#roaming lysandre

[fallershipping]

Nanu's first Pokemon is not Alolan Persian. Years after the Guzzlord mission when Nanu was chosen to be a Kahuna without a choice, he took up residence in Alola and stripped himself of his past.

He became an officer and took up residence at the Po Town police station. Many feral Alolan Meowth, a breed that used to be known as a luxury, frequent the place, especially since Po Town used to be a gated community for what's considered the new royalty (rich people with too much money, pension for golf, and no regards to how raising the price of housing affects the locals).

He befriended a stray Meowth that soon became a Persian from his affection. She's constantly roaming the grounds, often returning to Nanu's home with whole new litters of Meowth following her.

He would have shooed her away because it was getting so cramped... But decided against it and took her-- and her family-- in with him. Persian would eventually become his Pokemon, and his usual ace.

Before Alola, Nanu had Absol and Honchkrow, the two Pokemon he does not use for his Kahuna battle but does use for his Interpol Post Game battle. It's interesting to note that Cyrus, Lysandre, and Guzma all have Honchkrow as the "big boss" Pokemon, which fits for a guy like Nanu to have.

[superyoshisisland64]

I wonder if we'll finally be able to catch the Eternal Flower Floette.

So in case you don't remember, in X and Y, there's a character named AZ, who had this Floette. This Floette is different from the rest of them, looking like this:

A lot of players wanted to catch this Floette, but it's not possible to (legally) obtain it. What's interesting though is that it seems like at some point you could have caught it. It's base stats are higher than normal Floettes, it has a shiny variant, and most interesting of all, an unused signature move, Light of Ruin. And this move isn't just some junk placeholder, it has it's own animations and move description. It would even get a pokedex entry in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, way after this Floette was important. And despite it having no data in the Switch games and it being impossible to import a hacked one from the 3DS games, it still has a unique Pokemon home sprite.

My theory on why this is, is that it probably was going to be an event Pokemon, but was never released. This isn't the first time this has happened (the Azure Flue for DPP), so it likely that's what happened here.

But back to Legends Z-A, why do I think we might catch Eternal Flower Floette (EFF)?

As of right now, we don't know when ZA takes place, either before X and Y or. If it takes place before we likely won't get it bc that would mess in X and Y's canon. (TBF it doesn't really seem like the Pokemon company cares that much about canon, so there's a slim chance we might get the EEF.) But if it's after X and Y. The odds of encountering it is much more likely.

The EFF and AZ play an important role in the story of X and Y. AZ was the one who had built the ultimate weapon that Lysandre tried to used to kill off all life with. After you destroy the ultimate weapon and free AZ, he is reunited with his Floette. (Fun fact: this is where the "It's been 3000 years" meme came from.) If this is a sequel, there's a high chance of them showing up.

It wouldn't be the first time a Pokemon game added in previously cut content. The previously mentioned Azure Flute was finally put into Legends: Arceus, and Zygarde had two unobtainable moves in gen 6, that they wouldn't get legitimately until gen 7. So it wouldn't be all that strange if they brought them back.

Now I have no idea how'd you would get EFF in Z-A. Due to story reasons I doubt AZ would just give it to you, but who knows.

Another possibility could be that you never get the EFF in Z-A. Instead they could be a Pokemon Home mystery gift to celebrate Z-A's release. They've done this before, like getting the Shiny Zeraora. Or have it be an event in Go, like Meltan or Roaming Gimmeghoul.

TLDR: Game Freak has added in previously unobtainable content back into a future games and The EFF and their owner AZ played a big role in X and Y, so they're likely to return. Or it could be a Pokemon Home Gift or a Go event.

[twinchampionsofkalos]

Since this seems to be the hot topic of discussion tonight, I, Shauna, Guardian of Squishy the Zygarde Core, maybe Chosen of Zygarde really not sure its confusing, have taken it upon myself to educate everyone on how our specific universe's Kalos Trio works. Mostly cause I'm bored.

So, Yveltal and Xerneas cannot both be awake at the same time. They also cannot be asleep at the same time. If they are, things get out of balance and bad things happen. So, when Yveltal awakens, Xerneas has to go back to sleep and vice versa.

After the Flare incident, Yveltal went back to sleep and Xerneas got to roam around free. For, like, a year because a year later some idiots woke Yveltal up and it went on a rampage until Xerneas chose to go to sleep. So, yeah, Yveltal's just kinda wandering around Kalos. It hasn't done anything to hurt anyone after the initial rampage so we've just let it do that.

if events transpire that something is preventing this cycle, such as Lysandre's ultimate weapon, Zygarde steps in. And that's how our universe's Legendary Kalos Trio work.

[ancient-pokehistorian]

Bio: Jules

Name: Jules Saint-Michelle

Gender: Female (she/her or they/them)

Age: 27

Birthday: November 19th

Occupation: Journalist for Lumiose Press

Height: 5’ 7”

Orientation: Pansexual

Hometown: Geosenge Town, currently residing in Lumiose City

Personality: Sophisticated, fun-loving, and exuberant, Jules loves to be the center of attention. Sometimes she can be a little overbearing with her flirty and open ways, but that doesn’t stop her from being professional when she needs to be. She enjoys the simple things in life, especially good friends and good coffee, and is fiercely loyal to those she cares about. As one who wears her heart on her sleeve, she can be moody and sharp-tongued when angered, in addition to struggling when she feels alone or abandoned.

History: Jules’ childhood was a happy one, if not somewhat bland. Her mother is an ex-Pokémon trainer and her father, a business man who works primarily in Hoenn. Although she was, and still is, ‘daddy’s little girl’, she was raised mostly by her mom, who gave her freedom to roam up and down the west coast of Kalos. For the most part she could be found on Route 10, wrestling and playing with a flock of wild Hawlucha, whose company she preferred to that of other children.

However, after a strange accident one night when she was 8, Jules was found wandering the beach south of Cyllage City in the dead of night, dazed and unable to remember how she got there. To this day she has no memory of that night, or even the days following, but it changed something in her. She panicked whenever left alone, becoming very clingy to anyone who showed her affection. Even stranger, her memory was weak, to the point that she often struggled to remember even the events of the day prior. Between this her and mother becoming more resistant to let her wander off down the coast again, she spent more time indoors, where she found the company of both people and Pokémon a welcome distraction. At the suggestion of a doctor she took up journalism to aid her memory, and quickly found a natural gift for writing.

Time passed, and the once-adventurous girl who wrestled with Hawlucha chose not to travel Kalos and take on the Gym Challenge, instead devoting her time to school work and improving her writing skills. At 18 she submitted an application for an internship with Lumiose Press, but was rejected, only to try again a year later and be accepted. With high spirits she moved to Lumiose City to pursue a career in journalism.

Jules was absent during the activation of the Ultimate Weapon, an event that she remains bitter about, especially having previously been a major supporter of Lysandre Labs.

Faceclaim: Orihime Mitsuishi (Aikatsu!)

[shadesandrollerblades]

@jocundcompany​

Going through Kalos feels like deja vu, though he doesn’t get solid memories in place for the most part. But the further he goes, the more he feels he’s done this before, he’s seen this play out before. It wrecks his heart to be walking through Parfum Palace and the man he knows to be his father, doesn’t recognize him in the least. Their relationship had been terrible frankly, but the fact that he knows this to be true and then it suddenly wasn’t, it tears him apart. The only thing worse is when he runs into Dani who doesn’t know him at all anymore, and Reggie... something about Reggie’s presence even if he had remembered Xavier, something hurts about it much more than anything else.

He was about to head into Route 10 when the Holo Caster rings-- seems Professor Sycamore wants to see him in person to talk about his Pokedex. It’s a bit of a walk back but he doesn’t really mind it honestly, it gives him a little time to think before he faces him again. Always was...weird to see him and Lysandre, which he really hates the way he feels over that. Why does everything have to feel so off with everyone he knows? He knows these people and cares deeply for them.

Even Lysandre was proving to be nice, even though Xavier can’t help feeling somehow afraid of him. 

He wanders into Lumiose with Error at his side, still a Porygon2 since the accidental evolution the last time he’d been at the lab. Making pleasant beeps as he roamed with him, though hesitating in front of the lab.

“I don’t blame you for stopping, last time you were here things were kind of odd huh?” He smiles comfortingly back at his pokemon. “Nothing to worry about though, I think the professor will be used to your quirks this time.”

“XA-V-IER?” Error asks with a tilt of the head, making the trainer shudder and pat him.

“Try to call me Calem in there, I know it’s not right, but we have to work with it for now.”

He gave a solemn beep, before following Xavier into the lab.

[fleurladari-a]

👀 oh you know

" the duplicative branch has gained a significant amount of security thanks to the few incidents in these recent years. "

Lysandre sat looking down at his desk, listening to his head scientist while his own gaze wandered over energy signatures, graphs and maps. Hotspots, so to say, of multiple locations worth looking into.

" unfortunate that it took a couple of failures to reach this state. "

Lysandre murmured, his eyes narrowing somewhat while his hand glided over the screens, tapping and zooming into a few areas. Additional tabs created as if to form some sort of similarity--comparison.

" still, i won't deny security has strived. "

Even if it took a few runaways or breakins. It was far easier to track them when they had some sort of energy footprint, it was...a little more difficult with others. Having to rely more on appearances and surveillance cameras set up than simply counters and trackers.

" i don't suppose we are any closer to bringing any of our runaways back to continue our research, xerosic? "

Finally, light blue eyes roamed from the screen over to the paler-than-usual ultra human. To which the response was...pleasantly surprising.

" ...actually! yes. on the matter of RP:D:3234- we are reaching out to satellites in the area, but unova may have a solid lead! "

How his face could shift so quickly from stern and stoic to soft. Then awfully bitter. They needed more plants in Unova, but with Plasma there...in any of it's forms...a grimace to spread over his face before he made a slow nod.

" well, keep me updated. i'd like to make a retrieval quick. "

A Conversation Mention. ( accepting ! )

[sensoryled]

marcellus’s mental state as affected by his time with flare

tw for panic attacks, conditioning, and so on.

marcellus’s affiliation with team flare happened as follows: he met silva ( who was on the run from flare ), subsequently met ( and battled ) members of team flare who were following her trail, was later contacted by lysandre labs in relation to the incident ( they claimed interest in his bond with his main partner, ralts ), came to lysandre labs to allow them to study that bond, and then found out that team flare was essentially synonymous with lysandre labs. he escaped on two separate occasions, both of which utilized his partner’s teleport move.

when he initially came to lysandre labs, his mental state was generally pretty stable. he was deeply mistrusting of adults, yes, and dealing with some unresolved trauma, but he was stable. when he found out that lysandre labs and team flare were essentially one and the same, his mistrust of others was solidified, and the first negative impacts to his mental health appeared. he became angry and uncooperative, constantly. this was remedied, for a time, when he escaped for the first time.

when he was roaming during that time, he was under the impression that team flare would not come after him, would opt instead to wash their hands of him and all the trouble that came with him. this notion was corrected when he met fidel, one of lysandre’s associates, who impressed upon him that team flare would certainly move to get him back. fidel also made him aware of his own latent abilities. though he became cautious and wary, his mental health was still in a relatively good state -- perhaps even better, since he knew that there was something special about him.

then, fidel came to apprehend him in the dead of night, one night. this encounter marked the true start of his decline, as the experience was traumatic for him. he had been scared -- terrified, even -- when he had to fight fidel. he was knocked out during the fight, his hands were restrained, and his powers dampened. he had a panic attack on the spot ( his hands are important to him, as a deaf person ) and was physically punished for it by a flare admin.

when he returned, he became uncooperative and irritable as far as his program was concerned. he would, at times, make a mess of xerosic’s lab ( which was met with disappointment, among other things ), and generally be troublesome as someone with whom anyone else might interact. this behavior started to become tempered, however, when he started becoming closer to fidel -- not just as his teacher, but as a surrogate father of sorts. though he still resented and even loathed flare as a whole, he started to think that he might be able to tolerate all of team flare’s bullshit ( his words ) as long as he had fidel and his pokemon.

during an outing with fidel, a miscommunication led to hurt feelings and him subsequently breaking a promise -- his promise not to flee during the outing. he did so with his partner’s teleport, again. almost immediately after he did it, he realized he had misunderstood the situation, and wished that he could undo it -- but he knew he would be punished for it, so he doubled down.

at this point, he was suffering from considerable paranoia and terror. he was worried that team flare might cut their losses with him by killing him rather than bringing him back, so as he continued to run, he was in constant fear for his life, to the point of constant panic attacks. it was only when he found out that silva had returned to flare that he made up his mind to return voluntarily -- he thought that whatever punishment awaited him might be mitigated if he returned willingly rather than having to be dragged back. he also knew that the destruction flare was looking to bring about would be imminent at any time with silva back in their hands. even if he was not chosen, he thought . . . he did not want to die alone, even if it meant accepting his punishment.

unfortunately, the punishment was still heavy. his psychic bonds with fidel and his partner were broken by force, which caused him intense, severe pain. fidel was forbidden from seeing him for an indeterminate amount of time, and his partner pokemon was taken from him. the incident left him in shock and even caused him to become catatonic for a short period. even after he recovered from that, he could no longer speak -- he became nonverbal indefinitely. he was hurting and constantly depressed, constantly sleeping, frequently crying when he was alone. these conditions left him pliable to team flare’s conditioning. it might have fully succeeded, had the weapon not failed.

now, marcellus hides in alola, grappling with guilt, shame, paranoia, and grief, among other things. he has a warped sense of self worth and does not know what to do with himself now that team flare is gone -- and he hates himself for that. he misses fidel, misses silva -- doesn’t even know if they survived. he hates that he is glad that lysandre is gone, hates that there is a small part of him that grieves lysandre. he has a lot of complicated feelings left over from the ordeal that he may never reconcile.

[roaming-lysandre]

[iruludavare]

{ ooc. This girl can fit so much existential dread in that mind of hers }

[ourobororos]

How to each of the rr crew spend time and care for their pokemon. Enrichment time :D. Get them nice and humanized so it's even more messed up.

ENRICHMENT TIME... okay let me think hmmmm

gio's pokemon get a lot of training the boss has to be the strongest ofc... he accompanies them a lot and they rlly enjoy that time, gio loves battling and its one of the things he does to blow off steam. hes not the most vocally affectionate BUT they get head scritches :) and eat only the best food made by hired chefs ofc

maxie is also not the most vocally affectionate towards his pokemon but he does care about them a lot for sure. he lets them all free roam in his room without pokeballs (minus the secret sharpedo shhh) and its nice and cozy and warm. his love language for them is through tasks like cooking and grooming them! he cooks a lot and makes them nice tasty treats <3

archie is much more outwardly affectionate with his team LOL hes the guy to play a lot with them they love it. they all enjoy training but when he goes out to the lake of rage they love the chance to just run around and swim and interact with the pokemon there lol its fun. he loves his pokemon so much they mean a lot to him

cyrus is similar to maxie in that he is more affectionate through actions than words... except its a lot of quality time mostly that they enjoy together like comfortable silences. cyrus' team is mostly the same as his original one, all of them are still with him (plus rotom and others but rotom is a whole other story) so they have a close bond regardless if he admits it. he trains the least of the bosses he just doesnt enjoy battling much but he loves his animals

ghetsis as ive said before trains a lot with his pokemon! theyre all kind of aggressive but so is he so their energy matches and shit gets crazy... ghetsis is always available for training but are you sure you want to. are you sure (not saying much else bc ive already discussed his stuff before)

lysandre also doesn't train as much but his pokemon mean so much to him... he spends a lot of time with them (they arent rlly affected by his powers except maybe weak baby pokemon probably) brushing his pyroar's mane and such. also i dont think i ever mentioned but he has a gallade because years ago before everything went to shit he was gifted a ralts from diantha and sycamore and he had stored the pokeball somewhere safe and like rediscovered it in the ruins of his hq after the incident after everything happened... its a sentimental pokemon and nobody knows its origins except him

[a-tale-of-legends]

I was doing some thinking about the Champions and other adults involvement in their games.

Oak just gave Red and Blue their starter and dex then kicked them out into the world. No help. No guidance.

Blue, as a champion, was Red's rival, who also had his own personal issues to deal with( probably revolving around Oak)

Lance was only interactive during the Red Gyarados event and raiding the Team Rocket HQ. He does not appear anywhere else after.

Steven doesn't do much other than pop up here and again during rse. Same for Wallace. In ORAS, however, Steven battles along side the player once to save Latios/Latias. But that's it. The player still has to face gaint forces of nature by themselves. Funnily enough, Maxie and Archie protects the player more so than the supposed good guys( not that they don't endanger them either, but given that they are bad guys and they were pretty honest about what they were planning to do). They tell them not to get involved and in ORAS, they make a suit to protect the player. Again, not much, but better than them doing nothing.

Norman is a workaholic father who rarely spends time with his kid. Not saying he doesn't care, he does, but being that emotionally distant is harmful. Also he doesn't do much other than being an obstacle you must face. Which is also bad. Your child thinks of you more of an obstacle than a father. Archie ( and kinda Maxie. Especially in the remakes and in Masters) is low-key a better support system than your own father. Think about that( but not really surprising)

*Sigh* Oh Cynthia. You already know. She does nothing except give minor lore. Which is cool until she's making the player face both Cyrus and his entire team and Giratina by themselves. What's worse is that she's a strong trainer. She could have helped battle wise. And you could argue that she was testing the player, but to that extent? No thank you.

Prof.Rowan doesn't do much, if at all. But in the few times he does show up, he's making sure the player is alright( in his own way). He's better than Oak in that sense. A grumpy but loving grandpa.

Alder and other BW adult cast is interesting. In fact I think I'll give them a pass, though if anyone disagrees feel free to share. Why? Because the nature of Team Plasma in BW. Before shit went down, they were bascically a activist group. And activist group with a very good point. So good that it questions ones morality and thinking of life. And that's the thing. Team Plasma( before shit REALLY hit the fan) was a moral and social problem. We saw how they affected Burgh, a gym leader. How other gym leaders perceived them. though it did change once they figured out their true colors. Other than that, BW is the only case where all the gym leaders( except the triplets but it was part of their development so they get a pass), and Alder himself did help the player a plenty of times

I will acknowledge that I am biased towards the BW games, so please take the above with a pinch of salt.

B2W2, however, there's literally no adults that help. Except N. And Drayden. And one the Sages that I keep forgetting the name of. Marlon? But other than that, the main cast is just a bunch of teens. Cheren and Bianca are canonically 16 in B2W2. They're still teens. We can only assume that the protagonists and Hugh are teens as well. We don't know the age of Iris in BW or B2W2, but we do know that she's still a child! She's probably 12 or something by then. But the thing is that my girl Iris got done dirty. In BW she was so eager to do more in going against Team Plasma. Where was she in B2W2?! If Alder can roam around Unova and help the player as champion, why can't she?! Smh.

Diantha does nothing. Literally nothing. She doesn't even give lore. Sycamore is almost presented as a bystander/ enabler. Fortunately, evolutions did show us that he did try to pull Lysandre out of this descent into madness, but it was so much after the fact, y'know. The worst part for me is that these two could have been really interesting characters, especially Diantha. She had a team flare member in her league! Show her investigating things more, or be there during the climax of the story!

Kukui is actually pretty tough for me cause I'm torn. In hindsight, he doesn't do much to actually protect Lillie from any threats- that's the player. Who's 11. So. Not a good look. That kinda goes for other adults in Alola, really. @epicspheal kinda pointed out how hands off they are to conflict. It really made some situations worse than it needed to be. In the other hand, he provided a safe place for Lillie. You could argue that his hands off approach to things was for Lillie to gain a new sense of herself. Of course, that doesn't excuse the lack of action on his or the other alolans end, but because of that freedom, she was able to find a sense of self and stand up to her mother. So, in short, I see it as a bit more nuance. But having an 11 year old handle inter-dimensional beings, an abusive mother, and etc is....not good.( I think the anime actually portrayed Kukui pretty well tho, but I don't remember much) ( ALSO BURNET AND WICKE DESERVE BETTER. BUT MOSTLY BURNET SHE COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH IN THE STORY)

"Let the adults handle it" is a line that appears a lot in SwSh. Which in terms of keeping the literal children save, it's really good. The problem, imo, is that it's to the point where the player is blind sighted by the turn of events that happens. Now this is a general plot/pacing problems in SwSh, but the kids are really left in the dark. Again, for their protection and to focus on their important thing( the gym challenge), but( and this is completely dependent on the story you want to tell here) it could make the protagonist feel dumb. Especially if they are aware that something is going on and they have a little chance of helping. Again, I get the reason, but indirectly causing a child to believe they are not smart enough to understand something is still not good on their mental health. Not to mention that because they don't know anything other than the history of the two kings, they have to be the ones to save Galar. Again, not saying the adults didn't do anything. God, Leon was trying very hard for Hop and Mc to not be burdened with whatever is going on. But it still happened. Now, while I don't think the mc would hate Leon and the other adults in the main cast, I wouldn't be surprised if they were very very annoyed. Of course that's just me. In hindsight, the adult cast is just as good as the BW one, in terms of helping the mc, or on their case, literally not making the face any danger at all ( until it's too much to contain).

I did all of that cause I was torn if I would change some of these. For people like Cynthia, Diantha and Iris, they got terribly shafted. They could have easily done more. They all could, really. But when I look at the others, like Kukui or Leon I think " there's a lot of nuance to this that could be explored". So do I rewrite them to have a more active role so it won't "be child gets traumatized after saving the world" or should I hold them accountable for their inaction. Both? I don't know.

[monstercampus]

Holy shit, i loved the Dean Lysandre piece! Igot a few questions:

1: how big are the eggs? Because if the dean wants 10, how big is the poor human gonna be? (might be drawing this over the weekend hehe)

2. Would the dean take pleasure in showing off his little human wife or would he keep his little treasure all to himself like the greedy dragon man he is?

3. Would he allow the reader to keep being a student or would he just write her off as "graduated early with honors" and then just move her into his home?

4. Would the dean have a special little area in his office for his human? Hidden by curtains, but behind is a very round bellied human asleep on a plush round bed with her school papers scattered around her?

5. Would any drama happen on school grounds with royal dragonic families being pissed that the dean married and breeded with a human? Any dramatic acts of petty revenge??? (does the dean find himself being very protective of his human????👀)

6. Is there any very domestic habits the dean and his human would do? Of course between fucking like rabbits, what kind of sweet doting things would the dean do??

Sorry if this is a lot, my brain is racing

hehe 🐉🐉🐉 dragon time!!!

1 -> With other dragons they tend to show only when they're carrying a whole clutch of eggs at one time, since they usually carry them until they’re close to hatching to keep them safe before they've laid. Surprisingly, even though it's incredibly rare for dragons and other species to breed (at least when they're not hiding it from the world) dragons have a very sophisticated egg process that translates well to other species, even if they're not of the egg-laying variety. While a human or other monster could carry several eggs at once, knowing Lysandre he isn't going to want you to strain yourself--so he'll likely only have you carry one at a time if you're going to carry it to near full-term, which would probably look no different than a normal human pregnancy from the outside.

But! The other way, and perhaps the preferable way, is a process known as "long-term laying"--in which he would deposit several eggs at once, fertilize them, and then have you deliver them within 1-2 days. The eggs are much smaller and easier to pass at this stage, probably not any bigger than a cue ball, and once they've been laid they'd be buried at the bottom of one of the gold piles in his hoard for at least two moon cycles. Although it's usually only practiced in this fashion by the nobility nowadays, it's an ancient form of preservation for the draconic species that's saved quite a few bloodlines from going extinct and has been practiced by all manner of dragons. The eggs will grow to be about the size of an ostrich egg within those two months, but after that period has passed their growth will stagnate and they'll go into a sort of hibernation state, which they can stay in practically indefinitely in nearly any environment until they’re unearthed and incubated into hatching. Lysandre himself was the product of this kind of egg process, as his bloodline and dragon species was declared extinct for about 400 years before his egg was recovered and he was hatched under an adoptive couple. So, with you being human, he would likely encourage you to go that route so as to monitor your condition better and make it easier for you to endure the birthing process....though that doesn't mean he won't eventually let you try incubating them longer, if only so he can spend more time rubbing that pretty, swollen belly you've got <3

2 -> Greed is definitely a symptom he suffers from and he wants to keep you all to himself, but he knows better than to be like that when you're not at all used to the possessiveness of dragons. Yes, he'll get grabby and greedy and spill filth into your mouth as he humps you throughout the night, but in the day you're completely free to roam the grounds and visit whoever you like, talk to your friends, go out for drinks, and play sports or do your little hobbies on your own. He trusts that you'll keep your interests as a couple in mind and he really doesn't worry about that aspect too much, the only thing he does do is jump at the chance to frighten off anyone who might push your boundaries too far and try to make a move on you. He loves knowing that when you're out and about without him everyone still knows you're his partner, and he's more than comfortable with that....though, when you get home, he's usually got plenty of reasons to remind you of whose bed you're sleeping in every night. Very, very carnal reasons.

3 -> You can certainly keep being a student if you like; he lives on campus for the majority of the year, so it's no bother at all to make time for each other if you still want to attend to your studies. He'll constantly (and secretly) be cancelling his meetings and saving paperwork to do late at night so he can spend quality time with you between classes, but if you're over the whole school thing or you're eager to graduate he'll pull the strings you need. Most of the professors at MC can be bribed pretty easily anyways (it's a monster thing) and it's not considered that unethical in monster society, so a few favours and gifts here and there and you'll have your honours diploma in your hands by the end of the week. And then you're allllllll his.

4 -> He does! Since he lives on campus, he's got a semi-secret entrance in his office that leads down into the depths beneath the school, where he keeps his hoard tucked away in the MC vault. Although he does own an apartment in the staff living quarters, he's got his own private living space down there that would be perfectly comfortable for a human with a few touches here and there. You wouldn't be down there all the time since there's no natural light or sunlight, but it's the perfect place for you to rest when you're carrying your eggs and an ideal spot to keep close to when it's time to lay them.

5 -> Absolutely! Dragons are dramatic creatures and you should expect to witness some rather flagrant displays of jealousy and snobbery while you’re in the Dean's care. Challenges to duels, attempts at bribery, and marriage proposals to your draconic lover while you stand right next to him are all things you unfortunately have to be prepared for. But Lysandre has nearly perfected the art of stoic rejection over his lifetime and will turn each and every one of them away, although his politeness will wane not with the stubborn ones, but the ones who turn their ire towards you or try to turn him against you with false rumours and lies. That's when he'll offer to fight their proposed duel in your stead, and each and every time he does their champion will turn and flee with their tail between their legs at the very thought. Draconic duels are to the death, after all, and next to nobody wants to fight for their life against a Drakon--especially not when he's so angry he's grinning from ear to ear.

6 -> Lysandre loves walking with you, so a daily stroll is often how he expresses his affection. It's never too strenuous (and if you get tired, he'll be carrying you) but there's always something interesting to see on your way, whether it's a new patch of flowers you never noticed or an adorable frog hopping around the pond. But if you're up for it, he's always eager to take you flying--it's a common form of affection for dragons to fly side-by-side, it's even considered to be a sign of good luck to see a dragon couple flying together overhead. And he can reassure you that you're safe on his back, he'll even wait for a windy day so he doesn't have to flap his wings as much in case you get sick from the motion. Aside from that, his love languages are usually gifts and acts of service, so brewing your tea for you, crafting little golden gifts and trinkets, and carrying or flying you places are some of the more common ways he shows affection. And kisses, of course! Lots of big, sloppy dragon kisses <3

[ghetsis]

"Your immaculate eminence, sir-" the Plasma Grunt is sweating through their layered uniform, wringing their hands, terrified, and for good reason.

"- we still don't know what became of Lysandre, but- that Looker guy was there to raise the alarm in the first place... uh, that's as much as we can figure out right now. Of course, we're still working on it..."

They're hoping their praise smooths things over, even just a little.

. . .

Oh, the hollow praise didn't help. Not at all.

"How can you be so inept as to not be able to track down a walking corpse? You have exhausted my already strained patience and thoroughly proven your worthlessness. Now, perhaps you can spare yourself an especially excruciating death by telling me where, exactly, that 'Looker guy' was and why you didn't bring up his presence in the first place!"

He wasn't sure which of these things had his blood boiling the most. But as for Lysandre, he'd send the Triad after him. If John was stupid enough to still be roaming around the facility, he'd deal with that personally.

[corner-stories]

babbling brooks and fair maidens

Serena. Calem.

Medieval Times. Swords. Cup Bearers. Squires.

3329 words.

(ao3.)

King Alexandre Zacharie Lyon sat upon the Golden Throne of Kalos in Shabboneau Castle, a place that was often abuzz with news and gossip. The words in the halls stated that Prince Lysandre — King AZ’s nephew and heir — was returning to Kalos from his travels abroad. When he had left he had brought a small Litleo with him, a gift from his Uncle, but according to many the tiny thing had finally transitioned into its final form — a ferocious and mighty Pyroar with a mane like fire. It was fitting seeing as a male Pyroar was the sigil of the House of Lyon. The House’s bright orange and red banner was hung in every hall of the castle.

Serena herself belonged to no house, but as a mere Royal Cup Bearer that was to be expected. All she had ever been told in life was that she was one of the many bastards who lived in Kalos — a child who was given up for one out of many reasons. In another world perhaps she would have lived happily under the care of a mother, but in that world the society of Kalos would have to not bring shame to unwed women who would suddenly find themselves with a child.

Serena had lived the first six years of her life in a children’s home in Lumiose City, where she would survive off scraps of bread and bowls of brown pottage masquerading as stew. Then one day the head of that home decided to sell her to Shabboneau Castle to clear off some debt. From that day on she found herself existing within the walls of the Castle kitchens, where her tiny nimble hands were responsible for cleaning the glasses and goblets that the King drank his wine from. Despite the sudden change in her life, she found the upsides to such a drastic life change. The servants at the Castle, while adamant that everything be up to royal standards, treated the younger servants with kindness — the same could not be said for the people who ran the children’s home in Lumiose. They also made sure that she was well fed, because King AZ fully believed that a good set of servants ran on their stomachs. It was also quite fortunate that the bowls of brown pottage at Shabboneau Castle were much more palatable than the ones at Lumiose.

Upon turning eleven she had been promoted from her job as the Royal Cup Washer. King AZ needed a new Cup Bearer after his last one was banished from the Kingdom. Apparently the old Bearer had been accused of treason and faced either permanent banishment or execution — he clearly chose the former. Serena was picked because she was careful with the glasses she handled and had never broken one in her life. King AZ had also been convinced that a mere eleven-year-old girl was not capable of betraying Kalos much like the older Bearer.

So Serena went from spending her days cleaning in the kitchens to holding a pitcher wherever the ruler of Kalos went. King AZ was rather fond of wine from Ambrette Town and thus wanted his trusty goblet to be filled with it at every second, something Serena was rather competent at doing. She initially expected the job to be monotonous and repetitive, but a week in she discovered just how interesting the life of a Royal Cup Bearer could be. When she was not serving rooms of Royals and Nobles, she was accompanying King AZ on trips around the region, as the King could not stand a day without a pitcher of wine by his side. She was even permitted to join the King on military related missions, where in between serving up drinks she would explore the Kalosian countryside and watch the soldiers train.

When she was not serving the King she was resting in the Servant’s Quarters, the place where most of the Castle gossip spread. When Serena was not in the Servant’s Quarters, she was exploring the Shabboneau’s Courtyard, which was often the second best place to hear gossip and lore. The only difference was that a Lord or Prince could easily take a midday stroll through the area, thus risking a noble hearing the words that the commoners loved to spread around. While King AZ had more important things to worry about than mere gossip, the Lords in his court were less tolerant. The last servant to speak ill of the higher borns was sent to a place that was considered to be the second closest place to hell — Galar.

With King AZ busy making preparations for the return of his nephew — including creating a feast fit for a Prince — Serena’s role as a Cup Bearer was rather underutilized. As a result she was granted a few hours of freedom in the midst of a busy work week. She spent her free time roaming around the castle grounds as many castle workers were permitted to do as long as they did not interfere with any royal operations.

With a buttery brioche bun in the pocket of her dress, Serena made her way to the castle gardens where the shrubbery and flowers were as lush and green as the fauna in the Winding Woods. North of the garden was a mill with a water wheel where a babbling brook would push the large circular contraption around and around, thus giving King AZ the freshest flour one could find in Kalos. Once the wheel was spun the water would simply flow down the brook once more, weaving itself through the greenery before flowing down to the moat beyond the wall.

It was in this brook that Serena often found friends. There were a variety of amusing little creatures that called the water their home, creatures that the older castle servants taught her the names of. There were adorable spherical mammals with twitching ears called Azurill and Marill and Azumarill, finned creatures called Magikarp and Carvanah, two-footed yellow things called Psyduck, and small stubby creatures with oval-shaped heads called Wooper.

But one creature in particular was a short little thing that many called a Froakie — this blue-skinned being had two long legs and a longer pair of arms, as well as a pair of large yellow eyes and a froth of bubbles on its back that partially resembled the cloak of a knight.

Serena always found herself coming back to the garden brook for this creature in particular — not just because it was an utterly adorable little one, but because Serena noticed that it was the only one of its kind that lived in the brook of the garden. The Wooper and Marill and Magikarp and Psyduck all had others with them, whether they be friends or potential partners. Froakie did not have such a thing and was often alone when the others were not around — sometimes there were even days when Serena arrived at the brook to see the blue creature waiting for her. Perhaps in Froakie’s eyes Serena was one of its closest friends.

So in her free time Serena came to the brook. She removed her shoes and pulled up the hem of her dress, sitting on the bank to dip her feet in. She spent a few moments alone accompanied by nothing but the lush greenery and the sound of rushing water. In time she saw some bubbles arise from where the wheel met the water, knowing full well that her old friend was near.

A pair of yellow eyes upon a light blue head rose out of the stream, with glee and swam over. Froakie leapt out of the brook with grace, landing on the bank and immediately snuggling against Serena’s leg. With a grin, she gently pet Froakie on the head.

“Missed me, didn’t you?”

Froakie didn’t nod, but simply kept snuggling up against the fibers of her dress, getting it damp but she couldn’t care at all. Sometimes it was nice to know that Froakie always wanted to be by her side. There were days where she wished she could bring Froakie into the castle with her where it could be her partner for real — however servants were not permitted to have a creature with them unless it was to help with work.

So for now, Serena was content with what she had. She sat in the garden with a lovely Froakie on her lap, the sound of the rushing water filling her ears and letting her relax for what felt like a single moment of her life. She took the buttery brioche bun out of her pocket and tore it in two, letting Froakie eat the bigger half while she took the smaller. She could not remember the last time she felt this peaceful.

The sound of a twig breaking was heard.

With haste, Serena glanced up to see a person standing by the tree. Had it been a stranger, then she probably would have dashed away in fear. However, her knowing the person did not make things feel any less strange.

Underneath the leaves of the tree was the Royal Squire to Sir Wikstrom, the main Knight and leading general of King AZ’s army. Just like her Calem was fifteen and was another orphaned bastard sold to the castle, except he was quite a bit taller with a dark head of hair that went just below his ears. For his age he was quite tall, almost as tall as his master, and his face was rather fair and youthful, something many people did not expect from a Squire of such an esteemed Knight. On Calem’s torso was a blue gambeson that fastened in the front and in his hand was a blunted sword that his master used to train — perhaps he had been doing some practice of his own.

Calem was lankier when they met years ago, back when she was a Royal Cup Washer and he was a Not-So-Royal Stable Boy. The year of working in the service of such a valiant knight had made him more physically capable than back in his days of tending to Skiddo and Gogoat. But all that armour scrubbing and flag carrying and sword sharpening seemed to do to sharpen the one thing Calem had trouble with — social skills.

“Were you a Vullaby in a past life?” Serena asked, amused.

Calem was caught off-guard and blinked, but in seconds he managed to recollect himself. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you appear to have a fondness for lurking,” Serena said in a voice more cheeky than what was expected for a Royal Cup Bearer. “And here I thought we were friends.” Her playful tone was something she only ever used for the people who knew her.

The Squire rolled his eyes. “And here I thought you were busy.” He took a few steps forward, leaning the practice sword against his shoulder. “Our Majesty would be saddened to know his Wine Courier has disappeared.”

Serena chuckled. “Our Majesty does not require my services right now,” she explains. “I figured that I’d see a friend.”

Calem’s eyes looked down to Froakie. The expression on his stony face morphed into a mild smile — as stoic as he was, he often reminded the world that he was not entirely heartless.

“Are you planning on standing there all day?” Serena asked. Her good-natured tone did little to douse the sarcasm in her voice.

Calem shook his head. “Only until Sir Wikstrom needs me again.” As he continued to walk he removed his well-worn leather boots and placed his practice sword onto the grass. He then rolled up his stockings to expose his rather shapely legs and sat next to Serena, dipping his bare feet into the babbling brook as well.

Serena moved her legs back and forth in the water, then eyed Calem. “Where is your Master anyway?”

“He is on rest from an injury,” he explained. “He hurt his ankle the last time we sparred.”

Serena raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Because of you or because of something else?”

For a few seconds Calem went silent, he let his eyes glance down to the rushing water.

“...I may have gotten a lucky blow on him.”

Amused, Serena laughed. “You’re much too modest,” she said cheekily. “Do not look so glum — at this rate you could become a Knight at sixteen.”

Calem seemed unconvinced, yet humoured. “That could never be — bastards don’t become knights, nobles do. I should be lucky they let me be anything but a Stable Boy.”

As she gently caressed Froakie’s head, Serena found herself nodding along. To an extent she knew what Calem was talking about. To her knowledge, she knew that Squires were often promoted Page Boys, and that Page Boys were often the sons from one of Kalos’s high born families, a bloodline that neither him nor her hailed from. Similar to how she became a Cup Bearer, Calem initially found himself performing the job when Sir Wikstrom’s original Squire left after an accident. A mistake while training caused the poor young boy to mar his dominant hand, leaving him unable to properly perform the duties of Squirehood.

Now without someone to tend to armour or sharpen swords, Sir Wikstrom employed the hardworking fourteen-year-old Stable Boy to fill the role until a replacement was found. Seeing as Calem always performed his duties to the best of his abilities, Sir Wikstrom grew rather fond of the boy in the short time he employed his services. In the Knight’s two decades of service to the Kalosian Crown, Calem had been the fastest armourer in all of the region, often getting his master suited up in the nick of time. He was also exceedingly adept at the other jobs of Squirehood — which included things like scrubbing armour, keeping swords sharp, and occasionally keeping a Knight well-shaven and clean.

When a dutiful son from one of Kalos’s most esteemed houses was sent to Shabboneau Castle to fill the Squire job, the mighty Knight discovered that the life of luxury that had sheltered the young boy had left him inept at the jobs bestowed to him. The noble son was sent back to Coastal Kalos in a week and Calem was offered the Squire job permanently — tradition be damned.

Although Serena did not know much else about Knighthood, she believed that Calem was fully capable of attaining it. Sometimes when she was travelling from King AZ’s study to the kitchen, she would glance outside to see Calem and his Master fencing in the courtyard with wooden weapons and shields. Additionally, if Sir Wikstrom and King AZ’s other soldiers were sent out for any military operations, Calem would be following on a Gogoat of his own carrying the valiant knight’s flag. There had even been a day where the Knights of Kalos were invited for a feast — instead of spending time being wined and dined by the King, Calem was outside in the courtyard, practicing his sword drills and striking a dummy with a blunted weapon.

Squirehood certainly seemed more interesting than being a Royal Cup Bearer, that was for sure.

With curiosity in her steely eyes, Serena glanced at Calem's practice sword. It was made of metal and not wood and the tip was rounded to avoid any accidental skewering of King AZ’s mighty soldiers.

Serena stood up and pulled her feet out of the water, causing Froakie to suddenly slip and tap its head against the ground. The poor thing looked up in confusion as Serena walked over to the sword sitting in the grass, Calem doing the same.

When she took the weapon in her hand, the first thing she noticed was how heavy it felt. Calem and Sir Wikstrom often maneuvered their weapons like they were made of nothing, whether warhammers or swords or spears. With one hand grasping the handle and the other holding the pommel, she used all of her strength to hold the blade up as if she were as fearless of the knights of yesteryear.

Suffice to say, Calem and Froakie were less impressed and more perplexed.

“What in Yvetal’s hellscape are you doing?” asked Calem.

“The latest ballroom dance,” replied Serena dryly. “Or is it not proper for a Lady to handle a Squire’s sword without position?”

There was a beat while Calem glanced to the ground with a kind of awkward grace, blinking as he did so. “I do not know,” he ended up saying. “Sir Wikstrom has not told me yet.”

In moments Calem pulled his feet out of the babbling brook. He did not bother to dry off as he stood up and walked to Serena, getting behind her and touching her hands with his.

“But if you are to use a sword, you might as well do it properly.”

He adjusted her grip on the handle — knowing that she was right handed, he placed her dominant hand underneath the crossguard and her left right onto the pear-shaped pommel. Although the sword could be used effectively with one hand, a beginner would benefit from using two.

Curiously, Froakie hopped a few feet forward as it watched Calem teaching Serena the ways of the blade. Had the creature been capable of human speech, perhaps it would have asked what on earth the Royal Cup Bearer was intending to do with a sword.

“Keep your feet shoulder’s width apart, it’ll help you stay balanced,” Calem explained. With his head situated just by her ear and his arms guiding hers, he showed her a few basic attacks — while thrusts were more effective, strikes were not to be ignored either.

For all of three minutes, Serena managed to make herself feel like a warrior, one that could slay dragons and go on endless adventures. As she swung the weapon at an imaginary beast, she glanced over to her teacher — Calem kept a watchful eye on her, much like Sir Wikstrom often did with him during training.

“That’s it,” Calem said. He stepped away from her and watched as she struck air on her own. “At this rate you shall be saving maidens in no time.”

Serena smirked. “Why wait?” She stopped swinging the sword and rested the practice weapon against her shoulder, looking at Calem playfully. “Why don’t you climb up to the tallest tower? I can rescue you by dinner time.”

Calem rolled his eyes. “Assuming I can play the role of a maiden, how original,” he spoke dryly.

With a laugh, Serena replied, “You’re certainly fair enough to be one.”

Amused, Calem gave her a quizzical glance. But before he could say anything else, the sound of a servant’s call garnered both of their attention.

“Serena!”

The two turned around to see an older maid running out of the servant’s entrance — specifically the one that gave access between the castle gardens and the kitchens.

“The King requested an early lunch!” the maid explained. “Please come!”

With a nod of her head, Serena turned to Calem and gave his weapon back. “Fear not, Fair Maiden, I shall be back another day.”

Calem managed a subdued chuckle as he took his sword in his hand. Before she left, Serena stepped forward and gave Calem a cheek-to-cheek kiss, a customary gesture between Kalosians. With a grin, she patted his shoulder and left him by the babbling brook, following her colleague through the servant’s passageways and disappearing into Shabboneau Castle.

Once she was gone, Calem glanced around. He immediately made eye contact with Froakie, who did nothing but stare at him with a vacant expression on its adorable face.

“What do you want?” the Squire asked, confused.

Froakie made no noise and simply turned around, seemingly deeming Calem unworthy of its time and hopping back into the water. Once the creature was gone, Calem scoffed and began walking away, taking his boots and sword with him. As he went, he began to wonder if every day of Squirehood would be like this.

[sereina-a]

joyeuse was absolutely crushed over olympe’s death. while olympe sparred with everyone on the team, joyeuse was the only one that could consistently keep up with her as time progressed. in their final showdown against lysandre, she had fell to his pyroar, nearly taking it down but failing in the end. she has a heavy sense of guilt in her heart, and a lot of unanswered questions in her mind. what if she had spent a little bit longer training? what if she had dodged a move? she beats herself up a lot over it, and when serena has her team freely roaming, she is spending her time training more often than not.

if she could have dealt with the pyroar, she could have whittled away at mega gyarados and given olympe more of a fighting chance, and then lysandre would have never tried to kill serena at the end. she’s very angry. she’s very bitter. towards team flare, of course, but also at herself.

getting the final blow on diantha’s pokemon to cinch the championship win was retribution, but it wasn’t good enough still.

[bigklingy]

Pokemon Generation Thoughts

Since a blog I follow did this, I thought I’d do mine. Gen 1:

Pros: -The one that started it all. -How crazily into it kids at school were. -Gym Leaders were pretty memorable. -For the time, a good twist for the final battle. -Glitches are fun to mess with. -The crit formula based on base speed was actually kind of interesting. Cons: -Incredibly glitchy, to the point where speedrunners keep finding more and more insane ways to break the game. Spawning item balls that are also trainers that are actually wild Pokemon?! Making a sign give you an Eevee?! Beating the game in 0:00?!?! I know these are glitches you’re unlikely to find without intentionally trying, but there are MANY game-breaking ones you’re very likely to encounter by accident. -Very unbalanced battle system. Psychic types are broken, some moves were coded badly and worse than useless (Focus Energy QUARTERED your crit rate), X Accuracy + OHKOs destroys the game, Wrap/Fire Spin etc were extremely annoying. -Most of the Pokemon haven’t aged well stat-wise. Gen 2: Pros: -I liked the Johto region. -Greatly fixed a lot of Gen 1′s gameplay, far less glitches. -Split Special into Special Attack and Special Defense. -Introduced breeding. -Had another entire region for the postgame, with 8 more badges. -Normal trainers have names now! Phone numbers gave them a bit of personality. -You can actually delete HMs now! -You can catch both mascot legendaries regardless of your game. Cons: -Most of the new Pokemon are extremely mediocre or outright terrible, with very few good ones (stat-wise). -IMO, second worst starters in the series. Typhlosion’s stats are directly copied from Charizard, why?? -The “split path” after the 4th badge, where you could get the 5th, 6th and 7th badges in any order, was a good idea in theory but not well implemented. Whichever path you take last ends up horribly underleveled. -Low levels overall, leading to a fairly easy main story. -Kanto is horribly balanced, almost everything is a joke for the point you have access to it. -Until Crystal, phone calls were generic and boring. In all versions though, phone calls get very annoying. -Cross-gen trading is clunky and awkward, you had to manually delete any move that didn’t exist in Gen 1. -Introduced roaming legendaries. Gen 3: Pros: -Nice graphical upgrade. -Abilities, Natures and the revamped EV system add more strategy to battling. -Introduced a new way to play in Double Battles. -The Hoenn region is pretty nice if you ignore the water areas. Some cool new area concepts we haven’t seen before, like deserts and volcanoes. -Significant plot differences between versions now. -Emerald’s Battle Frontier is very fun. Cons: -Loss of compatibility with older versions, meaning that a huge number of old Pokemon weren’t available until Kanto remakes. -Hoenn in general went really crazy with required HM usage. WHY DID THEY MAKE ROCK SMASH AN HM! -Vanilla Ruby/Sapphire have the worst postgame in the entire series by far. (Just a Battle Tower and one roaming legend) Fixed in Emerald and slightly fixed in the remakes. -Team Magma and Aqua were lame and unmemorable. Fixed in the remakes. -Introduction of version-exclusive legendaries. -Champions excluded, Hoenn probably has the worst Elite Four in the series, with incredibly boring, repetitive teams. -Completing the national dex was insanely convoluted, as Pokemon were split up across multiple games and spinoffs. You needed at bare minimum 4 games, a Gamecube and a Gamecube to GBA cable to do it. Gen 4: Pros: -Physical/Special split, increasing the viability of a lot of Pokemon. -Introduced WiFi, making trading MUCH easier. -Expanded the TM list, allowing for more options. -Most of the new Pokemon introduced had good stats and movepools. My favourite new batch of Pokemon. -Gave much-needed evolutions to many mediocre old Pokemon. -The “route split” where you can choose whether to fight Maylene or Wake 3rd, was kind of well-done. -Best starters in the series imo. Cons: -Diamond and Pearl are PAINFULLY SLOW. Both on the field and in battle. Saving takes forever. Surfing is horrendous. Platinum fixed some of this though. -Diamond and Pearl’s regional dex is horrible. Only one Fire type besides the starters, some of the newly-introduced Pokemon aren’t even in the dex! -And they made some very questionable choices to go with it. Protip: if your regional dex only has two Fire type lines, you PROBABLY shouldn’t have a Fire type Elite Four member. -Team Galactic and Cyrus are my least favourite villains by far. Their plot is a giant mess and it’s not paced well. I could go into more detail, of all their encounters before the halfway point, only one has any bearing on their main goal. The rest are just random acts of villainy for no reason. The Grunts don’t even know what the bosses are planning. -Main story is badly paced, HUGE drought between badges 2 and 3 (fixed in Platinum), and the massive level jump between Gym 8 and the Elite 4 forces a ton of grinding right at the very end (also fixed in Platinum) -No random online battling. -GTS is a mess, only trade via online forums or chatrooms. -Worst Safari Zone in the series by far. -The snow routes are awful. Good music though. Gen 5: Pros: -The fresh start the series desperately needed. -A regional dex of all new Pokemon. -Most new Pokemon have VERY good stats. -Main adventure is very balanced overall. Pokemon are available at just the right times, for the most part (Larvesta and Deino are exceptions) -Introduction of exp scaling, making it hard to get too overleveled during the main story and letting you more easily train low-level Pokemon to Lv 50 in the postgame. -HMs, besides one forced use of Cut, are entirely optional. Thank Arceus. -Gym Leaders are decently challenging, and actually do things in the story. -Some of the best storylines and characters in a Pokemon game. -Awesome twist on the formula at the end. -BW2 are full sequels instead of 3rd versions. Add new areas.. -BW2 has the best balance of old vs new in a regional dex, with an almost exactly 50/50 split. Some old Pokemon are given fresh new spins, like Riolu and Eevee being catchable early in the game. -BW2 has probably the best postgame in the series. -PWT is an awesome callback and a pretty fun battle facility. -Battle Facilities in general stopped cheating as much as they used to. -Added Shiny Charm, giving a non-cosmetic reward for completing the Dex. Cons: -Competitive metagame was kind of a mess, Smogon had to make several complex bans to try and keep everything under control. Mostly only applies to Singles though. -Introduced random online battles, but Ragequitting was rampant. -Introduced Triple and Rotation Battles, but were very under-used and barely anyone plays them competitively. -Worst starters in the series imo. -The Unova region is very linear and, at least in BW1, a quarter of it is postgame-only. -BW2′s plot was far more standard for a Pokemon game. -Some of the new Pokemon evolve at painfully high levels, which got bad when they showed up earlier in later games. Gen 6:

Pros: -First full 3D main series game. -I kind of like Kalos as a region. -Added Fairy type, helping nerf Dragons. (Though they might have gone overboard, Fairy is now kind of overpowered) -The starters are pretty good. -Ruby/Sapphire remakes were nice. -Added tons of nice Quality-Of-Life features, especially making breeding and EV training WAY easier and more accessible. -WiFi is amazing, especially the PSS. -A lot of Pokemon available in the dex. -Sycamore is a cool professor. Shame he wasn’t the Champion. -You won’t know it if you use the Exp Share, but basic trainers are actually very challenging, often having smart movesets and strategies, even egg moves. Try a no-exp share run sometime. These are actually among the hardest Pokemon games if you do. -The postgame Looker quest actually has a better story than the main game.

Cons: -Game Freak did a total 180 on their stance with Gen 5, and decided Pokemon would now be all about the old rather than the new. The games began a trend of GF extensively pandering to Genwunners at the expense of actual new stuff. Very few new Pokemon, all of them almost intentionally made rare. It almost felt like GF was ASHAMED of them, and had to hide them from the wrath of the Genwunners. Other pandering included a direct rehash of Viridian Forest, Snorlax, and a forced first encounter with a Pidgey. Not a new Pokemon, a Pidgey. -Worst tutorials in the series. It’s possible to catch a full team of 6... AND THEN BE GIVEN THE CAPTURE TUTORIAL. -Way too many rivals. Tierno and Trevor are barely there, and Calem/Serena feels undeveloped. -Team Flare are my second least-favourite evil team. They shouldn’t have bothered trying to hide Lysandre as the villain, it was so obvious. -Early pacing issues. Big gap between Gyms 1 and 2 (could’ve easily been solved by making Clemont Leader 2), Team Flare plot doesn’t start until pretty late in. -Worst Champion in the entire series. -Most Gym Leaders and all the E4 not named Seibold are jokes. (XY are weird in that on a challenge run, you’ll be steamrolling the bosses but getting destroyed by basic trainers) -THE EXP SHARE IS HORRIFICALLY BROKEN. Have it on all game, and you’ll be overleveling everyone by 20-30. It ruins what would otherwise be a pretty challenging game. -Kalos Route 13 is the worst route in Pokemon history. -THEY BROUGHT BACK SINNOH’S STICKING MUD, WHY?! -Sky Battles and Inverse Battles are really underused for something they spent a lot of effort marketing. Neither can be done in multiplayer. Sky Battles limited to a bunch of one-time trainers, Inverse Battles limited to only one. Neither can be done in multiplayer. -Controversial opinion, but I actually really hate Super Training. The EVs/Time ratio is way too small to be worth it, horde battles are far better. I only use it to finish off the last couple of EVs on a spread. -Mega Evolution is a mixed bag. It makes some weaker Pokemon useful (Beedrill, Kangaskhan, Charizard), but also makes some already good Pokemon even better (Scizor, Metagross, Gengar, Lucario, SALAMENCE). This means a lot of the more interesting Mega options go unused because you can only have one Mega slot. Evidence of not just popularity power, but more Genwunner pandering is on display. I like Charizard and Mewtwo, but I don’t think they needed two Megas. And NO Gen 5 Megas at all, and even after ORAS only one? (And it’s terrible?) -No new non-Uber legendaries, instead re-using, you guessed it, the Gen 1 legendaries. Gen 7:

Pros: -NO MORE HMs, FINALLY! -More new Pokemon than Gen 6. Each new Pokemon is given at least one unique gameplay trait, which is cool. -Alola is a pretty nice region. -Story and characters are great. Not as good as BW but a big step up from XY. -Team Skull are hilarious, playing all the unintentionally funny things about past evil teams for intentional comedy, almost acting as a bit of self-aware parody. -Genwunner pandering is less evident. Yeah only Gen 1 Pokes got Alolan Forms, but most of them needed upgrades anyway. NPCs from all gens get cameos, not just Gen 1 NPCs. -The Big Bad of vanilla Sun/Moon is a great villain. -The Exp Share is actually kind of balanced now, oddly enough. -Some of the trials are great boss fights, even better than most Gyms. -Poke Pelago’s “EV Bake Oven” allows for easy EV training. Cons: -Went back on a lot of Gen 6′s good multiplayer features. Festival Plaza is confusing and terrible. -Removed horde battles, replacing them with the extremely annoying SOS Battles. This also means EV training is a lot harder. Poke Pelago is good, but it’s non-interactive. -The first island is very hand-holdy and takes a while. -Island 3 feels oddly small for how big it’s supposed to be. -Still not THAT many new Pokemon. -Crabrawler and Charjabug’s evolution methods are DUMB, making them useless for the main story despite being catchable early. -USUM ruined Sun/Moon’s Big Bad’s characterization. Overall favourite to least-favourite: Gen 5 Gen 2 Gen 7 Gen 3 Gen 1 Gen 6 Gen 4 (But my favourite for competitive battling)