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☆Yo, I'm Kess. Something of an artist who really enjoys Pokemon. I may post from other fandoms as well! ☆ 21 ☆ He/Him ☆ @Kismet-Reblogs is my alt ☆

[rhrudnnd]

MY MARSHADOW RANT (ranting about the movie + ideas for lore)

ok so i rewatched pokemon: i choose you! the movie cuz i wanted to watch a movie while shiny hunting chinchou on pearl. and also that it is the marshadow movie. but i got pissed off lowk so I NEED TO RANT.

ok first things first:

Marshadow has NOTHING

like i get its a mythical, so it will be rare, but it honestly has barely any lore, which is odd. BUT ALSO NO MERCH (4 ITEMS ON POKEMON CENTER WTF) AND ONLY TWO ANIME APPEARANCES, ONE WHERE ITS A FUCKING THROWAWAY GAG FOR ROTOM??!! UGHHHHHHHHHHH.

it does get backstory in the movie it debuts in, but im kinda mixed on that. in the movie, marshadow is supposedly the guide for the one chosen to be the rainbow hero. but if the rainbow wing loses its colour, marshadow is tasked with sealing it away. this is good on paper. but the movie kinda lost it on me. i think its how its presented, but marshadow very much appears as an antagonist in my eyes in this movie (which i dont like for a reason). like the scene where marshadow is lulling ash into a sleep, feels evil. what i understood is ash's eyes turn purple and then marshadow puts him in a nightmare where pokemon dont exist. its normal of a ghost type to something like that, but its not helped with its eyes glowing purple aswell. i felt this scene could be interpreted as marshadow making ash feel more alone or possessing him, also the whispers marshadow does and the atmosphere makes it feel so creepy, they give the vibe that marshadow is making ash doubt himself.

and then the scene at the mountain. cross takes the rainbow wing, and it loses its colour due to the sheer malice that he possessed. after putting it on the crystal to summon ho-oh, it released a purple colour into the surroundings. now this is where i got confused as hell. ghost types are generally associated with the colour purple or dark blues. generally darker, more wicked colours. a lot of ghost type attacks are black with purple accompanying it. i was reading the bulbapedia article on marshadow in the movie, and i learned a detail i missed. but i feel they didnt show it clear enough.

marshadow is grabbing the corrupted rainbow wing here. the rainbow wing has turned bad due to cross' evil heart. marshadow is going to seal it away. an important detail that marshadow is without the evil aura, and the wing is.

marshadow has now grabbed the wing and is now corrupted by the rainbow wing. this detail did not cross my mind when i watched this movie the multitudes of times ive watched it. i know purple and black are usually associated with evil and malice. but ghost pokemon are associated with those colours too. so i lost the memo that marshadow was possessed and was evil, and thought the rest of the actions were of its on volition. what could have saved it, maybe could have been adding a purple aura to its eyes, tho this may not work as marshadow has been shown with its eyes glowing purple. it also doesnt help that marshadow doesnt emote much as well (the most we get, apart from anger, IS A SMALL MOMENT OF SURPRISE, when the wing disintegrated)

cross tries to fight marshadow, but it releases a dark aura that possesses lycanroc and causes lycanroc to attack him. since we have seen marshadow make others eyes turn purple before, i assumed marshadow would regardless make them act evil regardless (most ghost pokemon do possess others and for nefarious deeds usually). we aren't shown that marshadow is supposed to be good, it's just shown observing. also bonji isn't helping in this scene "Marshadow is controlling Lycanroc. It wants to tear people and Pokémon apart!" like i'd rather be told that marshadow is being corrupted than that, we are told that marshadow is possessed by the evil in the wing. after that, it controls the rest of the pokemon there using the same dark aura. bonji then states this.

so this is just enhancing its powers. my problem is that we never get to know the power level of marshadow without the wing. what can marshadow do on its own? like we get an idea of what jirachi does. we jirachi can teleport stuff around, or restore life to an area (and also doom desire). but marshadow isnt shown doing anything else. how much power is the rainbow wing giving marshadow?

another problem i have with the lore we get of marshadow is that its anime exclusive. we get nothing in the games. its more a problem with recent mythicals being only given out via mystery gift and not having a special location. marshadow somewhat got something in z-a, but its about some channel talking about ghostly occurences in lumiose and not any thing thats of "myth".

it also just feels that the lore marshadow doesnt fit it. the movie takes place in what i assume is kanto, or in the area where the japanese regions are. and i dont see why marshadow has this tie to ho-oh. ho-oh is a very japanese pokemon, and already has a lot of lore. with the bell tower and how it revived the legendary dogs, and the rainbow wing already being established as a way to summon ho-oh. so i feel marshadow being the guide and the one to seal it away is a bit tacked on. like they were writing the movie and they needed a reason for the final fight, so they just put marshadow in there. and marshadow is a very hawaiian pokemon, so what is it doing in kanto (ik mount tensei doesnt have a region but im assuming its in that area). the lore also doesnt tie to its origins very much.

and i feel i could make something better.

MY IDEAS FOR MARSHADOW LORE

lets look at the origin section on marshadow's bulbapedia article

a singular line of origin and basis im actually crying

but i can work with this. so marshadow is based in hawaiian mythology. specifically the menehune and nightmarchers. as much as i like the menehune aspect (a race of dwarf like people who were the first in hawaii who lived in the forests and mountains), i think i might focus more on the nightmarcher aspect of marshadow.

Nightmarchers are ghosts of ancient hawaiian warriors. these warriors roam the islands at night, specifically nights honouring the gods Kāne, Kū, Lono, or Kanaloa (Tapu Lele (Kāne), Bulu (Lono) and Fini (Kanaloa)) are based on them . they rise from their burial sites and to march in large groups to ancient Hawaiian battle sites and other sacred areas. they are dressed in ornate armour (a key item are helmets) and carry spears and clubs.

their presence is signalled by the sound of drums and chants, the blow of a conch shell and a death like odour, as well as the plants being blown by hot winds to clear the way. there also may be a trail of flames nearby. you must not be caught observing them without proper respect, otherwise you may face punishment. you must make way for them. if you cannot run away from them, you must lay down on the ground motionless, to show fear and proper respect. you may be spared if you do this. you also may be spared if you have an ancestor in the procession, to which they will call out "Na'u" (meaning mine), and you will be spared.

Nightmarchers are only active during the night after sunset, they will march continuously throughout the night until sunrise. a Nightmarcher may also appear during the day, only to escort a dying relative to the spirit world.

so nightmarchers establish this connection to family. an ancient tribe of warriors that are to be respected and revered. and the people with relatives in the army are spared.

the pokedex entries of marshadow are also important.

ultra moon states that by sinking into the shadows, it can understand the feelings of the person or pokemon. this makes me think of marshadow being a caring figure. marshadow will notice if a person is feeling down and care for them.

sword establishes that by copying the techniques of a martial art master in their shadow, it mastered the techniques. now martial arts are an art-form. they are expressions of culture and tradition. important parts of heritage.

now with these ideas, i imagine marshadow as a long living pokemon that helps people. and with the knowledge of martial arts, it can teach them and help keep the martial art alive. and with it being a ghost, it can contact spirits of lost loved ones (the way it could do this is opening a rift to the spirit world (we got wormholes in this gen i dont think its that farfetch'd)). and can help with sending loved ones off.

i have a hypothetical for lore, a game event to obtain marshadow (i wanna do a movie idea but this post is long enough as is)

GAME IDEA:

after recieving an item for this event via mystery gift (maybe Faded Gift or Worn Letter), go to hau'oli cemetery. you will find an elderly man staring at a grave. if you talk to him, he will recall a dearly missed loved one of his. his wife, who tragically passed away early for unstated reasons. he notices the item you hold and asks to check it. he looks at the item and notices writing. the old man deciphers it and realises its addressed to him. and the sender, is the name of his wife. he opens the item and is touched, yet heartbroken. the item is the final message left by his wife, as she died before she could even give it. the man laments, and wishes he could talk to her one last time, in gratitude. but as he speaks, his shadow grows bigger. you will interact with the shadow and the old man will look puzzled before noticing his shadow. two bright orange eyes will appear, shocking both people. marshadow rises from the shadow and tries to communicate to them. the old man doesnt understand, but rotom dex flies out and translates. rotom dex says that marshadow understands the mans pains and wants to help. the old man doesnt understand but agrees to it. marshadow then turns around and charges up. and with a stance change, a portal opens. the group enters it. the space is a dark blue with accents of a softer lighter blue. ghosts decorate the walls and fly across. and the man notices his wife. his wife is noticeably younger (a beauty trainer ig). he has one final conversation with his wife, expressing his love and gratitude for her. after he finishes getting everything that plagued his minds for decades, he has a tearfelt goodbye before returning to the normal world with you and marshadow. he expresses his immense gratitude for helping him clear his mind and heart from his grief. you are then prompted to a battle with marshadow. after you catch marshadow, the old man will gift you a marshadium z and walk off.

the important thing here is that marshadow has a positive role and isnt just immediately ready for a fight. we see marshadow help others and why its mythical.

if you read this whole thing, thank you, i just feel really passionate abt marshadow cuz i feel its so unfairly treated omgggg.

so here are some photos of my plush as a treat :D

[rhrudnnd]

@kismet-comet

omg ur right necrozma is a good shout. like the main theme of sun and moon is like light and dark. you cant have shadows without light. so there should be some connection between them. maybe about how marshadow came to be (a warrior who died long ago, maybe killed by ultra necrozma when it wasnt hurt by the ancestors of the ultra recon squad), and its relation to the box legendaries.

i did check the origin sections of the box legendaries in their bulbapedia pages, and lunala is the only one with references of samoan, maori and hawaiian mythology. necrozma only has one reference to hawaiian mythology (a shapeshifting lizard spirit called Mo'o) due to ultra necrozma being a dragon. and solgaleo has nothing. this matters as marshadow ONLY has basis in hawaiian mythology (and we cant work with fucking shadowboxing). and this tie to traditions and folklore makes me think marshadow isnt really a pokemon to do multidimensional space hopping with the wormholes (i know i did a portal with marshadow, but thats less space and more spirits, like a lot of ghost pokemon have ties to the afterlife).

wait this just crossed my mind but lunala is tied to a bunch of gods and such. bulbapedia says lunalas ghost typing could be tied to the maori god Hine-nui-te-pō (she crushes and kills Māui with the obsidian teeth in her private parts omg i cackled reading that). anyways she is the goddess of night and the reciever of the dead souls. so lunala being tied to this makes me think that maybe it can decide where ghosts go.

so my current idea for how marshadow ties to the box legends, is maybe ultra necrozma visited alola and a soldier was walking around an island. necrozma for some reason decides to kill the poor soldier (ah yes let me "light that burns the sky" some random person). and then lunala finds the soldiers ghost, and decides to give them another chance of life, as a marshadow.

but i dont really see marshadow being entangled in the space stuff honestly

also thank u, i really liked that it came over well, i really wanted marshadow to have a more good role, as the movie painted it as an antagonist in my eyes.

[kismet-comet]

OH man I have a lot to say if you'll entertain my insane ramblings, especially about Marshadow and Necrozma specifically because I think they could have more going on

Marshadow should honestly play a bigger role in Alola's lore to make it more of a Mythical. I definitely agree that marshadow likely doesn't do any dimensional space travel like the box legends, seems a little out of its skill range.... However, I think due to its close ties to traditional Hawaiian lore, I feel as though it is more of a protector? And spirit guide as well but I want to elaborate more on the first idea

Ultra Beasts are invasive to Alola, coming from the Ultra Wormholes that just... Randomly spawn sometimes. Imagine then how scared and confused they are being in this unfamiliar space. Sure, the Tapus could easily intervene when they spawn, but I believe Marshadow is the perfect antithesis against these otherworldly foes.

When an Ultra Beast knocks out another Pokemon, its ability Beast Boost activates. This gives them a boost in whatever stat is highest for them. And that doesn't even account for the fact that Ultra Beasts sometimes spawn with a stat boost already, making them incredibly difficult to fight. If not for Marshadows signature move, Spectral Thief. With this, they can steal the UBs stat boosts and make it their own. Without their boosts, they are easier to defeat, and send back home. I think this was done intentionally, and not some sort of coincidence, as even in the TCG, Marshadows Red Knuckles attack specifically does more damage to Ultra Beasts.

...Though for Ultra Beasts like Guzzlord (who eats people canonically) I dont think peace is always an option LMAO

But I don't think that these encounters always have to end with violence. Marshadow as you've stated can feel the emotions of other Pokemon, so it is not a stretch at all to say that they could try to help these Ultra Beasts too. They did not choose to come to Alola, nor do they understand the harm in their actions. Our body language could also be threatening to them too, given they are from another world with wildly different environments. Marshadow could be shown to be an extremely empathetic Pokemon in these instances, showing that not only is it strong, it can be quite understanding as well.

I thought that would also serve as more lore for the fella than just "its really really really good at fighting, trust" for its lore. Also its empathetic nature is a neat parallel between the Tapus and it, because in a lot of the Tapus Pokedex entries, they can and will be cruel at times. And I am completely in love with that as a concept AUGH...

Anyways, Marshadow also does have some connection to Necrozma that should be really explored more too. The Energy that comes from the Ultra Wormholes is called Z-Energy, but did you know that the Z stands for Zenith? So it's actually called Zenith Energy, and if you know anything about Marshadow, it has a "powered up" version called the Zenith Form. Its stated that it comes from Marshadows "fighting spirit" but I believe it is more than that, and that this Pokemon stores Zenith Energy in it. I also propose that Ultra Necrozma had a hand in the creation of Marshadow in some way.

This is an entry from Pokemon Ultra Moon about Ultra Necrozma. I find this incredibly interesting because Necrozma is capable of affecting other living beings. Z-Energy is a form of light Necrozma emits, which has not only shown to boost stats, but we also see this with the Totem Pokemon. They were normal Pokemon who happened to grow larger from Z-Energy. Its also possible that it also contributed to the appearance of Regional Forms too. I think these Pokemon adapted to their new environments, yes, but Z-Energy also could have added that little shove needed to change.

With your idea in mind about the Soldier that died, what if Necrozmas energy that killed them interacted with their soul in a way that made them into a Marshadow, tying into the Nightmarcher theming. You could also say Lunala had some influence in that too of course! So Marshadow could be a product of Z-Energy supplied by Necrozma that impacted Ancient Alolans who had already died... I think it would fit so well with what Pokemon already has with Necrozma and Marshadow (even though Marshadow is LACKING in lore)

Marshadows connection to Solgaleo though? Shrugs. Who knows. I mean they're shown to be active during sunset but thats about it lol

ALSO THIS IS SO BAD ASS TO IMAGINE THEM AS COUNTERPARTS TOO WHY WASNT THIS EXPANDED ON... It also fully supports the "Marshadow is a Protector" idea... I hope we one day get a Legends Alola that can feed us...

But yeah, I really like your take on Marshadow and the ideas you offered, I kinda took them and added my own twist with what we already know!! I hope you don't mind RAHH

[kismet-comet]

Finally caught mine Hoopa...

[kismet-comet]

Blue and Pink

[kismet-comet]

Curious...

[kismet-comet]

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOOPA

[kismet-comet]

Tomodachi life is everything I wanted and more

[kismet-comet]

Bird Flu?

Yeah they do that

[kismet-comet]

Does anyone else have 1 billion hcs about hoopa/marshadow or are you normal?

[decidueyedreamer]

Meet Noelle, a Jirachi that loves Christmas! She wakes up every December, just in time to grant Christmas wishes!

Flat art under the cut!

[kismet-comet]

Were you surprised?

[kismet-comet]

You know I wasnt expecting Mega Dimension to have Side Order vibes, but I'm totally here for that LMAO

[kismet-comet]

I really hope the wish maker for legends ZA is Hoopa. As much as I like jirachi, let hoopa HAVE THISS

[kismet-comet]

Funny looking back at this because Im glad it didn't happen

BECAUSE HOOPA GOT A WHOLE DLC LETS GOOO

[decidueyedreamer]

My Sonya and @null-constellation’s Amani cuddling together! (They are in lesbians with each other 💖)

[kismet-comet]

I was trying to edit this photo for a joke but I completely forgot the joke because this is 10 times better

[kismet-comet]

Active form Xerneas is cool, but I think that neutral form xerneas is even cooler because it likely looks like that due to aerial perspective.

Imagine going through a foggy forest and you don't even realize you were underneath the literal god of life because its legs camouflage perfectly with the trees. Its so haunting, yet really fitting for this pokemon!

Basically xerneas turns off its Christmas lights to camouflage itself LMAO

[kismet-comet]

So we agree that Jirachi created Deoxys with Doom Desire right? Cool? Cool.

[kismet-comet]

I really hope the wish maker for legends ZA is Hoopa. As much as I like jirachi, let hoopa HAVE THISS