Little things you like about Pokémon

[QuentinQuonce]

In general, I don't like any fan theory where the arguments are so abstract and tenuous that it becomes unfalsifiable, like there's literally nothing that could dissuade the most hardcore Chinese Zodiac truthers at this point. The next Fire starter could be a blob of petroleum jelly and they'd convince themselves that it represents the horse because petroleum jelly --> jelly --> gelatin --> the common misconception that we get all our gelatin from horse hooves.

Ultimately it's harmless, and I could imagine it being fun if you just treat it as this increasingly challenging thought exercise, but there are people who sincerely believe in it and I reserve the right to find that a little embarrassing.

This is my point, really. At this stage nothing will dissuade the believers. But people get ridiculously aggravated trying to disprove it and I'm like... seriously why bother. If we ever get to Gen 13 then it's disproved by default.

It's like the water starters=weapons theory, which to my mind has even less evidence. Blastoise is cannons, yes, Greninja is throwing stars, yes, Empoleon is a trident, yes, Samurott is swords, yes, Inteleon is guns, yes, but the others have very little convincing thematic linkage: Swampert doesn't have any specific abilites or learn any moves I can call to mind that play into its fan-blade motif, Feraligatr gets punching moves... but so does everything, so I'm not sure how brass knuckles specifically applies, Primarina has been alternatively linked to maces and bombs, and Quaquaval... I've yet to see a firm consensus on what weapon Quaquaval is supposed to be associated with. If you squint you can link the others, but they're both quite hit and miss.

 

[Eeveeto]

This is my point, really. At this stage nothing will dissuade the believers. But people get ridiculously aggravated trying to disprove it and I'm like... seriously why bother. If we ever get to Gen 13 then it's disproved by default.

It's like the water starters=weapons theory, which to my mind has even less evidence. Blastoise is cannons, yes, Greninja is throwing stars, yes, Empoleon is a trident, yes, Samurott is swords, yes, Inteleon is guns, yes, but the others have very little convincing thematic linkage: Swampert doesn't have any specific abilites or learn any moves I can call to mind that play into its fan-blade motif, Feraligatr gets punching moves... but so does everything, so I'm not sure how brass knuckles specifically applies, Primarina has been alternatively linked to maces and bombs, and Quaquaval... I've yet to see a firm consensus on what weapon Quaquaval is supposed to be associated with. If you squint you can link the others, but they're both quite hit and miss.

Swampert does have a weapon reference. Look at its tail. It's like a fan. Ninjas used some of those as weapons, provided they were sharp enough and made of steel.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Swampert does have a weapon reference. Look at its tail. It's like a fan. Ninjas used some of those as weapons, provided they were sharp enough and made of steel.

Yeah, I mentioned that; I just meant that beyond the motif it doesn't play into its design at all. It doesn't use them as weapons, they're not noted in its dex entries (correction: actually no, it senses storms with them - but that's not really using them as weapons), it doesn't learn sharp moves. It's like Feraligatr's supposed brass knuckles: sure you can point them out, but they aren't a factor beyond that.

 

[Coronis]

The only time I ever think about this is when someone brings it up which is not often. I've broken off from it, but each their own. All I will say is that maybe, if Pokemon series goes on for a long time, the Fire Starters (or at least the Fire-Type) will indeed have a representative for each Pokemon in the Chinese Zodiac (and maybe some of its variations as well). Will it be within the first 12? As I said, I doubt it at this point, you have to do some major jumps in conclusions to make it work now, but who's to say if the series goes onto 15, 17, or 20 gens they won't include a more rodent-like one, or a fire snake, a fire horse unique from the Kanto Ponyta family, etc..



Wouldn't mind if it was a Muskox (yes, I know they're not oxen by genetics, but in Pokemon that doesn't matter). As for a horse different from the Ponyta family, maybe they could base it on the horses which pulled early Firefighting carriages which were often called "Fire Horses".



So what you're saying is Skeledirge is the dragon (cause they're an archosaur, cousins of dinosaurs, and dino=dragon) and Charmander is the snake (cause European dragon = serpent/wyrm).

Nah what I’m saying is the theory is dumb and I like random animal facts.

 

[Ironmage]

This is my point, really. At this stage nothing will dissuade the believers. But people get ridiculously aggravated trying to disprove it and I'm like... seriously why bother. If we ever get to Gen 13 then it's disproved by default.

It's like the water starters=weapons theory, which to my mind has even less evidence. Blastoise is cannons, yes, Greninja is throwing stars, yes, Empoleon is a trident, yes, Samurott is swords, yes, Inteleon is guns, yes, but the others have very little convincing thematic linkage: Swampert doesn't have any specific abilites or learn any moves I can call to mind that play into its fan-blade motif, Feraligatr gets punching moves... but so does everything, so I'm not sure how brass knuckles specifically applies, Primarina has been alternatively linked to maces and bombs, and Quaquaval... I've yet to see a firm consensus on what weapon Quaquaval is supposed to be associated with. If you squint you can link the others, but they're both quite hit and miss.

That one I think just bleeds over from Water-types as a whole frequently leaning into a weapon or military theme. There's also Remoraid/Octillery, Mantine, Clauncher/Clawitzer, Arrokuda/Barraskewda, Sharpedo, and Qwilfish, and I could see arguments for Wishiwashi-Schooling and Wailord (both as partially submarines) and the Horsea line (as another gun-based line). I also personally include Cloyster as a 'bunker' when putting together teams based on the concept, since its two main features are high Defense and projectile attacks.

 

[R_N]

We're done with week 2 and the Mikus we got this week were

Electric: Rotom. Honestly I was goign to suggest this but I saw Pikachu and just resigned myself to fate. It makes sense as a choice since Rotom's got all those machines it can go into, the tech theme relates to Miku as a program.
Normal: Chatot. Jigglypuff really seemed like a shoe-in! Maybe it will be Fairy after all.
Ice: Lapras. Finally one I got right
Ground: Flygon. Now this was a surprising one, it's not one I would have associated with any sort of music theme

Seems like they based her outfit on Zinnia, too. Judging from the little bit of artwork, looks like Flygon is meant to use sand to put on a performance. Well it's fun that they aren't going with the most "obvious" answers
Rock: Aurorus. I'm kicking myself for not thinking about this one, they even kind of went in the direction I thought they would go with Diancie by emphasizing the fancy girly princess aesthetic

Flying: Altaria. I got the right Pokemon, but for the wrong type! I really thought Farfetch'd would win out because of the llvean polka, but I guess they decided to just keep that reference to the promo art for the album.

I'm really interested to see where they go for the remaining types, the design sheets are full of fun flavor and Pokemon interactions. What a fun promo

All the Mikus are in now https://serebii.net/music/projectvoltage/

Fairy: Jigglypuff. Figures, if they didn't do it for Normal they would have to do it for Fairy. It really does make the most sense to have!
Bug: Kricketune. Nailed it. Bit of a shame her outfit doesn't really ake after Kricketune in any way though.
Poison: Toxtricity. Nailed it. You gotta have Toxtricity! The design for Miku on this one is really fun, what a mes
Ghost: Mismagius. Kind of got this one, I pushed both of them. No perish song vibes, but I think the sleeves and eerie chants probably sent it over the edge. The ghostly glitchy aesthitic is cool.
Dark: Obstagoon. Nailed it. And damn Kazuma Koda really knocked this out of the park, probably the strongest Miku of the batch.
Steel: Jirachi. Not on my radar at all, but I had trouble figuring out anyone for this. Should have known there's no escaping Tanabata
Fighting: Sirfetch'd. I am KICKING myself over this one! I was so focused on Farfetch'd that I missed the giant leak for the smaller ones, this one makes so much sense!
Dragon: Miraidon. A big surprise! In retrospect a number of these have an electric theming to them so the big electric dragon does make sense. I think it's a shame her outfit is more "general dragon" with little connection to Miraidon proper though.


And we're getting 4 music videos though sadly it doesn't seem like any of thse designs will be incorporated. Probably not enough cross-team communication.

I'm pretty interested in the album proper

 

[QuentinQuonce]

That one I think just bleeds over from Water-types as a whole frequently leaning into a weapon or military theme. There's also Remoraid/Octillery, Mantine, Clauncher/Clawitzer, Arrokuda/Barraskewda, Sharpedo, and Qwilfish, and I could see arguments for Wishiwashi-Schooling and Wailord (both as partially submarines) and the Horsea line (as another gun-based line). I also personally include Cloyster as a 'bunker' when putting together teams based on the concept, since its two main features are high Defense and projectile attacks.

Yes... funny how frequently Water leans into weapon theming.

Honestly though when it comes to starters specifically I think "weapons" is secondary to the clearer main theme, which is just "amphibious animals that can also live on land" since a pure fish like Goldeen clearly isn't anticipated to have wide appeal. Like I can't envisage ever getting a water starter that's explicitly not designed to leave the water.

 

[Imperial Magala]

Swampert doesn't get a weapon motif until Gen 6 with its arms bringing the gun show acting like torpedoes underwater.

 

[pika pal]

Wouldn't mind if it was a Muskox (yes, I know they're not oxen by genetics, but in Pokemon that doesn't matter). As for a horse different from the Ponyta family, maybe they could base it on the horses which pulled early Firefighting carriages which were often called "Fire Horses".

Noooooooooooooooo!


Actual talk something I really like about Skeledirge this Gen is how he inverts one of my big Starter-design grievances in a way that actually kind of feels natural by comparison. The grievance in question is the frequency of starter designs going from Quadrupedal-to-Bipedal body types and vice versa, which kind of takes me out of it when looking at the resemblance between stages (Fire starters being frequent "offenders" of the first like Emboar, Fennekin, Incineroar, but also Meowscarada). The inverse also happens with some like Samurott, but Skeledirge is probably the best example I've seen of one; its initial body shape is very round, but despite walking on two legs, it and Crocalor have a forward hunch to them that transitions reasonably into Skeledirge's Crocodile body shape, eventually becoming too heavy to stand up compared to the major shift the opposite direction goes. All 3 designs are fairly exaggerated and cartoony, but Fuecoco goes for cute, Crocalor for funny-goofy, and then Skeledirge for a performative look to match the singer motif, which helps shift through the less-Crocodile looking designs as it progresses.

So what you're saying is Skeledirge is the dragon (cause they're an archosaur, cousins of dinosaurs, and dino=dragon) and Charmander is the snake (cause European dragon = serpent/wyrm).

No Skeledirge is actually the Bird by pulling a Wobbuffet and the Bird being real while the Crocodile body is a decoy. Blaziken has been removed from the Rooster spot and is now a Dinosaur because of Feathered Raptors.

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

The Fire starter zodiac theory was already shot down, it's kinda shocking that some people are still holding on to it.

I'm sorry, the Water starter one is just absurd.

 

[Pikachu315111]

This is my point, really. At this stage nothing will dissuade the believers. But people get ridiculously aggravated trying to disprove it and I'm like... seriously why bother. If we ever get to Gen 13 then it's disproved by default.

Well obviously at that point they would either branch out into the alternate versions (a few swap sheep and goat back and forth, Vietnamese has the Water Buffalo & Cat instead of Ox & Rabbit, Cambodian has the Naga instead of the Dragon, the Cham people have Turtle instead of Monkey, and so on) or they'll try to say the next 12 will be based on the Astrological Zodiac.

It's like the water starters=weapons theory

I've never heard that before. How I always heard it was Fire Starters were the Chinese Zodiac, Grass Starters were prehistoric animals, and Water Starters were just general aquatic life (the most tame and reasonable of the theories). I guess the Water Starters conspiracists got jealous and came up with their own wild theme not to be left out.

Like I can't envisage ever getting a water starter that's explicitly not designed to leave the water.

Eh, if they make the first stage cute enough and the final stage cool enough I think it would be something people could easily overlook. Like basic stage could be a Clownfish and the final stage a Lionfish.

Noooooooooooooooo!

Relax, they just pull the stage coach so they could make them pure Fire or something like Fire/Ground (that way people can speculate if they're a hybrid of Ponyta and Mudbray).

Actual talk something I really like about Skeledirge this Gen is how he inverts one of my big Starter-design grievances in a way that actually kind of feels natural by comparison. The grievance in question is the frequency of starter designs going from Quadrupedal-to-Bipedal body types and vice versa

One which has been kind of overblown as it doesn't happen as often people think. The problem is more that Starters which are based on bipedal animals are being made into biepdal Pokemon, even in the Basic Stage. And though usually two of the final stages are bipedal, there are outliners. Paldea has the quadruped Skeledirge, Hisui has their Edgy Samurott, Galar has Rillaboom (yes, technically bipedal, but it supports itself with knuckles on the ground like a real gorilla), Alola had Primarina, and Unova had Serperior. The only one which had all members end up bipedal was Kalos, a notably guilty example as they had all their Basic Starters start with a different stance (Chespin was biped, Fennekin was a quadruped, and Froakie was a semi-quadruped (moved around on all fours but could did use its front appendages as hands when needed)).

 

[Pikachu315111]

All the Mikus are in now https://serebii.net/music/projectvoltage/

This has been something I've been keeping my eye on. No, I'm not a Hatsune Miku/Vocaloid fan, not that I'm against it either; it's just a property which exists (my biggest exposure to Vocaloid was when TheSpoonyOne played through one of the Project DIVA games and losing his mind at the timing). What I vaguely know of the Vocaloids is that it's an interesting idea, personifying voice modulators making them as much characters as audio products (pretty much the first stepping stones to the VTubers we have today). Though we're not here to talk about that, we're here to talk about a neat collab between Vocaloid & Pokemon: Project Voltage. And while they're working on the music (can you tell I wrote this before it was revealed the first track was released?), that's actually not the part I'm interested in. As part of the collab, several artist drew Miku as a Type Specialist, giving us 18 Miku (plus the reference art sheet)! I thought it would be fun to go through each of them and not only see what concept they came up with but also give each one a full party of 6*!

* Notes about the teams

1. They're made to match the concept, not to be competitive or even a battling team. Hence no additional info like Movesets or Abilities. I'm also going to have basic & mid stages to make things a bit more interesting.
2. The only restriction I'm giving myself is no repeating families, otherwise ALL Pokemon are fair game including Legendaries, Ultra Beasts, and Paradox Pokemon. Note I'm also going to ignore Mega Evos and Gigantamax, I'm focusing purely on base forms.
3. For simplicity sake, if a Pokemon is referenced in their design or featured in the reference sheet they're automatically on the team, even if they don't match the Type specialty.
4. Because of the above, I'm also giving myself wiggle room to have off-Type Pokemon, the concept is just as much as a focus as the Type specialty.
5. This is just for fun, an interesting thought experiment if you will. If you have a different idea please feel free to share.

Psychic

CONCEPT: Miku as a Pokemon Trainer(?)
PARTNER: Meloetta (Aria Forme)

Probably should have expected they were going to start with Meloetta, aka the Vocaloid Pokemon. Though what's interesting is that this is the Psychic Miku, not the Normal even though that's what a lot of aesthetic feels to be; especially since Meloetta is more of a Normal-type as that's the Type she shares between her formes (and Type of her Signature Move, Relic Song). Maybe this is the result of just how all the Types & Partners fell into place, considering who they used for Normal (and Flying), only spot they had open for Meloetta was Psychic.

But enough of that, let's actually talk about the Psychic Miku. I'll admit, a bit disappointing for a Psychic-type. They very much heavily leaned into Meloetta's aesthetic, which as I noted is more Normal-type. Thus we get a fairly plain "Pokemon Trainer" girl with a more obvious music lean. Not that she's completely missing Psychic things, her piano-themed bag has patches of Unown (M), Bruxish lips, and a Twisted Spoon. It also has a keychain with charms of a Colbur Berry (weaken Dark Moves), Tanga Berry (weaken Bug Moves), and Psychic Seeds. Also attached to her bag is a blue "tie" which maybe represents the Wobbuffet family (or Wynaut's ear specifically)? Her Reference Art also shows this Miku is telekinetic, able to levitate Poke Balls. I guessed the concept as simply "Miku as a Pokemon Trainer" as, since this Miku is more obviously based around Meloetta than being a Psychic Trainer, the aim here was to draw Miku as simply "herself" but Pokemon Trainer-style. She is Psychic out of necessity, sure they could have drawn here to resemble something you'd see from the Psychic Trainer Class or League Member, but this is Miku's personal journey through the Pokemon Types. Though I am curious about the other patches, the Gen I Pokemon Menu sprites and the Potion & I think Burn Heal, any reason behind them?

Miku's Psychic Team:

Meloetta is her partner.
Abra is featured in the reference art as a Pokemon she's about to capture.
Wynaut for the "blue tie" attached to her bag.
Kirlia could have very well also been her partner, a Psychic-type that looks like an ordinary girl (or rather ballerina).
Unown M & Bruxish are patches on her bag.

Grass

CONCEPT: Cheerleader
PARTNER: Rillaboom

I can certainly see the connection here: Rillaboom is a Galar Starter, Galar has made Pokemon Battles into a major competition, some major competitions have cheerleaders. They could also have Rillaboom here referencing a drummer in a marching band, another entertainment group who you often see at sport competitions (I guess it could also be the Rillaboom who is part of the Maximizers).

Miku is no doubt a Grass-type cheerleader, some Rillaboom logos to show support for her partner. Cute idea having the end of her hair resemble bushy pom-poms, and a good idea to make the actual pom-poms be blue, letting them mesh with but not blend in with all the green she already has on her. It's a cute design and matches well with her Type and partner, I like it.

Miku's Grass Team:

I feel most if not all of these are obvious. Pretty much Pokemon I can see cheering alongside her.

Fire

CONCEPT: (Death) Metal Singer
PARTNER: Skeledirge

Hell yeah! When your singing partner is a Skeledirge you kinda sign up being a metal singer (particularly death metal cause, you know, part Ghost-type). But it ain't the Ghost side that's the focus but the FIRE! Aside from fire-based slang terms usually used to describe something with high energy, fire itself tends to be loud when it's part of an EXPLOSION; but more on that later.

Already nice touch with Miku's hair resembling Skeledirge's flames. The outfit itself isn't very fire-y, it's more focused on expressing the LOUDNESS. Not that it's a bad look; I like the puffy jacket with the volume bars pattern sleeves, the triangular speakers, and the volume dials she has instead of buttons (and as well on her glove). Pants & boots are a bit odd, they're either piano keys or noise markers you'd see in a sound editing software; eitherway fitting with the theme though if the skin-colored parts are skin then that means she's wearing a really short shorts, a shoe on her left foot, a boot on her right foot, and what must be a very tight length of legging on her left leg and a above the knee garter on her right leg. I suppose it matches the metal aesthetic looking like torn clothes, though I think it would have looked better if completely filled in. And the music note bling that resembles Skeledirge's fiery bird is also a nice touch.

Miku's Fire Team:

So, going back to the idea of EXPLOSION, figured this death growling Miku would have a team based around that. Though I try to keep the off-Type picks to one Pokemon, I couldn't take either Exploud or Noivern and not have the other one (and being a Normal-type and Dragon-type, they both still learn Fire-type Moves), their the most well known Boomburst Pokemon (which aren't being used anywhere else). And all the others are Fire-types that can make a loud sound: Magmortar shoots explosions from its cannon hands, male Pyroars have explosive roars, and Turtonator's have the exploding shells for their Signature Move. You you imagine a better team to make you audience deaf?

Water

CONCEPT: Lifeguard/Marine Wildlife Rescuer
PARTNER: Primarina

Not all of Miku's costumes are music based, which helps mix things up and doesn't limit the artist if they just have a random concept idea they feel match's the Type more (if that Project DIVA game I saw is any indication, Miku dresses up in all sorts of different costumes for the music videos). Primarina would make for an ideal partner for a lifeguard/marine wildlife rescuer. Yeah, not too sure which concept they're going for here; she's dressed more like a(n anime) lifeguard (hence the visor hat and inflatable Dive Ball (Pokemon Company, why isn't that an actual thing?)), but the reference art makes it looks like she's more into helping the marine wildlife (hence the Potion and Heal Ball around her waist); I suppose she could be both.

Ah, Miku's hair is the type of anime hairstyle nonsense you just gotta love, with that single ball hair tie combining her giant pigtails together to form a pseudo mermaid tail. Being this is a swimsuit there's really not much else to talk about, it's a cute blue two piece with a keyboard pattern (and apparently the zipper doubles as a whistle? Not sure how that works with the way reference art depicts it). Thinking about it, the visor hat is also kind of a strange accessory as it looks like it would always be at risk of floating away whenever she dives into the water. I like the idea they had with making her Vocaloid designation number (01) having the Kyogre "tron lines", though I guess they must have felt it would be out of place if they didn't have it anywhere else so she randomly has some markings on her leg. But these oddities barely take away from it being good, and in some cases brings it back to being Pokemon-based.

Miku's Water Team:

There's quite a few Pokemon featured and referenced, the only ones I added was Alomomola and Phione. Alomomola because if you're going to be healing marine Pokemon best to have they Chansey of the sea with you. It was a toss up between Manaphy and Phione, but I ultimately went with Phione if only to give the little guy some of the spotlight. Manaphy's two antenna may more match with Miku's hair, but I think Phione's mainly blue body coloring goes better with the clothing.

Electric

CONCEPT: (Electronic) Pop Star
PARTNER: Rotom

Huh, interesting they went with Rotom. Many of the Pokemon that Miku is partnered with usually have something to do with music, though Rotom is one of the few which seemingly don't. Then again, with them using Toxtricity as her Poison Partner, the remaining Electric-type oddly don't give her much options (and guess partnering with Pikachu or any of the Pikaclones felt too passé). Also, in theory, Rotom could possess a stereo, radio, or any electronic audio device or instrument. Actually that looks to be an implication with this Electric-type Miku, who has Rotom perform along with her by powering her performance suit and other electronics (to sometimes predictable disastrous results).

Miku's stylish suit has strong Michael Jackson vibes, particularly to his white suit in the Smooth Criminal music video. That's been combined with an LED suit, the kind which many electronic and techno performance groups have begun using to put on elaborate dance shows. It blends together nicely, even with the obvious wiring and cable reeler. The asymmetrical hair and gloves are a bit odd, like they couldn't agree to give her lightning blonde hair or electric teal (or black gloves which match the suit or Michael Jackson's red gloves) so gave her both. Hair clips also feel tacked on. Also, this is the first Miku Type which came with TWO reference sheets. One is the usual reference sheet showing the clothes at different angles and explaining parts of it, though the second one is just additional artwork showcasing this Miku's lifestyle. Notably it shows the Pokemon she uses in her performance, her cooling off after dance practice, I think teasing with some guy over the phone, travelling with the press taking picture and her bodyguard standing in front of her, and finally in engineer clothing working on her equipment... which Rotom ends up blowing up. Overall it shows this Miku is talented, hardworking, friendly, and inventive... too bad for that latter one her partner is a Rotom.

Miku's Electric Team:

I was so ready to break my "no species repeat" rule to give her an entire team of Rotom, but the second reference sheet spoiled that idea by giving her a dance crew. Almost a full party, but I have one extra Pokemon to add. What should it be? With her cane having a lightning bolt on it, Pikachu or Raichu would have been an apt choice. However, seeing that the electronic parts of her suit glow white, the shape of her pigtail scrunchies are a bundle of "spikes", and she works with electrical cables both on and off stage, I decided that a Xurkitree wouldn't look out of place. This Miku looks very rich, she can afford the electric bills.

Normal

CONCEPT: "Hippie"
PARTNER: Chatot

I use "hippie" for lack of a better term. While Miku wouldn't look out of place at Woodstock, the clothing style harkens to more of the 1970's disco scene (also there's a disco ball in the reference art, dead giveaway there). Groove, funk, soul, etc.. Granted this is a modern interpretation as back then they didn't have electronic emoticon glasses, or Pokemon, but that's no reason Miku can't get her groove on. Though, I am finding difficulty in seeing how it relates to Chatot, a talking parrot Pokemon. It is nice they went for something different than the usual pirate theme that Chatot ends up associated with, though disco wouldn't be the next thing, or the third, or tenth. I guess they just knew they wanted to do something with Chatot, saw how colorful it was, so went with a music genre with a subculture that had colorful clothing. Ooh, wait, I know! Chatot is a parrot, parrots are found in jungles, and a famous disco song is called "Jungle Boogie"! There, solved that mystery *wipes hands*.

So Miku looks like she raided Mina's closet and than ran through her paints. Much like how the Psychic Miku could pass as for the Normal-type due to heavily leaning on Meloetta's design, Normal Miku could pass as the Flying-type as it REALLY leans into Chatot's design. Due to how GameFreak treated Flying-types back in the day, Normal/Flying might as well have been pure Flying-types so heavily leaning on Chatot's design is going to come off more Flying than Normal (not to mention that it's a bird). Now there's nothing wrong with the outfit, it's cute for a Chatot themed trainer, and when it comes to color scheme for Normal-types it does feel like you either do black-white monochrome or all the colors in the rainbow. Think what would maybe help make this outfit feel more Normal-type is if they got rid of the "feather" hair tips and the picture of Chatot on the shirt, replace it with something like a colorful Pokeball logo. To summarize, it's perfectly fine and visually pleasing... I just don't feel it's "Normal-type".

Miku's Normal Team:

SO tempted to make this an entire Normal/Flying team, but with the bright colors decided the two painting Pokemon, Smeargle and Grafaiai, would add diversity to the team.
I was torn between picking Toucannon or Squawkabilly, but chose the latter as it's based on a parakeet, a subspecies of parrots.
Dottler is here cause its a bit like a disco ball... yes... no?
Anb Ludicolo is here to test to see if you're a TRUE Pokemon fan. LET THE MUSIC PLAY! (click the "b" that has replaced the "d" in "And")

So, this post took me all day to write, so I'll do them in batches of six. Next time: Ice, Rock, Ground, Flying, Fairy, & Bug!

 

[R_N]

Normal Miku is likely not "hippie" or "disco" influenced and more just a general pop fashion aesthetic to go with Chatot's vibrant colors, even if it's not a very "normal" aesthetic. When they don't fully lean into a type aesthetic they fall back into matching the Pokemon; Mizutani in particular does that with Chatot, Aurorus, & Jirachi, only somewhat calling to the typing by some accessories or primary color.

Likewise I think Rillaboom was probably chosen first & foremost because it's a drummer by design + the band thing + being a starter. Mizutani designed the Fire, Water & Grass Mikus and I don't think it's coincidental that all 3 selections were starters.

I wonder how much type selection came down to the final piece; it's a collab between Ohmura and Ariga and features one of the box legends. It probably overruled being Dragon by default, regardless of how the others were selected (did the art team make their own picks, was it decided by Ohmura, was it a collaborative effort as they slotted in their favorite music, virtual aesthetic or elegant themed selections, etc). But if Miraidon is Dragon then suddenly you have some knock down effects. Altaria, the humming song bird used by a performer in-universe, can't use Dragon so if you commit to using it then it has to go with Flying. If you also want to use Chatot then it loses out the flying race anyway (altaria's literally cloud bid) so it has to go Normal and that guarantees that we put Meloetta in Psychic, Jigglypuff in Fairy & Obstagoon in Dark (granted, this was probably going to be in dark anyway)


Also: I think it's funny that none of these designs are being used in the music videos. I suppose the Producers got to pick their own. I think there's going to be a video for every song, which also probably means Pikachu lost out to being the Electric art Miku since one's featured in the song proper. 18 new mikus!
It's a cute love song, honestly for large swaths of it it reminds me of some of the Japanese openings; those things loved using as many terms from the games as possible while being catch.

The one I'm most exicted for is pinnochioP's. His style of music and art is really fun, so I think his Miku selection will be top tier.

 

[Castersvarog]

I honestly have no skin in the game re the Fire starters=Chinese Zodiac theory but I will just say it's amusing to see people fight so hard against it when it's just not ever going to die. I've seen arguments recently that Skeledirge represents either the snake (because crocodiles are lizards, much as Typhlosion represents the rat simply because it's a rodent) or the ox* (because male crocodiles are called bulls). Both entirely valid takes as far as I'm concerned and there's nothing to outright prove them wrong. At this stage it's not going away, just embrace it and let people join the dots how they like.

Personally, I just found it as a neat pattern going on, like it was a little too convenient that the theory matched up so well for as long as it did with a few artistic liberties with Fenniken.
But with Skeledirge I do believe the pattern is dead in the water. And it was fun to see all the fakemon people made that tried to stay with the zodiac theory pattern, it felt like a huge community wide art challenge

 

[Fame]

Pokemon

 

[Pikachu315111]

Pokemon

I see...

And

 

[DrumstickGaming]

It's a very small thing, but I like how when you get the Snag Machine back in Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, you get a proper cutscene instead of a lame text box. It might be literally the same animation from the beginning of the game again with a different background, but that amazing jingle really drives home how important the device is right before you go storm the last few areas swarming with Shadow Pokemon.

Great moment in a great game.

Also B I G screenshot

 

[QuentinQuonce]

It's a very small thing, but I like how when you get the Snag Machine back in Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, you get a proper cutscene instead of a lame text box. It might be literally the same animation from the beginning of the game again with a different background, but that amazing jingle really drives home how important the device is right before you go storm the last few areas swarming with Shadow Pokemon.

Great moment in a great game.

View attachment 557047

Also B I G screenshot

Michael really does have one of the coolest designs of all the games' protagonists (Orre in general has great character design).

There's a piece of art I've always loved (and would love to credit the artist though unfortunately I can't find the original link - I believe I saw it on DeviantArt) that depicts a darker, much more moody take on Michael and Eldes. The same artist also did one of Wes and Nascour from Colosseum but it's not like those two are exactly lacking in edginess so I much prefer the XD one.

 

[woodgoldtwo]

The fact that whenever the titanic okidogi takes a step or stomps the screen shakes

 

[DrumstickGaming]

Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea's Japanese name is literally "Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation the Movie: The Pokémon Ranger and the Prince of the Sea: Manaphy."

bro, condense the name of your movie????? that's so absurd it's amazing

"Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! The Movie: ExtremeSpeed Genesect: Mewtwo Awakens" is not quite as good but still silly

Oh man now the English dub is getting in on the longer titles oh gosh oh man

(yes I know the show prior is merely Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series but even then that's a really silly title even when the other titles are retroactively named The Series. What's next, Pokemon: The First Movie: The Movie?)

Incredible poster though!

 

[Karxrida]

Anyone remotely familiar with the RPG genre knows that most (if not all) bosses of any given game will just be flat-out immune to the vast majority of status inflictions and one-hit kill effects. Pokémon as series does not partake in this common trope and it's honestly better for it. Wanna Toxic stall a Gym Leader? Go ahead. Put a lead of a villain leader's team to sleep to set up? Sure. Spam OHKO moves on the Champion? The chance of success is super low, but you can totally try and maybe get lucky.

While immunities to status and OHKO moves do exist, they're tied to intrinsic mechanics of the game (e.g. type matchups) that you are also beholden to and can abuse. So the game plays fair and it's intuitive when a Flying-type dodges Fissure or Toxic doesn't work on a Steel-type.

 

[Castersvarog]

Anyone remotely familiar with the RPG genre knows that most (if not all) bosses of any given game will just be flat-out immune to the vast majority of status inflictions and one-hit kill effects. Pokémon as series does not partake in this common trope and it's honestly better for it. Wanna Toxic stall a Gym Leader? Go ahead. Put a lead of a villain leader's team to sleep to set up? Sure. Spam OHKO moves on the Champion? The chance of success is super low, but you can totally try and maybe get lucky.

While immunities to status and OHKO moves do exist, they're tied to intrinsic mechanics of the game (e.g. type matchups) that you are also beholden to and can abuse. So the game plays fair and it's intuitive when a Flying-type dodges Fissure or Toxic doesn't work on a Steel-type.

This is something I do give to the franchise, it’s nice that you can play with any kind of play style imaginable and still get results. Some are quote unquote better than others sure, like hyper offense vs stall, but it’s less just how effective one is and more so just the length of time a fight could take.
Like, so often do rpgs have entire classes, characters and mechanics built around debuffs and DOTs, but the boss is immune to it so their useless to use.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

One thing I just randomly realized yesterday is how the names for the expansion passes follow the same naming pattern that the third versions did in the past. Just like the third versions, the names for the expansion passes are about the same theme as the base games.

Gen 8 is about gear/equipment.
Sword and Shield
The Isle of Armor
The Crown Tundra

Gen 9 is about colors.
Scarlet and Violet
The Teal Mask
The Indigo Disk

It only took me three years to realize this. I'm not sure if this is common knowledge in the fandom, I don't think I have ever seen a discussion about it before.

I like how Gen 9 did some archetype Pokémon very differently from usual. I think the most notable is the Pikaclone. The Pawmi line is a three-stage evolution, the first Pikaclone to evolve since the Marill line, as all the others from Gen 3 and on have been single-staged (Plusle and Minun are a duo, but they don't evolve). Pawmi is also available very early and is quite easy to find. In comparison, many Pikaclones are available late and/or are harder to find. I really like how Gen 9 handled the Pikaclone, it feels like the most unique one in many generations.

 

[pika pal]

Anyone remotely familiar with the RPG genre knows that most (if not all) bosses of any given game will just be flat-out immune to the vast majority of status inflictions and one-hit kill effects. Pokémon as series does not partake in this common trope and it's honestly better for it. Wanna Toxic stall a Gym Leader? Go ahead. Put a lead of a villain leader's team to sleep to set up? Sure. Spam OHKO moves on the Champion? The chance of success is super low, but you can totally try and maybe get lucky.

While immunities to status and OHKO moves do exist, they're tied to intrinsic mechanics of the game (e.g. type matchups) that you are also beholden to and can abuse. So the game plays fair and it's intuitive when a Flying-type dodges Fissure or Toxic doesn't work on a Steel-type.

*Familiar with most Square RPG's in the Genre

Dragon Quest famously allows statuses up to and including Sleep and Silence to work on major bosses, and in some cases the fights are designed to be so difficult that Status is the best way to save on grinding. Slow/Protect/Shell are borderline necessary in the DS version of FF4, and RPG's like SMT you REALLY need to play around with buffs and debuffs beyond just "hit harder and THEN punch them" to manage fights.

That aspect isn't strictly unique to Pokemon. What I DO appreciate about Pokemon is the challenge of designing the entire game to work off a symmetrical battle system that helps translate to the PvP aspect as well. Many RPG's your party usually plays by different rules than the opponent (equipping for skills/gear/passive effects, Healing vs not, the way even Damage scales both in Stat Pools and calculations being handled, and then bosses having mechanics/gimmicks the player is not meant to have equivalents to). Even Bravely Default, another favorite RPG of mine, has the bosses that literally use your Job classes still display different behaviors on shared moves, so I do find it noteworthy that Pokemon (and Monster-Collecting RPG's modeled on/alongside it) is one of the only games where you and the computer very literally play by the same rules.

 

[Codraroll]

I missed the discussion by like a month, but it bears bringing up again:

I really like Dipplin and (blurred for those who want to avoid The Indigo Disk spoilers) Archaludon. Not really because of the designs themselves, but for what they represent: cross-generation evolutions of a recently released generation.

Game Freak seems to have taken a lot of criticism on the decision to extend so many evolution families in Gen IV and relegating a bunch of formerly fully-evolved Pokémon into mid-evos, which may be seen as just "stepping stones" on the way to a final evolution. Many fans of Magmar and Rhydon, for instance, were disappointed to see them being "replaced" by even more powerful forms that were, let's face it, butt-ugly. Someone at Game Freak must have thought the same, because after Gen IV, no existing Pokémon families were extended again. Sure, Eevee's evolution tree was allowed to sprout a new branch, but Sylveon was merely an equal side-grade to the existing Eeveelutions. Generations V, VI, and VII all came and went without new cross-generation evolutions, and some of us feared they would never come back. Instead, new Pokémon seemed to be designed to be "perfect" right out of the box, as it were, or at least have a viable battling niche. Once an evolution family was designed, it was stamped, shipped, and never again altered.

Then along came Gen VIII, and Game Freak decided to loosen the restrictions a bit: new evolutions to old Pokémon were fine, as long as they were evolutions to alternate forms of the base Pokémon. Now they could make a snazzy new Linoone evolution, without spoiling the legacy of existing Linoone. A Farfetch'd evolution that didn't involve existing Farfetch'd. And so on for Corsola and Mr. Mime too.

The problem was, though, that certain existing, underwhelming Pokémon seemed doomed to forever stay underwhelming. Gen IV had been generous with evolutions to Gen II crapmons, but there were still tons of them left, and they didn't get any better over the years. And rather than help bringing those crapmons out of obscurity, the alternate-form-evolutions appeared to make the obscure, old Pokémon obsolete instead. I mean, when faced with the choice, would you rather catch and train the original Corsola whose stats will always be terrible, or the new Corsola that evolves and grows strong? Original Corsola remained a Pokémon you'd only catch for Dex fodder.

So I was really stoked when Legends: Arceus came out and we got a pair of good, honest, no-nonsense, straightforward-upgrade, cross-gen evolutions in Wyrdeer and Ursaluna. Not alternate forms, not branched evolutions, not evolutions to the regional forms (although we got a few of those too), but regular evolutions to the old, obscure base forms. And they rocked in my eyes. It changed the way I looked at their base forms. Instead of being a somewhat sub-par Pokémon that evolved once into an OK-but-not-exciting Normal-type, Teddiursa now is a must-catch early in the game, because it will turn into a really powerful Pokémon in the late-game. One issue remained, however: Game Freak seemed to be set in their decision that Pokémon designed from Gen V onwards didn't need and shouldn't have cross-gen evolutions. The concept was still limited to Pokémon from the first two generations, showing some hints of early-gen favouritism.

But then there was Gen IX, with even more cross-gen evolutions. Old favourites like Primeape, Girafarig, and Dunsparce were granted evolutions. But also Bisharp, a Gen V 'mon. One designed after the "ban" on cross-gen evolutions. Granted, not much after, so the scent of early-game favouritism still lingered. The evolution families from the 3DS era on remained untouched, as they had been designed without cross-gen evolution in mind. But now that ban is broken.

So yeah, hooray for the SV DLC. The designers went back only as far as the previous generation, picked up a couple of 'mons, and said: "You know what? Let's give these some attention again, instead of treating them all as perfect." This has implications for pretty much all the underwhelming Pokémon out there. It shows us that Game Freak haven't "frozen" their evolution families forever, regardless of when they were designed. It means there's still hope for modern crapmons like Aromatisse, Thievul, or Spidops. We can reasonably expect treats on par with Ursaluna and Annihilape in the future, not only from old Gen II crapmons (of which the number is dwindling almost as drastically as for Gen I, I might add), but from Pokémon from all over the generations. I really look forward to discovering what overlooked Pokémon will turn into game breakers in the generations to come. How I missed cross-generation evolutions.