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[Regional Bird]

I can't remember the last time, if ever, I did one of those grids, let alone one so involved! I was gonna post a pic, too, but I basically typed it all out, haha.

Darmanitan is a really close second for my favorite Fire-type, honestly. I tend to flip between it and Oricorio, but for raw power, Darmanitan can't be beat! Crobat is another one I had fun with, and on the same team as Darmanitan in White 2, I think.

Magnezone is definitely cool, but I can't remember if I used one in Gen V or Legends: Arceus... Probably both! I have yet to use one in Scarlet, but I like how wild ones roam outside the Great Crater of Paldea.

Overall, pretty cool taste you've got! But uh, did you mean Seismitoad? That's what you have on the grid, at any rate. Always wanted to try raising one at least once, myself...

Oh, and to briefly address some categories on your grid (because why not) [spoiler'd for space]:

[spoiler]Regional Bird: Probably Hoothoot, because I like owls, and Noctowl is cool, too. Unless Spearow counts?

Regional Mammal: Zigzagoon. From its cute/wacky design to its cry and even its silly name, I can't help but love it! Though if we're talking evolved forms, then I'd say Diggersby is my fave.

Regional Bug: I have a soft spot for Weedle (it's fun to draw), but Wurmple is the more interesting of the two. Fully evolved, uh, maybe Kricketune?

Eeveelution: This one's kind of tough, honestly. I'm usually indifferent to Eeveelutions, but if it was from a spectrum of Design to Function, Flareon's my favorite design, Espeon's the best for what I need it to do, and Jolteon's the happy medium. Vaporeon WAS my favorite up until Gen 3, I think, but I haven't used one seriously for some time now...[/spoiler]

I'd say more, but whoops, this is already turning into another text wall!

[Normal: Stoutland]

Been a while(?) since we had this topic, but it's a go-to topic for a reason, eh? Curious to see what others' tastes are, and if possible, talk about why you like each one! I mean, if you want to.

I'll start by saying, some of my favorites fluctuate for varying reasons, while others will stay the same no matter what. That said:

Normal: Stoutland
I went into Pokemon White relatively blind, and I don't regret it. I had all but boxed my Herdier after a bit, because I didn't realize it evolved into BEST DOG until I saw an Ace Trainer use one in... was it that bell tower? Then I apologized profusely to him and told him he was the Goodest Boy.

Fire: Oricorio
I was waiting a long time for a Fire/Flying that wasn't Moltres or Ho-Oh, and honestly, its gimmick was pretty fun in Gen 7. Surprised I haven't trained one proper in Scarlet yet.

Water: Phione
There are a lot of contenders for "Favorite Pokemon of my Favorite Type", but my go-to is this one because it's cute, and it's easier than going "uh, um, I like too many of them".

Grass: Weepinbell
Not gonna lie, I think it was the old episode "The School of Hard Knocks" where Joe's Weepinbell used Razor Leaf, spinning around and everything, that convinced me it was cool. I don't dislike Victreebel, but I'm pretty indifferent to Bellsprout at this point. Weepinbell's the happy medium, I think. In terms of equal parts cute and cool, Cacnea's a close second.

Electric: Iron Hands
I probably shouldn't like it, but I do. I got the event one as soon as I could. I also lucked out with a holographic Iron Hands card, which I think warmed me up to it even more. I mean, it's robot Hariyama! Plus, its typing is cool.

Ice: Snorunt
Another "cute pick". Between its lore and the sad fate of either evolution, I'd rather keep my adorable visitor ALIVE, thank you very much!

Fighting: Hariyama
Before Gen 3, my fave was Hitmonchan, but since then, well, the rest is history. I can't put into words why I like Hariyama. I'm not exactly a sumo enthusiast (per se, maybe some day that'll change?) so it really just boils down to its design for me.

Poison: Trubbish
I remember cracking up the first time I saw one in-game because a Janitor tossed one out. I KNEW I had to get one after that... Kinda sad it evolved into Garbodor...

Ground: Sandslash
It and Sandshrew were my faves since Gen 1. Currently have a sort of Sandstorm team on Scarlet, and Sand Rush is too cool to NOT make use of (also another reason why Stoutland is cool, haha), so I had a newfound rekindling of it being my favorite. Sandslash in particular has that nice balance between cute and cool. Mostly cool, though.

Flying: Gligar
Such a cool design, though I do miss when it was more purple. I'm... not a big fan of Gliscor's design, nor do I appreciate the Toxic Orb shenanigans. Good thing I can slap Eviolite on Gligar and call it... okay? Been meaning to try it out at some point, but haven't properly since Gen V...

Psychic: Hypno
This is one of those "I dunno, I just like it" picks. Some cool Psychic-types since, don't get me wrong, but I think the shiny Drowzee I raised into a Hypno wayyy back in Pokemon Silver helped push me into liking it more. I usually don't care about optimal stats or whatever, but power creep has not been kind to this 'mon, to the point where I feel it even in-game... I hope it gets a bone tossed its way at some point!

Bug: Durant
For YEARS people were saying "Trapinch is kind of an ant?" and I was like, "No, that's an antLION. WHERE ARE THE ANT POKEMON???" Pokemon White did NOT disappoint. I had fun using the one I had in Triple Battles. I don't think most people anticipated Aerial Ace with a Flying Gem boost. It came in more handy than you'd think!

Rock: Kleavor
I should probably state that, in real life, I fear bugs more than I ought to-- some more than others. If I met this thing in person, I'd probably scream. However, it's an AXE BUG with AXE ARMS and (in my humble opinion) SO MUCH COOLER THAN SCIZOR. I hope future generations are kinder to it.

Ghost: Lampent
Cute and cool. Mostly cute. Its Pokedex entries make me a little sad, though. Nothing against Chandelure, I just don't like it as much. Ghost/Fire is a cool typing, besides.

Dragon: Drampa
Most Dragon-types have a history of being taken too seriously, beasts in competitive, etc., but I don't care about any of that. If it tells you anything, my favorite Dragon was Shelgon for the longest time, because I just don't care for Dragons as a type. Drampa doesn't make it any less my least-favorite type, but it's at least one I like in terms of design, and 135 Sp.ATK is still pretty impressive, even if its other stats aren't. But then, it's so old, it earned a Normal typing by being so frail. That's the only way I can explain it, lol

Dark: Krookodile
This one was fun to use in Gen 7. Makes me wonder why I never used one sooner. Or since. I guess not many of my favorites are Dark-types...

Steel: Skarmory
Dear GAME FREAK, please let me own a Steven Stone Skarmory before I die. Thanks.

Fairy: Florges
Specifically the blue-color one. I like all three of its line, but if we don't count Pokemon which were retconned to be Fairy (in which case I'd say either Jigglypuff or Togekiss), then this one is kind of neat, if a bit less cute than Floette. I liked using Wish in Rotation Battles when I could pull it off.

Okay, text wall over. Thanks for reading me gushing about (some of) my favorite Pokermints. I'm going to rest now. Please discuss your favorites too.

^To be fair, yeah, I have more shinies on Scarlet than I was ever lucky enough to find in previous games--not that I'm complaining! Before that, I typically didn't get more than one per game, maybe two if I played it enough. Not to defend its relative ease, but most shinies I found were down to pure happenstance rather than seeking them consciously. I think the first one I caught was a shiny Psyduck, which more than made up for the only shiny* I ever failed to catch-- a shiny Psyduck in the Great Marsh of Pokemon Pearl.

If I had to gripe about shiny colors, I never evolved my Pansear, because Simisear's shiny is underwhelming in comparison, and at that point I didn't want to find that out the hard way... I'm also not a big fan of shiny Hariyama, but if I had a spare shiny Makuhita, I might consider raising one. I almost wish there were more than one shiny color, but that would lead to "Oh, I found a shiny Pokemon, but not the one I wanted". Not sure what Game Freak could do to spice up shinies more at this point, though. Custom colors are a pipe dream, haha.

*Unless you count a Misdreavus that ran away faster than I could throw a Pokeball at in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, but that was my fault for being ill-equipped, maybe?

I've considered going back into Let's Go to do some shiny hunts fairly recently before too, but then I learned how the shiny chaining mechanic in that game ACTUALLY works and I just can't be bothered anymore lol

Never played the Let's Go games. Dare I ask how bad that mechanic is?

[Poliwrath]

Lucky or not, let's talk shinies! Those you own, those you really want, it's all good!

Had that Korean event Gastrodon lying around and decided to try the Masuda Method to hatch a shiny Poliwag. Lucky me, it worked just the day before St. Patrick's Day! That's right, I'm raising it to be a Poliwrath.

Mind you, this is only the second time I've hatched a shiny Pokemon in my life (Pansear on Pokemon White was the first, also with the Masuda Method), and honestly, I was getting fed up trying to find a shiny Poliwag during the Mass Outbreak event. It didn't help I was looking for a green Poliwag, since all I knew was Poliwrath's shiny was green and didn't realize its prevos were pale blue until I looked them up (which makes Politoed's shiny weird, too). Pokemon hatch at Lv. 1, anyway, and it's more fun for me to raise them from the ground up. Plus, it's in a Heavy Ball. You can't tell me that's not a cool Pokeball.

Anyway, never got the hate for green shinies-- offhand, the only one I recall being even remotely ugly is Dragonite's-- but then green's my favorite color, so I COULD be biased here. I'd share other shiny Pokemon I've gotten in the past, but I feel like I've somehow mentioned shinies I've caught in other topics-- just from Scarlet alone, haha. Don't let that stop you from sharing your own stories here, though!

Anyone else feeling a bit of "Internet fatigue"? I think in my case, it's because my usual Internet-browsing routine has become quite monotonous, and apparently I've lost the ability to think of how to switch things up. Granted, I don't feel it EVERY day, but today it's like, "What am I doing with my (Internet) life?"

Don't get me wrong, I have IRL priorities, but browsing the Web during my downtime shouldn't be a chore. Maybe it's just not as interesting as it used to be? I could go into why that might be, but that might be opening a can of worms. Pardon my nostalgia, but it really does feel like things were better when it was new and we had more to discover. Again, it's probably my fault for not thinking outside the box...

As for "Why I'm Still Here", I wonder that sometimes myself. Not so much "me posting on this forum" as much as the broader sense of still browsing online in general. I guess old habits die hard? I dunno. Probably as simple as "people still make things I like on here, regardless of how often they actually upload".

Anyway, what keeps YOU invested in the Internet?

Now that the dust is so settled it's difficult to get rid of, what did we think of Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna? Oh, and the protagonist you didn't pick, if that person counts.

Personally, I liked what they were trying to do with them. Tierno's my favorite, because he does what I've always wanted to try-- a theme team! I think most people can't get over his design, but he's actually a pretty cool dude. Trevor's okay, but completing my Pokedex was never my primary goal (GASP!), though I respect those who strive for it.

Since Player-Character-Without-Hat is the obvious Battle Rival, that leaves Shauna. I'm not gonna lie, I simply don't like her. Her constant "I WANNA LEARN ABOUT MEGA EVOLUTION!!" in the early game didn't help matters. It was nice of her to give me a free extra Kalos starter in the postgame, but that's about it.

I think about this crew on and off, so I'm curious what others have to say about 'em, if anything.

Well, I wouldn't say it constitutes a project I'm actively working on, but it's somewhat a dream of mine to collaborate with a writer/artist/game dev/etc. who personally inspires me on something involving my characters and theirs. Was going through some files and nearly forgot about these notes I typed about my characters meeting the cast of Sgt. Frog. (Well, "forgot" I actually typed anything recently; the idea has been kindling in my brain for a while now...)

If I ever flesh out the idea into a full script, I'm... not sure if anyone would be interested and/or how much would be forum-appropriate. Don't wanna make any promises either, but if anyone's curious, I might give it a shot. It's much more likely than me meeting Mine Yoshizaki for collab work, anyhow. Never mind the language barrier...

Point being, this thread has my attention. Crossovers are cool; some of the best ones are those you don't know you want until they actually happen.

I haven't seriously watched the Pokemon anime since around "Advanced", in equal part due to it getting a little formulaic and me simply outgrowing it, so I don't have a point of reference for how good (or not) other female leads were after Misty. I mean, I recall May's thing being Contests and Dawn being set up as "The New Ash" before they brought him back after two episodes, but that's about it.

I'm inclined to say you have somewhat of a point. Didn't Misty start using Staryu over Starmie for whatever reason? That always kind of irked me even back when I was watching it new, and the only explanation I can come up with is she wanted to focus on making Staryu stronger, but that's just conjecture. As for the Psyduck thing, I'd agree insofar as the gag gets old after a while, but it's not as annoying as, say, Wobbuffet (though I guess that balances out since it at least gives Team Rocket an edge in battle, unlike Psyduck)

How exactly would you have written her? Honestly curious.

[expect]

Despite everything, I can't help but be curious. What are your hopes/expectations/etc.? As for me, I expect them to spend some time detailing the new Legends game, and I hope they announce Gen 10, which I expect will be for the Switch 2. I hope either of these games end up being better-than-okay, but that's not what I'm going in expecting. Then again, I liked Scarlet despite everything, so maybe I'm not one to talk... Anything else will probably not interest me a whole lot, but I'm willing to be proven wrong.

If I had to make a wild guess for fun, I'd say we'll get MEGA IMAKUNI?... which lasts all of three minutes before he remembers he isn't a Pokemon and therefore can't Mega Evolve. However, I am not seriously expecting this.

[this is where I'd add a poll but no one's been voting on my own polls besides me, so place your bets the old-fashioned way]

EDIT: I know it's only one day until it drops by now, but I forgot they called it "Pokemon Presents". Edited the title of this topic accordingly, whoops

EDIT2: Honestly kind of underwhelmed by the Presents, now that I've seen it. I guess they're saving Gen 10 for the 30th anniversary, lol.

I mean, if I had to give one positive about Z-A, the new combat system seems sort of interesting, but then I don't see the point in having you dodge attacks in, say, a Trainer Battle. Feels sort of slapped on at that point. The starters are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile, apparently. Took me a minute to realize it was two Johto starters, but I guess they already put Cyndaquil in the first one, so... eh. No complaints about who they picked besides, but I'd take Totodile between the three. I guess I'll just wait and see how I feel when more info drops, because right now, I can live without this game.

EDIT3: Had some time to think about it and, after browsing the official site a little... I'm still on the fence, to be honest. Not in a rush to get it on launch day, but after getting two new games and having other priorities come up, let's just say my wallet's not in a hurry, either.

Also, I should probably clarify: having your Pokemon dodge moves isn't the problem depending on how it's implemented, it's having your player character still have to dodge that seems pretty weird, unless that's not the case anymore. I don't want to get my hopes too high for this game, but considering I haven't been up to much video-game-wise except messing around in Scarlet, maybe Z-A is just what I need... I should still try to 100% Legends: Arceus at some point, but I don't even remember the last thing I did there...

Everything from the trivial to the taxing, let's talk about 'em!

Here's the one on my mind at the moment: Kris and Lyra are treated as separate characters because Kris fans will RIOT if they aren't*. Meanwhile, everyone's just cool with Gold being retconed into "Ethan", and... Silver is still Silver.

*To be fair, they ARE drastically different designs, but I thought that was the point, since there was no girl in the original Gold and Silver. To me, that just makes Gold's name being retconned all the stranger.

I realize this is a relatively minor one, but dang if it doesn't bother me something fierce. I guess it all comes down to merchandising at the end of the day, since for ANY game (not just Pokemon), it's easier to have an "official" name for a character-- even a blank-slate self-insert-- than something more generic. (Apologies in advance to anyone actually named Ethan)

Oh, and for something more lore-related: didn't X and Y play up Mega Evolutions as something which required the Trainer and Pokemon to have a strong bond for it to work, only for every game afterward to retcon it all as putting a strain on the Pokemon? I guess there's no reason it can't be both, but it feels like they backpedaled a bit and, well, demonized it a bit more. Unless they were emphasizing it in a "DBZ Powerup" sort of way? But then, that whole thing with the ancient war and such... I guess I'll reserve my full judgement for when Z-A comes out.

Anyway, which retcons actually work/make sense, and which ones don't work as well, or are just plain silly? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

...I didn't realize 2025 was the Year of the Snake when I made this, I swear, haha

Speaking of, Scarlet and Violet had something for the occasion recently, didn't they? I missed out-- a shiny Ekans or Arbok would have been cool to have, but like I said earlier, I have a shiny Seviper now. I guess I didn't wanna get greedy!

Anyway, my original questions still stand. Without looking, it's hard for me to say whether we have "enough" snake Pokemon or not, but it can't be nearly as many as felines, canines, or primates. To clarify, I'm not counting "serpentine" Pokemon like Gyarados or Milotic.

Side note: Anyone else think it's weird "Coil" is a Poison-type move? I'll concede it's strongly associated with snakes and such, but only three of them are Poison-type! If anything, it should be Normal-type...

[Exodia, the Forbidden One]

A couple days ago, I drew a cake-themed parody of Exodia, the Forbidden One. It started off as a one-off joke connected to one of my characters (she really likes cake), but I was sleep-deprived and decided to take the design seriously enough to draw it in greater detail. It could stand to be polished up a bit, but I'm more than happy with the result! (It's a huge image, or I'd have just uploaded it in the art forum)

Side note: I wonder why Exodia isn't parodied more often in anime and manga. None I could find with a casual search, at any rate. Guess he's not really relevant out of Yu-Gi-Oh! or such? Or maybe it's budget-related?

EDIT: Tried Limburger cheese for the first time last week. It's not terrible... once it's been in the fridge for a day and you've gotten over the initial smell. I'm sure some purists might argue I didn't eat REAL Limburger, but not a competitive cheese-eater, so I wouldn't know. Either way, I'm checking it off my bucket list. Now, to obtain haggis...

EDIT2: Tried a mild redesign of one of my characters. Happy with the result at the moment, but dreading having to draw the new part a bunch of times when it comes to putting said character into a comic. ...Okay, "dreading" is strong wording. I'm just enjoying the current glow of having added something nifty to his design.

Hang on, TODAY is the birthdate of the site?! I guess that makes it 22 now, or is my math that bad?

I logged in for something completely unrelated, but in lieu of having anything prepared for the occasion... *kazoo sound* [confetti flies everywhere] *applause* [cake is passed all around] Am I missing anything? Oh yeah, Happy Birthday to PUK, lol

On a more serious note, it makes me wonder what all the founding fathers of the site are up to these days... but at any rate, let's all have a good one!

[Katamari on the Swing.]

^I guess I haven't heard enough French music to really have an opinion on it in general. I have a nagging feeling I'm forgetting one or two retro songs that just so happened to be in French or of French origin, but I digress.

Now I have to add another video game and/or Japanese song to my own list, since it helped me more than I thought it would this evening: Katamari on the Swing. FUN FACT: playing We <3 Katamari on a demo disc was my first real experience with culture shock! ...but to be fair, the Katamari series IS pretty weird on its own. The opening sequence to the game is trippy enough visually, so the song (which is just as enjoyable without the visuals in its own right) just adds to the absurdity. Those first few seconds really sledge you over the head, and the song as a whole is basically a prelude of what to expect in the game itself. I'm... obviously nostalgic for it at the moment.

[Rule of Thumb]

You know, those tunes you just KNOW will make you feel peppy/productive/etc.; when you hear them, you just can't stay bitter for long! Rule of Thumb: if you're chasing a wacky cartoon animal, and said animal plays this theme on a nearby radio, and it causes you to dance/smile/whatever long enough for the animal to escape, it belongs here. (because I have no better way to explain it)

This doubles as both my Vidya Pick and Obnoxiously Weeb Pick, but uh, the opening theme from Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 (whatever it's technically called...) has that effect on me. It has a unique energy even among DBZ-related songs...

...I'lll get back to you about more "normal" tunes which do the same. I wanna say some power metal track or something, but none of the tunes I recall affect me like the above one... yet.

Anyone else feel that musical magic, or am I mildly mad?