B-SIDES

A nerd-cave for NERDS. I draw stuff I like, break it, and then write about it. I like Soulsbornes, Warframe, Digimon, and sometimes Pokemon. I also like heavy metal, Hellraiser, and horror movies. Temporarily reactivated. You can find all of my contacts and forwardings here on my main blog.

[b-sides-besides]

wh-why didn't the mom defend her title?? do we get to know or is it spoilers?? 👀👀👀 also have you drawn the mom before or....??

Ho ho! You'll get an idea for why she may have abandoned her title once I finally get her team finished! I have not drawn Vance's mum yet - much like how I haven't drawn Vance yet (or, rather, updated his design). I keep letting myself get sidetracked by drawing the Pokemon they're with instead, lol.

[b-sides-besides]

Just wanted to say that i love all of your spec bio projects immensely, and while pokemon and digimon are similar, they occupy different holes in my brain, and im CHUGGING all this pokemon revival content

Can't think of any particularly smart questions, will ask the one thats been bugging me for years - what's the general outline of Vance's story? I remember reading old posts about the start of his journey, but how exactly the jump to pokemon battling happened?

Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying the resurrection of this project! I'm having a real blast revisiting all of this and knowing others are too makes hashing all of it out in a readable format completely worth it.

As for Vance's story, the broadest outline is Vance starting off as a city kid (rather than a country kid like before), moving to the country with his mom to be near extended family after the loss of his father, and then moving back to that city for school x-years later, where he studies to be a veterinarian. His studies and experiences in the city dovetail into him sharing / shifting his focus with / from veterinary studies to Pokemon conservation. It's during his time as a conservationist that his name starts getting around and he begins travelling the world - he gets to be a part of the Sinnoh New Moon Conservation Team for a term, is contacted by Marnie as a fellow conservationist to visit Galar, he visits Paldea, and in the course of both he encounters Hoopa, which starts opening doors he's not sure he wants to walk through.

How Vance gets into Pokemon battling is currently mapped like this: while he is studying at school, Vance comes into possession of Bernice, a mature-aged Conkeldurr with skittish, non-standard behaviour for her species. Her ball appears in his bag during a transfer stop via unknown means, and is the catalyst for Vance being more or less forced to interact with Pokemon battle culture due to her becoming a strain on his budget. Vance is not able to return, offload, or otherwise "get rid" of her, because he learns two things: first, that Bernice's ball was a crack ball, meaning that when he found her ball in his bag, it had copied his trainer ID, erasing her previous possession history (possession laundering) - someone had put her ball in his bag in an attempted concealed delivery, likely in a case of mistaken identity; and second, that if he tries to rehome her as an aged member of a highly specialised industrial species with no recognised history, she will likely be euthanised rather than placed anywhere. He's a bit of a bleeding heart, and doesn't want this to happen to her on his account, so he keeps her in attempts to find something better for her. He thinks of his father, a man who used to work with industrial Pokemon for a living before an accident took his life: "a Pokemon shouldn't be punished for the mistakes of people".

The city has a local fighting-type gym that rests on the border of a fighting-type sanctuary - exhausting all other avenues, Vance takes Bernice to this gym to train and fight for fast pocket change, as his studies make it difficult to manage a job that would pay enough to support himself and his growing roster of misfits (he doesn't want to ask his mom or other family for money). As an anti-battler, this is an extremely difficult choice to make for Vance, but he can't deny that Bernice, as well as the other Pokemon at the gym, enjoy fighting. He quickly learns that Bernice can already fight, and she fights differently from what he's seen on competition broadcasts - harder, meaner, and with little regard for her own safety. It'd be from here that Vance starts getting in trouble, as the gym's owner recognises Bernice's fighting style and strange behaviour as that of an abused bloodsporter, and starts asking Vance uncomfortable questions. In the background while all of this is going on, Bernice's actual owner - a man notorious in the underground fighting scene for training Pokemon to fight to kill for sport - has been recently released from incarceration, and he's looking for his missing champion.

From here it gets a little messy and needs some work. Bernice's old trainer steals her from Vance and gets her back to killing in the ring. Vance has developed a bond between himself and Bernice at this point - and while he hasn't been able to undo her training entirely, he's been making inroads to possibly getting her admitted to the gym's sanctuary and be allowed to live out the remainder of her days without any further violence. When she's taken from him, he feels compelled to try to get her back, but to do that he needs to fight for her, and more or less stoop to the level of a bloodsporter. This would be where he picks up his mom's old Championship team of ghosts - and, well, learns why his mom gave up her title without defending it for that final year.

[b-sides-besides]

This fell apart on me, but that's fine.

Thus far, Vance only really gets to meet one legendary / mythical Pokemon in this setting: Darkrai. However, after reading up on the Muppet-looking genie that is Hoopa, I'm warming up to the idea of this mythical being one he actually catches for himself. Hoopa's involvement as a colossal curveball in Vance's journey as a professional gives him the opportunity to start asking the questions I want him to ask as someone who started out anti-establishment, got sucked in to that establishment, and never sat right with it.

[b-sides-besides]

Notes on some niche psionics in relation to the project, since "memory excavation" and the concept of dimensional walking have already been mentioned and will continue to pop up as future posts on ghost- and dark-types appear:

Memory excavation is a form of psychic linking between two individuals, either human-to-human, or human-to-Pokemon, to uncover memories of the "contacted" (the subject) to be witnessed and transcribed by the "contact" (the psychic). This skill is a subcategory within extrasensory forensics and sees use within law enforcement, anthropology, ecology, and social historic sciences. Memory excavation is considered a form of "immaterial" or "interpretive science" that produces "soft" evidence that cannot be fully confirmed as true in the same manner that a polygraph cannot actually prove that an individual is lying. As a form of evidence, it is considered supportive rather than definitive. Opinions on memory excavation vary widely, from a gross invasion of privacy, a wanton assigning of words where there aren't any, a path of ascension from singular self-experience, to a window into the unseen, and a means of providing voices to those who are unable to speak. Human-to-human memory excavation is considered "acceptable" in the broadest sense in that two consenting individuals of the same species, language, and sensory perception are neurologically connected to share experiences. Human-to-Pokemon memory excavation is considerably more controversial, as Pokemon do not speak, are predisposed to obedience even against their general wellbeing, and possess a mental chart unique from human beings, making interpretation of "what has happened" entirely subjective in a manner utterly beyond the readily understood frame of "I remember". Memories pulled from a Pokemon's mind are generally categorised as third-hand accounts, as the creature's neurological displays must be interpreted by a non-Pokemon mind (the psychic) and translated for those who are not privy to what is being witnessed (any other present parties). Despite this, memory excavation with Pokemon does see limited, specialised use in select fields. Experts with proven track records are few and command considerable respect within the psychic community.

Memory excavation is a multi-step process that requires "anchoring oneself" within the "present" through the recognition of the Pokemon's senses, self perception, and emotion. The contacting psychic must overlay their conscious upon that of the contacted Pokemon and determine - through an immediate, shared, root space - how the contacted Pokemon experiences and recognises their orientation - physical, emotional and mental - within their current space (where they are now, who or what is around them, and how they feel about these things taken together). In essence, the psychic must "reconfigure" for themselves within the Pokemon's sensory parameters what is right, left, up, down, good, bad, safe, unsafe, and similar determinations as defined by the senses and neural capabilities of the contacted Pokemon. If done successfully this establishes a baseline from which the psychic can recognise as "the present" - what the Pokemon is experiencing "now" - in order to be able to create a framework for "looking backwards" to define the past (memories as perceived by the contacted Pokemon).

Dark-type and ghost-type Pokemon are the most difficult with which to establish a contact for memory excavation. Dark-types possess the highest psionic defence known to science, resulting in the process of contact being fraught with "distortions", "pits", and "mirrors" that may derail the contacting psychic's attempts to establish an accurate anchor from which to define the Pokemon's "now". A psychic must locate and overlay upon the Pokemon's experiential self (their "me, now") without spreading that psionic overlay upon these distortions (creating a false "me, now"). Once the Pokemon's experiential self is located, the psychic must take care not to be immediately thrown off or otherwise disabled as they attempt sensorial contact, as these Pokemon are able to perceive across multiple dimensions at once over one or more of their senses. This multi-dimensional sensorium is a trait shared with ghost-types, who reside within and across these dimensions by nature. That a dark-type may perceive in multiple dimensions naturally (without the use of Foresight and similar situational, temporary abilities) is the reason why dark-types are such extremely effective ghost hunters without needing to be able to similarly "cross" these dimensions themselves.

To establish viable contact with a dark-type after locating the experiential self, the contacting psychic must ground themselves within the Pokemon's natural sensorium not only within the basics of up and down, right and left, but also their experiential dimension (the third) versus the other dimensions perceived via the sensorium. How a dark-type "sees" the world is likened, to a degree, to a kaleidoscope or "optical fractal". The intensity of the change between recognised third-dimensional perception and unknown multi-dimensional perception varies between dark- and ghost-type species, and if not properly prepared for, can result in temporary sensorial panic within the contacting psychic. "Madness" is a known possible result of dark- or ghost-type contact, as the sharing of a greater sensorium by a touching of minds is, by nature, beyond the natural neural scope of the human brain. The comprehension of the expanded senorium of dark and ghost Pokemon requires a forceful translation to the "lesser" that a contacting psychic either simply can or cannot perform. If they cannot, they must disengage from the contacted Pokemon immediately or risk permanent fractal staining or perceptive fracture upon the mind.

Establishing viable contact with a ghost-type Pokemon provides an additional sensorial complication, as not only does the contacting psychic need to establish all of the above, but they must establish their "where" in relation to a ghost-type's multi-dimensional, physical being. No ghost Pokemon fully resides within the third dimension - the physical presence of a ghost Pokemon as humans would perceive within the third dimension is only a partial extrusion of that Pokemon's full being, with the "unseen" remainder residing upon an additional two to three dimensions in excess of the third. Experiencing multiple dimensions at once during contact has been compared to "being taken apart molecularly" or "being stretched beyond one's physiology and neurology", and has been described consistently as "terrifying" or "nightmarish". Junior memory excavators that specialise in ghost contact often practice "bodily compartmentalisation" - "assigning" recognised dimensions to specific body parts - to aid in dimensional resolution / recognition during memory excavation. This is used to track the Pokemon's "where" in its memory by impressing a sensation (or lack thereof) upon a portion of the body, such as a toe, to signify division of the Pokemon's body across specific dimensions, and by how much, to the psychic. More experienced excavators utilise a more sophisticated method of bodily compartmentalisation by impressing predefined sensation upon the whole of the psychic's figure in a grid of gradient intensity (such as "waves" of hot and cold), meant to translate in approximation what a ghost Pokemon might experience as a whole when moving among dimensions.

How dark- and ghost-types perceive and interact with multiple dimensions within their sensoriums is unique from each other with only limited crossover, if any, between the two species umbrellas. To this end, an expert in contact with ghost Pokemon would not be able to effectively translate their skills to contact with dark Pokemon, and vice-versa.

[b-sides-besides]

Zigzagging about because the brain's got too many ideas.

I'll level with you peeps: I've been waiting for an excuse to interpret a Pokemon as a Fetus(tm). Mew has always been the obvious choice - so obvious that everybody else has done it, same with Munna and Musharna, meaning all three of these are off the table. All of 32 hours ago I was made aware of Hoopa. I took one look at it, thought it was goofy-looking, immediately became endeared, and I said to myself: "that's a fetus right there", and slapped a placenta on its head.

Anyway:

Heather's climb up the professional battling ladder is driven in part by her desire to make connections within the limited ghost-type expert sphere. As a specialist from the country, the big city offers an entirely alien view from which to observe and deepen her knowledge of her chosen species umbrella. As she studies, she becomes aware of a localised phenomena that has ghost enthusiast circles rather animated: discoveries of "treasure piles" littered in isolated, closed-off locations within the city have been uncovered by urban explorers: mountains of items built where neither people or Pokemon can enter. The piles of "treasure" are hyper-specific and kept fully discrete, separated by entire buildings and levels above and below ground: four-legged elementary school chairs with metal frames, mid-era personal computers with semi-transparent casings and peripherals (keyboards and mice of the same styling), chandeliers of twelve to fifteen tines decorated with resin or lead crystals, and a considerable number of gold-plated bracelets and cuff-links previously reported stolen.

With a growing reputation within ghost-type circles, Heather is invited in on a theory: a mythical ghost - a kleptomaniacal apparition of acute dimensional-walking powers known as "Hoopa" - has appeared within the city, and judging by the piles found, it's been active both for some time and recently; meaning... it's still here.

The ghost community mobilises with expedience. "Hoopa" is technically only theorised to exist, the Pokemon has never been captured on film; all recorded sightings have come second- to third-hand and any "activity" has been circumstantially categorised after-the-fact. What attracts its attention is completely unknown but activity is thought to be sporadic with years-long gaps. With the treasure piles freshly found and possibly disturbed by human presence, the window for possible observation before the Pokemon potentially moves on to a new location is assumed to be short.

[b-sides-besides]

I have given myself one week to faff around with nerd shit before having to flip back to work-work in the evenings again and I am doing my damndest to wring out as much Pokemon from my brain as possible. Moving at breakneck speed to get as much done as I can because I know this will continue to natter at my neural folds the second next Monday rolls around and I need to retune my focus.

Moving backwards a little to focus on before the beginning of Vance's journey - specifically his mom's team of ghosts that earned her the title of Regional Champion for three years before she retired - without even defending her title for the final year. Her team of spooky girls are an eclectic bunch that have been itching for a fight for over 15 years. Their disappointment was immeasurable and their days were ruined when Vance announced himself as a staunch anti-battler when he came of age, until one day he asked his mom to borrow her roster of former champs for reasons he wasn't fully forthright about.

The girls didn't care about the dollop of dishonesty - there might be blood in the air.

[b-sides-besides]

Was going to add a bunch of Impidimp and Morgrem crawling all over this old man, but I wasn't happy with the results I was getting. I might add them in at a later time.

Dynamax (not to be confused with Gigantamax) Pokemon are developmental abnormalities present in Galarian-born and grown Pokemon of any species. Individuals impacted will grow up to ten times their standard size. The root cause of the Dynamax Phenomenon is unknown and is thus far unobserved in any other region. It is believed that the phenomenon is a part of Galar itself as a region, as no foreign-born Pokemon or exported Galarian Pokemon have ever undergone the alteration. Altered Wooloo and Dubwool are popular as tourist attractions as a foreigner-friendly expression of Galar's mystical wonder.

There is currently only one known Dynamaxed Grimmsnarl active in the region, though there are claims that there may be up to three total present within Galar's deeper woodlands. This particular, observed Grimmsnarl, named "Grendel" by locals, has become a source of concern and harassment due to the decimation of Grimmsnarl across Galar, which has permitted dragon-types of all species (preyed upon by Grimmsnarl) to expand into Galar's greater region without the parasitic species to keep them in check. The dragons regularly target poorly tended Wooloo and associated rural foodstuff storage, and the spreading of dragon-types further from their native ranges have similarly lured Grendel out from the deep woods and closer to village and small town territory in recent years. Previously, sighting the massive Pokemon was extremely rare and believed the result of exceptional circumstance (or hallucination). Grendel following after its primary prey has in turn caused increased hostile encounters between itself and the local human populace.

Grendel is a Pokemon of interest to Galar's Pokemon Research Centre, who wish to affix monitoring equipment to it. The GPRC believes that tracking its movements would aid in reducing hostile encounters with the Pokemon, help plot the outward spread of dragon-types, and possibly offer additional understanding of Grimmsnarl travel and hunting patterns. Grendel is also of interest as a possible historically significant Pokemon, as its body is covered in scars from old battles with many patterns suggesting that the beast has encountered other Pokemon of Dynamax stature. Its estimated age also marks it as a candidate for memory excavation to provide a bridge into Galar's past unseen by human eyes or forgotten by human minds. It is also of interest as a possible window into better understanding Grimmsnarl social structure and physical development, as the Dynamaxed Pokemon is always accompanied by multiple Impidimp and Morgrem clinging to its pelt, with other standard adult Grimmsnarl being regularly sighted alongside it.

Shepherds have lobbied for permission to kill the Dynamaxed Grimmsnarl due to the damage it and its accompanying entourage of lesser Grimmsnarl leave behind (damaged and ruined buildings, scarred property, personal injury, parasitised Wooloo and Dubwool, and kilos of wool contaminated by Witches' Hair, fit only for burning and generating considerable monetary loss). This lobbying has been stymied by the efforts of the GPRC and its associated conservation outreach. Grendel being recently injured by a shepherd armed with a gun has encouraged the GPRC to press for legal / monetary consequences to be levied against individuals who insist on "putting Galar's ecology and natural history at risk for the sake of temporary profit."

"Despite its endlessly irritating behaviours, this species is still nationally protected. The Pokemon itself cannot be held responsible for the actions of those who insist upon whetting its temper. The GPRC reminds the Crown - as well as the Wool Producer's Association - that Galar has put itself in this position. We exterminated this species, and now that Galar is without them, what has previously been held at bay by them has spread outwards from the cliffs and the woodland and into our meadows and pastures. The dragons have found that their biggest adversary is gone, and have migrated to feast on our growing Wooloo flocks and food. Grendel then follows its natural prey to our flocks, because its lesser kin are no longer present to box in its meals, and does what it has evolved to do. Killing this Pokemon will not solve our current issues."

It is believed that the loss of Grendel could have a further detrimental effect upon the already weakened ecological balance in the area, both in terms of further reduced resistance to dragon encroachment, and a lack of social shepherding for local Grimmsnarl.

Grendel is approximately 1/3 to 1/4 the estimated size of Galar's only Gigantamax Grimmsnarl, "Black Moon".

[b-sides-besides]

Now where do you think you're going in such a hurry, little fella?

...oh.

[b-sides-besides]

My goofy fixations encourage me to reach far, far beyond my abilities. Real life refuses to furnish me with merch of things I like, therefor I must brandish my hooks and piles of yarn like weapons (as a threat against myself).

Not my first go at trying to make a plush out of something I've taken a shining to - this would be the third. First attempt went too well. The second attempt:

is sitting half finished in a mixing bowl that will never see baking ingredients again. Whether or not I'm any smarter for attempt three will remain to be seen with this yarn garborator of an idea. I haven't bothered to completely map this out for myself just yet, as while drafting I came to the rapid realisation that if I can't get the chest to work, none of this will likely come together like I want. I am hell-bent on imitating the draping and wrap-around appearance of the hair in the base model, and that's not going to be something that I will be able to accomplish with a single basic shape. The head shape will be second hurdle but that bridge will get crossed if I get past the chest. In theory I should,

should

but nothing is guaranteed - that second project effectively hammered in that everything makes sense in my head until the stitches get made. At least this time around I've learned not to buy bespoke yarn right out the gate. I have a 1,000 yard ball of grey yarn that'll do just fine as a proof of concept. If it works, then I can start considering my next trip to the local yarn shop. It'll be weeks before I can give this a shot, which I'm a little annoyed at, but I have a wolf in sheep's clothing to finish and a set of kittens in dresses and pants to make afterwards first.

[b-sides-besides]

Expansion on the League and how (sanctioned / legal) Pokemon battles operate within the project written over lunch; this should give better clarity on things referenced in the past and to come in the future:

League (sanctioned) Pokemon battling is a multi-factor, point- / grade-driven system, with the average battle involving both judges and referees. Referees monitor the arena and will call fouls, injuries, flag poor behaviour, flag arena failures, and call a match start and end. Judges are not involved with refereeing and are concerned only with grading the battle against a set of acknowledged performance standards. In terms of judging, a trainer and their Pokemon are graded against the following metrics during a match:

1. Presentation ("wow factor", beauty / poise, trainer dress (if applicable)) 2. Composure (temperament / behaviour in the arena / in the trainer stand, "unshakability") 2a. Obedience / synchrony (behaviour in the arena vs trainer direction) 3. Battle performance 3a. Adaptability (use of and / or resistance to environmental and oppositional factors) 3b. Strength / power (physical / psychic strength, time-to-victory measured against battle factors) 3c. Accuracy / strategy (general combat effectiveness) 3d. Endurance / overall ability (stamina, retention / consistency of ability and presentation) 4. Victory vs loss 4a. "Depth of loss" - how many Pokemon were remaining for the opposition upon final defeat

Depending on the battle type and division, a battle will be judged by two umbrella standards: whether one trainer defeated the other by forcing the opponent's Pokemon team to faint or otherwise be recalled, and how both teams performed in accordance to the above criterion.

A Pokemon fainting in a match is not a guaranteed loss in terms of the match end score. A Pokemon / team that fainted / failed in battle but scored highly with the judges will be considered the winner in terms of battle performance, but will not advance to the next combat match (depending on competition parameters). During the awards ceremonies, performance versus direct victory awards and commendations are generally given separately. Weighting of performance versus direct battle victory is dependant on region and League division, with trainers and their teams often specialising in either one or the other.

Regional culture impacts scoring as well as judge and referee character. Most judges on a given panel are local to the area and will score teams in accordance to local / cultural expectations, though guest judges from other areas of a given region or other regions entirely with "exotic ideas on performance" are not uncommon. Whether a competition will involve both judges and referees will be dependant on the division, locality, and competition type or rank. "Pure" battling - wherein the purpose is to attain combat victory via "conventional" means of strategy and power to knock out the opposing team - is generally judge-free. Pure-battling is generally seen in lower ranking competitions or local specialist gym admission openings.

While criticism of the judging standards for being "discriminatory" against presentation-lacking teams (re: "grapplers versus dancers") has been levied, the system is considered fair, as a poor "presenter" can still score very high if their composure and battle performance is acute.

"Composure" is considered the make-or-break category. Broken composure, also known as "spooking", is regarded as a portent of worsening performance or an incoming match loss, as a loss of composure generally correlates to a loss of control on either the Pokemon or trainer's behalf, resulting in "feral" behaviour, disobedience, and abandonment of battle sense, possibly leading to potential danger to opposing teams or even the arena audience. A Pokemon that has broken composure is unlikely to regain that composure unless the bond shared with its trainer is especially strong, or the two have trained through similar instances in the past. Composure breaks can result in the forfeiting of a match depending on severity.

The "strength" aspect of battle performance is not "strongest fighter wins", but rather a reflection of expectation of an "appropriate measure of strength". Pokemon combat can result in permanent injury or fatalities with little effort, and in a competitive setting it is expected that teams are trained to recognise how much strength should be exerted in sanctioned battle in order to win fairly. "Beating down" opponents is not the expectation and as a battle strategy is not accepted by the League or its recognised regional divisions. Competitors are expected to win, in essence, via exhaustion. A Pokemon that can no longer effectively retaliate, regardless of whether it is still standing, is considered defeated for the purposes of a fair fight within the League (re: "out of PP").

Not all Pokemon are capable of measuring their own strength. Industrial Pokemon are notorious for this fact and to this end are barred from League combat in almost all divisions.

Endurance is considered to be two different "stats" by trainers - physiological endurance (taking a physical beating) versus psychological endurance (taking a mental beating). Physiological endurance encompasses a Pokemon's stamina for taking action, performing, and withstanding physical assault. Psychological endurance encompasses a Pokemon's mental stamina for taking and comprehending orders, psionic output, and withstanding psionic assault. These same endurance standards are passed to the trainer - a trainer must have physiological and psychological endurance of their own to maintain trainer composure in the stand. They must remain standing / upright during battle and must be able to maintain their link with their Pokemon in order to give commands, as well as resist counter signalling from their Pokemon (composure breaks, "panicking", "score settling", or "going feral").

Arenas are composed of StrataTec terraformation strata layers - a restricted terraforming technology that allows battle Pokemon to manipulate their surroundings as per their abilities without risk of environmental damage or harm, and for battle organisers to simulate specific environments for competition types. StrataTec is a subsidiary of SILPH and its technology was a part of the initial war effort that gave rise to the original Pocket Monster (this is not known to the public). StrataTec often does business in regions that have not opened their doors to SILPH and the League as a whole.

Trainers at the League level command their Pokemon via psionic linking (it is impossible to command a Pokemon via voice from the trainer stand). To this end, many League trainers are accomplished psychics. However, to be a psychic is not required to be a trainer or to forge a link, so much as being a psychic makes the process easier in many ways and may impact what kind of Pokemon a trainer may be able to work with. How the link is forged varies and depends on the trainer and their team composition. All humans and Pokemon possess a measure of psychic ability by birth / genetics, but where they register in terms of ability and resistance is measured against the International Psionics Table. Those who are on the lowest end of the table - possessing little to no psychic ability or psionic radiation resistance - are considered "psychic deficient" or "psychically inadept". Those with psychic deficiencies, whether human or Pokemon, can be prescribed psychic scramblers or medical psionic supplements for resistance (Vance is towards the lowest end of the IPT, possessing absolute barest-minimum psychic ability and resistance, requiring aid or supplements in order to foster a psionic link with his Pokemon and withstand psionic radiation).

Pokemon with the greatest psychic / psionic resistance and resilience (and are therefor more difficult to establish a trainer link and impress commands and suggestions from that link) are dark-, steel-, and psychic-types. Those with the poorest are fighting- and poison-types. Dark-type Pokemon possess the highest psychic resistance known to science, reducing the effectiveness and impact of all psionic bombardment to its (external) physical residue and / or properties. Their ranking upon the IPT is the highest possible, and is has no equal within human or Pokemonkind by a considerable margin. While immune to "psychic damage" (neural assault upon the brain or psychokenesis upon the body), they are not immune to mass-wave psionic intrusion or suggestion. A dark-type's brain / neurological signature can still be "found" or "picked" for the purpose of psionic linking and / or memory excavation, but the process is protracted, requires effort on the behalf of both parties (linking, excavation) or sedation (excavation), and can possibly result in discomfort or pain for the Pokemon if done improperly. The risks of improper linking are the same for all Pokemon, but the severity of those risks change depending on both the trainer's and Pokemon's IPT ranking and ability.

[b-sides-besides]

"Basic fantasy horse" isn't what I have in mind for Galarian Rapidash, I'd like to do something more alien and weird, but unfortunately for Rapidash, it's not Grimmsnarl, which is what I'm all about at the moment.

Grimmsnarl have no natural predators, but they do have resistors that share their territory. Galarian's Rapidash species (unique from mainland Rapidash) is one such resistor species. Adult Radpidash specifically seem to act as Grimmsnarl repellent, though the precise reason as to why is unknown. Rapidash's access to fairy power is thought to be a factor, but the same access is true for its infant stage, Ponyta, which Grimmsnarl shows no deference to. Local shepherds have floated the idea of "guard Rapidash" to protect their Dubwool flocks, but no successful attempts to employ a Rapidash in this manner have been made, as the species is non-aggressive by nature. While a Grimmsnarl may be deterred from a head-on encounter, a Rapidash will not push a confrontation to chase the parasitic Pokemon away or move to intercept it should it attempt to simply approach its target from a different location.

Grimmsnarl are 30% likely to accompanied by infant Impidimp and / or Mogrem when outside of the wood. This increases to 70% deep beyond the treeline. The Impidimp and Morgrem will cling to the adult's hair, hitch a ride upon its back, and generally cavort about its person in play while the adult watches over them. A Grimmsnarl accompanied by infants in this way is known as a "chaperone". The adult will hunt and provide for its train of infants by tormenting other Pokemon that might be in reach, forcing the release of negative psionic broadcasts for them to feed upon. Chaperoning Grimmsnarl are highly protective of their charges, and any attempts by an outside force to disturb or harm the infants will be answered with lethal force if warnings are not heeded.

While caring, Grimmsnarl are not paragons of patience. If the strand of infants becomes too great of an annoyance (and they will, it's a question of when), the adult will gently force them off its back with waves of its pelt, and "encourage" them by way of angry growling to put distance between themselves and it. The group of infants (now a "prank" of Impidmp and / or Morgrem) will either disperse to further entertain themselves, find a target to harass for their own nutritional benefit, or descend upon another adult if one happens to be nearby. If only the irritated adult is nearby, the prank of infants will trail them from a distance until the Grimmsnarl ceases showing aggression towards their presence, and re-attach themselves to its pelt.

[b-sides-besides]

I didn’t know you had a tumblr! I remember being in awe of your Zeti fanart 10ish years ago on deviantart. How time flies.

Oh man the Zeti fanart! Crazy how long ago that was - 13 years! I remember how intensely invested I was in that piece, I was quite proud when I finished it. I'm glad you admired it back then - I hope you enjoy the nerdy work I've been getting into now!

** I had so many ideas back then and just not enough skill to realise any of them how I wanted, always winding up with something so much less than what was going on in my brain. I still think reimagining the Zeti as a population of highly specialised, predatory, ambulatory, regenerating, sentient fungus is a fantastic idea. Maybe I can revisit it someday.

[b-sides-besides]

Now we're cooking with gas.

Grimmsnarl is naturally human- and Pokemon-aggressive and is described as "mean spirited" across all of its stages, with minor exception given to its silver variant. Due to its dietary needs as a semi-obligate primary negative-wave psiovore, the Pokemon cultivates frustration and negativity around its person in order to keep itself healthy, making it generally antagonistic or otherwise oppositional in nature to anything within its immediate space. The Pokemon's natural behaviour is reflective of its needs in both a dietary and developmental sense - the frustration, anger, and hopelessness encouraged by the haranguing Pokemon foster its required psionic bands for both the adult and any nearby developing Impidimp parasitic cyst in order to feed.

Of the entire evolutionary line of six recognised Pokemon stages (Impidimp > Morgrem > Grimmsnarl > Hatenna (multiple from one Grimmsnarl mass) > Hattrem > Hatterene), only the Grimmsnarl stage is capable of reproduction. The species is parasitic, requiring a living host in order to reproduce and maintain its population. Grimmsnarl target other Pokemon for parasitism, but have been known to successfully parasitise humans during an attack. Galarians are warned to not put themselves between a Grimmsnarl and a target Pokemon, as they will risk being parasitised with an Impidimp cyst in that Pokemon's place. Both children and adults have a chance to be abducted by a Grimmsnarl after infection should they be parasitised. Small children have a pronounced chance to be engulfed, and if not freed from the cocoon of Witches' Hair in very short order, they will perish. All known attacks by Grimmsnarl upon humans have been confirmed to be the result of a trainer stepping between the Grimmsnarl and its Pokemon target, or via retaliation on behalf of the Grimmsnarl due to a human-initiated attack with a weapon or similar means.

Attracting the attention of, much less battling, a Grimmsnarl is not recommended. The Pokemon's physical strength is legendary, and if antagonised, attackers will be torn to pieces. However, if the Pokemon is hungry, targets will be maimed instead to harvest agony-driven negative psionic broadcasts for itself, before simply leaving.

Travellers and hikers exploring Galar's countryside are advised to keep their companion Pokemon inside their Pokeballs when in or around Grimmsnarl territory, as the presence of able-bodied Pokemon will draw the parasitic creature out from the woods.

[b-sides-besides]

I am gripped by shame!

Unfortunate.

It's been a shitty week, I'm glad to get back to something noncommittal to unwind. Sword's gym battle music is a banger, does a good job at amping what is a very small, simple series of encounters. I think this is also the first time I've seen Pokemon battles legitimately made into a spectacle as a part of a region's culture - as in not just something you watch on television, it's a point of actual regional pride that even brings in foreigners from abroad to participate. Granted, maybe it's been done before - I haven't engaged with Pokemon in 10 years. Galar's "Pokemon battle culture" seems unique - its people go fucking buck wild on a national scale over whimsical creatures kicking the shit out of each other at the order of children (and adults). Also, the fact that trainers stand IN FRONT of their Dynamaxed Pokemon is extremely concerning. No one in the Pokemon world has any survival instinct.

Anyway:

Infant Grimmsnarl - Impidimp and Morgrem respectively - share similar "mean spirited" battle tactics as adults by way of the species' natural aggression lending to an eagerness for disruption and conflict, but are considerably more cowardly. Their bodies are much more frail and smaller in size in comparison to their adult counterpart, and they will deploy hit-and-run strategies to annoy and harass opponents into injuring and frustrating themselves on their behalf. When cornered they will bite, spit, and strike at the face and eyes in order to free themselves and escape if able. Morgrem will attempt to stab their attacker with their motile hair. Whether or not either Impidimp or Morgrem can be battle trained is unclear, as only a single possession record of either an Impidimp or Morgrem that was registered for battle exists - that of the Grimmsnarl owned by Marnie of Spikemuth. It has been assumed via the Pokemon's overall character that whatever training attempted within the infant stages would be at least partially lost upon maturation into Grimmsnarl as the Pokemon's aggression and parasitic drive develops. Further, whether any training provided up until this point would be inherited by Hattena upon the adult Grimmsnarl's devolution is similarly unknown. While Marnie's training account contradicts these assumptions at least in part, a record of only one individual is not sufficient as a data point. The battle-registered Grimmsnarl belonging to Marnie's brother, Piers, is similarly not considered, as the Pokemon was caught as a matured adult.

[b-sides-besides]

Impidimp are hilariously tiny. Grimmsnarl are not hilariously tiny. In its natural posture it's a hair (lol) under 5' (canonically 4'11") and will draw itself up to nearly 7' to frighten opponents. The species is reviled across Galar for the trouble it creates for Wooloo / Dubwool shepherds and its strong connections to the region's history of a fear of alchemy and persecution of "witches". Out of the entire region, only three Grimmsnarl have been registered as under owner- / trainership - two belonging to Marnie and her brother, Piers, and the third belonging to a wealthy / noble patron of the Galar Pokemon Research Centre (GPRC).

Expansion of Dubwool grazing permissions by the Crown to allow shepherds to lead their flocks ever closer to Galar's woodland have drawn Grimmsnarl out of their usual territory to harass, harangue, and parasitise these slower, weaker, and poorly defended Pokemon, ruining kilos of wool harvest with Witches' Hair contamination. It has also incited rage among farmers the further the borderline-sadistic species is tempted out of its habitat to break into stables and homes in order to feed on negative psionic waves. Shepherds have opted to "battle" with the local Grimmsnarl via the business end of a hunting rifle as competition for open pasture rises with growing international demand for Galar's wool. As the corpses of adult Grimmsnarl mount, conservation concerns for the species - advocated by Marnie - quickly rise, as despite its irritating and combative nature, Grimmsnarl is Galar's only keystone "barrier" species. Its horrid personality and parasitic nature act as a natural deterrent against poaching, illicit capture, and harmful "trainer tourism", as Grimmsnarl's natural territory encircle the habitat of the region's most vulnerable and valuable Pokemon species, with Calyrex - Galar's regional and most culturally valued Pokemon - the most principal among these at-risk species.

[b-sides-besides]

I like the masquerade cat - just an all-around fun design. I am also the target audience because I love cats. It's also a very triangular design and apparently triangles are a "thing" for me artistically (I didn't notice this until a buddy basically pointed it out to me - very "huh... you're right!" moment).

Been considering the nature of "starters" in relation to the project. In canon starters serve a very obvious and specific purpose: they are your first companion to go around and start enacting mass extinction on Route 1 in the name of being a Pokemon Master. In the project's setting (I really should come up with an actual name for it) a "starter" isn't really a "thing" - a "Pokemon adventure" isn't a "thing", either. Pokemon are just a feature of life (but the discovery of new Pokemon is still very much a source of excitement). How anyone may come to their first Pokemon can range wildly; Vance's first Pokemon was a Houndour pup found abandoned in a city drainpipe, his mom's first Pokemon was a Gastly from the loft of her dad's barn, etc.

I'm playing with the idea that regional "starters" are instead regional ambassadors - these are Pokemon that encapsulate the region's facets in its most condensed form in a shared, global zeitgeist. These species are generally not exported, and if they appear outside of their homeland it's either because a regional native is globe trotting (often as a competing member of the League), a member of the species was gifted to a non-citizen / non-native as an expression of gratitude / a want for this non-native to take this piece of their region with them around the world, or the Pokemon was stolen.

Reinterpretation-wise I'm thinking Meowscarada may share some evolutionary history with, or even be a genetic offshoot of, Maractus. Because I like this Pokemon, I'm going to find some probably convoluted way to put one in the possession of Vance for at least a short time.

[b-sides-besides]

Had the right idea with Impidimp, completely zoned out and got lost on Morgrem. I'm going to abstain from personal accountability and blame the documentary I was devoting the other half of my brain to while farting around. Woke up eventually. "I put considerably more time into this than it deserved by multiple country miles. Incredible." Alt + F4.