In the days before Max Soup, Game Freak had to give a justification for why Nessa's Drednaw can't Gigantimax in her gym battle but can in the champion tournament. Or I guess they didn't have to, but they did anyway by making her gym battle Drednaw and her champion tournament Drednaw two distinct Drednaw. The gym battle Drednaw is male, while the champion tournament Drednaw is female. The male Drednaw also appears in the postgame raid battle that takes place in the gym.
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2024 Smog Awards!
Little things you like about Pokémon
- Thread starter Kurona
- Start date
Regarding Nemona's name origin, she is named after the flower genus, Nemophila, specially Baby Blue Eyes
Which in the Language of Flowers can possibly mean...
" you are my one and only"
Which in the Language of Flowers can possibly mean...
" you are my one and only"
Just when I thought Miss "What's The Half Plus Seven Rule? Also What's Consent?" couldn't get any more disgusting.
She's a head taller and much more... developed than the protagonist, so she's probably like, high school age while the protagonist is in their early teens at oldest. She also doesn't accept "no" as an answer.
Nemona is easily the most yikes character Pokemon has ever produced.
I just think you’re a bit yikes
If I had to nominate a single Pokemon character under "Yikes", I would go with ORAS Courtney for being an out-right yandere occasionally to the player character. Nemona played more so for laughs.
Ngl as someone who played the game in spanish (native language btw) and saw how she was renamed as "Mencia" I thought it derived from dementia in spanish and thus indicated she was gonna be crazy or something...
Pokemon Fans Try Not To Make Everything Sexual Challenge (Impossible)
I'd argue being played for laughs makes it more yikes. The way Courtney is portrayed, it's clear she's supposed to be creepy.
I thought the implication was that she was 1 year ahead of you. It's pretty clear that you start school, study for a few months, then go on the treasure hunt. If the treasure hunt takes a few months(feels reasonable) followed by more schooling, and if Nemona completed her hunt last year*, that's probably 1 school year.
She's just more developed because GF hates meaningful trainer customization and would rather your char look 10 than risk someone doing anything with their gender outside of proscribed boundaries.
*I usually skim the opening because boring, but I think that's the time frame.
Well I just re-read all of Nemona's dialogue on Bulbapedia to try and understand how she could possibly be compared to a sexual predator but I came up empty-handed. There's one kinda possessive quote from Mesagoza:
So what thread is this again? Little Things You Like About Pokemon? Cool cool, glad this is what we're discussing.
One little thing I really like about Tera Raids is that Game Freak didn't make them arbitrarily immune to being wiped out in one big hit like 3-star+ Dynamax raid mons were. In fact, the optimum strategy for most important Tera Raids is to try and manoeuvre around the Pokemon to set up for that one killer blow. They're certainly not perfect as far as boss battles go, but they strike a good balance between needing heavy hitters and support Pokemon to succeed and there's some genuine flexibility in how players can choose to tackle them.
...but Nemona shows throughout the game that she's pretty self-aware about her intensity, so I'm pretty happy writing that off as a joke. Throughout the game I never got any romantic or sexual vibes from anything she said or did and anyone who did maybe needs to Log Off.
So what thread is this again? Little Things You Like About Pokemon? Cool cool, glad this is what we're discussing.
One little thing I really like about Tera Raids is that Game Freak didn't make them arbitrarily immune to being wiped out in one big hit like 3-star+ Dynamax raid mons were. In fact, the optimum strategy for most important Tera Raids is to try and manoeuvre around the Pokemon to set up for that one killer blow. They're certainly not perfect as far as boss battles go, but they strike a good balance between needing heavy hitters and support Pokemon to succeed and there's some genuine flexibility in how players can choose to tackle them.
Last edited:
It's weird when there is a fair amount of sexual/risque content from the games that's right there to be seen (the Ferris wheel stuff from BW, the Swimmer in FRLG who can't leave the water because a Pokemon bit away her bikini, the one in BW who refers to the location of her Pokeballs as "a woman's secret", everything Mr Bonding does and says in XY) but people tend to focus on this sort of thing instead.
Everyone Else: *Talking about Nemona's obsessiveness/clingyness to the player*
Me: Wait, why aren't her eyes blue then?
Are you sure about that?
EDIT: Darn, QuentinQuonce beat me to referencing Mr. Bonding.
After she reveals a bit of her backstory in the post game, that line can also come off a bit sad/desperate. She finally found a trainer who has the potential to being as strong as she is, and she founds them outside of school grounds battling some Star grunts.
You could maybe also take it as being overprotective, while we're not on school grounds just yet I wouldn't be surprised if battling on the steps to the academy was also prohibited so doing so risked us getting expelled even before we started our first day of classes.
Probably because, despite the jokes, Nemona is made to be a typical attractive girl so its more fun to joke about her being a stalker as, well, there are probably plenty of players who would be in for that for a girl that looks like her.
Speaking as a neurodivergent person who is very strongly on the autism spectrum, Nemona just comes off to me as someone who is very much neurodivergent (which I found relatable when playing Violet), ie very much showing characteristics of a neurodivergent person.
She has an extreme love for battles, to the point where it's an extreme passion and hyperfixation for her in a sense, which is something I can understand fully well. Battling is her life passion, and she shows it in many ways, including how she looks up to Geeta (La Primera), the head of the Paldea League and the Top Champion, even after she herself claimed the title of Champion.
She also has a habit of being so overindulged in her hyperfixations that she tends to not read the room very well socially, which is very evident during the final Area Zero storyline where she's very excitable and still all about having fun while Arven and Penny are more serious about the whole thing, and her overt energy puts Arven and Penny off from her at first and it takes a while for them to get used to her. Even before this it's pretty well established early in the story that Nemona and Arven know each other but fundamentally are on such different wavelengths that they can't stand being in each other's presence. With Arven you can very clearly tell he doesn't really seem to like her very much at all.
Her schtick is that she's in a very prestigious position in Paldea in many ways, coming from a wealthy family (they practically live in a mansion), she's the student council president at the esteemed Naranja/Uva Academy, and she's a Champion Rank Trainer, in other words she's one of the strongest Trainers in the entire region. But despite having all of that, she's actually lonely deep down because she doesn't have many friends. Not many people truly understand her because she doesn't know how to make friends, and many people don't feel they can be close with or be friends with her due to her prestigious position, basically establishing herself as above them socially in many ways so no one really sees her as an equal or is willing to try to get to know her because of that disparity in perceived social standing between her and them. Further reinforced by her general tendency to...not read the room with others a lot of the time.
Her storyline, which culminates in the final battle between you and her at the very end of Victory Road, tying in with the player, is ultimately finding a fellow Trainer and battler that she can call a true friend, a true equal. And you, the player, are that person who can be that person who stands on an equal playing field with her. From the moment the player moves into Paldea and in Nemona's hometown she has hope that she can get to know them better and find someone who is actively willing to get to know her and be friends with her. She's actively rooting for your success as you pursue the Gym Challenge, and looks forward to seeing you continue to get stronger, and ultimately she hopes that you can ultimately become strong enough to be her equal.
And it finally comes through after the player passes the Champion Assessment and becomes Champion themself, culminating in a climactic battle between the player, now a Champion, and Nemona, also a Champion, and the player winning. Nemona finally gets a battle that she can truly enjoy, with someone she can call a friend, and who is on equal footing if not even better than her as a strong Champion Rank Trainer. A battle that finally allows her to all out, full throttle, with her full strength and holding nothing back (worth noting that it's strongly implied that Nemona was holding back her true power against Geeta when they battled). Someone who is a friend to her, who shares the same passion for battling that she does, and is therefore on the same wavelength as her. Which is why that final battle means so much to her: both the player and Nemona share that passion for battling, are both Champion level Trainers, and can go all out against each other holding nothing back: Pokemon battling in its purest form.
Paldea's quest involves the "Treasure Hunt", which means all of the students journey through Paldea to find and create meaningful experiences. Yet as the player, one can find the most fulfillment in helping others find their treasure. Which is what happens with all of Arven, Nemona, and Penny's storylines and arcs, especially when they culminate and intertwine in the final No Way Home storyline.
Nemona finds a true friend she can see as her equal and shares the same battling passion and strength as herself, but ultimately all three of them come together around you, the player, and the four of them become a close knit group of friends who are close with each other, because they all found what they valued most in their life because of the player.
She has an extreme love for battles, to the point where it's an extreme passion and hyperfixation for her in a sense, which is something I can understand fully well. Battling is her life passion, and she shows it in many ways, including how she looks up to Geeta (La Primera), the head of the Paldea League and the Top Champion, even after she herself claimed the title of Champion.
She also has a habit of being so overindulged in her hyperfixations that she tends to not read the room very well socially, which is very evident during the final Area Zero storyline where she's very excitable and still all about having fun while Arven and Penny are more serious about the whole thing, and her overt energy puts Arven and Penny off from her at first and it takes a while for them to get used to her. Even before this it's pretty well established early in the story that Nemona and Arven know each other but fundamentally are on such different wavelengths that they can't stand being in each other's presence. With Arven you can very clearly tell he doesn't really seem to like her very much at all.
Her schtick is that she's in a very prestigious position in Paldea in many ways, coming from a wealthy family (they practically live in a mansion), she's the student council president at the esteemed Naranja/Uva Academy, and she's a Champion Rank Trainer, in other words she's one of the strongest Trainers in the entire region. But despite having all of that, she's actually lonely deep down because she doesn't have many friends. Not many people truly understand her because she doesn't know how to make friends, and many people don't feel they can be close with or be friends with her due to her prestigious position, basically establishing herself as above them socially in many ways so no one really sees her as an equal or is willing to try to get to know her because of that disparity in perceived social standing between her and them. Further reinforced by her general tendency to...not read the room with others a lot of the time.
Her storyline, which culminates in the final battle between you and her at the very end of Victory Road, tying in with the player, is ultimately finding a fellow Trainer and battler that she can call a true friend, a true equal. And you, the player, are that person who can be that person who stands on an equal playing field with her. From the moment the player moves into Paldea and in Nemona's hometown she has hope that she can get to know them better and find someone who is actively willing to get to know her and be friends with her. She's actively rooting for your success as you pursue the Gym Challenge, and looks forward to seeing you continue to get stronger, and ultimately she hopes that you can ultimately become strong enough to be her equal.
And it finally comes through after the player passes the Champion Assessment and becomes Champion themself, culminating in a climactic battle between the player, now a Champion, and Nemona, also a Champion, and the player winning. Nemona finally gets a battle that she can truly enjoy, with someone she can call a friend, and who is on equal footing if not even better than her as a strong Champion Rank Trainer. A battle that finally allows her to all out, full throttle, with her full strength and holding nothing back (worth noting that it's strongly implied that Nemona was holding back her true power against Geeta when they battled). Someone who is a friend to her, who shares the same passion for battling that she does, and is therefore on the same wavelength as her. Which is why that final battle means so much to her: both the player and Nemona share that passion for battling, are both Champion level Trainers, and can go all out against each other holding nothing back: Pokemon battling in its purest form.
Paldea's quest involves the "Treasure Hunt", which means all of the students journey through Paldea to find and create meaningful experiences. Yet as the player, one can find the most fulfillment in helping others find their treasure. Which is what happens with all of Arven, Nemona, and Penny's storylines and arcs, especially when they culminate and intertwine in the final No Way Home storyline.
Nemona finds a true friend she can see as her equal and shares the same battling passion and strength as herself, but ultimately all three of them come together around you, the player, and the four of them become a close knit group of friends who are close with each other, because they all found what they valued most in their life because of the player.
Tbh I love that we can have that kind of content in a game (cant remember whats with the ferris wheel or Mr. Bonding) but the little things like the bikini quotes etc. are nice little jokes for older players to find and see, whilst still being innocent and meaningless/having another meaning to a child’s eye.
Oh I like them too! I just meant that people overfixate on stuff which is questionable rather than what isn't. (I also do this tbf, just not usually on this sort of thing)
The fandom’s sexualization of Nemona and characterization of her as a stalker/predator is far, far more eyebrow-raising than anything that Nemona herself actually does.
She’s just a spirited young girl who’s totally into battling and is excited to finally have a rival that can keep pace with her.
She’s just a spirited young girl who’s totally into battling and is excited to finally have a rival that can keep pace with her.
In one of her pre-battle cutscenes she all but outright admits that she's stalking you.
Having a battle hyperfixation is cool but I'd prefer if the autistic rep wasn't also characterized as a massive creep. Kinda undercuts it, you know?
Last edited:
Sort of piggybacking on the Nemona talk, I kind of like the Academy Ace Tournament as a story-element tying the post-game battling a bit into things. It feels like a natural conclusion to everyone's arcs and needs that you spent the Treasure Hunt resolving, then bringing together to interact in The Way Home.
Nemona: After making one friend with you, she gets to a rocky-but-ultimately-successful time with Penny and Arven, and then organizes an event that the school loves and matches up with her borderline-obsessive Battling Hobby. It gives her a venue to make new friends around a subject she knows well rather than being the battle-freak Student Council President that no one knows how to approach even if interested.
Arven: He's come across as abrasive and secluded until you get to know him a good way into Path of Legends, my guess because he has attachment issues after his parents vanished and his only companion in Mabosstiff got injured horribly. Helping him confront and heal those emotional wounds and find a new support system with you guys, he starts to exhibit healthier social behavior, participating in something as public as the AAT despite (by dialogue at least, so disregard his in-game difficulty for now) not being much of a battler. He even goes so far as to give it a nick/alternative name that everyone clearly endorses, which feels like he's more at home finally interacting with people again.
Penny: Penny's less personal since she's still a bit of a shut-in, though coming out to participate in the event is a step up for her regardless. More importantly, the Tournament gives the students something to prep for in battling, ensuring that the Team Star Bases serve their "community service" time as training facilities, and gives the student body a reason to visit them and start interacting with the Members again. Given Team Star were bullying victims it probably also helps ease them back into socializing if it happens on their turf instead of returning to the Academy immediately.
And this is much more a personal experience, but I find when people read into a character as "autistic" rather than just creepy or poorly written, there's usually a positive reception behind it, be it fandom (Seto Kaiba is affectionately called "the most autistic man in the world" by Yu-Gi-Oh fans, while being the most memetic/enjoyed part of the cast) or praise of writing for those traits fitting the bill effectively (as I see with L from Death Note for example, as a poorly socialized, highly obsessive, but also incredibly intelligent detective), since they don't want to assign that moniker/claim the character as part of that banner if they think them a negative depiction. I don't tend to see people who interpret Nemona as Autistic from these traits also finding the traits as off-putting, or at least outside of realistic levels, especially since they're depicted as giving her trouble and not something brushed off for those difficulties either.
Nemona: After making one friend with you, she gets to a rocky-but-ultimately-successful time with Penny and Arven, and then organizes an event that the school loves and matches up with her borderline-obsessive Battling Hobby. It gives her a venue to make new friends around a subject she knows well rather than being the battle-freak Student Council President that no one knows how to approach even if interested.
Arven: He's come across as abrasive and secluded until you get to know him a good way into Path of Legends, my guess because he has attachment issues after his parents vanished and his only companion in Mabosstiff got injured horribly. Helping him confront and heal those emotional wounds and find a new support system with you guys, he starts to exhibit healthier social behavior, participating in something as public as the AAT despite (by dialogue at least, so disregard his in-game difficulty for now) not being much of a battler. He even goes so far as to give it a nick/alternative name that everyone clearly endorses, which feels like he's more at home finally interacting with people again.
Penny: Penny's less personal since she's still a bit of a shut-in, though coming out to participate in the event is a step up for her regardless. More importantly, the Tournament gives the students something to prep for in battling, ensuring that the Team Star Bases serve their "community service" time as training facilities, and gives the student body a reason to visit them and start interacting with the Members again. Given Team Star were bullying victims it probably also helps ease them back into socializing if it happens on their turf instead of returning to the Academy immediately.
I mean Nemona's not exactly subtle or withdrawn about how fixated she is on battling as a hobby, nor her investment in you as her rival, so most of the other characters in the game are aware of it and seem supportive or at least amused by it rather than concerned. Whether or not you or other players read her that way, the narrative clearly isn't trying to characterize her behavior as creepy, at most an overly-energetic handful that's still ultimately a positive presence to have around.
And this is much more a personal experience, but I find when people read into a character as "autistic" rather than just creepy or poorly written, there's usually a positive reception behind it, be it fandom (Seto Kaiba is affectionately called "the most autistic man in the world" by Yu-Gi-Oh fans, while being the most memetic/enjoyed part of the cast) or praise of writing for those traits fitting the bill effectively (as I see with L from Death Note for example, as a poorly socialized, highly obsessive, but also incredibly intelligent detective), since they don't want to assign that moniker/claim the character as part of that banner if they think them a negative depiction. I don't tend to see people who interpret Nemona as Autistic from these traits also finding the traits as off-putting, or at least outside of realistic levels, especially since they're depicted as giving her trouble and not something brushed off for those difficulties either.
To be clear, Nemoma's autistic characteristics aren't what's creepy about her. In a world where everyone (including the animals) are seemingly obsessed with battling, it's refreshing to see a character where that obsession like, makes sense and actually feels realistic and fleshed out. The creepiness comes from the intersection of two aspects of her character unrelated to autism. Her being noticeably older than the protagonist is fine, and her being strongly implied to have a romantic attraction to the protagonist is fine (I'm normally someone who reads every relationship as platonic unless it's explicitly indicated otherwise, and tend to role my eyes at people shipping characters; if even I'm picking up on a romantic attraction, it's a strong attraction). But those two things together are really creepy, and it puts some of her otherwise benign traits like her obsessive pushiness in a much darker light than if she only one of older and in love (or neither).
I never got any feeling she has romantic interest in the player… she is literally just finally so happy she has someone who shares her interest and can actually push her to the edge in battling… iirc Geeta literally says this to the player. Also lets say hypothetically she does have a crush on MC, calling it creepy because of a year or two age difference is really weird and seems more of a projection to me. I dunno about the rest of you but in my high school (year 7-12) I certainly had crushes on people outside my age group, as did most of my classmates…