(Demon on your shoulder) make a pokemon team for your favorite league character
Imagining anon as like. One of Swain's crows. Hi Raum
AAANYWAY I couldn't pick who to make a team for, so... here's Azir and Jax!
Starting off with Azir, we have the following!
Explanations under the cut, for brevity.
Armarouge
A parallel to his sand soldiers. They're a very loyal type of Pokemon and vaguely soldier-like, so I picked them!
Palossand
Although this is - on a surface level - related to his sand abilities and pulling Shurima's capital out of the ground, it's also a reference to Echoes in the Stone, where Taliyah feels the memories of everyone who died when the capital collapsed. Underneath Palossand is the bones of all its victims, so... close enough, even if Azir didn't intend to sacrifice a lot of his citizens
Empoleon
Emperor penguin. Emperor pigeon hawk. You and I both know why I picked this one
Poltchageist
This one's a reference to Water and Shade To You! Poltchageist's body is repaired with a kintsugi-like method, and Azir repairs Khari's bowl with his sand magic in a manner that ends up looking like Kintsugi.
Solrock
Sun disc, sun-themed Pokemon... another, less lore-related pick
Sigilyph
This may seem like another aesthetic pick, but it actually isn't! Its Pokedex entry states it to be a guardian of an ancient city, and I think Azir would quite like that and keep one as his "head guard" :)
Bonus: Plusle & Minun
I think him and Xerath would've kept a Plusle and a Minun together as kids, with Plusle primarily being Azir's and Minun primarily being Xerath's (mostly for colour reasons lol), though Azir would say both were his when pressed as to avoid giving away Xerath.
He ends up adopting a new pair after his resurrection - claiming (especially to Nasus) that it's just nostalgic for him - but really he hopes one day he can have that kind of bond with Xerath again
And now for Jax!
Lampent
A lamp chasing spirits of the fallen... and a man wielding a lamp chasing the spirits of the fallen. It's shiny, because Jax also has blue eyes!
I think it's also a little symbolic; Jax's lamp extends his lifespan, so given that Lampent is sometimes seen as an omen of death, it could be a sign of what's to come if he ever gives up.
Farfetch'd
Imagine if it had a REAL weapon? But in all seriousness, I do think he'd simply just like Farfetch'd.
Togepi
Partially an egg reference, but it's also a sign of good luck and a bringer of happiness! He treats it very kindly, but it's not yet a Togekiss, as Togekiss are said to be attracted to peaceful regions, and, well. Icathia isn't exactly that.
Hariyama
Hariyama is just like him; they love challenging people, but are respectful and kind, and want to train some young ones to follow in their path. Kind of related to how he's trying to find some worthy warriors, and represents the more fatherly side he shows to some of his followers in LoR/to Kai'sa in his voicelines to her :]
Alolan Marowak
It's a Pokemon that transformed its mourning in to flame to fight, which is kind of similar to Jax. It also does not fight with a real weapon, which I think he'd like
Wishiwashi (Solo Form)
Jax likes fishing so partially why I picked it, but this one's also symbolic. He's a lone warrior.
Bonus: Skiddo
No deep reason for this one, I think he'd just like them :]
Can we please have a petition to change LoL Jax to his Wild Rift design? They made him so hideous😭 plus the Wild Rift design is way more faithful to the original anyway...