard based on a weird giraffe to be turned into a weird dinosaur. Good thing I did a Scarlet Run recently. Not that it matters since I can't do 7 star raids but yknow...

Now for the star of Teal Mask

Ogerpon. Looks to be a grass type. Cute lil fella- and definitely connected to Terrastilizing. Maybe this guy allows Terrastilizing in the Kitokami region.

But that's not all because... well I'm not sure what we got tbh. Starters? Psuedo starters? Legendaries? Just new guys?

Fezandipiti

Munkidori

Okidogi

Besides the amazingly hilarious names, kinda whelmed. They're definitely playing up the Japanese angle here, and hopefully they have cooler things down the road.

They seem to be somewhat sinister. Probably underlings to Ogerpon. Probably just prankster yokai or something.

And now a very special boi

Terapagos

So this guy was in the book and is probably the source of Terastilizing. The fact that he appears in relation to another Academy is also strange to me.

Oh well, we've basically got 8 to 10 months to stew on these.

[quibbs126]

Okay, I originally started making this over 2 weeks ago, but I got sidetracked and never finished it, but I went back yesterday to draw more of it

Basically I just wanted to draw Dark Choco and his past relationships with other characters

First off I drew him with Caramel Arrow Cookie, with him mentoring her in how to use a bow. I’ve kind of already covered how I see their relationship in an older artwork, but basically I see them having a pseudo older brother/younger sister relationship, while Dark Choco also acted as sort of a mentor to her

Next we have Dark Choco and Royal Berry, whom I also see them having a sibling sort of relationship (basically Dark Choco went out and just collected siblings like Pokémon, intentionally or not). While Dark Choco is older, here they’re both at least teenagers, Royal Berry’s just short. Initially they met simply because their parents were friends (I imagine Hollyberry and Dark Cacao probably kept the most in touch out of the Ancients post-Dark Flour War, but that’s just going off what I can gather so far), with Royal Berry befriending the shy Dark Choco Cookie, and later on they remained close friends, despite Royal Berry not being very enthusiastic about fighting or going on dangerous adventures (though that didn’t stop Dark Choco from occasionally roping him into shenanigans). Dark Choco just liked his friend, and he also provided a different perspective, considering everyone he knows in the Dark Cacao Kingdom is a warrior just like him. Dark Choco also acted as a bit of a wingman for Royal Berry when it came to Jungleberry, a young knight in the Hollyberry Kingdom, helping hype Royal Berry up and give him the confidence to ask her out, to which she agreed. Unfortunately Dark Choco just stopped coming over, after an incident in the Dark Cacao Kingdom that Royal Berry never got the details of as his mother never really told him, so he’s not sure what happened to his old friend. As for Dark Choco he wonders how Royal Berry is doing now (he’s unaware that he and Jungleberry got married and they had kids, he was only there for the first and maybe second date)

Then last night I drew Dark Choco and Second Watcher, which I finished earlier today. For the sake of simplicity I’m gonna call Second Watcher here Toffee Cookie, though I’m not sure if that’s my final name for him? (Also side note I just learned today that toffee is essentially caramel (well not really but it’s similar). For some reason I always thought it tasted more like coffee or honey, and thus a flavor I didn’t like. But I do like caramel, so I might actually try it sometime)

So initially I didn’t think much of Second Watcher, other than the fact that I’ve seen his name pop up quite a bit on here, which was a bit odd for a minor NPC. But upon looking again at that loading screen with Dark Cacao Cookie and a freshly baked Dark Choco Cookie, I noticed that the random Cookie holding Dark Choco Cookie was first off a man given the stubble, but also looked uncannily similar to Second Watcher Cookie, to the point where they might be the same person, and the Wiki at least seems to think so too (I’m aware the Wiki isn’t official or anything, but it is an interesting thing to point out). And that intrigued me, because he doesn’t look like a soldier or anything, he looks more like a nursemaid. Now how on earth did he go from a nursemaid to the second in command of the Watchers, the guard of the kingdom? There’s clearly a story there, so I came up with one of my own

So Toffee Cookie here was initially indeed a nursemaid for the prince (which good for him for breaking gender roles), and was basically his primary caretaker in stead of Dark Cacao Cookie (I don’t think Dark Cacao was a neglectful or absent father, it’s just that he’s a king with important duties and he can’t spend all his time looking after his son, and in seeming lack of another parent, he needs someone else to take care of Dark Choco). Dark Choco Cookie saw Toffee Cookie as sort of a secondary parental figure, sort of like Lancer and Rouxls Kaard from Deltarune? Only Toffee sees Dark Choco like a son as well, even if he knows he isn’t

Anyways, so one particular night, when Dark Cacao Cookie was absent from the Citadel as he was dealing with matters in distant reaches of the kingdom, there was an assassination attempt on the prince. They created a ruckus with the Wall, causing the guards to focus their attention on whatever was attacking them outside, diverting and distracting them so that they could get to their target. Toffee Cookie went to Dark Choco’s room to make sure he was unharmed or he wasn’t scared by all this (keep in mind Dark Choco’s not very old here, he’s like 4-5 in Cookie terms), only to find assassins trying to attack him. Thankfully, Toffee had combat training, as is required of any Dark Cacaoian, and on instinct he pulled out a concealed dagger and attacked the assassin closest to Dark Choco, picking him up and fleeing the room. The assassins eventually cornered them and so Toffee stood his ground and fended off their attackers with his dagger until help might arrive. This is how Toffee Cookie lost his eye, as is evident in the picture. Eventually the soldiers realized the deception and after taking care of the threat to their Wall, went on a desperate search to find the prince, hoping they weren’t too late. They eventually found Toffee Cookie, stained with his own jam and the jam of the assassins, surrounded by dead or unconscious assassins, fighting off the ones still remaining. They were able to get rid of the final assassins, and the attack was finally over. They found the prince unscathed, though clearly terrified from everything, and he was clinging on to Toffee Cookie for dear life, refusing to leave his side, even after Toffee Cookie collapsed from exhaustion and his wounds, staying by his side as the healers worked on him and into the next morning. Dark Cacao quickly came back after hearing of the incident and was relieved to find his son unharmed. Toffee Cookie was praised for his tenacity and even offered a spot on the Watchers, but he declined due to his current loyalty being to the safety of the prince, even if he wanted to join them. This made Dark Choco determined to work twice as hard at his training, so that he’d be able to take care of himself and Toffee Cookie would be able to join the Watchers like he wanted, and some years later, when Dark Choco was older, Toffee Cookie joined the Watchers, and eventually became Second Watcher Cookie. Not sure if he was originally First Watcher but stepped down when Caramel Arrow Cookie got promoted or if he only got as far as Second Watcher

Also side note I like the idea of Second Watcher being Caramel Arrow’s father, whether biological or not, so there’s more fuel for Dark Choco and Caramel Arrow being siblings

Originally I was gonna draw the two after the incident, with Dark Choco promising to train even harder so that Toffee can join the Watchers, but that would have required dialogue, and also I wanted to draw this scene more

There were gonna be more, but I either don’t remember who they were gonna be with, or it just didn’t fit with the stuff I was drawing, mainly relationships from post Strawberry Jam Sword

For example, I was gonna draw him meeting Purple Yam Cookie during that tournament, only for me to stumble across my old post talking about Dark Choco’s connection to both Milk Cookie and Purple Yam Cookie, and I realized that based on what Purple Yam Cookie says (the fact that “the Dark Choco Cookie he met didn’t know how to smile”, despite the fact that Young Prince Dark Choco Cookie’s sprites almost all show him smiling, other than anger or defeat/exhaustion sprites, implying that he used to smile a lot, and that he “didn’t wear flimsy clean armor”, despite us knowing Dark Choco wore that armor even during his attack on Dark Cacao Cookie), Purple Yam Cookie must have only met Dark Choco Cookie after the Strawberry Jam Sword.

Edit: So I’ve been told that Purple Yam actually probably met Dark Choco before the Strawberry Jam Sword, for the reasons listed here (I’m trying to link it), so what I say here might be moot. Ah well, I still didn’t draw more than an unfinished sketch

But anyways yeah I ended up cropping the canvas short because I couldn’t think of any more and I just wanted to finish this piece

Writing this I think some other ones I was going to draw were Jungleberry (mutual respect as fighters) and his first encounter with Milk, but oh well

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

[malecombee]

Seeking Interviewees With Service Pokémon For Graduate Project

Hello!

Are you a Pokémon trainer with a registered service/support Pokémon?

Your time and input would be valuable for my research!

I am a graduate student at Central Kalos University, located east of Santalune City. I currently have my Bachelor’s in Pokébiology, with a specialization in Pokémon Behavior. I am pursuing my Master’s in Pokémon-Human Interaction, and this research project will be a crucial part of attaining my degree!

My project is centered around trying to increase accessibility and awareness for disabled trainers and their service Pokémon. Many trainers with ‘unconventional’ or ‘scary’ service Pokémon are stigmatized, or are faced with limited/no access to certain spaces in the presence of their service Pokémon. This is something I’m determined to change! As someone with a service Gengar, I have faced many restrictions as to what stores I can go to, which transportation options I have, and who will agree to train him for such services - whereas someone with a more ‘conventional’ service Pokémon, such as a Growlithe, may not experience such restrictions. With my research, I hope to prove the usefulness and the necessity of these unconventional Pokémon in service/support training spaces.

In this phase of research, I am attempting to collect as much qualitative data from participants as possible through interviews about their experience with their own and others’ service Pokémon. I will also be publishing these interviews to hopefully contribute to the normalization of these sorts of discussions!

Requirements:

- Must have a registered & certified service/support Pokémon verifiable by the Association of Disabled Kalosians (ADK), or another regional disability association, OR must be in the active process of obtaining such certification. Applicants with ‘unconventional’ service Pokémon preferred, but anyone can apply. (NOTE: You do not need to be a Kalosian to be interviewed! Anyone from any region is encouraged to apply!)

- Must be over 14 years of age OR be escorted by someone over the age of 14.

- Must not have any active registration or employment contracts with Team Flare, or any current Team Flare associates.

- Must consent to your interview being published, and to an image of you and your service Pokémon potentially being released with said interview.

- Must not be a Pokémon. I’m NOT wasting my time interviewing a Zoroark again!...

If you are interested, please reblog this post! CKU would be happy to Fly you out to my office in Kalos at no cost to you! No distance limit, although our Talonflame may have a bit of trouble with time travel...

OOC: If anyone wants to participate in this little event I’m running, feel free to send this account a message after reblogging! I might also want to draw your character & their Pokémon sitting in Combs’ office, if that is something you’d be okay with!

[dyouevendraw]

About me

So, I thought I’d probably be best to just make a pinned post with some info so I’m not just a void who throws art a a wall. (I’m probably gonna edit as things change) But here we go:

My tiktok is dyoueven

My instagram is dyouevendraw

My name is D, sometimes people still call me Fay, I don’t mind that either

I’m 22 years old

I use they/them pronouns, I’m fine with he/him too. I’d call myself nonbinary or even agender, leaning towards the masc side. It’s a struggle

Additionally to that, I am ace and my romantic attraction is 🤷🏼. I like androgyny and femininity if that says anything lmao

I have a hypermobilty condition, thus, my physical health is very inconsistent. Sometimes I feel fine for weeks, sometimes I can barely move my arms. Luckily, I don’t dislocate easily, I mostly get joint pain, pinched nerves, random bruises and badly healing wounds. Additionally, I seem to have a mild variant of long covid, which is making my lungs weak, so sometimes physical activities winds me badly even though it’s not hard work.

I am autistic and only found out around 2 years ago, thus, school burned me out! I was bullied by my teachers and they ignored all the signs of a struggling student, so I developed bad social anxiety (added by other events with former friends and general genetics probably). I took a year off of art to focus on getting a better mindset, and I guess I’ve been back since this year.

I am a clumsy and unlucky person, that’s why I say I am like Xie Lian a lot (send me a Hua Cheng)

I like k-pop. Currently, I like BTS, TXT, SKZ, LE SSERAFIM, New Jeans, Red Velvet and SHINee.

Other artists I like are: Tatsuya Kitani, Eve, The Oral Cigarettes, Vaundy, King Gnu, Queen Bee and MCR (what a mix)

Fandoms I’m in include(I’m sure I’ll add more danmei when I’m done reading them):

TGCF (I have beef with it but I’m deeply in love)

MDZS

SVSSS (still reading, on volume 2)

JJK

AOT

Sometimes I like Marvel. I only care about Spider-Man and Loki

TLOZ

Pokémon

(Always open to suggestions for more things, especially when they’re queer🤠👍🏻)

I write my own stories and am working on an AU that includes many fantastical being, though I am not entirely sure if that’s ever gonna see the light of day bc I don’t see anyone caring about my writing lol (it already has 137.000 words I’m not even joking it’s not funny, why am I writing this)

I’m sure I’ll post more of my OC’s when I find the time. My favorite is Harumi, he’s the main character in the fantastic beings AU, as a werewolf

I am so sorry my humor is super trauma based, bare with me it’s okay to laugh at my pain, it’s how I process, I swear

My favorite food is anything indian (especially aloo mutter, I bathe in that), pizza (only the one I make), and (red) thai curry.

That’s the only thing that sets me apart from Xie Lian, I eventually did learn how to cook and apparently people like my food!! (I add cinnamon and chili to everything, maybe that’s the key?)

I love building lego and organizing things by category (why I didn’t get diagnosed with asd is beyond me, I’ve always been like that)

I mostly draw on an Ipad with procreate, but I wanna get into watercolor and copics too, I just feel like I’m wasting the suff when things don’t turn out how I wanted them to be

I am horrible at texting and get anxious over it

I had another account here I was running for years, but I was in a pretty icky fandom and didn’t want to associate with the reputation that came with it, thus, I left. I am not the stupid, hurt and depressed teenager I was anymore, and that’s great!

I am german, though, I speak English so much I might as well be a native speaker

That’s it for now, you can always feel free to ask my questions, my (anonymous) asks, submissions and reblogs are always open, I just won’t answer if you’re rude🤠✌🏻

[irlkisukeurahara]

Pokémon Unown Legends Tale - Free Snippet Teaser... Meet Hop and Leon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other side of town, there was another pair of family members visiting Unova. A pair of brothers, ages 23 and 17. The older of the brothers was looking through his phone with a cheerful look on his face. His little brother followed behind, also on his phone. He gripped onto the leash of his trusted Pokémon, Dubwool, keeping him close. The older brother suddenly spoke up.

“Hey, Hop, get a look at this! The Aether Foundation is supposedly sponsoring the Gym Challenge here in Unova!” He held his phone out, “How about we go watch? Maybe someone from the Aether Foundation would be willing to discuss…science-y things with you. Hell, maybe one of them has read your book!”

“Eh?” The younger brother raised his head sluggishly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the news article his brother had opened. He rolled his eyes, “Someone at t'e Aether Foundation readin' my book? Hah! Yer gonna make me laugh for t'e first time in yer insufferable life, Lee.” He spoke with a hefty Irish accent, as opposed to his brother, whose accent was entirely Galarian. “I hadn't met one person who'd read my book ot'er t'an our friends in Galar, what makes ya think that someone in Unova's gonna recognize it?”

“Don't be so sure,” Leon chuckled a little, looking back at his phone. “The gym is on the other side of town, just at the local school. Let's drop by there, okay?”

“Sure, just boss me around why don't ya.” Hop scoffed.

Leon nervously laughed, “Rotom, take us to the Aspertia Pokémon School.” His Rotom phone began to light up, opening a map.

“If yer gonna be t'e one t' lead, knowin' ye, we'll somehow end up in Alola.” Hop grumbled under his breath. “And I'm not even exaggeratin'. I might as well replace ye with a newborn baby. I bet one of t'ose could navigate better t'an you.” He slumped forward in his stance, raising his uneven shoulders. “T'is is gonna be a long day.”

“Imagine how I feel!” Hop's Rotom phone scoffed, “I have to be stuck with BOTH of you morons.”

“Speak for yerself, ya hunk'a'junk!” Hop scolded.

“Hey!” Leon whined a little, “I'm actually using my map this time! Don't be like that.” His Rotom began to float away towards the destination, as he followed behind. Hop grabbed his flask from his back pocket as he began to walk. He glanced down at the necklace he wore, a Catholic cross, then down at his Dubwool. Hop took a swig of his flask, exhaling quite loudly after. Because he wasn't watching where he was going, he rammed right into his brother's back. He flinched back, glaring up at Leon as if it was his fault. Hop shoved past him and began to walk ahead of him. Leon watched in silence, sighing. He tried to pay his attitude no mind, but it was hard. He wanted his brother to be happy, but it's clear he's let himself go. Leon sighed again, closing his eyes briefly as the two crossed the street. They approached the school when Leon suddenly spotted a familiar face. “Kazarah!” He perked up, raising his arm to draw attention to himself. The woman turned her head first, smiling. The children around started squealing amongst themselves when they noticed the ex-champion of the Galar region there now too.

“My, if it isn't Leon and his brother Hop!” She turned her whole body to them both, Hop instantly averting eye contact with her. “Fancy seeing you two here, how are you doing?” Skylar noticed her mother was talking to someone, so she also looked. She gasped seeing the brothers, excitedly tapping her feet. Astrid also looked over, expressing a similar reaction, though in complete jaw-dropping silence. “I forgot you dyed your hair.” Kazarah pointed out the streaks in Leon’s hair. Leon chuckled a little as he smiled at the woman.

“We're doing pretty good!” Leon then had a sudden realization and grabbed his brother's arm. “Right, Hop! I've never introduced you!” He motioned to the woman, “This is Kazarah Valks! She's part of the Aether Foundation. She’s helped me a lot when I was champion. And this is her daughter, Skylar! She has been the Alola Champion for the past three years! You two are the same age, I think.”

“It's an honor to meet the both of you!” Skylar squealed, “Ex-Champion Leon Callaghan!! You– You were my hero growing up! Well, besides my mom of course.” Hop rolled his eyes, not wanting to listen to a girl he didn't know babble about how great his brother is. He reached for his hearing aids with the intent of taking them out to distance himself from the conversation, Skylar spoke again. “And– And Hop Walten! You've always been such an impressive battler! And your book! Oh, your book!” Hop lowered his hand, now focused on Skylar. His mouth began to open, “I've probably read it a dozen times! You're a genius!” Astrid frowned. Who reads for fun? Blegh.

Leon smirked, “Told ya, lil bro.” He chuckled a little.

[underground-boss-clay]

❥ - a childhood memory

Pa hasn't come back yet. The rain is coming down hard now, pounding on the roof with little fists and feet. Ma always said that it's bad to mine during the rain, and she's s been pacing back and forth for... Well, a while now. Yakon has been watching his siblings for just as long, but the hands of the clock on the fireplace say that Pa should've come home by now.

"Ma? Where is he?" Even over Marguerite's play-shouting, he can hear their mother's footsteps pause her pacing. She's quiet for a moment too long, and he looks over: she has that same expression as when she, Pa and Byron's parents found him and Byron running from an Onyx--wide eyes, mouth slightly open, and brows brought together. But rather than start running over and shouting, she closes her mouth, only to open it again. As though she wants to say something but isn't sure what. (He's felt like that sometimes.)

"I... I don't know." She's fiddling with one of her curls as she looks away. When she turns back to him, her expression is harder, but her eyebrows are still knit together. "Yakon I... I need ya to stay here with Marguerite an' 'Bera, awright? I'll go to the mine."

"What?" Marguerite has stopped shouting, and within seconds his sister is trying to climb onto him. He has to push her away so she doesn't step on Gerbera. The youngest of them just giggles and squeals.

"I wanna go!! Can I go?? Yakon allllways sneaks to the mines!! I wanna go this time!"

"Marge quit it, yer gonna step on 'Bera--"

"No I'm not! Just you!"

"Quit it!"

"Hey." All three of them settle down; even Gerbera stops laughing as they look at Ma. She's pulled on one of Pa's raincoats, buttoning it closed. "Yakon, I'm serious. I need you to watch yer siblings while I'm out. Awright?"

"I-" there's something still, in her expression, that makes Yakon stop. Normally she'd be snapping and angry that Marge is being the pain in the butt he's always known her as, but Ma still has that look of fear, as much as she doesn't act it. "... Okay Ma. I'll watch 'em."

"Thank you honey." She kisses his forehead, and Gerbera's, and Marge's (Marge hates it and still makes a grossed out face as Ma draws back). "I'll be back with yer Pa soon as possible, okay?"

He watches her go, and for a little while he can ignore the feeling. This isn't the first time he's had to watch his siblings--Ma and Pa told him it'd be part of being a big brother, after all--but the longer he sits there, watching Bera hug Sequoia and Marge read another book about Bug Pokémon, the more that feeling grows, making him fidget and look at the door more than he should. That look Ma had, before she decided to leave, keeps coming back to him.

She didn't say what, but she knew something was wrong. And he wants to find out what.

"Hey, Sequoia?" The Turtwig looks up at him, blinking curiously. "I gotta go real quick, so... Keep an eye on Marge an' 'Bera, awright?"

"Wait!" Marge's head snaps up from her book, and Bera looks over too. "Are ya goin' after Ma? I wanna go witcha!!"

"Go ta Ma!" Bera repeats, trying to stand up; Marge lets him cling to her as he does. Sequoia nudges him, and he grabs onto her instead.

"If yer goin' then I am too!"

"Marge, no. Ya gotta keep an eye on Bera," he says, pulling his coat on. "An' I'm older 'n you, so ya gotta listen."

"That's not fair!" Marge is shouting, but he's already gone out the door.

The rain has somehow gotten worse, wind blowing droplets into Yakon's s face as he makes his (slow and slippery) way to the mines.

There are trucks everywhere--he knows some belong to the other miners that Pa works with, but then there are also the bigger, red ones. Ambulances, though Marge still likes calling them 'doctor cars.' There's crowds of people everywhere, and Yakon has to be careful not to run into anyone as he looks around.

He catches some bits of conversation though, and occasionally Pa's name. It's all whispered, but there's something about "mine subsidence," "pillar integrity", "forced in this weather..." Someone mentions the cafeteria, so that's where he heads off to. He can hear shouting in the distance, but that just makes him move faster, slipping into the cafeteria before the voices can become distinct.

The past few times he's gone to the cafeteria here, it's loud, bustling and full of people. Now, it's quiet. No voices, no pleasant smells of food... Instead, dead silence and an alien smell. No, not alien, he realizes as he walks further in, almost to where the tables are: it smells like... Copper, like holding too many coins at once. And as he comes into the main area, Yakon can make out some voices--both are quiet, one deeper than the other. There's two people near the back, at one of the tables. The tables that... Seem to have-

"Um-" That's all he can manage before both figures turn towards him. One of them he recognizes: foreman Withers, a tall reedy man with a bush of a beard and an amazing eye for veins in the mine walls. He's leaning heavily against a crutch now though, and while Withers' eyes widen upon seeing him, the other man--tall, but too tall, and too thin, and in a suit that Yakon finds just a little too clean--just stares down at him blankly. Thank Palkia Withers is the first to move.

"Yakon-" he almost falls as he lurches forward on the crutch, the other man holding him steady with one hand. "Yakon what're ya doing here? Does yer Ma know yer here?"

"She..." Everything about this feels off, feels wrong, but he's turning eleven soon. He has to be a big boy. Can't be scared anymore. "She came here to get Pa."

Withers makes a noise like he's been punched in the gut, sinking onto a nearby bench at the closest table. Yakon hardly has time to look more closely at the table before the other man steps forward, crouching down so he's now eye to eye.

"Yakon. Is it?" The stranger's voice is deep, almost echoing despite how quiet he sounds. Yakon can only nod, almost afraid to blink while staring at this man. His face is pale, moreso than anyone should be, with wintery white hair, and he looks so tired, yet with icy grey eyes that seem to freeze Yakon where he is. "What is your father's name?"

"'Lexand-" he has to swallow and start over without mumbling; the stranger doesn't rush him, instead blinking the slowest Yakon has ever seen as he tries again. "A-Alexander Erden."

The stranger straightens up again, pulling out a Poké Ball, and in a flash there's... Some sort of Pokémon there, a medium bundle of grey with a skull for a face and a red eye staring at him.

"Alexander Erden," the stranger says, and the grey bundle of something glides away. Withers stands up, swaying a little while gripping the crutch.

"Graves, you can--the boy's mother needs ta know he's here, we should bring him over ta h-"

"Fetch her." Graves doesn't move to look at Withers, but Yakon wishes he would, wants him to look anywhere but at him. "The boy needs to know."

Withers makes a noise like he wants to protest, but after a few moments Withers limps away noisily. Not once does Graves look away, not until the door closes.

"Please sit." Yakon has to bite his lip to keep from flinching as Graves gestures to an empty table bench. He does so, facing away from the table as to keep facing the taller man. "We haven't met before."

"N-no... Should we?"

"Hopefully not very often, after this." Again Graves crouches, but this time it feels less eerie; he's no longer still towering over Yakon despite being on one knee. "My name is Morgan Graves. I am the city's coroner and medical examiner."

Something about those words makes Yakon feel like he should know what that means, yet... "So yer a doctor?"

"Of a sort. There isn't much I can do for my patients." He wants to ask what that means, but already Graves continues to speak. "About two hours ago, the mine here collapsed. Fifty people were inside."

The fear that's been gripping Yakon this whole time is now solid, sinking to the pit of his stomach. He knows, but he doesn't want to. He looks around them shakily at the empty cafeteria, at the dozens of people. Covered like old furniture. Too still, too silent.

"So he's... He's gone."

Graves only nods solemnly, otherwise still as the people around them. "He's gone."

The little skull-faced Pokémon comes back, seeming to move so slow as it carries something familiar. There's stains of something reddish and copper smelling on the gold-plated pieces of the band, but the gem is still a bright green, the artificial lights of the cafeteria bouncing off the faces as Yakon accepts the hat band numbly. He can only stare down at it, everything else around him muffling at the edges as it sinks in. Cold, heavy, final.

He doesn't know how much time passes when someone grabs his shoulder and squeezes. He's not sure if he's been breathing that whole time, gasping as he looks up at Ma. Her face looks as wet as his feels.

"Ma? He's... He's g-"

"I know." She's not angry, just holds him close. "I know."