#piplup step

[kbug562]

I was super obsessed with this song in 2023, still a banger.

Hey buddy, I also post on Instagram and kofi! Check my socials here!

[its-a-hil]

oh shit while we're thinking about perfect songs

piplup step!!!

piplup cheer you up indeed ^.^

[pokemonblog]

Pokémon Kids TV video: 7 Steps with Piplup and friends

In 2019, The Pokémon Company opened a special Japanese YouTube channel called Pokémon Kids TV, which is aimed at young Pokémon fans. You can check out the latest batch of content uploaded to the channel in the embedded video below: 7 Steps With Piplup and Friends | Nursery Rhyme | Kids Song | Pokémon Kids TV​ One, two, three, four, five, six, seven♪Let’s count to seven with Piplup and…

[parasolladyansy]

PLA Mizumi - Arrived / Friends / Healed / Burnt

Taking those first steps in the Hisuian era, Mizumi had highs & lows. On one hand, she didn’t drown, she made a new friend, & then some more friends. On the other, she was met with some suspicion in this strange era, & Lord Arcanine spared her no mercy.

Notes:

Mizumi left behind a Piplup named Dawn (I managed to get a girl!)

Zisu absolutely ate with the same gusto a certain Fire Hashira did (samurai / warrior’s habit - they didn’t know what meal would be their last, so they savored every bite).

The Pokédex was a group effort of the Survey Corps, & so the remainder starters went to Sasmu (Cyndaquil) & Professor Laventon (Rowlett).

While I didn’t die against the first couple of Lords, Arcanine killed me like 5-6 times - that’s why Mizumi got burnt. ;u;

—

🍃 PKMN Legends: Arceus - Mizumi 🍃

First / Next >>

[hangup119]

FEELS LIKE A THRILLER! ᯓᡣ𐭩

12. #NOTACANNIBAL written chapter | 2.8k words

“WHAT, YOU DON’T feed your plants?”

Seunghan tilts his head. “... Why should I?” 

“Then what the hell kind of owner are you, dude?” you accuse, adjusting the strap of your bag as the two of you head towards the car parking lot. “Who doesn’t feed their plants?”

Seunghan pauses, eyebrows furrowing, before a smile breaks out on his face and then he’s throwing his head back to laugh. He opens the door of the passenger seat for you, saying, ���You mean, like, feeding them fertilizer? Wait, how often do you feed them anyway?” 

“Everyday.” 

Seunghan looks concerned. “Um, I don’t think that’s right…” 

You shrug, hopping into the car. “My plant seems to love it, though. It has never looked this alive! That obviously means I’m doing something right, right?”

He blinks when the door finally shuts, wondering how that even works. What kind of plant do you even have in the first place to require fertilizer every single day? He thought it’d be just some room plant, something low-maintenance, but maybe you’re actually a secret plant-connoisseur since you’ve been keeping it alive all this time? Hell, for all he knows, you’re probably developing your own venus flytrap that could digest a whole-ass elephant or something… a part of some secret society with mad scientists obsessed with plants and Seunghan’s just none the wiser…

He promptly starts the vehicle, dismissing such thoughts. He really needs to stop watching those crazy Sci-Fi movies with Sohee every Wednesday. 

When the car finally gets out of school property, Seunghan takes one quick glance at you. “So,” he starts, hands admittedly a bit clammy as he steers the wheel and stops at a red light. “Anywhere you’d like to go? I was thinking maybe we should get some food, or something. We should have really planned this out, huh?” 

A notification ping suddenly rings out after he finishes; an awfully familiar sound at that. 

“Do not open your goddamn phone to play Pokemon Go right now, Seunghan,” you warn, and he immediately deflates at how easily you’ve read him. Then, you smile sweetly, “But, yeah, we can go get something to eat first!” 

He laughs anyway, swerving towards downtown. “Alright. Also, I wasn’t even going to open Pokemon Go. Just saying.” 

“Yeah, okay, and I’m definitely not going to jump out into oncoming traffic right now.” 

“Please don’t.” 

After spending some time eating at a nearby cafe Eunseok has been asking to go together with the guys, the two of you manage to get through a whole hour without glancing at each of your phones, too focused on the other to truly care whether or not there are pokemons in the area. During that whole hour of you casually attempting to flirt with Seunghan in your own little way, you find that perhaps he’s not as obsessed with the mobile game as much as you believed him to be—which is good, even though you do find it a little bit cute, but at least he’s not addicted or something. 

Seunghan pulls out his phone after you’ve stepped out of the establishment. “Holy shit? There’s a Piplup just a block away!”

“Seriously?” you squawk. 

“Yeah!” he excitedly responds, only to end up getting smacked on the arm. “Oh, not what you meant. Okay.” 

You give him a fixed stare. He returns it.

“Can we please catch it?” Seunghan pleads, forming his hands into a prayer. 

You falter, attempting to look at anywhere but his face. Hot nerds are a curse, you think miserably.

“Please, Y/N? It’s Piplup!” he continues, finally taking your hands in his. You flush, believing that he can just go ahead and go catch the damn pokemon himself but instead chooses to spend more time begging you to go with him in order to catch it together. Right. Because you’re on a date. And Seunghan isn't an asshole. Right. Guy who had a girlfriend for four years over here. Someone already cooked before you. 

“Okay, fine,” you finally surrender, mentally cursing yourself for going down such a rabbit hole. Who cares about his ex-girlfriend? She was the past, and you’re the present (hopefully)! “But just Piplup!” 

Seunghan laughs, crossing the road with you. “I promise I won’t make this a Pokemon Go date.”

He’s still holding your hand. Like a real couple. You have to mention it.

“You better not,” you say instead, squeezing his hand in return. 

After acquiring the stupid Piplup loitering by a fire hydrant next to a pissing dog, Seunghan leads you back to his car to spend a couple more minutes marveling at the 25th Piplup on his screen, before starting the ignition to make your way towards the arcade. There he finally pockets his phone and drags you towards the nearest racing game, where you both duke it out in a Fast & Furious racing game, with you ultimately ending up as the winner after two rounds. Of course, you made sure to rub it in Seunghan’s face for a good three minutes, before he’s dragging you towards the claw machines like every arcade date out there. 

Amidst the presence of screaming children and tired parents chasing after them, Seunghan holds your hand as if it was second nature, the sight of his back a constant reminder that he’s not willing to lose you among the crowd and the dirty, soda and gum-flavored floor. 

You wonder if this is what it would have felt like had you been his girlfriend in high school. Sitting next to each other in class while trying to ignore your friends’ teasing remarks, partnering up for school projects, doing community service together, or buying snacks right after school and heading to the arcade. Then he’d walk you home, or depending when he got his license maybe drive you, and you’d ask him to text you back when he gets back home. The little things that make up being highschool sweethearts, or whatever the hell he experienced with his ex-girlfriend before they broke up. 

Fine, you’re jealous. You’ve always been jealous. But who doesn’t? You’ve always liked Seunghan—everyone knows that—and you’re aware that the missed opportunities you could’ve had with him over the last four years are a result of your own cowardice and lack of assertion, but what gives? After four years, you can finally have him? Just like that?

They say that a man who yearns is a man who earns, but now that he’s right next to you, on a literal date with you—why can’t you take it? 

Because you cling too much to the past. Do you still like him as much as you did before? 

You’ve always believed that liking someone for so long is a stupid thing, especially someone who wasn’t even available in the first place. Why cling to someone who can’t look at you the way you want them to? And yet you held out for hope anyway, clinging to the possibility that maybe someday Seunghan can look at you like how he did his ex all those years. That perhaps you had a chance with the boy who was one day partnered up with you and your friends for that one project in AP World History, and unknowingly becoming the object of your affections for the next three years and still into college. 

“Just focus on my awesome skills,” Seunghan exclaims, rolling up the sleeves of his flannel as he steps closer to the machine. “I’m gonna get you that Pikachu.” 

You roll your eyes. “Of course you choose the machine with the pokemons.” 

“This is who I am,” he simply responds after inserting the token, moving around the joystick to situate the claw exactly to where he wanted it to go. “And what I am is a Pokemon fan.” 

“You do know that these things are a scam, right?” you ask, stepping right next to him. 

Seunghan curses when the plushie falls out of the claw’s grasp. “It works out, sometimes. You just gotta have hope, you know?” 

You spare him a thoughtful look. Funny how he says that. 

He goes for three more rounds to no avail, the Pikachu plushie never budging from its place next to the Charmander. Seunghan feels as if they’re mocking him from within the glass, and he feels embarrassed, but he promised (in his head, at least) to get you that Pikachu no matter what. And he won’t go home until he does. 

What he doesn’t expect is for you to push him out of the way. “Move, you’re just wasting money,” you say, inserting a token into the slot as he tries to regain his senses. “I will get you that Pikachu.”

Seunghan stammers, moving closer to you as you maneuver the claw to align with the lone Pikachu in the corner, before confidently pressing on the button. “There’s no way that’s gonna work,” he says, eyeing the descending claw. “It’s too far.”

“Just watch,” you simper. 

Much to Seunghan’s surprise, the Pikachu plushie makes it all the way to the exit without a hitch. “What?” he exclaims in shock, watching as you crouch down to take the plushie from the machine, dust it off, and proceed to hand it to him with twinkling eyes. 

“Ta-da!” you exclaim, pushing it towards him. 

Seunghan snaps out of his reverie, handing it back to you. “Why are you giving it to me? I’m supposed to be giving it to you.” 

The side-eye you give him is almost scathing. “What, like the girl can’t give the guy a gift?” 

Seunghan flushes. “That’s not what I meant!” 

But you’re already laughing, inserting another token into the slot while he’s just helplessly holding onto the Pikachu plushie you won’t take. "Sure, you fake-progressive."

"I am very progressive."

He observes as you focus in on the Squirtle next to an Eevee, before changing your mind and going for the upside-down Bulbasaur. Within seconds, you manage to get it again. 

“What’s your secret?” he wonders, taking the plush when you hand it to him as you’re already inserting another token to get the Eevee. “Why are you so good at this? Who’s controlling you? Are you even real?” 

You don’t catch the Eevee this time. You’ve also run out of tokens. 

“Nevermind,” Seunghan says with a smile too wide for your liking. 

You remember back in tenth grade when you were complaining to Sunoo about the upcoming project for history because you simply didn’t want to do it when you had a Chemistry test to study for. Miraculously, you ended up getting grouped with some of your friends and another kid, Hong Seunghan. You thought he was cute, sure, but nothing else after that. He was just some kid who had a huge friend group consisting of six other guys, which somehow included your childhood friend Anton, and the only times you’ve thought about him was when he and his friends walked too slowly in the hallways for your liking. 

But then a day before the submission day of the project, you had forgotten to fulfill your part after getting too caught up with your other classes. Knowing Sunoo would never  forgive you for tanking his grade, you ended up panicking throughout lunch trying to research and paste together a comprehensible summary of your research, hoping that if the group wasn’t getting an A then you would at least get a B. After getting your sources printed out in the library, the only thing left to do was find whoever had the physical presentation, which had been Jaehyun, but then he told you he left it to someone else’s care. Just great, really. You’ll only have a few minutes in class to assemble it, but surely you’d manage, right? 

Wrong. Your frustrations finally caught up to you, and you felt like a ticking time bomb with your unpasted sources and incomplete project. Sunoo was gonna hate you for not even being able to finish something so simple, and you’d be letting down your whole group. Nothing was going right, and you were gonna fail. 

But just as you were about to burst into tears from the stress and resorting to fess up to Sunoo, Seunghan came jogging to you five minutes before lunch ended with the physical presentation in hand. He started apologizing for hogging it, but quickly paused once he noticed tears streaming down your cheeks at the relief of seeing that all was not lost. As you frantically wiped away your tears, he had awkwardly taken the printed sources from your hands and began pasting them into the decorated cardboard, aligning them with wherever they needed to be all the while attempting to comfort you. 

Thinking back on it now, it was a very embarrassing situation. None of that would have happened if you had simply stopped procrastinating and actually did your work, but you hated the prompt your group was given, which lowered your motivation as well. Stupid, but you were just a stupid fifteen-year-old, too. 

Yet you would never forget that very understanding group mate of yours. Seunghan didn’t have to comfort you while he did all the work of gluing and cropping the pages for you, but he did it anyway because he noticed your shaking hands. He could have told you off, said a sarcastic remark about your mishap, but he never did. He did the work and walked with you to class, even offering to buy you a drink from the vending machine to calm you down all with a smile on his face. It doesn’t take a genius to know that what he did was very kind and very attractive, so naturally you ended up forming  a crush on him. 

What you didn’t know was that it would take almost four years for you to make a proper move, albeit indirectly. But it’s the little things that matter. 

“I guess this is it,” Seunghan says after pocketing his keys, walking with you towards your dorm building’s entrance. “I had fun today, Y/N. But I guess I should thank Anton for this, huh? I mean, he was the one who made it possible,” he clasps his hands into a prayer and looks up at the night sky, “whoever made Anton drunk that night, thank you.” 

If only Seunghan didn’t smile at you that day, then you wouldn’t be this hopeless in front of him. 

You snort. “We’re not even of age to drink.” 

“You really think there wouldn’t be any alcohol at Gigi’s party?”

“Fair point,” you shrug, the both of you pausing by the entrance. You turn to him, a gentle smile on your face. “Thanks for the drive, Seunghan. Please take care of Pikachu and Bulbasaur, but since you’re a major Pokemon nerd I’m sure that isn’t an issue for you.” 

Seunghan chuckles, rubbing his nape. “You know me so well.” 

“I wish I knew more,” you joked. “All those years in high school and we’ve only had full conversations three times.” 

He falters. “Ah, yeah… What a waste, huh?” 

“Goodnight, Seunghan,” you say, quickly turning around to erase the image of him looking so awkwardly in front of you. Why’d you have to mention that on the first date? God, you must be some grade-A idiot or something because— 

“Y/N, wait.” 

You pause, trying to ignore the way Seunghan tried to grab your wrist K-Drama style only to end up missing it completely. He fumbles at first at his mistake, attempting to hide the heat quickly rising on his cheeks. “Even if Anton didn’t set us up,” he starts, slowly, trying to find your gaze, “I’d have still wanted to go on this date with you. You’re really fun to talk to, and to hang out with… and you’re also really good at claw machines.”

You smack his arm, and he cracks up a smile again. “Idiot, that’s all you have to say?” 

“It’s true, though! Those things are a scam!” he reasons, before clearing his throat. “But seriously, do you wanna go on another date next time? I really had fun with you. I promise I won’t try catching pokemons at the randomest times ever again, and I’ll try to get you that Eevee plushie next time. And you said that I’m a good driver, so maybe we can catch a drive-in movie or something… what do you think?” 

Hopefully you don’t notice how fast Seunghan’s heart is beating right now, but that’s probably only because yours is beating just as fast. 

You shove him away gently, and he sends you a smile as he waits for your response. “Well?” he goads, but he immediately fails to hide the surprise in his face when you hold up your phone screen in front of him. 

“We can drive around and catch some pokemons next time,” you say, before turning around and walking away. “Bye!” 

And Seunghan watches just until you’ve entered the building, before tripping on the way to his car. 

previous | masterlist | next

SUMMARY. pining after hong seunghan has always felt like an unachievable reality; however, just a few months into your first year of college, it seems that the gods have finally listened to your prayers when news breaks out that your long-time crush is single once again.

AUTHOR'S NOTES. idiots to lovers core

TAGLIST. @shoberi @miyawwn @starwonb1n @hwadejectedyoung @revehosh @alwayswook @rksbae @emohoon @nujeskz @ilovejungwonandhaechan @meowbini @nakam00t @siuewnb @cake1box @dearmarklee @kyusqult @snowyseungs @ffixtionista a @odxrilove e @hisrkive @saeist @lilysflower1 @seunghancore @eternallyhyucks @syzavxy @calumsfringe @yipyipmorals @user7520 @tojis-luver

[elencale]

the snow is sooo deep! Piplup can't even take a step -- someone, help Piplup!! 🐧❄👆

<is it snowing where you are?>

[thunderberryz]

I think I've mentioned this once or twice before, but it really does my heart good to know that the 2003 turtles would have grown up with the first four Pokemon gens. Pokemon Red and Blue had its North American release in September 28, 1998, when the turtles were around 10, and Diamond and Pearl came out stateside on April 22, 2007 when they were 19, so they would have been able to spend their entire pre-teen/teenage years playing the games.

I'd imagine that, at least for the first two gens, it was difficult for all four of them to have their own copies of the games because of their isolated lifestyle and just not being able to get new things most of the time. Hell, the only reason they even had a Gameboy color was because Splinter managed to find a broken one during an excursion to the junkyard and brought it back so Don could fix it up. Once they met April and Casey though? Well, simply put; Casey went out of his way to save money so he could get all of them Game Boy Advance SPs and copies of Ruby and Sapphire. The four of them were DELIGHTED to finally all have their own games and would spend HOURS in a turtle pile running around Hoenn. There were even times Splinter would wake up in the morning and discover they had all fallen asleep and that the batteries on their consoles had died... which was horrifying for the ones who occasionally forgot to save at regular intervals. Either way, wonderful moments of levity for all of them.

Some additional thoughts:

Leo always got weirdly attached to the starters his brothers never wanted to pick. Like c'mon guys, what's wrong with Chikorita? Look at that little dinosaur! We're going with Cyndaquil? Okay...

Naturally, he made a beeline straight for Treecko when he was able to play his own copy of Sapphire. He also has a stupid love for little Turtwig because, well, turtle/tortoise.

With his own game copies, Don always goes with water type starters. Doesn't know why; he was just drawn to the likes of Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, and Piplup, no questions asked.

Both Raph and Mikey SWEAR by fire starters. Hell, when they found out about the issue of the lack of fire types in Sinnoh, they tried to make a pact that all four brothers would go with Chimchar (Leo and Don refused.)

It goes without saying that Mikey is the most hardcore Pokemon player. Bases his team purely on their effectiveness in battle, only uses Pokemon with perfect IVs, goes out of his way to fill the entire PokeDex, plenty of shiny hunting, etc; once Nuzlocke runs become a thing in his adulthood, he DEFINITELY has fun with those.

Raph and Don, polar opposite twins that they are, are kinda funny. Raph is definitely a competitive Pokemon player, but he doesn't really bother with stuff like IVs. Don is more casual, but he still goes out of his way to find Pokemon with good IVs so he can kick Mikey's ass. (That said, both do sometimes pick their teams based on looks rather than their general stats; Raph likes to go for Pokemon that look tough while Don will throw something like a Masquerain or Spheal with an Everstone onto his team.)

Leo is the casual player who gets way too attached to the Pokemon on his team. He doesn't care if there are better Grass types out there, he is keeping that Shroomish, damn it!

There was definitely one occasion where Casey and April came in to visit and stepped in on the horror that is the link cable accidentally coming loose from one of the Game Boys. All four brothers were traumatized since the double battle between the Sunrise and Magenta Duo had reached its peak with Leo and Raph having been knocked out while Mikey and Don's final Pokemon were both in the red with Mikey having a type advantage over Don (though Don was looking oddly smug about the whole thing.)

[asterkallium]

i'm well over 2000 now (holy shit) where are my piplups

For 500 followers everyone should send you a little piplup drawing

yes please do this

[thenohrianrose]

NAME: Jayden ROSTER: Planetary Investigation Team ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good SPECIES: #253 Grovyle GENDER: male AGE: young adult TYPE: Grass ABILITY: Overgrow

RELATIONSHIPS:

Soren the Dusknoir - arch-nemesis Sarah the Piplup - former partner Mandy the Quilava - childhood babysitter Emily the Vulpix - adopted sister Crystal the Mew - ally

PERSONALITY:

Serious || Alert || Responsible || Composed || Blunt Loyal || Protective || Determined || Stubborn || Cautious || Impatient Cunning || Resourceful || Kind || Brotherly || Empathetic Selfless || Pessimistic || Experienced || Determined

Upon first meeting him, many find Jayden to be dull and harsh. This is largely because he is quite a blunt character, and cautious to the extreme. Although he doesn't do it on purpose, he can be straight to the point and may sometimes say things hurtful or unnecessary. But he has a softer side that he is not afraid to show on occasion, and his rougher edges have largely been shaped by his experiences. He lost his home and his family at a very young age, and was the first to step up and take responsibility. He learned not to dwell on his negative emotions as much or allow his own worries to show, at least not in the presence of Sarah - after all, if she's depending on him, and she sees him start to lose faith, how is she supposed to go on as well? It should go without saying that his childhood was awful and he was never really allowed to be a normal kid. Not that he was the only one in the future who grew up that way, but it does explain how he became so serious and humorless. He more or less learned to bury his own pain and doubts and focus on the safety and well-being of others first, which is one reason why he values his own life so little.

Jay may be a little clueless sometimes, but he has a big heart that he openly shares with his companions - and even if he pretends to be unbothered, he is by no means unaffected by loss and grief. But he has become so shut out when it comes to his own trauma that the only one he's ever really been able to open up to is Sarah - the only one who has known him long enough to really understand just how deep his wounds go. Just as he can see through her mask effortlessly, she can do the same for him. She knows exactly what lies beneath his iron-clad determination and refusal to fail. They share a very powerful and close-bound relationship, that knows no equal.

...at least. They did, once.

HISTORY:

As a young Treecko born during the Planet's Paralysis, Jayden was brought into a world that broken and dangerous. Time was frozen; the rose never rose, the wind didn't blow, there were no seasons, and Pokémon everywhere were desperate and twisted by the never-ending darkness.

His parents, a Grovyle couple known as Olive and Viridian, made their home in a secluded forest. Viridian defended their territory viciously, creating a place other Pokémon were able to live, including a Cyndaquil, Mandy, and her father, a Typhlosion named James. It was by no means safe, but certainly more so than the world beyond the trees, so Olive and Viridian decided to start a family there. And thus, Jayden was born; he hatched in a shelter his parents had made in the trees. His younger sister Mila was soon to follow.

It wasn't uncommon for his parents to leave for hours at a time to look for food and patrol the woods. But when three days passed and they didn't return, Jayden snuck away to look for them - and hopefully find his baby sister something to eat. But he didn't find either of them - instead, he met Sarah. The small child was starving, near collapse, and clearly terrified of something, but wouldn't speak a word. Not sure what else to do, he led Sarah back home. Viridian and Olive had apparently returned in his absence, and were furious that Jayden would do something so reckless... but it was decided that little Sarah would stay with them from that moment on. After recovering from the initial shock for a few days, and being nursed back to health, she bonded quickly with the four grass types, as well as Mandy.

Unfortunately, as is too often true during the Planet's Paralysis... nothing good lasts forever. Viridian's ferocity had made him many enemies, and in the process, he had angered a group of fire types. Working in unison, they set the perimeter of the forest ablaze. The vast majority of the inhabitants were trapped, and perished in the flames. Sarah and Jayden were separated from the rest of their group, and forced to flee on their own. They managed to escape, just barely... but not before Jayden sustained severe burns. Still, he insisted that they wait for any other survivors before departing. Hours passed. The fire died down, and there was no sign of life anywhere. Jayden was in critical condition at that point and near blacking out, so the two friends retreated to a nearby cave. Sarah wrapped her scarf around him, a gift he still wears to this day. She took care of him the best she could while he was healing, and the two made a promise to stand by each other always...

At some point, Sarah and Jayden made the decision to use her Dimensional Scream ability to research the cause of the Planet's Paralysis. They swore to change the world of darkness, no matter what it took, and eventually formed a small group of similarly minded Pokémon, which they called the Planetary Investigation Team. And finally, the day came when they were ready to embark on a journey to the past, and collect the time gears together...

...it all went wrong.

Horribly, horribly wrong.

The cruel hands of fate left the two of them apart. For the first time in years, Jayden is alone. He is... not taking her loss well, but he doesn't allow himself the chance to grieve. He can't. He won't. Jayden hasn't forgotten their resolve, and clings to it tighter than ever. He will succeed. For the future... and, for Sarah.

[thedreamworldlibrary]

Dreamers of Myths & Legends Chap.9-Scorbunny: The Wild Child

Here is the next chapter and Part 2 of the Galar Story. I’ve been on a Pokemon kick lately and have been setting up future chapters for this AU. I have scripts up to Chapter 14, but I’ve been focused on other fanfics and work to set them up properly. Also I’d rather take things one step at a time, but I’m excited for these chapters to drop.

Big thanks to my beta reader @gigilefache

Enjoy!

Danica was in the kitchen preparing the vegetables for lunch while her Lillipup and Yamper were playing around nearby. Until that is, the three heard calls from her son.

“Mom! Mom! We have an emergency!” Lewis yelled, as he came through the door.

Danica left the kitchen and ran to Lewis, hugging her son tight. “What happened? Did you get hurt by a wild Pokemon? Fell and scraped your knee?” Danica was frantically asking questions if her son got hurt while Lewis muffled and tried to pull away from his mom’s embrace.

“No mom!” Lewis muffled, as he gently pushed her away. “It’s not me, but Sara’s Skiddo.”

Danica and Lewis turned to Sara holding Skiddo’s Pokeball. Her Piplup stood by her as he rubbed her leg for comfort. Wiatt and Oliver approached, both also worried for the young girl.

“What happened?” Danica asked.

“We ran into a Scorbunny and it attacked Skiddo.” Oliver answered.

Danica frowned and walked over to Sara. “Sara, could you send out your Skiddo?” She asked, causing the young girl to look up. “I just want to see her injuries.”

Sara nodded, and opened up Skiddo’s Pokeball. Once Skiddo was out, she looked exhausted, still in pain from the injuries from the burn she suffered.

Danica kneeled down and looked at the Mount Pokémon. “She looks burnt,” she said. “Lewis, get my medical kit.”

Lewis nodded and went to another room to grab the medical kit. As he was grabbing the kit, Danica checked Skiddo’s injuries again and remembered mentio's remark.

“Oliver, did you mention a Scorbunny did this?” Danica asked.

Oliver looked at the older woman and nodded.

Danica sighed, “not again.”

“Wait, mom you know about the Scorbunny?” Lewis asked, as he came in with the medical kit.

Danica nodded. Not a moment too soon, she started to treat Skiddo as she simultaneously ready to tell the story too her son and his friends. The four sat down listening to the older woman. “Scorbunny is well known in the Wild Area. I met him a month after you left on your journey Lewis.”

Flashback: 1 Month after Lewis left for Kanto

“I found him after releasing the Rookiedee and Nickit we took care of before you left.”

After Danica released the two Pokemon, she heard the grunts of pain coming from behind the bushes. She turned around and saw Scorbunny limping and covered in bruises. Danica was horrified and went over to the fire-type Pokemon.

“Who did this to you?” Danica asked.

Scorbunny turned away, but flinched at the pain he was in.

Carefully, Danica held him and took him back to her house to get the Rabbit Pokemon treated. At home, she bandaged up the fire-type Pokemon and saw him glare at the window. 

“I treated for his injuries back home, but I wondered what kind of battles this Scorbunny was getting into.” Danica explained. “After this Scorbunny would come back injured, and soon many Pokemon in the Wild Area were injured thanks to Scorbunny.”

Danica was picking berries and saw an injured Nickit, Wingull and Bunnelby. She went over to the three Pokemon before hearing Scorbunny laugh. She looked over at him as the fire-type Pokemon smirked and ran off, eating a berry.

Flashback ends:

“So, Scorbunny has been getting into fights with Pokemon?” Oliver asked.

Danica nodded, “yes, I wonder if the Pokemon who gave him the injuries the first time we met sparked his attitude.” She wondered, as she finished bandaging up Skiddo.

“It’s possible.” Wiatt replied. He then looked at Oddity, “I wonder if the noises we heard earlier were Scorbunny intimidating him.”

“Eevee.” Oddity agreed.

Danica smiled seeing Skiddo was done being treated. “There. Sara, your Skiddo is going to be just fine.”

Sara smiled and got up as she went over to her Pokemon. The Mount Pokemon bleated happily as Sara hugged her tight. “Oh I’m glad you're okay!” Sara beamed.

Skiddo bleated in reply as she licked her trainer’s face, causing her to laugh.

Lewis and Wiatt smiled, but saw Oliver frowning. “Oliver.” Wiatt started.

“Are you okay darling?” Lewis asked.

The taller boy did not respond, as he was thinking about Scorbunny. He wondered why the Pokémon acted so violently, and if the fire-type wasn’t going to tell him, he’ll find a way, nicely. Oliver got up and went over to the kitchen and picked up an Oran Berry they collected earlier. He then walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Wiatt asked.

“I’m going to find Scorbunny.” Oliver replied.

The group looked shocked, but Sara was angry that Oliver wanted to give that mischievous Pokemon a chance. “After what Scorbunny did to my Skiddo, you want to become friends with it?” She asked, growling a bit.

Oliver glared back, “yes, I need to know why Scorbunny acts like this.” Oliver opened the door and stepped out, but before he left he glanced back at his friends. “Besides, I’m the only one who doesn’t have a Pokemon yet.” Oliver then left the house as everyone looked at each other.

Back at the Wild Area, Scorbunny had three pebbles beside him ready to kick towards an Apple tree. He kicked one, which only swung the apples in the tree back and forth. The second one he kicked hit an apple, but still it didn’t fall. The final pebble, Scorbunny kicked hard enough, causing his Ember attack to activate and burning the apple to the crisp.

Scorbunny sighed seeing he wouldn’t get to enjoy an apple after all.

“Scorbunny!” Oliver yelled.

“Scor?” Scorbunny asked as he turned around and saw the taller boy. The Rabbit Pokemon glared at him and growled, “Scorbun…”

“Scorbunny wait. I’m not here to fight you.” Oliver reassured him.

Scorbunny continued to growl and started to walk towards him. Oliver didn’t step back, and quickly grabbed the Oran Berry from his pocket, causing Scorbunny to stop and stare at the boy.

“See, I’m just trying to be nice.” Oliver said. “I know what you did with Sara’s Skiddo was wrong, but I want to understand why you did that.”

Scorbunny cautiously walked towards the taller boy, but didn’t take the berry. “Scorbunny,” he said.

“It’s alright, you can take it.” Oliver reassured him. “I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to talk to you.”

Scorbunny narrowed his eyes and grabbed the berry and took a bite out of it. He turned away as he ate the berry.

Oliver smiled and sat next to Scorbunny, “now, I need to know why you did what you did.”

Scorbunny took a glance at Oliver, continuing to eat the berry. He didn’t respond, and turned away.

Oliver frowned, and remembered what Danica said about Scorbunny. “Did someone hurt you?” He asked.

Scorbunny’s eyes widened, and nodded.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to hurt other Pokemon.” Oliver said.

“Scorbun.” Scorbunny groaned.

Oliver sighed, “listen. I’m offering to be your friend Scorbunny.”

“Scorbunny!” Scorbunny exclaimed, turning to Oliver. He wasn’t sure if the taller boy was telling the truth, but in reality Scorbunny was lonely, and loved the idea of companionship.

Oliver looked into Scorbunny’s eyes and sighed. He went into his pocket and pulled out a photo. “You know, you remind me a lot of my younger brother.”

Scorbunny turned to see a photo of a young boy and girl who appeared to be twins. “Scorbun.” Scorbunny said, pointing at the boy.

Oliver nodded and chuckled, “yeah you're both stubborn and pranksters.”

The fire type glared and puffed up his cheeks, which made Oliver laugh.

“Yep, your most definitely like Ben.”

Scorbunny sighed, and smiled and the tall boy. He thought to himself and saw Oliver wasn’t so bad. He was pretty cool. Plus he did give him a berry. Suddenly, the fire-type’s ear twitched, hearing something in the distance. “Score! Scorbun!” Scorbunny exclaimed.

“What’s wrong Scorbunny?” Oliver asked.

Scorbunny looked around as his ear continued to twitch. He immediately ran to where the commotion was going on. Oliver put the photo back into his pocket, and followed behind. after a bit of running the two were horrified at what they saw. Two Rookiedee, a Wooper, and a Minccino were caught in a net and was dragged through the bushes.

Angry at whoever was doing this, Oliver and Scorbunny looked at each other and nodded as they went through the bushes. Oliver gasped and stopped the fire-type from getting further. “Scor?” Scorbunny asked.

“Shh.” Oliver shushed Scorbunny as the two saw who stole the Pokemon; Team Rocket.

Meowth laughed as the captured Pokemon were put inside the back of an Ariados robot. “See, I told you our Robo-Ariados can shoot nets up to miles away and store them safe and sound until we see the boss.” He explained. Inside the robot, there were many Pokemon including the ones just captured inside shaking in fear.

“Brilliant Meowth!” Jessie exclaimed. “Shall we stop for today and get going?”

Meowth smile proudly, “we can take a break once we find the twerps’ Pokemon.”

Oliver growled and glared at that claim.

James, however, was concerned about the idea, “are you sure about that Meowth?” He asked. “We’ll get caught if we keep sneaking around stealing Pokemon.”

“Nah, don’t worry!” Meowth reassured his friend.

Jessie then spoke up, “May I remind you, were in the Wild Area. If we get caught here, we can just go to another part of the Wild Area. We hide, steal more Pokemon, rinse and repeat!”

James thought about it for a second, before liking the idea, “I guess that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Not only that it will show the whole of Team Rocket that we’re not a bunch of quitters!” Meowth exclaimed.

“Wobbuffet!” Wobbuffett exclaimed as well.

“Team Rocket!” Oliver yelled, coming out of the bushes.

Team Rocket stopped and turned to see the taller boy and Scorbunny glaring at them. “Release those Pokemon now!”

“Scorbunny! Scorbun!” Scorbunny yelled.

Team Rocket chuckled before getting into their motto. “Prepare for trouble twerp, you're a bit late!” Jessie started.

“And make it double, while we instigate!” James exclaimed.

“To protect the world from devastation!” Jessie continued.

“To unite all peoples within our nation.” James continued.

“To denounce the evils of truth and love.”

“To extend our reach to the stars above.”

“Jessie!”

“James!”

As Team Rocket continued their motto, Scorbunny yawned. He looked down at the pebble and looked up at Team Rocket with a smirk. “Scorbunny!” Scorbunny exclaimed, kicking a pebble at Meowth before he could finish his part of the motto.

“Meowth, that’s-ah!” He screamed being knocked to the ground.

“Wobbuffet?” Wobbufett asked.

Meowth got up, now with a bump on his head. “Hey, don’t just kick rocks at me while we do the motto, Long Ears!” He yelled.

“Scorbunny! Scorbun bun.” Scorbunny replied.

Meowth gasped, putting his hand to his chest as he was offended at what he was just told. “I can’t believe you said that!”

“What did he say?” Jessie asked.

“He called our motto ridiculous.” Meowth cried.

Jessie and James dramatically gasped. “How dare you insult our motto?!” Jessie exclaimed.

“We’ve been doing this motto for a long time with new revisions!” James added.

Scorbunny yawned in reply.

“Don’t just yawn and ignore us!” Jessie yelled.

“Scorbun. Scorbunny.” Scorbunny said.

Meowth growled, “I don’t care if you lived here longer, we won’t be sass-talked by a twerp!”

“Scorbunny.” Scorbunny replied. “Scor.”

The Scratch Cat Pokemon gasped hearing Scorbunny just insult him causing him to burst into flames. “That’s it!” Meowth yelled. “Jessie, James get your Pokemon out and lets teach this twerp a lesson!”

“Fine by me!” Jessie replied. “Go, Seviper!” Jessie threw her Pokeball and out came her Seviper.

Seviper hissed upon coming out of their Pokeball.

“Inkay, let’s go!” James yelled as he sent out his Pokemon.

“Inkay!” Inkay beamed.

Oliver realized he was out numbered, but heard Scorbunny call out to him. “Scorbunny!”

“Huh?” Oliver asked.

“Scorbun. Scorbunny.” Scorbunny replied, reassuring the taller boy that he could battle these two on his own.

Oliver nodded, putting his trust in the Rabbit Pokemon. “Alright, let’s do this.” Oliver said, ready to battle Team Rocket.

“Scorbun.” Scorbunny said.

“Seviper use Bite!” Jessie commanded.

Seviper hissed as they made their way towards Scorbunny.

“Dodge it, Scorbunny!” Oliver commanded.

Scorbunny jumped upwards, missing the Fang Snake Pokémon. The latter kept trying to catch the fire-type Pokemon, but Scorbunny was just too fast for them.

“Inkay, use Psybeam!” James commanded.

“Inkay!” Inkay shrieked as he used his head to launch Psybeam at Scorbunny.

The fire-type missed the attack, and the Psybeam hit Seviper. The poison-type Pokemon hissed in pain as the psychic attack caused major damage on them.

“Seviper, catch that brat with your Poison Tail!” Jessie commanded.

“Sev…iper!” Seviper shouted as their tail started to glow purple and was ready to swing it on Scorbunny.

“Dodge it, quick!” Oliver commanded.

Scorbunny jumped up again missing the attack, however the attack hit Inkay.

“Inkay!” Inkay screamed in pain.

“Inkay, no!” James yelled.

Inkay crashed into the ground, injured from the attack.

Scorbunny landed on the ground as he rubbed his nose and gave a confident smile.

“Wow.” Oliver commented, blinking in surprise. “Your good at this Scorbunny.”

“Scorbun. Scorbunny.” Scorbunny replied.

Seviper then came from behind Scorbunny, and the fire-type didn’t notice it.

“Scorbunny, look out!” Oliver shouted.

Scorbunny turned to see Seviper trying to grab him. He tried to jump to miss the attack, but Seviper quickly snatched Scorbunny and held him tight. The fire-type struggled to break free from Seviper’s grasp.

Team Rocket laughed, happy that they captured the fire-type Pokemon.

“Let him go Team Rocket!” Oliver yelled.

“For being a smart mouth to Team Rocket, and being a twerp? No way!” Meowth yelled.

Oliver growled, trying to figure out what to do. He had no other Pokemon, and Wiatt and the others were still at Lewis’s house.

“Eevee!”

Oliver gasped, hearing a call of an Eevee. A familiar Eevee to be exact.

Suddenly, a Shadow Ball appeared and hit Seviper, causing them to let go of Scorbunny. The fire-type landed with ease, shocked that he was saved.

“Oliver!”

Oliver turned around and saw his friends and their Pokemon ready to join the fight. “You guys made it!” He yelled.

“Hey, we saw what was going on, darling.” Lewis started.

“Meow.” Sprigatito added.

“We’re not missing out on taking down Team Rocket!” Wiatt exclaimed.

“Eevee!” Oddity exclaimed as well.

Scorbunny was shocked to see everyone else help him and Oliver. He then felt vines help him up, which belonged to Skiddo. He was surprised that out of everyone, Skiddo was willing to forgive and help him to his feet.

Skiddo belatedly tells Scorbunny I'm a language only pokemon could understand that despite him being a jerk, she forgives him, but only a little bit.

Scorbunny chuckled in reply. He then looked to see Oddity and Sprigatito who stood beside him and Skiddo preparing to battle Team Rocket.

Jessie, James  and their Pokemon look horrified seeing they were unmatched four to two.

“Well, this is going to be fun.” Meowth said.

“How come, Meowth?” James asked as he and Jessie looked down at their small friend.

“We defeat them, and we steal their Pokemon, too.” Meowth answered.

Jessie and James smiled hearing the idea. “Now that cheered me up!” Jessie exclaimed.

“Wobbuffet!” Wobbuffet exclaimed.

“Oddity, use Shadow Ball on Inkay!” Wiatt commanded.

“Sprigatito, use Leafage on Seviper!” Lewis commanded.

The two heroic Pokemon used their attacks on the two evil Pokemon, dealing massive damage. However, the opposition still stood strong.

“Seviper, use Poison Tail!” Jessie commanded.

“Inkay, use Foul Play!” James commanded.

Seviper’s tail glowed purple, ready to swing it at Sprigatito while Inkay was attempting to grab Oddity.

“Skiddo, grab the Pokemon with Vine Whip!” Sara commanded.

Skiddo bleated as a pair of vines came from her neck as she grabbed Seviper and Inkay before swinging them and throwing them at Meowth. The three Pokemon were then thrown at the machine chest where the Pokemon were stored, causing it to crack.

“Alright, Scorbunny, use Ember!” Oliver commanded.

“Scor!” Scorbunny yelled. The fire type Pokemon used a pebble and kicked it around until it burst into flames. The Ember attack hit the machine, cracking it even more.

“Okay, Scorbunny, use Quick Attack!” Oliver commanded 

“Use Quick Attack too Oddity!” Wiatt added.

“Skiddo, help out with Take Down!” Sara added as well.

The three Pokemon ran, and at the same time, rammed into the machine, breaking it into many pieces. The Pokemon flooded out and quickly ran or flew away from the machine.

Team Rocket were in shock seeing all their captured Pokemon get away. “All our hard work is escaping!” Jessie exclaimed.

“Quick, let’s hop in the Robo-Ariados and catch them back!” Meowth exclaimed.

“Right.” Team Rocket replied.

The trio and their Pokemon bounced inside the robot as it started to move. Wiatt and his friends stepped back when the robot pointed right at them and their Pokemon. Team Rocket laughed, safe inside their machine.

“Alright, time to grab us some Pokemon!” Meowth yelled, as he pressed a button.

The Robo-Ariados formed a net on its spinneret ready to capture Oddity and the other Pokemon.

Scorbunny turned to his new friends in horror, then glared at Team Rocket. Scorbunny looked around and saw a rock and smirked. He sprinted towards the rock as his feet started to fire up, then he skid and kicked the rock as hard as he could, hitting the net of the robot and causing the net to burn to a crisp, an action that caused the robot to burst into flames. Team Rocket shouted in pain, “Hot! Hot! Hot!” as bits and pieces of the robot started to break off.

Scorbunny tried to run and dodge all of the falling debris, only to trip and fall. He turned and saw his foot was caught in the trap Team Rocket made. Oliver gasped seeing Scorbunny trapped as Team Rocket’s mecha was ready to blow.

“Scorbunny!” Oliver yelled.

Scorbunny struggled to break free. Team Rocket’s machine started to spark and blow smoke.

“If we don’t hurry, Scorbunny is going to get caught in the blast!” Wiatt exclaimed.

Oliver frantically thought of what to do, and his eyes widened as an idea came to mind. He went into his fanny pack and took out an unused Pokeball, “Okay, go Pokeball!” Oliver yelled as he threw the Pokeball towards Scorbunny. The Pokeball hits Scorbunny and opens, putting the fire-type inside as Team Rocket’s machine exploded. The Dream Quartet braced themselves from the blast.

Team Rocket now charred and defeated were being blasted to the sky. “Team Rocket’s blasting off again!” They yelled as they blasted off into the sky as a star twinkled.

The blast finally cleared away, and the Dream Quartet uncovered their eyes and looked up from the smoke. “Everyone okay?” Lewis asked.

“I'm fine.” Sara replied.

“Same here.” Wiatt added.

Lewis and his friends turned to Oliver, who stared at the Pokeball shaking on the ground. His friends faced the Pokeball too as a click was heard, successfully capturing Scorbunny. 

Oliver was surprised and went over to the Pokeball. He picked it up and gave a smile. Oliver threw the Pokeball in the air, “come on out!” 

The Pokeball opened and Scorbunny came out. He looked around, shocked he didn’t blow up into smithereens or blast off with Team Rocket.

“Are you okay, Scorbunny?” Oliver asked, concerned for the fire-type.

“Scorbunny?” Scorbunny asked. The fire-type looked at the taller boy and saw his expression. The Rabbit Pokemon looked at himself and saw not a scratch on him, which made him smile and put his paws on his hips proudly. “Scorbunny!”

Oliver sighed, seeing Scorbunny was okay. “Thank goodness.” He said. He walked closer and kneeled to the fire-type’s level. “That was cool what you did there.”

“Scorbun?” Scorbunny asked, tilting his head confused.

“Saving the Pokemon and stopping Team Rocket. You’re a troublemaker, but you're not a bad Pokemon.” 

Scorbunny’s eyes widened and teared up at the words Oliver said to him. He sniffled and wiped his eyes as Scorbunny jumped into Oliver’s arms calling out to him.

Oliver caught him and hugged the fire-type tight. He chuckled before letting go, “we’re going to be a great team.”

“Scorbunny!” Scorbunny exclaimed. However, his stomach started to rumble, causing him to laugh in embarrassment.

Oliver chuckled, “guess you're getting hungry?” He asked.

Scorbunny nodded in reply as his stomach rumbled again, making him embarrassed.

“Well we better head back to your house Lewis.” Oliver said, turning to his friend.

Lewis nodded, “luckily, we got all the ingredients needed and my mom started cooking when we left.” He explained. “It should be done now.”

“Well what are we waiting for?” Sara asked. “Come on, let’s eat!”

The group got excited as they ran to Lewis’s house to enjoy their late lunch. Upon arriving to the house, the smell of curry filled the room as Lewis and his mother cooked the meal together. Other than the curry, there were also some side dishes like bread and vegetables. “It smells so good.” Sara commented.

“I can’t wait to taste it.” Wiatt said, his mouth drooling a bit over how good the food smelled.

Lewis chuckled, “it’s almost done darling.”

Wiatt, Sara Oliver, and their Pokémon got excited. Soon, the timer rang and Lewis smiled knowing the food was done.

“Alright. It’s ready!” Danica exclaimed.

She turned off the heat and then put curry on a few plates with some rice. Lewis and his mom served everyone their plate, and for their Pokémon, special bowls of curry for them to try. Lewis’s friends eyes sparkled and widened at how good the food looked, and were excited to try it.

Lewis sat down between Wiatt and Sara and scooped up some curry in a spoon. “Well, dig in guys.” He said, as he took a bite.

Wiatt, Sara, and Oliver each took a bite of the curry, as did their Pokemon. However, as they kept eating, the trio started to sweat as their faces turned red. “H-Hot.” Wiatt coughed out.

Lewis who swallowed his didn’t feel the heat kick in, “it doesn’t taste that hot, darling.” He said, eating more.

“I-It’s not!” Sara coughed out. “This thing is burning my mouth!”

The group’s Pokemon except Oddity and Scorbunny were in pain from how spicy the curry was.

Danica took a bite out of the curry and chuckled as her face turned a bit red. “It’s spicy, but it actually tastes good.” She commented.

“H-How is it so…spicy?” Oliver asked, as he struggled to swallow the curry. He then heard a chuckle and looked down at Scorbunny, who ate the curry like it was nothing. Oliver glared, “Scorbunny, did you do something with the curry?”

Scorbunny smirked and pulled out a Tomato Berry.

“D-Did you add extra Tomato Berries to the curry?!” Oliver yelled.

“Scorbun.” Scorbunny replied, winking.

The group continued to cough and complain over how spicy the curry was, simultaneously scolding Scorbunny. The fire-type snickered as he took a big bite of his curry, and took joy thinking about how he would  enjoy his new life with his new friends.

[merort]

Piplup, Cheer You Up Got piplup step on my mind lately, so I doodled the child

[pokemonblog]

Pokémon Kids TV video: Watch and listen to the 7 Steps kids song with Piplup and friends in English

In 2019, The Pokémon Company opened a special Japanese YouTube channel called Pokémon Kids TV, which is aimed at young Pokémon fans. You can check out the latest batch of content uploaded to the channel in the embedded video below: 7 Steps With Piplup and Friends | Nursery Rhyme | Kids Song | Pokémon Kids TV​ One, two, three, four, five, six, seven♪Let’s count to seven with Piplup and…

[kohakhearts]

goh starter trio meta perhaps? i was ensnared by the goh-scorbunny parallel subpoint in the cubone meta bc i'm making myself unwell thinking about how scorbunny latching on to goh and goh latching on to ash.... but also more generally, sobble's whole thing and the absolute tearjerker drizzile evolution episode, and goh's weird ass dream about his rillaboom parents and then waking up to baby grookey clinging to his arm, you get it, i know you're galaxy brained about this

YESSS I AM *SO* GLAD YOU ASKED!!

so my tl;dr here is that all of the galar starters represent something about goh specifically relating to his childhood. their growth and eventual evolution (or lack thereof!) therefore serve to highlight his character development (as an aside, i think this is a very common theme in anipoke. ash's pikachu not evolving speaks to the fact that ash's growth isn't about becoming someone new but about staying true to himself and embracing a battle style that reflects the creative ingenuity that, in the early os, other characters mocked him for. similarly, dawn's piplup chooses not to evolve because it doesn't want to change how things are between them. does this not seem fitting for the partner of someone like dawn, who has always admired her mother so much that she never even considering doing something other than following in her footsteps? i'm sure there are other examples, but these seem to me the most obvious ones!).

let's break down each one, then!

scorbunny

when we meet scorbunny, goh is still determined that mew will be his first pokemon. this is a point of stubbornness that, while impressive and arguably kind of admirable, is frankly kind of stupid. how is he supposed to get to mew without any pokemon to help him? there's an interesting implication in this resolution, which jn004 and jn005 really highlight for us - goh isn't comfortable with having a pokemon. he knows a lot about them, is interested in researching them, but as far as the bond between pokemon and trainer goes, i don't think he feels prepared for that. it's easier to pick a target that is far from reasonably attainable for him at this point, especially since he does have some history with mew - didn't it take an interest in him? didn't it give him a reason to chase after it?

so meeting scorbunny, he's obviously not thinking about catching it. but he lies to the guy at the scone stand, in an interesting parallel to how scorbunny steps in to protect the nickit. he doesn't even seem to know why he does it. but just before that scene, he sees scorbunny wipe some of the dirt off its face. he doesn't get the whole story and connect all the dots until after, but i think he realizes then that scorbunny is trying to hide itself in some way. that it's performing as something it's not. and on some unconscious level, that motivates him to lie for it. after, we get this whole exchange, where the scone seller tells ash and goh the story

and this note is what makes goh get up and approach scorbunny and the nickit:

it's very symbolic that he wipes the mud off scorbunny's face. and then later, he even points out when they see it again that it looks better without all the mud covering it up - it looks more like itself. it's not pretending to be something it's not. goh wiping the mud off its face is him saying that he accepts it as it is. that being resigned to living a certain way just to fit in or just because that's how it's always been is pointless.

and i mean...even ash says in this scene that the things goh is saying are things he's only recently learned himself, right? goh denies it (and tbh when he says that he's always thought the world is big and anyone can explore it if they want to or whatever - i don't think that's untrue! i think it's just that, prior to meeting ash, he didn't have it in him to explore it), but ash has a point. and what goh is doing for scorbunny here is the same thing that ash did for him.

relatedly, scorbunny follows him, right? in the same way that goh "accepts" ash as his friend, scorbunny chooses goh as its trainer. goh recognizes that it travelled far for him, that it saw a vision of its future with him, and changes his mind about not catching it. i think the determination he saw in scorbunny to chase after its dreams resounded with him, because he's only just started doing the same thing. and his entire character is built around this idea of like, learning how to adapt and how to let other people help you find the courage to chase your dreams (and even to help you chase them). how could he possibly deny scorbunny the same thing?

but while scorbunny's enthusiasm helps motivate goh to chase his dreams, he is very flippant and dismissive, as we see when it learns ember and he says it doesn't matter, that scorbunny doesn't need to know a fire-type move and this gut-punch of a line, of course:

goh is someone who needs a lot of convincing to do things he doesn't think he'll be good at (or enjoy). he only joins project mew because gary goads him into it. he spends most of his life refusing to make friends, because he had one bad experience. he's a fairly black-and-white thinker, which makes sense considering his background. he doesn't really believe in change. he especially doesn't believe that people (or pokemon, in this case) can change their circumstances just through hard work and determination. as we see in jn003 with the ivysaur, he also doesn't think that it's anyone else's place to intervene and "help" others. if you can't change something, then don't. and there's no point in hoping it'll change on its own, either.

when scorbunny storms off here, his expression is interesting. this isn't the expression of someone being judgemental. it's the expression of someone who sympathizes.

he sees scorbunny trying so hard to do something he thinks it can't do and thinks that scorbunny's determination to change things is, if i had to guess, kind of immature. a lesson scorbunny will have to learn, whether it wants to or not. at first it's kind of endearing, but then he actually gets frustrated, because he feels like scorbunny's determination to learn ember is harmful to them both. here, there's a degree of "why won't you just trust that i know what's best for you?" for sure, but on a deeper level, i think that stems from a place of "can't you see that i'm just trying to protect you?"

...but obviously, all he really does is wind up lashing out and hurting scorbunny's feelings. he tells ash that he was trying to draw out scorbunny's strengths (and he was, by telling it to use moves it was already good at!), but ash points out that their values weren't aligned and that's kind of the opposite of strength when it comes to pokemon battling. so he reassesses the situation and finds a way to bring out scorbunny's strength that also aligns with what scorbunny wants. that compromise is what makes scorbunny evolve. it was the right call! but then raboot starts ignoring him.

and this is like. a running gag with scorbunny - goh gets distracted by other things and doesn't notice that it's trying to show him things. it happens when they meet and it happens again in this episode with its ember. we see something very similar with goh and his parents in jn032 when he's excited at the prospect of their vacation together, but when he tries to ask what they want to do, he turns around and find they're both asleep (and we see the flashback of something similar happening last time, too).

with raboot, in a lot of ways, goh is grappling with...himself. or at least, the person he was before he met ash - cold and distant, more interested in doing whatever he thinks is worth his time than in school, for example. so if goh saw his child self in scorbunny, he sees his more "adolescent" (i mean. he's still ten so still child, technically. but older child lol) self in raboot. and he actually responds to this in a way that's a lot like how we see his parents responding to him. in jn022, we see him

buy a bunch of apples for raboot, even though he thinks it doesn't need them (and is hurt when it doesn't let him have one, despite raboot seeming pleased that he bought them for it). compare to the device he shows horace in jn032, for example, which he says his parents built for him. or his six computer monitors. his parents reach him best through material means!

question why raboot hates him when it's not responsive to his overtures. contrarily, goh's parents don't think he hates them; they just automatically assume the worst case scenario (like in jn015 when he calls and they immediately wonder if he did something and got kicked out of the institute). but while that's their worst case scenario about him, raboot hating him is kind of goh's worst case scenario, right? it took him time to open up and accept scorbunny as his partner. now that it's evolved and is acting differently, he's terrified that he came to care for it only for it to leave him.

which leads to my last point here, which is that he doesn't actually ask what it wants. in this episode, he concludes that raboot would be happier without him. so he leaves it behind, but he never actually considers how it might feel. goh's parents do the same thing! they worry about him, but they don't share their concerns or ask how he feels. they just assume that he must feel a certain way and they adapt to compensate for that. but they never actually ask him what he wants.

this episode ends with him realizing that he hasn't been reacting to raboot's feelings so much as to his own, of course, and we see their relationship smooth out quite a bit. he's acknowledging that he's done things wrong, but also that it's not all his fault - and raboot's change in temperment is just a consequence of it evolving. they accept each other again and move on.

then, it evolves into cinderace and kind of opens up again more (though it's been doing that little-by-little since jn022). i think the fact that raboot and riolu evolve at the same time was a really cool move by the writers to kind of demonstrate how like...the relationship between ash and goh is reflected in the growth of their pokemon. they trained together! in a way they kind of grew up together! riolu, ash's token baby pokemon in jn, evolving at the same time as goh's starter feels like a very deliberate choice to highlight how ash helped goh's pokemon grow, too - through getting the ball rolling with how he helped goh grow as a person and a trainer. if that makes sense?

anyway, i don't have much to say about cinderace, other than that if he saw himself as a child in scorbunny and as an older child in raboot, then cinderace's level of openness and its enthusiasm aren't just reflexive of it getting back more of its scorbunny-esque personality - it also shows how goh has changed and has learned to embrace these parts of himself, now that he's in that "coming of age" age (well, for pokemon. he is still only ten lmao).

i think we see something similar with his other starters, though maybe a little less on the nose.

sobble

the drizzile episode, as you mentioned, is probably Thing here. but i think the theme with sobble is sort of that, where scorbunny maybe reflects more of the way goh thought about growing up and his aspirations (and how hard it was to open up to people), sobble more so mirrors his social experiences at school and with chloe.

VISUALLY, i think it's really telling that when goh catches sobble, he's...literally speaking to it from the other side of the water:

this whole episode (jn028) is about goh kind of...forcing sobble into positions it's not necessarily comfortable with, and not realizing that it's uncomfortable until it runs away from him. as we saw with raboot, this is a common theme with goh - but it's most obvious with sobble!

he realizes, of course, and says this:

even in flashbacks, goh never comes across as a shy kid. he doesn't exactly relate to sobble, but i think he's drawing a parallel here between them. he wasn't shy, but he was always on the "outside" - that's why he's so good at researching. he strives to see things as they are without getting involved. eventually, this is something that will make him a pretty thoughtful and strategic battler, though at this point he's still learning how to apply that to more than just research for the sake of research.

and then after sobble meets inteleon, we have these bits too:

goh's childhood motivations on the surface appear to be like...he doesn't want to bother with friends, because they aren't going to be able to serve a purpose for him. he isn't interested in making friends with anyone who is less into pokemon than he is. but after what happens with horace, it seems to get a little more complex, and then we have to wonder if his motivations really were that surface-level to begin with, or if, maybe, his policy of not making friends has always been a way for him to protect himself from betrayals like he experienced with horace.

we see chloe as early as jn001 trying to convince him to make friends, to no success. she doesn't even refer to herself as his friend - he doesn't seem to be willing to let her. he believes he doesn't need friends and is better off alone. but he doesn't realize until after meeting ash that his solitude is more of a self-imposed exile, in that it's hurting him more than other people. he can't improve as a person and reach his goals if he's too busy trying to protect himself to accept that he needs help from other people to do those things. so, again - i think he sees that side of himself in sobble. so it feels very impactful that he reaches out to help sobble become a better battler, but rather than forcing it to battle in a way that makes sense to him, he comes up with a way to have it train that plays off of its strengths of running and hiding.

and then, of course, there's the episode where sobble evolves, jn062. the writers themselves do most of the work here of drawing the parallel between goh's childhood and how drizzile is feeling, but i think it goes even deeper than that. drizzile is unhappy because it wanted to evolve into inteleon, not into drizzile. it's not comfortable in its own skin. and it doesn't necessarily want others to see it, because it feels like it's still growing and it's not ready yet. it kind of just...needs time to sulk and brood. drizzile runs away again, because it's not ready, and while they're looking for it, it's chloe who makes goh start thinking about when he was a kid, by saying this:

which prompts him to think about how he was searching for a "reason" for why drizzile was acting how it was, just like how adults used to demand reasons from him even when he didn't have them. and then of course we get this scene:

but i think he does on some level know why, because he talks immediately after this about how his parents weren't home and often felt lonely. he's more comfortable being alone. he's protecting himself. which is reinforced by the fact that he then tells drizzile this:

goh has a hard time putting his feelings into words, which is something we see throughout jn. he sees that drizzile is the same and this is a huge moment for him, because he's saying here that it doesn't matter what inspired its feelings; he understands it is experiencing those feelings and that's enough. he'll wait until it's ready to fully process them or whatever else it needs. drizzile kind of returns the favour when he starts crying here and it reaches up to brush away his tears, then disappears again.

overall, this episode does an amazing job of showing us how goh has become someone who actually acknowledges his and his pokemon's feelings - this is the only time we see him as a child where he's not doing something to try to ignore his feelings, or trying to walk away from them. in flashbacks, his back is often to his parents. in jn032, he gets upset, and then tries to cover his disappointment up immediately with anger and avoidance. the writers set this scene up so that we can see the reason behind his feelings clearly (just like we can see the reason behind drizzile's, even though goh and co. can't), but they rightly emphasize that goh's ability to analyze "why" he or his pokemon are feeling a certain way isn't always helpful. emotions are meant to be felt, not intellectualized. it's a good message, and a huge area of growth!

drizzile's evolution into inteleon also shows us how this acceptance translates into it eventually being comfortable enough to be who it wants to be. and the characters are impressed by it - it even earns kecleon's admiration, the same way that other inteleon earned its when it was a sobble. this is a pretty clear mirror with goh's social life, where he went from being this friendless outcast figure to someone with a lot of friends, and a great willingness to make more, as he became more comfortable and confident and willing to reach out to others.

and lastly,

grookey

the only one of the three that doesn't evolve, for reasons that aren't ever really made clear to us. but i think that as random (...and tone deaf) as his dream sequence at the start of grookey's debut episode is, it actually makes a lot of sense. in the original, the dream has camille and walker transformed into rillaboom, and goh is understandably freaked out. but i think the bigger, more symbolic thing is that even if it is a dream, his parents are the ones that foist grookey upon him. this does seem like a really weird choice, until you start thinking about the parallels, right?

in reality, grookey is team rocket's pokemon. the episode title "when a house is not a home" tells us that grookey obviously doesn't feel like it "belongs" there. but the episode doesn't open in team rocket's base. it opens in goh's apartment. and the part i didn't show in the drizzile scene above is when he says this:

the fact that goh was home alone a lot as a kid gets brought up fairly often. it implies that he kind of had to adopt this lone wolf persona, because there was no one else around to take care of him. he had to learn how to console himself and meet his own needs (hence why he's so combative about ash intervening with the ivysaur in jn003!), which is a lot of responsibility for a kid. grookey is handed to him like it's a responsibility in his dream, but then they bond. and he starts to appreciate having grookey around, to the point that he misses it when it returns to team rocket.

to me, the choice to have grookey not evolve kind of comes down to grookey being kind of...emblematic of goh's childhood. like, in his dream, grookey is this burden that's forced on him. someone he has to take care of, even though he isn't really prepared to do that. in reality, grookey is escaping from an environment that doesn't meet its needs. putting those two things together, i mean...that's just my reading of it, anyway. so grookey not evolving, and goh accepting grookey as it is - without any of the "growing up" analogs we have with cinderace and inteleon - is a way of showing that goh has come to terms with his childhood and that he accepts (and cherishes!) his childhood self. which he can only really do after he's done all the growing we see reflected in the evolutions of his other starter mons. (relatedly, grookey is the only starter of goh's who goh considers leaving with other mons in its evolution line. specifically, with two thwackey and their child, i.e. a family unit not unlike goh's!)

anyway! this is a very long post, so thanks for sticking with me if you did. hope my takes are as galaxy-brained as you hoped hehe

[sstefania]

Source: Piplup Step

[love-is-a-pearl]

Thoughts on the glorious tag battle opening of Jewel of Life? It really highlights Dawn and Ash synchronization when it comes to tag battles

https://youtu.be/7MSrPb2ARXw?si=onRI7PsWnlQ1NVbX

Peak cinema. Pikachu and Piplup being in total sync is so nice. I love how they act pretty much as one and how that extends to their trainers. Just marvelous. Makes me miss double battles in the anime so much QwQ

I really adore the whole opening sequence in this movie. It came at a point in DP where it was really obvious how close Ash and Dawn are and they really leaned on that for this movie opening AND I EAT THAT UP

Can I gush over how much I LOVE that is Ash that starts the water fight?????? HE never does that!? He can get playful when it's pokemon, but people?? It's very rare!

It really shows how comfortable he feels with her, not a hint of fear of stepping over their bondaries or she getting angry. Compare that with the likes of how he pranked Misty in the ghost tower only because she wouldn't ever know it was him or the Anabel water fight that was started because of him playing with Corphish instead, how even in the crescelia mini arc epilogue we don't see Ash "fight back" at Goh's water attacks. Is just such a simple and effective showcase of how close they are and I love it so much.

Also I love Brock's "I know what you are" face here.

[elencale]

Yesterday's Follow-up -- Rescue Piplup: Step 1, scoop Piplup out of the snow trench. Step 2, clear a path so Piplup can waddle freely. 🌟🐧