#this is all to say i’m not certain yet what i’ll do about pokémon legends arceus

[goldensunset]

‘enjoyer’ to me has two meanings. it either means you’re a “fake fan” who hasn’t actually properly read/watched/played the media for yourself and you don’t know that much about it but you like it on a surface level and that’s enough for you, or it means you have done the above but you refuse to participate in fandom culture online for it lest discourse and negativity end up ruining you and so you just enjoy it peacefully by yourself. i think this is an excellent term btw

[ask-the-royal-absol]

Julien @ Felix & Hope: "Genuine question, don't you two get worried sometimes about repercussions coming at them? Like with how many people they've pissed off, if that's gonna affect them in the future."

Felix: Ya do. I can see ya don’t want ‘em ta be hurt. Ya said so ta that moon legend. What about the prophecy thing?

Hope: Ok, let me rephrase what I’d said. I don’t care for them as a Pokémon. They have an awful personality from what I’ve seen. I want Destino to at least be safe before I deliver them to the Guardian. I’ll do what I must to prevent someone from harming them because we all know they can’t fend for themselves. Honestly, they have it coming for them most of the time. I mean, who would ever think to try and mock and insult legends? They have insane levels of power and Destino just keep doing it. Even some regular Pokémon are far more powerful than what they are at the moment. If I could leave them to deal with the consequences of their actions, I would and I would laugh. But whilst I’m stuck with them, I have to make sure they’re safe. I’m doing this for the Guardian and for the fate of this world.

Felix: Yeah. Makes sense. As they’re my best friend, of course I worry about ‘em. I’ve told ‘em ta think about who ta insult but it seems they don’t wanna take my advice on that matter. If it does end up bitin’ ‘em in the ass, I’ll be there ta step in.

*Hope takes a glance towards Felix, her eyes ever so slightly glowing.*

Hope: Yeah, I don’t think you being a solid level 27 is going to do you any good if you want to help them out.

Felix: How did ya know?

Hope: My core skill. As a fighting type, I can determine certain aspects about a Pokémon.

Felix: Ah, right…Erm, didn’t ya say there would be a tunnel soon? We’ve spiralled down this mountain for a bit and there’s not been one yet.

Hope: We’re just coming up to it.

[samsonet]

Who has seen the wind?

The sun sets, but Wyndon does not grow dark.

That’s thanks to Rose: his companies, his stadium and tower, the energy from his plant and the work of his hands. He keeps Galar shining. He keeps Galar safe.

You will not be around forever.

That’s what keeps him up at night. That’s what’s keeping him up on this night, the night before the semifinals. That’s what’s keeping him on the top floor of Rose Tower, pondering the sleeping legend in Hammerlocke and whether it’s too early to summon his champion.

“Sir,” Oleana says. “Professor Magnolia wishes to see you.”

Professor…?

He speaks before he himself realizes it: “Send her in. Please.”

And sure enough, there’s Margaret Magnolia, in the flesh. Her posture seems more pained than the last time he saw her, but she is still using the same Corviknight cane. Legend says that if the Corviknight fly from Wyndon, Galar will fall —

“Elijah,” she says.

“Peggy,” he replies. The name is rusty on his tongue. Maybe he doesn’t deserve to call her that, anymore, with the distance he’s allowed to grow between them. “Er… have a seat?”

He rarely has need for his desk or the comfortable chairs, but at the moment he’s glad to have them.

Magnolia picks a chair and settles down, dignified as a queen. “I have some concerns.”

“Concerns? What for?” Rose asks, taking his place opposite her.

(When they’d been young and hungry, when Mustard was still champion and no gym had even heard of Dynamaxing, they used to speak to each other across kitchen tables. Peggy’s concerns were mere puzzles, then: how will you get enough space for two Dynamaxed Pokemon at once?, or how are you going to get the league to accept something so potentially dangerous?

He’d answer each one with an optimistic answer, perhaps bordering on wishful thinking — but his actions always spoke louder than words, and he solved her every puzzle with some practical demonstration.

He had been so carefree, then.)

“I watch the news like everyone else, you know,” Magnolia says. “I’ve seen the wild Dynamaxed Pokémon, and I know what caused them to appear so suddenly.”

She doesn’t know. She has theories, maybe, but she can’t know.

Or so he hopes.

Her eyes bore through him. “Elijah, are you still trying to recreate the Darkest Day?”

“I’m doing what needs to be done for the region—”

“Oh, don’t give me a speech. Just answer the question.”

How does she expect him to answer, then? He has the talking points; they’ve worked on his board of directors, on Raihan and Hammerlocke, on Leon himself.

But Magnolia has always been hard to please.

If only she would understand.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

She does not break her stare. “And you intend to use Leon to contain the beast.”

“Why not? He’s more than capable of it.”

She doesn’t reply. Rose is not sure what she could say, anyway. After all, he is the chairman of the league, the owner of Macro Cosmos, the man who keeps Galar running day after day. She is only a professor; a brilliant one, but with no influence outside her limited circle. She doesn’t even have Leon’s ear anymore.

She owes more to him than he does to her. Without Rose, Magnolia’s power spot detector would have remained nothing more than a novelty. He was the one who used it to find the places to build the stadiums. He was the one who introduced her to Oleana, allowing the Dynamax Bands to be invented. A lesser man would not have given them the chance to accomplish such things. Rose did.

Yet she keeps him pinned with nothing but the disappointment in her eyes.

Once upon a time, things had been different. Once upon a time, Leon and Sonia were Galar’s rising stars, and Rose and Magnolia supported them like proud parents. Once upon a time, they had all had the same goals in mind. Once upon a time…

“Don’t speak so carelessly, Elijah. You know the danger that Eternatus represents. Will you be arranging for him to have assistance, at least? It should be similar to a raid battle; you’ll need at least three trainers besides Leon.”

She used to say that raid battles were a way of bonding with human partners as well as Pokemon.

“But isn’t it more impressive to have one hero take down the monster by himself?”

He immediately knows it’s the wrong thing to say.

“Impressive. Is that what this is about? Your love of spectacle, your obsession with story. You’ve already set up Leon as Galar’s hero and king. Would it take away from that to have him accept any kind of help? What would your father say? What about your sister?”

“Don’t try to use my family against me, Magnolia.”

“No man is an island, Rose. Remember, Leon has a mum and a younger brother. Don’t you think they’ll be devastated if your plan goes wrong? Or do you truly believe they’ll be comforted if you tell them Leon died a hero?”

He splutters. She stares.

“It… That doesn’t matter. It can’t matter. Personal tragedy means nothing when the future is at stake—”

“Like hell it doesn’t!”

She’s leaned forward, nearly out of her seat. Rose blinks. Magnolia leans back.

“That’s the problem with you. You act like one person alone can change history, but you completely ignore the fact that one person is still a person. Someone with flaws, someone with dreams, someone with a family. Leon is a human first and a hero second. And I’m terrified that you’re about to send him to certain death because you need a good story.”

She’s —

She’s —

She’s —

She’s right, of course. She always is.

He loves a good story, always has. From telling his little sister fairytales to arranging the ascent of the unbeatable champion, Rose has always had a talent for it. And yes, sometimes he does forget that most people live in the now, with its ephemeral concerns.

But her being right doesn’t mean Rose is wrong.

There is a crisis on the horizon. It grows closer every day. He may be taking dramatic action now, but this way he will ensure that Galar will shine even a thousand years into the future. This ensures that his name goes down as the one who made it happen.

His and Leon’s, of course.

Leon knows what he’s getting into. He is not a naive child anymore. He’s made his choice, just like Rose has made his. He’s not going to let some scolding get in the way of his plans.

He sighs.

“Alright, Professor. You’ve convinced me. When I summon Eternatus, I’ll make sure Raihan is there as a safeguard. Does that satisfy you?”

She lets the silence hang.

He honestly doesn't know what he’ll do if she doesn’t back off.

Finally, mercifully, she speaks. “It will have to, I suppose. Just…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t push Leon too hard, alright?”

When she says it, her voice isn’t that of a former business partner or a stern teacher. She sounds like… a concerned parent. It's rich. She's not the one who has been here for Leon lately.

From there, Magnolia takes her leave. Oleana walks her out.

Rose remains in the office.

Damn it all.

Once, they’d been almost like a family. Once, they'd built things together. Once, they’d been happy.

But that was before they drifted apart.

It’s too bad.

It’s too bad that Peggy wanted to keep her lab in Wedgehurst. Too bad that she didn’t move to Wyndon like everyone else. She could have remained by his side, like Oleana did. She could have seen his plans as they were happening, and she would understand. Maybe she could have had a place in history, herself, and not taken her granddaughter and left greater people to do the work.

A pity.

Outside the tower, the Corviknight carry passengers out of Wyndon. In the distance, the Dynamax dens send up red warning flares.

Rose stands at a turning point in history, and he will not let this chance slip through his fingers.

[bulbagarden]

Welcome to the June 2018 edition of Trainers of Fanfiction! For those of you unaware of what this is, Trainers of Fanfiction is a community event that focuses on the characters created by our talented Writers Workshop authors! These characters will be given interviews, offering them a chance to dive into their backgrounds, or look at some of the unexplored lore of the story they’re from. We’ve got a whole host of characters that’ll be featured this month, let’s get to meeting them! Submissions are now closed, but we will be hosting the event again in the future due to all the interest we got. Thanks, all! Mirror Ash and Mirror Serena Protagonists of Mirror Adventures InfiniteBakuphoon (coming soon!)

Interviewer: Both of you are known for having rather rough pasts. How did you escape from your circumstances, and are there any special people in particular who helped you through it? Also, can you say that you've completely broken free from the chains of your past? Mirror Serena: Hmph... going straight for that question, huh? You guys really have no shame, do you... Hey, Ash! Why don't you answer this question first? People don't know that much about you... Mirror Ash: Well... OK, I guess. Um... where should I start? Maybe I'll talk about my mother first. She... wasn't very nice to me, honestly... I think that she had a very stressful life and that she took a lot of her anger out on me... especially because she had expectations for me that I just couldn't meet. I was never the strong boy that she wanted me to be... I was always more of the "sensitive" type, I think Misty called it. Or the "crybaby"... that was what people usually called me. It's true, though... I tend to cry when I'm stressed... sometimes just a little bit, sometimes a lot. I think that I embarrassed my mother a lot whenever I did that... and she would always tell me that the world would eat me alive and that I'd never become a Pokémon Trainer... or anything at all, really. Mirror Serena: Guess you proved her wrong, though, huh? Mirror Ash: Yeah... I guess I did. But I'll never be as strong as you... Mirror Serena: Oh, come on! You're a crybaby and yet you still managed to accomplish so much! That has to count for something, right? Mirror Ash: That's true. Still, I don't think that I'll ever completely forget everything that I went through before I met Pikachu... that was like the turning point of my life for me. Protecting him brought out strength in me that I never knew I had... and I guess it convinced me that I could keep on going... that I could live a life without my mother and actually accomplish things. I was lucky to have tons of people who helped me along the way, though. Where would I be now without Misty... or Gary... or Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie? I don't even want to think about that... That's all I have... I guess it's your turn now, Serena. Mirror Serena: Sigh... I guess it is. Now, I don't think that I need to give you a whole recap of my life as the daughter of a certain famous Rhyhorn racer, since you guys seem to have beaten that Ponyta into the ground already. But in case you were wondering... no, my childhood wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, for lots of reasons. I think that you can guess the first one... or at least you should. Another reason? Well, you know how my mother and I lived in the Johto countryside for years before we moved to Kalos? Well, I took the country accent with me. Which pretty much guaranteed that I would be the laughingstock of the entire school that I went to when I was younger. It took me years to get rid of that accent, but even then people would always find other things to bother me about, like the way I dressed, the fact that my mother was famous, and other stupid stuff like that. Eventually I grew tired of being teased and bullied, so I gave myself a choice: either I was going to lie down and let everyone abuse me, or I was going to fight back... guess which one I chose. As it turns out, bullies leave you alone really quickly when you bully them back... and oh, did I become good at bullying people... it was like a natural talent that I never knew I had! But I only did that to other bullies, or else I would've become just like them. I kind of got a reputation for being the toughest kid in school after that, which meant that people pretty much left me alone. Not that I really cared for the most part, since no one wanted to be friends with me before anyway. Honestly, if there's one thing that I learned from all of those years at school, it's that you can only truly rely on yourself. Although I have to say that traveling with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie all of this time has made me change my mind about that a little bit... they're like the first real friends that I've ever had! Now, I'm sure that you would love for me tell you how the rest of my childhood went after that, but I think that I've spilled enough beans for you already. Next question! Interviewer: During your travels, you've been to many interesting places. What would you say has been your favorite so far? Mirror Serena: Well, there was this one place that we went to... but you'd probably never believe me if I told you about it... Ah, what the hell... you know about Reflection Cave, right? And how there's a legend that every mirror in there leads to a totally different world? I always thought that it was just some stupid story, but... it's actually real. How do I know? Because we met someone who looked exactly like Ash... but he was like a completely different person! He was brave, he was strong, and he was absolutely crazy at Pokémon battling! I mean, he actually managed to beat me in a battle! And then we saw these weird evil versions of the Heroes of Justice who tried to steal Pikachu... that's right, *Team Rocket* tried to steal a Pokémon! I couldn't believe what I was seeing... there's no way that they could've been Team Rocket from our world! Eventually we got Pikachu back and we had to send Ash back to his world before sundown... and that's when I actually got to see the mirror that brought him here in the first place. Oh, man... if I didn't believe everything before, I definitely did then! It was like this giant dimensional space chasm thing, and I even got to see different versions of me, Clemont, and Bonnie on the other side! I didn't get to talk much to them, but still, it was pretty obvious that me from over there totally had a thing for Ash from over there. She was so worried about him... not that I actually care about sappy romantic stuff like that. Maybe there was actually something real there, though... if so, then she's pretty lucky to have someone brave and strong like him. I wish that my Ash could be more like that sometimes... or at least be less of a crybaby all of the time. But even if Ash never becomes anything like the Ash we met at Reflection Cave, he'll still always be my crybaby Ash... Wait a minute... you actually had me vulnerable there for a while! That won't happen again! C'mon Ash, it's your turn now! What's your favorite place that you've been to so far? Maybe somewhere in Kanto or Johto or something? Mirror Ash: Well, now that you mention Johto... there was this one really great place that I went to... I think it was called Alto Mare? Wow, that place was so beautiful... it was like time stopped there a hundred years ago or something. The food... all of the water... the atmosphere... everything was awesome. I could've stayed there forever... although I think Pikachu got bored there pretty quickly because there weren't a lot of trainers or battles in a place like that. Oh, and it was also there that I met one of my closest friends... she was this photographer who had lived in Alto Mare with her grandfather her entire life. She had pictures of every single place in Alto Mare... they were unbelievable... maybe the best pictures I've ever seen! We actually spent a lot of time together just hanging around and talking about things... and eventually I told her that she could probably sell her pictures to a magazine or something for a lot of money. She told me that she actually wanted to do that and become a professional photographer and explore the world... but the sad thing is that she couldn't, because she's-- actually, she told me to keep that a secret, sorry... Mirror Serena: Hmm... did you seal that secret with a kiss or something? Mirror Ash: It was just-- wait, what!? N-no, it wasn't anything like that! Mirror Serena: Ha ha! Oh, Ash... I'm just messing with you! Gotta have some fun with this stupid interview... next question! Interviewer: To you, what does it mean to be a hero? Do you see yourself as one? Mirror Serena: Heroes? What heroes? You mean like Professor Sycamore, who probably has more skeletons in his lab than any closet could ever fit? Like Aria, the beautiful and talented Kalos Queen... who's oh so talented at getting whatever she wants, whenever she wants? Like Palermo, producer extraordinaire... or should I say: ice queen extraordinaire? Believe me, I've gotten to know them all thanks to my mother's celebrity status, and they've always made me wonder... are these really what people consider heroes? I mean, I still think about my mother and how everyone called her a hero... or an inspiration... or how they wanted to be "just like her". Which is funny, considering that none of them actually knew anything about her at all. And even after everything that's happened with her, people still call her "the world-renowned Rhyhorn racer" or "the famous Kalosian celebrity" instead of... well, I guess you couldn't print what I really want to say here. Could you really call someone a hero just because they can ride a Rhyhorn really well and say the right things at the right time? Should we worship them like they're Arceus and keep telling ourselves that they can do no wrong... until they do? Hmph... I sure don't think so. Now, you wanna know who I think the real heroes are? Team Rocket. Yeah, I said it... because no matter what some people may say about them, they're the only ones who've actually done anything to protect us from evil people like Team Plasma and the Pokémon Rangers. Tell me the last thing that the League has done... yeah, I won't hold my breath for that. And what does Team Rocket get for doing all of this for us? Not a damn thing, that's what. No fame... no support... no "oh, thank you for saving the world over and over again!"... nothing. And yet they keep doing it all anyway, just because they can! You wanna know what being a true hero is? That's it right there. They don't care about the fame, or the recognition, or even the consequences from stupid people like the League... they just do what needs to be done to make things right, no matter what. People like my mother can't compare to that... it's not even close! Now, do I see myself as a hero? Well, nothing I've done compares to what Team Rocket has done... and it's not as though I haven't done some pretty scummy things before... I was a bully once, after all. So yeah, I'm definitely no hero either... but at least I don't pretend like I'm one. Your turn again, Ash... what do you think a real hero is? Mirror Ash: Uh... I guess what you just said, actually... Mirror Serena: Oh, come on, Ash! I'm sure that you've got an opinion of your own! Mirror Ash: I-I... actually agree with most of what you said... but I'll say this, too, I guess... I think that you don't have to be big and powerful like Team Rocket to be a hero... I mean, if you stick up for someone who's being picked on or something, even if it means that they bother you... then that's doing the right thing, too, isn't it? Serena... you said that you... bullied other bullies, right? Made them go away? Mirror Serena: Yeah, that's what I said... Mirror Ash: So I guess that means... that you really are a hero in your own way, Serena... Mirror Serena: Ah... nah, I don't really think so. Last question now, finally... Interviewer: What do you consider your strongest trait? Your weakest? Have these traits helped or hindered your journey in any way? Mirror Serena: The strongest trait I have is... well, that I'm strong. Nothing ever gets in my way... especially not after everything that I've been through when I was younger. The Serena who let people hurt her and take advantage of her over and over again is gone now... and if she hadn't gone away, then I'd still be with my mother doing those stupid Rhyhorn races and Arceus-only-knows-what-else right now, instead of finally fulfilling my dream of becoming a master Pokémon trainer. And then I never would have met Clemont and Bonnie either, and I never would have met Ash again after all of these years. You know, what I've learned is that when you really want to do something, you just have to go out and do it, and then never give up at it no matter what, or no matter how long it takes. And even when you're at your lowest point and there's no chance that you can win, you don't just sit there and *let* them just destroy you like that... you give them hell until your last breath. That's my philosophy in Pokémon battling, and I guess you can say that's become my philosophy in life, too. That said, I can admit that I'm a bit too strong sometimes, and that it's often hard for me to get out of "bully mode", if you know what I mean. This has actually affected me my entire life, all the way back to when I was super-aggressive towards anyone who even thought about bothering me. I ended up scaring everyone away by doing that, not just bullies... and although I said that I didn't care before, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I sometimes felt kind of lonely. And now that I no longer have to deal with surviving school, I don't always have to be aggressive like that anymore... but bad habits are always hard to break. I've scared a lot of potential friends away from me over the years, including someone from not too long ago who could've been a really good friend to me... I still miss her Poké Puffs. I don't want something like that to happen ever again, so I guess I'm gonna have to learn how to... I don't know, let some things go, I guess? I don't really know how I'm actually going to do that, but I'm sure that I'll find a way somehow. And besides, I did manage to get Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie to be my friends, so I guess I've been improving a little bit already, right? Anything you'd like to share, Ash? Mirror Ash: Well, it's true that I'm kind of a crybaby... and that I get flustered about things more than I really should. I mean, I've gotten a lot better about it since I first started on my journey, but I still cry sometimes... and sometimes I cry a whole lot, especially nowadays... because things aren't completely great for me right now, honestly... but I don't think I want to talk a lot about that here. Confidence has always been hard for me to come by... sometimes I'll feel really good after I win a battle or accomplish something that I've never done before... but then I'll screw something else up later and I'll feel like a failure again. Sometimes I wonder how I even made it this far... and then I realize that my friends have done a lot for me that I should've been able to do by myself... it makes me feel like I'd just be nothing without them, and that I'd be running back to Pallet Town the moment that things got too tough for me... Mirror Serena: Um... Ash? Surely you have positive traits that you'd like to share with the world... right? Mirror Ash: No, not really... sniffle Mirror Serena: Sigh... then I guess I'll just have to do it for you. Ash... I know that I say that you're a crybaby a lot... which you kind of are, yeah... but you're also a lot stronger than you think you are. I mean, you wouldn't even be here right now if you weren't, right? And before you say that it's only because your friends helped you... so what? If you have an advantage, use it! That's what friends are there for... to help you and support you! I mean, you're the one who taught me all about that... so why are you so ashamed about it? And besides, having lots of friends means that people obviously really like you... and they should, because you're a really good person! I know that you don't show it all the time because you're super-shy and all, but I know for a fact that you care a lot about people... that you love your Pokémon like family... and that you have a lot of interesting thoughts about things that you always keep to yourself. Now, here's what I think the weakest part of you really is, Ash. It's not that you're a crybaby... it's that you don't believe in yourself. Which is stupid, because the strongest part about you is that you somehow always find a way to get through it all anyway. And that's true even if it's with your friends... or just you and Pikachu... or even just you alone, because you did that when you first rescued Pikachu, remember? And if you got through something like that once, or twice, or practically a hundred times like you have, then you can do it a hundred more times if you have to. So stop crying over yourself all of the time, or at least not as much as you always do. You have a lot to be proud of, so why don't you remind yourself of that every once in a while? Mirror Ash: Sniff I guess you're right... thank you for all of that, Serena... Mirror Serena: No problem, Ash. Well, it looks like this interview ended on a happy note after all, huh? I hope you guys were satisfied with my answers, because you're not getting anything more from me for a very long time... as in never again! Now off to training... and yes, you're going to train with me too, Ash! Mirror Ash: Wait... right now!? Mirror Serena: Oh, yes! We can't get ready for the League by just sitting around here enjoying the sunshine! We've still got a whole half a day left to do some intense training! Come on... don't try to back out of it now! Mirror Ash: Sigh... alright...​

[mysidewriting]

Through the Storm

Through the Storm Page "Soundtrack" From the Start--Previous Chapter

Chapter Twenty Three

Storm winds scattered the girl's blood soaked hair around her face as she backed away from the figure approaching her. The woman, dressed in all black and grinning manically, relished that this moment was something she had dreamed of for years. Blood dripped from the blade she brandished, the blood of a whole family. A long hated family The mother, the father, a drop from the daughter. The last thing the woman needed was to end that girl's life, then nothing could stand in her way. No one could stop her plans if the daughter was dead. All those champion's Pokémon would be hers, all the legends, anything and everything she wanted would be at the tip of her fingers. "Hey, Moon." The bloodied girl stumbled away, tumbling to the ground as her feet tangled. The crazed woman somehow replicating her best friend's voice perfectly. Had she killed her too? Had she stolen her voice for her own use? After that nights events, anything seemed possible to her.

"Moon, wake up."

My eyes fluttered open, then shut fast again in reaction to the sudden burst of light. Foggy wisps of the dream I'd been locked in evaporated almost instantly, the only thing I could recall being a bloody knife and an evil laugh. There was a hand on my back, someone rubbing circles with just a bit too much force that made it uncomfortable. I groaned and tried to twist away from the pressure, my own warped voice shocking me. "...Stop..."

A light laugh, my pillow shook with the noise. Wait, what? I forced my eyes back open, jumping as I saw Gladion's face right away - smirking at me. I was on him, I'd fallen asleep with my head on his stomach.

All the grogginess was shocked out of my system and I sat up way too fast, swaying as my balance betrayed me and I nearly fell right back down. Barely catching myself. Lillie stood in the doorway of the room, smiling at me kindly and hiding her giggle. It wasn't until I looked back at Gladion again, sprawled across the bed and looking exhausted, that the events of last night came crashing back into my memory. The late night trip out that broke the rules Steven had set, the crazy woman with the machine... Dad... I swallowed down the rushing emotions and took a deep breath.

"What's going on?" I asked, mostly looking to my partner in crime for the answer rather than Lillie.

"She found the takeout boxes." He said, voice cautious like he wasn't sure if I'd catch the cue.

But I did and I jumped to my feet, once again moving way too fast and nearly falling flat on the floor from dizziness. Gladion jumped and caught a handful of the back of my shirt to hold me steady with a short, nervous laugh. I ignored my flustered thoughts and the rising blush on my cheeks and turned to Lillie, calmly saying, "Could you ask Steven to have everyone meet at the table? There's something important we need to talk about with everyone." I was even shocked at the steady, determined tone that rested in my words.

Lillie was confused, "Um, yeah of course. But what's going on...?" She twisted the end of her ponytail around her finger, nervous. Arceus, what is she thinking...? She was going to ask so many questions about this later, I just knew it.

Gladion shifted, moving to the edge of the bed and throwing his feet over it... but he wasn't as dumb as I had been and didn't stand up right away. "You'll find out soon, Lillie." He grabbed his phone off the side table and I glanced to the small screen as well, it was nearly nine am.

Lillie frowned but nodded anyway, "Okay, see you soon then." She slid out of the room then, seeming hesitant about closing the door behind her.

Gladion stood, stretching his arms over his head and wincing as a few bones popped. Though we'd both just gotten up, I was certain neither of us felt rested at all. I nearly asked if he'd even slept but he spoke first, "How are you feeling?" His gaze met mine and my heart jumped to my throat, the warmth and intensity in his gaze sending shivers down my spine and I quickly looked away. Hopeful that I wasn't being rude doing so.

"I'm okay..." The most generic answer that wasn't satisfactory even when it was true. There was no way to explain what was happening in my brain at the moment. Fear, nervousness, stress, confusion, worry... and that was ignoring the little gleeful shouts my heart was making about him being next to me. But in comparison to last night, I was okay. I didn't have the time to not be. So I squished down everything and said in a more stern voice. "Everything is fine, are you ready to talk with everyone?"

"I'm as ready as you are." He said with a shrug and timid smirk.

I smiled back, thankful for his words and support. "Okay, I'm going to take a quick shower first because I feel like a grimer. I'll meet you upstairs soon?"

"Of course." He wrapped one arm around my shoulders in a half hug before slipping his phone into his pocket and heading out. "See you soon."

Does he even realize what he's doing to me? It took another minute of just standing there, staring at the wall with a stupid grin plastered on my face before I started moving. There were so many things I wanted to sit and think and talk through with myself, all about him and where we stood after last night.... but that was another thing I didn't have the time for. Even if it was a mood booster to focus on those little flutters my heart was doing, I needed to switch into 'champion mode' before I went upstairs. I couldn't forget about the seriousness of the situation just because a guy seemed to have mutual feelings for me.

I ran the shower as hot as I possibly could, melting away all the air-headed emotions and thoughts I was swimming in.

The only people not at the table when I arrived were Steven and Cynthia, of course the two most crucial people that needed to be there. I took my seat between Gladion and Lillie, listening in on the current conversation circulating the seats.

Everyone seemed fairly relaxed and unconcerned about this meeting and about the situation in general. As much as I enjoyed the light atmosphere it felt so wrong to just sit here and joke around. There was no way to know what that crazy woman was doing at the moment, where she was, if she knew where we were. What she was planning to do now that someone had seen what she was capable of. It was unnerving to think about... yet here everyone sat, relaxed and happy like nothing was happening. If we hadn't gone out last night how long would it have taken to find out about the machine? The thought made me shiver. We really needed to break the news and get everyone back on track.

Where were Steven and Cynthia...?

Gladion slid a mug of steaming tea in front of me, bending down to my ear. "Don't bring up your dad... it's too much of a scare when we don't know if it's true. Okay?" He whispered. My stomach hurt as I thought of the voice in that cave again and I grabbed the tea eagerly, taking a little sip of it and letting the liquid warm and ease my insides. "I wasn't planning on it, it's a bad idea for a lot of reasons."

He nodded and grabbed my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. I took another, longer sip of the tea to dispel the new butterfree fluttering in my stomach.

"Hey!" Green snapped and pointed at us, "You're supposed to be talking to us not each other."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Hau asked, leaning into the table to look at us past Lillie.

Thankfully, just as everyone else at the table was starting to chatter and ask what the hell had happened, the two missing members of the group walked in and took their seats. Everyone fell silent and turned to Steven expectantly. He sat with a very stoic, emotionless expression on his face and the confidence I had gathered together in the shower faltered for a moment. Was he pissed? Would he be? For how serious this stuff was... he really shouldn't be upset, and all I could do was hope that was true. We would need his help taking care of this mess and I didn't exactly want to be on the bad side of a fellow champion, especially one who had been around as long as he had.

Looking at his face, though, I could remember how serious he was when he said he specifically didn't want me to leave. I shuddered and Gladion squeezed my hand again.

"I heard something's happened...?" Steven said calmly, finally expressing some emotion though it was only concern.

"To cut things short, both Moon and I left last night to find some answers to everything that's happened." Gladion started and I envied his own emotionless expression.

"What?!" Lillie boomed, shocked at the volume of her own voice and slapping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment before continuing in a much softer tone. "You guys left? In this weather?"

"Not just the weather, but when legendaries and crazy idiots are out to kill you, Moon?" Brendan added, "Why would you guys go alone?!"

"It wasn't alone? We went together, and clearly we're fine, I'm not dead." I defended. "Besides, it's crazier to just sit around considering the circumstances. You all know that."

Steven only nodded, though I could tell he wasn't happy with us for the choice by the set of his jaw. Cynthia, though, was grinning. "I hope you're little trip was worthwhile then?" She said.

"We only made it to one of the places we needed to check. Just the day care center, we didn't get to Aqua or the factory." I said.

Gladion added, "We stopped at a Pokémon center and ran into Magma as well. Once again, long story short, Aqua did wake up Kyogre."

The room went silent again, the carefree atmosphere seeming to pop right out of the air and a sense of dread seeped in. Those who truly understood the magnitude of those words going rigid and their faces becoming pale. The sound of the storm outside seemed amplified in the scared silence, the knowledge of its true origins making the pounding raindrops much more ominous.

Gladion pushed on, "Magma claimed they want to stop Aqua too, they were out looking for the champions and telling people they needed their help to deal with recent events. I thought it was a ploy at first, but now I'm not so sure."

I glanced to him, he hadn't said anything about that before. "You think they actually want to work with us?"

"I don't know, and I don't know if it's worth the risk to find out..." He muttered. "If they are lying, someone could be..." He stopped, unable to say the word. Some of the color drained from his face and I squeezed his hand this time.

"Killed." Steven finished for him, that word hanging in the air heavily for a moment before he continued. "Yes, it is very dangerous... But I'm interested. If we send a group with their full teams out to Magma to investigate, then..."

"There's something else though!" I said quickly, cutting him off partially on accident. All eyes turned to me, expectant. "We... we can't use our pokemon...!"

"What? What are you saying?" Gold said, a few others at the table expressing their concerns to my words as well. Everyone shocked and confused.

I wasn't sure how to word what I wanted to say and Gladion's silence lead me to believe he felt the same way. I looked to Cynthia, she'd seen this herself... and she perked up when she made eye contact with me. "Well... At the hatchery we... we found." Why am I locking up? Stop locking up! You're a champion, dammit, stop being so weak! But my dad's face was flashing behind my eyes every time I blinked and his voice rang in my ears.

"The woman we saw at Aqua was there, the one who seemed to be in control of the charizard attacks." Gladion finally spoke up and although I was frustrated with myself for not being able to speak about the issue, I was endlessly thankful he had found his words. "We didn't see it but, there was some machine down there and from the way she was talking about it..."

"It controls pokemon." I finished when he hesitated. The thought of our own team members turning on us enough to break that hypnotic image of my father from my mind. "We saw it happen! Lycanroc and reuniclus tried attacking us while we were there. A ton of wild pokemon tried attacking me too."

Gladion let out a whoosh of air and his grip on my hand tightened so much it started to hurt. "Arceus, they almost killed you, Moon." The sentence was nearly a whisper, more exasperated by the memory than trying to tell the others about this... but of course they heard... and of course they all started freaking out. Either yelling at both of us for nearly getting me killed of worrying about this machine and its effects.

It was loud, and I cringed as their voices just kept getting louder, competing with the sound level. Finally, Green yelled for everyone to shut up and the room fell back to silence. Green turned to face me "We just battled with our pokemon yesterday, how are we not be able to use them now?"

My mouth opened but Gladion spoke first, a glare in his eyes. "If you don't believe us then find out yourself." He said and I jumped.

"No! That's a bad idea!" I said quickly, shaking my head. "Someone could get hurt... just..."

Red let his pikachu pop out onto the table and I cringed away, ready for someone to be zapped. The Pokémon stood at the center and looked around for a moment, totally normal and innocent. Green said something about us worrying over nothing... but then pikachu's ears twitched, its fur standing on end and tail going rigid. The red sacks on its cheeks started glowing and electricity popped as it readied an attack. I shouted at Red to recall it and he quickly did, looking startled by the reaction of his beloved pikachu. That was proof enough.

Everyone was silent for a while and I let it stay that way, giving them time to let the reality sink in. I glanced to Gladion who was staring down at our hands intertwined in his lap with a sullen look. His eyes flicked to meet my gaze for a second before looking back down, he was stressed too. As strong as he always was, no one handled stuff like this well. I leaned against his shoulder and squeezed his hand in hopes of reminding him of our rapport. He leaned into me as well and my chest swelled with warmth.

"But how did that change in just a day?" Krys asked, breaking the silence in the room.

Cynthia replied first, "It wasn't just a day, as I said before, pokemon have been going nuts within city limits region-wide. Legendaries and trainer pokemon. I'm not sure why it's just now affecting us, though." She turned to us for the answer.

"I'm not totally sure either." I said before Gladion could speak. "It sounded like they were fixing up some machine at the bottom of that hatchery? That's all I know..."

"Silvally." Gladion muttered quietly so only I could hear. Oh! Right! He sat upright then, "We don't know why it's reaching our teams now, but we did find something interesting. The only Pokémon not affected by this brainwashing contraption was both of our silvally."

"What's so special about them?" Green asked with a huff, all that mattered was that our pokemon weren't brainwashed, not that there was pokemon that weren't affected. "It's not like they 'love you' more than our pokemon love us." He said in a mocking tone.

"I want another example." Steven said calmly from the head of the table and grabbed for one of his own pokeballs as he stood. "Either of you, send out your silvally, please."

I stood and tugged the pokeball from my bag before Gladion could act. I released my teammate as Steven released his - a skarmory. Silvally stretched and yawned as the other Pokémon looked hesitantly around the room, stressed for some reason. A moment later the skarmory screeched and span to face the table full of people, raising its now glowing wings. Before I could even react to the coming attack my silvally launched itself at the other Pokémon. The two tumbled and silvally landed on top, pinning the metal bird. Steven sighed and recalled his Pokémon, shoving the ball away rather dramatically.

"What the hell?!" Green shouted.

"There has to be a reason why this pokemon specifically isn't affected." Steven said, looking perplexed.

Silvally bounced over to me and nipped and tugged at my sweater excitedly, purring and happy to be outside her ball. I pat her head before taking my seat again, then she shoved herself between Lillie and I and started rubbing against her as well.

What was different about silvally specifically...? I looked to Gladion who watched my Pokémon with a small smile on his lips, distracted. Then it finally occurred to me and I jumped straight up to my feet again, scaring everyone around me. "Does anyone have a ditto?!"

"A ditto?" Hau said.

"Why a ditto?" Gold said.

"I have one!" Krys rose her hand, "But why? Do you think it could transform into a silvally and still act normal because I don't think it will work that way."

"No! Because it's a man made pokemon! Could you let it out?" I said, hoping to Arceus that my assumption was right.

The small pink blob appeared on the table, smiling to all of us calmly and... doing absolutely nothing. The Pokémon just sat there, lazily looking around the room and waiting for an order from its trainer. It didn't attack, didn't look uncomfortable, wasn't acting strange at all. "So that's what it is then!" I shouted as Krys recalled the pink blob. "It's not affecting man made pokemon."

"But why?" Cynthia said, tapping a finger to her chin.

"What's it matter why? We know a few pokemon that we can use now." I said, plopping down in my seat once again. "Is there any others that we know of?"

"There aren't many and I certainly don't have any." Steven said, "Three pokemon is by far not enough to stop that women and Aqua. They are helpful, but we'll need to think of an elaborate plan without our full teams."

"There is another man made pokemon that would be really helpful." Lillie said in a timid voice, Hau was persuading her to talk, cheering her on with a big grin when she did. "That one in Kanto that Red found on Mount Silver."

"No." Red said, making the people sitting near him jump and stare at him in shock. "No way. Mewtwo is impossible to catch."

Mewtwo! That was the Pokémon I'd forgotten about! I tugged on Gladion's sleeve and told him that this was the Pokémon I had forgotten the name of last night in a hushed voice.

"Plus, we have no idea if it's still on Mount Silver or in Kanto at all." Red added, shaking his head.

"I'm willing to go find it." I pitched, shrinking into my seat a bit as all eyes turned on me again. Shocked, unbelieving, annoyed... "If it would be helpful, I'm willing to try and catch it... or at least persuade it to help."

"Moon, no!" Lillie said, her whispered words of worry enough to set off the whole table again. Everyone discussing what we even could do without the normal Pokémon everyone used. Various opinions about whether it was a good idea to put time and effort into searching for mewtwo at a time like this. I met Lillie's worried gaze as she shook her head, the rumble of the rest of the rooms’ chatter nearly drowning out her next statement. "Did you forget what Red said about that Pokémon before? It's dangerous! Especially if you only have one pokemon to fight it with!"

"I know, but what other options do we have? It's better to try now than to regret it later." I replied. I couldn't forget what Red had said, how it had knocked out his whole team so quickly, that it could talk through telepathy, and how he'd had to get down the mountain alone. Between his account and what Oak's research had said about the legendary killing an entire lab of people... it was a scary thought to go and willingly search out this intimidating beast. But I'd wanted to meet it while I was in Kanto and I still wanted too... Now there was more reason to do so.

Steven shouted over everyone else's talking, "I'm going to consider the options!" Everyone quieted down to listen to him and he looked relieved about now having to scream over all the talking. "I'll give Oak a call and ask about mewtwo. I'm not saying go, Moon, but if you are willing to try than it may not be a bad idea. With how things have turned, we simply cannot wait to take action any longer. I will brainstorm some plans and come back to you guys after I've solidified some information. Be ready to have to split up into teams and take on some rather daunting tasks for the sake of everyone. Please, I encourage you all to search for solutions to this problem as well."

He nodded and some groups left from the table in a hurry, talking frantically over all the information they'd just heard. Steven made one last comment specifically to Gladion and me, "Thank you, you two, for being much bolder and braver than myself. I apologize for attempting to hold you back from pursuing this information and am grateful that you went along with it anyway."

Three hours later Steven called us all back and described a general overview of his plan, promising to better explain the process to the individuals he'd picked to take each task.

Brendan and May were in charge of going to take back the red and blue orbs from Aqua and Magma. Gladion explained that Tabitha had claimed Magma had access to the orb but didn't necessarily have it on them. The two of them agreed to do whatever they could to retrieve the relics, not fazed by the task considering how similar it was to their plans from before.

Steven was going to go search that factory Gladion had found and for a woman he had met briefly on one of the scattered islands around Hoenn. He said he was certain she could help us with this issue but didn't explain much more beyond that.

Red, Green, Gold, and Krys were to go look for Aqua and Kyogre and make observations. They would attempt to figure out the current plans of the team and the exact location of this dangerous legendary. Steven was hopeful that my plan of finding mewtwo would go through and we could use its power to defeat Kyogre once I got back.

Which clearly implied that he did want me to head to Kanto, and he initially said to go alone. He'd wanted Cynthia, Lillie, Hau, and Gladion to stay back and watch over the house to work as a base of operations for the other teams... a group to report in too and a safe place to go back to once everyone's respective 'missions' were completed. But Cynthia voted herself on as crazy woman searcher, not liking the idea of staying back in such dire times. She wanted to go check the hatchery for the machine and the lady after us. And Gladion refused to let me go to Kanto and deal with some crazed psychic killer alone, even offering to leave his silvally behind as a guard if he could go with me.

I didn't want to go alone anyway, hadn't meant to imply that I wanted to go alone when I'd offered myself up to begin with. I knew better now, knew I couldn't handle something like that by myself even if I did have my whole pokemon team to work with. I needed back up and I honestly didn't want anyone other than Gladion to go with. We were a perfect team, and I trusted him with my life more than anyone else at the moment. I recognized that he was the only other one with a trustworthy pokemon and it would be wrong to take both of those Pokémon to Kanto. Neither of us minded entrusting Hau or Lillie with our teammates.

My whole trip was riding on the willingness of Steven's friend anyway, someone with a small plane that could handle the storm during a low point. We clearly couldn't use a Pokémon at the moment and boats wouldn't work either. Too much time spent out in the open was dangerous and a boat was far too much time. Either way, Steven said it was a good idea for both of us to go if that was what we wanted to do. Apparently we had proven our skills as a team last night and he felt more comfortable sending both of us rather than just one.

So for Gladion and I, the plan was to get ready and wait... wait until we got a response from this guy with the plane and wait for a short break in the storm... something that happened maybe once every three hours or so. As frustrating as it was to do the exact same thing I had broken the rules to avoid doing... I was thankful for the break to mentally prepare myself for what was to come.

Mewtwo wouldn't be easy to handle, if we even managed to find it. I expected a difficult battle and an even more difficult capture if it came down to that. My initial plan was to talk to it, explain the situation and attempt to sway it to help us. I didn't like the idea of capturing legendaries, thought it was wrong to bind such a powerful Pokémon to a ball and trainer... but if I had to catch it, I would attempt too. Even beyond that... whenever we got back, either with or without the man made legendary, we would be putting an end to the charizard attacks and kyogre issue. A wonderful and stressful thought to me at the moment. I wanted to be finished with this mess but I was horrified of facing that woman and finding out if my dad really was working with her...

"You're really going to go find that monster?" Lillie's concerned tone snapped me back into the current moment and I blinked hard, surprised to see I was now standing in the living room with my friends all seated around me. Gladion tugged me onto the couch next to him as his sister stared me down with this worried look on her face. "Aren't you scared?!"

"It'll be okay" I said, reassuring both her and myself with the words. "It's one of the only Pokémon that can help us, so we don't really have another option."

"I won't let her get hurt." Gladion said as well, looking rather relaxed and confident. Totally opposite of what he had looked like just a few minutes earlier. What had he done to calm down so quickly?

Lillie huffed and crossed her arms, "Neither of you can get hurt. Promise me you won't make dumb choices?"

Gladion snorted in response and I shuddered at the similarity of her words to something he had said before. Back before this had all gone awry. Oh, if only we knew then what we knew now... things could have gone much smoother...

I shook myself from the thoughts and bobbed my head. "I promise we'll be safe, Lillie. You know we can handle it." I managed to pull a smile to my lips and even though I felt like screaming on the inside, it was genuine.

She glared at her brother until he grumbled a "yup" in response. Then she seemed to relax quite a bit, falling backwards into the cushion of the couch with a loud 'floof'. Hau giggled next to her and grabbed her hand and I jumped at that tiny chance to change the subject.

"What's going on with you two?!" I practically shouted, cringing at myself for the volume.

Both Hau and her went totally red in the face and glanced to each other awkwardly. Gladion shook his head, a smirk on his lips as he said, "Can you be anymore invasive, Moon?" He was joking, he had to be interested in his sister's current relationship with our friend. I stuck my tongue out at him anyway and the grin he gave in reaction made me laugh.

Lillie watched us carefully, smiling to herself before actually answering the question. "We're, ah, trying the dating thing." She tried to hide her smile behind her hand but it was still evident in the creases by her eyes and the glow she seemed to emanate. Hau was glowing as well, the size of the grin on his face looking almost painful. He said nothing, but the look he gave me was enough for me to understand his excitement.

I couldn't help but laugh, "Finally."

"Hey!" They both said, varying amounts of embarrassment and annoyance in their voices. Lillie shook her head and my laughter grew a bit louder.

"Sorry, it's just... I've been listening to both of you rave about each other for so long. I'm glad you two finally talked things out." I grinned. "As odd as the timing is."

They looked to each other again, all awkward smiles and blushing cheeks. They wouldn't have known they were simultaneously venting their thoughts to me if I hadn't acknowledged the fact. I couldn't wait to share all those little things they'd said about each other, but for now I would rather give them time to discover all those romantic feelings themselves. It was honestly astounding to think that something as beautiful and sweet as a new relationship had bloomed during such a dark and tragic time. I couldn't help but grin again at the thought of what could come after all of this had ended. How happy they would both be. How nauseatingly adorable they would be, already were, actually. Even if the timing was odd and we were all trapped in such a dangerous situation, just bringing them together had been enough to spark something great... ...And suddenly I was hyper aware of exactly how close Gladion was next to me.

"There's no odd time when it comes to feelings, Moon." Hau said happily, crossing his arms behind his head. "You just have to let it happen when it happens!"

Lillie nodded enthusiastically, locking a knowing gaze on me for a moment before changing the subject. Like she knew I didn't want to talk about that right now. "Not to keep talking up the elephant in the room, but do you guys have any idea of where you're going to go in Kanto?"

Not like I want to focus on that right now either though... We had plenty of time to plan and scheme for whenever we got to Kanto. I didn't want to dwell on it in this moment, I'd done enough dwelling last night.

But Gladion glanced down to me as well, the look on his face expressing his own curiosity to the question. "I have a few ideas, clearly mount silver is the first stop." I said despite my reservations, "But I was thinking of checking that cave we went in before."

Lillie went a little pale, "the cave I almost died in?"

Hau jumped, "didn't Gladion and I tell you both to stay away from that place?! Why go there?"

"Yes." Gladion grumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. "Why do you think it's there, Moon?"

"Okay, okay, okay. First, you did not almost die Lillie. It wasn't that big of a drop and we had a ton of Pokémon with us!" She shrugged, not seeing why that made the situation any better. "Secondly, I saw some weird room in there right before we turned around... in that really narrow passageway. I feel like something is there and it would make sense if mewtwo was hanging out somewhere so 'dangerous'." I looked to the guy next to me, clearly still uncomfortable at the thought of me going back in this cave they thought was so horrible.

He shrugged, though, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes in his signature, apathetic stance. "Okay. We can go there first then."

Hau sighed, "Just don't go and fall off some cliff, okay? We need you guys back here to fight kyogre and the crazy lady."

"It'll be fine." Gladion muttered.

We sat and chatted a little longer about what the plan was... how I was planning on talking to mewtwo before attempting to battle and capture it, what we could do if either of my plans failed, what would happen afterwards, and what they would be doing in the meantime. Hau was going to go find a ditto to help protect the house, I guess Steven had seen them in the area a few times. I warned him about all the other Pokémon and how crazy they may be, but he didn't care. Lillie didn't like the idea but thought it was their best option. They refused to let either of the silvally stay behind, they thought we needed the extra strength ourselves... which they weren't wrong about... but I still worried about their chances of getting into danger without a trusted pokemon to work with.

After another twenty minutes Gladion slipped out of the room, saying something about finishing that work for Aether and making some calls. He asked me to either come get him or send him a message if Steven said anything and I agreed, obviously. Lillie shooed off Hau a moment after her brother had vanished down the hall, telling him to go ask Steven for more information about the ditto. He complained about wanting to hangout more but Lillie wanted 'girl time'.

"What so you guys can talk about me?" He pouted. "Or are you gonna make her talk about Gladion?"

I felt my face go red and Lillie span on him with her own little glare, "Do you think all we do is talk about crushes and lovey dovey stuff? We're not little kids. I need to talk to Moon.”

He threw his hands up in surrender, "okay! Sorry!" He laughed and pushed up off the couch, "I guess I'll just have to talk with you later, Moon." He grinned in my direction before disappearing as well.

I felt kind of bad, I wanted to talk with just Lillie as well, but I'd barely spoken to or spent time with Hau at all. Even if we did see each other fairly frequently while I was in Alola, it had still been a while since I was there. I guess the biggest thing was that the siblings were here at the moment, and both were free to talk and hangout. Though we were all great friends, it was hard to hangout in a bigger group at the moment. We'd have time to talk once everything was over, I just had to keep reminding myself that all of this would be done soon. Some bit of normalcy would come back.

Lillie lead us to her room and shut the door behind her. Clearly trying to avoid someone or everyone for some reason. I took a seat on the bed and flicked on my phone's flashlight for some source of light once again.

"I wanted to ask you something, but feel free to say no." She bounced onto the bed next to me, the light from my phone casting a strange array of shadows across her worry crinkled face. "You'll be near my house in Kanto if you're visiting that cave, is there any chance you could stop and check on my mom? I didn't want to ask Gladion, he's been better about family lately but I'm sure he wouldn't go and see her if I asked."

"Do you think something's wrong?" I asked, not trying to avoid her request but inadvertently doing so anyway. I didn't know if we would have the time and I felt bad telling her that.

She hesitated a moment before shrugging and looking towards the flooded, dark window. "I don't know, it's the first time she's been alone this long since before... well you know... and I'm kind of worried about her."

"Have you tried calling her?" I said.

She shook her head, smiling yet her eyes looked sad, "I'm kind of afraid to? What if something is wrong and I can't do anything about it?"

I sighed, "Well, I can't promise anything but if I have time to stop I will. Either way, I think it'd be better if you tried calling. Okay?"

She nodded, eyes going distant and brows knotting up even more. "Thank you." She turned quiet then, continuing to stare out the window. I laid on the bed, letting my eyes sink closed and feeling the heavy wave of sleepiness wash over me. Even though my body seemed to be in a constant state of stress as I suppressed all my worries, nothing could hide my exhaustion. I'd only slept maybe three hours? If even?

Without really thinking about it, I blurted out to Lillie. "That crazy woman... I finally figured out how I know her." Gladion had told me to not tell anyone else about this, but Lillie was so easy to talk too. I just wouldn't bring up my father's voice.

"How do you know her?" Her voice was tiny, scared.

"Remember when I told you my dad was hanging out with a woman at his house?" I started, and she gasped dramatically, catching on immediately. "I'm 99.9% sure it's her."

"How?! Why?" Lillie grabbed my arm and tugged me upright, "what happened?!"

I ran through a more extensive explanation of everything that had happened last night, starting with the Pokémon center and running into Magma since I knew she would want to hear everything anyway. I stopped right after explaining how we found out silvally wasn't affected by the machine and Lillie collapsed into the bed out of shock.

"Arceus. If it really is that woman doing all of this... why? Why did she go after your dad? I don't get it." She said, "Did she specifically look up champion's families? Did she want an in? I mean, even that doesn't necessarily make sense?"

"I don't know." I muttered. "Even if she was trying to get an 'in' on the champions why would she pick me? The newest one and the one whose father is in a different region anyway?"

Lillie tapped a finger to her chin, "the region thing makes sense, since you wouldn't notice she was getting close to him. I guess any champions could have been targeted it just happened to be you."

I groaned, "I'm kind of tired of everything just happening to be my problem." I let out an exasperated laugh. "I was telling Gladion last night, my dad actually does a lot of engineering sort of stuff so maybe she just wanted someone like that? To help her build that machine."

"That's what it has to be, plus the benefit of screwing over a champion in the process. But still, she would have had to been so shady about getting blueprints from him." Lillie said before peering at me, "by the way, I know something had to have happened between you and Gladion. Don't think I haven't noticed you avoiding talking about it."

I blushed, "Wow, that's the most natural progression of conversation I've ever heard." I laughed, "'crazy woman trying to kill you happens to be dating your dad' to 'hey how are you and my brother doing romantically'?" It was a fast switch but I was glad she wasn't questioning more with my dad, that she hadn't jumped to thinking that he was trying to help... kill... me...

Lillie giggled, "Sorry, you brought him up so..." She grinned. "It's a lot lighter of a topic! You should tell me what happened with him."

My mind rushed through everything that had happened, my stomach igniting in rampant butterfree and my face somehow growing warmer. I was too overwhelmed to even attempt to process anything, there hadn't been a moment last night that wasn't worth mentioning. I covered my face with my hands. "I-I don't even know what to say." I paused and turned to look at her. "Tell me what Hau said the other night first."

"Nope." She shook her head, smirking. "You don't get to play that game anymore. Just start with last night!"

I flopped down, "I can't!"

She burst out laughing, "Come on, Moon."

"I've been trying to not think about this stuff. With everything going on it just doesn't feel right to acknowledge emotional stuff..." I rubbed at my face. "I-I guess it's kind of mean for me to do that though, isn't it."

She shook her head, looking rather worldly. "Did you ignore what Hau said about just letting things happen? Or are you being a hypocrite because I remember you telling me to not wait any more."

I groaned, "It's different for you two though, you're more like bystanders... or maybe victims of war with this mess. I have to try to take care of it without being killed and spending any amount of energy on something so frivolous like love is just... so counterproductive." It felt oddly relieving to actually say what was holding me back aloud.

She stared at me with wide eyes and a blank face before letting out a short chuckle. "You kind of sound like him." My face burned a brighter red and I turned away. "You also just said 'love' which makes this a lot more serious too."

"I don't mean it like that!" I practically shouted. "You know what I meant."

She sighed, "and you said I was being stubborn before? Moon, what would be different from how it is with you two now other than just putting a label on it? You're both already treating each other like you've been dating for a while. I mean seriously, you were holding hands like the whole time at the table and slept together last night. You can't exactly call that friendship, can you?"

...She had a point... I hadn't considered that.

The butterfree in my stomach were flopping around hard enough to make me feel sick and I sat upright, bracing my face in my hands. Was I actually considering her words...? She was right, it was no different and if anything it would be less stressful for me to just accept everything. Why was I pushing it all aside...? I was just stressing myself out more by trying to ignore all those thoughts and emotions... wouldn't it be easier to just give in to them? Clearly, he felt the same, there was no room to doubt that anymore whatsoever. Maybe starting to date right now wouldn't be the most 'romantic thing' but it would be nice to have someone to rely on for emotional support... without feeling weird and awkward about it.

I glanced to Lillie and the huge smile that flashed on her face proved that she could tell what I was thinking. "You're right." My voice was quiet. "I didn't even think about that."

She shoved my shoulder and I nearly rolled off the bed as a result. "Finally!" She mocked my own voice and laughed. "So stop ignoring it and just let whatever happen, happen." She grinned and my insides churned in this nauseating mix of nervousness and happiness.

What would happen, though?

[mischiefandspirits]

Spirit Sword (2/?)

Reid Alma grew up in the Region of Pacal. After defeating their own league and trying their hand at Alola, they’ve set their sights on Galar.

AO3 ~ More

———————-———————-———————-———————

2. Fated

On the south edge of Postwick was hilltop farmland. Wooloo rolled about in fields as butterfree and bird Pokémon field the skies. At the southeastern tip sat a small manor, outside of which a pair of trainers prepared to battle.

“Believe in your Pokémon! And care for them, too, with all your heart. Do those two things, and I’m certain you’ll learn to choose the moves that suit your Pokémon. And more importantly… to have a champion time battling with them!” Leon led Hop and Reid over to the battle court and took the refs position. “Looks like everyone’s on board, Pokémon and Trainers alike? Then let’s do this!”

“I’ve watched every match that Lee’s ever had!” Hop announced, taking on a fierce stance. “I’ve read every book and magazine he left behind at home, too! I know exactly what to do in order to win!”

“I’m sure you do,” Reid said, pulling out a Poké Ball. “Río, love, let’s do this.”

“A Pokémon battle it is, then!” her opponent said as she tossed the ball. He took out his own and threw it. “I’ve got two partners with me! Let’s go, wooloo!”

Reid slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone, hitting the battle app.

“Wooloo. Male. Level three. Type: Updating,” Luce, the Rotom inside, read off for her.

At such low levels, there’s not much strategy to go with, so… “Alright Río, Pound.”

“Wooloo, Tackle!” Hop called out.

Both Pokemon ran forwards, but Río was faster, bashing the wooloo with his tail before the white Pokémon barreled into him.

Reid checked the damage and frowned at how little damage the wooloo had taken. Darn, that thing’s bulky. I wish I had something to lower defense. At least it’s attacks are even weaker.

With no other options, Reid had Río continue to Pound as Hop matched the hits with wooloo’s Tackles. Two more Pounds brought the wooloo to red and another finished the match with Río still in the green.

“Experience gained. Level increase: Sobble - level six. New move obtained,” Luce announced and Reid glanced over to see that Río had learned Water Gun. That could come in handy.

“It’s not over yet! I’ve added another trusty ally to my team!”

“I… I was there,” Reid whispered to herself as Hop sent out his scorbunny.

“Scorbunny. Male. Level five. Type: Updating.”

Thankfully, Leon already clued us in on each other's types. “Río, Water Gun!”

The blast of water hit the scorbunny just as Hop called for it to use Tackle.

“Did you already know about type advantages!?” Hop asked as scorbunny managed to hit Río before it could dodge.

Nope, in all my time as a Trainer, I never picked up on such a concept, Reid thought with a snort as she checked the damage. Yellow, good, though it could be better. And Sobble was in the yellow now too.

“Río, pound!”

He shot forwards before the two could react, slamming his tail into the scorbunny and knocking it out.

“Experience gained. Level increase: Sobble - level seven.”

“And that’s the battle!” Leon called it as Hop recalled his scorbunny.

“You beat my two Pokémon with your one!? You and that sobble are too much!” Hop moaned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few Pokédollar notes. He passed them over with a smile. “If I’m going to be a real Trainer, then I pay my fares like a real Trainer.”

Reid smiled and took the money before recalling Río. “You did good.”

Hop sighed, drooping over. “Well, that was a shock! Guess I know now why Lee thought he should give you a Pokémon too…”

“You and your Pokémon all fought hard,” Leon said, patting him on the back. “Made me almost want to let out charizard and join in on all the fun!” Leon stepped up to Reid as Hop ran inside to get his Pokémon taken care of and pulled a device out of his pocket. “Good effort out there, Río! Why don’t I get you all sorted?”

Reid glared at the device as it healed her Pokémon. “One of these days I’m going to get one of those stupid things.”

“It certainly makes things a lot easier,” Leon chuckled.

“And yet far less exciting,” she muttered and took her Pokémon back.

He chuckled and stepped back. “I’ve got a favor to ask you. Be a real rival to Hop, would you? Push him, and make the both of you stronger!”

She didn’t get a chance to answer as Hop appeared. “I already want to get stronger and stronger! You’ve seen me battle now, Lee, so come on, you’ve gotta let me take on the Pokémon Gyms!”

“You? Join the Gym Challenge?” Leon asked, turning to his brother. “You think you’re ready for the single greatest competition in the Galar region? Not putting the cart before the rapidash there, little brother?” At Hop’s glare, he raised an eyebrow and continued, “If that’s really what you want to do, you two have a whole lot you need to learn. Especially your friend Reid. Barely in the region and already getting dragged into the fight.”

She smiled and shrugged. “You get used to it.”

Laughing, he shook his head. “Before you think about getting Gym Badges, best to think about getting a Pokédex. A Trainer’s Pokédex helps them learn lots of things about…”

Reid started to tune Leon out, glancing over his shoulder as she spotted a pair of butterfree chasing each other. Yeah, she’d definitely need to upgrade her Pokédex app. She hadn’t gotten an upgrade since moving so it only included Pokémon native to Pacal and Alola.

“Right, right, we get it… Pokédexes, then!” Hop cut in and she refocused. “We’re on it! Looks like it’s off to the Pokémon Research Lab for you and me, Reid!”

“That’s the kind of enthusiasm a Trainer needs!” Leon said, walking away. “I’ll let the professor know to expect you.”

“I’m going to be the next champion, so completing a simple Pokédex will be nothing! Just another page in the tale of my legend!” Hop said, pumped. “You’d probably better go tell your mum that we’re heading out, though.”

Reid nodded. “See you on Route One.”

“Su-”

Crash!

The two turned towards the road. “Reid! Did you hear that just now?” Hop said as he started to run.

Reid followed and they soon found themselves back at the gate near her house, which was smashed open.

“The gate’s open! And the wooloo that was there…” Hop said, checking the gate. “It was tackling the fence pretty hard earlier. You don’t think it actually broke through there, do you?”

“The shepherd I talked to said he runs off a lot,” Reid said, looking around for any sign of the Pokémon.

“But it’s off limits! Nobody’s supposed to go in there!” Hop explained, looking worried. “I remember the professor's granddaughter went in once, and she came back in a real state. And that was nothing compared to the earful she got from the professor afterward!” He turned towards the weald. “We have to go help it, Reid! What do you say?”

“I don’t know… Maybe we should get your brother. Our Pokémon are still untrained.”

“Right, no one wants to get in trouble, least of all me.”

Why do I not believe you?

“But deep down you want to save that Pokémon, too, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but -”

“Hope you’re ready for anything because we’re going in, Reid!”

“Hop, wait!” Reid shouted after him, but he was already running up the path. She growled and followed after him.

The further they got into the trees, the more the fog rolled in making it hard to see. Thankfully Hop slowed down as the world became nothing more than trees, grass, and fog.

“That wooloo… Where do you think it got to?” he asked, glancing around. “The fog is really coming on thick now. If we don’t find that Pokémon soon, this might be trouble.”

“Maybe we should head back for help.”

“Be serious, would you? We’ve got to go look for that Pokémon!”

Suddenly a shadow jumped out at them from the tall grass and Hop jumped back with a yelp before relaxing when he saw it was just a brown rodent Pokémon. Reid grabbed his arm and they both ran for it instead of getting into a fight. They dodged another Pokémon, this one a blue bird, before an odd cry sounded through the weald.

“Did you hear that? Was that a Pokémon crying out, you think?”

“Either that or a banshee,” Reid joked. When Hop went pale she said, “Kidding.”

Another of the rodent Pokémon ran by and Hop grabbed her arm.

“You sure you don’t want to head back.”

That seemed to reignite his fire and he stepped back from her, looking determined. “Come on, Reid! That wooloo might be in real trouble!” Then he was booking it down the path.

“Woah, hold on! Wait for me!” Reid shouted, running after him. The fog was getting thicker though, and she lost sight of him. “Hop? Hop! Hop where are you?”

The fog grew so thick, it became hard to see the trees around her.

“Hop! Stop, we need to head back! Hop! Ho-umph!” Reid groaned as she slammed into the boy and they both fell to the ground.

“This is mad,” Hop huffed as they helped each other back to their feet. “I can’t see my own hand in front of my face! I think I get now why this place is off-limits.”

“You think?” she muttered, brushing herself off. “Come on, we can’t help anyone if we get lost in this fog.”

Hop started to nod, but just then something moved in the fog and they turned to see a Pokémon standing before them.

It reminded Reid of Shunwar or a houndoom, but more colorful. It was scarred and missing part of its ear while the long pink fur hanging from its head was braided and seemed to defy gravity, floating back as if caught in the wind.

“What in the -” Hop yelped jumping back as the Pokémon got into a battle stance, staring them down.

“Lrrroooaaarrrd!”

Reid called out Río as she brought up the battle app.

“Unknown. Unknown. Level unknown. Type: Unknown.”

“Well, that’s helpful,” Reid muttered sarcastically.

“Zzzory,” Luce said, unrepentant.

Reid tried to take a step back, thinking about simply recalling Río and running, but found she couldn’t move.

“Great, okay, uh, Growl!” Reid said, hoping to weaken whatever it was before it could attack.

Her sobble obeyed, but the soundwaves from the attack seemed to pass right through the mystery Pokémon.

In fact, the Pokémon didn’t even seem to realize her’s was there, focused completely on her face with a stare that, when their eyes met, sent a shiver down her spine.

“Wha- The move had no effect on it!?” Hop exclaimed, snapping her out of the trance.

“I… Maybe it’s Ghost-type. Normal moves wouldn’t work on it. Río, Water Gun.”

Unfortunately, that had the same effect, the water passing right through it.

Is it an illusion? Like what the zorua and zormaii back home do for fun?

The Pokémon howled and the fog started to thicken up even more. So Reid could barely see her Pokémon and opponent.

“Reid! I can’t see anything! You okay!?”

Reid turned, but Hop was nowhere to be seen. “I’m okay.” She turned back to the battle and her eyes met the mystery Pokémon’s once more. I think. “Río, use Pound,” she called.

Her sobble jumped at the Pokémon, but it’s tail passed right through it like everything else.

“Río!” she yelled as it disappeared into the fog.

The Pokémon howled again, and all she could see was fog.

“I can’t see anything!” Hop yelled before letting out a scream.

“Hop!” she shouted turning towards where she’d last seen him.

Something brushed past her.

It felt soft and…

Soft…

And… and w…

Warm a…

And War…

W…

…

…

…

…

Reid opened her eyes with a groan. “What happened?”

She grabbed the Poké Ball in front of her and reassured herself that Río was safely inside. She climbed to her feet and looked over her shoulder to see Hop doing the same. She glanced back towards where she’d seen the mysterious Pokémon -- thought she’d seen it? -- with a frown. Had that really just happened? Or was it just a dream?

“Hop! Reid!”

The two turned to see Leon running up.

“Wha- Lee? How’d you manage to find your way here?” Hop asked. “You’re pants with directions. You always get lost.”

“Oh, that’s nice to hear from the little brother who had me worried sick!” Leon scolded. “I’d been waiting ages for you two, and you never showed! Of course I came looking for the both of you!”

“A wooloo got loose into the weald,” Reid explained.

“Wait, where’s the wooloo!?” Hop said. “We were trying to rescue that wooloo!”

Leon smiled and stepped to the side to reveal charizard standing with the missing Pokémon.

“Meh!”

“The little chap’s just fine,” Leon reassured. “You know this place is out of bounds… But it took courage to come in here all the same. And I can understand well enough why you did it. You did good, Hop!”

“And at least the wooloo’s all right, yeah, Reid?”

“Yeah,” she agreed distractedly, her eyes darting back over to the spot the mysterious Pokémon had stood.

“I thought we’d had it when that weird fog started rolling in and that mad Pokémon attacked, but at least it wasn’t all for nothing!”

“Attacked by some mad Pokémon?” Leon asked, looking worried. “What are you talking about, Hop?”

“It seemed loads stronger than any Pokémon I’ve ever seen. And it just had this sort of presence… Our moves didn’t even touch it. I mean, really, they seemed to pass right through it!”

“Your moves passed right through it?” Leon looked contemplative as he looked around. “So, the fearsome Pokémon they say live in the Slumbering Weald… Are they actually illusions or something?” Leon shook it off and set one hand on Hop’s shoulder and the other on Reid’s.

She blinked and focused back on the brothers.

“Get strong enough and maybe the two of you could be the ones to reveal the truth someday. For now, let’s simply get out of this place. You’ll be all right now that I’m here with you!”

Reid tuned out Hop’s excited ramblings as they made their way out of the weald.

The last time she’d felt a presence like that, it was when she was returning Nebby to the newly capable Lillie.

Could that have been… a legendary Pokémon?

——————————————–———————-———————

Pokémon Explanations

Shunwar: A legendary Pokémon from Pacal based on the Shunka Warakin. A Fairy and Ghost-type, it's said to steal away Pokémon from careless Trainers.

Pacal zorua: A Fairy-type based on the trickster coyote legends. They are nocturnal and use illusions to play tricks on any who dare to cross their hunting grounds.

Zormaii: The Pacalin evolution of zorua. A Fairy and Ground-type based on the trickster coyote legends. They use a combination of clay dolls and illusions to trick wondering Trainers.

[sage-nebula]

yoshi12370 replied to your photo “I said it on the post you replied to, and I’ll say it again: “Anyone...”

I still stand by that Dusk is better written than frog. Whether or not it was written for Ash, and has similarities to the frog, Lycanroc was never set up as this great thing that Ash only could unlock because He Is The Main Character. Everything about the Dusk forme revolved around Rockruff rather than Ash. I will say that Ash getting a new Lycanroc forme because he's the main character is not an inaccurate deduction because as you said this isn't new to the anime.  However what I'm saying is they handled this better. Dusk form was revealed in the game before showing Ash's Rockruff evolve into it. It already had official art from the game artist (Sugimori? I can't tell nowadays) and it's clear they put more thought into it and had planned this. Compare to Ash Greninja where it was only made to make Ash strong as a Mega User and was added to the game at last minute. The Battle Bond ability was vaguely explained and made just for Ash while Dusk is set up to be a new discovery.

Sorry for the late reply; it was six a.m. and I had to take a nap before work.

“Lycanroc was never set up as this great thing that Ash only could unlock because He Is The Main Character. Everything about the Dusk forme revolved around Rockruff rather than Ash.”

That Rockruff has a character arc of his own doesn’t make this any different from Greninja, because Greninja, too, had a character arc of his own. Ash met Froakie because Froakie had, once again, been returned to Professor Sycamore’s lab after failing to bond with a trainer. Although many trainers had attempted to raise Froakie, Froakie ended up rejecting all of them because he felt they could not help him reach his personal potential. Bond Phenomenon was as much Greninja’s journey as it was Ash’s; in fact, it could even be argued that the only reason why Ash pursued it at all was for Greninja’s sake, because Greninja wanted it. This was why Ash started to grow very uneasy and have bad dreams surrounding Greninja leaving him due to his failures, as well as why Greninja did temporarily leave him after the loss against Wulfric and Ash’s subsequent sulking fit. Ash had to win back Greninja’s favor and bond with him again, at which point Greninja---just as he had when he was a Froakie---knocked the pokéball toward Ash. Even when it comes to the lore, the myths about the special greninja were, again, myths about a special greninja, and the ancient text that Sycamore found specifically stated that only pokémon with a certain spirit or soul within them could unlock such a power. They needed the assistance of the right trainer, yes (because remember, this is just like mega evolution), but it was still always about the individual pokémon. The Bond Phenomenon arc was set up to be Greninja’s arc just as much as it was set up to be Ash’s, regardless of how much you personally enjoy Greninja’s existence.

Similarly, Rockruff---just like Froakie!---has been very invested in battling and growing stronger since day one. Just as Froakie kept rejecting trainers that he felt weren’t good enough for him, Rockruff kept sneaking off on his own to go to underground fight clubs so that he could try to force an evolution. And hell, even in this past episode, Rockruff once again went off on his own and deliberately avoided Ash because he felt that he had to do this in order to grow stronger and evolve. His “character arc” is just that he wants to fight everyone and grow stronger. It is, beat for beat, the same as Greninja’s, with the only difference that there isn’t a prophecy about him, likely because Ash is already the center of the Tapus for no explicable reason other than the fact that he’s the main character and a very special boy.

I also disagree that this evolution had nothing to do with Ash. Rockruff evolved into Dusk Lycanroc after Tapu Lele healed him, and Tapu Lele healed him after using Draining Kiss on Ash (as well as Gladion and Olivia’s lycanroc). The inference, then, is that Ash’s life energy was used to help Rockruff evolve. In other words, Ash was a necessary component, and it’s highly likely (almost certain!) Rockruff would not have achieved this form without him. So no, this really is not different from Ash-Greninja. 

“Dusk form was revealed in the game before showing Ash's Rockruff evolve into it.”

Uhhhh, no, not really. 

Dusk Lycanroc was only announced four days ago, and even then, it was because people were clamoring for Corocoro leaks as usual. That they included Dusk Lycanroc in this month’s Corocoro is absolutely because the anime got to the Rockruff evolution episode, and Game Freak felt they couldn’t wait any longer, likely because Dusk Lycanroc is going to be the anime shill for USUM. (Though that’s not guaranteed yet, I don’t think. It’s always possible they could release it in regular SM, but since USUM will likely be out in a couple months, I doubt it.) Dusk Lycanroc is the only news we’ve received about USUM since the announcement teaser. This is undoubtedly because the anime was going to “spoil” it, and so they had no choice but to say something now, particularly since saying, “Hey kiddos! You, too, can train this pokémon that Ash has if you buy the new games!” is a tactic they’ve been using to sell the games to anime-only fans for years now. It’s, again, the exact reason why Ash-Greninja was included in the SM demo. They really wanted to grab the anime fans.

So no, Dusk Lycanroc was not revealed in the game before the anime. It was shown in Corocoro (leaks) at about the same time as the anime episode aired because the anime episode aired and they couldn’t hold off any longer. 

“it's clear they put more thought into it and had planned this. Compare to Ash Greninja where it was only made to make Ash strong as a Mega User and was added to the game at last minute.”

Nope. Let’s check the receipts.

After the conclusion of XY&Z, an interview was conducted with the current director, Yajima. And in that interview, Yajima revealed that Ash-Greninja was Game Freak’s idea and was planned from the start. Specifically:

“Yajima wanted to make the bond between Satoshi and Gekkouga a major part of the story, but felt it would be difficult to do so if it had to remain a Gekkouga, so he went to Game Freak, and they came up with the idea of a synchro transformation. It was put in Sun/Moon afterwards, but was created during this discussion between anime staff and GF.”

While it’s true that Yajima wanted a way to show that the bond between Ash and Greninja was special (so less about making Ash stronger, more about showing that his relationship with Greninja had reached new heights), the fact remains that Game Freak had this in their pocket since the start of the series. My guess is that they saved the special event for SM because there was never a Z Version for Kalos, and with ORAS it made more sense to have events with Shiny Beldum and whatnot due to the fact that Steven, too, was an important character in the anime again, and he’s a Hoenn character / the Hoenn Champion. Regardless, acting as if Ash-Greninja was cobbed together by the anime staff at the last minute is false. It wasn’t even their idea, it was Game Freak’s.

And as far as concept art goes, I will admit that I don’t know if Sugimori did art of Ash-Greninja specifically. I do know, though, that he did draw XY!Ash in the same pose and expression as Red from FRLG, so once again it’s not like Game Freak was hands off for the Kalos saga of the anime. They were just as involved then as they are now.

“The Battle Bond ability was vaguely explained and made just for Ash while Dusk is set up to be a new discovery.”

I disagree that Bond Phenomenon was vaguely explained. Bond Phenomenon was foreshadowed before it happened with the ninja village’s lore, particularly since Bonnie pointed out that the heroic greninja depicted in the monument was different from other greninja she had seen before. Then, after the kids realized that Ash’s greninja was transforming, Clemont created inventions to test the energy between them, as well as their vital signs, letting the audience know that the two were in sync (or, as Game Freak calls it, synchro) and connected. Then later still, just in case anyone still had any questions, Sycamore reveals the results of his research in XYZ036, giving the transformation the name “Bond Phenomenon” and explaining that although it is extremely rare (and therefore shouldn’t be limited to just Ash!), there have been recordings of it throughout history. Certain pokémon (as in, individuals, not species) have the right kind of spirit within them that allows them to unlock this hidden potential when they are united with the right trainer. That is pretty cut and dry. We’re told exactly what this transformation is, exactly why it happens, and we’re further given a motivation for Greninja’s desire to battle and grow stronger beyond “well, it’s fun lol.” Froakie / Frogadier / Greninja was so dead set on finding a trainer that could unlock his potential because, although he didn’t know of the legend, he could feel he had greater power within him. And he knew Ash was the trainer who could help him because their spirits / souls were in sync, something he could feel thanks to Bond Phenomenon. None of that is vague. It’s right there in the episodes.

In comparison, Rockruff also really wanted to battle all the time and was dead set on evolving, because . . . it’s fun and he’s aggressive. And he evolved into Dusk Lycanroc because Tapu Lele healed him after absorbing life energy from two other lycanroc and Ash, and that + howling at the sunset caused him to evolve into a never before seen form because . . . because. As far as I can tell, no other explanation was given. I’m really not seeing the masterful leap in storytelling you’re saying exists here. If anything, at this moment in time (and this could change), far less has been done to explain Dusk Lycanroc than with Ash-Greninja, particularly since Ash-Greninja at least had some foreshadowing (even if it was quick foreshadowing, though to be honest the Ash-Greninja transformation in the ninja village was very brief, so the real appearance didn’t come until later), whereas Dusk Lycanroc had none.

Lastly, I’d argue that having Dusk Lycanroc be a new discovery is even worse since it’s a new discovery Just For Ash. The fact that history exists in Kalos to show that Bond Phenomenon has happened before means that it’s not that Ash is a child of the gods, but rather that he just happened to meet the right pokémon at the right time. (I still maintain that the right pokémon for this is Pikachu, but whatever.) In fact, XYZ036 set it up so that it would have been reasonable to show other trainers (and one specific trainer, at that) unlock this power during the finale. By specifically stating within the canon that this has happened before, with others, they’re saying that what Ash is doing isn’t new. It’s extremely rare and therefore special, but it’s not new.

But with Dusk Lycanroc? It’s both special and new! No one else has ever evolved their rockruff into a dusk lycanroc! It’s a brand new thing that Ash was able to do because he is the protagonist and is special therefore. Similarly, Tapu Koko just gave him a Z-Ring for no reason because, well, he’s the protagonist and is special therefore. There might not be a prophecy about Ash in Alola (yet), but they’re still making him just as much of a special sunflower as Kalos did. Dusk Lycanroc is blatantly his Ash-Greninja equivalent. They’re exactly the same. The Alola anime has changed the art style, has tried to change the genre, and changed what one-dimensional trope they’ve based Ash on this time, but they haven’t changed the fact that they’re creating things to make him more special than the rest. That has stayed exactly the same.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 28th April 2019 (Jonas Blue, Lil Dicky, Rita Ora)

Top 10

We have a couple new arrivals this week, but the biggest story is still how this song clings on to the top spot, as “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus still at number-one for a second week, and both the meme and constant discussion surrounding the song continue to spread to the point where it’s a cultural phenomenon.

The rest of the top 10 is incredibly less interesting. “Piece of Your Heart” by MEDUZA and Goodboys is up two spaces to number-two. It could make a play for the top.

Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” is also down a spot to number-three.

Down one position from last week is Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” at number-four.

Tom Walker’s “Just You and I” isn’t moving at number-five.

Avicii’s posthumous hit “SOS” featuring vocals from Aloe Blacc has boosted up six spaces to number-six, becoming Avicii’s first ever posthumous Top 10, as well as his tenth Top 10 in general, and Aloe Blacc’s third.

Up a spot from last week is the Jonas Brothers with “Sucker” at number-seven.

Russ (Splash) and Tion Wayne’s “Keisha & Becky” stabilises its spot at number-eight, down a spot from last week.

Elevating a single space from recent controversy is “Here with Me” by Marshmello and CHVRCHES at number-nine.

At #10, to round off our top 10, is “Talk” by Khalid, up a space and returning to the top 10.

Climbers

Wiley’s “Boasty” featuring verses from Stefflon Don, Sean Paul and Idris freakin’ Elba is up five spaces to #12, whilst “All Day and Night” by EUROPA featuring Madison Beer enters the top 20 at #14, up eight spaces from last week, becoming the first top 20 hit for EUROPA as a group, as well as Jax Jones’ seventh, Martin Solveig’s third as well as Beer’s first ever (Congratulations). Other than that, “Pretty Shining People” by George Ezra is up nine spots to #25, and his other song “Shotgun” is up seven to #30, so there must have been some sort of boost to the album sales, but generally, that’s all we have.

Fallers

We have a few more of these, or at least it seems these songs are more notable. “Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man finally gets its streaming cuts due to dumb UK chart rules and is down 10 positions to #16, whilst “Boy with Luv” by BTS featuring Halsey collapses 16 spaces down to #29 as K-pop always does, “Disaster” by Dave featuring J Hus is down six spaces to #33, whilst “wish you were gay” by Billie Eilish as well as “MONOPOLY” by Ariana Grande and Victoria Monet seem prepared for a premature exit, down 11 and 10 spots respectively to #37 and #40.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

I’m going to assume YNW Melly has had his streaming cut as “Murder on My Mind” is completely out of the Top 75 after dropping out from #38. Speaking of, “Options” by NSG and Tion Wayne has very unfortunately dropped out from #23 due to this dumb chart rule, which directly affects certain genres, i.e. urban music like hip hop and R&B (as well as EDM, for that matter) that is boosted prominently from streaming, from never having any longevity and not becoming as big as hits on the year-end than they deserve. “Options” would have been locked if it weren’t for this rule, as I think it would have lasted many more weeks. The other drop-out is from Ariana Grande and it’s “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” from #39.

NEW ARRIVALS

#39 – “Carry On” – Kygo and Rita Ora

Produced by Kygo and Afsheen – Peaked at #8 in Norway

Yes! I finally get to talk about Pokémon! I know what you’re thinking, what? Why? It’s just Rita Ora collaborating with some massive EDM producer like she always does, and while you’re right, it’s for the Detective Pikachu film, which isn’t currently out but I am going to see it at some point. I’m excited to hear this soundtrack as well, although I’m not exactly expecting Kygo and Rita Ora to deliver anything particularly good, or interesting, or Pokémon-related for that matter. Pokémon songs for the anime films have never directly related to the film plots, though, and usually were kind of boring, motivational songs with very vague lyrics, which is understandable as they had to be rushed out every single year. Anyway, this is Kygo’s seventh Top 40 hit and Rita Ora’s 21st, which is impressive, and is it any good? No. Of course it isn’t, and I’m mostly indifferent on this tasteless drivel that EDM producers put out in general with female pop singers where it sounds like the singers have been artificially sped-up, with mixing that’s overly-drowned in reverb and an instrumental as dry as clay years after it is first moulded. The piano melody here isn’t bad, but it isn’t unique and doesn’t carry Rita Ora’s incredibly weak hook, and in general her performance here sucks, like that random “Woo!” she adds in that pauses the song entirely just to halt his momentum, to add nothing at all! There’s barely a real drop here, so it just feels like a constant onslaught of nothingness and high-pitched vocal samples, which I somewhat like for its effort not to make a club banger but rather a tropical house ballad straight out of the dregs of 2016, and it’s not the last new arrival we have that does that here, but this is the only one I’ll talk about in this episode, more on that later. Anyways, this isn’t worth much analysis. It’s dreadfully boring but it’s not exactly long and doesn’t overstay its presence for THAT long, I suppose, it’s just disappointing for a soundtrack that is supposed to provide the music for what is looking out to be a film full of personality with actors oozing charisma. I’m looking out for the Sonic the Hedgehog film’s soundtrack a bit more now, albeit just for the novelty of a Dr. Robotnik cover of “Gangsta’s Paradise”. Next.

#27 – “No Diet” – Digga D

Produced by Ghosty

Digga D is a UK drill artist, as most of the rappers we see on the charts are in 2019. I’ve only vaguely heard of him before, so I think it’s safe to assume that the extreme marketing for the song involving a lot of different companies and individuals, including Mixtape Madness, is what landed this on the charts as Digga D’s first top 40 hit, as well as the video which is about trafficking crack cocaine in Coca-Cola cans... sure. Anyway, is the song itself any good? Well... the beat is incredibly minimalistic like most UK drill, with just an ominous piano line as the backing for a skittering hi-hat and bass-heavy trap beat – those 808s, by the way, are pretty insane. Digga D isn’t really saying anything of interest or anything different than the other guys, but the beat is good enough to carry him a lot of the time, and I love his weird sounds he uses for the ad-libs. It reminds me of a British Migos, where instead of repeating the line, he just makes unintelligible nonsense words and stutters. The singing on the second verse is pretty janky in relative to when it appears in the verse, and while Genius says this and the supposedly playful lyrics are what sets it apart, I don’t see the juxtaposition here, I just think it’s kind of surreal in how bipolar this song feels. There’s an ominous, eerie and menacing beat, violent and braggadocious lyrics from Digga, and then a bunch of silly, humorous ad-libs over it. This song has an identity crisis first and foremost, and while we’re at it...

#24 – “Earth” – Lil Dicky

Produced by benny blanco and Cas—

Nope. No, sorry, not touching this one. I appreciate what it’s doing for charity but I have a LOT to say about this song and trust me, it is not overwhelmingly positive, so, no, I’m not covering this one, at least not like this, and not right now. I might do a full-length review at some point but I think it’s much more likely that I talk about this at the end of the year, if you get the gist. For now, to replace an actual review, let me just list the guest stars, because technically, this is a song by Lil Dicky featuring Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Zac Brown of his eponymous band, Brendan Urie of Panic! at the Disco, common fungus Hailee Steinfeld, Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart as Kanye West, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Sia, Miley Cyrus, Lil Jon, Rita Ora, Miguel, Katy Perry, Lil Yachty as an STD, Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor, mother-father gentleman PSY, professional basketball player Joel Embiid, Tory Lanez, John Legend, Bad Bunny, Kris Wu, Leonardo DiCaprio and the entirety of the Backstreet Boys. Does that count as a review for Lil Dicky’s second UK Top 40 single? I don’t care, I’ll talk about in length when I want to. Trust me, I’m planning ahead.

#23 – “What I Like About You” – Jonas Blue and Theresa Rex

Produced by Jonas Blue – Peaked at #1 in Belgium

Oh, yeah, this, okay, well, Jonas Blue exists, I guess, and I’m supposed to review everything he puts out because everything this dude makes charts... and sucks. I don’t really have a problem with the dude, but nothing he makes is all that interesting, and he’s the epitome of carelessly generic EDM and dance-pop. This particular track features vocals from Theresa Rex, Danish pop singer who you won’t know by name and she doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, but you will know the voice of from “Solo Dance” years back, which she had uncredited vocals on (I’m glad they stopped not crediting the vocalists on EDM tracks, especially since, you know, they do all the heavy lifting in terms of singing). The production here is pretty tropical, I guess, with some handclaps and a weak synth drop that has a few orchestral stabs to replace any unique instrumentation. None of the vocal melodies catch on yet and I’d much prefer “Solo Dance” to this. What else am I supposed to say? I know I’ve taken the easy way out with these two songs, but honestly we’re at a standstill in the charts right now where it should really be more interesting than it is.

Conclusion

Even if I didn’t review it, I don’t care, Lil Dicky and friends still get Worst of the Week for “Earth”, with Dishonourable Mention going to Jonas Blue and Theresa Rex for “That’s What I Like About You”, or something to that effect. In fact, there’s no Best of the Week or Honourable Mention, the Dishonourable Mention is tied as Kygo and Rita Ora’s “Carry On” exemplifies the exact same problem. God, what a crappy week. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more pop music ramblings and Top 20 rankings, and I’ll see you next week!

[sage-nebula]

Completionist, Rotom, and Legend!

Completionist: How many times have you completed the Pokédex?

Once, and I’ve borne a grudge ever since that I’ve only just (mostly) gotten over. Settle in and buckle up, because it’s story time.

So, back in the days of my youth, there were only 151 known pokémon. 151, because if you (general “you,” not you in specific) are a genwunner who forgets about Mew simply because all of the marketing back in ye olden days used to talk about “150 pokémon *winkwink*”, then I will whap you on the head with a rolled up newspaper and not even feel sorry about it. There were 151 known pokémon back then, and although my primary interest was in battling, I still decided to go ahead and complete the Pokédex just to prove to everyone that I really was the best Pokémon Master the world had ever seen. (Note: Due to how young I was, my world was mostly comprised of my elementary school. Nonetheless.) 

As it so happens, I did complete the Pokédex. Using a combination of all three of the released games at the time (Red, Blue, and Yellow in America), a Game Link cable, and both my and my brother’s Game Boy Pockets, I managed to capture and record every single pokémon. I also, due to being young and not having the scruples that I have now, used a Game Shark to capture Mew and teach my pikachu Surf. I was young, okay. I was young and extremely salty at the fact that the only ways to legally obtain Mew were through Nintendo events that took place during school hours in California and New York. And I asked my dad if he would let me skip school and also drive me to California so that I could get Mew, and he laughed at me. Game Shark (or the Mew glitch) was the only option. I don’t approve of such practices now, but eight-year-old me was a lot more desperate.

That is not the point. The point is, I completed the Pokédex, and I proudly took it to the Game Freak headquarters programmed into the game. I knew that you got a prize for completing it. I thought the prize was going to be Togepi, or that mysterious bird that Ash saw at the beginning of the anime (we in America did not yet know that this bird’s name was Ho-Oh). I thought it might even be another Mew, or else perhaps the keys to the truck. I didn’t know what it was, specifically, but I was super excited to find out after all my hard work.

And do you know what it was? Do you? Well, if not, I’ll tell you:

It was a diploma.

It was a little in-game certificate, the equivalent to a gold star or smiley face sticker saying, “Good job!” You could print it out using the Game Boy Printer. I want to say you could also take it to one of the kiosks stationed in local Blockbusters, but at the same time I’m also 99% positive those were only for printing out photos that you took in Pokémon Snap. Like, they were specifically Pokémon Snap kiosks. Either way, I had a certificate in my Red (or Blue, but I’m pretty sure it was Red Version because my Blue ended up corrupted beyond repair thanks to MissingNO/M’) for completing my Pokédex. A certificate. A diploma. A little worthless piece of paper after the months of labor I put into into those games. I was furious. I was an eight (or nine, perhaps, by this point) year old vessel of barely contained rage. All of that, for nothing. Where was my real reward, huh? Where was the awe, the admiration? Where the goddamn fuck was my Togepi?! (This was especially a sticking point, because despite all the rumors none of us had managed to find a way into the Grandfather Canyon. Of course, this is because the Grandfather Canyon was an anime-exclusive location, but we tried to get to it in our games anyway. Oh, did we try.)

That set a grudge that lasted about twenty years. On that day, with my hands squeezing my red Game Boy Pocket so hard I nearly broke it, I vowed that I would never, not ever complete the Pokédex again until the series actually ended. Never again, I said. Never. Again. And so far, I have kept that promise.

… though that said, I have been planning to half-heartedly try this gen, if only because I have a friend willing to complete it with me, and I think that would be fun. But that said, it’s going to be less fun since the ‘dex is now mostly contained in the Bank. It’s like Game Freak is laughing at me, honestly. They are doing this on purpose. Well, we’ll see who has the last laugh, Game Freak. We’ll see. We’ll see!!

(… It’ll be them. They have my dream job and I’ll never get it. I felt truly envious of one of the NPCs in Sun Version when she talked about how she got to work on the games she grew up playing as a child. I felt actual envy toward an NPC. This is probably something I should take up with my therapist.)

Rotom: What is your favourite region in Pokémon?  

JOHTO! ♥ Johto is my home. Even though the Kanto games were the ones I started with, for some reason Johto is the one that makes me feel like I’m coming home every single time I pick up one of the Johto games, or when I hear the music, or when I see pictures or art of it. It’s also constantly overshadowed by Kanto, but there’s nothing that can be done about that, unfortunately. I don’t know, there’s just something truly beautiful about Johto, though. I love all of the legends and history, I love how it has bits of industrialization here and there but is still very connected to nature and the beliefs of the people, and the connections to pokémon without going overboard about it. Johto is just a truly beautiful region, and it’s my region. I’ve loved none like it before or since.

Legend: Your favourite legendary/mythical Pokémon?

My favorite legendary pokémon is Lugia (and I’m actually wearing a Lugia shirt as I type this—the 151 design Lugia shirt, in fact), and while I can’t say the specific reason because that would give away information about myself that I’m not willing to share, Lugia is my favorite because I have a certain connection with it. There’s something that Lugia and I share that makes me feel like Lugia is my legendary, on top of the fact that its movie is one of my favorites and it has a beautiful song (that, as it happens, I can clumsily play on the ocarina). I do wish that Lugia had more sensible typing (it’s the guardian of the sea and looks like a massive sea dragon, and yet its typing is psychic/flying, I just ???), but there’s not much that can be done about that and I adore Lugia anyway. Always have.

As for my favorite mythical pokémon, that’s a tie between Mew and Victini. As far as Mew goes, I’ve always felt that there’s been something especially mysterious about it. Yes, I do like the fact that Mew can learn literally any move, and I do think it’s cute and all that, and of course I had so few scruples as a child that I was willing to use legendaries in my main party and so I did use one in the Gen I games—but more than that, I’ve just always felt that although all legendary and mythical pokémon have an air of mystery to them, there’s been something particularly mysterious and magical about Mew, the pokémon who even back then was said to be so rare that most people felt that it was only a mirage. To this day Mew holds a place in my heart, and probably always will. After all, not every pokémon can say they were responsible for frenzied mobs gathering around abandoned trucks.

As far as Victini goes, it’s just adorable. I’ve always had this image of Victini in my mind just giving a completely blank stare before spontaneously breaking out in a toothy grin and V for Victory hand sign. It’s silly and foolish and prone to shenanigans, but that’s why I adore it! It also has a fantastic typing of fire/psychic, so I mean, there’s very little not to love. ♥ Victini is great.