Don't Get Me Started: a Pokemon blog

[Trollkitten]

Spoiler: Replies!

Well, I don't actually plan on getting either of them. If I were to get one, however, I'm fortunate in that my preferred Legendary, preferred Professor, and preferred color all happen to align...so I'd be getting Scarlet for sure.

If I had to choose one, I'd choose Violet, because mecha hovercycle dragon is awesome.

What kind of ScVi I'll get? Both, of course! (I'm going to try to preorder both of them on Amazon, maybe?) I have plans for Scarlet/Violet Nuzlockes (after I play through them first and get all of the final stage/legendary/mythical Pokemon I want.)

Scarlet will definitely be another Doclocke. I already have a Doclocke in the modern world, so why not one in the past? It would be interesting to see past treatments trying to work with the Pokemon. Protag would probably be a former big-game Pokemon hunter with a connection to Koraidon.

Violet will definitely be a Naturelocke. It would be interesting to see a robotic future with only the Pokemon of the protag being able to feel something. Both Pokemon and trainer would likely have cybernetic enhancements, something that Miraidon would find intriguing, for a human, at least.

Then I also have another save file for both games, which would likely feature two other Nuzlocke ideas that I haven't figured out for each.

I'll probably get both as well, but I'm waiting to hear about preorder bonuses (there are usually some).

WARNING: The following article contains speculation, leaks, and spoilers for Pokemon ScVi (known henceforth as Pokemon Scurvy because Wynaut), including leaks from the Chinese Riddler, aka Riddler Khu, who has long been trusted as a reputable source. It also contains potential spoilers for a hypothetical upcoming Aetherai nuzlocke based on Pokemon Scurvy. Viewer discretion is advised.

Spoiler: A Scurvy Nuzlocke pt. 2: Finding Nemona

In my previous “A Scurvy Nuzlocke” article, I described several ideas for the nuzlocke currently known as Time's Chains, including my takes on the professors, the rival, the two organizations, the legendaries, and the running theme of the story itself. Today, I'm going to go more in-depth on the rival Nemona, and how the various members of her team could translate into a PMD-style universe where there are no trainers and the Pokemon are the ones calling the shots.

One of the most interesting things about Nemona is that as soon as she was introduced, the Pokemon Scurvy website revealed three of the Pokemon on her team – none of which are starters. In fact, one of these Pokemon, Smoliv, has the same primary typing as Sprigatito, indicating that Nemona might be one of those rare rival characters that doesn't have a starter Pokemon on her team at all. (But then, they gave Leon both Charizard and Cinderace under certain circumstances, so who knows. Game Freak logic.)

Nemona's team so far -- and if she is our initial rival character, we can safely assume she will have more than three Pokemon in her later battles -- is Pawmi the Electric type Pika-clone, Lechonk the Normal-type darling of the internet, and Smoliv the Grass/Normal bean. ('Bean' as in 'small adorable thing,' not as in the legume -- it's an olive, and those aren't legumes.) That gives me three characters to give names and personalities to, and in doing so, I'm going to use some information teased by Riddler Khu to help speculate on these characters' story arcs as they evolve. As such, SPOILERS WITHIN!!!

Spoiler: ”Don't say I didn't warn you...”

Okay, so first off is Pawmi. I think it's safe to identify this little electric rodent as the Nemona representative. Woofer -- the name is derived from Awoofy, the new Kirby enemy that I can't stop thinking of when I look at Pawmi -- doesn't have a definitive gender at this point in my writing, but I'm leaning towards making Nemona's gang an all-ladies entourage because Nemona herself is female and because I can (for the moment, I will be using they/them pronouns as placeholders). As I mentioned in the previous article on this subject, I've chosen to interpret Nemona's arm brace as a sign of physical disability, and I'm thinking that Woofer will have one mechanical foreleg, powered by their own natural Lightning element.

With the story's theme of the two feuding organizations -- Team Origin and Team Destiny -- Woofer being a cyborg clearly aligns them with Team Destiny, a group of futurists/transPokemonists that are seeking out Miraidon and probably have something to do with Professor Chad-Darling-of-the-Internet, aka Turo, who I'm not sure what species he will be represented as but I'm heavily leaning towards his Pokesona being named Tron. Since Team Destiny in the Aetherai universe is more like Wigglytuff's Guild in terms of size and scope, Woofer's team is going to need an individual team name, which I'll get to later ('later' meaning either later in this article, or in a later article). Suffice to say that for the time being, Woofer's team is a small team working for (or with) Team Destiny in hopes of awakening/discovering/creating(?) Miraidon for their own reasons.

(The main character of the storylocke is not, technically speaking, on either side of the Origin/Destiny conflict, but has their own goals through all of this and may ally with one or the other -- or even both. And yes, I know the true 'evil team' has not yet been revealed yet, but if Come Hell or High Water can eliminate both Team Skull and Lillie from the Alola storyline, I'm sure I can work something out.)

Now for the other two mons, who are actually the reason I'm considering making Woofer's team all-ladies. Riddler Khu has hinted that Lechonk, of all Pokemon, is going to get mascara and lipstick in its evolution (likely a reference to the expression 'putting lipstick on a pig'). The image this brings to mind is, of course, the impeccable and unforgettable Miss Piggy, which leads me to the image of a wealthy socialite named Madame le Chonk. Madame is most likely the oldest member of the group, considers herself a philanthropist, and has provided a great deal of money to Team Destiny's cause, including a sizable portion of the funds used to equip Woofer with the cybernetic leg. Madame is something of a mother hen to Woofer, and serves as the leader-slash-token-adult of the group. Woofer finds Madame's manner condescending -- Madame worries quite a lot about Woofer's ability to battle and complete tasks with that mechanical leg, and Woofer is always trying to prove that yes, they can handle this, they don't need the helicopter parenting.

Finally, Smoliv. Riddler Khu has indicated that, as was suspected through comparisons with Budew and Bounsweet, Smoliv is indeed going to evolve into a grass waifu mon. While I wasn't sure how to interpret the rest of Khu's riddle (aside from Khu really, truly hating Centros Leaks, which I knew already), I personally want to interpret Nemona's Smoliv as something of a valley girl who lives in Madame's upper-crust neighborhood, is completely clueless as to how the real world works, and went around with the whole 'let's go awaken a legendary dragon for purposes that are entirely non-nefarious because it's for everyone's good!' idea because it seemed like a fun new thing to do. I don't want her to be nothing but a simple stereotype, of course, and I do plan to give her some character development along the way, but while stereotypes should never be an entire character, using the right stereotypes as a springboard towards a more defined and unique character are excellent when properly executed (that is, when done thoughtfully, tastefully and respectfully). I'll name this gal Olivia for now, Liv for short. Yeah, I know, how original.

Oh, right, a team name. Well, since Madame is the leader of this little group of oddballs, let's call it Team Chonk. Partially for the memes, partially for the lulz, and partially because these three have absolutely no idea just what it is they're in for.

Then again, given that the game comes out in five months and we've only had two trailers, neither do I... but that doesn't stop me from getting ideas.

 

[Trollkitten]

Forgot to do a QotD, so I'll put this here: What do you like or dislike in a rival character? What rival characters do you like/dislike the most (including official games and fan games)?

I don't mind antagonist rivals if they're done well (like Gladion and Bede), but I also don't mind friendly rivals if they're done well (such as Wally). I do dislike it when the rival character isn't much of an actual character and just basically exists. There were so many missed opportunities for character development for Trace; how could they have possibly botched them so thoroughly?

Although to be fair, LGPE did release between USUM and SwSh, both of which had their own share of story problems. Ironically, SuMo and Legends Arceus had very good stories, and they're bookends to a period of three different games that all had hideous story issues, if you can even say that LGPE had a story.

 

[Trollkitten]

Spoiler: Genesect, Corviknight, and Hippopotas (three short articles)

Genesect: Whose Ancestor?

The age-old question (at least, age-old as of Gen 5) is of what the original Genesect looked like before being covered in armor and having a cannon mounted to its back. While some compare it to Kabutops or Armaldo, or Scyther, or even to the Parasect line before they were taken over by mushrooms, I would like to call attention to an aspect of Genesect's modern biology that I have not yet seen addressed in this debate: its high-speed form, seen in the manga and anime, where it folds itself up and rockets around.

Given that the original Genesect did not have a cannon on its back, one might assume that it wouldn't be able to use its high-speed form. However, the cannon itself does not appear to be what allows Genesect to use its high-speed form, as it folds into Genesect's back when it does so. So my question is: what species of Bug-type Pokemon would be capable of folding up and speeding around like that?

Well, there is one particular Bug-type line known very well for beating a hasty retreat, and while it's not a perfect match for Genesect's design (and given that the original Genesect was over three million years old, it has every reason not to be), my mind is drawn to the Gen 7 Pokemon Golisopod, known for its Emergency Exit ability. Like Genesect, it is bipedal with a clearly defined thorax and abdomen (basically, torso and hind end), and while its head is considerably smaller and more set into its back than Genesect's, the eyes and head shape do seem to be similar enough to suggest that the two Pokemon might be related. They're even both Pokemon that come from U.S. based regions. While Golisopod has never been seen folding itself up in the way Genesect does, it is known for being able to escape dangerous situations at high speed, and that combined with its body shape makes me wonder if the two Pokemon species might just be related after all.

---

Corviknight: A Gigantic Max Mystery

While Dynamax/Gigantamax is my favorite mechanically of the recent-gen battle gimmicks for the same reason it's banned by Smogon (i.e. it is ridiculously broken), I do wonder what its deal is. Why would eating soup made with a certain type of mushroom induce a transformation aspect triggered only through Dynamax? Why would such a form change allow a Pokemon to use a specific type of G-Max Move? Why do these Max Mushrooms even exist, anyway? Are they affected by Galar Particles in some way? Did they even exist before the original Darkest Day twenty thousand years ago?

Gigantamax Corviknight is itself a mystery. Its Pokedex entry in Pokemon Shield reads, "The eight feathers on its back are called blade birds, and they can launch off its body to attack foes independently." This is not unlike Probopass's three Mini-Noses that it can control remotely, but why is G-Max Corviknight and only G-Max Corviknight able to create and manipulate blade birds? What happens to these blade birds after the Gigantamax wears off? Why aren't they blown away when G-Max Corviknight uses G-Max Wind Rage to functionally Defog the arena?

It's possible that the Isle of Armor somehow holds the secrets of Gigantamax -- it's where Max Mushrooms are grown, and it's home to plenty of Raid Dens where Dynamaxed and Gigantamaxed Pokemon live. Why do Max Mushrooms grow here and only here? If Dynamax and Gigantamax are the result of the Darkest Day, and the Darkest Day is a result of Eternatus's influence, then was Eternatus ever on the Isle of Armor? Perhaps at one point it rested there after either of the first two Darkest Days known to Galarian history -- either the first one twenty thousand years ago, or the second one three thousand years ago. It seems unlikely to be the second one, as surely the Isle of Armor would have been mentioned in the history of the Darkest Day if that was where Eternatus had fallen after being defeated by Zacian and Zamazenta. So perhaps the Isle of Armor is where Eternatus fell after the first Darkest Day, when it came to the Pokemon planet on a meteor... except that the Isle of Armor has no geological features that would indicate a meteor strike at any point in its history.

Or does it? The giant Key Stone that fell from the heavens in Hoenn is what created the enormous crater that surrounds Sootopolis City. Is there any similar area in the Isle of Armor that looks like it could have been carved by a meteor strike? I suggest that if any one area on the Isle of Armor fits this criteria, it could well be Potbottom Desert, an entirely enclosed area of the Isle of Armor that appears enclosed for no particular reason. Perhaps the frequent sandstorms in the area are what eventually caused the empty crater to be filled up with sand, thus making it a desert in the bottom of a metaphorical pot? This could well have been where Eternatus slept for seventeen thousand years, until some unknown factor cause it to awaken and wreak havoc on the Galar region. Maybe the lingering effects of Eternatus's energy absorption are why the desert remains a desert even after three thousand years...

---

Hippopotas: How DO Pokemon Change the Weather?

One of the greatest mysteries of what power level Pokemon are at exactly is certain species' capacity to change the weather. How does Drizzle work? Snow Warning? Drought? Sand Stream? Well, after considering this for all of two minutes (just kidding; I've been considering how Drought in particular works ever since my very first nuzlocke, Omega Wonder, which I'm not going to link to because it was never carried over from Tapatalk, I refuse to go back to DeviantART, and that nuzlocke wasn't even any good), I think I have a decent, uniform solution as to how all four abilities work and are connected.

But first, let's talk about their counterparts: the terrain-setting "Surge" abilities. Originating with the Tapu quartet, Grassy Surge sets Grassy Terrain, Misty Surge sets Misty Terrain, Electric Surge sets Electric Terrain, and Psychic Surge sets your priority moves to fail immediately because nobody ever actually remembers what the terrains do. (I may be slightly projecting on this.) In my article on the Fairy type, I described the Tapu as 'land spirit' Pokemon, associating their Fairy type with the 'spirit' part -- but the 'land' part is also an important part of who they are, as their abilities allow them to imbue the earth itself with their power. This terrain-setting ability is basically the Tapus' own power flowing into the land, bending it to their whim... at least for the next five turns. Which is rather anticlimatic given that if you're trying to capture them without a Master Ball, that fight is, more often than not, going to last considerably longer than five turns. Don't ask me how I know this.

With that as context, my theory as to how and why Pokemon can alter the weather ties into how and why the Tapu can set terrains. Basically, just as the Tapu pour their elemental energy into the earth, weather-changing Pokemon are pouring elemental energy into the air around them. Drizzle (which I'm always misspelling as Drizzile; thank you, Pokemon Sword) puts Water-type energy into the air, causing it to rain. Snow Warning puts Ice-type energy into the air, causing it to hail. Sand Stream puts mineral energy of some sort into the air (I want to say Ground-type, but the move Sandstorm is Rock-type), and the result is a sandstorm. And Drought, the original problem (how in Giratina's Hell does a Torkoal somehow manage to intensify the sun's rays from ninety-three million freaking miles away?!), works in a very similar way: Fire-type energy imbues the air, creating intense light waves that power up Fire attacks, weaken Water attacks, and for some reason don't do anything to Ice attacks other than prevent Pokemon from getting frozen.

...yeah, I don't think that makes sense either, but it's not like the Ice type needed to get any worse anyway.

 

[Trollkitten]

Spoiler: State of the Trollkit June 2022

So I've been spending most of my time between working on Kaijune prompts, working on writing projects (largely writing projects that haven't been published yet), and writing too many blog articles (I am seriously considering posting three blog articles a week for a couple of weeks rather than just two, for the simple reason that I've written a lot of them and I want people to see them). I recently put more work into my Sonic the Hedgehog Season Three project (I'm all the way up to five written episodes now and am wondering if I should stick to thirteen-episode seasons or expand the episode count so I can fit more story in there), and the next episode reintroduces/reboots a certain character that only appeared in one episode and that nobody misses and that I want to see if I can reboot them in a way that makes people actually like them. (What can I say, if I didn't like adding extra challenge to my life, I never would have become a nuzlocker.)

Once Kaijune is over, I'm going to have to think about where to go from here. I have every intention of seeing all of my currently posted writing projects (the three nuzlockes and The Daily Conspiracy Pokedex) to the end, and I also hope to continue to work out the kinks in the Datalocke and make it playable in more generations. The thing is, my ADD mind keeps wandering from project to project and when it's motivated to hyperfocus on one then I can do great things, but it's just hard to get the creative juices flowing when it isn't focused.

And on top of that, there's my gastritis situation, which is affected by my mood as well as my diet, so if I try to work myself too hard at my projects then I risk causing myself literal physical harm. So I'm having to learn to take some time out of my day to purposely do absolutely nothing, which is harder than it looks because I have the type of brain that always wants to do something, even if it's lying in bed in the middle of the night and ought to have fallen asleep by now. The only time of day when I generally do not want to do anything at all is in the morning when I'm supposed to get up, and that of course is its own problem. (On the note of doing things to relax, I have abandoned my BDSP lorelocke and am now just doing a regular playthrough of the game on that savefile because I've somehow turned my hobby into an actual job and I want to learn how to just enjoy Pokemon games again. One might argue that if I want to enjoy Pokemon games then I shouldn't be doing BDSP, but hey, I'll be the judge of that. I very much enjoy having a free Mew and Jirachi before the second gym.)

...maybe now was not the best time to get started on a dual lorelocke/datalocke of Pokemon HeartGold, but I did so anyway and that's a thing now, so go check it out.

Artwise, I would like to expand on some of the fakemon concepts I've introduced in Kaijune, and also work on the starter trio of Pokemon Tantalum. Are they old? Are they new? Well, they're kind of a little of both. I like the concepts I came up with for them, and they may be the first thing I post officially of the Tantalum reboot. Suffice to say that I took some concepts that fans have been asking for for a while now and made them fit with the signature gimmicks (multiple) of Tantalum. No spoilers past that, though!

Speaking of art projects... I have been tempted to look into some form of web animation to try to create slideshow-esque YouTube videos of some of my theories/opinion pieces/story ideas. The problem being that 1. I have so many already running projects anyway and 2. my laptop is on its way out and I don't really want to go through the trouble of downloading a new program for it and creating new art assets in it and then my laptop could die at any moment and I have to go through the downloading all over again. It's kind of a dumb and petty reason, especially considering that there's bound to be some program or another that I can download for free, but ever since Google Chrome started acting up (which I suspect correlates with a Pokemon Xenoverse glitch that also affected OpenOffice Writer for some odd reason, so be warned; it happened while battling the first trainer on the western end of Route 6 in case you're wondering), but it's a thing that is in my head and I can't shake that feeling. Also, I would have to use either captions or text-to-speech to narrate the videos, given that I have a heavy speech impediment that everyone thinks is an accent and I find it embarrassing to admit the truth, but the long and short of it is that my voice does not record well. At all.

The thing is... this is kind of a lifelong dream of mine that I'm only now remembering I've even had. When I was a child, I was constantly imagining my own movies inside of my head. When I was a teenager, I spent loads of time watching DVD bonus features on the making of movies because I wanted to be a part of that process. And as an adult, well, I've openly stated that I made Ori's Gift a musical storylocke because I lacked the resources to create a musical animated series. And now I'm realizing that the only thing stopping me from learning how to animate is my own inhibitions towards what will almost certainly require that I leave my comfort zone for a long, complicated journey of learning and self-discovery, with absolutely no idea what the end result will be. Would learning basic web animation skills be the first step in an actual career, or would it be just another project I started but couldn't finish? Or even worse, a project that was dead on arrival like the What Once Was Mine comic that I had to turn into a storylocke because I quit DeviantART (for good reason; that site keeps making itself worse and I want no part in it)?

Either way... I want to do this. One way or another, I want to try. Because if you never try, you never succeed, and whether I succeed or not, I want to try. I just don't know if now is the right time to take that step yet -- now when I have three nuzlockes and a nuzlocke ruleset and a Pokedex series and a blog and a few other projects that I haven't started posting yet, some of which (like the Sonic project) could well be translated into web animations if I do go this route.

I just... I want to DO things. That's what makes resting so difficult, not to mention knowing what the right sort of work/life balance is. Even if my 'work' is mainly fan projects that only a handful of people ever really see, and the reality is that I'm a disabled woman living off of SSI in a room that hasn't been vacuumed in years and is literally in my parents' basement.

I want to know that I'm doing something that matters. Something that makes someone else smile, something that makes the net happiness of the world increase just a little more.

Which is why I'm posting this highly critical article about a largely debunked Pokemon fan theory that I wish people would just shut up about.

...I am not always good with transitions. (You don't have to read it if you don't want to.)

Spoiler: Why the Chinese Zodiac Theory Needs to Die in a Fire

I love Pokemon fan theories. So much so that earlier this year I started an entire Pokedex full of Pokemon fan theories (which should hopefully resume updates sometime in the first half of July). One of my favorite Pokemon theories is The Ruin Maniac Files' spectacular conspiracy theory involving the histories of Unova, Kalos, and Galar featuring the same two heroes. However, as much as I love this theory and use it in my own fan fiction, I don't believe that it is the unvarnished truth, because it's never been officially confirmed as such and if I'm honest, I'm pretty sure there's enough evidence out there to debunk it if anyone wishes to.

One theory I do not love is the Chinese Zodiac fire starter theory, and the introduction of Fuecoco has only served to illustrate how pervasive this theory is in the Pokemon fanbase.

For those of you who don't know (all two of you), the Chinese Zodiac fire starter theory is the idea that every fire starter is based on an animal from the Chinese Zodiac. Charmander is the dragon, Cyndaquil is the rat, Fennekin is the dog, and so on. The problem with this is that it doesn't always line up with what the Pokemon actually are. Fennekin is a fox, not a dog; Cyndaquil is more in line with a shrew or echidna, neither of whom are actual rodents; and Charizard may be cool as heck when you don't have stealth rocks up on your side, but it looks absolutely nothing like a Chinese dragon. (Also, the original fire starter for Johto was actually a bear, which is nowhere on the Chinese Zodiac. Just putting that out there.)

The reason the Chinese Zodiac theory looks good on paper is because the Chinese zodiac and the Pokemon starters have this thing in common: for the most part, they are all very easily recognizable animals. I find it easier to believe that the correlation between most of the fire starters and the zodiac are because both groups are made up of the types of animals that everyone knows and loves (okay, I'll admit that not everyone loves rats, but that's their loss) than that there's some sort of intentional connection.

Besides, the Chinese Zodiac theory originated sometime around Gen 4-5 alongside two other starter line theories that have since been debunked. The grass starter theory was that all grass starters were based on reptiles/dinosaurs, and when Chespin was revealed, this was retconned to all the grass starters being based on extinct animals. (Given the vast number of extinct species that have existed throughout the history of the world, this is a conveniently low bar to pass.) Water starters, on the other hand, were considered to all be semi-aquatic animals, which was eventually retconned to some sort of weapons/warrior theme that I honestly don't understand either, given that this is literally a monster fighting game and that every Pokemon battles in some way or another. (Except for Magikarp, which just flops around and looks pathetic.)

Which brings us back to Fuecoco, and the reason why I feel such a strong dislike for the Chinese Zodiac theory. Upon the reveal of Pokemon Scurvy (yes, I'm calling it that, deal with it), there was a lot of inevitable fanart depicting what people wanted and/or expected the Scurvy starters to evolve into, and a sizable portion of those were based on, yes, those fan theories I mentioned before. While I don't mind the idea of Sprigatito turning into a sabertooth (so long as it's done well), and I can definitely see Quaxly becoming a sailor or a member of the navy, I do find it a stretch that so many people are assuming that Fuecoco, the crocodile with aspects of a ghost pepper in its design, will evolve into a snake because of the Chinese Zodiac theory. Fuecoco has such an unique and inspired design already; I honestly can't see Game Freak throwing away the crocodile aspects just to fit a 'design theme' that the fans assume exists.

And on the topic of design themes... I really, truly am tired of fakemon designers gravitating to the same four animals in designing new fire starters. Goats, oxen, snakes, and horses. Like, seriously. Game Freak isn't bound to sticking to any design themes, real or imagined, so you aren't either. There's only so many of the same four fire animals that I can keep looking at without feeling like the fanbase has lost their ability to come up with their own ideas. (Especially given that one of those four animals is a horse and we've had a fire horse line since the very beginning. But, then, Delphox does have its own take compared to Ninetales, even if they are similar, and I actually used their similarity as part of a theory in The Daily Conspiracy Pokedex, so there's that.)

I feel the same way about fakemon designers like Mykel Ryan sticking to established Pokemon region tropes like 'Pika clones cannot evolve' and, heck with it, 'the Kanto starters always get the new gimmicks because they're the Kanto starters.' To be clear, I love Mykel Ryan's designs, but I don't really gel well with his ideas that he has to try to stick so close to what he perceives the established Pokemon formula to be. Like... please. First off, there's no reason why design tropes (real or imagined) can't be subverted or outright broken in the future, either by official or unofficial sources. (Case in point, current scuttlebutt saying that Pawmi could get an evolution.) Second, the fanbase tends to complain when certain tropes are followed too slavishly, such as Kanto pandering, the anthropomorphization of starters, and that one time when we got three Fire/Fighting starters in a row. (Why the Chinese Zodiac theory is an apparent exception, I have no idea.) And third, show me the Kanto starters' Z-moves and then we'll talk about them always getting all the gimmicks.

Also, while we're talking about common fan theories that are easily debunked, there's the claim that Eeveelutions can only be 'special' elemental types -- that is, types that were classified as special attacks before the physical/special split for moves. The reason this is easily debunked is because Umbreon was originally going to be the Poison type, which is a physical type... so yeah. Not every Eeveelution ever has to be a special type, especially given that we haven't had physical types or special types since Gen 4, which was when Leafeon and Glaceon came out. (I would like to see a dragon-type Eeveelution regardless, since there's so much potential there. But I am by no means suggesting that we should get only a dragon-type Eeveelution in the future. There's so many other cool types, and it's not like the distinction between physical types and special types even exists anymore.)

So anyway, this is why I want the Chinese Zodiac theory to die in a fire. Give me my fully evolved ghost pepper crocodile.

 

[Memento]

And on the topic of design themes... I really, truly am tired of fakemon designers gravitating to the same four animals in designing new fire starters. Goats, oxen, snakes, and horses. Like, seriously. Game Freak isn't bound to sticking to any design themes, real or imagined, so you aren't either. There's only so many of the same four fire animals that I can keep looking at without feeling like the fanbase has lost their ability to come up with their own ideas. (Especially given that one of those four animals is a horse and we've had a fire horse line since the very beginning. But, then, Delphox does have its own take compared to Ninetales, even if they are similar, and I actually used their similarity as part of a theory in The Daily Conspiracy Pokedex, so there's that.)

To be fair, I do like Pokemon Sage's take on a fire goat in the Kidling line. It's not my favorite starter in Sage (probably least favorite starter in Sage, if I'm honest, albeit with no fault of its own; I just like the others better.), but it's creative, clever, and it turns into a literal battering ram in its final evolution. I do like it a lot.

But yeah, otherwise, I totally agree. I get why you're saying this, but I figure that so long as it's creative, I can tolerate it.

And yes, I totally want a ghost-chili-pepper croc.

 

[Trollkitten]

To be fair, I do like Pokemon Sage's take on a fire goat in the Kidling line. It's not my favorite starter in Sage (probably least favorite starter in Sage, if I'm honest, albeit with no fault of its own; I just like the others better.), but it's creative, clever, and it turns into a literal battering ram in its final evolution. I do like it a lot.

Perfectly valid. I'm not saying that all fire starters that follow this theme are uncreative, just that I wish there was a bit more variety in fire starter designs in general.

 

[SprungGeoduck]

oh god yeah I totally agree with the zodiac theory being INCREDIBLY limiting for fakemon fire starters

this is part of why I just... didn't stick to the supposed Starter Themes at all for the Wanshan starters (also because I forgot for the fire one and didn't know there were supposed to be themes for water and grass) (although I do have a fakemon that pays homage to the Chinese Zodiac, but it's not a starter)

 

[Trollkitten]

oh god yeah I totally agree with the zodiac theory being INCREDIBLY limiting for fakemon fire starters

this is part of why I just... didn't stick to the supposed Starter Themes at all for the Wanshan starters (also because I forgot for the fire one and didn't know there were supposed to be themes for water and grass) (although I do have a fakemon that pays homage to the Chinese Zodiac, but it's not a starter)

Entirely valid.

Also of note, I'm planning to temporarily run three blog articles a week rather than two, just to catch up with everything I've written. Emphasis on 'planning' and 'temporarily' -- I have a very bad habit of not keeping up with all the things I've stated I will do (Kaijune being one of them), and I can't in any way guarantee that three articles a week will become anything close to the new status quo. I just don't like sitting on a big bunch of articles I haven't posted yet.

Spoiler: Heracross, Eelektrik, and Turtonator

Heracross: Dreams of a Goh-locke (and the Unfortunate Reality)

So for this article's random Pokemon, I got Heracross. What does Heracross have to do with a Goh-locke? Well, it reminded me of Bird Keeper Toby's relatively recent attempt to play through the entirety of Legends Arceus using only Pokemon that Ash Ketchum has used on his team, as summarized here:


If you've watched the video, you probably know why Heracross of all Pokemon reminds me of this run.

Now, playing through a bunch of different Pokemon games as Ash Ketchum is fairly popular in the Pokemon community, and while I considered that possibility for a future nuzlocke (as if I don't already have too many nuzlocke ideas anyway), if I'm going to try an anime-based challenge, I'd like to do something a little bit different. So I came up with the idea of doing a run where I can only catch and use Pokemon that Goh had caught in the anime.

...and then I found out just how many Pokemon Goh had caught in the anime.

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Goh's_Pokémon

Woof. Absolute woof. While it's not bad in terms of team variety, it is somewhat bad in how much pre-run effort it would take to just keep track of them all and determine which of them would actually be possible to encounter in whatever game I chose. And in terms of starters, it would HAVE to be a Galar locke, because the only other starter Pokemon that Goh has (besides Pikachu, but I don't have Yellow or Let's Go Pikachu) was obtained as a Frogadier.

Another concept I had was the Snaplocke, otherwise known as the Lentalocke, on account that it only uses Pokemon lines found in New Pokemon Snap. (I say 'lines' because it wouldn't be as much fun if I couldn't evolve the mons whose evolutions aren't in the game, and some mons such as Vivillon can only be caught in their unevolved forms, which don't appear in the game.) If I were to play such a nuzlocke, it would probably be in an Alola game, as that's currently the only generation where you can use Minior, which is one of my favorite new Pokemon. (It's a meteor that's secretly a piece of star candy on the inside. Crunchy on the outside with a chewy center. What's not to love?)

---

Eelektrik: You Can Lead an Eel to Water (but You Can't Make it a Water-Type)

So one of the great mysteries of our time is why a set of Pokemon based on water-dwelling animals is not only not a Water type, but doesn't even dwell in water to begin with. What's the deal with levitating cave eels?

While I tried to find a logical conclusion to this, I ultimately realized that when you take Pokemon physics into account, the entire question is a moot point. Lots of aquatic Pokemon can battle inside and outside of the water without any problems. You can run around the overworld in HGSS, LGPE, or BDSP with a Magikarp flopping around behind you, and it won't asphyxiate. It's just a part of Pokemon logic that water-breathing Pokemon can also breathe air.

But in that case, how come the Tynamo line moved out of the water to begin with, assuming they ever lived there in the first place? And while we're at it, if the Sharpedo and Garchomp lines are truly related the way many fans believe they are, then how come Sharpedo live in the water and Garchomp live on land? What led a water-dwelling creature to go full-on entirely terrestrial? Without knowledge of the different species' ecological needs and the environmental history of their respective home regions, the best anyone can do is speculate -- and I don't think I have enough information at this time to make any educated guesses.

I will say that my Tempora region concept includes Pokemon species from the past and future, and it might be interesting to try to create an Ancient Tynamo line that's Water/Electric, or an ancestor to Sharpedo and Garchomp that's Water/Dragon type. Sadly, given the timeline of Sharpedo and Garchomp splitting off, it wouldn't really make sense to give the Sharpedo/Garchomp ancestor a Mega Evolution, even if its two descendants have them... but a primal form might work, if that's not entirely broken. I just have to figure out how to fuse a two-stage line with a three-stage line.

---

Turtonator: Why DO We Have A Dragon Torkoal?

So one interesting thing about Turtonator is that while it's a counterpart to Drampa, and there is a school of thought that thinks that Drampa should be an evolution to Dunsparce (which I find questionable at best and reaching at worst, but it's still a humorous idea), I'm currently the only one I know of who thinks that if Drampa should be an evolution of Dunsparce, Turtonator should be an evolution of Torkoal. Both proposed evolution lines would involve a non-Dragon Pokemon gaining the Dragon type, and at least Torkoal and Turtonator are both fire turtles (well, tortoises, technically), while Dunsparce and Drampa don't have much in common besides being, well, weird and reptilian and vaguely serpentine. (Of course, when someone like me says that something is weird, you shouldn't assume it's an insult. Which it definitely is not in this case -- I like both designs, and it's fun to have Pokemon that break the mold in the design department.)

So why is Turtonator a dragon when Torkoal (and literally every other turtle Pokemon in the Pokedex) is not? Well, Bulbapedia suggests that it might be inspired by the Tarasque, a mythological dragon-like chimeric beast that anyone who plays Dungeons and Dragons knows and fears, or by the Chinese Dragon Turtle, another chimeric beast that has the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle. But in terms of an in-universe explanation for Turtonator's Dragon type, I would suggest that it has to do with its location and how it has adapted to it.

Turtonator shares territory with Torkoal in the Alola region, both of them existing on Blush Mountain, the area where the Geothermal Power Plant is located. We know that certain Pokemon in Alola have evolved to have regional forms, and my article on the Dragon type suggests that said typing has to do with the energy of creation itself, which may well manifest itself to some degree in the energy that the Geothermal Power Plant harvests. Perhaps certain Torkoal developed the power to tap into those energies, and this allowed their descendants to become the mighty Turtonator and gain the Dragon type. As to why normal Torkoal still exist on Blush Mountain, I presume that there is still an ecological niche in the Blush Mountain area that Torkoal fit in that Turtonator don't compete with them for, which is why both species can coexist. Perhaps the Turtonator and Torkoal are allies that fill different roles in ensuring that the fire tortoise population continues to exist.

 

[Trollkitten]

Spoiler: Plates, Z-Crystals, and How Necrozma Gained (and Lost) its Light

Arceus. Giratina. Necrozma. What do all of these Pokemon have in common? They're all legendary Pokemon, they all have godlike power, and they've all starred as boxart legendaries in at least one game. But what if I told you that these three Pokemon have a shared history together dating back towards the dawn of time in the Pokemon world?

First of all, let's see what we know about these Pokemon. Legend says that Arceus created the universe with its thousand arms (which I presume is metaphorical for something, likely the Unown or else the other legendary Pokemon, but what exactly these arms are does not really play into this theory much). Each of the plates of Arceus has a bit of lore written on it, as seen in Legends Arceus. The Flame Plate reads, "The power of defeated giants infuses this Plate." But who were the defeated giants?

A bit of a hint is dropped on the Legend Plate's inscription: "From all creations, over all creations, does the Original One watch over all." This shows that the Almighty Sinnoh that we know is not merely the 'big G God' of the Pokemon universe, but of the Pokemon multiverse. Meaning that Arceus has dominion over not just the world of humans and Pokemon that we know, but of all the branched canons, the anime and manga universes, the spinoffs such as Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and -- yes -- Ultra Space and those that dwell within it.

Which leads to another interesting point about Arceus: not only is it able to change its type based on the Plate that it holds, it is also able to change its type if it holds a Z-crystal of said type and knows a move of that type to activate the Z-crystal. Now, why would a Z-crystal have the same effect on Arceus as a Plate? Are they made of the same material?

The same material.

Naturally, there are some differences between the Plates and the Z-crystals -- Plates are opaque, while Z-crystals are transparent. However, it is entirely possible that the Plates and Z-crystals are in fact the same type of material, simply in different states -- perhaps Z-crystals are in a more raw, natural state, and Plates are more refined (as evidenced by their being engraved with writing). And if the two types of items are forged from the same material, then we can reasonably infer that the Plates could have the same origins as the Z-crystals.

The Z-crystals, of course, being formed from pieces of Necrozma's body.

While the evidence is circumstantial in nature, it does make some degree of sense. Perhaps the defeated giants that Arceus fought were in fact Necrozma, and perhaps the Plates were in fact pieces of Necrozma that Arceus defeated and forged into the Plates. The Necrozma in USUM may well be the sole survivor of an anti-Necrozma massacre carried out by Almighty Sinnoh. But why would Arceus be fighting Necrozma in the first place?

Weeeeeell... there's also the issue of Necrozma itself, specifically Ultra Necrozma. How did it become the Blinding One to begin with? Blazing with light... filled with fury... stats raised and ultra aggressive... sounds a little bit similar to those Noble Pokemon in Legends Arceus, doesn't it?

You know, the ones struck by lightning from the timespace rift?

The lightning that Giratina sent?

You know, Giratina? The one that Game Freak finally confirmed did in fact engage in violence against Arceus like everyone and their mother speculated? The other legendary in the group of three I mentioned starting out? Given that Arceus is, well, Arceus, somehow I don't believe that Giratina was fool enough to try to defeat it on its own. Somehow, I imagine that it went looking for other powerful Pokemon to aid it in its coup and imbued them with the power that it (clearly erroneously) thought would allow it to overthrow Arceus for whatever purpose it so desired.

What if that's how Necrozma first became the Blinding One? A fierce Dragon of light that rebelled against its maker, only to fall from its Creator's grace?

And if this sounds somewhat Biblical, you're right... but honestly, that part wasn't entirely intentional. I just wanted to figure out why the Z-crystals serve the same role as Arceus's plates in Gen 7, and the rest sort of happened from there.

Postscript: I would like to address a potential counterargument found on the Earth Plate in Legends Arceus: "When the universe was created, its shards became this Plate." This could be used as an argument against the Plates having an origin in Necrozma, but personally? Look at Necrozma in the form it was first revealed in, and tell me that doesn't look like it's made of shards.

QotD: What's your favorite Pokemon conspiracy theory?

 

[Memento]

QotD: What's your favorite Pokemon conspiracy theory?

That Oak is responsible for forming every enemy team.

G - Galactic
R - Rocket
A - Aqua
M - Magma
P - Plasma
S - Skull

A - Aether
F - Flare

Gramps did it all.

 

[Trollkitten]

That Oak is responsible for forming every enemy team.

G - Galactic
R - Rocket
A - Aqua
M - Magma
P - Plasma
S - Skull

A - Aether
F - Flare

Gramps did it all.

Looks at my sussy Oak in Seeing Red

Well... hehehehehe...

Spoiler: What I'm Watching

The INSANE Cut Content of Pokémon's Early Development (Newly Discovered)


Did you know that in one point of Gen 1's development, players were going to be able to name the species of Pokemon they caught? Or that Kanto was at one point planned to be entirely open world? This video makes me realize just how different the Pokemon series would have been if it had started twenty years later and had the advantages of more recent-gen hardware. (For one thing, certain players would have named some Pokemon species some very rude things.)

---

Recurring Easter Eggs/ Secrets In Pokemon


Every ongoing series has its tropes, and Pokemon is no exception. From the guy who thinks technology is so amazing to the kid who can't shut up about his shorts, this video details the various running gags of the Pokemon franchise that we all know and love.

---

[ENG] PROJECT Animon: Another Story - Announcement Trailer


Project Animon: Another Story - Story Trailer


Developed by the studio that brought us Pokemon Xenoverse, Project Animon: Another Story promises to be a narrative-driven Pokemon-like that, judging from the trailer, has a branching storyline dependent on the player's choices, which is really cool. I also like the concept of the Animon adapting based on the five emotive traits mentioned in the second video. I do wonder if these traits have anything to do with how the Animon perform in battle, similarly to Pokemon's type chart.

The two warring factions do call up images of Gen 5's theme of truth and ideals, which sadly was not really explored all that well within the Unova games, at least partially because N's character was exactly the same regardless of which version you chose, making which philosophy he sides with entirely inconsequential. As good as BW's story is held up to be, that's a flaw I honestly didn't even notice before just now, and it does weaken the theme to have two supposedly warring philosophies expressed in exactly the same way as if they are interchangeable. I'm surprised I've never seen anyone bring this up before.

---

My Response To Tyranitar Tube's NEW Video


Bird Keeper Toby and TyranitarTube are two of my favorite PokeTubers, and it's interesting seeing Toby make a direct rebuttal to one of TTube's videos. I've been thinking recently about the value and proper use of subtext in media, and Toby makes a compelling point that not everything has to be fully explained in a story and that leaving hints within the story rather than just laying out the entire picture can actually be more compelling because it engages the reader to try to figure things out. As someone who spends quite a lot of time coming up with Pokemon theories and headcanons, it was really cool to hear this laid out.

Oh, and I should probably link to the original video that Toby is commenting on:


---

Haunter Dominated a Huge Tournament. Here's How.


What do Haunter, Delcatty, and trolling have in common? They're all a major part of one of the most clever and evil strategies ever devised for VGC. Watch it and weep for humanity. (One thing that the video doesn't mention is that Haunter was a strategic pick because it can't be Toxic'd.)

---

MORE NEW GIMMICK FORMS for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?!


So there's this theory going around that Scurvy is going to have past forms and future forms (that is, Proto forms and Neo forms), and a lot of artists have been working with that concept to design potential species variants. Ever wanted to see Cramorant as a dodo, Golurk as a Gundam, or Sudowoodo as a telephone pole? Now you can. (Be warned that there is a Neo Mr. Mime and it is somewhat unsettling.)

---

DuckTales - Sonic Underground Theme (Contains DuckTales SPOILERS)


...why the heck does this work so well?

QotD: What Pokemon would you like to see get a 'proto form' or 'neo form'? What would it look like, and what type(s) would it be?