Screenshot Kanto Teen Commentary Via Memory Lane VI: A FireRed Nostalgialocke

[apocalypsewriter]

Found and read all this right before the upcoming end. Can't wait to see the rest! As it is, I'm already super hyped because of that E4 run. It went great. Penelope is a credit to all Lapras-kind.

Max/Blue isn't even all that bad in this game. Especially in comparison to the original where he's a lot more one note in characterization (though wasn't everyone?). And he's a tough fight. My real question is, "was there a champion before him?" and "who was it and where did they go?". Because you aren't forced to stick around, so... Champion is really just beating the League, right? Unless no one had ever beaten Lance before. But no one said that. And he put himself after the gauntlet of three other trainers--

I have thought too hard about this, for no reason.

 

[Zenfulmockingbird]

Professor Xion: Congrats on beating the league and in this gen.

 

[Zenfulmockingbird]

Found and read all this right before the upcoming end. Can't wait to see the rest! As it is, I'm already super hyped because of that E4 run. It went great. Penelope is a credit to all Lapras-kind.

Max/Blue isn't even all that bad in this game. Especially in comparison to the original where he's a lot more one note in characterization (though wasn't everyone?). And he's a tough fight. My real question is, "was there a champion before him?" and "who was it and where did they go?". Because you aren't forced to stick around, so... Champion is really just beating the League, right? Unless no one had ever beaten Lance before. But no one said that. And he put himself after the gauntlet of three other trainers--

I have thought too hard about this, for no reason.

That never crossed my mind. Maybe previous champ gave up the title.

 

[Nebbles]

A FABULOUS win!!!!!!!!!!! One that is so well-earned, too! I'm so excited to see the rest of the Sevii Islands handled here, and then the eventual showdown with Mewtwo!

 

[songwithnosoul]

Spoiler: Traditional childhood friend deathmatch

@songwithnosoul Alexander did a damn fine job for an evolution of one of the most reviled com ‘mons in Pokemon! Let no-one look down on him or his kin again!

And he's not even fully-evolved either! Though I'm still looking forward to that. One more battle til Crobat time!

I do NOT want a close-up on the inside of Golbat’s mouth, every day that takes me further from Gen I Golbat sprites is a day I fucking CHERISH

The bar we went to for axe-throwing had a pretty good system; they gave you a wristie when you came in. You needed the wristie to get into the axe-throwing cages, and as long as you were wearing it, the bar wouldn’t sell you any alcohol (but did have some pretty good mocktails—I enjoyed a Cuddles On The Beach in between my turns XD). They also wouldn’t give you a wristie if you came in already drunk or high. The top scorer got a free drink at the bar after we were done, but our top scorer (by a LONG way) isn’t even a drinker XD it was a really good night, I highly recommend it!

That does sound like a good system!

Last time, we pretty much swept through Agatha and Lance. Deathless League so far, that’s pretty nice! But today…

Mm, ominous. Don't like

And I have no doubt you’ve earned it, bro, you really have a team of tanks on you, but I am afraid that you are only the protagonist of a Greek tragedy, unable to escape your fate no matter how hard you fight it. Tragedy is quicksand, I'm sorry to say, and the more you struggle, the faster you will sink.

Man, I love your terrifying monologues towards the people you're about to beat! This one is particularly existential.

Christ on a CRACKER that Psychic hurts!

Oh dear. All of your trepidation over fighting Sabrina comes rushing back. I fear disaster incoming before you take this thing down...

HOLY SHIT

!!!!!!!!

Oh than goodness. We’re getting some very lucky misses in this run

Phew. Lucky misses, and lucky double weaknesses! This would've been messier if Penelope couldn't one-shot it.

Okay, I love the Exeggutor sprite, love the shifty smirk on the stage left head, love all the expressions actually, love the energy, but I’m pretty sure it also knows Psychic so best to kill it quickly

Whew. Nice and clean.

That was an unwise move on your part. Behold: 100% accuracy Thunder

Ooooh! I love how you've covered your bases re: water-type counters here. Louie, Regina, and Penelope too! You definitely picked the best match of the three in a bulky water-type.

Bulky boy, goddamn

Especially considering this.

Using Hydro Pump was also not your best idea ever

Oh, I forgot about that. Truly a perfect counter.

Hell of a Water-type showdown there!

*Cheers for Penelope*

Ah, shit, this guy again

Uh-oh.

Ay-yi-yi

Yiiiiiiikes. Don't like that.

Okay, clearly this isn’t working, I need somebody sturdier than Hooktail out there

Yeah, excellent call. I was a little afraid you were going to lose your starter here.

Yep, Penelope holds up pretty well, but she won’t for long if she keeps getting those Special Defense drops…

There we goooooooooooooooo!

Phew. Penelope saves the day once again!

I get it, man, I do. It sucks. You tried so hard, and got so far, and in the end, it didn’t even matter.

Damn. You took his Championship and quoted Linkin Park at him to express your sympathies? Cold.

Nobody ask questions about what I may have skipped here or why Oak has a broken nose now. We just had a conversation about family, that’s all.

Do love the reflections in the floor here, makes the room look brand-new rather than dusty and abandoned, y’know? But there should really be a statue of Max on one of those podiums

Oh, that'd be a nice detail! Poor kid.

Alexander, holy shit! I don’t know what you did to make that Machamp too scared to land an attack on you, but it hella worked! Soon you shall achieve your peak form

Hell yeah! I also love the idea that he scared the Machamp out of attacking him.

Penelope Dragonslayer, you were literally designed and built to be the best water-type on anybody’s team, and while you’re no Chel, you did not disappoint. Never seen anybody with that much HP and endurance who wasn’t a Normal-type!

She's really a latecomer powerhouse on the team! It was a great move on your part to get her from Silph Co.

So my first-ever Nuzlocke, in 2011, was FireRed, and my final body count was 20, including losing my Lapras to Lance (hence swapping Penelope out against that Aerodactyl…), but this time? At the same point, my body count is two, with a deathless League to boot! Hell fuckin yeah!!!

I was thinking that too. So few deaths, and none in the League! You've done such an excellent job with the run so far! The run isn't over yet, but it's still an impressive achievement nevertheless.

But my very favourite Pokemon credits sequence of all time

Ooh hell yeah! Glad the update is long for a good reason!

Also, I fuckin see you, Kenji Matsushima. So you’re responsible for the nightmare fuel Pokedex entries!

Haha

In loving memory of Grinch, who was also a sturdy dude and fine starter for the Blue run

;~;

I have not yet enjoyed having the Squirtle line in this series, but one day… one day

Something to look forward to.

I really like the inclusion of your rival brooding over his loss, too, both because he has every right to do so, and because it kinda gives the impression, at least to me, that your character isn’t just giving a victory lap of Kanto, but looking for their old friend who ran off after his dreams were crushed, wanting to see if he’s okay. I always wished Kanto did more with this emotional throughline of two former best friends becoming bitter rivals, and I really wish the postgame had more on you reconciling with him. Not that I don’t think the Sevii Islands stuff is fun, but I think it would’ve been even more so if you were chasing down Team Rocket with your rival as a way of rebuilding your friendship, rather than a random wild Lorelei, you know?

I also got the impression that Chu is running after Max, yeah, and I also thought it's a nice touch! I also really like your idea for including the rival more in the postgame, though. It is a shame that they didn't take advantage of the extra story in the remakes to flesh your relationship out with him more, though. I like your pitch.

And then, after all that… you run all the way home

Ah... Satisfying to come full-circle... Until next time!

 

[SayleeK]

Spoiler: Replies

@ponibutts oh believe me, I’m gonna be putting off Mewtwo like I put off Sabrina for exactly the same reason XP


@FPFP66 I can’t believe Levitate can defeat Earthquake, one of the most powerful moves in the game, but fuckin Pocket Sand can defeat Levitate
I did iiiiiit! So fucking happy with this return to Kanto :D
Honestly higher education is one hell of a questline to complete, love you using the FRLG credits song as a victory tune!


@bhelryss god I was so scared of that hit on Penelope… so glad she toughed it out!


@Time Master Eon Max’s existence really is a tragedy, destined to rise only to be felled by Chu, forever…


@Jackdaw991 Psychic-types still TERRIFY me due to my team comp, so before we do Mewtwo… we do literally everything else I can find!


@Green Tea thank you, thank you, thank you!


@Electro Look I can criticize Max for his spam tactics but at the end of the day, getting to the top only to immediately lose and then have Linkin Park sung at you fuckin sucks and his granda should be more compassionate about that >:(
I’m sure around the eighth or ninth time they reboot Kanto, they’ll finally explore the protagonist/rival friendship properly, maybe


@Kit_The_Feef Kanto really does demand that you grind before the League, or life will suck for you, I’m afraid! I adore the wee victory lap of Kanto… I also adore the latest comics about Pigment, who’s getting bigger but still fits in the palm of her daddy’s hand, she’s ADORABLE (when she’s not spooking her cousin XD)


@apocalypsewriter welcome! This run is an unusually good oen for this series, you’ve dropped in on a high :P
I get the vibe, from a bunch of details in the game, that the Pokemon League (or at least the Elite Four) are really, really new. Like, you and your rival might be some of the first challengers, or at least the first to make it through. Your rival might have been the first-ever Champion, with the role reserved for whoever’s made it through the League most recently. Feels even worse to immediately take it away from him XP


@Zenfulmockingbird we’re nearly done with Kanto! But we’ve still got an Emerald run left for this game…


@Nebbles Thank you! I haven’t played the Sevii Islands postgame in years, so I only remember half of it, let’s see how it goes XD


@songwithnosoul Maybe I read too many Greek tragedies in Uni but I do have very existential feelings about video game characters who exist solely to be defeated or destroyed, which is most Pokemon rivals… any attempt at giving them a character arc will always, always be undercut by the fact that they can’t win, not against you. With only a handful of exceptions, even if they do win, time will be rewound, Undertale style, until their inevitable loss comes…
I have to confess, I also entirely forgot what Penelope’s Ability was, so her healing from being hit by Hydro Pump was a pleasant surprise! She really was the perfect counter for that Blastoise XD
This game is set in like 2004, I have to get some Linkin Park in here somewhere :v
Bruno’s Machamp got a good look down Alexander’s throat and was too afraid to get any closer :v
I’m sure they’ll finally flesh out the protagonist/rival relationship in the eighth or ninth reboot of Kanto XD

Hello and welcome back to my Fire Red nostalgialocke! Last time…

Spoiler: Part 20: How Is Your Pokedex Coming Along?

…well, that! This time…

I am. Did you think about that little chat we had last time?

It’s a notepad, my man. Once you give me the national dex, though, I’ll be able to add one more entry to that

—hey, I said give me the National Dex! HEY!

Hi Mum, just popping in to tell you that I love you, and also that if the cops come around, don't talk to them, just give me a call and let me know

Right, old man! Where’s that National Dex?

Wait, hang on…

FUCK

Alexander, my boy… will we never see you in your true glory? Will the laws of a Notepad forever constrain you?

Fuck that. I am the trueborn king of Team Rocket! I can break the law once in a while, as a treat

If anybody asks, I am visiting Cinnabar Lab out of pure scientific curiosity

I smell… backstory

I had an Electrode before… Dodgeball cannot be replaced.

I see they’ve copied all the trades over from Red and Blue here. This trade is… fine, but it’s still probably easier to Surf south from Pallet and catch one in the grass.

Hey, I remember you! You’re a dick!

NOT IF IT ROLLS EXPLOSION IT’S NOT

Wait… was I right??? There is a display of pipes here??? Why???

You really didn’t have to do this, Game Freak. At least offer trades for Safari Park exclusives or something!

Sssshhh! No it’s not! Keep your voice down!

Just take the package and shut yer yap

Nowhere. I’m not here, if you know what’s good for you.

I wonder if he was supposed to come off as a Weird Foreign Doctor in Japanese? Maybe he’s throwing in Random English? I’m always legit curious about this kind of thing and wish it was easier to find info on. The "aiyah" makes this all sound like racist dialogue written for Chinese stereotypes so uh... maybe that script needed another pass, huh?

While in Fuchsia for no reason whatsoever, I ran into a familiar face! Well, not familiar in that sprite, but… don’t worry, hen. I predict you shall go far. In HGSS, anyway. In GSC… don’t worry about it.

This is a blank screen. You see nothing. No Pokemon is illegal.

Oh, look! Professor Oak just so happens to have changed his mind!

Well, some of them could have been seen in Kanto by now if you hadn’t kept Alexander from evolving!

Yessss! CALL HIM THE FUCK OUT!

He’s honestly 100% correct! He’s been out filling his pokedex while I’ve been taking over Team Rocket! It’s entirely sensible to entrust all the pokedex business to him over me! I’m doing a Notepad run Mewdammit!

Oh my god this literally could not be more patronizing. Oak you are why I am turning to villainy

Fuckin software updates. If this thing has to be Always Online to work, I’m going to kill you with it

This is just for Alexander’s sake, mate, you’re not getting any more than this from me.

Have a good time!

And you, auld man… when he comes back with a full pokedex, you’ll be very excited if you know what’s good for you.

Right, for my part, I seem to recall seeing some Rockets on Mt Ember. So far out, they may not be aware of Rocket’s change in leadership, or the internal restructuring that we’re undergoing. I’d better go inform them.

Given that this is a ROM, I sincerely doubt it, but I’ll let you try if it makes you happy and if it doesn't involve buying BillCoin.

Apropos of nothing, did you know there are websites where you can buy lab-grown gems for a fraction of the price of a “real” ruby dug out of the ground by a child slave in a third-world country? I have no money so I can’t buy them anyway but still

Now, I’m sure they were around here somewhere…

Oi! You two! We have new security policies! You need two-factor authentication now!

You two were literally standing on a mountain yodeling access codes.

Combined with attacking your new boss on sight and using stolen babies, which are no longer valid combat Pokemon under the new policy, your prospects for continued employment do not look good.

At least beating your asses and throwing you out is helping Alexander to Ascend.

I’LL TELL YOU WHAT

AT LAAAAAAAASSSSST

Aaaahhhh… all that crime paid off! Feels good, lads. I’ll finish beating up these soon-to-be-fired assholes next time, which is gonna be next Saturday, because I'm gonna be up in the highlands doing a bit of hiking for most of the week. Until next time, let's all join NOM UK in continuing to mock Oak!

Wait, hang on, guys, we don't have to be fatphobic, there's plenty of other reasons to make fun of this terrible person >:( Yer da uses inadequate sample sizes, Oak! Thanks for joining me, and haste ye back!

 

[bhelryss]

YES, CROBAT TIME

"all that crime paid off" what crime? all i saw was an empty pc box. weird thing to screenshot, but alright! you're the rocket boss

honestly the dig at the wide sprites in r/b here is unnecessary :(

i love the wide sprites, i think they're adorable. they're so charming!!!

also if we're insulting oak we should call him in front of the board of ethics for exploiting child labor instead of using his actual lab assistants to gather the data he needs for his work

 

[FPFP66]

NOT IF IT ROLLS EXPLOSION IT’S NOT

Miss Saylee has graduated to Pokémon Master. (Also, my earlier quoted replies were deleted, so you must endure a stranger format than usual. Too bad.)

You see nothing.

I saw nothing.

Given that this is a ROM

A what?? Might as well have said the drugs out loud.

AT LAAAAAAAASSSSST

Honestly higher education is one hell of a questline to complete, love you using the FRLG credits song as a victory tune!

This makes me feel like such a loser for even admitting it. I am not ashamed to admit I feel shameful. What a nerd I was. And am. Sigh.

anyway, I already rented about the National Dex in another post, I think, but it was stupid to require the player to have a certain amount of catches to advance the story.

fuck you, LGPE.

 

[Time Master Eon]

I really hate the National Dex lock. I mean, I get why they did it, it was their first remake and they didn't want to change the original Pokédex. But you know what else would have worked? either add the new mons to the dex anyway, or add a scene or line about your Pokémon evolving into something not in the dex. Maybe if you got a Crobat you'd get a special line if you showed it to Oak.

 

[Green Tea]

Ah, intimidating old people into upgrading your 'dex. Done like a true Rocket.

I thought that the "weird foreign doctor" was Italian when I first played Blue all those years ago. I don't really know why, but every time since, I've read his dialogue with a heavy and ridiculous Italian accent.

If my memory is right, the patch of grass south of Pallet only contains tangela in FRLG. There are other things there in RBY, but in FRLG, it's pure, unadulterated tentacle monsters tangela, so it's not as if trading for one is even remotely useful in this generation. Ponyta were very common in the mansion, and a trade-boosted dewgong would be useful against Blaine, so I saw that trade as being a bit like the Goldenrod machop or Violet City onix in Johto - potentially useful, but only if your team's struggling. It's even less useful in this case because your only way to access Cinnabar is via a sea route, and that means you need something to surf on. Unless you decided to teach surf to your nidothing, you probably have a water-type already...

Also, funny that you mention trading for exclusives from the safari game. In RBY you could do that on Cinnbar. All you had to trade was the stability of your cartridge and the integrity of your hall of fame records and you too could easily acquire tauros and kangaskhan outside of the safari game...

 

[Green Tea]

I really hate the National Dex lock. I mean, I get why they did it, it was their first remake and they didn't want to change the original Pokédex. But you know what else would have worked? either add the new mons to the dex anyway, or add a scene or line about your Pokémon evolving into something not in the dex. Maybe if you got a Crobat you'd get a special line if you showed it to Oak.

That's brilliant. I think the evolution items (sun stone, metal coat etc.) aren't available in normal FRLG, so you could only get crobat, happiny and espeon (and maybe umbreon with a moon stone?) from the Johto 'dex. It would be pretty cool if evolving one of them and showing it to Oak was your trigger for the upgrade, instead of catching an arbitrary number of Pokémon.

 

[Jackdaw991]

At last! Alexander finally has lost his legs evolved

I much prefer the gen 4 way of "You see it, here's the national dex" over "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN 60 FORGET IT!!!!"

I never knew about that girl being Janine, maybe cause I haven't done what the gen 5 guy calls a curiosee for the gen 3 games as much.

Illegals? Why bring it up? There wasn't anything on the image? What are you on about??????

 

[Zenfulmockingbird]

You got a crobat.
Plus this is the region where you first encounter houndourer in the wild.

 

[apocalypsewriter]

I get the vibe, from a bunch of details in the game, that the Pokemon League (or at least the Elite Four) are really, really new. Like, you and your rival might be some of the first challengers, or at least the first to make it through. Your rival might have been the first-ever Champion, with the role reserved for whoever’s made it through the League most recently. Feels even worse to immediately take it away from him XP

That could very well be it. Which would make the most sense. And really hurts even more for the rival to be ousted immediately. At least his record will always be the first one there, at least. And, it being so new, no wonder it was originally a surprise of "oh, and now fight one more person!"

Yay for Alexander! At least these Rocket members are doing their new boss a good with that, even if they are being stupid in many other ways.

This is a blank screen. You see nothing. No Pokemon is illegal.

And up to 60 pokémon? I didn't see anything.

 

[Nebbles]

YEAAAA CROBAT.... I think it's a bit silly restricting the National Dex like that tbh, like, ain't completing the main story enough?? smh these fuckers ever account for gimmick runs

 

[Moon]

Uh articuno bc pretty
And Galatians articuno bc cool
Edit: BEVer mind wow you updated like six times
Stupid lack of time I get on my phone

 

[songwithnosoul]

Spoiler: I prefer the term 'forbidden.' It's much sexier.

Bruno’s Machamp got a good look down Alexander’s throat and was too afraid to get any closer :v

Pfft

It’s a notepad, my man. Once you give me the national dex, though, I’ll be able to add one more entry to that

—hey, I said give me the National Dex! HEY!

Uh-oh.

Hi Mum, just popping in to tell you that I love you, and also that if the cops come around, don't talk to them, just give me a call and let me know

Just good life advice in general (mostly the first part, but the second part is a completely normal thing for your child to tell you I'm sure). What a considerate daughter you are!

Wait, hang on…

FUCK

...So no Crobat after all? ;~;

Alexander, my boy… will we never see you in your true glory? Will the laws of a Notepad forever constrain you?

Noooooo!

Wait… was I right??? There is a display of pipes here??? Why???

Either that or nobody who made the original games remembered WTF that was either and the remake team had to make a guess. It does stand out a bit considering the museum isn't very anthropology-focused. Of course, the pipe is made of amber, so perhaps it also has a mosquito carrying ancient DNA trapped inside it.

Sssshhh! No it’s not! Keep your voice down!

Just take the package and shut yer yap

lol I love how this is conducted like a drug deal or something. Also, does this mean you're going to bend the rules and fill those extra 'dex entries anyway? It certainly fits the run where you're going full criminal.

This is a blank screen. You see nothing. No Pokemon is illegal.

Yesssss!

He’s honestly 100% correct! He’s been out filling his pokedex while I’ve been taking over Team Rocket! It’s entirely sensible to entrust all the pokedex business to him over me! I’m doing a Notepad run Mewdammit!

Once again, poor Max. And maybe you wouldn't be forced to resort to catching crimes if Oak hadn't insisted on hanging all his Pokédex hopes on you for some reason! Glad the other regional professors don't do this shit.

Right, for my part, I seem to recall seeing some Rockets on Mt Ember. So far out, they may not be aware of Rocket’s change in leadership, or the internal restructuring that we’re undergoing. I’d better go inform them.

You are such a hands-on and helpful boss! The Rockets are lucky to have you!

Given that this is a ROM, I sincerely doubt it, but I’ll let you try if it makes you happy and if it doesn't involve buying BillCoin.

Pffft BillCoin

Apropos of nothing, did you know there are websites where you can buy lab-grown gems for a fraction of the price of a “real” ruby dug out of the ground by a child slave in a third-world country? I have no money so I can’t buy them anyway but still

Unironically important PSA

You two were literally standing on a mountain yodeling access codes.

Hahahaha. Once again I must appreciate your way with words.

At least beating your asses and throwing you out is helping Alexander to Ascend.

Oh. Oh! Is it time?

AT LAAAAAAAASSSSST

YESSSSSSSSSS!

I’ll finish beating up these soon-to-be-fired assholes next time, which is gonna be next Saturday, because I'm gonna be up in the highlands doing a bit of hiking for most of the week

Ooh, nice! Hope it was fun!

Wait, hang on, guys, we don't have to be fatphobic, there's plenty of other reasons to make fun of this terrible person >:( Yer da uses inadequate sample sizes, Oak!

+2 for both calling out the fatphobia and for the great science joke. (Also, given how filling out the Pokédex supposedly works, it's not just his dad who's got a problem with inadequate sample sizes.)

 

[SayleeK]

Spoiler: Replies

@bhelryss This is my totally legal Crobat, Alexander, isn’t he beautiful? So beautiful that everyone who sees him forgets how to ask questions
Yeah Oak we need to talk about child labour and emotional abuse, not your diet plan


@FPFP66

@Time Master Eon Not being able to catch new ‘mons in the wild before postgame would be fair, but why wouldn’t you let our Kanto ‘mons evolve, Game Freak? LET US SHOW OUR LOVE DAMMIT


@Green Tea Oh god, don’t remind me of THAT glitch… Gen I glitches are honestly kind of amazing just in terms of what’s happening with the software, but they scared the SHIT out of me as a kid
You couldn’t get Happiny in Gen III, but you could get Blissey by evolving Chansey! Umbreon and Espeon are both happiness evos, too… I think it would’ve been lovely if the power of love could break the embargo, but Game Freak blocked that, so the power of Crimes will have to do


@Jackdaw991 Game Freak hid a ton of easter eggs in the game to fill out your Fame Checker, an item I entirely forgot about in this run XD


@Zenfulmockingbird I did get a Crobat! Houndour in the wild would be great if it happens earlier than the very end of the game someday XD


@apocalypsewriter Gotta go through my new staff roster, decide who can be trained up into a useful subordinate and who will make a delicious lunch for Alexander


@Nebbles it’s like Game Freak has NO respect for the intricate rulesets we make up on niche forums catering to death fiction :P


@Moon glad you’re with us whenever you do get time!


@songwithnosoul “never talk to the cops without a lawyer present” is actually a talk my IRL mum gave me once… I’m not sure WHAT she thought I was gonna get up to in uni, but it’s good advice to get XD
I’m the Rocket Boss, I’m not gonna let a little thing like laws I made up stop me from evolving Alexander >:( If Elm hasn’t popped up to stop me, then nobody can!
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before but I greatly enjoy “yer da” jokes, a counterpart to “yer maw” jokes that are less focused on misogyny and fatphobia and more on mocking the target’s father (and by extension the target) for either his poor financial/career choices or being inadequate in his chosen field. Yer da invested in dogecoin, Oak

Hello and welcome back to my FireRed nostalgialocke! Last time, something glorious happened.

Spoiler: Part 21: Be Smelling Ya!

I’ll tell you why!

All the laws I’ve broken, all the asses I’ve kicked, all in service of my beautiful batty boy

Actually, since I’ve recently come into possession of a casino, I’m all for people betting! To a controlled extent, of course. If you bankrupt people, they can’t keep gambling!

Boy are THEY in for a surprise when they get back to head office!

Always loved these goopy lil dudes. They’re one of those designs that are, like, really cute in an ugly way, y’know?

Theeere’s the braille—and, helpfully, this is actually the alphabet, A-Z! The two wee ones are I thiiiiink an apostrophe and a full stop? Probably be contextually clear once we get to the actual translations

“Everything
Has meaning
Existence
Has meaning
Being alive
Has meaning
Have dreams
Use power.”
Apparently, the ancient people of the Sevii Islands carved their daily affirmations into the cave walls! That’s nice!

Yoink

Hope I haven’t cursed my whole bloodline nicking this

This isn’t for free, you understand? I hear you’re building connections with Hoenn, and last time I was there, some of my dealings left me… unsatisfied.

Why am I not surprised

I’m curious; is it this special Ruby and Sapphire in particular, or is he implying there’s some special connection between all rubies and sapphires, beyond space lesbianism? I mean, aren’t rubies and sapphires the same gem, just with different names based on colour? Whatever this is Magic Animal Planet and I’m overthinking things again

Time to scope out new territory

Business

Okay, so in order: not copying you, I learned all about eggs from Elm the Eldritch, and I’m not trying to fill my national pokedex. It’s entirely your bag! Run free and try to build some self-esteem on your own merits and achievements rather than your grandfather’s unattainable approval! And hey, you ever want somebody to sort that old man out for you…

I feel like “smell ya later” has more impact than “be smelling ya”, which sounds mildly creepy

I smell loooooore! Which I regularly forget entirely about but it would’ve been really fun if they’d set up a Pokemon Contest Hall somewhere in Kanto, if only in the Sevii Islands, as a shout-out to sharing a generation with Hoenn

When I was teaching, I found Japanese kids go utterly feral for stickers, but I cannae blame them, because when I got a look at the sticker selection in Daiso, I just about went feral and moved in there. It’s not just the variety, it’s the quality. My autistic ass would utterly die for the 3-D squishy stickers and Daiso only charged 100 yen for them! Offering a choice of stickers to go on the homework folder was one of the top ways to motivate students, but I also have a shitton of them on my folders and laptop and more than two years after I moved away from Japan they still look great and bring me daily joy :D

Shame the stickers are so wee and faint. Ooh, gonna have to get my team prints updated now that Alex has finally evolved!

Shame being able to find this spoils the surprise a wee touch

Like, how great would it have been to find this mystery house packed to the gills with pokemon plushies (aka my dream house) and then you find out later that it belongs to Lorelei?

I am very entertained by the image of Lorelei spending a League season being cold and intimidating to all of her challengers and then spending a chunk of her League salary on plushies before going home for the off-season :v

Y’all really set on spoiling the surprise at the back of Icefall Cave huh

Body Slam can be a corker of a move, but I like my teams’ movesets are they are now. This is giving me flashbacks to when I was a kid and my brother and I would play a game we called “sumo”, where we tied pillows to ourselves and charged into each other until one fell over. Didn’t involve enough grappling to really be sumo wrestling, but we had fun :P

I cannot for the life of me remember what egg this is, but I don’t have the team space for it anyway, so…

Hope you didn’t get any of the yellow slush in that

Aaaaalrighty then, what’s the story in here

Ice puzzles. Joy of joys.

Well, at least there’s holes in the ground to jump into and smol beans to adore!

Ah, excellent, but…

Gonna have to make a wee detour to use it.

Theeeeeeere we go! Handy thing about having two water-types is not having to clog up either of their movesets with two HMs!

I shall put that to good use next time, when we ascend into the rest of Icefall Caves! I am once again sad that I had to leave Japan before the first Wooloo plush released. I would love one of those massive Snorlax plushies, but I have no idea where I'd put it, I have NO room for something that size in my house XD A life-size Growlithe is also a plushie I would adore... if you could have a life-size plushie of any one Pokemon, which one would it be? Until next time, thanks for joining me, and haste ye back!

 

[FPFP66]

All the laws I’ve broken, all the asses I’ve kicked, all in service of my beautiful batty boy

That’s not even counting skipping last Wednesday’s update.

If you bankrupt people, they can’t keep gambling!

Go watch the second season of The Sopranos, and let’s see how that one goes. Or the fifth season. Or the first half of the sixth season. Poor Tim Daly.

Hope I haven’t cursed my whole bloodline nicking this

All of this feels like it’s foreshadowing towards a wipe or near-wipe in Emerald.

space lesbianism

That would’ve made the Star Wars sequels far more interesting. Much like how having Ahsoka in the prequels would have been interesting.

My autistic ass would utterly die for the 3-D squishy stickers and Daiso only charged 100 yen for them! Offering a choice of stickers to go on the homework folder was one of the top ways to motivate students, but I also have a shitton of them on my folders and laptop and more than two years after I moved away from Japan they still look great and bring me daily joy :D

This, right here, is probably the paragraph in this entire series that I’ll remember the most. Forget our “jailbait” conversation or you taking over Team Rocket. I will never forget this.

Hope you didn’t get any of the yellow slush in that

I will never forget this, either.

 

[Garnet]

Ooh, we're talking plushies, eh? If I had the space for it, I'd definitely go for one of those big Snorlax ones you can use like a bean bag chair, would love to have a dedicated gaming room with one of those things in it. Since that's not an option, though... I mean, Audino's my favorite, so I'd have to go with them if there were any official ones haha, but since there's not (At least to my knowledge? If one exists I demand everyone send me links), I worked at a Toys R Us back around the Sun and Moon release, and as such we had life sized plushies of the starters for $70 or so, would have loved to have gotten a Rowlet. I already liked owls and that little lad is just So Shaped.

Oh, and stickers! I feel you on having a laptop covered in em - I bought a Splatoon 2 skin featuring Octavio and Callie ages ago, but it's a pretty chunky device with plenty of space, so over time I've layered more stickers on top of that, too! There's one from the monthly dice subscription box I get, one I won in a raffle from a streamer I follow, and one from a podcast network I've donated to. I don't go out of my way to buy em as a general rule, but I'm looking forward to when I inevitably get my hands on more to slap on there, lol