#I would also love a game where we just stick to becoming a gym leader

[praise-suns-and-chill]

Replaying Sword and Shield

I am not quite sure why, I thought about restarting X/Y first, and actually did, but since my plan for a X/Y Legends fanfic seems obsolete now, I guess I am looking for alternative ideas xD

Bede deserved better. He's a little twat but in the end he was just taken advantage of and dropped when he stopped being useful. I just like this little tsundere cottoncandyball

Also, just did the Isle of Armor questline, never actually did before. It's fun, I like it! Kubfu is cute af and it's evolution is now permanently on my team, OG Ogerpon but we didn't need to be involuntary assholes to get it, its ours and we don't need to feel bad about it.

I prefer that!

My girl Glory, and

Her current Team

#pokemon swsh #pokemon bede #pokemon gloria #kubfu #glory in my hc would prefer to be a gym leader ngl #I would also love a game where we just stick to becoming a gym leader #or an elite 4 #she wouldn't be able to decide between water or poison type gym though #she'd flip flop and try to convince everyone that gyms should be allowed to have double types xD #sadly only champions get the more than one type team privilidge xD #she'd be happy enough just being Bede's rival to compete for strongest gym leader in the region #Victor can take over the whole champion thing :p #need to start up Shield to create her brother some time...

[xamaxenta]

We know in Canon, Boa and her sisters created a lie in order to hide their history with the Celestial Dragons and how they got their devil fruits. Did they do something similar in your Pokémon AU?

Ah!!!! Anon!! You just made me realise who the “big bad” is in the Pokémon au

Oh it was so easy… lmao im stupid as fuck thank you

If you’re the same person whos been sending all of these asks recently you’re so big brain, your synapses on point they must be very healthy 💪🏽if not youre all cool peeps thanks for hanging out with me im really grateful you guys stick around

the marines and the world government and pirates dont really exist in this au obs hahdvdb but i was hinting that the league committee was sus, sussy as hell but i didnt have much else to pad this concept out

General concept is there’s a big “calamity” incoming for this story, what it is i still dunno but the league committee is absolutely at the center of it all, as is the general??? Government? We have to assume theres a political presence in pokemon?? So we have a overarching government power and they oversee the entirety of the grandline and the islands i guess and theyre in cahoots with the league committee

So there’s this concept that trainer’s and their bonded pokemon can “sync” when they mega evolve , this phenomenon is present in other “gimmicks” but for the sake of mega evolution being the first big game changer of its kind and Ash having ash-greninja as a alt form im going to use this for the au

This means a variety of things but mostly what kind of bond is needed for this perculiar sync to occur? How strong is it, is it emotional attachment? Or not?

The boa sisters were experiments, for this phenomenon, the result was a sense of detachment for all of them, specifically hancock as she seemed to have the most promising temperament for this special bond

As a result, Hancock does not use mega evolution, she despises it and maybe as a shield, to protect herself has built her empire and gym (she is the 5th? Gym leader) over a dynamax spot, the gargantuan size of her pokemon helps her feel safe and thats all she is willing to say about any of the competitive battle tactics she likes to see her pokemon tower over the challengers so she feels in control, at all times no matter what

Marco and Ace can use mega evolution and their bonds with their available Pokémon who can evolve this way are stable, trusting and loving, this is the best possible outcome for a mega evolution bond sync, this is what every top tier trainer should be aiming for if they want to utilise such a powerful form

Sabo however is like Hancock, he’s got potential, and it helps that he’s highly attuned to his Garchomp

There’s a second tier to mega evolution where a trainer and partner pokemon sync so closely its hard to tell where their personalities start and end, for Hancock she was experimented on with charizard mega stones (she has a great fear of dragons…) she became violent as did the bonded charizards, but the bond was forced and painful and left a scar on their minds

For Sabo which many would say is a good relationship, becomes more bestial, taking on Garchomp’s hotheaded animal mind so that Chompy can become more level headed, its like a trade in a sense, Sabo takes the animal impulse from Garchomp so he can become more rational, this is because mega evolved garchomp are violent, uncouth beasts that should never even have such a demonic temperament, without a good trainer they’re unstoppable creatures out for blood

Basically Sabo becomes a bloodthirsty feral bastard so Chompy can use his mega form without fear of hurting anyone, any physical changes on either is most likely a trick of the light but there have been photos of Sabo with slit pupils thrown around the forums

Luffy also has potential too but he doesnt know it yet, he currently has no mega stones or pokemon who can evolve this way

#op pokemon au #pokemon au #xam writes #long post #sorry!!! #let me know if you want this under a cut i cant do it on mobile #for some stinky reason

[byakuyasdarling]

Ah yes, Pokémon rivals; my favourite topic

Warning: this list is massively biased. I (kinda jokingly) rag on every ‘Awful’ tier rival, so if you don’t want to here that, feel free to skip that explanation. I am pretty harsh with Marnie, I know a lot of people like her, so if you do like her PLEASE don’t read her section because I do not want to upset anyone. 

Also, I do ramble a bit how I like SWSH but they are my personal least favourite games (which is a hot take, I know), so if that would upset you please skip. Take care of yourselves <33

I created the politically correct ranking of Pokémon rivals (/j)

Anyway, epic explanation under the cut:

*if N was on this list he would fall under “Amazing”. Breath-taking story, breath-taking development, great theme songs, awesome character, fantastic team.

Why Blue is in S rank (very long explanation compared to the rest)

You cannot tell me Blue (or Green, or Gary, whatever you want to call the main Kanto rival) isn’t THE BEST RIVAL EVER. They got it SO RIGHT. He inspires hatred, AND sympathy. Literally, his grandad, the only living relative aside from his sister we even know about, loves you (the player) more than him and it’s kind of sad. 

Blue is great, he has a crappy pronunciation of ‘Bonjour’ (see Pokémon Masters), he says ‘smell ya later!’ he has class, swag, and is by no doubt the most challenging rival character. He is the only rival I never swept on a normal run. He is always demeaning you; he is always one step ahead all the way up until the champion battle where you finally beat him. AND HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OMG.

He still is arrogant and prideful, but respects people and wants to guide people to be better at Pokémon battling and thrives when he sees others succeeding - he doesn’t mind being ‘a former champion’. HECK HE’S SO COOL AND AMAZING. 

Also he has the best champion theme and encounter theme ever. Yes, he was a previous F/O so I am super biased; but so were 3 others on this list. 

Silver and Gladion

These two were my F/Os when I was much younger (around 12). They are great rivals with great development and story arcs. Plus, they have bopper encounter themes and battle themes. Gladion was my real introduction to the oc x canon community and inspired me to take drawing on as a hobby (as well as Lillie but I did not end up drawing her as much). 

Brendan, Cheren, Hugh, and Barry

When I was 10 playing Omega Ruby, I liked Brendan a lot (so... another past F/O... he’s the final one though). I dunno, he genuinely had a good friendship with that extra spice of rivalry with our character, May. I do not like friendly rivals (if my listing wasn’t obvious), but Brendan did it right. There was a lot of touching scenes with him and May *cough*cough* Delta Chapter *cough*cough* which really made me connect with him when I was 10. Now, Brendan and May are interchangeable depending on which one of them you pick to play as, so why have I ranked Bredan far above May? Better encounter and battle theme (yes, they have different instrumentation) and he gets the childhood crush pass.

Cheren is cool, I just really like his character and his attempts to create a good strategy. He is really dedicated to what he loves and becomes a gym leader (like BLUE DID. Blue has it all, really). Plus, glasses are cute :) (he is the same age as me, I can legally say that even though that was an obvious nod to Byakuya but you never know what people will take out of context). 

Hugh is cool becomes he somewhat feels like an asshole rival, but at the same time, has a really soft side. Like, his whole motivation to be a good trainer is to save his sister’s Purrloin that was stolen by Team Plasma. He is a hero y’all. Also GREAT encounter and battle theme; huge thumbs up. 

Barry! My man! Overall, cool rival with a great team. He is the second hardest rival to me (but Blue is harder than him by a landslide still). He is really funny in both the games and the anime and despite being a bit more friendly, he still sparks a lot of rivalry with you. Plus, his dad is battle frontier brain Palmer! How awesome! He was also my first rival, so that’s something special to me too. 

Average Tier

I like Hau as a character, he feels like a genuine friend and how he develops with the main character and Lillie is really wholesome. It’s just - I dislike him as a rival, a lot. Easy fights, not the best encounter theme... just kind of there. I get why people consider Gladion as ‘the true rival’ of S and M because he really is. Hau is also a rival that chooses the starter WEAK to your starter like the gen 6 rivals (who I hate with my entire being). 

Wally had a bad-ass final battle theme song and moment. That’s literally the only reason he makes the average tier. If this was a ranking disregarding ORAS he is easily down in the ‘Awful’ tier. 

I like Pokémon Sword and Shield... except I just don’t like them as much as every other game (yes. I did play Pokémon Yellow and enjoyed it more, thank you). I know you all HATE that, but that is just my opinion - I think I have earned the right to say that after my almost 12 years of playing these games and being a VGC player for a few years. It has good characters and some cool Pokémon and yeah... gameplay? Lacklustre. I really do not know what went wrong outside of story. Somehow the competitive battle scene is not the fun it used to be. Dynamax bugs me, the lack of megas bugs me, the dex cut REALLY bugs me. I know I am not the only one who thought this game lacked the charm other Pokemon games have. Graphically though, it’s very nice for the most part.

I have gone way off-topic, but anyway, yeah. SWSH rivals make average because I like their characters (especially Hop’s development). Outside of that, not the best rivals.

May is cool for a lot of the reasons I discussed with Brendan.

Lacking Tier

I like Bianca’s whole deal with her dad and how Elesa has a nice moment to shine too - and that’s it. I know the whole theme of her team is friendship but I die inside every time I watch a Chandelure uses RETURN. It was cool she returned in BW2 I guess? I like how her battle theme matches her personality, but it isn’t anything to write home about. 

I like Calem a bit more than Serena but I do not want to pull another Brendan and May (even though I had some good reason to do that) and I’m going to put them here. Bad teams and not memorable in the slightest, Calem and Serena belong in this tier. 

Awful Tier

X and Y rivals amirite??? They just suck. They are annoying and they suck. They have 3 Pokémon in all final fights, really? At least Shauna is likeable in the anime. 

I hate Trace. But, he has one funny memory I have with my dad that makes him slightly better. We both named him ‘Blue’ since Blue is the actual Kanto rival, but then Blue showed up in LGPE... And then the two ‘Blues’ talked to each other and it was mildly amusing at the time. Anyway, he didn’t deserve Blue’s champion theme (which is even used for Blue in later games outside of his champion battle (BW2), THAT IS NOT TRACE’S THEME. Anyway, he is the gross friendly rival that attempted to fulfil the best rival’s shoes. Sorry Trace, bad luck my dude. 

I just never attached to Marnie I suppose, but I can understand that she is important to those who are invested in her. I am about to fully rag on Marnie, so please skip if that makes you upset. 

 I am going to hurt a lot of people when I said I never liked Marnie. She was always just... like why do people like her so much?? I feel like most people like her because she is ‘funny haha goth gf’ which, fair I suppose. I just think she is super lacking as a rival, she makes no real impression as an actual character, and I think if you removed her from the game it wouldn’t make a difference. Don’t want to be that guy, but I AM that guy right now. I suppose she has a cute design?? and that’s it. Again, I am really biased when it comes to SWSH and rivals, so I suppose she really got the short end of the stick with me.

#I am very big on Pokémon rivals — y’know — Pokémon being my favourite thing and all (and Byakuya <3) #but yeah #former VGC player here?? 12 years of experience! (which is nothing compared to others but y’know — I have a lot of biases since I’ve been- #-playing since I was 4.

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch13 Onto Hammerlocke- I Mean Stow-On-Side

The two of you left. Heading off down the trail Hop directed you before rushing off to take on Bede and spend some time in the Wild Area as planned. You hoped Victor would be able to keep him out of trouble and from fighting with Bede. As much as you wanted to stick together and were honestly curious to see how that battle would play out, you couldn't just let Gloria skidaddle off by herself and she was dead set on heading to Hammerlocke whether you liked it or not...Well not Hammerlocke exactly. She wanted to go to the town of Stow-On-Side, to challenge with Fighting Type Gym, Hammerlocke just happened to be along the way. A pit stop of sorts if you will. And when down to it you were pretty curious now yourself about this place. From what Gloria was babbling about happily about it, Hammerlocke wasn't only just home to the famous Dragon Gym Leader and his gym, but one of the main power plants in Galar owned by the Chairman himself. Hey. Sonia mentioned something about the Chairman having to do something with the power supply of Galar.

"So how will we know when we get there?," you asked after you two had crossed Motostoke's bridge.

"Oh. It'll be easy. It's not as big of a place as people think and not a lot of people live there since it's mostly just a single stadium and power plant run by the Chairman so not a lot of people go in and out either. Raihan's usually on long trips this early in the year since he never battles anyone who hasn't obtained everyone else's badge. But usually barely anyone gets to battle him because Kabu wittles most out and it usually takes a long time to get that amount anyways. Sooo...We actually might NOT see him there if he's out n' about," she explained. Which also had you sighing in relief, from what she mentioned before you were a bit iffy about being flirted with by a video game character even if he was a real person in whatever reality you were in right now. "In fact...the Chairman's pretty strict when it comes to who gets in too. Only gym challengers who collected at least three badges are allowed in to visit even."

You rose a brow. "So, in order to battle Raihan you need all the badges from the other gym leaders, but in order to actually get into the city you have to get three badges? Seems a bit stricter than needed."

She shrugged. "It's supposed to motivate us to work harder I think. But we don't have to worry! I already got three badges so they should let us in. We'll know it when we see the place since it looks a lot like a castle!"

A castle? Well then that should be easy to spot at least. You had no idea how long it actually took to get there but you both soon fell into that familiar pattern of walking all day, pitching the tent, sleeping, then putting the tent away, and continue walking of course. You lost count after the third or fourth day of doing it as by now it had become a rather used to routine of yours. And of course eating your fill of whatever bland tasting foods you both had packed unless you were lucky enough to stumble upon another berry tree that your drizzilie eagerly climbed up and ate from. You were glad despite it's evolution that it's hunger hadn't increased too much, usually it would much rather sleep away in your pack as your walked or watched the world slowly go by. Tell you one thing, your back and shoulders sure weren't enjoying the new found experience of walking with even more extra weight added to yourself. Your body was easily more tired and sore by the end of each day and your sleeping was more deep, luckily Gloria now didn't seem to mind waiting and letting you sleep in now. Every new morning you found her outside the tent intently looking around the dirt roads you were following and guessed that she must've been waiting for her brother and best friend to catch up as they promised they would. You two hadn't seen or heard any sign of them in the days you've been traveling but neither of you were worried too much. You had a feeling you'd see them again if the game's story was being played out like it was, but you couldn't shake the feeling in the back of your head that something was going to happen sometime soon. You just wished you could remember what it was. Along the way the two of you passed one or two small towns on your way there and had momentarily stopped to restock your food replies but didn't find any sign of the two boys or motels to stay at. So you two kept on walking and camping as you got closer and closer to Hammerlocke according to that rotom inside Glory's phone. And then you two FINALLY saw it on the horizon, right after you managed to walk past a couple of trees that blocked your view of it.

Gloria pointed excitedly. "LOOK!! THERE IT IS!!" You glanced where she was pointed and even you had to blink, from far away it DID kinda look like a castle with what you could make out from some high walls and a few towers from your spot far away. She quickly grabbed your hand and gave a tug as encouragement to keep going. "C'mon we're almost there! I wanna see if the boys are there."

You wasted no time in complying in her request, after all you wanted to get there too and rest your aching feet thanks to mister water balloon lounging on your back. You were ready to just rest up for a while, but you persisted in increasing your pace for Gloria's sake as she seemed to gain a new and excited spring in her step at the promise of meeting back up with her crew. Well you couldn't really blame her for wanting to see them again. You yourself were curious about what happened between now and when you all left Motostoke some days ago. It took maybe one or two hours of you two walking to finally reach the 'town', and you had to say....it looked more like a giant building as far as you were concerned. The whole thing was MASSIVE and made from black and dark grey stones, the entrance literally being carved to look like some kind of dragon you had to pass through to get into the inner city. Gotta say. You were a fan of the design. It breathed the kind of Place a Dragon Type Gym Leader would live and work. As you two got closer (and noticed just how big it all was) you noticed that some man wearing the same white uniform and sunglasses as any other Gym Leader employees was standing in the shade of the steps leading up to Motostoke. His gaze laser focused on the two of you as you approuched. Shouldering up his body and holding out a hand towards the both of you as Gloria made it first to the first two steps of the Hammerlocke entrance way.

"Excuse me," he asked, "Are either of you two Gym Challengers? Only challengers with three or more badges may enter Hammerlocke for the duration of the Gym Challenge."

"I am!," Gloria confirmed before slinging that big old brown backpack of hers off her shoulders and you both watched as she opened and rummaged around in it. Presumably to get her badges for the man.

"Ah, a gym challenger. Allow me to check your gym badges, please young lady." he held his hand out to her expectantly and after a moment Gloria held out her badge circle to him containing the three badges she won and placed onto it so far. The man took them from her and you two waited patiently as he hummed and brought it up to his face to carefully examine. "Let's see here. The grass badge, the water badge, and the fire badge." After a moment longer he nodded and handed the circle back to her. "It's confirmed that you've defeated three gym leaders including the leader of Motostoke no doubt. You may enter. I wish you the best of luck in your future battles, Miss."

"Thanks!" She quickly took it from him and stuffed the thing back into her pack as the man looked back up.

"Oh, it's you!," he said, "The boss told me you were coming in today but I wasn't expecting you so early this morning."

"Naturally." Gloria froze at the voice and you turned around at the familiar male sounding voice. And your eyes widened as Bede just casually strolled up to the steps as well, "I'm never late to any meeting with the Chairman or the like. He doesn't like to be kept waiting-" He paused. Lavender eyes going wide as soon as he saw you but then went into a scowl as soon as Gloria turned around to scowl at him. "Oh, it's you...."

"Yeah?," she asked daring him to answer, pushing the lid on her pack closed and slinging it back over her shoulders. "Surprised ya ain't all frazzled like lint from Hop's battle with ya."

He scoffed. "Oh yes. I almost forgotten about him. You see...I doubt Hop will be coming. It's only natural."

She paused and even you rose a brow as Bede reached into one of the giant pockets of his. "....What are you talking about?"

"Ha! After such a humiliating defeat, there's no way he could look the Champion in the eyes. Here just look at the gym badges I've already won." He held up his own badge circle with coincidentally the same badges as Gloria up to the man who nodded at him. "I'm sure he'll withdraw from the challenge."

"Thank you, Challenger Bede. I can confirm you have the required badges."

"Anyway," He put the badge circle back into his giant pocket, "I have a meeting with the Chairman so I must excuse myself-" Bede leaned back as Gloria suddenly leaned forward at him with a glare.

"WHAT. Did. You. DO?," she demanded.

He blinked at her before scowling himself and (seemingly able to grow a more resistance to her anger from last time) brushed himself off. "I didn't do anything to him. I just simply beat Hop after all that confidence he spewed back at Motostoke."

"Oh no no no no. You did something else didn't ya? What did ya say to him?"

"The truth. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Why I-"

Gloria was suddenly pulled back by you with a confused yelp and even Bede paused when you gave him a glare. The type that a mother would a scold a child with that every kid could relate to seeing one time or another. "Bede." He paused wide eyed at you. "Go on to the Chairman. You don't want to be late." Gloria looked up at you even more confused at your calm tone but Bede made no time to waste as he snapped his head from you and quickly sped walked the stairs as they both of you watched. After he disappeared from your view completely, you let Gloria go with a look. "Hey. Are you alright?"

After a moment she nodded. "Yeah. But what did ya do that for? I had him right there itchin' for a battle."

"Remember what Victor said. You can't just pick a fight with him especially if the Chairman's here. I already had to apologize to him, so let's keep things civil. Ok?"

She huffed. "He's the bloody one who started it."

"I know. But let's let it go for now. Besides, if Bede could catch up to us this fast from Motostoke that means the others could too right?" You saw her perk up immediately at the propsition and you smiled, nodding towards the entrance way. "Come on. Let's go have a look around and see what's going on?"

She quickly agreed and together you two entered the darkened tunnel beyond the stairs. At the other end of the short tunnel was light and as the two of you exited, you gaped up in aw at the side before you. Before you was the biggest stone structure you had ever seen!! Surrounded by two other stone structures that looked oddly like wings in a way. It certainly screamed castle by it's magnificence. Everywhere you looked was a few houses and buildings all made from the same black-dark grey stones with some painted a bright shimmering gold in some places that reflected the sunlight to make it gleam. The place had it's OWN TOWN INSIDE OF ITS OWN WALLS and A FREAKING DRAW BRIDGE!!

".....I thought you said this place was just a stadium and power plant," you said after a moment to take it all in.

"I....guess they must've expanded from when Lee told me about this place." She looked around. "Where should we look first?"

"The Pokemon Center," you said without hesitation, "It's been a while since you had your pokemon looked at right? Plus it's a nice place to start that has seats and ac."

Luckily she agreed and it wasn't too long to find either since the center was literally right next to the entrance. The boys weren't there but you got to rest your legs for at least twenty peaceful minutes of relief, and Gloria was able to get her pokemon checked over. And Drizzilie as well since after what happened in Motostoke, you wanted to make sure that your pokemon was doing fine considering it's change, but the Nurse Joy assured you that he was totally fine and that it was indeed just normal Drizzilie nature to act like this. Thank goodness. You two (more like three after your Drizzilie noticed and repeated patted your shoulder until you gave in-) also got drinks from the man who was selling berry juice and such behind his counter at the center, tasted sour but it was nice at least. After that Gloria suggested you both walk around the town a little bit to see if you could spot the two of them. You didn't have any better ideas so you figured why not. It couldn't hurt to look around. Starting as soon as you two left the center, you both headed towards the right side of the town. There was around what you could tell was maybe about a good twenty or thirty houses that looked like the regular kind of space someone would live in so it didn't take long for you two to comb the streets of them with no signs of the two in sight. There was also the train station and when you went up a different path on the right side of Hammerlocke it lead to a dead end with a single school building and a giant statue of a pokeball.

You sighed aching feeling starting to return in your feet. "Man. They aren't here either are! ...Makes sense since I don't think they'd go to this school."

"No," Gloria agreed but perked up seeing the giant bronze statue of the pokeball and walking up to it, "Buuuut I heard a legend about the Hammerlocke Statue. They say if you touch it you'll be able to catch pokemon better. Can't hurt ta give it a wack."

You chuckled. "Go for it. You wouldn't have anything to lose after all." You watched as she smiled and with a giant grin slapped her hand down on the statue as it gave a soft thud sound where her hand made contact- "AH!?" You suddenly lurched forward from the force of your Drizzilie as it gave out the loudest sound of terror you ever heard coming out of it even when it was a sobble and scramble to hide itself into your pack completely. You nearly fell onto your face stumbling but by some miracle didn't fall down...before snapping your head around to your shivering back pack. "HEY! Drizzilie what's the big deal?!"

...Gloria blinked. "What just happened?"

You shook your head. "The heck if I know. He acted like he saw a ghost or something-"

"H-Hello there," a weak voice called out. Gloria yelped and whirled around behind her at the sudden voice and you also looked. ...Brows suddenly widening in surprise as a little girl who couldn't have looked older than six, seven, or eight years old tops shyly came out from behind the statue with something in her hand. But it wasn't that that surprised you. She wore an old fashioned little girl's dress you'd expected a little girl back in the 1950's to wear and short black hair, but what really had you staring was her skin which looked ghastly pale against her bright dress and dark hair. With bags under her very tired looking eyes, as if she was sick with a fever. "You look like someone I might trust." Her voice although small typical for a girl her age, sounded lightly raspy, and weak. Matching her sick appearance.

The two of you exchanged a look for a moment before Gloria knelt down to get eye level with the tired looking girl. "Hey there wee las." She said with a soft voice. "Are ye lost? What do you need help with?" Silently, she held up the thing in her hand which you finally noticed was a letter. A very OLD looking letter as the paper looked yellowed and the wax seal on it looked about as brittle as sand. She looked at it for a moment before slowly taking it from her. "What's this?"

"You see, there's I fancy and I....I...I've written him a love letter."

"....Aw! Did ye now?" She smiled. "That's so bloody sweet of you."

The girl nodded. "Do you think you might deliver it for me?"

Gloria immediately nodded. "Of course I will!"

"Really? Oh thank you thank you!," the little girl smiled brightly despite her tired appearance, "I'm so glad I found someone like you to help me!"

"By the way," you asked looking around. You didn't see any grown ups around. Where were her parents?, "What's your name?"

"My name is Paula. Here you go! This is the letter I want you to deliver!" She pushed Gloria's hand holding the letter towards her and you thought you saw Gloria pause for a moment blinking..Before she slowly stood up and held out the letter to you to look at. "Deliver it to Frank, won't you? Frank lives in Bellonlea. That's who you want."

You both gave each other a look as Gloria spoke. "Bellonlea? That's a long way from here."

You nodded. "Hey Paula. Where's your pare-" You froze. Absolutely froze. And when Gloria looked too she blinked...Before looking around. ..And you whipped around yourself. Paula. Who had just been standing in front of you less than five seconds ago. WAS. GONE. There weren't any signs of her leaving and no footsteps you heard. Gloria event stopped to walk around the statue but came out the other side alone...and the both of you stared at one another. ".....Where did she go?"

Gloria shrugged. "I dunno man." Her foot tapped the spot where Paula was just standing. "She was literally standing right here a minute ago. Her touch was so cold. Did ya see her leave?"

"No. Did you?" She shook her head no again. Leaving the both of you standing there with nothing but the letter in Gloria's hand as proof of her even existing.....Until you pointed back the way you came. "Come on. Let's go check the other side of town for the guys." You said hoping to get away from the awkward tention.

You two quickly left the area with Gloria slipping the letter into her pack as you did, and off to the left side of the town you went. Passing the center as you did. There was at least another twenty-thirty houses, an antique store, a small gym, a barber shop, a cafe, and a clothes store like back in Postwick. But still no signs of the guys. And then there was something called 'The Vault' that was being guarded by some men but you two didn't pay it much mind in the end as you searched. But still no signs of Hop or Victor anywhere.

"UGH!! This is useless!," Gloria gripped her hat in frustration. "We've been wondering around lookin' for 'em ALL DAY! And still ain't no signs of 'em bloody anywhere!"

You nodded looking around. Your Drizzilie had resumed it's regular position after a while of hiding thank goodness it seemed to be ok. "Maybe they haven't gotten here yet? Hop did say he wanted to stay a few days in Motostoke and catch some pokemon. We shouldn't give up yet."

"Yeah I guess. But they should've been here if the mareep head is. I wonder if I should call 'em-"

"Pst! Hey you!" Both of you paused...Another voice?? This time male and sounded around Gloria's age- Gloria whipped around quickly in expectation but the teen you were both met with wasn't Victor or Hop. Or even Bede. It was a red headed boy in a red hoodie, black sweats, and blue shoes. "You heard the rumor?" He asked the both of you.

....You both looked at each other bewildered for a moment before you shrugged. "...No?" Gloria slowly looked back to the boy. "I haven't. What rumor?"

"What? You haven't heard!?," the boy asked surprised, "There's a rumor if you give the one you like an applin, you'll be together forever!"

".....OH!! That old wive's tale!"

"....Applin?", you asked.

"It's a pokemon. The story goes that the first Queen of Galar's favorite pokemon was an applin and so her fiance gave 'er one as a gift on their weddin' day. Since then it's been tradition ta give one to a person yer romantically interested in when ya confess your feelings. Hop told me that story once," Gloria explained and the boy nodded.

"Actually the truth is, there's someone I like," the boy confessed looking down and scuffing his shoe on the ground, "She's gonna move over seas pretty soon...I've been searching for an applin so I can get my feelings across the right way. But I can't find one."

"Huh. Fancy that. You're the second one today who's told us they wanted to confess their feelings ta someone," Gloria chuckled, "But whatcha stop me for?"

"Well i-it's not just you two,'' he confirmed holding up a hand, "I've asked anyone here if they have an applin they'd trade me with. If you've got an applin, would you please give it to me?"

....You shook your head. "Sorry. But I've only ever had one pokemon and you're looking at him." Your drizzilie yawned in response.

"Actually," the both of you looked to Gloria smiling, "I do have one. While we was checkin' out that daycare back in Turrfield I adopted one from one of the random abandoned rotomi boxes. I think it's still in my personal inventory."

The boy's eyes widened. "Whoa! You mean you'll really give me an applin?!"

Gloria nodded. "Sure I will if it helps out your lady love!" She giggled before jamming her thumb behind her. "But wait 'ere for a sec. I gotta go get it from the center."

The boy nodded urgently. "Yes! I-I will! Thank you! B-B-But hurry! S-She's leaving tomorrow and I-I asked her to meet me later today!"

Gloria nodded turning quickly. "Don't worry! Stay right here I'll be back as fast as I can!" And she took off...You blinked and quickly made to jog to catch up with her.

"Hey! Whoa! You're handing him your pokemon just like that?"

She nodded as you caught up with her. "Yeah! I can tell he was bein' honest with me. 'Sides he's nice. Nicer than that mareep head anyways."

You nodded. Couldn't really blame her opinion on Bed-..........De.......BEDE!! "He's the troubled one!" You suddenly shouted and stopped. You must've caught Gloria off guard because she stopped just a few yards ahead of you as you stared at nothing suddenly....THAT'S IT!! THAT'S THE PERSON WHO YOU HAD THE BAD FEELING ABOUT!! BEDE WAS THE RIVAL WHO'D GET THAT LIFE CHANGING CHARACTER DEVELOPEMENT MOMENT!! .....But what!? ....GAH!! You couldn't remember what happens to him in game!! Your hand smacked your face in a face palm and you groaned. "UUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!!! GREAT!! Just my luck too!"

"....Yeah he's the troubled one." You slowly peeked your f/c eyes between your fingers to look at the confused brunette. "But whatcha goin' on 'bout now??"

....You shook your head. "Nothing." And looked up with a steeled face. "But Gloria. I NEED you to do something for me. And I need you to promise me to do it no matter what!"

Gloria must've been taken a back a bit because her face went concerned before she slowly nodded. "....Ok? What's it ya want me to do?"

She blinked as you very seriously grabbed her shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and spoke in a serious tone. "Gloria...I NEED you to apologize to Bede the next time you see him."

Gloria froze for a moment. Drawing a complete blank as if her brain was processing what you said with a reboot. "..............WHAT!? Are you crazy!? ME!? Apologize to the wooloo for brains for what he did!?"

"No! Not apologize for what he did to YOU. But apologize for what you did to him." She rose a brow and you sighed. "Gloria. I need you to apologize to Bede for yelling at him. And for calling him names like Mareep Head. That doesn't excuse his behavior and it doesn't make what he did ok, but I think he's about to go through something and I think it'll be better if there wasn't so much tention between you two. And after you apologise you shouldn't call him 'mareep head' or 'wooloo for brains' any more." You couldn't exactly tell her your reason why but you REALLY had a feeling whatever was about to happen was going to be big for him. And it'd be so much better the less tention there was between the rivals. And...with Bede being endorsed by the Chairman and all it'd be better for both her and Hop if most of the tention stopped. "You don't HAVE to forgive or forget what he did, and you DONT have to put up with him. But.....I can't explain why. So please as a friend just do me this favor."

Gloria stared at you for the longest time......before she sighed. Smiled. And nodded happily. "Ok."

....

.......

..........What-

"WHAT?!" You blinked. Hands dropping to your sides as she chuckled at your smackgobbed face. "A-Again?? Just like that!? You'll apologize to him??"

She nodded with a determined smile. "Hey. Victor and you already said I shouldn't fight with the mar-...Bede anymore! If apologizin' is what it's gonna take then I can suck it up and do it. After all ya apologized for me, so I can apologize for you just this once."

.......You breathed a long sigh of relief, weight lifting from your shoulders. "Thank you! I owe you one."

She shook her head. "Nah. Let's call it even. Kay? C'mon. Let's get that mate an applin before his lady love shoves off for a different region all together."

You nodded and with new found relief off you went towards the center. It didn't take too long for the two of you to reach it and immediately enter. Once inside Gloria made her way over to the Rotomi machine thingy than reminded you of an ATM and as soon as she pressed a button, the robotic pokemon on top danced to life as she worked it. Feeling slightly exhausted, you looked up feeling a tap on your shoulder and when you looked your Drizzilie pointed towards the man selling juice again. Before looking at you in question. With a sigh you nodded and went towards the man who was of course happy to sell you another cup of juice for your pokemon. RIP the rest of your money. You only had a few coins left from the change back as you stuffed them back into your pocket with a sigh and the man handed your eager pokemon a cup of reddish juice. It quickly jugged down the entire thing within a few seconds before giving a pleased chirp sound. You chuckled and rolled your eyes. Well at least someone was happy-...You paused..Blinking and turning around as a blur of pink and white fluffy hair walked past the center's window...No. It couldn't be! It would've been too much of a coincidence if it was...But still. You quickly moved towards the door as Gloria curiously looked up from the machine after your retreating form as you stepped out of the center, and looked around. ..No sign of him-

"Mr. Chairman!" You blinked at the familiar voice...before peeking around the corner and low and behold there the white haired boy was! Walking towards...you frowned. Oleana and the chairman who was...wearing the same weird outfit you saw him wear in Hulbury. Seriously, what was with the polka dot shorts?? Bede walked right up to the two who looked at him. "I've been both collecting wishing stars and gym badges as fast as I can. "

"Good work, Bede." Oleana complimented crossing her arms. "I'm glad you haven't forgotten that it was the Chairman who endorsed you." You instantly frowned. What was the deal with this woman!?

"If I gather enough wishing stars that'll help solve the problem that's been bothering you, right Mr. Chairman?" Your brows rose. So that's why Bede was collecting lots of wishing stars!? The Chairman was using them for something!! ...But why would the Chairman of an entire region need wishing stars that just Dynamax pokemon??

"Oh it's not just about me," the chairman clarified, "It's for the future of the whole Galar Region. And we'll need more than just wishing stars. We need a powerful pokemon trainer, too. Someone like the Champion."

"With all due respect, Sir, I was able to show Hop, one of the champion endorsed trainers, just how outclassed he was." You frowned more. Ok. You could see how Gloria and Hop could get mad at him. "I'm sure I'll be able to defeat the Champion. No. I WILL defeat the Champion."

"That's the spirit! It takes healthy competition to really keep the Gym Challenge Energized!" .......He called THAT healthy competition!?!?

Unknownst to you, Gloria had come out of the center and spotted you after looking around a bit, poke ball in hand which must've been the applin for the boy she promised. She walked over to you before blinking and looking towards where you were looking at, and pausing a moment seeing the same trio you must have.

"Challenger Bede, there is something I wish to disscuss with you. Do you have a moment?," Oleana asked.

Bede nodded to her and she silently beckoned him to follow her as she turned and began walking off with him and the chairman- You jumped as a blur rushed past you and it took you a moment to realize that it was Gloria. And the brunette was barraling right towards the white haired boy as he walked after Oleana and the Chairman. ....!? OH NO!!! You opened your mouth to shout at her to wait and stop if she was going to fight but even if you did she wouldn't have heard you, and it was too late!

"WWWAAAAAAIIITT!!! BEDE!!," She shouted at the top of her lungs gaining the attention of both Bede, and Oleana and of course the Chairman as all three stopped to turn around and see who could've been the one who had called his name. "I HAVE TO TELL YA SOMETHIN' IMPORTANT!!"

Bede looked stunned to say the least blinking purple eyes wide as he took in the sight of Gloria racing right up to him, as the two adults behind him looked slightly surprised. Before he scowled at her. "YOU AGAIN!? I don't have time to deal with you! If it's a battle you want it'll have to wait after my business with Ms. Oleana and the Chairma-"

As he turned to go away, Gloria had straight up grabbed his hand which had the dynamax band on his wrist causing him to turn back around to face the heavily breathing brunette who gasped for breath stunnded. .....Oh no!! Blinking out of your stupor you began jogging your way towards them hoping to stop any misreadings on the situation before it got out of hand. In the mean time Bede had paused blankly, stunned....Looking between his hand and Gloria for a moment before frowning and tugging his hand only to find her tightly glued to it.

"I-....I h-have a c-c-confession ta make to ya!," she wheezed out between breaths staring at him pokeball in hand.

"Well whatever it is it can wait until I'm finished!," he stated firmly tugging on his hand. "Would you please mind letting go of my hand?"

She shook her head. "No! I've been meaning to do this the moment I realized I should've done it after our first encounter in the mines!" She said apologetically and it made you slow down as you got closer...OH!! She was going to apologize! But Bede looked at her confused. "Bede...I.." Her lips pursed for a moment as her face almost gave a cringe. Before slamming her eyes shut. Grit her teeth. And blurted it out. "I-I'm sorry! I called ya names n' yelled at ya!"

That made everyone quiet as they stared. You in relief. Bede stunned confusion. Oleana.....Oleana. And the chairman suddenly looking interested seeming to realize who it was talking to Bede.

".....I-...*ahem* Well..." Bede tried to straighten himself obviously not sure how to handle the closed eyed girl gripping his hand apologizing.

"I know, I know! But somethin' recently came up that made me realize I had ta do this n' if ya did beat some one fair and square then there ain't nothin' I could do about it...but believe me t-this is a lot harder for me to do ..c-c-confessing in all." You smiled. Good, good. This was going well.

....That was until she peeked an eye open to Bede's expression as he stared...Eyes darting around for any way to escape this. "I Uh..." He cleared is throat righting himself into that usually serious faced person. "Well then. It's seems you truly and finally came to your senses enough to realize I..." His eyes landed on the poke ball still clutched in her hand...and suddenly that calm face went suspicious. He glanced between her and the pokeball. Before using his free hand to point at it. "And WHAT is that your holding??"

She blinked holding it up with a shrug. "Nothin' really. Just a lil applin."

A smack sound was heard as you AND your Drizzilie utterly face palmed HARD with the reality hit before you. Bede went once again into that wide eyed shocked mode Jaw dropped. Behind him Oleana's face went slightly wide eyed in surprise, the Chairman looked totally taken by surprise too before hummed and grabbing his chin with a thoughtful expression.

Bede looked between her face and the pokeball so many times wide eyed and sputtering strange noises that sounded like words he was trying to form as she rose a brow confused. "....A-Are...." He looked at her suddenly in the eyes. "A-ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?" His eyes narrowed. "Like...Y-You're not joking with me or m-m-making fun of me right now are you!? I-I have y-y-you know I don't appreciate being toyed with, Girl!!"

She scowled. "OF COURSE IM BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!! Y'know how hard it was for me to make myself run up to ya and say all that! And for your intel fancy pants! It IS an applin! I wouldn't lie 'bout the pokemon I have! I was gonna give it away after the lil confessin' I forced myself ta do." You wanted to die from second hand embarrassment from her obliviousness to the situation she unknowingly put herself in.

Bede went wide eyed before his face turned about as pink as the coat he was wearing. He glanced a couple more times between her and the pokeball. ...Before in one swift movement he yanked his hand out of her grip and turned away head down and hands shoved into his pockets. "I....I-I....*AHEM*...I-I appreciate what you have decided to tell me...B-But I'll need time to think about if I accept such outlandish words from you or not...It...It might be best if we go our seperate ways for a while to let me think on t-that."

Gloria blinked at him still oblivious...before nodding proudly of herself and satisfied with the answer she got from the obviously flustered boy. "I'm glad we agree on that. I don't think I need ta say anymore to get my point across."

"A-A-AGREED!!" He looked desperately to the older woman. "M-Ms. Oleana you wanted to see me??"

Oleana looked to the Chairman who chuckled after a moment and nodded before Oleana turned around and Bede quickly followed after him as you dared continued to walk up to her. She smiled as she turned to you. "Well I think that went better than expected!"

You shook your head with a groan. "Actually I think it could've gone better."

Gloria rose a brow and was about to ask what you meant when the two of you were cut off by a chuckle of the chairman....Oh shoot! You forgot he was here. The man waved a hand casually. "Not too worry. Bede will be fine. But either way I hope you were listening, Gloria." She looked more confused at him. "As you know, wishing stars are those mysterious stones that are even attached to your Dynamax bands. There's more to wishing stars than just making your pokemon into giants though. They hold far more energy than that."

".....There is what?"

He chuckled. "If you're curious, then you should head to the stadium. In fact, we should head inside right away.I'll even give you a lesson on how the Galar Region gets it's energy." He nodded to you. "And of course your friend is more than welcome to join us like last time. I'm interested in getting your opinion." Ah nuts he DID remember you.

"Mm....Sure I guess."

"Excellent." He smiled turning. "You ladies follow me and Ill give you the tour." The two of you looked at each other before Gloria shrugged and began following him as you sighed. How did you get yourself into these things?? But you also followed him. Mr. Rose lead you all across the draw bridge that lead into the main castle which had a giant red and black stripped rug and was lit by actual torches. As you both took in the darkness and barely light around you, you followed the Chairman as he walked. You followed him until you all turned a corner and were surprised to find the entrance to the stadium!! Well it was closed off with a few people and security around, and to no one's surprise found Oleana plain faced waiting for the lot of you. "As you know, Hammerlocke's stadium doubles as an energy plant." The chairman continued walking up to Oleana and holding up a hand. Immediately she handed him a tablet that was in her hands. "Now have a look at my tablet. I've got all the information you need on it." He held it out to Gloria. She took it, looking confused at it for a moment, before tapping the screen and what you would best call a diagram and a friendly looking picture of Mr. Rose himself popped up. "See? An easy to understand description of the energy plant! First, energy is absorbed from Hammerlocke Stadium's tower. Then it's changed into electricity in the underground power plant and delivered to people throughout the region!" He went on to explain. "Our lives and society require various types of energy sources, such as electricity, natural gas, and water. My associate groups aim to improve everyone's lives by harnessing the power stored in wishing stars!"

Both of you looked up obviously surprised by what he said before Gloria glanced back to the tablet raising a brow before holding it back out to him. "But I thought only Professor Magnolia's Dynamax bands could harness the energy, wouldn't ye need 'er help??"

He took the tablet back before handing it to Oleana. "That's what Oleana and my team is for. I'm hoping Sonia would join us after her travels and research is finished."

"....Why are you telling us this?," you asked, "It sounds petty important. Wouldn't you want to keep that info to yourself?" It was also suspicious just telling you two but then again Bede did say more than once he was gathering wishing stars for the Chairman so maybe this was just you being too paranoid...But still that uneasy feeling you got when you were around these two were back.

The chairman paused as if sensing your feelings before smiling. "Experiments with Wishing Stars is nothing new. Professor Magnolia has done it for years and look what she created! Other scientists are currently studying their properties other than just us, and I believe Sonia is looking into the history of the origin of their power. So it's not really private knowledge." ....You...guessed that made sense. "Besides. If Bede's going to become the next Champion perhaps having any strong trainers by his side might be beneficial to our cause." And that bad feeling doubled! Oleana leaned over to whisper something to him and he hummed. "...Oh. It's time for me to get to work. I should get a move on before Oleana decides to give me another earful." He chuckled. "Gloria, I suggest you head over to the vault next. Just head toward Route Six from the stadium and you should find the vault without any issues. If you ladies would excuse us. It was nice to see you both again." With that they turned and you both watched as they walked towards a guarded elevator and went right in.

When the doors closed behind them Gloria turned a brow to you. "Well that was weird ain't it?"

"Good riddance I say." You turned to her after a moment and pointed to her pokeball. "Hey. Weren't you supposed to give that to the guy?"

She hummed looking to her pokeball then jumped. "OH GOSH I FORGOT!!" She twisted on her heel and made a break for it. "C'mon Y/n! We got no time ta lose!"

You sighed but complied by turning and jogging off after her. It was going to be a long day you could tell. But still you two made a promise and you were going to keep it. And that's exactly what Gloria did. You were more tired than her jogging around and carrying more weight, so it would make sense by the time you caught up with her you were wheezing for breath and had a back as sore as it could get, doubling over and hands on your knees a few yards away from Gloria who offered the wide eyed teen the poke ball with a smile breathing heavily herself.

"S-Sorry it took so long, mate!" She handed it into his awaiting hands. "O-One applin as promised!"

"YES!!" He held the ball into the air. "WOW! I did it! I finally got an applin! Thank you! Thank you so much! Since you went through the trouble of giving me an applin I've got to tell her how I feel!"

Gloria nodded. "When is she coming anyways?"

The boy went to speak, but suddenly stopped wide eyed. Fumbling with the ball for a second and looking past Gloria who turned her head behind her as another teen girl with darker brown hair in a ponytail and a yellow shirt approuched with a smile. "O-Oh! Geez!! T-T-That's her now!!".....Gloria whistled turning on her heel and walked aways from the boy to you as she came over. Smooth. Too bad she wasn't that smooth when apologizing.

Nervous the boy rubbed his head as the girl walked right up to him. "Sorry I'm late" she apologized. "What was it that you needed to talk about so suddenly?"

He sputtered. "I....Er....H-How's your packing going?" You facepalmed for the third time that day.

"Pretty much everything's been packed. Since I'm moving away tomorrow."

"Yeah," he agreed with a sad look in his eyes before taking a deep breath, "H-Hey! Check out this pokemon here!" He stated holding the pokemon out to her.

Blinking she looked at the pokeball then to him before slowly accepting and holding his ball curiously. "..What is it?"

"It's uh!.." He looked down and rubbed his next. "A-A-An applin." She blinked up surprise suddenly gracing her features. "F-For you."

"Oh. An applin?" He nodded and she looked back to the ball for a moment silence falling over them. It continued on for so long you and Gloria exchanged a slightly worried glance feeling awkward watching the seen. Luckily the girl smiled before looking back to her blue eyed friend. "Amazing. Did you catch it?"

The blinked surprised by her reaction before he looked embarrased and shook his head no. "W-Well...N-No. Someone gave it to me. B-B-But NOT romantically gave it too me!" He clarified holding up his hands. "I-I traded for it! I-I..." He slumped arms to his sides. "I'm sorry. I really wanted to give you an applin that I caught on my own. But well...Ah just forget it. I can't give you this applin." WHAT!?

"You're right. I can't take it," she agreed handing it back to him. Double WHAT!?

"Yeah.."

"Even if we're separated and far away from each other, I'll still be waiting for an applin you caught yourself." She giggled at his sudden dumbfounded expression.

"W-Wait. Do you mean-?" He was quickly shut up when she out of no where kissed his cheek, and Gloria chuckled as his expression went as pink as Bede's coat.

"Ah! Um...I'll uh-....I'll see you later!," she said just as flustered and pink faced before she quickly turned on her heel and lightly squealing with joy ran off. Leaving the boy wide eyed and jaw dropped and you two as witnesses.

Gloria snorted and you gave a tap to her shoulder to get her to stop. The boy after a moment picked his jaw up off the ground and turned to you. "Say. W-What do you think that was about just now? D-D-Do you think it meant that-?"

"That she likes you back?," Gloria asked before nodding. "Sure does pal. Good on you!"

He chuckled nervously. "T-Thank you? Wait! Does that mean what I think i-i-it means!?" She nodded again at his wide eyed face. "Really, really!? I can't believe it!" He threw his hands up. "WOO HOO!! ...Ah...Sorry. I just never thought that we both felt the same way."

"Oh don't worry. I'm used to seeing that by now," you clarified.

"Right. Well, I'd better give this pokemon back to you." He handed Gloria back her pokeball and before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out something. "Here. Take this, too. Think of it as a reward for helping me take that first step." It looked to you two like some kind of coupons but you weren't sure. "I'm going to catch an applin myself! And then someday, I'm going to go giver her that applin. ...YEAH! I b-better get searching for an applin!" He turned with an extra bright smile on that face of his. "Thanks again, Mate! See ya!"

"Good luck!," Gloria called after him waving.

"Well...Today's been an exciting one," you stated stretching you back hissing as you did. "Looking around the castle town, seeing the chairman and his weird secretary, ...I guess technically apologizing to Bede, getting a letter from a mysterious girl, and helping someone confess their love. I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Does this place have an inn or a hotel we can stay at?"

"I didn't see one when we looked around."

"Camping doesn't sound too bad," a voice said with a chuckle.

"Yeah that does sound-"....You looked behind you and nearly had a heart attack when you came face to face with Leon himself! Jumping back and clutching your chest where your heart was as he gave a few laughs! "CHEESE AND RICE DONT DO THAT!!" You shouted your drizzilie chirped annoyed at him.

He chuckled a little more as you pouted at him and he shurgged. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself! I saw you just standing there and thought I should come up and say hi since it's been a while." Before you could say anything in response to that he was distracted by a happy squeal and turned to Gloria.

"LEON!!," she shouted jumping up to hug onto him.

With a laugh and smile he twirled around once cape flowing with her before planting her back down on her feet...And you couldn't help but shake your head with a smile. "Hey! Look at you, Gloria! You've groan exactly half an inch since I last saw you!" He fondly ruffled the giggling gal's hair. "Seems you're doing well collecting gym badges. I saw your recording of battling Kabu and I gotta say I'm so proud of you guys for making it this far!"

She beamed smiling wider than you had ever seen her before. "You are!? Aw. It was nothin'! Hop won his before I even did. He's the real one you should be proud of."

He nodded with a hum and you watched as he rubbed his neck like Hop. Family habit you supposed. "I am proud of him too! But Hop..." He suddenly looked down. "Gloria did something happen with him?" She blinked surprised. "He was acting really odd when I ran into him. He took one look at me and immediately was like "I'm so sorry, Lee!" It might be the first time I've heard him apologize for anything, and I have no idea what it was for. Maybe he's feeling down because he's had some losses in battle?"

"OH I KNEW IT!!" Both of you blinked to Gloria who scowled and huffed. "He lost to that challenger Bede! He was making fun of us and you and bein' a real pain in the tush!"

Leon stared at her for a moment before humming and catching her attention. "Well that would explain it. But he's got to learn sometime."

She blinked. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well...When you lose, you feel down in the dumps. But then there's no where left to go but back up! You've got to think on why it was you lost, though," he explained to her as she blinked.

"But...he lost before to Nessa and he didn't act like that when he did."

"Ah. I see. Well sometimes the reaction can depend on the person who you lose too. You said he made fun of you and me?" She nodded as he gave a thoughtful face. "I see. Well then if that happened he might be taking it a bit more personally. But we all have to handle people who don't like us on our journies. The important thing is to know that their words don't mean anything." He smiled. "Everyone's amazing in their own way, and someone else's hateful words shouldn't affect how you grow. So don't worry about him. You know that little brother of mine. I think he might yet become a surprisingly great trainer!"

Wise words. Wise words that seemed to get to Gloria as she nodded, "Yeah...Yeah you're right!" She smiled. "Hop's too smart to let that get him down anyways! He'll make it to the top guarenteed!"

"That's the spirit! Blast! And look at the time!" He scanned the sun real quick before groaning. "Nearly forgot my meeting with the Chairman! That Oleana lets me hear it when I'm late! Now only if I can remember which way to go-"

"They're at his power plant." Leon turned to you in question and you pointed back up the way you came. "Go that way to the pokemon center, you can't miss the thing it's the only thing here that's bright pink. Then turn left and he's inside his power plant last time we saw 'em."

He blinked before smiling brightly at you. "Hey thanks, Y/n. It was really good seeing you again. And seeing how that sobble of yours grew." He patted Gloria who smiled at him in return. "And it was so good seeing you too. You're doing a great job so far! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Anyways, I'd say that you should go and say hello to Raihan while you're here, Gloria!"

You paused and Gloria's eyes widened in wonder. "HE'S HERE!?"

He laughed again and nodded behind him. "Yeah! In fact he was my ride back here. He's the greatest rival I've got and the final hurdle you'll have to face in the Gym Challenge. Besides me of course. He should be still at the vault if you hurry. It's down that way." He pointed directly behind him. "On the way to Route Six...At least I think that's where it is. I'm not too good with directions."

"OMG!! IT'S THE CHAMPION!!"

Leon suddenly looked behind him as a small group had already gathered. "Uh oh! I-I'll see you later girls!" With a final pat to Gloria's head he RAN!! And the crowd gave chase. "S-Say Hi to Hop for me when you see him again!"

In a moment you quickly grabbed Gloria and yanked her out of the way of the stampeding twelve people's way as the crowd gave chase after the running champion and you both watched as they passed you. "GEEZ!! Does that happen to him all the time?"

Gloria nodded grabbing your arm. "Way more times than I can remember. But come on!" With a smile she tugged you forward in the direction Leon pointed. "I've never met Raihan before! And even the Chairman said I should visit the vault!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Whoa there! I thought we agreed to find somewhere to rest for the night."

"But Y/n!!," she whined tugging you again sad frown on her face, "I'm curiously about what this vault is now! So we gotta check it out! And plus! This might be my only chance of meeting Raihan casually without havin' the stress of a battle on my shoulders! If he's as amazin' as Lee says then I gotta at least say Hi!"

Your frowned back. "Yeah. I'm kinda iffy about the whole flirting with me part! I've never been hit on before."

She looked surprised for a moment. "Really? But you're so pretty! That's hard ta believe."

"Thank you. I'm glad you think that but that's not the point. The point is I don't feel like getting hit on by a guy who takes selfies and by the looks of it is abnoxious!," You insisted. Plus he was in your dream too and you'd rather avoid anymore interaction with anyone from your dream outside Leon who was genuinely nice. You were getting flirty bad boy vibes by what you've heard and seen and that was not your ideal type of guy in mind.

"PLEEEEEAAAASSSSEE!?," she begged you tugging on your arm. "Please please please! I promise It'll be the only favor I ask ya! Please won't ya do it just this one time!!"

You groaned throwing your head back. Knowing her she wouldn't budge til she got what she was after. "....Fine! But at the first sign of trouble we're outta there!"

Immediately her face lit up and she squealed happily like any teen you knew from back home meeting a boy band they loved. "YES!! Thank you thank you thank you! You won't regret it I promise!!"

"We'll have to see about that," You mumbled but let her tug you along with a newfound skip in her happy step as you went. You were right. This was definately gonna be a LONG day!

You let her drag your already annoyed and sore self towards the way Leon had pointed out to you past the barber shop you two had passed by earlier and onto another draw bridge as you came across it. Brow raised as you passed by a second pokemon center, did this place really need two of them?? And past a few people as you went. At one point you duo passed a group of about four woman who were excitedly chattering at a blushing girl in the center who held a piece of paper in her hands red faced embarrassed as a person could guess....You had a scary sinking feeling you knew where they had just come from. And an even more scarier feeling when you found out you weren't wrong. Because all of a sudden Gloria stopped, making you bump into her, gasped wide eyed like she had just seen a ghost, grabbed your arm tighter, and pointed with the other hand in front of you both! Blinking you looked up...and suddenly wanted to curl up into a whole and never come back out. There he was. The third person from your dream. the undenyable orange badanna dragom gym leader of Hammerlocke himself, Raihan. He looked...Bored. Leaning up against two double doors, which you had guessed was the vault, and lazily scolling through his phone....But perked up when he felt eyes on him and glanced over in your direction. As soon as he made eye contact with you he smiled. AH HECK NO!! You turned to leave but there was a problem as Gloria still had a good grip on your arm so you yelped in panic when she went forward with a happy smile on her face, and Raihan leaned himself off the wall as you approuched. OH FRICK OH FRICK OH SWEEET BABY SOBBLES!!

"Oh. Hey there, Ladies!," he greeted a fanged smile sent your guys' way when Gloria dragged your wincing form right up to him. "Nice day for a walk. If it isn't the trainer endorsed by the champion. Let's see...What's your name again?" He hummed for a moment eye brow perked up in thought at the excited girl standing before him before snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "Ah right! Gloria! And if Leon himself recognized your potential then I guess you'll grow into quite the trainer."

You rose a brow. ...Well that polite compliment wasn't what you expected at first. But Gloria gasped finally letting go of your arm. "You know who I am!?"

He laughed this time. But not in a mean way, more of an amuzed way. "Are you kidding? All Leon ever talks about is you and your brother and Hop! And how amazing you kids are. All the same though, anyone wanting to challenge the mighty Raihan has to prove they're up to it by earning seven gym badges first."

...She blinked. "Oh uh..." Embarrassed she kicked her foot against the ground. "A-Actually I-I'm not here to challenge ya. I just wanted to m-meet ya in person and c-check out the vault of course!!"

"Ah so you're here to see our treasures are you?" Gloria nodded to him. "Gaining a better understanding of pokemon by studying history certainly isn't a bad idea." Your brows raised even more in surprise. "I like your spirit, Kid!" He nodded towards the doors laying a hand on them. "Follow me why don't you?" With a single push from his hands they opened and he went inside, well Gloria excitedly went in right after him and by default you too. Hey. He hadn't said a single flirty word. Maybe this would be tolerable. " The room he walked into was...Honestly very plain looking. There was two giant shelves covered in trophier, a few seats leaned against one corner, a staircase leading elsewhere, A woman manning a counter, and some kind of symbol plastored on the wall. Blinking back up when Gloria gasped. "I'll even spare you one of my league cards. Signed of course as for any fan." Now you realized why she gasped. He had just handed her one of his league cards and was smiling brightly at him which made him chuckle before lazily pointing up the staircase. "Now on you go. If it's the vault you want it's up those stairs there."

Gloria blinked for a moment looking towards the stairs then back to Raihan and smiled. "H-Hey Thanks!" Before turning and slowly walking her way towards the stairs, card in hand.

You sighed in relief. Thank goodness he kept it casual. You didn't know how you'd react if-

"And I didn't know Lee had such cute friends.~" Your eyes must've looked like those funny googily eyed stickers you'd buy from the store by how wide they looked when you snapped to him. And this guy just stared calmly with a polite smile...And. WINKED!! At you!

You stood there for a moment before your Drizzilie gave a loud warning chirp in his direction to which Raihan blinked at. Gave you enough time in his moment of confusion to BOLT your way to the stairs weight and aching pain be darned and scrambled after Gloria a weird feeling coming over you. "Remind me to give you a big dinner later as a thanks!" Your pokemon thrummed in approval and you made your way and into the..outside?? What the? You slowed down your pace as you got higher and higher. And dared to look down which was a HUGE mistake because you instantly felt a twisting feeling in your gut realizing how HIGH you were off the ground and without safety bars from just one flight of stairs alone. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you dared to continue up the stone steps towards a door at the top.

"Whatever happened to the sword and shield that drove off the disaster?"

You rose a brow as you walked forward more towards the familiar sounding female voice all the way towards the open door...No there's no way SHE would be here too! But alas when you walked right in. Your eyes widened. The room was MASSIVE!! High brick walls, giant windows, and four giant tapestries lined the front walls. One depicting two men under a light, the next the two men by what looked like a storm(??), the third them, the storm, and a sword and shield in the sky, and the last one of the two men as kings. Not sure what story it told but it looked heroic as in a fairytale. As your eyes trailed down to two women in the room one was obviously Gloria who was chatting with Sonia and the other. Was obviously...Sonia. You blinked wide eyed at the lady but was relieved to see her as you stepped in with a smile.

"Hey, Sonia!," You called out.

said red head looked at you and smiled as you walked over to her. "Hey! Y/n, I thought you couldn't be too far behind if Gloria was here." She paused seeing the little hitch hiker leaning on your shoulder that was your Drizzilie, as she pointed at him. "Hey. Is that who I think it is?"

You smiled and nodded. "Yep. Apparently he was closer to evolving that you guys thought. He ended up doing that when Gloria borrowed him for a battle. Still hungry as a snorlax tho." Drizzilie shot you a pouty look and you three girls ended up chuckling at his reaction. "Anyways what are you doing here? I thought you came here right after that dinner in Hulbury."

She waved a hand. "Well, yeah that was the plan at first, but I ended up staying with Nessa a bit to catch up and have some time with my friends." She sighed. "It's been so long since I saw them all. It was good catching up with her and everyone else again revisting our favorite spots. I lost track of time and ended up catching a ride with Lee and Raihan back here to see the vault." She turned back to the tapestries and you glanced up as she looked. "I-....Think I'm getting closer to solving the mystery behind the dynamaz origin but...the same thing happened to everyone else that researched this far into the story before giving up. Still too much mystery and not enough answers to fill in the blanks I'm afraid."

You nodded glancing up at the old things. "Yeah I get you. I'm trying to solve a mystery of my own too in a way." A mystery of how to get back home and helping Gloria finish the game's story plot was the one but you weren't about to admit that!

She looked at you. "Oh yeah? What kind of mystery?"

"The mystery of how long it takes before that guy down stairs decides to put the moves on me. Maybe he's like an an- uh pokemon and you have to play dead." She rose a brow. "Y'know that one saying. You have to play dead or else they'll pounce on anything that moves."

"PFFFT!!" Sonia Snorted. Snorted!! Before her hands flew up to cover her mouth as laughter shook her form and Gloria looked up from her phone confused. "I-I-I...Oh gosh! Ahaha! I-I g-guess you met Raihan??" She asked between small giggles.

"Met him!? I thought the guy was gonna try to make me a side dish for his next curry by how he looks at you! Does he flirt with everyone?"

Sonia giggled a bit more before shaking her head. "No! That's just how h-he is. He really is a sweet and caring guy once you get to meet the real him honest."

"Told ya," Gloria confirmed.

"Well I don't think I wanna be the 'princess' who gets kidnapped by the 'dragon' thank you. Hopefully he'll be too busy taking selfies when we go back to go Y/n hunting." That got Sonia chuckling again.

"I hear you, I was that way when I first met him too. I hope you find what you're looking for." She turned back to the tapetries. "I'm going to stay here and try to study these a little more."

You were not that lucky. Because as soon as you two descended the stairs and got back down to the ground floor, Raihan was still there ever present seeming to wait for you. Doesn't a famous Gym leader have OTHER things to do-....Oh right. Gloria said he usually had a lot of time on his hands this early into the challenge. You wanted to face palm yourself hard for forgetting so easily like that. Raihan however just smiled at you two and looked to Gloria.

"Well that was quicker than I thought it'd be?," he chuckled," Was the famous Hammerlocke vault to your satisfaction Lil miss?"

Gloria instantly nodded. "Yes! The tapestries are beautiful!"

He nodded in agreement. "And really old too. The tapestries in the vault depict the heroes of the Galar Region's past. I suppose if we've got any modern hero I'd have to be our Champion Leon." He hummed looking Gloria over a moment and you rose a brow at him. "...Hey. You want some advice from a Gym leader who's fought Leon for the Champion title lots of times?" Of course she nodded excitedly. "Then listen up, Gloria. Your goal is to defeat that superstar Leon. So go to Route Six and train yourself up along the way to Stow-on-Side. Bea's the fighting type gym leader, so the best way to beat her is to think like a fighting type trainer would. Train hard and I know you'll be able to do it!"

With a fist pump the brunette nodded. "Right! I won't let ya down Sir!"

He chuckled. "Now I see why Lee likes you so much. Ah. That reminds me." He turned to the door and pointed. "There was this lil man that looked a lot like you looking for you outside there. Maybe you know him?"

In an instant the girl snapped to the door, gasped, and ran off. "VICTOR!!" The doors slamming open as she flew through them with the speed and strength of a wild bull.

He laughed. "Ah. That kid has some spunk. I look forward to battling her soon." He then turned to you as you paused. "Anyways. I don't think I got your name Miss??"

"Y/n." you stated flatly, "And thank you for the compliments-"

"Ah thank nothing of it." He flashed a fanged grin at you, "I know how it can be sometime meeting me n' all that but it really is no big deal-"

"Oh you're right about that." He paused stopping, blinking wide eyed at your deadpanned face mouth agape in a smile as he processed what you had bluntly but politely stated. "You do seem REALLY nice and I really appreciate all the nice things you said to me and Gloria, but I'll have to stop you right there with the flirting, Mr. Raihan. No offense to you of course, and I don't mean anything by it." You turned giving the frozen gym leader one last look before you left. "You just aren't my type. I'm sure you'll find a nice person soon tho with your looks and charms. Have a nice day."

And you left, leaving the wide eyed Dragon Type Gym Leader standing there jaw dropped and the secretary at the desk who also looked shell shocked at what she had just witnessed. ....Raihan's rotom gave a loud pokemon sound of alarm when Raihan dropped his phone with a thud onto the floor. Meanwhile you had just gotten outside the vault and with a sigh looked around. Relieved THAT was over and done with. As you scanned you heard someone call your name and when you looked, saw none other than Victor waving an arm towards you. Smiling you happily made your way over to the equally smiling brunette boy.

"Hey! There you are! We've been running all over the place trying to find the two of you! And judging by the sun..We've been doing it all day too. Where were you guys??"

He sighed shaking his head. "It's...complicated, Y/n. We got here a little while ago, but we aren't staying. We're taking the night train tonight to Stow-on-Side."

You blinked. "Wow. Again? I'm gonna be up all day and night then-"

"No." He cut you off and made you pause, "Not all of us." He clarfied frowning and looking down. "Just me and Hop. He...has some things he wants to sort out."

"Sort out? What do you-" You looked around more. "Where is he?"

He pointed behind him down the ways towards Route Six. "Down that way. Gloria took off after him but I wanted to make sure she didn't forget you or anything."

You nodded patting his shoulder before beginning to walk off in the direction he pointed out with a feeling you knew exactly what this was about. Victor followed behind as you picked up your pace looking around for those two crazy kids-

"Then there's no point in us stickin' around!," A loud male voice cried out somewhere ahead....Both you two exchanged looks for a moment before picking up your pace and rushing forward, going around the corner and finding out exactly where the loud yell was coming from. You found Gloria and Hop alright. With their wooloo and raboot out and two of those weird Team Yell guys standing there by some snake looking pokemon. The man was the one who was yelling tho. "Let's get out of here! We'll make these bothersome kids holler some other day!" Was that a threat!? In an instant you began walking towards them again as the two make up caked clowns turned and ran off.

"Gloria..." Hop began turning and giving his friend a sad smile. "You and raboot were brilliant together!"

Gloria smiled holding up her pokeball to return said raboot. "Thanks! Wooloo n' ye have really gotten stronger since the last time I saw ya! Guess ya can say 'Woo hoo' to match your wooloo!" She giggled at her own terrible pun but....when Hop remained silent her giggles slowly faded as she looked at him...and she blinked. Uh oh. This couldn't have been a good sign. "Hop?" She questioned reaching a hand half way to him....He shook his head no looking down. "H-Hey. What's wrong?"

He remained silent for a moment. ".........Gloria." He began. "See..Bede really wiped the floor with me last time we battled." Oh boy you KNEW it would have something to do with that. "And don't get me wrong. I can take a loss. Battling means you've got to lose sometimes. ....But he said that I was dragging Lee's good name through the mud being so rubbish like I was..." WHAT!?

"WHAT!?," Gloria yelled out shocked. "HOP! That's not true! You've won every at every gym we've been too so far! Twice even before me. How does that make you any weaker than I am?"

"I know that!" He clenched his hands into fists at his side not looking up. "And I know what you said is true but ...I can't just let myself let my guard down and not improve. And I just can't get those words out of my head! If I'm weak, then people'll think Lee's weak too! But I don't want that! I can't let Lee get dragged down! He's the unbeatable Champion! I'm gonna have to take some time figuring this out.....I-I...Im sorry- AH!?" He blinked frozen as Gloria suddenly enveloped him in a hug...before his face broke up in bright pink from it...and he slowly hugged his friend back.

"Hop...You're NOT weak," she mumbled against where she hugged him, "You're smarter and stronger than ya think. And I don't want you givin' up."

"Heh. Who said I was giving up?," he asked with a chuckle, "If I just gave up now that would just prove Bede's point. And I came too far now to stop. I made a promise to you I'd battle you in the finals and I aim to keep that promise! This isn't me quitting, Glory. Just taking some time away to improve on some of my skills. That's all." She blinked as he pushed her away and gave her that bright smile of his. "If I'm going to beat you, then I need to prove that I'm a worthy rival. Alright?" ...She nodded eventually with a smile.

"Besides." Both of them snapped towards the two of you as you approuched. "If you ever really want to talk with us, you can call me or Hop on your Rotom phone at any time." Victor rose a brow as he crossed his arms and eyed where Hop was gently holding his sister's arms. "...Did I miss something?"

Hop blinked before instantly letting go beat red with a cough. "HEY! When did you-...*AHEM*" He rubbed his neck. "I-I was just saying see you around, Gloria!"

Victor hummed like he really believed him. "Rrrriiiiiggght. Anyways, Hop. It's getting close to sun down. If we wanna catch the night train out of Hammerlocke we should go now and wait at the station."

"UH!! R-Right!" He cleared his throat and turned to Gloria. "I-...I-I'll see you later, Glory. You can b-bet on that." Before quickly walking away past the both of you. "H-Hi Y/n. Nice seeing you again!"

Victor sighed and turned to follow. "Yeah. It was good seeing the two of you again. Don't forget. You have our Numbers, Gloria." He pointed back at her as he walked away. "Stay out of trouble! You hear?! And be prepared!"

"I know how to stay out of trouble ya loon!," she yelled back at him.

"Could've fooled me!"

Gloria stuck her tongue out at his retreating form and you chuckled. "What a loon. He's more chatty than a herd of hungry wooloo."

You shrugged. "I guess so..." You frowned a bit. "But on a serious note, are you ok?"

After a moment staring at where the two boys disappeared she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I'm ok. There ain't really nothin' I can do about this anywho."

You suddenly had a guilty feeling come over you. "Hey...A-About what I had you do earlier with apologizing to Bede. I'm really sorry about that-"

She held up a hand to you and shook her head. "No." Her face a determined frown. "Nah you n' Victor were right. And so was Lee. I shouldn't make any trouble for myself by just pickin' fights. And Lee was right about there bein' people like Bede anyways. But I ain't gonna let his words get ta me. And I know Hop."...She smiled. "I cant explain it as anything but a friend's intution, but I know he'll be alright. He's too smart to let Bede keep 'em down for long. And Victor's with him. So I know he'll help him too."

You nodded smiling. Of course you knew Hop would be ok as well. "That's right. But hey. Victor told me they were heading to Stow-on-Side. We were heading there anyways, and there's some day light left. Why don't we drop by Hammerlocke Cafe for a quick dinner and start heading out before night fall?"

With a determined smile Gloria Nodded and pointed up. "Perfect idea! Let's eat! Then it's onto Stow-on-Side!!"

#pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon piers #pokemon piers x reader #piers x reader #reader x piers #reader

[ijustwant2write]

Unprofessional-Brock Rumlow x Reader (Part 2)

(GIF credit to @wintersthighs)

Tags: @nekoannie-chan @amirahiddleston @bloodorangemoonlight

Requested by anonymous: 'Hello! Can I please ask for a part 2 of unprofessional? I really love that one'

Summary: (Y/N) prepares herself for her training with Rumlow, but as they spar, he gets her to rethink if she even wants to be in a relationship after what she's been through.

Part 1

Characters: Brock Rumlow x Reader (made up characters are included)

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

(Y/L/N)=Your last name

(Y/F/C)=Your favourite colour

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of sex, sexual tension, slight violence, fluff

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So I hear that Agent Rumlow is giving you a personal training session?" Director Fury said as we finished going through the agenda for that day.

"Sir?" I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"I had no idea you wanted to improve your physical skills."

"I'm sorry sir, should I have asked for your permission first?"

"No, I just find it strange." he had a smirk on his face.

"Why is that?"

"You're pretty much trained in the field of attacks and defending yourself, so you feel unqualified?"

"No, Agent Rumlow offered me some training. He pointed out that I wasn't aas sharp as I could be after witnessing yesterday's...incident."

"And he said that to you straight after the incident?"

I nodded.

He chuckled."He is a brave man."

My face dropped at his sarcasm, he was enjoying this. He dismissed me, and I returned to my office. I tried to focus on my work, but I couldn't; there were so many spelling mistakes, almost every five seconds, and I was becoming tired of myself doing it over and over again. I knew what was wrong. Brock was on my mind, that man who was so handsome that it should have been illegal. I recalled back to the times where I saw him come back from an intense mission, his face covered in bruising, stitches still fresh with specks of stained blood, but he somehow looked radiant; I would wince when I saw it, just like I would when catching a glimpse of a football game, all those gorgeous men being battered, what a waste.

"Hey," Yasmin, my friend and colleague, knocked on my door,"you having a late lunch today?"

"Hm?" my head darted up.

"You didn't join us today, we tried texting you."

"Oh, sorry. I've been catching up on work. I had lunch at my desk."

"I'm in need of a coffee break, you wanna join?"

I glanced at the clock."Actually Yasmin, I'm afraid I have a prior engagement."

"A prior engagement?"

"Come in and close the door."

She knew I was going to tell her some sort of gossip, and she excitedly shut the door, almost skipping towards the chair opposite my desk.

I couldn't help but laugh at her expression as she waited for me to speak."OK, so you know what happened yesterday?"

"You putting that bitch in her place, yes, I vividly remember the enjoyment."

"Well, Agent Brock Rumlow-"

"Leader of the S.T.R.I.K.E team and only the hardest man to get in the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D, yes."

I rolled my eyes at her."That man has offered me a one on one training session at three."

Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open in shock."Are you serious?!"

I nodded.

"Well, what have you brought to wear?"

"Oh, nothing much, just the skimpiest, shortest dress I have with a plunging neckline for my cleavage, and my stripper heels."

"Oh, shut up! Come on, have you brought your cute (Y/F/C) two piece, gym set?"

"...Of course I did."

Yasmin punched both arms in the air."Yes! Oh my god it's happening. What did I say? What did I say?!"

"Yasmin, you're getting way too excited. I bet he literally just wants to train me. Brock wouldn't go out with a secretary."

"Uh, I'm sorry but a secretary is one of the most sexiest positions out there...and I'm not talking about actual sex, just the fact that men like it-"

"Oh my god stop!" I laughed."I'm not getting my hopes up anyway."

"Oh come on," Yasmin moaned,"he wouldn't have offered this for no reason. He is always busy."

"OK I have to get ready now." I stood, hoping she caught the hint.

She understood."You are definitely getting lunch with me tomorrow, and joining me on all my coffee breaks to tell me everything!"

I laughed as she squealed."I promise I will, as long as I can still walk."

She gasped.

"That wasn't supposed to be sexual!"

Heading to the women's locker room, I changed out of my work clothes, spending way too long looking at myself in the mirror. Should I have a high ponytail or a low one? Which one framed my face better?

"What are you doing?" I mumbled to myself.

What if he really did want to just train me? And what if I was putting in way too much effort? I could walk into the gym and make an idiot of myself, Brock could end up just laughing at me. As I made my way to the gym, I was more and more nervous. He wasn't there yet, but I felt like he was about to jump out at any point.

Once again, I caught my reflection in the surrounding mirrors, turning around to check the back of my body, sticking out my arse slightly.

"You look great, stop worrying." Brock startled me as he swaggered in, wearing a tighter top than usual.

I didn't reply, too embarrassed to even think about an answer.

"You sure you're ready for this?" he smirked.

"You're not going to go easy on me, are you?" I smiled, clasping my hands together so I wouldn't fidget.

"Of course not. But I think you can take it."

He started with a warm up, and I followed, nothing was said but I was grateful for that. I desperately tried to concentrate on myself, but who wouldn't take the risk to watch an insanely fit man working out beside you.

He swiftly grabbed a pair of boxing gloves, explaining how I should properly punch as he put them on me. As we stood in front of the punching bag, I did as I was instructed, blocking out Brock and imagining Victoria's face in front of me. It was evident who I wa thinking about, because Brock stopped me.

"I must say, that's much better than yesterday." Brock said.

"Well, yesterday was a bit more of an impulse." I admitted as I took off the gloves, grabbing a towel and wiping off the sweat.

"True. Your form isn't as bad as I thought it was."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was meant to be."

I was surprisingly happy to be slightly red from the workout, a good way to cover up my blushing.

"It's not like your enemies tell you they're about to attack," I pointed out,"it could be at any moment."

He suddenly grabbed my arm and twisted it back behind me."How right you are."

I quickly reacted and kicked his knee in, making him bend slightly. This made it easy for me to flip backwards over his shoulder, kicking him to the ground. As he grabbed my ankle, I straddled him as to not fall onto my back; however, he was too fast for me, and kicked his legs up so flipped over him, landing harshly on my back. There was no time to groan though, as his fist came flying towards me and I blocked it. Both of us managed to get back onto our feet throwing punch after punch, attacking in all corners. But knowing that Brock was much more skilled, he was able to take me down, landing flat on my back again. I tapped his arm as we took a breath, sensing he also wanted this to end.

"That was quite impressive." he panted.

I breathlessly laughed."Thank you. God, I haven't had this much adrenaline since...well actually yesterday."

"You're not as rusty as I thought."

"I'm surprised too. It's been ages since I was actually in the field." I took another deep breath, finally feeling my heart beat slow down."Can I ask you something?"

He stood up, holding his hand out to me. I took it, still surprised by his strength as he easily hauled me to my feet.

He answered my as he grabbed us two water bottles."Go ahead."

"Why did you offer this session? Really?"

He scoffed."You'll just laugh at me."

I took a swig of water, confused by his statement."So it wasn't just to improve my technique?"

"None of us have much of a social life outside of work, right?"

"Right." I dragged out the word.

"So where's the time for personal life? Like...dating?"

How did he seem so confident yet so shy?

"Uh, y-yeah. I suppose we don't."

"I'm fucking useless at this shit." he chuckled to himself.

"Brock," I boldly took a step closer,"of you wanted to ask me out, I would have agreed."

"So this wasn't the best tactic to ask you out?" he joked.

"I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. Come on then, when are you free this week?"

"Actually, I have the weekend off."

"Perfect. I'm sure I can swap my schedules around. Get one of the interns to take over."

"You think Fury is gonna let you do that?"

"I'm secretly his favourite...or at least I think I am. And I haven't had asked for a weekend off in ages."

"It's not something we really do."

Without discussing it, we both headed out of the gym, side by side.

"No, but I'm going to. If the world is ending, they can call the Avengers, we'll be busy."

One of his eyebrows cocked up."If it's the end of the world we really will be busy."

I humorously scoffed at his statement, though didn't reject it. I leaned against the wall next to the locker room door."You really are a brave man."

"You better get this weekend off." he demanded as he started walking backwards, keeping eye contact with me.

"Don't you worry your little head agent." I confidently winked, disappearing into the locker room.

As the door shut, I sprinted to my locker, fumbling with the lock before pulling my bag out of it. I desperately tried to find my phone, almost screaming with joy when I grabbed it. I couldn't unlock it fast enough, quickly pulling up my texts as my fingers tapped away at the screen.

To Yasmin:

You are never going to believe what's happened! Actually you will. But I need you to come to mine and help me pick an outfit...and lingerie xx

#Brock rumlow #brock rumlow one shot #brock rumlow imagines #brock rumlow x reader #brock rumlow imagine #brock rumlow #Marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel cinematic universe #marvel film #marvel movie #Marvel imagine #marvel imagines #marvel one shot #marvel x reader

[1863-project]

I’m at the end of my first-ever Omega Ruby run, and I’ve honestly had a great time getting to know Hoenn. I just have to evolve some Pokemon and catch the Regis and Deoxys before I move along (I’m waiting to trade with folks to finish the Dex properly, but I can do that at any point), but I think it’s worth doing a retrospective on the characters and Pokemon I met along the way.

As a region, Hoenn is unique in that it has a LOT of water routes. You spend a large portion of the second half of the game traveling via Surf. The Azumarill in my party, Pikablue, ended the game knowing Waterfall, Surf, and Dive (it also carries Play Rough), and it was one of the most crucial members of my party for transport purposes.

When I won the Hoenn League, the team May (named ‘Hatshepsut’ in my playthrough because we love cool historical figures in this house) had with her was her evolved starter, a Blaziken named Cluck You, along with Pikablue the Azumarill, Pangaea the Groudon, Charles II the Shiftry, Friendo the Latios, and the team anchor, Bastet the overleveled Skitty. I beat Steven because Bastet dodged a Zen Headbutt from Metagross and gave me the time I needed to revive both Blaziken and Groudon in the back, and their fire moves handled the rest. Bastet went on to become the first party member to reach level 100, way ahead of everyone else. She was absolutely incredible and I love her. Her final moveset: Heal Bell (surprisingly useful, especially in Doubles), Thunder, Ice Beam, and Play Rough. She’s a Dragon Slayer.

As soon as I got my hands on the Eon Flute I started running around to check every Mirage location that came up in the hopes that it would be a Mirage Cave. I knew that was where Tynamo was, and I needed Eelektross to complete the Submas team I was building (the other nine members are in SwSh at the moment; Eelektross will hopefully someday join them). On November 30th, my persistence paid off, and I went and caught three Tynamos so I could have the entire evolutionary line in my National Dex in Pokemon HOME. As it turns out, Eelektross still hasn’t been added to HOME because Third Rail has become a vital member of my party in postgame and I love him and he loves me. (I’m just Emmet, really.) The Eon Flute is also really nice in that using it allows you to literally fly in real time over the entire region, and I prefer doing that to using Fly because it’s just so aesthetically nice. Friendo just swoops down and picks me up, and we have a nice time exploring together. It’s especially pretty at night when everything is all lit up. It’s a lovely little feature exclusive to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and it’s so great.

Character-wise, Hoenn has produced some notables. Magma and Aqua are two of the most beloved villain teams in the entire franchise, and the reboots gave them so much more personality and gave the leaders and admins some excellent updated designs. (Years ago, when the remakes were first released, my dash was filled to the brim with Hardenshipping.) I had OR, so I had Magma to contend with, and one of the single most entertaining things in the entire game is Maxie’s losing animation. It’s perfect, it suits his character so well, and it’s just really funny. Also, shout-out to the Team Magma grunt that I met in the Extremely Obvious Hideout who told me how proud he was of kicking his soda habit whilst standing next to the vending machines. I love that guy. In terms of reformation, Magma and Aqua come around very easily when they realize that they’ve had a very bad idea - they ultimately were well-intentioned but made a really horrible mistake and set out to set things right (with the player’s help, of course). It ultimately makes both teams very likeable.

In terms of other characters, not every Gym Leader from Hoenn is a complete standout, but a few are very, very popular. Flannery is a perfect time capsule of 2003 fashion and I love that so much, and I don’t think I need to say much about Wallace. He’s just Wallace. He’s so freaking entertaining. Steven is also a very popular Champion, and he plays a pretty big role in the plot, so you see a lot of him throughout the game. (He and Wallace are also a very popular ship, with Originshipping - named for the Cave of Origin which Wallace has to grant you access to - actually being referenced in Pokemon Masters on, of all days, Valentine’s Day. Make of this what you will, but I’m here for it.) The Gym Leaders all received redesigns as well, with a lot of them benefiting greatly from it - I like Roxanne’s new school uniform so much better than her old one, for example, and once again, Wallace outshines everyone with an ensemble that would go wonderfully at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. I wish we got to know the Gym Leaders a bit more as people, because they don’t get to stand out as characters as much. Galar actually did this very well by allowing us a lot of interactions with the Leaders outside the Gyms and as teammates and rivals in the Galarian Star Tournament. A big part of the reason Wallace is so popular as a Gym Leader here is that you see him outside the Gym multiple times and can even compete with him in Contests. You get to know him as a person more and not just as the eighth Gym Leader, and it makes him a much more interesting character.

In short, here’s how the League stacks up for me:

Roxanne: Benefited massively from her character redesign, which gives her a lot more personality. Would like to see her and Steven interact since they’re apparently friends, which I imagine revolves around going out and licking rocks together or whatever geologists do with their geologist friends.

Brawly: He still isn’t very distinct. He’s a surfer who trains Fighting-types, which is a bit of a subversion since you’d expect Water-types from someone like that, but nothing about him really pops for me.

Wattson: Gives off Grandpa Vibes. Wattson actually gets a lot of expository development via his work on New Mauville and Sea Mauville, where you find out he halted the projects to protect the Pokemon ecosystems in both locations. A lot of employees were angry about this and he was even investigated briefly for stopping the projects, even being called a traitor to the company (which appeared to overwork its employees and prevent them from unionizing), but it was apparently evidently clear that he did things out of environmental concerns, and the employees were able to find work on other projects elsewhere. This actually slots nicely into the themes of the game involving environmentalism and how to ensure the livelihoods of people and nature both.

Flannery: Time capsule from 2003! I was, of course, around in 2003 (I turned 14), and Flannery was at the peak of fashion back then. Flares were in, and I miss that trend so much. For that alone, she’s one of my favorite Gym Leaders in this generation, but I also appreciate that she’s shown trying to find her footing and figure out who she is instead of pretending to be someone else. There’s a certain performative aspect to being a Gym Leader, but it needs to come naturally from them and be an extension of their own personality, not be artificial. I would, however, love to know who her grandfather is. It’s still never been confirmed. (As a side note, a lot of people headcanon her to be Kabu’s niece, since he’s from Hoenn, which is cute.)

Norman: A Dad. More specifically, the player character’s dad. There’s really nothing that stands out about him except for that damn Slaking, which gives a lot of people trouble. I did, however, appreciate the conversation he had with Wally’s father as Wally and the player character departed together, because I’m actually pretty close to my own father (who I’m very similar to in many aspects). I’m 31 years old and I still get emotional every time my parents tell me they’re proud of me. Notably, Norman is the only player character father we have ever seen in Pokemon, though, which is odd.

Winona: In-game, she doesn’t feel like she has much of a personality, although she goes off on aesthetics pretty well. It just weirds me out that that’s her hair coming out from under the helmet and not wings attached to it. She could have been really cool but she gets the short end of the development stick.

Tate and Liza: The two of them intentionally playing up the ‘weird twins’ angle by completing each other’s sentences actually comes across really cutely because they’re kids. You can also run into them in the Lilycove Department Store being children and buying toys, a good reminder that they’re still very young and evidently very skilled for their ages. Battle-wise, my Azumarill knew Surf by this point so I ended things quickly because I’m into Doubles as it is and like using spread moves when I can.

Wallace: I’ve discussed him a lot above, so I don’t need to say much else, but he really is the most notable Gym Leader in the region, and not just because he’s the last one you face. He has a lot of personality and development, you meet him outside the Gym several times, his niece Lisia is also out and about in the game and the family resemblance is notable, and you find an old magazine in Sea Mauville featuring a woman on the cover who looks like Lisia - likely Wallace’s older sister, Lisia’s mother. The entire family gets more development than a lot of the other Gym Leaders in this region.

Sidney: The first member of the Elite Four you face...I’d actually like to know more about him. He seems like an interesting person, and I personally enjoy Dark-types myself so I always appreciate seeing Dark-type users not being portrayed as evil. His upbeat nature is nice, and it’s a pleasant surprise to run into him at the Battle Resort, even if he was only there to track down Steven.

Phoebe: I love how much her appearance contrasts with her Pokemon typing. She’s a Ghost-type trainer and you’d never guess that from her outfit! Her grandmother is the old woman on Mt. Pyre, which is why Phoebe has an affinity for Ghost-Types, and I’d love to see more interactions involving them together. You can run into Phoebe on Mt. Pyre after you beat the League and talk to her briefly - she was likely visiting her grandmother - but sadly she doesn’t get much development outside of that.

Glacia: An Ice-type trainer who we learn next to nothing about. Glacia is mentioned outside of the context of the Elite Four by an NPC in the Mauville Food Court who says she was slurping down ramen so intensely that she broke a sweat, but that’s all we know about her aside from that she’s originally from a different region, and she tells us that herself. Not very memorable.

Drake: Yet another Dragon trainer late in the game, and not one of the more notable ones. Lance and Clair are remembered for being cousins and for being the first Dragon trainers you really come across in the series, and later Dragon-type trainers like Iris (who becomes Champion of Unova in B2W2) and Raihan are carried by their personalities and distinct looks. Drake is just an old sea captain with Dragon-types, and he doesn’t really jump out at me much either.

Steven: A major player in the plot - one of the most active Champions we’ve had in the franchise - and a perpetually popular character. I never minded running into Steven out and about in Hoenn, even if it meant I’d have to listen to an infodump about rocks, and his Champion battle was actually fairly difficult for the team I brought in despite having two team members with Fire-type attacks to handle the Steel. As I mentioned above, it was my Skitty that made the decisive dodge to allow me to bring in the team member I needed to deliver the final blow, meaning this is now the second time in my life I’ve beaten the Champion with an unevolved house cat. (Rick Pratt the Purrloin is a vital member of my beloved Young Ones Galar Championship Team.) Overall, Steven’s a very likeable Champion, and I did enjoy the little detail of the rocks on display in his home - he has them labeled so you can see where he found them, and they’re from every region featured in the games up to that point.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire also have the Delta Episode, which features Rayquaza (which you’re forced to catch) and a character named Zinnia, who isn’t in RSE at all and is new to ORAS. Besides being named after my favorite flower, Zinnia’s personality is actually very interesting because although she comes across as cheery it’s clear she feels the weight of a massive responsibility and that the cheeriness is covering a lot of pain. Her Whismur named Aster is evidently named after someone important to her who is no longer around, and it’s never revealed in-game who the original Aster was. Whoever Aster was, though, Zinnia misses her deeply. In a 2015 interview, Ohmori Shigeru stated that the original Aster was the person who held the position of Lorekeeper before Zinnia, but we don’t know anything more than that - a shame, really, because that makes for some interesting backstory.

Overall, I had a lovely time in Hoenn, and I’ll be moving on to Kalos in the next few weeks once I finish up this Dex business first. I just wish I got to get to know so many of the characters I’ve met a little better, but I adore the team I put together and I’m super proud of them and all they’ve accomplished.

#Pokemon #Omega Ruby #ORAS #Hoenn #Hoenn Retrospective

[mamushroomoracorn]

Heista (Dorm)

(This is my fan dorm of my old oc Luna this is for the challenge, I spend a long time on this, Please click for better, quality/Keep reading for the dorm leaders, Rooms, Information | I worked very hard on this Days , Please Reblog) This dorm is based on the stealth of Luna  In order to become the dorm leader of Heista you must last longest in a massive game of hide and seek, In order to become vice you must catch the most people This dorm is based off of stealth skills, Parkor and staying hiddin

Meet Zersiro, Iri, and then Lavender,  Zersiro is the vice dorm leader, Age 17, Year 2, Nick names, The trickster, Card Man,weeb and Tower Iri is a Year 1 student. is at the age 17, Nick names,Sweet tooth, bubble gum addict Lavender, Age 18, Year 3, Nick Names, Grape, Leader

Being the son of divorce parents, he already believes he was at fault as a kid he was shy and timid he is still is. Only having one close friend. He lived with his father when he was little. Lavender adored his father, often playing games like in the dark hide and seek, parkor and climbin Even though he was shy Lavender was very active. Later in his life, his father found someone else to love Lavender didn’t mind but very happy for his dad. He loved to look at his father book and art , and knows he needed someone because of the dark topic and often paintings of women The women was a recovering alcoholic, it started out nice for 1 year, but slowly she lost her grip His step-mother was a aggressive drunk who often, was emotional,Verbally, and sometimes physical abusive Used to hide for fun, hide in fear.  Avoiding his house by staying at his friend house, adding a lock to his room. finding areas so the lady can’t reach or know about He practice magic when she is gone, and work hard to be far away from her wrath He was happy to be accepted into NCR far away from his home town - Favorite color is red , reminds him of his father - Hates hide and seek but gets a nostalgia for it - He doesn’t like getting touch or yelled at - Have a leaky eye from being hit in the eye - Have a fear of women - Avoids Leona and savanaclaw students - Atheist but will not judge other or say in other regions - Bad at uno

Zesiro grown up poor, he learned how to scam, gamble, and sell over the years. This boy is very sly and cunning. He made friends with lavender as a kid After askng tricking Lavender to play uno, still have a win ratio of 250 - 0 Zersiro have run under ground casino to get AP test answers, Money, and items He would scam , play, act and sometimes cheat. When he grew older he learned to make sells to go on field trips butt not smart in spending his money or investing he ask his mom who is a shop keeper Later in life he watched a lot of anime, ninja videos and japanese movies and videos.  Zersiro joined rock climbing club, then later the ninja club/summer camp after selling girl scout cookies for money to afford He doesn’t want to become japanese, but love the entertainment  - Doesn’t like shoes and socks - hoarder but clean - Very envious , Jealous of other people stuff he will ask to hold it/ look at it to have a taste of what you have  - Is a weeb,  - Listens mainly to Jrock and Kpop/rap, Groups/people he listens to, is DEAN, Jay park, LOONA, Miso - have similar grounds with ruggie and rook

Iri was raised by his older sister when his parents went to jail/rehab when they have been caught processing drugs and was high Iri worked at age 14, often after school he would buy sweets, cakes, candies He lives off sugar, “It calms me” He doesn’t really like talking, he does it rarely  Loves to do parkour it makes him feel big and tall Teased often for his height, he grown to hate it a little,  He works at monstro lounge, as cook He had many experiences cooking because of his older sister long work hours Helps with the money inside the dorm - Loves cooking/baking sweets - Iri is listener and don’t talk often - He likes to do stuff himself and hates others when they try to help him - Iri have once kick down a kid for giving him a yard stick - Learned sign language who lacked in hearing - Listen to vocaloid related music - Have a pet goldfish name orange chicken

This is dorm layout, It is underground, and travels through sides and lifts and one elevator It have three public restrooms(all rooms have bathrooms) 2 areas are,  3+ rooms, biggest area and closer to the enterance since having the most people. Many first years and half of the second years live here 3 areas, are 2 people rooms, the other half of the second years live there, They can travel up to top dorm in order to go on the elevator 1, 1 singular person room, is on the bottom and the biggest one is there, normally they are the size of the regular but, The dorm leader/vice is the 1st and 2nd biggest  Jungle gym is one of the most popular area having outsiders paying to get in to often explore, hang out, have fun in this area, the room is really tall and have many areas to clime and zipline,Use gliders, fly or just rest The hangout is where you can relax and sit down and read often used by parents, guardians, can be used by students Also allow pets and many games of hide and seek in the dark is played often in this dorm, other dorms can join and request a challenge for a free week at the jungle gym

Enterance

Elevator 1

Rooms hallway 

Hang out

Jungle Gym

Uniforms look like this, you can choose which style of poncho you want, but you always have to have a orangy-red bandana or a pale yellow, and poncho on with something underneath, colors can be alternated with theses only patterns only if you are heads you can change the poncho pattern, but you can chang the circle into square if you want. Luna often wore ponchos so in honor we will @dreamerwicked-sweet​ for the fun challenge it was fun to do)

#twisted wonderland #fan dorm #heista #twstdormcreations

[fyexo]

200430 SuperM are the stylish K-pop superheroes destined for world domination

The allure of K-pop can be difficult to explain to the uninitiated – it’s much better to simply experience it in all of its polished pop glory. That’s easier said than done right now, but had you made it down to The O2 Arena in a pre-lockdown London at the end of February, you’d have had the ultimate introduction to the genre: a night with the aptly named K-pop supergroup, SuperM.

Despite having only debuted late last year with a five-track “mini album” (that also featured two additional instrumentals), SuperM managed to pack the 20,000-person capacity arena with feverish fans, each clutching the hefty light sticks that are considered essential armoury for K-pop concerts, which would later illuminate the venue in a synchronised sea of LED allegiance. How do you land a gig at the UK’s second-largest indoor arena with only five songs to entice potential ticket purchasers with?

Well, its seven members have already been in the limelight for some time now, rising to fame in other boy bands managed their record label, SM Entertainment, who put them together with the aim of them becoming “the Avengers of K-pop”. Now 26, Taemin has been a part of Shinee since the tender age of 14; Baekhyun and Kai have been performing as part of Exo for almost a decade; Taeyong and Mark debuted with NCT in 2016; and Ten and Lucas have been a part of WayV since 2018. You can tell which band member pulled in which fans by analysing their light sticks: slime-green cubes for NCT’s Taeyong and Mark, turquoise crystals for Shinee’s Taemin, white hexagons for Exo’s Baekhyun and Kai and a green V for WayV’s Ten and Lucas, while SuperM’s own light stick is bright pink.

“I definitely never predicted that K-pop would become so loved by so many all over the world,” says 27-year-old Baekhyun backstage before the show. For many of the band’s members, this is their first time performing in London and their excitement is palpable, as they sing and joke around between themselves before sitting down to be interviewed. “I’m really thankful for all the artists and groups that worked hard and eventually paved the way for the genre to be where it is today, especially looking at how many fans there are globally and how open people are to different genres and cultures,” Baekhyun continues. “That in turn pushes us to work even harder.” What does hard work look like to SuperM? “Well, we practice hard… all night long, until we all get the choreography down.”

It may sound gruelling, but their rehearsal schedule sure pays off. On stage, SuperM attack their dance routines with military precision, with footwork so intricate that it’s a miracle they have time to catch their breath, let alone sing. By the end of the show, many of them look as though they’ve just run in from a sudden downpour, dripping in sweat and panting for air in between statements of gratitude towards the crowd. Just as well, then, that they’d saved their most intense song, “Jopping”, for last, a track that swells rock, pop, house and hip-hop influences around the catchy hook of “Cause when we jumping and popping, we jopping.” It’s the kind of song that wouldn’t sound too out of place on a superhero film soundtrack and, to be honest, the band members could probably scrub up to be pretty decent superheroes themselves – no doubt doing their own stunts as well.

It’s clear to see that SuperM are having the time of their lives, as seven guys in their twenties travelling the world, reaping the rewards of years of practice and dedication. The best part is that, despite being put together by their record label, the members genuinely seem to get on with each other. “It’s our first time touring together as SuperM and the bond has gotten a lot stronger between us as we’ve spent time together,” explains Baekhyun, who, as the group’s leader, is the most vocal. “On a regular day, we like to eat together or, if we have time, go out and shop together.” It turns out that the band had even found time to squeeze in a quick shopping trip around London before their show and, as Mark lets the audience know during the show, Taeyong went on a big splurge at Dover Street Market.

If you've already noticed the band's impeccable sense of style (and you should have; at any given time they each look as though they could be walking down the runway at fashion week), you're probably wondering what kinds of clothes SuperM like to fill their shopping bags with. Taeyong likes to keep things classic, anchoring his outfits with a black base. “Then I accessorise more on the jewellery side,” he explains. The bleach-blond-haired Taemin takes a slightly different approach, tailoring his looks to his surroundings. “When I travel, I tend to have a certain concept or image in mind for that particular city or region I’m travelling to,” he describes of his styling technique. “Sometimes I’ll dress up my outfits a bit more if I feel like it matches my perception of that city or the atmosphere, or maybe put on a coat, or maybe go all black.” Baekhyun leans more towards streetwear, favouring brands such as Supreme, but when it comes to selecting pieces he takes a similar approach to Kai, who depends on reliable basics. “I think sticking to nice basics is key, so you don’t look so over-the-top and look comfortable,” he says. As for Mark, Lucas and Ten, they prioritise comfort over anything else. “I usually think of all the clothes that I can dance in,” explains Lucas. “I think the base of whatever I wear comes from dancing.”

On the way home from their blockbuster show at The O2, I feel as though I'm coming down from a state of giddy delirium, riding a residual high from the non-stop energy that consumed the arena for the past two hours. I can only imagine how SuperM must feel, having performed the show in Paris and across the US in the weeks prior. There's been much said about the demanding nature of the K-pop industry and the impact it has on its stars. Although the band are all in high spirits, even from the eye of a spectator it looks exhausting. “We’re just like everyone else, we like to unwind the same way everyone does,” says Baekhyun when I ask how they find time to de-stress within their schedules. “Some of us like playing games, or some of us will go to the spa to relax.” Taemin cheekily chips in that some of the band members have also recently begun hitting the gym to let off some steam. “Yes, we’ve been working out hard,” agrees Baekhyun. This clearly tickles Mark, who lets out a loud laugh, in turn sparking a wave of what I assume is playful banter among the group.

And that's the beauty of K-pop, the fact that, even if there's a language barrier, you can still understand the heart and meaning behind a sentiment. In the past few years, the genre has done a phenomenal job of bridging cultures and uniting fans all over the world.

SuperM are in lockdown right now, but they've been live-streaming gigs online for their fans, complete with revised choreography and AR effects, and took part in Lady Gaga's “One World: Together At Home” concert last week. At times like these, their power to connect audiences globally feels more significant than ever. When all this is over, the Avengers of K-pop will assemble, ready for world domination, but, for now, turn up the music and get jopping in your living room. It's a guaranteed mood booster, promise.

Source: Olive Pometsey @ GQ

#exo #kai #baekhyun #t: interview

[notyourpapashockey]

Hispanic Heritage Month Fan Highlight: Elan Lozano

NOTE FROM NOT YOUR PAPA’S HOCKEY: SOME PEOPLE DECLINED TO SHARE LAST NAMES, TWITTER HANDLES AND/OR PERSONAL PICTURES. WE RESPECT THEIR RIGHT TO PRIVACY, AND WE HOPE OUR READERS DO AS WELL. WE HAVE NOT EDITED ANSWERS ASIDE FROM SLIGHT SPELLING ERRORS AND ADDED CLARIFICATION.

Not Your Papa’s (NYP): Tell me a little about yourself - name, pronouns, where you're from, fun fact if you want, etc!

Elan (E): My name is Elan Lozano, I am a 29 year old Mexican-American male from Saint Paul, Minnesota. I am not only an extremely huge hockey fan, but I am a musician as well. I play the drums, a little bit of guitar and work at a music shop as well. I have a hockey jersey collection that is currently up to 20, but most likely will be more by the time this article will come out.

NYP: Who is your team (or teams)?

E: Minnesota Wild all the way!

NYP: Who is your favorite player and why? 

E: Matt Dumba, no question. He’s the definition of a true leader in my opinion. He is always the first guy to help the younger guys get acclimated to the team. He is always there to pick up his teammates when they are hurt and the first to stick up for his teammates in a scrum or a fight. He is also finally getting recognized for it with his King Clancy Award this year, but he is an extremely huge community leader. He is always donating his time to multiple programs, charities and even strangers since the first day he arrived in Minnesota. He has done a ton of work with the ACES program and it is amazing to see. He has also donated money to help rebuild Minneapolis and for Black Lives Matter. It still boggles my mind that he has not been considered an option as a potential team captain when Mikko Koivu retires.

As a player, when he is on, the Wild are on as well. He’s a player that very much can dictate where the team can go. Plus, he has one of the best one timers I have ever seen. He has an absolute bomb of a slapshot! I honestly think if he did not get hurt halfway through last season, we would be talking about Matt Dumba across the league a lot more as one of the top offensive defenseman in the NHL. I have all the confidence that he will be able to turn back around and become the 20-30 goal scorer he looked like he was going to be before he was injured.

NYP: How long have you been a hockey fan and how did you get into hockey?

E: For as long as I can remember. I would guess around 6 or 7, so 22 or 23 years. All I remember was seeing The Mighty Ducks as a kid and being hooked! I mean, it was a movie that was filmed in my hometown. It was like it was meant to be. As far as NHL hockey, it easily has to be the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. I just remember Dominik Hasek being an absolute madman in the net and making some of the craziest saves I have ever seen. Still, to this day, it amazes me how he made some of the saves he did. In my opinion, Dominik Hasek in his prime was the best goaltender to ever play the game. He almost single handedly won the Sabers a Cup. Shoutout to The Dominator. Still is one of my favorite players of all time.

NYP: What do you like the most about hockey? 

E: This is [a] tough question. I do not know if I can pick just one, but one of the things I love most about the sport is the fact that an underdog can win on any given night, and I do not think you can say that about any other sport really. Especially, in the playoffs. How many other sports leagues can say that an 8th seed has a shot at winning their league’s championship if they are able to make the playoffs and get hot at the right time? Not many, if any at all. The feeling of anything can happen is just pure amazing.

Another thing I love about the sport is the passion of anyone who is involved or surrounded by the game itself. The players, the announcers, the writers and the fans. We all live and die with our teams. The players leave it all out on the ice. The fact that a player can get as big of a cheer for blocking a shot as they can for scoring a goal tells you all you need to know about the passion the players and the fans have for the game and for each other.

NYP: How has being Hispanic/Latinx in a white-male centric fan community affected your relationship with the sport?

E: My experience with the sport has been positive for the most part, but there are moments where things have not been so positive. I remember growing up and saying my favorite sport is hockey. You would have kids make comments like, “But, you’re Mexican.” I never took those kids as meaning anything hurtful by it. Most of the time, they thought it was cool that I was Mexican and liked hockey, but I learned quickly at a very young age that there was not a lot of Latinx representation in the sport and that has always disappointed me.

It is growing. Slowly, but it is growing. I always looked up to Scott Gomez and would do reports in school on him as much as I could because he was an inspiration to me. It is amazing to see that we have a Latinx GM for the Minnesota Wild in Bill Guerin. It is amazing to see Alex Meruelo as the first Latinx owner in the NHL. I cannot tell you how exciting it was to see Auston Matthews go First Overall in the NHL Draft. There was such a high sense of pride for me seeing a Latinx player go first overall and especially to arguably the biggest hockey market in the world AND be their star player. 

The more negative experiences I have had have more come from looks or getting the feeling someone is talking about you because you are different. When I have been at the local bars surrounding Xcel Energy Center grabbing food and beer before a game, there are a few times I will get looks or get the feeling someone has been talking about me. It has happened at the arena a few times as well. I never let it bother me much because I am not going to allow someone to ruin my good time and waste the hard earned money I spent on my ticket to the game, but at the same time, I am human.

I can only deal with so much before I want to say something. I usually never do because, for one, I am usually alone and two, I am a Person of Color by myself at a hockey game. I would like to think a majority of the fans would have my back in helping defend me against racism, but I always get the feeling security or the cops at the arena would take the other person’s side if I did ever speak up. The worst part is I am a Season Ticket Holder and I still feel like very few people would have my back to support me. 

NYP: What do you wish you could see from teams or players when it comes to Hispanic Heritage - especially teams in areas with large Hispanic/Latinx populations?

E: Simple. Outreach, outreach, outreach. Most of the time, the teams will go to the suburbs of the city they play in, but where the outreach is needed most is usually a lot closer to the arenas these teams play in. It would be as simple as taking the time to go to a local rec center and play some floor hockey in the gym with the kids. If you did that once a week or even once a month, you would get so many more eyes on the sport and get kids interested at a much younger age.

Outreach is the first step. The second would have to be donating not only time, but money and/or gear. The game is extremely expensive. From my personal experience, my mom did not have the money to get me the gear I needed to play hockey when I was younger. A few years ago, I was able to get myself skates and a helmet and started to trying to learn how to skate on my own. There was no way my single mom could have afforded to buy the gear and ice time I would have needed to be able to play.

NYP: In relation to the question above, what would you like to see your favorite team, specifically, do for Hispanic/Latinx fans?

E: I would give the two same answers as before, but I will specify it more to my city and to the Minnesota Wild. I live on the West Side of Saint Paul, which has a very large Latinx population, more specifically, Mexican and Mexican-American. I live literally 5 minutes from the Xcel Energy Center and in the near 20 years of the team’s existence, there has been no or hardly any outreach to this side of town. We could not live any closer to not only the arena, but to the practice facilities as well. There is no excuse the team has to not have more of an outreach in our neighborhood. We have a new rec center in the area, an indoor ice rink and the rec center also makes two outdoor rinks every year. There are plenty of opportunities for the Wild to outreach to the neighborhood I live in, but I have seen more outreach in the suburbs who are 30 to 45 minutes away from the arena. Even the Minnesota Twins rebuilt the baseball fields that are attached to the rec center and they are based out of Minneapolis, not Saint Paul like the Minnesota Wild are. It is extremely disappointing.

NYP: What is your favorite thing a team or player has done for Hispanic Heritage? 

E: It almost feels disappointing that this is my answer because I feel like it should be something on a bigger scale to talk about, but it has to be an interview/YouTube video that SportsNet’s Donnovan Bennett did with Auston Matthews about his Latinx heritage that was released back in February this year. It was great to hear him talk about his family and his culture. It shows where he comes from. Sadly, the video has under 100,000 views at the time of me writing this. It is crazy to me that the Leafs, or the NHL for that matter, did not promote this more for one of its Superstars players in the league.

[Note from NYPH: the video has since surpassed 100k views but barely, it sits at 100,684 as of Sept. 23, 2020.]

NYP: Tell me about a favorite hockey memory.

E: Hands down, my favorite hockey moment is Andrew Brunette’s OT Game 7 winner against the Colorado Avalanche in 2003. I was 12 and I remember it was one of the rare times my mom let me stay up late to let me watch the game. No matter how late it could have gone, she was going to let me stay up and watch the entire game. She knew what it meant to me. Quick shoutout to my amazing mom for always being supportive of my passion for the sport of hockey. My mom even let me watch the game on the big TV in the living room.

I remember Brunette getting a break to the net and when he scored, it is a feeling I will never forget. I just remember jumping up and down, screaming and crying out of pure joy. The emotions came over me. To this day, whenever I see this goal, I get a chill down my spine. No one gave us a chance and we took down the mighty Avalanche. We were the underdog, and we fought so hard to get a chance. To get respect. That is why I connect with the game so much. I am that person in my everyday life. I have to fight for every inch and you have to do that exact same thing in hockey.

NYP: What is something you wish people knew as a Hispanic/Latinx hockey fan? 

E: I think from a cultural standpoint, we have so much to offer to the game to make it better. We are passionate. We love hard! We dive headfirst into the things we love. We will fight, scratch, claw and defend our team to no end. Imagine having more players with that fire and passion on a team or in a front office. We have so much to offer the sport. We just need the opportunities to do so.

You can find Elan on Twitter: @MapexDrummer26.

#hispanic heritage month #hispanic #hhm #hockey #matt dumba #auston matthews #minnesota wild #latina #latinx #latino #interview #fan interview

[sage-nebula]

I finished both the main story and the postgame story of Pokémon Sword, so I figure I’ll type up a little informal review on it, if for nothing else than to have my thoughts on record.

Overall: I liked it, and think despite Game Freak’s failings, it was an improvement over both the Kalos and the Alola games.

First, just from a gameplay standpoint: While I’m still upset about the National Dex being axed, as well as upset over Mega Evolution being axed, and mad about Mimikyu being nerfed even though I knew last gen it would happen, overall gameplay improved VASTLY in this game when compared to the Alola games especially. True, your outfit is still ugly when you’re on your bike, but the music doesn’t change to something hideous, and you can use the bike to maneuver over both land and water. The curry minigame in Camp might be a bit finicky, and the play options are limited (+ I miss being able to pet my pokémon), but Camp lets all of your pokémon out at once, and they can interact with each other, and I think that’s really great. Additionally, I like the immersion of being on a journey and being able to set up camp and cook. It’s nice. Customization is far better in this game than in previous games (even if I found the perfect outfit right at the start and never changed it---though hell, that’s a bonus), I like controlling everything with the buttons rather than using a touch screen, the wild area is a lot of fun to run around in, I like having pokémon visible on the overworld . . . overall, I just find it to be an improvement over the Alola games in terms of gameplay in virtually every way. At least for me, the Alola games were not very much fun to play. I loathed the Ride music and the fact that I was using someone else’s pokémon instead of my own (and as a result had to walk everywhere since they didn’t give me a goddamn bike), the customization options were really lacking, the level balance was horrible and so grinding was an absolute chore, Refresh was annoying because your pokémon were dirty after basically every single goddamn battle and you could only tidy one of them up at a time, and so on and so forth. The Galar games aren’t perfect, but in terms of gameplay they’re a huge improvement over Gen VII and that makes me breathe a sigh of relief at least, because the most important thing about video games is that they have to be fun to play. If you’re not having fun because the mechanics are bad, there’s a problem.

As far as the story goes, it definitely had its issues, most notably in the fact that Chairman Rose’s goals were never properly explained, the cover legendaries didn’t really factor in much until the postgame, and the fact that Chairman Rose and Oleana were evil at all felt more like a “well we have to have some evil organization in here huh” than anything else---like Game Freak was trying to adhere to tradition rather than writing a villain-based story because they genuinely wanted to write one. The whole situation surrounding Macro Cosmos (a company that I keep forgetting the name of because it wasn’t mentioned until the end) makes a bit more sense to me now than when I originally finished due to reading someone else’s explanation of how Rose was a PokéVillain who had already won by the time the story starts, given that he owns and controls everything in Galar (literally, he controls the very energy they need to keep the lights on and their houses warm), and so what he does is more about maintaining that (thousands of years into the future?) than anything else. Which I get, but . . . it still makes his actual actions and motivations feel weak and poorly explained.

But despite that, as well as a few other flaws (the annoying enemy characters in the postgame, the fact that Marnie was TRAGICALLY underused), I actually did enjoy it. Despite my disdain for organized sports in real life, I liked that the Gym Challenge was set up as a tournament in which your rivals participated (and that there were many other participants, too) because finally it felt like there was a reason to go after the badges, versus doing it just because the Gyms were there and you wanted to become Champion for no reason. The fact that more and more NPCs started to take notice of you as you progressed as well is another thing I liked. Although I hated that we couldn’t customize the Gym uniform (it’s so ugly!!), I did like having a personal number (mine is 494---Victini’s National Dex number), as well as the fact that it was yet another way for the fans in the game to identify you. Not only that, but having your rivals be fellow competitors in the Gym Challenge was also a nice touch. Sure, Hop was yet another hometown friend, but the others were just fellow competitors that took notice of you, and I really enjoyed that.

Speaking of Hop and the other rivals, the characters were, I felt, by and large another improvement over Kalos and Alola games. Aside from the antagonists in the postgame (who were poorly designed and also terribly annoying), as well as Gym Leader Gordie, there aren’t any characters that I really disliked, and in fact, I found the development for most of the major ones (in particular Sonia, Bede, and even Hop) to be pretty good.

A bit more detail on that: 

Sonia: Honestly, Sonia is probably my favorite character from these games (although Marnie is a close second). I am absolutely surprised by her and how much I came to love her considering I wasn’t too interested in her before the game was actually in my hands. Sonia is set up as being a twenty-something-year-old who fancies herself her grandmother’s assistant, but honestly is just kind of languishing at the beginning of the game and doesn’t really have a clear goal---to the point where her grandmother boots her out and makes her travel the region exploring the history to learn more about the Dynamax phenomenon. (And yes, Sonia is definitely in her twenties; both she and Leon refer to themselves as adults, and these games were created in Japan, where the age of adulthood is 20. So while we don’t know their exact age, we know they’re at least over 20.) Sonia is a little miffed about this at first, but as the story goes on she becomes more and more interested in and passionate about her studies, which culminates in Professor Magnolia passing the lab coat over to her. And it was at that point I realized: Although Professor Magnolia is the official professor at the start of the game, the fact that she has absolutely no impact on the game whatsoever (or at least very minimal impact) is because the real professor of the game is Sonia. We interact with her regularly, she helps compile information about what’s going on with regards to the game’s main plot, she guides and influences both the player character and Hop, and ultimately she comes to realize her own goal and dreams. The fact that an adult character in these games got to have an arc like this---one where she wasn’t sure what to do with herself at first, but came to find her own dream and take over the lab---was absolutely wonderful to me, an adult player. Sonia was definitely a refreshing character for the series and I was so, so proud of her when she finally got her lab coat, found her goal, and started living her best life. Sonia’s brilliant and I’m a huge fan.

Hop: On a personal, personality-level, I find Hop to be kind of annoying. He’s the type of person who would wear me out quickly in real life, and I honestly would have preferred if the primary rival was Marnie instead of him (since I feel him eating up so much screentime is part of why Marnie got shafted---but more on that later). But that said, I feel like Hop was Hau done right, that his character arc was well-written, and I love that we see him finally step out of the shadows and find his own path at the end of the postgame story. Hop, like Hau, has a famous relative that he looks up to and wants to surpass one day. But Hop, unlike Hau, also takes his training seriously from the start, struggles and shifts through various strategies as he tries to figure out what it is that he should do rather than just sticking to the same thing and hoping that it produces a different result, and ultimately concludes that he can do something different with his life, that he can change fields and make a name for himself his own way, without having to live up to expectations of what others think of him, or what his brother has done. While Hop resembles past rivals in the series in various ways (e.g. Barry’s impatience, Hau’s famous relative), he also sets himself apart by having a clear and defined character growth arc, culminating in his capture of the other mascot legendary and his newly appointed position as Sonia’s research assistant. I’m not personally a big fan of Hop’s, but as a character I think he was well done and I don’t dislike him either. At the very least, he easily tramples all of Kalos’ rivals (not that that’s hard, since the Kalos Friend Group is the most annoying set of rivals the series has ever seen), and I like him more than Hau as well. (The fact that Hop doesn’t delegitimize child abuse the way Hau does in USUM is a big point in his favor.)

Bede: On the other hand, I love everything about this little shithead. I love that we finally, FINALLY have a jerkass rival for the first time since Gen IV. I love that even after his character development (which he gets!) he doesn’t stop being a jerkass, he just becomes slightly less of one. (Very slightly.) While it was touched upon only a little, I like that the reason why he’s such a little asshole is because of how Rose and Oleana were using him (Oleana is the one that gets blamed, but it was Rose who gave Bede his first pokémon and endorsed him, and then later in Hulbury acted like he didn’t even know who Bede was, thereby implying that Bede feels that he has to work extra hard to gain Rose’s approval and attention), and that once he was taken in by a good guardian (Opal), he improved not only as a trainer, but as a person. It was so great to see Bede finally happy near the end of the game, once Opal took him in, and also great that even though he was a little shit to everyone around him, he also treated his pokémon well (and thus wasn’t a “he’s an asshole so he uses his pokémon as tools!” type). Bede’s great. I love Bede.

Marnie: I also love Marnie, though as I’ve said numerous times, she was critically underused. Despite the fact that her older brother is a Gym Leader, Marnie has pretty much no impact on the plot, barely shows up at all, doesn’t appear in the postgame story at all (even though she’s a Gym Leader now!), and overall feels like she’s just sort of . . . there. This frustrates me not only because I love what little we do see of her (the fact that she has a south London accent is already a huge plus in her favor, along with her design, battle music, and overall character), but because I feel this happens all-too often with female rivals in Pokémon games. Granted, it’s not like we have a surplus; aside from the opposite-gender player rivals, the only dedicated female rivals we have in the entire series apart from Marnie are Bianca and Shauna (because given that Lillie doesn’t battle for the majority of the story, she does not count as a rival). Shauna, like all the rivals in XY, has an ineffective, weak team and doesn’t really accomplish anything at any point. And while Bianca’s team is fantastic and she does end up becoming Professor Juniper’s assistant in the second game, in the first game she’s sidelined after her Munna gets stolen and spends the rest of the game with her spirit broken as a result of it (which, IMO, is the one being flaw in BW’s otherwise excellent storytelling). So to get another dedicated female rival, only to have her barely be involved in the plot at all and not really go through any meaningful development is incredibly disappointing. If there is a follow-up game to the Galar games, I hope Marnie gets more to do. (And as a side note, Team Yell is in a similar situation to Macro Cosmos; it honestly feels like they only exist because Game Freak feels they have to have an “evil team” at this point, much like Skull in the last gen.)

This is long, and also it’s almost 3am and I’m tired, so rather than typing up blurbs for all the other characters, I’ll just give short lists:

Other characters I loved: Nessa, Kabu, Bea, Opal, Raihan

Characters that were OK but had certain things about them that were off-putting to me: Leon, Chairman Rose, Oleana

Characters I’m completely ambivalent about: Professor Magnolia, Milo

Characters I hated: Gordie, the Sword and Shield brothers I’m not even going to bother to remember their names because they were that fucking stupid

And that’s it, I’m going to go see if I can sleep now.

#pokemon spoilers #pokemon swsh spoilers #scrawlers is born to be a winner born to be a champion #i feel like there's a LOT more i could say but #i'm tired so #i'm just going to end the post here lmao

[ditaarcanggi]

What Needs to Have Mentally Strong and Its Concept of Life.

Meeting a powerful women that can make others people feels so strong, she transfers an energy to have better life in filling day to day. Just wondered how she can be a good leader and makes everyone absolutely love her as much as they love their self and coming back again with the question ” what makes her to be loved so deeply, and What makes the difference?”

maybe most of us will answer these questions by talking about the talent of top performers. He must be the smartest. She’s faster than everyone else on the team. He is a brilliant business strategist.  but the answers are not closely on that above answers. 

In fact, when you start looking into it, your talent and your intelligence don’t play nearly as big of a role as you might think. The research studies that I have found say that intelligence only accounts for 30% of your achievement — and that’s at the extreme upper end. What makes a bigger impact than talent or intelligence? Mental toughness.

Research is starting to reveal that your mental toughness — or “grit” as they call it — plays a more important role than anything else for achieving your goals in health, business, and life. That’s good news because you can’t do much about the genes you were born with, but you can do a lot to develop mental toughness.

Why is mental toughness so important? And how can you develop more of it?

Let’s talk about that now.

Mental Toughness and The United States Military

Each year, approximately 1,300 cadets join the entering class at the United States Military Academy, West Point. During their first summer on campus, cadets are required to complete a series of brutal tests. This summer initiation program is known internally as “Beast Barracks.”

In the words of researchers who have studied West Point cadets, “Beast Barracks is deliberately engineered to test the very limits of cadets’ physical, emotional, and mental capacities.”

You might imagine that the cadets who successfully complete Beast Barracks are bigger, stronger, or more intelligent than their peers. But Angela Duckworth, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, found something different when she began tracking the cadets.

Duckworth studies achievement, and more specifically, how your mental toughness, perseverance, and passion impact your ability to achieve goals. At West Point, she tracked a total of 2,441 cadets spread across two entering classes. She recorded their high school rank, SAT scores, Leadership Potential Score (which reflects participation in extracurricular activities), Physical Aptitude Exam (a standardized physical exercise evaluation), and Grit Scale (which measures perseverance and passion for long–term goals).

Here’s what she found out…

It wasn’t strength or smarts or leadership potential that accurately predicted whether or not a cadet would finish Beast Barracks. Instead, it was grit — the perseverance and passion to achieve long–term goals — that made the difference.

In fact, cadets who were one standard deviation higher on the Grit Scale were 60% more likely to finish Beast Barracks than their peers. It was mental toughness that predicted whether or not a cadet would be successful, not their talent, intelligence, or genetics.

When Is Mental Toughness Useful?

Duckworth’s research has revealed the importance of mental toughness in a variety of fields.

In addition to the West Point study, she discovered that…

Ivy League undergraduate students who had more grit also had higher GPAs than their peers — even though they had lower SAT scores and weren’t as “smart.”

When comparing two people who are the same age but have different levels of education, grit (and not intelligence) more accurately predicts which one will be better educated.

Competitors in the National Spelling Bee outperform their peers not because of IQ, but because of their grit and commitment to more consistent practice.

And it’s not just education where mental toughness and grit are useful. Duckworth and her colleagues heard similar stories when they started interviewing top performers in all fields…

Our hypothesis that grit is essential to high achievement evolved during interviews with professionals in investment banking, painting, journalism, academia, medicine, and law. Asked what quality distinguishes star performers in their respective fields, these individuals cited grit or a close synonym as often as talent. In fact, many were awed by the achievements of peers who did not at first seem as gifted as others but whose sustained commitment to their ambitions was exceptional. Likewise, many noted with surprise that prodigiously gifted peers did not end up in the upper echelons of their field.

—Angela Duckworth

You have probably seen evidence of this in your own experiences. Remember your friend who squandered their talent? How about that person on your team who squeezed the most out of their potential? Have you known someone who was set on accomplishing a goal, no matter how long it took?

You can read the whole research study here, but this is the bottom line:

In every area of life — from your education to your work to your health — it is your amount of grit, mental toughness, and perseverance that predicts your level of success more than any other factor we can find.

In other words, talent is overrated.

What Makes Someone Mentally Tough?

It’s great to talk about mental toughness, grit, and perseverance … but what do those things actually look like in the real world?

In a word, toughness and grit equal consistency.

Mentally tough athletes are more consistent than others. They don’t miss workouts. They don’t miss assignments. They always have their teammates back.

Mentally tough leaders are more consistent than their peers. They have a clear goal that they work towards each day. They don’t let short–term profits, negative feedback, or hectic schedules prevent them from continuing the march towards their vision. They make a habit of building up the people around them — not just once, but over and over and over again.

Mentally tough artists, writers, and employees deliver on a more consistent basis than most. They work on a schedule, not just when they feel motivated. They approach their work like a pro, not an amateur. They do the most important thing first and don’t shirk responsibilities.

The good news is that grit and perseverance can become your defining traits, regardless of the talent you were born with. You can become more consistent. You can develop superhuman levels of mental toughness.

How?

In my experience, these 3 strategies work well in the real world…

1. Define what mental toughness means for you.

For the West Point army cadets being mentally tough meant finishing an entire summer of Beast Barracks.

For you, it might be…

going one month without missing a workout

going one week without eating processed or packaged food

delivering your work ahead of schedule for two days in a row

meditating every morning this week

grinding out one extra rep on each set at the gym today

calling one friend to catch up every Saturday this month

spending one hour doing something creative every evening this week

Whatever it is, be clear about what you’re going after. Mental toughness is an abstract quality, but in the real world it’s tied to concrete actions. You can’t magically think your way to becoming mentally tough, you prove it to yourself by doing something in real life.

Which brings me to my second point…

2. Mental toughness is built through small physical wins.

You can’t become committed or consistent with a weak mind. How many workouts have you missed because your mind, not your body, told you you were tired? How many reps have you missed out on because your mind said, “Nine reps is enough. Don’t worry about the tenth.” Probably thousands for most people, including myself. And 99% are due to weakness of the mind, not the body.

—Drew Shamrock

So often we think that mental toughness is about how we respond to extreme situations. How did you perform in the championship game? Can you keep your life together while grieving the death of a family member? Did you bounce back after your business went bankrupt?

There’s no doubt that extreme situations test our courage, perseverance, and mental toughness … but what about everyday circumstances?

Mental toughness is like a muscle. It needs to be worked to grow and develop. If you haven’t pushed yourself in thousands of small ways, of course you’ll wilt when things get really difficult.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Choose to do the tenth rep when it would be easier to just do nine. Choose to create when it would be easier to consume. Choose to ask the extra question when it would be easier to accept. Prove to yourself — in a thousand tiny ways — that you have enough guts to get in the ring and do battle with life.

Mental toughness is built through small wins. It’s the individual choices that we make on a daily basis that build our “mental toughness muscle.” We all want mental strength, but you can’t think your way to it. It’s your physical actions that prove your mental fortitude.

3. Mental toughness is about your habits, not your motivation.

Motivation is fickle. Willpower comes and goes.

Mental toughness isn’t about getting an incredible dose of inspiration or courage. It’s about building the daily habits that allow you to stick to a schedule and overcome challenges and distractions over and over and over again.

Mentally tough people don’t have to be more courageous, more talented, or more intelligent — just more consistent. Mentally tough people develop systems that help them focus on the important stuff regardless of how many obstacles life puts in front of them. It’s their habits that form the foundation of their mental beliefs and ultimately set them apart.

I’ve written about this many times before. Here are the basic steps for building a new habit and links to further information on doing each step.

Start by building your identity.

Focus on small behaviors, not life–changing transformations.

Develop a routine that gets you going regardless of how motivated you feel.

Stick to the schedule and forget about the results.

When you slip up, get back on track as quickly as possible.

Mental toughness comes down to your habits. It’s about doing the things you know you’re supposed to do on a more consistent basis. It’s about your dedication to daily practice and your ability to stick to a schedule.

How Have You Developed Mental Toughness?

Our mission as a community is clear: we are looking to live healthy lives and make a difference in the world.

To that end, I see it as my responsibility to equip you with the best information, ideas, and strategies for living healthier, becoming happier, and making a bigger impact with your life and work.

But no matter what strategies we discuss, no matter what goals we set our sights on, no matter what vision we have for ourselves and the people around us … none of it can become a reality without mental toughness, perseverance, and grit.

When things get tough for most people, they find something easier to work on. When things get difficult for mentally tough people, they find a way to stay on schedule.

There will always be extreme moments that require incredible bouts of courage, resiliency, and grit … but for 95% of the circumstances in life, toughness simply comes down to being more consistent than most people

[jewelwriter]

Beyond Level 1:  Pokemon Sword & Shield

Disclaimer: Beyond Level 1 is a review of a game starting from the checkpoint of defeating the first boss of a game. After all tutorial levels and battles shouldn't be counted in how a game is to give you what you deserve for a game but it is where the real battle begins as they can either fail you or help you get deeper into a game. Take this in mind though. This is just this reviewer's opinion and may not fall in line with the line of how you rate the game. After all, everyone has an opinion. Thank you. Before I begin I'll be honest, this is one of those few games that I refuse to pay the cash for a pair of reasons. The first reason is to not give idiots that say that “If you don't like it Don't buy it. Don't judge a game you haven't bought.” that go into the combo of “Hahaha you bought the game, you really can't hold your ground and it's clear you loved it still.” And second is because of the recent actions that have been given and I am not putting my system at risk for anything like that. I will rather be a well knowing reviewer than an ignorant one. Clearly, people have been divided about the game ever since the Electronic Entertainment Expo of Twenty Nineteen. Since then I'm sad that it was shown so much of a mess. Barely any communication, no regret call outs, lies exposed, lies made, and fires started up that was on multimedia of many spots. And I'm reviewing this with what I have experienced with the knowledge and using a bit of a demonstration that was open as far as I know. So...without further ado, on with the biggest disaster in the history of this series. Salutations one and all! I am the mage of games, Jewelwriter Eli Moonstar! And this is a review of Generation 8 as of the time of this release date. THIS is Pokemon Sword & Pokemon Shield.

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

(Control) – Metal Again, we are stuck with only the stick to move, and only one as the other stick is used specifically for the Wild area, while the rest is using barely the rest and it seems like you can't even go into single joystick mode [as in one Switch Controller] to allow someone to play with another controller to try something for a while and invite someone to play without a way to play. It could have done better and allow the first mainline game on a console to do more than just something standard. You even got the Pokeball plus that could have been used for something special but it isn't to be. And the shoulder buttons aren't even used for this game or others. Not even for audio (And you got to go out of the way to find the controls for the audio... by talking to someone.) []-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[] (Story) – Metal Being sponsored by the champion himself to try to reach and beat him, this new entry into the Pokemon series brings you to a world that is of its own and yet feels so similar to others that it bothers me. It's not an escort the non-battling damsel through to try to discover the power of a Pokemon that will eventually be yours. Thank stars for that... instead, you get... told that you gotta do all the gym challenges and in the end, the soft rival that is Hop gives up on Pokemon training, Rose goes mental, and you turn the final push to become a champion into a stain on the grass. Way to go for this one. If this was a part of the Red, Blue, and Yellow story-line it would be more at home than this. []-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[] (Content) – Stone With the cut amount of content, it's kind of sad to see Pokemon like this. Graphics aren't in reviews like this one because as one will know, Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. And thus if I do it will be for reasons like we are “subtracting content to improve visual quality” and well... look where that got us. Only seventy-five new Pokemon and barely any post-game unless you are doing the norms... which is shiny hunts, Pokemon battles, and the only other multiplayer that other players can TRUELY play in are max raids. And with the Dynamax power being basically three turns of HP buffing, it's clear that this not going to help a lot, especially if you can get snipped to KO in one turn while using it. Also, to anyone saying that there's at least Pokemon Camp, It's no longer Pokemon Amie V3....it's Pokemon Amie V.5 with how little you can do there. []-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[] (Flow) – Bronze When it is almost too easy that it could take a casual play of nearly 3/4ths of a day then something is off, especially if you are taking the time to try to be at level...which is kind of hard to do when you got EXP being given out like candy...(though there's literally candy that can give EXP directly instead of a full out level up.) and with barely a lot of trainers outside of the main cast offering four-plus Pokemon and hunting down characters... it kind of burns when knowing so much was lost and little if any was gained. When the gameplay provides no feeling of saying there's more to the game or hints that it's less, there's a problem that can't be hidden because it'd mean a major patch to the system and Game Freak doesn't do that at all so we can all drop that idea at all. []-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[] (Bosses) – Bronze I'm tempted to go lower...and yet I really can't. Sure this is a bit difficult, especially when trying to NOT use certain mechanics that are basically easy as you like it and thank the EXP All being on all the time though it pulls it out of the metal only just because we finally get a dark gym...as the seventh gym. And leader of the annoying villainous team. I'm not too shocked but then again with no Elite Four that keeps you from going for the champion slot so fast just kind of sinks things down. And keep in mind this is for someone that tries to get a variety of fun allies and you probably will have a time making a team of just Galar true Pokemon (who aren't from Kanto). (Overall Rating) – Metal [-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-] I'm sad that Pokemon has to go this way. And while I do have a fan-based hold of the series... I'm feeling the fans, the ones that do projects; the ones that craft their own games and art and more; I feel those are the real games to follow now despite my mixed feelings of some of the Fan-made Pokemon. It's barely above metal at this point with how all this goes as I look on to this and remember, I'm will never look at the graphics or the music since that is a lot more subjective than objective in a deep sense and this is looking beyond the first boss which in this case is the first Gym. It was generation seven that hurt me, but it took one more generation to break my heart and to those that think that this is the right direction of the series keep this in mind: Each one of you that buy this game, you are supporting them to go in a direction that is subtracting than adding, they could add all the Pokemon in and there was no real excuse. (And to those who say that a cut is inevitable, I say if the Pokemon are animated with only a few attack animations and connect moves correctly to them then I see at least reaching twelve hundred full Pokemon) Subtracting from some games might make them better but not when it is a part of the series itself. Cutting out Pokemon from the Pokemon game is like subtracting pizzas from Pizza Hut, Burgers from Burger King, Dairy from Dairy Queen. It's not logical if you go into a restaurant named for certain foods of sort and it doesn't have a large variety of them. Sadly, I have to say this but this might be the last one I'll experience directly but I'd be an @$$ if I didn't get to it. So excuse me while I leave Cinderace (Fire), The apple dragon (Grass/Dragon), the shocking bio-hazard (Poison/Electric), Sandoconda (Ground), Morpeko (Electric/Dark), and Zacican (Fairy or Fairy/Steel) behind for friends that I know I can keep with me. And Pokemon Home might not be that location. If you care to give your opinions, send up your comments below. I know that this is going to be commented on or used for fact slinging but keep in mind that this is the point of view of this reviewer and I know that I am just one voice but I will rather be someone that's heard than rather than someone silenced. And thank you for being who you are: Smart consumers that look into what they are buying. *takes a bow as the curtain closes.*

#bl1 #pokemon #pokemon generation 8 #review #sword #shield

[cloudbatcave]

I experience love, loss, and loathing in Las Vegas Unova.

I have to admit one of my favorite areas in Gen 5 is definitely Chargestone Cave.

It’s Bianca again! With Professor Juniper! To give me very important lessons about pushing floating rocks.

WHAT THE FUCK. RIVALI JUST DIED TO A FUCKING ARCHEN USING ACROBATICS.

WELL SHIT ON A STICK. MY GIRL. GONE.

MY TRANQUILL ALSO DEAD??? WHAT THE FUCK

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I have Fiend and Simon, who as fighting and grass are WEAK TO FLYING and fucking Mito, who’s STILL FRAGILE AS TISSUE PAPER.

I’m just going to have to hope Fiend can take the blow.

THANK GOD HE BARELY SURVIVED. BUT THE DAMN ARCHEN ISN’T DEAD.

HYPER POTIOOOON.

Thanks to the first Rock Tomb lowering Archen’s health enough to ping Defeatist (its worthless ability that lowers its attack after its HP falls below half), Acrobatics wasn’t as strong the second time, and then the stupid thing used Quick Guard so I got in another Rock Tomb and killed it.

Jesus Christ I just lost two of my team to this AWFUL FUCKING BIRD.

ALL OF MY HATE.

“Someday, I will be able to challenge the Pokemon League!”

I will murder you with an icepick to the fucking face long before you ever get close, you sorry son of a bastard. And your little rock bird too.

My Tranquill’s last act is to fly me back to Driftveil. Thanks, Mar, named for my friend who is also a bird.

Right, now I have to decide who replaces them. I really was not planning for this.

I guess Klink would be a smart call, because it knows electric moves and the next gym is flying, and the one after that is ice, which is weak to steel.

I’ll grab Boldore as a throwaway shield until I get something better, because I’m not keeping it permanently given it can only evolve by trading.

Klink is proving its worth! This is the gen when Steel type still had a whopping 11 resistances, so thankfully these little gears can shrug off a lot.

I need a nickname for it.

“You are the trainer my lord N is worried about!”

He’s just gay, because I am incredibly handsome and not easily impressed.

Watchog tried to put Klink to sleep twice and failed because Hypnosis sucks. So does Watchog and it dies.

“We hold competitions to sort the strong from the weak. Is this fair? Is this right?”

No one’s forcing anyone to compete, random Plasma grunt, so yes it is.

“Pokemon like this electrified cave. Don’t you think people should stay out?”

YOU’RE HERE.

Just killed a Lilligant that was worrying me with its Quiver Dance setup but thankfully I wiped it with two vital throws regardless.

N rants about some shit and then asks me if I have a dream.

Sure, If you count improving the Unova population’s critical thinking skills so I no longer cry myself to sleep.

N says it’s great I have a dream and he’s going to find out what it is in battle.

Okay.

“Do you believe that pokemon battles help us understand each other?”

If so, it sure isn’t working with you, I comprehend half of what you say ever.

“My friends getting hurt…that’s what a pokemon battle is.”

That’s why we invented pokemon centers, N.

“Is it impossible for me to win while feeling bad about being a trainer?”

I really do not know, my man, that’s between you and the therapist you sorely need.

“As if I could pursue the truth with something as meaningless as a battle!”

Being a sore loser isn’t a good look on you, N.

“As if that could make me worthy to become friends with the legendary pokemon!”

You’ve lost me, son.

Here comes Blondie and the professor.

N rants at Juniper about the pokedex being racist or something, and then gets mad and asks her if she wants him to “let others treat pokémon how they want, no matter whether the pokemon suffer?”

On one hand, N’s making a massive generalization, but Juniper’s response was pretty wishy-washy and not accounting for the harm some people do to pokemon.

I waltz into Mistralton City and who should show up but Professor Cedric Juniper.

I don’t like Cedric.

Not as a character, he’s perfectly fine and indeed more tolerable than many other people in the game, but what I don’t like is that the first generation ever to have a female professor just HAD to have her dad in the game too…who is also a famous professor.

Because god forbid she not stand in her own in the field without having to share space with a guy.

Cedric is unnecessary, and I dislike the misogynist undertones of his existence. Am I reading too much into it? Possibly, but the pokemon series is far from innocent where sexism is concerned. Lest we forget, this is also the first generation to have black characters. That took until 2011.

He compliments me on my pokedex, and Skyla the gym leader is with him for a moment before waltzing off to Celestial Tower, because no gym leader in this game ever stays still long enough for me to kick their ass until I do a sidequest.

She apparently thinks there’s a sick pokemon there because she…saw something from her plane. Why a random ill pokemon would haul itself to the top of a tower is anyone’s guess. This isn’t like Ampharos in gen 2, which actually lived at the lighthouse so it made sense for it to be at the top.

I explore town and having found nothing but planes, townspeople, and the TM sky drop, I go to the northern route and trade my Boldore for an Emolga, partially since I happen to have it on me but also because Emolga might come in handy against the flying gym.

It also knows Acrobatics, the move of doom, and given I lost my Tranquill, I need someone to fill in for flying coverage right now because I don’t have anyone else effective against grass.

Which is a notable problem I realized I had against that Lilligant; if it had attacked me instead of just setting up and using teeter dance, I could’ve been seriously boned.

Mito finally evolves into Duosion, and still has bad defense and special defense but an absolutely bonkers special attack stat, so I feel validated in keeping her. Let’s hope she survives to become Reuniclus.

#cloud plays white

[lvminae]

SwSh Opinions

Actually fuck it I'll make an in depth post on swsh since I'm sick and it is 2:30 am and I can't sleep.

Keep in mind that these are my opinions and I’m not out here to argue with anyone, I just want to share what I think. And there is a lot. Since I wrote this in the middle of the night and edited the next day, I probably forgot some things, but it is long enough as is.

I don’t think I actually went into anything spoiler like.

Things I like

- Characters: I adore the variety in the characters and a lot of them are loveable. Some stick out as ones I don't particularly like, and some are silly, but that variety is good and it isn't so common that it becomes irritating.

And I have reasons to care about characters I initially disliked (like Bede; his development is JUST enough for me to not hate him). Some I still don't care about, and some characters deserve more development, but it isn't bad to the point where I am not happy with it (and I will address this more later).

- Pokemon (Variety): I'll talk about pokemon later on the neutral list, but I do really appreciate just how varied and even wild the pokemon are. Design wise, anyways - I don't know jack about competitive stats and don't care.

- Wild Area: The wild area has the silly mechanic of sudden weather changes depending on the areas, and the pokemon who pop up can be repetitive when you are dex filling. But other than that, I LOVE it. It is huge, and immersive, and I much prefer running around there than on routes.

And the pokemon popping up and approaching? Amazing. Can be annoying sometimes when pokemon you don't care about chase you (looking at Tyrouge and Electrike seriously Leave Me Alone), and hunting water types that hop around is frustrating (but makes sense), but it's still a wonderful addition.

- Exp. Share: I know a lot of people are pissed off it can't be turned off, but as someone who cannot get into old games because of not having it/how long it takes to get it, I appreciate it.

Some people think it makes it too easy, but now that you can box pokemon at p much anytime, you can (mostly) avoid the effect by boxing pokemon. I say mostly cause not all situations work with it, but I don't think it is common enough to say it is bad.

- Improvements of life: To add to my point above, I enjoy things that makes the games easier. I'm not a hardcore gamer. I want to have fun and actually be able to reasonably beat a game. Difficult games aren't bad, but these are for all ages. And it is easier to make things difficult than it is to make them easier if they were made difficult, yknow?

Things like showing the effectiveness of moves is one of those things- which I am glad they kept from SuMo- because I have memory problems. Lots of fans do, or are young, or just can't remember Every Single Type Matchup. I prefer having that than having to google type advantages constantly so I don't get a 1 hit ko on either my pokemon or a pokemon I want to catch.

It isn't quite as hand holdy as SuMo was (love ya rotomdex, but pls give me a break), but it is accessible to a range of players. That is how it feels to me, anyways.

- Side quests: Having little quests that give incentive to explore the region and just give a little spice of life to the region. And they aren't super confusing to do.

- General aesthetic: I love how the region looks. It hits so many aesthetic points for me. It is a pretty game with pretty locations, and the graphics are far better than anything I would have expected for pokemon.

Seriously, I've seen people comparing it to BotW and.... That is not the style Pokemon i or ever has been going for. It's an unfair comparison. Also BotW graphics are :/ in my opinion. Beautiful locations, but I don't like how people look. Pokemon? It looks nice, all fit together well. Feels like POKEMON. Not like other games that people compare it to.

There are some graphics that need fixing, like the berry trees and the whole mess they are when you shake them. But it isn't nearly as bad as people pre release were saying. And the battle locations are fine too. Seriously pre release thoughts were a mess.

- Performance: It runs well. I haven't had issues. Frame rate is fine, very rare drops, graphics work fine. I've only had a crash once, and that's because I was chaining max raids and the vibration was too intense for my machine. I took a break, turned vibration off, and everything was fine.

Note: I know that there have been some issues with glitches and stuff, and those are an issue. I haven't experienced any myself so I can't complain. And I'm not any sort of expert.

- Regional variants: I love regional variants in general. It is just So Good. And there are more than just gen 1 variants in these games! Thank god! Obviously many are still gen 1 but they aren't Exclusively gen 1.

I'll talk about that pandering later.

- Gyms: I love how the gyms works. I love the entry trials. I love the feel of the gyms and the competition, and the cheering and the music!!! It is just a great time!

- Character customization: Not quite as extensive as I was anticipating, but still super expansive and I love it.

Things I am neutral on

- Post game: It isn't that bad, but it isn't super interesting either. And I hate the sword based dude. His hair looks like a dick. Yes this is a genuine complaint. Both his and his brother's designs are... silly, and kinda uncreative, and I don't like it.

But they do pose a challenge, and it gives an interesting look at lore and the concept of people believing their assumed ancestry gives them certain rights and just how far these people will go.

- Pokemon: I think we have a good amount of new pokemon, but overall I am... eh on the designs of some. In my experience, regions have either a good amount of good looking pokemon, or a good amount of bad looking/boring pokemon. Obviously this is purely subjective, but this region has me drawn down the middle. I have pokemon I adore and are new favorites, but also quite a few where I just.... Don't like them at all. I've never been this split on them, so while I appreciate their variety like I noted above, I don't necessarily like all of them (especially the fossils. Their story makes sense, yes, but I can't fucking stand them.)

- Dynamax/Gigantamax: I get it's ties into the story, and I love that tie. And it is the gimmick of this region, which I absolutely am ok with. But in use... yeah, having a large pokemon is fun! But I don't really... Care about it? And I only use it in gym battles where I know the leader is gonna Gigantamax (even though generally I didn't need to), or max raids.

I like it more than Z moves, but it does make me miss Mega Evolution. At least it gives people something fun to design. And some of the gifantamax designs are great (and some are.... Basically dynamax. Pikachu and Eevee especially.) The raid make for good leveling though so I do like that.

- Story: I like pokemon for the stories. I actually don't like the style of the games gameplay wise. Pokemon I can handle and enjoy because it is simple compared to other games in the genre, at least enough so where I can be pretty clueless but still have fun and drive to play/grind somewhat. Bur ultimately for me, I enjoy pokemon for the story and characters.

Story... is lacking in this game. I love what we get! It is super interesting! But it is so much on the back burner compared to other games in order to focus on the gyms that it feels... I dunno. I miss a larger, more involved story. The focus on specific characters like Hop do still give me something to focus on, at least.

But the story could have been improved overall had it not been shoved to the side so much. A different, less involved story could have worked better, or something that involved the league and gym leaders more since the gyms were the focus.

Or find a way to involve the player more! It really comes down to the goal of the game, which was the improvements for competitive play. As a non competitive player, this isn't anything I care about or want. But some do, and with that being the focus, I understand the story being a bit lackluster compared to previous games.

Doesn't mean I have to like it, though :P

- Dexit: I don't... care about dexit. Having to play only with the pokemon from the gen isn't bad, and you can still use some. Yeah, a lot of pokemon I like are missing, but that gave me incentive to use pokemon from this gen. I think people making a huge fit over it also made me just Not Care. I'll miss my old pokemon, but maybe I cam actually complete the dex for this gen.

Things I dislike

- The trading system/y link: The fact you have to have nintendo online for this is awful. It is alienating to all those players who can't afford the subscription. All you should need is an internet connection just like the other games. It's a cash grab and I hate it.

The trading system is also irritating to use in general. I know the gts was not the best, but being able to search was nice. And one on one trading was so much easier. Using these codes is problematic because people you don't know can use the same code and you might not know! It fucks up trades! It sucks. It just sucks.

- Gen 1 pandering: Leon's key pokemon is a Charizard. Charizard got a gigantamax pokemon. Most gigantamax not from Galar are gen 1. Most regional variants are gen 1. I Do Not Fucking Care About Gen 1. Meowth has both an alolan AND galarian form AND gigantamax! It's annoying! Give the other regions some light. Please. I am so, so fucking tired of pandering to gen 1. The pandering makes me hate the gen, not want to go back to it.

- Version exclusive gym leaders: This one doesn't irritate me like the other things, I just think it is dumb. Especially since they didn't change the towns to make sense for the exclusive leaders.

- Cost: I am not made of money and I really do believe it should have been the normal $40. But it is a main series game with a lot and switch games seem to generally run at that $60 mark - main ones anyways - so I'm not surprised. Just disappointed.

#anna.txt #pokemon #long post

[0poole]

First Impressions of Gen 8 so far

People care about my opinions, right? Either way, here I am shouting them out to the world anyway.

The Region: Galar

This one’s relatively special for me, because the half of my family on my dad’s side is all British, and we always take a trip over to visit his family every other year (since we’ve lived in Florida basically all my life), so I hope to see a lot of familiar sights in this region. Obviously Big Ben and all that, but the town most of his family lives in is super tiny and cute, I hope the starting towns are going to be very similar to that. There’s even this little walk to a cavern very close to there that we always go to, so it would be super cool if something like that were in the games (although, they’d have to omit all the swearing and swastikas that were spray painted onto there)

Apart from that, obviously people are worried about these games being super linear because the region just looks that way, but honestly... if you’ve been playing Pokemon at all, you know that the shape of the region doesn’t make it linear. It will probably always be linear, and personally I’m okay with that. I remember playing through Firered, and getting annoyed at either not knowing where to go and having to look it up, or doing things slightly out of order, meaning my Pokemon would be either over or underleveled for the thing I had to do. I do sometimes just want to coast along, training and battling Pokemon. Maybe they’ll make an open world spinoff one day, but as it stands I can enjoy the usual formula.

Speaking of usual, Gyms are back! I did enjoy Trials, but I think Gyms can scratch the same itch with just a little bit of tweaking. That is, maybe the Leaders can all be a two-on-one battle, so they can more intricate strategies. Also, maybe the Gyms themselves can involve subsequent battles, so you can’t just knock out one trainer, heal, and easily knock out the next one. I mean, here I am just trying to adhere to what other people probably want. Honestly, I’m okay with how it was, and wouldn’t be mad at it staying that way. It was slightly more engaging when the Totem Pokemon had a more special strategy, such as the Chlorophyll Lurantis with Solar Blade and a Sunny Day Castform. THAT was one hell of a challenge. Of course, the Trials themselves were all total cakewalks, but the challenge with the Totem fights sort of balanced that out.

As for the graphics, they look amazing. The only thing I’m a little iffy about it all is that they’re using the same models over again, but I think they’ll have different animations, because of the Minccino in the trailer? Honestly I don’t know, because I’ve pretty much never seen a Minccino in action in model form. I just hope Pokemon like Xatu, Salamence, and others finally stand on the floor now instead of constantly flying all the time. If that alone is solved, I will be completely fine with it. They just don’t look like they should be doing that... Overall, though, the way they’re lighting and shading them all at least will make it seem different enough where I won’t care too much.

The female protag is a total cutie, as you’d expect, so that’s great. I love how much p̶o̶r̶n̶  fanart there is of her already. I’m also loving all the memes of her having an over-the-top British/Scottish accent, and shouting super British insults at the Lass she fought in the trailer...

The Starters:

I feel like they’re going to grow on me, because the initial reaction to the Alolan starters was a bit iffy at first, but once I started to see them in action, I started to like them. Obviously these Pokemon are so big that you just hope they’re going to fit with everything. Also, I definitely think part of it is me worrying that other people won’t like them, as opposed to just thinking about whether I like them. I definitely have a problem with that, especially when it comes to Pokemon. I do like them all, but I don’t feel it on the surface just because of all that...

Scorbunny:

Not really into the name, but I am 100% going to pick him. I’ll probably just nickname him Flambino, or Orville (after my rabbit toon in Toontown~). I was initially a bit put off by his giant, cartoony rabbit feet, but as I saw more and more fanart of him, I seriously started to love every part of him. The little patches/bandaids on him were a really nice touch.

As for what he may turn into, my hopes are for him to turn into some kind of Soccer (or Football, since this is England) player. The clues are there, since he’s a fast runner and there’s a lot of exaggeration on his feet. But, there is that one leak where he may turn into some kind of rocket rabbit? The idea is pretty cool, but the thing looks a little too much like Lopunny in my opinion to be reliably real... I love Lopunny to death, mind you, but I would rather have a rabbit with a slightly different look to it. It matches up with the idea that the way they’re introduced in the trailer hints at what types they’ll be, since Scorbunny was running up a steel watermill(?) and jumped really high, referencing how it’d become an airborne steel type. I’m really only considering this leak because of the leak of Incineroar, Primarina, and Decidueye last gen. That really caught me off guard, and the artstyle of Rabbirocket (name pending) really does seem to match the concept art artstyle...

It’s funny, though, because I’ve always favored either the water type or to a lesser extent the grass type of a generation, but this is the first time where the fire type is my first choice. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see what they turn into, though, before I decide for sure.

Grookey:

Honestly, I think Grookey has the most potential of the three. He seems reminiscent of Braixen, since he has a little stick as a weapon/tool, and people really seem divided on what he’ll turn into. On one hand, people think he might turn into a drummer whose music makes plants grow, since that’s essentially how he did it in the trailer. But, he might also be like a witchdoctor, and has plant-growing magic. The last idea plays into the idea that the starters are based off of sports, like where Scorbunny is Football, making Grookey either Baseball, Hockey, or Cricket. I don’t know what sport Sobble would be, but chances are it’ll become more clear as they evolve. The last interesting idea is that he’ll represent the evolution of the human race, starting with an ape, turning into some sort of Neanderthal/Caveman, and then into a normal human. Either way, the trailer suggests he’ll turn into a rock type. Really, He’s my second choice for sure. 

Sobble:

Currently in last place, but obviously that can change in time. I’m just not as into his proportions as much, but obviously they’ll change as he evolves. It would be cool to have a true iguana Pokemon, since Keckleon is a little off of the norm. He definitely seems like he’s going to turn into a ghost type, since he can turn invisible, and it plays into the idea that he’s shy (ala. the Boos from Mario)

One really funny thing that people noticed about the starters is how they’re sort of similar in some design aspects to the Powerpuff girls, with Scorbunny’s ears looking like Blossom’s bow, Grookey’s ears (horns?) looking like Buttercup’s hair, and the pattern on Sobble’s face looking like Bubbles’ hair. I wouldn’t have instantly dismissed it if the colors didn’t also match up. Whether or not it’s true, it is a funny coincidence.

#pokemon #gen 8 #sword #shield #galar #scorbunny #sobble #grookey #poole #opinions #thoughts #first impression

[imsobrooklyn-archived-sameurl]

TAGGED BY:  found & stolen. TAGGING: @saturnrang, @falsedking, @valinta + whoever come across this.

►   GENERAL.

HEIGHT:  5′8  —  previously 5′6. After being bitten by the genetically-altered “42″ Spider, his stature is elongated by two inches. WEIGHT:  160 lbs — Miles is an ectomorph; it’s mostly maintained because of his obligatory participations in gym classes, playing basketball with the neighborhood every now and again after school, and the rare times he can sneak off for urban exploration or play around with his uncle’s punching bag. He doesn’t exactly have the greastest diet plan. ETHNICITY:  African-American && Afro-Puerto Rican. OCCUPATION:  Freelance photographer, explorer, artist, F.E.A.S.T. (Food, Emergency, Aid, Shelter, and Training) volunteer, Brooklyn Vision student, convenience store cashier, Dream Defender, and vigilante. GENDER:  Cis-male. He/him. ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  Heterosexual & Demiromantic. MBTI:  ENFP- the champion. Miles know how to relax, and he is perfectly capable of switching from a passionate, driven idealist in the workplace to that imaginative and enthusiastic free spirit on the dance floor, often with a suddenness that can surprise even his closest friends. Being in the mix also gives him a chance to connect emotionally with others, giving him cherished insight into what motivates his friends and colleagues. He believe that everyone should take the time to recognize and express their feelings, and their empathy and sociability make that a natural conversation topic.

Few personality types are as creative and charismatic as ENFPs. Their enthusiasm and vivid imagination allow ENFPs to overcome many challenging obstacles, more often than not brightening the lives of those around them. ENFPs’ creativity is invaluable in many areas, including their own personal growth.

►   SPECIFICS.

FAVOURITE FOOD:  Pasteles, Empanada, Chicharon de pollo, Pop-Tarts, Platanos, Chopped Cheese, Nathan’s Famous’ hotdogs, Aunt Butchie’s Desserts (chocolate mousse preferably), Chinese food, and Ray’s Pizza. FAVOURITE DRINK:  He enjoys his uncle’s Whey protein drinks, but you’ll mostly see him drinking sodas, Gatorade, O.J., and water.  FAVOURITE HOBBY:  Vandal by nature, Miles loves snagging Priority Mail and Hello, My Name Is stickers to practice his art and toss his mark up wherever and whenever he can. Other than that, he plays mental gymnastics for fun when it comes to math problems. If he’s not doing that, then he’s fooling around with programs like Audacity, Sony Vegas, or FL Studio. 

But the activity he feels most at peace at is when he’s isolated in his room or hanging around a building as Spiderman, writing in his journal. FAVOURITE SCENT:  Vanilla, Sandalwood, Shea Moisture Manuka and Yogurt. FAVOURITE PERSON:  Ganke. Miles never had a brother (a reality he yearned his parents make happen), but Ganke gives him an idea as to how it would be if he did have a biological brother.

►   TEN FACTS.

Miles is an only child. “Born” on December 14th, 2003.

He’s Catholic.

Adaptability comes as second nature to Miles. In two days, he managed to survive his near-death experiences as he tangled with some of the best of the original Spiderman’s villains.

Miles use to cry Martin Luther King Day because the television and radio would play clips of his speeches, and he thought sounded like a ghost. 

Until he reached the age of ten, Miles had irritable bowel syndrome and would crap his pants every so often.

He owns an Atari, Sega, and Nintendo console passed down to him from his father.

One of his favorite shows is American Ninja Warrior.

Calculus is one of his favorite subjects. Numbers, symbols, and alphabets is a challenge that he can never tire from.

 There’s an unshakable habit he has and that’s speaking his thoughts out loud, much to his chagrin.

His facial features mostly resemble his father and his uncle, which is can be considered a blessing and a curse, depending on the environment he’s in. Because the Davis brothers dark past had them as hustlers, stick-up kids, and graffiti artists, and their lives would take a drastic turn in where one becomes a cop and the other went on to become a boxer, the name Davis is enough to put a sour taste on the tongues of certain circles. It’s a fleeting love-hate thing he has for it.

►   FIVE THINGS HE LIKES.

VIDEO GAMES  —  Jefferson was never comfortable with sharing his questionable deeds on the streets with his son, but he was more than excited to share his childhood glory with him. He couldn’t wait until Miles was old enough to have a controller in his hand. Miles is “heir” to a collection of dated collection. He likes modern consoles too, as he does own both a XBOX ONE and PLAYSTATION 4, but he prides in being a ‘young old soul’. GRAFFITI  —  It just kind of happened? He wasn’t messing with actual spraypaint because he’s too young to cop them from Home Depot, so he stuck to just stacking up on stickers and using that until he’s legally able to buy his own. HIP-HOP  —  That’s New York. Hip-Hop was born there. Miles passionately embraces the main four elements that represents its culture: Emceeing, DJING, Graffiti Art, Breakdancing and integrates the other five in how he moves. Street fashion, language, entrepanuership, knowldge, beatboxing, Hip-Hop is something he lives.  BOXING  — We can thank Aaron for his interest in that. Aside from the man’s criminal resume, Aaron graduated from neighborhood bruiser to professional boxer. His had a impeccable record before he hung up his gloves, but the passion he had for the sport stayed with him and any chance he got with his newphew, it would show when he would spit game on the greats like Mohammad Ali, Joe Fraizer, Dixie Kid, Jack Dempsey, Tyson, and others and teach him a few of his old moves.  CLEANING SNEAKERS —  It’s nothing deep. You watch Paid in Full a couple of times and add your love for that movie to your natural love of keeping your gear fresh and you get a sneakerhead that’s addicted to keeping his kicks mean and pristine.

►   FIVE THINGS HE DISLIKES.

PEER PRESSURE  —  His hood didn’t have too many stars. There were plenty of potential there, but due to unfortunate circumstances, they make it out, but Miles—everybody regards him as the gold representation. Because of his upbringings, Miles is sort of hood royalty in a positive sense. On one hand, he enjoys it appreciation, but on the other hand, he hates it because his father doesn’t make it easy on him at all. He doesn’t judge his father for doing what he had to do in the streets to survive, but he hates his father for shoving his demons down his throat. Becoming Spiderman was nothing to leap for him to leap excitedly over either. Being stressed with being the “good son”, the “golden boy” of his neighborhood, and acing studies was enough as is. Since Peter Parker and his uncle’s murder, he felt tremendous guilt over not being able to help, and with his abilities, he feels strong on his moral obligation to do what he can to be New York’s protector. It’s not the easiest weight for a teenager to carry. E X P E C T A T I O N S! eff dem! UNDERESTIMATED  — In school, he dealt with a teacher that regarded him and kids like him as trash that would never be able to amount to anything. The Spider-gang didn’t think he had what it takes, making him feel as if he was a burden and incapable of being strong enough to keep his promise to his universe’s Peter Parker. He doesn’t do well with people acting like he can’t do anything. TALES FROM THE HOOD  — Doesn’t particularly care to hear about criminal exploits, especially the ones his family participated in. Some kids would love to hear about how hard their peers went in the street—Miles isn’t one of them. If anything, he wishes he was oblivious to it and didn’t have to hear one related word to it. That’s one thing he’s thankful for when it comes to his dad and Aaron. They never bragged or felt inclined to share gorey details and for good reason. Miles know they and everyone else want better for him. LYING —  His mama raised him to be a honest boy. His pops raised him to be a man of principle. His uncle instilled street honor in him. Other than that? Miles naturally hates lying. It doesn’t make him feel good and can actually make him a serious nervous wreck if it gets to be too much for him.  FIGHTING  —  Even though he was taught self-defense and enjoyed his boxing lessons, Miles avoided conflict as much as he could. He preferred to just be that cool guy that can make friends with the whole world and keep it pushing. He accepts that it’s unavoidable as a superhero, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to come to a peaceful resolve before the situation gets nasty.

►   WORDS / PHRASES THAT ANNOY HIM.

CLASSISM —  I know it’s not a word/phrase, so I’ll just say toxic braggadocio statements. When it comes to skin color, religion, abilities (supernatural or mortal), lienage, whatever—Miles views them all as people that share the same oxygen and should treat each other like they’re aware of that. Being made to feel like a sub-human aggravates him more than he cares to admit (he once broke his classroom desk because of his teacher constant poking at the african diaspora).

►   PERSONALITY TYPES HE PREFERS.

FREE SPIRITS —  Chilled souls; people that are down to do whatever they please (in a healthy, non-violent way), and exudes positive energy. It’s nice to be around individuals that understands what it means to have fun without restrictions and not people that live by some book like his father. You can miss him with those that feels like they have to be tight asses all the time.

►   PERSONALITY TYPES HE AVOIDS.

GOD COMPLEX —  Kingpins/drug lords/gang leaders/criminal upstarts, just people that play God in the streets, dictating who lives and dies, just because they have a gun and have a little bit of power. There’s not a doubt in his mind that there will be elements in the underworld that’s going to try to seduce him to the life. It’s a mission of his to not fall into the same darkness that stained the Davis name. You will never see Miles becoming close friends with a thug or a wannabee. He’ll try to steer them clear of it and be a moral compass of course, but having that as a part of his inner circle is a big no.

#GENUINE DIME—I OPENED MY MIND / HEADCANONS #(I may come back and edit this in the future) #queue