I've Been Playing Though Soul Silver For The First Time, And I've Been Having Such A Good Time With It.

Empathy

A fic about the Riolu post from yesterday. Had a lot of fun with this one, so thinking about a part 2. Let me know if you want it! (Fic under the cut!)

The final light of day was leeching from the sky, taking it's warmth with it, and Charizard savoured that last feeling of heat on her scales. Reaching for the sky, she flew higher and higher, chasing the sun, but it slipped from her grasp, and with a peaceful smile, she stopped flapping her mighty wings, and fell.

The wind rushed by her, the flame on her tail flaring, and slowly, she twisted, opened her wings and caught the breeze, gliding down towards their log cabin, high in the mountains.

The garden was coming along nicely, but the weeds kept creeping in. She'd have to flambe the soil and strip away all the excess moisture. It was a good thing she'd picked up those new seeds today.

The seeds! Oh, Sarah, you-

Her eyes growing wide, she breezed in to land, quickly rifling through the satchel slung over her shoulder. Thankfully, it was all still there, though his present was a little smooshed after her stunt. Muttering under her breath, Sarah tried to mould it back into shape, but with limited success.

Deciding it was good enough, she stomped up the front steps and threw the door open. "I'm home!" Met with only resounding silence, she peered down the hall, and wandered into the kitchen. "Blue, you here?"

"Hello."

Sarah jumped, smacking her head on the roof and stumbling into the countertop as she landed awkwardly. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, are you alright?" Blue's expression was carefully neutral and she knew he was only asking to be polite.

She snorted, if only he'd laughed at her fright, that would've been better than this apparent indifference. That said, one of these day he was going to give her a heart attack, then he really wouldn't be laughing.

"'M fine,' she grumbled, rubbing her head and glaring at the rafters. "We need to raise the roof. It was fine when I was a Charmeleon but this is just getting ridiculous."

"I'll get started on it tomorrow."

Raising her brows, she looked the Riolu up and down. "I'm not sure you're really equipped for the job."

"Okay, you can do it, and I'll get to work on some bigger furniture." He jumped onto a stool, and the extra height meant his eyeline was level with the base of her neck, as if accentuating his point.

"Please, I'm really sick of the chairs giving way under me." She poked at her round belly, her wings drooping.

His head tilting, Blue pointed at satchel still hanging from her shoulder. "Did you get the blankets?"

"The blankets?" Her face clearing, she dropped her head into her hands. "The blankets!"

Blue nodded patiently, as if completely unsurprised. "You know, the sole thing you went to town for."

"Hey, that wasn't the only reason!"

Blue merely rose his brows in an unspoken question.

Her face flushing, Sarah dug into the satchel, pulling out his gift and sliding it across the countertop. "I also went to get this."

Slowly, Blue took it, turning it over in his hands. "It's a Glaceon plushie?"

The tail was a different colour from the rest of it, the crystal on it's head was lopsided and one of the ears was missing. The stuffing had been pushed forwards, so it had a massive head and spindly legs, but it was indeed a Glaceon plushie.

She crossed her arms, puffed her chest and, raising her head, tried, and failed, to keep the smile from her face. "Yep! Just like the one you had as a kid, remember, you told me?"

"You remembered?"

"Of course! So, what do you think?"

Glancing at the monstrosity in his hands, Blue nodded and placed it aside. "It's very sweet, thank you. Getting back on topic, did you purposely forget the blankets so I'd have to sleep next to you to keep warm?"

Her face fell and her arms dropped limply to her sides. "Seriously?"

Blue shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past you."

Muttering under her breath, Sarah stormed from the house, slamming the door shut behind her. Blue's head tilted as he watched her through the window, disappearing amongst the trees. Eventually, he shrugged and began working on dinner, occasionally glancing at the deformed Glaceon, smiling at him from where it sat abandoned.

As the night dragged on, and stars appeared in the sky, Blue waited, sitting at the table with a steaming bowl of stew before him. By the time Sarah returned, the meal was cold and she silently reheated it. They ate together, only exchanging a few words, before promptly going to bed.

Once upon a time, they'd had two small nests, now she barely fit in the one large one. So, after she'd climbed onto the bed of moss and soft grass, Blue jumped in, curling against her side. She laid her tail over his chest and partially covered him with a wing. There, his eyes closed and mind quiet, head resting against her side, he could hear her heartbeat; it was his favourite sound.

It was his own little cocoon, and he'd never felt so safe. Well, apart from when they'd first met. Even now he remembered it clearly, despite, or perhaps because of, how miserable it had been.

He'd woken up in this strange world, in a new body, with nothing but amnesia, and an aching sense of loss. Cautiously, he'd wandered into town, scared and amazed by everything around him. Then, as someone bumped into him, it all came crashing down.

With that first contact he'd felt something strange, a flash of colour and a trickle of emotions that weren't his. Curiously, he reached for the light, and grabbed it, but it slipped through his fingers and poured outwards. In an instant, he'd been able to feel it all, the townsfolk's every emotion. Happiness, love, excitement, loneliness, anxiety, grief.

He'd dropped to his knees, clutching at his head and screaming brokenly. It was as if he'd been dropped into the ocean's depths, endless black on every side, the pressure was crushing him. Please, please, make it stop.

That was when she appeared, a little Charmander, swinging her tail with reckless abandon, she slammed him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

When he came to, they were in the forest, and it was quiet. Sarah was sitting nearby, a mix of concern and guilt clear on her face. She went to apologise, but he felt it before she could get the words out.

He started sobbing, and she hovered just out of reach, her arms waving frantically. Eventually, she settled for sitting beside him, rubbing his back. Feeling her concern and warmth, Blue had cried until he had nothing left, until he was empty. She became the only person he could touch, and they retreated to the mountains. After that, he never reached for the light again, but at night, curled against her side, he thought he could feel just a piece of it. In the rough edge of her scales, in the warmth of her tail, in the beat of her heart, he could know a fragment of everything he was missing out on.

So, he couldn't help but frown when Sarah groaned and pulled herself from the nest.

"Follow me, now," she demanded, voice thick with sleep.

Blue whined, but did as he was told, following her out into the cold night. The mountain air raced through his fur, sending shivers down his spine, and the stars sparkled radiantly in the heavens above.

She lowered herself and gestured with her head. "Climb on."

Fiddling with his hands, Blue took a half-step back. "Why?"

"If I drop you I'll never hear the end of it. This way, it's not totally my fault."

"Yeah, that's a really poor reason to-ugh!"

Rolling her eyes, Sarah snatched his shoulders, pulled him close and launched into the air. Beating her mighty wings, she climbed higher into the air, catching a gale and riding it upwards. Blue wanted to scream but settled for latching onto her arms, eyes shut tight.

Sarah yelled over the roar of the wind, "do you trust me?"

"Absolutely not!"

She smirked. "Wrong answer."

Gripping him tighter, she spun, dove, and rose, her tail tracing their path through the sky.

His ears pinned back, Blue screamed, "thank you for nothing, you useless reptile!"

Laughing to herself, Sarah pulled him away from her chest and flew a loop-de-loop, dropping him in the roll and catching him on her back when she was right way up again.

Blue yelped and wrapped his arms around her neck, his quiet whimpers torn away by the wind.

Sarah levelled out and glided above the mountain range, unable to keep the smile from her face."I'm not landing till you open your eyes."

"This is cruel and unusual punishment!"

"And it will continue until you open your eyes!"

Gripping her neck tighter, Blue slowly opened his eyes and immediately shut them again. The mountains raced by far below, their tree covered slopes bathed in moonlight.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Look up, dummy."

Turning his gaze to the heavens, Blue opened his eyes once more, and it took his breath away. Above them, countless stars shimmered, an ocean of jewels against a sea of black.

"It's... beautiful."

"Duh," Sarah said, chuckling. "I could stay up here forever, but I could never reach the stars. Though, if they reached out their hand, I would take it in an instant."

Leaning over, Blue glanced around, and couldn't help but notice the starlight glinting off her amber eyes, and she smiled back at him.

"If they could hear me, I would tell them, that they don't have to be afraid. That they don't have to keep hiding. They could come down from the sky, and I would hold them close, and listen to it all. Even if their spark faded, I would still love them."

There, amidst that sprawling sky, with all those glittering stars, there was only one piece of light Blue cared about. Closing his eyes, he reached out, and grabbed it. In that instant, it was like seeing her for the first time, all over again. She was filled with laughter, and worry, but there was something new as well, something that hadn't been there before.

Instantly, tears sprung to his eyes and Blue began to bawl, his cries seeping out into the night like ghostly howls. He could never have imagined he was so loved.

:)

(I don’t know anything about this game I just wanted to join the party)

Still haunted by my conversation with @oblonger about my most bizarro Slay the Princess theory yet. His reaction scares me. I definitely got things wrong, but they’re wrong in a way that amuses the people who have seen the theories I pose, which feels veRY MUCH CONCERNING

Got bored so I drew my brother's old pmd eos team.

What’s your top three beloved Pokemon? And if you have them— your top three most hated Pokemon?

omg hi Sofie!! :0 Get ready because I have a whole lot to say about this.

Most Beloved:

Number 1: Squirtle

My absolute favorite is squirtle. What's funny about this is I can't really pinpoint a specific reason why I like him so much. My first pokemon game was alpha sapphire, and I didn't play gen 1 until Let's Go Eevee, so it's not a nostalgia factor. I think my brain just subconsciously selected him back when I was watching the Indigo League anime in middle school. The squirtle squad showed up and my brain was like "Yeah. This guy. He's awesome. This is the one." And he has been my number 1 favorite fella ever since then, and as a consequence he is the pokemon I have the most merch of and it isn't really close.

Please keep in mind this is just what I have in my apartment where I live for college, and that I have even more stuff in my bedroom back at home. Now that I think about it, Koopa Troopa is my favorite mario character, so maybe I have an affinity for characters that are just little turtles. Either way, water is also my favorite type, which means even more bonus points for squirtle.

Number 2: Riolu

Riolu's high ranking has been somewhat of a recent development for me. I've always liked lucario, but I didn't see the light that was riolu until after I watched Pokemon Journeys. Ash's riolu was so silly and adorable, and I always felt so bubbly inside when he was on screen. This shift in my preference is probably due to me developing a major soft spot for cute characters/creatures over the past few years. Most of my favorite pokemon at this point are just little guys because of it. Anyways, the reason I like him so much is because of the aura control him and lucario are capable of. I've always loved aura as a power system; the idea of being able to harness one's own life energy and see it in others is just so cool to me. I especially like how it's established as its own concept outside of moves in pokemon, making it something super unique that only riolu's evolutionary line can take advantage of. I have a lot of lore/worldbuilding ideas for PMD that would utilize aura. For example, Milo, the protagonist of the PMD verse I've been brainstorming, on is a riolu with much stronger aura than normal due to him being a pokemon with a human soul. I have a lot of ideas for how I could use this concept to drive plot points or character arcs, and I might share more in the future if I ever get time to start solidifying a story.

By the way, Milo's partner, Lilly, is a squirtle. No way I don't give both of my two favorites the spotlight.

Number 3: Sprigatito

My love of sprigatito is really quite simple. I love cats. So much. They are easily my number one favorite animal of all time. My Instagram feed is covered in them. So imagine my excitement when I saw that one of the new generation 9 starters was a kitty. My violet team is my favorite team I've ever used in a pokemon game, and the sprigatito line is a massive part of why I love it so much. Sprigatito is adorable, and my meowscarada was so much fun to use after he evolved. On top of that, sprigatito's depiction in Pokemon Horizons makes me love it even more. It's literally just a cat. It loafs. It makes biscuits.. It gets annoyed at the mildest inconvenience. Liko squishes its beans. Plus it releases a super sweet scent when you cuddle it as a bonus. It's so perfect. It's like Game Freak was like "Yeah this is the perfect pokemon for Ray, put it in the game." I have a sprigatito character in my PMD verse named Mayple, but I can't share much about her because it would mean dropping pretty big spoilers for a plot point I have planned.

Honorable Mentions: Greninja and Ceruledge

I love ninjas. I love frogs. Greninja is both. And ceruledge is just objectively one of the coolest pokemon designs ever.

In terms of behated pokemon, I don't have many that I personally despise. It's more so that I feel indifferent about them, and I would simply prefer not to use them on my teams. Usually I don't have any real reason to dislike the ones I do hate; I think it just stems from a gut feeling. The biggest one off the top of my head is the tepig line. I don't know what it is, something just feels off about them. I also dislike incineroar. I like litten and torracat a lot, but they really dropped the ball with the final evolution for me.

That's about all I have. This was really fun to do! Thank you so much for submitting this ask. I look up to you and your work a lot, and it made my night when I got the notification. I'm still pretty new to Tumblr, so I don't know exactly how I'm supposed to do things around here. I want to try to meet more people here, but my social anxiety and tendency to overthink online interactions usually shuts down anything before it can happen. Because of that, being able to answer something simple like this means a lot!! Thank you!! :D

This is so funny but also such a good idea that I wish was brought up more. It makes literally zero sense that the hero just instantly adapts to a completely new body and world the day they show up, I’m sorry but they just aren’t built like that. When Clay first shows up he’s falling over constantly due to being digitigrade and quadruped, can’t control his electricity at all, and cannot read or write except for some weird language no other pokemon speak. He still dives headfirst into most situations despite that, and Leo is constantly trying to dig them out of whatever Clay got them into. Everyone around treasure town things he’s a total weirdo, but they don’t have the heart to tell Leo they think that about the one friend he’s made since his parents’ disappearance.

To add on to this a little more, I also have a headcanon that heroes’ emotions are SUPER easy to read due to their body language. They’re not used to having control over their new tails, ears, elemental powers, etc, so they involuntarily show how they’re feeling based off of the movement and presentation of them. For example, my riolu hero OC Milo always gets embarrassed when he’s excited about something because he can’t stop his tail from wagging like crazy. Clay tends to spark up with electricity whenever he’s scared or upset about something.

It’s little things like this that make people’s characters and fics so awesome, it makes the heroes seem so much more down to earth and actually human like they’re supposed to be.

Imagining the PMD Partners as frustrated pet-owners trying so hard to care for their humans is hilarious to me.

Like, Hero is great and all, but they're so dumb. Partner is at their wits end and doesn't know what to do. Turns out, they're not the first person to feel that way!

The various partners throughout the years have written journals and compared notes, resulting in: How to care for your human - The struggle of Partners everywhere.

And it's just filled with nonsense like -

Humans don't have survival instincts. You are their impulse control.

Don't let your human pat every stranger they come across!

How to trick your human into going to the vet!

Teaching humans about hygiene.

How to keep your human happy (results may differ depending on the human)

Teaching your human how to control their fire/electricity/etc.

What to do if your human won't eat.

Teaching your human about their species behaviour (e.g. sunbathing, moulting, etc.)

Make sure your human gets regular exercise.

How to create an enriching environment for your human.

So, you're human is an eldritch horror?

What to do if your human is Gen Z

Hey look another ask game I stole from Sofie!! This one sounds super fun :D

PUT A “∞” IN MY ASK BOX AND I’LL SHUFFLE MY MUSIC PLAYER AND GIVE YOU MY FAVORITE LYRIC FROM THE SONG THAT COMES UP.

Hey everyone!!

Since I've been a little more active on here recently, I figured it would be good to make a little introduction post so you all can get to know me better.

I'm Stingray/Ray, you can call me whichever you prefer. I'm a 20 year old college student from the US, and I'm studying to get a degree in biochemistry. I'm a huge nerd, and I'm a super big fan of pokemon/pmd/pretty much anything to do with the franchise. For the past few months I've been really into mystery dungeon and the amazing oc's, au's, stories, and comics people create for it. Some of my favorites are Woo's PMD: On Borrowed Time, teshamerkel's PMD: Seekers of Soul, and Sofie's PMD: The Present is a Gift, all of which I've linked if you want to read them (you should). I'm also a big fan of Ori, and I read/watch a lot of manga and anime.

For my other hobbies, I'm a competitive Splatoon 3 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe player. I probably won't talk about that too much here, but I post about that stuff a lot more on my twitter if you're interested. I've linked it here, so feel free to follow me there if you want.

That's about all I have! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask me. I hope we can be friends! :D

Couple of my OCs

wanted to make an adoptable, ended up with a whole new OC i'm keeping

“That’s me!”